Chapter 298: The Seal for the Overlord

The door slid silently into the wall, revealing a spacious laboratory bathed in bright, even light. Everything gleamed with cleanliness and cutting-edge technology. Iron looked around with curiosity. Sealed capsules lined the walls, bundles of wires stretched from floor to ceiling, and screens flickered on high-tech stands beside samples of weapons and unfamiliar energy modules.

After taking it all in, Iron turned to Abel and asked the question that had been on his mind.

"Why send a letter? You could've just talked to me directly."

Abel hesitated for a moment, trying to figure out what Iron meant. Then he remembered the message he'd sent, shifted awkwardly from one foot to the other, and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"Well... honestly, I had an unfinished project, and I didn't want to leave it alone for even a second. You know how it is."

"Yeah, I get that," Iron replied at once. "So what's the project?"

Abel nodded toward one side of the room and walked over to a tall glass capsule, lightly tapping its transparent surface with his fingers. Inside floated a flat, rectangular seal covered in intricate ancient symbols and complex geometric patterns.

"Is that... a seal?" Iron asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Yep," Abel nodded.

"But you said yourselves that you still don't know what he's capable of, and that the seal is useless."

"That's true," Abel agreed. "But I specifically designed this seal to roughly match his expected power level. Of course, my calculations might be wrong... but even then, it'll be easy to recalibrate it to the Overlord's exact level of power."

While Iron studied the symbols, Abel moved a little farther to the right. He crouched beside a table, connecting a high-tech helmet to a complex control panel and adjusting its calibration to ensure stable operation.

"The scariest part," Abel began, never taking his eyes off the wires, "is that the Overlord might be many times more powerful than this seal. And if that's the case, it won't do us any good."

He stood up straight and quickly began programming something on the touchscreen.

"The best solution would be to seal him away rather than kill him."

Iron frowned.

"Why?"

Abel answered without slowing down.

“This Overlord is the progenitor of demons, distorted beings, and more than seventy percent of all the creatures in this world. His incredibly dense, unstable aura and the energy he emits spread these creatures across the world. With each passing age, they continue to evolve and grow stronger."

He picked up the finished helmet from the table, carefully inspecting it from every angle before continuing.

"It got to the point where even mages started turning into wild mages."

Abel glanced at Iron.

"You know what wild mages are, right?"

"Sort of. Mages who've gone insane?" Iron replied hesitantly.

"Yes. But they went insane through direct contact with his energy," Abel concluded.

He picked up the helmet, approached Iron, and carefully placed it on the engineer's head.

"There's one place in this world where that energy is particularly concentrated. If an ordinary mage ventures there, there's a very high chance they'll go insane almost instantly."

Iron opened his mouth to ask a question, curiosity plain in his eyes. What place is that? But Abel answered before he could speak.

"It's called the Valley of Death."

After adjusting the helmet using the control panel, Abel took a step back and muttered to himself:

"All right, the helmet I made specifically for you is ready to go."

Then he added aloud:

"Anyway, there's no point worrying about it just yet. You'll see it all for yourself soon enough."

Abel pressed a touch button on a device resembling a computer tower. The transparent dome covering Iron's head began changing rapidly, turning an opaque, milky white, as if thick fog had condensed inside it. Under the effects of the nano-follicular recalibration, his hair and eyebrows disappeared completely from view.

While Iron sat inside the helmet, nearly all the Council members were still gathered around the large table on the first floor, with Kai being the only one missing. Having just finished putting the dirty dishes by the sink, Kai was now making his way back to the others, heading straight for Arthur.

Arthur was looking at Noah thoughtfully.

"Listen, you've got pretty good speed. Your reflexes aren't bad either. Judging by your sword, you're a swordsman, right?"

Noah gave a reserved nod.

"Yeah."

"But you've still got quite a few unnecessary movements," Arthur remarked, narrowing his eyes skeptically as he gave Noah an appraising look.

"When you stood in front of Iron and drew your sword on him, your stance was way too relaxed. What if Iron had kept moving forward? What if he'd actually unleashed that magic? What would you have done then?"

Taken aback by the sudden critique, Noah replied curtly, "Well... I was sure Iron would stop."

Just then, Kai appeared beside them, pestering Arthur for what felt like the hundredth time that day.

"So, Arthur, can we go now? I've been practicing that technique you taught me, and I really, really want to try it out on you!"

Arthur smiled easily.

"All right. Let's do it."

The two of them headed for the front door. Kai bounced excitedly around Arthur, chattering nonstop about his training.

Meanwhile, Elyria hovered above her chair, stealing shy glances at Nivea. She clearly wanted to talk to her, but whenever she noticed how many people were still in the room, she nervously bit her lip, unsure what to do or how to start a conversation.

After watching her fidget for several minutes, Noah let out a heavy sigh. He got up from his chair and headed for the exit, calling out as he went:

"Hey, Seraphina. Let's fight."

Taken by surprise, Seraphina froze for a moment before her face lit up with a delighted smile. She sprang to her feet, practically glowing with excitement.

"Yes, of course, my lord!"

Without wasting another second, they both hurried outside.

Meanwhile, Arsher was calmly washing dishes at the sink.

Gathering her courage, Elyria bobbed in the air and drifted a little closer to Nivea. Waving her tiny hands, she greeted her in an uncertain but hopeful voice.

"Hey, Nivea! Hi!"

Nivea slowly turned her head, then deliberately looked away with a cold expression, pretending Elyria wasn't even there.

Elyria's spirits sank a little, but she tried to act as though nothing was wrong. Hovering directly in front of Nivea's face, she tried again.

"So... how have you been? It's been such a long time, after all. I'm sure all sorts of interesting things have happened!"

Nivea let out a heavy sigh and answered flatly, "Nothing special. Same as always."

Elyria immediately floated even closer to Nivea's face, bobbing petulantly in the air as she waved her tiny hands around.

"Oh, come on! Something nice must have happened! We really haven't seen each other in ages!"

Nivea exhaled sharply, closed her eyes in irritation, and ground out through clenched teeth,

"You... when are you finally going to return to your true form?"

Elyria's shoulders drooped, and she answered quietly, "Well... I think I'll be able to get it back in a few days. Maybe a week."

"Finally..." Nivea muttered.

That did it. Elyria's spirits sank completely, and she looked genuinely hurt by the cold reception. Nivea glanced at her out of the corner of her eye and noticed her dejected expression. Damn it... why did I have to say it like that? she cursed inwardly, even as she tried her hardest to look like she couldn't care less.

Realizing she couldn't just sit there feeling miserable, Elyria quickly pulled herself together. She straightened proudly in midair, pointed a finger at her own chest, and declared with renewed enthusiasm,

"But I've actually had TONS of interesting things happen to me! Just wait until you hear all about them!"

Meanwhile, in the laboratory, Abel gave the helmet a careful inspection before turning his attention to the control panel where he'd just pressed the button.

The calibration process finished with a pleasant chime. Abel pulled a small lever on the processor's casing, and the thick, milky haze inside the helmet's dome immediately receded from top to bottom, dissolving into the air.

A new version of Iron was revealed beneath the helmet. His hair had completely changed color, turning dark, and the nano-follicular recalibration had affected his eyebrows as well, making them dark too.

Abel carefully removed the helmet from Iron's head, set it aside, and handed him a small mirror.

"Well? Take a look at the results."

Iron took the mirror and studied his reflection. His hair and eyebrows had indeed turned dark, but then he noticed something else. His right eye was emerald green.

Iron brought his face closer to the mirror, staring at his reflection in disbelief.

"Seriously? Green?"

Abel looked at him with a faint smile.

"So? Did everything go well?"

Iron blinked a few times and gave a quiet chuckle.

"Yeah... it went well. It feels like this really is my natural hair color."

A couple of seconds later, Abel got down to business.

"Listen... in a few days, the rest of the Council and I will have to head north. Since you're all officially part of our Council now—or at least you are, Iron—would you, Noah, and Elyria mind coming along?"

Iron looked surprised.

"Why do you need to go north?"

Abel started toward the laboratory exit.

"There's going to be a tournament between all the Council members. It's an old tradition of ours. Every six months, we go there and spar with one another."

Iron followed him.

"I specifically designed an arena up north that can regenerate instantly after any kind of destruction—even damage caused by Kai or Arsher," Abel explained. "So don't worry about holding back. You can fight at full strength... if you want to, of course. Taking part in the tournament is entirely voluntary. You can just watch."

Iron listened with obvious interest, mulling over what he'd heard. By the time they reached the end of the corridor, the heavy laboratory doors had automatically shut behind them.

Abel turned slightly toward him and spoke after a brief hesitation.

"There's one more thing... Could you help me recreate a flying ship? Assuming that's even what you can call the thing..."

Iron let out a skeptical sigh.

"What's the point? We can just teleport."

"Most of the Council voted in favor of me building this thing," Abel sighed.

Iron nodded calmly.

"Fine..."

They began climbing the spiral staircase. On the way up, Iron thoughtfully changed the subject.

"How do you know so much about the Overlord, anyway? And besides... I've never met anyone who's as good at engineering as you are."

For a moment, the image of Z flickered through Iron's mind, but he quickly pushed the thought aside.

Abel continued walking ahead of him.

"Well... Arsher and I fought against him. Or rather..." He quickly corrected himself with a slight grin. "Arsher fought him while I watched from the sidelines."

Iron narrowed his eyes in disbelief.

"What...?"

"Yeah, I know it sounds absurd, but that's the truth," Abel said with a shrug. "As for why I'm so good at engineering..."

They reached the top of the stairs. Abel pulled on the handle of the concealed hatch, opening the way out, and continued.

"It's because I've been alive for a long time."

Iron gave a quiet snort.

"Well, that much is obvious. I'm guessing you're a humanoid."

Abel climbed out into the house and admitted frankly:

"Honestly... I don't even know what I am. All I know is that I woke up inside some kind of capsule, climbed out, and found myself surrounded by ruins. The earth was red and scorched, there was fire everywhere, and the whole place looked like the aftermath of a global catastrophe."

Iron nodded.

"I see..."

They continued down the corridor and soon passed the kitchen, where Arsher was just finishing washing the last plate.

"So, when are we going to work on your flying ship?" Iron asked.

Abel waved a hand dismissively.

"Whenever works for you. We can start as early as tomorrow."

"All right," Iron replied.

They went farther down the corridor and passed the living room, where Nivea and Elyria were still sitting at the table. At that moment, Nivea planted both hands on the tabletop, and sharp chunks of ice began spreading rapidly across its surface with a scraping sound.

Nivea shot Elyria an angry glare.

"Yes, I get it! I get it already! Stop telling me about it a hundred times!"

Elyria first recoiled in fright, then immediately puffed out her cheeks in a sulky pout.

"Well, it's hard to tell when you actually understand and when you're just pretending!"

Finally, Abel and Iron reached the entrance. They opened the front door and stepped outside.

Noah was standing right in front of the house, completely encased in a structure of hardened blood that had formed into sharp spikes. Seraphina's magic surrounded him from every direction, pinning him in an unnatural position.

Meanwhile, the flustered girl hurried around him, desperately trying to figure out what to do next and clearly feeling completely out of her depth.

Noah ground out an irritated growl through clenched teeth.

"Just dispel your magic already!"

Seraphina flinched in surprise.

"Oh! Yes, of course! I'm sorry, my lord!"

She snapped her fingers, and the dense mass of blood instantly crumbled, collapsing into ordinary puddles on the ground. Noah took a few steps forward from sheer momentum, loosening up his stiff back and aching shoulders.