‘What if I hadn’t known?’
The omnipotence of moving the entire world with a single word.
The splendid days when he adorned himself with glittering gold and jewels, believing in his success without a shred of doubt.
With such wistful musings, the blond man let out a sigh.
His attire was utterly shabby.
Bloodshot eyes and a face worn with exhaustion.
No one in the world, upon seeing this disheveled man now, would recall the name “Golden Duke.”
‘Living doesn’t feel like living anymore.’
He had tasted the allure of wealth and power.
He had personally experienced what true strength was.
But precisely because of that, this reality became unbearably agonizing.
The crime he committed was utterly trivial.
Though he’d considered assassination, all he actually carried out was a light, trivial jab.
He disciplined a single new professor.
That was all it took for the entire world to turn against him.
Treated as a sinner worse than a devil.
Ultimately, the Golden Duke fell to the status of a fugitive hunted by the empire.
He couldn’t even sleep properly.
Chased constantly, never knowing when a pursuer might appear.
He couldn’t settle anywhere and had to sleep on newspapers spread out on the streets.
The artifacts he used to aid his escape were running out.
Wiping traces, manipulating memories, and even temporarily erasing his existence—these methods were reaching their limits.
But what tormented him most was his financial state.
In his hasty escape, he managed to grab one or two subspace bundles containing important items.
For the Golden Duke, gold coins were like stones scattered on the ground.
Who in the world would waste a subspace bundle just to store pebbles? As a result, his current cash in hand was pathetically grim.
The remaining escape artifacts were either already used or had to be preserved for future use, making them unsellable.
Of course, going to a bank and demanding his money was out of the question.
He tried to arrange asylum in the Holy Kingdom, but the necessary funds for that plan fell terribly short.
The reality of the once-mighty Golden Duke now being on the brink of death due to a lack of money was undeniable, but he did not give up.
‘Surviving on rain and dust is not living.’
He would endure and find a way to survive no matter what.
He already had a plan.
‘I’ll invest in H.L. Corporation to secure funds for asylum.’
The Golden Duke detested Riyan, but he trusted the professor’s capabilities more than anyone else.
‘It would be strange not to trust someone like him.’
The artifact he used against Riyan—a grotesque flesh doll that locked its target into the worst possible future.
Even that hadn’t defeated the new professor.
The professor must have used another artifact to counter the mystical powers of the flesh doll.
The manifestation of the curse was certain, but it had no effect.
‘The artifact Riyan used must provide some kind of blessing that resists curses.’
The fact that the curse had activated meant the Golden Duke’s artifact was slightly stronger, but Riyan’s was potent enough to weaken its effect.
‘If only the flesh doll had been a bit stronger… If only the artifact Riyan prepared was a bit weaker…’
He wouldn’t have fallen so low.
The thought stung a little, but he had no intention of dwelling on past failures.
‘The moment he prepared a countermeasure for my artifact attack, I had already lost.’
Riyan truly was a monster.
A man who controlled everything from behind the scenes.
A merciless manipulator and a genius who treated the world as his chessboard.
‘He’d ruin someone for merely issuing a reprimand.’
Riyan crushed those who challenged his authority, all while keeping his own hands clean.
Always the victim, never the aggressor.
From a lofty vantage point, he looked down on all, manipulating hearts to orchestrate situations to his favor.
That was terrifyingly impressive.
‘But this time, I’ll turn his brilliance against him.’
The Golden Duke knew who Riyan was.
He knew about that absurdly superhuman insight.
He understood that failure wasn’t a word in Riyan’s dictionary.
The stock price of H.L. Corporation would rise.
Riyan had assured the entire empire of this fact.
Countless people had already invested large sums, trusting the professor.
‘If the stock price crashed now, how much public outcry would Riyan face?’
‘The reputation he had meticulously built would crumble.’
‘He would tarnish his own authority—a disgraceful folly.’
‘That genius would never allow such a result.’
‘H.L. Corporation was bound to rise.’
An innovative invention would emerge, skyrocketing the company’s value, leaving everyone in awe of Riyan’s vision.
The scenario was already set in stone.
Having pulled the winning card, the next step was simple.
He would go all in, scraping together every last resource.
Confident that his money would multiply tens, even hundreds of times, he invested every coin he had.
Smiling at the guaranteed victory, the Golden Duke finally managed to sleep peacefully.
***
Today, the Golden Duke’s world crumbled.
He blinked blankly and rubbed his eyes.
He slapped his cheeks hard with both hands.
But the grotesque four letters remained unmistakably clear.
[H.L. Corporation’s Hidden Truth Revealed.]
Delisting. The moment he saw the newspaper boldly bearing that news, tears streamed down his cheeks.
‘Could the nation offer compensation?’
After all, it stemmed from a misunderstanding during his attempts to expose a hidden crime organization.
‘Was there no room for reprieve?’
Such hopeful thoughts swirled in his mind, but they were futile.
Stock refunds were an absurd notion, and even if the state were to compensate, it would mean nothing.
He had bought the stocks while on the run.
There was no way those were acquired through legitimate means.
He’d invested money through all kinds of detours, intermediaries, and dark routes.
Naturally, expecting compensation was impossible.
In short, he had lost everything.
The Golden Duke, once known for his immense wealth, had now become just another beggar wandering the streets.
‘Why?’
The question filled his mind completely.
And it didn’t take long to find the answer.
‘Riyan. That cursed bastard…’
The newspapers shouted loudly.
Professor Riyan had only warned everyone out of pure suspicion regarding the company.
It was everyone else, trapped in their materialistic mindset, who failed to understand the warning.
But the Golden Duke knew better.
Riyan was not as innocent as he pretended to be.
He acted high and mighty, feigning unparalleled integrity, yet he was a control-obsessed maniac drunk on power.
‘Just how far do you intend to mock me?’
There was ambiguity in his words.
‘Suggesting people scrutinize the company might cause its stock prices to rise.’
‘Riyan wasn’t foolish enough not to realize such an obvious consequence.’
‘Then why had Riyan made such ambiguous remarks? What reason did he have to do so?’
There could only be one plausible explanation.
‘To trap me.’
A martial artist who had reached the pinnacle of mind and blade.
If he so wished, killing the Golden Duke would be a trivial task, yet he had deliberately chosen this method.
‘You’re in the palm of my hand.
‘No matter how you struggle, you cannot defeat me.
‘Look and see. Without me even lifting a finger, you have danced to my tune, choking yourself in the process.
‘What a clown you are.’
It felt as if Riyan’s voice sneered in his ears.
Riyan was openly mocking him.
His hands trembled violently.
His teeth ground together with maddening force.
He could no longer suppress the emotions surging within him.
In the end, the last thread of rationality snapped.
His bloodshot eyes glared as he pulled out the flesh doll.
The power, weakened with time.
The aura of a curse so fragile it seemed ready to break at any moment.
This artifact had once consumed 666 innocent lives just to activate.
To reignite its dying flames would undoubtedly require an exorbitant, irrational price.
Even sacrificing thousands of souls would only extend life by a single day.
And now, he had neither the means nor the time for murder.
But that didn’t matter.
There was no need for concern.
After all, the soul he needed as an offering was right here.
His influence had been bought with wealth.
The Golden Duke’s power had been built on lives he’d purchased.
His accomplishments were forged by devouring countless souls.
There could be no offering more exquisite than this.
The flesh doll ravenously devoured the man’s soul.
And soon, an excruciating pain overwhelmed him.
Yet, the Golden Duke smiled.
“Tremble in fear! Quake in terror, Riyan!”
The doll began to emit a grim, ominous aura of a curse once more.
As he gazed at it, the Golden Duke declared boldly:
“I’ll show you what ‘true hell’ really is.”