Galaxy's First Ruler

The two words "Kill me" felt empty to Aldrich.

He had an idea why the Boss kept saying this, but this wasn't the time to come to that point. A more terrible and cruel theory had been forming in his mind for quite some time. Aldrich stood up and dusted off his black greatcoat. He put his hands behind his back and looked down at the Boss, who could barely move his head now because of the wine.

As their gazes met, Aldrich mumbled as if talking to himself.

"What had troubled me since the very first day I came to know 'RECORD', wasn't its existence, but the way it had developed Dungeons. It's quite different from those popularly known on my home planet, but this could be ignored. The Dreamers can do optional Quests, and even in Random Dungeon, one only needs to take care of Elites or a minor Quest related to Boss."

"What are you implying?!" El Cid blurted out, and the undead Mantis beside him flinched.

Aldrich was quite pleased with this reaction, so he continued.

"The thing that got ignored by many baffled me deeply. Why is the difficulty of clearing a Dungeon, Random or not, so hard? It is up to the point where not even a party of 5 Rare Dreamers can actually take on a single Baron Ranked Boss. This was the case on my planet. Then I came out in the Galaxy and I found out not only on Barren Earth, but this is also the case everywhere. It almost seems like the RECORD doesn't want you guys to die under Dreamers' hands."

As soon as Aldrich halted his outlet of doubts, Mantis lunged at him with his hand stretched towards Aldrich. A smile full of mockery came on Aldrich's face, as the Rumok on his right hand gave out a blue and green glow.

BANG!

The Almighty Push sent the undead flying into the air. The two purple rings on his shoulders flashed with golden light and a command resounded in the silent Plaza.

"Expand!!!"

The Pillar of Footprints elongated and hit directly into the Mantis' chest, ripping him apart in pieces. Aldrich gave the Pillar a look as it returned to its original state and snapped his head at El Cid. A low chuckle came out of Aldrich as he scoffed at the Boss Crawler.

"Haha! Ticked a nerve, did I?!"

There was a trace of anger on El Cid's face. And after mastering a better part of the Law of Devil, Aldrich felt himself becoming sensitive to these emotions and their changes. Even without the Law, he could guess the emotions, but not to this certainty. Ignoring the silent and fuming eyes of the Boss, Aldrich started to walk around the motionless El Cid.

All the world seemed to condense onto the two of them, as Aldrich kept bombarding El Cid to wear him down.

"Evolution. The creatures of water evolved and came out to land, but lost the ability to breathe underwater. If this is evolution, then what is 'RECORD' up to? I have asked myself many times. I could feel myself getting stronger, but where was the sense of loss. Once again, my ability to theorize based on the facts got affected because I was on a Barren Earth."

Aldrich came to a stop in front of El Cid, who seemed deader than dead since his last attempt on Aldrich's life.

"After coming here, I Came to know that this loss has another name in the Galaxy. It's just called a Count's curse. And with every rank, this curse intensifies or changes or more curses add on, depending upon the quality of evolution. So if every Count has a curse, what is your curse, El Cid?"

"Who… are you?!!" El Cid stared at the sky over his head, and nonsensically blurted out, like a trapped prey losing all hope.

Aldrich followed the Boss Crawler's gaze and saw the painting of Giants. The space-time ruptures had vanished and the cracks in the paintings were disappearing by seconds.

"Asking twice won't change my identity…"

Aldrich took his eyes off, and his eyes met that of El Cid. Aldrich knew the time had come to put the last nail in the coffin.

"As long as there are beings who remember you, you can't die. This is your legend. I wasn't quite myself when you proclaimed this out. But let me ask now, who are these beings, El Cid? Do the memories you mentioned belong to the people of countless Barren Earth? Or are they the memories of the army of the undead who sang the song of your return? Why did you let me run amok and annihilate the undead soldiers when I entered the Płaza?"

"So you know," El Cid muttered, and the redness of his pupils dimmed.

Aldrich gave a nod and answered.

"The memories that kept making you come back belonged to me, didn't they? You distracted me from this fact by meaningless things and attacks. Your use of undead and even the song was nothing, but a well-planned scheme. You can rise from my memories, but if I am to forget about you, you will turn to dust right now. El Cid…"

Aldrich put a hand on El Cid's shoulder and whispered in his ears.

"… Your curse is your legend."

Hahahaha!!!

A shrieky and coarse laugh burst out of the Boss Crawler and he narrowed his eyes at Aldrich.

"So What?! You can't just stop thinking about me. I have already imprinted my image into your memories. You will never leave this Dungeon."

Sigh!

Aldrich sighed and, for the first time, showed pity in his eyes. This pity wasn't for the knight in front of him nor was it for the Dreamers. It was for the gap in his knowledge that was eating Aldrich from inside.

"As I was before, I couldn't stop thinking, you are right. But the person you see before you can. El Cid, just tell me, why 'RECORD' would go to such lengths to make sure you win against Dreamers in a life and death fight?"