My Uncle is the Strongest Dark Mage

TLed by NolepGuy

Chapter 10

Even when a child is asleep, they unconsciously imprint the sounds around them onto their heart.

“Just toss them a few coins and kick them out.”

“So what if they’re my late brother’s kids? My brother’s gone now anyway. This trading company is mine now, so can’t I do as I please?”

“By the way, what was it again? The reason my brother left for the last time before he died?”

“A contract with the Nepiri Dukedom? That’s great. With that, the trading company can grow significantly.”

“What are you doing? Wrap up my brother’s funeral quickly and get back to work! The Dukedom, you say? If you’re late, are you going to take responsibility?”

My father’s funeral.

The man who stole all the inheritance that rightfully belonged to my sister and me, and threw us out onto the streets.

And the man who merely added his name to the achievements my father built, turning the Nasara Company into a massive success.

The words he spat out back then still remain painfully etched in my heart, even though I was asleep in my sister’s arms at the time.

“You’re still alive?”

Dekken Nasara.

A man who once led the now-vanished Nasara Company on the continent.

And someone who, when I began my conquest of the Dark District and started my activities on the continent, was the first to be wiped out by me, who never forgets a grudge.

“It seems my subordinates were careless with their work.”

I was sure I had ordered them to erase everything related to the Nasara Company.

Yet here stands the owner of that trading company, bold as ever.

Even using my Black Magic, no less.

It was so absurd that I was at a loss for words.

“…….”

Despite my cold words, the man, Mekken Nasara, couldn’t utter a single word.

The sky was pitch black.

A man exuding a heavy, oppressive aura that weighed down the surroundings.

Even the crowd of zombies bowing their heads to him in reverence.

There was no way to forget.

It was impossible to forget.

How could I ever forget?

The day the Nasara Company disappeared and the day I was murdered and died once.

Even back then, the sky was just as dark and foreboding.

The Death King is a being shrouded in complete mystery, with no information about him known.

Unlike the other four Absolutes who rule over their respective quadrants of the continent, his existence has never been fully confirmed.

The pinnacle of evil who unified all the Dark Districts and swallowed the entire underworld.

No one knows his name.

No one knows his face either.

Even the Twin Ghosts and the Empress, who waged war against him, only fought his summoned creatures, never confronting him directly.

Thus, he remains a legend across the entire continent.

But one thing was certain.

Whenever he moved, even light seemed to fear him and vanish, leaving only a blackened sky in his wake.

And so, people called him ‘Heukcheon.’

The greatest Black Mage in history, never to be seen again.

The King of the Dead, who commands the deceased.

The Death King, Heukcheon.

After a long time, the fifth Absolute of the continent revealed himself once more before him.

“How utterly ridiculous.”

He reads the memories of the zombies to grasp what had happened here.

And unconsciously, a faint smirk formed on his lips.

When the Nasara Company was destroyed by his hands, its influence was seamlessly transferred to the Grant Association.

The reason was simple.

His sister, Cayenne, also bore a grudge against the Nasara Company, just like him.

He had merely helped her plans a little while annihilating the Nasara Company.

For instance, sending an anonymous message to warn her in advance of the company’s impending downfall.

“If you wanted revenge, you should’ve come directly to me.”

In any case, that’s why he harbored resentment toward the Grant Association.

Claiming that the Grant Association had taken everything from him.

It was truly laughable.

The one who destroyed the Nasara Company was the Death King himself.

Yet instead of daring to confront him, he vented his anger on unrelated parties.

And even proudly learned the Black Magic of the Death King, his true enemy.

“You really are the same worthless trash as ever.”

He’d always been like this.

Even at his father’s funeral.

And even now, at this very moment.

He was the epitome of unchanging, despicable garbage.

“Why are you here…?”

“Wrong question. I was here first, and you just happened to show up.”

“…….”

“You dared to lay a hand on this kid.”

Thanks to that, it had been a while since he felt this angry.

Normally, he wouldn’t even waste emotions on such trash.

But at this moment, an overwhelming urge to kill him surged uncontrollably.

“I won’t let you die easily.”

Thwack!

At Cain’s words, something pierced Mekken’s back from behind.

A sword gleaming with a black light.

A pitch-black abyss opened in the air, and from within, a skeleton emerged, its ominous eyes glowing as it twisted the sword impaling Mekken’s heart.

A Death Knight.

An Undead far superior to the zombies Mekken had summoned.

Especially one summoned directly by the Death King, which was nearly equivalent to an 8-star superhuman.

Such monsters crawled endlessly from the unfathomable abyss beyond.

“…….”

Blood dripped from the tip of the sword onto the ground.

It was truly strange.

His heart had been pierced.

Based on his prior experience with death, this strike should have killed him instantly.

And yet, for some reason, he was still alive.

“You cannot die just yet.”

The world says.

The Death King is an existence that transcends even death.

No one in the world can freely live or die in his presence.

A monster who governs the life and death of all.

And at this moment, he denied Mekken’s death.

“As you wished, I’ve completely isolated this department store from the outside world with my power. Unless the Demon Lord himself comes, no rescue team can enter.”

“…….”

“So relax and continue what you were doing with the kid. From what I read in your memories, you seemed to be having quite the fun.”

Corpse Poison, emanating from the dead, began to corrupt his insides.

Zombies gnawed at Mekken’s limbs.

The Death Knight sliced his skin into shreds with its sword.

“Aaaaargh!!”

To be honest, he had underestimated death.

Having already died and come back to life, it was inevitable.

That’s why he vowed revenge so easily.

After coming back to life in the Underworld, he realized that the Grant Association had stolen everything his trading company had built.

While wandering through the Dark District by chance, he discovered the Death King’s Black Magic.

With such a careless thought, he caused this catastrophe.

And the price came faster than he had anticipated.

A price so cruel and horrifying.

“Stop! Please, stooooop!”

He begged loudly, pleading for his life.

But salvation never came.

And eventually, his pleas turned into a desperate cry for death.

Even as his body disappeared entirely and more than half of his head was gone, he tenaciously clung to life.

Unable to succumb fully to Cain’s Curse, Mekken endured the pain until his breath finally ceased.

“Haaah!”

And then he woke up from the nightmare.

What he realized as he came to his senses was that his limbs were intact.

In that moment of overwhelming confusion and panic—

Thud.

The Death Knight’s sword pierced his heart from behind.

Looking down at him coldly, devoid of any emotion.

“How many times do I need to kill you before I feel better?”

“……!”

It wasn’t over.

It was just the beginning.

That hell was starting all over again.

Damn it, no.

I don’t want this anymore.

Please, just kill me.

Someone, anyone, kill me again.

Let me escape from that demon.

I don’t want to suffer anymore.

I’ll never crawl out of the Underworld and return to this place again.

So please……

“There are no such things as miracles in this world.”

Just as no one had come to save him despite the countless lives lost in the terror he caused.

This time, too, no one would come to save him.

Because the world was inherently this cruel and merciless.

“Now, it’s time to wake up from the dream again.”

Just like before, the moment his neck was severed, time reversed, and Mekken woke up from the nightmare.

And once again, the same events repeated.

Watching it all unfold leisurely, Cain picked up the camera that Mekken had dropped.

“It’s well-recorded.”

And as he confirmed the endless cycle of Mekken’s deaths captured on the camera, he smashed it in one swift motion.

That was the entirety of what the camera had recorded.

With the footage destroyed, there was no chance of it ever being leaked.

Now, the full truth of this incident was known only to Cain.

＊＊＊

“What are you standing around for? Hurry up and move!”

As the incident was roughly resolved by Cain—

The moment Cain’s Black Magic, which had dragged the entire department store into his Reverse World and isolated it from the world, was lifted, the police stormed into the department store in a rush.

Leading them was a strikingly handsome young man with blonde hair and blue eyes.

A familiar face.

Wasn’t he the prince of this country?

No, as the sole prince of the Elemental Kingdom, it wouldn’t be strange to call him the Crown Prince.

By position, he was the most prominent figure in this country.

Yet here he was, pale-faced, berating the police.

‘Come to think of it, there was also a young girl around the kid’s age inside.’

Judging by their matching hair and eye colors, were they siblings?

I remembered hearing that the prince of this country was deeply protective of his much younger sister.

Before settling in this country, Oman had forced that information on me, claiming it might be useful.

I had read it a few times, as if skimming through a book.

“…….”

After venting his frustrations on Mekken, Cain casually stepped out of the department store.

Moving discreetly out of sight, he slipped away unnoticed into the crowd of people drawn by the commotion.

‘I want no part of this mess.’

The situation had escalated significantly.

If it needed a name, it would be called the Grant Department Store Massacre.

All the clerks were wiped out.

Almost all the customers, save for a handful, were dead.

Even now, zombies Cain had left behind because he found them too bothersome to deal with were roaming the department store.

Since it was the weekend, the department store had a high foot traffic, and the estimated casualties numbered in the thousands.

If I were caught as the only survivor in this situation, who knows how much time I’d waste or what kind of trouble I’d face.

Of course, if I contacted Oman, he would mobilize the Dark District of this country to cover up the incident somehow.

But doing so might risk exposing my existence to the Demon Lord.

‘No, it’s possible I’ve already been exposed.’

After reading the report on this incident, they might notice something unusual.

Well, if that happens, I’ll figure out what to do then.

As long as I’m not directly caught, it should be fine. Probably.

“Hmm.”

Just as Cain was momentarily lost in thought, he heard the whining of a kid behind him.

Had she woken up?

But it wasn’t time for her to wake up yet.

Curious, he glanced back, but it seemed that wasn’t the case. Arina simply nuzzled her head deeper into Cain’s back.

“Uncle, thank you.”

“…….”

Even though she wasn’t fully awake, her sleep-talking spilled out.

It must have meant she was finally relaxing.

Perhaps she had realized the incident was truly over.

Children, even when asleep, tended to absorb and internalize the sounds around them.

“Yeah, you did well too.”

Childcare is truly a hassle.

There’s so much to take responsibility for and so much to pay attention to.

For someone who had lived his whole life doing as he pleased without restraint, Arina’s presence was nothing short of a shackle.

But for some reason—

Even as he looked at her, he didn’t feel annoyed or unpleasant.

Was it simply because Arina was the daughter his sister had entrusted to him?

Or had he grown attached to her over the past two years?

“Arina.”

Whatever the reason, one thing was certain.

He was slowly beginning to accept Arina as his family.

After losing his sister two years ago, he had gained a new family member.

-Take care of my daughter.

The words his sister had spoken before her death flashed through his mind.

At first, their relationship had been formed solely because of her request.

But now, things had changed.

No, they were still changing.

“…….”

Like Cain’s footsteps, carrying Arina on his back as he walked home under the slowly fading evening glow.

The story of two people who started as strangers and became family had just begun.