CHAPTER 155: CHAPTER155-WHO’S THE MADMAN?

Daniel stepped forward calmly, one slow and deliberate step.

Yet this seemingly insignificant movement was enough to make Charles look like a complete fool.

To Daniel, this was nothing unusual. After all, even if the Emperor of the Abyss had personally moved to seal off the entire space, it still wouldn’t be enough to restrict his actions.

Let alone Charles—who was merely a 5-star awakener.

He seriously thought he could use spatial confinement against him? What a joke.

Besides, the Luck Goddess governed luck—not space.

"You demons really are a crafty bunch," Daniel said coldly. "Now that the sword is already at your throat, do you still have any other bright ideas?"

"I..."

Charles opened his mouth, but the smile on his face remained unfazed.

"Your Highness Daniel," he said, still smiling faintly, "do you truly dare to kill me? Aren’t you afraid of offending the Luck Goddess—and becoming plagued by misfortune for the rest of your life?"

Daniel simply grinned, revealing two rows of pristine white teeth.

"Why don’t you take a guess? Want to bet on whether I have the guts to kill you?"

Charles was momentarily stunned. After a moment of hesitation, he cast the skill [Identify].

But what he saw shocked him to his core.

The Daniel standing before him... was a complete madman!

He actually harbored genuine intent to kill!

He wasn’t bluffing. He wasn’t afraid of gods at all!

This guy was out of his mind. A lunatic—pure and simple!

Unease crept into Charles’s heart like a cold wind through a crack in the wall.

Daniel, standing idly nearby, naturally noticed the shift in his demeanor.

In truth, Daniel had already seen through Charles’s game. From the start, this had all been a test—a deliberate probe.

If it weren’t for that fact, [Phantom Slash] would’ve long since turned Charles into minced meat.

"I’ll give you one chance," Daniel said. "Tell me your real purpose. If you tell the truth, I might consider sparing you."

Charles’s lips twitched ever so slightly. Only now did he realize how little he truly knew about Daniel.

The real Daniel was nothing like the image painted by the public data networks. No... the actual man was dominant, ruthless—offering no room for rebuttal.

At this point, Charles knew he couldn’t afford to stall any longer.

"I want to hire you to kill the Artist."

"You could’ve just said that from the beginning," Daniel replied with a faint smirk. He snapped his fingers, and in an instant, the two clones standing behind Charles vanished into thin air.

"Now tell me everything—clearly."

Charles hesitated for a moment, but after weighing their respective power levels, he gave up the idea of fleeing altogether.

"I’ll share a secret with you," he began. "The material Artist uses to produce the Primordial Core Weapon—the god’s remains—I was the one who sold it to them."

"I admit I underestimated them. Those short, ugly freaks... they harbor some terrifying ideas."

"Not only did they use god remains to forge Primordial Core Weapons, but with their own technology, they’ve also created a powerful gold-rank world boss."

"The situation has spiraled out of control. Their next target with the Primordial Core Weapon is likely the demon clan."

Here, Charles paused. His tone grew more serious.

"That’s why I truly hope you can help me eliminate the Artist."

"And as payment—everything the Artists possess will belong to you."

"You done talking?" Daniel asked.

Charles instinctively nodded. He had just opened his mouth to say more when Daniel suddenly activated [Time Stream], rewinding the flow of time back to the moment just before the conversation began.

...

"You want me to kill the Artist, right?"

Charles was stunned by the question, caught off-guard. After a moment of confusion, he asked in disbelief, "How... how do you know that?"

"Because I wanted to know," Daniel said, "so I found out. And I also know something else—you are the true culprit behind the destruction of the gnome race."

Charles’s face instantly turned pale.

But soon, he regained his composure.

"That’s just your opinion," he said. "I’m merely a merchant."

"As for the god remains, they were part of a business deal with the Artists. I had no idea they would use them to create such devastating weapons."

From beginning to end, Daniel had been using [Eye of Insight].

He could clearly tell that Charles was lying through his teeth.

"No," Daniel said flatly. "You knew full well that they bought those god remains to forge Primordial Core Weapons."

Charles’s face twisted again.

"I... I truly didn’t know."

Still lying.

Daniel calmly shook his head. "There’s no need to deceive me. I already know the whole story."

"...Fine. I admit it."

"But my true plan," Charles continued, "was to use the Artists to build the Primordial Core Weapon—and then steal it from them once it was complete."

"You know how terrifying the millennial Apocalypse is. If we had control over the Primordial Core Weapon, wouldn’t we stand a better chance of survival?"

"Even against those powerful diamond-rank world bosses—or the starborn monsters—could they really withstand an attack from a Primordial Core Weapon?"

"Yes, my plan was just that. But who could have foreseen things going sideways?"

"They successfully created the Primordial Core Weapon, but we failed to seize it. Worse, they launched it themselves... and the result was near annihilation for the gnome race."

Daniel nodded slightly.

According to [Eye of Insight], this time, Charles was telling the truth.

Sensing Daniel’s silent approval, Charles let out an involuntary sigh of relief, then continued.

"Honestly, I’m a victim of this deal, too."

"I’ve told you the full story now. So let me ask you—are you willing to accept this mission?"

"To tell you the truth, I don’t have any special feelings toward the demon clan. Whether they perish or not has nothing to do with me."

"I just don’t want the Primordial Core Weapon to continue existing in this world."

"No matter the race, its existence is a tremendous threat."

This time, too, Charles was being truthful.

Because the demon clan—like the Abyss—was inherently selfish. They cared not for their brethren’s lives, only for their own strength and survival.

Even after learning the full truth, Daniel didn’t rush to give an answer.

"I’ve got one last question," he said. "How can you be so sure I’m capable of handling this?"

"...Truth is, I can’t be sure," Charles replied, expression darkening. "But right now—I have no other choice."