CHAPTER 74
The Red Flame Lord, Ignarion.
She was leaning back on the sofa, waiting for news.
The Deadly Sin of Envy.
She was waiting for the news that he had succeeded in kidnapping Aranseol.
“Haaah.”

A feverish breath escaped her lips.
The pain from her rotting chest still tormented her.
Her mana wouldn’t gather and instead leaked out, and the lack of mana caused a headache.
To solve this as soon as possible, she had to capture the boy named Harua.
Just as Ignarion’s craving, greater than any unrequited love, continued…
A mouth formed on the black jewel placed before her.
[Eheheh, my Lord Red Flame, I am on my way back to you now!]
A message had finally come from the Deadly Sin of Envy.
Ignarion quickly sat up.
“Did you catch her?”
[Yes, of course! I’ve got her trapped safely in the shadows right now.]
A sigh of relief escaped Ignarion’s lips.
Finally, things were starting to go smoothly.
[Ah, and I’ve caught one more as a bonus.]
“A bonus?”
[Yes, your old disciple, my Lord Red Flame! She happened to be with them, so I snatched her up too.]
Disciple.
Right.
“Ah, Babiyen Asteria.”
Ignarion belatedly remembered and said the name.
Right, she did have a disciple like that.
Since she had to be used as a hostage anyway.
Whether it was one or two, it didn’t matter to Ignarion.
She leaned back on the sofa again and asked a question.
“What did you do with the Amyeong tribe member who was with them?”
The Deadly Sin of Envy does not leave his own kind alone.
He was a madman who would swallow his own kind into his shadow, so she threw out the question.
The Amyeong tribe member also seemed to be a companion of Harua’s group, so she asked, wondering if she could be of use.
[Ah, I didn’t touch her.]
“And why is that, for someone like you?”
[Ehm hehe, it’s complicated, but. It’s because she’s a mutant like me. Mutants share the same shadow, you see!]
The Deadly Sin of Envy was a mutant among the Amyeong tribe.
And as it happened, the Amyeong tribe member on the other side was also a mutant, it seemed.
Ignarion felt a bit disappointed, but she didn’t ask further.
There was nothing to be gained by arousing unnecessary suspicion.
“When will you be here?”
[I’m almost there!]
With those words, the shadow on the wall began to bubble and rise.
From it emerged a bizarre-looking man with a nail driven into his head.
A man with a hunched back and deep shadows under his eyes, giving him a gloomy appearance.
He was the Deadly Sin of Envy.
Morbid Geryusika.
He was originally of the bloodline to become the chief of the Amyeong tribe, but as a mutant, he was nearly killed.
Currently, he had become a Deadly Sin and was the most feared figure among the Amyeong tribe.
“Where is the Sword Lord’s disciple?”
“Aheheh, right here, yessir!”
Morbid, still with his peculiar laugh, thrust his hand into the floor.
Soon, a woman was pulled out from the shadow.
Her beautiful face was contorted, and her entire body was bound tightly by shadows.
Another person was pulled up.
It was Babiyen Asteria, a girl with red hair who looked like her head was full of flowers.
Ignarion’s gaze changed in an instant.
She stood up from her seat and snapped her fingers.
With that, the sound heading outside was blocked.
“You can go now.”
“Are you planning to have some quality time alone?”
“I was thinking of prying some more information about the Sword Lord from her.”
“Oh dear, I’d be in the way then!”
Morbid quickly disappeared into the shadow.
He was a man who saw the desire and greed in Ignarion’s eyes but didn’t bother to point it out.
As Morbid disappeared, the shadows binding Aranseol also vanished.
Aranseol was now free to move at any time.
However, she did not rashly charge at Ignarion.
Even if her mana was leaking, she was still the Red Flame Lord.
Even if the current Aranseol swung her sword a thousand times, Ignarion could burn her to a crisp with a single gesture.
“Nice to meet you. Disciple of the Sword Lord.”
“So it was you.”
At Ignarion’s greeting, a deep anger boiled in Aranseol’s eyes.
“Who burned Babiyen and Harua that day.”
Hearing the next words, an even deeper smile spread across Ignarion’s lips.
The reason was simple.
The conversation just now had further solidified the relationship between her and Harua.

“Why are you doing this? Even a beast in human skin wouldn’t do such a thing.”
Despite Aranseol’s venomous words, Ignarion didn’t bat an eye.
If anything, the smile on her lips only grew more alluring.
“It’s because I’m just a beast in human skin that I can’t live like that.”
Ignarion snatched Aranseol’s chin and pulled it up.
“I gave up on being human a long time ago.”
Aranseol’s eyes wavered.
As she said, Ignarion did not seem like the same species of human at all.
“You’re bait. Bait that will grant me a happy life. So, until then, I won’t lay a hand on you, no matter what you say. You should be grateful.”
Normally, with Ignarion’s personality, she would have immediately burned her for spewing such insults.
But today, she was in a very good mood.
So she let Aranseol’s remark slide.
“Master.”
At that moment, Babiyen spoke up.
Ignarion’s gaze fell upon her.
There was no hint of welcome or regret in seeing her former disciple.
It was merely the look of someone seeing another card to be used as a hostage.
“Why did you become such a person?”
And an unexpected question came from Babiyen’s mouth.
Babiyen had thought long and hard about Ignarion.
Why on earth did Ignarion live such a broken life?
There was a fundamental curiosity about it.
That was why, when Aranseol was being kidnapped…
Babiyen had thrown herself into the fray as well.
She wanted to see Ignarion, who had been her master, one more time.
Although it was a master-disciple relationship forged due to her family’s prestige, it was a small wish.
“Why did I become like this, you ask?”
Ignarion slowly tapped her chin.
As Babiyen asked, her memory of when she became like this was hazy.
The starting point of a life driven mad by greed.
Perhaps it was a long, long time ago, when her parents gambled away the money she had risked her life for in the back alleys, and then committed suicide.
Her memory was cut off from the point she was sold to a brothel due to her parents’ debt.
It was also the reason why she reacted so sensitively to the word “whore.”
“It’s been a while since I remembered the old days.”
Ignarion smiled faintly.
She said so as she looked back at Babiyen.
“Thank you for reminding me of good memories. It makes my life feel justified.”
It was clear that they were not good memories at all.
Babiyen bit her lip.
“Justification? Don’t make me laugh. Not everyone who goes through that becomes like you.”
Babiyen clenched her fists.
She had seen a man who had lived a life far worse than hers.
A madman who didn’t just risk his life, but truly threw it away.
That man was insane.
But despite that, he was a man who chose to change the world rather than resent it.
Babiyen did not dislike that man.
Lately, when she saw him, her heart would stir strangely.
Although he sometimes made irritating remarks, he was the first man Babiyen had ever come to respect in her life.
“That path was all your own choosing. Don’t try to wrap yourself in the disgusting packaging of ‘justification’ when you willingly stepped into the abyss.”

Ignarion quietly looked at Babiyen.
Then, she snapped her fingers.
Fwoosh!
Flames erupted in front of Babiyen.
A little closer, and her face would have been burned off.
“The only reason I’m letting your comment slide is because I’m in a good mood.”
A hostage doesn’t necessarily need to be unharmed.
There are numerous methods of healing in this world, and torturers who specialize in them.
They were capable of inflicting pain on a hostage while keeping them physically intact.
“Because I need to wrap this present beautifully for the boyfriend who will come for me.”
Aranseol’s eyes narrowed overtly.
But she didn’t say anything.
“Now, let’s write a letter together.”
It was a love letter to the long-awaited object of her affection.

A single letter in my hand.
Clutching that letter, I was stepping into Nox.
The letter was from the Red Flame Lord, who had kidnapped Aranseol and Babiyen.
Their kidnapping had been foreseen.
Perhaps that’s why I didn’t feel much about it.
If anything, I just thought, ‘so she finally did it.’
After checking what was in my pocket, I entered Nox with Horizon.
“Harua.”
Horizon looked at me with worried eyes.

From this point on, I had to go alone.
There was no need for Horizon to follow me and suffer the same fate.
I raised my hand and gently patted Horizon’s messy hair.
"I'll be back."
It wouldn't take very long.
Leaving Horizon behind, I entered the city of Nox.
From time to time, people would stare at me, an outsider, but no one dared to challenge me.
After walking for some time, a building on the outskirts came into view.
From the outside, the large structure looked like an abandoned building.
It was the one described in the letter.
Shortly after I stepped inside, the sound of heels echoed.
I slowly turned my gaze in that direction and saw a man sharply dressed in a suit.
He bowed to me politely.
"Lord Harua, I have been waiting for you."
"Are you the Red Flame Lord's attendant?"
"Yes, I was asked to guide you."
A savage this-worlder from the back alleys, pretending to be polite.
I gave him a bored look and gestured with my chin for him to lead the way. He turned around.
As I followed him, the scenery soon began to change.
The dilapidated hallway I had just seen was replaced by a clean, well-organized one.
I could feel a strange magical aura emanating from the man's shoes.
It seemed those shoes were responsible for guiding us through this place.
A moment later, he stopped in front of a door.
"Lord Harua, she ordered that you enter alone, so this is as far as I go."
With that, the attendant quietly stepped back.
I left him there, grabbed the doorknob, and pushed the door open.
Creeeeak—
The room beyond was incredibly dark.
As I stepped inside, the door closed on its own behind me.
A silent room, filled with nothing but darkness.
Fwoosh—
With the sound of a fire igniting, the surroundings brightened.
On a sofa in the middle of the room.
A woman, half-naked with a wound exposed on her chest, was leaning back against the cushions.
"You're here, my little viper."
The Red Flame Lord, Ignarion, smiled faintly.
That smile was one of the most disgusting I had ever seen in my life.
"Yeah, good to see you too."
So I smiled right back at her.
"You fire whore."
The title of Lord doesn't suit you.