'Wait, I'm Supposed to Become a Goddess?! But I'm a Guy!'

Next, after the burial.

Liam ordered his troops to spread out, venturing deeper into the crumbling castle in the distance.

Their heavy boots echoed across the abandoned halls, stirring up thick layers of dust.

Mize trailed alongside Liam, his gaze flickering from one broken relic to another.

The castle had clearly been grand once, massive stone pillars lined the corridors, supporting a ceiling so high it vanished into the darkness.

Faded tapestries, their colors long drained, clung weakly to the walls.

Chandeliers dangled on top, some having already crashed to the ground in shattered heaps.

And yet, despite all the searching... nothing.

The army overturned every piece of furniture, broke open hidden compartments, and even pried apart sections of the walls, but the only thing of value they found was…

A single silver chest.

Mize stood there, staring at it.

His eye twitched. His breath caught in his throat. And finally.

"THAT’S IT?!"

"SO IF NOT FOR THOSE MONSTERS THAT TURNED THIS PLACE INTO A FORBIDDEN SECRET REALM WITH GREAT REWARDS, WE WOULD ONLY COME FOR THIS?"

Liam barely reacted.

He simply dusted off the chest and stored it in his inventory, as if this outcome had been expected.

Mize, on the other hand, was having a full-blown meltdown.

"Are you kidding me?! We fought through a literal horde of nightmare fuel, dodged death, risked our lives, And this is what we get?!"

Liam hummed in amusement, watching Mize flail dramatically like a cat that just got wet for the first time. "Treasure’s still treasure... And we still have the treasures from being the first to clear a forbidden realm too"

Mize gasped. "Treasure? Treasure?! This is a SILVER chest, Liam!"

"A single. Damn. SILVER chest."

Liam shrugged, stepping past. "Be grateful"

"This treasure rewards are different from those chests gained from other sources... "

"The chances of rarer loots and items to drop from this chest are higher"

Mize let out a long, suffering groan.

His arms flopped to his sides, expression utterly defeated.

‘This has to be the worst RNG I’ve ever had in my life'

Still grumbling under his breath, he dragged his feet after Liam, his mind already compiling a mental list of complaints.

"Liam, you do realize that this was a forbidden secret realm, right? The loot is supposed to be crazy"

Liam paused for a brief moment, then kept walking. "Not necessarily... It's a forbidden secret realm for a reason... And we eliminated the reason already"

Mize narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?"

Liam smirked. "You assume we’ve found everything"

Mize froze.

Then, very slowly, he turned his head.

"You’re telling me," he said, voice dangerously calm, "that there’s more?"

"Possibly," Liam mused. "Forbidden realms always have layers of secrets. If you don’t look deep enough, you won’t get the true rewards"

Mize squinted, gaze flickering between Liam’s face and the ruined surroundings. "You’re not just saying that to mess with me, are you?"

Liam chuckled, patting his head. "Would I ever?"

Mize slapped his hand away. "Yes, absolutely."

Liam just laughed, leading them further inside.

'Actually I am'

As they explored, Mize’s gaze landed on an old cane abandoned in the corner of the throne room.

Its design immediately unsettled him, crying angel’s face was carved into the handle, its expression twisted in agony.

Mize picked it up, turning it over in his hands.

"Hey, Liam, look at this."

Liam, catching sight of it, immediately strode over and snatched it from him.

"Hey! Give that back!"

Liam ignored him.

Instead, he twisted the top of the cane slightly and a crack split right down the angel’s face.

Mize flinched. "…That’s not creepy at all."

Liam exhaled slowly, tossing the cane aside like it was cursed.

"This confirms it," he muttered.

Mize crossed his arms. "Confirms what?"

Liam turned to face him, his gaze deep.

"This realm… these people… they tried to create an angel"

"Those creatures that we killed just now was probably the consequences of their actions"

Mize felt his stomach drop.

"An angel?" His fingers twitched.

Liam nodded, his voice eerily steady. "It’s a common theme in most forbidden realms, humans attempting the divine."

"And?"

Liam’s expression remained cold. "And they were cursed."

Mize shivered. "By the warp?"

Liam shook his head. "No. By something else."

He grabbed Mize’s hand. "Come on. We’re leaving."

Mize didn’t argue.

As they walked through the abandoned corridors, Mize idly pulled up his system panel to check the global rankings.

And his eyes landed on a very interesting sight.

[Global Power Rankings]

1st – Lord Liam | Power: 1,923,560

2nd – Lord Azrael | Power: 1,009,750

3rd – Lord Xaiya | Power: 982,340

4th – Lord Vortan | Power: 975,620

5th – Lord Selvar | Power: 970,580

6th – Lord Rykar | Power: 964,100

7th – Lord Farel | Power: 659,300

8th – Lord Shiran | Power: 552,440

9th – Lord Grenn | Power: 249,890

10th – Lord Vexil | Power: 240,650

Mize stared.

He blinked.

He blinked again.

"…Well. That escalated quickly."

Liam glanced over. "Something wrong?"

Mize smirked. "Nope. Just checking on how much of a raid boss you’ve become."

Liam chuckled. "Should I be worried?"

"Yes."

Liam shrugged. "Should I care?"

Mize grinned. "Not in the slightest. But the people might have some opinion on it", with a flick of his wrist, Mize opened the global chat.

And it was absolute chaos.

"OVER TWO MILLION POWER?! EXCUSE ME?!"

"WHAT THE HELL IS A FORBIDDEN REALM?!"

"WAIT. WAIT. WAIT. IS LORD LIAM A BUGGED PLAYER OR SOMETHING?!"

"A BETA PLAYER'S RETURN AFTER 1000 YEARS! THE MANHWA WAS TRUE!"

"MANHWA?"

"LORD LIAM, ARE YOU SINGLE? (ASKING FOR A FRIEND)"

"HE ALREADY HAS A LADY, DUMBASS."

Mize snorted.

And then, some top-ranked Lords finally spoke up, their names crowned in golden hue for the top 10, while the top 100 were tinted in silvery glitters.

"A forbidden realm? That wasn’t in the game before. This means there are hidden mechanics we weren’t aware of."

"I agree. Also… Partner Lords? What the hell does that mean?"

"If I had to guess, it means that Lady Mize is an official co-ruler of Liam’s territory?"

"Damn, so many high ranking lords are speaking! Hello big bosses!"

"Shush... Shut up, my power is 100 million, muahaha"

"If that’s the case, it might be possible for Lords to form dual power structures."

"The real question is… how?"

Mize grinned, closing the chat.

"Congratulations, Raid Boss," he teased.

Liam smirked. "Glad to know I’m terrifying."

"Absolutely."

And with that, they continued exploring.

For the next few minutes, Mize had been grumbling nonstop about the so-called treasures of this castle.

Arms crossed, foot tapping against the worn-out carpet, he huffed and pouted, completely unconvinced that this entire place had nothing more to offer than a single silver chest.

"You said that there should be more!" Mize grumbled, stomping away into the distance, aimlessly.

Liam, on the other hand, simply smiled, watching the little doll throw a tantrum over loot.

It was amusing, really, just moments ago, Mize had been clinging onto him for dear life, shaking like a leaf at the sight of those horrendous creatures.

But now?

Now, he was stomping around, lips pursed in a sulky frown, all because the rewards weren’t up to his standards.

“The diamond chests must be here somewhere” Mize muttered under his breath, kicking at a piece of rubble before marching towards the castle’s exit.

“So, next… where do you want to go?” Liam’s voice came lazily from behind, and before Mize could step too far, a firm hand landed on his head, pulling him back into place with ease.

“Hey” Mize squirmed, glaring up at him.

“Don’t just stomp ahead without thinking.”

Mize puffed up his cheeks, but then his eyes gleamed slightly.

He tilted his head, finger tapping against his lips in thought.

He already had an idea of where to go next, the map had revealed a golden dot nearby, which meant a treasure.

But he couldn’t just outright say that, could he?

'Hey Liam, I found a treasure by sheer luck!'

'Hey Liam, there's treasure, oh... How did I find it? Because I am bootiful'

Yeah, no...

He peeked at Liam from the corner of his eyes.

The man didn’t seem suspicious at all, still holding that lazy, indulgent smile. ‘Good, he thinks I’m just pointing randomly.’

“How about… that way?” Mize pointed towards the direction of the golden mark, feigning nonchalance.

Liam barely even questioned it. “Sure.”

But before they could leave, one of the knights returned hurriedly, informing them of a newly discovered passage behind the castle.

The two immediately went to investigate.

The so-called passage wasn’t particularly grand, it was a tunnel, modest in size, just wide enough for several people to walk through shoulder to shoulder.

Liam took the lead, holding Mize securely in his arms as they stepped inside, flanked by a squad of tier 3 knights and battle mages.

It wasn’t at all what Mize expected. The tunnel was clean.

No damp smell, no thick layers of dust, nothing to indicate centuries of abandonment.

In fact, the walls were smooth, almost polished, as if someone had been maintaining them for quite some time.

“…It’s too clean,” Mize murmured, fingers brushing over the surface.

Liam hummed in agreement. “Strange.”

They continued down the path until, at the very end, a single room came into view.

A table. A cabinet. Scrolls, books…

And two figures huddled together on the bed.

“Corpses?” Mize’s head tilted slightly, eyes narrowing as he peered at them.

Yet, strangely enough, he didn’t recoil.

There was no smell of decay.

“No rotting… Magic?”

Liam stopped beside him, gaze flickering across the scene as a knight stepped forward, pulling the sheet away.

The moment the bodies were revealed in full, Mize felt his stomach churn, a lump forming in his throat.

His eyes turned red for just a fraction of a second before he steeled himself.

A man and a woman, both frozen in time, wrapped in each other’s arms.

Their faces were serene, as if they had accepted their fate long ago.

A final embrace.

A final farewell.

Despite the countless years that had passed, their bodies remained intact, preserved under some kind of spell.

“…survivors?” Mize whispered.

Liam’s expression didn’t waver. “Perhaps.”

One of the knights noticed something clutched in the man’s stiff fingers, a letter.

Carefully, he extracted it and presented it to Liam.

Liam made no move to take it.

Instead, with a flick of his fingers, the parchment floated into the air, hovering before them.

“What is it?” Mize asked, his voice slightly hoarse.

Liam’s gaze swept over the text.

And then, he began to read.

[To whomever finds this letter,

I do not know how much time has passed. Perhaps it has been years, decades, centuries, time lost its meaning long ago. But if you are reading this, then we have failed.

My name is Kairu. And beside me, my beloved, Aliya.

We were chosen. No… we were taken. We were just children in an orphanage when the king’s men came for us.

They promised us a brighter future, wealth, power, a place in the castle itself.

We were fools.

It was never about wealth. Never about power. The king did not desire such fleeting things.

No, what he sought… was eternity.

So we became subjects in his experiment.

There were many of us, scattered across different facilities, hundreds of children, forced into cruel, unholy trials.

Some lived. Most did not.

We survived.

But nothing about us changed.

The scholars and mages who observed us were baffled. Those who failed the experiment turned… twisted.

The infection spread, consuming the city. Yet we, who remained unchanged, were left untouched.

They did not chase us.

They did not even look at us.

They only whispered, over and over again:

"May God forgive us."

We tried to run. But the maze… the maze does not let people leave.

But the monsters did.

And then, one day, the angel came.

Not a false one, not the imitation that the king tried to create, but a true angel.

That was the same day the monsters ran. We followed them, desperate for escape, but we were too slow.

We watched as the horde was slaughtered.

We watched as the angel stood guard.

How long has it been? I do not know.

Ah, Aliya… I am sorry.

I am sorry for everything.

If only I had not asked you to come to the castle that day…

They lied to us.

They lied.

Wealth would not satisfy the king. Power would not. Not even women could fill his greed.

So he sought immortality.

And in doing so, he touched something he should not have.

I saw it.

I saw him being dragged into the abyss.

I saw him torn apart, over and over again, his soul pulled back just so it could be ripped apart anew.

If only there was another life…

If only we had another chance…

Aliya, I am sorry.

Keennsnsjj

"I never blamed you"

The monsters never die!]

The writing became jagged near the end, the ink smudged and frantic, as if the last words had been written with shaking hands.

And at the very bottom, a single drop of blood stained the parchment.

Mize’s fingers curled. His lips parted, but no words came out.

A story of horror.

A story of despair.

A story of a city that had never known salvation.