Treasure from the Overlord's Library

The valley was slowly covered with shadows. The sun was setting much faster than on earth. Liam was already exhausted from waiting, and his eyes hurt as if someone had poured sand into them.

He could hardly blink and dreamed of a drop of water. A few hard days of worry and fighting had taken their toll on his well-being.

He was ready to return to the Academy that night if he failed to catch the mysterious villain. But the other side of him struggled with a whimper and a decline of spirit.

An inner voice encouraged him and reminded him that thousands of lives at the Academy depended on the success of their operation. Plus, there was no telling what other insidious plans this man had in mind, so he had to be stopped at all costs.

Though the army should have arrived by now, Liam hadn't seen a single soldier and the monsters continued to stalk the valley. A couple of times he was almost spotted and he, not to draw attention by unnecessary fiddling, simply nailed these little creatures.

"That was pretty risky," he thought and hid again with a special technique. Temporarily he was no longer visible to others, but the technique used up his already depleted strength.

So after playing around a bit, he put the pampering aside and continued to sit quietly, building up his energy. Fortunately, being a creator, he knew how to feed himself using the core of this planet.

He wouldn't do that if there were other people on the planet, because the core belongs to them and is their source. But in this setting, he took advantage of his advantage and let the cool energy flow into himself, channeling it to heal his wounds.

Soon it was completely dark, and seeing anything beyond twenty meters was problematic. Liam strained his vision not to miss anyone and just in time.

A sudden glowing spiral appeared on the rock, indicating that a man had arrived. The light from the portal faintly illuminated the area around it. Liam got to his feet and, peering cautiously out from behind the rock, scanned the area, but so far saw no one suspicious.

Meanwhile, a group of creatures had climbed the rock and were like empty-headed puppets obeying someone else's orders. Liam acted impulsively. He ran in the direction of the portal and, as he approached, closed it.

He expected that this would make the unknown man give himself away, and also that he wouldn't have the strength to open the portal again so quickly. His plan worked halfway.

A sharp blow to the temple caused Liam to stagger and fall to the ground. The blood from the wound blinded him and he couldn't see his attacker. The portal opened again, and Liam fed heavily on the core energy to stop the bleeding.

Five meters away, he could clearly see the figure of a man. He raised his hands in front of him and stared at the glowing portal without taking his eyes off it. Liam noticed the wide metal bracelet glinting on his arm.

It wasn't hard to guess that it was a mysterious artifact. Liam gathered all his strength into a fist and swooped down on the man. Pushing him to the ground, he was immediately thrown back with a powerful blow.

The stranger was taller and broader in the shoulders. There was a tremendous seething power in his body. Liam didn't get a good look at his face. He touched the crystal and called out for help.

Realizing that there were more opponents, the villain, surrounded on all sides, summoned several of the creatures. The disciples took up the fight, and the marshal tried to attack the man. Liam, meanwhile, closed the portal again, and it wore him out.

He sank to the ground, and it took him several minutes to recover. All the while, he was eagerly watching the battle between Pittsu and the unknown. They came and went, striking each other with brutal blows.

Meanwhile, the creatures all around grew larger, the man seems determined to defeat the humans with other people's hands. Liam replenished his strength as the situation allowed and attacked the stranger again. Fighting two at once, he showed stamina and tenacity.

In any other situation Liam would have admired the man's courage and strength and surely would have tried to get to know him better, but not now, when it was obvious that the deaths of innocent people were his doing.

Liam attacked him alternately with Pittsu. Pushed deep into the valley, the man grew weaker little by little. But suddenly moving, he was behind the marshal, putting his sword to his neck. Liam froze in amazement and did not move.

"Open the portal at once," the man forced out.

"Let him go," Liam said, his eyes unblinking.

"You want to see if I'm a thug?" the man grinned and struck the marshal with the hilt of his sword.

Pittsu's legs buckled, and he fell to the ground, unconscious.

"Shall we fight one on one?" The man stepped over the marshal's body and walked toward Liam, flipping his sword from hand to hand.

Liam was not embarrassed by this behavior of the stranger. On the contrary, he was glad the marshal was still alive. Closely observing his opponent, he looked for his weak, unprotected spots.

"Neck, armpits, groin, knees," Liam cynically marked the vulnerable points on his enemy's body and methodically proceeded to attack. For a time he became a killing machine.

Without any regrets or doubts, he punched for sure, weighed each thrust, and calculated his power precisely. Believing in his strength, Liam began to defeat the man, and the man was forced to retreat toward the cliff.

Suddenly, behind Liam, the sky lit up in a bright flash of light, and a glowing swarm of dragons bursts into the planet's atmosphere. Liam didn't see it, but the bright light illuminated his opponent's face and he froze in frustration.

The head scrutinized his features but came to the conclusion that he did not know the man. His face looked quite honest and even noble. He did not appear to be a villain, and Liam's natural instincts told him that he was not the instigator, but merely a puppet.

That explained why he didn't kill the marshal and use him as a hostage. Principles always give away a man's true character.

Liam took a step and grabbed his arm with his bracelet. The man tried to pull his wrist out, but Nod and Rashid immobilized him on the other side. There was a look of despair in his eyes.

"Who gave you this bracelet?" Liam asked him frankly, his eyes narrowing.

"I don't know what you mean." The man twitched, but could not free himself.

"If you devised this plan, then you are about to die right now at the hands of the military who have just arrived. But if you have been used for other people's deceitful purposes, you still have a chance to save yourself," Liam gave the man a choice.

Looking sullenly at his guards, the man was unwilling to give up. But the unexpected happened. Nood seemed to recognize him. He looked at the man incredulously for a while, and then said:

"Isn't this the brother of a dead apprentice named Schwartz?

"Schwartz?"

Liam asked again and mentally returned to the day of the funeral. It was then that he remembered this tall, distinguished man.

Seeing that he was exposed and his motives became clear, the villain finally spoke:

"Yes! I wanted revenge! And whoever wants it, heaven helps him!" he blurted out, looking at Liam with hatred.

"Heaven, you say?" Liam asked. "I think you might have been helped by someone with a very dark, low soul. Give up your master and you'll get a commuted sentence," Liam continued to press him.

"What?!"

The man shot up.

"You'll never catch him! He's great! He can do anything! He could wipe out the Academy in one day!"

When the man realized he'd said too much, he stopped talking.

Somewhere in the background was a fierce battle. Liam stared at the bracelet, trying to deflect the man's attention from the fact that by keeping the monsters in check, he was giving the army time to end it all.

"Something about your benefactor taking his time to get his hands dirty," the Head said, provoking the man to another outburst.

"He doesn't have to!" The man spat it out." If he wants to, he'll make everyone kill each other and he won't have to chase his enemies himself!"

"Who has that kind of power anyway? There's no one who can do that!" Liam faked genuine bewilderment in his voice.

"Do you see this?" The man shook his hand with the bracelet, "It's just flowers!"

"What do you mean?" Liam feigned incomprehension, encouraging Schwartz to continue praising his master.

"He's got a lot of toys like that! He was able to get hold of the ancient treasures and will now be the world's ruler!"

Liam was already quite seriously experiencing fear and consternation. From what he heard, it was about the looted library and the Overlord's valuable artifacts.

He was fortunate that the prisoner was so chatty. As he pondered his own thoughts, Liam didn't notice the squad of soldiers behind him.

"Who are you? Identify yourselves!" A menacing voice demanded. Liam looked back and saw... General Tishow.

They locked eyes, after which the general looked away.

"Who is your prisoner?" He nodded at the man with the bracelet.

"General, let me speak to you in private first," Liam asked.

They stepped aside and Liam briefly explained the situation and mentioned the restraining bracelet. The general confirmed that all of the Reapers have been destroyed, as have most of the creatures. The cleanup continues and there is nothing to fear anymore.

"In that case, take it away and secure the bracelet. Of course, you are free to use it for military purposes, it's an incredibly powerful artifact that will save many lives," Liam said with a bow.

"Unless it falls into the wrong hands," said the general with a frown, "I think it would be better to destroy it at once, so as not to start hunting for a valuable toy."

"You think well, General, I leave that matter to your discretion," said Liam with a slight irony.

"Who asked you anyway?" the General bellowed, and easily pushed the Head aside, approaching the prisoner.

At the sight of a formidable military man, the man sank and remained silent, looking at the ground beneath his feet.

"Who is so clever that you think you are a god, now, show me your courage!" He grabbed the prisoner by his clothes and lifted him into the air.

Instantly all bravado was gone from Mr. Schwartz's face, and he felt an animal fear.

"I will say nothing, I will say nothing!" he shouted, while the general shook him with all his strength and anger.

"Who wants it?!" The general threw him to the ground. The man was hurt and would not get up again. "Liam!" the general bellowed.

"I'm right here!" The Head immediately appeared beside him.

"You're an expert at reading memories! Get inside his head and find out who's behind this!" The general's plan was painfully simple, and Liam bit his lips in annoyance that he hadn't thought of it himself.

"All right," Liam approached the man, but he crawled away with his hand out in front of him.