After that, I visited Lily on the Fifth Floor.
As soon as I handed over her gift, Lily's face shone brighter than the artificial moonlight above us. She jumped for joy, hugging the box tightly. As thanks—or perhaps an excuse to show off—she pulled me around the city of Elavin.
The city… was magnificent.
The atmosphere was lively and boisterous, like a medieval city celebrating a festival. The wide cobblestone streets were filled with various races. Graceful Elves walked alongside sturdy Dwarves. Demi-humans with animal ears and tails laughed together with strange Heteromorphic creatures.
When they saw me, the crowd parted. Conversations stopped. One by one, they bowed their heads, paying their respects with deep and sincere gestures. Their eyes looking at me were filled with a mixture of fear and fanatical admiration.
Their clothes were simple, made of coarse cloth and leather, still very thick with a classic fantasy feel. Most of them were mass-produced NPCs, "background residents" created by the system or won from the conquest of Felius Castle in the past.
Walking here, surrounded by buildings that blended soaring Gothic style, Renaissance elegance, and the sturdiness of Roman architecture, I truly felt like I was in another world. A perfect magical fantasy world, like I often saw in isekai anime or read in light novels.
If I didn't know that this was all inside the belly of Felius Castle floating above Mars, I would have thought I had been transferred to another world again.
"Lily, I'm going back to the Ninth Floor," I said as we stopped in the town square.
"Thank you, Lord Arthur!" Lily exclaimed in her cute voice, her eyes sparkling under the moonlight. "Thank you for giving me a gift and for walking with me!"
"You're welcome," I replied with a smile.
The sky above us was dark. The full moon shone brightly, bathing the city in soft silver light. Even though I knew it was an artificial moon, a high-level magic illusion, it felt no different from the real thing. Cold, beautiful, and silent.
I sighed, my breath steaming in the night air.
The savory smell of grilled meat tickled my nose. I approached a wooden stall on the side of the road. On a charcoal grill, skewers hissed, fat dripping onto the embers and creating fragrant smoke.
I took a skewer. Bit into it.
Crispy on the outside, tender on the inside. A rich taste of spices exploded in my mouth.
Here, there was no money. Everyone worked according to their roles, and all needs were provided by the Guild. Food, shelter, clothing… everything was free and abundant. A socialist utopia built on a foundation of magic and absolute loyalty.
"If heaven exists… maybe it's like this," I murmured softly, swallowing the last piece of meat.
I looked at Lily, who was still faithfully waiting by my side.
"Alright, Lily. I'm leaving now." I patted her soft head.
"Goodbye, My Lord!" She waved her small hand enthusiastically.
"Yes, goodbye."
I turned and walked toward the teleportation gate, leaving the hustle and bustle of the city behind me.
Arriving in my room, I took the computer and game console I had bought earlier. I arranged them on my desk, cables dangling messily. For now, I stored them back into my inventory. Without a connected internet cable, these things were just expensive, useless plastic boxes.
…
The next day.
Morning sunlight filtered through the window curtains, waking me up. The maids were already waiting at the door, intending to help me bathe and dress as usual.
"No need," I refused firmly as they were about to unbutton my shirt. "I can do it myself."
I still wasn't used to this level of service. It felt too… intimate.
After showering and putting on my usual black-and-gold imperial uniform, I sat down for breakfast. Warm milk and toast fresh from the oven. The aroma was soothing.
I took out my phone.
Click.
I took a picture of my breakfast. A strange new habit. Maybe I was trying to convince myself that my life was still normal.
After finishing the meal, I remembered Emma's words yesterday. She said she would start mining operations on Mars soon.
I was curious.
I immediately teleported to the First Floor. My footsteps echoed in the empty hall as I walked out of Natasha's Throne Room. I pushed the giant gate open.
The reddish-orange Martian morning light shone on my face, bringing with it a dry chill.
I stepped outside. Not far from the gate, on the edge of the lush castle garden, stood three figures I knew. Emma Wiliams, Belial, and Natasha Evergarden. They stood tall, hands clasped behind their backs, looking down at the expanse of red earth below.
Hearing the sound of the gate opening, the three of them turned simultaneously.
As soon as they saw me, they immediately dropped down, kneeling on the grass.
I gave a brief nod, signaling them to stand.
I walked past them, toward the railing of the floating castle balcony. The thin Martian wind hit my face. They followed me in silence.
The view down there, far on the surface of the red Martian soil, made me hold my breath.
In an area protected by a transparent magic dome, creating a bubble of artificial atmosphere in the middle of the void, thousands of humans were gathered. From this height, they looked like a swarm of panicked ants.
They were running around, screaming soundlessly to my ears, hitting the invisible wall that confined them. Small faces looked up, staring at the giant castle floating in the sky like an arrogant god, blocking out their sun.
"Fast work," I commented, my voice flat. "Only a few hours after the order was given, you've captured this many humans."
I turned to Belial beside me.
Belial smiled, a charming yet terrifying demonic smile. His tail moved back and forth with a relaxed rhythm.
"Gathering humans is easy, My Lord," he replied lightly. "Especially in a place full of chaos like that. There… human life is the most worthless thing."
I observed them again. Black skin, shabby and dusty modern clothes. Clearly not a primitive tribe, but clearly not from a developed country either.
"Which country did you get them from?" I asked.
"Congo, My Lord."
"Congo, huh?"
I nodded slowly. A country rich in resources but poor in stability. The perfect target.
"Alright. Keep gathering humans," I ordered. "I was going to give you all of these for experiments, but we're short on labor for the mines. Is that okay?"
"It's fine, Lord Arthur," Belial answered quickly. "Emma already told me last night. Your priority is our priority."
I nodded in satisfaction. At least they could work together.
"Emma," I called. "Have you found any valuable mining locations around here?"
Emma stepped forward. "Yes, My Lord. Some of them are open-pit mines, which will make things very easy for us. Gold, silver, and iron. The reserves are abundant."
"Good," I said, looking at the thousands of new slaves screaming down there. "In that case… let's get to work."
I stood at the edge of the balcony railing, looking down.
On my back, I felt a sensation I hadn't felt in a long time. Invisible muscles stretched, and my two pairs of black wings—masses of dark energy usually hidden—exploded out, spreading wide against the pale Martian sky.
Above my head, a halo—a circle of purplish dark blue magic light—spun slowly. Ancient runes flickered within it, emitting an aura of terrifying majesty.
This was my true form. The form of a Fallen Angel.
I leaned forward, letting gravity take over.
I fell.
Wind whistled in my ears as I glided down from the floating castle. I pierced through the invisible layer of the artificial atmospheric dome.
BAM!
Gravity suddenly returned to normal, jolting my body. I hit the red earth hard. Dust billowed high, creating a thick cloud around me.
I stood up straight, patting the dust from my imperial uniform with a casual motion. Behind me, Emma, Belial, and Natasha landed with perfect grace, almost silently.
Slowly, the dust began to thin, swept away by the artificial wind inside the dome.
And there they were.
Thousands of pairs of eyes staring at me.
There was pure fear in their eyes. Paralyzing confusion. Curiosity mixed with terror.
I swallowed, trying hard to maintain my flat face. The mask of an unshakable leader. My heart beat a little faster.
I had never been stared at by thousands of people at once like this. It felt heavy, as if their gazes had a pressing physical mass.
I observed them. Most were black, their clothes shabby and dusty. But there were other faces in the crowd too. Some Arabs in dirty robes. Some Europeans who looked like lost tourists. There were even a few Asian faces.
They were all silent. No one dared to make a sound. A tense silence hung in the air, broken only by the sound of thousands of held breaths.
I didn't turn my head, my eyes remaining fixed on the sea of humans in front of me.
"Belial," I asked softly, my voice clear in the silence. "How did you bring them here?"
"I used large-scale illusion magic, My Lord," Belial answered from behind me, his tone calm and full of satisfaction. "I created an illusion in a peaceful, somewhat remote area, made them run toward a single point… then herded them into a Gate without them realizing."
I see.
That explained everything. No wonder there were foreigners in this crowd. They weren't just unfortunate locals; they were people who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Tourists, aid workers, mercenaries… anyone caught in Belial's web of illusions now stood here.
Some of them will likely die today.
The thought flashed coldly through my mind. A simple calculation. Mine workers in an extreme environment… the death rate would definitely be high.
I was just about to open my mouth to give an order to Emma when a movement in the front row caught my attention.
A white man stepped forward, separating himself from the terrified crowd. He wore a dirty camouflage uniform, with a blue UN emblem and a faded American flag on his shoulder.
Maybe because he heard us talking—maybe he understood English—he gathered his courage.
"Um… Who are you people?" he asked, his voice hoarse but firm. His eyes swept around, looking at the red earth and the alien sky. "And… where is this?"
He gripped his assault rifle tightly, his index finger hovering near the trigger. His gaze was wary, the gaze of a soldier who knew he was in enemy territory.
I looked at him.
"Who I am and where this is… doesn't matter," I answered, my voice as cold as the Martian wind outside the dome. "Since you are here, you only have one choice: obey my orders."
The soldier's jaw hardened. "Kid," he growled, "don't mess with me."
The corner of my lip lifted slightly. "Do I look like I'm playing?"
Behind him, the crowd moved. Five other figures, all in similar uniforms, pushed forward and stood beside their comrade. The muzzles of long-barreled rifles raised in unison, aiming straight at me, Emma, Natasha, and Belial.
I felt a surge of killing intent from beside me. The air around Emma trembled with heat.
"Hold it, Emma," I ordered quietly without turning. "Don't kill."
I looked back at the soldiers.
"I didn't know the American Army was this stupid," I muttered, my tone full of mockery.
The soldier's eyes narrowed.
I spread my black wings wider, the halo above my head spinning faster, emitting a dazzling purple light.
"Do you think these wings… and this halo… are just for show?" I asked softly. "If you really think that, then…"
I shook my head, "…you are the biggest fool in the world."
In the blink of an eye, the world slowed down.
I disappeared.
Not magic. Just pure speed. In milliseconds, I was already in their midst. Their hands felt slow as snails.
CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!
I snatched the rifles from their hands, crushing the metal as if it were a cracker, and threw them to the ground.
One of them, with faster reflexes than the others, tried to pull a pistol from its holster.
I spun, landing a single kick on his chest.
BAM!
His body shot backward like a ragdoll kicked by a giant. He hit the air at high speed, his bones shattering instantly before his body crashed to the ground far behind, moving no more.
The world returned to normal speed.
The remaining soldiers froze, their eyes bulging, their breath caught in their throats. Behind them, the crowd of humans let out stifled screams. Some fell to the ground, their legs weak from sheer terror.
I stood up straight, patting imaginary dust from my pants.
"Enough playing around."
I turned to Emma.
"Emma, make it so everyone here can use the Monian Language."
"Understood, Lord Arthur."
Emma took a small notebook and a quill pen from her inventory. With a graceful motion, she wrote a single sentence on the paper.
Instantly, the air rippled softly.
And then, the voices started coming into my head. No longer the mumbling of foreign languages I couldn't understand, but clear words full of fear.
"Die… we're all going to die…"
"God… help us…"
"They're demons! Look at those wings and tails! They're demons from hell!"
"Is this the End Times? Has the Apocalypse arrived?"
I listened to it all. Their fear. Their prayers. Their despair.
"SILENCE, ALL OF YOU!"
My voice exploded, amplified by wind magic, echoing inside the artificial atmospheric dome. The sound wave hit the crowd, silencing their cries and prayers in an instant.
The still-shocked American soldier took a step back, his eyes blankly staring at his crushed comrade.
I ignored him.
"Listen closely," I said, my voice calm again but piercing. "My name is Arthur Leonhart. I brought you from your 'homes' here for only one purpose."
I paused, letting the silence sink in.
"To mine."
The word fell like a sentence. I could see the ripples of changing expressions on their faces. Shattered hope, suppressed anger, and confusion.
"I don't need your opinions," I continued quickly, cutting off the murmurs that started to arise. "This is not a negotiation. This is an order. If you refuse… you die."
I stepped forward, approaching the edge of the crowd.
"I know who you are. Most of you come from places where bullets are cheaper than bread. Places where you have to kill or be killed just to survive another day."
I spread my arms, a gesture that offered and threatened at the same time.
"Here, you can forget that hell. I offer a deal. Good food three times a day. Humane working hours, eight hours, three shifts. The harder you work, the more you eat. Here, you won't die of starvation."
I smiled faintly. "At least that's better than being shot by a militia in Congo, isn't it?"
The crowd swayed, some whispering to each other. The offer of food in the midst of despair was a powerful temptation.
"And don't think about running," I added, my tone turning darker. "Do you know where we are right now?"
I pointed up, to the pale orange sky outside the dome.
"This is Mars. The Red Planet. Not Earth."
Gasps of shock erupted from thousands of mouths. Their eyes widened, staring in horror at the alien landscape surrounding us.
"Going anywhere outside this dome means freezing to death or suffocating. You have no other choice. You also cannot fight us." My eyes narrowed sharply, scanning them one by one. "I could slaughter you all in the blink of an eye if you doubt me."
"You are alive right now only thanks to my generosity. Thanks to this atmospheric dome. If I turn it off…" I snapped my fingers, "…you're all finished. Do you understand?"
"Don't screw with me, you bastard!"
A harsh shout broke through the fear.
I turned.
A young white man, probably a lost European tourist, pushed his way to the front. He wore dirty expensive hiking clothes, surrounded by several equally scared-looking friends. His face was beet red with anger.
"I won't follow your orders!" he shouted, pointing a trembling finger at my face. "Who do you think you are, asshole?! Ordering me—a free citizen of Europe—to become a mine slave?!"
I looked at him. A blank stare.
Then, I shifted my gaze to the entire crowd.
"Watch closely," I said softly. "Remember this if you think about resisting."
I raised my hand toward the young man.
Grip.
His body jerked upward, as if pulled by an invisible rope wrapped around his neck. He floated in the air, his legs kicking uselessly, his face changing from red to deathly pale.
With a flick of a finger, I pulled him closer. He glided quickly and stopped right in front of me, hovering a few centimeters above the ground. His eyes were wide, full of pure terror. His mouth opened and closed, but no sound came out.
I opened my inventory. A long black sword appeared in my grip. Its blade was cold, reflecting the bleak Martian light.
Without hesitation, without emotion, I stabbed him.
SHING!
Right in the heart.
Fresh blood spurted, splashing onto my face, my uniform, and dripping onto the dry red earth. The young man convulsed violently, then his body went limp. Life left his eyes in an instant.
I pulled out the sword. His body fell to the ground with a wet thud.
The crowd screamed and backed away, horrified.
I looked at the corpse. His blood pooled, red on red.
I held my palm over the corpse.
"Create Undead: Death Knight."
Jet-black liquid, darker than the shadows of night, began to seep out of the wound in his chest. The liquid enveloped the corpse, swallowing his expensive hiking clothes, consuming his flesh.
The sound of clashing metal was heard.
From that black pool, a figure rose. No longer the arrogant European youth. The figure was now two meters tall, encased in full black armor that radiated an aura of death. A large tower shield appeared in its left hand, and a wavy flamberge sword in its right.
Behind the slit of its helmet, two points of fire burned coldly red.
Death Knight. Level 35. Strong enough to maintain order.
"Kill anyone who tries to resist," I ordered the knight of death.
It nodded stiffly, then turned to face the crowd, now silenced in absolute terror.
I wiped a speck of blood from my cheek.
"Now," I asked the trembling sea of humans, "does anyone else want to raise an objection?"
The silence that followed my question felt heavy, pressing on the chest. No one answered. No one dared to move.
But I could see it. Pure terror in their eyes. Dilated pupils, trembling lips, cold sweat running down pale and dark faces alike. They stared at the Death Knight standing stiffly beside the corpse of their comrade, whom I had just killed and resurrected as a monster.
I turned away, leaving the scene for a moment. I walked over to Emma and Natasha. Natasha wasn't wearing her helmet today. Her long red hair flowed over her silver armor, a sharp contrast to the red Martian soil. Her beautiful face was ready to receive orders.
"Natasha," I said softly. "For matters concerning them going forward… I want you to supervise them. Can you do that?"
Natasha puffed out her chest, her right hand clenched over her heart. "Leave it to me, My Lord. Not a single insect will escape my watch."
I nodded, then looked back at the crowd. My eyes swept over them, looking for every shiny object, every bulge under clothing.
"Drop your weapons," I commanded, my voice not needing to be loud to sound threatening. "On the count of three. If not… you will join our new friend here in becoming an Undead."
I raised one finger.
"One."
The sound of metal hitting the ground was heard. Hesitant at first.
"Two."
The sound became a clamor. Assault rifles, pistols, rusty machetes, even small pocket knives. American soldiers, Congolese militia, tourists carrying self-defense knives… they all threw their weapons onto the red ground. The clinking of metal created a pathetic symphony of surrender.
"Three."
Everything was on the ground. Hands raised in the air, palms open in a sign of surrender.
I nodded in satisfaction. The Death Knight beside me growled low, a sound that made some people in the front row back away in fear. Fear is a good tool of control.
"Good."
I turned to Emma.
"Emma, my orders are simple. Get these humans mining as fast as possible. Give them pickaxes, shovels, whatever can speed up their work. Use magic items if necessary."
I glanced briefly at the still-trembling crowd.
"Anyone who rebels, kill on the spot. Turn into an Undead. Also add our own Undead forces to help."
I paused for a moment, making sure Emma listened to the next part well.
"But feed them. As I said earlier. Three times a day. Decent food. I don't want them dying ridiculously of starvation or exhaustion before they produce anything useful."
Emma nodded, mentally noting every command.
"By the way," I asked, remembering something crucial. "How will they mine outside? We can't possibly create giant atmospheric domes at every mining point."
Emma smiled faintly, full of confidence. "For that, I have already thought of it, My Lord. The Magic Department is currently mass-producing a special item. A necklace that creates a thin atmospheric veil around the user's body. They can breathe like on Earth, and this item also has limited gravity manipulation magic so their internal organs aren't crushed by the pressure."
"As expected of you, Emma," I praised.
"Alright, let's begin."
I looked at the crowd again. However, even though they tried to be quiet, my enhanced hearing caught the panicked whispers creeping through the crowd. Voices of despair in languages I could now understand thanks to Emma's magic.
"Oh God… Eric… that's Eric…" A blonde girl, a friend of the young man earlier, cried stifled sobs, her hand covering her own mouth. She stared in horror at the Death Knight. "He… he turned Eric into a monster…"
"Quiet, Sarah! Don't look!" Her friend pulled her back, his voice trembling violently.
"Do you want to end up like him?!"
On the other side, a Congolese militiaman whispered to his comrade in heavily accented Lingala.
"Demons… look at that woman's horns. Look at the tail of the man next to her. They are demons from hell."
"Shut up! Didn't you hear he can understand our language now?!" his comrade hissed, his eyes wild as he looked at me.
"He said food three times a day. If that's true… that's better than in the jungle."
"But we're on Mars! Mars! How can we go home?!"
"We can't go home. Didn't you hear? We're slaves now."
An American soldier, whose weapon I had just destroyed, looked at me with burning yet helpless hatred. "Damn it… intel never said anything about this. Magic? Undead? This is insane. This must be a nightmare."
"Sergeant, should we fight?" whispered the young soldier next to him, his face deathly pale.
"You want to die for nothing, kid? Look at that creature called a Death Knight. Is that something we can kill using the rifles we're holding? Even if I intended to die, I don't want my corpse turned into an Undead monster like that kid earlier. For now we endure, obey their words. That's an order."
I heard it all. Their fear. Their resignation. Their pathetic little hopes about food.
I didn't care.
Let them whisper. As long as they dig, they can pray to whatever god they want.