Ever since I had seriously started raising Lucian in the game, I hadn’t once bothered visiting the community forums.
Because I always met him exclusively inside the game, I never in a million years imagined I’d end up tangled with him in reality.
But now, I had no choice.
[[Chatter] Is Lucian somehow connected to the game? I got killed by Lucian, and even when I picked a different character, Lucian killed me and force-closed the game wtf Should I just throw away this account?]
└ Huh? You got killed just by picking a character?
└ Ah fck lol what did you even do?
└ Touched his chest and died
└ Well, can’t blame you for going after those giant pecs tho.
└ Fck lmao so funny lmaooo
└ Lol what a hero ㅋㅋㅋ If it’s Lucian, he’d hunt you down with fire in his eyes
└ But wait, doesn’t that mean Lucian’s play record carries over?
└ Ah f*ck this gives me the creeps
I sat there in silence, scrolling down the posts for a long while.
The text on the screen blurred and then sharpened again.
└ But wait, doesn’t that mean Lucian’s play record carries over?
My head was a chaotic mess.
A simple game bug?
No, this was way beyond mere coincidence.
Catching my breath, I re-entered keywords into the search bar.
[[Info] Hey, was Lucian the only one who popped up for you guys when the game ended? I was trying to play right until the end before logging off, and Lucian was just sitting there on my screen O.o And then the Imperial Palace suddenly turned into a bloodbath?]
└ Fr??
└ I was on Raphael’s route and got disconnected right before the ending lol But Lucian popped up on my monitor too yup
└ Did Lucian become the Emperor? The throne was empty though
└ What the? ㅋㅋ A throne usurpation right at the end of service? I was hoping the lore would expand, but it just ends with a server termination ending.
└ As expected of the final boss o.o
└ Lucian popped up for me right before the end too.
└ Lucian just stayed lingering on the screen before the game closed;; Holy shit, giving me goosebumps
└ Yo, I saw that too;;;
I gripped my phone tighter.
The crimson screen that had appeared for other users as well, and the empty throne.
And—
└ Yo, did anyone else see the main shouzu lying dead right beside him?
My heart plunged straight down to my toes.
This was, without a doubt, the exact ending I had played through.
The ending I had personally engineered was displaying the exact same way for other users?
My fingertips felt numb and tingling, as though frozen solid.
I wanted to check the site a bit further, but fearing I might arouse suspicion, I carefully slipped out of the bathroom.
Once again, peering past the doorway into the kitchen, I watched Lucian humming to himself.
As I stared at him in a daze, Lucian lifted his head as if he had sensed my gaze.
Holding a kitchen knife.
His crimson eyes curved softly, and his smiling lips parted slowly to speak.
“Master?”
An instant shiver ran down my spine.
“……Y-Yeah.” I stammered out a response.
“Is something the matter?”
Lucian asked quietly.
His voice remained as gentle as ever.
And yet, for some reason, that gentleness felt like…… he was about to smile while plunging a knife straight into my chest.
……Staring fixedly at the gleaming, razor-sharp blade, I forced myself to shake my head.
“……It’s nothing. I’m just tired, that’s all.”
“In that case, please rest well after dinner.”
Lucian smiled brightly once more, giving the kitchen knife a casual twirl in his hand.
The sleek blade flashed brilliantly as it caught the light.
“Because I prepared something the Master loves.”
……The main ingredient isn’t my heart, right?
Cold sweat beaded heavily down my temples.
Recalling the community posts and the version of Lucian in that ending made an unnecessary wave of anxiety spike within me.
It felt as though, at any given second, he might march right over and start swinging that blade at me.
Yet Lucian kept smiling the entire time, acting entirely like a chef who had just crafted the ultimate meal for his beloved master.
“Even the cuts are uniform.”
He spoke with an unusually meticulous care as he twirled the blade.
That behavior was so excessively serene it only made it all the more eerie.
……Should I place an order for my own heart before dinner?
Dinner was served shortly afterward.
I forced myself to put on a calm front and sat down at the chair.
Quietly picking up my spoon, I couldn’t entirely mask the faint tremor in my hand.
The meal remained as flawless as ever.
The proper temperature, pristine plating, and an intoxicatingly delicious flavor.
Even so, my stomach felt increasingly tight and suffocated.
My throat felt parched.
“……Hah.”
Setting my spoon down, I picked up my cup, but even as the water moistened my tongue, that dry, hollow sensation refused to fade away.
“Oh dear, Master.”
Lucian strode up close to me.
“It appears your condition is not well.”
“……Hk!”
Startled, the water cup shook violently.
A little water splashed out over the rim, but I didn’t have the luxury of caring.
Right before my eyes, Lucian’s hand reached out toward my forehead.
His soft glove brushed against my skin, and I instinctively held my breath.
“Shall I prepare the bedchambers?”
Filling my narrowing field of vision…… was an abundance of massive pecs.
The buttons of his newly bought shirt were starting to gape open once again.
The tautly strained fabric heaved precariously.
Watching that sight, I abruptly opened my mouth.
“……Can’t you do something about that shirt?”
“They didn’t have the right size since we bought it in a rush.”
……Fucking hell, so this is why people go on and on about needing bespoke custom suits.
I closed my eyes for a second, then opened them.
“……Let’s buy some this weekend.”
At those words, the corners of Lucian’s lips curved even higher.
“I am happy, Master.”
I gave him a rough nod in response.
Then, after half-assedly washing my face, I dragged my feet into the bedroom.
I had seen way too much today.
I knew way too much.
I didn’t want to think about anything anymore.
So, I naturally threw myself onto the bed, pulled the covers completely over my head, and closed my eyes.
And yet.
Rustle—
The sensation felt wrong.
The moment an eerie, creepy feeling grazed past me, I realized someone was lying right beside me.
“……What the hell?”
I snapped my eyes open.
And.
Massive pecs were right there.
“……Fucking hell.”
Reflexively, I scrambled backward.
But Lucian merely smiled gently, lying there with complete ease.
“I am attending to the Master’s bedtime.”
“Not needed.”
Truly, genuinely, absolutely, without a single percent of hesitation—not needed.
