《Inhuman Warlock》


 Chapter 1 - 1: The Boy Who Failed

    <h4>Chapter 1 - 1: The Boy Who Failed </h4>


    "Negative."


    "The boy doesn¡¯t have any powers."


    sigh


    Several sighs filled the room as the people, with serious expressions stered on their faces, shook their heads in disappointment.


    "He¡¯s already ten years old now. If he still hasn¡¯t developed any powers, we all know there¡¯s no chance for him in the future too. He is a pure disappointment...(sigh) I honestly had great expectations from this subject," One of them said.


    "Such a shame! The kid whose father was the Strongest Warlock and mother¡ªthe strongest Sorcerer, happened to be useless? He¡¯s not even a Variant, let alone being as great as his parents?" A middle-aged man in the group spoke as he looked at the boy lying on the patient table.


    There was an expression on the man¡¯s face that depicted nothing but disappointment.


    "It looks like we wasted our time with him for nothing. How pathetic!"


    Three Scientists were talking amongst themselves outside the ss room, while inside, a young 10-year-old boy was lying on a bed.


    A syringe was still inserted in his hand that was connected to a big machine nearby. Several tubes with sticky caps were also attached to his chest.


    Comments were being passed around about the little one lying on the bed.


    The boy was utterly oblivious to their conversation, as the ss-built testing area was soundproof. But he could clearly see the looks of disappointment, disdain, and sinister res pointed at him.


    His little fingers were sped against each other as he waited there anxiously.


    The boy had beautiful silver hair scattered around his head, which was so long that they came down to his shoulders. It made the fact clear that he wasn¡¯t given a haircut in a long time.


    The boy was donned in a white hospital robe that reached till his mid-thigh.


    Unlike other children of his age, he didn¡¯t have a soul-stirring, happy appearance. Instead, he looked tense and afraid.


    His deep blue eyes looked at everything with mixed feelings. Gloomy pupils of his were scanning everything with anxiousness and a bit of timidness visible in them.


    "There¡¯s no need to keep him here anymore. We should inform General Maxwell about his situation. Let¡¯s dismiss the kid from here so that we can move to work on some actual important stuff," The middle-aged scientist spoke again as he looked at the group in front of him, hoping to get everyone¡¯s support.


    "Truly, this kid is useless."


    "I had such high hopes for him."


    The other two people shook their heads in unison, depicting their affirmation towards the matter as they spit out those two sentences.


    A nurse was called by the scientists before they left theb. Two of the scientists walked out of there fast while one stayed behind.


    He looked at the boy lying inside the ss room and sighed.


    Inside his heart, he felt pity for the boy. How unfortunate of him to be born without any kind of power. He was feelingpletely frustrated on behalf of that pitiful little creature.


    "Nurse, take him back to his room." The middle-aged scientist left theb in busy steps after mouthing those words. Nobody noticed his balled fist as he left.


    Walking inside the room, the nurse moved towards the boy and removed the syringe from his hand.


    "Let¡¯s go," she told the boy, in a tone that intimidated him more.


    The boy quivered as he stood up and silently followed behind her.


    The nurse took the boy to a small room.


    Inside the fully gray-colored room, there was only a small bed and nothing else. There were no windows. It was like those smallpartments inside a train, without windows and seats.


    The floor, ceiling as well as the door was metallic, and it was no ordinary metal. Those were made from the strongest metal found on the.


    The nurse left the boy inside before she locked the room from the outside and left with an expressionless face as if she was a robot.


    ***


    "General, Doctor Rao is on the line."


    A soldier in a military uniform walked up to a person who was also wearing a military uniform and gave him the phone.


    "Doctor Rao, How was the test? Did the boy develop any powers? Is he a Variant?" General Maxwell couldn¡¯t help but shoot rapid questions as he ced the phone closer to his ears.


    Doctor Rao stood near a window, his eyes peeking outside the facility.


    His long white coat was so clean that it seemed as if it was purchased that very day. His coat matched his white hair that was messy but still seemed like they were perfect and were supposed to be like this only.


    "The results are negative, General. The boy still doesn¡¯t have any powers, and I¡¯m afraid both of us know that he never will," Doctor Rao said.


    "He has already turned ten, and you know that none can develop powers after they have crossed the age of 10," he continued. Pausing for a moment, he dered the final verdict, saying, "It¡¯s a failure."


    Doctor Rao was one of the three Scientists who had just performed the tests on the boy.


    *sigh*


    There was an awkward silence before Dr. Rao heard General Maxwell again.


    "We kept him in the facility for five years in the hopes of him having powers just like his parents, but I guess it was nothing but a useless endeavor," General Maxwell said as he looked down.


    "Do you want to take that boy? He is already useless," Doctor Rao asked the General.


    Thinking for a while, he opened his mouth once again to make a suggestion.


    "If you don¡¯t mind, then we have a proposition to make," Dr. Rao spoke and waited for the General¡¯s reply. He couldn¡¯t wait to get over this topic already.


    "What is it?" General Maxwell asked back almost instantly.


    "We can make him a test subject for our research here, that is, if you don¡¯t need him," Doctor Rao suggested as he sipped his coffee.


    "Yeah, do as you please. That boy is useless for us anyway," General Maxwell said before he disconnected the call.


    Silence ensued in the room, which was broken after a few minutes by General Maxwell himself.


    "Mark, You don¡¯t have a kid, right?" he asked the soldier who was standing behind him while passing the phone back.


    "No, Sir. I haven¡¯t even married yet," Mark replied. He was somewhat confused as to why he was asked a question like that.


    "Would you like to have a kid if he was useless?" General Maxwell inquired as he looked directly at Mark.


    "I don¡¯t understand, Sir," Mark answered, growing even more confused.


    "Zale Azarel, the strongest Variant in the history of humanity and the greatest Warlock to ever exist," General Maxwellmented.


    "He was the wielder of both elemental power of Dark Lightning and Physical Power of Strengthening. Both of his powers were S-Rank," he further added as he exined more.


    Mark tried to understand why General Maxwell was talking about Zale Azarel, but he failed. Was there even a need to talk about him? There was probably not a single person in this world who didn¡¯t know of Zale Azarel.


    Ignoring the confusion on Mark¡¯s face, General Maxwell continued, "His wife risse, the strongest Sorcerer of her time and the wielder of dual elemental powers, the A-Rank Power of Wind Control and the S-Rank power of Decay. You know the two of them, right?"


    "Yes, Sir. They were the heroes of humanity. Unfortunately, they died five years ago," Mark answered with a nod.


    "Yeah. They were special. I thought their son might have some talent as well. That¡¯s why I put so much effort into him. Albeit, I was wrong. If he had even a fraction of his parents¡¯ abilities, he would have been a great asset. But he¡¯s useless," General Maxwell exined.


    "Their son turned out to be a waste that has no powers. I believe that if Zale and risse were alive, even they too wouldn¡¯t want a son like that," General Maxwell said as he looked out the window. "I¡¯m right, aren¡¯t I?"


    "Yes, Sir."


    Although Mark didn¡¯t agree with both those judgments and assumptions, he still nodded in affirmative. He had no other options to do otherwise, as General Maxwell was his superior, and it wouldn¡¯t be good if he offended him.


    *****


    It was 4 am, and the sun had just started to rise in the distant horizon showering its golden ray to remove darkness.


    A facility existed in the middle of nowhere; it was heavily guarded by the military of the United Elisium.


    Three Scientists were walking together in a particr direction. Two of them were in a rtively good mood today, while the third seemed like he was in a dilemma.


    "Doctor Rao, Should we really do the experiments with Lucifer? He has been with us for so long. Besides, he is just a child; I don¡¯t feel like we should do this to him," A Scientist who was walking behind the other two said to the Scientist in the lead.


    "Doctor Min, You shouldn¡¯t put your personal feelings in the middle of work. And that boy doesn¡¯t have any powers anyway; you should be happy thinking that he is not totally useless," Doctor Rao replied.


    Doctor Layman, who was the third person on the team, agreed with Doctor Rao.


    "We are doing this for the betterment of humanity; hence he became useful to humanity. Also, it would take too much time to get another test subject here," he added.


    "Exactly. Why should we dy our research experiments when we can start them immediately?" Doctor Rao asserted.


    "But this is simply torturing. The experiment is nothing but a way to see how much pain a human body can endure. It can even kill him if we are not careful!" Doctor Min argued.


    "Doctor Min, always remember one thing. Only when we know the limitations of the body can we find ways to break those limitations in the future. Who better to test it on than the son of the greatest heroes of humanity, and if he dies, it would at least be a useful death," Doctor Raomented. "Unlike his parents who died so uselessly."


    A smirk was visible on Doctor Rao¡¯s face, but no one saw it as he was in the lead.


    "Are you doing it because you hate the Variants for not saving your wife during the great disaster of 2028?" Doctor Min inquired as his tone increased a bit. His fists were balled to control his anger.


    Doctor Rao couldn¡¯t help but clench his fist abruptly as he heard those words. His face twitched uncontrobly.


    "Doctor Min! I would very much appreciate it if you don¡¯t go wing my personal life. Unlike you, I¡¯m not letting my personal feelings motivate my actions. What I¡¯m doing is purely for the betterment of humanity¡¯s future and nothing else!" Doctor Rao insisted.


    Doctor Min didn¡¯t respond as he knew that anything he said wouldn¡¯t get through to the man.


    Doctor Rao was his senior and the in-charge here; there was nothing he could do but to curse him and pray for little Lucifer.


    Doctor Min followed him for quite some time before he noticed Doctor Rao stopping before a metallic door.


    Doctor Rao opened the door and entered inside with the other scientists.


    They saw a young boy who was sitting on a bed silently. He didn¡¯t look up even after feeling their presence. There was nothing else in this room for him to do anyway.


    "Lucifer Azarel,e with us," Doctor Rao said.


    "Am I going to get tested again? I can develop powers like my father, right? I wish to be like my parents and help everyone," The mostly mute boy spit those words out, taking all the scientists by surprise.


    He nced at the scientists with a smile stered on his lips and eyes filled with hope.


    The smile stabbed through the heart of Doctor Min and made him question his work, but he just closed his eyes and breathed heavily.


    "No, you will never have powers. It would be best if you didn¡¯t even mention to anyone that you¡¯re the son of Zale Azarel and risse," Doctor Rao said.


    Not feeling the least bit embarrassed for talking to a kid like that, he further added. "Otherwise, they will turn intoughingstocks to people for having such a worthless son."


    His words were quite harsh for the little person to whom those words felt like sharp spikes.


    No one knew what the future held for the young boy and how their actions were going to create a nightmare for them.


    .....To Be Continued.

 Chapter 2 - 2: Necessary Sacrifice

    <h4>Chapter 2 - 2: Necessary Sacrifice </h4>


    Although Doctor Rao didn¡¯t act close to Lucifer in thest five years, he didn¡¯t openly despise him either as there was a possibility of Lucifer developing his powers. His actions towards Lucifer seemed only professional till now.


    He was neither too friendly nor too harsh but only kept an average attitude towards the child.


    But now that Lucifer was already ten years old and failed, there was no reason for him to act nice anymore.


    Lucifer¡¯s face turned pale as he heard the answer from Dr. Rao. It felt like his world came crashing down, and every word of that sentence hit his heart like a bullet.


    Tears lurked, making his eyes glittery, and his vision blurred as he tried to fight back with the enormous pain and torment he was feeling.


    "But you can still help humanity. So you¡¯re notpletely useless. Come with us," Dr. Rao further said in a viinous tone as his eyes shone like a vulture under thick gold-framed sses.


    Lucifer stood up with a nk look on his face and followed after them as a few drops of stubborn silent tears left his eyes.


    They brought him to a room that Lucifer had never been to before. There were strange machines all around the room with a single bed at the center.


    "Go lie down on the bed," Doctor Raomanded.


    Lucifer followed the order silently and walked up to the bed with little steps.


    Hey down on the t bed, and his ocean eyes were ced on the ceiling. With no movement, heid there balling his fists as Dr. Rao¡¯s words roamed inside his head.


    "Doctor Min, prepare him," Doctor Rao said before he turned and started working on the screen panel not too far away.


    Doctor Min walked up to Lucifer. He picked up a head-band like object that was connected to a machine behind him and ced it around Lucifer¡¯s head; his heart churned while doing so, but he still did it.


    There were many wires of different colors connected to that headband-like object, which further linked to some other machines around the room.


    ¡¯ I¡¯m sorry, Lucifer. Even though I respect your parents and care for you, I can¡¯t help you,¡¯ Doctor Min thought apologetically as he walked back, his eyes full of sorrow.


    "Everything Ready, Doctor Layman?" Doctor Rao asked the 3rd Scientist.


    "Ready. Waiting for orders," Doctor Layman replied.


    Doctor Rao said, "Alright. On my count!"


    "3... 2...1... Begin!"


    Doctor Layman pressed a button on theptop, and with a slight sound, the process began.


    "Aaaa!" Lucifer screamed as loud as he could as he felt the heart-wrenching pain course through his body. He felt like his body was being torn into shreds.


    He kept screaming, but the torture didn¡¯t stop. Instead, it went on and on for what seemed like an eternity.


    "Heartbeat rising rapidly. The pain index reached 60 percent. Cell destruction has begun," Doctor Layman dered as he read the data on the screen.


    "Stop it now! His cell destruction has begun! If you don¡¯t stop, his entire body will be useless! It should be enough data for our use!" Doctor Min couldn¡¯t help shouting loud as he heard the stats.


    Doctor Layman looked towards Doctor Rao.


    "Continue! Increase the pain index by 10 percent! I want to see how long it takes for a human body to be destroyed by pain," Doctor Raomanded. There was not even an ounce of sorrow or hesitation in his voice.


    "This is not research anymore, but in madness! I said, stop it!" Doctor Min roared, but none paid heed to him.


    Lucifer kept screaming for 20 minutes straight. His voice had turned hoarse, eyes were blood-shot red with tears still flowing down his cheeks, and his body trembled in pain.


    Unfortunately, the pain didn¡¯t stop. It felt like with time; it was bing even more unbearable. Lucifer¡¯s eyes roamed from Dr. Min to Dr. Layman as he begged them to stop. His face was covered in tears as he watched the smirk on Doctor Rao¡¯s face.


    "Why?!" Lucifer yelled like a lunatic as he red at Doctor Rao with his bloodied eyes.


    "He can still speak. Not bad. I guess the pain is not enough. Increase by 20 percent. Take the pain index to 90 percent!" Doctor Rao ordered Doctor Layman, who followed hismands without any question and increased the pain index.


    "Heartbeat slowing down rapidly. The pain index reached 90 percent. Cell destruction has reached 70 percent," Doctor Layman said.


    "Good. Increase by another 10 percent. Take the pain index to 100 percent," Doctor Rao said as heughed. "This is good. Let¡¯s see if the human body can bear 100 percent!"


    Dr. Min was watching silently till now, but he couldn¡¯t hold it in anymore as he jumped on Dr. Layman to prevent him from increasing the pain index.


    He screamed at them, "Are you two even human? Stop it! He is a child, for God¡¯s sake! Stop this madness!"


    Dr. Rao ignored the sharp words as he called the security and made them take Dr. Min away.


    Meanwhile, Doctor Layman increased the pain index and turned it to the maximum.


    Lucifer¡¯s body twisted in pain for onest time before his screams stopped entirely. His bloodied eyes were still open, but there was no focus on them anymore. Lucifer¡¯s entire body had turned blue, as he lied there.


    "Heartbeat has stopped. The pain index reached 100 percent. Cell destruction 100%," Doctor Layman announced.


    "So, he died. He was a good testing subject tost for so long. I guess the human body is not as useless as we thought. If it can survive for so long under such pain, it¡¯s definitely anything but useless," Doctor Rao muttered as he looked at the data on the screen.


    He seemed totally unbothered by the fact that they had just murdered someone brutally, that too a ten-year-old child.


    "Let¡¯s leave. The Nurse can clean the body and throw it outside. We have more important things to do," Doctor Rao said as he turned back and walked towards the exit. "Arrange the data we decided in proper charts. I want it on my table tomorrow."


    Doctor Rao was about to leave when Doctor Min appeared in front of him.


    "You killed him!" Doctor Min screamed at Doctor Rao while tears flowed out of his eyes, and he sat down on the ground.


    "A necessary sacrifice for the growth of humanity."


    Doctor Rao smiled as he walked past Doctor Min and left the room.


    "Don¡¯t feel too attached to the subjects. You¡¯ll feel less pain if you follow that," Doctor Layman ced his hands on Doctor Min¡¯s shoulders as heforted him.


    "Although Doctor Rao is slightly psychotic, he is a great scientist. Anyways, let¡¯s go eat. There is no point in fighting and crying over a kid who is already dead. He won¡¯t being back after all," he continued as he took Doctor Min outside.


    The maids arrived in the room after 20 minutes and saw Lucifer lying on the bed, lifeless.


    "Hmm, so he¡¯s the one that died today," The maid said casually as she nced at Lucifer. They were used to seeing such stuff, so it didn¡¯t bother them much.


    They picked his body up and wrapped it in a ziplock bag. Then they took the body outside and threw it in a dumpster before they walked back into the facility like nothing happened.


    There was no remorse, no regret, and absolutely no sympathy towards the dead kid. All their hearts were sealed and had turned into stones a long time ago.


    The following day, a truck arrived that took all the trash from the dumpster and left the ce.


    All the trash from the facility was dumped in a deste ce, far away from the facility. As far as the eyes could see, only waste was visible. The truck left as usual after dumping everything it had collected that day.


    In the vast wastnd, one body was lying. Seemingly dead yet not quite.

 Chapter 3 - 3: Living Again

    <h4>Chapter 3 - 3: Living Again </h4>


    "There are three types of Variants in this world. The Warriors that can use the Physical Powers, the Sorcerers that can use the Element Powers and the Warlocks like your father that are awakened with both types."


    A handsome man who looked young, as if he was in his mid-20s, was sitting on a bed. He was talking to a little boy, who sat on hisp and looked at the man with big round eyes.


    The boy looked like he was only 4 or 5 years old. He looked at the man, his gaze full of admiration as his eyes sparkled with excitement.


    "What do you want to be when you awaken, young man?" the man asked the boy.


    "When I grow up. I want to be like you, Father," The boy squeaked.


    "Hahaha, yes, father is the best, isn¡¯t he?" The man said as heughed out loud.


    "Hey, are you saying that I¡¯m not the best!" A woman walked up to them and sat on the bed as well. She looked to be younger than twenty even though she was older in reality. It was all because of the power she had.


    She was wearing gloves on both of her hands, which seemed like they were made of rubber.


    "Mamma is the best!" The boy said.


    "That¡¯s like my good boy," the woman smiled as she patted the little boy¡¯s back.


    "Father has physical power. Will I have that?" the boy said out of nowhere.


    "Yeah, your father has the power of strength. It¡¯s super-strong power, but he still isn¡¯t satisfied," The woman exined as she smiled wryly. "As for you, little guy, You¡¯ll be even stronger than your daddy."


    "Of Course, I¡¯m not satisfied. I have Strength, which is awesome, but it¡¯s still not as good as the Physical Power of infinite healing." the man pouted as he looked at his wife. "Imagine being able to heal from any wound instantly? How awesome would that be!"


    "We both know that it¡¯s only a rumor that you have made up. There¡¯s no such thing as that power yet. As far as I know, no one has awakened with that kind of power." The boy¡¯s mother squinted her eyes as she looked at her husband.


    "None has awakened the healing, but it doesn¡¯t mean that no one will. It¡¯s entirely possible for there to be a power like that. I can think of a thousand more powers that can be there too, which we haven¡¯t seen yet." The man insisted.


    "Hah, you¡¯re still hoping for your childish fantasies toe true, aren¡¯t you? I remember that you still have the novel from your childhood, "The Healer¡¯s Journey to Immortality". That¡¯s where you got that ridiculous idea from, didn¡¯t you?" The woman replied,ughing.


    The man¡¯s face turned somewhat crimson as he asked, "You! Woman, how did you find my secret hiding location?"


    ****


    Lucifer¡¯s tranquil body was lying in the trash in eternal silence.


    There was no heartbeat, no movements. His once shiny silver hairs were now dull and dirty. One of the maids had closed his eyelids before putting him in the bag, but his mouth still hung open as if he was trying to breathe, except he wasn¡¯t breathing anymore.


    But in that ominous, sorrowful situation, a miraculous thing was happening...


    Even though he was dered dead, and his heart had stopped beating, somehow his mind was still working.


    Lucifer kept getting shbacks of his happy days with his parents, which yed like a movie inside his head, and it felt surreal.


    Everything in his life was so good until his 5th birthday when his parents left for a mission but never returned. Little Lucifer kept waiting eagerly for his parent¡¯s return, but he didn¡¯t realize that there was nothing left to wait anymore.


    The ones that came back were men in army uniforms who took him from his house and left him in a ce called "the facility". That was where he spent the next five years of his life alone, in a small room.


    He still remembered the pain he went through when he was told that his parents were dead. It felt like someone had snatched the ground from under his feet, and a huge burden was thrown upon him.


    He would often dream about drowning in infinite darkness and unable to breathe in it. It took him such a long time to process the information before actually believing it. He only did so when he was shown the news coverage in the facility.


    The news anchor talked about the Strongest Hunter team of Elisium being wiped out inside the newly discovered Rank 4 dungeon at the center of the abandoned ind of Friesia.


    After a few days, Lucifer was told that this was a facility that would train and monitor his powers that might be as strong as his parents.


    He was told that he could help humanity just like his parents, and he naively believed that dream. But years kept passing, and his powers didn¡¯t wake up.


    Although the staff of the facility didn¡¯t misbehave, their behavior wasn¡¯t good either. He wasn¡¯t trained in the least. He had be just like a prisoner, but he didn¡¯t lose hope about awakening his powers and bing a great warlock like his father. It seemed like a path that would make him feel closer to his parents.


    His dreams came crashing when they told him that he wouldn¡¯t have any powers ever. But his misery didn¡¯t end there as he was brought to a room and tortured until he died.


    His ruffled screams echoed through the room; he couldn¡¯t take it anymore, it felt like every bone and every vein inside his body was exploding. But nobody stopped the pain. Nobody paid heed to his non-stop begging as the pain increased fold by fold, pushing him towards the door of eternal death.


    He still couldn¡¯t help but wonder what his mistake was. All he wanted was to help people just like his parents did. Yet, he wasn¡¯t given the opportunity.


    Instead, he was tortured and killed by the same humanity that he wanted to help. Was this what his parents died for? What kind of ¡¯humanity¡¯ were they trying to save. The one that didn¡¯t have the slightest regret while killing their son?


    If this was it... if this was what humanity was... then he didn¡¯t want to be a hero who protected these so-called humans anymore. Humankind was not worth saving. Humanity was not worth any sacrifice.


    His brain was indulged in so many random thoughts despite the fact that his heart wasn¡¯t beating at all.


    However, soon another miraculous thing happened.


    Thump... Thump... Thump...


    Lucifer¡¯spletely stopped heart started beating again. His chest heaved as his nostrils sucked oxygen in, making him alive again.


    His body that had gone pale started gaining color again as blood flow resumed in his body. His body gained back all the senses he had lost. He could hear the sound of the wind as well.


    (Author Note: If you¡¯re reading on a phone browser and can¡¯t see the next chapters, click on Continue Reading below to read with proper experience or use the App or Desktop site to read next hundreds of chapters.)

 Chapter 4 - 4: Warlock

    <h4>Chapter 4 - 4: Warlock </h4>


    Lucifer slowly opened his eyes but saw only darkness. He was wrapped in a ck zipped body bag which was preventing him from seeing the light.


    After some initial struggle, he managed toe out of the zip-locked bag.


    As he came out, he found himself in the middle of a dump yard. There were trash and useless things as far as his eyes could see. There was a rotten odor everywhere, which made him want to puke as he stood up.


    "I¡¯m... I¡¯m still alive?" he muttered in confusion as he looked at his hands and legs to check if everything was fine.


    There was no problem that he could see with the naked eye. He tried to move and then tried to walk. He faced no problem. Everything seemed normal.


    "Did they throw me here because they thought that I was dead?" he took a guess as he chose a random direction and started walking.


    Hundreds of questions gathered inside his head as he moved forward.


    There was an old wooden table along the way that had a nail sticking out of it. As Lucifer wasn¡¯t paying attention to it, the nail managed to graze his hand, making the wounded ce bleed instantly.


    "Urgh!"


    A gasp left Lucifer¡¯s throat as he looked at the wound that had started bleeding, but his eyes opened wide in shock as he saw the wound healing by itself in an instant. There was not even a scar left. It seemed like he never got scratched. But how? His confusion only increased.


    He soon thought of something.


    "Imagine being able to heal from any wound instantly? How awesome would that be!"


    His father¡¯s words echoed in his head. This conversation held special meaning in his heart as it happened the day his parents left, never to return.


    "This? Did I awaken the power my father talked about? Healing?" he eximed in surprise.


    This time he intentionally picked up an old knife that was lying nearby and slightly pressed it against his hand. The knife cut through his skin, and just as he expected, the wound healed within a blink of an eye.


    "It¡¯s the Physical Magic of Healing that father used to talk about. I have a physical power. Am I a Warrior now? I can be a hero like my father?" A smile bloomed in his face, only to fade away the next second, as gloominess reced the smile.


    "Hero? For what? To save them? Those so-called humans tortured me to death. Should I really help them? No! My parents helped the world so much; still, I had to go through all of this."


    "Why should I help them? Just so my future generations could die by their hands? I won¡¯t be that naive anymore! I won¡¯t use my powers for anyone but myself," he muttered as he nced at his hands.


    He stared at the knife for quite some time before he made a decision.


    "Father said that true healing could make a person immortal. Even the cut-off limbs can be healed. Is my healing the same?" He wondered as a crazy idea popped up in his head, but he still hesitated.


    "I¡¯ve already died once. Why should I be scared of losing a limb?" he muttered as he decided to go through with the test.


    He took the knife and cut off one of his fingers. Even though he felt some pain, it was nothingpared to the pain he went through when he died. It felt rather bearable to him.


    His finger was still lying on the ground, but another finger had grown up in its ce, which was just like the old one. It only took a minute for it to happen.


    "It is indeed amazing," hemented as his ocean eyes sparkled. "It had to be for me to be still alive. This should be why I¡¯m still living."


    He was just about to throw away the knife when he noticed that the knife had started decaying already. He waited until it waspletely destroyed. Within moments, the knife turned to dust.


    "This? The Power of Decaying? Mother¡¯s power?" Lucifer eximed as he stared at the ashes of the knife. He had another power? What was happening? His shock only grew stronger.


    "I have both Physical and Elemental Power? I¡¯m a Warlock?" Lucifer muttered, and then tears spilled out of his eyes, paired with a soft smile.


    It had been his dream to be a Warlock. He wished to be like his father since the moment he heard the stories from him.


    He still remembered the moment he had first heard about Warlocks.


    It was his mother who had taught him about this.


    She had told him that there were many Variants in this world. But there were only a few Warlocks.


    To be a Warlock, a person needed to have more than one power of each type- physical and elemental. Even his mother was not a Warlock. She was only a sorcerer as she had two Elemental powers and no physical.


    After hearing how great his father was for being a Warlock, he started desiring the same.


    His dream was finallypleted, albeit he had no one to share it with. The people he wanted to show it to were already dead. He had no family left.


    He couldn¡¯t help but drop to his knees as tears filled his eyes. He stared at his hands for quite some time. His vision was already blurry because of the tears. His face was full of emotions.


    He looked into the distant horizon as he said, "Thank you for the gifts, father, mother. Although you made me capable of living, I¡¯m sorry that I won¡¯t be walking on the path that you chose. I am sure if you guys were here today, you too would want the same for me."


    He stayed in that position for close to ten minutes before he stood up.


    "I need to find the gloves of mother, or everything I touch will keep getting destroyed," he decided as he moved forward.


    Lucifer continued walking for over 7 hours before he saw the nearest town. His stomach had started growling long ago; now that a town was here, it growled more. It was as if it was telling Lucifer to eat.


    He entered the town. There was still theb¡¯s patient robe on his body which looked even dirtier as if he was a beggar.


    He tried to look for a ce to get something to eat.


    Seeing a small restaurant after searching for a long time, he decided to enter the ce.


    As soon as he stepped inside the restaurant, he attracted the attention of the Waiter.


    "What do you need, kid? This is not the ce for kids to enter. If you don¡¯t have money, then scram out of here!" The waiter of the small restaurant told Lucifer as he walked towards him.


    "I need food," Lucifer said to the guy, but the guy refused even to listen.


    "Can a beggar like you even have money? Scram out before I cut your legs!" the waiter bellowed furiously.


    "My legs? Of course, what else can I expect from humans if not something like this?" Lucifer sneered as he nced at the waiter like he was looking at the biggest waste on this.


    "Hahaha, that beggar talks so big here. Waiter, is this the level of this restaurant? Any beggar can enter here?"


    "Throw that kid out. I can¡¯t eat my food with him here. His dirty clothes will make me vomit!"


    "Yeah, throw this bastard out. If he doesn¡¯t listen, break his legs!"


    One after another, every person who was inside the restaurant started demanding for Lucifer to be thrown out.


    Lucifer didn¡¯t react, though. He simply looked at the waiter that stood before him.


    Hearing the demands of the people, the Waiter also started getting smug.


    "You dare look at me with that condescending look? How dare you raise your voice at me!" the waiter roared in anger as he stepped forward to p Lucifer¡¯s face.


    Bam!


    Before the waiter even realized it, Lucifer caught his hand and threw him away as if he was a light feather. The waiter crashed on the wall. His neck broke instantly as he died right there.

 Chapter 5 - 5: Naive Little Kid

    <h4>Chapter 5 - 5: Naive Little Kid </h4>


    Watching the waiter die, every single person who was sitting inside the restaurant was stunned. They all stood up, shocked.


    For a moment, there was pin-drop silence inside the establishment. It was so silent that one could easily hear the heartbeat of people inside.


    They couldn¡¯t believe they just saw a nine-ten-year-old kid throw a fully grown man away like he was a toy, killing him instantly.


    Most of them realized what that meant. The kid who seemed like a useless beggar was actually a Variant! He was a freaking Variant!


    Variants were the people that stood at the true peak of human evolution. They were the humans who possessed powers that could make them wipe entire cities without using a single weapon.


    They couldn¡¯t believe that they had just talked to a Variant with such disrespect, even calling him a beggar.


    One of the men was even more afraid. His face was already pale. He was the one that spoke about throwing Lucifer out of this ce.


    He even said to break Lucifer¡¯s legs. At the moment, he was regretting his words so immensely that he felt as if his heart hade to his throat.


    Almost every single person present here had talked about being violent with Lucifer. Most of them thought he was a normal orphan kid who didn¡¯t even have his parents¡¯ backing.


    They weren¡¯t the least bit shy when cursing Lucifer. Now that they knew that he was a Variant, their heartbeats slowed down.


    Tic... Tic...


    The silence seemed to besting for eternity. Only the ticking sound of the clock was audible, making the silence seem even more apparent.


    Lucifer slowly shifted his gaze towards the people of the Restaurant who had cursed him previously.


    A single gaze of his was somehow feeling too heavy for them to bear.


    They were afraid. They were afraid of being hurt.


    The people were seemingly intimidated.


    Ultimately, unable to bear with the pressure, one of them couldn¡¯t take it anymore as he opened his lips and yelled furiously, "F*ck it! He might be a Variant, but he is still a kid! We can¡¯t let him kill us without doing anything! We must unite to kill this bastard before he even thinks of harming us!"


    "Right! He already killed a person! He would kill us all to silence us so that the APF doesn¡¯t know! We must fight back!"


    "Yes! Attack!"


    A small group of people dashed in the direction of Lucifer to harm him.


    The first person to reach Lucifer was a bald man who threw a full-strength punch. The punch was aimed towards Lucifer¡¯s face, which was nkly looking at the man who was attacking him.


    "You¡¯ll always be a naive little kid! You can¡¯t even dodge!" the Bald Manughed as he saw Lucifer not dodging. He believed that Lucifer was so scared that he didn¡¯t know what to do. He thought that Lucifer was frozen in fear.


    However, the bald man soon realized how wrong he was as he saw Lucifer raising his right hand, with which he effortlessly caught the fist of the man.


    The man was stunned. It was as if his fist had hit a wall, and it was unable to move forward.


    Seeing that his attack had failed, the man struggled to free his hand so that he could retreat and attack again, but he realized that it was much easier said than done.


    No matter how hard he tried, the man wasn¡¯t able to free his hand. That wasn¡¯t all. He had realized something else as well, which made his face lose all its colors.


    The man noticed that his body has started to grow old as if he was losing life essence fast.


    Before the man had attacked, he used to look like a healthy 30-year-old man, but in less than a minute, he had started looking like a 90-year-old.


    His body grew weak. He started crying for help. "Help me! I beg you! Please help me!"


    The others that were with him to attack Lucifer heard his pleas for help, but none of them took even a single step forward. Instead, they started moving back.


    The sight they were seeing before them was horrifying. Watching a man grow old so fast was scary. They didn¡¯t want to be the next person to experience that.


    Not a single person came forward to help the man while his body kept decaying more and more. In a few seconds, the man¡¯s body turned to ash.


    The ash fell on the ground and covered the floor. If the people here hadn¡¯t seen it with their own eyes, they would never have believed that the ash that was lying in Lucifer¡¯s feet happened to be a young living man until a minute ago.


    Ignoring the people, Lucifer gazed at his hand as he muttered, "Strengthening?"


    He could feel that his body had more strength than he had before he had died. Not only was he able to toss the waiter away like he was a toy, but what happened after that also proved the same thing.


    He had realized that his strength was much higher than the man since he couldn¡¯t even feel any resistance from the man.


    He hasn¡¯t tested it before, but he now realized something. This power of strength, wasn¡¯t it something his father had as well?


    If it was the same, didn¡¯t it mean that he had received the S- Rank Physical Power of Strengthening from his father as well.


    Not only that, but he had the S-Rank Elemental Power of Decaying that he had received from his mother. He even had the mysterious Healing Power.


    ¡¯So I have three Powers now?¡¯ Lucifer thought as he walked up to a nearby table to test his strength even more.


    He tried picking it up only to realize that the table felt much lighter. He was easily able to pick up the table.


    The table felt as light as a paper that confirmed his lingering suspicions. He had the S-Rank Power of Strength.


    While the customers of the Restaurant were scared and unable to move in fear, there was one person who was calmer as if he wasn¡¯t scared in the least.


    It happened to be a middle-aged man who was standing behind the counter of the Restaurant. He was the owner of the Restaurant who was known as Big Joe.


    Big Joe had been observing Lucifer since the beginning, but he hadn¡¯t interfered.


    He took a deep breath as he finally decided to do something. It was his ce; he couldn¡¯t let anyone run wild here.

 Chapter 6 - 6: Dark Variant

    <h4>Chapter 6 - 6: Dark Variant </h4>


    Big Joe was confident and stood more rxed than everyone else.


    He wasn¡¯t as shocked as others since it wasn¡¯t his first time seeing a Variant. He had crossed paths with variants before in his life. And during the two times, he saw them, once he actually managed to kill a variant.


    Even though it was years ago and the Variant that was killed was not only a weaker one but drunk as well, it still helped him gain confidence in himself.


    It also helped him gain much respect amongst others. He often told these stories to the people that came to this restaurant. It fanned his pride a lot. So, now that another opportunity was present in front of him, how could he let it go?


    In fact, he had been waiting for another variant to go rogue for many years now. He always kept a gun with him for that very reason. He also practiced shooting every now and then.


    Big Joe had remained silent until now to attract as little attention as he could. He let Lucifer cause havoc inside the Restaurant on purpose. He wanted his entry to be as magnificent and dramatic as possible.


    He also wanted to be seen as a "savior" by others.


    Now that the moment was right ording to him, he took out the gun from underneath the counter and aimed it towards Lucifer.


    After he was ready, he shouted, "Everyone, be careful! That kid is a powerful Variant! He is probably an Evil Dark Variant!"


    The people who knew what Evil Dark Variant meant grew even more scared. They were the Variants that hated humans and wanted to rule them. There were even many organizations of those Variants. It was said that they rarely appeared in public sight. What was one doing there?


    Lucifer was already indulged in his own thoughts, so it took him a bit longer than expected to get out of his trance.


    He soon turned towards the origin of the sharp voice. But just as he did, a bullet pierced through the left side of his chest.


    Once again, the situation inside the restaurant had shifted. Big Joe¡¯s action had brought back the hopes of all the people present there. It was as if their souls had almost left their bodies, but the moment their savior appeared in the form of "Big Joe", the souls finally came back inside their body.


    Cheers erupted inside the restaurant as the bullet pierced through Lucifer¡¯s body.


    Lucifer couldn¡¯t help but drop to his knees, right in front of everybody¡¯s eyes. It was the first time he had been shot.


    "Yes!"


    "Big Joe killed the monster!"


    "Good work! No matter how powerful these Variants are, they can¡¯t survive being hit directly with bullets!"


    "That kid is dead!"


    People that were as silent as chickens previously startedughing like tigers.


    "Hahaha, he was showing off a lot! Good riddance! I was right; he was a slightly powerful beggar but still a beggar," the man who had abused Lucifer earlier sneered at him again.


    "Now he can atone for his sins in hell! I hope God forgives this child, who went astray and became evil." A woman in her mid-forties pitied.


    The customers startedughing as they saw Lucifer being shot. They were scared before, but now they had calmed down as Lucifer was already dead in their eyes.


    Being relieved finally, they wereughing happily.


    Unfortunately, their happiness didn¡¯tst for long. Slowly, more and more people started closing their mouths as they realized that Lucifer hadn¡¯t fallen yet. Despite being shot, he was still kneeling. His body hadn¡¯t dropped to the ground.


    It was still in the same posture with his eyes closed. He didn¡¯t move even an inch as if he was a statue.


    As for his wounds, the few people who had a clear view of his wounds were able to see that it had healed already.


    They were about to tell others about this strange phenomenon when they got a chill down their spines as they saw Lucifer open his eyes.


    Lucifer soon rose to his feet. He stood as tall as before.


    The ones that hadn¡¯t noticed his wounds heal also saw him stand suddenly. Theirughter got reced with dread.


    "W-what? Can he even heal from that? Impossible!" someone spoke on behalf of everyone as the tables turned yet again.


    Once again, the fear chained the hearts of people as they realized that the man they faced wasn¡¯t a normal Variant but something entirely else. They had never heard of a Variant who could heal himself.


    Just what was he exactly? How could he heal himself? Was he even a human?


    Questions piled up inside their minds making their thoughts go haywire, but they couldn¡¯t find any possible answers to satisfy their piqued curiosity.


    Lucifer looked towards the man who had fired the shot and began striding towards him.


    Big Joe was stunned to see Lucifer still alive and moving as nothing had happened!


    Before that, he didn¡¯t feel scared but now, he was not only feeling scared, but he also felt a chill running down his spine as his feet froze in ce.


    But he was too stubborn to give up. He kept firing as the distance between Lucifer and him lessened with each passing second.


    Lucifer didn¡¯t look like he was getting affected at all as he closed in on the man. This time, he didn¡¯t even halt, let alone kneel as bullets pierced through his body. Lucifer was taking those bullets as if they were nothing,pletely unaffected.


    It did hurt him, but he had already gone through more pain than anyone here would have imagined. This little pain didn¡¯t even make him frown now.


    He stopped right before the counter, which was the only thing between him and the man.


    With one hand, he grasped the wooden counter and threw it behind him, like it didn¡¯t have any weight.


    It wasn¡¯t clear if it was intentional or just a coincidence, but the counter flew behind him and crashed right before the entrance of the restaurant, blocking the only path of exit. At that very instant, the whole Restaurant had be a prison that no one could leave.


    Lucifer walked inzy steps towards the man who was holding the gun, as he spoke in a hoarse voice, "You all hate me. For what? The Doctors hated me. For what? Wasn¡¯t humanity a good thing that was worth protecting? Why did it be a nightmare for me?"


    The more he spoke, the louder his voice got, as if he was letting out the tsunami of rage that was built inside his heart.


    "Why? Why did my parents think humanity was worth it? Why did they sacrifice themselves for you? Why?" He yelled, his fists balled, eyes bloodshot red as he red at everyone.


    "That is all an illusion, isn¡¯t it? The illusion that makes people think that humans are good when you are the real monsters, isn¡¯t it right? Your smile, your kindness, your gratitude, everything is a facade." His voice didn¡¯t shake at all as he screamed in a sinister tone, leaving everyone to tremble in fear.


    Big Joe kept stepping back as he continued shooting, but soon he realized that he couldn¡¯t step back anymore. His back was already resting against the wall.


    Reaching out his hand, Lucifer caught the gun, which had already run out of bullets.


    As soon as his hand touched the rigid texture of the gun, it started deteriorating. Within seconds, the gun was utterly destroyed.


    Big Joe¡¯s was horrified and stunned. His eyes turned as round as saucers as he stared at Lucifer, but he didn¡¯t know what he could do. He could see the grim reaper right in front of his eyes, and it was none other than Lucifer.


    He wanted to run, but there was no path. Furthermore, he was regretting his decision to offend this god of death! Why did he have to be the hero? He knew that if he could go back in time, he would have chosen to run away secretly instead of trying to be the hero and shooting Lucifer.


    "Tell me why?!" Lucifer roared furiously as he caught Big Joe¡¯s hand.


    Due to his rage, he failed to control his strength even a little.


    Crack!


    As he caught the hand of the man, the force was so extreme that the bones of Big Joe¡¯s hand were crushed instantaneously.


    Big Joe screamed in anguish like a dying pig who had lost a limb. However, the pain of his hand being crushed wasn¡¯t all that made him scream.


    His body had also started decaying, which was causing him even more pain. If the "burning in inferno" was a thing, that was what Big Joe was feeling right then.


    Big Joe¡¯s body also turned to ash, forever disappearing from this world. His body decayed faster than the previous man; it looked like each second Lucifer¡¯s strength was increasing by a few folds.


    "Everyone! We can¡¯t escape today. He won¡¯t let us go! We must join hands to kill him! Even if we die, we will take him to hell with us!" one of the men, trapped in the restaurant, asserted as he picked up a chair and ran toward Lucifer to attack him.


    Seeing no other hope, the others also decided to give it their all this time.


    Lucifer peered at the man, who was charging towards him. He also started walking towards the man.


    The only difference between the two of them was that one anxiously ran towards the other. In contrast, the other walkedzily without emotion, almost like an emotionless puppet on a mission to kill.


    The man swung the chair towards Lucifer¡¯s face. Lucifer didn¡¯t even make an effort to dodge or stop it as if he wasn¡¯t bothered by the attack at all. The chair hit his head and shattered into pieces.


    His head had also started bleeding because of the injury, but he didn¡¯t care. The bleeding stopped promptly, and his head healed right in front of everyone¡¯s eyes, but the blood remained on his face.


    Closing his fist, Lucifer directed his punch for the chest of the man. A single punch... a single punch was all it took to crush the man¡¯s ribs as he flew away like a paper ne.


    The man mmed on the wall of the restaurant, which proved to be his end. He died instantly.


    After killing the man, Lucifer didn¡¯t stop as he continued attacking without any stop. He was like a true beast that only knew one thing, and it was to "kill" on sight.


    The people who were inside the restaurant could only bully a powerless kid. However, in front of Lucifer, a Variant, they were like fish on a chopping block.


    The ughter continued inside the restaurant, and bodies started piling up wherever Lucifer walked. Not a single person was alive after taking attacks from him. His single blow was enough to end them.


    Soon, the restaurant¡¯s ground was filled with bodies and ashes. It looked less like a restaurant, more like a battleground now.


    Everyone was dead except one person. Only a single person remained in the entire restaurant, which was filled with dead bodies and ashes.


    The ughter that Lucifermitted was frightening, but he didn¡¯t feel even a bit of remorse. He had killed a lot of people, but he didn¡¯t regret it in the least. In fact, he didn¡¯t feel anything.


    His heart was utterly emotionless now, and his face showed the same. His nk stare scanned the ce and stopped right at thest person who remained.


    "Stop! I have already called the Awakened Protection Force! The APF will be here to catch you soon; you should escape while you still can. If you waste time on killing me, you won¡¯t be able to escape in time!" The man spoke, his voice trembling, but his warning didn¡¯t stop Lucifer.


    Seeing Lucifer not stopping, the man became even more nervous. He couldn¡¯t find anything that could protect him, but he thought of giving it onest shot.


    "Maybe you don¡¯t know about the APF because you¡¯re young! APF is made of the most powerful Variants of this country! Their only task is to capture the Dark Variants that misuse their powers and punish them!"


    "You might be strong against us, but you¡¯re nothing in front of the strongest Variants of APF! You still have a chance! Leave me and run away! Save your life!" He screamed, closing his eyes as he shivered both inwardly and outwardly, knowing Lucifer, who he saw ughtering everyone a while ago like a grim reaper, was close to him.

 Chapter 7 - 7: Search

    <h4>Chapter 7 - 7: SearChapter </h4>


    Lucifer heard the man¡¯s words who threatened him about some APF, but he didn¡¯t pay any heed to them. He neither knew about APF nor cared for them.


    He continued walking towards the man at the same pace that he had followed while massacring all the other people.


    The moment the man¡¯s sentence ended, Lucifer stood only a few inches away from the man.


    Gently cing his hands around the man¡¯s face, Lucifer observed carefully as the man¡¯s skin deteriorated rapidly. The man grew old right before his eyes.


    His weak body kept struggling, unable to free itself from his grasp.


    "And you are the ones I lived and died for?" Lucifer sneered under his breath. "No more."


    Lucifer threw away the shriveled-up body to the side without letting it turn to ash. The man was already dead, though.


    If he had held onto the body for even a few seconds longer, that body would have turned to ash as well, but Lucifer didn¡¯t feel like it was worth the wait when the man was already dead. His time was more precious to spend on people like these.


    His gaze roamed around the entire interior of the Restaurant. As far as he could see, there were only ashes and dead bodies left. Only red and gray could be seen everywhere his eyes followed.


    He lowered his head and noticed the robe he was wearing. It was the same one that he had received in the facility. The only difference was that the mostly white robe was now covered with holes and bloodstains.


    Gazing at the bodies lying all around the room, Lucifer¡¯s eyes filled with the same nk, emotionless expression. Not even an ounce of regret shed through them as he held that empty stare.


    Even after sweeping his gaze around the whole ce, he couldn¡¯t see any clothes there that he could wear. A sudden realization sank in him at the moment. It was that he needed to find fresh clothes.


    He couldn¡¯t wear these clothes that belonged to that damn Facility. He didn¡¯t want anything given by that monstrous Facility; it didn¡¯t matter if they were his only clothes.


    He wished to change clothes right there, right then. But the clothes on the dead bodies were also covered in blood and too big for him. For some reason, he didn¡¯t like the idea of taking dirty clothes from the bodies.


    Sweeping his gaze all around the restaurant once again, he noticed a small blue-colored gate. Hoping that it would lead him to a location that might have some clothes, he started walking in that direction.


    He tried pushing the door open only to find it locked. Instead, the ce on the door which he touched started decaying.


    Irritation and frustration surged up inside his heart as he bawled his fist in rage.


    Raising his right feet, he kicked the door as hard as he could. As he failed to control his strength in anger, the door did not only break apart but also flew back. It only stopped flying after it crashed on the wall in the other end of the small room.


    Lucifer stepped inside the room and looked around, only to realize that it was only a small kitchen adjacent to the restaurant. Vegetables were lying in baskets in rows that were ced over the countertops. There was also a knife set on the table near the baskets.


    The kitchen was more like a family kitchen that people had in their homes. It was only a hundred square feet in size, so it wasn¡¯t huge or gigantic as anyone would expect a restaurant¡¯s kitchen to be.


    He walked over to the corner of the room where the dishwasher was ced. Turning the tap on, he let the water fall freely. For a few seconds, he didn¡¯t move at all as his gaze lingered on the running water.


    He fell in a daze as he watched the water falling, which came with a lot of old memories.


    He shook his head toe out of daze before he stepped forward and soaked his hands under the tap.


    Filling the water in between his palms, he sshed it over his face to wash the blood stains that covered his skin. He repeated the process a few times.


    His face was covered in blood, but not a single drop of it belonged to someone else. The blood on his body was mostly his own, which was spilled before his wounds had healed. He washed his body with the help of water and cleaned his face before he took off the blood-covered robe and tossed it to the side.


    Soon, his search for new clothes began again. He walked through the kitchenpletely bare while his eyes searched like a hawk.


    He walked over to the cupboard on the other end of the room and opened it.


    The bottom half of the cupboard had kitchen utensils, while the top half had something he was looking for.


    Lucifer¡¯s eyes twinkled as theynded on the folded pair of clothing. He had found a shirt and a pair of pants, adequately folded.


    He brought the clothes out of the cupboard before donning them.


    The new clothes seemed like they belonged to an adult. They were too big to fit his small physique, but he didn¡¯t care. He had no other choice. The clothes also deteriorated a little as he held them but he donned them faster before freeing them.


    As his power of decay was only in his hands, the clothes stopped decaying as soon as he wore and stopped touching them.


    Lucifer wore the loose clothes, looking all funny, before turning back to search for food. He was hungry. This was the entire reason he hade in here.


    Only if he were given food would he not have had to fight and cause havoc as he did back there. Now that he had killed everyone, no one could stop him from eating or mock him; he felt satisfied.


    He removed the lid from the food container lying near the burner, only to find pancakes inside.


    Lucifer picked up one and started eating; however, he had only managed to take one bite before the pancake disappeared, turning into dust because of his power of decay.


    He had no control over that power which prevented him from eating as well since he couldn¡¯t hold things for long.


    He gazed at the other pancakes nkly as he chewed the one bite that he had managed to take.


    He realized that it would be a big waste if he only ate one bite from each of them before they were destroyed.


    "One bite of them all? It wouldn¡¯t be enough," he muttered as he gazed at the pancakes in confusion.


    Lucifer fell into deep thoughts but realized that he couldn¡¯t do anything else either. He had no way to control this power that was stopping him from eating to his heart¡¯s content.


    He ced his finger on his chin as he stared at the pancakes. His eyebrows creased a little as if he was in deep thought.


    He decided to look around the room in search of something that might help his situation.


    He walked around the kitchen as his fingers grazed over the items, testing them.


    "This should be it..." he muttered as he touched a polythene. It was decaying much slower than other items. As it wasn¡¯t solid, Lucifer could use it to his advantage as well.


    He took as many polythenes as he could find and stuffed them in his pocket before wrapping one around his right hand.


    He walked back to the pancakes and picked another one up.


    As the polythene acted as a wall between his fingers and the pancake, separating any direct contact with them.


    Lucifer was finally able to eat the pancake without destroying it in the process. As his stomach received some intake, he finally felt satisfied, but his hunger still wasn¡¯t satiated.


    The polythene vanished just as he gulped down the second pancake. So, he had to grab another polythene.


    He kept repeating the process while he ate pancakes one after another. He only stopped when he finally had his fill.


    Packing the remaining food that he could find in the kitchen, he decided to leave.


    However, before he stepped out of the room, an idea clicked in his head as his eyesnded on a pair of scissors on the shelf.


    He took his time to cut his shirt¡¯s long sleeves and the edge of his pants to make it morefortable for him. Because of the polythene, he was able to achieve that without decaying the scissor.


    Only after being all satisfied with his work did he leave the kitchen.


    He pushed the table that was blocking the main exit to one side before pushing the door open. Once he was out, he closed the door behind him and left with a normal stoic expression.


    It was as if he didn¡¯t justmit a crime inside and wrecked half of the ce. T


    Other people in the town were still oblivious about the massacre that had just urred in their neighborhood restaurant.


    The people that spent their time inside the restaurant were already there. The rest didn¡¯t go to the restaurant that often, so it was uncertain how long people were going to take to find out about what had happened there...


    *****


    Standing in the middle of the road, Lucifer looked around. He had no idea where to go now. He did know where he wanted to go, but he didn¡¯t know the direction. It was the first time he was all by himself in the real world outside the facility.


    His destination was the Legion City¡ª the ce where his family used to live. It was also the ce where his parent¡¯s house was. He still remembered thest time he saw his home, it was a few years ago, but he felt like it had been ages.


    He was five years old and was staying with the babysitter in his house. Lucifer knew his parents had left for a mission; it was not new to him.


    He was used to them leaving him at home with his babysitter. A young eighteen-neen-year-old girl was left behind to take care of him.


    The girl was his neighbor who used to work as his babysitter whenever his parents were away for work. Lucifer had a great time ying with her, but he always looked forward to his parent¡¯s return.


    He still remembered that day when everything changed, when the officers in military uniform pressed the doorbell instead of his parents.


    It was still fresh in his memory as if it was just yesterday.

 Chapter 8 - 8: Triple Awakened

    <h4>Chapter 8 - 8: Triple Awakened </h4>


    It happened to be the darkest day of Lucifer¡¯s life. The weather had been quite bad since the morning. There were no glistening sun rays, no lovely clouds in the sky.


    ck clouds had taken over the sky as if trying to foretell the uing ominous events of that day.


    A violent storm was raging outside his house as lightning returned the call of thunder, making a loud roar.


    Heavy rains were also apanying the thunder; however, Lucifer didn¡¯t care about any of it.


    He was watching TV, which was broadcasting a program about his parents; and how they helped humanity against the dungeon dwellers.


    His eyes held the admiration and sparkled with happiness asionally as he watched various footage of his parents fighting the monsters heroically.


    The girl, who was appointed as Lucifer¡¯s babysitter, was in the kitchen making lunch for him.


    Bam!


    The introductory scenes had ended, and the program had just started when Lucifer heard the loud sound. His curious eyes followed the sound to find the front door of his house that was opened forcefully.


    Many men barged inside the house, dressed in military uniform. A few ck-clothed men also apanied them.


    They didn¡¯t hesitate in the least as they informed Lucifer that his parents had died and that he needed to go with them for his protection.


    The information sank in him slowly as he looked at them with his big round eyes.


    "Died?"


    ¡¯What did they mean died?¡¯


    Lucifer thought in confusion, not understanding the graveness of the situation. Even though he didn¡¯t understand or believe what these people were saying, his eyes still grew wet.


    "Yes. The two of them were killed. They¡¯re nevering back. You muste with us," the ck-clothed men informed Lucifer.


    Gritting his teeth, Lucifer yelled at the men who stood before him, "You are lying! Nothing bad can happen to them!"


    Ignoring Lucifer¡¯s words, the men started dragging him out.


    Lucifer started throwing his fists and feet in all directions, struggling as hard as he could, when the military men dragged him out of his own house.


    Despite using all his strength, he couldn¡¯t stop them. Lucifer sat inside a jeep and watched his home getting distant with each passing second.


    That was the moment he realized that he had lost everything. Nobody wasing for him anymore.


    That was thest time he had seen his home before the agents took him to the facility, where he spent his next five years until recently when he died.


    Shaking his head side to side, Lucifer tried to clear the memories of that vicious day so that he could focus on what was important now.


    ¡¯I need a direction...¡¯ he thought as he frowned, looking around him.


    He carefully scanned the people around him and selected a passerby. He approached the man straight away.


    "Tell me the direction of Legion City," hemanded like a boss.


    If an adult had said something in such amanding tone, the man might have been offended. However, such words were told by a cute kid who seemed to be only ten years old. The man didn¡¯t take any offense.


    The child with silver hair, glistening under the sunlight and a pair of round ocean blue eyes, was cute enough to melt his heart.


    "Legion City is in that direction, little guy," the man answered as he smiled while pointing his finger towards his left.


    "Where are your parents, kiddo?" he asked, only to realize that Lucifer wasn¡¯t even there anymore. As soon as he had told the direction, Lucifer left without dying for even a single second. He didn¡¯t even thank the man as if the passerby didn¡¯t do him a favor by helping him, but he was obliged to help him.


    The man smiled wryly as he shook his head side to side, "Strange Kid!"


    ***


    Lucifer left from the South Exit of the town in the direction of Legion City without looking back. He was determined to find his home even if he had to search the entire city.


    He was unaware that a few minutes after he left, three helicopters infiltrated the sky, flying from the north.


    The helicopters stopped near the restaurant and remained stable in the air, fifteen feet above the ground.


    The helicopter¡¯s doors slid open as around 20 people jumped out of the helicopter without any harness. Theynded in front of the restaurant effortlessly as if it was a daily routine for them to jump out like that.


    One of them stood a few steps in ahead of the others, facing the restaurant. By the aura he gave off, it was clear that he was the leader.


    The man seemed to be in histe twenties. His head was full of short ming red wavy hair that was scattered around his forehead. They made him stand out amongst the crowd the most because of their unique color.


    Due to slight gusts of wind, his phoenix red hair flew slightly, making him look even more dazzling under the sunlight.


    Wearing a long ck coat on top of ck pants, he gave off a strong aura. The cors of his coat remained standing, probably on purpose.


    The frontal right side of the man¡¯s shirt had a tattoo-like print of burning fire, and both his palms were covered in ck gloves. The left side of his shirt had a golden chain badge hanging there, and both of his shoulders had golden star badges. Those badges were signs of his rank.


    "Flourance, is this the ce?" the red-haired man asked as his eyes gazed at the ce in front of them like an eagle.


    Another man stood just one step behind the red-haired man. He nodded his head as he answered in affirmative, "This should be the ce we were told about..."


    The man who was addressed as Flourance seemed like the second inmand of this team.


    None of the twenty men wore military uniforms despiteing out of military helicopters as they were not a part of the army.


    The Twenty men were from the Awakened Protection Force, which was also known by the popce as the "APF". They were a special organization of this country that dealt with the crimesmitted by the Dark Variants that misused their powers. They were an organization that consisted only of Variants as well.


    They were the best of the variants, trained under a strict program, and nurtured to survive the toughest of situations. Only after surviving through a brutal test were they selected to be a part of it.


    All of these twenty men were selected Variants of APF.


    "We didn¡¯t need toe here ourselves, did we? ording to the reports, there was only a single Variant that was creating a stir in this restaurant. We could have just let the ground squad do their job, couldn¡¯t we?" Flourance asked the red-haired man as he smiled wryly.


    "What would people say if they realize that the leader of the Delta Squad of APF, Xander ke, came personally to catch a small rioter?" he continued as he shook his head while his eyebrows creased a little.


    The APF had three squads, which were more like the three branches. The highest positioned squad was the Alpha Squad, which was also the strongest. The Second position belonged to the Beta Squad. With that, the Delta Squad acquired the Third position, and the red-haired man was its leader, Xander ke.


    Even though the Delta Squad was the weakest in APF, in reality, it wasn¡¯t weak at all. The APF itself consisted of only the best of the best variants who wished to protect their country and didn¡¯t even hesitate to put their lives on the line for that very cause.


    Just being a part of this organization was proof that the Variant was strong, sharp, and skilled. As the Leader Of the Delta Squad, Xander was not an exception. He was one of the most powerful variants alive.


    "There¡¯s no problem with checking it out, is there? We happened to be passing by when we heard the information from base. The ground squad would have taken some more time to reach here. Since we were already near the location, it makes sense for us to check things out," Xander answered as he started walking towards the restaurant with a Stoic expression on his face.


    Xander¡¯s purple eyes were fixed on the restaurant all the time as if he was trying to scan the whole ce through the concrete walls.


    "Let¡¯s not waste any more time and get to work. We have a rogue Variant to catch," hemanded as he pushed the door open before stepping inside.


    The others also stepped inside the restaurant after Xander.


    "Looks like we are alreadyte," Flourance mumbled as his eyes scanned over the room filled with at least Twenty-five dead bodies.


    Xander also noticed the dead bodies, and his eyes turned dark, followed by an unreadable expression on his face. There seemed to be no one alive here.


    Sigh...


    He walked over to one of the dead bodies and observed it closely.


    "As expected, It¡¯s the work of a Variant¡ªa strong one at that. Just look at the destruction that urred here," Xander spoke as he pointed at a man¡¯s broken rib cage.


    Flourance asked curiously, "But why would a strong Variant cause such a massacre in a small restaurant? Even the evil organization of Variant Uprising would not send anyone to do it in a ce like this."


    "These bodies? Why does this look like the victim of the Power of Decay? Only the Dual Elemental Sorcerer risse was able to use it, right? The previous strongest Sorcerer? Isn¡¯t she dead? Can it be that someone else has awakened a simr power?" A dark-haired Delta Squad member asked as he pointed at a decayed body.


    It was the body of thest person who was killed by Lucifer. He had thrown the body away before the body could turn to ash.


    Xander walked over to the body as well and observed it closely before nodding his head in affirmation.


    Roaming his gaze around the room, he added, "That¡¯s not all. Look at the destruction. The counter is lying near the door... The person probably had the Physical Power that amplified his strength as well. Or something that helped them move heavy objects."


    "Wait a minute... Elemental Power of Decay and Physical Power as well? Doesn¡¯t that mean it was the work of a Warlock?" Flourance noted, shock spreading over his face at his discovery.


    Xander nodded his head. "That¡¯s what I believe."


    He continued the investigation, scrutinizing each object at the crime scene. Soon, he noticed the bullet shells scattered on the ground that was covered in blood.


    "That still isn¡¯t all. I think that the man had other powers as well. This gun had fired some shots. For the man to dodge the bullets, he must either have had the Elemental Power of Wind or the Physical Power of Speed," He alluded since he didn¡¯t find any body with bullet wounds.


    Xander believed that the bullets had hit the Variant, but not in his vital parts. ording to him, the bullets might have only grazed his skin since he managed to get out of here alive after performing such a huge massacre here.


    "Even though he was fast, he was still grazed by the bullets as the bullets have bloodstains on them. Unfortunately, the wounds probably weren¡¯t deadly; otherwise, he would be lying amongst the dead bodies as well," he acknowledged and further added with a thoughtful expression, "I still believe that he would be seriously wounded."


    Flourance agreed with the observation. He thought the same thing. Thus, he suggested, "We must ask the townspeople if they saw a wounded man around this area of the town. We might even find a description of his appearance this way and identify him."


    Xander nodded his head, giving Flourance his permission.


    "A Triple Awakened Warlock who has the S-Rank power of Decay? This could be problematic if that person isn¡¯t found soon. I hope we find him before he causes any more trouble..." he mumbled as he balled his fists, his eyes lingering on the sinister massacre in the room.

 Chapter 9 - 9: Hospital Patient

    <h4>Chapter 9 - 9: Hospital Patient </h4>


    "I doubt the culprit would still be inside. He is probably long gone now. You interrogate people outside. I¡¯ll check inside," Xander told Flourance, his gaze unwavering.


    Flourance acknowledged themands of their team leader and left the restaurant with a few of their men.


    He left both the forensic officers in the team and Xander behind.


    The kitchen was already checked briefly by one of the Delta team¡¯s members; it was empty with no possible sign of someone present there.


    However, they only checked for people, but it was not specifically by scrutinizing every little thing.


    As for the thorough inspection, it started in the main hall first. They were collecting clues from the outside and wanted to move inside after finishing here.


    As with time, the dead bodies had chances of getting more corroded, which would hamper their collection of evidence. They didn¡¯t touch anything in the kitchen as of yet.


    Xander was also following the same pattern. He distributed work among everyone. A part of his team was put to work on interrogating the citizens of the city, with Flourance in the lead.


    The second part of the team was left to collect blood samples and fingerprints in the main hall.


    After distributing the work, Xander was the only one who was free. He soon decided to check inside the kitchen himself.


    He stepped inside the kitchen, the door of which was broken already.


    His eyes scanned all over the small room, trying to find something odd.


    He noticed the door lying on another end of the kitchen, and it didn¡¯t appear shocking to him at all. He had already realized that the culprit had superhuman strength and was quite impulsive as well as angry.


    Otherwise, they couldn¡¯t havemitted such amotion. So, it wasn¡¯t shocking that the door was both broken and badly cramped.


    ¡¯It must have been locked, which annoyed that guy even more, and as a result, he vented all his rage on this door. Still, why would he put so much effort into entering the kitchen? Could it be that the man was hungry and that¡¯s why he came here? Or is there something special about this ce¡¯ Xander thought as he frowned.


    His footsteps were slow but precise as if he was taking each step carefully while his blue eyes scanned everywhere.


    "That seems possible and logical. I don¡¯t believe any big evil group would send its teammate just to kill a bunch of people in a restaurant. It must have been a normal bad-tempered Variant who was hungry and somehow got into a conflict with the people here. That seems to have the highest probability," he concluded deep in thought, his slender fingers softly touching his chin.


    He walked over to the food container and halted when he noticed the unnatural powder-like object scattered there, which looked like a decayed part of something.


    Xander observed it carefully but didn¡¯t touch it since it was all evidence, and touching might lead to some adulteration. It could result in ruining the evidence. Only forensics was supposed to touch it, that too, with specific tools.


    "It¡¯s definitely his power. So I was right. He came here for food and ate from here," Xander acknowledged before turning around. He walked around the kitchen to find more clues, fully focused.


    As he walked around, he soon found a white robe lying on the ground. It was covered in blood. Most of it was already red because of blood stains, yet its original white color could be seen in ces.


    "This robe... Did the mane from a hospital?" Xander¡¯s eyebrows formed into a frown.


    "This does seem a little small for a full grown man," he muttered as he gazed at the robe in confusion.


    "Was the hospitalcking in the size of that man? Or was it something rted to fashion to wear a smaller size? Or could it be a man who was smaller in height and size?"


    "Mayne!" he called out in a loud tone as he gazed towards the door.


    A young man came running through the door as if his tail was on fire. The man had beautiful silver hair that was tied into a ponytail. He seemed to be in his early twenties, and he was quite nervous as he stood in front of Xander.


    He was a regr member of the Delta team who was also the youngest.


    "Yes, Sir," the silver-haired man answered as he stopped before Xander.


    "How far is the nearest hospital from here?" Xander inquired, his eyes fixated on the white robe.


    "Ah, it¡¯s my first time here. I¡¯ll check," Mayne answered with an embarrassed look on his face. He quickly pulled out his phone from his pocket and started browsing through the map.


    As he was put in a nervous spot, he couldn¡¯t help but make a few wrong clicks. The silence was scary for him, and the feeling of a superior waiting for his answer was even more intimidating, especially when he was the newest member of the team.


    "You don¡¯t have to be so stressed. Take it easy; you can take your time," Xander alluded as he realized that Mayne was intimidated.


    He turned back and walked towards the open cupboard to check it while giving Mayne some room and a chance to breathe.


    From the moment he called him, Mayne looked like he didn¡¯t even breathe as he tried to search for hospitals on his phone.


    The silver-haired man finally breathed out. A sigh of relief washed over him as Xander walked away. He finally calmed down. Now that he was calm, he finally managed to search more effectively.


    While Mayne was trying to find the answer to Xander¡¯s question, Xander was busy observing the cupboard.


    Noticing the marks on the cupboard, Xander concluded, "He opened this ce as well. Maybe in search of more food?"


    "I got it. There is no hospital here in this town, but there is one clinic nearby. As for a proper hospital, the nearest one would be in Legion City," Mayne informed Xander.


    "Legion City, huh?" Xander gazed back at Mayne, his face dark with thoughts.


    "It¡¯s possible that our culprit is a runaway patient, but it¡¯s also possible that he just happened to get that robe from somewhere else. He could also get it from friends or others. Clothing shops also have such clothes. I guess this lead is quite useless since no hospitals are in this town. Collect that robe and send it to forensics."


    Xander started leaving the kitchen, but just as he was about to take a step out of the door, he stopped in his tracks, "On second thought, just for the sake of it, contact the hospitals and ask if there was a patient who ran away. I¡¯m sure we wouldn¡¯t get anything, but it¡¯s just one call. We might as well try while we wait for the report."


    After finishing giving hismands, he left the kitchen.


    Mayne stayed behind to collect the robe carefully while making sure that he wouldn¡¯t mess things up. It was quite hard but not as hard as the hurdles that he had crossed to make it into this team. He couldn¡¯t afford to mess anything up now.


    Xander stepped into the main hall, where the forensic team was still collecting samples and bodies.


    "You guys stay here. The armored truck will be here soon. Stay here and look for anything we might have missed. Every single thing is essential, big or small. You guys are also responsible to take the bodies back to our base. We would need them to find out more about how they actually died," he said all in a breath.


    "I will be outside with Flourance. If you need anything, you can call me," he continued before he left the restaurant premises.


    "Yes, Captain!" The men let out in unison.


    Including Mayne, five people remained inside the restaurant.


    The citizens of the town were confused as they saw the three armored helicopters flying above their heads.


    Most of them still haven¡¯t found out about the dreadful massacre that had taken ce there. The only ones that had found out about it were the ones that were interrogated.


    Xander walked through the streets of the town and soon noticed Flourance in the distance.


    He approached Flourance and heard him interrogating one of the townies, "Have you seen a person who was wounded? His clothes must have had blood on them."


    Flourance was interrogating a middle-aged man.


    "A person in bloodied clothes? I don¡¯t remember seeing anyone like that. Why? Did something happen?" The middle-aged man asked in confusion, wondering why he was being asked such questions all of a sudden.


    ¡¯Did someone run away from some prison or something?¡¯ he thought, mostly intimidated. It was what most people thought when they saw these people ask the questions.


    It felt like they were looking for someone. By militarized helicopters that were in the sky, it also seemed like they were from the government. So, it could only mean they were looking for a wounded criminal.


    "So, you didn¡¯t see anyone. You can go. If you find out anything or remember something, you cane and tell us. You¡¯ll be rewarded heavily for the help," Flourance alluded to the men before giving him the permission to leave.


    After the middle-aged man left, Flourance turned to face Xander.


    "We¡¯ve asked as many people as we could, but none of them ims to see someone that matches our description. Could it be that the culprit wasn¡¯t wounded?" hemented.


    Xander shook his head lightly, rejecting the notion of Flourance. He gazed back towards the restaurant before he answered, his voice a little lower than usual but calm, "I don¡¯t think so."


    He continued, "The person was certainly wounded. We found the robe he was wearing. There were some hints of the blood being washed in the sink. It¡¯s possible that he cleaned the blood off his body, but still, this kind of wound would have just bled again. There must be someone who saw a bleeding guy."


    "I hope it¡¯s as you say, or we would have a person on the loose who can wipe thousands from the face of this on his own." Flourance nodded his head softly as he hoped that they weren¡¯t wrong.


    But he couldn¡¯tpletely ease the ominous feeling that hammered in his heart as if they were missing something. And by the look stered on Xander¡¯s face, he could tell that the feeling was mutual.


    ...To Be Continued.

 Chapter 10 - 10: Profiling

    <h4>Chapter 10 - 10: Profiling </h4>


    The sun was going down slowly. The evening sunlight poured out over the streets like a fine wine.


    The Delta Squad members kept interrogating the citizens of the town without any break, trying to find any little clue they could about the whereabouts of the culprit. They were too immersed to feel any tiredness.


    The teams spread out throughout the town and asked every person about this. Unfortunately, none of the citizens were able to provide them with the information they needed.


    None of them saw a person covered in blood or wounded. None saw anyone they considered suspicious.


    Let alone seeing a person like that, none of them even acknowledged seeing a man whom they hadn¡¯t seen before in the town.


    There was only one person in the entire town that had seen Lucifer and was still alive. It was the person that had told Lucifer about the whereabouts of the Legion City. He still wasn¡¯t interrogated as he wasfortably sitting in his home.


    Knock! Knock!


    A calm knocking sound echoed through the walls of his wooden house. The knock fell onto the man¡¯s ears, breaking the serene silence inside the entire house.


    The man stood up from his seat and walked towards the doorzily, taking all his time.


    It was thest house that was yet to be interrogated by the Delta squad. So, it was thest hope of finding any information regarding the culprit.


    Flourance had personallye to ask questions, followed by two other team members.


    Xander wasn¡¯t here, though. Xander had gone back to the restaurant with the others, leaving Flourance to interrogate thest house.


    A dark-haired man opened the door before Flourance.


    "Yes? Who are you?" The man asked Flourance, who stood before him.


    After introducing himself formally, Flourance politely and patiently repeated the same questions that he had been asking everyone. The man took some time to think about it, but his answer was the same as the others.


    He also shook his head and imed not to know anyone that might match that description.


    He hadn¡¯t seen a person who he could describe as wounded.


    Though he did find the loose clothes of Lucifer weird, he didn¡¯t focus on it much since the questions weren¡¯t about that. He had also thought that these people were looking for a criminal. Who would have thought that a kid would be the one they were looking for?


    Their description made the person they were looking for; seem like a vile criminal that was wounded and covered in blood or walking abnormally or acting suspiciously. The first thought that came into people¡¯s mind was of an adult. So, Lucifer was automatically excluded from their thoughts.


    The man was not any different in this case. He had seen an unknown child, but he never saw a wounded person. The man simply denied as he said that he didn¡¯t see anyone like that.


    Flourance sighed in frustration as unhappy lines etched on his face deeply.


    "You are all useless. This entire town is useless. In broad daylight, a restaurant was destroyed. So many people were killed, and no one saw anything!"


    "I never saw such a useless town filled with such careless people. You are all so irresponsible," Flouranceined in frustration before he turned back.


    The man scratched the back of his head as he saw Flourance stomping away on his foot.


    ¡¯What a rude guy!¡¯ He thought.


    ****


    Flourance went back to the restaurant where he met Xander and informed him about his findings... or hisck of findings...


    "It¡¯s so strange. Is the culprit even a human? Is he a ghost or somebody invisible? Or could it be that he had the power to jump into the shadows and disappear? That could describe why no one saw him." Flourance grunted after he finished his sentence. Honestly, he was quite annoyed and hopeless by then.


    "We have so many theories already about his potential powers. All we can do is wait and hope that the forensics would be able to give us some clues about who this guy or girl is," Xander acknowledged, his face darkening with thoughts.


    "Just who was this person, and where exactly did he disappear?" he further wondered.


    The day was hot, and the temperature was already over thirty-five degrees Celsius, but the Delta Squad members weren¡¯t feeling hot. They had trained in both extremely hot and cold weather.


    The team finished collecting all the clues and evidence that they could find. They also collected the bodies and arranged for their transport.


    It was at that moment; three armored trucks entered the town.


    The armored trucks had moved through the uneven roads of the town before they ultimately reached the restaurant. They stopped right before Xander and the others.


    Mayne stepped out with the other team members, who began transporting the bodies to the newly arrived vehicles.


    "Mayne," Xander called out to Mayne, who was standing near him.


    "Yes, Captain?" Mayne replied as he tried to make sure that his body didn¡¯t go tense again.


    Xander was standing with his back resting against the wall. His purple eyes were observing every change in Mayne¡¯s expressions.


    "What do you think about the case? You¡¯re an expert in profiling. Give us a profile on this guy from what you observed here."


    Mayne clenched his fists as he took a deep breath. It was finally his chance to shine.


    Previously, he had gone tense when Xander had asked him a question. It was the time to redeem himself, and he didn¡¯t want to screw it up again. He took a deep breath before he started answering.


    "We don¡¯t have any information as to who did it, and there¡¯s no CCTV footage either. But we do know his motives. That guy was looking for food. I believe his intentions weren¡¯t to kill, but some kind of conflict happened here, which made him do it." Mayne spoke in a single breath, his sentencesing out as if he had memorized it.


    Seeing how he answered, some unaware people might have even thought that he had been preparing to answer this all along.


    "It¡¯s going to be difficult finding him, but I¡¯m sure he willmit a massacre like this again. Even though it wasn¡¯t his intention at the start to kill people, the way he killed them all, I feel like he enjoyed the ughter."


    " He got a taste of this forbidden fruit. If he loses himself in this desire to feel strong over others, he will do it again. So we must find him. This experience might have created a real monster."


    Mayne started describing how he felt the culprit¡¯s psyche worked. Even though he was talking in his usual tone, each of his words seemed to bear much weight and left a chill down everyone¡¯s spine, creating a scary picture of a monster in their minds.


    Mayne¡¯s eyes were fixated on Xander, who had an expressionless face. He was oblivious to how vivid the expressions of others who were hearing his words were.


    Mayne continued with his description without even waiting for a second to take a breath. However, he did take short breaths every now and then as if afraid his chance to speak would be taken away if he stopped for too long.


    "What I don¡¯t understand is how we didn¡¯t know about a Variant like this? He or she must¡¯ve been over twenty years old, at least from what I can think. But a Variant can only awaken their powers when they are younger than ten."


    " So, it doesn¡¯t seem like the case of a person who just awoke his power and failed to control them," Mayne exined. "But that is what raises another question. How is it that there has never been an incident like this before?"


    In the end, Mayne finished with a question that was guing him for long now. "Why has this person spent over ten years peacefully and justmitted a ughter over something as small as hunger?"


    Xander¡¯s expression slightly changed for the first time since Mayne had started speaking.


    "Maybe he was a hermit who didn¡¯t publicize his powers and lived a sheltered life? It¡¯s quite possible that it was the first time someone annoyed him, which caused him to lose control of his emotions?" Flourance guessed as he shifted his gaze from Mayne to Xander.


    Mayne agreed. "Indeed. It¡¯s quite possible."


    "It¡¯s either that or this food stuff is just to divert our attention," Xander chimed in with an assumption that no one had thought of yet.


    "I thought that it was a simr story about a hungry Variant killing for food, but as Mayne said, some things don¡¯t make sense in that story," he continued.


    Flourance, Mayne, and the others also fell on deep thought as they heard of this possibility.


    Their brain cells were storming with different possibilities and causes, but none seem to put them in words.


    Xander noticed the expressions of Mayne change a little.


    Xander¡¯s gaze didn¡¯t miss it, even though it was for only a ssh second when Mayne¡¯s lips quivered. So he spoke out instantly, "You can say whatever you want to say, Mayne. Don¡¯t hold back."


    Mayne cleared his throat and nervously pinched the stic band attached to his long hair before speaking again.


    "Could it be some Variant Organization like VU is behind it? They might be trying to make us waste our time in this case for some reason to keep us off their tails while they n for something big and more threatening. No matter how fleeting the possibility is, I believe we can¡¯t ignore it."

 Chapter 11 - 11: One Feet In Grave

    <h4>Chapter 11 - 11: One Feet In Grave </h4>


    "There are too many possibilities," Xander muttered as he frowned. "But we don¡¯t want possibilities. We need answers."


    He further inquired, "Did you collect fingerprints and other samples?"


    Mayne nodded as he softly answered, "Yes, Captain. We have collected some fingerprints. We can match them against the database. If this person is in our database, we¡¯ll find him."


    He paused for some time before speaking again, "But I have a feeling that it¡¯s a neer who did it. If my assumption is correct, we won¡¯t find him in our database. And if it¡¯s a scheme of our enemies to throw us off, the oue will be the same."


    He was actually quite sure that this wouldn¡¯t yield any result, but he was tame with his words.


    Xander ced his hand on Mayne¡¯s shoulder; giving him a tight-lipped smile, he said, "Just do your best."


    He looked towards the man who was in a white robe. The man hade in the recently arrived armored vehicles.


    Xandermanded, looking at the white robed man, "Mike, ce this whole town in lockdown. No one is allowed to leave or enter without my permission. Test every person in the town to see if they have powers."


    After pausing for a moment, he added, "Maybe that guy is someone from the town. I want the tests done today. The results should be in front of me by tomorrow."


    Mike wasn¡¯t a Variant, and he had no powers, but he was from the support squad of the APF.


    He was responsible for things rted to theirmunication, equipment, transport, and testing.


    "Yes, Sir," Mike acknowledged as he spoke confidently. "You¡¯ll have the results by tomorrow."


    "Will you be going back to the base now, sir?" he asked softly.


    Xander smiled slightly as he refuted, "Why will I leave? We are possibly against a monster that has simr powers to one of the strongest Variants who walked on this earth. I can¡¯t bezy and leave everything to you all."


    He further added, "You would die if you actually managed to find him. Our team and I are going to stay with you guys. If he is indeed in this town, he can¡¯t be allowed to escape. For your safety and for this town."


    His words made Mike frown; however, he knew that Xander was right.


    *****


    While the APF was focusing more on the town, keeping their entire focus on locating Lucifer, Lucifer was moving towards the Legion City where his home was.


    He had awakened the power of Wind that he received from his mother. This power allowed a person to be able to do many things, but for now, Lucifer was only able to use it to run like the wind.


    His entire body felt as light as a feather as he sprinted through the forest.


    Lucifer knew that the people who awakened the power of Wind were even able to fly, but that was only possible if their abilities were at the same level as his mother.


    His mother was the only elemental wind Sorcerer who could utilize theplete power of wind and fly.


    There were other awakened ones who could fly, but they all had different magic than her.


    Not a single person was able to fly after getting the power of wind except for his mother. Since her power of wind was Grade A, she could easily use it to fly.


    She was the only Variant to ever awaken and master the A-Rank power of wind to its full extent.


    But her power of wind was overshadowed by her Power of Decay which was an S-Rank ability.


    Most people knew her as the "Queen of Decay."


    But only the people who were really knowledgeable knew how useful the power of wind was to his mother.


    It wasn¡¯t as scary and destructive in essence as her ability of Decay, but in utility, it was much more efficient despite being an A-Rank ability.


    Until now, not even a single person had managed to awaken S-Rank Wind Control, not even his mother.


    It had been a long time since the first human awoke his abilities. Despite so much time being passed, people still didn¡¯t have aplete understanding of abilities.


    Most people only knew basic things. They knew that some rare people awoke the powers when they were younger, and the powers were graded from that moment itself based on their element, nature, and rarity.


    Super Strength of his father was an S-Rank Physical Power. There were other strengthening powers but none like this, which boosted strength so much; that¡¯s why it was S-Rank.


    The ck Lightning of his father was also S-Rank since it was one of the rarest and most destructive abilities when it was fully mastered. It was much more scary and dangerouspared to normal lightning powers that Variants awoke.


    There was also a theory that people could upgrade the ranks of their power naturally by making them stronger through training, but so far, it was not proven as no one had managed to do it. It was only a theory that some crazy people had.


    Let alone upgrading an A-Rank Power to S-Rank, people couldn¡¯t even upgrade from E-Rank power to D-Rank.


    Lucifer was lucky that he had inherited all S-Rank Powers from his parents. Only one of his powers was A-Rank, and that was Wind Control. His Healing was unranked, though.


    Even though he had S-Rank abilities, he was still a kid who had no control over such powers. He also had no one to teach him. So even though his powers were S-Grade, he couldn¡¯t utilize even a fraction of those powers, which was proven by how he couldn¡¯t fly.


    His powers were S-Rank but only in potential and name. His powers were going to be much weaker as long as he didn¡¯t master them entirely.


    Lucifer ran for five straight hours and only stopped when he reached the next town.


    It was another small town which was only as big as thest town. Despite being the same size as the previous town, this ce seemed much worse.


    There were not many people on the streets. This looked like a ghost town instead. In the long road ahead, he only saw three people altogether.


    All of them were standing in the same ce. They were all men who were wearing sleeveless leather jackets that were unzipped. There was nothing inside their jacket that revealed their hairy chest. All of them were bulky people who had a good amount of mass in their bodies. Their biceps were the size of Lucifer¡¯s head.


    These three men were standing in front of a small house that looked like it desperately needed some repair.


    All three of them had guns in their hands.


    One of the guys walked towards the door of the small house and kicked it with full force.


    The door opened as its lock broke because of the impact.


    The man barged inside the house in significant strides.


    Lucifer observed them, but he didn¡¯t stop walking. He was only intrigued by these people.


    After a few moments, the man that had entered the house came out.


    He seemed to be dragging an old man with him whose neck was in his hand. The man threw the old man on the road in front of the other two guys.


    The old man seemed like he was in his seventies. His face was full of wrinkles, and his body seemed weak. His head was full of white hairs that were untied and looked dirty.


    The red-haired man that had thrown the old man on the street startedughing cruelly as he gazed at the old man.


    "Hah, Old Man Stan! Did you really think that you can stay alive after eating our money? You took the loan, but you don¡¯t even pay the interest? Are you really looking to die?"


    The red-haired man stepped closer to the frail old man. The old man was trying to sit up, but before he could, a footnded on his head, smashing him on the ground again.


    "Stay on the ground like the good dog you are!"


    Lucifer nced at the men for a brief second. He could see everything that was happening. A curious interest was visible in his eyes.


    "I-i wanted to pay you, but there has been a theft in my house. Someone stole everything! I have nothing left to pay you. Please give me more time." The old man pleaded as tears kept falling from his eyes.


    "Is that something we are supposed to care about? If you can¡¯t pay, we will just sell your house," the red-haired man grunted.


    "No, please. Don¡¯t do it. This house is thest thing I have left. It has the memories of my dead kids. This is the only thing I have left," The old guy begged as he touched the feet of the red-haired man.


    "Why do you care about a house? It¡¯s not like you¡¯re going to stay here for long! You¡¯ll be dead soon anyway. One of your legs is already in the grave," the red-haired man threw back his head and let out a loud, humorlessugh.


    The other two men also joined in asughter filled the surroundings. The old man was obviously embarrassed, but he didn¡¯t care.


    "Please. I¡¯ll be your ve for all my life. I swear on my life!" The old man said while sulking.


    ... to be continued.

 Chapter 12 - 12: Ticket To Hell

    <h4>Chapter 12 - 12: Ticket To Hell </h4>


    "I¡¯m willing to be your dog. Just don¡¯t take my home from me. This is my everything!" the old man begged. Tears kepting out of his eyes that were bleeding red by now.


    The red-haired man grinned as he stepped closer to the old man. He sat on one knee before the man as he touched the old man¡¯s cheeks.


    "Oh man, I didn¡¯t know about it. I would never have bullied you so much if I knew how sad your life was," he said as he sighed.


    The old man nodded as he saw the concern on the red-haired man¡¯s face. He did find it somewhat suspicious, but he could only believe.


    The red-haired man patted the head of the old man gently before he stood up.


    Bang!


    The old man had just wiped his blurry eyes; however, before he could even get a clear view, he heard a gunshot.


    A bullet prated his head, leaving a big hole in his skull. His eyes remained open in shock as the old man dropped to the ground, getting an instant death.


    Lucifer had stopped looking towards the scene ofmotion. He didn¡¯t care about whatever these people did, but the big bang of the gun attracted his attention.


    He looked towards the small group only to find the old man lying on the ground. Blood was spilling out of his head.


    The red-haired man wasughing nearby. A gun was in his hand, which was still aiming towards the old man.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    The red-haired man fired three more shots despite knowing that the old man was already dead, as if he was actually furious enough.


    He didn¡¯t stopughing like mad as he fired. Hisughter echoed in the surroundings. Heughed so happily that unaware people might have misunderstood that it was the wedding day of the red-haired man.


    "Hahaha, you fool! You really thought we would let him live? Why should I care about your pitiful life?" the man dered as he squinted his eyes.


    "We should just sell his house and get some more money," One of the men chimed in.


    "Yeah. Even if it¡¯s a trashy house, We should be able to get something," the red-haired man grinned.


    Other than these few men, not a single person was on the streets.


    None of the citizens wanted to be involved in the matters of gangs. They didn¡¯t want to be lying dead. Everyone had locked themselves inside their houses.


    "Poor guy, he didn¡¯t even know that it was us who stole the money from his house. It was so fun to see his expressions as he died," Another guy startedughing as he kicked the body of the old man.


    "Let¡¯s get inside the house. It belongs to us now after all," the red-haired man let out as he started walking towards the house. One of the two remaining men followed the red-haired man inside.


    The third person was a dark-haired man who had stayed outside. He pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket.


    He pulled out a cigarette from the pack and ced it in his lips before he lit it up using a lighter.


    "This is life," the dark-haired man let out with a grin on his face.


    Lucifer just took a short nce at the dead body, but there was no change in his expressions. He didn¡¯t stop and continued walking.


    He did feel somewhat angry, though. The way those guysughed, he could see a glimpse of that mad scientist in them. There was an urge inside him to kill these people, but there was another urge inside him to not care.


    These were ants. Why should he care? He was conflicted, but he decided to ignore it. It was as if he just needed one spark to blow up.


    Unfortunately, that spark came sooner than expected as the dark-haired man¡¯s eyes fell on Lucifer. He didn¡¯t know that his following action was going to be his one-way ticket to hell.


    *****


    The dark-haired man¡¯s eyes fell on Lucifer. Lucifer was dressed in loose clothes, which seemed somewhat funny.


    "Hey, Joker! Come here!" he called out to Lucifer.


    Lucifer ignored the words and didn¡¯t stop.


    As the dark-haired man saw Lucifer ignore him, his blood started boiling. He lost control of his words which was going to be his biggest regret soon.


    "You, Little Bastard! I¡¯m talking to you! Listen to me, you son of a bit-"


    He hadn¡¯t even finished his sentence when a ck lightning bolt hit the skull of the man.


    His body dropped to the ground right away as he died. But this wasn¡¯t enough. What he had said was intolerable! He had dared to talk bad about Lucifer¡¯s mother, which was his red line.


    Lucifer ran towards the dark-haired man who was lying dead on the ground. His skull was charred ck. A hole was also visible in his head.


    Lucifer stopped before the dead body. The words this man had just spoken now were still echoing in his head. He raised his right foot and stomped on the head of the dark-haired man, crushing his skull.


    He didn¡¯t stop. He kept smashing again and again, but his anger didn¡¯t stop. It wasn¡¯t enough. He needed more!


    He gazed to the right towards the small house where the two partners of this dark-haired man had entered.

 Chapter 13 - 13: Hallucinations

    <h4>Chapter 13 - 13: Hallucinations </h4>


    A river of rage was flowing through the heart of Lucifer. Even though he had killed the person responsible for his anger, the anger didn¡¯t subside.


    He was already furious at the men who showed him the worst of humanity while reminding him of the scientists. If it were before, he wouldn¡¯t have done anything, but he was already enraged.


    A bloodthirst was rising inside his heart which seemed to be shrouded in something iprehensible which he didn¡¯t quite understand himself. It was his first time feeling like this.


    The only thing he knew was that he wanted to do something... something his parents would never have approved of.


    Lucifer nced towards the old house. He had seen two men from the group of three enter the house.


    He started striding towards the house.


    The door was still unlocked as the men weren¡¯t worried about anyoneing in. Their partner was also still out, at least in their eyes.


    He pushed the door open and entered the house.


    Two men were sitting on a sofa casually. There was a wooden table ced in front of them. A white powdery substance was lying on the table.


    The red-haired man who was the leader of the ground seemed to be mixing the powdery substance. A look of greed was clearly visible in his eyes.


    "Hmm? Who the heck are you?"


    A loud voice attracted the attention of the red-haired man. He looked to his left at his partner, who had just spoken.


    After noticing where his blonde-haired partner was looking, he shifted his gaze and saw Lucifer standing near the door.


    The red-haired man threw his head back as he startedughing out loud.


    "Hahaha, I get it. He seems to be the illegitimate son of that old guy. I never knew that guy would be hiding a son in his house!"


    He misunderstood Lucifer¡¯s identity and assumed him to be rted to the old man they had killed.


    "Hey Kid, did you see what happened outside?" he asked Lucifer, wondering if Lucifer saw them kill the old man.


    "Why are you talking so much? You keep mixing. I¡¯ll take care of this guy, " the blonde man chimed in as he picked up a gun that was lying on the table.


    He aimed the gun at Lucifer and fired without wasting even a second. The bullet zed through the air, leaving a powerful sound in its wake.


    The red-haired man looked at the one that fired the shot with an annoyed look on his face.


    "Hey, Marlon! Why did you kill him! It would have been good to have a servant to do our chores," heined. "Because of you, we lost such a good opportunity."


    "Ahh, right, why didn¡¯t I think about it!" Marlon couldn¡¯t help but facepalm himself.


    "Sigh, it¡¯s toote now. Whatever, you take care of the body." The red-haired man was disappointed as he red at Marlon.


    He looked back towards Lucifer, only to have his eyes widen in surprise.


    "Umm, Marlon? Why is this guy still standing?" he inquired with a nk look on his face. "That too when you clearly shot his head?"


    Instead of seeing Lucifer fall, the two of them saw Lucifer standing tall. Not only that, Lucifer had started walking towards them slowly.


    "Something is wrong!" Marlon panted as he stood up.


    Both of them knew that something was really messed up here.


    "Are we already hallucinating? We are, right?" the red-haired man asked as he rubbed his eyes. He wondered if drugs had entered his body when he was mixing them.


    "We can¡¯t both be hallucinating at the same time!" Marlon asserted as he realized that they were in danger.


    He once again aimed the gun at Lucifer¡¯s head before he started firing.


    One after another, all bullets were emptied in Lucifer.


    Marlon didn¡¯t stop this time until his gun waspletely empty. Unfortunately for him, Lucifer still didn¡¯t fall.


    Not only that, the way Lucifer was taking bullets so easily, Marlon felt like he was in a nightmare where the Devil had taken the shape of a kid to scare them.


    "Why don¡¯t you just die?!" Marlon roared as he threw the gun towards Lucifer.


    Lucifer waved his hand gently, tossing the gun aside without letting it hit him.


    Marlon felt like he was going crazy. He started running towards Lucifer as he punched out.


    Since guns were useless, he was going to let his hands do the job to knock Lucifer out.


    His bad luck didn¡¯t leave him this time either, as his hand was caught easily.


    Lucifer caught the fist of Marlon, which wasing for his face.


    Marlon tried to push Lucifer only to fail. It was as if his hand was caught by a mountain that was impossible to shake.


    No matter how hard he tried, he couldn¡¯t move his hand. Not only that, soon, he started feeling as if his hand was burning in the mes of hell.


    This feeling soon spread into his entire body. He could feel his body weakening at a rapid pace. Wrinkles started developing on his face as his body started shrinking. He started getting older. It all happened so fast that the man didn¡¯t even know how to react before he died.


    The red-haired man looked at Lucifer with a pale face as he watched his friend die a gruesome death.


    He was scared silly as he saw the dried-up body of his partner.


    "Y-you a-are Variant?!" he stuttered as he realized that it wasn¡¯t his hallucinations. That only meant the boy in front of him had special abilities. He was a Variant.

 Chapter 14 - 14: Legion City

    <h4>Chapter 14 - 14: Legion City </h4>


    The red-haired man realized that Lucifer was a Variant and that it wasn¡¯t his Hallucinations. His heart was thumping like crazy as he wondered what he could do.


    There was a gun near him, but he had already seen how useless a gun was against Lucifer. It was as if the bullets were not made of metal. They entered the skull of Lucifer and disappeared.


    Were these bullets even real? Or was something wrong with them? The bullets entered the skull of Lucifer, and instead of killing him, these seemed to make him seem even more intimidating.


    He looked towards the door, which was behind Lucifer. That seemed to be the only path to escape.


    He ced his fist on the table and filled it up with the drugs that he tossed towards Lucifer. The white powdery substance filled the air, some of which even entered Lucifer¡¯s eyes.


    The man utilized the opportunity as he started running towards the door.


    He had almost managed to reach the door. There seemed to be only a few meters of distance between him and the freedom. Unfortunately, thest few meters seemed like miles as the man saw Lucifer appear in front of him.


    He opened his lips to speak something, but no words came out of his mouth. Sweat filled his face as he started stepping back slowly.


    Lucifer ran towards the red-haired man, and without dy, he packed his fist before he punched out.


    Lucifer¡¯s fist hit the stomach of the man, making his eyes open wide in pain.


    The man flew back and crashed on the wall. Extreme pain gripped his body as the man felt like his whole body was going through internal bleeding. He also had an assumption that all his bones were broken. At Least that¡¯s what it felt like.


    Lucifer once again appeared in front of the man, walking in slow steps. His eyes remained on the man who was lying on the ground, groaning in pain.


    The red-haired man could see death right in front of his eyes. The fear of death was evident on his face as he watched Lucifer step closer to him.


    While the red-haired man gazed at Lucifer like he was a grim reaper, Lucifer was also looking back. His eyes were on the man¡¯s face, observing the fear. He couldn¡¯t help but enjoy this fear.


    He also wondered when he¡¯d get to see this expression in the face of those scientists. He didn¡¯t realize that there was a slight change taking ce inside him. The more he killed, the more he was changing. It was a change he was utterly unaware of.


    It was exactly what the APF was worried about when they profiled Lucifer.


    The fear of death was enough to make the man go crazy. He couldn¡¯t help but yell, "You bastard! Why are you even hitting me? What did I do to you? Don¡¯t tell me I fu*ked your mother!"


    Those seemed to be thest words he had managed to speak as the next thing he saw was only darkness. Lucifer had punched his face in rage at having his mother mocked again. His punch was enough to make the man¡¯s head blow up like a coconut.


    A gruesome scene unraveled in front of Lucifer, who didn¡¯t spend even a single second more watching it. He instantly turned back to leave.


    Lucifer had only taken a few steps when his stomach started growling.


    He had run out of food some time ago already. Moreover, using his abilities had made him hungry again. In his hunger, he decided to find something to eat. It was a house, so he had a feeling that there must be things to eat.


    He stepped inside the kitchen, where surprisingly, he found rubber gloves lying on top of a fridge. He touched the rubber gloves to test something.


    A smile appeared on Lucifer¡¯s face as he realized that these gloves were decaying slowly. They did decay as well, but their speed was much slower.


    He instantly wore the gloves before he opened the fridge. He could see that the fridge was mostly empty. There was a bottle of water along with a few apples that were inside the fruit basket in the refrigerator.


    He picked up the water bottle and drank a mouthful of water before he picked up the fruits. He started eating the fruits and only left after finishing them all.


    His hunger was somewhat satiated, which made him feel better. He felt like he was ready for a long journey.


    Lucifer didn¡¯t waste any time in the town. He instantly left. After walking for two straight days, he finally reached Legion City, where his home was.


    A board with the city name was at the city¡¯s entrance, which made him know that it was his Legion City.


    There was still one problem that he didn¡¯t know how to solve. He didn¡¯t know his address. The only thing he knew about his home was the city it was in, but not the address.


    In fact, he hasn¡¯t even left his house on many asions. The only times he was taken out was when his mom went shopping when he was really young. The address was apletely foreign thing for him at that time.


    He didn¡¯t help but walk through the streets like a lost kid, trying to find his home, but everything was unfamiliar to him.


    He was looking around at various infrastructure of the city as he walked through the streets.


    The city seemed to have many beautiful buildings. He was amazed at how unique some of the designs were.


    He was appreciating a building that seemed to be made in zigzag when a woman stopped in front of him.


    The woman looked at his clothes; a confused expression was evident on her face.


    "Hey, kid? Are you lost?" she asked Lucifer.


    Lucifer raised his head and looked at the beautiful woman.


    Lucifer didn¡¯t reply to her and started striding away from her. He didn¡¯t have anything to talk to the woman since he didn¡¯t believe her, and even if he did, he wouldn¡¯t know what to tell her as he himself didn¡¯t know his address.


    He strode through the city for two days. Extreme hunger had once again started to take him in his grip. His stomach kept making heavy noises.

 Chapter 15 - 15: Stay Away

    <h4>Chapter 15 - 15: Stay Away </h4>


    Lucifer walked through the city for a long time in search of his house. Unfortunately, he failed to find a ce that looked anything like his old house. Not only that, but his body had also started to get hungry.


    His stomach made heavy noises as Lucifer walked through the warm roads that were even hotter because of the bright sun above his head.


    Hunger was keeping him distracted. He had an urge that eating was something that he shouldn¡¯t miss. But for that, he needed to find a ce. Every time he tried to get food, things didn¡¯t end up the way he hoped.


    He wondered if things were going to be different now as he changed the object of his search from his home to a ce where he could eat.


    He walked around for a little longer before he finally saw a ce. It was a small restaurant that had a worn-out board at the front which read, "Home Food."


    "Home Food?" he muttered as he started walking towards the entrance of the restaurant.


    There was a bell connected to the door, which alerted the owner whenever someone entered the restaurant. It started ringing as Lucifer pushed the door open.


    The restaurant seemed to be small. It also didn¡¯t have many people inside.


    A middle-aged man was sitting behind the counter who stood up subconsciously as he heard the bell. The man seemed like he was in his forties. Except for the man, not a single person could be seen inside.


    "We¡¯re closed for the day," the man blurted out right away, even before he could see who had arrived.


    He soon realized that it was a young kid who had stepped inside.


    "Kid? Why are you alone? Where are your parents? From your clothes, it doesn¡¯t look like you have parents taking care of you. How can someone as young as you be allowed to walk without a guardian?" he asked Lucifer.


    He hadn¡¯t expected a ten-year-old boy to be the one who came inside his restaurant.


    "I need food," Lucifer said without many expressions on his face.


    "Who is it?"


    A feminine voice came from the back as a woman stepped out from the kitchen. The dark-haired woman had beautiful blue eyes. She seemed to be in herte thirties. Her gentle eyes gave Lucifer a feeling of closeness.


    Lucifer couldn¡¯t help but shake his head.


    ¡¯Don¡¯t fall! None of them is actually kind!¡¯ he repeated in his head to make sure he didn¡¯t make the same mistake as he did with the scientists.


    The dark-haired woman was the wife of the middle-aged man.


    She and her husband ran the ce together. The wife made the dishes while the man served the customers and handled the billing.


    The woman was washing the dishes at the moment. As for the restaurant, it had a small board hanging on the doorknob, which said that the restaurant was closed today. Lucifer effectively ignored the words.


    "It¡¯s a boy. He seems to be hungry; he might be an orphan as well," the middle-aged man answered his wife.


    "Only that? It¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll cook something up for him," the dark-haired woman said as she nodded her head.


    She looked back at Lucifer before she continued, "Little guy, Just wait a minute."


    The woman stepped inside the kitchen, leaving her husband and Lucifer behind.


    "True. Even though we can¡¯t help every orphan or every person in need, we can at least feed a kid thates to our doors," the man muttered as he smiled gently. He strode towards Lucifer to pat his head.


    Watching the man approach him, Lucifer couldn¡¯t help but take a step back.


    "Stay away from me!" Lucifer yelled.


    "Ah, alright, alright. I¡¯ll stay away," the man stopped, taken aback. He waved his hand gently as he stepped back.


    He wondered if Lucifer hated him or he had some trauma that was activated when he walked closer. If it was a trauma, the man didn¡¯t want to make things worse for Lucifer.


    The middle-aged man and Lucifer both stayed in their position, with no one moving in the slightest.


    The silencested until the woman came out with a bowl of soup a few minutester.


    "Hmm? What¡¯re you doing there? You could at least sit down," the dark-haired woman let out as she smiled.


    She looked at her husband and couldn¡¯t help but berate him cutely, "You should¡¯ve asked him to sit down. Come on, where¡¯s your head today!"


    Watching the woman scold her husband, Lucifer couldn¡¯t help but reminisce about his parents. His mother also scolded his father often when they were alive.


    There was a little tinge of pain in his heart as he remembered his parents. He clenched his fist so hard that his nails started prating his skin.


    "Come eat," the dark-haired woman alluded to Lucifer as she ced the bowl of soup on the table.


    "He¡¯s a little untrusting; I don¡¯t think he¡¯ll go there as long as you stand there," the middle-aged man informed his wife, stunning her. "Come back here."


    The woman was surprised, but she listened to her husband. She stepped back and walked closer to him.


    "We won¡¯te close; you can eat infort," the middle-aged man told Lucifer with a gentle smile on his face.


    Lucifer looked at both of them for a moment before he started walking towards the table. He was still wearing the rubber gloves in his hands.

 Chapter 16 - 16: Decision That Changed Him Forever

    <h4>Chapter 16 - 16: Decision That Changed Him Forever </h4>


    Even though the rubber gloves didn¡¯t stop his decaying powers entirely, they did decay the slowest. It allowed him to still touch things when he wore them.


    There also seemed to be something iprehensible about his power which he couldn¡¯t understand.


    Even though everything he touched did decay, some things decayed unusually fast while others decayed a little slower. It was as if something subconscious was at y which he couldn¡¯t control.


    Lucifer picked up the bowl and started drinking the soup without using the spoon.


    He wasn¡¯t given the knife and other cutleries when he was in the Facility, and he had to eat things with hands, so this had be his habit not to use such things.


    He finished the soup in an instant. His hunger was satiated. He turned back and started leaving without saying anything to the ones that had fed him.


    He was curious if they would ask him for something in return. Was it that they actually helped him because they were good? That wasn¡¯t possible. People were only good for their greed. That¡¯s what he thought.


    He walked slowly to see if there was something else. What was their purpose in helping him? He wanted them to stop him. He wanted them to show him their true side.


    "Wait!" Lucifer was just about to push the door open to leave when he heard the voice of the woman.


    ¡¯Here ites. They¡¯re all the same.¡¯ He thought as he clenched his fist. He slowly turned back.


    As he turned back, he saw the woman looking at him with a caring smile.


    "You cane again if you¡¯re feeling hungry, alright? Our doors are always open for you."


    Lucifer didn¡¯t respond even though he was taken aback. Was he wrong? Did they actually help him for no greed?


    He turned back and left the restaurant.


    *****


    Lucifer left the restaurant. He had only taken a few steps outside when he saw a group of 20 or so people walk past him. The group of men entered the restaurant.


    Lucifer looked back at them and saw some of them having baseball bats in their hands.


    He stopped in his tracks as he looked towards the restaurant in uncertainty.


    He took a deep breath as he shook his head. Why? They were the same! Why! Why did he feel the urge to check if the couple was in danger? They were all bastards! He couldn¡¯t be sold for a little bit ofpassion. Inside, they were all the same.


    He clenched his fist even harder as he took a deep breath. He started leaving. Unfortunately, he couldn¡¯t take even two steps before he stood.


    "Dammit!"


    He cursed out loud as he looked towards the sky. His parents¡¯ face shed before his eyes. The banter of this couple and the help. He wanted to check things out once more.


    Was it really good to give humans the benefit of the doubt? Maybe people could actually be good? His parents were good after all. He started thinking of excuses to give him a reason to go back.


    He knew that it was going to be something that will change him forever. If he helps, he will change. But if he were betrayed again, that would break him even more. He¡¯ll be too broken. And all it would take is one more betrayal.


    He was still a kid, though, and decided to trust his guts, unaware what a bad decision it was. And how it was going to change him, not for the better but, the worse.


    ****


    After deciding, Lucifer turned back and walked back to the restaurant.


    Pushing the door open, he once again entered the ce.


    As he entered the restaurant, he saw the group of people surrounding the couple.


    "It¡¯s been a month now, but you still haven¡¯t paid the protection money, Weston! Are you really trying to go down that path?" the bulky man in the leather jacket told the middle-aged owner of the restaurant.


    "We can¡¯t pay you this month, Paolo. Please understand, we¡¯re a small business, and the business has been down this month. We¡¯re even struggling to keep the business running, let alone paying you. Give us more time," Weston replied as he lowered his head.


    He couldn¡¯t help but notice the shivering hand of his wife, who seemed to be scared. He held her hand gently.


    "I don¡¯t see you dying of hunger? Why is that? If you have money to eat, then you have money to pay! But I guess you don¡¯t want to pay us. Do you think that we won¡¯t break all the bones in your body?" Paoloughed out loud as he rubbed his baseball bat gently.


    "I-i will pay you next month," Weston replied. "I swear on my life. Just give us one more month!"


    Paolo shook his head lightly as he sighed.


    "Tell me one thing. If I go easy on you, how many businesses will follow your example and give me the same excuse? In this business, reputation is much more important than money, and I won¡¯t let my reputation fall because of you."


    He looked back at his men before hemanded, "Guys, break the legs of his wife. This should act as a reminder to him and as a warning to the other businesses."


    "Yes, boss," a man responded as he stepped towards the dark-haired woman who hid behind Weston.


    .... To be continued.


    ******


    Author Note: This is Extra Chapter for achievingst week¡¯s goal in power stone votes. Thanks a lot and keep voting.


    Current Goal:


    500 Votes: 1 extra chapter (Achieved)


    800 Votes: 2 extra chapter


    1100 votes: 3 extra chapters

 Chapter 17 - 17: Arrogant Variants

    <h4>Chapter 17 - 17: Arrogant Variants </h4>


    A tense atmosphere filled the room as Paolomanded his scar-faced follower to break the legs of Weston¡¯s wife.


    As the dark-haired woman stepped back subconsciously, Weston prepared himself mentally to fight with his life on the line to protect his wife.


    "Aaah!¡¯


    The scar-faced man had only taken a few steps when he stopped as he heard a screaming from behind.


    He turned back in haste along with Paolo and the others.


    As people looked back, they saw a dried-up corpse lying on the ground, which happened to be a fully healthy man previously.


    A ten-eleven-year-old kid could be seen standing near that body.


    Lucifer had removed his gloves and kept them in his pocket, but some of it could still be seen hanging out of his pockets. He stood tall with an expressionless face.


    "You did this?!" Paolo eximed in shock as he stared at Lucifer.


    Strangely enough, he didn¡¯t get any response from Lucifer, who once again moved.


    Before anyone could even understand what had happened, they saw Lucifer touch the hand of another man who was standing closest to him.


    Another scream filled the room as the man felt his skin burn after Lucifer caught his hand. The man¡¯s skin started decaying and turned to ash in front of the onlookers.


    "So that¡¯s how it is; you¡¯re a Variant," Paolo acknowledged as he saw how Lucifer killed the man. "Guys, don¡¯t let him touch you; he won¡¯t be able to harm you!"


    "I know a few things about them. They often have some special powers but only one. There¡¯s no way someone as young as him can have more than one ability. As for his power, it seems to be the ability to kill you after touching you. Just stay away from him!" he further added as he warned everyone with an exnation.


    Hearing Paolo¡¯s warning, his men hastily moved back. Everyone created distance from Lucifer while still simultaneously surrounding him.


    Weston and his wife were more taken aback, though. They were both horrified to their core at the sight of how easily Lucifer killed a man. They couldn¡¯t believe that this boy was a killer and that they had been alone with him previously.


    "I never expected that I would get to kill a Variant, but here we are. I guess it¡¯s my lucky day. You not only killed my men but even exposed your power. Now I know how to kill you and how to keep myself safe," Paolo let out as he startedughing.


    Hisugh was contagious and sounded more like an evil cackle than an expression of amusement as if he is as happy.


    "You should never have killed my men," he further added as he pulled out his gun and aimed it at Lucifer¡¯s head.


    "You Variants really think you¡¯re gods or something. I¡¯m not too fond of the arrogance of you people. Finally, having an opportunity to kill one of you, looks like the gods want to reward me for the good I did!"


    His grin only widened as he started pressing on the trigger.


    "Have a safe trip to hell, little bastard!"


    Bang!


    A bullet left the gun, zooming straight towards Lucifer¡¯s head. It didn¡¯t forget to leave a heavy banging sound in its wake.


    The bullet impaled the forehead of Lucifer and left from the back of his head, leaving a gruesome see-through hole in his head.


    Blood started spilling out of his head which covered his forehead and his face in red.


    "Hahaha, the Variants are nothing special. The government ces so much importance on them for nothing. I don¡¯t know why everyone thinks of them as such a big deal," Paoloughed out loud as he saw Lucifer being shot.


    Ignoring the cackle of Paolo, Lucifer started shaking his head lightly.


    "Sigh... Again! I hate being shot. Now I¡¯ll again feel hungry soon," he muttered in a grim tone as he started rubbing his forehead.


    He felt a sharp pain course through his body as he touched his forehead, but he didn¡¯t let it show on his face. He didn¡¯t even make a pained grunt.


    Paolo heard Lucifer¡¯s calm words. His mouth widened as he gazed at Lucifer¡¯s wound heal with his naked eye.


    The expression on his face was so noteworthy that he wouldn¡¯t have believed that his face could show such expressions even if someone were to record his face and show himter.


    "Y-your head. What?!"


    He soon saw the hole close wholly. Not even a mark on Lucifer¡¯s forehead was left behind. Only the blood on Lucifer¡¯s face and his forehead made Paolo believe that the scene of him shooting Lucifer wasn¡¯t a dream. This guy had actually healed from something like that.


    No matter how unbelievable, it was the truth.


    *****


    Lucifer was shot in the head, but he didn¡¯t fall. That wasn¡¯t what shocked everyone, though.


    What was more shocking was watching what happened next¡ªwatching the hole in Lucifer¡¯s head filling up, and the tissues connecting before their eyes was what horrified everyone.


    Within a few seconds, the wound in Lucifer¡¯s head waspletely healed.


    "M-monster!" Paolo bellowed as his face went pale at this impossible sight. He started shooting like crazy, but this time, Lucifer didn¡¯t standstill.


    He didn¡¯t wait there to get shot. Instead, Lucifer moved from his spot and appeared right in front of Paolo. He grabbed the gun in his hands, closing the opening of the gun with his palm.


    Paolo kept shooting. Bullets kept prating the palm of Lucifer, leaving a hole in his palm. The gun also simultaneously started decaying.

 Chapter 18 - 18: The Start

    <h4>Chapter 18 - 18: The Start </h4>


    Lucifer had caught the gun of Paolo with his bare hands, closing the opening of the Gun. Paolo kept firing, unable to think clearly. The bullets kept passing through Lucifer¡¯s palm, leaving a big hole.


    Simultaneously, the gun also started decaying. The gun ran out of bullets first before it could turn to ash. Unfortunately, all those bullets that Paolo had managed to prevent from going to waste didn¡¯t do him much good.


    Except for a hole in Lucifer¡¯s hand, no wound on his body could be seen.


    "N-no, stay away from me!" Paolo stuttered as his face lost all its blood in fear.


    He couldn¡¯t help but step back like a frightened bunny. His heart thumped like crazy, and he could feel his health getting worse.


    Paolo¡¯s head also started spinning as he started feeling sick.


    This was a nightmare. It wasn¡¯t a Variant but a grim reaper. He knew about a few Variants. None of them were this frightening, though.


    Or was it his knowledge about Variants that was wrong? Many questions floated through his head as Paolo kept dragging his body back.


    In the end, he only saw one option.


    "Stop him!"


    He hastilymanded his men. He needed a bait that could attract Lucifer¡¯s attention. When that happened, Paolo could run away and survive.


    Unfortunately, his n didn¡¯t work. His men were even more frightened than him. Let alone moving to stop Lucifer, they didn¡¯t even dare breathe loudly.


    The disy of brutal strength, which Lucifer demonstrated, had managed to scare everyone thoroughly.


    The men left Paolo behind and started running towards the door. This managed to attract Lucifer¡¯s attention, though.


    He looked towards the men that were running away. These men had seen him. Even though he didn¡¯t care about people knowing about him, there were others who weren¡¯t as fortunate as him.


    He was here to save some people. If these men were left alive, they were only going to create troubleter for this couple.


    Anyone would think that Lucifer knew them. Revenge was iprehensible. Anything was possibleter. He didn¡¯t wish to save people only to have them be killedter.


    He moved from his position as he zoomed towards the door.


    His speed helped him get to the door faster than the men. The men had thought they would be able to run only to attract the dark gaze of the god of death who was standing in front of them now.


    Lucifer raised his right finger towards the man that was closest to him.


    A dark lightning bolt left his finger and shot straight to the head of the first person to run.


    Without wasting even a second, Lucifer punched another man. The man flew back like a stone, hitting the others who were behind him. The impact of Lucifer¡¯s punch proved to be so powerful that even the men who were in the back were tossed back like toys.


    He soon picked up a nearby table and tossed it before the door, blocking the exit. It was the same trick he has used previously.


    After blocking the path that led out of here, he went into action.


    One after another, he kept appearing in front of others, killing them all slowly. Some were killed because of his decaying abilities, while others were killed because they couldn¡¯t bear his brutal strength.


    Within three minutes, another ughter finished. Every single one of the intruders was killed brutally except for Paolo, who was still alive.


    Paolo kept shivering in fear. The exit was blocked, and Lucifer was standing between the blocked exit and him. There was no path that led out of here as this ce only had one exit. He could see no path of survival


    Soon, his gaze fell on the dark-haired woman. An idea popped up in his head as he saw a glimpse of light at the end of a dark tunnel.


    Paolo jumped towards the woman and grabbed her by the neck while he simultaneously ced a knife on her neck.


    "I-if you don¡¯t let me go, I¡¯ll kill her!" Paolo warned Lucifer. "I promise I¡¯ll kill her! If you want to save her, clear the path for me to leave now!"


    He had guessed that Lucifer was here to save the couple, and the couple was his only option to escape. If it was Lucifer¡¯s weakness, he wanted to use it to survive.


    Lucifer gazed at the knife that was ced on the neck of the woman.


    He pointed his finger towards the man but didn¡¯t move.


    The man had seen the powers of Lucifer and knew that he did have an ability that could harm people from a distance. He had seen the ck Lightning bolt that Lucifer had previously used to kill his men.


    Even though he knew Lucifer¡¯s Power of Lightning seemed simr to the Power that the Strongest Warlock, Zale Azarel, used to have, he didn¡¯t realize that it was the exact same power.


    It was the S-ss ability of ck Lightning that made his father famous.


    Counting this ability, he had five abilities. Two from his father¡ª S-ss Dark Lightning and S-ss Super Strength. The other two abilities were from his mother¡ª S-ss Decay and A-ss Wind Control. As for thest ability, it was Mystical Healing which was unranked.


    Now, Lucifer had inherited all the powers his parents possessed. His parents had no other power. What he didn¡¯t know was if it was all or was he going to get more abilities like Healing that seemed toe out of nowhere.


    As Lucifer was walking on barrennds whileing towards the legion city, he had practiced his ck Lightning. It gave him some level of control over it.


    "Don¡¯t you dare use that lightning! Before you can even shoot, my knife wil-"


    Paolo started warning Lucifer as he closed the distance between the knife and the woman¡¯s neck to make his threat more effective. Unfortunately, his threat proved to be useless as Lucifer didn¡¯t even let him finish.


    A lightning bolt left Lucifer¡¯s finger. It passed through Paolo¡¯s neck, leaving a big hole behind.


    Paolo¡¯s eyes remained wide open as he lost his life. He didn¡¯t even have enough strength in his body to push the knife to kill the woman as he dropped to the ground.


    Watching the man die without harming the woman, Lucifer nodded his head in satisfaction. He had thought that it was over.


    Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t know that this was just the start of another painful event that was going to leave him even more broken very soon.


    .... To be continued.

 Chapter 19 - 19: Monster

    <h4>Chapter 19 - 19: Monster </h4>


    Weston¡¯s wife Emilia couldn¡¯t help but drop to get knees as her legs started shaking.


    She could hold the fear no longer, and she fell to the floor in a disheveled heap as her grief poured out in a flood of uncontroble tears.


    Her entire body was shivering as tears kept flowing out of her eyes.


    Weston ran to his crying wife and took her in his embrace.


    "It¡¯s alright. Everything¡¯s alright. There¡¯s no need to worry," heforted his wife. "We¡¯re safe."


    Although they were both shaken from the core of their heart, Weston knew that he needed to keep his calm so that he couldfort his wife.


    He had just gone through a deadly situation, but his wife went through even worse. A man was killed when he was just a few inches away from her. Not only that but she was also taken hostage previously. Weston could only imagine what she must be going through.


    Emilia bawled her eyes out as she hugged Weston tightly. Her crying voice seemed very painful.


    Weston kept wiping the tears that managed to trickle down Emilia¡¯s cheeks as he kept rubbing her back with his other hand.


    "Everything¡¯s fine. It¡¯s all over," he said in a soothing tone. His body was also tingling in fear, but he didn¡¯t let it show on his face and kept a strong face.


    After around ten minutes, Emilia finally calmed down as she separated from Weston.


    She looked to his side and saw Lucifer standing there. Lucifer¡¯s curious gaze was on her face.


    The couple didn¡¯t know how to react as they stared at Lucifer.


    Even though it was to save them, Lucifer still killed people. He was a murderer. They didn¡¯t know how they should react at the moment.


    Weston stood up and faced Lucifer before he bowed his head a little.


    "T-thank you for helping us," Weston thanked Lucifer. No matter what, he really couldn¡¯te to me him as he did this all for them.


    "Yes, Thank you for saving us. Without you, we would be dead." Eliana also did the same as she bowed respectfully.


    "You are covered in blood; you can¡¯t go out like this. The police might catch you. You should go to the second floor. We have some rooms there. You can also shower," she further said.


    Lucifer gazed nkly at the woman and didn¡¯t react. Something seemed strange. He didn¡¯t know what it was, but he felt like the woman was different.


    Previously he had thought that she was simr to his mother from the way she talked, but he didn¡¯t get that feeling now. Instead, she seemed theplete opposite.


    "What happened?" Emilia asked Lucifer curiously.


    "You don¡¯t want to go upstairs?" She asked as she saw Lucifer not react.


    Lucifer still didn¡¯t say anything and stood in his ce like a statue.


    "I guess you don¡¯t want to go upstairs. It¡¯s alright. You can wash your face in our kitchen there. In the meanwhile, I¡¯ll bring some clothes for you from upstairs. They might be a little big in size since they belonged to our son who doesn¡¯t live here anymore. But they should do the job for now," Emilia alluded to Lucifer before she turned towards the stairs.


    "Weston, you show the kid our kitchen, thene upstairs to help me get clothes," she told Weston before she started striding towards the stairs.


    Even Weston was surprised by her, but he didn¡¯t put much thought into it. People coped differently to different situations. Maybe she was trying to be a caring mother to Lucifer even though her personality seemed a little different.


    "Don¡¯t worry. You helped us. We won¡¯t let anything happen to you. Come and wash your face," Weston said to Lucifer before he opened the door of the kitchen.


    Lucifer gazed at the man, but he ultimately decided to listen. He walked inside the kitchen.


    "I¡¯ll go help, Emilia. We¡¯ll be back with clothes. Until then, you make sure that you clear all blood from your body," Weston said to Lucifer.


    "After that, we¡¯ll clear the bodies from outside. Everything will be fine. Worry about nothing. You saved us. I won¡¯t let the police catch you," he added before he turned back to leave.


    Lucifer gazed back at the door. A lingering suspicion remained inside him even though he felt that Weston seemed sincere.


    The scientists also seemed sincere before they killed him. Sincerity couldn¡¯t be trusted. For his peace of mind, he decided to check things out.


    He walked out of the kitchen and started walking towards the stairs.


    Tuck! Tuck! Tuck!


    His feet made a little sound every time he stepped up the stairs, but he didn¡¯t care. The sound wasn¡¯t big enough to make others hear. Even he could barely hear.


    *****


    Inside a room on the second floor, the sound of screaming could be heard.


    "What do you mean you¡¯ll call the police?! Have you gone crazy?! That guy saved us!"


    Weston was the one screaming at his wife in disbelief.


    "That¡¯s right! He is a killer! I¡¯m only doing the right thing!" Emilia eximed. She did keep her voice low.


    "Also, talk slowly. I don¡¯t want our voices to go downstairs," she added.


    "I know you¡¯re going through some stress after what happened, but you¡¯re not thinking clearly. That kid killed some people, but he did that to save our life! Why don¡¯t you understand that! Can we really punish him for saving us?" Weston inquired as he sighed.


    "What makes you believe that he did all that to save us? He did all of this because he wanted to kill! He is a monster!" Emilia replied as she shook her head.


    "He wasn¡¯t trying to save us. If he had any intention of saving us, he would have thought twice before attacking when that man had his knife on my neck to threaten him. He didn¡¯t even think for a second! That man honestly wasn¡¯t worried for us! Why would he save us then?" She continued.


    She walked over to the phone and picked it up as she started dialing a number, "It can only be because he wanted to kill! We just happened to be lucky enough to be under trouble when he went crazy and killed people."


    ... to be continued.

 Chapter 20 - 20: Uncontrollable

    <h4>Chapter 20 - 20: Uncontroble </h4>


    "I¡¯m not doing this because I want to either. But because we must. He is dangerous to be allowed to walk free. We must inform the cops. The boy needs to be caged to keep everyone else. Or we can only imagine how many lives he will take," Emilia told her husband as she dialed the number of authorities.


    "But that boy... he will be caged like a beast. We don¡¯t know what they will do to him. He might even be killed. Is this really okay? No matter what, he did save our lives," Weston stressed as he stepped forward.


    He caught her left hand with both her hands which stopped her from calling.


    Weston looked in the eyes of his wife, full of emotions. "Please think again."


    *****


    Lucifer reached the higher floors and walked towards the nearest door, where he heard some sounding from.


    Within seconds, he reached the door, but he didn¡¯t open it as he was close enough to hear what was being talked about inside.


    The first thing he heard was Emilia talking.


    "I¡¯ve thought about it. That boy needs to be caged! There¡¯s no doubt in my head. And so what if the authorities kill him? If his death will save people, then it¡¯s worth it!" Emilia alluded to her husband inplete seriousness.


    Weston couldn¡¯t help but give up before his wife. He could see that some of her words did make sense.


    The only reason he was hesitant was that Lucifer had helped them. However, if his wife was correct and he did that only because he wanted to kill, then saving Lucifer would be akin to protecting a mass murderer who would kill many people again.


    He could only hope that the authorities would help Lucifer and act with caution. He was a kid, after all. It was better to inform the authorities now than to have them catch Lucifer in theter stages of his growth.


    He thought that it was better if they called authorities who could help Lucifer now and bring him to people that could help Variants that dealt with this problem; it was better.


    Even though he tried to think of the benefits of having Lucifer arrested, in reality, he was only trying to justify his wife¡¯s decision in his head, who couldn¡¯t think clearly either.


    "Sigh, I guess some of your words do make sense. We should inform the authorities," he epted.


    Unfortunately, Lucifer only heard his wife¡¯s words and didn¡¯t hear anything after that. He didn¡¯t care to hear anything else. His heart had started thinking as his hands trembled uncontrobly.


    A single sentence floated in his head, which hade out of the woman¡¯s mouth. From the mouth of the woman that he had decided to help. From the woman who he hadpared a bit to his mother in kindness.


    "If his death will save people, then it¡¯s worth it!"


    "If his death will save people, then it¡¯s worth it!"


    "If his death will save people, then it¡¯s worth it!"


    The same sentence kept floating through his head as the cruel face of Emilia appeared before him.


    He couldn¡¯t help but drop down to his knees which had weakened suddenly.


    "Hahaha, Of Course! If his death helps humanity, let¡¯s kill him!"


    A man¡¯s voice also fell in his ears.


    Lucifer looked up only to find Doctor Rao before him.


    "That¡¯s right. Who cares about him. All that matters is us. Let¡¯s just kill him. He¡¯s only a toy, after all!"


    Another voice fell in Lucifer¡¯s ears that seemed toe from behind. He turned back only to find Doctor Layman standing there.


    "Kill him!"


    Another voice was heard.


    Lucifer looked to his left and found Weston standing there.


    "That¡¯s right! Cage this bastard and kill him for us!"


    Another voice came from the right where Lucifer found Emilia to be standing.


    "Kill him!"


    "Kill him!"


    "Kill!"


    "Kill!"


    Everyone started shouting Lucifer¡¯s ears, who had begun to hallucinate.


    This event seemed to be the repeat of what had happened with the scientists, so much so that even the words that were said now were simr. His death was for humanity. That was all he was worth.


    His head kept thumping in pain as heid on his knees, holding his head tightly.


    Blood was moving through Lucifer¡¯s body faster than it had ever moved. A wave of uncontroble anger was also rising inside his heart which seemed to be mixed with grief, sadness, and pain.


    "Why... why... why..."


    Lucifer kept muttering nkly as his eyes grew wet.


    Another change was happening in his eyes which he hadn¡¯t noticed. His eyes were a beautiful shade of blue previously, but his right eye seemed to have changed color a little.


    His right eye had turned a bit of violet in color. It was barely noticeable at the moment, though. His right eye still seemed mostly blue and only a little violet.


    "Why was I stupid enough to believe..." Lucifer let out as a single tear trickled down his cheek.


    The tear moved down his cheek slowly, and soon it left his cheeks as it separated from his body.


    The tear moved through the air under the effect of gravity.


    Tap!


    The tear fell on the floor. Simultaneously, an enraged scream escaped Lucifer¡¯s lips.


    "Why!!!"


    Lucifer¡¯s roar was so loud that it filled the entire house.


    *****


    Emilia had finished dialing the number of authorities, and she was just about to tab the call option when a loud scream fell in her ears.


    The scream seemed so scary that it gave her chills. A shiver ran down her spine as the phone fell from her body.


    Crash!


    The phone crashed on the ground, but the sound of the fall was buried by the sound of the door being broken.


    Both Emilia and Weston looked towards the door, only to have their faces go pale in fear.

 Chapter 21 - 21: Monsters Coming Out

    <h4>Chapter 21 - 21: Monsters Coming Out </h4>


    A man in a ck coat and white pants was walking inside a beautiful-looking corridor that seemed to be made by expensive interior designers.


    The man had beautiful silver hair that came down to his neck. His curvy hair matched the slightest beard he supported.


    The man¡¯s deep ck eyes couldn¡¯t help but observe his surroundings that were filled with ssy beauty.


    Everything seemed expensive here, from the pirs to the vases that were lying near the walls. Even the portraits that were hung on the wall seemed to be made by the greatest of artists.


    Strangely enough, all of these portraits were gifts.


    The man soon reached the end of the corridor, where he stopped. He turned to his left to face a ck metallic door.


    Reaching out his hands, the man knocked on the door.


    "It¡¯s me, Jamison," the silver-haired man said softly. He made sure that his voice was a certain tone. Even though the man only talked about himself, his tone was fully respectful, as if the person who was inside the room deserved the utmost respect.


    "Come on inside," A calm voice came from inside.


    The silver-haired man nodded his head as he pushed the door open to step inside.


    The room was fairlyrge, but it seemed evenrger because of how empty it was. There was only one table inside the room, behind which a man was sitting calmly, immersed in the documents that were in front of him.


    The man who was sitting on the chair seemed to be in histe thirties at best. He was wearing a ck coat as well, but the coat suited him more than the silver-haired man as he seemed like a handsome CEO of a multi-billion dorpany.


    Even though the man was looking at his documents, his eyes could be seen. His beautiful dark hazel eyes werezily going through the documents in his hand.


    The man had beautiful dark hair that was neither too short nor too long. His hair seemed to have a shade of brown as well. It was unclear if that was because of the lighting or it was the way it was.


    "You¡¯re here. Have a seat," the man told the silver-haired man without even raising his head to look at him.


    Even though the dark-haired man had only spokenzily, his voice seemed to contain some magic that was enough to send a shivering chill down the silver-haired man¡¯s spine.


    The silver-haired man nodded his head as he said, "Yes, Sir."


    He strode forward and sat in front of the dark-haired man.


    "So, what did your investigation uncover? Zale Azarel... was he killed by the monsters in the Dungeon, or were Dark Variants involved in it?" the Dark Haired man askedzily. He didn¡¯t stop reading the documents that were in his hands.


    Jamison could feel his heart beating faster. He took a deep breath before he answered, "Sir Varant, We did uncover some clues, but they are not enough to prove anything. We can¡¯t be certain if this was the act of Dark Variants or Monsters."


    The Dark Haired man finally raised his gaze to look at Jamison.


    "You know how important it is, don¡¯t you? Zale Azarel was the strongest Warlock. He, along with his wife, was wiped out inside the dungeon they went to explore. Not only them but all the other Variants were also killed with them. If even after five years, you can¡¯t even get clues about it, then what use are you all of?" he asked.


    "S-sir. We¡¯re trying our best. But it¡¯s tough indeed. No clues were left behind. At the moment, it seems to be the job of the Monsters, but some things definitely don¡¯t make sense," Jamison answered carefully.


    "Fine. Tell me what you found. Let me decide if it¡¯s worth it," the Dark Haired man said.


    Jamison opened the ck bag that he had brought with him and pulled out a file which he ced in front of the Dark-Haired man.


    "As you know, about twenty-five Years ago, this world changed forever," Jamison said softly.


    "That¡¯s right. It was the time of the Great Awakening. Dungeons started appearing all around the world. Thendscape of this world changed. Moreover, kids who were younger than ten years old started awakening Various Powers," the Dark Haired Man acknowledged.


    "Exactly. It was a mysterious event that changed the whole world. Scientists all around the world started investigating the Dungeons to know more about it only to realize that the Dungeons were filled with incredibly powerful monsters."


    " Fortunately, we discovered that Monsters couldn¡¯te out of their dungeons. Humanity was safe from these dungeons, which seemed to bring the gift of powers upon humanity. It seemed to be a golden age of evolution of humanity."


    Jamison started talking and couldn¡¯t help but start reminiscing about the past.


    "You call it fortunate, but I see it as unfortunate. This discovery made our scientistsx andzy. When the dungeons possessed no risk, there was no need for research. They couldn¡¯t go inside the dungeons as the monsters were too strong and kept killing everyone. As for the Monsters, they couldn¡¯te out. This status quo was bad for humanity as research stopped," the Dark Haired man muttered as he ced the paper that was in his hand on the table.


    "That¡¯s right. Every goodes with a bad. Exploring the dungeons was risky. Even our armies couldn¡¯t control monsters inside the Dungeon. But since the monsters couldn¡¯te out, we had no risk. Scientists stopped researching with as much zeal as before. Only an army was assigned before each of the Dungeons to make sure that no human entered inside to die. We thought that was all. Oh, how wrong we were..." Jamison muttered.


    "True. If we weren¡¯t this content, the tragedy of 2028 wouldn¡¯t have happened." The Dark Haired manmented.


    "That¡¯s right. I can only imagine the shock on the face of our government when the monsters finally starteding out of the dungeons. So much bloodshed... even now, the footage of that time makes me shiver." Jamison let out as he realized that his hands were trembling.

 Chapter 22 - 22: Jurisdiction

    <h4>Chapter 22 - 22: Jurisdiction </h4>


    "That¡¯s right. We were so unprepared. It was a massacre. So much of humanity died that day. The armies proved to be useless against some of the monsters. Fortunately, that was when Variants joined the fray with the army. We managed to kill all the monsters, but the losses we suffered were too much," the Dark Haired man dered as he sighed deeply.


    "Yeah. But that again ced the focus of ours on the dungeon. It¡¯s amazing how efficient humanity is when we¡¯re at the risk of extinction. The scientists that couldn¡¯t discover anything for years started making big discoveries right after this event. The cause was found. Why the monsters were able toe out was med on the Monster Index of the Dungeons," Jamison let out softly.


    "Monster Index, huh... the poption of the monsters inside the dungeon," the Dark Haired man remembered the Monster Index.


    "Yeah. Whenever the poption of monsters inside a Dungeon crosses a certain threshold, the energy inside the dungeon bes unstable. The barrier that stops monsters froming out stops working, and monsterse out. This gave us an idea on how to stop the events of 2028 from happening again," Jamison chimed in.


    "That¡¯s right. If I¡¯m not wrong, the Hunter Union was established after that discovery to keep the Monster Index inside Dungeons below the threshold. Since humans and their weapons were less effective against Monsters, the Hunter Union was made mostly of Variants. It¡¯s their duty to keep the dungeons in control now," the Dark Haired man muttered.


    "That¡¯s right. Our Awakened Protection Force was made to stop Dark Variants who misuse their powers. As for Hunter Union, it was made to hunt monsters inside the Dungeons," Jamison replied.


    "It¡¯s good to remember the History again, but what does all of this have to do with Zale Azarel¡¯s death five years ago?" the Dark Haired man asked as his eyes squinted.


    "It has something to do. That¡¯s how this thing started. A level four dungeon is one of the strongest Dungeons ever discovered. It is said to possess monsters that could tten cities with ease. The events of 2028 happened because of a Level 2 Dungeon. Just imagine how bad it would be if a level four dungeon allowed monsters to leave."


    "Anyway, five years ago, the Hunter Union realized that this Level Four Dungeon was awfully close to reaching its Monster Index Threshold. To make sure that this didn¡¯t happen, they not only sent their strongest members to hunt inside the Dungeon, but they also asked the help of the Strongest Warlock, Zale Azarel, and his Wife." Jamison replied.


    He took a deep pause before he continued, "Zale Azarel entered the Dungeon with one of the strongest Warlocks of that time. The Monster Index of the Dungeon decreased. They managed to decrease the monster Index by more than eighty percent to make us safe for years toe."


    "Unfortunately, those people never came out. It was concluded that they died. Search teams were sent inside, but those people weren¡¯t ever found. Everyone believes that they all came face to face with some strong monster, and they were killed. Since no one survived, we can¡¯t verify it." Jamison further said.


    "What about the footsteps? That¡¯s the only thing I want to know about. If the death is caused by monsters, the jurisdiction of this investigation will stay with the Hunter Guild. But if we can prove that it was the work of a Dark Variant who schemed to kill Zale Azarel, we¡¯ll get the jurisdiction. That¡¯s why I told you to investigate," the Dark Haired man said.


    "Stop wasting my time and tell me about that," he further added.


    "That¡¯s right. There are reports of finding footstepsing out of the dungeon. These are human footsteps which raises the question. If everyone had died inside, then how are their footsteps of a person that came out?"


    "And if someone came out, why didn¡¯t they go to the Hunter Union? Moreover, why weren¡¯t they seen if they came out? There was heavy security outside the dungeon. Both things contradict each other and make this whole event moreplicated. That¡¯s why I said there is no convincing evidence."


    "I talked to everyone and searched every ce. I even saw the footsteps and investigated that. Unfortunately, there is no witness who ims to have seen anyonee out. It could be that the people who went inside the dungeon came out then went back. But again, there is no evidence. If only we could have a witness, everything would be solved." Jamison let out with a deep sigh.


    "So, in short, you¡¯re saying that five years of investigation was a waste." The Dark Haired man muttered as he squinted his eyes.


    "Sigh, if I want to investigate more deeply, we¡¯ll needplete jurisdiction of the ce," Jamison answered. "With the little amount of permissions I have there, I don¡¯t think I can find anything."


    "That¡¯s why I told you to find me the evidence. Without proving it to be a scheme of a Dark Variant Organization like VU, I can¡¯t get jurisdiction," the Dark Haired man muttered as he shook his head.


    "Can you really not get jurisdiction? You¡¯re Varant¡ª the Leader of APF and the Alpha Squad. You¡¯re said to be even stronger than the Hunter Union leader and someone who was evenpared to Master Zale Azarel when he was alive. If you talk to the Hunter Union and insist, they should allow us," Jamison eximed in disbelief.


    He didn¡¯t believe that Varant couldn¡¯t do it. He was someone who was one of the Strongest Variants at the moment. As for his powers, they were said to intimidate even the Hunter Union Master. Why did he need an excuse? He should be able to take over easily.


    "It¡¯s not as easy as you think. There¡¯s a system in ce..." Varant muttered as he picked up the file in front of him and started reading it.


    "Anyway, I¡¯ll try to see what I can do," he added. "If things go right, I should be able to get you unrestricted ess."


    "That would be better," Jamison acknowledged.


    "You may leave now. I¡¯ll read the file you prepared." Varant told Jamison.


    Jamison nodded as he stood up. He turned back to leave.


    "Jamison!"


    As soon as Jamison reached the door, he heard the voice of Varant.


    "Yes, sir?" he responded as he turned back.


    "I¡¯ll give you unrestricted ess, but if you still fail to find something concrete, you should be prepared for the consequences," Varant warned Jamison grimly.


    Jamison felt his heart skip another beat as he heard the warning. He could only do his best, though.


    He nodded his head as he left.

 Chapter 23 - 23: All The Same

    <h4>Chapter 23 - 23: All The Same </h4>


    As the discussion between the leader of the APF and his informant was taking ce in the APF headquarters, in a faraway city, something else was just beginning.


    Legion City was peaceful. The chirping of birds could be heard. People were going to their work while some wereing back from their work.


    In the same city existed a restaurant, which had a ¡¯closed¡¯ board hung on the door.


    Because of the board, no one tried entering this ce, not that it generally had any traffic anyway.


    Inside the restaurant, hordes of bodies could be seen spread everywhere.


    It seemed like a ughter had taken ce here only recently. As for the person who had caused the ughter, he was upstairs.


    The bottom floor of this building was the restaurant, whereas the top floor was the residential quarters of the couple who owned the restaurant.


    Unfortunately, that same couple was standing with a pale face in front of Lucifer.


    It seemed as if someone had sucked the blood off of their faces, but it was clear that this was because of the fear they were experiencing.


    They had just talked about informing the police of Lucifer. Not only that, they had even said that it was better for him to be dead. Who was to know that the boy they talked about to brazenly was right outside their door.


    If Emilia had known that Lucifer was in front of her, she would have never even dared to talk about such things. Why would she even dare to speak like that about someone who was able to kill so many people like they were toys?


    The only reason she came upstairs was to make sure he didn¡¯t hear, but it all failed. They were caught.


    Seeing Lucifer in front of her, her hand started shivering.


    ¡¯Did he hear?¡¯ she thought while praying that he didn¡¯t hear.


    Even though she was hoping that Lucifer hadn¡¯t heard, she had a feeling that he did. Why else would he scream like that? Why else would he look so emotionless?


    It was clear that he had heard.


    "Ah, you¡¯re here. Sorry, we didn¡¯t find the clothes yet. We thought that it was better to call the police and tell them that someone had killed the people downstairs." Weston was in a better state of mind than his wife.


    He knew that fear wouldn¡¯t solve anything. In any case, they would only die if they didn¡¯t handle the situation with care. They had betrayed Lucifer after all.


    He couldn¡¯t help but curse himself in his head for agreeing with his wife. If only he had stood his ground firmly, none of this would have happened.


    In any case, it was already toote now. Worrying about that wasn¡¯t going to solve anything. He decided to handle this situation in a different manner.


    He knew that Lucifer probably heard all their words. He could only use his mind to muddy the waters and make Lucifer think that he misunderstood.


    Even though it was going to be tough, it was his only choice.


    "Don¡¯t worry; we weren¡¯t going to name you. Who would even be suspicious of a kid? But we still need to take care of the bodies. So it¡¯s better to inform the police. What do you think about this?" Weston further said, trying to keep his emotions in control.


    He knew that he couldn¡¯t look scared when he spoke, or his lies would be caught. The best way that makes a lie seem like the truth is by saying it with confidence.


    That¡¯s what he was doing. Unfortunately, his hands were shivering uncontrobly. To hide their shivering, he ced his hands behind his back as he spoke.


    "We would tell the police that a stranger killed the people downstairs and ran away. There are no cameras here in our restaurant. The same is true for the streets. So they have no way to verify the situation. It¡¯s a win-win. You¡¯ll be safe, and we¡¯ll be safe. It¡¯s good, right?" he asked Lucifer.


    Lucifer didn¡¯t answer. In fact, he wasn¡¯t even looking at the man who was speaking. His gaze rested on Emilia instead.


    What hurt him the most was the betrayal of the woman whom she had thought to be simr to his mother. He couldn¡¯t help but curse himself. How dare hepare someone like Emilia to his mother?


    Lucifer finally opened his lips as he let out a word, "You..."


    He started walking towards Emilia in slow steps. The bloodlust inside him was rising the closer he got to the woman.


    "...are..."


    He continued speaking, one word at a time, extremely slowly.


    Even though he talked slowly, each of his words seemed to contain some magic that was sending chills down the spine of the people who were here.


    There were ten steps of the distance between Lucifer and Emilia, which decreased to eight steps as Lucifer kept closing in.


    "... all..."


    Six steps. Only six steps remained between Emilia and Lucifer.


    "...the..."


    Four steps... Emilia¡¯s heartbeat was thumping like crazy, as if her heart was about toe out of her chest.


    It was at that point when she started stepping back in fear. Her hand was holding onto Weston¡¯s hand, who also kept walking back with her.


    "Wait, listen to us. There¡¯s probably a misunderstanding," Weston called out, trying again.


    His words seemed to have fallen on deaf ears as Lucifer continued closing in while speaking one word at a time, grimly.


    "...the..." Lucifer called out.


    Emilia and Weston soon reached the end of the room. There was no space for them to move back as a wall was against their back.


    Lucifer stopped two steps away from them as he spoke the final word, "...Same."


    ... to be continued.

 Chapter 24 - 24: Home

    <h4>Chapter 24 - 24: Home </h4>


    The sky was covered in heavy clouds, providing the much-needed shade to the ground.


    In the shade of the clouds, a young ten-eleven-year-old boy was walking through the streets of Legion City.


    The boy was wearing what seemed like properly clean clothes that were a little bigpared to his size, but they weren¡¯t creating any difort.


    As the boy walked, he kept looking to his left and right as if he was trying to find something.


    "Where is it..." he muttered with a confused face. Why was it so hard to find his own home?


    Lucifer hadn¡¯t been to his home in five years, and even before that, he didn¡¯t know where it was. So he was having an exceptionally hard time trying to find his home.


    He kept walking through the city from one road to another. He checked every road and every alley in an effort to find his home but to no avail.


    Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t even know if his house still existed. It had been so long; it was entirely possible that the house was destroyed to have another building take its ce.


    He did hope that it wasn¡¯t true. The house was the only thing he had left of his parents. It had so many memories of the first five years of his life, which were the best years of his life. He couldn¡¯t bear the thought of it being broken.


    Lucifer¡¯s hands were bare. He wasn¡¯t wearing any gloves because they were already destroyed because of his powers. He couldn¡¯t even salvage them.


    The clothes he was wearing were also different from his previous clothes but simr as well. Fortunately, he had changed the clothes that were covered in blood.


    "That ce?"


    Just when he had thought to rest for a while, he noticed a ce that made his eyes lit up.


    His eyes also grew somewhat emotional as he stopped in front of a house that looked old but still in good condition.


    It was his home. The home where he spent half his life with his parents. It was not only safe, but it was simr to how it had been previously. It seemed like it hadn¡¯t been properly taken care of.


    Fortunately, it seemed like a new door was made here since the previous door was broken by the authorities.


    Seeing the house brought back so many memories of his past.


    Lucifer strode towards the small house that was in front of him.


    He reached closer to the door and tried to push it open.


    The door didn¡¯t open as it was locked.


    Not wanting to waste any time outside, Lucifer clenched his fist and punched the lock of the door, breaking it easily.


    As the lock was broken, he was able to push the door open easily.


    He stepped inside the house where he hadn¡¯t been in thest five years. A house which was his home... His true home. He couldn¡¯t help but wonder how unfortunate he was.


    He had everything. He had a proper house, loving parents, and a good life. How did he end up in the facility? Just who cursed their good life?


    Variants were more often than not rich because of their abilities and their strength. This world ced a lot of importance on Variants, after all.


    As his father was the strongest Warlock and his mother the strongest Sorcerer, they didn¡¯tck money either.


    Still, his parents stayed in this average-looking house that belonged to his grandfather. It was a modest house that wasn¡¯t luxurious. It was neither too big nor too small.


    *******


    " Lucifer? The food is ready! Stop drawing. Eat first. You can continue after having lunch."


    "Don¡¯t be naughty, kiddo. Come on, don¡¯t make mamma scold you!"


    "Sigh, you¡¯re really like your father. Come here."


    As Lucifer walked through the house, many old memories started acting up. He could hear his mother¡¯s voice, chiding him.


    A single drop of tear trickled down his cheeks as he remembered the good times.


    "I¡¯m sorry, mom. I troubled you so much. Pleasee back. I promise I¡¯ll listen. I won¡¯t trouble you ever," he muttered as he gazed nkly at the chair which was still ced near the window.


    It was the ce where his mother often sat as she gazed outside.


    Even though Lucifer said that, he knew that it was only an impossible wish. His parents were never going to return. He was all alone in this world. Not a single person cared for him.


    He shook his head with mncholy on his face.


    He strode towards the kitchen. Everything seemed to be the same as it did when he was taken by the government.


    The same food was still in the fridge, but it was rotten as the refrigerator had stopped working long ago. There was no electricity in the house to keep it running.


    After checking the kitchen, he walked to the bedroom and smiled for the first time in a long time as he saw something.


    What he discovered was a photo. It was a photo of him and his parents. Even though he smiled, there was deep sadness hidden behind that smile.


    He observed the pic for quite some time, but he didn¡¯t dare to pick it up. His unfortunate power didn¡¯t even let him touch something so precious without destroying it. He wondered if anyone was more unfortunate than him.


    Just how did his mother deal with this curse of an ability?


    Even rubber gloves weren¡¯t able to keep his decaying powers in control for long, even though they decayed much slower.


    He knew the answer to his question, though. What kept his mother¡¯s power in control and allowed her to have somewhat of a normal life was a rare and precious item.


    He also knew where his mother kept the spare of that item. She had two of those. One of which was with her when she had left, whereas the other was in the house.


    "It must still be here as long as no one took it in thest five years."

 Chapter 25 - 25: Discovered

    <h4>Chapter 25 - 25: Discovered </h4>


    Lucifer walked to the wardrobe inside the bedroom and opened it.


    He could see clothes and other essories of his parents inside the wardrobe and even some of his old clothes that were too small for him to wear now.


    Inside the Wardrobe, he also found what he was looking for. There was a pair of Dark Gloves ced inside the Wardrobe.


    The gloves belonged to his mother that she had specially made for herself so that she could go on with life without worrying about destroying everything she touched.


    These were special items that were made of one of the rarest materials in this world. It was something that could resist the powers of Decay.


    Unfortunately, it also couldn¡¯t resist it for infinity. It also decayed, but it was able to resist many times longer than the most resistant item.


    Lucifer didn¡¯t even know how long he could keep the gloves for himself without destroying them. From what he believed, he should be able to get one year of use out of these gloves, but these were only his assumption.


    He instantly wore the gloves and closed the door of the wardrobe before he walked back to the bed.


    As Luciferid on the bed, he gazed at the roof as he talked to seemingly no one.


    "I wonder how long it will take you to find me."


    He soon closed his eyes and fell asleep.


    ****


    The headquarters of the Awakened Protection Force (APF) was established far away from Legion City.


    It was a ce that housed the Variants that worked for the government to capture criminals with powers. It was also their office, along with being their residence and their jail.


    They had a dedicatedb in the facility and forensic department as well.


    The team that was handling Lucifer¡¯s case was known as the Delta Team. Even though they were low in the hierarchy of APF, they were still very strong, especially their leader Xander ke.


    Xander ke was counted amongst one of the top Warlocks in APF. He was even qualified and strong enough to be a part of the Alpha Team, but he was made leader of the Delta Squad instead, which he preferred as well.


    He was an S-Rank Pyromaniac. He was able to control the fire. He also had another ability which was a physical ability that allowed him to control his emotions.


    His second ability was mostly useless ording to most, but Xander knew that a calm head was also essential for a warrior. He appreciated that ability.


    That also allowed him to be ranked as a Warlock since he not only had an elemental ability but also a physical ability.


    At that moment, Xander was walking inside ab. He had stayed in the small town for quite some time but came back to the HQ.


    "Did you find anything from the fingerprints and the blood samples?" he asked the woman who was in a whiteb coatzily.


    The woman in the white coat was known by the people in the APF as Mnie Drei. She was in the forensic department of the APF.


    She was also someone that a lot of men here had a crush on.


    "The fingerprints you brought back belong to the ones that died. There was no fingerprint of the killer anywhere," Mnie answered Xander as she gazed at the screen of theputer which was in front of her.


    "What about the blood samples? Anything useful there?" Xander inquired.


    " We did find something from the blood samples. There was one sample that didn¡¯t belong to the ones that died there. I believe that it should belong to the killer. I also ran a scan in our system to find the person, and you won¡¯t believe what I found. Check it out," she let out as she smiled wryly.


    She pointed towards the screen in front of her, which was showing a picture of a young kid.


    There was a photo of Lucifer on the screen with a stat on the side that showed a 100% DNA match.


    "This kid is the one that killed them all?" Xander let out in an unusual tone. "Are you messing with me?"


    "Yes, he most probably is. It¡¯s either that, or he happened to be in the restaurant when it happened and left his blood samples everywhere," Mnie replied as she shook her head. "The robe which you brought back also has his blood samples."


    "Also, you might not recognize this kid, but he has a special identity. Look at the records," she further stated as she pressed a key on the keyboard. The window on the screen changed to show some more details.


    "Lucifer Azarel? The Son of Zale Azarel and risse? That does make sense. The Power of Decay and Super Strength!" Xander let out with a surprised look.


    Previously he was doubtful, but now he believed it.


    "Yeah, I looked into his records and found out that he had died in a Government Research Facility. There¡¯s no further detail in the report as to what happened and how he died," Mnie told Xander.


    "Interesting. Tell me the address of that Facility," Xander replied as he rubbed his chin.


    ¡¯Looks like this is going to be a moreplicated case than I thought,¡¯ he thought as he gazed at the screen and the name, "Lucifer Azarel."


    Mnie provided Xander with the address, after which he departed from theb.


    "Flourance, Get our team ready. We¡¯re going out," Xander told someone over the phone as he walked through the long corridor.


    *****

 Chapter 26 - 26: Facts And Numbers

    <h4>Chapter 26 - 26: Facts And Numbers </h4>


    A heavily guarded research facility existed in an unknown ce.


    The facility was a government facility under the control of one of the highest-ranking generals in the government.


    At the moment, the guards of the facilities were running towards a newly arrived helicopter that was soon about tond on the helipad.


    The guards reached the unknown helicopter. Their weapons remained in their hands as they stood alert. Even though it was a military helicopter, this wasn¡¯t from the army. They needed to be alert.


    The green helicopter belonged to the APF, which soonnded on the helipad. The door of the helicopter slid open as a few men stepped out of the helicopter.


    A red-haired man was the one who seemed to be leading the small group.


    The Chief of security was amongst the guards. At the sight of the red-haired man, he stepped forward.


    "Calim Naders, the chief of security. May I know who you are?" The Security head reached out his hand towards the red-haired man.


    "Xander ke, APF," Xander let out as he showed his badge that proved his identity.


    Even though he introduced himself, he didn¡¯t shake the hands of Calim. He ignored it entirely.


    Calim retracted his hand, seemingly embarrassed. It was somewhat insulting, but the man was from APF. He couldn¡¯tin.


    "I¡¯m here to meet the incharge here. Take me to him," Xander told Calim.


    "That would be Doctor Rao. You don¡¯t seem to have an appointment, do you?" Calim inquired. It was evident from the man¡¯s words. The man who didn¡¯t know about the incharge of this ce could certainly not have an appointment.


    "I don¡¯t have an appointment," Xander answered. His eyes squinted as the temperature near him started getting warmer.


    "And I don¡¯t need it anyway. Take me to him now," he added.


    " Ah, You don¡¯t have an appointment. But you¡¯re from APF, so I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll meet you. Just wait a moment; I¡¯ll inform him now."


    Calim turned back as he brought his satellite phone out.


    "Doctor Rao, Mr. Xander from the APF is here to meet you. It seems urgent," Calim informed Doctor Rao.


    "APF?"


    A frown engulfed the face of Doctor Rao, who wondered why the APF was here? This facility was outside their jurisdiction. What could have brought them here?


    "Alright. Bring him to me."


    *****


    Calim brought Xander inside the facility.


    "Not a bad ce. I guess they¡¯re spending a lot here. Research is really a field of the wealthy indeed," Someone from Xander¡¯s teammented as he saw how the facility was.


    It couldn¡¯t bepared to the APF headquarters, but it was not anyckluster either.


    "Meh, You need a brain to work here. We are the ones who use brawns more than brains," another Delta Squad Member replied to the man as he shook his head.


    "Right. In any case, our ce is much better. As for money, it¡¯s only a fleeting thing. Stop thinking about it. You already get more money than you can spend," another voice chimed in, belonging to Flourance, who was the second inmand after Xander.


    Xander didn¡¯tment on this discussion and continued following Calim.


    They soon reached a room where Doctor Rao was present with another man.


    Doctor Rao was sitting on a chair behind a table while Doctor Layman stood beside him.


    As soon as Xander entered the room, Doctor Rao stood up to wee him.


    "Wee to my little facility. How may I help you?¡¯


    Doctor Rao also reached out his hand to shake the hand of Xander just like Calim had done previously. Just likest time, Xander again ignored the hand of Doctor Rao.


    Instead, he sat in the chair in front of Doctor Rao.


    "Doctor Rao, You¡¯re the In-Charge of this facility. I¡¯m Xander ke. I lead the Delta Team of the APF. I need you to answer a few questions of ours and as honestly as you can," Xander informed Doctor Rao.


    "Sure. I¡¯ll try to be as helpful as I can," Doctor Rao smiled as he replied while retracting his hand.


    Inside his heart, he was amazed at the arrogance of Xander.


    He also sat down.


    "Tell me about Lucifer Azarel. He was in your facility for five years, right?" Xander inquired calmly.


    "That¡¯s right. He was here for five years. What about him?" Doctor Rao asked in return. They were here for Lucifer? Why now?


    "I¡¯m the one asking questions here. Tell me how he died?" Xander interrogated Doctor Rao as he squinted his eyes.


    ¡¯Why did his death concern the APF? He wasn¡¯t a Variant. APF should only be concerned with Variants. Is there something I don¡¯t know about?¡¯ Doctor Rao thought as he rubbed his chin.


    "What happened? Answer me," Xander asked again as he snapped his fingers to bring Doctor Rao out of his daze.


    "He died in an ident. We were testing a medicine to help him awaken his powers, but his body had a negative reaction, and he died," Doctor Rao lied without a change in his expressions.


    "Are you sure that he died? Did you check it?" Xander asked, frowning.


    He knew that the database said that Lucifer had died in the facility, but that should be impossible. A dead boy can¡¯t go around killing people.


    That could only mean that the data of his death was faked. The only question that remained was why? Why did this facility lie about Lucifer¡¯s death?


    "Mr. Xander, I¡¯m a scientist. We work on numbers and facts. Of course, I¡¯ll be sure before making a im like that," Doctor Rao replied confidently.

 Chapter 27 - 27: Exposed

    <h4>Chapter 27 - 27: Exposed </h4>


    "In any case, his death or life doesn¡¯t concern APF. Why are you here for him?" Doctor Rao asked Xander, frowning deeply.


    Doctor Layman also chimed in, "Your APF should be involved with matters rted to the Variants if I¡¯m not wrong. Even though Lucifer¡¯s parents were Variants, he hadn¡¯t awakened even after he turned 10. Even if he died, that shouldn¡¯t be your concern."


    Xander ke red at Doctor Layman. His single gaze was enough to intimate the white-robed man who had just spoken.


    Sweat appeared on his forehead as he lowered his gaze.


    Xander also shifted his gaze to look at Doctor Layman.


    "It is our concern. Yes, we are only involved with Variants, but Lucifer is also a Variant ording to what we know. Not only did he not die, but he¡¯s also killing people instead," Xander informed Doctor Rao.


    "Impossible!" Doctor Rao smashed the table with a look of disbelief on his face as he stood up. "He can¡¯t be alive, and even if he is, he can¡¯t be a Variant! No one can awaken their powers after they turn ten years old. It¡¯s a proven fact!"


    Xander also pushed his chair back as he stood up.


    "Look, Doctor. I don¡¯t care about what you think is possible and what you think isn¡¯t. As for your facts, you can pick them up and shove them up to your vault somewhere. Don¡¯t talk about facts before me. I know more about this than you think I do," Xander retorted to the Doctor, seemingly upset.


    Doctor Rao was taken aback to see someone talking to him in such a condescending manner.


    How dare someone half his age talk to him like that? He was boiling inside, but he kept his calm and didn¡¯t let his emotions show on his face.


    "Xander, it seems to me like you¡¯re overstepping your boundaries here," Doctor Rao said as he calmly sat back again.


    "Enough of wasting time here. I¡¯m not here for the back and forth. I just want to know why an innocent kid who was brought here when he was only five turned into a killer. What did you do to the boy here? What made him a killer?" Xander inquired.


    "I don¡¯t have anything to say to you. We did nothing wrong here. Even if I were to believe you for a moment that he is alive, that doesn¡¯t have anything to do with us. Please go back," Doctor Rao replied.


    "Alright. Since you won¡¯t answer, I¡¯ll get answers from other ces. I want to talk to everyone in the facility. If you did nothing wrong here, you should have no problem with it." Xander let out as he gazed towards Doctor Layman.


    He had a feeling that this man could give him some answers if he could get alone with him.


    "That¡¯s not possible. I already wasted my time talking to you. It¡¯s a facility that contains a lot of ssified information. I can¡¯t let you do as you please. If you still want to do it,e back with the permit from the Army or the government," Doctor Rao straight away refused to allow Xander to interrogate anyone.


    Ring! Ring!


    Xander opened his lips to say something, but before he could speak, he heard his phone ring.


    He picked up the call and ced it near his ears.


    "Xander here," he said.


    "Sir, there has been another mass murder. More than twenty people are found dead this time. It seems like the work of a Variant," the person on the other end of the call informed him.


    As soon as Xander heard the news, a frown appeared on his face.


    He walked outside the room to make sure that the others didn¡¯t hear his words.


    "Another mass murder? Where?" he asked after he stepped outside.


    "This time, it¡¯s in a restaurant in Legion City. The couple who owned the restaurant, along with twenty more people, is found dead. This seems like the work of the same Variant that we¡¯re after from the initial investigation," the other person answered.


    ¡¯Legion City? Lucifer is the killer since it matches the murders previously. Why did Lucifer travel so much to get to Legion City?¡¯ Xander thought as he frowned.


    ¡¯Legion City... Legion City... That¡¯s right. How could I forget! It¡¯s where Zale Azarel used to live five years ago! That¡¯s where Lucifer¡¯s home is! That¡¯s right! We can get him if I¡¯m right,¡¯ he thought as he understood what was in Legion City.


    He had been a fan of Zale Azarel when he used to live. He had known about his home. After all these years, he had forgotten about it but hearing the name of Legion City once again reminded him.


    .


    "Zach, your team is in Legion City, right? Find the address of the house where Zale Azarel used to stay! Take your team and go to that house. If I¡¯m not wrong, the killer should be there," hemanded the person called Zach, who was on the other end of the call.


    "Be careful, though. He might look young, but he¡¯s powerful. Don¡¯t underestimate him! I¡¯ll try to get there as fast as I can. You should be able to handle him, though, as long as you¡¯re careful, " he added.


    "I¡¯ll handle it," Zach responded before he disconnected the call.


    Xander ced the phone in his pocket before he opened the door.


    "All of you,e with me. We¡¯re leaving," Xander told Flourance and the others before he shifted his gaze to Doctor Rao.


    "This isn¡¯t over. I¡¯ll get the truth of this facility out. Just you wait."


    He turned back and left with his team.

 Chapter 28 - 28: Theyre Here

    <h4>Chapter 28 - 28: They''re Here </h4>


    A ck SUV stopped before Lucifer¡¯s house. Inside the SUV, four men were sitting, including the one who was at the steering wheel.


    After the car stopped, the four stepped out of it.


    The man in the lead supported a ck leather jacket that had a ming symbol on the chest portion. His long blonde hair came down to his shoulder and matched his beautiful eyes that seemed slowly golden.


    The man was part of the Delta Squad, known as Zach Kaven. He wasn¡¯t a high-ranking member in the Delta Squad and was only a sorcerer who had a B-Rank elemental ability.


    Fortunately, the power was not weak at all despite being B-Rank. He was also able to control mes like Xander ke, who was an S-Rank Pyromaniac.


    Even though he had simr powers to the Delta Squad leaders, their strength waspletely different.


    While Xander was the strongest in the Delta Squad, Zach was much lower on the spectrum of strength. The strength and intensity of his mes couldn¡¯t bepared to Xander, who was able to burn anything.


    Despite being one of the weakest members of the Delta Squad, he was one of the strongest amongst the four men team that hade here.


    These four happened to be situated in Legion City when they heard about the murders in the restaurant that could have a potential Variant link. They had gone there and realized that the murder pattern matched the reports that had heard of the suspect Delta Squad was after.


    As soon as they confirmed it, Zach called Xander to inform him.


    Zach had B-Rank powers simr to the others that hade here. It just happened to be luck that his team was here.


    Moreover, Xander didn¡¯t think that Lucifer could be very strong. It was true that Lucifer had S-Rank powers, but it was also true that he had recently awakened them.


    He was also a kid, so Xander had assumed that Lucifer couldn¡¯t even bring out even a fraction of the S-Rank ability in strength.


    As for the mass murders, they were all normal humans. That didn¡¯t mean Lucifer was the strongest Variant. Even Variants with D-Rank abilities could cause mass murders if they went astray after all.


    Xander was still treating Lucifer as a kid, so he didn¡¯t think twice before sending Zach and the others toe and capture Lucifer without waiting for him.


    He was far away from the city. Coming here was going to take time. He didn¡¯t wish to waste that much time and risk letting Lucifer leave if he was actually in the house. Thus Zach and his team were sent.


    Behind Zach stood another man. The man looked much more handsome than Zach. In fact, he looked no less than a model. He has a well-chiseled face with well-built muscles. His dark ck hair was short but not too short and matched his dark eyes.


    The man was called Sanders nkin, who had the nickname ¡¯Perfecto.¡¯


    He was a Warrior ss Variant who had the B-Rank Physical ability of Weapon Mastery. He was able to use almost all small-scale weapons. He was also knowledgeable about all the weapons in existence.


    Moreover, there was another part of his ability that made him even more lethal. The Weapon Mastery also gave him perfect aim. That was why he was considered a dangerous Variant who never missed.


    The third person was also a man, but unlike the first two, he was a little short and chubby.


    He was known as Quinny Gand, also known as Enforcer by his team. He was a B-Rank Sorcerer who had the ability of Gravity Maniption. He was able to change the gravity in the surroundings of his enemies and force them down to their knees.


    Unfortunately, his ability came with a few limitations. It only affected a single target when used. Moreover, he could only use it when the enemy was within a certain distance to him.


    Thest person on the team was a silver-haired man with an athletic body.


    He was someone with a unique ability that made him quite well known within the Delta Squad.


    He was Zoomi Lancaster, also known as Zoom.


    He had the B-Rank physical ability of Speed. He could affect his body such that he was able to attain movement, which was many times faster than the speed of a normal human.


    Except for Perfecto, none of the four were carrying a weapon.


    "Everyone, I¡¯ve been told that Lucifer Azarel is here. He is a Variant of concern, but he is also a child. As long as we are careful, we should be able to take him down," Zach said as he gazed towards the door of Lucifer¡¯s house.


    "One more thing. Even though you all know, I should remind you again. ording to our reports, he has the Super Strength of Zale Azarel and the Decay of Sorcerer risse. I don¡¯t think I need to tell you how dangerous he can be in close range. Always keep your distance from him and don¡¯t let him close in," he added.


    "Can¡¯t believe a kid is causing all this. It would be somewhat amusing if this weren¡¯t so tragic. The son of Zale Azarel... Sigh, that guy used to be my idol at one time. And here is his son, sending the name of his father down the drain by choosing such a dark path," Enforcer let out as he sighed.


    "Don¡¯t think too much. For us, Lucifer Azarel is only a killer and nothing else. Leave all the respect you have for his parents out of this mission. I don¡¯t want any mistakes. This is the time to show the Delta Squad big shots how useful we can be. No mistake can be epted," Zach muttered as he frowned.


    "I understand," Enforcer muttered as he nodded.


    "That¡¯s better. Let¡¯s get going. The faster we finish, the better," Zach muttered as he gestured for the other three to follow after him.


    He started walking towards the door.


    Zach reached the door and tried opening it.


    "The lock is broken already. I guess he is actually inside. Stay alert," Zach said in a low voice.


    *****


    Lucifer was inside a room when he heard the creaking sound of the door. He gazed towards the door.


    ... to be continued.

 Chapter 29 - 29: Crush That Face

    <h4>Chapter 29 - 29: Crush That Face </h4>


    Lucifer was inside the room, already walking towards the door of the room when he heard the sound of the main door opening.


    A frown appeared on his face as he muttered, "They¡¯re here."


    He pulled the door open and stepped out of the room.


    As soon as Lucifer stepped out of the room, he ended up in the corridor that was straight in front of the main door.


    The group of four men saw Lucifer, and their eyes lit up like they had found their prey. Caution also filled their hearts. They had only thought that Lucifer might be here, but to actually see him here was somewhat different and stunning.


    "Stop right there!" Zachmanded Lucifer right away. "Don¡¯t you dare move, or we¡¯ll be forced to kill you!"


    Perfecto had already taken his aim as he pointed his gun towards Lucifer.


    "Put your hands above your head and lie down on the ground!" Zach furthermanded. "If you listen to us, I promise we won¡¯t harm you."


    Hearing their words, Lucifer gazed at Zach. It was evident that this man was leading the team. This was what he wanted to know in any case.


    "You searched my history, right?" Lucifer asked Zach in full seriousness. "You know my name and all other details about me?"


    "Shut up and follow my orders!" Zach insisted once again.


    "Answer me first!" Lucifer dered, his tone getting a bit louder as his frown deepened.


    "Yeah. We know your name. You¡¯re Lucifer Azarel, the son of Zale Azarel. Now drop to the ground and stop trying to force us to use force!" Zach told Lucifer.


    "Good. So you know about me. Then you should be able to answer the question I wanted to know for so long..." Lucifer muttered as he started taking his ck gloves off. He ced the gloves in his pockets.


    "This is my third warning! If you don¡¯t listen, then don¡¯t me me!" Zach warned Lucifer again.


    "Tell me what I want to know first. You know about me. So you must also know the Facility where I stayed," Lucifer asked Zach as he started striding towards him. "Where is it?"


    "Lucifer, don¡¯te closer. I know about your abilities. This is your final warning. If youe close, we might be forced to use lethal force!" Zach gave his final warning. It seemed like he was really serious and under some pressure as well.


    "I want the name of the Facility and its location. Tell me that, and I¡¯ll listen," Lucifer let out, without stopping.


    "Enforcer, stop the kid!" Seeing Lucifer not stop, Zach decided to give up. Without looking towards his men, hemanded one of them.


    "I guess it won¡¯t go as smoothly as I thought. This is the least I can do to take you in without harming you," he muttered as he gazed at Lucifer, who was closing in.


    As soon as Zach gave themand, the short chubby man known as Enforcer raised his right hand towards Lucifer. His eyes turned a bit violet as his abilities started acting up.


    Lucifer was still closing in to Zach when he felt a strange pressure on top of his body. It was as if something heavy was pressing down on it, which was somewhat confusing.


    He didn¡¯t understand that it was because of the change in gravity that was forced in his surroundings. It mostly only affected Lucifer, whose speed slowed down somewhat under the pressure that only seemed to be increasing.


    "Give up. Under my gravity, let alone walking, you can¡¯t even stand for long. If I were to give a number, the gravity affecting you is at least ten times more powerful than the one affecting us," the short chubby man startedughing as he gazed at Lucifer, who was struggling to even walk from what it seemed.


    " I don¡¯t care what you do here. I¡¯m here for my answer. That¡¯s why I waited for you too. I have one purpose in my life now, and that is to crush that face," Lucifer responded as he thought about Doctor Rao¡¯s cruel face that he had seen when he was killed.


    His tone sounded a lot dark.


    The pressure on him had finally stabilized as if it had reached the maximum limit that Enforcer could apply. Lucifer¡¯s legs were shaking as he struggled to walk.


    He red at Zach and the others as he clenched his fist.


    "If you don¡¯t answer me, then I¡¯ll force the answers out myself!"


    As he spoke, a strange power filled him up¡ªthe S-grade Super Strength, which started coursing through his veins that became a bit visible.


    The S-Grade Super Strength was an ability that allowed a person to even break through walls with a single punch at ease, let alone resisting ten times gravity.


    Even though Lucifer was only able to bring out a fraction of this ability because of ack of understanding and experience, what he could bring out seemed to be enough.


    The shaking of his legs had stopped. His arched back straightened up as he once again started walking towards Zach, but this time his speed was even faster.


    It seemed so normal that it was as if the gravity was normal for him.


    "What are you doing? Why did you stop your powers?" Zach called out as he red at Enforcer.


    "I-i didn¡¯t. He is still under the effect of my ability!" Enforcer responded as a look of disbelief covered his face.


    "Hah? Do you mean that is him, under ten times gravity?" Zach eximed as his mouth slightly opened.


    "Fine. If you can¡¯t stop him, then so be it. We don¡¯t need to take a conscious kid back home. Perfecto, shoot him," Zach changed his orders.


    Perfecto seemed like he was waiting for this moment. His gun was already aiming towards Lucifer. As soon as he was givenmand, he ced his finger on the trigger to shoot Lucifer.


    The gun he was using at the moment had tranquilizer bullets that were enough to make even a horse sleep instantly, let alone a kid.

 Chapter 30 - 30: Trust

    <h4>Chapter 30 - 30: Trust </h4>


    Perfecto brought his finger closer to the trigger to tranquilize Lucifer. Unfortunately, things didn¡¯t go as nned.


    Before he could even touch the trigger, something changed.


    His eyes opened wide in disbelief as he gazed upon Lucifer, who had unexpectedly increased his speed to the thresholds that were humanly feasible.


    Lucifer not only used his Super Strength to dash, but he also utilized his wind to stimte his speed even further.


    Even though it wasn¡¯t wless, it was still enough to make him close in the distance between him and Perfecto within a blink of an eye.


    Perfecto¡¯s finger had just brushed against the trigger, but before he could pull it, he found Lucifer¡¯s fist in front of his eyes.


    It all happened so abruptly that no one had an opportunity toprehend what precisely happened when the fistnded on Perfecto¡¯s chests, making him fly back like a broken doll.


    As Perfecto was tossed back helplessly, he crossed the house entrance, which was left open, and mmed outside as he coughed out a mouthful of blood.


    He could sense that his chest was broken. That¡¯s what it felt like, at least to him.


    "Stop!"


    Zoom was the first one to react in this situation as he saw what had transpired.


    Without waiting for anymands, he ran towards Lucifer at his faster than humanly possible speed.


    He appeared before Lucifer within the blink of an eye as he kicked towards his neck. He didn¡¯t care that Lucifer was a child. For him, they were attacked, and they needed to respond in force, even if that meant hurting the kid.


    ****


    "You mean you send those four to take care of the kid?"


    In a helicopter that was flying in the direction of Legion City, the leading members of the Delta Squad were sitting.


    Flourance looked at Xander in disbelief as he heard that Xander had an idea about Lucifer¡¯s whereabouts, and he had sent Zach and his team.


    "Yeah? Is there something wrong with it?" Xander asked, frowning.


    "They are kids! They recently joined our squad. They don¡¯t have any real-world experience against real enemies!" Flourance informed Xander.


    "Don¡¯t worry. I know they are new and among our weakest members, but they happened to be the only ones in that city. Time is of the essence. I had to act, and I sent them," Xander responded.


    "In any case, they¡¯re a part of our squad. They should be able to handle Lucifer. They at least went through our training even if they don¡¯t have experience. The enemy they¡¯ll face is someone who neither had any experience of fighting against the Variants nor training," he added.


    The other Delta Squad members also started chiming in, supporting the decision.


    "That¡¯s right. Don¡¯t worry. They can take care of a kid."


    " We¡¯re the Deltas. If we can¡¯t take care of a kid when there are four of us, then won¡¯t we be too useless?"


    "There¡¯s no need to worry."


    Flourance heard their response and shook his head slightly.


    "Even if the kid doesn¡¯t have experience or training, he is a Warlock that has S-Rank abilities. The ones that are sent might be Deltas, but they¡¯re kids with B-Rank abilities," Flourance replied.


    "They wouldn¡¯t even be able to join our Delta Squad ifst year the higher-ups hadn¡¯t changed the policy to allow recruiting of the Variants with B-Rank abilities," he further added as he gazed at the people who were trying to educate him.


    "None of us have abilities that weak. You can¡¯tpare them to us," he added.


    "It¡¯s not a right or wrong situation. You can¡¯t say the kid has S-Rank ability, so he¡¯ll win against people with B-Rank abilities. Even if he has S-Rank, he only recently awakened. He won¡¯t be able to use even a fraction of those abilities," a dark-haired Delta Squad member alluded to Flourance.


    Flourance gazed towards the window as he grumbled, "That¡¯s true, but still, I don¡¯t know why, but I feel a little uneasy. As if we¡¯re underestimating our enemy."


    "Don¡¯t you think so?" he raised a question to Xander.


    "No. I am a leader. And as a leader, it¡¯s my duty to have faith in my team and our training. You should have faith too," Xander replied right away without much emotion.


    He seemed to be as calm as a person could possibly be, as if he had no doubt that Zach and his team could take care of Lucifer.


    *****


    Zoom¡¯s kick advanced towards Lucifer¡¯s neck, who also reacted fast by raising his hand to shield his neck.


    The kicknded on Lucifer¡¯s forearm, making him lose bnce. He couldn¡¯t help but take two steps back before he gained the bnce again.


    "Ouch, is it his arm or a hammer? My legs hurt from just that," Zoom muttered as he stretched his legs a bit.


    "No, Zoom! Keep your distance. Move back, his-" Zach warned Zoom as he understood that closing in on Lucifer was an awful choice because of his abilities.


    "You worry too much. I know all about the Decay of risse! It¡¯s in the hands. As long as he can¡¯t touch, he is useless. As for my speed, let alone touching me, he can¡¯t even get close," Zoomughed out as he ignored themands and once again ran towards Lucifer.


    "No, stop. You crazy idiot!" Zach thundered, but he was toote.


    Zoom has already closed in on Lucifer and kicked once again, but this time his aim was Lucifer¡¯s face.


    He tried to be even faster than before to not give any time to Lucifer for thinking.


    As his legs closed in towards Lucifer¡¯s face, Lucifer seemed like he didn¡¯t care to save his face this time; instead, he packed his fist and aimed at the man¡¯s chest as he punched out.


    A leg and a hand moved in the opposite direction, targeting different parts of the bodies of two different people, and both of them happened tond at the same time.


    *****


    "I guess you¡¯re right. Even if they¡¯re new, they should still be able to take care. Zach is with them. Even though he¡¯s a B-Rank Sorcerer, his abilities aren¡¯t much weaker than A-Rank when he overdrive," Flourance nodded his head in return to Xander.


    "Also, they won¡¯t mess up basic teamwork. A proper team of four B-rank Variants is no less than an A-Rank Variants," he added. "I might be worrying needlessly. As a Vice-leader, I should also have trust in the team."


    ..... To be continued.

 Chapter 31 - 31: Punishment

    <h4>Chapter 31 - 31: Punishment </h4>


    Zach seemed helpless as he watched Zoom close in on Lucifer.


    The four of them had only recently joined the APF. None of them had worked together previously, so it was their first mission, fighting together. Unfortunately, it was going nothing like nned.


    Zoom¡¯s arrogance and ignorance was making him ignore everything they were taught during training, and Zach couldn¡¯t do anything but watch.


    Enforcer, on the other hand, had already left to help Perfecto.


    ****


    Lucifer¡¯s fistnded on the chest of Zoom at the same time as his kicknded on Lucifer¡¯s face.


    Unfortunately for him, this time, Lucifer was more prepared. Pure strength was coursing through his body which he was using to keep him firm on the ground.


    Both a leg and a fistnded at the same time on different people, but the oue was different for both as Zoom was tossed back like a stone because of the pure brutal strength of Lucifer.


    Lucifer, on the other hand, also suffered a bit as he again lost his bnce despite trying to stand firm, but the damage to his face was much less and healed right away.


    Still, he didn¡¯t let Zoom suffer the same way as Perfecto. He didn¡¯t want him to be tossed out as well. Now that he had an opportunity, it was better to take advantage.


    He started running after Zoom, who had been tossed back uncontrobly.


    "Not so soon," Zach finally took action as he stepped aside and allowed Zoom to pass through before he punched the ground.


    Zoom had just passed by Zach, flying without any will of his own. Lucifer chased after him when the fist of Zachnded on the ground.


    A wall of me came out of the ce where Zach¡¯s fistnded, spreading out everywhere.


    It created a wall of me to prevent Lucifer from chasing after Zoom, whereas he also stepped back a bit to create some distance from Lucifer, who had closed in.


    Lucifer saw the wall of mes, but he didn¡¯t stop or look scared. Even with the raging wall of fire in his path, his confidence in his healing was overwhelming him as he ran into the wall of mes without stopping.


    Zach, who hadn¡¯t expected this, was the closest to Lucifer as he passed through the walls of mes.


    A stunned look engulfed his face as he hadn¡¯t expected Lucifer to not care for his life. In his shock, he didn¡¯t even realize that he had to run.


    Lucifer noticed Zach to be closer to him and changed his target to him.


    Within a blink of an eye, he caught up to Zach and reached out his left hand to catch him by the neck.


    He was just about to catch Zach¡¯s throat when a bullet came flying from the distance and prated his right eye, leaving a hole where his eye was supposed to be.


    Lucifer dropped to his knees, finally feeling some pain that was different than he ever felt. It couldn¡¯t bepared to what he faced in the facility, but it was still higher than what he had faced after leaving the facility.


    Just what was this bullet? He had been shot previously, but none of the bullets seemed to be this lethal that could bring him down.


    His body lost all his strength as he soon dropped to the ground, unable to move. Heid like a dead body on the ground as blood oozed out of his eye socket.


    Zach gazed at Lucifer, who was lying on the ground, without moving.


    "Sigh, our first mission, and we couldn¡¯t take our enemy alive even though he was a kid. I don¡¯t think I have any face to show the higher-ups," he mumbled to himself as he sighed.


    He turned back to see how the rest of his team members were. Outside the house, he could see Perfecto standing with the support of Enforcer¡¯s shoulder. A gun was in his hand. It was evident that he was the one who had shot.


    On the other hand, Zoom was coughing as he sat up while holding his chest.


    "Are you alright?" Zach asked Perfecto.


    "Yeah. Mostly fine. I think my chest bones are cracked, though," Perfecto told Zach as he rubbed his chest with a pained look on his face.


    "Oh, right. Sorry for shooting him. I saw him lunging at you, and it seemed like your life was in danger. This was the only option I could think of," he added with an apologetic tone.


    "Don¡¯t worry about it. You might have saved my life. It¡¯s my fault for freezing because it was just so unexpected. I¡¯ll exin the situation to higher-ups," Zach responded.


    "What about you?" he shifted his gaze to Zoom and asked. "How are you?"


    "You don¡¯t need to act so considerate. I know I messed up. I¡¯m sorry," Zoom told Zach as he stood up. He seemed to be in somewhat better condition than Perfecto.


    "It¡¯s fine, I guess. No one was hurt. But next time, don¡¯t do it," Zach alluded to Zoom as he shook his head.


    "Anyway, as a punishment, you will be the one transporting his dead body to the vehicle," he added as he started walking towards the exit.


    Zoom rubbed his head in annoyance to be stuck with the task of moving the dead body, but it was indeed true that he had messed up, and his mistake could have resulted in someone¡¯s death.


    He could only finish the punishment and hope that Zach would be considerate enough to not tell the higher-ups about his blunder.


    Zoom approached Lucifer and walked past Zach, who was walking in the opposite direction, leaving the house.


    Just as Zach had ced his first step outside the house, Zoom reached Lucifer.


    He red at the kid as he said in annoyance, "See, kid? If you hadn¡¯t been this arrogant, you wouldn¡¯t be dead. You should¡¯ve listened to ourmands."


    "Now you can rot in hell. You only have yourself to thank for that," he added as he reached out his hand to hold Lucifer¡¯s arms to drag him.

 Chapter 32 - 32: United

    <h4>Chapter 32 - 32: United </h4>


    "Sigh, I only had one of those new prototype bullets given to us by theb. What a waste to use it on a kid," Perfecto muttered in disappointment as he gazed at the gun in his hand.


    The APFb had created a new type of bullets while keeping the Variants in mind.


    Some of the Variants were strong and were able to survive for longer even after being shot before actually dying because of their adrenaline and Variant Genes.


    These bullets worked to kill them right away without giving them even a moment to stand. It was said to work like that because it was made with a mixture of the normal bullet with some more special materials that worked to send extreme pain in the nerves of the variants right away to make them instantly incapable.


    None of these worked as well separately, but as they were made into one, they were able to kill anyone as soon as the bullet entered their body, no matter how big their size was.


    Only the Variants of the APF who used the guns were given these bullet prototypes as it was still being worked on.


    "I wonder if I¡¯ll ever get this bullet again. How long before it¡¯spleted?" he wondered.


    As he has used the special bullet already, only normal bullets were with him now.


    ****


    Zoom reached out his hand to touch Lucifer¡¯s arms to drag him, but before he could do it, he saw Lucifer¡¯s hands jerk a bit.


    Taken aback by the sudden movement, he stepped back instantly but stopped as he saw that it was only a little movement. Lucifer didn¡¯t move after that. Maybe it was just hisst struggle before he actually died.


    In any case, he has seen Lucifer being shot in the eye. His survival was impossible.


    He still waited for a bit to actually make sure that he was right.


    After making sure that Lucifer didn¡¯t move again, he once again strode forward as he reached out his hand towards the motionless boy.


    His hand was about to touch Lucifer when he saw Lucifer raise his head abruptly. A face without the right eye gazed at Zoom, who looked like he had suddenly seen a ghost.


    He instantly stepped back in such haste that he even fell down.


    "He is alive!" Zoom screamed with his full strength.


    Only after he had screamed did he realize how embarrassing it was. He was screaming because of a kid.


    His scream managed to attract the attention of Zach and the others, who also looked towards him.


    *****


    Lucifer ced both his palms on the ground as he pushed himself up.


    He only had one eye at the moment, but his second eye also seemed to be healing. At Least a see-through hole wasn¡¯t there anymore. Some nerves could be seen twisted and turned to connect to the right ces as his head healed.


    Zoom remained shocked as his mouth opened wide with what he saw. He couldn¡¯t believe it. This kid was actually healing.


    It wasn¡¯t that he was facing some excess adrenaline or that he was struggling to stand even after being shot, but he was freaking healing right before their eyes.


    Not only him, but Zach and the others couldn¡¯t believe it either. They had never heard about anything like this being possible.


    As for Lucifer, all they knew about him was that he had Strength and Decay. That¡¯s why they had decided to keep their distance and focus on that.


    Strength and Decay were useless as long as Lucifer couldn¡¯t close in to use that. But to see him heal was a different experience entirely.


    "Ahh, are you guys seeing what I see as well?" Enforcer¡¯s lips moved as he asked in disbelief.


    "If you see his eye freaking heal, then yeah. I¡¯m seeing what you¡¯re seeing," Perfecto muttered, not knowing if he should be amazed to see such a unique thing or be upset that this was with their enemy.


    The person they were supposed to capture could heal himself even after being shot by the prototype bullet. That wasn¡¯t good news.


    "That wasn¡¯t a normal bullet, was it?" Lucifer asked, gazing towards Perfecto in the distance, ignoring Zoom. "It felt different thanst time."


    "Zoom! Run back to us now!" Zach roared,manding as loud as he could.


    Zoom was the closest to Lucifer. That wasn¡¯t right. He needed to create some distance right now before Lucifer went after him.


    He didn¡¯t stop just withmanding; instead, he ran inside the house towards Zoom.


    Zoom didn¡¯t dy this time. He had already learned his lessonst time, and he was willing to listen tomands now.


    It wasn¡¯t the time to go on alone, and Lucifer wasn¡¯t the enemy he wanted to stay close to. The ten-eleven-year-old child looked like a monster to him that he couldn¡¯t handle alone.


    The only option that remained was to listen to themands and fight together.


    He hastily turned back and started running, using his ability to its fullest.


    Perfecto didn¡¯t answer Lucifer, but Lucifer didn¡¯t care. His attention was shifted to Zoom, who was running away.


    He started running after Zoom as well, not actually trying to catch him. His actual aim remained Zach, who was running in his direction, supposedly to save Zoom.


    Zach was the leader and also the one who had the answers he wanted.


    "Why are you running to him! What happened to staying away from him?!" Zoom roared at Zach as he passed by him.


    Zach himself had told them to stay away from Lucifer, and now he was running towards the guy himself?


    Zoom also stopped as he turned back. Zach had already reached closer to Lucifer by then.

 Chapter 33 - 33: Dark Emerges

    <h4>Chapter 33 - 33: Dark Emerges </h4>


    Zoom turned back as he saw Zach walk past him.


    They were both supposed to stay away from this guy as they fought. Why was this man closing in instead? Had he lost his mind after seeing the boy heal?


    "What ar-" Zoom screamed in annoyance, but his mouth opened slightly as he saw what was transpiring.


    His startled expressions rapidly shifted to a smile.


    "That¡¯s right. Why was I worrying?" he cackled at the sight that made him pleased.


    He could see Zach standing before him, with his right hand raised towards Lucifer.


    He has created a storm of me that took Lucifer in its embrace, burning his body slowly.


    "Every ability is worthless when you¡¯re ash," Perfecto murmured in the distance as he saw what Zach was trying to do.


    They didn¡¯t understand what Lucifer¡¯s ability was to make him heal or what its limitation was. But what they knew was that no healing could work when one was ash.


    That¡¯s what Zach was using his powers for. He wanted to burn Lucifer to ash right away.


    This had gone on for too long. Even though they were here to catch Lucifer, what they saw only made them realize that it was safer to kill the kid than it was to catch him. The strange abilities of Lucifer only strengthened their conviction.


    An intense firestorm surrounded Lucifer. There seemed to be so much me that not even the silhouette of Lucifer was visible inside.


    Lucifer was surrounded by the most intense me. His skin was burning, but it was healing even faster. In fact, after all this time, even his right eye was healed.


    "He should have been turned to ash by now," Perfecto told Zach after a while. "You should stop now."


    Zach nodded his head as he clenched his fist and lowered his head.


    "He was more dangerous than we anticipated. His speed is almost as fast as Zoom¡¯s speed. What a strange Variant..." Zach muttered as he gazed at the storm that had started dying down.


    "Not a normal Variant... A Warlock," Enforcer corrected Zach.


    Coincidentally that happened to be the time when the mes of the storm went down to reveal the result.


    And what it divulged was something that no one predicted.


    They saw a person standing tall on the spot where a raging firestorm was until a moment ago.


    The boy¡¯s clothes had burned in their entirety, leaving nothing to cover him, but he didn¡¯t seem to care.


    Instead, his eyes remained on Zach, who was standing close to him.


    "H-he is still fine?!" Enforcer eximed with a horrified look on his face. "Just what is this guy? Somebody, please tell me I¡¯m dreaming."


    "Not unless we¡¯re both having the same dream," Perfecto grumbled as he shook his head, not knowing what actually to feel at this point.


    "He has impossible healing? But to survive even that? He shouldn¡¯t be invincible, right? Is he a god or something?" Enforcer inquired, sounding perfectly serious.


    "I sure hope not," Perfecto let out as he smiled wryly.


    "Because if that¡¯s true, then we just messed with a god... Or a devil," he added.


    "What am I even thinking? He¡¯s only a Warlock. And we all know that every ability has a limitation that we never tell others. Mine has one and yours too. His healing should have a limitation too!" Enforcer added.


    Zach was staring in the deep eyes of Lucifer, feeling like he was looking in the deep abyss.


    He had a feeling like he was lost. What was he supposed to do? It was at that point that he heard about the limitation.


    "I get it! Why didn¡¯t I think about it! No ability is truly without ws," Zach let out as his eyes lit up.


    He hastilymanded Perfecto, "Shoot every part of his body. There must be a weakness in his body. Maybe a part that his healing doesn¡¯t cover? Or a limited amount of healing?"


    As he said this, he once again created the storm of fire to keep Lucifer engaged.


    That wasn¡¯t where he stopped with hismands, though. He alsomanded Enforcer.


    "Enforcer, call the higher-ups! Tell them the condition here. We can¡¯t handle him alone."


    Perfecto followed themands and aimed his gun at Lucifer as he started firing.


    Even though he didn¡¯t have any more prototype bullets, the bullets he had should be effective as well if he managed to find Lucifer¡¯s weak spot that wasn¡¯t covered by his ability. In any case, it was going to force Lucifer to use more healing. Maybe that was going to make him run out.


    He didn¡¯t target only one part of Lucifer¡¯s body but targeted all parts at least once, including the elbow, knee, chest, stomach, head, and more.


    To ensure that Perfecto could see Lucifer, Zach intentionally kept his mes a bit less intense to not make Lucifer imperceptible inside the fire likest time.


    Lucifer didn¡¯t dodge any bullets and let all the bullets hit his body, but the wounds healed instantly. Regr bullets were useless. Moreover, there was more to him taking the attacks.


    He had noticed that the more damage he took, the faster he healed. It was as if his healing ability was improving with damage. That was why he was allowing himself to be hit even more. If it was a way to get even stronger healing, then it was worth it.


    He also started walking towards Zach, who kept stepping back to keep his distance.


    "Come on! Run out of that annoying healing!" Zach thundered in rage.


    Soon, he stepped out of the house as he kept stepping back. Lucifer also stepped out of the house, following him, but he didn¡¯t seem like he was in a hurry.


    It was as if there was some part of him that was enjoying it. He was taking his sweet time as if he was trying to mentally torment them all at their helplessness.


    There was just a different kind of satisfaction in seeing these expressions on the faces of the one that thought their life was worth more. The ones that thought they could kill anyone. It was intriguing.


    ... To be continued.


    PS: Please Vote :)

 Chapter 34 - 34: Overdrive

    <h4>Chapter 34 - 34: Overdrive </h4>


    The mes kept scorching Lucifer¡¯s skin which kept healing just as quickly now that the mes were less fierce.


    "Tell me the name of the facility I was kept in for years," Lucifermanded Zach as he opened his mouth that looked bizarre as its tissues were burning and healing simultaneously.


    "What the heck are you talking about! I don¡¯t know where it is. All I got is the information to catch you," Zach answered back. "My seniors will know more about it, though. If you surrender, I¡¯ll help you find all the information you need."


    He continued stepping back as the surrounding temperature kept rising due to his mes while continuing to try to maintain his distance.


    Lucifer stepped towards Zach, letting himself get injured to help his healing when he noticed Enforcer bringing his phone out.


    As he saw Enforcer taking out the phone, he slowly raised his right hand and pointed towards Enforcer.


    Zach wondered why Lucifer was pointing towards Enforcer when his face suddenly turned pale.


    He noticed a pitch-ck bolt of lightning leaving Lucifer¡¯s fingers and moving towards Enforcer.


    The ck bolt drilled Enforcer¡¯s head, killing him instantly. He dropped to the ground, lifelessly. The phone in his hand also fell simultaneously.


    "Enforcer!" All three of the men bellowed as they watched him die with an impossible look on their faces.


    "He¡¯s a Quad- Awakened! Impossible! How?" Zach finally lost all hisposure.


    He had thought that as long as they remained away from Lucifer, they were safe, but he also had an ability like that? Moreover, someone with four abilities, that was unheard of.


    "We can¡¯t take him on. I¡¯ll keep him busy; you take Perfecto and escape!" Zach told Zoom who was closest to him.


    Perfecto was a bit injured, but Zoom was someone who could carry him. They needed to get out of this ce. The information they had received was wrong.


    Zach had decided to sacrifice himself to let the other two escape.


    "I¡¯m not leaving! I will never leave you behind. If we¡¯re going to be killed, we¡¯ll die together!" Perfecto insisted, not agreeing to the suggestion.


    "You idiot, leave! Someone needs to stay alive to inform the others about what happened here!" Zach said to Perfecto. "It¡¯s clear that we didn¡¯t have urate information about him. We need to make sure everyone knows!"


    The wind was flowing at its peak, making everyone¡¯s clothes flutter with the wind. Sparks of mes also flew around, seemingly useless.


    Zoom¡¯s eyes got slightly wet as he thought about Zach sacrificing himself for them.


    "Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll take him!" Zoom dered as he ran towards Perfecto.


    Unfortunately, Lucifer had also heard their n. He once again raised his right hand, shooting out another lightning bolt.


    "Watch out!" Zach bellowed at the top of his lungs.


    The lightning bolt once again struck, taking another life. There was a reason ck Lightning was known as one of the strongest abilities.


    Zoom had been running when the bolt struck him. Even after he fell down, his body kept sliding due to the forward momentum.


    Lucifer didn¡¯t stop with that; instead, he started running towards Perfecto, finallying out of the storm of mes.


    Moving with the winds, he appeared before Perfecto, who was finding it difficult even to stand.


    Perfecto had already known that he couldn¡¯t live anymore as he saw a handing towards his face.


    Within the blink of an eye, he found himself lying on the concrete road with a cold hand covering his face. His body started decaying, and within seconds, he turned to dust.


    Zach couldn¡¯t move. He was frozen in ce. It took him quite some time toe to terms with what had happened.


    "You bastard! I¡¯ll send you to hell!" Zach roared as if he had almost gone mad. "I don¡¯t care if I live anymore!"


    mes around him appeared, much more intense than anything before.


    His muscles started bulging as his body increased in size.


    "I will die after using this, but at least I can take a monster with me," Zach muttered as he closed his eyes.


    "Overdrive!"


    A weak voice left his lips.


    He opened his eyes which were zing red now. His body also turned reddish, making him less like a human and more like something else.


    "Die for me!" Heughed like mad as he raised his right hand towards Lucifer.


    A wave of mes came out of his hands, shooting towards Lucifer.


    His mes were as red as the mes of hell now and much more potent than before. His body clearly couldn¡¯t handle this kind of power, and it started breaking apart, but Zach didn¡¯t care.


    "Overdrive?" Lucifer was confused.


    What was Overdrive? Even though he didn¡¯t understand what it was, he could clearly see that it made Zach stronger.


    "Die!"


    The hell me moved towards Lucifer and burned him apart; his body burned so fast that for a moment, some of his skull became exposed.


    Even though his Healing tried to help him, the situation seemed worse as the destruction was much faster than the healing this time.


    Fortunately, the mes didn¡¯tst for long.


    Lucifer had suffered heavy burns when the fire stopped as Zach fell to the ground.


    His body remained on the ground, lifeless.


    He had died. Thest thing he saw before dying was a terribly burnt person whose body healed right before his eyes, slowly.


    ¡¯Monster¡¯ was thest word that escaped his mouth before his breath stopped.


    It took Lucifer a few minutes before he healed.


    A sigh escaped his lips as he watched the dead body of Zach.


    "I thought I could keep him alive for information, but I guess I¡¯ll have to wait for longer," he muttered in disappointment.


    The only reason he hadn¡¯t attacked Zach, in the end, was to get information about the facility from him. But he was also gone.


    Lucifer looked towards the house and started walking towards it to get some clothes while also noticing a pair of ck gloves lying in the distance.


    As his clothes were burned, the gloves had fallen down while also surviving the mes because of being made of fireproof material.


    He picked up the gloves and wore them as he walked towards the house.


    Ring! Ring!


    As he walked towards the house, he heard the sound that felt like a phone ringing.


    He turned back to realize that the sound wasing from Zach¡¯s body. He started striding over to Zach¡¯s body.


    He brought out the phone.

 Chapter 35 - 35: Run Kid

    <h4>Chapter 35 - 35: Run Kid </h4>


    As Lucifer gazed at the phone¡¯s screen, he saw two buttons.


    He pressed the green button and ced the phone closer to his ears.


    "Zach, What¡¯s the status? Did you find that boy there or not? I¡¯m on my way, but it¡¯ll take me another hour. Answer me if you found him," the man on the other end of the call said, sounding calm yet curious at the same time.


    "Zach can¡¯te to the phone right now. He¡¯s a little... busy," Lucifer answered, gazing down at the lifeless body near his feet.


    "Who are you? Where is Zach?" the man asked, as his voice got a bit louder.


    "Me? I think I¡¯m the one you¡¯re looking for. Zack is unconscious lying below my feet, and if you don¡¯t answer me, he¡¯ll die," Lucifer said, lying to get what he wanted.


    He didn¡¯t care if he had to use tricks. Zach had said that his seniors might know. From the way the man talked, he was probably Zach¡¯s senior. He must know the answers, Lucifer assumed.


    ***


    In a different part of the country, a group of people were sitting on a helicopter that was flying.


    A red-haired man seemed to be talking to someone over the phone.


    He was Xander ke, the leader of Delta Squad and the S-Rank Warlock.


    "You¡¯re... Lucifer Azarel?" Xander asked Lucifer.


    The other team members also heard his words, getting instantly shocked.


    ***


    "It doesn¡¯t matter who I am. The only thing that matters is what I want. Are you willing to answer my questions, or should I kill him? I¡¯m not going to wait an hour for my answers," Lucifer warned Xander, knowing that the men were going to be here within an hour.


    "Alright. I¡¯ll answer. Don¡¯t kill them," Xander agreed. To him, the life of his men was important.


    "Good. What¡¯s my name?" Lucifer inquired once again to test something.


    "Lucifer Azarel," Xander answered.


    "How did my parents die?" Lucifer asked again.


    "They died during a dungeon exploration mission."


    Lucifer asked tens of random questions rted to him and his family as he circled around before he finally got to the point.


    "What¡¯s the name of the ce I was kept for five years?" Lucifer asked. This was actually the only question he wanted to know.


    He intentionally asked tens of random questions, so they didn¡¯t understand what his intention was or what he actually wanted to know.


    "The Dilion Research Facility," Xander answered right away like all other times.


    "Where is it located?" Lucifer inquired again, finally feeling like he was close to the answers he needed.


    "It¡¯s located in the city of Erygas," Xander responded again.


    "Who¡¯s the leader of that facility?"


    "From what I know, it¡¯s handled by Doctor Rao."


    "What¡¯s your name?"


    "Xander ke."


    "What would my punishment be if you capture me?"


    "It should be death, but I promise you that I¡¯ll get your punishment reduced. At worst, you¡¯ll get some imprisonment since you¡¯re young... maybe a few years."


    "What will my punishment be if I kill your men now?"


    "I¡¯ll find you, and I¡¯ll kill you."


    Lucifer couldn¡¯t help but take another nce at the dead bodies nearby. He had already killed them.


    "Onest question," he said. "Why is it that I had to go through all that when my parents fought for the safety of you all?"


    "Go through what?" Xander inquired as a frown covered his face. From what he was told, it was a side effect that killed Lucifer, ording to that doctor, even though he didn¡¯t believe the story entirely.


    "You don¡¯t know what they did?" Lucifer asked while the cold winds brushed against his skin.


    "They told me that you died because of a side effect of medicines. Was there something else that I wasn¡¯t told?"


    The sound of a helicopter was evident in the background of the call, which carried Xander and his team towards Lucifer¡¯s location.


    "Either you don¡¯t know about the torture, or you¡¯re acting ignorant. In any case, it is fine," Lucifer muttered as he threw the phone near Zach¡¯s body. "The only thing that matters is that I remember."


    "Hello? Hello?" Xander kept speaking, trying to get a response. Unfortunately, there was no response.


    Lucifer walked inside the house, leaving the phone behind.


    He wore a set of his mother¡¯s t-shirt because she was smaller in size while also donning her jeans. Even though the clothes were still a bit loose, he managed to keep them in position with the help of the belt before he left the house.


    Looking back at the house onest time, he tried to memorize this ce which was his home. He wasn¡¯t sure if he was ever going to return or see this once again.


    He left the area and walked as far away as he could before he asked someone the direction of Erygas.


    "I¡¯m busy,"


    "Talk to someone else,"


    "I don¡¯t know,"


    He talked to over eight people, but these were the only responses he received.


    The ninth person was an old woman sitting on a chair in a park. She was the one who actually answered him.


    "Erygas should be in that direction," the old woman answered him as she pointed in a specific direction. "But it might take you six days if you go by car."


    Lucifer left her behind and started walking towards the direction she pointed at.


    *****


    A militarized helicopternded near Lucifer¡¯s house about an hour after he had departed.


    Xander and his men stepped out of the helicopter only to see the bodies of Zach and the others.


    "It¡¯s a massacre," one of Xander¡¯s teammates muttered as he saw the dead bodies.


    Even though the new members had only joined recently but to see them dead, it wasn¡¯t a good feeling.


    "Even after getting the answers, he killed them," Xander muttered as he stared at the body of Zach.


    He raised his head towards the sky as he said, "I thought you were a boy who had the wrong circumstances, but now I realize that you¡¯re just a monster that loves killing: Run, kid. Run as far as you can. I¡¯ll definitely find you."


    "Should I check the house?" Flourance asked Xander.


    Xander gazed back at Flourance as he responded, "I¡¯ll be surprised if you can actually find him in the house. He most probably ran away. He knew we wereing."


    "It¡¯s still better to check inside. We might as well follow the protocol." Flourancemented.


    Xander simply nodded his head, giving his approval.


    "Rion, Take the bodies back. Let¡¯s see what we can find out about him. He¡¯s definitely much stronger than I expected him to be. There are still some things that we don¡¯t know." Xander told another man before he started walking towards the body of Zach.

 Chapter 36 - 36: Idol

    <h4>Chapter 36 - 36: Idol </h4>


    Some of the Delta Squad members started to collect the bodies while the others went to the surrounding houses to search for Lucifer.


    Flourance, on the other hand, had stepped inside the house of Zale Azarel to check.


    Xander walked towards the dead body of Zach as he ced his phone near his ears after dialing a number.


    "Distribute Lucifer Azarel¡¯s picture to the cops and the army. Also, tell Legion City administration to barricade the whole city. I don¡¯t want anyone to leave."


    Even though he gave themand, he had second thoughts right away.


    "No, wait. Don¡¯t distribute his image right now. Wait for me. I¡¯ll be back and tell you what to do with that. For now, just tell the Legion City administration to barricade the city so that no one leaves, especially a kid."


    After saying that, he disconnected the call and ced the phone in his pocket.


    "You¡¯re right. There¡¯s no one inside the house."


    A voice came from behind Xander, sounding like it belonged to Flourance.


    "It did seem like a fight took ce inside the house," Flourance further said as he stood beside Xander.


    "They underestimated him. We all underestimated him. For him to still be alive after so much, he definitely has something we don¡¯t know about," Xander muttered. "He¡¯s a full-blown anomaly,


    "Yeah. Luckily, this neighborhood doesn¡¯t have anyone living here. Or more people might have died." Flourance nodded his head, agreeing.


    "Yeah. Apparently, this whole neighborhood is owned by Zale Azarel," Xander replied.


    "Really? Why did he live in that crappy house then?" Flourance inquired as he gazed back at the house of Lucifer, which seemed like a much lower quality house here.


    "I¡¯m not sure. But I did hear that the house belonged to his father," Xander answered. "Maybe it had some family sentiments, making him live there?"


    He went down on a knee to touch the face of Zach.


    "Should we hand over the case to the higher-ups?" Flourance suggested. "That seems like the best option."


    "No. The Alpha Squad is handling the cases rted to the Variant Uprising," Xander replied. "Betas are also busy. Moreover, this case is not yet serious enough to involve them."


    "How is this not serious enough? Four of our men have been killed by that kid," Flourance let out in an unconvinced tone. "For me, it is every bit as serious as it can get."


    Xander gazed back towards Flourance.


    "Yeah. Four of our men were killed, but don¡¯t forget that they were low-ranking team members to them. If we hand over the case to them with just this, then we¡¯ll beughing stocks."


    He took a calm breath as he continued, "Do you think if an army goes to catch a criminal, they will drop the case or give that case to AFP if one low-rank soldier of theirs gets killed?"


    "The case can only be handed over when we truly fail, or the threat bes much bigger," he added as he shook his head lightly. "Moreover, I don¡¯t want to hand over the case. I¡¯ll deal with it my way after what that kid has done."


    "Anyway, did you find anything else of significance inside the house?" he inquired.


    "Nothing else. A few portraits of Zale and risse, the furniture and normal stuff. Nothing rted to Lucifer," Flourance answered as he exined what he saw.


    "You know, Flourance, I always considered Zale Azarel to be my idol. His sense of justice was what inspired me," Xander let out softly. "I even met him on one asion, and I remember that moment to this day."


    "I still can¡¯t believe that his son would be the one I¡¯ll be on the search for one day," he added.


    "Yeah, it¡¯s regrettable. His son is the one that is destroying the justice that he worked so hard to protect," Flourance muttered as he gazed at the distance.


    "What can we say? Some people are born to be psychopaths. Unfortunately, this psychopath happened to be the son of a great man," he further said.


    " I guess that doctor also holds some me for all this. Something definitely happened in the facility that we weren¡¯t told about," Xander said, remembering Lucifer¡¯sst words.


    "I talked to him over the phone, and from the way he talked about it, I¡¯m sure that they lied to us. Whatever happened to him was definitely not as simple as suffering the side effects of something," he added to his previous statement as his frown deepened.


    "From what I gathered, he definitely hated theb."


    "It¡¯s possible. But the one who killed our men will always be Lucifer. He can¡¯t be forgiven," Flourance said.


    Xander nodded.


    "Yeah, a Quad-Awakened Warlock who has two or more S-Rank powers definitely has the potential to be the strongest Warlock in the future. As much as I hate the direction things have taken, we can¡¯t let him roam freely for long. Otherwise, the threat will just increase."


    "Do you think barricading the city will help us find him?" Flourance asked. "Maybe he already left the city."


    Xander stood up as he looked towards the south.


    "It¡¯s alright. I think I know where he will go. We have a mutual destination, " Xander muttered as he looked towards the South.


    "I want to go there to get more information, whereas he should be going there to destroy that ce. We¡¯ll see what exactly he is made of."


    ...


    The bodies were loaded in the helicopter, and the neighborhood search was alsopleted. Nothing was found.


    The rotors of the helicopter started moving as Xander, and his team walked towards the helicopter. Their robes pped with the wind as they closed in.


    They entered inside the helicopter, which started flying, destination unknown.


    ***


    As the Legion City administration got the call from the APF, they acted hastily and locked down the whole city.


    Every person or vehicle leaving the city was checked to make sure that no kid could leave. Those with kids got their pictures captured which was sent to APF. Only after confirmation were they allowed to leave.

 Chapter 37 - 37: Return

    <h4>Chapter 37 - 37: Return </h4>


    The whole city of Legion was barricaded, and everyone leaving the city was being checked thoroughly. Unfortunately the person they were trying to find had already left the city before Xander even gave the order to block the city.


    In any case, even Xander hadn¡¯t expected him to be in the city even though it was blocked.


    ...


    At the moment, Lucifer was already 300 kilometers away from Legion City. His speed was much faster as he was using his Wind to move and keep his speed fast, but it also started to consume his energy and made him hungry.


    He didn¡¯t have any food on him, and his stomach was starting to growl.


    Throughout the day, he hadn¡¯t eaten anything, and it was already evening now.


    He had slowed down his speed considerably as he thought about finding a ce to rest.


    Looking around, he saw a tree nearby. He walked towards the tree and sat under it as he rested his back against it.


    "The food is bing a problem. I can¡¯t cook, and I can¡¯t carry much food with me at once either. I need to learn how to do it," Lucifer muttered as he closed his eyes.


    His stomach kept growling, but he ignored it and continued his rest.


    He rested for six hours and stood up in the middle of the night before continuing his journey once again, trying to ignore his hunger.


    As far as his eyes could see, there was only forest. No town was at sight.


    ...


    It was nine o¡¯clock in the morning when Lucifer finally saw a town. It was a small town with only a few houses like many previous towns. It also looked mostly empty and void of people.


    Lucifer slowed down his speed as he entered the town.


    Walking through the town searching for a restaurant, he soon realized that there was no such ce. At Least not something he could outright recognize as a restaurant.


    He ultimately decided to ask someone if there was even something like that in this town.


    As he walked through the empty streets searching for someone to ask, he soon saw a person.


    It was a young man who seemed like he was in his early twenties. The dark-haired man had a slim body as if he didn¡¯t eat much. The dark circles around his eyes were visible even from a distance.


    Lucifer walked towards the man in calm steps. Not in any haste.


    Stopping before the man, he asked, " Is there a hotel or a restaurant nearby?"


    The manzily shook his head.


    "There is no ce like that here, sorry," he said.


    Lucifer started thinking about what he could do next when he heard the screeching sound of tires.


    As he looked back, he saw a car speeding towards him at rapid speed.


    A beautiful red car raced towards Lucifer, seemingly intending to crush him as he was right before the car, and the car didn¡¯t seem to slow down.


    It also didn¡¯t seem like it was in control. The car didn¡¯t slow down in the least, even when it got dangerously close to Lucifer.


    The man who was standing right beside Lucifer was scared. His feet were stuck in ce, refusing to move as his mind turned nk. It was as if he could see the grim reaper approaching him with a scythe in his hand to take his life.


    Fortunately for him; From the way the car wasing towards them, it didn¡¯t seem like it was going to hit the boy, but Lucifer was definitely going to be hit.


    The car reached Lucifer, but instead of worrying, his mind was perfectly calm. He had been through worse than this. Something like this wasn¡¯t going to give him a brain freeze or fear.


    He stepped sideways using his Wind and got out of the range of the car.


    The car went past him and crashed straight on the tree right in front of the house before stopping ultimately.


    Lucifer calmly stepped towards the driver¡¯s side of the car. Without thinking anything, he punched the ss of the window, breaking it, and caught the cor of the driver from the back. The driver¡¯s head was bleeding.


    It seemed like a woman whose head was lying on the steering wheel, making Lucifer not see her face.


    He pulled the woman out of the car and threw her behind him without caring, but soon his facial expressions changed as he saw the face of the woman. It happened right after he had released her.


    His pale face was as if he had seen a ghost. Without thinking anything, he ran after the woman only to catch her just a second before she could fall to the ground.


    It seemed like a woman looked barely twenty years old. The woman¡¯s forehead was bleeding, but she was still conscious.


    She gazed at Lucifer with her beautiful blue eyes. Her silver hair was long enough toe down to her waist.


    "I-i¡¯m sorry. Is everyone alright?" The woman asked as she looked towards Lucifer.


    Even though she was hurt, she still seemed to be concerned about the safety of others.


    Lucifer looked at the woman without being able to reply. His lips kept trembling as he tried to speak, but no word came out of his mouth.


    "I... I know you might be angry but believe me. It wasn¡¯t my fault. My steering wheel jammed, and I lost control of my car. I¡¯m extremely sorry. I¡¯ll take full responsibility, though," the woman told Lucifer as she apologized.


    Droplets of blood kept trickling down her face. She was really injured, it seemed.


    Lucifer raised his right hand and brought it to the face of the woman as he tried to wipe the blood.


    The woman gazed back at Lucifer with an intrigued look on her face.


    Lucifer slowly opened his lips as he blurted out a single word, "Mother?"


    ... to be continued.

 Chapter 38 - 38: Sister

    <h4>Chapter 38 - 38: Sister </h4>


    "Mother?" Lucifer finally let out one word with trembling lips.


    The woman before him. That was his mother. But how? How was she alive? Moreover, why did she nevere to take him from that ce if she was alive?


    "Why didn¡¯t youe before?" Lucifer said a few more words as a single droplet of tear trickled down his right cheek.


    "Mother? Eh, what are you talking about" the silver-haired woman asked, seemingly confused. "Oh wait, I heard about this. The trauma of an ident can make it happen. Your memories are jumbled. I¡¯m so sorry. I really didn¡¯t intend it. I¡¯ll get you the best medical help I can."


    "This voice..."


    Previously Lucifer was more immersed in seeing his mother, so he hadn¡¯t noticed, but her voice was different. It wasn¡¯t what he remembered. Her looks might be the same, but her voice didn¡¯t match.


    Lucifer couldn¡¯t understand what was happening? Why was her voice different? Moreover, why didn¡¯t she recognize him?


    It had been five years indeed, and his face changed a bit but still. Something didn¡¯t make sense.


    Just as he was lost in his thoughts, he heard a shout from behind.


    "Hey! Stay away from my sister!"


    Looking back, Lucifer saw a young man screaming at him. Usually, Lucifer might be angry, but he wasn¡¯t in his right mind now. He was too confused.


    "I¡¯m really sorry. I never wished for anything like this to happen. I just came back to my town after staying in the city for four years. I¡¯m honest. I didn¡¯t know my brakes would fail as well. I swear I¡¯ll find the best help for you," the woman told Lucifer as she again apologized.


    "Do you have your parents¡¯ number? So I can call and apologize to them as well."


    Lucifer didn¡¯t reply, though. As if he couldn¡¯t hear her.


    Hearing the words of the young man previously, he understood that the woman wasn¡¯t his mother. She just looked the same. But still, to see his mother again... This feeling was somewhat special. Even though she wasn¡¯t his actual mother, he still touched her face gently.


    "Hey, I told you! Stay away from my sister!" the young man again scolded Lucifer. "Keep your dirty hands to yourself!*


    "Brother, don¡¯t talk nonsense. It¡¯s my fault. His head is a bit... Shaken because of the trauma. Don¡¯t scold him," the silver-haired woman told the young man, who was once again screaming at Lucifer. "Anyway, Do you know his parents? It¡¯s a small town. You should know."


    "How should I know? I never saw him in the town. He is probably new here," the young man answered as he shook his head. "He was asking me about a restaurant here before you came."


    "Fine. The first thing we need to do is to have him rest. His head needs rest so he can remember more," the woman nodded.


    It sounded somewhat ironicing from the girl who herself was bleeding.


    The woman looked towards Lucifer again as she smiled gently.


    She pointed towards the house which her car would have crashed into if the tree hadn¡¯t stopped the car.


    "That¡¯s my house. I would never try to do anything to destroy my house. It was an ident. I think you can understand. But please,e and rest in our home for a little."


    Lucifer observed the woman briefly. From her expressions, it didn¡¯t seem like she was lying. He still wasn¡¯t sure, though. Was it actually not his mother? Or was something else going on here?


    He was about to speak something when the door of the red house opened. A middle-aged woman stepped out of the house. She hade out after hearing themotion.


    Shock covered her face as she saw the car that had collided with the tree. She didn¡¯t recognize the car, but it was apparent that someone was probably injured. She looked around and saw Lucifer and the others nearby.


    As soon as she saw the injured woman, her face went pale. She started running towards her.


    "Emily, What happened? Are you alright?"


    As she got near her, she saw her forehead bleeding.


    "You¡¯re hurt! Was that your car? You little girl, you came back after four years, and that too like this?"


    She dropped down to her knees before the woman she called Emily and started checking her wounds.


    "I¡¯m fine, mother. Just some minor injury," Emily smiled innocently as she replied to her mother.


    "It doesn¡¯t look fine to me. Come inside the house. Let me treat that," the middle-aged woman said, sighing. She helped Emily stand up and took her towards the house.


    "Wait, Mother, Take him as well. My car almost struck him. He might be injured as well. Also, he¡¯s in shock and trauma. He needs help more," Emily told her mother as she pointed toward Lucifer, who was standing in the back, still looking at her.


    The middle-aged woman looked towards Lucifer and agreed. Even though he didn¡¯t seem hurt, if her daughter was saying, it must be right. In any case, it didn¡¯t cost her anything to help him.


    "Oh, I¡¯m sorry for what you went through because of my daughter. Come with me. Let¡¯s get in the house. I¡¯ll see your wounds as well," she told Lucifer


    ¡¯She has a mother as well. And a brother. She¡¯s not her.¡¯ Lucifer thought, seemingly disappointed. He had be happy for no reason.


    He clenched his fist tightly and shook his head. He couldn¡¯t bear the thought of seeing her face anymore. It was too painful now.


    "I¡¯m not hurt," he said as he turned back and started walking away.


    "Wait!" Emily called out, stopping Lucifer.


    She gazed at her mother after making sure that Lucifer stopped. "Mother, he was asking for a restaurant. He might be hungry. Do we have any food left?"


    "Oh? Is that so? Come on inside. I just prepared some food. You can have as much as you want. Treat it as an apology from our family," the middle-aged woman said, smiling gently. "Also, I can give you first aid and help you."


    She even bent forward politely as she asked Lucifer.


    "Please stop. I¡¯ll always feel apologetic if you don¡¯t stop," Emily also chimed in.


    Seeing Emily asking him with his mother¡¯s face, he felt something. He wanted to stay. He was hungry as well, but more importantly, he still wanted to test something here.

 Chapter 39 - 39: Hunter Association

    <h4>Chapter 39 - 39: Hunter Association </h4>


    Lucifer was told to stay behind, have dinner, and rest.


    He couldn¡¯t help but wonder what he could do. He was a bit shaken up after seeing a woman with his mother¡¯s face, but she was also a human, and he had learned not to trust humans.


    Inside his head, many thoughts floated. Was this a scheme from someone? Were they trying to trap him? Some of his questions were even a bit naive as he wondered if someone used his mother¡¯s face?


    He could see a bit of truth on the faces of these women, but then again, that was the same for the restaurant owners. He had also misunderstood them and thought them to be a nice couple. That only worked to prove that even the nicest looking people could easily be beasts inside.


    But then again, he also realized that he was hungry. In any case, he needed to find food, and here he was being given. In any case, he could only eat and leave before any scheme was hatched against him.


    What could they even do? He couldn¡¯t die. He also had faith that his healing was going to work on poison.


    He was a young child who had started falling for a bit of overconfidence and overreliance on his abilities which he couldn¡¯t even use to their full potential. He didn¡¯t know how dangerous overconfidence could be for even the strongest of people.


    Unfortunately, there was none to teach him. It was unclear if he was ever going to have apanion, but at the moment, he didn¡¯t want one.


    He gazed at the two women but didn¡¯t trust them. In the end, he decided to use them to feed himself. They had food. He wanted food. Their daughter tried to kill him.


    He didn¡¯t kill their daughter for trying to kill him. That was already a thing worthy of getting food. They weren¡¯t doing any good for him. That was just an exchange. He gave them their daughter¡¯s life which he might have taken, and they gave him food.


    He tried to justify staying behind even though he was still suspicious.


    Ultimately, he nodded his head. Unfortunately, his stomach also growled at the same time, saying yes simultaneously in its own way.


    The middle-aged woman saw Lucifer¡¯s reaction and smiled.


    "Good. Follow us," she told Lucifer as she walked inside the house while supporting her daughter.


    The young man also did the same. Lucifer also walked inside behind them.


    Everyone entered the living room that wasn¡¯t veryrge. It was only a middle-sized room with a wall-mounted TV


    There also happened to be a grey 5 Seater couch ced right before the TV.


    The walls of this room were filled with family pictures which Lucifer started observing.


    As he went through the pictures, he realized that the silver-haired woman wasn¡¯t her mother. He could see her picture with the family from the moment she was going to recently. She grew up in the house. It was obvious. At Least they weren¡¯t lying about that.


    He also noticed one more thing. The family pictures had a man in them who seemed like the middle-aged woman¡¯s husband. The man was in most of the pictures, but he was missing in the pictures in which Emily looked older than 15.


    The woman noticed Lucifer looking at the man in the pictures.


    "That¡¯s my husband. He died when Emily was just 15 years old," She told Lucifer. "Sit anywhere you like. I¡¯ll give my daughter some treatment, and then I¡¯ll serve the food."


    Without reaction, Lucifer walked over to the couch and sat on it.


    The young man also sat near him.


    "I¡¯m August. What¡¯s your name?" he asked Luciferzily.


    Luciferpletely ignored the man and simply closed his eyes. This man didn¡¯t deserve his attention.


    August didn¡¯t get a reply, but he didn¡¯t mind. He knew that some people didn¡¯t like talking unless it was for important reasons. In any case, a kid ignoring him didn¡¯t matter. He didn¡¯t even care for the kid. He had just casually asked not to seem like a douche.


    August picked up the remote from nearby and turned on the TV.


    ...


    As soon as the TV was turned on, music started ying. Apparently, a music channel was on. Without waiting, August switched the channels to the news channel.


    "Hello and wee to TV68. Today, it has been five years since the disaster of Malia Ind urred. In it, we lost many of our great heroes. It feels like it was just yesterday when such a tragic event happened."


    "Today, we will talk about the greatest loss of humanity during that ck day. The Strongest Warlock, Zale Azarel, and the Strongest Mage risse Agnor died in that disaster along with a lot of the greatest heroes of our time. We lost tens of the greatest heroes of humanity that day,"


    Lucifer was lying calmly, not even looking at the TV, but when he heard the name of his parents, his eyes raised to look at the TV. He could feel his hand starting to shake.


    "They went to the Level four dungeon for the sake of humanity, but they never returned. What happened to them? Were they eaten by the monsters? How is it possible that such a strong team was wiped out that easily?"


    " Today, we will try to get all the answers we can. We have the Vice President of the American Hunters Union with us today, Mr. Lark," the news reporter greeted the red-haired man who was sitting on the sofa beside her.


    "Thanks for having me, Lucie." Lark calmly nodded his head.

 Chapter 40 - 40: Mocking Without Control

    <h4>Chapter 40 - 40: Mocking Without Control </h4>


    "Mr. Lark, Can you exin how the god-like couple of Mr. Zale and Ms. risse could die inside a level four dungeon?" the host known as Lucie asked Lark withplete respect.


    "I wish I had something concrete to tell you, but I don¡¯t. We put all our resources in this investigation, and we did find some clues, but they are not sufficient at this point. The investigation is still going on, and I would like to assure everyone that the truth wille out. The only thing we know is that they are no more," Lark replied, vaguely responding to the question.


    "There was a report from the AFP that the Dark Variant Uprising might be involved. Are there any truths to this report? What is the Hunter Association¡¯s point of view regarding this?" Lucie asked again, raising a concern.


    "There is a chance that it might be possible. Again, there is no concrete evidence of this, but the investigations are going on. We did have reports of some people seeing a shadow leaving the Dungeon at that time. We are following all clues, and we should have answers soon," Lark answered casually.


    "Right. The AFP talked about that shadow. They mentioned that the Dark Variant Uprising has a few shadow ability users as well. And a few footprints were also seen there, leaving the dungeon," Lucie chimed in.


    " From the general point of view, it does seem like sabotage that caused their deaths. It has been five years since that event, Will the Hunter Association take any action, or are they going to wait until you have everything before you make your move?" she asked as he straightened her back even more while gazing at the clean face of Lark.


    "We¡¯re working closely with APF regarding this. But at the moment, we have the jurisdiction over it," Lark answered. "In any case, if we did confirm that Dark Variant Uprising has a hand in it, we would instantly hand the jurisdiction of this investigation to APF."


    "The AFP is the authority responsible for dealing with the Dark Variant Uprising. So if it¡¯s confirmed, they¡¯ll take over." he further added. " But for now, we have our own men on the case. We can¡¯t put too many resources on it because we need to keep the Monster Index of the Dungeons under control so that the barrier isn¡¯t broken. We don¡¯t want cmity like 2028 again. Still, I assure you that the truth will be out soon."


    Lucifer was listening carefully to what the people on TV talked about when he heard a condescending toneing from near him.


    "Cheh, the dead are dead, is there really a need to repeat that crap on tv, again and again, every year? I¡¯m getting tired of that. What Strongest Warlock, if he can¡¯t even defend his wife and dies. They just exaggerate him too much."


    As Lucifer looked to his side, he noticed that it was August who was saying this.


    "Szar Lucia is the real strongest Warlock, and he will always be. That¡¯s how heroes should be. That Zale Azarel was just a loser and nothing more," August kept talking without knowing when to stop.


    Lucifer¡¯s expressions changed as he heard the man insult his parents. The only people he loved in the world were his parents, and he didn¡¯t like anyone disrespecting them. This man, he was disrespecting his God-like parents that had died for people like him and calling them trash?


    After killing so many people, Lucifer had internally changed as well. He had be short-tempered and slightly immune to the thought of killing. That was the thought that came to his mind at the moment as his blood was boiling after hearing all that.


    One of his eyes once again changed color, bing ever so slightly more violet. But it still wasn¡¯t noticeable unless one looked exceptionally carefully.


    Lucifer stood up from the couch and started walking towards August as he removed the ck gloves he was wearing.


    "What happened?" August asked as he saw Lucifer looking all weird at him. What happened to this guy?" He wondered.


    Lucifer didn¡¯t respond and simply extended his hands towards the man¡¯s face.


    His finger touched the forehead of the boy. The boy¡¯s body started deteriorating and getting thinner. Lucifer also utilized his other hand to close the mouth of August.


    "You won¡¯t speak! You will only listen!" he said as if nothing but darkness was inside him.


    August couldn¡¯t even scream as he found out that he wasn¡¯t able to speak now, even if he wished. His mouth was closed. Moreover, he could feel something strange happening. His body was burning! It was in pain! He was hurt and felt like he was dying! What was happening? He couldn¡¯t understand. All he knew was that it had something to do with the boy.


    It didn¡¯t take him long to die as his body turned to ash.


    Lucifer gazed at the ash lying on the couch and the ground nkly.


    "My father was not a loser," he muttered calmly. "You are. You can¡¯t be like him even if youe back to life a thousand times."


    After speaking, he calmly wore the gloves again and sat back on the couch as I¡¯d nothing had happened.


    He picked up the remote again.


    Previously, August had changed the channel when he started cursing Lucifer¡¯s father. Now he wanted to find that channel to know more about his father. What exactly was it that he didn¡¯t know about their death?


    He kept pressing random buttons on the remote as he tried to find the channel where the interview wasing, but he couldn¡¯t find it. He didn¡¯t even know which buttons had to be used for that. All he could see was random things happening on TV.


    When he was five years old, he was suddenly informed by the government agents that both his parents had died in a dungeon. Other than that, he wasn¡¯t told anything. He wanted to see what actually happened, but he didn¡¯t find that channel. Why was it so hard?


    Ahh! He wanted to scream in anger and throw the remote, but he didn¡¯t. He knew that if he did, he would never find that channel.

 Chapter 41 - 41: Over

    <h4>Chapter 41 - 41: Over </h4>


    Lucifer was trying to find the channel by pressing all buttons he could when Emily came out from the room in the back.


    There was a bandaid on her forehead. Apparently, she did seem injured previously, but her actual injuries were only minor and didn¡¯t require much treatment.


    As the room she came out of was in the back, she could only see the back of the couch. She couldn¡¯t see the ash that was lying in front of the sofa.


    "Mother will be right outside with food. Just a few more minutes," she informed Lucifer as soon as she entered the hall.


    She was surprised as she only saw Lucifer sitting on the couch and not her brother.


    "Hmm? Where did that guy go?" she asked, seemingly confused.


    Her mother also came out of the room at that time.


    "Did that idiot leave again? He never stays in the house, always running outside. Even after his sister came back after so long, he still decided to leave. Just let hime back; he won¡¯t get any food today!" the middle-aged womanined, not knowing that the man she was cursing had not only left her home, but he even left this world entirely.


    "Oh right, you guys can sit at the dinner table. The food is ready."


    Lucifer looked back towards them. A worry was evident on his face. He wanted to see that interview, but he knew that it was impossible to see that now. He couldn¡¯t even find the channel.


    "What happened?" Emily asked Lucifer after noticing his worried look.


    "I want to see that interview," Lucifer said in amanding tone. "Make it happen now!"


    Emily looked towards the Tv and startedughing.


    "What interview? You have a music channel on. There¡¯s no interview there," she said as she rolled her eyes.


    "It was there before. Different ce!" Lucifer said again.


    Emily gazed towards the clock and shook her head lightly.


    "It¡¯s impossible. The news shows onlyst for half an hour. Whichever show that was, is already over now. The interview is over," she replied.


    Lucifer stood up with the remote in his hand and walked closer to her as he raised her right hand in haste. "Make it happen now!"


    He was showing the remote to the woman to make her bring that interview.


    "Alright. I can give it a try. But I doubt that interview will still be on," Emily muttered as she took the remote from Lucifer and aimed it towards the TV. "It was an interview; it must be on the news channel. Do you remember their name?"


    Lucifer shook his head in confusion before he remembered something, "They said Wee to TV68."


    "Oh, so it¡¯s that channel. That makes it easier."


    After knowing the channel, Emily pressed the number of that channel.


    The channels changed, and the interview was back on.


    "That was all the time we had today. Stay tuned for more news."


    The anchor was still sitting there, but the Vice President of the Hunter Association wasn¡¯t there anymore.


    "As I said, it¡¯s over," Emily muttered as she shook her head.


    Lucifer shifted his focus between her and the TV. He could somewhat understand what she was using to say. And it was that the interview was probably over. He was never going to know what actually happened.


    He couldn¡¯t help but clench his fist. Fortunately, the remote wasn¡¯t in his hand as it would have been crushed to pieces right now.


    "Don¡¯t be disappointed. You went through a trauma recently. The worst thing you can do right now is stressing your head," Emily said as she reached out her hand to pat Lucifer¡¯s head.


    Lucifer, on the other hand, stepped back, not willing to let him be touched by her.


    Emily found it odd that he was so distant, but she could understand it as well. She had almost killed the boy.


    But there was one more thing in her head. It was that the boy was a Variant. She had realized that.


    The way Lucifer moved to save himself when he was about to be hit with the car and whatever happened after that, it was evident that he was a Variant. Unfortunately, she thought that he was just one who had recently Awakened and was from a good family.


    She hadn¡¯t known that he was one of the most wanted people in this country by the APF at the moment. If she had known, she would have tried to inform them right away about his whereabouts.


    "Come, let¡¯s eat. Food is ready," she told Lucifer before she retracted her hand and started walking back towards the dinner table in the other room.


    Lucifer followed after her, still momentarily ncing back at the TV.


    ...


    Lucifer walked behind Emily to the dining table. His stomach was growling with hunger, asionally telling him to eat fast. The growling was even heard by Emily, who was walking in front of him.


    The two of them got to the dining table and sat around it. Emily¡¯s mother served the food before she sat down in one of the chairs.


    "Let me introduce myself before we begin. I¡¯m Reili, and she¡¯s my daughter Emily. You¡¯ve already met my useless son. His name is August," the middle-aged woman introduced themselves.


    She was waiting for Lucifer to do the same and talk about himself, but to her surprise, all she saw was him ignoring her and starting to eat instead of introducing himself.


    Even though there were spoons nearby, Lucifer was eating with hands which also seemed weird to her, but she didn¡¯tment on it.


    ...


    A five years old boy was sitting in the facility he had been brought to recently. He was being kept in a room that had nothing but a bed.


    All he knew was that this was his new home and that his father and mother were dead. He spent his entire night crying. He cried so much that it was as if his tears had tried.


    A woman entered his room in the nurse uniform, bringing food for him.

 Chapter 42 - 42: Lying

    <h4>Chapter 42 - 42: Lying </h4>


    The nurse ced it before the young silver haired boy.


    "Here, eat."


    The young boy looked at the food, wondering where the spoon was. Previously at home, he used to eat with a spoon.


    "Spoon?" he asked thedy with an expectant gaze.


    "There¡¯s no spoon. Eat with your own hands. That¡¯s how you should eat now," the woman told him as she left.


    The young boy, seeing no choice, started eating with his hands which he kept doing for the next five years which formed his habit.


    ...


    When Lucifer was in the Research Facility, he was given the most basic food but no cutlery along with it. This is how he grew up, which embedded itself into his habit. He didn¡¯t find it weird, but the others who were from a civilized society did find him a bit weird.


    He soon finished up eating as if he had been hungry for years.


    "Have you not eaten before?" Emily asked as she nced at Lucifer, who had finished his food within minutes. A wry smile remained on her face.


    She had seen many people eat, but from the way Lucifer was eating, she felt as if he hadn¡¯t eaten before. Just how hungry was that guy?


    "I did eat before," Lucifer answered her, not exining that thest time he ate was days ago.


    "You seem strong. Also, you are probably an awakened human. You can hunt and cook food yourself if you don¡¯t have any. You shouldn¡¯t have any difficulty with food," Emily replied to him. Normally Variants were never hungry like this because they had the strength to hunt and eat whenever they wanted.


    Lucifer looked at her as he thought of something. He wanted someone to teach him to cook, and this girl probably knew something about this.


    "Do you know how to cook wild beasts?" he asked her.


    "Of Course. I have camped outside many times with my friends. I know how to do many things," Emily answered proudly.


    "Tell me how to do it!" Lucifer eximed as he stood up. If he could know this secret, he wasn¡¯t going to be hungry ever again.


    "It¡¯s very simple. All you need is a fire to cook things to make them tender. As for how you can get fire, you can either use old ways, which are much harder to master. Or you can simply use a matchstick or a lighter," Emily said, smiling.


    "Wait a minute; I¡¯ll show you," she added as she stood up and walked into the kitchen.


    She came back with a lighter and a piece of paper.


    "Imagine this piece of paper is wood. You use the lighter to light a fire and then ce the animal you hunted on top to cook. When it¡¯s done, you can eat," she told Lucifer while she demonstrated by burning the fire.


    Lucifer reached out his hand and took the lighter from her, and tried lighting it up. It did as he nned.


    Now that he knew it, he wanted to test it for real.


    He had already finished eating here, so he was done. He didn¡¯t need to stay here and right away left with the lighter.


    "Hey, wait!"


    Emily kept calling him as she saw him leave. She even ran after him but by the time she left her house, Lucifer had disappeared. He was nowhere to be seen.


    She kept trying to find him, only to fail.


    ...


    Xander ke was the leader of the Delta Team of APF and the one who was handling the case of Lucifer


    At the moment, he was sitting in an attack helicopter that was moving towards the Dilion Research Facility that had housed Lucifer for five years of his life.


    A blonde man walked closer to Xander and gave him a photo. He was Flourance, the Vice-Captain of Delta Squad.


    "I believe that we found thetest image of Lucifer after going through all the CCTV footage we collected. He was caught in one of the CCTV cameras. This is how he looks now."


    Xander nced at the photo and saw Lucifer leaving the residential area before they had reached there.


    "Should we give this to the news channels?" Flourance asked Xander. "They can broadcast it and make the citizens aware of him. We¡¯ll also get information faster."


    "Alright, first give these to our agents and the cops. They already have his image, but it¡¯s better if they have this as well," Xander replied. "After that, send the image to the media. Tell them to be careful while telecasting it. Also, don¡¯t tell them the real name of this boy. I don¡¯t want the Azarel name to be spoiled."


    "Understood. I¡¯ll tell them to include the details and how this boy is dangerous. They will properly guide people about what to do if they saw him," Flourance nodded as he brought out a phone from his pocket.


    "Also, did you send our agents to the ce I said?" Xander inquired.


    "Yes. They are waiting at the location in disguise. As long as the boy gets there, he will be caught," Flourance replied.


    "Good. I know he wants to go to the facility. It was pretty obvious. He is like a child who probably isn¡¯t thinking about anything else but revenge. He doesn¡¯t care for his life or the destruction he would cause," Xander muttered as he gazed at the picture in his hand.


    "That¡¯s why I gave him a fake address. Let him get to the middle of nowhere in Erygas, only to find our men there," he added, gazing at the unkempt silver hair of Lucifer in the image, which seemed like the hair of his mother, risse


    "If our predictions are correct, that boy will get there in a week. That¡¯s when his game will be over," Flourance agreed.


    "Let¡¯s keep a factor of safety. Treat it as if he will be there two days. We can¡¯t ck," Xander said, shaking his head.


    "Should we really be going to DR Facility instead of going to Erygas then?" Flourance inquired, wondering why they weren¡¯t going where Lucifer wasing, instead only sending their team.


    "I want some answers. It won¡¯t take long. After asking some questions and getting some answers, we¡¯ll get a better understanding. Also, we can get to Erygas soon enough after that," Xander answered.

 Chapter 43 - 43: Caen

    <h4>Chapter 43 - 43: Caen </h4>


    Delta Squad helicopter kept flying and soon reached Dilion Research Facility, managed by Doctor Rao.


    They stepped out of the helicopter and entered the facility, once again led by the Facility Security Guards. They were brought to Doctor Rao.


    ...


    "Mr. Xander. You¡¯re back. May I ask what brought you here this time?" Doctor Rao asked as he saw Xander standing before him.


    "Four of our agents are dead," Xander repliedzily.


    "Ah, that¡¯s sad to know, but what can I do about this?" Doctor Rao asked in confusion. "I can¡¯t bring them to life. No matter how much science has advanced, it¡¯s still isn¡¯t there yet."


    "You will know after I tell you who did this. They were killed by the boy that you imed to be dead. Did this light any bulbs in your mind, Doctor?" Xander inquired.


    "Lucifer?!" Doctor Rao eximed, surprised.


    First, they imed that Lucifer was alive. Then they imed that he had killed innocent civilians. And now they im that he had killed APF Variants? Were they messing with him? At this point, it was evident that they were lying. That boy could never kill APF agents.


    "Yup. He is alive, and he is on a quest for revenge, from what I believe. You and your facility are in danger, and I can only save you if I know what actually happened."


    Even though Doctor Rao was surprised, Xander was still calm as he talked.


    "That¡¯s why tell me the truth. Moreover, I would like to search the facility. If you want our help, show me the ce where Lucifer was kept?" Xander asked Doctor Rao.


    Xander knew that it would be challenging to get Doctor Rao toply, but he wanted to try.


    It was just as he expected. Doctor Rao refused to do as he said.


    "I can¡¯t, Mr. Xander. This facility is under themand of General Maxwell. I can only allow you to do what you want if I see the search warrant or if General Maxwellmands me."


    Xander brought his phone out of his pocket right away, not bothering to argue. He dialed a number.


    "Get me the number of General Maxwell, who is inmand of Dilion Research Facility right now," he said to someone on the phone before he disconnected the call.


    ...


    Only a few more minutes had passed, but the time seemed like it had halted. No one spoke.


    Doctor Rao sat calmly, gazing at Xander and wondering if General Maxwell was going to sumb to the APF pressure or not.


    Ting!


    A notification sound came from Xander¡¯s phone, breaking the silence inside the room.


    After unlocking the phone, Xandr noticed a message that had a number.


    Without thinking twice, he called the number.


    ...


    "Hello, Captain Xander. What made you call me?"


    General Maxwell picked up the call after it rang for a minute. He didn¡¯t even have to ask who it was that was calling him.


    "Interesting. You do have some good resources, I suppose, to know that it¡¯s me," Xanderplimented General Maxwell.


    "I would generally be inquisitive and ask you how you got my number, but I guess you were already informed by Doctor Rao of my arrival before. It shouldn¡¯t be impossible for you to find my number," he added.


    General Maxwell couldn¡¯t help burst intoughter as he heard the response.


    "It wasn¡¯t particrly difficult. The Captains of the three forces of the APF are quite famous. Anyway, what made you call me?" General Maxwell inquired straight away.


    "General Maxwell, I think you know about Lucifer, Right? The son of Warlock Zale Azarel?" Xander asked the General.


    "Of Course, I know him. I was the one that ordered him to be sent to our research facility to protect him from the enemies of Zale Azarel and to keep an eye on the development of his powers. It was quite a tragedy to find out that he died in the facility."


    General Maxwell answered Xander in a neutral tone. It did seem like he was sympathetic, though.


    "He isn¡¯t dead. He is still alive, and thanks to this facility, he became the enemy of the general people. I want to interrogate some of the staff of your facility to find out the reality of what he was put through here. We need to understand what actually happened to him if we want to deal with him properly." Xander let out firmly.


    General Maxwell wasn¡¯t shocked after hearing that im as Doctor Rao had conveyed Xander¡¯s words to him from his previous visit.


    "I heard about that, and believe me, I investigated this whole thing personally. I saw the video footage and saw the data. He did die from side effects when we were trying to help him," General Maxwell answered, repeating the words of Doctor Rao.


    "He was dead for over more than a few minutes before his body was left for disposal. There is no way for him to be alive. It should be someone pretending to be him to destroy the reputation of the Government Authority."


    He again refuted the ims of Lucifer being alive. He didn¡¯t believe that someone coulde back to life after dying. There was no precedence of this ever being possible in the long history of the Awakening.


    "So you are iming that someone is using Lucifer as an excuse for causing the disturbance?" Xander asked General Maxwell as he rolled his eyes.


    "Yes. I think you must already know about Caen, from the Variant Uprising. You have data about him as well as I do. He is known to be able to shapeshift to other humans. It should be him, disguising as Lucifer even if what you¡¯re saying is true."


    "Who else would try to disturb thew and order other than the people of Variant Uprising. Their whole goal is to destroy the government and change the hierarchy. They should be the ones trying to use this excuse to make them seem righteous when they destroy the natural order," General Maxwell let out, shaking his head.

 Chapter 44 - 44: Other Methods

    <h4>Chapter 44 - 44: Other Methods </h4>


    "General Maxwell, if you think that it is him, then you clearly don¡¯t know the whole situation. Caen is the Commander of Level 1 branch of Variant Uprising ording to our information," Xander countered right away.


    cing his hand on the table before him, he further asked, "He is not a Warlock. He only has one Physical Power of Shapeshifting. He can¡¯t use any other powers. He can exin the looks of the boy, but how can you exin the boy being able to use the powers of Zale Azarel and risse?"


    Xander knew that it was a stupid excuse. A person being able to use over two powers at once and most of them being simr to the powers of the Strongest Warlock and the Strongest Mage, only their son should be able to do that.


    "Did you see him use his powers? Is there a video of that which I can see?" General Maxwell inquired with an amused smile on his face.


    General Maxwell had also gotten involved in this case. He was also collecting information, but so far, no video has surfaced of Lucifer using his powers.


    "We don¡¯t have the video of his fights, but we have four dead members and many dead citizens. We also have a video of him only a short distance away from where our men were killed. The investigation of the bodies has the clues of the powers they were probably killed with," Xander replied.


    "I¡¯ll take that as a no in that case. Can¡¯t it be possible that it¡¯s a team of more than one person? One was pretending to be Lucifer, while other members were the ones that actually did the killing. It was all to throw you guys on a wild goose chase."


    " If it was actually Lucifer, why would he kill humans in the restaurant that have no rtions to him? Don¡¯t let yourself be fooled by the dark elements of that Rogue Organization."


    General Maxwell gave a sound assumption which was challenging to disprove even by Xander. Especially when he actually had no proof that it was actually one person that killed his men. There were just no videos of Lucifer fighting.


    Until now, Xander was more focused on the one lead that he assumed to be urate, but the reasoning of General Maxwell had made him confused as well.


    If it were more than one person, that would mean that it was indeed Dark Variant Uprising which was enacting some n. That would mean General Maxwell was right, and he was chasing the wrong thing.


    It also made things moreplicated. Firstly, he thought that he would get the search warrant from the higher ups if General Maxwell refused to give him ess to the Staff of the Facility, but now it wasn¡¯t easy.


    He needed to convince the higher ups that the chances of his theory being true was over ny percent and that the facility did something wrong, but now with this new theory of General Maxwell, that was tough.


    In fact, that made it nearly impossible for him to convince the higher ups to give him the search warrant. Now the only hope that was left was getting General Maxwell¡¯s permission from him directly.


    "Can I still see the video of Lucifer¡¯sst moments? Just to satisfy my curiosity? Or let me talk to the staff," Xander asked the General.


    "I apologize, but the facility is working on some projects that we can¡¯t show others. There is also confidential information there. It¡¯s why I can¡¯t allow you to talk to staff or let you go through the security footage." General Maxwell refused to allow Xander.


    This was the worst possible oue for Xander that he was hoping to avoid, especially after the new theory of General Maxwell appeared. He couldn¡¯t do anything, or it would be seen as harassment at this point.


    ...


    "General Maxwell, You know that I¡¯m not after any sensitive information. I just want to talk to them about Lucifer and his death. I don¡¯t need anything else or any other footage. It shouldn¡¯t be a problem since he died of a medicine side effect."


    "It¡¯s not like something crucial will be exposed by watching him die like that. I want to see both angles. It would be a really big deal if someone came back from the dead. Just think of the opportunities for the development of humanity it can create."


    Xander kept trying to convince General Maxwell in all the possible ways he could since he couldn¡¯t use force here.


    "I apologize, Captain Xander, but rules are rules. I can¡¯t break them. I can¡¯t permit anyone to interrogate my men. You can go to your higher-ups if you want to force me, but I can already tell you that it¡¯s not going to work. You should already know that," General Maxwell again refused.


    "Anyway, It¡¯s time for my meeting. It was nice talking to you. Bye," he added as he disconnected the call after making an obvious excuse.


    Xander was somewhat angry, but he remained calm.


    He stood up and started walking towards the exit.


    "We are going back."


    ...


    As the Delta Squad left, only Doctor Rao was left behind, smirking.


    "Do they really think that a dead person cane back to life? Idiots! It¡¯s even more impossible for someone to develop powers after they turn ten. There is no way that it can be Lucifer."


    ...


    Xander left the room and walked back to the attack helicopter.


    He brought out the phone and called a team member that was in the APF.


    "Have the news channels started broadcasting about Lucifer?" he asked the person on the call, inquiring about his previousmand in which he had told them to send Lucifer¡¯s image to news channels.


    "Not yet, sir. We were preparing a few things. We just got finished. Anyway, I¡¯ll send it right away."


    "Not yet? Alright. That¡¯s good. There are some changes in the n, so don¡¯t do it anymore," Xandermanded.


    ¡¯ Since the straight path doesn¡¯t work, I¡¯ll have to use other means. General Maxwell, you really think you can stop me from getting what I want, don¡¯t you?¡¯ A thoughtful look shrouded Xander¡¯s face as he nced back at the facility.

 Chapter 45 - 45: Uprising

    <h4>Chapter 45 - 45: Uprising </h4>


    "There is another theory that makes thingsplicated. If we go about it the wrong way, we¡¯ll be ying right into the hands of Variant Uprising. Keep that image to yourself. Don¡¯t tell anyone."


    Xander disconnected the call after telling them to stop and stepped inside the helicopter that was waiting for them.


    The helicopter¡¯s rotors started moving as it started rising in the air and left.


    Flourance sat beside Xander, curious about something.


    "What did you talk to Maxwell about? You seem a bit different?"


    Gazing back at Flourance, Xander answered.


    "There seems to be a chance that the Variant Uprising is involved. We can¡¯t conclude that it¡¯s actually Lucifer until we get any video evidence or witness that clearly shows him fighting," Xander let out, shaking his head before he started exining everything General Maxwell said.


    "Do you want to go back to base or to the location where we have ced our men?" Flourance asked Xander.


    "Sigh, I¡¯m not sure anymore. If the Dark Variant Uprising is involved, it might be a plot to divert our attention from their actual n. I would need to consult with Ayn."


    "Sigh, I never expected that I would need the help of the Beta Team in this mission. At Least now I have an excuse to do what I¡¯m about to do since I asked nicely twice. She can¡¯t me me for what I¡¯ll do now," Xander muttered. "For now, take me back to the base."


    "Got it."


    Flourance walked back to inform the pilot.


    ...


    In an unknown corner of the country, there existed a mysterious and powerful organization that was known to be one of the most fearsome powers in the country. The main goal of this organization was to topple the natural hierarchy and bring the rule of Variants.


    Their Radical Ideology was that the awakening was a gift from the gods, and the Awakened Ones were the chosen ones by the gods.


    They believed that the Awakened Ones needed to be treated in such a way that did justice to their position, but the awakened ones were treated as pawns to deal with monsters while the Government ruled everything.


    Their goal was to topple the rule of government and establish the Rule of the Dark Variant Uprising. They wanted to bring the Golden Age for the Variants and bring humans under them.


    Even though the Dark Variant Uprising was so powerful, it still wasn¡¯t able to achieve its goals so far, which they believed was because there was no unity between the Variants.


    Some Variants still sided with the government and advocated for equal rights and democracy. That was their biggest problem and their biggest obstruction.


    There were mainly two organizations that were made of Variants that stopped the Dark Variant Uprising from getting to their goals.


    Even though the Dark Variant Uprising could cause destruction on a massive scale if they wished, it still couldn¡¯t topple the government because of these two organizations.


    These two righteous organizations were the Awakened Protection Force and the Hunters Association.


    While the APF directly opposed the Dark Variant Uprising, so much so that their Alpha Team was always on their trail, the Hunter Association handled the matters rted to Dungeons and the Monsters. However, they still came to help the APF whenever Dark Variants executed arge-scale n.


    All three of these organizations were in a stalemate now. The APF and the Hunter Association hadn¡¯t been able to destroy the Dark Variant Uprising, whereas the Dark Variant Uprising wasn¡¯t able to achieve their goals either.


    The Dark Variant Uprising had five levels in their organization for members.


    The Level Five members were the strongest and most feared, whereas the Level One members were the weakest in the Organisation.


    Even though the Level 1 members were weaker than the higher-level members of the Organisation, they weren¡¯t weak enough to be ignored.


    Each of these five levels had a leader as well.


    Caen was the leader of level one. He wasn¡¯t strong when it came to powers, but his power was one of the most unique in the Organisation.


    He was a knight that had the Physical Power of Shapeshifting.


    He was able to change his body shape and looks to disguise himself as another person. It was nearly impossible to find the difference between the real person and the disguised Caen.


    He was able to change his voice. The only limitation to his power was that he couldn¡¯t change his fingerprints and that he couldn¡¯t stay in one disguise for long.


    ...


    At the Moment, Caen was walking towards the higher level of the organization. He was called for a meeting between the leaders of the first four levels of the Organisation. The Level Five Leader wasn¡¯t going to join the discussion.


    He reached the fourth floor of the underground base and entered the meeting room, where he found a long rectangr table ced at the center of the room and a bunch of chairs around it.


    There was a white screen in front of the room.


    Caen couldn¡¯t help but sigh.


    He was the first person toe here. He looked at his watch and realized that others were runningte.


    He chose a chair and sat down casually.


    Caen looked like a handsome man. He had long blonde hair and a height of around six feet. He also had an athletic build. He was neither too bulky nor too weak looking. His deep blue eyes gazed around the room with a bored look on his face.


    Even though he looked like this, it was not his real face or body. No one knew what Caen actually looked like other than the Level 4 and the Level 5 leaders.


    People didn¡¯t even know if he was a man or a woman in reality.


    Every week he used a different look for himself in the Organisation. Some weeks he came as a woman, while other weeks, he was a guy. His identity was a mystery to most but a few.


    Even the APF didn¡¯t know what he actually looked like. All they knew about him were his powers and his name.


    ...


    After some time, the door of the room opened, and a beautiful woman walked inside the room.


    "Caen, you again changed your look. Why don¡¯t you select one and stick with it? It¡¯s so confusing," she asked Caen, frowning.

 Chapter 46 - 46: Footage

    <h4>Chapter 46 - 46: Footage </h4>


    A woman entered the room where Caen was already sitting.


    Seeming like a woman in herte twenties, the woman gazed at Caen, who once again looked different.


    Even though Caen was different, the bracelet on his hand was exposing his identity.


    The woman was only slightly shorter than Caen, having a height of 5 feet 10 inches.


    Her beautiful maroon hair was only long enough toe down to her chest. Her dress was already revealing a lot of her cleavage that could have easily attracted many manly gazes, but Caen didn¡¯t seem to care for her.


    "Nice to meet you too, Isona. Good to see that you¡¯re on time and not at allte," Caenmented sarcastically as he gazed at Isona¡¯s beautiful blue eyes.


    "A girl needs her time to get ready. The others are even morete than me, so save your sarcasm for them," Isona chuckled as she replied. Stepping forward, she sat in the seat, which was right next to Caen.


    Isona was the leader of Level 2 here. She was an S-Rank mage with the ability to rule over gravity.


    Her powers seemed a bit simr to Enforcer from APF that Lucifer killed, but because her ability was S-Rank, she was a bit too powerful.


    Caen didn¡¯t like her for reasons unknown, but Isona enjoyed talking to Caen and annoying him.


    "Do you know what this meeting is about?" Isona nced towards Caen before she asked.


    "Isona, You are higher than me in position. Do you really think that I will know about it when you don¡¯t?" Caen snortedzily.


    "Come on; You¡¯re the favorite person of Vega. He¡¯s also the one that called for this meeting. You have a higher chance of knowing insider information. Let me know. I won¡¯t tell anyone, I promise," Isona cheekily said as she ced her hand on Caen¡¯s shoulder and started shaking him.


    "Can you act your age and be less annoying? I told you that I don¡¯t know anything. Also, we would be briefed shortly. Just stay patient," Caen replied as he red at Isona. "Moreover, take off your hands from my shoulder. You know that I don¡¯t like when someone touches me."


    "Hmph, you¡¯re always grumpy," Isona chuckled as she took her hands off. Instead of annoying the guy, she started looking at funny videos on her phone.


    The door opened once again, and another person walked inside.


    This time, it was a man who had a brooding look on his face as if he was dead. His pale skin gave the feeling as if he was a vampire that hadn¡¯t drunk blood for a long time. His dark hair and beautiful golden eyes made him look charming as well.


    The man, dressed in a ck coat, stepped forward and sat on one of the chairs, not saying a word.


    "Dion, You¡¯re the third toe. I guess Vega is going to be thest one again. Sigh, that man calls for meetings and neveres on time," Isona let out with a wry smile on her face.


    Dion was the level 3 leader in Variant Uprising. He was an S-Rank Elemental Mage who had the ability of ¡¯Weather Control.¡¯ It was said that he could use weather to his advantage, bring whirlwinds, use storms, and many more. But no one had actually seen him use his abilities. He was one of the most low-profile leaders here.


    He was a long-ranged warrior, ording to the APF data, but he was also a master of many hand-to-hand fighting arts that made him even more frightening.


    "He will be here soon," Dion muttered before he folded his arms and closed his eyes.


    Time kept passing slowly, seconds turned to minutes, but the door didn¡¯t open again.


    It had been over 20 minutes since everyone had arrived in the room, but the one that called for the meeting wasn¡¯t here yet.


    "Is he evening or not? I have more things to attend to," Isona let out as she stood up. She was getting tired of waiting.


    Caen also stood up. He wanted to go and see what was actually happening.


    It was at that moment when the door opened.


    A young man walked inside the room. He looked to be in his early twenties. He was wearing a beautiful long ck dress that came down to his ankles while also donning a long grey scarf.


    His grey hair seemed to have a tint of green, such that they gave him a schrly look. The circr sses on his face only further boosted this look. Despite the sses, the man seemed to be one of the most charming men here.


    He seemed to be carrying two books in his hand, one blue and one red.


    No one actually knew the reason for it, but whenever they saw this man, he always had these two books with him. A few people previously tried asking him for the cause, but he simply responded with a smile and didn¡¯t answer.


    "Sorry to keep you waiting, guys. The meeting at level five stretched out longer than I expected. Thanks for waiting," The man said before he walked to the main chair.


    This man was called Vega. He was the leader of level four of Variant Uprising. He was also in the top five in the Most Wanted List of the APF.


    Vega was a Warlock. Other than him, no one in this room was a Warlock. He was a Variant with multiple powers¡ª physical and elemental.


    It was said that Vega was a triple-awakened warlock, but not many people could verify these ims.


    Most people only knew about one of his powers. The other two, if they existed, were still a mystery.


    As for what made Vega, so threatening was the only power of his that was actually known.


    His known power was the A-rank physical ability called Cyber Mind.


    This power made him able to read any information avable on the inte just from his mind without any equipment. He was also able to get secret information from the encrypted transfer. This was what made him a big threat in the eyes of APF, as he was able to hack a lot of information.


    Although APF had upgraded their system in such a way that Vega wasn¡¯t able to ess them, Vega was still a big threat to them because of his powers that they didn¡¯t understand properly.


    ...


    "We don¡¯t need to know what dyed you. Can you please start the meeting and tell us why we are here? I was working on something, and I had to leave that behind just to wait here."


    Caen was the first one toment as he insisted that Vega start the meeting instead of wasting time.


    "Hehehe, You¡¯re really a stuck-up. Learn to rx, Caen. We have our whole life to work," Isona responded to Caen as she chuckled.


    Vega ignored them as he walked towards the screen in the front and ced his finger behind it.


    "Silence. I¡¯m starting this meeting, but before I tell you anything, I need you to watch something," Vega said as he attracted everyone¡¯s attention. "It¡¯s something I recently found in the servers of a ce called Dilion Research Facility."


    "I think this has the potential to tip the bnce of power in our favor," he added as he gazed at the others.


    Caen, Isona, and Dion started looking towards the screen, wondering what Vega had to show them.

 Chapter 47 - 47: Missions

    <h4>Chapter 47 - 47: Missions </h4>


    Caen, Isona, and Dion gazed at the screen, wondering what Vega had to show them when a video started ying.


    In the video, a young silver-haired boy could be seen. The boy only looked to be ten or eleven years old at most.


    The boy was wearing a basic robe, lying on a bed. Machines were connected to him.


    They observed the video and noticed how the boy seemed like he was being tortured. There were three more people in the room that looked like scientists.


    The video ended as the boy stopped moving as if he was dead.


    The Scientists left the room. Some maids came, wrapped the boy in sheets, and carried him outside.


    Vega removed his hand from the screen as the video ended.


    Gazing back at his people, he calmly asked, "What did you think about that video?"


    "What was that video? Some scientists doing experiments on a kid, or was it torture?" Caen asked.


    He continued, "We already know humans are cruel. Nothing new. Why should we care if a kid was killed? Unless... There¡¯s something that we¡¯re missing."


    Isona, on the other hand, was frowning.


    "You wouldn¡¯t show us that video unless there was something important hidden in there. Was it about the scientists or the boy? Who was that boy actually?" Isona inquired, her voice getting a bit grim.


    Dion didn¡¯t say anything and just looked at Vega, waiting for his answer. He was toozy to ask, and he didn¡¯t care about answering when he didn¡¯t have any idea.


    "That boy is actually someone really special," Vega answered as a hint of a smile appeared on his face. "You must remember the Strongest Warlock, Zale Azarel, right?"


    "Yeah, who wouldn¡¯t. That man was such a pain in the a*s," Caen muttered as he sighed.


    Gazing up at Vega, he asked, What about him?"


    "This boy is the son of Zale Azarel and rise. He is Lucifer Azarel, the son of the strongest Warlock of that time and the most powerful Mage," Vega replied, stunning almost everyone in the room.


    None had expected Lucifer¡¯s identity to be so unique. That guy, he was their son?


    "Could it be that scientists in the video weren¡¯t humans but our people?" Isona questioned Vega.


    "No, the scientists that tortured him weren¡¯t from our organization. As I said before, they were the scientists from a government-run facility."


    Isona, Caen, and Dion all looked at Vega in surprise.


    "W-why would they kill the son of their savior?" Isona asked Vega.


    It didn¡¯t make sense. It made more sense to think that it was their people. Why would humans kill him? She wondered.


    "That¡¯s the humans. They are cruel, and they are evil. They probably didn¡¯t want to see another strong Warlocking into existence. What else can you expect from them? I know how cruel they can be, and that is why I joined this organization in the first ce," Caenmented, not surprised that humans killed him.


    "We can use that video to show the Variants of the world how the government treats them and their family members. Even if the kid is dead, it can be a good campaign for us. We can definitely create some trouble for the government with that footage."


    Dion was the most logical person here as he didn¡¯t focus as much on the content and the backstory as he did on how he could use the footage to their advantage.


    "We will do that, but there is something even more important for us to focus on," Vega said, shaking his head. "That boy is not dead."


    "He¡¯s not dead?"


    All three said at the same time as their expressions turned severe.


    Vega again touched the screen that showed the video of Lucifer walking inside the Legion City. It was the same footage that APF had as well.


    "He is alive, and he is free? Did he do all that to fool them and escape? Clever," Isona chuckled as she saw the video. "Not bad for a kid."


    "I don¡¯t know what he did and if he was actually fooling them, but the reality is that he is free. And not only that, I believe that he hates humans now. He hadmitted a fewrge-scale ughters since he was freed ording to the data that I was able to gather."


    Vega started talking about how his first kill allegedly urred in a restaurant, then at a house, and then at another restaurant.


    "Incredible. He was able to cause so much destruction without getting caught. I am starting to like him more and more," Isona let out smilingly. "APF must be going crazy by now."


    "What is his rank? What power did he awaken?" Dion inquired calmly.


    "He is a Triple Awakened Warlock with possibly two S-Rank powers of his parents," Vega exined.


    "Triple-Awakened? Two S-Rank?"


    Everyone, including Caen, Isona, and Dion, stood up with shock written on their face. It was even more surprising to see Dion¡¯s expressions change as he was mostly calm. That only went to show how big of a deal it was.


    "That¡¯s the most basic assumption from the bodies that he left behind after the ughter, but my assumption is that there is also a possibility that he is a Quad-Awakened Warlock," Vega let out as he walked closer to a chair and sat on it.


    The others sat down as well, still not able to trust. Just how much of a monster was this guy?


    "His danger level seems to be even higher than all of usbined if we look at powers; s, he is still young. Hecks the experience and probably can¡¯t fight experienced Variants. AFP must be after him already. Is he captured or still on the run?" Caen inquired.


    "Yeah, AFP is after him. Their Delta Team is handling Lucifer¡¯s case. Also, he is not caught yet. The AFP Delta members had found him, but Lucifer killed all four of the members that went to capture him and escaped," Vega responded.


    "He did? Ahahaha, Awesome. I wish I were there to watch their faces as a kid killed them," Isona startedughing as she heard the news. "If the boy were a little older, I would be so willing to give him a sweet reward; s, he is too young for me. I can only be his Elder Sister."


    Vega looked at Isona weirdly before he shook his head.


    "Now, back to the matter, I called you all here. I want you all to do anything you can to find Lucifer and make him join our organization."


    " Give him anything he needs, but we can¡¯t let AFP catch him. We need to find him and bring him here. It¡¯s too big of an opportunity to miss," Vega let out as he gave them all a file. "These files contain your missions that are rted to finding Lucifer and bringing him here."


    Caen and the others picked up their respective files and started going through them.


    "I need to go to Erygas?" Caen inquired with a frown as he read the first page of the file.

 Chapter 48 - 48: Hunter Guild

    <h4>Chapter 48 - 48: Hunter Guild </h4>


    "Yeah, The Delta Force of AFP is assigning a lot of their members in Erygas. I believe that it should be for Lucifer," Vega exined to Caen.


    "If they think that Lucifer might turn up there, then there might be a reason behind it. I need you and your team to go to Erygas and keep an eye there. If Luciferes there, under no circumstances should he be caught by AFP."


    Dion also finished reading his file.


    "I need to go to DRF? I get it. I¡¯ll arrange everything," hemented, agreeing without any questions.


    "Yeah. Lucifer was tortured in DRF. He might go there for revenge. We can¡¯t ignore the possibility. Since that ce will be a warzone if Luciferes there, I need our strong forces to be there to help him. You will be on standby there," Vega nodded his head. "This can be a good method to increase goodwill with him."


    Isona was pretty silent reading her file. She didn¡¯t say anything and simply nodded her head.


    "Good. That¡¯s it for today. The file has everything you need to know to carry out the mission. Give it a thorough read and get to your location," Vega said as he stood up. "If you have any doubts after you finish reading, you cane to me for answers."


    Vega walked towards the door and left, leaving everyone else behind.


    Caen also stood up and left with his file. Dion was the third one to go.


    Only Isona was sitting behind, watching the Image of Lucifer in the file.


    "Son of rise... We will meet soon, I suppose," She muttered before she stood up and left as well.


    ....


    While a whole lot of nning was going on by the three sides, including APF, DVU, and the government, Lucifer was utterly unaware of anything.


    He had left the small town where he met Emily and continued on his journey towards Erygas, the location he was told by Xander.


    He still had to pass through one major city of Ikrego before he was able to get to Erygas.


    Ikrego was a beautiful city that wasrger in scale than the hometown of Lucifer, Legion City.


    Ikrego was twice the sizepared to Legion City, where his family lived. The city was famous for many things, like its agricultural industry. Still, mostly, it was notable because it was a ce where the headquarters of the Red Eagles Guild was situated.


    Red Eagles was a hunter guild that was part of the Hunters Association. They dealt with matters rted to hunting of Monsters inside the dungeons all around the country to keep the Monster Index of the Dungeon in control.


    They had established their headquarters in Ikrego because there was a dungeon near Ikrego, which they had to keep under control. The Dungeon was ced under theirmand, and it was their responsibility to make sure monsters didn¡¯te out.


    Although Red Eagles were not the strongest guild on the Hunter Association ranking of guilds, it was still in the top ten in the whole country, ranked at tenth.


    Lucifer had no idea about this guild, and he didn¡¯t know that this city had a Hunter¡¯s Guild inside, but he wouldn¡¯t have cared even if he knew.


    He had almost stopped caring about his death, and when it came to pain, it was even less of a concern. All he knew was his destination.


    If one was to know his motivation and his actions, they might have called him naive. Unfortunately, there was no one to guide him. And even if there were, he probably wouldn¡¯t have trusted them.


    After suffering the deadly pain in the Dilion Research Facility, he had be almost immune to pain. Sometimes he wondered if he was even alive or just a corpse that was living for revenge.


    And even if he achieved his quest for revenge, what was going toe after that? Was he always going to live in this cruel world as an undying being, going through the pain of life? Was there even an end of the tunnel for him?


    This thought came in his head quite a few times, but he simply shook his head and stopped thinking about it. He couldn¡¯t let his determination waiver.


    As he didn¡¯t know how most things worked, he was a bit ignorant. He didn¡¯t know how to hide from cameras properly or what precautions he needed to take to stay safe.


    Fortunately, somehow his luck happened to be good. He simply happened to pass through ces that had no cameras. It was only once or twice that he happened to be captured by a camera.


    He was still wearing old baggy clothes that were covered in dust and dirt by now. It was something belonging to his mother, but since he had no spare clothes, he didn¡¯t change.


    He did learn how to cook food, though, so he didn¡¯t suffer from hunger.


    Hunting animals was the easiest for him because of his ck lightning powers. His speed was even more incredible. As for the fire, he used the lighter after hunting to cook.


    He still wasn¡¯t perfect at cooking, though. Most of the time, he left his food raw, or sometimes he even overcooked. But the taste was the thing he couldn¡¯t care less about. He hadn¡¯t eaten properly hunted food before. So for him, this was the normal taste of hunted food.


    As he used his wind throughout the journey to increase his control while trying new things, his mastery of wind control was increasing slowly too. He had managed to gain a little bit more control over it.


    He had previously been able to move fast because of the Magic of Wind, but now, he was even faster.


    He had also realized that he was able to jump for a really long distance with the help of his Super Strength and his Wind Control.


    As he traveled, he kept practicing the merging of his abilities too so he could increase his strength even further. Albeit, his sess wasn¡¯t as good as he expected.

 Chapter 49 - 49: Food Priority

    <h4>Chapter 49 - 49: Food Priority </h4>


    Even though he had S-Rank abilities, it wasn¡¯t as easy.


    Despite having the same S-Rank Super Strength, his strength was nowhere near the level of his father. He didn¡¯t even have one percent strength of his father just because his control and experience werecking.


    It was a newly gained power. Generally, he shouldn¡¯t have been able to use even a fraction of this power without training, but surprisingly he could.


    It was unclear why it was that way. Maybe because he had seen his parents use their powers previously when they trained. Or perhaps it was something else. Not a single person knew about it.


    Despite only having the fractional strength of his father, his Super Strength was way stronger than any normal human can hope toprehend, which only showed how strong his Father must have been. That was why his father was called the Strongest Warlock. He was just in a different realm altogether.


    Lucifer was still sitting in a forest, cooking a beast that he had hunted. There was still half a day of distance between him and the city of Ikrego. The lighter which was given to him by Emily was lying on the ground nearby.


    Soon, he finished cooking and was just about to start eating when he heard movement behind him.


    Crack!


    The sound of twigs cracking under feet could be heard as someone walked closer.


    "Man, who would have known we would find such a beautiful woman in this forest. I finally feel satisfied."


    "Cheh, you must be satisfied, but I¡¯m not. I didn¡¯t even get to do anything. She died in your try itself. I didn¡¯t even get to touch her. All I heard were her cries in the distance. I guess it¡¯s really my unlucky day."


    "Huh? I don¡¯t think you should me me for this. I told you to have a go after me? I¡¯m not wrong here."


    "You told me to have a go with a dead body? You bastard! Do you take me for a pig? You would have gone easier, so I could have her tooter."


    "Sigh, alright. Next time we get an opportunity like this, you can have the first go."


    Lucifer could also hear the voice of two men talking amongst themselves as footsteps got closer.


    Slowly turning back, he found two men walking in his direction. One of them was a dark-haired man while the other man was blonde.


    The two men also noticed Lucifer sitting in the distance, but their eyes were instantly attracted by the food before Lucifer.


    "Oh wow, there is food. We are really lucky. It looks like the god really loves us," the ck-haired guy grinned, licking his dry lips as his eyes lit up.


    "True. I was feeling hungry too. At Least I can eat even though I couldn¡¯t do that..." the blonde man chimed in.


    He raised his hand towards Lucifer to point the finger at him before hemanded, "Kid, put that thing down and leave this ce if you know what¡¯s good for you."


    Lucifer ignored them and took his first bite of the meat since he was hungry. These two people weren¡¯t worth him staying hungry for.


    The men were furious as they saw Lucifer eat while ignoring them. Was this boy deaf?


    "Hey kid, didn¡¯t you hear me?"


    The blonde-haired guy ran towards Lucifer and kicked in anger, wanting to make him fall to the side, away from the food.


    Unfortunately for him, he was unaware that his foot wasn¡¯t moving towards Lucifer but towards the boy that was considered by some of the strongest Variants as the Devil.


    Before his feet could even touch Lucifer, he found it unable to move forward as a hand was gripping his ankles.


    His left eye twitched as he looked down to see Lucifer holding his leg with his left hand. No matter how hard he tried, he wasn¡¯t able to free his leg.


    He couldn¡¯t help but have a bad feeling. Why was this kid so strong? It was a kid, and he was an adult. How could he stop him?


    Before he could even open his mouth, he felt like his leg was burning in the mes of hell. That zing pain only increased as it spread throughout his body which had started decaying.


    The man opened his mouth to say something, but only a scream escaped his mouth as his feet were crushed simultaneously.


    Lucifer didn¡¯t leave everything to decay; instead, he also tightened his grip, crushing the blonde-haired man¡¯s leg.


    He still had the meat in his right hand that he had cooked recently. He took another bite as he stood up carelessly.


    Not a single bit of emotion was on his face.


    "Ahhhh!"


    The blonde-haired man screamed in pain while the blood vessels became visible around his neck.


    "Y-you bastard!"


    Taken aback by the sudden change, the ck-haired man brought out his gun right away and shot without a second thought.


    The bullet hit Lucifer¡¯s shoulder, but he didn¡¯t hear Lucifer make any noise. No pain was even visible on Lucifer¡¯s face.


    As his right hand was already holding food, he had to free the blonde man to use his left hand.


    Now, with his hand free, Lucifer raised it and pointed his finger towards the ck-haired guy.


    The blonde man dropped to the ground, groaning in pain.


    A small bolt of ck lightning appeared before Lucifer¡¯s finger and went towards the ck-haired man, zing fast.


    The ck bolt of lightning prated the center of the man¡¯s throat and came out from the other side, leaving a small hole in the man¡¯s neck.


    Holding his neck, unable to breathe, the man dropped to the ground as well.


    His face turned pale as he couldn¡¯t breathe. Soon, his eyes lost their light as he stopped moving.


    Ignoring the dead man, Lucifer continued eating as he shifted his focus to the blonde man that was groaning like he was dying.


    A horrified look was evident on the blonde man¡¯s face as he realized the mistake he made by getting involved with the kid.


    Finishing what was in his hand, Lucifer picked up another piece from the side and continued eating as he watched the man begging him for forgiveness.


    He didn¡¯t do anything. Nor did he act. His entire focus was on his food.

 Chapter 50 - 50: Parents Proud

    <h4>Chapter 50 - 50: Parents Proud </h4>


    After a few minutes, Lucifer picked up thest piece as he finally moved. He started walking towards the man who had been trying to drag his frail and injured body away from Lucifer. Unfortunately, despite Lucifer giving him so much time, he wasn¡¯t able to get much farther.


    He could only drag himself for a few meters. Lucifer easily closed in on the distance.


    "Forgive me! Please forgive me! I¡¯ll be a good man. I won¡¯t do it again. I swear on my life."


    Gazing down at the man who was holding his hands, begging Lucifer to free him.


    Seeing no change in Lucifer¡¯s expression despite his begging, he changed his approach.


    ¡¯He¡¯s a kid. All kids love their parents,¡¯ he thought as he decided what to do.


    "Think about your parents. What would they think if they knew their son was a murderer? Let me go. Walk on the righteous path and make your parents proud!"


    Albeit, his words fell on deaf ears, it seemed.


    Lucifer wanted to do it the same way since the man wanted to use his feet to show his crude side. Slowly raising his right foot, he stomped down heavily, crushing the blonde-haired man¡¯s skull. Blood spilled everywhere, some of which covered his shoes.


    Lucifer gazed at the man, lying under his feet as he wondered what his parents would have said if they saw him like that.


    He could also feel like something was wrong with him. Even though he didn¡¯t react, the man¡¯s words were something he thought about. What would his parents say if they were alive?


    "I¡¯m fine. I¡¯m perfectly fine," Lucifer repeated as he shook his head.


    He left the bodies behind as he continued walking towards the City of Ikrego while eating thest piece in his hand.


    ...


    Lucifer moved towards the city of Ikrego that was filled with the hunters, whereas Xander reached the Headquarters of APF.


    He walked inside the office of the leader of the Beta Team of Awakened Protection Force.


    A beautiful woman was sitting on a chair, seemingly writing something on a piece of paper, when Xander entered.


    As Xander entered, she raised her gaze to look at the newly arrived man. Her silverish hair and her grey eyes mixed with her calm yet serene look.


    The woman looked to be even younger than Xander. Known as Ayn, she was the Captain of the Beta Team of APF.


    She was a double awakened Warlock. Unfortunately, only one of her powers was ssified as S Rank.


    She had an A-Rank Physical ability of Multiplication, which allowed her to make a limited number of copies of herself. Her copies could not use Multiplication, but they could use her second power, which was S-Rank Ice Control. It was an Elemental Power that allowed her to control ice and freeze anything in her way.


    So basically, she could have clones of herself, all with S-Rank abilities. No one knew what her power limitations were, if any.


    "Xander, I heard that you had something to talk about. Is this about the case you¡¯re dealing with?" she asked Xander.


    "Yeah, I thought that it was a case of an Awakened going rogue, but new developments suggest that Uprising might be behind it. Although I still doubt it, I can¡¯t neglect the possibility," Xander answered her.


    "Uprising is involved?"Ayn frowned as she heard about the update in the case. "Shouldn¡¯t you go to Varant with this information? His Alpha team is more prone to dealing with these matters."


    "Not right now. I don¡¯t want to give this case to him. Also, the chances of Variant Uprising being involved in it are less than ten percent, ording to me. I still believe that it is a single person who is doing this for revenge," Xander exined his reasoning.


    "What do you need from me then?" Ayn asked with a curious look on her face. "You don¡¯t want to go to Varant and specifically came for me. You need help, I¡¯m sure. The question is what help you want."


    "I need someone you captured. He is in the prison of Beta Team," Xander let out as he brought a paper out of his pocket.


    He wrote a name on the piece of paper and slid it towards Ayn.


    Picking up the paper, Ayn read what was written by Xander.


    "Him? Why do you need him?"


    "I need that person to hack into the DRF database and find a video for me," Xander let out calmly.


    "You do realize what you¡¯re asking me to do is criminal, right? You want me to let you meet a criminal so that you could use him to hack a government database?" Ayn¡¯s frown only deepened as she heard his request. "You know the trouble it can cause? Varant would eat me alive if he knew I did it."


    Xander could feel his surroundings getting colder. He realized that either Ayn was actually upset, or she was trying to warn him about the seriousness of this matter, but he couldn¡¯t back off.


    "I asked them nicely first. I went to DRF and asked them personally, twice. I even talked to some General Maxwell. You know I wouldn¡¯t suggest this if it was possible through legal means," Xander exined.


    He added, "Now I only have two options. One is that I thrash their facility and force them to hand it over. But as you said, Varant would eat us alive for that mess. This option is better than that, isn¡¯t it?"


    He also started using his abilities to control the room¡¯s temperature to keep it normal with his heat. Hot shed with cold to maintain the normal temperature of the room.


    Xander¡¯s power countered Ayn¡¯s power since her S-Rank Ice Control was the opposite of Xander¡¯s S-Rank me Control. Both of them were of the same grade as well.


    Both of them were double awakened Warlocks. The only difference was that Ayn¡¯s second power was much more helpful in battle than Xander¡¯s second power, which made her more threatening.


    Ayn red at Xander. The silencested for a few minutes as none said anything.

 Chapter 51 - 51: Refused

    <h4>Chapter 51 - 51: Refused </h4>


    The silence in Ayn¡¯s office was ultimately broken by her sigh itself.


    "Alright. I¡¯ll allow you to meet him. I won¡¯t let him leave the cell, though. You can take aptop to his cell and have him help you."


    She stopped using her powers. Xander also stopped at the same time.


    "He would not help you for no reason, though," She muttered as she ced her fingers on her chin.


    "Leave that to me. I¡¯ll handle that. All you need to do is let me enter his cell and turn off the cameras for as long as I¡¯m inside," Xander said with a subtle smile on his face.


    "Alright."


    Ayn tapped a button that was on her table while she simultaneously opened a drawer, bringing aptop out of it.


    "One of my men will take you to the cell. I will turn off the cameras from here after you get in the cell. Here, you can use thisptop. It has a masked ID; the Military won¡¯t be able to track it even if they find the hack," She said as she gave Xander theptop.


    "I appreciate it."


    Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.


    "Come on in."


    The door opened, revealing a ck-clothed man.


    "You called for me, Captain?" the man asked Ayn.


    "Yeah, Take Captain Xander to Drak¡¯s cell. He needs to talk to him in private. No one will disturb him inside the room until hees out of his own," Aynmanded the man, who nodded in return.


    Xander left the room, following behind that ck-robed man.


    ...


    After walking through the long corridors of the floor, Xander soon reached a lift and entered it with the ck-clothed man who in turn pressed a number in the lift.


    The lift started going down and only stopped as it reached a certain floor.


    As the door opened, the two of them stepped out of the lift together.


    The ck-robed man escorted Xander to the cell where a person known as Drak was being kept. The cell had arge iron door with no opening to stop anyone from looking outside or inside.


    The dark-clothed man pressed a code on the number pad, ced beside the door while simultaneously using his other hand to give his fingerprint on a different machine.


    Beep...


    After the process waspleted, the door unlocked with a beeping sound.


    "You can go in now. I¡¯ll wait outside," the Dark Haired man told Xander.


    Pushing the metallic door open, Xander stepped inside.


    The door was closed behind him to give Xander privacy.


    ...


    A man who looked like he was only in his 20s was lying on a bed, with one of his legs resting above another. He had a book in his hand and reading sses on his face which made him look like a studious youngster.


    The youngster nced at Xander but didn¡¯t stand up.


    Looking at his face and the naive look he had, no one could have guessed that he was actually a Knight ss Variant who Awakened with a physical ability that had annoyed the heck out of APF once upon a time.


    After his awakening, the man called Drak realized that he was able to hack things as long as he had aptop in his hands. He had hacked the database of many government organizations and leaked them to the public just for the fun of it. No amount of encryption could keep him out.


    At first, people used to think that the hacker was a normal human with a good brain but onlyter was it exposed that it was actually a Variant.


    Since this matter involved some high-profile people, the Beta team of APF personally handled it. After plenty of effort and a decent amount of time spent on this case, Ayn and her team managed to catch Drak. It had only been a month since Drak was caught.


    "Who might you be? It¡¯s the first time I¡¯m seeing you," Drak askedzily. "Are you the new food delivery guy?"


    "I am Xander ke from the Delta Team. I came here because I need your help. I want you to hack into a government database for me and get me a video," Xander told Drak as he stood before him.


    "Is this a joke? You guys imprisoned me for hacking, and now you want me to do the same for you?" Drak inquired in disbelief. "I am beyond shocked at this hypocrisy."


    Drak rolled his eyes as he snorted. He didn¡¯t even look at Xander.


    "It is really important. The future of the world might depend on this one hacking of yours," Xander insisted.


    Drak looked towards Xander again, noticing the seriousness in his eyes.


    "Alright. I¡¯ll do it, but on one condition," he said. "You must do something for me in exchange."


    "What do you want in exchange?"


    With a cheeky smile, Drak finally sat up and slid to the edge of the Hard Mattress.


    With his legs hanging from the bed, he said, "You must get them to drop all the charges on me and let me walk out of here like an innocent man."


    "APF should be able to do that if they want to save the world," he added.


    Xander didn¡¯t even take a moment before he shook his head, rejecting that request right away.


    "I can¡¯t do that. This is not under our control. As I said, I¡¯m from the Delta Team, and you¡¯re in the Custody of the Beta Forces. The charges have already been filed, and this thing is in the eyes of higher-ups already. It¡¯s impossible to drop your charges, and it¡¯s even impossible to let you walk out of here."


    "Why should I care then? If I¡¯m going to spend the rest of my life in a cell, then I might as well have it end soon and let the world be destroyed," Drak chuckled as he shook his head. "Go away. I don¡¯t want to help you."


    Xander didn¡¯t like the response, but he didn¡¯t get angry. He ced his hand inside his pocket and brought a picture out.


    "Really? So you don¡¯t care about your sister and your mother?"

 Chapter 52 - 52: Hacking The Government

    <h4>Chapter 52 - 52: Hacking The Government </h4>


    Drak instantly opened his eyes and looked at Xander as he heard the words. It was as if his pained nerves were pressed.


    He also noticed a picture in Xander¡¯s hands that was of his sister and his mother.


    "Are you threatening me?" Drak asked, frowning. "How low can you fall? Going after my family?"


    "You said you don¡¯t care if the world is destroyed. I¡¯m just reminding you. If the world is destroyed, then don¡¯t forget, your family is a part of this world too. It would not only affect you and me but millions of people like her too," Xander replied calmly.


    "I read your file, and I know about your family. The Beta team had also managed to locate your family when they were trying to find you," he further continued, ignoring the question as he walked closer to Drak to help him better see the image.


    Drak reached out his hand to hold the image, but before his hand could touch the picture, it was burned to ashes in the mes that appeared in Xander¡¯s hand out of nowhere.


    "Do you want to know about your family?" Xander asked. "How do you think they are doing now?"


    Even though he asked a question, he didn¡¯t wait for a response before he answered himself.


    "Your family is not having a good time at the moment. They are charged with aiding and abetting a criminal like you. They are also facing punishment and jail time, but since APF is not handling their matter, I might be able to get the charges against them dropped. That is only possible if you help me."


    His voice went a bit calmer as he continued.


    "You might not care about yourself, but I do know that you care for your family, and I respect that. I promise you that not only would they be freed, but they would have a better life than they ever could. All that depends on the condition that you help me."


    Drak looked at the ashes of the picture on the ground nkly.


    "You don¡¯t have much time. After I leave today, I won¡¯t return. Think carefully," Xander reminded Drak. Even his bluff sounded like the truth since he had experience.


    "I... will do it," Drak nodded his head ultimately, having no other choice


    "Good boy."


    Xander ced theptop before Drak instantly.


    "I want you to hack into the database of the Dilion Research Facility. Downloadst one month of footage from theirb cameras," Xander told Drak. "That¡¯s all."


    Drak nodded as he touched theptop. Finally, he had his hand on aptop after so long. It gave him such a familiar feeling.


    Xander stood behind him and watched everything to make sure Drak didn¡¯t scheme anything.


    He couldn¡¯t help but be amazed at how fast Drak¡¯s fingers moved on theptop¡¯s keyboard. Xander didn¡¯t understand the inner workings of what Drak was doing, but he understood that Drak wasn¡¯t trying to cheat.


    ...


    Drak continued his work for four straight hours.


    Xander wondered how long it would take, but he didn¡¯t ask Drak so as to not disturb him.


    "Yes! It¡¯s Sessful. We are inside. I am starting the download," Drak eximed in excitement.


    "The speed is decent but not great. It would take at least an hour before the downloadpletes," Drak said as he gave Xander theptop.


    "Good. Thanks for the help. I¡¯ll make sure to fulfill my end of the promise as well. Also, I¡¯ll try to have your sentence decreased if it works," Xander told Drak as he sat beside him.


    Xander waited in the cell for the download to bepleted.


    After about an hour, the download waspleted.


    Xander tried ying the footage a bit to make sure it was from that exact facility. There were thousands of hours of footage since it was from multiple cameras inside the facility. After a brief authentication, he closed theptop.


    Thanking Drak again, he left the cell.


    The ck-clothed man was still standing outside. As soon as Xander came out of the cell, he locked the cell and took Xander back to the top floor.


    Xander had already transferred all the videos into a Pendrive and deleted the footage from theptop, and cleared all the remains.


    He entered Ayn¡¯s room and gave theptop back to her.


    "Did it work?" Ayn asked as Xander returned the footage.


    "It worked. Oh right, I promised that man that his family wouldn¡¯t be charged in the aiding and abetting case."


    "Alright. I¡¯ll deal with that. I¡¯ll talk to the police chief. The case will be dropped," Ayn said as she nodded her head.


    Xander thanked her before he left.


    He walked out of the building and entered the Helicopter that was waiting outside for him with his team.


    "You look happy. Was the meeting sessful?"


    As soon as Xander entered the helicopter, he was greeted by Flourance, who instantlymented on Xander¡¯s expressions.


    "Yeah, Did they really think that I wouldn¡¯t be able to get the footage if they didn¡¯t give me? I have a thousand different ways to get it. I just don¡¯t want the mess, so I had to choose this one," Xander repliedzily.


    He ced the Pendrive in a differentptop.


    "Time to see what they were trying to hide."


    After a few clicks, he started ying the footage in fast forward. Flourance sat beside him and watched the footage alongside, wondering if it had something useful or if it was a waste of time.


    He started going through the footage of all the cameras, one of which was the camera that was inside Lucifer¡¯s cabin.


    Inside that, they saw the living conditions of Lucifer. He was kept as a prisoner. They couldn¡¯t understand. Did they really treat that kid like he was a prisoner?


    His room was no different from their cells.


    "Sigh, those men are really the biggest bastards on this, aren¡¯t they?" Flourancemented as he saw the condition of the room Lucifer was kept in. "They really kept Zale¡¯s son like he was a beast."


    Xander didn¡¯tment. He calmly looked at the footage.


    He used that camera¡¯s footage to find thest timestamp, after which Lucifer didn¡¯t return to his room and used that point as a reference to check the footage of other cameras. Soon, they found the video of Lucifer in hisst moments.


    As the two of them watched the footage, their expressions twisted. Even Xander was clenching his fist in rage at what he was seeing. As for Flourance, he seemed just as shocked.

 Chapter 53 - 53: Emotion Control

    <h4>Chapter 53 - 53: Emotion Control </h4>


    Xander and Flourance were shocked when they saw the footage of the inhumane torture on a ten-year-old kid. They could see the boy¡¯s body twisting and turning in pain before he ultimately stopped moving.


    Xander was clenching his fist uncontrobly. Flourance was also shocked.


    "This is torture! How can they be so inhumane to a little child?" Flourancemented.


    "So they killed the boy, and now he¡¯s back for revenge. There is no Dark Variant Uprising angle in this anymore. It¡¯s all a tragedy made by humans," he further added, still enraged. "Because of their stupidity, they put the whole world in danger."


    Xander hadn¡¯t spoken anything. But his face was saying everything. He seemed enraged, as if he wanted to destroy something.


    However, something strange happened. All his anger disappeared as a calm and serene look returned on his face as if it was nothing shocking.


    His other ability had started acting. It was his Emotion Control that kept his emotion in control and prevented him from losing emotions whenever he was about to.


    Now that the ability was acting, it was as if he had no emotion.


    "That makes things more clear. I did talk to the real Lucifer. The way he talked about the facility, I could feel his disgust, and now I know why," he said calmly.


    "Of course. I don¡¯t me him. I feel disgusted at them too. How about we have some fun with them? We already have proof. Let¡¯s cause some explosion there?" Flourance suggested, talking about using violence against the facility.


    Unlike Xander, his emotions were still unchecked, which were overwhelming his decision now.


    "No. We can do no such thing as that. You forget the purpose of APF. We are to protect the people and stop Variants from misusing their powers. We can¡¯t involve ourselves when it¡¯s humans against humans or humans against Variants."


    Xander was speaking calmly, but it was unclear if his words would have been the same without Emotion Control or not.


    "It¡¯s not you speaking but your Emotion Control. You¡¯re only thinking about thew. You know it¡¯s wrong as well," Flourance said.


    Xander didn¡¯t reply and ignored the words. It was as if he didn¡¯t care. He wasn¡¯t going to break thew of APF.


    "Sigh, you¡¯re really stubborn. Sometimes I hate your Emotion Control," Flourance said, sighing. He knew that nothing he said was going to change anything.


    "We can at least use this footage, can¡¯t we? Let¡¯s give this footage to the guys that can do something. There are many human-rted organizations," he added, trying a different approach.


    "We can¡¯t. I got this footage illegally. I can¡¯t use this, and even if I did, the trouble for us would be much bigger than it would be for them," Xander let out, shaking his head.


    Even though Flourance heard his words, he didn¡¯t understand. How could the trouble be more for them?


    "How?"


    Flourance decided to ask.


    "As I said, it¡¯s illegally obtained footage. Release it openly, and the origins will be traced to us. I don¡¯t care about myself, but Beta Team and Ayn will also find themselves entangled because of us. But that¡¯s not the reason," Xander said. "We can release it anonymously as well. The actual reason is something different."


    "Then what is the reason?"


    "The Variant Uprising. If we release this footage anonymously, they¡¯ll use it as an excuse to rile Variants against the humans. They can even im that they released this footage and that humans and we hid it. Since it¡¯s anonymous, we can prove nothing. They¡¯ll have the moral high ground. And if we say that it was us that released it, Ayn will be in trouble."


    "In the long run, it¡¯s something that can throw the world in an insane struggle that wouldn¡¯t benefit anyone. A war between the neutral Variants and the humans... The distrust... You know how it can turn bad."


    The calm mind of Xander wasn¡¯t affected by his emotional side at the moment. So he could only think of pros and cons logically. At the moment, the cons of releasing the footage outweighed the pros.


    "So it¡¯s basically useless, isn¡¯t it?" Flourance let out with a wry smile. "We can¡¯t do anything about them."


    After hearing everything, he believed that the footage was not very useful if they couldn¡¯t use it to hold anyone ountable. He just shook his head in disappointment.


    "Not really. It¡¯s not entirely useless. It gives rity on the situation and tells me where I need to keep my focus. I also don¡¯t need to hand over the case to Alphas now," Xander muttered.


    Xander continued watching more of the footage to see what else the people did in thebs. He noticed them doing the same thing that they did to Lucifer with other kids as well. It seemed like they were trying to do something, but no test subject survived.


    Kids entered that room on their feet, but only their dead bodies left the room, carried out by the nurses.


    "Are they even humans? Not just Lucifer, they keep doing the same thing to others as well. It doesn¡¯t look like they have any empathy for human life." Flourance let out with a disgusted look on his face as he continued watching the videos.


    "But we¡¯re going to let these monsters live because of rules. I wonder, is Lucifer wrong, or are we?" Flourance asked sarcastically.


    "You¡¯re a bit emotional now. Take some time to calm yourself," Xander replied. "I know what I¡¯m doing. Don¡¯t worry; they will get punishment. They won¡¯t go free. It¡¯ll just be a bit different. Have faith."


    The Helicopter had started flying, and it was carrying Xander and the others towards Erygas.


    Even though the actual Dilion Research Facility was situated in a different ce, Xander had lied to Lucifer and told him that the facility was in Erygas.


    Xander believed that there was over a ny percent chance that Lucifer would go to Erygas in search of the facility to get his revenge.


    He had already ced his trap around Erygas for Lucifer. He had alsomanded his men to get citizens to vacate the town and nt decoys there that would actually be the agents of the Delta Team, waiting to catch Lucifer unaware.


    His team was already there, doing the preparation, and now Xander was going there as well to be a part of the final struggle.


    ... to be continued.

 Chapter 54 - 54: Three Heroes

    <h4>Chapter 54 - 54: Three Heroes </h4>


    The sun was shining brightly in the sky, giving the world some warmth. Refreshing winds were flowing through the city of Ikrego, brushing against Lucifer¡¯s face as he reached the new city.


    The city seemed a bit bigger than anything he had seen before. In fact, it happened to be even bigger than the Legion City, which was thergest city he had seen before.


    There were beautiful houses everywhere. Even though Lucifer hadn¡¯t stepped inside the city, he could still see the beautiful structures of the city.


    There were also two tall statues ced at the entrance of the city of Ikrego, which seemed to look like humans.


    Lucifer didn¡¯t know about this, but the statues belonged to the previous heads of the Red Eagles Guild, which had its headquarters inside the city.


    Red Eagles was a guild that consisted of Hunters who went inside Dungeons to keep the Monster Index in control. Even though it was a big group and part of the Hunter Association, it hadn¡¯t always been an organization.


    In fact, it didn¡¯t even exist before the year 2028.


    The year 2028 was when the great disaster urred where Monsters came out of the Dungeons and started attacking everyone they say. Many humans had died in the Great Disaster of 2028 before it was controlled.


    ...


    Previous, the Dungeon Dwellers weren¡¯t able to leave their dungeons, but it all changed on 3 January 2028 when the first Monster stepped out of a level 2 Dungeon. After that, it was like the whole world was plunged into chaos.


    Monsters starteding out from all Dungeons that were ssified as Level 1 and Level 2 Dungeons and started attacking any living being they saw. Humans were killed left and right.


    There was blood and chaos everywhere. It was said that over a billion people had died in the Great Disaster of 2028.


    That was what made the Variantse forward and help the government in protecting the citizens.


    After lots of effort and many significant sacrifices, humans were finally victorious.


    One of the cities that was affected by the Great Disaster of the Beginning was Ikrego.


    Unlike other Cities, Ikrego was much inferior and didn¡¯t have many resources, and not many big organizations lived here.


    The security forces in this area were also the weakest. But since it had a big area, its poption was pretty high.


    There was a Rank 2 Dungeon near the city of Ikrego at that time from which Monsters came during the Great War of Beginning.


    The government was unaware that it was possible for monsters toe out of the Dungeons, so they had only ced two regr guards outside this Dungeon to prevent ordinary citizens from entering the dungeon.


    It was a shock for every city that suffered that day, but Ikrego was in a much worse position because they were already a backwater City.


    Just as expected, the two guards weren¡¯t able to offer any resistance against the terrifying monsters, and they were killed instantly.


    The monsters then started attacking the city of Ikrego that was closest to that Dungeon.


    Fortunately for the city, there were three Variants that were coincidentally passing through the city when this happened.


    Those three people decided to help out when they saw innocent people being killed by these strange creatures.


    They held the line, fighting against the hundreds of Monsters to keep the people safe.


    They were able to hold the monsters back until the Government sent reinforcements. After more Variants arrived, the fight became easier, and all the Monsters were killed.


    Over twenty thousand citizens, eight hundred soldiers, and seven Variants were killed during that battle just in the City of Ikrego alone. The city was covered in blood by the time it ended, and fortunately, most of the citizens were saved.


    Everyone knew that if it weren¡¯t for those three Variants that happened to be in the city at the start, who held the defense line, the losses would have been much worse.


    Unfortunately, two of those three Variants who held the Monsters back to wait for the reinforcement had died on the battlefield. They sacrificed their lives to protect the citizens of Ikrego.


    The statues that Lucifer was seeing belonged to those two people that were created in their memory.


    The third person from the group of three had decided to stay in the city where his friends had died. He established the Red Eagles Guild here to keep the Dungeon in control so that a situation like that never urred again.


    That¡¯s why the Red Eagles Guild was so respected here. Their founders were the heroes who had saved countless people. Without them, the city might not even exist today.


    Lucifer didn¡¯t know the history behind the statues, but he could see the pride on the faces of the people that the statue managed to depict perfectly.


    The Level two dungeon was still near the city, but it was heavily guarded by the Hunters of the Red Eagles Guild now.


    Lucifer passed through the statues and entered the city of Ikrego.


    ...


    Lucifer entered the city of Ikrego and walked on the well-made roads of the city. He couldn¡¯t see anything uneven on the streets.


    There was not a single hint left in the city which could highlight the terrifying battle it had to face during the Great Disaster of the Beginning. Instead, it seemed like a beautiful city that never suffered.


    Most of the buildings seemed new. The streets and the city was clean. He could even see people walking here and there in the city.


    Many luxurious shops were also there.


    Lucifer walked casually on the roads when he noticed a clothing shop.


    He looked down at his clothes which were unusually baggy and didn¡¯t fit him in the least. He was just carrying on in those clothes because he had no clothes that fit his size inside his home.


    The clothes he was wearing were his mother¡¯s old clothes, but even these were loose on him.


    Lucifer had stopped before the shop and looked at the clothes on disy inside, through the ss windows.


    The shop was more like a showroom with big ss windows at the front with mannequins, showing theirtest fashion clothing.


    There was also a mannequin which was of a child that had a simr build to Lucifer. He had a feeling that this was going to fit him perfectly.


    Just when Lucifer was gazing inside, the ss doors of the shop opened, and a middle-aged woman stepped out of the ce with a twelve-thirteen-year-old kid.


    "Mom, look at that kid¡¯s clothes. He looks so funny," the young boy chuckled as he pointed towards Lucifer.

 Chapter 55 - 55: Not Useless

    <h4>Chapter 55 - 55: Not Useless </h4>


    "Don¡¯tugh at him. He might be a homeless orphan who found some old clothes of someone in a dumpster or something," the woman replied to her son. "There are many like him. Just ignore him."


    She continued walking while holding her son¡¯s arm.


    Lucifer heard the child¡¯s words and gazed at his clothes. It was right. He did think he looked odd. He once again shifted his nk gaze towards the child-sized mannequin that had clothed that was going to fit him perfectly.


    He started walking towards the shop instead.


    Just as he was walking towards the doors, another person was walking in his direction.


    It was a young red-haired man who was wearing a green t-shirt and ck pants. He had donned a ck coat over his clothes that had a Red Eagle Symbol on the chest. The man seemed to be in his mid-twenties only.


    Lucifer stepped closer to the shop and reached out his hand to open the door, but to his surprise, the doors slid to the side on their own as soon as he got near.


    Tilting his head slightly, he wondered how that happened? It was something he found interesting.


    Curious, he stepped back. The doors again closed. He again stepped closer, and the doors slid open again. He tried it at least three times since it seemed interesting. How did it work? There was no one opening the door. Was someone invisible standing to slide it open?


    He had never seen doors like these that used sensors to know when a person was standing near them to open automatically.


    While Lucifer was standing at the entrance, the red-haired man reached near him and walked past him to step inside the shop.


    The young man instantly attracted the attention of all the employees who rushed up to him to help him as if he was some King.


    Themotion also brought Lucifer out of his daze as he realized that he was here for clothes and not to see the door. He also stepped inside.


    "It¡¯s fine; I¡¯m just looking around. I¡¯ll select something for myself on my own," the Red-haired man let out casually, refusing the help of all store workers.


    Lucifer walked closer to the corner and stood before the mannequin of the child. He reached out his hand to touch the clothes that the mannequin was wearing.


    He knew that if his parents were alive, they would never let him wear loose clothes. He might have been wearing something like what the mannequin was wearing. His mother loved him so much. Of Course, she was going to get the best clothes for him.


    Even in his childhood, Lucifer was given the most expensive of clothes by his mother. It was only after he was taken to the facility that he lost all that.


    A male employee of the shop noticed Lucifer standing near the Mannequin and trying to touch it.


    "Hey, kid! You can¡¯t touch that. You¡¯ll dirty the clothes. Also, looking at your dirty clothes, I don¡¯t think you are allowed to be here. You can¡¯t afford anything here. Leave."


    He ran up to him and told him to leave. Because of the red-haired man¡¯s arrival, he hadn¡¯t noticed Lucifer previously.


    Lucifer wasn¡¯t keeping an eye on the surroundings. All his focus was on the clothes, which was why he was surprised when he heard someone shout behind him.


    He looked back towards the salesman.


    Lucifer didn¡¯t do or say anything and just kept looking at the man.


    The salesman couldn¡¯t help but sweat as Lucifer stared at him. He didn¡¯t understand why he was so scared. He couldn¡¯t do anything but feel fear at the moment as he saw Lucifer¡¯s gaze on him.


    The red-haired man with a Red Eagle insignia on his chest wasn¡¯t looking in their direction either. He was focused on looking at the clothes on the show.


    " Leave this shop. It¡¯s not a ce a homeless person can walk into," The Salesman didn¡¯t let his strange feelings affect him as he again berated Lucifer. "These fancy Clothes are not something a useless person like you can possess."


    Lucifer couldn¡¯t help but be reminded about a past incident as he heard the words of the Salesman, which brought back his headache.


    ...


    It was an incident that happened when he was ten years old. It was just one day before he was put to death in the Facility.


    Lucifer wasing out of the testing room, and it was discovered that he still hadn¡¯t recovered his powers.


    It was said that no one could awaken any powers after the age of ten, so it was proven that Lucifer was never going to Awaken. It was established that he was a useless person that destroyed the legacy of his father, and no one needed to be careful around him anymore since there was no chance that he could awaken and rise.


    Lucifer was walking in the corridor that day when he saw a toy car on the ground.


    Walking closer to the toy car, he picked it up. Unfortunately, before he could even observe it, the toy car was snatched from his hand.


    He looked straight ahead and noticed that it was one of the researchers of the facility who had taken the toy from his hand.


    "Stop stealing the toys of others. This toy belongs to Little Ruya. It¡¯s not something a useless person like you can possess."


    The researcher looked at Lucifer with disgust as if Lucifer was the biggest waste on this that didn¡¯t deserve any happiness.


    The researcher gave the toy to a nine-ten-year-old boy that was standing near him.


    "Sorry, Sir, I should¡¯ve kept an eye on him. I¡¯ll take him to his room," a nurse who was walking behind Lucifer apologized.


    The nurse started to take Lucifer away.


    Walking away, Lucifer heard a voice from behind him.


    "Oh, isn¡¯t this Ruya, the son of Doctor Rao? What is he doing in the facility?"


    "Doctor Rao brought him here to test if he is a Variant or not. He was showing hints of being a Variant, so Doctor Rao brought him here to test. I was taking him to theb."


    That was thest thing Lucifer heard before he was too far away from them.


    He couldn¡¯t help but sigh in disappointment at being useless at that time, but now, he was different.


    Previously, he believed himself to be useless, but now he believed the others to be useless. It wasn¡¯t him who was a waste but others that looked down at him.


    ...


    As this memory came back to Lucifer, he couldn¡¯t help but clench his fist.


    "Guards! This kid is not listening. Take this useless kid and throw him out!" The salesman said as he looked towards the guards.


    "I am not useless!"


    Lucifer suddenly roared as he was again called useless. ck Thunder started cracking around him, shocking even the salesman. His voice seemed to contain a mysterious power that made it as intimidating as the roar of a lion.


    Not only the salesman but even the red-haired man was shocked as he looked back.

 Chapter 56 - 56: Salvaging The Situation

    <h4>Chapter 56 - 56: Salvaging The Situation </h4>


    "Get back! He is an Awakened One! Move back; he is losing..."


    The red-haired man let out in warning, but it was toote.


    Before he could evenplete his sentence, he saw Lucifer holding the neck of the man and crushing it entirely.


    The guards were horrified as they saw the salesman being killed. They raised their guns and aimed at Lucifer.


    There were two guards in the showroom, and both of them were aiming their guns at Lucifer, who seemed like a threat to them.


    "Stop, or we will shoot!" The guards let out.


    "No, Don¡¯t shoot the kid!" The red-haired man told the guards, trying to stop them.


    Since he was so well respected here, the guards listened to him and didn¡¯t shoot. But they still kept their aim at Lucifer.


    The red-haired man looked back at Lucifer calmly.


    "Don¡¯t do anything you will regret, kid. I know that you are an Awakened. I guess that you have Awakened your powers not long ago, and you don¡¯t know how to control them, but using them to hurt someone is a crime. Back down, and don¡¯t move."


    The Red-Haired man was from the Red Eagles Guild. He was a high-ranking member as well, named Fray.


    Fray had assumed that Lucifer had just awakened his powers, and he didn¡¯t know what he was doing. He didn¡¯t want Lucifer to be shot, so he was telling him to stand down.


    He was hoping to take Lucifer to the Guild without anyone getting harmed. As for what to do next, they could decideter. It was better than putting everyone at risk here.


    Lucifer didn¡¯t listen, though. Instead, he looked towards the guards, both of whom were standing nearby, keeping an eye on Lucifer.


    Fray could see the rebellion in Lucifer¡¯s eyes, and he understood that the kid before him was going to do something really stupid.


    Fray was a Mage who had the A-Rank elemental ability called the sma Barrier.


    He was able to cast a spherical sma barrier around anyone to imprison them inside or to protect himself.


    As soon as he noticed that Lucifer was about to move, he raised his hand.


    "Sorry, but I can¡¯t let you do anything stupid." Fray let out as he started using his ability. "It¡¯s for your own good, kid."


    He was toote, though.


    Before he could cast his barrier, Lucifer moved.


    Lucifer utilized the Wind Control to enhance his speed. His feet didn¡¯t even touch the ground as he moved towards the guards.


    Fray was just a secondte in casting his barrier.


    While he was looking towards the barrier that was cast in an empty spot, he was shocked at how fast Lucifer moved. Stunned guards fired blindly towards him.


    Before Fray could even cancel his barrier, he heard the screams of one of the guards that were in Lucifer¡¯s grip. It was one who had just fired.


    Lucifer threw the guard towards the wall.


    The guard¡¯s gun dropped as his head hit the wall. The Guard¡¯s head burst open because of the powerful impact. The wall was covered in blood.


    The second guard was horrified. Without thinking anything, he fired six shots at Lucifer.


    All the six shots hit Lucifer¡¯s chest.


    Fray watched it happen and couldn¡¯t help but sigh. He med himself. If only he were a few seconds faster, he would have been able to stop Lucifer from moving. Lucifer wouldn¡¯t have been shot, and the guard would be alive as well, but that was not what happened. He was feeling regretful for dying.


    His regret soon turned to shock as he noticed that Lucifer was still moving.


    Lucifer walked towards the other guard, who had frozen in ce.


    The guard was going crazy, thinking that he was dreaming. There was no way a kid could move after he emptied all his bullets in the kid¡¯s chest.


    He just watched Lucifer¡¯s handing towards his neck with a nk look on his face. Soon, his neck was crushed as well.


    Fray was looking as if he was seeing a ghost. Everything that happened just now was something he was finding hard to believe, but he still used his ability again.


    Lucifer looked back towards Fray, but that was when a greenish barrier surrounded him. Fray wasn¡¯tte this time as the Barrier sessfully engulfed Lucifer, who found himself trapped in a green sphere. He couldn¡¯t see anything outside this barrier.


    The other employees were horrified by what happened here, but they were also thanking god that they weren¡¯t killed and the monster was caught by Fray.


    "Master Fray defended us!"


    "Long live the Red Eagles Guild!"


    "We are so lucky to have the Guild to protect us!"


    "Thank you, Master Fray!"


    Everyone thanked Fray, who had stopped the killer.


    Fray, on the other hand, wasn¡¯t even listening to them. Instead, he was lost in thoughts.


    "There is no way someone wouldn¡¯t die after being shot unless they had some ability that prevented bullets from entering their bodies like those big guys," he muttered, thinking about a few Variants that had defenses strong enough to resist even missiles.


    " I clearly saw bullets enter this kid¡¯s body ande out of the other side. How was he still able to move? Was it some rush that was able to keep him alive for a few more seconds? That must be it. He should be dead by now."


    Fray tried to make a sense of the situation and ultimately came to a conclusion.


    He believed his conclusion, but that didn¡¯tst for long as he felt a tremor.


    He looked towards the sma barrier before him and could feel it shake. The barrier was trembling as if some monster was attacking him with world-shaking strength.


    He was having a bad feeling.


    "You guys get out of here!" Fray told the other employees of the shop. "Go to the guild and inform them of what is happening here!"


    The employee started running towards the exit, but that¡¯s when the barrier was broken.


    Fray couldn¡¯t help but take a step back as he saw the lightning flicker around Lucifer, who was standing tall.


    He was also feeling some kind of suppression which he found strange. Why did a newly awakened kid intimidate him so much?


    Lucifer stood there and didn¡¯t do anything. The people that were about to run had also stopped as they saw the barrier broken. They didn¡¯t dare to take a single step forward.


    "You don¡¯t need to do this. We can still salvage the situation," Fray suggested, hoping to get through to Lucifer. "Stop attacking people, and I¡¯ll help you solve whatever problem you have."


    Lucifer, however, ignored his words and casually started taking off his gloves, which he kept in his pockets.


    (... to be continued. )


    [PS: Author Note:


    Question: We all know why APF didn¡¯t release Lucifer¡¯s torture footage. But the question is, why did Variant Uprising not release it? Answer in thements and person with the closest and fastest answer will get to name a character in this story.]


    [Also please vote daily for this story to support it, if you can. It doesn¡¯t give any money to writers but it does help in getting a bit of exposure on . Thank you]

 Chapter 57 - 57: Self Defence

    <h4>Chapter 57 - 57: Self Defence </h4>


    "When they are powerful, they toy with life, and when they are weak, they beg for life. This is what this world has be," Lucifer said as he started towards Fray. "I will cleanse this ce today."


    His short-tempered and slightly broken heart was stopping him from seeing the reality. What happened to him at theb and the restaurant had made him short-sighted.


    He thought everyone who tried to stop him was terrible. He couldn¡¯t see that Fray had actually done nothing to harm him. Instead, Fray was only trying to stop him to save his people.


    Fray cast another barrier using his ability to entrap Lucifer. Lucifer was once again trapped, but Fray didn¡¯t stop there. He cast another sma barrier on top of the one that was already there. After that, he cast another sma barrier.


    One after another, he kept casting the barriers until Lucifer was inside ten sma barriers.


    Even though Fray had cast ten sma barriers, he was having a hard time maintaining them. He had overdrawn his powers which had a heavy toll on his body.


    "Go fast and call the others here! I can¡¯t hold him in for long," he again reminded the employees of the shop as he saw them standing there, but they didn¡¯t move.


    They started pointing towards the barrier with a nk look on their faces.


    Fray looked at the barrier and noticed that the green barrier was turning ck and rotten.


    "Run, you idiot!" Fray scolded the men, who finally listened and started running towards the door.


    The employees of the shop ran out in droves, leaving the shop. Most started running towards the police station, while some ran towards the Red Eagles Guild.


    Inside the barrier, Lucifer wasn¡¯t doing anything. He was just touching the barrier with his fingers and letting his S-Rank Decay do the rest. The sma barrier was getting disintegrated from the inside out, and soon, the tenth barrier was destroyed as well.


    That was when Fray dropped to the ground after coughing out a mouthful of blood. He had received another bacsh after someone broke his barrier that he had worked so hard to make. His eyes closed as he remained unmoving as if he was dead.


    Lucifer walked up to Fray, who was lying on the ground after getting free, but he could only watch Fray unmoving, in curiosity.


    He was dead? How? Was it how that old guy had died after using his power when he shouted overdrivest time? He couldn¡¯t help but assume as he saw Fray.


    Shaking his head, he turned back and wore his gloves again as he started looking around the shop to choose the clothes for himself.


    After a short time, he had selected the clothes that he liked.


    He had selected ck jeans, a green t-shirt, and a red jacket over it all. He had also selected shoes now. All of these clothes were his size, so he didn¡¯t look odd now.


    After getting dressed, he left.


    ...


    Lucifer stepped out of the showroom and started walking away.


    He had only walked a few meters away from the showroom when a woman walked past him towards the showroom.


    She walked closer to the showroom. As she was focusing on her phone, she wasn¡¯t paying attention.


    She reached near the door which opened, allowing her to enter, but she felt something weird. It was as if her shoes were on water or something. She could feel the sshing.


    She took her eyes off her phone and looked down, only to see a red liquid below her feet that looked like blood.


    Her face turned pale as she started looking around. She saw bodies, unmoving.


    A scream escaped her mouth.


    She was about to call the cops with her shaking hands, but she heard sirens outside.


    The cops were already informed by the staff that had run away, so they were already here.


    The cops had just arrived.


    A group of six cop cars stopped before the showroom, and around Twenty cops stepped out of the car with their weapons.


    They entered the ce and pointed their guns towards the woman.


    "Hands in the air!" They told the woman as they saw her standing with her back towards them.


    The woman raised her hands as she turned back.


    The cops saw that her face was covered in tears.


    "T-thank god, you¡¯re here, officer. I was just about to call you guys. Look at it! There is a killer in our city!" the woman let out.


    The one leading the team of the cops was Sergeant Trafford, who couldn¡¯t help but frown as he heard her words.


    "Ahmm... sir, they said that a kid was killing people. She might be another witness," another cop said.


    Sergeant Trafford looked at the woman without lowering his gun.


    "Did you see the killer?" he asked.


    "N-no. I came just a few seconds before your arrival. This ce was already like this. I haven¡¯t even touched anything other than the door yet," The woman replied.


    "Alright. We¡¯ll need to take you to the station for your statement. Carl, Take her in and get her in the car."


    The Sergeant looked towards another cop and instructed him.


    The woman was handcuffed and taken into the police car.


    The other cops looked at the scene and sighed.


    "The people imed that Master Fray was keeping the person trapped. I also informed the Red Eagles because of that," Sergeant Trafford muttered as he looked at the faces of all the Bodies in the showroom.


    Suddenly, his eyes fell on a man, lying in the ground, face down. The man had red hair, which reminded him of Fray.


    Before he could step forward, he heard a sound from their back. The ss doors of the showroom were opened.


    He nced back and saw five people entering the showroom. All five were wearing the same color of jacket that had a Red Eagles Insignia on it.

 Chapter 58 - 58: Not A Kid

    <h4>Chapter 58 - 58: Not A Kid </h4>


    Five people entered the showroom. There was a kind of arrogance on their faces that made them seem like some kind of royalty.


    Their long robes had a red eagle insignia on the chest. The end of their robe could be seen moving with the wind as they walked.


    The person in the lead was a woman that seemed like she was in her early forties.


    "Vice Guild Leader, Madam Elisi," Sergeant Trafford greeted the woman in the lead with great respect as he recognized her to be the Vice Guild Leader of the Red Eagles Guild, Elisi Mikai.


    Elisi ignored the captain¡¯s words as she walked over to Fray, who was lying on the ground, unmoving. She touched his wrist and ced her finger near his nose to check something before nodding her head.


    "He is extremely injured and weak, but he is still alive. Take him to the guild hospital for treatment," she calmly said as she gazed back at once of her men.


    A man stepped forward, acknowledging hermands as he picked up Fray and left the showroom.


    "From what I heard through witnesses, Master Fray fought with great bravery to protect the citizens. But for a Variant who was able to harm him, he seems like a threat to the city," the Sergeant told Elisi.


    "Yeah, The city is in danger. Lock the city down," Elisi told the Sergeant. "Tell every citizen to hide in their houses."


    She brought her phone out and dialled a number.


    "It seems there¡¯s a ten-year-old Variant who has lost control of his power or someone from the Uprising sent to cause chaos in our city," she told someone over the phone.


    Without stopping, she continued, "Send Mia and her team to one of the exits of the city and send Han to the other exit. Tell all of our men to search the whole city and be careful. I need an update whenever they find the culprit."


    "Be fast and find him! I¡¯ll have your head on a te if we can¡¯t find the killer!"


    She disconnected the call.


    ...


    A man from the Red Eagles walked closer to Elisi. He was another member of the team called Strato.


    "Should we inform APF as well?" Strato asked Elisi.


    "No. APF is filled with a bunch of righteous hacks. If theye, they will arrest the killer but won¡¯t kill him since it is a young kid who probably just Awakened and didn¡¯t know about his powers."


    Sergeant Trafford looked at Elisi in shock. Did her words mean that she didn¡¯t want him captured alive?


    " I want the person to die for what he did instead. It doesn¡¯t matter why he did what he did! That kid would die for injuring my son Fray even if he surrendered to us," Elisi proimed.


    Strato nodded his head in agreement.


    ....


    Lucifer was entirely uncaring about themotion he had caused as he walked through the streets of the city, looking at various stalls and shops along the way.


    He wasn¡¯t actually interested in anything. He was only intrigued by the variety of things that the world had. There were all kinds of items being sold, from food tomercial toys to clothes.


    Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t care for anything.


    He kept walking, trying to leave the city, when he suddenly stopped.


    It was less like he stopped and more like his feet stopped moving on their own as he noticed a small stall in the distance.


    The small ce had tons of action figures ced there. They were the figures of various heroes of history.


    There were manypanies that made action figures of famous Hunters and Variants, and this ce was selling them. But Lucifer didn¡¯t care for most figures. What he cared for was one unique one that was there.


    He had noticed a figure here that seemed like the figure of his father, Zale Azarel. When he was young, he had often seen his father on TV, saving people. The Action Figure was wearing the same clothes, and it had the same color of hair.


    It seemed like a replica of his father in figure form.


    Seeing the figure made Lucifer¡¯s heartbeat slow down as a lot of memories rushed his head.


    He didn¡¯t care about anything else. All he knew was that he wanted it.


    He started walking towards the stall.


    Just behind him was a cop that had seen Lucifer.


    He matched the description of the young boy that they were looking for. He also noticed a few blood drops on Lucifer¡¯s gloves. It was evident that Lucifer was the boy they were looking for.


    He instantly called Sergeant Trafford to inform him and to get furthermands.


    ****


    Elisi and the Sergeant were still inside the Showroom, looking at the CCTV footage of the street of thest twenty minutes.


    They saw the boy and the clothes he was wearing. They also saw the face of Lucifer in the footage as he was walking on the street.


    The Sergeant was about to send the image to everyone when he got a call.


    He picked up the phone and ced it near his ears.


    "Hello?"


    "Are you serious? What is he wearing?"


    "That¡¯s right. That¡¯s the guy! Don¡¯t do anything. We¡¯ll be right there," he eximed as his eyes lit up since the description matched. He disconnected the call.


    He looked back at Elisi that was looking around the shop.


    "I think we got him! That kid is on the 17th Street," Sergeant Trafford told Elisi.


    Elisi clenched her fist as a killer smile formed on her face. "That¡¯s better."


    " Let¡¯s go," She let out as she turned back, her robe waving behind her with the sudden turn, making her look even more majestic.


    She stepped out and got in her car that was parked outside the Showroom, and raced towards the 17th Street. The others also followed after her car, including the cops.


    ...


    It didn¡¯t take Elisi long before she reached the 17th Street and stepped out of the car.


    She soon saw the cop on the street and looked in the direction he was looking at. She saw the boy in a red jacket standing there. His clothes and looks matched the person they saw in the footage. She was sure that he was the murderer¡ªa grin formed on her red lips.


    The others also stepped out of the car and stood behind her.


    "How should we handle it, Madam? Should we go arrest him?" Sergeant Trafford asked Elisi since she was more informed when it came to awakened humans. "I know you don¡¯t want arrest, but he¡¯s still a kid. APF would be angry that we killed him."


    "There¡¯s no need to arrest him. He¡¯s not a kid but a beast," Elisi said as she raised her hand. She seemed like she couldn¡¯t care any less about what Seargent Trafford said. "And I¡¯ll treat him how a beast should be treated."


    Sergeant Trafford understood her meaning. But she was the Vice Guild Leader of the Red Eagles Guild. She was like the queen here. He could do nothing but to go along with it.


    He understood that she wanted to execute him. He didn¡¯t try to stop her. He was just d that she wasn¡¯t using her powers to kill the boy as that might harm other innocent people as well.

 Chapter 59 - 59: Breaking

    <h4>Chapter 59 - 59: Breaking </h4>


    "Mam, may I suggest that you don¡¯t use your power? If you use it, it will cause an explosion which might harm the people nearby," Sergeant Trafford told Elisi.


    "You do have a point."


    Elisi agreed with Sergeant Trafford, which gave him hope that maybe she wouldn¡¯t take thew into her hand. Unfortunately, he soon realized how wrong he was as Elisi looked towards another member of her team andmanded.


    "You do it. Your powers are a bit tamepared to mine, and they won¡¯t cause an explosion. Don¡¯t do much, just blow up his brain."


    The man who stood right beside Elisi nodded his head as he raised his hand and aimed towards Lucifer.


    ...


    Lucifer stepped closer to the small stall that was selling the figures of the famous heroes, but there was only one figure that was attracting his attention. It was the figure of his father.


    The stall owner seemed like a young man who looked like he was in his early thirties.


    The man noticed Lucifer standing near the stall, looking at the figures. He also observed the luxurious clothes of Lucifer.


    ¡¯He must be a kid of some rich family,¡¯ the man thought, misunderstanding because of Lucifer¡¯s clothes.


    "Which one are you interested in, young man?" the man asked Lucifer with a caring smile.


    "I want that," Lucifer let out as he pointed towards a figure.


    "Ah, the figure of the fallen Warlock Zale Azarel. Nice choice, young man," the man praised Lucifer¡¯s choice.


    "Do you know, he was one of the strongest Warlocks known to humankind. Unfortunately, he died. Anyway, this figure is made entirely from ss and then painted. You can already see its quality. It¡¯s a rare figure that¡¯s not made nowdays. I don¡¯t think you can find it anywhere."


    The man kept praising the figure in order to sell it.


    "Even though it¡¯s expensive, I can give you some discounts. Here, you can feel the texture for yourself," the young man said as he picked up the figure and handed it over to Lucifer.


    Lucifer reached out his hand to take the figure.


    Holding the figure in his hand, he carefully caressed it as he looked at it with a reminiscent gaze, losing himself in thousands of memories of his past.


    "Fath-"


    He was speaking, but he suddenly stopped as he felt something. He was about to turn back, but he couldn¡¯t even do that before a small orb of light came flying in his direction.


    The orb was not much bigger than a small bullet, but it contained a significant amount of energy.


    Lucifer couldn¡¯t even react before the orb of light prated the back of his head. It passed through his brain and came out of the front, leaving a gaping hole in his head.


    The orb didn¡¯t stop, though.


    The orb of light, which was now covered in blood, kept flying on its trajectory and struck the ss Figure of Lucifer¡¯s Father, which was in his hand, shattering it to pieces. The orb soon hit the wall at the end before it eventually disappeared.


    ...


    A moment of silence ensued, which was followed by amotion as the citizens realized that a person had been killed. The citizens started running.


    ...


    Even though there was a hole in Lucifer¡¯s head, it didn¡¯t seem like he cared for it, but a tear could be seen in his eyes as he looked at the ss pieces in his hand. The figure was shattered, only a small piece of it remained.


    The hole in his head started healing, and soon, it was perfectly healed. Only some blood was left in his forehead and the back of his head. But Lucifer seemed like he was dead already. He was unmoving, gazing nkly at the broken pieces of ss that were the figure of his father until a few moments ago.


    The stall owner had already dropped down to the ground in fear, so he didn¡¯t see the inhumane healing of Lucifer.


    ....


    The single tear trickled down from Lucifer¡¯s eyes, slowly traveling through his cheeks before it dropped to the ground.


    ck lightning started flickering around Lucifer even though he wasn¡¯t moving. The lighting kept getting intense and intense as if it intended to destroy the whole world in its rage and sadness.


    Somehow a strange phenomenon was also taking ce at the same time.


    The sky that was only a little clouded before was suddenly covered in dark clouds entirely. It started thundering as if it was was expressing its anger in solidarity with Lucifer¡¯s emotions.


    It didn¡¯t take long before water droplets started falling from the sky.


    Within a few seconds, the light showers changed to heavy rain.


    Most of the people that were present here had already started running away long ago. The ones that wanted to stay behind to watch what was happening had also started running since they felt as if a thunderstorm wasing and it was not worth staying here.


    Elisi, her men, and the cops were still standing there, looking at Lucifer¡¯s back with shock on their faces.


    The water droplets were making their whole body wet, but the scene before them was more stunning.


    Elisi couldn¡¯t believe how Lucifer was still standing as the orb had definitely prated his brain. She saw it with her own eyes.


    Everyone gazed at Lucifer¡¯s deste figure, being drenched in water, but no one could see his face.


    If they were to look at his face, they would have seen a child who seemed lost. Many droplets were trickling down his face, making it tough to know if they were actually from rain or if they were tears of sadness.


    His long silver hair had also drenched, sticking closer to his body. The blood that was covering his forehead was also washed clean by now.


    "He healed... Even from that attack? Just what kind of Variant is he?" she muttered. "Fine, I¡¯ll do it myself."


    Determined to finish things herself, Elisi raised her hand. She had decided to use her powers now. She wanted to blow Lucifer¡¯s body to smithereens to see what he could do.

 Chapter 60 - 60: Precious Piece

    <h4>Chapter 60 - 60: Precious Piece </h4>


    A small blue ball of energy appeared before Elisi that started getting bigger and bigger with time. Soon, it was as big as a football.


    She fluttered her finger gently, making the ball of energy fly towards Lucifer as if it was a bolt of lightning thrown by the legendary Zeus.


    Just when the Energy Ball was about to hit Lucifer, he finally moved.


    Without looking back, Lucifer stepped to the side, dodging the ball of energy.


    He was so fast that he managed to dodge the attack without single trouble, effortlessly, which stunned everyone who saw it.


    The ball of energy missed Lucifer, but it did hit the stall straight ahead.


    As soon as the energy ball touched the stall, a big st urred. A massive cloud of mes spread in all directions as if the energy ball was a missile, causing it.


    The st was so powerful that despite the heavy rain, the fire managed to spread out for a few meters.


    Lucifer saw the mesing towards him, mixed with smoke because of rain shing with fire.


    He didn¡¯t seem to care, though. Instead, he finally turned back to look towards Elisi.


    He could feel that Elisi had attacked him since she already had her hand in the air. Seeing that, he gave the credit of the previous attack to her as well, which had destroyed the figure of his father.


    He slowly opened his lips as he said three words.


    "You will die!"


    His voice wasn¡¯t too loud, and Elisi and her people didn¡¯t hear his words either. But they could still feel a chill running down their spine for some reason.


    Soon, the mes reached Lucifer, engulfing him, making his figure disappear from everyone¡¯s view.


    "Will he be dead now?" Sergeant Trafford inquired as he looky towards Elisi, but he got his answer as he saw Elisi raising her hand again to attack.


    It was her specialty. Energy st was an A-Rank Elemental ability. It was more like a bomb from what Sergeant Trafford understood.


    It was said that if her energy ballnded on a person, they would blow up to smithereens.


    "What are you looking at! All of you attack! He had some kind of healing. That¡¯s why he didn¡¯t die after being shot and after the previous attacks! We need to destroy his body beyond repair!" Elisi dered. "This little fire won¡¯t be enough."


    "All of you, keep firing! Don¡¯t stop!" Sergeant Trafford alsomanded the cops as he heard Elisi¡¯s words. He was scared at what he was facing, but he gave it his all even though he felt it was wrong. He still had the opinion that they should have informed APF.


    Everyone prepared to attack to the best of their abilities, but before they could even attack, they saw a figure flying towards them.


    It looked like a young boy whose clothes were burnt at ces, seeming emotionless.


    Elisi¡¯s Energy Ball shot out again, but before it could hit Lucifer, he moved towards the left, dodging the attack.


    A barrage of bullets was being shot at him, but he didn¡¯t care and let them hit him. He only dodged against the attacks of the Hunters of Red Eagles Guild since he was furious, and he didn¡¯t want to be dyed.


    More cars kept arriving at the scene as more and more Hunters from the Red Eagles Guild arrived here.


    Most of the police force and the Hunters of the city weremanded toe here and kill Lucifer.


    It was looking like it was going to be a big day for all of them.


    ...


    Lucifer kept getting hit by the bullets left and right as he moved forward with the help of the wind, dodging another Energy st. He was about to reach Elisi ultimately when a man jumped before him suddenly and punched out.


    The fist of the mannded on Lucifer¡¯s face, making him fly far back.


    He crashed on the ground that was covered with water that sshed everywhere after his fall. There was blood on his clothes that was because of him being shot multiple times. The blood kept getting washed with the rain, making the puddle of water red.


    Lucifer pushed himself up and saw the person that had attacked him just now.


    It was a man that was seven feet tall and had a metallic body. It seemed as if he was made entirely from steel. He was a Knight of the Red Eagles called the Steel Man. He had the ability that changed his body to hard steel and also increased his size by a little.


    The man was seven feet tall in his transformed form while being less than 5 feet tall in his actual state.


    "Vice Guild Master! This bastard is a master in dodging attacks, and his healing is also too powerful. I think it would be better to let me fight him. I¡¯ll rip him in half. There is no way that he can heal after that!" Steel Man looked back at Elisi and suggested.


    Elisi gazed at Lucifer before looking at Steel Man, ultimately nodding her head.


    "You¡¯re right. He¡¯s like a cockroach that can dodge everything," Shemanded. "Go, Tear him in half with brute strength."


    The Steel Manughed as he bumped both his fists together, grinning at the opportunity. A metallic sound was heard as his fists shed with each other.


    "I would not disappoint you," he promised before he started walking towards Lucifer.


    Sergeant Trafford also told the men to stop shooting. He didn¡¯t want them to hit the Steel Man. It was not working anyways. So it was better to save bullets.


    ...


    Lucifer stood up as he looked at his hand. He still had the piece of ss from the figure of his father that was broken in his hand. He still hadn¡¯t dropped it.


    He hadn¡¯t taken his gloves off either since he didn¡¯t want it to be destroyed because of his powers. No matter what, he wanted to protect that piece.

 Chapter 61 - 61: Steel Against Lightning

    <h4>Chapter 61 - 61: Steel Against Lightning </h4>


    "Kid, since you¡¯re so bold, have a fight with me like a real man! Don¡¯t you dare to run away!" the man said arrogantly, not realizing how ironic it was that he was actually telling a ten-year-old kid to fight like a proper man.


    Without waiting, the Steel Man arrogantly punched out towards Lucifer¡¯s face again after he reached near him.


    The oue this time was a whole lot different, though. It didn¡¯t go as he had expected at all.


    "It won¡¯t work again."


    Lucifer calmly spoke as he raised his left hand, grabbing the fist of the Steel Man.


    "H-how?!" the Steel Man eximed with a shock on his face. He was in disbelief. A ten-year-old kid was holding his hand, and he couldn¡¯t even push forward? Why did he feel like he was held by a mountain?


    The other people present in the ce were only seeing that his attack was stopped. Even if it stunned them, they weren¡¯t as shocked as the Steel Man.


    Only the man knew how powerful his attack was. He hadn¡¯t gone easy at all.


    The boy before him had stopped his full strength attack so easily, and he wasn¡¯t even pushed back an inch.


    Steel Man tried pulling his hand back, but he wasn¡¯t able to do that either. It was as if his hand was caught by a monster that was refusing to free him.


    "You bastard!" The man roared in anger as he attacked with his left hand as well.


    Lucifer could¡¯ve stopped the attack the same way by using his other hand, but he didn¡¯t since his left hand was holding something that was important to him. A piece of the figure of his father. He didn¡¯t want to drop it or have it broken even more.


    "Die," Lucifer muttered as ck lightning flickered around him.


    Before the man¡¯s fist couldnd on his face, he used his ck Lightning. The lightning passed through his hand that was holding the Steel Man, entering his body.


    Since steel was a good conductor of Electricity, it provided no resistance against the lightning that started ravaging the body of the tall man.


    A sharp scream escaped the man¡¯s mouth as he was electrocuted.


    Even though the exterior of his body was steel, the interiors were still the same and vulnerable. They couldn¡¯t stand against the savage ck lightning that was the most chaotic form of lightning.


    It didn¡¯t take long before his high-pitched screams stopped as his heart stopped beating. All his vital organs were fried.


    It all happened in an instant. He had died before he could evennd his punch on Lucifer. His eyes lost their shine.


    Lucifer released the hand of the man, making him fall to the ground.


    The people that were standing far didn¡¯t see how it happened, but the Steel Man was suddenly lying on the ground. He wasn¡¯t moving.


    The Steel Man was not wearing shoes, so when the ck Lightning passed through his body, it also electrocuted the water.


    It would have killed a lot of people standing in the water on the street, but everyone was safe. No one even felt anything since their special shoes protected them from the electrified water.


    Lucifer moved his gaze over everyone present here after he finished with the giant man.


    He could see that there were more people here now, and they were all surrounding him while keeping their distance, ready to attack.


    Lucifer suddenly opened his mouth and asked a question out loud.


    "Who was the person that fired the first attack when I was standing there?" he asked as he pointed towards the stall that was now destroyed, lying in ruins.


    Most people who arrivedte were looking at him in confusion, wondering why he was suddenly asking that question, but only he knew the reason.


    It was because that attack had broken the precious figure which he felt a connection to. That was enraging him more than actually being attacked. He had a feeling that it was Elisi, but he still asked since he wanted to kill that person at all cost, even if it meant letting everyone else escape.


    The ones that were present there when Elisi fired the shot couldn¡¯t help but look in her direction while the man that had actually fired the first attack stood in the back. They weren¡¯t looking at Elisi because she had attacked first but because they wanted to hear hermands.


    Lucifer noticed the reaction of people and assumed it was because Elisi was the culprit. He had received his answers, and his doubts were confirmed.


    "It was you," he said as he nced at Elisi. His assumption was right.


    "I don¡¯t talk to dogs!" Elisi arrogantly replied as she started using her ability to attack Lucifer again with an Energy Ball.


    A small energy ball started taking form.


    Lucifer didn¡¯t let her attack this time, though. He raised a small stone that was lying on the ground and tossed it at the energy ball that was taking shape to test something. He had noticed that the energy ball blew up whenever it touched something. Was that its weakness? He wanted to test.


    Elisi instantly canceled her ability as she realized what he was trying to do. She also dodged to the side to escape the stone.


    The Energy Ball acted like a missile. It created a st whenever itnded on someone or something, but it also had a limitation. As long as something hit it when it was mid-flight, it would be treated as anding, and the attack would blow up. That was its strength while also being its weakness at the same time.


    If the stone hadnded on the energy ball when it was near her, it would have injured them instead.


    That was what she wanted to avoid.


    She was also surprised that Lucifer had managed to guess her weakness which could be used against her if she attacked.

 Chapter 62 - 62: Limitations Of Healing

    <h4>Chapter 62 - 62: Limitations Of Healing </h4>


    "With a useless attack that can harm you just as much as it can harm me... You¡¯re not pretty strong, are you?" Lucifer asked Elisi, frowning. "And you think you can call me a dog with only that much? Disappointing."


    Even though Lucifer had spoken calmly, Elisi felt as if he was mocking her. She could feel taunt in his words.


    "Why did you all stop! Attack again! There are no civilians here anymore! Kill that bastard!"


    The bombardment of attacks once again started at hermands, but this time Lucifer¡¯s movement was much swifter.


    He once again flew towards Elisi, dodging the attacks.


    Another man ran towards him with a ming fist. The water falling from the sky wasn¡¯t enough to stop the fire in his hand since it was not a natural fire, but it was his ability. Lucifer didn¡¯t let him get close as he raised a single finger of his right hand, aiming towards the approaching man.


    A bolt of pitch-ck lightning escaped his finger and hit the head of the man.


    Prating the man¡¯s skull, it passed through, leaving a big hole in his head. Blood kept gushing out of his head as the man¡¯s limp body fell.


    The man fell on the ground, but since he was moving so fast, even after he fell, his body kept sliding forward because of the forward momentum. The decreased friction because of the rain also contributed to his longer than possible slide.


    The fire in his hand had died down, but the blood didn¡¯t stop. It kepting out of his head which mixed with the water, turning it red.


    Lucifer didn¡¯t stop amidst the barrage of attacks. He kept his eyes on all the attacks as he dodged them all like he was dancing inside the attacks. He was only five meters away from Elisi, ready to grip her neck in his hand as he reached out his hand.


    Unfortunately, thosest five meters proved to be much difficult to cover as he found himself stuck.


    No matter how much he tried, he couldn¡¯t move ahead. Instead, he was being pulled back by some mysterious force.


    He turned back to find what it was that was pulling him back. Was it the power of a Variant? Why was this power so odd that stopped him from moving ahead?


    As he turned back, he noticed a young woman standing with her right hand aimed towards him. Her beautiful blue eyes were shining beautifully, making it evident that she was using her abilities to pull him back with her force.


    "That is enough," Lucifer muttered as ifmanding his servant while simultaneously raising his hand in return. He tried to use his long-range lightning attack to kill her.


    A ck bolt of lightning once again appeared and advanced towards the woman, but she didn¡¯t look scared for some reason.


    "Jack now!" the woman eximed, seeing Lucifer¡¯s attacke close.


    The bolt got close to her and was just about to hit her when a thick sand shield appeared before her, which stopped the bolt of lightning, saving her life.


    Lucifer under what had happened. He realized the meaning of hermand.


    It was another Variant that had used his abilities to save her.


    This was the bad thing about teamwork as people could take many roles, which gave them advantages over individuals.


    This was also the reason why Hunters went inside the Dungeon with their teams. It helped them face the Monsters when they were weaker since their weaknesses could be covered by their teammates.


    Lucifer here was alone. He didn¡¯t have a team or anything. He didn¡¯t want a team either. He didn¡¯t believe anyone to keep close to him as a teammate. He also didn¡¯t think that he needed a team because he has faith in his abilities.


    He thought less about the dangers to his life and how he could form a team and more about destroying the Research Facility and killing all the scientists that destroyed his life and ruined his childhood even after his parents did so much for humans.


    He had formed hate for humans, but his real hatred was towards the scientists. He didn¡¯t kill people recklessly. He only killed people that could be an obstruction to him or the ones that he found annoying. So far, he had killed quite a few innocent people as well, but he didn¡¯t regret it.


    To him, human lives were like ants. He didn¡¯t intentionally look to crush them, but when he crushed them, he didn¡¯t care. He had detached himself from thinking of others as people like him. To him, monsters were monsters, and humans were monsters. Everyone was a monster.


    Also, since he had lost his fear of pain and his senses of fear, he had stopped caring about his life as well. He thought of himself as something that was not human either. Lucifer felt that he was just a puppet now. He couldn¡¯t feel pain, and he had no reason to feel happiness or sadness.


    The only emotions he had were hate... hate, and disgust for the people. He hated the people that ruined his life, and he hated the people that tried to stop him. He hated everyone that stood in his path as if they were his enemies, even if they were the so-called good guys.


    The people that were surrounding him were his enemies as well. Even though they were humans, in his eyes, he was fighting monsters. He was a solo hunter that was facing the monsters of humanity. He was the one who was facing the Monsters that were strong enough to rule the city, but he knew that he had the potential to kill them all.


    If they were strong monsters, then all he needed to do was to be a stronger monster. All he needed to do was eradicate everyone that stood in his path.


    It didn¡¯t matter how many times he had to die. It didn¡¯t matter how many times his body was destroyed. Since he had gained the immortal body with the help of Infinite Healing, all he needed was determination, determination to fight, and he could do it. He was like an immortal warrior that could wake up after falling, but his power also had a limitation.


    His healing wasn¡¯t like everyone else assumed. All abilities had limitations. His healing was godly, but it had its limitations. Fortunately, no one knew about it. Even Lucifer didn¡¯t know of his limitations yet.

 Chapter 63 - 63: Slicing In Little

    <h4>Chapter 63 - 63: Slicing In Little </h4>


    Lucifer was impulsive, but he was not stupid. His impulse got the better of him in most situations, but he had understood his powers as well as he could at this point, and he knew how to utilize it in a battle to his advantage.


    As he saw the sand shield appear, he knew that someone was blocking him.


    It was either that girl, and she had double Awakening. The reason she screamed with another person¡¯s name was to throw Lucifer off to the wrong trail.


    The other option was that it was actually another person. He looked around and didn¡¯t take long to find that person.


    A dark-haired young man was standing there. He had his palms pointed towards the sand shield. It was probably his ability that saved her.


    Lucifer knew that resisting the force of the girl would make things moreplicated. He thought of something and gave up fighting her force. He started flying towards her instead, supported by the same force.


    He nned to use this force to get to the girl faster and kill her. Unfortunately, This didn¡¯t work out either as something strange happened.


    Just as he was in the middle of Elisi and that girl, the force changed direction. No matter how hard he tried, he wasn¡¯t able to move forward towards the girl either now. It was as if her force was pulling him back instead.


    It wasn¡¯t hard to realize that the girl could probably pull people closer or push them far away. It was her ability.


    He was more focused on the girl, trying to find ways to get rid of her fast, and didn¡¯t realize that Elisi had formed another Energy st behind him.


    Before he could think of what to do in this situation to deal with the girl, the Energy st of Elisinded on him, catching him unprepared.


    A big st urred simultaneously, which was so bad that everything was covered in mes. The terrible attack of Elisi had actuallynded on Lucifer.


    People couldn¡¯t see what was happening because of the fire and the smoke, but it was impossible for Lucifer to be alive. People were sure that his body was blown up to pieces from that st. Unless his body was made from titanium or something even harder, he shouldn¡¯t have his body intact.


    And healing with little remains of the body should be impossible. As long as he was beyond repair, he was dead, they thought.


    It was only after a long time when the fire stopped, and the smoke disappeared.


    Everyone looked on the ground to find the remains of Lucifer. It didn¡¯t take them long to find him either.


    He was lying on the ground. Most of his body was burnt, but he was still not in pieces.


    His left arm had disappeared, though.


    It was shocking for everyone to see him still have most of his body, though. How? The attacknded on him. Was his body really that hard?


    What they didn¡¯t realize was that Lucifer had done something at the end moment as he felt a sense of danger.


    He had used his left hand to stop the attack at thest second. His left glove had burned off as soon as it came in contact with the energy ball, but his ability of Decay was able to take effect since the glove was not stopping it from working anymore after being destroyed.


    His S-Rank ability of Decay worked even on the ability of Elisi as it started decaying her energy ball, weakening it.


    The Energy Ball had decayed, and it had weakened a lot before it blew up. That¡¯s why the damage to Lucifer was not as bad as everyone had assumed.


    It wasn¡¯t that the attack was weak but that the strength of the attack was less than it should have been.


    Lucifer was only burned in some ces and lost his left hand in the process.


    His right hand was still fine, and the ss piece was still in the right hand. He was still protecting that thing with everything he got.


    His hair was burned off as well, making him look odd. There was no hair on his head now.


    "He managed to survive that as well? Just who is this monster?!" Sergeant Trafford eximed with a look of disbelief on his face as he took a step back in shock.


    He knew about the strength of Elisi and the rumors. The boy had healing. That was shocking in itself but still understandable, but for him to have most of his body still intact after that attack? How? That didn¡¯t make sense to him.


    Everyone present there looked back and forth between Elisi and Lucifer, waiting for hermands on what to do next.


    Even Elisi was stunned to see Lucifer survive her direct attack. Just how could someone so strong exist?


    She suddenly started walking ahead, determined to do something.


    "He might have survived, but he¡¯s no better than dead. His healing will probably take a few hours to heal him from that, and even then, he won¡¯t be in a condition to fight," she said, walking closer to Lucifer.


    Her wet clothes stuck closer to her body, highlighting her figure, which was not bad in the least. Unfortunately, the look and expressions on her face made her anything but attractive, to say the least.


    "There is no way his hand would heal from this. Still, I won¡¯t give him that much time. There¡¯s no need for this son of a bi*ch to live anymore."


    With determination to kill, she walked towards Lucifer, not knowing how sharp her words were. If she knew who Lucifer¡¯s mother was, her knees might have been shaking in fear now.


    Sorcerer ss Variant risse was one of the scariest Variants known to people. She was a name that almost everyone knew. She was praised for her beauty but she was revered for her strength which wasn¡¯t a secret either.


    While Sergeant Trafford and the others stayed behind, Elisi walked closer to Lucifer.


    She stopped right above the badly injured boy, who was lying on the ground, unmoving. Her condescending gaze was looking down at him as if he was amoner who deserved to be in her feet, and she was a queen.


    She nced back at one of her men and said, "Tei,e closer. I want to see his body sliced in pieces so small that even the god can¡¯t put him together. Get to work."

 Chapter 64 - 64: Im The Demon

    <h4>Chapter 64 - 64: I''m The Demon </h4>


    A man was standing in the back, dressed in all ck. A sharp sword was ced on his back, inside a sheath.


    He happened to be the one Elisi addressed as Tei, and he was known as the Sword Master of the Red Eagles.


    Tei didn¡¯t have any elemental ability, but he did awaken a physical ability that gave him mastery over the sword. It was said that he was able to cut the enemies in the blink of an eye with his sword into a thousand tiny pieces.


    Tei nodded his head as he proceeded towards Elisi.


    "You annoying Demon, You troubled me so much. You killed so many of our people. Did you really think that you¡¯ll be able to get out alive? We¡¯re the Red Eagles. Even without the Guild Master in the city, we aren¡¯t weak enough for you to roam around so wildly."


    Elisi was mocking Lucifer, whoid on the ground, unmoving.


    "A kid like you can¡¯t even dream ofparing to us. Even if you have a few good skills, you¡¯ll always remain an ant. And an ant like you dared to hurt my son? You¡¯ll always stay a pathetic being that deserves to be killed off," Elisi said. "You should thank me instead for ending your pitiful existence."


    She raised her feet and ced them on Lucifer¡¯s chest.


    She got no reaction from Lucifer. In her mind, Lucifer was already dead. He had his eyes closed; his breathing was weak. Even his healing was almost non-existent, working exceptionally slowly.


    "Sigh, I don¡¯t even want to think of the bastards that gave birth to a monster like you. Your father must be a monster himself who probablymitted thousands of sins."


    "As for your mother, she should be the one who slept with thousands of men, one of whom was that monster who was your father, right? Even she abandoned you, didn¡¯t she? That¡¯s why you¡¯re alone, right?"


    "You pathetic person. You and your whole family should be dead," She continued as she looked at Lucifer¡¯s burnt face, not realizing that she just made the worst mistake of her life.


    She touched the reverse scale of someone she shouldn¡¯t have messed with. In her anger and embarrassment from Lucifer¡¯s previous mocking, she didn¡¯t care about minding her words


    Lucifer¡¯s eyes abruptly opened like a demon had just woken up from his deep slumber. He could bear anything, but an insult to his parents was akin to the biggest sin in his mind that was worse than death.


    Lucifer¡¯s fist opened as the piece of ss that he had saved throughout the fight finally fell down from his hand.


    He only had one hand, and that was used to hold the piece, but at the moment, his mind was filled with rage. He didn¡¯t care or think about anything.


    Elisi was taken aback as she saw Lucifer¡¯s eyes open suddenly. She tried to step back in a hurry, but she couldn¡¯t. She found her ankles caught by Lucifer.


    Even though Lucifer¡¯s one hand was destroyed, his other hand was still safe, but his gloves of this hand were destroyed as well.


    His bare hands were holding the bare skin of Elisi¡¯s ankles.


    Nothing was stopping his Power of Decay anymore. Thest piece of his mother¡¯s memory that he had kept close to him was destroyed as well. The gloves were gone, which made him even sadder.


    He was angry. He wanted to kill without caring for anything. He wanted to go loose and wipe everyone here, no matter how young or old.


    This time, he didn¡¯t bother controlling his strength. His grip was so strong that Elisi¡¯s ankles were crushed instantly.


    "Aaa!"


    A pained scream filled the surroundings, which was so loud that there was not a single person here that wasn¡¯t able to hear it.


    Elisi¡¯s ankle was crushed to pieces which made her scream, but that was not all. She felt like her cells were dying as her body started decaying. A terrible pain started spreading all around her body. She felt as if she was slowly dying. And this was a slow death which was worse than death itself. The pain... The extreme pain was unbearable for her.


    She wanted to run but she couldn¡¯t. Her leg was caught.


    "Leave me!"


    She realized that it was Lucifer¡¯s ability. She didn¡¯t know he had powers like this that could be used in this way, but now that she was actually on the receiving side of it, she couldn¡¯t help but scream out loud as she asked Lucifer to free her.


    Unfortunately, everyone here knew that she was thest person here this kid would probably listen to.


    Her body turned pale as she started dying. She knew that if she didn¡¯t do something to stop Lucifer, then she would die. She didn¡¯t want to die like this.


    She couldn¡¯t use her ability either. She knew that if she did, then she was going to die even faster.


    If she used her energy ball on Lucifer from such close range, then she would die in the resulting st as well.


    "Stop him! Cut his other hands!" she screamed as she looked at Tei.


    Even though it seemed like a long time had passed, only a few seconds had passed since Lucifer opened his eyes.


    Elisi¡¯s hair was already white now, as if she had grown older by fifty years already. She was so slim now that her bones were visible. Wrinkles covered her face, making her seem like a woman in her eighties.


    Tei started running towards Lucifer as he pulled his sword out, but Lucifer stood up and flew back with Elisi, being dragged to the ground because he was holding her leg.


    Lucifer dodged the sword. He only had one of his hands now, and he couldn¡¯t deal with the sword without freeing Elisi. He didn¡¯t want to free her either, so he decided to back off a little with her. Her death was more important than anything! This woman dared to use such vulgar words for his parents. She deserved to die.


    This tiny bit of time was enough for it, though. Elisi¡¯s body waspletely destroyed and turned to ashes in front of everyone¡¯s eyes.


    In less than four seconds after Lucifer touched her, she was dead. Her ashes floated on top of the water that was already red from all the blood that was shed in this battle.


    Lucifer¡¯s left hand had also started healing now. In fact, his healing seemed better now, which he found strange.


    ording to his assumption, in a few minutes, his hand was going to be healedpletely.


    Everyone present there saw human tissuesing out of Lucifer¡¯s shoulders, forming his hand again. They couldn¡¯t believe their eyes.


    "W-What monster are you!" Tei let out as he kept chasing Lucifer with his sword.


    "I¡¯m not a monster," Lucifer answered. "I¡¯m a Demon. A demon who is going to kill you all today."


    His voice seemed to being from the depth of hell itself. He remembered that Elisi called him a demon, and he was embracing that title now. They called him Demon? Fine! He was going to be one.

 Chapter 65 - 65: Run

    <h4>Chapter 65 - 65: Run </h4>


    Lucifer raised his left hand in the direction of Tei.


    A pitch-ck lightning bolt left from his hand and moved towards Tei.


    Lucifer didn¡¯t wait to watch Tei die, though, instead he jumped back and used the wind to fly towards the woman that was his biggest obstacle. The same woman who was using her abilities to pull or push him previously.


    His movement was his advantage, and if he wanted to keep it, he needed to take the woman out.


    If that woman weren¡¯t in his way, he wouldn¡¯t have lost his hand. He wouldn¡¯t have been hit by that st.


    Seeing Lucifere towards her, the blue-eyed woman again raised her hand as her wet hair moved with the wind. Rain droplets kept sliding down her face.


    Her entire focus remained on Lucifer. Even after seeing their Vice Guild Leader die, she didn¡¯t give up. Instead, she decided to fight. She decided to fight for her friends and for her guildmates to protect them.


    In her mind, she was fighting a criminal that killed viciously. She knew that if she hesitated now, countless people would die at the hands of this demon.


    Lucifer was once again caught in her force maniption. He couldn¡¯t move forward.


    The problem he had was his Wind Control. It was a pretty high-grade elemental ability that a person could Awaken. It was at least equal to or higher than the ability of the woman when it came to strength, but this was also Lucifer¡¯s weakest element.


    Lucifer had only learned to utilize it to the lowest extent. He wasn¡¯t even able to control its full force to fly; otherwise, he might have been able to ovee her force with just his Wind Element alone.


    As he was stuck in the middle of the force, the lightning bolt he had previously fired prated the skull of the Sword Master Tei, killing him instantly.


    The cops and the other Hunters also started attacking Lucifer while keeping their distance. They didn¡¯t want to make the same mistake as Elisi. They didn¡¯t wish to let him get close.


    Since Lucifer couldn¡¯t move forth or back, he decided to move sideways since she couldn¡¯t stop that.


    He moved to the side in the direction of the Hunters that were attacking him from the left.


    Raising his hand, he fired another ck thunderbolt which moved in the direction of a white-bearded hunter.


    Lucifer knew what he was doing and what happened was exactly as he nned. A sand shield appeared before the bearded man, protecting him from the thunder too.


    But this was precisely what Lucifer wanted as he utilized the opportunity to attack the woman that was forcing him. He knew that the shield would save her again, and that¡¯s what he wanted to do.


    He felt like the man who used the sand shield was already at his limit, and forming two Sand Shields was probably the max he could achieve at once


    A Sand Shield appeared before the woman as per his expectation.


    "I¡¯ll protect you!" The man said to the woman as he smiled. His forehead was sweating as his face turned pale, but he stood tall to protect the woman.


    "T-thank you," the woman said as she smiled, but her smile changed to a horrified look as she saw a ck lightning bolt pass through the man¡¯s chest, leaving a big hole behind.


    The man vomited out a mouthful of blood as he dropped to his knees. The light in his eyes started dimming as he fell, face first, onto the ground.


    The woman left everything behind as she ran to the man, but before she could touch him, a lightning bolt prated her head as well.


    She dropped over the body of the man, unifying in death.


    Lucifer was freed from her force as hended on the ground. The woman who was obstructing him was dead.


    "Now there are no obstructions," Lucifer muttered as he looked at the man and the woman.


    His n had worked. His n wasn¡¯t to kill the woman but to kill the guy first. He made sure that the guy was overstressed with saving others so that he wouldn¡¯t be capable of saving himself, unaware that Lucifer was targeting him.


    This tag-team was like the worstbination against him. One kept him in his ce, preventing him from getting close enough to use his S-Rank Strength or S-Rank Decay. The other person saved the first from his S-Rank thunder with his Sand Shield that was somewhat effective against his thunder which Lucifer hadn¡¯t mastered even five percent yet.


    After the man was dead, it became easy for Lucifer to kill the woman.


    ...


    ck Lightning flickered all around Lucifer¡¯s body. The sky was still covered in dark clouds. shes of blue lightning could be seen in the sky that seemed less frightening than the ck Lightning shing around Lucifer.


    Lucifer was free to kill but was getting annoyed too, as he was constantly being shot at.


    The attack of hunters didn¡¯t annoy him as much as the little bullets did since the bullets were much more in number.


    With that in mind, he decided to kill the cops first.


    He raised his left foot and smashed it on the ground. A deep crater was left behind as he used the momentum to help him fly ahead. He flew in the direction of the cops.


    As no one in the group had the powers of the woman, they couldn¡¯t stop him. The other Mages and Warriors only had offensive or defensive abilities. They didn¡¯t have the crowd control abilities to stop him.


    As for their offensive abilities, they were useless in front of Lucifer, who used his nimble movement to dodge most of the attacks. The attacks that managed to hit Lucifer were also not strong enough to force him down. The strongest of the Red Eagles were already dead.


    Lucifer didn¡¯t mind the pain as he was hit with mes, sand, wind des, and many more powerful attacks. The pain was the least of his concern. He simply ignored the pain as he let the healing take care of it.


    He reached Sergeant Trafford and instantly went for his neck.


    He grabbed the neck of Sergeant Trafford, who continued shooting Lucifer¡¯s chest, but nothing worked.


    Sergeant Trafford knew that he wouldn¡¯t live for long.


    "Run away and call APF!" he gave hisstmand to his men before he turned to ash.


    The battle was a lost cause. He knew they couldn¡¯t win and told everyone to leave.

 Chapter 66 - 66: Lost Lucifer

    <h4>Chapter 66 - 66: Lost Lucifer </h4>


    Most of the cops were already terrified of what they were seeing. They were still trying to be brave enough to fight, but as they heard the words of their Sergeant, they didn¡¯t think for a second before they started running away.


    They knew that their weapons were useless against this monster, and now that they had permissions, it was better to run. If they stayed, it was only a matter of time before they would be killed.


    They started running to their cars, ready to leave while Lucifer was busy with the unlucky cops that werete to run.


    The ones that were caught were killed left and right.


    Only a few of them had managed to get in cars, though. The ones that entered the car could be counted in one hand. There were only five cops that managed to get inside the car.


    They all got in the same car, but before they could even start the car, they saw a person flying towards them.


    Lucifer had killed most of the cops that were outside in just a short period, and now he was flying towards the car.


    The cops started the car and drove it back. The rain had made the windshield of the car blurry. They couldn¡¯t see anything in the front or back. That¡¯s why a cop had brought his head out of the window, and he was telling the driver where to go.


    "Hurry! He¡¯s getting closer!" the cop told the driver.


    The car was going in reverse, and the driver had pressed on gas to move the car as fast as he could, but before he could get too far, Lucifer got near them.


    Lucifernded on the bo of the car, crushing it. The car¡¯s back portion was raised in the air because of the harsh impact.


    The car stopped moving back as the car¡¯s front wheels were separated and rolled away slowly.


    While Lucifer was more focused on the cops, he didn¡¯t notice that some of the Red Eagles guild members had started to step back. Most of them had stopped attacking him as they found it ineffective. They wanted to run away instead.


    Stepped down from the bo of the police car that had stopped, Lucifer walked to the door.


    Grabbing the door, he pulled it off the car and threw it towards one of the Red Eagles Guild Members that was still attacking him with water bullets.


    The Water Bullets was the ability of the man who was a Mage ss Variant. He could form water bullets out of thin air. As for the current scenario, the rain was a perfect atmosphere for him to use his abilities. Unfortunately, the bullets were useless on Lucifer.


    It didn¡¯t matter if the bullets were made of lead or water. They were all useless against him, at least until his healing ran out. Everyone believed that healing abilities couldn¡¯t be used infinitely, just like other abilities couldn¡¯t. That¡¯s why the people who stayed back still hadn¡¯t left. They were still hoping to kill the ¡¯monster¡¯ and seed.


    Only some of the Variants had run away, realizing that this was a futile effort.


    To Lucifer, even though the attacks hurt a little, he didn¡¯t let his attention be diverted. He wanted to be focused on what he was doing first, but that didn¡¯t stop him from multitasking.


    With his right hand, he kept pulling the cops out of the car and crushing their necks, whereas he used his left hand to fire ck lightning bolts towards the Red Eagles Guild Members.


    After finishing up with all the men inside the car, he finally turned back as he cracked his knuckles.


    "Hmm?"


    As he turned back, he was surprised to see that there were a lot fewer people here than he expected to see.


    It didn¡¯t matter, though. If there were ten here, he was going to kill ten. If there were a thousand here, he was going to kill a thousand.


    ....


    ughter... That was what someone would have described what happened next in that ce. It was a full-on ughter caused by someone unstoppable.


    The ughter onlysted for the next twenty minutes before it all ended, and the silence and peace returned. All screams and painful groans had stopped.


    Not a single person could be seen standing except Lucifer.


    The whole ce seemed barren. There were broken buildings and rubble everywhere.


    The rain was still continuing. If one was to keep his gaze up, everything seemed to be fine, but if a person stood in that area and lowered their gaze, they could see the entire ground was filled with bodies. The rain was washing the blood of the bodies and mixing with the blood.


    The water was mixed with blood; ashes were floating everywhere.


    The entire ground seemed to be covered in the bloodied water.


    ...


    As everything was over, Lucifer finally had a chance to breathe. He felt tired as well and extremely hungry, but he didn¡¯t mind his hunger. His mind was lost.


    He stood there, watching everything nkly. It was a moment of peace where he could finally calm his head. Previously, his head seemed to be filled with only one thought, and that was to kill. All he could think of was killing. The more he killed, the better he felt.


    Now that he had killed everyone, he was feeling somewhat empty. There was nothing to do any more here.


    He sat down on the ground in the blood-filled water and just nkly looked ahead, trying to gather his thoughts.


    Just what was he doing? What exactly was his purpose? Why did he even exist? Many negative thoughts floated in his head as he lost himself in his thoughts.


    After a few seconds, he folded his knees and wrapped his arms around them as he rested his head on his knees.


    "I miss you, dad... mom... I¡¯m lost without you. Pleasee back. It¡¯s... Scary..."


    He kept muttering something softly as water droplets kept falling over him. Sometimes it seemed like he was crying. It was unclear if the water dropletsing out of his eyes were tears or rain droplets.

 Chapter 67 - 67: Leaving For Trap

    <h4>Chapter 67 - 67: Leaving For Trap </h4>


    Lucifer simply sat there for what seemed like an eternity, unmoving as he closed his eyes. He was like a statue that didn¡¯t know what to do. The negativity was swallowing him whole, and he struggled to keep his head calm and his thoughts clear.


    ...


    A few people came out of their Houses after some time but went back again after seeing that Lucifer was still sitting there. They were scared ofing out before him. When even the Red Eagles were useless against him, they were nothing. No one left their house, leaving the entire city dreary and deserted.


    As for the Red Eagles Guild Members that had managed to escape before, they went straight to the guild headquarters, hiding.


    ....


    Even though it seemed like an eternity, only twenty minutes had passed since Lucifer sat down in the rain.


    He stood up as he wiped the water off his face and moved his hair that was covering his eyes to the back.


    He felt better now. Better was an overstatement, though. He felt less lost now, and he could finally think a bit.


    He started looking around as if he was trying to find something but the water covering the ground was red, making it difficult to see.


    He thought for a little while before he found the spot where he had dropped something important.


    He walked up to that spot and started touching the ground to find what he had lost.


    After searching for a few minutes, he finally found what he was looking for. He brought his hand out of the water.


    He had a ss piece in his hand that was thest remaining piece of the small ss figure of his father, which was broken by the Red Eagles before. It was broken in the fight, and he only had this little piece left now.


    As he picked it, he was shocked to see the ss piece turn to dust within the blink of an eye.


    He had forgotten that his gloves were destroyed, and he couldn¡¯t control his decaying powers. Everything he touched was destroyed, and that same thing happened to the ss piece.


    The ss piece turned into dust and slid down his hand, ultimately mixing with the water. He closed his fist to save what he could, but it was futile.


    Lucifer watched the remains of the piece slip out of his closed fist, nkly.


    He slowly opened his fist only to find out that there was nothing in his hand anymore.


    He looked like he was disappointed, but he didn¡¯t do anything.


    He had already lost so many things, so what if one more was added to the list, he thought as he tried to console himself, but he still felt sad.


    He turned back and walked over to a nearby stall that was still intact. There he found a stic bag. He took a few stic bags and ced them in his pockets.


    After being done here, he went back to the shop where he had changed his clothesst time. Most of his clothes were destroyed, and he didn¡¯t want to leave without clothes.


    ...


    He entered the clothes shop again that still had the bodies of the people he had killed here before. Strangely enough, the body of Fray was missing. He didn¡¯t think too much about it as he started trying to find clothes for himself.


    He soon found another pair of clothes that fit him.


    He wrapped the stic bags around his hand before he started wearing the clothes just to make sure that the clothes weren¡¯t destroyed in the process.


    After getting dressed, he left the ce and continued on his way towards the city¡¯s exit.


    He had a destination he needed to be at. He didn¡¯t want to dy too much. He was still quite some distance away from the ce he knew the Research Facility to be at. Now that his mind was again clear, he knew his purpose. It was the destruction of the facility.


    ...


    Lucifer walked through the wet roads of Ikrego city and soon reached the ce where he had recentlymitted a ughter.


    The bodies still looked fresh, but the blood-red water was slightly less red by now because of more and more water mixing with it.


    He nced at the bodies only once before he walked past them and continued towards the exit of Ikrego City.


    He continued in the direction of Erygas, which was the next city and the one that was close to the DR Facility, which Lucifer wanted to destroy.


    Lucifer had no idea that what he thought to be the truth was a lie. The DRF was not near Erygas City.


    The Leader of the APF Delta Team, Xander, had lied to him. The real DRF was in the opposite direction.


    Not only Lucifer didn¡¯t know that, but he also had no idea as to what was really waiting for him at Erygas.


    The entire Delta Team hadid a big trap in the Erygas City for him. The Erygas city was empty of civilians. Only APF Members were there, undercover, waiting for him to arrive.


    Not only that, unbeknownst to everyone, a small team from Variant Uprising was also there, with schemes of their own in the mix. They also wanted to find Lucifer and bring him with them to join their organization against the APF.


    The Level One Team Leader, who was known as the Shape-Shifting King, was also there in Erygas City, stealthily passing his time.


    Lucifer was walking towards the biggest trap that he could ever face. Even though the Red Eagles Guild had strong Variants, they were not trained to fight other Variants. They were mostly trained to fight monsters in dungeons.


    As for the APF, finding and destroying Variants who had lost their ways was their entire job. They had all the tools, equipment, and necessary experience they needed. Moreover, they were the best of the best when it came to strength and skills, far ahead of small guilds like the Red Eagles.

 Chapter 68 - 68: Soon...

    <h4>Chapter 68 - 68: Soon... </h4>


    When it came to facing a Warlock, the APF was more threatening than the guild members. Also, the Red Eagles Guild was only the lower in the list of top rank Guilds in this country, and that too primarily because of their mighty leader.


    Their leader happened to be outside the city on an exploration mission. Without their Guild Master, they were much weaker.


    The top two guilds, on the other hand, not only had a powerful leader but powerful members as well. It wasn¡¯t too much to say that Lucifer was somewhat lucky that he faced the Red Eagles Guild and not the top two guilds, Hunter Association or the APF.


    ....


    As Lucifer walked through the city, a person was keeping an eye on him from a distance.


    The person was wearing the clothing of the Red Eagles Guild. He was over a hundred meters away from Lucifer, hiding behind a building, but he could clearly see Lucifer. It was a dark-haired man that seemed to have a scar on his face.


    The man was a Variant as well, but he wasn¡¯t the one that involved himself in fights. He was a Warrior that had the Physical Ability of Sight. His eyes could act like binocrs, making him see far and wide. He could also see at night.


    He was mostly used for spying.


    "He seems to be leaving this ce. If he continues on this path, in half an hour, he¡¯ll be out of the city," the dark-haired man, Deir, told someone over the phone.


    He was sent here to keep an eye on Lucifer and to tell the man who was acting as Red Eagles Guild temporary leader about Lucifer¡¯s whereabouts.


    The new temporary leader of Red Eagles Guild was a Mage who had an A-Rank Elemental Power. His name was Saele.


    "He¡¯s leaving? That¡¯s good. Finally, that monster is leaving. As long as he doesn¡¯te here to kill us, we should be fine. Keep an eye on him. Inform me if he does something. More importantly, don¡¯t let him see you," Saele told Deir before disconnecting the call.


    Saele turned back and looked at a blue-haired man who seemed to be on a call as well.


    "Cheh! I can¡¯t seem to call Guild Master. He must be inside some dungeon! What should we do?" the blue-haired man asked Saele.


    "Forget it. Let¡¯s just call the APF and tell them that we screwed up. We would get punished for not telling them at the start, but it¡¯s better than letting that boy go free!" Saele said as he sighed.


    "Get me the number of APF," he told the blue-haired man.


    Just as Saele said it, the phone at the base started ringing.


    He walked closer to the phone and picked up the call.


    "Yeah?"


    "Send Help! We were wrong! The Monster Index has crossed the danger level! The monsters came out! They¡¯re killing everyone here! Aaa-"


    The person on the other side of the call seemed scared, as if he was in danger. Before he could speak more, the call was disconnected.


    "What happened? You look serious."


    The Blue Haired man saw Saele looking at the phone, shocked. He wondered what happened. Who was on the call?


    "Saele, tell me! Who was on the call?" he asked again.


    "The guards we left outside the dungeon near our city... They are probably dead. The Monster Index levels of the Dungeon crossed the critical levels. The barrier of the dungeon has disappeared," Saele said nkly. "Monsters came out!"


    "That shouldn¡¯t be the case. We know the reproductive speed of the dungeon. We should still have over a month before the Monster Index reaches the dangerous level. That¡¯s when we were supposed to go inside the dungeon to hunt. How could it be so fast?!" The blue-haired man eximed with a look of disbelief on his face.


    "I don¡¯t know. All I know is that we need to go there and hunt the Monsters before they reach the city and start killing the civilians!" Saele said.


    "But... You know where the dungeon is! We would have to cross that kid to get to the dungeon. He¡¯ll kill us all before we can even leave the city!" The blue-haired man said as he held his head that was aching now.


    He couldn¡¯t think of anything. It was important for them to leave. If they didn¡¯t, monsters would swarm the city within half an hour.


    But if they left, they had the risk of being killed by Lucifer, who was walking in the direction of the Dungeon as well.


    ....


    In a different part of the country of United Elisium existed a research facility that held high importance for the government.


    It was the Dilion Research Facility which was nowhere close to Erygas city where Lucifer was going.


    Inside the facility, a man in a white robe was walking inside an empty corridor.


    He soon reached the end of the corridor, which had a palm sensor. He ced his palm on it.


    After the scan of his palm waspleted, the metallic wall that blocked the corridor slid to the side, revealing the path.


    The man stepped forward before the wall returned to its original position.


    After a few meters, he again reached the end, which had a sensor that scanned his retina.


    He again passed through the scan and continued on his path.


    After three more obstructions like this, the man finally reached a big room.


    The room was entirely empty. There was no human here... At least none that was walking.


    Inside this room, there was only a single thing of value, besides all the machines.


    It was a big cylindrical ss container that was filled with some semi-transparent liquid.


    Inside that container, someone was floating, eyes closed.


    The white-robed man walked closer to the container and caressed the ss gently as he smiled.


    "Soon... I¡¯ll seed. No one will stop me. All thanks to you."


    It was at that moment; his phone started ringing.


    "Hello?"


    The man picked up the phone.


    "Doctor Rao, General Maxwell wants to talk to you. Should I connect the call?" the person on the other end of the call asked.


    "Alright," the white-robed man said calmly.


    ....

 Chapter 69 - 69: Beacon Of Hope

    <h4>Chapter 69 - 69: Beacon Of Hope </h4>


    The heavy rain had stopped. The sky had just started to clear up, letting the sunlight pass through.


    Lucifer was walking through the city, and he was almost near the exit. He didn¡¯t wish to spend any more time here than he already did. He had already eaten up a bit, satiating his hunger. His clothes were also new, unlike before.


    As he walked through the streets, he saw not a single person. It was unclear if the citizens were warned by the Red Eagle Guild or the people were scared of themotion that happened before, but no one left their home even after the rain stopped.


    Even the ones that lived far away from themotion were hiding in their houses.


    The sun was shining brightly. The rays of sunlight were reflected from the water that was collected on the ground, ultimately sparkling.


    Lucifer¡¯s new clothes were still wet, but it was clear that they were going to dry very soon in the warmth of the sun.


    ....


    "Don¡¯t worry; it¡¯s just a little water. It¡¯s not like you will die if you wear some wet clothes!"


    "Don¡¯t worry, little kid. We¡¯re doing it for your own good. We¡¯re trying to wake up yourtent power. In our tests, some people woke up their power after standing in the rain. We¡¯ve been thinking that it might work on you as well. Just stand in this artificial rain for twelve more hours. We¡¯ll stop if it doesn¡¯t work."


    "I know it¡¯s tough for you, but think of your father and your mother. They fought for humanity, and they saved so many lives before they perished. Don¡¯t you want to be a hero like them? Don¡¯t you want to make your parents proud? Don¡¯t you want to save the innocent, weak humans that depend on you?"


    "You know humans are the best species. They are gentle and caring. You don¡¯t want them to be wiped off of existence, do you? We need more heroes like you to be a shining beacon of hope for us. Please bear with just a little more difort. I¡¯m sure it won¡¯t be long before you wake up your powers."


    ...


    As Lucifer walked through the wet roads of the city in wet clothes, he couldn¡¯t help but remember his past.


    He had spent five years in the Research Facility. He had stayed there for half his life, even longer than the time he remembered with his parents.


    When he was home, his mother always kept himfortable like a precious little treasure. She never let him be ufortable. Let alone having him wear wet clothes; she didn¡¯t even let him stay in a cold room in fear that he would get sick. His father was also very caring towards him and protected him from everything.


    The first time he remembered being in wet clothes was in his second year in the Facility.


    His first year in the Facility was much more peaceful as everyone believed that he was going to awaken very soon. He was the son of humanity¡¯s greatest heroes, after all. Even though it wasn¡¯t like home, at least he wasn¡¯t treated badly.


    The second year was when things started changing, and they started trying more and more things to stimte his potential and help him awaken.


    It was his second year there, and he was just seven years old when he was forced to spend eighteen hours in artificial rain. He was also forced to stand through the day. They told him that it was for humanity. They said it was for the future.


    Lucifer suffered alone in the rain as he hoped that one day he could help humanity fight the beasts that had started appearing within the world.


    It was back when he still had faith in humanity. It was when he had faith in his parents¡¯ choice to protect humans. It was back when he still believed that humans were nice and they cared for their own. It was when he still believed that he could trust the people.


    He didn¡¯t know that just three years after that, these people would be killing him in a torture room because he was useless for their goals. He was killed by the same humans that wanted him to save humanity. How ironic it was, even he found it amusing.


    " You wanted me to save humanity, Doctor? That ce was the shining beacon of hope. That ce was where I dreamt of the future and also where my dreams were crushed. That ce was where I lived half my life, and that ce was where I died."


    Lucifer¡¯s feet sshed the water on the ground as he walked ahead. He seemed to be talking to himself. There was no happiness or sadness on his face.


    "Since I died there, why is that ce still living? Since I was thrown away, why is that ce still standing? Since I was killed, why are you all still living?" he muttered.


    "It¡¯s not fair. It¡¯s not fair at all! You all must die too! Thene back if you can, only to suffer like me! I¡¯ll make you suffer, doctor. I¡¯ll make all of you suffer!"


    Even though his shirt seemed to be drying, the bottom of his pants kept getting wetter and wetter the more he walked through the puddle of water on roads without caring to go around them.


    His mind was lost in thoughts of revenge, so he didn¡¯t care about anything else, let alone a few sshes.


    It didn¡¯t take him long before he finally stepped out of the city of Ikrego.


    ...


    The Red Eagles Guild Member who was keeping an eye on Lucifer saw him getting out. He instantly called his higher-ups.


    "He just stepped out of the city," he said. "He¡¯s gone."


    He waited to hear a reply and a cheer of happiness on the other side of the call but what he was greeted with was something he didn¡¯t expect at all.


    "What? What do you mean you¡¯re all on your way? What the heck?" he eximed in shock, which kept getting bigger and bigger the more he heard.

 Chapter 70 - 70: Strange Eagle

    <h4>Chapter 70 - 70: Strange Eagle </h4>


    "The monsters left the dungeon, and they might being here? How is that even possible! The Monster Index shouldn¡¯t be high enough for the barrier to stop working!"


    Deir was seemingly shocked as he heard the news. He closed his mouth as the person on the other side of the call started speaking.


    "What about the people that were guarding the dungeon? My brother was assigned there as well! Tell me they are safe!" he shouted as he dropped to his knees.


    He was already sure that his brother was dead if the monsters left, but he still held some hope.


    "They¡¯re all dead? How can you even know! You¡¯re not even there! I¡¯m going there to find my brother!"


    ...


    "No, I can¡¯t wait! He¡¯s the only family I have! I won¡¯t let him die like this!" he said as he disconnected the call.


    He stood up and kept the phone in his pocket as he started running.


    He soon reached the exit of the city and crossed it.


    ...


    Lucifer wasn¡¯t walking much faster as he was still lost in some thought. He had only traveled fifty meters from the border of the city until now.


    He suddenly heard a sound from behind him.


    He nced back and saw a dark-haired man running in his direction.


    A frown covered Lucifer¡¯s face as he saw the Red Eagles symbol on his clothes. It was evident that this man was from the same group that has attacked him.


    "These people never learn," Lucifer muttered as he raised his hand and pointed his finger towards the dark-haired man.


    Deir was running towards the dungeon when he saw Lucifer pointing his finger toward him. He had seen enough of Lucifer¡¯s battles to see that he was probably going to attack him.


    "Wait! I¡¯m not after you! I¡¯m trying to get to the dungeon to sav-"


    Deir tried to exin Lucifer in a hurry, but before he could finish his words, a ck lightning bolt came flying towards him at lightning speed.


    He couldn¡¯t even blink when the ck Bolt of lightning passed through his chest, leaving a gaping hole where his heart was supposed to be.


    The man blurted out a mouthful of blood. He stopped down to his knees as his blood continued spilling. His face was already pale.


    "... save my brother," Deir finished before he fell, face first, dying.


    "Save brother?" With confusion on his face, Lucifer repeated the words of the man, but he didn¡¯t think for long. It didn¡¯t matter what the man wanted him to do. He was never going to be anyone¡¯s puppet again.


    He had spent thest five years of his life listening to people, getting hurt, and finally ending up dying. Death is what listening to people got him. He was never going to do what others wanted him to unless he desired it.


    Ignoring the man, he continued on his path.


    .....


    Around ten armored vehicles were racing through the city. They were going in the direction of Lucifer at the moment but not to capture him.


    These were the armored vehicles that were kept by the Red Eagles Guild in case they ever needed to face a horde of dungeon dwellers.


    The Acting Leader of the Red Eagles Guild, Saele, was sitting in the car that was leading the caravan.


    The cars raced towards the exit of the city in a race against time to stop the Monsters before they could reach the city. If they reached the city, the devastation was going to be massive.


    "I hope that guy will continue on his way and won¡¯t be in our path. I don¡¯t want to face that beast again while facing the Dungeon Dwellers at the same time," The Sorcerer who was driving the car said as he sighed.


    He has seen the battle in which half of their men died. That young kid was like a monster who just refused to die. Even after being sted by the Energy Orb of the Vice Guild Leader, he managed to stand straight and kill everyone.


    If it were anyone else, they would¡¯ve been dead multiple times when facing their guild, but that guy was like an Immortal Beast who never died.


    "Come on, Wenson. It would¡¯ve been better if this guy didn¡¯t have such a mystical healing ability. We could¡¯ve crushed him instead of being afraid of him," Another person chimed in.


    "Not just healing, if I¡¯m not wrong, his ck Lightning was also an S-Grade ability. As for his flying, that was probably an A-Rank. He was at least a Triple Awakened Warlock. Now that I think about it, that ck Lightning seemed to be just him¡ª the strongest Warlock that ever existed, Zale Azarel," Saele muttered in a grim tone.


    "Supreme Warlock Zale? Now that you mention it, that¡¯s right. He did have the ck Lightning. Sigh, Doesn¡¯t this mean that the boy has the potential to be a Warlock like Supreme Warlock Zale?" Sorcerer Wenson asked Saele.


    " No. I don¡¯t think he can be Supreme Warlock Zale," Shaking his head, Saele answered. He took a brief pause before he continued, "With the kind of ability this boy has shown, he can be an even greater Warlock if he isn¡¯t stopped."


    His fists were clenched in frustration because he himself didn¡¯t like what he was saying. Supreme Warlock Zale was his idol, whereas Lucifer was no less than his enemy.


    To put his enemy on a pedestal that was higher than his idol was the toughest thing for him, but he was telling what he really felt like.


    Lucifer had the abilities of the Supreme Warlock, whereas he also had an ability that had never been seen before¡ª the ability to heal wounds no matter how dangerous. That was nothing to scoff at.


    In this world, there were pills and other stuff that could elerate healing, but they were as expensive as they could get. Even they weren¡¯t able to heal someone as fast as Lucifer healed himself.


    There were also some Sorcerers who could heal others but at the cost of their own injuries. It was less like healing and more like transferring someone else¡¯s wound on their body, and even that took hours. No ability like Lucifer¡¯s healing had ever been seen in this world.


    With that kind of ability, it wasn¡¯t shocking to fight an army of Variants in the eyes of Saele.


    ....


    After killing the man, Lucifer was already out of his daze and his sad thoughts. It was as if killing someone had improved his mood.


    He stopped walking like a snail and continued flying towards the next city.


    He still didn¡¯t fly higher than a few meters from the ground, but his control improved. Thest fight was one in which he used his flying to its fullest, which increased his control on his ability to some extent.


    "Hmm? What¡¯s that?"


    Lucifer was flying straight ahead when he noticed somethinging in his direction.


    It seemed like an Eagle, but it was unusually big. It was somewhat bigger than Lucifer. What really shocked him wasn¡¯t that but the fact that the Eagle had the head of a lion.

 Chapter 71 - 71: Always The Hand

    <h4>Chapter 71 - 71: Always The Hand </h4>


    The Eagle flew towards Lucifer, roaring like a Lion. It was still some distance away from him, though.


    Seeing the strange eagle on his path, Lucifer stopped flying andnded on the ground. The wind was making his hair wave as he watched the peculiar Eagle-like creature.


    He couldn¡¯t help but wondered what it was. No matter how much he tried to think about it, he didn¡¯t remember hearing about an animal like this when he was young.


    His lips parted as two words came out of his mouth after some thinking.


    "Dungeon Dweller?"


    He had managed to put the pieces together. If it wasn¡¯t an animal, it could only be a Dungeon Dweller that lurked inside the dungeons.


    He was taught some things about them when he was in the facility. He had also seen the Dungeon Dwellers on television when he used to live with his family.


    There was a time when he hated Dungeon Dwellers with passion. It was when he had first heard about his family¡¯s death and found out that they were killed by Dungeon Dwellers inside the Dungeon they went to explore.


    He hated the Dungeon Dwellers with passion when he was in the facility. His dream was to be like his parents and destroy all Dungeon Dwellers.


    When he lived in the facility, he would never have expected that he would hate someone as much as a Dungeon Dweller; unfortunately, it came true. He had started to hate humans just as much.


    He watched the Chimera Eagle fly above his head and leave. The Chimera didn¡¯t even look at him for some reason.


    Lucifer didn¡¯t bother to go after it either. He had decided to treat humans and Dungeon Dwellers the same. He wasn¡¯t going to go after them unless he felt like it. His current goal was to destroy the Facility, and that was what he wanted to ce all his focus on.


    His feet tapped on the ground as his body started rising in the air.


    He started flying ahead. He had just started flying when he felt like he was in danger.


    Abruptly turning back, he noticed that the strange Eagle was flying towards him now. Apparently, it had turned back in his direction.


    The Chimera Eagle opened its mouth, and a beam of light came out of its mouth.


    A stunned look appeared on Lucifer¡¯s face as he started to dodge, but the beam of light was too fast; he couldn¡¯t avoid it entirely. Even though he managed to save his chest that was being targeted, the beam of light managed to hit his elbow, cutting his left hand in half. The lower half of his left hand fell on the ground, separating from him.


    "Not again!"


    Lucifer thundered in frustration as he saw his hand lying on the ground. It was the second time in less than two days that he lost one of his hands. He couldn¡¯t understand. What enmity did everyone have with his hand?


    Angered, instead of running away, he began flying towards the Chimera. A murderous look was visible in his eyes. He didn¡¯t even bother to wait for his hand to heal as the urge to destroy this thing took over him.


    ....


    A Military Helicopternded in an empty arena inside a beautiful city.


    A few people stepped out of the helicopter, dressed in elegant clothes that seemed practical as well. There was a symbol on everyone¡¯s chest, making them seem like they were from the same organization.


    A blue-haired man in civilian clothes walked to the group of people to wee them.


    "Wee, Master Xander," the blue-haired man greeted the leader of Delta Squad, Xander.


    Xander nodded with a subtle smile on his face.


    "Hmm. Is everyone ready, ke?" he inquired.


    "Everything is prepared. Our Delta Squad Members have taken their position. It¡¯s impossible for anyone to realize that this city is void of people and that it¡¯s filled by undercover Delta Squad Members," ke answered.


    Xander looked around the arena and saw what seemed like a few adults jogging, seemingly like ordinary people, but he knew that they were all his men.


    "Good. If we¡¯re not wrong, Lucifer should be here very soon. We must catch him and put an end to this ticking time bomb," Xander muttered as he turned back.


    "Get the helicopter covered. I¡¯ll go around the city and see the preparation for myself," he said, walking away.


    ke started following him.


    "You stay here¡ªno need to escort us, ke. Just make sure that our trail is covered. Flourence and I will go ourselves," said Xander without looking back. He left the arena with his second inmand, Flourence.


    ....


    Xander and Flourence left the arena and went to see the preparation that their squad had finished in the city.


    They wanted to know if everything was perfect or not. It was a crucial mission. They needed to lure Lucifer inside the city before they captured him. In Xander¡¯s eyes, Lucifer was a tricky enemy. He didn¡¯t know much about Lucifer¡¯s abilities, but the ones he knew about were enough to intimidate anyone.


    Lucifer had the Super Strength of his Father¡ª the strongest Warlock Zale Azarel. He had the lightning of his father too. It was evident after seeing the bodies of his fellow teammates who had gone to catch Lucifer at his home.


    To match the speed of their Warrior, who could use the Physical ability of Speed, he was sure that Lucifer probably had the powers of wind like his mother as well. Assuming that Lucifer got the S-Rank Decay abilities of his mother, then it made Lucifer a frightening entity despite his young age andck of experience. He was at least a Quad-Awakened Warlock.


    Someone like that could easily take many people out. Xander didn¡¯t want to face Lucifer head-on if he could avoid it. That¡¯s why he had ced this borate trap for Lucifer. It was hard, but he managed to get the permission to take over the entire city in wait for this potential enemy.


    ....


    While Xander was checking the preparations in Erygas, Lucifer was facing the Chimera Eagle near the neighboring City, all alone.

 Chapter 72 - 72: Mysteries Of Decay

    <h4>Chapter 72 - 72: Mysteries Of Decay </h4>


    Lucifer only had one hand at the moment as his other hand was cut off due to the Chimera Eagle¡¯s attacks. His hand did seem like it was growing back because of his healing.


    Using his remaining hand, he fired a lightning bolt in the direction of the Chimera Eagle, intending to kill it at once.


    pping its wings against the wind, the Chimera Eagle moved to the side, dodging the attack just as easily. Its speed seemed much faster. The ck Lightning Bolt got past the Chimera Eagle, missing its wings just by a few inches.


    Feeling the incredible strength of the lightning bolt that had just missed it, the Chimera Eagle screeched in anger.


    Its voice was so sharp that it was hurting Lucifer¡¯s ears.


    Lucifer was sure that if he were any closer to the Chimera, his ears would have been bleeding by now because of that sharp sound. Fortunately, his hand had healed by now, making him feelplete once again.


    Watching the Chimera Eagle opening its mouth once again, he realized what wasing. It was going to be another attack of that white Laser Beam.


    Not willing to be caught in this attack again, Lucifer pointed both his hands towards the Chimera Eagle and fired two Thunderbolts simultaneously.


    The Chimera Eagle attacked as well, firing the white beam of light towards Lucifer.


    The two Lightning Bolts shed with the White Beam of light as they continued ahead like an unstoppable force of nature, finally hitting the wings of the Chimera Eagle that had tried to dodge at thest moment.


    Two big holes were left in the Chimera Eagle¡¯s left wing as it came crashing down to the ground, losing control.


    Even though the lightning bolts had hit the Chimera Eagle, it didn¡¯t stop the White Beam of light from hitting Lucifer¡¯s stomach either. A three-inch-wide hole was left in his stomach as the beam of light passed through.


    Lucifer also dropped down to his knees as he bled on the dirty ground before his body started the healing process.


    He was feeling weakness in his entire body as his blood left his body. His vision was blurry, making him unable to see clearly. He only saw a blur crashing on the ground in front of him.


    cing his palm on the ground, he tried to push his body upwards to stand up, but he realized that even his hands were shivering from weakness. Was it because he hadn¡¯t eaten properly? Or he used too much of his power recently? He couldn¡¯t understand.


    Ignoring the shivering hands, he clenched his teeth as he pushed his body upwards and stood up.


    His stomach still had a hole, but it was much smaller now. It seemed like his healing was at its full effect, and he was going to be fully healed within seconds.


    Ignoring his wounds, he walked towards the Chimera Eagle. His vision was still blurry, but he was able to guess that the Chimera Eagleid ahead of him.


    The Chimera Eagle also stood up on its two eagle-like feet. Its lion head red towards Lucifer as its mouth opened wide. A mighty roar left its mouth. It seemed like an effort to intimidate Lucifer, but it didn¡¯t work in the slightest.


    Facing death so many times, Lucifer had developed the will of a true Lion. He didn¡¯t feel even a little bit intimidating as he walked towards the Chimera Eagle.


    Seeing the chimera eagle not attack again with thatser, he had realized that it probably couldn¡¯t attack now. Did he hit a nerve? He didn¡¯t know the reason, but he was certain that it would have attacked by now if it could.


    The Chimera Eagle started running towards Lucifer with its small legs. Its mouth was opened wide as if waiting to cut Lucifer¡¯s flesh when it got near him.


    Lucifer, however, didn¡¯t let the Chimera Eagle get close to it as he raised his hand that was previously cut in the Chimera Eagle¡¯s first attack.


    "You deserve to die," A voice that sounded like it wasing straight from the depths of hell escaped Lucifer¡¯s mouth as he dered a death sentence.


    It seemed like poetic justice to destroy the eagle with the hand it had destroyed for no reason at all.


    As soon as he spoke the words, a ck lightning bolt left his hands and entered through the open mouth of the Chimera Eagle into its body.


    The Chimera Eagle died a painful death as its body was burnt and electrocuted inside out. Its body flopped to the ground as its scary screeches stopped.


    Lucifer¡¯s stomach waspletely healed by now, and his vision returned to normal as well, but he still felt weak for some reason.


    Seeing the dead Chimera Eagle, Lucifer walked closer and sat down before it.


    Slowly reaching out his right hand, he touched the head of the Chimera Eagle.


    As his fingers touched the Chimera Eagle¡¯s body, it started decaying and disintegrating, which Lucifer observed, trying to understand his decaying powers better.


    ....


    Lucifer watched the body of the Chimera Eagle deteriorating right in front of his eyes. He observed the body of the Chimera Eagle turn to ash, but even after this whole process finished, he didn¡¯t stand up.


    "I was right. I do feel myself getting stronger every time I use my Decay on someone. It¡¯s as if their life force is absorbed by my body. Is this the reality or just my misconception?" Lucifer muttered as he looked at the ash in front of him. "I don¡¯t feel weak anymore, though."


    He could feel a new strength soaring inside his body. Even though it seemed to be only a tiny amount which was tough to notice if the person wasn¡¯t looking carefully enough, Lucifer had felt something like this a few times before.


    He thought that it was a misconception previously, but now that he used his Decay on the Chimera Eagle while keeping a calm head, he was able to see it happen again. It seemed even less like a misconception now, but he still wasn¡¯t certain.


    While Lucifer was thinking about this strange phenomenon rted to his powers, he felt a vibration on the ground. The ash lying on the ground could also be seen vibrating.


    With a deep frown on his face, he slowly stood up as he turned back and looked in the direction where the Chimera Eagle hade from.

 Chapter 73 - 73: No Help

    <h4>Chapter 73 - 73: No Help </h4>


    Feeling the strange vibration on the ground, Lucifer stood up and turned back. The vibrations made it seem like a big army was advancing towards him, but only as he turned back did he realize what it actually was.


    He was surprised to see that it was actually no less than an army. The only difference was that it wasn¡¯t an army of humans but an army of strange creatures.


    He saw many strange beasts advancing towards him from a distance.


    Hundreds of Dungeon Dwellers that should¡¯ve been inside the Dungeons had stepped out. However, they were not only outside, but they were advancing towards him.


    He could also see many types of beasts that he had never seen before.


    Thergest number of these creatures were Skeletons running in the group. The Skeletons wore what seemed like a wooden helmet and carried a silver Sword in their hands as they ran towards him.


    There were also Chimera Eagles like the one he had killed. Tens of Chimera Eagles were flying through the air like the Kings of the Wind.


    He could also see what seemed like nine feet tall Goris that were wearing what seemed like Armor made entirely of gold. There were nine such armored goris in the group of beasts, but because of their enormous size, they were more visible despite their low number.


    There were also seven silver-skinned Tigers who seemed to have two sharp white teething out of their mouth like the Sabertooth.


    That wasn¡¯t all, as Lucifer also saw something strange that he found hard to describe. He could see three crystal orbs sticking together and flying towards him. There were no face or teeth in these orbs, making him wonder if these were actually beasts or something else.


    There were over twenty of such Three-Orb Objects that Lucifer unwillingly decided to consider as beasts.


    There were also beasts that seemed like Armadillo, but instead of having something like a shell on their back, they had yellow spikesing out of their back. The Spiked Armadillos also seemed to have skeleton-like legs making them look even stranger.


    Lucifer could also see what seemed like trees with wooden hands and legs, walking slowly behind the group.


    In total, he saw over two hundred Dungeon-Dwellers in front of him.


    "Sigh, There are so many. My clothes might be destroyed again, even more than they already did," Lucifer muttered as he looked at his clothes that he had changed after his previous clothes were destroyed in the battle with the Guild. Even the new clothes had a three-inch-wide hole because of thetest skirmish with the chimera eagle.


    He was more concerned about his clothes than the hundreds of beastsing in his direction.


    "There¡¯s no way to save clothes. I¡¯ll need to go through the beasts in any case if I want to go ahead. As for going back, that¡¯s not an option," he muttered as he stared at the beastsing towards him. His heart seemed to be mostly calm.


    "Fine. If the clothes are destroyed, let it be. I¡¯ll get more in the next city," he concluded as he cracked his knuckles while ring at the beasts.


    He raised his right feet a little above the ground.


    Smashing his right leg on the ground, he used the impact to fly ahead towards the beasts that were running towards him.


    ....


    While Lucifer was flying towards the beasts for a final sh, a few armored vehicles stopped behind him. There seemed to be five hundred meters of distance between them and Lucifer, keeping them within a safe distance.


    "Wait, are my eyes betraying me? I see that monster fighting against the Dungeon-Dwellers? Do you see the same thing?" The Sorcerer of Red Eagles Guild, Weston, asked the Acting Leader Saele.


    "You¡¯re not the only one. It¡¯s really happening," Saele replied gravely.


    "Why would that guy try to save the city?" Weston asked Saele in confusion. "Isn¡¯t he the bad guy?"


    "He is a bad guy, but he also seems to be crazy. Who knows why he does what he does," Saele muttered as he frowned. "Maybe he wants to do something good? Or maybe he just wants to kill? He¡¯s a ruthless monster himself, after all."


    "Whatever the reason, it¡¯s still a good opportunity for us. Our forces are weaker. We won¡¯t be able to take care of the beasts normally without being wiped out ourselves."


    "It seems like the best opportunity for us now! After joining with him, we should be able to win and save the city!" Weston said with an excited smile on his face as he tried to open the door to go out and help.


    "Keep sitting!" Saele thundered, ring at Weston. "No one is leaving."


    "But why? If he is dead without our help, we would be hard-pressed to win! We need to do something. These are Dungeon Dwellers we are talking about. The lives of citizens of the entire Ikrego City are in danger!" Weston protested, not understanding why they were being stopped.


    "None of you are going out. He¡¯s an undying machine. Let him fight for us and die. He should be able to clear half the beasts at least before he¡¯s finally died. We should be able to take care of the ones that remain," Saele muttered, folding his arms.


    "Ah, right! That way, all of our enemies will be dead, the city will be saved, and with this kid¡¯s death, we¡¯ll have the revenge of our fellow Guild Members who died fighting this monster," Another Variant, who sat on the back seat, chimed in.


    "Ahh!"


    As everything was exined clearly, everyone understood what they needed to do. They all agreed with Saele¡¯s ns and decided not to join the fight.


    They all sat back and started watching what was about to take ce without joining.


    ....


    While the Red Eagle Guild Leaders sat back, Lucifer kept advancing towards the horde of beasts, covering a huge distance each second.


    Electricity flickered around his hands as he zoomed through the air towards the horde of beasts.


    Aiming his right palm towards the horde of monsters, Lucifer fired the first attack.


    A bolt of lightning appeared near his hand and shot out towards a Silver Tiger that was running in the lead.

 Chapter 74 - 74: Joining Battle

    <h4>Chapter 74 - 74: Joining Battle </h4>


    The beasts hadn¡¯t even started attacking yet when they saw a Lightning Bolting in their direction. Before the Silver Tiger could even react, the lightning bolt passed through its head, giving it a painful yet fast death.


    All the beasts started roaring as they saw one of them being killed. They were all furious as they started running even more fiercely.


    The Chimera Eagles that were flying in the sky opened their mouths. Multiple beams of white light came out of their mouths in the direction of Lucifer.


    The group of Silver Tigers also opened their mouths, firing an orb of white light, filled with a strange energy, towards Lucifer. The orb of light seemed to be filled with massive amounts of energy that could be enough to scare any person out of their wit, but Lucifer didn¡¯t back off.


    He watched the Chimera Eagle and the Silver Tigers attack him; however, the other beasts didn¡¯t, making him feel like the others didn¡¯t have the strength to attack in long range.


    Watching tens of beams of white light and six spheres filled with a terrifying amount of energying towards him, Lucifer reacted fast. He didn¡¯t want to be hit by any of these attacks since he didn¡¯t want to be at a disadvantage against the hundreds of beasts by being wounded.


    He knew that he couldn¡¯t use the blunt approach against them since this battle was clearly different from fighting against Variants.


    The beasts weren¡¯t going to let him heal if they managed to get a hold of him. He didn¡¯t want to take the risk of dying during the battle, especially because of his negligence.


    "I need to kill the flying beasts first. It should be easier with them gone," he muttered just as the attacks were about to hit him.


    Smashing his feet on the ground once again, he used all his S-Rank Strengthening to jump high in the sky. This time, he didn¡¯t focus on moving ahead but only up.


    He easily jumped Twenty meters high in the sky while the attacksnded on the ground, hitting nothing but empty dust, creating a five-meter deep crater that seemed to have a diameter of over two meters.


    ....


    "H-he is flying?!" Weston eximed in shock as he saw Lucifer flying into the sky from the windshield of his car.


    " He¡¯s not flying. He¡¯s jumping. I mean, he did fly a little while he was running, from what I could see, but that was all. He couldn¡¯t fly any higher. He should be flying high from the start if he could. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s possible for him," Saele muttered, shaking his head.


    "Ah, so that¡¯s what it is. Why did he jump that high, though? Wouldn¡¯t it be tougher to target while he¡¯s falling after jumping so high?" Weston asked. He was a Sorcerer-ss Variant and not a Warrior, so he didn¡¯t understand.


    " He might be a target, or he can be careful about this situation and utilize it for his benefit. Let¡¯s just enjoy the entertainment. It¡¯s our two enemies fighting against each other," Saele replied as an amused smile forming on his face.


    cing his hand behind his back, he got in a morefortable position to enjoy the battle.


    ....


    Swinging his right hand, Lucifer fired another bolt of lightning to target a beast, but this time, he knew the one he needed to target. The beasts who could attack in long range seemed to be the ones he needed to take out first.


    His main target seemed to be on the Chimera Eagle in the lead. Attacking with the lightning bolt, he used his Wind element to boost himself forward to stop himself from falling down.


    Even though he hadn¡¯t mastered flying at a higher altitude, now that he had managed to reach so high with the help of jumping, he could use his Wind Element to fly to a short distance.


    The lightning bolt advanced towards the flying eagle, who moved to the side, dodging it. Unfortunately, the Chimera Eagle behind it seemed to be unaware that the one in front would dodge in thest moment. The Chimera Eagle behind the main target was killed instead as it fell down.


    "As expected, these are some clever birds," Lucifer acknowledged as he flew ahead.


    Since the Chimera Eagles were moving in his direction, the distance between the two of them decreased at an even faster pace until Lucifer was directly in front of a Chimera Eagle.


    The Lion-like mouth of the Chimera Eagle opened as soon as it reached Lucifer after it managed to dodge the previous lightning bolt, but it was already toote.


    Lucifer caught the Chimera Eagle by its neck and started falling down along with the Chimera Eagle, smashing it above a Silver Skinned Tiger who seemed to be just below them.


    Using all his strength, he smashed the Chimera Eagle on the ground. The force seemed to be so fierce that it not only killed the Chimera Eagle, but the Silver Tiger also died instantly as its bones were crushed.


    Raising the body of the Chimera Eagle that had already started to disintegrate, he rotated his body in aplete circle, smashing all the beasts that were near him before releasing the body of the Chimera Eagle towards one of the Skeleton Soldier in the back.


    As he was attacking everyone surrounding him, he had managed to see the Armored Vehicles standing in the back.


    Recognising the people inside it, a frown appeared on his face.


    "So you are here as well," he muttered in a grim tone."I¡¯m not letting you watch. You might as well join too."


    Without leaving a chance for the horde of beasts to attack him, he again smashed his feet on the ground and jumped upwards, but instead of attacking the Eagles, he turned his body back, forming another lightning bolt which he threw towards the Armored Vehicle in the lead.


    As the lightning bolt flew, it attracted the attention of the beasts on the ground away from Lucifer since it wasn¡¯t targeted at them.


    The lightning bolt hit the armored vehicle, not damaging it in the slightest.


    "Hah, He saw us. So what? Does he really think he can harm us? We can¡¯t be harmed by lightning as long as we¡¯re inside our Vehicles. He can¡¯t harm us at all," one of the Warriors inside the carughed as he saw the ck lightning bolt disappear after hitting their armored vehicle.


    The others, however, weren¡¯tughing. They seemed to be frowning.


    "Why are you guys looking so shocked?" The Warrior asked others in confusion. Not understanding why they were so serious. "Our Vehicle can bear lightning, can¡¯t it?"


    " Our Vehicle can handle lightning, but it can¡¯t handle hundreds of Dungeon Dwellers attacking us," Weston muttered as he sighed.


    "The damage has already been done. It looks like we would need to join the battle now," Saele dered as he opened the doors of the armored vehicle on his side.


    The Warrior still looked confused, not understanding what was happening. Weston decided to exin since he wasn¡¯t sure if the man would ever be able to figure it out on his own.

 Chapter 75 - 75: Down

    <h4>Chapter 75 - 75: Down </h4>


    "The attack didn¡¯t harm us in the least, atleast not the way you are thinking. However, it did something even worse. It attracted the attention of the Dungeon Dwellers on us."


    "We have no choice but to join the battle now. Atleast if we don¡¯t want to be surrounded by the beasts, unable to get out," Weston said before he stepped out as well.


    The Warrior facepalmed himself as if he was embarassed for not being able to understand such a basic thing while everyone else understood. He also stepped out of the car.


    As soon as the Variants of the Red Eagles Guild stepped out of the armored vehicles, they saw more than hundred beastsing towards them.


    The Armored Gori, Silver Tigers and Skeleton Soldiers were running towards the Red Eagles Guild while the rest of the beasts stayed behind.


    ....


    Lucifer had fired the lightning bolt to attract the beasts¡¯ attention towards the Red Eagles Guild which gave the Chimera Eagles a chance chance to attack Lucifer. That small timeframe was enough for them to attack Lucifer.


    The Chimera Eagles opened their mouths and fired a bright ray of light towards Lucifer.


    The brightzer zoomed through space and time as it advanced towards Lucifer, who had just turned back to look towards the Eagles after attacking the Red Eagles Guild vehicles.


    Lucifer¡¯s body seemed to be suspended in time as he felt like his speed was much slower than the barrage of attacks that wereing towards him from all sides.


    As the attacks wereing from all Chimera Eagles, the ray of white light spread everywhere, making it impossible for Lucifer to dodge by moving left or right.


    Having experienced the might of these attacks, Lucifer knew that thesesers were not something that could be taken lightly. However, he was having a hard time thinking about what he could do at the moment. The time was proving to be his enemy in the efforts of saving himself.


    "I must control the wind! I need to go up! That¡¯s the only way to survive!" he eximed, clenching his fist. He realized that dodging left or right wasn¡¯t an option. The only way he could survive was going up.


    Focusing all his mind on the wind element, he tried to push his body even higher despite not having enough control over his wind energy.


    Despite all his efforts, he wasn¡¯t able to control that. Even now, he knew that he couldn¡¯t go any higher. After trying for so long, he was able to master flying just a little above ground.


    Using the help of his strength when jumping, he was able toe so high. Moving forward without falling instantly was already proving to be the limitation of his control.


    Failing to go up, he felt like only one option was left. The option he found viable was to go down.


    Lucifer stopped using his abilities to keep himself bnced in the air. Raising his hand towards the sky, he tried to help the gravity with whatever little bit of control he had.


    His body started falling, getting closer and closer to the ground each second; however, he was too slow.


    The brightsers that came out of the mouths of the Chimera Eagles impaled his body. His chest was pierced by multiplesers that prated his body, leaving holes in his body that allowed one to see through them.


    "Urgh!" Blood came out of Lucifer¡¯s lips as he let out a pained grunt. He had a terrifying control over his pain, which helped him against it so far, keeping his senses alert in situations where a normal person would¡¯ve lost their consciousness already.


    He didn¡¯t even let out his scream as his body was pierced through. As he had managed to let gravity do its job without resisting, his body crashed on the ground in the midst of all the beasts on the ground.


    Having dealt with Lucifer, the chimera Eagles continued flying towards the bunch of the Red Eagles guild members who were busy dealing with half of the beasts that were already bombarding them.


    "That bastard! He¡¯s already down! Let alone him dealing with most of the beasts; it is happeningpletely opposite. We are taking most of the brunt of attacks!" the Red Eagles Guild Sorcerer Weston eximed as he formed a semi-transparent barrier around one of his teammates to protect them from the explosive silver orbs that wereing out of the Silver Tiger¡¯s mouth.


    " That bastard can¡¯t die from this much! He¡¯ll be up soon! We have seen enough of that monster to know what is going to happen!" Another member of the Red Eagles Guild replied.


    He was standing behind everyone else as he happened to be the person who didn¡¯t have any fighting abilities.


    He was a Sorcerer who had the elemental power of Mind Sync. He was able to form a link between fellow teammates of the Red Eagles Guild so that each of them could talk to each other using their thoughts despite being far away from each other.


    It was an efficient way to ensure that the Guild Members could fight in sync, which was needed when battling against the big hordes of beasts.


    He was kept in the back since he was going to die first with his ability if he was ahead of others.


    "What does it matter! The beasts that are surrounding his body won¡¯t give him a chance. His body will be eaten before he can heal!"


    "Even if he healed and started fighting, it won¡¯t help us with the beasts that are facing us. Please focus on the battles in front of us! We can only hope that he can dy the rest of the beasts and don¡¯t get eaten easily," the acting leader of the guild, Saele, said as he fired what seemed like water bullets from his palm towards the Giant Armored Goris.


    The water bullets were made from water. However, they were capable of prating any normal human body, killing them instantly. Despite all that, the water bullet failed to prate the Armored Gori¡¯s body with the armor it had around its skin.

 Chapter 76 - 76: Three Orbs

    <h4>Chapter 76 - 76: Three Orbs </h4>


    "His skin is too hard! I need to attack the weaknesses! Raston! Analyze the Armored Goris and tell me the weakest part of their body!" Saele called out as he looked back towards one of his men.


    The blue-haired Sorcerer called Raston was a Warlock who had two powers. One of which happened to be the B-Rank physical ability that temporarily enhanced his eyes, making them capable of seeing the weakest part of the opponent¡¯s body.


    If he only had that power, he would be a warrior Variant; however, the presence of his B-Rank elemental power of confusion made him a Warlock Variant.


    His elemental power made him capable of confusing the enemy into attacking their friends. It was an overpowered ability that would have made him a mighty warlock; however, it came with a powerful limitation as well, making it so that his ability could only be used once every minute and its effects onlysted for a second, which was not enough for the enemy to attack another enemy.


    Even though it was limited, making its best use impossible, it was still enough for saving lives by confusing the enemies for a second.


    Raston looked towards the Armored Gori, who was raising his right leg above the ground. His eyes changed color and turned green as he observed the beast.


    "Aim for the spot just under his chin!" Raston told Saele, who seemed to understand what Raston meant.


    "So the top of his neck is the least secure!" Saelemented as he gazed at the neck of the Giant Gori, aiming.


    He was just about to shoot out when the Giant Armored Gori finally smashed its right foot on the ground.


    As soon as his feetnded on the ground, the entire ground within a range of five hundred meters started shaking.


    ....


    Lucifer was lying on the ground. He had crashed from the height after being injured by the Chimera Eagles. He happened tond in the middle of the bodies of the beasts that he had killed.


    The rest of the beasts started getting closer to him.


    The first Dungeon Dweller to get close to Lucifer happened to be the tree Monster. The seven-foot-tall Monster reached out its wooden trunk-like hand towards Lucifer, which wrapped around his feet.


    Vines starteding out of the hands of the Tree Monsters, who were holding Lucifer¡¯s legs.


    The vines wrapped around Lucifer¡¯s feet and continued spreading out, covering more and more of his body.


    Small micro-sized spikes starteding out of the Vines that prated Lucifer¡¯s skin and started sucking his blood like it was thirsty for his blood for eternity.


    Lucifer was still healing. He could move. However, he decided against it, letting his body heal, but as he felt the wines sucking his blood, he struggled to sit up.


    Pushing his body upwards, he sat without touching the ground.


    His body still had see-through holes all around it. His face had also gone pale, but he didn¡¯t cry in pain.


    Weakly, he reached out his right hand and ced it around the vine that had wrapped around his legs.


    "You want to make me your food? Let me do the same! Come, be my strength," Lucifer dered weakly as he was finding it painful to speak.


    As his fingers touched the vines of the Tree Monster, the Tree Monster roared in pain as if it was dying.


    Its wines had be pale yellow from green. The small needles that were inside the body of Lucifer also started dying down, turning into nutrition for Lucifer.


    Watching the tree monster disintegrate, a smile formed on Lucifer¡¯s face.


    "I was right. This Decay helps me!" Lucifer muttered, seeing his wounds healing even faster now.


    The other Dungeon dwellers heard the screech of the Tree Monster, who had turned to dust that flew away.


    The Monsters started getting restless after seeing such a painful death, but most of them had low intellect, which made them unable to understand that what they were feeling was called fear... fear of death.


    In this restless feeling, one of the monsters started flying straight towards Lucifer.


    The Monster was a Three-Orbed Monster that had three orbs stuck together. It didn¡¯t have a face or mouth, so it wasn¡¯t easy to understand how he saw and heard things; Lucifer didn¡¯t care.


    Reaching out his hand, Lucifer decided to disintegrate the Orb Monster to help his healing; however, he soon realized how wrong he was. He hadn¡¯t counted for the strange ability of the Three-orbed Monster.


    As soon as the Three-orbed Monster touched Lucifer¡¯s hand, a fiery explosion took ce. Before Lucifer could understand anything, he was caught in the st.


    His face and skin burned in the fiery explosion of the mes while his body was tossed back. The impact was so powerful; it threw Lucifer a hundred meters back. Even though it injured him, it also helped him get out from the crowd of beasts as he crashed outside the crowd.


    "Ahh," Lucifer sat up as he held his chest.


    His hair was again burnt along with his face; however, he was still able to see. His body was also seriously burnt.


    His clothes were already ruined in blood and holes, but now they were in even worse condition because of the mes.


    Looking towards the mes, he saw the Orb Monster again appearing; however, the Orb Monster that had shed with him had two orbs now instead of the three he did before.


    ....


    "Hah, that idiot allowed the orb Monster to touch him! This stupid don¡¯t even know about one of the most dangerous Monsters in a level one dungeon. Even newbie dungeon hunters are taught about this Monster as the first thing!"


    " That kid didn¡¯t even know that each of its heads is like a bomb that explodes at a touch. The three orbs stuck together are like three bombs that can cause three explosions, each at a touch," the Red Guild Member, Conner, who was standing in the back watching Lucifer,mented as he shook his head as if he was embarrassed by Lucifer¡¯sck of knowledge.


    Since his only ability was to establish Mind Sync between all Red Guild Members present there, he wasn¡¯t fighting. He didn¡¯t have the ability either. Instead, he was watching both the fights going on.


    That¡¯s when the Armored Gori¡¯s feet smashed on the ground, bringing what seemed like an earthquake within a specific range.


    The earthquake made the Red Guild members lose their bnce. Even half the dungeon monsters were affected by the earthquake. Saele, who had just found out the Armored Gori¡¯s weakness, was about to fire his Water Bullets to kill the Armored Gori when he lost his bnce.


    His aim was disturbed, and the barrage of bullets that were about to hit the Armored Gori struck the Skeleton soldiers, destroying their bodies.


    After regaining his bnce, he again decided to aim; however, it seemed toote.


    The Armored Gori was too close to him, and his fist wasing towards Saele¡¯s face to crush him.


    Finding it toote, Saele closed his eyes as if giving up. The death he was expecting didn¡¯te, though.

 Chapter 77 - 77: The Enemy Who Became An Ally

    <h4>Chapter 77 - 77: The Enemy Who Became An Ally </h4>


    Since his only ability was to establish Mind Sync between all Red Guild Members present there, he wasn¡¯t fighting. He didn¡¯t have the ability either. Instead, he was watching both the fights going on.


    That¡¯s when the Armored Gori¡¯s feet smashed on the ground, bringing what seemed like an earthquake within a specific range.


    The earthquake made the Red Guild members lose their bnce. Even half the dungeon monsters were affected by the earthquake. Saele, who had just found out the Armored Gori¡¯s weakness, was about to fire his Water Bullets to kill the Armored Gori when he lost his bnce.


    His aim was disturbed, and the barrage of bullets that were about to hit the Armored Gori struck the Skeleton soldiers, destroying their bodies.


    After regaining his bnce, he again decided to aim; however, it seemed toote.


    The Armored Gori was too close to him, and his fist wasing towards Saele¡¯s face to crush him.


    Finding it toote, Saele closed his eyes as if giving up. The death he was expecting didn¡¯te, though. What arrived was a powerful thumping sound.


    Opening his eyes, he saw a semi-transparent barrier around him. The barrier was protecting him from being crushed.


    Looking back, he saw Weston.


    "Take aim! At the count of three, I will remove the barrier! You need to kill him instantly!" Weston gave the message to Saele, who had a grateful smile on his face as if thanking Weston without any words.


    "3... 2... 1."


    At the count of three, Weston did as he said. He removed the barrier. The three seconds was enough for Saele to aim.


    As soon as the semi-transparent barrier disappeared, a barrage of deep blue bullets made of water came out of Saele¡¯s hands, zooming towards the top of the Armored Gori¡¯s neck.


    The Armored Gori¡¯s hands were up in the air as he was about to smash again, but that¡¯s when the semi-transparent barrier disappeared. In the blink of an eye, multiple bullets prated the neck of the armored Gori.


    The Armored Gori¡¯s hands were already in a downward motion when the bullets entered its neck. The hands were about to hit Saele, but Saele didn¡¯t look scared this time. The semi-Transparent barrier once again appeared around Saele, protecting him from thest assault of the Armored Gori.


    The Armored Gori crashed on his knees as his hand slid down the surface of the barrier. Its eye closed as it fell on the ground, finally dead.


    ....


    The Armored Gori dropped to the ground dead; however, a different Armored Gori took over the lead to attack Saele. It was apanied by the Silver Tigers, who surrounded Saele with the only level of defense protecting him being the barrier that was being provided by Weston.


    As Weston was upied with protecting Saele, the other Red Eagle Guild members were without protection.


    "Weston! We need to be in perfect Sync. Remove the barrier only from the spots I tell! We need to take them one by one. However, I can¡¯t do it without you protecting me from the rest of the attacks!" Saelemanded Weston, who nodded in acknowledgment.


    "I need protection! The Skeleton Soldiers areing towards me! I can only protect one person with my barrier at a time! Saele needs my barriers urgently! Give me back up!" Weston called out, noticing a group of skeleton soldiersing towards him with their swords.


    He knew that if they got close, he would need to take off the protection from Saele to be able to protect himself, which effectively meant that Saele would die. To notnd in such a situation, he proactively called out for help from other members.


    ....


    Lucifer had stood up, holding his bloodied chest. His burnt skin was recovering at speed visible to eyes.


    He watched the Two-Orbed Monster flying towards him again.


    "Not again!" Lucifer muttered grimly as he raised his hand, aiming towards the Two-Orbed Monster.


    A lightning bolt left from his hand, zooming towards the Monster who was flying towards him.


    The bolt consisting of dark lightning hit the Two-Orbed Monster, creating another powerful explosion.


    The explosion this time had the same level of intensity asst time. In fact, amplified by lightning, it looked even more incredulous as dark lightning flickered through the raging hot mes.


    The Orb Monster again came out from the mes, flying towards Lucifer, only having a single orb this time.


    "So he can create three explosions and simultaneously have three lives. Doesn¡¯t matter. I will kill them as many times as I need. I might even use them for my own benefit."


    " An explosion won¡¯t differentiate between who it kills. The Orb Monster might be invulnerable to its own mes, but the monsters around it..." Lucifer acknowledged, looking at the Orb Monster. He fired another lightning bolt, finally killing the beast.


    Without taking a rest, he started flying farther from the horde of monsters that were aiming towards him, without turning his back towards them. He found himself to be having an easier time since the Chimera Eagles were busy dealing with the Red Eagle Guild. Most of the long-ranged monsters were fighting against the Red Eagles Guild.


    The Chimera Eagle, the Silver Tiger, were fierce long-range attack monsters; however, their groups were battling against the Red Eagles Guild. The only Short-Range monsters there near Red Eagle Guild Members were the Skeleton Soldiers.


    The only beast Lucifer was left to deal with was the Spiked Armadillo that could shoot out its spikes. It was the only Monster that wasn¡¯t a short-range monster facing Lucifer; however, it was only ssified as a mid-range monster since its spikes could only fly to a range of two meters.


    As Lucifer was farther than that, he didn¡¯t need to worry about them. The only other monsters aiming for him were the Tree Monster and the orb-Monsters, none of which were a threat as long as they didn¡¯t reach him.


    Taking an aim, Lucifer shot out another bolt as he continued levitating backward.


    This time he knew who he wanted to target. The ck lightning bolt flew through the air, leaving a dark trail behind it. Wherever the ck bolt passed through, it left the unstable space that seemed to be cracking.


    The Lightning Bolt struck the Three-Orbed Monster that was flying in the middle of the Tree Monsters, creating arge explosion. The mes spread everywhere, taking the seven-foot-tall tree monsters in its grip.


    Being made of Dungeon wood, the tree Monsters were weak against mes, let alone the intense mes that were even more intense than normal fire.


    As soon as the explosion urred, it caught four Tree Monsters in its range. The Tree Monsters started screeching as a sharp painful noise filled the entire area.


    The Tree Monsters started burning and moving back and forth, hitting the other burning tree monsters around them.


    The screech of the tree monsters was hurting Lucifer¡¯s head, which was already aching. He was feeling like a drum was beating inside his head.


    Ignoring the headache, he took another aim, targeting a different Three-orbed Monster. He was starting to find the three-orb monsters as his allies instead of his enemies since he was able to kill multiple enemies with one lightning bolt using the explosion.


    ....


    While explosions were taking ce in a different portion of the field, the Red Eagle Guild was busy dealing with their own problems.


    The Sorcerer Weston was providing a barrier to Saele. He looked around for help; however, no one coulde to help since Most of the Red Eagle Guild Members were busy fighting for their own lives.


    As the Skeleton Soldier reached near Weston, he clenched his fist.


    "I¡¯m sorry, Saele, but I need to protect myself. The barrier is going to disappear. Get ready," Weston warned Saele as he prepared to remove the barrier from Saele. Watching the swords of the Skeleton Soldiersing towards him, he took a deep breath.


    Smack!


    He was just a millisecond away from recalling the barrier when he heard the booming sound of a car engine.


    In the next second, he saw an armored vehicleing from nowhere. The armored vehicle shed with the Skeleton Soldiers, throwing them away effectively.


    Most of the Skeleton Soldiers were broken; however, they could still move. The armored vehicle didn¡¯t stop either. It continued ahead and climbed over the skeletons, crushing them under the heavyweight of the armored vehicle.


    The windshield of the car lowered, revealing the person inside.


    "Conner?" Weston eximed in surprise as he saw the person.


    "Hahaha, yeah. So what if I don¡¯t have any fighting abilities? So what if I can only help with Mind Sync with my powers! I can still be of help in other ways," Conner replied as heughed.


    He moved the armored vehicle behind.


    "Thanks for saving me," Weston thanked with a grateful smile on his face.


    Suddenly noticing something, his face turned pale, but before he could say anything, rays of white light came from the sky, hitting the Armored Vehicle.


    "Step out now!" Weston called out; however, it was toote.


    The bright rays of light hit the weak spots of the Armored Vehicle, one of which managed to hit its weakest spot.


    A spark arrived near the fuel tank of the vehicle, creating a big problem.


    Boom!


    Before anyone could understand anything, they saw the Armored Vehicle flying into the air, caught in mes.


    "Conner!" Weston roared; however, it was toote.


    He realized that he couldn¡¯t do anything. If he had managed to create a barrier around Conner on time, he might have been saved. Even though he was already using the barrier to keep Saele safe, he still felt regret that he couldn¡¯t save Conner, who died after saving him.

 Chapter 78 - 78: Crossing Paths

    <h4>Chapter 78 - 78: Crossing Paths </h4>


    Regret filled his face as he felt terrible for not having enough strength to create two barriers. If he had, then Conner might have been saved.


    "Weston, Get out of it! Conner is dead. Mind Sync won¡¯t work. You can¡¯t phase out like that. We need to work even harder, so survive, win, and take revenge for him!" Caen shouted from a distance.


    ....


    While one explosion had shaken the Red Eagles Guild Members, Lucifer was having the best time of his life as multiple explosions took ce, killing more and more of his enemies.


    Slowly but steadily, the number of beasts around him starteding down, leaving only one Dungeon Dweller around him.


    A Spiked Armadillo was still safe. It had stayed far away from the Orb-Monsters, so it wasn¡¯t caught in mes. Lucifer didn¡¯t bother killing him yet since he wanted to kill more monsters in his initial attacks.


    As only one Monster was left in front of him, Lucifer finally stopped flying back and rxed a little.


    Slowly walking towards the Spiked Armadillo, he shot out thest ck Lightning Bolt.


    The ck lightning bolt prated the body of the Spiked Armadillo, killing it.


    "Finally done," Lucifer muttered as he walked over to the dead body of the beast.


    "Decaying beings give me strength¡ªeven the dead ones. I wonder how it works?" he wondered as he stopped in front of Spiked Armadillo¡¯s body. He watched the decaying dead body of spiked Armadillo, which soon turned to dust.


    "It doesn¡¯t feel the same. Something seems different." Lucifer came to a conclusion as he stood up.


    He nced back in the distance towards the Red Eagles Guild, who was still dealing with most of the Dungeon Dwellers. It seemed like they were having trouble dealing with so many beasts.


    He raised his head towards the sky as he sighed.


    "Father, if you were here, you would have helped them, right?" Lucifer muttered, clenching his fist.


    "Not me! None of them deserves our help! They¡¯re both predators. They were hunting me before, and now they¡¯re dealing with a different form of monsters. I won¡¯t involve myself. You understand, right?" he let out as a sad smile appeared on his face.


    Slowly, he turned his back on the monsters and the Red Eagles Guild as he started walking away from them.


    He had decided not to help. His only aim was to destroy the facility. He didn¡¯t want to be dyed, nor did he want to fight for the ones that were going to torture his family like he was in childhood.


    He increased his speed and started flying away towards Erygas City.


    ....


    "Saele! He killed them! He killed the monsters on his side! He¡¯s leaving now! We need his help! We can win after his help!" Weston called out to Saele as he saw Lucifer leaving.


    Saele also noticed it. With no choice at hand, he decided to ask for help even if he had to beg.


    "Hey! Stop! Please help us kill the monsters! They¡¯re the enemies of entire humanity! Even if you¡¯re our enemy, you can¡¯t let them live! Join us! We can wipe them all!" Saele screamed like his life depended on it.


    Even though Lucifer was far away, he managed to hear. He turned back after stopping.


    Looking at Saele, he said something.


    "They¡¯re enemies of humanity? So what? I¡¯m not a friend of humanity!" Lucifer said softly. His voice was low, and it didn¡¯t reach Saele, but Lucifer didn¡¯t care.


    After saying what he wished, he turned again and continued leaving.


    Saele watched Lucifer leave while he continued pleading. It didn¡¯t matter how much he asked for help. Lucifer didn¡¯t stop. Ultimately, Lucifer went so far that he disappeared from Saele¡¯s view.


    ....


    "Hurry! This is serious! We need to get this thing live. This has finally happened!"


    "We have prepared the setup! We can start anytime!"


    "Alright. I¡¯m ready! On the count of three."


    Many people were walking back and forth in a particr office, ready to set up something since thest few minutes as if they had suddenly received some shocking news.


    "3... 2... 1...."


    "Good Morning, and wee to News United. We had to cut the scheduled program to bring this live to you."


    The female News Anchor started talking in front of a camera, reading from a TelePrompter.


    "Ikrego Cityst night faced the biggest disaster. ording to our sources, it has been attacked by Dungeon Dwellers that managed to leave the nearby Grade 1 Dungeon. And before they, ording to our sources, it was attacked by a Variant which left its defense weakened."


    "The Dungeon was under the protection of the Red Eagles Guild, which has been wiped out as well, ording to what we know so far."


    "The Dungeon Dwellers are attacking the innocent citizens of Ikrego City, and no one is there to protect them. We would like to ask the Hunters Guild how they allowed this to happen when their whole purpose was to make sure that Dungeon dwellers don¡¯te out."


    " This seems to be the biggest oversight from the Hunters Guild. Whates out of this situation is to be seen. We will continue updating you on the situation."


    The News Anchor exined the situation; however, not many people watched the channel as it was early morning.


    ....


    Ring! Ring!


    "Hmm? Who is calling at this time? Could it be a call from my men? Did Lucifer enter this city?"


    The Delta Squad Leader of APF, Xander, was lying in bed, ready to take a short nap when his phone started ringing.


    "Hmm? Is it Ayn? What does Beta Team Leader want from me?" hemented as he looked at the number on his phone.


    "Yeah, Ayn. Howe you are calling this early?" he inquired as he picked up the call.


    "Xander, You are in Erygas, right? I was hoping you could take your team and go to Ikrego! It¡¯s urgent," a female voice sounded from the other side.


    "I can¡¯t leave. I¡¯m on an important mission here," Xander replied, shaking his head. In his mind, catching Lucifer was more important than any other task. Other teams were there to handle them anyway.


    "Nothing is more important than it! The Dungeon Dwellers from the Dungeon near Ikrego City havee out. The Red Eagle Guild is wiped out. Ikrego city is in danger."


    "The Dungeon Dwellers are destroying it! You need to go there to stop them and save people!" Ayn fumed as if she couldn¡¯t believe that Xander was refusing.


    "We are there to deal with Variant rted problems. The Hunter Guild should be handling it. Why aren¡¯t they dealing with it?" Xander inquired as he stood up. He walked towards the exit of the room. "Even though it¡¯s not our jurisdiction, I¡¯ll still go to help, though. You don¡¯t need to worry. Saving people is more important."


    He stepped out of the room.


    "That¡¯s good. That¡¯s what I expected from you. Don¡¯t worry; I won¡¯t put your mission in jeopardy. ording to my sources, Red Eagles Guild Members killed most of the monsters before they were killed."


    "You don¡¯t need your entire team to kill them. You can go with a few and leave the rest to finish your mission," Ayn advised Xander, not willing to have him abandon his goals for her.


    "As for the hunters Guild, they are sending help, but their people are not in that area. They asked us for help to see if our people were there to provide help until they came. Since you¡¯re in the next city, you¡¯re perfect for this job," she continued.


    "Alright. I¡¯m disconnecting. I¡¯ll be there as soon as I can," Xander dered before he disconnected the call.


    He walked to his closest aid to exin everything.


    "Flourance, I¡¯m leaving this city for some time. Dungeon Dwellers has attacked Ikrego. I¡¯m taking a few people to save them. You stay here with the rest while I deal with things there."


    "You are responsible for everything. Make sure that you catch Lucifer when hees there! Everything should be ording to our n to make sure that no lives are lost," Xander exined before he left.


    He entered the helicopter with seven of his men. The rotor des of the helicopter started rotating as the helicopter started rising in the air.


    Xander and his small team left Erygas, leaving the rest of the team behind. He only took a fraction of his team while leaving most of them back.


    He also left Flourance behind, who was the second strongest Variant in the Delta Squad, to make sure that nothing went wrong while he was out.


    ....


    Without caring for anything that happened back, Lucifer flew towards Erygas. He flew the entire night, only stopping when it was near Dawn.


    He was feeling hungry all night, but he couldn¡¯t find any forest to hunt, so he couldn¡¯t eat. It was only in the early morning when he reached a forest on his way.


    Most of his clothes were burnt. He was entirely bare-chested. Fortunately, the top half of his pants were still intact.


    He sat near the small pond in the forest and caught a fish.


    He burnt a fire using the method he was taught by Emilia when he stayed at her house after she crashed her car.


    After adequately cooking the fish, he sat under a tree and started eating.


    As he was eating, the ttering Chuff-Chuff noise of the helicopter filled the surroundings.


    Lucifer looked above and managed to see a ck helicopter flying away through the cracks between the leaves of the trees.

 Chapter 79 - 79: Not That Weak

    <h4>Chapter 79 - 79: Not That Weak </h4>


    The Delta squad passed above the forest, unaware that the young boy they were looking for was right under them.


    The helicopter sound kept getting lower as the helicopter left further. Soon, the noisepletely disappeared.


    Lucifer resumed eating to satiate his hunger.


    After finishing, he again continued on his way without resting as he left the forest.


    It was around 9 am when a thunderstorm started and broke the silence of the peaceful nature.


    The pleasant sound of rain was like a melody for the ones that were inside the houses, but the rain drenched the ones that weren¡¯t taking shelter. One of those people happened to be a young boy who seemed like he was 10-11-years old.


    The young boy had beautiful blue eyes and a cute face; however, the expressions on that beautiful face of the boy wasn¡¯t something a young boy should have. There was no shred of happiness on his face.


    Droplets of rain fell on his hair, which dripped down through his face as he moved through the rain without taking shelter.


    Even if he wished to take shelter, he couldn¡¯t as he was in a barren ce. No tree could be seen as far as the eyes could see, which could shelter him.


    His bare chest waspletely wet as he ran in heavy rain while using the wind to fasten his speed.


    ....


    A helicopternded within the city of Ikrego that was infested by Monstersmitting ughter everywhere. The rainshed the ground, decreasing the visibility even more.


    The helicopter¡¯s doors opened as a group of Seven Variants stepped out of the helicopter, led by Xander.


    "There are a few long-range monsters, and the decreased visibility can be our enemy. Stay alert. Use the surroundings to our advantage! We need to wipe every monster as soon as we can," Xander conveyed to everyone, ignoring the rain that had drenched his clothes in a few seconds.


    "Let¡¯s spread out in a group of two since the Dungeon Dwellers are spread out. We can cover more areas. I¡¯ll go alone. There will be four teams," he dered.


    "Ah, I¡¯m not convinced with this n of spreading out. It can be dangerous for you. We definitely can¡¯t let you go alone," Oliver said, who happened to be a Delta squad member, working under Xander.


    "That¡¯s right. We can¡¯t let you go alone," another member, Felis, chimed in.


    "You think I can¡¯t handle a Dungeon Dweller alone?" Xander scoffed.


    He was the strongest member in the team and one of the Warlocks of the APF who had an S-Rank elemental power of mes, which were said to be the strongest mes that could burn anything.


    Xander couldn¡¯t believe that his own squad members doubted him.


    "It¡¯s not that we doubt you, but the conditions don¡¯t favor you in this situation. You are a me user. Look in our surroundings. Do you think your mes can be as effective in this intense rainstorm? You are facing your natural enemy! It¡¯s not about your abilities."


    "If it wasn¡¯t raining, you could have burnt the whole town, but now that it is heavily raining, I can¡¯t entirely agree with you taking a risk. We can¡¯t lose you," the third member, Meldon, exined to Xander, the reasoning being their disagreement with Xander¡¯s suggestion.


    "That¡¯s right. We should have three teams. The team with three members can include you," Oliver replied, agreeing with Meldon.


    "This rain?" Xanderughed as he looked towards the cloud-filled sky, letting the rain fall on his face.


    He raised his right hand. A little me started burning in his hands, not harming him in the slightest.


    "Do you think this little rain can extinguish my mes?" he inquired.


    The others looked at the mes in his hand. Rain fell on his hand, but the droplets that came near his hand kept getting vaporized before they could even touch his mes. His me burnt even more brightly.


    "Now stop thinking about such nonsense. My mes can¡¯t be this weak to be extinguished like this. If it was a B-Rank or lower me, it could have happened, but not this one."


    "I didn¡¯t get the position of your leader for nothing. My n is final so stop wasting time. Each second you waste here can result in an innocent life being lost," Xander asserted sternly.


    "Felis, you will go with Line towards the south. Cormac and Dain, you guys will take the north. Meldon and Oliver, you guys take the East. I¡¯ll take the west. There are not many monsters left. Only seven or eight should be here, ording to the information."


    "They should be spread out as well. If they aren¡¯t and you guys see them together, don¡¯t engage. Inform us and wait there," he dered before he turned to the side and left.


    Everyone agreed and formed teams as described by Xander and left in their assigned direction.


    ....


    The rain was still falling. It had also started thundering. Despite being morning, the ground was covered in darkness as if it was night. The light of the sun was hidden by dark lights, making it barely visible.


    Lucifer stopped running and slowed down as he saw a city in the distance.


    "That should be the Erygas. Just a little more time, and I¡¯ll be in the facility. I shall finish every rtion with the past; My family is already dead. I died too."


    "Why should the ones that tortured me live? Their death shall extinguish the mes within my heart before I start a new life, far away from all the monsters..." he muttered as he clenched his fist.


    cing his feet on the wet ground, he started walking towards the city. He didn¡¯t seem in a hurry this time. He walked at normal speed, without using any abilities.


    Reaching the city entrance, Lucifer entered, unaware that many eyes were watching him as soon as he ced his foot inside the city.


    Many hidden cameras were ced within the city that transferred the scene live to Flourance, who was sitting in the surveince room.


    "Young boy... silver hair...." Flourance muttered as he nced at the first monitor that was showing the footage from the entrance. It showed a bare-chested young boy entering the city.

 Chapter 80 - 80: Caught

    <h4>Chapter 80 - 80: Caught </h4>


    A smile appeared on Flourance¡¯s face as he smashed his hand on the table. "That¡¯s it! We got him! Lucifer Azrael- son of the Strongest Warlock Zale Azarel!"


    "Attention, everyone. Our target has just entered the city. We hadn¡¯t expected the rain but the n shall be the same! I don¡¯t want any mistakes. He shouldn¡¯t be suspicious. The ones that make mistakes won¡¯t be forgiven!" Flourance told his men inplete seriousness.


    ....


    Lucifer walked on the roads of the city, which were mostly empty. He thought it was empty because of the rain, not knowing that it was empty because the city was abandoned entirely.


    Most of the people living in the city were told to migrate outside for a little while. The only people that were still inside the city were APF members.


    He could only see a few shops that were still open in the surroundings.


    "The target has left spot 7. He is advancing towards spot 6."


    The shops that were still open didn¡¯t havemoners. They had delta squad Members in disguise that were updating about Lucifer¡¯s location to others.


    "Yes. As soon as he reaches spot 0, it will be over. Get ready. He should be approaching one of you very soon. Your goal is to bring him to spot 0."


    Flourance was givingmands to everyone, directing them on what to do from the surveince room.


    Just as he had described, Lucifer was thinking of doing the same.


    "I need to ask someone," Lucifermented as he started walking towards one of the shops that were still open.


    He entered the shop and approached the shop owner.


    "There should be arge research facility nearby. Where is it?" he asked the middle-aged Shop Owner who was a Delta Squad Variant in disguise.


    "Oh, that facility. Yeah, it¡¯s nearby. Go straight for..." the middle-aged man started giving directions to Lucifer.


    After getting directions in detail, Lucifer left the shop.


    After Lucifer left, the middle-aged man updated Flourance on the situation.


    "The Target just approached me. I gave him the directions of spot 0. Everything is going ording to the n."


    "That¡¯s good. It won¡¯t take long before he is within our grasp. We will catch him without any casualty," Flourance replied as a shrewd smile appeared on his face.


    Lucifer walked towards the center of the city ording to the directions he was conveyed.


    As he moved further, he noticed a few shop owners asionally ncing at him.


    He looked down and realized that he was bare-chested. He didn¡¯t find it strange that people were ncing at him, but he did find it odd that they were only taking a single nce, that too, carefully, trying not to get noticed.


    "The target is just a hundred steps away from spot 0. The eyes are on the target. He seems to be getting suspicious."


    "He might have noticed something strange. Everyone, pretend to be ignorant. Don¡¯t look towards him." One of the Delta Squad members noticed the frown on Lucifer¡¯s face. He told everyone to stay alert.


    Flourance got even more serious as he heard the observation of his men. They were so close to their aim. If Lucifer did something stupid now, their n might fall t.


    Lucifer couldn¡¯t take his suspicions anymore. He stopped moving forward and turned to his left. He started walking towards the shop on his left, which was still open.


    "Leader, the target is turning left. He is going towards Markel."


    The shop owner, towards whom Lucifer was walking, stopped talking and shifted his focus to the television to seem less suspicious. The owner of the shop on Lucifer¡¯s right updated Flourance of what was happening.


    "Markel, be careful. Remember. You don¡¯t know who Lucifer is. For you, he is just a poor random kid. Act ordingly. We are so close. Everything depends on you now," Flourance advised in full seriousness.


    ....


    Markel stopped looking at the TV and shifted to look towards Lucifer, who was standing in front of him.


    "Hmm? Kid, do you need anything? You don¡¯t even have a shirt. Looking at your condition, I don¡¯t think you can afford anything in my shop. Try some other ce. Don¡¯t waste my time," Markel said to Lucifer, condescendingly.


    After saying that, he stopped looking at Lucifer and again started looking at the television.


    Lucifer observed the man for a brief moment before nodding his head. He found this reaction to be expected.


    "Where is Xander?" Lucifer asked in a casual tone.


    "He left the city, yes-" Markel blurted out without thinking, but it was toote by the time he realized it.


    "You Idiot!" Flourance cursed, hearing their exchange through thems. He understood that Lucifer had realized everything.


    "All units move out this instant! The target knows everything. Our goal is still to get him to spot 0, but it would be more bloody now. Prepare for a War!" Flourance thundered as he ran out of the surveince room. He left the building and ran towards Lucifer in the heavy rain.


    As he ran, he called the Delta Squad¡¯s true leader, Xander, who was within Ikrego city, battling Dungeon Dwellers.


    ....


    An orb of white light flew towards Xander at a lightning-fast speed.


    Reacting fast, Xander jumped to the side, sessfully dodging the orb of light. The orb of light crashed on the ground, creating a powerful st that left a crater on the ground. Smoke spread everywhere as the rain tried to extinguish the mes of the explosion.


    A Silver Tiger walked through the dense mist, trying to find Xander.


    "Looking for me?"


    A manly voice came from nearby.


    The Silver Tiger looked to his left and saw a shadow appear within the mist.


    A hand came out of the mist, which brought a rain of zing hot mes that burnt the silver Tiger.


    The Silver Tiger roared in pain as its flesh burnt. The Silver Tiger started getting away from the mes trying to save itself, but the mes didn¡¯t leave it until it died.


    "This is the first. I wonder how many more are here," Xander muttered when his phone started ringing.

 Chapter 81 - 81: Arrogant Hunter Union

    <h4>Chapter 81 - 81: Arrogant Hunter Union </h4>


    "Flourance?" Xander muttered with a frown as he saw the name of the caller. "Did Lucifer enter the city?"


    He picked up the call.


    "Did Lucifere?" he asked straight away without waiting for the other side to speak first.


    "He came. Not only did he came, but he also found out that we are here. He asked about you, and that idiot, Markel, blurted out that you just left the city. He obviously knows about the Delta squad being here," Flourance replied to Xander. The urgency was evident in his tone. It was also clear that he was running.


    "Sigh, Markel made a mistake."


    Usually, Xander would have been furious in this situation as his squad messed up such an important n, but he was a warlock whose second ability was his emotion control. He could control his emotions and think clearly, even in difficult situations. That helped him stay calm even now.


    "How far is he from the designated spot?" Xander inquired.


    "He¡¯s just a hundred steps away. We will be trying to get him to spot 0," Flourance answered. He didn¡¯t stop running for even a second.


    "Stay alert. His lightning should be able to target people in the long range as well. Try not to lose anyone if you can. I¡¯ll be leaving this city soon after making sure that no Dungeon Dwellers are alive, so I¡¯ll bete. You should be done until then. Keep me updated on how the situation develops," Xander let out.


    Roar!


    As Xander was talking, he heard a mighty roaring from behind him.


    "I¡¯ll call youter. Some bugs need to be squashed here as well. Stay alert and make this mission sessful for us even when I¡¯m not there," Xander asserted before he disconnected the call.


    He nced back and saw an Armored Gori and two Silver Tigers standing there.


    He started running towards the beasts, but he had only taken two steps when he saw the beasts blowing up to smithereens.


    Xander stopped in his tracks as a frown appeared on his face at the sights of dead beasts. He hadn¡¯t attacked, but the beasts were killed. Someone else was here. He understood that.


    As he looked around, he saw a group of peopleing from behind the beasts. All of them held an umbre in their left hand to protect themselves from the rain.


    All of them were wearing a golden robe over their ck clothes. Their robes had an insignia near the chest portion, which seemed like a bow that had a sword in the middle, being used as the bow¡¯s arrow.


    "The Hunter Guild is here," Xander muttered as he saw the golden robe and the insignia on the chest of those people. He realized who they were.


    The fire that burned around his fists stopped as he walked towards the people.


    "Xander, from the APF Delta squad. You must be from the Hunters Guild," Xander let out as he reached out his hand to handshake with the person in the middle, but the other side didn¡¯t respond.


    "We will handle the rest. You guys aren¡¯t needed anymore. You can leave," the leader of the small squad, Fracker, said arrogantly. There was no gratitude in their tone.


    ¡¯As arrogant as I heard them to be. The Hunter Guild members really have an arrogance problem. Whatever. I don¡¯t have time to y around either,¡¯ Xander thought as he turned back to leave.


    "You guys should do your job better next time. The Dungeon dwellers are your responsibility. If you can¡¯t even keep them in control and stop them from being able to leave the dungeons, despite finding out so much about them. Then something is reallycking," he mentioned once without looking back.


    "You!" One of the Hunter Union members got angry at the condescending tone of Xander.


    "Don¡¯t bother, Ray. We have more important things to do now," another member advised, calming his friend.


    "Wait a minute. Xander... I heard that name. Oh right. He is an S-Rank Warlock and the leader of Delta Squad!" A red-haired Variant of the Hunter guild suddenly called out.


    When he heard Xander¡¯s name, he felt like he had heard it before. Only now did he remember who Xander was.


    "What? APF sent the leader of their third squad here? I thought they would send normal members for such a minor thing. Are you sure, Sunny?" Fracker inquired in confusion.


    "Maybe he was nearby when the news of this attack came, and he came to help? Sigh, we offended a big-shot," Sunny replied with a deep sigh.


    "So what? Our Hunter Guild isn¡¯t something they can offend either. He won¡¯t do anything," Frackermented ignorantly.


    "You can¡¯t underestimate APF. They are on the same level as our Hunter Union in terms of importance, even if theyck the strength and numbers to match us."


    "Also, the leader of their Alpha Squad, Varant, is a terrifying entity. He is an S-rank Warlock who isn¡¯t scared of anything. All the powers fail in front of his power. I heard that even our Hunter Union leaders are wary of him. So we really shouldn¡¯t create unnecessary conflict with APF," Sunny reminded Fracker.


    "Hah, I didn¡¯t do anything. I just told him to leave the rest to us. Even if he is the leader of the Delta Squad, he shouldn¡¯t be offended with just that," Fracker let out, shaking his head.


    "Anyway, he already left. Stop talking about him and hunt some monsters," he continued as he changed the topic.


    ....


    "There are still some monsters left."


    "Don¡¯t worry. Hunters Union is here. They will deal with it. We need to get back to Erygas. Lucifer is already there."


    Xander and his men conversed as they entered the helicopter.


    The rotor of the helicopter started swinging as the helicopter began rising in the air.


    ....


    "Lucifer... Just a little more. I¡¯ll have you in my grasp. I know you suffered a lot, and you want revenge, but I can¡¯t let you kill people."


    "You might hate humanity, but you¡¯re wrong. There is the good side of humanity as well. I¡¯ll handle everything. Just don¡¯t create any more trouble now."


    Xander seemed as if he was talking to himself as he sat in the helicopter.

 Chapter 82 - 82: Suspicions

    <h4>Chapter 82 - 82: Suspicions </h4>


    "You might be imprisoned, but I won¡¯t let you suffer. That¡¯s the least the son of Zale Azarel deserves," Xander muttered before he dialed the number of Flourance to get an update on the situation.


    ....


    Flourance ran through the swampy streets that had a hard time handling the heavy influx of water from the heavy rain.


    His clothes were already drenched however he didn¡¯t care. After updating Xander on the situation, he soon reached the location where Lucifer was standing.


    As he reached there, he saw two people dead, lying near Lucifer. The rest of the members were standing far away from him, keeping their distance. In fact, they stood more than a hundred steps away from him.


    "Good. Get them there. To get to you, he would have to go there," Flourance mumbled as he saw the situation.


    Lucifer was ring at the variants standing far away from him. Tapping his foot on the group, he soon started flying towards them.


    Looking at Lucifer flying away, Flourance smiled. "Right! Get there. It will all be over. Just a little more."


    Ring! Ring!


    Just as he finished his words, his phone started ringing.


    His face turned pale as he heard the ring. The ring¡¯s sound was not too high, but it wasn¡¯t low enough to be drowned by the noise of rain either.


    Flourance saw Lucifer stopping. He realized it was bad. Lucifer had heard.


    ....


    "Where is Xander?" Lucifer asked in a casual tone.


    "He left the city, yes-" Markel blurted out without thinking, but it was toote by the time he realized it.


    His face turned pale as he realized what he had done, but it was toote. Even though Flourance wasmanding him what to do next, he couldn¡¯t as his cor was grabbed by Lucifer, who dragged him out from the other side of the counter, smashing him on the street.


    "You set a trap for me here?" Lucifer said grimly as he raised his foot and smashed it on the head of the middle-aged man, crushing it.


    The blonde man who was in the nearest shop screamed as he watched his friend die, "Markel!"


    He came out of the shop and ran towards Lucifer to kill him in his anger, ignoring themands of Flourance.


    "I don¡¯t care who you all are! Anyone whoes in my way will suffer the same fate," Lucifer dered, ignoring the screams of the man who came running towards him.


    "Die!" the man thundered as he disappeared, turning into a shadow.


    Watching the man disappear, Lucifer was stunned however he soon noticed the shadow moving on the ground.


    ¡¯He turned to a shadow? Or is he invisible but unable to control shadow? No, there is no sun in the sky. It can¡¯t be a normal shadow. He definitely turned into a shadow!¡¯


    Hurriedly analyzing the situation, he instantly realized what the power of the man was.


    The blonde man was called Treston, a Warrior-Grade Variant who had a Physical Power of transformation. His power of transformation was different from Caen, though.


    While the first level leader of Variant Uprising Caen was able to transform into any humanoid shape, which helped him impersonate anyone, Treston could only transform into a shadow.


    His transformation ability was more limited as well since he could only stay in his shadow form for twenty seconds at a time before he returned to normal unwillingly.


    Despite this limitation, Treston used this ability as he believed that twenty seconds were enough for him to kill Lucifer for what he did to his friend.


    "Come," Lucifer mumbled as he watched the shadow getting closer.


    He raised his foot slightly and smashed it on the ground as he flew towards the shadow instead, leaving a crater in his wake.


    Treston was stunned to see Lucifer moving towards him as he wondered if he had realized his powers.


    "No! He couldn¡¯t have known," Treston convinced himself as he prepared his knife, ready to attack Lucifer.


    As soon as Lucifer reached near Treston, the man jumped out of the shadow, thrusting his knife towards him.


    "Too slow," Lucifer replied as if he was already expecting it.


    Twisting his body mid-air, he dodged the sharp edge of the knife while catching the neck of the middle-aged man. Clenching his fist, he crushed the neck of the man.


    The man¡¯s eyes opened wide as his throat was crushed. He didn¡¯t know how it happened so fast. As soon as he came out of the shadow to attack Lucifer, everything turned dark.


    Landing on the ground, Lucifer threw his body to the side.


    Two dead bodiesy around Lucifer as he nced to his left towards a big group of people who had just reached there.


    Despite watching Treston die, none of them ran towards him to attack. Lucifer found it strange, but he gave credit to them being worried.


    He was sure that people knew about him being able to use lightning to kill his enemies by now. Maybe that¡¯s why they kept their distance? He wondered.


    Clenching his fist, he raised his right foot above the ground. Tapping it on the ground, he started flying towards the enemies.


    Ring!


    Lucifer had only flown for a few feet when he heard a phone ring amidst the sound of the rain,ing from behind him.


    Stopping in his tracks, he looked behind only to find Flourance standing there.


    As it was his first time seeing Flourance, he didn¡¯t recognize him, but he could feel that this man was different from others. He seemed to be more intimidating and experienced.


    Lucifer looked to his right at Flourance before looking to his left towards the many men who stood there, as if they were waiting for him.


    He wondered who he needed to kill first. Something seemed strange here as well. Why wasn¡¯t anyone attacking him?


    ¡¯Is it some kind of trap? They can¡¯t be so nice as not to try to harm me. Something is not right,¡¯ he thought.


    He turned towards Flourance, decided on a target.


    "Attack him! Attract his attention now. Your first goal is to get him to spot 0! He is getting suspicious. Attack him now!" Flourance muttered, keeping his voice low, making sure that only his men will hear him throughms.

 Chapter 83 - 83: Illusory Enemy

    <h4>Chapter 83 - 83: Illusory Enemy </h4>


    Why isn¡¯t he picking up? Something is definitely wrong! Get us back faster!" Xander said impatiently as his call to Flourance went unanswered.


    "We are going as fast as we can. Calm down. Everything should be fine. Flourance knows his stuff," the man sitting near Xanderforted him since there was nothing else they could do at this point.


    ...


    Lucifer stood in the middle of Florence and his men, feeling like it was definitely a trap that the men weren¡¯t attacking as if they were waiting for him.


    Without taking any longer to contemte, he came to a decision, which was to attack the ce that was less suspicious to him. He decided to attack Flourance.


    The Rain had started slowing down, but a light shower was still present there in the chilling atmosphere, creating a peaceful melody as water droplets fell on water that was collected on the streets.


    Nevertheless, this serene atmosphere was tainted by the strange silence from everyone present there, as if it was the silence before the storm.


    Lucifer collected his strength in his right feet. He raised his feet and smashed it on the ground as he propelled him forward using brute force, which was amplified by the power of wind which he used for his advantage even at a moment like this.


    Despite the puddle of water on the ground trying to soften the impact, the force was still powerful enough to leave a crater behind in his wake.


    "He¡¯s attacking the Vice Captain!"


    "Stop him!"


    Two of the Delta Squad members started running towards Lucifer, who was going farther from them, in the direction of Flourance.


    The two of them had only taken a step in his direction, but they stopped as a bulky man appeared in front of the two of them.


    "Stop! Are the two of you idiots? If you had taken a few more steps, you would have stepped on Spot 0! Everything would have been for naught then!" the bulky man said as he squinted his eyes.


    "We are on the wrong side of the field. We can¡¯t go to him. Instead, we need to bring that stupid kid to us! Didn¡¯t you listen to the Vice Captain¡¯smands?" He continued.


    "That¡¯s right! Everyone! Long-range attacks only. Mark, Lei, the two of you are short-range warriors! You can go fight to not make him suspicious but go from the side and fall back as soon as he starts chasing," Another personmanded.


    The two agreed as they moved from the corners of the streets to make sure that they didn¡¯t step on the forbidden spot identally.


    Lucifer was flying towards Flourance when he felt a sense of danger. The lightning inside his body was reacting fiercely, flickering around his entire body.


    He didn¡¯t take his eyes away from his target Flourance who was simply standing there, but he did change his movement.


    Instead of flying straight towards Flourance, he started moving in zig-zag to dodge the attacks that mighte from behind.


    Raising his right hand, he fired a lightning bolt, simultaneously diverting his attention between attacking and movement while using two powers at the same time.


    At the moment, he was only capable of using two powers simultaneously while having a hard time trying to control three abilities at once.


    He shot out the lightning bolt that zapped towards Flourance, who was simply standing there with his arms folded.


    As the Lightning Bolt got near Flourance, it passed through his body, not harming him in the least.


    Even Lucifer was stunned as to what was happening. It didn¡¯t seem like Flourance dodged. The attack simply passed through him.


    A lightning bolt came from the back and hit Lucifer at the same time.


    "Hmm?"


    It seemed as if he got his energy replenished instead of getting hurt. He looked back, curious.


    As soon as he turned back, another lightning boltnded on him, this time straight on his chest. The result was the same, though. Instead of harming him, it replenished the energy that he spent in battle, making him feel even more refreshed.


    "Blue lightning bolts replenish my energy? I did know that lightning doesn¡¯t harm me after I awakened the ck Lightning, but this as well? There¡¯s so much I don¡¯t know about my powers."


    He gazed at the Delta Squad Members, soon recognizing their lightning user.


    "What the hell? I know my lightning is only a B-Rank Power, but how can it not harm him even a little. He didn¡¯t even have a pained expression?" The Lightning user of Delta Squad, Ben, fretted.


    "It might have something to do with the fact that he is also a Lightning User? The ck Lightning is an S-Rank Power that contributed a lot to Master Zale Azarel being the strongest Warlock."


    " Even though the kid is young and can¡¯t bring out even a fraction of the power that Master Zale showed, his body still contains S-Rank ck Lightning. It¡¯s understandable that your low-level lightning doesn¡¯t hurt him," Another Variant answered after observing the situation.


    "So I am useless in this battle," Ben sighed as he lowered his head and stopped attacking in embarrassment. Only the other members kept attacking.


    "Sigh. He stopped attacking. I would have let him hit me if he was still attacking," Lucifer muttered expressionlessly as he continued dodging the rest of the attacks.


    "Let¡¯s deal with you first," he let out as he turned back towards Flourance, only to be stunned as he found that spot empty.


    He heard a voice from behind him as if someone was whispering in his ears. "That¡¯s what happens when you take your eyes off your enemy. Lesson number one, never take your eyes off the enemy."


    Before he could turn back, a hand grabbed his neck from the back, raising him in the air before smashing him on the ground. Lucifer¡¯s face was the first to hit the ground as his nose broke and started bleeding.


    "A kid will always be naive. I might as well take you with force. I can¡¯t understand why Xander is so worried about you. You might have some strength and unorthodox powers, but you don¡¯t have any proper battle experience."

 Chapter 84 - 84: Lessons

    <h4>Chapter 84 - 84: Lessons </h4>


    "You are just like a wild beast that tries to kill anyone he sees. If only brute force were the key, humans wouldn¡¯t be ruling this world for centuries when even more powerful and dangerous threats exist."


    " You left the one thing behind that gives humans an advantage: the brain. You can¡¯t even use the powers you have efficiently," Flourance said to Lucifer with a faint smile on his face as he raised him up again."


    "I¡¯m d your father and mother are not in this world anymore to see you disgrace them like this," he continued, unaware of the mistake he hadmitted.


    Hearing his parents being talked about like that, Lucifer lost control of his rage. Lightning around his body intensified as a strange whirlwind swallowed the two of them with them at the center.


    The whirlwind created a wall around them, shielding them from the views of others.


    "Ow," Flourance retracted his hand as he felt current.


    "You still don¡¯t give up!" he said as he raised his right leg and kicked towards Lucifer.


    Shifting his bnce to the side, Lucifer swung his right leg as well, shing with the foot that was about to hit him.


    The force of Flourance proved to be useless before Lucifer as he was the one who staggered back instead.


    "That really hurt. If I hadn¡¯t reacted faster, my leg would have been broken. You might be a brute, but you are still strong."


    "Looks like I will have to get a little serious now," he muttered as a faint smile covered his lips.


    Raising his right hand towards Lucifer, he made a gentle motion as if he was inviting him to attack first.


    "Come. Please show me what you got. Let me break the illusion of strength that you seem to be living under."


    Lucifer saw the taunt, but he didn¡¯t move. He gazed in the eyes of Flourance as he let out with an expressionless face, "I will kill you."


    "Hahaha, big words for a kid that was on the ground a few minutes ago," Flourance mocked Lucifer without being intimidated.


    ...


    "What is that whirlwind? Should we still attack? I can¡¯t see anything on the other side."


    "Are you crazy? Vice-Captain Flourance is inside with that guy. If we attack blindly, we might hit him identally?"


    "So we should sit idly? Aren¡¯t you worried about the Vice-Captain? He is fighting that guy alone?"


    "So what? Are you underestimating the Vice-Captain? Don¡¯t you know his power? He is someone that the kid has no chance of defeating. I have full faith that the kid will be beaten ck and blue inside."


    "Sigh, his power is good indeed. He is the most versatile and can even fight against Master Xander for a long time without being trounced. We shouldn¡¯t underestimate him."


    "Really? Did he fight against Master Xander? Howe I didn¡¯t know about it? When did this happen?"


    "Hah, you were out on a mission, I think. It was just a practice battle. Even though Master Xander went easy during the battle since it was practice, it still wasn¡¯t an easy feat to stand against master Xander. That¡¯s why Vice Captain is known to be the second strongest in our Delta Squad."


    "Yeah, his A-Rank elemental power of Spatial Discement makes him a tough opponent to hit."


    "Tough? He is impossible to hit! He can bring himself to a parallel space momentarily, dodging attacks. There is no way someone can hit him there. Along with his B-Rank Physical Power of Strength Augmentation, he is really powerful to beat. That kid has no chance."


    While Lucifer and Flourance were hidden in the eye of the whirlwind, the Delta squad Members stood on the other side of spot zero,menting about the situation inside the whirlwind.


    ...


    Lucifer swung his fist towards the face of Flourance, who simply stood there, confidently.


    "Second lesson. A crazy beast is worse than a calm beast. On the other hand, a calm beast can be more threatening than the crazy beast who attacks in the same pattern," Flourance muttered as he observed Lucifer¡¯s fist.


    Lucifer¡¯s fist reached dangerously close, but the man didn¡¯t duck and let Lucifer do as he wished.


    Lucifer¡¯s fist reached Flourance, but it didn¡¯t even touch him. It passed through Flourance as if he was an illusory person that didn¡¯t exist in reality.


    "My turn now," Flourance let out, enjoying the stunned look on Lucifer¡¯s face. Packing his fist, he punched Lucifer.


    Flourance¡¯s fistnded on Lucifer¡¯s chest, making him cough out a mouthful of blood. Lucifer flew back like a stone, crashing on the puddle of water. The water sshed upwards as he crashed before it went back to the ground.


    "Lesson number three. If an attack fails, you should follow up with another attack instantly or fall back instead of contemting what went wrong. Otherwise, this is what happens," Flourance told Lucifer as he smiled.


    He stepped towards Lucifer while enjoying the scene before his eyes.


    "Sigh, we really overestimated you. If I had known that these were your actual skills, I would have advised Xander against using so many resources here."


    "I can¡¯t even believe that someone like you was capable of killing the four members we sent to catch you in Legion city and our two members here. They were killed by you. Such a disappointment." he sighed as he continued stepping closer to Lucifer.


    Cough! Cough!


    Lucifer pushed himself up as he replied, "Do you expect me to thank you for such lessons?"


    Sarcasm was evident in his tone.


    "Hahaha, no need. I am not teaching you. I am just pointing out how stupid you are to think that you can take on people who have years of professional experience like us. Do you think killing a few people makes you strong?"


    "Do you think you are some big shot that can destroy government facilities alone? Hah! You make meugh. I detest people like you the most who misuse their powers."

 Chapter 85 - 85: Fighting With Everything

    <h4>Chapter 85 - 85: Fighting With Everything </h4>


    " If it were up to me, I would have killed you right now. Unfortunately, Xander wants us to catch you alive," Flourance answered Lucifer with disdain clear on his face.


    ...


    The Two Warriors of the Delta Squad that had left the team, and walked to the other end of spot zero from the side, reached closer to the whirlwind that was surrounding Lucifer and Flourance. They also got confused as to what they could do in this situation.


    These two were the warriors of the Delta squad, both of them possessing A-rank physical powers.


    "Ruke, Should we go inside?" One of them asked.


    "What are you thinking, Drai? We came all this way to help him. It¡¯s not to stay out and watch, is it?" Ruke answered gravely.


    "I am going inside! Jump in after me!" he let out right before he packed his fist before he jumped inside the whirlwind.


    ...


    "Let¡¯s get back to what we were doing. I suppose you might still have a few things that make you believe you can defeat me?"


    "Generally, I wouldn¡¯t have given you an opportunity to do it, but I don¡¯t find you threatening at all. You are just like a little puppy who can be crushed anytime I wish," Flourance taunted Lucifer as he saw him still having control of his emotions.


    He was surprised that Lucifer wasn¡¯t attacking him like a wild beast.


    As he had said, he was warier of the calm than he was of the chaotic.


    "I never met your parents, but I did hear a lot of praise about them. I used to think that they were really at the peak of human evolution, but I can¡¯t think the same after seeing you. They must not be anything special if they can give birth to someone as useless as you," he continued as a faint smirk appeared on his face.


    No matter how much Lucifer tried, this insult to his parents was enough to make him go crazy.


    Blood-lust filled his eyes as his left eye turned a bit more violet but only faintly. The violet color in his eye was so faint that it was barely visible. The aura that was around him changed as well.


    The sky roared and started thundering as if signaling a war cry for Lucifer.


    Lucifer disappeared from his position, leaving water droplets sshing everywhere behind him as he flew like lightning.


    His hands didn¡¯t have any gloves, so a good grab was capable of killing Flourance, but he couldn¡¯t even do that because of the annoying power of Flourance that didn¡¯t let him touch the man.


    It was challenging to defeat the opponent that couldn¡¯t be touched, but Lucifer didn¡¯t care. He was more furious than he had ever been.


    It wasn¡¯t the first time someone had talked about his parents, who possessed thest bit of space and affection in his deste heart that was filled with hatred for humans.


    His mother and father were the only two people in this world he cared for, but they were dead now. He couldn¡¯t forgive someone talking about his parents like that.


    He hadn¡¯t expressed his rage in his words ever before. He hadn¡¯t spoken about his parents in front of anyone since he had died in that facility. He cried alone, but he never asked for anyone¡¯s shoulder or help. His parents were his only. They were his everything, even if they were dead.


    Furiously, he opened his lips and roared like crazy, letting out all the emotions that he had buried inside for a long time.


    "My parents did more for this world than you could ever do! They died for you bastards! They gave their lives for you all! They couldn¡¯t even apany their son in theirst days because they were fighting for you all!"


    "After all that, you still managed to betray their trust! You are the evil ones, not me! All of your death is justified! Their death is because of you! Even if every single being is wiped in this world, it¡¯s justified! You are all responsible! You are all the monsters! You all deserve death!"


    Lucifer let out all his rage and emotions through his words, but he didn¡¯t wish to limit that to only his words. He had decided to kill everyone who stood in his way.


    "Even if the godse and block my path, I will y you today! I will destroy everyone who stands in my way! I will kill everyone who opposes me!"


    " I will not sacrifice anything for you monsters! I will take whatever I wish! I will take my revenge! You shall all die!" Lucifer roared as he packed his fist and punched towards Flourance.


    His power of decay was activated, but ck lightning also surrounded his fist, forming a glove made of lightning that seemed absolutely mystical.


    He also used his superhuman strength in this punch, amplified by the power of the wind that was helping him move.


    Lucifer hadn¡¯t realized yet, but at the moment, he wasn¡¯t just using two or three powers simultaneously.


    At the moment, he was using four powers at the same time, excluding his healing that was ready to get active whenever he got injured.


    At the moment, he was truly fighting as a Penta-Awakened Warlock who was out to destroy the entire world if it stood in his path.


    Flourance had the power of Spatial Discement, which helped him move to a parallel space when an attacknded on him, making him almost immune from attacks at that period of time. Still, he felt threatened in front of the attack that wasing towards him.


    ¡¯Why am I feeling so scared of this attack? It can¡¯t harm me! It can¡¯t! Why am I feeling that my hands are shivering? What is this tingling sensation all around my body?¡¯


    ¡¯I didn¡¯t feel like this even when I faced Xander! Why am I feeling like this against a kid?¡¯ Flourance thought as he felt fear. He felt like he shouldn¡¯t take the risk.

 Chapter 86 - 86: Intentional Enraging

    <h4>Chapter 86 - 86: Intentional Enraging </h4>


    ¡¯No! I can¡¯t take the risk! I need to dodge this attack at all costs!¡¯ he thought as he jumped back, without caring for anything.


    He activated his power of strength augmentation to help his movement be faster. Simultaneously, he got ready to use his Spatial Discement at a moment¡¯s notice if Lucifer¡¯s attack got close enough to hit him.


    He kept his eyes on Lucifer. He was sure that it was going to be a deciding attack that he couldn¡¯t underestimate.


    The two of them were awfully close to the walls of the whirlwind. Right at that moment, a person appeared out of nowhere.


    The Delta Squad Warrior Ruke had jumped inside the whirlwind, thinking to help Flourance in the battle, but he didn¡¯t know how wrong his timing was. His position was just as bad.


    He couldn¡¯t see the other side of the whirlwind, so he didn¡¯t know what was happening here. He just happened to jump in the middle of Flourance and Lucifer. The fist of Lucifer that was aimed at Flourance hit Ruke, who appeared out of nowhere.


    "Wha-"


    Ruke couldn¡¯tprehend what was happening. As soon as he jumped inside, the first and thest thing he saw was Lucifer¡¯s fist thatnded on his face.


    That was the end... the end of his life. The power of Lucifer¡¯s attack was so high that as soon as it hit the face of Ruke, his head blew up.


    Remains of his head flew everywhere, some of whichnded in Flourance¡¯s face as well, covering his face with blood and other things.


    Lucifer also suffered the same. His chest and his face were covered in blood. It didn¡¯t stop there. Even when the attack had blown up the head of Ruke, his body still suffered the impact of the attack.


    The rest of Ruke¡¯s body hit Flourance, throwing him back as well. Flourance flew out of the whirlwind and crashed on the ground. Ruke¡¯s headless bodyid on top of him.


    "Urgh." Flourance moved the body to the side as he stood up.


    The rain had lightened before, but it had again intensified now.


    He used the rain to wipe the blood off of his face.


    "Looks like I really underestimated that guy. Anyway, I shouldn¡¯t take risks anymore. His healing is really powerful. I can¡¯t defeat him easily. I think my n worked well enough as it is."


    "I have enraged him enough to forget all the suspicions he might have had. Now, it¡¯s time for the main part of the n. I need to take him to the designated location at any cost."


    "Three Delta Squad members are already dead. I can¡¯t lose more," Flourance muttered as he started running towards the rest of the Delta Squad members who were standing on the other end of the road, right beside spot zero.


    "He will definitely follow me to kill me after he sees me there. He is really enraged. I think this time, we got him. The start of our n was slightly off track, but we are back in the right direction. We can do it."


    ....


    The rest of the Delta Squad members were watching the whirlwind, waiting for people toe out.


    "What¡¯s happening? What¡¯s taking so long? Is that kid really so strong that even Vice-Captain Flourance is having a hard time defeating him?" one of them asked after waiting for some time.


    "Don¡¯t be stupid! He must be ying around with the kid; that¡¯s why he is taking a long time. Don¡¯t think too much," another Variant replied, refuting strongly.


    "Right. There is no way that he is unable to defeat the kid when the kid can¡¯t even touch him."


    The rest of the members also agreed. They all had faith in Flourance.


    That was when they saw Flourancee out with a headless body; crashing on the ground.


    "W-was he defeated? The kid tossed him out? That headless body isn¡¯t of the kid after all," One of them asked.


    "Don¡¯t talk nonsense. He seems perfectly fine. Only Ruke is dead. Also, no one else ising out of there. The kid must be dead already."


    That¡¯s what they thought when they saw Flourance running towards them, which confused them even more. They decided to hear from Flourance himself about what happened inside.


    ....


    Flourance continued running towards the other.


    He nced back only to grow surprised that Lucifer wasn¡¯t out of the whirlwind, chasing after him yet. After thinking carefully, he understood the reason.


    "I understand. I remember seeing another person jump inside the whirlwind after Ruke. He might be the one dying Lucifer, but I can¡¯t stop. He can¡¯t face that monster. By the time I go back to help, he would be dead. That makes four members dead today," he let out, sighing.


    "I can only use his sacrifice as an opportunity. He can dy him. By the time Luciferes out, I would be there. I was worried that Lucifer might see me moving through the corners and follow the same path. That would have failed that n. That¡¯s why I enraged him so much. It is even better if he can¡¯t see how I get there. It¡¯s much safer."


    ...


    Inside the whirlwind, Lucifer had just killed Ruke when another person jumped inside the whirlwind. Ruke¡¯s body and Flourance were thrown out of the eye of the whirlwind, leaving only Drai and Lucifer inside.


    "Blood? You killed Ruke! You bastard! I will kill you!" Drai roared as he ran closer to Lucifer and kicked.


    Lucifer gazed at Drai with an expressionless face. Just when the kick was about to hit him, he did the same as he did with Flourance.


    He kicked out as well; however, the oue was different. Drai was a Warrior who didn¡¯t back off at thest time, unlike Flourance, who was more alert.


    The legs of the two shed, resulting in the scream of one person.


    Drai cried in pain as the bones of his legs were broken in the sh.


    Before he could even blink, he found his neck in Lucifer¡¯s hand. His life force was being sucked out as his body started decaying.

 Chapter 87 - 87: Reaching Spot Zero

    <h4>Chapter 87 - 87: Reaching Spot Zero </h4>


    Using this method, Lucifer was hitting two birds in one stone. He was not only killing an enemy using his power of decay, but he was also replenishing the energy that he had spent.


    He had only recently found out that when he used his Decay Powers on beings. This way, he could gain some energy, effectively replenishing the energy he lost in battle.


    He had also realized that decaying dead beings gave much less energy than decaying living beings.


    "You shall be the one dying," Lucifer let out in a gritty tone as he saw the dying body of Drai that seemed like a skeleton. Not even a few seconds had passed since he started using his power on him.


    Drai tried resisting, but nothing worked. He couldn¡¯t escape death. He hade here to defeat Lucifer and help his vice-captain, but in the end, he only ended up helping Lucifer by helping him recover.


    Soon, Drai¡¯s body turned to ash and mixed with the water lying on the concrete road.


    After dealing with Drai, Lucifer started walking towards the direction where he saw Flourance fly.


    He soon stepped out of the whirlwind.


    As he looked around, he soon found out the location of the person he was after. He could see Flourance, who stood in front of other delta squad members.


    "I must say that I underestimated your strength but so what? You are just a bastard who has a few strengths? So what? One person¡¯s strength can¡¯t defeat everyone else."


    "Didn¡¯t your father have strength as well? Still, he died like a weakling, didn¡¯t he? Hah, we thought he was strong, but he was just as useless as you."


    Flourance startedughing as he mocked Lucifer, trying to make him even crazier so that he wouldn¡¯t understand their scheme.


    "I... will... kill you all!" Lucifer roared like a wounded beast as he started flying towards Flourance without waiting for even a second.


    ¡¯Hah,e, kid. Come! Please show me your craziness. As soon as you get here... it will be your end,¡¯ Flourance thought as he saw Lucifer flying towards him like a crazy beast.


    Enraged at the words of Flourance, Lucifer dashed towards them. He didn¡¯t care what his future entailed, but at the moment, he only wished to ughter everyone that stood in his way.


    His feet barely touched the ground as he moved, making him seem like he was really flying. His feet did asionally touch the ground as he used his strength to increase his momentum even more.


    While he ran, he collected electricity in his body before he fired another lightning bolt towards Flourance, which was followed by one more bolt. Simrly, he kept shooting more and more lightning bolts simultaneously.


    At the moment, more than five lightning bolts were flying towards Flourance.


    One after another, all-ck lightning bolts reached Flourance. The same thing happened once again. The lightning bolts passed through him without hurting him at all.


    "Hah, that idiot really thinks that his puny attacks can harm the Vice-Captain."


    "He is really an idiot. After all this time, he still hadn¡¯t realized that it is impossible to harm him because of his ability."


    The Delta Squad membersughed as they saw the futile efforts to harm Flourance.


    "Mae, Lu, show him what you are capable of. Enrage him even more," Flourance muttered softly with a faint smile on his face.


    ¡¯He has gone crazy in anger, but that doesn¡¯t mean he can¡¯te out of it. Anything can happen. Until he gets to Spot zero, we must keep him enraged,¡¯ he thought.


    "Yes, Vice-Captain."


    The two variants answered at the same time.


    "Vice- Cap, should I use my powers as well?" Another person asked Flourance.


    Flourance shook his head slowly. "No, your powers are rted to gravity. Even though it won¡¯t work on him, it can make him slower. We don¡¯t want to make him slower. The faster he gets here, the faster we can finish." He swiftly rejected the suggestion.


    The two variants he hadmanded started attacking Lucifer.


    One of them was the same person who had fired a blue lightning bolt previously. Flourance chose him since he only wished to enrage Lucifer but not actually hurt him.


    The other selected person was a water type Variant that could use the water in the surroundings to harm his enemies or trap his enemies in a solid bubble of water that was tough to get out of for any normal Variant.


    He didn¡¯t create a water bubble prison around Lucifer since he was sure that it would be broken instantly. He also knew that it would only work to dy Lucifer a little, so he didn¡¯t use that.


    He was aware of what Flourance wished for. He simply created knives of water that shot out towards Lucifer.


    Even though he was a master of aim who rarely missed his target, he intentionally aimed wrong so that his attack wouldn¡¯t hit Lucifer¡¯s face or chest. He aimed at Lucifer¡¯s right hand, which he thought was the only hand that could fire the ck lightning bolts.


    Throughout the battle, Lucifer had mostly used lightning bolts from his right hand, which effectively created a misconception in people about his powers. They all assumed some things about him.


    Everyone thought that he could only use it more from his right hand. None of them were aware of the reality. They only knew his powers, not how he could use them. The only other information they had was what they saw in this battle.


    Lucifer saw the lightning bolting towards him, which he didn¡¯t ignore since it only worked to replenish his energy. He let the lightning bolt hit him in his chest.


    As soon as he was hit, a refreshed feeling filled his body, making him feel like he had rested for some time.


    He didn¡¯t rx as he saw blue Knives flying towards him.


    "Not anymore!" Lucifer roared as he twisted his body sideways, dodging the knife.

 Chapter 88 - 88: Trap

    <h4>Chapter 88 - 88: Trap </h4>


    Even though this kind of wound was nothing for him, he wished to be in his optimal condition when he reached Flourance to kill him instantly.


    He dodged the attack without stopping.


    "Three seconds before he is at spot zero."


    "Two seconds."


    Flourance started his reverse count as he watched Lucifer get closer and closer.


    "One second," he muttered softly.


    Finally, it happened. Lucifer reached the spot where they wanted him.


    Lucifer was just a few meters away from Flourance, who seemed like he was whispering something.


    Even though he was suspicious, he was prepared to break past every obstruction that was before him.


    Lucifer packed his fist, creating another lightning glove around his fist as he punched out with full strength.


    "Wee to the trap, little mouse," Flourance said as a faint smile appeared on his face.


    Lucifer¡¯s fist was just a few centimeters away from Flourance when it seemed to hit an invisible wall that he wasn¡¯t able to break.


    As his fist hit the invisible wall, a ripple was created that allowed Lucifer to see a semi-transparent barrier. The ripple spread around everywhere, revealing a cylindrical barrier around him that was three meters wide.


    Stretching his arms, Flourance yawned. "Hah, finally it¡¯s over."


    Watching Lucifer hitting the barrier, again and again, Flourance startedughing.


    "Hah, kid. No matter how much you try. You can¡¯t break the prison. You have no idea what precious item it cost for us to set it here. No matter how much you try, you can¡¯t break it," Flourance told Lucifer, who kept attacking like a wild beast using his full strength.


    Bringing out his phone, Flourance called a number.


    "Samuel, the rat is in the trap. The trap won¡¯tst for long since its energy is used constantly to ensure that the barrier works. Hurry and start part 2 of our n. We have ten minutes."


    Flourance disconnected the call and started waiting as he folded his arms.


    After a few minutes, a military helicopter came flying, which seemed like it was carrying a cylindrical cage that was just as wide as the barrier in which Lucifer was trapped. There was no bottom in the cage.


    "Don¡¯t worry. You will soon be in a home where you will stay for the rest of your mortal life," Flourance said as he watched the cage being brought by the military helicopter.


    ...


    Xander and the others were still in the helicopter, wondering how the situation might be unfolding in Erygas City.


    "There¡¯s still no update. What is going on? With Flourance present there, it should have been over long ago, but Flourance didn¡¯t pick up my call, and he didn¡¯t call either," Xander muttered as he stood up.


    He walked over to the door and looked outside.


    "It might be taking long. There are many factors at y there. I am sure Flourance would be taking things slow to make sure that there is no loss of life. We should be getting the good news soon enough," another member of his team sighed as he stood in the back.


    ...


    ¡¯The barrier is weakening, but it is really slow. I can only fasten the process,¡¯ Lucifer thought as he slowed down the attacks after knowing that the attacks were not as effective.


    He stood calmly as he took a deep breath before he gazed at Flourance.


    "No matter what happens. You won¡¯t see the day of tomorrow," he muttered softly.


    He slowly raised his left hand and let the Decaying power take over, which increased the barrier¡¯s depletion by multiple times.


    "Hah, do you think we didn¡¯t know about the Decaying power you have? We know as well that this barrier won¡¯tst for long." Flourance smiled as he watched Lucifer¡¯s trick. "That¡¯s why we prepared for this as well."


    He gazed towards the sky and moved his fingers up and down, gesturing something to the pilot.


    The giant metallic cage that the helicopter was carrying started lowering slowly and soonnded on the ground, entrapping Lucifer inside.


    The cage didn¡¯t have a base, but even that problem was solved as various metallic des came out of the cage¡¯s bars, stabbing into the ground. They soon connected to a giant metallic te that was buried underground,pleting the cage.


    The cage again started rising in the air as the military helicopter pulled up the solid wires connected to the cage.


    "I should inform him now that we are done here," Flourance muttered as he pulled out the phone.


    ...


    Xander nced back and opened his lips to say something when his phone started ringing.


    Bringing his phone out of his pocket, he saw the caller ID.


    "Looks like you were right," Xander muttered as he picked up the call.


    "We got the guy. He is inside the cage. Should we escort him to the base ourselves or wait for you toe?" Flourance asked Xander after giving him the good news.


    "If you already caught him, there is no need to wait anymore. Take him to base. I wille to base straight as well," Xander answered calmly. Even though he heard the good news, his emotions¡¯ control was the same as before because of his ability.


    "Did we lose any people in the mission?" he inquired.


    Flourance took a deep pause as he sighed. "Yes. We lost four of our men before we were able to catch him."


    "Four men... Fine. Bring their bodies back with you as well. I will see you at the base. You led the mission really well. Even though we lost four, we could¡¯ve lost more, so don¡¯t me yourself." Xanderforted Flourance, understanding how bad it feels to lose men in a mission you lead.


    After conveying hismands, he disconnected the call.


    "We are going back to the base. Tell the pilot," he told his men without looking back.


    The men did as he said and told the pilot about the new instructions that were to be followed now.


    The helicopter changed direction and started moving towards the APF base.

 Chapter 89 - 89: Departure From Erygas

    <h4>Chapter 89 - 89: Departure From Erygas </h4>


    Back at the Ikrego city, the Hunter Guild Team had managed to wipe all the dungeon dwellers that were killing the citizens. They took all the credit from the citizens before they left back for the guild.


    Citizens praised them for their fast action in saving their lives. No one knew of the involvement of APF in saving them.


    ...


    "What did the captain say?" The other Variants asked Flourance.


    "He said we are done here. We can go back," Flourance replied as he smiled.


    Two more military helicoptersnded near them.


    "Get inside. We are leaving now," hemanded others.


    "Shouldn¡¯t someone stay behind to make sure that there are no problems with the cage and that he doesn¡¯t escape?" a variant asked. "I believe that some of us shoulde in the helicopter that is carrying the cage. Only the pilot and Cui are inside there."


    "There¡¯s no need. It¡¯s not like the kid can break the cage. This cage¡¯s bars are coated with a special material that protects it against decaying, so the kid¡¯s powers are useless."


    "And the cage is strong enough to handle the full strength attack of a strength type Variant. Even though the kid¡¯s ability has the potential to be S-Rank like his father, he can¡¯t bring out even a fraction of that power."


    " His strength would barely be equivalent to a B-Rank strength Type Warrior from what I tested. There is no need to worry. Even if something happens, we still have Cui to update us," Flourance answered, shaking his head.


    "Also, that helicopter will be in the middle, so in reality, half the team can keep an even better eye on Lucifer from behind than they could from inside the helicopter," he continued. "Don¡¯t dy now. Get inside."


    All the variants of the Delta Squad entered the helicopters.


    The helicopter carrying the cage was already in the air, but the other two also started rising in the air. All three helicopters got in position before they started leaving.


    ...


    Three military helicopters flew in a straight line, leaving the airspace of the City of Erygas.


    The helicopter in the middle carried the cage, which had Lucifer entrapped inside. The helicopter in the back carried most of the Variants of the Delta Squad. The one at the front carried Flourance along with the few of the most influential members of the Delta Squad.


    Flourance sat inside the helicopter, resting.


    "Even though he was a kid, it was really tiring to catch him. Fortunately, everything¡¯s over now," Flourancemented as he sighed.


    He brought his phone out of his pocket, unlocked it and opened a small game on his phone, and started a Snake Game.


    The snake got bigger the more items it ate, but it died when it hit the screen¡¯s border or its own skin. The game was entirely in 3D graphics.


    With a faint smile on his face, Flourance acknowledged, "Old game but still just as soothing."


    The Variants sitting near Flourance noticed him ying games. They couldn¡¯t help but smile as they thought, ¡¯Hah, vice-captain is just like a child in this regard. After every mission, he ys such ssic games.¡¯


    In thest helicopter, Delta Squad members had also started rxing and stopped keeping an eye on Lucifer as they started gettingcent.


    After hearing Flourance¡¯s words and how sure he was that Lucifer couldn¡¯t break the cage, they also stopped caring.


    "Cui is already in the middle helicopter. He can keep an eye on the cage. It¡¯s just useless work anyway since the kid can¡¯t break out of there," One of them muttered, giving himself a justification to bex as he started rxing in the back.


    ...


    Lucifer was inside the semi-transparent barrier, which itself was inside a metallic cage; however, the barrier was getting weaker and weaker because of his Decaying Power.


    "Just a few more seconds. Once the barrier stops working, I can break the cage and escape. I really underestimated the resources of humans."


    " I should have listened to my heart when I felt that something was wrong. Never again. I will wipe every single one of them once I am free," Lucifer dered in a grim tone as both his hands rested on the barrier decaying it faster.


    Just as he expected, the barrier soon stopped working and disappeared.


    Lucifer was finally able to step out of the barrier. He could touch the bars of the cage now.


    He was somewhat relieved as he touched the bars of the cage, thinking that he could finally step out and be free but as soon as he touched the cage bars, a perplexed look appeared on his face.


    "The bars aren¡¯t decaying? They aren¡¯t changing even slowly. Just what is this material?"


    Time kept passing as he ced more and more effort, but nothing worked.


    "Was that man really right that I am naive? I don¡¯t know much about the outside world and their technology. I always stayed inside the facility and only watched the mock battles between people with power and their battles with the Dungeon dwellers."


    "I should have known that wasn¡¯t all to their abilities. This cage, the materials... if these don¡¯t decay, then these could have even captured my mother, who was one of the strongest," he muttered as he frowned after constant failures.


    Being trapped inside the cage, he was strangely calm. He had been thinking about the words of Flourance that he said when they were both inside the whirlwind- a calm beast is more threatening than an enraged beast.


    He realized that he wouldn¡¯t have acted so naively... if he had listened to those words and understood them carefully. He wouldn¡¯t be trapped if he hadn¡¯t lost his sense of reasoning.


    That has been one of the main reasons Lucifer had been much calmer after being trapped inside the barrier. He had realized his shorings slowly.


    He needed rage, but he needed to use his brain just as much. He was strong, but his father was even stronger. If his father could die, then why did he believe that he couldn¡¯t be defeated? Why was he socent and naive?

 Chapter 90 - 90: Variant Uprising Takes Action

    <h4>Chapter 90 - 90: Variant Uprising Takes Action </h4>


    He kept his calm and reasoning since he realized that he couldn¡¯t just break through with brute strength. The time it took to destroy the barrier using his Decaying powers also gave him the time to think about other things.


    "Decaying doesn¡¯t work on it. Lightning will be useless. Wind can¡¯t help me here either. The healing is also of no use here. That only leaves my strength."


    He stopped using his Decaying Power and ced all his focus on brute strength. He held two bars and started trying to bend them apart to make way for him to leave; however, he found it challenging. Even with all his strength, he wasn¡¯t able to move them even an inch.


    ...


    The carriage, in which Lucifer was trapped, was hanging to the helicopter in the middle through a wire rope.


    The Delta Squad believed that there were only two people inside that helicopter. They thought that Cui and the pilot were the only two inside, not knowing how wrong they were.


    At the back seat of the helicopter, the dead body of a young man was lying. A knife was stabbed in his chest. It looked as if someone pierced his heart from close proximity, and he couldn¡¯t even resist as he died.


    Just a few steps away from himy another dead body. The second dead body seemed to be of a bearded middle-aged man that was lying on the floor.


    His throat was sliced, and he was bleeding. The floor was covered in the blood of the man who was wearing a white uniform that was covered in blood.


    ording to Delta Squad, only two people of their team were in this helicopter; however, both of them were dead, raising a question. Who was flying the ne?


    On the seat of the pilot, a man was sitting. The man also had a ck beard, and he seemed to be in his middle age as well.


    Surprisingly, the man seemed precisely like the middle-aged man that was lying dead on the floor. In fact, both of them had a mole on their right cheek at exactly the same location. Their faces were also identical.


    The man that was piloting the helicopter had a grin on his face as he looked at the screen ahead of him, which was showing the visuals of the cage.


    "I thought he would be a kid who doesn¡¯t know how to use his powers, and I was right. He really needs training. The strength he showed wasn¡¯t bad. If he is like that when he is so young and inexperienced, then he would be an absolute beast."


    The man seemed to be talking to himself.


    "If he grows up and gets proper training, he can be an absolute beast. No wonder Vega ced so much importance on the kid, even going as far as sending our Level 1 team here to bring him back from the grasps of APF," he said as he looked at the screen in front of him where Lucifer could be seen struggling to bend the bars.


    A clever smirk graced his lips as he let out, "I feel likeughing at Isona and the others who are waiting at the Facility, thinking that the kid will attack there. I didn¡¯t expect him to actuallye here instead of going there for revenge. Either he doesn¡¯t know the directions, or someone lied to him about the location."


    "Now, time to get back to work. It wasn¡¯t easy getting so far. Time for the real action to begin."


    His face started changing as his beard started disappearing. His rounder face started bing slender while beautiful hair started growing on his bald head. His height also started decreasing. His body proportions also became more slender as his muscles began shrinking.


    It only took a few seconds before he started looking like apletely different person.


    "I hate camouging as bearded men. It¡¯s so much morefortable now," the man pondered as he rubbed his clean chin.


    He brought his phone out of his top pocket and called a number.


    "We areing in that direction. Is everything ready?"


    "Yes, captain. We are in position. Everything is ready. We will blow up both the helicopters leaving only the center one intact. Everything will be ording to n."


    "Good. We should be there in ten minutes. Be prepared with rocketunchers and take quick action before they see you. I don¡¯t want anything to go wrong."


    "Yes, Leader."


    Beep Beep


    A beep resounded in the man¡¯s ears at the moment the call was disconnected.


    He dialed a different number.


    "Vega," he said after the call was picked up.


    After a brief pause, the person on the other side answered, "Yeah, Caen. What is it?"


    "I got the kid you wanted. I am bringing him back to the base," Caen answered as his fingers tapped on the back of his phone, creating a little noise.


    "Can you stop making that annoying sound?" Vega said softly.


    "Anyway, you did well. Your contribution is very significant. As the leader of Level One of Variant Uprising, you and your team will get plenty of rewards for this achievement. Just make sure that you bring back the kid safely. We don¡¯t want someone like that to dislike us."


    Vega seemed more cautious when talking about Lucifer, understanding how important he was to the organization.


    Caen had also started to understand why the higher-ups wanted the kid after seeing his performance.


    "I know. I saw that kid¡¯s battle. He really does have the potential. If he is able to grow properly, he can even get as strong as Raia and stand at the peak of this world," Caen exined as he nodded in agreement.


    "He really can. Even his father was so strong that he could cause earthquakes with his power. His thunder could kill even the most ferocious of monsters. It was an absolute nightmare to confront him."


    "The kid has even more powers than his father had. He¡¯s clearly going to be another monster. As long as we handle him with care, we can use him. It¡¯s as if Zale Azarel was working for us."

 Chapter 91 - 91: Change

    <h4>Chapter 91 - 91: Change </h4>


    "Then nobody can stand in our way. Not to mention the Union of Hunters, even Alpha Squad Leader of the APF Varant would not be able to stand in our path," acknowledged Vega.


    Even though Caen couldn¡¯t see Vega¡¯s expressions, he was sure that there was a grin on Vega¡¯s face right now.


    Caen took a deep breath before he opened his mouth and asked, "Aren¡¯t you scared of the kid, though? If he actually rises like that, wouldn¡¯t it mean that there will be two people above you?"


    "Your position is likely to fall. In a way, it seems like we won¡¯t be using the kid, but he would be using us to rise to the top to rule over our organization and this world. Don¡¯t you have any concerns?"


    "Concerns, huh? You have no reason to worry. It¡¯s for our shared purpose. I am prepared to make any sacrifice," Vega replied. "As far as the little one is concerned, don¡¯t worry. We know how to manage it in the present as well as in the future. Just bring him to us."


    ...


    Cold wind brushed against Lucifer¡¯s face along with the water droplets of the rain, making him blink more than he usually did to be able to see clearly.


    The cage bars were cold to the touch; however, Lucifer didn¡¯t care about it at the moment. All he cared about was being free from this unbreakable prison.


    Even though the bars did not prevent the air from entering, Lucifer felt as if he was suffocating. He couldn¡¯t breathe and started getting agitated.


    Being trapped in the cage reminded him of his old days when he was trapped inside the small room. At the time, he thought it was a room that would help him awaken his powers more quickly. He was told it was for his sake.


    He was told that it was his room. Only when he was killed did he realize that the Facility was not to help him. The ce he believed to be his new home was nothing more than a giant prison where he was held captive.


    Being trapped in the cage was reminding him of the Facility, and he was finding it suffocating. He didn¡¯t care anymore. All he wanted was to get out of that cage, even if he had to put his life on the line.


    As determination filled his heart, one of his eyes began to change color gradually.


    The eye, which had slowly started turning violet minutely, did it at a faster pace.


    ...


    Lucifer¡¯s right eye slowly changed color. It became slightly more violet, but it was still being overwhelmed by the original blue color of his eye. Most others wouldn¡¯t even notice the slight change in his eyes from a distance.


    Lucifer could also feel a current coursing through his body as if his blood was filled with electricity. He didn¡¯t realize what was happening.


    His breathing was rapid as the memories of his torture in hisst moment shed through his head along with all the previous memories.


    He felt like he had never felt before. Was it fear he was feeling? Or was it hate? Or was it the tendency to go on a rampage and destroy everything that stood in his path? He didn¡¯t care what it was. All he knew was that he couldn¡¯t stay inside for even a second.


    He caught the bars again without waiting for even a second. His muscles bulged again as his veins became visible through his skin. Even the veins in his neck were visible.


    As Lucifer was putting all his effort into breaking through, no one else could see him. Even Caen wasn¡¯t focused on Lucifer at the moment as he was immersed in the call with Vega at the moment.


    He had no idea what was happening right under his nose. Everyone had thought that it was impossible for Lucifer to break through with his strength, but it was clear that they had underestimated him a lot, thinking that he was a naive kid who couldn¡¯t do anything.


    They had forgotten that he was a Warlock who was capable of something that no one could evenprehend.


    The cage¡¯s bars were made with one of the strongest materials known to people at the moment. It was further coated with anti-decaying material made with the research based on Lucifer¡¯s own mother.


    ...


    Lucifer¡¯s mother, risse, was known to be the strongest Sorcerer in the world. Even though she was a hero who fought for the righteous side, it wasn¡¯t a lie that her decaying power was scary.


    People knew that if she could awaken this power, there was a chance that someone else could as well. If the one who awoke this power after her was a good person like her, it was all good, but if the person was evil, they needed something to stop them.


    They couldn¡¯t let that person roam freely. risse understood this concern as well, and she also shared it. She also didn¡¯t want this power to be used by bad people since she knew how scary this power could be.


    That¡¯s why she contributed to the research and helped them create something that could resist decaying.


    The only unfortunate thing was that this liquid could only be used on non-living items. Humans couldn¡¯t rub this on their skin to protect themselves.


    This liquid acted like acid if it was applied to human skin. That¡¯s why it was only used on metals and other items. Also, it was too rare since it was way too expensive even to make a little amount of this liquid.


    Even though Lucifer¡¯s decaying powers were not working on the metallic bar, his other powers came to the rescue.


    The mysterious ck lightning gloves once again appeared around his hands that shed against the coating of the bar. The coating and even the bars started melting since the heat that was created between the sh of the coating and lightning was too much for it to handle.

 Chapter 92 - 92: Facing Caen

    <h4>Chapter 92 - 92: Facing Caen </h4>


    As the bars started melting, the hot liquid metal dripped down, burning his hand. The zing hot metal that burnt his hand was painful.


    However, Lucifer was more immersed in trying to get out of the prison at any cost that he was willing to sacrifice his hands, trusting his healing to help himter.


    If it were any other person, they would have already lost consciousness from the pain of molten metal around their palm; however, Lucifer didn¡¯t lose his consciousness. He hadn¡¯t even when he was tortured in the Facility.


    The pain he went through now was nothing at allpared to before that was the limit humanly possible. If he was able to stay up until he diedst time, staying conscious now was a child¡¯s y for him.


    ...


    As the bars started heating up, they became more prone to bending as well. The bars started bending slowly as their strength decreased with each passing second.


    Slowly, the distance between the two bars started increasing as Lucifer pulled them apart to make space for him to live.


    After what seemed like a short period of time, the space between two consecutive bars became wide enough for him to pass through and escape.


    He took his hands off the bar after the space was wide enough for him to leave and freed the bars.


    He looked at his palm, which barely had any flesh. Only his bare bones were visible, which made his hands look gruesome and scary.


    ....


    The bars were two inches thick previously. However, at the moment, only a few millimeters wide bar was left in the ce he had been holding since the rest of the bar at that spot had melted.


    It would have disappeared entirely if he had kept his hand there for a few seconds longer.


    ...


    Being done with the cage, he decided it was time to leave as he took a step forward while turning his body to the side.


    The ck lightning glove also vanished from his hand as he passed through the gap.


    As he left the cage, he caught the bars and started climbing up the cage from outside.


    In a few short seconds, he was standing on top of the cage, gazing at the helicopter that was carrying it.


    The rain had stopped, but the sky wasn¡¯t clear yet. The wind was still chilly that could clearly be felt as it brushed against his bare chest.


    His face looked as determined as it could while his long silver hair waved with the flow of wind. His face did look a lot pale now, though, which seemed a bit strange.


    ...


    Lucifer looked upwards at the helicopter that was carrying the cage. He could escape now with the help of his Wind Control.


    He would have been safe even if he had jumped; however, he decided against it.


    Even though he had learned that being impulsive was bad, he didn¡¯t realize that he was still letting his impulse control him.


    He wanted to kill the ones that made him suffer and entrapped him. More importantly, he wanted to be taken to the Facility so he could destroy everything.


    He needed the location of the facility, and only these people could tell him. If he jumped now, finding itter was going to be tough.


    He looked at the wire rope that was tied to the cage and the helicopter. Wondering if the rope could also resist his decay, he grabbed it and started climbing up.


    As Lucifer held the wire rope that was attached to the cage and the helicopter, he realized that he was wrong.


    The wire rope felt cold to the touch, but as soon as he touched it, the rope started decaying rather than staying in its original condition.


    The anti-decaying liquid that was used in making the cage wasn¡¯t used in the wire rope; thus, it wasn¡¯t impervious to the decaying powers of Lucifer.


    Lucifer was sure that if he dyed for any longer, the wire rope would break, and the cage would fall, which might alert the enemies. Rather than holding onto one spot constantly or climbing slowly, he started climbing upwards at a faster pace before the entire rope could decay.


    The ces he held the rope decayed, but before they could get too damaged since he was fast.


    Within seconds, he had reached the top.


    The wire rope was joined to the hook, which was at the bottom. He held the rope with one hand as he gazed towards thending skids of the helicopter.


    He made both his feet grab the rope as he jumped to push himself towards the helicopter¡¯s leftnding skid.


    With the help of his power of wind, he was able to reach the Landing Skid effortlessly.


    As Lucifer caught thending skid, Caen felt something. He felt the helicopter shake which was apanied by a subtle sound.


    "Alright, Vega. I will have to call youter," Caen said to Vega before he disconnected the call.


    He looked towards the screen in the helicopter dashboard, which was showing the footage of the cage.


    "What the heck? Where did he go?" he eximed in surprise.


    He could see the bent bars on the screen that were a little melted as well.


    "Fascinating," he muttered as he smiled.


    He had a general idea of where Lucifer might be at the moment since his senses were somewhat good. He had heard some noise, so he was sure that Lucifer was still near. So he wasn¡¯t disappointed. Instead, he was surprised to see that Lucifer was able to escape even from this.


    He gazed towards the door of the helicopter that he had left open previously.


    A smile appeared on his face as he saw a young boy standing there. The boy had beautiful silver hair that was wet and sticking close to his body. His long hair came down to his waist.


    His face was still emotionless as he gazed at Caen. His blue eyes were staring at Caen, looking at him as an enemy.

 Chapter 93 - 93: Prove It

    <h4>Chapter 93 - 93: Prove It </h4>


    Lucifer had also seen the two dead bodies that were lying in the back of the helicopter.


    "So we finally meet face to face, young Lucifer," Caen said softly, ncing at Lucifer. "Now, I do know you are thinking about attacking me, but please listen to me first. I am not your enemy."


    He pointed at the dead bodies that were lying on the floor. "Those were your enemies, and I killed them."


    " I¡¯m with the people opposing them. I broke inside and killed the guys to help you escape. If you just wait for five minutes, I can prove it. You can see the proof with your own eyes as well. All the enemies who fought you are going to be killed."


    Lucifer didn¡¯t move or attack. He was clearly confused by the words of the man. It didn¡¯t seem very clear. He wasn¡¯t an enemy? The others were going to be killed?


    "You wouldn¡¯t lose anything in five minutes. If I can¡¯t prove my words, you can kill me. Also, if I was an enemy, why would I kill those guys? Trust me for a bit here," Caen said. "It¡¯s like a child¡¯s y for you to kill me anyway."


    "Who are you?" Lucifer inquired as he started stepping closer to Caen, who was still piloting.


    "Before knowing who I¡¯m, let me exin who the people attacking you are. That will help you understand us better," Caen said.


    He was somewhat worried as well since Lucifer was more like a psychopath from what he had seen. He wasn¡¯t sure if Lucifer would actually kill him right there.


    His fighting prowess was good, but his main ability was shapeshifting. He wasn¡¯t made to fight, especially against someone like Lucifer. Also, he couldn¡¯t be diverted for long since he was piloting the helicopter.


    "The people who attacked you are from the Awakened Protection Force. In short, they are called APF. They are a government-run agency that is entirely made of variants. Their whole purpose is to catch people like you that don¡¯t y by the so-called rules that they have made."


    "They arrest people like you, take them to their prisons, and experiment on them. After they use the variants that they capture like expendablemodities, they execute them."


    Caen kept exining, exaggerating a few things Intentionally.


    " In short, they are an evil organization that works against us innocent Variants while masquerading as the heroes of justice that work to protect ordinary humans." Caen provided the exnation, which was somewhat modified to further create hatred in Lucifer¡¯s heart towards them.


    Lucifer heard the exnation, but he didn¡¯t stop walking towards Caen. By the end of his sentence, Lucifer was standing only a few inches away from him.


    His hand was right above Caen¡¯s head. There were only a few centimeters of a gap between Lucifer¡¯s hand and Caen¡¯s head. Fortunately, he wasn¡¯t touching his head or the decaying powers that would have killed Caen.


    Thump! Thump!


    Caen¡¯s heartbeat was fast, and a few drops of sweat trickled down his face as he worried for his life. He didn¡¯t know if Lucifer was testing him to see if Caen would attack him now or if he was seriously going to kill him.


    He could only take the risk and hope that it was a test of faith.


    "They are from APF, huh," Lucifer muttered as he looked straight ahead towards the helicopter that was flying in the front. Lucifer had seen Flourance entering that helicopter.


    Opening his small lips, he asked, "who are you then?"


    "I don¡¯t think you have ever heard of us. We are a group of people who fight against the fascist government and itspdogs like APF for us Variants¡¯ rights. You can think of us as an organization simr to APF as we are also made entirely of Variants, but there is a big difference between them and us," Caen answered.


    "What difference exists between you two?" Lucifer asked.


    "Rather than fighting to oppress variants, we fight to protect their rights. We don¡¯t wish for Variants to live and die on the wishes of a handful of inferior humans. We wish for Variants to rule and get their rightful position so that we aren¡¯t used again to satiate humans¡¯ greed," Caen replied.


    "We believe that you already know about the inferior humans. They treat Variants like toys. They experiment on us and even kill us like we are nothing. That¡¯s why we wish to show them their rightful position," he continued.


    "Our goal is somewhat simr to you but on arger scale. I believe we can help each other," he added. "You have strength, but youck knowledge. We have knowledge and strength, but we need even more strength. We both need each other."


    Hearing the words, Lucifer fell into deep thought. It was true that hecked knowledge but trusting someone was tough.


    "Alright. Prove that your words are true and show me what you can do for me in the next five minutes, and I will consider. If you can¡¯t prove it, I will kill you first before wiping them," Lucifer threatened Caen before he retracted his hand, giving some relief to Caen.


    "Of course, right away," Caen acknowledged as he smiled.


    Even though Lucifer gave him time, he didn¡¯t move back. He kept standing there like he was waiting to see what was going to happen.


    "Since we are friends, I will tell you what our n was. We had found out about you through our resources and knew what happened to you. We knew that you would attack the Dillon Research facility, so we sent our more powerful team there to help save you from the onught of APF."


    " The secondary team was sent here since we had noticed the movement of APF here. I am the leader of the team. I am called Caen," Caen introduced himself as he continued exining the progression of events.


    "Anyway, I found out about the n of APF to capture you, so I made a better n to save you without fighting them openly.

 Chapter 94 - 94: Exposed

    <h4>Chapter 94 - 94: Exposed </h4>


    "I snuck inside this helicopter and took over. They still don¡¯t know that their enemy is inside here."


    Caen wanted to make sure that there was no misunderstanding between the two since his life depended on Lucifer¡¯s hand.


    "My team is waiting ahead. As soon as we get to the decided point, they will fire using rocketunchers. The two helicopters that contain the APF members will be blown up."


    " The enemies would be killed without even fighting. After that, it was simple. We were going to take you to our base and free you. The higher-ups would have exined to you the same thing as I did. We are truly not your enemies."


    "Killing them without fighting. The silent enemy is worse than the enemy using brute strength," Lucifer muttered as he remembered the words of Flourance. He finally understood why Flourance had said so during the battle.


    This n was so good. Without fighting, the enemies were going to die.


    ...


    On the one hand, Lucifer and Caen were talking. On the other hand, Flourance was ying the snakes game on his phone, entirely unaware of what was happening behind his back.


    After a short time, he closed the game and kept the phone back in his pocket as he stretched out his arms. A yawn escaped his lips.


    He looked outside through the open doors as he wondered, "our little friend would have realized that it¡¯s impossible to break through and be free. I wonder if he has anger or disappointment. Or does he have guilt and sadness?"


    He stood up and walked towards the door.


    He wished to see the expressions on Lucifer¡¯s face and see what that guy was doing.


    He brought his head outside and looked back, only to get stunned.


    "What the heck happened here!" he cursed out loud as he saw an empty cage. Let alone Lucifer, even his shadow couldn¡¯t be seen.


    Hearing his yell, the other team members also ran towards the door opening and looked outside. Most of them went pale-faced as they saw the empty cage.


    "The kid escaped! How was he able to bend the bars so easily!"


    "Did we really underestimate his strength?"


    "The bars are melted at spots! He probably used heat to make them weaker!"


    "How is that possible? Can he use mes like Captain Xander? Why wasn¡¯t there any information about it?"


    "Just how many powers does the kid have? Is he even human or an umtion of all the powers? How can a person have so many awakened powers?"


    "Maybe we are misunderstanding him? His power can also be something like the ability to use powers of other people he had seen?"


    "Even if we were to believe you, the reality of the situation is that he didn¡¯t meet or see the Captain! How can he use mes to make the metal weaker?"


    "You are forgetting something. The first team that was sent to catch him at his home. There was a me ability user. He must have learned from him!"


    All the Delta Squad members started discussing amongst themselves as they wondered about how Lucifer escaped.


    Hearing themotion caused by them, Flourance got even more enraged.


    "Silence! What does it matter what power he has! The main thing is that we need to find him again! That bastard escaped! Instead of talking about how it happened, focus on when it happened!"


    "That boy was able to use the power of the wind. He could have easily jumped down while we were on the route. We need to find him!" he continued. "I want the whole area searched for him!"


    He pulled out his phone and dialed a number. "I¡¯ll talk to Cui. What the hell is he even doing! There was a camera there so that he could keep an eye on the prisoner. How could he let him escape."


    ....


    Caen had just finished his exnation when a phone started ringing. It was the same phone that he had taken from one of the guys who was lying dead in the back.


    "It¡¯s the guy who caught you. He is called Flourance. Don¡¯t make any noises. I will talk to him as one of his men," Caen said as he picked up the call.


    "Yes," he said softly. He had already changed his voice to make it sound like the person this phone belonged to.


    "Screw your yes! Tell me where Lucifer is? Were you sozy that you couldn¡¯t even keep an eye on the cage?!" An enraged voice of Flourance sounded in the ears of Caen, surprising him.


    ...


    "Tell me where Lucifer Azarel is!" Flourance said grimly. "Or I¡¯ll forget that you work for us and kill you with my own hands!"


    Caen couldn¡¯t help but frown as he got to know that Flourance found out about Lucifer being missing. If only he hadn¡¯t realized for a few more minutes, everything was going to be perfect.


    The disappointment was evident on his face as he realized that it was going to mess up his n if they decided to turn back the helicopter before they reached the determined location.


    The Variant Uprising members were already waiting ahead, ready to blow the helicopters of APF. They couldn¡¯t do it if Flourance and the others turned back now.


    "He escaped?" Caen acted surprised, as if unaware of what had happened.


    "Oh, God! You are right. I can¡¯t see him in the cage. I forgot to keep an eye on the cage. I am extremely sorry. I thought it was impossible for the kid to escape, so I wasn¡¯t as alert," Caen said apologetically. "I am ready to take any punishment after we get back."


    Flourance was frustrated, but he calmed himself down as he realized that there was no benefit in getting angry. It was just a waste of time at this point since it couldn¡¯t achieve anything.


    "Whatever, since you don¡¯t even know when it happened, it looks like we will have to search the entire area. Turn the helicopter back now," Flourancemanded.

 Chapter 95 - 95: Plan Change

    <h4>Chapter 95 - 95: n Change </h4>


    "Alright. I¡¯ll follow your lead," Caen replied before he disconnected the call.


    But he seemed clearly frustrated that what he was worried about was exactly what happened. They were turning back. Now his entire n was useless.


    He couldn¡¯t believe how bad his luck was. If only this idiot hadn¡¯t found out for five more minutes, things could have been different.


    ...


    Flourance went to the pilot who was flying the helicopter he was in and gave themand himself.


    Mid-air, the three helicopters turned back one after another.


    "They found out that you aren¡¯t in the cage. They are asking to go back to search for you, thinking that you jumped down along the way. It looks like we would have to change our n since we can¡¯t go further," Caen informed Lucifer about what was happening with a concerned look on his face.


    Lucifer saw the helicopters returning back and understood that Caen wasn¡¯t lying.


    Lucifer looked at Caen, wondering what was about to happen next.


    This question was also answered by Caen.


    "We would need to fight after getting the right opportunity because they¡¯ll certainly ask why the second guy in this helicopter is missing during the search. We need to fight before they kill us themselves," Caen told Lucifer as he sighed.


    "Wait a minute. I¡¯ll tell my guys toe here. Since this is going to happen, we might as well n for backup," he added, but before he could realize it, he saw Lucifer turning back.


    Lucifer walked towards the door of the helicopter but didn¡¯t jump out. Instead, he gazed back at Caen as he said, "I¡¯ll do it myself then."


    "What do you n to do?" Caen asked, confused.


    " I¡¯ll do the same thing you were going to do. I will blow them up while they are in the air," Lucifer said as ck lightning flickered through his arms.


    "Wait. I have a better idea," Caen called out.


    Lucifer stopped and nced at Caen, waiting for what he had to say.


    "I can try to take out their leader with my disguise when wend. I will kill him myself using my Shapeshifting ability," Caen suggested. "He won¡¯t even know that the person getting close to him isn¡¯t his teammate but me. By the time he knows, it¡¯s going to be toote."


    "As for the rest, You can take them out much more easily when they are alone."


    Lucifer looked at him for a brief second, but he didn¡¯t say anything.


    "Do you find it eptable?" Caen inquired.


    He couldn¡¯t believe that he, a Variant Uprising leader, had to talk to a kid so respectfully. If it weren¡¯t for the situation¡¯s demand, he would never have done it.


    The way he spoke to Lucifer was as if the two of them were in the same position. It was even stranger considering that Lucifer was only ten-eleven years old at the moment.


    Caen took Lucifer¡¯s silence as his eptance. He went back to focusing on flying so that the others wouldn¡¯t find anything suspicious.


    "If we go by my n, it might take longer, but we can wipe them much more safely," Caen said as he casually nced back towards Lucifer, only to get stunned.


    Lucifer wasn¡¯t there. That ce was empty. Caen looked all around the cabin, only to be disappointed as Lucifer was nowhere.


    "That bastard is so annoying. He didn¡¯t listen to me and jumped out," Caen cursed as he grew extremely annoyed. "That Flourance must have seen him by now. It is going to be extremely difficult now."


    Just as he had assumed, Lucifer jumped out of the helicopter even after hearing Caen¡¯s idea.


    He knew that taking them out one by one, after their leader was dead, was probably a good option for them, but it wasn¡¯t the best.


    Everyone was in the air. Air was his domain as he had the A-Rank Power of wind. Even though he wasn¡¯t able to bring out even a fraction of the abilities that this power allowed, he could still fly. He couldn¡¯t fly upwards, but he could fly horizontally. As for Caen¡¯s n to blow up when they were in the air, he felt this had some merit.


    He generally used his incredible strength to jump incredibly high,ter using his power of the wind to stay on the height and move ahead, making it seem like he perfectly knew how to fly.


    It was different this time. The three helicopters were already in the air and almost at the same level. Thus, he didn¡¯t need to jump upwards. He could actually just step out of the helicopter and find himself flying at that level.


    This was to his advantage since the other Variants were mostly able to fight onnd. In the air, he was the king.


    Also, as all of them were already inside the helicopters, he could take care of them much more easily. Rather than wasting this opportunity, he wished to utilize it.


    Generally, he would have preferred to go all out, brutally killing them on the ground, but he had realized that he needed to be wise. Even though he thought of humans as nothing but beasts, one needed to crush the beasts while they could.


    "F-Flourance!" the pilot of the first helicopter suddenly called out.


    Flourance walked up to him and asked, "What happened?"


    The pilot didn¡¯t say anything and simply pointed ahead.


    Flourance gazed where the man was pointing and saw a young kid flying in front of them.


    Lucifer was showing his palm towards them as if he was signaling them to stop, but Flourance was aware that it wasn¡¯t what was happening. He could see lightning flicker around Lucifer¡¯s arms.


    "He¡¯s about to attack!" Flourance let out, stunned. "Hold something!"


    He looked back towards his men hurriedly as he said, "Gray! He¡¯s ahead of us! Attack him now before he does!"


    "Do it now!" Flourance said furiously.


    He didn¡¯t have any long-range attacking powers, so his only option was to rely on the ones that did.

 Chapter 96 - 96: Toying

    <h4>Chapter 96 - 96: Toying </h4>


    They needed to injure Lucifer before he could attack them; otherwise, it was going to be dangerous.


    "You also start firing at him!" he said to the pilot,manding him to use the weapons of the helicopter as well.


    The helicopter had a rocket system since it was a military helicopter. It also had rapid-firing guns at the bottom. As the missiles took more time to fire than blindly shooting from the rapid-firing gun, Flourance chose the guns.


    Among the three helicopters flying, only Caen¡¯s helicopter didn¡¯t have a weapons system since it was a different one that was especially brought to carry the heavy cage.


    The first and the third helicopters were the only ones that had weapons, which was why Caen didn¡¯t simply blow them up himself.


    Flourance didn¡¯t wish to dy the attack for even a second, but that in itself was already toote as before the ones inside the helicopter could even move, a massive lightning bolt appeared before Lucifer and flew straight towards the helicopter.


    It was one of the biggest lightning bolts that Lucifer has been able to conjure since he had woken up with the power of ck lightning, and it came just at the right time.


    ...


    ck lightning twisted and turned as the lightning bolt flew straight towards the main rotor of the military helicopter.


    The powerful lightning bolt hit the rotor des. Even though the helicopter was made to somewhat resist the lightning from the weather phenomenon, the ck Lightning of Lucifer was much more destructive than regr lightning.


    While the normal lightning was damaging, it was useless against the helicopters that the APF was using. Even the systems in the helicopter were made to resist the lightning surcharge; however, the designers never thought about something like the ck Lightning of Lucifer.


    Rather than just hitting the helicopter¡¯s main rotor and disappearing, the ck lightning entirely broke the main rotor of the helicopter. Even most of the systems of the helicopter were fried, which included the weapons system.


    Beep! Beep! Beep!


    Loud beeping noise filled the helicopter, and smoke started rising in the sky. The helicopter started falling down on the ground, slowly gaining momentum while losing control.


    The bnce of the helicopter was also broken as people found it hard to keep still. Some people held onto things while some unfortunate ones fell outside, unable to save themselves.


    The screams of the one that fell echoed in the ears of the others, scaring them. They held even more firmly.


    "Are we going to die?"


    "Sigh, after fighting so many bad and powerful Variants, I didn¡¯t know that I would die because of a ten years old kid."


    "Same, bruh."


    The Variants started talking amongst themselves as sadness and uncertainty filled their hearts.


    Some prayed for themselves to survive, while others started remembering the happy moments that they spent with their family.


    ¡¯ I¡¯m sorry, my dear daughter. It looks like daddy won¡¯t be able toe home.¡¯ One of the Variants thought as he thought about his nine years old daughter.


    "If I was going to die, I¡¯m d that I am with you all in myst moments," Another Variant said. "Thank you for being my friend in this life. I hope we can meet in the next life as well."


    "You bastard, you are happy that we are all dying with you? If we weren¡¯t dying, I would have killed you myself." Another man joked around, hiding his fear of death.


    "Oh, holy god. Forgive us for all the sins that we might havemitted. We areing into your embrace." One of them even started saying hisst rites.


    Flourance¡¯s face twitched as he heard the inauspicious words of his team members.


    ¡¯Just what fools have we collected in the delta squad?¡¯ he thought, frustrated.


    He walked over to a shelf on the side and opened it.


    "Shut up, you idiots! How can you think we won¡¯t have parachutes? Now stop talking nonsense and take these," Flourance told everyone as he started bringing out the parachutes.


    He threw them to everyone. "We have enough of these here. Take these and jump out. None of you shall die in my watch!" Hemanded.


    Tears of gratitude appeared in the eyes of some members as they took the parachutes. They had never been as grateful to Flourance as they were now.


    "Thank you." They all thanked Flourance as they wore the parachutes and jumped outside one after another.


    ...


    The first guy jumped out with the parachute, thinking that he was saved.


    "Thank you, god, for saving my life. I promise I will never stop believing in you," he said as he smiled gently.


    His face soon turned pale as he saw a ck lightning bolting towards him.


    "You useless god! You only helped me so I could die even more painfully?" He yelled, enraged.


    "Aaah!" A pained scream left his lips as he was hit by the lightning bolt. He died instantly as the light in his eyes disappeared. His bleeding lifeless body continued falling down.


    In their gratefulness of finding a way to survive the crash, the variants had forgotten that the real enemy was still outside, waiting to kill them like they were his hunt and he was the hunter.


    Lucifer was flying, emotionless, as he saw the Variants jumping out of the helicopter one after another. It was more like an aim practice for him since he did have long-range attacks that could kill the enemies instantly.


    The third helicopter has already turned back and left for search since Flourance hasmanded an independent search. They didn¡¯t know what was happening behind them.


    Only Caen had stayed behind, watching Lucifer toying with the Delta Squad.


    There was a fascinated look on his face as he watched everything before him. He was amazed at the events that had transpired. It was as if Lucifer was actually ying with the powerful Delta Squad.


    Only one word came out of his lips, "Amazing."

 Chapter 97 - 97: Seperation

    <h4>Chapter 97 - 97: Seperation </h4>


    Caen was amazed as he saw Lucifer hunting the Delta Squad members. He found it a bit clever. He was attacking them mid-air when they had no way out.


    ¡¯I thought he was just a brainless kid with brute strength. It looks like he does have some brain after all.¡¯ He thought.


    "The kid is still too naive, though," he muttered as he sighed. "Fortunately, the team in the third helicopter has left, or things would be troublesome when he would be targeted by them."


    "He is lucky this time."


    ....


    The third helicopter was flying towards Erygas, where they had caught Lucifer previously.


    "Why are we going back without searching?" one of the Variants asked a red-haired muscr guy, not understanding why they hadn¡¯t begun searching yet.


    The red-haired guy was the one to whom Flourance personally told the n. He was the one leading their team now, while Flourance led the main team. He was known as Kenrik Kubal, who happened to be an A-Rank Sorcerer.


    "It is simple. We don¡¯t know where and when the guy escaped. We only know that it was between the ce where we took off and the ce where we found out. So we have two points. We¡¯lle searching from the starting point, and the vice-captain wille searching from the end," Kenrik answered.


    "Wouldn¡¯t it be better if we both came searching from the start since we can cover more area faster?"


    Kenrik heard the concern of his teammate and shook his head as he rified, "Not really. If we came searching from the end, the guy could simply run away towards Erygas. We will need to go slower if wee searching so he can run away easily."


    "Instead of that, we would go straight to Erygas. If we happened to pass by the kid on the route, he would be under the misconception that we didn¡¯t see him and he was safe. That would make him morecent, and he would have no path to escape after the two teamse from both sides," he continued, smiling.


    "Ah, clever n. As expected from the n of the Vice-Captain. I was worrying unnecessarily."


    With Kenrik¡¯s exnation, his team members calmed down. They all understood the n better and sat down as they started waiting for their destination, Erygas.


    They were entirely unaware of what was happening to the main team now.


    ....


    Back in the headquarters of the APF, the leader of the Beta Squad, Ayn, was sitting in her chamber. She was going through the details of the mission that was given to her by the Alpha Squad Head Varant.


    Varant was the undisputed authority in the APF. His Alpha Squad was the elite of the elites, which consisted only of S-Rank Variants. He was also someone that even the Hunter Guild thought about twice before offending.


    His powers were very scary, after all.


    If he wasn¡¯t keeping such a low profile in public, he could easily be called one of the top warlocks in the country by the general poption.


    The only person he was supposedly wary of was the strongest warlock of his time, Zale Azarel. With Zale¡¯s death, there was no one Varant was wary of. He could readily fight even the current strongest warlock, who he believed to be weaker than Zale Azarel ever was.


    Varant¡¯s words were thew of thend, which the APF followed unconditionally. It was apparent how serious the mission of Ayn was since Varant himself gave her the secret mission after he called her to his office.


    She was going through the details of the mission when her phone started ringing.


    She picked up the call and responded, "Yeah, Xander. What¡¯s up?"


    ...


    Xander was sitting in the helicopter that was flying straight towards the base. He wasn¡¯t aware of themotion that had ensued with the team that was carrying Lucifer.


    Flourance haven¡¯t called him since he conveyed the information of Lucifer¡¯s capture to him. Thus, he had no idea that Lucifer had already escaped.


    "I just called to inform you that I have captured Lucifer Azarel," Xander told Ayn.


    "Oh, good work. You already captured him," Ayn replied, smiling. She soon asked, "Did you call to confirm if the preparations arepleted?"


    "That¡¯s right. Since we will soon be there, I wanted to know if the arrangements of his cell arepleted," Xander affirmed. "We can¡¯t let him escape the cells with the Decaying."


    "Don¡¯t worry. The cell has beenpleted. We have coated every ce in the cell with Anti-Decaying matter. He can¡¯t escape from there," Ayn replied as she startedughing. Her pearls ofughter echoed in the room.


    Xander couldn¡¯t help but wonder what it was that she found funny. He asked, "Why are youughing?"


    A smirk appeared on Ayn¡¯s face as she exined the reason behind herughter. "APF has spent a lot of resources to get the liquid just to safeguard one kid. You would need to give an exnation to Varant yourself."


    Hearing the words of Ayn, Xander¡¯s face twitched unwillingly.


    "How did he know?" he asked. "I used the resources from the budget of the Delta squad."


    "How should I know? He called me to give me a mission. That¡¯s when he was asking questions about why your fund was being used for things like this," Ayn answered.


    "Sigh, I didn¡¯t want to involve him in this," Xander muttered as a sigh escaped his mouth. He seemed to be unhappy with this piece of information.


    "Why didn¡¯t you want him to know?" Ayn asked Xander, confused about his intentions.


    "I didn¡¯t tell him how dangerous Lucifer actually was, you know why?" Xander inquired, piquing Ayn¡¯s curiosity.


    Ayn was also wondering about this question. She asked, "Why?"


    "Is it because you didn¡¯t want to make it seem like you were intimidated by a kid? You thought he would take it as you exaggerating the danger, thus decreasing your reputation in his eyes?" shemented.


    "Not at all.

 Chapter 98 - 98: Xanders Intentions

    <h4>Chapter 98 - 98: Xander''s Intentions </h4>


    "It is because I was concerned about Lucifer¡¯s safety. No matter what, he is the son of risse and Zale Azarel. Those two gave their lives to keep us and our country safe," Xander started exining.


    "It isn¡¯t Lucifer¡¯s fault that he was misguided. It was the government and the Facility that made him go through the terrifying experience, thus forming his dark personality," Xander said as he remembered the content of the clip that he had seen. In the clip, it was clear how Lucifer was tortured in theb.


    Unfortunately, his mission and his work kept him from doing the things he actually wanted to do with the clip.


    "And what would have happened if you had told Varant?" Ayn asked. "How would that affect anything? It isn¡¯t like he would have gone personally to catch a kid even if you had told him the truth."


    "It¡¯s not that. You know his powers, right? He can erase the powers of people. If he knew Lucifer was so dangerous, he might have asked me to stop all the spending on the cell and the anti-decaying liquid."


    "Instead, he would have told me to bring Lucifer to him after capture so he could erase the powers of Lucifer," Xander exined.


    After a short silence, he continued, "That¡¯s why I under-reported the dangers of Lucifer to him, so he didn¡¯t bother spending his powers on the kid."


    "Well, wouldn¡¯t that be good? Without his powers, Lucifer can live a normal life. We would have also saved plenty of resources," Ayn asked, finding no negatives in what he said might have happened.


    Xander shook his head before he exined in detail. "I don¡¯t want that. The kid is only misguided. We can bring him on the right path with proper guidance. He can even use his powers for the good of humankind."


    " If we take away his powers, we would not only be taking something that he can use to redeem himself, but we would also be taking away his inheritance. His parents are already dead. The only thing he got from them was the powers. It¡¯s not fair to take that from him based on some bad actions," he added.


    "Sigh, sometimes I can¡¯t understand your thought process at all. Why do you even care for this kid so much? Whatever, it¡¯s your mission. I can¡¯t interfere at all. I can only wish you luck and hope that you are sessful in getting the results that you desire," Ayn said as aplicated look covered her face.


    "Thanks," Xander thanked Ayn for her concern.


    He was really d to have someone like Ayn in whom he could confide. Even though she was kind of his senior in position, she was much more like his friend than someone from APF.


    She even broke the rules a few times to help him, likest time when she helped him meet a convict in an APF cell so he could hack the government facility and get the video of Lucifer being tortured.


    "Oh, right. Thanks for listening to me and going to Ikrego to help the Hunter Union. We officially received a letter of gratitude from them," Ayn informed Xander. "Good work."


    "It was nothing. I am d I was able to save citizens. I don¡¯t need any gratitude from them. However, the team they sent was pretty arrogant." Xander remembered the way Hunter Union members acted.


    He didn¡¯t bother with them previously, but now he was finding it ironic that they sent a letter of gratitude to them.


    Ayn felt like something was wrong. Did they behave badly with him? The Hunter Union members were known to be arrogant, after all.


    She grew ever so serious. If they actually behaved like that with the Delta Squad leader of APF, then it was a serious issue that she needed to raise with them and demand an apology from Hunter Union.


    They couldn¡¯t misbehave with APF and go freely when they called APF for help. Let alone Xander, even if something like this had happened to a lower member of APF, she would be just as furious.


    She asked sternly, "Did something happen between you and them?"


    "It¡¯s nothing. Please don¡¯t bother with them. Just some inexperienced kids that didn¡¯t know how big the world actually is," Xander answered, shaking his head.


    "If you say so," Ayn said as she dropped the topic unwillingly since Xander didn¡¯t want to blow it up.


    ...


    While Ayn was talking to Xander, another conversation was taking ce.


    This time, however, the conversation was between two leaders of the Variant Uprising.


    The Level 4 leader of Variant Uprising, Vega, was talking to Level 3 leader of Variant Uprising, Dion.


    Since they weren¡¯t sure where Lucifer would turn up, they sent Level 1 leader Caen and his team to Erygas. Level 3 Leader Dion and Level 2 Leader Isona were sent to the Dillion Research Facility, which was Lucifer¡¯s target, ording to Vega.


    Now that it was certain that Caen found Lucifer, Dion and Isona were being told toe back.


    "Sigh, I was already prepared to help the kid blow up this ce. Unfortunately, he ended up in the wrong location. I guess you were right. APF fooled the kid and made them think that the Facility was in Erygas," Dion told Erygas. The disappointment was evident in his dazzling eyes.


    "Yeah. You aren¡¯t needed there anymore. Come back now. Also, bring Isona with you," Vegamanded.


    Dion nodded his head, agreeing to the orders before he disconnected the call.


    He walked over to Isona.


    They had set up a temporary base near the Facility, which was conveniently hidden to keep them safe.


    Dion walked inside Isona¡¯s cabin after knocking once.


    "Hey, don¡¯t you think you should wait outside and not enter a youngdy¡¯s chamber without her permission?" Isona asked as she gazed at Dion. Her cherry red lips curved to form a beautiful smile on her face.


    Her smile was so pretty that it was sufficient to make any guy fall in love with her at first sight, but Dion was clearly unaffected.


    "Get ready. We are going back," Dion informed Isona, stunning her.

 Chapter 99 - 99: He Knows

    <h4>Chapter 99 - 99: He Knows </h4>


    "Are we going back? Why? I am yet to meet the cute kid we are after," Isona inquired, wondering why they were going back so soon.


    She soon thought of something as she asked, "Could it be that Caen...."


    "Yeah. The kid went to Erygas. Caen has him. He is bringing him back to the base," Dion answered,pleting Isona¡¯s sentence.


    "Cheh, I guess Caen got lucky this time. Whatever, we can meet the kid at the base as well. As for this Facility, we can blow it up when wee here with the kid to show him our goodwill," Isona let out casually as she stood up from the chair.


    The two of them left and collected their teams. After informing their teams, they vacated the ce and went back as silently as they came.


    ...


    The Facility where Lucifer had died was protected by the Army of Elysium. It boasted of having the best defense, yet they failed to know of the threat that was lurking right around the corner.


    The Variant Uprising members came here and camped nearby and left, all without letting the army find even the smallest of clues about their presence. It showed how trained the Variant Uprising members were and howx the security of the Facility was.


    The army only kept an eye on the Facility, not even bothering to go on patrolling outside even once in a while.


    They hade to think that no one was going to attack them. They weren¡¯t aware that there were people after this ce... People that were capable of leaving the establishment in ruins... people who could make rivers of blood flow wherever they went.


    If Lucifer wasn¡¯t given the wrong address, they would most probably already be dead since not only would Lucifer be attacking them, but Dion and Isona would havee to help as well. They had barely escaped a disaster.


    ...


    Inside the Facility, Doctor Rao was sitting in a chair in his chambers. He was looking at hisputer screen, which was showing the data of some human experiments.


    "Not bad. If she is like this, she might actually awaken soon. She is nothing like that useless kid that couldn¡¯t awaken despite having such a superior bloodline," Doctor Rao muttered as a smirk formed on his face.


    "Soon, it¡¯ll be time," he continued. "I guess I should thank Lucifer for his contribution. No matter how useless he was, at least he did help with this."


    "Doctor Rao, wouldn¡¯t we be in trouble if someone else finds out about her? So far, only us know about this," Doctor Laymen expressed his sound concerns. "How long can we keep it a secret for?"


    "We are not the only ones who know about this. There is one more person who knows just as much. Even though it is a secret, didn¡¯t you ever wonder why we were able to keep it a secret for so long?" Doctor Rao asked with an amused smile on his face.


    "Why? Who else knows? I thought only the two of us knew about her?" Doctor Laymen asked.


    Doctor Rao shook his head as he answered, "We aren¡¯t the only ones. General Maxwell knows as well. It¡¯s only because of his high authority that we were able to keep it a secret for so long."


    "Ah? Is that why he didn¡¯t give APF the permission to search the Facility when they camest time to find out about Lucifer?" Doctor Layman asked, understanding the secrets that he was unaware of until now.


    "That¡¯s right. If the APF guys had searched the Facility, they might have found her. We couldn¡¯t let that happen. It was the same for General Maxwell. That¡¯s why he was so stubborn," Doctor Rao replied.


    "Oh, it¡¯s certainly more clear now," Doctor Layman mumbled.


    He suddenly thought of something as he sat straight.


    "That reminds me. The APF guys were here with the ims of Lucifer being alive. Could there be truth in this?" he asked.


    "How could it be true? We all watched Lucifer die. We also have all the data to prove that he was dead," Doctor Rao refuted straight. "There is no way a person whose Cell Destruction was hundred percent could survive. He was dead. Not even the gods could have saved him."


    "Why did they im that he was alive then?" Doctor Layman inquired again. The more he asked, the more his questions increased.


    Doctor Rao smiled confidently as he answered, "It was obviously because they wanted to use that as an excuse to search our facilities. They are concerned with variants, and there are a few rumors about our Facility."


    " It is clear why they would want to investigate us. They probably found Lucifer¡¯s dead body. They knew they couldn¡¯t search us legally, so they used the excuse of Lucifer being alive. The excuse of national threat is a valid excuse to search us after all."


    "That¡¯s true. It¡¯s good that General Maxwell took care of the problem and didn¡¯t give them the permission to search," Doctor Layman sighed in relief.


    ...


    In a different ce, a man in a military uniform stepped out of his vehicle. He walked inside a beautiful-looking mansion.


    As he stepped inside, he was greeted by the butler.


    The butler asked, straightforwardly, "What business brought you here?"


    "I wish to meet General Maxwell. I have an appointment with him," the army man said.


    "May I know your name?" the butler inquired.


    " I am Maine," the middle-aged man answered without getting impatient.


    "Very well, Mister Maine. My Master is waiting for you inside," the butler answered after making sure that the name matched.


    He escorted the middle-aged man to a room where General Maxwell was sitting on a sofa. He was watching the news on TV.


    "Master, Mister Maine is here to see you," the butler conveyed to General Maxwell before he took his leave, giving them privacy.


    General Maxwell turned off the TVzily, using the remote.


    "Take a seat," he casually said, without even ncing back.

 Chapter 100 - 100: Sacrificing A Few

    <h4>Chapter 100 - 100: Sacrificing A Few </h4>


    Maine walked forward and sat on a chair that was in front of general Maxwell.


    "So, Maine. Did you find what I asked you to? Is Lucifer really alive or not?" General Maxwell asked without dying for even a second.


    "Is he alive?" General Maxwell asked Maine, carelessly.


    Maine stayed still for a few seconds before he opened his lips and said with a tinge of uncertainty, "I don¡¯t know."


    "How can you not know? I gave you the permission to use all the resources and the authority needed. You still couldn¡¯t find out if they were telling the truth or not?" General Maxwell asked, looking unimpressed.


    "I did find a few things, but none of them were enough to ascertain the validity of those ims. That¡¯s why I can¡¯t say for sure if they were lying or telling the truth," Mainemented.


    He also wanted to be of service to the General and help him by providing the information that he needed, but he couldn¡¯t give unverified news as that defeated the whole purpose of it.


    "Oho? Even you weren¡¯t able to verify it fully?" General Maxwell asked in amazement.


    Maine nodded his head as he sighed.


    "The APF database is almost impossible to break in for us. As for their words, that¡¯s something we can¡¯t trust," he said. "What I found did make it seem like their words were the truth, but I found no convincing evidence to prove that they weren¡¯t lying. It¡¯s entirely possible that they used an ongoing situation to make up the whole thing."


    "What ongoing situation? Tell me everything that you found," General Maxwellmanded in his heavy voice.


    "There have been a few strings of murders. Not little murders but full-on ughters. Apparently, an ability user is involved. That¡¯s why APF has the jurisdiction."


    " They haven¡¯t released the pics of the culprit or any videos of the murder sites. I am not sure if they themselves have the videos since the ces where this happened didn¡¯t have cameras," Maine started exining.


    "Anyway, from what I heard, it was done by a ten-eleven-year-old kid, which matches the description of the boy, so there can be some truth to it, but with no video evidence, I can¡¯t verify this piece of information," he continued.


    "True. If it is really a scheme by APF, they could have just nted the witnesses to make it seem like it was done by a kid. It is not something hard for them. I also wouldn¡¯t put it beyond them if their aim is to investigate me," General Maxwell muttered as he fell into deep thought.


    "Without damning evidence, it can¡¯t be ascertained if it is the truth. My men are entirely sure that it is a lie since they watched the kid die. I am more prone to believe that as well, but I still put you to investigate the ims for my satisfaction," he continued. "Who knew it would only raise more questions."


    "Should I keep searching?" Maine asked.


    General Maxwell shook his head as he answered, "There¡¯s no need anymore. If you weren¡¯t able to find anything, I¡¯m sure you can¡¯t find itter either. Let¡¯s put it to rest."


    "The kid is certainly dead. On the off chance that he is alive, as they said, APF can deal with him. There is no need for me to concern myself so much," he continued.


    "As you say," Maine said as he stood up. "I¡¯ll take my leave."


    He turned back and walked out the door.


    After Maine left, General Maxwell threw his head back as he looked at the roof.


    He softly muttered, "APF guys, huh. It¡¯s fine if it¡¯s only their Delta Squad trying to snoop. I can even handle it if the Beta Squad joins. However, Varant is another deal altogether. If he jumps in the mix and tries to dig in deep, things could get messy."


    There was aplicated look on his face.


    ...


    Back on the battlefield, it was a mess. The Variants that were jumping out of the falling helicopters were being killed by Lucifer. They weren¡¯t even getting a chance to position themselves in the air to counter before they were killed.


    Noticing the screams of the ones that had jumped out, the ones inside realized something was happening outside. They looked out only to see dead bodies lying on the ground.


    "Don¡¯t jump outside! That grim reaper is killing everyone one after another. If you jump out, he will kill you as well."


    "You expect us to stay inside and die after the crash? We have no chance of survival if we don¡¯t jump outside!"


    "Yeah! We need to go out, or we can just wait inside to die!"


    "All of you, stop wasting time!" Flourance shouted, ending the discussion of his teammates. "All of you jump out at once! He can¡¯t kill everyone at once. The long-range attackers can position themselves and fire on him to keep him busy!"


    "Doesn¡¯t that mean a few of us that jump out would die?" One of the Variants asked.


    "There is no other option. We can either take the risk and sacrifice a few, or we can all die! I see no other option," Flourance answered, objectively.


    Even he didn¡¯t wish to have people sacrifice themselves, but this was the only option. If all of them jumped out at once, it was evident that some of them would be killed by Lucifer, but that would give others the chance to position themselves to counterattack.


    This was better than dying one by one after jumping outside or dying in the crash.


    "Do it now! Don¡¯t think too much!" he thundered in amanding tone.


    The others also realized that there was no other option left. After gathering their courage and stoning their hearts, they jumped outside.


    Lucifer was wondering why no one was jumping out as the helicopter kept going down, twisting and turning uncontrobly. He was even thinking about going closer to see, but that¡¯s when he saw people jump out.


    Surprisingly, it wasn¡¯t one or two that jumped out but everyone else as well. They all jumped out together.


    Lucifer tried to find Flourance amongst them to target him first, but he wasn¡¯t there. Even though everyone had jumped out, Flourance was not amongst them.


    Everyone jumped out with a parachute except Flourance.


    Flourance wanted to go outst since he was sure that he would be the first person Lucifer would kill if he went out first.


    Even though he was someone who had the Spatial Discement ability to survive even the most dangerous of attacks, that ability has a limitation.

 Chapter 101 - 101: Fight Back

    <h4>Chapter 101 - 101: Fight Back </h4>


    Flourance had a very special skill, but it came with a few limitations that rarely anyone knew about.


    Firstly, it could only be used for a second at once before it was automatically canceled. The bigger problem at the moment was the second limitation of this ability which was something that Flourance was actually worried about because that was basically his true weakness in this situation.


    The second limitation was that the object he was carrying wasn¡¯t affected by this ability. That made it so that the parachute was still vulnerable.


    Even if he could survive the attack, if his parachute was hit, the oue was going to be the same. That would result in him falling on the ground, face first, and dying.


    As he was worried about this, he let the others go out first so he could jump after Lucifer was already engaged by his team members. It was no less than using his team as bait for his survival.


    All he wanted was to get to the ground sessfully. He could handle the rest after that.


    After not Finding Flourance amongst the crowd that had jumped out, Lucifer decided to go with the second-best option, which was to kill as many as he could.


    He raised both his hands towards the front and fired the lightning bolts simultaneously towards the ones that he found to be strong.


    "Aaa!"


    The ones who were hit by the bolts screamed in agony as their entire body was electrified. Not only that, but the lightning bolt also left a big hole in their bodies.


    Lucifer understood that these people were going to kill him or imprison him forever, so he needed to take them out to escape that fate.


    Since everyone was getting close to the ground, they all pulled the strings of their parachute, opening it.


    In the time it took for the Parachutes to open, Lucifer had only managed to kill four people; however, these four were among the Delta Squad¡¯s strongest.


    Flourance had kept the strongest of his team in the first helicopter in which he was traveling. The weaker ones were traveling in the third one. Thus, the ones that Lucifer had killed were all the top of the top in the Delta Squad.


    Xander was the Leader of the Delta Squad who was already pained when he found out that two Variants were killed in catching Lucifer. He had no idea that it was only the start. Close to eight were killed already.


    Flourance didn¡¯t have time to call and inform Xander about the disaster they were facing.


    Eight people were killed by him by now, leaving only six more. The six people were tougher to handle, though, as they were all the ones that had the power to attack from a distance. They had enough time to bnce themselves as well since Lucifer was distracted in killing others.


    This was all the time Lucifer got before all six of them started attacking Lucifer. The attacks all came at the same time, as if they were all in sync.


    This was also when Flourance jumped out of the helicopter, making it so that no one was left inside. He also opened his parachute without dy for even a single second.


    Seeing his men attack at the same time, heplimented them.


    "Good work. Keep attacking him," he said. "We just need to survive until wend. Just one more minute!"


    ...


    "There theye. I knew it wouldn¡¯tst for long. They are fighting back. Lucifer¡¯s free reign is over. I wonder if he can kill them before theynd on the ground. The fight would get tougher if they managed tond," Caen muttered as he observed the changingndscape of the battle.


    From the one-sided ughter, it was looking more like a proper battle as the Delta Squad members fought back.


    There was a phone in his hand. He had already expected that they would fight back. He knew things wouldn¡¯t end so quickly since he was more experienced than Lucifer.


    He understood all too well how resilient the APF was. That was why he had already called his team members.


    They were all waiting some distance away from them, ready to blow up the helicopters. Caen told them about the change in ns andmanded them toe here, prepared for the battle.


    He still hadn¡¯t informed Vega about how the situation had changed. He had previously told Vega that he had the kid, and he was bringing him back soon.


    He didn¡¯t wish to exin how things were screwed up now. Also, he didn¡¯t see any point in it since it wasn¡¯t as if Vega, Dion, or Isona coulde here to help them.


    "Even though only seven members are left, I can see they are all strong. Do I need to involve myself in this battle? Or should I let the kid handle it until my teames?" Caen muttered.


    He saw a barrage of attacksing towards Lucifer, who dodged most of them.


    Even though he dodged, he was still hit by what seemed like an illusory knife that stabbed the right side of his chest. It was targeted at his heart. However, Lucifer moved in thest moment, making it miss his heart.


    The illusory knife stabbed in his chest, but it disappeared, leaving a wound in his chest.


    It was the attack of a red-haired man who was called Vey.


    Vey was counted in the delta squad¡¯s strongest members since he was strong, and his ability was pretty peculiar.


    It was an A-Rank elemental ability that made him able to form illusory weapons like knives or swords that he could use to fight. Unfortunately, these weapons disappeared after a single attack or sh, making his ability less useful.


    Even with the limitation, this ability was powerful as he could form an unlimited amount of single-use weapons one after another that he could throw at the enemies. His aim was also close to perfect, making the enemies have a hard time escaping his attacks.


    After Xander and Flourance, Vey was the strongest fighter in Delta Squad. Even Xander appreciated his abilities.

 Chapter 102 - 102: Plan To Escape

    <h4>Chapter 102 - 102: n To Escape </h4>


    Vey attacked using the illusory knife which had stabbed the chest of Lucifer; however, it disappeared instantly, leaving the wound in his chest.


    Lucifer gazed down and saw the blooding out of his chest while the knife disappeared. There was a deep wound in his chest, which started slowly healing.


    Even though the wound had started to heal, before the damage couldpletely heal, another illusory knife came flying and stabbed right where the previous injury was, again opening it.


    Just as the knife disappeared, another knife came flying, hitting the same ce. The wound kept getting deeper and deeper as more and more knives kept hitting. Soon, the knives had managed to create a see-through hole in his chest.


    Lucifer was not even moving as he kept watching the knives being hurled at him. More attacks of the knives were simultaneously aimed at his head and heart, but he was using his hand to stop the attacks. The knivesing for his head kept hitting his right hand.


    Lucifer was simply watching, not doing anything to Vey. Vey might have been a dangerous enemy for the others, but to Lucifer, he was the weakest since his attacks were no more than the attacks of mortals that just used weapons.


    His healing was more than capable of helping him keep up. In the meanwhile, Lucifer was more focused on killing others.


    Vey was so embarrassed to see that he was being ignored. He was called the Delta Squad¡¯s assassin, who was the third strongest in the Squad, but he was being ignored like he was a kid.


    As for his attacks, even though they were harming Lucifer, they weren¡¯t proving anything significant in the grand scheme of things since Lucifer continued killing his teammates while taking his attacks head-on.


    Lucifer waved his hand, shooting out a lightning bolt which was aimed at another Variant of the Delta Squad.


    The Variant was able to make rocks out of thin air to attack his enemies, but the rocks were too weak to hurt Lucifer as he was able to break them in one punch.


    His ability was also limited, and he could only create big rocks that took a long time to create; thus, he wasn¡¯t much threat. As the lightning bolt hit him, the man was dead as well.


    With that, Lucifer had killed ten Delta Squad members until there were only four people left.


    The ones who had survived were Flourance, Vey, and two more people called Gret and Oayne.


    Flourance had the spatial discement ability, whereas Vey had the ability to use illusory knives. Gret and Payne also had good powers, but the two of them were short-range fighters, so the only one who could attack Lucifer at this time was Vey.


    Lucifer had already dealt with most of the long-range attackers while ignoring Vey.


    Now that everyone was dealt with, that only left Vey, who was a concern.


    Vey was still attacking, but he had given up by now as well. It was as if he was throwing his attacks at a wall that wasn¡¯t hurt and that didn¡¯t show any emotions. Now that his friends were dead, he knew that the next number was his.


    Crash!


    Boom!


    The helicopter soon crashed on the ground and blew up, created a giant explosion that momentarily attracted everyone¡¯s attention.


    Lucifer knew that there was only one Long Range Variant left, and that was Vey, but he still ignored him as he shifted his focus at Flourance.


    From what he understood, Flourance was the leader of the team that had captured him. Even though Flourance couldn¡¯t attack Long Range, it was still good to have him die first when he was in the air, but Lucifer didn¡¯t attack normally.


    After fighting for so long, he had realized Flourance¡¯s ability which helped him escape the instant attacks.


    "You can escape attacks, but the fall isn¡¯t the same," Lucifer muttered as he gazed at Flourance with an expressionless face.


    He raised his left hand again. Electricity flickered around his arm, getting stronger.


    Flourance saw Lucifer¡¯s aim, and he knew what was going to happen. He looked down, seeing how bad the fall would be if he was attacked now.


    The fall didn¡¯t seem bad, but he was sure that there was a good chance that his legs would break at fall.


    He couldn¡¯t let Lucifer attack, but he couldn¡¯t do anything else either. Vey was already attacking effortlessly. As for Gret and Oayne, they were useless too since they were Warrior ss Variants who didn¡¯t have the ability to attack Long Range.


    Flourance gazed at Lucifer as a smile appeared on his face. He hade up with a n.


    ¡¯I guess I can only use his nature to my advantage. He is like a wild beast. As long as I mock him, he will continue attacking me and won¡¯t attack the Parachute. I need to keep him engaged until Ind,¡¯ he thought.


    "Hahaha!"


    Flourance startedughing out loud, attracting the curiosity of Lucifer.


    "I must say, you are very strong. Just like how that bastard father of yours was! He was also like you, crushing everyone."


    "We thought he was a lion, but he turned out to be a rabbit when he faced a true threat. Hahaha, that bastard couldn¡¯t even clear one dungeon without dying. Hahaha, so much for the so-called strongest warlock. Only a fake title!"


    "That bastard couldn¡¯t even save his wife. That bitch died with him! It¡¯s funny. They both deserved it for calling themselves strongest without having any strength! Hahaha!"


    Flourance continued mocking the parents of Lucifer to enrage him since he knew it was needed.


    He was sure if he didn¡¯t make Lucifer stop thinking, his Parachute was going to be targeted. He only needed to dy for a little longer until theynded.


    Flourance mocked Lucifer like crazy while the other team members watched him in amazement. They didn¡¯t know that such a decent man like Flourance could talk like that. Did he really go crazy in fear, or was it something else? They thought.

 Chapter 103 - 103: Discovered Weakness

    <h4>Chapter 103 - 103: Discovered Weakness </h4>


    "Hahaha!" Flourance was constantly mocking Lucifer without taking a break since he didn¡¯t want to take the risk. He realized that letting Lucifer attack the parachute was worse for him.


    Enraging Lucifer seemed like the best option at the moment to him.


    "I can¡¯t describe how happy I was to know that the bastard parents of yours were dead. It was bad that they took more people to death with them, though. Still, the good with their death was more prominent than the bad that came with the death of others."


    "How about you stop this futile struggle? Stop resisting and ept your death? Do a favor on your parents. They must be missing you in hell."


    "Just ept your death and go unite with them."


    As Flourance talked to Lucifer, he subtly kept ncing at the ground to keep an approximate idea of the time he needed tond.


    Lucifer heard the constant mocking of the man. Even though he knew what Flourance was trying to do, he couldn¡¯t control himself. His parents were his reverse scale, and he couldn¡¯t restrain himself whenever his parents were talked bad about.


    This was the sole reason he had killed a man previously who hadn¡¯t done anything terrible except mocking his Father.


    Lucifer was the same this time. Even though he knew that attacking the Parachute was the best option to kill Flourance effectively, he didn¡¯t do it.


    He wanted to punish Flourance himself no matter how stupid he found his decision to be.


    He was about to attack Flourance, but as he changed his n at thest moment, he changed his target too. Instead of attacking the Parachute of Flourance, he lowered his hand a few inches and moved it towards the left before the Lightning Bolt was fired.


    The lightning flickered and wrapped around itself as it zoomed ahead.


    Vey continued attacking as he saw Lucifer was about to attack Flourance, but his face went pale as if he had lost all blood from his body at the sight of the aim being shifted to him.


    The biggest problem with the Delta Squad now was that they were at the mercy of the parachutes, thus making it not as efficient for them to dodge. If there weren¡¯t such limitations, they wouldn¡¯t have died so easily.


    Vey also had a hard time dodging. He started struggling to dodge, but he failed as the lightning bolt prated his forehead, making him scream in pain before his eyes went nk. His eyes lost their light.


    Even though Lucifer had killed another Variant, he didn¡¯t even wait to watch the man die. His blood was boiling already as he flew straight towards Flourance.


    Flourance watched Lucifer fly towards him, but instead of looking concerned, there was a smirk on his face. His n had worked.


    "As expected. No matter how strong or fierce he is. He is still a kid and has a childish tendency. He might have faced a few things that formed his world beliefs, but he still doesn¡¯t have true maturity," he thought as he gazed at enraged Lucifering towards him.


    Gret and Oayne were on the side, acting like spectators since they couldn¡¯t join the battle anyway. They weren¡¯t able to attack in long-range, and they didn¡¯t wish to do that either.


    They had already seen their friends die. They didn¡¯t wish to join the group without being able to fight back. Instead, they wished to stay silent and be ignored.


    Flourance could see Lucifer packing his fist, which seemed to be filled with immense strength, which Lucifer threw towards his chest.


    ¡¯Good. Attack me. Only a few more minutes and I can be in a safe zone tond even without Parachute,¡¯ Flourance thought as he used his spatial Discement ability.


    Lucifer¡¯s fist passed through the chest of Flourance, unable to touch him. Flourance was still there, going down slowly. He looked as real as he always did, but his body had temporarily shifted to a separate space which made him impervious to all attacks.


    He waited for Lucifer to pull back his hand; however, that didn¡¯t happen. Lucifer kept his hand stabbed in the chest of Flourance as he floated down slowly with him.


    The confidence on Flourance¡¯s face had disappeared as he saw that. His discement ability was temporary, so he needed to return to the real space, but as Lucifer wasn¡¯t taking his hand away, that made it difficult for him.


    If Lucifer¡¯s hand was still there when his ability stopped working, he was going to be gravely injured. Only a few people knew about this limitation since he never let it be known. He always made sure that people only knew his strong side.


    Only because of this limitation, he had lost in the battle against Xander ke. In this battle, he was already doing good. He was keeping up, but that was only for as long as Xander was ying around.


    When he saw Xander getting serious, he had immediately surrendered only because he didn¡¯t want his limitation to be exposed.


    Xander was the leader of Delta Squad, who was also known as the me Wizard. He was a strong and powerful warlock who rarely got serious in battle, but his mes were said to be capable of burning everything when he did.


    Flourance knew that Xander would burn the whole field, and his mes were able to burn for hours without dying. So his temporary Spatial Discement ability was useless. With surrender, he saved the limitation of his body from being exposed.


    The only person who had managed to guess about this limitation was Xander, but he didn¡¯t expose it.


    The same thing was happening here. If Lucifer didn¡¯t take out his hand, Flourance was going to be gravely injured.


    Not taking the risk and feeling the urgency of time, Flourance decided to take action.


    He brought his right hand out of Spatial Discement and punched towards Lucifer¡¯s chest to throw him back.

 Chapter 104 - 104: Wrath Of Gods

    <h4>Chapter 104 - 104: Wrath Of Gods </h4>


    "I got you now," Lucifer muttered as he caught the fist of Flourance before it couldnd on his chest.


    "Looks like I was right. You can¡¯t always stay like that. As you said, using the brain can sometimes be better," he continued as he gazed at Flourance expressionlessly.


    As Lucifer talked, he gazed at the pained look on Flourance¡¯s face, who was on the verge of screaming.


    Flourance was feeling the brunt of Lucifer¡¯s ability of Decay. As Lucifer caught his hand, which was out of the Spatial Discement, the Decaying Powers of his started taking effect, which affected the entire body of Flourance. Even the portion of the body which was in a different space was affected.


    His cells started dying as his body grew old. Inmmation started inside his body as his blood started evaporating. His skin started drying and breaking down.


    With this much distraction and breaking down of his body, the Spatial Discement of his was also broken as his entire body returned to the real space.


    "Aaaah! Free me now!!!" Flourance cried in pain as he struggled to free his hand, but his strength was nothingpared to Lucifer.


    It was as if his hand was caught by a mighty god. Since he was in the air, he couldn¡¯t even use the ground to propel himself backward to free himself.


    Gret and Oayne were horrified as well at the sight of Flourance, who was starting to look like a skeleton. His scream never stopped. At least not until his body turned to ash which sprinkled over the ground.


    As the human weight was removed from the parachute, it flew away with the wind.


    The other two Variants watched their Vice-Captain die. Sweat covered their faces since there were only the two of them left. After the death of Flourance, there was no one to attract Lucifer¡¯s attention except the two people.


    There was still some time before they couldnd on the ground and be able to fight or run. Until then, they were at the mercy of Lucifer. The two of them looked down at the ground as they sweated more.


    "If he attacks now, one of us will die. Only one will survive since we¡¯re close to the ground," Gret pointed out as he took a deep breath.


    Oayne understood the graveness of the situation. His heart was beating like a drum as he saw death in front of him.


    He still kept his courage as he said, "Whoever survives must run deep into the forest and hide. We can¡¯t fight him. The sacrifices of us shouldn¡¯t be in vain."


    Gret gazed at his friend, who was the only person still alive with him. He released a mouthful of breath.


    His eyebrows lowered as he said hopelessly, "I am closer to him, so he will attack me most certainly. That¡¯s good as well. You have a daughter and a wife. I, on the other hand, am a bachelor with no one to care for me. No one will miss me anyway. After yound, please run and don¡¯t look back. Survive at all cost."


    After you escape, go back to the base and tell Varant what happened. Captain Xander is strong, but we are dealing with a monster here. We need to use all our strength to crush him, or we might suffer the events like today. Make sure you survive and tell everything!" he continued.


    "W-what are you saying? Of course, you will Su-" Oayne was talking back when he stopped as he saw Lucifer turn around.


    Lucifer was looking back at them. His face was as emotionless as ever. He could also see that there wasn¡¯t much time to attack since they were soon going tond. If he attacked one of them now, the other one was going to survive and run away since he would be on the ground.


    He had been attacking one person at a time until now since he wasn¡¯t confident if he could attack two people at the same time with precision.


    He decided to do it even at the risk of missing as he raised both his arms towards the two Variants.


    "What the heck! He is going to attack us both?!" the two of them shouted at the same time, stunned. They both understood what Lucifer was trying to do.


    "Can he even do that?"


    "He hadn¡¯t done that since the battle started, at least not sessfully killing two at the same time. Is he trying something new? We¡¯ll be dead if he can do this!"


    None of the two Variants could believe if Lucifer could do this. They were all confident that he couldn¡¯t; otherwise, he would have done this already.


    Lucifer had fought against Flourance in Erygas. He had fought multiple enemies here as well. Why didn¡¯t he attack simultaneously if he was capable of such great aim?


    "Why would he be trying if he wasn¡¯t capable of doing it? It looks like I wouldn¡¯t be able to return and tell master Varant or Captain Xander. We¡¯ll both be dead here," Oayne muttered as he gazed at the sky. He closed his eyes softly as if he had already given up.


    "My wife and my daughter... I hope the APF can catch this guy and exterminate him, so the humans don¡¯t face the wrath of this monster," hemented as he prayed to the gods that he believed in.


    The sky thundered right at that moment as if the gods were responding to him, telling him that they are watching everything.


    A satisfied smile spread across Oayne¡¯s lips as he heard the raging thunder of nature.


    "Urgh!"


    He spat out a mouthful of blood as the ck Lightning bolt of Lucifer hit him.


    His eyes opened wide in pain as he lost control of his body.


    He looked to his side and saw a big hole in the chest of Gret. His clothes were covered in blood as well. His lips were bleeding as a single tear left the corner of his eye and slid downwards. His eyes lost their shine, but they still remained open even when he died.


    Oayne watched hisstpanion die as well, but he knew that he wouldn¡¯t survive for long either. His body was already damaged beyond repair.


    He gazed at Lucifer as he said hisst words, "You think you are the god. Live in that illusion for as long as you can. One day you will suffer the wrath of the true gods...."


    His eyes closed as he lost thest bit of his life.

 Chapter 105 - 105: Decision For Future

    <h4>Chapter 105 - 105: Decision For Future </h4>


    Xander ke was the Leader of the Delta Squad of APF. There was not a single person in the APF who didn¡¯t know who Xander was.


    He was an S-Rank Warlock. Even though he only led the Delta Squad, which was the weakest squad of the three APF Squads, there was no one who doubted his abilities. He was a respectful Warlock who was famously known even outside the APF.


    Many influential people knew about him. As he was a member of the Delta Squad, he often dealt with Variant rted problems of the general public, unlike the Higher Squads that ced most of their efforts on the Variant Uprising organization.


    Because of this, Xander was known even by the general public. His reputation was very favorable in public.


    Even though he wasn¡¯t on the list of the top ten strongest Warlocks in the country, he was still known to be a frightening Warlock. His mes were known to burn everything to cinders. It was also said to be hot enough to meld metals.


    Despite being this strong, Xander was unable to save most of his squad members. Not because he wasn¡¯t strong enough but simply because he didn¡¯t even know.


    ording to him, his squad had already caught Lucifer, who was in an inescapable cage. He didn¡¯t realize that Lucifer had already escaped and killed half his squad.


    Flourance didn¡¯t get enough time even to inform Xander. He wanted to catch Lucifer himself after Lucifer had escaped, or at least try to catch himself first before telling Xander about his failure since he was confident in his abilities to catch Lucifer.


    Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t have any idea about what was waiting for him. When Lucifer came face to face with him, he didn¡¯t even get the time tond on the ground safely, let alone the time to inform Xander.


    Thus, the crashed helicopter¡¯s remains burned on the ground while bodies with big holes in themid on the ground, unmoving. The bodies were spread throughout.


    Open Parachutes were still attached to most of the bodies; however, the wind wasn¡¯t as intense as it had previously been; thus, the bodies weren¡¯t being dragged all around. Some of the bodies were even hanging from the trees as they had fallen on them.


    The green grass on the ground was covered in dark red blood that wasn¡¯t only in the ces where the bodies were lying. Instead, it was sprinkled even far away somehow.


    Lucifer was still floating in the air as he looked down at the ground expressionlessly.


    Even though one helicopter was broken entirely as it blew up, the other one was still intact. It was standing on the ground. Its rotor des were still moving, albeit extremely slowly.


    Caen stepped out of the helicopter with a bright grin on his face as he slowly pped. "Bravo! That was a good show."


    Lucifer gazed at Caen, still lost in thoughts. He was still confused by the intentions of Caen. Even though what Caen said seemed like the truth, Lucifer didn¡¯t feel like trusting him entirely.


    He had seen how treacherous humans had been. Even the scientists that had pretended to care for humans and their lives showed their true faces when Lucifer wasn¡¯t of any use to them.


    ¡¯It is a world of self-interest. People are only nice as long as we are useful to them. They are all hypocrites who only think of themselves above everyone else. They are all the same. At their core, they are only monsters who know how to act a little better.¡¯


    ¡¯ He would be no different. He and his organization would be the same. They only want me now because I am useful to them, but once I am not, they will forget everything I do and throw me away like the bastards in thatb did after my parents died,¡¯ he thought as he gazed at Caen, who was pping on the ground. ¡¯It wouldn¡¯t be any different this time.¡¯


    He was still thinking if he should use Caen instead or if he should just kill him and continue on his quest to destroy the Facility. If he did decide on the first, he would have the backing of a big organization in his quest, but he most probably would have to do things for them as well in exchange.


    If he selected thetter, he would be alone, but he would have more freedom. It wasn¡¯t all good either since he knew that more freedom woulde with more risk as well since he might face situations like today when attacking the Facility.


    By now, he was certain that the others knew what his aim was. He already knew that they would know, but he hadn¡¯t expected them to set a trap by giving him fake information about the Facility¡¯s location.


    He had once again made the mistake of trusting the humans, thinking that they could tell the truth when the life of their loved ones was in trouble, but Xander had still lied to him. That only proved how cunning and uncaring they were.


    Since they knew his target, they would most certainly not let him have his way withouting up with another scheme. Since he had killed most of the people here, he was confident that the next attack would be on a much bigger scale.


    If he refused Caen, his organization might be after him as well. So the oues of saying no were much worse than saying yes. Still, he didn¡¯t wish to agree.


    He didn¡¯t wish to forget everything and mix up with humans again, even if it was to get information.


    "I guess it is something that must be done. After I am done getting what I want, I will leave even if I have to destroy them along the way. This should be fine. I won¡¯t let anyone control me, even if it¡¯s the gods themselves," he muttered softly as he decided what to do.


    It was like how he had decided to stay with the girl he met along the way to learn from her the art of hunting and cooking. He just needed to use them before he left without giving them a chance to betray him.

 Chapter 106 - 106: He Did

    <h4>Chapter 106 - 106: He Did </h4>


    Lucifer had decided to agree to Caen¡¯s proposal and slowly started floating downward until hended on the ground.


    He walked towards Caen with small steps, not in any hurry.


    "I wille with you," Lucifer said without a tinge of emotion in his voice.


    "That¡¯s good," Caen let out as he smiled. He extended his hand towards Lucifer as if intending to shake his hand. "Wee to the team."


    Lucifer stood still without any movement. He lowered his gaze at the man¡¯s hand, which didn¡¯t have any gloves, before looking at his face as if he was looking at an idiot.


    Caen wondered why he was looking at him like that before he realized what he had done wrong. He pped his forehead as he let out, "Right. How could I forget about your Decay? You can¡¯t control that."


    Lucifer didn¡¯t respond.


    "Don¡¯t worry. We have a few good resources. We do know of gloves that were made keeping your mother¡¯s abilities in mind that canst for a day without decaying."


    "We are already trying to get our hands on that technology. After we get that, we can create hundreds of such gloves for you so you can live your life as normally as you wish. As you know, we care for our team members. Since you are bing one of us, you¡¯ll be a part of our big family as well."


    Caen kept talking as he tried to tell Lucifer about their sincerity. His smile never left his face.


    Generally, he rarely smiled, but on a mission, he could use any persona, so he wasn¡¯t having a hard time faking his expressions.


    Lucifer was also finding the words of Caen interesting. He was intrigued by the benefits, but he still kept his suspicions. He wasn¡¯t going to let himself be swayed since he knew that they had an ulterior motive as well.


    "Right. We should leave now. Let¡¯s go," Caen let out as he turned back. He walked back towards the helicopter.


    Lucifer thought for another second before he started following him, unaware of how this decision was going to turn out. He didn¡¯t know what was going to happen, but he had decided on one thing. He wasn¡¯t going to think of them as any more than puppets that he would be using.


    He wasn¡¯t going to be making friends. He also wasn¡¯t going to let them control him or use him like the scientists had done, even if he had to burn the whole world in the process.


    He had only taken two steps before he stopped. A frown appeared on his face as he slowly turned back.


    Caen also stopped and nced back as he also heard a sounding from behind them.


    It sounded like the engine of a car that was making a big noise.


    Lucifer gazed into the distance and saw a few off-road vehicles racing towards them. The car in the front had no roof while the other cars did.


    In the first car, Lucifer saw a bulky man standing. The man had what seemed like a rocketuncher in his hand, which he was carrying with his right shoulder¡¯s support. The car also had a driver and a few more men.


    "More of them," Lucifer muttered as he gazed at them.


    Electricity again flickered near his arms as he began using his powers. He smashed his right leg on the ground and used the impact to propel himself forward.


    His feet left a deep mark behind, but no dust flew this time as the ground had seen plenty of rain recently. The soil was still wet, or his stomping might have caused a big cloud of dust in his wake.


    "Wait!" Seeing Lucifer flying towards the cars with the intention to attack them, Caen shouted. "They are my men. They came to help us!"


    Lucifer heard the words of Caen and stopped. His feetnded on the ground, but he didn¡¯t turn back. His fists were still clenched as his eyes were still observing the fresh arrivals.


    Caen walked towards Lucifer as he further described, "I told you they were waiting ahead for us to blow the other helicopters. As the Delta Squad guys found out about you being missing, they stopped and decided to move back. Since the old n had failed, I called them here to support you in battle. Surprisingly you already dealt with the enemies before they coulde."


    "Fine," Lucifer muttered as he turned back and resumed walking towards the helicopter.


    He soon reached near Caen and stopped when he was right beside him. He looked in Caen¡¯s eyes in full seriousness.


    Caen didn¡¯t know why but he always felt intimidated whenever he looked into Lucifer¡¯s eyes. It was the same this time. He asked, "Is something wrong?"


    He wondered if he had done something wrong. He couldn¡¯t see anything like that being done by him, though.


    "I need clothes," Lucifer said, looking down at his chest. He had no shirt. He was bare-chested for a long time.


    "Oh, that," Caenughed as he nodded his head. "Don¡¯t worry. We will buy factories of clothes for you."


    "Good," Lucifer muttered as he walked past him. He entered the helicopter and sat down, folding his arms.


    The Cars stopped in front of Caen as the men stepped out.


    "What, boss! You called us here, but you already dealt with them. You could have left some of them for us at least," the bulky man who was carrying the rocketuncher said, looking disappointed. "I wanted to blow up a few of them."


    "I didn¡¯t touch even a single one of them," Caen answered as he shook his head lightly.


    He nced back towards the helicopter before he continued, "Well... technically, he didn¡¯t touch them either, but it¡¯s all the handiwork of our new friend."


    "The work of that kid?"


    "Really? Is he that strong?"


    "What the heck! Did he kill all of them alone without dying? Just what kind of monster is he?"


    All the men were stunned to know about Lucifer.


    "What kind of monster is he? That¡¯s what I¡¯m curious about too," Caen muttered under his breath as he frowned.

 Chapter 107 - 107: Meeting With Ayn

    <h4>Chapter 107 - 107: Meeting With Ayn </h4>


    "Master Xander. Wee back."


    There existed a tall multi-story building. It was entirely covered with ss that was reflecting the bright sunlight all around. The building had over forty floors, making it very tall.


    Even though the building was tall, it was still nowhere close to the tallest building in Elisium.


    There existed a helipad on top of the building. A military helicopter was standing on the helipad. Its rotors were still swinging, highlighting the fact that it hadn¡¯t been long since the helicopternded here.


    A red-haired man had stepped out of the helicopter who was greeted by the guard who protected the lift entrance.


    The man was none other than the leader of Delta Squad, Xander ke. He had just returned to the Base of the APF.


    The team members that had left with him to Ikrego had also returned with him. They were sent there on a mission to protect the city against the dungeon dwellers that had upied the city.


    Xander looked around but didn¡¯t find the other helicopters that were taken by his team.


    "I don¡¯t see my team here. Are they not back yet?" he asked the guards. "Strange. What¡¯s taking them so long? They should have been back by now."


    "Sorry, Sir. Only you have returned for now. Others are still out as far as I know," the guard answered to Xander, shaking his head.


    "Alright. Thanks for the information," Xander said as he walked towards the lift. His team members followed after him.


    There was a fingerprint sensor that was ced near the lift. Only the members of the APF could use their fingerprints to use the lift.


    "Fingerprint epted. Wee, Sir Xander."


    As the fingerprint matched, the system in the lift made an announcement before the door of the lift opened.


    Xander and the others stepped inside.


    Xander tapped two buttons. One was for the thirty-sixth floor while the other one was for the tenth floor.


    The APF headquarters had a peculiar structure.


    It had over forty floors. The first ten floors were assigned to the Delta Squad. The next ten floors were designated for the Beta Squad. Floor twenty-one to thirty-five were reserved for the Alpha Squad. Each squad was supposed to keep one floor separate from the floors that were assigned to them to hold prisoners that they caught.


    The thirty-sixth floor was reserved for Delta Squad leader Xander. The next floor was for Beta Squad Leader, and the thirty-eighth floor was for Alpha Squad Leader Varant.


    "They are carrying a heavy cage. That must be what¡¯s making them so slow. Their flying speed would obviously be affected with that much weight," A Delta Squad member imed as he saw Xander looking concerned.


    "Yeah. I was thinking the same thing," Xander acknowledged. It made sense that they were moving slower than he did.


    The lift stopped on the thirty-sixth floor.


    Xander stepped out of the lift. He turned back and observed the men inside the lift.


    "Take a rest. You worked hard in battles," he said as he watched the lift door close.


    He soon walked back to his office, where another fingerprint sensor was ced.


    He ced his thumb on the sensor, which opened the door.


    Xander stepped inside the room and walked around the table to sit on the chair.


    "Sigh... finally, it is all over. Soon, Lucifer will be brought here. Then it would be another hard effort to bring him to the right ce. I must bring him to our side and make him see the wrong hemitted."


    "If he joins the good side and fights with us, he can be another Varant in the future," he muttered as he tapped the wooden table before him with his fingers.


    "Where did they reach, though?"


    He brought his phone out of his pocket to call Flourance to get another update.


    He dialed the number and moved his thumb towards the call option; however, before his thumb could touch, the phone started ringing.


    "Ayn? Her timing is just too bad," Xander thought as he smiled wryly. He epted the call.


    "Yeah, Ayn. Did you need something?" he asked right away.


    In her office on the thirty-seventh floor, Ayn was looking at something inside her safe.


    "What do you mean? You came back, and you didn¡¯t evene to meet me? I wanted to ask you about the specifics of your mission," she answered to Xander as she rolled her eyes. "Hurry up. I will be leaving soon."


    "Alright. I¡¯ll be right there."


    Xander disconnected the call and left his office again to get to Ayn.


    He was curious about what she needed, and this concern diverted his attention. He had forgotten about calling Flourance to ask him where he and the rest reached.


    ...


    "There it is," Ayn eximed as she found what she was looking for. It was a pendrive that was kept in the safe.


    She brought out the Pendrive and closed the safe once again as she walked back to her chair.


    After inserting the Pendrive into theptop, she turned it on as she started waiting for Xander to arrive.


    Knock!


    She had just inserted the password of herptop when she heard the knock on the door.


    "Come in."


    The door of the room opened, and Xander barged inside.


    He walked straight to the chair that was ced on the other end of the table before Ayn.


    Without asking for further permission, he sat on the chair. "You called for me."


    "Yeah. It¡¯s about your mission rted to Lucifer. The kid you were chasing after," Ayn answered.


    "What about him? It is my mission. I don¡¯t believe Varant would take him from me now that I have captured him. If I put in some effort, I should be able to get my wishes. Other than that, I don¡¯t see any problem," Xander emphasized.


    "It¡¯s not about him. It¡¯s about Lucifer in a different way. I have some information," Ayn imed, sighing.


    From her looks, it seemed as if the matter was grave.

 Chapter 108 - 108: Missing Something

    <h4>Chapter 108 - 108: Missing Something </h4>


    "What information?" Xander asked, wondering what could be the matter.


    "I had a meeting with Varant recently. In that meeting, he gave me a mission," Ayn exined to Xander, breaking the silence that filled the room.


    Xander knew that Ayn called him to talk about Lucifer. Now that she was talking about her mission, did these two things have anything inmon? He wondered.


    cing both his palms on the smooth surface of the table, he asked, "Is your mission rted to Lucifer?"


    "Not really. My mission is rted to something else. It is just that Varant mentioned something interesting when I was with him." Ayn exined after refuting Xander¡¯s assumption.


    "What did you hear?" Xander inquired as he scooted forward in his seat while sharply looking up into Ayn¡¯s beautiful eyes.


    "It¡¯s about the Variant Uprising," Ayn answered, hinting at something vaguely.


    "Variant Uprising? How are they rted to Lucifer?" Xander asked, not understanding why such a big organization is linked to Lucifer when their goal is entirely different.


    "I thought you would be able to guess just from that. Apparently, you are getting slow," Ayn concluded as she startedughing. Her chuckle was light,ced with a hum of amusement at the observation.


    "I am not guessing here. Tell me what it¡¯s about," Xander answered as he rolled his eyes. He didn¡¯t feel embarrassed at the fact that Ayn wasughing at him since she was a friend. He knew she was just teasing him.


    Even though he said that he wasn¡¯t going to guess, his head was constantly trying to find a rtion between the two.


    He asked instantly as he thought of something, "Are they after Lucifer for some reason?"


    "Bingo. It looks like you still got the zeal," Ayn acknowledged as she smiled.


    "So they are after Lucifer? How do they even know about him? And I don¡¯t think we have any spies on their side. How did you know they were after Lucifer when even I had no clue about it?" Xander inquired, feeling suspicious. What was it that they knew and he didn¡¯t?


    "You know about the facility that you were investigating regarding Lucifer?" Ayn asked a question in return.


    "Yeah. I didn¡¯t get permission to investigate that ce. That General Maxwell has the authority of that ce. He didn¡¯t even let me see the facility. What about it?" Xander remembered the facility Ayn talked about.


    After finding out that the kid who was ughtering innocent civilians was the son of Zale Azarel and risse, he had gone to the facility himself to find out why the son of such great people turned out that way and how he supposedly died inside the facility. Even though he had hoped to investigate the facility, he didn¡¯t get permission.


    He would¡¯ve needed to put in a lot of effort to get permission, and even then, the chances of him seeding were too low. That was why he had decided to use the illegal methods.


    He used Ayn¡¯s help to get her prisoner to hack the surveince systems of the facility. That was how he got the footage of Lucifer¡¯s torture to know why he hated humans.


    He still had that footage that he didn¡¯t share with anyone since he could be punished for having that footage that was received using illegal methods. He could not only be arrested for this but also removed from his position as the Delta Squad leader.


    That wasn¡¯t all. Even Ayn could have been punished for helping him. That was why he hadn¡¯t released that footage to others.


    "Varant is trying to catch all members of Variant Uprising. He found out that a few well-known members of Variant Uprising were seen near that facility," Ayn exined as she turned herptop around, which had the image of that location.


    "When his team went there, that ce was found empty, but a few hints were seen that made it obvious that those guys had camped near the facility," she continued.


    A few packets and stic sses could be seen loitering around. Some holes of pirs could also be seen in the image that Ayn was showing.


    "You know what this implies, right?" she asked inplete seriousness.


    "Yeah. It¡¯s that..." Xander started answering, but before he could finish, Ayn started speaking.


    "It¡¯s that they were there for an extended period of time. The question remains, why were they there? And why did they leave without doing anything? The answer to that question is up to our assumption since we can¡¯t read their minds, but I have some ideas as to why they were there," Ayn answered.


    "Lucifer....¡¯ Xander muttered.


    "Yeah. I believe they were there for Lucifer. Lucifer is a strong kid with immense potential for the future. Any organization would lust after him, especially the evil organization of Variant Uprising, which aims for world domination. What better candidate for them than Lucifer, who hated the humans just like they do," Ayn implied.


    "They must have known about Lucifer being the one causing the ughters. After all, it¡¯s easy finding his identity. They have many powerful variants which are expert in tech rted fields. It isn¡¯t below them to find out about Lucifer," she continued as she stood up from her seat. The seat moved up a little as Ayn stood up.


    She turned back and walked towards the window behind her.


    Gazing outside the window, she said softly, "A kid that spent half his life in the facility... his heart burning in mes of revenge... ughtering everyone that came in his path... it¡¯s not tough to find out where he would go."


    "If I were in their ce, I would also think that he would go to the facility to destroy it. What better way to bring a kid who hated everyone to their side than to help him in his revenge. I believe that¡¯s why they were there, thinking that Lucifer woulde there," she said.


    "They vacated that ce. If what you are saying is right, doesn¡¯t that mean they realized that Lucifer isn¡¯ting there?" Xander let out as he stood up as well. He had a feeling that something was really wrong here.


    He still didn¡¯t put the pieces together. Flourance had called him, saying that Lucifer was caught by them and that they wereing back.


    He didn¡¯t think that something could have gone wrong with them since he was confident that Flourance would call him if something like that happened.


    What was this feeling then? What was he missing? What was it that he couldn¡¯t ce his fingers on? Many questions floated in his head.


    "Maybe, but I have a different theory. I think that they realized that we found out their location. The ground evidence made it evident that they left not long before our teams reached there. They must have found out about our raid and left before we could get there," Ayn theorized as she nced back at Xander.


    "Yeah... that must be it," Xander muttered under his breath, thinking that her words held some merit.


    Her answer came with a moment of silence when no one said anything.


    Ring! Ring!


    "Wha-" Xander was about to say something, but he stopped as his phone started ringing.


    Bringing his phone out of his pocket, he looked at the name.

 Chapter 109 - 109: A Lead

    <h4>Chapter 109 - 109: A Lead </h4>


    Xander¡¯s phone started ringing when he was in the middle of the conversation with Ayn.


    He brought the phone out of his pocket and looked at the screen to see who was calling him.


    "Kaden? Howe he is the one calling me instead of Flourance?" He wondered as he saw who it was.


    It was Kaden who was a part of Xander¡¯s team. However, the strange part was that Kaden was with Flourance in the group that was escorting Lucifer. It was odd for him to be calling instead of Flourance, who was in charge of that team.


    He instantly picked up the call, wondering what it might be about.


    "Yeah, Kaden."


    The words were followed by the long silence of Xander.


    It was the first time Ayn had seen Xander look like this. The Xander, who always looked in control, seemed to be really lost now. One of his powers allowed him to control his emotions, but he wasn¡¯t using this power. It was apparent that he didn¡¯t want to control his feelings in the situation and was trying to resist his ability.


    The phone soon fell from his hand, dropping on the ground, but Xander didn¡¯t move as if he didn¡¯t care.


    He clenched his fist tightly. The nerves in his hand became visible, and it seemed as if he was going to scream. The temperature of the room started increasing.


    Even though the AC was on, Ayn had started sweating because of heat that only kept increasing with each passing moment.


    "Xander?" Ayn called out softly. "Is something wrong?"


    Her voice acted like the ray of light in the darkness that was trying to swallow Xander whole.


    Xander came out of his state of mind briefly and used his Emotion Control. His second power let him stay in perfect control of his emotions no matter how bad the situation got.


    As he used his power, he returned back to normal.


    "Yeah, I am fine."


    "You don¡¯t look fine," Ayn alleged as she gazed at Xander with concern. "Tell me what happened?"


    "I will deal with what happened. You focus on your mission and leave me to mine," Xander alluded lightly as he picked up the phone, which was lying on the ground. He ced the phone on his ear again. "Where are you right now?"


    He opened the door of the room and left.


    He stepped inside the lift as he said, "Kaden, Do one thing. Send me your coordinates instead."


    After verifying his fingerprint, he went to the roof.


    He stepped inside the helicopter, which already had the pilot inside. He gave the coordinates to the pilot.


    The helicopter started rising in the air.


    ....


    A helicopternded in the middle of nowhere. Only sand could be seen as far as the eyes could see.


    Two people stepped out of the helicopter, who was none other than Lucifer and Caen.


    Lucifer looked around only to realize that they were in a desert. He had thought that he would be taken to their base, but they came to a desert instead?


    He couldn¡¯t help but ask, "Where are we?"


    "We are at our base. Just wait a few seconds. You will see," Caen let out as a sneaky grin appeared on his face.


    "Your men didn¡¯te with us," Lucifer asked again.


    He didn¡¯t stop just there and simultaneously issued a threat as well. "If this is a trick, it wouldn¡¯t end well for you."


    "Don¡¯t worry. We don¡¯t trick our family. We aren¡¯t like those despicable humans and the traitorous Variants that serve humans. We would never betray our family members as they do," Caen answered. "As for the others, they woulde here in cars. They would be picking up some stuff along the way."


    Lucifer nodded his head. That was also when he saw the ground shaking. The sand started moving sideways as the ground started rising up.


    Soon, a cylindrical lift came out of the ground that seemed to be big enough to apany tens of people. If one were to see from the top, one would see it as a lift with a diameter of five meters.


    "This lift will take us to our destination," Caen alluded to Lucifer as he stepped towards the lift.


    He ced his palm on the surface of the lift.


    "Scanning Completed. Wee, Leader Caen."


    Aputerized voice came out of the lift as the door started opening.


    "Come inside. Our other family members are waiting to see you," Caen called out as he gazed back at Lucifer. He moved his fingers, gesturing to him to hurry.


    Even though Caen seemed like he wanted Lucifer to hurry, Lucifer walked at his usual pace, not seeming to be in a hurry.


    He soon reached the lift and stepped inside with Caen.


    The door of the lift closed, and the lift submerged in the ground again, disappearing from sight.


    ...


    The green helicopternded on the ground. Another helicopter was standing right ahead. Many bodies could be seen spread around. It seemed like a crash site of a helicopter whose pieces could be seen nearby.


    A group of people was also standing near the bodies.


    The door of the green helicopter opened, and a man stepped out of it.


    The man had ming red hair and a dark gray long coat. He also wore two ck gloves in his hand.


    "Captain." A blue-haired man from that group walked towards thetest arrived helicopter.


    "Lucifer...?" Xander asked the blue-haired man.


    "He is missing. We believe he was behind this," Kaden answered.


    "Tell me what happened after you caught him," Xander inquired.


    Kaden started describing everything from the beginning about how they caught Lucifer and how they carried him. He then talked about how they found out that Lucifer was missing and how they broke up into teams.


    "So your team was going to search from Erygas, and his team was going toe scanning from here. When you came here, you saw this." Xander summarized.


    "Yes," Kaden answered.


    "So you didn¡¯t see Lucifer doing it?"


    "We... ah, we personally didn¡¯t, but it seems like his work."


    Xander walked near the bodies and started observing them. "This does seem like the work of his lightning."


    "Where is the second helicopter which was taking the cage? I need to see how he broke out of it," he asked Kaden.


    His question was only answered with silence.


    "Why aren¡¯t you answering?" Xander asked, seemingly confused. "I¡¯m already in a bad mood. Don¡¯t make it worse."


    "The second helicopter... it is missing," Kaden acknowledged.


    "It¡¯s missing? Did it get destroyed too? It should be easy to track it if it is fine," Xander replied. "There are trackers in every helicopter."


    "We did look around, but we didn¡¯t see its pieces anywhere. It doesn¡¯t seem like it has crashed. We did try calling the pilot, but the phone is off," Kaden exined.


    "Interesting. Someone took it and possibly Lucifer with them too. That someone must have helped Lucifer get out of the cage too," Xander guessed as he gazed at the sky.


    "It is better that way. The helicopter will lead us to the real culprits."


    He brought his phone out of his pocket and called a number.

 Chapter 110 - 110: Failure

    <h4>Chapter 110 - 110: Failure </h4>


    Xander called a number on his phone to the technical support of APF.


    "Yeah, don¡¯t bother with the greetings. Do one thing for me. I want you to track the location of one of the helicopters that my Delta squad took; Its number is 356772552," he told the person over the phone.


    He had a good memory, so he didn¡¯t need to describe the helicopter¡¯s characteristics and other details. He remembered the identification number itself.


    "That¡¯s right."


    "No, enter the query under my name. It¡¯s fine."


    Many things needed to be done to be able to track the equipment of the APF, and one such thing was to enter the details of who needed the information, their authority, etc.


    Xander gave all the details that he needed to before he asked, "How long will it take?"


    "A few minutes? It¡¯s fine. I can wait." He kept the phone near his ears as he started waiting.


    He walked back and forth while waiting. While doing that, he realized how Delta Squad members were standing idly, looking at him.


    "What are you guys doing? Start collecting the bodies. Send them to forensics," hemanded them after he saw them wasting time.


    As he was on the call, the person in the office also heard Xander¡¯s shouting.


    "Ah, sir? Are you talking to me?" he asked.


    "No, I was talking with my team. Ignore my words," Xander answered.


    A long silence followed the answer as the man got back to tracking using the system. It took him approximately five minutes before he said something.


    "All right, I am done here. And I have bad news for you," the man answered.


    Xander had a bad feeling as he heard the depressing tone of the man.


    "What bad news?" he asked the man grimly.


    "We are unable to locate the helicopter you are inquiring about. There can be a few reasons for that to be happening. Either the helicopter crashed somewhere, and the tracking device got damaged. Or someone intentionally removed the tracking device and destroyed it," the man answered.


    He further borated, "The second option seems unlikely as the person would need high knowledge about the systems in the helicopter to be able to remove the tracking device without causing an rm to go off in our systems at the base. So I think the first possibility is what took ce."


    "Can you tell me where it wasst seen and where it was going, so I can arrange for a search party to find its pieces?" he asked.


    "It wasing towards our base from Erygas city with a prisoner. You can arrange for a search party," Xander answered as he disconnected the call.


    He gazed at his phone as he softly muttered, "I doubt you will find it, in any case. You think the first possibility is true, but I believe it¡¯s the second. It would be impossible to find it now."


    "As I expected, this isn¡¯t the work of Lucifer. He can¡¯t have knowledge on how to deactivate that thing. Someone else is involved who helped him. And it¡¯s because of that person that we lost Lucifer," he acknowledged as he gazed towards the distant horizon.


    "Who could it be?" he mumbled to himself. That was when he remembered something. He remembered Ayn¡¯s words.


    Beforeing here, he had talked to her, where she told him about Variant Uprising members stalking the facility, which was Lucifer¡¯s target. When he heard about them leaving without doing anything, he already found it strange. Now he understood everything.


    He closed his eyes as he took a deep breath.


    "They didn¡¯t leave because they knew that our teams had found their trail. They left because they had already found Lucifer. Those sneaky bastards, I should have understood right then!"


    "When they knew about the facility, they might also have known about Erygas and our n. Those bastards!" he let out as he clenched his teeth.


    "Now that Variant Uprising is also involved, this enters into Varant¡¯s jurisdiction. I wanted to help Lucifer, but that doesn¡¯t seem possible now. Albeit all because of my negligence," he mumbled under his breath as he walked towards the helicopter in which he hade here.


    He was regretting his actions so much. The biggest mistake was his. When Flourance had informed him about them catching Lucifer, he should have gone straight to them instead of telling them to go back to base alone to save time.


    If he hadn¡¯t done that, he would have been with them. He would be able to save them. Just that single moment was what he was ming the most for this event.


    Even though he knew that Lucifer had killed them, he knew his mistake was just as significant. The me for his men¡¯s death was as much on his shoulders as it was on Lucifer.


    ...


    The doors of the lift opened, revealing a big hall before Lucifer. The floor was properly marbled, and the walls seemed to be made of metal, at least from the surface it appeared.


    There was a big crowd of people, already present inside the hall, seemingly waiting for them.


    It seemed like there were hundreds of people. Despite apanying so many people, the hall seemed primarily empty, which only showed how big it was,


    The people were dressed in a wide variety of clothes. It didn¡¯t seem like there was any dress code in this ce. Some men were even standing bare-chested entirely.


    Two men and one woman were standing in front of those hundreds of people like the leaders.


    "Wee to our base," Caen said softly in Lucifer¡¯s ears before he stepped out of the lift and stood sideways.


    Lucifer also stepped out.


    The three people that seemed to be the in-charge here were none other than Dion, Isona, and Vega.


    Isona was the level two leader of Variant Uprising and the only woman amongst the five leaders of VU.


    She was wearing a revealing grey dress that showed her cleavage full well. Her dark crimson hair was longer than shoulder length but didn¡¯t reach her waist. They were mid-length.


    Her eyes seemed like they were a mixture of blue and green, which sometimes seemed light blue and sometimes green. There was a ne in her neck which had three pearl-like semi-transparent jewels.


    The second person who stood right beside Isona was Dion, who was one rank higher than her in leadership. He was a level three leader. He had ashen skin like he was a dead person.


    His eyes were beautiful golden that matched with his looks while making him seem dangerously charming. He was dressed in a white shirt under a ck coat. He also wore ck pants to finish his professional look.


    The third person was technically the person who had the highest authority here, at least amongst the people that were present here.


    The third man was Vega, who was a level 4 leader. In leadership, he was just under the leader of the Variant Uprising, Raia, in position.


    Vega seemed like a librarian from the way he presented himself. There were two books in his hand, one of which was blue while the other one was orange.

 Chapter 111 - 111: Welcome

    <h4>Chapter 111 - 111: Wee </h4>


    Vega was standing with a subtle smile on his face. As soon as he saw Lucifering out of the lift, he started walking towards him.


    "Wee, Lucifer Azarel. Wee to your real home¡ª a ce where you won¡¯t have to worry about betrayal as you had to amongst the humans," Vega said merrily as he reached Lucifer.


    He reached out his hand to shake Lucifer¡¯s hand.


    "Ah, I wouldn¡¯t do that if I was in your ce. Not until I was suicidal, at least," Caen let out with a wry smile as he saw Vega do what he had attempted unknowingly previously.


    "Little Lucifer can¡¯t control his decay powers. If you shake his hand, you would be at the receiving end of his S-grade ability. And I think you wouldn¡¯t want that," he continued as he warned Vega.


    "Oh, so this is it," Vega muttered as he retracted his hand.


    ¡¯I thought he could control his powers. I was wrong, I guess,¡¯ Vega thought as he looked towards Lucifer¡¯s hand.


    "Anyway, as I was saying, Wee... to your true family," Vega greeted Lucifer again while he touched his hand together to offer a different kind of greeting.


    "I only have one family: my father and my mother. No one else," Lucifer replied grimly.


    "Ah, of course. I didn¡¯t mean to imply that we were cing ourselves in their ce. I just meant that we are going to be here for you like a real family. Like brothers...." Vega improvised.


    Lucifer nodded his head softly but didn¡¯t say anything. Even though the words seemed sincere, he realized that humans were good actors. Not every genuine-sounding statement was the truth.


    "Is he not here?" Caen asked softly.


    "Raia? He is outside, dealing with some important matters with his team. There is no way he would have missed weing a new member to our family. Especially the one he was so excited about," Vega answered.


    Lucifer seemed to not even be the least bit interested in Vega¡¯s words. Instead, he was more concerned about his clothes. He was still bare-chested.


    He gazed towards Caen and said, "Shirt."


    His single word reminded Caen that he had promised the kid to get him clothes. Vega, on the other hand, wondered what it was all about.


    "Carl!" Caen raised his hand as he called out to the man who was standing in the back.


    "Yes, leader," a long-haired man answered.


    "Bring me new clothes from the storage in Lucifer¡¯s size. Be fast," Caenmanded Carl, who was a part of his team.


    The long-haired man didn¡¯t ask a second time and instantly left.


    "His clothes got destroyed in the battle with the Deltas. I promised to give him clothes here," Caen told Vega.


    "Oh. It¡¯s nothing. We have plenty of clothes in all sizes," Vega let out as he understood everything. "They¡¯re all his now."


    "Boss, why don¡¯t you introduce us to little brother as well?" a bulky man in the back shouted.


    Vega turned back and gazed at the man who had spoken. It was all a part of Vega¡¯s n anyway. He had told everyone how they should act to make a good impression and to seem more weing.


    If it weren¡¯t that, the man would never have dared to speak before Vega, let alone yell.


    "Right, little brother, while your clothes are being brought here, let me introduce you to everyone."


    "I will start with myself. I am Vega Ozborne. I am the second inmand in this ce after Raia," Vega said as he introduced himself.


    "Command?" Lucifer muttered softly.


    ¡¯As expected, this ce was no different. They also had hierarchy andmands where they treated the rest as ves and ruled over people lower inmands,¡¯ he thought as he gazed at the hundreds of people who stood in the back.


    They were no different, but he wasn¡¯t surprised. Even if there were nomand, he wouldn¡¯t have trusted them. He had already made up his mind about not trusting anyone. Even if he saw a utopia or god himself came before him, he wasn¡¯t going to trust or lower his guard.


    "Oh, you might be misunderstanding when I say themand. It only means responsibility. Not in the hierarchy. As the person higher inmand, it¡¯s my responsibility to make sure that weaker ones are safe," Vega replied with a calm smile on his face as he noticed subtle difort on Lucifer¡¯s face.


    He knew the adversities Lucifer faced and what impacts it might have had on his psyche. He wished to separate the perception of VU from the facility as much as he could.


    Lucifer nodded without actually believing anything.


    "I believe you already met Caen," Vega continued as he pointed towards Caen, who was standing on the side.


    "Caen is a really great guy. He is fifth in responsibility," he continued, making sure he used the correct word this time.


    After introducing Caen, Vega shifted his focus to Isona, who was walking towards them. "And she is-"


    Before he could even finish his sentence, Isona took the lead and cut him off, "I am Isona. In responsibility, I am the fourth here," she said.


    "And Vega, Lucifer just came here. Can¡¯t you do the introductionter? Have mercy on the little guy. Let him go to his room and rest. He can get to know others naturallyter on. Don¡¯t make him stand for the introduction of hundreds of people," she continued as she smiled wryly.


    She reached Lucifer and reached out her hand towards his head to rub it like a caring sister.


    Lucifer watched the hande towards him slowly. He squinted his eyes as he resisted the urge to fry the head of Isona with his ck lightning.


    He stepped back since he didn¡¯t wish to have her touch him. He even used his Wind Control to help his movement.


    Within a second, he reached from the hand reach of Isona to ten meters away from her.


    "Good movement," Vegaplimented Lucifer¡¯s swift movement.


    Caen instead preferred to fire back at Isona with his sarcasticment, "See Isona? You are even annoying him like you annoy everyone here." A soft grin brightened his face.


    "How could this be? Big sister only wished to love little brother and caress him," Isona said with a pout. "It must be your trick! You filled the ears of little brother with lies rted to sweet and innocent me."


    "Sure. Whatever you say. We both know the truth," Caen said as he rolled his eyes.


    "Little Brother, did I do something wrong?" Isona asked Lucifer with a cry-like face.


    Caen felt like vomiting as he saw such childish acting of Isona. Even Dion felt like pping his face with his palm. On the other hand, Vega didn¡¯t know whether he shouldugh or cry at Isona¡¯s tactics. At Least she was bringing a good fun impression to this ce before Lucifer.


    "I don¡¯t like anyone touching me," Lucifer answered grimly.


    So many people had touched him, but none had the touch like his parents. The doctors, the scientists, they all touched him to use him. After he was out of the facility, it remained the same.


    First, the waiter touched him to throw him out in disgust simply because he wanted food while looking poor. Then the enemies who touched him during battles.


    He had never received affection in thest five years. He felt that it was better than getting fake affection like he was about to get now, at least.

 Chapter 112 - 112: Training Room

    <h4>Chapter 112 - 112: Training Room </h4>


    Lucifer was at the base of Variant Uprising, being overwhelmed by new faces, but he was still the old him. He didn¡¯t get close to anyone, nor did he let anyone get close to him.


    "Caen, take Lucifer to guest room number Seven. I¡¯ll send new clothes for him there as well," Vega told Caen.


    "But... I can do it," Isona told Vega, who simply refused.


    "I don¡¯t think the little guy feelsfortable with you. Let Caen escort him. He¡¯s tired. We have plenty of time to get to know each other," Vega answered Isona. "Until then, you stay with Dion and me. We have work to do."


    "Sigh, alright," Isona replied as she gazed at Caen with jealousy.


    "Don¡¯t worry, little brother. We¡¯ll meet again," Isona told Lucifer, smiling gently before she stepped back to Vega.


    "Come." With that, Caen started walking away while gesturing for Lucifer to follow behind him.


    They again went inside the lift, which took them to the lower floors. Even though Lucifer was underground, he didn¡¯t feel like he was in danger. He was calm andposed, but he was also ready to take action if he needed to. He hadn¡¯t lowered his defense.


    The door of the lift again opened, this time on a different floor.


    Unlike the previous floor, this floor seemed different. It didn¡¯t seem like a big arena. Instead, it seemed like a properplex with long corridors.


    Many decent paintings were also hanging on the silver walls making the ce seem more home-like.


    "This is the floor where you¡¯ll rest. Don¡¯t worry about anything. We have personal chefs who will bring food for you here. Also, you¡¯ll get anything you desire as well. Moreover, this whole floor is only for guests," Caen told Lucifer as he stepped out of the lift.


    "At the moment, only you¡¯re our guest, so this whole ce is for you," he added. "Let me show you around."


    Lucifer calmly followed after Caen, walking through the corridor.


    "This room is the dining room. It¡¯s for joint dining in case we ever have arge number of guests. Since you¡¯re the only one, you don¡¯t need toe here. You can eat in your room. But if you want to eat here, no one will stop you either."


    "This room here is the garden. We have a proper garden here which is quite big too. If you ever want to take a walk, you can do so here. There are also a few cute birds inside who you might like."


    As Caen walked with Lucifer, he kept showing him around each of the rooms. He showed a massive dining hall and a garden which seemed bigger than it should have been. The garden was filled with many rare flowers, nts, and even trees.


    There was also a fountain and a pond inside the garden.


    "This here is for training," Caen said as he showed Lucifer the third room, which seemed pretty strange. The room had nothing. It was an entirely empty room with walls of stone that had strange markings on it.


    "You might be wondering what this is or why we need training? Since you¡¯re new to being a Variant, you probably don¡¯t know about it. Since you¡¯re a part of our family, I¡¯ll tell you," Caen said.


    "As Variants, we awaken our power before we turn ten years old. From that point on, we are able to use our powers. But even then, we can¡¯t use our full potential."


    " Even though we can use our powers, we are only able to use a fraction of them. And since our powers and their grade is fixed at the start, the only way to get stronger is by increasing our efficiency of using our powers to their best," he exined.


    "A Variant who can utilize ten percent of his A-Grade power is certainly weaker than a Variant who can utilize eleven or more percent of the same power."


    "And the only way to increase your efficiency is by using your powers regrly to make your body morefortable with them," he added as he walked inside the empty room.


    Lucifer also entered behind Caen.


    "But most of the Variants in our family are pretty strong. If they just used their powers randomly, they would destroy this whole ce in the end. That¡¯s why we made these training rooms on each floor. These rooms are made with the help of some of our most intellectual and able Variants. These rooms aren¡¯t normal, as you might have guessed already."


    "These are much more resistant to powers. Here, you can use your powers, and the damage would be much less."


    "And after the training session, our Variants daily repair the rooms that suffered most damage so that the rooms are ready for another session the next day. You can also train here if you ever want. Don¡¯t worry about destroying the room. We will repair itter," Caen told Lucifer.


    "Why don¡¯t you give it a try? I heard you have Super Strength. Go ahead and punch the wall," he let out, smiling.


    Curious, Lucifer nodded his head. He also wanted to try if it was true.


    He walked closer to one of the walls and packed his fist. Since Caen had said that he could use as much strength as he needed, he didn¡¯t want to stay behind. But at the same time, he also didn¡¯t want to expose his entire strength.


    He had decided to only use fifty percent of what he could use.


    After deciding, Lucifer packed his fist and punched the wall.


    Bam!


    A small fistnded on the wall, making the whole room vibrate. Cracks developed on the wall, but it still wasn¡¯t broken. The wall had mostly taken the attack.


    On the other hand, if it had been a different wall, it would have been broken already, shattered to rubble.


    "See? The wall is more resistant. But I¡¯ll still advise you not to attack at the same ce because it is only resistant but not impervious to attacks. Change your targets regrly," Caen informed Lucifer about the limitations of the wall as well.

 Chapter 113 - 113: Something Of His Own

    <h4>Chapter 113 - 113: Something Of His Own </h4>


    Lucifer couldn¡¯t help but shake his head in disappointment. This wall was actually useless. If it could only take his attack at fifty percent, what if he had used full strength?


    And even this fifty percent wasn¡¯t actually fifty percent of the S-Rank strength. It was only fifty percent of what Lucifer was able to use, which was only a fraction of his potential already.


    Also, if the wall couldn¡¯t take his strength, what about his Decay?


    Curious, he shifted his gaze between his hand and the wall.


    As Caen had said, he didn¡¯t use his decay on the already damaged portion of the wall. Instead, he moved over to the side.


    He slowly raised his right hand.


    Caen already knew what Lucifer was trying to do. He was also curious about it. They hadn¡¯t actually tested the wall against Decay. Was it actually going to resist or get destroyed right away?


    Without taking much time, Lucifer ced his fingers on the wall, letting his Decay take full effect.


    The oue was somewhat ording to his expectations. The wall started slowly getting destroyed. Under his strength, the wall didn¡¯t resist this ability of Lucifer.


    Without doing much damage, Lucifer removed his fingers.


    "It seems like the Decay of yours is too much for the defense of the wall. But don¡¯t worry, you can practice that ability on other things," Caen chimed in, feeling like Lucifer might be disappointed.


    What he didn¡¯t know was that Lucifer was actually much more rxed now. If the wall had resisted his ability, he would have felt much worse since that meant this ce was capable of stopping him.


    "Anyway, you can start practicing here if you want. I¡¯ll send someone to repair the wall," Caen said. "Let¡¯s leave. I¡¯ll show you other ces."


    Caen and Lucifer stepped out of the ce.


    Just like the previous floor, this floor was also very big. It had tens of rooms, but only a few of them were shown to Lucifer since the rest were just bedrooms for guests that weren¡¯t here.


    After a tour thatsted for close to half an hour, Caen finally brought Lucifer to his bedroom.


    Opening the bedroom, he revealed the ce.


    "This is where you will stay. There¡¯s an attached bathroom. You can take a shower inside as well. As for clothes, you don¡¯t need to worry about them. We have someone who will deliver you the clothes. Also, I¡¯ll regrly check up on you to see if you need anything or not. If you want anything or find anythingcking, you can tell me then."


    Caen said a lot of things about the room and what to doter, but Lucifer didn¡¯t ce much focus on them. He instead gazed at the room, which seemed like a room at a seven-star hotel. It had everything a person could need. It was just like a room for a king,pletely unlike what he had at the facility.


    These people were really showing some sincerity, but it also made Lucifer a bit more suspicious of them.


    ¡¯It doesn¡¯t matter. I¡¯m using them, not them,¡¯ Lucifer thought as he tried to convince himself before he stepped inside the room.


    "When will you tell me the location of the facility and get me there? You said you¡¯ll help me if I came with you. I came. Now help me achieve my goal. I want the location," Lucifer told Caen, reminding him what he was here for.


    "Of course. I remember. We never lie, so we certainly will help you. But as I said before, attacking blindly is useless. You know the APF, right? The guys that you fought were the weakest of them."


    "The strongest of them will be there, protecting your enemy. We need a n. So just stay here for two days. We¡¯ll give you all the details, give you some training and knowledge so we can destroy that ce easily," Caen exined.


    "We already have a n. But it needs time. So we need two days. After that, watch how we destroy that ce," he added.


    "We?" Lucifer asked, frowning. What did he mean by ¡¯We¡¯?


    "Of Course I meant we. The Variant Uprising. As I said, you¡¯re a part of our family. We would certainlye with you and help you in your revenge," Caen answered, smiling.


    "My revenge is only mine. I¡¯ll kill them myself. No one else."


    Hearing Caen¡¯s reply, Lucifer was upset. His life had no meaning. He didn¡¯t even know if he could ever die. His family was already gone. He was all alone in this world where he could call nothing his own.


    The only thing he had for himself was his revenge. No one was allowed to take that from him. He needed to kill Doctor Rao with his own hands.


    Understanding Lucifer¡¯s concern, Caen tried to exin.


    "I know what you¡¯re thinking. But don¡¯t worry. I don¡¯t mean that we will take your revenge for you. We know how special revenge is for a person. We¡¯ll let you do the honors."


    He slowly stepped back towards the door as he continued his exnation.


    "We¡¯ll only hold the APF back, so they don¡¯t interfere in your revenge. As I said, we will exin everything in two days. For now, you should rest," he said as he stepped out the door.


    "That¡¯s better." Lucifer nodded his head.


    "Wait a minute, my gloves!" he suddenly remembered as he raised his hands. He didn¡¯t have the special gloves. How could he sleep in a bed without destroying it at night because of his Decay?


    "Ah, right. Wait for a little. I¡¯ll arrange for that too," Caen told Lucifer before he closed the door.


    Walking back, he again entered the lift, which took him back up.


    As Caen stood inside the lift, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.


    "Sigh, it¡¯s so tough to act nice. I feel like vomiting already," he muttered as he rubbed his head. "I would never have done it if it wasn¡¯t Vega telling me to do it. Smiling so much, I feel sick."


    "But at least we have Lucifer now. Just a little more. As long as we can make him appreciate us and be a part of us, it would be worth it," he added.


    Stepping out of the lift, he walked to the room where a meeting between Vega, Isona, and Dion was taking ce.

 Chapter 114 - 114: Memory Manipulation

    <h4>Chapter 114 - 114: Memory Maniption </h4>


    Caen entered the room where a meeting was seemingly taking ce between Vega, Isona, and Dion. Each of them was sitting around a table, not talking. It seemed as if they were waiting for someone here.


    "Finally, I¡¯m done with this babysitter job. Sigh, why did I even get stuck with it? Do you know how hard it is for me to be social?" Caenined as he took one of the chairs and sat on it.


    "Isn¡¯t it because you happened to be lucky and were assigned the ce where he appeared?" Isona replied.


    "On the other hand, we stalked that facility. It was so boring. Do you know how bad it was there? At least you got some action. Us, on the other hand, were bored to death," she added as she startedughing.


    "So my luck was bad in short," Caen summarized as he sighed.


    "That aside, how is he? I heard you shed with the APF?" Vega chimed in, effortlessly changing the topic. "How was his battle power in that?"


    "His battle power? In that regard, I can only say one thing. He is an absolute war machine. And on asions, his ideas are pretty good," Caen replied. "But on the personality front, he is pretty bad. He is very suspicious."


    "I¡¯m sure he would be after what happened to him. That¡¯s why we need to win his loyalty first by helping him," Vega said, agreeing with Caen¡¯s words.


    "Do we really have to go that far for him? I know he is an asset, but now that he is here, why not have Raia mess with his memories? Make him our puppet? We don¡¯t have to work so hard anymore," Dion intervened with his idea. He was finding all this effort to be a waste, especially when they had a better option.


    "That¡¯s right. Boss Raia can change his memories to make him loyal to us. That¡¯s a much faster option, all things considered," Caen agreed.


    "No."


    The first person to say no was none other than Isona.


    "Why do you say no?" Dion asked, curious. "You don¡¯t believe that¡¯s a better idea?"


    "It¡¯s not. Because it¡¯s not only the easier option but also the worst of the two options," Isona replied.


    "Vega was silent on this whole matter, simply looking at Isona with an amused expression, wondering what she would say. But it did seem like he was also against the suggestion of Raia using his powers of Memory Maniption.


    "Alright. Let me simplify. Raia uses his powers and messes with Lucifer¡¯s memories. How long do you think that willst" Isona asked.


    At her reply, Vega smiled as he nodded. It seemed like Isona realized why they didn¡¯t use that method right at the start.


    "Lucifer has that strange healing power. We don¡¯t know if it only works on his body or his brain as well. Even if Raia messes with the kid¡¯s memories, how can you be sure that his old memories won¡¯t return because of that healing? It is a big risk if we try that, and if we fail, we will make Lucifer lose trust in us. He would be our enemy too," Isona exined.


    Without stopping, she continued, "So which is the better option? Take the risk and make the kid our enemy or just help him destroy a human facility to win his trust?"


    "That¡¯s true. I haven¡¯t thought of that. That is a problem indeed," Dion agreed as he understood what she was trying to say.


    It was finally when Vega started speaking.


    "That¡¯s right. Raia and I already talked about this n, ultimately agreeing that it was bad," Vega said. "Also, what Isona said was only one of the reasons not to do it. There are more."


    "What more?" Dion asked, curious.


    "Those reasons are not for you to know," Vega straight away refused to answer.


    His refusal followed by a long silence. Almost everyone understood what his refusal to answer implied. It most probably had something to do with the limitations of Raia¡¯s abilities which no one knew either.


    Every Variant had an ability that came with a limitation which they kept a secret or only shared with their closest ones.


    They believed that Vega knew Raia¡¯s limitations.


    "Enough talking about that. I am sure you all know the next part of the n?" Vega said.


    "That¡¯s right. We¡¯re going to blow up the facility. Isn¡¯t that why we didn¡¯t release the footage that we could have used to our advantage to make Variants hate humans?" Caen nodded his head as he said.


    "That¡¯s right. We had footage of Lucifer getting tortured. He is the son of Zale Azarel that all Variants consider their idol. Releasing the footage is definitely something that can help us, but for Lucifer, we can¡¯t," Vega agreed.


    "If we release that footage, the government wille into damage control mode. That facility would be closed, and the people that Lucifer wants to kill would be removed from there," he added. "Our whole n to win his loyalty rests on helping his revenge. Releasing that footage would have made it much more difficult."


    "But now that he is here, we can start the n. As for the footage, of course, that will see the light of day after we destroy that ce."


    ...


    Lucifer was sitting in his room, gazing at his hands which were bare. He had lost his glovesst time, and now he had none. He couldn¡¯t touch anything that he didn¡¯t wish to destroy.


    He was still wondering if these people were going to have the gloves or if they were just bluffing.


    He had also started to feel hungry.


    Standing up, he ced his feet on the cold floor as he started walking towards the door.


    He needed to look for food. He couldn¡¯t just sit here. He also wanted to see if these people had locked his door like they used to do at the facility or not.


    Fortunately, the door was still open. The doorknob decayed a bit as he opened the door, but he had taken his hand off just in time.


    He stepped out of the room, entering the long corridor which seemed entirely empty.

 Chapter 115 - 115: Was He Wrong

    <h4>Chapter 115 - 115: Was He Wrong </h4>


    Lucifer entered the corridor, leaving his room, looking to find someone.


    The whole ce seemed ghastly as not a single person was at sight. He started walking towards the lift from where he hade out with Caen.


    Unlike before, he now at least had proper clothes that were delivered by a person. Unfortunately, Lucifer had missed the chance to ask for food when that guy was here, only remembering it now.


    ...


    The upper echelon was busy in their meeting, unaware that Lucifer had left his room.


    ...


    Reaching the lift, Lucifer pressed the only button that was there. But the lift didn¡¯t open. He had forgotten that there was a fingerprint sensor nearby that scanned the fingerprint. Only the Variants of this organization were allowed to use the lift.


    Lucifer¡¯s data was still not in the system, so his fingerprint wasn¡¯t going to work. And even if it could work, it was inherently impossible for him to use this. His fingers decayed whatever they touched. So scanning his fingerprint was impossible.


    He kept trying to make the lift work, only to fail. Fortunately, he didn¡¯t remember that fingerprint thing, or he might have destroyed that sensor, making it impossible for anyone to use it.


    Just as he was getting frustrated with this lift, he heard a sound.


    Ting!


    With a faint sound, the doors of the lift opened.


    But it didn¡¯t open because of him. It had opened because someone had arrived from up using that lift.


    Lucifer saw a young man standing inside the lift, holding a tray that had a pair of gloves.


    Two young women behind him were carrying food.


    "Sir Lucifer, what are you doing here? Were you waiting for us?" the young man asked.


    A very respectable expression was on the man¡¯s face as he talked to Lucifer, making it seem like Lucifer was his senior.


    That¡¯s what he was told to do.


    "We apologize for the dy. Finding the gloves and preparing the food took time. We came as soon as we finished," he added.


    Gazing at the gloves, Lucifer found himself amazed. These gloves were just like the ones that belonged to his mother. Even the color was the same.


    "Give," he said as he slowly raised his hand that didn¡¯t seem like the hand of a warrior who could break an entire wall with his punch.


    Instead, whoever saw his hand would have assumed that he was a boy who never worked hard a single day of his life and only lived the life of a prince.


    "Yes."


    The young man picked up the pair of gloves and ced them in Lucifer¡¯s hands.


    "Seniors said that these gloves are really rare, and we only had this single pair. So they asked me to tell you to keep them safe. In the meantime, they will try to find more of these."


    The young man expressed the message of the higher-ups to Lucifer before he changed the topic, without giving Lucifer the chance to think.


    "Where do you want us to ce the food? Dining Hall or your room?"


    The youngdies stepped out of the room with the food, asking him where he wanted to eat.


    Hearing their question, Lucifer thought for a short while before he answered, "In the garden. Bring it there."


    Saying that, he turned back and started walking towards the garden.


    ¡¯Huh? Does he want to have a pic? Eating in the garden instead of eating in the dining hall like civilized people? Whatever, I don¡¯t need to care,¡¯ the young man thought as he apanied thedies.


    After cing the food and the water in the garden, thedies left.


    The young man was still left behind.


    "You aren¡¯t going?" Lucifer asked the young man who stood behind him as he wore the new gloves and sat on the ground in front of the food.


    "I¡¯m told to stay on this floor so I can help you with whatever you need. The room which is right beside yours belongs to me now," the young man answered.


    "What¡¯s your name?" Lucifer asked as he started eating.


    "I am known as Draco," the young green-haired man answered respectfully.


    "So Draco, tell me one thing. What were you told about me? I am curious."


    "About you? Not much, Sir. We were told about your Origins and that you are the son of Great Warlock Zale Azarel. We also know how those bastard humans betrayed you and tortured you. Those people are really the scums of this earth. That is why I am d to be part of the Variant Uprising."


    "Oh? And why are you d about that?" Lucifer inquired, not stopping his eating.


    "Because of our aim! Variant Uprising wants the wellbeing of all Variants. We want the safety and prosperity of the Variants, which isn¡¯t possible as long as humans rule."


    "Why is that not possible? Aren¡¯t Variants strong? Why do humans rule? Can¡¯t you destroy them all?"


    "We can, but the problem is that humans are very dishonest. They pretend to be weak to make the neutral variants take pity on them. They use those Variants to keep them safe, and in the name of the bnce of this world, they get to rule everything with their government."


    "And the worst part is that some Variants themselves help them do this, like those bastards at APF. If they weren¡¯t there, Variants would have been ruling, and no pesky human would have dared to hurt you."


    "No pesky human would have dared to hurt me, huh...."


    As the conversation reached here, Lucifer found some truth to these words.


    "Alright. Now tell me one more thing. Was my father wrong in helping humans?" Lucifer asked, curious.


    That was the tricky question that Draco didn¡¯t know how to approach. He was told that Lucifer loved his family. What was going to happen if he called his father wrong? He didn¡¯t want to see that. Even though he believed that it was true. Zale Azarel was wrong in helping humans, but he felt that he shouldn¡¯t say that aloud.


    "What happened? Tell me. Was my father wrong in helping humans?" Lucifer asked again.

 Chapter 116 - 116: Xander In A Mess

    <h4>Chapter 116 - 116: Xander In A Mess </h4>


    "Was my father wrong?" Lucifer¡¯s question was proving to be a hard pill for Draco to swallow.


    He knew he had to lie but wouldn¡¯t that mean he would have to imply that helping humans was fine? That was also wrong since they needed to keep Lucifer against humans.


    "I don¡¯t think he did wrong. Your father never fought against Variant Uprising for humans. He only saved them from the beasts and from disasters," Draco answered, lying a bit.


    It wasn¡¯t entirely true that they hadn¡¯t gone against Zale Azarel before. They shed with him once, only to be defeated by him.


    But he couldn¡¯t tell Lucifer about this. He had to make him believe that they were the good guys that even Lucifer¡¯s father never tried to oppose.


    "Your father only protected them, maybe because he had faith that humanity would improve. And he wasn¡¯t wrong. Faith is important as well."


    "Unfortunately, even after he sacrificed himself for them, Humanity hurt his son instead. So it¡¯s not that your father was wrong, but it is that humanity was entirely wrong. They don¡¯t deserve the status quo. They always misuse it. It is time for the bnce of the world to shift," he said, fully determined as if he was talking from his heart.


    Lucifer didn¡¯t reply and just focused on eating.


    Only when he finished eating did he stand up.


    "You sound very simr to someone I met before. He also told me why humans are able to rule. Only the approach is different. He said that it was because of their brain. They don¡¯t use strength as much as their brain. You also say the same thing but differently," Lucifer told Draco, agreeing with him.


    "That¡¯s right. They have a clever head. That¡¯s why we don¡¯t attack blindly without a n, despite having so much strength," Draco replied.


    Even though Lucifer didn¡¯t say anything, hearing those words exined why these people wanted to help Lucifer with a n. But he still needed to listen to them first.


    Finishing up the dinner, he walked back to his room, leaving the man behind.


    "Tell me if you need anything. I will be right here," Draco called out before entering his room which was nearby. This was his task, and he was going to stay here to keep an eye on Lucifer.


    There was a camera in the hallway which had a feed in hisptop. Whenever Lucifer stepped out, he was going to know since his entire work was to monitor and watch his every move.


    ...


    "So, Xander... what do you have to say for yourself?"


    Inside a heavily guarded building, a meeting was currently taking ce that was attended by the three APF leaders.


    Xander, Ayn, and Varant were the only three people in this meeting.


    Nevertheless, it seemed like it was not a meeting but more likely an inquisition since Xander was the only one answering the questions of Varant.


    "Your team... failed to control a kid! Not only that, but half of them died. Furthermore, you used so many of our resources without even consulting me. How will you justify yourself? I need your reasonable exnation for this!"


    Varant was the peak of APF. He was not only the leader of the Alpha Squad but also the head of the entire APF. Aside from that, he was also known as one of the strongest Warlocks at the moment.


    About five years ago, it was said that there were Four Warlock Kings of this country.


    Zale Azarel was the strongest amongst the four Warlock Kings. Varant, who was the leader of the APF Alpha squad. Zeiss, the Hunter Union leader. Andstly, Raia, the Variant Uprising Leader.


    There were no official rankings, but everyone knew that Zale Azarel was the strongest. As for the other three, they were said to be almost equal when ites to their power and ability.


    Even though Zale Warlock was already gone, the title of Four Warlock Kings still remained. For the reason that a new addition had taken the world by storm~ Szar Lucia.


    He had just started rising a year after the disappearance of Zale Azarel, but at the moment, he was already considered equal to Varant, Zeiss, and Raia.


    His strength was said to be very strong, although he was unaffiliated to any organization.


    Despite the tempting offers from all three factions, he refused to join any of them. In that department, he was just like Zale Azarel, who also stayed unaffiliated.


    Many people saw simrities between the temperament of Szar and Zale. It was even said that Szar was a fan of Zale; that¡¯s why he chose to remain unaffiliated just like his idol. In any case, no one knew the true reason behind his decision.


    The only thing that was for sure was that this country still had Four Warlock Kings, and Varant was one of them and possibly the one with the most unique powers that could make any Warlock useless in a fight as long as certain conditions were met.


    Despite his name and personality, whoever met him still wondered if he was actually Varant because of his attire.


    Varant often wore a suit as if he was a boss of some professional organization. He didn¡¯t forget to wear a tie either. His dark hair and eyes matched his CEO look, making him seem like a cold man.


    Most people would be intimidated when being interrogated by him, but Xander was perfectly calm. It was unclear if it was because of his ability or because he was generally calm before Varant since they were part of the same organization.


    "That is right. I used the resources of our facility instead of telling you directly. And it was because I wanted to help Zale¡¯s son. I didn¡¯t want him to be useless or killed, which probably would have happened if you had gotten involved," Xander answered, justifying his decision.


    "It would, but that would also mean we wouldn¡¯t have lost so many men," Varant said, staring deep into the eyes of Xander as if trying to see if this guy had even the tiniest bit of remorse or not.

 Chapter 117 - 117: Let Them Talk To Me

    <h4>Chapter 117 - 117: Let Them Talk To Me </h4>


    "I don¡¯t think you being there would have changed anything, though. I think we are being unfair to Xander here," Ayn chimed in.


    Her silverish hair mixed with her hazel eyes were giving her a warm look that contradicted her abilities which were as cold as they could get. She looked no less than an ice princess in her dark shoulder-less dress, supported with a silver robe.


    "How is that so?" Varant asked, shifting his focus to the Beta Squad Leader.


    "Prior to their encounter with Zale¡¯s son, Xander was there with his team. But because of the Dungeon Dweller attack on Ikrego, I forced him to go there to protect humans. That is why he wasn¡¯t there with his team when they fought Zale¡¯s son. If he had been there, we both know that not a single of his men would have been killed," Ayn said, defending Xander.


    "He is the Warlock who knows what to do. If required, I don¡¯t think he would have stepped back even if there was a need to kill the kid. The only reason his team lost is because of me and for saving humans. If I were there, I would have gone to save humans too. You would have done the same, most probably. So ming him is wrong. I interfered in his mission, so it was partly my fault."


    Ayn really started supporting Xander since she actually believed that it was her fault. If she hadn¡¯t forced him to leave, he wouldn¡¯t have lost half his team.


    Throughout this conversation, Xander didn¡¯t speak.


    "Sigh, you people really... fine. I¡¯ll overlook what happened once."


    Hearing Ayn support Xander, Varant didn¡¯t me him too much since it was true that his n was affected because of the Dungeon dwellers.


    "Alright. Tell me about this Lucifer. What do you know?" Varant asked Xander with intrigue.


    Xander brought out his phone. Unlocking it, he started ying a video before he ced the phone before Varant.


    Curious, Varant gazed at the video.


    It was a video that depicted a young boy being tortured until he was dealt with.


    "The boy in the video is the son of Zale Azarel-the hero of humanity as most know him. I¡¯m sure, seeing that video, it is not tough to guess why that boy hates humans and why he is so twisted."


    "They did some painful experiment on him which killed him. For some unknown reason, the boy came back to life, and I believe he is after those scientists who tortured him. I ced a trap to catch him without hurting him, which, as you know, failed."


    " After that, the kid disappeared along with one of our helicopters. So either he forced the pilot to take him somewhere and then disabled the tracking, or the Variant Uprising is bringing their twisted hand out of the shadows to swallow the kid," Xander said.


    "Variant uprising, huh. The matter has be reallyplicated. But still, what these people did is also twisted. No matter how much I disliked Zale, treating his son like that when he was innocent, this is annoying," Varantmented as he gazed at the video.


    "Alright, I¡¯ll handle this matter. Send the video to the government authorities and tell them I want action on everyone involved," he further said.


    "But this video... isn¡¯t from righteous sources," Ayn chimed in as she smiled wryly.


    "What do you mean? Where did you get it from? Varant asked them curiously, darting his gaze back and forth between Xander and Ayn.


    "We hacked their database. We¡¯ll be implicated and might face a consequence once the source of this clip is further investigated since they¡¯ll know we hacked a government database," Xander said, expressing what little bit of concern he had since the truth was already out.


    "That¡¯s fine. What can they even do if we hacked them? Let theme talk to me if they have any problems. I will handle everything. Get that doctor on trial for doing such things in the name of science," Varant nonchntly said.


    "Also, we are going to that facility tomorrow. Since the kid is trying to target it, it doesn¡¯t matter who is helping him. Once he gets there, we will be there, waiting for him," he further added, giving a short n.


    "Alright."


    ...


    The night came, peaceful for most people, but the news channels were busy throughout the day and night, covering the news.


    The news about the failure of the Hunter Union, the attack of the Dungeon Dwellers on the innocent was more significant than any news. The news of an Unknown Variant wiping half the Red Eagles Guild was drowning in the big news about the Hunter Guild, only getting a few mentions here and there.


    Throughout the night, Lucifer didn¡¯t sleep. He couldn¡¯t sleep. His troubling thoughts were keeping him awake since he was in a new ce. He only got some rest after closing his eyes for a short nap. His mind was constantly lost in thoughts.


    He didn¡¯t even realize when the night had already passed by with the arrival of a new day.


    The silence of the cold yet chilling surroundings was disturbed with a knocking sound on the door.


    Lucifer slowly opened his eyes as hezily dragged himself up. Sliding to the side of the bed, he wore his shoes before tracing his steps towards the door.


    He didn¡¯t need to worry about anything being destroyed or controlling the duration of his touch with his gloves. Holding the doorknob, he twisted it to open.


    "Good morning. Sorry for disturbing you so early, but the higher-ups had called for you upstairs. I think something big has happened."


    Draco stood outside the door, informing Lucifer about the purpose of himing here.


    Nodding his head, Lucifer calmly stepped out of the door and walked behind Draco, who was escorting him upstairs.


    Draco pressed his finger on the fingerprint sensor, after which the door of the lift opened. This made Lucifer realize why he wasn¡¯t able to open the lift.


    He couldn¡¯t help but nce at his hand, which was covered by the ck gloves. A slight shake of the head was enough to express his realization that he would never ever be able to do that even if he asked them.


    "Come in," Draco told Lucifer, who was still standing outside the lift gazing at his hand.


    The young Warlock stepped inside the lift as well, letting the doors close. The lift started going up, stopping on an unknown floor.

 Chapter 118 - 118: APF Ruining Plan?

    <h4>Chapter 118 - 118: APF Ruining n? </h4>


    The doors of the lift opened again after it stopped.


    "Stepping out of the lift, Draco said, "Come."


    Lucifer followed Draco behind, passing through the hallway whose floor was covered with diamond-shaped zed tiles that were spotless as if it was just cleaned.


    Reaching the end of the silverish hallway, Draco and Lucifer stopped at the front of arge golden-steel door.


    Draco opened the door and informed the people inside that he had brought Lucifer.


    "Send him in, and you can leave." An authoritative voice was heard,ing from the inside.


    "Go on in," Draco told Lucifer before he stepped back, letting the young boy enter.


    As Lucifer entered the room, he saw a big round table that waspletely empty. Around the table, five chairs were ced, but only four of them had people sitting in them.


    He recognized all four of them since he had already met them before. They were none other than Caen, Isona, Dion, and Vega.


    "Sorry for calling you so suddenly. But something big has happened. We can¡¯t wait any longer. If you want to take revenge, we need to act now. It is time to leave," Vega told Lucifer.


    "APF did something. The government will take action and recall those scientists. If that happens, we will have a hard time finding themter. So we need to act before them," he added.


    "What did they do?" Lucifer asked Vega.


    To see these people so worried was a bit surprising. He couldn¡¯t help but wonder what the APF had done.


    "They had done something that might ruin our prior n. Because of their action, the doctor whom you want to kill will be removed from that facility and will be taken to some other ce where we will have a much harder time reaching even if we manage to find it," Caen told Lucifer.


    "Sigh, let me exin in detail since it might be overwhelming for you. I guess we can take that much time since our people will take a bit for preparations as well," Vega said as he stood up.


    He walked over to the screen and started ying a video that almost every single person present here had already seen.


    The only one who hadn¡¯t seen it was Lucifer, but he didn¡¯t need to see it since it was a video that involved him.


    As Lucifer nced at the screen, which was shing a video, he subconsciously clenched his fists as it triggered him to remember a few bad memories.


    Watching himself being ced on that bed and tortured... it was something which was already imprinted in his memory, but now he was even able to see it from a third person¡¯s point of view.


    Vega didn¡¯t y that video for long. He only showed him a glimpse of it for a few seconds before he turned the screen off.


    "I¡¯m sorry for showing this to you, but APF¡¯s action has something to do with this video. We had this video for a long time, but we kept it a secret since we didn¡¯t want it toe to the government¡¯s attention because they would shift that scientist to a much more secure ce." Vega said, breaking the silence which had followed after the screen was turned off.


    "However, I think APF has already shown this video to the government. If they hadn¡¯t, we could have gone ording to our old n since we would have enough time. Unfortunately, the APF intervened. So now, we can only act faster before it¡¯s toote."


    Lucifer stepped forward, closing in on Vega as he asked, "And what was your old n?"


    "Our old n was to train you for a little while so that you can gain some fighting experience and understand further how to use your powers better."


    "The next two days were reserved for that. As for the rest, it was simple... Attacking that facility and letting you get your revenge," Vega responded with a casual smile.


    "Now we need to skip the training, which I don¡¯t think will affect you much since most of the APF will be handled by us. As for the people in the facility, you can kill each one of them a thousand times without needing any training anyway," he further said as he walked back to his seat, picking up a file that was ced there.


    He opened the file to reveal a map of Elisium.


    "This is Erygas, the ce where you were captured by the APF. And this here is the facility. Honestly, you were pretty far away from the actual cest time," he said, pointing his finger at several spots on the map.


    "I¡¯m ready. Let¡¯s leave. I can¡¯t let them escape again," Lucifer epted the proposal without any more questions.


    A satisfied smile appeared on Vega¡¯s face.


    It seemed that they had taken one more step forward in reaching out to Lucifer. And even though slowly, a bit of connection was developing between the two.


    After they helped him, it was going to be the final nail in the coffin.


    "That¡¯s good. We¡¯ll leave in an hour. Come, let me give you your battle gear."


    Vega started walking towards the door.


    The others also stood up, following him. The noise of sliding chairs filled the room for a moment which again returned to silence after everyone left the room.


    They had also taken Lucifer with them, who was wondering what this battle gear was.


    As everyone passed through the long corridors, Isona slowly slid closer to Lucifer.


    Watching her step closer, Lucifer started stepping farther from her. Too much closeness was something he didn¡¯t want.


    "Little brother, are you still worried that I¡¯ll eat you up? Why are you moving away? Treat me like family as well," Isona told Lucifer while grinning mischievously.


    "Anyway, I think you¡¯re curious about this battle gear, aren¡¯t you?" She asked, trying to engage him in a conversation.


    Lucifer nced in Isona¡¯s direction. She was right. He simply nodded his head as a response to her question.

 Chapter 119 - 119: Battle Gear

    <h4>Chapter 119 - 119: Battle Gear </h4>


    "See? Now we¡¯re making some progress. Actually, this battle gear is nothing special. It¡¯s just a specialized gear that is created for all of us by our specialized equipment team to be used in case of battles with enemies. They design everything ording to each of us individually," she informed Lucifer.


    "Most of us already have our battle gear. Only you don¡¯t have it yet since you just recently came here. But fortunately, we knew all about you. So we had prepared your battle gear as well. It¡¯s time for you to get that. Treat it as your initiation ceremony to our family," she further exined with her ted voice.


    "We¡¯re here," Vega said as he stopped before a metallic door.


    He ced his palm over the sensor on the door. With a beeping sound, the door was opened.


    No matter how many times Lucifer saw these scannings, he would always feel frustrated since he couldn¡¯t ever do such things. He couldn¡¯t touch anything without there being an obstruction between his hand and the surface as long as he didn¡¯t wish to destroy that thing.


    It was a great power but it was an even greater curse ording to him. He wondered if he was ever going to feel different about this power.


    It had been a long time since his awakening but he still wasn¡¯t fully adjusted to his power.


    The metallic door opened after a beeping sound, revealing a bigp on the other side of the room. Many machines could be seen ced all around the room.


    A couple of men in ckb coats could be seen talking amongst themselves. All of them looked at the door as soon as it opened.


    "Ah, Master Vega, wee. Are you here for the young one¡¯s battle gear? We just finished the final adjustments on it."


    One of the men approached Vega with a wide smile on his face.


    The man had beautiful long ck hair cascading down to his waist. His skin seemed so smooth that he often gets mistaken for a girl. If he didn¡¯t have a beard on his face, Lucifer would have thought that he was actually a girl.


    "I guess we¡¯re on the right time then. Show us what you made." Vega nodded as he entered theb. Dion, Isona, Caen, and Lucifer also stepped inside.


    "This is Henny. He is ourb chief who is in charge of all the Battle Gear here," Isona told Lucifer, talking about the ck-haired man.


    "Right away," Henny replied to Vega as he walked over to one of the shelves in the corner which was sealed.


    It was as if it was done intentionally to frustrate Lucifer who couldn¡¯t use his hands in such a manner but everything here needed a scan.


    Even the shelf door needed a scan of Henny¡¯s palm before it opened.


    "Alright. This is the first item. The battle shoes of our new Warlock," Henny dered as he brought a ck pair of shoes out of the shelf.


    The shoes looked like normal shoes. Lucifer couldn¡¯t find anything special with such shoes. Was this battle gear just that? Items that were resized for him? Is that what Isona meant?


    "Tell me the special features in them. How are they made for Lucifer," Vega asked the question which he believed was in Lucifer¡¯s head. He was also asking the same question in his mind.


    "From what we know, little Lucifer has many powers. He¡¯s a Penta-Awakened Warlock which has never been seen before. We already knew about his wind control ability."


    "So we made the shoes to withstand excess running while also providing less resistance against air. Moreover, these shoes can also resist fire without being ruined."


    "But there¡¯s more. From what we heard from Master Caen, Little Lucifer uses his strength to make him jump high. Because he uses his super strength that¡¯s enough to leave a crater on the ground, no normal shoes are able to stay safe after that. But these shoes can."


    "These can sufficiently transfer all the momentum and strength to the ground without being damaged."


    With that Henny finished the description of the shoes, giving them ideas about the special features of Lucifer¡¯s personalized shoes.


    "So you used all those big words just to say that these shoes are more durable," Isona chimed in as a burst of beautifulughter filled theb.


    "Hahaha, if you want to make it intoyman¡¯s terms, then yeah. Miss Isona is right. These shoes are more durable," Henny nodded as he smiled wryly.


    He knew that she was simplifying too much but he didn¡¯t argue with her. He knew her teasing personality already. The more he reacted, the more she would feel the taste of victory.


    Henny stepped forward and only stopped when he was about five steps away from Lucifer.


    Lucifer didn¡¯t take his eyes off of him as he watched Henny bend forward and ce the shoes on the ground.


    "There, try wearing them. I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll fit but still," Henny told Lucifer before he stepped back.


    Slowly Lucifer took a step forward and took off his old shoes. He sat on the ground before he picked up the new left shoe with his hand.


    He wore the left shoe first which was followed by the right one.


    "They fit," he acknowledged after he stood up.


    Without waiting for a response, he raised his right foot a few inches above the ground and smashed down. He wanted to see if that strength transfer theory was right or not.


    "Oh god no!" Henny called out as he realized what Lucifer was trying to do but he was toote. Before his second word left his mouth, Lucifer¡¯s foot had alreadynded on the ground which started shaking from the impact.


    Even a crater was created in that ce.


    "God, little friend. Please don¡¯t do that here. I don¡¯t want the floor to be broken. We aren¡¯t on the ground floor. I don¡¯t want us all to fall down after the floor is broken," Henny told Lucifer exasperatedly, his eyes looking at him helplessly.


    Lucifer nodded his head. He didn¡¯t say anything.


    "It¡¯s good that each floor is heavily reinforced. So this kind of impact is bearable," Dion also chimed in. "But still, it¡¯s a better idea to not test this so much, especially here."


    "Lucifer is new. I¡¯m sure he was excited about getting new shoes. Don¡¯t worry. This will be repaired," Vega said. "Anyway, Lucifer. How are the shoes? You tested with that. Are they as described?"


    "They are. I feel no change in them even after that," Lucifer reacted.

 Chapter 120 - 120: Biggest Problem Solved

    <h4>Chapter 120 - 120: Biggest Problem Solved </h4>


    "That¡¯s better."


    "Now that you tested the shoes, let me tell you about its limitations too. Always remember, these shoes can¡¯t resist your Power of Decay. So never touch them bare-handed."


    "I would have made them decay-resistant. Unfortunately, finding the material those gloves are made of is as hard as finding the moonstone," Henny informed Lucifer, sighing helplessly. Then he moved back to the shelf again.


    This time, he brought a vest out of the shelf that seemed a lot like a stylish jacket. Also, it was made in ordance with Lucifer¡¯s size.


    "This is the next item in your battle gear," Henny dered. "As for its specialty, I think all of you could already tell the main feature of this vest. As usual, it¡¯s made to resist bullets to some extent."


    "But bullets don¡¯t affect him. Isn¡¯t it useless for him?" Caen asked, remembering that Lucifer was impervious to bullets.


    His healing was just too overpowered.


    "You don¡¯t understand, Master Caen. ording to our information, each ability has some limitations. Even though his healing is overpowered, we shouldn¡¯t waste it to heal bullet wounds. Also, wearing this vest is not only intended for that. The bulletproof thing is just one of the purposes." Henny exined.


    "Aside from being able to resist bullets, this vest can also absorb a good percentage of the impact of most of the attacks. It¡¯s also fireproof. Its weight is very light, not heavier than a normal shirt. As for its thickness, it¡¯s only two millimeters thick at the thickest portion," he further added.


    "Also, we heard some rumors about APF working on making bullets more dangerous for Variants. So this cane in handy at unexpected times."


    "Andstly, it¡¯s stylish. Heck, I worked hard to find thetest fashion trends to make it look stylish for Lucifer. Give me some credit. It can at least be a fashion essory!"


    Everyone had agreed with most of the uses but to use it as an essory, they found it amusing. But it wasn¡¯t a lie. The jacket vest looked stylish.


    "Here, try wearing it," Henny said as he threw the vest towards Lucifer.


    Lucifer caught the jacket vest and wore it as well.


    "Oh right. This has the same limitation as thest one. Never touch it bare-handed," Henny reminded him again.


    "Don¡¯t worry. I already know that you don¡¯t have the item that was used to make my gloves. You don¡¯t have to tell me twice," Lucifer said, feeling annoyed. He was telling him the same thing over and over again as if he was a kid.


    "Hahaha, sorry. Call it a habit," Henny responded as he scratched the back of his head before walking back to the shelf again.


    "I would have nned to create and provide a few weapons for you as well. I think a sword would have suited you seeing how fast and nimble you are. But then I realized that you¡¯re just as good as you can be even without a weapon. With a weapon, your lightning and strength filled with brunt attacks would be useless so I didn¡¯t make them," he said before taking a pause.


    "But I did make something for you. A special one," he added before he turned back, showing Lucifer a fist full of little balls.


    The balls were so small. The size of one ball was five times smaller than an ordinary golf ball.


    There were around ten semi-transparent balls in his hand which he carefully brought closer to Lucifer.


    "Raise your hand and open your fist."


    "What are these balls?" Lucifer asked curiously. He didn¡¯t do what he was told. He wanted to know what these were first before holding them in his hand.


    "Don¡¯t worry, these will be your weapons. On their own, these things are useless but I made them while putting your ck lightning power into consideration. You canpress your ck lightning and transfer its energy inside the balls right before you throw these at the enemy."


    "These will act as a very powerful bomb that can causerge-scale destruction. As for how much destruction, that will depend on how much energy you can ce inside them in one second. Because you must throw it the next second if you don¡¯t want it to overload and blow up near you." Henny exined the uses.


    "I don¡¯t want to repeat the same warning again but please never touch them without wearing your gloves," Hanney said to Lucifer.


    "Now give me your hands and take them. Don¡¯t worry, these will not be activated unless you start supplying them energy. Until then, you can carry them in your pocket like toys."


    Lucifer raised his hand slowly and took the orbs in his hand, carefully observing them.


    Seeing Lucifer assessing the small semi-transparent orbs, Caen couldn¡¯t help but sweat. This reminded him of the incident moments ago when Lucifer was observing the shoes right before he tested them.


    "Ah, Lucifer. Please don¡¯t test them. I request of you," Caen reminded Lucifer with an anxious voice.


    "That¡¯s right. Don¡¯t test them in this closed space. The destruction will be too much. If you want, you can test one by throwing it out during the mission you¡¯re about to go to," Henny also said, supporting Caen¡¯s remarks.


    Hearing their constant reminders, Lucifer just simply nodded his head. In any case, he wasn¡¯t going to test it here. He wasn¡¯t crazy, he thought.


    He ced the orbs in his pocket a few moments after he was done with his slight observation.


    "Is there anything else?" Vega asked Henny.


    "There is one more thing. As I heard, our little friend had a big problem. It was that his clothes were always destroyed in battles," Henny said, tracing his steps back to the shelf. "And running around naked is really unsightly."


    "I already made that jacket vest which can resist most of the attacks and canst longer without being destroyed. But that doesn¡¯t cover all the bases," he further said before turning back.


    A few momentster, he was carrying something in his hand as he returned to their spot.


    "Here, I don¡¯t need to exin much. These are the pants for you. And this is the most useful for you from what I can see," he said as he tossed the pants towards Lucifer who caught it.


    "What¡¯s special about this one?" Lucifer asked. This time he joined the conversation, voicing out his query. He wondered why he should wear them.


    He was actually interested in such things since the man really talked about what Lucifer had in his heart.

 Chapter 121 - 121: Cardigan Particles

    <h4>Chapter 121 - 121: Cardigan Particles </h4>


    From what Lucifer felt, clothes were the biggest problems. Two things were constantly targeted when he was in battles.


    The first one was his clothes which never came out intact after battles. Most of the time, let aloneing intact, his clothes could entirely get ruined and disappear, leaving himpletely naked.


    The second target was his hand which he had lost twice already. He didn¡¯t have to worry about his hands since they could just grow back again.


    But it was an entirely different story when it was about his clothes since they couldn¡¯t grow back out of thin air as if the battle didn¡¯t happen.


    "Oh, believe me when I say this, but this is the most technologically advanced pants, which I believe is most useful for you after those gloves," Henny said, grinning from ear to ear. There was a hint of pride in his voice.


    He turned back and walked over to the table, picking up a remote, which he pointed towards the TV that was located just a few meters away from their current spot.


    At the press of a button, the TV turned on and started showing a presentation. Everyone averted their gaze to the TV screen, their eyes filled with intrigue and amusement.


    "God, were you waiting with your presentation for this moment? I can¡¯t believe it," Caenmented as he rolled his eyes.


    He couldn¡¯t believe that Henny had even prepared a presentation for this. Isona also shook her head, watching Henny helplessly.


    "Hey, such things need to be told the way they could be understood," Henny replied as heughed.


    As everyone watched the screen, they saw a video. There was no audio or any sound that could be hearding out of the TV. But for that, Henny was there to givementary, exining the things they were seeing in the video itself.


    "What you see on the screen is theposition Cardinal Particles. We created those ourselves. Too bad we can¡¯t show it off to the world. So I feel like this is the right ce to show off," Henny said to them as an introductory word.


    "The pants that Lucifer is holding right now... is the first thing we made using the Cardigan Particles. I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll make more in the future," he exined.


    The footage on the TV changed, showing the pants flying in the sky in the form of cartoon Avatar. A ball of fire was flying towards the pants. As soon as the ball hit the pants, that ball disappeared.


    "Really? We now have cartoon animations too?"


    Caen had the urge to facepalm himself after seeing the childish presentation made by Henny. He knew that they had a kid in their midst but to use cartoons in this serious ce, did he lose his mind?


    "The Cardigan Particles are a special discovery of ours. With this, we can improve all the battle gear. As for the specialty, it is indestructible. As long as the attack is within its limit, it will absorb the attack without even a single scratch," Henny described, his voice filled with pride and confidence.


    "Hmm, so what if the attack is outside its limit? What will happen?" Dion inquired curiously.


    "If the attack is outside its limit, then the cardigan particles will disperse, acting invisible for a certain span of time. Instead of being destroyed, they will let the attack pass through them. Thus, the clothes will never be destroyed," Henny answered.


    "Really? So if there¡¯s a strong attack that¡¯s outside its limit, the clothes won¡¯t provide any protection and let the attack hit the wearer so these could not be destroyed?" Caen asked exasperatedly as he raised both his hands in disbelief.


    "That¡¯s right. The wearer might die and disappear, but the cardigan particles and the clothes will still be there. But don¡¯t worry, for the attack to be outside its defense limit, the attack needs to be really strong," Henny replied.


    "I get it. So that¡¯s why you said it¡¯s more useful for Lucifer. The biggest problem he had was his clothes being destroyed. You just found a breakthrough!"


    "This discovery of yours was the solution for Lucifer¡¯s main concern. You¡¯re pretty lucky to find a person that needs indestructible clothes even if his body is destroyed," Isona said as she understood the use.


    If the attack were within the limit, the pants wouldn¡¯t be destroyed. And if it were outside the limit, it would save itself while letting Lucifer be hit. Lucifer could heal himself, so this wasn¡¯t dangerous.


    "Even if the attack is outside the limit, it does not mean that the pants won¡¯t protect the user. It will decrease the impact of the attack as much as it can and only let it pass when it¡¯s too much to handle," Henny replied.


    After exining everything, Henny turned to Lucifer and said, "Alright. Lucifer, wear the pants. Complete your battle gear look. Let me see how you look."


    "Everyone, turn around! Give our guest some privacy to change clothes!" he called out before turning around to avoid looking in Lucifer¡¯s direction.


    The others also followed suit as they turned around as well.


    When noone was was looking, Lucifer removed the old pants he was wearing and donned the pitch-ck pants that were made of Cardigan Particles.


    Through the touch, thickness, and weight, he found no difference between the new pants and the old ones. He was even a bit suspicious whether what Henny said was actually the truth or not.


    To test it, he decided to do something stupid. His suspicion was getting big here on the pants.


    He ced his finger a few inches away from the pants and fired a lightning bolt at his legs while everyone was still looking back. They were wondering if Lucifer was already done changing his pants or not.


    At worst, he was going to get a hole in his leg, which would heal within minutes, so he didn¡¯t mind testing.


    As the lightning bolt left his finger, it hit the fabric of the pants and disappeared. It was unclear where it went, but nothing happened to the pants, and he wasn¡¯t harmed either.


    He had intentionally made the lightning bolt the weakest to see the defensive properties of the pants. Now that he had seen it, he decided to check and test whether his strongest attack was strong enough to make a mark and cross its limit or not.


    This time, he had decided to use fifty percent of his lightning intensity of what he was allowed to use.


    "Are you ready?"


    Unable to wait for so long, Isona turned around as she gazed at Lucifer. Hearing her words, the others also did the same thing, only to find Lucifer¡¯s finger, pointing just a bit under his knees.

 Chapter 122 - 122: Defeated Varant

    <h4>Chapter 122 - 122: Defeated Varant </h4>


    A lightning bolt left his finger, which seemed to be as dark as the darkness itself. They could see ck lightning and its strength from the bolt. But it was toote to stop him.


    Some of them were also curious if the pants would actually stop the attack or not. So they were d that Lucifer was testing its effectiveness. As for the rest, they were shocked at the crazy kid who was trying to harm himself.


    The lightning was powerful, and apparently, it was too powerful for the pants to handle. Still, the cardigan particles were able to reduce the strength of the lightning bolt by ny percent before the bolt passed through them.


    "Urgh!"


    A light pained noise left Lucifer¡¯s lips before he controlled his voice. His leg was bleeding as a hole was visible in his leg now. His leg also weakened because of the wound he got from the impact.


    He was still not losing his bnce since he used his other leg and the wind to his advantage.


    "It works," he said, ncing at Henny.


    ¡¯This guy... Just how did he grow up like this? He is so different,¡¯ Henny thought as he gazed at Lucifer¡¯s calm face as if nothing had happened to him.


    The pants were still intact. Even though there was a hole in Lucifer¡¯s legs, they could not see any damage in the pants.


    A trail of blood trickled down his leg. His wound started healing as his healing power took effect.


    "Oh, right. I forgot to tell you one more thing about the pants. It¡¯s also bulletproof. Moreover, they don¡¯t get affected by blood."


    "You can throw a ss full of blood or mud on it, and that would be absorbed as the pants clean themselves. So cool, isn¡¯t it?"


    A clever grin appeared on Henny¡¯s face as he talked more about it.


    "Hey, since these could serve as bulletproof too, why didn¡¯t you make that Vest Jacket with it? And our battle gear? When will you shift that to Cardigan Particles?" Caen asked.


    Henny looked at Caen nkly. Caen stared back, wondering what this guy was thinking. Why was he staring at him?


    "You asked a good question. An excellent question which is surprisinging from you," Henny exined before he burst into a peal ofughter.


    "Your jokes are getting worse, Henny. Now answer," Caen said, feeling a little bit annoyed.


    "The answer to your question is pretty simple. Because that¡¯s where the limitationes in. Each Cardigan Particle takes a long time to be created. As I said, this item is the first thing we made out from the stock we had. Even though we can create an unlimited number of such particles, it will take a lot of time."


    Henny spoke spontaneously as he exined to them.


    "ording to my assumption, in a week, we can make one Battle Gear Transfusion to Cardigan Particles. Lucifer¡¯s pants was a test of Cardigan Particles to see if we can create a clothing article with that."


    "Now that the test is finished, we can start making the battle gear for Master Raia. After that, we will make for the others who are next in line. So your number is prettyte. But you¡¯ll certainly get one."


    "Don¡¯t worry. And when you get one, there¡¯s no need to rece or repair, so we¡¯re free to move over to the next. Within some time, everyone here will have one," Henny added, reassuring them.


    "It¡¯s alright. I¡¯m in no hurry since I don¡¯t n to get hit ever. I was just curious," Caen answeredzily before he shifted his attention to Vega.


    "Now that we are done, shall we leave?" He asked.


    "Alright. Let¡¯s take off. I¡¯m sure Raia left by now too," Vega muttered as he looked at the clock.


    "He left? Where is he going?" Henny asked, shocked. "Is the big bossing with you as well? It¡¯s rare for him to go out. God, I pity your enemies then."


    "Hah, no. He isn¡¯ting with us. He is going to attract the Righteous Wolf," Vega answered before he turned back.


    He started leaving.


    Lucifer also followed after Vega and the others. His ck pants, battle shoes, and jacket looked so ordinary, but it was giving them a pretty unique look which didn¡¯t look bad in the least.


    Henny was left behind in theb, watching the retreating back of Vega until he vanished from his sight.


    "He¡¯s going to attract the Righteous Wolf? I wonder which city is going to be destroyed today. At least Raia will have fun today," he muttered as he shook his head lightly before he went back to work.


    ...


    A giant opening appeared in the middle of what seemed like a desert from which a helicopter came out, flying in a certain direction.


    Inside the helicopter, a group of people was sitting. There were only seven people in the helicopter, but there was a strange aura surrounding them all, making it feel like they possessed immense strength hiding inside their bodies.


    "So, which city are we going to, Raia?" One of the men asked as he gazed towards the man who had an expressionless look on his face.


    "Which city, huh. Their information hub, ntra. We¡¯ll go there. That would certainly make theme," Raia answered as he gazed out the window.


    His short silver hair matched his beautiful hazel eyes. As for his pale skin, that made him seem a bit like a Vampire.


    He also wore a robe that seemed like a Royal Mantle, having an intimidating look instead of the fluffy ones that the Kings used. It was made of Cardigan Particles as well.


    Actually, Henny hadn¡¯t lied when he said that Lucifer¡¯s pants were the first item he made with the Cardigan Particle. This robe was also something he made after that. At the moment, there were two clothing articles made of Cardigan Particles.


    This one looked more unique though, since it was made by Transfusion of Cardigan Particles with Raia¡¯s existing battle gear robe.


    "ntra? Sounds like fun. I wonder if Varant will show up. Hmm, I guess he will be there as soon as he knows that you¡¯re there as well. He¡¯ll leave everything behind and run to you," one of the sevenughed as he shrugged his shoulders nonchntly.


    "That¡¯s what we want, so I don¡¯t mind. I also wanted to get to fight him once again," Raia replied as he talked about the leader of APF, Varant.


    "His ability is really annoying, though," a dark-haired Variant said. "The ability that can defeat any Variant. He really needs to die."


    "His ability can¡¯t defeat all Variants. There are certain limitations. We just don¡¯t know it yet. Also, didn¡¯t Zale Azarel defeat Varant before?" Another Variant replied as he startedughing.

 Chapter 123 - 123: Weakness Of Varant

    <h4>Chapter 123 - 123: Weakness Of Varant </h4>


    "Yeah. That guy isn¡¯t invincible." One variant shared his opinion with them.


    "Raia, do you know what his limitation could be?" The dark-haired variant asked Raia curiously.


    "I do know a bit. And I already told you. As long as you let him get close to you, you¡¯re gone. During closebat, you are surely at disadvantage so never let him get close while fighting him. As much as possible keep your distance from him." Raia said, giving them tips when fighting Varant.


    "Anyway, I¡¯ll be facing him if he everes. So you don¡¯t have to bother. Just make sure that other pests don¡¯t annoy me. I don¡¯t want others getting in my way once I fight Varant," Raia reminded them as hezily closed his eyes.


    The other variants just nodded their heads, keeping his words in mind. They didn¡¯t disturb Raia anymore.


    The helicopter kept flying in the empty sky, moving towards the city of ntra which was an important city in Elysium. It was the ce where most of the servers were ced and also the ce with most of the news stations could be found.


    Attacking this city would give them a lot of advantages once they seeded. Taking out ntra meant taking out the information hub of the Elysium.


    Meanwhile, in their main headquarters, Lucifer and others were preparing to leave.


    "Not there, in this one. You¡¯reing with me. We¡¯ll move in the back!"


    Lucifer was about to step inside a helicopter behind Vega when he heard Caen¡¯s voice.


    "Hmm?" He turned back, feeling a little bit confused. "What did they mean by that?" Lucifer mumbled.


    "You and I will move separately andnd directly over the facility. As for the others, they will go ahead and destroy the defenses around the facility so we can easilynd," Caen exined to Lucifer.


    Hearing Caen¡¯s words, Vega turned back and nodded his head.


    "That¡¯s right. Apany him. We are sure some of our guests will be waiting for us there. So we will be ahead of you to make some adjustments on the ground. You¡¯ll get there after we engage in action. We will create a clear path for you."


    He reached out his hand to give Lucifer a light pat on his shoulder. However, Lucifer once again took a step back, creating a distance between them.


    It had been quite some time and he still wasn¡¯t ready to let anyone touch him.


    Vega didn¡¯t mind Lucifer¡¯s reaction. He understood that it was going to take more time before Lucifer could ease up and befortable with them. He just hoped that after this mission, things were going to improve.


    Turning back, Vega entered the helicopter. Only after entering did he look back at Lucifer and said, "Best of Luck. Today, your revenge will be over. I look forward to the future," he said before he settled down on his seat.


    "Come."


    Caen again called Lucifer who obediently listened and followed him to a different helicopter that was waiting for them in the back.


    Vega¡¯s helicopter was the first one to take off. His team members were already sitting inside in advance. As for Lucifer, they weren¡¯t dyed either.


    After the first helicopter took off, the second one also started rising in the air. It was the one in which Dion was sitting with his team.


    The third helicopter was housing Isona which also took off.


    Thest helicopter which housed Lucifer contained Caen and his team.


    Their team wasn¡¯t going to be part of the frontline army that would engage in the main battle. They were only tasked to apany Lucifer and help him from the sideline. Also, Caen had another purpose.


    It was to keep an eye on Lucifer and not lose him so that they could get out on time after they finished the mission.


    After some time, Caen¡¯s helicopter also started rising in the air and left the base. After a few minutes of waiting, finally, they came out of the underground base, following the other helicopters behind.


    Once again, Lucifer could see the desertednd where the base was located. He didn¡¯t know where this ce was or what this location was called but he seemingly didn¡¯t care either.


    In any case, he was going toe back with these people if he wanted to be here.


    Caen gazed at Lucifer to see the expressions on the boy¡¯s face. He could see him calmly looking outside as if appreciating the site outside nature.


    There was a serene look on his face and his long hair made him seem even more mature. He still hadn¡¯t tied his hair or cut them short despite the suggestion from Isona previously.


    Even though Lucifer seemed calm on the outside, on the inside, he was in turmoil. Caen was sure that this guy was having mixed emotions since he was finally going to get what he lived for.


    It was just a matter of time and the Doctor who made him feel so helplessst time was going to be at his mercy. This was certainly a bit nerve-wracking for anyone.


    He could also see Lucifer¡¯s fist clenched hard.


    "Can¡¯t wait to crush his throat?" Caen asked Lucifer, smiling.


    Lucifer reacted with a gentle shake of his hand. He didn¡¯t even bother looking back.


    "You know, I went through something simr before as well. But the one I killed was my own uncle. And I can certainly say that it felt good to do it. I just hated that hested for such a short duration before breaking," Caen said, reminiscing about his past.


    His words intrigued Lucifer who couldn¡¯t help but look back. Killing his own uncle? Why?


    After hearing those words from Caen, lots of questions started running in his mind right now. He was so tempted to ask him further.


    "That bastard deserved to die even a more painful death. A quick death was a mercy to him. I wish I could kill him again and again," Caen further said.


    Not being able to control his curiosity, Lucifer finally asked, "What had he done?"


    Hearing the question, a deep sigh escaped Caen¡¯s lips. A cold glint shed through his eyes as he looked towards the window.


    "That man took everything from me. He took all the light from my life, making it dark entirely," he replied, gritting his teeth.


    "What did he do?" Lucifer asked again, not understanding what he meant.


    "He killed my father who was his brother. As for my mother, he..."


    Caen paused as he couldn¡¯t utter the next words. He was having a hard time as he recalled that painful memory.


    "Anyway, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll enjoy your revenge a lot," he said, ending the conversation about his past.


    Lucifer heard his words and felt like something surely happened to his mother that he didn¡¯t wish to talk about.


    Lucifer could somehow understand his feelings so he decided not to ask him further.


    ...


    Dilion Research Facility~ A facility which was one of the many facilities that were under the control of the government but this single facility was in the center of a bigmotion.


    The highest authorities of the government had received a disturbing message about the facility which was forcing them to take action, at least to keep the illusion that they were serious about this.

 Chapter 124 - 124: Governmens Action

    <h4>Chapter 124 - 124: Governmen''s Action </h4>


    In any case, they couldn¡¯t ignore the video since the one who sent the video to them was none other than Varant, one of the top three Warlocks of the country.


    They couldn¡¯t turn a blind eye and disregard the message they received from them or else, they would be in trouble. Varant was very powerful and influential. They couldn¡¯t afford to offend him.


    Since this facility was under the jurisdiction of General Maxwell, the government had also informed him about this.


    An inquiry was being set up to investigate this matter which was going to involve high-ranking government officials. One of them happened to be General Maxwell himself.


    Until the team came up with aprehensive report about this incident, all the staff of the facility was going to be kept in istion.


    The government had already sent a team to fetch the staff of the Facility and arrest them.


    No matter how fast the government acted, it still took them more than a day to decide on this course of action, unaware that this one day was going to be really crucial and could bring significant change for everyone.


    ....


    Doctor Rao was sitting in his office with Doctor Layman. As for Doctor Min, he had asked for a transfer from this facility and had left long ago.


    Of the three people who were in the room at the time of Lucifer¡¯s death, only two were left in the facility. Both of them were in the office at the moment, clueless about the impending danger that mighte their way today.


    Their expressions were not looking good after receiving some information. Their faces were painted with worries and concerns.


    "Are you sure the information is correct? Is this just a rumor and a misunderstanding? Or does this piece of informatione from a reliable source?" Doctor Layman asked as he looked in the eyes of Doctor Rao, trying to see if there was any hope for escape.


    "It¡¯s true. General Maxwell called to inform me. A government team will soon be here to arrest us," Doctor Rao said with a discouraged whimper.


    "But why are we being arrested? We were only doing our work. In any case, aren¡¯t we as scientists allowed to have human experiment casualties as per the guidelines, especially if it¡¯s for breakthroughs?" Doctor Layman asked.


    "Do they want to use us as scapegoats now that this Varant is involved too?" He asked.


    Doctor Rao shook his head, letting out a deep breath. He had lost count of how many times he sighed today after hearing the information from General Maxwell.


    "They don¡¯t. I have confirmation from General Maxwell. This is all for show. We will be released after some time when this matter dies down. Until then, we will be kept in istion," he answered.


    "Huh? Does it mean we will not be punished? So why are you looking so gloomy? What¡¯s there to worry about?" Doctor Layman let out cheerfully as he heaved a sigh of relief.


    "We aren¡¯t going to be punished. It¡¯s only a matter of time and we will be released in the end. We can just wait and endure the istion for a while," he further added, smiling brightly.


    However, Doctor Rao still couldn¡¯t help but worry about this turn of events even though General Maxwell already reassured him that everything was under control. He still had another concern in mind.


    "We aren¡¯t going to be punished. You¡¯re right about that but that¡¯s not what I¡¯m disappointed about. What I¡¯m worried about is that I won¡¯t be able to continue my research during the time I stay in istion. And even worse, this facility will be shut down," Doctor Rao said.


    "This facility will be shut down?!! Wait a minute, I haven¡¯t thought about this. So what will happen to her? She still hasn¡¯t woken up," Doctor Layman called out, feeling a little bit problematic.


    Doctor Rao heaved another deep sigh while massaging his temples.


    "Sigh, I¡¯m worried about that too. I can¡¯t take her with me or let that part of this facility be exposed or else, we will be put in a big mess. That¡¯s why I¡¯ve decided to leave her behind even when the facility is closed. After I¡¯m out of istion, I wille back and resume everything." Doctor Rao told him the only solution he could think of as of now.


    "What about all our research? Even though it¡¯s for show only, the government team might actually try to go through our research to make sure that we are not doing anything more. They might find out about our secret research operation if the team will further investigate us." Doctor Layman said, sharing his concern with him.


    "I¡¯ve thought about that as well. Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ve destroyed all research data rted to that from the system. As for all the papers rted to that, I¡¯ve kept that in theb where she is," Doctor Rao answered.


    "No one will know about thatb so no one can find those documents," he added.


    "Clever. So you¡¯ve thought about everything already," Doctor Layman said, grinning.


    "Of course. I¡¯m always thinking of two steps ahead," Doctor Rao answered with a prideful look on his face.


    "The only thing I can¡¯t understand is how that footage of ourb leaked? Did the APF actually hack the government database or someone from our team here gave them the footage?" He wondered. "I doubt those people would hack. In any case, if it¡¯s hacked, it would soon be out."


    "Do you think Doctor Min could have leaked the footage? He left after that incident and he was seemingly pretty upset that we didn¡¯t listen to him," Doctor Layman said, raising his suspicion against Doctor Min.


    "I don¡¯t know about that but if it is discovered that it was him, I will make sure that he suffers," Doctor Rao said as a cold glint shed through his eyes. He would not forgive anyone who tried to betray him.


    ....


    Varant had sent the message to the government about that video, coercing them to take action. Even though he had done all that, he realized that the action was going to take time.


    He had also managed to put the pieces together and understood that even though Lucifer had escaped from their grasp, it would just be a matter of time and they would cross paths again with him.


    He somehow figured out Lucifer¡¯s goal. His target was still the same~ attacking the facility and getting revenge against those scientists who made him suffer to death.


    That was the best clue they had for now on how they were able to track and trace Lucifer. He believed that Lucifer would certainly show up in the facility.


    Varant also had an assumption that Lucifer wasn¡¯t going to be alone when he came there. He had a feeling that his old enemies were helping him. His main concern right now was that his enemies would try to use Lucifer for their own gains and benefits.


    Since he believed that Variant Uprising was going to help Lucifer, he needed to put more effort in catching Lucifer before their nes to fruition.

 Chapter 125 - 125: Landing In Elantra

    <h4>Chapter 125 - 125: Landing In ntra </h4>


    This was an opportunity for him to not only catch Lucifer but also to catch the members of Variant Uprising. If his hunch was right, he was going to get everything he wanted. In one stroke, he could damage the Variant Uprising beyond recognition.


    Keeping that in mind, he had sent both the Delta Team and the Beta Team to catch Lucifer. Both teams were going to be in the facility, waiting for Lucifer¡¯s arrival.


    Even though he had sent the two teams, Beta and Delta, that wasn¡¯t all. He also nned to take the Alphas there, all because of his gut feeling.


    The only reason he didn¡¯t leave at the same time as the other two teams, was because he needed to wait for his team members, who were taking a bit longer to arrive from the prior mission he had sent them on.


    It had already been three hours since the other two teams left, and Varant was still waiting.


    Varant was sitting in his office with another High-ranking variant of his team known as Riali, moremonly known as the Shadow Monarch.


    After Varant, Riali was the strongest Warlock in the APF and also the Vice-Captain of the Alpha Squad.


    Unlike the calm and professional-looking Varant, Riali looked like a proper Warrior with his strong build. His Hazel eyes didn¡¯t match with his short pink hair, but there was something pretty charming about him. He looked no more than thirty.


    There were also three strange tattoos on his face~ one on his left cheek, one on his right, and the other one on his forehead.


    "Do you really think Raia will show up there to help Lucifer?" Riali asked Varant as he yed with a pen that was in his hand, spinning it on his finger.


    "I believe he will involve himself if his side is helping Lucifer," Varant answered.


    "I sure do hope so. If this is true, we can crush that snake¡¯s head and destroy that vile organization at once," Riali said as he smiled.


    "And if it isn¡¯t true, I guess we can call it a short vacation for our Alpha Squad," he continued as he startedughing.


    "You and your corny jokes," Varantmented, rolling his eyes skyward. "Most of the time, I don¡¯t even understand them."


    "Hey, that¡¯s because you don¡¯t have a sense of humor," Riali spat back at him, teasing Varant.


    "Really? In that case, no one in the world has a sense of humor. The world knows you as Shadow Monarch, but everyone here calls you an Unfunny Monarch," Varant said as he sighed helplessly.


    "Hmph? Who dares to call me that? Tell me the name and watch them call me funny right before your eyes," Riali dered as he stood up, smashing his palm on the table.


    Varant opened his lips to speak a long list of names, but before he could even say the first word, they heard a knock on the door.


    The door opened, and a man entered the room.


    The silver-haired man who stepped inside the room seemed very young from what could be seen of his face, which wasn¡¯t much. He seemed like he was in his mid-twenties.


    The man was wearing a long jacket, the cors of which were being used as a mask that kept the lower half of his face hidden.


    "Oh, Gensi, you¡¯re back. The others should be back as well, then. Good, we can leave now," Varant said as he stood up.


    "Gensi! You tell me, does anyone here call me Unfunny Monarch?"


    Seeing the silver-haired man, Riali walked towards him and reached out his hand to ce them on Gensi¡¯s shoulders.


    Riali¡¯s hand was about to touch the shoulder of Gensi when Gensi¡¯s figure flickered, disappearing in just a blink of an eye. In that split of a second, he appeared beside Varant.


    "You! Stop using your Night Assassin skills on me, and don¡¯t run away! Answer me!" Rialiined as he turned back to look at Gensi.


    "I can neither confirm nor deny that statement," Gensi replied in a calm tone.


    There seemed no emotion in his voice, but it was evident that he didn¡¯t want to tell the truth as that would upset Riali since amongst the long list of people who called this guy Unfunny Monarch as a joke was his name as well.


    Gensi was an Assassination Specialist Warlock who was also known moremonly as Assassination Emperor.


    He has great skills, one of which made him one of the greatest assassins in this world.


    He was also a top member of this team.


    "Alright. Enough talking. Let¡¯s leave. I don¡¯t want to bete," Varant said, realizing that this argument between these two would stretch for hours if he didn¡¯t chime in.


    ...


    Varant, Gensi, and Riali left the office and walked towards the helicopter, which was already waiting for them to leave.


    The team was also waiting outside for them to arrive. Even though half the team had juste back from a mission, they were ready to leave for another without any problem.


    As Varant and others entered the special helicopter, it started rising in the air and started flying towards the Dilion Research Facility.


    The people of this country had no idea that at the moment, everyone was leaving for a battle of the strongest, all because of a young boy and one scientist who didn¡¯t know what he was doing.


    One single event had set so many things in motion, which had the potential to ruin so many lives.


    ...


    The sky was clear. Not many clouds could be seen as the bright rays of the sun reached the ground without any obstruction.


    People had started leaving their houses to go to work. All the cities had started getting busy as many shops and offices opened. One of such cities was the great city of ntra.


    ntra was one of the many cities of the country of Elisium, but it held a special position in the country.


    ntra was known as the information hub of the city. Most of the broadcasting headquarters and servers were ced in the city, which made sure that the proper flow of information could happen.


    No one could even imagine what troubles could arrive if the city of ntra stopped working for a single day.


    Unfortunately, it was highly possible that the world was going to find it out today as a helicopter filled with the strongest Warlocks of Variant Uprisingnded on top of one of the buildings.


    From the helicopter, Raia and the others stepped out.


    "Yaaaw! Finally, wended! I feel so sleepy."

 Chapter 126 - 126: Letting Loose

    <h4>Chapter 126 - 126: Letting Loose </h4>


    A young Warlock stretched out his arms as he yawned. He was one of the youngest Warlocks of the Level Five, only neen years old.


    He was dressed in a white shirt and casual ck jeans which matched his ck hair.


    His amber eyes were looking at everythingzily as his right hand held a Katana which was kept in the sheath.


    Despite being the youngest here, he was in no way weaker than others. He was also very famous in the APF.


    Inside APF, he was known as the Psycho Swordsman but his self-given title was the Sword Emperor. As for his real name, it was Tristan.


    "Can I go have some fun now?" He asked Raia, his eyes gleaming with excitement.


    Tristan couldn¡¯t wait to shatter everything there. As he was known as the Psycho Swordsman, he craved bloodbath. He enjoyed watching people bathing in blood once he unsheathed his Katana.


    "Sure. This whole city is all yours to ruin. All of you can start having fun. No one will restrict you from doing that," Raia replied as a subtle smile appeared on his face.


    Today wasn¡¯t a day he was going to stop any of them since that was what he wanted. He wanted to ruin the city so he could drag Varant and the others here.


    Wreaking havoc on the entire city would definitely grab the attention of Varant and other APF members. They would prioritize saving and protecting the lives of the civilians.


    With that, he would be able to keep Varant away from Lucifer. He knew that the farther he kept that guy from Lucifer, the better.


    "Awesome! Finally!" A sinister grin formed on Tristan¡¯s face as he took a step forward.


    With his left hand, he held the Sheath of his katana whereas, with his right hand, he held the hilt.


    The other Warlocks also had an amused look on their faces as they watched Tristan, anticipating a big show to begin.


    There seemed to be a moment of pause before Tristan finally moved his right hand and pulled out his katana.


    With extreme speed, he pulled out the katana but no one could even see the de before they realized that the katana was already back in the sheath.


    All that was left behind was a long horizontal arc of ck light which was moving ahead at lightning-fast speed. It was getting bigger with each passing second.


    By the time the arc of ck light reached the nearest fifty-story building, it was already wider than the width of that building.


    The arc of light passed through the building and disappeared. Nothing happened.


    "I bet on two seconds?" One of the Warlock said,ughing.


    "Nah, the cut was too smooth. I give it five seconds," Another Warlock said, smiling.


    The fifty story tall building was sliced from the middle and everyone started betting how long it was going to take before the top half fell.


    It didn¡¯t take long as the top half of the building actually copsed, causing massive destruction. The people that were inside the building were killed including the ones who were around the building and its nearby area.


    "I guess you were right. It did take five seconds."


    As the others were still talking, Tristanunched another attack but this time on a different building. Unlike before, the others didn¡¯t just stand still and watch. They also joined in on the action, causing and creating wide-scale destruction around the city.


    ...


    Xander and his team had already reached the facility; at least the team that was still alive as most of his team was already dead.


    With him, Ayn¡¯s team also came as a form of backup.


    "Everything seems calm here. Do you think Lucifer will actually be stupid enough toe here? It¡¯s obvious that we will be waiting here for him," Ayn asked Xander as she walked beside him inside the facility.


    Xander also nodded his head. "That¡¯s true. He would have to be suicidal toe here. But thinking about it, if there¡¯s one person who is truly suicidal, it¡¯s that kid."


    The two of them had left the rest of the team members outside the facility to keep an eye on the surroundings and stay on guard. They never knew the exact time when their target would show up. They knew they needed to stay alert at all times.


    ...


    Knock!


    A knocking sound resounded inside the office of Doctor Rao where he was sitting with Doctor Layman.


    The door opened as a man stepped inside.


    "Doctor, they are here."


    A dark-haired man entered the office of Doctor Rao, informing him that they had some guests.


    "The government team is here to take us? Pretty fast," Doctor Layman eximed in surprise.


    "Not them. The people from the APF are here. Two of them areing here to meet you," the dark-haired man answered.


    "I bet they are the ones who are responsible for everything. What are they here for? We are going to be arrested soon anyway. Are they here tough at us?" Doctor Rao asked as he frowned. There was a hint of sarcasm and annoyance in his voice.


    After a while, he sighed deeply and said, "Alright. It doesn¡¯t matter anymore. They can do whatever they want here now. Let theme."


    Nodding his head, the dark-haired man left the office.


    ...


    Xander and Ayn were brought to the office of Doctor Rao. The two of them didn¡¯t even bother to knock before they stepped inside the room.


    "Xander ke, the man who destroyed everything. What brought you here now? Are you still not satisfied with everything that you have done?" Doctor Rao asked while looking gravely at Xander who had just entered the room.


    He didn¡¯t even bother to stand up to wee Xander and Ayn.


    "Satisfied?" Xander asked back, walking over towards Doctor Rao¡¯s table.


    Upon reaching his table, Xander mmed his hand on the table as he gazed deep into the eyes of Doctor Rao. "I wish I can do the things that satisfy me instead of keeping myself in control. If only you weren¡¯t a human, you would have seen it."


    "Xander, control yourself," Ayn told Xander, cing her hand on his shoulder.


    Xander straightened up as he removed his hand from the wooden table.


    When Xander retreated his hand, Doctor Layman noticed a deep burn mark on the spot where his hand was ced previously.


    ¡¯This guy... I don¡¯t even want to know what would have satisfied him. He seems frightening,¡¯ he thought as he kept his gaze down and stood up.


    Doctor Layman walked over to Doctor Rao¡¯s side of the table, leaving his chair empty for Xander. There was also another chair ced beside which was for Ayn.


    "Does it even matter? I¡¯ll be punished by the government because of you. I already lost everything and you¡¯re responsible," Doctor Rao said as he heaved a sigh of defeat.


    In essence, he was just pretending in front of them to give Xander and Ayn the impression that the government was really going to punish him.


    He knew that only when the APF believed that the humans will deal with the matter fairly could this matter be forgotten faster.

 Chapter 127 - 127: Wish You Were A Variant

    <h4>Chapter 127 - 127: Wish You Were A Variant </h4>


    "Not because of him. You lost everything because of your own actions. I generally don¡¯t get affected by such stuff so easily, but after seeing what you have done to the boy and other human experimental subjects, even I was disturbed by your actions," Ayn said as she pulled the chair back and sat on it.


    "You really should be d that Xander is controlling himself and trying to protect you here. Because you might have been dead by now if not for him," she added after sitting down.


    "I really do have a question, though. I hope you can answer me," she said. "Did you really not feel any sense of pity when you killed all those kids? Your own actions are returning to not only haunt you but others as well."


    "I killed no one. I only did experiments that were essential for the growth of science. As for their death, that just happened to be the unfortunate aftermath," Doctor Rao answered without a bit of emotion on his face.


    "Sigh, Xander is right. It would have been so much easier for us if you were a Variant instead of a human," Ayn replied as she closed her eyes. "You¡¯re really a disgrace to humanity."


    "You are entitled to your own opinions. I won¡¯tment on that," Doctor Rao replied. "Anyway, why did youe to meet this waste of a human?"


    "We didn¡¯te to meet you. We came to capture Lucifer, who might show up here," Xander answered.


    "Lucifer? Wait a minute, are you saying that it wasn¡¯t a lie that you spread, making others believe that Lucifer was alive so that this facility would be put under a thorough investigation?" Doctor Rao eximed in disbelief. "Is he actually alive?"


    A stunned expression was covering the entirety of his face as he stood up. Even Doctor Layman was shocked.


    The two of them had managed to convince themselves that Lucifer was dead and that the rumors spread by the APF about him being alive were just a scheme of theirs to get permission to investigate the facility.


    If they were still saying the same thing even after everything was out, didn¡¯t it mean that it wasn¡¯t a lie? They had already won. Why would they still keep up with the lie?


    "You¡¯re not the sharpest, are you?" Xander asked sarcastically.


    "You¡¯re right. He is alive, and rightfully so. The only thing which is unfortunate is that his hatred for you has made him the enemy of the whole world. All because of you, we have lost such a bright warlock," Ayn chimed.


    "Wait... So he survived even after the pain index reached a hundred percent? He came back to life as a Warlock even after his heartbeat stopped? This has massive implications! If we are allowed to research and experiment on him, we can help humanity so much!"


    Even though Doctor Rao was being criticized, he had a shine in his eyes as he thought of all the possibilities.


    Revival from death? The implications were great! It could be the key to the evolution of humanity and eternal life! He could already see himself experimenting on Lucifer to find out the secrets.


    Both Ayn and Xander were disappointed and disgusted at what they saw. Even after all that, this guy didn¡¯t have any regrets. Instead, he wanted to put the boy in more experiments? Despite everything he did to the boy, he still wanted to use him again! Just how dark was the heart of this guy?


    "Rao, you shouldn¡¯t think about experimenting on Lucifer. Instead, you should pray that he never appears before you. Because if he did, you wouldn¡¯t be the one experimenting on him. It would be the opposite," Xander answered, understanding how powerful Lucifer was.


    With the strength he possessed and the healing, he could easily handle an army.


    The helicopter of Variant Uprising was flying non-stop as it advanced towards the facility of Dilion, which was going to be the battleground of the strongest.


    The battle of Dillion was just about to begin, but there was another ce where destruction had already begun.


    The city of ntra was facing the wrath of the Dark Variants that were causing widespread destruction everywhere.


    Only three minutes had passed since the first attack was made on one of the buildings; already seventeen skyscrapers were destroyed. Their rubble could be seen lying all around. Massive clouds of dust had filled the air, which could be seen from a distance as well.


    Everyone was taking part in wreaking havoc and destroying everything as if it was a celebration which they were enjoying. Amongst the Dark Variants, only one was standing behind, not taking part.


    It was Raia who stood calmly with folded arms as he watched the chaotic state of the city while hearing the loud screams which reverberated all around him.


    He was still standing on top of a tall building where their helicopternded a while ago. Most of the buildings in the area were destroyed except for the one which he was standing on.


    He couldn¡¯t help but gaze at the sky as if getting bored, wondering when his guest was going to arrive.


    "By now, they should have received the information. At best, it¡¯ll take them an hour to get here. It would take my team the same amount of time to reach the facility...."


    ...


    While Raia was having a conclusion of his own, the Alpha Squad of APF was sitting on the helicopter that was still advancing towards the Dilion Research Facility.


    It was at that point when Varant¡¯s phone started ringing. He picked up the call and ced the phone near his ear, realizing that it was a call from their base.


    "Yeah?"


    "Are you sure?¡¯


    "Alright. I¡¯ll go there."


    Saying three short lines, he disconnected the call.


    "Where are you going?" Riali asked Varant, curious.


    "We need to go to ntra. Tell the pilot to change the destination," Varant told Riali as he gazed out the window, lost in thoughts.


    Riali walked over to the pilot without asking twice and told him to change direction before he came back to Varant.


    "Did something happen in ntra?" Finally, he asked the question which was in his mind.

 Chapter 128 - 128: Enemy Is Here!

    <h4>Chapter 128 - 128: Enemy Is Here! </h4>


    "Yeah. Variant Uprising members are going crazy in ntra, destroying the city. We need to stop them," Varant answered.


    "Huh? So does it mean they are not attacking the facility? Is our assumption wrong?" Gensi inquired.


    "Yeah. That¡¯s what it seems like. Or maybe something more is at y. Let the other teams stay in the Facility to make sure it¡¯s not a trick. We are the only ones who will go to ntra. I think our force is enough to stop them," Varant replied.


    "Understood," Gensi said, closing his eyes. He stopped talking as he had no further questions.


    "Raia and the others, huh. It¡¯s been more than a year since west had an opportunity toe face to face with them. I wonder how strong they have be. I can already feel the excitement," Riali said as he cracked his knuckles.


    "I am certain that they improved somehow, or else, they would never have dared to set foot in ntra, causing massive destruction and wreaking havoc. Their actions seem like they are challenging us heads-on for an all-out battle," Varant said, his expression unreadable.


    He was still trying to figure out what Variant Uprising was scheming and plotting this time.


    "Anyway, I will not let them escape this time," Varant said with a lot of conviction in his words.


    Riali and Gensi just smiled upon hearing those words from Varant. As expected of their leader, he was so confident with himself.


    Unaware that this was just a diversion tactic of Variant Uprising, the helicopter of the Alpha Squad turned back and started flying in a different direction towards a different city altogether.


    ....


    The n of Variant Uprising was slowly falling into ce. The first thing they wanted to do was keep Varant far away from Lucifer, because of which they attacked a city. The n worked perfectly as Varant fell for it and started going to ntra.


    Now that the first and the most important part of the n was sessful, the battlefield was going to be less chaotic and risky for Lucifer.


    The second part of the n was simple now. It was to overwhelm the rest of the APF squads that were going to be at the facility and help Lucifer take his revenge.


    All the pieces were falling into their right ces ording to the ns of Variant Uprising, and the APF was ying right into their hands.


    Unfortunately, APF had no other choice. They couldn¡¯t just leave ntra to be destroyed. Their main priority was to save and protect the people.


    That was the problem with them. The Uprising wanted to destroy, which was much easier than the goal of APF, which was to protect everyone.


    ...


    Meanwhile, seeing the destruction in ntra, not only the APF but the army had also started moving out to protect their citizens.


    ntra already had the presence of a police force that was already taking action. Aside from that, more resources and military personnel were also being sent to the city to help them.


    ...


    On the other hand, far away from the city of ntra, the helicopter that was transporting Lucifer and other variants had finally reached their destination.


    "We should be there in five minutes. Get ready!" Caen informed everyone as he stood up.


    He walked over to the gate and looked into the distance.


    Lucifer also stood up, feeling a rush in his heart. Finally, he was going to be back at that ce! Finally, he was going to watch those scientists who made him into what he was today¡ª an emotionless doll. Finally, he could ce his hands around their throats and watch them suffer.


    ...


    The guards of the Dilion Research Facility were guarding the facility, roaming around the vicinity.


    They weren¡¯t alone this time, though. With them, the members of the APF were also keeping an eye and staying on guard.


    "Fix, Do you know what happened? Why are these people here?" A dark-haired guard asked his red-haired friend as the two of them walked together, patrolling.


    "I have no idea. All I know is that we are ordered to keep the facility sealed and not let any of the staff leave until the government teames. Maybe the doctors did something wrong? Who knows, I always had a bad feeling about this ce," the red-haired guard answered, sighing deeply.


    "Sigh, true. Maybe the facility will be sealed, and we¡¯ll be assigned to a different ce. I can certainly use a change of environment after working here for five years." The dark-haired guard nodded his head as he sighed.


    "I wonder how long before the team gets here," he added as he looked into the distance.


    "Huh?"


    An expression of surprise spread across his face as he saw four helicopters in the distanceing towards them.


    "The government team is here?!" he eximed.


    "That can¡¯t be. The higher-ups said that the team would take more than a day to get here. How could they be here so fast?" The red-haired man muttered in disbelief.


    "Huh? If the helicopters don¡¯t belong to the government, then who?" The dark-haired guard asked, feeling puzzled.


    "Maybe more people from APF areing. Let me ask them," the red-haired guard known as Fix said as he walked over to the nearest APF member.


    "The helicopters that areing, are they yours?" Fix asked a member of Delta Squad known as Jennor.


    A look of confusion resurfaced on Jennor¡¯s face as he heard that.


    "Helicopters?" Jennor let out as he gazed at the sky. He indeed saw four helicoptersing in their direction.


    "A helicopter of ours is going toe with the team of Alphas but certainly not four. They aren¡¯t ours."


    Jennor was certain that they were only expecting one helicopter that wasing today, which was transporting Alpha Team to this facility.


    "If they aren¡¯t yours and they aren¡¯t ours, then who owns these helicopters? Who sent them here?" Fix asked, feeling a little bit anxious.


    Jennor thought about his words before he realized what was happening.


    "Enemy is here!"

 Chapter 129 - 129: Doctor Raos Intentions

    <h4>Chapter 129 - 129: Doctor Rao''s Intentions </h4>


    "Everyone! Prepare to intercept!" Jennor yelled out loud. "Some unknown people are approaching! Possibly the enemy!"


    His voice was so loud that it reached every member who was outside the facility, all because of his abilities which gave him an ultrasonic voice loud enough to achieve this feat.


    As per his warning, everyone was alerted. They proceeded to their respective guard posts, getting ready to defend if the enemiesunched an attack.


    "I¡¯ll go and inform the two captains!" a beta squad member told everyone before he dashed inside the facility.


    Since the whole facility was jammed only recently, they couldn¡¯t call ormunicate with the people inside throughmunication devices. They had to go and inform everyone themselves.


    "Your voice is an asset! Warn them and get them down. Tell them that if they don¡¯t get down and identify themselves, we will blow them up without any questions asked!" The Vice-Captain of Beta Squad said to Jennor.


    Jennor nodded as he stared at the four iing helicopters.


    He took a deep breath before he opened his mouth and used his Ultrasonic Voice to ry a message to those unknown people who were approaching them.


    "This is a message and a warning for the four iing helicopters! Please get down and identify yourself! If you don¡¯t go down within five seconds, we will attack! This is a final warning!"


    His voice seemed so loud that it echoed everywhere. His voice even somehow managed to pass through the open building, resonating inside the facility where Xander and Ayn were sitting.


    "Hmm? This seems like the work of Jennor. He is warning someone. I guess the guests are here," Xander said as he stood up and nced towards the door.


    "Let¡¯s check," Ayn added, not wasting any more time as she followed Xander.


    But even before Ayn reached the door, she turned back to look at the two Doctors,manding them, "You two, stay inside. You¡¯re not allowed to leave and go anywhere or else, you might suffer. We¡¯ll be right back."


    The two doctors just bobbed their heads absentmindedly, still shocked from the revtion they found out today.


    Getting their response, Ayn and Xander stepped out of the office and walked towards the exit gate of the facility.


    Doctor Rao and Doctor Layman were left behind, lost in thoughts.


    "It¡¯s fascinating to know that the kid is actually alive. Pretty amazing indeed. I guess we were pretty hasty in testing and experimenting on him. We should have waited for a bit more," Doctor Rao said as his fingers tapped the table whichid before him.


    "Fascinating? How could you say that??! It¡¯s not fascinating for me at all, instead, it¡¯s scary! If the news about him being alive is true, then the rumor about him killing APF members is also true," Doctor Layman corrected Doctor Rao. Concern was evident on his face as he was worried about his life.


    "If he can even do that then he¡¯s pretty strong. It¡¯s scary because he mighte after us and take his revenge!" he further said. "If that kid is actually here, then our lives really might be in danger!"


    "You worry needlessly. Even though the APF really messed up my ns by finding out about this facility and leaking the information, they¡¯re still pretty useful. Two whole teams of them are here. There¡¯s no way that Lucifer can harm us in their presence even if he is here," Doctor Raozily replied.


    "On the contrary, it¡¯s better if Luciferes here," he said.


    "Why?" Doctor Layman asked. "Why is it better for him toe here?"


    Doctor Rao looked at Doctor Layman before he sighed. "Sometimes you can be really dense, Layman."


    He took a pause, shaking his head while clicking his tongue as if he was a little bit disappointed by Doctor Layman¡¯s slow thinking.


    "Just see it as a bigger picture and you¡¯ll understand," he said. "If Luciferes here, he will be facing the APF. Since he can¡¯t be killed, he will be caught and imprisoned."


    "What of that?" Doctor Layman asked, still not understanding. "How does that benefit us?"


    "God, you¡¯re really slow," Doctor Rao said as he rolled his eyes.


    "He is a perfect specimen for testing and human evolution. If he is imprisoned, we can have another opportunity to do an experiment on him. When we are free, we can use the government to ask APF to hand Lucifer over for testing. Just thinking about testing on this guy is making me drool. The discoveries would be so amazing," he further said with his dreamy eyes.


    He was already imagining the sess of his experiment if ever Lucifer would be his test subject once again. He would create another breakthrough in the world of Science.


    "That¡¯s true indeed," Doctor Layman said. "But I don¡¯t know why, I still have a bad feeling about this."


    ¡¯I feel like we¡¯re ying a really risky game here. If something goes wrong, we¡¯ll be dead. I wonder if Doctor Min was right to leave on time.¡¯ He thought, not expressing openly.


    ...


    Meanwhile, Xander and Ayn were running in the corridor, trying to get out of the facility as fast as they could.


    They came to a halt when they saw one of their team members.


    "Captain! I found you!" Breathing heavily, the beta team member said to Ayn.


    "Tell me what¡¯s happening outside?"


    Ayn and Xander stopped running but they continued walking.


    "Four unknown helicopters are approaching us! We believe they might belong to the enemy but we aren¡¯t sure. That¡¯s why we¡¯re warning them to get down first," the man told Ayn.


    Ayn and Xander exchanged meaningful nces upon hearing that. They already considered the possibility that their enemies finally made an appearance.


    To be sure, they moved quickly to confirm their suspicion. There was only one way to find out. They should see them face to face.


    ...


    Outside the facility, a stern warning was given to the neers. It was to either get down and identify themselves or have the risk of being blown up.


    Not only Dion, Isona, and Vega but Lucifer and Caen also heard the warning even though they were in thest helicopter, far behind the other three.


    Hearing the threat, Lucifer stood up and started walking towards the door to get in on the action. Since these helicopters were going to be attacked, it was better to attack in advance.


    As he saw Lucifer stand up, Caen also stood up.


    "Wait, you don¡¯t need to do anything. Just sit and enjoy for now. Leave the rest to us."

 Chapter 130 - 130: Lucifers Weakness

    <h4>Chapter 130 - 130: Lucifer''s Weakness </h4>


    Lucifer nced back at Caen, still wondering if his words held merit. But he nodded, walking back to his seat. In any case, what did he even have to lose? Even if the whole helicopter was blown up, it wasn¡¯t him who was going to die.


    If these people had so much faith when their own lives were in danger, then why should he doubt when he held no risk.


    He sat back and waited for some action to happen.


    ...


    "This is the final warning! If you don¡¯t stop, we will attack!" Jennor once again yelled with the help of his ability as he didn¡¯t see any decrease in the altitude of the helicopters.


    "Alright. Blow them up," he said sternly as his second warning also seemingly fell on deaf ears. They couldn¡¯t wait any longer or the helicopters would close in.


    Hearing hismand, the guards of the facility got back to the machines that were already ced there for defense from enemies.


    The guards went to the multiple rocketunching vehicles to attack the enemy helicopters that weren¡¯t responding to the warnings.


    It didn¡¯t take them long to aim and fire rockets. Tens of rockets flew towards the iing helicopters together, all having a different trajectory to make it impossible for the four helicopters to escape.


    Dion¡¯s team was in the leading helicopter, watching the iing attacks. As the team was considered level 3 in the organization, it was already pretty strong.


    If one was to assume, the team of Dion was almost as strong as the team of Ayn who was also known as the Beta Squad.


    Seeing the rocketsing towards them, Dion had a disappointed look on his face.


    "They really throw these toys at us?" he asked as he shook his head.


    "Ken, go and deal with them," he said, ncing at one of his dark-haired members whose hair was tied in a ponytail.


    Ken stood up after getting themand and walked over to the left door which he slid open.


    He caught the handle near the door with his left hand while firmly cing his left foot on the ground before he brought the rest of his body outside, tilting sideways as if he was enjoying the high winds.


    As Ken took half a step out of the helicopter, he could be seen by almost everyone who was standing near the facility.


    Ken raised his right hand towards the APF members that stood near the facility as he waved his hand with a cheeky smile on his face as if he was greeting his long-lost friends.


    The Beta Squad vice-captain, Yale, stared at Ken with a frown, wondering what this man was trying to do.


    His vampire-like beautiful red eyes were seemingly lost in a deep thought while his short silvery hair waved with the wind. He was dressed in normal yet modern attire, donning a white t-shirt under a green jacket which seemed like it was made for winters.


    He couldn¡¯t remember the face but he believed he had seen Ken in one of the files before.


    After cing a bit more stress on his head, he realized who this face belonged to.


    " I guess we were right. I remember now. This is Ken, from Variant Uprising. If I¡¯m not wrong, his ability is..."


    Not long had passed before he finally remembered. He had read about him in a file and also knew his ability. But before he could even speak about it, he realized that there was no need for it anymore since Ken already used it before everyone without even letting him finish.


    ...


    When Yale was trying to remember who he was, Ken gently raised his hand towards the iing missiles.


    His deep ck eyes started shining in a blueish light as he clenched his fist abruptly before he moved his hand in a circle.


    Strangely enough, half the missiles followed the movement of his hand and started moving.


    After seemingly getting the control of the missiles, Ken gently flicked his wrist and changed the trajectory of the missiles so that instead ofing towards them, the missiles started flying towards the other half of the missiles.


    All the missiles shed with each other, causing a huge explosion but as the missiles were still far away from the helicopters, the explosion didn¡¯t affect them.


    A big cloud of smoke spread everywhere even though the fire died down shortly.


    Because of the clouds, the APF members couldn¡¯t see the helicopters or the face of Ken, but if they could see Ken, they would have started getting furious since Ken was actually showing his middle finger towards the APF members from the other side of the cloud of smoke.


    ...


    On the other hand, seeing the cloud of smoke, Yale finally finished his sentence. "...Telekinesis."


    He remembered reading the file which also had a picture of Ken. It talked about him having A-Rank Telekinesis. Because of this ability, Ken was ssified as a Variant of Concern by APF.


    He still wasn¡¯t on the most wanted list though. Only the Level Five members, Vega, Isona, Dion, Caen, and a few others were on the list which included the Variant Uprising members that APF wanted to take out at any cost. Ken was still a bit short from making the list.


    Seeing Ken here confirmed Yale¡¯s suspicions. The Variant Uprising was already here and a war was on the horizon.


    "See? This much is nothing. You just sit back and enjoy the show. Leave the responsibility of taking you inside the facility to us. You¡¯re our family, so it¡¯s nothing much," Caen told Lucifer as he gave him a reassuring smile.


    "While we¡¯re at it, let me teach you a few things. We wanted to train you properly but because of time limitations, we couldn¡¯t. So we¡¯ll have to make do with a few short lessons," he added.


    "Firstly, the thing I noticed is that your parents are your weakness," he said.


    Lucifer looked at him, confused. What did he mean his parents were his weakness?


    "You are wrong. My parents are my strength," Lucifer said strongly.


    "I don¡¯t mean it that way. Of course your parents were great. You have your strength because of them. And they are your motivation for still standing tall even after everything you went through. But they are also your weakness," Caen replied.


    "I¡¯ve seen itst time as well. Whenever someone wants to make you lose sight of your goal, they just have to talk bad about your parents and it works," he added.


    "That¡¯s why you should always remember. No one will talk bad about your parents for no reason. And when someone does, instead of losing your mind and stopping thinking, you need to be even more wary," he said, giving him meaningful advice.


    "It is important to have a vision of your goal and not fall for a trap. Remember my words always. They¡¯lle in handy someday as long as you realize the essence of my words."


    "Control your anger and you¡¯ll be invincible. Fail to control your anger and you¡¯ll be a ve of your anger which will start eating you from inside."

 Chapter 131 - 131: Lousy Aim

    <h4>Chapter 131 - 131: Lousy Aim </h4>


    "Fail to control your anger, and you¡¯ll be a ve of it," Caen told Lucifer, advising him about keeping himself in control against the only weakness which Caen found to be too obvious.


    He believed that he wasn¡¯t the only one who could guess such a thing. One day, when the time was right, Lucifer¡¯s enemies could also use this trick to make him fall for their traps. And by that time, it was going to be toote.


    He believed that Lucifer was a part of their team. And after helping him today, he was certain that Lucifer was going to join their team and help them in achieving their goal.


    Since he was confident that this would eventually happen and Lucifer would be their ally, Caen believed that they were not going to fight against Lucifer. With that thought in mind, he genuinely advised him about his weakness.


    Lucifer heard his words and realized what this man was trying to say. He also felt like there was something about this thing that he needed to think about. If he had listened to his headst time, he might not have fallen into that trap.


    "When I was young, I had no one to advise me as such. I had to learn everything the hard way before I met this organization," Caen said as he nced at Lucifer.


    "But you¡¯re different. You have all of us. And you can most certainly rely on us more. Always expect us to be behind you as your support, just like you¡¯ll be behind us to help us. Because that¡¯s what family does."


    He kept talking calmly, but there seemed something genuine about him this time. As if he really meant every word he said.


    "I understand. I will be careful the next time someone tries it," Lucifer said, nodding.


    Meanwhile, the giant cloud of smoke which had filled the air started getting thinner, bringing more visibility to the two sides.


    The four helicopters could still be seen, flying in a straight line towards the facility.


    "He has telekinesis. That is a problem since hard objects like missiles are useless. We¡¯ll have to do things ourselves," Yale said, looking in the direction of the helicopters.


    He turned to his left and stared at a woman as a mischievous smile appeared on his face.


    "Eliana, take them down," he told thedy who seemed to be in her early twenties. Her long brown hair was cascading down to her knees, whereas her bangs covered her entire forehead.


    The woman dressed in a white mini dress stepped forward as she nodded her head.


    She raised her hand in the direction of the first helicopter as her eyes started shining in blue light.


    Ken had once again peeked out of the helicopter to see what the enemies were trying to do when he saw the woman looking towards him.


    He gently waved his hand with a flirtatious smile on his face, winking at her.


    "It doesn¡¯t work. There¡¯s someone who is preventing my abilities from working on the helicopter," Eliana told Yale. Her eyes returned to normal.


    She had tried to use her powers, and they even worked, but their effect was negligible.


    Eliana had two abilities, both of which were elementals. One of her abilities happened to be Mechanical Disruption.


    Even though it wasn¡¯t a high-ranking ability, it was very versatile. With the use of her Mechanical Disruption, she could manipte any machine from its functions, causing them to stop working for a certain period of time. The ability worked only and only if that machine was within a certain range of her.


    After replying to Yale in disappointment, she took a second nce towards Ken, who once again winked at her as he tapped his heart as if he was telling her that he had fallen for her.


    He didn¡¯t forget to send her a flying kiss either.


    "That bastard!" Eliana cursed under her breath as she red at Ken. If stares could kill, Ken would have been dead a hundred times already.


    "Hahaha, it¡¯s so fun to tease these people," Ken said as he startedughing.


    "They really think that they are the only ones who have files about enemies. Too bad for them; it¡¯s much easier for us to know about them than it is for them to know about us. That¡¯s the disadvantage of always being in the open," he added.


    "Ken, we aren¡¯t here to y. Focus on the enemies," Dion calmly reminded Ken without even bothering to open his eyes.


    "Alright, alright. I was just having a bit of fun. Anyway, you¡¯re right. Time to get to work and be serious," Ken said as the yful look on his face disappeared, reced by a severe and thoughtful expression.


    ...


    "Fine. Since we can¡¯t get them down the easy way, I¡¯ll destroy them myself. Time to get to work and show them what we are capable of," Yale also said the same thing as he clenched his fist.


    He was going to take action himself since there were only two people who had such a long-range of attacks amongst the ones that were present here.


    And only his attack made sense.


    ...


    Beta squad Vice Captain Yale took a step forward as he took off his heavy jacket and ced it on the ground, revealing his bare hands that weren¡¯t very bulky.


    There seemed to be a ck tattoo on his right arm, which had three strange characters that were impossible to read. It looked like someone¡¯s random doodle, much less like a proper character.


    He was just about to take action when he realized that the helicopter in the lead had fired a few missiles.


    Strangely enough, the direction of the missiles seemed entirely different, as if the one who had fired them didn¡¯t know how to aim at all. At the trajectory of the missiles, they were going to walk past the facility.


    That also happened to be the time when Ayn and Xander stepped out.

 Chapter 132 - 132: The Predictor

    <h4>Chapter 132 - 132: The Predictor </h4>


    Ayn saw the missilesing towards them, and without thinking anything, she took action. She didn¡¯t care what the direction of the missiles was. All she cared about was that it seemed to being towards them.


    Yale had also seen the missiles which were fired just when he was about to attack. He was still confused with such a lousy aim, but he soon realized the scheme.


    ¡¯They will probably use Telekinesis to change the direction. It¡¯s just to throw us off.¡¯


    Realizing their ns, Yale also modified his n. Their self-protection was most important for him, but before he could even take any action, he saw a huge ice wall appeared in the middle of them and the missiles.


    The ice wall seemed to be close to five meters thick and fifty meters tall, covering a big area and protecting the entire facility and even more.


    Yale noticed the Ice Wall and understood what it meant.


    Smiling, he turned back as he excitedly said, "Captain, you¡¯re out."


    "Of course I am out, but may I ask what you all are doing? Instead of taking the enemy out, you let them close in? Is this how you work?" Ayn scolded Yale as she red at him.


    The missiles that wereing towards them hit the ice wall, blowing up. Surprisingly, the Ice Wall was still intact. Other than a small crater on the wall where the missiles had hit, there seemed to be not much damage.


    Dion, who was still sitting in the helicopter with his eyes closed, began opening his eyeszily as he muttered, "Ayn."


    "I¡¯ll get them down and do what you had to do yourselves," Xander said as he started walking towards the Ice Wall.


    "Ayn, cover the entire facility with your Ice Wall. Let¡¯s separate the battlefield from the facility," he told Ayn.


    Yale was surprised to see Xandermanding Ayn, but he didn¡¯t see Aynin.


    Instead, Ayn did as Xander told her since she believed that it was the right step to take at this moment. When the battlefield got chaotic, it was going to be hard protecting the facility, so protecting it right now seemed like the best idea.


    She once again ced her hands on the ground as she started using her Ice Control.


    A thick ice wall had already appeared on the north from where the helicopters wereing, but now another thick ice wall had appeared on the south side of the facility as well.


    Another thick Ice Wall also appeared from the east and the west side, closing the entire space with four ice walls, making it impossible for anyone to leave this ce or enter. The only path that remained was in the sky.


    Surprisingly, she also covered the sky as well as a thick snow roof appeared on the top of four ice walls, closing thest opening as well, leaving no path of entrance.


    "Boss, it seems like he was right in his prediction. Ayn actually closed the space!" One of the Variant Uprising members told Dion as he smiled.


    "Perfect. They can move out now. Go down," Dionmanded as he finally stood up. "I guess his prediction did work this time even though he only had a ten percent sess rate."


    The first helicopter started going down andnded. Behind it, the second helicopter also started going down, followed by the third.


    In the end, the helicopter with Lucifer also started descending andnded on the ground. However, unlike the first three helicopters, it didn¡¯tnd straight, facing the south.


    Instead, itnded while facing the west, making sure that the exit of the helicopter was on the opposite side of the facility, blocking the view.


    "I guess finally that guy came in handy. His prediction was right this time," Caen said as he stood up. "Come, Lucifer, let¡¯s leave. It¡¯s time to go and get to your goal."


    Caen and Lucifer stepped out of the helicopter.


    "Henrik, Fiona, and Missy, you threee with us. The rest of you stay here and help the others," Caen told his team members.


    Most of his team members walked around the helicopter to meet up with the others. As for the three that Caen had named, they stood behind with him.


    "Henrik, get to work fast," Caenmanded.


    Hearing the order from Caen, a thin man known as Henrik stepped forward and ced his hand on the ground, which started disappearing.


    A tunnel had started forming on the ground. It kept getting deeper as time went by. After a few seconds, the tunnel was wide enough for the others to enter.


    Henrik was already inside the tunnel, walking towards the south, making more tunnels as he went.


    Caen jumped inside the tunnel; behind him, Lucifer also jumped inside. The twodies that had stayed behind were thest to enter.


    As Lucifer walked with Caen inside the tunnel, he was amazed at the scheming. Instead of fighting and going through the hard way, they were so cunning as to travel through the tunnel.


    He was slowly understanding more and more how scheming was sometimes more useful than strength. It was right.


    A righteous man may win a war with his strength, but a cunning man was able to win the war even without relying on strength alone, but his brain. And when that shrewd man had strength as well, that was a powerfulbination, undefeatable.


    He realized that¡¯s what he needed to be~ a wise man. He had strength, all he needed was a cunning mind, and he was going to be invincible.


    However, there was another question in his mind which was about the prediction. Caen had talked about some predictions being right. What was that about?


    Moreover, this n to make a tunnel depended on many uncertain factors.


    Curious, he finally decided to ask.


    "You said something about someone¡¯s prediction being right this time. What did it mean?" he asked Caen with eyes filled with intrigue.


    "Oh, that? It¡¯s notplicated, actually. There is someone in our Variant Uprising called Predictor. Even though that guy is blind, he can see more than others through his A-Rank ability called Divine Prediction," Caen answered.


    "Every once in a while, he gets a premonition which tells him what will happen in the future. The premonition is always short, and most of the time, it¡¯s wrong."


    "So far, he has only been right ten percent of the time in his prediction, but still, he is an important part of the Uprising and a close aide of Raia," he added as the face of a man appeared before his eyes whose eyes were covered in a ck cloth.


    "Anyway, this time, before we left, coincidentally, he had a prediction. In his prediction, he said he saw a big ice tomb covering the entire facility as we reached here and the battle happening outside that Ice Covered facility."


    "So we also adjusted our n. Even though the chance of him being right is rare, we decided to take the risk this time, and thus, we nned everything ordingly. Fortunately, he happened to be right this time," Caen said smiling.

 Chapter 133 - 133: So Close Yet So Far

    <h4>Chapter 133 - 133: So Close Yet So Far </h4>


    "The facility is surrounded by ice. And the battle will happen outside that Ice. In the meanwhile, we will enter the facility through the tunnel, finish our mission and get out before anyone realizes what has happened. Pretty fun, isn¡¯t it?"


    An amusing smile remained on Caen¡¯s face as he exined the n to Lucifer, which he hadn¡¯t told him yet. He wanted to amaze Lucifer at the right time when every piece was in its ce.


    It would have been embarrassing if they had told him and nothing had happened ording to their n.


    "The n is good indeed," Lucifer answered as he nodded. He was getting more and more amazed at the work of this organization, but he was also getting warier.


    Their schemes and tricks, he wondered if they were using one such thing on him or not. If it was the same for him, he needed to be more careful.


    Meanwhile, on the side of the APF, Ayn started giving orders to her members.


    "Yale! We are going to be outside, fighting the enemies and taking them out. You stay inside the facility with Dr. Rao and Dr. Layman. Keep them safe," Ayn told Yale to go inside the facility as she went out.


    Even though she believed that they weren¡¯t going to let anyone get past them, she still sent a powerful member of her team as a precaution.


    "But captain! We can send others as well. Let me be with you while fighting them. I can¡¯t be on babysitting duty!" Yale protested.


    "It¡¯s not babysitting duty. It¡¯s an important job. Their targets are those two doctors. If some of them get past us and kill the doctors, we will lose all our respect, including our face and credibility. Everyone will say that we couldn¡¯t even protect a single human against the Uprising; how will we protect millions?" Ayn asked Yale, frowning.


    "And more importantly, once they kill the doctors, they¡¯ll leave! We need to keep them here long enough to kill or capture them all!" She added.


    "Andstly! It¡¯s mymand! You will do it! Now stopining! Yours is the most important mission here!" Ayn said before she turned back.


    "Noted, Captain!" Yale promptly responded, finally obeying hermand.


    Ayn alsomanded the others to follow after her and be prepared for a long and hard battle.


    The men of APF were really excited as they heard her words. They had always wanted to fight the Dark Variants that they considered evil. This was the primary purpose of the APF, and finally, they had the opportunity.


    Moreover, unlike when fighting in a crowded city, in this ce, they could fight to their fullest and use their powers to the best of their abilities. As an added bonus, the more freely they used their powers, the more their efficiency was going to improve.


    Ayn followed after Xander, who was walking towards the North Wall. He was prepared for an all-out battle to destroy everyone. His fist was clenched as a fire had started burning around it.


    He reached the ice wall on the north and ced his burning hand on the surface. As soon as his hand was ced on the Ice Wall, the wall started melting and evaporating.


    But it wasn¡¯t simple. The area where he had ced his hand wasn¡¯t the only ce that was evaporating. Instead, the area that was big enough to let him easily pass through had started melting.


    Soon, a door-shaped opening was made in the Ice Wall in which Xander could pass through to finally see all the enemies in the distance.


    Ayn also stepped out of the opening, which was made by Xander.


    As she stepped out of the enclosed space, she stared at Xander.


    "Instead of making an opening yourself, you could have waited for me to make an opening," Ayn told Xander.


    Xanderzily replied, "I find it hard to wait."


    The rest of the APF members also stepped out of the opening made by Xander.


    Ayn nced back at the opening and ced her hand on the wall, closing the opened space in her wall once again. Now that everyone was already out, there was no need to keep it open.


    "I can¡¯t see Lucifer. This is strange. I thought they would bring him as well," Xander said, peering at his surroundings as he searched for Lucifer.


    "I can¡¯t see Raia either. Moreover, why isn¡¯t Varant here yet? He said he would be here soon after us. Why are all the big yers missing? Something feels strange," Ayn said, feeling puzzled.


    She was wondering if this was just a coincidence. However, she had a nagging feeling that something big was behind all of this.


    "You¡¯re right. Something seems strange," Xander agreed. "Something is off. I just can¡¯t understand what."


    "Doesn¡¯t matter. Even if they didn¡¯t bring Lucifer here, they brought all our other enemies. Let¡¯s catch them first and then ask questions," Ayn said as she rubbed her hands.


    She needed to focus on the enemies in front of them. This was not the time to keep her mind busy in figuring out the other things.


    ...


    On the other hand, Lucifer and Caen¡¯s team continued traversing through the tunnel. The tunnel kept getting bigger and bigger as it closed in on the facility.


    Soon, they had traveled almost halfway. Coincidentally they happened to be right under Ayn at the moment, who was standing on top of the ground outside the ice tomb.


    Fortunately, the distance of the ground from the tunnel was big enough to not make any vibration on the ground. Ayn and Xander didn¡¯t feel a single thing.


    They didn¡¯t realize that the boy they were after was right under their feet at the moment¡ªthe boy who was too far yet too close.


    ...


    Caen had already told Lucifer and others to not make much noise long ago. Thus no one was talking. Even when Caen himself had to say something, he whispered.


    As the Ice Wall didn¡¯t pass through the ground at such depths, Henrik didn¡¯t have a hard time making his tunnel longer. They easily entered the ce which was on the other end of the thick ice wall.

 Chapter 134 - 134: Protecting The Rats

    <h4>Chapter 134 - 134: Protecting The Rats </h4>


    Caen continued traversing inside the underground tunnel, following Henrik who was walking ahead of them. The twodies who were part of their team walked behind them, keeping their mouths shut.


    Throughout the journey, only Lucifer and Caen had talked. The other three remained entirely silent. And even Lucifer only talked barely.


    Henrik kept his hand raised to the front, touching the ground which was making the tunnel bigger and advancing it further. As for the soil, it was a mystery and the biggest puzzle for Lucifer.


    Lucifer was curious about the soil. As the tunnel became longer, what happened to the soil that was being removed? It was as if it just kept disappearing.


    He wondered if the ability of Henrik was something simr to his power of decay. Did Henrik¡¯s ability destroy the soil into nothingness to make a tunnel? Lucifer marveled at that thought as they continued walking.


    ...


    On the other side, the entire facility was closed by Ayn inside the Ice Tomb, blocking it from the view of the enemy. She did that to protect the ordinary humans, especially the scientists who were inside the facility.


    However, little did she know, the enemies had already crossed the protection she had cast. She was clueless and unaware about it.


    In fact, by making the Ice Tomb, she had made that ce even more defenseless and vulnerable against the enemies.


    This happened because she didn¡¯t anticipate that their enemies made an alternative route, digging a tunnel underground to enter the facility, unnoticed.


    Inside the Ice Tomb, only one Variant of APF existed, who was Yale.


    Even though Yale was only a single Variant here, he was still confident in his strength since he was the Vice-Captain of the Beta Squad.


    He was no longer outside the facility as he was now passing through the corridors, trying to get to Doctor Rao and Doctor Layman as per the orders of Ayn.


    Even though he was following his captain¡¯smands, he hated it.


    "I had been unlucky enough to be stuck with guard duty. How annoying! Our greatest enemy is on the other side of the Ice Wall and I¡¯ll be sitting inside this safe facility, watching a bunch of humans!"


    His fist was clenched hard as he hit the wall on his side. He couldn¡¯t hide the frustration he was feeling right now.


    "It is so annoying! I hate it! I hate it so much!"


    He kept walking in long strides as he tried to control his frustration but the more he thought about it, the more frustrated he became.


    "This facility is also jammed! Nomunication from inside goes out and nomunication from outside gets in! I can¡¯t even get updates about what¡¯s happening in the battle!" Yale continued his grumbling.


    As he was walking through the corridor, he saw a human guard.


    "You! Stop!" Reaching out his palm, he gestured for the man to stop.


    The guards were all informed that the APF was here and takingmand for the moment so the guard didn¡¯t find it strange that he was seeing one of them here.


    There was a badge on the chest of Yale which further proved his affiliations to the APF.


    "Yes?" the guard asked.


    "Take me to your Doctor Rao¡¯s office right now," he demanded. There was a hint of irritation in his voice.


    The guard didn¡¯t ask much and agreed to the demand. He escorted Yale to the office of Doctor Rao.


    Yale was also like Xander and Ayn. He didn¡¯t bother knocking either as he stepped inside the office.


    "Sigh, two left and the third one came," Doctor Rao said as he sighed at the arrival of Yale.


    This was his first time seeing Yale but it wasn¡¯t hard to guess who he was.


    Yale stepped forward and sat on the chair that was empty as he sarcastically replied, "I have no interest in being here and protecting a few rats either."


    "In any case, my mood is already bad because I can¡¯t be in the battle outside. Don¡¯t upset me anymore. I don¡¯t want to have to exin to others why your sixty-four teeth are missing," he further added, threatening the doctors.


    "Sixty-four? He only has thirty-two teeth," Doctor Layman chimed in, confused. Was this guy so bad at maths and science? He didn¡¯t even know how many teeth a human had?


    "Don¡¯t worry about my maths. I counted your thirty-two as well. I can¡¯t be partial when breaking the two of you if you don¡¯t shut your mouth," Yale answered as he red at Doctor Layman. "So be a good boy and don¡¯t annoy me anymore."


    Hearing the subtle threat, Doctor Layman closed his mouth abruptly and stopped talking.


    "You mentioned a fight outside. Allmunication here is jammed. And we aren¡¯t allowed to leave either. What¡¯s happening outside? Is someone attacking us?" Doctor Rao asked, not worrying about the threat.


    "Someone? The entire Variant Uprising army is here to tten this facility and kill you. You really pissed them off," Yale answeredzily.


    "Is Lucifer here as well?" Doctor Rao asked, excited.


    "Are you a masochist? I¡¯m talking about enemies being here to kill you and you¡¯re getting excited?" Yale asked with a disgusted look on his face.


    " You didn¡¯t answer! Is Lucifer here with them as well?" Doctor Rao asked again, ignoring the taunt of Yale.


    "Sigh, I guess I am right about you. You truly are sick," Yale said as he sighed.


    He ced one of his legs on top of the other as he sat more calmly before he continued, "Anyway, I don¡¯t know if Lucifer is here or not. I was told toe here and guard you before I could even see properly. Now enough talking. Shut your mouth and don¡¯t disturb me anymore."


    He didn¡¯t want to talk since the more he talked about it, the more he realized that he wasn¡¯t outside the facility, fighting the enemies which frustrated him even more.

 Chapter 135 - 135: Transformation

    <h4>Chapter 135 - 135: Transformation </h4>


    Even though the facility was inside the Ice Tomb, which blocked it from everything, the guards of the facility were still here, fully armed.


    The only ones who had left the Ice Tomb were the variants of APF, leaving the humans behind.


    "You think we will survive today?" One of the guards asked. "Arge-scale Variant War is taking ce outside. Our lives are at risk."


    "I don¡¯t know if we will survive or not. Our survival depends on the victory of APF. If the other side wins, I don¡¯t even want to imagine what will happen to us," Another guard responded as he looked towards the north, where only a huge ice block could be seen.


    Since the whole ce was covered in an Ice Tomb, the light of the sun wasn¡¯t reaching here either, making this ce darker than usual.


    "I heard Variant Uprising is very cruel. They certainly won¡¯t let us live if they win. We can only pray that APF wins and stay ready to take action if needed." The other guard shared his thoughts, hoping that APF would keep them safe by defeating their enemies.


    ...


    Back to the underground tunnel, the tunnel-making finally stopped.


    "I guess this is long enough. We can get out of here. Or you can choose a spot," Henrik said as he stopped making the tunnel any longer.


    Hearing the words of Henrik, Caen looked back at one of the two women that he had brought with him.


    ncing at the brown-haired woman, he said, "Fiona, your turn. Tell us what the situation is, outside."


    Thedy who was dressed in a corporate coat and pants stepped forward as Caen called out to her.


    She tilted her head upwards as she looked at the ground surface in that tunnel. Her dark eyes turned bright red as she started using her abilities which allowed her to see through the objects.


    With her powers, she was able to see through the ground, monitoring what the condition was outside. Her eyes were like scanners and as good as spying devices.


    "All the human guards are here. They have spread out all around. I can¡¯t see any ce where we can step out without getting caught," Fiona said as her eyes returned to their normal color.


    "We can take the long route and trying out of the back; what do you think?" She suggested.


    "That would unnecessarily dy us," Caen muttered as he released a mouthful of breath.


    He rubbed his chin as he fell into deep thought.


    He thought for a few minutes, trying to see what was the best n of approach here that could be done for this concern.


    After contemting for a while, there seemed to be two options before him. One was to take the long route and dy things. He didn¡¯t like that option since the faster they were, the better.


    The second option he could see was going out of the tunnel without caring about anything. But the number of guards was too much. There might be unnecessary noise. And it would also take them time to kill them all.


    He nced back at Lucifer, wondering if going out and fighting was the best option. This ce was inside a big Ice Tomb. The chances of sound getting out of here and reaching the APF was almost impossible but still... He had some doubts.


    "Alright, I¡¯ve decided. I have a n," Caen said as he smiled.


    "Lucifer, let me tell you something before I do it so you will not be confused. I don¡¯t want you to attack me thinking that I¡¯m your enemy because of a misunderstanding," he said to Lucifer.


    His words confused Lucifer. What was he about to do? Why would he attack Caen here? Was he going to betray him?


    Just as Lucifer was thinking, Caen took the lead and further exined, "My power, it allows me to shapeshift and impersonate another human being, making it impossible to recognize me. I¡¯m about to use that ability again. So bear in mind and don¡¯t attack me. Because I¡¯m going to impersonate someone special."


    ¡¯Impersonation?¡¯ Lucifer thought, surprised. This ability, if he understood it right, was very scary. If it actually existed, he knew he couldn¡¯t believe anything anymore. Such abilities like these existed too?!


    This was the first time Lucifer had heard about it. Caen had kept the same face since the moment he first met Lucifer.


    Anyone could pretend to be anyone with this ability. If Caen had wanted, he could have pretended to be his father as well. The implications of this in the future, Lucifer didn¡¯t even want to believe it.


    Caen¡¯s power was very advantageous for him. It was a form of deception, knowing that he could be a great impostor by impersonating someone.


    He could fool and deceive the enemies easily, who would be unaware that the person in front of them was not a friend but a foe who could stab and kill them anytime.


    Lucifer remembered the moment he had seen a woman who looked like his mother. Even though he had realized that the woman wasn¡¯t his mother, he was taken aback by that.


    "Don¡¯t worry; I am not going to use this ability against you if that¡¯s what you¡¯re worried about. You have my word on that," Caen replied, noticing the concern on Lucifer¡¯s face.


    He knew his powers were scary, especially for someone that barely trusted anyone. Now Lucifer was going to think even more before disclosing any secrets to others.


    Even if he trusted someone, he wasn¡¯t going to tell everything since there was a risk that the person before him could be someone else who was impersonating the person close to him.


    The existence of such powers broke whatever perception and logic of reality that Lucifer had left.


    He believed it was still fine, though. He already had no family or friends. What could someone even achieve by impersonating anyone? It would be one stranger impersonating as one distantly familiar stranger.


    With that thought, he tried to convince himself that he didn¡¯t have anything to worry about.


    "Who are you going to impersonate?" Lucifer asked. "If you impersonated my father, you¡¯ll regret it."


    Seeing Lucifer¡¯s worry, Caen couldn¡¯t help but burst intoughter. "Hahaha, don¡¯t worry. I know the importance of family. And I respect your parents too much to even dare to impersonate them. Rest assured."


    "I¡¯m going to impersonate Xander ke, the leader of APF Delta Squad. I¡¯m sure the guards here will listen to me then. I just don¡¯t want you to attack me thinking that I¡¯m the real Xander ke; that¡¯s why I am telling you," he further said.


    "That¡¯s fine. I won¡¯t attack you. I¡¯m not stupid," Lucifer said as he nodded his head.


    "What will you do about clothes?" Henrik asked Caen, realizing that even though he could impersonate others, he couldn¡¯t impersonate their clothes. That¡¯s why he always prepared in advance whenever he needed to impersonate someone.


    Impromptu, he couldn¡¯t arrange clothes.


    "Don¡¯t worry about clothes. We don¡¯t have time, so I¡¯ll just have to adjust and make a story as I go," Caen said before he touched his right cheek with his right-hand fingers.


    As for the left-hand fingers, he ced them on his left cheeks before he started using his Transformation.

 Chapter 136 - 136: Becoming Xander

    <h4>Chapter 136 - 136: Bing Xander </h4>


    Caen touched his face and started using his Transformation.


    With the use of his abilities, his face started changing. Previously he had a long rounded face but with the Transformation, his face became much more slender just like the face of Xander. His skin also became much smoother.


    The color of his hair also started changing along with their length. His slightly longer hair started getting shorter and became ming red. The center of his hair was a dark shade of red whereas, near the top, they became a lighter shade of red.


    As for his eyes, they also started changing color to be what seemed like a mix of orange and violet.


    His body also started bing more chiseled and athletic.


    "Not bad indeed," Caen said as he ced his hand on his stomach to feel his abs. "This guy certainly takes care of his body a lot."


    He turned back to look towards the second woman he had brought with him. "Missy, give me my cloak."


    The dark-haired woman opened the back she was carrying and brought a red cloak out which she handed over to Caen.


    Caen wore the long cloak that covered his entire body, up to his ankles. The cloak hid the clothes he was wearing, only revealing his face.


    "Alright. Make an opening right here and then all of you step back," hemanded Henrik.


    Listening to themands, Henrik ced his hand on the surface of the soil before he started using his ability once again.


    The twodies and Lucifer stepped back as per the suggestion.


    As the opening was finished, Henrik also stepped back.


    Caen stretched his arms as he prepared to leave.


    "Ahem, ahem! I am Xander ke!"


    He started testing to see if his ability was sessful. As per expectations, it was right. His voice also perfectly matched Xander.


    "Perfect."


    After finishing everything, Caen jumped out of the tunnel,nding on the ground.


    Seeing a person suddenlying out of the ground, the surrounding guards hastily pointed their guns in the direction of Caen.


    "Who is it! Don¡¯t move and identify yourself!" One guard yelled at the unknown neer, warning him.


    "You idiots, lower your weapons unless you want me to fry your brain right away! I am from APF," Caen said arrogantly.


    As the light was already too low and dim because of the ice wall, one of the guards had gone inside to turn on the outside lights.


    They needed the light to see clearly who was the neer who suddenly appeared from out of nowhere.


    He still hadn¡¯t turned the lights on so the guards were having a hard time seeing. They had to squint their eyes to be able to see.


    After a while, they did find a few simrities between the guy before them and one of the leaders of APF that seemed to have a very high position.


    It was only now when the big lights were turned on, they finally had a clearer vision of the surroundings because the outside vicinity was now well-lit.


    However, the sudden light still brought some diforts as they felt like it was stabbing in the eyes of everyone as they had almost started getting adjusted to the darkness. They had to blink a few times to help adjust their vision.


    "You..." The Leader of the guards said. "Sir, why are you back? And where did youe from?"


    He also noticed what seemed like an opening on the ground nearby.


    "You don¡¯t have time to talk nonsense. The situation outside is getting bad. We¡¯re in a bad position. It seems like the line of battle will be shifted back. The enemy is closing in. I had to take the help of one of my men to make this tunnel so I coulde back here without destroying the Ice Walls," Caen said,ing up with a good alibi.


    "The longer these wallsst, the better! But these will notst long. So you need to get back! We don¡¯t want to have coteral damage when they finallye here! So give us more space to fight and go behind the facility!"


    "That way, you can be out of the warzone and won¡¯t disturb us. And you will survive as well since they won¡¯t go behind the Facility! So leave!"


    With the excuse of their survival, Caen was trying to get them to leave without engaging in a fight. Fighting all the guards would be troublesome and time-consuming, so as much as possible they wanted to avoid it.


    "But! We can¡¯t run! We would stay here and fight with you! We are ready to ce our lives on the line for justice!" The leader of the Guards said with so much conviction in his words.


    "Really? Talking big is easy but when you really have to face the people who can kill you with a flick of a finger, all bravery is useless. Leave! Your stay here will only be an obstruction for us!" Caen said, still trying to convince them to leave.


    He was also starting to get irritated which was clear in his tone.


    "And if you¡¯re really that interested in dying, how about I kill you myself? At least we would have fewer distractions then?" he said sarcastically, threatening him.


    He took a deep breath as he saw the guards taken aback in shock.


    "Try to understand me. We have a better chance if you¡¯re not here. I don¡¯t want you to throw away your life or we would be busier in trying to save you than fighting the enemies. That¡¯s why Ayn created the Ice Tomb because we didn¡¯t want to be distracted!"


    "So listen to me and go behind the Facility and don¡¯t you dare to move from there!" Caen said.


    Hearing the graveness in his voice, the leader of the guards was surprised as they realized that his words held some merit.


    The purpose of APF was to save human life from Variants. Their presence here would only be creating disturbance here and add more burden to the members of the APF.


    "Alright. We would do as you said!" The Leader of the Guards agreed. "There are people inside the Facility as well. Should we take them as well?"


    "There¡¯s not that much time! For now, you all leave! I want to see no humans here in five minutes!" Caen said in full seriousness. Inside his mind, he was happy that the n was working.


    As he had convinced the leader of the guards here, everything else moves more smoothly. The leader of the guards handled the rest as he took all the Guards with him behind the facility from where it was impossible to see what was happening on the north side of the facility.


    He didn¡¯t realize that he was ying right into the hands of the enemy. On the other hand, he was lucky as well. If he hadn¡¯t listened or tried to fight, he and all the other guards would have been dead.


    Caen watched the guards leave with his hand behind his back. Only when the guards disappeared from his view did he look towards the open ground.


    "You all cane out. It¡¯s safe here!" He said.

 Chapter 137 - 137: The Capital

    <h4>Chapter 137 - 137: The Capital </h4>


    As Caen sent the guards of the facility to the other end of the ice tomb, he called out to his team members, seeing that there was no obstruction anymore.


    Since Henrik was the closest to the opening, he jumped out first as soon as he heard Caen¡¯s words.


    Lucifer flew outside after Henrik, followed by Missy and Fiona.


    As the four people stepped out of the tunnel, they were finally able to look around.


    All they could see was an empty ground with no person at sight except Caen, who was looking like Xander.


    "Great work, Leader."


    Henrik and thedies started praising Caen for sessfully getting the guards out of the way. As for Lucifer, he was instead staring at the entrance of the facility.


    He couldn¡¯t remember this entrance. He didn¡¯t even know what the facility actually looked like, so he couldn¡¯t be sure if it was the right facility by just looking from its outside appearance.


    He had been brought here five years ago in a helicopter that hadnded on top of the facility at that time. From there, he was taken inside.


    He could still remember that cold night as if it was just yesterday when he was brought out of the helicopter which brought him here by the guards.


    After that point, he didn¡¯t have any freedom, and he wasn¡¯t allowed to step out of the facility for even a second.


    His freedom only decreased with each passing year until it reached the point where he wasn¡¯t even allowed to step out of his room unless it was for tests.


    The only time he was allowed to leave the facility was after his supposed death when he was truly considered useless by them.


    They even kept the door locked from the outside as if he was a prisoner. They indeed treated him as a special prisoner who would only be used for their experiments and several tests.


    "Let¡¯s enter. We¡¯re only a few steps away from your destination. Come," Caen told Lucifer as he smiled.


    He was also excited that this mission was going to be over soon. After that, they could get back to the real important things.


    Clenching his fists, Lucifer started stepping towards the entrance of the facility, which was only a few meters away from him.


    Within a short time, he reached the entrance of the facility. He touched the ss door with his hands, which were covered in ck gloves, pushing the door open.


    Finally, he took his first step inside the ce where he spent five years of his life... five years of his lonely and torturous life.


    ...


    Meanwhile, far away from the Facility where the sh between two extreme opposite sides of Variants was taking ce existed the city of ntra, which was also going through a turmoil of its own.


    The strongest Variants of Uprising were wreaking havoc here. The military vehicles were proving to be useless against the Variants of the Level Five Category of Variant Uprising.


    Even the Tanks that were sent there for protection were being sliced in half with a single stroke of a sword of Tristan, who was also known as the Sword Emperor.


    Two halves ofrge tanks could be seen lying all around the city, all handled by a single person.


    As for the other Variants, they weren¡¯t much behind either when it came to bringing destruction to the city.


    In essence, the humans were struggling massively to keep the Variants at bay. As for the Specialized Warriors, they were en route as well, but everyone knew that it was impossible to keep these people at bay without the APF arriving here.


    All the citizens of the City of ntra were hiding in their houses, praying that the dark sights of these Variants don¡¯t fall on their houses.


    "The humans are weaker than I remembered them to be. Last time they fought more valiantly, but this time, they¡¯re like animals on the chopping block. Is their army falling behind?" Raia muttered as he looked around, seeing blood and destruction everywhere.


    Just as Raia was wondering, a shadow appeared behind him, taking the form of a human.


    "Or could it be that the defense of this city is justcking? The cowards in the government probably ced all the Elites in the capital city in fear of us?"


    The blonde-haired man who appeared behind Raia seemed like he was some kind of Royal Knight from the ancient time, dressed in a grey coat and white pants. He was also wearing white gloves.


    His slim yet athletic built was seemingly more apparent whenpared with the built of Raia


    He was the Shadow Emperor Kellian, who was also the Vice-Captain of the Level Five Variant Uprising.


    His title was simr to the Vice-Captain of APF Alpha Squad Riali, who was called the Shadow Monarch because the abilities of these two were a bit simr yet different. Both wanted the title of Ruler of Shadow.


    Another man appeared behind Riali.


    "True. The capital city is really fortified. Compared to that, the protection here seems like child¡¯s y. This city is important, but to the greedy humans, their self-interest is more important. Of course, they¡¯ll give more protection to the ce where they stay instead of spreading out evenly," the freshly arrived man said as he looked at Raia.


    The Dark Haired man was one of the seven Level Five members that hade here with Raia, known as Yaliza.


    "True. The Capital City is a mess. As soon as it falls, the game would be over for the humans. Unfortunately, they keep it heavily fortified. Moreover, the Hunter Union headquarters is also in the city," Raia said as he gazed at the sky, wondering when they were going to seed in their goals.


    "That¡¯s why we need Lucifer, isn¡¯t it?" Yaliza said, smiling. "Varant, the Leader of APF and Zeiss, the Leader of Hunter Union, those two are our biggest problems."


    "True. We can destroy the Human Defenses no matter how strong they are, but Zeiss and his Hunter Union won¡¯t stay behind if we attack the Capital. Even though they don¡¯t involve themselves in anything that isn¡¯t about Dungeon Dwellers, they will jump in the battle if we attack the Capital," Kellian said.

 Chapter 138 - 138: Arrival Of Alphas

    <h4>Chapter 138 - 138: Arrival Of Alphas </h4>


    "And as Zeiss and his team keep us upied, Varant will arrive as well. Two Warlock Kings against one... This is a tough battle to win," he further added as he sighed.


    "True. That¡¯s why I want to create a Fifth Warlock King, Lucifer Azarel. The stronger version of Zale Azarel. As long as he reaches his full potential and bes a Warlock King, the bnce of power will tilt in our favor," Raia said as his eyes shone, expecting a great future.


    "True. As long as we keep Lucifer with us, win his loyalty and his support, it¡¯s only a matter of time before we seed. Since he is certain to be a Warlock King with his powers," Kellian said, nodding in agreement.


    "That¡¯s right. He received two S-Rank abilities directly from a Warlock King and another S-Rank ability from his mother, who was the strongest Sorcerer. As for his Healing, that ability is so mystical. I don¡¯t even know what grade it could be, but it¡¯s fantastic," Yaliza also chimed in.


    "His Healing is most probably S-Rank as well. I wonder if his healing has any weakness or not. If there are any weaknesses, I doubt even he knows. Too bad we can¡¯t test. So far, it seems really good," Raia said as he looked to his left.


    "Ah, there they are. They kept us waiting long enough," he suddenly called out as he noticed a helicopter in the distance, advancing towards them.


    "Should I wee them?" Kellian asked as he cracked his knuckles.


    "Go ahead. I doubt it would be able to do anything at this point but sure," Raia answered as he gave the permission.


    After receiving the permission, Kellian stretched his arms as he stepped ahead of Raia.


    Standing on the edge of the building, he moved his left foot a few inches back to position himself while he ced his right foot ahead.


    Shadow Emperor Kellian spread out both his arms. A dark shadow started spreading out of him that advanced through the ground. His shadow kept getting longer and longer as it advanced towards the helicopter even though he himself kept standing in the same ce.


    Soon, the shadow traveled a distance of ten kilometers to reach the ce above which the helicopter of APF seems to be passing by.


    As the shadow was long enough, Kellian moved both his hands ahead as he pped with great force. The p seemed so powerful that its sound echoed far and wide.


    Still, the focus of the others wasn¡¯t the p but a massive wave of darkness that hade out of the ground from under the helicopter, seemingly ready to swallow it whole.


    Massive waves of darkness closed in on the helicopter of APF as the distance between two decreased with each passing moment.


    Unfortunately, just when the wave of darkness was only five meters away from the helicopter, a man jumped out of it.


    It seemed like the man¡¯s whole body was shining in a mysterious silver light. As for his skin, there seemed to be some strange ck markings on his skin which were looking extremely fascinating through the shining silver light.


    His long hair moved with the wind as he flew down, seemingly intending to punch the darkness that wasing towards them.


    As for the body of the man, it was so bulky, which matched with his looks, in return making him look like a Viking. He was also a member of APF, known as Arne, the Destructive King.


    The darkness of the shadow shed with the light of Arne, ultimately being defeated as the dark shadow was destroyed before it could even reach the helicopter.


    Arne didn¡¯t stop going down as his closed fistnded on the ground, creating a deep crater because of the impact of the sh.


    "Kellian, how about you leave it to me. It seems like you¡¯re defeated in the sh," the dark-haired red man known as Yaliza stepped forward, cing his hand on the shoulder of Kellian.


    "Hah, this much is nothing. You know my powers are affected because of the distance. He fought my distant and weakened shadow and achieved a small victory. This much is nothing. Just let me go to him and handle him personally," Kellian said calmly as he turned into a shadow and disappeared.


    Surprisingly, the Sword Emperor Tristan had also seen the helicopter. A cheeky grin appeared on his lips as he excitedly ran towards the helicopter as well, leaving the building which was about to be destroyed intact.


    "Should I?" Yaliza asked Raia, who subtly nodded his head.


    "Alright. Go take the fight to them. Even though it would¡¯ve been better to let ite up to us, it doesn¡¯t matter," Raia said as he watched the APF helicopternding on the ground.


    ...


    As the Alpha Squad Helicopternded on the ground, the whole squad stepped out of the helicopter.


    Varant stood in the middle of the team while the rest stood on the side, looking around at destruction that had been caused here.


    "They¡¯ve created such a mess in such a short time. I don¡¯t even want to think how many people are killed here," Vice-Captain Riali said as he sighed.


    He soon noticed a shadow advancing towards them from a distance.


    "I¡¯ll go take care of that guy. You handle the rest," Shadow Monarch Riali said as he turned into a shadow and disappeared as he saw Kellian in the distance.


    Assassination Emperor Gensi of the Alphas also disappeared as he saw Sword Emperor Tristan in the distance.


    The rest of the members of the Alpha Squad also spread out, selecting an enemy for themselves which they could take out, leaving only Arne, the Destructive King, and Varant, the APF head.


    The two of them were looking in the distant building on top of which Raia and Yaliza were standing.


    Yaliza seemed to be talking to Raia as if he was asking for something. In response, Raia nodded his head, after which Yaliza also jumped down from the building,nding on the ground.

 Chapter 139 - 139: Varant And Raia

    <h4>Chapter 139 - 139: Varant And Raia </h4>


    "I will take him out!" Arne said in his heavy voice before he also started moving towards Yaliza, ready to kill.


    Soon, the final sh began as all Alpha Squad Members shed with the top Variant Uprising members.


    Finally, it was looking like the Variant Uprising members got worthy opponents, unlike the human army which was being toyed with.


    Loud booming sounds could be heard all around as clouds of dust started rising at ces.


    There were only two people who weren¡¯t engaged in the battle, but these two people seemed to be the strongest of the two teams.


    These two Variants were two of the Four Warlock Kings, the battle of whom had the potential to destroy everything around them.


    The two of them were looking at each other as if they were staring into the eyes of each other, despite such a long distance between them.


    There was no smile on Varant¡¯s face. On the other hand, Raia had a smirk on his face as he looked at Varant.


    Raia slowly raised his hand towards the front before he moved his fingers back and forth as if he was gesturing for Varant toe and attack.


    Varant also saw this mocking gesture. He could also notice the lips of Raia moving. Because of the distance, he couldn¡¯t hear what Raia was saying, but he was able to make an educated guess from the movement of Raia¡¯s lips.


    It seemed like Raia was saying, "Come, let¡¯s finish it."


    Varant took the challenge as he started walking towards Raia in calm steps, seemingly not in any hurry. He wanted to enjoy this battle since he nned to go all out this time and wipe Raia.


    ...


    In a different ce, outside the Ice Tomb, a different battle between the APF and VU was about to begin.


    Xander took the lead in the battle as he waved his hand horizontally, bringing a huge wave of fire out of his hand, which advanced towards the enemies in the distance as if it wasn¡¯t an attack from a Variant but a Tsunami of Fire.


    Ayn didn¡¯t attack since she didn¡¯t want her Ice to affect Xander¡¯s attack, but the Variant Uprising did react to the attack. The one who stepped forward was none other than Isona herself.


    ...


    Meanwhile, Lucifer and Caen had stepped inside the Facility. Fortunately, the entrance inside the facility waspletely empty.


    The scientists of the Facility and all the working staff were told not to step out of their rooms until the government team arrived here. Only the guards of the Facility were allowed to roam around.


    And if someone amongst the staff was found to be roaming outside or trying to leave the facility, the guards were allowed to shoot them as per themands of the Higher-ups. That¡¯s why no staff was leaving their rooms where they were kept.


    Not even Doctor Rao and Doctor Layman had left their office where they were sitting inplete silence with Yale, unaware of the advancing cmity towards them.


    As they reached the end of the corridor, there were two paths that one could take, either left or right.


    " Left or right?" Caen asked Lucifer. "Do you know the office of the people who tortured you?"


    Lucifer shook his head in response. He hadn¡¯t seen much of the Facility except a few corridors, let alone seeing the office of the highest authority.


    "It¡¯s fine. We can go spread out. Fiona, Missy, and Henrik, you guys take the left. Kill everyone that stands in your way, but don¡¯t kill any scientists here. I don¡¯t want you to identally kill Lucifer¡¯s enemy," Caen told his team members.


    "Try to find Doctor Rao at any cost. And if you find out that he is in our direction, then just continue on your path and kill anyone. We¡¯ll kill doctor Rao and the rest here. Don¡¯t take long. I want to meet you all here within thirty minutes," he added before he took the right path.


    Lucifer also took the right path with Caen.


    As they headed in the left corridor, Lucifer finally started remembering. It was right. He had walked in this corridor before. His memory was jogged even more as he realized that there was only one door in this long corridor. He was right; he had been here.


    ...


    "This is your first time here, isn¡¯t it? Don¡¯t worry, young man. You¡¯re our hero. We¡¯ll just test your blood sample here. It won¡¯t hurt even a little."


    Lucifer remembered the first time he was brought here. It was on the second day he hade to this facility. He was brought to this ce, and his blood sample was collected. After that point, he was brought here every week, and one vial of blood was collected from him every time.


    That continued for the next five years. It was said that they used his blood to test if his powers had awakened or not.


    As he once again walked through this corridor, he couldn¡¯t help but be surprised. This ce was so close to the exit and he hadn¡¯t realized it before. A single left from the front, and he would have seen the exit at that time.


    "What happened? Do you remember something?" Caen asked Lucifer as he saw him looking towards the distant door they were getting closer to.


    Lucifer nodded his head. "I was here before. Many times. Many, many times. They took my blood every time."


    "Ah, so that¡¯s it. Don¡¯t worry; we¡¯re sure this is the facility you were kept in. You¡¯ll see a lot of familiar things," Caen said as he reached the door of theb.


    Turning the knob, he tried to open the door only to realize that it was locked.


    "It¡¯s locked. I guess we¡¯ll have to-"


    Caen was still speaking when he saw Lucifer punch the door, breaking it apart.


    "-break it." Caen finished his sentence, realizing that it was already toote.


    As the door was broken, Lucifer and Caen stepped inside.

 Chapter 140 - 140: Enhancement Overdose

    <h4>Chapter 140 - 140: Enhancement Overdose </h4>


    Lucifer and Caen stepped inside the room, which seemed to bepletely empty. There were only a few machines here and there.


    There also seemed to be a table that had a few files on it.


    "I guess it¡¯s empty. Let¡¯s move over," Caen said as he stepped back and left the room.


    "We should be able to find them soon. They¡¯re like trapped rats at the moment, so you don¡¯t have to worry," he further said as he nced back to look at Lucifer, only to realize that Lucifer wasn¡¯t there.


    "Huh?"


    Confused, he walked back to his room, where he hadst seen Lucifer. As he stepped inside, he saw Lucifer standing before a file, touching it with his fingers.


    A lot of memories were rted to these files in his head.


    Every day, after every test, these files were brought. From these files, his test results were given, day after day, disappointing him even more.


    He picked up the file at the top and opened it.


    On the first page itself, there was something like a form that had an image pasted on it, belonging to a kid.


    Lucifer remembered seeing this kid in the facility a few times. He was somewhat simr to him, a boy who was waiting to see if his powers were going to awaken.


    However, unlike Lucifer, his luck seemed to be better since he had awakened just one day before thest test of Lucifer.


    Caen stepped beside Lucifer and looked at the file he was looking at.


    "May I see it?" He asked Lucifer who gave him the file.


    "What¡¯s written in this file?" Lucifer asked.


    "These are the test results. The first page is about him waking up his powers and what kind of powers he had," Caen said before he turned the page back.


    "As for the second page, it¡¯s his autopsy report," he said as he finished reading the next page.


    "Apparently, he died two days after you were killed here. As for the cause of death, it seems to be Enhancement Overdose," he further exined.


    "Enhancement Overdose? What¡¯s that?" Lucifer asked, curious.


    "I have no idea, but it seems like some performance enhancement drugs they were working on. This killed the boy, probably because they tested this drug on him. From what I can see, it caused his heart failure," Caen replied to Lucifer.


    "The dissection was just yesterday from what it seems," he added.


    "They dissected him?" Lucifer asked.


    "Yeah. The boy was a Variant when he was killed. So, of course, they would dissect him. As for you, you were a normal boy in their eyes, so they didn¡¯t do the procedure on you. I guess it was lucky, " Caen replied before he ced the file back.


    "Let¡¯s continue. We can¡¯t waste any time here. We need to be fast. As for the files, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll find many such files here since a lot of Variants and humans had died in this facility. Ignore these things for now," Caen said as he pointed his hand towards the door.


    Lucifer followed after him this time, but he was still thinking about these words.


    What did he mean when he said that many people were killed here? He thought he was the only one who suffered. There were more who were killed? He had no idea about it.


    The two of them walked in the corridor, checking every room along the way, most of which were empty.


    On the other hand, Henrik and the other two members of Caen¡¯s team were walking on the opposite side.


    Their luck seemed to be a bit better than Caen and Lucifer¡¯s since they did find a few people along the way. They had found a few guards along the way.


    They met the guards whom they easily killed. Not long after, they found something else as well.


    Apparently, they had ended up in the quarter where the kids were kept in the facility.


    There were many rooms in the corridor where they ended up, and each of these rooms contained a kid. The condition of the rooms was a bit better than Lucifer¡¯s room, but it still wasn¡¯t something where a human would have preferred to live.


    "They are Variants. The ones that are being kept in the facility. What should we do with them?" Henrik asked thedies, trying to take more opinions.


    "Let¡¯s test first. If they hate this facility as well, we will take them with us since we can use them. On the other hand, if they like this facility..." Missy said, but she didn¡¯t finish her sentence.


    "I understand."


    Henrik stepped inside the first room as he asked a few questions from the boy.


    No matter how many times he asked, the boy only praised the facility, but Henrik could see the fear in the boy¡¯s eyes.


    It seemed like the boy thought that Henrik was a staff of the facility, so he didn¡¯t want to badmouth it.


    "Clever boy. You know how to lie to save your life but don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not from this family. I¡¯m from the Variant Uprising, here to free you all and take you to a better ce. Come with me. Let¡¯s leave," Henrik said to the young boy.


    Even though Henrik had exined, the boy still seemed a bit hesitant; however, after Henrik¡¯s more insistence, he stood up, ready to leave.


    The Variant Uprising Members continued this process as he brought ten kids with them. They had told the boys to stand behind them while they continued ahead, to investigate more ces.


    Throughout all this, they hadn¡¯t found any scientists.


    "I guess this is the part of the facility where kids are kept. The scientists should be on the other side of the facility. I believe they will reach them soon," Henrik said as he realized that he had reached the end of the side they had chosen. There was no more ce to search here.


    "That¡¯s true. Let¡¯s go back and wait for them to return. They should be done fast," Missy agreed as she started walking back.

 Chapter 141 - 141: All About Yourself

    <h4>Chapter 141 - 141: All About Yourself </h4>


    Lucifer and Caen continued walking through the empty corridors for a long time before finally seeing a living soul.


    The person they saw was a normal guard who seemed surprised to see Lucifer back. His eyes opened wide as if he had seen a ghost.


    Lucifer also recognized the guard from before. He had seen this guy a few times. Moreover, he also didn¡¯t like this guy.


    He still remembered when he had juste out of a test. He had seen a tray with a ss of water ced on a shelf.


    Since he was feeling like he was going to die of thirst, he picked up the ss of water and was just about to drink it when this guard snatched the water from his hand.


    "This is for the son of Doctor Rao! You can¡¯t drink it. I just ced this here for a minute, and any random guy thinks he can drink it? Where¡¯s the nurse who is escorting you!"


    The guard scolded Lucifer a lot that day. Moreover, he wasn¡¯t the only one who was reprimanded for only trying to drink water, but the nurse was also scolded because of this.


    Because the nurse was scolded for Lucifer, she also became annoyed with him, in turn causing her to behave worse than she usually did.


    The guard stared at Lucifer, wide-eyed. He couldn¡¯t believe what he was seeing. The dead kid had returned?


    Doctor Rao and the others who knew about this hadn¡¯t told him that Lucifer was alive yet.


    "Are you alive?" He finally came to a conclusion since he didn¡¯t believe in ghosts. The only possible exnation was that Lucifer was alive.


    In any case, he had only heard about Lucifer¡¯s death and hadn¡¯t seen it.


    "I am alive," Lucifer said as he raised his finger towards the guard and fired a weak lightning bolt.


    "Arghhh!"


    A scream left the lips of the guard as soon as the lightning bolt hit him.


    Even though his lightning bolt was weak for Lucifer, for others, it was frightening since it left a hole in the knees of the guard, which made him drop to the ground, roaring in pain.


    Lucifer started walking towards the guard, who was screaming like a dying animal from pain.


    "Lucifer, don¡¯t kill him. We need to ask him for directions."


    Seeing Lucifer walking towards the guard, Caen reminded him that they needed the guard alive, at least until they got their answers.


    "After a long time, we found someone we can ask questions to. Let¡¯s not waste this opportunity," Caen said.


    Lucifer nodded in response but didn¡¯t say anything as he stopped before the guard.


    Standing before the guard, Lucifer asked, "Not carrying any water for others today?"


    "You have awakened! How is that possible! They said it was impossible!" The Guard eximed as tears of pain trickled down his cheeks.


    "You should ask that question to the ones who said it was impossible. Don¡¯t worry; I¡¯ll send them after you," Lucifer said as he sat on his knees.


    He slowly took the ck glove off of his right hand but didn¡¯t touch the guard. He only brought his finger near the guard¡¯s face, making him seem like he was going to fire a lightning bolt.


    Seeing that finger that had just fired a looking bolt aiming at his face, the guard¡¯s heartbeat skipped a beat in fear.


    He looked at Caen, who was still looking like Xander.


    "You! Why are you standing and watching! You are from APF! It¡¯s your duty to save me from Variants! Please save me!" He said strongly.


    "Save you from Variants? Hah, it¡¯s a good joke. It¡¯s the Variants who need safety after what is done to them here," Caen repliedzily as he stretched out his arms and yawned.


    "Your life depends on Lucifer now. He is your god, and he is your devil. Do what he says, and you might get to live. I¡¯m not going to interfere in any case. So everything depends on you," he said as a smirk appeared on his face.


    "W-what do you want? I will do anything you say. Just don¡¯t kill me!" The guard told Lucifer, begging for his life.


    "It¡¯s so ironic," Lucifer said, shaking his head. "The mighty men who treated me like a ve are begging me for their life. It¡¯s all about yourself, isn¡¯t it? If weak difort you, you can even kill him. But if the strong difort you, you can only beg him for life."


    "I-i didn¡¯t do anything to you. I am innocent. Don¡¯t kill me. I am just a guard. I will do anything you say!" The guard told Lucifer, begging him.


    "You will do anything? Then tell me, where are the scientists? Where can I find them?¡¯ Lucifer asked.


    "T-the scientists? All of them are in a hall! Take the third left from ahead and the second right from there. The second door on the left is the Hall where all the scientists are kept until the governmentes to take them," the guard informed Lucifer.


    "Are all scientists there? Even Doctor Rao?" Caen asked from behind.


    At Caen¡¯s questions, the guard seemed confused. Why was Caen asking that? Didn¡¯t he already meet Doctor Rao and know where he was? Something seems really strange here. He still didn¡¯t know the man before him wasn¡¯t Xander.


    "Answer!" Lucifer said firmly.


    "Doctor Rao and Doctor Layman are the only two Doctors who aren¡¯t in the hall. They are in their office. To get to their office, walk straight ahead in the hallway where you find that hall. And take a left. The room at the end is the office of Doctor Rao," the guard answered.


    "Good," Lucifer said as he gently ced his fingers on the face of the guard.


    He had already decided, wherever possible, he was going to use his Decay since that gave him energy.


    "Ahh! It hurts! What are you doing! Free m-"


    As soon as Lucifer¡¯s finger touched the guard, his screams intensified as his body started decaying.

 Chapter 142 - 142: Secret Revenge

    <h4>Chapter 142 - 142: Secret Revenge </h4>


    The extreme pain was even worse than being hit by lightning. Fortunately, the pain didn¡¯tst for long since his body turned to ash as his screams were silenced.


    After finishing the guard, Lucifer stood up as he started walking in the direction which was told to him by the guard.


    Caen followed behind Lucifer. His footnded on the ash of the guard as he walked past that spot. Caen couldn¡¯t help but shake his hand.


    This Decay ability of Lucifer was really frightening.


    ¡¯No wonder risse was called the most frightening Sorcerer. This ability is truly scary,¡¯ he thought as he smiled wryly. He really didn¡¯t want to be on the wrong side of Lucifer, at least when he was close to him.


    ¡¯Fortunately, he is on our side,¡¯ he thought as he walked behind Lucifer.


    As they reached closer to the hall that the guard described, they started finding more and more guards along the way.


    Caen had already expected that, and he was even prepared to fight, but he had realized that he had be a spectator.


    As soon as even one guard was seen, Lucifer fired his lightning bolt. As for his aim, it was so perfect that it always hit the center of the forehead of the guards, never missing.


    ¡¯Strange. Such perfect aim in a recently awakened Warlock? Did he practice his aim so much that it became perfect? Or could it be that he has one more ability that we don¡¯t know about? Something that helps his aim? Could it be that he is a hexa-awakened Warlock? Or could it be even more?¡¯


    The more Caen saw Lucifer kill, the more he was getting amazed. Such perfection.


    Throughout the way, Lucifer had already killed over twenty guards, all before they could even raise their guns at them.


    It didn¡¯t take long before they reached the hall where most of the scientists were said to be staying.


    "Have the honors. Enjoy it to the fullest. I¡¯ll keep an eye out. It¡¯s your revenge, after all," Caen told Lucifer as he stopped at the entrance of the hall.


    He turned around and stood with his back facing the wall and his arms folded.


    Lucifer looked at the door behind which most of the scientists were kept. The scientist of this cruel facility which killed him and so many more innocent people.


    He raised his right leg and smashed the door, breaking it apart as he barged inside.


    Caen kept standing outside the door with a smile on his face as he heard the screamsing out of the hall.


    "Hahaha, this kid. It looks like he really knows how to enjoy himself," Caen said as he continued waiting.


    After what seemed like five minutes, all screams had stopped. No sound could be heard inside the hall.


    "He is done already?" Caen thought as he turned around and entered the hall.


    As soon as he entered, he could see the oue of the massacre. There were bodies all around with holes in their forehead. Some could also be seen with crushed necks.


    As for the rest, they were apparently the victim of decay since ash could also be seen all around the hall.


    Lucifer was sitting on the ground, in front of the ash, looking at it.


    "Is something wrong?" Caen asked, confused. Why was he looking at that ash?


    "Something seems missing. I feel no satisfaction," Lucifer said as he stood up, shaking his head.


    "The main culprits aren¡¯t here. Of course, you won¡¯t feel any satisfaction here. Come, let¡¯s bring that satisfaction to you," Caen said as he gestured for Lucifer to follow him.


    The two of them walked through the hallway as they advanced towards their final destination, which was the office of Doctor Rao.


    "Lucifer, tell me one thing," Caen asked.


    "What thing?" Lucifer asked in return.


    " That Doctor Rao, he is the main culprit and the enemy you probably hate the most. How do you n to kill him to make it more satisfying for you?" Caen inquired.


    "Do you want to break his body with your strength, destroy him from your lightning? Or do you want to use your decay and watch him groan in pain?


    "None," Lucifer answered.


    "None? You don¡¯t want to kill him using your powers? Then how do you want to kill him?" Caen asked, growing even more surprised at the answer.


    "You will know soon enough," Lucifer answered, not speaking more.


    "Hahaha, so you want to keep it a secret," Caenughed as he heard Lucifer¡¯s answer. "I¡¯m excited to see what it is. It seems fun."


    The two of them took thest left and ended up in thest corridor. Supposedly thest room here was the office of Doctor Rao.


    They could already see the end of the corridor and also saw the guard¡¯s outside. There were six guards outside the office, keeping an eye.


    As soon as the guards saw Lucifer, they raised their guns, but in the meantime, two of them were already dead because of the bolt of lightning from Lucifer.


    As for the rest, they had managed to raise their guns and fired. Most of the bullets were aimed at the chest of Lucifer, while some were aimed at his head.


    Despite having powerful healing abilities, Lucifer also had the bulletproof jacket and the pants made from Cardigan Particles which were already bulletproof, so he didn¡¯t care about the bullets.


    As for the Bullets that were aimed at his head, he used his hand and the subsequent part of his bulletproof jacket to protect his head from the bullets. He was trying to change his fighting style from crazy one to sensible.


    Even though he had his healing, he had decided against getting wounded.


    Using his left hand, he protected his head against the bullets. From his right hand, he kept firing the lightning bolts, killing more and more guards.


    ....


    The office of Doctor Rao was in silence throughout the day since only three people were here, and they weren¡¯t talking much at the moment.

 Chapter 143 - 143: Easy Death

    <h4>Chapter 143 - 143: Easy Death </h4>


    Beta Squad Captain of APF was here with the two doctors. At the moment, he seemed to be looking at his phone, but the phone wasn¡¯t getting any signal.


    "Sigh, this is too boring. No one is going to attack this ce with the Beta Squad guarding the entrance. I¡¯m only wasting my time here. I hate it so much!" Yale said, however, as soon as he spoke such words, the silence in the room was broken by the constant firing sound outside.


    Screams could also be hearding from outside.


    "Looks like I spoke too soon. The two of you, stay here, and don¡¯t you dare step outside. I¡¯ll handle everything!" Yale said firmly as he stood up and ran towards the door.


    Pushing the door open, he stepped outside only to be greeted by a grim sight where all the guards were lying dead, and a lightning bolt wasing towards him.


    He raised his hand to the front and made a semi-translucent barrier appear before him.


    The lightning bolt shed with the barrier, ultimately disappearing.


    "I guess you¡¯re Lucifer, huh. So you did manage to sneak past the front line of defense. Captain Ayn did have some foresight. I was getting upset for no reason," Yale saidzily as he gazed at Lucifer.


    Soon, his eyesnded on Caen, who was standing behind Lucifer, still disguised as Xander.


    "Xander? Why are you with him?" He asked, surprised. "Wait, your clothes! You¡¯re not Xander, are you?"


    "Let me guess, you¡¯re Caen?" he further asked, taking a guess.


    "Hahaha, your guess is correct. It seems that I¡¯m a bit famous," Caen said as he burst intoughter.


    "Yeah, you¡¯re pretty famous because of this annoying ability of yours. Don¡¯t worry; I¡¯ll make sure that you¡¯re famous in our jail too," Yale answered.


    "I don¡¯t think you can. You need to be alive to do that. And with this little guy, around I don¡¯t think you can," Caen said, grinning as soon as Lucifer fired another lightning bolt.


    "Hah, this is nothing. My barrier can stop it eas-"


    Seeing the next lightning bolting towards him, Yale didn¡¯t react because of his arrogance. The first lightning bolt thatnded on his barrier couldn¡¯t do anything.


    He believed his barrier was superior to Lucifer¡¯s lightning because of his inefficiency, and thatcency was keeping him grim seeing the reality.


    "Huh?"


    He soon realized how wrong he was as soon as the ck lightning Bolt hit the barrier.


    The barrier which had resisted the first lightning bolt shattered like a ss in front of this second lightning bolt, and even then, the bolt didn¡¯t stop as it prated the skull of Yale, who was still dazed in shock.


    The Beta Squad Vice Captain had died so easily, all because of his negligence.


    Yale was a Sorcerer with two abilities. One of which was his main one which was his strongest and an attack-type ability. As for his second one, it was this barrier that was his defensive ability.


    As he hade out of the room, he couldn¡¯t dodge the sudden lightning attack, so he subconsciously used his barrier, and the sess of his barrier proved to be deadly for him.


    ording to what he had heard, Lucifer only had one long-range ability. As for Caen, he had no long-range ability.


    Believing him to be safe since no long range ability was here to harm him and break his barrier, he didn¡¯t hurry in attacking, giving Lucifer a chance to kill him.


    He didn¡¯t realize that the only reason his barrier was looking so invincible against Lucifer¡¯s lightningst time was because Lucifer was only using a fraction of his powers since he was facing humans.


    He had attacked Yale, thinking that he was a human too. The lightning bolts were weak because of that. As soon as Lucifer saw that it was a Variant, his Second Lightning Bolt came like a wrecking ball, shattering the beliefs of Yale.


    The strongest lightning bolt, which even passed through the Cardigan Particles, easily shattered the barrier, taking out thest strong enemy, making the sh a bit anticlimactic.


    "I told you in advance, with the little guy around, you were going to have a hard time staying alive. Underestimating him is the worst thing you could have done," Caen said as he watched the dead body of Yale.


    " I¡¯m surprised you guys didn¡¯t learn any lessons from all the APF members that were killed by him."


    "Or is it that because you¡¯re from the Beta Squad, you underestimated Delta Squad members, thinking that their death meant they were weak, not that Lucifer was strong? Whatever, I guess it¡¯s better for us the more you underestimate him," he added before he smiled.


    ¡¯By the time you people realize your mistakes, we would have made him one of the Strongest Warlocks this world had ever seen,¡¯ he thought as he followed after Lucifer, who had started walking towards the office of Doctor Rao.


    ...


    "The enemy is right outside, but I can hear no sound anymore. Did this man kill them? Or was he killed instead. If he is dead, we are going to die soon." Doctor Layman said, concerned as he kept staring at the door.


    Even Doctor Rao seemed a bit worried this time. If the enemy had killed the guards so easily and if he still survived, he was certainly a Variant. Their life was indeed in danger.


    He opened the drawer of his table and picked up a gun that was kept inside before he started waiting as he raised the gun and aimed it towards the door.


    Lucifer turned the doorknob as he opened the door slowly. Finally, he was here. Finally he was going to see the face that was smiling as Lucifer died. Finally, he was going to be finished with his revenge.


    Opening the door, Lucifer stepped inside. Caen also entered behind him.


    Even though Caen was behind Lucifer, to Doctor Rao, it seemed like Xander.

 Chapter 144 - 144: Doctor Raos Wish

    <h4>Chapter 144 - 144: Doctor Rao''s Wish </h4>


    The APF Leader was standing behind Lucifer. Does this mean he had captured Lucifer and killed the enemies? He believed.


    "Hahaha, Sir Xander! You are really great. You caught Lucifer! Amazing! May I request you something? I know I am going to be imprisoned tomorrow by the government. I only have one day left today. Can you fulfill my one wish, please? This will help humanity greatly," Doctor Rao said.


    "What help?" Caen asked, smirking. "If I find it worthwhile, I might listen."


    Lucifer also stood, gazing at Doctor Rao, remembering everything that he went through. There was so much anger inside him. He wanted to kill Doctor Rao right now, but he controlled himself. He had different ns. Moreover, he also wanted to hear what wish this guy had?


    "Please give Lucifer to me for one day. I just want to do a few tests on him to see if we can find a way to replicate his healing or what causes it! Please let me do it! Just imagine how many lives it will save against the battle with Dungeon Dwellers!" Doctor Rao said to Caen.


    "Oh? After all that, you still want to test on him?" Caen asked before he burst intoughter.


    He turned to look towards Lucifer as he grinned. "Lucifer, are you seeing the shamelessness of this guy? This is the true face of humans. Go and have your way."


    "Sir Xander, what are you saying? I don¡¯t understand?" Doctor Rao asked, frowning.


    "Oh, you¡¯ll soon understand. And my curiosity will also end with that since I¡¯m also waiting to see what he does," Caen said.


    Lucifer started walking towards Doctor Rao in slow steps.


    "You. Stop right there! Lucifer, listen to me! Don¡¯t you want to help the people? I know our testst time was a bit wrong, and I always regretted that you had died in that test. We went a bit overboard. You don¡¯t know how happy I am to see you awakened!"


    "Come back to us! Together, we can work to find the best use of your abilities. And you can be like your father. You can be a hero of humans like he was! Come to me, son," Doctor Rao said as he threw the gun that was in his hand and spread his arms.


    He knew that Lucifer had healing and that gun was useless against him. So he wanted to use the naivety of Lucifer to help himself. He still remembered how determined Lucifer was to be like his father. As long as he remembered that, he was sure to agree to the testing, he thought.


    Lucifer walked around the table behind which Doctor Rao was standing.


    "Come, dear Lucifer. Let¡¯s forget the past and look forward to the bright future," Doctor Rao said.


    "Bright Future? My future only has darkness because of you. And now you¡¯ll experience the same darkness you gave me," Lucifer answered as he raised his hand and fired a weak lightning bolt at the right knee of Doctor Rao.


    "Arghhh!" The lightning bolt prated the right knee of Doctor Rao, leaving a hole in his knees while making him scream as he dropped to the ground.


    "Aaaaah!"


    His scream only became louder as his left knee was also attacked, taking away both his legs. He was sure he wasn¡¯t going to be able to walk now.


    "You bastard! We treated you here for five years! We fed you, and we tried to help you! Is this how you repay us! Stop right now!" Doctor Rao screamed.


    As for Doctor Layman, he wasn¡¯t even moving as he was frozen in fear.


    "Repay you? Don¡¯t worry about that. You will get your full repayment," Lucifer said before he fired two more lightning bolts at each elbow of Doctor Rao, making him scream even more.


    The voice of Doctor Rao had turned hoarse as his face was filled with tears. His face had also lost all its color as it became pale.


    ¡¯Strange. He said he won¡¯t kill by lightning. Was he lying?¡¯ Standing in the back, Caen wondered what Lucifer was doing. When he asked if Lucifer was going to use his powers to kill, he had said no.


    That was why Caen had been curious about what method Lucifer was going to use. To see him use lightning, Caen couldn¡¯t help but be a bit disappointed.


    After Lucifer destroyed the ability of Doctor Rao to use his arms and legs, he shifted his gaze to Doctor Layman.


    Seeing Lucifer looking at him, Doctor Layman¡¯s knees turned weak as he dropped to the ground.


    "I beg of you! Don¡¯t kill me! I swear to god that I will do anything you say! I¡¯ll be your ve and even your dog if you want; just don¡¯t kill me!" Doctor Layman started begging Lucifer for his life, but Lucifer seemed unimpressed.


    "You¡¯ll do anything, I ask?" He asked Doctor Layman.


    "I will! I swear to god I will! You won¡¯t need to ask me twice! Just don¡¯t kill me!" Doctor Layman answered.


    "Alright. What I want is simple then. Pick him up in your arms," Lucifer said as he pointed towards Doctor Rao.


    "Yes! Right away!" Doctor Layman hastily stood up before he picked up the body of Doctor Rao, who was still crying in pain. Unfortunately, Doctor Rao wasn¡¯t able to move his arms or legs, so he couldn¡¯t even resist now.


    He was like a paralyzed man who could still feel all the pain.


    "Take him to the room where I was killed. I want to see that ce," Lucifermanded.


    His words were heard by Doctor Layman, who, as he had promised, didn¡¯t ask twice.


    Doctor Layman started walking outside the office with Doctor Rao in his arms. Lucifer followed behind them with Caen.


    ¡¯I guess I was too quick to judge. He didn¡¯t kill him with lightning. I wonder how satisfying he is going to make this revenge,¡¯ Caen thought as he rubbed his hand in excitement.


    In his curiosity, he had forgotten that they needed to leave as fast as they could because a fight was going on outside.

 Chapter 145 - 145: Revenge

    <h4>Chapter 145 - 145: Revenge </h4>


    Doctor Layman carried Doctor Rao to the sameb where Lucifer had been killedst time. Helpless Doctor Rao couldn¡¯t even move his arms and legs to resist, but he did keep begging Caen, who he still believed to be Xander.


    "Master Xander! I know I was rude to you before, but you can¡¯t do this. You can¡¯t hurt a weak human! Please save me. Let the government deal with me! Don¡¯t help injustice here!" Doctor Rao begged Caen.


    "Don¡¯t worry; I¡¯m not helping any injustice here. On the contrary, the injustice is asking me for help, and I¡¯m saying no," Caen answered as he ignored the pleas for help.


    It didn¡¯t take long before Doctor Layman reached theb. Lucifer also remembered this ce. This was thest room he had seen in the facility, and he could never forget it.


    "Can I put him down for a minute to open this door?" Doctor Layman asked Lucifer.


    "No need," Lucifer said as he stepped forward and broke the door with a kick before he entered inside.


    Caen also entered theb, but he didn¡¯t forget to say something to Doctor Layman before entering.


    "You could have been in the ce of that door, so don¡¯t do anything stupid and listen to him," Caen said.


    Doctor Layman was already covered in sweat because of the fear, but this time, he was even more scared as he stepped inside theb, wondering what was going to happen.


    As he entered theb, he noticed Lucifer standing near the bed, staring at it.


    Lucifer couldn¡¯t help but touch the bed. It seemed like everything had happened just yesterday when he was brought here and told to lie on the bed.


    He looked at Doctor Layman and said, "ce him on the bed."


    Doctor Layman hastily stepped forward and ced Doctor Rao on the bed.


    Doctor Rao was starting to have a very bad feeling as he was ced on the bed. He believed he understood what Lucifer was going to do, and that thought was frightening.


    "Arghhh! Lucifer! Listen to me! Please stop! If you do this, there¡¯s no going back! Don¡¯t be evil, or your parents¡¯ legacy will be destroyed! We can solve our differences through talking! I will do anything you say! Just forgive me this once! You¡¯re still alive, so nothing is lost! Don¡¯t make this mistake!" Doctor Rao screamed in fear.


    Not only Lucifer, but he also continued begging Caen. "Xander! Please help me! I swear to god I will change! I won¡¯t do anything wrong again!"


    Unfortunately, not a single person here was going to listen to him. Only Doctor Layman was prone to listen to him, but even he was too scared for his life to go against Lucifer.


    "Attach all the wires and machines to him that you had attached to me that day."


    As Doctor Rao was ced on the bed, Lucifer gave his followingmand to Doctor Layman.


    At this point, even Caen understood what Lucifer wanted to do.


    "Hahaha! Bravo! I like this one!" Caen said,ughing out loud. "This is a pretty good idea!"


    Doctor Layman had also understood what was happening here. He still hoped that since he was helping Lucifer, he was going to be safe.


    Moreover, it was Doctor Rao that had done everything. He was only listening tomandsst time as well. It wasn¡¯t as if his crime was that grave.


    He attached the machines to Doctor Rao¡¯s bodies, including all the wires. He also picked up a head-band-like object that was connected to a machine behind him and ced it around Doctor Rao¡¯s head.


    "Today, I am incharge of this facility! Start the test! I want to see how much pain he can handle. If I remember correctly, you all called it the Pain Index, right?" Lucifer asked as he stood near theptop from where Doctor Layman had controlled everythingst time.


    Doctor Layman was already prepared for this demand since it wasn¡¯t hard to guess after Lucifer asked to ce Doctor Rao on the bed here.


    He turned on theptop and pressed a few buttons before he looked at Lucifer and said, "Everything is ready, Master."


    "Good, on my count," Lucifer said, repeating the words that Doctor Rao had said when Doctor Layman had told him that he was prepared to startst time.


    "3... 2..." Lucifer began the count.


    Hearing the count, the fear of death started taking even more effect as Doctor Rao¡¯s heart churned in pain.


    "Please stop, for God¡¯s Sake!" Doctor Rao yelled.


    "Today, everything will happen for my sake. I¡¯m your only god today," Lucifer told Doctor Rao before he resumed the count.


    "1... Begin!"


    Doctor Layman pressed a button on theptop as soon as Lucifer finished the count, and with a slight sound, the process began.


    "Aaaa!" Doctor Rao screamed as loud as he could with the heart-wrenching pain coursing through his body. He felt like his body was being torn into shreds, and every cell of his body was breaking apart at a rapid pace.


    He kept screaming, but the torture didn¡¯t stop. Instead, it went on and on for what seemed like an eternity.


    "Heartbeat rising rapidly. The pain index reached 10 percent. Cell destruction has begun," Doctor Layman dered as he read the data on the screen.


    In his mind, he was amazed.


    ¡¯When we tested on Lucifer, Cell Destruction began at a sixty percent pain index. But with Doctor Rao, it started at only ten percent pain index.¡¯ he thought.


    "Stop it now! My cell destruction has begun! I beg of you! Please save me! Save my life!"


    " If you don¡¯t stop, my entire body will be useless! I am asking for forgiveness. Arghhhhh! Stop! It hurts so much!" Doctor Rao screamed in pain as he begged for them to stop this torture,pletely forgetting that he had put Lucifer through much more torture than this.


    He was only at ten percent Pain Index at the moment.

 Chapter 146 - 146: Keep Your Secrets

    <h4>Chapter 146 - 146: Keep Your Secrets </h4>


    Doctor Layman looked towards Lucifer to see his expressions, but Lucifer seemed utterly expressionless. On the other hand, Caen had a smirk on his face as if he was enjoying it much more.


    "Continue! Increase the pain index by twenty percent!" Lucifermanded. There was not even an ounce of hesitation in his voice.


    Doctor Rao kept screaming for ten minutes straight. His voice had turned hoarse, eyes were blood-shot red with tears still flowing down his cheeks, and his body trembled in pain. Everything seemed simr to what Lucifer had gone through.


    Unfortunately, the pain didn¡¯t stop. It felt like, with time, it was bing even more unbearable.


    "Stop please!!!" he yelled like a lunatic as his bloodied eyes gazed at others in theb.


    "He can still speak. Not bad. I guess the pain is not enough. Increase by twenty percent. Take the pain index to fifty percent!" Lucifer said to Doctor Layman, who followed hismands without any question and increased the pain index.


    Doctor Layman was surprised a bit at themands, though. Lucifer was using almost simr words to the one that Doctor Rao had used. It seemed like he was mocking Doctor Rao now.


    "Heartbeat slowing down rapidly. The pain index reached fifty percent. Cell destruction has reached 90 percent," Doctor Layman said.


    He still remembered that Lucifer¡¯s cell destruction was only around seventy percent when his Pain Index was at ny percent. But with Doctor Rao, it was much different. Lucifer was undoubtedly a more hard-hearted kid.


    "Increase by fifty percent this time. Take the Pain Index to hundred percent," Lucifer said.


    "We don¡¯t need to increase by fifty percent. He is at fifty percent pain index and ny percent cell destruction. Only a ten percent increase is enough to kill him," Doctor Layman reminded Lucifer.


    "I don¡¯t care. I want him to experience the same pain that I did. I want him to die at hundred percent pain! Do as I said!" Lucifer said firmly.


    He didn¡¯t want the death of Doctor Rao; instead, he wanted the same death for him that he suffered, experiencing everything Lucifer did because of his actions.


    Doctor Layman increased the pain index and turned it to the maximum as per themands.


    "Aaaah! Stop!"


    Doctor Rao¡¯s body churned in pain as he felt as extreme pain as he possibly could. He was feeling like his body was going to blow up from inside out.


    "Stoo-"


    He made onest scream, but before he could even finish, his breathing stopped. Tears of blood could be seen on his cheeks.


    As for his entire body, it was lying unmoving, looking pale as if all the blood had dried from his body.


    His bloodied eyes were still open, but there was no focus on them anymore.


    "Heartbeat has stopped. The pain index reached hundred percent. Cell destruction hundred percent," Doctor Layman announced.


    "So, he died. He was a good testing subject tost for so long. I guess the human body is not as useless as I thought. If it can survive for so long under such pain, it¡¯s definitely anything but useless," Lucifer muttered as he looked at the data on the screen.


    Even though he couldn¡¯t understand the data in the least, he was repeating what Doctor Rao had done.


    What he didn¡¯t remember was that he was dead when Doctor Rao had said those words? Generally, he shouldn¡¯t have remembered those words in the end, but these words were still in his head for some reason.


    "Master, what should I do with his body?" Doctor Layman asked Lucifer, who looked back at Caen in return.


    "Did you see the buttons he was pressing?" Lucifer asked Caen as he walked over to Doctor Rao.


    He removed all the wires and the headband that was attached to Doctor Rao before he caught the hand of Doctor Rao and pulled him off the bed, making him fall on the ground.


    "Hahaha, yeah, I did. Go for it," Caen said, grinning.


    He never expected he was going to enjoy it so much. At first, he was upset that he was stuck with a kid as a babysitter, but now he was actually starting to like the kid, and how his brain worked. He was also finding many simrities between them.


    "Good." Lucifer nodded before he stepped closer to Doctor Layman, leaving the pale body of Doctor Rao behind.


    Doctor Layman was wondering what Lucifer was asking, but he was hoping for the best.


    "Master, did you like the work of your ve?" he asked Lucifer with a fawning look on his face.


    Lucifer didn¡¯t reply and continued walking towards Doctor Layman, only stopping a meter away from him.


    "Ma-" Doctor Layman once again opened his mouth to say something, but before he could even finish his first word, Lucifer fired two more lightning bolts, each at once of his hand just like he had done to Doctor Rao.


    "Argh! Master! What are you doing! Stop!" Doctor Layman screamed in agony as his hands were destroyed. "I am your ve! Please don¡¯t!"


    "I don¡¯t need ves, especially not ones like you," Lucifer said to Doctor Layman before he fired two more lightning bolts at the legs of Doctor Layman before he carried him over to Doctor Rao¡¯s body.


    Lucifer ced Doctor Layman¡¯s body on the bed and put the headband on his head before attaching all the wires like they were attached to Doctor Rao.


    "No! No! No! Nonono! Please! Don¡¯t! I didn¡¯t do anything! Don¡¯t kill me like this! I can help you! I can help you a lot! I know many secrets! I can help you!" Doctor Layman yelled like crazy as he realized that he was going to be killed like Doctor Rao too.


    "I don¡¯t care about your secrets. I don¡¯t care about you or about this world. Keep your secrets to yourself," Lucifer said as he looked down at the body of Doctor Rao that was lying on his feet, dead.

 Chapter 147 - 147: Departure

    <h4>Chapter 147 - 147: Departure </h4>


    He raised his right foot and stomped on Doctor Rao¡¯s head with great strength.


    His strength was so much that the skull was crushed to powders as the blood spread everywhere. Some of the blood even fell on his pants, but that¡¯s when the Cardigan Particles of his pants started to react. They absorbed the blood and cleaned the ck pants again.


    ...


    A massive Ice Storm had covered the battlefield because Ayn was facing against Dion, who was using his S-Rank weather control to fight against Ayn¡¯s S-Rank Ice Control.


    As the Two S ranks powers shed,rge-scale destruction was happening everywhere. Anyone who stepped near them was getting badly injured, so not a single person was interfering with their fight.


    Xander, on the other hand, was facing Isona, and it even seemed like he was at a bit of an advantage when he suddenly stopped and jumped back as he nced towards the Ice Tomb.


    He didn¡¯t know why but he suddenly felt a vibrationing from the direction of the Tomb which he found strange. This shouldn¡¯t have happened since there was no battle going on inside the Ice Tomb. The battle was outside.


    As he thought more about it, he soon realized something.


    "Lucifer isn¡¯t here! The Ice Tomb! You guys tricked us!¡¯ Xander eximed as he roared in rage.


    "Ayn! Lucifer is most probably inside the Tomb! I¡¯m going in!" Xander yelled loudly, reminding Ayn to take over.


    "Not so fast!" Isona smiled as she once again appeared before Xander to stop him.


    "Get out of my way!" Xander said firmly as his eyes turned ming red.


    He waved his hand, making a me storm hit Isona, making her fly back and crash in the ground.


    "That was surprising. You really learned a few new trickspared tost time," Isona said as she stood up, dusting her clothes.


    She looked towards Xander to realize that he was already gone. Xander was running towards the Facility.


    "I won¡¯t let you," Isona said as she also started running towards the Facility.


    In this wholemotion, both sides had forgotten that Vega wasn¡¯t here either. He was here at the start, but in the middle of the battle, he had disappeared.


    ...


    Lucifer had destroyed the skull of Doctor Rao, not leaving his body intact.


    As the machines were set, Lucifer also told Caen to start the procedure.


    And thus, the painful procedure was started, which made Doctor Layman experience the same hell that Lucifer and Doctor Rao had experienced.


    Doctor Laymansted for even shorter, though. He died when the Pain Index was only fifty percent; Caen didn¡¯t even get a chance to increase it to hundred percent next.


    "Sigh, this guy was even weaker. What a disappointment," Caen said as he sighed. He closed thatptop and stood up.


    "Alright, Lucifer, how are you feeling now?" Caen asked Lucifer. "Finally, you are done with your revenge. Did you get the peace of mind you were hoping for?"


    "How do I feel?" Lucifer repeated the question as he nced at the bodies of Doctor Layman and Doctor Rao. "I don¡¯t know what I feel."


    "You have a lot of time to think about that. As for the future, I¡¯m sure we can talk about that when we go back home. Come," Caen told Lucifer, telling him to leave.


    Lucifer started leaving theb, finally putting this chapter of his life to an end. It was all over. The purpose of his life waspleted, and now he was free, but he wondered if his freedom even mattered anymore?


    His incredible healing made him Immortal, but what benefit did this Immortality bring to him now that his mission was over? He didn¡¯t have a family or anyone he cared about. As for humans, he couldn¡¯t trust any.


    He had a long life, but he was already starting to feel that his life had no purpose now. He was just going to think about his future alone.


    He already had a few thoughts in his mind. Leaving the country forever and traveling the world to find a ce that could give him happiness? Or working with Variant Uprising to work towards a future goal that they both could agree with? Or just going into istion and spending his life, doing nothing but just living.


    There were many questions that he never thought about. He knew that he was going to need the answers to these questions even long ago, but he had left it forter since he still had a purpose at that time.


    Now that he had none, he knew it was going to be a long thought process.


    Caen and Lucifer stepped out of theb and started walking towards the exit. Soon, they reached the turn where they were supposed to meet the rest of the team.


    Henrik and the others were already waiting for them there.


    "Those kids?" Caen asked as he squinted his eyes at the sight of many kids behind Henrik.


    "We found them on the other side of theb. Apparently, they were being kept there, and they also dislike the facility. I believe we can help these little variants too," Henrik said, pointing at the kids in the back.


    "Other than them, we only saw some guards there whom we killed," he added.


    Lucifer nced at the kids as well, who were of varying age, but all were older than him


    ¡¯Cheh, I wouldn¡¯t have taken such a burden on me at a time like this. We are in an emergency and need to leave fast. This Henrik! How did he make such a stupid decision?¡¯ Caen thought.


    ¡¯But I can¡¯t say no either. Lucifer is right behind. The impression of ours would fall face first in his mind if I did.¡¯


    "You did good," Caen finally said to Henrik as he nodded.


    "We can save these kids too, from the grasp of evil humans. But that also makes me wonder," he added. "If so many kids suffer in this one facility, how many of them suffer in other facilities in this city? How many in this country? How many in this world?"


    As he talked, he seemed like he was genuinely expressing his concern, but in reality, he was trying to make Lucifer hear his words.


    "The humans have been destroying the lives of Variants everywhere while still using Variants to keep them safe! And it can only stop when we reverse the status quo and take the power back for us. If we don¡¯t, many Variants will die," Caen said.

 Chapter 148 - 148: Facing Xander

    <h4>Chapter 148 - 148: Facing Xander </h4>


    Lucifer gazed at Caen, wondering about his words. It did seem true that there would be many facilities like this all around the world, and many kids like him would be suffering.


    He didn¡¯t think about it for long as he started leaving. He wanted to leave all the thinking forter, when he was free of all influence and alone with himself.


    ...


    Xander ran to the Ice Tomb and ced his hand on the wall, creating another opening with his fire before he stepped inside the Ice Tomb.


    "Where are all the guards?"


    As soon as he entered the Ice Tomb, he noticed that no guards were here, unlike before. This increased his suspicions even more.


    He was sure that something had happened. Lucifer was here, and he was certainly not alone. If he was alone, all the guards would be lying dead here and not missing.


    He ran towards the facility; however, he had just taken a few steps when he saw Lucifering out of the facility. Behind him, Caen also came out, but he was supporting the face of Xander instead.


    Seeing a person with his face, it didn¡¯t take Xander long to understand what was happening.


    "Caen, you¡¯re here as well. I should have understood at the start when I saw your and Lucifer¡¯s absence," Xander said as a fire burned around his fist.


    Caen was surprised to see Xander here. How was he allowed in? He should have been engaged in the battle outside. Was there a mess up?


    "Xander ke, are you still supporting the side of injustice because of your rules?" Caen asked as he stepped forward.


    "Step out of your blindness and see the reality! Look behind me at these young Variants! They were being imprisoned and tortured here. And just like them, many young Variants are suffering everywhere. Our goal is noble. Your mission to obstruct us is evil instead!" He said.


    "So step aside and let us leave. Don¡¯t contribute to making the lives of the Variants hell," he further added as he stepped forward to cover Lucifer behind him.


    "I¡¯m doing that? You talk about hell? How many innocent humans have you killed throughout the years? How many cities have you destroyed? How many kids have you killed? Are you saying you care about kids?" Xander retorted.


    "There¡¯s bnce at the moment. I know that there is some injustice and some humans are bad, but you can¡¯t punish all humans for that! We have powers, and we need to be responsible!" he said.


    "As for making hell, the real hell will be seen if you guyse to power since the weak will have no option then!" He further added.


    "You¡¯re really stubborn," Caen told Xander as he sighed.


    "Alright, Isona, do it!" He let out as he grinned.


    "Huh?" Stunned, Xander looked back only to notice that Isona was far away, running towards him. She hadn¡¯t even reached here yet.


    Caen had lied. As Xander looked back at Caen, he saw a knifeing towards him, flying at rapid speed.


    " Little tricks!" Xander said as he raised his right hand towards the iing knife. A wave of me appeared before him and flew towards the knife. The knife didn¡¯t even reach him before it melted.


    Caen was still standing with Lucifer, gazing at Xander. He was sure that Xander had the strength to attack them all.


    Except for Lucifer, the rest of them would have died, but he wasn¡¯t attacking. Most probably because Xander didn¡¯t want to kill the kids that were standing near Caen.


    ¡¯Looks like bringing those kids is working miracles,¡¯ Caen thought.


    "Lucifer Azarel! Listen to me," Xander said as he started walking towards Lucifer. "I know what happened to you. And I also know it was wrong. That¡¯s why we were bringing that Doctor Rao to justice, but the path you¡¯re walking on isn¡¯t right."


    "A long time ago, I met your father. He was a great man and a kind soul. I even talked to him at that time. He was always my idol with the way he thought and the way he used his powers to make the world a better ce."


    "As you¡¯re his son, I want nothing bad for you either. Please surrender. I promise no one will harm you," he further said, trying to take Lucifer out of the equation while telling his genuine feelings.


    "I¡¯m not doing anything you say," Lucifer said before he started walking forward as well, towards the tunnel opening.


    He also took off his gloves and ced them in the pockets of his pants since he didn¡¯t want them to be destroyed in case there was a fight.


    Seeing Lucifer take off his gloves, Xander believed that it was because he wanted to fight.


    "Lucifer, please listen to me. You have already crossed the line. Don¡¯t make more mistakes. We¡¯re at the point where we can still salvage the situation," Xander said.


    "You killed half my team! Innocent Variants! The Variants who only wanted to save people, as your Father did! Yes, you killed them."


    "You killed the father of so many kids, and you took away the husbands of so many wives. Most of them had a family they needed to go back to, and you took them away from their family!"


    "Your crime is grave, and you really deserve the strictest punishment for that, but I understand that you were misguided as well. As I said, don¡¯t make another mistake, and I can still salvage the situation. Surrender ande with us!" he said.


    "As I said, I¡¯m noting anywhere with you. As for killing your people, why do you think that is? Did I ever hurt you? I only killed the people who misbehaved with me. As for the Variants, your Variants came to capture me!"


    Lucifer said firmly as he kept stepping forward.


    "All I asked from you was the location of the Facility where I suffered! I even told you that! But you still gave me a fake address! You sent me to a different city where your Variants were sitting with a Trap!"

 Chapter 149 - 149: Legend Of The Eyes

    <h4>Chapter 149 - 149: Legend Of The Eyes </h4>


    The more he said, the louder his Voice got until he was screaming. It was clear that he was emotionally tired and hurt.


    "All I wanted was to kill the people who killed me! But you tried to stop me from that! Come with you? With your people who ced me in a cage like those scientists?!"


    "They deserved to die, and I would kill them a thousand times more if I was in the same situation? Not only them, I will kill anyone thates and stands in my path!" Lucifer roared as thunder crackled around his fist.


    As for the sky, it was already dark because of Dion¡¯s weather control ability, but it suddenly became even darker as more and more clouds appeared, as if answering to Lucifer¡¯s roar. This was the third time Clouds had appeared when he was upset.


    Thunder could also be seen crackling in the sky. Unfortunately, because they were in the ice tomb, the sky couldn¡¯t be seen. Neither Lucifer nor Xander could see the sky.


    The people outside the Ice Tomb did notice the change in the sky.


    Ayn was still trying to kill Dion, but even she noticed the dark clouds that were especially dense over the Ice Tomb. She found it strange. When Dion used his powers, the clouds were dense above them. Why were they dense over there?


    Was there a strong Variant inside the tomb that had a unique power?


    Dion also seemed surprised at the sky and the thundering clouds.


    He knew that Caen had gone inside the Ice Tomb with Lucifer. But not a single person in Caen¡¯s team had an ability like that. Then these clouds? Were they because of Lucifer, he wondered.


    Ayn had a bad feeling. Xander was alone inside the tomb and now these clouds. It seemed like his hunch was correct. She also needed to check the situation inside.


    She jumped back, creating distance from Dion, who was attacking her with whirlwinds and the thunder from the sky.


    After she created enough distance, she clenched her fist and punched the ground.


    As soon as her fist hit the ground, the ground started shaking. The Ice Walls that had entrapped the facility started disappearing until they were finally gone, bringing the facility out of the Ice Tomb.


    Finally, everyone was able to see inside the Ice Tomb.


    Everyone momentarily nced towards the Facility only to see Lucifer standing before Xander. ck Thunder was cracking around Lucifer¡¯s fist, which seemed like it could destroy the entire world if it were set loose.


    On the other hand, a zing red me was burning around Xander¡¯s fist, which seemed to have the potential of burning everything in its path. The Young Warlock of ck Thunder was facing the experienced Warlock of me and the strongest me user.


    ¡¯They are really caught,¡¯ Dion thought, frowning. ¡¯But why isn¡¯t Vega acting now? Is he waiting to see Lucifer in action? Does he want things to go too far?¡¯


    ....


    The ck Thunder had just appeared around Lucifer as he let his emotions lose, letting out his true thoughts about how the APF stood in his path, and he wasn¡¯t wrong.


    "Lucifer! I am warning you! The only reason I¡¯m still acting to help you is because you¡¯re the son of Zale Azarel! Please stop now! Don¡¯t step forward!" Xander said firmly.


    He has just finished speaking when he saw the Ice Walls disappear, revealing the dark thundering sky


    "And what if I don¡¯t stop? What will you do? Try to imprison me with force likest time?" Lucifer asked.


    "Lucifer! If you don¡¯t listen, I swear to god, I will kill you! You might have healing, but even your healing can¡¯t return you to life from ash! So stop, or I¡¯ll be forced to kill you!" Xander said, finally increasing his volume.


    "You will kill me? I would like to see how you do that," Lucifer said, as he clenched his fist.


    He had finished his mission. He hadpleted his revenge. In any case, his life had no value to him anymore, even if it was true that he could be killed.


    The threat of life was the most useless threat for him. On the other hand, he had no family, so he didn¡¯t fear for them either. He had no weakness that scared him at the moment.


    What Lucifer didn¡¯t realize was that the slight violet in one of his beautiful blue eyes became a bit more visible at the moment. This time, it wasn¡¯t as subtle asst time, though. Xander was able to see it as well.


    "One eye violet, one eye blue... It can¡¯t be," Xander muttered as he noticed it. "So many powers and this... So that¡¯s why! He isn¡¯t a human. He is..."


    Without thinking twice, Xander raised both his arms and fired zing hot fire towards Lucifer while he yelled at Ayn, "Ayn! He has one blue eye and one violet! We need to kill him at any cost!"


    "Blue and violet eyes? Really? Why didn¡¯t I notice? So this kid is actually..." Even Caen was surprised as he heard the words.


    "What is the secret of one blue eye and one violet? I don¡¯t understand. What¡¯s so special about it?" Henrik asked Caen.


    "Hah, you won¡¯t understand. But I believe APF won¡¯t stop at anything before killing Lucifer. If the Hunter Union find out, they would also jump in, leaving everything else behind. As for the world... I don¡¯t even want to imagine. It would be chaos." Caen said as he wondered what he should do.


    "If he has such baggage, should we stop approaching him?" Henrik asked. "Let¡¯s leave him behind."


    "We can¡¯t. He is really special. I think we need to cherish him even more now. Because he really can change the whole world. The future really took a different course with the appearance of Lucifer," Caen said as he frowned.


    "Should we help him then?" Henrik asked.


    "Can we? The mes or the thunder, they¡¯ll both destroy us if we even step closer. Don¡¯t do anything and just sit back," Caen said, frowning. "Moreover, if it¡¯s time, I¡¯m sure there will be an interference."


    ...

 Chapter 150 - 150: Shortcut To Defeat

    <h4>Chapter 150 - 150: Shortcut To Defeat </h4>


    Ayn, Dion, and even Isona were surprised to know about the eyes of Lucifer. They had never expected to see something like this.


    They were with Lucifer for so long but they never saw something like this. Now that they were saying with their own eyes, they were finding it hard to believe.


    "After the Great War, this is the first time we have seen those eyes. Interesting," Dion muttered as he forgot about the battle he was going through. What appeared before him was more interesting.


    Lucifer¡¯s eyes were finally back to their true form. It seemed like he kept it hidden. That¡¯s what he thought, atleast.


    The ones who knew about thest great war and these eyes were stunned as for the ones that didn¡¯t know, they just stood confused, wondering why everyone was so shocked.


    What was so special about these eyes? There were many people that had different colored eyes. What was special about Lucifer¡¯s eyes?


    ...


    While the battlefield near the facility was going through a shocking revtion, the city of ntra was also getting destroyed as the strongest Variants of this country were battling to gain the higher ground.


    Varant reached the building on top of which Raia was standing tall, looking down at Varant.


    The two of them held the two opposite ends of thoughts. One believed in bnce while the other believed in superiority. One believed in protecting while the other believed in destruction.


    Moreover, the powers of both of them were something that was able to create a big disturbance in this world. That was why they were two of the Four Warlock Kings.


    Varant had quite a few abilities, one of which was the ability to erase the powers of other Variants. It was this power that made other Variants afraid of him.


    On the other hand, Raia also had a few S-Rank abilities, one of which was the ability of Memory Maniption. It was also a frightening ability for Variants since they had the risk of bing the ve of Raia whenever he used his abilities sessfully on them.


    Just like these two Warlock Kings, the other two also had some really unique abilities, but as the saying went, every ability came with a limitation in this world.


    Even though no one knew about these weaknesses other than the Variant themselves, a few were easy to guess. A lot of people tried to guess the weakness of others when battling to achieve victory.


    That was why Varant and Raia¡¯s previous battle hadn¡¯t resulted in anyone¡¯s victory even though both of them had such high strength.


    Moreover, Zale Azarel had once defeated Varant despite Varant¡¯s ability that was able to erase any Variant¡¯s powers. That was the only battle Varant had ever lost.


    Not a single person knew how Zale had achieved this feat, but this gave him widespread recognition since Zale wasn¡¯t even part of the Four Warlock Kings when he had done this.


    His poprity and rise started after this victory, and soon, he became a household name and the Strongest of the Four Warlock Kings. Zale was already strong and powerful but this was his turning point.


    Varant looked towards the sky at the top of the building, staring at Raia before he jumped.


    His jump made it seem like he was flying as he rose to the fiftieth story of the tall building without anything else but that single jump.


    Raia stepped back with a calm look on his face as he gave space for Varant tond. Moreover, he didn¡¯t want to be close to Varant. As he had previously stated, closing in on Varant was a shortcut to defeat.


    And if he got to you, it was going to be much harder to win.


    Varant easilynded on top of the building before he looked at Raia.


    "Raia, oh Raia. Why this city?" Varant asked as if he was tired of seeing all the destruction that was around him.


    "Take a guess," Raia asked calmly, not answering straight. He wasn¡¯t in any hurry since he was only here to distract, not to actually fight.


    "The city didn¡¯t do anything. There are rarely any Variants in this city. Why hurt the weak, innocent people when you could fight the strong ones? Come to the Capital City sometime if you really want to show your strength," Varant told Raia.


    "Don¡¯t worry. That time isn¡¯t too far either. I¡¯ll soon being there, and I won¡¯t be alone at that time," Raia answered. "And that will be the day when the Capital falls, and the day you and Zeiss die," Raia responded.


    "Really? Let me guess; you¡¯re putting your cards on Lucifer bing a Warlock King to help you? You think Lucifer can defeat me since his father did, don¡¯t you?" Varant asked, scoffing. "Unfortunately, that won¡¯t happen. You¡¯ll die here. As for Lucifer, I¡¯ll erase his powers before he even bes a threat."


    Boom!


    The clouds roared as thunder shed in the sky.


    Unaware of the battle that was going on in ntra, the Battle near the facility seemingly came to a pause as if the time had stopped.


    Xander had attacked Lucifer with his most intense mes. Since he saw Lucifer¡¯s eyes, he had forgotten everything. He didn¡¯t even care about the kids that were standing in the back as he attacked.


    Seeing the mesing at him, Lucifer jumped in the sky, dodging the mes as he stood mid-air like he was a god, looking down at Xander.


    "Dodge!" Caen yelled loudly as he saw the mesing towards them.


    They didn¡¯t have the powers of the wind, unlike Lucifer, so they could only dodge. As they dodged in such urgency, they only thought about themselves.


    They even forgot about the kids behind them as they dove to the side, escaping the mes.


    Even though some of their battle gear was fireproof, it was useless against Xander¡¯s mes. None of them wished to get hit.

 Chapter 151 - 151: Secret Of The Facility

    <h4>Chapter 151 - 151: Secret Of The Facility </h4>


    As for the kids, they couldn¡¯t dodge as they were hit by the mes.


    Only their momentary scream could be heard, which didn¡¯tst for long as their body burned to ash.


    Lucifer nced back at the kids that were nothing more than the ash now. The kids who were like him and suffered the atrocities in this facility.


    The only difference was that these ones had managed to be a Variant, unlike Lucifer, who had failed every time he was in the facility.


    Seeing the kids die instead, Xander was taken aback, but his [Emotion Control] set in as he understood that this wasn¡¯t the time to think. He needed to kill Lucifer, or a bigger trouble could arise.


    "And you¡¯re the good guy," Lucifer said sarcastically as he looked back at Xander.


    Xander didn¡¯t reply as he once again attacked, but this time his attack wasn¡¯t as simple.


    He used his ming fist to punch the ground, just like Ayn had done previously to bring out the Ice Walls.


    Many massive storms of fire came out of the ground and flew in all directions in the sky, making sure that Lucifer had no ce to dodge now.


    ...


    Outside the facility, there was a lot of noise as the battle between two people had started. Lucifer and the Captain of the Delta Squad.


    Inside the facility, it was much less noisy. Only the sound of pages being flipped could be heard as a man flipped through a diary that was kept inside a secret drawer in Doctor Rao¡¯s office.


    As for the man who was flipping through the pages, he was none other than Vega, the Second Leader of the Variant Uprising.


    "Just as I expected, there are a few things he didn¡¯t keep in a digital format. He probably didn¡¯t want this to get out. A sneaky guy."


    Ining to this facility, he also had a secret purpose other than helping Lucifer.


    It was because he was curious about Doctor Rao. When he had hacked inside the facility, he received all the footage, and he saw all the experiments Doctor Rao did on Variants, but some of them seemed strange.


    As for why he did those experiments and what purpose these held, there was no record in the database. Fortunately, in a few of those footage, he had seen Doctor Rao writing something in a thick diary.


    While helping Lucifer, Vega also wanted to see what was in the diary. What exactly was going on in the facility.


    There was one more strange thing he had seen. It was that Doctor Rao often went into a corridor where there were no cameras. And ording to the map of the facility, that ce was a dead end.


    He found it strange. If that was a dead-end, why did Doctor Rao spend a few hours there asionally?


    Something didn¡¯t add up. He believed that there was something strange going on in the facility, which was much more than research on Variants.


    He took the diary and started walking towards the corridor in question.


    As he walked through the corridor, he ended up before theb where Lucifer had killed the two doctors. The door was still open, giving a full view of the inside.


    Vega also saw the two bodies that were lying inside the room as he walked past it.


    "I guess he really enjoyed his time here," he thought as he smiled.


    After taking a few turns ahead, he reached thest corridor only to find a wall there.


    cing his hand on his chin, he fell in a thought as he walked closer to the wall and started observing it.


    "Interesting. So that¡¯s the secret. A security system is ced here with two blocks. One needs his fingerprints, and the other needs his retina scan. Passwords are also needed."


    "Unfortunately, I can only see the system here but not hack it. Some really great measures went on to make this. I can¡¯t see what¡¯s on the other end of these walls either," he said as he frowned.


    "For him to take so many precautions, something really precious must be on the other end of the room. Maybe the diary would be able to give some insight. Until then, I should leave."


    "I will return after preparation. In any case, the facility will be shut down after today. And the one who knows about this ce is already dead," he said as he turned back to leave.


    "This is really annoying. The normal fingerprint would have been alright since his hands are a bit intact. I can use his body, but the Retina Scan, it¡¯s not normal. It needs him to be alive from the way he set the security. Some preparation is certainly needed. I can¡¯t be hasty, or this whole thing will blow up."


    "I also need his password. What could it be? If I¡¯m wrong, whatever is on the other side will blow up."


    Vega started walking towards the exit with the dairy in his hand. Other than the diary, there were two other books in his hand.


    This time the books in his hand had a Grey and Green color. Surprisingly enough, he rarely repeated abination of books, but most of the time, he could be seen with two books in his hand.


    Whenever he was free, he could be seen reading the two books simultaneously. Unfortunately, the books were nk from the cover. There were no names on the books, only covers, so no one knew what these books were.


    As Vega left, on the other side of the secret corridor, the secret crystal container was still working. The person inside the container was still floating, without any movement.


    ...


    Vega finally approached the exit of the facility where the battle was taking ce. As he left, he saw the ash on the ground and a few burn marks.


    As for Caen and the others, they were still standing on the side.


    He looked ahead only to grow surprised.

 Chapter 152 - 152: Sense Stealer

    <h4>Chapter 152 - 152: Sense Stealer </h4>


    Vega looked at Caen and said softly, "Caen, hold my books for me."


    Caen was stunned to hear Vega¡¯s voice behind him, but he responded and took the book off of his hand.


    Vega was finally free to interfere.


    ...


    The kids were just killed by Xander, and he still didn¡¯t stop as he again used his abilities to create a firestorm that came out of the ground and spread in all the directions, making it impossible for Lucifer to dodge.


    Lucifer finally decided against dodging and chose to trust his healing as he flew towards Xander while firing a few Dark Lightning Bolts towards him.


    The Lightning Bolts moved faster than the firestorm and reached Xander.


    Xander didn¡¯t fluster at the iing attack; instead, he also flew in the sky, stunning everyone.


    "What the heck? He can also use his powers to fly? I never knew about this?" Henrik said, surprised.


    Caen also seemed a bit stunned but replied to Henrik as he said, "It¡¯s surprising but not impossible. He is using his mes to help him fly. Pretty clever, actually, but I must also praise his control and efficiency. This wouldn¡¯t be easy."


    Xander dodged the thunderbolts, but it was different for Lucifer. The firestorm wasn¡¯t dodged, which swallowed Lucifer whole.


    Despite being swallowed by the zing firestorm, Lucifer didn¡¯t stop flying even though his skin was burning.


    His healing had also starteding into effect, fiercely working to keep up with the burning. Unfortunately, iit seemed like it was having a hard time keeping up as the destruction of Lucifer¡¯s skin kept increasing with time.


    The fireproof vest of Lucifer also couldn¡¯t keep up against the me as it burned down. His pants, on the other hand, were still intact, but not because they were resisting the fire.


    The mes were too strong for even the Cardigan Particles, which was why all the mes were passing through to Lucifer with a little bit of decreased intensity.


    Since Lucifer¡¯s pants were decreasing the damage of the mes constantly, the damage to his legs was less than the top half of his body which was why his lower half was having an easier time as his healing was keeping up.


    Lucifer¡¯s skin looked entirely burned, and at some spots, his bones could also be seen.


    Ignoring all the damage to him, Lucifer had a n. He wanted to get close to Xander because he had an advantage in speed. As long as he caught up, he was going to make sure this guy suffered. In any case, he had removed his gloves which were safe in his pockets now.


    Lucifer soon came out of the firestorm with his speed, but another firestorm appeared between him and Xander, which he also entered without a second thought.


    He wanted to take the shortest route possible to get to Xander because it didn¡¯t allow Xander to keep up the distance between the two.


    Lucifer also passed through the second firestorm, at which point he seemed nothing more than a skeleton with an extremely little amount of mass on his body.


    Tissues of his body could be seen twisting and turning as his muscles healed. The speed of his healing had increased a bit more after he entered the me storm, which further proved his theory.


    The more damage he took, the harder his healing had to work, which increased the strength of his healing.


    It was the same as Caen had said. Variants needed to increase the efficiency of using their powers. That didn¡¯t mean their abilities became strong at their core, but this meant they were able to draw more fraction of its total potential.


    That¡¯s why it was said that the more a Variant used their powers, the more their efficiency and strength increased ording to their potential and grade.


    Unlike the offensive or defensive powers, healing was a passive skill that couldn¡¯t be used.


    It worked on its own whenever he was hurt, so the best way to increase the efficiency and make himself stronger was to go through heavy damage. That was the only way he believed he could have strong healing.


    And that scheme was working as his healing had improved even more. Now it was healing him faster.


    But he didn¡¯t care about it as he was busy trying to kill the man who wanted to kill him.


    Seeing Lucifer not stop even after all this, Xander kept moving back as he brought more firestorms, but he already knew that he had used his strongest mes.


    If Lucifer hadn¡¯t died even after all that, then something was really wrong. His healing was the obstruction here.


    Xander already knew that Lucifer¡¯s healing was going to create a problem, but his mes were too strong. He didn¡¯t believe that any healing was able to keep up and stop his mes from making Lucifer into cinders.


    His me was obviously destroying Lucifer and at a faster pace than his healing could match, but still, it was taking much longer than it should.


    If it kept going like that, Lucifer was soon going to be turned to ash, but that soon was still a few minutes away. He knew he needed to stay away and continue those attacks for the next few minutes.


    Unfortunately, Lucifer¡¯s attack was making it hard for him to move. He was barely dodging the thunderbolts that were fired one after another.


    The distance between Lucifer and Xander kept decreasing until Lucifer was finally within two meters of Xander.


    Unfortunately, at this time, something happened. Xander had just dodged to move away while bringing another firestorm when he realized that everything turned ck.


    He couldn¡¯t see anything! It was as if he had suddenly gone blind as his eyes went pitch ck.


    "Why did his eyes go ck? He looks like a confused lost sheep," Henrik asked Caen, who now had two books and a diary in his hand.


    "It¡¯s the work of Vega," Caen replied. "His A-Rank [Sense Stealer] can steal any one sense of the person he chooses. Even though the effects are temporary, that should be enough for now."

 Chapter 153 - 153: Ending Xander

    <h4>Chapter 153 - 153: Ending Xander </h4>


    "I think Vega stole Xander¡¯s sense of sight momentarily, but Xander is strong. The effect shouldn¡¯tst for more than a minute, I think," he further added.


    As Xander went blind, he couldn¡¯t see Lucifer, but he still remembered Lucifer¡¯s trajectory when he was approaching him.


    He believed Lucifer was so blind in anger that he was going toe straight. In his mind, he made a few calctions and reached out his hand in the direction he decided.


    Surprisingly, his aim happened to be right as Lucifer was actually there. His handnded on Lucifer¡¯s chest, but Lucifer also caught his hand at the same with his boney hands.


    Now there was no way for anyone to dodge any attack, but Lucifer didn¡¯t fire the lightning bolt. Instead, he used his Decay. He was starting to feel tired. He wanted to use his decay to give him strength and make him able to go on for longer.


    As Lucifer started using his Decay, Xander also used all his strength to create his fire that moved straight through Lucifer¡¯s chest, burning him even faster. Even Lucifer¡¯s bone had started being destroyed at the moment.


    At the same time, Lucifer¡¯s Decay also activated, which sent an extreme pain inside Xander, which made him groan in pain as he felt like his body was being destroyed. He tried to move back and free his hand, but Lucifer¡¯s strong grip was keeping him in ce.


    Xander¡¯s body slowly started turning old while his life energy entered Lucifer.


    Absorbing the life energy of a strong warlock like Xander worked miracles as Lucifer was seemingly able to keep up with the damage now.


    He could feel his Healing working like it never did, for the first time, overwhelming the mes.


    The damage of the mes was finally being matched by his healing as his bones recovered at the same speed as they were destroyed.


    Unfortunately, Xander didn¡¯t have healing, and he seemed to be struggling as his breathing had slowed down.


    With his body getting weak, his mes had also be weaker as he wasn¡¯t able to use his full potential. His young-looking face was already covered in wrinkles.


    As the mes weakened, Lucifer¡¯s healing started looking even superior as the damage was less than the healing now. Not only had his bones recovered, but his muscles had also started healing now as he was looking less like a skeleton.


    ...


    Ayn found Xander in danger as he was caught by Lucifer, but the situation only worsened as Xander was growing weaker.


    She could see that Xander was being overwhelmed by Lucifer. She was surprised at Lucifer¡¯s skills to overwhelm Xander, but she also knew that she needed to interfere. If she didn¡¯t interfere, Xander was going to die!


    She packed her fist once again as she punched the ground. The ground once again started shaking.


    Within a second of her punch, a few Giant Ice Swords came out from under Lucifer, who was just a few meters above the ground. They came from different points, making sure that Lucifer couldn¡¯t dodge in the direction of Xander.


    The only path left for him was to dodge back while freeing Xander if he wanted to survive.


    Lucifer, fortunately, saw the swords and realized that if he was hit, he might be cut in half. He needed to dodge.


    Without thinking twice, he used his Wind Control to fly back as he dodged the sword that had almost reached him. He also had to free Xander, or both his hands would have been sliced.


    The giant swords kepting out of the ground. Unfortunately, even after he dodged, the ankle of his right leg was cut.


    Lucifer also didn¡¯t leave this opportunity as he knew that this was done to save Xander. He wasn¡¯t going to let it happen after all this.


    He raised his right hand even though he was flying almost horizontally with his stomach facing the sky.


    He used his brain as he looked towards the sword, and after making a prediction, he fired a lightning bolt, having the maximum strength he could conjure.


    The sky roared crazily once again as the pitch-ck thunderbolt reached the Crystal Sword, shattering the strongest ice to pieces before the thunderbolt continued on its path.


    "Noo!"


    Ayn yelled as she saw her Ice Sword shatter but not because Lucifer had broken her Ice Sword. She yelled because she could see the trajectory of the thunderbolt. It was flying straight towards Xander.


    Xander was still unable to see, but he was free now. He was just about to use his mes to fly. Even though the mes and he was considerably weaker, he knew he had to do it, or he was going to crash on the ground.


    Unfortunately, before he could even do anything, the sound of crystal shattering fell in his ears soon before a thunderbolt prated his chest.


    Lucifer was also without his right foot that was cut from the ankle as hended on the ground.


    Vega appeared near Lucifer as he said, "We should leave. You¡¯re hurt as well. This isn¡¯t the time to fight to the death."


    Lucifer looked at Vega before he nodded his head.


    "Henrik! Make the tunnel!" Caenmanded.


    Henrik listened to him and created a tunnel inside which Lucifer entered. Since Lucifer didn¡¯t have his right foot, he was using his Wind to be able to move without falling.


    The battle hade to a sudden halt as Ayn started running towards Xander, who was lying unmoving.


    Blood wasing out of his lips as his ck eyes finally returned to normal. The effect of Vega¡¯s powers was over. It seemed a bit toote, though.


    The Variant Uprising members also started leaving in the opposite direction. Even Dion didn¡¯t attack Ayn, whose back was facing him as he turned back and started leaving.


    Even though he had an advantage, he knew that short advantage needed to be left to have a bigger advantage in the future. He needed to stick with the n.


    The APF members also stopped the battle. It seemed like an unofficial ceasefire had taken shape with Xander getting hurt and Vega and Lucifer leaving.


    Ayn had also separated herself from the battle in worries over Xander¡¯s safety.

 Chapter 154 - 154: Last Great War

    <h4>Chapter 154 - 154: Last Great War </h4>


    The Variant Uprising Members entered the helicopters while some stayed outside to keep an eye on the enemies until Vega and the others arrived.


    Through the tunnel that Henrik had made, Lucifer, Caen, and the others started advancing towards the helicopters that were waiting for them on the other end of the tunnel.


    "Caen," Vega said as he raised his left hand towards Caen while walking right beside him.


    Caen, understanding the gesture, returned the two books and the diaries to Vega.


    "How are you feeling now? Your leg."


    After receiving the books, Vega looked at Lucifer and asked a few questions regarding Lucifer¡¯s health.


    Lucifer was moving without using his legs. It seemed as if he was floating in the air as he advanced forward. As for his leg, it had also healed for the most part.


    As for his muscles and tissues, they had also healed mostly, and he was looking more like a human and less like a zombie now.


    His long silver hair had also grown back to their usual size.


    "I am fine," Lucifer replied as he nced at his legs and his body.


    "That¡¯s better. Though I must say, the Cardigan Particles worked just as expected. Everything else is destroyed, that jacket, the t-shirt, and everything but the pants are still intact and looking like new," Vega said, smiling.


    Lucifer was bare-chested, but the pants were still intact, which he also realized. Even though the pants survived by transferring the damage to him, that wasn¡¯t bad.


    In any case, if the pants hadn¡¯t transferred the damage to his legs, his pants would have been destroyed, and the damage would still have affected his legs after that.


    So not being destroyed while decreasing the damage was much better than being destroyed to stop the damage entirely for a moment and then leaving him without any protection.


    "Yeah. These are good. If these weren¡¯t here, my gloves would have been destroyed as well," Lucifer responded as he used his hands to bring out the Gloves from the pocket of his pants that were still intact.


    He wore the gloves in his hands once again.


    "Yeah. Keep the gloves safe," Caen said.


    Lucifer¡¯s legs werepletely healed by now, and he had stopped flying as hended on the ground and continued walking.


    As the calm returned, Caen got back to his subtle influencing.


    "Anyway, you saw their actions, right? They im to fight for bnce, but that Xander didn¡¯t think twice before he killed all those innocent kids while trying to kill you. And even after all that, they had no regret on their faces," Caen said.


    "Just like that, if there were human kids there instead, you would have seen all of them crying. I¡¯m sure of that. But only because the ones who died were Variants, no one cared."


    "That¡¯s why APF and all other so-called Variants had be. ves of humans. It¡¯s such a pity that we couldn¡¯t save these young Variants. They finally had a chance of freedom, but that Xander and APF took it from them. "


    "You did good by killing him. I¡¯m proud of you. You¡¯re such a new addition to our family, but you have even killed one of the APF Leaders. Soon, you¡¯ll be a Warlock King."


    As Caen started talking, his team members also chimed in, talking bad about APF while praising Lucifer.


    It was wrong to say that it didn¡¯t have the smallest bit of effect on Lucifer. He was actually believing their words. And from what he saw, he had no reason to doubt their words.


    Vega was asionally ncing at Lucifer, seeing his violet eye that had once again be bluer. The violet now was so subtle that one had to look carefully from close up to see it.


    He had many questions in his mind, but he knew that he was not going to get the answers from out of thin air.


    He needed to investigate himself. Where was Lucifer born? What happened that day? And how many strange things happened around him in his first five years of life. All these questions were important to know if this one blue and one violet eye meant something special or was it just a horrifying coincidence.


    Because if it was true and not a coincidence, they had only two options. One was to kill Lucifer right now. And the other option was to make him appreciate them so much that he actually started thinking about them like his family so that when the timees, the Variant Uprising won¡¯t go extinct.


    He had previously thought that Lucifer was a normal kid, but he awakened his powers because of his parents. He was already an anomaly because of waking up with so many powers, but that wasn¡¯t impossible, so it didn¡¯t bring any suspicions on Vega¡¯s face previously.


    He hadn¡¯t researched about Lucifer¡¯s past beyond his time in the facility. Now he knew that it was a must before it was toote.


    Moreover, they also needed to be more careful since the APF was now going to be after Lucifer like a bloodhound, not to capture him but to kill him.


    And if it wasn¡¯t because Lucifer had killed Xander or because he was working for the Variant Uprising but because of this revtion about the eyes.


    The eyes that werest seen in the Great War when Dungeon Dwellers had appeared for the first time. The legend of the eyes that was seen as a myth by most of the people but only the ones that actually saw it that day knew the truth.


    In the Great War, many of them had taken part, but only a few of them had seen these eyes.


    As for the ones that had seen it, there were only six of them at that time. Varant, Zale, risse, Zeiss, Raia, and one more Variant.


    While Varant, Zale, risse, Zeiss, and Raia didn¡¯t talk about this thing, the sixth person spoke, and that was how this story spread amongst a certain group of people.

 Chapter 155 - 155: Four Kings Conflict

    <h4>Chapter 155 - 155: Four Kings Conflict </h4>


    The Great War with the Dungeon Dwellers before which everything seemed perfect. It was said that there was no risk from the dungeons that had suddenly appeared long ago. Every person lived their life to the fullest without any fear of the Dungeon.


    And then, everything changed suddenly as the Great War happened. Fortunately, after a bit of luck, the great war ended in their victory.


    After that, things started changing as Raia started seeing the opposite end of the spectrum and how Variants were superior.


    All the machinery of humans had failed. Only because of Variants did the humans win. So Variants were superior. They should have been incharge of the government and have power, he believed.


    He expressed this desire and demanded that Variants be given control of the country and that they will keep humans safe, but the humans refused. Even Varant and Zeiss sided with the humans.


    ording to them, Variants already had the strength, and thus, to bring bnce, it was important that Humans had some control too.


    As for Zale, he didn¡¯t interfere in the discussion since he didn¡¯t care who made the government. This political stuff was boring for him, and he left the meeting, yawning.


    Even Zale didn¡¯t know that the meeting was going to get so bad. Enraged, Raia had killed one of the human representatives in the meeting in his anger, and that brought a big battle.


    Zeiss and Varant faced off against Raia. Alone and at a disadvantage, Raia left.


    And thus, humans retained power.


    Raia made his own organization with like-minded Variants that believed in the same goal.


    Humans kept the government and made the Hunter Union, themand of which was given to Zeiss. APF was also created soon after, seeing the troubles that Raia was creating, and themand of that was given to Varant.


    And thus, the status quo of today came to be. Even at that time, Raia was alone against the two Warlock Kings. Even now, he was alone against the two Warlock Kings who believed he was wrong.


    There existed only one person who could have turned this disadvantage into an advantage for Raia. It was Zale Azarel. If only Zale had joined him.


    He had sent an invitation to Zale to join the Variant Uprising as the Second Leader, in an equal position to Raia. He even went there personally. Not only him, but Zeiss had also given Zale the invitation to join the Hunter Union and be its second leader.


    Zale refused both of them kindly, saying he wanted to be free and not join any side. He was going to do whatever he believed was right at whatever point he liked.


    As for Varant, he was a bit different. He went to Zale with a bit of arrogance when he offered; he didn¡¯t offer to make Zale the second leader of APF. Instead, he offered to have him join his Alpha Squad while Varant was still going to be the only leader and retain the power.


    Zale once again refused, but this time, he was also a bit upset. Fortunately, he didn¡¯t argue with Varant and straight away rejected.


    But that didn¡¯t seem to be enough as a few sharp words from Varant led to a sh between the two in which Varant suffered his first defeat! It was the only defeat he had received until then, and even now, it remained his only defeat.


    He didn¡¯t fight Zale again, though. He also didn¡¯t offer Zale to join his team again and left.


    Everyone believed that Zale wasn¡¯t joining any organization because he wanted to make one of his own. And this was worrisome news since the poprity of Zale Azarel was at an all-time high after his victory over Varant. Moreover, he was an idol of a lot of Variants.


    It was clear that if he made an organization, many people were going to join, and it was going to be one of the strongest powers in the country.


    Even the government seemed a bit worried. Zale wasn¡¯t joining their side. If he made a third front and if they joined with Raia, everything was going to be over


    The concerns of everyonested for a long time, but nothing like that happened. Zale didn¡¯t make any organization. Instead, he lived with his wife and his kid happily, like he was a normal dad. He only came out to help when there was an extreme need.


    One such need came when the government informed him of activity in a high-ranking level four dungeon. Something like this had never happened, and Zale needed to go there to kill monsters to bring the Monster Index down.


    As for Raia and Varant, they were busy amongst themselves. And the Hunter Union leader Zeiss was supposedly inside a different dungeon.


    No one had time to wait for Zeiss toe out, so the government and the Hunter Union begged Zale Azarel to help them and go inside the previously unexplored area.


    Some top Variants of Hunter Union were sent inside with Zale. As for his wife, she also went with him, leaving little Lucifer with the babysitter that used to live in a nearby house.


    That happened to be thest day when the world saw Zale Azarel and risse as the two didn¡¯t return. What returned was the news of their deaths.


    After their deaths, Lucifer was taken to the facility.


    That wasn¡¯t all. After Zale¡¯s death, all his wealth and his property were under the control of the government.


    Zale Azarel was plenty rich. In fact, he even owned the entire neighborhood where he had lived. If he wanted, he could have lived in a mansion with that wealth, but he still lived in the same old house that he had inherited from his father.


    As for the hundreds of houses in his neighborhood which he owned, he had allowed the unfortunate people who didn¡¯t own a house to live in them for free for as long as they wanted.

 Chapter 156 - 156: Weakness Of Caen

    <h4>Chapter 156 - 156: Weakness Of Caen </h4>


    After Zale¡¯s death, the houses were also taken over by the government. The poor people who lived there were told to evict since this ce was now to be sealed forever for some reason.


    After this, the neighborhood of Zale Azarel became empty with his death, and didn¡¯t see a soul there until Lucifer returned.


    Vega knew a few things like those, but now he wanted to delve in deeper into Lucifer¡¯s past before he was taken. From the moment he was born to the end of the moment he was taken.


    "Vega, we¡¯re at the end of the tunnel. We need to leave," Caen reminded Vega, who was still lost in thoughts.


    Vega came out of his thoughts and jumped outside. Lucifer, Caen, and the others followed behind as they also left.


    While Lucifer entered in a helicopter with Caen and his team like before, Vega and the others entered their respective ones before they started leaving.


    Even while leaving, thest helicopter was Dion¡¯s, who was keeping an eye on the back.


    The APF members watched the helicopters of their enemies leave as a mist started surrounding the helicopters, making them unable to see them.


    All that was left on the battlefield was a bunch of disappointed APF members who were watching the enemies leave. Their morale was down as well.


    They could also see many bodies lying all around the field, unmoving. Some of the bodies were APF members who had died in the battle, while the others belonged to the Variant Uprising members whose bodies were left behind.


    One of their leaders was fighting death because he was hurt by a kid. Their second leader had also retreated from the fight,pletely ignoring the enemies because of Xander. As for their Main Leader, Varant, he didn¡¯t even show up.


    ....


    "Xander! Don¡¯t close your eyes! You¡¯ll be fine! Just keep your eyes open! There are some medical facilities inside! We¡¯ll help you! Don¡¯t lose hope! Nothing will happen to you!" Ayn told Xander as she picked him up before she started carrying him to the facility straight ahead.


    "Mitali! Jackson! Reo! Come with me!" She yelled loudly. At her yell, three Variants of her team started following after her. These were the people that had medical knowledge.


    ...


    As the helicopters were flying, Caen sat down beside Lucifer, still in the disguise of Xander.


    "Are you going to change that look or not?" Lucifer asked Caen.


    "I forgot about that entirely," Caen said as he stood up. He took off the robe before he once again ced his fingers on both his cheeks and started changing his face.


    This time, however, he changed to look like a woman that Lucifer had never seen before.


    "A woman? Why are you disguised as that now? Get back to your real look," Lucifer told Caen as he looked at the woman before him in confusion.


    The Woman seemed like a model who was in herte twenties. Her waist was slim, while her hands looked thin. Even her chest was small, making her look different from Ayn and Isona, who both had pretty decent sized breasts.


    "That look? Don¡¯t worry, that wasn¡¯t my real look," Caen replied as he sat beside Lucifer.


    "This is your real look? You were a woman?¡¯ Lucifer asked, confused.


    "Not really. This isn¡¯t my real look either. Unfortunately, I can¡¯t get back to my real look since my powers don¡¯t let me."


    "Moreover, I can only stay in a look for a certain period of time. That look was already near expiry. This is the new look I will have for a little while," Caen said, who was now a woman.


    Lucifer even seemed confused now. What was Caen in reality?


    "Was your real look of a man or a woman?" Lucifer asked.


    "I don¡¯t remember, actually. The first time I used this power, I forgot what I was before. I did have my memories, but I don¡¯t remember anything about my looks or what I was," Caen answered, sighing.


    This time, however, he was lying. He did know about his real look, and he could even get back to it. He just didn¡¯t want to do it. No one knew what he actually looked like, and he didn¡¯t want anyone to know either.


    Moreover, he wanted to make Lucifer stop asking him to get to his real look, so he made up this story.


    More than half the things this time he said to Lucifer were actually a lie.


    Also, he could certainly get back to the old look that he had before Xander, but he wanted to use this opportunity to make Lucifer familiar with his changing looks since he was starting to get bored in that one look.


    "I understand," Lucifer replied as he stopped talking. He started looking to the other side, unsure how he should treat it now. Caen felt like an entirely different person.


    When Caen had told him about his familyst time, Lucifer felt it was genuine. He also didn¡¯t feel that he was lying when he talked badly about the APF. But this time, Lucifer had a feeling that Caen wasn¡¯t being honest.


    This feeling was very strong inside him, and this was making him upset. He once again remembered that every person had a goal of their own. No one was going to do anything for another person for no reason. It wasn¡¯t as if he was actually rted to Caen and the Variant Uprising.


    Caen also sat silent and didn¡¯t say anything since he didn¡¯t believe he could say anything of value.


    Repeating about APF? If he talked too much, it would be annoying to Lucifer, and it¡¯ll make him upset. Asking him how he was feeling? He had already done that.


    After ten minutes, Caen finally thought of something and decided to ask Lucifer.


    "What do you like to do? Do you have any hobbies? Like ying, singing, or dancing?" Caen asked, but he soon closed his mouth.


    *****


    [Author Note:


    (This note is added after the publishing of chapter so it won¡¯t increase the coin cost)


    Thanks everyone for still reading the story and sticking with it. Now that things have settled down with the story release rate, I have news for you.


    Iwould start releasing bonus chapters every Monday.


    As for the number of bonus chapters, that will depend on the powerstones this Story gets in a week.


    For every Five Hundred Powerstones, there will be one bonus chapters every Monday.


    500 PS: One bonus chap


    1000 PS: Two bonus chaps


    And so on.


    So please consider giving your powerstones to this story. Every powerstones matters. Thank you. ]

 Chapter 157 - 157: Mystery Of Zales Death

    <h4>Chapter 157 - 157: Mystery Of Zale''s Death </h4>


    ¡¯Oh god, that sounds so cringy. In my mind, it sounded much better,¡¯ he thought.


    Lucifer looked back at Caen as if he was watching a weird person. Dancing and Singing? Did this person really think he could be into ying, dancing, and singing after his past?


    He hadn¡¯t even yed a single game in thest five years. As for singing, he only sang a few times when he was much younger. It was when his mother sang children¡¯s songs with him. Dancing? Hell no! That was so embarrassing.


    "Ignore my examples. I know those were stupid. But yeah, what are your hobbies? Something that you find peace in doing?" Caen asked.


    "I have no hobbies. Unless you count watching the door in the small room where I was kept for five years," Lucifer replied softly as he nced out the window.


    "Caen, do you know what happened to my father and mother?" Lucifer finally asked the question that was in his mind for five years. Many people had given him answers, but no answer was satisfying enough for him.


    "They couldn¡¯t die like that. What happened to them?" He further asked.


    "I don¡¯t know what happened to them. I don¡¯t think anyone knows what happened to them, but we do have a theory," Caen said, frowning.


    "What theory?" Lucifer asked.


    "The dungeon your parents had entered with their team; apparently, one person left that dungeon alive. That¡¯s what the leaving footprints of one person prove from what we can see."


    "Now, we believe that the person was someone who was in the team of your parents and went inside with them," Caen answered.


    "Zale Azarel was too strong. I doubt he would be killed by a monster unless some really extraordinary one appeared like..." Caen said as he nced at Lucifer, but he didn¡¯t finish his sentence.


    "We believe that one of his team members betrayed him and killed him when he was distracted by a monster. That teammate was the only one who was left alive, I think," He further said.


    "Now, the Hunter Union and the APF want to me us for that because we¡¯re the biggest obstruction in their path. They want to turn the variants against us by using your parents¡¯ death, but we know we didn¡¯t do it."


    "The only person who had any benefit from your father¡¯s death was Varant. He is the leader of APF. He was defeated by your father, and that most certainly hurt his ego."


    "As long as your father lived, that defeat reminder kept echoing in his heart, I think. So he nned your father¡¯s death by using his friend Zeiss, who is the leader of Hunter Union!"


    "The Hunter Union was the one that asked your father to go in. And it was also the one that sent its members with your father."


    "As for the reason they asked your father, it was said that Zeiss was in a different dungeon. But that seems highly coincidental. When the Hunter Union needed a strong Warlock; Zeiss wasn¡¯t there? It¡¯s too suspicious."


    "It was probably a scheme by them to give your father a reason to go inside where he could be betrayed and killed," Caen said.


    "Zeiss and Varant..." Lucifer muttered as he memorized these two names.


    There were two sides, and each had a different story. He needed to find the truth for himself. He needed to understand how his father died. He wanted to know who was responsible and who needed to die now.


    He didn¡¯t speak anything else and just kept staring outside the window.


    ...


    The helicopters kept flying through the unknown routes before they finally reached that unknown desert. The opening once again appeared in the ground, inside which the helicopters entered.


    As soon as the helicopters entered the opening, it closed, returning to the desert again. If someone flew from above, they wouldn¡¯t have known that there was something in this desert.


    As the helicoptersnded inside the base of APF, everyone stepped out of them.


    Isona stepped out of the helicopter and saw Lucifer walking with ady that she didn¡¯t remember seeing. It didn¡¯t take much time for her to realize who thisdy was.


    Isona walked towards thedy and Lucifer before shemented, "Caen, you once again changed your looks? I must say, you¡¯re looking like a sexydy," Isona chuckled as she taunted Caen.


    "Let me drop you to your room. You need rest." Caen ignored Isona and instead talked to Lucifer, who was standing right beside him.


    He took Lucifer with him, leaving Isona behind before he entered the lift.


    Isona gazed at Lucifer¡¯s back as he was leaving before she smiled.


    "He is actually a bit like her. Not only from looks but other features as well," she softly said before she left as well, along with Vega and Dion.


    Everyone was going to have some rest before it was going to be another meeting to review about the battle.


    ...


    "Sir Lucifer, you¡¯re back."


    As soon as Lucifer and Caen stepped out of the room, they were greeted by a young green-haired man.


    "Draco, go and bring some food for Lucifer. He came from a battle. He must be tired. Oh, and also bring some clothes for him," Caen told the green-haired man as he continued walking without stopping.


    "Ah, you¡¯re Sir Caen?" Draco asked in surprise. He was wondering who thisdy was.


    "Yeah. Now don¡¯t dy," Caen repliedzily.


    "Yes, Sir." Draco nodded before he entered the lift and went upstairs.


    Caen brought Lucifer to his room, but he didn¡¯t enter.


    "Draco will be here soon. Eat up and rest. I¡¯lle to talk to youter," Caen said before he left, not even opening the door for Lucifer.


    Lucifer nced back at Caen, watching him lever before he opened the door and stepped inside the room.


    He sat on his bed, going through what had happened, now that he finally had some alone time where he could think clearly.

 Chapter 158 - 158: First Time

    <h4>Chapter 158 - 158: First Time </h4>


    Lucifer was sitting on his bed, looking down.


    He was still lost in thoughts. On the battlefield, many emotions were going through his heart, so he didn¡¯t think much and just did things that he believed were right at the moment, but now that he had some time, he realized that there were many questions that were left unanswered.


    "What did blue and violet eyes mean? Both his eyes were blue as far as he remembered. So why did Xander say something different?"


    And even if he said the wrong colors of his eyes, why was he and everyone else so shocked? Just what was so special about this? He had seen quite a few people with different eye colors. Some had red, some ck, and some even green.


    Why did the color of his eyes matter so much?


    But that wasn¡¯t the biggest question in his head. The biggest question was still about his parents? What actually happened to them?


    He knew that he wasn¡¯t going to get the correct answers here. And even if he did, he couldn¡¯t know if they were lying or telling the truth since they¡¯ll certainly not tell the truth if they were wrong.


    As for APF, they were thirsty for his blood, but he didn¡¯t care. He could still kidnap a few APF members if he wanted, but what then? The chances of any low-ranking member knowing about his father were non-existent.


    The only one who could know was Varant and that too, if he was actually involved but getting to Varant seemed impossible.


    Moreover, it wasn¡¯t as if he could get answers in exchange for the lives of APF members. He had tried this once before, and even then, Xander had managed to lie to him. These people had no conscience, so this was going to be a wasted effort.


    "I need time and a n. Just as Caen said, the things that can¡¯t be achieved with strength can be achieved with schemes. I need to be scheming like them and start thinking like someone who has no strength, only brain," Lucifer muttered as heid down on the bed and covered his eyes with his palms.


    "Think... What can I do to get my answers," he said as he tried to think.


    But no n came to his mind. All his brain was adjusted to was using his strength to get what he wanted and not nning.


    "How did the Variant Uprising n? They used the Predictor¡¯s prophecy to get to a n. Once they knew what the enemy was going to do, they came to a n."


    " I also need to know the reactions of my actions so I can n. It needs to have a thorough n without any loophole. Something that will help me massively."


    While Lucifer was talking to himself, there was a knock on his door.


    He stood up and opened the door to find Draco there. Draco was carrying some clothes for him while thedies behind him were carrying some food.


    "Sir Lucifer, here are the clothes for you. You can get dressed. As for the food, where should I get it ced? In your room or in the garden like before?" Caen asked, frowning.


    "The room is fine. ce it on the bed and leave," Lucifer replied as he took the clothes from Caen.


    The clothes that were brought by Draco contained a ck shirt and white pants.


    Lucifer ced the white pants on the side before he wore the t-shirt. He didn¡¯t need different pants since the ones made from Cardigan Particles were enough for him at the moment. They were the perfect pants for him, so he didn¡¯t want to remove them. They weren¡¯t dirty anyway.


    cing the food on the table, Draco and thedies started leaving, but before Draco could step out, he stopped and turned back.


    "I am an idiot. How could I forget this?" He muttered as he sighed.


    He brought out a bottle from his pocket and walked back inside as he ced it on the table.


    "What¡¯s the bottle?" Lucifer asked.


    "It¡¯s the shampoo. You rub your hair with that to keep them in good condition during the shower. You would be taking a shower, right? I figured that you might be needing it," Draco said before he turned to leave.


    "Sham...poo?" Lucifer muttered as he stared at the bottle. He didn¡¯t remember using something like this before. He did shower when he was at the facility, but he was only given a in white soap, no shampoo.


    He wondered how it was used.


    ¡¯He said I rub it on my hair. I should try today,¡¯ Lucifer thought as he picked up the bottle.


    He closed the door after the guests left before he walked straight into the shower after taking off his clothes.


    He turned on the shower before he opened the bottle.


    As Lucifer opened the bottle, he realized that he was still wearing the gloves but he also couldn¡¯t remove them unless he wanted to destroy this shampoo.


    He decided to shower with the gloves.


    Opening the bottle, he turned the entire liquid inside the bottle on top of his head before he started rubbing.


    He didn¡¯t know how much he should have used, so he used a bit too much.


    As he rubbed his hair, he didn¡¯t turn off the overhead shower, making the entire thing wash off before he could even rub properly, but the bit that was left became foamy, covering his entire head and his long hair.


    Some of it even entered in his eyes, making him feel like his eyes were burning. He hastily washed his eyes before he stopped rubbing the foamy shampoo and let his hair get cleaned by the water.


    "This thing sucks. Why do people even use it? My eyes were burning! Was this a scheme of theirs to hurt me?" Lucifer muttered as he looked at the bottle of the shampoo. He swore to himself that he was never going to use this thing.


    He only used the soap to wash his body before he stepped out of the bathroom and dried himself before getting dressed again.

 Chapter 159 - 159: Unseen Side Of Varant

    <h4>Chapter 159 - 159: Unseen Side Of Varant </h4>


    Lucifer had finished eating, and now he was lying on the bed, trying to get some sleep in peace. After eating up, he finally felt like he was alive. Otherwise, slight weakness was starting to set in.


    He didn¡¯t know why, but his hunger was slowly only increasing with time from what he could feel. He wondered if something was wrong with him. Or was it a natural part of growing up?


    Many thoughts floated in his head before Lucifer actually fell asleep, not even realizing when it actually happened.


    ...


    A helicopternded near the Dilion Research Facility from which a group of Seven Warlocks stepped out. Some of them looked injured as their clothes were covered in blood. Despite all that, the aura around them was that of a frightening beast.


    Seeing the group of seven approaching them, the Variants of APF were surprised before theynded on their knees and shouted in unison, "Supreme Captain Varant!"


    Varant looked towards the Variants that were here before he calmly asked, "Where is Xander? Take me to him."


    "Yes, Sir."


    One of the Variants stepped forward and started escorting Varant inside the facility to the ce where Xander was kept.


    After a few turns, Varant ended up in front of a medicalb of the facility, which had everything that a modern hospital might need to save a life.


    Varant pushed the door open and stepped inside to see a few Variants already standing here. Ayn was also inside this ce, staring at the red-haired man who was lying on a bed.


    The man was none other than Xander, who still had his eyes closed. His breathing was weak, but there was an oxygen mask on his face. A few wires were attached to his body to measure his condition constantly.


    As for the rest of his body, it was covered in a white nket.


    "Ayn, how is he now?" Varant asked Ayn as he stepped forward.


    "His condition isn¡¯t good. The damage to his body was too much. Even though he¡¯s alive, he¡¯s no better than dead," Ayn said, sighing.


    "Why? What happened?" Varant asked, frowning.


    "Xander... Went into aa. I don¡¯t know if and when he will awaken, but I doubt it will be soon. It¡¯s even possible that he will die while being in thea. The next few days are going to be crucial to keep him alive," Ayn replied.


    Hearing those words, Varant was taken aback. He stepped forward, getting closer to Xander before he sighed.


    He touched Xander¡¯s cheeks gently as he said, "Xander, you idiot. How can you end up in such a condition? Wake up fast so I can scold you again for being an idiot."


    "Who did it?" Varant asked, looking back at Ayn. "Vega or Dion?"


    "None of them. It was done by Lucifer," Ayn answered as she gazed at Xander.


    "That kid? He can now defeat Xander as well? How has his growth so fast?" Varant asked.


    "That¡¯s because he¡¯s not a normal kid. We know it now since we saw it in the battle. We saw... His one blue and one violet eye," Ayn told Varant, who seemed like he had received the shock of his life.


    "That bastard Zale! How could he do such a thing! Arghhh!" Varant seemed like he had lost himself in anger as he finally yelled.


    Not many people had seen Varant this enraged since he was always professional, but now, there seemed to be a different side of him.


    "Please tell me you¡¯re lying!" He said to Ayn.


    "I¡¯m not. Just when Lucifer was about to attack Xander, one of his eyes turned into violet," Ayn answered.


    "What was the sky like at that moment?" Varant asked impatiently.


    "It was covered with dark clouds and thunder," Ayn answered.


    "That bastard Zale! He actually did it! He actually did something so idiotic! How could he! He is such an idiot! A massive idiot. Moreover, he kept it hidden for so long!" Varant said in frustration as he left the room and punched the wall of the room on the other side, breaking it.


    "If he were alive, I would have killed him myself for doing this! I would have freaking killed him!" He roared.


    Ayn also stepped out of the room as she ced her hand on Varant¡¯s shoulder before she said, "Varant, please control yourself. We need a leader at a time like this. Not an angry man. Your calm is your strength."


    Varant took a deep breath before he said, "This Lucifer! I want him at any cost! And I want him dead. He can¡¯t stay alive! He can¡¯t be allowed to grow up! Or..."


    "Don¡¯t worry; we¡¯ll catch him. I¡¯ll take over this case for Xander now," Ayn answered Varant.


    "No, you won¡¯t! Now I will handle this case personally. None of you need to do anything. I¡¯ll do everything I need to. Variant Uprising can go fu*k itself. Lucifer will be the only priority for me," Varant said, showing another side of himself that was never seen before.


    Not a single person had seen him curse before, but even that happened today.


    "Sigh, fine. You handle it yourself," Ayn answered. "But can I ask, why are you thiste ining here? If you hade on time, you would be able to meet Lucifer."


    "I couldn¡¯t," Varant answered. "Raia and his team had attacked the city of ntra. I had to go there to stop him, and now I know why they attacked that ce. They wanted me away from here. Sneaky bastards."


    "Is ntra safe now?" Ayn asked, concerned.


    "Yeah, it¡¯s safe," Varant answered. "Half of it, at least."


    "And the other half?" Ayn asked.


    "It¡¯s destroyed," Varant answered.


    "What was the oue of your and Raia¡¯s battle? How many of them died?" Ayn asked. She didn¡¯t ask how many of their team members died since all seven of them were here.


    "There was no oue. Those bastards once again retreated," Varant answered. "I guess it was their n. Make us get there, keep us engaged, and then leave."

 Chapter 160 - 160: One Dream

    <h4>Chapter 160 - 160: One Dream </h4>


    "Will you kill Lucifer when you get him?" Ayn asked Varant.


    "I¡¯m not Xander who wanted him alive. But still, previously, I would have only erased his powers, but now, with the information about his eyes, he needs to die," Varant replied. He was finally calm now as he walked back inside the room where Xander was kept.


    "What about his healing? I saw it in action today. His healing is really strong. It was keeping up with the destruction of his body by Xander¡¯s mes. His healing is at least an S-Rank ability. How can you kill him?" Ayn inquired, curious.


    "I have my own ways," Varant said as he gazed at Xander. He seemed a bit sad to see Xander like this.


    "Gensi, contact the government and get the President on line. I need his help," Varant told one of his men as a n hatched in his head.


    ...


    Inside the Variant Uprising facility, Raia also returned. His team was also looking a bit tired, but none of them were injured.


    As for the Crazy Sword Emperor Tristan, he was still looking excited.


    "It was so fun! I want to do it again! When can we? Let¡¯s attack another city soon," he said as he hugged his katana, keeping it close to his heart.


    "We will do nothing. For the next few weeks, we won¡¯t do anything at all. Our focus is simple. Lucifer and making him a Warlock King by training him," Raia replied.


    "Can I train him then? Please, please, please?" Tristian asked, pleading. His eyes glinted in excitement.


    "There¡¯s no need. If I get you to train him, things will escte too much," Raia replied as he shook his head.


    "Then who will you choose to train him?" Tristian asked. "I am an expert. I can teach him the art of sword and many more things."


    "You can also teach him how to be crazy," Kellian calmly replied. "The kid is already crazy enough. We don¡¯t need more of that."


    "Tsk, you all just don¡¯t appreciate talent," Tristian said, rolling his eyes.


    "By the way, who will train him then?" Tristian asked.


    "He will be taught by many people but mainly by Kellian and Yaliza."


    "Kellian can teach him hand-to-handbat and many other skills. As for Yaliza, he can teach other skills that will help Lucifer win battles without having to rely on his powers," Raia answered.


    ....


    Another meeting was taking ce, which was attended by Vega, Isona, Caen and Dion.


    "So, can you tell me about those eyes? All I know is that they are bad news, and the appearance of those eyes is a disaster waiting for the world. Why, though? What are those eyes? What¡¯s the story behind it?" Caen asked Vega, trying to get an answer to his curiosity.


    He knew that those eyes were bad, and he had also heard the rumors that were heard by others. That¡¯s why he knew a bit about those eyes, but now that these had appeared, he wanted to hear more about them.


    "Even I don¡¯t know everything about them. Raia and five other people are the only ones who actually saw them before and know about them," Vega answered calmly.


    "Hahaha, Vega, you really are bad at lying. Raia told you everything, didn¡¯t he? Come on; we won¡¯t tell others," Isona replied. "Even Raia won¡¯t know about this if you told us."


    "Oh? What won¡¯t I know?" A calm yet powerful voice filled the room as the door opened.


    Raia, Kellian, and Yaliza entered the meeting room.


    Seeing Raiaing here, everyone present inside the room stood up, shocked.


    "No need to be surprised. Stay seated," Raia told everyone before he took a chair and sat down.


    "So, I heard the mission was a sess. What are you all talking about now, then? What do you want to know?" Raia asked, amused.


    "They want to know about the legend of the Blue and Violet eyes," Vega said softly.


    As soon as Raia heard it, a frown appeared on his face.


    "About that? Why?" He asked.


    "Because they appeared. And APF saw as well," Vega answered.


    "What nonsense are you talking about? How can those eyes be seen again?" Raia said firmly as he stood up.


    "They did. In Lucifer," Vega said before he started exining everything that had happened at the facility.


    "This... Howe I don¡¯t know about it. That Zale Azarel, he really was sneaky to keep this hidden from everyone. I¡¯m amazed, even after knowing all about these eyes, he still..."


    Raia rubbed his chin as he thought to himself.


    "Alright, this meeting is adjourned. Isona, Caen, Dion, you may leave," he said as he observed the three people.


    "Yes."


    Without thinking twice, the three left the room.


    "Alright, Vega, you already know about this, but don¡¯t tell it to anyone," Raia told Vega.


    "I won¡¯t," Vega answered.


    "Good. Now back to the topic of Lucifer. This appearance changes a few things. Now the APF will really be like a bloodthirsty hound. And if Varant approaches Zeiss, he coulde to help too. For the next few days, I wantplete istion of Uprising from the outside world."


    "What about Lucifer? How should we deal with him?" Vega asked.


    "Follow the old n. Make him strong but also dependant on us. He must think of us like family, and maybe we can achieve even more than I had nned. Lucifer Azarel can¡¯t be allowed to die," Raia told Vega before he stood up. "At any cost."


    "Understood."


    Raia started leaving, but he stopped just a few inches away from the door.


    "Oh, right. Kellian and Yaliza will train Lucifer. Tell this to the kid as kindly as possible. He should be ready of his own volition. No forcing him," Raia said before he left.


    ...


    Lucifer had fallen asleep, and over five hours had passed. After a long time, he had received such a peaceful sleep.


    As he slept, he even had a pleasant dream. No one knew, but this one dream was going to change the future of everyone.

 Chapter 161 - 161: Sudden Demand

    <h4>Chapter 161 - 161: Sudden Demand </h4>


    "I don¡¯t know; I don¡¯t feel good about leaving Lucifer behind."


    "Don¡¯t worry; the babysitter will take care of him. We need to control that Dungeon. Zeiss is busy. We need to help out, or many people will die."


    "You¡¯re right but still, sigh. Fine. We would be out for weeks, but I guess you¡¯re right. She should be able to take care of Lucifer."


    A man and a woman were talking to each other.


    The woman nced in the distance where a five-year-old kid was sitting. She walked up to the kid before touching his cute cheeks.


    "I¡¯m so sorry, Lucifer. But mamma and papa need to leave. We will be back pretty soon. You can stay without us, right? My baby is a big boy now, right?" Thedy asked the kid


    "Of course he is. He is my son after all," the manughed as he also approached. "I¡¯m sorry, son, but the world needs us. We won¡¯t be gone for long. And when wee, we¡¯re going to make it up to you."


    "How will you?" Thedy asked the man.


    "How about we take a vacation after that? Lucifer hasn¡¯t seen Orion Beach, right? Even though it¡¯s a bit far, it¡¯s a beautiful ce: the sunset, the wind, the water. Everything is just heavenly. My father used to take me there. I think we should go on a vacation there. It would be the best vacation," the man told thedy. "I want him to see that ce."


    "Orion beach, huh? You¡¯re right. That ce is pretty. I was also thinking about taking Lucifer there. We haven¡¯t taken many vacations anyways," thedy answered as she nodded.


    She picked up a bowl of soup and started feeding the kid with a spoon.


    The man opened his lips to speak.


    Knock! Knock! Knock!


    As soon as the man opened his lips, a sound of knocking came instead of the words.


    The man kept speaking, but no words came out, only a knocking sound.


    The boy looked in confusion. What was happening? Why was this knocking sounding? As the young boy was thinking, everything started turning blurry.


    "Father, what¡¯s happening!" The boy said, but it didn¡¯t seem like anyone could hear.


    "Father!" The boy again called out, but everything turned ck.


    "Father, wait!" Lucifer said as he reached out his hand.


    His eyes opened wide as he realized that he was only dreaming. He was still in the room at the Variant Uprising facility. This whole thing was just a dream, but it wasn¡¯t a fake dream.


    He finally remembered that it actually happened. He was just seeing the shback in his memories of hisst moment with his parents.


    As his eyes opened from sleep, he realized that the knocking sound was stilling. It wasing from the door as someone was knocking again and again.


    "These people... Broke my dream. I had finally seen my parents again, and now they¡¯re gone once more," Lucifer muttered as he tried to remember the dream again, but most of it was blurry now.


    He only remembered a few things about the dream.


    "Orion Beach... I should see the ce they wanted to take me. Theirst wish. Even though they can¡¯te with me, I will go. They wanted me to see, and I will, in any case," Lucifer muttered as he got off the bed and walked towards the door.


    He opened the door and asked, "What?"


    Draco was standing on the other end of the door.


    "Sir Lucifer, Sir Vega had called for you," Draco told Lucifer.


    "Alright. I¡¯ming," Lucifer said as he stepped out. He was already dressed, and he didn¡¯t need anything else to leave.


    He followed after Draco, who brought him inside a lift. Through the lift, they went up.


    Draco brought Lucifer to the room where Vega was waiting for him. The two entered the room to find Kellian and Yaliza sitting there too.


    This was the first time Lucifer was seeing them, so he seemed a bit curious.


    "Lucifer, please have a seat," Vega told Lucifer.


    Lucifer stepped forward and sat before Vega.


    "So, Lucifer, we-"


    Vega had only started speaking before Lucifer cut him off. "Wait."


    "What happened?" Vega asked.


    "I need food before I can talk," Lucifer answered.


    His answer was enough to make everyone inside the room go nk. What did he mean he needed food? It was an important meeting.


    "You want food?" Vega asked.


    "I had just woken up when I was called for this meeting. I¡¯m still hungry as I haven¡¯t eaten anything in a long time," Lucifer answered.


    "Hahaha," Vega burst intoughter, finding himself amused.


    He looked at Draco before he continued, "Alright, Draco, bring some food for our little guest."


    Draco left the room, still amazed at Lucifer. He was a kid, but he was like royalty here. He could say anything and do anything before the leaders, and no one could do anything to him.


    He believed that even if Lucifer killed him, the higher-ups weren¡¯t even going to scold Lucifer, let alone punishing him.


    It was clear, Lucifer was an unofficial leader in Variant Uprising now, just like Caen. And he could be even more in the future.


    "As he brings your food, shall we talk?" Vega asked Lucifer, smiling gently.


    "Yes."


    "So, Lucifer. First, let me introduce you to these two people. He is Kellian," Vega said as he pointed towards the knight-like gentleman on his left.


    He also pointed towards the dark-clothed man on the other end as he introduced, "He is Yaliza. They are two of our best fighters and high-ranking members of our family.


    Lucifer nced at the two of them, still confused. What was the purpose of this meeting? Was it rted to his eyes that had shocked even the APF? Were these people going to hurt him?


    "I want to talk to you about something too," Lucifer replied to Vega, expressing his thoughts too.


    "Huh? Sure. You go first," Vega said.

 Chapter 162 - 162: Welcoming Offer

    <h4>Chapter 162 - 162: Weing Offer </h4>


    "Rion! Are you still using the satellites for sightseeing?"


    In a big office, a woman was scolding a man who waszily sitting on a chair in front of theputer.


    The man was seeing the view of a mountain on theputer screen, but it wasn¡¯t normal. He wasn¡¯t using the public inte for it. He was actually using the government satellite for this.


    This was a government facility where the government used the satellites to keep an eye on a few target locations of interest.


    Unfortunately, there weren¡¯t many strict rules here.


    "Come on, watching a military weapon facility for eight hours straight; I was getting bored. I¡¯ll get back to it soon," the man replied.


    "Sigh, you always do this. You know, right? Using these things for personal use can get you in trouble. I¡¯ve seen you many times, looking at houses, mountains, forests, etc. When will you learn?" The woman scolded the man again.


    "Don¡¯t worry; this isn¡¯t personal use. This is the well-being of staff so that I can be more effective at workter on. So this is technically professional use. Moreover, I don¡¯t use it for these things for more than ten minutes in a day," the man replied.


    "Come on, give me some leeway. It¡¯s not like someone is going to rob the weapon facility in ten minutes. There are other security measures there as well," he continued.


    "Fine. Just don¡¯te crying when someone finds out," thedy replied before she turned back and left.


    The man got back to sightseeing through hisputer, unaware that his hobbies were going to be a mess for a lot of people.


    ...


    "I want to go to Orion Beach," Lucifer told Vega his desires.


    "Orion Beach? Why? What¡¯s there?" Vega asked, curious.


    "I want to fulfill thest wish of my parents. They wanted me to see that ce, and I¡¯ll see that ce," Lucifer answered.


    "But Lucifer, try to understand. We can¡¯t go there right now. After what just happened, the whole country will be under strict watch."


    "Your life will be in danger if you leave now. How about you wait for a few weeks? I promise I¡¯ll take you there personally after four weeks. How about that?" Vega asked, expressing concerns.


    "We¡¯re only worried about you. Please only listen to me this once," he insisted.


    Lucifer looked at the pleading Vega, not knowing what to say. He wanted to go there, but he didn¡¯t mean it right now. It wasn¡¯t this urgent. Vega misunderstood him.


    He was just telling Vega his desires so he could arrange for Lucifer to be taken there in the helicopterter.


    "Four weeks is too much. I can¡¯t sit idle for that long. Make it two weeks," Lucifer said.


    "I can¡¯t decrease the time. Four weeks is the least we should be careful for. But don¡¯t worry, you won¡¯t sit idle. You¡¯ll be training here," Vega answered while refusing Lucifer¡¯s offer. "For four weeks."


    "Training?" Lucifer inquired. "What training?"


    "Alright. Listen. We all know that you have strength. But sometimes therees a situation when we need to fight without strength."


    "Maybe we¡¯re in a situation where we can¡¯t expose our identity, and we still need to fight or anything else, but a person can¡¯t always depend on their strength."


    Vega started expressing his views as he stood up. "I believe you should take that training too. It would be best if you became a Warlock that can kill without using any abilities. You need to be able to defend yourself without strength."


    "Are you understanding what I¡¯m trying to say?" He asked. "For the next four weeks, we will train you in all forms of fighting, including the art of Sword. I know four weeks is too little for all this, but the training will be continued after you return from the beach? How¡¯s that?"


    ¡¯Fight training?¡¯ Lucifer thought as he frowned. ¡¯Do I need something like that?¡¯


    He gazed at his hand, wondering if he needed it. He wanted to learn to scheme. As for fighting without strength, that wasn¡¯t much useful for him. But still, it wasn¡¯t bad either since it coulde in handy in the future.


    "Lucifer, don¡¯t worry. We aren¡¯t forcing you. We¡¯ll only go through this if you ept it out of your own free will. If you say no, we¡¯ll drop this n. And don¡¯t worry, that doesn¡¯t affect anything. We¡¯ll still take you to the beach after four weeks," Vega told Lucifer with a genuine sounding tone.


    Raia had told him that Lucifer shouldn¡¯t feel ufortable from it. Vega was making it a weing offer where Lucifer had the choice to select.


    Lucifer kept thinking for quite some time before he finally agreed. "I ept. I¡¯ll train."


    "That¡¯s good. These two will be your teachers for the next few weeks," Vega said, grinning as he pointed towards Yaliza and Kellian. "The others will also contribute a bit to your training asionally. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll have fun."


    Kellian stood up and stepped closer to Lucifer before he reached out his hand.


    "We weren¡¯t here to wee youst time. But I¡¯m d we¡¯ll get to spend a lot of time together in the future. Wee to the team," he said calmly.


    Lucifer looked at his hands once again to make sure he was wearing the gloves before he also reached out his hand, finally shaking a person¡¯s hand.


    "I¡¯m back with food," Draco¡¯s voice entered the room mixed with the sound of the knocking.


    "Alright, Lucifer. Enjoy your feast. We¡¯ll be leaving now. Training will begin from tomorrow," Kellian said as he left, opening the door.


    "Wee to the team, Little Guy," Yaliza also greeted Lucifer before he also left after Kellian.


    "Best of luck for the training," Vega said before he also left.


    Draco ced the food on the table before Lucifer, who started eating.


    "Draco," Lucifer said as he ate.


    "Yes, Sir Lucifer?" Draco asked.


    "Tell me about Yaliza and Kellian. What kind of people they are. And are they good in battle?" Lucifer asked Draco.

 Chapter 163 - 163: Mystery Of Lucifers Birth

    <h4>Chapter 163 - 163: Mystery Of Lucifer''s Birth </h4>


    "What kind of people are Yaliza and Kellian?" Lucifer asked, curious about the people that were going to be training him.


    "Sir Yaliza and Sir Kellian are some of the strongest Warlocks of Variant Uprising. They¡¯re also the close friends of Sir Raia. They¡¯re very skilled, but they don¡¯t interact with many people here, so I don¡¯t know much about them other than that," Draco replied to Lucifer.


    "One of the strongest here. How strong is your Sir Raia in front of them?" Lucifer asked.


    "I¡¯m not sure about this, but if I were to guess, Sir Raia should be twice as strongpared to them. Or maybe a bit less? I¡¯m not in a position to know their strengths," Draco answered.


    "Twice as strong, huh? So if I am twice as strong as them, I should be as strong as Raia. And since Raia is equal to Varant, I should be equal to him too. So that¡¯s the scale of power," Lucifer muttered as he continued eating.


    He was going to be training with them. There, he believed he could see how strong they were to judge his own strength.


    During this entire time, Draco didn¡¯t leave since he couldn¡¯t leave Lucifer alone on this floor.


    Only after Lucifer finished eating did he leave with Draco, leaving the tes behind.


    He went into the lift, which again brought him down to the guest floor, which was only upied by him.


    ...


    Inside his room, Kellian and Yaliza were trying to form a n on how to train Lucifer the best. In this, they spent a few hours together.


    As for Vega, he was going through all the records of Lucifer, trying to know more about him.


    "Lucifer Azarel, born in the Holy Prime Hospital," Vega muttered as he found the location of Lucifer¡¯s birth ording to the database.


    As he delved in deeper, he hacked the entire database of the hospital to see the footage of the day Lucifer was born.


    "This isn¡¯t going to work. This freaking hospital deleted all the footage older than one year. What a waste," Vega cursed as he realized that there was no footage of the hospital from that day.


    He tried checking the other ces nearby the hospital to see if any of them had any footage of that day, but there was not a single ce which stored footage that old.


    "The first thing I need to make sure is if Lucifer is the actual son of Zale Azarel or if he is adopted. With his powers matching the powers of his parents, it¡¯s highly likely that he¡¯s their blood soon, but I still need to make sure."


    "But how can I make sure? ording to the database and the records, Lucifer was born in the Holy Prime Hospital, but there is no footage that I can use to verify that."


    He kept tapping the table as he lost himself in deep thought before he suddenly eximed, "That¡¯s right. The doctors that supposedly assisted in the birth! I need to find them."


    He started checking the database to see the name of the doctor.


    "Doctor Mira, so you¡¯re the one," Caen muttered as he found a name after a short search. "Doctor Mira, let¡¯s see where you are now."


    After a bit more time, he located the Doctor.


    "Strange. She quit a few weeks after Lucifer¡¯s birth? And shifted to a different city? Interesting. I need to talk to her personally," Vega said, standing up before he left the room.


    He went to meet Raia.


    "I need to leave the facility for a few days," he told Raia without even taking time to sit as soon as he entered the office


    Raia raised his gaze to look deep in the eyes of Vega, frowning.


    "I¡¯m sure there¡¯s no one here that knows better than you about how dangerous it is outside. Yet, you want to leave? Why?" He asked.


    "To check if Lucifer is actually the son of Zale Azarel or not," Vega answered.


    "I guess you tried through your ability and didn¡¯t find anything in that case?" Raia inquired.


    "None. There¡¯s no conclusive evidence that he was born in the hospital other than their records which can also be forged. So I want to ask the doctor personally, who was there at that time," Vega answered.


    Raia sat straight and didn¡¯t say anything for quite some time before he finally opened his mouth. "Fine. You may leave."


    Vega turned back and left after getting permission, not speaking a single word more.


    ...


    The night passed away in the silence inside the facility of the Variant Uprising, but the outside world was much more chaotic.


    Lucifer¡¯s image was being shown in all news channels, telling people to inform the authorities if anyone saw the kid who was responsible for many deaths.


    All the cities were also ced in lockdown, and there was not a single cop that didn¡¯t have Lucifer¡¯s photo to recognize him if he was ever seen.


    Along with Lucifer, the images of others were also distributed.


    Even though the APF knew that Lucifer was most probably going to be hidden inside the facility of VU, they still believed that one day, he was going toe out, and that day was going to be hisst.


    ...


    Unaware of the turmoil in the outside world, Lucifer was still sleeping in his room after finishing dinner.


    This time again, he saw the same old dream, though.


    His father was talking about leaving, and his mother agreed. Then the two talked about Orion Beach. This time also, the dream broke at the same time when his father was about to say something. There was no knock this time, though.


    Luciferid on his bed, with his eyes open, looking at the ceiling.


    "The same dream, stopping at the same time again. What¡¯s happening?" He muttered as he rubbed his eyes before he sat up.


    "I again couldn¡¯t hear what my father said. Just what did he say that day before leaving? What is it that I can¡¯t remember? No matter how much I try to remember, I just can¡¯t."


    He had a feeling that those words were important but he just couldn¡¯t remember. The more he tried to remember, the more his head started aching before he dropped that entire matter and stopped thinking.


    He got off the bed, went into the shower, and got prepared for the training. Today, he was going to learn how to fight without using his powers. He wondered if it was going to be hard. He never trained and didn¡¯t know how these things worked.


    This was going to be his first step in a new horizon.

 Chapter 164 - 164: Precision

    <h4>Chapter 164 - 164: Precision </h4>


    Just as Lucifer stepped out of his room, he heard the knocks on the door. It seemed like those people were here finally to take him.


    He walked over to the door and opened it only to be greeted by Draco. He didn¡¯t even bother asking this time since he already knew what Draco was here for. Whenever he came, it was to take him to the higher floors.


    "Sir Lucifer, I brought food," Draco replied, breaking Lucifer¡¯s perception. Draco stepped aside to reveal a woman standing behind him with a tray.


    "You aren¡¯t here to take me for training?" Lucifer asked.


    "Hahaha, I don¡¯t dare take you without feeding you. I made the mistake yesterday, and that once is enough. Even if I took you for training, you¡¯d ask for food there before starting anything, and I¡¯ll be scolded for forgetting the second time," Draco replied as he smiled wryly.


    "That¡¯s true." Lucifer nodded before he walked back to the bed.


    The girls ced the tray before Lucifer and left, leaving Draco behind, who waited for Lucifer to finish eating.


    Even though the Level Five members were waiting for Lucifer, he still ate while taking his full time. He didn¡¯t seem to be in any hurry.


    After what seemed like an eternity, Lucifer finally finished eating before he stood up.


    "Shall we leave now?" Draco asked patiently.


    "Yeah."


    ...


    Lucifer and Draco left the room and went up through the lift; however, unlike before, the two went to a different floor. It was a floor that Lucifer had never stepped foot on.


    The floor had nothing except the four walls far away from each other.


    There were no rooms on this floor. As for the floor, it seemed to be heavily reinforced, whereas the walls seemed exactly like the walls that were in the Training Rooms that Lucifer had already seen previously.


    "Lucifer Azarel, wee."


    Kellian approached Lucifer as he greeted him.


    Lucifer wondered why he was alone. Where was Yaliza? He looked around, but he couldn¡¯t find Yaliza anywhere.


    "Are you looking for Yaliza? He isn¡¯t here. We¡¯ll be taking turns training you so as to not be overwhelming. Today is my turn. Tomorrow, he would be here," Kellian said, realizing what Lucifer was trying to find.


    "Come, let¡¯s start your training," he said to Lucifer before he nced at Draco. "You can leave. Come back after four hours with lunch for Lucifer."


    "Yes, Sir." Draco turned back and left.


    ...


    "So Lucifer, let me start. What do you think is most important for a Warlock?" Kellian asked Lucifer when only the two of them were present in such a massive hall.


    "Strength," Lucifer answered.


    "Wrong," Kellian said, shaking his head. "Strength is important, but it¡¯s not the most important. Many strong warriors have perished in the hands of weak ones throughout the years."


    "Brain?" Lucifer asked, curious. He was attempting to say what Caen had said. That schemes were important for a Variant?¡¯


    "No. We all have brains, actually. But not a bad try. We do need to use our brains a few times to be sessful, but that isn¡¯t the answer either. So no," Kellian answered.


    "I don¡¯t know then," Lucifer answered. He had already said what he could think.


    "The most important thing for a Warlock is his control of his strength. A loose warlock can destroy even himself in the process if he doesn¡¯t know how to control his strength," Kellian answered.


    "That¡¯s why, today, you¡¯ll train your control," he added.


    "My control?" Lucifer asked as he nced at his hands. "Can I control my Decay and stop it from making my life difficult?"


    "Decay is a bit different. I don¡¯t know much about it, but I doubt you canpletely stop it. You can decrease or increase its intensity if you have control, but you can¡¯t stop it from working," Kellian answered.


    "I¡¯m sure you used Decay many times. But you must have seen it yourself. Sometimes things decayed faster while other times the same thing decayed slower, right?" He asked.


    Lucifer nodded in response. He had seen that plenty of times, and he was also curious about this.


    "That¡¯s because of your control. Since you can¡¯t control it, you can¡¯t control its intensity. Its intensity is working depending on your subconscious and your mood."


    "That¡¯s why these things happen. There¡¯s one more factor, though. The life energy inside the objects which contribute to how fast or slow they decay."


    "You can¡¯t control the life energy inside the objects, but you can control the intensity of your decay to help you," Kellian said. "Anyway, that¡¯s forter. Today, I¡¯ll focus entirely on your strength."


    "Come with me," he told Lucifer as he walked towards the wall.


    Stopping before the walls, Kellian turned back as he nced at Lucifer.


    "I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve seen this wall before, right? It¡¯s much harder than normal walls, and up to some extent, it can decrease the intensity of attacks to keep itself safe."


    Lucifer once again nodded.


    "Even though this wall is strong, it can¡¯t do anything against your S-Rank strength, but it¡¯s a perfect test to help you control your strength," Kellian said before he brought out his Sword.


    "Two inches," he said to Lucifer before he made a sh with his sword towards the wall.


    As the sword moved, it left a scar behind on the wall that seemed pretty deep.


    Kellian kept his sword back before he said to Lucifer. "You see that mark? It¡¯s actually two inches deep. That¡¯s my control. I could have made the mark deeper or smaller, but I knew exactly how much strength I needed and how much control I needed to achieve this feat. That¡¯s what I want from you."


    "I want you to use your strength to punch the wall and leave a two-inch deep mark on the wall. Exactly two inches! Not an inch more or an inch less. Can you do it?" He asked. "If you do this, you¡¯d have taken a step forward in controlling your strength to a great level."


    Lucifer observed the wall and the deep mark made by the sword before he looked at his fist.


    He knew he could use his super strength to leave a mark on the wall. He could even destroy it, but could he control it to that precision? He doubted he could, but he still nodded.


    This was good. He needed control, and if this could help him, it was good.


    He was able to control his strength up to some extent as he needed, but if he received this kind of precision, things were going to be easy.


    "That¡¯s good. Get to it then. You have four hours and this entire ce. I don¡¯t care how many times you try, but I want that exact depth of damage," Kellian said to Lucifer before he stepped back.

 Chapter 165 - 165: Focus On Wind Element

    <h4>Chapter 165 - 165: Focus On Wind Element </h4>


    "Damaging the wall, two inches," Lucifer echoed as he looked at the sword mark on the wall.


    ¡¯If I attack too strongly, the wall will break. I should not aim to destroy the wall and just barely touch it,¡¯ he thought as he clenched his fist and punched the wall.


    Even though he tried to attack as weakly as he could, a crater was left on the wall, which was at least five inches deep.


    "Too deep. Even weaker," Lucifer repeated as he attacked again after he changed spots.


    Unfortunately, this time his attack was so weak that it only made a crack on the wall.


    In the distance, Kellian was observing Lucifer, shaking his head.


    "It will take a long time, it seems. But this will give him a sense of his strength," he said as he folded his arms.


    The attacks of Lucifer continued as he kept shifting location in the room after destroying walls asionally.


    Sometimes his attack was too weak even to leave an inch deep mark, while other times, it was so strong that it went overboard.


    He wasn¡¯t able to find a perfect bnce even after trying for over fifty times, but he dide close. He didn¡¯t give up as he kept getting closer to his target. He believed that he could do it. He could finish his goal. Defeat was never an option he could even think about.


    ...


    Four hours had passed as Draco arrived at the floor with lunch for Lucifer and Kellian, only to be shocked.


    The entire floor was covered in marks. All the walls were damaged. Kellian was standing in the middle while Lucifer was sitting, tired, gazing at his hand.


    He walked towards them with the food in his hand.


    "Good work. You finally seeded. Now you understand how hard it is to control strength? You should always remember this feeling and this control. For the rest of the day, I¡¯ll train you more in it. By the time we are done, you¡¯d be much better in controlling your strength."


    "So much so that even if you fight, you¡¯ll be able to fight like a normal human without letting your strength trickle through unless you want it to."


    As Draco approached the two people, he was able to hear their conversation.


    Kellian nced at Draco before telling him to ce the food before Lucifer.


    "Eat up. We¡¯ll continue after half an hour of rest."


    ...


    The training continued throughout the day as Kellian taught Lucifer more about strength and how he could bring more perfection to his control.


    The first day of training seemed like a sess.


    The second day soon arrived, where Yaliza came to train Lucifer.


    Yaliza was another S-Rank Variant of Variant Uprising, but he was a bit different from Kellian. While Kellian used shadows and darkness to attack, Yaliza went for a more physical battle as a preference, even though he was also a master of long-range attacks.


    With Yaliza¡¯s arrival, the focus of training shifted from control to using that control.


    He was going to teach Lucifer how to fight like a human and how to kill effectively.


    The training continued for the second day, where Yaliza taught Lucifer the fighting arts that seemed to be abination of ancient martial arts and modern fighting styles.


    He taught him how to defend himself against people that were stronger than him and how to kill them, all without using his powers.


    The focus here wasn¡¯t Lucifer¡¯s strength but his skills so he could fight when he needed to without having to expose the fact that he was a Variant.


    The second day also seemed to pass away in the blink of an eye as Lucifer immersed himself in training, trying to absorb all the information he was being given.


    This was something that he was actually enjoying. Instead of having to think about things, he could divert his attention to training and getting stronger.


    He still remembered that when he hade from thest test in the facility, he was told that he had failed. At that time, he already realized that he was never going to be a Variant. He cried the entire night before he finally thought of something.


    He had promised himself to be a hero of humans like his father. So what if he couldn¡¯t be a Variant? There were many humans that fought without having any powers.


    He could also learn to be like them? So what if he didn¡¯t have the powers of a Variant? He could train, and he could be the greatest human fighter there ever was.


    Unfortunately, the night he thought this happened to be hisst night in the facility as he was killed the next day, without getting any chance at survival.


    Now that he was learning to fight like humans, there was a kind of excitement inside him. It was as if he was getting one of his desires fulfilled.


    The training of Lucifer continued as days turned to weeks. He was taught how to use a gun, how to aim, how to reload, how to use a sword, and many other things.


    All of this waspleted in just three weeks. Moreover, what seemed to be surprising was that Lucifer was good at learning things.


    He learned all of this too fast. The training, which should have taken longer, was already close topletion since Lucifer was performing better than expected and learning too fast.


    As Kellian and Yaliza hadn¡¯t expected this speed, they were shocked to know that the four-week training schedule they had prepared was finished in just three weeks, and they had one more week remaining.


    Throughout these weeks, Lucifer was also given more training, apart from the one provided by Kellian and Yaliza.


    He was taught how to read and write in-depth. He was given table manners, and he was also taught how to behave like a high profile and rich human.


    It was as if he was being given training on how to be a prince.


    ...


    Kellian and Yaliza were sitting in a room, discussing if they should progress into moreplex training about the human body, psychology, and other factors for thest week since their old schedule was finished.


    "I don¡¯t think we should. One week is certainly not enough for all that. And after that one week, he would be going to that beach he keeps talking about," Yaliza told Kellian.


    "True. We should start with theplex things after he returns," Kellian agreed.


    "So, what should we teach him for thest week?" Yaliza asked.


    "We should focus on his Wind Element. He really needs it," Kellian chimed in.

 Chapter 166 - 166: Hero Azarel

    <h4>Chapter 166 - 166: Hero Azarel </h4>


    "Let¡¯s teach him how to make his abilities stronger and how to utilize them better. I think his Wind Control needs help. That is the ability he has the worst control over from the things I saw. This should be our focus," Kellian told Yaliza, who nodded.


    "True. When I trained him, I noticed it as well. He can¡¯t fly high or low but only float around after reaching the level with the help of his jump. He¡¯s not using his skill the way it¡¯s supposed to be. His other abilities are in better control, though," Yaliza agreed.


    And thus, the n was decided. It was to help Lucifer control his winds so that he not only mastered flying but also using his wind in an offensive manner to win.


    ...


    While Kellian and Yaliza came up with the training schedule for the future, Vega was sitting inside an ordinary house in a distant city.


    It took him much longer than he had expected to get to this ce. After he reached the city, which was mentioned in the database, he found out that Doctor Mira wasn¡¯t here.


    Instead, she had gone to a city that was on the other end of the country.


    Frustrated, Vega once again changed destination and went to the second city, but as he reached here, he realized that his luck was once again bad.


    Thedy had left a few days ago to go back home.


    For the third time, he went to the old city, extremely frustrated, but this time he luckily managed to find Doctor Mira in her house.


    "So you said you were from the APF?" An old-lookingdy asked Vega who was sitting before her.


    "Yes, mam, this is my card," Vega replied as he showed a fake identity card.


    "May I ask why you¡¯re covering your face with a mask?" Doctor Mira asked, curious about why Vega was keeping his face hidden.


    She didn¡¯t know that it was because his face was known throughout, especially now that the APF was going hard to find Lucifer.


    He had kept his face hidden since he didn¡¯t want to cause amotion. It wasn¡¯t that he was scared but because he wanted toe and leave silently and not waste any time.


    "So, what did you want to ask me?" Doctor Mira asked.


    "Doctor Mira, we¡¯re investigating the death of Zale Azarel. I¡¯m sure you know him, right?" Vega inquired as he showed a picture of Zale.


    "Warlock King Zale?" Thedy asked, recognizing the man in the picture. "I recognize him. A really great man despite having so much power. He was so kind as well."


    Vega nodded his head before he replied, "That¡¯s right. We¡¯re trying to find more about him. We heard that you were the Doctor that assisted risse and Zale in the birth of their child, is that right?"


    "That¡¯s right. I was there. I still remember how tense he was. He kept asking me every few seconds how long it was going to take. It was sweet," thedy replied as if she was reminiscing about the past.


    "Are you sure that you delivered Lucifer? And he came out of the tummy of risse? Hundred percent sure? Lucifer was born in the hospital?" Vega asked even though these questions sounded stupid.


    "Lucifer? Is that the name they decided for the kid? It¡¯s not bad, but they could have chosen better. They were so confused about what to name their kid. I even suggested a name, but they said they¡¯d think about it after going home. It looks like they rejected the name I suggested."


    "But yeah, you¡¯re right. Their kid was born in the hospital right before my eyes. I still remember the beautiful blue eyes of the kid and the glow on his face."


    "When I saw him, I knew he was going to be someone great like his father. Anyway, how is Lucifer now? He must be a student, right? Who takes care of him after his parents¡¯ death?"


    As the woman went down the memoryne, she didn¡¯t stop talking for even a second until she asked the question.


    "We are taking care of him at the moment. Anyway, thanks for the confirmation. So he was actually born in the hospital, and he¡¯s the son of those two," Vega summarized as he nodded his head.


    "I had one more question. You helped Lucifer¡¯s birth, but soon after that, you resigned and quit; what was the reason for that? If I may ask?" Vega inquired.


    "That? I can¡¯t tell you the reason since it¡¯s personal," thedy replied as she shook her head. "But it has nothing to do with the hospital and anyone from that city."


    "Understood. As long as it¡¯s not rted to them, it¡¯s fine. By the way, the day Lucifer was born, did something strange happen? Anything you can remember? Extraordinary weather or something else that you found odd?" Vega asked.


    "Yeah, I think there was something like that. But I guess it was more like a coincidence than anything else," thedy replied.


    "What happened?"


    "Actually as soon as Lucifer was born, he cried for the first time. And as soon as he cried, I heard a loud thundering in the sky. The strange part was that the sky was clear when Ist checked, half an hour before that," Doctor Mira answered.


    "There were clouds and rain? I didn¡¯t find anything like that in any of the databases. Are you sure?" Vega asked suspiciously.


    "I¡¯m sure that¡¯s what I heard. Moreover, you¡¯re right. There was no rain that day. Only dark clouds in the sky had suddenly appeared. That happens, though. It¡¯s not odd. Nature is mysterious sometimes. So it¡¯s just a coincidence," Doctor Mira said, smiling.


    "Coincidences happen, I guess you¡¯re right," Vega muttered as he rubbed his chin. But there was a sharp glint in his eyes.


    He didn¡¯t believe it was a coincidence of a sudden weather change. For some reason, Lucifer seemed to have some rtionship with the weather. It happened too many times for it to be a coincidence.


    Last time, he saw himself how the clouds were covered in dark clouds because of Lucifer.


    "Thank you for your time and for answering all my questions. I¡¯ll take my leave now," Vega stood up as he bid his farewell before he started leaving.


    "If you meet Lucifer, give him my good wishes. Poor kid lost his parents so soon. Keep him happy," Doctor Mira said to the leaving Vega.


    Vega was about to leave, but he stopped just before the door as he turned back.


    "I will tell him that. However, just out of curiosity, you said you suggested a name for him, which his parents refused? What was the name you suggested for Lucifer?" He asked.


    "Oh, the name? Since his parents were the heroes of humanity, I suggested the name Hero for their son," Doctor Mira answered.


    "Hero Azarel?" Vega muttered as he smiled wryly. He shook his head and left.


    ¡¯I must say, Zale had a better naming sense than thatdy,¡¯ Vega thought as he stepped out of the house. ¡¯ Hero Azarel sounds so bad, honestly. I¡¯m d Zale didn¡¯t select it.¡¯

 Chapter 167 - 167: Something To Think About

    <h4>Chapter 167 - 167: Something To Think About </h4>


    "Still, I don¡¯t think thedy was lying. She was telling the truth. I guess my assumption was right in that case. Lucifer is actually the son of Zale and risse," Vega said as he left. "It couldn¡¯t be any other way since his powers already prove he¡¯s their son."


    Unlike the journey to find thedy, going back to the Uprising base was faster for Vega but he still decided to dy it a bit.


    He didn¡¯t go straight to the base, this time. First, he wanted to see the house of Zale Azarel and investigate the things that were there. This seemed to be crucial for him.


    ...


    "It has been four weeks now. The training time we decided on, and I must say, you¡¯re really good. I thought you were just a Variant that was lucky to get strong powers, but no. Your talent and your potential are immense. It¡¯s just that you never got any proper form of training."


    Kellian and Yaliza were standing before Lucifer while Kellian was talking to him.


    As Kellian finished, Yaliza also chimed in.


    "That¡¯s right. You also learned to control your Wind. Now you can not only fly but, to some extent, use your wind to attack as well. That¡¯s good. Tomorrow, we will change your training a bit to help you with the unison of your powers."


    "Tomorrow? Tomorrow I need to leave. Four weeks are over today. Vega said we will only train for four weeks and then after Ie back from Orion beach. I already waited for long enough," Lucifer replied, straight refusing.


    "Actually, Vega is outside. He¡¯s not in the base. How about we train until hees back?" Yaliza asked Lucifer.


    "No. He already promised me. It doesn¡¯t matter if he¡¯s here or not," Lucifer replied firmly.


    It had been four weeks. Four weeks of constantly being tormented by the same dream in which his parents talked about leaving.


    Four weeks of the same dream, which always ended just when his father was about to say something. He wanted to get it over with and see that ce.


    The more he saw that dream, the more he felt like he needed to get there fast but he had already promised that he would wait for four weeks. Now that the four weeks were over, it was time for him to leave. He wasn¡¯t going to wait anymore.


    "But Lucifer, try to understand," Kellian said, but Lucifer shook his head firmly.


    "No understanding. Tomorrow, you¡¯ll take me there, or I¡¯ll leave myself. Keep your promise! You were also there when it was decided!" Lucifer responded.


    Seeing such a determined face of Lucifer, it was clear that he wasn¡¯t going to give up until they gave him what he wanted.


    ¡¯That¡¯s why I don¡¯t like dealing with kids. He¡¯s so stubborn,¡¯ Kellian thought as he sighed.


    " Fine! We¡¯ll send you to that beach. But you can only stay there for one day. After that, you¡¯lle back, and you¡¯ll train with us. We have a lot of things to cover if we want to make you a Warlock King," he said before he asked a question. "Do you ept?"


    "I ept," Lucifer nodded.


    "Good. Go back and rest. Caen will take you there tomorrow," Kellian said before he started leaving. "Draco, take Lucifer back to his room."


    Kellian and Yaliza left the floor before Yaliza asked, "Kellian, you should have at least asked Raia?"


    "I did ask Raia before. I already remembered that these four weeks were over today. Since we promised, we need to keep it. I was just hoping that Lucifer won¡¯t remember about this. But he did. Anyway, it¡¯s only about one day. He¡¯ll go there, and before anyone knows it, he¡¯ll be back," Kellian answered.


    "True. It¡¯s not like that beach is near any crowded ce. There should not be a single soul there at this time since that beach is closed at this time of the year. And it isn¡¯t close to any city. Moreover, all the cities are in a lockdown," Yaliza agreed.


    "Are you sure Caen is the right person to take him, though? We should send at least Dion?" Yaliza asked.


    "No need. Caen is better. He will change his looks. Moreover, he is the only person whose true looks are unknown."


    "Moreover, he is the most careful and cautious out of all of us. He has been living a life like that since the start, after all. Dion is good, but Caen is more skillful in that department. He can handle such things," Kellian replied.


    ...


    The day was over as well. Lucifer finished his dinner before heid on his bed. Tomorrow was going to be the day he finally saw what his parents talked about. Just what was the sunset at that ce like? What was it that his parents liked so much about that ce?


    He closed his eyes as he tried to sleep, realizing that he was most probably going to have the same dream again.


    "Just what was my father saying in the end? If only I could remember. Was he talking about me? Or was he going to speak about his mission? Or was it something about that beach?"


    He hoped that he could finally hear the end of that dream tonight, but he knew it was unlikely. He had seen the same dream for close to a month, and in no dream did he hear the end.


    As he was lost in thoughts, he didn¡¯t realize when he fell asleep.


    As expected, the dream came again, the same asst time.


    Things progressed as before, but soon, the dream got to the most crucial part.


    His father opened his mouth to speak, but as expected, the dream again disappeared as his eyes opened.


    Boom!


    Filled with frustration, Lucifer punched the wall, making a big hole in it through which he was able to see Draco¡¯s room.


    No one seemed to be inside the room, but aptop could be seen lying on the bed.


    ...


    "Nothing here either. Such a disappointment. The house seems like an ordinary house of a couple. No strange things, treasures, or any secret ces. It was a wasteing here."


    Vega had finished searching the house of Zale, but only disappointment could be seen on his face as he couldn¡¯t find anything.


    He started leaving.


    "Where can I find more about Lucifer if not this ce?" He wondered as he left.


    ....


    Raia was sitting in his room, staring at footage on hisptop.


    "So, Lucifer is going to that beach he keeps talking about?" He asked Kellian, who was sitting before him.


    "Yeah. I also talked to Caen. He will take the kid," Kellian replied.


    "Good. I guess it¡¯s time we gave APF something to think about."

 Chapter 168 - 168: Trap Of Uprising

    <h4>Chapter 168 - 168: Trap Of Uprising </h4>


    "This should keep them busy. They had fun running our pics in news channels all month long, right? They worked hard to make Lucifer into the viin. It¡¯s finally our turn to release this footage and shift the perception of the world."


    "All the Variants will see the true side of the humans and the APF. This was exactly what I was waiting for. Lucifer finished his revenge, and APF, and the other righteous idiots dug a deep hole for themselves. Time to push them into that hole." Raia smiled as he stared at the footage which showed Lucifer being tortured.


    That wasn¡¯t all. He also had one more piece of footage! Which was even more damaging to APF.


    "It was the footage of Xander attacking Lucifer first near the facility and killing the innocent kids behind Caen in the process. It focused straight on Xander¡¯s expressionless face even after doing that, as if he didn¡¯t feel bad about killing innocent Variants.


    The footage was recorded by one of the Variants that Raia had tasked to record everything that happened there. It was a goldmine.


    APF had said Lucifer was a killer that killed Variants and humans! But Variant Uprising was the one that had the footage proving otherwise.


    They had cut the footage of the aftermath of this attack in which Lucifer attacked and only kept the first part which showed how Xander was wrong, and how the APF was all that they were ming Lucifer to be.


    Moreover, they also had the footage to prove him as an innocent kid who was tortured by the humans in power.


    And to act as the final nail in the coffin, they had the proof that Lucifer was the son of Zale Azarel and risse that gave their lives for the safety of humans.


    It was an borate web that Raia had nned, and now this web was trying to swallow the APF whole.


    Soon, everything was going to change.


    "All curtains are going to be open, and people will see the true side of things. Varant is going to get a big headache soon in trying to get some damage control, but nothing can work with all this," Raia said as his smirk widened.


    ....


    Lucifer had mistakenly broken the wall of his room in his frustration through which he saw aptop ced on the bed.


    He couldn¡¯t see the screen of theptop from where he was sitting, but if he were to see, he would have seen that it was showing the live footage of the outside corridor.


    Moreover, in that footage, Draco could be seen walking towards Lucifer¡¯s room.


    As Draco reached the door of Lucifer¡¯s room, he knocked on the door.


    "Sir Lucifer, I brought breakfast," Draco called out.


    Lucifer stood up and walked to the door, ignoring the hole in the wall.


    He opened the door and allowed Draco in.


    As soon as Draco entered the room with the tes, his eyes fell on the big hole in the wall that was giving a clear view of his room.


    "Ah, Sir Lucifer? This..."


    "It¡¯s nothing. I had a bad dream, and that happened identally," Lucifer replied, without the least bit of embarrassment.


    "They should be able to repair it," He added. "Or you can take a different room that doesn¡¯t have a hole in the wall."


    "Ah, there¡¯s no need for that. It will be repaired," Draco remarked before he ced the food on the table.


    "Eat up. Today, you¡¯ll be leaving for that ce you keep talking about. I was told that you¡¯d leave in an hour. So eat and get ready," Draco said before he started leaving.


    "You aren¡¯t going to watch me today?" Lucifer asked, watching Draco leave. It was strange to see him leave since he always stayed with Lucifer when he ate.


    "Not right now since I need to give you privacy to get dressed. Also, I need to inform upstairs to have that hole repaired. Enjoy your feast," Draco replied before he left.


    Lucifer began eating after Draco left, but unlike before, he didn¡¯t eat everything with his bare hands but used a spoon like a well-mannered person ording to the people of this world. He was taught many things during these few weeks, and most of them stuck with him.


    "After I return, I will be taught to use theputer and the technical stuff. That should give me more information about the outside world. I need to understand everything better and find out more about what happened that day."


    As Lucifer ate, he asionally talked to himself out loud, looking forward to his next learning adventure after returning from Orion Beach.


    ...


    Raia had given the footage to his team and told them to hack all news channel frequencies to telecast this footage with their ownmentary on top when he ordered. The entire country needed to listen to this and see.


    Vega was also going to return soon, so it wasn¡¯t going to be hard to achieve such a feat, he believed.


    ...


    Contrary to the Variant Uprising that had a n of their own, APF was still without a n. At Least that¡¯s what it seemed from outside.


    It had been a month, but there was no clue of Lucifer. Moreover, it was as if the entire Variant Uprising had gone underground. There weren¡¯t any sightings. It seemed like it was going to be a long wait for APF this time.


    Regarding the same topic, a meeting was taking ce between the top three of Alpha Squad since they were handling this extremely crucial matter.


    The meeting only included Assassination Emperor Rowen Gensi, Shadow Monarch Riali, and Warlock King Varant.


    "Are Zeiss and the others still noting?" Rowen asked Varant.


    Responding to Rowen¡¯s question, Varant shook his head.


    "Zeiss isn¡¯t there. He¡¯s inside a dungeon for some reason. It¡¯s been close to a month, but he¡¯s still not out. Apparently, he went to find something, and he can¡¯t be contacted," Varant replied.


    " He can¡¯t be contacted? That¡¯s understandable since contacting people inside the dungeon is almost impossible. But for him to note out for a month. Could it be that something happened to him inside the dungeon?" Riali asked.


    "I mean, if Zale could die inside the dungeon, it¡¯s also possible that Zeiss... Moreover, it has been a month. Is any team going in to find him?" he further exined.


    "No. Because Zeiss went inside a Grade One Dungeon, Zale had gone into a Grade Four Dungeon," Raia answered. "If people believe that Zeiss can die inside a Grade One Dungeon and go to find him, that would be too insulting."

 Chapter 169 - 169: Return Of Zale Azarel?

    <h4>Chapter 169 - 169: Return Of Zale Azarel? </h4>


    "That¡¯s why no Hunter Union member is going in. There¡¯s no way something could happen to him there. Moreover, before going in, he said that it might take him a long time to find what he¡¯s looking for," he continued before he opened theptop which was ced before him.


    "What about humans?" Riali further asked.


    " The government is giving us full support, but there are only limited things they can do at the moment," Varant replied.


    "Will we ever find Lucifer like this? He can always stay in hiding until he gets strong. By that time, it would be toote. We can¡¯t wait hand in hand," Rialimented as he sighed.


    This wait was killing them. They wanted Lucifer at any cost, but let alone Lucifer, even the low-ranking member of Variant Uprising, wasn¡¯t seen.


    "I understand; that¡¯s why I came up with a n," Varant said as he tapped a few keys on hisptop before he turned the screen towards Riali and Rowen.


    As soon as the two saw what was on the screen, their mouths opened wide. This... What does it mean?


    "How could it be! That ce! It¡¯s our headquarters where we are! But that person... How could it be?" Riali stood up, shocked as soon as he saw what was on the screen. "Zale Azarel? He¡¯s alive?"


    Even the always calm-looking Rowen was clearly shocked at this revtion. How could it be? How could Zale be alive and be present at their base!


    "This is impossible! Don¡¯t tell me the only person that stepped out of that Dungeon was Zale! This is impossible!"


    "If he was alive, why was he hiding for five years? His son! He went through so much and caused so many deaths, but he never appeared! Just what kind of man is he?" Riali let out firmly.


    Varant turned back the screen of theptop towards him.


    "You wanted to know how we are going to bring out Lucifer? It would be done by him," Varant said. "It won¡¯t be long before Luciferes running to us."


    "Zale will help us against his son?" Rowen asked. His lips couldn¡¯t be seen because of the cover, but a frown was evident on his face.


    Varant looked at Rowen as a subtle smile appeared on his face.


    He had made an borate scheme which he was going to use to drag Lucifer out and to kill him.


    "This will be the endgame," Varant said as he closed theptop.


    Variant Uprising had made an inescapable trap for APF to destroy their reputation and ruin their support. In contrast, APF was with a scheme of their own to trap Lucifer and to finish the potential future that he could bring.


    ...


    Unaware of the new schemes of both sides, Lucifer was trying toe up with one of his own to find the truth about the death of his parents, but no matter how much he thought, his mind wasn¡¯t clicking.


    He already knew that he was terrible at scheming. Whenever he thought of something, the only n that came to his head was to barge inside the APF office and beat up Varant to know the truth.


    Or to use force to get answers here, but he needed a way where he could be sure that the answers that were given were the truth.


    "Think... Think... Think..."


    As Lucifer finished breakfast, he started walking back and forth to think what to do when finally his mind clicked as he remembered an old conversation.


    It happened when he was just six or seven years old. He was inside the facility, where he heard two staff members joking amongst themselves.


    "I¡¯m not lying! Really! That woman actually said I was handsome!"


    "Hah, keep bragging. That beautifuldy calling you handsome? Not unless she was blind."


    " But I must say, you¡¯re getting better at lying!"


    "Bro, believe me! Why would I lie to you! She actually said it! How can I prove it to you? I can¡¯t tell her to repeat it again. Also, I can¡¯t bring Lady Veracity here to tell you that I¡¯m telling you the truth. She can verify my ims with the help of her powers, though"


    "Bringing Lady Veracity here? Hahaha, in your dream. Not even high profile people here can meet her. But I must say, her abilities are really scary even though they¡¯re not dangerous. She can use her powers to find out if the person is telling the truth or not. I pity whoever will marry her. That guy would have to be a Saint."


    As Lucifer remembered this conversation, he finally came up with an idea. But first, he needed to find Veracity. After he got her to help him, he could make sure if the people before her were being honest or not.


    "This Veracity, where can I find her? After I leave today, I need toe back too. That¡¯s right; On the route back, I¡¯ll ask Caen to take me to her. If he doesn¡¯t, I¡¯ll force him," Lucifer said, clenching his fist.


    Finally, he had something solid and some kind of n which he could use. The key was finding Veracity and bringing her back here.


    With a n in his mind, Lucifer finally left his room to leave this ce. It was time to see what his dream was all about.


    What was the ce which his parents kept talking about in his dreams for thest thirty nights! And aftering back, he could also bring back Veracity.


    As soon as Lucifer left the room, he saw Dracoing out of the lift in the distance.


    "Ah, you¡¯re out. I was justing back to bring you. Sir Caen is ready and waiting for you upstairs." Draco told Lucifer, who had just left his room.


    He took Lucifer with him upstairs, where Caen was already waiting for him in front of a helicopter.


    "You¡¯re here," Caen said as he walked towards Lucifer, still in the form of thatdy.


    Kellian and Yaliza were also standing there, but Raia was nowhere to be seen. So far, Lucifer hadn¡¯t seen Raia even once. As for the reasons, he didn¡¯t know. He couldn¡¯t just say that Raia needed toe himself.


    Until he met with Veracity, it was good to be away from Raia.


    "Alright, Lucifer, as promised. We have arranged for everything. Caen will take you there. You¡¯ll spend the day there, and you¡¯lle back without any dy after the day is over. You understand, right?" Kellian asked Lucifer.


    "I understand. I¡¯lle back as soon as I can," Lucifer replied, not lying actually. For him, as soon as he could mean after finding and meeting Veracity, which was different from the others.

 Chapter 170 - 170: Searching Himself In Net

    <h4>Chapter 170 - 170: Searching Himself In Net </h4>


    "Good," Kellian expressed before he shifted to look at Caen.


    "Protect him and bring him back safe. And if you see any sign of danger, leave instantly and inform us. Moreover, keep that thing on so we can contact you if there¡¯s something urgent," Kellian told Caen.


    "I will," Caen calmly replied before he gestured for Lucifer toe with him.


    Lucifer and Caen entered the helicopter under the watchful eyes of Kellian and Yaliza.


    The roof above the helicopter opened, revealing the bright and beautiful sky before the helicopter started flying as soon as Caen closed the door.


    Only two people were leaving the base this time¡ª Caen and Lucifer. Caen didn¡¯t bring anyone else with him since it wasn¡¯t a war mission. And in missions like these, it was important to bring as few people as they could.


    As the helicopter left, the opening in the roof closed. Kellian and Yaliza started walking back, talking amongst themselves.


    "Are you sure we¡¯re doing good by believing in Predictor so much this time? Even though there¡¯s a ny percent chance that Lucifer will return safely because APF will be busy in damage control, still, I think we should have gone too," Yaliza told Kellian as he walked beside him.


    "Didn¡¯t we already talk about this?" Kellian inquired. "Don¡¯t worry about this. Even though he¡¯s only right ten percent of the time but still, his prediction that Lucifer will go with Caen and he will return safely should be right."


    "Moreover, he was rightst time too. Don¡¯t worry about Lucifer. We should go ording to his prediction and let Lucifer be alone with Caen," he continued. "Instead, ce our focus on APF. It¡¯s going to be fun watching it when the footage is released. Come."


    ....


    Caen and Lucifer were sitting in the helicopter, not talking much.


    It was Caen who started speaking first as he told Lucifer, "It¡¯s going to take six hours for us to get there. We should be there in the afternoon. We¡¯ll stay the rest of the day ande back. We¡¯ll be back home by tomorrow morning. Short and sweet."


    "Hmm." Lucifer didn¡¯t respond much except for one word.


    He was already told how long it was going to take. So he didn¡¯t mind. As for talking about Veracity, he wanted to do that when it was time toe back.


    "So, how did your training go? I heard you made great progress?" Caen asked, starting the conversation again after another hour passed.


    "It was good," Lucifer replied. "I got to learn a lot."


    "That¡¯s better. So, after spending a month with us, what are your opinions? Do you feel like home yet?" Caen asked.


    "Like home?" Lucifer muttered before he shook his head.


    "I only had one home, and I¡¯ll never feel like that again," he replied.


    "I heard aboutputers, and I was told that I¡¯d be taught about them after I return. Do you know how to use them?" Lucifer asked Caen, finally contributing to the conversation.


    "I do. I doubt there would be many people who don¡¯t know about this," Caen replied.


    "Can you find anyone from that? Information about any person?" Lucifer asked.


    "Yeah, it¡¯s pretty easy. There is a thing called the inte. It contains information about many people. But I can only find information that¡¯s in the public domain most of the time about people of influence," Caen replied.


    "I¡¯m not good at hacking like some others in the organization. Those guys can find even secret information that¡¯s not in the public domain," he added.


    Hearing his words, Lucifer nodded as he thought to himself, ¡¯Veracity should be famous since those people seemed to know about her.¡¯


    " If I ask you to find out about a person, can you help me?" He asked Caen.


    His question seemed to have stunned Caen a little. Who did Lucifer want to know about? If it was about them, it was probably going to be bad news since not many good things were written about them. Also, Lucifer could read himself now too, so he couldn¡¯t fool him.


    "Who do you want to know about?" Caen asked, frowning.


    "I want to know about myself. After what I¡¯ve done, there must be something about me on the inte, right? I want to see," Lucifer expressed his desire.


    "Oh? About yourself, I can try," Caen nodded as he ced hisptop on hisp before he opened it and turned it on.


    Since Lucifer wanted to know about himself, this was perfect. He was sure that only bad things would be written about Lucifer too. After seeing that, even if Lucifer saw anything bad about them, it wouldn¡¯t matter.


    He¡¯ll understand that not everything on the was true since most of the things were written by someone who most of the time had some personal bias or limited view on things. This could work as a lesson for Lucifer.


    He opened the browser and searched Lucifer Azarel.


    As he searched, he couldn¡¯t help but p his forehead. He had forgotten. APF only released Lucifer¡¯s photo and his evil deeds. They didn¡¯t mention his name, so the won¡¯t show about him if searched with a name.


    At best, it would only show old things.


    It was just as he had expected, which he understood as the search results opened.


    Lucifer was sitting right beside him, so he was also able to see. As he looked at the results, he saw a few headlines.


    "The strongest couple gives birth to a baby boy, to be named Lucifer Azarel."


    "Warlock Zale is now the father of Little Lucifer."


    "The birth of Lucifer, will the son of the Variant Couple of the century be a Hero like them? An in depth analysis of experts about what powers he could potentially have."


    " Lucifer Azarel..."


    "Lucifer..."


    " Warlock King Zale and..."


    No matter how many headlines Lucifer read, all were talking about him and his family. Moreover they were all rted to his birth, after which there was no mention of him.


    "This is whates up with your name. Most probably because your name isn¡¯t released to the public yet but let me show you something else," Caen said, realizing that he needed to show Lucifer the dark side too.


    He searched again but this time he searched with Lucifer¡¯s image that was released by the APF. As he searched, a whole new set of results opened up.


    Lucifer read the new headlines, not knowing what to think.


    "Loose Variant, destroys government facility and kills innocents!"


    " Devil walking free, contact authorities if you see!"


    "The culprit of Variant rted deaths disclosed. The Young Variant that killed humans yet to be found."


    "Stay alert and inform the authorities if you see this Young Warlock."


    "APF warns citizens to stay alert and not to approach this kid if seen anywhere. Contact authorities right away."

 Chapter 171 - 171: He Is Lucifer Azarel

    <h4>Chapter 171 - 171: He Is Lucifer Azarel </h4>


    "Seeing the Devil Variant can make you rich. The government announces a prize for whoever gives information about him."


    "The Mysterious Variant that is being hunted, his identity is still unknown, but here are our few guesses."


    "Warlock King Varant promises to find the Devil Variant while asking for support. Here is his full statement."


    "Devil Variant..."


    "Killing Kid..."


    "Devil in the form of a kid..."


    "Devil..."


    No matter how many articles Lucifer read, they were all like this. All portrayed him as a viin.


    "Devil Variant, huh. Throughout thesest few months, I heard that a lot. Some called me Devil, while others called me Demon. Some called me a beggar, while some cursed my family for giving birth to me. This isn¡¯t shocking," Lucifer muttered as he stopped reading.


    He started looking out the window again.


    "Don¡¯t take it to heart. That¡¯s what they do since they control all forms of media. They make us the viins while they make themselves the heroes," Caenforted Lucifer as he closed theptop and kept it back.


    "I don¡¯t take it to heart. They don¡¯t really matter to me," Lucifer replied calmly.


    ...


    The Helicopter flew through the empty airspace, hiding from any radar as it advanced towards the Orion Beach.


    Within a few hours that consisted of only a short few conversations between Lucifer and Caen, the helicopter reached the beach, which was entirely empty. Only after making sure that no one was here did the pilotnd on the beach.


    "Finally, we¡¯re here. Come, see the beach you wanted to see," Caen told Lucifer as he slid the door open and stepped out of the helicopter.


    Lucifer stood up and walked towards the opening from where he stepped out,nding on the ground finally.


    As Lucifernded on the cold sand of the beach, he was able to see the vast sea in front of him. As far as his eyes could see, only water was visible.


    As for the beach, it seemed to have light blue sand, which seemed to be shining a little under the sun¡¯s bright light.


    "That is the sea?" Lucifer asked Caen.


    "Yeah. This is actually where our country ends. And from here, the sea starts. At this time of the year, this beach is closed since there are risks of high tides. That¡¯s why you can¡¯t see a single soul here," Caen replied.


    "This is where the country ends? Is there only sea in that direction or another country too?" Lucifer asked.


    "The world is round, so there can¡¯t only be the sea in that direction. At one point, it would return to the other end of this country even if there weren¡¯t any other countries in the sea," Caen replied.


    "Leaving that aside, there are actually many countries in our world. There also exist many continents and Ind countries," he further said.


    " So, what do you want to do here? The sunset that you wanted to see won¡¯t be here for a few hours. There are no houses here either where you can rest. Want to rest in the helicopter?"


    "It¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll just take a walk around the beach," Lucifer replied as he started walking towards the water. Caen walked right beside him.


    As Lucifer reached near the water, he could see that the sand looked wetter. Bending forward, he picked up a fistful of sand.


    As soon as he touched the sand, he was amazed at how cold it was, despite it being a hot day. He was able to feel the sand even through the gloves.


    He soon took off his shoes and became barefoot, which finally allowed him to feel the true side of the sand. The Sand looked beautiful, but it felt even better.


    Lucifer had walked through the sand a few times in thest few months, but this sand, it was a different feeling altogether. As he walked in the sand, he felt like he was walking on the softest material in the world that was massaging his feet with every step.


    "What sand is this?" He asked Caen, looking back.


    "This is the Reisi Sand. It¡¯s the specialty of this beach and its biggest attraction," Caen exined. "Maybe this was why your father wanted you toe here?"


    "Maybe..." Lucifer muttered. It was highly possible that this was the reason his parents liked this beach?


    Even though he still couldn¡¯t hear thest words of his father in the dreams, it was quite possible that he was about to talk about the sand?


    "It¡¯s really a beautiful ce," Lucifer said, gazing at the Sea. "Do you know how deep the sea is?"


    "No idea. I haven¡¯t checked personally or read about it," Caen replied, smiling wryly.


    "People die from drowning, right?" Lucifer inquired.


    "That¡¯s right. Drowning kills people since none of us can breathe underwater," Caen replied. "So don¡¯t even think about going inside the sea. I don¡¯t think you can even swim. You¡¯ll drown right away."


    " Will I die if I drown?" Lucifer asked curiously as he nced back at Caen. He wondered if his immortal-looking life could end if he ever jumped inside the sea, willing to get rid of himself.


    "You will. That should be your only weakness, I think. Because healing won¡¯t help you since it would be a different matter, not being able to breathe. So don¡¯t test it ever," Caen replied.


    "You can fly and escape from the water, but if you can¡¯t breathe and fall unconscious, even your flying won¡¯te to help. You¡¯ll drown, and you¡¯ll stay under water for an eternity, dead. Even your body won¡¯t be found. So don¡¯t even think about it," he further said as he understood what Lucifer was thinking about.


    Lucifer took a deep breath as he sighed.


    "I won¡¯t," he said.


    ¡¯I still have a lot of things before I can put my life to an end. I still need to find out what happened to my parents. After I¡¯m done with everything important, I can probably... do it.¡¯ he thought as he turned his side to the sea and started walking at the edge of the sea, with his feet touching the salty water.


    As Lucifer was walking on the beach, the Variant Uprising had already taken its first step against the APF.


    The social media was filled with videos of Lucifer being tortured, apanied by all the information about Lucifer and who his father was.


    As for the media channels, they were also being hijacked by the Variant Uprising.


    The news channels suddenly went nk before the footage of the facility started ying in which a kid was crying in pain, but the scientists didn¡¯t listen. They didn¡¯t stop the torture.


    The viewers didn¡¯t have a hard time recognizing the kid that was being tortured. They had been seeing the kid on the news channel for weeks now. Everyone has be familiar with the most wanted kid in the list of APF.


    To see the kid like that, everyone had a single thought. Was this criminal caught by the authorities, and now he was being punished? Even then, this seemed a bit of a torture for the kid. It was too cruel and excessive.


    They knew that this person deserved punishment after killing so many innocent people but still, this wasn¡¯t the way to go about it. It was still a kid and watching him like that; the souls of the viewers were shivering as they imagined themselves in ce of Lucifer.


    After the footage yed for three times which was apanied by the painful screams of Lucifer, the voice stopped.


    "Wee to the broadcast of the Variant Uprising. Today, we brought this special to you to show the true side of this kid to the world. Who is this kid?"


    "Why did he kill people? How did a kid that was supposed to go to school and have a good life be a criminal who was most wanted by the APF? If you want to know the answers, don¡¯t turn off the TV because today, we¡¯ll tell you the truth that the government and the APF keep hidden."


    "If you¡¯re a Variant, then you should certainly watch."


    "The first question? Who is this kid? He is a criminal, so he must have bad parents, right? He must have grown up in a criminal environment? Or is he just crazy?" The narrator¡¯s voice asked.


    ....


    "What¡¯s happening on our channels! What the f*ck is going on!"


    "Someone has hacked our frequency, Sir! They¡¯ve taken over from an unknown location!"


    "Shut down everything! Just cut it!"


    "We can¡¯t, Sir! It looks like we lost all control. We can¡¯t do anything from here!"


    All news channel headquarters were in an uproar as their channels were hijacked. They had lost all control, and now their frequency was being used by Variant Uprising.


    ....


    "Wrong! This kid that is a criminal in your eyes had a bright future that was taken from him! He was forced to be a criminal! He is none other than Lucifer Azarel, the son of Warlock King Zale Azarel and risse!"

 Chapter 172 - 172: Frightening Thought

    <h4>Chapter 172 - 172: Frightening Thought </h4>


    As the narrator dropped this bombshell of a revtion, most of the people that were watching the TV stood up in shock.


    This revtion was too big. This murderer was the son of Legendary Zale Azarel? How could it be? The son of a hero bing a Viin? This seemed impossible, and most even thought that the Narrator was lying.


    "Hs is Lucifer Azarel, the young and innocent boy who had an innocent childhood, loved by his parents. He was a normal kid who had dreams and hopes like the rest of us, but his dreams were taken from him after his parents¡¯ death!" The Narrator continued. His voice and this information was making all the viewers feel something. It was making them ufortable.


    The pictures of Lucifer¡¯s childhood started appearing on the screen where he was with his parents. This proved that he was actually their son and that it wasn¡¯t a lie.


    "The kid was only five years old! He was only a kid when his parents went to a Dungeon on government and Hunter Union¡¯s request to keep this country and this world safe, but they didn¡¯t return! They died inside the dungeon, most likely because of a scheme against them by the APF and the government. Unlikely you think?"


    "Some of you would say that Zale was the Hero of Humanity, and he kept humans safe, just like the Hunter Union and the government did, right? Their goal was the same; why would they scheme against Zale?" The Narrator asked again.


    ....


    Rowen barged inside Varant¡¯s office, seemingly in a hurry


    "You need to see this! Come fast! Something big is happening!" Rowen told Varant. "We¡¯re in trouble!"


    "What happened?" Varant asked as he stood up. "Did Uprising attack a city again?"


    "Yes, it¡¯s Variant Uprising! They didn¡¯t attack any city, but they have taken over all the channels, and now they¡¯re giving out information about Lucifer and his past!" Riali told Varant, frowning.


    ...


    While Varant was being informed about what had happened, the broadcast on the channels continued.


    "Unfortunately, that is the truth! Still, think we are lying? Then ce your hand on your heart and think carefully; if the Government really liked Zale, how would they treat his newly orphaned son? With care? If they respected Zale, they would treat his son with care and try to give him an ordinary and happy life as he deserved, but no!"


    "The government took Lucifer from his home and brought him to a facility! A facility where he was tested on and kept in a cage that no kid should ever experience! Watch for yourself, how the next five years of his life after his parents¡¯ death progressed," the Narrator said before he stopped.


    The footage on the screen changed, finally switching from the heart-wrenching footage of the torture.


    The footage now showed five-year-old Lucifer being brought into the facility. It showed how tests were conducted on him that no kid should ever experience.


    Keeping him standing in artificial rain for a whole day, without letting him sit. Forcing him to stay up for days without sleeping, keeping him in that jail-like room which he wasn¡¯t allowed to leave.


    The room that had nothing but a ne bed was the only other ce he saw other thanbs for the next five years.


    The footage showed the next five years of Lucifer¡¯s life, in short making people feel sad for the kid.


    That kid was really a pitiful being after having to go through all this. Most of the people felt bad for him, but that was especially the case for unaffiliated Variants.


    Most of the Variants respected Zale like their idol. The man who was the hero of humanity.


    So to see a Variant¡¯s son being punished like this even after his father did so much for them, just what kind of cruel world was this? This whole revtion hit Variants especially hard.


    Some of the Variants that had kids couldn¡¯t help but look at them, wondering if the same thing will happen to their kids once they die. Even the thought alone was frightening them.


    Just as the Variants were feeling extremely sad for Lucifer, the Narrator¡¯s voice came once again.


    "After all this, what do you think this Cruel and Murdering kid in your eyes would have thought? He would have started hating humanity, right? Hear what he said even after all that," the Narrator said before the footage once again changed.


    Now it was showing Lucifer on hisst day in the facility when Doctor Rao, Doctor Layman and Doctor Min hade to his room to take him for the test.


    "Lucifer Azarel,e with us," Doctor Rao said in that footage.


    "Am I going to get tested again? I can develop powers like my father? I wish to be like my parents and help everyone," Lucifer replied.


    As the viewers heard these words, they felt like these words were stabbing in their hearts. Even after all that, this boy wanted to help everyone? Even after they did so much to him after his parent¡¯s death, he still wanted to help?


    This also brought a question to their mind. The boy who wanted to help humans even after all this, how did he be a cruel murderer that was wanted by the APF?


    What actually happened to the kid that made him be a murderer? What brought an innocent kid down that path? He didn¡¯t seem crazy from what they could see. Then what made him like that?


    The footage continued and also showed the reply of Doctor Rao to Lucifer.


    "No, you will never have powers. It would be best if you didn¡¯t even mention to anyone that you¡¯re the son of Zale Azarel and risse," Doctor Rao told Lucifer.


    Not feeling the least bit embarrassed for talking to a kid like that, he further added. "Otherwise, they will turn intoughingstocks to people for having such a worthless son."


    ...


    "This f*cking scientist! Is he crazy?! That boy is so nice, but he talks to him like that? Even after Zale saved so many people?"


    "F*cking bastards! I hate these scientists!"


    Most Variants that saw this were cursing out loud since they were imagining Lucifer like their son after knowing he was the son of Zale Azarel. Zale had helped many people, after all.


    Even the humans were upset at this behavior that they were seeing. These guys were really trash human beings. They were giving Lucifer the impression that the entire humanity was terrible, all because they were scummy!

 Chapter 173 - 173: Lie

    <h4>Chapter 173 - 173: Lie </h4>


    Some people even wondered how these people were allowed to work with kids for the government.


    "The kid that you think is a criminal still didn¡¯t hate anyone. He had love for everyone and hoped to be like his parents even after all this. Because he was a kind soul, not as portrayed by the APF and the government, what made this kind soul into a Criminal, you wonder? The answer is simple!"


    "It was the overbearing cruelty of the government. Even after all this, they didn¡¯t stop. The footage you saw at the start wasn¡¯t recent. That was the footage that followed right after what you saw," the Narrator said as the footage continued.


    Lucifer was taken from his room and brought to theb, where he was ced on the bed. Many wires were attached to his body.


    Soon, the torture began. It showed how despite Lucifer¡¯s constant scream, the scientists didn¡¯t take pity on him. On the contrary, it seemed like they were enjoying themselves as a smile was on their face as they kept increasing the pain.


    "He is dead. Cell destruction, hundred percent."


    As people saw the footage with all the context that they previously didn¡¯t have, they were even more shocked.


    They had thought that this torture was happening now after he had be a killer? But it was done even before? It was done when he hadn¡¯t even done anything wrong?


    The more they saw, the more they realized how much this kid went through. What this kid went through, they wouldn¡¯t wish even on their worst enemy. This was too cruel.


    "And thus, Lucifer was killed! The kid that had all this hope for making this world a better ce, was killed. The son of Zale Azarel that sacrificed his life, was killed! Do you think the government cared about him after seeing what was done to his son? If you do, you¡¯re naive!"


    "Not a single person that cared for another person would put his son to a torture like this for half a decade!"


    "The future of the young child was taken from him. All because of no fault of his own. Since the moment his parents died, he only saw the dark side of humanity. Not a single person protected him!"


    "Fortunately, through his parents¡¯ grace, he came back to his life as a Variant. All he wanted was to kill those scientists. Anyone would want that."


    "Throughout the journey, the APF started chasing him and attacking him. In his self-defense, he had to kill them. Was it wrong? Did that make him a cruel murderer?"


    "Who decides he is a criminal? The APF? The same APF that ims to protect people and care about their life?"


    "Even after so many obstructions, Lucifer finally got his revenge and killed those scientists," the Narrator said.


    Hearing that news, most of the people felt a sense of revtion. That¡¯s what those scientists deserved. They didn¡¯t feel that least bad about their details.


    Some even raised their fist in the air, failing to control their excitement. After all this, the kid got his revenge. He deserved it. They were d that those bastards were dead now. They wouldn¡¯t be able to do things like these to others.


    "The story doesn¡¯t stop there. As Lucifer left the facility after killing those scientists, the APF once again came to imprison him."


    "When Lucifer didn¡¯t surrender, they attacked him."


    The footage showed Xander attacking Lucifer, killing innocent kids in the process.


    " The person you saw attacking is none other than Xander ke¡ª one of the leaders of APF. And the kids he killed are more victims of the facility¡¯s tortures that Lucifer had freed."


    "The kids could finally have their freedom, but that didn¡¯t happen as the APF killed innocent Variant kids!"


    "Throughout this whole time, all Lucifer did was self-defense and take his revenge, and he¡¯s called a Devil Kid? He¡¯s called a Demon?"


    "On the other hand, APF, an organization that ims to fight for justice and gives the title of criminals to people, what are they?"


    "Who is a real Devil? The Kid who went through so much torture and did self-defense or the APF that tried to kill a kid instead of understanding and helping him against injustice?"


    "Who is the real Devil? The kid who killed the one that wanted to kill him or the APF that literally killed so many innocent kids without having the least bit of regret?" The Narrator asked as the video focused on Xander¡¯s expressionless face after killing the kids.


    "This is your time to think about it. Stop being blinded by words and look at the reality. APF is evil. Government is evil. They show their righteous side to hide the true evil they do while ming everything bad on the Variant Uprising. It¡¯s time for you to rise and take the power into your own hand. Don¡¯t let them cont-"


    The Narrator continued but he couldn¡¯t even finish as the feed was cut off. The channels returned to normal.


    ...


    "We did it! Finally, we were able to cut their connection and recover the channels," A man told Varant, who was standing right behind him in the control room.


    "You did, but it seems like it¡¯s already toote. This is a huge mess we are in." Varant muttered, frowning. "The distrust of people in us will be at an all time high now. That¡¯s not good."


    He looked towards Riali before he started leaving.


    "Riali, release a statement from our side. im that the videos used in the footage were fake," Varant told Riali.


    "You mean I should lie?" Riali asked, frowning.


    "It¡¯s for the greater good. We need to lie a little, or the problem would be bigger. We can¡¯t let Variant Uprising be the heroes."


    "We can¡¯t be the viins. Support of the public is crucial. I¡¯ll tell the president to keep the same statement and call these things fake," Varant answered, shaking his head lightly.


    ...


    "We lost the connection. Should I try again?" A Variant Uprising member asked Raia, who was standing right behind him.


    "No need. I think we got most of the information out. No need for more. Now it¡¯s time to use this to our advantage. They¡¯ll surely try to call it fake news. Too bad, they¡¯re going to get a big surprise as soon as they do it," Raia said as he smiled.


    ...


    As the two sides were trying to one-up the other, there was another person that wasn¡¯t a part of any equation.


    One blonde-haired man was watching the TV and saw all that was shown.


    As for the man, he was not someone ordinary. He was none other than...

 Chapter 174 - 174: Salazar Lucia

    <h4>Chapter 174 - 174: Szar Lucia </h4>


    As for the man who was sitting before the TV, he was none other than one of the four Warlock Kings.


    There were Four Warlock Kings that existed now, even after Zale Azarel¡¯s death.


    Varant, who was the leader of APF. Zeiss, who was the leader of Hunter Union. Raia, who was the leader of Variant Uprising, and Szar Lucia.


    Unlike the other three, Szar Lucia wasn¡¯t affiliated with any organization. He remained like Zale Azarel, unaffiliated.


    The man seemed to be dressed like an Assassin but a bit different than Rowen. There was something charming about him. He was only in his early twenties, but he was one of the strongest Warlocks already.


    His beautiful blonde hair and his deep blue eyes made him seem like a model. There also appeared to be some intriguing tattoos that extended from his shoulder to his wrists, in both arms.


    "Son of Zale Azarel, is it? So that¡¯s who this kid was. I was interested to know that there was a young Warlock that was annoying the hell out of APF but to know that he was his son..." Szar muttered as he sighed. "Like father, like son, it seems. Not bad. Not bad at all."


    "But to know that his son lived a life that that... I guess I really should meet him. Maybe I can help him. That¡¯s the least I can do for Zale¡¯s son."


    ....


    In a facility somewhere far away from Lucifer, a man was looking at hisputer screen, which was showing a Military Weapon Facility through Satellite.


    The man was part of a government organization that used satellites to keep an eye on important locations to make sure that nothing happened there.


    There was only one base of this organization, and the man was a part of it.


    He was given a lot of warnings by his colleagues about using the satellite for personal use, and every time he promised not to do it again. Since the organization was prettyx, he wasn¡¯t fired or punished except for being given a few verbal reminders.


    The man kept looking at the screen, which was showing military personnel going in and out of the Weapon Facility.


    "Yaaw!"


    The man yawned as he stretched his arms.


    "This is so boring. I spent the whole day watching the same ce. I think I earned the right to have some fun."


    "Which ce should I search?" He muttered as he fell into a deep thought.


    He opened his diary and started going through the names of the ces he had written on them.


    "Ameza Mountain? Seen that."


    "Dracia Forest, nope."


    "Triangle Recion? That wouldn¡¯t be fun this time of the year."


    "Orion Beach? That¡¯s right. That can be fun. It¡¯s the time of the year when high tides ur there. If I¡¯m lucky, I might be able to see that."


    After going through three pages in his diary, he finally ended up on the name of Orion Beach, which intrigued him.


    He started pressing a few keys on the keyboard as he set the coordinates.


    The view on the screen soon changed as it started showing the footage of Orion Beach.


    "Huh? There are people there? What are they doing there? It¡¯s dangerous to be there. Are they idiots? They might die if they¡¯re unlucky."


    As the man looked at the screen, he was stunned to see that the beach wasn¡¯t empty. There seemed to be two people walking near the sea.


    "Wait a minute, that one seems like a kid. The adult with him is an idiot! To bring a kid there?" The man said, seemingly upset.


    "The kid should be naive and didn¡¯t know about the risks at this time, but that woman with him should have!"


    He focused on the kid and zoomed in, just to make sure. He had decided to inform the authorities about a kid walking on the beach so they could extract him.


    As soon as he zoomed on the kid, his eyes opened wide in surprise.


    "What the heck? That kid! Isn¡¯t that the most wanted Variant in the APF list?" The man eximed as he saw Lucifer¡¯s face from close.


    He recognized Lucifer since he had been seeing him on the news for over a month now.


    He still had the perception that the kid was a killer Variant since he hadn¡¯t seen the news that was broadcasted just today. He was here in the office when Variant Uprising took over the channels.


    Moreover, no personal phones were allowed in the facility, so he couldn¡¯t even check the to know thetest update.


    They only had the basdline phones in the office, which didn¡¯t have an inte connection.


    "That kid killed a lot of people. So he¡¯s hiding there from APF. If I¡¯m not wrong, there is also a reward for giving information about the kid. That¡¯s good. I¡¯ll get money for doing a good deed," he thought as he nodded his head.


    He picked up the phone and dialed a number that he still remembered. The phone number of APF that was given in the news was only three numbers long after all.


    ...


    The APF control room received many calls throughout the day, but this time was different. They received the call with the information they were looking for.


    A caller had informed them about Lucifer¡¯s location, which was further given to Aluren in extreme urgency.


    ...


    Throughout the day, Lucifer walked along the line of the beach, talking to Caen. He spoke about many things, but he still hadn¡¯t spoken about Veracity.


    Throughout the day, Caen also asked a few questions rted to Lucifer¡¯s life which he answered without hesitation. Lucifer had started to open up a little about his life.


    It was evening, and the sun had started going down. The sunlight had started decreasing as darkness started taking over.


    Lucifer and Caen sat near the sea, looking at the Sun, which was going down slowly.


    "Lucifer, let¡¯s y a game. How about that?" Caen asked Lucifer.


    "What game?" Lucifer inquired, confused.


    "You tell me your happiest moment in life before bing a Variant, and I¡¯ll tell you mine. Whoever has a better one wins. And the winner will also get a prize," Caen replied.


    "What Prize?" Lucifer asked.


    "If you win, I¡¯ll do any one thing you ask me to do. If I win, you¡¯ll do any one thing I ask you to do?" Caen suggested. "How¡¯s that?"


    "This... I ept," Lucifer said, without thinking twice.


    If he won, he could get Caen to take him to Veracity. This was good. And if he lost, what could Caen even make him do that he didn¡¯t want to do? He didn¡¯t worry about this as he epted.


    "That¡¯s better. I¡¯ll go first," Caen said, smiling.


    He looked at the sea as he started speaking.


    "My happiest memory is of when I was seven years old. My father and my mother took me to a friend¡¯s family. You know what they said there in front of everyone else?" Caen asked Lucifer.


    "What?" Lucifer inquired, not having any idea.


    "They said that I¡¯m what they¡¯re most proud of. They said they¡¯re proud of me and I brought light to their dark world with my arrival. They said how much they love me before arge number of people, and I could see that they were genuine. That is the most precious moment of my life," Caen answered.


    "I might forget everything about my younger days, but I can never forget this moment."


    Lucifer nced at Caen and noticed his face that seemed to be reminiscing about the past. It seemed like he really meant that.


    "Now tell me yours," Caen asked Lucifer.


    "My most precious and happy moment?" Lucifer asked as he fell in a thought.


    "I only had five years with my family before they..." He muttered but didn¡¯t finish.

 Chapter 175 - 175: World Knows Me As Warlock King Varant

    <h4>Chapter 175 - 175: World Knows Me As Warlock King Varant </h4>


    "In those five years, every single moment was the happiest moment of my life. Just being with them, spending time with them, getting their love and their affection, every moment is precious to me," Lucifer answered. "Something I can never forget either."


    "So if I were to tell you the happiest moment of my life, that moment is my first five years," he further said.


    "Ah, you really had to throw a curveball in the end, didn¡¯t you?" Caen asked as he smiled wryly.


    "Though I must say, your answer is better. My one moment against your five years. I think you won," he said as he sighed.


    "So, what do you want from me?" He asked. "What do you want me to do? Even though you didn¡¯t need this game since I would¡¯ve done most of the things you asked anyways, but still tell."


    "What do I want you to do? I¡¯ll tell you when it¡¯s time to go back," Lucifer replied without disclosing much information.


    "Alright. I owe you one then. Anyway, I¡¯ll be right back. I should check up with the headquarters to know how the n is going," Caen said as he stood up.


    "What n?" Lucifer inquired, wondering what n it was now.


    "Oh, it¡¯s something which will bring your truth out. The people that think you¡¯re a killer will know why you did what you did. Think of it as us putting our side of the story before the world. I¡¯ll tell you more after Ie back," Caen answered before he left, advancing towards the helicopter.


    The device through which he could contact the base was inside the helicopter.


    ...


    As Caen left, Lucifer kept sitting near the sea, looking at the sunset.


    "This really is a beautiful sunset. This ce is pretty," he muttered as he saw the sun that seemed to be drowning in the sea.


    The red sun and the clouds that were in the sky. All of it made it a fascinating sighed.


    Moreover, a rainbow-like thing could also be seen in the sky for some reason.


    "You were right. This ce is really beautiful. I saw it just the way you wanted, but it¡¯s still iplete, isn¡¯t it?"


    " I wish you two were here with me as well."


    As Lucifer sat alone, watching the sunset, he was starting to feel depressed.


    He started talking to himself as sadness seemed to have overwhelmed him once again. He started missing his parents.


    Caen¡¯spany was keeping him busy, but now that Caen wasn¡¯t here, all those sad thoughts had started housing his head again.


    "If you were here, this world would have been such a better ce. It wouldn¡¯t be so dark, right?"


    "I really miss you. Can you hear me?" he repeated, firmly.


    "If only you hadn¡¯t ced your life in danger for humanity, you would still be alive. If only you were a little selfish, nothing like this would have happened. The selfish people are all alive, but you¡¯re dead. Why is it?"


    The more Lucifer talked, the more upset he got, until the end where he was clenching his fist.


    " The people who should have treated you as a gift to humanity, did this to your son. Would you be angry if you were here? Would you have punished them? Would you have kept me safe? You would, right?"


    He kept gazing at the Sunset as he kept repeating. It seemed like he was talking to the sunset instead.


    The sun was going down, taking the light along with it. It appeared to be simr to his parents, who died, taking all the light of his world with them.


    "Wait... gift... gift... That¡¯s right! I remember! I remember everything! So that¡¯s what my father was going to say in that dream! That¡¯s what he had said at that time! Something about my gift," he suddenly eximed as he started focusing more on his head to remember the exact words of his father.


    Soon, he remembered everything as the whole dream became clear, and his memories returned.


    ...


    "I¡¯m so sorry, Lucifer. But mamma and papa need to leave. We will be back pretty soon. You can stay without us, right? My baby is a big boy now, right?"


    "Of course he is. He is my son after all," the manughed as he also approached. "I¡¯m sorry, son, but the world needs us. We won¡¯t be gone for long. And when wee, we¡¯re going to make it up to you."


    "How will you?"


    "How about we take a vacation after that? Lucifer hasn¡¯t seen Orion Beach, right? Even though it¡¯s a bit far, it¡¯s a beautiful ce: the sunset, the wind, the water. Everything is just heavenly. My father used to take me there. I think we should go on a vacation there. It would be the best vacation."


    "Orion beach, huh? You¡¯re right. That ce is pretty. I was also thinking about taking Lucifer there. We haven¡¯t taken many vacations anyways."


    Lucifer¡¯s mother picked up a cup of soup and started feeding the kid.


    While his father opened his lips to speak something.


    "And there we can also give him his gift. That belongs to him, after all. We buried that on Orion Beach, right? I think it¡¯s time we take it out and give that to Lucifer. He is already five years old. It should be time we start that."


    ...


    ¡¯Gift! So that¡¯s what he was talking about! My gift! What gift did he leave behind? I need to find that. Thest inheritance of my parents! Something they left for me! Theirst memory!¡¯ Lucifer thought as he decided to search the beach.


    ¡¯Wait, Caen is here. Would it be right to search before him? I need to see what it is first. I will wait for him to sleep and then search.¡¯


    As Lucifer remembered everything, he modified his n, which now consisted of two things. The first was to find the thing that his parents left behind for him without letting Caen know. And second, was to find Veracity after that.


    As he finished with his n, he heard the footsteps behind him.


    ¡¯He is back. I should act normal,¡¯ Lucifer thought as he heard the sound of footsteps.


    "Caen, you¡¯re back," he said as he turned back, only to have his mouth opened in surprise.


    It wasn¡¯t Caen who was standing only one step away from him. Instead, it was a dark-haired man who seemed to be dressed in a coat and pants as if he was some businessman.


    Lucifer raised his hand to attack the man. This awful closeness was something he didn¡¯t appreciate. And to see a stranger near him that shouldn¡¯t be here, this was dangerous.


    He didn¡¯t think twice to ask any questions as he decided to attack with his lightning.


    Unfortunately, he had only started raising his hands to attack when the man smirked as he grabbed him by his throat.


    "Curious about me? The world knows me as Warlock King Varant," the man told Lucifer.

 Chapter 176 - 176: Heartless

    <h4>Chapter 176 - 176: Heartless </h4>


    "The world knows me as Warlock King Varant," Varant told Lucifer, raising him in the air by his neck.


    Lucifer had tried to attack Varant with his lightning even before knowing his name, but he was shocked to learn that his powers weren¡¯t working.


    No matter how much he tried, his lightning didn¡¯te out of his hand. What was happening? He didn¡¯t understand anything.


    He looked around to find Caen as he struggled to breathe, only to find Caen near the helicopter.


    Caen was lying on the ground, seemingly unconscious. There wasn¡¯t any wound on his body. Moreover, a man could be seen standing near him who was none other than Warlock of Shadows, Riali.


    That wasn¡¯t all. Assassination Emperor Rowen was also standing near Riali. These three seemed to be the only ones here.


    "Stunned? You made us run behind you so much, but that was fine. You hurt our men, but that was fine too. Then you hurt Xander. That was a little less fine. None of that deserved death but then you showed your eyes, which was not at all fine," Varant told Lucifer as he sighed.


    "Now that I look at you from close, it¡¯s true. I see a hint of Violet in your eye. I still don¡¯t believe your father could be this stupid. It doesn¡¯t matter. You need to die so that this chapter of our lives can end," he said as he started crushing the neck of Lucifer.


    "The one who will die is you!" Lucifer said, struggling to breathe as he clenched his fist and punched Varant¡¯s chest, trying to use his entire strength in the punch.


    As the punchnded on Varant¡¯s chest, it didn¡¯t go as Lucifer had expected. Varant didn¡¯t go flying; instead, he stood there, expressionless.


    It seemed like his strength wasn¡¯t working either.


    "That did hurt a bit. Not bad for a kid. But that¡¯s not enough to save you," Varant said as he started walking towards the helicopter of Variant Uprising.


    They dide here in a helicopter of their own, but theynded in the distance to make sure that Lucifer and Caen couldn¡¯t know about their arrival.


    Riali used his shadows to knock Caen out, removing the first line of defense of Lucifer. After which, it seemed as simple as taking candy from a kid.


    Lucifer didn¡¯t even know as Varant closed in on him. Letting Varante close was said to be the worst mistake a man could make.


    Lucifer didn¡¯t have his lightning. He didn¡¯t have his strength. He wondered if he still had his decay. He wanted to test.


    As Varant took Lucifer closer to the helicopter, still keeping him grabbed by the neck, Lucifer removed the ck gloves from both his hands and ced them in his pockets.


    He touched Varant¡¯s neck with both hands, trying to use his Decay while simultaneously strangling him.


    "Won¡¯t work. Even gods can¡¯t save you today," Varant replied as he tightened his grip, making Lucifer gasp for breath.


    "Want to see something before you die?" Varant asked, ncing at Lucifer.


    Lucifer didn¡¯t reply, but it didn¡¯t matter. Varant brought a knife out of his pocket and slit both the wrists of Lucifer with which he was trying to grab onto his neck.


    There was pain, but that didn¡¯t phase Lucifer. What actually phased him was that his wrists weren¡¯t healing. Let alone healing fast; they weren¡¯t healing at all.


    "What did you do?" Lucifer asked, still struggling to breathe. His face had turned red as the pain of not being able to breathe was visible in his eyes.


    "I took away your powers. Unfortunately, your powers are a bit too strong, so I could only take them away from you temporarily. Two minutes I should say, but those two minutes are enough for you to die," Varant said, exining.


    "You know why you kepting back to life? Because of your healing. But if you die when your healing isn¡¯t there, you¡¯ll die forever. It won¡¯t be like when your powers first awakened. Noing back from the eternal slumber this time," he continued.


    "Only one minute left before the effects of my power are over. Enjoy thest one minute of your life. And please don¡¯t me me for your death," he further said.


    "I¡¯m not enjoying killing Zale¡¯s son. No matter what others say about me hating your father, this isn¡¯t what I like either. But albeit, I have no choice. Your life will bring the death of others in the future. And I can¡¯t let that happen."


    Varant stepped inside the helicopter as he started the countdown. The helicopter started flying in the air, but instead of going towards the city, it went towards the Sea.


    "D...did you kill my fa...ther?" Lucifer asked, realizing that he really had no way out. He didn¡¯t have strength, but he also couldn¡¯t use any other powers. And the one he was facing was Varant. His normal strength and techniques he had learned were also useless.


    At least he needed to know the answers, even if it was going to be hisst moments as per Varant.


    "Not really. The short answer is no; I didn¡¯t kill your father. As for who killed your parents, I would suspect the Variant Uprising. The guys you helped? They killed your father and mother. So do you regret it yet?" Varant asked, smiling.


    "You¡¯re lying," Lucifer replied as his heartbeat slowed down even more. His gasps for breath were intensifying, but he didn¡¯t seem scared.


    "I wish I were lying but that¡¯s something I¡¯m sure of. Even though I have no clue to prove it, I¡¯m sure they did it."


    "Why would I lie to someone who¡¯s about to die? Right? Anyway,st ten seconds. Time is over as I can¡¯t wait for your powers toe back," Varant said as he sighed.


    "Goodbye, Lucifer Azarel... Son of Zale Azarel. I wish things could have been different," he said before he used all his strength to crush the neck of Lucifer.


    That wasn¡¯t all as he inserted his hand inside Lucifer¡¯s chest to pull his heart out, to make sure that there was going to be no returning ever again.


    Lucifer¡¯s eyes were still open as his heart was pulled out of his chest, but there was no shine in his eyes as he was once again killed, possibly for thest time.


    There were no tears in his eyes, though. Nothing like the first time he died. He didn¡¯t scream like the first time; he didn¡¯t ask why they were doing this like the first time; he didn¡¯t wonder why people were so cruel likest time.

 Chapter 177 - 177: Eternal Slumber

    <h4>Chapter 177 - 177: Eternal Slumber </h4>


    Lucifer didn¡¯t do anything as he silently went to his eternal sleep, wondering if he was ever going to return. He wanted to return. He had a desire to return.


    His parents still needed justice, and he still needed to find what his parents left behind, but still, he doubted if he could ever return. What Varant had said about his eternal death seemed true.


    Even in hisst moments, he couldn¡¯t help but wonder if it was really the end. If his life finally was free of this dark world.


    Could he really sleep in peace now? Far away from this cruel world? Could he meet his parents again, in heaven? Could he finally cry in his mother¡¯s embrace again? Could he finally be weak again? Finally, be a child? Many questions were floating in his head as his heart was pulled out.


    As soon as Lucifer was killed, Varant also dropped to his knees as if his body had suddenly gone weak. His eyes were bleeding as he kept coughing out the mouthful of blood before he fell even further.


    "Bacsh is hitting you. You really shouldn¡¯t have used your powers like this. Your life can be in danger now. Really an idiot," Riali told Varant as he picked him up and ced him on the seat of the helicopter.


    "T-throw him in the sea," Varant told Riali, weakly as he opened his blood red eyes.


    "What? Why?" Riali asked, not understanding. They finally had Lucifer, and he was dead. They didn¡¯t need to throw him in the sea now? Or was there something that Varant hadn¡¯t told them about Lucifer?


    Why did he pull his heart out even after killing Lucifer? Something seemed strange. He believed that Varant actually hadn¡¯t told him everything.


    "Throw!" Varant said firmly before his eyes closed as he stopped moving.


    Riali ran up to Varant and checked if he was breathing.


    "Sigh, he¡¯s still breathing. That¡¯s good," Riali muttered as he breathed a sigh of release.


    "How strong for the world yet how weak currently. This world really doesn¡¯t understand a thing about your powers."


    "To use them for two minutes to stop four S-Rank powers of a person, you won¡¯t be able to move for a year. Sigh, this limitation on powers can really be a scary thing," he said as he walked back to Lucifer.


    "Rowen, attach the oxygen mask to Varant and give him initial treatment," he told Rowen.


    " Already on it," Rowen replied.


    "If only Lucifer didn¡¯t have S-Rank Powers, the bacsh would have been minor, and the time of the effect of his power would have been longer. At Least Lucifer is gone now. We won¡¯t ever see these eyes again. The world can be at peace in the future too," Riali said as he looked down at Lucifer.


    "Throw him in the sea, he says. Whatever, he must know better. I thought we could take him back and do some research, but he should have a reason."


    Riali picked up a heavy object and tied it to Lucifer¡¯s body just to be sure.


    He picked Lucifer up and walked up to the door of the helicopter which was flying above the sea. The helicopter had already gotten far away from thend. No ind ornd was nearby.


    Once Lucifer went down, his body wasn¡¯t going to be found for an eternity.


    "Sorry, kid," Riali said onest time as he looked at Lucifer¡¯s face. Lucifer¡¯s eyes were still open, but there was no life in them.


    Riali closed Lucifer¡¯s eyes before he got ready to throw him in the sea.


    " You had a rough childhood that made you what you were. It was sad, and I didn¡¯t like it either. But the path you walked was wrong. Destiny made you stand on the path against us. I wonder who I can me. Certainly not you. This world is aplicated ce."


    "You faced a lot of sadness in this life. May you rest in peace in the afterlife and have the happiness you deserve. God bless you," Riali said some prayers before he tossed the body of Lucifer outside.


    Lucifer¡¯s body dropped from a height of thousands of feet from the helicopter before it fell in the sea, making a lot of water ssh everywhere.


    His body kept drowning. The speed of his drowning was further increased because of the heavy weight that was tied to his body.


    Riali took a deep breath before he sighed. Even though he knew it was important, he just threw a kid into the sea. He wondered how his life brought him to this moment.


    He had a nine-year-old kid of his own, so he felt even worse about killing a kid, but there was no choice.


    He turned back to look at Varant only to see that Lucifer¡¯s heart was still in his hand.


    "He did tell me to throw, but he forgot to mention the heart. Did he mean it too? Or not?" Riali wondered, confused, if he should throw the heart too.


    "He wanted him to be thrown into the sea urgently. I can¡¯t wait for him to wake up after we go back. It would be bad if I needed to throw the heart too," he wondered what he should do with the heart.


    "Whatever, he must have meant it too. He just didn¡¯t realize that the heart was in his hand," Riali said as he walked towards unconscious Varant.


    He took Lucifer¡¯s heart from Varant before he walked back towards the door and threw the heart outside too.


    He walked to the pilot and told him to take the helicopter to the base.


    "Do you know who this woman is? She was with Lucifer, and near the Variant Uprising helicopter, so she should be their member, but I didn¡¯t remember seeing her face. Could she be a new recruit?" Rowen asked Riali after he looked at Caen who was lying unconscious.


    They still hadn¡¯t realised that the unconsciousdy they had attacked was Caen.


    "Who knows? Maybe she¡¯s the babysitter of Lucifer in Variant Uprising. We had no time to ask her. We¡¯ll ask when she wakes up. Anyway, she was close to Lucifer. They made her apany their precious prodigy, so she must be an important member at least," Riali answered.


    He continued. "We should be able to get a lot of information out of her. Maybe we¡¯ll even know about their base now. Their days should be numbered."


    The helicopter carrying the APF started flying back to the base while the body of Lucifer kept drowning in the sea until it hit the bottom. He wasn¡¯t breathing, and he wasn¡¯t healing either. Two minutes had passed, but it seemed like he really was dead.


    The silent yet massive sea swallowed the young Warlock.


    While the APF thought that it was the end of their troubles, they didn¡¯t know. It was just the beginning...

 Chapter 178 - 178: Cold War

    <h4>Chapter 178 - 178: Cold War </h4>


    "What¡¯s the status of Caen? It has been close to a day, and he hasn¡¯t contacted us. Are you able to contact him?"


    Inside a room, Raia was asking his men a few questions. His face was riddled with worries about Lucifer and Caen because of not being able to contact them.


    It had been over a day since Lucifer left with Caen, and he wasn¡¯t back yet.


    "None. It¡¯s like all connections are cut off. I feel like something is really wrong. We need to go there and check ourselves," Kellian answered.


    "Strange. This shouldn¡¯t have happened. I¡¯lle with you to check personally," Raiamented as his frown deepened. "Arrange the helicopter. We¡¯ll leave in ten minutes."


    "Right away," Kellian said as he stood up and started leaving.


    As Kellian left, Raia shifted his focus to Vega, who was sitting near him.


    "You, try hacking the APF and the authorities to make sure they have no idea about Lucifer either," he told Vega.


    "I will. But I have a feeling it might be toote already. There can only be two things that happened. Lucifer killed Caen and ran away the first opportunity he got there. Second, Lucifer and Caen are both caught," Vega replied.


    "I think the second is highly likely. And if he¡¯s caught, it would be really tough to save him. He might already be dead," he further added.


    "I don¡¯t care. I want him back wherever he is. Even if it¡¯s the APF, Lucifer can¡¯t be allowed to die!" Raia said firmly.


    "I apologize, it¡¯s my mistake. I shouldn¡¯t have given him the promise to let him leave. I¡¯ll take the full responsibility," Vega alluded to Raia.


    "I promised to let him leave, thinking it would be safe now. And then I left to find more about Lucifer. It did not result in anything significant either since I only confirmed that Lucifer was actually Zale¡¯s son. I should have been here instead to stop him from going," He further continued.


    "It¡¯s not your fault. If he is caught, it¡¯s my fault. I was sure that they wouldn¡¯t be able to find him with all the precautions we took, but I was wrong. I underestimated their resources and overestimated Caen," Raia replied as he shook his head lightly.


    He stood up and walked over to the door to leave but stopped at the exit.


    Looking back, he started speaking. "I should have sent more people with him. To top it up, Predictor¡¯s words further clouded me since he said Lucifer and Caen woulde back safely."


    " I forgot that if his words are true ten percent of the time, they¡¯re wrong ny percent of the time as well. It¡¯s not your fault. So work hard. We need to find him," he told Vega before he departed, not knowing that it seemed to be toote already.


    Lucifer wasn¡¯t with APF. He wasn¡¯t at the beach either. He was lying in the bottom of the sea, which was facing high tides. Even APF wouldn¡¯t be able to find his body now.


    ...


    The APF helicopternded on top of their headquarters.


    A medical team was already standing on the roof. They were waiting as they were already informed about the critical condition of Varant, who was still unconscious.


    Varant¡¯s face was still pale, but fortunately, his eyes had stopped bleeding. As for his breathing and his heart rate, it was slow but stable.


    The medical team approached the helicopter after Riali and Rowen stepped out, carrying Caen.


    "Be careful with him," Riali reminded the team that was approaching the helicopter.


    The team entered the helicopter and carried Varant out with extreme care.


    Varant was taken downstairs to the proper medical facility where he was going to be treated.


    As for Riali and Rowen, they took Caen to the prison that was specially made for Variants and locked the unconscious Caen inside before they started leaving.


    "Sir, would a doctor being to see him?" A guard asked Riali, wondering if he needed to open the door again.


    "There¡¯s no need. We didn¡¯t hit her hard enough for her to be needing a doctor. She¡¯ll just stay unconscious. Anyway, keep a strict eye on her. She¡¯s an important member of Variant Uprising," Riali answered before he left. "Moreover no one except us two should be allowed to know about her or approach thisdy."


    ...


    Time kept trickling away as Variant Uprising searched for Lucifer but to no avail. They even went to the beach, only to find it empty. There seemed to be no obvious signs of battle or anything. There wasn¡¯t any blood either.


    This whole thing was confusing, but they were almost certain that APF was involved.


    "He¡¯s not here either. Should we go back?" Kellian asked Raia, who was standing near the sea, staring at the tides that weren¡¯t as powerful as they generally were.


    "Where did that kid go? He was the key, and now I lost him," Raia muttered, staring at the sea, unaware that the thing he was staring at was what kept Lucifer hidden.


    "Let¡¯s go back," he said to Kellian as he turned back and started leaving.


    ...


    The videos of Lucifer that were shown on the TV had worked miracles. Many people were now willing to join the Variant Uprising. From the viin organization, their status was elevated to an anti-hero organization that actually fought for justice.


    Even though APF tried to damage control by calling that footage fake, this excuse didn¡¯t work on a big section of the public, especially the unaffiliated Variants. They could feel that it was true. To make such a thing up seemed impossible to them.


    A lot of people joined the Variant Uprising, increasing their strength, while some people chose a different form of protest.


    There was a demand from the public to punish Xander for killing innocent Variant kids, and that demand was only gaining momentum.


    Unfortunately, APF couldn¡¯t even bring Xander out to give justification since Xander was in aa now.


    The APF still didn¡¯t lose hope as they yed even more tricks. They released all the details of Caen and made him the culprit. The story they went with was that it wasn¡¯t Xander who attacked Lucifer, but Caen, who was disguised as Xander.


    Since a lot of people didn¡¯t know about Caen, they didn¡¯t know that he could only copy faces and not abilities of other Variants, but it didn¡¯t matter. APF wanted this chaos to die down fast.


    The subtle cold war of recruitment continued for two months as the efforts of Variant Uprising trying to find Lucifer continued.


    They searched far and wide while trying their best to hack into the APF systems to know if Lucifer was there. Unfortunately, the protection in the system was too high this time.


    The entire APF was on high alert.

 Chapter 179 - 179: Someone Special Is Here

    <h4>Chapter 179 - 179: Someone Special Is Here </h4>


    "Any sess? It has been three months, don¡¯t tell me you haven¡¯t found any clue yet," Raia asked Vega as he smacked his fist on the table. "Where is Lucifer?"


    "None at all. I haven¡¯t been sessful at entering their systems, but from what it seems like, there¡¯s a chance that Lucifer might not actually be there," Vega replied as he sighed.


    "How can you say that?" Raia asked, frowning.


    "I can say that because the APF is still trying to find Lucifer, it seems. In fact, their efforts have only intensified. Most of their field agents are trying to find Lucifer and us," Vega answered.


    "Even though I haven¡¯t been able to hack into their core systems, I got some information out of their field agents. The higher-ups have been putting their full effort on finding him, without rest," he further said.


    "Of course, this could all just be a diversion, but we can¡¯t reject any possibility. It is possible that Lucifer isn¡¯t there. But where is he then? And Caen? Where are those two? Did Lucifer really run away with Caen¡¯s help?" Raia asked, frowning.


    "I¡¯m not sure, but maybe. Still, there have been no strings of murder that match Lucifer¡¯s style. But we can¡¯t forget, we taught him to fight without using his powers. So he can kill without letting others know that he¡¯s a Variant. We trained him, and he might be using that to hide himself," Vegamented.


    "That¡¯s why I¡¯ve been trying to follow all the strange murders that have happened around the country. If Lucifer is involved in any of them, I¡¯ll find him," he further said before the entire room returned to silence.


    Raia closed his eyes and didn¡¯t say anything, but frustration was evident on his face. They had Lucifer in their grasp, but they lost him. How could they be so stupid?


    Only a few minutes had passed before he smashed his fist on the table again in anger, breaking the table this time.


    ...


    "How¡¯s Varant¡¯s condition?" Rowen approached Riali, who had juste back after checking up on Varant.


    "His condition is pretty good. He¡¯s recovering for now. He still can¡¯t move, but at least he¡¯s better than before. He should recoverpletely in the given time," Riali answered to Rowen.


    "That¡¯s better," Rowen acknowledged. "I¡¯ll check up on him too."


    As Rowen entered Varant¡¯s room, Riali left. Other than one doctor who was also a close friend of Varant, these two were the only ones that were allowed to see Varant.


    Not a single person in the organization other than them was allowed to meet Varant after he was brought back unconscious around three months ago.


    Moreover, this information was kept secret. The ones that had seen Varant being brought here unconscious were told not to spread it outside. It was confidential information that only stayed inside the APF headquarters.


    In fact, the ones who had seen Varant that day weren¡¯t even allowed to leave the facility. If someone knew Varant was weak now, it had the potential to bring a cmity.


    Fortunately, the Variant Uprising hadn¡¯t attacked any cities recently. Most probably because they had the momentum and public support. They didn¡¯t want to lose credibility in public by attacking an innocent City for no reason at all at this time.


    In Varant¡¯s absence, Riali was the one taking care of the APF. He was the Vice-Captain of the Alpha Squad, and now he was inmand in the absence of Varant.


    ...


    Knock! Knock!


    Riali was sitting in Varant¡¯s office, going through some important files, when he heard a knock on the door.


    "Come on in," Riali responded.


    The door of the room opened, and a beautiful yet powerful woman walked inside.


    "Ayn, what do you need?" Riali asked as he saw Beta Squad leader Ayn before him.


    "I¡¯m here to ask about Varant. It had been three months since he was brought back, injured. Since then I haven¡¯t been able to meet him. What¡¯s happening here? What actually am I not getting to see?" Ayn asked as she took a chair and sat down.


    "Don¡¯t worry; he is perfectly fine. He is recovering, so he isn¡¯t meeting anyone," Riali replied.


    Only a few people knew about Varant¡¯s limitations, and he didn¡¯t want others to know either. The only reason Varant was like that was because of that. No one could be allowed to meet him.


    "What actually happened to him? Where did you three go, and how did he end up like this? Who was strong enough to injure him? Did you guys fight anyone?" Ayn inquired as she fired many questions, confused. Why wasn¡¯t anyone telling her the truth?


    All she knew was that Varant was hurt and nothing more.


    "Don¡¯t think too much about this. He¡¯ll be back soon. When you meet him next time, you can ask him yourself. I¡¯m in no condition to answer your question," Riali answered before he shifted the topic. "How is Xander now? Is he up?"


    "No. He is still in aa. I am not sure if and when he¡¯ll wake up. What has been happening to us?" Ayn informed Riali, who didn¡¯t seem interested in all that.


    "Xander is hurt, Varant is hurt, Lucifer is missing. Moreover, public support has dwindled because of no appearance from Varant to handle this," she further said.


    "Don¡¯t worry, just keep trying to find Lucifer. Public support is important, but we¡¯ll work on thatter. Lucifer is more important. Keep your focus on finding him," Riali replied.


    He still hadn¡¯t told her that they had already killed Lucifer since it was secret. Their own organization needed to believe that they hadn¡¯t found Lucifer for the enemy to believe it.


    They couldn¡¯t just say they killed Lucifer after he was made a hero here. His death had the potential to be thest nail in the coffin.


    "Alright. I¡¯ll keep my focus on Lucifer. We¡¯ve been increasing our reach everywhere. We should have a clue soon," Ayn said before she stood up and left.


    ...


    Two more days passed, and nothing of significance happened when one day, suddenly, someone knocked on Varant¡¯s office, which was being upied by Riali for the time being.


    "Come on in," Riali answered.


    The door opened, and a man stepped inside who seemed to be a member of APF as well.


    "What do you need?" Riali asked the man.


    "Sir, someone special is here to meet Sir Varant," the man answered.


    "Someone special? Who is it?" Riali asked, curious.


    "Warlock King Szar Lucia is here. He¡¯s standing at the entrance of the headquarters," the man answered.


    "Szar Lucia is here? What is he doing here at a time like this?" Riali eximed as he stood up, surprised.

 Chapter 180 - 180: I Want Him

    <h4>Chapter 180 - 180: I Want Him </h4>


    "What is Szar doing here?" Riali eximed in shock as he stood up. This wasn¡¯t a good time for him toe since Varant couldn¡¯t meet him. He couldn¡¯t help but wonder what Szar wanted.


    "Alright, bring him in. I¡¯ll talk to him," he told the man, sending him away.


    As the man left, Riali picked up the phone and called Rowen.


    "Rowen,e to Varant¡¯s office fast. Szar Lucia is here, and I need you to be here when I meet him. And no, don¡¯t tell Varant about this. He needs to recover in peace," he told Rowen over the phone before he disconnected the call.


    Within a few moments, Rowen arrived, not even bothering to knock as he stepped into the office.


    "Why is Szar here?" He asked Riali as soon as he stepped inside. "Did something happen?"


    "How should I know? I¡¯ll ask him when hees. Sit for now," he told Rowen, who took a chair and sat beside Riali.


    Knock! Knock!


    "Come on in."


    The door opened as a man peeked inside. "Sir, I brought Warlock King Szar."


    "Good, send him in," Riali responded.


    The door opened wide as the man stepped back, allowing Szar Lucia to enter.


    Young Szar entered the office of Varant looking calm yet confident.


    "What are you two doing here? Where¡¯s Varant?" Warlock King Szar asked Riali and Rowen, curious.


    "Varant isn¡¯t at the base. He left for some time to deal with an important matter. We¡¯re here, handling the stuff in his absence. So, what brought you here?" Riali asked, without even bothering to stand up.


    At the moment, these two were themanding chiefs of APF. They had to maintain the dignity of APF and not stand up, or they would look weak before Szar.


    "Fine. Since you¡¯re here, I¡¯ll deal with you first," Szar said as he stepped forward and took a chair before he sat down.


    A moment of silence followed where Riali and Rowen stared at Szar, wondering what he was going to say.


    Szar Lucia, on the other hand, was looking around, observing the office.


    "Not a bad office indeed. It seems like Varant really did some renovation," Szar said, breaking the silence.


    "Szar Lucia, don¡¯t tell us that you came all this way to see our office. Get to the point. What brought you here? Are you finally prepared to join APF?" Riali asked Varant.


    "Sorry, but I never liked a circus, and I have no intention of joining one either. I¡¯m here for something else," Szar Lucia replied calmly.


    "I¡¯m going to ignore that you called APF a circus since you¡¯re a guest here, but don¡¯t repeat it," Riali warned Szar, frowning.


    "Oh? What are you going to do if I did repeat it?" Szar asked, seemingly amused.


    "I¡¯m calling this ce for what it is. I called it a circus before Varant too. So you shouldn¡¯t be agitated that much. If you have a problem, you can solve it with strength. I don¡¯t mind," he further said.


    "Get to the point," Riali repeated. He didn¡¯t have any interest in fighting Warlock King Szar.


    "That¡¯s right. My time is precious, so I¡¯ll be straight. I¡¯m here for Lucifer Azarel," Szar said calmly.


    "Lucifer Azarel? What?" Riali eximed in surprise. Did this guy find out that they had found Lucifer Azarel long ago?


    "What do you mean? We don¡¯t have him," he replied as he calmed down.


    "Of course you don¡¯t have him. Or you wouldn¡¯t be finding him like dogs in every street. Listen to me clearly," Szar said.


    "Zale Azarel was my inspiration. Even though I never had the opportunity to meet him, but I respect him a lot for what he did. I always strive to be like him. So just imagine my surprise when I got to know that my inspiration¡¯s son had such a bad childhood? All because of no fault of his own?" he further said.


    "If I had known before, I would have taken care of things long ago, but now that I know, I can¡¯t ignore it."


    Hearing his words, Riali understood a few things. Szar was siding with Lucifer. He cared for him, and it was going to be a problem if he found out that they had already killed Lucifer.


    He kept his poker face as he replied, "Are you talking about that footage? That¡¯s fake. You¡¯re being fooled like the rest."


    "Spare your excuses for the general public. I¡¯m just here to tell you that I want Lucifer, and I want him safe!" Szar said firmly.


    "But he¡¯s a murderer. We need to keep him imprisoned, or he might hurt more people," Rowen chimed in, also pretending like Lucifer was missing, and they wanted to find him to imprison him.


    "You don¡¯t have to worry about that. I¡¯ll take care of him. He¡¯ll stay with me, and I¡¯ll make sure he doesn¡¯t hurt innocent people. He deserves a good life, and he will get it," Szar insisted.


    "If you can¡¯t get it done, bring Varant. I¡¯ll talk to him directly," He further said.


    "Fine. We¡¯ll think about giving him to you if we catch him but only if you promise that he won¡¯tmit any murders in the future," Riali said.


    "He won¡¯t kill anyone... innocent. That I can promise. We¡¯re Warlocks. Of Course, we¡¯ll kill when we see injustice. I can¡¯t keep him from his duties. But I promise, I¡¯m going to make sure he learns the rules and doesn¡¯t hurt anyone innocent," Szar answered calmly.


    "Fine. I¡¯ll talk to Varant about it. But most probably, we should be able to get it done. We¡¯ll inform you when we find Lucifer," Riali answered.


    "That¡¯s better. Since my work here is done, I¡¯ll be leaving. But remember, if you catch him and you don¡¯t give him to me, you won¡¯t be facing just Raia," Szar Lucia said as he stood up.


    He turned back but didn¡¯t leave. Instead, he gave his final warning. "Because if you keep that innocent kid here or hurt him even the slightest, you¡¯ll be facing me as well. Be sure to tell this to Varant and even Zeiss if you want."


    Only after finishing did he start leaving.


    Tuck!


    The door closed with a faint sound as Warlock King Szar left.


    As he left, Riali and Rowen finally breathed a sigh of relief.


    "No one should ever find out that we have already killed Lucifer Azarel, or Szar and Raia will team up. This won¡¯t be good," Riali muttered as he sighed.


    "I agree." Rowen nodded. "Who knew, this Szar would also have a soft spot for Lucifer."


    "Of course he would. Don¡¯t you know why?" Riali asked Rowen.


    "Why?" Rowen asked.

 Chapter 181 - 181: Discovered

    <h4>Chapter 181 - 181: Discovered </h4>


    "Not many people know, but Zale Azarel had saved the life of his mother and his father when Szar was barely seven years old. If Zale weren¡¯t there, Szar would have grown up an orphan," Riali told Rowen as he sighed.


    "And now Szar wants to protect Lucifer. Too bad, he¡¯s already toote," Rowen muttered as he looked towards the closed door.


    ....


    The vast ocean that covered more than half the world seemed to be unstable near the beaches of Elisium.


    Massive tides could be seen surging through the marsh as each wave that hit the beach came light-struck and broad-shouldered, with all the raw power the moon could bestow.


    The bright moon apanied tides, providing the much-needed light. As the surface of the sea shone under the moonlight, the bottom of the sea seemed to be filled with darkness.


    In an unknown corner of the sea, a young boy¡¯s body was lying, unmoving.


    Surprisingly, a hole could be seen in the chest of the boy, whose entire body waspletely pale. There were no expressions on the face. He wasn¡¯t breathing either as heid there in eternal silence.


    Three months had passed since the silver-haired boy was first thrown in the sea, and it was uncertain if he was ever going toe out.


    ...


    Under the bright moon, an old man could be seen walking through a vige.


    The old man seemed to be in his sixties. As for his head, it was covered with long white hair. He also supported a white beard that seemed to suit his face.


    The man seemed to be going somewhere when someone called out from behind.


    "Grandpa Chi, are you going to the sea again? The sea isn¡¯t stable for swimming at this time. Don¡¯t go!"


    A middle-aged man noticed the old man leaving and tried to stop him.


    "The sea is always suitable for me as the chaos of the sea is where I find my true peace," the old man replied as he smiled.


    "Grandpa Chi, listen to me. You might die if you go this time. The times are different. Goter," the middle-aged man again said.


    "Death? Death is but a different name of sleep. If I am scared to sleep, how will I see my demons in the dream?" The old man replied as he continued walking. "One day, everyone will fall into this sleep. There¡¯s no need to worry."


    Soon, he left, disappearing into the horizon as he walked to the beach.


    The middle-aged man was left behind, sighing.


    "This man is really crazy. It seems like he doesn¡¯t want to live. It¡¯s his life. I already tried the best I could," the middle-aged man muttered as he walked back into his own house.


    As he entered his bedroom, he realized that his wife was already up.


    "Where did you go?" His wife asked him as she rubbed her eyes.


    "I went to drink water when I saw that old man leaving. Then I started trying to stop him," the middle-aged man replied as he climbed the bed.


    "You mean that crazy old man? He was going to the sea even at times like this?" The woman asked her husband.


    "What can I say? He really is crazy. Who knows, maybe he might not even be able to return this time," the middle-aged man replied.


    "Sigh, you tried your best. Don¡¯t worry about him. It¡¯s not like he¡¯s our rtive. He doesn¡¯t even have a family. Let him live the life he wants. In any case, it¡¯s not like he¡¯ll certainly die. You know he¡¯s a Variant, right? He can survive in the sea," the woman said as sheid on the bed. "Don¡¯t worry and sleep."


    "You¡¯re right but still, whatever. It¡¯s not my responsibility to babysit that guy," the man said as he alsoid down on the bed.


    ....


    The old man reached the beach and stared at the sea, which he felt was his home.


    He was a Variant that was able to breathe underwater and swim in the sea like he was made for it.


    He had been doing the same thing every year since his young days when he awakened his powers for the first time.


    Every year, he came to the beach and jumped inside the sea. He tried to go as far as he could and explored the vast ocean as much as he could beforeing back.


    Even though the sea was not perfectly calm right now, he didn¡¯t worry as he stepped closer to the water before he was fully submerged in water.


    As the man entered the sea, he started swimming, without stopping.


    He swam the entire night and then the entire day as he enjoyed the silence of the sea. Even though it was unstable on the surface, it seemed to be perfectly calm near the bottom where the old man was swimming.


    Even though the man seemed to be old, not a single person would have been able to guess that after seeing the speed he swam at.


    He observed the exotic ntation and the various sea creatures in the bottom of the sea as he kept moving further.


    This time, he had chosen a different direction to move towards, unaware that it was where he was going to find something which had the potential of changing his entire life.


    As the man kept swimming, two days passed but he didn¡¯t stop.


    Days turned to week as he kept swimming. He only stopped asionally as he ate the sea nts, which kept him energized. His body could perfectly work just from eating that. He didn¡¯t even need toe out of the water.


    Soon, weeks turned to a month as the man reached closer to his destiny.


    He was still swimming ahead as he observed the changed texture of the ground, which he hadn¡¯t seen before, surprisingly. There were also a few nts that he had seen for the first time.


    He stopped near one of those nts as he started observing it.


    ¡¯Really pretty,¡¯ he thought as his fingers touched the nt, but it didn¡¯t take him long to realize that there was something else in the distance.


    He could see what seemed like a body lying on the ground at some distance from him.


    Leaving the nts behind, he started approaching the body.


    Soon, he reached the body of a young boy who seemed to be tied to a heavy object to make sure that he drowned. There was also a hole in his chest which seemed gruesome.


    ¡¯What a cruel world. People can even kill kids nowadays,¡¯ the man thought as he sighed.

 Chapter 182 - 182: Return Of Decay

    <h4>Chapter 182 - 182: Return Of Decay </h4>


    ¡¯Not only did they kill him, but they also made him drown? It¡¯s a kid, not a strong adult who could oppose. Poor kid, he didn¡¯t even receive a proper burial. His soul wouldn¡¯t find peace like that,¡¯ the old man thought as he observed the silver-haired boy.


    ¡¯Sigh, I can¡¯t bring you back to life, but I can at least help in your burial onnd. Your soul would find peace, and I¡¯ll get some good karma,¡¯ the man thought as he started moving closer to the young kid that was none other than Lucifer Azarel.


    The first thing he did was untie Lucifer from that heavy object before he wrapped his hand around Lucifer¡¯s waist and started swimming back. He was going to give Lucifer a proper burial; at least, that¡¯s what he thought it would be.


    ...


    The sea had finally calmed down as gentle waves brushed against the beach.


    Despite the sea being peaceful, not many people hade back to the beach at the moment.


    In apletely empty portion of an unknown beach, a bearded old man came out of the sea, seemingly carrying a boy in his arms.


    Both of their clothes were covered in water which kept dripping down as the old man carried the young silver-haired boy. Soon, the man ced Lucifer on the ground before he also fell down as he finally started feeling tired.


    Even though the man was very energetic inside the sea, on the surface, he was like a normal old man that quickly got tired. That¡¯s why he liked spending time in the ocean more than staying on the ground.


    As Lucifer was ced down on the ground, his handnded on what seemed like the branch of a tree that hade to the beach, floating in the sea.


    The old man seemed to be breathing heavily as he gave some rest to his old body while observing Lucifer.


    "What a kind-looking kid. I still can¡¯t imagine how someone can even think about killing him. Just what could have happened? Did he offend someone? Or was it done for money?" The old man wondered as he finally stood up, trying to carry Lucifer with him again, but before he could even pick Lucifer, he noticed something strange.


    The pale face of Lucifer seemed to have gained some color. The old man couldn¡¯t help but wonder if it was his misconception or if it was true?


    He closed in on Lucifer to observe his face more carefully when he noticed something even weirder.


    The tree branch over which Lucifer¡¯s hand fell seemed to be decaying ever so slowly. The more that branch deteriorated, the more Lucifer¡¯s skin seemed to be returning to normal.


    "This... What is happening?" The old man eximed in surprise as he took a step back.


    Within that time, the branch had turned to ash already.


    "Could it be that he... He was a Variant too? And that was his power?" The man wondered, surprised.


    "Wait! That couldn¡¯t be! Even if he was a Variant, his powers shouldn¡¯t work now! How could they still work unless he was... Alive?"


    Stunned, the man stepped forward as he ced his fingers on Lucifer¡¯s neck to check if he was breathing.


    "I was right. He¡¯s dead. He isn¡¯t even breathing. Then why? Why are his powers working? This doesn¡¯t make sense at all?"


    "Moreover, there¡¯s no way a person could survive after such a big wound on their che-" the man muttered as he observed Lucifer¡¯s chest.


    As soon as he saw Lucifer¡¯s chest, an even weirder expression appeared on his old face.


    His eyebrows rose as his eyes squinted.


    "I guess I¡¯m really hallucinating, but his chest wound seems smaller now. It was bigger when I saw himst time. What is happening? This can¡¯t be a misconception, can it?" The old man eximed in shock.


    "Could it be that branch, his ability, and that wound? His ability healed him? I need to test it!" he said as he started looking around the beach.


    He was trying to find as many branches as he could, and soon, he returned with a few branches.


    He ced the branches on the ground near Lucifer, but he didn¡¯t let them touch Lucifer¡¯s hand this time.


    He stepped closer to Lucifer and unbuttoned his bloody shirt to reveal his chest.


    "Now I can see if it truly heals him," he muttered as he stared at the big wound in Lucifer¡¯s chest. The wound was still the size of a fist, but it was slightly smaller than before.


    After unbuttoning Lucifer¡¯s shirt, the old man moved one of the branches towards Lucifer and made one of his fingers touch it.


    As Lucifer¡¯s finger touched the new branch, the branch once again started decaying. Strangely enough; this time, instead of the branch, the man¡¯s focus was on Lucifer¡¯s chest as he observed his wound.


    "It works! It really works! His wounds seem to be healing, albeit at a slow pace. What a fascinating ability. This is miraculous!" The man eximed as he noticed the minor healing of Lucifer¡¯s wound.


    The branch once again turned to dust, but the healing didn¡¯t stop. It continued even a few seconds after that before it actually stopped.


    "So his ability can heal his wounds, and it works even after his death. Really fascinating, but can it really bring him back to life?"


    "There¡¯s a difference between healing wounds and bringing them back to life. A person is abination of body and soul. If he has been dead for so long, can he really awaken?" The man wondered as he stared at Lucifer.


    "It doesn¡¯t matter. I must try! If it doesn¡¯t work, then at least I can say that I tried. And if it works, the kid will regain his life!" The old man said before he moved more branches towards Lucifer¡¯s fingers.


    For the next half an hour, he kept bringing branches to Lucifer and letting him heal.


    Finally, the wound waspletely healed after all this time and effort.


    What the man didn¡¯t know was that not only the wound was healed, but Lucifer¡¯s missing heart had also recovered by now.


    Even after that, the man didn¡¯t stop as he continued finding branches and bringing them to Lucifer. Only after a few more minutes did he stop.


    "It looks like his wounds arepletely healed. But is he alive now? That¡¯s the question," the man muttered as he once again ced his fingers on Lucifer¡¯s neck.


    "He¡¯s still not breathing. I guess I was over-optimistic. After all, it¡¯s impossible to bring someone back to life. But still, the abilities that work even after death... Just what kind of Variant was he? What was his history? How did he end up like that?"

 Chapter 183 - 183: Waking Up

    <h4>Chapter 183 - 183: Waking Up </h4>


    The old man once again sat down, tired and disappointed at the failure.


    "I should take him back and arrange for his burial," the man said after he rested for a little. "Enough time wasted already."


    He pushed his body up as he stood up before approaching Lucifer again.


    "Wait a minute. If he is in a coffin, won¡¯t the Coffin be destroyed as well? Even after his death, his abilities work, after all. I wonder if his abilities work on himself. If they don¡¯t, I can ce his hand on his chest," the man muttered as he tested this theory.


    He moved Lucifer¡¯s hands and ced them on his chest as he observed carefully.


    "This won¡¯t work on him," he observed as he nodded. "What about his clothes?"


    The man once again moved his hand as he made Lucifer touch his shirt, which started decaying.


    "So this works on everything as long as he touches using his hand. The only exception is his bare body."


    The man bent forward to pick Lucifer up when he suddenly stopped.


    "Oh right, I didn¡¯t even check if he has any identification. What an idiot I am. Maybe he has the number of his family or his address?"


    With that thought in mind, the man started searching. He first checked the pocket which was in Lucifer¡¯s shirt, but he didn¡¯t find anything.


    Next, he moved over to the pocket of his pants.


    "Hmm? What¡¯s this?"


    As he checked the pockets of Lucifer, he found something in each of his pockets.


    "Gloves?"


    He ced the gloves to the side before he searched more. And only after making sure that Lucifer had nothing else in his pockets, he sat down thinking. He also started observing the gloves.


    " With his powers, he shouldn¡¯t be able to touch anything without destroying it, so why does he have gloves? Moreover, these don¡¯t seem like normal gloves either. If he is able to wear them, could it be that these are unaffected by his ability?" the old man muttered, frowning.


    He ced the gloves on the ground before cing Lucifer¡¯s hand over the gloves to test his theory. Even though Lucifer¡¯s hands touched the gloves, the gloves weren¡¯t destroyed. Let alone being destroyed; they didn¡¯t even seem to be the slightest bit damaged.


    "This... I was right. These gloves are probably made from something that isn¡¯t affected by his abilities. That¡¯s good."


    "How do I make him wear them, though? I can¡¯t touch his palm or fingers; otherwise, I¡¯ll be affected by his ability too. This isplicated."


    The man fell into deep thought as he wondered how he could make Lucifer wear the gloves without touching his fingers, but that seemed challenging.


    "I guess I can¡¯t do it. I¡¯ll have to go with the older n. I¡¯ll ce his hand on his chest," the man muttered as he picked up Lucifer and started carrying him carefully as he walked towards his vige.


    He wasn¡¯t worried that anyone would see him with a dead body since it wasn¡¯t him who killed the boy. There wasn¡¯t any wound on the boy either, so he could just say he found this boy¡¯s body when he went into the sea. The boy had drowned.


    All he needed was to tell the truth while changing the story of Lucifer¡¯s murder with his drowning. Because if he talked about murder, then people would ask why there wasn¡¯t any wound.


    He couldn¡¯t tell them that the boy healed his body with his abilities after his death. That would not only sound crazy, but that would be dangerous as well.


    Moreover, if the news of this spread to big cities, many people woulde to take away Lucifer and test on him.


    His dead body will never find peace. That wasn¡¯t what the old man wanted, so he decided to lie. All so that Lucifer could rest in peace without his body being defiled by scientists.


    The man¡¯s vige wasn¡¯t far from the beach, but still, he had to stop and take rests in between as he was carrying a boy. He was getting tired regrly.


    ...


    "It¡¯s been over a month, but the old man hasn¡¯te back. Do you think he¡¯s dead?"


    "Who cares. Good riddance."


    "Don¡¯t say that. Be respectful; he¡¯s our elder."


    "What elder? He always keeps scolding me whenever I y outside his house. He was a rude old man."


    "It¡¯s not that. You know it¡¯s because his wife and his kids had died because of drowning. Since then, he has been pretty closed. Moreover, you always y outside his house when he is praying for his family¡¯s peaceful afterlife. Of Course, he¡¯ll get angry."


    "Hmph, shut up! Stop taking his side!¡¯


    The vige of the old man was pretty silent as most of the people were still inside their homes. Only a few kids could be seen sitting outside near the old man¡¯s house, talking about him.


    "Wait! Look there! It¡¯s Grandpa Chi! He is back! But who is he carrying with him? It seems like a kid? But he¡¯s not moving?"


    "Did Grandpa Chi kidnap a kid? Come, let¡¯s call our parents!"


    Seeing the old man return in the distance, all the kids started running towards their home as they informed their Elders that the old man had returned and was not alone.


    Hearing the news, the adults also stepped out of their houses right when the old man stepped closer to his house.


    "Grandpa Chi, wait!"


    A manly voice came from behind the old man.


    The old man turned back to look at the middle-aged man who was his neighbor.


    "Yes, Zhu?" he asked, confused. "Do you need something?"


    "Who is the kid in your arms, and where did you bring him from?" The man known as Zhu asked.


    "He? I don¡¯t know his name, unfortunately. As for his identity, that¡¯s a mystery to me as well. And where did I bring him from? That¡¯s the only question I can answer. I brought him from the Sea," the old man answered.


    "From the sea? What do you mean? Where are his parents?" Zhu asked again.


    "I have no idea. I found the boy at the bottom of the S-"


    Cough! Cough!


    The old man started answering, but before he could even finish his sentence, he heard the sound of someone¡¯s extensive coughing.


    His face turned pale as he realized that the sound of coughing wasing from near him. It was none other than the boy who was in his arms.


    ¡¯That boy? He was alive? Did his healing really work?¡¯ Shocked, the old man stopped speaking as he looked back at Lucifer.

 Chapter 184 - 184: Alex

    <h4>Chapter 184 - 184: Alex </h4>


    Cough! Cough!


    Lucifer, who was still in the old man¡¯s arms, started coughing extensively as his eyelids flickered.


    ¡¯He is alive? He really is alive? This is a miracle,¡¯ the old man thought as he stared at Lucifer, shocked.


    "Grandpa Chi, you didn¡¯t tell us. Who is this kid?" The middle-aged man once again asked the old man, who seemed to have his attention somewhere else.


    Without thinking twice, the old man started walking towards his house. "I¡¯ll tell you in the evening. Please give me some privacy now. I need to give him some first aid."


    The old man opened the door of his house and hastily stepped inside before he closed the door. Lucifer had slowly started opening his eyes as the old man entered his home.


    He was still in the old man¡¯s arms as he looked at the old man with his curious eyes.


    "Who are you?" Lucifer asked the old man, confused.


    The old man saw Lucifer¡¯s hand moving towards his chest. Worried about his touch, he ced Lucifer on the ground in a hurry before he stepped back.


    "I am the man who saved your life," the old man answered Lucifer, who was standing on the ground, looking around.


    " You saved my life? From who? Where am I?" Lucifer asked, not understanding what the man was saying.


    He could feel that his head was aching a lot. It was as if someone was ying drums inside his head, banging them again and again. He tried to remember what had happened, but he couldn¡¯t remember anything.


    "You don¡¯t remember how you ended up in the sea?" The old man asked Lucifer.


    "I-i don¡¯t remember anything. Who am I? What am I?" Lucifer asked hysterically as his eyes looked at unfamiliar surroundings.


    No matter how much he thought, he couldn¡¯t remember anything. Every moment of his life before this moment seemed to be nk.


    "You don¡¯t remember your name either?" The old man asked, frowning.


    The headache seemed to be increasing so much that Lucifer couldn¡¯t help but scream out loud.


    "It hurts so much!" He yelled as he held his head tighter.


    Lucifer¡¯s headache only increased the more he thought about it. He couldn¡¯t help but drop to his knees as he held his aching head.


    Seeing Lucifer in so much pain, the old man couldn¡¯t help but sigh. He couldn¡¯t understand what was happening.


    It seemed like being dead for so long had affected Lucifer¡¯s head. Even though he came back to life; even now, his memories seemed to be missing.


    ¡¯ It looks like his memories are gone. This isn¡¯t good since he can¡¯t remember anything. I need to calm him down, or if he loses control, he might destroy the house with his decay,¡¯ the old man thought as he slowly stepped closer.


    He had decided on a n. The only reason Lucifer was worrying so much was because he couldn¡¯t remember anything. He needed to give him something to remember so he could calm down, even if that thing was fake.


    "Listen, Alex! Calm down. You don¡¯t have to worry about a single thing. You¡¯re in your own home after all," the old man told Lucifer as he stepped closer. Even though he was worried that Lucifer might touch him, he took the risk.


    "Alex? Is that my name?" Lucifer asked as he slowly raised his head. Tears could be seen on his face, trickling down slowly.


    "That¡¯s right. Your name is Alex. Your full name is Alexander, but I call you Alex with love," the old man answered as he rubbed Lucifer¡¯s head.


    "Now, Alex. Don¡¯t worry about anything. I think you lost your memory in the ident, but you don¡¯t have to stress yourself. I¡¯ll tell you what happened. It would be like you never lost anything. Trust your Grandfather," the old man further said.


    "Trust Grandfather? You are my Grandfather?" Lucifer asked as his curious eyes looked at the old man.


    The nerves of his head were still visible as his head was still aching. It was as bad as it could be, but his heart was getting calm.


    "That¡¯s right, Alex. I¡¯m your Grandfather. Now stand up ande with me to the bedroom. I¡¯ll tell you what happened," Grandpa Chi told Lucifer as he stopped rubbing his head.


    He reached out his hand carefully and wiped Lucifer¡¯s tears before he stepped back.


    Lucifer didn¡¯t know why, but he liked the genuine and gentle look on the old man¡¯s face. It was as if this was something he longed for.


    He confused this longing with something different. He thought that he felt this way because the man was really his grandfather as he slowly stood up.


    "Here, wear this first," the old man gave Lucifer his ck gloves.


    Lucifer didn¡¯t ask many questions as he wore the gloves.


    "That¡¯s better. Come, I¡¯ll show you your bedroom."


    The old man escorted Lucifer to his own bedroom, which only had a bed that was big enough for one person.


    "Lie down on the bed and give your body some rest. And listen to my story," the old manmanded Lucifer as he entered the bedroom.


    Lucifer did as he was told andid on the bed.


    "My name is Chianne ric. But you call me Grandpa Chi with affection," the old man told Lucifer before he smiled.


    "Grandpa Chi..." Lucifer muttered.


    "That¡¯s right. You stupid grandson of mine, why did you have to go to sea at a time like this? I had warned you so many times, but you still didn¡¯t listen, did you? You went there after all!"


    "You know, if I hadn¡¯t found out about this, you would have drowned. You worried your grandpa so much," the old man said, changing the story a bit.


    Since he wanted Lucifer to be calm, he knew that he not only needed to give Lucifer the memories, but he also needed to give him a family. And he decided to be that family.


    He pitied Lucifer, but he also liked him.


    ¡¯If my son and my daughter-inw hadn¡¯t died years ago, they might have had a son who would be just as old. Is this God¡¯s will? I be his family, and he bes mine? Am I doing the right thing? It doesn¡¯t matter. This is what needs to happen.¡¯ he thought as he clenched his fist.


    "Alex, I¡¯ll tell you everything from the start. You were born right in this house. But when you were five years old, your father and your mother died because they drowned. That¡¯s why I always warned you against going near the sea. In this house, only we two live as a loving family, and that¡¯s all."

 Chapter 185 - 185: Join The Facade

    <h4>Chapter 185 - 185: Join The Facade </h4>


    "As for the other happy memories, I don¡¯t think I need to tell them to you again since I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll make more happy memories in the future," Grandpa Chi told Lucifer after he finished describing a made-up story.


    He didn¡¯t lie about his son and his wife¡¯s death, though. He just lied about the time of their death.


    "The ce you¡¯re in? It¡¯s the Vige of Oria. As for our country, we live on the Ind of Maltia. And..."


    The old man further started describing the geography of the ce and more about things that he needed to tell.


    "Do you understand now?" the old man asked in the end.


    "I..." Lucifer opened his mouth to say something, but he couldn¡¯t finish and just nodded his head. All this information was too much for him.


    "Sleep for now. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll remember everythingter. Your head isn¡¯t calm now. Give it rest," the old man told Lucifer gently.


    "G-grandpa Chi, why am I wearing the gloves?" Lucifer couldn¡¯t help but ask as he felt a bit weird. This question was in his mind for a long time.


    "This? That¡¯s because you have a very bad allergy. Whenever your handes in contact with the air outside, you start having trouble breathing. That¡¯s why we had these medical gloves made. Never take them off, alright?" The old man told Lucifer.


    "Allergy?" Lucifer muttered as he stared at the gloves on his hand. "I won¡¯t."


    "That¡¯s better."


    The old man waited with Lucifer and even sang a song for him to make him sleep.


    Only after Lucifer slept did the old man stood up and left the room.


    ...


    He entered the main hall as he finally sighed.


    "At Least he¡¯s calm now. This is better. But did I really do the right thing by lying? He has a really good chance of gaining back his memory in the future. And when he knows I lied, will he be upset? Or will he understand that I lied to him? I wonder."


    "Since I lied for his sake, he shouldn¡¯t be that upset. In any case, without his memories, he would feel better living with someone he thinks of as family than living with a stranger."


    "It¡¯s not like telling him the truth at this time has any benefit. He doesn¡¯t know anything. He won¡¯t even know where he was from. I can¡¯t even find his home," the man muttered as he left home. He kept trying to justify his decision.


    As soon as he stepped out, he looked in the distance to see all his neighbors standing in a group, discussing something.


    "These people, do they really think I¡¯m a criminal that¡¯ll kidnap a kid?" The old man rolled his eyes as he started walking towards the people.


    "You¡¯re thinking too much. Grandpa Chi wouldn¡¯t kidnap a kid. Don¡¯t think like that."


    "You can¡¯t be sure. Didn¡¯t you see? The boy seemed to be unconscious, and as soon as he started waking up, Grandpa Chi took him inside. He¡¯s certainly hiding something."


    "What am I hiding?" Hearing the words, Grandpa Chi couldn¡¯t help but chime in.


    Hearing his voice, everyone turned to look at him.


    "Ah, Grandpa Chi, it¡¯s not like we doubt you, but we just want to know. Who is the kid that you brought with you?"


    "I came here to talk to you about that as well. I found the boy drowning in the sea. I saved him and brought him here," Grandpa Chi answered.


    "Ah, so that¡¯s what it is. That¡¯s why he was coughing so much," said a middle-aged man as he pped suddenly.


    "If that¡¯s true, you wouldn¡¯t mind us talking to him, right?" Onedy asked, still suspicious.


    "Not at all. But you must know one thing first. That kid, I just talked to him inside. It seems that he has lost his memories because of this trauma. Because of not being able to remember anything, he seemed to be going crazy, so I lied to him a bit," the old man exined as he sighed.


    "He lost his memories because of drowning? I heard things like that happen, but still, what do you mean? What lie did you tell him?" Thedy asked again.


    "I told him that this is his home and that he is from here. I also told him that I¡¯m his Grandfather. At that moment in time, that was the best option to keep him from going insane."


    "With great effort and some lies, I calmed him down. Don¡¯t tell him the truth. It would help if you people kept the facade," Grandpa Chi told everyone. He even joined his hands. "Treat it as a request."


    "This? You lied to the boy who had lost his memories? Have you gone insane? Do you know how he will react when the police take him away? What will you tell him then?" Thedy asked as she squinted her eyes.


    Even though she believed what the old man was saying, she still felt this was stupid to do.


    "Police will take him away? Why?" Grandpa Chi asked, frowning.


    The woman took a deep breath as she sighed. "Grandpa Chi, do you really not know? You aren¡¯t his real grandpa. He must have a family of his own somewhere that would be worried about him. How will the police help him get to his home without taking him?"


    "The police can¡¯t help him anyway. Because the kid isn¡¯t from this Ind," the old man answered, shaking his head.


    "He isn¡¯t from this Ind?" Everyone eximed in shock.


    "Where is he from?"


    "When I was swimming, I found him drowning. At that moment, I was far away from here. In fact, I was closer to the continent of Esti than I was from here," the old man answered.


    "So he could be from anywhere in the continent of Esti that contains many countries. It¡¯s impossible for him to get to his home, that too, without his memories. So our police can¡¯t help him."


    "Moreover, I think he won¡¯t be safe there either. I mean, the kid was drowning, and no one was nearby. I think someone threw him in the sea with the intention to kill him. He won¡¯t be safe there," the old man said gravely.


    "He¡¯s from a different continent? And you want him to live with you forever without knowing the truth?" Thedy asked as she stared at the old man.


    "That¡¯s right. I think this is the best choice. I don¡¯t have a family. He doesn¡¯t have a family. He needs my help. This is the best choice then."


    "Moreover, he won¡¯t have to live the life of an orphan with this lie of ours. He can have a family again. So I request of you. Please don¡¯t tell him the truth and let me take care of him!" The old man insisted.


    *****


    [Author Note:


    This is an Important Crossroad of the story with the memory loss arc but this arc won¡¯t be long. And yes, his memory will return but this arc will y a really important role.


    I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll enjoy the story. Pleasement on what you think this arc will go like.


    Moreover please Vote on Web Novel with your powerstones if you can.


    There will be mass release every Monday depending on weekly powerstones.


    Each 500 powerstones will be one extra chap on Monday¡¯s release above the usual 2 Chaps.


    500 Ps: 3 Total Chaps on Monday


    1000 Powerstones: 4 Chaps


    And so on. Thank you]

 Chapter 186 - 186: Academy Of Gifted Variants?

    <h4>Chapter 186 - 186: Academy Of Gifted Variants? </h4>


    Hearing the man¡¯s request, people seemed to look at each other as they wondered what they should do. The words of this man made sense, but still, this seemed a bit odd. They literally had to fake the life of a stranger who had lost his memories? Did they really need to be a part of this lie?


    "I think Grandpa Chi is right. If the boy actually lost his memory, he deserves our help. We need to keep him in this illusion, so he stays happy. I can¡¯t even imagine how bad his life will be on this Ind since our orphanage system is so bad. We should help him."


    While everyone was lost in thought, a man took the lead as he sided with the old man.


    As the first person chose a side, another man also chimed in. "They¡¯re right. We should help him. And maybe one day he might gain his memory? Then he can go back to his home. We¡¯re all doing this for him after all."


    One after another, more and more people kept siding with the old man until there was only onedy who was yet to speak.


    ¡¯I¡¯ll agree with this too," thestdy also agreed. "But first, I want to talk to the kid to know if he actually lost his memories."


    "He¡¯s sleeping now. After much trouble, I managed to get him to sleep. We can¡¯t wake him up. Let him rest. You cane in the evening," Grandpa Chi replied.


    "Alright. We¡¯lle in the night. Take care of him in the meantime," thedy said, nodding.


    She looked at her husband before she continued, "Until then, you stay with Grandpa Chi and help him with stuff."


    Even though she talked about helping, Grandpa Chi understood her intent. She wanted her husband to stay with him to make sure he didn¡¯t scare the kid to lie to themter. She wanted him to keep an eye on the old man.


    Her husband also understood her intent as he said, "Of course."


    ....


    Grandpa Chi was inside his house with a middle-aged man known as Ru. They asionally checked on Lucifer to make sure he was sleeping before they continued the preparation. Since the house was dirty, Grandpa Chi started cleaning, and Ru helped him.


    The time kept trickling away as day turned to night. There was suddenly a knock on the door of the old man¡¯s house.


    "It looks like the others are here to talk to the kid. Bring them in," Grandpa Chi told Ru as he sat on the sofa, tired. Lucifer still wasn¡¯t up by now, but the knock on the door woke him up.


    He slowly opened his house and looked around to find himself where he previously was. As for his memories, he still hadn¡¯t remembered anything. The only thing he knew was what the old man told him.


    "Grandpa Chi?" Lucifer called out as he got off the bed.


    He stepped outside the room to find the old man sitting on the sofa. Tens of people had also stepped inside the house, it seemed.


    Lucifer couldn¡¯t help but wonder who these people were.


    "Ah, Alex, you¡¯re up. These are our neighbors," Grandpa Chi said as he pointed towards the neers. "They¡¯re here to see if you¡¯re alright."


    Lucifer nodded as he sat beside the old man.


    From the crowd, ady stepped forward as she approached Lucifer.


    "Alex, how are you feeling now?" She asked Lucifer.


    "I am feeling better now," Lucifer replied. "But my head still hurts."


    "That¡¯ll get better too, don¡¯t worry. But, do you really not remember anything?" Thedy asked.


    In response, Lucifer simply shook his head.


    She asked a few more questions, to which Lucifer answered as honestly as he could. In the end, she was satisfied. The story of the old man was really true.


    "I¡¯m d you¡¯re safe, Alex. You worried your grandpa so much. Next time be careful, alright?" She told Lucifer as she rubbed his head.


    As the story was verified, the people of this vige decided to take part in this lie. And thus, the lie became the truth as Lucifer became a part of this vige.


    ...


    The time never stood still as it kept moving. Seasons changed as days turned to years.


    Four years had passed since Lucifer was found by Grandpa Chi, and he was still living in the Vige.


    He still believed that he was the grandson of the old man, unaware of the truth. He didn¡¯t know that the illusion of this fake life was soon going to break.


    Throughout these four years, Lucifer and Grandpa Chi lived together and got to know a lot of things about each other.


    The old man had realized that Lucifer didn¡¯t only have one ability. He had one more ability which was his Super Strength. He still didn¡¯t know about Lucifer¡¯s wind and lightning as Lucifer himself didn¡¯t know about them yet.


    Lucifer also didn¡¯t know about his Decay since, as per his promise to the old man, he always wore his gloves which kept his decay under control.


    In these four years, the man also tried teaching Lucifer how to read and write, but surprisingly Lucifer remembered those things. He could not only read but also write.


    ...


    At the moment, Lucifer and Grandpa Chi were sitting near the sea, gazing at the peaceful ocean. Gentle winds brushed against their skins, gently massaging them.


    "Grandpa Chi, Do I really need to leave?" Lucifer asked the old man, looking sad.


    "My Dear Grandson, you¡¯re already fourteen years old now. I think this is the right decision. I worked really hard to get that ce for you in the academy," Grandpa Chi answered.


    "But Grandpa, I don¡¯t need to," Lucifer protested.


    "It¡¯s not about need but about your future. Your strength is really special. It¡¯s a unique ability that can really help a lot of people. But you need to learn how to use it properly. And that¡¯s what you¡¯ll be taught in the Academy of Gifted Variants." the old man said.


    "So please listen to this old man and go there. It¡¯s just a matter of five years. Moreover, I¡¯lle to meet you in the city each month. I promise," he further added as he picked up a stone that was ced near him.


    The old man tossed the stone towards the ocean, which bounced fifteen times before it finally drowned.


    "Will this really make you happy?" Lucifer asked as he also picked up a simrly sized stone.


    "It will," the old man answered. "Just for five years."


    Lucifer looked at the old man as he sighed. "Fine. I¡¯ll go there."


    He also tossed the stone which was in his hand. Surprisingly his stone went much further than his grandfather¡¯s, but it didn¡¯t bounce even once before it drowned.

 Chapter 187 - 187: Class A

    <h4>Chapter 187 - 187: ss A </h4>


    A new morning was on the horizon as Lucifer woke up from his sleep, yawning.


    He got off the bed and stepped out of the room to find the old man sitting on the sofa with a packed bag.


    "You already prepared everything? You¡¯re in a hurry to get me to leave, aren¡¯t you?" Lucifer asked as he rolled his eyes.


    "Not at all. I¡¯m not fast; it¡¯s you who woke upte. It¡¯s already eight in the morning, young man," the old man answered as he pointed towards the clock.


    "Take a shower and get ready fast, or we¡¯ll miss the only ride to the city of the day."


    Lucifer walked back to his room and picked up a few clothes before he stepped inside the shower.


    Only after getting dressed did he leave.


    "I¡¯m ready," he told the old man as he left the room again.


    "That¡¯s good. Let¡¯s leave them." Grandpa Chi stood up with a bag and left the house with Lucifer.


    As they left, they found all their neighbors standing outside, waiting for them.


    "Aunt Velma, Uncle Luci, Uncle Joe, Uncle Dona, why are you all waiting here?" Lucifer asked in surprise.


    "Alex, we heard you¡¯re going to the Academy? We came here to bid you farewell since it¡¯s a huge deal. You¡¯ll be a hero if you graduate from there and make our small vige proud. We wanted to wish you luck and thank you for everything."


    The leader of the Vige replied to Lucifer.


    "Not at all. I should thank you instead. All of you are so nice. I can¡¯t tell you how happy I am that I was born in this vige," Lucifer answered as he bowed respectfully.


    Hearing his words, some people couldn¡¯t help but look elsewhere. They just remembered that it was all a lie that Lucifer was believing. He wasn¡¯t born here, and they had lied to him while keeping him in the dark. Unfortunately, he still hadn¡¯t gained his memories.


    "Come, let¡¯s leave," Grandpa Chi patted Lucifer¡¯s shoulders as he started walking. "We¡¯ll bete."


    Under the watchful eyes of vigers, the two left the Vige, disappearing into the horizon.


    ...


    Lucifer and Grandpa Chi were waiting on the main road, which was quite some distance from the Vige.


    They had to walk for two hours straight to get here. Unfortunately, they had no other choice since their vige was very poor.


    None of them had any vehicle, and if they wanted to get to the central city, they needed to catch the bus from here.


    The bus had a fixed time of two in the afternoon, and it only came once a day.


    ...


    The weather was too hot as the sun was right above their heads when Lucifer and Grandpa Chi reached the stop. They were already sweating as they waited for the bus.


    Fortunately, the bus wasn¡¯tte this time. It arrived right on time and stopped before the two.


    The doors of the bus opened, letting Grandpa Chi and Lucifer enter. They found empty seats and sat near each other as the bus started moving again.


    "Alex, you¡¯re going to live in a new ce and meet new people. You must always behave properly and never hurt anyone, alright?" The old man asked Lucifer after a moment of silence.


    "I won¡¯t, grandpa. I¡¯m going there to learn. Why would I hurt anyone?" Lucifer asked, smiling.


    His smile seemed entirely natural and made him look so charming. Before his new life here, he rarely smiled, and his smile was always sad, but it genuinely seemed happy now.


    "That¡¯s better," the old man acknowledged. "One more thing. I¡¯m sure you know it, but you must never take your gloves off, alright? No matter what anyone says, never take your gloves off!"


    "I won¡¯t. I know I have that rare allergy. I know all the rules, Grandpa. Don¡¯t worry. I won¡¯t hurt anyone, and I won¡¯t take off my gloves," Lucifer agreed.


    The bus kept moving for twelve hours straight before it finally stopped at its destination.


    The Capital City of the Ind Nation of Maltia. It was the city of Hellia, the central city of this nation, which had anything a person could ask for.


    The most memorable thing about this city was the Academy for Gifted Variants, which wasmonly known as AGV.


    It was the only Variant Academy that was in this nation, and Lucifer was going to study here. It was also the ce where Lucifer¡¯s future was going to be written.


    As the bus stopped, Lucifer stepped out with his grandpa. They took a cab which further took them to the entrance of the Variant Academy.


    Standing before the massive entrance doors of the Academy, Lucifer couldn¡¯t help but look up.


    The Academy... It was so huge yet also so beautiful. It seemed to be made of the purest of white marbles and looked no less than a giant pce.


    "Who are you, and what do you want?" The guards at the gate asked Grandpa Chi as they approached him.


    "Ah, this is my grandson Alex. He got admission in the Academy," Grandpa Chi informed the guard.


    "Oh? This kid got the admission?" The Guard eximed as he observed Lucifer. "He is really lucky, it seems. He must also be a really gifted Variant."


    "Yes, he is," Grandpa Chi replied proudly.


    "May I see the Admission Pass?" The guard asked as he reached out his hand. "That¡¯s the protocol. Without that, I can¡¯t let him enter."


    "Here is his pass. I brought it with me," the old man replied as he opened the bag and brought a file out of the bag.


    He gave the file to the guard.


    The guard opened the file as he read the first page.


    "Alex ric, age fourteen. Admission status passed¡ªbatch assigned twenty-four. The ss assigned, A? What? He¡¯s in ss A of his batch?" The guard eximed as he looked at Lucifer in surprise.


    "Is ss A special?" Lucifer asked, curious.


    "Special would be the understatement of the century. Only really gifted Variants get admission there. The Academy must believe in your potential, I think. Not bad, kid. I think you¡¯ll have a good life here," the guard nodded as a pleasing smile appeared on his face.


    If Lucifer was in ss A, it meant he had the potential to be a high-ss Variant in the future. It was always a good decision not to offend them.


    "Alright, Uncle. This checks out. I¡¯ll take him to his room. As for the orientation, it¡¯ll be tomorrow. You can leave," the Guard told Grandpa Chi as he kept the file back in Lucifer¡¯s bag.


    "I can¡¯t take him inside?" the old man asked the guard. "I was thinking I could help him settle in his room."


    " I apologize, but you can¡¯t. These are the rules. No guardians can enter. The only time you¡¯re allowed to enter is if you get a special appointment and a pass. I¡¯m sure you should know about it. After all, for his admission, you must have entered the Academy with a pass, didn¡¯t you?" The guard asked.


    "I did, but I didn¡¯t know that I¡¯d need a pass even now, only to leave him inside. But if these are the rules, I understand," Grandpa Chi replied, sighing.


    "Grandpa, can¡¯t you take a pass now? Come with me," Lucifer told the old man, unwilling to leave him so soon.


    "I can¡¯t, Alex. To get an appointment, you need to apply ten days in advance. Don¡¯t worry, next time Ie; I¡¯lle with an appointment. You can go inside with him. No one will harm you," Grandpa Chi replied.


    "But Grandpa?"


    "No, but. What did you promise before? Remember. You¡¯ll follow the rules of this academy in any case. So go inside!"


    Being scolded, Lucifer looked down in disappointment. "Fine. I¡¯ll go in."

 Chapter 188 - 188: The Inevitable

    <h4>Chapter 188 - 188: The Inevitable </h4>


    Lucifer stepped closer to the old man and hugged him tightly before he looked at the guard. "I¡¯m ready."


    The Guard took Lucifer inside, opening the metallic door.


    As for Grandpa Chi, he just stood where he was waving at Lucifer. A satisfied smile was on his face as he was happy that Lucifer was going to be sessful.


    He actually believed Lucifer to be his grandson by now and was delighted at his future prospects.


    Lucifer also kept looking back and waving his hand; however, unlike Grandpa Chi, he looked sadder since he was leaving the old man and going to an unfamiliar ce.


    ....


    "You can never stop the inevitable."


    Dark clouds were spread all over the sky while a red mist could be seen filling the atmosphere. The mist even seemed a bit like blood.


    A strange winged creature was lying on the ground. The creature didn¡¯t look the least bit like a human. Instead, he had eagle-like wings along with a body that was covered entirely in fur.


    There was a hole in the chest of this creature, and six people were standing around him.


    The six people seemed to be none other than Zale Azarel, risse, Zeiss, Raia, Varant, and one more man who appeared to be a bit chubby.


    Except for the chubby man who was looking at the strange creature, every other person was looking at the sky.


    Seven strange stones were floating in the sky close to each other. Thunder was cracking everywhere, and it even seemed like spatial discement was taking ce around the stones.


    As the stones got more and more in harmony, a portal started opening in the distance, albeit extremely slowly.


    Through the portal, Zale and the others could see what seemed like eyes: one blue and one violet.


    As the portal was so small, the face these eyes belonged to couldn¡¯t be adequately seen, but the portal was only getting bigger, albeit exceptionally slowly.


    "No!"


    A scream suddenly filled the room as a man woke up from his dreams.


    His eyes snapped open as he found himself covered in a cold sweat. His heart was pounding as he looked around the room suspiciously.


    As the man woke up, he couldn¡¯t help but sigh as he found himself in a familiar ce, far away from that distant field where everything took ce.


    "That day doesn¡¯t leave me even in my dreams. It¡¯s all because of Varant. He just has to remind me about that event. Now that dayes in my nightmares too. That idiot," the man muttered as he got off the bed while rubbing his eyes.


    He was only wearing pants and nothing else, revealing his chiseled body. Unfortunately, no one else was here to see him.


    His entire body seemed to be covered in sweat even though the air-conditioner was on.


    The man walked to the shower, closing the door behind him.


    He had only turned on the shower when there was a knock on the door of his room. Unfortunately, the sound of the shower made him unable to hear the knocks.


    Outside the man¡¯s room, someone was standing, constantly knocking.


    "Master Zeiss, are you inside? Master Varant is here to meet you!"


    ...


    Lucifer was brought inside the Academy of the Gifted Variants. The doors of the academy were closed, making Lucifer unable to see his grandfather anymore.


    " Young man, I¡¯m sure you¡¯re going to have a really good time here. This Academy is pretty fun," the guard started talking to Lucifer as he walked beside him. "But just remember, it¡¯s also very strict. If you break a rule, you¡¯ll be punished. So be careful, alright?"


    "I¡¯ll be careful. Grandpa Chi told me about this," Lucifer replied as he nodded his head.


    "That¡¯s better. Other than this, if you need any help or advice, you can alwayse to me, alright? I¡¯ll be happy to help you," the guard further said, trying to get in Lucifer¡¯s good books.


    "I will. Thank you so much," Lucifer answered.


    Lucifer was escorted to the hostel that was inside the academy itself.


    The room which was assigned to him was already mentioned in the file which was with Lucifer now.


    The hostel building was heavily guarded by Variants as young Variants of influential families lived there. Any kind of mishap to those Variants had far-reaching consequences here, so the academy kept high security.


    "This is Alex ric. He will be staying here. His code is..."


    The entrance guard informed the hostel guards as he showed them the file after taking it from Lucifer.


    As they checked the files, the hostel guards nodded. "We¡¯ll take it from here."


    "Alright, young man, best of luck. Keep that file safe. I¡¯ll inform the administration about your arrival," the entrance guard told Lucifer before he started leaving.


    From here on, the hostel Guard escorted Lucifer and took him to his room.


    "Room number ten, this will be where you stay. There are two more people who stay in this room. Amodate with them and remember, no infighting in the hostel," the guard told Lucifer as he knocked on the door.


    The door was soon opened by a boy that seemed to be just as old as Lucifer.


    The green-haired boy did seem a bit chubby, though, but not in a bad way.


    "Is this boy our roommate?" he asked the guard, understanding the matter.


    "Yeah. Let him enter. And remember, treat him well," the guard told the green-haired boy before he stepped back.


    The green-haired boy stepped aside and let Lucifer enter before he closed the door.


    As Lucifer entered the room, he was able to see three beds. There were also three shelves as well, two of which were upied.


    "You can keep your bag on the third shelf. That¡¯s for you. And the bed near that is yours. This is my bed, and that¡¯s the bed of our third roommate. He¡¯s still outside," the green-haired boy told Lucifer as he walked to the first bed and sat down.


    Lucifer also walked to the third shelf and ced his bag and his file there before he walked to the third bed.


    "I¡¯m Jason. You?" the green-haired boy said.


    "Alex," Lucifer answered, smiling.


    "I¡¯m sure you¡¯re in the same batch as us. 24, right?" Jason inquired.


    "Yeah," Lucifer answered.


    "Which ss are you in? B or C?" Jason further asked, curiously.


    "They said I¡¯m in A," Lucifer answered calmly. He didn¡¯t understand the importance of ss.


    Hearing Lucifer¡¯s answer, the chubby man almost fell off the bed.


    "A? Are you serious?" he asked Lucifer, shocked.

 Chapter 189 - 189: Gift From Father

    <h4>Chapter 189 - 189: Gift From Father </h4>


    "I don¡¯t understand such things, but that¡¯s what they said," Lucifer replied.


    "H-how amazing. You¡¯re literally in the legend¡¯s ss¡ªthe top of the top. Even getting in on ss B is tough, but you got A? Your Gift must be powerful," Jason eximed in amazement.


    "Gift?" Lucifer didn¡¯t understand what he meant. He couldn¡¯t help but ask.


    "You don¡¯t know that either? Strange. Is this your first time in a Variant rted facility here? Didn¡¯t you attend Variant Schools before?" Jason inquired.


    Lucifer simply shook his head.


    "And still you got admission in ss A? Your luck is really amazing. Or, as I said, it must be because of your Gift," Jason eximed. "What¡¯s your Gift?"


    "Oh right, you still didn¡¯t understand," he suddenly said as he realized that Lucifer didn¡¯t understand him.


    "Gift is what we call powers here. I know it sounds a bit odd, but that¡¯s how it is. There¡¯s a saying that each ability is a gift from God. So that¡¯s why," he further exined.


    "So, what¡¯s your Gift?" he asked again.


    "My strength," Lucifer answered.


    "I know that a Variant¡¯s gift is his strength but still, what actually is it? You don¡¯t need to keep it a secret. This is an Academy. Everyone will soon know your gift anyway," Jason told Lucifer.


    "No, you aren¡¯t understanding. What I meant is that my strength is my gift. I have more physical strength than a normal human," Lucifer exined.


    "Interesting. Pretty good gift, I must say," Jason exined as he frowned. "But I must say, in the academy, that strength will be your biggest disadvantage."


    "What do you mean?" Lucifer inquired, confused. "Why will strength be my disadvantage?"


    "Tomorrow is Orientation. After that will be your first ss. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll understand there," Jason let out, shaking his head.


    "Anyway, why are you wearing the gloves? It¡¯s not cold at all in this city. In fact, it¡¯s hot. Take them off," he told Lucifer, noticing his gloves.


    "I can¡¯t," Lucifer replied, shaking his head.


    "Why?" Jason inquired, confused.


    "I have a medical condition," Lucifer replied. "I¡¯m allergic to the air. So I can¡¯t take off the gloves. If my handes in contact with the air, I¡¯ll be very sick."


    "What? What kind of excuse is that?" Jason asked, smiling wryly.


    "There¡¯s no such thing as an allergy from the air. Moreover, even if you had that, it won¡¯t just be in your hand but your whole body. You¡¯re breathing the same air, brother," he added as he chuckled.


    "It¡¯s something that even I don¡¯t understand. But it¡¯s true. You won¡¯t understand either," Lucifer replied, sighing.


    In his eyes, it was true even though it sounded impossible. He wasn¡¯t going to take off the gloves.


    "Alright. If you say so," Jason said. "I¡¯m not forcing you. I¡¯m just telling you that I¡¯ll be your friend so I don¡¯t mind this excuse but don¡¯t tell others. They might think you¡¯re lying. This can be bad. Just stay alert."


    "At best, just tell them a false reason for you wearing the gloves. Just say it¡¯s something personal or that you have some sentiment with these gloves. That would be much better," he further said. "Just a suggestion. If you want to follow it or not is up to you."


    Lucifer didn¡¯t reply and just gazed at his hands.


    ¡¯But this is the truth. Why won¡¯t anyone believe?¡¯ he thought, confused.


    "Where is the third guy of our room?" he asked Jason, changing the topic.


    "Kevin? He¡¯s in the medical office. He works as the assistant of the Doctor there because his gift is useful in that field. With this, he earns good as well. So he¡¯lle in the morning," Jason replied.


    "Anyway, it¡¯s already close to morning. Take some sleep, or we¡¯ll bete for Orientation," he added as he walked to the switch and turned off the lights.


    As the lights turned off, Lucifer alsoid on the bed. He was also sleepy as it was over three already.


    He closed his eyes as he asked Jason, "Onest question. Which ss are you two in?"


    "I¡¯m in ss B along with Kevin. I am new here too, but I came two days ago," Jason answered. "Now, sleep. Or they¡¯ll scold me for keeping their treasured ss A Variant awake all night."


    ...


    Tuck! Tuck!


    A knocking sound in the morning woke up Lucifer and Jason.


    Jason looked at the clock to see that it was only six in the morning.


    "God, only three hours of sleep. I really should start sleeping early," he muttered as he rubbed his eyes before he got off the bed.


    He walked up to the door and opened it.


    As the door was open, a young boy barged inside, walking straight to his bed.


    "You¡¯re back," Jason said, looking at the boy.


    "Yeah. So tired," the dark-haired boy replied. Contrary to Jason, he was slim. In fact, he was too skinny. He looked thinner than Lucifer, as if he didn¡¯t eat much.


    "Who¡¯s this kid? Our roommate?" Kevin asked as he noticed Lucifer.


    "Yeah. He is Alex, batch 24, ss A," Jason exined before he looked at Lucifer. "And Alex, this is Kevin. He is our roommate and one year seniorpared to us. He¡¯s in Batch 23, ss B."


    "ss A? Really?" Kevin eximed as he took even more interest in Lucifer.


    "Aren¡¯t most of the guys in ss A rich snobs? He could¡¯ve gotten a room on the VIP floor. What¡¯s he doing here?" he asked.


    "I am not rich," Lucifer answered.


    "Interesting. So you didn¡¯t get admission because of your influence? This one is going to be interesting, I think." Kevin got off the bed as he approached Lucifer.


    "Kevin Linder," he said, reaching out his hand.


    "Alex ric," Lucifer replied, shaking Kevin¡¯s hand.


    "Why are you wearing these gloves, Alex?" Kevin asked after freeing his hand.


    While Jason looked at Lucifer to see if he was going to take his advice or not, Lucifer fell in deep thought.


    ¡¯Jason is right. If I tell him the truth, he won¡¯t understand. He¡¯ll think I¡¯m lying too. I shouldn¡¯t tell others the truth,¡¯ he thought.


    "Come on; I¡¯m only asking the reason. Not your password or anything," Kevin asked,ughing.


    "It¡¯s a personal reason. These gloves were given by my father who is no more. These have sentimental values, so I wear them," Lucifer answered.


    Hearing his answer, Kevin was taken aback.


    "I¡¯m sorry. I didn¡¯t know," he answered apologetically.


    On the other hand, Jason was smiling. It seemed like Lucifer was at least clever. Now he wouldn¡¯t annoy people who ask him the reason.

 Chapter 190 - 190: Rude

    <h4>Chapter 190 - 190: Rude </h4>


    "By the way, Jason and Alex. I think you should start getting ready. It¡¯s the Orientation of batch 24. If you¡¯rete, you might be in a mess," Kevin reminded Lucifer and Jason as heid on the bed. "I¡¯ll take a nap since I have no sses today. Best of luck to you two."


    ...


    Lucifer and Jason got appropriately dressed for the Orientation.


    As the academy¡¯s uniform wasn¡¯t given at the moment, they had to wear their regr clothes.


    Lucifer wore the old clothes that he had brought from home whereas Jason seemed to be wearingpletely new clothes that he had taken out for the first time.


    It was seven in the morning as the two managed to get ready after taking showers.


    "Let¡¯s leave. The Orientation will start in an hour. We should get to the Auditorium in advance," Jason told Lucifer as he brought his file out of his bag. "Don¡¯t forget your file either. That is like your pass. It¡¯ll be used everywhere until our ID card is made."


    Lucifer also walked to the shelf and picked up his file. Kevin was deep asleep by now as Jason and Lucifer finally left their rooms, closing the door.


    They went through the stairs and left the hotel.


    "You see that block? That¡¯s where the auditorium is," Jason pointed towards a building that was slightly shorter than the other in its proximity.


    ncing in the direction, Lucifer could see arge number of youngsters standing at the entrance of the building in a line.


    "That¡¯s a really big line. How many students are in batch twenty-four?" Lucifer asked Jason, stunned to see the crowd.


    "I think there should be at least five hundred. That¡¯s how it¡¯s been since thest few years at least," Jason replied.


    " Inst year¡¯s batch, there were also five hundred students. Over four hundred of them were in ss C, ny in ss B, and ten in ss A. The higher the ss, the tougher it is to get admission in that. That¡¯s why we were so shocked that you got in," he exined to Lucifer.


    They soon reached their destination and stood in a long line. Fortunately, there were only fifty people before them at the moment. The rest have either entered or hadn¡¯t arrived yet.


    The line slowly moved further as the students kept entering the auditorium after their files were checked.


    Soon it was Lucifer¡¯s turn. He also gave the file to the Variant that was checking.


    As soon as the Variant saw Lucifer¡¯s file, he grew surprised. He nced at Lucifer as he nodded with a smile. He brought a sticker out of his pocket and ced it on Lucifer¡¯s shirt¡¯s pocket.


    Lucifer seemed confused about the sticker, but he didn¡¯t ask anything as the Variant had returned Lucifer his file while telling him to go in.


    Lucifer entered the auditorium and waited for Jason, who was getting his file checked. Soon, Jason also stepped inside.


    "What are you doing? Go ahead!" Jason told Lucifer as he noticed him waiting.


    "Go where. You¡¯reing with me. Won¡¯t you sit with me?" Lucifer asked Jason.


    Hearing Lucifer¡¯s words, Jason couldn¡¯t help but smile wryly. "What are you saying? Don¡¯t you see the sticker in your shirt?"


    "Yeah, what is it? I still don¡¯t understand," Lucifer replied in confusion.


    "That¡¯s like a special permit. It¡¯s only given to ss A students during Orientation. It means you are allowed to sit in the first row. Only ss A students can sit in the first row. As for the rest, they sit behind with ss C being in the back," Jason exined.


    "Go ahead and take a seat. Don¡¯t dy, or we¡¯ll be scolded for blocking the path," he further said as he stepped ahead.


    Jason sat on the chair in the second row. As for Lucifer, he listened to Jason. He had promised his grandfather that he was going to follow the rules.


    Lucifer took a chair which was right ahead of Jason. Unfortunately, that chair also happened to be right in the middle of the first row.


    The first row was entirely empty at the moment as ss A students hadn¡¯t arrived yet. Lucifer seemed to be the earliest amongst them.


    More and more people kept entering the auditorium and taking seats. Ten minutes had passed before Lucifer actually saw another person from ss A.


    The only reason he recognized the boy was because he also had a sticker on his chest, which was the same as Lucifer.


    The boy seemed to be dressed in luxurious clothes that appeared to be much more expensive. His blue shirt and his dark jeans gave him a fancy look.


    He also seemed to be wearing ck sunsses through which his eyes weren¡¯t visible. But his short dark hair suited his looks.


    "Hello, I¡¯m Alex ric," Lucifer said as he stood up at the arrival of the boy to get to know him.


    The boy turned his head towards Lucifer but didn¡¯t say anything. He continued walking and only sat on the corner most seat of the first row.


    Lucifer didn¡¯t understand this rude behavior. He could only shake his head as he sat down.


    Within five seconds, another boy came to the first row. The boy, this time, seemed entirely different. It was a boy who was even chubbier than Jason, but there was something about his face that made him look slightly rude.


    Without thinking much about it, Lucifer once again tried to greet this person. Since he was here, he wanted to make good rtionships with the people of his ss.


    "Hello, I¡¯m Alex ric. We¡¯re going to be in the same ss," Lucifer said as he reached out his hand.


    "Alex ric? Your clothes... They are too ugly. You¡¯re not one of us, are you?" the chubby boy asked Lucifer as he observed Lucifer¡¯s worn-out clothes that looked too bleakpared to his branded clothes.


    This much was enough for the boy to understand that Lucifer wasn¡¯t from any top family.


    "How did you even get in ss A?" He asked Lucifer. If he hadn¡¯t seen the sticker on Lucifer¡¯s chest, he might have even thought that Lucifer was sitting in the wrong row.


    Most of the ss A variants had gone to expensive schools and trained in the best of facilities. They were known throughout their cities. But Lucifer wasn¡¯t someone he remembered hearing about either.


    "It doesn¡¯t matter. Since you¡¯re in our ss, treat it as your good luck," the chubby boy told Lucifer before he also walked away and took a seat in the other corner.


    "He¡¯s rude too. Is this a pattern with all ss A guys?" Lucifer muttered as he sat again.

 Chapter 191 - 191: Cassius

    <h4>Chapter 191 - 191: Cassius </h4>


    "Of Course it is. They¡¯re the best of the best. That¡¯s why they have arrogance. Each one of them thinks that they are some Prince," Jason whispered to Lucifer from behind him. "That¡¯s why Kevin called them ss A snobs in the morning."


    " He was right in that case," Lucifer replied as he sighed.


    "It doesn¡¯t matter. I¡¯m just here to learn and grow. I don¡¯t need anything else. As for friends, I already have you, don¡¯t I?" He further asked as he nced back at Jason.


    "Hahaha, I can only advise you on what to do and what not to do," Jason replied.


    "And offending your ssmates is something that you really mustn¡¯t do. Because I won¡¯t be able to do anything in that case. So be alert and careful after the orientation," he further told Lucifer before he moved back to sit straight. He had already seen another ss A guy approaching.


    The boy, this time, seemed pretty ordinary. Unlike the others, there were no distinct qualities in him. In fact, it could seem like he was someone whose face could easily be forgotten. The boy was wearing a long jacket that came down to his ankles, covering his body.


    His hand seemed to be in his pocket as he walked past Lucifer. This time, Lucifer didn¡¯t bother to greet the boy either.


    Simrly, the boy didn¡¯t even nce at Lucifer as he walked past him to sit near the chubby guy. There were only three seats in between that boy and the chubby guy.


    As Lucifer was looking at them, he couldn¡¯t help but wonder something.


    ¡¯Why is everyone sitting near the corner? Is something wrong where I am sitting?¡¯ he wondered, confused.


    He looked back at Jason before he asked, "Why do they all prefer sitting near the corner? Is there a reason?" he asked Jason.


    "I think it¡¯s just that they don¡¯t want to be in front of the Dean who will stand at the center of the stage," Jason answered.


    "Is the Dean bad? Should I shift too?" Lucifer asked, smiling wryly.


    "Nah, don¡¯t overthink about it. Dean doesn¡¯t bite. It¡¯s just that he is, ah, let¡¯s just say there¡¯s something about him. He can call you on stage anytime he wants."


    "Every year he calls one person from the first row to the stage. That¡¯s why they¡¯re sitting in the corners to increase their chances of not being noticed by him," Jason replied as he chuckled.


    "I don¡¯t want to be called either. I¡¯ll move too," Lucifer said as he prepared to stand up, but Jason ced his hand on Lucifer¡¯s shoulder.


    "Don¡¯t overthink about this. I¡¯ve already calcted everything," Jason said, grinning. "You want to know my gift?"


    "Yes," Lucifer replied.


    "I have two. One is an ability called [Luck Foresight]. I can see the luck of people. I know if their luck is going to be bad in the next half an hour or good."


    "And I can see that your luck is going to be good. It¡¯s the chubby guy in the corner whose luck will be bad. So I think he¡¯ll be called. You don¡¯t need to move," Jason exined.


    "That¡¯s a relief," Lucifer replied as he sighed in relief.


    Five more minutes passed before another young boy entered. He also had a sticker on his chest.


    The boy had deep blue eyes that seemed to be simr to Lucifer, but his long hair was also blue, unlike the silver hair of Lucifer.


    He also walked past Lucifer without stopping to talk and only stopped near the guy who was wearing the dark sses.


    "Ren, you¡¯re here too. Interesting. So they even started taking blind guys in now? I thought you¡¯d be tossed in ss B," the blue-haired boy said as he smiled.


    The boy in the sses raised his head as if he was looking at the blue-haired boy. He also extended his hand and made a few gestures.


    "Ah right. I forgot you couldn¡¯t even speak. It must be because they took pity on you. Because you weren¡¯t any special in any other department either," the blue-haired boy said, grinning.


    "Alwaysst in our Variant School too. You¡¯re pretty lucky to be here. Anyway, I¡¯m d to see you. I can¡¯t tell you how happy I am," he further said.


    The boy in the sses stopped speaking in gestures but not before he made onest gesture. He showed his middle finger to the blue-haired guy before he folded his arms.


    As the blue-haired boy saw this gesture, his face couldn¡¯t help but twitch unwillingly. He opened his lips to speak when he realized that the whole auditorium had suddenly turned silent.


    He looked towards the stage to see if teachers had arrived. No one was there, leaving only one possibility. He looked towards the student¡¯s entrance as he muttered, "Looks like Cassius is here."


    At the entrance of a boy, the noisy auditorium suddenly went awfully silent. Lucifer also couldn¡¯t help but nce back to see who had arrived when he saw a young boying towards him.


    It was a boy who had dark hair that was short but not too short. His eyes also seemed like Lucifer¡¯s, but they were a lighter shade of blue than him.


    He was wearing jeans and a t-shirt, but the robe that he donned on top of that seemed more eye-catching. There was also a beautiful ne on his neck that appeared to be made of some precious material.


    There were also two silver bracelets in each of his hands. Moreover, there could also be seen a heavy sword hanging on the boy¡¯s back.


    There was no such sticker of ss A on the boy¡¯s clothes that Lucifer could see, but he had a feeling that this boy was in his ss too.


    His assumption proved to be correct as the boy stopped in the first row as well. However, instead of sitting on Lucifer¡¯s side of the row, he sat on the central seat that was on the right side of the entrance path.


    He was sitting right on the next seat of Lucifer, but the entrance walkway was keeping the distance between them.


    The newly arrived boy was keeping his heavy sword on hisp as he sat calmly.


    Noticing Lucifer ncing at him, he couldn¡¯t help but frown.


    "Who are you?" He asked Lucifer. "Why are you looking at me like that?"


    For the first time, someone from ss A had talked to Lucifer, which made him interested as well. Maybe not all people were so snobbish? He wondered.

 Chapter 192 - 192: Teachers

    <h4>Chapter 192 - 192: Teachers </h4>


    "I¡¯m Alex ric. I¡¯m also in your ss," Lucifer replied. "As for looking at you, I was just curious about you. Everyone went silent at your entry, after all."


    "I¡¯m Cassius. As for why they went silent, you should ask them yourself," Cassius replied before he stopped looking at Lucifer and closed his eyes.


    Lucifer looked at Jason before he started asking why everyone went silent suddenly.


    "Shhh, I¡¯ll tell youter," Jason replied as he told Lucifer not to ask at this moment.


    Lucifer didn¡¯t understand why Jason wasn¡¯t talking. Was he scared? Could it be that there was something about Cassius that scared him?


    ¡¯I can¡¯t see anything scary in him. In fact, he looks like the nicer one of them all. At least he talks,¡¯ Lucifer thought as he shook his head.


    He didn¡¯t force Jason and decided to wait forter to ask him.


    More and more people kept arriving before the gate was finally closed. Everyone was already inside the auditorium.


    As for ss A, only six people were there, sitting in the first row. It seemed like only five more people were going to be in Lucifer¡¯s ss with him.


    Lucifer looked around, wondering when it was going to start.


    As he was curious, the door behind the stage opened as a man finally stepped inside.


    The man seemed to be slightly older, as if he was over sixty already. He had long white hair but deep red eyes. He was dressed in a long coat as he walked with a short staff in his hand as if he was some magician.


    Lucifer couldn¡¯t help but take a longer nce at the old man that had just arrived. He believed that the man was none other than a teacher here.


    The old man walked to one of the five chairs that were ced on the stage and sat on one of them. As he sat, he closed his eyes and folded his arms. He didn¡¯t say anything.


    Realizing that Lucifer might be confused, Jason moved forward and whispered in his ears. "He is Master Franci. He is a teacher in the academy."


    Lucifer nodded as he memorized the name.


    After the old man, another person stepped on the stage, but this time, it was a woman who seemed to be in her mid-twenties. She has beautiful violet hair and wore a white doctor-like coat.


    Lucifer found her character most interesting. He couldn¡¯t help but smile as he saw thedy yawning before she rubbed her eyes as if she had just woken from her sleep.


    The beautifuldy sat beside Franci before she also closed her eyes. Unlike the old man, who seemed to be meditating with his eyes closed, thedy genuinely seemed like she had fallen asleep.


    Lucifer couldn¡¯t help but find it cute. She was so rxed.


    "That¡¯s Teacher Mirali. She¡¯s always like that, but she can be fierce too. So don¡¯t everugh at her actions," Jason exined to Lucifer again.


    Soon, another person stepped on the stage through the entrance. The man, this time, seemed a bit bulky yet handsome.


    The man had dark hair and a light beard, but the most distinguishing feature about him seemed to be the scar on the left side of his face that stretched from his forehead to his left cheek.


    Even though that scar was visible, it didn¡¯t make him look ugly. Instead, it made him look valiant and cool.


    The man sat in the middle chair of the five as he looked at the violet-haireddy.


    "Mirali, wake up. This is not the time to sleep," he said.


    "Mmmh, I¡¯m not sleeping. I¡¯m just resting. Tell me when the Deanes. I¡¯ll wake up, ahem, I mean, open my eyes," Mirali answered without opening her eyes.


    The man couldn¡¯t help but shake his head at her answer. Unlike the first two, he didn¡¯t close his eyes. Instead, he looked at the youngsters observing them.


    As he was looking around, he started from thest row before getting to the first row.


    He noticed the chubby man and moved his gaze further until it ended up on Cassius, who was also sitting with his eyes closed like the first two teachers.


    The man couldn¡¯t help but chuckle as he muttered, "As expected, Cassius is here. This batch is going to be pretty good."


    Just like other teachers, he also didn¡¯t know which students were selected and which were rejected. It was all done as per the decision of the Dean, so it was his first time seeing himself.


    He moved his gaze even further and noticed Lucifer.


    ¡¯This kid, I don¡¯t remember seeing him before. But my senses are tingling. There¡¯s something special about him. Even more than Cassius. It¡¯s going to be very interesting. Who exactly is this kid?¡¯ he thought.


    Lucifer noticed the man looking at him. He didn¡¯t do anything and just looked back. There was an innocent look on his face as if he wasn¡¯t worried or scared.


    The man came out of his daze as he realized that it wasn¡¯t good to stare at a student for so long. He didn¡¯t want to intimidate him. He moved his gaze over to the blue-haired guy. As soon as he noticed the guy, his face twitched unwillingly.


    ¡¯God, this devil is here too. Grandson of Franci, Dash. Hah, I hope Franci won¡¯t be partial with this,¡¯ he thought as he moved his nce to thest person who was wearing ck sses.


    ¡¯Ren, not bad either. The batch of this time is actually talented, more so than thest. At Least that¡¯s what it seems from the first nce,¡¯ he thought.


    "The one who was looking at you is Teacher Yovann. He¡¯s actually the favorite of all the students here. I think we¡¯re going to like him. That¡¯s what I heard at least," Jason told Lucifer once again after making sure that Yovann wasn¡¯t looking here.


    Two more people stepped on the stage after a few seconds.


    One of them seemed to be a handsome man who was in histe twenties. He had beautiful dark hair and golden eyes, which made him look even more attractive. He genuinely seemed like he was a model, but there was something else to him.


    There were two goat-like horns on his head as well, making him look different. He was dressed in an ordinary t-shirt and jeans.


    As for the second person, he seemed even more strange. His whole body was covered in clothing that seemed nothing less than armor. No part of his body was visible at all.


    In fact, even his head was covered with a hood that matched his looks. As for his face, there was a full face mask that was hiding it.

 Chapter 193 - 193: Hes The Dean

    <h4>Chapter 193 - 193: He''s The Dean </h4>


    The two of them took thest two seats as they talked amongst themselves as if they were arguing about something. But their voices were so low that Lucifer couldn¡¯t even hear them.


    "The one with the horn is Teacher Alexi. As for the one in the mask, he is Teacher Morbius," Jason whispered in Lucifer¡¯s ears.


    "All five are teachers? Where¡¯s the Dean then?" Lucifer muttered in confusion.


    That also happened to be the time when a Spatial Portal appeared on the stage.


    ....


    A Spatial Portal appeared on the stage. At the sight of the portal, all Teachers stood up except Mirali, who seemed to be sleeping.


    "Mirali, wake up. Dean is here!" Yovann shook Mirali, who woke up suddenly as she stood up.


    All the students also stood up in respect. Seeing everyone else stand up, Lucifer also did the same.


    From the spatial portal, a person stepped out after a few seconds.


    "Wee, my dear students! Wee to the Academy for Gifted Variants!" The newly arrived person eximed excitedly as if that person was a showman instead of the Dean.


    Seeing the person, Lucifer couldn¡¯t help but blurt out, "That kid is the Dean?"


    As the entire ce was silent, even though Lucifer spoke slowly, his voice fell in everyone¡¯s ears.


    Jason couldn¡¯t help but sweat. Lucifer actually called the Dean a kid?


    He wasn¡¯t wrong, though. The Dean that had just stepped out of the Portal looked like a kid. In fact, he looked simr to Lucifer.


    He also had a simr body built. He also had silver hair, but his hair was shorter, unlike the long hair of Lucifer. Both the eyes of the Dean looked hazel, unlike the deep blue eyes of Lucifer.


    Moreover, the Dean¡¯s face seemed smaller than Lucifer¡¯s. But he didn¡¯t look more than thirteen-fourteen years old.


    The Dean stared at Lucifer, not saying anything. Seconds kept passing as silence spread everywhere.


    Most of the students couldn¡¯t help but be amazed at naive Lucifer. He actually said that to the Dean?


    ¡¯That kid should be dead now.¡¯ Dash thought.


    Even Jason was stunned.


    ¡¯ Were my abilities wrong? I didn¡¯t see Alex¡¯s luck being bad. Could it be that he¡¯s one of the people whose luck can¡¯t urately be predicted ever?¡¯


    The Dean was looking at Lucifer nkly. Everyone wondered what he was going to say.


    "Hahahahaha!"


    The silence was soon broken as the Dean couldn¡¯t control himself. He burst intoughter.


    "Kid? I wish I were a kid. Life would be so much simpler," the Dean said as he finally controlled hisughter.


    "But I¡¯ll take that as apliment. It¡¯s better to look young than looking old, isn¡¯t that right, Yovann?" he asked as he turned back to Yovann.


    "Right," Yovann answered, smiling.


    "You may all sit. It¡¯s time we begin the orientation," the Dean said as he gestured for everyone to sit.


    At hismands, the teachers and the students sat. Lucifer also sat down, looking apologetic.


    "Alright, so let me introduce us first," the Dean said as he took a step forward.


    "I am Xaen Eaendril. I am the Dean of this Academy or the Principal if you want to call me that. As for my youthful looks, that¡¯s nothing but a lie. I¡¯m actually much much older," Xaen told the students. "As for how old, I won¡¯t tell you that."


    "You might be wondering why I look so young then?" He asked, especially ncing at Lucifer.


    "It¡¯s because of my gift. Anyway, moving on. From today, you¡¯ll be the students of this academy, so it¡¯s important that you know your teachers," he said as he turned back.


    "He is Morbius. That¡¯s Alexi. Next is Yovann. Then there¡¯s Mirali and then Franci. They are our best of the best, and they will be teaching you for the next five years. So learn well from them," Xaen told the students as he pointed towards the teachers.


    "Alright. Introduction over. Now back to the important stuff. As you know, to be a sessful person, you must have discipline, perseverance, and aptitude."


    " If you have all that, you¡¯ll have a high likelihood of graduating from the academy with flying colors, but you must also know, we have rules."


    " And if you broke the rules three times during your five years, you¡¯ll be expelled without any questions asked. So let me tell you the rules. Make sure that you never forget them," Xaen exined.


    "Rule number one! It would be best if you always listened to your teachers. As long as the teacher doesn¡¯t ask you to die, you must do as they say in these five years unless their orders contradict another teacher¡¯s orders," he said. "Then you cane to me, and I¡¯ll solve the conundrum."


    His voice was calm, but it fell in everyone¡¯s ears clearly.


    "Rule number two! You can¡¯t fight in the ssroom or hostel at all. If you have a problem, contact the incharge there and solve it through words. No infighting there."


    "But if you still want to fight, just know, fighting is allowed in the campus as long as it¡¯s not the ssroom or hostel. You can go crazy outside those ces but without using your gifts!"


    "Just remember, you aren¡¯t allowed to use your gifts as long as you¡¯re in this ce! You can only use them in the presence of a teacher with their permission," Xaen exined. "You understand?"


    All the students nodded their heads. As for Lucifer, he was already prepared for that. He had promised his grandfather that he wouldn¡¯t fight.


    "You all say yes, but I know most of you will probably fail if we leave it at that. This has been the trend throughout the years."


    " There was always the use of Gifts, and many students even died. That¡¯s why five years ago, the Academy came up with a better idea. Limiters!" Xaen said as he pped once.


    The auditorium entrance opened as many people stepped inside with a bag that was filled with something.


    They kept taking out what seemed like a bracelet and gave one to each student.


    In the end, even the ss-A students were given these.


    "Wear the bracelets that are in your hands now," Xaen told everyone.


    No one opposed his orders and wore the bracelets that seemed to be too loose for their small wrists but as soon as they wore them, the bracelets started getting smaller before they became tight fitting.


    In fact, they were just tight enough to make sure that they didn¡¯t hurt anyone while also making sure that it became impossible to take them off.

 Chapter 194 - 194: Great Family Of Alaric

    <h4>Chapter 194 - 194: Great Family Of ric </h4>


    "These are the limiters. Just know, they aren¡¯t to protect you from being expelled. Instead, they are to save lives. Because using gifts in flights without proper guidance can kill people."


    "The Limiters get activated as soon as they sense that you¡¯re about to use your gifts. They send a signal to your teachers whoe to stop you."


    "That¡¯s not all; the bracelet also sends a high voltage shock to your body that makes you lose consciousness. Just think of them as automatic tasers that don¡¯t harm your body negatively other than what I mentioned."


    "So be careful. If you try to use your gifts, you won¡¯t be able to use them. Instead, you¡¯ll find yourself hurt. Moreover, this incident will be recorded in our system, and it¡¯ll be counted as you breaking a rule. And as you know, breaking the rules three times means you¡¯re out," Xaen told the students.


    Most of the students were already aware of this except for Lucifer, who genuinely didn¡¯t know. He couldn¡¯t help but frown. It was only now that he understood why Jason had said that his ability would be his disadvantage in the academy.


    ¡¯Unlike others, my ability is my strength. How could I stop myself from using my strength? I don¡¯t even know what¡¯s the threshold of my human strength and from where my abilities start?¡¯


    ¡¯There¡¯s no difference. In order to be safe, I¡¯ll have to stay away from using the slightest bit of strength. I can¡¯t even use my human strength to be safe. This isn¡¯t good. Can I even open the door without setting that thing off and getting electrocuted?¡¯ he wondered, frowning. ¡¯I¡¯ll need to talk to a teacher about itter.¡¯


    "These two are two of the major rules that are broken most of the time. So keep them in mind always. As for the other rules, a booklet will be given to you in ss. You can read that to understand the other rules," Xaen told the students, attracting their attention.


    "On a different note, there¡¯s one more important thing that you need to remember," he further added.


    "There will be a yearly exam at the end of each year. And if you fail the yearly exams twice, you¡¯ll be expelled as well."


    "On the other hand, the ones who perform the best in these exams will be given special rewards that you would love," he told the students.


    "With that, the information that I¡¯m supposed to give you is over. Now time for me to learn more about you," he said, smiling brightly.


    ¡¯Here ites, he¡¯s about to start,¡¯ Jason thought as he nced at the chubby man in the front row. He was sure that he was going to be called on stage.


    The Dean raised his finger towards the chubby boy who started sweating as he saw the Dean pointing at him.


    He soon breathed a sigh of relief as he saw the Dean move his finger, which soon reached Cassius, but it didn¡¯t stop there either. It finally stopped on the next seat where Lucifer was sitting.


    "You,e on stage," the Dean told Lucifer.


    Lucifer nkly stood up, not understanding. Jason had said he wouldn¡¯t be called, but he did get called.


    He nced briefly at Jason, who had an apologetic look on his face.


    "Come to the stage, first," Xaen repeated.


    Lucifer finally started walking towards the stage. As the chubby boy was first to get scared, watching someone else being called, he couldn¡¯t help but chuckle lightly.


    Unfortunately for him, that was heard by the Dean, who looked at the chubby boy in the first row.


    "You alsoe on stage," he told the boy whose mouth opened wide along with his eyes.


    The chubby boy stood up, cursing his stupidity. When he was safe, he shouldn¡¯t have made a noise.


    ¡¯So that¡¯s why I saw his luck as bad. Because he wasn¡¯t supposed to be chosen, but he did,¡¯ Jason thought as he frowned.


    Lucifer stepped on the stage. Behind him, the chubby boy also stepped on the stage.


    "You alsoe to the stage," the Dean further told Dash, who was sitting near the blind boy.


    ¡¯What the f*ck? This guy is calling more than one person this year?¡¯ Dash thought as he stood up as well. He walked towards the stage as he couldn¡¯t refuse themands.


    His grandfather was a teacher here who was on the stage. He was looking at everything.


    The Dean next called the blind boy Ren.


    He didn¡¯t stop here as he seemed like he wanted to call more people.


    He finally looked at Cassius, returning his gaze.


    "Little boy, you alsoe on the stage. Don¡¯t be shy," the Dean said,ughing.


    Cassius also stood up without much expression on his face as he stepped on the stage.


    The five kids stepped on the stage as they watched Xaen, wondering what it was going to be this time.


    Xaen walked back to a throne that was ced nearby, separate from the teachers¡¯ chairs, and sat on it.


    The massive throne was making him look even smaller.


    "Introduce yourselves," Xaen told the youngsters.


    As Cassius was standing on the left most of the other five students, he took the lead.


    "I am Cassius Ziani, from the Great Ziani family of the Capital," Cassius introduced himself before he stepped back.


    Next was the blue-haired youngster who was bullying Ren previously. He stepped forward and introduced himself.


    "Dash Franci from the Great Franci Family West," he said proudly.


    He also stepped back. Soon, it was the turn of the chubby boy.


    "I¡¯m Rune Wanli. From the Great Wanli Family of the East."


    The boy with the ck sses stepped forward next. "I¡¯m Ren Branson, from the Great Branson Family of South."


    As the others introduced themselves, Lucifer stood in the back. What was with Great that everyone was adding before their family name? Were they doing it with respect?


    It was finally Lucifer¡¯s turn as the others finished.


    Lucifer stepped forward as he took a deep breath, "I¡¯m Alex ric from the Great Family of ric near the beach."


    As Lucifer introduced himself, everyone else couldn¡¯t help but look at him, stunned. What did he mean by the Great Family of ric?


    Even Jason couldn¡¯t help but facepalm himself. Was this guy trying to be expelled on the first day?


    As for the Dean, he was smiling as if he found it amusing as well as cute.


    "Preposterous? How can you lie about that! There is no Great Family of ric! Kid, do you really take us for fools?!"

 Chapter 195 - 195: Trying To Break Free

    <h4>Chapter 195 - 195: Trying To Break Free </h4>


    While the Dean found it cute, there was someone who didn¡¯t.


    Old Man Franci stood up as he scolded Lucifer for lying.


    "Franci, sit down," Xaen said calmly as he subtly nced at Franci.


    "Yes, Dean." Franci sat down and didn¡¯t make a scene.


    "Little Alex, I think you might be misunderstanding a bit," Xaen opened his lips as he started exining to Lucifer.


    "The Great Family isn¡¯t something which you can add to any family. It¡¯s a title that is only given to twelve families on this Ind. Two families each in North, East, South, West. And four families in the Capital."


    "The ones that introduced themselves before you belong to those families so they can do it. But your using it is disrespectful," Xaen said, smiling.


    "Anyway, I think you¡¯re new, and you didn¡¯t know about this. I read your file. You lived in a vige all your life, and it¡¯s your first time out, right? So I can understand how you wouldn¡¯t know this. Just don¡¯t do this again," he said.


    Lucifer nodded his head. "I apologize. I thought we were doing this to name our family with respect. I didn¡¯t know it was an actual title. I won¡¯t do it again." Lucifer said as he stepped back.


    "That¡¯s better," Xaen said as he smirked.


    "Alright. Since it¡¯s the Orientation of students, it¡¯s time to have some fun. The five of you will have a littlepetition. Whoever wins thepetition will get a special advantage," he added.


    "What advantage you might be thinking? Win and find out. But I will say, this wille really handy in saving youter on."


    "Whatpetition? Battle?" Cassius asked.


    Hearing his question, even Dash started frowning. Did he really have to fight against four people on the first day itself?


    "Not at all. There¡¯s no battle or anything like that. It will be a singingpetition. Each one of you will sing a song, and whoever wins will get a prize," Xaen said, chucking.


    ¡¯Ah, so that¡¯s why the Dean called more than one this time. Instead of having fun with one, he wants to bully all of them. Our Dean is really a kid at heart,¡¯ Yovann thought, sitting in the back.


    "I can¡¯t sing," Cassius answered. "I withdraw from thepetition."


    "Oh, no-no. You can¡¯t. I forgot to mention, the one who withdraws will lose one of his three chances as this will count as breaking a rule," the Dean said,ughing. "You must attempt at least."


    Cassius¡¯s face twitched unwillingly as he heard the words of the Dean. Did he really have to do such an embarrassing thing in front of everyone?


    "Come on, don¡¯t be shy. I know all the people of your Great Ziani Family are talented. You can do it," the Dean further said. From his face, it was clear that he was enjoying himself.


    "Fine!"


    Cassius stepped forward as he took a deep breath.


    Opening his lips, he started singing. "Oh, great moon..."


    His songsted for only twenty-second before he finished as he stepped back.


    "Pretty good. See, you had no reason to be shy," the Dean said before he looked at the next one in the row.


    One after another, everyone kept stepping forward and singing a song they remembered.


    Soon, it was Lucifer¡¯s turn.


    Lucifer also stepped forward, not knowing what to sing. He hadn¡¯t heard any song and didn¡¯t know anything.


    ¡¯All I can do is sing something random. At least it¡¯ll count as an attempt,¡¯ he thought, clenching his fist


    Lucifer closed his eyes and calmed his mind as he tried to form some words to sing when something strange happened. It seemed as if a song had suddenly appeared in his head which was being sung by ady.


    He opened his eyes to look around to see who was singing, but no one was singing there.


    "Come on, sing. Don¡¯t dy," the Dean reminded Lucifer, who decided to stop thinking and just sang the song that had appeared in his head.


    " In the night, darker than dark, don¡¯t be scared, my child. As soon as you call my name, I¡¯ll appear like a shining light..."


    Lucifer kept singing the song and continued it for three minutes. He didn¡¯t know why, but as he was singing, tears started forming in his eyes as if his heart was aching. There was a feeling of loss that he was feeling, but he didn¡¯t know why.


    Tears kept trickling down his cheeks one after another as he sang a distant song. Everyone listened to this beautiful song carefully, as if they were dazed by the lyrics and the emotions that Lucifer was putting inside the song.


    As for Xaen, he couldn¡¯t help but stare at Lucifer as he tilted his head. "Interesting."


    After four minutes, the song finally finished. Lucifer didn¡¯t move for a moment as he stood still. The pain in his heart was still there. And it was hurting. He took another deep breath as he wiped his tears. What was happening to him, he couldn¡¯t understand.


    "Alex, can I ask you a question?" Xaen asked Lucifer.


    "Yes," Lucifer replied as he looked back at Xaen.


    "I haven¡¯t heard that before, and I¡¯m sure it¡¯s not from our nation since I heard all the songs. Where did you hear it from? Or was it that you made it yourself?" Xaen asked Lucifer.


    "Where did I hear it? I don¡¯t remember," Lucifer replied nkly. He himself didn¡¯t know where he heard it from. He didn¡¯t remember hearing it ever.


    What he didn¡¯t know was that it was a song from his true life. The song that his mother used to sing for him when he was young. It seemed like his memories were trying to slowly break the obstruction ande free.


    "Interesting. It must be that someone made this song, and you heard it identally. And then you forgot. I would love to meet the person who came up with such beautiful lyrics," the Dean told Lucifer.


    He stood up.


    "Alright. I don¡¯t think the winner could be any more clear. Alex ric is the winner!¡¯ Xaen dered.


    As soon as the Dean dered, the students started pping. As for the people that were in ss A, they just looked at Lucifer.


    "As I promised, the winner gets a prize. As for your prize, it¡¯s that you can skip any one yearly exam from the first three as per your wish, and you won¡¯t be considered a failure in that," the Dean told Lucifer,ughing.


    Even though he said these words lightly, they were shocking not only to the students but the teachers as well.

 Chapter 196 - 196: Gifts

    <h4>Chapter 196 - 196: Gifts </h4>


    What was the Dean doing? Just because Lucifer sang well, he got the permission to skip one yearly exam? This was like a free pass to get to the next year without even passing the threshold.


    As for the students, they looked at Lucifer in jealousy. This was a fantastic reward. He basically had one free life now.


    "That¡¯s it for the Orientation. I¡¯m leaving. From here on out, the teachers will take you to your sses and give you more information. Best of luck, youngsters. I¡¯ll see you after five years now," the Dean told the students as he pped lightly.


    Another Spatial Portal appeared in front of him.


    Dean Xaen stepped inside the portal, and it closed, leaving only the teachers behind.


    "ss A students, follow after me," Franci stood up as hemanded.


    The one ss A student that was still sitting on the front row stood up as he also got on the stage to join others. All six of them followed behind Franci as they left.


    Jason was left behind, frowning.


    ¡¯He got Franci as his main teacher? This might be hard for him. Dash has it much easier.¡¯ he thought. ¡¯Thest ss A got Yovann as the main teacher. This batch¡¯s luck is terrible.¡¯


    "ss B students, follow after us." Yovann stood up as he took ss B students.


    As for the other three teachers, they took ss C to give them more briefings. They weren¡¯t going to be teaching them, but they were going to introduce them to their other teachers.


    While ss A received Five Elder teachers to teach them, the other ss only got them to give brief courses. As for their real teachers, they were going to be different from ss A.


    Lucifer and the five other students of ss A were sitting in a luxurious room in separate seats.


    Franci was standing before them behind a table.


    He opened the drawer and pulled out five booklets that he gave to the kids.


    "These are the rules. When you leave today, memorize them," he told everyone calmly before he stepped back to his seat.


    "The first day is only for introduction and to make you understand where you are, but from tomorrow, your sses will begin."


    "The five teachers you saw on the stage will teach you about your gifts and how to control them. You¡¯ll also have more teachers that will teach you about the mortal aspects of the lives that you need to learn likeputers, swimming, martial arts, and many more."


    " You need to excel in all those departments as well, as they will y an important role in your scores in the yearly exam. Don¡¯t take them lightly."


    "Anyway, tell me about your gifts now," Franci told the students. He nced at Lucifer and began, "You go first."


    Lucifer stood up as he said, "I have Super Strength."


    "Super Strength? Interesting. We¡¯ll see tomorrow," the man muttered. "Next, Dash."


    As he called Dash, his grandson stood up.


    "I can control the Wind," Dash said proudly.


    "Next, Cassius," Franci shifted to the next person without many reactions.


    "My gift is called Divine Sword Mastery. I can use the divine energy in the attacks of any sword I use," Cassius answered calmly before he sat down as well.


    "Next, Ren," Franci said.


    The boy in dark sses stood up.


    ....


    The process continued as everyone described their powers.


    As soon as everyone finished, Franci started speaking.


    "All of you have decent gifts. That¡¯s why you¡¯re in ss A. But you must know, possession of a gift and mastery of it are different matters. That¡¯s what I¡¯ll teach you. I¡¯ll be teaching you how to understand your gifts better so that they feel like a part of you and not an ability."


    "Grandpa, what will others teach?" Dash asked the old man, curious.


    "Silence! If you call me Grandpa one more time, you¡¯ll lose a finger. In the Academy, I¡¯m not rted to you. You¡¯ll be treated like all others. Call me Teacher Franci," the old man scolded his grandson for being so cozy.


    Dash¡¯s eyes opened wide in surprise. What was happening? Why was the grandfather who loved him so much behaving like that? He thought he¡¯d get preference here since his Grandpa was his teacher, but it seemed like that was going to be just dreams.


    "I¡¯m sorry, Teacher. What are other teachers going to teach us?" Dash asked again after apologizing.


    The old man nodded in satisfaction as he started exining.


    "Yovann will teach you how to use your gifts to the best of your advantage and the different uses you can put your gifts to."


    "Morbius will give you the training so that you¡¯re able to defend yourselves since once you die, your gifts will be useless. So defensive use of your gifts is needed too."


    "Alexi will teach you the Art of Tricks. As for what that is, you¡¯ll have to understand that from him."


    "And Mirali, she will teach you how to resonate your powers with nature. Again, you need to ask her what that is," the old man finished.


    It also happened to be the time when the old man stood up.


    He soon brought out a few packets that he gave to each kid.


    "This has your uniform. As for your ID cards, that will be given tomorrow. Leave your files behind and leave. Come here again tomorrow, and we¡¯ll officially begin," he said as he walked back to his seat.


    As the kids were given the permission, Cassius was the first one to stand up. He left the room with the uniform and the rule book.


    Ren, Dash, and the others also left.


    Only Lucifer was left behind, still seated.


    "Why aren¡¯t you leaving?" Franci asked Lucifer, squinting his eyes.


    "Ah, sir. I wanted to talk to you about this bracelet."


    "What do you want to know?"


    "As you already know, my strength is my gift. And I don¡¯t know where the threshold of it starts. I wanted to know if the bracelet will be active if I use my human strength or if I identally use my strength in the absence of others?" Lucifer asked Franci as he stood up.


    This was the question that had been floating in his head.


    "That¡¯s interesting. But no. It doesn¡¯t matter where you use your strength. The bracelet will be active as soon as you use your gifts, even if you¡¯re alone."


    "So the only solution I can suggest is to use as little strength as you possibly can. In fact, don¡¯t do any task that can identally make you use your strength unless you¡¯re in the presence of a teacher. That¡¯s the only thing I can tell you."

 Chapter 197 - 197: Lucifers Future?

    <h4>Chapter 197 - 197: Lucifer''s Future? </h4>


    The old man stood up and started leaving instead. "As for how you treat this information and how you handle it, that¡¯s on you."


    The door closed, and only Lucifer was left inside.


    He couldn¡¯t help but sigh as he shook his head. It seemed like his five years here were going to be hard.


    He stood up as he also left, muttering the lyrics of the strange songs that had suddenly appeared in his head. He kept trying to remember where he heard it.


    ....


    Lucifer walked back to his room, where Kevin was already sitting.


    "Jason isn¡¯t back?" Lucifer asked Kevin as he sat on the bed.


    "He¡¯s in ss B. Their introduction will stretch for longer. I think he¡¯ll take a few more hours beforeing back," Kevin answered. "Anyway, how was your first day?"


    "Bad," Lucifer muttered as he nced at his bracelet.


    "Why?" Kevin asked, curious. "What happened?¡¯


    "This Limiter happened. You know my gift is my strength. But this bracelet effectively gave me a handicap."


    "Even when I use the slightest amount of my strength to do anything, I¡¯ll be electrocuted, and I¡¯ll get one strike. This strength is really my disadvantage," Lucifer muttered as heid on his bed.


    ...


    Far away in the Variant Uprising facility, Predictor was lying in his room, sleeping.


    He had the ability to see the future at times in his dreams. Ny percent of the time, those dreams were wrong. As for the remaining ten percent of the time, the dreams were urate.


    It was also a time when he was seeing one such dream.


    In his dream, he found himself standing inside a room in his corporeal form.


    The door of the room opened as a woman stepped inside the room.


    As soon as he saw the woman, he couldn¡¯t help but mutter, "Veracity? Why am I seeing her? She isn¡¯t important."


    As he was wondering, he saw Veracity look in his direction, seemingly surprised.


    "Who might you be?" She asked curiously.


    "She can see me? Strange," Predictor muttered, but he soon realized that she wasn¡¯t talking to him.


    He slowly turned back to notice a person standing behind him.


    The person was standing in the darkness with their arms folded, standing against the wall.


    "I¡¯m the one who should be long forgotten, I believe," the boy in the darkness muttered as he stepped forward.


    ck lightning could be seen flickering all around the young boy.


    As the Predictor saw the boy, his mouth opened slightly.


    The boy seemed to be someone who was eighteen or neen years old. He had beautiful silver hair that was tied to a ponytail, but the most intriguing thing about him was his eyes. One of his eyes was blue, while the other was slightly violet.


    "Lucifer Azarel?" Predictor eximed in shock.


    The boy was none other than Lucifer. And he looked older. It was undoubtedly the Predictor¡¯s ability at work, showing him the future.


    He looked at the calendar to see the date, only to realize that the calendar was unreadable. He couldn¡¯t see it. It was looking vague.


    "What do you want from me?" Veracity asked the boy as she sat down on a chair.


    "I want to be the darkness that is going to swallow the whole world. And you¡¯re going to help me in that," Lucifer said calmly.


    Tap! Tap!


    Sound of footsteps could be heard as Lucifer stepped forward,ing out of the Darkness.


    "Ah, I remember seeing you. Lucifer Azarel, huh. Interesting. You disappeared eight years ago. How did you suddenly appear again?" Veracity asked Lucifer, amused.


    "Cassius, bring him out," Lucifer said softly as he nced back.


    Thedy and Predictor looked back to see another neen-twenty year old boying out of a room. The dark-haired boy was carrying a heavy sword on his back.


    He could also be seen dragging what seemed like a dead body while holding its arms.


    "That person, isn¡¯t that..." Veracity stood up, shocked as soon as she saw who the dead body belonged to.


    Even the Predictor couldn¡¯t help but open his eyes wide.


    "That body... It couldn¡¯t be..." He muttered in disbelief.


    "That¡¯s right. This person is..." Lucifer started answering in his grim-reaper like voice, but that¡¯s when the dream suddenly broke.


    Predictor woke up to find his body covered in sweat.


    "I need to tell Raia! She said he disappeared eight years ago! That means he¡¯ll be back in four years!" Predictor let out as he got off the bed.


    ....


    Unaware of the dreams that others were having about him, Lucifer was still reading the rule book, trying to understand everything.


    As he finished the book, he carefully ced it aside. It also happened to be when Jason stepped inside.


    "You¡¯re back too. How did it go?" Kevin asked Jason as well.


    "Tiring but good. Anyway, did Alex tell you how lucky he was?" Jason asked excitedly as he sat on his bed.


    "What lucky? This depressed soul said he was unlucky today," Kevin let out, rolling his eyes.


    "Well, in some department, he is unlucky, I guess. His main teacher is Franci," Jason answered. "But his luck was good too. The dean called him to the stage."


    "The Dean called him to the stage? What was so lucky about him? Shouldn¡¯t that be unlucky?" Kevin asked.


    "No! This time it was different. The Dean called more people as well."


    "More than one? Why?"


    " He held a singingpetition between them, which Alex won! And you know the prize? Alex is now allowed to skip any one of the first three yearly exams, and he¡¯ll still pass in that!" Jason eximed, grinning.


    "What? Did the Dean go crazy or something? That¡¯s such an awesome reward for singing a song! Five such rewards, and we¡¯ll graduate at the top of our sses. I wish I also had this chance to sing," Kevin muttered, feeling slightly jealous.


    "I would¡¯ve sung a love song. I might¡¯ve attracted the attention of some cute girls while also getting the award," he further added.


    "That¡¯s not what¡¯s important. I don¡¯t care about skipping exams since I believe I¡¯ll be able to pass them. But I¡¯m more worried about this bracelet. Even the teachers said they couldn¡¯t do anything," Lucifer chimed in, attracting the attention to his misery.


    "If I set off the bracelet three times, even identally, I¡¯ll be expelled," he said, sighing.


    "Then just don¡¯t do anything that requires you to use any strength that you think will put you at risk. Just listen to me."


    "Don¡¯t pick anything heavy, and don¡¯t try to break anything. As for the minor stuff, I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll be at risk as long as you¡¯re careful," Kevin said to Lucifer, suggesting a few ideas.

 Chapter 198 - 198: Take Gloves Off

    <h4>Chapter 198 - 198: Take Gloves Off </h4>


    "And yeah, don¡¯t fight anyone. Because others can at least fight like humans without using their gifts, but if you try to hit them, it might count as you using your strength. So be careful," Jason also chimed in as he warned Lucifer about the same things again.


    "Do I have any other choice?" Lucifer answered, sighing.


    He closed his eyes andid on the bed, tired.


    ...


    A new day arrived as the dark night passed. Lucifer and Jason got dressed in their new uniforms.


    While ss B students received a Blue Uniform to wear, including a Blue vest, ss A Lucifer had a red one to distinguish between the two.


    As for the ss C students, they had green uniforms. On top of these, the vests also had the name of the student engraved on them.


    Lucifer and Jason swiftly left the room together and only separated when it was time to go in different directions.


    As Jason went towards a building that belonged to ss B students, Lucifer went to a better-looking one where ss A students of all batches had their sses.


    He entered the same ss asst time and sat in his seat. As for the others, not a single person was here yet.


    Soon, the others also started arriving, and in the end, came Cassius.


    There was only one row of seats in this ss today, with six seats. Lucifer took the third, and Cassius took the fourth seat. As for the second, it was taken by Dash, bringing Lucifer between the two.


    "Yo, Alex, from the Great Family of ric, right? How are you?" Dash asked Lucifer as he chuckled lightly. "Doing good?"


    "I¡¯m not from a great family. Please forget that day. I made a mistake. As for your question, I¡¯m fine today. Thank you for asking," Lucifer answered.


    "Why are you wearing those gloves? It¡¯s not cold, is it? I saw it yesterday and now today too. Are you trying to hide something under the gloves? Did you get your girlfriend¡¯s name tattooed on the back of your hand? Let me see what her name is," Dash asked Lucifer, talking nicely.


    "I have no tattoo. It¡¯s just that these gloves were a gift from my father. And he is no more. So I always wear them to make me feel like he¡¯s with me. Just think of them as having sentimental values," Lucifer answered, again lying.


    "Interesting. I think you should thank your father in that case," Dash said. "He really deserves it."


    "Why?" Lucifer inquired.


    "It¡¯s because he only gifted you gloves and not a condom. It would be awkward if you were to always wear that," Dash said as he startedughing.


    "What¡¯s that?" Lucifer asked, confused. He didn¡¯t understand what that word meant.


    "Really? You don¡¯t know about a condom?" Dash eximed in surprise. "Hahaha, you¡¯re so innocent, kid!"


    Dash started exining. "It¡¯s what people-"


    "Dash, you¡¯re making the room noisier. Keep your exnation to yourself, and don¡¯t ruin the atmosphere for me."


    Dash has just started exining when Cassius cut him off, making him stop.


    "Come on, Cassius. I¡¯m only trying to teach our friend here," Dash told Cassius.


    "Teach him outside. Not here," Cassius repliedzily.


    "Cheh, fine. I¡¯ll tell himter," Dash muttered, rolling his eyes.


    "Anyway, Alex. I wanted to give you an offer. Since you¡¯re not from a Great Family, how about you be my subordinate? I¡¯ll pay you well, and I¡¯ll even throw some treasures at you once in a while. So, you agree, right?" he asked Lucifer again, changing the topic.


    Cassius didn¡¯t intervene this time.


    "I¡¯m sorry, but I don¡¯t want to be anyone¡¯s subordinate. As for treasures, they¡¯re useless for me. My gift is my biggest treasure. And I don¡¯t need money either since I have a schrship here," Lucifer answered, refusing the offer.


    "Did you really just refuse my offer?" Dash asked, surprised. " Take a day to think about it and answer me tomorrow. You don¡¯t know what you¡¯re missing. If you be my subordinate, you¡¯ll be a part of the Great Franci family. Take your time."


    "It doesn¡¯t matter. My answer will be the same even tomorrow. You all have Great Families, and I respect that. But for me, my family will always be the most precious to me. I don¡¯t want to join any other family," Lucifer answered, shaking his head. He was fully determined.


    That¡¯s when the door of the room opened as Franci stepped inside.


    "All six of you. Follow me," he told the students as he again left the room just as quickly as he had entered.


    The students started following Franci.


    ....


    Franci escorted the six youngsters to an Arena that waspletely empty.


    A pond could also be seen in the center of the arena.


    "This is where your training will be. And don¡¯t expect any mercy during training," Fraci told the youngsters as he faced them.


    ....


    The training of everyone finally began to understand their true power better. As the training started, time kept trickling away.


    Each of the five teachers took turns in training the youngsters about their specific field.


    Even though ss A had five primary teachers, they also had other teachers.


    From Monday to Friday, it was the turn of the primary teachers to train the youngsters, while on Saturday; it was the extra sses where they were taught how to useputers to their advantage.


    Even though swimming was a part of the curriculum here, there were rarely any swimming sses. Almost all the students that joined the Academy already knew swimming except for Lucifer.


    That¡¯s why special swimming sses were arranged for Lucifer on Sundays. It was his first time attending a Swimming ss.


    He was standing near the swimming pool, waiting for the teacher to arrive as he wondered how it was going to go. He also felt a bit scared since he had heard that he almost drowned once.


    As Lucifer waited, he soon noticed a Young Lady approach him.


    Thedy seemed to be in her mid-twenties. As for her clothes, she appeared to be wearing a robe that covered her entire body, but the dark-haired woman did look pretty.


    "You¡¯re Alex?" The woman asked Lucifer, who nodded his head.


    "That¡¯s good. I¡¯m Yulia. I¡¯ll be your swimming teacher from now on," the dark-haired woman answered. "So shall we begin?"


    Lucifer nodded again.


    "Good. Take off your clothes and your gloves and step inside the water," the woman told Lucifer as she opened her robe to reveal her swimsuit.


    Lucifer listened to hermands and took off his clothes, to be left in his shorts only.


    He started walking towards the water and soon stepped inside the end of the pool, which only had knee-deep water.


    "Take gloves off, too," Yulia reminded Lucifer again.


    "I can¡¯t," Lucifer shook his head apologetically.


    "Oh? And why can¡¯t you?" Yulia asked as she folded her arms while ring at Lucifer.


    "These gloves... Ah, they have sentimental values. They¡¯re a gift from my dead father. I can¡¯t take them off," Lucifer replied again.


    Thedy took a deep breath as she frowned.


    "They have sentimental values, I understand. But it¡¯s only for a moment. Keep them aside for a minute. You can wear them when you step outside. No one will steal them," Yulia told Lucifer.


    Lucifer again shook his head. "I just can¡¯t take them off. No matter what. I¡¯ll learn while wearing them. If I can¡¯t, then I don¡¯t need to learn how to swim."


    He stepped out of the water again.


    "Alex, I know you¡¯re from ss A. But you¡¯re still talking to a teacher. Remember, you must always listen to a teacher. I¡¯m giving you another chance. If you refuse again, it¡¯ll be counted as you breaking a rule!" Yulia warned Lucifer again.

 Chapter 199 - 199: First Year Final Exams

    <h4>Chapter 199 - 199: First Year Final Exams </h4>


    Hearing her threat, Lucifer couldn¡¯t help but have a second thought as he nced at his gloves. He was really in trouble, it seemed.


    If he didn¡¯t take them off now, he was going to get one strike. Three strikes, and he was expelled. Could he afford it? He knew he couldn¡¯t afford to get expelled, but he couldn¡¯t afford to take them off either.


    "Grandpa, I promise. I will never take these gloves off."


    He couldn¡¯t help but remember the promise he had made to his grandfather. Also, if he took them off, he could quickly die because of his sickness. He decided what he needed to do. No matter what, he needed to stand firm.


    "I can¡¯t take them off but listen to me first. I¡¯ll tell you the truth!" Lucifer said as he sighed.


    "Actually, I have a medical condition. If I take these gloves off, my hands wille in contact with the atmosphere, and my allergy will act up. I¡¯ll die. I can¡¯t take them off," he continued.


    "The only reason I didn¡¯t tell this before was because I thought everyone would think I¡¯m lying," he further exined.


    "So that¡¯s the route you want to go. You¡¯re not doing what I asked, and you¡¯re also lying? Fine. That¡¯s it," Yulia let out, looking furious.


    She tapped the bracelet which was in her hand. A light lit up in her bracelet before she started speaking.


    " Batch 24, ss A, Alex ric broke the rule of the academy. He refused to listen to me and take off his gloves, and he also lied. Register this in his record."


    As she finished speaking, she tapped her bracelet again, and the light stopped.


    It didn¡¯t take long before a light lit up in Lucifer¡¯s bracelet. It was a red light, though.


    "That¡¯s your first strike. Two more, and you¡¯ll be expelled. But since you got the punishment for not listening to remove the gloves, I can¡¯t punish you for the same again no matter how many times you refuse to take off the gloves now," Yulia told Lucifer.


    "I¡¯ll let you keep wearing them. Get in the water. Your training will begin now."


    Even though Lucifer received the strike, at least he didn¡¯t have to take off his gloves now.


    And learning to swim was also important, so he again went inside the water.


    ...


    Time kept trickling away, and soon a year had passed since Lucifer had entered this Academy.


    He had gone through a year of training to learn many things, and he put his entire effort into learning well.


    Moreover, throughout this one year, he also met Grandpa Chi a few times who came to meet him.


    Soon, it was the time for the Yearly Exams to see how much the students learned in the year.


    Everyone had prepared extensively for the exams, and now it was time for them to show what they learned.


    ...


    "ss A, today begins your first Yearly Exams. Since it¡¯s the first year, it¡¯ll be much easier and different from the next ones but just remember, you can still fail. Give your best and try to get the first ce!" Franci told the six students of ss A who were going to give their first test in the first-year final exams.


    "The first test is simple. There are six doors before you, one with each of your names. So all you need to do is step inside the door with your name!"


    "Inside, you¡¯ll see the test specially designed while keeping your gifts and training in mind. The tests you all go through will be the same, and they¡¯ll be equal in difficulty irrespective of what you face. So best of luck. And I¡¯ll see you on the other side," Franci told the students.


    Yovann and the others were also standing there, wishing the students the best of luck as well.


    It was finally the time to see who learned how much.


    Cassius was the first one to step inside through one of the doors. The others also stepped inside their rooms, leaving Lucifer, who seemed to be thinking something.


    "What happened? Feeling scared?" Yovann asked Lucifer as he stepped forward.


    "No. I was just thinking about something. I¡¯m fine," Lucifer muttered as he shook his head.


    He passed through the door, which had his name on top.


    The five teachers were left behind. As for the Dean, he wasn¡¯t here. Throughout the year, not a single student had seen the Dean.


    "Who do you think will win?" Yovann asked the others.


    "Cassius," Morbius answered first.


    "Yeah. Cassius will win," Alexis also answered.


    "I think it might be one between Cassius and Alex," Franci muttered.


    "Alex? That kid? No chance. I taught him for a year. He is very good, but I don¡¯t think he has what it takes," Morbius answered.


    "That¡¯s because he¡¯s new to this. Others have already had years of training but trust me. That kid has something. I believe he can surprise us today," Franci replied, shaking his head.


    Even though he had been strict to Lucifer on the outside, inside, he knew that Lucifer had the potential.


    "I think Cassius will win. Alex can be good, but that¡¯s the problem too. All he has is his strength. He can¡¯t kill the enemies without getting close to them. And to fight like that, it takes more time to finish each enemy," Mirali chimed in.


    "Cassius, on the other hand, can use his Divine Energy to kill many enemies at once, that too from a distance," she continued.


    "It saves his time, so he can definitelye out faster than Alex. It¡¯s all about who finishes first. So my bet is on Cassius as well. In fact, I think Alex can¡¯t even get third," she further added as she yawned as if she was again feeling sleepy.


    "What do you think, Yovann?" Alexi asked the scar-faced man.


    "I¡¯m not sure. Actually, I think Mirali¡¯s logic is right. Theoretically, Cassius should win, but I feel like we might see something different. I don¡¯t know what it is about Alex, but I think he can make an upset," Yovann answered, ncing towards the door Lucifer had entered.


    ...


    As Lucifer entered through the door, he found himself standing on the stairs that went down.


    He started running down. Time was of the essence as he needed to finish on time.


    The bracelet was still in his hand, but as he was given the permission, he could use his strength now.


    There was a white light blinking on his bracelet, showing that he had the permission to use his gifts. There was also that red light there which was showing that he had his first strike already.

 Chapter 200 - 200: Trial Begins

    <h4>Chapter 200 - 200: Trial Begins </h4>


    As Lucifer reached the end of the stairs, he found himself standing in what seemed like a tunnel that was ten feet wide only.


    Without thinking twice, he started running straight ahead. He had only run for two minutes when he found his first enemies.


    Tens of giant bees were upying the tunnel. As for their size, they seemed to be half the size of Lucifer.


    "These are the enemies? Dungeon Beasts? Did these people catch them and entrap them here?" Lucifer muttered, confused how these bees got here.


    "Oh, that¡¯s right! The Portal of the Dean. He must have brought them here. And now I need to kill them to pass."


    Cracking his knuckles, Lucifer started running towards the bees.


    ....


    In a different tunnel, Cassius was walking calmly. His heavy sword was still in his hand.


    Tens of dead bees were lying behind him, cut in half. It seemed like he had already finished the first enemy when Lucifer was just beginning.


    ....


    Dash had also faced the bees with his wind des without having to get close to them, and now he was flying ahead. In fact, at the moment, he was ahead of the others as he wasn¡¯t running but flying.


    Soon, he reached the next obstruction.


    There seemed to be a long pond before him. He didn¡¯t know how deep it was, but he did know that he could fly from over it.


    "Is it for the Swimming Test?" Dash muttered as heughed. "I don¡¯t even have to attend it."


    He started flying above the pond instead of swimming but just when he reached the middle; he saw tens of arrowsing out of the wall. All these arrows were carrying a with them.


    As the arrows prated the wall around Dash, he found himself trapped in the.


    "These cunning bastards! They knew I¡¯d fly and set this trap. God, it¡¯ll waste so much of my time!" Dash let out furiously as he started struggling to free himself.


    In the meanwhile, Ren had also walked past the bees, and he was getting near the pond.


    ...


    Lucifer was still fighting the bees as he could only kill one at a time with his attacks, but he also seeded in dodging all the attacks. Not a single scratch was on his body.


    Despite him fighting in such close proximity, he wasn¡¯t letting himself get hit. He had learned from Morbius the art of defending himself. He knew that a Variant could easily die, so protection was important.


    He waspletely unlike his old self in this department. He focused on defense as much as he did on the attack.


    Lucifer soon finished all the bees, crushing most of them with his supreme strength.


    He again started running to get to the next obstruction.


    ....


    Cassius was standing in front of the pond, wondering what he could do.


    He could easily carry the heavy sword when walking, but he couldn¡¯t swim with it on his back.


    He couldn¡¯t even leave his sword behind.


    The pond was also very long, so he didn¡¯t think he could throw his sword to the other end and then swim.


    "Fine. If I¡¯m slow, then so be it," he muttered as he clenched his fist before he jumped into the water with his sword.


    ....


    Lucifer also finally reached the pond. He jumped into the pond without worrying about his clothes getting wet as he started advancing as fast as he could.


    Throughout this one year, he had learned to swim really well. His speed remained fast as he swam. In fact, his strength helped him too as he soon reached the other end.


    As Lucifer stepped out of the pond, he wondered how far others would be in their tunnels.


    He didn¡¯t know that he was one of the two people in the lead. In fact, he was second at the moment in terms of tasks passed.


    Ren was first at the moment. Lucifer was second. Dash was fourth as he was still struggling to free himself. As for Cassius, he was third as he was swimming with his sword, which was slowing him down.


    As for the other two, they had also reached the pond. They were fifth and sixth.


    Lucifer crossed the pond and kept running until he soon reached his third obstruction.


    He found what seemed like a chessboard ced before him.


    The pieces on the chess were already arranged in such a way that it seemed like his side was going to be defeated in just one move. As for behind that board, there was a giant metallic door that was closed.


    "Do I need to y the game to pass through?" He muttered as he frowned. He stepped forward as he observed all the pieces.


    Throughout this one year, the students were also taught chess to sharpen their heads. It seemed like it was a test for them.


    "Alright," Lucifer muttered as he moved the king to the left.


    As soon as he moved his king, the queen of the enemy advanced on its own, closing on Lucifer¡¯s king, checking him again.


    ...


    Ren was also ying chess. Even though he was blind, he was able to use something like a sonar to see his surroundings to some extent. With that, he was able to know the pieces and their shape.


    Moreover, there was an audio system ced there to give him a bit more help. Whenever the enemy piece moved, the audio system described the move. It did simrly when Ren moved.


    Ren was the first one to win the chess battle. As soon as he won, the metallic doors in front of him opened, giving him a path to leave.


    ...


    "Checkmate!" Lucifer also let out excitedly as he won the hard battle.


    He seemed to only be a few seconds behind Ren. The metallic doors opened as he also passed through.


    ...


    Lucifer and Ren had passed through when Cassius reached that ce.


    "Not this now," he said in frustration as he saw the chessboard.


    He started ying as well.


    In the meanwhile, Dash was finally free of the, but he was in thest position now. Even Rune and Dray were ahead of him now.


    As he freed himself from the, he didn¡¯t dare fly above the pond again. Instead, he properly swam this time.


    Leaving the pond, he again started flying and soon reached the chessboard.


    "Gosh, this too? They know I¡¯m bad at chess, and they still put it," he said in frustration as he stomped the ground.


    As he had no other choice, he started ying.

 Chapter 201 - 201: Art Of Tricks

    <h4>Chapter 201 - 201: Art Of Tricks </h4>


    Rune, Dray, and Dash were on the chessboard while Lucifer, Cassius, and Ren were already on their next Obstruction.


    ...


    As Lucifer reached the next obstruction, he couldn¡¯t help but stop.


    There was someone standing before him who seemed like an Orc.


    The giant orc was standing with a hammer in his hand, watching Lucifer.


    Behind him was another metallic gate that was closed. There was a number pad on the gate.


    "Hahaha, wee young human. I am the guard of this ce. You want to pass through; you¡¯ll need to enter the password which only I possess!" The Orc told Lucifer.


    Simrly, in the other tunnels, the same was happening with Cassius and Ren.


    Even though all three of them were told the same thing by the Orcs, all of them answered differently.


    "Then all I need to do is cut you up and force you to give me an answer," Cassius told the Orc before him as he raised his sword.


    "What do I have to do to get that password from you?" Ren asked the Orc.


    As for Lucifer, he had an entirely different approach.


    "Oh wow, you¡¯re so handsome. Are you a model or something?" Lucifer asked the Orc.


    "Handsome? Hahaha, I suppose you¡¯re right. I¡¯m handsome indeed. But what is a model?" The Orc asked Lucifer, confused.


    A wide smile was on his face as he was ttered, but that smile was making him look even uglier.


    "A model is a post given to the most handsome people. When you be a model, you can get anything you want! You can get mansions, treasures, and even beautifuldies! A model gets everything!" Lucifer exined as he rubbed his hand.


    While the others were trying a different approach, Lucifer had decided to use the Art of Trick that Alexi had taught them all.


    Many things were important for a Variant, like strength and defense, but a Variant¡¯s cleverness was also an important thing.


    If he could use his tricks to win battles that he couldn¡¯t with strength, then it was a sign of being a Supreme Variant. At Least that¡¯s what Alexi had told them.


    While most of the ss A students considered the ss of Alexi useless, Lucifer had always taken great interest in that.


    It was as if there was a deep desire in him to learn to scheme. He didn¡¯t know where that desire came from, but he believed he needed the Art of Tricks.


    That¡¯s why he always paid attention to Alexi¡¯s ss.


    "A model? It sounds so magical! I¡¯m most handsome too! You are right! How can I be a model! Please make me one too!" The Orc said greedily as he pleaded with Lucifer.


    That was what Lucifer wanted. The Orc had the code, so instead of begging the orc or fighting him, it was much better to make him give the code willingly by making something he would plead for.


    In this one year, he had also learned a lot about Dungeon Dwellers. Amongst the species he learned about were Orcs too.


    ording to what he learned, Orcs could speak like humans and they had many simr habits. There was one more thing about them. They were very greedy and a bit narcissistic.


    "I can make you a model. All I need is to talk to my agent outside, and he¡¯ll start working on it. Within a few weeks, you can be a star," Lucifer told the Orc, smiling.


    "Please do it! I¡¯ll do anything to be a model! Please talk to him fast!" The Orc told Lucifer excitedly.


    "I can¡¯t talk to him from here. I¡¯ll have to go outside to talk to him. But I can¡¯t go outside since the door is locked," Lucifer replied, shaking his head.


    "Don¡¯t worry, after the door opens, I¡¯ll go and talk to him. Till then, let me stay here," he continued.


    "No! No need!" The Orc blurted out as he ran to the number pad. He pressed the code himself.


    As soon as the numbers were pressed, the door opened.


    "See, the door is open! Please leave and talk to him!" The Orc told Lucifer, pleading him to leave fast.


    "Alright. I¡¯ll go talk to him. In the meantime, you wait. You¡¯re going to be a big star soon!" Lucifer told the Orc as he passed through the door.


    As soon as Lucifer passed through, the door closed.


    And thus, Lucifer took the lead in the exams for the first time.


    As he walked towards the next obstruction, he couldn¡¯t help butugh.


    "That orc was really interesting. Not bad. But the password, it really was 123456789? Didn¡¯t the academy get anything better?"


    "Oh right. The Orcs have weak memories. If they had given him a tough password, he would¡¯ve forgotten anyway. It must be why they set it so simple."


    ....


    While Lucifer was advancing towards the next obstruction, Cassius was standing near the Orc in his tunnel.


    He had already sliced the hands and the legs of the orc as he asked, "Are you giving me the password now, or should I cut your neck first?"


    "No, wait, I should go with your ears. Then I can take out your eyes. Then cut your nose. So much to do," he further said as he rubbed his chin.


    As the Orc looked at Cassius, he was scared, as if he was looking at the Devil. Cassius was so strong, and he was so ruthless. The Orc genuinely felt frightened for his life.


    "The password is 123456789!" He eximed as he gave up for his survival.


    "Good boy," Cassius said as he stepped forward. He pressed the code, making the door open.


    As soon as the door was opened, he also passed through.


    ...


    Ren, on the other hand, was busy in a bargain with the Orc. He believed he couldn¡¯t kill the Orc or he would lose the password. So he was trying the method of bargain.


    "Give me your most precious treasure. If I¡¯m happy, I¡¯ll give you the password," the Orc told Ren,ughing.


    "My most precious treasure?" Ren muttered, frowning.


    ...


    After a long time, Dash had finally won the chess game. He was finally allowed to pass to the next stage.


    Rune and Dray had also won, soon after him as they also went ahead.


    ....


    "I wonder how many more obstructions will there be."


    Lucifer was running in the tunnel, trying to get to the next obstruction fast.


    It had been five minutes since he started running, but he didn¡¯t see any obstruction. Where was the next trial? Why was it so far? The others were closer, he wondered.


    Soon, he reached the part of the tunnel where it split in two.

 Chapter 202 - 202: Luck

    <h4>Chapter 202 - 202: Luck </h4>


    The tunnel before Lucifer was split in two. One was going towards the left while the other was going towards the right.


    "Which one?" Lucifer muttered, frowning. "Is this also a test?"


    He started looking around to see if there was anything that had a clue here as to what he was supposed to choose, but there was nothing.


    "Fine. I¡¯ll just choose one," he let out as he chose the left tunnel and started running once again.


    As Lucifer ran inside the tunnel for five minutes straight, he noticed that it once again split in two.


    "Again?" He let out, frustrated.


    He was again about to choose the left side when he stopped.


    Frowning, he looked to his left, where he found a small stone lying out of his view.


    "That stone... It was exactly at that cest time too. Don¡¯t tell me I¡¯m back where I started?" He let out as he frowned.


    As he was wondering what this split was, he remembered the words of Yovann.


    "Remember, sometimes we can have all the strength in the world, but luck still ys an important role in our victory. So never underestimate your enemy, even if he¡¯s weaker. Who knows, his luck might be better."


    "Luck... Could it be about luck? Two tunnels? One leads back here? The lucky one will choose the right one on the first try while the unlucky ones will choose the wrong one and waste their time?" Lucifer said, frowning.


    "This must be it. I really wasted my time by not choosing the right one."


    This time he chose the right one as he started running.


    Unlike before, this time, he didn¡¯t end up back there again. Instead, he finally reached the next obstruction.


    He could see ten men standing before him in the distance.


    ...


    Ren and Cassius also reached the two tunnels. While Ren chose the left one, Cassius selected the right one.


    As for the other three contenders, they were much behind them. In fact, only Dash seemed to be catching up as he flew at his best speed.


    ....


    Lucifer was standing before ten men who all had a rod in their hands. All of them were wearing ck leather jackets and other clothing artifacts that were making them feel like gangsters.


    "Human enemies this time?" Lucifer muttered, frowning. "Is this a test to see how I defeat them without killing them? Or something else? Because they¡¯re genuinely too weak for me."


    Since all of them were holding weapons, Lucifer was sure that they weren¡¯t Variants.


    Beep!


    While Lucifer was wondering how he should deal with them, he heard a loud beeping sounding from his bracelet.


    Looking down, he realized that the white light that was blinking on the bracelet had turned off.


    "What does this mean? I can¡¯t use my powers?" Lucifer eximed, upset.


    The white light signified that the Variant had the permission to use his powers, and its absence showed that they couldn¡¯t.


    "Ah, so that¡¯s what it is," Lucifer muttered as he realized what was happening. "I need to defeat them like humans."


    He remembered his martial arts ss. It was the same there. Unlike other sses, they weren¡¯t permitted to use their powers in that ss. So they learned and fought using human skills like Martial Arts, Judo, and many others.


    "Fine. I can do it. After learning for a year, I know where the threshold of my human strength is to some extent. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll set off the bracelet now. At least not against these people," Lucifer said, determined as he started stepping towards the men.


    "Come, kid!" The menughed as they advanced towards Lucifer.


    The first man who reached Lucifer didn¡¯t attack with a rod. Instead, he tried to kick Lucifer¡¯s chest.


    Unfortunately for him, Lucifer moved like lightning as he caught the man¡¯s leg before hitting the man¡¯s knee with his elbow, breaking it.


    He didn¡¯t stop there as he hit the neck of the man again, making him finally drop to the ground, groaning in pain.


    The second and the third man came together as they attacked with the rods.


    This time, Lucifer went to the ground, not only dodging the rods but even using his kicks to make the men drop to the ground before he attacked the two of them, taking them out.


    "Next," Lucifer said lightly as he patted his clothes. A glint of excitement could be seen in his eyes.


    ...


    Cassius and Ren also reached the next obstruction to notice a few men standing before them. Their limiter once again became activated, and they too realized what this test was.


    "A test to fight without gifts?" Cassius muttered. "Did they forget that I¡¯m a swordsman even without my gifts? It¡¯s child¡¯s y for me."


    He stepped forward with his heavy sword in his hand, ready to fight.


    ...


    "That was fun," Lucifer eximed as heughed. He really enjoyed this part of the test as he got to fight without his abilities.


    Ten unconscious men were lying behind him as he advanced towards the next obstruction.


    ....


    The five teachers were standing in a different ce, but there were still five doors before them.


    It was the ce where the students were going toe out from.


    "It shouldn¡¯t be long now. Soon, we¡¯ll see the winner," Alexi said, smirking.


    "I have an idea. How about we make bets on who is going to win? We can each contribute a thousand coins. The ones who are right will get all the money that is collected from this to be shared amongst only them," he suddenly suggested.


    "If there¡¯s only one who is right amongst us, that person can hoard five thousand coins. How¡¯s this?" He further said.


    "Not bad. I¡¯m in," Yovann said as he ced a thousand coins inside a bag. Alexi did the same.


    "Fine. I¡¯m in too," Franci said as he also gave a thousand coins.


    Morbius also gave a thousand coins of contribution along with Mirali.


    In the end, five thousand coins were collected, which weren¡¯t cheap by any means in this country.


    "So, give your final choice of name. You can¡¯t go back or change," Alexi said.


    "Cassius," Morbius answered.


    "I¡¯m going with Cassius too," Franci said.


    " I select Cassius too," Mirali answered.


    "I also go with Cassius. Hah, it looks like none of us are going to win anything extra with this," Alexi said, smiling wryly. "Yovann, Cassius for you too?¡¯


    "No. I select Alex," Yovann answered, smiling.


    "Do you really want to lose your money? Fine. It looks like we¡¯ll all earn some coins after all," Alexi let out,ughing as he held the bag.

 Chapter 203 - 203: The Winner

    <h4>Chapter 203 - 203: The Winner </h4>


    Lucifer reached the next obstruction, which seemed a bit odd. There was aputer ced in that ce. As for behind theputer, there was a door with another number pad on it.


    "One more password task?"


    Lucifer stepped closer to theputer and turned it on, frowning. He believed that it was a test of theirputer knowledge.


    "The password must be inside theputer."


    As Lucifer turned on theputer, a program file was opened, which had a whole bunch of code in it.


    "It¡¯s encrypted, it seems, but I can¡¯t decrypt without running the problem."


    He tried running the program only to get an error prompt that the program was corrupt.


    " The program is corrupt? But there¡¯s nothing on thisputer other than this. What exactly is this puzzle?"


    A deep frown was on Lucifer¡¯s face as he looked at theputer screen.


    As he started observing the program, he soon noticed that in one of the first three lines; there was a mistake.


    "I guess I need to first correct the program before I can run it. They must¡¯ve left some codes missing intentionally. So that¡¯s the test," Lucifer muttered as he understood what he needed to do.


    He took a chair that was ced nearby as he started working on theputer.


    All the other students had to go through a simr test, including Ren.


    The only difference was that a person was assigned to tell him what he couldn¡¯t see. That person wasn¡¯t allowed to help in any other way except by being the eyes of Ren.


    ...


    Turn!


    The doorknob was turned as one of the six doors opened.


    A person stepped out of the door to appear before the five teachers.


    "It¡¯s you? You really won?" Most of the Teachers eximed in surprise at the sight of the winner.


    Alexi couldn¡¯t help butugh. "Hahaha, I guess you won this time. Here¡¯s your reward."


    He gave the bag of coins to Yovann since he was right. The first person to step out of the tests was Lucifer.


    A few minutes after Lucifer stepped out, a second door opened. This time, it was Cassius who stepped out.


    As Cassius came out, he noticed Lucifer, but he didn¡¯t look disappointed or anything. In fact, he didn¡¯t seem like he gave any importance to it.


    About five minutester, the third door opened as a third boy stepped out. It was Ren this time.


    Ten more minutes passed before the fourth boy came, who finally happened to be Dash.


    Unlike Cassius, Dash seemed more upset to see that there were more people here that came before him. He was distraught because of Lucifer.


    He found it highly disappointing that he, someone from the Great Franci family, lost against an ordinary boy who he had previously asked to be his subordinate.


    What was the world going to say? Dash Franci lost from amoner? It was at least eptable to some level if he had lost against only the people from other Great Families, but this was bad.


    Rune and Dray also came out soon after Dash, joining the team.


    "Alright, now that everyone is out, I dere the First Year Exam of ss A over!"


    As everyone was out, Franci dered the ending of the program.


    "The results are... Alex ric takes first ce. Cassius Zaini is second. Ren is third. Dash, Rune, and Dray are fourth, fifth, and sixth!" He further dered.


    "Now time for the special reward for the first ranked student of Batch 24, ss A," Franci said as he stepped towards Lucifer.


    He brought out a ring from his pocket and gave it to Lucifer.


    "What¡¯s this?¡¯ Lucifer asked as he epted the ring.


    "Treat it as your badge foring first," Franci said. "Moreover, ites with special advantages as well."


    "Every month, you¡¯re allowed to leave the Academy for one day by showing this ring at the exit, but you must return before the day is over," he further exined.


    "Also, every month, you can have a special one-hour training session with any of us five."


    Usually, no student was allowed to leave the academy after entering. At least not until they either graduated or got expelled. This facility was only extended to the topper of ss A to some extent.


    "The advantages willst for one year, and it¡¯ll be transferred to the winner of the next year. So use them wisely and don¡¯t break any rules," Franci said as he nced at the bracelet of Lucifer which already had a red light.


    He turned back and walked to the other teachers.


    "You may leave," he further said, telling everyone to leave.


    Lucifer wore the ring over his fingers without taking off his gloves. The ring also seemed to be simr to the bracelet as it was loose at first, but soon, it got tight-fitting.


    Unlike the bracelet, the ring could be taken off, though. But it couldn¡¯t be worn by anyone except the winner.


    Lucifer and the others started walking back, unaware that there was one person who was staring at him with an upset gaze.


    ...


    Lucifer went back to his room, where he told his roommates about his results.


    Kevin and Jason were as excited as they were amazed after hearing this news.


    "Congrats, young man! I believe this deserves a celebration! Wait, I¡¯ll bring a Cake from the cafeteria. Today¡¯s treat is on me!" Kevin said,ughing.


    He was happy that a friend of his won, but he was even more excited because someone from amon family managed to defeat those snobs, bringing them down a notch.


    "I¡¯ll alsoe with you. Cold drinks are from me!" Jason also said as he went after Kevin.


    Kevin ran to the Cafeteria and came back with a cake, whereas Jason came back with three bottles of cold drinks.


    The celebration of three unlikely yet close friends began as Jason and Kevin shared the happiness of Lucifer.


    "This ring is really beautiful, though. It also has your name on it," Jason pointed out as he noticed the name of Lucifer on the ring.


    Lucifer couldn¡¯t help but take another nce at the ring. He didn¡¯t remember seeing a name there.


    As he observed the ring again, he did notice. There was indeed a name on the ring now.


    "Alex ric. I guess it¡¯s so that I don¡¯t share this ring with others, helping them leave the academy for one day. Clever guys," Lucifer muttered.


    As the celebration continued through the night, the three of them only slept at three in the morning.


    ...


    Soon, the sses began again. Lucifer and the others began taking part in the sses. They resumed learning from the teachers how to be stronger and more resourceful.


    One more year passed as Lucifer¡¯s second year was also over soon.

 Chapter 204 - 204: More Upset

    <h4>Chapter 204 - 204: More Upset </h4>


    Lucifer¡¯s second year was also over soon, and it came the time of another Yearly Exam.


    The ss A students once again took part in the exam, which was vastly different than thest exam.


    Dash was entirely determined to win this time to gain back his lost reputation. At least he couldn¡¯t lose against Lucifer likest time. He believed that if that happened, it was going to be a p on his face.


    His Grandfather and the Master of the Great Family of Franci were watching everything after all. Even though his grandfather didn¡¯t say anything, Dash believed that his loss was spoiling the reputation of the Great Franci Family.


    He swore to himself that no matter what, he was going to win.


    Unfortunately, as the Second Yearly Exam was over, the results were against his expectations. He once again couldn¡¯t win first ce.


    The first ce was once again won by Lucifer, frustrating Dash even more. As for the second ce, it was taken by Cassius, who once again seemed like he couldn¡¯t care any less about who won.


    Dash only managed to take the third ce, with Ren taking the fourth this time. Dray and Rune were fifth and sixth, switching theirst positions.


    "Congrats, Alex ric. You took the first ce two years in a row. Not bad, but I must warn you. Don¡¯t break the rules, and you can be a big name," Franci told Lucifer as he nced at Lucifer¡¯s bracelet, which had one red light.


    "I¡¯m sure you know if you broke the rule two more times, you¡¯re going to be expelled. So be careful," he further said.


    In the second year, Lucifer hadn¡¯t broken any rule, but there were still three more years to go.


    "You can all go back. You¡¯ll have two days of holiday to rest. Enjoy your days and don¡¯t bete for the next ss," Franci told the students as he left.


    The students once again left. None of them noticed the twisted expression of Dash, who was getting more and more frustrated with Lucifer.


    Last year he worked the hardest he could to win but even then, he couldn¡¯t overtake a meremoner?


    Dash went back to his private room, where he stayed alone. In fact, this room seemed to be three times the size of the room that Lucifer, Jason, and Kevin shared.


    "Alex! Alex! Alex! This f*cking Alex! Why doesn¡¯t he just die!" Dash let out in frustration as he picked up a pot and tossed it towards the wall in frustration.


    "For now, this topic is inside the campus. The fact that I lost to amoner isn¡¯t known outside."


    "I can¡¯t let Alex graduate at the top of our ss, or the whole world will know this! My Franci Family will be a joke! I can¡¯t let him graduate no matter what!" Dash let out in frustration.


    He walked back and forth to control his anger, but he couldn¡¯t.


    "I tried the righteous path, but that doesn¡¯t work. Fine, I¡¯ll try other paths then! It doesn¡¯t matter! Alex ric won¡¯t graduate! No matter what I have to do, I¡¯ll get him expelled!"


    ...


    "How are you?"


    "Not fine. I miss you so much, Grandpa."


    In a meeting room, Lucifer and Grandpa Chi were sitting, talking to each other. Grandpa Chi hade again to meet Lucifer after getting a permit. In fact, it was his seventh meeting with Lucifer in two years.


    "I miss you too, little devil. Just three more years. Graduate fast, and you cane home," the old man told Lucifer.


    "Don¡¯t worry, Grandpa. I¡¯ll definitely be back before you know it. Also, do you know? I again got first ce in the yearly exams? Second time in a row. Aren¡¯t you proud of your grandson?" Lucifer said, grinning.


    It seemed like he genuinely was happy in the moment, having a life that a young boy deserved to have... A life filled with love of family.


    He even showed the old man his beautiful ring, which had his name written on it.


    "Do you even need to ask? Your Grandpa was always proud of you," Grandpa Chi answered as he rubbed Lucifer¡¯s head.


    "By the way, I brought your favorite snacks," he further said as he gave a bag to Lucifer.


    "Aww, you¡¯re the best, Grandpa!" Lucifer eximed as he stood up. He walked over to the old man and hugged him tightly before he walked back to his seat.


    "No one is disturbing you, right?" Grandpa Chi asked. "You know, there are many people in this world who get jealous of someone¡¯s sess."


    "Since you won this ring twice, you might have formed some unintentional enemies too. So stay alert and be friendly with everyone."


    "I will, Grandpa. I don¡¯t think I made any enemies. Everyone here is so nice. Don¡¯t worry," Lucifer replied calmly.


    Grandpa Chi looked at his clock and noticed the time. "Looks like the visitor time is almost over. I¡¯lle next time."


    He stood up.


    "Also, Alex. I really am proud of you. I think you really can do something great for this world one day. So work hard."


    Lucifer also stood up as he hugged the old man, feeling sad that he had to leave.


    The hugsted for a short time before the two of them separated. Grandpa Chi left the academy while Lucifer walked back to his room, looking down


    ...


    In the Variant Uprising headquarters, an important meeting was taking ce. It had been six years since Lucifer had disappeared.


    But they were also informed by the Predictor that Lucifer was going to return and that return was less than two years away.


    The meeting was attended by a few top Variants of Level Five, including Kellian and Yaliza. Isona, Dion, and Vega were also attending the meeting. The Predictor wasn¡¯t in the meeting this time either.


    " How¡¯s the surveince of Varacity¡¯s house going?" Raia asked Vega.


    "It¡¯s going as expected. We are getting the direct feed of her house. Our agents are also undercover, keeping an eye on her." Vega answered.


    " Do you really think Lucifer is going to return? And why would hee to her and not us?" Dion asked Raia.


    "There¡¯s a possibility. Predictor saw this vision. In two more years, Lucifer mighte to meet Veracity. It could even be before that. So we need to keep an eye on her," Raia answered.


    "Are we again believing Predictor?" Isona asked, frowning. "He¡¯s the reason we lost Lucifer in the first ce. Because of his wrong prediction, we let Lucifer go alone with Caen, and we all know the result!"


    "Caen is still missing with Lucifer! I don¡¯t think we should blindly believe Predictor again," she further added.

 Chapter 205 - 205: Falling In Own Trap

    <h4>Chapter 205 - 205: Falling In Own Trap </h4>


    "This time, we must because he didn¡¯t just see Lucifer¡¯s return. He also saw more. And if what he saw is true, then we can¡¯t ignore this prediction!" Raia answered gravely.


    ....


    The Academy for Gifted Variants was upied by thousands of young Variants who came here to learn and get a bright future.


    Lucifer was one of the students. He was already in his third year of the Academy. Three more years to spend here, and he was going to graduate.


    The sses for the third year began on time as all the students started their courses again.


    Lucifer and his ssmates were attending the ss of Martial Arts where they weren¡¯t allowed to use their powers.


    This time, however, something was different.


    It was decided that a mock battle will take ce. All six of the students will fight one person of their ss in the mock battle, without using their gifts.


    As for the pairing, the Teacher had already decided that already.


    "Ren, you¡¯ll fight Dray. Cassius, your opponent will be Rune, and you can¡¯t use your sword at all! As for Alex, you¡¯ll fight Dash."


    As the pairs were decided, everyone took their positions in different parts of the arena, prepared for the battle.


    The teacher himself stood in the center, watching all the battles that were about to begin.


    Dash stood before Lucifer, cracking his knuckles.


    ¡¯ Perfect opportunity. The only way to get him expelled is to make him break the rules two more times.¡¯ Dash thought as he observed Lucifer.


    ¡¯This can be one of those times. All I need is to make him use more strength than he normally does and vi.¡¯


    "You may begin!" the teacher dered.


    As the battle began, Lucifer and Dash ran to each other, prepared for a hard battle.


    The battle had only just begun, but it was already over as Cassius had defeated Rune already.


    As for Ren, he also had the edge over Dray.


    The battle of Lucifer and Dash seemed to be going a bit different, though.


    As Lucifer was careful about not exerting any strength that could put him at risk, he was fighting a bit differently. Fighting Dash was different than fighting humans, after all.


    He used the Martial Arts that required the least amount of strength to be used as he kept dodging all the attacks of Dash while also managing to hit him a few times.


    "Fight properly!" Dash told Lucifer, upset at not being able to hit him.


    "This is a proper fight. A fight doesn¡¯t only involve hitting but dodging too," Lucifer replied as he again took his body down to use a spinning kick when Dash was distracted.


    The kick managed tond, hitting the legs of Dash.


    Dash was about to fall down, but that¡¯s when he started screaming in pain, "Aaaargh!"


    Lucifer stood, confused. What was happening? That¡¯s when he understood. A red light had lit up on Dash¡¯s bracelet as he lost his consciousness.


    "This idiot, it looks like he subconsciously tried to use his gift of wind to save him from the fall. Don¡¯t worry; I¡¯ll take him to the nurse. He¡¯s just unconscious, though. He¡¯ll wake up in an hour," the Martial Arts teacher said as he ran to Dash.


    "You all may go to your ss," he further said before he left with Dash.


    The five students started leaving. Cassius and Lucifer walked behind the others.


    Cassius suddenly looked at Lucifer as he opened his lips, "I don¡¯t agree."


    Throughout the years, Cassius hadn¡¯t talked much, so Lucifer found it a bit surprising. He still had a much more positive feeling for Cassius than he had for others.


    "What don¡¯t you agree with?" Lucifer asked, curious.


    "That a fight doesn¡¯t only involve hitting but dodging too. If you¡¯re dodging, that means you¡¯re weak. And you don¡¯t deserve to be in that fight in the first ce," Cassius said.


    "A proper fight is attacking. I believe that attack is the best defense. If you¡¯re on the offensive, you don¡¯t have to worry about defense," he further exined.


    It was the first time he had spoken so many words in all the years Lucifer had known him.


    "That¡¯s the thing. You¡¯re strong, so you don¡¯t understand. But in the outside world, most people don¡¯t have a choice but to fight," Lucifer answered. "It¡¯s not that they want to fight a strong opponent. I heard many stories from my grandfather like that,"


    "For example, thest great war. When the Dungeon Dwellers came out of the Dungeon and started attacking the cities, You think the Variants could¡¯ve said, ¡¯We¡¯re weaker, we don¡¯t deserve to be in a fight?¡¯ That¡¯s the thing."


    "Even the weak have to fight sometimes, and adopting a defensive yet offensive art of fighting is important. So a battle can be of many types, but it¡¯s always better to adopt as much defense as an attack," he further said. "Because you won¡¯t always fight a weak opponent."


    "I mean, only an idiot would fight like a brute, letting all attacks hit him. None of us are immortal after all," he finished up as he smiled. He didn¡¯t know he was the brute that he was talking about before he lost his memories.


    "What do you think?" Lucifer asked Cassius as he finished.


    "Interesting approach. I didn¡¯t think like that before. Maybe because I never needed to use defense," Cassius muttered as he nodded. "What you said does make sense as well."


    " By the way, you did well. If I were, to be honest, it was good to see Dash get electrocuted," he continued as a hint of a smile appeared on his face.


    "You¡¯re wee, I suppose," Lucifer replied, smiling wryly. " Anyway, it¡¯s really good to talk to you. I don¡¯t have any friends in ss A. Can we be friends?"


    He extended his hands towards Cassius to shake hands.


    Seeing the hand of Lucifer, Cassius was stunned. This was something new for him since not many people offered to be his friends. Everyone kept their distance from him, which forced him into more istion.


    "Are you sure you want me to be your friend?" Cassius asked Lucifer, still not believing.


    "Of course. Why won¡¯t I?" Lucifer asked, smiling.


    "Did you not ask anyone the reason why the entire auditorium went silent when I entered during the Orientation?" Cassius asked, frowning.


    "I tried asking, but no one answered. In the end, I gave up. How about you answer that? What happened?" Lucifer inquired.


    "It¡¯s because I killed someone before. My friend in school," Cassius answered as he looked at Lucifer to observe his expressions.


    He wondered if Lucifer was going to be disgusted or something but what he saw on Lucifer¡¯s face wasn¡¯t disgust or hate.

 Chapter 206 - 206: Rules

    <h4>Chapter 206 - 206: Rules </h4>


    Instead of looking upset or disgusted, Lucifer looked confused.


    "May I ask the reason? I think it might have been justified in some way, or you wouldn¡¯t be here roaming free," he asked Cassius.


    "The reason? It¡¯s because he made too much noise, I became upset, and I killed him. As for not getting punished, that¡¯s because I¡¯m from the Great Zaini family," Cassius answered.


    Before Lucifer could even say anything, Cassius continued, "At least that¡¯s what the world thinks. I don¡¯t even know how that rumor got started about me."


    Hearing that, Lucifer took a deep sigh of relief. When Cassius said why he killed, Lucifer had actually thought that maybe he was wrong about Cassius, but his second sentence made Lucifer realize that what he said before wasn¡¯t true. It was just a rumor.


    "What actually happened then?" Lucifer asked. "What¡¯s the true story? And how did this rumor get started?"


    Cassius took a long pause as if he was reminiscing that day.


    "It was a normal day that day, but my mood wasn¡¯t good since I had fought with my parents in the morning. That¡¯s why I was upset. In ss, there was too much noise, and my friend also kept talking. I kept telling him to stop and that I wasn¡¯t in the mood, but he kept talking," Cassius answered.


    "And then, I snapped. I yelled at him, even threatening to kill him if he didn¡¯t stop making noise. I guess that¡¯s where the root of that rumor took ce," he further said.


    "But you didn¡¯t kill him by then, I assume. You were just angry? People speak nonsense that they don¡¯t mean when they are angry," Lucifer answered.


    "That would be it if he actually hadn¡¯t died that evening. But after the school was over, something happened which resulted in me fighting against a few other Variants. In the battle, my friend who was still walking with me died. As for his death, it happened because of my attack," Cassius exined, sighing.


    "That sounds like an ident. And from your words, I don¡¯t think that you¡¯re lying," Lucifer responded. "Didn¡¯t you tell the truth of what happened that day?"


    " I told the truth, but no one believed. My previous words and the false testimony of my enemies made it seem like I killed him in anger. The whole world shut me out. Everyone heard this story and started thinking of me as a killer," Cassius replied.


    "At first, it hurt. But after some time, I stopped caring as well," he continued.


    "Anyway, it¡¯s because of that rumor that people go silent in my presence, thinking I¡¯ll go crazy and kill them if they make unnecessary noise. In a way, it¡¯s good too, since I get the silence and peace."


    "But this also makes it so that no one approaches you. Do you want to be in istion all your life? All alone?" Lucifer asked.


    " I don¡¯t even know what being alone like that would feel like, but I think it should be scary. Not having anyone with you," he further said as he sighed.


    Cassius didn¡¯t answer this time as he stayed silent.


    It was only after a long pause that he spoke again, "So, you know both the stories now¡ª my version and the version of this world. Do you trust my version? Do you still want to be my friend? Who knows, I might be lying."


    "I believe you aren¡¯t lying. And yes, I still want to be your friend," Lucifer said.


    "You really are different from others, Alex. Not in a bad way," Cassius said as he smiled finally. "From now on, you¡¯re my friend."


    Both Alex and Cassius shook their hands.


    ..


    Two more months passed. Cassius and Lucifer started spending more time with each other, deepening their friendship.


    As for Dash, he was even more upset. Throughout these two months, he kept trying to make Lucifer use his powers, but he couldn¡¯t. He didn¡¯t know why but it seemed like Lucifer was a vault that just refused to open.


    Time kept passing as his efforts intensified.


    While Dash put most of his attention in getting Lucifer to make mistakes, Lucifer kept his focus on learning. In fact, he had be the favorite of teachers by now. His talent seemed to be off the charts.


    He had never studied in a Variant School, and it was his first time in a Variant Academy, and he not only caught up to others, but he also left them behind.


    In the chess sses, even his teachers were unable to defeat him now. As for theputer sses, he had already learned everything that was taught to Third Year students. He was now studying the courses of Fourth Year when it came toputer sses.


    And when it came to Swimming, he was the fastest, even without using powers.


    Within such a short time, Lucifer had be a person that everyone knew about. He was said to be confirmed to graduate at the top of his batch and rise even more from there.


    As for Cassius, he was happy for Lucifer¡¯s poprity since he didn¡¯t actually care about fame or ranks.


    After getting so much negative fame throughout his life, he just wanted to stay away from everything like that.


    Soon, the third year of the Academy was over too, and it was time for the Third Year Exams of ss A where Lucifer was studying.


    As for the exams this time, they were going to be even tougher than thest year¡¯s exams, ording to what Lucifer and the others had heard.


    Lucifer, Cassius, and the others were standing in a massive arena where six teachers were standing before them.


    Five of them were the primary teachers who were Alexi, Franci, Mirali, Yovann, and Morbius. As for the sixth teacher, it was the martial arts teacher, Venton.


    "Today, your Third Year Exams willmence. Are you all ready?" Alexi asked the students,ughing.


    All six of the students nodded their heads.


    "That¡¯s good. Now let me tell you the rules. This time, you won¡¯t fight any Dungeon Dwellers or go through the tests you didst time. Instead, it¡¯ll be much different. Today, you have to face your teachers to pass," Alexi informed the students.


    "Face the teachers?" Rune eximed in surprise. "Won¡¯t we all fail then? I mean, we are only in our third year. It would be strange if any of us could defeat you all."


    "That¡¯s right. This test seems too tough. Why is it different from the Third Year Exams of the previous batches?" Dray asked.

 Chapter 207 - 207: Facing Teachers

    <h4>Chapter 207 - 207: Facing Teachers </h4>


    "Your batch is different from the previous batches. So your test will be different too," Franci responded to the questions. "If you don¡¯t like it, you may leave."


    "As I said, your test is to face us. And there¡¯s going to be no change in that," Alexi said, smiling.


    Hearing the confirmation, even Lucifer was surprised. Were they actually going to face their teachers for this test? He wondered if he could even win this time. He had never faced the teachers, but he knew that they were strong.


    Even Cassius was frowning. He wasn¡¯t worried about facing the teachers. In fact, he was a bit happy since he could finally have stronger enemies, but he was also worried.


    He couldn¡¯t help but wonder what was going to happen if he identally hurt the teachers or even killed them?


    If the teachers knew why Cassius was worried, it was unclear if they were going tough or be angry at his childish thoughts.


    Just as everyone was thinking about the test, Alexi gave more information.


    "But don¡¯t worry, we all know that it would be too much to ask you to win against us. That¡¯s why we made it a bit simple too. To seed, you don¡¯t need to win against us."


    "Also, you don¡¯t need to face all of us. Only three of us will be in the test: I, Morbius, and Venton. As for the other three, they will be the judges."


    "They¡¯ll give marks to you which will depend on your performance. Moreover, each of the three tests willst for only five minutes," he further exined.


    "After the three tests are over, your ranking will be decided based on the marks you received. Everyone understood?" he asked after finishing the exnation.


    All the students nodded their heads. Finally, this test made more sense to them. They didn¡¯t need to defeat the teachers. Instead, they just needed to face them.


    "How many marks are needed to not fail?" Rune asked.


    "Each teacher will give you marks out of five for each test. So you can get up to fifteen points per test. Get less than five out of fifteen, and you¡¯ll count as having failed that test," Alexi answered.


    ¡¯Finally, I can get the top rank. No nonsense of other things in the test this time. I can go all out with my gifts and win. As for Alex, he can¡¯t win. And who knows, if my luck is good, he might even do something that gets him expelled,¡¯ Dash thought as a smirk formed on his lips.


    After three years, he finally had a test where he believed he could shine.


    "Alright. Your first opponent will be Venton. As for the first test, I¡¯m sure you guessed it. You need to fight him without your gifts. Best of luck guys," Alexi said to the students before he walked back with the other teachers, taking his seat.


    "Dray, you¡¯re first. The order students step back," Venton told the students as he chose the first participant.


    Lucifer and the others stepped back, in wait for their turns.


    And soon, the first battle began. The ordinary-looking Dray from the Great Family of Estoeia in the North was going against Venton, who was a Variant specializing in hand-to-handbat.


    Dray seemed fully determined to give a good show to get the best points. He put his shy moves on disy as he fought against Venton instead of using the ordinary moves he was good at.


    Unfortunately, this show off soon came as a disappointment to him as he found himself lying on the ground. Venton¡¯s knee was on his chest.


    "shy moves are good, but only if you have mastered them. Otherwise, they can just be your biggest weakness. Stand up and fight properly!" Venton said.


    He soon removed his knees, giving Dray one more chance. Only four minutes were left.


    Dray stood up and fought properly this time, using the moves he was good at. Even though he was still at a big disadvantage, being defeated, again and again, he was still holding on.


    Soon, the five minutes were over, and it was the time for scores.


    "One point from me. He was really bad. I don¡¯t see any good techniques in his fighting. It seemed like he was fighting more for us than he was fighting for himself," Franci said as he was the first one to give scores.


    "Two points from me. As Franci said, he was bad, but I think he still did better than most would against a great warrior like Venton," Mirali said as she gave her scores.


    Only Yovann was left. Dray looked at him with a pleading look, not wanting to fail. He needed two points if he didn¡¯t want to fail now.


    "I would¡¯ve given you one point, but oh well, I guess your determination counts for something. You did fight with bravery, not scared of taking attacks as you closed in on Venton. Two points from me," Yovann said, smiling.


    "Alright. Dray, you have five points in the first test. You pass. You can go back," Venton told Dray.


    "Rune, you step forward," he further said as he invited the next student.


    The second battle was also over soon, resulting in another subpar performance. Rune couldn¡¯tnd even a single attack, but he also seemed to have a better time than Dray.


    In the end, he was given six points out of fifteen, bringing him to the first ce.


    "Next, Ren," Venton called out to the boy who was wearing the ck sses. This time, however, he looked serious as if he expected a tough fight this time.


    Even though Ren was blind, his reflexes and everything else was pretty impable, making him a great hand-to-hand fighter.


    As expected, Ren gave a great fight and even managed to push back Venton a few times.


    Throughout the battle, he had taken more hits than he managed tond on Venton, but he hadn¡¯t fallen down even once.


    All the teachers were impressed with his performance. As for giving him scores, they all gave him four points each. His total came to a twelve out of fifteen, making him first at the moment by a big lead.


    "Alright. The final three now, also the ones that were top three inst year¡¯s exams. Dash, step forward. Your turn as you were thirdst time," Venton said, calling out Dash.


    Dash stepped forward proudly. He was ready to give the best performance of his life. He even intended to defeat the teacher this time.


    His aim wasn¡¯t to hold on but to dominate the entire field, even though he couldn¡¯t use his powers.

 Chapter 208 - 208: Overwhelming

    <h4>Chapter 208 - 208: Overwhelming </h4>


    "I expect a good battle from you, Dash," Venton told Dash as he cracked his knuckles.


    "You won¡¯t be disappointed, teacher. I fully intend to take the first ce this time," Dash said as he approached Venton, starting the battle.


    Two minutes of the battle passed, and Dash was still giving a good fight just like Ren had done.


    It was at that time when a smirk formed on the face of Venton. He took his body down and used a spinning kick just like Lucifer had used in thest battle against Dash.


    The kicknded on the left leg of Dash, making him lose bnce. As Dash was about to fall, he controlled his body and used a side flip tond on his feet safely.


    "Did you really think I¡¯ll fall and use my gift because of something like this again?" Dash asked, frowning. He didn¡¯t help but nce at his bracelet which already had a red light.


    "Good. I see that you¡¯ve learned from yourst defeat against Alex. That¡¯s exactly how you should deal with it. Not bad," Venton let out, nodding in praise as he continued the attacks.


    "I¡¯ll have to be an idiot to not learn from my defeat. I¡¯m never letting myself be defeated again," Dash replied as he gave his all in the battle.


    Dash was swift in movement. Every moment he made, every jump he made, all his attacks, they all seemed to have a perfect flow in them.


    He seemed to be too agile, maybe because he had a good understanding of wind.


    Soon, the five minutes were over, and it was the time for results.


    "Good skills and execution. I¡¯ll give you one more than I gave to Ren. Five points from me," Mirali told Dash as she nodded.


    "Yeah. It was a good show, furtherplemented by his mastery of the skills that he used. In fact, there even came a moment when I forgot that he was a third-year student only. Not bad. Five points from me too," Yovann said.


    In the end, it was the turn of Dash¡¯s grandfather, Franci.


    "As the others said, it was a good performance. Not perfect, but slightly better than what we saw from Ren. So five points from me too," Franci answered.


    "Perfect scores. Not bad. You can go back," Venton told Dash, who seemed to be standing proud after getting perfect scores.


    ¡¯No one can take away my victory this time,¡¯ Dash thought as he started walking back.


    "Next, Cassius. Step forward and leave your sword behind. It¡¯ll be a hand-to-handbat." Venton called out Cassius.


    "Can you hold it for me?" Cassius said as he tried to give his precious sword to Lucifer for the moment.


    Lucifer took the heavy sword without refusing.


    "Best of luck," he told Cassius, who stepped on the stage.


    ....


    "Cassius and Alex really became good friends in such a short time. Two of our strongest students," Mirali said.


    "I think their future will be really bright. With the two of thembined, they¡¯ll be a force to be reckoned with after graduation," Yovann added as he noticed the closeness of Lucifer and Cassius.


    "Yeah. Honestly, I expected Cassius to be a lone wolf after his past. But it looks like Alex managed to go through the barrier. I¡¯m happy for them," Franci also chimed in.


    "I agree. As long as nothing goes extremely wrong," Mirali agreed.


    ...


    Soon, the battle between Venton and Cassius began. As Cassius was more of a swordsman, he never focused on hand-to-handbat as much, but even still, he gave a good performance.


    Unfortunately, he only focused on attacks and refused to be defensive.


    It was a good tactic against most, but against an experienced teacher like Venton, this only got him to take more strikes than he managed to give.


    Fortunately, he didn¡¯t fall even once despite all that and even gave Venton a run for his money.


    The battle of Cassius was also over, and soon, it was the turn of his results.


    "Cassius, I think you¡¯re good, but you¡¯re more dependent on your sword. Your hand-to-hand performance isckingpared to what we saw from the previous two. Three points from me." Franci was the first one to give scores this time.


    The other two also gave the same score, bringing the total of Cassius to nine points.


    Unaffected by the scores, Cassius walked back.


    "Thanks for holding the sword," he thanked Lucifer as he took the sword back.


    "Next is your turn. I think they¡¯ll like your style a lot. Best of luck," he told Lucifer as he patted his shoulder.


    Lucifer stepped back as he was called next.


    It didn¡¯t take long before the battle began.


    Unlike the others, his battle style seemed a bit different. He didn¡¯t focus on the strength of his attack; instead he focused on the technical aspects of the attacks, executing everything to near perfection.


    His attacks were so surprising that even Venton was taken aback. Some of the attacks that Lucifer made were something that even he hadn¡¯t taught Lucifer.


    Did he learn some new skills himself and mastered them to perfection?


    As the battle reached its third minute, the shock on Venton¡¯s face was evident.


    He found himself on the backfoot as even he couldn¡¯t predict Lucifer¡¯s next attacks. Unlike the others that used the skills he taught them, Lucifer used something different.


    Even the five teachers were surprised to see Lucifer¡¯s performance. Why did it seem like Lucifer was the teacher instead? Just how was he so perfect?


    Some of them even believed that Lucifer had a real chance of taking Venton down this time.


    Fortunately, Venton managed to hold on too. Five minutes passed, and he hadn¡¯t fallen.


    As the five minutes were over, the battle stopped. Venton nced at Lucifer, amazed. "What were the techniques that you used? Where did you learn them from?"


    "I made some of them bybining the knowledge you gave me," Lucifer answered calmly. "I¡¯ve been working on this since the year began."


    "Amazing. You¡¯re really great. I don¡¯t think I even need to ask the scores," Venton muttered as he smiled wryly. "You really overwhelmed me today, Alex."


    "That¡¯s right. No need to ask for scores. Unfortunately, we can only give him fifteen despite such a perfect execution as that¡¯s the limit set," Yovann said as he stood up, pping.


    "Otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t have minded giving a hundred to this performance. Pretty amazing, Alex," he further continued.


    The other teachers also pped for Lucifer because of his performance.


    As everyone was praising Lucifer, in the distance, Dash was standing, frowning. Even though he didn¡¯t show it on his face, inside, he felt like he was dying. This guy got the same score as him!

 Chapter 209 - 209: Tricking The Trickster

    <h4>Chapter 209 - 209: Tricking The Trickster </h4>


    "Alright. Good work, everyone. Next, I¡¯ll be the one taking your test," Alexi said as he finally stood up.


    He walked to the center of the field.


    ncing at Venton, he said, "You can go back."


    Venton nodded as he walked back to the seats where other teachers were sitting.


    "Alright. Let me give you a question. What do you think will happen in the next test?" Alexi asked, ncing at the students.


    "We need to fight you?" Dash asked, taking a guess.


    "Nope," Alexi responded right away.


    "Something rted to Art of Tricks?" Lucifer asked.


    "Bingo!" Alexi nodded as he smirked. "Since I teach you the Art of Tricks, that¡¯s what I¡¯ll test you on. All five of you wille to me. You¡¯ll tell me two statements."


    "One needs to be a lie while the other needs to be the truth. As long as you manage to make me choose the wrong statement as the true one, you¡¯ll win," Alexi answered.


    "I¡¯ll also do the same trick and make you choose. As for the scores, they¡¯ll be decided by the judges depending on your performance. So even if you fell for my lie and I didn¡¯t fall for your lie, you might still get points. As long as your lies are worth it," he further said.


    ¡¯Such childish game, I¡¯ll win it easily,¡¯ Dash thought as he squinted his eyes.


    "First, Dray. Step forward," Alexi said.


    As per themands, Dray stepped forward.


    "Give me your two statements," Alexi told Dray, smirking.


    "Teacher, do you know, Dash once brought a condom in ss. I don¡¯t know where he got it from, but he showed it to everyone," Dray said in the first statement.


    Since the students were standing behind Alexi, he couldn¡¯t see Dash and the other students to know their expressions, but other teachers could.


    They noticed the shock and embarrassment on Dash¡¯s face as he heard this.


    The other teacher instantly knew that it was the truth, but they kept their poker face.


    "As for my second statement, it¡¯s that I personally think you¡¯re really handsome, even more than me," Dray answered.


    "Hahaha."


    Hearing the two statements, Alexi couldn¡¯t help butugh.


    "Dash, why did you bring such a thing to the ss? And showing it to everyone? Come on, are you a kid?" Alexi asked,ughing as he nced back at Dash. It was evident that he had selected the right one.


    Soon, he nced back at Dray. "Honestly, I¡¯m disappointed that you think I¡¯m less handsome than you. It breaks my heart. But I¡¯m happy for your self-confidence in your looks."


    Dray looked disappointed that he had failed.


    Next, Alexi told his two statements, making Dray choose.


    The test continued. One after another, the students kept trying. It didn¡¯t take long before the turns of five of them were over. Only Lucifer was left to be tested.


    Amongst the five students that took part in the test, not a single person managed to get Alexi to choose the wrong one. As for guessing, Cassius and Dash were the only ones that chose the right option.


    In the second test, Dash was in the lead with thirteen points, Cassius with twelve, Ren with nine, and the other two with four each.


    Finally, it came to Lucifer, who stepped forward. He had already thought of the lie that he was going to tell.


    "Go on. Give it a try," Alexi told Lucifer, smiling.


    "Teacher Alexi, I want you to face this way. You shouldn¡¯t see the faces of the teachers when you hear my statement," Lucifer told Alexi, switching ces so that Alexi¡¯s back was towards the teachers now.


    "Done. You can start," Alexi replied.


    "I heard teacher Franci say that you¡¯re a shameless man and that you have a crush on Teacher Mirali," Lucifer told Alexi his first statement. There were no expressions on his face as he spoke.


    Hearing Lucifer¡¯s words, Franci¡¯s mouth opened wide in shock. He didn¡¯t know what to say. As for Mirali, her eyes also opened as if her sleepiness had run away.


    "Second statement, I heard Teacher Yovann say that you¡¯re a shameless man and that you have a crush on Teacher Mirali," Lucifer continued with his second statement.


    Yovann and Franci looked at each other, not knowing how to react.


    ¡¯Alex has yed it clever. He flustered Alexi by hinting that it was true that one of the teachers said such things about him, and the truth about his crush on Mirali is out since only one of these two statements can be false.¡¯


    ¡¯And when Alexi is flustered, he has a high chance of choosing the wrong one. Well yed.¡¯


    Sitting in the back, Morbius was praising Lucifer in his mind.


    "Come on, Teacher Alexi. Choose one. Which is a lie, and which is the truth?" Lucifer asked as a smirk crept up his lips.


    "You really threw a curveball this time. But I think we all know, Yovann has a personality like that. He has a high likelihood of saying things like that."


    " But then again, you¡¯re my best student in the Art of Trick ss. So I think you would¡¯ve known it. The answer seems too simple."


    "You wouldn¡¯t have given these options if it was Yovann since anyone would choose him. It must be Franci in that case. You want to throw me off and make me choose the most obvious answer, don¡¯t you?" Alexi asked, smiling.


    He turned back to look at Franci as he continued, "You should be careful what you speak before kids because I¡¯m honestly the most honest person in the world. Who knows, they might believe your rumor. Be careful next time."


    Confidence was evident on his face, but he didn¡¯t notice that Lucifer was smiling behind him. It looked like his trick worked.


    He had intentionally given two choices in which one was obvious. It was because he knew Alexi would overthink it. After all, it was just so obvious.


    Franci¡¯s personality was much more serious, unlike Yovann, who had a high chance of saying such things, and everyone knew it.


    As Alexi confidently reminded Franci, Franci simply shook his head. "It wasn¡¯t me. I guess your student managed to trick you."


    "Yovann, it was you?" Alexi asked, shocked. Did Lucifer really y him?


    "In my self-defense, I didn¡¯t know Alex was there to listen!" Yovann replied as he smiled wryly. "I apologize. I was just joking that day."


    Alexi couldn¡¯t help but facepalm himself. He was really fooled, that too, when the answer was so simple.


    He nced back at Lucifer as heplimented, "Well yed. As expected, you really are my best student. Despite having such great strength, you really tilt towards tricks. I¡¯m proud of you."


    "Thank you, teacher. Your turn."

 Chapter 210 - 210: Against Morbius

    <h4>Chapter 210 - 210: Against Morbius </h4>


    "Alright. Alex. First statement. Teacher Morbius also has a crush on Mirali," Alexi told Lucifer, ying by his rules.


    Cough! Cough! Cough!


    Morbius started coughing extensively as he heard Alexi¡¯s words. His face couldn¡¯t be seen through his mask, but it was obvious that his expressions weren¡¯t good.


    Mirali looked at Morbius, frowning.


    As Lucifer¡¯s back was towards the teachers this time, he couldn¡¯t see what their expressions were, but he did hear coughing.


    "Next statement, Teacher Yovann also has a crush on Mirali," Alexi said, keeping his poker face. His expressions didn¡¯t give anything away as he was a master in lying.


    Thud!


    As soon as Alexi finished his sentence, a heavy sound came from behind.


    Yovann had fallen off his chair, in disbelief that Alexi was saying it. Mirali also red at him as her frown deepened. Both of them were acting so suspicious.


    She couldn¡¯t guess which statement was true, but she was really shocked at how many revtions came today. Why was it that everyone had a crush on her? She wondered what was so good about her.


    "Come on, Alex. I¡¯m ying by your own rules. Choose the correct answer, and you¡¯ll win," Alexi told Lucifer as a smirk crept up his lips.


    Lucifer also smiled in response as he stretched his arms out. "You couldn¡¯t have given me anything easier."


    "I don¡¯t think I need to think about that even for a second. I was just having fun. The answer is Teacher Yovann. The same day I saw him talking about your crush, I also felt like he had a crush too. So it¡¯s him," he said as he nced back at Yovann.


    "Aren¡¯t I right, teacher?" Lucifer asked, smirking.


    "You little devil, you¡¯re pretty good. That¡¯s right. It was Yovann," Alexi answered as he burst intoughter.


    "You evil Alexi, you did it intentionally! You gave him the choices, knowing he¡¯ll guess" Yovann stood up as he yelled at Alexi. "You wanted him to guess the right one!"


    "Haha, my test my rules. And you can count it as revenge, my dear friend. My embarrassment because of you begets your embarrassment because of me. We¡¯re equal now. Still, I¡¯ll get you a beer tonight," Alexi said as he continuedughing.


    He walked back to Yovann.


    "Two beers, and you¡¯ve got a deal," Yovann suggested, frowning.


    "Fine! Two, it is," Alexi said as he sat down on his seat. He nced at Lucifer before continuing, "Alex, you get full marks. No need to ask. You can go back."


    Lucifer walked back to Cassius, amused at the banter of the teachers. That¡¯s what he loved about them. There was yfulness in them.


    "Alright. Last test of yours will be Morbius," Alexi said, patting the shoulder of Morbius, who stood up.


    Morbius walked to the center of the arena as he started exining.


    "Thest test is simple. I taught you how to defend yourself. I¡¯ll test you on that today. I¡¯ll attack, and as long as you can defend yourself and dodge my attacks, you¡¯ll get points."


    "If you¡¯re hit, you¡¯ll get fewer points. And if you fall to the ground, you¡¯ll get no points at all. So this is the test where you can truly fail. So be alert and show me what you got."


    "There¡¯s no need toe one by one. This time, it¡¯ll be a team effort. I¡¯ll test two at the same time. Cassius and Alex, you¡¯re first this time. And yes, you can use your gifts too," Morbius told the two youngsters.


    Lucifer and Cassius both noticed that there was now a white light on their bracelet, meaning they could use their powers without consequences.


    The two of them stepped forward while Lucifer cracked his knuckles.


    "Alex, let¡¯s see whose approach is better this time. Finally, something we can test on. Your defensive offense or my offensive defense," Cassius told Lucifer, who nodded.


    "Alright, enough talking. Your five minutes start now," Morbius said as he used his footwork to appear before Lucifer right away as he punched Lucifer¡¯s chest while keeping his strength in control.


    He used just enough strength to make sure Lucifer was going to be tossed far back since he was a closebat warrior.


    As for Cassius; using this same skill on him was useless. Since it would only help Cassius get the distance to use his Divine Energy through his sword.


    Cassius and Lucifer were abination of closebat warrior and long-distance ranger.


    Even though the attack was fast, Lucifer noticed iting at him. His reflexes were just as fast as he quickly spread his legs, bringing his body down suddenly.


    The punch of Morbius passed from above Lucifer¡¯s head, but that wasn¡¯t all.


    Lucifer used the opportunity and the close proximity as he also punched back.


    His punch did manage to connect, unlike the punch of Morbius.


    Morbius intended to toss Lucifer back, but it was the reverse as he flew back like a doll before hended on the ground.


    It also happened to give Cassius enough time to prepare.


    He raised his heavy sword in the sky as he started using his Divine Energy. A mysterious energy seemed to have filled his sword, making it shine bright.


    Without waiting any longer, Cassius made a sh with his sword, sending a bright arc of light that advanced towards Morbius, who had just stood up.


    Morbius also noticed the attack of Cassius and jumped to the side, dodging it.


    ...


    "Well, this wasn¡¯t how I expected this test to go. It looks less like Morbius testing their defense and more like them testing Morbius¡¯s defense," Yovann said as he smiled wryly.


    "That¡¯s true. It¡¯s only the third year, but the students have grown so much. Especially Alex and Cassius. I believe they are the best we have received in any batch. I¡¯m pretty proud that I teach them," Franci agreed.


    "Yeah. They¡¯re good. I already expected that of Cassius, but that Alex came like a thunderstorm when the sky was clear. I hadn¡¯t even heard about him before," Alexi said as he nodded.


    "He wasn¡¯t famous, but he existed. I wonder how many more unknown gems like him exist in this country that we don¡¯t know about," he continued.


    ...


    As Cassius continued attacking Morbius, Morbius wasn¡¯t getting a chance to close in on him. At the same time, Lucifer started running towards Morbius.


    He wanted to be defensive, but that was only when his powers were not allowed to be used. Now that he had strength, he wanted to use it, all while defending himself. He believed he could do that in close proximity, too.


    Lucifer soon reached Morbius.

 Chapter 211 - 211: Day Out

    <h4>Chapter 211 - 211: Day Out </h4>


    Lucifer soon reached Morbius, who had just dodged another attack by Cassius.


    As Lucifer was close to Morbius, Cassius stopped his attacks and let Lucifer have some fun too.


    And thus began a hard hand-to-hand battle between Morbius and Lucifer. While Morbius used all his knowledge and his skills, Lucifer used his strength and his understanding of defensive techniques.


    He kept attacking while stopping the attacks of Morbius.


    Just like Lucifer had super strength as his gift, Morbius had his defense which was keeping him safe despite taking all the attacks. Morbius was known as a Tank amongst his colleagues, after all.


    "Five minutes are over! Stop!" Alexi suddenly said as he stood up. He stopped the fight just when it looked like Morbius was about to get serious.


    Morbius nced back at Alexi, understanding why he did that. There were still thirty seconds left in five minutes, but Alexi lied that five minutes were over.


    He understood that Alexi was worried about him hurting the kids now that he was starting to get serious.


    He didn¡¯t say anything and simply nodded.


    "Alex and Cassius. You both did well. Let¡¯s see the scores you get," Morbius said, calming himself.


    The first to speak was Yovann.


    "Cassius, your gift is really powerful, and when you create distance from the enemy, it¡¯s really hard to take you down. Your offense is your defense in that case, and it worked well in this instance. Five points from me."


    "As for Alex, it¡¯s much harder to defend yourself when you¡¯re in close proximity of the enemy, but you didn¡¯t get hit even once. Even I¡¯m surprised at this. Your self-awareness and your quick thinking, both are pretty good. You put on a good disy. Five points to you too."


    Yovann praised both the youngsters before he gave his scores.


    "Cassius, I think you were at risk at the beginning, and if it weren¡¯t for Alex, you would be in a pickle since Morbius had closed in on you. My advice is to always maintain your distance, even if it¡¯s the start. Just for your negligence at the start, I¡¯ll give you four points."


    "And Alex, I can¡¯t say anything about what you did was wrong. If it¡¯s on technical grounds, you would¡¯ve gotten a perfect five. Unfortunately, that¡¯s not the case as I noticed something else too."


    "When your enemy was far away from you, and Cassius was keeping him at a distance, you unnecessarily ran up to the enemy and got in his close proximity, even blocking your partner because of that."


    " That¡¯s reckless and not something a person who wants to keep himself safe would do. I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯ll give you two points only, just for that."


    The disappointment was evident on Mirali¡¯s face as she gave Lucifer the score.


    Next was Franci¡¯s turn.


    "I agree with Mirali. What Alex did was reckless, but then again, I¡¯ll only give him points on technical grounds, and his defense was perfect. So five points from me too," Franci said, which brought a smile to Lucifer¡¯s face, which was gone after Mirali¡¯s verdict.


    He shifted his nce at Cassius as he continued, "As for Cassius, I didn¡¯t see much of you other than attacks, but yeah, you should¡¯ve been more careful at the start. Four points from me too."


    "You can go back now," Morbius told the two friends who walked back.


    "I¡¯m sorry for going off my own and blocking your attacks," Lucifer apologized to Cassius as he stood back at his position.


    "Hey, why are you sorry? You did really well. He would just keep dodging my attack like that. You did nothing wrong. In fact, you actually managed tond a few punches on him. So that¡¯s good," Cassius answered, smiling.


    "Next, Dash and Dray!" Morbius invited.


    Two more people stepped forward, Dash and Dray.


    Soon the battle began as the two youngsters attacked Morbius like before. While Dray fought in close proximity like Lucifer had done in thest match, Dash remained in the sky as he used his wind while attacking.


    Unfortunately, Dray wasn¡¯t Lucifer. He couldn¡¯t keep up as he found himself lying on the ground, unconscious within the first minute of the battle itself.


    It seems like Morbius had really be serious this time.


    He nced up to where Dash was flying only fifteen feet above the ground.


    Morbius ran in the direction of Dash before he made a jump. He jumped so high that even Dash was shocked.


    He hadn¡¯t expected Morbius to jump so high. Before he knew it, his leg was caught by Morbius, who kept hitting Dash.


    It didn¡¯t take long before Dash also started falling. He soonnded on the ground, lying under the feet of Morbius.


    Standing in the distance, Lucifer and Cassius were amazed. Why did it seem like the Morbius they faced, and the Morbius that Dash faced were two different people? Morbius was really good now?


    They couldn¡¯t help but wonder if Morbius had gone easy on them.


    Two minutes. All it took was two minutes before the battle was over.


    Dray was still unconscious, but Dash was still up. He managed to stand up after it was announced that the battle was over.


    ¡¯I really failed! I failed the exams. This shouldn¡¯t have happened. What will I do now?¡¯ Dash thought as his head started aching. He knew he failed.


    "Alright. No need for scores. As you both fell to the ground, you both failed this test. But since you passed the first two tests, you still pass the overall exams. You won¡¯t get any points in the third test, though. You can go back," Morbius told Dash.


    He looked at Venton as he continued, "Venton, take him to the nurse¡¯s office. I still have to continue the test."


    Venton stood up and walked to the arena before he took Dray with him.


    "Next Rune and Ren. Step forward," Morbius called out.


    ...


    "It looks like the first battle really brought the serious Morbius out. It sucks to be in those kids¡¯ ces," Yovann said, sighing.


    "At least he¡¯s still controlling himself and not hurting them seriously. So it¡¯s fine," Mirali chimed in.


    ...


    Rune and Ren also started fighting, but the result seemed slightly simr. Rune was lying on the ground unconscious within the first minute itself. As for Ren, he was alert, so he kept dodging the attacks.


    Even then, he couldn¡¯tst five minutes as he found himself under Morbius¡¯s feet within the fourth minute itself.


    "You two also failed. You can go back," Morbius said calmly as he picked up Rune.


    "The final results of the third year exams are clear by now, I suppose? Alex is first. Cassius is second and..."


    Morbius quickly announced the results before he left with Rune to take him to nurse himself.


    "You can leave. The fourth year sses will start tomorrow. Be on time," Franci told the youngsters as he also started leaving.


    "Ah, teacher, wait! I can¡¯te tomorrow. I¡¯m using the privilege of the ring to go out tomorrow with my grandfather. I really can¡¯te," Lucifer suddenly called out, stopping Franci.


    ¡¯He¡¯s going out tomorrow?¡¯ Dash thought as a glint appeared in his eyes at this news. It was an excellent opportunity.


    "It¡¯s alright. You cane the day after tomorrow. We can at least do that much for you since it¡¯s not against the rules. You can leave tomorrow," Franci answered Lucifer.


    "But remember, you must return to the campus before midnight. If you¡¯rete, it¡¯ll count as you breaking a rule. You only have two strikes left, so be careful," he further reminded Lucifer.


    "I¡¯ll be careful. Thanks, teacher," Lucifer said excitedly. He was really happy that he was going to spend time outside with his Grandfather tomorrow. It was going to be such a happy day. He couldn¡¯t help but look forward to it.


    "That¡¯s better," Franci nodded as he left. Mirali and the others also went with him, leaving only Yovann behind.

 Chapter 212 - 212: Another Invitation

    <h4>Chapter 212 - 212: Another Invitation </h4>


    Yovann stayed behind as he nced at Lucifer.


    "Alex,e with me for a moment," he said, cing his hands on Lucifer¡¯s shoulder. "As for the rest, you can leave. I¡¯ll see you tomorrow."


    Lucifer nodded as he followed Yovann, but he was still worried. He had exposed Yovann¡¯s secret to win. Was Yovann going to punish him for that? Why was he taking him away?


    ...


    Lucifer and Yovann were walking through the campus, not speaking anything.


    "Teacher, what were you going to say?"


    It was only after Lucifer asked when Yovann started speaking.


    "You really messed with me today. For that, I¡¯m going to punish you," Yovann answered.


    "Ah, Teacher. I had no intention of-"


    "Hahahaha!"


    Hearing the words of Yovann, Lucifer started exining his side, but before he could even finish, Yovann burst intoughter.


    "I¡¯m joking, little guy. What kind of a man would I be if I¡¯m upset just from that?" Yovann asked,ughing. "In fact, what you did was very clever."


    "I just wanted to tell you that I¡¯m really proud of you. And I wanted to invite you to my Great Family of Yrushka. Would you like to join the Family? I know you only have one grandfather. He can join with you too as long as you say yes," he further exined.


    "Honestly, you have great prospects for the future. And many Great Families will want to make you join them. And it¡¯s good for you to join one as well since you¡¯ll get lots of support and resources. But yeah, I believe my Yrushka family will be great for you," he continued.


    This was the second time Lucifer had received such a proposal. The first time it was from Dash who offered this to make him his servant. As for now, it was a proper proposal to be a high-ranking member of a Great Family.


    "I¡¯m sorry, but I don¡¯t believe I want to join any of the Great Families. I¡¯m fine without resources. All I want is to spend my time with Grandpa Chi," Lucifer answered.


    "It¡¯s fine. You don¡¯t have to answer now. The offer will stay open for you always," Yovann responded without getting upset or sad.


    "You¡¯re meeting your grandfather tomorrow, right? Tell him about this offer. Maybe he is interested?"


    "Ah, alright. I¡¯ll talk to him. If he says it¡¯s a good thing, I¡¯ll think about it seriously," Lucifer answered, nodding.


    "That¡¯s good. Anyway, that¡¯s all I had to say. You can leave."


    Yovann bid Lucifer farewell as he left.


    Lucifer also walked back to his room, where Jason and Kevin were already rxing.


    "Did you get first again?" Kevin asked as soon as Lucifer entered. He didn¡¯t even need to wait for answers since they had already be habitual to Lucifer winning. In fact, at this point, Lucifer¡¯s loss was going to be odd.


    Lucifer raised his hand, revealing the Victory Ring to his roommates.


    "As expected. Anyway, today¡¯s party is from you," Kevin let out with a smirk.


    ...


    After a short party, Lucifer went to sleep early as he wanted to wake up early to leave with his grandfather. He was too excited about his day out.


    With the chirping sound of birds, the new day arrived. Sun started rising on the horizon as an rm started ringing near Lucifer¡¯s ears.


    Excited, Lucifer opened his eyes. It was time to prepare and leave.


    He turned off the rm to not disturb others before he went into the shower.


    Coming out of the shower, he dried his long hairs before he tied them after dressing up.


    It was seven in the morning, and Lucifer waspletely prepared.


    He nced back at the others who were still sleeping before he left without informing them.


    He straight walked to the entrance of the Academy where he found the same guard who had brought him inside on the first day


    " It¡¯s you. I heard you became the rising star of the Academy. Congrats, young man," the guard said to Lucifer as he recognized him.


    "Thank you," Lucifer answered.


    "Anyway, what brought you here?" The guard further asked.


    "I want to use the privilege of my ring to leave the campus for one day," Lucifer said as he showed the ring to the guard.


    "Sure. Let me register your details. Give me your ID card," the guard replied as he reached out his hand towards Lucifer.


    Lucifer brought out his Identity Card from his pocket that he had received when he was new.


    The ID Card recorded all his details, including his name, roll number, registration number, Limiter ID, and many more.


    "Alright. You can leave. Collect your card when you¡¯re back. Make sure toe back before midnight," the guard told Lucifer as he kept the ID Card.


    He opened the gates for Lucifer.


    "Thanks. I¡¯ll remember that" Lucifer thanked the guard before he stepped out of the Campus.


    Finally, after almost three years, he was going to have a pic with his grandfather.


    Lucifer started waiting for his grandfather to arrive, standing at the entrance of the Academy right outside the door.


    He didn¡¯t know that in the distance, a person was watching him, keeping an eye on his every move.


    The person was a dark-haired man who seemed to look like he was in his mid-twenties. He had a round face but eagle-like eyes.


    The man brought out a phone from his pocket as he called someone.


    ...


    Inside the Academy, Dash was getting prepared for the sses when his phone started ringing.


    He walked to the bed and picked up the phone.


    "Hello?"


    "Little Boss, you were right. I see that guy outside the Academy. It looks like he¡¯s waiting for someone."


    "That¡¯s right. I guess he¡¯s waiting for his grandfather. As soon as they leave, follow them. And make sure to do everything ording to the n. This is the perfect chance," Dash answered the man.


    " If you fail even in such a simple task, your dream of joining my Great Franci family will always remain a dream. Remember that!" he further said before he disconnected the call.


    ...


    Standing far away from Lucifer, the sharp gazed man kept the phone in his pocket.


    "I can¡¯t fail. I¡¯ll do this sessfully and join a Great Family. I¡¯ll be more influential," he muttered softly.


    ....


    "Alex!"


    Grandpa Chi finally reached the academy after Lucifer had waited for five minutes.


    "Grandpa! You¡¯re finally here. Let¡¯s leave fast; we only have one day. We can¡¯t waste it," Lucifer let out as he ran up to Grandpa Chi.


    He caught the old man¡¯s hand and started leaving.


    In the distance, the dark-haired man also started following them.

 Chapter 213 - 213: Revenge Of The Variant

    <h4>Chapter 213 - 213: Revenge Of The Variant </h4>


    "Grandpa, I talked to my friends, and now I know all the good ces that I need to visit. We¡¯ll have breakfast in a hotel first and then go to an amusement park."


    "We¡¯ll also watch a movie after that and then have dinner in the night beforeing back. How¡¯s that?" Lucifer asked the old man as they entered a cab.


    Before the old man could even answer, Lucifer continued, "And don¡¯t worry about money. Since I won first ce for three years, I received plenty of mary rewards as well."


    The old man just kept looking at Lucifer, who was now seventeen years old. Lucifer¡¯s face looked even more mature than it did when he was younger.


    There was some kind of charm on his face as he looked no less than a model. His eyes were filled with life, attracting others towards him.


    As for his long silver hair, they were tied into a ponytail near the bottom, which seemed to suit him, making him look even more mature.


    "Nope. Today is my treat. All the spending will be done by me," Grandpa Chi answered Lucifer as he smiled.


    "But Grandpa-"


    "No but! Do you even remember what day it is today?" The old man asked, cutting Lucifer¡¯s words short.


    "Today? Tuesday, right?" Lucifer asked, frowning.


    "You actually forgot," the old man answered as heughed.


    "Today is the Third of January. It¡¯s your birthday today. You¡¯re officially seventeen years old now," Grandpa Chi said as he rubbed Lucifer¡¯s head.


    "Happy birthday, my dear Grandson. I¡¯m so happy to have you in my life."


    The old man didn¡¯t know when Lucifer¡¯s birthday was, so he treated the day Lucifer was found as his birthday. Today, it had been exactly seven years since the old man brought Lucifer out of the sea.


    "Me too, Grandpa," Lucifer replied as he hugged the old man tightly. "I actually forgot. Thank you for remembering."


    Hearing the conversation of the two, the driver of the cab started smiling wryly.


    "Ah, are you guys going to stay emotional, or are you going to tell me where to go? We¡¯re standing still since you guys sat," he said.


    "Alex, we¡¯ll follow your n. Tell him where to go," Grandpa Chi told Lucifer.


    Lucifer brought out a paper from his pocket and read the first destination.


    "Hotel Transia, on Seventh Street," he told the driver.


    The cab was finally started as it advanced towards the hotel Lucifer had spoken about.


    In the distance, another car started following the cab. There were many people inside the car and not only the dark-haired man.


    In fact, there was even a girl who looked to be twelve or thirteen years old.


    ....


    Lucifer and Grandpa Chi got out of the cab as it stopped at the entrance of a massive hotel. Grandpa Chi was surprised to see that they hade to this expensive ce.


    Lucifer noticed the worries on the face of the old man. He realized that his Grandpa wasn¡¯t rich. And he probably couldn¡¯t afford to pay the bill for this hotel.


    Unfortunately, when he nned the day and the destinations, he had thought that he¡¯d pay with his prize money.


    He didn¡¯t know Grandpa Chi would insist on paying. He didn¡¯t want the old man to feel embarrassed before him, so he yed a little trick.


    "This is Hotel Transia? I thought it¡¯d be a cute ce? This massive ce looks so ugly. I don¡¯t want to eat here. All those great expectations went down the drain. This ce is really a letdown," Lucifer said, letting his grandfather hear him while also making sure that his voice didn¡¯t reach the hotel staff.


    "Come, let¡¯s find a better ce," he said as he caught the hands of the old man.


    Seeing Lucifer reject this expensive ce, the old man breathed a sigh of relief. He was really worried about how he was going to pay for this hotel.


    "Ah, there it is! Such a cute ce! Grandpa, I want to eat there! Can we please?" Lucifer suddenly asked the old man as he tugged his hand like a little boy.


    Grandpa Chi looked in the direction where Lucifer was pointing. As he saw the ce, he shook his head.


    "You want to eat at that cheap stall? It¡¯s your birthday; we can¡¯t do that," Grandpa Chi said as he noticed that Lucifer was talking about eating at a roadside stall.


    "Come on. I heard those ces serve great food. Please, Grandpa?" Lucifer insisted.


    He knew that this ce was cheap, but it was going to save the money of the old man. In any case, it wasn¡¯t as if the food they served was bad. It¡¯s just that they didn¡¯t have the infrastructure of big hotels.


    "Sigh. Fine. I can¡¯t disappoint the birthday boy." Grandpa Chi finally caved in as he started approaching the stall with Lucifer.


    The two of them ordered breakfast for themselves, which was served within minutes.


    There were a few ordinary chairs ced around the stall where the two of them sat as they started eating.


    "Ummm, pretty good," Lucifermented as he ate breakfast. It really wasn¡¯t bad at all. He was happy about choosing this ce.


    "You¡¯re right. The food is actually good," the old man agreed. After finishing up, the two of them ordered seconds.


    After finishing up, Grandpa Chi paid the bill, which was actually very cheap here.


    "Where to next?" he asked Lucifer.


    "Next is the turn of an Amusement Park. There¡¯s a really good one in the city," Lucifer answered.


    The two of them booked another cab as they went to the amusement park that Lucifer talked about.


    Entering the park, the two of them started going on rides together. A young man and an old man walked together in the amusement park, sitting in any ride they found fun.


    They even ate ice cream and went to the haunted house together.


    They had spent around five hours in the amusement park, and it was already four in the afternoon.


    "Do you want to go on any other ride?" The old man asked Lucifer as they came out of the ferris wheel.


    "Nope. I think we already got in the best ones. Let¡¯s move on to the next item in the schedule. A movie! I heard my friends say that there¡¯s a good movie that was just released!"


    Lucifer and Grandpa Chi left the amusement park and went to the nearest theater, where they bought the tickets for the movie Lucifer talked about.


    The dark-haired man didn¡¯t leave their trail as he still had to put his n forth.


    The movie Lucifer selected was a superhero movie that depicted the battle of Dark Variants and the righteous Variants. It was a movie called "Revenge of the Variant."

 Chapter 214 - 214: The Gray World

    <h4>Chapter 214 - 214: The Gray World </h4>


    Lucifer and Grandpa Chi stepped inside the theater, which was already pretty crowded. Fortunately, it wasn¡¯t full yet. They sat on the seats as the movie was about to start.


    Soon, the movie began. The story seemed simple at first nce, but there was somethingplex as Lucifer watched the movie.


    It seems to be a story about two brothers whose parents were murdered. One of the two brothers joined the righteous Variants while the other brother joined the Dark Variants, all to get their Revenge.


    Both brothers held different beliefs as they approached their goal, and it ultimately resulted in the two of them bing enemies.


    The story perfectly depicted the struggles of these two Variants as they tried to get their revenge while struggling in their organizations.


    Even then, as it was a righteous movie, it depicted the Dark Variants in a really negative light. By the end of the movie, the second brother realized that he had made a mistake by joining the Dark Variants. He betrays them and joins the righteous Variants.


    The two brothers kill the Dark Variants, destroying their organization. They even finish their revenge, and the movie ends.


    The cheering of the crowd echoed in the theater as the movie was over. But Lucifer was still silent.


    He didn¡¯t know why, but he felt something inside him as he watched this movie. He couldn¡¯t help but wonder what this feeling was.


    "It¡¯s a stupid movie," Grandpa Chi muttered as he stood up. "Let¡¯s leave."


    He and Lucifer left the theater and walked on the street, right beside each other.


    "Grandpa, why did you say that it was a stupid movie?" Lucifer asked, curious.


    "Because they just showed the Dark Variants as monsters. They didn¡¯t show them as humans that had desires and emotions. It seemed like they were trying to make them seem as bad as they could."


    "I mean, this movie could have been so much more realistic if they hadn¡¯t made it just ck or white. There¡¯s a lot of the gray area in between that they could have explored," the old man answered.


    "Grandpa, aren¡¯t the Dark Variants bad? From what I heard about them, it was pretty close in the movie," Lucifer responded.


    "It¡¯s not about bad or good. Because the definition of it is subjective. Good people also do bad deeds, just like bad people also do good deeds," Grandpa Chi answered.


    "It¡¯s prettyplicated, but I believe as long as the people have this mentality, we will never have true peace."


    "True peace?" Lucifer inquired.


    "Yeah. No matter where you go, you¡¯ll hear the news about destruction and death because of the battle between Dark Variants and Righteous Variants. It just doesn¡¯t end," the old man answered.


    " The whole world is drowning in what seems like a cold war that will stretch for decades. And I doubt it¡¯ll ever stop. At least not until both sidese to the table and understand each other," he further said.


    "But I doubt it¡¯ll happen. For this to happen, the world needs to change. I doubt it¡¯ll ever change."


    "As I said, I¡¯ll die before I ever see a peaceful world with no murders and destruction. One day, all of us will destroy this world ourselves. We won¡¯t even need Dungeon Dwellers," he continued.


    His words were profound, making Lucifer lose himself in deep thought. Two sides, and both wanted each other destroyed.


    Was it possible for them to change? He wondered if it was possible, but as he understood Grandpa Chi, he believed the old man was right.


    This world wasn¡¯t ck or white. There was a lot of gray in it too.


    "I mean, it¡¯s not only the Variants. Even humans do the same thing. Wage wars on other human countries and destroy each other. What for? This world will never change," Grandpa Chi said as he sighed.


    "I guess it can only change if the god himselfes down, smacks everyone to the ground, and forces them to live without destroying anything. But even that¡¯s impossible," he continued.


    "Oh right. It¡¯s your birthday, no disappointing talk. So, what¡¯s next on the n?" Grandpa Chi asked, remembering they were here to celebrate.


    "Ah, right. I forgot about that. It¡¯s already eight. Let¡¯s eat dinner fast and go back, or I¡¯ll bete. Come fast," Lucifer suddenly let out as he stopped another cab and went into a cheap hotel.


    He and Grandpa Chi had dinner and left the hotel.


    It was ten in the night, and the road they walked on was almost empty.


    "There are only two hours left. The ride back would be an hour long. I guess we finished on time," Lucifer said, smiling. "Thank you for this perfect day, Grandfather!"


    "No. I should thank you instead. For spending this precious day with me," the old man answered as he rubbed Lucifer¡¯s head again.


    "Now, let me stop a cab."


    As the old man walked to the road to stop a cab, he suddenly stopped as he saw a little girl running towards him.


    It seemed like a twelve or thirteen year old girl. Her clothes were covered in dirt, and there was fear on her face.


    A few men could be seen chasing after the little girl.


    The little girl soon reached the old man as she hid behind him. "Help! Please help me! Save me from them!"


    "Little girl? Who are they?" Grandpa Chi asked.


    Even Lucifer approached the girl, frowning.


    "They kidnapped me!" The girl said as tears came in her eyes. "I managed to escape after a long time, and they¡¯re chasing me! Please save me! Help me!"


    "Grandpa, you take care of the girl, I¡¯ll take care of them," Lucifer said, cracking his knuckles. These people really dared to kidnap a kid? He couldn¡¯t stand by and watch.


    In any case, they were just humans. Even though he wasn¡¯t allowed to use his powers, he could easily take care of them.


    "Kid! Step out of our path! That girl belongs to us!" One of the four middle-aged men told Lucifer. "If you give her to us, we¡¯ll allow you and that old man to leave safely."


    " Did you really think you¡¯re in any position to decide if we will leave safely or not?" Lucifer answered, frowning.


    "Looks like you won¡¯t understand like this!" the man said as he ran towards Lucifer, attacking him with his bare hands.


    Lucifer couldn¡¯t help but scoff at this attack. After his three years of training, the attacks of these amateurs looked childish.


    Lucifer calmly moved to the side as he dodged the punch while also using two of his fingers to hit the neck of the man.

 Chapter 215 - 215: Failed

    <h4>Chapter 215 - 215: Failed </h4>


    The man fell to his knees while holding his throat. He seemed like he was struggling to breathe and in pain.


    "Hey! This kid doesn¡¯t look simple! His attacks! He must be some martial arts master! We didn¡¯t even bring our weapons! Let¡¯s run! We can¡¯t take him on!"


    As the other three saw Lucifer¡¯s attack, they seemed to be intimidated.


    They started running away. Even the man who was lying on the ground struggled to stand up before he ran away while holding his neck.


    Lucifer didn¡¯t chase after them, but he did seem confused.


    "Strange people. They were scared of just that? Aren¡¯t Viins said to be shameless and unafraid of death?" He muttered, frowning.


    "Whatever." He turned back and walked to the young girl.


    "Little girl, you¡¯re safe now. Let¡¯s drop you at a police station so they can take care of this matter from here. They can also help you get to your family. They must be worried, right?" Lucifer said to the little girl as he patted her.


    "Wait. If you go to the police station, you¡¯ll bete. You need to get to the Campus. Did you forget?" Grandpa Chi reminded Lucifer.


    "I¡¯ll take the girl to the police station, and I¡¯ll stay with her. You take a cab and go straight to campus without stopping anywhere in the middle, alright?"


    As Lucifer heard Grandpa Chi¡¯s words, he remembered the time. He was actually going to bete if he stayed with the girl. He couldn¡¯t help but nce at his bracelet, which already had one red light on.


    If he waste tonight, there were going to be two red lights.


    "Are you sure you can take care of it alone?" Lucifer asked Grandpa Chi, concerned.


    "Of course. I¡¯m not that useless," Grandpa Chi answered as he rolled his eyes.


    "Alright."


    Lucifer stopped two cabs. In one, he sat, which was going to take him to the Campus. On the other, Grandpa Chi sat with the girl who was going to take her to the police station.


    Both cabs started going in different directions.


    Sitting in a dark car in the distance, a dark-haired man smirked. "First part of the mission was sessful. That girl can really act, hah. Now to the most important part."


    The man started the car as he chased after the taxi. He also called a number simultaneously.


    "He¡¯sing. Are you ready?" He asks someone over the phone.


    "Yes. Everything is prepared. Tonight, Alex won¡¯t reach the Academy," the person on the other end of the call answered before the call was disconnected.


    ...


    Lucifer was sitting in the cab as he checked his clock.


    "Looks like I¡¯ll reach the Academy with an hour to spare. Nothing to worry about. But today really was fun. If only Grandpa Chi had agreed to let me pay, I would have loved to make it more special for him. Money is useless for me anyway."


    Sitting in the car, Lucifer seemed to be talking to himself.


    "I should n this once again in the future."


    ...


    The cab in which Lucifer was sitting had been traveling for half an hour. It had already crossed half the distance to the Academy of Lucifer, and it was only ten-thirty in the night.


    Everything seemed to be going smoothly when the cab suddenly stopped in the middle of the road.


    Lucifer looked out the window to notice that they hadn¡¯t reached Campus. He couldn¡¯t help but ask, "Why did you stop?"


    "A man is lying on the ground ahead. It seems like he fell off his bike," the driver said as he opened the doors and stepped out of the car.


    Lucifer also stood out.


    As Lucifer stepped out, he was able to see a man lying on the ground, groaning in pain while holding his chest.


    A bike was lying on the ground near him. It seemed like he was passing through here when he fell down.


    The driver and Lucifer ran up to the man, who seemed to be having a struggle in breathing as he held his chest.


    "It seems like he¡¯s having a heart attack. The attack must havee when he was passing through here. We should take him to the hospital," the driver suggested.


    Lucifer nced at his bracelet, frowning. It seemed like his luck was really bad at the moment.


    "You¡¯re right. His life is more important," he finally said as he clenched his fist. He picked up the man and carried him to the cab.


    Lucifer also sat in the cab as they went to the hospital, which was pretty far away from where they were. This took them slightly more than half an hour, making sure that Lucifer had no way to get back in time.


    Lucifer had already given in to destiny. He couldn¡¯t do anything in this situation. A man¡¯s life was at stake.


    After getting the man admitted to the hospital, he went back in a cab, this time taking a different one.


    The cab took Lucifer to the Campus, but it was alreadyte. It was twelve-thirty. He was half an hourte.


    Standing at the entrance of the campus, Lucifer sighed as he noticed the second red light that had lit up in his bracelet.


    "At least it¡¯s the second and not the third," he muttered as he smiled wryly. "I need to work extra hard to make sure I don¡¯t break the rules again. I¡¯ll be extra careful next time."


    He stepped closer to the doors which opened.


    "Young Man, you¡¯rete. Did you forget the time?" The guard asked Lucifer as he gave him his ID Card.


    "I didn¡¯t. I guess you can just say that my luck was bad. When I wasing back, I saw a man in the middle of the road who was having a heart attack," Lucifer replied.


    " I had to take him to the hospital. I¡¯ming straight from there, but as you can see, I¡¯mte. It¡¯s fine, though," he further exined.


    "Huh? You really sacrificed one of your strikes to help a stranger? You know, not many people would have done such a thing," the guard told Lucifer.


    "You¡¯re a really noble guy. Next time, be careful. You only have one strike left. Treat thatst chance like your life depends on it," he further said as he patted his shoulder.


    "I will. Thank you."


    Lucifer went back to his room and knocked on the door, which was opened by Jason.


    He also noticed the second red light in Lucifer¡¯s bracelet, and he already knew what happened. It was way over twelve, after all.


    Lucifer once again exined to his roommates about what happened on his way back and how he had no other choice.


    ...


    In a different room, Dash was lying on his bed, grinning.


    It had been half an hour since his men gave him the information that Lucifer had failed, but he still didn¡¯t lose his grin.

 Chapter 216 - 216: Conflict With Class A?

    <h4>Chapter 216 - 216: Conflict With ss A? </h4>


    Dash was lying in his bed, still grinning as he was told that the mission was sessful. They had sessfully made Lucifer break a rule without letting him be the least bit suspicious.


    "Soon, it¡¯ll be time for the final strike. And then it¡¯ll all be over. This guy... He is going to suffer. He should have stayed low and not aimed for the stars. He can¡¯t me me," Dash said, talking to himself as he started hatching the next part of the n.


    "I¡¯ll still wait a few days since he¡¯ll be more careful now."


    He already had a few ideas about how to do it, not knowing the consequences of his actions.


    ...


    The following day, Lucifer woke up and got dressed before he went to the ss again.


    The other students were already in the ss by now, and they all noticed the second light on Lucifer¡¯s bracelet.


    "Hah, Alex. Did you break another rule? I must say, I respect you a little now. You aren¡¯t afraid of the establishment. Pretty brave, I must say," Dash said to Lucifer,ughing.


    Lucifer ignored Dash as he sat on his seat.


    "How did this happen?" Cassius also asked Lucifer, confused. What rule did he break?


    "I had to take a man to the hospital when I wasing backst night. Because of that, I couldn¡¯t get back in time, and this rule was broken," Lucifer answered, sighing.


    "Be more careful next time. You only have one chance, don¡¯t fail," Cassius reminded Lucifer.


    "Hahaha, I know. If I fail, I¡¯ll be expelled. And I will have to leave. I won¡¯t be able to see you again either." Lucifer nodded.


    As Cassius heard Lucifer¡¯s words, he lost himself in deep thought. It was true. If one day Lucifer left the academy and disappeared, he wasn¡¯t going to find Lucifer.


    After a long time, he had found a friend. How could he let it end? But he couldn¡¯t do anything either since it all depended on Lucifer.


    "You know the Great Family of Zaini? You can find me there in the future. We don¡¯t have to separate," Cassius said.


    "I know. I¡¯ll be careful. Don¡¯t worry," Lucifer answered, smiling.


    Soon, Franci arrived in the ss.


    "You¡¯re all here. Good, today we¡¯ll start something new. Follow me."


    He turned back as he prepared to leave, but he suddenly stopped, feeling as if he had seen something.


    "Wait, Alex! There¡¯s a second light in your bracelet? Did you break a rule even after my repeated reminder?" He asked, turning around.


    "Yes, Teacher," Lucifer answered before he started exining everything.


    "Rules are rules. No matter what the reason, breaking a rule is a strike. Even I can¡¯t help with that. Now be careful this time. You only have one chance! I don¡¯t want such a bright student to fail this time."


    "I understand. I won¡¯t let it happen again," Lucifer answered apologetically.


    "That¡¯s good. Come now."


    All the students followed Franci, who took them to the training field once again. But this time, there were already a few students there.


    Lucifer and the others could see eight people already present in the arena. One of them was Alexi, while the other seven seemed like youngsters who had simr ages to Lucifer and others from what it seemed.


    They were wearing the same uniform as Lucifer, which made him believe they were in ss A too.


    "Are they thest batch of ss A? The ones who are in year five now?" Lucifer asked Cassius.


    "Yeah. They are from ss A of batch 23," Cassius answered.


    Stepping forward, Alexi greeted everyone.


    "Wee everyone. Today we have decided that the two groups will train together andpete as well. I think thispetition will force you to ovee your limitations."


    As he finished exining, everyone looked surprised. The year four students were surprised that they needed topete with the year five students.


    As for the year five students, they were shocked as well. They needed topete with the youngsters? What kind of nonsense was this?


    Lucifer was happy that he was going to learn with the stronger students, but the seniors looked unhappy.


    One of them stepped forward, looking upset. "Teacher, this shouldn¡¯t happen."


    "And why is that?" Alexi asked, seemingly amused.


    "We are the seniors! What will happen to our reputation if wepete with youngsters? Obviously, they¡¯ll be weaker than us."


    "Even if wepete, we¡¯ll win effortlessly, so it¡¯s not beneficial in any way. It¡¯ll only work to make us aughing stock! People will say we¡¯re bullying the kids!" The young man answered again.


    Lucifer observed the man, surprised to see a simr ring on his finger. It seemed like he was the top student of batch 23, just like Lucifer was the top student of Batch 24.


    "He¡¯s Jake Holler. From the Great Holler Family of the West," Cassius informed Lucifer, seeing him confused.


    "Great Family of the West? That¡¯s right. I did hear that Center has four great families while there are two great families each in East, West, North, and South," Lucifer muttered, remembering how spread out these Great Families were.


    ¡¯Isn¡¯t the family of Dash also a Great Family in the West? I wonder if they are close,¡¯ he thought.


    "Jake, you seem really confident that you can easily defeat them?¡¯ Alexi asked, observing the brown-haired man who seemed like he was a yboy from his looks.


    Jake¡¯s light blue eyes nced at Lucifer and the others before he nodded. "That¡¯s right. They¡¯re still kids. I think our time would be better utilized if we train separately instead of wasting time with them."


    "Dear Jake, I believe you¡¯re underestimating them a tad too much. From the way I see it, not only can they give youpetition but they can even win. There are some really good talents in Batch 24," Alexi responded,ughing.


    "Your joke is really good, teacher. But it¡¯s not funny. It¡¯s impossible for them to defeat us. Heck, I would be surprised if their strongest member can even defeat our weakest member," Jake retorted.


    Hearing the overconfidence of Jake, Franci couldn¡¯t help but shake his head. He was too blinded by his arrogance.


    Franci finally decided that it was enough. It was time to bring his arrogance under control and let him see that younger didn¡¯t always mean worse.


    "Oh? How about we try them? Their strongest member will fight but not against your weakest member. He will fight against you," Franci said.


    "Both of you are allowed to use your gifts. If you win, we¡¯ll cancel this n. If he wins, you¡¯ll train together? How¡¯s that?" he further asked Jake.

 Chapter 217 - 217: Facing A Summoner

    <h4>Chapter 217 - 217: Facing A Summoner </h4>


    "I ept. Even though it¡¯ll waste my two minutes to bring him to the ground, I ept. It¡¯s better than wasting our whole year with them. I¡¯m ready to start even now. Call their strongest," Jake instantly agreed.


    "Alex, do you ept?" Franci asked, ncing at Lucifer.


    "Jake, I heard the rumors that Alex is excellent. Don¡¯t underestimate him and be careful," one of the Batch 23 students whispered in Jake¡¯s ears, reminding him that he needed to be careful.


    "He¡¯s the ck sheep of the bunch who even left Cassius behind despite not being from a Great Family!"


    "Don¡¯t worry. I know what I¡¯m doing," Jake replied.


    "I¡¯ll ept," Lucifer nodded as he stepped forward.


    "All the other students, step back. It¡¯s going to be a battle between Alex and Jake. No one will interfere," Aleximanded the other students to step back.


    "Alex, be careful. He has a pretty annoying ability. He can call forth some beasts to do his bidding. He has the power of summons," Cassius told Lucifer a bit more about Jake.


    "So try to get close to him as soon as you can. Moreover, he also has amazing reflexes, so it won¡¯t be easy even then. Be careful," he further added before he also stepped back.


    This was all he could do to help.


    "Summon beasts? I read about this. Some Variants awaken this gift, and they can summon a certain beast to fight for them."


    " So he is fighting with them? Interesting. I heard that three is the limit that anyone had ever managed to summon. I can¡¯t give him a chance," Lucifer muttered as he decided on a n. It was the time to be serious.


    "Are you both ready?¡¯ Alexi asked the two youngsters who stood seven meters away from each other.


    "Ready!" Both said at the same time.


    The white light started blinking on their bracelet, letting them know that they were allowed to use their gifts now.


    "One... Two... Three... Start!" Alexi dered before he also stepped back.


    As soon as the battle started, Lucifer ran towards Jake, closing in on the distance.


    Jake, on the other hand, didn¡¯t even move as if he was waiting for Lucifer to approach him.


    As Lucifer reached near Jake, a formation started shining in the ground.


    Lucifer was only a meter away from Jake when the formation took effect.


    A ten-foot-tall gori appeared above the formation as he punched the unaware Lucifer, who seemed to be hit.


    Lucifer flew back like a broken doll as he crashed on the ground.


    "I heard you have the strength? What a coincidence; this little guy also has strength. He¡¯ll love to y with you. Moreover, let me bring out someone else too so that you aren¡¯t bored. There needs to be some variety after all," Jake said as he smirked arrogantly.


    Another formation appeared near him. This time it was a wolf who stepped out of the formation.


    While the gori stood near Jake, the wolf ran towards Lucifer, opening his mouth wide as if ready to bite Lucifer.


    In the distance, Lucifer also stood up by now as he patted his clothes. It looked like he waste in reaching Jakest time.


    "It doesn¡¯t matter. All I need to do is break both the beasts," he said as he nced at the wolf who wasing towards him.


    He slightly raised his right foot above the ground. This was a move he wanted to try that he believed he never did.


    "See, teacher? These kids aren¡¯t worthy to face us?"


    Thinking that Lucifer had no chance, Jake nced at Alexi as he started talking.


    That¡¯s when he felt the ground shake.


    Surprised, he looked back towards Lucifer only to find that spot empty. There was only a big crater in the ground in that ce.


    Frowning, he slowly raised his head to see Lucifer flying towards him, high above the ground.


    "He can fly?" He let out, shocked.


    "Take him out!¡¯ hemanded his gori to stay prepared. As for the wolf, he also started running back.


    "Using his strength and its impact to make a jump that high? It¡¯s basically short range flying without having any such gifts. Not bad. Even I hadn¡¯t thought that strength could be used like this," Franci said, sitting amused in the distance.


    As Lucifer starteding down, the gori prepared for another attack. But this time, Lucifer also seemed serious.


    He clenched his fist firmly as he prepared to attack the gori. He wasn¡¯t going to leave anything behind. He was going to give it his all.


    Soon, Lucifer reached near the giant gori. His fist shed with the fist of the gori, but it seemed less like a sh and more like annihtion.


    The gori could provide no resistance to Lucifer as his hands broke. Lucifer¡¯s attack didn¡¯t stop as it hit the skull of the gori. He had used his entire strength, after all.


    What followed was a gruesome scene. The gori burst apart as his blood sshed everywhere, covering Lucifer and Jake.


    The fist still didn¡¯t stop as it finally hit the ground after destroying the gori.


    As the fistnded on the ground, the entire ground started shaking. Not only this ce but that shaking could be felt in the whole Academy as people felt like an earthquake wasing.


    In the stand, everyone stood up in disbelief. What exactly did they see? Even the teachers hadn¡¯t expected this. Lucifer had this much strength? Just how strong was he actually?


    Did he not show his real strength before? Heck, was what he showed now his full strength, or was it only a fraction too? They couldn¡¯t understand. All they knew was this strength... It wasn¡¯t the ordinary strength they had assumed.


    Everyone was looking at Lucifer, who was standing in a five meter deep crater, covered in blood as if he had taken a bloody bath. As for Jake, he was lying inside the crater as well, looking at Lucifer with his eyes opened wide.


    As for the wolf that wasing towards them, it stopped midway as it saw what happened to the gori. It started shivering as it stepped back slowly before it disappeared, going where it came from.


    "The battle is over. Alex is the winner. Your limiter is again activated. Both of you can go and take a shower. Wipe off that blood," Aleximanded them as he walked towards the crater.


    Lucifer nodded as he started trying to get out of the crater. Without his powers, it was tough to get out of here.


    After a bit of struggle, he managed to step out as he walked towards the shower. For that, he didn¡¯t need to go back to the campus as there were spare uniforms here. There was also a shower room in the arena.

 Chapter 218 - 218: Letting Out

    <h4>Chapter 218 - 218: Letting Out </h4>


    Alexi helped Jake step out as well, but he didn¡¯t send him behind Lucifer to take shower.


    Instead, he said something to Jake first.


    "That¡¯s why we say arrogance can be the worst enemy of a Variant. A person can be strong, but that doesn¡¯t mean that another person will be weak. Go and clean yourself," Alexi said before finally letting him leave.


    Jake also left, but his fist was clenched as he was burning in rage. After so much struggle, he had managed to bind two beasts with his summoning.


    And Lucifer had destroyed his strongest one, killing him. He was furious. He felt as if one of his friends was killed.


    Sitting in the distance, Dash was smiling. He believed he had found the missing piece of the puzzle. Jake was going to be that piece.


    ¡¯I¡¯m really surprised at his strength, though. So taking him out when that limiter is on would be a good choice. I¡¯ll see how you escape, Alex. No matter how much attention you have. After you¡¯re expelled, no one will remember you.¡¯


    ....


    Lucifer was inside the shower, letting the droplets of water fall over his body to rinse all the blood. He was only wearing his gloves as he took the shower, but even the gloves seemed to have started deteriorating somehow.


    It seemed like they were getting old.


    "I¡¯ll have to talk to Grandpa to get another pair for me," he said as he rubbed his face.


    "What was that feeling, though? When I used all that strength, it didn¡¯t seem like it was my first time using it. Something seems strange."


    After finishing the shower, he wore the new uniform before he stepped out. He joined his ss again.


    "What you did there was pretty badass, honestly. I didn¡¯t know you were that strong," Cassius told Lucifer, still surprised.


    "I guess I never felt the need to go all out," Lucifer answered, signifying that it was his full strength. He was still hiding, though. It wasn¡¯t his full strength.


    His grandpa had made him promise that he was only going to use the strength he needed at the moment to keep his true strength a secret.


    "Alright. Now that Alex has won, I¡¯m sure you all understand that you can¡¯t underestimate batch 25! That¡¯s why you¡¯ll train with them. As I said, it¡¯ll be good for all of you. As soon as Jake returns, we¡¯ll begin," Franci dered.


    Soon, Jake also returned. He looked expressionless.


    As he returned, the training started where both the batches received the same training.


    It was the evening when the sses were over. Lucifer and the others returned to their rooms, tired.


    ...


    Knock! Knock!


    It was two in the night when there was a knock on the door.


    A brown-haired man was sleeping in his room but woke up at the sound of the knock. He stood up and walked to the door as he asked, "Who is it?"


    He soon opened the door to find a blue-haired man standing before him.


    "Dash? What do you need? If you¡¯re here to rub salt on my wounds by bragging about your ss, then get out!" the brown-haired man answered, who was none other than Jake.


    "Jake, listen to me first. I¡¯m not here to rub salt on your wounds. I¡¯m here to help you. I¡¯m here to help you get revenge," Dash answered, smirking.


    "Help me get revenge? How?" Jake asked, frowning. "Come inside."


    Dash entered the room, which was just as big as his. Both of them were from Great Families, after all. They both got the best rooms as their families could afford them.


    Jake closed the door behind before he walked back to Dash, who was already sitting on the sofa.


    "Tell me what you were saying," Jake said as he also sat on the sofa.


    "Alex ric, he¡¯s my enemy too, just like he is your enemy. Just imagine how bad it would be if someone outside knows that we were defeated by someone like Alex who isn¡¯t even from a great family," Dash said.


    "That¡¯s right. It¡¯ll be bad for the reputation indeed," Jake agreed.


    "That¡¯s why I want to help you take your revenge. I want to see Alex suffer since he made us suffer," Dash further said. "And we can even get him expelled. If he¡¯s expelled, no one will know about him. Our reputation will be safe, and we¡¯ll also have our revenge."


    "That sounds like a good way to get back. Getting him expelled, but how? We might be from great families, but even we can¡¯t get someone expelled," Jake responded.


    "We can if the person is Alex. Did you not notice his bracelet this morning? He already broke the rules two times. All we need is to make him break the rules one more time, and we¡¯ll be done! He¡¯ll be expelled, and everything will return to normal," Dash exined.


    Hearing his idea, a glint appeared in Jake¡¯s eyes as his lips curved to show a smile.


    "You¡¯re right. That could work," he said. "But how can we let him break a rule? I¡¯m sure he¡¯s not an idiot? He would know he only had one strike left. He¡¯ll treat it more carefully than his life. How can we make him break a rule?"


    " It¡¯s simple. How to let him go of something he treats more precious than his life? The answer is by targeting another thing that is even more precious for him," Dash said as a smirk formed on his face.


    "What do you mean?" Jake asked, frowning.


    "You noticed the gloves he was wearing today?" Dash inquired, smiling.


    "Yeah. He was indeed wearing ck gloves," Jake answered.


    "From what I heard, those are the most precious things for him. They were given to him by his dead father. So they are very precious to him. He never takes them off," Dash said.


    "In fact, his first strike was indeed because of those gloves. Even when a teacher asked him to refuse the gloves, he had refused to do it. All we need is to take off his gloves or destroy them," he further said.


    "He¡¯ll be so furious that he¡¯ll lose control. I¡¯m sure that¡¯s when he will use his powers, and that¡¯s when he¡¯ll get a shock. He¡¯ll lose consciousness, and there will be the third red light on his bracelet. He¡¯ll be expelled," he continued.


    "That¡¯s right. The Academy doesn¡¯t care why you break the rules. Even if you have a good reason, rules are rules. So he¡¯ll be out. This is perfect. He defeated me and killed my most precious best? For that mistake, I¡¯ll destroy his most precious gloves and get him expelled!" Jake said,ughing.

 Chapter 219 - 219; Gifts

    <h4>Chapter 219 - 219; Gifts </h4>


    "But you need to be careful. Don¡¯t do it alone. Because he might have a good gift but he¡¯s one of our best in hand-to-handbat too. You¡¯ll need more people to overwhelm him and get him in control," Dash told Jake.


    "Don¡¯t worry about that. I¡¯ll make sure everything goes smoothly. Tomorrow is the day when Alex¡¯s world is going to turn upside down. Tomorrow, he¡¯ll regret leaving his room for the rest of his life!" Jake said,ughing.


    "Yeah. I¡¯ll help you with this too. Let¡¯s n the other minor aspects of the n, like where you¡¯ll do it. It needs to be outside the sses and outside the hostel, so teachers aren¡¯t alerted before Alex breaks the rule," Dash chimed in.


    " True. If they interfere, the whole n will fail, and we might not have a chance like this again in the future." Jake nodded.


    The two of them shared their ss schedules to see when was the best time to do it. For the next two hours, they nned the whole thing. Only when everything was finalized, Dash left.


    It was decided that tomorrow wouldn¡¯t be the day they enact the n as there was a schedule problem. The day after tomorrow was going to be when they were going to do it.


    ...


    A new day arrived with a good news. Lucifer was informed that his grandfather was here to meet him


    Standing up, Lucifer hastily dressed before he ran towards the meeting room.


    "Grandpa!"


    As soon as Lucifer saw the old man, he hugged him tightly.


    "Did you get back on timest night?¡¯ the old man asked Lucifer, concerned.


    "Ah, yeah. I was right in time," Lucifer answered, lying. He didn¡¯t want to worry his grandfather and make him feel like he was to be med for Lucifer¡¯s strike.


    "What happened to the girl? Did you leave her at the police station?" He asks as he freed the old man.


    "Yeah. I left her there safely. As the girl remembered her family¡¯s phone number, the cops said they were going to find his family faster. I came to tell you this," Grandpa Chi answered.


    "How were you able to get in? What happened to getting the permit ten days before being allowed inside Campus?" Lucifer asked, curious.


    "You don¡¯t know? Since you won the first ce for three straight years, I also got a special privilege. Every month, I cane to meet you without an advanced permit. It¡¯s simr to how you¡¯re allowed to go out; I¡¯m allowed toe in," Grandpa Chi answered.


    "That¡¯s such a good news!" Lucifer eximed in surprise. "You cane next month too then.¡¯


    "I can¡¯t. I don¡¯t think I can see you for four or five months at least," Grandpa Chi answered.


    "Why?" Lucifer asked, standing up.


    "I am going to explore the sea tomorrow. I¡¯ll return after a few months at the least. Don¡¯t worry; I¡¯ll soon return before you even know it. This will be the first ce Ie after I return," Grandpa Chi answered calmly.


    "Hah, that again. Grandpa, you¡¯re getting old. You really should stop this someday," Lucifer said as he sat again.


    "I doubt I can ever leave the sea. It¡¯s like my second home," Grandpa Chi answered.


    "Anyway, I also had another reason toe. Yesterday, I forgot to give you your birthday gift. I wanted to give it to you at the end, but everything else happened, and I didn¡¯t get time. Here it is,"


    Grandpa Chi ced a small box on the table.


    "What¡¯s in it?" Lucifer asked.


    "Open it and find out," Grandpa Chi answered.


    Lucifer picked up the box to open it, only to find what seemed like a golden pendant.


    He further opened the pendant to reveal two pics inside. One was of Grandpa Chi, while the other photo was of Lucifer that was clicked when on his first birthday with Grandpa Chi.


    "It¡¯s beautiful," Lucifer let out, happy with the gift. "Thank you, grandpa."


    He wore the pendant on his neck before standing up.


    He hugged old man Chi.


    "Alright. I think it¡¯s time for me to leave. Best of luck, my dear Grandson. I¡¯m really proud of you."


    After bidding his farewell, Grandpa Chi left. Lucifer also walked back as he touched the beautiful pendant.


    Instead of going back to his room, Lucifer walked back to the ss.


    As he reached the ss, he found everyone else sitting there already. It seemed like he was the one who wasst toe.


    Lucifer took his seat in the middle of Dash and Cassius.


    As soon as he sat, he noticed Cassius ce a box before him.


    "What is this?" Lucifer asked Cassius, confused.


    "Treat it as a bted birthday gift. It took time for me to arrange it," Cassius answered, smiling.


    "Thank you, but you didn¡¯t need to get me a gift," Lucifer said, thanking Cassius.


    "You¡¯re right. I didn¡¯t need to. It¡¯s that I wanted to. So take it and open it," Cassius replied.


    Lucifer opened the second box of the day to reveal a ring inside it. It seemed like a tinum ring that had a red jade embedded in it.


    "This looks expensive," Lucifer let out as he picked the ring.


    "It is expensive indeed, but not because of the previous materials. It¡¯s special because of the technology inside it," Cassius replied.


    "What technology?" Lucifer asked, interested.


    "This ring came in a pair. As for the second ring, I¡¯m wearing it," Cassius said as he revealed the ring in his hand.


    "Because both these rings share the technology, they¡¯re perfect. Both these rings have a tracker, but it¡¯s encrypted. Only the owner of the ring can use it to find where the owner of the other ring is and vice versa," he further said.


    "Other than us too, no one can use them," he continued.


    " Why this time? Hahaha, it¡¯s not like I¡¯m going to get lost?" Lucifer asked,ughing.


    "Didn¡¯t you sayst time that there might be a day when one of us disappears? I don¡¯t want to lose contact if that day everes. So I want you to be able to find me. Just like I want to be able to get to you, no matter what happens. I don¡¯t want to lose this friendship ever," Cassius exined.


    "Hah, you really think about weird scenarios. I only said that because I thought I¡¯d be expelled and I won¡¯t be able to meet you again. But I don¡¯t have any ns of getting expelled. I¡¯m really careful," Lucifer let out, smiling wryly.

 Chapter 220 - 220: Entrapped

    <h4>Chapter 220 - 220: Entrapped </h4>


    "It doesn¡¯t matter. It¡¯s better to be safe. Moreover, even on its own, it¡¯s a beautiful essory. Just wear it for my satisfaction," Cassius insisted.


    "Alright. Thank you for the great gift, Cassius," Lucifer said as he finally wore the ring in one of his fingers.


    Lucifer and the others finished their sses for the day before they walked back to their rooms, waiting for the new day to arrive where they could learn more.


    Sitting in his room, Lucifer thought about what his grandfather had said. The world was in chaos. That was true; it seemed since he believed the old man never lied.


    "What are you thinking so hard about?" Looking at Lucifer lost in deep thought, Jason started asking questions.


    "What do you think about Dark Variants?" Lucifer asked Jason, intriguing him.


    " The ones that use their gifts for themselves and the ones that use it to gain more power?"


    "I think they suck. They are evil and vile creatures that need to be taken out. If we have gifts, we need to make good use of them. We shouldn¡¯t use them to take innocent lives," Jason answered without taking long.


    "What do you think, Kevin?" Lucifer asked his second roommate.


    "I think it¡¯s better to stay as far away from Dark Variants as we can," Kevin replied.


    " Do you think we are biased towards them? I mean, they are also people like us?" Lucifer asked.


    "I don¡¯t think we are biased. We are standing on the righteous side. It¡¯s them who should learn the right thing," Jason responded.


    "I guess you¡¯re right," Lucifer said as he stopped the conversation. Heid on his bed and covered himself with a sheet.


    He didn¡¯t stop thinking about that. What was the hidden meaning in the words of the old man?


    As he lost himself in thoughts, he didn¡¯t realize when he fell asleep. It was only in the morning when he woke up again.


    Dressing up for just another ordinary day, he left his room.


    It didn¡¯t take him long before he actually reached the ss.


    It was the first time in a long while when he was the first person in the ss. It was after him that Cassius arrived, followed by others.


    Soon, all the students were here, including Cassius, who looked especially happy today.


    Franci also arrived at the right time as he took the students to the arena again.


    The first sssted for two hours before all the students were told to go back to ss.


    Cassius and Lucifer stuck together on the way back. It was a free period where the students were supposed to rx in the ss.


    As for the next ss, it was going to be Alexi¡¯s ss who was going to teach them more about Tricks.


    Even though all the students had gone back to the ss, Dash had stayed behind. He was intentionally dying his return as per his n.


    It was only after five minutes that Dash entered the ss.


    Instead of sitting, he went straight to Lucifer.


    "Alex, Teacher Franci told me to send you to him. He needs you back in the Arena for something."


    It was only after telling Lucifer that he sat down on his seat.


    "Really? I wonder why he needs me," Lucifer muttered as he stood up. He soon nced at Cassius as he continued, "I¡¯ll be right back."


    " Should Ie with you?" Cassius asked Lucifer.


    "It¡¯s fine. You don¡¯t need toe. He only asked for me. Maybe it¡¯s something personal. I¡¯ll be back before you even know it," Lucifer let out, smiling as he left the ss.


    Dash kept his head low as he started smiling. It wasn¡¯t going to be long before everything was over.


    ¡¯This bastard will finally be out. It¡¯ll all be over today.¡¯ he thought.


    ....


    Unaware of the Dark Schemes that were going behind his back, Lucifer hastily walked towards the Arena, where he believed Franci to be waiting for him. He didn¡¯t want to keep him waiting for long.


    After a short time, he reached the arena.


    As Lucifer stepped inside the Arena, he found the ce to bepletely empty. There was no one here. There was only silence everywhere.


    "Teacher Franci? Are you here?" Lucifer asked, yelling.


    Tuck!


    Suddenly, a metallic sound came from behind Lucifer. Turning around, Lucifer noticed a man standing at the entrance. As for the door, it was closed.


    As the door didn¡¯t have a lock, the man had only closed it. It was easy to open it from outside as well, but the man didn¡¯t care.


    There were no sses in the Arena today. So he didn¡¯t believe someone was going toe in.


    The only reason he even shut the door was so that the passersby couldn¡¯t see what was happening inside.


    "You, aren¡¯t you from ss A, Batch 23?" Lucifer asked, ring at the boy.


    "He¡¯s not the only one." Another Voice came from a different direction.


    Lucifer looked in that direction to notice another man from ss A.


    "What are you doing here? Where is Teacher Franci?" Lucifer asked, frowning.


    "He had something urgent, so he had to leave. He left us here to take care of the matter." This time, the voice came from the third direction.


    Lucifer looked there to find another man from ss A.


    "Since he gave us such an important responsibility, how can we let him down?" Another Voice came from the fourth direction.


    Lucifer looked there to see four men this time, one of whom happened to be Jake.


    All seven of the men started getting closer to Lucifer until they werepletely surrounding him.


    "What responsibility? What does he want?" Lucifer asked grimly. He could already feel that something was wrong.


    " He wanted us to take your gloves because they look ugly. He doesn¡¯t want to see them in your hands anymore. He is frustrated," Jake said, grinning. "So be a good boy and give me those ugly gloves."


    Hearing their words, Lucifer¡¯s frown deepened. He believed they were lying. Franci never had a problem with his gloves. Why would he? He was always nice about them. These people were undoubtedly lying.


    "I¡¯m sorry, but I can¡¯t listen to that. They are my gloves and I¡¯m keeping them. If he wants them, tell him to talk to me in his ss," Lucifer replied. "I¡¯m leaving now."


    As Lucifer tried to move, he noticed that the men didn¡¯t step aside. They were blocking his path.


    "What is the meaning of this?" Lucifer asked again. "Step aside!"


    "We¡¯re sorry, but if you want to leave, you must give us your gloves. If you don¡¯t, you can¡¯t leave," Jake announced.

 Chapter 221 - 221: Return Of Lucifer

    <h4>Chapter 221 - 221: Return Of Lucifer </h4>


    "I think you¡¯ll have to wait for an eternity if you want my gloves. Because you won¡¯t be getting them in this lifetime. So step aside and vacate my path!" Lucifer said.


    "Step aside and let me leave now!" Lucifer warned the seven men from the Senior ss A who were blocking his path.


    All of them had the Limiter in their hands which was locked. If any of them tried using their power, they were going to get electrocuted.


    That was also the problem. If Lucifer had his strength, he believed he could easily have left. But it was actually slightly tough now.


    "So this is your final decision? You won¡¯t give us your gloves?" Jake asked, smirking.


    "I won¡¯t!" Lucifer said firmly.


    "Fine. We¡¯ll take it ourselves. Because you are forgetting something. This arena technically doesn¡¯te under campus or hostel technically." Jake let out as he burst intoughter.


    "So we can fight freely as long as we don¡¯t use our gifts. And seven against one without gifts, you should know the oue," he continued.


    He was burning in the mes of revenge as Lucifer had killed his most precious beast. He wanted to see Lucifer suffer the same way.


    "You can try. But you won¡¯t seed," Lucifer dered, clenching his fist.


    ....


    Sitting in the room, Dash was getting bored. He wanted to see Lucifer lying unconscious too.


    ¡¯They should have started by now. I should check. I really can¡¯t miss the opportunity,¡¯ he finally thought as he stood up and left.


    Seeing Dash leave, Cassius also started frowning.


    "First, he sent Alex, and now he¡¯s leaving? Something seems strange. I really should check what¡¯s happening," Cassius muttered as he also stood up and left the ss.


    ...


    Instead of waiting to be attacked, Lucifer attacked first.


    He took the lead as he ran towards the man that was blocking his path.


    The man also moved as he attacked Lucifer, swinging his fist. Unfortunately for him, Lucifer just used a single finger as he hit the weakest point in the man¡¯s arms to stop his attack before he kicked the man¡¯s legs to bring him to the ground.


    That little time was enough for others to catch up. Another man attacked Lucifer, who had just taken care of one of them.


    Instead of a one-on-one battle, it soon turned into a six-on-one battle as all six of these people attacked Lucifer.


    Lucifer couldn¡¯t find any way to dodge as he saw so many attacksing towards him at once.


    He decided to use his spinning kick as he went down to the ground, but Jake was just as fast as he kicked Lucifer¡¯s face before he could even finish.


    It seemed as if Jake had already expected this move, and he was waiting for him. As for how he knew about Lucifer¡¯s signature steps, that seemed to be unclear.


    As Lucifer¡¯s face was hit, he fell on the ground.


    Jake tried to stomp Lucifer¡¯s chest as he was lying on the ground, but Lucifer rolled around right at that moment, dodging the attack.


    Unfortunately, as he was surrounded from all sides, it didn¡¯t matter if he dodged one attack as another leg came stomping on his chest.


    "Argh!" Lucifer let out a pained noise as his chest was hit.


    He wasn¡¯t even given a chance to stand up as two men caught his elbows, stopping him from moving his hands.


    "You¡¯re just like a fish, struggling to breathe outside water, kid. You really think you could fight us? You might be good in hand-to-handbat, but we¡¯re the best," Jake said as he saw Lucifer being held down on the ground.


    It was at that moment when the door opened. Hearing the sound of the door opening, everyone looked back, wondering who had entered.


    "Dash,e on in! Look! We are sessful! We caught this rat! Now you can watch his gloves being taken and destroyed live!" Jake told the man who had just entered. "Enjoy the party!"


    The person who had entered was none other than Dash.


    "Ah, I¡¯m d I¡¯m notte! You can start!" Dash said,ughing.


    Hearing Dashugh, Lucifer was stunned. Dash has betrayed him? This was really his scheme? All to hurt him?


    Even though Lucifer wasn¡¯t a close friend of Dash, to see him betraying like this, there was a mysterious sadness in his heart.


    He struggled to free his hands, but it didn¡¯t work.


    "Your struggling won¡¯t work, kid! The only time you¡¯ll be free is when we take and destroy those gloves of yours!" Jake said,ughing.


    Hisughing face made Lucifer even more enraged. He soon thought of something as he decided to make Jake suffer. Jake was standing near the feet of Lucifer.


    Without wasting even a single second, Lucifer raised his foot as he kicked Jake right between the legs.


    Jake¡¯s face turned pale as he was hit in the balls. He couldn¡¯t help but hold them as he dropped to the ground, groaning in pain.


    As for the others, they stepped near Lucifer¡¯s hands to make sure he couldn¡¯t kick them like this.


    Jake felt a dying pain in his balls whichsted for a few minutes before it went away. He finally breathed a sigh of relief as he stood up. His face was still pale, though.


    "You really are a pesky bastard!" Jake roared as he stomped on Lucifer¡¯s knees, making Lucifer scream in pain.


    His right leg was broken, but Jake didn¡¯t stop there. He stomped Lucifer¡¯s other knee as well, breaking his second leg too.


    "Jake! What are you doing? You¡¯re leaving proof of damage on his body! We¡¯ll also get a strike now!" One of his friends reminded him, frowning.


    "It doesn¡¯t matter! It¡¯ll be our first strike. It won¡¯t affect us in any way since it¡¯s ourst year, and we¡¯ll have two more chances!" Jake said strongly. "As for this pest, one strike is worth making him suffer!"


    Jake stepped closer and grabbed Lucifer by his throat as he raised him in the air. His two men still kept holding Lucifer¡¯s hands. Even after all that, Lucifer hadn¡¯t tried to use his powers.


    It was hisst chance, after all, and using powers meant he was going to be expelled. Moreover, he was also going to be unconscious right away.


    Lucifer¡¯s neck was being held by Jake, who was even applying some pressure.


    Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t know what he was doing and the nightmare it was going to bring.


    As Lucifer struggled to breathe, it happened...


    The floodgates of his memories opened as a tsunami of his buried memories returned.


    "The World knows me as Warlock King Varant!"

 Chapter 222 - 222: Return Of The Nightmare

    <h4>Chapter 222 - 222: Return Of The Nightmare </h4>


    "The World knows me as Warlock King Varant!"


    That was the first memory that returned. As he was in the same situation as he was with Varant with him being choked, this acted as thest nail in the coffin.


    "It¡¯s for humanity; don¡¯t you want to help humans?"


    "My dear son, Lucifer. Papa and Mama need to leave for a short time. We¡¯ll soon return. And then we¡¯ll go on a pic."


    "You¡¯re never going to awaken!"


    "He¡¯s a monster! He¡¯s a devil!"


    "Why don¡¯t you just die!"


    "Look at his eyes! He is that thing! We need to kill him!¡¯


    "This will be your true home! Join the Variant Uprising."


    "We didn¡¯t kill your father. It must be them."


    "Everyone lies!"


    "I can never trust humans."


    "My best memory is when my parents said they¡¯re proud of me."


    "Veracity!"


    "I owe you a reward then."


    "You need to die!"


    "You¡¯re all the same!"


    As memories kept flooding Lucifer¡¯s head, his eyes became wet. With the memories, all the pain also returned.


    The pain that he carried inside his heart since childhood... the nightmares that were buried deep had returned.


    As for his eyes, they had also returned to their usual color. One was blue, and the other was slightly violet now.


    Since the arena was covered with a roof, no one here could see, but dark clouds had started covering the sky.


    "Hah, this kid is actually crying. I think we broke him!¡¯ Jake said,ughing. "Free his hand. He won¡¯t do anything. I¡¯ll take off his gloves."


    As per hismands, his men released Lucifer¡¯s hand, and Lucifer didn¡¯t attack either. It was just as Jake expected. He soon took off Lucifer¡¯s right glove and tossed it on the ground before stomping on it.


    ....


    It also happened to be the moment when Cassius stepped inside the arena. He saw Lucifer being held by his neck. There were also tears in his eyes.


    Cassius started raising his sword to attack.


    ...


    Winds... Heavy winds started flowing in a twister as they surrounded Lucifer and the six men. Dash was outside the twister.


    It even blocked the view of Cassius, who was just about to attack. It was fortunate since Cassius had forgotten that he couldn¡¯t use his gifts because of his Limiter either.


    Instead of attacking, he started running towards Lucifer.


    "Dash! What are you doing! Stop your winds!" Jakemanded, frowning.


    "T-that¡¯s not my doing. Even I can¡¯t do that yet," Dash let out as his eyes opened wide. Who was doing this?


    "Also, my Limiter is active! I would be electrocuted if it was me!" he further said.


    "If this isn¡¯t you, then who did it?" Jake asked, concerned. Did someone elsee here?


    It didn¡¯t take long before he got his answer since Lucifer had finally received all his memories.


    He softly opened his lips as he said, "I did it."


    As for his voice, it sounded like it wasing straight from the depths of hell.


    "Y-you? How? You have a second power? Even then, how can you not lose consciousness because of electricity?" Jake asked in disbelief. He slowly looked at Lucifer¡¯s hands to notice that Lucifer was right.


    His bracelet now had three red lights. Did this mean that Lucifer was electrocuted already? He didn¡¯t even feel it?


    "Electricity, my old friend and my eternal partner," Lucifer answered as he slowly raised his right hand that didn¡¯t have his gloves as he gently touched Jake¡¯s cheeks.


    As soon as Lucifer¡¯s hand touched Jake¡¯s cheeks, Jake started feeling immense pain as if his body was being destroyed from inside out. He had never felt this pain before. It was so bad.


    He tried to get away from Lucifer as he freed Lucifer¡¯s throat, but he couldn¡¯t get away as this time Lucifer had grabbed his throat.


    He didn¡¯t choke Jake though. He wanted to destroy every particle of Jake while also taking all the life energy.


    "Ahhh! You monster! Free me!"


    Jake¡¯s pained yell echoed in the entire arena, even falling in Cassius and Dash¡¯s ears.


    Why was that guy screaming? He had no enemy inside that whirlpool. Or could it be that it was cast by a teacher who was punishing Jake?


    "Are you sure you didn¡¯t make that?" Cassius asked, frowning.


    "I didn¡¯t," Dash answered, concerned about what had happened.


    "Could it be that Jake is acting, so I don¡¯t try to stop him?" Cassius muttered, thinking that Jake¡¯s screams were fake.


    "Jake! I¡¯m warning you! If you did anything to Alex, I¡¯d kill you!" He said out loud. "Free Alex and let him leave!"


    Unfortunately, the person he was talking to couldn¡¯t answer. Jake¡¯s screams had stopped, and he was now lying on the ground as nothing more than ash.


    Lucifer didn¡¯t stop with one though. There were six more people here.


    He nced at the other six who were shivering in their boots as he asked, "You wanted my gloves off, right? There, I¡¯ll take them off myself."


    Grinning like the Devil, Lucifer took off his left glove as well.


    In the sky, the clouds were roaring madly as if a storm was on the horizon. It had also started raining. But inside the arena was also a simr atmosphere.


    The only difference was that the roars inside the arena belonged to the youngsters that kept screaming as they died. Unfortunately, they had no way out.


    After Lucifer finished everyone, he stopped his winds.


    ....


    As the winds stopped, Cassius was finally able to see inside. All he could see was Lucifer, who was standing without much expression on his face.


    There were two gloves lying near his feet. Moreover, he was standing on his own two feet that were previously broken by Jake. That¡¯s what Dash found strange.


    "Are you alright? You aren¡¯t hurt, right?" Cassius asked, stepping towards Lucifer.


    "Where are Jake and others?" Dash asked, frowning. He couldn¡¯t help but take a step back. Something strange was going on here.


    First, mysterious winds appeared. Then there were screams from everyone. Then they all disappeared, and Lucifer was perfectly healed now? Something didn¡¯t make sense.


    "They are dead. Just like you¡¯ll be now," Lucifer said as he floated to Dash, leaving Cassius behind. He didn¡¯t even answer Cassius.


    ...


    "Here is the ce I got the alert from. God, the kids can¡¯t even let me eat in peace. Which idiot used his gifts now. I¡¯ll again have to take him to the nurse. What an annoying system."


    In the distance, Alexi was walking towards the Arena as well. He had received an alert that someone tried to use their powers in the arena.

 Chapter 223 - 223: Facing Grandpa Chi

    <h4>Chapter 223 - 223: Facing Grandpa Chi </h4>


    It was Alexi¡¯s responsibility this time to take that person to the nurse and to see why he had to use his gifts.


    ...


    "Y-you can fly?¡¯ Dash eximed in shock.


    "I can do many more things as well," Lucifer answered as he grabbed Dash by his throat and raised him in the air.


    His decay started acting, bringing the same intense screams as before. It was only now that Dash understood why they were screaming.


    "Stop! Free me! I didn¡¯t do anything!" Dash kept pleading, but the pain didn¡¯t stop. What stopped was his screams as he turned to ash as well.


    "I didn¡¯t do anything either," Lucifer muttered as he nced at the ash.


    As Lucifer finished with everything, he walked back to Cassius. Bending forward, he picked up his gloves and kept them in his pocket.


    "What is happening here? Tell me everything. I¡¯ll make sure nothing happens to you. They started it first, after all!" Cassius told Lucifer, knowing that Lucifer was in trouble now. He had killed so many students here.


    Lucifer nced at his bracelet as he noticed three red lights. "I doubt you can help me."


    Lucifer touched the bracelet, making it also decay. Soon, the Limiter waspletely destroyed, and Lucifer¡¯s hands were freed.


    "I can! I¡¯ll make sure you don¡¯t get any big punishment! I went through something simr! It¡¯s self defense. Don¡¯t give up and tell me what happened?" Cassius asked.


    Lucifer opened his lips to say something when the door opened again.


    "Alright, who broke the rules this time?" Alexi said, barging inside.


    "Alex, you?" He soon noticed Alex and Cassius standing near each other.


    But he also noticed that Lucifer didn¡¯t have a limiter. Moreover, he was flying above the ground.


    But what truly shocked him were the other limiters that were lying on the ground, near what seemed like ashes.


    "Goodbye, Cassius," Lucifer said softly as he noticed Alexi.


    "Teacher Alexi, tell the other teachers thanks from me. I¡¯ll never forget their help!" Lucifer told Alexi before he flew up.


    As he reached the roof, he used his entire strength to break the roof before he left the Academy.


    Alexi was left confused. What was happening here?


    "Cassius, tell me what happened here!" Alexi asked Cassius.


    "Nothing happened. Some people got what they deserved. That¡¯s all," Cassius answered as he nced at the ash before he started leaving the arena, wondering where Lucifer would be now.


    Just what was his story? Why did he look like he was sad? His eyes were filled with pain and grief,pletely unlike the eyes of Lucifer he knew.


    ¡¯ I need to meet him again. I need to understand. He¡¯s my friend, and I need to be with him in the time of need. That¡¯s what he would have done too,¡¯ Cassius thought.


    ...


    In a faraway ce from the city, Grandpa Chi was standing, staring at the rising sun. It was a new day, and he had juste here. He was going to take another long trip inside the vast sea.


    "It looks so peaceful today. I¡¯ve never seen the sea this silent," the old man muttered as he started stepping towards the sea.


    He didn¡¯t know that a young man had justnded behind him.


    Lucifer hade flying from the Academy of Gifted Variants to straight here, to meet the old man.


    There was even some blood on his uniform, clearly visible.


    Lucifer stood inplete silence as he watched the old man advance towards the sea. His fists were clenched as his expressions seemed unreadable.


    After a long silence, just when the old man was one step away from the sea, Lucifer opened his lips as he spoke his first few words.


    "You lied to me!" he said.


    "Huh?"


    Hearing the familiar voice, the old man was surprised.


    "Alex, how did youe here?" The old man asked, surprised as he turned back. "The academy let you leave?"


    "Lucifer!¡¯ Lucifer answered, yelling.


    "What?" The old man asked, not understanding.


    "My name! It¡¯s Lucifer, not Alex! The life you gave me! That happiness you gave me, the family you gave me, it was all fake!" Lucifer said, almost at the edge of screaming.


    "So you remembered," the old man said as he sighed.


    "Alex, oh sorry. It¡¯s Lucifer now," The old man said.


    "I¡¯m sure you will also understand that I had no other choice. You weren¡¯t in any condition to hear the truth. I did what I thought was best for everyone. Because any alternative would have been worse for your mind."


    "But I also want to say one more thing. That happiness I gave you, the family I gave you, it wasn¡¯t fake at all. It was all real because I never saw you as a fake family."


    "In fact, after all this time, I had even forgotten that you weren¡¯t my real grandson," Grandpa Chi told Lucifer, sighing.


    The old man soon noticed the blood on the clothes of Lucifer. He couldn¡¯t help but ask, "Whose blood is that on your clothes?"


    He wondered if Lucifer had killed someone because he really looked angry but not hurt at all.


    "You have no right to know that now," Lucifer replied.


    "I have no right? Am I not your grandfather anymore? You¡¯re lying. You and I will always be family," the old man said. "So tell me, whose blood is that!"


    "You¡¯re wrong. I have no family!" Lucifer retorted.


    "Then prove it! If you really feel nothing, then kill me for lying to you," the old man said, spreading his arms as if he was waiting. "Kill me and finish this story. I¡¯m sure you can do that easily with your hands."


    He had already noticed that Lucifer wasn¡¯t wearing his gloves either.


    "If that¡¯s what you want," Lucifer let out as he started walking towards the old man.


    Within seconds, he was standing just a single step away from the old man.


    "Your eyes... They are filled with sadness. You know, I¡¯ll always be your Grandfather just like you¡¯ll always be my Grandson! Tell me your past! What had happened to you?" Grandpa Chi said, seemingly concerned for Lucifer.


    "Who had hurt you? You either let me in, or you kill me. You only have two choices, young man," he continued.


    "You¡¯re overestimating yourself. I¡¯m nothing but a monster. I can kill anyone," Lucifer said as he reached out his hand towards the old man¡¯s face.


    The old man didn¡¯t look scared even though he knew that he¡¯d die if Lucifer touched him. But it seemed like he had faith in his grandson and the bond.

 Chapter 224 - 224: Dark Wizard

    <h4>Chapter 224 - 224: Dark Wizard </h4>


    Just as he had expected, Lucifer¡¯s fingers stopped before touching the old man¡¯s calm face.


    Lucifer turned back and started walking away inplete silence.


    "No matter what. You saved my life. Even though I don¡¯t care for you, I won¡¯t kill you. Even though the family you gave me was nothing but a mirage, it is still a precious memory for me."


    " I got to grow up with the life I wanted. A happy life, far away from all the pain. Even though it was a lie, it was a lie that I didn¡¯t mind. So I¡¯ll let you live. But this will be thest you see or hear from me. This is where our rtionship ends!"


    "From now, you don¡¯t know me! And I don¡¯t know you. We¡¯re strangers. And if I ever saw you again, I promise I¡¯ll kill you. So stay away from me and don¡¯t tell anyone you¡¯re rted to me in any way," Lucifer said before he flew away towards the sea.


    He had decided he was going back to Elisium, where he was from.


    Grandpa Chi watched Lucifer leave. He didn¡¯t say anything and just stood there calmly.


    "You¡¯re in pain. I wish I could have helped you. But I also know that you didn¡¯t mean the words you said," Grandpa Chi muttered, sighing.


    "I wonder why you lied to me? Worried that my affiliation with you will get me killed? Or something else?" he further said.


    He soon turned back as he sighed, "Xaen, isn¡¯t that enough of a hiding now? Come out!"


    As Grandpa Chi said, a spatial portal opened in the distance from which a kid came out. But the kid only looked young. In reality, he was much older. He was the Dean of the Academy of Gifted Variants.


    "You¡¯re still as sharp as you were before. As expected of Dark Wizard¡ª the man who ruled over the Dark Variants," Xaen said,ughing.


    "That name... It had been so long since I heard that. But you really should forget that name. I have long forgotten it. Now, I¡¯m only an old man, an average Variant of the Sea," Grandpa Chi answered.


    "An average Variant? Hahahahaha." Hearing the old man¡¯s words, Xaen burst intoughter as he held his stomach.


    "You! An average Variant? You¡¯re getting good at jokes. God, the Strongest Variant of this country, calls himself average now? What will I be then? Below average?" Xaen asked,ughing.


    "I told you, I¡¯m a different man now," Grandpa Chi retorted.


    "I know. You quit everything after you heard that your wife and son had died. Since then, you never used your true gifts. But that doesn¡¯t mean you became ordinary? Your gifts are still inside you. It¡¯s just that you don¡¯t use them," Xaen said.


    "On the inside, you¡¯re still the frightening Warlock known as Dark Wizard!" He further said.


    "Are you here to talk about that? Stop this nonsense and tell me what my Grandson did? How did he end up like that? And whose blood was that?" Grandpa Chi asked Xaen.


    "Well, my dear friend. Your so-called Grandson killed eight of my students."


    "Two of whom were from the Great Holler Family and the Great Franci family. He really made a mess for me this time," Xaen told the old man, sighing.


    "Why would he kill them? They must have done something?" Grandpa Chi asked, frowning.


    "Yeah. From the only witness we have, we heard that they were beating Alex, oh sorry. He¡¯s Lucifer now," Xaen replied. "They were beating Lucifer; he snapped and killed them."


    "That¡¯s why I was after Lucifer to catch him. But by the time I got here, he had already met you. And attacking someone close to you right before your eyes, I don¡¯t have a death wish," he further said as he smiled wryly.


    "Good decision. And not before my eyes, even if you hurt him when I¡¯m not with him, I¡¯ll break your entire academy in half. Remember that," Grandpa Chi warned Xaen as his eyes shone in a mysterious light.


    "I know, I know. That¡¯s why I changed my mind. I let him leave and didn¡¯t stop him," Xaen said, smiling wryly. "Anyway, where do you think he¡¯s going now?"


    "I think he¡¯s going back. Back to his true home to hurt the ones that hurt him," Grandpa Chi answered.


    "Aren¡¯t you worried for him? He¡¯s going alone. What if his enemies kill him?" Xaen asked, frowning. "Don¡¯t you want to go help him?"


    "Worried for him? Why would I be? His enemies should be worried for their lives, though. My grandson ising to kill them," Grandpa Chi said proudly.


    "Hah, you¡¯re really confident in his abilities," Xaen said,ughing. "But I know you all too well. You¡¯ll still go after him, keeping him safe from the shadows, won¡¯t you?"


    The old man didn¡¯t answer Xaen this time and simply looked at the beautiful sun.


    Xaen also stood beside Grandpa Chi as he muttered, "God, I wonder how I¡¯ll exin to the Holler and Franci family about the deaths of their heirs in my academy. Your grandson didn¡¯t even leave their bodies behind."


    "Since when did you start worrying about these small matters? You¡¯ll handle it easily. Don¡¯t worry," Grandpa Chi replied.


    "You don¡¯t understand, old man. You don¡¯t understand!" Xaen let out as he sighed.


    ...


    "Not long before he returns. It has been over seven years already. He would soon be returning as per prediction. I want everyone to be alert. Lucifer should be brought back safely."


    "Our men are spread out everywhere. We won¡¯t miss him."


    As the time of Lucifer¡¯s arrival drew closer, there was amotion in Variant Uprising that wanted to bring Lucifer back. They had be more active as well.


    On the other hand, the APF was also feeling something strange. They had realized that the Variant Uprising was more active. And they were wondering why it was.


    As Varant was back at the helm of APF, he had decided on something too.


    "Instead of fighting with them or making them alert, I want all our men to follow them. I want to know what they¡¯re after," Varantmanded his men.


    He was in a meeting with other high-profile members of APF.


    Knock! Knock!


    "Come on in," Varant let out.


    The door opened as a man stepped inside.


    "What is it?" Varant asked.


    "Sir, Warlock King Szar Lucia is here to meet you," the man answered.


    "That guy, why is he so after Lucifer? It had been over seven years, but he never stopped!" Varant asked, frowning.


    He looked at his man before he said, "Send him in."


    "As for the rest of you, I want you to go out and do as I said. I want to know what¡¯s so important for them," he further said.


    All the men in the meeting stood up and left, except Varant.


    Szar Lucia was brought inside the office of Varant.


    ...


    Lucifer¡¯s return hadn¡¯t even happened, but there was already amotion because of him in the entire country of Elisium. It seemed like there was a silence before the storm that was toe.

 Chapter 225 - 225: Oasis

    <h4>Chapter 225 - 225: Oasis </h4>


    Lucifer was flying above the sea, trying to get back to Elisium. He knew that it was going to be a long trip, but he was ready as he had decided to make stops along the way. As for the food, he didn¡¯t worry.


    He had already learned a lot in the academy, from technology to survival. In fact, he had even finished the courses that were given to the fifth year students in advance.


    He believed he could easily survive with the help of the sea. There were many fishes. Whenever he was hungry, he could use them.


    Also, there were many small inds throughout the sea where he believed he could rest.


    As for the direction, he came fully prepared. He had already kept apass in his pocket. As for the map, when he was in the Academy, he had learned a lot about geography.


    He knew where he needed to go.


    "I would have loved to travel in a ne, but I must be wanted back there. It¡¯s better to go alone," Lucifer said as he flew above the sea.


    Soon, he had started feeling hungry. He went down in the sea, taking a deep dive. It didn¡¯t take long before he came out while holding a fish in each of his hands.


    As for his gloves, they were again back on his hand.


    There also happened to be a small uninhabited ind nearby where Lucifer stopped.


    He lit up the fire and cooked the fish before eating them. As two of them weren¡¯t enough to satiate his hunger, he took another dive before he came back.


    It was only after nine fishes that he felt satisfied.


    He ended the fire before he started rising in the air again.


    He brought thepass out of his pockets. After making sure of the direction, he once again started flying.


    Soon, the day turned to night. Lucifer once again stopped on the next ind where he slept the night.


    Early morning, he again woke up and left the ind.


    He did the same for three days as he traveled and rested. Everything seemed to be going smoothly when something changed.


    The vast yet empty sea surface didn¡¯t look so empty anymore. There was a massive luxury ship that could be seen in the distance.


    "A cruise ship?" Lucifer muttered, surprised. He recognized the ship as a cruise ship.


    He could also see a name on the ship.


    "Oasis? Isn¡¯t that the ship that¡¯s used by the richest and most influential people in the world to take a vacation? Won¡¯t be a bad idea to rest there," he said as he started flying towards the ship.


    It was already near the evening, but no one could be seen on the deck. Flying towards the ship, Lucifernded on the deck.


    He properly patted his clothes as hebed his hair to make him look like a decent yet rich person if someone saw him, but he also knew he needed new clothes. He was still in the Academy uniform.


    He walked towards the lift that brought people to the deck.


    Entering inside the lift, he pressed the button with number two.


    Since it was a famous ship, the blueprint of this ship was avable everywhere, and Lucifer had read about it once as well.


    He knew that there was a room where they kept the clothes of the guests that were cleaned and were to be delivered to them.


    And he was going to that room now.


    Ting!


    The lift stopped at the second floor of the ship before the doors opened.


    Lucifer stepped out calmly with his hands in his pocket. He truly walked like he was a prince who was supposed to be here.


    He had learned this in the Art of Tricks, along with many other things like lying and disguise.


    Surprisingly he didn¡¯t find any people here.


    "Strange. Is this ship empty?" he muttered, frowning.


    He suddenly remembered something.


    "Oh right! It must be their dinner time. That¡¯s right. The guests eat on the third floor while the rest eat on the first floor. That¡¯s why no one is here or on the deck. I guess it¡¯s a lucky day. I came at the perfect time."


    He advanced deeper into the long corridor before he stopped in front of one specific room.


    "This is the ce."


    He tried opening the door only to realize that it was unlocked.


    "Don¡¯t need to break it. That¡¯s good," Lucifer said as he opened the door and stepped inside.


    As he entered the room, he saw clothes hanging everywhere. All of these clothes were dry cleaned.


    He walked through the room, trying to select the best clothes for him before he ultimately stopped.


    There was a ck tuxedo in front of him that seemed to be of his size. A white shirt also happened to be there.


    "Perfect," Lucifer said as he picked the tuxedo.


    He took off his old clothes as he wore the tuxedo above the white shirt. Within minutes, he waspletely ready.


    He didn¡¯t stop there, though. He took off his gloves as he touched the old clothes, destroying any evidence.


    Only after he made sure that he left no evidence of something being amiss here, he left.


    ...


    Lucifer entered the lift again and went to the deck. He didn¡¯t want to eat dinner since he had already eaten.


    On the other hand, he didn¡¯t have a room here either. He didn¡¯t want to hijack the ship. He wanted to be an ordinary passenger.


    In any case, this ship was going to his destination as well. It was a perfect ce to stay.


    Dressed in all ck, Lucifer really looked like a handsome CEO of some richpany who was here on vacation.


    He looked towards the bright moon, wondering about something. The first thing he wanted to do was go to that beach and find what his parents left for him before anything else.


    There was sadness in his eyes, but there was also a smile on his lips as he remembered his memories of thest eight years.


    He held them precious to him. But he couldn¡¯t stay in that fake life forever. He could only appreciate that life from a distance.


    Because if someone knew that Lucifer was Alex, everything was going to go down. His enemies would kidnap that old man to force Lucifer.


    He didn¡¯t want any weakness since the path he was going to walk was going to be filled with bloodshed.


    He needed to make rivers of blood flow to get to his goal, and he was prepared for that.

 Chapter 226 - 226: Warlock Council

    <h4>Chapter 226 - 226: Warlock Council </h4>


    Moreover, he was even more prepared now after the training he received in the academy. He was a master of everything, whether it came to technology, geography, fighting, or other things.


    He had also learned the Art of Tricks. He wasn¡¯t the naive Lucifer from before. Instead, he was what he wanted to be. Now he could be anyone he wanted while also being a cunning enemy.


    While Lucifer was nning to be two steps ahead of others, he heard a sound behind him. It was the sound of the lift opening.


    Curious, he turned back with his back resting against the railing to see who it was.


    As he looked back, he saw a young girl who seemed to be seventeen or eighteen years old.


    The girl had beautiful silver hair, just like Lucifer¡¯s, but hers were longer. Her silky smooth hair came down to her hips.


    Her fair skin shone even more under the beautiful light of the moon. As for her height, she seemed to only be slightly shorter than Lucifer.


    The girl was dressed in a casual ck shoulderless dress that covered down to her knees. There was also a ck ribbon tied on her hair that matched her style.


    As for her neck, she seemed to be wearing a golden pendant like Lucifer was wearing, but her pendant had a red crystal embedded in the center.


    Lucifer acted casual as if he hadn¡¯t infiltrated the ship. He was supposed to be here.


    "I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t know someone was going to be here," the girl told Lucifer. "Did I disturb you at all?"


    "The world is very big. But the numbers of humans aren¡¯t low either. There¡¯s always going to be someone somewhere. You shouldn¡¯t apologize," Lucifer replied calmly.


    "Oh, a philosopher, I see," the girl let out as she smiled. She walked towards Lucifer and stood beside him as she also looked at the sea.


    "I don¡¯t think I saw you here before. And we¡¯ve been on this ship for weeks. I¡¯m surprised how you stayed hidden," the girl said.


    "When ites to you, I can say the same thing, can¡¯t I? I¡¯ve been on this ship for a long time, but I didn¡¯t see you either. I¡¯m surprised how you stayed hidden," Lucifer replied.


    "Haha, fair enough, I guess," the girl let out. "So, where are you going?"


    "I¡¯m going to Dracia on a business trip, you?" Lucifer said, lying. He knew that the ship was going to stop at Dracia Beach next after stopping at Elisium.


    "I¡¯m going to Elisium," the girl answered.


    "Why Elisium?¡¯ Lucifer asked, curious.


    "You can say it¡¯s a business trip as well," the girl answered vaguely.


    "Anyway, it was nice talking to you. Goodnight," she further said before she left.


    Throughout the conversation, none of them asked the name of the other person.


    "Elisium, huh. Wee to Elisium, I guess," Lucifer said, sighing.


    He sat down on the deck as he got tired from standing up. He didn¡¯t even realize when he fell asleep while sitting here.


    It was only in the morning when the rays of the sun fell on his face that he woke up.


    His stomach was growling.


    He stood up as he yawned. He walked downstairs to eat something after he washed his face.


    After entering the dining room, he was amused. Most of the seats were filled already.


    "There¡¯s an empty one," he said as he soon noticed an empty table. He walked there and took the seat.


    "Goodmorning, Sir."


    A waiter soon came to Lucifer as he served the breakfast, which seemed to be an expensive dish.


    "Ah, good morning."


    Just as Lucifer was about to eat, he heard a female voice. He looked up to notice that it was the same girl asst night.


    "Good morning," he also replied.


    "May I sit here?" The girl asked Lucifer respectfully.


    "Sure. Be my guest," Lucifer answered like a proper gentleman.


    From his tone, words, and behavior, not a single person could have guessed that he wasn¡¯t a millionaire. Despite never having enjoyed that much luxury, he seemed to be a natural at it.


    "Thank you," the girl said as she sat down.


    The waiter served her as well.


    "Since it¡¯s our second meeting, may I ask your name?" She asked Lucifer.


    "My name? Lucifer," Lucifer replied calmly. "Yours?"


    "I¡¯m Jenilia. Jenilia Owens. Nice to meet you again," the girl replied.


    "Same here," Lucifer replied.


    As the two of them were eating, a young girl came up to them who seemed to be sixteen or seventeen years old.


    "Miss Jenilia, is that you?" The dark-haired girl asked Jenilia.


    "That¡¯s right," Jenilia replied, smiling.


    "I can¡¯t exin how happy I am to meet you. You¡¯re my idol. I¡¯m so happy. Can I take a pic?" the girl asked again.


    "Sure," Jenilia replied as she smiled. She stood up and let the girl take a selfie with her.


    "Thank you so much. And thank you for keeping us all safe!" The dark-haired girl said before she left.


    "You seem to be quite popr," Lucifer said as he took a sip of water.


    "I guess you can say that. But only in my continent. I¡¯m surprised someone in this ce knew about me," Jenilia replied. "She must be from the same continent as me."


    "You¡¯re famous in your entire continent? What do you do? Actress or something?" Lucifer asked, confused. "And why did that girl thank you for keeping her safe?"


    "Oh, that? No. I¡¯m not an actress. I don¡¯t think I have what it takes," Jenilia replied.


    "I disagree. You certainly have the looks. And you can be an actress after a little training. Anyway, what do you actually do?" Lucifer asked, curious.


    "I¡¯m an Intern Member of the Warlock Council," Jenilia exined.


    "Warlock Council?" Lucifer asked, frowning. "What¡¯s that?"


    "Oh right. You won¡¯t understand. This continent doesn¡¯t have anything like that. But in our continent, we have a Warlock Council which consists of our most talented Warlocks," the girl exined.


    " Each country has one representative in the Warlock Council. Some countries even have two or more depending on their strengths. Their purpose is to keep peace and stop any big conflicts in the continent," she further said.


    "And I¡¯m an intern there. If my performance is good in the next five years, I¡¯ll be a member of the council. Since I¡¯m the youngest intern, I¡¯m somewhat famous, I guess," she continued.


    "Interesting. So you¡¯re a Warlock," Lucifer said softly.


    "That¡¯s right. But you don¡¯t have to worry. We Warlocks are also ordinary people like you for the most part," the girl told Lucifer, thinking that she had intimidated him.


    "So what if we are stronger than you? We won¡¯t harm you. Instead, we¡¯ll keep you safe," she further said.


    Lucifer didn¡¯t know if he shouldugh at her or cry. He had killed so many Warlocks in his time. Why would he be scared of her?

 Chapter 227 - 227: Borrowing

    <h4>Chapter 227 - 227: Borrowing </h4>


    "I suppose I should thank you for keeping us safe in that case," Lucifer replied, amused.


    "Nah. It¡¯s our duty. Don¡¯t worry about it," Jenilia answered proudly.


    "Are you going to Elisium for business rted to the Warlock Council in that case? Or something else?"


    Now that he knew that she was from the Warlock Council, Lucifer was even more intrigued about what she wasing to Elisium for.


    "Well, I guess you can say it¡¯s not an official business. Otherwise, I would have gone by flight. That¡¯s all I can tell at this point since it¡¯s confidential," Jenilia answered.


    "I understand that. You Warlocks have so many responsibilities. You can¡¯t tell an ordinary human about them," Lucifer said, nodding his head.


    "Anyway, I was curious about something. Your Warlock Council. Does it have any Dark Warlocks? Or only righteous ones?" he further asked as he resumed eating.


    "Why would we have evil Warlocks? They¡¯re the whole reason for the disturbance. They are our enemies, and one of the goals of the Warlock Council is to eradicate them as well," Jenilia answered.


    "Interesting. Aren¡¯t you scared of Dark Warlocks? I mean, you are just an intern. Aren¡¯t you intimidated by them? They can kill people easily," Lucifer said.


    "Why would I be scared? I can protect myself," Jenilia replied.


    "That¡¯s good to know. But there¡¯s a saying. A person shouldn¡¯t be overconfident," Lucifer told the girl. I learned that lesson the hard way before. "Be careful in the future. There are some really bad people in the world."


    "Anyway, I¡¯m done here. I¡¯ll take my leave. It was a pleasure eating with you."


    Lucifer gracefully stood up as he cleaned his lips with the tissue. He soon left with one of his hands in his pocket.


    "Intriguing man." Sitting behind, Jenilia kept looking at Lucifer, who was going away.


    Lucifer walked back to the deck, where he sat on a chair as he started rxing. Soon he was going to be in Elisium.


    "This world is a reallyplicated ce. Some people are truly the epitome of evil. While others are just evil, pretending to be nice. But then there are some like Grandpa too. Taking in a stranger, giving him love without any return."


    "My understanding of the world was really iplete. The more I understand, the more I realize howplex it is."


    Sitting on the deck, Lucifer seemed to be talking to himself as he looked at the beautiful sky.


    " Variant Uprising is different. They did things for me, but they also had a goal they wanted me to help in. It wasn¡¯t selfless. As for APF, those bastards are just a bunch of evil people disguised as nice people."


    "But I can¡¯t trust either of them. Variant Uprising says APF killed my parents. APF says it was Uprising. It¡¯s either that one of them is telling a lie or the both of them. It¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll soon get my answers."


    "There¡¯s also my eyes. I need to know about them too," he muttered.


    "This ship should have WiFi, I believe. All I need is aptop, and I can begin my search but then again, why would a rich guy borrowptops?"


    "That¡¯s right. Mine stopped working. I can use that!¡¯


    He suddenly stood up as he thought of an idea.


    He walked back to the dining room.


    Jenilia was still sitting at the same table.


    Walking back to the table, Lucifer sat down.


    "You¡¯re back. Did you not eat properly before? Let me guess, you were intimidated by me and left?" Jenilia asked Lucifer as he sat down, misunderstanding.


    "Not really. Actually I came back because I need your help. Myptop stopped working, and I urgently need one for a few minutes. Do you have one? It won¡¯t take long," Lucifer informed the girl.


    "Sure, it¡¯s in my room. Just give me a minute. I¡¯ll finish, and then you cane with me," Jenilia replied as she resumed eating.


    After a few minutes, she stood up as she said, ¡¯Let¡¯s go."


    She took Lucifer to her room which was on the fourth floor of the ship.


    Inside the room, there was aptop on the bed, but she didn¡¯t open it. Instead, she walked over to the shelf where anotherptop was ced.


    " The problem you had was something I also faced before. That¡¯s why I always carry a spare one. This one is unused. You can use it for as long as you want," Jenilia said, giving theptop to Lucifer.


    "You can return to me in the evening orter," she further said.


    "What¡¯s the password?" Lucifer asked, taking theptop.


    "There¡¯s no password on it. As I said, it¡¯spletely new and doesn¡¯t have any of my data. No need for a password," Jenilia responded.


    "Thanks for the help. I¡¯ll return it soon," Lucifers said to Jenilia as he left the room. He walked towards the lift.


    As soon as the lift opened before Lucifer, a man stepped out of the lift, cursing. "The idiotic staff! They¡¯re thieves!"


    Lucifer didn¡¯t care why the man was cursing, but the man himself stopped before Lucifer, telling him.


    "Same tuxedo!" The man said, looking at Lucifer¡¯s Tuxedo.


    ¡¯Is this the guy whose Tuxedo I stole? Did he catch me?¡¯ Lucifer thought, frowning. The man had simr physiques to Lucifer.


    "My tuxedo was the same! I gave it to them for cleaning, but the staff says they lost it! Don¡¯t give any expensive clothing to them! They¡¯ll lose yours too! They¡¯re a bunch of thieves!" The man further told Lucifer before he left.


    "So he thought it was simr. He was alerting me. Hah."


    Shaking his head, Lucifer stepped inside the lift.


    He walked to the deck again, where only a few people existed, taking the sun.


    Sitting in an isted part of the deck, Lucifer opened theptop and entered the browser.


    He connected to the WiFi of the ship before he searched. "Legend of the Blue and Violet Eyes."


    As he searched, many old articles opened up that were written before Lucifer was even born.


    He went through all the articles, but he didn¡¯t find anything significant. All he understood was that these eyes were going to bring the destruction of the whole world one day.


    As for the other information, there wasn¡¯t any.


    "Did they censor the information? Or was there only this in the first ce?" he wondered as he closed all the tabs. He even cleared the history and made sure to erase all footprints of what he searched.


    "I need to go to the source myself. The guy who released this information. As for his address..."


    He searched the name of the person who was mentioned as the source in all these articles.


    "Roy Gillian. There he is. That¡¯s good. He lives in Elisium too."

 Chapter 228 - 228: Chased By Girls

    <h4>Chapter 228 - 228: Chased By Girls </h4>


    After finding the address of Roy, Lucifer didn¡¯t stop. He also searched for the address of Veracity. He memorized both the addresses.


    Next, he searched about himself. What was the news about him?


    As he searched for Lucifer Azarel, he was surprised.


    "They lied to people? Not surprising, I guess."


    He was amused to see that the search for him was still ongoing, even though at a slow pace. As for the hype around him, it had died down. Only a rare few articles were updated about him every year.


    "I thought they would have at least epted that they killed me. Cowards!"


    He closed the tabs before he cleared all footprints again.


    He disconnected the WiFi and closed theptop as he was done.


    ...


    Lucifer¡¯s time in the ship kept passing as days turned to nights and nights to days.


    Soon, three weeks had passed. He and Jenilia asionally talked to each other, but nothing too deep. Lucifer kept his distance as much as a stranger should. He wasn¡¯t phased by her looks.


    Throughout this time, not a single person had realized that Lucifer wasn¡¯t supposed to be on the ship.


    "Tomorrow, we¡¯ll be in Elisium. That¡¯s where I¡¯ll drop. I guess it¡¯s myst day with you, isn¡¯t it?" Jenilia asked Lucifer, standing on the deck under the moonlight.


    "Possibly," Lucifer answered, still not telling that he also had the same stop.


    "I suppose I should thank you for keeping mepany. You¡¯re not like those shameless rich guys that just keep bugging me. You are more sophisticated. I wish all men were like you," Jenilia said as she smiled.


    "If all men were like me? I don¡¯t think you would want to live in that world," Lucifer replied, sighing. "It would be too dark."


    "What do you mean?" Jenilia asked, confused.


    "Nothing. What I meant was that it was a pleasure traveling with you. Maybe we¡¯ll meet again in the future," Lucifer said, reaching out his hand.


    He and Jenilia shook hands.


    "Can I have your number so I can stay in contact with you?" Jenilia asked, Lucifer


    "I don¡¯t carry a phone," Lucifer replied casually.


    "Ah, strange. How do you handle your business?" Jenilia asked.


    "Myptop. It handles everything," Lucifer answered.


    "Can I have your email then?" Jenilia asked Lucifer.


    "I only have a business email which is shared with my business partners too. I can¡¯t give that to you," Lucifer answered.


    "Geez, you¡¯re so hard to get in contact with. Fine! Here¡¯s my number. If you get a phone in the future, give me a call!" Jenilia said to Lucifer as she gave him her phone number.


    Lucifer didn¡¯t refuse her and kept the piece of paper that had her number in his pocket.


    "If you need my help in the future, you can give me a call too. Or it can be just to say hi. Anyway, I¡¯m done for the day. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day, so I¡¯m going to sleep," Jenilia let out as she stretched her arms, yawning. She left.


    Lucifer kept standing on the deck as he turned to look at the moon.


    "Needing your help? I doubt I would. In fact, it seems like we might as well be enemies with the path I¡¯ll walk on. I won¡¯t have mercy on anyone, though," Lucifer said as he brought the paper out of his pocket.


    "Just don¡¯t stand in my path, and I¡¯ll ignore you. But if you do...."


    He took a nce at the number as he tossed it into the deep sea.


    ...


    The night also passed away as Lucifer slept while sitting on the deck once again.


    Morning soon came, and the Oasis stopped at the port in Elisium.


    "Thank you for everything. Goodbye!"


    Jenilia bid Lucifer goodbye as she got off the ship.


    Lucifer didn¡¯t get off here. He waited on the deck. Only when he made sure that everyone else was gone did he get off the ship.


    With his hands in his pocket, Lucifer walked outside the port. He didn¡¯t have any bag or anything, but he did have a thick wallet.


    Standing on the roads of the city, he stopped a cab.


    "Where to?" The driver asked.


    "Get me to Legion Beach. I heard it¡¯s a beautiful ce."


    The cab driver took Lucifer to Legion Beach, where he asked for money. Lucifer opened the wallet and paid him the money.


    Unlike before, he knew that he needed to pay money for things. That¡¯s why he stole a wallet on the ship in advance.


    As Lucifer walked on the beach, he was surprised. Unlike before, it was pretty crowded this time. Probably because it was the safe season?


    Many people were taking a sunbath in this ce while many beautiful women could be seen in their bikinis, enjoying their time.


    Lucifer was the only person here in his full clothes. Let alone full clothes; he was in a tuxedo at the beach, which attracted a few eyes.


    While the guys wereughing at him, the girls were looking at him, almost fawning over his looks. He not only looked handsome but rich too. Moreover, he seemed to be alone.


    He walked through the beach, trying to see where his father¡¯s gift could be, when many girls approached him to get to know him.


    "Excuse me, young man. We are ying volleyball. Would you like to join us?¡¯


    "I¡¯m alone like you too. How about you join me instead?"


    "No. Come with me. I want to show you something."


    Many girls tried different approaches to get him to talk to them, but Lucifer only found it annoying.


    He looked back at all of them as he said, "I¡¯m gay."


    Finishing up, he continued walking. As he didn¡¯t want any annoyance from girls that were after him because of his looks, he used the lie to deter them.


    As for the girls, they stood in the back with their mouths opened slightly.


    "Why do all handsome guys turn out to be gay? How will I find a cute guy like this?" One of the girls said, sighing.


    Most of the girls started walking back as their hopes were crushed, but a few were still following Lucifer.


    "Wait! I have a few gay friends. Can we be friends too?" One of thedies asked Lucifer.


    "God, not again," Lucifer muttered, frowning.


    He again turned back as he sighed. "Please stop! I¡¯m sent here by my boss! If I do good at work, he might give me another tuxedo like he gifted me this onest time. Don¡¯t disturb."


    "Boss? This tuxedo is gifted to you? You mean you aren¡¯t rich?" The girls asked Lucifer.


    "I¡¯m not. In fact, I¡¯m not even in the middle ss," Lucifer answered.

 Chapter 229 - 229: House Arrest

    <h4>Chapter 229 - 229: House Arrest </h4>


    His second sentence proved to be the final push as the rest of the girls also left, giving Lucifer privacy.


    He could finally work in peace.


    The beach was very big, and Lucifer had no idea where his inheritance could be buried, but he had decided. It didn¡¯t matter how long; he wasn¡¯t going to leave before he found what he was looking for.


    Seven hours passed as he randomly walked on the beach, trying to get a clue: any memory or any link. But there weren¡¯t any rooms on the beach either.


    The only ce where his inheritance could be was under the sand. But it was proving to be more difficult than he imagined.


    "Looks like it¡¯s impossible alone. As long as I don¡¯t know the specific ce, I can¡¯t find it."


    "I wonder if I should try to find a Variant that can find it for me. There are many powers in this world. There should be someone who can help me with this too."


    He decided that instead of searching the whole beach, it was better to search for the man that can help him since it was easier.


    He left the beach and went to a Cyber Cafe where he was allowed to use theputer and inte after paying a little bit of money.


    With the help of the, he tried to find someone who could help him.


    "There it is! Jiang! He can help me. And his house is near the house of Roy. I was going there anyway. I can pick him up on my way back."


    As Lucifer got the information, he left the ce. Taking a cab, he decided to go to Roy¡¯s house.


    The cab stopped near the mansion of Roy, which seemed to be surrounded by guards.


    The guards seemed to have weapons as well.


    Lucifer paid for the cab before leaving as he walked towards the mansion.


    He stopped at the entrance of the big mansion.


    " Who are you? What do you need?" the guards asked Lucifer.


    "I want to meet Mr. Roy. Can you please let me in?" Lucifer asked.


    "Don¡¯t you know? He had been under house arrest for decades. No one is allowed to meet him," the guard sharply informed Lucifer.


    "Ah, I see. So you aren¡¯t the guards who are here to keep him safe. You¡¯re the guards that are here to keep him trapped and away from others. Even though I don¡¯t know why you would do that, it makes things easier for me," Lucifer said, smirking.


    He took off his ck gloves and kept them in his pocket.


    The guards frowned, looking at Lucifer, but they soon understood everything as they watched Lucifer jump over the gates.


    The guards raised their guns to attack, but that also proved to be useless as before they could even fire, a bunch of lightning bolts prated through their skulls, dropping them to the ground.


    "Can¡¯t let my clothes get dirty again. Had enough of that in childhood," Lucifer muttered as he patted his tuxedo with the back of his hand.


    He walked over to the bodies and decayed all of them with his bare hands. He had learned, and he wasn¡¯t going to leave any bodies behind as long as he wasn¡¯t pressed for time here.


    After destroying all the bodies, he again wore his gloves as he walked towards the mansion with his hands in his pocket.


    From his face, not a single person could have imagined what he had done. He seemed like a confident businessman that was here on a business deal.


    Ring!


    He pressed the bell as he stood on the wooden doors of the mansion.


    The door didn¡¯t open.


    He pressed the bell again as he waited for one more minute, but the door again didn¡¯t open.


    "I tried to be a gentleman. They can¡¯t me me now," Lucifer said, smiling.


    He raised his right foot without taking his hands out of his pocket and kicked the door.


    Smack!


    The door opened right away, unable to resist Lucifer¡¯s strength.


    Calmly, Lucifer walked inside.


    The mansion was so big that it looked no less than a pce. It was also brightly lit on the inside and properly decorated.


    "Even though he¡¯s in house arrest, this guy seems to be living in full luxury," Lucifermented as he shook his head.


    He started searching for Roy in most of the rooms. It was only after ten minutes that he finally found him.


    Roy was in his bedroom, sleeping peacefully.


    Folding his arms, Lucifer stood in the room with his back supported against the wall.


    "Wake up, big guy," Lucifer said calmly. But the man didn¡¯t wake up.


    Lucifer stepped closer to the bed. Bringing his lips close to the man¡¯s ears, he yelled as loud as he could, "Wake up!"


    "Huh! What! Earthquake?"


    The man hastily stood up as he heard the yell. As he was still half asleep, he thought there was an earthquake.


    "There¡¯s no earthquake yet. But if you don¡¯t answer me, there will soon be one. And it¡¯ll be one you can¡¯t afford to face," Lucifer said calmly as he again stepped back.


    The chubby man rubbed his sleepy eyes as he heard a voice. He looked to his left to find Lucifer standing there.


    "Who are you? How did you get in? Did Varant and the others allow you toe in? Is my house arrest removed?" The chubby man asked, looking at Lucifer.


    "Varant put you on house arrest?" Lucifer asked, frowning.


    "Don¡¯t act as if you don¡¯t know. He, Zeiss, they were all involved. All because I broke one promise and told others a little bit about the eyes," Roy let out, sighing.


    "God, I was really an idiot. I should have kept my silence. If I had, I wouldn¡¯t be on house arrest for decades."


    "Interesting. Anyway, that¡¯s what I¡¯m here for. I want to hear more about the eyes. What did you see that day? And what everyone wants to keep secret. That¡¯s why I came here. If you tell me the truth, you¡¯ll get your freedom," Lucifer told Roy calmly.


    "You really don¡¯t know?" Roy asked, frowning.


    Lucifer shook his head. "I don¡¯t know."


    As the room was slightly dark, the man couldn¡¯t see Lucifer¡¯s face or his eyes clearly.


    "Wait. Is it a test? To see if I keep my silence now? Don¡¯t worry! Tell them that I learned my lesson. I won¡¯t tell anyone!" Roy let out firmly.


    "I don¡¯t care about your lesson. I want the answers. Tell me everything about that day. I promise you¡¯ll be free of house arrest then," Lucifer said firmly.


    The chubby man thought for a little while before he agreed. "I¡¯ll tell you then. I¡¯ll tell you the whole thing."

 Chapter 230 - 230: Unbreakable

    <h4>Chapter 230 - 230: Unbreakable </h4>


    "That¡¯s better. Tell me everything about that day," Lucifer said.


    Roy took a deep break as he sighed. "The dark day where it all happened. I guess we were really lucky that day to stop everything. Or we might all be dead."


    He opened his lips as he started exining what had happened.


    "Dungeon Dwellers hade out of their Dungeons. There was death and destruction all around the world. I believe no country was safe as people died in droves."


    "That¡¯s where the Variants fought bravely and tried to defeat the monsters."


    "We even seeded up to some extent as we reached what seems like themanding monster of the Dungeon Dwellers. Six of us faced him..."


    As Roy kept talking about it, Lucifer felt like he was present there, experiencing everything himself.


    ...


    "You can never stop the inevitable."


    Dark clouds were spread all over the sky while a red mist could be seen in the atmosphere. The mist even seemed a bit like blood.


    A strange winged creature was lying on the ground. The creature didn¡¯t look the least bit like a human. Instead, he had eagle-like wings along with a body that was covered entirely in fur.


    There was a hole in the chest of the man, and six people were standing around him.


    The six people seemed to be none other than Zale Azarel, risse, Zeiss, Raia, Varant, and one more man who appeared to be a bit chubby.


    Except for the chubby man who was looking at the strange creature, every other person was looking at the sky.


    Seven strange stones were floating in the sky close to each other. Thunder was cracking everywhere, and it even seemed like spatial discement was taking ce around the stones.


    As the stones got more and more in harmony, a portal started opening in the distance, albeit extremely slowly.


    Through the portal, Zale and the others could see what seemed like eyes: one blue and one violet. As the portal was so small, the face these eyes belonged to couldn¡¯t be seen properly, but the portal was only getting bigger exceptionally slowly.


    "I don¡¯t know what¡¯s behind that portal, but I don¡¯t think that¡¯s good news for us. We need to stop that portal from fully opening," Varant said grimly as he looked at the portal.


    "I have an idea," Raia chimed in. "Look at those stones. All of this destruction and death was to make those stones. And only after they came together did the portal start opening."


    "Raia is right. We need to destroy those stones," Zeiss agreed as he squinted his eyes.


    He nced at Zale before he asked, "Zale, can your lightning do it?"


    "I can try," Zale responded as he raised his finger slightly.


    Heavy thundering sound was heard that echoed everywhere as a powerful yet majestic looking thunderbolt fell from the sky like a spear of Zeus, striking the seven stones.


    The blinding light forced most of them to close their eyes which they opened once everything returned to normal.


    As everyone opened their eyes, they found the stones intact. Nothing had happened to them, and they weren¡¯t destroyed.


    "I don¡¯t think I can destroy them. Let me try using my strength," Zale said as he smacked his foot on the ground, which helped him jump extremely high.


    Even though he couldn¡¯t fly, he used this trick often. As soon as he reached the stones, he grabbed two of them before he started falling again.


    He soonnded on the ground with two of the seven stones in his hands.


    "I¡¯m going to do it. Be careful," Zale said as he spread his arms, each of which contained a stone. He suddenly smacked both the stones with each other while keeping them in his hands.


    Tuck!


    A heavy metallic-sounding noise spread everywhere, even numbing the ears of a few of them momentarily, but the stones still seemed to be unaffected.


    "Alright, these stones seem unbreakable," Zale muttered, frowning. "risse, try your Decay. Maybe that will work?"


    He tossed the stones to risse, who caught them. She wasn¡¯t wearing any gloves at the moment as she had been fighting. So as soon as she caught the stones, her decay should have started acting up, but that didn¡¯t happen either.


    The stones remained as they were even when they were in her hands.


    "It doesn¡¯t work either. The stones certainly aren¡¯t normal," risse replied.


    "Let me try," Zeiss chimed in as he reached out his hand.


    risse carefully gave the stones to Zeiss, making sure she didn¡¯t touch him. As the stonesnded in Zeiss¡¯ hands, he also started using his abilities.


    "These stones... Just what is this mess? My abilities can¡¯t break them either," Zeissmented, frowning.


    Just like that, the stones kept changing hands. From Zeiss, they went to Raia, and from him, they went to Varant.


    Even the chubby man tried it, but it didn¡¯t work.


    It was certain; these stones were literally unbreakable.


    In the distance, the portal continued growing bigger, still slowly. It was as big as the face of humans now. Moreover, it was finally showing more than eyes.


    Through the portal, Zale and others could now see who those eyes belonged to.


    ....


    "Give me the stone," Zale suddenly said to the chubby man who was holding onto them.


    Without asking many questions, the man returned the stones to Zale.


    "Do you have a way to break them?" Zeiss asked Zale, curious.


    "I don¡¯t; that¡¯s why I¡¯ll just..."


    Zale said something but didn¡¯t finish his sentence as he moved the bnce of his body slightly back with one of the two stones in his right arm. He was going to use his entire strength, it seemed.


    Everyone looked at Zale, wondering what he was going to do when he finally moved.


    Zale used all his strength to toss the stone into the distant horizon.


    The stones seemed to fly away like a rocket before ultimately disappearing into the sky.


    "You idiot! What did you do?"


    As Zale threw away one of the stones, Raia furiously scolded Zale.


    Seeing Zale¡¯s actions, the mouth of the chubby man opened slightly. As for the others, they also looked at Zale in shock, wondering if he was an idiot.


    "We needed to destroy the stones to stop the portal, not throw them. How can we find that stone again, let alone think about breaking it?" Raia asked. "It¡¯s final. It¡¯s impossible now."


    "Find the stones? It could very well have fallen in other countries or even dessert. We can never find it without putting in years of work!"

 Chapter 231 - 231: Inhuman

    <h4>Chapter 231 - 231: Inhuman </h4>


    "And we don¡¯t have that much time. The portal willpletely open in half an hour, I think," Varant chimed in, frowning. "Get ready for the battle of your lives."


    "Ah, G-guys. It was already impossible to break the stones. So the opening of the Portal was inevitable. I think we shouldn¡¯t fight amongst ourselves. We need to be united," the chubby man also expressed his thoughts.


    "No, wait, look at the portal! Zale was right to throw that stone, I think," risse suddenly said as she pointed towards the portal.


    Everyone looked at the portal and observed it, to notice that something was different.


    "You¡¯re right. The Portal is opening even slower now. Why?" Zeissmented.


    "I get it. So that¡¯s the secret," Varant suddenly said as his eyes lit up. "Zale actually did the right thing."


    "I still don¡¯t understand. What are you saying?" The chubby man asked, frowning.


    "It is simple. The Dungeon Dwellers killed millions of people all around the world. And we also know why. It was to create these seven stones that work like a summoning essory to whoever that thing is," Varant said, pointing towards the portal.


    "That¡¯s right." Zale finally opened his mouth. "These seven stones came into form in different parts of the world, but the Dungeon Dwellers traveled with them until they all met in a single ce."


    "That ce coincidentally happened to be Elisium. The stones are important but their distance too," he further said. "The close proximity of the stones is the key."


    "Take the stones far away from each other, and they be useless, it seems. That¡¯s the only way since we can¡¯t destroy them," he continued.


    "That¡¯s right. Zale, throw all the stones in different directions, far away from each other so that they can never be brought together. We don¡¯t have much time to carry them away ourselves. Only you can do it at the moment," Zeiss told Zale, who already seemed to be on the job.


    Zale moved the second stone from his left hand to his right before he tossed it as well, in a different direction.


    He once again jumped and brought two more stones down before he threw them as well.


    As each stone was tossed away, the opening of the portal slowed down even more. In fact, it slowly seemed to be closing as Zale threw the fourth stone.


    After the fifth stone was thrown, the speed of the portal closing fastened even more as if it wasn¡¯t getting sufficient energy to remain open.


    "Sixth should be thest we need to throw. As for the seventh, we can keep it here to know what that thing actually is. All seven stones will be separated and will stay separated for eternity," Varant muttered as he observed the seventh stone in the sky.


    On the other hand, Zale once again called forth his entire strength as he tossed the sixth stone as well.


    As the six stones were thrown away, the seventh stone fell down to the ground, losing its strength.


    Varant walked up to the red stone and picked it up as he nced at the portal.


    Zale and the others also breathed a sigh of relief as the portal was now on the threshold ofpletely closing.


    It was so small that only one eye of the being on the other side could be seen. His deep violet eye was somehow still intimidating, but there seemed to be no expressions in those eyes.


    It didn¡¯t seem like that being was frustrated or angry as the portal was closing.


    As the portal finally closed, the five Warlocks and risse couldn¡¯t help but sit on the ground, tired.


    "Is this finally over? We won?" the chubby man asked.


    "It seems that way. This victory came at a high cost, though. I¡¯m not sure about the number, but it¡¯s highly possible that more than half the poption of this world is gone," Zeiss answered.


    "Don¡¯t forget the Variants that fought at the front lines. Most of them lost their lives. This war was really very expensive for us," Raia responded.


    "All because the monsters from the dungeons came out. We need to make sure that never happens again, at least not at such a massive scale," Varant said as he observed the red stone in his hand.


    "Yeah. We need to investigate why they weren¡¯t able toe out before and why they suddenly came out. We need to understand more about these dungeons and stop this from happening again." Zeiss agreed.


    "By the way, are you going to keep that stone?" he asked Varant.


    "Yeah. I¡¯ll keep it buried somewhere unknown so that no one can find it again," Varant answered. "Do you want to do it instead?"


    "Nah, you can do it," Zeiss answered.


    Raia also didn¡¯t seem interested in the stone. It wasn¡¯t as if it was a treasure. It was just an object that could call a cmity.


    Moreover, it was useless without the other six stones anyway. And no one could find the other six stones since one of the directions Zale threw it at was the ocean. The stone would be buried under the vast ocean by now, he believed.


    "What actually was that creature on the other side of the portal, though? Does anyone have any idea?" The chubby man asked, changing the topic.


    "I only saw his face, but he seemed like a human but not quite. There was something about him that was making me feel like he wasn¡¯t a human but something scary," he further added.


    "I had the same feeling. He certainly wasn¡¯t human," Raia agreed.


    "So what should we call him then? Alien? Monster? He can¡¯t be a dungeon dweller since he doesn¡¯t live in a dungeon," the chubby man asked again.


    Varant remembered the intimidating eyes. He couldn¡¯t forget that face. He softly said, "He was an Inhuman. He was simr to a human, but he wasn¡¯t human. We will call him Inhuman."


    "Not a bad name," the chubby man agreed. The others didn¡¯tin either since it didn¡¯t matter what his name was. And with this, the name Inhuman was finalized.


    "I pray to god that I never see an Inhuman again," the chubby man muttered as he closed his eyes and started praying.


    "I don¡¯t think we will. But if we meet an Inhuman again, it would be no less than the fight for the survival of our home," Varant agreed.


    "I have a suggestion. I don¡¯t want even one of us to tell others about what we saw today. Let¡¯s promise to keep it a secret. People don¡¯t need to know about this or about the stones. The less others know about such a thing, the better," he suggested.

 Chapter 232 - 232: Closed Campus

    <h4>Chapter 232 - 232: Closed Campus </h4>


    "Agreed," Raia and Zeiss said. risse also said yes. As for Zale, he simply nodded.


    ...


    "That¡¯s the promise we made. It was to never tell anyone what we saw. But I identally talked a bit about it. I didn¡¯t talk much, but the little bit I told others spread like wildfire," Roy told Lucifer as he finished.


    "The others thought I wasn¡¯t trustworthy, and they ced me on house arrest. As punishment for breaking the promise we all made," he further said as he sighed.


    "Inhuman? Are you sure that the eyes of that thing were the same as m-, I mean the same as you said?" Lucifer asked, frowning.


    "I¡¯m sure. I don¡¯t think any of us could ever forget those eyes. We are sure those creatures were trying to call forth that thing to this world."


    "And we don¡¯t have to guess what it was for. Since the Dungeon Dwellers killed so many people, how can the master be any different?" Roy said as he felt the fear in his entire body.


    He could still feel the same fear and tingling sensation he felt that day.


    "That¡¯s why we made sure that those stones nevere together. Because the day those eyes appear again will be the day we all probably die," he continued.


    "Now that I told you everything, can I leave?" he asked Lucifer.


    "Is that really all?" Lucifer asked, frowning.


    "That¡¯s all. After that day, nothing like that happened," Roy answered. "At least not to my knowledge.¡¯


    "Alright. You can leave. Leave this ce and go underground. Leave this country if you can. Because if they found you, you¡¯ll end up back here," Lucifer told the man as he started leaving.


    " There¡¯s no security outside to make things easier for you," he mentioned before leaving.


    He left just as silently as he came, leaving Roy alive. No matter what, this guy was the reason he got the answers he wanted. Also, it didn¡¯t seem like he even knew who he told the answers to.


    After Lucifer left, the chubby man also got off the bed. He grabbed his valuables and his money before he also ran out of the mansion.


    Just as Lucifer had said, there was no security outside. The chubby man had an easier time escaping.


    He didn¡¯t even bother asking questions as to where the security went or who Lucifer was. All he knew was that he got his freedom back.


    ...


    Lucifer had done what he wanted. After this point, he didn¡¯t care what happened to that man. He didn¡¯t even know the person he met was Lucifer, so even if he was caught, it didn¡¯t matter.


    Ignoring the man, Lucifer flew to the different house where he was going to grab the guy to find his treasure.


    ..


    "Dear Students! As you all know, an incident had taken ce in the academy. Because of that, the sses for the rest of the year are canceled. You can all return your Limiters and go home."


    "The sses will begin next year after we investigate this incident and take precautions to make sure that something like this never happens again. Go back to the hotel to take your stuff and submit your Limiters!"


    Standing on the stage, Xaen had just dered to all the students that the sses were canceled. Only a few people knew what had actually happened on campus.


    As for the others, they were unaware that many students had died. All they knew was that something serious must have happened if the academy was being closed temporarily.


    After he finished the deration, Xaen went back to the administrative building where his office was. But he wasn¡¯t going to his office at the moment.


    He was going to the meeting room.


    As Xaen entered the meeting room, he was greeted by twelve people who were waiting for him.


    These twelve people weren¡¯t ordinary people, though. They were all Warlocks and also the heads of the Twelve Great Families of this nation. Five of them were even the teachers here.


    "You kept us waiting for so long!" An old man told Xaen as he frowned.


    "I apologize for the dy. We can start now," Xaen said as he took his seat.


    "There¡¯s nothing to start! All I want is information about the guy who killed my Grandson! He was in his final year while also being the Heir of my Great Holler Family! But he is no more! All because of you!" The old man told Xaen, almost shouting.


    "I sent him to this academy to study, not to die!" He further said angrily.


    "Sir Holler. Please calm down. First of all, we are investigating that matter at the moment," Xaen replied calmly.


    Inside his heart, he was cursing old man Chi. ¡¯Old Man! What child¡¯s y. Because of your grandson, I have to deal with all of them now! God, you¡¯re evil!¡¯


    Xaen didn¡¯t let his thoughts show on his face as he continued, "So I can¡¯t tell you anything more than what we already know. And we already told you all that."


    "As for the whereabouts of that person, we are also trying to find him. As soon as we find him, we¡¯ll tell you. How¡¯s that?"


    ....


    As the meeting with Xaen continued, Cassius was inside his room, packing his stuff. He had already returned his Limiter, and he was ready to leave.


    Taking his bag, he started leaving the campus.


    Just as he was at the exit, he was stopped by two people.


    "Excuse me. Sorry to stop you, but we were hoping you could tell us a few things. I¡¯m Kevin, Alex¡¯s roommate. And he is Jason.¡¯


    "We heard the rumor that people were killed on Campus! And Alex hadn¡¯t returned in a long time too. We wanted to know if Alex had also d-died?" One of the two men asked Cassius.


    "Alex is dead too." Cassius lied without a second thought as he walked past them.


    ¡¯For the world, it¡¯s better if he stays dead. Because all Great Families will be after him, but for me, he¡¯ll always be alive. Don¡¯t worry, big guy; I have a vacation, it seems. I¡¯ming to you soon,¡¯ Cassius thought as he nced at the ring on his finger.


    Cassius stepped out of the hostel as he walked towards the helicopter that was waiting for him.


    ...


    Lucifer reached the house where Jiang lived. Unlike the mansion of Roy, Jiang¡¯s house was pretty ordinary. There was no security either around this house.


    Lucifer knocked on the door only once, and it was opened by a man.

 Chapter 233 - 233: Jiang

    <h4>Chapter 233 - 233: Jiang </h4>


    The man that opened the door seemed to be a man who was in his thirties. He had dark hair that seemed to cover his entire forehead, but they weren¡¯t long. He even seemed like he hadn¡¯t taken a bath in a long time.


    The man was dressed in casual gray pants and a ck full sleeves t-shirt as he red at Luciferzily.


    "Are you Jiang?" Lucifer asked, frowning.


    "Yeah. Who the hell are you?" Jiang asked, rolling his eyes.


    "I¡¯m your father," Lucifer said as he used a single finger to push Jiang inside the room. He also walked inside as he closed the door.


    Thud!


    Even though Lucifer had only used his single finger to push the man inside, he didn¡¯t hold back too much. The man flew back and crashed on the wall.


    Lucifer closed the door as he nced back at the middle-aged man.


    "W-who are you?" The man asked again, but this time his tone sounded more respectful as he had received a taste of Lucifer¡¯s strength.


    "Now that¡¯s the tone I like. That wasn¡¯t tough, was it?" Lucifer asked as he stepped closer to the man.


    "Jiang, the Sorcerer who can find anything. That¡¯s you, right?" He inquired.


    "Cough, That¡¯s right. Are you here to steal something because you also think I must be rich with treasures? Think again. If I were rich, I wouldn¡¯t be living in this crappy house. You won¡¯t find anything," Jiang answered as he stood up.


    "Don¡¯t worry. I know what I want isn¡¯t here. But the person who can help me get to what I want is certainly here," Lucifer replied casually.


    "You want me to find something for you?" Jiang asked, frowning.


    "That¡¯s right," Lucifer responded.


    "I can¡¯t help you," the man answered, shaking his head.


    "If you can¡¯t help me get what I want, I won¡¯t be able to help you in staying alive either. The choice is yours," Lucifer let out, frowning.


    He didn¡¯t seem to be in a hurry as he stood calmly, resting his back against the wall.


    "You don¡¯t understand! If I use my powers again, I¡¯ll be arrested by APF!" Jiang let out firmly.


    "Why would that happen?" Lucifer asked, amused. "Don¡¯t they have anything better to do?"


    "You don¡¯t know. There¡¯s a reason I live in such a bad house despite being able to find treasures," Jiang replied, sighing.


    "What reason?" Lucifer asked, curious.


    "There was a time when I used my powers to the fullest. No one said anything or interfered. It seemed like even APF didn¡¯t care at that point. But then, one day, I found a stone."


    " It was buried deep in the ground. I don¡¯t know what it was, but the entire APF came after me for that stone."


    "I¡¯m lucky I wasn¡¯t shot or imprisoned for life! They only let me leave after I swore to them that I wouldn¡¯t use my powers. If I use it again, I¡¯ll be arrested or shot without any questions asked."


    As Jiang exined, Lucifer was surprised. They did all that for a stone?


    "What color was the stone?" Lucifer asked again, frowning.


    "It was red," Jiang answered.


    "Red stone... One of the seven stones that was kept by Varant was also red. It must be that stone. He probably buried it somewhere where only he could find it, but this guy found that first," Lucifer muttered, losing himself in thought.


    "You¡¯re really lucky they didn¡¯t shoot you. I¡¯m surprised. Since you can find that stone again, it¡¯s surprising they didn¡¯t tie the loose ends," he told Jiang.


    "You¡¯re wrong. I can¡¯t find the stone again. There¡¯s a big misunderstanding about my powers. I can¡¯t find the treasures that I want. It¡¯s mostly a coincidence."


    " When I¡¯m walking on the ground, if there¡¯s something off within two meters of me that isn¡¯t supposed to be there naturally, I sense it. That¡¯s how my gifts work. So I can¡¯t find that stone again unless it¡¯s within a two-meter range of me. That must be why they didn¡¯t kill me," Jiang said, sighing.


    "Interesting. So it¡¯s impossible for you to find that old stone, let alone the other six. That exins why they didn¡¯t kill you. But just to be safe, they told you to never use your powers," Lucifer muttered, understanding everything.


    "That¡¯s right. So I can¡¯t use my powers. Please understand. Spending life in poverty is enough. I don¡¯t want to go to jail at all," Jiang replied.


    "Don¡¯t worry about APF. You don¡¯t know, but they¡¯re my close friends. In fact, I even met Varant. He was so cozy with me; I can never forget. They won¡¯t do anything," Lucifer replied, smiling.


    He stepped closer to Jiang and stopped two steps away from him.


    "But if you still don¡¯t listen to me, you won¡¯t have to wait for APF to kill you," he said as he raised his hand.


    ck lightning could be seen flickering around his hand, under his control. Just being in close proximity to that lightning was giving chills to Jiang. He couldn¡¯t even imagine what it would be like to get hit by one.


    "I-i will help you. But as I told you, I need to be near that treasure or above it to sense it. If you don¡¯t know the ce, we¡¯ll have a hard time," Jiang said, nodding like a parrot.


    "Don¡¯t worry. I know that ce. We just have to walk a little around it, and you¡¯ll find what I¡¯m looking for," Lucifer said as he ced his hands on Jiang¡¯s shoulder.


    "Come, let me take you there."


    Jiang and Lucifer left the worn-out house and walked towards the main road.


    "Don¡¯t you have a car?" Jiang asked as he walked on the roads.


    "I learned everything except driving. So even if I had a car, it¡¯d be useless," Lucifer replied. "So use your phone and call a cab or wait until wee across one."


    "A warlock who doesn¡¯t know how to drive?" Jiang let out, smiling wryly.


    "Oh, don¡¯t misunderstand. I certainly can drive. At least for a few seconds before the car hit a pole or something," Lucifer replied, smiling. "Want to see my driving?"


    "Ah, no! I¡¯ll book a cab instead! Don¡¯t ever drive!" Jiang told Lucifer, worrying for his life. He didn¡¯t want to be in an ident.


    "That¡¯s better."


    Jiang brought his phone out of his pocket and called a cab.


    "That reminds me. I should also have a phone. I¡¯ll buy er. As for a number, I¡¯ll see what I can do," Lucifer said as he remembered that he also might need a phone.


    The cab stopped in front of them. The two of them entered the cab.


    "Where to?¡¯ the cab driver asked Lucifer.


    "Take us to Orion Beach," Lucifer replied.

 Chapter 234 - 234: Treasure Found

    <h4>Chapter 234 - 234: Treasure Found </h4>


    The cab started driving away, taking Lucifer and Jiang to the beach without stopping in the middle.


    The cab dropped the two of them near the beach before leaving.


    "This beach is where your treasure is buried? Don¡¯t tell me I need to trek the entire beach to find it. Please tell me that you know the approximate location?" Jiang asked as he started sweating.


    He couldn¡¯t believe he had to walk the entire beach, again and again. He prayed that Lucifer knew.


    "Well, if I knew the approximate location, why would I need your help?" Lucifer asked, patting the shoulder of Jiang. He had no idea where on the beach it was at all.


    "Let¡¯s get to work. We have a lot of areas to cover. At least there are no annoying people on the beach this time, like in the morning. We will have a way easier time this time.


    "You will get me killed. Making a man walk every spot on the beach after the long journey," Jiang let out, sighing.


    "Well, almost dying of tiredness is better than being zapped like a fly, isn¡¯t it?" Lucifer asked, amused.


    "But don¡¯t worry. If you manage to help me, I¡¯ll also reward you. So get to work," he further said, cing his hands in his pocket.


    "Alright. I¡¯ll try my best. Hopefully, we¡¯ll be lucky, and I end up above that treasure within a minute," Jiang said as he started walking through the beach, staring from where he was standing.


    ....


    "Cassius, may I ask where you¡¯re going?"


    Cassius was standing before his father, who was the Master of the Great Zaini Family. The two of them seemed to be alone, looking at each other inside the Pce of the Zaini Family. Tension seemed to be clear in the air.


    "Father, you know what happened on campus. I don¡¯t want to stay in this country for now. I want to travel the world to calm my head and rx a little before the sses resume," Cassius answered his father.


    "Can¡¯t you do that here? You can rx in the pce? After the heirs of the Holler and Franci family died, I¡¯m worried for you. I can¡¯t let you leave alone," The middle-aged man replied to Cassius.


    "Father, you know I¡¯m not as weak as those people. I can take care of myself. Just let me do this one thing for myself," Cassius told his father, insisting.


    "Which countries are you going to go to?" The middle-aged man asked.


    "I haven¡¯t decided yet. I¡¯ll decide randomly when I book the tickets," Cassius answered. "But I¡¯ll keep you updated."


    "Please, father?" He further asked. "I need it."


    "Fine. But you must call us every day to keep us updated about you and what¡¯s happening with you. If you fail, I¡¯ll send everyone after you to bring you back. Don¡¯t me me then," The middle-aged man let out, giving in to the demands of his dear son in the end.


    "I won¡¯t forget, Father. Thank you so much."


    Cassius walked back to his room and started packing stuff that he believed he might need, including his phone andptop.


    ...


    "There¡¯s something unnatural under me! Dig here!" Jiang suddenly let out after only five minutes of search.


    "So fast. Incredible!"


    Surprised, Lucifer started digging the spot where Jiang was pointing. He also got Jiang on work of digging as he gave him the second shovel he had purchased.


    The digging didn¡¯t take long as Lucifer¡¯s strength helped him dig faster. In fact, there wasn¡¯t even the slightest bit of difficulty.


    Soon, he found the thing buried deep in the ground.


    Lucifer reached out his hand and picked up the item as he looked at Jiang.


    "This?" Lucifer asked.


    Even Jiang was surprised. He also seemed a bit embarrassed.


    " You think this was a treasure?" Lucifer asked, seemingly frustrated as he had an empty can of cold drink in his hand. "This trash is the treasure? You really think?"


    "Ah, I told you already. I can¡¯t find treasures. I can only find unnatural things that are buried in the ground that aren¡¯t supposed to be there," Jiang replied, smiling wryly.


    "People only saw the treasure that I found, but they never saw hundreds of trash items that I had to dig before I got the treasure," he further said. "You can¡¯t me me. I told you about my powers before."


    Lucifer crushed the can before tossing it into the distance.


    "I understand. Continue searching," he said as he realized that it was going to be a longer night than he assumed.


    Three hours... The search continued for three hours, and they found over fifty items already. But none of them were treasures. There were many cans buried under the beach, but there were empty packets of snacks too.


    "Why does it seem like we¡¯re cleaning the beach instead of searching for treasure?" Jiang asked, jokingly. "I¡¯m exhausted. Can we at least rest for an hour?"


    "There¡¯s going to be no rest before I get what I want. Keep searching. If we still try, we can find what I¡¯m looking for before the morning; then you can rx," Lucifer replied.


    " But if we don¡¯t find it, then next night, you¡¯ll have to do the same again. So better pray for good luck tonight instead," he further said.


    The search continued, and four more hours passed, and nothing close to a treasure was at sight. They had found more than a hundred trash items by now.


    Just as Lucifer had promised, he didn¡¯t let Jiang rest. The search continued for the item he was looking for. They had searched half the beach when the sun started rising in the distant horizon.


    People started crowding the beach again, and finally, the search came to a halt.


    Jiang felt like he was going to drop to the ground because he was tired.


    "Come. Let¡¯s eat something. We need the energy to search tonight as well," Lucifer told Jiang as he took him to eat something.


    "You really are evil," Jiang said, sighing. "Searching the entire beach. It¡¯s so hard. We need a team of people. I can keep pointing, and they can keep digging. That¡¯ll be so much easier."


    "Evil? Well, now you¡¯re being nice," Lucifer let out as heughed.


    "Evil is nice?" Jiang asked, stunned.


    "In front of the names I heard when I was just a child, evil sounds like praise," Lucifer replied.


    "Anyway, regarding your idea of a team, it¡¯s not bad at all. Albeit, you¡¯re a bit toote. We¡¯ve already cleared half the beach."


    "We only need the other half. At the same speed asst night, tonight will be the end of our search. No need to drag anyone else," he further said.


    Jiang could only sigh in sadness. He couldn¡¯t help but feel like crying. Why was he dragged into this?


    The two of them went and ate breakfast before they came back to the beach.


    They spent the rest of the day on the beach, and only when it was night did the search begin again.


    After five hours of search and getting hundreds of trash items out again, Lucifer was also starting to feel restless. They had dug almost the entire beach, but they hadn¡¯t found anything special.


    The only thing they found, which wasn¡¯t a can or packet of snacks, was a pink bra that seemed to belong to a big-breasted woman.


    Lucifer didn¡¯t even understand how that thing ended up under the beach.


    "This ce also has something. Let¡¯s dig here," Jiang said again as he pointed to the ground.


    As Lucifer got to digging, Jiang prayed that it was the thing Lucifer was looking for.


    It seemed like his prayer was heard as Lucifer eximed, "Looks like we found it."

 Chapter 235 - 235: The Treasure

    <h4>Chapter 235 - 235: The Treasure </h4>


    "Looks like we found it," Lucifer said softly. He hadn¡¯t even reached that item, but there was a feeling inside him that he had found somewhat familiar.


    He was sure that whatever this was, it was left for him. It must be something from his parents.


    Tuck!


    Soon a metallic sound came as the shovel hit something.


    Carefully, Lucifer cleaned the sand and picked up the things he had found. It seemed like a heavy, rusted metallic box that was made of reinforced iron.


    "Finally, we found it! I can finally rx!¡¯ Jiang said as he sat on the ground, tired. "Can you open it? I want to see what¡¯s so special that we worked so hard for."


    Lucifer also sat down under the moonlight as he observed the heavy box. The metallic box didn¡¯t seem to be too big.


    It was only as long as the length of Lucifer¡¯s arm. As for its height, it seemed to only be fifty centimeters high and half a meter wide.


    There was also a lock on the box.


    "There¡¯s a lock," Lucifer said as he observed the lock.


    "Do you have the key?" Jiang inquired.


    "I don¡¯t need a key," Lucifer replied as he took off his gloves. He gently touched the lock as he watched it deteriorate.


    It didn¡¯t take long before there were no remains of the lock.


    "H-how did you do that? Just how many powers do you have?"


    As Jiang saw another ability of Lucifer, he was stunned. First strength, then thunder, and now this?


    "Let¡¯s just say it this way. I have enough abilities to give you a different death every day, so you aren¡¯t bored," Lucifer replied casually.


    "Ah, N-no need. Didn¡¯t I help you? We¡¯re a team. You can¡¯t kill your team!" Jiang responded, feeling scared.


    "Team, huh?" Lucifer muttered, amused. "Alright then. Now that you said yourself, I won¡¯t let you go back on your words. You¡¯re in my team now."


    ¡¯In any case, I want to find those stones. Let¡¯s see who that guy on the other end of the portal was. Why does he have simr eyes? What¡¯s my rtionship with him? I need answers, and I¡¯ll get them from him,¡¯ he thought as he wore the gloves again.


    He slowly opened the metallic box to see what was inside.


    "Huh? Another pendant?" Lucifer muttered, frowning.


    Inside the box, he found what seemed like a pendant that was the shape of a key.


    "You¡¯re focusing on the pendant, but you should look at the key. For someone to hide the key in the box, this key must be special. Maybe it opens the real treasure?" Jiang chimed in.


    "In any case, the key doesn¡¯t look simple," he further said as he observed the key.


    Lucifer also picked it up as he carefully observed it. He could see that the key was pitch ck. But there were some strange blood-red marks on it that seemed to be alive. The marks seemed to be moving as they were changing ces.


    "You are right. This key seems to be special. A little too special," Lucifer muttered, frowning. "But what does it open? There was no lock on my home like this. And it doesn¡¯t look like the key that¡¯ll open any of the locks I saw."


    " How would I know? This is the treasure you wanted. You should know what it opens and what it doesn¡¯t!" Jiang answered.


    "It would have been so much better if there was a map inside the box too, directing us to the lock. I also want to get to the end of this mystery now," he continued as even he seemed disappointed.


    This key had intrigued him a lot, and he wanted to see what it opened.


    "You don¡¯t have any other clue about this? I mean, you know this thing was on the beach. Where did you get this information from? That ce might have more information. Let¡¯s get in the treasure hunt!" Jiang said excitedly.


    "Where did I get the information from?" Lucifer muttered as he nced towards the sky, feeling a bit down.


    "I got it from my parents. But they are dead," he answered.


    "Ah, I¡¯m so sorry for your loss," Jiang replied apologetically.


    "You don¡¯t have to be sorry. You didn¡¯t do anything. As for the ones that did, I¡¯ll make sure they are more than sorry," Lucifer muttered as he stood up.


    He wore the key pendant in his neck, which already had another pendant that was given to him by the old man.


    He also picked up the heavy metallic box and buried it where he dragged it out from.


    "Then why don¡¯t you search your home? There must be some clue there. I¡¯m sure. I can help too," Jiang said as he also stood up.


    After using his powers, he was feeling a bit adventurous. His courage that was taken by APF wasing back.


    "Hmm? Well, my ns were a bit different, but I guess we can give it a try. This thing is more important for me indeed," Lucifer said, nodding his head.


    "But then again, there¡¯s a good chance that my home would be surrounded by the APF people. So we¡¯ll have to be careful. I don¡¯t want them to know just yet," he further said as he started leaving.


    Jiang chased after Lucifer.


    "What do you mean your home is surrounded by them, and you don¡¯t want them to see you? Didn¡¯t you say you and APF were friends? You even met Varant?" Jiang asked, feeling like something was wrong.


    "Oh that? I was just making an April Fools joke. In reality, he would probably try to kill me at sight. I¡¯m most wanted by them. But then again, he won¡¯t get the chance this time," Lucifer replied without ncing back.


    As Jiang heard Lucifer, his mouth dropped open.


    He was warned by APF to not use his powers, and he was using his powers for the person who was most wanted by them? He wondered if he had just signed his death warrant.


    "Wait a minute. What April Fools? It¡¯s March!" Jiang eximed.


    "Well, advanced April Fools then. Don¡¯t get stuck in the details. We are a team after all," Lucifer let out,ughing.


    "Ah, can I take my application back? I don¡¯t want to be in this suicide squad," Jiang said, concerned about his life.


    "Sure. But just remember, those who join once can only leave when they¡¯re dead. Do you still want to step out?" Lucifer asked, amused.


    "Ah..."


    Jiang didn¡¯t know how to react as he sensed the subtle threat in Lucifer¡¯s words.

 Chapter 236 - 236: Stupid Idea

    <h4>Chapter 236 - 236: Stupid Idea </h4>


    "Don¡¯t worry. I already know your answer. You love life. And don¡¯t you want APF to suffer? You can also see what this key unlocks. We have many adventures ahead of us. And I¡¯m going to need you. So you can¡¯t leave," Lucifer said as he saw Jiang unable to answer.


    "You¡¯re the only one who can help me get to my goals. And I¡¯m the only one who can help you get to riches and freedom," he further told Jiang as he kept walking away.


    "Sigh, looks like we¡¯re stuck together then," Jiang said, frowning.


    "Don¡¯t worry. You aren¡¯t the only one. There will be more," Lucifer muttered as he kept walking.


    "So are we going to your home now? To find clues?" Jiang inquired, curious.


    "Yep. If that¡¯s where I can find the clues, then that¡¯s where we shall go. Moreover, I also want to see my old home again," Lucifer replied.


    "Wait a minute! I have a question! You said that you¡¯re most wanted by the APF. How can you walk so freely now?" Jiang asked as he noticed the w in Lucifer¡¯s story.


    "It¡¯s simple. I¡¯m most wanted by them but only from the outside. On the inside, they know that I¡¯m dead," Lucifer exined. "So it¡¯s just a fake search. In any case, they don¡¯t know how I look now or that I¡¯m even alive."


    "They don¡¯t know what you look like?" Jiang asked.


    "Yep. Last they saw me was almost eight years ago when I was only ten," Lucifer replied casually.


    "Eight years ago? Search for a ten year old kid? I remember now!" Jiang suddenly eximed as he stood still in shock.


    "Are you Lucifer Azarel? The son of Zale Azarel? The one that had joined Variant Uprising? The one who killed thousands of people? The one who sent the Delta Squad leader of APF in aa?"


    He couldn¡¯t believe it! The person who stood before him was the one that had shaken the entire nation in his time! He was a viin for some while he was the hero who was wronged for others! He was back?


    "All of them are me, yeah," Lucifer casually replied. "But I didn¡¯t know about thea thing. So Xander is alive?"


    "That¡¯s right. He has been in aa for close to eight years now." Jiang answered. "Can¡¯t believe I¡¯m standing with you. You know, even I was angry at that time when I knew about everything. There was a wave of support in the public for you at that time."


    "But then you disappeared, and the wave died down as the years passed. The Variant Uprising used that wave to the fullest to recruit Variants. They¡¯re much stronger than they were. If only you hadn¡¯t disappeared, you could have used that support too," he further said.


    "Disappeared? I didn¡¯t disappear. Varant came for me personally and attacked me from the back before he tossed me in the sea. It all happened on the day when my story was released. It¡¯s only now that I recovered and came back," Lucifer exined.


    "What? They had tossed you in the sea to die? Then that search..."


    "That was nothing but a smokescreen, so others don¡¯t know that they already got to me. As you said, there was a wave of support," Lucifer replied. "Probably they didn¡¯t want to look like the bad guys more than they already looked."


    "Why don¡¯t youe before the public? Tell them the truth? Get their support!" Jiang suggested.


    "Well, that¡¯s a stupid idea if I ever heard one. As you said, the support is only temporary. Do you really think people care? In the moment of emotions, they stand up and support something but just as fast, they move on to the next thing," Lucifer exined.


    " Everyone is unreliable. I want to do things my way. I don¡¯t want a crowd and a liability. I instead want a team that I need for the things I¡¯m about to do. You for getting to the stones, Veracity for being my lie detector, and..." Lucifer muttered, but he didn¡¯t finish.


    "Why don¡¯t you take the help of Variant Uprising?" Jiang asked.


    "Because I can¡¯t trust them either. It¡¯s simple. At this point, I can¡¯t trust any of the organizations," Lucifer replied. "So I¡¯ll do things my way."


    "Looks like I¡¯m in deeper sh*t than I thought. But then again, since I¡¯m here, I¡¯ll stick around. Better than being killed by you."


    "Also, because your father was my hero too. He had saved my life once as well. I think this can be a tribute to him," Jiang answered as he agreed to stay in the team.


    "But on one promise," he further said.


    "What promise?" Lucifer asked, curious.


    "Promise me that you won¡¯t use April Fool on me ever again as long as it¡¯s not the first of April!" Jiang said firmly.


    Lucifer nced at Jiang as he burst intoughter. Jiang¡¯s answer was so unorthodox that he couldn¡¯t control himself. It had been a long time since he hadughed so openly.


    "Alright, I¡¯ll think about it," he replied as he controlled hisughter. "By the way, are you calling the cab, or should I hijack a car?"


    "I¡¯ll book a cab," Jiang answered. "But there¡¯s one more thing."


    "The thing is that we can¡¯t always take a cab. We¡¯ll need a car at some point. I know you can¡¯t drive, so I¡¯ll drive. How¡¯s that?"


    "Do you have a car?" Lucifer asked, curious.


    "I¡¯m poor. Do you really think I can afford one?" Jiang asked, rolling his eyes. "When APF had caught me, as punishment and a reminder, they took all the treasures I had collected along with that stone."


    "Alright. I¡¯ll arrange for something then," Lucifer replied. "Veracity should have one. When we drop there, we can take that."


    "Who is this Veracity you keep speaking about? Is that your friend?" Jiang asked as he opened his phone to order a cab.


    "She¡¯s a stranger," Lucifer replied. "For now, at least."


    Jiang casually nodded his head, but it was then when his mind clicked as he remembered something.


    "Wait a minute! Are you talking about that Veracity? The one who can catch all the lies?"


    "Is there any other Veracity in this city?" Lucifer asked, curious. "I need her with me if I want to know the lies and the truths. So she¡¯s a crucial part of the team."


    "That woman is pretty scary. We need to be careful around herter," Jiang reminded Lucifer.


    "Why? What¡¯s scary about her?" Lucifer asked.


    "It is said that she can not only catch lies, but she can even read thoughts as long as the Variant before her isn¡¯t stronger than her," Jiang exined.


    "She can read thoughts? That¡¯s even better then. She¡¯ll be more useful than I thought if it¡¯s true."

 Chapter 237 - 237: They Broke My Trust

    <h4>Chapter 237 - 237: They Broke My Trust </h4>


    Lucifer and Jiang took a cab which started taking them to the residential area where Lucifer used to live.


    The drive back was long as they needed to travel through cities. They even changed a few cabs as they continued traveling.


    It was only after a few days that they reached the Legion City where Lucifer¡¯s home was.


    "That¡¯s right. You can drop us here. Our home isn¡¯t far," Lucifer told the Cab driver as he stopped him at the entrance of the city. He didn¡¯t want him to drop them at the exact ce.


    Lucifer and Jiang stepped out of the car and paid the driver before they started walking away.


    "You know, going through a flight would have been easier," Jiang told Lucifer, tired of all the traveling.


    "That¡¯s right. But that would be dangerous too since I¡¯m going to need a passport," Lucifer replied, frowning.


    "You don¡¯t have a passport?¡¯ Jiang asked, confused.


    "Where do you think I¡¯ll get one from?" Lucifer asked, rolling his eyes.


    "So we¡¯ll have to drive everywhere?" Jiang asked, confused. "How about we get a fake one then?"


    "We¡¯ll talk about itter," Lucifer replied casually.


    Jiang and Lucifer kept walking. It was also the point when the two of them started getting hungry. Jiang¡¯s stomach was the first one to growl though.


    "Can we at least stop somewhere to eat now? Look, there¡¯s a restaurant right there!" He asked as he rubbed his stomach.


    Lucifer looked in the direction where Jiang was pointing in. He was able to see a restaurant, but this also brought back so many memories.


    It was the restaurant where he had killed people. He could still feel the turmoil of emotions he was going through that day.


    "It¡¯s still running. I¡¯m surprised," Lucifer muttered. "Come, let¡¯s eat there."


    With his hands in his pocket, Lucifer walked to the restaurant. Jiang opened the doors for him, and they both entered inside.


    When Lucifer entered the restaurant, he noticed that there were two portraits on the walls that belonged to the couple that Lucifer had killed on that dark day.


    Now that he knew better, he understood that there were a few things he could have handled better. But he couldn¡¯t change the clock now.


    There was a young man on the counter who seemed to be in his early twenties. The dark-haired man had simrities to the man in the portrait.


    Lucifer and Jiang sat at the table, and the man came to them with the menu.


    He gave them two menus as he started waiting for their orders.


    "I¡¯ll have a Mistic Soup along with some fresh pancakes," Jiang ordered right away.


    As for Lucifer, he didn¡¯t order. Instead, he kept looking at the portrait on the wall.


    "May I ask who the people in those portraits are?" he asked the dark-haired man.


    "They are my parents. They were killed by some criminal eight years ago along with other people in this restaurant. I handle the restaurant now," the young man answered.


    "Oh? There was a massacre here? Were you not here at that time?" Lucifer asked, curious.


    "I was in a hostel, studying. I found out muchter. Anyway, enough of the sad talk. Please order whatever you like," the dark-haired man let out, changing the topic.


    "I¡¯ll have what he¡¯s having," Lucifer let out casually.


    The young man went back and told the order to his wife, who was the chef here.


    Sitting with Lucifer, Jiang could understand a few things.


    "Were you the one that..."


    Lucifer didn¡¯t say anything and simply nodded his head.


    "Did they do something wrong to upset you?" Jiang asked, curious.


    "They broke my trust," Lucifer replied calmly.


    He casually nced at Jiang as he continued, "No matter how bad I feel for anyone. If someone betrayed my trust, I¡¯d still kill them. And I¡¯ll kill them ruthlessly. You may treat it as a warning for you."


    "G-got it," Jiang let out, smiling wryly.


    The dark-haired man brought the soup and the pancakes for the both of them after a short time.


    As Lucifer nced at the soup, he was surprised. This was the same soup that this guy¡¯s mother had given him when he was a kid.


    ¡¯How she was and how she became... That just shows how fast people can change,¡¯ Lucifer thought as he took the spoon and started eating.


    ...


    "Here¡¯s the bill."


    After the two finished eating, the man came with the bill. Lucifer paid for everything and even included a tip before he started leaving.


    He stopped right at the entrance as he nced back.


    After taking onest nce at the portraits, he left.


    ...


    Lucifer and Jiang started walking towards the neighborhood, expecting heavy security. But as they reached there, they were stunned.


    Let alone security; there was literally nothing there. There were no houses or anything. Only rubble and pieces of broken houses could be seen as far as the eyes went.


    Without thinking twice, Lucifer started running towards the spot where his house used to be, only to be greeted with something unrecognizable.


    His house... It wasn¡¯t there.


    "Is that where your house was?" Jiang asked, catching up to Lucifer.


    Lucifer didn¡¯t say anything and just looked at the rubble of his house. The house of his parents... His house... It was destroyed entirely.


    "Let me check what happened here," Jiang said, frowning.


    He brought his phone out and started checking on the.


    "Ah, so that¡¯s what it was. There¡¯s going to be a shoppingplex here. It looks like the government sold thisnd to some builders," Jiang exined, frowning.


    "How can they sell ournd?" Lucifer asked, clenching his fist.


    "I think it¡¯s because they owned thend after your father¡¯s death. I mean, technically, you¡¯re the owner of thisnd, but they took over. I doubt we can do anything at this point," Jiang said, sighing.


    "These people never change their habit of taking from me, do they?" Lucifer asked, frowning. "I don¡¯t care what happens; nothing will be made in thisnd! It¡¯ll stay like this forever, reminding me that my house and my family were taken from me.¡¯


    "How can we stop that thought? The construction will start next week?" Jiang exined, frowning.


    "Is that so? Get me the address of the builder who owns thend now," Lucifer let out as he started walking away. "It¡¯s time I meet him."


    "Are you going to kill him?" Jiang asked, concerned. "He¡¯s a very rich guy and has great security detail. There are security cameras inside his mansion everywhere."

 Chapter 238 - 238: Learned To Be Humans

    <h4>Chapter 238 - 238: Learned To Be Humans </h4>


    "I also heard that he had hired a few Variants to be his guard. Won¡¯t it be bad?" Jiang asked.


    "I don¡¯t care how many people he has. Even if he had Varant guarding him personally, I¡¯d still have gone there," Lucifer replied grimly.


    "What about the clues of the key? Now that your house is gone, do you have any idea where we can find it?" Jiang further asked as he walked behind Lucifer.


    "I doubt we can. It was already hard, and now it¡¯s impossible. I guess this key will never find its lock," Lucifer replied as he nced at his key.


    "Maybe this mystery was never supposed to be solved after my parents died," he further said. "Let it be."


    "You can¡¯t give up now. I want to know what this unlocks. Didn¡¯t your parents have any close friends that could know about this?" Jiang asked, curious.


    "They didn¡¯t," Lucifer answeredzily. "At least I don¡¯t know about them, if any. So even if there were, they must not be that close."


    "Gawd, fine. It looks like it¡¯s a dead end," Jiang let out, finally giving up.


    "Don¡¯t worry. We still have to find many other things that we have no idea where they are like the stones. Everything depends on our luck. Maybe one day we¡¯ll get the lock too," Lucifer replied.


    "Hey, Lucifer. Can I ask you how you¡¯re so chill about it? I mean, you just found your house was destroyed. And you¡¯re still talking casually. It doesn¡¯t seem like you cared for your house from your face." Jiang said to Lucifer after thinking a little.


    "Then again, you¡¯re taking a risk to make sure no building is made there. So it seems you care. So which one is the truth?" He further said.


    "What can I say? I¡¯m not what I was years ago. I learned to fake things all too well now. You can say I¡¯m bing more like the fake humans," Lucifer replied as he smiled.


    "But don¡¯t confuse it. On the inside, I¡¯m trying hard to control myself, so I don¡¯t destroy the entire city today for what was done here," He continued.


    "This..."


    Jiang found it hard to gather his next words after what he heard. The more he knew Lucifer, the more he believed that Lucifer was a ticking time bomb.


    "Did you find that guy¡¯s address?" Lucifer asked Jiang, curious.


    "I did. He doesn¡¯t live in Legion City, though. He lives in West Kensington," Jiang replied.


    "Then what are you waiting for? Get a cab," Lucifer said.


    He brought his hands out of his pockets as he nced at the gloves that looked worn out.


    "When I was young, I had assumed they¡¯d probablyst for a year. I¡¯m amazed that I was wrong by this much. Even after eight years, they¡¯re still barely holding on. But they won¡¯t for a long time; it seems," Lucifer muttered, ncing at the gloves.


    "I can still get a few years from them, though. That should be enough for doing what I want to do," he further said as he shook his head.


    All he knew was that the gloves had a limited lifespan since he had once seen his mother take off the gloves that were almost destroyed by her powers and wear new ones.


    He didn¡¯t know how long her mother had worn the old gloves. So just to be safe, he assumed their lifespan was one year.


    He didn¡¯t know that his mother had worn those gloves since before he was even born. It was only after he was four years old that her gloves failed to work and decayed for the most part. That¡¯s when he saw her change them.


    He still didn¡¯t know how long he could get from the gloves, but it was clear that they were close to the end of their lifespan.


    "I¡¯ll say again. We need a car. We can¡¯t always take a cab. It¡¯s tiring," Jiang pointed out as he booked a cab.


    "I know. I¡¯ll arrange something," Lucifer replied.


    ....


    A big mansion existed in the city of Kensington, which wasn¡¯t far from the Legion City of Lucifer.


    The mansion was surrounded by the guards on every corner. There were also CCTV cameras ced everywhere.


    Two people came to the gates of the mansion.


    One of them seemed to be older. He seemed to have a long white beard, and he was dressed in blue clothes that covered his entire body.


    He also seemed to have wrinkles on his face. As for his eyes, they were deep blue.


    As for the other person with him, he seemed to be a young man who was wearing a cap that covered his head. He also had pitch-ck hair.


    There were reading sses on his eyes that were further being hidden because of his cap.


    He also dressed in a simr uniform to the other man. Strangely enough, there were ck gloves on the hands of the man. He seemed to be carrying something heavy in his bag.


    "May I ask who you are?" The guards asked the men.


    "We¡¯re the plumbers from the Axion Plumbing Company. We were called here to repair a leakage, it seems. You can check with your boss," the older man replied.


    The guards nodded as they called inside the mansion.


    "Sir, Plumbers are here. They say they were called?" The guard asked someone over the phone.


    The guard kept the phone back as he stared at the two men.


    "You can go in," The guard said, opening the door.


    ...


    Three hours ago:


    "Come on. Did we really have to stop in this shop? We just ate," Jiangined to Lucifer as he held packets of chips and other snacks in his hand.


    "You know I get hungry fast. They¡¯ll be good. Just keep them in the bag for the future," Lucifer replied as he stood at a distance from Jiang, who was standing in the line to pay the bill.


    "Come on! Move the line! I¡¯m gettingte! I need to get to the Welling Mansion. The richest guy in the city is waiting for me!"


    Just as Lucifer and Jiang were talking with each other, they heard a sharp voice from behind them.


    Looking behind, they saw a man dressed in blue.


    "Welling Mansion? You mean where the owner of Welling Builders lives?" Jiang asked the man, curious.


    "That¡¯s right. There¡¯s leakage in his mansion. He called ourpany to fix it. I¡¯m assigned to go there. So please be fast and check out so I can leave!" The blue-clothed man replied.


    Jiang looked at Lucifer, who was smiling.

 Chapter 239 - 239: Stupid Mistake

    <h4>Chapter 239 - 239: Stupid Mistake </h4>


    "What¡¯s the hurry? Pleasee with me. I need to talk to you about something," Lucifer said to the man as he ced his hand on the man¡¯s shoulder before leaving the shop.


    Jiang also paid the bill as he left the shop.


    ...


    Lucifer and the others stepped inside the mansion.


    Entering the mansion, Jiang closed the door, locking it firmly.


    "That was easy," he said. "Where do you think his room would be?


    "Probably upstairs. You stand here. Call me if something goes wrong, or you notice someone," Lucifer told Jiang as he flew upstairs.


    "Of course he can fly as well," Jiang let out, rolling his eyes.


    Lucifernded on the upper floor, where he started looking for the owner of the house.


    It didn¡¯t take him long before he ended up in the bedroom of the man.


    Looking around, he heard the sounding from the shower room. Without dying for even a second, he advanced towards the door.


    Raising his foot, he stomped on the door, breaking it.


    As soon as the door was broken, Lucifer stepped inside the bathroom only to find a stunned chubby man who was standing without clothes.


    "Who are you?" The man asked furiously.


    "Joe Welling?" Lucifer asked the man, seemingly curious.


    "How dare you step inside my mansion and break into my room!" The man roared again as he clenched his fist.


    He punched on a red button that was ced in the house.


    As soon as the button was pressed, an rm started ringing in the entire house.


    "Well, I must say. cing an rm even in your bathroom? You¡¯re a really big coward, aren¡¯t you? Well then. It doesn¡¯t matter. I wanted to do things the nice way, but if the world doesn¡¯t want me to, then it¡¯s fine," Lucifer muttered as he sighed.


    "You should worry about yourself, little man! Soon, all the guards of my mansion will be here! You¡¯ll regret barging in my bathroom!¡¯ the man yelled at Lucifer.


    "I don¡¯t like loud voices," Lucifer muttered softly as he caught the finger of the man that was pointing at him.


    Crack!


    "Aaah!"


    Without thinking twice, Lucifer broke the finger of the man.


    Joe was still crying in pain when Lucifer grabbed him by the throat and tossed him outside the bathroom.


    The man dropped to the ground, getting even more hurt


    Lucifer also took off the sses, the cap, and the wig since he didn¡¯t care at this point. He had decided this whole mansion was going to be wiped now. So disguising didn¡¯t matter anymore.


    "I think the nice way isn¡¯t made for me. I shouldn¡¯t have even tried. The hard way is the only way for me," Lucifer said, frowning.


    This was a test for him to see if his old way was better or the civil way was better. And now he had his answer.


    "Lucifer! I can¡¯t hold them back anymore!"


    As Lucifer walked towards Joe, he heard a shouting from nearby. Jiang had barged inside the room.


    "Hahaha, now you¡¯ll see the results of messing with me! You broke my finger? I¡¯ll break all your bones!" Joe said furiously as he startedughing.


    " I think that¡¯s going to stay a dream for you. At least in this lifetime," Lucifer let out as he walked towards the door.


    "Wait! There are people outside with guns! Be careful!" Jiang warned Lucifer, who was leaving.


    Lucifer ignored him as he left, closing the door behind him.


    The sound of firing starteding as if it was raining bullets outside.


    "Hah! Your partner is toast now! Soon, you¡¯ll follow him!" Joe told Jiang as heughed even louder. "I can still let you live if you surrender!¡¯


    Jiang looked at the man as if he was looking at an idiot. The guy who bullied the entire APF... He was going to be toast against some humans? He felt likeughing.


    ...


    Lucifer stepped out of the room as lightning flickered around his arms.


    "He¡¯s a Variant! Kill him!"


    The lightning around Lucifer¡¯s hands made it evident that he was a Variant as the guards raised their guns.


    Unfortunately, before they could even fire, Lucifer gently waved his hand.


    He only made a light wave. No lightning advanced towards the guards or anything. But somehow, that gentle wave caused the heads of the guards to roll on the ground.


    "First time using the Wind des in a battle. Not bad at all," Lucifer muttered as he walked towards the guards whose bodies were lying on the ground.


    These people were only the guards who were inside the mansion, though. The guards that were outside were still trying to barge inside as the main gates were locked.


    Lucifer walked towards the bodies and picked up a machine gun.


    "Not a bad toy," he muttered as he flew downstairs.


    Standing before the door, he started waiting for the door to open while aiming the gun in the direction of the door.


    Thump!


    Thump!


    Thump!


    It was only after hitting the door many times did the guards manage to break the door open, but as soon as the door was opened, they were greeted by the sweet sound of the machine gun that was creating holes all around their bodies.


    It didn¡¯t take long before the rest of the guards were also dead.


    Lucifer tossed the gun to the side as he removed the blue full body jacket to reveal his real clothes that were still spotless.


    "That wasn¡¯t hard. The toys of the humans are really not bad," he muttered as he started walking upstairs again.


    He didn¡¯t even bother cleaning the bodies this time.


    The mansion of Joe Welling was huge, and it was surrounded by a big garden from all sides. It wasn¡¯t as if a passer-by on the road was going to see what was happening here.


    ...


    "The sound of the guns stopped. Your friend must be dead by now," Joe again said to Jiang as he stood up. His face was still pale as he felt the pain from his broken finger.


    The door of the room started opening. While Joe was grinning and confident that these were his guards, Jiang was still a bit suspicious. Even though he had confidence in Lucifer, he was still worried.


    As the door opened, the expressions on the two faces switched. While Jiang was happy now, Joe was horrified.


    "H-how can it be you! How are you not dead?" Joe asked, stepping back. "Not even a single wound on you?"


    "What can I say: bad guys live long while good guys die fast. And who can be worse than me," Lucifer replied, smirking like a devil. "So, where were we?"

 Chapter 240 - 240: Promises Are Made To Be Broken

    <h4>Chapter 240 - 240: Promises Are Made To Be Broken </h4>


    "That¡¯s right. We hadn¡¯t even begun when you pressed the rm. Fortunately, no one will disturb us anymore," Lucifer said as he walked over to the bed.


    cing one leg above the other, he sat infort as he looked at Joe, who seemed to be scared.


    "All your guards are dead. And I can promise you; they didn¡¯t die good deaths. So if you don¡¯t want to be like them, give us what we want," Lucifer said calmly.


    "W-what do you want?" Joe asked, sweating.


    "Nothing much. I just want all your property and everything you own," Lucifer responded.


    "What nonsense is this? You want everything I own? I¡¯ll be poor like this! I¡¯ll have to start begging! How about youpromise and take half?" Joe asked, offering something else.


    "Sure. If I¡¯mpromising on your wealth, you¡¯llpromise with your life too. Let me take your half head, half arms, and half legs too. I¡¯ll leave the other half for you," Lucifer replied sarcastically.


    "Brother, if I were in your ce, I would have given him everything. Life is more important after all," Jiang reminded Joe from behind.


    "Fine! I¡¯ll give you everything you want," Joe answered, giving up. "But how will I do that?"


    "It¡¯s simple. You just need to say that you are tired of this life and that you¡¯re giving all your property to Jiang," Lucifer replied.


    "Say that in front of the whole city, and then you can say that you¡¯re leaving to be a Saint on Mount Fioson. Then you can leave the country. I¡¯ll give you some money for travel," he further exined.


    "Me?" Jiang exined in shock.


    Lucifer was giving all the wealth to him? He couldn¡¯t help but feel emotional. He was going to be so rich now. All because of Lucifer.


    He didn¡¯t realize that Lucifer couldn¡¯t get the property in his name. That¡¯s why he was giving it to Jiang.


    "That¡¯s right. You¡¯ll be the owner of Welling Construction," Lucifer replied. "And all the wealth thates with it."


    He nced back at Joe as he asked, "Do you ept?"


    ....


    "And that¡¯s why I decided to be a Saint and leave this material life. I want to experience the true happiness of life and the true peace. So I¡¯m leaving the business and the city. I¡¯m giving everything to my close friend, Mr. Jiang!"


    Jiang was present in a press conference with Joe, who was doing whatever Lucifer had told him. Many media channels were here.


    Even the city council members were here since this was a big deal. Joe Welling was not only the wealthiest guy in the city, but he was also one of the wealthiest people in the whole country.


    Even Lucifer was present there, in disguise, watching everything.


    He had already warned Joe that if he made a mistake or told the truth to others, a lightning bolt would pass through his head before he could even speak aplete sentence.


    Not a single person here knew that Joe Welling was being forced to do this. No one even knew that his Mansion had suffered an attack and that many of his guards were lying in the form of ashes.


    Awyer was also present there with the proper documents that were going to make Jiang the owner of everything Joe owned.


    "Please sign the ces that I marked," thewyer told Joe.


    Joe took a deep breath as he nced in the distance where Lucifer was standing.


    He wanted to cry. Today he was losing everything he worked hard for, and he couldn¡¯t even make a noise. He didn¡¯t let his pain show on his face as he picked up the pen and started signing the papers.


    "Mr. Jiang, your turn. Sign the papers. After that, you¡¯ll be the owner of everyone Mr. Welling owns," thewyer told Jiang.


    Jiang was so happy at this moment, unlike Joe. It seemed like his luck was great. Without doing anything, he was getting so much money.


    He happily picked up the pen and signed the papers.


    "The transfer is officiallypleted!" Thewyer said, smiling.


    The others also started pping, not knowing that they were pping at Joe¡¯s misfortunes.


    "As you saw just now! Joe Welling! One of the richest in Elisium had just donated all his wealth to his friend who will now take his ce in the list of richest in Elisium!"


    The news channels seemed to be excited at this big change in the country.


    "Mr. Welling! One interview!"


    "Mr. Welling! Only a few questions!"


    The news reporters tried to get an interview with Joe, but he didn¡¯t stop there. He was already warned by Lucifer that he needed to leave right away after the deration.


    Lucifer, Joe, and Jiang, all three of them left the press conference and entered the car, which was being driven by Jiang himself.


    They went back to Welling Mansion.


    ....


    Inside the Welling Mansion, only three people existed¡ª Lucifer, Jiang, and Joe. The first two were looking at thetter.


    "I did all you said. Can I leave now? You promised me? Why are you stopping me now?" Joe asked Lucifer, feeling concerned. What else does this monster need now? He wondered.


    "You want to know another thing that I learned from humans? There¡¯s a saying amongst them," Lucifer said as he nced at the scared eyes of Joe.


    "What saying?" Jiang asked, curious.


    "It¡¯s a pretty fun saying. Something along the lines of Promises are made to be broken," Lucifer replied, shaking his head.


    "Y-you mean you lied? What more do you want from me? You already took everything! I also did everything you said! What more can you need!" Joe yelled, feeling scared.


    "What more do you have other than your life? Of course, I want your life now. I think I understand human tendencies. In fear, you did as I said. But as soon as you leave, you¡¯ll tell the truth and maybe even take the help of APF and others," Lucifer said, smiling.


    "That¡¯s too much of a mess. So the simple solution is that I just kill you. Aren¡¯t I right?" He further asked.


    "N-no! I promise I won¡¯t tell anyone! I swear!" Joe said, stepping back even more.


    "Didn¡¯t I tell you about that saying now? Promises are worth nothing to me anymore," Lucifer said as he stood up.


    He started walking towards Joe as he took off the gloves from his right hand.


    " And you were right about one thing. It¡¯s that you won¡¯t tell anyone about it. You know why?" Lucifer asked as he smirked.


    "Because you won¡¯t be alive to tell anyone!" he said grimly as he ced his hand on Joe¡¯s face.


    "Arghh!"


    That night, a painful scream echoed inside the mansion before it wentpletely silent.

 Chapter 241 - 241: Lock Of The Key

    <h4>Chapter 241 - 241: Lock Of The Key </h4>


    The Welling pce was filled with silence.


    There were only two people in this vast mansion as all the others were killed, including Joe.


    "And that¡¯s the end of it," Lucifer muttered as he walked back to the sofa.


    He calmly nced at Jiang as he asked, "How does it feel to be the richest guy in the city?"


    "It feels amazing. And it¡¯s all because of you. Thank you so much," Jiang replied, grateful to Lucifer.


    "You don¡¯t need to thank me for that. It¡¯lle in handy in the future," Lucifer exined. "Anyway, I think you can afford the best car in the world now. Get the fastest car so we can travel faster on time."


    "Cars? We have private jets now! We don¡¯t need cars!" Jiang let out, excited. He had so much wealth that he could buy everything.


    "I know, but I still want a car. And I want an illegal one that won¡¯t lead back to you. I¡¯m sure you can handle it," Lucifer said, shaking his head.


    "Also, you know that the construction shouldn¡¯t happen in mynd. Take care of that too. Arrange those two things, and then we¡¯ll leave to meet Veracity," He further said as he stood up.


    "I¡¯ll take care of everything," Jiang agreed. "Are you going to sleep now?"


    "Yeah. I haven¡¯t rested properly in a long time. Arrange everything. Tomorrow, I want the car here," Lucifer said as he flew upstairs. He was going to take a bedroom here.


    Unlike being a homeless avenger like before, he was going to make as many safetys as he could. And having one of the wealthiest people in the country under his thumb was a part of his n.


    As Lucifer went to the bedroom, Jiang sat on the sofa.


    "I did tell him that I¡¯m going to handle everything, but I just took over the business. I don¡¯t even have that many contacts."


    "I can stop the ns of construction, but where will I arrange the cars from? I¡¯ll talk to the manager of Welling. Maybe he can give me some ideas."


    Jiang brought his phone out and called the Manager in Welling Construction.


    ...


    Cassius was sitting in the business ss on the ne that was flying towards Elisium.


    His ears were covered with headphones that were ying natural sounds.


    As for his Sword, he was carrying that with him. Since he was a Warlock and belonged to a special family, he was allowed to carry his treasures with him, unlike others.


    Through the windows of the ne, he could see outside. The sky seemed to be covered in dark clouds. It seemed like there was going to be rain soon.


    ...


    Lucifer was lying on the bed, thinking about his future. He had many new goals now, which didn¡¯t stop at Varant.


    His goals were far more significant now, including finding that Inhuman who he was linked to. He needed answers as to how he was rted to that person.


    He also needed to get his hands on the seven stones for that, starting with Varant, who had the red one.


    Then he also wanted to explore the level four dungeon which his parents had entered to see what was actually inside.


    There were so many ns in his head that he believed he needed to adjust them in proper order.


    "I forgot to tell Jiang to get a phone for me too. I¡¯ll do thatter," Lucifer muttered as he closed his eyes.


    He soon fell asleep on the bed of a billionaire, which seemed to be the softest bed he had experienced in a long time.


    As the night started getting deeper, Lucifer fell asleep, unaware of when it actually happened.


    As he slept, he saw a dream again after a long time, but he didn¡¯t believe this was his memory.


    In his dream, he found himself standing before a golden door that had the lock that fit his key.


    He slowly took off the key from his neck and entered it in the lock before he twisted it.


    Click!


    With a clicking sound, the door unlocked.


    Lucifer took a deep breath as he pushed the door open.


    The heavy golden door slowly opened to reveal what was inside.


    As he saw the door open, his face went pale at the sight of what he saw inside.


    The body of his parents was lying on the ground, unmoving. There were holes in their chests.


    There was another person standing near them. As for that person, he was none other than Lucifer himself.


    One of his eyes was bright violet, nothing like it had ever been. There were two hearts in his hand that seemed to belong to his parents.


    Lucifer saw the being that looked like himself. He knew it was a dream, but it seemed so realistic that it was slightly scary.


    The Lucifer look-alike crushed the two hearts that were in his hands before he tossed them away.


    He slowly walked towards Lucifer.


    "Who are you?" Lucifer asked the creature who stopped before him.


    The creature who seemed to be Lucifer didn¡¯t reply. He just gave an evil-looking grin as he inserted his hand in Lucifer¡¯s chest and crushed his heart.


    "Haah!"


    Lucifer woke from his nightmare, realizing that his hand was on his chest where his heart was. He also felt some pain. It didn¡¯t look like it was a dream. He really felt like someone had actually stabbed him.


    His chest was feeling heavy as well.


    He got off the bed as he looked at the clock. It seemed like it was morning already.


    He left the room, but he still hadn¡¯t removed his hand from his chest.


    "Jiang!" Lucifer yelled to call Jiang since he didn¡¯t know which room was his.


    "I¡¯m here!" Jiang eximed as he stepped out of his room.


    He was still in his towel as if he had just stepped out of the shower. As Lucifer was calling him, he didn¡¯t even bother to get dressed properly in hurry.


    "Have you arranged the car?" Lucifer asked, frowning.


    "That¡¯s right. They should be here anytime today. I got us more than one," Jiang exined.


    "That¡¯s good. Finish getting dressed," Lucifer told Jiang as he went downstairs.


    Pushing the door open, he left the Pce to take a short walk outside in the garden to calm his heart.


    Lucifer was taking a walk in the garden when he noticed three sports cars entering the premises of the Welling Estate.


    "The cars... Not bad," Lucifer muttered as he observed the cars that wereing in. They were not only fast, but they also looked sleek and beautiful.

 Chapter 242 - 242: Cassius Returns

    <h4>Chapter 242 - 242: Cassius Returns </h4>


    The cars stopped at the entrance of the Mansion before the drivers stepped out and knocked on the door.


    Lucifer approached the cars at the same time as Jiang opened the door.


    Jiang took the delivery and sent the guys away who left on the bigger vehicle that had been following the sports car.


    "These are our cars. I got them through illegal means, but they¡¯re technically legal. Just that they are registered to belong to a man who doesn¡¯t even exist."


    "So no one can get them linked to us. Not even the guys who delivered," Jiang informed Lucifer, who had just reached there.


    "This is good. Let¡¯s get going then. We need to make a long journey in them," Lucifer said as he touched the beautiful sports car that was standing in the lead.


    "I¡¯m ready. We can leave right now," Jiang agreed as he smiled.


    He didn¡¯t mind being the driver of Lucifer since it already came with so many benefits. And Lucifer was the enemy of APF and the government. Who knew, there might evene a day when he ruled the nation.


    Even though he believed that was tough, he knew that if anyone could do it, then it was Lucifer. Now that he was already on the team, he decided to go a long way.


    Jiang opened the doors of the car and sat in the driver¡¯s seat.


    Lucifer also stepped inside. Jiang turned the car around and started leaving the estate, but the car had only reached the entrance of the Estate grounds when Jiang pressed the brake at the sight of someone blocking the road.


    "What¡¯s he doing here?" Lucifer muttered, frowning.


    He stepped out of the car as he walked towards the handsome looking man who was carrying a heavy sword on his back.


    "I was right. You¡¯re here," the person told Lucifer as he smiled.


    "Cassius... What are you doing here?" Lucifer asked, frowning.


    "Well, apparently, some idiots tried to bully my friend, and they were sent to hell. On that asion, the Academy was shut down for a year," Cassius answered, smiling.


    "Since I was free, I decided to check up on an entirely different friend of mine that certainly had no rtion to those murders," he further said.


    "Come on! Why are you brooding? Where¡¯s the old you who was such a happy looking guy," he continued as he rolled his eyes.


    "This ce is dangerous for you. Leave," Lucifer told Cassius as he turned back and started going back to the car.


    "Oh well. That¡¯s even better. What¡¯s fun without danger?" Cassius replied, smirking. "Also, without that freaking limiter, I can finally let loose."


    Lucifer stopped in his tracks as he nced back. "Are you really not leaving?"


    "Why would I leave? You either keep me with you and let me help you in whatever you¡¯re doing, or I¡¯ll just sit here. In any case, I¡¯m not spending my vacation in that boring ce back home," Cassius firmly said as he made his determination clear.


    "Come on! I came from so far away! Let me join!" He further said.


    "If that¡¯s what you want, then so be it," Lucifer replied as he gave up. It didn¡¯t matter. Cassius should be strong enough to take care of himself.


    "Do you know how to drive?" he asked Cassius.


    "Of course. I learned that long before I joined the academy. You don¡¯t know?" Cassius responded.


    Lucifer didn¡¯t reply as he walked to Jiang.


    "Who is that guy?" Jiang asked, curious.


    "He is... This doesn¡¯t concern you. Give me the keys to the second car. I¡¯ming with him behind you," Lucifer replied as he raised his hand.


    Since the sports cars were two-seaters, three people couldn¡¯t go in one.


    "Ah, sure." Jiang nodded as he gave the keys of the second car to Lucifer.


    "Follow me," Lucifer told Cassius as he walked back to the Mansion.


    Reaching the second car, he gave the keys to Cassius. "Drive behind that car."


    Lucifer and Cassius stepped inside the car, which started following after the car in which Jiang was in.


    And thus, two sports cars raced on the streets of Kensington city.


    There was silence for the first ten minutes as no one said anything. It was only after ten minutes that Lucifer said, "You¡¯re good at it."


    "Thank you. I learned from the best. In fact, you can learn too. I¡¯ll teach you. It¡¯ll only take a few days to learn," Cassius replied.


    "Maybe after we¡¯re back," Lucifer answered.


    "So, where are we going?" Cassius asked Lucifer. Even though he wanted to talk about Lucifer¡¯s past, he believed he needed to tread through that topic carefully.


    "We¡¯re going to meet a woman who I need to help me get to my goals," Lucifer replied. "You¡¯ll know her soon."


    Again silence ensued as no one spoke for a long time.


    Cassius took a deep breath as he sighed. "Now that we are alone, can you tell me about your past? You know everything about my dark past. And you still stuck with me even though no one else did. But I don¡¯t know anything about you."


    "My past?" Lucifer muttered as he smiled. But sadness was clearly hidden behind that smile.


    " You might think that your past was bad, and you did some bad things by identally killing your friends, but I did way more. My hands are covered with the blood of hundreds of people, and I don¡¯t regret it in the least," Lucifer said, smiling.


    "In fact, there will be blood of many more people in themter. No regret and no looking back anymore," he further said as he nced out the window.


    "You know, I also said something simr. I was also down when I told you about myself. But you said that I must have had a reason. I¡¯ll say the same thing. I don¡¯t think you are evil. So what was your reason? And what actually did you do?" Cassius asked, concerned.


    He took a deep breath as he continued, "Please tell me, if you trust me even a little bit..."


    "Have you heard of Zale Azarel?" Lucifer asked calmly.


    Cassius shook his head. "I think I heard that name before. My father mentioned it once. Someone powerful, but I don¡¯t know much else."


    "Was he someone big?" He asked. "I¡¯m sorry, but the ce I¡¯m from is far away from this continent. So I don¡¯t know that much."


    "That¡¯s fine. By the time you were old enough to understand everything, he was already gone. And I doubt your Ind Nation will have him in their libraries. But for the people of this nation and this entire continent, he was a hero," Lucifer exined.


    "In fact, he was the one who stopped thest great war with other Warlocks of this nation. I don¡¯t know if you know that or not. He contributed a lot to humanity. Even his wife did the same," he further said.


    "They stopped the great war? That¡¯s right. I did hear that Elisium contributed a lot to end the war. But there are no details about what actually happened at that time," Cassius said in surprise.


    "I don¡¯t know why that was. If there were details, I¡¯m sure the guy you¡¯re mentioning would be named there. He really sounds like a great guy," he continued.


    "Yeah. He was...." Lucifer muttered.


    "Was?" Cassius asked, frowning.


    "Yeah. And I think I know why the details of thest Great War aren¡¯t mentioned to the general public. The big guys don¡¯t want anyone to know what actually happened. Let alone your nation, it¡¯s the same secrecy here," Lucifer exined.


    "How is he rted to what happened to you?" Cassius asked, confused.


    "Because he was my father," Lucifer said, shocking Cassius.


    "He was your father? The hero of the continent?" Cassius asked, stunned.

 Chapter 243 - 243: Someone Might Die

    <h4>Chapter 243 - 243: Someone Might Die </h4>


    "Yeah. But he died when I was five years old. My mother also died with him. In one day, I became an orphan..." Lucifer continued exining.


    "The agents came and took me to the facility...."


    As time kept passing, Lucifer kept exining what had happened. The more Cassius heard, the more he realized, the childhood of Lucifer was really harsh. Suffering in a facility and even being killed?


    Then being hunted by this so-called APF? And being killed a second time?


    "That¡¯s where Grandpa Chi saved me. I had lost my memories, and that¡¯s why I was living that fake life. It was only recently when I gained back my memories," Lucifer said as he finished the exnation.


    "That really is...."


    Cassius didn¡¯t find any words on how to react. He had imagined that Lucifer went through something terrible to be seen that sad, but to know that it could be this much? It was unexpected.


    "I should really thank your healing. Even after all that, you¡¯re still alive. And now you can take your revenge. I will also join in. And I won¡¯t take no for an answer. That¡¯s final. As a Warlock, it¡¯s my duty to help kill them!" Cassius ultimately said as he expressed his determination to help Lucifer.


    "I won¡¯t die, but you can easily die. Don¡¯t underestimate the enemies," Lucifer warned Cassius.


    "Hah, don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m in it to win it," Cassius said confidently.


    "How did you even find me, though?" Lucifer asked, curious.


    Cassius raised his hand to show the beautiful thing that was on his finger.


    "Ah, this ring..." Lucifer let out, shaking his head. He ced his hand in his pocket to bring out that ring.


    He had thought about throwing that ring before, but he had decided against that. Maybe because he subconsciously wanted to be able to find Cassius in the future, or maybe because this ring was actually a pretty ring.


    And it was one of his first birthday gifts in over twelve years, so it was special.


    This ring and the ne of Grandpa Chi made him feel like he actually wasn¡¯t alone in this world.


    "Did you tell anyone else about me?" Lucifer asked, frowning.


    "I didn¡¯t. Even my father doesn¡¯t know which country I¡¯m in. I¡¯m pretending to be in a different country. I had to take two flights, but it was worth it for my privacy," Cassius replied as he kept his eyes on the road.


    "So, who is this Veracity we are going to? Is she a family friend?" Cassius inquired.


    "Not really. She¡¯s just someone I want to work for me. Her gifts are pretty useful. She can help me see if someone is lying to me or not," Lucifer replied.


    The conversation continued as the two sports cars talked with the winds, going from one city to another without stopping.


    It was only in the next city when they stopped to eat something since Lucifer was hungry.


    The two cars were parked outside the restaurant, which was upied by Lucifer and the others. As for the other seats, they were empty.


    Since their group of three came in the expensive sports car, everyone believed that they were some rich youngsters who were on a road trip. The restaurant provided them with the best of service they could.


    The delicious food was served right away.


    "The taste of this nation is pretty different than what we have. Ours is more exotic; I must say," Cassiusmented as he tasted the food.


    "May I ask where you¡¯re from?" Jiang asked Cassius, still unaware of his identity.


    "Let¡¯s just say I¡¯m from very far away. An ind nation that I doubt you ever heard about," Cassius replied.


    "How do you two know each other then?" Jiang asked, curious.


    "Well, Alex and I... I mean Lucifer and I were in the Variant Academy together where he lived for hisst few years," Cassius exined.


    As for Lucifer, he didn¡¯t have an interest in their conversation. Instead, his eyes were at the ss entrance of the restaurant, where he could see a young kid standing.


    The kid seemed to be only thirteen or fourteen years old. As for his clothes, they were very dirty and even torn in ces. He even seemed a bit malnourished, as if he hadn¡¯t eaten anything in a long time.


    Through the ss door, the kid was looking at Lucifer and the others who were eating delicious food.


    The owner of the restaurant approached the group of Lucifer and introduced himself.


    "I¡¯m Mark Bune, the owner of the restaurant. I heard some VIP people came to our restaurant. I couldn¡¯t help bute personally to greet you. So great sir, Is everything to your liking?" He asked Jiang, who seemed to be the eldest and the guardian of others.


    He also noticed Lucifer looking in a certain direction.


    Mark looked in the direction where Lucifer was looking in and noticed a young orphan standing at the door.


    "Oh god, I¡¯m so sorry! That beggar must be spoiling the atmosphere for you. That beggar alwayses here no matter how many times I kick him away! I¡¯ll be right back!"


    The shop owner walked to the ss door and pushed it open towards the outside, letting the young boy fall.


    "How many times have I told you not toe here! Your presence spoils the mood of our premium establishment! I don¡¯t care if you¡¯re poor or anything! Stay as far away from this ce as you can! Next time I won¡¯t be as kind!" Mark scolded the kid who was lying on the ground, shivering.


    Mark didn¡¯t know, but there was aplex look on Lucifer¡¯s face as he clenched his fist.


    This moment reminded him so much of the moment he had awakened after his death for the first time. He was treated the same way.


    Lucifer left the food as he stood up. He wasn¡¯t pleased at the moment as he advanced towards the shop owner.


    "Oh my, I haven¡¯t seen him so upset before. Why do I feel like someone is going to die?" Jiang muttered, frowning.


    Cassius also noticed that Lucifer was upset. Was it because of the kid? How Mark behaved with the kid, did it upset Lucifer?


    Mark closed the door as he turned back to notice Lucifer standing before him.


    "Ah, sir. Don¡¯t worry. I taught him a lesson. That kid won¡¯t annoy you now. You can be assured," Mark told Lucifer, misunderstanding why he was looking so upset.


    He thought Lucifer was upset because he saw the kid ruin his eating experience.

 Chapter 244 - 244: Quick Death

    <h4>Chapter 244 - 244: Quick Death </h4>


    He had seen this many times. Rich people here were very arrogant, and they didn¡¯t like the presence of beggars. It was a premium ce, after all.


    "Tell me something. You said you wouldn¡¯t be as kind if he came again. What will you do if he did something like this again?¡¯" Lucifer asked, curious.


    "What will I do? Ah, I¡¯ll beat him a little to make sure he understands the lesson once and for all," Mark exined.


    A smirk formed on Lucifer¡¯s face as he heard the answer. Mark didn¡¯t know why but that smirk seemed to be the smirk of a devil. Something was wrong here.


    Lucifer grabbed the cor of Mark as he casually tossed him aside.


    Even though Lucifer hadn¡¯t used much power, the strength he used was enough to make Mark crash on the table.


    "Jiang, bring that kid inside," Lucifer told Jiang as he looked back at him.


    Lucifer, on the other hand, walked towards Mark, who was lying on the ground, groaning in pain.


    Lucifer stopped before the restaurant owner as he looked down at him.


    "Do you have a son?" Lucifer asked, frowning.


    "I-i don¡¯t," Mark answered. "B-but why are you hurting me! What did I do wrong?"


    "You still don¡¯t understand, do you? Let¡¯s y a game. You¡¯ll have to guess what you did wrong. And I¡¯ll break one part of your body for every wrong guess," Lucifer told the man, smiling.


    " The game will continue until all bones of your body are broken. How¡¯s that? Your time starts now. Take your first guess," he further said.


    "Ah, Alex?" Cassius called out from behind as he noticed the cameras.


    Everything was recorded. Lucifer wouldn¡¯t be able to keep his identity a secret if he did something to the shop owner and the cops checked the footage aftering here.


    "Stay out of it at this moment," Lucifer said sharply without looking back. It didn¡¯t matter how much he had learned. His anger was still the same, especially when it came to things like this.


    "So, Mark Bune, what¡¯s your first guess. Tell me. What do you think you did wrong?" Lucifer asked again.


    "Ah, sending the kid away and threatening him?" Mark let out, understanding everything. That¡¯s why Lucifer had sent the man to bring the kid back.


    "Well, that sucks. Right on the first try," Lucifer muttered, shaking his head. He seemed disappointed. "Now, I can¡¯t break your bones one by one."


    "Since you were right, I¡¯ll make it quick and painless," he further said as he stomped on the throat of Mark, crushing it. Mark¡¯s eyes were wide open as he was killed.


    Lucifer took off his right glove as he sat down, touching the face of the man, ultimately destroying his body, leaving no trace behind.


    Standing up, he looked at the other staff of the restaurant as he said, "I don¡¯t care how premium this crappy ce is! If a poor kid wants to eat here, he will be given food without being treated like sh*t. Do you all understand?"


    The staff was so scared that they couldn¡¯t say anything. They simply nodded their heads.


    "That¡¯s better. Go and bring food for him now," Lucifer let out as he threw the man to the ground again. "Also, from now on, you all are the owners of this ce."


    "And remember, if you ever forget my words and I found out, even APF won¡¯t be able to keep you alive always. So decide what¡¯s more precious¡ª money or life."


    After giving them onest threat, Lucifer patted his clothes as he walked back to the table.


    "What are you watching! Get the food prepared for that little angel," one of the staff members snapped as he got the others to hurry the preparation. Their lives were on the lines.


    "Yeah. What were you saying?" Lucifer asked Cassius as he sat back on his seat.


    "I was trying to warn you about the cameras. They recorded everything. Didn¡¯t you want to stay hidden for a little while? This will expose you," Cassius exined.


    "I don¡¯t think you need to worry about that. That footage will be deleted by the time we leave. Also, since there will be no report from here, nothing will matter. And even if people know, what does it matter," Lucifer replied calmly.


    "That will just fasten the inevitable end of theirs," he further said.


    "I brought him!" Jiang let out as he entered the restaurant with the kid who had started leaving previously.


    The kid seemed confused, curious, and also a little bit scared about what had happened.


    "Bring him here," Lucifer told Jiang, who brought the kid to their table.


    The kid was made to sit on the chair as Mark personally came with the delicious food.


    "You can eat. Don¡¯t worry; no one will do anything. From here on, whenever you¡¯re hungry, you cane here. They will feed you," Lucifer said to the kid, smiling like a normal human. He nced back at staff members as he asked, "Won¡¯t you?"


    "We will!" The staff members said firmly. Giving a kid three meals a day was much better than losing his life. Also, Lucifer was right.


    They also knew that they couldn¡¯t inform APF. Lucifer had already told them how useless it was.


    It wasn¡¯t as if they would always guard a small restaurant¡¯s staff. They could always be killed. So giving in to those small demands was better.


    "If there are more kids like you, bring them here as well," Lucifer further told the kid as he resumed eating.


    Cassius was also smiling.


    ¡¯I knew it. Somewhere behind that hard front of Lucifer, Alex is still alive,¡¯ he thought as he also started eating.


    Jiang also joined.


    The three of them didn¡¯t take long before they finished eating.


    "You can bring the bill," Lucifer told the staff as he finished.


    "Ah, N-not at all. How can I take the bill from such great guests? The food is in the house from us," the staff members said, hesitating. After what had happened, they couldn¡¯t dare to ask them for money.


    "Shut up and bring us the bill," Lucifer snapped, frowning. What nonsense was this? When he was poor, everyone needed money for food, and now that he was rich, it was free?


    "Ah, A-alright," one of the staff members said, smiling wryly. He couldn¡¯t understand these people. Were they good guys or bad? They made it so confusing.


    He brought the bill to the table.


    "Jiang, pay the bill. Then go delete all the recordings beforeing back. I¡¯ll wait near the car," Lucifer said as he stood up to leave.


    Lucifer had just stood up when he felt someone holding his finger.


    He slowly nced back to notice that it was the small kid that was holding his finger with his small hands.


    "Do you need something else?" Lucifer asked, frowning.


    The boy shook his head.


    "Then why did you stop me?" Lucifer asked again.


    The boy slowly opened his lips as he said, "Thank you."


    Lucifer looked nkly at the kid, but he didn¡¯t react much.


    "You¡¯re wee, little guy. Now grow up fast and get stronger. This was all I could help you with. Next, you should learn to help yourself," Lucifer said as he freed his hands.


    "The world is too cruel. Without strength, you¡¯ll just be a pawn. So give your all and best of luck," he further said as he rubbed the head of the kid gently.


    Turning around, he left without looking back.


    Cassius also followed behind Lucifer, smiling. Jiang paid the bill. In fact, he even paid extra.


    "Why so much extra?" The staff asked, surprised.


    "Half of that is the tip for you. The other half is for the table that broke because of us. Buy a new and better one," Jiang replied.

 Chapter 245 - 245: Shifted Markings

    <h4>Chapter 245 - 245: Shifted Markings </h4>


    "And take care of the little guy. You¡¯re really lucky to be still alive. Also, take me to the ce where the CCTV footage is stored."


    After that, Jiang made sure to delete all the recordings before he left, leaving no trace behind.


    ...


    The group of three had managed to leave a deep impression on the people inside the restaurant, including the staff and the young kid.


    No one understood if they were good guys or bad, but whatever they were, they managed to leave a deep impression on others.


    ...


    "I¡¯m surprised. I didn¡¯t know the Dark Warlock like you would have left them alive."


    Standing before the cars, Jiang was talking to Lucifer.


    "Don¡¯t misunderstand. I would have certainly killed them all, but I didn¡¯t," Lucifer replied, shaking his head.


    " As I told you, I don¡¯t want the APF on my trail before I find Veracity," He further said. "So I controlled myself."


    "In any case, it was good. Shall we get going now?" Jiang asked.


    "Are you waiting for an invitation? Get to your car," Lucifer replied as he opened the door. Cassius also sat inside.


    Throughout the conversation, no one noticed that Lucifer was actually clenching his fist as if he was resisting something. There was a strange bloodlust inside him from the moment heid his hands on Mark.


    There was a part inside him that wanted him to let loose and destroy everything. But he was controlling himself as he wanted to resist his urges, at least until he understood what was happening with him.


    He hadn¡¯t realized that the strange patterns that were on the key weren¡¯t there anymore. They were instead now on his body as they made an abnormal circr pattern on his back that no one could see because of his shirt.


    The patterns made it seem like some kind of strange ancient marking that was carved with blood.


    The cars started moving again, leaving the city which didn¡¯t know the cmity they had escaped.


    ...


    In the headquarters of APF, Ayn was sitting before Varant alone.


    "How¡¯s Xander now?" Varant asked Ayn. "Any improvements?¡¯


    Ayn shook her head as she sighed. "None. He¡¯s still in thea. I¡¯m not even sure if he¡¯ll ever wake up."


    Varant paused for a moment and didn¡¯t say anything.


    "I have waited for eight years for him to wake up. His seat of the Delta Squad leader had been vacant for so long. We can¡¯t let that happen. I guess it¡¯s time I make a new Delta Squad leader to take over that position," he said after a few moments.


    Ayn didn¡¯t oppose as she knew that it was important for the working of the Delta Squad.


    "I leave the decision to you. Choose any person from your Team that you think can lead Delta Squad effectively. He¡¯ll be in charge," Varant further said to which Ayn nodded.


    "I¡¯ll select one," Ayn said.


    "What¡¯s the update about the Variant Uprising? Any information about why they¡¯re outside?" Varant asked, changing the topic.


    "Our men are keeping an eye on them, but we haven¡¯t interfered in thest three years. They actually haven¡¯t done anything. They just seem to be keeping watch on a neighborhood," Ayn exined.


    "I think we really should arrest them now to interrogate them. Either they¡¯ve gone crazy, or they¡¯re waiting for something. And that wait is already long enough. We can¡¯t keep an eye for decades, waiting for them to do something," she further said.


    "Anything special about that neighborhood?" Varant asked, curious.


    "None at all. It¡¯s the most ordinary neighborhood. The only special thing I can think of is that Veracity lives there," Ayn replied.


    "Alright. That¡¯s it then. Enough waiting. Arrest all Uprising members there. Also, bring Veracity to the headquarters. Whatever it is, we¡¯ll need all of them here to know," Varant said, giving permission.


    "Alright. I¡¯ll personally go then," Ayn said, standing up. She left the room as she prepared to leave for the ce where Lucifer was going too.


    After Ayn left, Varant also stood up as he left his office.


    He walked to the special section of the APF, where they kept the most important prisoners. Except for Varant and a few other members, no one else was allowed inside. No information on this cell ever leaked outside.


    Varant stopped in front of a specific cell where they were keeping a special Variant.


    He used his fingerprint to unlock the door as he stepped inside.


    On the inside, the cell waspletely empty. There was nothing, including a bed to sleep in. Only a toilet was in the corner inside an attached room of the cell.


    A man could be seen sitting on the ground with his back resting against the wall.


    As the man heard the sound of the door opening, he slowly opened his eyes.


    "Varant... You came to meet me again?" The man asked as he smirked.


    "Eight years... You¡¯ve been here for close to eight years, but you haven¡¯t told us anything we wanted to know. I can¡¯t say I didn¡¯t expect this from you. But Caen, you should know something," Varant said, frowning.


    "My patience isn¡¯t eternal. There wille a day when I¡¯ll lose my patience, and you¡¯ll be lying dead at the bottom of the sea like that kid," he further said as he stepped towards Caen.


    "Since you told me something, I¡¯ll tell you something in return too. Varant, you really have an ego problem. And I hate your ego. But I also love it since I know it¡¯ll be your doom one day," Caen replied as he burst intoughter.


    Upset, Varant kicked the face of Caen, who now looked like a handsome blonde man at the moment.


    As the powerful kicknded on Caen¡¯s face, he dropped to the ground as blood came from his mouth.


    "And your big tongue will be your doom one day," Varant said as he raised his right foot.


    Smack!


    Varant used his entire strength as he kicked the right knee of Caen, breaking the bone of his legs.


    Caen didn¡¯t make any pained noise as he clenched his teeth to control himself. He didn¡¯t want to give the satisfaction to Varant.


    Varant didn¡¯t stop there as he kicked the left knee of Caen, breaking it as well.


    "So Caen, let me ask you again. Where is the headquarters of Variant Uprising! Tell me, and you can be free of this torture," Varant said as he folded his arms while looking down at Caen.


    "I don¡¯t trust you. Even if I tell you, you won¡¯t let me leave," Caen replied as he red at Varant with a pale face.

 Chapter 246 - 246: Clash With APF

    <h4>Chapter 246 - 246: sh With APF </h4>


    "You¡¯re wrong. You¡¯re not important to us. I¡¯m definitely going to let you leave. In fact, if you had told me before, you would already be free by now," Varant replied calmly.


    "You promise you¡¯ll let me leave if I tell you?" Caen asked again suspiciously.


    "I promise," Varant repeated, thoughtfully. "So tell me, where is Variant Uprising Headquarters? Where does Raia stay?"


    Caen took a deep breath as he started speaking.


    "The Variable Uprising Headquarters is..."


    Varant seemed pleased as Caen started talking about the headquarters. He started listening carefully.


    "The Variable Uprising Headquarters is..." Caen said before he stopped.


    "It is....? Continue. Don¡¯t stop," Varant insisted.


    "You promise you¡¯ll let me leave, right? No going back?" Caen asked again.


    "I promise!" Varant repeated firmly.


    "Alright. The Variant Uprising Headquarters is... It¡¯s in your mother¡¯s a*s!" Caen said as he burst intoughter again.


    His mouth was still bleeding, and he was still in pain, but it didn¡¯t matter. He was not giving up.


    "You!"


    His tone made Varant even more furious as he grabbed Caen by the hands and broke both his arms, twisting them cruelly.


    "Laugh! Laugh now!" Varant said as he tossed Caen towards the wall, making him crash on the wall.


    "You¡¯ll never learn. But it doesn¡¯t matter. I¡¯lle back again after a few months when your bones heal to break them again."


    " It has only been twelve times that I did it after all. So heal fast like you didst time. I¡¯ll send a doctor to help you," Varant said calmly as he left the room, leaving the unconscious Caen behind.


    " I¡¯ll see how long you can avoid answering me."


    He locked the door again and left.


    ...


    An armored helicopter flew from the top of APF headquarters, advancing towards the house of Veracity. At the same time, two sports cars were also racing towards the house of Veracity.


    Lucifer was sitting in the second car that was going at the speed of three hundred miles per hour on the empty roads.


    He kept his hand outside the window as he felt the winds brush against his hand. He had also taken off his gloves just for this purpose alone.


    Everything seemed to be going smoothly when Cassius suddenly hit the break. The car skidded for a few meters before it actually stopped, right before it could hit Jiang¡¯s car that was stopping ahead.


    "Why did he press the brake so suddenly? Did that guy not know we were behind? We could have been in an ident," Cassius said as he frowned. Opening the door, he stepped outside of the car.


    Lucifer also wore the gloves as he left to see what was happening. Why did Jiang stop the car?


    Lucifer and Cassius walked to Jiang.


    As Lucifer saw what had happened, he didn¡¯t know how to react.


    His lips opened slightly as he muttered, "What the heck is she doing here?"


    "Hey, girl! Are you crazy! Why the hell did you jump off in front of my car! Did you want to be run over?"


    Lucifer could see Jiang arguing with a Silver Haired girl who was none other than Jenilia that Lucifer had met on the boat.


    She wasn¡¯t alone, though. There was a man standing with him who was dressed in the APF uniform.


    Lucifer brought out his sunsses as he wore them, covering his eyes.


    "Come on! My car stopped working in the middle of the road! I need to get to the next city urgently. Can I please get a lift?" Jenilia asked Jiang. She was so immersed in talking that she didn¡¯t notice Lucifer in the distance.


    "That¡¯s the way to ask for a lift? No! That¡¯s the way to go to hell within a minute! God, I¡¯m amazed I didn¡¯t hit you identally," Jiang said furiously. "Step aside. We don¡¯t have time. We need to leave."


    "Miss, I don¡¯t think this method is going to work. Let me take over." The man from the APF said as he stepped forward.


    "Look, I¡¯m from the APF Beta Squad. We need to get some ce urgently, and I¡¯m going to need your car. Hand over your keys and step aside. It¡¯s important," the dark-haired man said as he raised his hand towards Jiang as if asking for a key.


    It seemed less like asking for the lift and more like taking over a car.


    "APF?" Jiang let out, stuttering. He didn¡¯t want any conflict with them, so he was ready to give them a lift, but there was a problem.


    "The car is two seater. I can only give life to one," Jiang said.


    "You are misunderstanding. We aren¡¯t asking for a lift now. We¡¯re asking for your car."


    "Step aside and give us your car. Leave your address with us; we¡¯ll make sure this car gets back to you," The Beta Squad member said arrogantly. It seemed like he wanted to show off before the girl.


    Lucifer seemed upset at this action. He was prepared to interfere as his anger kept rising. He stepped forward, but before he could even do anything, he noticed that Cassius had taken action.


    Cassius stepped in the middle of the Beta Squad Member and Jiang.


    "Is this the new way of begging that I don¡¯t know about?" Cassius asked the dark-haired man who seemed to be in histe twenties.


    "What nonsense! We are from the APF!" The dark-haired man replied furiously.


    "I don¡¯t care if you¡¯re from APF, BPF, or XXX! I just want you to step out of our way. Repair your car if you want to get anywhere. We¡¯re not giving any lift," Cassius said, seemingly more arrogant than the APF.


    Lucifer was amused at this sight. He folded his arms as he watched the show. He knew how intense Cassius was. If anything bad happened, it was going to be the Beta Squad member who was going to be down.


    And if the girl from the Warlock Council interfered to hurt Cassius, she was going to see the wrath of Lucifer.


    "It¡¯s interesting, though. An intern from the Warlock Council meeting with the APF? Is the Warlock Council trying to spread its influence in other continents too?" he muttered as he stared at Jenilia.


    "What nonsense! I¡¯ll ask onest time. If you don¡¯t move aside then..." The dark-haired man said but didn¡¯t finish.


    "Then what?" Cassius said as he picked up a thin branch of a tree that was lying near his feet.


    His power allowed him to use his Divine Energy through any sword, but that wasn¡¯t his only power. His pretty power was that he could use any object as any weapon.

 Chapter 247 - 247: Recognised

    <h4>Chapter 247 - 247: Recognised </h4>


    He could even use a twig as a sword and cut metal with it.


    Both his powers worked in synergy to help each other. Through his first power, he manipted any object to be his sword.


    On the other hand, through his other power, which needed him to hold a sword, he used that object to attack. This made him able to take on enemies even when he had nothing.


    He could even use a piece of paper as a sword if he wanted.


    "Otherwise, I¡¯ll have to force you to give me your car," the dark-haired man said furiously. "We are the protectors of the nation. Our getting to ces is more important than you!"


    "Don¡¯t worry. I know enough about you to know what kind of protectors you are. We have people like you in my nation too," Cassius replied, smiling.


    "Jiang, get in the car and start it. I¡¯ll see who stops you from leaving today," he told Jiang, who nodded.


    Jiang was surprised as well. It looks like the friend of Lucifer was as crazy as him.


    "I¡¯ll break that car in half if you tried touching it!" The dark-haired variant warned Jiang.


    Cassius smirked as he stepped aside.


    "Sure. I challenge you to touch the car. After that, you can¡¯t me me," he said smiling, but anger was evident in his smile.


    He was really prepared to cut the hand of this guy if he touched the car, no matter what happened next. He really hated people like this guy. In any case, it wasn¡¯t like he was really hoping to be friends with APF.


    "What¡¯s hard in it. You think you can scare me?" The dark haired man said as he arrogantly started walking towards the car.


    Lucifer didn¡¯t interfere as he stood in the side, folding his arms. He had given Cassius the freedom to do whatever he wanted. As for the rest, he was going to handle it.


    As the dark haired man walked towards the car, Jenilia sensed danger. She didn¡¯t know why but she was getting a scary feeling from Cassius.


    As for the branch that was in his hand, it also started shining, which alerted her even more. Cassius was a Variant; she was sure of that.


    ¡¯If he is giving this intimidating feeling even to me, he can¡¯t be weaker. This is a battle we can¡¯t afford,¡¯ she thought as she frowned.


    "Tian! Stop right there! This is no way to talk to people we¡¯re asking help from! Get back right here!" She told the Dark Haired man, stopping him just when his hand was a few centimeters away from touching the car.


    The dark haired man known as Tian stopped as he turned back, "But Miss Jenilia?"


    "No, but. Come back. If they don¡¯t want to give us a lift, it¡¯s fine. We can¡¯t be thugs and act like that. Come back. We¡¯ll wait for someone else," Jenilia told Tian, not letting him do it. In any case, they were in the wrong here.


    Tian nodded, even though he looked unwilling. He walked back as he red at Cassius while saying, "You¡¯re a lucky kid."


    Cassius didn¡¯t react as he started walking back.


    "Luci, let¡¯s leave," he said, telling Lucifer toe with him.


    As Cassius talked to Lucifer, who was standing in the distance, Jenilia¡¯s gaze fell on him.


    "Hah? It¡¯s you!" She said in surprise as she ran to Lucifer.


    "What are you doing here? Didn¡¯t you say you were going somewhere else?" She asked Lucifer.


    Lucifer wanted to curse Cassius for bringing the attention of this girl to him.


    He calmly nodded his head as he replied, "I was, but then a new meeting came up, which was in Elisium. So I got off here as well. Anyway, I¡¯m gettingte for the meeting. I¡¯ll take my leave."


    Lucifer turned back as he started leaving.


    "Hey, wait! Aren¡¯t we friends? Can I get a lift?" Jenilia asked now that she realized that Lucifer was here too.


    Since it was him, she could ask him for help. She had helped him by giving him herptop too, after all.


    "I¡¯m sorry, but we don¡¯t have enough seats. Both cars are two seaters, and we¡¯re three people. We can¡¯t amodate the two of you. It¡¯s better if you wait for other cars," Lucifer said, frowning.


    "It¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll adjust in yourp," Jenilia replied,ughing.


    Lucifer looked at her weirdly as he frowned. "Sorry, myp is busy too. I need to get on a video call in the car. Can¡¯t have you. Sorry for not being able to help."


    "Come on! I¡¯m kidding! Where is your sense of humor? Anyway, what I meant is that I want you to take me to the city. As for Tian, he¡¯lle back in a different carter. See? Four seats and four people. Problem solved," Jenilia said, not giving up.


    Lucifer didn¡¯t say no straight away as he found it an interesting offer. She was from the Warlock Council. And she wasn¡¯t suspicious of him.


    Through her, he could get information out of her as to why she was with APF.


    But there was also a problem. There were only two drivers, Jiang and Cassius. So these two could only sit in two different cars. How could he get information from her?


    "Can you drive?" he asked the girl.


    "Of course. What kind of an adult can be stupid enough to not know how to drive?" Jenilia let out casually.


    Even though she had said such words casually, they hit Lucifer directly. Why was it that everyone knew how to drive? It looks like he really needed to learn it soon enough.


    "And you¡¯re going to the next city?" Lucifer asked again.


    "That¡¯s right. You can drop me off in the next city," She replied.


    ¡¯Since she¡¯s going to the next city, it¡¯s not bad. I can give her lift and get some answers. After that, we can be on our way. In any case, we needed to pass it to get to our destination,¡¯ Lucifer thought.


    "Alright. You cane with us," Lucifer said, nodding.


    "But Miss Jenilia, how can you go alone with these strangers?" Tian asked, not understanding. "I muste with you too."


    "I¡¯m sorry Tian, but you can¡¯te. There are no seats. I¡¯ll get going in advance, or I¡¯ll bete. You cer," Jenilia replied. "And that¡¯s final."


    "But...."


    "No but! Do you think I¡¯m a kid who can¡¯t take care of myself? I¡¯m doing it. You stay behind," Jenilia replied as she held Lucifer¡¯s hands which had the ck gloves.


    Lucifer freed his hand as he walked to Jiang and Cassius and took them far, leaving Jenelia behind. He exined what he wanted to do.

 Chapter 248 - 248: Other Stones

    <h4>Chapter 248 - 248: Other Stones </h4>


    "That¡¯s good. We should always have information about such things to help ourselves better," Cassius instantly agreed.


    Jiang didn¡¯t want anything to do with APF, but he also agreed since he couldn¡¯t say no. He was just along for the ride.


    "The keys are in the car. I¡¯lle in the second car with Cassius then," he said.


    Lucifer nodded before he walked back to the first car.


    He got inside the car to sit on the passenger seat before opening the door of the driver¡¯s side as he told Jenelia, "Come on in."


    "Driver seat? You want me to drive?" Jenelia asked Lucifer, surprised.


    "Don¡¯t waste time and drive," Lucifer said again, frowning.


    Jenilia stepped inside the car without opposing as she started driving it.


    Cassius drove the second car, following the first.


    "It¡¯s surprising to see you with APF. Weren¡¯t you in the Warlock Council? Then what was that about? Are you two working together on something?"


    Without waiting long, Lucifer straight got to the point.


    "Oh, that? I can¡¯t tell you that. It¡¯s a secret at this point," Jenilia let out, shaking her head.


    "Come on. Didn¡¯t you say we were friends? It¡¯s not like I¡¯ll tell anyone about this. I¡¯m just curious. A businessman like me has no other interest in this than my self curiosity," Lucifer replied, pretending to be ignorant.


    " Are you really just an ordinary businessman? Why was that guy who was fighting with Tian with you? How do you know him then? It doesn¡¯t seem like you¡¯re that ordinary," Jenilia responded as she thought for a while.


    That person even intimidated her. He couldn¡¯t be weak at all. Since he acted so close to Lucifer, it was clear that these two were close.


    "Ah, you¡¯re talking about Cassius? He¡¯s my bodyguard. He does charge exorbitant fees though. Fortunately, I can afford it since I earn enough, or I¡¯d go bankrupt just from his fees. But he keeps me safe too," Lucifer replied casually.


    "Ah, so that¡¯s what it was. It looks like I was overthinking," Jenilia let out as she shook her head.


    "That¡¯s right. So why are you here for? Can you just tell me to end my curiosity?" Lucifer asked again.


    "Actually, the Warlock Council sent me here to take something. They want the Stone of Annihtion that is kept by Uncle Varant," Jenilia exined. "So they sent me here to initiate the conversation."


    "Stone of Annihtion? What¡¯s that?" Lucifer asked, curious. What was this new thing now?


    "You don¡¯t know, I¡¯m sure. Not only you, only a rare few people know about this."


    " But there are seven stones of Annihtion that came to form in thest great war. It was only by separating them that the Great War ended. That¡¯s the simple exnation," Jenilia answered as she told Lucifer like he was an ignorant human that didn¡¯t know about stones.


    ¡¯ Those seven stones? I thought Varant and others kept that secret? So the top warlocks of other nations know too? That¡¯s troublesome,¡¯ Lucifer thought, frowning. He really didn¡¯t expect this.


    "You said only a few people know about this. I thought the Great War ended in Elisium. How do other nations know about such things then?" Lucifer asked directly.


    "Oh, don¡¯t overthink it. Information always finds a way out. Our Warlock Council has one of those stones as well, just like Varant has one," Jenilia replied.


    " In fact, there are top leaders of many nations that now know about this. In fact, five of the seven stones are already found," she further said.


    "Five of them are found?" Lucifer let out as a glint shed in his eyes. So he didn¡¯t have to work hard to find them. He could just take five of them. This was good, he believed.


    "Who has those five stones?" he asked as he dug deep.


    "One is with the Warlock Council, second with APF. The third is with the Royal Family of the Divine Empire. As for the other two, I don¡¯t know their location," Jenilia answered.


    " I hadn¡¯t been able to ess records of them since I¡¯m only an Intern. I only know that five are known, and two are still missing."


    "But it¡¯s assumed that one of the missing two is lying on the bottom of the sea somewhere. Unfortunately, we haven¡¯t been able to discover that even after searching the sea."


    "Royal Family of Divine Empire, Warlock Council, and APF... Interesting," Lucifer muttered as he nodded.


    "Such a fascinating story. You Warlocks are really amazing, honestly. You deal with so many extraordinary things. I wish I were a Warlock too, or even just a Variant," Lucifer let out, sighing as if he was genuinely sad that he was an ordinary human.


    "That¡¯s true. We Warlocks do tend to have better lives than most humans," Jenilia replied.


    "No one hurts you, and you can do as you please as long as you don¡¯tmit a crime. But being human isn¡¯t bad either. You should be happy with what you have," she continued.


    "Better lives than most humans, you¡¯re right. Variants do have good lives. So good that I can¡¯t even imagine," Lucifer muttered as he nced out the window.


    He couldn¡¯t help but remember all the kids that were killed outside the facility by Xander. The ones who had suffered as well.


    The tests and the deaths in theb. He really found himself amused as to how naive this girl was.


    The world wasn¡¯t as bright as she imagined. The lust for power and authority really made the world worse than it would have been otherwise.


    "Why does the Warlock Council need the stone of APF? Didn¡¯t you say these seven stones almost brought destruction? Why does the Warlock Council want it then?" Lucifer asked as he again returned to the topic.


    "I have no idea about that either. But they say it¡¯s important. So I came here," Jenilia answered.


    "If it was so important, why did they send an Intern here? They could¡¯vee themselves," Lucifer responded.


    "It¡¯s because they thought I could convince Uncle Varant. I¡¯m his niece, after all. My mother was born in Elisium. She married my father, who was from a different continent, and moved there with him," Jenilia answered.


    "So I¡¯m rted, and the Council thinks I can achieve this feat since Uncle Varant had refused to give them when they personally came," she further said.


    "You¡¯re his niece, huh. He must really care for you then," Lucifer muttered as a thought floated in his head. He could use her to bring Varant out of hiding when he needed him in the future.


    "One would think so, but the reality ispletely opposite. He doesn¡¯t even meet me. He only got one useless Variant to take care of me during my stay here. Other than that, I haven¡¯t even seen him. He¡¯s too arrogant," Jenilia replied as she rolled her eyes.


    "So he doesn¡¯t care for you. That¡¯s disappointing," Lucifer muttered, frowning. "Did he at least agree to give you that stone?"


    "I doubt he will. All I got was some random man telling me that Varant had refused to give any stone."


    " I¡¯m just wasting my time here at this point. In fact, I¡¯m going back today. That¡¯s why I¡¯m going to the airport in the next city," Jenilia replied.


    "Interesting. So that was the important work you were asking lift for," Lucifer muttered. "You¡¯re leaving the city."


    "That¡¯s right. I didn¡¯t want to miss my flight back. Anyway, you really came as a guardian angel to give me a lift. Thanks a lot. You have my number, right? As I said, give me a call when you need my help."


    "I do," Lucifer said, nodding. He didn¡¯t tell her that he had already tossed her number away. But he did still remember that number.


    "If you evere to the Nation of Rainstorm, inform me. I¡¯ll make up for this by showing you around," Jenilia further said as the car entered the next city.

 Chapter 249 - 249: Memory Manipulation

    <h4>Chapter 249 - 249: Memory Maniption </h4>


    "Nation of Rainstorm? Is that the name?" Lucifer asked, amused. " I¡¯ll keep that in mind."


    "Hey, don¡¯t be fooled by the name. It¡¯s the strongest nation there. And we have many things that you can never find in other nations. You muste once if you truly want to see how we have advanced," Jenilia said as she followed the maps on her phone.


    "The Airport should be right around the corner," she said softly as she slowed down the car.


    "There it is."


    She stopped the car and stepped out.


    Looking back at Lucifer, she said, "Thank you again. I hope we see each other againter."


    Bidding her farewell, she entered the airport.


    Lucifer also opened the door as he stepped out, ncing at the airport.


    "This information was pretty useful. After being done here, I¡¯ll need to take a trip to the Warlock Council. But I¡¯m sure; by that time, everyone will know my name. My wee wouldn¡¯t be great."


    The other sports car stopped behind them, from which Cassius and Jiang stepped out.


    The two of them approached Lucifer as they asked, "How did it go?"


    "Better than I expected," Lucifer responded. "Let¡¯s leave now. We still need to get to Veracity."


    He again walked back to the second car with Cassius while Jiang took the first one. The cars again started moving.


    "The next city is where she lives. It wouldn¡¯t be long," Lucifer said as he picked a packet of chips that they had purchased and started munching to keep him busy and feed his hunger.


    It only took a few hours before they finally reached the city, which was their destination.


    Jiang stopped the car in a corner. Cassius also stopped since it was the n.


    They weren¡¯t going to go to Veracity¡¯s house in the car and get the cars recorded in the cameras of the city. Now that they were close, they were going to walk there.


    Cassius, Jiang, and Lucifer walked in the crowded city as they advanced toward Veracity¡¯s home. The closer they got to her home, the less they saw other citizens as they were entering the porsche neighborhood of the city.


    It was a gatedmunity where only the people who lived here or the ones that were here to meet them could enter. It also had a guard there.


    "Yes, what do you need?" The guard asked Jiang from the other side of the gates.


    "We¡¯re here to meet Miss Veracity. She¡¯s a friend of ours. Let us enter," Jiang told the guard.


    "Her friend? I¡¯m sorry, but that excuse won¡¯t work. She specifically said that she doesn¡¯t want any visitors to evere to her home, no matter who they are. So you can¡¯te." The guard said from the other side of the gate.


    "You¡¯re not the first one to use this excuse. She¡¯s famous, and lots of her fans have tried this throughout the years. Do you have any other excuse?" he asked as heughed.


    Jiang scratched his head in defeat. He looked at Lucifer as he said, "You can take over now."


    Lucifer gently tapped his foot on the ground as he flew in the air. He flew from above the gate tond right in front of the guard.


    "How¡¯s this for an excuse?" Lucifer asked as he grabbed the throat of the guard.


    "Y-you can meet her. Free me!" The guard said as his face went pale in fear.


    "If you told anyone about our presence here, you wouldn¡¯t be alive to need another excuse in the future," Lucifer said as he tossed the guard to the side.


    He opened the gate to let Jiang and Cassius enter as well.


    "Listen to him. Even I can¡¯t stop him when he¡¯s angry," Jiang told the guard as heughed just as the guard hadughed. He was enjoying being bad like this.


    "Which house belongs to Veracity?" Lucifer asked the guard as he ced his hand in his pocket.


    "T-the green one in the end, but she isn¡¯t home," the Guard replied respectfully as if he had learned his lesson.


    "That¡¯s better. Take this number; I want you to message me when Veracity gets here," Lucifer said as he started walking ahead after giving a number to the guard.


    As he was walking with Jiang and Cassius, he noticed something. "There are people who are keeping an eye on us."


    "You sensed that too? They are really bad at it. I noticed some on the roof as well. Doesn¡¯t feel like they¡¯ll be humans," Cassius said, nodding.


    "Why would so many Variants keep an eye on Veracity¡¯s neighborhood? Did they know about our arrival? You¡¯re the only person who can warrant such attention amongst the three of us," Jiang chimed in, frowning.


    "It doesn¡¯t matter. None of them will leave alive to keep an eye on me again," Lucifer let out as he nced at the sky.


    He straight flew up in the air as he advanced toward the closest person who was keeping an eye on him.


    The man was using binocrs to keep an eye on the three people that had just entered when he saw one of them disappear.


    As he was stunned, he saw everything turn ck as he was unable to see anything in the binocrs.


    He removed them to see what was happening when he heard a voice, "Looking for me?"


    Thud!


    At the same time, he heard another sound. He looked on top of the other house where another of his friends was standing previously, but now only his headless body could be seen lying on the roof.


    "You didn¡¯t answer. Were you looking for me?" Lucifer asked, smirking like a devil as he grabbed the man by his neck.


    "W-we are from Variant Uprising!" The man replied, struggling to breathe.


    "Ah, now I understand. It must be the work of Predictor. That guy sounds annoying. I¡¯ll have to meet him someday," Lucifer muttered, frowning. "But it doesn¡¯t matter. It would¡¯ve been fine if you all had just seen me. But you saw them too. So I can¡¯t let you live."


    "P-please don¡¯t!" The man said as his face turned pale.


    "I can let you live on one condition. If you tell me where the others are hiding at this moment. Also, give me the location of Variant Uprising headquarters," Lucifer said calmly.


    "I don¡¯t know the headquarters location. None of us would know if you ask. That¡¯s the case with everyone except the leaders. When someone asks the location, or we think about telling others, we forget it entirely. The moment you asked the location, I forgot it," the man replied.


    "How could this be? Are you lying?" Lucifer asked, frowning.


    "We aren¡¯t. Even we don¡¯t know how this happens," the man answered.


    "Looks like someone did something to your heads if that¡¯s the case. And this shouldn¡¯t be the only thing they messed with. As expected, none of them are good," Lucifer muttered as he understood what it could be.


    Variant Uprising was messing with the heads of their weaker members.


    *********************


    [Author Note: (Please readpletely)


    First of all, thank you for still sticking with the book and reading it and even voting for it in suchrge numbers.


    However, the voting system is soon going to change on .


    It¡¯ll use Golden Tickets as a lot of you might have seen in the notification that was released a few hours ago.


    The new voting system will be released on 18 August as informed, which will change everything including the main ranking.


    So I wanted to request you to please give your tickets to this novel when the system is avable.


    As most of you might know, this novel is taking part in Spirity Contest on  which will end in September. A win might even give this book an anime adaptation. And I really need the support of each and every one of you, if possible.


    If you want to help even more, Purchasing Privilege will also help in consideration of spirity winner as each coin spent on a book is counted. You can buy the 1 coin tier to support the book.


    Thank you and I¡¯m really grateful that you¡¯re still here.


    (P.S: This message has no effect on coin cost. So you can rest assured)

 Chapter 250 - 250: Taste Of Their Own Medicine

    <h4>Chapter 250 - 250: Taste Of Their Own Medicine </h4>


    "It¡¯s fine. Tell me about others. Where are they hiding? I¡¯ll let you go," Lucifer said calmly.


    "There are five more of us. They are...."


    ...


    Lucifer left the roof just as silently as he hade, leaving the body of the man behind that was lifelessly lying on the roof.


    Next, he appeared in front of a tinted window of a house, from the other side of which, a man was staring outside.


    Punching the ss, he shattered it before he barged inside.


    "Aren¡¯t you getting bored after looking for me from a distance? Let me give you a closer view," Lucifer said as he looked at two men who were both inside the room.


    "That¡¯s interesting though," he suddenly said as he noticed something different.


    One of the two men was tied in ropes. As for the dark-haired man who was standing, he wasn¡¯t from the Uprising. From his clothes, it was evident that he was from the APF.


    "Ah, you guys came to join the party too. God, you really do love stalking me," Lucifer said, sighing.


    "I don¡¯t even want to deal with you now, but you still came. Fine, get going fast," Lucifer said as he raised his right hand while firing a lightning bolt.


    The dark-haired man had no other ability other than being stealthy and his special barrier.


    Unfortunately, even the barrier of the Beta Squad Vice Captain proved to be nothing before Lucifer, let alone his weaker barrier.


    His barrier was also broken just as easily as he dropped to the ground with a hole in his chest.


    "As for you, you aren¡¯t a human either, are you?" Lucifer asked as he nced at the second man who was tied in the distance.


    "Let me guess, you¡¯re from Variant Uprising and got caught here with none of the others having any idea?"


    The man who was tied nodded his head.


    "Good. Stay here for a minute. I¡¯ll deal with others first," Lucifer said as he touched the face of the men from APF, regaining some of his energy.


    He also picked the phone of the man to check the call logs.


    "Captain Ayn? She¡¯s the Beta Squad leader, if I¡¯m not wrong. She is involved in this too?"


    Just as Lucifer was thinking about Ayn, the phone started ringing.


    The screen showed the name of Ayn as if she was calling.


    An amused smile engulfed Lucifer¡¯s face as he picked up the call to ce the phone near his ears.


    "Vernon, we¡¯reing there too. Stay prepared. We need to arrest everyone and take Veracity with us. So you can put the n in motion," Ayn said over the phone without thinking twice.


    "Let their members identally know that you¡¯re here so that all of them surround you."


    "We can pick them up at once. Be on time. We¡¯ll be there in half an hour, so adjust ordingly. And send your coordinates where you¡¯ll do this," she further said before she disconnected the call.


    "Sure, Captain. I¡¯ll send you the exact coordinates," Lucifer muttered as he kept the phone in his pocket.


    He left the ce and got back to work as he moved like a shadow, taking other Variant Uprising members out. He didn¡¯t kill them that easily. He used his Decay to kill them since it gave more energy.


    After he was done, he finally got back to the street as if nothing had ever happened.


    "Are you done?" Cassius asked Lucifer.


    "I am done with them, but more special guests areing. Cassius, I¡¯m going to need your help with this. Get ready to use your sword," Lucifer replied.


    "Who ising?" Jiang asked, concerned. For Lucifer to call them special, they couldn¡¯t be weak.


    "No one extraordinary. Just the Beta Squad leader, Ayn it seems. She¡¯sing to take Veracity. It seems like our n wasn¡¯t as secret as we thought. If we want to keep Veracity, we need to deal with Ayn first. And I have a n for that," Lucifer said calmly.


    "They always set a trap for me when I was young? I¡¯ll give them a taste of their own medicine."


    ...


    Time kept trickling away as Ayn received the coordinates on where she was supposed tond.


    She didn¡¯t know that the coordinates she believed her men had sent were sent by someone she could never imagine.


    After half an hour, the armored helicopter reached above the neighborhood. The doors opened.


    Ayn gently pped her hand, making a stair of Icee out of the ground that reached the helicopter. She and her men stepped down through the Ice Stairs as theynded on the ground.


    The silent helicopter remained in the air, waiting for them to return.


    "That should be the house where they will be. I just got a message from Vernon that he is surrounded. Right in time," Ayn said as she stepped toward a random house that Lucifer had selected to set the trap inside.


    The entire group stepped inside the house, the door of which was left open.


    As soon as they entered the house, Cassius came out of hiding from a different house. He had his precious treasure sword in his hand with which he was prepared to attack.


    He channeled all his Divine Energy to his precious Sword, which further amplified it.


    Without even giving the Beta Squad members a chance to get to the first floor, Cassius finally swung his Sword horizontally.


    The most powerful arc of Divine Energy left his sword, which kept getting bigger as it advanced toward the set of houses before him.


    The walls of the houses couldn¡¯t even resist the Divine Energy even a little bit as the Energy Wave passed through, cutting evening if came in contact with.


    ...


    Inside the house, Ayn was about to take her first step on the stairs when she saw an attacking towards her.


    In her hurry, she didn¡¯t think about others. She only had milliseconds to think, and if she dyed, she was going to be cut in half.


    So she let her natural reflexes take over, which only thought about keeping her safe.


    A Giant Ice Pir came from the ground, raising her high in the air.


    The bright white arc passed through everything, cutting all the other members that she brought with her in half.


    Even her Ice Pir was cut in half, which broke apart as she fell down. Fortunately, the arc of light had already passed through, and she was safe now.


    But that also didn¡¯t seem to be the end as the house fell on top of her since it was cut in half.

 Chapter 251 - 251: Object Manipulation

    <h4>Chapter 251 - 251: Object Maniption </h4>


    The house fell on top of the Beta Squad, most of whom were already dead because of Cassius.


    Only Ayn had managed to escape the attacks, surviving it when the house started falling.


    As the ice pir was broken first, she had fallen to the ground from the height of a few meters after losing her bnce.


    Still, she was self aware as she punched the ground, making a thick ice dome appear around her, which protected her.


    Even after the house had fallen and so much noise was happening, not a single person in the neighborhood left their home as Jiang had gone to them to tell them that a demolition was going to take ce soon while pretending to be a government employee.


    As for the houses that were near this ce which had a straight view, Jiang used a different excuse to send them out of their homes. All because he wanted Lucifer to have privacy in this n.


    If others saw that a battle was taking ce, they might inform the authorities, and Jiang didn¡¯t want this thing to be big. Because he had a feeling that Lucifer wasn¡¯t going to care for anything if the cops got here.


    Having APF on their head was already a big problem, and he didn¡¯t want them to be even bigger because of today¡¯s event.


    As for Lucifer, he didn¡¯t oppose this since he also didn¡¯t want to cause a big scene like that. Veracity wasn¡¯t at her home.


    If she came back to the cop¡¯s car surrounding the neighborhood, she might just leave. Lucifer didn¡¯t want this opportunity to be wasted, so he supported this.


    They had also informed the guard at the entrance to give them a message when Veracity was back.


    ...


    While Cassius took care of the house, Lucifer also flew towards the helicopter, inside which he entered. He also didn¡¯t forget to carry Jiang with him.


    Except for the pilot, not a single person was in the helicopter, but even he had seen what had happened. Some man had appeared and destroyed the house. He didn¡¯t even know if the team was alive or dead.


    He decided to inform the base about what had happened, unaware that someone worse than the one he saw was already standing behind him.


    The pilot hastily dialed a number as he ced the phone near his ears.


    "I¡¯ll take that."


    The man heard a calm voice as someone snatched the phone from his hand.


    "W-who?" The man let out, shocked.


    "President of Elisium," Lucifer replied sarcastically as he crushed the phone before tossing it away. "Does that even matter? Like you¡¯ll achieve something significant after knowing your enemy?"


    He turned back casually as he nced at Jiang. "You¡¯re in charge here. Shoot this guy if he speaks nonsense or doesn¡¯t do as you say."


    Aftermanding, Lucifer jumped down the helicopter,nding on the ground.


    As for Jiang, it was his turn to take over from here.


    A smirk formed on his face as he thought, "You APF guys took all my wealth, didn¡¯t you? Let me take your helicopter. It should be worth much more."


    "Turn the helicopter around. Take it where I want. It¡¯s better if we stay far away from this ce," he told the Pilot as he pointed the gun in his direction.


    As the pilot had no choice, he turned the helicopter which started going in a direction that Jiang had said.


    ....


    "Is it done?" Cassius said as he stood in the distance with a Sword in his hand.


    "I¡¯d like to assume that we aren¡¯t done yet. So let¡¯s be prepared for more," Lucifernded near him as he said.


    All they could see was the rubble of the house that used to be here previously. Dust and smoke had filled the air, making it difficult to see clearly.


    Under all that rubble, Ayn was sitting inside the Ice Dome,pletely safe. There were only a few scratches on her body that she had received because of falling.


    "So it was a trap. And that attack, it wasn¡¯t ordinary. Could it be their reverse psychology?" Ayn muttered as she frowned.


    "They sent their men here and kept them waiting for three years, exactly to make us think like something was important here? They are really upping their game, it seems," she further spoke.


    "Fortunately, I only brought a few people from my team. Or they would all be dead. I really put my guard down," she said as she brought her phone out.


    She straight called Varant to inform him of what had happened. Even though she believed she could take on the enemies, she decided not to take the risk.


    ....


    "Let¡¯s check," Lucifer said as he walked towards the rubble of that specific house where Ayn and the others had entered.


    Because that wasn¡¯t the only house that was destroyed, he carefully selected that ce.


    He even took off his gloves and kept them in his pocket to not destroy them in the process of search.


    As he removed the gloves, he was free. He grabbed a heavy piece of concrete and tossed it to the side like it was a toy.


    As for his strength, it was so high that a simple toss made that heavy block of concretend on the rubble of another house.


    He kept taking off the heavy pieces and tossing them to the side as he searched the bodies. Unfortunately, despite his fast speed, it seemed like the search was going to take long.


    "I¡¯ll also help," Cassius said as he ced the sword in the sheath on his back before he also stepped forward.


    "Can you pick them? They¡¯re not as light as you might think," Lucifer replied, amused.


    "Are you underestimating me?" Cassius asked as he rolled his eyes.


    He casually touched a heavy stone and picked it up as if it was nothing but an ordinary marble.


    "How can you pick that up so easily?"


    This time, even Lucifer was surprised. He hadn¡¯t seen this ability before.


    "It¡¯s not that hard. It¡¯s basically my Object Maniption. I can manipte any object to be my weapon. So even though you see it as a stone; for me, it¡¯s my light sword at the moment. That¡¯s why it doesn¡¯t weigh much," Cassius answered.


    "Interesting ability," Lucifer muttered, smiling. "So you don¡¯t really need your weapon to attack. You can literally use a piece of stone to use your Divine Sword Energy. Stronger than I thought."


    "Yeah. But not many people know about my second ability. I don¡¯t use it much since I really like the feel of my sword. I can use other objects to attack, but it¡¯s just not the same as using a sword," Cassius answered.

 Chapter 252 - 252: Taking Out Ayn

    <h4>Chapter 252 - 252: Taking Out Ayn </h4>


    Cassius revealed his second ability to Lucifer, which he never actually hid. He just didn¡¯t need to use it before in the academy since he always carried his Sword with him.


    As for before, when he was facing Tian, the situation didn¡¯t deteriorate to the level where he might need to use his abilities.


    The two of them worked harder to move the rubble to ensure everyone was dead, which was still taking time.


    As for Ayn, she was sitting inside the Ice Dome, unaware that people were getting close to her dome. She was instead busy on the call with Varant as she informed him what was happening.


    "And now I¡¯m sitting here," she told Varant as she finished up.


    "There¡¯s no need to do anything unless the needes to it. Raia might be there as well. I¡¯lle personally. Just stay there," Varant told Ayn as he stood up, frowning.


    "What about the city? Are you going to create a city-wide lockdown to stop them from leaving? I doubt they¡¯ll stay here long otherwise," Ayn responded.


    "No. There will be no lockdown. They took extra steps to make sure that the information didn¡¯t leak about this. If there are lockdowns, they¡¯ll actually leave as they realize that we know about them," Varant told her as he walked outside his office.


    Ayn opened her lips to respond but stopped as she heard Varant¡¯s voice. "Riali, Gensi, you two areing with me. Bring Arne too. We¡¯re going to handle something."


    She understood that he was talking to his men, ready to leave in a hurry.


    "Alright. I¡¯ll stay here and won¡¯t move," Ayn said, agreeing. She wasn¡¯t going to do anything until those guys got here.


    ...


    It wasn¡¯t clear when Varant was going to get to her since it wasn¡¯t a short journey, but Lucifer was indeed getting close to her.


    As the rubble on top kept decreasing, Lucifer kept closing in until he was actually able to feel the cold from the Ice Dome.


    "Shh!" He gestured for Cassius to stay silent, who seemed like he was going to say something.


    He further gestured for him to leave and to be ready to attackter.


    Cassius didn¡¯t speak a word as he slowly started stepping away without making any sound.


    He got back on the street as he pulled out the sword from the scabbard, ready to attack when needed.


    Lucifer carefully moved even more rubble to have a good view of the Dome. It didn¡¯t take him long before he was actually standing in front of the Dome.


    As everything was prepared, he clenched his fist as he prepared to attack.


    He correctly positioned his body as he nted his feet firmly on the ground.


    There seemed to be no wind flowing at the moment. The entire ce seemed deadly silent. The silent wind moved only when he actually punched the Ice Dome.


    As Lucifer¡¯s fistnded on the dome, it shattered as if it was made of a thin sheet of ss. Even the thick ice made by Ayn couldn¡¯t resist the attack.


    Ayn had just disconnected the call when it happened. She was entirely unaware of it and couldn¡¯t even see iting as one of the thick ice pieces hit her head.


    The impact was so hard that her head started bleeding as she dropped to the ground, unconscious.


    "What the heck?" Lucifer blurted in surprise. "Just this much was enough? He was preparing for a big fight, but she was out in just this much? That was annoying."


    Even Cassius was standing prepared to attack the person who was inside, but as he saw Lucifer¡¯s weird expression, he realized that something was wrong.


    Lucifer stood as if he saw something he didn¡¯t expect.


    "What happened?" Cassius asked Lucifer, shouting.


    "It looks like she¡¯s gone already. You can put the sword down," Lucifer said as he sat on his knee and ced his fingers near Ayn¡¯s nose.


    "It looks like she¡¯s still breathing," he muttered, frowning.


    "Even though I nned to kill all enemies, this is interesting too. I can get information from her about that stone and the safety of their base," he let out softly.


    He casually stood up as he ced his hand in his pocket to bring out something.


    It also happened to be when Cassius reached there. "Isn¡¯t that a Limiter? I thought you destroyed yours when you left?"


    "It belongs to Dash. I kept it in my pocket because it seemed interesting. Throughout this time, I¡¯ve been trying to hack it to understand the principles they used in it to make it since it can be handy," Lucifer exined.


    "So, were you sessful?" Cassius asked, frowning.


    "Partially. I managed to set my voice as themand of locking and unlocking it. But other than that, I haven¡¯t gained much sess. This seems like the perfect opportunity to use it," Lucifer replied.


    "Isn¡¯t she dead?" Cassius asked, looking at Ayn.


    "She isn¡¯t. Just a little hurt. First, I need to stop the bleeding, so she doesn¡¯t die," Lucifer said as he bent forward. He ced the Limiter on her wrist, which adjusted automatically so it couldn¡¯t be removed.


    The Limiter locked itself.


    He further ced his hand on the back of Ayn¡¯s neck while his other arm went under the legs of hers as he picked her up like a princess.


    "I hope Veracity carries a first aid box. I don¡¯t want to have to hijack a hospital to get her healed," Lucifer said as he walked towards the house of Veracity. Cassius also walked behind him.


    Lucifer broke inside Veracity¡¯s house and started searching for a first aid box after putting Ayn on the ground.


    He soon found the first aid box and gave her some medical help. Fortunately, it didn¡¯t seem like Ayn was critically wounded. She was tougher than she looked. As for the bleeding, it was only minor too.


    After helping her, he wrapped a bandage around her head.


    ...


    Vega was running towards Raia¡¯s office. He didn¡¯t even bother knocking as he pushed the door open to step inside.


    "The connection with our men is broken. It seems like he¡¯s there!" He said as if telling the most important news of his life.


    "So today was the day. Predictor was right. But then again, why can¡¯t you contact your men? It can¡¯t be that Lucifer killed them. He¡¯s one of us, after all. So why?" Raia asked as he stood up.


    "I don¡¯t know. I¡¯m not getting any footage from that neighborhood at all. Someone seems to have stopped all cameras. It should be his work," Vega said.

 Chapter 253 - 253: I Want You

    <h4>Chapter 253 - 253: I Want You </h4>


    "Let¡¯s get going. We¡¯re going there too. Bring Yaliza and Kellian," Raia told Vega as he nodded. "Also, tell our other informants to keep an eye on the entrance and exit of the city," Raiamanded Vega as he prepared to leave as well.


    He had really thought that Lucifer wasn¡¯t going to be their enemy. Thus he left his men there all this time so they could meet him when he got there.


    He couldn¡¯t send any of the leaders there to sit for four years straight because there wasn¡¯t a threat of Lucifer turning against them. But only now did he realize that things were different.


    Soon, Yaliza and Kellian also joined him. Tristan also teamed up as the group entered the helicopter, which soon left that ce.


    ...


    An armored helicopter was flying through the warm winds. As for the Pilot, he had a gun aimed at his head as he flew the helicopter towards the direction the gunman told him to.


    "This should be far enough. Land the helicopter here," Jiang told the Pilot as they passed through the forest.


    He could see the road in the distance. It was far from here, but it wasn¡¯t too far. He could still get to that road after some walking.


    The Pilot started lowering the helicopter, whichnded on the ground.


    The pilot didn¡¯t say anything, but he had hoped that Jiang was going to leave now and let him be free as well.


    Unfortunately, before Jiang turned back, the sound of a gunshot was heard in the helicopter.


    The wings were still moving slowly as Jiang left the helicopter. A man was left behind, lying on the seat, but he wasn¡¯t moving anymore.


    "I thought my first kill would feel bad. But it isn¡¯t that bad at all. I feel so overpowered right now. Is this the effect of being with Lucifer? My mindset is changing as well," Jiang let out as he smiled.


    He picked the direction of the road and started walking towards it but not before he shot the helicopter a few times, making it blow up.


    "There are many advantages of being with him, but good God, the disadvantages aren¡¯t less either. The first time he met me, he made me walk so much."


    "I was literally dead, and now again, I need to walk so much. At least I can rx when I¡¯m not on a mission... In the massive mansion that I now own."


    As Jiang walked, he kept talking to himself, trying to stop him from getting bored.


    ...


    "Her condition seems to be stable. But I doubt she¡¯ll wake up before tomorrow. She¡¯s out cold," Cassius informed Lucifer as he checked up on her.


    "It doesn¡¯t matter. In any case, she¡¯s our prisoner now. It¡¯s fine even if she wakes up after a week. I¡¯m in no hurry," Lucifer responded. "What I¡¯m in a hurry to do is to take Veracity from here. I wonder when she will return."


    He left the room and entered the hall, where he started waiting.


    As he was wondering, he got a message from the guard at the entrance.


    As Lucifer read the message, a smirk formed on his face. "She is here, it seems."


    ...


    Veracity passed through the gates of themunity, where the guard didn¡¯t stop her. She also noticed the broken rubble that was lying on the way.


    "Were these houses demolished? Why so out of the blue? It¡¯s strange," she muttered as she walked towards her house. Even though she found it strange, she didn¡¯t believe it was rted to her.


    She walked to her house and only when she tried opening the door did she realize that something was wrong.


    The lock was broken, and the door was open. It seemed like someone had broken inside the house. She opened her purse as she pulled out her gun before she entered the house.


    Veracity seemed to be alert to shoot at the slightest of movement, but it didn¡¯t take her long to find the infiltrator.


    That person wasn¡¯t moving at all. He was just standing in the shadows with folded arms as if he waszy.


    "Who might you be?" She asked curiously.


    "I¡¯m the one who should be long forgotten, I believe," the person in the darkness said softly as he stepped forward. "So I doubt you¡¯ll recognize me."


    ck lightning could be seen flickering all around the young boy.


    The boy seemed to be someone who was barely eighteen years old. He had beautiful silver hair that was tied to a ponytail, but the most intriguing thing about him was his eyes.


    One of his eyes was blue, while the other was slightly violet.


    Unfortunately, Veracity couldn¡¯t see the violet in his eyes as she was standing far.


    "What do you want from me?" Veracity asked the boy as she sat down on a chair. She could feel that the person wasn¡¯t here to harm her.


    "I want to be the darkness that is going to swallow the whole world. And you¡¯re going to help me with that," Lucifer said calmly. "Either that or you die."


    Tap! Tap!


    Sound of footsteps could be heard as Lucifer stepped closer,ing out of the Darkness.


    "Ah, I remember seeing you. Lucifer Azarel, huh. Even though your face has changed slightly, that lightning gave you away. Very interesting. You disappeared almost eight years ago. How did you suddenly appear again?" Veracity asked Lucifer, amused.


    "Cassius, bring her out," Lucifer said casually as he nced back.


    Thedy looked back to see another boy who seemed to look like he was a neen-twenty year olding out of a room. The dark-haired boy was carrying a heavy sword on his back.


    He could also be seen dragging what seemed like a dead body while holding its arms.


    "That person, isn¡¯t that..." Veracity stood up, shocked as soon as she saw who the dead body belonged to.


    "That¡¯s right. This person is the second inmand at APF, it seems," Lucifer started answering in his grim-reaper like voice. "Don¡¯t worry, she is still alive, though, for now."


    "Why is she here? Are you trying to prove your strength? Because if that¡¯s the case, I don¡¯t think you need to." Veracity said, frowning.


    "The person who can send Xander in aa when he was just ten years old, I don¡¯t even want to think how strong he will be when he¡¯s older," she further said.


    "So tell me directly. How can I help you," she asked.


    "I want you to join my team. All I want from you is to help me find the truth about what happened to my father. Only you can make sure that the statements I get are true to the word. I promise I¡¯ll free you if you want after that," Lucifer told thedy.

 Chapter 254 - 254: Death Isnt Scary

    <h4>Chapter 254 - 254: Death Isn''t Scary </h4>


    "And until then, you¡¯ll stay with us. I can¡¯t take more risk with you," Lucifer said, frowning.


    "Do I have any other choice?" Veracity asked, rolling her eyes. "In any case, I¡¯m also interested to know what happened to your father. So I¡¯ll help out a little."


    "Good. Let¡¯s get going then," Lucifer said, nodding in satisfaction. He nced back at Cassius and calmly said, "Can you pick her up? Bring her to the car."


    Cassius picked Ayn in his arms just like Lucifer had picked her up before, but he did find it odd. He was actually carrying a woman like she was his girlfriend.


    He found it a bit embarrassing as someone who had devoted his entire life to the way of the Sword.


    The small group left the house and walked through the empty streets when Lucifer suddenly said, "Oh right, first we need to do something. I entirely forgot,e with me."


    Without a prior warning, he picked up Veracity like she was another princess before he started flying.


    "What the heck are you doing?" Veracity asked, frowning. "Though I must say, flying feels good. But I¡¯ll still prefer that you put me down."


    "This is much faster than climbing the stairs," Lucifer said as hended on the first floor of a house whose window he had broken himself.


    As hended on the floor, he ced Veracity on the ground, who looked around to find ash on the ground. But there was also blood. Moreover, a man could be seen, tied.


    "What are we here for?¡¯ she asked.


    Lucifer didn¡¯t answer as he stepped closer to the man and took off the strip of cloth that was tied around his mouth by the member of APF to stop him from speaking.


    ¡¯T-thank you!" The man said as soon as Lucifer freed his mouth.


    "Don¡¯t thank me just yet. Because what happens next depends on your answer. Tell me, where is the base of Variant Uprising?" Lucifer asked as he stepped back.


    "Base? I-i forgot. I can¡¯t remember it. I think it¡¯s the same with everyone else. We forget the base when we even hear the topic about base in the presence of a stranger. I-i can¡¯t tell you," The man replied.


    No matter how hard he tried to think, he couldn¡¯t remember.


    Lucifer nced at Veracity as he asked, "Is he lying?"


    "He¡¯s telling the truth," Veracity answered.


    "Then he¡¯s useless," Lucifer let out as he grabbed the face of the man, watching him turn to ash.


    This was the first time Veracity had seen this ability live. Previously she had only heard about it. But now that she could see it, she indeed found it intimidating.


    "First time seeing it?" Lucifer asked, curious.


    "Yeah. It doesn¡¯t look good. It seems like such an evil ability. Destroying a person particle by particle," Veracity said, shaking her head.


    "There is no ability in this world that isn¡¯t dark. Dying by lightning? Dying with a wind de by getting your head separated?" Lucifer asked, amused.


    "Dying by being choked because of strength? Dying by burning in mes? Dying by freezing? Which ability do you think isn¡¯t dark to kill a person with?"


    "It¡¯s not the ability which is dark, but the death. And that¡¯s not a new concept either. After the number of deaths I have died, death had stopped being scary long ago," he said calmly.


    " But for someone like you, it¡¯s still dark. Don¡¯t worry; you¡¯ll get used to it too. Like I did," he further said as he approached Veracity and picked her up again before he went down.


    Hended near Cassius, who was standing with Ayn in his arms. They again started walking and soon reached the gates of themunity.


    As Lucifer reached there, he was surprised. The guard wasn¡¯t here anymore. He was nowhere to be found.


    "Looks like he ran away. I guess he was afraid that I was going to kill him to keep him silent even after he did the work. Not that it matters."


    " He did as he was told. In any case, it doesn¡¯t matter if he gives away my sketches. I¡¯m already done with what I wanted to do," Lucifer said, shaking his head. "I doubt he would dare, though."


    "Let¡¯s leave."


    He walked through the gates and left to stop before the two cars that were standing at the entrance of the city.


    "Isn¡¯t there a problem we have? There are two cars. Both are two seaters. But only I know how to drive. How will we leave?" Cassius asked as he suddenly noticed the problem.


    "Don¡¯t worry. He should be here soon," Lucifer said, not concerned at all. Just as he had expected, a cab stopped near them.


    A man stepped out of the cab, which brought a look of understanding on the face of Cassius.


    "Finally, I¡¯m here. God, my legs are still aching. Next time give me the work that needs less walking," Jiang said as he huffed.


    Even when he was sitting in the cab, he was still tired from all the walking he had to do previously.


    "So, Jiang will drive. But there¡¯s also a problem now. We¡¯re five people and four seats. And there¡¯s no ce in the back where we can keep thisdy," Cassius again said, frowning.


    "There¡¯s no problem. We¡¯ll adjust. I¡¯ll use the idea of Jenelia," Lucifer replied casually.


    "What idea?" Cassius asked.


    "You¡¯lle in the second car with Veracity. I¡¯lle in the first one with Ayn. As for her ce, she can adjust on myp," Lucifer responded, without feeling the least bit weird.


    "Moreover, I can also keep an eye on her that way to be ready when she wakes up," he further said.


    As Lucifer mentioned his idea, not only Cassius but even Jiang looked at him with his mouth slightly open.


    "Don¡¯t keep standing there. Leave," Lucifer said as he opened the gates of the car ahead. He sat on the passenger seat and told Cassius to give Ayn to him.


    Cassius helped unconscious Ayn sit on Lucifer¡¯sp before he closed the door properly.


    "Drive carefully," Cassius told Jiang, who nodded as he also entered the car.


    He also walked to the second car with Veracity, who sat without opposing in the least.


    Jiang started the car as he left the city. Cassius also followed behind him, focusing on the road.


    "It seemed like you were close to him. Who are you?" It hadn¡¯t even been long since they started moving when Veracity began asking questions.


    "I¡¯m his friend," Cassius replied calmly.


    "He has friends? Are you sure you¡¯re not just his henchmen?" Veracity asked, smiling.


    "You can see the truth, don¡¯t you? Why don¡¯t you see if I¡¯m telling the truth?" Cassius asked, frowning.

 Chapter 255 - 255: The Talk

    <h4>Chapter 255 - 255: The Talk </h4>


    "Don¡¯t get me wrong, but I¡¯m really surprised to see him having a friend. From what I saw, he doesn¡¯t look like a person to have friends," Veracity said, smiling.


    "Because you just met him. You don¡¯t know about him," Cassius answered.


    "I hope so," Veracity muttered as she shook her head. "But I doubt anyone truly knows him."


    After a moment of pause, she further asked, "So, you three are friends and part of a team?"


    "I guess you can say that. Even though I don¡¯t know Jiang either, personally," Cassius replied. "In any case, it¡¯s not three now. You¡¯re also a part of it."


    The night seemed to be getting darker as even the moon wasn¡¯t visible in the sky.


    ncing at the darkness outside, Veracity said, "I suppose I am now. But I¡¯m also concerned. You people really want to go against APF, which will bring you against the government and Hunter Union too. Chances of sess are too low while chances of failure are immense."


    Cassius didn¡¯t say anything since he wasn¡¯t ready to think that far. He was living in the moment and sticking for what he believed in. As for the consequences, he didn¡¯t want to think.


    ....


    Two cars were racing on the empty streets, driving back to Kensington. While the car behind was upied by Cassius and Veracity, the car on the front was upied by three people.


    Jiang was sitting in the driver¡¯s seat while Lucifer sat in the passenger seat. As for Ayn, she was sitting on Lucifer¡¯sp, adjusting. She still seemed unconscious though.


    To keep her from moving here and there, Lucifer had wrapped his arms around her slim waist.


    Jiang nced at Lucifer as he smirked. "How does it feel?"


    "How does what feel?" Lucifer asked, ncing back at Jiang. He didn¡¯t know why but he could see a weird smile on Jiang¡¯s face.


    "Oh,e on! You know what I¡¯m talking about. How does it feel to have such a hotdy sitting on yourp? You might be young and ruthless, but you¡¯re still a man on the inside," Jiang said,ughing.


    Lucifer squinted his eyes, ring at Jiang. "Don¡¯t speak nonsense and focus on the road."


    Jiang stopped speaking, but the smile was still on his face.


    "So, Lucifer. Have you had the talk yet?" Jiang further asked after a long time.


    "What talk?" Lucifer asked again.


    "The birds and the bees?" Jiang let out.


    "What do you mean?" Lucifer asked again.


    "You know, the talk about the romantic rtionship between a man and a woman. The basic talk about the do¡¯s and don¡¯ts. Don¡¯t tell me you never had that? Are you really that innocent?" Jiang asked, surprised.


    "Jiang..." Lucifer said softly.


    "Yes?" Jiang asked in return.


    "Do you want to know what an electric shock feels like?" Lucifer asked calmly.


    "What do you mean?" It was Jiang¡¯s turn to be confused.


    "I heard electric shock is used to repair the minds of a few. If you don¡¯t stop talking about this nonsense, I¡¯ll have to test that theory on you. And I don¡¯t want to have to do that since I¡¯m in a hurry to get back home," Lucifer said.


    "Ah, alright. I understand. I won¡¯t speak about it. In fact, I also want to go home fast so I can sleep in peace and take off this weird disguise," Jiang said, rolling his eyes.


    "Do you know how hard it was to keep this fake beard and wig all the time? It gets so itchy," he further said.


    "I know, but it¡¯s important. We can be seen, the cars can be seen, but you can not be seen. You¡¯re the hidden card of ours," Lucifer replied.


    "The wealth and the money will be gone, and our location will be discovered if someone recognizes that you¡¯re the new billionaire," he continued.


    "So whenever we go out together, you¡¯ll either have to get a simr disguise or a mask. Mask would seem off, so disguise was better for now," he further said.


    "Next time, I¡¯m wearing a mask. It¡¯s better than this," Jiang said.


    "Fine. You can use the mask next time," Lucifer said as he closed his eyes. "By the way, I did have that talk. I¡¯m not that naive."


    "What talk?" Jiang asked, smiling cheekily. His smile, however, disappeared as he saw Lucifer re at him.


    "I understand. It¡¯s good. I just thought that you were naive about this. It¡¯s good to know that you¡¯ve grown in all departments of knowledge," he said.


    "By the way, do you feel attracted to thisdy? She¡¯s really beautiful, I must say. Snow-like skin, good figure, beautiful eyes, silky hair... Anything a man could ask for. Did she manage to touch the strings of your heart?" Jiang inquired.


    "Jiang, this is the third warning. We¡¯re ending this topic now, and that¡¯s final. I don¡¯t have time to talk about this nonsense," Lucifer replied.


    Without stopping, he further continued, "As for the strings of my heart, there aren¡¯t any. My heart is only filled with darkness and darkness alone. There¡¯s no room for anyone else in there. So there¡¯s no girl in this world that can touch anything inside my heart."


    ¡¯That¡¯s what you think, young man. I¡¯m sure there will one day be a girl that will be dear to you. A man like you will always be surrounded by women when you take over this nation. We¡¯ll see how you handle it then. If you¡¯re still as strict or not,¡¯ Jiang thought, smiling.


    In the pin-drop silence, time kept passing. Lucifer sat so close to Ayn that he could even hear her breathing as her chest moved up and down.


    He wasn¡¯t looking at her though. Instead, he lowered the window and started looking outside at the silent darkness that had spread everywhere.


    "Darkness is really beautiful, isn¡¯t it? The day brings all this noise and annoyance while the darknesses with peaceful silence," Lucifer let out as he again brought his hand out the window without taking off his gloves.


    As for Ayn, he now held her with only one hand.


    "It¡¯s true, I guess," Jiang agreed.


    He took a casual nce at Lucifer, who seemed to be lost in some deep thought.


    "So, what are your ns after destroying the APF? After you¡¯re done with revenge, what do you want to do?" he asked.


    "Certainly not what I wanted to do before. I won¡¯t repeat the same mistake," Lucifer replied.


    "What mistake? What do you mean?" Jiang asked.


    "The facility... When I came back to life for the first time, you know what I wanted?" Lucifer asked as he continued looking out the window.

 Chapter 256 - 256: Lucifers Conquest

    <h4>Chapter 256 - 256: Lucifer''s Conquest </h4>


    "What did you want?" Jiang asked even though he had some idea. "Was it revenge?"


    "That¡¯s right," Lucifer replied.


    He exined, "All I wanted was revenge so I can finally calm my chaotic heart. And I was somewhat sessful as I finished my revenge. Life seemed to be getting normal as I was over revenge. Then I only wanted to find out the truth about my parents."


    "But you know what happened?" He asked.


    "What?" Jiang inquired.


    "Varant happened. I finished one revenge and just wanted some calm, but he came and again killed me. Even though I did nothing to him. Why? Because of my eyes!" Lucifer replied. "That taught me a lesson."


    "What lesson?¡¯ Jiang asked, curious.


    "No matter how many revenges I take, there will always be someone who won¡¯t be happy with me. Someone who will try to kill me. Someone who will want to take everything I gain. This world can¡¯t let me live the way I want," Lucifer exined.


    "So even if I kill Varant, there wille someone else to kill me. After that, it¡¯ll be someone else and then someone else. So that raised a question. How can I stop it? How can I make sure that no one can hurt me again?" he posed another question to Jiang.


    "How?" Jiang asked, turning more serious.


    "By taking over everything. By letting everyone know their ce! By conquering everything and by killing everyone that stands in my path!" Lucifer replied as he smiled while turning back.


    "When I try to do that, all snakes wille out of their holes so I can crush their heads for all of eternity until there is none left," he continued.


    "You mean... You want to conquer the world?" Jiang asked as his mouth opened wide. He wasn¡¯t talking about taking over the nation but the whole world?


    "No. Instead, I want to bring the whole world to my feet. I don¡¯t care how long it takes. I mightck many things, but time is the one thing I don¡¯tck," Lucifer dered. "So APF isn¡¯t my goal anymore. They¡¯re just a step to get to my goal at this point."


    "This..." Jiang didn¡¯t know what to say. This whole thing was so grand. Lucifer didn¡¯t want to go against APF, but he wanted to go against the entire world.


    There were potentially millions of Variants and thousands of Warlocks, many of who would be as strong as Varant if not stronger.


    "Are you sure that¡¯s what you want?" Jiang asked, frowning.


    "I¡¯ve never been more sure of anything. I know this goal will require me to kill a lot of people. But that doesn¡¯t matter. Whoever opposes me will find him on the path to hell. It doesn¡¯t matter if he¡¯s a friend or enemy." Lucifer dered. His voice seemed determined.


    Hearing the grand schemes of Lucifer, Jiang was feeling like his heart was racing.


    The future...he didn¡¯t know what the future held, but it was certainly going to be filled with blood and destruction. And he had already chosen a side.


    All he could do was ce all his bets on Lucifer. In any case, supporting an undying warlock was better than taking the side of his enemies.


    "Oh right, I also want you to do one more thing," Lucifer said suddenly.


    "S-sure," Jiang said, stuttering as he still was slightly in a daze.


    "Focus on the road, or we¡¯ll get in an ident. I don¡¯t care about me since nothing will happen to me, but I don¡¯t want to have to find another person to make a billionaire after you die," Lucifer said, reminding Jiang to focus on the road again. He was taking his eyes off the road regrly, after all.


    "Ah, right."


    ...


    The two cars kept going from city to city as they left. On the other hand, two helicopters of different groups were advancing towards that specific city where Lucifer had just captured Ayn.


    The first group to get there was the APF though. Their helicopter also flew above the neighborhood as Varant, Riali, Gensi, and Arne jumped out,nding on the ground.


    "Gensi, you check the house of Veracity and all the other houses. It seems too silent," Varantmanded the silver-haired man who was covering the lower half of his face.


    The man disappeared into thin air as he turned to a shadow and started the search.


    As for the other three, they went towards the rubble where they believed Ayn was hiding.


    As they reached there, Varant noticed the remains of the broken Ice Dome that still hadn¡¯t melted.


    Frowning, he looked around, but he didn¡¯t find any clues.


    "She isn¡¯t here. There aren¡¯t any clues that suggest she fought here. This is strange? Where could she have gone without fighting?" Varant said, frowning.


    "It seems like she was killed right here. That¡¯s why there, we can¡¯t see any ice anywhere else," Riali responded. "Maybe the enemy found her, broke the dome, and killed her, all before she could react?"


    "That¡¯s possible, but still..."


    While Varant was still doubting, Arne stepped closer as he picked up a small block of ice that had a little blood.


    "We also have blood here. It seems like Riali is telling the truth," he said.


    "So they killed her. Why would they take the bodies then?" Varant wondered. "Remove all this rubble. Count the bodies if any are left under."


    This also happened to be the moment when Gensi returned.


    "Veracity isn¡¯t there either. Moreover, we asked the citizens. They said some bearded man told them that a demolition was taking ce here, so they didn¡¯t step out. They didn¡¯t see anything," he informed others.


    "Moreover, I did find blood on some roofs, but no bodies are there," he further exined.


    "Strange. Blood is everywhere, but no bodies are in sight. What exactly happened here?" Varant asked as he failed to understand who could have done this. And why would they take the bodies?


    He didn¡¯t realize that Lucifer was back, unlike the Variant Uprising did. The only reason they couldn¡¯t find bodies was because Lucifer took care of them.


    He first decayed the bodies, and while leaving, he used a gust of wind to make the ashes fly away, mixing in the air.


    As Arne started moving the rubble, they soon found more bodies buried under. All of these bodies belonged to their men that were killed while being cut in half.


    "The rest of the bodies are still here, it seems. Only Ayn is missing," Riali observed.


    "Could it be because they didn¡¯t want to waste time moving all this rubble to take other bodies? They must have known we wereing," Arnemented.

 Chapter 257 - 257: Another Chase

    <h4>Chapter 257 - 257: Another Chase </h4>


    The atmosphere was grim as so many bodies of their men were lying before them, and all they knew was that this was done by Variant Uprising.


    Varant took a deep breath before he spoke, "Take all the bodies in the helicopter. Make sure the news of this doesn¡¯t get out. No one should know that so many of our men had died here. As for Ayn¡¯s whereabouts, I¡¯ll try to-"


    He stopped mid sentence as he looked up in the sky where another helicopter could be seen advancing here.


    The second helicopter soon reached there as another group of people jumped out. This time, it was Raia, Kellian, Yaliza, and the crazy swordsman Tristan.


    Unlike others, Tristan was staring at the bodies.


    "Amazing! Such a clean cut of a sword! Just a little more experience, and that person could be a master. I really would love to face his sword in a battle," Tristan said, grinning.


    Even from such a distance, he still understood that all of the APF members died because of the attack from the sword.


    "Raia, I didn¡¯t know you were such an idiot. After killing our people, you dared toe here? Don¡¯t tell me this entire trap was so you could bring me out?" Varant asked firmly. He still believed it was Raia¡¯s work.


    "What trap?" Raia asked, confused. "If I wanted you out, do you really think I need to set traps? I can just destroy a few cities, and you¡¯ll stand before me."


    But he also understood a few things. It seems like Lucifer had shed with APF members here. He killed them, and they had no idea that it was him.


    ¡¯He¡¯s getting pretty sneaky,¡¯ Raia thought, smirking.


    "Even though I haven¡¯t killed your men, I¡¯m pretty pleased at their death. That¡¯s what they deserved. Anyway, do you know who did it?" he asked Varant.


    "Enough ying around! Tell me what you did to Ayn?!" Varant asked, frowning. "I really don¡¯t want to fight here as many people would die. So tell me right away!"


    Raia instead ignored Varant as he nced at Tristan.


    "Are you sure this is because of a sword attack?" he asked Tristan.


    "I¡¯m two hundred percent sure. I can still feel the sword aura in the air," Tristan replied, smirking.


    ¡¯ I doubt Lucifer could use a sword like that. He shouldn¡¯t have that ability. So someone is helping him¡ª a swordsman. Interesting.¡¯ he thought.


    "How strong will that swordsman bepared to you?" Raia further asked.


    "I¡¯d say slightly weaker than me," Tristan casually replied. "So, can we stop with the boring talk? They¡¯re already in front of us. Let me cut some of them up, please."


    "We can¡¯t. We still need to find the person who did this. That person is more important than anything at this point," Raia said as he turned around and started leaving.


    "This sucks!" Tristan let out, rolling his eyes. He also turned back.


    "Are we really going to let them go like this?" Gensi asked Varant, who didn¡¯t seem to be stopping them.


    "Let them go for now. It wasn¡¯t them," Varant replied, frowning. "They were telling the truth."


    "How can you say that?" Riali inquired.


    "Think yourself. Why would theye here personally if it was them in the first ce? That too, after killing everyone cleanly," Varant answered.


    " At first, I thought they came back because their main goal was killing me, but if that were the case, they wouldn¡¯t leave like that. They wouldn¡¯t have wasted their time like that. The killer is different. I think I¡¯m understanding a few things now," he further said.


    "What are you understanding?" Gensi asked.


    "The reason they had their men here in the first ce. It was because they were waiting for someone toe here," Varant said.


    "They wanted that person to join their team. You found blood on the top of the roof but no body. I don¡¯t think that blood belongs to Ayn. It must belong to their men who were keeping an eye here. Just to be sure, send the blood samples to theb," he further exined his theory.


    "Wherever this person was, they not only killed our men but theirs too. And I also managed to get a clue just now. As he said, it was a Swordsman who did that. An S-Rank Swordsman," he continued.


    "Then there¡¯s no benefit fighting here. They don¡¯t know about Ayn either. We¡¯ll only cause more destruction in the city for no reason," Gensi said, nodding.


    "Raia! Tell me one thing before you go! Who was the person your men were waiting for? Who was it that made the two of use here personally?" Varant yelled at Raia, who was just about to enter the helicopter.


    "That person? Well, that person is going to be a literal nightmare for you. I can¡¯t wait to get to that person first!" Raia replied as he burst intoughter. He entered the helicopter, which started flying away.


    "I don¡¯t understand one thing. How did they know that person was going toe here?" Arne asked as he raised a doubt.


    "I don¡¯t think they knew that the person wasing here. They probably assumed that one day he woulde here. If they knew the exact time, they wouldn¡¯t be waiting here for four years," Varant replied.


    "I guess someone rted to that person lives here. And that¡¯s why they were keeping an eye here, hoping that person woulde to meet his rtive one day."


    "The entire Veracity angle was wrong. We thought they were here for Veracity, but they were here for someone else," he further said.


    "This is a real mess. Deal with Lucifer, and another mass killer appears. Can this country never be at peace?" Varant said, clenching his fist.


    "Gensi, start getting the bodies back. As I said, no one should know what happened here,"


    "I don¡¯t want panic to spread in public. Also, get me all the CCTV footage of this city. And get a sketch artist to make a sketch of that bearded man," hemanded his men as he started walking away.


    Arne and the others started shifting the bodies back to the helicopter. It took them only ten minutes to finish.


    In the meantime, they had also arranged for a sketch artist toe here from the base. They had also sent themand to the city to send all the CCTV footage to their base as soon as possible.


    "We¡¯re ready to leave. The other team will soon be here to take over," Gensi told Varant, who was standing in the distance, looking at the dark sky.


    "Alright. Let¡¯s go then. It looks like it¡¯s time to start another chase. But then again, no matter how bad this killer is, at least he¡¯s not Lucifer. This problem couldn¡¯t be as bad as the problem he and his eyes were."

 Chapter 258 - 258: Secret Of Limiter

    <h4>Chapter 258 - 258: Secret Of Limiter </h4>


    Two sports cars were racing through the roads that were surrounded by tall trees on both sides when Lucifer heard a noise.


    "She¡¯sing to her senses. That¡¯s good," he muttered as he noticed the woman slightly moving.


    "Ouch."


    Ayn slowly opened her eyes to notice that her head was aching as if it was going to blow up. She was initially in a daze as she remembered what had happened.


    How did she get in a car from inside the Dome? Was she captured?


    She understood that the first thing she needed to do was get out of the car. It was evident she was captured as she remembered her head being hit. As for the people in the car, they didn¡¯t seem like her team members.


    "Little girl, I know what you¡¯re thinking. Don¡¯t use your powers if you don¡¯t want to suffer," Lucifer softly whispered in Ayn¡¯s ears.


    As Ayn heard the threatening tone, she realized that she was with the enemies. Not only that, they even made her sit on theirp? How lewd were these people to take advantage of this situation, she wondered.


    She decided to use her powers and stab the guy who made her sit on hisp. Since she was so close to him, she found it simple. All she needed was to make an Ice Knife to stab the person.


    She slightly raised his hand to call forth her powers.


    "Arghhhhh!"


    A loud scream echoed in the car, which even went outside as the windows were open. Fortunately, they weren¡¯t in a city, so no one heard the scream.


    The scream soon stopped as Ayn lost consciousness again.


    "I did warn her. She can¡¯t me me now," Lucifer said as he shook his head ignorantly. "At least she¡¯ll try to be careful next time. If she¡¯s not stupid enough."


    He again started looking outside.


    The cars continued zooming through the cities as six more hours passed before Ayn gained her consciousness again.


    But this time, she didn¡¯t make a noise. She believed it was Lucifer who had shocked her as he probably noticed that she was about to attack.


    She didn¡¯t know that it was an automated process because of the bracelet that was on her wrist.


    This time her n was to attack before Lucifer could even know that she was up.


    She subtly tried to call forth her power again as she kept her eyes closed and her breathing uniform.


    "Arghhhh!"


    Another scream echoed inside the car, but the windows happened to be closed this time which drowned most of the noise.


    She again lost consciousness.


    "I guess I overestimated her intelligencest time. She¡¯s not really smart, is she? It doesn¡¯t matter. I removed the limitation of only three shocks. She can try as many times as she wants," Lucifer muttered softly.


    As the journey continued, Ayn once again woke up. This time, she didn¡¯t try to create a knife but used all her powers to freeze Lucifer.


    "Arghhhh!"


    With a loud scream, she again lost her consciousness.


    "It¡¯s like a repeat telecast at this point. Why doesn¡¯t she understand? Shouldn¡¯t you exin to her how it works? She¡¯s probably thinking that you¡¯re shocking her, I believe. If she knew it was automated, she wouldn¡¯t try to do it," Jiang reminded Lucifer.


    He had noticed the problem. She wasn¡¯t an idiot, after all; at least that¡¯s what he assumed.


    "How can I tell her? She¡¯s trying to be sneaky. Before I even realize she¡¯s up, I hear her screams. As soon as she stops being sneaky and getting hurt, I can try to get through," Lucifer repliedzily.


    "But I¡¯m not in a hurry. She can take as much time as she wants in tasting the shock," he further said.


    "That shock sounds scary. To make someone like her lose consciousness, how does it work?" Jiang asked, frowning.


    "The basic principle is simple actually. When it attaches itself to a person, it studies them to understand their body sequencing at that point, setting that at the initial point."


    "When a person tries to use their powers, their body sequencing changes. The bracelet notices it and shocks them. As for the intensity, it¡¯s just enough to make them unconscious," Lucifer exined.


    Even he was confused about how it worked when he had regained his memories because, ording to his information, it shocked when a power was used. But his decay was working all that time. He was never shocked for that.


    His decay never stopped. So he was curious why it didn¡¯t shock him. Thus, he took a bracelet with him to study and understand.


    It was only after studying a bracelet when it wasn¡¯t being used did he realize what the trick was.


    The only reason it didn¡¯t shock him was because his decay was active when he wore the bracelet.


    That¡¯s when the bracelet set point zero of his body sequencing, and it considered that decay to be normal.


    He believed that¡¯s why the bracelets were given in the auditorium since that was the ce where everyone was rxed and simply sitting.


    So no one was going to use their powers when wearing the bracelets to fool the limiter regarding their normal body sequencing. Unfortunately, they didn¡¯t expect Lucifer¡¯s power to be active even then.


    The academy kept it a secret from everyone else so no one could bypass this at the orientation. Even he wouldn¡¯t have ever known if he hadn¡¯t investigated an ownerless bracelet.


    ...


    Two sports cars entered the city of Kensington in the middle of the night as they advanced towards the Mansion of Jiang, moving through the empty roads.


    They entered the Estate, which was being taken care of by the guards that Jiang had called for. Unfortunately, no servants were here yet. Only one guard was here who sat at the main gates of the Estate.


    The two cars stopped at the entrance of the mansion inside the Welling Estate. Jiang was the first person to step out as he yawned.


    "Finally, we¡¯re back!" He eximed as he took off the wig and the beard that he was wearing. His skin was already itchy after having that for so long.


    He walked over to Lucifer¡¯s side and opened the door before he helped him get Ayn out.


    Lucifer also stepped out as he yawned. "Does feel good to be free of the weight. She¡¯s pretty heavy."


    "You shouldn¡¯tment on the weight of a woman. From my personal experience, I can say it can turn pretty bad," Jiang told Lucifer,ughing.


    "Enough talking. Open the gates for me," Lucifer said as he picked up Ayn in his arms again.

 Chapter 259 - 259: Rules Of Mansion

    <h4>Chapter 259 - 259: Rules Of Mansion </h4>


    Cassius and Veracity also joined them, getting out of the cars.


    "This is where you live? God, I thought you were fugitives, living in some small underground ce. To know you live in suchvishness, I guess you really are talented," Veracity said as she stared at the massive mansion.


    "Don¡¯t worry; this is just the start of what¡¯s toe," Luciferzily said as he walked towards the door that was opened by Jiang.


    "Jiang, arrange the rooms near ours for the two of them. As for Ayn, I¡¯ll keep her in my room, so she doesn¡¯t escape," he further told Jiang before he entered.


    Climbing the beautiful round stairs, he reached the higher floor and entered his room, where he ced Ayn on his massive bed.


    "Ah, does he not understand how it seems when he says he¡¯ll stay in a room with Ayn after making her sit on hisp?" Veracity asked, chuckling.


    "I doubt he understands. He¡¯s a bit weak in that department even though he¡¯s excellent in everything else," Jiang replied, smiling wryly. "Come, I¡¯ll show you your room."


    Veracity and Cassius entered the mansion, which looked even better on the inside than it did outside.


    Everything inside the mansion looked expensive.


    "Whose ce is this? You also have a billionaire in your team?" Veracity inquired, asking for rification.


    "Actually I¡¯m the one. It¡¯s my mansion. And it¡¯s not the only mansion I own. I¡¯m pretty rich after all," Jiang exined, gloating.


    "Why did you personally take the risk of going out then? If you¡¯re the funding of this team, shouldn¡¯t you stay hidden, in the shadows?" Veracity asked, following after Jiang, who was taking them upstairs.


    "I personally had to go since he actually can¡¯t drive. And he didn¡¯t want a random driver," Jiang exined. "Moreover, even if I died, so what? He can just create another billionaire like he created me."


    "He created you?" Veracity inquired, stunned.


    "That¡¯s right. I was nothing but a poor bloke until a few weeks ago. All this wealth... It¡¯s given to me by him. You have no idea how clever he was with this. He basically tricked the whole world," Jiang said,ughing.


    "Anyway, this will be your room. It¡¯s right beside mine. There are actually no servants here right now since we only recently room over."


    " As for the old servants, they are, ah, on leave. So you¡¯ll have to handle it for now. You won¡¯t have any problem tomorrow," he further exined as he pointed towards a room.


    "It¡¯s fine. I lived alone. I can take care of myself," Veracity replied, without being upset.


    "That¡¯s better. One more thing, you shouldn¡¯t leave the mansion without informing us first since you¡¯ll probably be wanted too. We can¡¯t have you be seen outside. Other than that, you¡¯re free to do anything," Jiang told Veracity, who walked inside her room.


    "I understand, boss. I won¡¯t leave. At least not without telling any of you," Veracity said. "For now, let me rest. I¡¯m tired as well."


    She closed the gates of her room.


    Jiang shifted his attention to Cassius.


    "As for you, big guy. Your room will be on the other side of me. That one," he said as he pointed towards a room in the distance while escorting Cassius.


    Cassius opened the door to look inside the well-decorated room.


    "Rest for now. We¡¯ll talk about the rest tomorrow. Also, there are the same rules for you. Don¡¯t go out alone, or you¡¯ll bring trouble to us," Jiang reminded him before Cassius closed the door.


    "Now to me, I should also sleep. Finally, I¡¯ll get to sleep on a bed instead of a car. It feels like a dreame true." He chuckled as he also walked inside his room.


    He took a warm shower, giving his muscles a rxing moment before he walked to his bed.


    As soon as Jiangid on the bed, he felt like he was going to cry. The moment he dreamt about from so long was finally here as he could sleep on a soft bed.


    He didn¡¯t want this feeling to end. He was so tired that he didn¡¯t even realize when he fell asleep.


    ....


    Lucifer, on the other hand, had left everyone free to do whatever they wanted as he entered his room.


    He sat on the bed, ncing at Ayn, who seemed like she was peacefully sleeping. But he knew that she was unconscious because of thest electrocution.


    He stood up and walked to the doors which he locked. He kept the key hidden in a ce where he was sure Ayn couldn¡¯t find it. He didn¡¯t want her to run when he was sleeping.


    As for the room, it didn¡¯t have any windows either. Since he didn¡¯t like the light, he had selected a room without a window. Joe had instead ced a wall-mounted TV in ce of a window that showed various scenes of nature.


    As Lucifer wasn¡¯t interested in it, he kept it off mostly.


    "Hopefully, you will have learned your lesson next time. Don¡¯t do anything annoying when you wake up," he told Ayn as heid beside her. He was also pretty sleepy.


    Turning on the AC, he closed his eyes as he fell asleep as well.


    Unfortunately, just as he had expected, Ayn woke upter, only two hours after he had fallen asleep.


    After getting electrocuted for so long, she had learned her lesson. But she still didn¡¯t know that everything was because of her bracelet.


    This time instead of attacking, she wanted to ask her kidnappers why they kept her alive, but as she looked around, she found herself in a room. There was darkness everywhere, but her eyes could see a little bit.


    She noticed a man sleeping beside her.


    ¡¯This perverted man, first he made me sit on hisp, and now he wants to sleep on the same bed? This bastard!¡¯ she thought as she clenched her fist.


    She made sure not to make any noise.


    She still hadn¡¯t realized that the man before her was Lucifer since he looked slightly different.


    She carefully observed her surroundings to see if someone was keeping an eye on her.


    As she found no one here, she decided that it was the right time. No one could stop her from using her powers now since no one was awake.


    She carefully moved to sit near Lucifer, facing him so she could attack directly.


    She stared at Lucifer as she raised her hand to call forth her power once again.


    "Arghhhh!"


    She screamed once again as she fell unconscious, falling on top of Lucifer, who woke up from her scream.

 Chapter 260 - 260: Does He Know?

    <h4>Chapter 260 - 260: Does He Know? </h4>


    Opening his eyes, Lucifer noticed that the woman was lying on top of him as her breasts pressed against him.


    "This stupid girl," he muttered as he rolled his eyes. "She will never learn."


    Lucifer wasn¡¯t the only one who heard the scream as Jiang and Veracity also heard the scream since they were right beside the room. As Cassius¡¯s room was farther away, he didn¡¯t hear it.


    Jiang instantly understood what had happened since he had heard that scream many times before, but Veracity hadn¡¯t.


    "God, don¡¯t tell me he did it to her?" Veracity let out as she stood up. "Even though she¡¯s a prisoner, I didn¡¯t expect that he would force her for his lust."


    She got off the bed to check, only to find Jiang standing outside her room.


    "I knew someone would misunderstand this scream," Jiang said as he smiled wryly.


    "Don¡¯t worry; it¡¯s not what you¡¯re thinking. The scream wasn¡¯t because Lucifer forced her. It was because she was electrocuted. She must have tried using her powers. I heard this scream many times before. Go back and sleep."


    Veracity squirted her eyes as she realized that he was telling the truth she had misunderstood. She nodded her head as she walked back to her room.


    Jiang waited to see if Cassius was going toe out too because of this misunderstanding, but after he didn¡¯t see anyonee out, he walked back to his room as he muttered, "Looks like he didn¡¯t hear it."


    Jiang also walked back and fell asleep, annoyed at having to wake up mid-sleep.


    ...


    Lucifer nced at the beautiful face of Ayn, which was so close to his that he could feel her warm breath on his face, which seemed to be annoying him.


    He ced his hand on her shoulders as he rolled her to the side, freeing him.


    "I already handled the weight of yours in my journey. Can¡¯t take more," Lucifer said as he again closed his eyes.


    He once again fell asleep, without worries, as he knew Ayn wasn¡¯t going to wake up before him now.


    ...


    "This is the footage of the city." Gensi showed the footage of the city to Varant while also cing a sketch. "And this is the sketch of that bearded man."


    "Did you run a facial scan to find this guy? Was he anywhere in the footage?" Varant asked as he observed the sketch of Jiang when he was in disguise.


    "We didn¡¯t find that guy in the footage. I think he avoided the cameras for the most part. As for the neighborhood, the CCTV connection of that ce was interrupted, so we didn¡¯t get anything. But we did get a few witnesses that gave their statements," Gensi replied.


    "What did they say?" Varant asked, frowning. "Anything significant?"


    "They said they saw a group of people taking an unconsciousdy in their arms. The group had two young men and another woman," Gensi answered.


    "So it was the work of four people? Two young men, one bearded guy, and a woman? Where are the sketches of the other three?"


    "We didn¡¯t manage to get the sketches. None of the witnesses remember the faces of those people. All they remember was that one of them had long silver hair and the other person had ck hair."


    "Don¡¯t tell me that no camera in the entire city captured them?" Varant asked, frustrated.


    "None. We¡¯re still analyzing the footage from other cameras, but at the moment, we have nothing significant," Gensi said, sighing.


    "Since when did we be so useless?" Varant asked, shaking his head in disappointment.


    "I don¡¯t care how you do it. I want the faces of those three people. Tell the team to check every camera footage if they have to a thousand times. I want Veracity back. Because it seems like they didn¡¯t kill her."


    ....


    "Lucifer Azarel is back, hahaha, not bad at all. The eight years of waiting is over now," Raia was sitting in his base,ughing out loud. "He¡¯s back with a bang too. With an S Rank Swordsman."


    "Should we really be happy though? He even killed our men. I doubt he has any goodwill for us. Do you think Caen told him the truth about us? About what we did?" Vega asked Raia, frowning.


    "He can¡¯t. I manipted Caen¡¯s memories too. He doesn¡¯t remember that either. Don¡¯t worry. I don¡¯t think he could have told Lucifer about that," Raia replied, shaking his head.


    "Then why do you think he attacked our men? We helped him after all?" Vega asked, frowning.


    "You¡¯re wrong. I think APF members killed our men. Lucifer killed the APF members before he left. That must be how it went," Raia said, shaking his head.


    "It¡¯s either that or he thought our men were from APF and identally killed them. I don¡¯t think he¡¯ll kill our men unless he knows the truth of what we did, and there¡¯s no way for him to know it," he continued.


    "I really hope so. Because if he can kill the Beta Squad leader without making a noise, then he might already be close to being a Warlock King. I don¡¯t want him to be against us," Vega said, seemingly concerned.


    "Don¡¯t worry. Find where he is at the moment. Next time, I¡¯ll send Kellian and Yaliza personally. Those two trained him. He¡¯ll recognize them ande back," Raia responded.


    "I¡¯ll try my best," Vega said before he stood up and left.


    ...


    The cold night passed away as a new day arrived, bringing the much needed warmth with it.


    Lucifer opened his eyes and got off the bed. In fact, he was the first one to wake up.


    He walked to the shelf and picked up hisptop, and unlocked it.


    He entered some keys into theptop to open an app which seemed to be showing him the live footage of other rooms.


    He was able to see Veracity, who was still sleeping peacefully. As for Cassius, he was up, but he seemed to be exercising in his rooms.


    He closed theptop and ced it back before he walked inside the shower room to take a shower.


    As he entered the shower, he noticed the bottle of shampoo. A smile formed on his face as he remembered how scared he was of shampoo when he was young. "I really was an idiot."


    He turned on the overhead shower, which made fine droplets of water fall over his body. He even picked up the bottle of shampoo and used it.


    After a shower thatsted for ten minutes only, he stepped out. He went to the wardrobe and picked a set of clothes that he had purchased from the city previously.


    He donned a grey t-shirt and a spotless white jacket on top, apanied by ck jeans.


    He looked at the clock before he looked at Ayn. "She should be up soon too."

 Chapter 261 - 261: I Need Money

    <h4>Chapter 261 - 261: I Need Money </h4>


    Picking up the key, Lucifer unlocked the door before he stepped out. He didn¡¯t forget to close the door as he left.


    "Jiang, are you up?" He asked as he knocked on the door of Jiang.


    "I¡¯ll be right out! Just getting dressed!" A voice came from inside.


    Cassius also stepped out of his room by that time. He seemed to be covered in sweat as he had just finished the exercise.


    There was a towel on his shoulder.


    "Good Morning," he wished Lucifer.


    "Good Morning. How was your stay here?" Lucifer asked casually.


    "Not bad at all. Even though the beds aren¡¯t as good as back home, they¡¯re not bad either. I had a good sleep," Cassius replied. "So what are the ns for today?"


    "Nothing special. We aren¡¯t going to do anything for the next few days. Instead, I will be learning how to drive," Lucifer replied. " I¡¯ll also interrogate that girlter to know the things I want. And after that... Just know that we have a big schedule."


    "So for the next few days, just rx and enjoy," he further said.


    "Enjoy you say? You¡¯d be wanted outside along with us, most probably. They should have our picture by now. We can¡¯t even go outside," A voice came from behind.


    Turning back, Lucifer noticed ady. "Veracity, you¡¯re up too."


    "Why wouldn¡¯t I be?" Veracity asked, smiling.


    "I was just saying that. Anyway, I don¡¯t think they¡¯ll have our sketch. The only person they¡¯ll know about is you. As for your location, that¡¯ll be unknown. They don¡¯t know Jiang either since he was supporting a fake look," Lucifer replied.


    "As for us, I doubt they have our description. I took steps for that," he further said.


    Veracity knew he was telling the truth but that also surprised her. They went there, kidnapped someone so important and he still believed his identity was secret? Could he really have been so clever as to make that happen?


    Another door opened as Jiang also stepped out. "I¡¯m done."


    "Jiang, did you arrange for the servants as I told you?" Lucifer asked Jiang.


    "I made sure of that, don¡¯t worry. The servants wille today and they¡¯re just as you told me to get. They will stay in the house and they¡¯ll keep our secrets," Jiang replied.


    "Even though I¡¯ll have to pay them more, it¡¯s fine. They won¡¯t care, no matter what illegal thing we do here," he further said. "They can be here anytime today."


    "Good," Lucifer said, nodding in satisfaction. He turned back to Cassius as he said, " Take a shower and meet me outside. You¡¯re going to teach me how to drive."


    " Yeah," Cassius agreed as he walked back inside the room.


    "I¡¯ll prepare the coffee," Veracity chimed in. "Do any of you want it?"


    "I don¡¯t drink coffee. You can make it for yourself," Lucifer replied.


    "I¡¯ll take a cup," Jiang said. "Come, I¡¯ll show you the kitchen."


    "Got it."


    Turning back, Veracity left in search of the kitchen with Jiang.


    Lucifer also walked downstairs as he left the mansion to take a walk in the garden.


    This had be his favorite ce in the whole estate. The garden was very big and contained various beautiful flowers that were rare in many ces.


    The flowers seemed beautiful yet intriguing.


    Lucifer walked near the flowers, observing them. Soon, he noticed a flower that attracted his attention.


    It seemed to be a nt that had tens of blood-red flowers.


    Reaching out his hand, he plucked one of the flowers as he observed it from close.


    "It¡¯s Ephydrorhops Apheloramus. I remember seeing them in a book at the Academy. To see them here, quite amusing," he muttered as he smiled. "Beautiful indeed. Albeit something that is destined to die now that I plucked it."


    Shaking his head, he started walking again as he held the flower in his hand, remembering his precious past memories.


    He remembered how his father used to bring many flowers for his mother. Seeing these flowers used to bring such a bright smile on his mother¡¯s face. At the same time, his father used to bring choctes for him.


    "Here you are, I needed to talk to you!"


    As Lucifer was lost in his thoughts, someone called him from behind.


    He turned back to see Jiang.


    The smile that was on his face disappeared as he asked, "What do you need?"


    "I got an invitation for a meeting. Since I just took over thepany, there has been a meeting to help me introduce our head staff to me. But it¡¯s in a different city," Jiang exined to Lucifer.


    "I wanted to ask if you need me for anything in the next few days. If not, I think I should attend that meeting. That way, I can deal with stuff better in the future. I¡¯ll have a wider," he further said as he smiled wryly.


    "It¡¯s fine. You can go. I don¡¯t have anything important for the next few days that might need you," Lucifer said, giving permission.


    "That¡¯s awesome. I¡¯ll start preparing to leave then. I¡¯ll be going in the private jet. It¡¯ll be my first time traveling like that. I¡¯m so excited," Jiang said excitedly as he started leaving.


    "Jiang?" Lucifer suddenly called out.


    "Yeah?" Jiang asked, turning back.


    "Give me some money. I¡¯ll be going out and I have nothing," Lucifer told Jiang, grimly.


    "Hahaha, only that? This whole wealth is yours. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll get the money to you in a few minutes," Jiangughed as he left.


    Lucifer also got back to his work, ncing at the flower which was still in his hand. He resumed his morning walk.


    It took Jiang a few minutes before he came back again, this time with a thick wallet in his hand.


    "Here it is," he told Lucifer as he gave him the wallet. "This has cash. But there is also a card too. In case you run out of cash, you can use the card to get more. As for the pin, it¡¯s Six Nine Four Two Zero One. If you forget, you can call meter."


    "I only needed a little bit to buy chocte. It¡¯s not like I¡¯m going out to buy the whole town," Lucifer let out, rolling his eyes. He still took the wallet and kept that in his pocket.


    " You like choctes?" Jiang asked Lucifer, surprised. Finally this guy spoke something like a normal person.


    "I just feel like trying it today. Not that I like it," Lucifer replied as he released the red flower which he was holding in his hand, letting it fall on the ground.

 Chapter 262 - 262: Video Of Zale

    <h4>Chapter 262 - 262: Video Of Zale </h4>


    "Anyway, when are you leaving?" Lucifer asked Jiang. "And where is the meeting?"


    "The meeting is in the Realtec city. I¡¯ll be leaving in the afternoon. Also, I¡¯ll tell them that the project in the legion city is cancelled because I want that project shifted elsewhere," Jiang exined.


    "Are you saying you didn¡¯t tell them to stop the project till now?" Lucifer asked, squinting his eyes.


    "I already told the rted staff but I should also tell this to others face to face so there are no misunderstandingster on," Jiang exined. "That project is already dead."


    "That¡¯s good. You can leave. Take care of thedies until afternoon. By then I¡¯ll be back. Then you can leave," Lucifer said, nodding.


    "Alright. Now if you¡¯ll excuse me,a coffee made by a prettydy is waiting for me inside," Jiang said, grinning as he walked back.


    "This guy will never learn," Lucifer let out, shaking his head.


    He ced his hands in his pockets as he resumed his walk.


    "Here you are! Come on, don¡¯t you want to learn how to drive! Come with me!"


    Just as Jiang had left, Cassius came to Lucifer. He had finished showering and now he was dressed in white pants and a beautiful white robe like he was a Prince of a Kingdom.


    "I was waiting for you. Let¡¯s go," Lucifer replied. He started walking towards the three cars.


    While Cassius stopped before the cars they had drivenst time, Lucifer went to the third car.


    "We¡¯ll take this one today," he said as he showed the keys which were in his hands.


    "Alright. Sit in the Driver¡¯s seat. I¡¯ll guide you," Cassius told Lucifer as he walked towards the third car.


    Lucifer opened the gates of the bright yellow sports car and sat on the driver¡¯s seat.


    Cassius sat on the passenger seat.


    Lucifer inserted the key in the car as he nced at Cassius.


    "Alright. Tell me what to do from here?" he asked, curious.


    "First let me teach you what is what. That one you see on the right is the elerator which you use to elerate the car. On the left, there¡¯s a brake. And this is..."


    Cassius started with exining the car to Lucifer who already knew a few things about this but he still listened carefully.


    "You understand?" he asked Lucifer after he finished exining.


    "Yeah," Lucifer replied, nodding.


    "That¡¯s perfect. Now wee to the main part. The driving. Since these are sports cars, learning to drive them is slightly tough so be careful. Press the elerator extremely slowly. And keep your eye on the road," Cassius further said as he started the teaching.


    ...


    The yellow sports car left the Welling Estate in the early morning and only returned after four hours when it was afternoon.


    Lucifer stopped the car in front of the mansion.


    "That¡¯s it. Not bad for your first day at all," Cassiusplimented Lucifer as the two of them stepped out of the car. "I think you¡¯ll be pretty good in a few days."


    Lucifer stepped inside the mansion while carrying a box of chocte in his hands that he had purchased on the way.


    "You two are back. I thought I was going to bete waiting for you. Fortunately you¡¯re on time. I¡¯ll get going now."


    As soon as Cassius and Lucifer entered the mansion, they noticed Jiang who looked extremely happy to see them.


    Veracity was also standing beside him. There was also another woman standing nearby.


    "Is that the maid?" Lucifer asked Jiang.


    "Yeah. I taught her everything. She¡¯ll be careful," Jiang replied.


    "We¡¯ll see that," Lucifer said, frowning.


    He stepped closer to the woman, stopping a few feet away from her.


    "Tell me something. If you find out that we had kidnapped someone and we¡¯re keeping that person hostage, will you tell anyone else to get us caught?" Lucifer asked thedy.


    "As long as I get my ie that I¡¯m promised on time, I won¡¯t care whatever you do in this mansion," Thedy answered confidently. "You don¡¯t have to worry about me."


    Lucifer nced at Veracity as he asked, " Is she telling the truth?"


    "She is. And he already had her go through that test," Veracity answered, pointing towards Jiang.


    "One more thing then," Lucifer said as he turned around. "Jiang, your turn. Will you ever betray me?"


    "I can¡¯t. Offending others is better than offending you. In any case, now I¡¯m your partner in crime. I¡¯m just as deep in it as you. So either we¡¯ll both die or we¡¯ll both sail through the storms together," Jiang replied. "And you can get my words checked."


    Even though Lucifer could see that Jiang was telling the truth, he still looked at Veracity for confirmation.


    "He¡¯s telling the truth too," Veracity said.


    "You can leave," Lucifer told Jiang as he started leaving.


    "I¡¯ll have my food in my room in an hour. Also, bring another te for the kidnapped guest," he said without turning back but it was obvious that he was talking to the maid.


    "I¡¯ll be practicing outside," Cassius told Veracity as he also left but unlike Lucifer, he didn¡¯t go to his room. He went outside to practice his sword skills.


    Lucifer unlocked the door using the key as he entered the room.


    He could see that Ayn was still lying in the bed, unconscious.


    "I hope she doesn¡¯t die of hunger. That would be unfortunate. If only she doesn¡¯t use her powers as soon as she wakes up," Lucifer muttered as he shook his head.


    He walked back to the shelf to pick up hisptop while he kept the box of chocte there.


    Taking hisptop, he walked to a chair and sat while cing theptop in hisp.


    He opened theptop to enter the password. After unlocking it, he started getting to work.


    It had been days since he started trying to get any footage which showed his father or mother in a battle.


    He wanted to see their fighting style to develop his skills to learn the extent of his powers.


    Unfortunately, no such video was in the public domain. Thus, he was trying to use some illegal methods to get those videos since they were important.


    As it was tougher than he expected, it was taking time. But everyday, he was getting ever so close to getting what he wanted.


    For the next half an hour, he stayed on theptop, pressing various keys. "There it is. I found one."


    As he noticed a video, he grew excited. Finally he could see.


    "It¡¯s a video of Father from the first Great War. It should be useful," Lucifer said as he started ying the video.

 Chapter 263 - 263: Zales Epic Skill

    <h4>Chapter 263 - 263: Zale''s Epic Skill </h4>


    After much struggle, Lucifer had found the video of his father using his power. Being unable to wait, he started ying the video.


    He could see the powerful back of his father as the video was shot from behind.


    There was a crowd of people standing near the person who was recording the video. On the other end, hundreds of hungry Dungeon Dwellers could be seen, looking like they were going to shred everyone in their path.


    Between the two sides, his father stood like a wall to protect the humans.


    The sky was covered in dark clouds that were roaring like mad.


    Lucifer paused the video as he frowned.


    "This situation, the clouds, why do they look simr to the clouds that appear out of nowhere when I¡¯m unstable during a battle?"


    "I always wondered how these clouds were rted to me. Could it be that they were rted to Father too?" He said softly as he frowned.


    He took a deep breath as he braced himself while ying again. The video moved forward.


    Hundreds of Dungeon Dwellers started running towards his father. He couldn¡¯t see his father¡¯s face or the expressions on his face, but he believed that his father must be smiling confidently at the moment.


    His father raised his right hand as if he was showing his palm to the clouds.


    "Come forth and destroy everyone that stands in my path!" Zale Azarel¡¯s mighty roar echoed in the surroundings like a warcry.


    The sky seemed to respond to the call of Zale Azarel as hundreds of lightning bolts fell on the Dungeon Dwellers, destroying them all.


    This one move... A single attack had killed hundreds of fierce Dungeon Dwellers.


    Lucifer¡¯s mouth opened slightly as he saw this attack. This attack was so powerful while also being arge-scale damage skill.


    Moreover, he was sure that the lightning bolts fell because of his father because they weren¡¯t normal lightning bolts.


    Instead, they were the ck lightning bolts that only they could create. They were the lightning bolts that were enough to kill anyone.


    "This attack... How did he do it?" Lucifer muttered as his frown deepened. "If only I learn it too, I can be so much more threatening. In front of this attack, the way I use lightning seems like using a gun like a stick!"


    "I must learn it! I must be able to do that too. No matter what I have to do, I need to master that attack to get to my goals," he further said as he clenched his fist.


    He had set his mind to it. He needed to master this skill.


    "How do I do that though. The only person who could teach me is dead...."


    He soon started getting worried about how he could learn it.


    He suddenly shook his head.


    "No! I can¡¯t doubt myself! When he learned it, he didn¡¯t have anyone to teach him this skill either!"


    "He mastered it! I can do it too! He didn¡¯t even have a reference of this skill when he made it, but I at least have an idea about what I¡¯m looking for."


    He again yed the video, which he had paused after the scene of lightning.


    As the video started ying, it showed the beasts that were killed, lying on the ground.


    His father slowly turned back to reveal his face, which had a confident smile on his face.


    "You all are safe. But I still suggest you stay inside your homes. Don¡¯t worry; nothing will happen to this city as long as we are here," he told the men, showing his fist confidently.


    Seeing his father talk like that, Lucifer couldn¡¯t help butugh. Even though heughed, there were also tears in his eyes.


    "He really was different," Lucifer said as he shook his head.


    His father smacked his foot on the ground as he seemed like he flew into the distance, but Lucifer knew he had jumped.


    That was where the video ended.


    Lucifer closed theptop and ced it on the side as he rubbed his eyes to wipe his tears.


    "It¡¯s no time to think about the past. I need to focus on the future. I have many things to do in this world. I can¡¯t be weak. I must learn to control the Cloud Thunder," he said as he shook his head.


    He stood up to leave the room when he heard a voice behind him.


    "What do you want from me? Why have you kept me alive?"


    "So you¡¯re up," Lucifer said as he turned back.


    "It¡¯s good that for once, you aren¡¯t an idiot. I was tired of seeing you electrocuted. Now that I have the opportunity, I¡¯ll directly tell you."


    " If you even try to use your power, you¡¯re going to suffer that again. So be a good guest and be d that you¡¯re alive," he further said.


    "Who are you?" Ayn asked, frowning. "You seem familiar?"


    Lucifer clenched his fist as he heard her words. He stepped closer to her, stopping just a few inches away from her as he grabbed her throat.


    As Ayn struggled to breathe, Lucifer brought his lips close to her ears as he whispered, "After you all hunted me like an animal, do you believe you¡¯ll get to forget me this easily?"


    As Ayn saw Lucifer from close, she noticed the slight violet color inside his left blue eye.


    "L-lucifer?" She spoke after much struggle.


    "Bingo," Lucifer said, smiling. He freed her throat.


    Cough! Cough!


    Ayn coughed heavily as she could finally breathe properly.


    "What do you want from me? You hid eight years ago! How dare youe back again?" She asked after her coughing stopped.


    "I hid?" Lucifer asked, confused as he looked at her like he was looking at an idiot.


    "Hahahaha! So that¡¯s what it was!" He suddenly said as he burst intoughter after realizing what it was.


    "It seems like even the mighty Beta Squad leader doesn¡¯t know what had happened that day. Did Varant hide it from you? Did he not tell you what he did eight years ago?" He asked after he stoppedughing.


    "What did he do eight years ago?" Ayn muttered as she frowned. She did remember something significant that had happened eight years ago. Varant had returned, seemingly hurt.


    After that, he wasn¡¯t seen for a long time. Riali and Gensi didn¡¯t tell her what had happened. Even after Varant appeared again, she didn¡¯t find out anything as he didn¡¯t tell her either.


    "What had happened eight years ago?" She asked Lucifer.


    "A murder had happened eight years ago. The murder of a child who was just sitting on a beach, minding his own business," Lucifer replied. "Guess who that boy was?"

 Chapter 264 - 264: I Embrace My Demon

    <h4>Chapter 264 - 264: I Embrace My Demon </h4>


    As Lucifer said all this, Ayn had understood a few things. It seemed like eight years ago, Varant had met Lucifer.


    "Was that boy you?" She asked grimly.


    "That¡¯s right. That boy was me!" Lucifer said as he spread his arms. "I was the boy who was killed and then tossed into the middle of the sea to rot!"


    "You know what¡¯s truly funny?" he further asked.


    "W-what?" Ayn inquired.


    "It¡¯s the way he did it," Lucifer said, smiling. "This world had already crushed my heart with their cruelty, but that bastard Varant, he literally crushed my heart."


    " It¡¯s fine, though. I¡¯ll give him the same treatment. I always pay back with interest. Ask those scientists," he further said. "The only difference will be that I won¡¯t attack him from behind after stopping his power when he¡¯s unaware like he did to me."


    "Instead, I¡¯ll kill him from the front when he has his powers," he dered. "That day wille soon too. And it depends on you if you want to stay alive to watch that day or not."


    "You can¡¯t be telling the truth. I refuse to believe it. There are too many loopholes in your story! You say you weren¡¯t able to use your powers. Why would he even kill you instead of capturing you and taking you back?" Ayn asked, not believing.


    "Well, you¡¯ll have to ask him that question. But if I were to guess, it¡¯ll be because of these eyes. He was probably scared of them when he had no reason to. But now... I will give him a reason to be scared. I¡¯ll be the nightmare that will keep him awake at night!" Lucifer said as he clenched his fist.


    "What do you want from me?" Ayn asked, changing the topic. Since she still didn¡¯t believe Varant could¡¯ve done this.


    She believed Lucifer¡¯s im that Varant met him. And she also believed that a fight took ce between them, but she didn¡¯t believe that he killed Lucifer when Lucifer couldn¡¯t use his powers.


    Why would Varant even search for Lucifer all these years otherwise?


    Instead, she now thought that Varant and Lucifer fought, and Lucifer had injured Varant by using some evil trick before escaping. That¡¯s why he wasn¡¯t seen for so long.


    Varant didn¡¯t want to ept that a kid defeated him. He was embarrassed, and that¡¯s why he didn¡¯t tell her how he was hurt. That¡¯s what her imagination came down to.


    "What do I want from you? The answer is simple. I want information. As for the information I want, it¡¯s about-"


    Knock! Knock!


    Lucifer started exining what he wanted when he heard a knock on the door. He stopped and walked towards the door.


    He opened the door to see the maid standing before him with a tray that had two tes.


    "ce that on the table," he told herzily.


    The maid stepped inside and walked over to the table. After cing the food, she left, not caring about the woman that was on the bed.


    Lucifer closed the door as he turned towards Ayn again.


    "So where were we? That¡¯s right, the inform-"


    Growl...


    He had just started speaking when he heard the growling of Ayn¡¯s stomach.


    "Fine. Eat first. It would be best if you didn¡¯t die before you can be of use," Lucifer said as he decided to talkter. "And don¡¯t worry, there¡¯s no poison in the food. I don¡¯t have to use poison to kill you."


    Ayn stared at Lucifer, but she didn¡¯t pick up the te.


    "Don¡¯t think I¡¯lle after you to make you eat. I don¡¯t actually care if you live or die. So eat or not, it doesn¡¯t matter. I can take another person from your APF if you die. It¡¯ll just be a little more effort," Lucifer told Ayn as he walked over to the table.


    He picked up one of the two tes and walked back to his chair. Sitting on the chair, he started eating.


    Ayn sat silently for the next few minutes, still not speaking.


    Growl!


    His stomach again made noise as if asking for food. Frustrated, she picked up the second te before she walked back to the bed as she started eating.


    Lucifer felt likeughing at the sight of her giving up in front of hunger. But he also understood, hunger was mighty. The first person he killed was because he wanted food.


    Food could make anyone do anything, it seemed. It didn¡¯t matter if it was a ten year old kid or the mighty leader of APF Beta Squad.


    ...


    While Lucifer and Ayn were eating, Cassius was outside, practicing.


    The maid came to inform him that the food was ready. It was only then that he stopped and walked back inside the mansion to eat.


    ...


    Lucifer finished eating as he was fast. While Ayn was halfway done, he had already ced the empty te back.


    He then walked over to the shelf where he had kept the box of chocte.


    He walked back to the chair with the box of chocte and opened the box to reveal the delicious chocte, which was the most expensive one he could find in the shop. It was also the same that his father used to bring for him.


    He was given one piece after eating dinner.


    He picked up a small piece of chocte that seemed to be filled with his memories and ced that piece inside his mouth, letting the chocte melt inside.


    He was eating it after thirteen years, but that taste still seemed to be the same as he remembered.


    "Some things remain the same even after so long while other things change so much that they can¡¯t even be recognized. This world is pretty funny, won¡¯t you say?" he asked Ayn, who was still eating.


    "Things always change, especially people. Just look at yourself. You were the son of such great people and look at what you¡¯re doing now?" Ayn retorted.


    "Hahaha, you know. You¡¯re pretty lucky. If you had said that when I was ten, your ashes would have been lying on that bed," Lucifer told Ayn as he didn¡¯t take offense.


    Previously, he always used to get offended when someone mentioned his parents, but he was different now.


    "But you¡¯re right. People change. The world forces them to change, sometimes against their wishes," he said. His disappointment in the world was evident.


    "What doesn¡¯t change is the devil inside our hearts. You hide that devil while pretending to be righteous while I embrace my inner demon," he continued as he closed the box again.

 Chapter 265 - 265: Plans For Uprising

    <h4>Chapter 265 - 265: ns For Uprising </h4>


    He calmly stood up as he walked towards Ayn and ced the chocte in front of her.


    "Go ahead, eat it. A special treat for a special day from this demon," he told Ayn. "Eat. Who knows when you¡¯ll get to eat something like this again. Because the future is going to be very hard for you here."


    He turned back and walked to his chair.


    "What special day?" Ayn asked, frowning.


    "It¡¯s my birthday. Today this demon came to this world," Lucifer replied as he chuckled. "To cleanse it from people like Varant."


    It was his real birthday today, not the fake one that Grandpa Chi had created. But he wasn¡¯t going to celebrate it in any special manner.


    "Enjoy the treat today," he told Ayn as he sat on his chair.


    "By the way, you are so slow at eating; you know that? Were you a turtle in your previous life or something?" He further asked, noticing that she still had a long time left before finishing the food.


    "Why are you doing this?" Ayn asked Lucifer, ignoring his words.


    "Why am I doing what? Giving you chocte?" Lucifer asked, smiling.


    "Not that. I asked why you¡¯re doing this¡ªattacking us, kidnapping me, killing people, and everything else that you did? Why do you even stay here? Why didn¡¯t you run away? Do you not want to live your life in peace? Is revenge so important to you?" Ayn asked.


    "Living life in peace?" Lucifer asked as he startedughing. "Maybe after I get what I want, I will."


    "What do you want from me?" Ayn inquired.


    "As I told you, eat first. We¡¯ll talkter," Lucifer told her before he started ignoring her.


    He stood up and left the room. He didn¡¯t forget to take hisptop with him. Leaving the room, he also locked the door.


    He went downstairs to notice Cassius and Veracity having lunch together. The maid was also standing beside them, serving food.


    "Come, join us," Cassius told Lucifer, inviting him. He turned to the maid as he said, "Serve a te for him too."


    "It¡¯s fine. I finished already. Even Ayn is up. She is eating too," Lucifer told Cassius as he took a chair and sat nearby.


    "That¡¯s good. Did she tell you anything yet?" Cassius asked.


    "Not yet. I didn¡¯t interrogate her yet. I¡¯ll do that in the presence of Veracity. Without her, it¡¯ll be a waste since I won¡¯t know even if she lies," Lucifer responded, shaking his head.


    ....


    While Lucifer left the room, Ayn stopped eating and ran to the door, only to realize that it was locked from outside. She could try to break it, but it was going to make too much noise. Everyone was going to be alert.


    "There must be a way out of here. I need to somehow get this information to Varant. I¡¯m helpless at the moment without my abilities. Only the team can help bying here."


    She started looking around the room to find a way to exit but the only way out of the room seemed to be through the door.


    She walked towards the bathroom to see if there was an opening there, only to be disappointed. There didn¡¯t seem to be any openings either. At least not big enough for her to leave.


    ¡¯This is annoying. I¡¯m a prisoner here now and no way to leave,¡¯ she thought as she sighed while stepping out of the bathroom.


    "If only I could find a phone or something... That¡¯s right. There must be one here," she said as she started the search again.


    From the shelves to the wardrobe, she searched everywhere. She even searched under the bed. Unfortunately, no matter how much she tried, she couldn¡¯t find it.


    Frustrated, she sat back on the bed, realizing that she had no way out. She could only leave with the help of keys.


    "That¡¯s right. In the night, he slept here. I¡¯m sure of that. If he was inside, the keys must be with him too. All I need is to get the keys when he is sleeping, and I¡¯ll be done," She muttered, clenching her fist. She had a n of escape now.


    "I need to act normal until then," she said as she sat back on the bed and started eating again.


    ...


    "So, what are we going to do after getting information from Ayn? Are we going to attack the APF?" Cassius asked Lucifer at the dinner table.


    "No. That¡¯s for the future. What we¡¯ll do is go to Variant Uprising," Lucifer replied without much reaction.


    "You did say that those guys helped you. Are you going to take their help in this fight?" Cassius asked, frowning.


    Lucifer shook his head.


    " It¡¯s true they helped me. And I also know that they didn¡¯t do it out of the goodness of their heart. I didn¡¯t think about it too deeply before, but I see it now. Back at the facility, when Xander had attacked me, that attack hit the kids."


    "If they really cared about kids, they would have tried to save them instead of saving themselves. I should have seen the hole in their words right then. I was too stupid," Lucifer replied, shaking his head.


    "They do things that help them not because they care about other Variants more than themselves. So I can¡¯t trust their words," he further said. "But then again, it doesn¡¯t change the fact that they did help me."


    "So, what are you going to do there?" Cassius inquired.


    "It¡¯s simple. I¡¯ll ask them a simple question. Did they have a hand in the death of my father? If they did, I¡¯ll wipe the ones involved and take over the rest of Variant Uprising." Lucifer replied.


    "If they didn¡¯t?" Cassius asked.


    "If they weren¡¯t involved, I¡¯d still take over them, but I¡¯ll let them live to work under me," Lucifer responded.


    "Will they ept?" Cassius asked, frowning. "I don¡¯t think they will."


    "Didn¡¯t they say they don¡¯t want power and that they only want the rule of Variants? They¡¯ll ept if that was true. If that wasn¡¯t true, then again, I¡¯ll force them to follow me," Lucifer answered as he picked a ss of water that was on the table.


    After taking a sip, he ced it back on the table.


    "Are you sure you are strong enough to force them?" Cassius asked.


    "I have faith in myself," Lucifer calmly replied. "But still, I want to get stronger before I get there. I need to learn something."


    "Anyway, Veracity," he said, looking at Veracity. "Finish eating, thene to my room. I want to start the interrogation."

 Chapter 266 - 266: Necessary Evil

    <h4>Chapter 266 - 266: Necessary Evil </h4>


    "I¡¯ll be there," Veracity agreed.


    Lucifer stood up as he went upstairs again.


    He brought the key out of his pocket and unlocked the door before he stepped inside the room.


    "You¡¯re still eating?" he asked, but he soon noticed that a few things had been moved from their ces.


    "So, how did the search go? Did you find an escape?" Smirking, Lucifer sat back on the chair.


    "Do you think you¡¯ll be able to escape after doing this to me? You¡¯re making a big mistake," Ayn warned Lucifer grimly.


    "Ayn, I made many mistakes in my life. But this won¡¯t be one of them," Lucifer told Ayn, shaking his head. "Anyway, I heard that Xander is still alive? How is he doing?"


    "He¡¯s still living, no thanks to you," Ayn said, rolling her eyes.


    "Is he still in aa?" Lucifer asked,ughing.


    Hearing his words, Ayn red at him.


    "I suppose it¡¯s the truth," Lucifer let out, noticing Ayn¡¯s reaction.


    "You know, I¡¯m surprised he managed to survive even after all that. I mean, not many people survive that type of attack," he said. "I wish I could¡¯ve said the same for the kids he killed that day."


    "The kids died because of an ident. He didn¡¯t mean to attack them. He was attacking you. You dodged, and that happened. It¡¯s not like he wanted to kill innocents," Ayn replied.


    "Ah, right. It¡¯s my fault. I should have let him attack me without dodging. That poor soul was really innocent," Lucifer said as heughed. "God, I missed your hypocrisy. The way you people turn a story."


    " His killing of innocents was an ident, and Varant killing me is something I made up. That¡¯s what you think, don¡¯t you? You know what you are?" Lucifer asked, smiling.


    "What?" Ayn asked, frowning.


    "You are nothing but a sheep. Anything that goes against your narrative of APF being the good guys is something you can¡¯t ept. It¡¯s fine. I understand the hypocrisy. I¡¯m the same sometimes," Lucifer replied, smiling.


    "In your mind, you¡¯re the hero of the story. So you can¡¯t ept any intentional wrongs that you people did."


    "But in my head, I¡¯m the viin of this story, so I can ept that everything bad I did was intentional. And it¡¯ll be intentional in the future, too," he continued as he ced one leg above the other to sit more rxed.


    "So you won¡¯t stop doing it? Since you already epted that you¡¯re the viin? You will never be a good guy?" Ayn asked.


    "You know how many people you can help with the strength you have? You can make the world a better ce instead of making it worse," she further said, still trying to make Lucifer surrender.


    "That¡¯s right. I won¡¯t stop doing it. I¡¯m the necessary evil that this world needs to teach it its ce," Lucifer replied.


    "As for the people that I can help with my strength? Tell them to go f*ck themselves. I don¡¯t give a single F about their lives."


    "I¡¯ll do what I want, when I want, and where I want. My life is my own. No one will get to control me again," he imed.


    "Your end is going to be really bad if you keep going down that path. And that will be the day when you regret what you did," Ayn scoffed as she opened the box of chocte and ced one inside his mouth.


    "By the way, happy birthday. Cherish your birthday. People like you don¡¯t have many birthdays, after all," she continued.


    "Hahaha."


    Hearing her words, Lucifer startedughing as if he had heard a joke.


    "Are you trying to say that I¡¯ll die before my next birthday?" he asked.


    " I don¡¯t know when and if I¡¯ll die, but what I do know is that it won¡¯t be before killing Varant and getting what I want. So I suppose I have a couple of years to live," he replied. " Anyway, thanks for the wish."


    Ayn opened her lips to speak as she said, "You-¡¯


    Knock!


    She couldn¡¯t even finish as she stopped at the knocking on the door.


    Lucifer stretched his arms as he stood up. He walked to the door and opened it to find Veracity there. Cassius was also with her.


    "Come on in. We can start," Lucifer told the two of them as he stepped aside. After they stepped inside, he closed the door.


    "So you got a team for yourself. Don¡¯t you two feel any shame supporting a mass murderer?" Ayn asked the two people that had just entered. "Especially, you Veracity! How can you do it too!"


    "Hey, don¡¯t me me. I¡¯m not a criminal. I¡¯m just here as a consultant. You can say that he kidnapped me too, but I didn¡¯t resist." Veracity replied as she walked close to Ayn.


    "So I¡¯ll help him since my life depends on him. Moreover, I also want to see what things the precious APF is hiding,"


    She sat on the bed, right beside Ayn. Cassius also picked up a chair and sat near Lucifer.


    "So, Ayn. Do you want to be able to leave here? You just have to answer my questions," Lucifer reminded Ayn.


    "Fine. Ask!" Ayn said firmly as she red at Lucifer.


    "It¡¯s about Variant Uprising headquarters. Do you know where their base is?" Lucifer inquired.


    "Do you think we wouldn¡¯t have destroyed it if we knew?" Ayn let out, rolling her eyes. "None in the APF know. They take extreme precautions to keep their base safe."


    Lucifer nced at Veracity, who nodded her head.


    "That¡¯s better. I don¡¯t need to ask about the base of APF since that¡¯s public knowledge, but I do have a question regarding that. What¡¯s the strength of APF? How many Variants are there? And what are the security measures you guys have?" he asked again.


    Unfortunately, Ayn didn¡¯t reply this time. She picked up another piece of chocte and ced it in her mouth.


    "I don¡¯t know," she told Lucifer.


    Even though Lucifer knew it was a lie, he still looked at Veracity. Veracity shook her head.


    "As expected," Lucifer muttered as he sighed. "Look, Ayn, we can go two ways about this thing. The easy way or the hard way?"


    "I¡¯m trying to use the easy way, but if you want to select the second path, you¡¯re wee," he said as he took off his gloves and kept them on the side.


    Ayn observed Lucifer and noticed that he was threatening her. She also knew what powers he had, so she understood the meaning of his.


    "So, Ayn. I¡¯ll ask again. What¡¯s the strength of APF? How many Variants are there? And what are the security measures you guys have?" Lucifer said, repeating the question.


    Ayn fell into deep thought. She knew she couldn¡¯t lie since Veracity was here to catch her lies. But she couldn¡¯t tell the truth either, as that meant betraying her people.

 Chapter 267 - 267: Taking Hostage

    <h4>Chapter 267 - 267: Taking Hostage </h4>


    "You don¡¯t have all day to decide. Think fast," Lucifer reminded Ayn, who seemed to be lost in deep thought as she thought about what to do.


    She nced at Veracity, who shrugged as if she couldn¡¯t help her.


    Ayn nced down at the te before her, which had some of the food still left. There was a spoon on the te as well.


    She took a deep breath as she realized something she could do. She reacted fast as she ced her arm around the shoulder of Veracity, and she pulled her closer.


    At the same time, she also picked up the spoon and ced the opposite end of the spoon on Veracity¡¯s neck like a needle.


    "I¡¯ll stab this in her neck if youe closer. She¡¯s a part of your team; you can¡¯t watch her die, can you?" Ayn threatened Lucifer, who seemed emotionless.


    Lucifer rubbed his chin as she shook his head in disappointment.


    He wanted to tell her to kill Veracity because he knew Ayn couldn¡¯t do it. But he didn¡¯t say that.


    If he said that, he knew Veracity would think that he didn¡¯t care even a little for her life. She could even start hating him and lose whatever shred of loyalty she had to the cause.


    "Free her. I don¡¯t want her hurt," Lucifer said calmly. "You don¡¯t know what you are doing."


    "Hah, as expected! You care for her! Good. Very good. If you don¡¯t want to lose her, let me leave!" Ayn told Lucifer.


    "Let you leave?" Lucifer inquired.


    "Yes. If you want to see her live!" Ayn repeated.


    "You can¡¯t me me in that case," Lucifer replied, shaking his head. "At least you finished dinner, so you won¡¯t die of hunger even if you sleep for a little longer."


    "What do you mean?" Ayn asked, frowning. " Do you want her to die?"


    Lucifer opened his lips, seemingly annoyed as he said, "Activate."


    As soon as he finished speaking, a red light blinked in the Limiter of Ayn for a brief moment.


    "Arghh!"


    Ayn¡¯s scream filled the entire room as she was electrocuted again. She couldn¡¯t even move her hand as she felt an electric current coursing through her body.


    Her eyes closed as she dropped to the bed. The spoon in her hand also dropped.


    "Are you alright?" Lucifer asked Veracity as he wore his gloves again while approaching her.


    He wanted to tell her that he was sorry that he didn¡¯t see iting. And he was sad about what she had to go through.


    He wanted to say that just to get close to Veracity and show her that he was concerned. But he didn¡¯t do it as he realized that she could recognize lies.


    He couldn¡¯t lie to her, and even if he did, it wasn¡¯t going to work. So he needed to be real with her when speaking or not speak at all.


    " I¡¯m fine. It was nothing," Veracity replied as she touched her neck gently. "She wasn¡¯t actually going to hurt me. I could see she was lying about that."


    "I know she wasn¡¯t," Lucifer replied. "But I can¡¯t let anyone kill you. You¡¯re important to me."


    As the words he spoke were true, Veracity was surprised. She didn¡¯t know that Lucifer would care for her.


    She didn¡¯t realize that she was important to him for a reason. And that¡¯s why what he told her wasn¡¯t a lie.


    "She won¡¯t wake up anytime soon. You both can leave and rest. We¡¯ll try again tonight," Lucifer told Veracity and Cassius, telling them to leave.


    "I¡¯ll continue my practice outside. Tell me if you need meter," Cassius said as he left to practice.


    Veracity also left after taking onest nce at Ayn.


    After the two of them left, Lucifer also stood up. He approached the bed, getting closer to Ayn.


    "Keeping hostages won¡¯t work either. You¡¯re trapped from all sides. All you can do is give me what I want," he muttered as he nced at Ayn¡¯s unconscious face.


    He picked up the spoon and kept it on the te before putting both of them on the empty table.


    As he was finished, he walked back to the bed and picked up the box of choctes. cing a piece of chocte in his mouth, he kept the box on the shelf forter.


    He walked inside the bathroom and turned on the water to wash his face.


    Sshing the water on his face, he wiped his face with the towel before ncing at himself in the mirror.


    As he observed carefully, he was able to notice the violet in his eyes.


    "What is the mystery of this eye? Why do I have it? How am I rted to the man behind the portal? He didn¡¯t even step into this world. So how can he be rted to me?"


    "The story of his can¡¯t be as simple as the others know. There¡¯s something that even lesser people know. And Varant should be one of those," he muttered as he frowned.


    "What am I missing? It should be something that happened after the Great War."


    He grabbed the pendant in his neck, which had a key. "This key should be the key of everything. Something that no one knew except my parents."


    "Wait, where are the patterns that were on the key?" he abruptly eximed, frowning.


    When he first saw the key, he had noticed that there were a few strange characters on the key that seemed to be moving as well. But now, the key seemed entirely normal. There was nothing on the key like that anymore.


    He didn¡¯t realize that the strange characters were on his body now, instead of being on the key. They were creating what seemed like a strange formation on his back.


    Since they were on his back, he couldn¡¯t see them either.


    "Strange..."


    "This key is really strange," he muttered as he shook his head.


    Turning back, he stepped out of the bathroom.


    After taking a nce around the room, he again left


    He didn¡¯t forget to lock the room behind him before keeping the room key in his pocket.


    Instead of going outside to practice like Cassius, he went upstairs to the roof.


    The roof of the mansion was huge. There was enough space for him to even y ser if he wanted. But he wanted to practice here.


    He had decided to learn the skill of his father so that he could be more powerful. He believed if he learned that skill, his strength was going to be multiplied. He could kill hundreds of enemies at once.


    "Now, where to start from? That¡¯s the main question," he thought as he sat on the roof.

 Chapter 268 - 268: Thunder From Sky

    <h4>Chapter 268 - 268: Thunder From Sky </h4>


    Lucifer sat on the roof, ncing at the clear sky that didn¡¯t seem to have a single cloud somehow.


    "My emotions brought the clouds. But that shouldn¡¯t be the way to do it. He wasn¡¯t emotional when he called forth the clouds to strike the Dungeon Dwellers. The secret must be something else," he said as he took off his gloves, cing them on the side.


    He raised his right hand towards the sky just like his father had done in the video as he thought about bringing the Dark Clouds.


    Nothing happened even when he tried. He just didn¡¯t feel any connection with the skies.


    "Come on, don¡¯t screw me like this," he let out, shaking his head. "Come forth!"


    He kept trying for ten minutes straight, but nothing happened.


    "Maybe something else was the trigger for him since he was able to call the clouds even when he wasn¡¯t sad? It could also be that my trigger is different?" he suddenly wondered, frowning.


    "The clouds came when I was angry or sad. That could be my trigger which is different than his? It doesn¡¯t matter what I do; the priority is to call forth the clouds," he further said as he lowered his hand.


    He started observing the palm of his right hand. ck lightning flickered around his fingers, not harming him in the lead.


    "I can control this so easily," he muttered, shaking his head.


    "I need to be sad, but that¡¯s looking hard too. After so much time has passed, I have learned to control myself."


    " I can be sad, but not to the extent I used to be before when I called the clouds identally. This advantage came with a disadvantage too, didn¡¯t it?"


    He kept sitting on the roof, not doing anything. He knew that he needed to get into his old mindset to call the clouds, but he felt a little scared of entering that dark ce.


    He had managed to bury a significant portion of that pain, focusing on his goals, but now he needed to get deep into that as well, which he was hesitating to do.


    He took a deep breath as he closed his eyes, prepared to relive his childhood. He decided to go through every moment of his life to find the trigger memory that could work.


    He remembered some moments of his childhood that brought a smile to his face.


    As no one was on the roof, no one could see the smile on his face. His smile soon disappeared as he found himself in the moment when he had heard about his parents¡¯ death.


    Time kept passing away as Lucifer re-lived his life while sitting alone on the roof.


    His eyes remained closed, but a tear could be seen trickling down his cheeks. Soon, he clenched his fist as he felt the unending hate towards the world when he hade back to life inside the graveyard.


    He couldn¡¯t see the sky, but if he could, he would have realized that Dark Clouds had started gathering above him as he started getting filled with hate.


    Cassius was standing in the Garden, practicing his sword swings, when he suddenly looked up as he felt something strange.


    The sky that was clear until now had suddenly started getting covered in dark clouds. And the Dark Clouds seemed to be covering the sky above the Estate and spreading out from here.


    As time kept passing, more and more areas were covered in the clouds.


    The clouds also soon started roaring as thunder crackled.


    Hearing the sound of thunder, Lucifer opened his eyes, which seemed to be slightly red. He looked at the sky to notice the dark clouds that were finally here.


    He closed his eyes again as he tried to see if he could feel the link with the clouds again. At the same time, he raised his hand towards the sky.


    "I feel some sort of connection," he muttered as he felt something. He tried to create the ck lightning in the clouds.


    He had never tried something like this as he only creates lightning from his hands. But this was a new field, taking the help of clouds to create lightning thousands of feet away from him.


    ...


    Not only Cassius but even the other people in the city were seeing the dark clouds, which were strange.


    Feeling like there was going to be rain soon, most of the people started walking back to their homes.


    Just as they expected, it started raining soon after while the clouds kept roaring wildly. Unaffected by rain, Lucifer didn¡¯t give up.


    "I am going to get it done! I can¡¯t give up after all this effort! It doesn¡¯t matter if it¡¯s only one bolt instead of a hundred, but I¡¯ll make it happen!" he roared as he clenched his fist tighter.


    He wanted to dominate this skill and control it now that the clouds were here. As a strong will rose inside his heart, he roared again, "Come forth! I call you! Punish my enemies!"


    At the same time, he brought his hand down like his father had done.


    Cassius was still outside, getting wet in the rain. He didn¡¯t stop practicing his sword, but he abruptly stopped as he felt like he heard Lucifer¡¯s yell.


    He nced towards the roof of the mansion when he saw the sky sh brightly. Tens of pitch-ck lightning bolts fell from the sky, falling all around the estate and in other parts of the city.


    One of the ck lightning bolts also fell in the garden where Cassius was standing. Fortunately, it happened to fall five meters away from him instead of falling on top of him.


    Some lightning bolts fell on the road outside the estate, while others fell in the surroundings. Fortunately, none of them had fallen on top of a person, taking any life.


    No bolt fell on the roof either where Lucifer was sitting. A smirk was on Lucifer¡¯s face as he breathed heavily. He had done it.


    Even though he wasn¡¯t able to call over a hundred bolts like his father, it was certainly more than one which he was initially hoping for.


    "I did it," he said as he sighed in relief. But this also took a heavy toll on his body as he felt like he was extremely exhausted.


    He was feeling as if he had just run a hundred kilometers long marathon without any rest.


    Cassius looked at the ce where one of the lightning bolts had fallen. He could see a deep crater in the garden where a scorching mark could be seen.


    "This bolt didn¡¯t seem to be ordinary. It seemed like the lightning of Lucifer. And his scream before? Is something wrong?"

 Chapter 269 - 269: Hes In Kensington

    <h4>Chapter 269 - 269: He''s In Kensington </h4>


    Cassius started running inside the mansion, concerned for Lucifer¡¯s safety.


    ...


    Lucifer had sessfully cast the skill of his father, but that sucked almost all his energy.


    He was still sitting on the floor, weakly. There was still a smile on his face as he had seeded.


    Now he only needed to practice it more and fine-tune it, so it didn¡¯t dry him every time he used this skill.


    As he was done for the day, he pushed his tired body up. The dark clouds were still in the sky, thundering, but he didn¡¯t care about them.


    He slowly walked towards the stairs to go down and rest, but before he even got to the stairs, he saw Cassiusing up.


    "Are you alright? I heard you scream?" Cassius asked as he observed Lucifer, who didn¡¯t seem injured.


    "I¡¯m fine. Just a little tired," Lucifer answered, shaking his head as he continued walking.


    He reached the stairs and went down.


    Cassius also followed behind him, but not before taking a nce around the roof.


    Lucifer reached downstairs and went back to his room to find Ayn, who was still unconscious.


    He took off his wet clothes right in the room and changed them to the new ones before he left the room again, locking the door.


    He walked to the main hall andid on the sofa.


    Cassius also picked up a chair and sat near him.


    "What actually happened upstairs? The ck lightning bolts? What were they?" Cassius asked Lucifer, who was curiously looking at him.


    "As I said, it was nothing. I was just practicing," Luciferzily replied. "Anyway, I¡¯m a little tired and sleepy. Can we talkter?"


    Cassius observed Lucifer¡¯s face, which actually looked tired. He nodded his head as he stood up.


    "Rest well," hemented before he left.


    Lucifer closed his eyes and soon fell asleep with his hands resting on his chest. Cassius, on the other hand, stepped outside the mansion.


    He went back to the ce where the first lightning bolt had fallen near him.


    Standing before the crater, he observed it carefully. The crater was already filled with water from the rain as the dark clouds were still in the sky.


    "This was his practice? What kind of skill was this? So many attacks at once, and all of them so powerful? Also taking the help of clouds?" he muttered, frowning. "This is powerful indeed."


    ...


    Seven hours had passed, but Lucifer was still sleeping on the couch.


    Veracity had alsoe downstairs as this was the time for dinner. Cassius was also sitting nearby, but none of them started eating as Cassius wanted to eat with Lucifer.


    " Shouldn¡¯t you wake him up?" Veracity asked Cassius.


    Cassius shook his head as he answered, "Let him sleep."


    "What¡¯s the time?" It was at that time when Lucifer asked, without opening his eyes.


    "It¡¯s ten in the night," Cassius answered, looking at the clock.


    Lucifer slowly opened his eyes as he sat up.


    "I slept longer than I thought," he muttered as he stretched his arms.


    He didn¡¯t know what it was, but he was also feeling a bit different, as if he was stronger than before. There was a strange kind of power coursing through his body.


    "Get fresh; we¡¯ll wait for you at the dinner table," Cassius said, standing up.


    " The two of you haven¡¯t eaten yet?"


    "Nope."


    "Alright. I¡¯ll be right back. I should bring another person too," Lucifer said as he stood up as well.


    He went upstairs to his room. Opening the door, he noticed that Ayn was already up. She was sitting with her arms wrapped around her knees as if she was lost in some deep thought.


    "Why are you sulking?" Lucifer asked her, stepping towards the bathroom after locking the door again.


    As Lucifer locked the door, Ayn noticed the golden key which he had used. He kept that in his pocket.


    ¡¯So that¡¯s the key. Perfect. Tonight, I¡¯ll get out of here,¡¯ she thought but didn¡¯t let her emotions show on her face to not make Lucifer suspicious.


    "Should I be happy instead?" She asked Lucifer sarcastically.


    "Actually, that would be better indeed," Lucifer replied, smiling. " A smile would suit your face more than your current expressions."


    He stepped inside the bathroom and washed his face before stepping out.


    "Come with me. Let me show you outside. It¡¯s dinner time," he told Ayn as he dried his face with a towel.


    "But remember, if you tried to do anything stupid, you¡¯d face the same thing as this morning. I took all the precautions I could."


    He unlocked the door and waited for her toe.


    "Hmph," Snorting, Ayn got off the bed and followed after him. She went downstairs with Lucifer.


    ....


    Back in the Variant Uprising headquarters, Raia was sitting in his office, looking at a file that was ced before him.


    "The girl Vega got from theb is doing pretty good. Her growth is amazing. With her, I should be able to take over this nation soon even if I don¡¯t get Lucifer," Raia said, smirking.


    " But still, I want Lucifer. With this girl and Lucifer behind me, I¡¯ll be unstoppable," he added.


    He closed the file as he sat rxed on his chair. "Soon, everything will fall into ce."


    Tuck! Tuck!


    As he was dreaming of the future, he heard a knock on the door.


    "Come on in," Raia said.


    The door opened, and Vega stepped inside.


    "What is it?" Raia asked, curious.


    "I think we got a possible lead about where Lucifer might be," Vega said, sitting before Raia.


    "What lead?" Raia inquired, looking pleased.


    "There has been a rumor spreading online about sudden rain in Kensington," Vega exined.


    "What¡¯s special about sudden rain? It happens often," Raia responded.


    "Not like this. Some people reported seeing ck lightning fall from the sky during this rain. And that¡¯s why this rumor has been gaining traction."


    "Rain and lightning are normal, but rain and ck lightning... You can guess where I¡¯m going with that," Vega said, smiling.


    "ck lightning from the clouds... It was Zale¡¯s skill. It had been so long since Ist saw it," Raia muttered, frowning.


    "This skill was really powerful. That¡¯s why it was such a bad idea to fight him outdoors. Clouds were his friends and an extension of his powers. It seems like Lucifer also learned it," he continued.


    "That¡¯s right. That¡¯s why I believe Lucifer might be in Kensington," Vega said.


    "Alright. I¡¯ll send Kellian and Yaliza to fetch him. Hopefully, he¡¯ll still be there. Good work in finding him," Raia said,plimenting Vega.

 Chapter 270 - 270: Still A Mystery

    <h4>Chapter 270 - 270: Still A Mystery </h4>


    "Also, good work with finding that girl. How¡¯s her training going?" Raia asked.


    "Her training is going pretty great. Even though it took two years to get her out of that facility without destroying it, it was worth it. She learned a lot in herst six years of training here. She¡¯s almost ready," Vega replied.


    "That¡¯s good. Keep your focus on her. By the way, have you managed to find anything from the research of those scientists? How did they manage to make her like that?" Raia inquired.


    "That is still a mystery. I did get some records from them, but they are iplete and missing some crucial points. Our people are still trying to understand," Vega answered.


    "Tell them to work faster. If we can understand that, maybe we can make her stronger," Raia said, nodding. "You can leave now."


    Vega stood up and departed.


    After Vega left, Raia called for Yaliza and Kellian in his office, who came without any dy.


    "I want you two to go to Kensington. Lucifer should be there. Find him and bring him back to us," Raiamanded the two men.


    "That kid is found?" Yaliza asked, surprised. "That¡¯s good. We¡¯ll go there right away."


    "Be careful. He isn¡¯t a kid anymore, and he¡¯s stronger too. Even though he won¡¯t attack you, still be careful," Raia reminded the men.


    "We would be careful," Kellian affirmed. He and Yaliza left the office of Raia, prepared to depart from the base.


    They advanced towards the helicopter, which was already waiting for them.


    As the two of them reached the helicopter, they saw a person already standing there.


    "Tristan, what are you doing here?" Kellian asked, noticing a young man standing at the entrance of the helicopter.


    The man was holding a sword which was in its sheath.


    The dark-haired man grinned as he answered, "Where are you two going? I also want toe with you!"


    "Stop ying around. We¡¯re going on an important mission. We can¡¯t take you," Kellian said, shaking his head. "Step aside and let us leave now."


    "That¡¯s what I¡¯m asking. Where are you going that I can¡¯te? Come on; I¡¯m bored here. Let mee," Tristan insisted.


    "No. We are going to bring Lucifer. Only two of us are supposed to go since he knows us well. You stay here. There¡¯s no reason to bring a crowd," Yaliza chimed in, refusing as well.


    As Tristan heard the mission, he was even more excited. "To bring Lucifer? Awesome! I muste too! He is with that swordsman who killed all those APF members. I want to see him! Come on! I promise I won¡¯t do anything bad!"


    " You can¡¯te with us! That¡¯s final! We know how you are. When you see that swordsman, you¡¯ll start craving for a battle. We need to be friendly, and that¡¯s why you can¡¯te," Kellian let out, rolling his eyes.


    "I promise I won¡¯t fight! I¡¯ll be friendly. Please. I just want to see him. And I¡¯m getting bored here. I swear I won¡¯t initiate a fight," Tristan insisted again as he stepped inside the helicopter on his own and sat down.


    Kellian looked at Yaliza, smiling wryly. "What should we do?"


    "Let¡¯s just take him. Convincing him not to go will be too time consuming," Yaliza replied, sighing.


    Kellian nced at Tristan, who was sitting inside the helicopter, hugging his sword.


    "Fine. You cane as well," he ultimately said as he also entered inside the helicopter.


    Yaliza also sat inside the helicopter, which started flying.


    ....


    Lucifer and Ayn had joined the others at the dinner table.


    "Please use a spoon as a spoon this time," Lucifer reminded Ayn as he sat on a chair.


    "This ce is really big. Where is it?" Ayn inquired as she also sat down. She wasn¡¯t in a hurry to escape as she had already nned for the night.


    "It¡¯s Legion City. My home, of course," Lucifer let out, lying. Even though he knew that it didn¡¯t matter, even if she knew the truth, he still preferred lying.


    Ayn suspiciously looked at Lucifer but didn¡¯t say anything. She started eating normally like she was at home.


    Lucifer found it somewhat odd. She didn¡¯t give a sharp response. She also didn¡¯t seem worried.


    "So, Ayn. Are you nning to escapeter?" Lucifer casually asked as he also started eating. Veracity was here so he could expect the truth.


    Ayn also realized that Veracity was on the same table. She knew her lie was going to be caught. So instead of lying, she kept her silence.


    "It¡¯s bad manners to speak while eating," she reminded Lucifer, rolling her eyes.


    " I¡¯ll take that as a yes," Lucifer replied, smirking.


    "You know, you¡¯re actually pretty stupid to be a leader. By now, a person should just give up and ept reality," hemented casually.


    Cassius also decided to chime in.


    "Miss Ayn, I don¡¯t know you properly, and neither do you know me. But I think you should help us. This is the right thing to do. You can¡¯t support injustice, or a lot more people will die, which I don¡¯t want to happen."


    "Who are you to teach me what to do?" Ayn asked sharply.


    "I am not from this country. Just think of me as a visitor and a friend of Lucifer. As much as you may think otherwise, I care for the life of innocents. I don¡¯t want to have him kill innocent people," Cassius answered.


    "Just tell us what we want to know, so there are as few casualties as possible," he further said. "So please cooperate with us."


    Ayn didn¡¯t reply as she kept her silence. Even though she believed Cassius was wrong, she kept mum.


    This conversation was moving towards an interrogation, and she didn¡¯t want that. She needed to somehow dy the conversation at least until tomorrow.


    As Ayn didn¡¯t speak, Cassius also stopped. He had said what he wanted to. After this, it was Ayn¡¯s choice.


    Soon, everyone finished dinner. Lucifer took Ayn back to his room while telling Veracity to get to his room as well.


    ...


    "Have you seen the report?"


    Just like the Variant Uprising, the APF had also received information of strangest ck lightning falling in Kensington city.


    Riali was standing in Varant¡¯s office to give him an update on the situation.


    "What report?" Varant asked, curious. "I¡¯ve been busy trying to get updates about Ayn."


    "The appearance of ck lightning. There have been reports of heavy rain in Kensington where people also saw ck lightning fall in the city," Riali exined.


    "ck lightning from the sky? I do remember seeing that before, but it should be impossible now," Varant let out, frowning. "Are you sure it was real ck lightning and not just some rumor?"

 Chapter 271 - 271: The Keys

    <h4>Chapter 271 - 271: The Keys </h4>


    "We don¡¯t have pictures, so we can¡¯t confirm if it¡¯s a rumor or not. But a lot of people in Kensington are speaking about this. So I believe it should be true," Riali responded.


    "That¡¯s the skill of Zale. No one else should be able to make it happen. Strange," Varantmented, frowning.


    " Well, there was one more person who was able to use ck lightning. But it¡¯s true that both of them are dead. So it is indeed strange," Riali agreed.


    "Alright. I¡¯ve decided. I want you to go there with Arne and investigate. Gensi and I will focus on Ayn," Varant said, givingmands to Riali.


    "I¡¯ll do that right away," Riali affirmed before he left.


    Sitting alone in his room, Varant opened his drawer and brought a group picture out of his drawer, which he ced on the table.


    "ck lightning again, huh. Pretty interesting," he muttered as he looked at the group photo, which was taken right after their victory in the Last Great War.


    In the picture, Varant, Raia, Zeiss, Zale, risse, and even the chubby man were visible.


    "Is this the signal of something big happening again? I hope not," he said as he kept the picture back.


    Outside the office, the vice captain of Alpha Squad, Riali, had joined up with Arne as the two of them prepared to leave.


    ...


    Inside the Welling Estate, Lucifer was sitting in front of Ayn. Veracity and Cassius were also inside the room, but unlike before, Veracity was sitting near Lucifer this time.


    "So, Ayn. Time to start again. The question is the same as this morning. But unlike before, you won¡¯t get asked a second time. I¡¯ll break one of your bones with each lie and deflection," Lucifer warned Ayn, much more seriously than before. It had already been toote for him.


    "Will you use violence on a girl? How about you give me time to think about it? I¡¯ll answer you tomorrow," Ayn suggested, trying to dy the interrogation.


    "I¡¯m sorry, but there¡¯s going to be no tomorrow for you if you don¡¯t answer tonight," Lucifer retorted as he stood up.


    He moved his chair closer to Ayn and sat within the arm¡¯s reach of her.


    "So tell me what I asked. You have three seconds. At the fourth second, you¡¯ll lose your right arm," he said, staring into Ayn¡¯s deep eyes.


    "Give me time; I promise I¡¯ll tell tomorrow," Ayn said, concerned.


    "One..."


    "Come on! It¡¯s not an easy decision. I need to think a lot about it!" She further said as she noticed that Lucifer had started the count.


    "Two...."


    " You little scumbag! Why don¡¯t you just die!" Frustrated, Ayn reached out her hand to grab Lucifer¡¯s neck.


    Lucifer didn¡¯t even bother as he knew this wasn¡¯t going to affect him. He didn¡¯t try to stop her.


    "Argh!"


    Before Ayn¡¯s hand could even reach him, she screamed as if she was again electrocuted. Her eyes closed as she fell on the bed.


    Seeing this happen, Lucifer actually reacted. His fists clenched unwillingly.


    "Is this girl toying with me? After all this, she still tried to use her powers?!" He let out as he smacked his fist on the table which was near him, breaking it.


    "I might as well just kill her!" he yelled in frustration as he stood up and grabbed Ayn by the neck. Fortunately, he was still wearing his gloves, and he didn¡¯t actually crush her neck.


    He took a deep breath before he released her throat.


    "This girl is really a bag of trouble. Even kids aren¡¯t as annoying," he said as he walked back and forth in frustration.


    Today, his mood was already bad for what he had to go through to bring the clouds, and now this.


    Fortunately, he controlled himself.


    "It¡¯s fine. As you said, we have plenty of time. She¡¯ll give us answers. She¡¯s just stubborn, it seems," Cassiusforted Lucifer.


    "Yeah. She has yet toe to terms with reality. It¡¯s the first day she has been awake after all. She will understand soon," Veracity also chimed in.


    "Thank you. We¡¯ll do it again tomorrow. You can leave," Lucifer told Cassius and Veracity as he sat back on the chair.


    Cassius nced at Lucifer but decided that it was good to leave him alone for the moment. He and Veracity left.


    Sitting alone in the room, Lucifer muttered in frustration. "This girl really will die at my hands someday if she keeps doing it."


    He stood up and locked the door before he walked inside the bathroom to take a shower.


    As Lucifer closed the door of the bathroom, Ayn slowly opened her eyes sneakily. She didn¡¯t move from her position though. She closed her eyes again as she smiled.


    She had pretended to use her abilities to make them believe that she was actually shocked.


    She already had an experience on how it felt to be shocked so she could give a convincing performance.


    After ten minutes, Lucifer stepped out after taking a shower. He walked to the wardrobe and got dressed before he walked back to the bed.


    The room was filled with silence as Ayn didn¡¯t move at all. She kept pretending to be sleeping and only guessed Lucifer¡¯s position with the help of his footsteps.


    ....


    Soon, midnight arrived. It had been over an hour since Lucifer fell asleep.


    Ayn hadn¡¯t moved even an inch in thest hour as she waited to be sure that Lucifer was asleep.


    It was only now that she slowly opened her eyes and turned around to see Lucifer, who seemed to be sleeping peacefully.


    She took a deep breath as she got off the bed.


    Tiptoeing, she stepped inside the bathroom where Lucifer had hung his old clothes. She believed that there was a chance the keys were in his old clothes.


    She searched the old clothes. Unfortunately, she didn¡¯t find anything there.


    ¡¯This guy, it looks like he has it in the clothes he is wearing,¡¯ she thought as she left the room.


    Stepping out of the bathroom, she observed Lucifer, who was still sleeping. She closed in on him.


    Standing before him, she took a deep breath as she observed his pockets to see if she could see a key-shaped thing inside.


    Even though she didn¡¯t see anything like that, she still didn¡¯t give up. She gently touched Lucifer¡¯s thighs where his pockets were to see if there were keys inside.


    ¡¯The keys aren¡¯t here either?¡¯ she thought, frowning. ¡¯Where did he keep it?¡¯


    As she was about to search elsewhere, Lucifer moved. The key pendant, which was hanging in his neck, got revealed because of the movement.

 Chapter 272 - 272: Meeting Uprising

    <h4>Chapter 272 - 272: Meeting Uprising </h4>


    Lucifer slightly moved, which revealed the key pendant which was hanging around his neck along with the pendant that was given to him by his grandfather.


    Seeing Lucifer move, Ayn was taken aback in surprise as her heart started beating faster, thinking that Lucifer was going to wake up. She froze in her ce, not making the slightest movement as if she was a statue as she waited to see what was going to happen.


    Fortunately, Lucifer didn¡¯t open his eyes even as two minutes passed. It seemed like he was still asleep.


    Ayn breathed a sigh of relief as she ced her hand on her chest.


    She waited for a few more seconds as she observed the key around Lucifer¡¯s neck, wondering how she could bring it out. Removing it was much harder than it seemed, as she believed she would have to raise his head to make that happen.


    ¡¯What can I even use? I need a scissor, but I doubt he would have something so sharp lying in this room. I don¡¯t even have a de. God, why did he have to make it so tough?¡¯ she thought, frowning.


    ¡¯Fine. I¡¯ll take the risk. Better than wasting time,¡¯ she thought as she decided to take action.


    She carefully approached Lucifer and carefully inserted her hand under the back of his head as she slowly raised his head. With her other hand, she grabbed the key pendant and started moving it up, trying to bring it out.


    "Is that the best you cane up with?"


    Just as she was about to bring the pendant out, she heard a calm voice.


    She freed Lucifer¡¯s head as she realized it was his voice. He was up already.


    "I should really remind you about one thing. The key you¡¯re trying to take isn¡¯t the key of the door," Lucifer further said as he slowly opened his eyes.


    He nced towards Ayn as he continued, "So get back to the bed and sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a big day for you."


    "Where is the real key?" Ayn asked as she walked back to the bed.


    "I don¡¯t think you need to know that. Also, your acting of getting electrocuted was pretty good. You even had me fooled. But that¡¯s the extent of it. Don¡¯t think about being able to escape," Lucifer said before he closed his eyes again and went back to sleep.


    As Lucifer fell asleep, two more hours passed before Ayn again got off the bed.


    She once again started her search, but now that she knew that Lucifer didn¡¯t have the key, she believed he hid it somewhere in the room. She found it convenient as now she didn¡¯t have to move Lucifer, decreasing the chances of his waking up.


    She searched everywhere inside the room, not leaving any ce, but no matter how much she searched, she couldn¡¯t find it.


    As she was searching the room, Lucifer once again opened his eyes. Noticing her search like crazy, he couldn¡¯t help but smirk before he actually went to sleep.


    It was eight in the morning when he woke up again to find Ayn sitting on the bed, looking defeated.


    "Didn¡¯t find it?" He asked Ayn.


    "Can you tell me where you hid it? Just not on you, and I can¡¯t find it inside the room either. Where exactly is the key?!" Ayn asked, giving up.


    She had wasted hours in search but to no avail.


    "Huh? Who said it¡¯s not on me?" Lucifer asked, amused as he brought a key out of his back pocket to show her.


    "But... You said it¡¯s not on you!" Ayn yelled, furious.


    "And you believed me?" Lucifer inquired, rolling his eyes. "What kind of person believes his enemy? Did you really expect me to tell you where the key is? You have a lot of growing up to do."


    "You!"


    "Don¡¯t look at me like that. Go take a shower. You haven¡¯t taken one in a long time. You¡¯re starting to smell now. You can wear the clothes Veracity brought," Lucifer casually replied before he unlocked the gates and left.


    "This guy... He is just a kid, so why does he always get the best of me?" Ayn cursed as she got off the bed.


    She didn¡¯t know what she could do in a situation like this. She was trapped without any powers, and she couldn¡¯t even escape. Moreover, she couldn¡¯t even lie her way out.


    ...


    Lucifer again went to the roof to practice the same skill as yesterday to make himself familiar with the skill. Moreover, he also wanted to find shortcuts to cast the skill and experience the same feeling of strength as before.


    Moreover, using the same skill again was helpful as he believed.


    The helicopter of Variant Uprising had also reached the Kensington city by now. It was looking for a ce tond in the city when they noticed the sky above the city being covered in dark clouds.


    "It¡¯s as we heard... Dark Clouds. Take us to the origin of the clouds," Kellianmanded the pilot, staring at the clouds outside.


    "You think we shouldnd? If it¡¯s like we heard, then there might be lightning falling from the sky soon," Yaliza reminded Kellian as he also looked outside.


    Lucifer had finished establishing a collection with the clouds much easier as he knew what kind of feeling triggered it. Still, before he could bring forth lightning, he noticed a helicopter advancing in his direction from a distance.


    "Ah, they are here, it seems," he muttered, smirking. "They¡¯re as fast as I expected. Not bad."


    He stopped trying to use the lightning and instead flew towards the helicopter that wasing towards him. He didn¡¯t want them to know where he actually was precisely, so it was better to go to them instead.


    "Someone is flying in our direction," the Pilot informed Kellian and the others.


    "Hmm?"


    Kellian, Yaliza, and Tristan looked ahead to notice a young man flying towards them.


    "Stop moving," Kellian told the pilot, who stopped right away. The helicopter floated at the same ce, not going forward.


    Lucifer reached the helicopter and entered through the open doors.


    "Ah, it¡¯s you two," he said, surprised as he noticed the men who were here. "I thought Raia woulde as well. Anyway, wee to Kensington, I suppose. How are you two, teachers?"


    "Where is your swordsman friend?" Tristan asked before anything else. That was the only thing he was concerned about.


    "I don¡¯t think you need to care about my friend," Lucifer sharply responded. He couldn¡¯t feel any goodwill from Tristan.

 Chapter 273 - 273: Im Not Talking To You

    <h4>Chapter 273 - 273: I''m Not Talking To You </h4>


    "Tristan, didn¡¯t you say you¡¯ll be silent? Don¡¯t create troubles for us," Kellian also reminded Tristan, who rolled his eyes in response.


    "Anyway, little Lucifer. You have grown up a lot. How are you?" He asked Lucifer.


    "I have never been better. What about you two?¡¯ Lucifer asked in return.


    "We? How can we be good when you were missing for eight years? Where did you disappearst time? We sent you out for a few days, but you didn¡¯t return. Even Caen went missing. Did we do something wrongst time?" Kellian asked, seemingly concerned.


    "How can Caen return? He should already be dead by now. I think he died on the same day I was killed by Varant," Lucifer answered as he sat on a seat. "Why are you standing? Consider it your helicopter."


    The others also sat down, smiling wryly. What ¡¯Consider your helicopter¡¯? It was already theirs; they thought as they sat down.


    "What do you mean Varant killed you?¡¯ Kellian inquired.


    "I¡¯m surprised you don¡¯t know about this. But that¡¯s what happened. The night I was on the beach, we were attacked by Varant and his team. They killed us both, I think. I¡¯ve recently returned. I doubt Caen would be able to return the same way," Lucifer replied, resting one of his legs over the other as he satfortably.


    " They found you the same day! How? They¡¯ve been searching for you for years as...." Kellian started responding, but he suddenly stopped as he hit his forehead as if he had realized something. "Ah, I get it! A diversion for us! How could we miss it!"


    "We are extremely sorry we couldn¡¯t protect you that day. We promise we¡¯ll get revenge on them together. Come back to home with us. Everyone is waiting for you. You can bring your friend as well. Come back to your family," he told Lucifer carefully.


    Throughout this time, Kellian was the only one who was speaking. Yaliza hadn¡¯t said anything and let Kellian take the lead since he was better with words. But he was also surprised to know what had happened eight days ago.


    Tristan, on the other hand, was more concerned about Lucifer¡¯s friends. As soon as Kellian told Lucifer to bring his friend as well, a glint shed through his eyes.


    "You want me toe back to you?" Lucifer asked, curious.


    "Of course. Why won¡¯t we?" Kellian responded.


    "Then I have a condition. As long as it¡¯s fulfilled, I¡¯lle back of my own volition and forget that you failed to keep me safest time," Lucifer asserted.


    "What condition?" Kellian inquired.


    "I want Raia toe to bring me personally; only then will Ie back," Lucifer replied.


    "What nonsense! Who the hell do you think you are to ask him toe to take you personally?" Tristan stood up, yelling.


    Lucifer nced at Tristan as heavy winds suddenly moved before stopping right away.


    Tristan¡¯s lips opened slowly as he slowly moved his hand to touch his cheeks. He nced at the fingers that he used to touch his cheeks to notice blood on them.


    Kellian and Yaliza also stared at Tristan to notice that there was a little cut on his cheeks. Then though it was a minor cut, it was still bleeding a little.


    " That cut could have been deeper, and it could have been on your neck too. So stay seated and don¡¯t interfere when I¡¯m not talking to you," Lucifer warned Tristan.


    "You little bastard!" Tristan roared in rage as he grabbed the hilt of his katana.


    "Tristan! Enough! Don¡¯t you dare bring that sword out! I¡¯m warning you!¡¯ Kellian stood up and stepped in front of Tristan. He knew that if Tristan pulled out his sword, things were going to get out of hand.


    "Nonsense! He attacked me first!" Tristan roared furiously.


    "I don¡¯t care who attacked first! It¡¯s just a little cut! Sit down! Lucifer is younger than you!" Kellian reminded Tristan as he red.


    He didn¡¯t want any harm toe to Lucifer as this kid was essential to Raia. Moreover, it wasn¡¯t as if Lucifer could be killed anyways. It¡¯ll just start an extended war which they didn¡¯t need.


    He was upset at Lucifer for doing it as well, but he understood that the times needed patience.


    "That¡¯s right. Don¡¯t make things worse. Sit down," Yaliza also chimed in.


    Tristan red at Kellian, but he listened ultimately. He freed the hilt of his sword as he sat down, clenching his fist.


    "Lucifer, please consider. Raia is working at the base. He¡¯s extremely busy. Come with us. You can meet him at the base as well," Kellian suggested.


    "I said what I wanted to. If he wants toe, I¡¯ll go with him. If he doesn¡¯t want toe, I¡¯m fine staying alone," Lucifer stubbornly replied as he stood up.


    "If he agrees, tell him to meet me at the Windy Cafe in Kensington. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be able to find it," he further said as he started leaving. "As I said, it¡¯s better that you go back instead of waiting for me. Send him next time. I¡¯ll wait there."


    Saying that, Lucifer jumped out of the helicopter, flying back.


    " Is it just me, or does he seem more arrogant?" Yaliza asked, frowning.


    "He did. But what can we do? We need him. We can¡¯t attack him or force him as that would be counterproductive. In any case, Raia should be able toe as well, if it¡¯s for Lucifer. Let¡¯snd in the city. We¡¯ll wait for him to get here," Kellian responded, shaking his head.


    Hemanded the pilot tond.


    The rotor des started showing down as the helicopternded on the ground. Kellian, Yaliza, and Tristan all stepped out of the helicopter.


    After they stepped out, the helicopter started going back.


    "You shouldn¡¯t have stopped me back there. We don¡¯t need that kid," Tristan finally opened his mouth as he gave a piece of his mind.


    "Remember your promise. You won¡¯t do anything stupid¡ªno fighting anyone. I forbid you from using your sword," Kellian replied. "Just wait until we take them back. As for that Swordsman, I¡¯ll let you battle him when we¡¯re at base. How¡¯s that?"


    "Fine. I won¡¯t fight him here," Tristan scoffed. "So, where are we going to stay? In a hotel?"


    "That¡¯s right. It¡¯s better to stay here. Just like we saw the lightning, maybe APF also saw it. We need to keep an eye on Lucifer while also keeping him safe," Kellian replied as he started walking inside the city.


    The small group of theirs went to a hotel and got rooms there.

 Chapter 274 - 274: Red Flag

    <h4>Chapter 274 - 274: Red g </h4>


    Lucifernded on the roof of the Estate.


    Cold winds brushed against his skin as he looked towards the sky. The dark clouds were still in the sky as if waiting for him.


    Lucifer rubbed his chin as he frowned, lost in thought.


    "Raia would being here as well. Everything will depend on him and his answer. I hope he doesn¡¯t lie. If he really had a hand in my parents¡¯ death, things will beplicated."


    "I can¡¯t think about that for now. Need to keep getting stronger," he said, shaking his head as he focused on the clouds.


    He took a deep breath as he raised his right hand towards the sky, feeling a connection to the clouds.


    Lightning flickered around his hand, but the same lightning also shed in the middle of the clouds. It once again started raining as the clouds began roaring.


    "Come forth and destroy everything!" Lucifer roared just as loud as the clouds before he clenched his fist while bringing his hand down.


    Tens of lightning bolts from the sky, like soldiers answering to his warcry.


    ...


    "Why is there no one in the city? It seems like a ghost town?" Tristan asked as he walked beside Kellian. "This is too depressing."


    "I think everyone is hiding inside their houses," Kellian answered.


    "Why? Do they know we are here?" Tristan inquired.


    " Look above, " Kellian casually said without looking at Tristan.


    As Tristan looked up, he noticed the dark cloud in the sky.


    "Them?" he asked.


    "That¡¯s right. Just yesterday, ck lightning fell from them. I¡¯m sure the civilians would have been intimidated by that. That¡¯s why they aren¡¯t outside when chances seem like it¡¯ll happen again," Kellian exined.


    The group of three was walking in search of the hotel. Their clothes were already wet because of the cold water.


    "Come on. How scary can lightning be? As long as you have good reflexes, you can always dodge at the right time even if it ising straight towards you," Tristan snorted, but at the same time, he heard a loud cracking of thunder.


    He looked above, but before he could even realize what was happening, a lightning bolt fell. He couldn¡¯t even find time to move his finger when that happened.


    Fortunately, the bolt fell near him and not on top of him.


    Even Kellian and Yaliza were stunned as they looked at the crater that was created on the concrete road.


    That wasn¡¯t the only bolt, as many more fell at the same time, falling everywhere in the city. This time, Lucifer had increased the parameters.


    He wanted to see how far he could stretch the clouds and what area he could take under his attack.


    "Can you not raise a red g next time?" Kellian reminded Tristan, rolling his eyes.


    "Do you really think you could have dodged if it was to fall on top of you and not nearby?" Yaliza also asked, shaking his head.


    "It¡¯s just that I wasn¡¯t ready this time," Tristan let out confidently.


    "Just stop speaking until we get to a hotel," Yaliza reminded as he started leaving. Kellian also followed.


    As for the citizens of the city, they were hiding inside their homes, scared of the lightning, praying that it wouldn¡¯t fall on top of their heads.


    Some were sitting near the windows, looking outside as they heard the lightning. They could see bolts falling in the distance.


    "What is happening to this city? This isn¡¯t normal. Are we cursed or something? This has happened for the second time in two days. This city isn¡¯t worth living in anymore. It¡¯s not safe here."


    Seeing how often it was happening here, a lot of people decided to shift to other cities while the rest were still wondering how this was happening so often and so suddenly in the city.


    Kellian and his team reached a hotel in the city and stepped inside.


    "We want your best rooms," they told the receptionist.


    The receptionist seemed surprised to see that one of the three people seemed to be carrying a sword.


    "Ah, is that sword real?" He asked.


    "It¡¯s real enough to slice you in half," Tristan said without mincing his words.


    "Ah..."


    The receptionist was stunned to hear the answer. These people didn¡¯t seem like good people, but they also didn¡¯t seem like people he could offend.


    "Is there a rule against bringing a sword?" Kellian asked, frowning.


    "Ah, N-no."


    "Give us the rooms fast then!"


    The receptionist gave them the keys to the room hastily.


    "Room number one on the first floor," the receptionist told the three of them, not making them angrier.


    Kellian and the others left, leaving the receptionist behind, who was sweating by now.


    After he saw the group of three leave, his legs finally gave up in fear as he sat on the chair.


    "First that strange lightning storm outside and now these criminal-like people," he muttered, wiping the sweat on his forehead.


    ....


    Lucifer finished casting his lightning attack, which once again took a heavy toll on him. His breathing was heavy as his legs grew slightly weak.


    But it wasn¡¯t as bad as before. He sat on the wet ground, under the heavy rain.


    "The range of this attack is good too. And I think if I practice it every day for a week at least, I should be able to be proficient in it."


    " The only loophole I see in it is that it takes too much time to get the clouds and the attack ready. I need to decrease the time it takes if I actually want it to be helpful."


    "You¡¯re here. I was looking for you everywhere. Why are you sitting in the rain?"


    Hearing the sudden voice, Lucifer looked ahead to find Cassius standing there.


    Veracity was also with him.


    "Did something happen?" he asked, standing up.


    "If you sit in the rain, you¡¯ll get sick," Veracity reminded him. "Wait, do you even get sick with your healing?"


    "Not as far as I can remember," Lucifer replied as he stepped towards them. "Why were you looking for me?"


    "Don¡¯t you want to eat? Breakfast is ready, but you were nowhere to be found," Veracity responded.


    "Moreover, we also have to interrogate Aynter. She should be up by now," Cassius chimed in.


    "She is," Lucifer nodded.


    "Good. Bring her down for breakfast," Cassius said, going downstairs with Lucifer.


    "Not this time. She will stay hungry until I get my answer. I¡¯ve had enough waiting. We don¡¯t have time anymore. Soon, Raia will be here. And then we¡¯ll be leaving. I want the answers today," Lucifer dered.

 Chapter 275 - 275: Security Measures

    <h4>Chapter 275 - 275: Security Measures </h4>


    "By Raia, do you mean Warlock King Raia?" Veracity asked, surprised.


    "Yeah. I invited him to the city. He should be here soon," Lucifer responded.


    "By the way, are you sure you can catch his lies?" he inquired.


    "I can. I caught your father¡¯s lie once upon a time too. If it worked on him, it¡¯d work on any Warlock King," Veracity replied, smiling.


    Lucifer grew surprised as he heard her words.


    "His lie? What did he lie about? And you met him?" he asked, frowning.


    "That¡¯s right. I met him once before. I think it was around neen years ago. So it should be before you were born," Veracity answered.


    "Before I was born? How old are you exactly?" Lucifer inquired, surprised.


    "You don¡¯t ask ady her age," Veracity said, rolling her eyes. "Just know, I was twenty years old at that time."


    "So you¡¯re thirty-nine. I must say, you don¡¯t look older than thirty. Not bad. I couldn¡¯t have guessed your real age," Cassiusmented, calcting her age from the information she gave.


    "What did he lie about?" Lucifer asked, getting back to the topic.


    ¡¯It should be almost a year before my birth,¡¯ he thought.


    " I don¡¯t remember exactly, but it was something minor, I think. That¡¯s why I don¡¯t remember," Veracity answered.


    "Who did he lie to?" Lucifer inquired. "Do you remember that?"


    "He was in a restaurant with your mother. He had lied about something at that time. Ah, I remember now!" Veracity suddenly eximed as if she had remembered.


    Lucifer had reached the main hall, immersed in the conversation. He sat on the couch. Veracity and the others also sat down.


    "That¡¯s good. What was it?" Lucifer asked.


    "As I said, it was really minor. I was sitting nearby, so I managed to hear it. He had said that the food of this hotel was nothing in front of your mother¡¯s cooking and that her food was tastier," Veracitymented as she started chuckling.


    "I¡¯m sure any husband would¡¯ve told the same lie, though. But I must say, your father was really awesome. I asked him for an autograph when he was leaving, and he didn¡¯t say no," she continued.


    "Even your mother was the same. They didn¡¯t say no to anyone as long as they didn¡¯t have a reason to," she further added.


    "Of course, they were good. A little too good for their own good and bit stupid too," Lucifer scoffed as he shook his head.


    Tap... Tap...


    Footsteps were suddenly hearding from behind them. They all turned back to notice the maid.


    "Breakfast is prepared. It¡¯ll get cold," the maid reminded Lucifer and others.


    ...


    Back in the room, Ayn was still waiting. She had finished showering, and now she sat on the bed, looking at the clock.


    It was already eleven in the morning, and Lucifer wasn¡¯t back. She wondered if she was even going to get breakfast or not.


    She was more worried about the interrogation, which was toeter when Lucifer returned.


    She believed she was going to be put in a world of pain when that guy returned. She had already tried to avoid the interrogation, and afterst night, she understood that Lucifer¡¯s patience should be running thin.


    If she tried any trick again, she was going to be killed directly. She understood that. But that also made her turn serious.


    "What can I even do? Can I just tell them the truth? Can I ept death? Death is fine but can I ept the torture without being able to resist? What if I told them the truth?" She wondered, frowning.


    "That¡¯s right. Even if I told them the truth, it wouldn¡¯t matter. It¡¯s not like they can even get close to the headquarters without being caught."


    " And so what if they know the strength of APF? There is still the Hunter Union which woulde to help."


    "So even if I told them the truth, what can they even do? Why should I risk my life to protect something that won¡¯t have any effect on the ultimate oue? I can tell him and save myself, and it won¡¯t harm APF either."


    "That¡¯s right. I guess telling him is the best choice for now. I was dying for no reason."


    As she sat in the room alone and thought about it deeply, she realized that telling the truth was the best option.


    She started waiting for Lucifer¡¯s return as she was ready to tell the answers and be free.


    Time kept trickling away, but Lucifer didn¡¯t return.


    "When I didn¡¯t want to tell, he was standing above my head, and now that I¡¯m ready to do it, he doesn¡¯te? What is he even doing?"


    Her wait became prolonged as another hour passed before she actually noticed the door open.


    Lucifer stepped inside with Veracity and Cassius.


    "Are you ready to tell the truth?" he asked as he took a chair.


    "I¡¯m prepared. Ask me whatever you want to ask," Ayn said calmly.


    "That¡¯s better. It looks like you understood. So, what¡¯s the strength of APF? How many Variants are there?" Lucifer asked.


    "We have seven hundred Variants that stay at the base. Fifty of them are Warlocks, and the rest are Sorcerers and Warriors," Ayn answered without hesitation.


    Lucifer nced back at Veracity, who nodded.


    "Seven hundred Variants, that¡¯s not bad at all. How many of them are in the Alpha Squad?" Lucifer asked.


    "Forty Warlocks are in Alpha Squad. In total, they have seventy members," Ayn answered.


    "Forty Warlocks, huh. More than I expected, but not by much," Lucifer muttered, frowning.


    "What about your Beta Squad?" he asked.


    "We have nine Warlocks, including myself. And before you ask, the tenth one is in Delta Squad," Ayn answered.


    "What are the security measures in the headquarters?" Lucifer asked.


    "There are cameras all around the base, so you can¡¯t even think about getting close without getting caught. There are also sensors in the surrounding, hidden at random ces which trace any movement," Ayn exined.


    "We also have a radar which catches anything thates close to the base, especially flying objects," she further said.


    "And even if you manage to get close to the base without getting caught, there¡¯s the entrance which only opens by retina scan of the APF members, and that too, only when they are alive," Ayn exined.


    "And if younded on the roof, you¡¯ll still need to have your fingerprint registered in the system to be able to use the lift. So entering the base is impossible," she continued.


    "And if you still somehow managed to get in, without authorization, there aresers ced in the hallway, hidden away. They¡¯ll slice you in half before you even realize where they came from," she further said, surprising Lucifer.

 Chapter 276 - 276: Scary Game

    <h4>Chapter 276 - 276: Scary Game </h4>


    As Lucifer heard about their security measures, his frown deepened. This was much more difficult than he thought.


    He had assumed that there would only be cameras or weapons outside the facility, but this was much more. Not only outside but even on the inside, there were so many defense mechanisms.


    "Why do you guys havesers even inside your base? And what¡¯s the way to disable them?" Lucifer inquired.


    "Why do we have it? It¡¯s simple. We have many enemies. There can never be enough defense. We made an effort to secure our base as much as possible, so even if somehow a person stepped inside, he was not going to survive for long," Ayn exined.


    "How to disable thesers? Who controls them?" Lucifer inquired again. He needed to find a way to disable that if he wanted to get inside.


    "Disable them? You can forget about it. The security overwatch team stays in a reinforced room, and only they can control it. But they only report to Varant. They don¡¯t takemands from anyone else. So you can¡¯t have them disable the security measures," Ayn retorted.


    "Don¡¯t they ever leave the base?" Lucifer asked, frowning.


    "They don¡¯t. And before you even ask, they don¡¯t have a family either. Only the ones that don¡¯t have emotional weaknesses are selected to work in the security detail. So you can¡¯t even use their family members to force them," Ayn exined.


    Lucifer took a deep breath, understanding how hard it was to break inside. Not hard; it seemed even impossible. Only now did he understand why APF was considered secure despite having so many enemies.


    He recalled the battle against Xander and realized that their Warlocks were strong. The Warlocks at the base should only be stronger. But to even get there, he needed to pass through so much.


    "Did you miss anything?" Lucifer asked, frowning.


    "There are many more things that are there. Do you really want to hear about reinforced walls and the minefield outside the base, which is controlled by the security department? Or do you want to hear about missileunchers that target from a distance?" Ayn inquired, smirking.


    "I want to hear about everything. It doesn¡¯t matter what you have. I want to know everything," Lucifer responded.


    "Fine. If you want to hear more, then I¡¯ll tell you. Just so you realize what a far-fetched dream it is to attack that ce," Ayn said confidently as she chuckled.


    She observed the faces of others in the room, noticing that they were frowning too. They had realized that it was an impossible feat already. It was only Lucifer who was yet to understand.


    She started speaking about even more of the things, including the damage-reducing reinforcement in the outer walls of the base to protect against any long range attacks.


    It took her straight twenty minutes to finish her exnation. After finishing up, she stretched her arms as she yawned. "And that¡¯s all."


    Lucifer nced at Veracity as he asked, "Did she tell the truth?"


    "She did," Veracity answered, nodding.


    Even she seemed surprised as she heard about all these things. She hadn¡¯t known that this ce was so secure either. It was only now that she realized this.


    Lucifer nced back at Ayn as he continued, "Alright. That¡¯s enough information about the security. Now I have onest question for you."


    "What question?" Ayn inquired as she smiled, seemingly rxed.


    "How did my father die, ording to you? Was Varant, APF, or anyone else you know about involved?" Lucifer asked, getting to the question that he had in his mind.


    He had already realized the answer to this question though. Even if Varant was involved, he wouldn¡¯t have told her. He hadn¡¯t told her about killing Lucifer either, let alone Zale.


    "Why would we be involved? We had no hand in it. As for who it was? The answer should be obvious. I believe it was either the Variant Uprising or the monsters," Ayn responded.


    Lucifer didn¡¯t react as he stood up, not surprised at her answer.


    "That¡¯s all," he said after a long time as he started leaving.


    "Can I go now? I think you promised. You got your answers and know how futile your efforts are. Let me go, and you also leave this country never to return."


    " Stay hidden in another country and live your life in peace. Because you aren¡¯t going to be able to do anything here," Ayn told Lucifer, who seemed to be leaving.


    "Let you leave? Not yet. You¡¯re still useful," Lucifer replied, without looking back. "As for how useful, that¡¯s to be seen."


    Saying that he opened the door.


    Cassius also pushed his body up as he stood up, prepared to leave.


    Veracity was the first one to leave the room. Cassius and Lucifer left together, locking the door behind him.


    ...


    Lucifer and the rest went to the hall again, where they took their positions. While Lucifer sat on the red velvet couch, Cassius and Ayn took thefy chairs as they sat facing him.


    "That ce is like a fortress, isn¡¯t it?" Cassius inquired, shaking his head.


    "Even the security of our Academy wasn¡¯t this strict. This is in a different league in itself. I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll be a good idea to approach that ce," Cassius said as he recalled the security details of the Academy, which were said to be strict.


    However, only now did he realize what strict security meant.


    "I realize that. Attacking them when they¡¯re unprepared seems to be tough," Lucifer said as he kept his head down, lost in thought.


    "So, what¡¯s the n now?" Cassius inquired.


    "The n won¡¯t change. We¡¯ll meet up with Variant Uprising. The only thing which will be different is that we won¡¯t attack the base of APF directly," Lucifer replied as he raised his head.


    There was a strange shine in his eyes, as if he had everything figured out.


    "I want Varant, and I can have him even outside. But I need a distraction for the rest of them. And Uprising will be that distraction," he further said as heid on the couchfortably.


    "You¡¯re ying a really scary game; you know that? ying with two Warlock Kings..." Veracity reminded Lucifer. " One misstep, and you¡¯ll be in deep trouble."


    "Two Warlock Kings? Don¡¯t worry about it. I¡¯m ready for the consequences. You don¡¯t have to fight for me. All I want is for you to be present when I ask him about my father," Lucifer replied as he closed his eyes. "Now leave and let me rest."


    *********************


    [Author Note: (Please readpletely)


    First of all, thank you for still sticking with the book and reading it and even voting for it in suchrge numbers.


    However, the voting system is soon going to change on .


    It¡¯ll use Golden Tickets as a lot of you might have seen in the notification that was released a few hours ago.


    The new voting system will be released on 18 August as informed, which will change everything including the main ranking.


    So I wanted to request you to please give your tickets to this novel when the system is avable.


    As most of you might know, this novel is taking part in Spirity Contest on  which will end in September. A win might even give this book an anime adaptation. And I really need the support of each and every one of you, if possible.


    Thank you and I¡¯m really grateful that you¡¯re still here.


    (P.S: This message has no effect on coin cost. So you can rest assured)

 Chapter 277 - 277: Movement

    <h4>Chapter 277 - 277: Movement </h4>


    Veracity red at Lucifer as she sighed. She didn¡¯t want him to jump to his death since he was Zale¡¯s son, but he was too stubborn. She didn¡¯t know what she could do to help him.


    "Fine. Do what suits you," she ultimately said, rolling her eyes as she stood up and left.


    Cassius was also finding himself in aplicated position. This thing was getting bigger than he expected. But he couldn¡¯t do anything. Now that he was in it, he needed to stick around.


    At least until Lucifer finished his revenge. He believed Lucifer was going to go back to normal life after that, not realizing that Lucifer¡¯s mind wasn¡¯t on revenge anymore.


    He didn¡¯t understand that Lucifer didn¡¯t want revenge now. Instead, he wanted the whole world now.


    He also stood up as he left, carrying his sword.


    Lucifer remained alone on the couch, having his eyes closed. He didn¡¯t sleep though.


    ¡¯Two Warlock Kings, huh. They¡¯re not much. I want to y this game with many more. This is just the start. I¡¯ll have to go against more than you all can imagine.¡¯


    ¡¯ It doesn¡¯t matter if you stick with me after we¡¯re done here, but I¡¯ll finish what I started,¡¯ he thought as he turned his body sideways and actually fell asleep.


    ...


    A red haired man was lying on a white bed. A machine was measuring his heartbeats and his ECG.


    A woman was also sitting here in a nurse outfit.


    The red haired manid unmoving as if he was deep asleep. The machine showed a stable heartbeat.


    No matter who saw the red haired man, they would have thought that it was a person who was sleeping, but only the people here knew that it wasn¡¯t the case.


    The man hadn¡¯t moved in thest eight years as he was in aa after getting in a sh with someone. Most of his injuries had healed long ago, but he still hadn¡¯t woken up.


    Throughout these years, a maid was constantly left here to take care of him. There were also doctor visits every day since the red haired man wasn¡¯t any ordinary person. He was the Captain of the APF Delta Squad, Xander.


    The nurse had stayed here for eight years, just looking at the unmoving man. She had grown tired of seeing the man for so long, but she couldn¡¯t do anything else. In the end, she could only bear with it.


    "I don¡¯t get it. Why don¡¯t they give up on him? It¡¯s not like he¡¯s going to wake up. He hadn¡¯t woken up for so long. It¡¯s just a waste of resources," the dark-haired maid said, sighing.


    She stood up and started walking back and forth, extremely bored.


    As she had her back towards the red haired man, the manid motionless. His hands were resting on the white bedsheet, which was spotlessly clean.


    His hand that was unmoving for years had a cann inserted in it which was connected to a bag at the top which seemed to have a colorless liquid.


    In the silence of the room, only the footsteps of the maid could be heard as she walked back and forth.


    Amidst her hasty movement, the maid didn¡¯t notice that the finger of the man slightly moved. It was so brief that it was hard to notice.


    ...


    Kensington city had a yground where kids used to y football. It was a big area that was covered in grass but was mostly empty.


    The grass in the field was still wet as it had just suffered through heavy rain. There were even puddles of water at ces.


    Suddenly the grass started moving as heavy winds appeared. The water could be seen vibrating as a helicopternded on top of the grass.


    The doors of the helicopter slid open before a group of two stepped out.


    A bulky man could be seen in the lead. His pink hair waved with the wind as he stepped out of the helicopter. A spotless white robe was covering his shoulder.


    Following behind him was a man who looked even bulkier. His long hair seemed to be a darker shade of grey.


    He seemed to be wearing a jacket made of animal fur. Both the men had tattoos on their faces, but the pink haired man seemed more refined, unlike the second, who looked like a Viking.


    "It looks like there was rain recently," the dark haired man said, noticing the wet grass.


    "That seems to be the case. I wonder if there was more ck lightning or not. We¡¯ll see," Riali told Arne.


    "Let¡¯s go and start investigating. Maybe we¡¯ll be able to find something," he further said as he started walking towards the nearby street.


    "This is very interesting," he said as he stopped on the street at the sight of a crater.


    He went down as he touched the crater that was already filled with water for the most part.


    " You think it might be because of the lightning?" Arne asked as he also noticed it. There was no simr crater nearby though.


    "Possible. But it feels like it happened only recently," Riali said, frowning. "The surface is still hot."


    He stood up, patting his head as he looked around. People had just starteding out of their houses as the sky was clear now.


    Most of the citizens seemed worried. Some of them were talking to each other while the rest were looking at the sky.


    Arne and Riali approached the men to listen in on their conversation.


    "It happened again! Is it going to happen every day now? What is happening with our city? Why does ck lightning fall here daily now? Is the god trying to punish us for something?"


    "I¡¯m just as confused. There shouldn¡¯t be rains at this time of the year, but they happened two days straight. This doesn¡¯t seem ordinary. I think this city isn¡¯t safe for us to live in anymore."


    "What can we even do? We can¡¯t just abandon the city? Our livelihood is here."


    "We can¡¯t die here either! Haven¡¯t you seen the craters in the city? They¡¯re the effects of the ck lightning. How long do you think it will be before one such fall on our houses? We¡¯ve been lucky that it hasn¡¯t already!"


    "That¡¯s right. As long as we have our life, we have everything! We can¡¯t stay in the city!"


    "I agree. I¡¯ve decided to move."


    "I¡¯ll move too."


    "Me too!"


    "But guys...."


    "No! If you want to stay, then you can stay. I¡¯m not putting my family and myself in danger!"


    "That¡¯s right. We¡¯re leaving. It was good as long as itsted, but now this city isn¡¯t for us."

 Chapter 278 - 278: The Only Way

    <h4>Chapter 278 - 278: The Only Way </h4>


    Riali and Arne stood in the back, hearing the conversation silently. The more they heard, the more they realized that there was some truth to the story.


    ck lightning did fall in the city, and it wasn¡¯t just for one day. It dropped today as well, which was really surprising.


    ncing back at Arne, Riali gestured with his fingers to follow him.


    They silently left.


    "Did you understand anything?" Riali asked after getting some distance from the crowd.


    "What?" Arne asked, frowning.


    "It wasn¡¯t a one time thing. It doesn¡¯t seem natural. It¡¯s a man-made storm, I think. And whoever that person is, he¡¯s still in the city," Riali exined.


    "I guess that¡¯s true. How do we find that person?" Arne inquired, frowning.


    " It¡¯s simple. We need to wait for that person to do it again. The ce where the clouds originate from, that will be where we find him," Riali exined. He had already thought of an idea with the little bit of information he had.


    "Do you think he¡¯ll do it again? What if he doesn¡¯t?" Arne asked, wondering if that n could really work.


    "I think that person will do it again. At least we can hope he does. That¡¯s the only way we can find him at all. Other than that, we can do nothing. It¡¯s not like we can search the entire city," Riali replied, sighing.


    "We¡¯ll have to call the teams, and that person will be alert then, which will only make it harder to find him. So let¡¯s just hope it works. In the meanwhile, we¡¯ll stay here. Let¡¯s look for a hotel," he added as he started the search for a hotel.


    The search didn¡¯t take long as they ended up in front of a hotel.


    The two of them stepped inside and approached the receptionist.


    "We need two rooms," Riali said.


    The receptionist raised his head as he observed the two men. His attention was especially attracted to Arne, who was standing in the back.


    He didn¡¯t ask anything as he took the money and gave the keys.


    "Second floor, room number 201 and 202."


    Arne and Riali left.


    As the two of them left, the receptionist sighed deeply.


    "What¡¯s happening today? First, there were people who carried swords, and now people who seem like Vikings? Only weird people have beening here today," he said, smiling wryly. "Whatever, I don¡¯t have to care. Hopefully, they won¡¯t break anything."


    ...


    Riali and Arne had arrived in the same hotel where Variant Uprising members were staying. The only difference was that their rooms were on the second floor while Variant Uprising remained on the first floor.


    "So, who is going to keep watch in the sky today? Will we take turns?" Arne asked Riali as the two of them were climbing the stairs.


    "None of us. We don¡¯t need to do it today. I doubt it¡¯ll happen again. It only happens once a day, so it¡¯ll probably happen tomorrow," Riali told Arne, stopping on the second floor.


    "As for who will keep watch, that¡¯ll be me and you both. Rest in your room. I¡¯ll wake you up early in the morning," he added.


    He walked to his room and stepped inside, leaving Arne to enter the other.


    Sitting inside his room, Riali called Varant to tell him what was happening here.


    ....


    The Variant Uprising members had three rooms that they booked, but the three of them were sitting in a single room, talking to Raia.


    The room where they were sitting happened to be right under the room of Riali. Unfortunately, the sound from this room didn¡¯t go up, just like the sound from the second floor room didn¡¯t get here.


    ...


    The time kept ticking away as Lucifer slept on the couch, with the key to Ayn¡¯s room in his pockets.


    He wasn¡¯t ufortable at all in sleeping here as this was where he actually felt better than the room. Moreover, this was where he got peace of mind.


    Inside the room, he couldn¡¯t get into deep sleep as he needed to stay aware of his surroundings since Ayn was there. There was no need to worry about that here.


    Three hours passed before he came out of his sleep. He slowly opened his eyes and sat up.


    Stretching his arms, he looked around to notice that the maid was still here, cleaning. But there was no one else nearby.


    "Where is Cassius?" He asked the maid as he stood up.


    "He is outside, I think," the maid answered.


    "And Veracity?"


    " Last I checked, she was in her room."


    Lucifer got on his feet and wore his shoes before stepping out of the house.


    As he stepped out, his gaze roamed over the vast garden where he found Cassius practicing his sword.


    He approached Cassius as his left hand rested inside his pockets.


    "You still train the basics with just as much determination," hemented as he stopped behind Cassius.


    "Of course. The basics are the foundation of everything. You can use your strength even better if you have the basic skills."


    " If you don¡¯t, you can¡¯t. So I focus on the basics more. Since my skills need me to be perfect," Cassius replied as he stopped swinging his sword and turned back to face Lucifer.


    His entire body was covered in sweat which could clearly be seen.


    "How long have you been practicing?" Lucifer inquired, surprised.


    "Three hours," Cassius replied. "So not long."


    "Want to go out? I was thinking about taking the car for a drive and practicing the basics too," Lucifer pointed out.


    "Alright. Give me half an hour. I need to get fresh," Cassius answered as he put the sword back in the sheath and walked towards the mansion.


    Lucifer shifted his attention to the garden, observing the nts. He stepped closer and observed one of the nts, which waspletely destroyed because of his lightning falling on top of it.


    It was the same nt from where Lucifer had plucked a flowerst time. He considered this one beautiful and to see it being destroyed because of him... He couldn¡¯t help but smile as he turned his back on it and started walking towards the car.


    He stopped in front of the yellow sports car and unlocked it. Stepping inside the car, he used the key to turn it on.


    The car started, and Lucifer put his newly learned knowledge to test as he reversed the car to get it in position to leave.


    He even turned on the music as he waited for the return of Cassius. He did keep the volume low, though.

 Chapter 279 - 279: Warzone

    <h4>Chapter 279 - 279: Warzone </h4>


    Shortly after, Cassius also returned, dressed in a different attire that still suited him. His short dark hair still seemed slightly wet as he had just finished a shower.


    Reaching the car, he opened the door of the passenger side before he sat inside.


    "Let¡¯s go. But you need to be careful. After the rain, it¡¯s slightly harder," Cassius reminded Lucifer.


    Lucifer pressed on the elerator to get the car moving.


    Bringing it out of the Estate, he advanced towards the city.


    ....


    "Pretty good. You¡¯re doing really great. And it hasn¡¯t even been two days. Your control is incredible," Cassiusplimented Lucifer, who seemed to be driving like a proper driver and not like someone who had just started learning.


    "Yeah. It really isn¡¯t hard. I was wrong," Lucifer replied.


    "That¡¯s right. As long as you¡¯re careful, it¡¯s not hard. But you need to keep your speed in control. The control gets much harder at high speed since your reflexes alsoe into y," Cassius said.


    As Lucifer reached the crowded part of the city, he slowed down a little.


    ...


    "Why are we walking outside now instead of resting like nned?" Arne asked Riali, who had dragged him out.


    "Think of it as a casual walk. I was getting bored inside the room. A short walk is good," Riali responded as he walked on the side of the road with Arne.


    He was looking at the shops that were finally open, but it wasn¡¯t as crowded as he believed this ce to be in the evening. Probably because of the storm.


    "Many people must still be depressed about what had happened. I guess this can¡¯t be helped. After we find the person who is causing it, the city should return to normal," he said.


    "Hopefully."


    As they were walking, they noticed a sports car move past them. They couldn¡¯t see who was driving it though. Neither did Lucifer see them.


    "That car is pretty good. But it looks like it¡¯ll be a bit too small for us," Arne said,menting about the car.


    "It¡¯s just a car for show. It won¡¯t protect you when an enemy attacks, unlike the ones we use. But yeah, they¡¯re good to go on a trip," Rialimented.


    He didn¡¯t realize that instead of being concerned about the car, he needed to be concerned about the people who were sitting inside.


    After driving around the city, Lucifer turned the car around and started driving back.


    Arne noticed the caring from a distance.


    "It¡¯s returning," hemented.


    "Must be some rich guy trying to enjoy. It¡¯s such a waste though. This car deserves to race on an empty street, not move like a snail in the city. Whatever, this doesn¡¯t concern us," Riali responded.


    The car soon reached near them. Unlike before, Lucifer¡¯s gaze did fall on Riali and Arne. He was initially attracted by their odd clothing, but he soon recognized them.


    He had seen the images of a few of the well known members of APF, and these two happened to be one of them. A smirk formed on his face as his car drove past them again.


    "Did you see those two? Their clothing was pretty interesting," Cassiusmented.


    "That wasn¡¯t the only thing interesting about them," Lucifer replied, smiling. "Looks like my bait worked for both sides."


    "Bait?" Cassius asked, frowning.


    "That¡¯s right. I already expected that the base of APF was going to be heavily secured. Conversation with Ayn only confirmed it."


    " That¡¯s why I had already decided to drag APF here while not explicitly giving them any proof. A simple ck lightning storm was enough to do that," Lucifer exined.


    " If I¡¯m not wrong, Varant didn¡¯te, which is expected as well. Now I just need to bring Varant here as well. It¡¯s going to be interesting indeed," he added, smiling.


    "Everything will depend on how the meeting with Raia goes the day after tomorrow," hemented.


    ....


    "The kid who was driving that car, he looked a bit familiar," Riali said as he looked back at the yellow car that was racing away.


    "You must be confused. They seemed like typical rich kids to me. Not the people we would remember," Arne replied, shaking his head. "That reminds me. Look there, a restaurant! Let¡¯s eat something."


    Riali kept looking at the car, which went far until it disappeared from his sight entirely. It was only then that he turned around.


    "Yeah, let¡¯s eat. Maybe I¡¯ll remember something," he muttered.


    ...


    The yellow sports car reached the Welling Estate. The guard opened the door for them.


    As the metallic doors were opened, Lucifer drove the car inside and stopped right at the entrance of the mansion before he stepped out.


    "If you¡¯re telling the truth, then this ce is soon going to be a Warzone, I guess." As Cassius stepped out of the car, he was still stunned at what Lucifer had told him.


    The strongest people in this nation wereing here, and they were in the middle of it. How it went entirely depended on them and a little on luck too.


    Lucifer nced at Cassius as he smiled. "It became a Warzone the moment I stepped in the city..."


    "Do you regreting here now? You still have time. You can go back if you want to," he said.


    "I¡¯m not scared, actually. It¡¯s just that I¡¯m concerned about this city. If a battle happens here, a lot of innocent people will die," Cassius said, not knowing how to feel about it.


    "A lot of innocent people die every day in the world. And they¡¯ll keep dying. But if it¡¯s worth anything, I¡¯ll try to keep the battle contained as much as I can if the need of battle arises," Lucifer responded before he stepped inside the Mansion.


    Cassius also stepped inside behind him.


    As it was the time of dinner, they found the food already served on the table and waiting for them.


    "That reminds me. She hasn¡¯t eaten anything. Bring a te and follow me," Lucifer told the maid.


    The maid did as he said and followed after him.


    Lucifer went to his room and unlocked the door.


    "What?"


    As he stepped inside the room, he found it empty. He seemed shocked as he looked around.


    Where did Ayn go? Did she run away? No, the door was locked. It wasn¡¯t broken, and the key was with him. How could she leave?


    Frowning, he walked towards the bathroom to check if she was there.


    There wasn¡¯t any sound of watering from the bathroom though, which made him doubtful. If she wasn¡¯t there, he didn¡¯t know what he could do.


    Standing before the bathroom door, he tried opening it. The door opened right away.

 Chapter 280 - 280: Spy

    <h4>Chapter 280 - 280: Spy </h4>


    Lucifer was stunned to find that Ayn wasn¡¯t here. He couldn¡¯t help but wonder if she had run away, making him decide to check the bathroom.


    As he opened the door of the bathroom, he finally calmed down as he saw Ayn.


    Ayn was standing in the bathroom, in a different set of clothes. Her hair was still wet, as if he had just finished taking a shower recently.


    "Hmm? What happened?" She asked Lucifer, surprised.


    "Nothing. Your dinner is here. It¡¯ll be on the table. Eat up," Lucifer said calmly as he retreated.


    "You can ce that on the table and leave," he told the maid, who was waiting for his instructions.


    The maid did as she was told and left. Following him, Lucifer also left, locking the door.


    ...


    A new day arrived, and Lucifer woke up from his slumber. He hadn¡¯t slept in his roomst night. He was aware that Ayn didn¡¯t leave, so he didn¡¯t feel the need to keep an eye on her. Instead, he slept on the couch again.


    "Finally, I¡¯m back! Did anyone miss me?"


    It was only six in the morning, and Lucifer still felt like sleeping more, but he was woken up by the noise.


    "Can¡¯t youe in silently?" he asked, rolling his eyes. He didn¡¯t understand why Jiang had to announce his return as if he hade after winning a war. He just went on a trip.


    "How are you, little boss? I have good news for you," Jiang told Lucifer as he smiled. He picked up a nearby chair and sat facing Lucifer.


    Lucifer also sat up as he asked, "What good news?"


    "Thend that belongs to you? That problem is solved. Let alone now, even in the future; there won¡¯t be any construction there. Moreover, I also found out something pretty useful," Jiang let out, excited.


    "What useful?" Lucifer inquired.


    "Apparently, the stuff that was at your house was taken out by ourpany before your house was destroyed. It¡¯s lying in a warehouse in Legion City at the moment. So we could very well find something useful about your key there," Jiang exined.


    "It¡¯s still preserved? That¡¯s surprising," Lucifer reacted, not expecting this news.


    "Yeah. I only found out recently. By the way, I really didn¡¯t expect the Welling Construction to be so big. Did you know we even have branches on other continents? Joe Welling was freaking rich," Jiang eximed.


    He still couldn¡¯t bring down the excitement that he was feeling after knowing his true wealth.


    "So, do you want to go to Legion City? Or should I ask for that stuff to be moved here? I personally suggest going there since some stuff might get lost in the transfer," he further said. "But I leave the decision to you."


    "It¡¯s fine. Let it stay there. We will go thereter. For now, I¡¯m slightly busy in Kensington," Lucifer replied, refusing the suggestion.


    " That¡¯s fine as well. Anyway, what are you busy with at the moment? How¡¯s the interrogation going? Did you get some answers?" Jiang shot out question after question.


    "That¡¯s already over, and I also got the answers I needed," Lucifer responded. "Anyway, there¡¯s something I want you to do."


    "Just order it. What can I do?" Jiang asked.


    "I want you to leave the city and not to return until I call you," Lucifer told Jiang.


    "Leave the city? Why?" Jiang asked, confused. "I just returned."


    "The city isn¡¯t going to be safe, depending on what happens next. You¡¯re useless for that part, and you¡¯ll most probably die if you stay here. So leave," Lucifer exined.


    "Ah? You¡¯re worried for me?" Jiang asked, taken aback. He hadn¡¯t expected Lucifer would worry about his safety.


    "Of course, I would want to keep you safe. I need you in the future. By the way, I also know where I want you to go next," Lucifer said.


    "Where?" Jiang inquired, surprised.


    "Go to the Capital City of Elisium. I want you to be my spy there. Get as much information you can about the Hunter Union and the protection of the city as you can," Lucifer answered calmly.


    " Welling Construction is close to the government authorities. This shouldn¡¯t be hard for you," he further added.


    "That¡¯s true. The headquarters of Welling Construction is in the Capital. So it shouldn¡¯t be particrly hard," Jiang affirmed.


    "That¡¯s good. You need to leave today. Arrange everything and wait for my further instructions when you get there," Lucifermanded.


    "But I just returned..."


    "It doesn¡¯t matter. If you want to be able to return again and not go straight to death, then leave today. Because tomorrow will be chaotic," Lucifer responded, shaking his head.


    He didn¡¯t repeat himself as he stood up and started leaving. He had said everything he wanted to.


    "Alright. I¡¯ll leave today," Jiang said, watching Lucifer leave.


    He also stood up and called his men to arrange the Jet for departure to the Capital City.


    "I wonder what¡¯s going to happen tomorrow. If he¡¯s saying that it¡¯s going to be a Warzone, then it must be serious," Jiang muttered as he picked up the bag and left where he came from.


    ...


    Lucifer left the room and ended up in the garden, where he usually preferred to take his morning walk. He had even taken off his shoes as he walked on the cold morning grass, barefoot.


    He observed the silence that was in the surrounding. The sounds of birds chirping could also be heard asionally, making him appreciate this ce as always.


    "Today should be thest day of calm in this city. I wonder if everything will go ording to the n. I really hope Raia wasn¡¯t involved in my parents¡¯ death."


    ...


    "No, father, everything¡¯s fine. This ce is really beautiful."


    "That¡¯s right. I¡¯m enjoying the sunny beaches of Ameria. It¡¯s beautiful. We shoulde here in the future together someday."


    Cassius stepped out of the mansion, seemingly talking to someone over the phone. He also went to the garden as he continued talking.


    "Don¡¯t worry; I¡¯m eating on time. And no, I don¡¯t have any problems. You don¡¯t have to send anyone."


    "When will I be back? I think I¡¯ll take a few more months. I want to see many more countries. I have only seen one of them, after all."


    "That¡¯s right. Don¡¯t worry, if I face any problem, I¡¯ll inform you right away. Alright, I have to go now. I¡¯ll call you tomorrow."


    He disconnected the call and kept the phone in his pocket.


    Lucifer nced at Cassius as he asked, "Your father?"


    "Yeah. He still thinks I¡¯m in Ameria. Can¡¯t tell him the truth," Cassius responded, sighing.

 Chapter 281 - 281: Youre Not Immortal

    <h4>Chapter 281 - 281: You''re Not Immortal </h4>


    "You should really go back to him as well. The ytime is over here. Things are going to get serious. One wrong step, and your father will lose his son; you know, right?" Lucifer asked, frowning. "You¡¯re not immortal like me."


    "I know. But I also have faith in myself. I want to see the end of it. As you said, if things go ording to n, your revenge will end in less than a week. I can spare a little help until then," Cassius responded, shaking his head.


    "Suit yourself," Lucifer let out, not speaking more.


    He walked in the garden for around ten minutes before he went back inside the Mansion. Cassius, on the other hand, began his practice.


    Inside the mansion, Lucifer took a short shower and finished breakfast before he left without telling anyone.


    He got into the yellow sports car and left the Estate.


    Standing in the garden, Cassius watched Lucifer leave in a car which surprised him. He was going alone on a drive?


    ...


    A yellow sports car stopped near the only hotel in the city. A young boy stepped out of the car, wearing a hoodie that hid his hair. He was also wearing ck sunsses, which oddly suited the attire.


    He stepped inside the hotel and approached the receptionist.


    "Wee, Sir. How may I help you? Are you looking for a room?" The receptionist asked Lucifer.


    "No. I¡¯m looking for some people. There are two men who have tattoos on their faces. Do they stay here?" Lucifer asked the receptionist.


    "Ah, you¡¯re talking about those two. That¡¯s right. They have rooms here. Are you here to meet them?" the receptionist asked.


    "I want you to give them this letter the next time you see them. Make sure they get it today, at least. That¡¯ll be all," Lucifer responded as he brought a folded piece of paper out of his pocket and ced it on the table.


    He also brought some money out of his wallet and ced it on top of the paper.


    "Ah, I understand, Sir. I¡¯ll deliver the letter for sure," the Receptionist said as he greedily took the paper and the money.


    Lucifer left the hotel without looking back. Getting inside the car, he went back.


    ...


    While Lucifer was delivering the letter to the hotel, Riali and Arne were on the roof, looking at the sky.


    They were waiting for the clouds toe to know their origins, but the sky waspletely clear. They didn¡¯t know that the person who was to bring the clouds was standing right under them at one moment.


    Riali and Arne kept standing at the roof, waiting. But the clouds didn¡¯t appear. It was already afternoon, but the sky was bright above their head.


    In fact, unlike yesterday, it was actually a hot day today which really could use some rain and clouds, but none of them was in sight


    "When will ite? We¡¯ve been standing here since the early morning. I¡¯m starting to get hungry!" Arneined as he kicked the floor in frustration.


    As he hadn¡¯t used any of his abilities, the floor under him wasn¡¯t affected.


    "Go down and eat something. Come back after eating. I¡¯ll keep an eye until then," Riali responded.


    "Are you sure?" Arne asked. "Don¡¯t you also have to eat?"


    "I can go and eat after youe back," Riali exined.


    "Alright. I¡¯lle back fast."


    Arne left Riali alone in the scorching heat as he went downstairs.


    ...


    He went to his room and told the room service to bring his lunch as he sat on the couch, getting much-needed rest and shade.


    Knock! Knock!


    "Room service!" A voice came from outside.


    "Come inside. The door is open," Arne yelled, making sure his voice was heard.


    The door of his room opened, and a man stepped inside the room with the food. He was followed by the receptionist, who was carrying a folded paper in his hand.


    While the te of food was served on the table before Arne, the receptionist gave him a piece of paper.


    "What is it? Bill or something?" Arne asked as he took the piece of paper.


    "It¡¯s a letter that someone told me to deliver to you two. Now that I¡¯m done, I¡¯ll take my leave," the receptionist said as he turned around.


    "Someone sent it for us? Who was it?" Arne inquired, frowning. "I doubt anyone here would know us."


    "I don¡¯t know who he was. I didn¡¯t ask for a name. I didn¡¯t even see his face clearly as he was wearing a hoodie, but it¡¯s only a letter."


    " Maybe that¡¯ll give you some clue. In any case, he can only be someone who knew you," the Receptionist said before he left, closing the door behind him.


    Arne unfolded the piece of paper and read it. As he went through the letter, a frown appeared on his face. Finishing up, he folded the letter and kept it in his pocket.


    He started eating.


    After finishing with the lunch, he went back to the roof.


    The sky was still as clear as before. There were still no signs of clouds.


    "Finished with lunch?" Riali asked Arne.


    Arne nodded.


    "Alright. You keep an eye on the sky. I¡¯ll eat too," Riali said, but he soon noticed that there was a concerned look on Arne¡¯s face.


    "Did something happen?" He asked.


    "Yeah. I got a letter. Apparently, someone sent it for us through the receptionist. Read it," Arne replied as he gave the letter to Riali.


    "A letter for us? Who could have sent it?" Riali muttered as he opened the letter and started reading it.


    [ The clouds and the ck lightning aren¡¯t normal. There¡¯s someone behind it, and I know who it is. And I also know that you two are the only ones that can help our city escape this cmity.]


    [ I want to tell you everything about it. Please meet me and help us and our city survive.]


    "This is interesting. Someone knows about it and wants to tell us," Riali muttered as he finished reading the letter.


    "That¡¯s right. He even gave a location and time to meet. Do you think this can be a trap?" Arne asked, frowning.


    "It can very well be a trap. But we can¡¯t ignore it either. If it¡¯s genuine, we¡¯ll miss out on important information. And even if it¡¯s a trap, we just have to be careful," Riali responded as he folded the piece of paper again.


    "Let¡¯s go and see who this person is," he added, looking into the distant horizon.

 Chapter 282 - 282: Alicia

    <h4>Chapter 282 - 282: Alicia </h4>


    Lucifer stepped out of his car, stopping it right outside the mansion.


    He stepped inside the mansion to find Cassius having lunch. Veracity was also with him. As for Jiang, he wasn¡¯t visible anywhere as he had already left.


    Lucifer also joined up with them as he took a chair. Lunch was served for him as well.


    "Where did you go?" Cassius asked Lucifer.


    "Delivering a letter and preparing for the big day tomorrow," Lucifer responded.


    ...


    Raia was informed about the demands of Lucifer, and he didn¡¯t think too much of it. He had agreed toe to Kensington himself if that was what it took. Moreover, he wasn¡¯ting alone either.


    He stopped before the helicopter and started waiting for someone. It didn¡¯t take long before he noticed a personing from the distance.


    Vega was walking towards the helicopter as well. Unlike before, he was dressed fully in clothes made of Cardigan Particles.


    Raia was also wearing his usual robe made of Cardigan Particles that was the invention of the Variant Uprising. Surprisingly, Raia wasn¡¯ting alone, though. A girl was walking beside him.


    The girl seemed to be in her early twenties, ording to her looks. Her ming red hair came down to her waist, matching her beautiful crimson eyes.


    Her beautiful eyes, thin lips, and cute cheeks made her seem like a princess that hade from the world of fantasy, but there were no expressions on her face.


    Vega and the girl stopped before Raia.


    "Greetings, Uncle Raia," the girl said as she bowed her head in respect before Raia.


    "Ah, Alicia. How have you been?" Raia asked, smiling brightly.


    "I¡¯ve been perfectly fine. Father has been taking good care of me," the red-haired girl said with proper manners as she nced at Vega when mentioning father.


    "That¡¯s good. Let¡¯s leave then. I think it¡¯s about time we showed you the outside world," Raia said to the girl as he stepped inside the helicopter.


    Alicia also stepped inside with Vega.


    The roof opened up, letting the sunlight pass through. The helicopter started rising in the air and soon left the base.


    As the helicopter was flying, Alicia was constantly looking outside, amazed.


    It was her first time outside the base as far as she could remember, but she had always dreamt of seeing the world one day. She couldn¡¯t believe that day came so soon.


    "Do you like what you see?" Raia asked, amused at Alicia¡¯s overreaction.


    "Yes. It¡¯s beautiful. The sun and the sand... And it¡¯s so big. I can¡¯t even see the end of it," Alicia replied.


    "Are you sad that we didn¡¯t let you leave the base in thest six years?" Raia asked.


    "Not at all," Alicia responded as she nced at Raia. "I can understand why father, and you didn¡¯t let me leave. It was for my own safety."


    "That¡¯s right. Six years ago, your father had taken you outside. But he was attacked. In the battle, you got injured. That¡¯s why he ced the condition before you, to learn as much as you can before going out. It was all so you could protect yourself," Raia said, sighing.


    Even though he was making this whole thing up, his acting was so good that it didn¡¯t seem like a lie at all.


    In reality, Alicia was none other than the girl who was kept at the Dilion Research Facility by Doctor Rao.


    After a long time, Vega had managed to bring her out sessfully without destroying that ce.


    Vega could still remember the day he had brought Alicia out of the Cylindrical Container, filled with liquid.


    She was still breathing, but she seemed to be unconscious. It was only after a few days that she woke up, but she didn¡¯t have any of her memories.


    She only remembered her childhood, but even that was erased by Raia, who manipted her memories to make her think that she had always been with Variant Uprising.


    Raia erased all of her memories belonging to the moment before she met them. And when she woke up, she was lied to. With the help of Manipted Memories, Raia made Vega Alicia¡¯s father.


    "That¡¯s right. I know Father only has my best interest in his mind," Alicia said as she nodded.


    "By the way, you like the desert? You¡¯ll like the cities even more. That¡¯s where the fun really starts. We¡¯re going there to bring home another family member. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll like him."


    "You two are going to work in a team in the future," Raia told Alicia as he imagined the two young Warlock Kings working in a team under him.


    ¡¯I wonder who will be stronger? Alicia or Lucifer? Both of them have a different specialty of their own.¡¯


    ¡¯While Lucifer has immortal healing, Alicia has the unbreakable defense. While Lucifer has many powers, Alicia also has many of them, even though different ones.¡¯


    ¡¯ I guess Alicia would be slightly stronger since she can be even stronger in the future. Whatever the case, I must praise the human scientists.¡¯


    ¡¯Who would have thought they¡¯d be able to make a monster from a girl who only had one power which was seemingly useless. They found her ability and used it to their advantage.¡¯


    Raia lost himself in deep thought as he observed Alicia, who had started looking outside.


    ¡¯They found her special ability which was hidden inside her blood... The Gene Absorption. The power to absorb abilities from the genes of others as long as they were inserted in proper sequencing.¡¯


    ¡¯I don¡¯t know how they did it exactly, but they did manage to inject the genes of the Variants that had awakened in theb inside her, increasing her abilities.¡¯


    ¡¯ Generally, most people should have died from that, even if they had the power of Gene Absorption; but still, they seeded.¡¯


    ¡¯If only we find out her original Gene Sequencing, we should be able to achieve it too.¡¯


    ¡¯But after absorption of so many Variant genes, finding her raw genes sequencing is impossible. If we want to continue gene injection, we need her original genes sequencing, which she had before she was first injected with genes.¡¯


    ¡¯Hopefully, our scientists can find her original gene sequencing from the diary of Rao. He was the only person who knew it, and now he¡¯s dead. If we find it, it should be easy to make Alicia even stronger, maybe even more so than Lucifer.¡¯


    ¡¯If only Lucifer had awakened inside theb, Rao might have taken his awakened genes too. Alicia would have had his abilities too. It¡¯s too bad that he awakenedter. Alicia lost the chance of having Lucifer¡¯s powers.¡¯


    As Raia gazed at Alicia, there was hope inside him about the future.

 Chapter 283 - 283: Meeting Raia

    <h4>Chapter 283 - 283: Meeting Raia </h4>


    There was also regret on Raia¡¯s face that Alicia didn¡¯t have any of Lucifer¡¯s overpowered abilities. Her own abilities weren¡¯t bad either, but they were just not at the same level as him.


    Moreover, he couldn¡¯t help her absorb Lucifer¡¯s powers now either, as it was toote.


    ording to the parts of Rao¡¯s diary that they did understand, it was said that only the awakened genes of Variants who were younger than ten years old worked.


    Apparently, Doctor Rao had tested with the genes of Variants that had awakened long ago and were older than ten, but Alicia¡¯s body rejected the genes.


    After much testing, he found out that her body only absorbed the awakened genes of Variants that were younger than ten.


    As Raia knew about this, he was slightly disappointed. He would have preferred Alicia having Lucifer¡¯s healing, lightning, decay, and super strength as well, but there was no way now. Both of them were destined to be different.


    ¡¯Fortunately, both of them will work for me. So it doesn¡¯t matter,¡¯ he ultimately thought as he shook his head.


    The helicopter of Variant Uprising flew through the desert, moving from city to city without resting to get to Kensington.


    ....


    Lucifer was lying on the couch, thinking about tomorrow. It was going to be the day when he got the answers he most desperately needed.


    What were the answers going to be? Was Raia really responsible? He had no idea what to expect at this point. He had prepared for both scenarios, no matter what his answer was.


    Cassius was also sitting in his bed, looking at his sword. He had expected a possible battle, and he couldn¡¯t help but wonder how many innocent people were going to die. He found himself very conflicted.


    There were many people who were lost in deep thoughts tonight, including Riali, who was wondering who could have sent him the letter and if it was a trap?


    Everyone eventually fell asleep, having different expectations for the day that was toe.


    ...


    As the long-awaited day arrived with the first ray of sun falling over the city, Lucifer opened his eyes.


    He went to everyone¡¯s room to wake them up and to tell them to stay ready while he also went to take a shower.


    Within an hour, everyone was ready and standing at the entrance of the mansion, prepared to leave.


    Cassius was dressed in a ck robe, carrying his heavy sword with him.


    Veracity was dressed in her usual clothes, but she had worn a red wig which was making her look like a different person altogether.


    She was also wearing circr reading sses.


    As for Lucifer, he was dressed in all white. There were no weapons in his hand, and he wasn¡¯t hiding his eyes either.


    "You all know what to do, right?" Lucifer asked once again to make sure.


    "I do," Cassius and Veracity replied at the same time.


    "That¡¯s good. Let¡¯s leave then. I called Raia to meet at ten. He probably would be on time. We need to get there before him,"


    Lucifer stepped inside the yellow car. Veracity sat on the passenger seat. As for Cassius, he sat in a different car.


    Lucifer started his car first, closely followed by Cassius.


    Both the cars left the Estate Property, going to the central part of Kensington city.


    "You learned pretty fast. I¡¯m surprised," Veracitymented on Lucifer¡¯s driving.


    She knew that he didn¡¯t know a single thing about driving until a few days ago, and now he was driving like he was a pro at it.


    "It¡¯s not that hard, actually. The only reason I didn¡¯t know before was that I didn¡¯t feel the need to learn," Lucifer replied.


    As it was seven in the morning, the roads were pretty empty, making it even easier.


    The drive didn¡¯tst for long as they soon reached their destination.


    Lucifer stopped the car about a hundred meters away from the Windy Cafe.


    He stepped out of the car and walked to the cafe, looking around. Fortunately, he didn¡¯t find anyone watching him.


    Cassius also stopped his car behind the yellow car as he stepped out and followed Lucifer. Only Veracity was sitting in the car, looking at her wristwatch.


    She was told toe at a specific time.


    Cassius and Lucifer stepped inside the cafe, which had just opened. This ce waspletely empty at the moment, except for the staff that worked here.


    The staff was surprised to see Cassius, who was carrying a sword. Seeing him sit with Lucifer, they sighed in relief. Some had genuinely thought that they were here to rob them.


    "Bring me a Dark Coffee," Cassius ordered, raising his right hand.


    As for Lucifer, he didn¡¯t drink coffee, so he didn¡¯t order.


    A cup of coffee was served right away.


    "This is going to be a long wait," Cassius said as he picked up the cup of coffee and started drinking.


    "Yeah. There are still three hours left. But it was also necessary toe in advance," Lucifer replied.


    Time kept trickling away as an hour passed. The cafe was slightly more crowded, but the table where Cassius sat with Lucifer was still empty. No one dared to sit there after seeing his big sword.


    Cassius had finished two cups of coffee in thest hour.


    Another hour passed away as the ce became crowded. Almost all seats were filled except the table where Cassius was sitting.


    "One more hour. How are you feeling?" Cassius asked Lucifer.


    "No idea. I prefer to not feel this close to the end. I don¡¯t want to have second thoughts," Lucifer replied.


    Time kept passing as the final moment drew closer. Only eight minutes were left in ten when a small group stopped at the entrance of the cafe.


    Veracity was sitting in his car, having a straight view of the Cafe entrance.


    As she saw the group of people, she muttered, "They¡¯re here."


    The small group had six people. Raia was standing in the lead, followed by Vega, Kellian, Yaliza, Tristan, and Alicia.


    Raia pushed the door of the cafe and stepped inside.


    The cafe was half empty by now as many seats were empty. Roaming his gaze inside the Cafe, Raia soon found Lucifer.


    Smiling, he approached Lucifer.


    " It¡¯s been so long, hasn¡¯t it? How are you, young man?" Raia asked Lucifer as he sat down.


    The rectangr table around which Lucifer was sitting had four chairs, two on each side. On the left side, Lucifer and Cassius were seated, while the right side was upied by Raia and Vega.


    While everyone¡¯s attention was on Lucifer, Tristan¡¯s eyes rested on Cassius, who had the heavy sword on hisp.

 Chapter 284 - 284: The Truth

    <h4>Chapter 284 - 284: The Truth </h4>


    Tristan kept looking at Cassius while licking his lips. He was pretty excited as he noticed the sword of Cassius. It was easy to guess that Cassius was the swordsman friend of Lucifer that he was interested in.


    "Tristan, take a seat too," Kellian tapped the shoulders of Tristan before he pulled him to the nearby table, which was beside the current table.


    Tristan nodded as he followed Kellian and Yaliza while sitting down.


    Alicia also sat with the three of them.


    Lucifer, on the other hand, was surprised as he noticed Alicia. That girl came with the top members of Variant Uprising, so it was clear that she had high importance in the Uprising as well.


    But he didn¡¯t remember seeing her ever before. Moreover, there was just something about the girl that he found different. He wondered who the girl was.


    Cassius was also focused on Tristan, noticing the Katana in his hand. It was evident that Tristan was also a swordsman and evidently a strong one.


    " How have I been? I suppose I can¡¯tin. Still alive so far," Lucifer replied calmly to the question of Raia.


    "That¡¯s good. That¡¯s all that matters," Raia said, smiling.


    The door of the Cafe opened as a red-haired woman stepped inside. She walked in the direction of Lucifer and sat on the table right behind him with her back facing them.


    "A ck coffee for me!" the woman ordered.


    "Ah, Vega, this ce is a bit noisy. Can you help clear it up?" Raia asked Vega, frowning.


    At first, he didn¡¯t bother with making this ce empty, but now that he found it noisy, he decided to make sure that the Cafe only had them and no other customers.


    "It¡¯s fine; let them stay. A small amount of noise can¡¯t be worse than the time and effort that will be wasted in getting people to leave. I don¡¯t prefer that disturbance," Lucifer chimed in, stopping Vega.


    Vega nced at Raia, wondering what he should do. Both sides wanted different things.


    "If that¡¯s what he wants, let others stay," Raia agreed and stopped Vega, who again sat down.


    "So, Lucifer. I heard you wanted me toe to bring you back. Here I am. As we said before, you¡¯re a part of our family, and we won¡¯t leave you behind. So, shall we go back home?" Raia asked Lucifer, getting straight to the point.


    "There¡¯s no hurry. You just came here, after all. Why don¡¯t you order something first?" Lucifer asked, not leaving so fast. "In any case, I want to talk to you about something as well, so it¡¯ll take time."


    Raia rubbed his chin, curious about what Lucifer wanted to talk about, but he nodded.


    He also ordered coffee for himself and for others.


    The coffee was first served to Veracity, who was sitting behind Lucifer in disguise. After her, Raia and the others were served.


    "You aren¡¯t drinking?" Raia asked Lucifer.


    "I drank before you came," Lucifer answered. "By the way, I¡¯m curious. Who is that girl behind you?"


    "Her? Alicia,e here," Raia said, calling the girl.


    The girl stood up and came before Raia.


    "Let me introduce the two of you. Alicia, he is Lucifer. The boy I told you about. He¡¯s a really special member of our family and the son of my close friends," Raia said, introducing Lucifer to Alicia.


    "And Lucifer, she is Alicia. She is the daughter of Vega," he added while introducing Alicia to Lucifer.


    As Raia spoke, Veracity also said, "Can I get more sugar!"


    It was a signal that Raia was lying, which made Lucifer intrigued. So she wasn¡¯t Vega¡¯s daughter? Why was Raia lying about this? Is this some scheme?


    Alicia reached out her hand to shake Lucifer¡¯s hands. "Hello Lucifer. I heard a lot about you. It¡¯s nice to meet you finally."


    Lucifer didn¡¯t reach out his hand; instead, he looked at Raia. He didn¡¯t want to interact with Alicia.


    "His daughter? I didn¡¯t know he had a daughter," Lucifer muttered, frowning. At the same time, the waiter provided more sugar to Veracity.


    "That¡¯s right. You two didn¡¯t meet when you were at the base. You would have met if you hade back from Orion Beach, but unfortunately, some unexpected events took ce at that time. I¡¯m really sorry to know what had happened that day," Raia exined, sighing.


    Alicia retreated her hand, slightly upset as she was ignored. She didn¡¯t appreciate Lucifer¡¯s gesture.


    "I suppose Caen is dead too, or did you find him?" Lucifer asked, not even ncing at Alicia.


    "He should be dead, we believe. We didn¡¯t find him after that," Raia exined.


    He looked at Alicia as he continued, "Don¡¯t misunderstand him. He has always been like that. He doesn¡¯t like someone touching him. You can sit."


    Alicia nodded as she walked back to her seat, staring at Lucifer before leaving.


    "That reminds me, we also have another new person here. Is this your swordsman friend that killed the APF members?" Raia asked Lucifer, ncing at Cassius.


    "I guess you can say that," Lucifer replied.


    "Interesting. He must be strong as well. Where is he from?" Raia inquired.


    "He is an orphan that I found in Elisium. So he doesn¡¯t have a home," Lucifer said, lying. He didn¡¯t want to give Cassius¡¯s real identity.


    " That¡¯s fine. We can be his family too. He won¡¯t be an orphan anymore. Bring him with us too," Raia nodded as he took another sip of his coffee, finishing it.


    "Of course, he woulde with me. But before Ie with you, I also want to ask you onest thing," Lucifer said, staring in the eyes of Raia.


    "Sure. Ask anything," Raia responded instantly.


    "Did you have a hand in my parents¡¯ death?" Lucifer asked straight away, getting to the question he was waiting for.


    "In your parents¡¯ death? What makes you think that? I wasn¡¯t involved in his death," Raia replied innocently.


    Just as he finished speaking, Veracity gently tapped her table with a spoon. The sound was so light that not many people heard it other than Lucifer.


    It was another signal signifying that Raia was lying.


    As Lucifer heard the signal, his fists clenched. Fortunately, they were under the table, so no one saw it.


    But it was evident that Raia was involved in his parents¡¯ death. The thing he didn¡¯t want to be true turned out to be true in the end.


    "Is that so? So Varant should be involved, right?" Lucifer asked.


    "That¡¯s right. I¡¯m sure he was involved," Raia said as he nodded.


    *****


    (Author Note: Everyone! New ranking System has been released including golden tickets.


    You can update the App on ystore if you haven¡¯t yet, to see it. As for IOS, the update should be avable soon too. Please use your all tickets that you got to vote on this novel to help it as much as you can.


    Bonus Chapter will be released based on Golden Ticket Ranking.


    We are currently number 5.


    1)If we stay in the top 5 of the Golden Ranking for the rest of the Week: 14 Bonus Chapters next week.


    2)If we¡¯re in the top 10 instead: 8 Bonus Chapters.


    3) If we stay in the top 3: 17 Bonus Chapters next week.


    Thank you. If you¡¯re still confused, small description will be inments on how to vote.

 Chapter 285 - 285: Betrayal Of Warlock Kings

    <h4>Chapter 285 - 285: Betrayal Of Warlock Kings </h4>


    There was no tap of the spoon this time, which stunned Lucifer. It meant he was telling the truth. Was Varant also involved?


    "What about Zeiss? Can he be involved as well?" Lucifer asked, frowning.


    " I believe he was too," Raia replied.


    Again, there was no tap which confused Lucifer even more.


    "That¡¯s strange. I did hear a rumor that all Warlock Kings were involved in my parents¡¯ death. So that was a lie?" he asked as if he was surprised, baiting Raia.


    Hearing that, even Raia seemed surprised, but he instantly nodded. "That¡¯s right. It is so absurd. How can this be true? It must be a lie."


    Finally, the tap of the spoon appeared again.


    Even Veracity was feeling like she had received the shock of her life as she tapped the spoon lightly.


    This revtion was too shocking. All Warlock Kings were involved in the death of Zale and risse?


    How could it be true? Why would they kill him? Why would they even work together, especially Raia and Varant? This was too surprising for her.


    Even she had doubts believing if her ears were lying to her.


    As for Lucifer, he felt even more broken from the inside. The Four Warlock Kings that worked together to save the world... Three of them turned on his parents to kill them?


    "I don¡¯t know who spread this rumor, but I also heard that not only the Warlock Kings but even the government was involved in this scheme," Lucifer said, frowning.


    "What you heard is a lie, I¡¯m sure of that. It might be true that the government worked with them, but I wasn¡¯t involved even if that was true," Raia exined.


    "One more dark coffee!" Veracity ordered at the same time, signaling another lie.


    At this point, Lucifer simply couldn¡¯t believe what was happening here. He wanted to let loose and snap the neck of Raia right here and right now for being involved in his parents¡¯ death.


    Even the symbols that were on his back started shining as his heartbeat became faster.


    He was clenching his fist so hard that even his nerves were visible. Fortunately, he was wearing a full sleeve shirt, so no one saw it.


    He took a deep breath as he controlled himself.


    "As expected, this was a lie. I knew it. Why would you even hurt my father? It was certainly Varant," Lucifer said, smiling.


    Sitting beside Lucifer, Cassius could also see what was happening. He also knew all the signals, but he didn¡¯t let it show on his face. He kept his poker face.


    "That¡¯s right. Varant must be the one. That¡¯s why we need to take the APF out. When youe back, we can start working on it. So shall we go?" Raia asked.


    "Yes. We shall leave," Lucifer said as he noticed the time. Through the ss door, he could also see Riali and Arne, who had arrived.


    Lucifer stood up, but he acted surprised as he noticed Riali and Arne step inside.


    Raia noticed Lucifer¡¯s surprise and turned back to see the two as well.


    "Strange. How did they find us?" Raia muttered, frowning.


    Arne and Riali also noticed Raia and the others. It was shocking for them to find Raia here, along with the best of his team.


    He also noticed the two youngsters with their group, one of whom was holding a sword.


    ¡¯That¡¯s right! The one they were after was the one who killed our men! Wasn¡¯t he a swordsman too?¡¯


    ¡¯ Those people were the ones that managed to bring Raia outst time as well. Could it be that they are the same? That could be the only reason why Raia is here with his team!¡¯


    Riali instantly understood what was happening as he realized that there was a high chance that Cassius was the person that attacked their Beta Squad, but his attention alsonded on Lucifer.


    He believed that the boy looked familiar, but it was only now that he realized who this boy was.


    "The ck lightning! Silver Hair! Affiliation with Variant Uprising higher-ups, hate of APF! Lucifer!" he eximed in surprise.


    "Ah, you recognize me. Surprising. I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d recognize me so easily," Lucifer let out, not even trying to hide his identity.


    Riali knew that he needed to do something here, but what could he even do? Raia was there along with Lucifer, Kellian, Yaliza, Tristan, and that mystery swordsman.


    On the other hand, there were only two of them. They couldn¡¯t do anything here. And even if they tried, the only thing they could achieve was putting the lives of innocent civilians in danger.


    "From your face, it seems like you two really didn¡¯t know we were here. I thought you were following us, but I guess I was wrong. I suppose Varant isn¡¯t with you either?" Raia asked Riali.


    "Arne, we are leaving now," Riali told Arne as he turned back to leave. He didn¡¯t want to fight here when there were no chances of sess.


    Arne and Riali turned back and started leaving.


    "We should leave too," Raia told Lucifer, not minding Arne and Riali. They didn¡¯t need to do anything at the moment as they had momentum.


    "No. Those two are the closest of Varant. Since he was involved in my father¡¯s death, they must be too. I want them dead," Lucifer told Raia. "You can¡¯t let them leave."


    "It¡¯s not the right time yet. I promise you that I¡¯ll make sure they sufferter. Just not now," Raia said in an effort to make Lucifer understand.


    Lucifer simply refused to budge. "If you really can help me in revenge, only then will Ie with you. Otherwise, you can leave."


    He sat back on his seat again.


    "Ah," Raia was starting to get annoyed at the tantrums, but he didn¡¯t snap. He stayed calm.


    "Please don¡¯t be stubborn. We can¡¯t do that now. Try to understand," he said.


    "There¡¯s no need. If you can¡¯t help me take care of two subordinates of Varant, no way in hell can you help me in revenge. You can leave. We have nothing else to talk about," Lucifer said, folding his arms.


    "You, kid! How can you talk to Uncle Raia like that? Are you so braindead? He can¡¯t be a kid like you! He needs to consider so many things when making a decision. Stop acting like a kid!"


    Someone finally snapped at Lucifer¡¯s tactics, but it wasn¡¯t Raia or anyone else.


    It was instead Alicia who was scolding Lucifer for being stubborn.


    "I would advise you to not talk to me in that tone. As much as it might be hard for you to believe, I¡¯m not your servant," Lucifer calmly reminded Alicia that she didn¡¯t control him.

 Chapter 286 - 286: He Is Back

    <h4>Chapter 286 - 286: He Is Back </h4>


    Nothing that Alicia said mattered to him.


    He shifted his attention to Raia as he continued, "You want to show your seriousness towards my cause; it¡¯s the time."


    Raia was upset at the way Lucifer was acting. What he wanted literally meant painting themselves as the bad guys again after all the hard work they did to get a public reputation to get stronger.


    In the end, Lucifer was more important, so he gave up.


    "Alright. We¡¯ll help you," Raia said as he sat as well. "Kellian, take Yaliza and Tristan. Bring me the bodies of those two."


    "It shall be done," Kellian said, agreeing right away.


    "Finally, some action," Tristan said, grinning. He stood up and left the Cafe with Kellian and Yaliza.


    ...


    Riali and Arne were walking away, frowning. They had realized the person who was behind the storms, and it was a shocking revtion.


    The person they had killed in the past was back again, all grown up.


    He felt the need to inform Varant right away.


    As soon as he left the Cafe, he called Varant.


    "Yeah, Riali. Did you find out anything?" Varant asked as he picked up the call.


    " We found out a lot of things. The person who attacked our Beta Squad? That person is here as well. Moreover, Raia and his team are here as well. It seems like the two sides are working together," Riali exined gravely.


    "Also, the person who attacked our Beta Squad is someone we both know. It¡¯s really bad news," he added.


    "We both know? Who is it?" Varant inquired as he stood up.


    "Lucifer... Zale¡¯s son is back! And he isn¡¯t alone. I saw a swordsman with him too. He should be the one that killed our men," Riali exined.


    "Alright. You two stay away from the battle. I¡¯ll be right there with others. Just keep an eye on them," Varant told Riali as he disconnected the call.


    "Keep an eye on them. Easier said than done without any backup," Rialimented as he kept the phone in his pocket.


    He stopped as he nced back at the Cafe. It also happened to be the moment when Kellian and the others stepped out.


    "God, I miss Gensi. He should be perfect for keeping an eye on them while staying far away from them. Moreover, it doesn¡¯t seem like they want to let us go. They sent three of them to attack us," Riali said softly as he sighed.


    "Should we engage?" Arne asked, frowning.


    "We can¡¯t. Do one thing. You leave. I will hold them back. My shadows can help me escapeter. You¡¯ll have a harder time. There¡¯s no need for you to stay here. Get to the helicopter and leave," Rialimanded Arne.


    "Leave you alone against them? No way in hell! If you¡¯re fighting them, I¡¯m staying too. I won¡¯t run like a coward!" Arnemented as he refused to run.


    "Don¡¯t disobey me! Run! It¡¯s more important that we save as many people as we can. Moreover, if you fight, many people might die!" Rialimented. "I can keep dodging until it¡¯s the time to leave."


    "I¡¯m not listening. If you¡¯re staying, I¡¯m staying too," Arne said firmly.


    "Fine! Suit yourself. It looks like we¡¯re really going to have to give our all here. Let¡¯s take the three of them out as fast as we can in that case. Raia isn¡¯ting personally, so it should be easier. Take benefit of his arrogance," Riali said, finally giving up.


    He took a deep breath before he yelled with full force, "Citizens of Kensington! We are from the APF! There is going to be a battle here with some criminals! If you don¡¯t want to be caught in a crossfire, run as far as you can from here!"


    As Riali¡¯s scream reached far and beyond, a lot of people heard him. Instead of being suspicious, they preferred to listen as they started running.


    Kellian didn¡¯t mind this either, as he preferred it. This was the best oue as they could fight freely."


    Lucifer was sitting inside the Cafe, looking outside. He could see citizens running away.


    ¡¯It seems like the battle has begun,¡¯ he thought.


    Raia didn¡¯t say anything either as he kept sitting calmly, waiting for Kellian¡¯s return.


    The owner of the Cafe also noticed people running outside. He wondered what was happening. He decided to check what was happening.


    He opened the door as he stopped one of the running men and asked, "What¡¯s happening?"


    "APF is here! They¡¯re saying that there¡¯s going to be a battle in this area!" The man replied before he continued running again.


    The Cafe owner looked in the direction where Riali was standing. He could see three men walking towards them.


    ¡¯Aren¡¯t those three the ones that were in the Cafe?¡¯ he thought, frowning. ¡¯They are the Variant Criminals?¡¯


    He turned back to look inside his Cafe to find the people that came with them sitting inside. He started sweating.


    Wiping his sweat, he walked back and pretended like it was nothing big. It didn¡¯t seem like these people were here to break his shop or kill people.


    They weren¡¯t killing humans either. He believed it was a conflict between them and the APF; he didn¡¯t need to offend them.


    "May I get another coffee?" Raia asked the man.


    "R-right away," the man said as he got to work.


    Seeing themotion outside, the other customers of the shop also ran out. Veracity was amongst the crowd who left, utilizing the opportunity. Her work here was already done after all.


    "So, Lucifer. I did notice something. From the moment I came here, you¡¯ve been moving the goalpost whenever it¡¯s the time to leave." Raia started speaking as the coffee was served.


    "First, you said to sit and enjoy coffee. Then the introduction, then you said I need to answer before we leave. Then those people appeared," he said as he picked up the cup of coffee while taking a sip.


    "The timing seems awfully coincidental. Can you say for sure that you¡¯lle with us after we kill those two?" he asked.


    "I won¡¯t," Lucifer straight away replied.


    "And why is that?" Raia asked, frowning.


    "Because I don¡¯t want to dy anything. I want Varant dead as soon as possible," Lucifer responded.


    "Going back,ing back and everything in between is a waste of time when we already have everything we need to kill Varant," he continued.


    "Oh? And what is that? You think it¡¯s that easy? Tell me what you actually want from us," Raia said, frowning.

 Chapter 287 - 287: Luring Raia

    <h4>Chapter 287 - 287: Luring Raia </h4>


    "I¡¯m not naive enough to not know what¡¯s happening here," Lucifer said, smiling. "I know why you need me. And you know why I need you."


    "Why do I need you?" Raia asked, amused.


    "You need me to kill Varant and help you take over the nation. And I need you to help me kill Varant and finish my revenge," Lucifer said straight away.


    "Both our goals coincide. So why waste time? You¡¯re ready; I¡¯m ready, the stars are aligned, let¡¯s get to it," he added.


    "And how do you think that would happen?" Raia asked, seemingly interested.


    Even though he preferred to attack when he was fully prepared, he still found the proposal interesting.


    "It¡¯s simple. You¡¯ll kill their men, but I¡¯m sure they already got the message of our presence out to the APF. Varant will being here in a few days. At the same time, you bring your team."


    "Let¡¯s make it the final battleground. I doubt he would have expected us to take thest stand here instead of running away."


    "It¡¯s pretty easy if you think about it. Give them what they didn¡¯t expect. In any case, he wouldn¡¯t bring his whole team since they need to keep other ces secure. You, on the other hand, can bring everyone from Uprising here."


    " Instead of avoiding the battle until you¡¯re sure of it, do it now! Unless you¡¯re scared of Varant. In that case, it¡¯s a different matter."


    As Lucifer spoke about what he wanted, Raia was amused. He wanted them to go all out?


    Hearing Lucifer¡¯s n, Raia lost himself in deep thought.


    ¡¯I guess I can understand why. He believes Varant killed his parents. He¡¯s truly a kid of his emotions. But it¡¯s not a bad idea either.¡¯


    ¡¯Even though a lot of our men might die if we decide to have this war without any prior preparation, it¡¯s the best option too. Taking out the APF in one stroke will be worth it.¡¯


    "So, what do you say? You can either join me in taking Varant out or keep waiting for the opportunity that might nevere," Lucifer told Raia as he sat back rxed.


    Raia didn¡¯t say anything and simply smirked.


    He nced at Vega as he asked, "What do you think?"


    "Our men aren¡¯t prepared. A lot of them don¡¯t have Cardigan Particles battle gear. I don¡¯t think we can afford a war at this time without getting considerable losses. Waiting would be better. At least until everyone is prepared," Vega replied.


    "That¡¯s true. The loss of life in the organization will be high. Moreover, we would need to end the battle fast. If it stretches for long, Zeiss and the Hunter Union wille to help Varant," Raia said, rubbing his chin.


    "So ites down to faith. Can we do it in time or not?" he added.


    "Why worry about Hunter Union? With the two of us, Varant won¡¯t have any chance of surviving for long. Before Zeiss even gets here, we¡¯ll be done with the APF," Lucifer replied, coaxing Raia.


    "And if Zeiss still decides toe after that, we can take them out as well. Then only the government will stand in your path, which we can take out whenever we want," he further said.


    "Within a few weeks, you will be the ruler of this nation. The rule of Variants will be a reality. Now I leave the rest of the decision to you," he continued, even bringing Raia¡¯s deep desires to the table.


    " Do you really want to bring the Rules of Variants no matter what it takes? If you do, then you won¡¯t consider the losses." Lucifer ultimately said. "And if you don¡¯t want the Variant Rule that badly, then you aren¡¯t worthy to be leading our cause."


    As Lucifer fired so many sharp points at once, even Raia found it hard to ignore.


    Lucifer was right. If this n worked, they could win over this nation within weeks. The human government will fall.


    And so what if the humans hated them after that? They can use fear to rule them. His desire would be a reality. It all depended on him now.


    Lucifer didn¡¯t say anything else as he had already brought his points across, and he could already see that he had Raia in his fingers.


    He didn¡¯t believe that Raia could say no at this point. Everything was going ording to his n.


    "You¡¯re wrong! Uncle Raia doesn¡¯t care about the Variant Rule more than the lives and safety of our Variants! What you¡¯re asking for will only send thousands of our loyal Variants to their deaths," Alicia jumped in between.


    "Great causes require sacrifice, aren¡¯t I right?¡¯ Lucifer asked Raia, ignoring Alicia. "It¡¯s not that he wants to rule the nation. Certainly not. It¡¯s just because this will protect so many Variants in the future from human cruelty. Isn¡¯t that so?"


    "That¡¯s right Alicia. Lucifer isn¡¯t lying. I think this is the best chance," Raia ultimately said, agreeing with the n.


    He wanted to rule, as Lucifer said previously, but he was going to use the excuse that Lucifer gave him.


    "The more we dy, the more there are Variants that will suffer. We might lose a lot of our men, but that¡¯s for the future safety of all of them. We might lose thousands of Variants, but we¡¯ll save hundreds of thousands in the future," he added.


    "Even my heart is heavy as I take this tough decision, but this is the need of the hour. Will you support us?" he asked Alicia.


    Alicia was stunned as she heard Raia agree to the n, but she also felt bad for him. He needed to make such a hard decision.


    She believed he must be heartbroken at the thought of sacrificing so many Variants that he considered as family, not realizing that she couldn¡¯t be any more wrong.


    "O-of course Uncle Raia! I¡¯ll always support you! I can¡¯t even think what you must be going through to make such a hard decision. I¡¯ll help you to the best of my abilities in finishing the war fast," Alicia said, supporting Raia¡¯s decision.


    "Vega, you know what to do, right?" Raia asked, shifting his attention to Vega.


    "I know. I¡¯ll tell everyone toe here, prepared for war," Vega nodded as he stood up.


    He brought out his phone and contacted someone as he walked farther away.


    Silence ensued in the Cafe as no one said anything. Raia lost himself in deep thought as he nned about how he could best utilize his men in the uing war.


    As for Alicia, she also made a determination to help Raia, no matter what it took. She was going to go all out.

 Chapter 288 - 288: Should We Tell Him?

    <h4>Chapter 288 - 288: Should We Tell Him? </h4>


    Cassius nced at Lucifer, realizing that the first part of the n was a sess. What remained was the second and most crucial part of the n¡ªtaking advantage of the situation as per n.


    Unlike others, Lucifer was thinking about something else entirely. He wasn¡¯t concerned about the uing war or what he could do in it.


    He had already nned everything regarding that. Instead, he was more concerned about what could have happened with his father.


    Why was it that Varant, Raia, and Zeiss were involved in his death? Did they all hate his father enough to leave their enmity behind and work against him? What was it that he didn¡¯t know?


    The key, his eyes, his parents¡¯ death, there were so many things that were a mystery for him.


    Fortunately, he believed he was soon going to get the answer. All the mystery was going to be solved soon enough. It was just a matter of time.


    He also couldn¡¯t help but imagine the moment when he would get to kill Raia and Varant.


    ....


    Whileplete silence was inside the Cafe, the outside was inpletemotion as people were running.


    Soon, the entire street waspletely empty. Even the shops were closed.


    " Three against two. I like the odds, but isn¡¯t it too shameful for you three to have a battle like this?" Riali asked,ughing.


    The battle hadn¡¯t even started yet.


    "It doesn¡¯t matter. We¡¯re not here for a fair battle. At least not today since we are in a hurry," Kellian retorted, not taking the bait.


    "You two take on the bulky guy. I¡¯ll take their Vice Captain! Finally, after so long, I can have fun," Tristan told Kellian as he raised his sheath.


    "No. You two are taking the other one. I¡¯ll take Riali," Kellian said, refusing.


    "Two? That¡¯s not fun! I want to fight alone! You two are taking the second one!" Tristanined.


    "Tristan, try to understand. It¡¯s not the time for tantrums. We already had enough of those from that kid! Do as I said!" Kellian told Tristan, annoyed.


    "Kill the other guy and join me in battle if this guy is still alive by then," he added.


    "How about you two fight this guy and join me in battle after killing him if my opponent is still alive by then?" Tristan repeated in a simr manner.


    "You... Fine! Fight him alone! We¡¯ll take care of Riali!" Kellian said, ultimately giving up.


    "Now that¡¯s what I¡¯m talking about," Tristan grinned as he found himself pleased.


    He was finally given the opportunity to fight against the enemy alone.


    "Just make sure you don¡¯t attack randomly. Try to cause as little destruction as you can for the moment," Kellian told Tristan.


    "I¡¯ll try," Tristan replied,ughing.


    " Two against one, huh. I guess it could have been worse," Rialimented, smiling. "It¡¯s sad that I need to break the rules though. But engaging in battle is the only choice at the moment."


    Riali raised both his arms. A dark mist appeared around both his fists. With a gentle flick, he attacked Kellian and Yaliza.


    The dark shadow moved ahead in the form of an arched sh that seemed to originate from the sh of a sword, but it was just the work of his shadow.


    Kellian gently tapped the ground, making a wall made of shadows appear before them, which blocked the attack.


    As both Kellian and Riali used the powers of the shadows, they were said to be the two rulers of shadows who were enemies.


    As the wall of shadow disappeared, Kellian looked ahead to be stunned. There was no one there. Let alone Riali, even Arne wasn¡¯t there. Within a few seconds, they had disappeared.


    "Argh! Those cowards! They ran away!" Tristan roared in rage as he noticed that Arne had disappeared too.


    When the shadow wall appeared, even he found himself on the other side of the wall, unable to see what had happened but now that he could see, he was frustrated.


    "You interfered for no reason! You made them run! Arghh!" Roaring, Tristan also started running in search of Arne, but before he could even go too far, he found his legs caught by a shadow that came out of the ground.


    "Childish Tricks!" Tristan yelled as he pulled out his Katana, only a few millimeters out of the sheath, but even that seemed to be enough as the shadow was sliced in parts mysteriously as if it was cut.


    Riali was standing on top of a roof, looking at Tristan, Yaliza, and Kellian, frowning. This did seem like a problem¡ªthree of them against two of them.


    Arne was standing behind Riali.


    "Are we not to engage?" Arne asked, stunned.


    He had previously thought that they were going to fight, but right after Riali attacked, he told him to run with him.


    The two of them ran and came to the roof before anyone could see them.


    "Fighting is just a waste of time. We need to dy them as much as possible, at least until Varantes here with the others," Riali said, frowning.


    "And while we¡¯re at it, we need to separate them as well. Maybe we can have a better chance if the three of them aren¡¯t together," he said.


    As he was talking to Arne, he made sure he stayed out of the sight of others.


    Another shadow appeared in the distance, having the shape of Riali, which started going farther and farther.


    "You think that will work?!" Tristan said as he ran after the shadow. "You can¡¯t run!"


    "Should we tell him?" Yaliza asked, frowning.


    "There¡¯s no need. I think we are better off if he¡¯s not here. He¡¯s a little naive and impulsive," Kellian muttered, frowning.


    "So should we get to work ourselves? I mean, we both know where those two are hiding, don¡¯t we?" Yaliza asked, shaking his head.


    "Yeah. Let¡¯s get it done," Kellian said as he smirked.


    He gently waved his hand, making a Shadow Sword take shape in front of him. He grabbed the Sword as he nced in the direction of the roof where Riali was hiding.


    He himself turned to a shadow as he disappeared.


    Yaliza¡¯s figure also flickered as he moved, disappearing from the sight.


    ....


    Riali was keeping an eye on everyone. He noticed Kellian disappear and also felt a disturbance around him.


    Without even looking back, he stomped his foot on the ground, making tens of dark shadow swordse out of the ground. The shadow swords shot towards Kellian, who had just appeared on the roof.

 Chapter 289 - 289: Overdrive

    <h4>Chapter 289 - 289: Overdrive </h4>


    He did all that while still keeping the shadow which was being chased by Tristan intact to keep him away from the battle.


    Yaliza also appeared on the roof, right in front of Riali, as he pushed his hand forth to stab Riali¡¯s chest, who was immersed in battle with Kellian.


    "Not so fast," a voice came abruptly as Yaliza found his wrist grabbed by someone.


    Arne had appeared nearby, grabbing the wrist of Yaliza. His entire body was shining in a mysterious light, including his strange tattoos.


    As for his muscles, they were already bulky, but they became even bigger, giving him immense strength.


    Without taking even a single second, Arne tossed Yaliza back.


    Yaliza flew back, crashing on the window of a nearby building. The window broke as Yaliza fell inside the building.


    Yaliza wasn¡¯t injured despite all that. He stood up as he patted his ck clothes that were covered in dust now.


    "This is annoying," he muttered as he shook his head lightly.


    Arne also jumped ahead, entering the building through the broken window.


    Hended in front of Yaliza.


    ...


    Kellian appeared in front of Riali to find himself being attacked by dozens of Shadow Swords that had appeared out of the ground.


    All these swords were attacking him, and even if they were made of shadows, they were capable of slicing him in half.


    Kellian stabbed the pitch-ck sword he was carrying on the floor, making another shield appear before him, which protected him from the swords. It wasn¡¯t a battle of Warlocks but the battle of two shadow kings.


    However, this time Kellian didn¡¯t use the barrier for protection. Instead, he used the barrier as a diversion.


    Behind the barrier, he had already turned to a shadow. He appeared behind Riali and shed with his pitch-ck sword, aiming for Riali¡¯s neck.


    Riali pulled the same trick though. He also turned to a shadow, dodging the attack. As Kellian also used the shadows, he knew how hard it was to kill a shadow user.


    As he had already attacked, the ck arc of shadows still went ahead even though it had missed its target.


    The dark shadow arc seemed to be filled with incredible power as it sliced a nearby building in half as soon as itnded.


    Riali, on the other hand, had appeared again as he grabbed Kellian by the neck. A shadow knife appeared in his hand, which he stabbed in the chest of Kellian.


    The knife prated the chest of Kellian right where his heart was supposed to be.


    Surprisingly, Kellian didn¡¯t seem even the slightest bit shocked as he was stabbed in the heart. Instead, there was a smirk on his lips.


    Riali kicked Kellian away, making him fall down the building.


    "It was a shadow clone. Pretty realistic. But if he was fake, then where¡¯s the real one?" Riali muttered, frowning as he looked around.


    No matter how much he tried to search, he couldn¡¯t feel the presence of Kellian.


    "Arne!" He suddenly eximed as he realized something.


    ...


    Arne had appeared in front of Yaliza, cracking his knuckles.


    "I heard you were strong. It must be rumors only. You¡¯re pretty weak as far as I can see," Arnemented.


    Yaliza smiled as he ced his hands in his pocket.


    "I¡¯m not like Tristan. I¡¯m not interested in fight or glory. I¡¯m just following the n. But I do wish I would have fought you freely for once. Oh well, maybe in your next life," Yaliza said, shaking his head.


    Arne frowned, not understanding what he was saying.


    Unfortunately, it didn¡¯t take him long to realize what was going on. A sword entered from behind, prating his chest right where his heart was supposed to be.


    "S-schemes!" he said as he coughed out a mouthful of blood.


    He couldn¡¯t even finish his words as he dropped to the ground right when the sword was pulled out.


    "We¡¯re just doing what we need to do to end this fight fast. We¡¯re running for time, after all," Yalizamented as he sighed.


    Kellian was standing near the body of Arne, who was lying dead on his feet.


    Hundreds of ck swords came out of the ground. Yaliza jumped back in haste, dodging the swords. As for Kellina, he simply waved his hand to cast his shadow barrier again.


    "Arne!"


    Riali appeared near Arne as he checked his breathing. Unfortunately, he was toote. Arne wasn¡¯t breathing. There was a hole in his chest as he bled out, unmoving.


    "You¡¯re toote. Don¡¯t worry; you¡¯ll be sent where he is sent too. It won¡¯t take long at all," Kellianmented, smiling.


    The odds were even better. It was two against one, and they didn¡¯t have to worry about any interference from Arne or even from Tristan.


    ...


    Tristan was still following the shadow, which suddenly disappeared.


    "What was that? It made me run around so much and didn¡¯t even attack?" he muttered, frowning.


    He was starting to understand what was happening. He was intentionally distracted, it seemed.


    "You bastard of APF! That¡¯s why those two didn¡¯t follow me! They knew it was a waste of time!" he yelled in frustration as he started running back.


    ....


    Riali observed the face of Arne, whose eyes were lifeless but still open. He carefully closed Arne¡¯s eyes as he stood up.


    "This was a really scummy thing to do. You used your numbers to kill someone," he said as he stood up.


    "Even though I knew you were bad people, I at least respected you as warriors that had some self respect. Today my misconceptions are over. You¡¯re nothing but a bastard," he continued as his voice got heavier.


    "It¡¯s not that I enjoy it. But as I said, our mission is more important," Kellianmented.


    "Not only your mission, but even you will die today," Riali said, frowning.


    His eyes turned pitch ck as a frightening dark aura surrounded him, which was scarier than anything he showed yet.


    "Limit Break Overdrive? Did you really decide to sacrifice yourself?" Kellianmented as he sighed. "Despite knowing the effects... I guess it¡¯s fine. Do what suits you."


    "Yaliza!" he called out.


    "I understand!" Yaliza said as he disappeared, leaving the building. He knew that it wasn¡¯t safe to stay in the building anymore.


    Overdrive was something that allowed a person to break his limits and gain the power that was many times higher than his body should have been able to possess.


    It gave them unforeseen strength, making them demonically strong. But it also came with a very big disadvantage.

 Chapter 290 - 290: Total Annihilation

    <h4>Chapter 290 - 290: Total Annihtion </h4>


    As it was breaking the limits of the body and using the powers that their body couldn¡¯t amodate, it destroyed their body.


    Using Overdrive was like drinking poison that didn¡¯t have a cure. This was one of the main reasons as to why people avoided using Overdrive until they had no other option.


    It was said that only the person who had a death wish used this since the death from it wasn¡¯t ordinary either. It was the most painful death they could have.


    Moreover, they couldn¡¯t even use Overdrive for more than a minute. Anyone who used Overdrive died in less than a minute.


    So it was nothing more than burning your life to use a minute of power as ast-ditch effort. It was useless if the enemy just avoided the attacks for a minute as the person who used it was going to die on their own.


    That¡¯s why Kellian had told Yaliza to leave. He believed Yaliza needed to stay away. As for him, he could easily escape as well.


    Both Kellian and Yaliza appeared out of the building, but Kellian was standing far away from Yaliza since he didn¡¯t want both of them to be attacked at once.


    Boom!


    The house inside which Riali was standing blew up as darkness spread everywhere.


    Riali¡¯s body floated in the air, surrounded by darkness. His skin had turned pitch ck, and he looked no more than a shadow now. Even his pink hair had turned to ck.


    Riali red at Kellian, emotionless. He knew Kellian had attacked Arne. He was the reason he was dead, but he didn¡¯t attack Kellian.


    Revenge wasn¡¯t the reason for him to use Dark Sacrifice. He knew that he couldn¡¯t survive anyway, so he wanted to make the best use of his time. And his goal wasn¡¯t taking out Kellian.


    Instead, it was to take out Raia and Lucifer. If he managed to take their greatest enemies out, he could rest in peace.


    He raised both his hands in the sky, creating a massive sphere of darkness that seemed like a dark sun. He kept pouring as much strength as he could in the dark sun as he looked at the Cafe.


    Kellian was stunned to see the ce where Riali was looking. He hadn¡¯t expected this previously, but now it was clear!


    This guy wanted to take out the Cafe, which had Raia, Lucifer, and others. If he seeded, he would have taken out a Warlock King!


    Kellian understood that he needed to do something.


    Riali finished up creating the pitch-ck sun, and he was prepared to toss it, bearing through the unbearable pain of Overdrive.


    ....


    "I told everyone about it. The team should be here soon. All the squads wille," Vega returned to the table as he finished talking on the phone.


    He sat beside Raia.


    " Kellian and others still haven¡¯t returned. Don¡¯t you think they are taking too much time toe back? I mean, there are only two enemies, right?" Raia asked Vega, frowning.


    " They should be taking their sweet time since they don¡¯t usually get to fight so freely against strong enemies," Vega replied.


    "Yeah," Raia muttered. He didn¡¯t know that a big problem was above their heads at the moment.


    "So, Lucifer. The lightning and the clouds, were they your work?" Raia asked, shifting his attention to Lucifer.


    "Yeah," Lucifer replied.


    "Interesting. I really didn¡¯t expect you to learn the second strongest skill of your father at such a young age. Not bad at all. You¡¯re really a fast learner. Maybe one day, you¡¯ll learn the other one too," Raiaplimented Lucifer.


    "Second strongest skill?" Lucifer asked, stunned. This skill was his father¡¯s second strongest skill?


    If this was the second strongest, then what was the strongest? And if this one was so overpowered, how overpowered could the other skill be?


    " What was his strongest skill?" Lucifer asked, curious. "Do you have a video of that?¡¯


    "I don¡¯t have a video of him using that skill. He had used that only once...." Raia said, shaking his head. "And no one recorded at that time. We were more concerned about something else at the moment.


    "You mean he used it in thest great war?" Lucifer inquired, believing that it could be the only time he used that skill.


    "Last Great War? Nope. He didn¡¯t need to use it there. It was a long time after that," Raia answered.


    "When? What was it?" Lucifer asked, stunned.


    For a moment he even thought of something that made his blood boil. Could it be possible that his father had to use this skill when he was betrayed by the Warlock Kings?


    ¡¯No! This can¡¯t be. If the skill was really as good as Raia is iming, there¡¯s no way they would have survived if it was used on them. So where did he use it?¡¯ he thought, stunned.


    "When did he use it? I don¡¯t think I can answer that. All I can tell you is that the skill was pretty strong. Way stronger than the one you used," Raia answered.


    Lucifer didn¡¯t press on the question as to where it was used. He saved this question in his head for askingter along with the other questions he had.


    Instead, he focused on something he could get the answer to.


    "What was the skill? How did it work?" he asked Raia, trying to learn.


    "I don¡¯t think it¡¯s the time for you to learn that. You should first master the skill that you just learned," Raia let out, not answering.


    "I did hear him mentioning that he mastered that skill after mastering Wrath of Heaven. You¡¯ll only damage your foundation if you try now," he further exined.


    "Wrath of Heaven? What¡¯s that?" Lucifer inquired.


    "Ah, that¡¯s right. You won¡¯t know. He used to call that Sky Lightning as Wrath of Heaven. A cringe name, but he liked it," Raia exined.


    "Wrath of Heaven, huh. Pretty appropriate for the way I¡¯m going to use it," Lucifer muttered, shaking his head.


    "I really want to know about his strongest skill though. I won¡¯t try learning it until I master Wrath of Heaven. Just tell me what it was," he told Raia, not giving up.


    He knew that Raia was soon going to be dead. So it was better to get the answer when he could.


    "Alright. I¡¯ll tell you. But don¡¯t try learning it," Raia said as he decided to tell. "He used to call it Total Annihtion."


    "Total Annihtion? Interesting name. What was it?" Lucifer asked.


    "It was..."


    ....


    The conversation inside the Cafe continued,pletely unaware of what was happening outside.


    Riali was prepared to throw the dark sun.

 Chapter 291 - 291: Useful At Times

    <h4>Chapter 291 - 291: Useful At Times </h4>


    Riali was prepared to toss the ck sun, but before he could, a shining arc of light passed through him, cutting him and his shadows in half. His body returned to normal as he started falling.


    The ck sun also dispersed in thin air as Riali was killed.


    Kellian looked in the direction this light came from, only to find Tristan standing on top of the roof with his Katana, which was again back in the sheath.


    "This bastard! He dared to fool me!" Even now, his anger wasn¡¯t gone as he felt insulted for being fooled.


    Kellian couldn¡¯t help but smile wryly.


    Yaliza also appeared near him,ughing. "He might be impulsive, but he¡¯s pretty useful at times."


    "I suppose," Kellian let out, smiling.


    He stepped closer to the body of Riali that had returned to its old self.


    "I guess you shouldn¡¯t have fooled that crazy guy," Kellian said as he shook his head.


    He started walking back with the body of Riali. As the body of Arne was destroyed, they could only take this one.


    Tristan alsonded near the two of them.


    "Why didn¡¯t you two tell me it was a distraction?" he asked Kellian.


    "We thought you knew," Kellian casually replied, smiling. "I mean, it was too obvious. We didn¡¯t think you would be fooled by it. We thought you wanted to y with the shadow."


    "Am I a kid who would y with shadows?" Tristan asked, rolling his eyes.


    "Alright, alright. I will tell you next time something like this happens. Let¡¯s go now," Kellian said as he continued walking.


    Dragging the body of Riali, he stepped inside the Cafe, tossing it before Lucifer and Raia.


    "We¡¯re done," he told Raia. "As for the second body, it was destroyed in the battle."


    "Is that so? Did he use Overdrive?" Raia asked, observing the body of Riali. He could see a few hints of what had happened.


    "Yeah, he did. Tristan killed him," Kellian said, giving the credit to Tristan, who deserved it.


    "Good Work, Tristan," Raiaplimented Tristan.


    "This was the least I could do. I just wish I could fight stronger enemies," Tristan replied, ncing at Cassius as he said it.


    He really wanted to battle Cassius at least once.


    "Don¡¯t worry. You¡¯ll get your wish fulfilled in a few days," Raia responded.


    "Hmm? How?" Tristan asked, stunned. Was it really true? He didn¡¯t want to keep his hopes high, only to be disappointedter.


    "That¡¯s right. We will be going against the APF. In fact, this ce will be where we fight. It¡¯s an all-out war this time. So you won¡¯t have any restrictions. You can go all out!" Raia said.


    "Really?" Tristan asked excitedly like a child who had received his favorite birthday gift. Everyone could feel the excitement in his voice.


    "Is this true? We are finally attacking them?" Kellian also asked, surprised. Even Yaliza seemed stunned.


    He thought they hade here to take Lucifer back. How did the mission change so drastically? He wondered.


    "Why would I lie? The other members will soon be here as well. It¡¯s the final stand that we must win," Raia answered. "Moreover, we won¡¯t be attacking. Instead, we already attacked. Now we just need to wait for them toe."


    Lucifer didn¡¯t chime in the conversation as he took a sip from the ss of water that was before him. He acted as if he had no hand in the decision of the war.


    ....


    Varant had collected his entire Alpha Squad as he prepared to leave the base. Not a single Alpha Squad member was left behind since he was also interested in ending it.


    Lucifer was back, and he was with Raia. Moreover, they also had Ayn! Varant knew he couldn¡¯t rx.


    He needed to have the mindset of ending it all as Lucifer¡¯s existence was a threat, not only to him but to the whole world.


    Not only the Alpha Squad, he even took the Beta Squad and the others, leaving only a small number of Variants behind to manage the base.


    Tens of helicopters flew in the air from the helipads that were made on top of APF headquarters, all going towards Kensington City.


    At the same time, many helicopters flew from the Variant Uprising base in the middle of the Desert, having the same destination as the APF.


    They were also prepared for a war that was going to decide the future of this country.


    Not a single person knew that all they were doing was ying into the hands of one person who had schemed it all.


    ....


    "So, where do you stay in this city?" Raia suddenly asked Lucifer.


    "I¡¯ve taken over a mansion after killing everyone there," Lucifer answered. "You all can stay there as well."


    "That¡¯s a good offer, but we need more ces if we want to amodate everyone that¡¯sing," Raia let out, rubbing his chin.


    "Kellian, you should go and arrange for enough ces for our men that should being soon," he told Kellian. "Also, make all the citizens leave the city."


    "Make them leave the city? Why?" Lucifer asked, curious.


    "I don¡¯t want them to interrupt uster. Even though killing them would be faster, that would cause too much destruction in the city. I don¡¯t want Varant to be suspicious as hees," Raia replied as Kellian left.


    ....


    After spending a few hours in the Cafe, Raia left the ce and followed Lucifer to go back to the Welling Estate.


    As for Kellian and the others, they started telling the citizens to leave the city.


    Most of the civilians were already prepared to leave and didn¡¯t protest. As for the ones that wanted to stay, even they were intimidated after they saw Kellian kill people before them.


    Everyone started packing their bags to leave. Within a day, this city was going to be void of people.


    ...


    "This is your Mansion? Not a bad ce to take over. Did you kill the owner too?" Raia asked as he stepped inside the massive mansion of Lucifer.


    "I couldn¡¯t. He wasn¡¯t here when I came. Apparently, he¡¯s a businessman that rarelyes here," Lucifer replied, shaking his head.


    He sat on the couch. Raia and the others also sat down.


    "I guess he was lucky. So, is there anyone in this mansion other than us?" Raia inquired.


    Lucifer simply shook his head.


    "There¡¯s only us. Everyone else is dead," he responded.


    " No maids or people to take care of you?" Raia asked, surprised.


    "We eat outside," Lucifer answered.


    While Raia and Lucifer talked, the others were sitting seemingly bored, especially Alicia.


    She seemed more curious about this beautiful mansion than the boring conversation.

 Chapter 292 - 292: Battling Cassius?

    <h4>Chapter 292 - 292: Battling Cassius? </h4>


    After making sure that everyone left the city, Kellian and Yaliza came to the mansion with Tristan.


    " Man, this kid does know how to live in luxury," Tristanmented as soon as he saw the Estate.


    "It seems that way," Kellian also agreed.


    The three of them also joined Raia, who was immersed in a conversation with Lucifer.


    "Hey. I¡¯m Tristan. What¡¯s your name?" Tristan stopped before Cassius as he asked while reaching out his hand.


    "Cassius," Cassius answered as he also did the same.


    " So you are a swordsman too?" Tristan asked.


    Cassius nced at his sword as he nodded. "I guess you can say that."


    "It¡¯s so fascinating to meet a strong swordsman. Are you interested in fighting me? We can make it a practice battle?" Tristan inquired, suggesting a battle now that he was free.


    "Tristan, now¡¯s not the time," Kellian reminded him.


    "It¡¯s fine. I don¡¯t think it would be bad if it¡¯s just a practice battle. Both of them can learn something new," Raia chimed in, subtly agreeing with Tristan. "Only if Cassius agrees to it."


    He also wanted to see what the true strength of Cassius was and how strong this person was.


    Lucifer didn¡¯t say anything. Instead, he left the decision to Cassius while ncing at him.


    Tristan also looked at Cassius. Now everything rested on Cassius¡¯s shoulders.


    "Come on; I promise I¡¯ll go easy on you. Say yes," Tristan said, almost pleading. He really wanted this battle.


    Cassius nced at Tristan, ultimately nodding his head.


    "If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯ll also go easy on you," he said softly as he stood up.


    Tristan¡¯s face twitched unwillingly as he heard Cassius¡¯s words. This guy was talking about going easy on him?


    "Alright. It¡¯s decided then. You two will have a Practice Match. No lethal attack is allowed. Remember that it¡¯s only to test your skills against one another, not to hurt the other person. So keep that in mind when you fight." Raia also stood up, smiling.


    As he spoke, he mostly nced at Tristan as he knew that Tristan was the person that mostly went out of control.


    "I¡¯ll keep that in mind. I¡¯m not a kid," Tristan said,ughing. "Let¡¯s go now. We can start."


    "I think the two of you should wait. It¡¯s time for lunch." Lucifer chimed in.


    "All the hotels are closed. If we knew there were no cooks here, we might have kept a few of them. Who will cook? None of us knows how to?" Raia chimed in, smiling wryly.


    " I do," Vega replied suddenly.


    "You know how to cook?" Raia asked, surprised. It was his first time hearing this.


    "Did you forget my abilities? I¡¯m a walking cookbook," Vega let out,ughing. "It¡¯s not a big deal. I can take care of it for a few days. You all wait here."


    "Where¡¯s the kitchen, by the way?" he suddenly asked as he grew confused about where to actually go.


    "It¡¯s there," Lucifer pointed out. Vega left to make something to eat.


    Even though Tristan was upset that he couldn¡¯t fight right away, it was also true that he was hungry. So he didn¡¯t protest as he sat down.


    It didn¡¯t matter anyway. It only dyed the battle for a few hours at most. He was ultimately going to get what he wanted.


    ...


    The Welling Estate was an expensive piece of property, and it came with many specialties as well. Some of those specialties were known only to a few people.


    Not many people knew that there was a secret floor underground, under the mansion, which had all the facilities a person could ask for. It even had a personal kitchen.


    This floor was where Ayn was being kept at the moment. Veracity was also sitting there along with the maid that had apanied them.


    "Veracity, I really didn¡¯t think you¡¯d side with him like this. Do you really not understand what you¡¯re doing by helping him? We¡¯re alone here. You can still correct your wrongs."


    "If you¡¯re scared that he would kill you if you let me leave, then you don¡¯t have to let me leave either. Just help me in other ways," Ayn told Veracity, still trying to get out of it.


    "Oh? So I don¡¯t have to let you leave? What do you want then?" Veracity asked, smiling.


    "Just let me make a call. No one will know," Ayn suggested. "You won¡¯t be harmed either. You¡¯ll be forgiven for momentarily siding with him."


    "Let you call who? Varant? So he coulde here to save everyone?" Veracity asked.


    "That¡¯s right." Ayn nodded.


    "In that case, you don¡¯t have to call. He¡¯s alreadying here," Veracity replied, smiling wryly. "He knows that Lucifer is here. He should soon be here."


    "He knows?" Ayn asked, stunned.


    "That¡¯s right. I think you¡¯ll know what happens after he gets here. But it¡¯ll be a bit of a mess, no matter what happens. Let¡¯s just wait and see," Veracity replied.


    "We are too small to try to change the oue. Staying out of the bigger picture is the best we can do," she added as she picked the sandwich that was served by the maid.


    "Here, eat as well," she said, pushing the te towards Ayn, who had both of her hands cuffed in front of her.


    ....


    Vega returned with the food. He had made a soup for everyone along with the fruit sd that he found in the fridge.


    The lunch was served with the help of Tristan and Alicia. After cing the food on the table, he also sat down with the others.


    Lucifer ate without concern since he was immune to poison anyway. In any case, he didn¡¯t think the food would be poisoned at a time like this.


    As for Cassius, he waited, and only after he saw the people from Variant Uprising start eating, he also began eating.


    "So, Lucifer. I heard that our men were killed in the same ce where you attacked APF. May I ask why you had killed them?" While eating, Raia calmly inquired.


    "I killed them? I don¡¯t think so. When I went there, I saw people spying on me. And the first person I saw was from APF. So I killed anyone I saw. Were they your men?"


    Lucifer pretended to be surprised as he heard about this. He instantly deflected the me.


    "As I expected. But I also heard that you took Ayn with you. Where is she? If I may ask," Raia asked again.


    "To meet her, you need to do something,¡¯ Lucifer said calmly.


    "Do what?" Raia inquired.


    Lucifer raised his head as he looked deep in the eyes of Raia.


    "You need to die," he told Raia.


    "What?" Raia asked, taken aback.

 Chapter 293 - 293: The Bet

    <h4>Chapter 293 - 293: The Bet </h4>


    "I¡¯m not kidding. She¡¯s dead. If you want to meet her, you¡¯ll need to die as well. In that case, you can probably meet her in the afterlife," Lucifer casually said as he returned to his eating.


    " Oh, so she is dead. That¡¯s disappointing," Raia muttered, shaking his head. For a moment, he really thought that Lucifer was telling him to die from the bottom of his heart.


    ....


    The lunch was finished soon, and everyone stood up as they all went to rest a bit. It was decided that the battle of Tristan and Cassius was going to happen after an hour of rest since they just ate.


    Lucifer showed their rooms to the Variant Uprising members. As the mansion had many fully furnished rooms, everyone got one where they could start resting right away.


    Lucifer and Cassius returned to the couch downstairs as they sat alone.


    "Are you sure you want to fight him?" Lucifer asked Cassius. "It can be dangerous."


    "As dangerous as fighting the Warlock Kings?" Cassius asked,ughing.


    Lucifer squinted his eyes as he gestured for Cassius to stay silent.


    There were guests in the mansion, and he didn¡¯t want any of them to hear their n identally.


    Cassius understood Lucifer¡¯s gesture and didn¡¯t speak anything regarding it.


    "It¡¯s just a practice match. Don¡¯t worry. Moreover, I also want to see how strong one of the strongest swordsmen of this continent can be," Cassius said inplete seriousness.


    Lucifer didn¡¯t speak much as he nodded. Since this guy wanted it, he wasn¡¯t going to say no.


    As time kept trickling away, soon another hour passed. It was time for the battle.


    As Tristan was the most excited, he was the first toe downstairs, followed by others.


    "Finally, it¡¯s time! No more dys," he said.


    "No more dys," Cassius agreed. "So, where do you want to fight?"


    "Your garden is pretty big. It can be a good ce," Tristan responded.


    "No one goes in the garden. You¡¯ll fight outside the Estate," Lucifer said firmly, rejecting the suggestion. He didn¡¯t want his garden to be destroyed. That was the only ce he considered to be good.


    "Outside it is. In any case, the entire city is our yground now. You¡¯ll get more room to move as well," Raia agreed, even though he was surprised that Lucifer was so against them going to the garden.


    He wondered if there was something special about that ce. He wanted to check it out at night.


    As everyone decided on the form and ce of the battle, they left the mansion together.


    ...


    "Are you able to contact Riali?"


    Inside the APF helicopters, Gensi was sitting with a frown. He had been trying to contact Riali, but it wasn¡¯t working.


    "I can¡¯t get to him either. Something is seriously wrong," Varant affirmed.


    "You think he could have been killed?" Gensi asked, concerned.


    "There¡¯s a good chance," Varant said, taking a deep breath. "Though I did tell them to stay away from the battle. But as they informed me, Lucifer was there with Raia."


    "And you know Lucifer... The three of us should be the people he hates the most because of what happenedst time. He wouldn¡¯t have let Riali go after seeing him," he added.


    "I still can¡¯t believe he returned. Even after all that. Just how could that be possible?" Gensi inquired, expressing his concern.


    Even Varant had no idea how he could answer this question. This didn¡¯t make sense. How did Lucifer return?


    ¡¯ording to what I, Zale and Raia had discovered at that time, water should be... This really doesn¡¯t make sense. Could it be because Riali messed up by throwing the heart in the sea as well?¡¯


    There were many conflicting thoughts in his head, but he couldn¡¯t think of a solid reason.


    "Are we really fighting a war that we can win? This Lucifer... If he cane back after what had happenedst time... Can we really defeat him?" Gensi asked, sighing.


    " Even if we defeat and kill him, what¡¯s to make sure he won¡¯t return again? Is this an unending cycle that will never stop?" he continued.


    "It¡¯s not an unending cycle. This time, I will stop it forever. Our losses might be big, but we can¡¯t afford to lose. We must take them all out this time," Varant said, clenching his fist.


    ...


    Cassius and Tristan stopped twenty meters away from each other, looking at each other.


    Both of them had a sword in their hands.


    While Tristan had a Katana, which was swift and light, Cassius had a beautiful heavy sword that was not only heavy but powerful.


    It was made from the most precious material that could be found in his continent. It made his sword more durable. Even though the material was rare and expensive, his family could afford it.


    On the other hand, the Katana of Tristan was something that he had inherited from his ancestors. It wasn¡¯t an expensive sword, but it was very durable, and it hadn¡¯t betrayed him so far.


    As the two youngsters faced each other, Raia, Lucifer, Alicia, and the others stood on a nearby roof from where they had a clear view of the battle.


    "Who do you think will win the battle?" Raia casually asked.


    "I haven¡¯t seen how Cassius fights yet, but I believe Tristan has a better chance. He¡¯s more experienced and possibly stronger as well," Vegamented.


    "That¡¯s true. If only he could temper his impulses, he could be the sharpest sword in our arsenal. Albeit, he¡¯s still young and impulsive. That¡¯s his only weakness that I can think of," Raia said, slightly agreeing.


    "I also think Tristan will win. The other guy might be good, but there¡¯s a difference between good and best," Alicia chimed in as well.


    "That¡¯s right. There¡¯s a difference between good and the best. That¡¯s why Cassius will win," Lucifer also jumped in.


    He didn¡¯t know how strong Tristan was, but he had faith in Cassius¡¯s strength. He had seen it first hand, after all.


    "Hah, you can only say it because you don¡¯t know how strong Tristan is. I have seen him in action. Let me tell you, your friend stands no chance," Alicia let out, scoffing.


    "Want to bet?" Lucifer asked, not feeling upset.


    "Bet what?" Alicia asked, squinting her eyes.


    "If you are right and Tristan wins, I promise I¡¯ll do any one thing you ask me to do. If I¡¯m right and Cassius wins, you¡¯ll do whatever one thing I ask you to do?" Lucifer suggested.


    He didn¡¯t see any losses in betting since it didn¡¯t matter even if he lost.


    The rules were only for the ones that were naive enough to follow them, ording to him. And he believed Alicia was naive enough.

 Chapter 294 - 294: Cassius V. Tristan

    <h4>Chapter 294 - 294: Cassius V. Tristan </h4>


    "You don¡¯t have to do it if you¡¯re scared," he added, throwing another bait by hurting her ego.


    "Hah, why would I be scared? I ept the bet. Get ready to lose," Alicia said, not even taking a second to think as she epted the bet.


    "What about you, Kellian? Who do you think will win?" Raia next asked Kellian, ignoring the banter of youngsters.


    " I can¡¯t say for sure since I don¡¯t know the strength of the other side. So I¡¯ll y it safe. I think both have an equally good chance since Cassius shouldn¡¯t be weak either. He had managed to take out a lot of APF members after all," Kellian responded.


    "That¡¯s true as well," Raia nodded. "You, Yaliza?¡¯


    "I also agree with Kellian. It would be too soon to guess without knowing what the two of them are capable of," Yaliza agreed as he folded his arms.


    "That¡¯s right as well. Let¡¯s see what they are capable of in that case," Raia said, ncing at the two youngsters that were still looking at each other, waiting for the other person to make a move.


    Cassius held his heavy sword in his right hand, staring at Tristan.


    Tristan, on the other hand, hadn¡¯t even taken his sword out of the sheath. He was holding the sheath in his left hand as he looked back.


    "Kid! You can go first. Let me see your strength! Give me your best shot!¡¯ Tristan yelled, making sure his voice reached Cassius.


    "I extend the same courtesy to you. Elders can go first," Cassius sharply responded. "Give it your best shot! Maybe you will be able to hurt me!"


    Tristan¡¯s face twitched again as he heard Cassius¡¯s words.


    "You got a sharp tongue. Fine, let me show you," Tristan said as he took a deep breath.


    He slowly moved his right hand towards the hilt of the Katana, which he was holding in his left hand.


    As he grabbed the hilt, he asked, "I¡¯m ready to attack. Don¡¯t me me if you¡¯re hurt!"


    After a warning, he brought his Katana out of the sheath but only by a few inches before he kept it back. It all happened before anyone could even see the de of his sword.


    Not a single person had ever seen what the de of his katana looked like, as whenever he brought it out, he kept it back just as fast before anyone could even see it.


    Even though Tristan only brought his sword a little out of the sheath, it still managed to create massive wind pressure in the surroundings. A powerful attack left the sword in the form of a blood-red arc of light.


    Cassius noticed the attack, which seemed to be filled with power, but it also seemed to have a lousy aim. Cassius was sure that even if he didn¡¯t do anything, the attack was going to miss him.


    He didn¡¯t know if it was actually because of bad aim or if it was because Tristan had intentionally tried to miss him as it was a practice battle, and he didn¡¯t want to hurt him.


    Cassius knew that he could just stand and let the attack pass, but the fighting spirit inside him was ignited. He didn¡¯t want to be a coward.


    He also raised his sword and made a casual sh, using a fraction of his Divine Sword Energy.


    He attacked in the same manner and at the same trajectory as Tristan¡¯s attack, making sure both attacks were going to sh.


    Just as he expected, Tristan¡¯s intimidating attack shed with his Divine Sword Energy, and couldn¡¯t resist for even a second as the attack of Tristan was destroyed.


    Cassius¡¯s attack didn¡¯t stop there as his Divine Sword Energy moved further, ultimately doing what Tristan wanted to do.


    The attack passed from a few inches away from Tristan, ultimatelynding on the house in the back, destroying the wall.


    Tristan turned back to look at the damage to the house, slightly surprised. Even though he had used a tiny fraction of his strength, it was still surprising to see it being destroyed so easily.


    There were more people who were surprised, especially Alicia. She didn¡¯t know that Cassius was actually this strong despite being so young.


    Raia also seemed amused as he rubbed his chin. It seemed like they had another talented guy in their midst that was capable of leading from the front.


    Vega and the others were also surprised as this was the first time they had seen the strength of Cassius.


    Lucifer, on the other hand, stood perfectly calm as if it was something that wasn¡¯t surprising at all. He had already seen Cassius in action.


    And he also knew about the Divine Sword Energy. As long as Cassius had a sword in his hand, he was almost undefeatable.


    Even in the Academy, it was said that Divine Sword Energy was one of the strongest abilities that a swordsman could possess. That wasn¡¯t all either, as Cassius possessed another ability thatplimented his first ability.


    ...


    "Not bad at all. As expected, this is going to be a good battle," Tristan smirked as he stared at Cassius while licking his lips.


    "Maybe someone today might actually be able to force me to take my full sword out. I hope you¡¯re capable. Let me test if you¡¯re worthy," he added as his figure flickered.


    He appeared behind Cassius as he twisted his body, intending to kick the neck of Cassius.


    The figure of Cassius also moved as he adjusted his body slightly while using his elbows to block the kick.


    ¡¯I guess that¡¯s why he practiced basic fighting skills too. For a swordsman, it¡¯s important to be able to protect himself even in close range. Unlike me, he doesn¡¯t have overpowering strength and speed, after all.¡¯


    Standing in the distance, Lucifer was analyzing all the minor details of the battle, which he found intriguing.


    Cassius blocked the kick, which was about tond on his neck with his arms while he jumped back.


    Hended a few meters away from Tristan, aiming his sword at him coolly.


    "What was that?" he asked Tristan, who had suddenly attacked. He wondered if it was still the battle of the sword or not.


    " Don¡¯t mind it. Just testing your skills before I get fully serious. You need to be a capable warrior to be a worthy swordsman," Tristan replied,ughing.


    "Is that so?" Cassius smirked as he heard the words. "Don¡¯t mind if I test the same."


    His figure also moved as he abruptly closed in on Tristan, who hadn¡¯t expected this.


    *****


    (Author Note: Everyone! New ranking System has been released including golden tickets.


    You can update the App on ystore if you haven¡¯t yet, to see it. As for IOS, the update should be avable soon too. Please use your all tickets that you got to vote on this novel to help it as much as you can.


    Bonus Chapter will be released based on Golden Ticket Ranking.


    We are currently number 5.


    1)If we stay in the top 5 of the Golden Ranking for the rest of the Week: 14 Bonus Chapters next week.


    2)If we¡¯re in the top 10 instead: 8 Bonus Chapters.


    3) If we stay in the top 3: 17 Bonus Chapters next week.


    Thank you. If you¡¯re still confused, small description will be inments on how to vote.

 Chapter 295 - 295: Frustration

    <h4>Chapter 295 - 295: Frustration </h4>


    Cassius also used the same kick. The only difference was that he held a heavy sword in his right hand, unlike the Katana that Tristan had held in his left hand.


    "Your strength is good, but your speed still sucks," Tristan mocked as he appeared behind Cassius abruptly just when the foot of Cassius was about to connect to his face.


    "And there, the first strike," Tristan said calmly as the tip of his sheath touched the back of Cassius.


    He hadn¡¯t taken out his sword, but he was implying that if he did, the sword would have prated Cassius.


    "I told you. Your friend has no chance. You lost," Alicia told Lucifer, smiling.


    "I don¡¯t see it that way. You should look carefully," Lucifer replied, not the slightest bit fazed. He could see what Alicia hadn¡¯t noticed.


    Even Tristan noticed it by now as he looked down to see the top of a Heavy Sword resting a few inches away from his stomach.


    It was clear that if Cassius hadn¡¯t stopped, Tristan would have been impaled by now. Both of them were at a standstill. It was just that Tristan hadn¡¯t noticed previously.


    "I know that my speed isn¡¯tparable either. But that¡¯s why I¡¯ve trained my reflexes and my awareness of surroundings. Strike one from me too," Cassius said calmly as he lowered his sword and turned to face Tristan.


    Raia stood on the roof, observing Tristan. He didn¡¯t react much from what could be seen on his face, but he was pleasantly surprised. It was clear that Cassius had baited Tristan and Tristan fell for it.


    "Very clever," Kellian muttered, amused. "Even though it¡¯s a Training Battle only, it¡¯s pretty intense."


    "I guess both the swordsmen are taking this battle as a way to decide amongst themselves. I wonder who will actually win," Raia responded.


    "But still, Tristan hadn¡¯t even taken out his sword. He¡¯s apletely different being when he does that. He¡¯s still ying around, it seems," he added.


    Lucifer didn¡¯tment and simply observed the battlefield, while Alicia¡¯s smile also disappeared as she realized that it wasn¡¯t the victory she was iming it to be.


    "Intriguing. Why is your control with a Heavy Sword so good? Generally, the disadvantage of a Heavy Sword is its heaviness which in turn causes slow movement. But I don¡¯t see it affecting you. You¡¯re using it as if it¡¯s as light as a feather," Tristanplimented as he also stepped back.


    He really hadn¡¯t expected such swift movement by Cassius involving his sword, as he had made a preconceived notion because of the sword size.


    "That isn¡¯t something you should assume on your own. For a swordsman, his sword is like a part of his body. How fast or slow he moves it depends on himself," Cassius responded calmly.


    "That¡¯s true as well. Let¡¯s make it a best of three in that case. I don¡¯t want such a fascinating battle to end so soon. The person who gets the next two strikes first wins," Tristan suggested.


    Cassius nodded to the suggestion. "Fine with me."


    ...


    " I still can¡¯t believe that we¡¯re going to be in an all-out War. It is finally the time for that after ying around for so long. It¡¯s good. I was starting to get bored."


    "Me too. Can¡¯t wait to have some fun!"


    Inside the Variant Uprising helicopters, a group of Variants was talking amongst themselves. They had been told to prepare and leave in a hurry.


    Even though hours had passed since that moment, they were still as excited as ever about getting to go to War.


    The only ones who were uncertain were the new recruits that had joined in thest eight years.


    Each level of Variant Uprising had a different set of helicopters that were carrying their team. But the one in the lead was the only one who apanied the leaders.


    Inside the leading helicopter, the two remaining leaders of APF were sitting alone, discussing about what¡¯s toe. The leaders happened to be Isona and Dion. As for Caen, he was gone from what they understood.


    The Level One Squad was given a different leader, but without Caen, they didn¡¯t seem to have the same importance as before.


    "What are the chances of us winning?" Isona asked Dion as she looked outside.


    "Pretty high as long as the Hunter Union doesn¡¯t join," Dion responded.


    "And if the Hunter Union joins?" Isona asked, curious.


    "Then it would depend," Dion answered calmly. His pale face was looking at the floor of the helicopter where he could see an ant walking.


    "Depend on what?" Isona asked, frowning.


    "On Lucifer and that girl¡¯s strength. Facing two Warlock Kings will be the toughest part along with facing their army of powerful Variants."


    "They will be more than us. The only way we can win in that case is if we overpower their numbers with brute force," Dionmented, stomping on the small ant.


    "And Alicia and Lucifer will be the key to make it happen," he added.


    "That¡¯s true. I wonder how much that kid has grown. From what I heard of his actions, he hasn¡¯t changed even a little," Isonamented.


    "That¡¯s right. He hasn¡¯t changed much at all. He¡¯s still as ruthless, I think. It¡¯s hard for a person to change from that," Dion responded. "But it¡¯ll be good for us. The more ruthless he is, the harder he will fight for our cause."


    "That¡¯s right. The next few days are going to be pretty intriguing." Isona nodded.


    ....


    While a lot of Variants were advancing towards the city of Kensington, sitting in expensive helicopters, Cassius and Tristan could be seen moving from ce to ce as they fought against each other.


    A battle of swords had somehow turned into a battle of Martial Arts as the two of them tried to get a lead on their enemy.


    The two of them only used one of their hands to fight while leaving the other hand to hold the swords which weren¡¯t being used.


    At one point, the two of them were moving so fast that even Alicia found it hard to keep a track of them.


    "Why aren¡¯t they using swords? What kind of battle is this? They¡¯re both equally strong in fighting skills. They should fight with swords, shouldn¡¯t they?" Alicia asked, curious.


    "They are trying to gauge each other. To show that they are more than just swordsmen. But I doubt they can keep it up for long. The frustration should soon kick in. As you said, they¡¯re both equally skilled in fighting, after all," Raia responded.


    It happened just as he had expected as Tristan seemed frustrated at not being able to have an advantage.

 Chapter 296 - 296: Sword Formation

    <h4>Chapter 296 - 296: Sword Formation </h4>


    Tristan was losing his cool as he was being pushed back by Cassius. He had the speed, but even his speed wasn¡¯t able to help him as Cassius was able to intercept all his attacks while attacking back just as firmly.


    It was bing evident for Tristan that he didn¡¯t have any advantage.


    He was trying to find ws in the defense of Cassius, but every movement was so smooth and wless that he couldn¡¯t find any ws. It was as if Cassius had practiced every movement a hundred times, if not a thousand.


    "There it is," Tristan suddenly eximed as he noticed a bad attack from Cassius, which seemed no less than a brute attack from an immature warrior.


    Cassius closed in on Tristan in order to punch him with the strength possible.


    Tristan went down and used a Sweep Kick, trying to utilize the opportunity when the bnce of Cassius was disturbed.


    Cassius seemed like he expected it as he dove ahead. He ced his hand on Tristan¡¯s shoulders while his body was upside down. Using the forward momentum and his powerful grip on Tristan¡¯s shoulders to toss him far away after hended on the ground.


    Tristan felt like he was as light as a feather the way Cassius picked him up while tossing him away. He felt like his weight was literally gone the moment Cassius touched him, and it returned the moment Cassius threw him away.


    He crashed into the wall of a nearby house.


    "Does he have super strength as well?" Raia asked, frowning. The way Cassius tossed Tristan, it didn¡¯t seem like the work of an ordinary Variant. It seemed as if Lucifer had tossed Tristan with his super strength.


    Lucifer didn¡¯t reply, but there was a subtle smirk on his face. He realized that Cassius had used the Object Maniption like he had used on the rubble when they had killed the Beta Squad members.


    It was surprising to see him use this ability on a living human, though. The more he saw the practical use of this ability; the more intrigued he became.


    "Strike Two," Cassius told Tristan, who was sitting on the ground with the support of a wall.


    Tristan stood up while rubbing his back which was hurting as he had just crashed on the wall.


    "This is it! Enough ying around!" He yelled as he clenched the sheath tightly. He brought out his sword in quick session while keeping it back just as fast. But as this motion continued, many attacks were created.


    He was even more frustrated as he saw the confident smile on Cassius¡¯s face.


    One after another, powerful arcs of red lights advanced towards Cassius as if he was being attacked by tens of powerful swords.


    "Is that it?" Cassius muttered, seemingly disappointed.


    He moved his sword a few times in a circle, making a strange pattern in the air. As his sword moved, a white light moved along with it, but the light didn¡¯t disappear as the sword moved ahead.


    At this point, even Lucifer was frowning. What was it? He wondered.


    It was as if Cassius was drawing on the air with a shining pen. The only difference was that the pen happened to be his sword while the ink happened to be his Divine Energy.


    As he finished making a circr formation, he made three shes inside the formation as if trying to carve a strange pattern inside.


    As the pattern was finished, the formation started shining even brighter.


    The attacks of Tristan reached Cassius only to be swallowed by the strange character inside the formation.


    At this point, even Tristan stopped as he saw the mystical formation that Cassius had made. How could it swallow his attack so easily? He seemed to be so stunned that he even forgot to attack.


    All his previous attacks had disappeared after hitting the strange Divine Energy Character that Cassius had drawn, but that didn¡¯t seem to be the end of it.


    The bright white character turned slightly red as if mixing with the attack of Tristan, bing even brighter.


    There was no expression on the face of Cassius as he watched this happen as if it wasn¡¯t a new happening for him.


    He slowly raised his beautiful heavy Sword and touched the strange character that was floating in the air with the tip of his Sword.


    The character started disappearing as if all its energy was being sucked by the sword. Soon, not only the character but even the formation circle disappeared.


    What happened next was even more mysterious.


    ...


    Lucifer even forgot to blink as he saw what was happening. This was the same for Raia as he watched what was happening. This was their first time seeing something like this.


    "What is happening down there?" Alicia couldn¡¯t help but ask as she frowned.


    "I think that¡¯s the Sword Formation. I heard about it being used by a few powerful Variants who use swords. I don¡¯t know much about it though."


    " All I know is that it¡¯s a rare but powerful skill that needs a lot of training to master while also needing an equal amount of talent and luck."


    It was Vega who answered instead.


    "Sword Formation?" Lucifer muttered, realizing what was happening.


    He did remember hearing that the family of Cassius was the family of Swordsmen and that they possessed Sword Formation to make their attacks strong.


    Even the academy didn¡¯t have many details about this, so he had only heard about the name and a few rumors. He knew Vega was right.


    "Isn¡¯t it just a barrier type thing to protect himself? That¡¯s what it seems like?" Alicia asked, frowning.


    " I¡¯m not sure. It¡¯s my first time seeing this as well," Vega replied. "It¡¯s strange, though."


    "What¡¯s strange?" Alicia asked.


    "I heard that the Sword Formation is a skill that a few Sword Families of the other continents keep close to their heart. They never let it leak. So how did Cassius learn it? Wasn¡¯t he an orphan who was born on this continent?" Vega asked, frowning.


    "Can you shed some light on it? Is he really from this continent?" he asked Lucifer.


    "He is. As for how he learned it, I know that as well. He told me about it some time ago. About him meeting a traveler who trained him for a little while. That¡¯s where he learned most of his skills," Lucifer replied, making up a story.


    ...


    As the mysterious formation disappeared, a symbol started shining on the Sword of Cassius, which was the same as the symbol which he had drawn. The symbol was blood red at the moment though.


    Simr to the symbol, his sword had also started shining as if it was burning in blood-red fire.

 Chapter 297 - 297: Both Will Die

    <h4>Chapter 297 - 297: Both Will Die </h4>


    The Sword of Cassius started shining as if burning from intense mes as soon as it sucked in that strange floating symbol.


    Tristan frowned as he noticed what was happening.


    "I can feel the strength from that attack even while standing here. Amazing!" Tristan said,ughing. Instead of looking scared or stunned, he looked excited as if this was what he wanted.


    He took a deep breath as he grabbed the hilt of his Katana.


    Raia noticed the movements of Tristan and realized what he was going to do.


    "These two youngsters really forgot that this was just a practice battle. While Cassius is using his Sword Formation, Tristan is about to bring his full sword out as well. Both of them will die if they attack each other," Vegamented, frowning.


    "That¡¯s right. Time to stop it," Raia said calmly as he slowly raised his hand in the direction of the two youngsters.


    As his hand was slowly raised, the ground started splitting apart. Tristan and Cassius could feel the ground vibrating and splitting, but it didn¡¯t phase them.


    They were prepared to attack.


    However, just before they could attack, they stopped as they saw tens of tree branchesing out of the ground, making a wall between the two.


    Tristan stopped, noticing the wall. He turned to look towards the roof where Raia was standing, realizing whose power it was.


    Raia had used his other ability, which Lucifer had never seen before. Many people in the Variant Uprising knew about it though. He was a Warlock who could also control nts like Lucifer could control thunder.


    Seeing a new ability of Raia, Lucifer grew surprised. This was a long-range ability, it seemed.


    Cassius also looked in the direction of others on the roof.


    Raia jumped down the roof,nding on top of one of the tree branches, making sure the two of them could see him.


    "This is enough. The battle is over. You two can stop now. It was only a practice battle, not a battle to the death. No need to burn the bridges," he dered.


    Lucifer also flew down the building,nding near Cassius.


    Cassius¡¯s sword was still shining brightly, but it started dimming as he stopped using his ability.


    "I apologize. I was too engrossed in the battle," Cassius said as he lowered the Sword.


    Tristan, on the other hand, didn¡¯t ept it like Cassius.


    "Come on! Just when things were getting exciting!" Heined with a cry-like face.


    "It¡¯s enough excitement for the day," Raiamented. The tree branches started going down before they submerged in the ground.


    Lucifer could see Tristan now.


    A shadow appeared nearby, from which Kellian came out. Yaliza also appeared near them.


    The only one who was missing was Alicia. Lucifer nced towards the building, wondering if Alicia was too weak to jump down. It was strange though. He had thought that she was a strong Warlock, ording to what he heard from Kellian.


    As he looked towards Alicia, hoping to see her standing on the roof, he was in for another surprise. He could see her walking in the air.


    Alicia walked in the air as she stepped towards them.


    His surprise onlysted for a short time as he shifted his attention back to Raia.


    "We don¡¯t want any of you to get injured because we still need to go to a war. Both of you are going to be an important key in our quest for victory. So save that determination and hunger for tomorrow when those guyse," Raia told Tristan.


    "Fine!" Tristan said, still seemingly upset. He took off his hand from the hilt of his Sword as he lowered it as well.


    "That¡¯s better," Raia nodded.


    "So there was no winner, huh. I guess the bet is a draw," Aliciamented as shended before Lucifer.


    "Who says it was a draw?" Lucifer asked, amused. "Before the battle was stopped, Cassius had already managed to bring Tristan down to the ground. So, he technically was in the lead. That would also imply that I won."


    "Aren¡¯t I right?" he asked Kellian.


    "Seems that way. In any case, it wasn¡¯t a battle to the death, so bringing the opponent down can be considered a win already," Kellian affirmed, nodding his head.


    "What are you saying? That was a draw!" Alicia protested.


    "Not really. The battle should have already stopped before. It was canceled when the two sides tried to deal killing blows. If we remove that part, as a Practice Battle, it was Cassius¡¯s win, I suppose," Kellian affirmed.


    "You know what that means, don¡¯t you?" Lucifer asked Alicia, amused.


    "Fine! I¡¯ll ept my defeat. I lost. What do you want me to do?" She asked Lucifer.


    "Hmm, that¡¯s an interesting question. What do I want you to do? I¡¯ll tell youter when I think about it. Until then, you can prepare yourself," Lucifer calmly said as he ced his right hand in his pocket.


    "Shall we go back?" He asked the others.


    "Yeah, we should. We¡¯re done here," Raia agreed as he started walking towards the Mansion.


    Lucifer and the others also walked in the same direction. They hadn¡¯t brought any cars here to travel.


    Alicia walked behind Lucifer, looking at his back, wondering what he might want her to do. It was her first time being at a disadvantage as she owed Lucifer a request.


    ¡¯I hope he won¡¯t ask me to do something hard,¡¯ she thought, frowning. She didn¡¯t know that he had different ns for her when the War came. That¡¯s when he was saving this request for.


    As Lucifer walked beside Cassius, he closed in and whispered something in the ears of Cassius, telling him about the story he made up about how he learned the sword formation. He also told him to stick to it.


    Cassius calmly nodded and didn¡¯t speak anything else.


    Soon, Tristan also approached Cassius.


    "You¡¯re very good," Heplimented Cassius.


    "Thank you. I think you¡¯re good too. It¡¯s rare to find good Swordsmen nowadays," Cassius responded.


    "Yeah. That¡¯s why I was so excited to know that you were a Swordsman. Other than you, the only other capable Swordsman I met is him," Tristan nodded as he nced at Raia.


    "He¡¯s a swordsman as well?" Cassius asked, surprising. "I never saw him carrying a sword."


    Even Lucifer heard their conversation, learning something more about Raia.


    ¡¯For Tristan to call him a swordsman, it¡¯s clear that he shouldn¡¯t be weak in that department either. Tristan doesn¡¯t seem like a person who would acknowledge someone as a swordsman unless that person deserved it. What else are you keeping a secret?¡¯ he thought, frowning.

 Chapter 298 - 298: Waking Up

    <h4>Chapter 298 - 298: Waking Up </h4>


    "Even I haven¡¯t seen him use a proper sword. It¡¯s really strange. But I did hear that he was one of the best swordsmen at one time. That¡¯s why I joined the Variant Uprising actually. Otherwise, I have no interest in all this," Tristanughed.


    "But it gives me the opportunity to fight strong opponents, so it isn¡¯t bad," he added.


    "You joined because you heard he was a swordsman? That¡¯s odd," Cassiusmented.


    "Not really. I actually went there to challenge him since I heard that rumor about him being a Swordsman. But he refused the battle," Tristan said. "Instead, he offered me to join Variant Uprising."


    "That¡¯s it?" Cassius asked, smiling wryly.


    "Not at all. Actually there was much more to it than just that. I had actually refused. Instead, I offered him a condition. He needed to fight me, and if he won, I would join his organization," Tristan said.


    "I guess I can understand what happened next. You lost?" Cassius asked.


    "I did. And it wasn¡¯t even a close battle. He¡¯s pretty strong. The Warlock Kings aren¡¯t called Warlock Kings for no reason at all. All the titles are earned by them because of their immense strength, most of which isn¡¯t known by the world," Tristan responded.


    "Since that day, I¡¯ve been asking him for another battle, but he keeps saying no. I think he¡¯ll only say yes after he wins this war. Hopefully, I¡¯ll get to fight him again. In the meantime, it was refreshing to have another battle here," hemented.


    Cassius nodded, not saying anything. Even Lucifer was slightly surprised. He wondered how many such hidden abilities Varant had that wasn¡¯t known by the world? Was he simr to Raia in that department?


    He now had more faith in his n. He believed it was good instead of blindly rushing in. This way, he could let Varant and Raia kill each other.


    ¡¯Since they¡¯re both Warlock Kings, they¡¯ll need to show all their abilities to win the battle against the others. That can be the time for me to judge and understand their strengths and weaknesses,¡¯ he thought.


    As Lucifer gained more confidence in his n, he started waiting for the day of War.


    The Small Group reached the Welling Estate.


    "When is your teaming here?" Lucifer asked Raia, sitting on the couch.


    "They should be here by the evening. As for Variant Uprising, they¡¯ll be here tomorrow from what I can expect. That should give us enough time to set things up," Raia replied.


    ...


    In the silence of the medical room at the APF headquarters, a man was lying on a white bed.


    His eyes were closed as heid unmoving.


    A nurse sat near him, seemingly lost in a book.


    The red haired man who was lying on the bed, slowly opened his eyes as he looked around.


    As his eyes had just opened, his vision was slightly blurry, and he wasn¡¯t able to see clearly who it was that sat near him.


    It took a few minutes for his vision to return to normal. He was able to see the nurse clearly.


    "Who are you? Where am I?" he weakly asked. He could feel as if his body was really weak, and he was hungry as well.


    "Huh?" The nurse felt as if she heard something. She slowly opened her eyes, wondering what it was that she heard.


    As her eyes opened, she was able to see that it was Xander who had spoken.


    As she saw Xander¡¯s eyes open, she felt as if she had seen a Ghost. She jumped back like a scared rabbit, unable to believe her eyes.


    "You are up?" She asked the man who had woken up after eight years.


    "Unless I¡¯m dreaming this, I think I am," Xander muttered, pushing his body up. "So, where am I? Am I at the base? How much time had passed since I was attacked?"


    He could notice that his chest wounds had healed, so it was clear that it wasn¡¯t a short sleep.


    "Yes Sir. You are at the base. You are inside the medical facility at the moment," the nurse answered respectfully.


    "How much time has passed?" Xander asked again.


    "Eight years had passed since you were brought here," the nurse responded.


    "Eight years?" Xander eximed, stunned.


    "That¡¯s right. Eight years have passed since that day," the nurse affirmed.


    "What happened to... Whatever, you won¡¯t know that. Take this out. I need to meet Varant," Xander told the nurse, pointing towards his left hand, which had a cann inserted.


    "W-wait. I need to call the doctor first. Only after he examines you can I let you leave. Just wait here!" The nurse responded as she hastily left the room.


    She didn¡¯t want to make a decision without the permission of the doctor, as that could be risky.


    Xander watched the nurse leave. He couldn¡¯t help but shake his head in disappointment.


    He decided to do it himself. Using his other hand, he pulled the needle out of his hand. He also detached all the other equipment that was attached from his body.


    After freeing himself, he got off the bed, but he couldn¡¯t walk even a single step before falling to the ground.


    "My legs are still too weak. I guess I should¡¯ve listened," he muttered as he pushed his body up and walked back to the bed. He knew he couldn¡¯t leave. It was better to call Varant here himself.


    As he sat on the bed, the door opened. A dark-haired doctor stepped inside the room, followed by the same Nurse.


    "Did you remove everything?" The doctor asked the nurse.


    "I didn¡¯t. I told him not to do it and to wait for you toe," The Nurse answered. "He must have done it himself."


    "Xander, why are you in a hurry?" The Doctor asked Xander as he approached him.


    "Cail, it¡¯s you. I must say, I didn¡¯t expect you wouldst here for eight years. Are you really the best doctor they could find for me?" Xander asked, rolling his eyes.


    "Hah, good to see that the sense of humor is still there, no matter how bad," the doctor responded calmly. "So, how are you feeling now?"


    "Weak. I can¡¯t even walk a single step," Xander answered.


    "That¡¯s to be expected. Don¡¯t worry; you¡¯ll soon return to your old self now that you¡¯re up," the doctor said as he started the checkup.


    "Can you call Ayn and Varant there? I want to ask them a few things. I want to know what happened that day. And how things have progressed in thest eight years," Xander told the Cail, expressing his desire.


    Cail didn¡¯t say anything and simply continued his checkup.

 Chapter 299 - 299: Changing Battlefield

    <h4>Chapter 299 - 299: Changing Battlefield </h4>


    "Good. Everything seems normal. You¡¯ll be perfectly fine in a few days. Just rest here in the meantime. You aren¡¯t allowed to leave the room," Cail said. "I¡¯m changing the Medicine and adding your diet to the schedule. Do you have any preference in what you¡¯d like to eat?"


    "That¡¯s not the answer to my question. I asked you to call Ayn and Varant," Xander firmly stated.


    "I can¡¯t call them here. They aren¡¯t at the base. I¡¯ll tell them when theye back," Cail replied as he turned around.


    "What are you hiding? I can feel something is wrong. Tell me what happened!" Xander said sharply. Even though Cail¡¯s words didn¡¯t show it, he was able to feel that something was wrong here.


    "You just woke up. Get well fast. And then I¡¯ll tell you," Cail said, shaking his head.


    "Cail, I¡¯m telling youst time. Tell me the truth! What happened after that day? And where are Varant and Ayn? Where did they go!" Xander yelled.


    " Calm down! You¡¯ll burn this whole ce identally if this goes on!" Cail scolded Xander as he felt the temperature going up.


    Even after his scolding, it didn¡¯t stop.


    "Fine! I¡¯ll tell you!" Cail ultimately said, giving up. "I¡¯ll tell you where they are!"


    "That¡¯s better," Xander said, calming down.


    "Nothing happened after you were injured that day. The enemies left. That was all. But something did happen a few days ago," Cail added.


    "What happened?"


    "The Beta Squad went out on a mission, and it seems like they were attacked. A lot of the members were killed, and Ayn had been missing since then," Cail exined.


    "Ayn is missing?!" Xander eximed, stunned.


    "That¡¯s right. She is missing. Just this morning, Varant left the base, taking almost everyone as if going for a war. I think they found the whereabouts of Ayn," Cail further added.


    "War? So much happened while I was sleeping? Who attacked Ayn? Was it the Uprising? What happened to Lucifer after the battle with me? Was he involved?" Xander inquired.


    "Lucifer disappeared after a battle with you. I don¡¯t think he was ever seen again. The search still continued. As for who attacked Beta Squad, I have no idea about it. I don¡¯t get that much information here. I¡¯m just a doctor, after all. But if I were to guess, I would say that it was indeed the work of Variant Uprising," Cail replied.


    "I need to join Varant. Who is currently incharge of the base?"


    "Join Varant? To do what? Roll on the mud in front of him? You can¡¯t even walk at the moment! Instead of being an idiot, stay here and get back to your normal self. Help yourself first if you want to help others!"


    "But...¡¯


    The back and forth between Cail and Xander continued as Xander kept insisting on joining the mission as fast as he could while Cail kept trying to persuade him not to be stupid.


    ...


    The Sun had started setting as tens of helicopters entered the airspace of Kensington City.


    They were given the coordinates of the mansion by Raia, which made it a lot easier for them to find this ce. All the helicoptersnded on the ground outside the Estate.


    " This is the ce, huh. Not bad," Dionmented as he pushed the gates of the Estate. There was no guard taking care of the Mansion as Lucifer had already told the guard to leave, knowing guests were about toe.


    The guard had left the city along with the other citizens.


    Raia and Lucifer already stood at the entrance of the Mansion, already anticipating them.


    A huge crowd of Variants stepped inside the premises of the Estate, seeming to be in the hundreds.


    "That¡¯s why I said that this Mansion shouldn¡¯t be enough for everyone," Raia told Lucifer, smirking.


    He also stepped towards the Variants and met up with them, including his own level five team members.


    Only the level five members were allowed to stay in the mansion as for the others; they were told to take shelter in other houses of the city that were empty now.


    But before that, a proper nning session wasmenced by Raia, which was attended by Lucifer and Cassius as well.


    Raia informed everyone of their role in the war and how they needed to get an advantage against the enemy.


    "We have the element of surprise as the enemies won¡¯t be expecting this. So we must utilize that to the fullest. The first attack needs to be a direct hit to damage them as much as possible."


    " No need to stick by the rules! We have the entire night to turn this city into something that would be like our home turf. So no one can rx tonight! Understood?" Raia asked.


    "Yes!" All the Variants shouted in unison. And thus, everyone got to preparation.


    The entire night passed in preparation as the Variants modified the battlefield ording to the n.


    Even their own helicopters were arranged in such a way so that they could intercept and attack the enemies as soon as they came without giving them a chance.


    It was two in the night when the work was finished, and the Variants finally went to rest.


    Lucifer, on the other hand, didn¡¯t bother with this. He had already fallen asleep hours ago. He left all the preparation to the Variant Uprising.


    He was only interested in the end goal, not how it was achieved.


    ....


    Soon, the night passed away as the first ray of sun fell in the city of Kensington.


    Everyone got up at six in the morning.


    ording to the information by the spies that were ced in various cities, information was received about the movements of helicopters towards Kensington.


    ording to that information, it was assumed that within a few hours, the APF was going to be here.


    All the Variant Uprising members took their position in wait.


    As for Lucifer, he stood on the roof of the Welling Estate, looking at all the other Variants getting prepared for the battle.


    Cassius was the only person who was sitting beside him.


    " What are you thinking about?" Cassius asked Lucifer.


    "I¡¯m thinking about tomorrow. How beautiful the day is going to be without all thismotion," Lucifer muttered.


    " You think the war will be over in a day?" Cassius asked, smiling wryly. "I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll be over so soon."


    "I believe it¡¯ll be over faster than we expect. No side would retreat this time," Lucifer replied. "Who knows, it might also be over within a few hours."


    "What if it doesn¡¯t go ording to the n? What if Raia and Varant didn¡¯t kill each other?¡¯ Cassius asked.

 Chapter 300 - 300: Formations

    <h4>Chapter 300 - 300: Formations </h4>


    "What if Raia and Varant don¡¯t kill each other as we nned? What then?" Cassius asked, but not before making sure that no one else was there.


    " Why won¡¯t they?" Lucifer inquired, frowning. "Raia wants the rule. Varant is the biggest obstruction in his path. I don¡¯t think he will miss this chance when he has the opportunity. He would certainly keep trying to kill Varant."


    "And when a person constantly tries to kill you, you¡¯ll try to kill him as well. It¡¯s natural. So that¡¯s what you¡¯ll see. And if this doesn¡¯t pan out as we nned, we would just have to make the situation such that it does happen the way we want. I have a lot of ways to do that," he further added as he looked at the beautiful rising sun.


    "I hope you¡¯re right," Cassius agreed.


    "Did you go to check up on Ayn?" He further asked.


    "I haven¡¯t. There¡¯s no need to do that either. Veracity is with them," Lucifer responded. "She should be able to handle it."


    "By the way, what is that Sword Formation? That seemed pretty good," he inquired as he thought back to the skill that was used by Cassius. Unfortunately, the attack was stopped before it couldmence, making it so that he wasn¡¯t able to see what it actually did.


    "That formation? That¡¯s not even my strongest Sword Formation. My family owns a lot of them. Think of them as a tool to boost your sword attacks," Cassius answered. "The one I used was called the Amplifier Formation. "


    " Amplifier Formation? It means it amplifies your strength?" Lucifer inquired, trying to guess its use from the name.


    "That¡¯s correct, I guess. It actually absorbs the strength of the enemy¡¯s attack, which is released at the time we attack."


    "In simple terms, it¡¯s like you attack me with X. And I attack you with Y. So if I use this formation, I can attack you with thebination of X and Y while defending myself," Cassius exined in simpler terms.


    " This formation sounds good. What other formations are there?" Lucifer asked, trying to broaden his horizons as he felt like he could see a future possibility for himself.


    "There are many more formations. Like Boost Formation that multiplies the strength of your attack by twice. The defensive formation that protects you from the attacks but doesn¡¯t attack back like the Amplifier Formation. That would be just like a normal barrier," Cassius informed Lucifer.


    "Oh right, there¡¯s also an Invisible Formation," he further added.


    "Invisible formation? Does that make you invisible?" Lucifer inquired.


    "Not really. It just makes the sword invisible. I haven¡¯t used that formation, but it cane really handy at times. You know, to sneak attack someone," Cassius responded, smiling. "As I said previously, the world of formations is really vast."


    "Why wasn¡¯t it taught in the Academy?" Lucifer asked. "It seems useful."


    "It does seem useful but only for swordsmen. Moreover, there aren¡¯t many swordsmen in the Academy. So including it would be useless. Moreover, even if they wanted, they couldn¡¯t," Cassius answered.


    "Only a few families that created the formations control them. They decide if the formation knowledge is shared publicly or not. As you can already guess, no family would share such a thing. Even my own family won¡¯t share it. It¡¯s our family secrets," he further added.


    " Can¡¯t these formations work without swords? I mean, at the core of it, they¡¯re just formations. If I can make them without bing a Swordsman, my attack should be amplified as well, won¡¯t it?" Lucifer asked, ncing at his hand.


    He could imagine thousands of formations opening in the sky as he used the Wrath of Heaven. Each of his lightning bolts could be even stronger with the formations.


    "Do you even need any Formations to make your attacks stronger? I mean, your attack is already the strongest, from what I can see. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve seen any stronger attack than the sky lighting in my lifetime," Cassius let out as he smiled wryly.


    "Yeah, but I¡¯m just curious. Is that possible?" Lucifer asked, frowning.


    "I don¡¯t think it¡¯s possible. At least I haven¡¯t seen or heard something like this. But the world is vast, so who knows," Cassius responded.


    " If you want to use the Formations, I can teach you though. But you¡¯ll have to learn to use the Sword too. That¡¯ll be more time-consuming than learning to drive," he continued.


    "Learn to use a sword? Maybe in the future," Lucifer muttered, looking in the distant horizon.


    "Someone¡¯s here," Cassius suddenly said as he noticed the door opening.


    "Here you are!" A voice came as the door opened.


    " Alicia?" Lucifer inquired as he turned back.


    "Of course it¡¯s me. I came here to call you. We¡¯re all ready. So what are you doing here? We got the information that the APF will soon be here. Get ready! You aren¡¯t allowed to screw this up for us!" Alicia firmly said.


    "Let alone me, no one in the world is allowed to screw this up for us," Lucifer agreed. Just that there was a different meaning hidden in his agreement.


    "Oh right, did you think of the task you want me to do in return for the lost bet?" Alicia inquired suddenly.


    "I certainly did," Lucifer replied as a smirk appeared on his face. "It¡¯s a simple task as well."


    ....


    It was a bright sunny day, with mild wind and the cheerful chirping of the cricket outside.


    Situated in the serene atmosphere was an abandoned town. It had been vacated for the uing war.


    The faint wind carried the dust from the ground, spiraling it through the streets before brustling the clothes of a group of people.


    The dustnded on their still figures, settling on them as those figures stood tall.


    The figure at the front dusted his cloth once, revealing his pristine appearance.


    It was thanks to the Cardigan Particles clothes he wore, which looked even more luxurious than ordinary clothes.


    Wearing a long coat and sporting white, spiky hair was the man that exuded a suffocating presence. Raia, the leader of Variant Uprising. He seemed to be waiting for someone.


    With a look, he nced around the group behind him, numbering around a thousand strong.


    Focusing on the hundreds of new recruits at the back, he shook his head while thinking, ¡¯They wouldn¡¯t be much useful in the war.¡¯


    Lucifer stood beside him, wondering what he was thinking about. Kellian and Yaliza also stood nearby, waiting for the right time toe.


    From what they had heard, not much time was left in the arrival of the APF squad in the city.

 Chapter 301 - 301: Launching The Offensive

    <h4>Chapter 301 - 301: Launching The Offensive </h4>


    Alicia was also present, but she was dressed in a beautiful ck dress. Looking at her, Lucifer couldn¡¯t help but wonder.


    How was this girl nning to fight in a dress like this? They weren¡¯t going to ballroom dancing. It was a war.


    "Is that what you¡¯re going to fight in?" Lucifer asked Alicia, amused.


    "Do you have a problem with what I wear?" Alicia asked in return, frowning.


    "No problem at all. Just curious. I thought you would wear something that¡¯s easy to move in," Lucifer answered casually. "Whatever suits you."


    The only person who wasn¡¯t present here was Cassius.


    Raia was calm, collected, his every movement oozing with power and authority. He soon gazed at the sky, noticing a bunch of ck dots appear on the horizon.


    Over time, the dots turned bigger, outlining their figures. They were helicopters, carrying their foes--the APF!


    The APF group was approaching from the East of the city as the intermittent sounds of the helicopter rotors soon filled the sky.


    Ten kilometers... eight kilometers... five kilometers... two kilometers... as Raia observed their approach, he muttered, transmitting his voice to everyone, "Target is approaching through the air. Sorcerers, take aim. The moment they are in range...."


    "Shoot them!" He finished his sentence.


    As per hismands, the Sorcerer ss Variants prepared their long-range attacks to take on the unaware APF squads, utilizing the advantage that they had at the moment.


    The group of Sorcerers scrambled as they took up positions while the warriors stood around them as a defensive maneuver.


    "Max, bring it out," Raia suddenly said as he raised his hand to his left.


    A member of his level five team stepped forward. It was a man who seemed to have dark green hair. His eyes, on the other hand, were pitch ck.


    Lucifer wondered what Raia wanted the man to bring out. He was really curious.


    Just as Lucifer wondered what was going to happen, the green-haired man made a circle with his fingers. As his circle was finished, something strange happened.


    It seemed as if a Spatial Portal had opened, which was as small in size as the portal which was created.


    The red-haired man inserted his hand inside the portal.


    Lucifer saw the man¡¯s hand enter the portal, but it didn¡¯te out from the other side, which was strange.


    Where did the hand go? It seemed like the portal was a gateway of some other space that he couldn¡¯t see.


    The man soon brought his hand out of the portal, but his hand wasn¡¯t empty now. He was holding what seemed like a sheath. There also happened to be a sword inside the sheath, which Lucifer couldn¡¯t see.


    All Lucifer saw was the sheath and the hilt of the sword.


    ¡¯Is this the sword that Raia uses? Why does he keep it in a different space? To protect it from being stolen or what? Something seems strange here,¡¯ he thought, frowning.


    Looking at the long yet slender hilt of the sword and the shape of the sheath, Lucifer felt like the sword inside was probably a katana too. But it was longer than the one carried by Tristan.


    The green haired man handed the sword over to Raia.


    "After so long, I guess it¡¯s finally the time for us to fight together," Raia said, smiling.


    He unsheathed his sword, holding it in his right as it began to hum due to the sheer strength he emanated.


    Then, followed by a mild grunt, he swung the sword by aiming its face in the direction of the swing, riling up intense winds that quickly spread throughout the town, kicking up dust.


    The ground also seemed to be destroyed, which created even more dust everywhere.


    The dust soon masked the ground going as high as the height of a single-story building. It hid all the people in the town within.


    Raia swung his sword a second time, causing the dust to begin circting through the town in an erratic motion, preventing his foes from being able to pinpoint the position of his group.


    Every movement of Raia stunned Lucifer. His control was so good that for a moment, he even wondered if Raia was actually using his sword or if he could literally control the winds like him.


    While Lucifer was getting surprised at the things he was discovering, Raia transmitted another message.


    "Warlocks! Hide within the buildings but stay right below the terrace. The moment the helicopters are attacked, pincer them from the opposite side," hemanded like a War General who had everything nned.


    Hismand was silently executed as the groups dismissed, spreading through the town as they took up hiding positions, joining with the ones that were already in positions.


    In the meantime, the sorcerers began to charge up their attacks, taking up positions as they braced themselves, intending to shoot as many attacks as possible at the first opportunity.


    Finally, the helicopters of APF began to fly over the town.


    The wind generated from their rotors further made the dust cloud chaotic. But because of something Raia had done while he shed, the dust cloud didn¡¯t vanish.


    Even though the group of helicopters arrived over the town, no attacks wereunched as the Variant Uprising members were lying in wait, intending to obtain a better target. Soon, most of the helicopters hade in range.


    The APF group was rmed at the scene of the town covered by dust, intending to scout the ce first before engaging in a war. Even Varant was frowning as he noticed the situation outside.


    "Why is there dust everywhere? What the heck is going on? We can¡¯t see anything on the ground!" Geni eximed as he noticed the strange phenomenon in the city.


    Unfortunately, before the helicopters could circte the town, numerous attacks flew out from the dust cloud, heading straight at the helicopters.


    "As you said, something is wrong. As for what that is, I think I have a general idea," Varant said, shaking his head. "We have fallen for a trap."


    The attacks consisted of projectiles of rock, fire balls, ice spikes, sand bullets, ss des, water hail, etc. They headed straight towards the helicopters as the APF group was rmed at the sudden attack.


    "Protect the helicopters!" Varantmanded firmly. Hismand was shared in all the helicopters.


    As permands, APF immediately retaliated with their own abilities. But, instead of using any projectiles, they unleashed area based abilities, intending to shield the helicopters.


    Those with any barrier or defensive abilities instantly cast them.


    Unfortunately, they couldn¡¯t tide through the attack. First of all, they were caught off guard, and they didn¡¯t seem to have much time.

 Chapter 302 - 302: This Guy Again

    <h4>Chapter 302 - 302: This Guy Again </h4>


    Secondly, even after unleashing their abilities to defend, the quantity of attacks dwarfed them, breaching their defenses before mming into the helicopters.


    Most of the attacks didn¡¯t pack much of a punch, but they were numerous, suppressing with their sheer quantity.


    After all, they didn¡¯t need much strength to destroy the helicopters. By increasing the number of attacks, the APF wasn¡¯t able to defend against them all.


    And, mixed among the cluster of weak attacks were two sword beams heading straight towards the leading helicopter.


    These two attacks were fired by none other than Tristan, intending to show off his abilities while breaking all the defense of his enemies.


    Seated in the leading helicopter, Varant had already ordered for defending the helicopters to those who could.


    But even before that, he had already ordered a couple of subordinates with investigative abilities to scout the area at the first sight of dust.


    Unfortunately, as if their opponent had noticed his intention to probe, theyunched an attack immediately.


    Numerous projectiles headed towards all the APF helicopters, his included.


    One of the Alpha Squad members erected a silver shield and easily defended against all the attacks, ensuring the leading helicopter remained safe inside which they and Varant were sitting.


    To conserve power for the battle and because of his limitations, he only erected a barrier necessary to stop the attacks.


    But what he hadn¡¯t expected was the two wind sword beams that had mixed in with the rest of the weaker attacks.


    These two attacks were from an S-Rank Warlock as well, especially the one who was known as the Crazy Swordsman of Variant Uprising.


    They were sneakilyunched forth by Tristan, targeting their helicopter. Not only that, he had used a lot of his strength in this attack, not keeping anything back.


    "Hehehe, enjoy the gift," Standing in the distance, Tristanughed as he noticed that his attack was about to hit the leading helicopter.


    He had no doubts in his abilities, and he was sure that the Silver Barrier wouldn¡¯t be able to stop the attack.


    He wasn¡¯t the only one who felt that way though.


    "Jump out! Now!" Knocked by a sense of foreboding, Varant immediately issued his orders, standing up at first sight of the attack.


    He could feel the strength of that attack, and he knew that sitting in the helicopter was useless. The barrier couldn¡¯t stop this attack.


    He had noticed two wind des rapidly erging in size.


    He and the other Alpha Squad members jumped down. Even the Warlock who had cast the barrier jumped out. His barrier still surrounded the helicopter.


    The two wind des cut through the barrier like a knife through butter, slicing the helicopter into three pieces.


    Fortunately, Varant and the others had jumped out in time, surviving. But some of the other helicopters weren¡¯t as lucky.


    Varant gazed behind him to see the rest of the helicopters too go up in mes. Some of them froze into chunks of ice or melted into liquid metal before falling on the ground.


    Most of his subordinates managed to barely defend themselves against the attacks and jumped from the helicopters before the helicopters blew up. But, even as they continued to fall, the attacks arrived nonstop.


    The Sorcerers moved and erected defenses around small groups that they could protect in the form of bubbles.


    Unfortunately, like a ball sent flying by a bat, their groups were sent flying in random directions by the attacks, causing them to crash into the houses in the city


    The moment they crashed into the houses, a lot of the Variants of APF jumped out to attack the Variant Uprising members, especially the Sorcerer ss Variants that were attacking in the long range.


    Unfortunately, they were intercepted by the other Variants from Variant Uprising, who seemed to be waiting there for them.


    Varant was still looking around, trying to understand what the heck was going on, when a Variant suddenly sprung into action,ing out of the dust like a ghost.


    He appeared before Varant, trying to punch the neck of Varant and break it with his strength.


    Varant made a cross with his arms as he shielded himself.


    The fistnded on his arms which safely managed to protect his neck, but as the attack was strong, it also sent Varant flying towards the edge of the town, causing him to crash into a house before stopping.


    He got up soon after, dusting his body, unaffected by the fall.


    "Not a bad surprise, I must say," Varant thought, shaking his hand.


    In the meanwhile, the Variant that had attacked him was assassinated by Gensi already.


    "Are you alright?" Gensi asked Varant as he appeared near him.


    Varant simply nodded. Still, at the moment he tried to make sense of the situation, all he could see was the dust cloud that was everywhere.


    This ce was like a warzone. There was chaos andmotion everywhere. Even the visibility wasn¡¯t good. Moreover, most of their team was already spread out because of the attacks that hade out of nowhere.


    "I am fine, but I don¡¯t think We are fine. We miscalcted. It seems like the Uprising isn¡¯t scheming anymore. They wanted an all out war, and they had been waiting for us instead of running away.


    "Yeah, it¡¯s pretty chaotic. But we should be able to handle it. Moreover, this is also a good opportunity to take them all out at once. We just need to recollect ourselves," Gensi said calmly.


    "Yeah. But there¡¯s not only Varant. Lucifer should be here too. Moreover, he should be grown up too. We already did one miscalction. We can¡¯t do another," Varantmented, frowning.


    "We need to take it seriously," he added as he brought his phone out.


    "Are you calling the Hunter Union?" Vega asked as if being able to guess the intentions of Varant.


    "Yeah. We should be able to hold the ground until they arrive. Then we can mount an assault," Varant responded.


    The number he had dialed was of Zeiss, who was the head of Hunter Union.


    "It¡¯s not connecting. I guess it can only mean one thing in his case. He¡¯s inside a dungeon. Tsk, he really had to disappear at a time like this," Varant let out, annoyed.


    "Try calling the Union Headquarters. Maybe they¡¯ll know where he is?" Gensi suggested.


    Varant tried calling another number.


    At the same time, two sword beams flew out from the dust and headed straight towards his head.


    "This guy again," Varant said in frustration as he saw another attack on him.

 Chapter 303 - 303: War (Part 1)

    <h4>Chapter 303 - 303: War (Part 1) </h4>


    Varant knew that it was the same attack that he had previously seen. The same attack which destroyed the barrier and his helicopter.


    He also had a general idea of who the person was that was attacking him.


    "Gensi..." Varant calmly said as he dodged the two sword beams.


    "I know. I¡¯ll take care of him," Gensi said as his figure disappeared like an assassin.


    As Varant had dodged the attack, sword beamsnded on the house behind, destroying it entirely.


    There were no attacks again, and Varant was sure that there weren¡¯t going to be these attacks anymore. Gensi was going to take care of that guy.


    Instead, he focused on the call. Varant called the number of the Hunter Union to ask them about the whereabouts of Zeiss.


    " Where is Zeiss?" He asked as soon as the call was picked up.


    "May I ask who is asking?" Came the reply from the other side.


    " Varant!"


    "Ah, Sir. Sorry, but he isn¡¯t here. He went to explore a dungeon."


    " Send your men to him! I want a message delivered to him urgently."


    "I¡¯m sorry sir, but he went into a high level dungeon. Only strong Hunters can be sent there. Unfortunately, he took most of them with him. The base is almost empty today."


    " When will he be back?" Varant asked, frustrated.


    " We don¡¯t have any timeline regarding that. May I ask what message you want to be delivered? Maybe I can find a Hunter to deliver a message to him if someone bes avable," the person on the other side replied.


    "Tell him to get his a*s out of that dungeon! And tell him to contact me as soon as hees out!" Varant firmly said before disconnecting the call.


    ...


    The entire city was covered in dust and even smoke that had started appearing out of nowhere. Not only the APF but even the Variant Uprising members had a limited view because of it.


    There were still a few top ranking Variants here that were given special equipment, which gave them a better view.


    One such piece of equipment was in the form of sses which was being worn by Tristan at the moment as he attacked Varant.


    He was hoping to get a clean hit, but it seemed like Varant knew that attack wasing towards him and dodged it on time.


    Frustrated, Tristan again decided to attack, only to stop in the middle as he felt a presence around him.


    He jumped to his left, dodging a knife that could be seen stabbed in the ground there a few secondster.


    "Ah, you¡¯re that assassin guy, aren¡¯t you? The one who is always brooding and looks like someone stole his wife? If I¡¯m not wrong, you and that pink-haired guy are friends," Tristan added as heughed.


    "Where is Riali?" Gensi¡¯s voice came as he appeared in front of Tristan.


    "You¡¯ll need to escape my attacks if you want to stay alive to know the answers," Tristan responded as he attacked again.


    Another arc of light left his sword at the speed of light, intending to cut Gensi in half.


    Gensi¡¯s figure flickered as he appeared in a different ce within the blink of an eye.


    "You¡¯ll need to work really hard if that¡¯s the best you can do," Gensi said in a sarcastic tone. "Answer me now. Where is Riali?"


    "Man, that pink-haired guy should already be in hell by now. But you can¡¯t me me for his death. I only cut him in half after he had used Overdrive. He was going to die anyway. I just helped him along the way," Tristan answered,ughing.


    At the same time, he attacked again, but this time he didn¡¯t attack one ce. He attacked all the ces around him in quick session so that even if Gensi moved, he wasn¡¯t going to have any escape.


    This time, however, Gensi didn¡¯t move. His fists were clenched as he shook his head in disappointment.


    "I¡¯ll send you there to keep himpany then. And don¡¯t worry, you will be allowed to me me for that," Gensi said in a deep voice.


    ...


    The number of Variants that were standing with Raia had dwindled as everyone went to fight and kill the enemies, leaving only Raia, Lucifer and Alicia behind.


    Lucifer was also given the ck pair of sses by Raia, which allowed him to have a better vision in this city.


    The sses seemed no less than the sunsses from outside, but they were also developed by theb of Variant Uprising.


    " Are you going to start facing Varant?" Lucifer asked Raia, wondering when this guy was going to start attacking. He could see Varant standing in the distance, talking to someone over the phone.


    "Just wait for a little. It¡¯s not the time," Raia replied calmly.


    ...


    While Raia seemed to be waiting for something, the battle raged on in the city as the strongest Variants of the country faced each other.


    "Aargh!"


    In one such part of the city, a Variant from APF screamed as he shielded his body while crashing into a house, breaking through the walls. But, the moment he appeared on the other side, numerous attacks were spammed on his position.


    Flustered, all he could do was unleash his ability without any thought, blowing up the entire house in a powerful wave.


    But unfortunately for him, he felt like his movement was restricted suddenly. It seemed as if someone had paralyzed him for a moment.


    The moment he was paralyzed, a rope of fire coiled around his neck and burned through it, killing him.


    "Heh, one more down." The Variant with the fire rope smirked with a smug look.


    He was feeling proud of their teamwork when he flinched all of a sudden, coiling the fire rope around his body to protect himself against something.


    But a couple of secondster, he screamed in pain, dropping the fire rope as he began to scratch his body in a frenzy. Blisters formed on it before his blood bloomed into flowers, burrowing their roots deep into his body.


    Within a couple of seconds, a field of flowers had formed on the debris of the blown-up house. It was the ability of a Warlock from APF Alpha Squad that hid herself the moment shended into the dust cloud with her teammates.


    Unfortunately for them, they lost a few within the first round of attacks. Short of manpower, they had to remain in hiding.


    As for the man that had been screaming in pain as flowers bloomed on his body, he had died long ago. And, his body had been used as a fuel to expand the flower domain.

 Chapter 304 - 304: War (Part 2)

    <h4>Chapter 304 - 304: War (Part 2) </h4>


    But, just when it had expanded to a radius of ten meters, the flowers began to wilt as their moisture was absorbed.


    The one who absorbed it was a Variant sorcerer, collecting all the moisture into a sphere that revolved around him.


    And at the same time, the warrior protecting him swung his hammer, smacking the ground, causing it to crack and form arge crater.


    The attack snapped thework created by the flowers as their moisture was absorbed, rendering them useless immediately.


    As soon as this happened, a Variant jumped from the second story of a nearby building, wielding his spear.


    He plunged it into the ground, eliciting a scream from it. The source of the scream was thedy controlling the flowers.


    The spear had pierced her stomach as she coughed out blood. But, the spear-wielding warrior didn¡¯t continue with his attack to im her life.


    Instead, he remained still, shocked, sporting an expression of fear as he looked at the blood of thedy that had spilled on his clothes.


    The blood wasn¡¯t just the result of his attack but was also something she had used as a chance to target him. He had been careless.


    As the thought hit him, two petals bloomed from his eyes as he dropped dead on the ground, immediately causing arge flower to bloom in the area.


    But, even though she had won the exchange, thedy wasn¡¯t well off either. She barely managed to turn her head and looked at the gaping wound in her stomach, able to see the other side.


    An entire part of her spinal cord had been eradicated, incapacitating her. No matter what she tried, her legs failed to move. All she could do was use her abilities to engage with her foes.


    The entire battlefield was bing chaotic as many S-ss abilities were being used in what seemed like a frightening war.


    Situated around the center of the town were the most congested buildings. And, the battle here was the most intense.


    It wasn¡¯t just due to the number of people fighting in the ce but was also due to the powerful attacks that had been exchanged.


    An APF group of five that was fullyposed of metal based ability users, sorcerers and warlocks included, went around, spamming a hail of attacks after their foes.


    It seemed like they had one Warlock that was able to boost everyone¡¯s strength for a short duration.


    So, with a boosted strength, they were able to attack with more strength. And among them, the strongest of the group unleashed what seemed to be metal des shaped like a double crescent.


    The two crescents remained close to one another but weren¡¯t actually touching. And this caused each double crescent to emit a whistling tune as it flew around.


    It was this whistling tune that caused the situation to be even more chaotic.


    It disturbed the focus of both allies and enemies alike, causing them to attack with less concentration than normal. Due to this, all sorts of attacks flew every which way.


    The whistling sounds continued as the APF member controlled all the double crescents he had unleashed, creating a storm as the buildings were shredded.


    The dust cloud further worsened the situation as no matter what they did; it failed to disappear.


    As the double crescents flew around, sparks shed across them from time to time, hurting the Variants that failed to dodge them.


    Among the APF team, there was a man who seemed on the older side. He had been unmoving from the start.


    He was simply hiding behind the double crescent wielder, observing the situation. He was only a warrior, a closebat unit that was at a slight disadvantage as his enemies were in hiding and only attacked from range.


    He seemed to be waiting for his opportunity to attack.


    The attack of the double crescent continued. The moment it exited the dust cloud, the double crescents split up into a crescent each and unnaturally flew into the dust cloud, forming even greater erratic paths.


    For the next couple of seconds, there was silence before numerous screams resounded.


    A dozen Variant Uprising members had either been wounded or killed.


    "Heh, I can always count on you to make a surprise attack." The Warrior said to the man who wielded the double crescents while smirking.


    He gazed at his teammate nearby. It was ady that had been umting power all along, making something seep into the ground nonstop. She had been at it for a minute now.


    And the moment she heard the screams from a dozen Variants, she activated her ability, instantly slumping to the ground weakly.


    But, she was content as her ability had taken effect.


    Instantly, numerous metal spikes shot out from the ground, impaling countless injured Variants.


    Her kill count was in the couple dozen due to the extravagant attack as an entire fifty meter surrounding of her had been filled by the metal spikes.


    "Now, this is what I call the perfect battlefield." The man wielding the double crescents smirked as he sent out around a hundred more of them flying.


    And this time, the double crescents hit the metal spikes along their way, further randomizing their movements as they traveled throughout the field of metal spikes which seemed like a maze.


    This made it all the more difficult to defend against them as the Variants had to shield them on all sides, preventing them fromunching an attack of their own. This ced them in a passive situation.


    The double crescents became the nightmare of the battlefield as they reaped lives one after another. The final member of their group was akin to a machine gun as he killed Variant Uprising members everywhere madly.


    He was also one of the strongest Variant in the APF after Riali and Gensi. He was one of the core members and a frightening Warlock.


    The APF teamwork was creating a miracle as many Variant Uprising members kept dying.


    Unfortunately, their victory didn¡¯t seem to be longsting as all the metal spikes began to soften, losing their structural integrity


    It felt as if their time was elerated as the wear and tear they would experience in a couple of centuries happened in a matter of seconds, causing them to crumble to the ground soon after.


    It was the ability of an Uprising Warlock who was a part of Raia¡¯s team.


    One of his abilities was simr to Lucifer¡¯s decay, but it only worked on metal, unlike Lucifer¡¯s ability which worked on everything.


    However, it also had an advantage as it was arge-scale ability, unlike Lucifer¡¯s limited ability.

 Chapter 305 - 305: War (Part 3)

    <h4>Chapter 305 - 305: War (Part 3) </h4>


    Unlike him, Lucifer still needed to touch the object directly to have his decay take effect, at least for now.


    While the APF Variants were flustered at the sudden destruction of their maze, something shed past them, akin to a human figure.


    But it was too fast. And when they tried to take up defensive positions, the APF group noticed that their hands had vanished at some point in time.


    They were incapacitated. And seeing their defenseless states, a passing Uprising Warlock tossed molten metal at them, melting their bodies.


    Another pair of APF¡¯s strongest Warlocks was killed right when it seemed like they could hold on while having an advantage.


    ...


    In a different part of the city, a gust of wind sent a house flying far away.


    The house crashed into another battlefield, causing the team of people from the opposing sides to dodge it in a hurry. Intense sounds rumbled from the crash as a couple more houses took off to the air.


    The dust cloud continued to circte through the town, turning denser and denser as time passed. It was unknown about the cause or reason.


    Raia had wanted it that way. But, there was one part of the town, around its edges, where the dust cloud was at its thickest.


    Sounds akin to the rumbling of thunder resounded nonstop from the ce as splinters of wood and granules flew out like bullets, a resultant of the shockwave from the fierce exchange.


    As for those that flew into the sky, they were fine. But for the ones that couldn¡¯t fly or jump high, they were being killed inrge numbers.


    Standing on one of the rooftops, Lucifer was watching everything.


    ¡¯So this is what a true battlefield of the strongest Warlocks looks like. Some really fascinating abilities are on disy. It¡¯s true that none of them should be underestimated,¡¯ he thought, frowning.


    He stood on the roof with Alicia. As for Raia, he had finally gone to sh with Varant. Lucifer and Alicia were told to stay behind for the moment and attack Varant at the right time.


    Lucifer shifted his gaze to a different ce where he could see the houses developing numerous tiny holes.


    Most of the holes were the size of pinholes, barely visible unless one observed them from closeup. But, it showed the sheer power behind the damage resulting from the exchange between Raia and Varant.


    In the town, there were discrete battlezones that were obviously ear-shattering. It was where the strongest of the two sides fought.


    The oue of their fight would dictate the course of the war. After all, everyone among them was able to tide through the war on their own.


    So, they were the real deal that signified which side won or lost.


    Suddenly, arge number of houses began to sink into the ground as the ce turned into a quicksand, sucking them all in.


    In another location, a volcano gushed out from the ground, getting frozen up instantly as a hill formed in the ce.


    Simrly, in one part of the town, some of the houses werepressed into small chunks of their material makeup before being hurled across the entire ce.


    Every attack turned more explosive than the previous before the entire terrain changed.


    Once a town full of houses was now a battlefield void of civilization. The almost t in terrain had wholly changed into the most harmful piece ofnd.


    There seemed to be volcanic eruptions, poison swamps, rumbling des of metal, depthless gorges, sunken holes of sand, sparks of explosions, discharges of lightning.


    Moreover, the rampant rumbling of thunder could be heard at ces, and finally, the most prevalent of them all, an effect that sought to destroy the structural integrity of everything, damaging the very piece ofnd itself.


    The roof on which Lucifer was standing had also suffered an attack that had destroyed it entirely.


    As there was no good ce to stand, Lucifer was instead standing in the air, twenty meters above the ground. Alicia also stood beside him.


    "Uhmm, Alicia?" Lucifer suddenly asked.


    "What?" Alicia responded in a snap.


    " You remember that bet I won and that you owe me a favor? I want you to do it now," Lucifer said calmly.


    "What do you want me to do? And didn¡¯t you get any better time? Come on! We are told to keep an eye on the battle and help in killing Varant. Can¡¯t it wait?" Alicia inquired.


    "Don¡¯t worry; it won¡¯t take long. Moreover, the battle of Raia and Varant has just begun. It¡¯ll take a long time before we are needed. So you can certainly do it. In fact, it¡¯ll take less than a minute," Lucifer said innocently.


    "Fine! Tell me what I have to do?" Alicia inquired.


    "I want you to hug me," Lucifer said with a straight face.


    "What the heck? What is with that request?" Alicia asked, stunned. She didn¡¯t understand what it implied.


    "Just a hug. It¡¯ll take less than a minute. It¡¯s not like I¡¯m asking for a kiss or something," Lucifer replied. "There¡¯s a reason behind it."


    "What reason?" Alicia asked, staring at him like she was going to kill him.


    "My mother... Whenever I was sad, she used to give me a hug. I don¡¯t know why but I¡¯m feeling really depressed and missing her. I¡¯m also missing her hug that always lightened my mood. Can you hug me in her stead?" Lucifer exined.


    There was some truth in his statement, which was mixed with some lies too.


    Seeing the sadness on Lucifer¡¯s face and understanding his genuine sounding reason, Alicia nodded. "Fine."


    She stepped closer to Lucifer while spreading her arms.


    Lucifer also spread his arms as he hugged her.


    The figure of the two of them stuck closer as they hugged.


    "Don¡¯t be depressed. We¡¯re going to win today, and then we¡¯re going to see a new world," Alicia said to Lucifer while hugging her.


    "That¡¯s right. We¡¯ll win today, and then everyone will see a new world," Lucifer said as he slowly raised his right hand and brought it closer to Alicia¡¯s ears.


    "My new world," he whispered before a faint snapping sound was heard.


    Alicia¡¯s eyes opened wide before they closed slowly.


    Her limp body lost all its strength as she lost her consciousness because of Lucifer¡¯s trick.


    With Alicia in his arms, Lucifer flew into the distance.


    He went into the bunker, away from the battlefield where Ayn and Veracity were staying.


    "Keep an eye on her. She wouldn¡¯t wake up for a few hours, and I should be back by then," Lucifer told Veracity before he left the ce just as fast as he hade.

 Chapter 306 - 306: Deadly Battle

    <h4>Chapter 306 - 306: Deadly Battle </h4>


    The battle between Gensi and Tristan was still raging on, only getting fiercer with each passing second.


    Gensi appeared behind Tristan, holding an illusory knife in his hand as he shed forth in a flurry, causing numerous cuts on Tristan¡¯s back.


    Tristan grunted, using his left thumb to flick up to his katana, causing it to unsheathe by an inch before he used his right hand to sheathe it back.


    But immediately, intense gales whipped up in the area as a tornado formed around him, filled to the brim by sword lights.


    The tornado crashed into Gensi, sending him flying back. But, Gensi was unharmed as something formless had appeared before him, resembling des revolving around him as they defended against the attacks.


    Gensi crashed into the ground and was dragged a certain distance before he plunged his dagger into the ground and arrived at the stop.


    He craned his head and looked behind him, noticing that he was only a couple of inches from the poison bog.


    ¡¯That was dangerous.¡¯ He frowned, then looked in the direction of Tristan as he noticed an intense tornado had been stirred up.


    Hidden within the tornado of wind was the figure of Tristan, moving like a madman as he sheathed and unsheathed his katana a little numerous times, reinforcing the tornado around him.


    Slowly, the tornado began to climb up in strength and power, beginning to suck in all the surrounding dust as sparks of lightning shed amidst it.


    Tristan then trailed after the figure of Gensi, shouting as he yelled, "Gensi!"


    He stomped on the ground hard and shed forward, pulling the tornado with him.


    His raging momentum surprised Gensi.


    Gensi¡¯s figure shed past, disappearing from the ce. Unfortunately, everywhere he appeared, Tristan followed him like a raging bull.


    The ground was ravaged as all the bizarrendscapes created as a result of various terrain changing rank S abilities were pulled into his tornado, causing it to be something even he himself felt difficulty in controlling.


    But no matter what, Tristan refused to relent his attacks as he chased after Gensi. And from time to time, he unleashed sword beams straight at Gensi, preventing him from escaping and trying to force him into the tornado, intending to shred him into pieces this way.


    Whenever an attack came that he was unable to defend against, Gensi used his invisible des to defend against them. And, it seemed Tristan¡¯s attacks were unable to breach his revolving invisible de defense.


    But, it didn¡¯t seem like something he could rely on forever, judging by the way he tried to dodge most of the attacks. After all, the number of invisible des he had was limited.


    And every time he defended against Tristan¡¯s attacks, they suffered damage. And after defending against a couple of attacks, one of the invisible des shattered.


    And every time this happened, Gensi scowled, flickering faster as he surrounded the tornado with his after images. He observed the tornado, looking at the numerous abilities it had sucked out from the changed terrain.


    And as his figure shed past, he noticed how the various abilities affected the sword beams, the empirical driving force of the tornado.


    He also noticed that almost all the abilities were slowly destroying the sword beams.


    Even if it seemed like the tornado had be deadlier, it was just like the final throes of a wounded beast. The tornado was bound to copse sooner thanter. And in the meantime, he instigated Tristan into attacking him further and further.


    Every time Tristan unleashed a sword beam through the tornado, it turned more and more unstable.


    Finally, once he unleashed a rtively stronger attack in anger, the strongest he had released until now, Gensi¡¯s figure vanished from the scene, appearing on the opposite side of the tornado.


    He noticed how Tristan¡¯s attack had caused a weak spot to appear in the tornado. Taking in a deep breath, Gensi¡¯s figure shed right through the weak spot as he relied on his invisible des to shield himself.


    The tornado had be incredibly thick, even though it was on the verge of copse. And given its momentum and the innumerous items rotating in it, the moment Gensi¡¯s figure moved through it, he grunted in strain as all the nerves on his body popped.


    His invisible des were on a strain as numerous abilities attacked it, intending to break his defenses and render him dead.


    However, fortunately for him, he was fast, super fast. So, even if it seemed like he had spent a lifetime enduring the attacks in the tornado, everything happened in the blink of an eye.


    In the eye of the tornado, apanied by fluttering clothes, was Tristan, panting a little as he seemed a bit exhausted. Suddenly, he flinched and shifted his body, noticing a knife impale his stomach.


    If he hadn¡¯t moved his body, his heart would have been impaled. Just when Tristan nned to use his left hand, the one holding the sheathe, to smack Gensi, something shed as his eyes widened in shock, enveloped by fury.


    His vision turned monochromatic as all he noticed was his left arm that had been severed. It slowly detached itself from his body and flew, rotating once as it seemed to move up due to the updraft.


    The blood leaked out from it sshed on his face, dyeing his eyes red as Tristan closed his eyes in reflex, seething in fury as he could mentally imagine the derisive tone of Gensi.


    Until now, he had been unable tond even a single blow on Gensi, the cause of his anger. But if he said it was Gensi alone that made him feel this way, then he would be lying.


    He was a prideful warlock, someone that was absurdly confident in his abilities, aware that there weren¡¯t many who were capable of facing him alone.


    But when he faced Cassius, he was frustrated when his attacks failed to do anything.


    Even though it was just a friendly spar, when he failed to even make his opponent serious, Tristan was frustrated. This was the first time he felt like that after bing one of the strongest.


    And now, Gensi had been getting into his head as well, infuriating him further. Finally, when his left arm was severed, he snapped. "I never wanted to use it here. But today, you¡¯ll realize how scary this Tristan is. Be d you forced me to do this."


    As his severed left hand¡ªthat was still holding his sheathe¡ªwas about to fly further up, his right hand moved at breakneck speeds and grabbed the hilt of his katana. And, followed by a grunt, he unsheathed itpletely, "Say your farewell, Gensi."


    Gensi had just severed Tristan¡¯s left arm and had just aimed at his neck when his eyes widened in absolute shock.


    When his illusory knife was about to sever Tristan¡¯s neck, it stopped just a millimeter from his skin.


    There seemed to be intense wind concentrated above Tristan¡¯s skin, forming ayer of defense that Gensi was unable to prate.


    But, this wasn¡¯t all. The moment Tristan fully pulled out his katana, Gensi noticed that the katana directly vaporized.


    And, theyer of wind on Tristan¡¯s skin pulsed once and vanished. Gensi stood rooted to the spot in shock before he realized that he was no longer able to move.


    As he thought of it, the faint wind in the eye of the tornado blew past his body, causing him to dissolve like dust and be carried by the wind.


    And just like that, Gensi died. But, Tristan showed no expression of delight upon the victory, disying a pained expression as he clutched his severed left arm, plopping to the ground in agony, "That bastard really took my left arm! Arghh!"


    Veins popped all over his body as Tristan groaned in pain because of his arm being shed. And to add to it, the tornado finally lost all stability.


    Tristan¡¯s final attackpletely destroyed it as air, liquid, and solid of all sorts of harmful substances hovered in the air and began to drop towards the ground one after another. And at the center of it all was Tristan, unable even to blink.


    Despite being in so much pain, he still managed to hold onto his sword as he waved it again, forming a barrier around him to protect his body from the disaster he had caused. At least as much as he could at the moment.


    Fortunately, he had managed to survive. There were wounds all around his body. He was bleeding all over, but he still managed to survive. He had won, actually.


    He looked at his severed arm weakly as he sighed. He couldn¡¯t help but wonder if he could do it better.


    Gensi had really pushed him to the limits, but he also knew that he could have handled it better if he was more careful.


    "Are you alright?" Kellian appeared near Tristan, just killing his opponent, surprised to see Tristan¡¯s severed arm.


    "Do I look alright?" Tristan asked, rolling his eyes.


    ....


    [ Author Note:


    Important:


    1) For mass release of next month, we¡¯ll move to a new system for mass release.


    Every 100 Golden Tickets= 1 Bonus Chapter.


    2) The highest Golden Ticket giver of the next month will be given an important character in the novel, including name and physique of their own choice, if they wish. They can also suggest a power for the character.


    3) If we¡¯re top 4 in Golden Ticket ranking of next month, there will be a Webtoon chapter of this novel for you all, including future scenes. ]

 Chapter 307 - 307: Exposed

    <h4>Chapter 307 - 307: Exposed </h4>


    Remnants of Battle could be seen everywhere as craters were all around the field where Raia and Varant were fighting.


    The battle seemed to be getting only intense as the fight progressed. No other Warlock even dared to get closer to the area where Varant and Raia fought.


    During the fight, Raia tried to maintain the distance between him and Varant. He didn¡¯t let Varant touch him at all while bombarding him with attacks.


    As for Varant, even though he would have preferred to grab Raia by the neck, he had other skills as well. He was still able to maintain his stand despite being attacked from everywhere.


    Raia¡¯s sword created the most trouble for him, but at the same time, the tree branches that kepting out of the ground also created problems for him.


    Raia wasn¡¯t in a better position either, as Varant¡¯s strength wasn¡¯t to be underestimated.


    One such power of Varant was the S-ss Ability Augmentation which helped him not only boost his abilities but also allowed him to use the abilities of his allies temporarily.


    He could only use one ability at a time when using Ability Augmentation, but he could switch that one power with another any time he wanted.


    It only worked with his allies, though. He couldn¡¯t use the powers of the people who didn¡¯t allow him to use them.


    Even though the power had this limitation, Varant didn¡¯t seem to be upset. He was clear already. And he had the understanding of the powers of his allies, making him a formidable opponent.


    There was one more limitation to it though. Even though he could temporarily use other people¡¯s power, he couldn¡¯t use them to the same capacity that others could. He could only draw out what seemed like eighty percent of the strength of such skills.


    At the moment, tens of tree branches wereing towards him. Varant casually snapped his fingers, making all the tree branches shred into pieces. He was now using the ability of Assassination Emperor Gensi.


    His figure soon disappeared as he appeared behind Raia. He changed his powers again to another member of his team as he brought the frightening crescents out.


    With a whistling sound, the Crescents flew towards Raia.


    As if aware of the attack, Raia turned back.


    nk!


    With a metallic sound, the crescents were split in half as Raia¡¯s sword sliced through them like butter.


    "I see that you¡¯re still using that cursed sword, aren¡¯t you?" Varant asked as he continued attacking.


    "And I see that you¡¯re still fighting with the abilities of others. You¡¯ll always be a Parasite! What can you even do on your own?" Raia sharply responded.


    He continued, "Temporarily erase people¡¯s powers and use the strength of your allies? You have nothing of your own! You don¡¯t deserve to be here!"


    "Not at all. It¡¯s you who don¡¯t deserve to be here. How can you be so shameless? Using Lucifer after what we all did to his parents? Moreover, despite knowing about his eyes? You have really gone crazy for power! I don¡¯t care how I do it, but you need to be taken out!" Varant snapped, intensifying his attacks.


    "It doesn¡¯t matter. I¡¯ll take care of everything after I get the control! Just watch! That kid will be my key to that..." Raia said as he jumped back, dodging the metal spike that hade out of the ground suddenly.


    Varant kept switching from ability to ability and using thebination to take our Raia.


    "You seem to be too hopeful about the boy! I wonder how it¡¯ll go if I tell him the truth. About what you did? Will he still help you?" Varant asked,ughing.


    "Hah, go ahead. As if someone will trust you! Let alone him; even the general public won¡¯t believe that three Warlock Kings and the government came together to do that!" Raia chuckled.


    He was only speaking all that after making sure that Lucifer wasn¡¯t in his surroundings.


    "Oh? Doesn¡¯t he have Veracity with him? She¡¯ll tell him that it¡¯s the truth. She can instantly know who¡¯s lying," Varant said as he again disappeared. Tens of des came from behind Raia, intending to impale his body.


    "He has Veracity with him?" Raia asked as he dodged the des. "I thought he only had Ayn, who he killed already?"


    "He killed Ayn?" Just after he gave a shock to Raia, Varant also received a shock of his own. He was hoping that Ayn would still be alive.


    " Don¡¯t change the topic! He had Veracity? Tell me the truth!" Raia said as he thought of something.


    "That¡¯s right. Didn¡¯t you know already? Veracity went missing from her home after his appearance," Varant replied. "So Lucifer should have her."


    "I thought he left Veracity behind since I didn¡¯t see her in the Pce and..."


    Confused, Raia felt like he was already close to getting an answer. He thought back to the moment he actually met Lucifer.


    Lucifer was asking many strange questions about his father¡¯s death. He also remembered the red-haired woman who was sitting behind them.


    Just as Raia wanted to get everyone out, including that woman, Lucifer stopped him.


    Raia hadn¡¯t thought of this before, but now all the pieces were clear! He understood everything!


    "That boy knows everything! That¡¯s why he wanted the war to be here!" He suddenly eximed as he dodged another attack.


    "What do you mean?" Varant asked as he finally stopped the attack. Even Raia had stopped the attacks.


    "That boy! He tricked me! He asked me many questions about his father¡¯s death when we were in a public ce! I think he had Ayn there as well!"


    " That¡¯s why he lied to me about living alone in the mansion! This freaking bastard! He wanted to make the two of us kill each other!" Raia yelled in frustration.


    "Alicia!" He suddenly eximed as he remembered that he had left Alicia behind with Lucifer.


    He looked in the direction only to realize that Alicia wasn¡¯t there. Moreover, Lucifer wasn¡¯t there either!


    "You¡¯re right! We need to kill that boy first! He certainly knows everything! He¡¯s too dangerous!" Raia eximed.


    "That¡¯s what I was telling you. Finally, you understand. We can always kill each other, but he needs to be taken out of the picture! So tell me where he is! I¡¯m sure he¡¯s not here; otherwise, you wouldn¡¯t have epted all that out loud," Varant let out, frowning.


    "Even I don¡¯t know where he is now. I can¡¯t find him anywhere," Raia responded, frowning. He also had no idea about the whereabouts of Lucifer.


    Far away from them, a young boy was standing looking at both of them.


    "How unfortunate," the Silver Hair boy muttered, frowning.

 Chapter 308 - 308: Wrath Of Heaven

    <h4>Chapter 308 - 308: Wrath Of Heaven </h4>


    "I was hoping they would at least kill each other in this. They didn¡¯t even injure each other seriously. It looks like I¡¯ll have to interfere in it myself. It¡¯s not the time yet, but there¡¯s no other option."


    Standing in the distance, Lucifer seemed disappointed as he looked at Raia and Varant.


    "Cassius, you were right. They didn¡¯t kill each other. I¡¯ll try one more time. If I fail, just now that it¡¯s time for n B. Get ready," he said in the earpiece.


    "At least it did damage their forces. They can¡¯t collect themselves anymore. The battlefield is chaotic enough," he further said as he looked around.


    Hundreds of Variants had been killed already, from each side. And more of them kept dying as time passes.


    He took a deep breath as he spread out his arms.


    The violet in his eyes became even more dominant at the moment. At the same time, the strange pattern which was on his back started shining brightly. The shine could also be seen through his shirt.


    The entire city was still covered in dust and smoke, but the sky above had beenpletely clear. There wasn¡¯t even a single cloud in the sky, but that changed suddenly as clouds started appearing in the sky.


    The clouds were pitch ck. The dark clouds soon covered the entire sky, stopping the light from falling over the city. The city turned even darker.


    "This is going to eat up a lot of my energy, but I hope it¡¯ll be worth it. Fortunately, the dust in the city will stop everyone from seeing the thunder. But the sound would still be a problem. First time trying limited attacks. Hopefully, it¡¯ll be worth it."


    Lucifer was already determined to attack, but he was also slightly concerned since he hadn¡¯t used it before.


    Every time he tried the Wrath of Heaven, he always used it in arge-scale area by making lots of lightning bolts fall.


    But it was only now that he wanted to attack with only a few bolts, making sure to save his strength so he could attack more.


    "We need to find that kid!" Raia told Varant as he started searching for Lucifer.


    "You should¡¯ve helped me kill him before instead of trying to use him. You¡¯re responsible for it!" Varantined. "Let me try to find him."


    Roar!


    The two of them were just about to start searching when they stopped as they heard what seemed like the roar of clouds and the crackling of thunder.


    "You know what it is, don¡¯t you?" Raia asked, frowning.


    "The thunder from the sky... Son of Zale... It¡¯s the Wrath of Heaven, isn¡¯t it?" Varant asked. He looked up at the same time as Raia.


    One powerful lightning bolt fell from the sky abruptly, falling where Lucifer wanted it to fall. It was falling straight towards the head of Varant.


    "Good try," Varant scoffed as his figure flickered. He switched positions within the blink of an eye, dodging the attack.


    One after another, bolts kept falling from the sky, targeting Varant. This confused Raia even more. Not a single bolt was targeting him.


    This forced him to think if he had been wrong? Did he really overthink everything? Maybe Lucifer actually didn¡¯t want the two of them dead?


    He was now having second thoughts.


    ¡¯ Maybe I was wrong. He didn¡¯t tell me about Veracity because he actually didn¡¯t have her in the city? It¡¯s also possible that she refused to help him, and he killed her back in her home just like he had killed Ayn? That could be why they didn¡¯t find Veracity there?¡¯


    He was starting to make up reasons in his mind to reach a specific conclusion to justify that he was wrong.


    ¡¯APF thought that he took Veracity, but he probably didn¡¯t. As for those strange questions, maybe he was genuinely asking me. That should be it! If he actually knew that I helped in his father¡¯s death, he wouldn¡¯t have left me.¡¯


    ¡¯ He would¡¯ve gone crazy right there and tried to kill me. He didn¡¯t. I was wrong! He is on my side! I can still use him! I doubted him for no reason!¡¯ he thought, frowning.


    He was a little embarrassed for being so wrong about something, but it also worked in his favor, he thought.


    He believed his performance was so realistic since he was actually fooled that he certainly convinced Varant that he was with him.


    As Varant appeared near Raia, dodging the thunder, Raia finally moved as he thrust his Sword towards the chest of Varant.


    Varant was already busy, barely dodging the thunder that was falling from the sky when he had to face the sudden attack of Raia.


    It was only now that he realized that Raia had fooled him.


    He hastily dodged the attack of Raia, only to be struck by one of the three lightning bolts that had fallen from the sky.


    "He did help. It looks like it worked," Lucifer muttered, smiling.


    Raia didn¡¯t know, but there was a little bug nted on his clothes previously that was transmitting everything he said into the earpiece of Lucifer.


    Lucifer was able to hear what Raia had said. He understood why Raia had stopped, and that gave him an idea. If even after all that he supported Raia, then Raia was surely going to feel that he was wrong. That¡¯s precisely what happened.


    At thest moment, Raia betrayed Varant. Three lightning bolts fell from the sky, targeting Varant, who couldn¡¯t dodge entirely. The shoulder of Varant was hit by the bolt, which left a big hole in his chest.


    Varant¡¯s face became pale as he felt the extreme pain of being hit by the lightning bolt. He felt as if his whole body was paralyzed as he dropped to the ground.


    Lucifer stopped using the bolts as hended on the ground near Raia.


    "Are you alright?" He asked Raia.


    "Y-yeah. Where is Alicia?" Raia asked in return.


    "I sent her to help the others since I was enough to give you support. Anyway, it looks like we really did it, didn¡¯t we? The strongest warlock of APF is down. The war will soon be over," Lucifer told Raia as he continued walking towards Varant.


    "That doesn¡¯t matter to me though. I got what I wanted. The opportunity to kill the murderer of my parents," he added as he stopped just a few inches away from Varant, who couldn¡¯t even move.


    "How does it feel? To be in the feet of someone you easily crushedst time?" Lucifer asked Varant as he looked down.


    He made sure to stay out of reach of Varant as he didn¡¯t want to be grabbed suddenly. But that didn¡¯t stop him from waving his hand.


    ....


    [Author Note:


    Important:


    1) For mass release of next month, we¡¯ll move to a new system for mass release.


    Every 100 Golden Tickets= 1 Bonus Chapter.


    2) The highest Golden Ticket giver of the next month will be given an important character in the novel, including name and physique of their own choice, if they wish. They can also suggest a power for the character.


    3) If we¡¯re top 4 in Golden Ticket ranking of next month, there will be a Webtoon chapter of this novel for you all, including future scenes.]

 Chapter 309 - [Bonus ] 309: I Only Need One

    <h4>Chapter 309 - [Bonus ] 309: I Only Need One </h4>


    Two wind des appeared suddenly. The legs of Varant were sliced, making sure that he couldn¡¯t move even if he regained control of his body.


    "Arghhh!" As soon as Varant¡¯s legs were cut, a scream escaped his lips.


    He was already in pain, but this was too much. Unlike Lucifer, he didn¡¯t have the healing. His face turned pale as he tried to control his scream.


    He knew that if he didn¡¯t get help soon, he was going to die.


    Immediately after that, Lucifer used two more wind des to take away the hands of Varant as well. Another loud scream filled the atmosphere.


    "That looks better," Lucifer said, smiling. He found himself pleased as he looked at the helpless Varant.


    Since Varant didn¡¯t have his hands, Lucifer didn¡¯t have to worry about Varant¡¯s powers. He sat down, smiling.


    "Tell me. Were my parents as helpless as you when you killed them?" Lucifer asked as he slowly reached out his hand towards Varant. He had also taken off his gloves.


    "I didn¡¯t kill your father! It was Raia! I promise you! He¡¯s your enemy, not me!" Varant roared in rage.


    Standing in the back, Raia was frowning as Varant confessed the truth. He clenched his sword firmly as he prepared to attack at the slightest hesitation of Lucifer.


    "You think I¡¯ll believe you? You¡¯ll say anything to save your skin!" Lucifer let out, scoffing.


    Raia finally breathed a sigh of relief. It looked like he was safe.


    "Hahaha, it¡¯s funny that you trust lies instead of truth! Bring out Veracity! She can see if I¡¯m lying or not!" Varant said, seemingly going crazy in anger.


    "She is already dead. Not that it would matter. I can already see what¡¯s the truth and what¡¯s a lie," Lucifer said as he reached out his hand towards Varant¡¯s face, looking to use his decay.


    "You¡¯ll regret it," Varant said as he closed his eyes.


    "I won¡¯t regret a single thing," Lucifer fired back.


    Raia lowered his defenses as he smirked at the sight of what was happening before him.


    ¡¯Goodbye, my friend,¡¯ he thought in his mind.


    Unfortunately, his smirk didn¡¯tst for long. Just when Lucifer¡¯s hands were about to touch Varant¡¯s face, fast winds started flowing.


    Raia felt something. Pain... Extreme pain... He was in so much pain that he couldn¡¯t stop his scream.


    p!


    His body dropped to the ground, unable to keep standing as his arms and his legs were cut by the wind des. His sword also fell on the ground.


    Varant opened his eyes as he heard the yell of Raia.


    He could see Lucifer walking away from him and in the direction of Raia, who was in the same condition as him. He didn¡¯t know why, but to see Raia suffering like him, there was great satisfaction inside his heart.


    "What did you do?! You crazy bastard!" Raia yelled as his eyes turned blood red in pain.


    "I just did whatever it took to end the fight," Lucifer said, smiling. "Anyway, I don¡¯t need the two of you either. For my questions, I need only one of you to be alive. As for who that¡¯s going to be, I think I have an idea."


    "N-no! Stop!" Raia yelled as he understood the meaning of Lucifer. Lucifer was going to kill him, it seemed.


    "My first assumption was right! You have Veracity! You knew I lied!" Raia yelled like crazy.


    As the battlefield was so chaotic, no one could hear his scream. Moreover, not a single Variant was fighting in this area, so no one could see what was happening here.


    "Of Course I have her. Why would I kill the most important key that can get me to the truth?" Lucifer answered.


    "Anyway, I should really thank you for helping me with my n. But then again, you did have a hand in my parents¡¯ death, so you still need to die. Don¡¯t forget to apologize to my parents in the afterlife, alright?" he asked in the end as he grabbed the neck of Raia with his bare hands.


    Next, Varant saw something which slightly scared him. The pained screams of Raia were clearly evident of how painful decay was.


    Varant could see Raia¡¯s body decaying. The strongest Warlock of Variant Uprising was suddenly at the mercy of Lucifer, but he wasn¡¯t giving any mercy.


    Soon, the eternal screams of Raia stopped. He dropped to the ground in the form of ashes. Even in thest moment of his life, he only had regret in his eyes.


    Regret for not killing Lucifer when he had the chance. Regret of trusting Lucifer. Regret of believing that he could use Lucifer to his advantage.


    Andstly, the regret of being fooled by him even after guessing the truth previously.


    Lucifer looked at the remains of Raia on the ground. He destroyed them as well, without any emotions. He seemed neither sad nor happy at killing one of the culprits.


    He wanted to torture Raia more, but that would have spoiled the n. At the moment, it was important to finish him fast for his n.


    After killing Raia and destroying his hands and legs, Lucifer walked back to Varant.


    " That was fun, wasn¡¯t it? That would be you if you don¡¯t answer my questions honestly," Lucifer warned Varant as he picked him up.


    Carrying Varant in his arms, he went back to the bunker where he had kept Ayn and Alicia.


    As Lucifer reached the bunker, hended in front of Veracity and Ayn.


    Ayn was still sitting in the back like a hostage, wondering what was happening outside. She could hear the sound of explosions. If what she heard was right, her side and Variant Uprising were fighting right about now.


    She was still hoping that her side would win, but all her hopes came crashing down as he saw Varant being brought here in his current condition. If even Varant was like this, then it was clear that the war was lost.


    "You actually did it?" Veracity asked, surprised. She hadn¡¯t thought that Lucifer could actually do it. He actually defeated Varant.


    "Yeah. For now, stop his bleeding and keep him alive. I don¡¯t want him to die before the interrogation. Today we¡¯ll get answers as to why they killed my parents," he told Veracity as he ced Varant on a table.


    "I¡¯m taking her outside. Time to finish things up," he further said as he picked up Alicia, who was still unconscious. He hade carrying Varant, and he left carrying Alicia.


    Lucifer left the bunker and went back to the battlefield.

 Chapter 310 - 310: Taking Over

    <h4>Chapter 310 - 310: Taking Over </h4>


    Lucifer found an empty ce and ced Alicia on the ground.


    "Time to end it all." He muttered as his body started rising in the air.


    He flew fifty meters above the ground. The thunder was still crackling in the sky as the clouds roared.


    Lucifer looked all around the city as if trying to memorize where everyone was.


    It seemed like most of the Variants were dead. The number of the ones that remained alive so far were only in the tens. Not even a hundred Variants from each side were alive for now.


    Lucifer could also see that Tristan had already killed Gensi. Yaliza and Kellian were also at an advantage for now against enemies.


    From such height, Lucifer could see the entire field.


    "It¡¯s time to deal the finishing blow. Hopefully, I¡¯ll manage to take them all out at once," he softly said. "This would take a heavy toll on me. I¡¯ll have to bear with it."


    He was once again going to use the Wrath of Heaven but this time on arge scale.


    As Lucifer prepared to use the Wrath on such arge scale, the clouds also returned the favor in the form of rain.


    An intense rainstorm had begun, which was making the dust settle down, bringing back the visibility to the remains of this town.


    The battle of both sides continued even in such rain.


    The crackling of thunder intensified as Lucifer prepared to pour all his energy into this attack. Fortunately, he had just used the decay on Raia, which had made him energized again.


    Boom!


    Tens of lightning bolts abruptly fell from the sky, falling over the Variants of APF. In the crossfire and because of close range, even some of the Variant Uprising members were killed, but it didn¡¯t matter in the bigger scheme of things.


    What mattered was that all the APF Variants were dead, struck by lightning.


    The chaotic field suddenly turned calm as all the attacks stopped. The enemies were already dead, after all. The only ones who remained were the strongest of the strong in Variant Uprising.


    They all knew who this attack belonged to. They couldn¡¯t help but look towards the sky to see a figure flying above them.


    The figure of the silver-haired boy even seemed divine to some, giving them chills. A single person had killed all the strongest Variants of APF.


    "Variant Uprising members! Listen to me!" Lucifer roared loudly, making sure his voice reached everyone.


    As for the roaring clouds, they were suddenly silent as if supporting Lucifer by giving him silence.


    His voice seemed to be reaching everyone¡¯s ears despite the rain. They all looked at him, wondering what he was going to say.


    Even Kellian and Yaliza looked up.


    "Raia has been killed by Varant! He is dead! But Varant has also been killed by me, along with the remnants of APF! The War is over! But that¡¯s only for now! We still have some people who will be a thorn in our path, like the Hunter Union! We can¡¯t rest assured! We still need to give our best!"


    "And you also need a leader to continue the Uprising now that Raia is gone! That¡¯s why I¡¯m taking over the Variant Uprising as your new leader! If anyone doesn¡¯t ept it and think they are more worthy to lead, you cane and challenge me!"


    "But just know, I¡¯m undying. So onlye forward if you¡¯re really determined! If no onees forward, it means you all ept me as your leader!"


    Lucifer¡¯s voice reached far and wide, falling in everyone¡¯s ears. There were some who didn¡¯t like that a youngster was going to lead them, but it also seemed like he was really capable. He had killed Varant!


    Moreover, it wasn¡¯t like they could kill Lucifer as he was undying, which was the biggest problem. In any case, no one was interested in leadership. Most of them looked at Kellian, wondering what he was going to do.


    If anyone was in the lead to be the leader after Raia, it was him. Everyone wondered if Kellian was going to challenge Lucifer or not.


    "I¡¯m amazed that the kid actually wants to take over, but I¡¯m also impressed because of that. Anyway, do you want to give it a try?" Tristan asked Kellian.


    His body was still in pain because of his left arm being severed, but the bleeding had stopped with the help of Kellian.


    Moreover, there was also a possibility of his hand being healed and for it to be reattached. So he was still carrying his detached arm.


    Kellian looked up at Lucifer. The raindrops kept falling on his face but he didn¡¯t mind them. Instead, he observed Lucifer standing in the air.


    "I won¡¯t challenge him. If there¡¯s someone who is worthy of this position, it¡¯s a Warlock King and even Raia believed that Lucifer is the only one capable of reaching that level. He might not be worthy of this position at the moment, but he certainly deserves it," Kellian answered, shaking his head.


    "I won¡¯t challenge him. Instead, I¡¯ll support him. Even I want to see how far he can grow. Let¡¯s wait," he further added.


    "Meh, fine then. I guess he¡¯ll lead. Man, it¡¯s still funny that a kid who isn¡¯t even allowed to drink legally can soon rule the nation. Do you really think it¡¯s good?" Tristan asked.


    "We can certainly advise him on things that he doesn¡¯t know. I think he¡¯ll do just fine. In any case, that¡¯s the guy who killed Varant after all. I doubt anyone would question his abilities," Kellian responded.


    " Moreover, we need him to help us in taking out the Hunter Union. We have suffered massive losses, and there¡¯s still a long path to tread," he further added as he smiled.


    "I, Kellian, ept the proposal as the Vice-Captain of Variant Uprising! Since he killed Varant, he deserves this position. From today, he will lead the Uprising with the support from us!" Kellian dered out loud.


    The biggest credential in Lucifer¡¯s favor was the fact that he had killed Varant. No one knew if he was actually telling the truth, but they chose to believe it.


    Standing in the air, Lucifer was slightly surprised at how fast this was epted. He had expected some resistance, but that didn¡¯t seem to be the case. There was no resistance, and Kellian epted it right away.


    After Kellian¡¯s eptance, no one else questioned it either. He had the highest position after Raia, after all. Moreover, it wasn¡¯t as if Lucifer was someone weak. And thus, it was epted.


    Yaliza was the only other person who could oppose now.

 Chapter 311 - 311: Next Destination

    <h4>Chapter 311 - 311: Next Destination </h4>


    Even Yaliza didn¡¯t seem like he wanted to oppose. It didn¡¯t matter to him who ruled. All he wanted was for their cause to seed.


    "Stay here. I¡¯ll take a short round to see how many of us are still alive," Kellian told Tristan before he turned into a shadow and disappeared.


    He was going to see what the situation was. How many of them were dead, and how many of them were injured.


    Yaliza also got into the action as he called the pilots to bring the helicopters here. It was time to go back and evacuate this ce.


    They weren¡¯t in any position to have another big battle, and if they stayed here for longer, they would undoubtedly have to face the Hunter Union.


    Kellian counted the Variants and told them to stand at the center of the city. As for the ones that were dead, he believed that it wasn¡¯t worth it to take their bodies back.


    He also noticed the ashes where Varant and Raia were supposed to fight and hands and legs that were cut. From the clothes, it seemed like the hands and legs belonged to Varant.


    Moreover, Lucifer had arranged them in such a way that it would make it seem like the ash nearby was his as well and that he decayed after his hand was cut.


    As the ground was covered in water because of the rain, Kellian could see the ashes floating.


    "Where¡¯s Raia¡¯s body?" He wondered, frowning. There weren¡¯t any remains of Raia here either.


    Frowning, he looked in the direction of Lucifer, who had starteding down now that he became the ruler of Variant Uprising.


    Kellian decided to ask Lucifer about itter. For now, he continued his count.


    Out of hundreds of Variants, Variant Uprising had only seventy-five remaining. Most of the others were dead, which mostly included the weaker members.


    But this certainly meant that they had suffered a lot, and it was going to take some time to recover.


    Lucifernded near Alicia, who was still unconscious, but it seemed like the rain had started to wake her up.


    She slowly opened her eyes as she sat up. She looked around curiously.


    Unlike before, there wasn¡¯t any dust anywhere as everything had settled down. But she could also see that no fighting was going on. She couldn¡¯t help but wonder if the war was over.


    She also noticed Lucifer standing before him.


    "What happened? Thest thing I remember is hugging you, and then... I don¡¯t remember anything. What happened after that? Did we win the war?" She asked Lucifer.


    "We did win the war. Anyway, we were attacked when we were hugging. It was something strange which put you to sleep. Fortunately, it didn¡¯t kill you," Lucifer replied with an honest face.


    "Really? Did you also fall asleep? How are you up before me?" Alicia asked, curious.


    "I think it¡¯s because of my healing. It protected me from it. But don¡¯t worry, I killed the guy who did it. But you really missed the most important part of the war because of that. We did win, but we also lost a lot," Lucifer sighed as he looked down.


    From the way he behaved, it seemed like he was really sad about what had happened.


    "W-what happened?" Alicia asked as she stood up. "Is my father...?"


    "Vega is still alive, don¡¯t worry. But Raia is dead. He died fighting Varant. Varant is also dead. But we certainly lost someone important," Lucifer answered, sighing again.


    Alicia went silent, hearing about this sad news. She couldn¡¯t help but feel a heart-wrenching pain because of this tragic news.


    She always remembered Raia as her idol and the person who fought for their safety. She didn¡¯t even know that it was all a lie, and Raia was actually much different than she knew.


    "Who will lead us now?" She asked.


    "I¡¯ll be doing that. I¡¯m taking his ce since that¡¯s what he wanted. And I¡¯ll keep his dream alive," Lucifer replied as she sat on the ground, not worrying about the water which was on the ground. In any case, his clothes were already wet.


    Using Wrath of Heaven had wholly exhausted him. He decided to rest before doing anything else.


    "Are you feeling hungry as well?" He asked Alicia. "I feel like I¡¯ll die of hunger. In all this destruction, there¡¯s not even a single kitchen left."


    "So many of our people died, and you¡¯re concerned about food?" Alicia asked, unable to believe that he was actually serious.


    "Don¡¯tpare apples and oranges. You always need to be concerned about food. More people die because of food that they die in war," Lucifer repliedzily.


    Vega, Dion, and Isona also approached Lucifer. Even they were surprised at how fast things changed. The war ended, and Lucifer was now the new leader.


    They didn¡¯t know how to talk to Lucifer anymore. Could they actually talk like before? He was in a higher position now.


    "Greetings to the new Leader. What¡¯re ourmands?" It was Vega who ultimately spoke, signifying that they needed to be respectful. Even though it was the Variant Uprising, discipline was important.


    Lucifer took a deep breath as he prevented the smile that was trying to creep up his lips. It sounded odd, but at the same time, it sounded pleasing.


    "Collect all the men. The ones that need medical attention give them that and send them back to the Uprising base," Lucifermanded.


    Without stopping, he continued, " As for the ones that can still fight, tell them to get ready for another battle. After having dinner in the next city, we¡¯ll depart for the next destination," Lucifer exined.


    "Next destination?" Came the surprised voice of Kellian, who had appeared nearby. Yaliza and Tristan were also there by now.


    The other S-Rank Warlocks had also formed a group around their young leader.


    "That¡¯s right. We can¡¯t sit idle after one victory. We need to take out the base of APF as well. We need to control that ce. Only a few remnants of APF should be there now. This would be the best time to finish them once and for all," Lucifer replied.


    "But the men need rest. We just fought. Shouldn¡¯t we wait?" One of the Warlocks asked.


    "We can¡¯t. That would give APF the chance of getting ready. They¡¯ll even take the help of Hunter Union. We need to take them out now and remove all remains of that ce," Lucifer replied.


    "That would disconnect the Hunter Union from the outside world. They can¡¯t move their Guilds that are protecting the Dungeons. They¡¯ll be trapped in the Royal Capital," he further exined as he made a circle in the water.


    "That¡¯s when we can take them out as well. It all hinges on removing the infrastructure support and intelligence structure of APF. Otherwise, we¡¯ll be back to square one," he let out, giving his final bit of input.

 Chapter 312 - 312: I Was Fighting

    <h4>Chapter 312 - 312: I Was Fighting </h4>


    "That... Does make sense. Hunter Union doesn¡¯t have intelligence infrastructure about the Variant Uprising since they¡¯re mainly for Dungeons," Yaliza affirmed as he nodded his head. What Lucifer was saying did make sense.


    "That¡¯s where they put their focus. They only get all the information from APF about such things," he continued.


    "But can we really do that with just a few of us? Their defenses are pretty strong as well," Isona asked.


    "Doesn¡¯t matter. All we need to do is destroy their defenses. After that, it¡¯ll be easier. There aren¡¯t many of them either. I¡¯ll handle most of it," Lucifer answered.


    " Alright. Let¡¯s do it."


    "It would be good. Let¡¯s remove them entirely."


    "I support this too. Since we have the momentum, keep it going. It¡¯s not a bad time."


    One after another, all the top Warlocks of Variant Uprising agreed.


    Even Kellian nodded while folding his arms.


    "That¡¯s good. Send the injured back for recovery as they¡¯ll be useless in the next battle even if we take them. And prepare for departure," Lucifermanded as he stood up.


    "Helicopters are alreadying," Yaliza responded, looking in the distance where he could see tens of helicoptersing towards them.


    "I had a question. Where is Cassius? I haven¡¯t seen him in a long time?" Tristan suddenly asked.


    " I¡¯m right behind you," Cassius¡¯s voice came from behind as he also arrived.


    Now that the war was over and they were sessful, there was no need for n B anymore, and he could join them.


    "Where were you?" Tristan asked. "I didn¡¯t see you anywhere."


    "I was fighting as well," Cassius answered. "Also, I didn¡¯t see you anywhere either."


    "Strange. I don¡¯t see even the slightest wound on your body?" Tristan inquired, squinting his eyes.


    "Why would there be? I¡¯m a good Swordsman. If I can be injured so easily, won¡¯t that be embarrassing?" Cassius replied, amused.


    "I wouldn¡¯t have gotten injured either! It was just that I was distracted," Tristan let out, rolling his eyes as he was embarrassed.


    Cassius wasn¡¯t injured in the least; in the meanwhile, he had already lost his arm.


    But he also knew that his fight was the toughest. He was fighting one of the strongest in the APF, the Assassination Emperor. He still could¡¯ve been careful to prevent it, so he was still embarrassed.


    The helicoptersnded on the ground. The injured were shifted inside the helicopters.


    "Tristan, you also go in them," Kellian told Tristan.


    Even though Tristan wanted to join them on the next battlefield as well, he couldn¡¯t. He knew he needed to be in base to get his hand attached fast, or he was going to lose it forever.


    He also went inside one of the helicopters.


    As everyone was inside the helicopters, Kellian gave them a signal to depart.


    The helicopters started rising in the air as they left, ultimately disappearing in the distance.


    In the other helicopters, Lucifer and the others entered. They were the ones that were going to attack the APF headquarters, which was known as the fortress. Alicia also joined them as well.


    Even though Lucifer wanted to interrogate Varant first, he knew he needed to y along for a little while.


    He couldn¡¯t go back to the bunker without being found out. He had already thought of this possibility, but he had also nned for something like that.


    As the helicopters took to the air, Kellian finally questioned Lucifer, "How did Varant kill Raia?"


    Lucifer seemed to have expected this question. He knew that it was going to be asked since Raia¡¯s body wasn¡¯t there.


    But he couldn¡¯t have left Raia¡¯s body there either, as that would have given them clues that it was the work of Lucifer.


    "Varant was able to use the abilities of others, it seemed. One such ability came as a surprise to me as well as to Raia. Before we knew it, he had Raia¡¯s neck in his grasp," Lucifer started exining.


    ¡¯I don¡¯t know what happened next, but it seemed like he was sucked into a ck hole. His body disappeared," he further said.


    He was telling the story he had already prepared in advance after he saw how Varant was changing his abilities in the field. "I guess that¡¯s why everyone said never to let Varant touch you."


    "Strange. I didn¡¯t know Varant had this ability too. It looks like he really kept that secret for a moment like this," Kellian said, nodding in understanding. That was the only question he had, and the answer seemed valid.


    The helicopters kept advancing ahead, and it was only after it left the city that Lucifer suddenly stood up. He started checking his pockets as if trying to find something.


    "Did something happen?" Kellian asked.


    "I think I forgot something behind," Lucifer said. "I left it in the city."


    "Should we go back? Is it really important?" Kellian inquired, wondering what it could be.


    "It¡¯s a personal heirloom. I can¡¯t leave it behind," Lucifer replied. "Let¡¯s go back."


    "Wait. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s good for all of us to go back. You can fly, right? Why don¡¯t you go back, find that thing ande back? It¡¯ll save a lot of time. We can wait in the next city for you?" Cassius suggested ording to the n.


    "That¡¯s right as well. You all wait for me in the city and eat up. Also, get some food packed for me as well. As soon as Ie back, we¡¯ll depart," Lucifer nodded.


    Without giving Kellian a chance to speak, he opened the door of the helicopter and jumped outside.


    Kellian also didn¡¯t feel like anything was wrong. He could have been suspicious if Lucifer had talked about going alone instead of Cassius, but Lucifer wanted them all to go with him initially until Cassius¡¯s suggestion.


    One of the Variants closed the doors of the helicopter after taking a nce at Lucifer, who was flying away from them.


    After a few moments, Lucifer turned back to make sure that no one was following him. There was none.


    Hended in the lifeless Kensington City, which didn¡¯t have a single person here anymore as he advanced towards the bunker, ready to get his answers.


    He entered the secret code at the entrance of the bunker, which was invisible from the top because it was made to look like a rock from the top.


    As the entrance opened, Lucifer stepped inside to see Ayn sitting in the back. Her hands were cuffed, and she was also tied from a pole.


    Varant was still lying on the table where Lucifer left him. There was blood everywhere that belonged to Varant.

 Chapter 313 - 313: The Reason

    <h4>Chapter 313 - 313: The Reason </h4>


    Fortunately, it seemed like the bleeding had stopped. All the wounds were dressed. Moreover, Varant also seemed to be in less pain.


    "Did you give him painkillers?" Lucifer asked Veracity.


    "I did. I don¡¯t want him to die from the pain. Even though he¡¯s a Warlock King, we can¡¯t ignore the possibility," Veracity responded.


    "That¡¯s good. Since I¡¯m in a hurry to leave, we can¡¯t waste time here. Let¡¯s start right away," Lucifer said, observing Varant.


    "Alright, Varant. You know what to do, don¡¯t you? Start speaking. How did you all decide to kill my parents?" Lucifer asked.


    "Tell me one thing honestly. Do you really think I¡¯ll tell you? That¡¯s the only leverage I have. I¡¯m not naive enough to think that you¡¯ll let me live after getting the answers," Varant said sarcastically. "In any case, death is better than living like this for me!"


    " I think you would be pleased to know that you¡¯re wrong. You don¡¯t actually have a single leverage," Lucifer answered, shaking his head.


    He further continued, "Just know, even though I want my answers from you, it doesn¡¯t have to be you. I can also get them from Zeiss about why you all killed my parents. So you have no leverage in the least. it just depends on you if you want to have a painful death or a quick one."


    "Because believe me when I say it, but I can give you such a painful death that you¡¯ll beg me to make it quick. I leave the choice to you," he added. "You have five seconds to decide. As I said, I¡¯m in a hurry."


    Sitting in the distance, Ayn didn¡¯t intervene. She didn¡¯t know why but from the way Lucifer and Varant were talking, she had a bad feeling inside her heart.


    It seemed like Lucifer really believed that Varant and the others killed his parents, and Varant didn¡¯t deny it either.


    She couldn¡¯t help but wonder if it was true? Did Varant really betray Warlock King Zale? Did he really kill risse and Zale?


    Ayn didn¡¯t even know what she was going to feel if it was true. That meant everything she was told was a lie. They weren¡¯t the good guys?


    Moreover, everything that Lucifer said was the truth. He was the one who suffered and all because of them? All because of their schemes?


    It was all because they took his parents from him. It was their Karma that wasing to bite them in the a*s.


    Also, if it was all here, then it could also be true that Varant killed Lucifer when he couldn¡¯t even resist. Many questions floated in her head, and the only person who could answer was Varant.


    She didn¡¯t even try to help him.


    "Your three seconds are over. What have you decided?" Lucifer asked Varant as time passed.


    " As you said, it¡¯s not like I¡¯m your only option. I¡¯ll tell you everything. But I still have one condition," Varant said after taking a deep breath. His voice sounded weak, and his face remained pale.


    "What condition?" Lucifer asked, frowning.


    "You won¡¯t tell this to the world," Varant said, sighing. "If they knew about it, the entire nation would be in chaos. Just keep this to yourself?"


    For a brief moment, Lucifer didn¡¯t say anything. He hadn¡¯t epted this request, but it wasn¡¯t anything hard to do either.


    "What will I even get by telling the world?" He asked, sighing. "I¡¯m not looking for pity from anyone! All I want are my answers. So I can promise that much. I won¡¯t tell anyone how you all betrayed my parents."


    At this point, Ayn was sure that it was the truth. Varant had betrayed Zale! He¡¯s the reason they lost someone so great! So Lucifer was right. She was always standing with the wrong side. She seemed taken aback at this revtion.


    "Now tell me, why did you do it?" Lucifer asked.


    After taking a deep breath, Varant reminisced about the past. "Because he wanted to find the Seven Crystals of the Great War again. He wanted to open the portal again. We couldn¡¯t let it happen, but we couldn¡¯t stop him either."


    "He was the strongest at that time, after all. And he also had massive public support. We couldn¡¯t do anything to him openly without bing Viins. So this was the only option we had remaining," he further continued.


    For a moment, Lucifer even forgot to breathe as he heard what actually happened. All because of that? For something so small, they killed his parents?


    His heart was beating extremely slowly as he felt some indescribable emotion inside him.


    "The only choice was to scheme against him to send him to his death. After that, we all continued the charade of investigating what happened in the Dungeon," Varant further said. "To fool the public."


    "So you pulled the same trick that you did after killing me? Continued the search, so people don¡¯t know you were involved in my disappearance," Lucifer chimed in.


    "You don¡¯t understand. We did what we had to do to keep the bnce of this world!" Varant emphasized.


    "Bnce of this world? You killed my parents to keep the freaking bnce of the world? That was all their life was worth?" Lucifer asked as he smacked his fist on the table. The metallic table broke because of the impact.


    Varant fell to the ground.


    "I know you can¡¯t understand. But keeping the bnce is important. That¡¯s how society functions. We can¡¯t let everything go into chaos!" Varant continued.


    "You wanted to keep the bnce of the world?" Lucifer asked as an evil smirk formed on his face as he sat closer to Varant.


    "I¡¯ll destroy everything you worked hard to defend. Not only will I destroy the bnce, but I¡¯ll also open that portal! I¡¯ll see who and what can stop me! I won¡¯t let their deaths be in vain!"


    "Unfortunately, you won¡¯t be here to see that day," he added.


    "I know I won¡¯t be here for that. I already epted my death. But just know, you¡¯ll never seed. Evil never wins. You¡¯ll be stopped! If it¡¯s not me, then it¡¯ll be someone else! The world is really big, after all!" Varant said firmly.


    "Someone will stop me? Even if the godse down to earth, I won¡¯t be stopped. Even if I die a thousand times, I¡¯ll keeping back! This world will be mine! The world that took my parents from me, I¡¯ll take it all for myself! And then I¡¯ll see who dares to stop me!" Lucifer yelled.


    " I hope that day neveres," Varant said, sighing.

 Chapter 314 - 314: How Did You Do It?

    <h4>Chapter 314 - 314: How Did You Do It? </h4>


    "Oh, that day will certainlye. Don¡¯t worry about it. And it won¡¯t be too far either," Lucifer dered.


    "Veracity? Was everything he told the truth?" he asked Veracity.


    "He told the truth. He hasn¡¯t lied a single time so far," Veracity answered.


    "That¡¯s good. Now the next question. How did you all do it? How did you kill him? Even if he was inside the Dungeon, he should be strong. He also took the team with him, and he had my mother, so how did you all do it?" Lucifer asked his next question.


    This was also an important question in his head. How did they actually do it?


    "Poison," Varant answered.


    "What the..."


    Ayn¡¯s mouth opened wide as she heard the words of Varant. Could they be any more evil? Not only did they kill him, but they did it by using the cowardly way of poisoning?


    "Poison, huh. I¡¯m not surprised. I don¡¯t know why but I didn¡¯t expect anything else from you. That¡¯s all you¡¯re worth," Lucifer replied, sighing.


    " That was the only way we could think of to end everything without causing any battle," Varant answered.


    "If you had done it outside, there would have been an inquiry. People would have known they were poisoned, and the person who did it would be caught," Lucifer guessed.


    " In any case, I doubt you could even make them drink anything like that when they remained at home most of the time, and they didn¡¯t drink beer or anything. Is that why you sent them to the dungeon?" he asked.


    "That¡¯s right. It was impossible to poison them in their home. And they didn¡¯t drink anything outside. And they only went to a family restaurant. They were the gods of that restaurant."


    " We couldn¡¯t ask the restaurant owners to poison their food. They would¡¯ve leaked the information to your parents. We would be in trouble," Varant answered.


    "So we all nned this. Raia and I started our battle in a city to show that we were busy. And Zeiss entered a different dungeon to show that he was busy too. That¡¯s when the Hunter Union asked your parents¡¯ help," he continued.


    "Most of the team was selected by your father, but we also managed to slip one of our men inside the team. He was responsible for poisoning their food," he further exined as heid helplessly on the ground.


    "So the footsteps that were seening out of the Dungeon... They belonged to that traitor?" Lucifer asked.


    "That¡¯s right. He was the only one who came out," Varant answered.


    Lucifer took a deep breath as he tried to digest all the information. This one scheme was all it took to kill the strongest beings on this earth.


    He couldn¡¯t help but wonder how amazing it would be if his parents had his healing too. They would be immune to poison like him. They wouldn¡¯t have died because of this cheap trick.


    "Give me the name of the person who poisoned my parents? Where will I find him?" Lucifer asked.


    "He is known as Adam Turner. He is a member of the Rank 1 guild. The strongest guild which is affiliated to the Hunter Union," Varant answered.


    He knew that it was going to get that guy killed, but it didn¡¯t matter anymore.


    Varant had stopped caring about others at this point. In any case, he was sure that Zeiss would answer this question if he didn¡¯t.


    "Onest thing. Where is the stone? One of the seven that you kept?" Lucifer inquired.


    Hearing the question, Varant was stunned. This guy really wanted to do that?


    "I will never tell you. Go ahead and kill me," Varant said firmly.


    "It¡¯s in your base, have it?" Lucifer asked.


    It was at that point, Varant flinched. This gave Lucifer all the answers he needed.


    "As expected, after you buried it, it was discovered. Then you kept it in the base to protect it better. Don¡¯t worry, that¡¯s all I needed. I have ways to get that from your base," Lucifer let out, smiling.


    "I think this is enough. Time for you to go," he said as he took off his right glove.


    Varant understood what wasing. He had already expected this. His gaze roamed around the room, taking onest look. His eyes stopped on Ayn.


    "How could you do it? I would never have expected this from you!" Ayn let out, seemingly heartbroken.


    Everything she believed was a lie. And everything she thought to be a lie was the truth now. She felt defeated, as if her moral standing had gone down suddenly.


    Varant didn¡¯t reply. He had no answer to this question. He simply stopped looking at her, prepared for his inevitable death.


    Lucifer ced his finger on the forehead of Varant, letting his decay take effect.


    ¡¯I feel this death is too merciful for what you all did, but this way, I can get stronger.¡¯ Lucifer thought as he saw the body of Varant decaying.


    Varant felt the same pain that Raia did. He clenched his lips to not scream but even still, it was proving hard.


    Ultimately, he couldn¡¯t help but scream in pain.


    The room, which waspletely silent until now, was filled with screams. And the screams only stopped when Varant ultimately turned to dust.


    Lucifer stood up and walked to a chair nearby after wearing his gloves. He picked the chair and sat facing Ayn.


    "See? You¡¯re all hypocritical fools. You¡¯ll kill anyone and everyone when you think you need it. And you¡¯ll even try to justify it," he told Ayn. "I am also the same. I¡¯ll kill anyone and everyone I need, but I can still never be as cheap as you all."


    "He was like that... Raia was like that, and Zeiss would be like that. And people like you would always be toys for them. They¡¯ll use you while pretending to have virtues. You¡¯re all nothing but foot soldiers that didn¡¯t fall for their fake ideology," he further added.


    "So I leave two choices before you. If you have really seen the hypocrisy of your side, wake up and help me in my quest. The second choice is that you die. Just like him, I¡¯ll give you three seconds."


    Ayn was already overwhelmed as she felt betrayed by Varant when Lucifer presented these choices to her.


    "Varant was wrong, but as you said. We were all ignorant fools. We didn¡¯t do anything wrong! Our aim and everything we did was to help others. I won¡¯t let you destroy everything because Varant was wrong. I¡¯m sorry," Ayn responded.

 Chapter 315 - 315: Support

    <h4>Chapter 315 - 315: Support </h4>


    "And what if I promise to leave your APF members alive after I conquer this nation? Think clearly. Right after I leave this ce, I¡¯ll go over there with the full Variant Uprising force," Lucifer warned Ayn.


    "Most of the APF members are already dead. Your base is just an empty shell. Even if it has a strong defense, we can break all of that."


    "And believe me when I say this, but I¡¯ll kill all of them. Not a single one will survive. If you want me to let them live, the only option is to support me. That¡¯s all I¡¯ll say," he continued.


    As he talked, he soundedpassionate as if he wanted to have mercy on APF if Ayn supported him, but Ayn didn¡¯t know if there was any truth to it.


    Standing behind Ayn, Veracity was slightly surprised. The way Lucifer said it, even she would have been fooled to think that he was telling the truth.


    But she knew there was some lie in his words. She didn¡¯t know which part was a lie though.


    All she knew was that there was a lie in his statement, but he said so many things, she couldn¡¯t pinpoint the lie.


    "You promise you¡¯ll let them live?" Ayn asked after a brief pause.


    "Yes. If they all also support me after that," Lucifer replied. "Anything is better than death for them. So I think you know what should be your choice?"


    "Fine. I¡¯ll help you. I¡¯ll ask them to surrender, and I¡¯ll take you inside safely," Ayn ultimately said, giving up. She decided to help him if that stopped the bloodshed.


    She agreed because Lucifer had actually killed Varant. If he was so strong and he had the support of the Variant Uprising, the defense of APF headquarters wasn¡¯t going tost for long.


    And she also knew that once the defense was broken, everyone inside was going to be ughtered for resistance.


    By helping them take over easily and by letting her side surrender, she could stop them from dying.


    "But I also want another promise from you in exchange for that help," Ayn further said.


    "What promise?" Lucifer asked.


    "You won¡¯t unnecessarily kill any humans. And the same for the Variant Uprising. When APF is gone, humans will be defenseless against Dark Variants. I want your promise that the humans won¡¯t be affected by your takeover. And their lives won¡¯t change." Ayn ced forth the condition.


    "I ept. I won¡¯t kill them. In any case, I don¡¯t need to waste my time with them. I have more important things to do," Lucifer responded while epting the condition.


    "So, will you help me get in?" Lucifer asked.


    ....


    Lucifer was flying above the city of Kensington that was destroyed entirely. The terrain was utterly ruined, and not a single tree or ntation was left standing.


    Many dead bodies were also spread everywhere. There was also a woman wrapped in Lucifer¡¯s embrace as he flew.


    Ayn was wrapped in Lucifer¡¯s tight embrace as he flew towards the next city.


    Ayn had epted to help him, and Veracity had verified her ims. That¡¯s why he was taking her with him. As for Veracity, she was left behind.


    There was also a small concern in his head. How he was going to exin the appearance of Ayn, who he previously imed to be dead.


    "You understand everything, right?" He asked Ayn.


    "I do. I know what to say," Ayn nodded. The Limiter Bracelets were still in her wrists, so she still wasn¡¯t allowed to use her powers.


    "That¡¯s good. Because a single mistake will be problematic," Lucifer reminded her. "And if I have a problem, you¡¯ll have an even bigger problem."


    "I understand. You don¡¯t have to repeat that," Ayn responded.


    Lucifer soon reached the next city. He flew above the next town to find the helicopters and to know where the Variant Uprising members were waiting. Soon enough, he found the group.


    Many helicopters were standing on the roads, blocking them entirely. It seemed like the entire traffic had stopped because of that, but no one seemed to beining.


    There was also a car nearby, which seemed to be upside down. Another car could be seen sticking inside the wall of a nearby building.


    Seeing the sight, Lucifer understood what was happening here. It seemed like the Uprising members had made some mess to clear the roads for theirnding.


    Lucifer and Aynnded in front of the restaurant, which was filled with the Uprising members. Let alone filled; it seemed to be taken over entirely.


    Pushing the door open, Lucifer stepped inside with Ayn.


    Seeing him, everyone grew surprised. Not because he was here. But because of the woman he was here with. They had all seen Ayn before.


    Kellian stood up as he approached Lucifer. There were many questions in his head.


    "Is she Ayn?" He asked, just to make sure.


    "That¡¯s right. She¡¯s the vice-captain of the APF Beta Squad. And she¡¯s also the one who will help us take over that ce without many losses," Lucifer answered.


    "Didn¡¯t you say she was dead?" Kellian asked, confused.


    "I did. Because I wanted to give Raia a surpriseter. I had kept her alive to turn her against APF. It¡¯s only because of her that I got so much information about APF defenses," Lucifer replied.


    He had grown so proficient in lying that no one could see he was lying. All his lies seemed like the truth.


    "I was waiting for her topletely agree to help us before telling Raia. If I had spoken about it before and she hadn¡¯t agreed to help us, I would¡¯ve killed her, and it would be a disappointment."


    "So I waited for the right moment. Unfortunately, Raia isn¡¯t here to see this anymore," he further said, sighing.


    "She will help us?" Kellian inquired.


    "That¡¯s right. She will lead me inside the APF base, and she will help us disable all the defense systems. After that, you all cane. As you had said before, we have already suffered massive losses. We can¡¯t suffer more," Lucifer answered.


    "So it¡¯s the best option we have. In any case, that¡¯s the final decision. There would be no discussion about it. Anyway, get me some food. I¡¯m dying of hunger," he said as if it was the finalmand.


    He walked over to the table where Alicia and Cassius were sitting. He and Ayn sat at the same table.


    Kellian didn¡¯t drop the matter this quickly though. He still had many questions. He approached them again.


    "If she will actually help us, this will be really good. I ept this. But I also have a few questions for her. May I ask?" he asked Lucifer.

 Chapter 316 - 316: Permission To Land

    <h4>Chapter 316 - 316: Permission To Land </h4>


    "Go ahead," Luciferzily said before he picked up the menu to order.


    "Why did you agree to help us against APF? Weren¡¯t you all so loyal that you would¡¯ve epted death before betrayal? Or is it that you¡¯re trying to lead us to a trap to betray uster?" Kellian asked Ayn.


    "What would I get by fighting against you all now? Varant is already dead, and all of our strongest members are dead as well. It¡¯s already a lost battle," Ayn replied.


    "At least this way, I can escape the unnecessary torture while also making sure that more people don¡¯t die," she exined, looking down while sighing. "Also, you might not know it, but his decay is scarier than death."


    "So you¡¯ll truly help us? You do know the consequences of betrayal, right?" Kellian inquired again.


    "I know. I won¡¯t even think about that. I don¡¯t want innocent people to die because we were stubborn enough to resist," Ayn responded firmly.


    "You better remember that," Kellian nodded as he walked back to his table, epting the decision.


    The food was soon served for Lucifer and Ayn.


    "It seems like you really nned everything, didn¡¯t you?" Alicia asked. "You even thought about our entrance."


    "Who would if not me?" Luciferzily answered.


    The others had already finished eating by now, but Lucifer just began, so they all waited here.


    It was only after thirty minutes when Lucifer stood up. It was time to leave.


    He was the first person to step out of the restaurant, followed by his team members. His long robe flew with the wind just like his long hair, making him seem slightly charming, but there was no one to see him on the street.


    The entire street was empty.


    They all entered their helicopters. The rotors started moving as the helicopters took to the air.


    "Three miles ahead of us is the APF headquarters. It¡¯s not surrounded by any other building, so it¡¯ll be pretty easy to spot. But that¡¯s also the problem. They can easily spot you too."


    Kellian and Lucifer were standing in front of the helicopters, which had stopped three miles away from the APF headquarters. It was to discuss the further n.


    "Even if you go with Ayn, they¡¯ll be suspicious. So what¡¯s your n?" Kellian asked.


    "I¡¯ll be the hostage," Lucifer replied.


    "That should make them a bit less alert. Ayn would take me inside that ce, pretending as if she had caught me. After I get inside, we¡¯ll get to work and disable all the security systems. After that, you all cane."


    "And if anything goes wrong, we¡¯ll handle it when the timees," he said.


    "I still feel there is risk in the n. But then again, you¡¯re immortal. So it should be fine. But how will Ayn get the information to them?" Alicia inquired.


    " I mean, they can just see a Variant Uprising Helicoptering towards them. What¡¯s to stop them from blowing you up in the middle of the air?" She further asked.


    "Don¡¯t worry, we have thought of that as well. There is a secret frequency that APF members use to contact each other. Using that frequency, she can send a signal to them even from inside our helicopter. They won¡¯t blow us up," Lucifer answered. "You all stay ready."


    "Alright then. Best of luck. Hopefully, the n would seed without any hups," Alicia let out, sighing. "I don¡¯t want to lose anyone else."


    ...


    Leaving the team behind, Ayn and Lucifer stepped inside the helicopter in the lead.


    The only other person inside the helicopter was the pilot, who was also an Uprising Member.


    The helicopter advanced towards the APF base.


    ....


    "Sir, a chopper ising towards us. And it doesn¡¯t seem like ours. Instead, it seems to belong to the Variant Uprising. What should I do? Blow it up?"


    Inside the Defense Room, a dark-haired man was sitting on his chair. Tens of screens were in front of him, which were showing the surrounding of the base.


    "Only one?" The head of the Defense Team asked.


    "That is right. There¡¯s only one. So it doesn¡¯t seem like an attack team. But they¡¯re still not stopping," the dark-haired man answered.


    "Alright. Blow them up. This is a restricted area where no one cane. Certainly, the government won¡¯t send anyone here. And the Hunter Union alwayses after informing us. These should be the enemies. Make sure you destroy them entirely," the leader said as he observed the ck helicopter flying towards them.


    The dark-haired man typed something on his keyboard, which brought a different set of controls out.


    There were many buttons on the new control, all of which had a character printed on them.


    "Three... Two... One..."


    As he finished the count, he reached out his hand to press the button.


    "Wait!" A scream came from behind.


    "What, Ray?" The dark-haired man asked as he barely stopped himself.


    His finger was still touching a red button. A single moment more, and the switch would have been pressed.


    "We¡¯re getting a strange signal. It¡¯s on our secret frequency, and it¡¯sing from that helicopter. It might be one of us!" Another man, who was sitting in a different system, said. He was Ray who was responsible formunication.


    "Let the connection through. I want to hear who it is," the leader told Ray.


    "Right away, Sir."


    ....


    Inside the helicopter, Lucifer and Ayn were standing beside each other, looking at the base ahead.


    "They should soon connect to us as well. Then we can start talking," Ayn told Lucifer, who wondered what was happening.


    "This is Mark, Leader of APF Defense Squad. Identify yourself!" A manly voice came from the speaker as the connection was established.


    "Mark, it¡¯s me, Ayn! I¡¯m inside the helicopter. Don¡¯t blow it up!" Ayn said firmly.


    "Captain Ayn?! What are you doing in a Variant Uprising helicopter?" Mark asked, seemingly stunned.


    "I escaped in their helicopter! I also managed to catch a criminal. It¡¯s none other than Lucifer. He¡¯s also unconscious inside the helicopter. Other than the two of us and the pilot, there¡¯s no one else here," Ayn informed Mark.


    "Alright. You have the permission tond on the helipad," Mark affirmed, giving the permission. "We won¡¯t attack."


    The connection was disconnected.


    "Sess. Now you just need to do your part. Stay in the cell until I get the security systems off. After that, I¡¯ll free you," Ayn told Lucifer, turning around.


    "Are you really trying to remind me of the n I made?" Lucifer inquired, smiling wryly. He couldn¡¯t help but find it funny.

 Chapter 317 - 317: APF Headquarters

    <h4>Chapter 317 - 317: APF Headquarters </h4>


    "I just don¡¯t want you to start breaking stuff if something goes wrong. So it¡¯s important that your acting is good," Ayn said.


    "My acting? I learned from the best. You don¡¯t have to worry about it," Lucifer said as he walked back to the seat. "Just focus on your task. You¡¯ll have thirty minutes before I start taking things in my own hand."


    Heid on the seat and closed his eyes while slowing down his breathing.


    The distance between the Uprising Helicopter and the APF base kept decreasing with each passing second.


    Soon, the helicopternded on the roof of the Headquarters, which was surrounded by the APF members from the Defence Squad.


    Even though they had allowed Aynnd, they didn¡¯t rx. They were all here to make sure that everything was as it should be.


    The gates of the helicopter opened. Ayn stepped out of the helicopter, carrying Lucifer in her arms as if he was a sleeping Prince.


    As she left the helicopter, APF members walked to the helicopter to check inside and to arrest the pilot, who was an Uprising member.


    All the guards greeted Ayn and congratted her for her sessful return.


    "Is this Lucifer? The boy who disappeared eight years ago?" A guard asked her.


    "Yeah. He¡¯s the same Lucifer. I drugged him, so he shouldn¡¯t wake up before tomorrow," Ayn answered.


    "Where is Captain Varant? We thought he went to save you?" The man asked again.


    "I don¡¯t know. I didn¡¯t find him on the way. Maybe I left before he got there. Anyway, let me go in first. After that, I¡¯ll try contacting Varant to tell him that I¡¯m back," Ayn said as she ced her thumb on the fingerprint sensor.


    After her print was scanned, the entrance of the lift opened.


    A few guards stepped inside the lift with her as well. The lift went to the lower floors where the strongest of APF prisoners were kept.


    Ayn stopped in front of one such cell. She had the door opened before she stepped inside.


    She ced the unmoving body of Lucifer inside the cell before she left, locking the door again.


    After everyone left, Lucifer opened his eyes. He looked around the cell to notice that there were no cameras in this cell. There were no fans or anything electrical here.


    As for the walls, they were reinforced to brace the heaviest of impact. Other than the bed and the toilet, there was nothing else in this cell.


    "So this is where they keep their prisoners. I guess it¡¯s their lucky day. They¡¯ll get their freedom today," he muttered as he stood up.


    The gate waspletely metallic, seemingly made of a precious material. There were no gaps in the door. So no one could see inside, just as he couldn¡¯t see outside.


    He stood up and stretched his arms as he walked towards the metallic doors of the cell.


    Taking off his gloves, he gently touched the gates, just to test if they could resist decay. He had especially told Ayn to keep him in a cell that wasn¡¯t made especially for him.


    Even though he had the confirmation of Veracity that Ayn was going to do as he asked, he still decided to test just to be sure.


    His finger grazed through the metal, which started decaying slowly. He soon took off his hands as he made sure this ce couldn¡¯t resist him. He could step out of this ce any moment he wanted.


    After making sure, he walked back to the bed and sat down as he started waiting... Waiting for the time when the defenses of the base were going to be off.


    ....


    Ayn was walking inside the base with the guards.


    She was being taken to the medical facility as it was a protocol. She needed to be tested to see if she was hurt or not.


    "Why is the base so empty today? It seems like no one is here at all?" Ayn inquired.


    "That¡¯s because Captain Varant took almost all the members with him. Only the bare minimum was left behind to handle the working of the base," the guard answered.


    "When did Varant leave?" She asked the guards.


    "He left a few days ago," the guards answered.


    " Did any of you try contacting him?" Ayn asked, curious.


    "We haven¡¯t yet," the men answered.


    "I¡¯ll contact him. Let¡¯s go to my office," Ayn said, changing her direction.


    She went into her office and picked up her backup phone before she came out.


    Aftering out, she called a number as she again started walking towards the medical facility.


    "Varant? I¡¯m back at base. Where are you?" She said as if her call was picked up.


    "What? You aren¡¯t Varant. Who are you?" She asked, yelling. She actually seemed stunned.


    It was all for show though. She just wanted to show the APF members behind her. In any case, she always knew what had happened.


    She lowered the phone slowly. It even dropped to the ground, falling from her hand.


    "What happened? Is everything alright?" The men asked, wondering what had happened.


    "It was Raia. Varant is dead. All our men are ughtered, and now the Uprising is advancing here to destroy our base," Ayn said as shock seemed imminent on her face.


    "We don¡¯t have time to waste! We need to boost the defense of the headquarters! You all, go and get the men in position!"


    " I¡¯ll call the Hunter Union to ask for backup. We¡¯re facing danger like never before! Jake, youe with me!" She said as she started running in a direction after picking up her phone.


    She called another number, making it seem like she had called the Hunter Union, but it was just her acting.


    Over the call, she informed the other side what had happened to the APF and that they needed help.


    After talking, she kept the phone back.


    "What did they say?" Jake asked.


    "They said that they¡¯d send their teams here. As for Zeiss, he¡¯ll personallye to back us up. But it¡¯ll take time. We need to be able to hold on until then. We need to modify our defense formation and the systems to dy the Uprising!" Ayn said as she kept running.


    She and Jake soon stopped in front of the Defence Room.


    A few of the trusted Variants of Varant were keeping guard there.


    "Captain Ayn, you can¡¯te here. Only captain Varant is authorized to enter!" The guards informed her.


    "Varant is dead! That¡¯s why I¡¯m here! The entire base is in danger. All our members are dead, and the Uprising ising here now!" Ayn said.

 Chapter 318 - 318: Identity

    <h4>Chapter 318 - 318: Identity </h4>


    "I¡¯m taking the Base under my control as I¡¯m the one with the highest authority now! Step aside!" Ayn said, seemingly emotional.


    "She¡¯s telling the truth. Let her go in and talk to Mark," Jake also said the same thing, supporting her ims. He didn¡¯t know all he believed was a lie.


    "Alright. Go in," the guards stepped aside, letting her pass.


    Ayn pushed the door of the Defence Room and entered inside.


    "What are you doing here?" Mark asked as he turned to look at Ayn.


    "I¡¯m here to save you all. Please forgive me for this," Ayn weakly said as she looked down.


    "What are you saying?" Mark asked, frowning. He didn¡¯t understand what Ayn was implying. "Why are you apologizing?"


    "I¡¯m apologizing for this," Ayn grimly said as she raised her hands abruptly.


    The entire room turned cold as her hands moved, but that wasn¡¯t the worst of it. The worst was that all the APF members in the room were frozen in Ice bs.


    She had just used her powers as it was nned. Lucifer had actually stopped the Limiter momentarily, just like the teachers in the academy used to do before tests.


    "I¡¯m really sorry. But you won¡¯t die there. I made sure of that. I know what I¡¯m doing is bad, but it¡¯s the only path I have to save you all," Ayn said, sighing.


    She picked up her phone and called the number of Kellian that she had memorized. "The path is clear. You cane."


    "Perfect," Kellianmented as he got ready to depart towards the base.


    As everyone in the Defence Squad was frozen, not a single person could control the defenses now. All the defenses were down as most of it was manually controlled from this ce.


    Taking a deep breath, Ayn left the Defense Room and walked back towards the cell where she had kept Lucifer.


    She soon reached the cell of Lucifer.


    Using the keys, she opened the door, freeing Lucifer.


    Lucifer was sitting on the bed with his head down when he heard the sound of the door opening. He raised his head to reveal a smile.


    Patting his head, Lucifer stood up. "Is it done?"


    "I did my part. All the defenses are down," Ayn answered. "Now, you need to keep your promise."


    "As long as your men don¡¯t oppose me, I will. Let¡¯s see how it goes," Lucifer said, stepping out of the cell. "Where¡¯s the broadcast system? Something which can help me get my voice to every corner of this facility?"


    "Follow me," Ayn said, taking a deep breath.


    Lucifer followed after Ayn, but at the same time, he nced at the other cells, wondering who the people kept there were.


    Ayn brought Lucifer to a room which had a mic that could transmit his voice everywhere in the base.


    "As soon as you turn that switch on, it¡¯ll start broadcasting your voice," she informed Lucifer as she pointed towards the switch.


    ...


    The Variant Uprising membersnded on the top of the APF headquarters.


    As there was no one who could keep an eye on what was happening here, no guards were sent to the roof to intercept them.


    Kellian and the other Uprising members stepped out of the helicopter,nding on the ce where they always wanted to. The headquarters of their enemy.


    "It was easier than I expected. The new leader isn¡¯t bad. His n really helped make things easier here."


    "That¡¯s right. I think he really isn¡¯t bad. Instead of using brute force, he used his brain, and now we¡¯re standing in a ce we wouldn¡¯t have even thought to be standing otherwise. This will mark the end of APF."


    Seeing them so close to sess and that too, so easily, the Uprising members were really surprised and pleased.


    This made them appreciate Lucifer. Despite being so young, he was so good. He was not only strong but clever as well.


    Ignoring the idle chatter, Kellian picked up a phone and called the number of Ayn.


    "It¡¯s Kellian," Ayn said as she handed the phone to Lucifer.


    "Yeah. Are you in position?" Lucifer asked as he ced the phone near his ears.


    "We are on the roof," Kellian replied.


    "Stay there. I¡¯m sending Ayn to fetch you," Lucifer told Kellian before he disconnected the call.


    "They¡¯re on the roof. Escort them inside. In the meantime, I¡¯ll handle the rest," he told Ayn as he sat on the chair.


    "Remember your promise!" Ayn reminded Lucifer onest time as she left.


    As Ayn left, Lucifer was left alone in the room. He sat on the spinning chair, looking up.


    As the chair spun, he could also see the roof spinning.


    "One step closer...." Lucifer muttered as he sighed. "It¡¯s more tiring than I thought. But I can¡¯t stop. Elisium is only the beginning."


    He ced his feet on the ground, slowing down the spin.


    He reached out his hand towards the switch, ready to turn it on as he prepared to speak.


    ....


    Ayn reached the roof and sent the Uprising Members down, using the lift.


    As there were more people than the limit of the lift, she stayed out and kept using her fingerprint to send all the members to the lower floors.


    After all the other members were gone, it was finally the turn of Kellian, Yaliza, Alicia, and Vega. They all entered the lift with Ayn.


    A few members also remained on the roof to make sure no one escaped from there.


    None of them said anything.


    "Greetings everyone!"


    The lift was going down when everyone heard a voice.


    "It¡¯s him," Aliciamented.


    "Let me introduce myself. My name is Lucifer Azarel. The kid who was hunted like a dog by you all. But I also have another identity..." Lucifer said.


    His voice reached every corner of the APF headquarters. The few members of APF that were in the base all heard it. They couldn¡¯t understand what was happening.


    The voice also reached the medical facility where Xander was staying. He wanted to go and help Varant, but he couldn¡¯t because he wasn¡¯t able to walk properly even now. All he could do was stumble.


    As he heard the voice, he found it somewhere familiar initially, but when Lucifer told his identity, it was clear to him who it was.


    "What¡¯s that guy doing here? Could it be that he managed to infiltrate the base?" He muttered as he tried to stand up.


    "You can¡¯t stand up! Stay sitting!" The doctor once again stopped him. "Instead of blindly rushing in, you should first see what¡¯s the situation! Hear what he has to say!"

 Chapter 319 - 319: New Leader

    <h4>Chapter 319 - 319: New Leader </h4>


    Xander understood that he was right. He needed to know the situation before rushing in. If Lucifer was inside, things couldn¡¯t be as simple.


    "I¡¯m also the son of Zale Azarel. And let me tell you my third identity now. I think you¡¯ll love it," Lucifer¡¯s amused voice came from the speakers.


    "The person you hear right now... Is the new leader of the Variant Uprising!" he dered.


    "We have killed Varant and all of your strongest members that he brought with him. On the other hand, our strongest Warlocks are still alive. They¡¯re not only alive, but they¡¯re inside the APF headquarters now!" Lucifer informed everyone.


    "Now, I don¡¯t actually like bloodshed, at least as long as it¡¯s unnecessary bloodshed. So I am giving you all a chance."


    "Surrender and join me. If you don¡¯t surrender, you¡¯ll be killed as soon as we find you, and believe me when I say this, but we most certainly will find you."


    "Cherish your life and forget the false principles you have learned. In any case, I promised someone that I¡¯ll let you all live as long as you surrender."


    "But I won¡¯t hesitate to kill you all if you don¡¯t. This will be all. If you all want to surrender,e to the fourth floor and surrender."


    "Moreover, don¡¯t think you can escape through the roof or through the exit. Our strongest Warlocks are everywhere."


    "After twenty minutes, we¡¯ll start sweeping through the other floors and killing everyone that opposes us. I leave thest decision to you."


    "You should know what¡¯s better for you because no hero ising to save you today. Your heroes should already be in hell by now," he finished before he turned the switch off.


    He brought out his phone and called Kellian. "Tell Jia to turn off allmunications that are not ours. There¡¯s no need for it anymore."


    He disconnected the call without waiting for a response.


    Folding his arms, he remained seated on the chair as he closed his eyes.


    In his mind, a countdown had already started.


    "The Uprising has taken over?"


    "Varant is dead? How could it be? He took our strongest Warlocks! There¡¯s no one strong who is left at the base! If they¡¯re all dead, can we even resist?"


    "I think we already lost. It¡¯s better to surrender. Our Warlocks are dead, and we have no one to protect us. The only thing we had was our defense system to keep the base safe, but even that failed. Now that the Uprising is here, we can do nothing!"


    "Let¡¯s surrender. I don¡¯t want to face the person who killed Varant!"


    "I too. At least we¡¯ll survive like this. Anything is better than death!"


    "Let¡¯s go to the fourth floor!"


    Most of the Variants that were on the other floors started running towards the lift. As they found the lift busy, they all ran to the stairs.


    They didn¡¯t have much time, and they needed to get to the fourth floor to surrender.


    There were only a few Variants that decided against it.


    "Instead of being a prisoner of Uprising, I would much rather prefer the risk of death and escape!"


    "Even though they said they have men at entrance and exit, who knows. Maybe he was bluffing!"


    "It could also be that he¡¯s the only one who is here. He wants everyone toe to him on the fourth floor so he can kill them all. Let¡¯s look to escape instead!"


    Many small groups had also formed as people decided on escaping. They didn¡¯t know if there were any helicopters on the roof, so they decided to leave from the ground exit instead.


    Even Xander was still sitting inside the medical chamber, stunned at what he heard. Varant was dead? Not only him, but all who went to War were dead? No news could be worse than that. Moreover, Lucifer was now in control.


    "Xander, you can¡¯t surrender. You fought him before. He would hate you. If he sees you again, he¡¯ll kill you," the doctor told Xander. "But you can¡¯t fight either. You still need more time. If you fight, you¡¯ll die. The only option is to escape. Forget APF and save your life!"


    Xander looked at his hands and legs, frowning. The Doctor was right. It was all because he wasn¡¯t perfectly healthy now. Or he could have at least fought.


    Even though he didn¡¯t like the thought of escaping, he knew that there was no other choice.


    "How can we even escape? I don¡¯t know if he¡¯s bluffing or not," Xander said, frowning.


    "I have a way," the Doctor said.


    "What way?" Xander asked, frowning. "I don¡¯t think the base has any secret escape routes, does it?"


    "We don¡¯t, but there¡¯s still a way. And I need you to listen to me. Don¡¯t argue, alright?" the doctor suggested as he frowned.


    "What way?" Xander asked.


    "I want you to enter aa again," the doctor answered.


    "What?!"


    "Don¡¯t be shocked. I don¡¯t think anyone outside this ce knows that you have woken up. So there won¡¯t be a problem," the doctor answered Xander, whose mouth was still open in shock.


    "When theye to check, we can just say you¡¯re in aa. I don¡¯t think they¡¯ll do anything to you. You¡¯ll be kept in this ce. Even if it¡¯s Lucifer, he probably will not kill someone who is already half-dead for thest eight years. You will survive," he added.


    " After that, we can just wait for the right time. As it¡¯ll be a medically induceda, I would be able to wake you up after everything¡¯s fine. And even if I can¡¯t for some reason, after three days, the effect will be over on its own. And you¡¯ll wake up."


    "Everything should be stable by then. There won¡¯t be such strict security. And even if there is, this facility would still be rtively free. You can heal and wait for the right time to escape," the doctor said, finishing his entire n.


    "That¡¯s all depending on the assumption that Lucifer won¡¯t kill me! But if he does, without caring about my condition, I¡¯ll be like a chicken in the cutting block. Now, I can at least resist now, but what about then?" Xander inquired.


    "Try to understand. With this, you have a chance of surviving and escaping. On the other hand, if you decide to fight like this, let alone escaping, you won¡¯t even survive. He¡¯ll kill you for sure!" the white-robed doctor said.


    "So I believe this risk is worth it. Don¡¯t worry; I¡¯ll handle everything! Just trust me on this! There is no other way," he added, sighing.

 Chapter 320 - 320: Tip Of The Iceberg

    <h4>Chapter 320 - 320: Tip Of The Iceberg </h4>


    Xander wanted to argue, but he realized that there was truth to it. He wasn¡¯t in any condition to fight now. He couldn¡¯t even move.


    Taking a deep breath, he nodded his head. His heart was filled with frustration of not being able to do anything as the APF was destroyed from its core. All he could do was do whatever it took to survive for the moment.


    "Alright. Do it," he said after the initial struggle.


    The doctor moved over to a drawer. Opening it, he brought an injection out. He also brought out a small vial.


    "Lie on the bed," hemanded Xander.


    Xanderid on the bed as he watched the white-robed man step closer to him.


    The doctor rubbed the forearm of Xander with a cotton swab before he inserted the injection which had the medicine.


    "You stay safe as well," Xander told the doctor as he started feeling sleepy. He knew that it wasn¡¯t only him, but even the doctor who was in danger.


    Xander¡¯s heartbeat slowed down as he soon fell asleep, it seemed.


    "I will, my friend," the white-robed man said as he sighed.


    He kept the injection back.


    "I guess I should surrender now as well."


    He left the room and went towards the fourth floor.


    ...


    Lucifer remained in the broadcast room, sitting on the chairfortably. He didn¡¯t leave the ce as he believed there wasn¡¯t a need for him to get involved. Now he had people to do his bidding.


    "So this is what authority feels like," he muttered as he rested one of his legs above the other. "Not bad at all."


    "Taking over the APF base is only a minor thing though. The biggest obstruction will be taking over the Capital. That¡¯s the ce which is most fortified. Even Raia hadn¡¯t been able to attack that city even once," Lucifer thought, frowning.


    "The Hunter Union base will be there as well. Most of the guilds are there as well. Taking over that ce with only a few people that we have left will be very time consuming."


    "I wonder how much information Jiang has managed to collect?"


    He brought out his phone and called Jiang.


    The call was picked on the first ring itself.


    "Little Boss, how are you?" A voice came from the other side.


    "Are you in the Capital City?" Lucifer asked, not divulging in small talk.


    "That¡¯s right. I¡¯m here," Jiang answered. "I must say, it¡¯s a beautiful city indeed. But it¡¯s also a lot different than the other cities."


    "What¡¯s the situation of the war with APF? I thought it would be all over the news, but for some reason, we have no coverage of that yet? Did the war not happen?" he inquired.


    "Don¡¯t worry. The coverage will soon be in every part of the country. It¡¯s not easy to keep apletely annihted city a secret. It¡¯s just that we finished it fast, so we¡¯re ahead of the news for the moment," Lucifer answered.


    "So, how did it go? I assume you won since you¡¯re talking to me?" Jiang inquired.


    "That¡¯s right. APF is annihted. In fact, I¡¯m sitting inside their base right now. We have taken over this ce as well," Lucifer replied.


    "APF base?! The ce there¡¯s known to be the most secure ce in the entire country after the Capital City? And so fast? H-how? Tell me you¡¯re kidding!" Jiang eximed in shock.


    "It is not as difficult as you thought. Anyway, did you do the task I gave you? Did you manage to find out about the security of the city?" Lucifer asked, bringing the topic back.


    "I did find a few things but not a lot. It¡¯ll take a few days. So far, I only know the basics," Jiang answered.


    "Tell the basics that you know," Lucifer replied.


    Jiang started exining without any wait. "First, it starts at the airport. There¡¯s strict checking of all the passengers that get on a flight to get to the Capital City. Their names are checked against a special list."


    "The list contains the names of people of interest that can pose a danger to the Capital. All the Uprising Members, criminals, and so on are on the list. They won¡¯t even be allowed to board the flight. And even if they did, there¡¯s another screening at the Capital Airport."


    "The defense of Airport is really crazy though. Passing through it undetected is hard. Moreover, the Hunter Union is nearby. Within a few minutes, any enemy would be surrounded even if he managed to break the defense of the airport."


    "Furthermore, you need a special visa to enter the Capital. Even to take a cab, you¡¯ll need to show that Visa. It¡¯s pretty crazy here."


    "Fortunately, I have a permanent visa as the Owner of Welling Construction. But despite that, I had to go through thorough questioning at the airport."


    "They asked me hundreds of questions regarding my reason for arrival. It was so tiring. But I passed that ce."


    "Ignoring the airport security, I¡¯ll talk about the City security now. There are four routes that enter the city through thend."


    " Other than these routes, there¡¯s no other way to enter. There¡¯s a thick concrete wall all around the city. And that¡¯s not all; there are many stands for the army on top of the walls."


    "Thousands of the finest in Elisium Army are there, making sure that no one crosses the wall. Anyone seening towards the wall will be shot without any questions asked. The only exception is if that person wasing through one of the four routes."


    "And even in those four routes, there is exceptional checking. First, there¡¯s a checking station about a mile away from the entrance."


    "If you fail there, you¡¯ll be shot. If you pass, you¡¯ll be allowed to go ahead. And if you attack the people there, thousands of army men would attack you."


    "All the defenses of the city will activate. What I can say is that if a person doesn¡¯t want the bullets to rain on him, he shouldn¡¯t attack the First Post checking members."


    "That¡¯s just the tip of it. I also heard about some motion sensors and theser attack, but I need to confirm that. For now, I can¡¯t confirm that," Jiang exined to Lucifer.


    "The tip of the Iceberg, huh. Not bad," Lucifermented as he tried to think of a way in.


    He couldn¡¯t go to the airport. He couldn¡¯t go through thend route. He wondered if there was a simple path.


    He wasn¡¯t worried about the rain of bullets, but he wanted to be sure that there was no other way before trying that.


    ...


    [Author Note:


    Important:


    1) For mass release of next month, we¡¯ll move to a new system for mass release.


    Every 100 Golden Tickets= 1 Bonus Chapter.


    2) The highest Golden Ticket giver of the next month will be given an important character in the novel, including name and physique of their own choice, if they wish. They can also suggest a power for the character.


    3) If we¡¯re top 4 in Golden Ticket ranking of next month, there will be a Webtoon chapter of this novel for you all, including future scenes. ]

 Chapter 321 - 321: Method Of Quasi

    <h4>Chapter 321 - 321: Method Of Quasi </h4>


    "What about APF? Do they also go through such checking?" Lucifer asked.


    "I¡¯m not sure about that. I¡¯ll have to ask about that. As I said, this is just the preliminary report. There¡¯s still a lot to unearth. This ce should have many secrets," Jiang answered.


    "Alright. Take more time, but you only have one more day. I want the answer tomorrow. We don¡¯t have much time. Soon, this news will reach the government. Work fast," Lucifer reiterated as he disconnected the call.


    "Defence of Capital City. If it¡¯s really as unbreakable, the only option is to destroy it all. Wait... there¡¯s that too!"


    Lucifer abruptly stood up as he turned to leave.


    As soon as he turned around, he saw the door open.


    Kellian and Yaliza had arrived. They entered the room with Cassius and Alicia.


    "You came at the right time. Tell me about the Capital City. Is there a Dungeon around that city?" Lucifer asked, seemingly eager to get the answer.


    "Not one. There are actually two level three Dungeons near the Capital City. Why are you asking?" Kellian asked, wondering what Lucifer was thinking now.


    Lucifer ced his phone on the table and sat on the chair again as he closed his eyes. He started thinking about what he learned regarding the dungeons in the academy.


    "Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re thinking about releasing the beasts from the Dungeons?" Alicia asked, guessing what Lucifer might be thinking.


    "That¡¯s right. If we can do that, the beasts will move towards the city. The city defense will be overwhelmed," Lucifer replied.


    " I believe even APF members would be checked when entering the Capital. But when the forces of Elisium are overwhelmed by dungeon dwellers, they won¡¯t check us."


    "I¡¯m just creating this n as a backup. We still don¡¯t have all the information. If there¡¯s a better way, I¡¯ll switch the ns," he added.


    "Isn¡¯t it impossible to bring out the monsters? The beasts can¡¯t leave the Dungeon as long as the Monster Index isn¡¯t high enough. No matter what we do, they just can¡¯te out," Kellian chimed in.


    "That¡¯s right. This n won¡¯t work," Alicia nodded.


    "Nope. That¡¯s where you¡¯re wrong. There¡¯s another way," Lucifer replied as he smiled. "Aren¡¯t I right, Cassius?"


    "Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re thinking about...? Absolutely not! No way in hell are we doing that!" Cassius was taken aback as he realized what Lucifer was talking about.


    Even though the Ind Nation, where they lived, didn¡¯t have any Dungeons, they still had information about them.


    In fact, some of their scientists had gone to other nations to investigate the Dungeons to stay prepared in case one was discovered near them.


    Through one such investigation, they found a way to let the monsterse out.


    The information about the Dungeons was taught in the Academy, and this was also taught to the students. It was to teach them about what to do and what not to do.


    As for Cassius, he was sure that Lucifer wanted to do what they were told never to do.


    "You¡¯re worrying too much. Don¡¯t worry. It¡¯s not that bad," Lucifer said.


    "What method are you two talking about?" Alicia inquired.


    "Artificially Increasing the Monster Index," Lucifer answered. "That will remove the block on the entrance of the Dungeon. Monsters will be able toe out."


    "Artificially Increasing the Monster Index? Can you even do that? Doesn¡¯t the Monster Index depend on the number of monsters inside the Dungeon?"


    "You can¡¯t increase it without increasing the number of Dungeon Dwellers inside. So how will you even achieve that?" Yaliza inquired, not understanding.


    What was it that Lucifer knew, but they didn¡¯t?


    "The Method of Quasi," Lucifer replied.


    "Method of Quasi? This is my first time hearing of it. What is it?" Alicia inquired.


    "It¡¯s the Method of artificially increasing the monster count. As for how it is done, you don¡¯t need to know that for now. Just know that we¡¯ll need to go inside the Dungeon if ites to that," Lucifer answered.


    " Let¡¯s wait till tomorrow. I¡¯ll get more information. Who knows, we might not even need to do it," he added.


    He stood up and started walking towards the exit.


    Stopping at the exit, he turned around and asked, "What are you all still doing here? It should be time soon. Clear the entire APF base. And kill all the people that haven¡¯t surrendered."


    "As for the ones who surrendered, I¡¯ll go and meet them," he added as he left.


    Cassius ran after Lucifer. Ayn and Alicia also went after him. As for Yaliza and Kellian, they got to work that Lucifer gave them.


    "Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re serious about doing it?!" Cassius asked Lucifer gravely.


    "I¡¯m not serious about anything at the moment. I¡¯m just looking at the possibilities," Lucifer replied.


    "Let this be a possibility only! Doing that would be stupid! Moreover, your goals are different. There¡¯s no need to risk so much for it. I¡¯m sure you know what will happen if you do this. There¡¯s no going back!"


    "As I said, you need to rx. I am sure there won¡¯t be a need to do it. But even if there is, it won¡¯t be as bad as you¡¯re thinking it to be," Lucifer said.


    Unlike Cassius, he seemed perfectly calm, as if he was talking about apletely normal thing.


    "Ayn, where do you keep your fridge? I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll have some ice cream here, right?" Lucifer asked Ayn, who was lost in a thought of her own.


    Ayn was praying that everyone had surrendered and no one was resisting.


    "Ice Cream?" She asked,ing out of her daze.


    "Of course. Where do you keep it?" Lucifer repeated the question.


    Ayn didn¡¯t ask again and simply escorted Lucifer to the canteen.


    "Take as many as you want," she said, pointing toward the fridge.


    Lucifer opened the big freezer to find many items inside. He brought three cups of ice cream before closing it.


    "Here, have some. Calm your heads. I¡¯m sure the two of you are a bit stressed. Rx. We have just finished a big mission without anyone dying. This deserves celebration, doesn¡¯t it?" he asked as he gave a cup each to Cassius and Ayn.


    "Here, one for you too," he added as he gave the third one to Alicia.


    Walking back to the fridge, he brought another ice cream cup out, but this time only for himself.


    As he turned back, he noticed that no one was eating.


    Alicia was looking at him, thinking what was happening? One moment Lucifer was a crazy Warlock that killed Varant, took over the APF headquarters and was talking about taking over the Capital City, and the next moment, he was taking ice cream like a kid?

 Chapter 322 - 322: Xander Is Here

    <h4>Chapter 322 - 322: Xander Is Here </h4>


    "Don¡¯t just hold it! Eat it. It¡¯ll melt otherwise. Don¡¯t waste food!" Lucifer told the three of them as he started leaving.


    He went towards the lift but stopped.


    "This fingerprint thing needs to go. Alicia, remind me tomand a technician to remove all the fingerprint defense of this ce," he reminded Alicia as he waited for Ayn to open the lift.


    Ayn ced her hand on the lift sensor. After the scanning, the doors opened, and the four of them entered inside.


    The lift went down to the fourth floor, which seemed somewhat crowded as many people hade down to surrender.


    From what Lucifer could see, there were close to a hundred APF members sitting on their knees. The Variant Uprising Members were keeping an eye on them.


    "So these are all who surrendered. I thought there would be more," Lucifer said, tossing the finished cup of ice cream to the side.


    Ayn hadn¡¯t eaten at all. She was still carrying the cup in her hand.


    All the APF members saw Ayn standing behind Lucifer. Their eyes opened slowly as they wondered why she was with them.


    Lucifer noticed the direction of their gaze.


    "I¡¯m sure you¡¯re all wondering why Ayn is with me instead of being with you?" He inquired as he stepped ahead with his hands in his pocket.


    Ayn lowered her head as she understood that Lucifer was going to tell them all that she had betrayed them.


    She was prepared to face the gazes of disgust from them. Inside her heart, she was steadfast though. She still believed this was the right choice.


    "She has also surrendered to us. She will now be working with us. And I¡¯d like to give a simr offer to you all. Join us. Forget all the bad blood between Uprising and APF. Both the organizations are simr at their core after all," Lucifer said to the APF members.


    " Don¡¯t worry though. There¡¯s no hurry. I don¡¯t want your answers now. You have a day to decide. If you ept to work under me, you¡¯ll gain your freedom. If you don¡¯t, well, I don¡¯t think any of you will, but we¡¯ll see what happens then," he added.


    "Ayn, would you like to say something to them?" He asked Ayn as he called her closer.


    That was the advantage of having an APF captain under his control. All the struggles he went through to bear with the shenanigans of Ayn were paying off.


    She worked as their informant and also the key that brought them here without any losses.


    And now, she was going to be the one who was going to lure most of the APF members to join them.


    As for how loyal they were going to be, he had Veracity for that. Every piece of the puzzle was in ce now.


    Moreover, he knew Ayn was going to y another important role in their entry to the Capital City. In fact, she was a pretty importantponent of this n.


    Ayn¡¯s legs refused to move as she heard Lucifer call him. She took a deep breath as she finally stepped forward to stand beside him.


    "I know what you¡¯re all thinking. How can you work for the enemy? I thought the same thing, but since then I¡¯vee to know of a few things," Ayn said in a powerful voice. Her leader¡¯s aura was back.


    "This isn¡¯t what you should think now! What you should think is how you can bring the society back to normal! Just think what we can achieve if we support Lucifer."


    "First, there won¡¯t be any senseless killing. No Variant would attack humans for no reason at all. And if they do, Uprising would stop them and even kill them. Isn¡¯t that our main goal? To save humans as much as we can? War isn¡¯t good for anyone. Just like we just saw!"


    "We fought with all we had, and we lost many of our members. In the crossfire, many innocent people also died. Throughout the years, hundreds of thousands of innocents had died in the battles. We need to end it all!"


    "It doesn¡¯t matter who is at the helm! As long as it brings stability, I support it! And I trust Lucifer!"


    " You all might know this as well! He is the son of Zale Azarel! I trusted Zale Azarel, and now I trust his son! Everything will return to normal! Let¡¯s all be optimistic instead of being pessimistic!"


    "I know it will be a big change as we always saw them as viins. But it¡¯s time we have a new perspective. I am ready to support Lucifer. And I hope you¡¯ll decide the same. For everyone¡¯s sake!"


    By the time Ayn finished, everyone was staring at her. Everyone seemed conflicted, but there was a sense of understanding inside them as Ayn was the one who was convincing them.


    " As you just heard her say, it¡¯ll be a good choice to support us. But the final choice will be yours. You¡¯ll all be shifted to the cells, where you¡¯ll stay for a day. Tomorrow I¡¯ll ask for your answers," Lucifer said, taking back the charge.


    " Only the ones who are truly dedicated to following mymands should agree. Because liars would be killed faster than the ones who disagree," he told the men before hemanded Ayn to take them all to the cells.


    He himself walked behind them to make sure they were taken to the cells.


    As for the reason Lucifer had told them toe to the fourth floor was because it was the only ce that was made to keep prisoners and was stillpletely empty.


    Other imprisonment floors were still slightly filled.


    He walked behind Alicia to make sure that it was all handled properly. All the APF members were sent inside the prison.


    "Wait. Can I please not be put there?" One young man asked, refusing to enter the cell.


    "Why is that?" Lucifer asked, amused.


    "I¡¯m the Chief Doctor of APF. I don¡¯t care about what side you all fight for. All I want is to save the patients whoe to me."


    " So I already ept that I¡¯ll work for you all. But I don¡¯t want to waste one day staying inside the cell. My patients need me," the young man said, who was none other than the same doctor that was treating Xander.


    " Alright. You stay out with your staff. I¡¯ll allow you that much freedom," Lucifermanded.


    The medical staff wasn¡¯t forced inside after hismand, and five people remained outside.


    Everyone else was sent inside the cells and locked. As for the keys, they were kept by an Uprising Warlock who was assigned to guard this ce.


    ...


    "How many patients are there in the APF medical facility?" Lucifer inquired. "Also, I heard Xander is in aa here? How¡¯s he now?"

 Chapter 323 - 323: Expected

    <h4>Chapter 323 - 323: Expected </h4>


    "Captain Xander? He¡¯s still in aa. I doubt he¡¯ll ever wake up. We can only hope he does," the Doctor answers, sighing. "As for the number of patients, there aren¡¯t many at the moment. Only Captain Xander is the one who is there."


    "Only one patient is here?" Lucifer inquired, surprised.


    "That¡¯s right. We only have him at the moment," the doctor answered. "But we do treat the ones that get sick asionally or the ones thate back hurt from missions," the doctor replied.


    "Is that so? That¡¯s good. You¡¯ll work with the Uprising medical team from now on," Lucifer nodded.


    The team reached the Medical Facility of APF. ording to Lucifer¡¯s wishes, Lucifer was taken to the room where Xander was being kept.


    He stopped in front of Xander, who was lying on the bed, unmoving. There were machines attached to him.


    Seeing Xander again, Lucifer remembered the day he had faced Xander. The fierce battle outside the facility was still fresh in his head.


    "He¡¯s been like that for thest eight years?" he asked the doctor.


    "That¡¯s right. We¡¯re keeping him alive. But we don¡¯t know if he¡¯ll ever wake up," the doctor answered.


    As Lucifer didn¡¯t have Veracity here, he couldn¡¯t verify any answer, but he believed the doctor.


    He checked the chest of Xander to see if there were any wounds after unbuttoning him.


    "Wounds arepletely healed. I can¡¯t even see a mark," hemented.


    "Of course. We worked really hard to heal him. But we couldn¡¯t heal his brain. Unfortunately, we have no technology to bring him out of thea," The doctor answered.


    Standing under the room filled with lights, Lucifer found himself lost in thoughts. Xander was in aa. He was half-dead already. And it didn¡¯t seem like he was ever going to wake up.


    But they couldn¡¯t leave him free either. What if he did wake up someday when there¡¯s no security here? He might get free and create a mess in this ce. But then again, he didn¡¯t feel like killing a half-dead person.


    "Ayn, step forward," he told Ayn.


    Ayn came forward. "What?"


    Facing Ayn, Lucifer grabbed her hand.


    "Unlock," he said softly.


    The bracelet which was in Ayn¡¯s hand became loose and was finally free.


    Lucifer took her Limiter off. He ced that limiter in his pocket.


    After a moment, he started walking back and forth, trying to think of what to do.


    "Alright. It¡¯s decided," he added as he stepped towards Xander, determined to do something.


    He took off his right glove and decided to touch Xander¡¯s hands.


    Standing near Xander, Lucifer was prepared to watch him decay. He wasn¡¯t clear if he actually wanted this since he felt that it was beneath him to kill a half-dead person now, but he didn¡¯t care.


    He believed instead of living in risk of Xander waking up and destroying what he worked hard to protect; it was better to destroy him.


    "What are you doing!" Ayn yelled.


    Even the doctor was stunned. Xander¡¯s biggest fear wasing true. Lucifer was actually killing him when he couldn¡¯t resist.


    "I¡¯m giving him freedom. He has been living like this for eight years. Who knows, he might be like this for fifty years. And even if he wakes up, he¡¯ll just attack me," Lucifer said.


    "How can you say that! He won¡¯t attack you! I can convince him!" Ayn insisted.


    "You can¡¯t. The day I fought him, I saw hate in his eyes. He wasn¡¯t hesitating at all in trying to kill me. And it wasn¡¯t the same as I saw in other members of APF. It was a different kind of hate. Even though I can easily take care of him, I don¡¯t want to face him," Lucifer said calmly.


    Without hesitating, he wanted to use his decay. As for Ayn, she wanted to stop him, but she couldn¡¯t do anything.


    She could fight Lucifer, but she couldn¡¯t defeat him. The entire base was in his control. He could easily kill them all.


    Her fist clenched firmly as she struggled to do something.


    "Wait. I think it¡¯s not right." Another voice came at the moment Lucifer was about to touch Xander.


    This time Lucifer actually stopped as he turned back. He nced at Cassius, who seemed against him.


    "What?" Lucifer asked.


    " I think killing him like that would be wrong. How about we keep Uprising members here? If he ever wakes up, we can kill him," Cassius answered.


    " We can¡¯t keep any Uprising members here since we¡¯ll be mounting an assault on the Capital City. If we keep a weak member here and he wakes up, the base will be attacked. Information will leak that the base was taken over by us. The capital city will be alert," Lucifer exined.


    "And if we leave a strong Warlock here, we¡¯ll have less workforce. We can¡¯t waste resources like this, especially on someone so risky," he further said. Without turning back, he ced his finger on Xander¡¯s forehead.


    He had thought about this a lot, and this seemed like the safest option, even if it was looking bad at the moment.


    Watching Xander decay, Ayn closed her eyes and turned around.


    She was in a moral dilemma. She couldn¡¯t resist for long though.


    "Enough! I can¡¯t let you do it!"


    She wasn¡¯t able to stop herself. No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn¡¯t let Xander die. He was her close friend, after all. The only reason she supported Lucifer was to save the lives of people, including Xander.


    And she couldn¡¯t stop herself.


    She raised both her hands. Her eyes shone in a mysterious blue light as the room temperature started decreasing. But before she couldn¡¯t even do anything, her body was sliced into two halves.


    Blood came out of her lips as she dropped to the ground. Her eyes remained open even as she died. It all happened so fast that she couldn¡¯t even save herself.


    "That¡¯s what I expected from you. Attacking me in thest moments from behind. I¡¯m not that naive anymore," Lucifer said as he observed the body of Ayn.


    He had already expected that Ayn would attack him when push came to shove. She wasn¡¯t actually going to join his side. He had understood it long ago.


    The moment he showed the hypocrisy of Varant to her, instead of saying that Lucifer was right, she separated APF from Varant.


    She kept saying that her side had nothing to do with it, taking no responsibility, and saying that it was him who was wrong.

 Chapter 324 - 324: Ruthless Queen

    <h4>Chapter 324 - 324: Ruthless Queen </h4>


    He had understood right then. She might superficially support him, but she¡¯ll never actually support him from the core. She was going to betray him someday as her mind was going to change in the future.


    This test was proved to be effective. And he got the reason he needed. His wind des cut Ayn in half as soon as Lucifer felt the temperature decrease.


    That was also why he removed her Limiter to give her freedom. He couldn¡¯t always keep Limiter on her as he only had one. He needed to save it for important asions.


    As for Xander, he was already in aa, so he couldn¡¯t resist either as his body was destroyed particle by particle.


    Within seconds, Xander was gone. Nothing but ashes could be seen on the bed.


    "Well, doctor. Now you don¡¯t have any patients. You can rx and enjoy," Lucifer told the doctor as he walked over to Ayn. He used decay on her as well.


    Only after finishing, he left the room, leaving the doctor behind. He knew there was no need to warn the doctor. This disy was enough in itself to make him eternally loyal in fear.


    Cassius followed Lucifer, not knowing what to think. He felt like power was corrupting Lucifer. He had forgotten his quest. He wanted revenge on his enemies that killed his parents and made his life hell.


    But Cassius felt like something was different. Why did it feel like something more than just revenge? Was it his misconception?


    ¡¯I¡¯m probably thinking too much,¡¯ He thought, shaking his head.


    As for Alicia, she was thinkingpletely differently from Cassius. She could feel a glimpse of Raia in Lucifer.


    The decisiveness to make sure that their mission was sessful and worrying about the lives of his allies. She was getting more and more impressed with Lucifer¡¯s way of doing things.


    Lucifer went back to the cells and brought another APF member to escort them now that Ayn was gone. It was also someone who had epted to help him.


    "Take me to Varant¡¯s office," Lucifer told the man.


    The man escorted Lucifer to the office of Varant.


    "This is where he used to sit," he said to Lucifer as he pushed the door of Cassius¡¯s room open.


    Lucifer stepped inside the clean office, which looked well furnished.


    He walked over to the chair of Varant and satfortably. Cassius and Alicia sat in other chairs.


    The man who escorted them stood in the back respectfully.


    Sitting on the chair, Lucifer observed the items that were on the table. Other than a few files, there seemed to be nothing significant.


    He left the files to readter and started checking the drawer to see if there was anything there.


    "Hmm? This?"


    As Lucifer opened the drawer, he found something which intrigued him.


    ...


    Far away from Elisium, existed another continent. Like any other continent, this one also had many nations. But it had something more that the other continents didn¡¯t have.


    The Continent of Triton was known for its different culture. It was known as the Continent of Technology which had an advanced civilization. When it came to technology, this continent was said to be miles ahead of others.


    The Continent of Triton had one more thing. It had a Warlock Council.


    The Warlock Council was made from the top Warlocks of many nations on this continent. They were the unspoken rulers of Triton.


    Within the continent of Triton, there existed a moderately sized country. It wasn¡¯t the biggest country in Triton, but it was the most influential country in this ce.


    It was known as the Nation of Zeston. Another special thing about Zeston was that it was where the Warlock Council headquarters was.


    Currently, a meeting was taking ce between the top Warlocks of the Warlock Council.


    Inside a massive hall, there existed a big round table. Tens of Warlocks were sitting around the table.


    "Why did you call this meeting?" One of them asked as he looked towards a white-haired man.


    "Jenilia is back. She failed to convince Varant to give us the stone," the white-haired man answered.


    "As I expected. That guy is pretty stubborn. We¡¯ll need to take some strict actions to get the stone from him. In any case, Elisium isn¡¯t the same as before. Without Zale there, we don¡¯t have to be concerned about anything," another Warlock chimed in.


    "What about the Divine Empire? Didn¡¯t we send an envoy there too? Did he manage to get the stone?"


    The white-haired man took a deep breath as he sighed. "He is dead. Their Queen killed him from what I heard."


    " That girl? Don¡¯t you think she¡¯s a bit too arrogant and ruthless? She killed an Envoy?"


    " Why are we bearing it! Why don¡¯t we just attack the Divine Empire! Let¡¯s teach that girl a lesson! A girl who isn¡¯t even twenty is challenging the authority of the Warlock Council!"


    "We should all attack and destroy that empire!"


    "I understand your sentiments, but it¡¯s not that easy. You don¡¯t understand," the white-haired man let out. "It¡¯s easier said than done!"


    "She is a Special Grade Variant. You all know her powers, don¡¯t you? She kills our Variants and turns them into her ves! Moreover, her men are the same! All they need is to drink the blood of a dead person to bring them to life! And that person shares their abilities!"


    "If we fight her, we won¡¯t just be fighting her. We¡¯ll be fighting all our men as well! Moreover, that territory is certainly advantageous to her. We can¡¯t invade."


    "Why else do you think we¡¯re trying so hard to convince her respectfully?" The white-haired man said firmly.


    "So we¡¯ll never get her stone if she doesn¡¯t agree? How will our ns move forward then? Can¡¯t we send our Assassins? Let¡¯s assassinate her? After she is gone, we can conquer that ce," Another Warlock suggested.


    "It¡¯s impossible. Any Assassins we send are caught instantly. The Divine Empire is a hell! No one can conquer that ce. There¡¯s no such person in this world who can do it!" The white haired man said as he smacked his fist on the table.


    ...


    A reminiscent smile was on Lucifer¡¯s face as he picked up the thing inside the drawer. It was none other than the group picture which had his father, Varant, Raia and Zeiss.


    "Cassius, look at this picture. They all look so close. I doubt anyone could have guessed that three of them would kill my father. Right?" he asked Cassius,ughing.


    "No one can understand what¡¯s in the heart of people," Cassius answered, sighing. "The world is just like that."

 Chapter 325 - 325: Meeting Zale Azarel

    <h4>Chapter 325 - 325: Meeting Zale Azarel </h4>


    "That¡¯s true as well. No one can understand what¡¯s in the heart of a person," Lucifer muttered as he sighed.


    He brought out his phone and called Vega, who was sent to the Security Chamber to deal with things.


    He was told to take over that ce and arrange the security to help them. All the old fingerprints were removed from the system.


    Vega also got inside their system to get every hidden detail from it. Not only that, but he also killed the people that were trapped inside the ice blocks.


    He was going through the details, arranging everything ording to him when his phone rang.


    "Yeah?" He asked, picking up the phone.


    "I want you to get all the details of the prisoners in APF cells from their system," Lucifermanded Vega. "How fast can you get me those details?"


    "I¡¯ll send you all the details on your phone. It¡¯ll take five minutes only," Vega answered.


    "Alright. Do it fast," Lucifer said before disconnecting the call.


    Vega got to work again. He found the details of the prisoners and sent the details to Lucifer.


    After sending the details, he called him again.


    "I sent you all the details. There are actually two hundred and seventeen prisoners in APF at the moment, excluding the people we just put in. But there¡¯s a strange thing too that I noticed," Vega told Lucifer.


    "What strange thing?" Lucifer asked, curious. What could it be that Vega noticed?


    "Wait, not one. Actually, I noticed two strange things. I just saw the second thing. And I think it¡¯ll shock you too..." Vega said as he noticed a footage on the screen which he never thought he¡¯d see.


    "Tell me what they are?" Lucifer asked again.


    ¡¯I¡¯m currently looking at the screen, and I see... Your father..." Vega replied. Even he was having a hard time believing it.


    "Old footage, you mean?" Lucifer inquired, thinking it was some old video of his father.


    "Not old footage. It¡¯s live. He¡¯s inside the facility at the moment. I see him going towards the terrace. He¡¯s inside a lift right now. It seems like he is... Alive..." Vega said,pleting his sentence.


    "He is alive?" Lucifer stood up in shock as a multitude of expressions covered his face. How could it be that he was alive?


    "Stop the lift right now. And tell me which floor it¡¯s at," Lucifer told Vega as he hastily left the office.


    Cassius and Alicia ran after him, wondering what was happening. Who was alive? What was so urgent for Lucifer that he was so affected?


    They ran after Lucifer, who stopped in front of the lift on their floor. Since Varant¡¯s office was already on the highest floor, he was on the top floor as well.


    And ording to Vega, the lift was going to pass through here to get to the terrace, but Lucifer had told Vega to dy the lift after knowing which floor it was on.


    He also told Vega to make sure the lift stops on his floor.


    ...


    The lift stopped right in front of Lucifer as he hadmanded since Vega literally controlled everything in the base now.


    The lift opened to reveal five people inside.


    Lucifer¡¯s eyes were only stuck on one person in the lift though. His father...


    The men inside the lift were shocked as it opened on this floor. And the people before them weren¡¯t from APF. They were trying to escape instead of surrendering but now that they were caught, they decided to attack.


    As soon as the lift was opened, many attacks came towards Lucifer and others.


    None of the attacks hit anyone, though. A powerful barrier appeared in front of them, which stopped all the attacks. Alicia finally got involved in the battle.


    Amongst her many powers, her defense was said to be the best. It was said to be an unbreakable defence.


    If Lucifer was said to be the definition of overwhelming attack power, Alicia had an overwhelming defence.


    No attack passed through her barrier.


    " Should I kill them all?" She asked Lucifer.


    "Wait," Lucifer replied,ing out of his daze. "Take out the other four. Leave the one in the middle."


    He didn¡¯t want her to attack his father, who hadn¡¯t attacked them yet.


    "Alright," Alicia nodded.


    She raised her other hand slowly, making four illusory knives appear out of thin air, which she shot towards the four people that Lucifer talked about.


    The four attacking men dropped to the ground with a hole in their foreheads.


    Alicia removed the barrier as well since thest standing man hadn¡¯t attacked a single time.


    Lucifer looked at his father, who stood inside the lift. Zale Azarel looked at him as if he was looking at a stranger.


    Many emotions filled Lucifer¡¯s heart as he stepped towards Zale.


    "Do you recognize me?" he asked.


    The man seemed confused. He didn¡¯t know who the three people before him were. All he knew was that they were from Variant Uprising.


    "Who is he?" Cassius asked Lucifer, curious.


    "He is my father," Lucifer replied softly.


    It was only now that Zale Azarel seemingly understood something.


    "You¡¯re Lucifer?" He asked Lucifer.


    Lucifer repeatedly nodded his head. "It¡¯s so good to see you alive. I¡¯m so d that you are here."


    He hugged Zale Azarel tightly.


    It was only after he hugged Zale that Lucifer¡¯s smile disappeared. Electricity flickered in his arms which were hugging Zale.


    "Arghhh!"


    Zale¡¯s scream filled the lift as he was attacked with ck electricity.


    Seeing Zale scream, Cassius grew shocked. What was Lucifer doing? Was he attacking his own father?


    The screams of Zale soon stopped as the light in his eyes disappeared.


    Lucifer freed him, making the body of Zale fall on the ground.


    "W-what did you do? Didn¡¯t you say he was your father?" Cassius asked, unable to believe what he just saw.


    "Fake Father. He¡¯s an impersonator," Lucifer said as he stomped on the head of the man lying near his feet, stomping his skull.


    "After the confession of Varant, I was sure that my father was dead. In any case, if they were here, then Varant would have known. He would¡¯ve told me before. It could only mean one was lying. And I¡¯m sure it wasn¡¯t Varant," Lucifer replied, sighing.


    "Still, for a moment, I believed there was a possibility. A small chance that it could be true. I was hoping for it to be true that he was alive. But it¡¯s not him. My father wouldn¡¯t be harmed with any lightning. He failed the test. He¡¯s a fake," he added.


    "I wish he weren¡¯t though," he muttered, dropping to his knees.

 Chapter 326 - 326: Caen

    <h4>Chapter 326 - 326: Caen </h4>


    Fortunately, he didn¡¯t seem heartbroken. It was something he had prepared himself for. He didn¡¯t keep high expectations


    He used his decay on all the bodies before he stood up again as if nothing significant had happened. He left the lift and walked back to the office.


    Sitting in the office, he again called Vega.


    "He was a fake," Lucifer told Vega.


    "I should¡¯ve expected that. Zale would never look to run away like that guy was doing. I apologize," Vega let out apologetically.


    "It¡¯s fine. What¡¯s the second strange thing you noticed?" Lucifer asked.


    "There¡¯s another cell¡ªa special section in the APF which is used to keep prisoners. But there are no cameras there, and only Varant and a few other high-ranking members were allowed to go there. At least ording to what I found," Vega replied.


    "Can you find who is kept there?" Lucifer inquired, seemingly curious. It seemed like only powerful Variants must be kept there.


    "There¡¯s no record here as to who is kept there. So I can¡¯t say. You¡¯ll need to check yourself. I¡¯ll send you the location of that ce," Vega responded.


    ...


    Lucifer sat in the office, going through the details of the prisoners that were given to him by Vega.


    "Honestly, a lot of them shouldn¡¯t even be here. Look at this guy. All he did was hack some system. Because of the risk of him doing it again, he was forever imprisoned."


    "And this guy, he only killed a human that was assaulting someone. And theynded him here. Then there¡¯s this guy, responsible for killing a businessman that screwed his smallpany."


    "Some of these people are really useful. As for the others, they are slightly risky, but I think we can control them if we free them all. It¡¯s a good way to increase our force. What do you think?"


    As Lucifer finished going through the list, he asked Cassius and Alicia.


    "I think this will be good," Alicia agreed.


    "We can certainly take help. We are going to need as much as we can get," Cassius also agreed.


    Since they all supported his decision, it was decided.


    He stood up and went to the cells. One after another, he kept going to the cells and freeing the prisoners.


    At the same time, he didn¡¯t forget to show his dominance to show them that he was the leader.


    He wanted to have them fear and respect him at the same time, and he was easily seeding.


    He soon freed all the prisoners from the cell. The strong and the weak, they were all freed from the prisons, including the hacker.


    It was decided that the hacker was going to work with Vega since they both shared the expertise. The two were going to form the intelligence department of Variant Uprising.


    ...


    "This is the special cell department. I wonder what kind of prisoners will be here," Standing before a metallic gate, Lucifer asked himself.


    He looked towards the camera on top, signing something.


    With a beeping sound, the gates were open now. Vega had opened the gates. This was what he could control. From here on, everything was on Lucifer.


    He was also walking with Alicia and Cassius.


    There seemed to be five cells here. And each of these cells had a lock that opened with a passcode.


    Unfortunately, only Varant knew the passcode. Lucifer had no idea what the code was. It wasn¡¯t stored in the system either. So Vega couldn¡¯t find it.


    ¡¯If I knew about this, I would have asked him for the codes,¡¯ he thought as he stopped before the first gate.


    He stretched his arms as he decided on what to do.


    Raising his right leg, he kicked the door. He could have used his decay as well, but he didn¡¯t wish to waste so much time since he had super strength.


    A single lock from him was enough as the door broke. The metallic door flew behind, crashing on the opposite wall inside the cell.


    Lucifer stepped inside the cell to see who it was that was inside this cell.


    "It¡¯s empty?" He eximed, surprised. There was no one here.


    "Let¡¯s check the other ones," Cassius suggested as he walked over to the second room.


    This time, he took the lead as he brought his sword.


    The sword started shining with Divine Sword Energy. He used the sword to cut through the door as if it was butter, creating an opening.


    The group of three entered inside the second cell as well. It was also a failure as they couldn¡¯t find anyone inside.


    "Are they all empty?" Alicia asked, wondering if the other three were the same. "If so, we¡¯re wasting our time."


    "Maybe. I am not sure of it. It¡¯s quite possible that this ce was made for special prisoners, but there was never a need to use it," Cassius suggested as he stepped out of the second cell.


    The third cell was once again opened by Lucifer. He kicked the door open and entered inside.


    At the same time, Cassius moved over to the fourth door to save time.


    "It¡¯s empty as well," Lucifer said, disappointed. The third room was empty as well.


    "Lucifer! Come here fast; I found someone!"


    Lucifer was just about to leave the third room when he heard the call of Cassius. He ran to the fourth gate, wondering who was there.


    Through the sword-made opening in the gate, he stepped inside the fourth cell to find a person inside. As for the person, he seemed to be a middle-aged man.


    The man had dirty hair as if he hadn¡¯t taken a shower in over a month. The man looked like he was in his mid-forties.


    The middle-aged man was sitting in his dark cell when lights suddenly filled the room. A young man stepped inside the cell. Before he could even ask anything, the man screamed and called for someone named Lucifer


    The middle-aged man looked at Lucifer, slightly surprised. The silver hair and blue eyes reminded him of someone. And this name...


    "Are you Lucifer Azarel?" The middle-aged man asked, frowning.


    "Yeah. How do you know me?" Lucifer asked, stunned. Why did a prisoner recognize him?


    Within minutes of Lucifer asking his question, he got his answer. The man didn¡¯t speak to answer him. Instead, he used something else.


    His face slowly started changing, and started bing slender and seemingly younger. His hair also changed color and became cleaner. His body size also became smaller.


    Within minutes, the middle-aged man looked like apletely different person. He seemed like a woman now. But it was a woman that Lucifer recognized.


    "Caen?" he asked, stunned.


    .....


    [ Author Note:


    Important:


    1) For mass release of next month, we¡¯ll move to a new system for mass release.


    Every 100 Golden Tickets= 1 Bonus Chapter.


    2) The highest Golden Ticket giver of the next month will be given an important character in the novel, including name and physique of their own choice, if they wish. They can also suggest a power for the character.


    3) If we¡¯re top 4 in Golden Ticket ranking of next month, there will be a Webtoon chapter of this novel for you all, including future scenes. ]

 Chapter 327 - 327: Step Aside Kiddo

    <h4>Chapter 327 - 327: Step Aside Kiddo </h4>


    "So it is indeed you. You¡¯re alive even after being caught by Varant; I¡¯m surprised. It seems like you¡¯re really immortal," Caen said weakly as he stood up.


    As he stood up, Lucifer could see the pain on Caen¡¯s face.


    "Are you in pain?" Lucifer inquired.


    "Well, what do you think? It¡¯s only been a few months since Varant broke my bonesst time. That bastard really loves screwing with me. But I¡¯m almost fine now," Caen answered, smiling. "What are you doing here though? Did you break inside?"


    "That¡¯s right. Variant Uprising has taken over the APF headquarters. You¡¯re free. Come with us. We¡¯ll take you to the medical facility."


    "Uprising has taken over?! How? What about Varant and all the APF Warlocks?" Caen asked, stunned.


    "They¡¯re all dead as well, including Varant," Lucifer informed him.


    "Huh? Are you really telling the truth? Raia actually managed to kill him?" Caen asked in disbelief. "Where is Raia now?"


    "Raia is dead. And it was I who killed Varant," Lucifer answered. "A lot of things have changed. Come, I¡¯ll tell you everything."


    ...


    "What do you mean you¡¯re the Uprising leader now?"


    It was the biggest shock of his life as Caen heard the news. Lucifer was actually the big boss now?


    "That¡¯s right. Kellian and Yaliza are upstairs too. They can exin everything in more detail," Lucifer let out as he stopped in front of thest door.


    It was the fifth door and thest cell in this ce that they hadn¡¯t checked.


    Lucifer kicked the door, breaking the metallic door which crashed on the wall inside the cell.


    He entered the cell to see a man doing pushups on the ground.


    Seeing Lucifer enter, the man stopped as he looked at Lucifer.


    There seemed to be fear in his eyes.


    "W-who are you all?" The man asked, seemingly scared.


    Lucifer observed the man from top to bottom. The man was dressed in white prisoner clothes. He had short dark hair and beautiful hazel eyes.


    His perfectly chiseled face made him look particrly handsome, but the fear on his face was something obvious.


    "Do you know who he is?" Lucifer asked Caen.


    Caen shook his head. "I have no idea, but for him to be kept here, he should be an important prisoner who Varant didn¡¯t want the world to know about."


    "Who are you?" Lucifer asked the young man, who seemed to be in his early twenties.


    "I-i am Uzuki," the man answered, stuttering.


    "Did you kill people?" Lucifer inquired.


    "I haven¡¯t even killed a single fly," the man answered, sighing. " I don¡¯t even know why I¡¯m here. I just came here from the Nation of Zeston. I just wanted to sew different nations."


    "Why are you in prison then? Something doesn¡¯t add up," Lucifer replied, frowning.


    "What can I say? Even I don¡¯t know why I¡¯m here. I was in a bar, drinking. Suddenly everything turned dark. The next thing I knew was that I was here. I kept telling them that I¡¯m innocent, but no one listened," Uzuki replied.


    He seemed like an innocent man from a decent family that would never dare tomit a crime.


    "Strange. Even though they are bad, I don¡¯t think they¡¯ll capture someone for drinking? What are you not telling us?" Lucifer asked, frowning.


    "I¡¯m telling you. This is the truth. Please tell your seniors to free me. Even though I don¡¯t have anyone waiting for me back home, I still can¡¯t stay here. I¡¯m innocent!" Uzuki insisted firmly.


    "Fine. Give me the name of the bar where you were drinking and the date," Lucifer said, giving this man the benefit of the doubt. Maybe he was actually telling the truth. At least that¡¯s what it seemed like from the way he talked.


    "It was Sky Bar. As for the date, I believe it was the seventh, exactly two months ago," Uzuki answered.


    Bringing his phone out, Lucifer called Vega.


    "Can you find me if something happened in Sky Bar about two months ago on the seventh?"


    "Ah, I remember that. I don¡¯t even need to find out about it. There was ughter in that ce. Apparently a Variant had killed fifty gang members there. In the end, Varant had captured that man," Vega told Lucifer as he remembered about this event.


    "The footage of that event wasn¡¯t released to the public, but I managed to get one. But why are you asking about it?" he inquired.


    Lucifer nced at Uzuki as he heard the exnation. Uzuki still looked innocent.


    "Alright. I¡¯ll keep that footage ready. I¡¯ll seeter," Lucifer said as he kept the phone down.


    "So you didn¡¯t do anything, and you didn¡¯t kill anyone," Lucifer repeated, staring at Uzuki.


    "Absolutely not. I was drinking when everything went dark like it often does. Then I woke up here," Uzuki answered again.


    "Like it often does?" Lucifer inquired, noticing something odd.


    Nodding, Uzuki started exining.


    "Yeah. I don¡¯t know what it¡¯s with me, but there are times when everything goes dark. Most of the time, it happens; I wake up on my bed. I tried consulting doctors."


    "In fact, it even happened when I was sitting before them. Everything went nk. When I came to my senses, the doctors told me I have a condition. They said I have a Narcolepsy Variation."


    "Narcolepsy Variation?" Lucifer inquired.


    "That¡¯s right. They said that everything turns nk because I suddenly fall asleep because of my Narcolepsy. And I wake up in a different ce because I sleepwalk to my bed when I¡¯m sleeping," Uzuki answered.


    "I tried showing many doctors, but they all said the same thing and that I don¡¯t need to worry about it as I¡¯ll keep safely reaching my bed. But unlike previous times, I woke up in this cell this time for some reason. And I was imprisoned. Please tell you seniors to free me!" he pleaded.


    "I think I understand a few things. You don¡¯t have Narcolepsy. Instead, it¡¯s Sp-"


    "Kid, don¡¯t try to be a doctor!" A gruff voice suddenly filled the room.


    A smirk formed on Lucifer¡¯s face as he heard the voice.


    "I was right, it seems. It¡¯s not a Narcolepsy Variation but a Split Personality Disorder," he said as he observed Uzuki.


    This time, Uzuki was looking different. Unlike a scared human, he looked like a proud Warlock now. His aura was powerful too. It was clear that he wasn¡¯t a weak Warlock.


    "That trash Varant isn¡¯t here this time? That¡¯s good as well. I can leave this ce," Uzuki said, grinning. "Step aside, kiddo. Don¡¯t make me hurt you."


    "Don¡¯t make you hurt me, huh," Lucifer repeated, amused.

 Chapter 328 - 328: Pitying

    <h4>Chapter 328 - 328: Pitying </h4>


    "That¡¯s right. Man, all I did was kill a bunch of trash humans that were messing with my other self. Did you all really have to arrest me for that? Even in Zeston, I never suffered humiliation like that," Uzuki said, rolling his eyes.


    "Step aside and let me leave," he added.


    "Not so fast. I¡¯m freeing you, but this freedom doesn¡¯te without a cost. You¡¯ll have to help me in exchange," Lucifer told Uzuki, not moving at all.


    "Kid, you should really not make me repeat myself. I have a really short temper. Move aside now," Uzuki warned Lucifer.


    His words seemed to fall on deaf ears as Lucifer didn¡¯t move at all. "I said what I said."


    "Enough is enough!" Uzuki let out as his figure flickered.


    He appeared in front of Lucifer and stabbed his bare hand inside Lucifer¡¯s shoulder. His hand passed through Lucifer¡¯s shoulder.


    "A little down, and your heart would have been gone. I intentionally missed, and you won¡¯t die from it. Since you¡¯re young, I¡¯m not killing you. Next time, learn to behave," Uzuki grimly said as he prepared to pull his hand out.


    "Is that so?" Lucifer asked, not reacting much.


    He didn¡¯t look like he was in pain. In fact, seeing his face, no one would have expected that someone¡¯s hand was inside his body now.


    Uzuki pulled his hand out, leaving a big hole in Lucifer¡¯s shoulder.


    But there was also surprise on his face. Why didn¡¯t Lucifer look like he was in pain? Anyone would be lying on the ground, groaning in pain after this much. But this guy was simply standing like nothing had happened. What was happening?


    Alicia shook her head, sighing. "I feel bad for you, young man."


    Hearing Alicia speak like that, Uzuki was stunned. Why was she talking like that? Why was she feeling sad for him instead of her friends?


    Even Cassius sighed. "You shouldn¡¯t have done that."


    Both of them had seen how heavy-handed Lucifer was with other prisoners. And they were the ones that hadn¡¯t even attacked him that badly. They could see what was going to happen.


    "What the freaking hell?" Uzuki eximed in shock as he saw the hole in Lucifer¡¯s chest close rapidly.


    "What are you?" He asked Lucifer.


    Lucifer didn¡¯t answer though. He looked at his wound heal while also looking at the blood which was on his clothes now.


    "I liked these clothes," he softly said.


    "What?" Uzuki asked, unable to hear what Lucifer said.


    Unfortunately, he soon understood why everyone was pitying him.


    He didn¡¯t know how it happened, but he felt a little pain in his neck.


    Frowning, he raised his hand and touched his neck with his fingers. He felt pain as he touched his neck.


    Raising his hand, he looked at those fingers to find blood on them.


    It was clear to him. There was a cut on his neck. But it wasn¡¯t deep enough to harm him. It just seemed like a show of force.


    "A little deep, and your neck would have been gone. I intentionally missed, and you won¡¯t die from it. Since you¡¯re young, I¡¯m not killing you. Next time, learn to behave," Lucifer said, repeating the same line that Uzuki had used before.


    Uzuki was feeling enraged. He wanted to go all out and kill all three that stood before him, but he was also intrigued about what he saw. The boy before him had healed within seconds. Was that his power?


    "Who are you?" he asked.


    "I¡¯m Lucifer Azarel. I¡¯m the one who owns this ce now," Lucifer answered. "And I¡¯m the only one who can give you your freedom."


    "You own this ce? Wasn¡¯t that Varant? That crazy bastard who I couldn¡¯t defeat?" Uzuki inquired. "How can you be the leader here? You¡¯re nothing but a kid."


    "I think you should know that the person you¡¯re calling a kid killed Varant and all his strongest Warlocks here. Varant is no more," Alicia chimed in, telling Uzuki about Lucifer.


    "The heck? I fought Varant personally! How can someone like him defeat that guy? You¡¯re bluffing!" Uzuki let out, rolling his eyes. He just couldn¡¯t believe it.


    "You don¡¯t have to believe it. The truth won¡¯t change. You¡¯re the one underestimating him. He is the person who had wiped out the strongest in the APF, and now he has taken over this ce. It would be in your best interest to listen to him," Alicia replied.


    "Meh, you¡¯re all lying. This should be the trick of that Varant. He must be having fun somewhere watching all this. Am I right?" Uzuki inquired, rolling his eyes


    "As for your sneak attack, this is a good trick, but it won¡¯t work next time," he said, refusing to believe.


    A semi-transparent barrier appeared around his skin. "That weak attack can¡¯t harm me anymore."


    Lucifer didn¡¯t answer or exin anything. Instead, he took action straight away.


    His hand moved at lightning-fast speed as he punched the chest of Uzuki, who was seemingly confident in himself.


    The barrier was undoubtedly powerful. Even after Lucifer¡¯s punch, it didn¡¯t break. But it was also because he didn¡¯t attack with more strength.


    Still, Uzuki couldn¡¯t stand his ground. He flew back like a toy, crashing into the wall behind because of the punch.


    Lucifer didn¡¯t stop there as he raised his finger towards Uzuki. He fired a lightning bolt in the direction of Uzuki, but the bolt didn¡¯t hit him.


    It hit the wall a few inches away from Uzuki¡¯s head.


    Uzuki rubbed his neck, which was in pain while he looked at the part of the wall where the lightning crashed.


    As he saw the portion of the wall, his lips opened slightly. He could see a hole in the wall. But it wasn¡¯t just that.


    Through the hole, he could see that it wasn¡¯t the only wall that had a hole. Other walls behind this one also had holes. This attack hadn¡¯t broken a single reinforced wall but multiple.


    This was enough for him to understand how powerful this attack was. These walls were something that even he couldn¡¯t break. They were made for special prisoners, but this single attack made a hole in them?


    Just who was this guy? His strength was powerful. He could attack using the wind, and he could use such powerful lightning?


    "Are you willing to listen or not? Next time, I won¡¯t let you live. The only reason you¡¯re still alive is because I need people like you in my team for what I¡¯m about to do in a few days. But if you want to be stubborn, I¡¯ll be ready to bear the loss of one," Lucifer reminded Uzuki.

 Chapter 329 - 329: Im Going To Take Over The Capital

    <h4>Chapter 329 - 329: I''m Going To Take Over The Capital </h4>


    "Fine. I¡¯ll listen. But first, tell me something? Did you really kill Varant?" He asked, frowning.


    "Yeah. That guy should be in hell already by now," Lucifer replied casually.


    " What are you going to do in a few days? And what help do you want from me?" Uzuki asked as he patted his clothes.


    "I¡¯m going to take over the Capital City in a few days. And I need more people to help me. As for you, you¡¯ll be one of them," Lucifer exined.


    "And what will I get in exchange?" Uzuki inquired.


    "You¡¯ll get your life. Because if you don¡¯t help me, you¡¯re not getting out of here," Lucifer responded.


    "That¡¯s a threat, isn¡¯t it?" Uzuki asked.


    "It is whatever you take it to be. If you want to perceive it as a threat, then it¡¯s a threat. If you want to perceive it as the answer to your question, then it¡¯s that," Lucifer answered.


    " What do you think are your chances of sessfully taking over this nation?" Uzuki inquired.


    " A hundred percent," Lucifer replied without taking a single minute to think about it.


    "You seem confident in your abilities," Uzukimented.


    "I most certainly am," Lucifer replied.


    "If you¡¯re so confident, then why do you need my help?" Uzuki asked.


    "Because I want to do it fast. With more people, it¡¯ll be faster for me," Lucifer replied.


    As Uzuki got all the answers he nodded as he folded his arms.


    "Fine. I¡¯ll help you," he agreed, breaking the silence thatsted for a few minutes. "But I have a condition of my own. I want something more from you."


    "What do you want?" Lucifer asked, curious.


    "I want a promise from you," Uzuki said.


    "What promise?"


    "A promise that you will not stop me, no matter what I do? I¡¯ll do the tasks you give me, but other than that, I can do anything. Moreover, you won¡¯t tell my other self about it. I¡¯m sure you can think of an excuse to give him to keep him with you," Uzuki answered.


    "Alright. I ept that. I¡¯ll deal with him properly. He won¡¯t know about you," Lucifer said, agreeing to the demand. "Anything else?"


    "That¡¯s it for now. In any case, I don¡¯t have a family. So I might as well join you all. I can live avish life after you all take over. It¡¯s certainly good enough already," Uzuki replied, smiling.


    "And I can kill all those who annoy me. With you, I will be free. I won¡¯t have to worry about being caught by someone like Varant for killing a person. As for thest and most important reason, it¡¯s because it sounds fun," he added as he smirked.


    "Good. From now on, you¡¯re working for us," Lucifer agreed. "Come with us."


    He left the cell and advanced towards the medical facility to get Caen treated.


    As he walked towards the facility, he started inquiring more about Uzuki.


    "So, what¡¯s the deal with your split personality? Why don¡¯t you want your other side to know the truth?"


    " Because that guy is pathetically weak. And a bit too nice. At the smallest of conflicts, his head starts aching. That¡¯s when I also start feeling pain. That¡¯s when I take over. If you tell him the truth, of course, his headache will return. And I don¡¯t like that," Uzuki answered.


    "That¡¯s why I¡¯ve been keeping it a secret from him. Whenever he went to a doctor, I appeared and forced the doctor to lie as well. Even in the bar, those bastards were bullying him. So I took over and ughtered them all. It was fun actually," he added as he startedughing.


    "But that¡¯s when Varant came with his team. I fought them as well, but I couldn¡¯t win. In the end, I was overwhelmed. And I ended up here," he continued.


    "Then why did you let your other side take over? I mean, didn¡¯t you think he would be shocked to find himself in prison?" Lucifer inquired.


    "I had no choice regarding that. Actually, I can¡¯t be the leading personality forever. He is the main. I cameter. So even if I want, I can¡¯t be here for more than twelve hours straight. When I had to go back, he came here and found out that he was in prison," Uzuki exined.


    "And he thought he was innocent and wrongfully kept here. I understand the whole thing now." Lucifer nodded. "So after twelve hours, you need to go back."


    "I can go back before as well, but when Ie, I feel like spending more time here. So I often take the rest of the day at least. In the night, I go back to the room and return," Uzuki answered.


    "And how long before you cane back again?" Lucifer inquired. "I mean, you¡¯re forced back after twelve hours. How long does it take before you cane back again? I don¡¯t think it¡¯s instant, is it?"


    "It¡¯s not. I can¡¯te back before at least twenty minutes, but I like to let him have fun too. So I don¡¯t return too fast usually unless it¡¯s necessary," Uzuki answered.


    "Twenty minutes, huh. So your entry needs to be timed right if we don¡¯t want your other side to be in the middle of the warzone," Lucifermented.


    "That¡¯s right. Because I won¡¯t let that guy join the fight. If it¡¯s time for him toe, I¡¯ll bail on you all, no matter how important the battle might be. I don¡¯t want to be in the middle of a battle only for me to be forced back and for him to be killed," Uzuki affirmed.


    "I¡¯ll keep that in mind. He won¡¯t be in danger," Lucifer agreed.


    "That¡¯s good. Anyway, do you have a n ready to attack the city?" Uzuki inquired.


    "Not yet. We still need more information about it. A n should be prepared tomorrow," Lucifer responded.


    " I¡¯m going to go back in that case. I¡¯ll only be wasting time by staying here. Make sure to give my other self a good excuse. I¡¯ll return tomorrow to hear your whole n," Uzuki let out abruptly.


    "Wait, didn¡¯t you say-"


    "Huh? How did I get here?" Uzuki suddenly asked, seeminglypletely different.


    There was no intimidating aura around him. He looked like a youngster that didn¡¯t know where he was.


    Lucifer couldn¡¯t help but sigh. That guy really went back.


    "You were sleepwalking. You were right about it. We saw it for ourselves now," he told Uzuki.


    "Also, we realized that you were right about something else as well. You were actually innocent. It was a case of mistaken identity. You¡¯re not a prisoner now."

 Chapter 330 - 330: Job

    <h4>Chapter 330 - 330: Job </h4>


    "So I can leave now?" Uzuki asked, still hesitant.


    "Not yet. We actually wanted to offer you a job. We heard that you don¡¯t have a family or anyone waiting for you. Is that right?" Lucifer asked.


    "That¡¯s right. But what job? Do you even know what I can do?" Uzuki inquired.


    " It doesn¡¯t matter what your old work was or what your qualifications are. What we want can only be done by you," Lucifer said as an innocent smile formed on his face.


    "What do I have to do?" Uzuki asked.


    " We have a post called Search Analyst," Lucifer said, making a fake post for Uzuki to keep them with him. "Wherever we need any information, it¡¯ll be your job to search it on the. That¡¯s all."


    "Search Analyst? And you said only I could do it?" Uzuki asked, confused. Why did it seem like a job that even a kid could do?


    "Yeah. Only you can do it. Actually, most of us are a bit backward when ites to technology. So we can¡¯t search on the inte."


    "That¡¯s why this post was created. You¡¯ll work as my Personal Search Analyst. As for your pay, we¡¯ll give you a hefty payment," Lucifer replied, making an absurd yet simple lie.


    "What do you say? I mean, it¡¯s not a bad offer. Working with a top ss agency. You¡¯ll get to learn a lot. And no one will bully you if you work with us. Just our name would be enough to help you in situations," he further said.


    "In any case, you don¡¯t have a family. Settle down here with us."


    Hearing all the luring words of Lucifer, Uzuki was actually interested. Working for the government?


    In any case, he was too intimidated to say no. It was already a struggle for him to not start sweating, let alone saying no.


    Ultimately, he agreed.


    " I ept the offer. When do I start?" He asked.


    "You start right now. Just stay with me. Whenever I need you, I¡¯ll tell you what to search, alright?" Lucifer replied.


    Uzuki nodded and followed Lucifer.


    They reached the medical room where the white-robed doctor was still sitting, looking at the ash on the ground.


    He was still ming himself for the deaths of Xander. He previously thought Xander could escape like this, but let alone Xander, even Ayn was dead because of this.


    "I¡¯m sorry, my friend. But I couldn¡¯t do anything. Please forgive me," he said softly.


    Suddenly, he heard the doors open. He stood up abruptly at the sight of Lucifer and the others.


    "Greetings, Doctor. I want you to check Caen and help him," Lucifer told the doctor, entering the room.


    "He was kept in your prison and tortured. I heard you weren¡¯t the doctor that Varant was using to heal him, so you might not know," he added as he picked a nearby chair and sat on it.


    " It was kept a secret from everyone. Now it¡¯s your responsibility to help him. Get to work," he further said.


    The doctor observed Caen, slightly surprised to know that there were prisoners who were being tortured like this, and he didn¡¯t know about it.


    "Please lie on the bed," he told Caen.


    Caen walked towards the bed, stumping. He soonid on the bed.


    The doctor started checking him.


    "I can see signs of torture. These signs, it seems like he was hurt again and again. Did Varant really do all this?" he asked Lucifer after he finished checking.


    " Do you think we did it if not him? We just freed the prisoners," Lucifer replied, rolling his eyes. "Can you help him get better before tomorrow? I don¡¯t want him in pain."


    "I should be able to give him some relief from pain. But full treatment will take time," the doctor replied.


    "Do as much as you can for now," Lucifermanded.


    The doctor nodded as he started leaving.


    "Where are you going?" Lucifer asked, noticing the doctor leave.


    "I¡¯ll be right back. I need some medicines that aren¡¯t in this room," the white-robed man answered as he left.


    ...


    While Lucifer and the others were in the base of APF, the Uprising headquarters also had a few people.


    The injured Uprising Members were back already. Moreover, they were all happy despite being injured. They had just received the news that the APF headquarters was in the control of the Uprising.


    Even Tristan was pleased. At the same time, he was upset as well that he wasn¡¯t there when this happened.


    He was being taken to the operation room at the moment where his hand was going to be attached again.


    The Uprisingb technicians and scientists were also working. They had just received a call from Kellian, who told them what had happened. Kellian also gave them a special task without telling Lucifer.


    ...


    " You¡¯re really the Uprising leader now. I wonder if I should still call you Lucifer or Captain," Lying on the bed, Caen asked.


    "I¡¯ll always be Lucifer for you," Lucifer replied right away.


    " By the way, I still owe you a request. You didn¡¯t tell mest time what you wanted," Caen let out, smiling. "I¡¯ve always been thinking what that request might be."


    "Request?" Lucifer inquired, curious.


    "You forgot? When we were sitting on the beach, we yed a little game. The loser was supposed to finish one task given by the winner. After I lost, I asked you what my task might be. You said you¡¯d tell me on our way back," Caen said, sighing.


    "But we were attacked soon after. I actually thought that you had died, and I still owed you that request," he added.


    "Hahahaha, you still remember that? Don¡¯t worry; I already did what I was about to ask you to do. You don¡¯t have to worry about that," Lucifer let out,ughing.


    "Can I know what it was?" Caen asked.


    " I wanted you to help me find Veracity," Lucifer exined. "But I found her myselfter on."


    "Why did you want to find her?" Caen asked, curious. Why would a ten year old boy want to find her?


    "Just some personal reasons. At the time, I thought you could help me," Lucifer responded. "But as you said, we were attacked, and things changed."


    "In that case, I still owe you a request. Ask me anything else," Caen let out. "I don¡¯t want to owe you."


    "Don¡¯t worry. Get well first. I certainly need a lot of help from you. This is just the start of things," Lucifer said. He shifted his attention to Uzuki.


    "Uzuki, I have your first task as my Search Analyst. Search the and tell me what you can find about the Divine Empire and the Continent of Triton," he told Uzuki.

 Chapter 331 - 331: Entry In Zeston

    <h4>Chapter 331 - 331: Entry In Zeston </h4>


    "Continent of Triton? I¡¯m from there. I can tell you anything you want to know about," Uzuki replied to Lucifer as he heard themands. "No need to search for that."


    "Ah, that¡¯s right. I forgot about that. You¡¯re from there. That¡¯s even better. So, where is the Warlock Council on the continent of Triton?"


    "The Warlock Council? It actually has branches everywhere on the continent. But the headquarters is in the nation of Zeston," Uzuki answered.


    "Didn¡¯t you say you¡¯re from Zeston as well?" Lucifer inquired.


    "Yeah. I¡¯m from there," Uzuki answered.


    "So you have any idea about the strength of the Warlock Council?"


    "That... I don¡¯t know that. All I know is that they are the strongest since they¡¯re a coalition of the strongest Warlocks of the continent. I don¡¯t think there¡¯s a way to gauge how strong they are actually."


    " What¡¯s the process of entering the nation? Is there a special checking that Variants need to go through?"


    "I think there¡¯s something like that. Variants need to apply for a special visa to get there. I heard it¡¯s a very time-consuming process since many checks are involved," Uzuki replied, remembering what he knew about his nation.


    "Only the Variants that have the nationality of Zeston can enter without any special visa. As for the humans, they don¡¯t need any special visa to enter," he continued.


    Standing in the back, Cassius couldn¡¯t help but wonder why Lucifer was asking about another continent and the Warlock Council.


    "Do you want to move there permanently after finishing here?" Cassius decided to ask Lucifer directly.


    He thought that Lucifer wanted to live in Zeston. It was understandable as well.


    Elisium contained many of his bad memories, and Lucifer was going to be wanted in his Ind Nation for killing the heirs of the Great Families. Shifting to a neutral nation was always the best choice.


    "Move there? That¡¯s exactly what I¡¯m thinking about. I need to go there," Lucifer replied vaguely. "But I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll be a permanent stay. There are more ces I want to travel to."


    He shifted his attention back to Uzuki.


    " You have the nationality of Zeston, right? Do they give some documents or something to prove that you have their nationality? What¡¯s the system on your continent?" Lucifer inquired, wondering if something could be forged to make his entry easier.


    He was already thinking about the future after he was done here.


    "None. Actually, they follow a much more sophisticated process. When a person is born there, he is registered in the system. His blood sample, fingerprint, and everything is collected in the system. As for citizenship, it¡¯s only digital."


    "All I was given is a number. If I need to go back, I¡¯ll be asked for my identity number. After I tell them, they¡¯ll check their system, and they¡¯ll do the verification before letting me pass through," Uzuki answered Lucifer as he nced towards his hands.


    "They keep the fingerprints updated. Every few years, we are told to go to their office and update our fingerprint data just to be sure."


    "So it¡¯s all in the system, huh. If that¡¯s the case, I think we might have an easy way in," Lucifer let out, smiling.


    He remembered one of the guys he had just freed¡ªthe hacker who now worked with Vega. Lucifer believed if it was that guy, he could certainly inject their data into the system of Zeston.


    From there on, it was pretty easy. They could enter without needing any special visa or any interrogation.


    The problem of entering Zeston seemed to be almost solved. It was to be seen if their hacker could actually do it, but Lucifer was mostly sure he could because of his special powers. He was made for things like this.


    "What about the Divine Empire? Do you know anything about that ce?" Lucifer inquired as he had a basic idea about Zeston now.


    Hearing the name, Uzuki tried to remember if he had ever heard that name before. "I think I heard that name before, but I don¡¯t remember. I¡¯ll search more about it."


    He started searching about the Divine Empire.


    In reality, Lucifer could also do it. In fact, he would have done a more thorough research, but since it wasn¡¯t anything urgent, he left the task to Uzuki.


    He had already decided to do a thorough research of his own when it was actually the time to leave for him.


    As Uzuki kept trying to find information about the Divine Empire, the white-robed doctor returned to the room with a small box.


    He ced the box on the nearby table. Opening the box, he brought out a vial of medicine. He also brought an injection.


    Filling the injection with the medicine, he approached Caen.


    "Can you raise your sleeve?" he asked Caen, who did as he was told.


    The doctor inserted the syringe in Caen¡¯s arm.


    "This should help your healing and help in your pain as well. Stay here for a little," the doctor told Caen.


    He kept the injection back before he brought a few medicines out and ced them on the table.


    "Also, eat these medicines after around ten minutes. You might feel a little sleepy after eating them, but there¡¯s nothing to worry about. Have a good sleep, and by tomorrow, you¡¯d be feeling much better," he told Caen.


    Caen nodded.


    ....


    "I found something, but it¡¯s not much," Uzuki said after ten minutes of searching.


    "What did you find?" Lucifer inquired.


    "The Divine Empire is in the Continent of Darkness. As for the continent of Darkness, it¡¯s said to be the smallest continent if we ignore the small inds," Uzuki replied.


    "What else did you find?" Lucifer asked.


    " Other than that, I couldn¡¯t find much," Uzuki responded. "There isn¡¯t much information avable about the Divine Empire. There¡¯s only a map of that continent."


    "No information on the inte about the Divine Empire, huh. That¡¯s certainly intriguing," Lucifer muttered as he stood up.


    "Caen, you rest here. I¡¯lle in the morning," he said to Caen, who was going to stay here.


    Lucifer left the ce with everyone.


    He told one of his men to send Uzuki to a room where he was going to stay for the night. After separating from Uzuki, he went straight to Vega.


    Vega was still sitting in the Security Room, trying to understand everything about this ce while also getting as much data as he could to improve the defense of the Uprising base in the future.


    Another young man sat behind him. He had aptop in hisp. Through theptop, he was trying to find his family and what happened to them.

 Chapter 332 - 332: Gratitude

    <h4>Chapter 332 - 332: Gratitude </h4>


    The young man sat on a chair with theptop as he tried to find his family. He had been captured a long time ago. Since then, he hadn¡¯t heard anything about his family.


    The only thing he had heard was when Xander came to him to ask him to hack a government facility. That was when he was told that his family was facing legal trouble because of him.


    As Xander had promised to have his family go free if he helped them, he did that. Xander didn¡¯t return after that though.


    The young man didn¡¯t know what happened to his family. Did Xander keep his promise? Were they free now? There were so many questions but not enough answers.


    Now that he was free, he could search himself with his own skills.


    "There they are," he let out as he found what he was looking for.


    It seemed like Xander was right about that. His family did face some legal troubles, but they were freedter on. It wasn¡¯t a charge as serious as Xander made it out to be.


    "That guy exaggerated so much. I can¡¯t believe it," Drak said, rolling his eyes.


    He looked like he was in histe twenties now. He still wore reading sses.


    After Drak realized that his family was fine, he breathed a sigh of relief. He found their location and hacked the security system near his home to see his family.


    He went through hours of footage within seconds to find his family. Fortunately, he was able to see them passing from near the camera.


    His mother and his sister both looked older now. Not his sister was being apanied by a man. He also noticed a wedding ring in her hand. It seemed like the man she was walking with was her husband.


    "Congrats, Sister," Drak muttered as a smile appeared on his face. "I¡¯m sorry for putting you all through so much trouble and for not being able to attend the marriage. But now I¡¯m out. I can help you more."


    "You found your family?" Vega asked Drak, hearing his words.


    "Yeah. They seem happy," Drak answered.


    "They¡¯ll be even happier after we take over this nation. They can have a great life as the family of someone who is a part of our organization. They¡¯ll live the life of a billionaire. Just a little more time," Vega told Drak,ughing.


    "Yeah. I can¡¯t wait for that day either. This APF and the government took more than ten years of my life from me. I won¡¯t let them go scot-free," Drak answered. "I¡¯m so d I got this chance."


    "Thank Lucifer for that. We wouldn¡¯t be here so fast if it weren¡¯t for him. Even if we hade here, all the prisoners would have been dead," Vega responded, shaking his head. "You¡¯re all pretty lucky that we had him."


    " We had who?" A voice came as a small group entered the chamber. "And why is there ice everywhere?"


    Vega and Drak turned back to see Lucifer, Cassius, and Alicia. They were the ones that had just entered.


    " When we came here, there were a few ice blocks. Had to destroy them," Vega exined. "Anyway, what are you doing here?"


    "I came to see the video you were talking about. The ughter in the Bar," Lucifer exined. "Also, I have a piece of good news. Caen is alive."


    " I know about Caen. I saw him going to the medical chamber with you. That¡¯s where I stopped looking at the security footage," Vega said as he opened a nearbyptop.


    He turned it on and started ying a video. "This is the scene of that bar."


    Lucifer stepped closer to the screen to see what was happening.


    He was able to see Uzuki who was sitting, drinking beer when a woman came to him and started talking to him. It seemed like the woman was interested in him.


    Unfortunately, that¡¯s also when a group of people entered the bar. All the men wore leather jackets. Some weren¡¯t wearing anything under the jacket at all.


    The man who was in the lead noticed the woman sitting near Uzuki. He became furious. Even the woman seemed surprised as she saw the man in the bar.


    The man who seemed like a leader grabbed Uzuki by his cor as he yelled. Lucifer couldn¡¯t hear what the man was saying.


    Uzuki seemed like he was trying to exin something when he started holding his head as if his head was aching.


    That¡¯s when it happened. His whole personality changed. The pleading look disappeared, and the mad look engulfed his face. An evil smirk spread across Uzuki¡¯s face.


    Uzuki inserted his hand inside the chest of the bald man before he tossed him away. A big hole was inside the chest of the leader of the gang as he was thrown away like a toy.


    What followedter could only be described as a massacre. Uzuki killed all the people of this gang. As for the other people who were in the bar, they all ran away.


    After everything was finished, Uzuki prepared to leave, but that¡¯s also when a group entered inside the bar.


    As for this group, it was none other than Varant, Riali, and Rowen with the other APF Alpha Squad members.


    Soon, another battle began, but this time, it resulted in the defeat of Uzuki, who didn¡¯t know that it was literally suicide toe close to Varant.


    Since Uzuki was a closer range fighter, he ran towards Varant. Varant grabbed him and thrashed him to the ground. Uzuki couldn¡¯t use his powers at all. In the end, he was captured.


    "His skills aren¡¯t bad. Just that Varant was a bad opponent for him," Lucifermented as he finished analyzing the battle.


    "Yeah. He is a close range fighter. They are the weakest in front of Varant," Vega agreed. "So, he agreed to work with us?"


    "He did. I don¡¯t think he would have liked the alternative," Lucifer replied, smiling.


    "Anyway, I want you to do something for me. Find me as much information you can about the Divine Empire. There¡¯s not much information avable for the public, but you should be able to dive deep," he added. "Send me the information when you¡¯re done."


    Lucifer didn¡¯t even wait for the response as he started leaving.


    Vega also got to work, not talking much. He also wanted to know about this Divine Empire that Lucifer talked about, wondering what was special about it.


    "Ah, Sir. Wait!"


    Just as Lucifer was leaving, he heard someone calling him from behind.


    Stopping, he turned back.

 Chapter 333 - 333: Dream Or Reality?

    <h4>Chapter 333 - 333: Dream Or Reality? </h4>


    "Yeah?" Lucifer asked as he looked at Drak, who had called him just now.


    "I wanted to say something to you," Drak said, taking a deep breath.


    "Go ahead. Do you need something?" Lucifer inquired, confused.


    "Not at all. I already got my freedom and a chance to work freely. It was something else. I wanted to thank you," Drak replied.


    "Thank me for what?" Lucifer asked again. He didn¡¯t understand why he was being thanked. He hadn¡¯t done anything yet.


    "I want to thank you for everything. Without your help, I would have lived the rest of my life in prison. It¡¯s because of you that I can live my life freely. Not only that, I now have a chance to get revenge as well. So thank you again. You gave me a new life," Drak exined as he bowed respectfully.


    "Don¡¯t worry about that. Just work hard in Uprising, and I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll touch the sky," Lucifer said, patting the shoulders of Drak before he left.


    Watching Lucifer leave, Drak was impressed. The words of Lucifer and every action of his had made Drak respect him immensely. Not only was Drak grateful to Lucifer, but there was much more.


    ...


    "You two should rest as well. Tomorrow will be a big day. Select any room of your choice. There are many," Lucifer told Alicia and Cassius as he stopped in front of a room. "If you need anything, I¡¯ll be in this one."


    He opened the doors and stepped inside before closing the door.


    He walked to the bed andid on it after taking off his shoes.


    Lying on the bed, he finally felt a bit more rxed. He had been really tired after everything he did. Now, he just wanted to sleep and give some rest to his body.


    He hadn¡¯t slept since the battle in Kensington either. And using the Wrath of Heaven had taken a toll on him. Fortunately, he was able to get energy after using decay, which helped him keep going.


    Lying on the bed, Lucifer closed his eyes, but he didn¡¯t sleep. Instead, he found himself lost in deep thought as he wondered if he should go to Zeston or the Divine Empire after he finished conquering Elisium?


    Both of those ces had one of the seven stones. And he needed to go to both of them in the end. It was just a question of preference where he wanted to start from.


    "Warlock Council can be a great threat. The Divine Empire should be considerably weaker. I should finish with the smaller one first," he muttered softly as he decided that it was better for him to take the stone from the Divine Empire first.


    After that, he could go to other ces.


    "There are other nations in this continent as well. After Elisium fall, they¡¯ll also start moving. This continent is going to be really chaotic," he said.


    ording to his n, he had decided to finish with the ces that had the stones before going to the other Nations that were considerably useless to him. As for the other nations in this continent, even though they were strong, they didn¡¯t have the stones.


    "It will all depend on how other nations react after I take over Elisium. If they ignore it, I can go to the Divine Empire first. On the other hand, if they start attacking, then it¡¯s going to be a different picture altogether."


    As Lucifer kept thinking, he didn¡¯t even realize when he fell asleep, losing himself in the world of dreams.


    ...


    "Wake up! How long are you nning to sleep? Come on; we need to go to the beach too." Lucifer heard a voice.


    He slowly opened his eyes, wondering if someone had entered his room without his permission.


    "What?" As he opened his eyes, he found himself surprised.


    The person who stood in front of him was none other than his mother, risse.


    "Why are you looking at me like you saw a ghost? Come, let¡¯s get ready. We¡¯ll bete for our vacation otherwise," risse said as she ced a set of clothes on the bed.


    Looking at the clothes, Lucifer frowned.


    ¡¯What is happening? These clothes aren¡¯t even his size. They seemed to be too small! No, that¡¯s not important. What is mother doing here? That¡¯s the main question.¡¯


    Lucifer started looking around the room, realizing that he wasn¡¯t in the room he slept in either. Instead, it was a different room. It was one which he recognized. It was his home!


    He looked down at his hands to notice that his hands were smaller as well. He touched his face, realizing that it was also smaller. His hair was shorter as well.


    risse picked him up and helped him dress, which was when he realized that he was shorter as well.


    He felt like he understood something. Based on his body proportions and the ce where he was, it seemed like he was five years old.


    ¡¯Am I in a dream about my past? No! I don¡¯t remember something like this happening before.¡¯


    Lucifer remained confused, but he also noticed another thing. He wasn¡¯t wearing gloves; nothing was decaying.


    risse got Lucifer dressed before she took him to the car where Zale was waiting for them.


    Lucifer was able to see his family again, but he was too confused to feel d about seeing them. This seemed too realistic to be a dream. But it wasn¡¯t a memory either. This was something entirely different.


    The three of them got inside the car.


    "Lucifer, what dream did you seest night? I heard you speaking some words like conquering and revenge. Did you see an action dream or something?" risse asked.


    ¡¯Revenge? Dream? Was I really dreaming? Everything that happened... Their death, was it all a dream? Is this the reality?¡¯ Lucifer thought, frowning.


    He didn¡¯t understand anything at the moment. It was clear that one event was a lie. Either this was the reality, or the reality was that he was at APF base, sleeping.


    His head was saying that this was a dream. But his heart was saying that his other life was a dream.


    He tried pinching himself to wake up. He felt a pain as well, but he didn¡¯t wake up. It seemed like this was reality, but how could it happen? That was a question in his head.


    If his other life was a dream, that was impossible. He couldn¡¯t have had a dream for so long. Thirteen years of his life couldn¡¯t have been a dream. It was clear this was a dream, then why couldn¡¯t he wake up. He didn¡¯t understand.


    ....


    In the room where Lucifer was sleeping, a man stood near him, having a grin on his face.

 Chapter 334 - 334: Dream Trap

    <h4>Chapter 334 - 334: Dream Trap </h4>


    "This seems too real, but it can¡¯t be true. Something is wrong here," Lucifer thought, sitting in the car with his parents.


    It was unlike anything he ever saw. Even when he saw thest dream where he was stabbed, it did feel realistic at that point, but the pain had woken him up. However, this time, even that wasn¡¯t working.


    Zale and risse took Lucifer to Orion beach. The beach was already somewhat crowded with people.


    The arrival of Zale and risse did attract a lot of attention though. Many people came to them to get pictures and autographs.


    In his mother¡¯s arms, Lucifer knew that it wasn¡¯t real, no matter how hard this dream tried to prove it. And he was right. This wasn¡¯t a natural dream.


    ...


    A man was standing near Lucifer, who was lying on the bed.


    The men looked at him, smirking.


    " You¡¯re the leader of the intruders. Just because you took over this ce, you think you can do anything, don¡¯t you?" he muttered as he stared at Lucifer. His eyes shone in mystical green light.


    The man raised his hand to reveal a knife. He brought the knife towards Lucifer¡¯s chest to stab him.


    "That¡¯s not going to work on him," An amused voice came out of nowhere, stunning the man who was about to stab Lucifer.


    "Who?!" The man was horrified. He looked all around, wondering who was here.


    The room was mostly dark, but the man was still able to see a little. Inside the room, he couldn¡¯t find anyone other than him or Lucifer.


    "Well, you¡¯re the doctor of APF, I guess. From what I heard, you joined us with an excuse to help save the lives of everyone. Wasn¡¯t that the case? What you¡¯re doing doesn¡¯t seem like that to me." The voice came again.


    "Who is it!" The man asked again, looking everywhere hysterically. He even turned on the lights, but he couldn¡¯t find anyone.


    There was no one here.


    As the light was turned on, it was even easier to see him though. The man with a knife in his hand seemed like a young man. He wore a clean white robe. As for his face, it was slender and clean shaved.


    If anyone saw him, they would have easily recognized him as the doctor that had just treated Caen. He was also the friend of Xander. But more importantly, he was a Variant that had a pretty unique power.


    His power was known as Dream Trap. He could form hyper realistic dreams, but only if the target was already sleeping. He couldn¡¯t use his abilities on the ones that were awake.


    His ability basically trapped a person in their dreams but only for ten minutes at best. Moreover, he had to be close to them to use this ability.


    He wanted to use the few minutes where Lucifer was trapped to kill him by slicing him up into small pieces.


    Unfortunately, before he could even do anything, he heard that mysterious voice. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn¡¯t find anyone.


    He even looked under the bed, wondering if the enemy was hiding under the bed, but that didn¡¯t seem to be the case either.


    There was no one under the bed.


    "Where are you?!" The young doctor asked.


    "I¡¯m everywhere," the voice appeared again.


    The doctor didn¡¯t know, but his shadow moved suddenly.


    It split into three shadows, two of whom were containing what seemed like a Sword in their hands.


    The two shadows moved as they shed their swords.


    "Arghhh!" A pained scream left the lips of the young doctor who dropped to the ground.


    His legs were cut. As for the pain, it was so extreme that tears appeared in his eyes.


    His mind was in such agony that he couldn¡¯t even control his ability. Lucifer was free of his Dream Trap.


    The hyper realistic dream finally broke as everything turned ck.


    Lucifer slowly opened his eyes to find himself in the APF headquarters again. That confirmed his suspicions. What he was seeing was a dream.


    He could also hear a man screaming who seemed to be in agony.


    Lucifer sat up and looked ahead to find the doctor crying on the ground.


    He also noticed two shadows near the doctor.


    "Kellian, can you exin what¡¯s happening here?" he asked, understanding what was happening.


    The two shadows merged together, and Kellian came out of the shadows.


    "Apparently there was an assassination attempt on your life," Kellian answered. "By our young friend here."


    Lucifer could see the knife lying near the young doctor as well. He understood everything. It seemed like that strange dream was his doing.


    He moved to the side and got off the bed before he approached the young doctor who was crying in pain on the ground.


    "My dear doc, I think you should know something. Taking lives only suits Viins like us. Not people like you. You shouldn¡¯t have tried."


    The young doctor bit his lips as he answered, " I failed, but you won¡¯t survive for long. Viins are always defeated in the end. If not by me, it¡¯ll be someone else. But you all will die. Live in your arrogance for as long as you can!"


    "You have no idea how many times I¡¯ve heard that line," Lucifer muttered, sighing. "Everyone says the same thing. Even Varant said it. I suppose you all love to ce your burden on someone else after you fail, isn¡¯t it?"


    "As for what you said, Viins are always defeated? But what if both sides are Villians?" he further asked, smiling.


    "Everything you say depends on the assumption that the people you consider to be heroes are actually heroes. But you couldn¡¯t be any more wrong."


    "Unfortunately, you won¡¯t be here to see that," he continued as he shook his head.


    He removed his right hand gloves and ced them on the side.


    "Thank you for your service, Doctor. It was fun to see the dream again. Let me pay you back by sending you to eternal sleep. I hope you have nice dreams as well," Lucifer said, cing his hand on the face of the young doctor.


    "Arghh!"


    An even louder scream echoed in the room and the hallway outside. The scream didn¡¯tst long though. It disappeared forever with the disappearance of the white-robed man.


    " This proves it. We can¡¯t trust the APF members to help us. They¡¯ll all backstab us at thest moment," Kellian said, seeing Lucifer stand up.


    "That¡¯s true. Their years of loyalty can¡¯t be changed in a few days," Lucifer affirmed.

 Chapter 335 - 335: Bringing Varant Back To Life

    <h4>Chapter 335 - 335: Bringing Varant Back To Life </h4>


    " At least for some of them, that¡¯s the case. But I believe most of them weren¡¯t loyal to the APF to that extent. It can be easy to turn them," Lucifer answered as he sat back on the bed after wearing his gloves again.


    "How can we be sure that they¡¯re telling the truth though?" Kellian asked. "I think we shouldn¡¯t involve them in the next mission."


    "Don¡¯t worry; I have a way to make sure they¡¯re not lying," Lucifer replied as heid on the bed.


    "I want you to send our helicopter to a certain location. A woman will be waiting there for us. Tell our men to pick her up and bring her here safely. She will help us in this," he said, looking towards the ceiling.


    "Who is that woman?" Kellian inquired.


    "Veracity..." Lucifer replied. "I convinced her to help me in a situation like this. Bring her here, and we can be sure. As for the ce, she¡¯ll be at ..."


    Kellian understood everything. He called one of his men and told them to pick Veracity up along the way.


    He hadn¡¯t called the men who were in APF. Instead, he had called the men that were already on their way from Uprising Headquarters.


    "She should be here by tomorrow," he told Lucifer after disconnecting the call.


    "That¡¯s pretty fast. Are our men already there?" Lucifer inquired, curious.


    "Yeah. Some of our men areing from our Uprising Base. They should already be near that city," Kellian answered.


    "That¡¯s good," Lucifer nodded. "I had another question though. What were you doing in my room to spot that guy?"


    "Vega told me about this guy approaching your room secretly. He¡¯s keeping an eye on your security. The moment we epted you to lead us, your security became our responsibility. It¡¯s not odd," Kellian exined.


    "From now on, every night, there will be one person outside your room to make sure that no one can attack you when you¡¯re sleeping," he further said.


    " Security for me, huh. Even though I don¡¯t need it, I¡¯ll ept," Lucifer answered, epting the security detail.


    He was a high-profile target now, so it was certainly good that Uprising was providing him with security. That could save him a lot of unnecessary battles and ruined sleep.


    " Kellian, are there more of these gloves in Uprising Base?" he asked, ncing at his old gloves.


    "I think we do," Kellian nodded. "We found some for the moment you¡¯ll return."


    " Ah, that¡¯s right. That predictor guy told you that I¡¯d return. Tell him toe here as well. I want to meet him."


    "Also, tell someone to bring the gloves here. It¡¯s bing ufortable to wear these ones," Lucifermanded, looking at his worn-out gloves.


    "I¡¯ll make sure," Kellian nodded as he started leaving. "You can go back to sleep."


    "I doubt I can now," Lucifer replied, smiling. He could see it was four in the morning by now. He had plenty of sleep already.


    "Wait, why is Vega up at this time? Did you two not sleep?" he suddenly asked, realizing something.


    Vega and Kellian were up when he went to sleep, and they were up even now. It didn¡¯t seem like they slept.


    "We were setting things up, so it took time. Vega will soon go to sleep after giving the security tasks to Drak. I¡¯ll take a short nap soon too. Since it¡¯s the first day, there were lots of things to do," Kellian exined.


    " Are all APF members that didn¡¯t surrender dead?" Lucifer inquired again.


    "Yeah. I don¡¯t think anyone is alive anymore. We also checked all the floors repeatedly to make sure no one was hiding. It¡¯s confirmed," Kellian replied. "There¡¯s one more thing though."


    "What?"


    "It seems like the news about the destruction of Kensington is everywhere now. All the news channels are covering it. Fortunately, no one knows that APF headquarters has fallen as well," Kellian told Lucifer.


    "Did the government contact us here?" Lucifer inquired, frowning.


    "Yeah. They asked us what was happening. We sent a fake report that there was a sh between Uprising and our members, in which the city was destroyed. It seems to have worked. They don¡¯t know that most of the APF, including Varant, is wiped out," Kellian replied


    "So they think it was a normal sh between APF and Uprising but on a bigger scale thanst few times." Lucifer nodded.


    "Yeah. Everything is ording to our n so far," Kellian affirmed.


    "Good so far. Release a statement from the APF side. Use Caen when he is up. Have him transform in Varant and record a message that the APF will protect the citizens and destroy the ones who destroyed Kensington," Lucifer said.


    "Let¡¯s bring Varant back to life for the public and the government that doesn¡¯t know about his demise. His presence will work to make the Governmentcent," he continued.


    "Then release that message to the news channels. Let¡¯s make this conflict as realistic as we can."


    "I was thinking about the same thing. They don¡¯t know that APF is gone. It¡¯ll work in our favor," Kellian agreed. "Moreover, we have Caen now. That makes things even easier."


    "Yeah. With Caen, we might not even need to use the Dungeons. He would get us an entry inside the Capital," Lucifer let out as he got up again. "You can leave."


    Kellian nodded as he departed, turning into a shadow. He didn¡¯t even need to open the door.


    "Ah, forgot to tell him to arrange clothes for me."


    As Kellian left, Lucifer realized that he didn¡¯t have spare clothes either. As for the clothes we was wearing, they were already covered in blood because of Uzuki¡¯s attack.


    He walked to the wardrobe, which was inside the room, to see if there were any clothes that could fit him.


    "These seem to be my size."


    He took the clothes from the Wardrobe and ced them on the bed before taking his old clothes off and tossing them to the side.


    He walked inside the shower room to take a shower.


    After finishing his shower, he dried his body and got dressed in the new clothes, which didn¡¯t look anything special.


    The new clothes were very ordinary, unlike the clothes he wore previously.


    As he wasn¡¯t particrly stuck on clothes, he didn¡¯t care. Instead, he left the room and walked to the lift.


    The fingerprint system was removed so anyone could use the lift now, especially him. He simply pressed a button, calling the lift to him.


    As the doors opened, he stepped inside and pressed the button for the terrace.


    The lift went up, stopping on the terrace.


    Lucifer stepped out of the lift to find a lot of helicopters standing there. A few of his men were also there, keeping watch.


    Blood could also be seen in ce as if a battle took ce here. Lucifer understood whose blood it was though.

 Chapter 336 - 336: Varants Message

    <h4>Chapter 336 - 336: Varant''s Message </h4>


    Only two Warlocks were standing on the roof, but the two of them were enough to stop anyone that tried escaping as they were also S-Rank Warlocks.


    A group of two was always told to guard the roof, so they worked in a team. The old group had gone to sleep, and now it was their turn.


    "You two can go back. There¡¯s no need to guard the roof now," Lucifer told the Warlocks who had just greeted him.


    The Warlocks didn¡¯t oppose and left through the lift.


    Lucifer stood alone on the terrace now.


    He looked at the sky, which was still slightly dark, but the sun could be seen rising in the distance. It was starting to get bright.


    The sky was also slightly clouded, but that wasn¡¯t going to be the case for long.


    Lucifer¡¯s body started floating in the air as he spread his arms.


    As for the sky, it also started getting more clouded. As this ce was mostly isted, it didn¡¯t matter even if he practiced here. There were no civilians here who would be affected or spread the news.


    The dark clouds covered the sky entirely as Lucifer prepared to use the Wrath of Heaven to practice it more.


    This time, it was even faster as within seconds, tens of lightning bolts fell from the sky to the ground.


    Boom!


    Boom!


    Boom!


    As the lightning bolts fell from the sky, many explosions took ce all around the APF headquarters.


    Vega was just about to leave to take a short nap after giving the tasks to Drak when he heard the explosions like everyone else who was inside the base.


    Just like everyone, he also thought that they were being attacked. At least it seemed that way. Fortunately, after checking a little, he realized that it wasn¡¯t that they were being attacked. It was just Lucifer practicing.


    "It seems like some of his lightning bolts fell on the mines, causing the explosions." As he understood what was happening, he pressed the button on his system.


    "This is Vega, contacting all Uprising Members. The explosions that you just heard aren¡¯t because we¡¯re being attacked. It¡¯s because our new Captain is practicing his skills. You can rx," he said.


    His voice echoed in the entire APF base from the speakers that were almost everywhere.


    Even Cassius and Alicia had stepped out of their rooms after the sound of explosions, but after hearing Vega, they understood more about it. It was just Lucifer practicing.


    They walked back inside the rooms, not getting worked up. The other Uprising members also rxed.


    ...


    Floating in the sky, even Lucifer was surprised at the explosions. He had entirely forgotten about the explosives that Ayn had told him about.


    He didn¡¯t stop because of them though. He continued using the Wrath of Heaven, again and again, pushing his limits.


    The explosions continued as every time, at least one or two lightning bolts fell on top of the explosives.


    The explosions only stopped when Lucifer stopped. He had used the lightning so many times that he was sweating by now.


    Hended on the ground, struggling even to stand. He had actually used this exhausting skill more than four times.


    Even when he felt like he couldn¡¯t do it anymore, he used it one more time before stopping.


    He felt a strange tingling in his hands and was extremely exhausted. Fortunately, he was still able to walk despite being weak.


    He entered the lift and went down.


    Stopping in the Canteen, he called for some food.


    ...


    "Kensington has fallen!"


    "We¡¯re showing you the live footage from Kensington. Not even a single building is left standing."


    " Uprising attacked Kensington! The Government statement tells us that they are taking this matter seriously and that Uprising will face the consequences for it!"


    Almost all the news channels were covering the destruction of Kensington City, which had been wiped off the map. Only barrennd was left there.


    " After pretending to be the good guys, Variant Uprising finally showed its true face after destroying Kensington. Even in the next city, we heard reports of Uprising Members killing people."


    The news coverage continued for hours since it seemed to be big news.


    It was only in the afternoon when the news channels received a response from APF.


    "Many lives are lost in the Kensington Tragedy! We have just received a video from the APF on this tragedy! We would like to show our viewers!"


    Almost all the news channels yed the video to the public in which Varant was talking about what happened in Kensington and how the Uprising destroyed a city.


    He also talked about the fact that the Uprising will face the consequences for what they did.


    None of them knew that it wasn¡¯t actually Varant but Caen, who had recorded the video. Even the government in the Capital City didn¡¯t realize that Varant was dead.


    All the bodies that were in Kensington were destroyed after all. There was no proof that any APF members had died there.


    ...


    It was four in the afternoon when more Helicoptersnded on the roof of APF headquarters.


    The helicopter was not only carrying the members of the Uprising, but it also had Veracity.


    Moreover, there was also a scientist who was carrying a silver bag in his hands.


    The group of twenty was escorted down to the meeting room where Lucifer, Alicia, Kellian, Cassius, Yaliza, and all of the important members were sitting, discussing the next n of action.


    Even Uzuki was in the meeting, but it wasn¡¯t the normal Uzuki. The Warlock Uzuki was sitting in the meeting. Caen was also here.


    "I have received more insider information from my source. Apparently, APF members are also checked before entering the Capital City. The only exception is Varant. He is never checked. And I think we can use this," Lucifer said, starting the meeting.


    "Use Varant? Isn¡¯t that guy already dead?" Uzuki inquired.


    "He is dead, but only we know. For the world, he is still alive. That¡¯s why we will use a fake Varant to get us in without trouble," Lucifer replied.


    "Caen will impersonate Varant and solve our biggest problem," he added as he continued talking about the n in greater detail, from the start to the end.


    "ording to my sources, Zeiss isn¡¯t in the city. He is in the Dungeon, which is near the Capital City, with his team. This would be pretty easy. By the time hees out, everything would be over," Lucifer continued.


    "Drak, you¡¯re responsible for keeping an eye on the dungeon. I want to know as soon as Zeiss steps out of it, alright?" He asks Drak.


    ....


    [Author Note:


    Important:


    1) For mass release of next month, we¡¯ll move to a new system for mass release.


    Every 100 Golden Tickets= 1 Bonus Chapter.


    2) The highest Golden Ticket giver of the next month will be given an important character in the novel, including name and physique of their own choice, if they wish. They can also suggest a power for the character.


    3) If we¡¯re top 4 in Golden Ticket ranking of next month, there will be a Webtoon chapter of this novel for you all, including future scenes.]

 Chapter 337 - 337: Gift

    <h4>Chapter 337 - 337: Gift </h4>


    "I¡¯ll do that," Drak agreed.


    "That¡¯s good. I also want to stop all iing and outgoingmunication in the Capital City at mymand. Can you do that?" Lucifer further asked Drak.


    "That will be hard, but I think I can crash theirmunication," Drak affirmed.


    "That¡¯ll be perfect then. You¡¯re responsible for doing the two things. Now about the most important thing. Kellian and Yaliza... I want you two to..."


    ....


    After the nning waspleted, it was decided that everyone was going to leave tonight for the Capital City. There was to be no dy.


    Everyone left the meeting room, with Lucifer leavingst.


    Leaving the room, Lucifer noticed a group standing at the doors.


    "Veracity, you¡¯re here," he said, smiling.


    "Congrats, I suppose. You actually did it," Veracity said, smiling.


    "Not yet. There¡¯s still a long way to go," Lucifer replied.


    " And what are you doing here, Henny?" he further asked, noticing another man there.


    It seemed to be a scientist in white robes who was standing with a silver suitcase in his hand.


    Lucifer immediately recognized him as the person he had seen before. It was the same bearded man who he met at the Uprising base when he was there.


    He was the man who had given Lucifer the description of the battle gearst time. He was also the man who worked as a researcher at the Uprising Base.


    " Are you here to join the battle? We might need you more in theb though," Lucifer said, thinking that this guy was here to join the battle.


    He didn¡¯t even know if Henny could fight or what powers he had, but what he did know was that they couldn¡¯t afford to lose this guy since he was an important person in the research department.


    "Don¡¯t worry; I¡¯m not here to fight. I¡¯m here for something else," Henny answered. "Can we talk inside?"


    "Sure." Lucifer walked back inside the room with Henny. Kellian and a few others also stepped inside.


    "So, what is it about?" Lucifer inquired as he sat on a chair.


    "A few things. First of all, congrattions for taking over the APF," Henny said, congratting Lucifer. "And secondly, I¡¯m here to give you something."


    "Give me something? What?" Lucifer asked, wondering what it was.


    Henny ced the chunky silver briefcase on the table and slid it towards Lucifer.


    "The code is Four Two Zero Seven. You should open and see for yourself," he let out, smiling.


    Lucifer used the code which was given to him by Henny.


    Click!


    With a click sound, the briefcase was unlocked. Lucifer slowly opened it, wondering what could be inside.


    "Hmm? Clothes?" As he opened the briefcase, he was able to see a set of clothes inside.


    "Not ordinary clothes. A full set made, especially for you with Cardigan Particles. I don¡¯t know what happened to thest pants we gave you, but this is aplete set. It¡¯ll cover most of your body, and we even tried to make it somewhat modern looking," Henny said, smiling.


    "Go on and try it."


    Lucifer picked up the article of clothing, which happened to be on top. It seemed like a darker shade of pants.


    Nothing seemed extraordinary about them, but they were lighter than anything he ever saw.


    Moreover, he had already used something made from Cardigan Particles in the past. He knew how special these things were, despite looking so ordinary.


    He ced the pants on the side and picked up the next article of clothing, which seemed like a coat, looking slightly unique.


    As Lucifer was looking at this coat from the back, he could see a dual tone. It had a lighter shade of Violet in the lower part and a darker shade of Violet near the shoulder portion.


    A few Golden Patterns were also visible on the coat, which seemed like a mix between a normal coat and an overcoat.


    He turned the coat to the front to be amused.


    "It looks much better from the front than from the back. Not bad," hemented as he noticed the front.


    The gold pattern which was on the back was even more prominent on the front, making the design look more thought-out.


    There was also a shirt under everything in the bag, which also seemed to be simr. There was also a vest in the bag.


    Lucifer kept putting everything to the side as he continued checking everything that was in the bag.


    It was only in the end when he found something which really made him happy. There was a pair of ck gloves. He instantly understood what they were.


    Without waiting, he took off his old gloves and wore the new one.


    "Since you¡¯re going on a battle, I thought it was a good idea to bring your battle gear here personally. As Kellian told me about everything, I immediately left," Henny said.


    "I appreciate it. You came at the right time," Lucifermented.


    "I¡¯ll get dressed in these. All of you wait outside," Lucifermanded others.


    Everyone vacated the room as per hismand. It was only then that Lucifer took off the old clothes and wore his battle gear.


    As he finished wearing the clothes, he tried stretching his body to test thefort of these clothes.


    It did feel odd to wear clothes that were so light, but other than that; there was nothing strange. They were prettyfortable.


    This time, however, he didn¡¯t test the clothes by hurting himself since he was sure that the clothes worked as Henny described.


    Next, he wore the special pair of shoes, which were also made in the Uprising Lab.


    As he finished preparing, he kept the other items, including the old gloves, in the silver briefcase again.


    He left the room to meet the others.


    "You... look good," Aliciamented as she saw Lucifer in new clothes.


    "I agree," Veracity chimed in.


    "Thank you," Lucifer let out casually before he shifted his attention to Henny. "Can you make a battle gear for Cassius as well?"


    "Cassius? Who?" Henny inquired, confused. He didn¡¯t know anyone by the name of Cassius.


    "Him." Lucifer pointed towards Cassius.


    "We can make it, but it¡¯ll take at least a few days. It can¡¯t be prepared before your time to leave," Henny exined.


    "If I had known before, maybe I would have been able to make one more. But he¡¯ll have to fight without battle gear for now."


    "I understand that. Just keep his battle gear ready in any case. It doesn¡¯t matter how long it takes. It can be something for the future," Lucifer said, not seeming to be in a hurry.

 Chapter 338 - 338: Death Of Kellian

    <h4>Chapter 338 - 338: Death Of Kellian </h4>


    He already knew it was a time consuming process. The only reason these guys had something like this prepared for him was because they knew he wasing. It was all because of Predictor.


    "That reminds me, did you call Predictor here?" he asked Kellian. "I want to talk to him as well."


    "Actually... He can¡¯te. He never leaves the base. Even when Raia told him to go out, he didn¡¯t," Kellian exined, sighing. "He is a bit different from the others."


    "Why doesn¡¯t he ever leave?" Lucifer asked, walking towards the security room to meet Vega again regarding something important.


    "Who knows. He just says that he¡¯ll die the moment he leaves the Uprising Base. We just let him do as he wants. In any case, he¡¯s not even the slightest bit useful in a battle."


    "So I have to go to him if I want to meet him?" Lucifer inquired.


    "Yeah. If you want to meet him, that seems to be the only way. Because he is nevering out, I think."


    "Get him on call for me. I want to talk to him right now." Lucifer said, understanding that Predictor wasn¡¯t going toe.


    If he didn¡¯t listen to Raia, there was no chance he was going to listen to him.


    Kellian directly called Predictor before giving the phone to Lucifer.


    "Hello?" A faint voice fell in Lucifer¡¯s ears as soon as he ced the phone near his ears.


    " Predictor?" Lucifer asked, frowning.


    "Yeah. You don¡¯t sound like Kellian though. Who are you?" Predictor asked.


    "Lucifer..." Lucifer replied, smiling.


    "It¡¯s you... Greetings to the new leader," Predictor responded respectfully. "Did you need something from me?"


    "I just wanted to ask something. Can you tell me about the dreams that you saw in thest eight years? All the dreams, including me," Lucifer told Predictor.


    At first, he didn¡¯t realize that Predictor could be such a dark horse.


    It was onlyter that Lucifer realized that with his powers, there was a good chance that Predictor saw Lucifer killing Raia in the future.


    Fortunately, he soon realized that the chances of that happening were low. If Predictor had seen that, he would certainly have told Raia about it. Lucifer¡¯s n would have failed.


    Since it went so smoothly, it seemed like Predictor didn¡¯t see iting. But that¡¯s also why Predictor was such an important person.


    One dream of his could change the whole game even if it had a small chance ofing true.


    At the moment, Lucifer wanted to know about the dreams of Predictor, especially dreams about himself or his future.


    "I¡¯ve only seen one dream about you in thest eight years. And it was about your meeting with Veracity. Other than that, I haven¡¯t seen any dream which could have included you," Predictor straight away replied.


    "But I did see one only today, which I believe could be of help to you."


    "What did you see?" Lucifer asked.


    "I saw death..." Predictor replied.


    "Whose death?" Lucifer inquired, wondering whose death he saw. It couldn¡¯t be his death, after all.


    "I saw the death of Kellian. I already told him about it though. I don¡¯t know if he told you or not. But there¡¯s a chance that he¡¯ll die in this raid," Predictor heavily said.


    "How does that happen?" Lucifer inquired, stunned.


    He believed he could change this oue if he knew how Kellian died.


    "I only saw a small scene y in my head before waking up. But Kellian was lying dead on the ground, and a person stood in front of him," Predictor exined.


    "Do you recognize that man? Who was it?"


    "I recognize him..."


    "Tell me who he is. Who will do it?! I¡¯ll make sure it never happens!"


    "The one who will kill Kellian will be... Warlock King Szar Lucia," Predictor exined, sighing.


    "But just know, the chance of my dreaming true is very small. I fail to distinguish between real dreams and prediction dreams. So there¡¯s a good chance that it doesn¡¯t happen. Still, you all should stay alert in this mission. That¡¯s the only piece of advice I can give you," he further said.


    "Thanks for the information. I¡¯ll keep that in mind. Inform me if you see any other dreams. You¡¯ll get my number soon," Lucifer let out before he disconnected the call and returned the phone to Kellian.


    "Kellian?" After a few minutes, he asked.


    "Yes?"


    "May I ask why you hid such an important piece of information from me? The dream of Predictor... Why didn¡¯t you tell me about it?" Lucifer asked, without even looking at Kellian.


    "Because that dream of his is a lie. It¡¯s noting true. My life isn¡¯t in danger, and neither is our mission," Kellian answered.


    "And how are you so sure?" Lucifer asked in response. "You do know; we can¡¯t take a risk with it, don¡¯t you?"


    "After he told me about the dream, I asked Vega¡¯s help to find where Warlock King Szar is," Kellian started exining.


    " He is in Legion City at the moment. There¡¯s no way he cane to the Capital City. So this dream should be a casual dream," he further said. "Since this was just amon dream with no chance of bing a reality, I didn¡¯t tell you."


    "Are you sure he is in Legion City at the moment?" Lucifer asked, frowning.


    If this was true, then Kellian was right. Szar Lucia couldn¡¯t get to the Capital in time for the raid. In fact, even if he took a helicopter, it was going to take a few days in the least.


    In any case, why would Szar evene there in such a hurry? The information about Capital City being attacked wasn¡¯t going to leave the city since Drak was going to block allmunication.


    "That¡¯s right. It¡¯s confirmed; he is living in a hotel in Legion City at the moment," Kellian agreed. " There¡¯s no reason to take this particr dream seriously."


    Lucifer agreed with this statement. If Kellian was telling the truth, then there was no risk. The chance of them being attacked by Warlock King Szar was close to none, at least in the near future.


    As long as they finished taking over the Capital and killing Zeiss before Szar involved himself, it was going to work out.


    Initially, when Lucifer heard that Warlock King Szar was going to involve himself, he was slightly concerned that the battle was going to be harder than he expected, but now everything was fine.


    Immersed in the conversation, Lucifer didn¡¯t even realize when they reached the Security Chamber of APF.

 Chapter 339 - 339: Milena

    <h4>Chapter 339 - 339: Milena </h4>


    Vega and Drak were still in the room. While Vega seemed to be working, Drak was eating some snacks while sittingzily.


    Seeing Lucifer and the others enter, Drak sat straight and started pressing keys in hisptop, showing that he was working hard.


    " Vega, did you finish collecting the information that I asked for?" Lucifer asked, taking a nearby chair and sitting on it.


    "About the Divine Empire and the Warlock Council? I¡¯ve collected tons of information. And some of it is really intriguing," Vega let out as he ced a stack of paper before Lucifer.


    "This contains everything I found. But in short, the Divine Empire has already achieved what we¡¯re trying to do just now. It¡¯s a ce ruled by Variants. To be specific, it¡¯s a ce ruled by just one girl," he further said as he ced an image of a girl on the table.


    "Queen Milena Sephene."


    "This girl?" Lucifer asked, surprised. He could see that it seemed like a girl who wasn¡¯t even in her twenties. "Isn¡¯t she too young to rule?"


    Cough!


    Hearing Lucifer¡¯s questions, almost everyone coughed at the same time, amused that Lucifer was asking the question. Wasn¡¯t he himself barely eighteen? Could he really ask this question?


    "How old are you again?" Vega ultimately asked, smiling wryly.


    "Alright. Forget about the age. Tell me more about her," Lucifer said, rolling his eyes. He had realized how stupid that question might have sounded, especiallying from him.


    "She is said to be the sole ruler of the Divine Empire. I managed to find out a little about her powers as well. After knowing them, it¡¯s not shocking to see how she could rule such a massive ce," Vega continued, getting back on track.


    "What are her powers?" Lucifer inquired.


    "The power of using the Dead. Apparently she can revive the Variants and Humans that have died, turning them into her ves," Vega exined.


    Hearing this power, almost everyone took a cold breath of air. This power seemed creepy and powerful at the same time. She could effectively give people a fate worse than death.


    " Do the Variants whoe back to life have their old abilities and strength?" Lucifer inquired, wondering how bad this ability could be for him.


    " There¡¯s no information about that. But just to be safe, let¡¯s assume that¡¯s the case. There¡¯s one more interesting thing actually," Vega further said.


    "What?"


    "It seems like the Divine Empire, and the Warlock Council are having some kind of conflict."


    " The Warlock Council sent a Warlock to the Divine Empire, but that person was killed in that ce," Vega answered, cing another photo on the table which showed a young man.


    "When did that happen?" Lucifer inquired.


    "Last week."


    "Is the Warlock Council going to attack the Divine Empire? Their Envoy was killed, after all."


    "It doesn¡¯t seem that way. I don¡¯t think the Warlock Council is going to attack. It has been over a week, and they have done nothing so far," Vega replied, shaking his head. "I doubt they¡¯ll do anything now. And it¡¯s not hard to understand why."


    "They¡¯re scared, aren¡¯t they?" Lucifer asked, taking a guess. "Milena¡¯s ability neutralizes the number advantage. The bigger your army, the more you¡¯ll help her by giving her soldiers. There¡¯s no end to it."


    "That¡¯s true. I think no one can conquer that ce ever. No amount of army will ever be enough," Vega agreed.


    "What if we don¡¯t take an army there?" Lucifer asked, seemingly thinking of something.


    "What do you mean?" Vega asked, confused. " How can someone win there without having any support?"


    "Simple. We need a person who can neutralize her ability. And who can that person be?" Lucifer asked, smiling.


    "Varant? But he¡¯s dead too. And even if he was alive and managed to block the powers of Milena, her minions would have killed him. And in the end, he would end up bing her ve. There¡¯s no chance," Vega let out, shaking his head.


    "I think he¡¯s talking about himself," Kellian chimed in. "His ability neutralizes hers."


    "What? How?" Drak asked, jumping into the conversation.


    As everyone looked at him, he lowered his head, realizing he shouldn¡¯t have jumped in when big people were talking. "I apologize."


    "Does he have another power that can help him neutralize her abilities?" Vega also asked, wondering if Lucifer had another power he didn¡¯t know about.


    " I mean, it¡¯s not that hard to guess. What did you say about her ability? She can bring dead bodies back to life and turn them to her ves? But Lucifer can¡¯t actually die," Kellian exined.


    "So her ability can never work on him. Moreover turning dead bodies alive? What if they¡¯re already ashes? I doubt she can in that case, can she?" he further said.


    "His ability perfectly counters her. If he goes alone, he can certainly create big trouble for her."


    "Yeah. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s impossible for someone to conquer that ce. You just need one person to do it," Lucifer affirmed. "That¡¯s all."


    "Anyway, thanks for all the research. I¡¯ll read these when I get time," he continued as he picked up the stack of paper.


    "Ah, that reminds me. How long before we get a response from the government about our request? What¡¯s the time of the appointment?" He asked suddenly as if remembering something.


    "We already got a response. We can get there tomorrow. We¡¯ll be allowed entry," Vega replied, smiling.


    "But there¡¯s one thing. It¡¯s a permit for three people only. Varant can only take Riali and Rowen with him. Any other Warlock would have to go through verification."


    "In any case, we¡¯re already wanted. So I doubt we can get in. Only Caen can go in, disguised as Varant with the permit," he added, pointing out the problem.


    "I expected this one. Don¡¯t worry; I think we can get around that. Prepare for departure. We¡¯ll leave in a few hours." Lucifer stood up and started leaving. "I, Kellian, and Caen will go in. The others will wait outside for ourmands."


    ...


    "Yaliza, can you take Veracity and interrogate the prisoners to make sure they¡¯re not looking to betray uster?" Walking in the hallway, Lucifermanded Yaliza.


    "Only free the ones that pass the test. I think it would be better if we take them as well, just for show."


    Nodding, Yaliza left, taking Veracity with him.


    "Tomorrow is finally going to be the day, isn¡¯t it? The day it¡¯s all over. Dream of Uncle Raia wille true. I can¡¯t wait for it."


    Amongst the entire group, the one who seemed the most excited was Alicia as she thought about the future. They wouldn¡¯t need to hide, concerned for their safety.


    They could do whatever they want. Moreover, she could also roam outside and see the cities which she always wanted.


    "Yeah, soon we can go back to our old lives," Cassius agreed, feeling happy that the two of them could finally be free as well.


    Lucifer could be free of his revenge and return to a normal life. On the other hand, he also wouldn¡¯t have to do all this killing. He was already feeling tired after what they did so far.


    While everyone was thinking about this as the end, Lucifer was different. He was thinking of it as just the start.


    It wasn¡¯t the achievement he was looking for. It was just the first step in the staircase that led to his goals. It wasn¡¯t the end. It was just the beginning of his crazy story.


    ...


    It was nine in the night. Darkness had almost covered all the surroundings except for the APF base which was still lit.


    Around ny Uprising Members were standing on the terrace where all the Helicopters were waiting for them, ready to leave.

 Chapter 340 - 340: You Should Be Glad

    <h4>Chapter 340 - 340: You Should Be d </h4>


    All of them were dressed in their battle gear, prepared for the uing battle. Only Cassius and Uzuki were the exception who didn¡¯t have battle gear.


    Vega and Drak were left behind this time. They were to provide technical support from the APF base like jamming themunication of the Capital City, keeping an eye on Zeiss, and other tactical tasks.


    A few APF members were also standing there. They had switched sides, and Veracity had verified their words as well. They were actually going to be loyal.


    Lucifer, Caen, Kellian, and the APF members stepped inside the first helicopter. Even Cassius and Alicia sat in the leading helicopter.


    They were still unseen, and they didn¡¯t have a criminal record like the Uprising Members, so it was safe to take them.


    ...


    About fifteen helicopters flew towards the North in the direction of the Capital City. Sitting in the leading helicopter were Lucifer, Kellian, Caen, Alicia, Uzuki, and four APF members that were selected amongst the ones that had agreed to switch sides.


    None of them were talking amongst themselves. Alicia seemed to be looking outside. As for Cassius, he appeared to be observing the de of his sword, wondering how much blood was going to be shed from his sword in the uing days.


    Kellian was sitting calmly with his eyes closed. As for Caen, he was dressed in the clothes that Varant used to wear, prepared to impersonate him.


    Lucifer, on the other hand, seemed to be immersed in reading. He wasn¡¯t nning about theing war in the Capital City or anything else.


    Instead, he was trying to read all the information that was given to him by Vega regarding the Divine Empire and the Warlock Council.


    Both these ces were of grave importance to him as they were the ces that had the stones he needed.


    He was going through the stack of papers, reading as much as he could. Even though there were many papers, he felt like it was the right time as the journey was going to be long as well.


    "Milena Sephene... Intriguing..."


    He nced at the picture of Milena briefly before putting it in the back and moved to read about her strongestmanders that helped her.


    Even though it took an hour, he finished reading all the information regarding the Divine Empire before he shifted to the information about the Warlock Council.


    Unlike the Divine Empire, Vega had managed to collect a lot more information about the Warlock Council since it was much more easily essible.


    Not only was the Warlock Council vast, but it also had many branches.


    Also, it was a proud organization that didn¡¯t bother keeping many secrets, unlike the Divine Empire.


    " It¡¯s much bigger than I expected. The number of Warlocks they have is just..."


    "They have a lot, don¡¯t they? Since they cover an entire continent unlike a nation, that¡¯s not shocking," Uzuki told Lucifer, smirking. "You should be d they don¡¯t have much presence in this continent. Otherwise, you might be in trouble."


    Lucifer kept his silence and didn¡¯t reply. He continued reading.


    More time passed. After five more hours, he was finally done with reading all the information. Being done, he ced the stack of paper on the side and looked out the window


    It was still somewhat dark outside as there was still some time to sunrise. They had covered most of the way.


    "We¡¯ll soon be in the airspace of Sunny City. From there, it¡¯ll only take one more hour before we get to the Capital City," Kellianmented, looking at his clock as he gave an update to Lucifer.


    "One more hour, huh. Caen, it¡¯s time for you to change. Get ready since you¡¯ll have the most important role to y," Lucifer told Caen, ncing at him.


    Nodding, Caen got to the job as he started changing.


    His body started getting slightly taller while his face became slightly wider. His eyes also started changing, bing darker than they previously were.


    As for his hairs, they started getting smaller while changing color.


    Within a minute, the process waspleted.


    "How do I look?" Caen inquired, finishing the transformation.


    "You look like Varant. Now you just need to bring that dominance and arrogance in your voice. Under no circumstances should anyone be suspicious of our intentions," Lucifer reminded Caen, who was sitting in a proper coat and pants that Varant usually wore unless he was going on a war.


    This was to show that they were here for a meeting and not for a battle. This was also the subtle trick to make everything seem normal.


    Through the APF base, they had sent a message to the Government that Varant wanted to meet the President about the deteriorating situation because of the Uprising.


    It was a n Lucifer only came up with after he realized that Caen was alive. It would have been impossible without Caen¡¯s presence, and they would have to take some strict measures in the case.


    He expected the government to agree to the request since it was from Varant. And they agreed. Unfortunately, they only gave permission to Varant and his three close teammates.


    He could certainly bring more, but only Varant, Riali, and Rowen could go in without any checking. That was where the problem existed.


    "Alright. We¡¯re soon going to be there. It¡¯s time for you all tond and wait for our furthermands," Kellian said in his earpiece after some time as he realized that they were soon going to be near the Capital City.


    They couldn¡¯t take fifteen helicopters for a meeting without raising suspicions, so most of them were to stay out of sight until the main team took care of the situation.


    The other helicopters separated from the first one and started going down before they ultimatelynded in a barren ce, waiting for the furthermands to attack.


    Soon, only one helicopter could be seen flying, and it was the one that was carrying Lucifer.


    The distance between Capital City and Lucifer kept decreasing with each passing second, but the sound of thunder cracking could also be heard soon.


    "Are you doing it?" Kellian asked, wondering if it was Lucifer¡¯s doing since whenever clouds came with such intensity, it was always his work.


    "It¡¯s not me this time. These should be natural ones," Lucifer replied, standing up.


    He walked over to the doors of the helicopter and opened them to look ahead.


    He could see a city in the distance, which was covered by dark clouds. Blue lighting was shing in the sky, making it seem like it was soon going to rain and drench the entire city.


    "I guess it¡¯s not half bad. We can use this rain as well," he said, smiling.

 Chapter 341 - 341: Impatient

    <h4>Chapter 341 - 341: Impatient </h4>


    "Use this? What do you mean?"


    "I mean, let¡¯s utilize this situation to make our entry even smoother," Lucifer exined. "Caen, listen carefully. I want you to..."


    Caen carefully listened to Lucifer, understanding what he was trying to say. Ultimately, he nodded. "I got it. It¡¯s simple."


    "Five minutes tond! Everyone get prepared!" The Pilot reminded everyone as he reached near the wall surrounding the Capital City.


    Since they were in APF helicopters, the City defenses didn¡¯t attack them. They were already told that Varant was going toe.


    The soldiers that stood on the walls gestured for the helicopter tond for checking.


    The Pilotnded the helicopter on the helipad that was made near the entrance of the city, for VIP visitors.


    Caen calmly stood up, disguised as Varant. He was fully prepared for the show. Lucifer hadn¡¯t disguised himself as he was sure no one could recognize him. He did wear a cloak and reading sses just in case.


    As for Alicia and Cassius, they were going to act as new recruits of APF that were here with them. They were previously unseen by almost everyone.


    The only person who was problematic was Uzuki since he had literallymitted murder, and he probably had some record.


    At least, that¡¯s what Lucifer had previously thought. But after a confirmation with Vega, he realized that he was wrong.


    APF had made sure that the government had no data about Uzuki since they didn¡¯t want this information to leak.


    Varant didn¡¯t want anyone to know that the APF was keeping a prisoner who was from the Continent of Triton as that might give the Warlock Council an excuse toe here.


    He basically erased all the data about Uzuki being here, including the footage, before it could be released.


    Fortunately, Vega had managed to get that footage right when it happened.


    Other than that, there was only news about this event happening. There were no images anywhere about it being the work of Uzuki or his picture.


    In any case, Uzuki looked older and different now. Even if someone saw that video, there was only a slim chance for him to be recognized.


    Varant opened the gates of the helicopter, stepping outside.


    He was immediately followed by the APF members that had switched sides. Lucifer and the others left in the end, standing at the end of the group.


    As for Kellian, he was pulling an entirely different truck. He had turned into Lucifer¡¯s shadow.


    Stepping out, Lucifer nced at the sky, realizing that the rain had started.


    A middle-aged white-haired man approached Caen. "Greeting Sir Varant. Ah, you didn¡¯t bring Sir Riali and Sir Rowen?"


    The man was the leader of the City Defence Team, known as Lioner.


    " Can you stop talking and hurry up? We need to get going," Caen sharply said, not engaging in small talk.


    "Ah, I apologize. I¡¯ll start the verification," the middle-aged man agreed as he brought out a small machine that had a fingerprint sensor and a screen.


    Lioner didn¡¯t check Varant since he had the permit. In any case, he wasn¡¯t crazy enough to ask Varant to identify himself.


    The tiny sprinkles of water kept falling on everyone, but it seemed like the rain was slowly getting heavier.


    Lioner checked the first person from the group. As he checked the fingerprint, it was right. The machine showed the image of an APF member, which matched.


    "Vienna!"


    Seeing the rain getting heavier, Lioner signaled to his men. His men opened some umbres and covered Caen, protecting him from rain.


    Lioner moved to the next guy, who also happened to be an APF member. He kept checking the men and finding that everything was right.


    Soon, he was on thest APF members before it was going to be the turn of Lucifer. Caen kept checking his clock as if he was getting more and more frustrated.


    Ultimately, he couldn¡¯t stop himself.


    "Enough! This is getting annoying! An entire city in Elisium is wiped, and we¡¯re here, waiting to enter the Capital City in the rain?!" he asked sharply.


    "This is enough time-wasting. Does anyone here think Uprising will wait for our verification to bepleted before destroying another city?"


    "Each second is important, and I can¡¯t wait any more. It¡¯s enough. We¡¯re going in." Caen ultimately said as he started walking towards the helicopter.


    "But Sir Varant, you know it¡¯s important. It¡¯s the protocol which we can¡¯t break," Lioner said to Caen, smiling wryly. He didn¡¯t understand why Varant was so impatient today.


    "I went along with all thisst few times, not caring about it. But today is not the day. As I said, each second is important!"


    "In any case, what do you even think you¡¯re going to find here? Do you really think we¡¯ll carry explosives or criminals?" Caen asked, ring at Lioner.


    Lioner was taken aback. It seemed as if he had upset Varant, which was making him sweat. Varant wasn¡¯t any ordinary man after all.


    He didn¡¯t want to offend Varant, but he also didn¡¯t want to break the protocol.


    "Ah, not at all. We can never doubt you. But it¡¯s just that... Ah, fine. Since it¡¯s you, I¡¯ll let it go this time. You can go this time. Just don¡¯t tell anyone inside that we didn¡¯t follow protocol. Our jobs can be at risk otherwise."


    After thinking briefly and seeing the anger of Varant, he couldn¡¯t help but give in. In any case, it was certainly not good to make Varant wait in heavy rain, especially when something so big had happened.


    An entire city was destroyed, right under the eyes of APF. He could understand why Varant was so impatient.


    Every second was important to him as he really couldn¡¯t let it happen again, or his whole reputation could be destroyed. At least, that¡¯s what Lioner thought.


    Caen didn¡¯t say anything in response. He simply nced at all the men andmanded, "Get in!"


    The men stepped inside the helicopter, which was already checked by the City Guards previously to make sure that no one was hiding inside.


    Caen and the others walked back inside the helicopter and closed the doors. The helicopter had the permission to go in now.


    Sitting inside the helicopter, Caen smirked. "That went much more smoothly than I anticipated."


    "That¡¯s the difference Varant¡¯s presence made for us. That wouldn¡¯t be the case if there were anyone else, that¡¯s for sure," Lucifer exined as he sat with his arms folded.


    Kellian also returned to his real self,ing out of the shadows. The helicopter started flying again, soon crossing the boundary of the city.

 Chapter 342 - 342: New Elisium

    <h4>Chapter 342 - 342: New Elisium </h4>


    The Sun had started rising on the distant horizon, and the City finally received the sunlight, signaling the start of the day.


    Most of the people in the city woke up as their rms rang, unaware that the day wasn¡¯t going to go in the least as they had expected.


    All because a single helicopter was allowed to pass through without checking.


    The rains had actually intensified, but the helicopter kept flying without stopping. As for the Pilot, it was another APF member that had previously carried Varant for such a meeting. He knew where he needed to go.


    The ck APF helicopternded on the roof of a certain building.


    Opening the doors, Caen and the others stepped out to notice tens of soldiers, dressed in bulletproof vests, looking at them. All the soldiers were carrying heavy weapons.


    Caen wondered if it was because they were discovered. Not getting to a conclusion, he acted calm as he stepped towards a dark-haired man who seemed like a leader.


    "Captain Varant, wee to the city again. You¡¯re a little early, but we have informed the President. Let me escort you to the Chamber, where he¡¯ll meet you as soon as he gets ready." the dark-haired man told Caen, misunderstanding him to be Varant.


    As for the other people that were behind Caen, he didn¡¯t even bother looking at them.


    He wasn¡¯t concerned about their identity as he believed they had passed through the checking. Lioner had marked them all as having passed the verification.


    Caen nodded and followed the armed guards that escorted him inside the building.


    Lucifer nced at the soldiers through the reading sses that he was wearing, noticing their weapons and defenses.


    It seemed evident that these people were more experienced and knowledgeable, unlike the guards that were given to other cities.


    That was why it was said that the defense of the Capital City was much more powerful than the other cities.


    "You didn¡¯t bring Sir Riali and Sir Rowen with you this time? I see only new faces this time," the dark-haired man asked Varant, walking down through the stairs.


    "They¡¯re busy trailing the Uprising. That¡¯s also why I¡¯m here to talk to the president. It¡¯s time we did something about those people. They¡¯re getting more brazen by the day," Caen replied, talking like Varant actually would.


    He had seen Varant quite a few times, and he understood that guy and his behavior a lot by now.


    "That¡¯s true. I knew that they attacked cities many times, but it was never this extreme. I was actually surprised when I heard that they destroyed Kensington. They¡¯re getting really dangerous," the dark-haired man agreed, sighing.


    "I really think APF and Hunter Union should work together to take them out once and for all. Crush the head of that snake. Take out the Uprising Leader and end it all," he further said, slightly emotional.


    The man didn¡¯t know that the Uprising Leader was actually walking behind him at the moment, hearing everything he was saying.


    Just that the leader was now a different person than thest one, but this one also had bigger ambitions than the previous.


    "Don¡¯t worry. That day isn¡¯t far," Caen affirmed, ying along. "In fact, if what I¡¯m here fores to fruition, you¡¯ll see a different Elisium, free of any conflict in the future."


    "I hope so," the dark-haired man said, sighing.


    He soon stopped before a specific room and opened the door. "We¡¯re here. Would you mind waiting inside? The president should soon be here to meet you."


    Caen and the others stepped inside to find a huge rectangr table that was big enough to amodate twenty people on each side. Simrly, there were twenty chairs ced on both sides of the table.


    The Uprising team took the side on the left and sat down. Kellian was still hiding in Lucifer¡¯s shadow.


    As for Lucifer himself, he was sitting right beside Caen. Cassius sat beside Lucifer, and the others followed suit.


    Almost everyone was observing the surroundings, including Lucifer.


    He was able to see four cameras in the room that were recording everything that was happening here.


    He wasn¡¯t sure about it, but he was sure that there were probably mics here as well, listening in on their conversation secretly.


    None of them said anything just as they had nned. They simply waited for the President of Elisium to get here.


    Time kept trickling away, and soon, ten minutes were over. It was only then that Lucifer saw the door open.


    A dark-haired man who seemed to be in his sixties entered the room, apanied by twenty men in ck suits. The dark-haired man was the President of Elisium, known as President Quan.


    "Sorry to keep you waiting. I didn¡¯t know you were going toe so early in the morning," Quan apologized to Caen as he took a chair and sat in front of Varant.


    " This is something that couldn¡¯t wait," Caen replied, subtly ncing at the men who were standing in the back.


    "That¡¯s right. You said you wanted to talk about something important regarding the Uprising that you couldn¡¯t say over a call? What was it about?" Quan inquired, wondering what it was.


    As he was talking, he didn¡¯t notice that a shadow sneakily moved towards the guards that were standing in the back to protect the President.


    The shadow soon split into twenty shadows as it reached near the wall.


    Lucifer could see a shadow appear on the wall behind each of the guards. All these shadows were carrying a shadow sword.


    "Yeah. It was something which I couldn¡¯t say over the phone. It is better to speak it personally," Caen grimly said, looking in the eyes of the President.


    " Please speak," Quan insisted.


    Caen nodded as he took a deep breath as if he was going to talk about a heavy topic.


    "I wanted to tell you... Wait, I think it would be better if he told you." he gestured towards Lucifer, stopping mid-sentence.


    " President Quan, I¡¯ll take over from here," Lucifer let out, "We¡¯re here to tell you..."


    "... It¡¯s a checkmate. It¡¯s time for you to step aside and surrender to us," he said, finishing the sentence.


    As soon as he finished, the shadows moved, shing the sword. The shadow swords came out of the walls and actually sliced the guards before they could even know what was happening.


    Thud!


    All the guards dropped to the ground. Quan turned back at the sound, noticing his guards lying on the ground.


    "W-what¡¯s happening here? Sir Varant, what are you doing?!" he asked, stunned.

 Chapter 343 - 343: What Are You?!

    <h4>Chapter 343 - 343: What Are You?! </h4>


    "Sir Varant! What are you doing?! President Quan asked in disbelief, feeling a chill crawl through his skin at the sight of his dead soldiers.


    He felt like something was really wrong here. He was in danger.


    As he asked a question to Varant, the only response he received was a smile from Caen.


    "The meaning of this is simple. Your reign is over now," Caen said, smirking.


    The president stood up and ran towards the door, realizing that he needed to escape before anything else. He had a really bad feeling right now.


    Fortunately, the door was in his direction. There was no obstruction either.


    Still, before he could even get there, he noticed a strange shadow appear on the doors, from which a man came out.


    "I don¡¯t think you¡¯re allowed to leave yet, old man," The man said, who happened to be none other than Kellian.


    "Y-you! I recognize you! You¡¯re from Uprising! Sir Varant, have you really decided to join the Uprising?!" Quan asked in disbelief, looking at Varant.


    He could understand what was happening here! The Uprising Vice Captain and APF Captain were both here, working together!


    "What Varant? That guy is long dead, and so is your hope," Caen let out, bursting intoughter.


    His face started changing, returning to a different face. His body proportions also changed, bing more athletic and slender.


    "Y-you aren¡¯t Varant! Who are you?!" Quan inquired, horrified. He was like a rat trapped in a cage with no way out.


    "My name is Caen, and I¡¯m from Variant Uprising. Oh, and let us introduce you to someone even more special," Caen let out, chuckling.


    He pointed towards Lucifer as he introduced him. "Meet the new leader of Variant Uprising and the future Ruler of Elisium!"


    "New Leader?" Quan took a step back, stunned. "He isn¡¯t Raia. How can that be?!"


    " Raia is dead. Varant is dead. And soon, Zeiss will be dead as well," Lucifer casually said as if he wasn¡¯t talking about a world-changing event but something extremely casual.


    " W-who are you?" Quan asked, staring at the young boy who in no way looked like the leader of such a fierce organization.


    "Lucifer Azarel..." Lucifer gave his full name, making sure the man understood what they were facing. Someone from the Azarel family was back to get their revenge.


    "A-Azarel? Son of Zale Azarel?" Quan inquired, stunned to know who Lucifer actually was.


    "That¡¯s good. It seems like you still remember." Lucifer nodded.


    "Why are you doing it?! Your Parents were such great heroes! They knew it was good to support humanity. They always walked the right path. Why do you select the wrong path?!" Quan asked.


    He was trying to get through to Lucifer, knowing he was the new leader. He wanted to awaken the humanity of Lucifer.


    "My parents were great heroes?! They knew it was good to support humanity? They always walked the right path? Is that why you all decided to kill them?" Lucifer asked as he looked in the eyes of Quan, seemingly staring deep into the depths of his soul.


    "T-this...." Hearing Lucifer, Quan was taken aback. At the same time, he also started sweating.


    "What nonsense are you spouting! They were either killed by Dungeon Dwellers or the Uprising! We had no hand in it. Someone is manipting you!"


    Lucifer took a deep breath as he sighed. "Is that so?"


    "Exactly! So stop this right now!" Quanmanded.


    Lucifer looked down with his arms folded as if he was lost in deep thought.


    Seeing this, President Quan was finally relieved. It seemed like he could actually manipte Lucifer and survive.


    After a few seconds, Lucifer slowly raised his head. "You know, Quan... There are many things I hate about you people. But there¡¯s also one thing that I absolutely love."


    "W-what thing?" Quan inquired.


    "You guys have some really good idioms. I remember one just for this asion. Would you like to listen?" Lucifer asked.


    " Speak."


    "It¡¯s the saying that a dying man doesn¡¯t lie. Do you think there¡¯s some truth to it?" Lucifer askedzily.


    "Yeah. I think that is true," Quan agreed.


    "Oh right, I forgot to tell you something. It was Varant who told me that you were also involved when he was dying. I think you can take it from there, can¡¯t you?" Lucifer asked. "So tell me the truth. Were you lying, or was he?"


    "H-he told you? I don¡¯t believe it. Why would he tell you such an absurd lie?!" Quan expressed shock at this statement as if it was really a lie.


    "You¡¯re actually not a bad actor; you know that? Are all politicians as talented as you?" Lucifer asked, smiling.


    "Kellian, can you please slice one finger of his? Keep slicing a finger every minute until he epts the truth. We have plenty of time, I think," hemanded Kellian, closing his eyes. Everything else was forter.


    "You! You can¡¯t do this to me. Don¡¯t forget; there are cameras in this room! My men will be here within seconds! We can sit and talk about our indifference instead of going all out."


    "Because you should know, if something happens to me, this whole building will be blown up! You¡¯ll die as well!" Quan warned Lucifer, ring at him.


    "Of all the things you could threaten me with, you decided to go with death?¡¯ Lucifer asked,ughing. "But don¡¯t worry about the cameras. We already took care of them."


    He gestured towards one of the cameras. Quan looked in the direction to see where he was pointing, only to see the camera¡¯s lenses covered by a pitch-ck shadow.


    He hastily looked at all the other cameras only to find it the same everywhere.


    All the cameras were covered by this shadow. It was created by none other than Kellian, all for the purpose of fooling the cameras.


    At the moment, all the cameras were only transmitting pitch ck, which was to make the security of this ce think that there was some technical difficulty in the system.


    " Kellian, you can begin," Lucifer repeated.


    " You don¡¯t... Arghhhhh!"


    Quan couldn¡¯t even finish his sentence before he started screaming as his finger was sliced mid-sentence. His finger dropped to the ground.


    "What the heck?" Uzuki stood up, shocked, as he saw the finger of Quan dropping on the ground.


    He wasn¡¯t the only one who was shocked. Cassius also had the same reaction. They weren¡¯t the only ones either.


    Alicia and Caen were also shocked as they looked at Quan with their eyes wide open. Lucifer was also stunned.


    A frown engulfed his face as he asked, " Who... no, What are you?!"

 Chapter 344 - 344: All For A Lie?

    <h4>Chapter 344 - 344: All For A Lie? </h4>


    Everyone could see the finger of Quan lying on the ground but what was most shocking about it was that there was no blood. Even though Quan¡¯s fingers were cut, he wasn¡¯t bleeding for some reason.


    Lucifer stood up, frowning as he approached Quan.


    "I asked, what are you?! You aren¡¯t a human, are you?" Lucifer asked grimly.


    Heavy winds suddenly started flowing inside the room as tens of wind des attacked Quan, slicing his body but not giving him any severe wound that could kill him.


    Even after what seemed like hundreds of cuts, Quan still didn¡¯t seem like he was bleeding. It felt like he didn¡¯t have any blood in his body at all. Unlike before, he wasn¡¯t even screaming now though.


    "Argh, it seems like I¡¯m caught," Quanzily let out as he rolled his eyes. "Who knew, after so long, I would be caught because of a finger. God, my luck is really bad today."


    Hearing his upset tone, it seemed clear that he wasn¡¯t scared at all. Was he acting until now?


    "I asked who are you!" Lucifer roared. At the same time, his winds sliced both the legs of Quan.


    Without his legs, Quan dropped to the ground. Still, he didn¡¯t cry in pain. Instead, he wasughing.


    "Hahahahaah!"


    Everyone watched Quanughing like crazy. Hisughter filled the entire room, stabbing in the ears of some as if thisughter was mocking them.


    " Man, that Varant is a real idiot. I really thought he could keep a secret even in death," Quan let out,ughing.


    "I guess I should have expected that he would do it, considering the fact that he was stupid enough to fall for my lie like all others. For a lie, he decided to kill your parents. I should have understood right then that he¡¯ll expose everything someday!" he continued.


    "Falling for your lie?" Lucifer inquired, taken aback. What was he saying?


    "Of course. I didn¡¯t even have to work hard at all. Your father was trying to find something inside the dungeons, supposedly a Sword for some reason," Quan replied, grinning.


    "All I had to do was tell Varant that he was trying to find the seven stones to bring apocalypse again. It was so easy to convince him."


    "He didn¡¯t even bother asking Zale! That idiot! Instead, he convinced the others that it was the truth. Zeiss and all the others fell for it as well. It was fun watching this y out. I can¡¯t describe how fun it was."


    Quan kept speaking in between his burst ofughter about how he manipted Varant.


    Each of his words stabbed Lucifer¡¯s heart like it was a poisonous arrow.


    He had at leaste to terms with the fact that Varant and others killed his fathers because he was trying to find some stones. But to know that they weren¡¯t even doing that and they were killed?


    "So this... Was it all a lie? My father wasn¡¯t trying to find the stones?" he asked weakly. He had never felt as sad as he was feeling now. To know that all of it happened because of a lie?


    His parents were betrayed because of a lie?


    "Of course. Why would your father want the stones in any case? Most of them are in unknown corners of the world," Quan said,ughing.


    "There¡¯s no way to find them all. He wouldn¡¯t be stupid enough to even try. I guess you can thank me for telling you this secret."


    Lucifer stood frozen in ce, hearing the information like a statue.


    "Why would you tell this to us now?" It was Kellian who was still thinking critically. He couldn¡¯t understand why Quan was epting the truth now?


    "Hahaha, I guess there are two reasons," Quan let out, still as happy-sounding as before.


    "What reasons?" Kellian inquired, thinking that something was wrong.


    Ignoring the conversation which was taking ce between Kellian and Quan, Cassius stood up and approached Lucifer.


    "Are you alright?" he asked Lucifer, cing his hand on his shoulder.


    Lucifer didn¡¯t reply at all. He still kept standing there, not speaking anything.


    After so long, he had managed to collect himself, but he was feeling broken again. He was feeling extremely broken, as if someone had crushed his heart after pulling it out of his chest.


    "Lucifer? You need to get out of it. Remember, it¡¯s all in the past. You need to live in the present."


    "Don¡¯t let yourself be broken because of it. I know you¡¯re strong enough to get out of it," Cassius again said gently. He didn¡¯t want Lucifer to break now.


    Unfortunately for him, Lucifer couldn¡¯t hear him. It was as if he had again closed himself from the outside world, hiding in the darkness.


    Lucifer felt like he was sitting in a dark room, with folded knees, all alone. There was nothing but darkness around him.


    "Lucifer,e on. Wake up! Get out of it!" Cassius kept calling out, but Lucifer didn¡¯t reply.


    All Lucifer heard was his parents¡¯ gentle voice. He remembered his mother¡¯s soft embrace, protecting him from all the wrongs in the world.


    To know that they were killed for doing nothing at all... They were killed for no freaking reason at all, other than the self-serving interest of people that wanted them dead!


    They did nothing wrong! They didn¡¯t risk the future of the world by trying to find the stones, and they didn¡¯t hurt anyone!


    Instead, they left their five year old kid home to go inside the dungeons so that the world could be safe, all so they could be poisoned to death?


    Sitting in darkness, he was able to see his mother lying before him. Her face was pale, and blood wasing out of her lips. His father also seemed to be in simr condition as if they were both poisoned.


    This world.... took his family for a lie?


    "Lucifer, wake up!" Cassius yelled.


    "Ouch!" he hastily retreated as he felt the current coursing through Lucifer¡¯s body. Since he retreated in time, he wasn¡¯t heavily electrocuted.


    He was able to see dark lightning flicker around Lucifer¡¯s body.


    A strange pattern could also be seen shining through the back of Lucifer¡¯s coat, which was nothing but his strange tattoo, which was shining like it never shone before.


    Tears kept trickling down from Lucifer¡¯s eyes, one of which had once again turned even more violet. It was something which someone could see even from a distance. It was not only violet, but it was also shining brightly.


    ....


    In an unknown location, a man raised his head as he looked at the pitch-ck sky.


    As for the man, he also had one violet and blue eye, simr to Lucifer. A simr pattern was also on this man¡¯s back. His gaze seemed to be filled with mncholy.

 Chapter 345 - 345: Lost

    <h4>Chapter 345 - 345: Lost </h4>


    "The first reason is because I wanted to dy you all so that everyone could Vacate this building," Quan said,ughing.


    "Vacate? Why would anyone Vacate? They don¡¯t know what happened here?" Kellian asked, frowning.


    "Hahaha, you¡¯re really naive, aren¡¯t you? Despite seeing no blood in my body, do you really think I¡¯m real?"


    "The body you see before you now is just one of my puppets. My real body is elsewhere," Quanughed even more brightly. "Everyone knows what¡¯s happening here."


    "As for the second reason, it was because I wanted the kid to know the truth before he died. And now that everyone is out of the building, time to blow it up. Goodbye, crazy bastard," he further said, smirking


    He looked at the clock in his hand as he said, "You have three seconds. Run! Run as far as you can in these three, no one second now."


    "Aaaand, Boom!" he let out as it was time, but there was no st.


    "What? What¡¯s happening? Why didn¡¯t it blow up?" Quan asked, shocked.


    ...


    Back in APF headquarters, Drak wiped the sweat off his forehead.


    "Hah! I did it! The building and the entire city is now under my control, all thanks to the support from Sir Kellian."


    "Man, it was surprising to know that they were going to blow up that building. Fortunately, I got in on time," he told Vega, proud as if he had achieved a really big task.


    "You did well. Now it¡¯s my turn," Vega smiled as he also got to work.


    ....


    Ting!


    A message reached the leader of Border Security of Capital City. The message seemed to havee from city highmand, from what it seemed.


    "Hmm? More APF members will being? And I need to let them pass through without any verification?" the white-haired leader read the message.


    "Alright. If that¡¯s what the highest ups want, who am I to question anything."


    At the same time, another message reached Yaliza, who was leading the members that were told to wait near the Capital City for further orders.


    Seeing the message, a smile formed on his lips.


    "We¡¯re in the green! Everyone! Time to get inside!" Yalizamanded as he entered the APF helicopter.


    The helicopters started flying towards the Capital City at full speed.


    As they reached the walls, there was no signal for them to stop. They were allowed to enter without checking.


    ....


    "That takes care of the rest," Vegamented as he rxed a little.


    "Iing and outgoingmunication is stopped as well. We¡¯re in the clear," Drakmented.


    The small two men team at APF base was creating miracles with the help of APF¡¯s tightly integrated infrastructure in the Capital City defenses.


    "Any signs of Zeiss?" Vega asked Drak, wondering if Zeiss left the Dungeon.


    "No signs yet. It seems like he¡¯s still in the dungeon. As for Warlock King Szar, he is also in Legion City. It doesn¡¯t seem like he has any intention to leave."


    ....


    The team with Yaliza and the others didn¡¯t go to the building where Lucifer and the others were. Instead, their goal was to neutralize the Hunter Union when they were least expecting an attack.


    ....


    "What¡¯s happening? What did you do to our systems?! Why are we locked out of it?!" Quan asked, stunned to his core.


    He found out that they had lost the contract of all systems in the city.


    " Did you really think we would let you control such things after we infiltrated?" Kellian sarcastically asked.


    "I think it¡¯s time for you to answer a few questions. You are a Variant, that¡¯s something we¡¯re sure of. The question remains, who are you?"


    "Lucifer, wake up!"


    As Kellian was asking such questions, he heard a yell from a distance. Looking ahead, he noticed Lucifer standing frozen. Electricity was flickering around him.


    As for his eyes, they had started shining as a strange and dreadful aura filled the entire room.


    There were already intense clouds in the sky, but they became even more intense as their roars could even be heard in this ce.


    ck lightning started falling everywhere inside the city. Hundreds of pitch-ck lightning bolts fell inside the city, which no one had ever seen before.


    A lot of them fell on the roads, leaving deep craters. There were also a lot of them which fell on top of the buildings, destroying them.


    One after another, buildings kept falling, unable to bear the brunt of such lighting.


    The lightning didn¡¯t stop though. It continued as bolts kept falling as if it was the actual Wrath of Heaven.


    ....


    In an unknown ce inside the city, a man was sitting in a room, surrounded by Army Generals. General Maxwell, who handled the Facility where Lucifer was kept, was also there.


    As for the man, he was none other than the President of Elisium. He was the real Quan that wasn¡¯t seen by anyone.


    "We can¡¯t get back the controls. The situation is getting out of hand. Should we inform him? Elisium is getting out of our hands?" General Maxwell asked as he nced outside the window, looking at all the lightning falling in the city.


    "Not yet. Don¡¯t forget; he sent us here for a purpose. We can¡¯t let Elisium fall, or things will be problematic," the real Quan said, frowning.


    "Isn¡¯t this why we¡¯ve all been ying these roles since the Last Great War? Isn¡¯t that why we fooled all the Warlock Kings?"


    "Isn¡¯t that why we had Zale killed? So that there won¡¯t be a problem when the timees? How can we let it all go to waste now?" he further asked.


    "What can we even do? Just look outside. Is this the strength we can face alone? Do you really think so?" General Maxwell asked, sighing.


    "Varant is dead. Zeiss is inside the dungeon. Szar is also not in the city. And themunication is jammed. We¡¯re like rats trapped in a cage. What can we even use now?"


    Even Quan fell in deep thought as he stood up. "We¡¯re in a conundrum indeed. But if we go back after failing, you know what he¡¯ll do to us, don¡¯t you? We can¡¯t fail."


    He also walked to the window and looked outside at all the buildings being destroyed one after another.


    ...


    "Lucifer, are you alright?" Kellian asked, concerned for Lucifer, who wasn¡¯t speaking anything.


    Lucifer couldn¡¯t hear him either. Instead, his consciousness found itself in a dark space where he was sitting inplete istion.


    It was only after a long time that he finally spoke.


    Only one word came out of his lips though...

 Chapter 346 - 346: Chaos

    <h4>Chapter 346 - 346: Chaos </h4>


    After a long time, Lucifer finally spoke.


    "Why?" he simply asked.


    Strangely enough, his voice soundedpletely different now. It was as if two people were speaking at the same time. His voice was also more powerful now.


    "WHY?!" he yelled as his figure disappeared. He appeared before Quan, grabbed him by the neck before he flew straight up.


    He didn¡¯t care that he was hitting the roofs. He kept breaking them as he flew up like a rocket.


    Soon, Lucifer was out of the building, but he didn¡¯t stop. He continued flying up and only stopped when he was thousands of feet above the ground, seemingly standing right under the shing clouds.


    "I ASKED WHY?!" he roared in anger.


    "I think you have really lost your mind. But do you really think you can scare me? This is my fake body, not a real one. You can hurt or destroy it all you want. I won¡¯t be affected," Quan said, not looking scared.


    "If you want an answer, you must listen to me! Follow all mymands, and I¡¯ll give you the answers! As for the firstmand, it¡¯s pretty simple," he continued as he grinned.


    "Kill all Uprising Members that are in the city, and I¡¯ll give you the answers you want. You have a few hours only. If they¡¯re not dead by then, then you can forget about your answers."


    "In that case, you can just think that they were pigs that were ughtered for no reason. The choice is yours!" hemanded Lucifer.


    ....


    Inside a distant building, the real Quan was also grinning, happy that he got the perfect piece for his puzzle.


    "Maxwell, didn¡¯t you ask who we can use in this situation? The answer is simple. We¡¯ll use Lucifer himself. He¡¯ll be our ve, killing our enemies."


    "And when he¡¯s done, we can manipte him even more and make him do our tasks for years if he wants his answers," heughed, looking pleased.


    "See? There was no need to worry, was there?" He walked back to the seat and satfortably.


    "We can just sit and watch things y out," he let outzily.


    ...


    The APF Helicopters were just about tond near the Hunter Union headquarters, but before they could, a few lightning bolts fell on the building, bringing them down to the ground.


    A few Hunters managed to escape on time before the buildings could copse, only to see a stranger scene outside.


    Lightning was falling everywhere, uncontrobly. No one knew what was happening, especially the Hunter Union members that had stepped left the headquarters.


    They looked towards the sky, noticing more than ten helicopters flying in the sky.


    Yaliza and others looked at the terrifying sky ahead, noticing the ck lightning everywhere.


    "What is he doing? This wasn¡¯t part of the n. Did something go wrong? I thought everything was going ording to the n?" Yaliza muttered, confused.


    " Hunted Union headquarters have copsed suddenly. I think a lot of them should already be dead, but there are quite a few that escaped. Should we attack?" One Uprising Member asked Yaliza as he noticed a lot of Hunter Union members on the ground.


    "We can¡¯t attack them as we nned to before. They should be alert now. The battle will be fierce. Everyone, prepare yourself! We need to kill them all!" Yalizamanded as he walked to the doors.


    He slid the doors open before he jumped outside. He wasn¡¯t the only one though. The other APF members also jumped outside, prepared to fight.


    ...


    The Hunter Union members were still confused as to what was happening in the city? Why was ck lightning falling everywhere? What was with the strange phenomenon? Moreover, why were APF helicopters in the city suddenly?


    "Do you think it¡¯s the doing of some Variant? Is the city under attack? Could it be why APF is here?" One of the Hunter Union members asked.


    "Even if that¡¯s the case, it doesn¡¯t seem right. For them toe to the city, it must be that they knew something was going to happen. Why didn¡¯t they warn Hunter Union then? Something really strange is going on," another Hunter Union Warlock answered.


    "That¡¯s true. Ourmunications are suddenly down as well. Something is certainly not right. Let¡¯s just ask APF members what¡¯s going on."


    Quite a few Hunter Union members looked towards the sky, staring at the helicopters that were flying above their heads only to see people jump out of them.


    ....


    "What happened to him? Why did he suddenly leave?" Alicia asked, looking at the holes in the roof. Lucifer had just left.


    " I think... He is somewhat upset. Let¡¯s just give that guy some privacy. He¡¯ll return when he has calmed down," Uzuki replied, not taking it seriously.


    "I think this is more serious than you imagine. Just look at the sky. I never saw anything like that before. Even when he was caught by the APF, it wasn¡¯t anything like that," Caenmented, frowning.


    "Kellian, what do you think we should do?" he asked Kellian.


    "You all wait here. I¡¯ll see what can be done," Kellian said before he turned into a shadow and disappeared.


    Cassius didn¡¯t talk to anyone. Instead, he raised his sword before shing the wall. He made an opening in the wall, before he jumped out, leaving to check things himself.


    As hended outside, he was able to see someone high in the sky. A dark figure could be seen, floating in the sky. Whenever the sky shed, it made that figure more visible.


    That person seemed to be carrying another person, grabbed by the neck.


    "He¡¯s there." Caen and the others also noticed Lucifer in the sky through the opening that Cassius had made.


    "This is pure chaos," he said, looking at the sky, wondering what was happening outside.


    Lighting was falling randomly. He couldn¡¯t even be sure if one was going to fall where they were standing. Buildings kept copsing. Things kept blowing up.


    "He... What happened to him? Does he want to destroy everything?" Alicia asked, staring at the horrifying scene outside.


    "Maybe..." Caen muttered.


    On the roof of that same building, Kellian was standing, looking at Lucifer. The chill winds, mixed with the droplets of rain, fell on his skin, but his attention remained on Lucifer, wondering what he could do. Was there something he could try to stop this guy?


    It didn¡¯t seem like Lucifer was in the right mindset to be stopped. But he couldn¡¯t let things happen this way either. They didn¡¯t want the whole city to be destroyed.


    "What can I do to bring him back?"

 Chapter 347 - 347: Decision

    <h4>Chapter 347 - 347: Decision </h4>


    Lucifer was flying in the middle of the sky, staring at Quan, who had just finished ordering him.


    He was just told to kill Uprising Members if he wanted answers.


    "Act fast. Time is running out. Don¡¯t tell me you don¡¯t want answers to your question?" Quan asked,ughing. For the most part, his voice drowned in the sound of thunder, but Lucifer was able to hear it still.


    "You¡¯re in this city, aren¡¯t you?" Lucifer asked Quan, expressionless. "Instead of listening to you, I¡¯d much rather destroy everything until I find the real you."


    "Run Quan... Run as far as you can. You won¡¯t get out of this city alive today," Lucifer said, clenching his fist, which effectively crushed the next of Quan.


    Lucifer tossed Quan away, but right after that, he used his wind des to slice Quan into small parts.


    After killing Quan, Lucifer nced down at the city.


    ...


    The real Quan was sitting on the chairfortably, feeling like he had Lucifer in his palms, but it apparently yed out a little differently in reality. Instead of giving in, Lucifer was prepared to walk the extra mile to find him.


    "What happened?" General Maxwell asked Quan, noticing his weird expressions.


    "I think you were right. We might have a problem at our hands. We¡¯re stuck here. We can¡¯t even contact him. And it seems like instead of turning Lucifer to my side, I might have actually triggered him even more," Quan replied, smiling wryly.


    "Sigh. Let¡¯s try getting out of the city. We have no choice but to abandon this ce. Everything is out of our control now," General Maxwell suggested as he walked over to the wall.


    He ced his finger on a certain spot in the wall and pressed it lightly.


    Click!


    As soon as he tapped the wall, a clicking sound was made as if a button was pressed.


    A square opening appeared on the floor, big enough for one person to easily enter inside.


    "Let¡¯s go. Back to where we came from... Back to Triton," General Maxwell told Quan.


    Taking a deep breath, Quan agreed as he stood up. He walked towards the opening in the ground to see stairs inside that were going down.


    He went down the stairs. The others also followed behind him, going down.


    "Cr*p!" One of the men following behind Quan couldn¡¯t help but curse as he found a small part of his long robe caught as the sliding door closed before he couldpletely collect his long robe.


    Instead of bothering to open the doors again by telling others and dying themselves, the man just removed his robe and left it behind so as to not be scolded.


    At the end of the dark stairs, they found themselves in a dark ce.


    General Maxwell brought a torch out and turned it on, lightning the path ahead.


    Through the light, everyone was able to see that they were inside a cave, underground. Moreover, a strange smell was filling the entire cave.


    "I think they have jammed themunication of the entire city. After leaving this city, we should be able to contact others," General Maxwell suggested as he led the path. The others followed him from behind.


    ...


    Lucifer had just finished killing fake Quan, and now he was thinking about finding the real one. He was still enraged, but after Quan told him to kill Uprising, he had calmed down.


    As Quan mentioned the Uprising, Lucifer realized that he wanted his enemies dead. Moreover, Uprising was siding with him.


    As he thought about the Uprising, he also remembered everything else, including the support he had now and their ns.


    Even though Quan wanted to use the confused mindset of Lucifer to make him kill his teammates, it workedpletely differently. Instead of breaking Lucifer, it reminded him who he was and where he was.


    The trick of an enemy worked in his favor. He was still enraged enough to destroy everything, but he wasn¡¯t mindless.


    Looking down, Lucifer noticed Cassius looking at him in concern. Kellian was also looking at him from the top of a roof.


    Through a hole in the wall, he was also able to see Alicia and Caen standing before him.


    He flew down,nding before Kellian.


    "Are you alright now?¡¯ Kellian asked, breathing a sigh of relief.


    "What would happen to me?" Lucifer asked, ignoring what had just happened. " Anyway, I want you all to do one thing! I don¡¯t care how you do it, but I want real Quan in my feet! You understand? Use any trick you have to, but I want him!¡¯


    " You mean his real body is inside the city? That would make sense. Give me some time. I¡¯ll find him for you!" Kellian said, spreading his arms wide.


    His eyes started shining in a pitch ck light as he used his powers to the extent he had never used before. Thousands of shadows came out of his body and spread everywhere, searching for the enemy that was probably hiding somewhere.


    One after another, these thousands of shadows were to check all the houses and buildings to find Quan.


    Fortunately, one such building that this shadow happened to enter was the same ce where Quan was sitting a few minutes ago.


    There were no clues about Quan being there though. That ce looked extremely ordinary for the most part. There were only a few chairs, but the shadow noticed one peculiar thing.


    A small part of a clothing article could be seen on the floor.


    Seeing the robe, Kellian understood everything. This robe was clear evidence of the person who was here. He had seen that person many times on TV. Only the defense minister of Quan wore this exact robe.


    Through the robe, he was also able to realize that there was an opening in the ground.


    Standing on the roof, Kellian opened his eyes. "I think I found them."


    "Where?" Lucifer asked.


    "Follow me," Kellian said before he himself turned into a Shadow and started zooming past every obstruction to get to that ce.


    Keeping an eye on that shadow, Lucifer followed behind.


    Along the way, they had to fly past Cassius, who called out to Lucifer.


    Lucifer lowered himself as he caught the hands of Cassius and carried him as well.


    Alicia also ran after them, using her ability to walk and run on the air.


    "Are you alright now?" Cassius asked Lucifer, who looked fine now.


    "I¡¯m alright," Lucifer replied. "Don¡¯t worry about me."


    Kellian came out of the shadow inside the room where Quan previously stood.


    Breaking the window, Lucifer and Cassius also stopped inside. Alicia also came behind them.

 Chapter 348 - 348: Little Game

    <h4>Chapter 348 - 348: Little Game </h4>


    "Where are they?" Lucifer asked Kellian after finding the room empty.


    Kellian pointed down. "There¡¯s a hidden path there. I think they are trying to escape now."


    Lucifer stepped forward and stomped on the ground, breaking the metallic door in the ground, which fell down to reveal the stairs underneath.


    "A hidden path?" Aliciamented.


    "Yeah. There is awork of tunnels inside. There was no mention of it anywhere, so it was probably kept a tight secret," Kellian exined.


    "So they can hide inside thework of tunnels?" Lucifer asked. "Use your shadows to find and trail them."


    "I already did that. And I also found them. One of my shadows is already trailing them. From the direction they¡¯re going in, I think they¡¯re trying to leave the city," Kellian exined.


    "Only their dead bodies will leave this city!" Lucifer dered. "Bring me to them!"


    Kellian jumped inside the dark tunnel. Lucifer and the others also stepped inside, but it was so dark that they could barely see anything.


    "Let me help," Alicia dered, using another of her small abilities. She simply snapped her fingers to make tens of floating spheres of lights appear that lit up everything.


    The group of four started running in the direction of Quan.


    ...


    " We should¡¯ve kept some bikes inside the tunnel. It would have made our jobs so much easier. I mean seriously, we have been walking for over half an hour, and we aren¡¯t even halfway there." Walking behind General Maxwell, Quan keptining.


    "Well, you should¡¯ve thought about it before. We still have a long way to go. Even though we¡¯re taking the shortest exit, this city isn¡¯t small. So it¡¯s certainly going to take time. If I¡¯m not wrong, it¡¯ll take us two more hours," General Maxwell replied.


    "I think you most certainly are wrong in that assumption. It won¡¯t take you two hours to get out. Instead, it¡¯ll take you more than a lifetime."


    In the darkness of the cave, a voice suddenly came, surprising Quan, General Maxwell, and everyone else. Because they all realized that this wasn¡¯t the voice of any of them.


    It could only mean one thing... Someone else was here with them. And that wasn¡¯t good news since no one else should have known about this ce.


    All of them stopped as General Maxwell started shing lights everywhere to find who was there. It didn¡¯t take much effort to find the person, though. As soon as he turned the light behind them, they were all able to see a young boy standing behind them.


    The young silver-haired boy simply stood calmly with his hands behind his back.


    Kellian also came out from his shadow blocking the other side, catching them in between.


    Alicia once again brought her left spheres to light up the ce, revealing herself and Cassius to be standing there as well.


    Lucifer stood with his hands behind his back, staring at Quan as if he was a dead man.


    "So, Quan... What were you saying?" Lucifer asked, frowning. "It didn¡¯t matter if I hurt you, right? That¡¯s what you said if I¡¯m not wrong."


    "H-how did you get here that fast? How did you know where we were?" Quan asked, stunned.


    "I guess you should thank you. It would certainly be harder to find you otherwise," Lucifer replied as he tossed a robe towards Quan.


    Seeing that robe, Quan was stunned. He recognized that robe. He looked towards one of his men, enraged. "You bastard! You couldn¡¯t take care of a robe? We should¡¯ve left you out!"


    "I think it¡¯s toote for that now," Alicia chimed in, raising her hand. She brought all of the men down to their knees as some illusory ropes wrapped themselves around them, keeping them on their knees.


    "Arghhh!"


    Quan roared like crazy as his arm was chopped off by the wind. This time, however, there was blood. And his scream also seemed as real as it could get.


    "I think we got the right one this time," Lucifer smiled as he observed the man who cried in pain as he bled.


    Kellian kept staring at General Maxwell instead of seeing Quan cry.


    "I recognize you. Aren¡¯t you General Maxwell? The one who was incharge of the facility where Lucifer was kept?" he ultimately asked.


    "Hmm? Who?" Lucifer asked, surprised.


    "Yeah. He is the one who was actually in charge of the facility. I¡¯m certain of that. All of the wrong things that happened there, a lot of their credit should go to this guy actually," Kellian affirmed, nodding.


    Lucifer shifted his focus to General Maxwell. Heavy winds suddenly flew, and as they passed, men kept dropping to the ground, dead. As for the ones who had died, they were none other than the supporters of Quan. Only two people were alive now¡ª General Maxwell and Quan.


    "Seeing you two together, I understand a few things I think. One had a hand in the deaths of my parents, and the other had a hand in ruining my life. A coincidence or something more?" Lucifer asked, ncing at the two men.


    " Alright. I¡¯ve decided. We¡¯ll y a quiz game with you two. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll love it. The one who wins will get to live. And the one who loses will die. Are you two ready?" Lucifer asked, sitting right there on the ground.


    "What game?" General Maxwell gravely asked, wondering if he had a chance of surviving. Because the way things were going so far, the chances looked grim.


    They were surrounded from both sides, and the chances of escaping were almost non-existent.


    "It¡¯s a simple game actually. I¡¯ll ask each of you a question. You need to answer me. As long as you tell the truth, you get one point."


    "If you lie, you lose one point. And in the end, the person with the lowest score dies. The other one gets to escape. It¡¯s my promise as the leader of Uprising, so you can trust that I¡¯ll stick to them. I respect my words too much," Lucifer exined.


    "So you two ready?"


    General Maxwell nodded. If this was a path to survival, he was ready to take it. It didn¡¯t matter what he needed to do.


    Quan¡¯s eyes were filled with tears. His face waspletely pale, and he was still bleeding as well.


    "Oh right, I forgot to tell you. Our very own Alicia can see if you¡¯re telling the truth or not. She has the same powers as Veracity. So you should stick to the truth. A single lie and your head will roll on the ground," Lucifer warned them, talking about Alicia.

 Chapter 349 - 349: The Real Reason

    <h4>Chapter 349 - 349: The Real Reason </h4>


    Alicia was initially stunned, but she didn¡¯t let it show on her face as she understood what Lucifer was trying to do. He didn¡¯t want them to lie, so he was lying to them that she could catch lies.


    She decided to y along as she acted confident while staring at Quan.


    "So let¡¯s start. We need to finish by the time things settle above. So no time to waste. First question for General Maxwell."


    Lucifer nced at General Maxwell before he asked, "So General, first question is for you. So tell me, did you have a hand in the treatment I received in the Facility?"


    General Maxwell was slightly hesitant to answer. He couldn¡¯t help but nce at Alicia, ultimately deciding to tell the truth.


    "I have a hand in it. I told them that you weren¡¯t to be given any special treatment, no matter who your parents were. I told them that you were to be treated like any normal kid while they waited for your powers to awaken," General Maxwell answered.


    "Alright. One point for General Maxwell," Lucifer replied after ncing at Alicia.


    "Next, Quan. Your question is just as simple. Why did you want my parents dead?" Lucifer inquired.


    "Because they were the biggest obstruction in our path. At least that was the risk if they were left alive since they were different from other Warlock Kings. So he told us to have them killed while we had a chance," Quan also confessed. If it was the race for survival, he wasn¡¯t going to bother lying.


    It was fighting General Maxwell for victory.


    "General Maxwell, your turn. As you may know, I was killed in the end. But my question is different. I don¡¯t want to know why I was killed. Instead, I want to know why I wasn¡¯t killed sooner? Why was I kept alive for five years?" Lucifer asked, changing focus to General Maxwell.


    "Because I really don¡¯t think you were hoping for me to awaken so I could help this world? Were you?"


    General Maxwell took a deep breath before he answered, "Because of your powers. Doctor Rao was working on an experiment where he was able to give powers to a little girl who was his experimental subject."


    "We also wanted that experiment to be a sess so we could use her in the future. That¡¯s why we were using thatb for young Variants."


    " We wanted you to awaken so we could give your powers to her as well since she could only take powers of Variants who were younger than ten. That¡¯s why you were kept alive for as long as we could. Since you didn¡¯t awaken, we were all upset, especially Doctor Rao."


    "Because you couldn¡¯t awaken, he felt like his experimental subject lost the chance of receiving great powers from you. I think that¡¯s why... The things happened that happened." He finished exining.


    "That exins a lot. So that was why you did what you did..." Lucifer muttered, smiling. "You were keeping me alive for someone else. And when it didn¡¯t work out, you all med me for your failure. Not bad."


    "Quan, your turn. You said he told you to have my parents killed. Who is this ¡¯he¡¯? And in what was my father an obstruction for you?" Lucifer asked, again switching focus to Quan.


    "This... I can¡¯t answer that. He would kill me if he knew I told you..." Quan hesitated, not willing to answer.


    "Think again. If you don¡¯t answer, I¡¯ll kill you right now. If you do answer and win, you¡¯ll be free. Then you can hide somewhere and survive whoever that person is," Lucifer reminded Quan. "Which is better? Confirmed death now or potential deathter?"


    "I¡¯ll give you one more chance. Answer, or you¡¯ll get minus one point," he further said.


    Quan fell in deep thought, realizing that it was the truth. Potential death was better than confirmed death.


    Clenching his fist, he answered, "Warlock Council President, Alexander Loan!"


    "Warlock Council President? He wanted my parents dead?" Lucifer muttered, frowning. Why was the Warlock Council involved in this?


    He wanted to ask directly, but he still shifted the attention to General Maxwell.


    "You talked about a test subject who you all worked on. Thedy you were giving the powers to. Where is she now?" Lucifer asked General Maxwell.


    "We actually have no idea. We tried searching the entire facility after Doctor Rao¡¯s death, but we couldn¡¯t find her anywhere," General Maxwell replied.


    "We don¡¯t know if he shifted that girl elsewhere or what, but she wasn¡¯t anywhere in the facility. We checked everywhere. So I can¡¯t answer that question as even I don¡¯t know," he added, unaware that the woman he was talking about was standing in front of him.


    ¡¯So that crazy testing subject is roaming free with multiple powers?¡¯ Lucifer thought, frowning.


    His mind soon clicked though.


    ¡¯ A girl with many powers...?¡¯ he couldn¡¯t help but nce at Alicia, realizing that she matched the characteristics. She also has multiple powers, in fact slightly more than he did.


    Moreover, her identity was a mystery as well. He was told that she was the daughter of Vega, but ording to Veracity, it was a lie.


    Variant Uprising had also gone to that facility. He wondered if it was possible that Vega and Raia took her from theb after Doctor Rao¡¯s death? That was a big possibility.


    Alicia actually considered Vega her father, so it was clear to him that her memories were manipted by Raia. There was a great chance that she was from thatb. He needed to ask Vega to be sure of that.


    "Your turn," he moved back to Quan. "Why did the Warlock Council want my parents dead?"


    "I don¡¯t know why. All I was told was that they had a n that they were going to put forth in Elisium in the future and that Zale was supposed to be taken out before that."


    "That was why I was nted as the human president of Elisium, despite being a Variant without anyone finding out. This n was put forth not long after the Great War with Dungeon Dwellers when Raia had killed the current human representative," Quan answered.


    "Since then, I¡¯ve been ying this role, acting on themands of the Warlock Council. Whenever they wanted me to do something, I did it," he further exined.


    "Why didn¡¯t they ask you to take one of the seven stones from Varant?" Lucifer asked, confused, why the Warlock Council sent Varant¡¯s niece to him when they already had Elisium president under their thumb.

 Chapter 350 - 350: Cant Afford Two Crazies

    <h4>Chapter 350 - 350: Can''t Afford Two Crazies </h4>


    " They sent Jenilia all the way here for the stone. Why didn¡¯t you use your tricks to get the stone?" Lucifer asked Quan.


    " Varant even refused me. No matter how much I tried, he didn¡¯t give it to me. Of course, I couldn¡¯t directly ask him either to not make him suspicious," Quan answered, slightly confused.


    He wondered why he was asked another question? Wasn¡¯t it the turn of General Maxwell?


    "In any case, getting the stones wasn¡¯t our mission, I suppose. Even though I don¡¯t know what he actually wanted, I¡¯m sure getting the stone was only secondary in his list," he further said, clenching his teeth in pain.


    Lucifer stood up and patted his clothes.


    "I think I got all the answers I wanted from you. Quan, you have two more points than General Maxwell. So my next question will be for both of you."


    "It¡¯s a question for three points and thest question. The person who answers will win and survive. The one who couldn¡¯t will fail and die. Are you two prepared?" he asked the two men.


    Quan was upset on the inside. He had a two points lead, ording to Lucifer, and it was thest question. Technically, he had won, but Lucifer was cheating by making it a three point question!


    It cheated him of his advantage and gave an unfair advantage to General Maxwell who was losing in points.


    By making it a three point question, Lucifer had once again brought the two of them back to square one.


    When Lucifer said that it was thest question, General Maxwell felt like his heartbeat stopped for a moment since he knew he had lost.


    As soon as he realized that it was a three point question, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. He still had the chance of survival.


    "Last question for the two of you. How do you contact the Warlock Council President from here?" Lucifer asked, smiling.


    General Maxwell waspletely silent as he heard the question. He started worrying since he knew he couldn¡¯t answer this question even if he wanted to. Quan could contact him, and only he knew how to contact.


    "I didn¡¯t contact him! Only Quan was allowed to!" Despite not knowing the answer, he still spoke.


    Quan felt a deep tion in his heart, hearing the question. Amongst the two of them, only he could answer the question. It meant that he had won if he answered.


    "I contacted him by calling him! Only I have his number! It¡¯s...."


    Quan not only answered Lucifer, but he also blurted out the number of Warlock Council President.


    "So, I won, right?" he asked after answering.


    "That¡¯s right. You won," Lucifer agreed. "The smallpetition is over. Congrats on the victory."


    "I¡¯m free to leave now? I¡¯m forgiven as per your promise, right?" Quan let out as he excitedly stood up. "Now that I¡¯m forgiven, can I go back to the city? I need to see a doctor urgently."


    "Don¡¯t worry. I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll need to see a doctor anymore," Lucifer muttered, turning back.


    Fast winds flew, slicing the heads of both General Maxwell and Quan.


    "Enjoy your stay in hell," Lucifer said, walking back with his hands behind his back.


    He didn¡¯t even bother decaying the two of them since he didn¡¯t want to dirty his hands.


    Instead of going back to where they came from, Lucifer and others stepped out of the closest exit by simply creating one.


    It was Alicia who made that opening on the roof of the tunnel.


    Everyone left through the opening to find themselves in the middle of the city, near the Hunter Union headquarters.


    Some of the Variant Uprising members were still fighting the Hunter Union Warlocks. Lots of bodies were lying all around them, including the bodies of some Uprising Members.


    "Kellian?" Lucifer casually called.


    "I¡¯m on it," Kellian said, jumping into the battle.


    Kellian proved to be a fatal addition on the battlefield, turning the tides even more in favor of the Uprising with the help of his Shadows.


    Lucifer didn¡¯t interfere and simply watched the battle y out.


    During the battle, a stray energy wave flew towards Lucifer and the others. Lucifer didn¡¯t even bother blinking as a barrier appeared before him, protecting him from the attack.


    "You can at least try dodging the attack, can¡¯t you?" Alicia asked Lucifer, rolling her eyes.


    "Why would I when you¡¯re here with that barrier? In any case, that attack wasn¡¯t all that powerful?" Lucifer asked in return. "It would be a different matter if you weren¡¯t right beside me."


    " What if my barrier isn¡¯t strong enough to stop the attack someday?"


    "Then you¡¯ll blow up to smithereens because of the attack, and I¡¯ll heal and be back to normal." Lucifer shrugged.


    "You are really-" Alicia started replying, but she couldn¡¯t finish as she stopped.


    She held her head which suddenly started aching as if it was going to blow up.


    "Are you alright?" Lucifer asked, wondering what happened to her suddenly. She was grabbing onto her head with both her hands.


    "I-it hurts! It hurts so much!" Alicia yelled as she sat on her knees, still holding her head


    She even shut her eyes tightly as she started seeing weird shes in front of her eyes.


    One moment she was lying on a bed as syringes were stabbed in her back. The next moment, she was sitting on the battlefield, holding her head.


    She felt like her head was splitting apart.


    "What happened? Alicia! Are you alright?" Lucifer asked, slightly concerned.


    "I-i don¡¯t know. My head is hurting so much!" Alicia yelled as her eyes started getting wet. Tears started trickling down.


    "You need to calm down first. Don¡¯t think about anything. You are perfectly fine," Lucifer suggested as he tried to calm Alicia, who seemed like she was losing it.


    "I don¡¯t know what¡¯s happening! Please stop it! Please stop it! My head will blow up!" Alicia yelled as a barrier formed around her, trapping her in a cocoon.


    Inside the barrier, she kept screaming in pain as she saw many strange scenes sh through her eyes. In all of those scenes, she saw only one face... The face of a white-robed man who looked like a scientist.


    "She was perfectly fine. What happened to her suddenly? What should we do?" Cassius asked, concerned about Alicia. "If it stays like this, I worry that she might go crazy!"


    "I¡¯ll stop it then. We can¡¯t afford two crazies," Lucifer muttered, sighing.


    He took off both his gloves and kept them in his pockets before he stepped closer to the barrier.

 Chapter 351 - 351: Taking Action

    <h4>Chapter 351 - 351: Taking Action </h4>


    Lucifer kept the gloves in his pocket before he approached Alicia. Carefully, he ced both his hands on the barrier of Alicia since his hands could decay anything, even energy barriers.


    He had tested this once before when he himself was trapped in one such barrier. Decay not only weakened these barriers but it also destroyed most of them.


    He ced his hands on the barrier, letting his decay work its magic.


    The barrier kept decaying, but it was happening really slowly. On the other hand, Alicia had already fallen on the ground, still holding onto her head.


    Even though it took a few seconds, the barrier had only weakened halfway. It was still going to take more time to destroy it like this.


    Seeing Alicia¡¯s condition, Lucifer knew that she wasn¡¯t going tost long like this. Each second was important.


    He kept his left palm on the barrier but retracted his right hand.


    He clenched his fist before punching the barrier with his full strength. The barrier broke because of the impact as if it was made of ss, shattering to pieces.


    As the barrier broke, Lucifer ran to Alicia. Sitting near her, he slowly made her sit, holding her shoulders.


    Alicia weekly looked at Lucifer as she pleaded, "Please stop this. I will go crazy..."


    "You won¡¯t," Lucifer replied, cing his hand under the ears of Alicia.


    Snap!


    A gentle snapping sound came, and Alicia¡¯s entire body went weak as sheid in Lucifer¡¯s arms.


    "Sleep for now. Everything should be fine by the time you wake up," Lucifer said, ncing at the unconscious girl in his arms.


    "Do you have any idea what might have happened to her? A panic attack or something?" Cassius asked Lucifer, sitting near him.


    The way they were sitting, it didn¡¯t look like they were inside the battlefield. Instead, it looked like they were all in the park.


    "I don¡¯t think it was a panic attack. It should be something else," Lucifer replied. "But if it is what I think it is, then things will certainly getplicated."


    "What do you think it might be?" Cassius asked, frowning.


    Lucifer nced at Kellian and the others who were fighting in the distance.


    Making sure no one was near them, he started answering, "You heard General Maxwell speak about that experimental subject in theb that Doctor Rao was working on?"


    "Yeah. What about her? Wait... Are you thinking that she...?"


    "That¡¯s right. There¡¯s a good chance that Alicia is that girl. I¡¯m sure being experimented on was a very hard experience, even harder than what I went through," Lucifer exined.


    " There¡¯s also a good chance that Raia used his powers on her to help her forget everything about her past. He also manipted her memories to make her think that Vega was her father," he continued.


    "You mean her old memories are trying to return?" Cassius inquired. "Why after such a long time?"


    "I think it¡¯s because I ki... It¡¯s because Raia is dead. So his Memory Maniption is slowlying off. She is a powerful Warlock, after all. So the maniption certainly couldn¡¯tst for a long time, especially with Raia gone," Lucifer replied.


    "So if she remembered everything, won¡¯t that be a problem?" Cassius asked, concerned. "The tragic memories would certainly mess with her head in ways we can¡¯t even imagine.¡¯


    "I think losing her memories was a good thing for her to let her live a normal life, but if they returned so suddenly, she wouldn¡¯t be able to control herself," he further said.


    "I think there¡¯s a good chance of that happening... But we¡¯ll have to see," Lucifer replied as he picked up Alicia in his arms.


    "Can you hold her?" he asked Cassius.


    He handed Alicia to Cassius before calling Vega. Allmunications in the city had been blocked except when it was from them.


    The call was directly connected.


    " Tell me about Alicia. Is she from theb?" Without wasting a single moment, Lucifer directly asked a question.


    ...


    Inside the APF headquarters, Vega had just picked a call to be stunned. Lucifer directly asked him a question that he hadn¡¯t expected.


    "Yes. She is the girl from theb," Vega confessed. "I was about to tell you after this mission was over. How did you find out?"


    " Soon, everyone might know about it. She just fell to the ground, screaming in pain while holding her head. Don¡¯t tell me Raia manipted her memories?" Lucifer asked.


    Vega sighed. "That¡¯s right. I was concerned this might happen someday. But we don¡¯t have Raia to reinforce his maniption. Now that he is dead, she will probably regain her tragic memories."


    Lucifer couldn¡¯t help but rub the back of his neck in frustration as he nced at Cassius. "I was right. It¡¯s because she is regaining her memories."


    "Is there a solution to help her?" he asked Vega.


    "That will depend on how she behaves if she regains her memories and if she doesn¡¯t think of us as bad guys. She would probably be fine as long as things don¡¯t go extremely wrong. I¡¯ll alsoe there to help you," Vega expressed.


    "No need for you toe. I¡¯ll handle it myself," Lucifer let out, disconnecting the call.


    He turned to nce at Alicia, finding a few simrities with her. He did realize that she suffered more than him, so it was also a little different.


    "You¡¯re one of them, aren¡¯t you? Die!"


    A scream came from behind Lucifer. He calmly turned back, noticing a dark-clothed Variant running towards him.


    "I¡¯m indeed one of them. But you¡¯re pretty stupid to be a Hunter, aren¡¯t you? Who screams like that before attacking?" Luciferzily said as tens of wind des sliced the Variant apart, killing him before he could even get to him.


    Soon, Kellian also appeared near Lucifer. "It¡¯s done. They¡¯re all dead. There is no one in this city who can threaten us now. I think it wouldn¡¯t be wrong to say that we won."


    "It was faster than I expected. Was the Hunter Union always so weak?" Lucifer asked, curious.


    "I think it would have been slightly harder if Zeiss and his team were here. He took the strongest of Hunter Union members inside the Dungeon," Kellian exined.


    "Yeah. The ones who were left weren¡¯t their best. And even amongst them, most of them died in the building copse." Yaliza¡¯s figure also appeared, finishing the battle.


    Kellian soon noticed Alicia in the arms of Cassius.


    "What happened to Alicia?" he asked.


    "It¡¯s a long story. Come, I¡¯ll tell you on the way," Lucifer said as he started walking towards a tall building.


    He started exining what had happened and what Alicia¡¯s real identity was. He also told them what was happening to her now, shocking all of them.

 Chapter 352 - 352: Ruler Of Elisium

    <h4>Chapter 352 - 352: Ruler Of Elisium </h4>


    " Breaking News! We¡¯re getting some shocking information from the Capital City!"


    It was afternoon. The sun was shining brightly, giving warmth to most of the city of Elisium. It seemed like any other ordinary day, except that it wasn¡¯t.


    All the news channels were covering the same story. It was about the Capital City¡ª the takeover of Capital City.


    After everything was over, Drak had turned the systems back on, bringing the city back on the grid.


    He and Vega also used this opportunity to get this information to all news channels, telling them what had happened.


    What they told was their version of the story though. As they were victors and controlled everything, they could just say what they wanted. And they did just that.


    "ording to our sources in the city, APF had attacked the Capital with the help of their members, intending to overthrow the government! And shockingly, it was the Uprising that came to help!" One of the news anchors in a prominent news channel dered.


    "The President will soon do a press conference to address the situation. Until then, let¡¯s go to our experts and hear what they have to say about the situation."


    ....


    "Is everything ready?"


    In an official-looking room, Caen was sitting behind a table. Many cameras were facing him. He didn¡¯t look like his old self though. At the moment, he was looking like Quan.


    The Uprising was nning to broadcast something to the entire country.


    "Alright. We will start in five seconds. Vega has set a direct connection to all news channels. Don¡¯t mess up," Kellian reminded Caen.


    "Three..."


    "Two..."


    "One..."


    "You¡¯re on!"


    The broadcast began, which was being watched by most of the nation. Even the ones that weren¡¯t at home had found ces to watch the broadcast since it was an emergency.


    Even Warlock King Szar was sitting in his hotel room, watching the broadcast, looking confused.


    Something didn¡¯t seem right.


    "Greetings, my dear citizens of Elisium. Today, Ie before you with a heavy heart to inform you about something tragic that took ce just now," Caen solemnly said, disguised as Quan.


    "At around six in the morning, APF helicopters entered the Capital City with the excuse to talk to us about the destruction of Kensington. The group was led by Varant himself," he further said, mostly looking down.


    " Since we trusted them, we let them enter. It was only then that we realized what grave mistake we hadmitted. APF attacked the Hunter Union headquarters, taking out our defenders before attacking us."


    "I personally asked Varant why he was doing it. I still can¡¯t believe his answers. I even wondered if all of this is a dream, but sadly it¡¯s the reality."


    "Varant imed that he was tired of pretending to be good, and he wanted to rule the country now. He imed he wanted all the power, even if it meant destroying an entire city like he had destroyed Kensington!" Caen dered.


    As he mentioned it, there were many gasps all around the country. Varant had destroyed Kensington?


    "I¡¯m sure you understand it by now. And you¡¯re shocked as well."


    "My reaction was the same when I found out that it wasn¡¯t Uprising that destroyed Kensington, but APF members disguising themselves as Uprising members."


    "It was all done so they could have an excuse to enter the capital city with their full force. We trusted them. It¡¯s clear now that most of what they said was a lie!"


    "They weren¡¯t protectors but criminals who wore the garb of protectors. They killed almost all Hunter Union members that were present in the city. It seemed like a lost battle, and I felt like I was going to die when a real protector came to save us!"


    Caen raised his head as he looked in a particr direction.


    "Sir, pleasee," Caen said, calling someone.


    A person stepped forward who was a silver-haired young man who looked to be barely eighteen.


    "He is the person who saved us! And he is also the one who suffered the most in his life from the lies of APF. He is Lucifer Azarel, the son of Zale Azarel!"


    "He and the Uprising members saved us from this huge mess, saving millions of lives!"


    "I would humbly like to thank you for saving our lives and for showing us the true side of APF! And I would like to formally apologize for misunderstanding you and the Uprising!" Caen respectfully bowed to Lucifer.


    " Dear citizens of Elisium, this is Lucifer Azarel! The person who saved this great country just like his father did at one time!"


    Lucifer sat near Caen on the chair, ying along.


    "Varant is dead! That vile man was killed by Lucifer. Even though we passed these tough times, this made me realize something!"


    "We can¡¯t keep going like this. Today it was Varant; tomorrow, it might be someone else. As a human, I¡¯m not strong enough to protect this great nation. I think it needs a strong leader!"


    Everyone present in this room was smiling at this sham, but the public didn¡¯t know.


    "That¡¯s why I have decided to give up on my leadership position! I formally dere that Lucifer Azarel is the new leader of the Great Nation of Elisium!"


    "Even though he¡¯s young, he certainly has what it takes to protect this great nation. He has a great vision like his father had, and he has the strength to protect this great nation from any problems in the future!"


    "Also, I have one more bad news for you all. The Hunter Union is gone now. Zeiss has died inside a Dungeon, probably because of some trick that APF pulled. And the Hunter Union members are also dead."


    "But this won¡¯t affect our ability to protect this city from the Dungeon Dwellers! The Hunter Guilds are still active! And they¡¯ll all keep working to keep you safe. The only difference will be that they will be under the Uprising leadership now. I¡¯m merging the two organizations!"


    Caen pretended to be the president to make many big changes, each of which was shocking enough on its own.


    He handed themand of this Nation to Lucifer. He handed all the Guilds to the Uprising. It was because Guilds were essential to keep the dungeons in control.


    Everything was under the control of Lucifer now, and it was done legally. At least partially legal.


    And thus, the takeover of the nation of Elisium finished.


    Lucifer was given the control of Elisium, making him the Ruler of Elisium. Whatever he wanted was going to happen in this nation.


    He was the youngest ruler of a nation, but for now, he still wasn¡¯t finished.

 Chapter 353 - 353: Youre That Girl

    <h4>Chapter 353 - 353: You''re That Girl </h4>


    "How is she?"


    Finishing with the broadcast, Lucifer and the others went to the room where Alicia was kept.


    She was still unconscious.


    "She is stable. But I¡¯m not sure when she will wake up," a middle-aged man replied. He was not only a Warlock in Uprising, but he was also a doctor who had some medical knowledge.


    Taking a chair, Lucifer sat near Alicia as he waited for her to wake up. He knew it wasn¡¯t going to take long since he had done the same before, and she woke up earlier.


    Kellian and Yaliza were busy in stabilizing the city and finishing up the takeover by cing one of their men as in-charge of Various top organizations.


    They also knew that there were some people in the Capital City that had seen them before. These people knew that the Uprising had attacked and not the APF.


    This included everyone who had seen them enter the city, disguised as APF members, including the Border Security team and the Security Guards of this capital.


    Lucifer hadn¡¯t even asked Kellian to do anything since he knew that Kellian was smart enough to handle things from here on.


    Kellian didn¡¯t disappoint either. All who could put the pieces together and the ones that had seen them were killed by Kellian while Lucifer and Cassius sat in Alicia¡¯s room.


    People kept disappearing in the city. The number wasn¡¯trge though. There weren¡¯t many who had seen such things since the terrifying lightning had forced everyone to stay inside.


    It was only after the appearance of lightning that the Uprising entered the Capital and attacked the Hunter Union.


    Within half an hour, Kellian had finished up everything.


    He and Yaliza returned to Lucifer.


    "It¡¯s done," he informed Lucifer.


    "That¡¯s good. Now we only need to take Zeiss out, and we¡¯re done." Lucifer nodded. "Did hee out of the Dungeon?"


    "Not yet. He is still inside," Kellian answered. He had just confirmed the status of Zeiss with Vega.


    " Do one thing for me. Invite all the leaders of various Hunter Guilds to meet us next week. You¡¯re to meet them and make sure they understand their status," Lucifer told Kellian.


    "I am to meet them? Shouldn¡¯t you meet them as you¡¯re the Ruler now?" Kellian inquired, confused as to why Lucifer was skipping this opportunity.


    "I¡¯m going to be busy. So you can handle that meeting. We can¡¯t dy that either, after all," Lucifer replied.


    "What are you going to do? Are you leaving Elisium?"


    "No. The reason I won¡¯t be here at that time is because I¡¯m going inside a Dungeon," Lucifer answered.


    "A Dungeon? Why?"


    "We can¡¯t wait for Zeiss to return. We don¡¯t have that much free time. Instead of waiting for him to leave the Dungeon, we might as well go in to take them out," Lucifer exined.


    "You¡¯ll go alone?" Kellian eximed. "I shoulde with you as well. Zeiss has his strongest Warlocks inside. It won¡¯t be easy for you alone."


    "I need you here so you can¡¯te. In any case, I¡¯m not going alone. I¡¯ll be taking Cassius, Yaliza, and Uzuki. And if Alicia is fine after waking up, she wille with me too. We should be enough," Lucifer replied.


    "I want everything to be settled by the time Ie out, alright?" he asked.


    Taking a deep breath, Kellian nodded. "Sometimes, I don¡¯t even know why I forget that you¡¯re immortal. Alright. You can go in. But be careful inside."


    "Prepare a helicopter and a guide to lead us inside as well," Lucifer told Kellian before ncing back at Alicia.


    "I think she ising to her senses." Just as Kellian was about to leave, he stopped at the words of the doctor.


    Everyone looked at Alicia, whose eyelids were moving a little.


    Alicia slowly opened her eyes.


    " Where am I?" she asked Lucifer, noticing him sitting close to her.


    "You¡¯re in our new base," Lucifer answered. "How are you feeling now?"


    "I have a little headache, but I think I¡¯m fine," Alicia said as she slowly sat up. "I don¡¯t know what happened to me at that time. But I felt like my head was going to blow up. Did you help me?"


    Lucifer nodded before he asked, "Do you remember what you were feeling?"


    "Yeah. I kept seeing a white-robed man injecting me with something painful. It was, ah, I don¡¯t want to remember it. I still get chills when I think about it."


    "It looks like your memories haven¡¯t returned yet," Lucifer let out, sighing.


    He was able to understand that Alicia thought she only saw some random scene. She didn¡¯t know it was the reality and her past.


    "I don¡¯t remember what?" Alicia asked, staring at Lucifer.


    " Since she hasn¡¯t remembered, let¡¯s not tell her. She¡¯ll be happier." A person suggested Lucifer, who was none other than Cassius.


    "I know she might be happier for a short time, but it¡¯ll be based on a lie. This time she was fine, but next time her memories break out, she might not be fine. I¡¯m not going to do what was done to me. She should know the truth," Lucifer responded, refusing the suggestion.


    "What are you two talking about? What memories?" Alicia asked, confused.


    Lucifer picked up a ss of water and gave it to Alicia. "Drink something first."


    Alicia took a sip of water before cing the ss on the table. "Now tell me."


    "You remember General Maxwell talking about that girl in theb that they were experimenting on?" Lucifer asked.


    "Yeah, what about her?"


    "That girl is you. You¡¯re not the daughter of Vega. Instead, you¡¯re someone that Uprising saved from theb."


    "Since you weren¡¯t in any good condition and to protect yourself, they sealed your memories, making you forget all bad things so you could live an ordinary life."


    "W-what nonsense are you speaking? I can¡¯t be that girl," Alicia said, still not perfectly getting it.


    "Describe that girl to me. What do we know about her? She was a girl having multiple powers, and she is as old as you? And she was experimented on, just like what you saw before? It¡¯s the truth," Lucifer exined before he showed her a picture.


    "Do you recognize this man?" Lucifer asked.


    "This man... He was in my dreams?!" Alicia eximed, feeling that creepy feeling again after seeing the man.


    "He is Doctor Rao¡ª the man who was leading that facility. He is also the man I killed. I think this should be obvious now, right? You¡¯re that girl Alicia," Lucifer told Alicia.

 Chapter 354 - 354: Support

    <h4>Chapter 354 - 354: Support </h4>


    " I know it might be hard for you to remember all that happened, but just remember, whenever you remember, you need to stay calm. That was all in the past, and it¡¯s over."


    "So don¡¯t stop those memories or try to fight them. Embrace your memories as they are a part of your life that you deserve to know."


    Finishing with the exnation, Lucifer kept his phone back.


    "Nowy down, close your eyes and try to remember what happened. Just know, those are only memories now," Lucifer reminded Alicia, who sat unmoving on the white bedsheet, looking at Lucifer.


    It was all... a lie. She didn¡¯t have any family? She was an experimental subject? She was saved by Uprising? She didn¡¯t have any bad feelings for Uprising, even if it was true, but she was still scared to remember.


    She didn¡¯t want to try to remember even if it was true. The experience before was already frightening enough for her.


    "Do you want to do it or not?" Lucifer asked, seeing Alicia scared.


    Alicia shook her head. "I don¡¯t want to think about it. It isn¡¯t pleasant."


    " Well, wee to life. It¡¯s not always pleasant. But it is what it is. If you want to run from these memories, you can try."


    "Just know, one day, these memories are going to catch you when you aren¡¯t ready. And it is going to be even more painful at that time than it will be now," Lucifer warned Alicia. "I leave the further choice on you."


    He stood up, prepared to leave.


    "Wait!" Alicia caught Lucifer¡¯s hand by the wrist, stopping him.


    He turned around, ncing at Alicia.


    "I-i am ready!" Alicia dered.


    "That¡¯s good. Now lie down and start thinking about what you saw when your head was about to blow up," Lucifer let out as he again sat. His wrist was still grabbed by Alicia.


    "Try to form aplete image in your head. Instead of your memories keeping you hostage, you need to drag them out and win over them. You understand?" he asked.


    Alicia nodded as she againid on the bed, looking at Lucifer.


    She closed her eyes but still didn¡¯t leave Lucifer¡¯s hands.


    Lucifer could feel his wrist being grabbed a bit too tight. The more Alicia went through her memories, the more she started sweating as her face went pale.


    Her left hand fist was clenched so tightly that her nails had stabbed her own skin, making her bleed.


    Same was the case with her right hand, but she was grabbing Lucifer¡¯s wrist, so her skin was safe. Instead, it was Lucifer who was hurt.


    He could see his hand bleeding as Alicia¡¯s nails stabbed him. She was also clenching so tightly that if it were anyone else instead of Lucifer, his wrist would have been broken.


    Lucifer was different, so he didn¡¯t find it tough to deal with. This much pain was nothing.


    ¡¯She¡¯s quite strong, physically as well. I wonder what abilities she was injected with. How many does she exactly have?¡¯ he thought, ncing at the pale face of Alicia, who seemed to be having a nightmare.


    Her teeth were also clenched as she kept her eyes tightly closed, reimagining the scenes she had seen before while trying to remember more.


    "Your hand is bleeding," Cassius reminded Lucifer, noticing his wrist had started bleeding.


    "It¡¯s nothing. It¡¯ll heal in a second," Lucifer repliedzily. He kept his focus on Alicia, wondering if she was sessfully going to remember.


    He wondered what it would be like for him if he were in her ce, trying to remember. Fortunately, when he gained his memories, it wasn¡¯t that hard. Probably because his memories weren¡¯t gone because of Raia.


    Lucifer nced back at Kellian, who was still standing here, watching everything. "You don¡¯t have to watch. Arrange for our departure. After she is fine, we will leave for the Dungeon."


    Kellian turned to a shadow and disappeared.


    "Lucifer, are you here?" Alicia asked, breathing heavily as if she was struggling.


    "The way you¡¯re holding me, I don¡¯t think I can leave even if I wanted to," Lucifer replied jokingly.


    "How are you feeling? Are youing to terms with everything?" he asked.


    "It is hard. I don¡¯t want to remember it. But I think I understand what had happened. It was true. I was that girl. I still can¡¯t remember most of it though. I only saw a few glimpses of it," Alicia replied.


    "You can¡¯t remember more?" Lucifer asked, rubbing his forehead. "It¡¯s fine. You can get up. I think it¡¯s enough for now."


    Alicia opened her eyes to reveal her wet eyes.


    "Are you about to cry?" Lucifer asked, shaking his head. "Why? It¡¯s all in the past."


    "I know. And I¡¯m not crying. I¡¯m not a kid," Alicia let out as she sat up, wiping her tears.


    As she freed Lucifer¡¯s wrist, she noticed a red mark on his wrist, which was bleeding. "Your wrist! Why didn¡¯t you remind me?!"


    "What on my wrist?" Luciferzily asked as he jerked his hands a few times.


    He wiped his wrist and all the blood with a cloth before showing his wrist to Alicia again. "I don¡¯t think there¡¯s anything on my wrist?"


    Just as he said, his wound had healed entirely. Not even a mark was left.


    Alicia didn¡¯t know what to say. Ultimately, only two words left her lips. "Thank you!"


    "Don¡¯t mention it. Rest a little before getting ready. We need to get going soon," Lucifer told Alicia before he stood up. "And one more thing. There¡¯s nothing embarrassing about crying. And it¡¯s not only kids who cry."


    He left the room, leaving Alicia behind.


    "I¡¯m d you¡¯re fine," Cassius also told Alicia before he left as well.


    ...


    In a certain hotel in the Legion City, a man had just finished watching the address of Quan on the news channels to know what had happened.


    "Lucifer Azarel is the new leader of the Uprising? Raia and Varant are both dead? The story about Varant attacking the Capital City? I guess I should check what¡¯s going on myself."


    Despite hearing such things from Quan, he couldn¡¯t believe that Varant would consider taking over the Capital City.


    " Varant would never attack the Hunter Union since he and Zeiss were best friends. And the Uprising wouldn¡¯t stop Varant even if it was happening since they wanted Variant rule. And now they have it," he stood up, rubbing his chin as he was able to guess a few things.


    "It looks like Uprising is using some really clever scheme. But I can¡¯t let Lucifer be in the middle of it."

 Chapter 355 - 355: Mystery Of Sword

    <h4>Chapter 355 - 355: Mystery Of Sword </h4>


    As Warlock King Szar Lucia decided to travel to the Capital City, Lucifer had made a n of his own which was to enter the Dungeon.


    The whole world believed their story that Zeiss was dead, and he wanted to make that a truth.


    It was going to be his first trip inside a dungeon which was going to be inside one of the hardest Level 3 Dungeon in the Elisium.


    As Kellian was preparing for the departure, Lucifer went to take a shower.


    Getting out, he again dressed in his battle gear, prepared to leave.


    The helicopters were waiting for them on the roof, as per hismands. Uzuki and Cassius were also prepared to leave. Alicia had also gotten up by now. She got dressed as well, prepared to leave.


    "I still think I shoulde with you. Others can handle the meeting with Guild Leaders, right?"


    "Kellian, we already talked about this. We don¡¯t need any more people. The few of us should be enough for what we¡¯re about to do. So don¡¯t worry," Lucifer replied to Kellian. "Where is our guide, by the way?"


    "She will be your guide," Kellian pointed towards a red-haired girl who was standing behind them.


    " Alicia?" Lucifer asked, surprised.


    "That¡¯s right. I don¡¯t think you can find a better guide than her. She has learned a lot about the Dungeons, even more than the leaders of some Guilds, I suppose," Kellian exined. "She is the best candidate. With her around, you won¡¯t need another guide."


    "Are you sure she will be able to?" Lucifer asked.


    "I¡¯m confident," Kellian responded.


    After finishing the short conversation, Lucifer didn¡¯t ask anything more. Since Kellian was confident, he was fine as well.


    He had faith in Kellian when it came to this. Kellian was a teacher to Lucifer in some regards at one time, so he certainly had an eye for such things.


    Lucifer stepped inside the helicopter and took his seat.


    Yaliza, Uzuki, Cassius, and Alicia also stepped inside before the helicopter started flying.


    Looking at the departing helicopter, Kellian said, "Best of luck to you all."


    He turned around and went back inside.


    ....


    "Have you ever been inside a dungeon?" Alicia asked Lucifer, sitting right beside him.


    Lucifer shook his head. "I read a lot rted to the dungeons, but I never went inside them. Never got the opportunity."


    " Same with me. I also never went inside. This is going to be fun."


    "You never went inside either? How will you guide us then?" Lucifer asked, curious. He wanted to hear the answer from her even though he already knew it.


    "I know all there is to know about the Dungeons in Elisium. A few people have explored the dungeons and made maps. I memorized all those maps, so I know much more than you in that regard," Alicia answered.


    ¡¯That¡¯s true as well. My knowledge is rted to the research papers I read in the Academy. Since they weren¡¯t from Elisium, it is better with Alicia.¡¯ Lucifer thought.


    "Do you have the map of the specific dungeon we¡¯re going to enter?" Lucifer asked. "Can you show me?"


    " It¡¯s in my brain. One of my abilities allows me to save memories like a photograph only when I want to. All those maps are in my head," Alicia replied.


    "How many skills do you actually have?" Lucifer asked, smiling wryly.


    "Counting all the random skills, I have thirteen," Alicia exined. "But most of them are passive, like this photographic memory or the lights you saw in the tunnel."


    "If we talk about proper powerful abilities that can be useful in battle, I have five," Alicia replied. "Only two of them are offensive though."


    "You?" she asked Lucifer.


    "I have five of them. Four of them are offensive, and one is passive," Lucifer replied.


    " I think that¡¯s why Uncle... I mean, Raia used to call you that."


    "What did he call me?" Lucifer asked, curious.


    " He used to call you a powerful sword," Alicia replied. "On the other hand, he used to call me a shield because I have more defensive skills. Even my attack skills aren¡¯t powerful to that extent."


    ¡¯ A sword, huh. That reminds me... Quan said my father was looking for a sword. But even he didn¡¯t know what sword or why. I wonder which sword it was. Why would he look for a sword when he didn¡¯t even use a sword?¡¯


    "What happened? Why are you lost in thought?" Alicia asked Lucifer, bringing him out of his daze.


    "Nothing. I was just thinking about something. There are just too many questions in my head," Lucifer muttered, sighing. "I wonder if I¡¯ll ever get answers to such questions."


    "What question? Ask me. Maybe I¡¯ll know the answer?" Alicia suggested.


    "You know me, right? You all know my abilities? You think I would use a sword?" Lucifer asked.


    "I don¡¯t think you can. Your abilities don¡¯t need a sword. Instead, it¡¯ll be an obstruction in your use of strength," Alicia replied, shaking her head.


    "What do you think, Uzuki?" she asked the young man.


    "Meh, it¡¯ll be a waste of time for him to use a sword. Swords are overhyped after all," Uzukizily replied.


    As he noticed Cassius ring at him, he smiled. "No offense to you. But that¡¯s just a personal opinion."


    "Uncle Yaliza, what do you think?" Alicia asked Yaliza.


    "I also think he doesn¡¯t need a sword," Yaliza calmly replied.


    "That¡¯s right. My father was the same. He wouldn¡¯t need a sword either. Then why was he searching for a sword? It doesn¡¯t make sense," Lucifer expressed. "And I¡¯m sure Quan wasn¡¯t lying about this."


    " Maybe there was something special about that Sword?" Yaliza suggested.


    " Yeah. Even the ones who don¡¯t use items love collecting them. So it¡¯s not odd if your father wanted a sword. It might not be because he wanted to fight using it, but because he wanted that special sword?" Cassius agreed with the suggestion of Yaliza.


    "Because at that age and after fighting bare-handed for half their lives, people rarely change their battle style. So I doubt they wanted to use that sword," he further said.


    "A special sword, huh. I wonder what could be so special about it to make my parents chase after it," Lucifer muttered as he nced out the window.


    He wondered what that Sword could be like and where it was hiding currently. If even his parents couldn¡¯t find it, there was only a low chance for him to find it. He decided to stick with his n of collecting the stones.

 Chapter 356 - 356: You Work For Us

    <h4>Chapter 356 - 356: You Work For Us </h4>


    A ck APF helicopternded near what seemed like the entrance of a cave.


    There was greenery all around as grass and trees were everywhere. This was also why the appearance of a stone cave seemed a bit off at this ce.


    Two people were standing at the entrance of the Cave, keeping it safe.


    The doors of the helicopter opened as five people stepped out. Lucifer remained in the lead, ncing at the entrance.


    "This is the entrance of the Dungeon?" he asked Alicia.


    "Yeah. Dungeons have various types of entrances. Some simply have doors that can be used to enter the Dungeon. Some have cave-like entrances, and some look like ordinary mansions," Alicia exined.


    "That¡¯s why it¡¯s somewhat hard to locate all of them if one isn¡¯t talented enough. Fortunately, throughout the years, most of the Dungeons have already been discovered and recorded... At least the ones that we know of."


    "But still, there are new Dungeons being discovered regrly. The Grade Four Dungeon which your father had entered was discovered not long before that tragedy," Alicia said, finished with the exnation.


    "So, are you excited for your first experience inside a Dungeon?" she asked Lucifer.


    "Who are you all?"


    While Lucifer and Alicia were talking amongst themselves, the two guards at the Dungeon entrance noticed them.


    " Yaliza, can you show them the broadcast?" Lucifer asked Yaliza, not bothering talking to Hunter Union members.


    He was only concerned about Zeiss and the ones who were with him. As for the two Warlocks at the entrance, he didn¡¯t want to kill them since they were of use.


    Yaliza brought out the phone and showed the video of Quan¡¯s address to the Nation in which he described what happened in the Capital City and what APF had done.


    He also showed the part about the Hunter Union being brought under the Uprising, which meant these two men now worked for them.


    He didn¡¯t forget to show the part about the mention of Zeiss¡¯ death which was mentioned by Quan.


    "He is the Leader of the Uprising. And you now work for us. Step aside, we¡¯re going in to check the ims of Varant if he has actually killed Zeiss inside," Yaliza said, making an excuse.


    "This... How could they die? We¡¯ve been here since the moment they entered. No one from APF entered so far," one of the two Hunter Union Warlocks let out, stunned to know all that had happened.


    "Don¡¯t trust them so easily. Who knows, it might be a fake video," the second Hunter Union Warlock chimed in. "APF wouldn¡¯t attack the Capital."


    "Here, call any number and confirm from the people of the city yourself," Yaliza tossed his phone towards the Second Warlock who caught it.


    He took the offer and called someone from Hunter Union headquarters.


    "The number you¡¯re trying to reach is unavable. Please try again," A mechanical voice replied.


    "Oh, I should remind you. If you¡¯re calling people in Hunter Union, it won¡¯t connect. That ce ispletely destroyed," Yaliza reminded the red-haired Warlock who was calling the Hunter Union.


    The man tried another number, this time calling a friend of his who wasn¡¯t a Warlock.


    "Hello? Who is this?" A man¡¯s voice came from the other side.


    "Shen, it¡¯s me, Roy. I¡¯m calling from someone else¡¯s phone. I heard something happened in the Capital City? Can you tell me more about it?" The Warlock named Roy asked.


    "Ah, Roy! I¡¯m so d to see that you¡¯re safe! I heard all Hunter Union members in the city were dead in the APF attacks. I¡¯m d you survived," the man on the other end replied, feeling relieved.


    "I wasn¡¯t in the city. So it¡¯s the truth? Hunter Union is destroyed?" Roy asked.


    "Yeah, sadly. I saw the ruins myself after everything was over. The city is in shambles," Shen answered.


    "Fortunately, Uprising came to help and stopped the APF. They¡¯re the true heroes. Without them, we might all be dead."


    " Alright, thanks for the information. I¡¯ll talk to you when I return," Roy said before disconnecting the call. He returned the phone to Yaliza.


    "Now you trust us? You work for us now. So let us go in. We need to check if Varant¡¯s ims were true. And if they were, we at least need to bring Zeiss¡¯ body out to give it a proper burial," Lucifer calmly told Roy.


    "Should wee with you?" Roy suggested. "We also want to help him."


    "We are enough. You stay here and keep doing what you were doing."


    Leaving the two Hunter Union Warlocks behind, Lucifer and the others stepped inside the Dungeon, disappearing from sight.


    Standing behind, Roy couldn¡¯t help but mutter, " It feels so odd to know that we are working under Uprising now. Who knew a day like this woulde and that they¡¯ll be the good guys instead of the APF."


    "Exactly. These guys were really misunderstood, I guess. But we might not have to work under them," the other Warlock replied.


    "What do you mean? Didn¡¯t you see what President Quan said? Uprising rules Elisium. Human government has stepped down," Roy pointed out.


    "Not that! Didn¡¯t you hear President Quan say that he was bringing Hunter Union and the guilds under the Uprising because Zeiss and the others were dead? If they¡¯re alive, we might continue to exist as an independent force."


    "Let¡¯s just hope it¡¯s true. I don¡¯t want Captain Zeiss to be dead." Roy let out, sighing.


    .....


    Lucifer and the others took their first step inside the Dungeon, passing through the natural barrier that prevented the Dungeon Dwellers from leaving the Dungeons.


    "This ce... It looks much different than I expected from its outer looks. It¡¯s so much bigger from the inside," Uzuki pointed out, staring at the vast interior of the Dungeon, and they had just entered.


    They hadn¡¯t even gone in, and it was already so majestic.


    "You can¡¯t judge a dungeon with how it looks from the outside. The insides are much different. The Dungeons are a world of their own if you want to describe it that way," Alicia exined.


    " For example, the Doorway Dungeons. You will only see a gate and nothing else from outside. But once you open that gate, you¡¯ll see a different ce inside. The Dungeons are really mystical," she further stated.


    "Are all Dungeons so big from inside?" Uzuki asked, stunned. It was also his first time here, but unlike Lucifer and Alicia, he hadn¡¯t studied about the Dungeons.


    "That¡¯s not quite right actually. This one is bigger because it¡¯s a Level three Dungeon. It¡¯s not only bigger, but it¡¯s also more dangerous. A lot of powerful Dungeon Dwellers stay here," Alicia exined.

 Chapter 357 - 357: Trap

    <h4>Chapter 357 - 357: Trap </h4>


    "Lower level dungeons would certainly be smaller just like higher level dungeons would be bigger."


    "That¡¯s why Lower Level Dungeons reach their Monster Index faster, which lets the monsters leave the Dungeons. It¡¯s much harder for higher level dungeons," Alicia informed Uzuki as she continued walking behind Lucifer and Cassius.


    As they went deeper inside the Dungeon, they were able to see battle marks everywhere. At some ces, it seemed like fierce battles took ce.


    "There are so many battle marks here. But there¡¯s no blood or body?" Uzuki asked, wondering what use was this battle if someone wasn¡¯t killed.


    "I¡¯m sure quite a few Dungeon Dwellers were killed here," Lucifer responded, noticing some signs. "I think Hunted Union members fought some beasts here. Since we don¡¯t see those beasts, they were certainly killed."


    "Where are the bodies then? Don¡¯t tell me Hunter Union took their heavy bodies with them? Ignoring how stupid that would be, even if they did that, there would have been a blood trail, right?" Uzuki questioned.


    "Do you want to exin?" Lucifer asked Cassius, shaking his head.


    " They didn¡¯t take the bodies. The bodies were absorbed by the Dungeon," Cassius started exining.


    " Absorbed by the Dungeon? What the heck?" Uzuki eximed in surprise. "This Dungeon is alive?"


    "It¡¯s not a big secret actually. If you study about the Dungeons, you will find this information easily," Cassius let out.


    "Let me give you the basics, so you understand better. The amount of Monsters inside the dungeon and their strength decide the Monster Index of the dungeon."


    "If the Monster Index reaches a certain limit, the barrier at the entrance stops working, as if telling Monsters to leave so monster numbers could decrease and their Index coulde back to normal," Cassius exined.


    "So Dungeon isn¡¯t a living being. Instead, it¡¯s like our Immune System. When it senses a problem, it takes steps to solve it. When the Monster Index bes too high for it to contain, it lets them out."


    "Simrly, if monsters die, it absorbs them, which in turn decreases the Monster Index, even if it¡¯s by a little. Moreover, ording to some estimates, the barrier of dungeons bes slightly stronger as the dungeon absorbs more dead monsters."


    "That¡¯s why Hunter Union was established. Its whole purpose was to kill Monsters inside the dungeons whenever the Monster Index reached near the danger levels."


    " In a way, the Dungeons and the Hunter Union work in sync. Hunter Union helps the Dungeons by lowering their Monster Index while Dungeons help the Hunter Union by keeping the monsters inside the Dungeons."


    "So you understand now?" Cassius asked as he finished his exnation.


    " So Dungeons clean up the monster bodies, and that¡¯s why we see none. I understand," Uzuki nodded.


    "It¡¯s good then. We won¡¯t have to waste our time facing the Dungeon Dwellers. Hunter Union already killed them. We can just get straight to them," he let out.


    "Not quite. Monsters aren¡¯t our only concern. There are things that are much more dangerous than the Dungeon Dwellers, including some traps," Alicia responded, shaking her head.


    " Moreover, there might be some monsters that Hunter Union avoided when going in. We can¡¯t be careless. The Dungeon we¡¯re currently in is known as the most tricky Dungeon in Elisium for that," she continued, reminding everyone to stay alert.


    "What kind of traps?" Uzuki asked, but he suddenly stopped as he heard a clicking sound.


    He wasn¡¯t the only one who heard that sound. Everyone else nced at Uzuki where that sound came from.


    They all looked towards Uzuki¡¯s feet, noticing he had stepped on a certain part of the ground which was pressed, making this sound.


    "Ah, that kind of trap!" Alicia eximed as she started looking around, wondering what was going to happen. What did this trap trigger?


    "Is that it? It does nothing at all. So much for worrying," Uzuki let out,ughing. Even after so long, nothing had happened. "Let¡¯s continue."


    He raised his foot from that spot to move ahead. The ground returned to its original position with another click sound, but that¡¯s when something happened.


    A massive trap door opened under everyone¡¯s feet, making them fall.


    As Lucifer could fly, he hastily grabbed the hands of Uzuki and Yaliza before flying up. However, the trap door was closed by now.


    Lucifer tried using his wind des to cut the doors apart, but the wind seemed to be useless against it.


    "Wait a minute. Let me do it." Lucifer was about to use his strength when Cassius stopped him.


    Cassius was still hanging in the air, grabbed by his left hand.


    He used his left hand to bring out his sword which was hanging on his back inside a sheath.


    He started using his Divine Sword Energy, making the sword shine before he made a few shes, attacking the trap door.


    As his Divine Sword Energy was so powerful, the trap door instantly split apart, creating an opening for them.


    Through the opening, Lucifer flew up, carrying Yaliza and Cassius. All three of themnded on the ground.


    Behind them, Alicia also came out, carrying Uzuki.


    As Uzukinded on the ground, he realized that everyone was staring at him.


    He couldn¡¯t help but smile wryly as he replied, "You can¡¯t me me for that. That was a really clever trap that even you all didn¡¯t notice. It¡¯s just a coincidence that I happened tond on them instead of you all."


    "Just be careful from now on. This shouldn¡¯t be the only trap. We can¡¯t afford to get hurt from another trap like this," Cassius reminded Uzuki as he kept his sword back in its sheath and started walking ahead with Lucifer.


    It had only been a few minutes since he had reminded Uzuki to be careful when another click sound came.


    Everyone looked at Uzuki.


    "Hey, it¡¯s not me this time!" Uzuki let out, rolling his eyes.


    "If not you, then who?" Cassius wondered as he looked at everyone¡¯s feet, only to realize it was someone he hadn¡¯t expected.


    Lucifer was standing with his foot on top of the simr trap asst time.


    Lucifer avoided everyone¡¯s gazes as he looked elsewhere. He simplymented, "Uzuki is right. These things are hard to differentiate."


    "See? I told you!" Uzuki eximed, smiling.


    "So, what should we do now? If he takes off his foot, the ground will once again disappear," he asked.


    "Simply stay prepared in advance. It¡¯s not a risky trap. Everyone, move five meters away from Lucifer. You¡¯ll be safe. And he can fly so he won¡¯t fall either," Alicia suggested.


    Everyone stepped away, leaving Lucifer alone.


    Lucifer removed his foot, realizing that something was wrong. The ground didn¡¯t open this time.

 Chapter 358 - 358: We Can Just Break It

    <h4>Chapter 358 - 358: We Can Just Break It </h4>


    Everyone had stepped back, thinking that the ground was going to split open again, but nothing happened even after Lucifer flew in the air.


    With another click sound, the ce where Lucifer had stepped returned to normal.


    "Strange. Why did nothing happen when it was his turn?" Uzuki asked, rolling his eyes. When it was his turn, the whole ground split apart, and when it was Lucifer¡¯s blunder, nothing happened.


    Woosh!


    Just as Uzuki finished speaking, he noticed thousands of arrowsing towards them from the roof, prepared to impale them all.


    "On it!" Alicia actively let out as she formed a barrier above everyone, stopping the arrows.


    Lucifer also used his winds to make the arrows fly away, clearing the barrier.


    "I think you really shouldn¡¯t raise red gs next time," Alicia told Uzuki as she retracted her barrier.


    "I... How am I getting med again," Uzuki muttered, smiling wryly.


    "It was a different trap, it seems. Even though traps might look simr from the way they are triggered, they can bepletely different," Lucifer cautioned everyone as hended on the ground again.


    "Yeah, that¡¯s why I said we should be careful," Alicia agreed.


    "How can we be careful against something like that? We don¡¯t even know where these triggers are! They lookpletely ordinary!" Uzukiined. "How do Hunters navigate inside the Dungeons without dying because of traps?"


    "Alicia?" Lucifer also asked the same question, asking her to exin.


    "All Hunter Teams have at least one trained member whose only purpose is to go ahead and find traps."


    "They are masters in discovering such traps, and even if they can¡¯t find traps and trigger them, they have protective skills to protect themselves so they can stay safe ande back to inform others," Alicia exined.


    "Ah, so it¡¯s like sending a sacrificialmb to check the path ahead so others can stay safe?" Uzuki asked, finding simrities.


    "Not exactly. They¡¯re just scouts that aren¡¯t in any danger. Only the Variants that can protect themselves from situations are selected as scouts, you understand?" Alicia responded.


    "Since they¡¯re safe most of the time, they aren¡¯t sacrificialmbs."


    "Scouts are the most important part of a Hunter Union team which even they can¡¯t afford to lose. That¡¯s why each team tries to have at least two scouts," she further said.


    " Wait, does that mean you¡¯re our scout? You have barriers, and you can fly? You can protect yourself from anything. That ticks all criteria. Shouldn¡¯t you go ahead and make sure we don¡¯t step on a trap?" Uzuki asked, stunning Alicia.


    " Fine! I¡¯ll be the scout! Follow my exact steps, keeping a distance of at least three or four meters." Instead of arguing, Alicia agreed, realizing that it was faster.


    She knew that if she didn¡¯t take the lead, everyone would just keep stepping on traps, dying them even more.


    She took the lead and started walking.


    Everyone else kept a close eye on her footsteps and followed her. As for Lucifer, he found tracing the steps too bothersome. He simply started floating in the air as he followed Alicia.


    He knew that if he couldn¡¯t step on the ground, there was no way for him to step on a trap.


    He soon passed Alicia and took the lead.


    "What are you doing?" Alicia asked Lucifer, seeing him ahead of her. "I¡¯m the scout."


    "What you¡¯re doing is too slow. If we go like that, it¡¯ll take days to travel the path we could travel in hours like this," Lucifer responded.


    "Do you have any better ideas? If so, then please tell." Alicia eximed, rolling her eyes.


    "All of us will fly. Simple," Lucifer casually said.


    "We all fly? How is that possible? Amongst the five of us, only I can walk in the air, and only you can fly. So that n is useless," Alicia replied to Lucifer, not understanding how it was possible.


    "Look behind you," Lucifer casually said before he continued flying ahead.


    "Huh? What is behind me?" Alicia asked, turning back.


    "What the heck?" Those were the only three words that came out of Alicia¡¯s mouth as she saw Cassius, Uzuki, and Yaliza flying.


    They weren¡¯t flying on their own though. Lucifer was using his winds to make them fly, just like he used his winds to keep him afloat.


    "Are youing or not?" Turning around, Lucifer called Alicia.


    "Ah, right." Alicia nodded as she also stepped in the air, using her abilities.


    She started following Lucifer, matching his speed. The others also flew behind them.


    ¡¯"This is fun. I never knew flying was so much fun," Uzukimented, finding it fun.


    The other two didn¡¯tment much.


    ...


    "Why is there no path ahead?" Lucifer asked Alicia as hended on the ground. The others alsonded.


    There seemed to be no path ahead. There was only one wall which was a dead end.


    " You think we should¡¯ve taken the left turnst time," Uzuki asked, remembering when they had to choose between two paths, and they took the right one.


    "I don¡¯t think we made a wrong choice. Only the right path had no monsters. The left one still had some from what I was able to see."


    "It¡¯s clear that the Hunter Union team didn¡¯t take the left path. The signs of battle on the way proved it. We¡¯re on the right path," Alicia replied, sticking by her decision.


    "What right path? We¡¯re on no path instead," Uzukiined.


    "Maybe the Hunter Union team took the right path only to realize that it was a dead end which forced them to go back and take a left? And since they were tired, they didn¡¯t fight the monsters and just passed ahead, leaving them alive?" he suggested.


    "What do you think, Yaliza?" he asked Yaliza.


    "That¡¯s also possible," Yaliza agreed with that possibility.


    "One of the things I learned in the Academy is that we should never trust something so easily when we¡¯re inside a Dungeon. And one such thing is this dead end. You understand what I¡¯m trying to say?" Cassius asked Lucifer, stepping closer to the wall.


    "Yeah. Simr to what the teachers at the Academy did. It should be a fake dead end," Lucifer agreed.


    "Exactly. We just need to find how to open it," Cassius affirmed. He stepped closer to the wall that was creating an obstruction to observe it.


    "Or we can just break it," Lucifermented as he punched the wall, shattering it to reveal the obstruction on the other side.


    "Or we can just do that," Cassius let out, smiling wryly.


    Lucifer and the others passed through, flying once more.


    As they left, the wall behind them started healing itself. Soon, the path was blocked once again.

 Chapter 359 - 359: Facing The Beast

    <h4>Chapter 359 - 359: Facing The Beast </h4>


    There was actually no other way to open the dead end except by breaking it. The same thing was done by the Hunter Union members. They broke the wall and went ahead. Just like before, the wall healed itself again.


    Lucifer and his small team kept advancing ahead, not finding any Monster along the way, which made them believe they were on the right track.


    Soon, the path split into three.


    "One of them is the one taken by Hunter Union. I think we should once again split up to check which of these three paths still have monsters left," Alicia suggested as she started walking towards the first path.


    " I¡¯m taking the first one. I¡¯ll meet you all back here in five minutes," she said before she entered.


    "I¡¯ll take the middle one. Yaliza, you take thest one. You¡¯re fast enough to avoid any traps. The others can stay behind," Lucifer said before he flew inside the middle path.


    "I¡¯ll be right back. Don¡¯t do anything in the meantime. Stay where you are," Yaliza reminded Cassius and Uzuki before his figure flickered. He also disappeared.


    " Do they all think we¡¯re kids that can¡¯t take care of ourselves?" Uzukimented before he walked towards the side.


    "What¡¯s the worst that can happen if we don¡¯t stay in our ce? I mean,e on! We¡¯re powerful Warlocks too."


    With his back facing the wall, he sat down.


    "Ah, I think they might have been right," he suddenly said, sighing. "I really should stop raising red gs."


    "What happened?" Cassius asked Uzuki, wondering what might have happened.


    "I think I just sat on a trigger. If I stood up, some trap would activate," Uzuki answered, smiling wryly.


    Cassius couldn¡¯t help but rub the back of his head. "Just keep sitting there. Don¡¯t stand up until Aliciaes back. We might need her barrier to protect you."


    ...


    Lucifer had chosen the middle path. He was still advancing ahead, trying to see if there were any beasts here.


    He couldn¡¯t find any signs of battle, but simrly, he didn¡¯t find any beasts either. So he couldn¡¯t be sure if Hunter Union came here or not.


    ¡¯Ah, there¡¯s one!¡¯ he thought as he soon noticed a two-headed wolf in the distance. The wolf was sitting in front of a ck Door as if to guard it.


    Even though it had two heads and eight eyes, all of his eyes were closed as he seemed to be sleeping. Since Lucifer was flying, he hadn¡¯t made any noise or footsteps either.


    ¡¯Since a beast is here, I think Hunter Union didn¡¯t select this path.¡¯


    Lucifer turned back to leave, but he soon stopped. He knew staying here was a waste of time, but he was really curious about that ck door. He couldn¡¯t help but wonder what was behind it.


    The two-headed wolf seemed to be guarding it as it sat right in front of the door, even though it was sleeping.


    There was something inside Lucifer that really wanted him to open the door. He wondered if it was his curiosity or just that urge to see what was behind the doors.


    Ultimately, he decided to give it a try and check on the other end of the door.


    He flew closer to the Two-Headed Wolf as he prepared to shoot a lightning bolt.


    Getting in position, he fired not one but three lightning bolts one after another, all aimed at the Two-Headed Wolf.


    The wolf abruptly opened his eyes as soon as Lucifer attacked as if it had a sixth sense.


    Seeing the three lightning boltsing towards him, the wolf jumped high in the air, dodging the attack.


    The pitch-ck lightning bolts hit the ground, leaving a deep crater in its wake. The wolf soonnded on the ground after sessfully dodging the attacks


    Awooo!


    It red at Lucifer while roaring in rage.


    "I thought it would be easier," Lucifer muttered, taking off his gloves as a smirk formed on his lips. "But then again, this is more fun."


    He kept the gloves in his pocket before he nced back at the wolf.


    Powerful winds started moving towards the Wolf in the distance, hiding hundreds of wind des inside them.


    All these wind des attacked the Two-Headed Wolf at the same time, but they had no effect other than causing a few scratches.


    Realizing how powerful the defense of this wolf was, Lucifer was surprised. His wind des could cut a lot of things but not this wolf¡¯s skin which was a bit too armored.


    He raised his hand, deciding to attack with ck Lightning as that could destroy everything, no matter its defense, but the Wolf didn¡¯t give Lucifer another chance as it attacked as well.


    Awooo!


    As the Two-Headed Wolf opened both its mouths, a blood-red beam of light came out of its first mouth, which could make a hole in even the hardest of metal with its heat.


    From its other mouth, a freezing blue beam came, which was enough to freeze anything in its path.


    Hastily, Lucifer dodged to the side as he fired more ck lightning bolts while trying to close in on the Two-Headed Wolf.


    The wolf didn¡¯t stop attacking though. The beams he was using to attack didn¡¯t stop for even a second. As the wolf¡¯s eyes kept track of Lucifer, his mouth also moved, trying to hit Lucifer.


    Even though the beams didn¡¯t hit Lucifer, they were hitting the walls. While the first beam kept melting the walls, the second kept freezing them right after.


    It was only when the wolf saw an attacking towards it that it closed its mouth, jumping once again.


    As the beams stopped, Lucifer found it easier to reach the wolf, which was distracted in dodging the intimidating lightning.


    The Wolf soon noticed Lucifer getting awfully close to it. It opened its mouth again as it fired the two beams, but it was toote.


    Making a strange maneuver in the air, Lucifernded on top of the wolf, grabbing it by the neck.


    His decay started acting, but he didn¡¯t wait for it. Instead, he applied his full strength on both his hands to crush the neck of the Two-Headed Wolf.


    In front of the strength of Lucifer, even the defense of the Wolf wasn¡¯t enough. Its neck was crushed, making it drop to the ground as its lifeless eyes closed permanently.


    Sitting near the beast, Lucifer ced his hand on the wolf as he started the process of decay.


    In the meantime, he couldn¡¯t help but look at the destruction this wolf had caused.


    "Certainly a powerful beast. I wonder what it was guarding," he let out.


    Finishing with the decay, he turned to look at the door.


    He wore his gloves again before he pushed the massive ck door.

 Chapter 360 - 360: Strange Beast

    <h4>Chapter 360 - 360: Strange Beast </h4>


    Lucifer stared at the massive ck door, which was previously guarded by the Two-Headed Wolf. Unable to wait any longer to quench his curiosity, he decided to check inside.


    He opened the door by pushing them before he stepped inside.


    As Lucifer stepped inside, he was able to find a massive room which seemed to be at least a hundred meters long and hundred meters wide,


    He looked around the room, observing it carefully, only to notice that there were a lot of things inside.


    On both sides of the rooms, there were massive statues of various beasts. All the beasts in the statues looked intimidating and powerful, making him wonder if these were the statues of the beasts that resided inside this dungeon.


    Despite looking around, he wasn¡¯t able to find the statue of the Two-Headed Wolf that he had just faced, which made him doubt his assumption. He knew that the wolf should have been here if that was the case.


    Creak!


    As he stepped forward, he heard a creaking sound behind him.


    Turning around, he noticed that the massive ck door had suddenly closed.


    "An automatic door?" he wondered, ncing at the door. "I¡¯ll think about thatter. First, I need to check this ce."


    He stepped close to one of the statues to observe it carefully.


    He even touched the statue to feel its texture. The statues seemed to be carved from stone which didn¡¯t look anything different from ordinary stones at all.


    After observing the first statue and not finding anything special, he shifted his attention to a different statue. All of the statues at the start seemed to be the same. There was nothing special about any of them.


    The only question about these in Lucifer¡¯s mind was about the origin of these statues. Who made them? He didn¡¯t believe these monsters made them for themselves.


    Stepping forward, he kept ncing at all the statues and stopped observing them from close. A few times already gave him a general idea.


    After looking at hundreds of statues, some big and some smaller, Lucifer reached the end of the hall where he was able to see only one statue, which was ced in the center, having an overview of the whole room.


    Thest statue was the smallest, but it also looked the strangest. Despite being the smallest statue here, it was still taller than Lucifer, twice his size.


    Other than these statues, there was nothing in this room. There was no treasure either.


    He couldn¡¯t help but wonder if this was some kind of temple for the beasts instead.


    He observed thest statue, which was ced in the center. "Something is different about this one."


    The statue seemed to depict a creature that had the body of a cat and the head of a Dragon. There were also two ox-like horns on its head and a mane that reminded him of a lion¡¯s mane.


    But that wasn¡¯t surprising to him. What was surprising was the fact that only this Statue seemed to be made of a different material.


    The stone it was made from was different from others. It was a ck stone, unlike the white ones of other statues.


    Reaching out his hand, Lucifer tried to touch the statue to feel its texture. Strangely enough, before he could touch the statue, he stopped.


    He felt like the statue moved a little from thest time he had seen it. Its hand was in a different position. He wondered if it was his misconception.


    Unfortunately, he soon realized that this wasn¡¯t a misconception of his. He was able to see the eyes of the ck stone beast open. The eyes looked at Lucifer.


    Before Lucifer could react, he saw a small speck of lighting out of the beast¡¯s eyes.


    Not willing to take the risk of being hit by it, he hastily moved to the side to dodge.


    Even though he was fast, because of the close distance, he wasn¡¯t able topletely avoid the golden speck of light that hade out of the eyes of ck Statue.


    The speck of light hit Lucifer¡¯s left hand.


    Being hit by the speck of light, Lucifer felt a little heavy. He didn¡¯t stop moving as he nced towards his hand to notice that his fist was turned to stone, including his left glove.


    As time passed, more and more of his arm kept turning to stone, and it only kept spreading upwards.


    Concerned about bing stone if this kept spreading like this, Lucifer used his wind des on himself to chop off his arms from the shoulders, making his left arm fall on the ground.


    Even though his arm dropped to the ground, the stoning didn¡¯t stop. Soon, his whole left arm waspletely stone. As the arm was cut, Lucifer managed to protect himself.


    He was still shocked at what he saw. A beast that could turn others to stone?


    As he was confused, he saw the beast moving his head. Another speck of light shot towards Lucifer, who flew into the air to avoid that speck of light.


    This time, however, that speck of golden light couldn¡¯t hit him. Instead, it hit one of the statues behind him, having no effect.


    Lucifer flew towards the ck stone beast as he fired a few lightning bolts to destroy it.


    The ck stone statue didn¡¯t move even in the face of the attacks. Instead, it shot more specks of lights that shed with the lightning bolts.


    Even the lightning bolts turned to stone before hitting the ck lightning beasts. The stone bolts hit the ck beast, only to turn to pieces themselves.


    The beast was stillpletely fine.


    "It can even turn my attacks to stones?" Lucifer eximed, stunned.


    He was able to see another speck of light being fired at him. Quickly thinking of a n, Lucifer hid behind a nearby statue.


    As the statues were protected from these attacks, he decided to use them as a shield.


    The specks of lights hit the statues again, proving to be ineffective. The statues were already made of stones. These attacks couldn¡¯t do anything against them.


    As Lucifer¡¯s left hand was healed by now, he picked one of the statues, using his immense strength before running towards the beast.


    The beast kept attacking, but it had only one attack. And this attack was useless against these statues. The statue that Lucifer was carrying kept taking the attacks, leaving him safe from worries.


    Despite seeing the statueing towards him, the ck stone beast hadn¡¯t moved from his spot. It was unclear if he could even move at all or if he was stuck here.

 Chapter 361 - 361: Tricks Of Dungeon

    <h4>Chapter 361 - 361: Tricks Of Dungeon </h4>


    Reaching near the ck stone beast, Lucifer finally raised the giant statue he was carrying before smashing it on top of the beast.


    The massive statue that Lucifer was carrying shattered because of the impact.


    Finished with the attack, Lucifer didn¡¯t rx. Instead, he started moving the pieces of the white statue aside to see if the ck one was actually destroyed or not. Unfortunately, he soon realized that it wasn¡¯t destroyed.


    After Lucifer moved the pieces of white statue aside, he was able to see the top of the ck statue¡¯s dragon head, which was still intact.


    This time he wasn¡¯t concerned though. The attack came from the eyes of the ck statue, which was still covered because of white stone pieces.


    It was the perfect opportunity.


    Lucifer ced his left hand on the head of the ck statue, letting his decay do the rest.


    "This energy... It¡¯s much more than I got when using it on Varant. Is it that beasts of simr strength give me more strength than Variants?" he wondered while decaying the beast.


    The ck stone beast kept shaking his head, impatiently but he wasn¡¯t able to free his eyes. It couldn¡¯t do anything.


    By now, it was clear to Lucifer that the beast couldn¡¯t move either. All it could do was move its head.


    Soon enough, the beast turned to dust,pletely destroyed.


    Lucifer tossed the white stone pieces away to make sure that the ck beast was actually destroyed.


    After clearing the ce from white stone pieces, he was able to see the dust of the ck statue. But there was something more there.


    He could see something shining inside the dust.


    He ced his hand inside the dust to see what it was. As he brought his hand out, he noticed that it was a red jade that was shining inside.


    "Beast Core?" He wondered, surprised.


    "Isn¡¯t it something that only the strongest beast of a dungeon is supposed to possess? This was the strongest beast in the Dungeon? How?"


    "Ah, I get it! All these other statues! They aren¡¯t statues! They were powerful beasts that probably came here to kill the Stone Beast only to end up as statues!"


    "It¡¯s certainly true. This ability is actually frightening. If that speck of light had hit my head instead of my hand, my head would have turned to stone. Would my healing work then? What about my decay?"


    Keeping that core in his pocket, he walked towards the stone arm which was lying on the ground.


    His left glove was still on his arms. It had turned to stone as well.


    Stomping his foot on the ground, he smashed the stone arm before he turned to leave.


    He was actually disappointed because he wasted his time. He had thought that this ce was going to be special, but it was nowhere close.


    All it had was a beast inside and no treasure at all. Even though the Beast Core was special, it wasn¡¯t worth anything to him.


    He stepped outside, leaving the ce. He walked back.


    As Lucifer left, the door of the hall once again closed, but it was only now that something started changing inside the hall.


    Hundreds of beast statues that were inside the hall starteding back to life as the effect of the ck Stone Beast¡¯s powers were over.


    The beasts had turned to stone because of the attacks, but they hadn¡¯t died. Now that the effect was over, they returned to normal.


    Hundreds of powerful beasts were free now.


    ...


    Lucifer left the middle path and met up with Cassius and Uzuki.


    Yaliza was also back.


    "Alicia didn¡¯t return yet?" Lucifer asked, surprised. If anyone was supposed to bete, it was to be him since he had two battles. Why was Aliciate?


    "Yeah. She still hasn¡¯t returned," Yaliza affirmed.


    " Did you find any beasts in the third path?" Lucifer asked Yaliza.


    "I didn¡¯t. But I did see some battle marks. I¡¯m sure Hunter Union took the third path," Yaliza replied.


    "So there should be monsters in the first one. Even then, Alicia isn¡¯t back? That¡¯s odd," Lucifer muttered, ncing at the entrance of the first path.


    " I wonder if something happened to her. Someone should go and check. Please bring her back so I can stand up. I¡¯m getting tired of sitting!" Uzuki pointed out.


    "Why don¡¯t you just stand up then? You don¡¯t have to wait for her to return, do you?" Lucifer asked, confused. How were these two things rted?


    "That¡¯s because he is actually sitting on a trap trigger. When he stands up, the trap will activate. He wants Alicia back just to be sure," Cassius exined the plight of Uzuki.


    Uzuki knew he could most probably survive the trap, but he didn¡¯t want to take a risk.


    "You stay here. I¡¯ll be right back," Lucifer agreed before he flew inside the first path.


    ...


    Lucifer was flying inside the tunnel, trying to find Alicia.


    "This smell...? Poison?"


    As he was walking, he found a strange smell that was making his head spin. His skin also started turning blue slowly.


    Fortunately, his healing also activated, protecting him and removing all adverse effects.


    He looked around, wondering where this smell wasing from.


    "Alicia!" Soon, he noticed Alicia lying on the ground. Her skin waspletely blue, and her heartbeat extremely slow.


    "She must have been affected by this poison. This idiot girl. What use is that barrier if she doesn¡¯t cast it on time?"


    He picked up Alicia and started flying back. He needed to get her out of the reach of this poison before even thinking about helping her.


    As Lucifer was flying back, he noticed something strange. The path back seemed to be longer. He had already flown for longer than he did whening here, but he still wasn¡¯t back.


    Something seemed odd.


    "What? How is this possible?"


    He abruptly stopped as he noticed that the path split in two. There were two tunnels before him. They weren¡¯t here when he had entered. He made sure to check his surroundings whening here before. He knew it wasn¡¯t here.


    "Is this Dungeon ying a trick?" Frowning, Lucifer sat on the ground. He also ced Alicia on the ground.


    He was sure that this dungeon was messing with him. Like this, he wasn¡¯t going to be out in time. And he didn¡¯t have time to check both paths again.


    "I only heard rumors about it. I wonder if it¡¯ll work," he ced the beast core he had just received on the lips of Alicia. "Time to test."


    "Now I need water. Where can I get it?" he wondered, looking around.

 Chapter 362 - 362: Blood Infecting Ant

    <h4>Chapter 362 - 362: Blood Infecting Ant </h4>


    Lucifer ced the beast core he received after killing the ck Stone Beast on the lips of Alicia, who had her eyes closed.


    After cing the core in her lips, he stood up in search of water which was also needed.


    Unfortunately, there was no source of water nearby, and he wasn¡¯t carrying any.


    Without water, he couldn¡¯t finish what he wanted to do. He couldn¡¯t finish the process of detoxification.


    For that, he needed some water or liquid that could touch the beast core before falling on Alicia¡¯s lips.


    He observed his surroundings, trying to find something he could use, but except stones, there was nothing.


    "Is there no way to heal her?" he wondered as he walked back to Alicia, sitting near her. "It would really be unfortunate if she dies like this."


    "Do I really have to use that?" he muttered, ncing at the lips of Alicia where the beast core was ced.


    "There you are!"


    Just as he was finding himself to be lost in deep thoughts, he heard a voice from behind.


    "Yaliza?"


    Lucifer turned back, recognizing that voice that belonged to Yaliza. As he had expected, he found Yaliza behind him,ing out of the right tunnel.


    "You didn¡¯t return for quite some time either. So I came to check," Yaliza informed Lucifer as he stepped closer to him. "What happened to her?"


    "She¡¯s poisoned. You carried water, right? Give me some!"


    Yaliza gave a small bottle of water that he was carrying to Lucifer. "Here."


    Opening the bottle, Lucifer started pouring the water on the slightly opened lips of Alicia.


    The water touched the beast core before entering the mouth of hers.


    After finishing, he took back the beast core and kept that in his pocket.


    "She should probably be fine if the research is urate," Lucifermented.


    "What research?" Yaliza asked.


    "The one I read. It theorized that a beast core of a dungeon could be used as an antidote for any poison inside that Dungeon."


    ¡¯There have been some instances of that being done before. So I believe this should work as well. But it¡¯ll take time," Lucifer replied before he picked up Alicia in his arms.


    "Is that really the Beast Core of this dungeon? How do you have it?" Yaliza asked Lucifer. "Did you kill the strongest beast of this Dungeon?"


    " Possibly. I¡¯m not sure. I received it from a beast which I killed. I¡¯ve no idea if he actually was the strongest," Lucifer replied before he started flying back.


    Now that he had seen where Yaliza came from, the confusion was over, and he was now able to navigate back.


    Yaliza also followed Lucifer.


    "Huh? Why are there two paths ahead of us now? When I came, this ce only had one?"


    It didn¡¯t take long before they had to stop again. This time, it was Yaliza¡¯s turn to be surprised as he saw two paths before him where there was supposed to be only one.


    "You¡¯re wrong. We are actually in the same spot where we were before," Lucifer reminded him, pointing towards the ground.


    A few droplets of water could be seen on the ground that had fallen there when Lucifer had poured the water on Alicia¡¯s lips.


    " How is that possible? Are we stuck in a maze?" Yaliza asked.


    "I think now we understand why this ce is called the Dungeon of Traps. It¡¯s messing with us," Lucifermented. "And I don¡¯t like it."


    ...


    "What is happening? First Alicia went inside, and she didn¡¯t return. After her, Lucifer went in, and he didn¡¯t return either. After them, Yaliza entered. It has been so long, and he hasn¡¯t returned either. What¡¯s happening?"


    Sitting with his back resting against the wall, Uzuki wasining.


    "It¡¯s really strange. They should have been back by now. I will go and check," Cassius said, walking towards the entrance of the first path as well.


    "Wait! I¡¯ming with you. In any case, I doubt you¡¯ll return either. I might as well see myself what¡¯s happening inside," Uzuki called out, stopping Cassius.


    "You¡¯lle with me? You¡¯ll have to stand up for that," Cassius reminded Uzuki.


    "It¡¯s fine. I can¡¯t always sit here. At some point, I need to take things into my own hands," Uzuki said, standing up.


    Click!


    As soon as the clicking sound urred, Uzuki jumped,nding five meters away. He didn¡¯t want to fall if the ground split apart likest time.


    "It¡¯s not the ground one this time. I wonder which trap it is then?" Uzukimented as he looked where he was sitting before to find the ground looking normal.


    "I think you really messed up this time," Cassiusmented, pointing behind Uzuki.


    "Hmm? What?" Confused, Uzuki turned back.


    "What are you talking about? I see nothing strange behind me?" he asked, looking back at Cassius only to find him attacking.


    Cassius swung his sword in the direction of Uzuki, shocking him.


    "Have you gone crazy?" Uzuki yelled when Cassius attacked, but the aim seemed wrong.


    The arc of light hit the wall behind Uzuki.


    "Don¡¯t tell me you didn¡¯t see that?" Cassius asked, keeping his Sword back in the sheath before walking towards Uzuki.


    "After the trigger activated, a small opening appeared in the wall behind you. Maybe you weren¡¯t able to see since it was small, but something came out of it," Cassius exined.


    He stopped near the wall which was just attacked. Bending forward, he picked something up.


    "See this?"


    "An ant? It¡¯s bigger than ordinary ants but don¡¯t tell me this was enough to scare you?" Uzuki asked, noticing a half sliced ant in the hands of Cassius.


    The other half of this ant was still lying on the ground.


    "That¡¯s because you don¡¯t know what these are. This one is a Blood Infecting Ant. This can not only fly, but this can also bite you, infecting your blood with a vicious poison," Cassius exined.


    He tossed the body of the ant away before continuing. "I remember studying about them before. You¡¯re lucky I cut it before it could bite you."


    "Meh, I would be able to take care of it myself," Uzukizily let out. "But still, thanks for helping me."


    "Now, can we please leave?" he asked, walking inside the first path.


    Cassius followed behind.


    ...


    "You mean we are in a maze, and only the right path will take us out?" Yaliza asked.


    "Seems to be that way," Lucifer affirmed. "Since the one we tookst time made us end up here, let¡¯s take the other one this time."


    With that, Lucifer flew inside the path that they hadn¡¯t selectedst time.

 Chapter 363 - 363: No Way Out

    <h4>Chapter 363 - 363: No Way Out </h4>


    "We are back where we started..."


    Lucifer and Yaliza found themselves back at the intersection where they had fed water to Alicia.


    "How is that possible? There are two paths before us. The left one brings us back here. And the right one also does the same thing. There¡¯s no way out. I think we are trapped," Yaliza pointed out.


    "There¡¯s no way back now, I think. We can go ahead on this path. We¡¯ll end up back here if we try to leave." Lucifer nodded.


    "How can we meet Cassius and Uzuki if we don¡¯t get back?" Yaliza asked, smiling wryly. "We can¡¯t leave them behind."


    "Why are you carrying me?"


    Just as Lucifer was about to reply, he heard a girl¡¯s voice. He looked down to realize that Alicia was up.


    Her skin waspletely normal now. Her eyes were also open, looking at Lucifer, wondering why she was being carried by him.


    "You were poisoned and lost consciousness. He came here to find you after you didn¡¯t return for a long time. He helped you with the poison also," Yaliza exined while Lucifer ced Alicia down.


    "Ah, that strange smell! I remember finding it odd. So it was poison!"


    "That¡¯s right. But that¡¯s all in the past. We have a different problem right now," Yaliza let out, wondering how they could meet up with the others that were left behind.


    "What problem?" Alicia asked.


    "We¡¯re actually trapped in a maze right now. No matter how much we try, we can¡¯t go back," Yaliza exined. "Whichever path we take, we end up right on this spot."


    In the background, Lucifer was walking back and forth. He was concerned about something else entirely.


    He wanted to catch up with the Hunter Union members, but it seemed impossible now.


    They had taken the third path, and he was stuck in the first path with no way to go back and change ways.


    "Meeting Cassius and Uzuki isn¡¯t a problem. Just like you came to look for me, they¡¯lle looking for us as well, if we don¡¯t return soon," Lucifer reminded Yaliza that he was focusing on the wrong things.


    "Our main concern is getting to Hunter Union. They have taken the third path, and we are stuck in first."


    "There¡¯s no way to go back; we can only move ahead, but is there any benefit? We still wouldn¡¯t be able to meet with Hunter Union that took the third path," he added, lost in deep thought.


    "I think we can do nothing about this at this point. Let¡¯s wait for Cassius and Uzuki to get here before moving forward. Who knows, all three paths be one in the end?" Alicia suggested, being optimistic.


    "I doubt that. The second path led to a dead-end where possibly the strongest beast of the Dungeon was hiding. So we can cross the second path from the list. It doesn¡¯t meet with this one."


    " I doubt the third one will be any different. We can¡¯t catch them anymore."


    Lucifer was the only one that wasn¡¯t overly optimistic.


    Hearing the words of Lucifer, Alicia red at him.


    "You¡¯re being a little too pessimistic. But that¡¯s also understandable. It¡¯s a shot in the dark at this point."


    "If only we had the Beast Core of this dungeon, we might be able to find a way back. Let¡¯s just hope for the best at this point." She sighed.


    "Beast Core?" Lucifer and Yaliza both eximed at the same time.


    "How would that help?" Lucifer asked.


    "You don¡¯t know about it? Beast Cores aren¡¯t just random stones. They have many uses. That¡¯s why only the strongest beast of a Dungeon has one."


    "They can remove all negative effects that someone suffers inside their specific dungeons. That¡¯s why the Beast with a Beast Core is said to be the Ruler of the Dungeon."


    " That¡¯s not all; the Beast Core can also be used as a device to stop traps from affecting you or your team. This maze is nothing but a trap as well. Beast Core could have stopped this trap, letting us go back."


    " That¡¯s why it¡¯s the most sought-after item inside a Dungeon. Unfortunately, only the Beast Core of this would work inside us."


    "Wait, why don¡¯t we go ahead. I¡¯m not sure if we¡¯ll find the Hunter Union or not, but maybe we¡¯ll find the Beast with the Beast Core? Then we can go back?"


    As Alicia talked, Lucifer and Yaliza looked at each other¡¯s faces. They had the thing they needed, and they were still worried?


    Lucifer was also surprised by one more thing. He knew that Beast Core was used to remove any poison from a person inside the Dungeon, but even he hadn¡¯t known about this other effect. It was nowhere in the books he read.


    "Will this work?" he asked Alicia, bringing the Beast Core out of his pocket.


    "Is that a Beast Core? Where did you find it from? If it¡¯s not from this Dungeon, it won¡¯t have any effect here. As I said, Beast Cores of other Dungeons won¡¯t work here," Alicia pointed out.


    "It¡¯s not from another Dungeon. It¡¯s from this one. How do you think I healed your poison?" Lucifer asked in return. "Now tell me, how can I do it? How do I stop these traps?"


    "You¡¯ll need water for it," Alicia informed Lucifer, who raised his hand towards Yaliza.


    Yaliza handed him the bottle of water.


    "Next?" Lucifer asked.


    "Pour some water on the core and touch your forehead with the core. You¡¯ll be considered the same as the Beast of this Dungeon who possessed the core."


    "The Dungeon will stop these tricks near you. And since we¡¯ll be near you, we¡¯ll get the same benefits as well," Alicia exined.


    Lucifer did as Alicia said.


    " Good. Now select any of the two paths. We¡¯ll end up where we came from. No tricks this time," Alicia pointed out.


    Just as she said, Lucifer selected the left path and left with Yaliza and Alicia.


    ...


    A helicopternded on the roof of a tall building inside the Capital City.


    More than ten men stepped out of the helicopter.


    "Argh, I missed all the fun. It¡¯s boring toe to this city after everything is settled. I wish I could havee faster," the man in the lead let out, sighing.


    He was carrying a Katana in his left hand as he went downstairs.


    He and the others went straight to an office in the building.


    Pushing the door of the office, the men stepped inside.


    "Kellian, why are you looking like a businessman? What¡¯s with that coat?"


    "Tristan? You came as well?" Kellian asked. "Good to see that your hand is healed now."

 Chapter 364 - 364: Targeting Warlock Council

    <h4>Chapter 364 - 364: Targeting Warlock Council </h4>


    "If only it had healed faster, I might have been able to join you all. Anyway, where¡¯s little Boss?"


    "Lucifer? He isn¡¯t here. He left all this work to me and went to explore the Dungeon to find Zeiss."


    "What? Don¡¯t tell me I missed that as well? When did he leave? Can I still catch up with him if I leave right now?"


    Kellian nced at Tristan while closing theptop.


    "You¡¯re a bitte indeed. They left yesterday. They should already be deep inside the Dungeon by now," he answered Tristan.


    "Instead, how about you help me?" he further asked, smiling.


    "Help with what? Don¡¯t even think about asking my help in paperwork," Tristan warned Kellian, suspicious of his intent.


    "Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m not an idiot to ask for your help with paperwork. It¡¯s something else," Kellian responded.


    "What else?" Tristan asked.


    "It¡¯s very simple actually. All I want is for you to go and kill a person for me."


    "Kill someone? Why do you need me for that? Any random Variant from Uprising can do it," Tristan pointed out.


    "Not really. The target is quite strong. I can¡¯t send any random person. I was thinking about going myself, but I have to attend a meeting with Guild Leaders and finish my work. So you¡¯ll have to go," Kellian exined.


    "Is that so? Who is that person? If I may ask? Sounds like someone strong. It sounds fun, so I¡¯ll do it. Just give me the name and address."


    "His name is Das Aliorza."


    "Who? Why didn¡¯t I hear this name before?" Tristan asked, stunned. This person didn¡¯t seem like anyone special. "Who is he?"


    "Actually, I only recently received reports from Vega that the Warlock Council is sending a Warlock to Elisium to investigate what happened. Even though that¡¯s the excuse, I know the real reason is much moreplicated," Kellian pointed out.


    "They want to establish their presence here by show of force. They know Varant, Zeiss, and Raia are dead. I¡¯m sure if theye here, only unnecessary problems will be created. I want you to kill them before they can enter Elisium," he further said.


    "If the envoy of the Warlock Council is killed in another nation, they can¡¯t me us. Moreover, they¡¯ll be busy investigating what happened to their Envoy. That will give us quite some time. Until then, Lucifer should be out as well."


    Hearing the exnation, Tristan was confused.


    "Warlock Council? What the heck is that? Did I miss something else?"


    "Oh right, you weren¡¯t there when we received the exnation. Actually, the Warlock Council is a council of powerful Warlocks that indirectly rules another continent."


    "They have been trying to spread their influence in our Continent as well," Kellian exined in brief.


    "That¡¯s the short exnation of it. Just know, they¡¯re a team of hungry wolves that pretend to be gentle sheep. After a long time, we¡¯ve been able to take over Elisium. We can¡¯t let it be a Warzone again," he continued.


    Opening a drawer, he brought out a file.


    "This is the file that contains all the information about him. He¡¯sing from a private jet which would take twelve hours to get here."


    "This file contains the route of that flight. I want you to attack that jet when it¡¯s in the airspace of Alekia Nation."


    "How would I get there?" Tristan asked, picking up the file.


    "Do you even need to ask? You¡¯ll take a flight to Alekia. Since it¡¯s near us, you can get there way before the Warlock Council jet gets there. You¡¯ll have enough time to arrange everything as well," Kellian exined.


    "You¡¯ll get your tickets at the airport. Take the helicopter on the roof," he added.


    "Come on! Do we really need to be so stingy? Now we rule Elisium. I¡¯m sure you can arrange a jet for me as well, can¡¯t you?"


    "One jet? We can arrange a fleet of jets to escort you," Kellian replied, smiling. They controlled everything in Elisium. It wasn¡¯t too much for them.


    "Awesome! That would be so cool. Let¡¯s do that," Tristan eximed, smiling.


    "We won¡¯t. This is a covert mission. We can¡¯t have anyone know that someone from Elisium went there on a jet."


    "They¡¯ll certainly know it was one of our men. Instead, it¡¯s much better if you travel like a civilian with a fake name," Kellian exined.


    "So get going. The faster you get there, the better."


    "Alright. I¡¯ll go on themercial flight. But I want to travel with a fleet of jets next time. I won¡¯t listen then," Tristan told Kellian before leaving with the file.


    He went to the roof and entered the helicopter, which took them to the airport, which was again operational.


    At the airport, Tristan bought something to eat before receiving his ticket on the counter.


    Even though it was amercial flight, it was no different than a private flight, disguised as amercial flight as only one person traveled inside the fight.


    Sitting inside the flight, Tristan read the file.


    ...


    "Ah, there you are! Why did you take so long to return? We thought something happened to you!" Uzuki¡¯s voice echoed.


    As Lucifer, Alicia and Yaliza were leaving; they saw Cassius and Uzukiing from the distance.


    "We were lost in a maze," Lucifer summarized without stopping.


    The five of them finally reached where they had started. This time, however, they selected the third path, ending on the right track.


    ...


    A group of Warlocks was walking inside the same Dungeon as Lucifer. The only difference was that they were much ahead of Lucifer.


    The ground was led by Zeiss, who was the Hunter Union leader. It contained not only the best Warlocks of the Hunter Union but also the powerful members of Rank One Guild, which was the most powerful guild affiliated to the Warlock Council.


    "I wonder if we¡¯re really going to find something special here. So far, it seems quite ordinary," A Warlock said out loud.


    The Vice Captain of the Hunter Union nodded in agreement. "Yeah. When we discovered that a Secret Path that we had never explored before was discovered, we thought it would be special and that it might contain some special treasures."


    He was known as Zaria.


    "That¡¯s why we brought our strongest team here. But so far, it has been quite disappointing," he added, sighing. "I wonder if we¡¯re wasting our time here."


    "Why are you so concerned about wasting time? It¡¯s not like we had anything better to do outside either?"


    "Let¡¯s just enjoy this new exploration. Who knows, we might actually find something special in the end after all," Zeiss answered, shaking his head.

 Chapter 365 - 365: The Nobles

    <h4>Chapter 365 - 365: The Nobles </h4>


    "What do you mean we had nothing better to do outside? We keep the Capital Safe," Zaria pointed out.


    "You talk as if the Capital City will fall if we¡¯re not there? Don¡¯t worry; we can take a few weeks off without causing the end of this world," Zeiss retorted. "In any case, I think that¡¯s not the reason you didn¡¯t want toe."


    "Want me to tell everyone your real reason?" he asked,ughing.


    "What real reason?" Zaria asked, rolling his eyes. "There¡¯s nothing."


    "Oh? So it¡¯s not because you were nning to spend this time with Dalia?" Zeiss asked, smirking.


    "You! How did you know about Dalia?" Stunned, Zaria asked.


    "Do you really think something like this can be kept a secret from me?" Zeiss asked, seemingly amused.


    "Oh, some friendly advice. If you don¡¯t want to be found out, next time you bring a girl out to date, don¡¯t bring her to the movie theater where I also watch movies."


    "Ahh! So that¡¯s it! That¡¯s where you saw me!"


    "I don¡¯t understand one thing though. Why were you trying to keep it a secret from me?" Zeiss asked, confused.


    "Actually, I started dating her only recently. I wanted to be sure that she was the right one before introducing her. Couldn¡¯t take the risk after the blunder ofst time," Zaria exined, smiling wryly while looking down.


    "What blunder?" Zeiss asked, confused.


    " I think he meant thest girl who he introduced as his girlfriend before. She broke up with him the very next day," Another Warlock pointed out, guessing what Zaria meant.


    "Ah, you¡¯re talking about that girl. That¡¯s why you were not introducing Dalia to us? Come on! Are you a kid or something? There¡¯s nothing embarrassing about breakups."


    "I personally dated a hundred women and had hundred and one breakups. There¡¯s nothing to be embarrassed about," Zeiss eximed, shaking his head.


    "Ah? How is that even possible? You dated a hundred women and had hundred and one breakups?" Zaria asked, confused. All the other Warlocks looked at Zeiss as well.


    "I dated my ex again only to realize why I broke up with her in the first ce," Zeiss let out,ughing. "So same girl, two breakups."


    He suddenly stoppedughing as he noticed the massive doors in front of him.


    "Ah, I think we¡¯re finally at a dead end. The end of this journey," he said, smiling.


    "Whatever we¡¯re going to get should be behind that door. Either we¡¯ll find the treasures of this Dungeon, or we¡¯ll find the powerful beasts on the other side. Stay prepared," he reminded everyone before he pushed the door open.


    He stepped inside with the other Warlocks. The giant golden doors closed behind them.


    ....


    In a faraway ce existed a big Kingdom which was known as the Divine Empire.


    The existence of this Kingdom was not known by most of the world. Only the powerful people of other nations and their Governments knew about the Divine Empire.


    ording to the reports, this massive Empire was ruled by one girl. A girl who was only neen years old at the moment.


    Even though she was a young girl, she alone was enough to establish fear in the hearts of the most powerful Warlocks around the world.


    She was Queen Milena Sephene, also known as the Noble Queen.


    At the moment, Milena was sitting on her throne in the Divine Empire,zily.


    Her chin was resting on her fingers as she looked at the men standing before her.


    Three Warlocks were standing before her who were wearing the attire of Warlock Council.


    On both sides of the massive hall, her followers were sitting.


    The three Warlock Council members were standing in the chamber, which was filled with powerful Warlocks that worked for Milena.


    As they looked around, they were able to notice one face that they recognized. It was thest envoy who was sent here by the Warlock Council to ask Milena to return the Stone that she possessed.


    The Warlock Council had received the news that Milena had killed this person. Now that they were seeing him alive, it was surprising, but it wasn¡¯t shocking.


    They could see that theirst Envoy had blood-red eyes instead of the beautiful dark eyes that he possessed before.


    It was a signal that Mna had killed him and turned him into her servant.


    The Warlock Council called the ones who were turned by Milena as Infected Variants, but they were known by another name in the Divine Empire.


    All servants that Milena had turned herself were known as the Nobles in the Divine Empire since they were especially turned by the Noble Queen.


    These Nobles were also able to turn recently dead people into their servants, just like Milena. But the ones that were turned by Nobles were known as Newborns instead.


    Newborns were servants of the Nobles that had turned them, but they were also the servants of the Noble Queen.


    If a noble was tomand a newborn that he had turned and the Queen was tomand that same newborn, he was to listen to the queen.


    There was also one more difference between nobles and the newborns that most of the world didn¡¯t know about.


    Most of the world thought that all Infected possessed their previous powers, but that wasn¡¯t the case.


    Only the Nobles possessed their old Variant Power that they possessed before their deaths. Newborns didn¡¯t have their old powers.


    Despite not having their old powers, Newborns were still scary creatures as they possessed fast speed, quick reflexes, and powerful Strength that was far superior to what a human was ever able to possess.


    The Nobles also received the same advantages after being turned as well, but they also received more.


    Unlike Nobles, the Newborns weren¡¯t able to turn any dead bodies by bringing them back to life.


    Moreover, there was one more defining difference between the two.


    It was that the Nobles possessed their old intelligence and memories even after they came back to life. They had undying loyalty toward their Queen though.


    The Newborns, on the other hand, didn¡¯t possess their old memories. Also, they were considered somewhat stupid when it came to intelligence. They were told to have the intelligence of kids.


    "Has the Warlock Council decided to annoy me till I die of annoyance? Why do you all keeping back?"


    "Was myst message not clear enough? Or is it that they wanted to give the three of you to me as gifts?" Mna asked the three Warlocks that stood before her.


    "I wouldn¡¯t mind having three more servants... Ah, that¡¯s right. You call them infected. I forgot. Do you three want to be Infected of Divine Empire?" She asked.

 Chapter 366 - 366: Leader Of Hunter Union

    <h4>Chapter 366 - 366: Leader Of Hunter Union </h4>


    "Miss Milena, we¡¯re not here to be your food," the leading Warlock of the Warlock Council replied.


    The man had a very intimidating presence, attracting almost all eyes to him.


    The most notable thing about him seemed to be the wings on his back. He had four eagle-like wings on his back, two on each side. The winds were pure white with a tint of gold on them.


    He had long blonde hair and pale eyes matching his hair. His beautiful white robe matched his aura and his wings, making his presence seem more intimidating.


    On top of his royal white attire, there were golden shoulder tes on his clothes.


    "Then tell me. What are you here for? What were you hoping to get?" Milena asked, amused.


    "We know you hurt thest envoy that the Warlock Council sent. And that in itself is enough reason for the Warlock Council to attack you. But we don¡¯t want to do that. We still want to have friendly rtions with the Divine Empire," the blonde-haired man replied.


    "So we came here personally, to talk. Don¡¯t misunderstand our willingness toe here despite all that happened as our weakness. It¡¯s just our good manners. So don¡¯t ruin our good intentions," he added.


    "What good intentions? Aren¡¯t you just here to beg for that stone?" Milena asked, smiling. "I¡¯ll give you the same choice I gave yourst envoy. Leave while you have the chance. If you don¡¯t leave, you know what will happen."


    "Queen Milena, please don¡¯t overreact. Think carefully. We aren¡¯t asking for anything special. All we need is that one stone. You don¡¯t have any use for it either, do you?" the blonde-haired man asked.


    "Why do you want to offend the Warlock Council for something you¡¯ll never use?"


    "Offend you? Youe here begging for something which doesn¡¯t belong to you. Do you really think you have any right to be offended for not getting what you begged for?" Milena asked a question of her own.


    "I¡¯ll give you three seconds. Leave and forget that stone. That¡¯s all," she added before she closed her eyes. "After that, you won¡¯t be our responsibility."


    The blonde-haired man stared at Milena, frowning. No matter how nicely they asked, it didn¡¯t matter. She wasn¡¯t willing to listen.


    He turned back and started leaving, subtly ncing at theirst envoy, who was now working for Milena.


    The three of them left the Royal Pce of the Divine Empire. None of them were stopped when leaving.


    A chopper was waiting for them. They entered the chopper, which started flying.


    Sitting inside the helicopter, a dark-haired Warlock sighed deeply.


    "That girl is really too arrogant. Sir, why didn¡¯t you tell her your real identity?" he asked, ncing at the blonde-haired man.


    "That¡¯s right. If you had told her that you were one of the Seven Leaders of the Warlock Council, she would have listened seriously. She thought you were just a random envoy. She didn¡¯t know who she was talking to."


    "That¡¯s right. Why did we have to leave? You could have mopped the floor with her if you were serious. I don¡¯t think we needed to leave, right?"


    The two Warlocks that were a part of the three men team started speaking, not understanding the decision of the blonde-haired man to leave.


    The blonde-haired man didn¡¯t say anything. He simply folded his arms while closing his eyes. The helicopter left the Divine Empire airspace.


    ....


    The Nation of Alekia was close to the Nation of Elisium, but the two weren¡¯t neighbors. There was one more nation between the two.


    Amercial flightnded in the Nation of Alekia. Only one person came out from the flight.


    The man went through the check before he left the airport.


    The man was none other than Tristan. He was carrying a Katana in his bag, which he managed to get past the security.


    It was only after he left the airport that he opened his bag to look at his katana. He again closed the bag.


    He got a cab to get to his destination.


    The city he was currently inside wasn¡¯t an important city in Alekia. It was a second-tier city in Alekia on the list of priorities which made it easier for Triston to do almost anything in the city.


    "This should be the ce. Stop right here," he told the driver.


    The driver stopped the car, letting Tristan leave.


    As he left, Tristan looked on his right to see a ten-story building. It was the office of many moderate-sizedpanies. Each floor of this building was being leased by an organization that couldn¡¯t afford to build a ce of their own.


    Tristan easily entered the building and went inside the lift, which took him to the terrace.


    He left the lift.


    Leaving the lift, Tristan was stunned. "What the heck? Can¡¯t you two wait for the night before jumping on each other?"


    A young man and a middle-ageddy were having sex on the roof, unaware of their surroundings as they kissed.


    It was Tristan¡¯s voice that brought them out of their own little world.


    "Arghh!" Hearing Tristan¡¯s voice, the two stood up, looking for their clothes.


    "Don¡¯t you have any manners? Peeping on a youngdy secretly?! What kind of a pervert are you? Leave right now!" The middle-ageddy asked Tristan after covering her body.


    "Youngdy? Where?" Tristan asked, surprised. He started looking everywhere. "Why don¡¯t I see a youngdy?"


    "Don¡¯t you see me, dumba*s?" The dark-haireddy asked, upset.


    "You?" Initially stunned, Tristan burst intoughter. "My grandma would be younger than you."


    "You! Shameless man!"


    "Enough chit chat! Get dressed and leave before I get upset," Tristan warned thedy.


    "What will you do if you get up-"


    Thedy didn¡¯t back off arguing, but the young man chimed in. He didn¡¯t let thedy finish as he held her hand.


    "Let¡¯s not argue with him. If he tells others about this or clicks pictures, we¡¯ll be in a mess. If your husband finds out about it, you know what will happen, right?" The young man whispered in the ears of thedy.


    Hearing his words, thedy seemingly understood what he was trying to say.


    "We¡¯ll leave!" She told Tristan as she started wearing her clothes. "The least you can do is turn around!"


    "I never show my back to people. In any case, it¡¯s not like I haven¡¯t seen all there is to see," Tristan replied, smiling.


    Thedy and the young man got dressed, right in front of Tristan since he wasn¡¯t looking away.

 Chapter 367 - 367: Merging Powers?

    <h4>Chapter 367 - 367: Merging Powers? </h4>


    "We¡¯re leaving as you asked. Don¡¯t you dare spread words of this, or you¡¯ll suffer," thedy warned Tristan before she left with the young man.


    "I wouldn¡¯t mind seeing how I can get hurt. If only I didn¡¯t have something more important to do, I would have loved to y around," Tristan let out, sighing.


    He simply sat on the roof, looking at the sky. He called Kellian.


    "I¡¯m in position. Tell me when they¡¯re about to fly past here. I¡¯ll finish it," he informed Kellian.


    "They¡¯ll take a few more hours to get there. Don¡¯t worry; I¡¯ll inform you when it¡¯s time. We¡¯re keeping an eye on their jet using our satellites," Kellian replied. "Just don¡¯t leave your position for the next few hours, no matter what happens. You can¡¯t miss this opportunity."


    "Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m not leaving this ce even if the sky falls. I already packed enough food tost a few days," Tristan answered as he disconnected the call.


    Opening his bag, he brought an umbre and covered his body.


    ...


    Two days had passed since Lucifer healed Alicia, who was poisoned. Throughout these two years, the group of five people had been going deeper and deeper inside the Dungeon.


    "How big is this dungeon? Is there an end to it or not?" Tired, Uzuki asked Lucifer. "Let¡¯s rest. We haven¡¯t slept properly in thest two days. How can we fight like this?"


    "I agree. We need to be in our best condition if we want to take out the Hunter Unionpletely. We don¡¯t know how far we might need to walk. This is a new path that wasn¡¯t in any records. I think we should rest," Alicia also agreed.


    Previously she was going with what she knew about the Dungeon. ording to her information, they were to reach the end after slightly more than a day. That¡¯s why none of them rested properly.


    But it had been two days now, and the end still wasn¡¯t in sight, all because of this secret path that Alicia previously didn¡¯t know about.


    She believed that the Hunter Union had gone through it. Since it was a previously undiscovered path, she didn¡¯t know how long it actually was.


    "I also think we should rest," Yaliza also agreed.


    Cassius also sided with the others. "Yeah. Rest is needed. Don¡¯t you feel tired?"


    "I don¡¯t," Lucifer replied, shaking his head. "But that¡¯s probably because of my healing. It removes my tiredness."


    The only time he actually got tired was when he actually used his powers excessively. Fortunately, there hadn¡¯t been much need for that in the Dungeon.


    Moreover, he had already used decay on the ck Stone Beast, which gave him plenty of energy.


    That was why he didn¡¯t feel tired at all.


    He simply told everyone that he never felt tired, bluffing a little. He didn¡¯t want anyone to know his weakness, that he could be affected if someone made him use too much of his energy.


    He believed that was one of the weaknesses of his abilities that he never wanted anyone to know. His threshold of power reserve was high, but it wasn¡¯t infinite.


    "If you all want to rest, then let¡¯s rest." Seeing the tired look on everyone¡¯s face, he agreed to rest.


    All of them sat near the wall.


    Uzuki brought some fruits out of the bag he was carrying and handed some to everyone.


    "After you eat, go to sleep. I¡¯ll stay up,¡¯ Lucifer informed everyone since he didn¡¯t need to sleep so soon. If he wanted to, he could stay awake for over a week easily.


    "Are you sure?" Alicia asked Lucifer.


    "Yeah. It¡¯s better than everyone taking turns to go to sleep. In any case, I don¡¯t need sleep for now," Lucifer casually replied.


    As he expressed confidence in his ability to stay up, everyone took him up on his offer.


    "If someonees, wake us up."


    Everyone soon went to sleep, leaving Lucifer alone, sitting in the Dungeon.


    His left hand still had no glove, so he was only using his right hand to touch things. Using his right hand, he picked up an apple and started eating it.


    ...


    Three hours passed. Everyone was deep asleep, and only Lucifer was up, getting bored.


    He stood up and started walking back and forth to keep him distracted.


    Another hour passed, and his boredom was reaching extreme levels.


    He picked up a small stick that was lying on the ground and started carving something on the ground using the stick.


    Soon his line art finished. Stepped back, he couldn¡¯t help but smile at the awkward drawing. He had tried to draw his own face, but it looked like he had drawn some cartoon character. He was so bad at it that even he was surprised.


    "In my imagination, it was so much easier," he eximed, smiling wryly. He casually waved his hand, making winds clear the ground. He didn¡¯t want anyone else to see the disaster painting he had created.


    Two more hours passed. No one had woken up even now.


    As for Lucifer, he was now keeping himself busy with something else.


    This time, however, he was doing something productive. Instead of wasting his time because he was bored, he was trying to experiment with his powers.


    He still remembered that there was a time when he could only use one power at a time. With experience and growth, he was able to use all his powers at the same time.


    He could fire wind des and lightning bolts at the same time. He wanted to take his growth one step further by trying to bring an experimental theory to life.


    In his time at the Academy, he learned many things that he thought to be useful. There were, however, a few more things that he heard in the Academy that, let alone him, even the teachers considered to be useless.


    One such thing was an experimental theory that was never proven.


    ording to the theory, there was a slight chance that a well-trained Warlock could merge his two powers to attack as one.


    ording to that theory, if a Warlock had two attack type powers, he could merge their effects if he trained enough.


    That theory was thought to be the stupidest theory in the academy, but it was also the most fascinating and imaginative story.


    Lucifer hadn¡¯t taken much interest in that theory since he used to think that he only had one power at that time. Now that he had his memories back, he understood the importance of merging skills.


    If he could merge his attacks, he knew he was going to be even more powerful than he ever was.

 Chapter 368 - 368: Lucifer Against Yaliza

    <h4>Chapter 368 - 368: Lucifer Against Yaliza </h4>


    Lucifer wanted to merge his attacks, nning to increase his strength even more.


    He knew that if he could at least merge two of his powers together, starting from the ones that could easily be merged, he could then move over to the harder ones.


    That¡¯s why he wanted to merge his wind and his lightning when attacking.


    Both his skills had different advantages which could certainlyplement each other.


    His lightning was fast and dominating. It could destroy anything it hit. On the other hand, his wind was swift yet versatile.


    Wind attacks could easily be controlled, and their trajectory could be changed mid-way. That wasn¡¯t possible for lighting.


    Lightning was so dominating that it was impossible to change its direction once the attack was made. Lightning could destroy anything in its path, but it was useless if the attack was dodged.


    For a person, it wasparatively easier to dodge the attack of lightning with their quick speed than it was to dodge a wind attack that could chase after them.


    On the other hand, it was much harder to dodge the wind attack, but it was much easier for them to protect themselves even without bothering to dodge the attack.


    Any decently powerful shield could protect from wind attacks, no matter how versatile they were.


    Wind couldn¡¯t cut metal either. At least he hadn¡¯t been able to make his wind attacks as strong. No barrier could stop the attack of lightning.


    Both these skills had their own advantages and disadvantages that made them imperfect. And Lucifer wanted to remove that imperfection.


    Moreover, it was only his initial n. He wanted to start with something more manageable. His actual n was to merge wind and his decay, if possible.


    Unfortunately, that was just a distant n at the moment. Even he didn¡¯t know if he could actually do it or not.


    As he practiced, with one hand, he cast his lightning bolts while casting his wind des with his other hand.


    As he targeted the walls, they kept being damaged more and more with each attack.


    Each attack created a vibration in the surroundings. The subtle vibrations woke Yaliza from his sleep. He slowly opened his eyes to see Lucifer¡¯s back facing him.


    Lucifer was attacking the wall in front of him again and again.


    Yaliza wondered what Lucifer was doing¡ªattacking at the same time with different powers again and again. He assumed that this guy was practicing.


    He stood up and stretched his arms. Even though he didn¡¯t make much noise, Lucifer heard the sound of his footsteps in the silence of the Dungeon.


    He turned around, noticing Yaliza. "You¡¯re up."


    "Were you practicing?" Yaliza asked.


    "I was trying to test something. So far, no luck," Lucifer replied, walking back. "I wonder when others will wake up. I¡¯ve already started getting bored."


    "I doubt they¡¯ll wake anytime soon. If they were to wake up, they would already be up by now." ncing at Alicia and others, Yaliza shook his head.


    "How about we practice then? A battle between the two of us just to remove some boredom? We already have plenty of time?" Lucifer suggested.


    "You want to fight me?" Yaliza asked, surprised.


    "Yeah. I heard a lot of good things about you, especially rted to your speed. Fighting you would only improve me. Let¡¯s go through one round?"


    "Alright. If that¡¯s what you want. But what if the sleeping ones get hurt in our battle?" Yaliza asked.


    "We can¡¯t go too far for our battle since we need to keep an eye on them. And if we fought close, one of your stray attacks might hit them."


    "I won¡¯t be using any long-range skills. I¡¯ll only use wind for movement. I won¡¯t even use my strength. You can also use your speed and your strength. That should be fair. That way, they won¡¯t get hurt either," Lucifer replied.


    Yaliza nodded as he moved away from the sleeping youngsters.


    Lucifer also moved away from them. They were going to fight ten meters away from the ground so as not to hurt them.


    "Are you prepared?" Lucifer asked.


    "You can start when you feel like it," Yaliza replied.


    "On the count of three... One... Two... Three!"


    Lucifer¡¯s figure flickered as he moved with the wind, appearing in front of Yaliza within the blink of an eye. He attacked with his right hand.


    "You¡¯re fast. But I¡¯m faster," Yaliza¡¯s voice appeared from behind Lucifer.


    Lucifer¡¯s attack shed with empty air as Yaliza had already switched ces.


    Seeing Lucifer¡¯s back, Yaliza reached out his hand to grab him by the shoulder to throw him away.


    As soon as Yaliza¡¯s hands touched Lucifer¡¯s shoulders, Lucifer ced his hand over Yaliza¡¯s hands, holding them in ce.


    Using his wind, he swiftly jumped tond behind Yaliza while still holding his hands.


    Yaliza found himself in pain as his hand was twisted by Lucifer in a painful manner. He didn¡¯t make any noise and instead kicked back.


    Lucifer also used his right foot to block the kick of Yaliza before hitting the back of his knees, bringing Yaliza down to his knees.


    "Well, that was underwhelming. Yaliza, why were you trying suchme skills on me? Did you really think they¡¯ll work?" Lucifer asked, freeing Yaliza¡¯s hands. "I didn¡¯t even need to use my left hand to bring you down."


    "You¡¯ve gotten good since the time I trained you," Yaliza let out, standing up. He couldn¡¯t help but rub his shoulder.


    "Yeah. You and Kellian were the ones at that time who taught me about the importance of battle skills that don¡¯t depend on powers. I now understand what you meant. Fortunately, I had an opportunity to learn more in this field," Lucifer responded, talking about his time at the academy.


    "So you really should take my skills seriously. I¡¯m not just a Warlock but a decent fighter as well," he added as he walked back again.


    "Is that so? Let¡¯s make it the best of three then. I¡¯ll take you more seriously now," Yaliza said, smirking. He cracked his knuckles as he actually decided to have some fun.


    "Is that so? You can go first this time." Lucifer nodded as he prepared for a serious battle.


    This time, Yaliza attacked first. His speed was much faster than before. It didn¡¯t look like he was moving; instead, it seemed like he had simply teleported.


    He appeared in front of Lucifer within the blink of an eye and attacked. His attack was pretty ordinary as it seemed no more than a simple punch.


    The speed of this punch was much faster though. Strangely enough, Yaliza stopped before his attack could evennd on Lucifer¡¯s face, while another grin formed on his face.

 Chapter 369 - 369: Fighting Like Kids

    <h4>Chapter 369 - 369: Fighting Like Kids </h4>


    Lucifer watched a fiste towards his face. The attack was fast, but he seemed prepared for whatever wasing towards him. He wasn¡¯t scared of getting punched once.


    He wanted to block the attack, but he knew that he couldn¡¯t. It was too fast. Still, he raised his hand to protect his face while bncing his body for the impact. In front of Yaliza¡¯s speed, his movement speed seemed slower indeed.


    It was just as he expected; he wasn¡¯t able to block the attack in time. The attack was just about tond on Lucifer¡¯s face, but it didn¡¯t.


    Just when Yaliza¡¯s fist was within an inch distance from Lucifer¡¯s face, it stopped.


    Lucifer had already braced himself for the impact. He didn¡¯t expect something different. There was no way that Yaliza was going to lose this opportunity, but it didn¡¯t happen like that.


    Instead, Yaliza did just that. He didn¡¯t take this opportunity since he knew that Lucifer already expected this attack. He wanted to shock and overwhelm Lucifer.


    Before his attack couldnd on Lucifer¡¯s face, he disappeared and appeared behind Lucifer.


    Spinning his body around, he kicked the ribs of Lucifer with incredible strength.


    Lucifer, who was expecting an attack on his face, was stunned as his ribs were attacked. Thepletely unexpected attack shocked him.


    He had bnced his body for backward momentum, but the attack came from the side, destroying his bnce like a kid destroying a tower of cards.


    His body flew away, crashing on the wall. Lucifer held his chest, feeling like a few of his bones were broken.


    "You learned a lot about fighting but not all. If a person wants to defeat an opponent, they should attack where the opponent least expects it," Yaliza reminded Lucifer.


    "Sometimes, you need to sacrifice smaller opportunities to have bigger ones."


    "I¡¯m sorry for attacking you that brutally. But I know you have healing. And I don¡¯t have super strength. So I gave it my all," he further added.


    Cough! Cough!


    Lucifer coughed out a mouthful of blood as he rubbed his chest.


    "That was a good one," he told Yaliza.


    Using his left hand, he wiped the blood off his lips.


    "One each. The final point since it¡¯s the best of three. My turn to go first," Lucifer reminded Yaliza as he patted his clothes.


    "Be my guest," Yaliza said, smiling.


    ....


    Boom! Boom!


    Many booming noises filled the tunnel, disturbing the sleep of Cassius.


    Cassius slowly opened his eyes, wondering what was happening.


    "Lucifer? Who is he fighting?" Cassius muttered, confused.


    He could see Lucifer facing someone, but the other person¡¯s back was facing him.


    "He¡¯s fighting Yaliza," Uzuki informed Cassius.


    Cassius looked beside him, finding Uzuki sitting there, eating an apple.


    "Why are they fighting?" Cassius asked, confused. It didn¡¯t seem like it was a friendly battle as both Yaliza and Lucifer were brutally attacking.


    Moreover, it wasn¡¯t a practice battle from what it seemed. The two of them were seriously trying to hurt the other person.


    "I have no idea. I woke up only five minutes before you. These two were making so much noise. I¡¯m surprised you woke up sote," Uzuki replied, shaking his head.


    "As for that girl, she is still sleeping. Just how deep is her sleep?¡¯ he asked.


    "She should be up soon as well. But that¡¯s not important. What¡¯s important is that we need to stop them," Cassius reminded Uzuki, standing up.


    "Sit down. Don¡¯t you see? Lucifer isn¡¯t using his lightning or wind des? Simrly, Yaliza isn¡¯t using any serious attacks either."


    "Their battle is certainly serious, but none of them want to kill another person. It should be a friendly battle that is a little more professional," Uzuki replied, stopping Cassius.


    "Ah, that¡¯s right. I didn¡¯t notice that. None of them are using their powerful skills. They¡¯re fighting like ordinary warriors," Cassiusmented, realizing that Uzuki was right.


    Just as Cassius finished speaking, Lucifer¡¯s kicknded on Yaliza¡¯s chest, making him fly back.


    Mid-air, Yaliza bnced his body andnded on the ground safely, only to realize that his right hand was grabbed by Lucifer, who used that grip to bring his arm in a lock.


    ...


    One hour passed, and the third round of Lucifer¡¯s battle with Yaliza was still continuing. Both of them were giving it their all, but none of them was willing to give up.


    It was at that point when Alicia also woke up. Cassius informed her about what was happening.


    "Both of you! Enough! Are you forgetting that we were here on a mission? Stop acting like kids! How will you hurt the enemies when you are hurting each other before getting to them?" Alicia yelled, jumping in the middle of Lucifer¡¯s battle.


    "It was just a practice battle. Nothing serious," Lucifer told Alicia.


    "I know it was a practice battle, but it was going overboard. You two already wasted over an hour in this practice battle!"


    "This is enough! We¡¯re not here on a pic! We¡¯re here on a mission! Stop wasting time! We need to catch up with Hunter Union as well," Alicia retorted.


    "Alright. That will be the end of the battle. Let¡¯s call this third round a draw," Yaliza chimed in, agreeing with Alicia. In any case, he was already close to being defeated.


    Unlike Lucifer, he didn¡¯t have infinite stamina. He was already struggling tost so long. Alicia came in at just the right time. Yaliza was sure that he wouldn¡¯t havested for ten more minutes.


    Lucifer had his healing which removed his tiredness. His wounds also healed immediately. Yaliza wasn¡¯t so lucky.


    "A draw it is," Lucifer agreed.


    "Everyone up?" he asked, looking around.


    "We¡¯ve been up for over an hour," Uzuki replied, approaching Lucifer.


    "Let¡¯s leave then."


    ...


    "These gates... If I¡¯m not wrong, this should be the end of this Dungeon. If Hunter Union is inside this Dungeon, they should be behind these doors." Standing before massive golden doors, Lucifer theorized.


    "Not if. I think it¡¯s certain that they¡¯re behind these doors," Yaliza agreed. "I see footsteps here. Most of them went ahead; none returned so far. So they should still be there."


    "From these footsteps, it¡¯s easy to guess that there are more than twenty of them. So be careful and don¡¯t get hit. It¡¯s going to be a difficult battle," he added.


    "So, do we have any ns? Or just go in and attack anything that moves?" Uzuki asked.


    "The n is simple. I¡¯ll take care of Zeiss and Zaria. You will dy the others. After taking care of the two of them, I¡¯ll join you," Lucifer answered.

 Chapter 370 - 370: Mystery Behind Doors

    <h4>Chapter 370 - 370: Mystery Behind Doors </h4>


    "That doesn¡¯t look like much of a n, but we¡¯ll go with it," Uzuki agreed. "Let¡¯s see how it goes."


    Lucifer pushed the golden doors open and stepped inside. The others followed him closely.


    The silence of the Dungeon broke with the creaking sound of the door, even though they were slowly pushed open.


    "These doors make too much noise!" Alicia eximed, not pleased with these doors. She wanted them to enter stealthily, but just the doors alone were making this moreplicated.


    The massive doorspletely opened to reveal the other side.


    Stunned, Lucifer stood in his ce with confusion spread thoroughly on his face.


    Alicia and the others were also shocked at what they were seeing. When they entered, they had imagined thousands of scenarios, but none of them looked like what they just saw.


    They were inside the massive hall that was as big as a football field. Since the group of five was shocked at what they saw ahead, they didn¡¯t bother to look up.


    If they looked up, they would have realized that there was actually no roof. They were standing under the star-filled sky.


    Krrrr...


    With a creaking sound, the door again closed behind everyone.


    "Are you seeing what I¡¯m seeing?" Uzuki asked Lucifer softly.


    Lucifer nodded his head, not moving his eyes.


    ...


    Completely unaware of the turmoils in the dungeon, Kellian was focused on the tasks he was given. He had called all the Guild Leaders to meet him. And they were already there.


    "All the Guild Leaders are waiting in the meeting room. Are youing?" An Uprising Warlock asked Kellian, who was immersed in hisptop screen.


    "Let them wait. I¡¯m busy with something," Kellian answered, refusing to budge. He was busy with the assassination n of his. He was keeping an eye on the jet of the Warlock Council. The timing was important to him, and he didn¡¯t want to miss it.


    "Now...."


    "Tristan, the jet has entered the airspace of Alekia. Stay prepared! Within five seconds, it¡¯ll pass by you. You can¡¯t miss this opportunity!" Kellian reminded Tristan, who was immersed on the call with him.


    "Don¡¯t worry. I promise you; the ne won¡¯tnd safely," Tristan answered as he stood up.


    He opened his bag and brought his Katana outside, prepared for the timing.


    His eyes remained in the sky, waiting for the jet to reach him.


    Soon, he heard the sound of the jet. It wasing from a distance, and he could see it as only a tiny dot in the distance.


    Tristan kept his hand on the grip, prepared to attack.


    "Three... Two... "


    The jet kepting closer and closer, and soon, it was going to be right above Tristan.


    "Now!" He let out. He was just about to attack when he heard a shout.


    "You¡¯re still here?! I talked to security! They said you don¡¯t work here! Who are you?! What are you doing here?!"


    The sudden shout distracted him. Even though he had attacked, his attack missed.


    Within this time, the jet left his reach. Tristan missed the opportunity.


    "Arghhh!" Enraged, Tristan roared at the top of his lungs, watching the jet leave.


    "W-what was that? That light? Did ite from your Sword? Are you a Variant?!" The voice again came.


    Enraged, Tristan looked in the direction of the voice, finding the samedy he had seen having s*x on the roof before.


    "You crazydy! Do you know what you have done! You screwed everything!" Tristan roared in anger. He was agitated! He had one critical mission, and he failed that!


    "I-i didn¡¯t do anything. Calm down. I just... I¡¯ll leave!" The middle-ageddy said as she turned to go downstairs again; unfortunately, she couldn¡¯t.


    She dropped to the ground, being killed by Tristan, who wanted to scream in rage again.


    ...


    More than twenty people stood at the end of the hall with their backs facing Lucifer, who looked shocked at what he was seeing.


    All those people in front of him were the Hunter Union members, but at the moment, they didn¡¯t look like they were in any good condition.


    A massive beast was standing in front of them, whose body was full of spikes.


    A lot of those spikes had extended and stabbed the bodies of the Hunter Union members who now stood there, unmoving.


    No one could see what expressions were on their faces, but the Uprising team knew that their expressions shouldn¡¯t be pleasant.


    Lucifer could see blood droplets falling on the ground, under all the Warlocks. That wasn¡¯t all. He could also feel that the beast was sucking their blood.


    It was a frightening scenario. The Warlocks of Hunter Union were like insects that were caught in the web of a spider, but they didn¡¯t even move. It was as if they were hypnotized to sacrifice their blood for this ugly creature.


    As for the beast itself, he was as ugly as a beast could get. It has a human-like body mixed with the legs of a spider. Throughout his body, spikes could be seen. His back, his chest, his stomach, and even his cheeks and nose were covered in sharp spikes.


    As for the face of the beast, it was also simr to a human, but it looked swollen. It was like the face of a chubby man who had been bitten by poisonous bees thousands of times. His face waspletely circr.


    There was no hair on this creature¡¯s head, but there was something simr to antennas of ants on his head.


    As for his eyes, they were pitch ck. The creature had no nose, but he had four eyes on each side of his face.


    "It¡¯s the ugliest creature I¡¯ve seen. What is it? I never heard about something like this?!" Alicia asked.


    She had studied a lot about the dungeons and the creatures that could be found inside, but even he didn¡¯t remember hearing about a person like this.


    "You¡¯re asking us. Who should we ask?" Uzuki asked, shaking his head. "Whatever that thing is, it¡¯s too powerful if it was able to bring all the Warlocks of Hunter Union down without any battle."


    " I think we should just leave. Let that thing kill them all. In any case, we were here to kill them. So no problem at all," he added.


    As Uzuki talked, he didn¡¯t realize a strange creature had appeared behind them. It was a creature that looked the same as the one they were watching. The only difference was that it was standing on the wall behind them instead of standing before them.

 Chapter 371 - 371: Backup

    <h4>Chapter 371 - 371: Backup </h4>


    The creature didn¡¯t make any noise at all. The spikes of this creature started getting bigger and bigger as they closed in on the group of five.


    ....


    "Tristan! What the heck did you do?! Why is that ne still in the air!"


    Kellian was yelling, upset. It wasn¡¯t Tristan alone who was angered because of this miss.


    "I missed it. A human distracted me at thest second. The ne left. I can¡¯t stop him now," Tristan replied, sighing. "I¡¯m sorry for failing."


    "You return to the base this instant! Get back to the airport!" Kellianmanded Tristan before disconnecting the call.


    ....


    Inside the jet of Warlock Council, a middle-aged man was sitting, looking out through the window. He didn¡¯t really know how close he was to death just a moment ago.


    He looked at the time on his phone. "Three more hours."


    The man opened his files and started going through some documents which had information about the people leading the Uprising. They were the new overlords of Elisium.


    These records didn¡¯t have much information about Lucifer, though. He wasn¡¯t part of Uprising for a long time. He had only appeared just now, which was why there weren¡¯t any details about him.


    All these documents had on Lucifer was the fact that he was the son of Zale Azarel.


    The man turned the pages in the file as he continued reading.


    ...


    Inside his office, Kellian was looking at the footage of the Warlock Council jet, still upset. But he wasn¡¯t as furious.


    "Das, Tristan failed. It¡¯s your turn! Take that ne out! Make sure it doesn¡¯t leave the airspace of Alekia!" He told someone over the phone before disconnecting the call.


    ...


    "Well, these guys sure are good. With so few people, they managed to take over Elisium," the Warlock Council Envoy let out as he kept the file back.


    He brought hisptop out of his bag and used the to video call someone.


    As the call connected, he saw the beautiful face of ady.


    "Hey, little girl. Did you pass the test? How was your performance amongst all the interns of the Warlock Council?" The dark-haired man asked, smiling innocently.


    "Brother, I wanted to tell you the good news too. I did great! I think I will end up first like this," the girl on the other end replied.


    "As expected. I knew my little sister Jenilia would do great. Keep performing like this. And one day, you¡¯ll be a permanent member of the Warlock Council as well. You¡¯ll be the third member of the Quasi family to join the Warlock Council."


    "Of course I will. Just you wait!" The girl replied, clenching her fist. She was none other than Jenilia that had met Lucifer twice¡ª once on the ship and the second time on the road.


    "I see you¡¯re still on the ne. Did you still not reach Elisium?" Jenilia asked.


    "I haven¡¯t yet. I still have a few hours to go," the dark-haired man answered.


    "How long is your mission? When will you return?" Jenilia asked.


    "I¡¯ll get there. Get the stone that uncle Varant refused to give us before and return. It won¡¯t take long," the man answered.


    "That¡¯s good. You need to be here next month on my birthday! I won¡¯t take any excuses!" Jenilia insisted.


    "Alright, alright. Don¡¯t worry. I promise you; nothing will stop me from attending your birthday party. So make sure to make the celebration grand. I don¡¯t want toe back to someme party," the dark-haired man said, chuckling.


    "Lame party? Just you wait. I¡¯ll throw an explosive party! You¡¯ll enjoy..." Jenilia said, but before she could even finish, everything changed.


    All she saw was the fire everywhere and a booming sound that came from the speaker of herptop. The connection was gone... Everything turned ck.


    "Brother!" Jenilia yelled at the top of her lungs.


    ....


    In a different city of Alekia, a blonde man was standing on the roof. There was a smirk on his face as he looked at the sky. A ne had just blown up in the sky, and now it was falling down.


    The blonde man tapped his earpiece before speaking. "Mission isplete. The target is down."


    "Good work. You can alsoe back. Get out of there." A voice fell in his ears,ing from the earpiece.


    The blonde man was one of the most trusted men of Kellian. He was known as Das Zioni. He was a powerful Warlock who was an expert in long-range attacks.


    Before sending Tristan, Kellian had actually sent Das here because he wasn¡¯t sure if Tristan was fine or not.


    After meeting Tristan, he modified his n and sent Tristan for the mission as well since he was more qualified for this mission. As for Das, he was moved to backup.


    Both these men were sent to two different cities. It was to make sure that the ne came down. Kellian had already arranged this backup n. If Tristan was to fail for some unfortunate reason, Das was waiting in another city to take the ne down.


    Now that the mission was over, it was the turn of the two of them to return to Elisium, making sure not to leave any trace of the Uprising in that city.


    Das reached the airport of the city he was in, where a ne was already waiting for him. His flight was booked as well.


    Simrly, Tristan also went to the airport of his city. Contrary to Das, he was upset. He still couldn¡¯t believe that he had failed. And he had failed so badly.


    Even though Kellian had informed him that the mission was sessful, he still couldn¡¯t find himself to be happy.


    ...


    A strange creature appeared behind Uzuki and the others without making any noise.


    The spikes on their body started getting bigger as they closed in on the other without making any noise.


    "So, shall we leave?" Uzuki repeated his question.


    "No. We can¡¯t leave like that. Who knows, these men might be left alive. We need to finish the mission now that we¡¯re here," Lucifer replied.


    "Doesn¡¯t that mean we¡¯ll have to fight that creature as well?" Uzuki asked.


    " I¡¯ll take care of those creatures. You take out the Warlocks of Hunter Union," Lucifer said, without looking back. "Today, we won¡¯t be leaving without killing them."


    "Fine. You take care of those... Wait a minute? Did you say creatures? Isn¡¯t there only one there?" Uzuki let out, confused. He didn¡¯t understand why he talked as if there were more than one.


    "No. I meant creatures indeed. I wasn¡¯t talking about one," Lucifer grimly said.

 Chapter 372 - 372: Caught

    <h4>Chapter 372 - 372: Caught </h4>


    "As I said, I¡¯ll take care of the creature in front of you. And I¡¯ll also take care of the creature behind you," Lucifer said as winds moved back.


    Everyone¡¯s hair flew with the wind, which brushed against their skin.


    Screech!


    A screeching sound filled the entire hall. Everyone turned back to find that strange creature standing behind them. It was the one that was screeching in pain.


    It was all because Lucifer sliced the spikes that were reaching out towards his team members. In fact, one of the spikes was just a few inches behind Uzuki and Cassius when Lucifer sliced them all.


    "To hurt my team, you¡¯ll need my permission first," Lucifer said as he flew towards the ugly beast behind them.


    Tens of spikes came out of that creature to impale Lucifer, who was flying towards him.


    None of these spikes reached him though. His wind des kept slicing all the spikes that wereing towards him, making that creature scream in pain as it started climbing the wall to run.


    "Not going to happen," Lucifer dered, using his lightning to kill the beast. His wind des were useful in cutting the spikes, but they weren¡¯t able to harm the skin of this creature which was as hard as metal.


    Unfortunately, even with that skin, he couldn¡¯t escape lightning. The pitch ck lightning bolt closed in on the creature, ready to impale him.


    Before the lightning bolt could hit that creature, a golden energy barrier appeared in front of him to protect this creature.


    Unfortunately for this creature, even the barrier couldn¡¯t resist the lightning. The barrier shattered like a ss window, breaking into pieces.


    It couldn¡¯t provide any protection at all. The lightning bolt passed through the forehead of the strange creature, leaving a big hole in his head. The creature dropped to the ground.


    "Why aren¡¯t you all attacking?" Lucifer asked everyone, realizing that they were still standing there without even looking back.


    "Ah, you should look back," Uzuki softly said.


    Lucifer turned around, wondering what they were talking about. He soon realized it though.


    Now he understood why everyone was asking for him to turn back.


    He was able to see the entire Hunter Union Squad facing them. Now that their faces were in their direction, he could see more clearly.


    These people... Didn¡¯t look human.


    And a strange parasite-like insect was growing out of their chest where that strange creature¡¯s spike had impaled them.


    Moreover, the eyes of these men were pitch ck. The ugly Parasite-like insects were wriggling around their chest.


    "No matter what happens, don¡¯t let those spikes hit you! You understand? I think those have some strange effect of making you lose your senses while leaving the controlling parasites inside your body!" Lucifer warned everyone.


    " Don¡¯t make the mistake of underestimating them like the Hunter Union did if you don¡¯t want to end up looking like that!" he added.


    "Alicia! It¡¯s your responsibility! Stand back and stay prepared with our barriers! Keep your eyes open! Wherever someone is about to hit with the spikes, protect them with your barriers and get them more."


    "Uzuki, you also stay back. You¡¯re a long-range fighter. You¡¯re of no use in this battle!"


    "Yaliza, take care of the Hunter Union members if someone gets past me! Kill them all without letting that parasite touch you!"


    "Cassius, I¡¯m going after that creature. Provide me back up!"


    Aftermanding everyone, Lucifer flew towards the other Dungeon Dweller standing behind the wall of Hunter Union Members.


    Just like Lucifer flew towards that creature, the Hunter Union members ran towards him, prepared to attack.


    "Cassius, now!" Lucifer yelled without looking back.


    Cassius shed with his sword horizontally. The beam of his Divine Sword Energy flew like lightning towards Lucifer.


    Just as the arc of light reached him, Lucifer flew higher, dodging the arc of light. As for the attack, it hit the Hunter Union Members, slicing most of them in half.


    Only a few of them had managed to escape, jumping at thest moment. As for the ones who dodged, it included Zeiss, Zaria, and a few other top warlocks.


    Even though they had lost their sense, they still had some reflexes and their powers to help them.


    "Without your senses, you¡¯re all nothing but puppets. You¡¯re useless," Lucifer dered, firing hundreds of lightning bolts, attacking the lost Warlocks.


    Most of the people that had dodged the sword attack couldn¡¯t Dodge the des, and they weren¡¯t smart enough to know how to protect them now that they had lost their senses and even brains.


    This time, only Zeiss survived, casting a protective barrier in front of him to protect him from the wind des.


    Lucifer fired a lightning bolt this time. He knew, if there was actual Zeiss before him, he could still find a way to escape but not this one.


    Just as Lucifer expected, this guy formed the barrier again, not using any brain. The barrier shattered, and the bolt impaled the body of Zeiss.


    Without forgetting, Lucifer fired another lightning bolt at the creature that was on the chest of Zeiss.


    As Lucifer killed Zeiss, almost all of the Hunter Union members here were dead. No one managed to get past him at all.


    Tuck!


    The sound of something hitting came from behind Lucifer. Turning around, he noticed that the beast had attacked him with a spike again, but Alicia cast her barrier to stop that attack before it could even reach Lucifer.


    Alicia continued casting more and more barriers, soon locking that beast in the prison of barriers.


    "Well, that was easier than we thought," Uzukimented, smiling. They had killed the Hunter Union so easily, all thanks to this creature, and now, they had trapped him as well.


    Lucifernded on the ground, right in front of the beast which was struggling in the barrier. His spikes weren¡¯t able to break the barrier.


    "It¡¯s weaker than I expected. For a beast to not be able to break your barriers, it¡¯s not strong. I guess that¡¯s why the stone beast had the Beast Core and not this guy," Lucifer said, turning around.


    He looked at Alicia and others, putting his guard down. His back faced the strange creature who was inside the barrier cage.


    "I wonder how it managed to catch all Hunter Union members. I know they probably underestimated him, but they shouldn¡¯t have mattered this much," he said, only to then hear a shattering sound.


    The barrier of Alicia was shattered by the spike of this creature. The spike impaled Lucifer, entering from his back and leaving from his chest.


    Something akin to a smile formed on the lips of this ugly beast.

 Chapter 373 - 373: Sixth Ability!

    <h4>Chapter 373 - 373: Sixth Ability! </h4>


    Even though Lucifer had told everyone else to stay alert, he himself lowered his defenses after seeing that the beast wasn¡¯t able to break the barrier.


    He didn¡¯t realize that the beast was much more clever than it looked. It was just pretending that he wasn¡¯t able to break the barrier, waiting for an opportunity like this.


    Seeing Lucifer stop close to him, his n was already a sess. Not only that, but Lucifer turned his back on him, which pleased him even more.


    The ck spike impaled Lucifer,ing out from his chest.


    As the spike entered the body of Lucifer, he froze in ce as if his mind was being attacked.


    Alicia took action, slicing the spike of this creature, separating the two.


    Yaliza also acted fast as he caught Lucifer and jumped back. Hended ten meters away from the strange creature that was now free.


    Alicia again cast her barrier prison, knowing that it wasn¡¯t going to stop this beast. It was all to give a chance to Cassius to make his attack.


    Just as Alicia expected, the barrier was broken instantly. The beast jumped towards the two of them while its ck spikes extended to impale Cassius and Alicia as well.


    ....


    "Lucifer, are you alright?" Standing before Lucifer, Yaliza asked.


    Lucifer didn¡¯t react. There was simply a frown on his face as if he was in difort. A parasite-like insect started growing in his chest, rapidly bing bigger.


    "Enough!" Lucifer roared as he used his left hand.


    He inserted his hand inside his own chest, catching the insect that was growing inside him, near his heart.


    As he used his left hand, which didn¡¯t have gloves, his decay started acting as soon as he touched that insect.


    The insect that was getting bigger while attacking the mindset of Lucifer started being destroyed because of the decay. The attacks on Lucifer¡¯s mind also stopped.


    Soon, the insect was utterly destroyed, but for some strange reason, it didn¡¯t turn to dust. Instead, it simply disappeared.


    Lucifer brought his hand out of his chest, letting the wounds heal as he sat on the ground, breathing heavily.


    "Are you alright?" Yaliza asked again.


    "Yeah. I¡¯m fine," Lucifer replied, but he was feeling something strange as well. Something was different about his body.


    He certainly felt stronger now that he had used the decay on this creature, but it was the first time he did that when the creature was inside his own body. And the effect seemed different.


    It wasn¡¯t just the strength he received from the decay. It was something else as well.


    He slowly raised his left hand, observing it. As he focused on his hand, he noticed something strange. He was able to make somethinge out of his fingers. And it wasn¡¯t lightning.


    ck spikes simr to the spikes of the ugly creature came from his fingers, as sharp as knives.


    "This...?" Yaliza was stunned to see this ability of Lucifer.


    It seemed exactly the same as the creature in front of him. The only difference was that spikes weren¡¯ting from Lucifer¡¯s entire body


    After a little more focus, Lucifer was able to retract the spikes, bringing his hand back to normal.


    "Did you... Receive the powers of that creature?¡¯ Yaliza asked in disbelief.


    "Probably," Lucifer muttered, surprised himself.


    He raised his hand again, trying to test this theory more. He had seen this creature form an energy barrierst time. He wanted to see if he was able to do that as well.


    He had many skills but none of the defensive abilities. Even though the barrier wasn¡¯t the strongest, it was certainly good if he could cast the barrier on himself.


    Within seconds, a bright violet energy barrier formed around Lucifer.


    "It¡¯s a simr barrier, but the color is slightly different," Yalizamented. "I guess it¡¯s true! You actually stole the powers of that creature! How did you do it?"


    Lucifer himself was surprised, but he had some idea.


    ¡¯My decay steals the life energy of the beings that I use it on. But this must be a different ability. If I use decay when those creatures are inside my body, I can not only absorb more life energy but their powers as well.¡¯


    ¡¯Nothing is wasted since the process happens inside my body,¡¯ he thought, observing the rapidly healing wound on his chest.


    He realized that this was only possible because of his healing. If he didn¡¯t have super healing, he would have died from the wound long ago.


    Once again, he realized how perfect his Decay and Healing paired.


    Both of those abilitiesplimented each other so well. If what he thought was true, then he had found a cheat that could help him in the future.


    He wanted to test more to find the limits of this skill and to understand how it worked.


    "Even I don¡¯t know the answer to your question," Lucifer told Yaliza. Even though he knew how his power worked, he preferred not to tell anyone at all.


    Bam!


    A loud crashing sound brought Yaliza and Lucifer¡¯s attention back to more important things. They realized that they were still facing a powerful beast.


    Lucifer looked in the direction of that loud noise to find Cassius standing there.


    A giant crater was under him, and his clothes were dirty as well, making it evident that he had just crashed on the ground. His sword was still in his hand though.


    As for Alicia, she kept moving back while attacking, but her attacks weren¡¯t able to harm that creature. His skin was just too hard. Alicia didn¡¯t have any powerful attacks like Lucifer.


    Uzuki was standing far away from the action. He was a close-range fighter, and he knew that standing close to this creature was no less than a death verdict. He didn¡¯t want to be a mindless puppet.


    "I¡¯ll go help them," Lucifer told Yaliza as he took off the glove from his right hand. He kept his only glove in his pocket.


    ...


    Cassius prepared to attack again, but the beast noticed that. He felt more threatened by Cassius than he felt by Alicia. That was why he wanted to attack Cassius first, even before.


    Unfortunately for him, Cassius had used his sword as a shield to protect himself from the spikes that were about to impale his chestst time.


    That impact between the spike and his sword was enough to throw him back.


    Now that Cassius was up, he prepared himself to attack again, only to find the beast jumping towards him. Tens of spikes extended towards Cassius, ready to impale him.

 Chapter 374 - 374: Infinite Possibilities

    <h4>Chapter 374 - 374: Infinite Possibilities </h4>


    Instead of being scared, a smile formed on the face of Cassius as he saw the beast flying towards him.


    It was all because he saw someone. Lucifer was flying above the beast. The spikes that were extending towards Cassius were sliced by the wind des.


    The beast also realized that Lucifer was above him. Spikes came from his back, attacking Lucifer again.


    This time, Lucifer waspletely prepared for it. His wind des once again shed the spikes.


    He didn¡¯t attack with his lightning since he wanted to test something.


    Spikes came out from his fingers, stabbing the ugly beast.


    The beast¡¯s pitch-ck eyes opened wide as the spikes prated his body. Even his hard skin didn¡¯t protect him.


    He started falling to the ground. Lucifer went down with the beast, not letting his finger spikese out.


    Thump!


    With a thump, the beast fell to the ground. It wasn¡¯t moving at all. It was facing the same thing that Lucifer faced.


    The reaction of Lucifer¡¯s spikes with the creature¡¯s blood brought another parasite into existence inside his bloodstream.


    Despite being the original beast of this skill, he wasn¡¯t able to stop the parasite inside his body. It was under the control of Lucifer now. As for his own mind, it soon went nk.


    "Do you think you can control it like it was able to control Hunter Union members?" Yaliza appeared beside Lucifer.


    He was able to guess why Lucifer didn¡¯t kill the beast. Lucifer was using the same skill as this beast.


    "I¡¯m just testing if it works. So far, I think it does work. I feel a connection being established between the parasite inside his body and me. Time to test what it can do," Lucifer said as he retracted his spikes.


    Everyone else who was present here watched everything in shock. None of them knew that Lucifer had stolen the abilities of this creature.


    Lucifer¡¯s hand returned to normal.


    "Stand up!" Hemanded.


    The ugly creature stood up, hearing Lucifer¡¯smands.


    "Is he... under your control now?" Cassius asked Lucifer.


    Lucifer nodded. "I believe so. All of you should still stand back just to be safe."


    Everyone stepped back, giving space to Lucifer.


    "Ask it to dance! Let¡¯s see if it actually listens!" Uzuki suggested from a distance.


    "Go and hug that guy," Lucifermanded, pointed towards Uzuki.


    As he finished, the beast started running towards Uzuki.


    "What the heck?! I don¡¯t want to hug that ugly thing!¡¯ Uzuki eximed as he started running away.


    "Stop!" Lucifermanded. The beast stopped.


    "Come back to me!"


    "Sit down!"


    "Stand!"


    "Attack that wall with your spikes!"


    Lucifer keptmanding the beast to test his theory. The beast followed all hismands.


    "I think it worked. That¡¯s enough testing. Let¡¯s kill it and leave!" Uzuki suggested, returning to the group now that he wasn¡¯t being chased by this ugly beast.


    "We still can¡¯t be sure if it¡¯s pretending or not. You can¡¯t put your defenses down," Alicia reminded Lucifer, still suspicious of this creature.


    " It might be the same trick he pulled when he pretended to be trapped in my barriers, only to attack you when you weren¡¯t looking!"


    "I know. That¡¯s why I want to test something else. It¡¯ll be thest test. It can¡¯t pretend with this," Lucifer replied, not taking his eyes off the beast.


    "Don¡¯t move as I kill you!" he gave hisstmand to the beast that nkly stood in its ce.


    Lucifer ced his right hand on the head of the beast, letting his decay take effect. The body of this creature started decaying.


    Even as the beast decayed, it didn¡¯t move at all. It didn¡¯t resist at all. It was as if Lucifer¡¯s orders were absolute, even if it meant dying.


    The beast soon turned to dust which fell on the ground.


    "I guess it wasn¡¯t pretending at all," Lucifer muttered, walking towards the body of Zeiss.


    He used his decay and destroyed Zeiss. He used the same skill on every other Hunter Union Warlock, killing them.


    "We¡¯re done here." Finished with everything, Lucifer wore his right glove and started leaving.


    He opened the door and stepped outside. Others also followed him.


    ....


    For half an hour, no one spoke anything even though they all had tons of questions in their heads.


    There wasplete silence.


    The silence was ultimately broken by Cassius. "How were you able to use the powers of that creature?"


    "Yeah. Are you able to copy powers now? Wait! Were you able to copy powers for a long time? Can you use mine?" Alicia also chimed in, now that the topic was brought up.


    "I can¡¯t steal powers or copy them," Lucifer straight answered. "You can rest assured."


    "Then how were you able to use the powers of that beast?" Uzuki asked.


    "He gave it to me himself," Lucifer replied. "I think I received his powers when his spikes entered my body. Probably because of the parasite that it left inside my body."


    "So we can also get the powers of that beast if he had stabbed us?" Uzuki asked. "His powers were certainly cool."


    "Now that I think about it, isn¡¯t this powers simr to that girl Milena of the Divine Empire? She can turn people to her loyal servants by drinking the blood of fallen beings?"


    "Simrly, you can turn people to your puppets by using your spikes?" he added, finding the simrities.


    "If you want that power, I can try giving them to you. All you need to do is have a spike impale your chest," Lucifer replied.


    "Then defeat the parasite, stop yourself from turning into a mindless puppet and then heal from the life-threatening wound which will be the hole in your heart. It¡¯s simple. Do it." he suggested, bringing a spike out of his left middle finger.


    "Ah, I¡¯m fine. I don¡¯t want that power. Now that you mention it like that, only people who have infinite healing can achieve this. You¡¯re lucky," Uzuki responded.


    "Yeah. But still, next time you should be careful. I mean,e on! You¡¯re our leader. You told us to be careful when going in, and then you yourself weren¡¯t careful. You were lucky this time, but that might not be the case next time," Alicia chimed in.


    "I know. I should¡¯ve been careful there. Lesson learned. Moreover, it turned out in my favor. Now I have this new skill," Lucifer epted that he made a mistake.


    ¡¯Now I also have knowledge. I just need more tests. How can I absorb more power? The future is going to be really painful, it seems,¡¯ he thought, sighing.


    To test this skill, he needed to repeat what happened, and that certainly was painful, but he also had hope for the future. This one trip to the dungeon had changed everything for him.


    The Dungeon he thought to be the Dungeon of Darkness turned out to be a Dungeon of infinite possibilities.

 Chapter 375 - 375: Hes Not Your Friend

    <h4>Chapter 375 - 375: He''s Not Your Friend </h4>


    Kellian had just received the information that Das seeded in the mission. The ne of the Warlock Council was down.


    He had alreadymanded both Das and Tristan to return before he left his office, prepared to meet the Guild Leaders of Guilds that were affiliated to the Hunter Union.


    The Guild Leaders of the top fifty guilds were called here for this meeting. As for the weaker guilds, they were going to be informed of everything over a message.


    The Guild Leaders were forced to wait for hours, making a few of them impatient.


    Despite having to wait, none of them even dared to make a ruckus. The reputation of Variant Uprising was much different than the reputation of Hunter Union.


    If anyone created trouble here, it was clear that they were going to be killed. Uprising controlled everything now.


    "How long do we have to wait? I have a feeling that it¡¯s all intentional. They want to make us wait to establish themselves as superior," the Leader of Rank 2 Guildmented.


    He was a bulky man who waspletely bare chested at the moment.


    "Yeah. That should be the case. I use this trick as well," Another guild leader affirmed.


    Most of the Guild Leaders agreed that Uprising actually didn¡¯t have anything important to do. It¡¯s just that they were intentionally making them wait.


    "Unfortunately, we can¡¯t do anything but wait. Hunter Union is gone. We¡¯re too weak to stand against the Uprising. Moreover, I don¡¯t think any of us can face the kid who defeated Varant, can we?" The leader of the Rank 5 guild said, sighing.


    Everyone else also sighed, realizing their own positions.


    "That¡¯s true. We can do nothing but wait." A man said who had been silent since the start. He was the Guild Leader of the Rank 1 Guild under Hunter Union.


    He was also the strongest of all the Guild Leaders present here.


    There was also one more person here, sitting in the back. Previously, he happened to be the leader of one of the top ten Guilds, but after an unfortunate event, most of his guild was wiped out.


    After that, he still continued the Guild, but its ranking fell. It was now ranked eleventh. It was known as the Red Eagles Guild.


    As for the unfortunate event that happened, it was caused by Lucifer himself when he annihted most of the Red Eagle Guild. And the ones that survived were killed by Dungeon Dwellers that attacked the city.


    The Red Eagle Guild Leader was known as Derek Quinn. He was a blonde-haired man dressed in a red jacket. Based on his looks, he seemed to be in his early thirties.


    At the time when Lucifer had the conflict with the Red Eagles Guild, he happened to be inside a Dungeon with his team. It was only after he came out that he found out about what happened to his guild.


    Since then, he had been searching for Lucifer.


    He had almost given up hope of ever finding Lucifer after so many years passed.


    Surprisingly, just as he gave up on his revenge, he saw the broadcast on TV which mentioned Lucifer bing the new leader of Uprising and of Elisium.


    As he saw Lucifer on the screen, mes of revenge were reignited inside his heart.


    He had decided toe to the Capital City to take out Lucifer himself, but before he could, he got a message that he was invited for a meeting by the Uprising.


    He immediately epted the invitation and came straight here, waiting for the right opportunity to face Lucifer.


    The gates of the hall opened, and four men stepped inside, led by Kellian. He was followed by three powerful Warlocks of the Uprising.


    "I apologize for making you all wait. I was caught in important work. Now that I¡¯m here let¡¯s start," Kellian said as he took the main seat. The other Warlocks stood behind him.


    "What do you mean? Why isn¡¯t Lucifer here?! How can the meeting start without him?" Derekined.


    Hearing hisints, Kellian frowned.


    "May I ask why it matters to you if our leader is here personally or not? You¡¯re just the Guild Leaders. You¡¯re not the Hunter Union leader or a Warlock King for him to meet you."


    "Also, I would advise you not to lose your manners. He¡¯s our leader. You can¡¯t address him by name. He¡¯s not your friend," he said, not being kind at all.


    "You-" Derek didn¡¯t know how to reply to this. He had just asked where Lucifer was, and Kellian snapped.


    "I am just saying that it would¡¯ve been nice if he was here as well. I mean, we¡¯ll be working for him from now on. He should at least meet us," Derek improvised, improving his tone. He couldn¡¯t lose control before meeting Lucifer.


    "He¡¯ll meet you when he wants to. That¡¯s all I¡¯ll say," Kellianzily replied. "Now, back to the topic."


    "We called you here to inform you about the changes that will be made going forward. These are important changes, so you must listen carefully."


    "Firstly, I¡¯m sure that you know about it, but the Hunter Union is no more. You¡¯ll work for us from now on. As for your work, it¡¯ll be the same as before. You need to keep the Dungeons in control."


    "Next, we¡¯re making a Hunter Oversight Committee. It¡¯ll consist of Uprising Members."


    "Every month, they¡¯ll inspect your Guilds and check your progress and the status of the dungeons under you. It¡¯s all so that things can move smoothly. I hope you¡¯ll support themittee."


    "Another thing, If it is discovered by the oversightmittee that any of you were scheming against the Uprising, you¡¯ll face the wrath of Uprising."


    "So I hope you¡¯ll keep that in mind. Don¡¯t do anything stupid because we have ways to know."


    Kellian kept talking about the new rules that all Guilds needed to follow. Most of these weren¡¯t too shocking. The Guild Leaders didn¡¯t oppose any of the rules.


    Only the thing about the Hunter Oversight Committee was surprising. It meant that they were constantly under the radar of Uprising now.


    It was also understandable. The Uprising was now ruling Elisium. They were taking steps to make sure no one could betray them.


    "Andstly, whenever we need you, you muste at once. It doesn¡¯t matter what you¡¯re doing."


    "When we¡¯re under attack, you need toe to support us. If you don¡¯te despite our call, you¡¯ll be considered a traitor. And you¡¯ll be disposed," Kellian spoke about the final rule.


    "So, do any of you have objections? If you do, now is the time to speak," he reminded everyone before he sat calmly, waiting for a response.

 Chapter 376 - 376: Youre So Smart

    <h4>Chapter 376 - 376: You''re So Smart </h4>


    None of the leaders raised any objections. Even though none of them wanted the sword of the Oversight Committee hanging on their heads, they couldn¡¯t oppose that either.


    If they opposed it, it would just show that they weren¡¯t going to be loyal, which wasn¡¯t the impression they wanted to make at the moment. Even the Rank 1 Guild Leader stayed silent.


    "That¡¯s good. It¡¯s settled then. You can leave." Kellian stood up and started leaving.


    "Ah, excuse me, Mr. Kellian?"


    "Yes?" Kellian asked, turning around.


    "I was just wondering if I could meet Mr. Lucifer. He saved our entire nation. I really wanted to meet and thank him personally," Derek said, giving an excuse on why he wanted to meet Lucifer.


    "Well, that¡¯s really nice of you. But you can¡¯t meet him right now. I¡¯ll tell him about you. If he wants, you¡¯ll get to meet him in the future," Kellian responded.


    "What was your name though? Which guild are you from?"


    Kellian only knew the faces of the leaders of the top five guilds. He hadn¡¯t learned the faces of others beforeing to this meeting.


    As for the verification and other stuff, it was handled by the other Warlocks.


    One of the Uprising Warlocks chimed in to help since he knew the information. "He is Derek¡¯s Quinn, from Red Eagles Guild."


    "Red Eagles Guild? I think I heard that name before," Kellian muttered. "Very interesting. You can go. I¡¯ll inform your guild if a meeting can be arranged."


    He departed with his team.


    The Guild Leaders also left the building. Most of them left the city, going back to their Guilds. Some of them stayed behind in the city.


    Derek was one of the few that stayed inside the city.


    ...


    Kellian and his team members were walking in a corridor, discussing something.


    "Jean, isn¡¯t the Red Eagles Guild the one which was destroyed by Lucifer when he was young?"


    A red-haired woman was walking behind him.


    She nodded. "That¡¯s right. He had a conflict with the Red Eagles Guild. If I¡¯m not wrong, Lucifer killed their Vice Leader."


    "He also killed a lot of their members. He didn¡¯tpletely destroy them though. The Dungeon Dwellers finished thempletely."


    "That¡¯s certainly interesting. If I were their guild leader, I would have definitely tried to get my revenge. This guy, on the other hand, talks about thanking Lucifer? This doesn¡¯t match up. Are you thinking what I¡¯m thinking?" Kellian asked, smirking.


    "He probably wants to get to Lucifer without having to fight us so he could kill him," Jean let out, taking an intelligent guess.


    "That should be the case. None of the guild leaders were that interested in meeting Lucifer. The only one who looked too eager was him. He¡¯s certainly here to kill Lucifer," Kellian affirmed.


    "Do you want me to take him out?" Jean asked.


    Kellian nced at Jean, smiling. "You¡¯re so smart."


    "It will be done," Jean understood the meaning of Kellian. She turned around and left.


    Kellian went to his office and got back to work.


    ....


    A passenger flightnded in the capital city. A young man was also inside that flight. He was none other than Warlock King Szar Lucia, who hade to meet Lucifer.


    Leaving the airport, he went to the building which was being upied by the Uprising.


    As Vega was keeping an eye on Szar Lucia, he had already informed Kellian about this.


    As soon as Szar left Legion City, Lucifer entered the Dungeon, which was why he couldn¡¯t be informed about the arrival of Szar.


    ....


    Ring! Ring!


    As soon as Lucifer stepped out of the Dungeon, his phone started ringing.


    He picked the call and ced the phone near his ears. "Yeah?"


    "You¡¯re finally out. I think you should get to Capital City fast," Vega informed Lucifer.


    "Did something happen?" Lucifer asked, not understanding what was so urgent that needed his presence.


    "Warlock King Szar Lucia has justnded in the Capital City. And he¡¯s going towards the new Uprising base in the Capital," Vega informed Lucifer.


    "Szar? Why did hee to Capital? If he¡¯s there with Kellian... Then the Predictor¡¯s vision about the death... I¡¯ll take care of it." Lucifer stepped inside the helicopter, which was waiting for them.


    The two Variants that were guarding the entrance of the Dungeon watched Lucifer and his team step out. They were just about to ask when they saw Lucifer running towards the helicopter.


    "Hey, wait! What about Zeiss? Is he really...?"


    "Zeiss is actually dead. The information was correct," Cassius informed the Hunter Union Variants before he ran after Lucifer.


    He also stepped inside the helicopter.


    After telling the pilot to take them back as fast as possible, Lucifer returned to his seat.


    "Did something happen?" Cassius asked Lucifer, wondering what he heard over the call, which made him so eager to return.


    "Kellian¡¯s life is in danger," Lucifer answered in short before calling Kellian.


    ...


    Kellian was sitting in his office when his phone started ringing.


    Raising the phone, he noticed Lucifer¡¯s number. He instantly picked up the call.


    "You¡¯re out of Dungeon?" he asked.


    "I am. But that¡¯s not important. What¡¯s important is that Szar Lucia ising towards you," Lucifer informed Kellian.


    "I know. And I intend to wee him," Kellian replied calmly.


    "You¡¯ll do no such thing. You won¡¯t meet him until I get here!" Lucifer firmlymanded.


    "Is this about that dream?" Kellian asked, standing up. He walked over to the window and looked outside. "It wasn¡¯t a prediction."


    "Don¡¯t take that dream lightly. Just stay away from Szar for a little. Send someone else to greet him if he gets there with kind intentions. And if he¡¯s there to fight, even then, you can¡¯te before him," Lucifer stated.


    "If he¡¯s here to fight, I can¡¯t ignore him. We already lost most of our members. We can¡¯t afford to lose more," Kellian replied.


    "I really think you shouldn¡¯t take that dream seriously. There¡¯s a good chance it wasn¡¯t a prediction but a random dream of Predictor,"


    He was able to see Szar Lucia outside the building through the window.


    "It seems like he¡¯s already here," Kellian said, but he didn¡¯t get any reply from Lucifer.


    "Hello? Are you there?"


    He looked at the screen of his phone to realize that his phone didn¡¯t have any battery left. It had switched off.


    He walked to the table and ced the phone on charging.


    ...


    "This idiot!" Lucifer let out as the call was disconnected.


    He thought that Kellian intentionally disconnected the call since he didn¡¯t want to talk about this.


    He called again, but the number was out of reach.

 Chapter 377 - 377: Carnage

    <h4>Chapter 377 - 377: Carnage </h4>


    Lucifer kept trying the number of Kellian, but it didn¡¯t connect.


    "What did he say?" Yaliza asked Lucifer, concerned about his friend as well. He also knew about the dream.


    "Szar is already there. I doubt Kellian is going to listen to me," Lucifer answered. "Hopefully, he would at least be able to dy Szar until we get there."


    ...


    Kellian properly adjusted his jacket before leaving his office. Instead of letting Szare to him, he was going to walk to Szar himself.


    Along the way, more Uprising Warlocks joined him.


    ..


    Szar Lucia found the new headquarters of the Uprising, which was temporarily made in the Capital City. As for their real headquarters, it was to be madeter. They had just taken over this ce.


    Szar reached the entrance of the building, which was being guarded by a Warlock of Uprising. It was an S-Rank Warlock who didn¡¯t have any hair on his round head.


    The Warlock known as Gallente had dark eyes that nced at Szar Lucia, who wasing to him.


    He recognized Szar, but he still decided to stop him. He couldn¡¯t let anyone enter without permission of Kellian.


    "Warlock King Szar, please wait right there. You first need to go through checking!"


    "I don¡¯t have time," Szarzily said, not stopping.


    "I¡¯m afraid I must insist," Gallente stepped in front of Szar, blocking his path.


    "I stand by my statement," Szar said, walking casually with his hand in his pocket.


    As Szar nced at Gallente, time seemed to have slowed down. The movement speed of Gallente was that of a turtle now.


    Szar walked with his normal speed, getting past Gallente, who hadn¡¯t even managed to move his hand in this time.


    Gallente noticed that Szar was moving so fast that he couldn¡¯t catch up.


    His own speed wasn¡¯tparable. But for Szar, he wasn¡¯t moving fast. It was Gallente who was too slow. Ten seconds of Gallente were simr to one second of Szar.


    Gallente was still caught in his slow movement, whereas Szar had already reached the entrance of the building.


    Bringing his hand out of his pocket, he pushed the door open.


    As Szar entered the building, Gallente finally came out of the time maniption he was caught in.


    Warlock King Szar Lucia was one of the most mystical Warlocks. Not many people knew what his powers were.


    Almost everyone thought that his powers were that he had super speed and high endurance, but everyone was wrong.


    Warlock King Szar Lucia had the power of Time Maniption. He could slow down the time in his surroundings to some extent, making everything else slow down while he was able to move freely.


    Everyone outside his range was unaffected by his powers though. This was also the limitation of his powers.


    It didn¡¯t affect people who weren¡¯t in his range. That¡¯s why he kept the workings of his powers a secret.


    It was also a power that was hard to guess since it was difficult to distinguish that it wasn¡¯t Szar who was fast, but it was the world that was slow.


    Using this strange power, he had been able to climb the hierarchy and be a Warlock King.


    "Warlock King Szar Lucia, may I ask what brought you here?"


    As soon as Szar entered the building, he was greeted by Kellian and other Warlocks standing in his path.


    "You must be Kellian from Uprising, also known as the Shadow Monarch. You should be the second inmand here, am I right?" Szar Lucia asked.


    "I am. So what brought you here?" Kellian calmly asked.


    "I¡¯m here to meet Lucifer," Szar exined.


    "I¡¯m sorry, but he¡¯s not in the city at the moment. You¡¯ll have toe backter."


    "Why do I find it hard to believe your words. Ah, maybe because you¡¯re not the good guys. You¡¯re the people using Lucifer for your goals, so of course, you¡¯ll keep him hidden. But I¡¯m not going back without him. Tell me where he is?"


    "I told you, he¡¯s not here. Stop being paranoid and leave. I¡¯ll inform you when he returns."


    "You won¡¯t mind if I check myself, right?"


    " I¡¯m sorry, but I can¡¯t let you do that either. This is our base, not a park where anyone can roam freely."


    "Should I consider it as your unwillingness to let me see for myself? That makes me even more suspicious of this ce. I¡¯m going to check myself. Step aside if you don¡¯t want to get hurt."


    A calm conversation turned into something more serious, ending with a threating from Szar Lucia.


    "You¡¯re an idiot; you know that?" Kellian asked, shaking his head. "When he isn¡¯t here, you¡¯re still insisting so much, as if you¡¯re so sure."


    "Step aside!" Szar insisted.


    Kellian sighed, remembering Lucifer¡¯s words. Lucifer didn¡¯t want any fight here, so he decided to follow those words.


    "Fine! You can check. But what if you don¡¯t find him? Will you apologize for this aggression?" he asked.


    "We¡¯ll see about thatter." Withoutmenting on anything, Szar continued walking inside.


    ...


    "Vega, I can¡¯t contact Kellian. What¡¯s the update? Do you know why Szar is there?" Unable to talk to Kellian, Lucifer contacted Vega.


    "Yeah. I don¡¯t think there¡¯s any need to worry. Apparently, he¡¯s there to meet you and not to fight," Vega exined.


    Hearing the update on the situation, Lucifer finally felt better. There was no need to worry. Still, he didn¡¯tpletely put his guard down.


    "That¡¯s good, but still stay alert. I don¡¯t want Kellian hurt. That prediction can¡¯te true!"


    ...


    Szar Lucia checked the entire building, unable to find Lucifer. The entire building was filled with silence as it was upied by less than a hundred people at the moment, making it easy to search the whole ce.


    Szar finished the search on the terrace.


    "See? He¡¯s not here. Are you satisfied now?" Kellian asked Szar, standing under the clear sky.


    "You¡¯re right," Szar agreed. "Where is he then?"


    "Why do you want to meet him?" Kellian also asked before answering.


    "Because I want to take him with me, away from all this carnage," Szar replied, turning his back on Kellian.


    He looked at the beautiful setting sun in the distance.


    "Yeah, that¡¯s impossible. He wanted this. He wanted Elisium to be governed by Variants."


    "What you see is what he wanted. You can never take him away from this. For him, it¡¯s not a Carnage, but it¡¯s the future that he wants. So you should give up," Kellian pointed out. "He¡¯ll nevere with you."


    "Yeah, he won¡¯t because of you all, I know. You¡¯re the ones that messed with his brain. You think I don¡¯t know the ability of Raia?" Szar asked, turning around.


    "As long as I remove the obstruction known as Uprising, he¡¯ll definitelye with me," he added, smiling. "It¡¯s good that he¡¯s not here at the moment. I can freely take care of this mess."

 Chapter 378 - 378: Hell Understand

    <h4>Chapter 378 - 378: He''ll Understand </h4>


    "What are you trying to say? Are you implying Raia manipted his memories? And that¡¯s why he¡¯s helping us? Aren¡¯t you conveniently forgetting what he went through in his life? This was what he wanted after what he faced! No one manipted him!"


    Kellian rified their stance. Lucifer was doing everything of his own volition.


    "And I should believe you because...?" Szar asked, staring at Kellian.


    "I know he had a rough childhood. Because of some stupid people, he suffered so much. But it¡¯s all because he didn¡¯t have someone to guide him! He would certainly have wanted his revenge which he got when he destroyed the facility!"


    "That was where he should have been done, but you dragged him into a deeper mess. And you say you didn¡¯t manipte him? He¡¯s the son of Zale Azarel! He deserves a better life than this mess!" Szar stated firmly.


    "As long as you all exist, he won¡¯t have the peaceful life that I want him to have. The conflict will keep following him as long as he¡¯s with you. So I just have to take you all out. And I¡¯ll start that with you," he added as he casually started walking towards Kellian.


    An invisible domain spread in his surroundings which no one but him could see. Time slowed down inside the domain.


    Even Kellian was affected by this domain. His movements became slow. He could see Szar stepping closer to him, but his speed was too fast.


    Kellian knew he couldn¡¯t stop Szar like this. First, he needed to protect himself. Without thinking twice, he turned to shadow. It was a process that was much faster, even in the domain where time was slowed down.


    Kellian appeared five meters away from Szar, who seemed surprised. Even in his domain, Kellian had managed to disappear.


    The other Warlocks weren¡¯t so lucky though.


    Szar brought a golden knife, prepared to take out other Warlocks that were still in the domain.


    As Kellian appeared five meters away from Szar, he was able to see more clearly. He could see that Szar wasn¡¯t moving fast. It was everyone else who was moving extremely slowly.


    "So that¡¯s what it was. He isn¡¯t fast at all. Since I¡¯m not affected by this now, it must be a range thing. From what I can see, it doesn¡¯t work five meters away at least," Kellian muttered. "If I got closer, I would be affected again, but if I don¡¯t, he¡¯ll kill everyone else."


    He couldn¡¯t just watch Szar killing his teammates. He sent his Shadow to attack Szar while staying far away from that guy himself.


    The Warlocks that were stuck inside the domain only saw the after images of Szar since he was too fast.


    Some of them managed to attack despite all the limitations. One of the Warlocks fired a powerful energy wall, attacking Szar.


    Unfortunately, even that energy wall was affected by the domain. It moved so slowly that Szar didn¡¯t even have to put much effort into dodging the energy ball.


    He appeared in front of a Warlock. Using his knife, he slid the throat of the dark-haired Warlock before moving on to the next.


    Kellian was apanied by four Warlocks. One of those four was already dead when his shadow entered the domain of Szar Lucifer, only to be affected by the domain again. The speed of the shadow became that of a snail.


    By the time this shadow reached Kellian, he had killed another Uprising Warlock, moving on to the third. He was showing why he was called the best assassin in the world.


    Kellian¡¯s shadow came out of the ground with a shadow sword in his hand, hackling it towards Szar.


    Szarzily stepped aside, dodging the attack of the shadow sword. His knife started shining brightly as he swung it towards the shadow, cutting it in half. The shadow was destroyed.


    Szar looked in the direction of Kellian, who was standing outside his domain. A smirk rested on his face. He was in control of everything at the moment.


    He appeared in front of the Third Warlock, killing him as well.


    Within ten seconds, he killed four Uprising Warlocks that were apanying Kellian.


    Finished with the distraction, he turned to look at Kellian, who was the only one left on the terrace.


    "Why are you standing so far away? Come closer, I don¡¯t bite," Szar said, smiling innocently.


    "You¡¯re making a really big mistake," Kellian reminded Szar. "You¡¯ll regret it."


    "I won¡¯t regret anything. I¡¯m only killing criminals that aren¡¯t needed in this world. I mean, did you really expect me to buy into your whole charade of you guys being the saviors?" Szar asked, shaking his head.


    He stepped closer to Kellian, leaving all the bleeding bodies behind.


    "APF killed Hunter Union and attacked the city? You came to save them? Seriously? That¡¯s the best story you could¡¯ve made?"


    "You think everyone would be stupid enough to believe that? I never took an interest in joining any organization. You know why?" he asked.


    "Why?" Kellian asked, stepping back, thinking of a n. Facing a Warlock King was certainly not easy, especially the one who could decrease the speed of everything in his surroundings.


    No matter how a person attacked, it could easily be dodged by Szar because time moved extremely slowly for him in his surroundings.


    "Because there was a bnce. APF was here, Uprising was here, and Hunter Union was here. Each organization had a Warlock King. They were all in a stalemate, and I don¡¯t want to top the scale in someone¡¯s favor," Szar said.


    "But if I had no choice, I would have chosen the side which was against the Uprising. I can bear anyone ruling Elisium. I don¡¯t care much about such things, but I won¡¯t let you y around with no one to keep you in check," he added as he continued stepping closer.


    Kellian was already at the edge of the roof by now.


    "So you have a prejudice against us?" Kellian asked.


    "Not really. It¡¯s just that I know what kind of people you are. And I don¡¯t want Lucifer to grow up with you. He won¡¯t understand as long as you¡¯re all here. So you need to go. Human government will be reestablished, and I¡¯ll leave with Lucifer."


    "And what if he doesn¡¯t want toe? You know, he¡¯ll hate you for what you¡¯re doing!"


    "Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll understand. Just like you made up a story, I¡¯ll also make up a story about what happened here."


    "Since he¡¯s not here, he won¡¯t know either. It¡¯s all for his own good. I didn¡¯t know about him before, so I couldn¡¯t protect him. But now that I¡¯m here, I won¡¯t repeat the same mistake."

 Chapter 379 - 379: At Deaths Door

    <h4>Chapter 379 - 379: At Death''s Door </h4>


    "How does it sound? The Warlock Council sent a threat that they don¡¯t want a Variant government, and they¡¯ll take action. Scared by that threat, all Uprising members ran away, leaving Lucifer behind? You think he¡¯ll believe it¡¯s?" Szar asked, smiling.


    "I stand by my statement. You don¡¯t know anything. You¡¯re an idiot, and you¡¯ll regret it!" Kellian replied before taking another step back.


    As he was already standing at the edge, taking this step made him fall off the building.


    ...


    Hearing that Szar wasn¡¯t there to fight, Lucifer was slightly rxed.


    Unfortunately, soon he heard some bad news. Vega had informed him just now that there was a problem. Szar had started attacking. He had killed four Warlocks already, and now he was after Kellian.


    "I¡¯m close to the city already. I¡¯ll soon be there. Send more of our Warlocks to take him down!" Lucifermanded Vega before disconnecting the call.


    He soon stood up, walking towards the doors of the helicopter.


    He opened the door.


    "What are you doing?" Cassius asked, approaching Lucifer.


    "I¡¯m leaving. We¡¯re near the city, and I can fly faster than this helicopter. I should be able to get there in time," Lucifer answered.


    "Is Kellian this important to you? Why are you so eager?" Cassius asked.


    "It¡¯s not just about Kellian. I¡¯ll tell youter," Lucifer vaguely replied before he jumped outside.


    ...


    Kelliannded on the road in front of their building, observing the roof. Szar also jumped behind him.


    "You can¡¯t run, Kellian," Szar dered,nding in front of Kellian. "You¡¯re all alone now."


    "Who said I¡¯m alone?" Kellian asked, smiling.


    "Hmm?" Szar felt something odd. He looked up, noticing tens of Warlocks standing on the roof where he jumped from.


    "You¡¯re not fighting just me. You¡¯re fighting all of Uprising. Even though time didn¡¯t have to end like that, you made it all happen. You can slow things in your surroundings, and you can dodge attacks, but how many attacks can you dodge?" Kellian asked, distracting Szar.


    In the meantime, two shadows came out of the ground behind him, attacking Szar.


    "That¡¯s the problem with you. You really forget that I¡¯m a Sorcerer. I don¡¯t have just one ability," Szarzily answered. The shadows attacked him.


    The shadow swords moved slowly in the Domain of Szar, but they didn¡¯t make any noise. And it didn¡¯t seem like Szar had noticed them. Soon, the Swords sliced him in half.


    Szar¡¯s figure flickered as the sword cut him before disappearing.


    "Illusion?" Kellian eximed. "Then the real you should be..."


    Kellian raised his head, looking towards the roof to find Szar still there. He was now attacking the Warlocks that were sent by Vega for backup.


    "Not actually an illusion," A voice fell in Kellian¡¯s ears as a knife was thrust towards his chest.


    Kellian again turned into a shadow, appearing five meters away.


    "There are two of you? It¡¯s not just an illusion, is it? Illusion Clones that can use your abilities?" he asked.


    "Good guess, but no points for guessing," Szar said, smiling. "Also, it¡¯s not actually correct."


    Szar once again disappeared, appearing in front of Kellian, who once again found himself inside Szar¡¯s domain.


    Frustrated, Kellian once again disappeared, appearing five meters away, but Szar was already waiting for him there. For some strange reason, there wasn¡¯t just one Szar. There were fifty Szars, who were all covering the road.


    Kellian found himself overwhelmed at the sight of so many Szar. He didn¡¯t know what was happening. Just what was the power of Szar?


    He kept turning into shadows and dodging, but no matter where he appeared, Szar was already standing there.


    ...


    Kellian stood frozen in his ce, expressionless. There was only one Szar around him, and even that guy was standing in front of him. There wasn¡¯t any other Szar.


    Moreover, Kellian hadn¡¯t actually jumped off the building. He was still standing on the edge of the terrace. Everything he had seen from the moment he jumped was happening in his head.


    The four Warlocks were indeed dead, but that was all. No backup hade to the roof to protect Kellian.


    Vega had informed all the Warlocks in the base to go up and help Kellian, but none of them were able to reach Kellian. Szar had spread out his domain in the entire building. Five meters was not the limit of his domain. It was what he usually used.


    When it came to the crux of it, he was able to increase the range of his domain by multiple times.


    The entire building was under the effect of his domain now. Even though all the Warlocks were trying to get to the roof, they were all stuck in extremely slow times. Each step of theirs was taking tens of seconds.


    Szar Lucia casually walked towards Kellian with the blood-covered golden knife in his hand.


    Soon, Szar was standing at an arm¡¯s reach of Kellian.


    "This is the end of Uprising and Lucifer¡¯s affiliation to you all. Goodbye, Kellian."


    ...


    "What is happening? Why the heck is Kellian standing there like a statue?" Sitting in front of his screen, Vega was getting concerned.


    Kellian was so close to death, and he wasn¡¯t even fighting back.


    "What¡¯s more strange is the condition of others. Why are they moving so slowly?" Drak chimed in. "At this speed, by the time they get to the roof, second boss will be long dead!¡¯


    "It¡¯s all because of the abilities of Szar. He hadn¡¯t shown his abilities so openly before, but I think I have a general idea now. He can somehow affect the speed of others," Vega replied.


    "Something like slowing them down. It should be a limited range ability, but for it to cover the entire building, the range is really high," he continued.


    "This guy is really scary. What kind of power is it? That¡¯s too overpowered," Drakmented.


    "It¡¯s certainly a powerful ability. He¡¯s just like Raia and Varant. They were also more dangerous when a person got close to them. This guy is even more dangerous since his ability range is much longer," Vega said, sighing. "I¡¯m concerned about his other abilities. Why isn¡¯t Kellian fighting back? Something strange is going on."


    "You should inform the young boss about this. Tell him to stay away from this guy if he doesn¡¯t want to be at a disadvantage," Drak suggested.


    Hearing his suggestion, Vega agreed. He called Lucifer to inform him.


    ...


    "Goodbye, Kellian!" Szar said, shing with his knife.


    "Huh?" he abruptly stood, sensing danger. He quickly jumped back at the right moment, dodging a ck lightning bolt that fell where he was standing before.


    He looked up, noticing Lucifer in the sky, which had started getting clouded.

 Chapter 380 - 380: Offer

    <h4>Chapter 380 - 380: Offer </h4>


    Just as Szar was about to kill Kellian, a pitch-ck lightning bolt fell from the sky.


    Entering the domain of Szar, even the lighting bolt slowed down but still, its speed wasn¡¯t to be taken lightly. At thest moment, Szar jumped back, dodging the bolt.


    Due to the destruction caused by the lightning, Szar was distracted. Kellian came to his senses and realized that everything he was seeing before was fake. He was still on the roof.


    He noticed Szar looking up in surprise. He also looked up, noticing a flying figure in the distance.


    The sky was still mostly clear, but clouds had started forming all over the city, making this whole ce a domain of Lucifer, who was in the sky, keeping his distance from Szar.


    Lucifer was informed about the powers of Szar, which Vega had managed to guess. As his domain was able to cover the entire building, Lucifer kept his distance from him.


    "Lucifer Azarel! You¡¯re here!" Szar yelled, looking at Lucifer.


    The winds started getting colder.


    "Why are you looking for me?! And why did you attack my men?!" Lucifer asked directly.


    "Come down! Why are you so far away? I¡¯m not here to hurt you! We can talk in peace! I¡¯m here to help you!" Szar replied.


    "I don¡¯t need your help!"


    "At least let me exin first! Come down! I can¡¯t talk like this! Screaming hurts my throat! Just know, your father was my idol. And I want to help his son! I swear on my life that I¡¯m not here to hurt you! I know you¡¯re simply manipted by these people!"


    Lucifer starteding down but still kept a safe distance.


    "Why do you want to help me? After all these years?"


    " Where were you all when I needed help?! Where were you when I was all alone?! Where were you when I had nothing?! Now that I have everything, you came to help me?!" Lucifer roared.


    Szar took a deep breath, sighing.


    "I know you suffered a lot, and I wasn¡¯t there to help you! And I regret that the most. But it¡¯s because I didn¡¯t know about all that! I didn¡¯t know that people would hurt the son of Zale Azarel! I thought you¡¯d get a good life! I was careless!"


    "After I found out what happened, I tried to search for you for years, but I couldn¡¯t find you! Now that I found you, please let me help! Come down and just listen to me for once! I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll understand!"


    Lucifer grew lost in some deep thought, hearing the words of Szar.


    Seeing Lucifer thinking seriously, Szar nodded in satisfaction. He realized his words were working.


    "I know. Your experience made you tough! You think the whole world is bad and that you need to live this chaotic life, but it¡¯s not the truth!"


    " It doesn¡¯t have to be this way! I know you want a peaceful life now that you have finished your revenge! Let me take you far away from this life!" Szar continued.


    "Think carefully! Life can be much better if youe with me! You¡¯ll live the life that you deserve, far away from this bloodshed!"


    "A new life?" Lucifer asked as his body continued getting closer to the roof.


    He looked solemn as if thinking seriously about this offer.


    "Exactly! A new life where you can just rx! You don¡¯t have to carry all the burden on your shoulders! I¡¯ll keep you safe! Not a single person would be able to harm you! You want it too, don¡¯t you?" Szar asked caringly.


    " I know, inside all that hard exterior is a normal boy that dreams for a normal life? Come and let¡¯s leave this ce together!"


    "Let me show you how great you could be in the future! Let me make you something your father and my idol could be proud of!" he continued, stepping ahead.


    The sky that was mostly covered in clouds stopped roaring, bing silent.


    Lucifer kept getting closer and closer and soonnded in front of Szar, inside his domain range.


    Szar had stopped his domain though. He didn¡¯t want to make Lucifer think that he was an enemy for using his abilities on him.


    "Can my parents be proud of me after all I did? I¡¯ve killed hundreds of people. Can I be a different person?" Lucifer asked softly.


    "Of course you can change! Your past can¡¯t define your future! Only you can decide what your future will be, and I¡¯ll be on that journey with you!"


    "You¡¯ll certainly be someone worthy of being the son of Zale Azarel," Szar said, cing his hand on Lucifer¡¯s shoulder.


    "Really? I can be that?" Lucifer asked, conflicted.


    Standing in the back, Kellian was taken aback. Was Lucifer really going to ept this offer? Was he going to give up all he achieved?


    "You can, and you will. All you need to do is take my hand ande with me," Szar said softly as he took off his hand from the shoulder of Lucifer.


    He reached out his hand towards Lucifer, offering him to take his hand.


    Lucifer looked at the hands of Szar, ultimately nodding.


    "I¡¯ll take your hand. But I can¡¯t ept your offer." Abruptly, Lucifer moved his right hand towards the hand of Szar. Hidden in his hand was something really important.


    A beautiful bracelet was in his hand, which was none other than the Limiter he had stolen from the Academy.


    Before Szar could realize what had happened, the bracelet was already around his wrist, wrapped tightly.


    "What is this?" Szar asked, frowning. He didn¡¯t understand why this bracelet was on his wrist and what it was.


    "This is something which will keep you in your ce. You¡¯ve lost, Warlock King Szar," Lucifer dered proudly.


    "I can kill you any moment I want now," he said before ncing back at the bodies of four dead Warlocks behind him. "Just like you killed my men."


    "Don¡¯t worry though. I won¡¯t kill you. I have something else nned for you. But one thing is certain. I¡¯m not going anywhere with you, and neither are you. You¡¯ll stay here for as long as I want."


    The terrace doors opened, and tens of Warlocks stepped out, prepared to fight.


    Lucifer nced at the newly arrived Warlocks.


    "You¡¯re a littlete. Take him. I¡¯ll decide what to do with himter," hemanded the Warlocks.


    "Kellian, make sure to keep him in a safe ce from where he can¡¯t run. I want two Warlocks keeping an eye on him every second."


    Just as Lucifer finished giving orders, a deep sigh fell in his ears.


    "As I expected, you¡¯re too deep in their maniption. I¡¯ll first take you away from here with force. And then we can work on you," Szar said, sighing. "For now, let me take care of everyone else."


    Lucifer nced at Szar, amused, knowing what wasing.

 Chapter 381 - 381: Possessed By Demon

    <h4>Chapter 381 - 381: Possessed By Demon </h4>


    Just as he expected, within seconds, a heavy electric current coursed through the body of Szar, making him groan in pain.


    His eyes closed as he dropped to the ground.


    "As I said, your life is in my hands now," Lucifer muttered, ncing at Szar lying on his feet. "You can¡¯t go anywhere."


    "Kellian, take him," he told Kellian again.


    "I¡¯ll take care of it," Kellian affirmed, stepping towards Szar but stopped right beside Lucifer. "I¡¯m d you didn¡¯t choose him. Thanks for sticking by us."


    Lucifer didn¡¯t react.


    He simply nced at the clouded sky. ¡¯I didn¡¯t do this for you, Kellian. I did it because I wanted to do it. I¡¯ve long stopped dreaming about an ordinary life. I¡¯m not going anywhere with him.¡¯


    He didn¡¯t speak his thoughts openly.


    One of the Warlocks picked up Szar and carried him, following Kellian.


    All the Warlocks went back inside the building, leaving only Lucifer standing on the roof.


    "Szar Lucia, huh. Ability to slow down time. A good ability indeed. Maybe I¡¯ll be able to take it as well, someday," Lucifermented, ncing at his hands.


    Soon, the Uprising helicopter also reached there. Itnded on the helipad at the top of the building. The doors opened. Yaliza and others stepped out.


    Seeing Lucifer standing on the roof and nomotion in his surroundings, Yaliza understood that everything was over. "Is Szar dead?"


    "He¡¯s not dead. He¡¯s in our prison now," Lucifer replied.


    "Isn¡¯t he a risky person to keep imprisoned? His powers can certainly help him escape."


    "Don¡¯t worry. I took care of that too. He won¡¯t be able to use his powers. As long as he¡¯s here, he¡¯ll be no more than a normal person," Lucifer replied. "How powers are blocked."


    "How is that possible? Can powers really be blocked like that?" Yaliza inquired, surprised.


    The knowledge about this technology wasn¡¯t avable on this continent. Almost no one here knew that something like this was even possible.


    It sounded like a conspiracy theory that someone could just block someone¡¯s powers. It was impossible unless he had powers of Varant, but even then, there were certain limitations.


    "Do you have the abilities of Varant too? You can block people¡¯s powers?¡¯ Yaliza inquired.


    "I can¡¯t. It¡¯s because of a neat toy that I found on a different continent. The world is really vast, and so is the technology avable in this world," Lucifer replied, staring into the distance. "You¡¯ll learn soon enough."


    ....


    Three hours passed. Lucifer had finished taking a shower, and now he was resting in his room, waiting for sleep.


    Knock!


    Hearing the knock on the door, he stood up and opened the door.


    Seeing Kellian at the entrance, he walked back to the bed and sat down before asking, "What brought you here?"


    "I wanted to talk about Szar," Kellian responded.


    "What about him?"


    "I wanted to know about your ns for him. Why are we keeping him alive?" Kellian asked. "I think killing him would be better."


    "I have my personal reasons for that. I want to test something with him," Lucifer answered. "So he can¡¯t die."


    "Test something? What tests?"


    "You won¡¯t understand at the moment. Just keep him alive and make sure he doesn¡¯t escape. That shouldn¡¯t be hard with the way he is now," Lucifer vaguely answered.


    "Also, are you going to exin why you ignored mymands?" he asked, changing the topic.


    "Whatmands?" Kellian asked.


    "Themands about not meeting Szar? Why didn¡¯t you listen? And you even disconnected the call?" Lucifer asked.


    "Ah, that! I didn¡¯t disconnect the call. My phone turned off as soon as I told you about the arrival of Szar."


    "I didn¡¯t hear anything after that point. And Szar was already at the entrance. I just couldn¡¯t get myself to leave when the enemy was before us."


    "Even if that meant your death? What would you have done if I hadn¡¯te on time? Do you know how close you were to death? If I were even a secondte, your head would have been rolling in the ground."


    "I know. And I¡¯m really grateful for your help. I didn¡¯t really expect things to get that bad. Probably because I underestimated Szar, but if I had that choice again, I would still do the same. I can¡¯t run away when the enemy is in front of me!" Kellian exined.


    "Moreover, I can¡¯t leave my team behind. Today, we lost four of them. If I weren¡¯t here, we would have lost all of them," he added.


    "You care for your team more than your own life?" Lucifer asked, observing the seriousness of Kellian.


    "What¡¯s life? One day, everyone will die. I¡¯m as scared of death as I¡¯m scared of losing everyone else that makes me who I am," Kellian answered. "I don¡¯t want to go back to that again."


    As he thought about his answer, he started remembering his past, which brought him to memoryne.


    "You also didn¡¯t have a family?" Lucifer asked.


    "Not just me; almost all the Uprising Members are orphans actually. We¡¯re each other¡¯s family. When Caen told you that Uprising is a big family, he wasn¡¯t lying," Kellian answered.


    "We all faced some form of cruelty from the system, which is why we supported the cause of the Uprising so much. We don¡¯t want to live in a fake world that doesn¡¯t support us and people like us."


    "We wanted to create a world of our own where people like us didn¡¯t need to surrender. Where they didn¡¯t need to die. A world which they could truly call their home."


    As Kellian kept speaking, he became more and more passionate.


    "What happened to you in the past? How did you suffer?" Lucifer asked.


    "I didn¡¯t suffer that much physically, but yeah. I didn¡¯t have a family. Well, actually, I did have a family, but I¡¯m ashamed to even call them my family," Kellian let out. "When I awakened, I was a young kid. I was barely nine years old."


    He stepped forward and sat on a nearby chair, lost in past memories.


    "It was when powers had just started appearing in the world. Most of the world didn¡¯t even know about such things. Even I didn¡¯t know what was happening. One day, my mother watched my shadow move on its own."


    "She noticed me ying with my shadows,manding them. My shadows even listened to me sometimes. It was just the start."


    "You know what her first thought was when she saw it?" Kellian asked, sighing.


    "What?"


    "She thought I was possessed by a demon."


    "Seeing me like that scared her so much, she didn¡¯t listen to anything. She called a priest to do some sort of exorcism," Kellian said, sighing.

 Chapter 382 - 382: The Devil

    <h4>Chapter 382 - 382: The Devil </h4>


    "They did so many things that I don¡¯t even remember most. Since I was so young, I couldn¡¯t even control my shadows always. Most of the time, they moved on their own in front of the priest. In the end, you know what the priest said?"


    "What did he say?"


    "He said that the Devil haspletely taken over me. In fact, I¡¯m the human avatar of the Devil. Now that I look back at it, he was such a stupid person. But my mother listened to him," Kellian answered.


    "In fact, my mother listened to him so much that she even epted the suggestion to kill me," he added, smiling.


    "Kill you?!"


    "Yeah. Kill me. That idiotic priest was convinced that I was the Devil. We lived in a small town which wasn¡¯t connected to bigger cities either, so there were a lot of superstitions there."


    "They didn¡¯t know that most of the world was going through a simr phenomenon of awakening."


    "Convinced about his theory of me being the Devil, he told my mother that I needed to be killed. He said that if I were allowed to grow up, I¡¯d be more like a Devil and that I¡¯d kill everyone in the town."


    "And thus, my death verdict was dered. I was to be put to death in the morning. The priest made sure to tell this to my mother when I wasn¡¯t there. He didn¡¯t want me to know that they were talking about killing me, but they forgot one thing," Kellian said.


    "What did they forget?" Lucifer asked, immersed in the story.


    "They forgot I had my shadows. And one of those shadows happened to be in the room where they were discussing such things. Because of that shadow, I was able to hear everything," Kellian replied.


    "What did you do next? Did you kill them?" Lucifer asked.


    Kellian shook his head. "I didn¡¯t kill anyone. I simply ran away, scared."


    "Even I started to believe these words that I was the devil; I still didn¡¯t want to be burned to death. So I ran away. For the next two years, I didn¡¯t let anyone see me. I ran from city to city, hiding. I thought that people would kill me if they found me.¡¯


    "Sometimes I slept on the grass under the moon, other times I slept in abandoned houses. I ate whatever I could find, mostly the waste food that was thrown out by the restaurants."


    "For the next five years, I lived like that, all alone. Only I and my shadows apanied me. It was so lonely..."


    "I did learn to use my shadows throughout those five years. It was only when I met Uprising when I was fourteen years old that I understood the truth. It was only then that I realized the truth. I wasn¡¯t the devil, and there were more special people like me, with different powers."


    "The rest is history. Since then, I¡¯ve stayed with Uprising. The Alpha Squad became my new family... My real family. This is my true home, and I can never abandon them just to save my life, even if it meant death!"


    "So it¡¯s true that I didn¡¯t listen to you, and I apologize for that. But I am sure you can understand my side now."


    Kellian finished his story with an apology.


    For a moment, silence filled the room. Lucifer didn¡¯t say anything, but he understood Kellian¡¯s side. This story also made him trust Kellian a little more. Kellian was the type of person who wasn¡¯t going to leave him behind. It was the same for Cassius.


    He wondered if he was really getting people he could genuinely trust. All he knew was that Kellian, Cassius, and a lot of the others who sided with him were different. They were different from the people that only thought for themselves.


    After a moment of silence, Kellian stood up, understanding that it was time for him to leave.


    "I¡¯ll take my leave now. I need to finish some work."


    He started leaving. The sound of his leaving footsteps fell in Lucifer¡¯s ears, who was looking down.


    He looked up and nced at Kellian. "Kellian?"


    Kellian turned around, stopping at the door which he had just opened. "Yeah?"


    "From what I heard, you didn¡¯t kill your mother. She is still alive. Did you never meet her again?"


    "Why would I meet her again?" Kellian asked. "She stopped being my mother the moment she decided to kill me. That¡¯s also the moment she died for me. I don¡¯t have a mother anymore. Whoever thatdy is, she¡¯s just a stranger now."


    He left the room, closing the door behind him.


    Luciferid on the bed, sighing.


    "One dreams to meet his mother while the other detests his mother," he muttered, lying on the bed.


    Clearing his head, he went to sleep.


    ...


    It was seven in the morning. The capital city was finally returning to its former glory after the chaotic week.


    People had started going to work, and offices were open now. The buildings that were destroyed during the takeover were being constructed again, from scratch, but there was one more thing that was being constructed.


    A massive headquarters was being built for the Uprising. It was being built to contain all the facilities possible. Most of the technology that was employed in the construction of APF headquarters was being used here as well.


    The only security feature which wasn¡¯t being used by them was the fingerprint system.


    Since Lucifer couldn¡¯t use that, they decided to keep it out. Instead, there was a passcode system. Everyone was to be given a code depending on their level of authority, with Lucifer having the highest authority code.


    That was all for the future though. At the moment, it was just a n as one the excavation had begun. The construction itself was going to take close to a year.


    As for where the headquarters was going to be made, it was decided that the center of the city was going to be selected. Fortunately, the building which was upying that space had already fallen. The space waspletely clear.


    Lucifer woke up from his sleep. After taking a shower, he went straight to meet Szar, who was supposed to be up by now.


    Szar Lucia was being kept in a room that had no windows. It only had one metallic door, which couldn¡¯t be broken unless a person possessed powers.


    Two powerful Warlocks were inside the room, staring at Szar.


    Szar had woken up long ago, but unlike Ayn, he wasn¡¯t stupid enough to try using his powers again before understanding what had happened to him.

 Chapter 383 - 383: I Was Waiting For You

    <h4>Chapter 383 - 383: I Was Waiting For You </h4>


    ¡¯When I tried to use my powers, I got that shock. And I¡¯m sure it wasn¡¯t the work of Lucifer. It could only be because of this bracelet then.¡¯


    Szar looked at the bracelet on his first wrist. He was now regretting reaching out his hand towards Lucifer.


    "I should¡¯ve been careful. But what is this thing?"


    He looked at the two men who stood in the back with their arms folded. "Any of you know about this bracelet? What is it?"


    The two Warlocks red at Szar, not answering.


    "Come on; I¡¯m not asking you to hand me your property. I just want to know what this thing is? Or is it that even you don¡¯t know?" Szar asked again, getting on the nerves of these two men.


    One of the two men clenched his fist, ring at Szar. "Don¡¯t speak. This is yourst warning. I¡¯m already very upset because you killed four of my friends. If you weren¡¯t needed alive, I would have smashed your head!"


    Szar rubbed the back of his head.


    "Why don¡¯t you free me? Then we can see how tough you actually are," Szar smirked. "It¡¯s only because I can¡¯t use my powers that you two are acting so strong. You should be the ones who need to be happy."


    "You¡¯re quite lucky actually. If Lucifer hadn¡¯t arrived and pulled that trick, you would be lying dead with the four of your friends. If only he were ten minuteste, I would have been finished."


    "You!"


    "He¡¯s just trying to make us angry. Don¡¯t lose sight of our goal. He¡¯s nothing but a prisoner now, and his ultimate fate will be death. Don¡¯t fall for him."


    "You¡¯re right. He¡¯s destined to die. I should learn to ignore this guy."


    Szar burst intoughter, hearing their words. "Can you really ignore me though?"


    Hezilyid on the bed.


    ¡¯Man, I wonder if I really made a mistake. I just wanted to do something good for Zale, who saved my family, and now I¡¯m in this situation. Could it be that I was really wrong? Is it that Lucifer¡¯s heart has actually turned dark?¡¯


    He observed the bracelet carefully, thinking of a way to get out of it.


    The bracelet seemed to be made of some powerful material that couldn¡¯t be broken without having immense strength, which he didn¡¯t have now.


    And even if he had strength, he believed taking it off couldn¡¯t be easy. A bracelet that shocked when a person tried to use powers was undoubtedly going to electrocute a person if an effort to break it was made.


    ¡¯I wonder where he found something like this? It¡¯s not something which the Uprising made; I¡¯m sure of that. Even Kellian seemed ignorant of this bracelet. Where did this thinge from?¡¯


    Szar lost himself in deep thought when he heard the sound of the door opening.


    Opening his eyes, he slightly raised his head to look at the door, wondering who it was that came.


    "Ah, Lucifer Azarel, you finally decided to visit me. I was waiting for you." Szar sat up.


    "You two wait outside," Lucifermanded the two Warlocks who left the room, closing the door behind.


    He picked a chair and sat facing Szar.


    "Szar Lucia, one of the four strongest Warlocks of Elisium. Three of the four are already dead. Only you are left. I wonder if that makes you the strongest Warlock or Elisium."


    "Strongest Warlock?" Szar asked, showing his bracelet. "I¡¯m nothing more than an ordinary human now."


    "I¡¯m surprised you didn¡¯t try to use your powers a second time. You¡¯re not that stupid, I suppose. Thest person who was inside those bracelets tried to use their power at least five times before understanding how these bracelets worked."


    "May I ask who that person was?" Szar asked.


    "That¡¯s none of your concern. Just know, that bracelet can¡¯t be taken off. So don¡¯t try it. Also, don¡¯t try using your powers because you¡¯ll get electrocuted again," Lucifer responded.


    "I guessed as much," Szar answered. "So, are you going to free me?"


    "Not yet. You did kill four of our men, after all. You¡¯re not getting free so easily. At least not until you make up for it."


    "And how do you want me to make up for it?" Szar asked.


    Lucifer didn¡¯t answer.


    "Do you know what you¡¯re doing? All I wanted was to help you because your father once helped my parents. I just wanted to help his family too. I¡¯m not your enemy." Szar reminded Lucifer, sighing.


    "Take a calm breath and think about it carefully. You can still free me ande with me. We can forget about everything that happened."


    "You want Uprising to be left alive? I¡¯ll allow that as well. Isn¡¯t that enough? Why do you want this life of bloodshed and tyranny?"


    "A life of bloodshed and tyranny? Are you saying that this life won¡¯t follow me if Ie with you?" Lucifer asked, amused.


    "That¡¯s right. It won¡¯te to you! I¡¯ll be there with you. No one can hurt you with me around," Szar agreed.


    "You really think you¡¯re that strong?" Lucifer asked. "Are you stronger than my father?"


    "I..."


    Szar didn¡¯t know what to say. His mouth kept opening to speak something and closed just as fast. He had never faced Zale, and he never wanted to. No matter how strong he got, he had an immense respect for Zale.


    "I¡¯ll take that as a no. So tell me, even my parents can be killed; what makes you so certain that you can¡¯t?" Lucifer asked.


    "I learned this lesson a bit toote, but I¡¯ll tell you. There are thousands of strong beings in this world. And the moment you grow too trusting orcent is the moment you ce your life at the mercy of other people," he continued, standing up.


    "No matter how much you urge for peace, this world is inherently chaotic. No matter where you go, no matter where you hide, chaos will find you. That¡¯s the fate of ours. The life of a Warlock can never be without conflict," he added.


    "Your father died inside a high-ranking Dungeon. We aren¡¯t going in that Dungeon, so there¡¯s no need topare your father¡¯s death with our future. A thing like that will never happen. You just don¡¯t understand yet because you haven¡¯t experienced peace," Szar retorted.


    "Ah, right. The dungeon story. I guess you don¡¯t know the truth either. That¡¯s expected; you weren¡¯t big enough at that time," Lucifer muttered, nodding his head.


    "What do you mean? What truth?" Szar asked, frowning.

 Chapter 384 - 384: The Cursed Power

    <h4>Chapter 384 - 384: The Cursed Power </h4>


    "The truth about my father¡¯s death?" Lucifer asked. "The world isn¡¯t as nice as it seems."


    "What are you trying to say? I don¡¯t understand?" Szar asked, standing up. He felt like something was hidden in the words of Lucifer as if Lucifer knew something that he didn¡¯t.


    "Tell me what happened."


    "Let¡¯s go for a walk." Lucifer didn¡¯t answer. Instead, he stood up and turned around.


    Szar also got off the bed and followed Lucifer out of the room.


    Uprising Warlocks watched Lucifere out of the room with Szar.


    "I¡¯m taking him out for a little. You guys can take a break too," Lucifer told the Uprising Warlocks before walking away with Szar.


    "Is it something that you couldn¡¯t tell me there? Tell me what happened to your parents?!" Szar asked again.


    "This ce is so peaceful, isn¡¯t it? We can even hear the sound of our own footsteps. I don¡¯t understand why you find this ce to be chaotic."


    "Don¡¯t change the topic. Answer me! What is it that I don¡¯t know?" Szar asked, standing behind Lucifer, who had stopped in front of a lift.


    The doors of the lift opened, and Lucifer stepped inside. Szar followed him inside as well.


    "Answer me. What is it that I don¡¯t know?" Szar repeated his question.


    Lucifer nced at him, smiling. "The question you ask, it¡¯s a very broad question actually. There are simply too many things that you don¡¯t know. I mean seriously, did you know that there are cats in this world that are allergic to humans?"


    "I meant about your father! Tell me about your father! How did he die?! What is it that I don¡¯t know about? You talked as if there was some mystery behind his death? What do you know?" Szar asked, rifying his question


    Lucifer didn¡¯t answer even now. The smooth music in the lift kept ying, making the serious atmosphere a bit odd, especially because the music could be described as some mythical high fantasy music.


    The lift stopped on the terrace, and the door opened. Lucifer stepped out of the lift and walked to the edge of the terrace. Szar followed him closely.


    Stopping at the end of the terrace, Lucifer looked at the city. He was standing in the tallest building of the city, which gave him the perfect view.


    "We¡¯re so high. Look at all those humans and Variants on the roads. Don¡¯t they look like ants from here?" Lucifer asked softly.


    "They do," Szar nodded, noticing the people walking on the streets.


    "The ce where we¡¯re standing, my father and my mother could have stood here as well. They could have been in my ce, looking at all those ants. They were strong enough to crush everyone that stood in their path. Isn¡¯t that right?" Lucifer asked solemnly.


    "Yeah. They were pretty powerful," Szar nodded. "No one could stand in their path.¡¯


    "Exactly. These ants should never have been able to harm them if only they were a little more selfish. If only they were thinking for themselves instead of thinking for others. They would have been still alive, if only..."


    "Are you saying they shouldn¡¯t have gone inside the dungeon to help people?" Szar asked.


    "They shouldn¡¯t have. Why did they have to listen to others? Why did they have to trust others so much? Why did they have to trust the people that wanted them dead? Instead of using their powers for others, they should¡¯ve used it for themselves," Lucifer replied grimly.


    "They were just too nice for their own good. Even though they were strong, no one took them seriously because they didn¡¯t kill innocents." he continued as he sighed.


    "Do you think if they were like me, they could have been fooled like me? If they were frightening, would anyone have dared to scheme against them?" he asked.


    "Scheme against them?" Szar asked. "What scheme?"


    Lucifer sat on the edge with his feet hanging off the building.


    He didn¡¯t even look at Szar, instead looking straight at the rising Sun in the distance.


    " My parents... Didn¡¯t die because of Dungeon Dwellers or traps of Dungeons. They died because of the trap from people they trusted," he dered.


    "Trap from people they trusted? You mean...?"


    Szar managed to decipher some meaning from the words of Lucifer.


    "That¡¯s right. There was no emergency. They didn¡¯t need to enter that Dungeon. It was all a trap, set by the human government in association with Zeiss, Varant, and Raia," Lucifer dered.


    "W-why would they do something like this? Especially Raia and Varant?" Szar asked, frowning.


    Lucifer exined everything that he had managed to find out about his father¡¯s death, including the involvement of the Warlock Council and about the sword his parents were looking to find.


    "Warlock Council? Such treachery?" Szar was stunned and even enraged at hearing this, so much so that he wanted to kill Varant, Raia and others himself if they were alive.


    "They all nned something like this to keep the world in the dark? And poison? Could they have chosen a more cowardly way?"


    "Keeping the world in the dark isn¡¯t something new for them. That¡¯s what they did when Varant killed me as well. It¡¯s how the world works," Lucifer replied.


    "I already killed everyone who was involved in my parents¡¯ death. Only two people are left now."


    "Which two people? One should be the leader of the Warlock Council, who Maxwell named. Who is the other?" Szar asked.


    "The second person is already here. After meeting you, I was going to meet him myself," Lucifer responded. "But before that, I want to ask you something."


    "Ask what?" Szar asked.


    "I heard you¡¯re a man of your words? And that you never break your promise?" Lucifer asked Szar.


    "That¡¯s true. That¡¯s why I rarely promise anything. That¡¯s actually one of my powers, or curse if you want to call it that."


    "Can you tell me about that curse?" Lucifer asked, curious.


    Previously he had thought that it was simply because Szar Lucia was a man of his words, but to know that it was because of his ability that was new.


    "You told me the secret about your father, so I¡¯ll tell you this as well. In any case, it¡¯s not something anyone can use against me anyway," Szar muttered, sitting beside Lucifer.


    "I actually have two powers. One of them is, as you saw, Time Maniption. I¡¯m sure you know how it works, but within a certain range, I can slow down time to some extent. My other power is the moreplicated one though."


    "Is that the one you used on Kellian?" Lucifer asked.

 Chapter 385 - 385: Promise

    <h4>Chapter 385 - 385: Promise </h4>


    "That¡¯s right. This was what I used on him. It is really handy at times," Szar affirmed. "But it also has some bad sides to it."


    "I call it Dream Illusion," he added.


    "How does it work?" Lucifer asked.


    "With this, I can trap any person in a dream. As long as that person doesn¡¯t realize that it¡¯s a dream, he¡¯ll stay stuck," Szar replied. "I can keep that dream up for around five minutes. That¡¯s what I used on Kellian."


    "Since I didn¡¯t want him to realize that he was in a dream, I made it a continuation of our own battle. He was fighting me in his dreams."


    "It¡¯s certainly a good ability. But what bad side were you talking about? How does it stop you from breaking promises?" Lucifer asked, not able to link the two.


    "It¡¯s pretty simple. I need to have my heart clean to perform this skill. If I can¡¯t, it backfires on me. And I get trapped in nightmares for months at a time, unable to get out. Even when I know that they¡¯re dreams, I can¡¯te out that easily. It¡¯s a really bad experience," Szar exined.


    "You need to keep your heart clean? You mean you can¡¯t do anything that you consider bad or lie?" Lucifer inquired.


    "Not really. I tried testing this. I can do bad things. I can even lie, and I don¡¯t face the bacsh of this ability. I only faced this bacsh twice, and both were the times when I broke a promise. That¡¯s why I don¡¯t promise anyone anymore," Szar answered.


    ¡¯ Trapped in a dream for months? That¡¯s a long time to be trapped. I can¡¯t afford that. But to get to where I want, I¡¯ll have to make quite a few promises and break them.¡¯ Lucifer thought, losing himself in deep thought.


    ¡¯This ability isn¡¯t suited for me. But can I steal the Time Maniption without stealing this ability too?¡¯


    "So, yeah. I can¡¯t break a promise unless I want to be at the mercy of others," Szar continued.


    "Didn¡¯t you promise recently that you¡¯ll keep me safe? So if you ever tried to attack me, you¡¯ll get trapped in a dream?" Lucifer asked, thinking back to his first meeting with Szar.


    "That¡¯s right. And since the bacsh is immediate, it¡¯ll act instantly. So before I could evennd an attack, I would be trapped. Even if I wanted to hurt you now, I can¡¯t. You¡¯re the safest person in this building," Szar affirmed.


    "Is he telling the truth?" Lucifer asked, ncing back.


    Szar also turned back, surprised, wondering who Lucifer was asking.


    As he turned back, he noticed a woman standing there.


    "Veracity? You¡¯re here as well? Since when have you been standing there?" Szar asked, surprised.


    "Since you started opening your heart," Veracity replied, smirking.


    She looked at Lucifer and continued, "Everything he said was the truth. He hasn¡¯t lied even once."


    Lucifer nodded in satisfaction.


    "Ah, so it¡¯s that. You¡¯re keeping me under a lie detector. Not bad," Szar said, bursting intoughter.


    "Well, you did kill four of my people. And we¡¯ve just met. I can¡¯t trust you that easily. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll understand. I¡¯m not going to make the same mistake as my father," Lucifer exined.


    "So, Szar Lucia. I¡¯m sure you understand where I¡¯ming from now? You know what I want as well. So do you still want to take me back? Or will you stay and help me? What do you want to do?" he asked.


    Szar turned his body around and stood up.


    "That¡¯s a good question indeed. I think your cause is good. But I still don¡¯t agree with the approach. Generally, I wouldn¡¯t agree to help you, but I¡¯ll do it. I¡¯ll do it for Zale."


    "But I¡¯ll only help you against the Warlock Council. I won¡¯t help you with anything else, you understand?"


    "That would be enough."


    "Now that we¡¯re part of the same team, can you take off the bracelet?"


    "I can, but only if you promise me something."


    "Seriously? You¡¯re going to use that against me now?"


    "I¡¯m just taking precautions."


    "What do you want me to promise you?"


    "I want you to promise me that you won¡¯t attack any Uprising Member in the future," Lucifer said.


    "I can¡¯t promise that. If my life is in danger, I want to be able to protect myself. I¡¯m not going to sit idle if a crazy Uprising member attacks me," Szar immediately rejected the proposal.


    " Fine. Then promise me that you won¡¯t use your powers against any Uprising member or attack them unless that person attacks you first?" Lucifer improvised.


    "That I can promise. I promise that I won¡¯t use my powers against any Uprising member or attack them unless they attack me first," Szar promised. "Can you take off the bracelet now?"


    "I¡¯m not taking the bracelet off. That¡¯ll stay on your hand. But you¡¯ll be able to use your powers. Just think of that as an essory now," Lucifer responded before he spoke two words. "Unlock powers!"


    The red light of the bracelet turned to white light.


    "It¡¯s unlocked now. You can now use your powers. Just don¡¯t use them on my members. Also, don¡¯t try to take off the bracelet. It has protection against that. I don¡¯t want you to suffer because you tried that. So keep that in mind." Lucifer reminded Szar as he also got up.


    Szar looked at the ant, which was walking on the ground, smiling. He spread out his domain to test his theory. As the ant came inside his domain, it became even slower.


    "Argh, it feels good to be able to use my powers again. But I feel like myself again. Even though I still have this handicap, it¡¯s better than nothing. Now, tell me. Who¡¯s the second person that you want to take revenge on?" he asked Lucifer.


    "Follow me." Lucifer walked back to the lift with Veracity and Szar.


    The lift started going down.


    It stopped on the second-highest floor. Lucifer and Szar walked through that floor to stop before a room. "You stay here with Veracity. I¡¯ll be right outside."


    Opening the door, Lucifer stepped inside the room.


    As he entered the room, he noticed Kellian sitting behind a table, looking at something on the screen of hisptop.


    "I heard you took Szar with you?" Kellian asked, noticing Lucifer.


    "That¡¯s right. I¡¯ve decided that he¡¯ll work for us. I made him ept my proposal," Lucifer responded, taking a seat before Kellian.


    "You know he killed four of our men?" Kellian inquired. "What do you think the others will feel when they know that you¡¯re freeing Szar?"

 Chapter 386 - 386: Choice

    <h4>Chapter 386 - 386: Choice </h4>


    "I know it¡¯ll be hard. People don¡¯t like him here, but I¡¯m sure you can understand. He can be a great asset when facing the Warlock Council. So I want you to make the others understand. You can do that, right?"


    "Sigh, I myself don¡¯t like him roaming free. What if he hurt anyone else?" Kellian asked, not giving in so easily.


    "Don¡¯t worry. He won¡¯t hurt anyone from the Uprising. I made sure of that. Also, you can confirm it from Veracity. There¡¯s no risk of having him around. He won¡¯t attack anyone unless he is attacked first," Lucifer exined.


    Kellian looked at Lucifer briefly, looking at the seriousness on his face.


    "Fine. I trust you. I¡¯ll convince others too," he agreed ultimately.


    "Perfect. I knew I could trust you," Lucifer eximed, smiling. "By the way, did you bring the man I asked you to bring!"


    "He¡¯s on the seventeenth floor, room number seven," Kellian answered.


    "Good." Lucifer stood up and left the room, leaving a sighing Kellian behind.


    Kellian called everyone from his team to his room to inform them that Szar was a part of them from now on and that no one was to attack him.


    ...


    "Let¡¯s go," Lucifer left with Szar, going back inside the lift, leaving Veracity outside.


    Lucifer had told Veracity to go and talk to Kellian.


    The lift started going down while the constant music kept ying.


    Ting!


    The door opened on the seventeenth floor. The two of them stepped out.


    Lucifer stopped in front of room number seven which was being guarded by two Warlocks as well.


    Seeing Lucifer, the Warlocks opened the door and stepped aside.


    Lucifer and Szar stepped inside the room. The door closed behind them.


    The room was pretty ordinary, not having many times inside. Only a bed was kept there. Everything that was removed.


    The light from the window wasing inside the room, filling it with brightness.


    A man was lying on the bed who stood up as soon as he saw Lucifer enter.


    Lucifer stopped in front of the man, who looked extremely beaten. The man didn¡¯t have hands as if they were sliced. His body was still wrapped in bandages to stop the bleeding.


    "Greetings, Mr. Adam Turner."


    "What do you all want from me? Why are you all doing this?!" The silver-haired man asked Lucifer weakly. He didn¡¯t even have the strength to scream.


    "What do I want from you? I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll know that soon enough," Lucifer smirked, sitting on a nearby chair.


    "Who is this guy?" Szar asked, not recognizing the man.


    "This is Adam Turner, a Warlock from the Rank 1 Guild," Lucifer answered. "And also the man I hate the most..."


    "I don¡¯t understand anything! I didn¡¯t do anything! I was just sitting in my home when your people came and kidnapped me! They even cut my hands so that I couldn¡¯t use my power. After all that, I should be the one hating you, not the other way around!" The silver-haired man responded.


    "Huh? You didn¡¯t offend me at all. I just told them to bring you here because I was a big fan of yours. I heard you make really great poison. Isn¡¯t that right?" Lucifer asked solemnly.


    "P-poison? I don¡¯t make any poison. You might have a misunderstanding!" Adam retorted.


    "Huh? I don¡¯t think there¡¯s a misunderstanding. You made some really great poison when killing my parents. I wanted to experience the same as well. Why do you deny me the opportunity to see your magic?" Lucifer asked, pretending to be actually disappointed.


    "Wait, you mean he...?" Szar understood everything now. He now knew who this guy was and why Lucifer hated him.


    "W-who was your father?" Adam asked, having a bad feeling.


    "How many parents did you poison to ask that question?" Lucifer asked, surprised.


    "Did you poison Zale Azarel?" Szar asked directly.


    Hearing the question, Adam grew shocked. It was clearly written on his face that he was scared now.


    "So it was true. You bastards really did poison them and the whole team? The footsteps that were seening out, they were yours, weren¡¯t they?" Szar asked.


    "I-i didn¡¯t do it!" The man firmly stated.


    "You don¡¯t have to keep the charade. Varant already told me everything. About how you poisoned their water," Lucifer stated immediately. "Any other excuse? You have five seconds if you want to give any.¡¯


    "I-i was forced! Zeiss and Varant forced me to do it! I really didn¡¯t want to do it! I¡¯m so sorry, but I had no choice. It was my life or theirs, and I chose mine! You can¡¯t kill me for that!"


    "Ah, you had no choice. That¡¯s a good one. Maybe, I would¡¯ve done the same if I was in your position," Lucifer agreed.


    "Exactly! They are to me, not me. F-forgive me. I¡¯m really ashamed of what I did," Adam apologized while getting on the feet of Lucifer.


    Since he didn¡¯t have hands, he couldn¡¯t finish Lucifer¡¯s feet, so he simply ced his head on his feet.


    "That¡¯s true. They are to me. They forced you. Those cruel people. How could they not give you a choice? Don¡¯t worry; I¡¯m not like them. I¡¯ll give you a choice," Lucifer said.


    "Huh? What choice?" Adam asked, raising his head, looking at Lucifer¡¯s face.


    "I¡¯ll give you a choice between life and death," Lucifer said calmly.


    He brought out a small bottle from both his pockets and ced them both on the ground near Adam.


    "What are they?" Adam asked.


    "There¡¯s poison in one of them while there¡¯s medicine in the other. As for which is which, I won¡¯t tell. I¡¯m giving you a choice. Select any of the two bottles. I¡¯ll feed that to you."


    " If it¡¯s medicine, you¡¯ll survive, and you¡¯ll be free to go. I¡¯ll also help you get your hands back."


    "And if I select poison identally?" Adam asked.


    "Then you¡¯ll simply face what my parents faced. I¡¯m already pretty generous with this choice. You did kill my parents, after all. So be d you¡¯re getting a choice and select," Lucifer responded, sitting on the chair morefortably.


    Szar didn¡¯t interfere in the conversation. He simply watched from a distance.


    "Select fast. I¡¯m not here to waste my time. If you don¡¯t select any of the two choices, I¡¯ll select the third one for you," Lucifer warned Adam.


    "What¡¯s the third choice?" Adam asked, conflicted. He didn¡¯t know which bottle to choose.


    "Third choice is flying," Lucifer answered.


    "Flying?" Adam grew confused. What did flying mean?


    "If you don¡¯t select from the two bottles, I¡¯ll simply throw you out of the window. You can experience flying before your head is smashed at thending. Select fast."

 Chapter 387 - 387: Letting Him Leave

    <h4>Chapter 387 - 387: Letting Him Leave </h4>


    "N-no. No third option. I¡¯ll select!" Adam let out, taken aback. The exnation sounded scarier.


    ¡¯If I select one of the two bottles, I have at least a fifty percent chance of survival if I¡¯m lucky. But if I don¡¯t choose, he¡¯ll throw me off the building. That¡¯s a hundred percent death from this height. I can¡¯t take that risk. But which one to choose?¡¯


    He looked at each of the bottles, wondering which one to select. Both bottles looked the same. And they weren¡¯t see-through bottles. He couldn¡¯t see the color of the liquid inside them.


    He couldn¡¯t make an educated guess. He could only go in blindly.


    "You only have thirty seconds left. Select fast." Lucifer reminded the man, looking at the wall clock.


    "Ten seconds."


    "Six seconds."


    Adam started sweating as Lucifer began the countdown. He still didn¡¯t know which one to select.


    "Two seconds."


    "I select the right one." At thest moment, he told his choice.


    "This one?" Lucifer picked up the bottle on the right of Adam.


    Adam nodded his head, still having second thoughts.


    "Open your mouth and make sure to drink it all." Lucifer opened the cap of the bottle.


    Adam opened his mouth, praying to gods that this was the bottle with the medicine and not the poison.


    Lucifer poured the liquid inside the mouth of Adam, who drank it, having no choice.


    As the small bottle became empty, Lucifer ced it on the side.


    Time kept trickling away as Adam waited for the effects. He couldn¡¯t see any even as five minutes passed.


    "Hmm? It seems like you were lucky. You chose the medicine," Lucifer let out, sighing. "I was really hoping that you¡¯ll pick the poison."


    Hearing the words of Lucifer, Adam took a sigh of relief. He actually managed to survive.


    "You¡¯re free to leave. Get out of this ce and go back to your home. I¡¯ll send a person there to help you heal your hands," Lucifer told Adam, getting up.


    He walked to the door and opened it for Adam. "Next time, don¡¯t poison anyone."


    "I won¡¯t! I swear!" Adam eximed as he hastily stood up and started leaving. He left the room, walking freely. No one stopped him.


    Standing back, Szar also watched Adam leave happily. He couldn¡¯t understand why Lucifer did that.


    "Are you really letting him go free just like that? He poisoned Zale! I don¡¯t understand your decision. Why didn¡¯t you just kill him?"


    "Do you really think I¡¯d have let that bastard go free?" Lucifer asked, shaking his head.


    With his hands in his pocket, he started walking away.


    "Are you going to stop him?" Szar asked, following Lucifer.


    "Why would I? He died the moment he drank from that bottle," Lucifer replied, shaking his head.


    "You mean that bottle contained poison?" Szar asked, stunned.


    "Not just that bottle. Both of them contained the poison. It takes effect a bitte," Lucifer exined.


    "This... You never actually gave him a choice? You just made him think he had a chance of survival?"


    "I can never let the killer of my parents live. I just wanted him to suffer the same way my parents did."


    "Why did you tell him that he drank the medicine then?"


    "It¡¯s actually very simple. He poisoned the water of the entire team of my parents. They probably didn¡¯t know they were poisoned until it kicked in. I want him to go through the same," Lucifer exined.


    "I want him to think that he escaped death. I want him to believe he survived. I want him to make ns for the future, think about what he¡¯s going to do next after getting out of here. I want him to have life until the moment it¡¯s painfully snatched from him."


    ...


    Adam used the stairs to go down. He was extremely happy that he was able to survive. Even though he lost his hand in the process, he gained life. At least that¡¯s what he thought.


    Only three minutes had passed when he started feeling something strange. His heart had started beating rapidly. A strange tingling sensation spread all over his body. Even his face was suffering this strange tingling.


    He started feeling extremely tired. Even his legs were shaking. He couldn¡¯t walk anymore. With the support of the wall, he sat on the stairs, feeling his chest thumping.


    His whole body started sweating as his breathing became rapid. He also felt like he was having difficulty breathing.


    His legs also started swelling as they turned blue.


    Within seconds, he lost control of his toes. Soon, his legs stopped listening to him. He couldn¡¯t move his feet at all. Even his neck became rigid, not moving at all. His face started twisting weirdly.


    Breathing was getting more and more difficult for him. Tears came out of his eyes, unable to do anything. He felt like he was dying, but it was so painful yet so slow.


    Soon, blood starteding out of his eyes, nose, and mouth. His skin started rotting, all while he was still alive. At this point, he wanted to die fast, but even death wasn¡¯ting fast. It was torture.


    He had already realized that he hadn¡¯t picked the medicine. Instead, he had chosen the poison, filling him with extreme regret.


    He couldn¡¯t help but think if it was karmaing back at him for poisoning the people who trusted him?


    His stomach started bloating, making him feel like he was going to blow up. His eyes also started swelling, turning pitch ck. He had already lost his vision. Everything was already ck for him.


    The torturested for thirty minutes before finally, the sweet death came to him, putting him out of his misery.


    An unmoving body fell on the stairs, dead.


    ...


    "Kellian, I think a body should be lying on the stairs. Can you tell someone to clean it up?" Lucifer asked Kellian over the phone before entering the lift, which took him to the floor where his office was.


    He entered his office, apanied by Szar.


    Lucifer sat on his chair while Szar sat on the other side of the table in front of him.


    "Alright, Szar. I have some work for you. Since you¡¯ll be getting my revenge, I think you¡¯ll be perfect for it."


    "What work?" Szar asked.


    "I want you to apany me to a ce," Lucifer said, opening his drawer.


    "Which ce?" Szar asked.


    Lucifer brought a file out of his drawer and ced that before Szar. "This ce."


    Szar opened the file and read the name on the first page, which was written in bold letters.

 Chapter 388 - 388: Reason For Bracelet

    <h4>Chapter 388 - 388: Reason For Bracelet </h4>


    "Why this ce?" Szar asked, reading the name of the ce. "Is the Warlock Council there?"


    "It¡¯s not," Lucifer replied, bringing another file.


    He ced the second file before Szar. "This is where the Warlock Council is."


    Szar picked up the second file and went through the first page.


    "If the Warlock Council isn¡¯t there, then why do you want to go to this ce?" Szar asked, raising the first file. "What is so lucrative about that ce?"


    "That ce has something I need," Lucifer replied. Will you being with me or not?"


    Szar opened the first file and started reading more but answering right away.


    After he finished reading, he finally responded. "When are we leaving?"


    "In one week. You can rx here until then."


    "Why sote?"


    "I have something else to do here before that."


    "May I ask what that is?" Szar inquired.


    "I need to meet someone and also collect some things before leaving. We also need time to arrange for the trip," Lucifer exined.


    "Just inform me when it¡¯s time to leave," Szar let out, standing up. "Where will I be staying, by the way?"


    "Someone is waiting outside for you. He¡¯ll take you to your new room. Don¡¯t forget the files. I want you to study up on them. You need to study the enemies we¡¯ll be fighting because you can¡¯t afford to die there."


    "I know. I already read that part in the file. If I die, I¡¯ll probably be brought back to life as a servant. I certainly can¡¯t afford to die. I¡¯m not losing my free will," Szar responded, picking up both the files.


    "Wait. Is this why you¡¯re not removing my bracelet?" Szar asked, realizing something.


    "Since you¡¯re taking me there, you¡¯re already preparing for the scenario in case I die? This bracelet, you¡¯ll activate it if I die and get turned? Is that right?" he asked.


    Lucifer didn¡¯t confirm nor deny, but it was certainly the truth.


    He didn¡¯t want Szar to be used against him since his powers could change the tides of any battle. He didn¡¯t want him to fall into the wrong hands, which was why he was leaving the bracelet on him.


    "I¡¯ll take that as a yes, but I agree with the decision. Death is better than living like a ve without my own free will," Szar replied, leaving.


    He stopped in front of the door. Turning around, he nced at Lucifer as he said, " If I fell in battle and got turned, lock this bracelet again and kill me. That¡¯s what I would want too."


    He left the room.


    Lucifer was left alone in the room, lost in deep thought. "Not just you, I¡¯ll kill anyone who is turned into a Noble. I won¡¯t let anyone be used against me, no matter who it is."


    ...


    "John, I¡¯m your father!" A heavy voice filled the room.


    Gasps!


    A dark-haired man was sitting on the couch who gasped deeply as he heard it. "The hell? How can Ru be the father of John?"


    The man waspletely shocked at the revtion.


    "Jiang, don¡¯t you have anything better to do than just watching movies?" Another voice came from behind the man who was sitting on the couch, watching the TV.


    The dark-haired man turned off the TV and turned around.


    "Ah, it¡¯s you. I was waiting for you to contact me. Congrats on taking over the Capital. Now you¡¯re not only the big boss of Uprising but also the big boss of the entire Elisium," Jiang told Lucifer, who had arrived in his hotel room, unnoticed.


    " Enough chit-chat. Get ready; you¡¯reing with me. A helicopter is waiting for us on the roof," Lucifer told Jiang as he sat on the couch too.


    "Where are we going?"


    "To get the stone which is in APF headquarters. Now that we¡¯re done with the other stuff, we can finally get to it. And only you can help me get to that. Don¡¯t waste time now."


    At the instance of Lucifer, Jiang ran to the wardrobe and soon returned, getting adequately dressed.


    Within ten minutes, he returned after being dressed. "I¡¯m ready to leave."


    He and Lucifer went to the roof of the hotel, where a helicopter was waiting for their arrival. As soon as the two of them entered the helicopter, it took off as its rotors sliced through the wind.


    Soon, the helicopter left the Royal City, carrying only Lucifer and Jiang. No one else from the Uprising had apanied Lucifer except for the pilot, who knew where to go.


    A journey thatsted for close to seven hours ended with thending of the helicopter on top of the base.


    Even though Lucifer had taken almost all of the Uprising members from here to the Capital City, Vega and Drak were still in this ce, handling the systems.


    "That stone should be somewhere in this building. There are a lot of floors here, so finding it should be somewhat hard, but it wouldn¡¯t be impossible."


    " All the security systems are disabled for you. You can go to any part of the building and search," Lucifer exined to Jiang while walking towards the defense Chamber.


    Opening the door, he stepped inside the room where Vega and Drak were sitting, waiting for them.


    "Vega, I already told you that Jiang would be looking for a stone for me. You¡¯re to help him with whatever he needs in this," Lucifer told Vega.


    Jiang looked back at Lucifer, confused. "He would help me? Are you not staying here?"


    "I need to get going. I have another ce to be at. Take your time when searching, but don¡¯t waste it. I¡¯lle back in a few days to take you and that stone," Lucifer replied, patting Jiang¡¯s shoulder.


    "Don¡¯t worry about anything. I¡¯ll help him with everything," Vega chimed in. "This whole ce is ours anyway."


    "Yeah. Start from the top. I think it¡¯s highly likely that Varant hid that stone there. If it¡¯s not there, check other floors and inform me about it as soon as you find it," Lucifer said atst before leaving.


    ...


    Leaving Jiang behind to search, Lucifer went back to the helipad where the helicopter was standing.


    He entered the helicopter, which started flying, taking him straight to the nearest airport where a private jet was waiting for him.


    The helicopternded near the jet, letting Lucifer step out before it started flying again. The helicopter left.


    Lucifer entered the private jet, taking a seat.


    A woman approached him, asking, "Shall we leave, Sir?"


    Lucifer replied to the woman¡¯s question with a casual nod.

 Chapter 389 - 389: Something Special

    <h4>Chapter 389 - 389: Something Special </h4>


    She went to the pilot¡¯s cabin and informed him beforeing back and offering a beverage to Lucifer.


    "I¡¯m fine. I don¡¯t need anything to drink. Just get me something to eat," Lucifer said, refusing to tackle the cold drink.


    "Right away." The woman left and soon brought something to eat.


    In the meantime, the pilot took the necessary permission to take the flight off the ground. The ne started moving.


    The journey seemed to be so short that Lucifer had just finished eating when the nended at the destination airport. The flightsted for only an hour.


    The current airport was a part of Magna City, which was the closest to the Uprising base. The helicopter flight, which would have taken days to get him to Uprising base, was reduced to hours because of the flight.


    Leaving the ne, Lucifer stepped inside another helicopter that was already waiting for him nearby. It was thest part of the journey which took him straight to the desert where the Uprising base was hiding.


    The helicopter floated in the middle of the desert as if waiting for something. Soon, an opening appeared in the ground, revealing the helipad underground. The helicopternded on the helipad.


    Sliding the door of the helicopter, Lucifer stepped aside to be greeted by two Warlocks.


    "Greetings, captain. We were told that you would being," one of the Warlocks said. "I¡¯m Joan, and he is Qia."


    "How are you two feeling now?" Lucifer asked the two men.


    He recognized the two men as they were a part of the men who fought the APF in Kensington. Since they were amongst the many that were injured like Tristan, they were sent to the Uprising base to get medical help.


    They weren¡¯t part of the team that besieged the Capital City.


    "We¡¯re perfectly fine now," Joan replied. "Let us escort you to theb."


    "I remember this ce a bit from the first time I came here. It hasn¡¯t changed even a bit in thest eight years. Do you all still use the fingerprint system to get ess to lifts?" Lucifer asked, walking towards the lift.


    As he stopped in front of them, he was able to see that the sensor was still there.


    "Yeah. Since we¡¯ll be getting a new base in the capital and you weren¡¯t expected toe here, there was no need to change this system," Joan let out, cing his thumb on the lift. The lift opened.


    The three of them stepped inside the lift, and Joan pressed a button. The doors closed, and the lift started going down.


    Stepping out of the lift, Lucifer walked to theb. He had already been to this ce when he was brought here to get his battle gear, so it wasn¡¯t hard to locate theb.


    Theb, which covered more than half of this floor, had only one entrance which was a white door at the end of the corridor.


    Pushing the door open, he stepped inside with Joan and Qia.


    The leading scientist noticed Lucifer. He couldn¡¯t help but smile wryly. "You¡¯re actually here. Didn¡¯t I tell you that you didn¡¯t need toe personally? I would have sent that thing to you myself."


    "There was no need for it. I needed toe here for another reason. I thought I¡¯d pick that up while I was already here. No need for you to make an effort to send that to me. So where is it?" Lucifer asked, stepping closer to the scientist.


    The white-haired scientist looked towards a dark-haired man in the back. "Bring that to me."


    As the dark-haired man went to get something, the white-haired scientist apanied Lucifer. "May I ask why you said that you needed toe here?"


    "I wanted to meet the person that can nevere out of this ce," Lucifer replied.


    "You mean you¡¯re here to take Predictor? He¡¯ll nevere with you."


    "I have a feeling that he won¡¯t. And I won¡¯t force him. I¡¯m not here to take him. I¡¯m here to simply talk to him personally," Lucifer replied.


    The ck-haired man returned with a small box, cing that on a ss table.


    The white-haired man opened the small box to reveal the item inside. "Here it is, ourst pair of gloves. Make sure they aren¡¯t destroyed again, alright? It¡¯s pretty hard to find those things. After eight years, we only managed to find two of these."


    Lucifer took off the glove from his left hand, which looked old and worn out. Since his left hand and the glove on it had turned to stone, he lost the glove. Since then, he had been using his old worn-out glove that he used for thest eight years.


    Soon after returning from the Dungeon, he had asked Kellian if there were more gloves.


    He was told that there was another pair back at the Uprising base. Since he wasing to meet Predictor anyway, he decided to collect the gloves here.


    He wore the new left-hand gloves and kept the other glove in his pocket.


    "How¡¯s the work for Cassius¡¯ battle gearing along? It¡¯s been a long time; I think you should¡¯ve been done by now, right?" Lucifer asked, remembering another thing.


    "That¡¯s also finished. We already sent that though. I¡¯m sure the battle gear will reach your friend by tomorrow. Not only him, but we also prepared something for the man named Uzuki too," The scientist informed.


    "Good." Lucifer turned to leave.


    "Ah, wait! There¡¯s one more thing!" The scientist called out to Lucifer.


    "What?" Turning around, Lucifer asked.


    "We prepared something for you as well. Well, not one thing but more than one. Since we had some time to work on stuff, we managed to create some time, especially for you. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll love it."


    "What did you create?"


    "Please follow me to see," the scientist smirked, walking towards a metallic door.


    He pressed a button. The door opened on its own.


    Lucifer stepped inside the chamber with the scientist, stopping at a pure white room.


    Not only the walls but even the ceiling and the floor were white.


    "There¡¯s nothing here," Lucifer pointed out the obvious, unable to find anything.


    "Correction, there¡¯s nothing here yet," the scientist responded, smiling. He walked over to the wall and drew something using his finger.


    As he finished, something started happening in the room.


    The wall where he had drawn started going down, revealing the other part of the room, which wasn¡¯t as empty.


    "Now that we have so many resources, making these things seemed like the most logical choice. And these will help you a lot in your journey to the Divine Empire," the scientist said.

 Chapter 390 - 390: The Upgrade

    <h4>Chapter 390 - 390: The Upgrade </h4>


    "Kellian told you about the Divine Empire trip?" Lucifer asked, surprised. He didn¡¯t expect this guy to know about it.


    "He told me about this a long time ago. He wanted me to make something for you for your trip to that ce, specifically. And I believe I seeded for the most part. These things should be able to help you a lot," the white-haired scientist answered, smiling.


    "I was about to send these to you as well, but you decided toe here yourself, so even better," he added.


    "Shall we begin?" he asked.


    Lucifer nodded, looking at the items that were ced before him.


    There were many things that attracted his attention, especially a pitch-ck cloak that was hanging on the wall.


    It was a long ck cloak that coulde down to his ankles. There was no other color on the cloak or any design. It was pure ck.


    "I see you¡¯re interested this time. Let me start with that first," the scientist smirked, walking towards the cloak.


    "This cloak is something we designed especially for the Divine Empire. ording to our Empire, the Nobles of that ce wear a white cloak. The Queen often wears a ck cloak when she goes out."


    "As for the civilians, they are also allowed to wear cloaks if they wanted, but they can¡¯t wear ck or white cloaks. So we made this for you," the scientist exined.


    "If I wear that thing there, won¡¯t I stick out of the civilians like a tiger hiding in a flock of sheep?" Lucifer asked, shaking his head.


    "No, you won¡¯t stick out at all," the scientist smiled, shaking his head.


    He ced the cloak on the table and made a circle on it with his fingers. As he finished, the cloak suddenly changed color, turning white.


    He once again made a circle with his fingers, changing the colors again. This time, the cloak turned green.


    "What is that?" Lucifer asked. "It can change color?"


    "That¡¯s right. Since you¡¯re going to that ce, I think it¡¯lle in really handy. With this cloak, you can hide your face when you need to; you can also disguise yourself as a noble if you need to infiltrate the pce of the queen."


    "And when you¡¯re in public, you can use the other colors. All you need to change its color is to draw a circle on the chest portion with your finger. It¡¯s an easy trigger," the scientist exined. "I¡¯m sure you can remember it easily."


    "Is that all it does?" Lucifer asked. Even though he was impressed, this didn¡¯t seem like much. He didn¡¯t simply steal someone¡¯s cloak there if he wanted to infiltrate.


    "That¡¯s not all. That¡¯s just one of its specialties. The second specialty is that we made it using the Upgraded Cardigan Particles," the man exined.


    "Upgraded Cardigan Particles?"


    "Yeah. It¡¯s been a long time since we discovered the Cardigan Particles. We had been working to improve them even more, and finally, we were able to achieve something. It¡¯s still an experimental technology though. There are still some ws to it, but these ws won¡¯t affect you."


    "What ws?" Lucifer asked, stepping closer to the cloak.


    "To make the cardigan particles stronger, we experimented with Atomic Zei Energy. It also worked, making the cardigan particles stronger, but it also left slight Zei Radiation in the cardigan particles," the scientist exined. "We haven¡¯t been able to solve that yet."


    "Zei Radiation? Doesn¡¯t that make cardigan particles useless? If someone wears clothes that have Zei Radiation, that person will be extremely sick in a short time," Lucifer asked, frowning.


    "This cloak has radiation?" he asked.


    "Yeah, unfortunately. We¡¯re still trying to find a way to remove the radiation, but it¡¯ll take some time and a lot more research. But if it¡¯s you, the radiation won¡¯t affect you. Your healing would keep you protected, right? This should have no risk to you." The scientist responded.


    "Also, the radiation is only in a tiny quantity. It won¡¯t affect anyone close to you. It¡¯ll only affect you since you¡¯ll be wearing it. Unless a person hugs you for ten straight hours, he won¡¯t be affected by the Zei radiation," he added.


    "Tell me the benefits of Upgraded Cardigan Particles first. Let me see if it¡¯s worth it," Lucifer let out, folding his arms.


    "That¡¯s the best part." the white-haired man smirked. "You know how the old Cardigan Particles weakened the attacks before they could pass through them?"


    "Yeah. What about that?"


    "These ones can weaken the attacks four hundred percent more than the old Cardigan Particles. But that¡¯s not all. These Cardigan Particles not only weaken the attacks but they charge themselves from the strength of the attacks that they absorb."


    "Charge themselves? What do you mean?¡¯ Lucifer asked, confused. These clothes weren¡¯t phones that needed charge to work. "What use is their charging? Can they weaken the next attack even more if they¡¯re charged?"


    "Not at all. It¡¯s something else which I think is very useful for you."


    "How?"


    "Because you can absorb that energy for yourself."


    "I can absorb that energy?" Lucifer asked, surprised. He didn¡¯t understand what he was trying to say.


    "Look inside the pockets of this cloak," the man said, smiling.


    "Hmm?" Lucifer checked the pockets to find ten crystal balls that were only a few centimeters wide.


    These balls looked like random items that kids yed with.


    "What are these?" he asked.


    "These are something specially designed for Upgraded Cardigan Particles. The Upgraded Cardigan Particles absorb most of the energy of the attacks to recharge themselves. And when they¡¯re fully recharged, they transfer that energy to the crystal balls in your hands."


    "Once the balls are supercharged with upgraded cardigan particle energy, they be very useful. In the case of others, our men could then throw these balls at the enemies."


    " Since they¡¯ll be supercharged, these balls would be no less than missiles, blowing up as soon as they¡¯re thrown at the enemies. But that¡¯s only for others. For you, these balls hold a different use."


    "And what use do these crystal balls hold for me?"


    "They¡¯re your food," the white-haired man said, smiling.


    "You want me to eat these supercharged bombs?" Lucifer asked, looking at the man weirdly.


    "Not at all. You¡¯re taking me literally. What I meant is that you can use your decay on these balls and absorb the energy inside these balls. I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll help you, won¡¯t it?"


    "As soon as you absorb all the energy from one ball, it¡¯ll stop shining. It¡¯s absolutely important that you stop decaying the ball after that point, or it¡¯ll turn to dust."

 Chapter 391 - 391: The Cloak

    <h4>Chapter 391 - 391: The Cloak </h4>


    "As soon as the shine of the crystal ball bes dim, stop touching it and keep it back in the pockets," the scientist eximed.


    ¡¯That¡¯s true. The decay helps me steal life energy, sometimes even working on attacks. When I¡¯m out of energy, I can absorb from these. It¡¯s certainly useful.¡¯ Lucifer thought, ncing at the crystal balls in his hand.


    ¡¯But how did this guy know that my decay can steal energy?¡¯ A frown also engulfed his face.


    "What do you mean absorb the energy? How can I do it?" Lucifer asked, acting ignorant.


    "You don¡¯t have to hide it. I¡¯m not the only one that managed to guess it." the white-haired man smiled. "In any case, it¡¯s just how your power works. It¡¯s not the limitation of your decay. So there¡¯s no reason to keep it hidden either."


    ¡¯That¡¯s true. They know how my decay works but not the fact that my healing gets stronger because of decay as well. It should be fine. Still, it¡¯s surprising to know that this guy knew about it.¡¯ Lucifer thought, shaking his head.


    "Is there any other specialty of this cloak?" he asked, changing the topic.


    "There are a few more," the scientist nodded.


    "Firstly, it shines. I mean, if you¡¯re stuck in a dark ce with no source of light, you can simply make a rectangle on the chest portion, and the cloak will start shining, brightening your surroundings."


    "Next, it can protect the things in your pocket. In case an attacknds on you, and it¡¯s so overwhelming that the cloak can¡¯t stop the attack, it¡¯ll absorb the energy of the attack, letting the rest pass through."


    "But it¡¯s different for the pockets. No matter how strong the attack is, this cloak protects the others, stopping the attack from passing from that spot. So you can keep things safe there."


    "Also, it is impossible to cut. If a person thrust an ordinary sword at you, the cloak won¡¯t let the sword pass through."


    "It¡¯s also fireproof and bullet proof. Moreover, you can use it to disrupt themunication field in your surroundings too, jamming themunication of your enemies."


    "With this trick, you can stop your enemies from contacting others, especially their base. But remember one thing, it can only cause a disruption field within a radius of twenty meters. If someone is outside that range, they can still call others."


    As the scientist talked and exined the features of this cloak, pride was evident on his face for what they had managed to achieve.


    "And how do I trigger that field? Don¡¯t tell me I need to draw on the chest portion again? What is it next time, a triangle?" Lucifer asked.


    "Ah, how did you guess so easily?!" The white-haired man eximed in surprise.


    "Just a hunch," Lucifer let out, smiling wryly. "I think you¡¯re addicted to shapes."


    "Not really. I just made it simple so everyone could remember¡ªcircle for color, square for light, and Triangle formunication disruption. Should be easy to remember," the white-haired man responded, smiling.


    "Is there anything else?" Lucifer asked. "Any other use and shape to draw? Rectangle is still left."


    "That would be all. These are the only uses of it. So, what do you think about it?" The scientist asked.


    "I think this cloak is good. It would certainlye in handy with all the features it had. Even though it has Zei Radiation, it¡¯s perfect for me. But you should still work to remove that radiation so others could use it too," Lucifer praised the cloak.


    ¡¯The radiation would keep my healing constantly working but only to a small extent. It¡¯s good too since my healing would only get stronger the more it worked,¡¯ he thought.


    "Yeah. That¡¯s what we¡¯re working on. Anyway, do you want to give it a try?"


    Lucifer nodded as he took off his jacket. Picking up the cloak, he donned it.


    He drew a circle to change the color of the cloak. The color changed to red.


    "How long before I get to ck again? How many colors are there on it?" he asked the scientist as he continued drawing on the cloak.


    "Not too many. Nine colors only," the scientist answered.


    Lucifer kept drawing circles until the cloak finally became pitch ck. "This is better. So, what¡¯s next?"


    "Next is this thing. I think this would be useful as well," The man said, picking up sunsses.


    " And what does it do?" Lucifer asked, observing the fairly ordinary-looking sunsses.


    " These aren¡¯t ordinary sunsses. First of all, they are connected directly to our satellite that we own now. There¡¯s a speaker in it near the ear part. Using these sses, you can talk to anyone."


    ¡¯Think of it as a hidden phone that uses our personal satellite formunication."


    "There¡¯s a voice assistant inside, so all you need to do is say, ¡¯Call¡¯ and speak the number you want to call. I have already ced the numbers of all the Uprising members on it. You just need to say call, followed by their name, and it¡¯ll handle the rest."


    "It uses bone conduction technology to get the voice to you, without letting anyone in the surroundings hear. There¡¯s also a secret mic which transmits your voice."


    "This is pretty useful as well. Not bad. I¡¯m impressed," Lucifer let out, amazed at the sses. With these, he could talk to anyone without being found out.


    "That¡¯s not all. With this, you can also see through the wall or door, but it only works on one wall. You can¡¯t see through two consecutive walls with these. Maybe in the future, we¡¯ll be able to achieve that as well. To activate that, you need to say, help me see through the wall."


    " It also has the X-Ray technology, using which you can see if someone is carrying a weapon or not. Just tell the voice assistant that you want to use X-Ray."


    "There¡¯s one more thing that I forgot to mention. There¡¯s a screen inside the sses. It has many uses, for example, you can search for something, and the results will be shown inside your sses."


    "Or, in case someone wants to share theirptop screen to you or show you an image, they can send that to your sses. That¡¯s just a few cases. There are literally many uses to it which I can¡¯t state."


    "Oh, and you can also use them as normal sunsses to protect your eyes from UV rays. It can also hide your unique eye color."


    "What do you think about this?" The white-haired man asked.

 Chapter 392 - 392: Lucifers Weapon

    <h4>Chapter 392 - 392: Lucifer''s Weapon </h4>


    "Looks good, I suppose," Lucifer muttered, observing the sses in his hands.


    The tinted sses made it impossible for someone to see his eyes. He tried wearing sunsses.


    "They do fit," he muttered, bringing out his phone from his pocket. He looked at his reflection on the screen.


    "When you¡¯re free, you should try talking to the in-built assistant to see its full capabilities. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be surprised even more," the white-haired scientist said


    "But if you actually want something which covers all minor features of the sses, we did create this manual for you," he continued, pointing towards a booklet that was ced on the table.


    "When you¡¯re not using the sses, keep them in the pocket of your cloak. It¡¯ll charge your sses, so they¡¯re never out of power," he added.


    "Is this cloak fully charged already? I thought it needed to absorb attacks to charge?" Lucifer asked, curious.


    "We did charge it a little. We didn¡¯t charge itpletely since that would decrease its absorption capacity when it actually faced an attack. But if you want to charge it, you can attack the cloak yourself," the man answered.


    "But only attack after taking the cloak off. You won¡¯t want to hurt yourself even with that healing of yours," he added, walking over to the following table, which was ced nearby.


    Lucifer kept the sunsses in his pocket as he followed the scientist.


    The scientist stopped at the third table, which was alsopletely white, matching the room¡¯s aesthetics.


    "This is the next item on the list. We had a lot of back and forth when deciding on this since a lot of people in our team argued against it, saying you won¡¯t need it," he said, picking up a gun that was on the table.


    "A gun? Kane, do you really think I¡¯ll need a gun?" Lucifer asked, shaking his head. "I think I can understand why people in your team were against it."


    "Hmm? You know my name?" The white-haired man asked, surprised.


    "Why won¡¯t I?" Lucifer asked.


    "Well, this is our first time meeting. And you didn¡¯t ask for my name either. I¡¯m surprised you knew my name."


    "I thought you¡¯d only know the name of my partner who gave you the briefing when you came the first time." the scientist known as Kane said, surprised.


    " Man, I miss him. He hasn¡¯t returned since he left to deliver your battle gear to you," he added.


    "He told me about you when I wasing here," Lucifer exined. "Anyway, is there anything special about it? If you made it, you must¡¯ve felt strongly about it."


    "That¡¯s right. I think this wille really handy actually. And I agree, a Warlock like you doesn¡¯t need any weapons," Kane replied.


    "Your lightning itself is the best weapon there can be, but I think this will be useful for you."


    He tossed the gun towards Lucifer, who caught it.


    "Here, try shooting,"


    Lucifer caught the gun and aimed it towards the wall on the other end.


    He soon pulled the trigger, but nothing happened.


    "Hmm? Nothing happened?"


    He pulled the trigger three more times, but still, nothing happened.


    Confused, he turned to look at Kane.


    "Ah, right. I forgot to tell you about the lock. It¡¯s something I added, so even if an unauthorized person takes the gun, he can¡¯t use it," Kane exined, smiling wryly.


    "Don¡¯t tell me I need to draw a circle on it too?" Lucifer asked, confused. He couldn¡¯t see anything on this gun to unlock it.


    "Not at all. I¡¯m not an idiot to make that mechanism on the gun. The lock is simple. You just need to triple tap on the trigger. It¡¯ll unlock. If you want to lock it, use that triple tap again," Kane replied.


    Hearing the answer, Lucifer once again looked at Kane weirdly.


    Shaking his head, he triple tapped the trigger.


    Tuck!


    As soon as he tapped the trigger a third time, a strange sound came from inside the gun.


    "That sound means that it¡¯s unlocked. You can fire now." Kane reminded Lucifer.


    Lucifer again aimed the gun at the wall before pulling the trigger.


    As soon as he pulled the trigger, an ordinary bullet left the gun at lightning-fast speed. It hit the wall and got stuck there.


    "Looks like an ordinary bullet. It can¡¯t even pass through the wall?" Lucifer shook his head in disappointment.


    "Are you disappointed?" Kane asked, smirking.


    "If that¡¯s all it can do, then yeah," Lucifer responded.


    Kane stepped in front of Lucifer, raising his hand towards the wall where the bullet was stuck.


    A semi-transparent barrier formed right before their eyes which isted the wall and the bullet.


    "That¡¯s the first specialty of this gun. It was made to disappoint," Kane said, smiling.


    "Please tell me you¡¯re joking," Lucifer let out, cing the gun back on the table. "Because if that¡¯s the reason you made it, this gun is a sess and a failure at the same time."


    "I¡¯m not joking. The gun was actually made to disappoint, but it¡¯s not to disappoint you. It¡¯s to disappoint the enemies," Kane said, smiling.


    "Can¡¯t you see it?" he asked, smiling.


    "See what?" Lucifer asked, confused.


    "Exactly. The bullets are a special kind of bullets. They look like ordinary bullets, but they aren¡¯t. Ten seconds after they hit something, an invisible gas starts leaking out."


    "Within seconds, that gas covers the surrounding area. As for that gas, it¡¯s a sleeping gas. I¡¯ve designed this keeping your infiltration in mind."


    "Imagine you have an enemy who is a noble. You shoot at it but miss. The bulletnds on the ground. That¡¯s when this bullet will start leaking this gas, putting all your enemies to sleep."


    "Be careful though; it can also put friends to sleep. Since you have healing, you won¡¯t be affected. So this is a good gun for you." Kane exined.


    "It¡¯s a gun to put enemies to sleep? Are you sure it works? How long does it take to put someone to sleep?" Lucifer asked, picking the gun again. "And how long before they wake up?"


    "Five minutes for the effect to show. And they wake up after an hour at best, unless they have some ability that makes them immune to this like you," Kane exined.


    "What¡¯s the range of this gas? What if a person goes out of its range before five minutes are over?" Lucifer asked.


    "If the person leaves before two minutes, he¡¯ll still feel a little dizzy after five minutes are over, but he won¡¯t fall asleep."

 Chapter 393 - 393: Man Of Culture

    <h4>Chapter 393 - 393: Man Of Culture </h4>


    "If they leave within two to four minutes, they would be extremely sleepy after another minute, but they can still force themselves to stay up; it¡¯ll just be hard."


    " In any case, all effects start after five minutes so that they won¡¯t be suspicious."


    "As for its range, it¡¯s three meters from the point of impact," he added.


    "I want to test it again, on real people," Lucifer dered.


    "I understand that. You can test it on others after you leave. All of these things are for you anyway. These will go with you," Kane exined. "But first, let¡¯s finish the briefing?"


    Lucifer nodded. "What¡¯s next?"


    He looked around, but there seemed to be nothing else here. Only these three things were here.


    "There¡¯s no next. At the moment, we only have these three finished products," Kane responded.


    "Then we¡¯re done here?"


    "Not yet. I mean, that gun does have more functions. I only told you about its first function," Kane exined, smiling wryly. "There¡¯s one more function of it that I didn¡¯t talk about."


    "What other function is there?¡¯ Lucifer asked.


    "You remember I told you about those crystal orbs that are charged by your cloak?"


    "This gun is a bit simr to it. It can also get charged inside your cloak and absorb energy from it," Kane exined.


    "After absorbing the energy, it canpress that energy to form a special kind of bullets within the gun. Let me show you how it¡¯s done," he added, taking the gun from Lucifer.


    He took out the magazine from the gun and picked a different magazine from the table, which was red in color.


    He inserted the red magazine inside the gun.


    "This ck magazine has sleeping bullets. As for this red magazine, it¡¯spletely empty, but it¡¯s an important mechanism if you want to use the second feature of the gun," he said before tossing the gun towards Lucifer again.


    "Keep the gun in your pocket and let it charge. A bullet will get formed within ten minutes inside that red magazine."


    "That magazine has a capacity of only one bullet. So you can¡¯t consecutively fire from it, but that one time should be enough," he added, smiling.


    "Here, keep this magazine too for the future. This one has a limit of twenty bullets. It only has neen now."


    Lucifer kept the gun in his pocket. He also kept the ck magazine in his pocket.


    "Here, this box contains a set of fifty of those sleeping bullets. Carry them with you too." Kane gave another small box that was as big as a phone and just as thick.


    "Sleeping bullets aren¡¯t formed out of thin air, unlike the one in the red magazine, but still, seventy of them should be enough for you," he added.


    "Sixty-nine," Lucifer replied, keeping the small box in his pocket.


    "Huh?" Kane grew stunned, hearing Lucifer. "I didn¡¯t know you were a man of culture as well."


    "I meant sixty-nine bullets, not seventy. I already used one from the ck magazine that carried twenty of them. The box has fifty more. It¡¯s sixty-nine bullets that should be enough, not seventy," Luciferzily replied.


    "Ah, you meant like that! I thought...."


    "You don¡¯t need to exin. I can easily guess what you thought," Lucifer let out, stopping Kane. "Is there any other function too?"


    "There are a few, but nothing major. Like this gun is undetectable, no matter what scanner it goes through. Even metal detectors can¡¯t detect it. Just minor stuff," Kane replied.


    "Shall we leave then?" Lucifer asked, walking over to the middle table.


    He picked up the small booklet and kept that in his pocket too. He wanted to know more about the sunssester.


    He left the room with Kane. The room once again closed after everyone left.


    "Joan, Qia, wait outside for me," Lucifer told the two Warlocks that were his escorts inside the facility.


    Joan and Qia left theb without asking questions.


    After the two left, Lucifer brought his gun out of his pocket. He removed the red magazine and inserted the ck one again while standing at the exit.


    "Wait, are you going to test that here?" Kane asked, stunned.


    "What better ce? All of you can take a nap for an hour. It¡¯ll be good for your health too." Lucifer replied, pulling the trigger, aiming the gun towards the floor.


    After firing, he closed the door to see the effect of the bullet himself.


    Since it was just a sleeping gas and not a poison, there was no risk for the scientists either, so it was the best ce to test for him.


    Time kept passing, but he didn¡¯t see anything. Just as he was told, the gas waspletely invisible.


    In fact, he wasn¡¯t even able to smell anything which was good. If a person could smell, they could know that something was wrong and run away.


    The gas filled the room, which was closed. Most of the scientists looked at Lucifer, shaking their heads.


    They couldn¡¯t believe he was literally testing their invention on them, but they weren¡¯t angry either. It was a sleeping gas only.


    No one even tried to run.


    More time passed, and Lucifer noticed the eyes of the Scientists closing. They all sat on the ground, feeling sleepy.


    "Maybe we really do need that sleep," Kane muttered, closing his eyes. He fell asleep.


    Lucifer stepped closer to Kane and tried shaking him, but he didn¡¯t wake up.


    ¡¯Not bad. I think this cane in handy. If I had this before, I could have had such an easy time putting Alicia to sleep in Kensington instead of making her lose consciousness.¡¯ he thought, removing the ck magazine again.


    "That leaves sixty-eight," he muttered, keeping the ck magazine in his inner cloak pocket.


    He brought the red magazine out and inserted it in the gun before keeping it back in his inner pocket so it could charge.


    Opening the door, he stepped out of theb.


    "Where do you want to go next?" Joan asked Lucifer.


    "Predictor¡¯s room. I came especially for him after all," Lucifer responded.


    "Please follow us," Joan said, escorting Lucifer to the lift.


    The lift at the Uprising base was big enough to fit at least a hundred people. It looked less like a lift and more like a small hall. As it was upied by only three people, it looked fairly empty.


    As the lift stopped, Lucifer stepped out of it after Joan and Qia.


    "This floor, why is it so dark?" Lucifer asked, curious. This ce was so dark that even he couldn¡¯t see anything.


    He decided to use his newly acquired cloak this time. He drew a shape on the chest part of his cloak with his fingers.

 Chapter 394 - 394: World Changing Event

    <h4>Chapter 394 - 394: World Changing Event </h4>


    As soon as he finished drawing, the cloak started shining brightly, allowing him to see his surroundings.


    The cloak was so bright that Joan and Qia couldn¡¯t even look at it straight.


    "It¡¯s because this whole floor belongs to Predictor alone. And he likes staying in darkness for the most part," Joan exined.


    "So he can¡¯t bear the light? Is that why he doesn¡¯t leave the facility?" Lucifer asked, wondering if this was the true reason behind him never leaving.


    "Not really. He can stay in light too, since he can¡¯t actually see with his blindfold anyway. He often left this floor to go to other floors in the light."


    "But when ites to his own floor, he keeps it mostly dark. Probably because it makes it difficult for him to sleep," Joan exined.


    "I think you should turn off that light when we get to his room. It¡¯s too blinding. He wouldn¡¯t even be able to see you with this thing on," Qia also suggested in the middle.


    "I¡¯ll turn it off when I get there," Lucifer agreed.


    Even though he agreed to turn it off, he did wonder how he was going to see Predictor in such darkness.


    ¡¯Wait, those Sunsses that Kane created. He ced a lot of tech in the sses. Night vision should be there as well if I¡¯m not wrong. He made them to see through the walls and for having X-Ray. It would be stupid if there¡¯s no just vision.¡¯


    He brought the sses out of his pocket and wore them.


    Even though he was wearing sunsses, he was able to see everything clearly as if he was wearing reading sses. There was no shade of darkness that he experienced. Everything was just as bright.


    "This is his room." Joan stopped in front of a door. "Shall I knock?"


    "Go ahead," Lucifer let out, turning the light of his cloak off.


    As soon as the cloak turned off, everything returned to darkness.


    [Warning: Darkness Detected. Do you want to turn on the night vision?]


    As soon as Lucifer turned off the cloak, the sses activated as if noticing the unusual darkness.


    Through the sses, he was able to see a popup in front of his eyes.


    ¡¯Fancy feature. It senses the darkness in its own to suggest the next action,¡¯ Lucifer thought, amused.


    "Turn it on," hemanded.


    As soon as hemanded, the night vision of the sses turned on. He was able to see everything clearly as if the ce wasn¡¯t dark at all.


    Joan knocked on the door.


    "Who is it!" A voice came from inside.


    "It¡¯s me, Joan! I brought Captain Lucifer who wanted to meet you?" Joan replied.


    "Come inside."


    Joan pushed the door open and stepped inside.


    Lucifer stepped inside the room, which wasn¡¯t dark for him. He was able to see everything clearly.


    He could see a massive bed in the room. A soft mattress was on the bed, on top of whichy a man.


    The dark-haired man was lying on the bed, dressed in ck.


    A ck blindfold was wrapped around his eyes.


    The man slowly sat up, turning towards Lucifer.


    "The new leader, I assume? You seem simr to how I saw you in my dreams," Predictor told Lucifer, looking right in his direction.


    "Can you see through the blindfold?" Lucifer asked, feeling like Predictor was able to see him. How else was he looking directly towards him?


    "I apologize, but I can¡¯t see anything. I¡¯ve been blind since birth," Predictor replied, shaking his head.


    "How did you know where I was standing?" Lucifer asked.


    "All because of my ability," Predictor replied. "God took my eyes from me at birth, but he gave me the ability to see the world even without my eyes."


    "Your second ability?" Lucifer asked, curious. He didn¡¯t really know about the other abilities of Predictor.


    "That¡¯s right. In my dreams, I can see the future and what it may be with my first ability. In real life, I can see through my other ability. It¡¯s not perfect though," Predictor exined.


    "Anyway, I¡¯m sure you didn¡¯te here to talk about my eyes. What brought you here?" he asked.


    "Joan, Qia, you two wait outside for me. Don¡¯t forget to close the door," Lucifermanded the two Warlocks who left the room and closed the door.


    "You sent them away. I guess you¡¯re really here to talk about something important. What is it? If I can help, I¡¯ll do so," Prediction said, folding his arms.


    "I came here to ask you about your dreams. I think it¡¯s better if we talk face to face."


    "What about my dreams?" Predictor asked.


    "With your ability, can you see the events of the past? Or can you see events of the future only?" Lucifer asked, getting to the main topic.


    He wanted to know if there was any risk of Predictor seeing what he did in the past.


    "I can only see the future. I can¡¯t see the past," Predictor replied.


    "How do your dreams work? Why is it that you had a dream about me? There are billions of people in the world. Why didn¡¯t you see their future? I want to know how your dreams are triggered?"


    "Actually, even I don¡¯t know the answer to that question. I can only see the Prediction Dreams of things that might cause world changing events, rted to people with whom my destiny is intertwined with," Predictor eximed.


    "Are you saying that my Destiny is intertwined with yours?" Lucifer asked.


    "Is it not? I¡¯m an Uprising member. You¡¯re the leader. Your destiny has always been intertwined with mine."


    "Before your arrival, I had only seen dreams about Uprising members, but after the first time you entered this base, I saw three predictions rted to you alone," Predictor exined.


    "Like my first prediction, about the day when you killed those scientists. I saw how you all managed to get past the APF defenses."


    "What was so world changing about that event? You said you only see special events that have the potential to change the world. What was so special about that day?" Lucifer asked.


    "Don¡¯t you see it?" Predictor asked, smiling.


    "That day, you not only took your revenge, but you also went against one of the APF captains. That¡¯s also the day when your eyes were exposed before them. Don¡¯t you see how unique this event was?"


    "It defined your future. After that day, APF became blood hungry for you, which wrote a new chapter about the hostility of you two, changing the destiny of Elisium and this whole world."


    "Without that event, we might not even be in this situation, so it was actually a world changing event."

 Chapter 395 - 395: World Changing Event

    <h4>Chapter 395 - 395: World Changing Event </h4>


    As Predictor exined, Lucifer grew amazed. He really hadn¡¯t thought about it like this ever before.


    "The second prediction about you which I saw was the day of your meeting with Veracity. The meeting between you two also paved the way to your future in ways unknown," Predictor continued.


    "That was the second Prediction about me? What was the third one then?" Lucifer asked, frowning.


    He had done many things after his meeting with Veracity which also included killing Raia. He wondered if the Predictor knew something.


    "Now that I think about it, Raia¡¯s death was also a world changing event as it brought me into this leadership position. Don¡¯t tell me you didn¡¯t see how he died?" he asked.


    Predictor took a deep breath, sighing.


    "You¡¯re right. His death was also a world changing event. And I certainly saw it too. But I keep that in the category of predictions rted to Raia. The third prediction for you is different."


    Hearing the Predictor talk about seeing the death of Raia, Lucifer¡¯s smile disappeared. It meant that he actually saw who killed Raia.


    "If you saw it, tell me who killed him?" Lucifer asked solemnly.


    "The person who is standing before me killed him, of course," Predictor replied.


    Lucifer clenched his fist, but he didn¡¯t attack. Predictor was important to him. He couldn¡¯t kill this guy.


    "If you saw it, why didn¡¯t you alert Raia about it?" Lucifer asked, frowning.


    "Because I didn¡¯t know if it was a normal dream or a prediction. I thought it was an ordinary dream," Predictor replied.


    "I don¡¯t buy that answer. You can¡¯t distinguish between any Prediction and Dream, but that never stopped you from informing others about it. Tell me the truth!" Lucifermanded.


    "Also, why didn¡¯t you inform the others about it after it actually happened?" he asked.


    "Fine! It¡¯s because I wanted him dead too, even if it was actually a Prediction," Predictor replied, sighing.


    "Why?" Lucifer asked, surprised. Predictor wanted Raia dead? Is that why he hid such important information from Raia?


    "Because I didn¡¯t just see his death. I saw what happened before that too. In my prediction, I saw his conversation with Varant too. I heard how he and Varant worked together to kill Zale," Predictor replied.


    " For a person that ims to be fighting for Variants, he was actually only interested in ruling himself. After hearing his conversation, it became absolutely clear to me." he continued, getting off the bed.


    "Even I killed Variants, so why don¡¯t you betray me as well?" Lucifer asked, frowning.


    "Well, I won¡¯t lie; I did think about telling others that you killed Raia, but I didn¡¯t."


    "Why didn¡¯t you?" Lucifer asked.


    "Because I had a dream that same night. In that dream, I told everyone about your betrayal. You want to know how that dream ended?" Predictor asked.


    "How?" Lucifer asked solemnly.


    "It ended with the destruction of Elisium and my death. I didn¡¯t want my dream to turn into a prediction, so I didn¡¯t tell anyone," Predictor exined. "As I said, my destiny is intertwined with yours."


    "How can I know that you won¡¯t betray me in the future?" Lucifer asked, frowning.


    "Because I don¡¯t want to die? That¡¯s the only reason I never leave this facility? I love my life a little too much to betray you. If you still don¡¯t trust me, you can bring Veracity here to test my words," Predictor let out, sighing.


    "Moreover, I truly think that you can bring us to great heights, even though your methods are a bit unconventional. Also, I think you actually care for Uprising."


    "The way you grew concerned when I told you about Kellian¡¯s death? I think my decision was right," he continued.


    "You said you saw three Predictions about me? What was the third Prediction?" Lucifer asked, sitting on the bed.


    "I saw your future..." Predictor said, sighing.


    "What was in my future?" Lucifer asked.


    "I can¡¯t answer that," Predictor said, smiling wryly. "I think it¡¯s better if it stays a mystery."


    "I want to know! What did you see?" Lucifer asked gravely.


    "Well, at this point, I don¡¯t even know if it¡¯s a prediction or a dream. So you shouldn¡¯t be concerned about it. I mean, it¡¯s nothing serious anyway," Predictor said vaguely.


    "I don¡¯t care even if it¡¯s not serious. I just want to know what it is! Even if it¡¯s a dream, tell me!"


    "Fine! I saw you kissing a woman. Of course, I didn¡¯t want to tell you about this. It¡¯s always weird to tell another man that you saw a dream about his kiss," Predictor eximed, shaking his head.


    "Also, it would make you self conscious in that girl¡¯s presence if you know that you might be kissing her in the future. So don¡¯t ask who that girl was," he continued, rolling his eyes.


    Lucifer went nk, not knowing what to say. He had previously thought that Predictor saw about some great battle or something, but it was about a kiss?


    He really was curious about this kiss though. Why would he kiss someone? And who was that person?


    "When was it? How far in the future?" Lucifer asked.


    "Well, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s too far in the future. Probably within the next one year," Predictor exined. "Keep one thing in mind. It might actually be a dream, no matter how odd this sounds."


    "I won¡¯t ask who that girl was. In any case, I¡¯m sure it¡¯s probably a dream, just like the dream of Szar killing Kellian," Lucifer said, not taking this Prediction seriously.


    "As you said, your Predictions can be world changing events only. A kiss can never be something that should affect the whole world," he continued.


    ¡¯If only you knew who that girl was,¡¯ Predictor thought, smiling wryly. ¡¯If it actually happens, it¡¯ll be really big.¡¯


    "Maybe... Or maybe not," he innocently said.


    "No other dream about me?" Lucifer asked.


    "Not at the moment. I already told you, if it¡¯s something significant, I would tell you. I just didn¡¯t tell you about this kiss because it wasn¡¯t significant," Predictor answered.


    "Onest question. Will you really never leave this base? What¡¯s the risk outside? If there¡¯s something I can help with, tell me."


    "There¡¯s nothing you can do. If it were a problem that could¡¯ve been solved with strength, I would¡¯ve been out of this ce long ago. I don¡¯t enjoy being unable to go out either, but it¡¯s important if I want to live."


    "Can you tell me why?" Lucifer asked, frowning. "What makes you think that you¡¯ll die if you leave?"

 Chapter 396 - 396: Everyone Knows

    <h4>Chapter 396 - 396: Everyone Knows </h4>


    "I¡¯m sorry, but I can¡¯t answer that question. Please let me stay here in peace. I just don¡¯t want to go out. Nothing you say will change my mind."


    "Fine. You can stay here. I won¡¯t force you to leave. I really hope you can one day leave this ce though."


    "Me too." Predictor sighed. "So, when are you leaving? If I¡¯m not wrong, you¡¯ll be going to the Divine Empire next?"


    "How do you know that I¡¯m going there? Wait, your third Prediction...? Could it be..."


    "Don¡¯t think too much. Everyone knows that you¡¯re going to the Divine Empire. Kellian told that scientist who told others. I also have ears," Predictor let outzily.


    Lucifer suspiciously nced at Predictor.


    "Is there a single person here who doesn¡¯t know where I¡¯m going?" he asked, shaking his head.


    He turned around and left the room, closing the door.


    The room once again returned to silence as Predictor went to sleep.


    ...


    Leaving the room, Lucifer departed with Joan and Qia.


    "Where do you want to go next?" Joan asked as the group of three entered the lift.


    "I¡¯m done here. I¡¯ll be leaving now," Lucifer answered, pressing the button for the top.


    He had already collected all the items from the scientists, and he also met with Predictor. He was done here.


    The doors of the lift opened on the roof.


    The two Warlocks watched Lucifer enter the helicopter amidst heavy winds that were making his robe fly.


    Lucifer stepped inside the helicopter, closing the door. The rotors of the helicopter started moving, and it started flying. The helicopter left for the airport.


    Joan watched the helicopter leave, lost in deep thought.


    "Man, it was really odd, talking to a youngster like he was a senior," hemented. " I think this would take some time to get used to."


    "I can understand where you¡¯reing from. It¡¯s just apletely new territory, but I must say, this guy really isn¡¯t half bad."


    "He not only helped us take over the APF headquarters but also the Capital City, and all of it happened in just one day," Qia replied.


    "I think he really does have great potential. And it doesn¡¯t look like he¡¯s going to stop here. There¡¯s a lot in the store for us, I believe," he continued.


    "Let¡¯s see how far we can go. For the first time in my life, I¡¯m excited about my future."


    "Me too," Joan agreed, ncing at the ck helicopter that had already gone too far.


    The two of them soon turned around and went back in.


    ...


    Taking the private jet, Lucifer once again came to the city which was closest to the APF base.


    From there, it only took him a short time to get to the headquarters.


    As hended on top of the APF headquarters, wondering why it was taking so long for Jiang to find the stone. Since they hadn¡¯t contacted him, he was already sure that they hadn¡¯t found it.


    He had already changed the color of his cloak to ck. The hood of the cloak was hanging on the back, not covering his head at all.


    He donned the ck sunsses and said, "Call Vega."


    A call was connected to Vega.


    "I¡¯vended here. Where are the two of you?" Lucifer asked, amused that the call actually connected.


    With these sses, he didn¡¯t really need to carry a phone.


    "We¡¯re on the twenty-first floor, still searching. I¡¯ll meet you near the lift," Vega replied.


    ...


    The lift doors opened on the twenty-first floor, and Lucifer stepped out to be greeted by Vega.


    "Still no luck?" Lucifer asked.


    "None. We searched every corner on the higher floors, but Jiang didn¡¯t find what we were looking for. We still have twenty more floors to check," Vega replied.


    "It¡¯s strange. If Varant was going to hide the stone, I thought he would most probably keep them in his own room or close to him. It¡¯s strange that it¡¯s not there," Lucifermented, following Vega, who was taking him to Jiang.


    " I thought the same. But then again, this was an APF base. It was known as the safest ce, so there was no risk of theft."


    "And he probably trusted his men too, so he probably didn¡¯t feel the need to keep that stone close to him," Vega tossed out an assumption.


    "Probably," Lucifer muttered.


    Vega stopped in front of a room. "He¡¯s inside."


    Lucifer pushed the door open and stepped inside.


    As he stepped inside the room, his feetnded on a piece of paper first. Looking down, he noticed that there were papers everywhere.


    It was as if the entire floor was covered in paper. There were also shelves that were filled with files.


    "Is it a storage room?" he wondered.


    "That voice? Little Boss, are you here?" A man¡¯s voice came from the distance.


    "Yeah, where are you?" Lucifer asked, following the trail of the voices.


    "I¡¯m in the back. Right here!" Jiang responded,ing into the view of Lucifer.


    "You¡¯ve covered so many floors in such a short time. I¡¯m impressed. I thought you¡¯d be on the thirtieth floor at best. Not bad at all," Lucifer let out, stopping near Jiang.


    "You have no idea, man. I think you¡¯re probably some enemy from my past life. Every mission you have for me involves walking."


    "First the beach, then walking after destroying the APF helicopter and now searching the whole building," Jiang eximed with a cry-like face.


    "I thought it was going to be easy since you said I¡¯ll find it on the highest floor, but I¡¯ve searched so many floors," he continued.


    "I just want this to end fast, which is why I¡¯m searching so fast. I kept thinking that I¡¯d find it on the next floor and ended up here."


    "You know, it¡¯s because of you that I lost ten kilo weight already from the moment I met you."


    "Isn¡¯t it good though? You were pretty overweight before. Now you look fit," Lucifermented, smiling wryly.


    "Don¡¯t worry. This is probably thest mission like this. The next ones will be pretty rxed. In fact, you can simply sit back and enjoy your life for the next few months before I need you again. Finish this one task, and you¡¯re done," he added.


    "Can I finish it tomorrow? I don¡¯t think I can finish twenty more floors today. I¡¯m already at my limit." Jiang sighed.


    "That¡¯s alright. Finish this one floor today and then take a rest for the day. You can finish the rest tomorrow," Lucifer affirmed. "In any case, you¡¯ll only make mistakes if you keep working like this."


    "Thank you. I¡¯ll finish this floor fast then."


    "Yeah. I¡¯m leaving then. Vega will stay with you," Lucifer said, turning around. "If you need anything from me, you can tell him to contact me."


    He started leaving.


    "Wait!" Jiang called from behind.

 Chapter 397 - 397: From Afar

    <h4>Chapter 397 - 397: From Afar </h4>


    "Yeah?" Lucifer asked, stopping.


    "That cloak you¡¯re wearing. It looks really good? How much is it worth? Can you get one in my size too?" Jiang asked.


    "There¡¯s only one of these that exist in the world at the moment," Lucifer replied, shaking his head. "I¡¯ll see if I can find something simr for you though."


    ....


    Since Vega was apanying Jiang, Drak had free reign of the defense chamber. He could do anything he wanted from this ce with his knowledge.


    As there was nothing to do, Drak was simply using the systems for himself. He was watching his family from here.


    His family still didn¡¯t know he was alive, and he didn¡¯t want them to know either. He wanted to keep helping from a distance without appearing before them.


    His family already suffered in the past because of him, and now he didn¡¯t want toe before them to remind them of everything. His family had moved on, and his sister was already married. She had started a new family of her own.


    Since he couldn¡¯t just go to them personally, he used other tricks to help them.


    The entire country belonged to the Uprising now. They owned everything. He had already asked permission from Lucifer to do this.


    He was given a massive mansion for himself in a good city. He gave that mansion to his family in the name of the lottery.


    He simply sent some men from the government iming that his family won a lottery that the new government held only recently. The names of all families were in that, and only ten families won.


    They told his mother that her family was one of the lucky families. She won not only a mansion but also enough money to spend their entire lifefortably without doing a single thing.


    Today was the day when his family had shifted inside the mansion. As it was a high-profile mansion, it had great security systems and even cameras inside the mansion in certain areas.


    Through those cameras, Drak was seeing his family¡¯s entrance into the mansion. His family looked so happy. Not only his mother but his sister and his brother-inw were also excited. Their lives had changed so suddenly.


    Watching his family, tears of happiness appeared in Drak¡¯s eyes too. Finally, his family had the life they deserved.


    "I think something is missing. You should¡¯ve been there too. Their happiness would¡¯ve been double." A voice came from the back, shocking Drak.


    He was so immersed in watching his family¡¯s reaction that he didn¡¯t even notice when Lucifer stepped inside the room.


    "No need to worry. I¡¯m not here to scold you," Lucifer said, taking the second chair.


    He sat beside Drak.


    "So, are you sure that you don¡¯t want to meet them either?" Lucifer asked Drak, ncing at the screen which showed the family of Drak.


    "I think they¡¯ve moved on. Now they¡¯re happy. I don¡¯t want to send them back to the sad past," Drak replied. "It¡¯s better if I just stay in the shadows."


    "You know what I would give to meet my family again? On the other hand, you have your family within your reach, but you¡¯re scared to reach out your hand towards them," Lucifer reacted, shaking his head.


    "Just know, you¡¯ll regret a lot when they¡¯re gone. Don¡¯t hide from them. Embrace them while you have a chance. Let them know that you still exist. You¡¯re not a criminal now; instead, you¡¯re a hero."


    " You don¡¯t need to hide. Isn¡¯t that the meaning of Uprising? The Members of the Uprising should never be scared. That¡¯s all I¡¯ll tell you though. I won¡¯t force you either. The decision is yours," he continued.


    Drak fell into deep thought, not saying anything.


    "You don¡¯t have to be in a hurry. You don¡¯t have to go now. Take your time and think clearly about what you want. I¡¯ll be leaving Elisium for a little. When you¡¯re ready, just tell Vega that you want a day off," Lucifer said, taking off his sunsses.


    "Leave this ce and spend that day with your family beforeing back. Let them know that you¡¯re not a criminal. Let them be a part of your life again as you be a part of theirs."


    "I heard that no one in Uprising has a family. They¡¯re the family of each other. But you, on the other hand, are lucky. You not only have a mother but also a lovely sister. You don¡¯t have to live in the shadows, watching them from a distance.


    He stood up ultimately. "That¡¯s all I was here to say. Best of luck for whatever you decide."


    He turned around and started leaving.


    "Sir?" Drak called.


    "Yeah?" Lucifer asked, stopping.


    Drak took a deep breath as he solemnly looked at Lucifer.


    "I¡¯m really grateful that I met you and that I work with you. You are really a great man. Thank you for the advice. I¡¯ll listen to you and meet them. Thank you so much. Also, I promise to you. That I won¡¯t ever betray you."


    "You not only saved my life but also gave me something even better. My life and my loyalty belong to you only." He dered.


    "That¡¯s good to know because I don¡¯t take betrayal lightly. Even if it¡¯s from someone close to me, betrayal will only mean death," Lucifer responded before he left.


    He went straight to the roof of the building.


    As it was nine in the night, the sun had set already. A full moon was shining in the sky, spreading its moonlight with everyone else.


    Standing at the edge of the roof, Lucifer brought his gun out of his cloak¡¯s pocket. It was the gun Kane gave him.


    A red magazine was inside the gun, fully charged. He was told to leave the gun in the pocket so a bullet could be created inside the red magazine for testing.


    The bullet was created long ago, but it was only now he decided to test.


    He raised his right hand, which was gripping the gun firmly. He aimed straight ahead.


    "Let¡¯s see what you¡¯re capable of," he muttered before he pulled the trigger.


    "Huh?"


    Even as he pulled the trigger, nothing happened, confusing him. He remembered that he had unlocked the gun before. He hadn¡¯t locked it after that. Why wasn¡¯t it working then?


    ...


    Kane had woken from his slumber long ago, and he had already got back to his work when he suddenly remembered something.


    "Now that I think about it, did I mention that the gun automatically locks if it¡¯s not used for more than five hours in unlock mode?" he wondered, frowning.


    "I probably did.. I¡¯m just overthinking," he shook his headzily, continuing his work.

 Chapter 398 - 398: The Special Bullet

    <h4>Chapter 398 - 398: The Special Bullet </h4>


    Ring!


    The silent atmosphere of theb was broken by the sound of ringing.


    Kane picked up the phone and looked at the number.


    Seeing Lucifer¡¯s name, he picked up the call.


    "Yes?"


    As he heard the words from the other person on the call, he started smiling wryly.


    "Ah, I suppose I really did forget to tell you about this¡ªmy mistake. It would be best if you unlocked the gun again. You should triple tap the trigger. It locks automatically if it¡¯s not used for five hours straight."


    "I know, I know. You don¡¯t have to repeat it. I know that I should¡¯ve told you before. But there was just so much to talk about that this small detail slipped past. I thought I already told you about it," Kanemented, apologizing.


    "No, there¡¯s nothing else that I forgot. Rest assured."


    The call got disconnected, and Kane put his phone down, breathing a sigh of relief.


    ...


    Lucifer finally got his answer as to why the gun wasn¡¯t working. He tapped the trigger three times in quick session to unlock it again.


    Without dy, he pulled the trigger.


    As soon as he pulled the trigger, a bullet left the gun. The bullet wasn¡¯t an ordinary bullet though. It did have the shape of an ordinary bullet, but it was shining brightly with blue light for some reason.


    The bullet hit the ground, blowing up¡ªa powerful barrier formed around the bullet, covering everything in its embrace.


    "A barrier?" Lucifer muttered, confused. "Is this the use of this bullet? It creates a barrier? For what? To protect us from attacks?"


    From what he believed, this was the only use of the barrier.


    "It should be to use when we¡¯re surrounded by enemies or to protect us from attacks."


    "If that¡¯s the case, it better be a good barrier."


    To test the strength of the barrier, he created a weak lightning bolt and fired it towards the barrier.


    As soon as the lightning bolt struck the barrier, the barrier shattered like ss.


    "It can¡¯t even resist a weak attack? How will it protect us? Am I missing something?"


    Just as Lucifer was wondering what he was missing, a pop-up window opened in his sses.


    [Kane is calling you. Do you want to pick it up?]


    The window was followed by a mechanical voice from the sses.


    "Yeah." Lucifer nodded.


    "Did you test the bullet?" Kane said on the other end as the call was connected.


    "I did. And it¡¯s pretty useless, I must say. That protection barrier can¡¯t even resist my weakest attack," Lucifer said, shaking his head in disappointment. "I doubt it can¡¯t protect me even a little."


    "Protection Barrier? That¡¯s not a protection barrier."


    "It¡¯s not to be used as a Defensive Barrier?"


    "Not at all."


    "What is its use then?"


    "It¡¯s not a protection barrier. Instead, it¡¯s an entrapment barrier. The outsideyer of this barrier is defenseless, but the insideyer is very powerful," Kane exined.


    "That¡¯s why it can¡¯t resist an attack from outside. But if you were inside it, it would be able to resist even your strongest of attacks for a short period of time at least," he continued.


    "So it¡¯s to trap the enemies?" Lucifer asked, frowning.


    "That¡¯s right," Kane replied. "It¡¯s to trap the enemies for a short period of time, to remove them from the battle temporarily while you focus on the others."


    "The barrier dome is only three meters wide, so you can¡¯t trap too many enemies, but it¡¯s good for powerful enemies at least," he added.


    "What¡¯s the use? The dome would break even if a moderately powerful attacknded on it. The people inside can be freed easily," Lucifer pointed out the biggest w.


    "I know. That¡¯s the w in the dome, but we¡¯re working on it too. If we¡¯re sessful, the outsideyer would be as strong as the inside. In the meantime, you¡¯ll have to make do with it," Kane replied.


    "In any case, only I know that the outeryer is weak. How would the enemies know? They¡¯ll attack from inside and realize that it¡¯s strong."


    "As for the ones who are outside, they would never attack the barrier seeing that. I think it will work," he added.


    "Maybe. You¡¯re right about one thing. It¡¯s better than nothing. Something that can stop the powerful enemies for a short time would be really useful." Lucifer agreed. "I¡¯ll need to test it more."


    "Exactly. Now you can be safer on your trip. I wish you the best of luck for the trip to the Divine Empire. If you need any help or have any ideas, don¡¯t forget to ask me," Kane said before disconnecting the call.


    [Call Disconnected]


    Another semi-transparent screen opened before Lucifer in the corner of his view. It closed on its own within a second.


    Lucifer kept the gun back in his pocket before sitting on the ground.


    "First stone is here. The second is in the Divine Empire, which I should soon be getting. The third is with the Warlock Council."


    "Finding the missing ones will be a real challenge though. I hope the Warlock Council would have some clues," he muttered, sitting in silence while gazing at the moon.


    ....


    There existed a faraway ind where a prestigious Variant Academy existed, known as the Academy for Gifted Variants.


    It was a highly reputed Academy where a lot of high profile students lived and studied, but at the moment, there weren¡¯t any students here.


    The entire academy was temporarily closed while all the students were sent home.


    Even the teachers were told to leave until the academy returned to work.


    Inside the massive academy, only one person existed at the moment.


    In the darkness of the night, the person was sitting on the roof of one of the Academy buildings, looking at the moon as well.


    The person looked like a young kid who was barely twelve years old. His hair was simr to Lucifer¡¯s as they were also silver in color, but they weren¡¯t as long as Lucifer¡¯s hair.


    Even though he looked like a young boy, he was actually a lot older. It was just that he looked young.


    He was also one of the strongest Warlocks of this Ind Nation. He was the Dean of Variant Academy, known as Xaen.


    He was a Warlock who could use space to teleport anywhere he wanted. He was also a person who could use space as his personal storage box.


    Xaen was looking at the sky as heid on the roof of the academy.


    He soon raised his right hand, which had a small crystal orb.

 Chapter 399 - 399: Family

    <h4>Chapter 399 - 399: Family </h4>


    "Many years ago, the whole world was in chaos. Dungeon Dwellers had attacked the whole world. We just happened to be lucky that no Dungeon appeared in our small ind nation."


    "The world faced the disaster and became victorious, but it was a really costly victory. I wonder if that day will evere again when we¡¯re back in square one."


    "I don¡¯t know why, but recently I have a really bad feeling as if something bad is going to happen."


    "I hope I¡¯m wrong."


    He moved the crystal-like orb right before his eyes, seeing the moon through the crystal orb.


    The white moon looked blood red as he looked at the moon through the orb.


    "Rivers of blood shall flow if that day everes again. Hopefully, it won¡¯t happen. I hope people learned from the disaster ofst time."


    "That¡¯s the thing, my friend. People rarely learn from their mistakes." An old-sounding voice appeared.


    "You¡¯re here? Didn¡¯t you go to protect your grandson?" Xaen asked without even getting up. He already knew who it was from the voice.


    An old man appeared out of thin air, smiling.


    "What do you think?" he asked.


    The white-haired man who just came was none other than Grandpa Chi, who had saved Lucifer from the depths of water.


    "Ah, that¡¯s right. You probably already went to meet him. You¡¯re not going to tell me where he is, are you?" Xaen asked Grandpa Chi.


    Grandpa Chi sat near him.


    "What do you think?" he repeated hisst answer.


    "At least tell me, how is that troublemaker?" Xaen asked, weaving his hand.


    A small spatial portal opened near him. He tossed the orb inside the spatial portal, which closed.


    "That orb, why do you still carry it?" Grandpa Chi asked instead, changing the topic.


    "It¡¯s nothing. I just felt like looking at this relic of the past again. These things almost caused a great disaster after all," Xaen replied.


    Grandpa Chi didn¡¯tment on anything. He alsoid on the roof, looking at the moon.


    "Xaen, I want to ask you something," Grandpa Chi said after a moment of silence.


    "Since when did you need permission to ask me anything?" Xaen retorted. "Still, go ahead."


    "Have you never thought about having a family?" Grandpa Chi asked.


    "Why are you asking that?" Xaen asked.


    "I just thought about it, but you¡¯ve been alone all your life. Why don¡¯t you just marry and make a family of yourself?"


    "Why would I do that? Familyes with lots of trouble. I¡¯m happy the way I am."


    "You¡¯re already sixty years old. You¡¯ll live fifty more years at best. Don¡¯t you want to leave your bloodline in this world? Don¡¯t you want to spend some years with your family, watching your kids grow up?"


    "As the Dean of this academy, I¡¯ve seen a lot of kids grow up. I don¡¯t need more. But I don¡¯t understand, why are you talking about that suddenly? You certainly have some reason. Go on, no need to talk in circles."


    Even though Grandpa Chi seemed to be talking about something casual, Xaen became suspicious of his intentions.


    "Nothing. I just felt like I should tell you. The happiness that you get with family is something that no other happiness can match. I had that happiness before," Grandpa Chi said.


    "Even though I lost my family, the moments I spent with them were the happiest moments of my life," he continued.


    "I think you should experience them too. You won¡¯t be unlucky like me, so you can protect them too."


    "Ahh, I get it now!" Xaen eximed as if his mind suddenly clicked. "Today is your wedding anniversary! So that¡¯s why you¡¯re getting so emotional, am I right?"


    He stood up. "Come, let¡¯s go to a bar. So what if your wife isn¡¯t here? This was the day when you married her. We need to celebrate it. Look at the happy moments."


    He reached out his hand towards Grandpa Chi.


    Grandpa Chi grabbed Xaen¡¯s hand and stood up.


    A spatial portal opened before the two of them, big enough for the two of them to enter. Both of them entered the portal together. The portal closed behind them.


    ....


    A distant sun rose on the horizon, apanied by warmth. As the sunlight fell on his face, Lucifer woke up from his slumber.


    He had fallen asleep on the roof of the buildingst night, appreciating the moon.


    He slowly opened his eyes and stood up.


    Getting up, he went downstairs again.


    Entering his room, he took a shower before joining Jiang on the search mission.


    Throughout the day, Jiang continued the search. He finished searching ten floors in five hours.


    By the time it was one in the afternoon, Jiang was already on the tenth floor.


    They still hadn¡¯t found the stone they were looking for. They did find the other treasures though.


    "There¡¯s something inside this wall. I hope it¡¯s that stone. Who¡¯s going to break it?" Jiang said, pointing towards a certain spot on the wall.


    "I¡¯ll do it," Lucifer stepped forward. Clenching the fist, he punched the wall.


    ...


    "This isn¡¯t it either," Lucifermented, shaking his head. He only found a small gold coin in the wall and nothing else.


    Jiang also sighed in disappointment, sitting on the ground, tired.


    "Are you sure this building has that stone? I can¡¯t help but be pessimistic about it at this point."


    He was feeling extremely tired.


    Even Vega was having second thoughts. They still hadn¡¯t found that stone, and it was highly unlikely that Varant would hide it in the first ten floors.


    "That stone is in this building. Have lunch. We¡¯ll continue the search after that. Only ten more floors to search," Lucifer said, not losing hope.


    He and Jiang left the room for the canteen, which was on this floor. There were canteens on the higher floors too, but none of them was in the mood to go back to the upper floors just to eat.


    The three of them entered the tenth-floor canteen to eat something.


    "I¡¯ll see what¡¯s avable here. You two wait," Lucifer told the two of Jiang and Vega.


    "Wait. Don¡¯t leave!" Jiang abruptly called out. He was looking under him for some reason.


    "What happened?" Lucifer asked. "Did you notice something?"


    "Something is in this ce. Can any of you dig under me? I really think something is here," Jiang said, pointing under his feet.


    "Do you think it might be that stone?" Vega inquired.


    "I¡¯m not sure. All I know is that something is here which shouldn¡¯t be," Jiang replied.


    Lucifer returned to him. "Step aside. Let me check."


    Jiang stepped back, letting Lucifer take the lead, really hoping that it was that stone.

 Chapter 400 - 400: The Core

    <h4>Chapter 400 - 400: The Core </h4>


    A helicopternded on top of the new Uprising base. A silver-haired boy stepped out of the helicopter, wearing sses. He was followed by a dark-haired man who was apanying him.


    The boy in the lead was ying with a small stone, tossing it up and down as he walked.


    The red stone in his hand was an inch wide, looking like an ordinary stone. The only odd thing about this stone was that there was a strange character carved on the stone.


    That mark helped Jiang recognize that stone when Lucifer had dug it out on the tenth floor.


    Even though Lucifer had found what he was looking for, the happiest person at that time was none other than Jiang since he didn¡¯t need to search ten more floors.


    After taking the stone, Lucifer left the APF base with Jiang,ing back to the others.


    Even though he was intrigued about the strange character which was carved on the stone, he couldn¡¯t recognize it. It wasn¡¯t a character that he had seen before.


    He also had Drak search that character to find its meaning, but this character didn¡¯t match the characters from anynguage in the world.


    Lucifer didn¡¯t know that the same character was also on his back. It was a part of the strange tattoo that had formed on his back after he started wearing that key he dug from Orion Beach.


    Not only him, but no one else had seen his back without clothes since this Tattoo formed on his back.


    After that, he received his battle gear which further made it impossible for anyone to see his back since Battlegear wasn¡¯t easily destroyed in a battle.


    "Ah, can you not y with that like it¡¯s a toy?" Jiang asked Lucifer, sweating.


    "Why? Are you scared?" Lucifer asked, ncing at Jiang.


    He pressed the button to call the lift to him and started waiting outside.


    Jiang brought his handkerchief out of his pocket and started wiping the sweat that was forming on his forehead.


    "Who wouldn¡¯t be after knowing that these stones can bring forth the apocalypse?"


    "What apocalypse? There was no such thing. These stones did nothing. They just formed a gateway to another ce."


    " The real apocalypse was the battle with Dungeon Dwellers, which happened before these stones were formed," Lucifer exined as he kept the red stone in his pocket.


    The lift doors opened, and he stepped inside the lift. Jiang followed inside, continuing the conversation.


    "But the Dungeon Dwellers caused all the ughter to form these stones to open that portal. Of course, I¡¯ll call these stones the Stones of Doom. They¡¯re very risky," Jiang exined.


    "Nope. At this point, it¡¯s just a rumor that the Dungeon Dwellers killed millions of people to create these stones. No one can prove that. It¡¯s just an assumption at this point," Lucifer replied.


    "For all we know, they might have had these stones before they even started their attack. I mean, do Dungeon Dwellers really need a reason to attack humans? Even now, they keep doing it. It¡¯s not to create stones," he added as the lift went down.


    "That¡¯s right. No one can prove that Dungeon Dwellers didn¡¯t have these stones before they started their attack, but no one can prove that they did have these stones either, can they?" Jiang asked.


    "Now you¡¯re just talking nonsense." Lucifer rolled his eyes.


    The lift stopped on the seventeenth floor. As the doors opened, Lucifer and Jiang stepped out.


    A chubby Warlock was already waiting near the lift for them.


    "Is everything ready?" Lucifer asked the chubby Warlock.


    "Yes. They¡¯re all waiting for you," the chubby man nodded as he walked towards the other end of the corridor.


    He stopped in front of a door and opened it for Lucifer.


    Lucifer stepped inside with Jiang. Seeing the entire room filled with people, Jiang became nervous.


    "I-i will wait outside," he let out, hastily turning back.


    "Don¡¯t worry; they¡¯re all our people. You don¡¯t have to be scared. Stay here. There¡¯s a chair arranged for you too," Lucifer said, walking towards the main chair in the room.


    A rectangr table was already ced inside the room. There were thirteen chairs in the room, six on each side of the rectangr table and one on the shorter side for Lucifer from where he could get a clear view of everyone.


    Lucifer took the main chair. After he sat, only one seat remained empty, which was thest chair on the right side of Lucifer.


    The first chair on Lucifer¡¯s right side was upied by Szar Lucia. The second chair was taken by Cassius.


    On the third chair sat Alicia. The fourth chair was upied by Uzuki. The fifth chair was upied by Veracity. As for the sixth chair, it was taken by Jiang.


    In essence, the right side was upied by the people that were only affiliated with the Uprising because of Lucifer. Only Alicia was the exception.


    The first chair on the left side was upied by Kellian, the second chair by Yaliza, the third by Tristan, fourth by Das, who had blown up the Warlock Council ne.


    The fifth chair was taken by a red-haireddy known as Jean, who was very close to Kellian.


    She was also the one that Kellian had sent to assassinate the Red Eagle Guild Leader. As for the sixth chair, it was taken by Caen.


    Even though Caen wasn¡¯t a powerful Warlock, his ability was truly unique, which made him indispensable. He was also trusted by Lucifer, which made him a part of the core.


    Including Lucifer, there were now thirteen people inside the room. As for the chubby Warlock, he stayed outside, closing the door.


    It was only a meeting of the core people.


    Jiang sat in the high-profile meeting, feeling self-conscious. He was the weakest person here, and his ability wasn¡¯t very powerful like the others. He just kept his head low, not raising it.


    The room was filled with silence as everyone waited for Lucifer to speak.


    The silence was soon broken by Lucifer.


    He ced his hands on the table, getting serious. "It¡¯s good that you¡¯re all here. I wanted to inform you all that I¡¯ll be leaving for the Divine Empire tomorrow."


    "Have you decided who will being with you?" Kellian asked.


    Szar already knew he was going. Lucifer had already confirmed it to him, but he was also curious. Who else was going with them on this mission?


    "Yeah. I¡¯ve decided. The Divine Empire is a dangerous ce. I can¡¯t take a big group of people since that can be used against me.. So I¡¯ll only take a few who I believe should be absolutely crucial on this mission," Lucifer dered.

 Chapter 401 - 401: Selected Team

    <h4>Chapter 401 - 401: Selected Team </h4>


    "Who are they? Please tell me I¡¯ming," Tristan called out. "Please please please let mee! Now Elisium is boring without any enemies! I want toe with you!"


    "Taking you would be a bad idea. You¡¯re very impulsive. You¡¯ll certainly create a blunder and die. You don¡¯t have what it takes to pull a covert mission," A person chimed in before Lucifer could even reply.


    As for the person, it was none other than the red-haireddy who was sitting beside Tristan.


    "Come on, Jane! You know I¡¯m not impulsive anymore. When ites to missions, I¡¯m really serious. I won¡¯t blow the cover," Tristan replied.


    "As for dying, that¡¯s impossible. They won¡¯t even be able to get close to me without being sliced in half," he further added.


    "I¡¯m sorry Tristan, but I¡¯m not taking you this time. And it¡¯s not because you¡¯re impulsive. My reasons are different," Lucifer finally dered, disappointing Tristan.


    "What reasons then?" Tristan asked.


    "Your sword is powerful, and your attacks are fast. Even your own speed is very fast, and you can certainly be good on this mission, but I would need you here instead," Lucifer exined.


    "I need someone to support Kellian in keeping this ce safe. As you know, the threat of the Warlock Council still looms over this Nation."


    " I need powerful people here to keep them at bay in my absence. And who better than you?" he asked,forting Tristan.


    He had learned how to manage his people. Instead of saying that he didn¡¯t want Tristan on this mission because his skills didn¡¯t suit this mission, he made a different excuse.


    "That means Kellian isn¡¯ting with you either? Since you said, I need to support Kellian here?" Tristan asked.


    "That¡¯s right. He won¡¯t being with me either. As I said, I don¡¯t want to weaken the defenses of Elisium."


    "That¡¯s why I¡¯m only taking a small team. The team consists of only three people¡ª I, Szar, and Caen," Lucifer replied.


    He dered the team he had selected, which shocked quite a few people.


    Firstly, people on the left were surprised that he was taking Caen with him, who had the weakest firepower amongst the people present here. Secondly, he was taking Szar, who they couldn¡¯t trust.


    Lucifer hadn¡¯t selected even a single powerful Warlock from Uprising to take with him.


    At least that¡¯s what people on the left side of the table were thinking.


    As for the people on the right side, they had apletely different thought process. Szar knew that he wasing, but he could see why Lucifer would be taking Caen.


    He wasn¡¯t disappointed with the selection, but he was certainly amazed that Lucifer didn¡¯t select more.


    Alicia and Cassius were shocked since they believed they would be going with Lucifer.


    Cassius had especially believed that he would being with Lucifer. He couldn¡¯t believe that he was being left behind.


    Uzuki was relieved that he didn¡¯t have to go. He didn¡¯t care who went and who didn¡¯t. All he knew was that he could rx in Elisium and enjoy.


    As for Jiang, he was also happy that Lucifer hadn¡¯t selected him.


    "Are you sure you don¡¯t want to take more? I think you should at least take Das or Yaliza with you," Kellian suggested, thinking that Lucifer should have selected at least one more person.


    "I already thought long and hard about it. Three people should be enough," Lucifer exined.


    "The Divine Empire isn¡¯t an ordinary ce where we can enter with force. I can certainly take all of you if I wanted, but that would just mean more risk."


    "If any of you are caught, you¡¯ll be a servant of theirs to be used against me," he continued. "I can¡¯t have that happen."


    " That¡¯s why I only selected people ordingly. Szar can slow down the time and attacks in his surroundings, which helps him keep himself safe. He can also slow down the others," he further added.


    " So he¡¯s the safest there. And even if he is lost and turned, I can stop his powers any time. There¡¯s no risk of taking him."


    "As for Caen, he doesn¡¯t have any firepower, but that¡¯s alright. I won¡¯t be using him for any heavy lifting."


    "I have the confidence to keep him safe too. And even if he somehow does and turns, I can take care of it. His powers aren¡¯t something that can be used to hurt me."


    "Any other questions?" Lucifer asked after finishing his exnation.


    No one said anything. It seemed like Lucifer had already decided. If he wasn¡¯t listening to Kellian, he wasn¡¯t going to listen to anyone else.


    As for Cassius and Alicia, they decided to talk to him in private to convince him to take them.


    Seeing no opposition, Lucifer nodded. "It¡¯s final then. Now we only need to decide how we¡¯ll get to that ce."


    "From what we know so far, that ce is inside the mountainous region, and nomercial flights are allowed to enter that ce. We can¡¯t get you in that way," Kellian said.


    "That Empire isn¡¯t near the sea either. So you can¡¯t go through the sea route. That leaves only one option for you, which would be slightly hard as well."


    Lucifer already knew what Kellian was talking about. He also knew that there was only one option left for them. He didn¡¯t interfere and let him talk.


    Pushing the chair behind, Kellian stood up and walked over to the wall where a big map was hanging. He also picked a stick from nearby.


    "The map you see in front of you is the continent of Darkness. It¡¯s a massive continent which is nearly asrge as ours."


    "However, only three nations exist in the Continent of Darkness, excluding the Divine Empire!"


    "The nation in the North is the biggest. It¡¯s known as Gallium. It¡¯s a powerful nation known for its military might. It¡¯s said that this nation is ruled by one of Milena¡¯s minions. It¡¯s indirectly a part of the Divine Empire, just not on the papers!"


    "The Nation on the south is the second Nation which is a small nation. It¡¯s not even one-tenth the size of Gallium, but it¡¯s pretty useful."


    "It¡¯s the nation which controls the fishing industry and their transfer to other nations. It¡¯s the only nation which is close to the sea."


    "We can enter this nation through the sea, but the problem is that the distance between it and the Divine Empire is too long. You will have to travel five thousand kilometers alone to get to the Divine Empire."


    "That leaves only one option..."

 Chapter 402 - 402: Uheim

    <h4>Chapter 402 - 402: Uheim </h4>


    The nation of Uheim in the west," Kellian dered, cing the end of his stick on Uheim that was marked in green on the map.


    "Uheim isn¡¯t close to the sea, but they do have a working airport. It¡¯s a tourist destination, somercial flights are allowed there."


    "It¡¯s connected to the other nations through those flights. It¡¯s also highly involved in exporting and importing," he exined.


    "So we¡¯ll bending on Uheim?" Caen asked.


    "That¡¯s right. It¡¯s still not going to be easy to get to the Divine Empire though. Uheim is also very far from the Divine Empire. The distance between Uheim and the Divine Empire is seven hundred kilometers."


    ¡¯You¡¯ll have to travel that distance yourself. That would be a time-consuming process and very hard as well."


    "The closer you get to the Divine Empire, the harder it will be to find food since the Divine Empire is in the center of the continent of Darkness."


    "After you travel for two hundred kilometers, the mountains will begin. From what we know, you aren¡¯t going to find a single nt there."


    "There aren¡¯t any beasts either. Even if there are, they are too rare. So for five hundred kilometers, you won¡¯t find a single source of food. This is the problem on this route."


    "So, what do you think about this?" Kellian asked.


    " Didn¡¯t the Warlock Council also reach there? Don¡¯t tell me they walked too?" Uzuki asked.


    "They didn¡¯t walk. They went on their own helicopters," Kellian exined.


    "Huh? How did they get helicopters there?" Uzuki asked, confused.


    "It¡¯s because Uheim...is affiliated to the Warlock Council too. A Warlock Council branch exists in Uheim, which has some of these resources. Only a small group of 4 people manage that branch though."


    "Basically, Uheim ys for both teams," Kellian replied.


    "They help the Divine Empire, and they help the Warlock Council while acting as a neutral party."


    "Just like we¡¯re nning tond there, Warlock Council Envoys alsonded there from flights. They got into their choppers which took them straight to the Divine Empire," he further added.


    "It¡¯s going to be hard to survive without food. This is problematic," Caen muttered, frowning. "We need to do something about this. If only we had Raia, he could have grown nts for us there with his abilities."


    "Don¡¯t worry, I already thought about this. We won¡¯t be dying from hunger," Lucifer chimed in, noticing the low morale of Caen.


    "How?" Caen asked. "How will we travel five hundred kilometers without food? We can¡¯t carry that much food."


    "We won¡¯t need to. We¡¯ll be flying there," Lucifer replied.


    "Will you use your abilities to make them fly too?" Uzuki asked, remembering how Lucifer made everyone fly inside the Dungeon.


    "Nope. We¡¯ll fly in helicopters. We¡¯re going to be stealing Warlock Council¡¯s helicopter and taking it for a ride," Lucifer exined.


    "How will we do that without bringing attention to us? Wasn¡¯t it a stealth mission?" Caen asked.


    He knew that if they really did steal the Warlock Council chopper, it was going to make things really chaotic. The Warlock Council was going to be alert.


    Also, Uheim was probably going to inform the Divine Empire about this. The Divine Empire was also going to be alert.


    "One correction. I won¡¯t be doing it. You¡¯ll be doing it. And no, there won¡¯t be anymotion. In fact, their branch will happily give that chopper to us," Lucifer let out, smiling.


    "Happily? You mean you want to...?"


    "That¡¯s right. Now you understand why I¡¯m taking you?" Lucifer asked, smiling.


    "Kellian, You told me that three more Warlock Council Envoys went to the Continent of Darkness, but they came back without any sess? I want the data on the main person from them."


    "Also, arrange clothes simr to what that guy was wearing. If possible, get us his video so Caen can learn the way that guy talked too. That envoy will be visiting that branch once again," he further added, smiling.


    Caen understood what Lucifer was saying. He couldn¡¯t help but smile either. This wasn¡¯t a bad n at all. With the resources they had, they could certainly pull it off.


    "That would certainly solve the problem of transport but would it really work? What if there are any verifications?"


    " If they asked their main headquarters for verification about your arrival? What then?" Uzuki asked. Even though he wasn¡¯t personally going, he was really intrigued about this n.


    "That¡¯s right. It¡¯s a real possibility at the moment that they¡¯ll try to verify our Status since they won¡¯t have any information about any uing arrival from the Warlock Council," Lucifer nodded.


    "There¡¯s no benefit thinking about that at the moment. We¡¯ll cross that bridge when we get there. I already have something nned for them," he further added. "It¡¯s final then. We¡¯ll go through Uheim."


    "You two should prepare for the departure," he told Caen and Szar. "And Kellian, arrange for a flight for us. Make sure that flight is filled with Civilians as well, so it doesn¡¯t look odd."


    "I¡¯ll handle it," Kellian affirmed. "The flight will be waiting for you early in the morning."


    "Good. Anything else you guys wanted to discuss before I leave?" Lucifer asked, prepared to finish the meeting.


    "There¡¯s one thing." Kellian was the person to speak first.


    "Yeah?" Lucifer inquired.


    "It¡¯s about the Warlock Council. I already took steps to keep them busy elsewhere, but I doubt those will be enough to keep them busy for long. They¡¯ll soon send more people here if I¡¯m not wrong." Kellian exined.


    "How should I treat them when they¡¯re here? Be hard on them from the start or let them live in the Illusion that they¡¯re in charge indirectly until you return?" he asked.


    "I think you already know the answer to that question. No one... I repeat, no one is above us. Just keep that mentality for Uprising," Lucifer responded.


    "I don¡¯t care whoes here to show off; that person shouldn¡¯t return alive if they don¡¯t behave properly. With this, I agree with Milena¡¯s approach to things. She did right by killing their people. Those bastards deserve that. You shall do the same," he dered.


    "The problem is that we aren¡¯t strong enough to face the Warlock Council at the moment. Unlike the Divine Empire, we don¡¯t have the territory advantage either. If the Warlock Council invades us, it¡¯ll be a hard battle," Kellian expressed concern with the approach.


    "Is that so? The answer is simple. Before they invade us, we invade them," Lucifer replied, smiling.


    "Don¡¯t worry, the preparation for invasion takes a long time since they have more people.. You, on the other hand, are a small group. You understand what I¡¯m saying?"

 Chapter 403 - 403: Cassiuss Mission

    <h4>Chapter 403 - 403: Cassius''s Mission </h4>


    "You mean we should invade them if they start preparing to invade Elisium?" Kellian asked.


    "That¡¯s right. We can easily monitor them now. If you see any signs of them mobilizing their forces against Elisium, just go to Zeston first," Lucifer agreed.


    "Follow the n I made for infiltration and give them a blow that they¡¯ll forever remember. I should be back by then as well," he further added.


    "We won¡¯t follow the gentle approach. Even if their envoyes, let them see that Elisium is ours. I don¡¯t care if you kill all the Envoys without asking a single question."


    "Warlock Council schemed a bit too much to have my parents killed and to manipte Elisium. Their days are already numbered. No need to y nice!"


    Seeing the hard stance of Lucifer, Jean was surprised as well as pleased. Das was also impressed. Now they were truly behaving like kings of this ce.


    "Oh, one more thing. I think it¡¯s time we also started spreading out. I want you to take over all our neighboring nations by the time I return. They¡¯ve always been weaker than Elisium."


    "They¡¯ll easily surrender, but I leave the decision to you. I don¡¯t care how you do it, but I want it done."


    "Taking over neighboring nations? That won¡¯t be hard, but the problems are the nations after that. They¡¯ll feel threatened and might attack us," Yaliza chimed in the discussion.


    "No, they won¡¯t attack. You know why?" Lucifer asked.


    "Why?" Yaliza inquired.


    "Because they¡¯ll be scared. Elisium isn¡¯t called the strongest nation on this continent for no reason. We have the strongest Warlocks of this continent. No nation would be willing to face our wrath. Take over the surrounding nations then stop."


    "Give an excuse as to why we took over. You can use any excuse that can make us look legit; for example, we receive information about the appearance of Dungeons in these nations that can be threatening to us."


    "That¡¯s why we¡¯re taking over these nations because we can keep them safe as the strongest Warlock Nation," Lucifer exined. "There are literally thousands of excuses you can use to invade a nation."


    "In any case, that¡¯s only if therees a need for this. I doubt this would be needed because this won¡¯t be an invasion. It¡¯ll be something simr to what we did with Elisium. The legal government of those nations would be giving control to us without any battles."


    "As for why they¡¯ll do that, I¡¯m sure you¡¯re all clever enough to know how to achieve that."


    As Lucifer finished his exnation, Cassius raised his hand. "I don¡¯t understand why we need to do this? What¡¯s the benefit for us? Why are we taking over other nations?"


    "It¡¯s because we need to grow. We can¡¯t grow if we¡¯re limited to just one nation. The Warlock Council consists of the Warlocks from their entire continent. It¡¯s a big force. If we want to match them, we would need just as big of a force," Lucifer replied.


    "Moreover, I believe the continent can grow even more as one unit. As nations, we¡¯re divided. As a continent, we¡¯ll be united," he further added.


    Even though all he said was just excuses to mask his real reasons, Cassius believed him. He didn¡¯t ask any other questions.


    " Kellian, can you do it?" Lucifer asked, turning to Kellian.


    "It shall be done. By the time you¡¯re back, you¡¯ll find all seven neighboring nations under our control," Kellian agreed.


    "That¡¯s good. Anything else you wanted to talk about? If not, we can leave."


    No one said anything, and the meeting finished. Lucifer stood up and left the room with the others.


    Everyone went their separate ways.


    ...


    Only an hour had passed since the meeting ended, and Cassius had already approached him to talk about something in private.


    Lucifer was standing near the windows of his room, observing the quiet streets outside when Cassius approached him.


    "Did you want to talk about something?" Lucifer asked without turning back.


    "I¡¯m here to tell you that I¡¯ming with you," Cassius said.


    "No, you¡¯re not," Lucifer casually answered.


    "Is there any specific reason for why I can¡¯te?" Cassius asked.


    "Yeah. It¡¯s because you¡¯re not needed there. Three of us are enough," Lucifer replied.


    " Moreover, if I lose you, it¡¯ll be dangerous for me. I can handle a turned Szar since I can stop his powers. I can also handle a turned Caen since he¡¯s weak, but a turned Cassius is dangerous," he further said.


    "It¡¯s the same reason I¡¯m not taking anyone else from here, including Alicia. In fact, I wanted to go alone, but I need Caen and Szar," he continued.


    "You think they can kill me?" Cassius asked.


    "What makes you think they can¡¯t? If things turn South, we won¡¯t be fighting ten or twenty enemies. We¡¯ll be fighting thousands of them since we¡¯ll be in their Empire. Enemies will attack us from all directions. Even the sky won¡¯t be safe," Lucifer replied.


    "Let alone you, I believe that even I¡¯ll die there if I go there, but I have my healing, so I don¡¯t need to worry. You don¡¯t have my healing," he continued.


    "If you go alone, you think you can return safely? Aren¡¯t you underestimating them too much to be going with only two more people? I know I can keep myself safe. Let mee too. I won¡¯t be turned," Cassius said, desiring toe too.


    "No means no. My decision is final," Lucifer firmly stated. "But if you do want to believe me, there¡¯s another way you can help me."


    "What way?" Cassius asked.


    "Go back to your home," Lucifer said.


    "What?" Cassius eximed in shock.


    "You heard right. I want you to go back home, and I want you to steal more Limiters for me from the Academy," Lucifer stated.


    "What? How can I?"


    "Only you can since you¡¯re amodated to that ce. You¡¯re also a student in the Academy. Even if the academy is closed, you can easily get inside."


    "I¡¯m sure you have the needed resources. I personally wanted to go there, but I¡¯m busy with Divine Empire. I need those Limiters for the Warlock Council. You think you can do it?" Lucifer asked.


    "I..."


    "Don¡¯t worry; you won¡¯t be going alone. I¡¯ll send Alicia with you. She can help you with this mission. The two of you can certainly pull it off. Unlike me, she isn¡¯t on the wanted list there, so it¡¯s going to be fine," Lucifer suggested, not letting Cassius refuse.


    "So, will you do it?" he asked.

 Chapter 404 - 404: Sheer Power

    <h4>Chapter 404 - 404: Sheer Power </h4>


    "Fine. I¡¯ll do it. But I doubt it¡¯ll be as easy as you¡¯re expecting it to be. That ce is no less than a fortress. Then when the Academy is closed, it¡¯ll be hard to get to it," Cassius pointed out.


    "I¡¯m sure you can do it. Before infiltrating, make sure that no teachers are there. After that point, it should be easy. If any teachers are there, drop the n ande back. Take risks but take a calcted risk. No need for jumping in a trap," Lucifer warned Cassius, who nodded.


    "Good. Talk to Kellian and get him to arrange a flight for you. I¡¯ll tell Alicia about it as well," he added before he left the ce. Lucifer left the room, leaving Cassius behind.


    As soon as Lucifer stepped out of the room, he collided with Alicia, who wasing to meet him as well. Fortunately, no one got injured in the collision.


    "Ah, you¡¯re here. I was justing to talk to you. I¡¯ming with you to the Divine Empire. There¡¯s no way I¡¯ll be staying behind!" Alicia dered, making Lucifer smile wryly.


    "I just had the same conversation with Cassius, and the answer is no. You¡¯re noting with me," Lucifer replied. "Instead, you¡¯ll be going on a special mission with Cassius, which is really important to me."


    "That¡¯s why I am not bringing you with me. Because I need you on that mission which only you can do," he further said, giving excuses.


    He exined the entire missing to Alicia, ultimately convincing her.


    He talked about this mission as if it was even more important than his own mission. Alicia simply couldn¡¯t say no.


    As Alicia and Cassius were taken care of, Lucifer could finally rx. Everything was finished. All that was left now was leaving.


    ...


    Lucifer¡¯sst night in Elisium passed peacefully. He slept like a baby, waking up in the morning by a knock on the door.


    Slowly opening his eyes, he looked at the clock, noticing that he waste.


    It was already twelve in the afternoon.


    He got off the bed and opened the door, finding Kellian there. "The flight is waiting for you. Everyone else is also prepared."


    "Just give me five minutes. I¡¯ll be right outside," Lucifer replied, closing the door again. He went back in and took a quick shower before getting dressed.


    He took all the things he needed. Most of those things were in the inner pockets of his robe, which was now yellow in color.


    He left the room and met with Kellian, who walked with him to the roof where a helicopter was waiting for them. Caen and Szar were already present there, along with other Warlocks from Uprising.


    Alicia and Cassius were also there, wishing him luck on his journey.


    "There are three bags in the helicopter with clothes and other items just for show. Since you¡¯re going there with the excuse of sightseeing, you¡¯ll need that bag to not raise suspicions at the airport there. Don¡¯t forget to take it with you," Kellian reminded Lucifer and the others that were going with him.


    The three entered the helicopters, which soon started flying.


    ...


    A ck helicopternded inside the airport. Three men stepped out of the airport. The airport security escorted them to themercial flight without any checking.


    They entered the ne, which soon started flying to the Nation of Uheim.


    ...


    Themercial ne was mostly filled with Ordinary Civilians, mostly the ones that were sent in a hurry with the simr excuse of a lottery.


    The families were told that they were selected for foreign vacation but only if they left in one day. Most of the families that were approached for this agreed to leave, unaware that they were being used in a way.


    While most of the ordinary citizens sat in the economy ss seats, Lucifer, Caen, and Szar were sitting in the business ss, away from others.


    So far, no one knew that Lucifer and other high-profile people were on the ne, except for the people that escorted them and the ne staff. L


    "Shall I bring something for you, Sir?"


    Three special air hostesses were assigned to the business ss to take care of these three people.


    "Nothing. You can leave. We wantplete privacy here," Lucifer told the air hostesses. "Just bring something to eat after a few hours."


    "Yes, Sir." The air hostesses turned to leave.


    In the entire business ss, only three people remained, sitting in silence.


    All the nning was alreadypleted, and there was nothing to talk about anymore, so no one spoke anything for quite some time.


    Szar closed his eyes and went to sleep since it was a long journey. This single flight was going to take two days to get to the continent of Darkness and that too, after stopping in other countries for refueling.


    Caen, on the other hand, was looking at the videos of a winged man, trying to understand him better since he needed to impersonate this man.


    He had already tried once before since he didn¡¯t know if he could form wings too, but he had seeded when he tried. Now he only needed to fine-tune a little more.


    Lucifer had already taken a long nap, so he wasn¡¯t sleepy. Instead, he looked out of the ne, watching the clouds as far as his eyes could see.


    It was his first time on a flight that was going to fly for so long.


    After two more hours, the air hostesses return, breaking the pin-drop silence which existed for a long time.


    The sound of their footsteps brought Lucifer out of his daze, making him nce at thedies.


    ...


    Twenty hours passed, and the ne had already covered almost half the distance. It had justnded for refueling for a short time before taking off again.


    Caen had fallen asleep by now, but Szar was up, finishing his nap.


    "The journey is so long. I¡¯m getting tired of sitting. Why did this ce have to be so far away?" Szarined, sighing. He got off the chair and started walking back and forth.


    Lucifer was still up, but he didn¡¯t react. He kept looking out the window, staring at the moon that seemed even closer now.


    Even he was amazed by the distance though. His father had thrown those stones. Just how powerful was that throw that one stone ended up in the Divine Empire while the other ended up in Warlock Council.


    Both of these ces were on different continents.. Just the sheer power of that throw was fascinating.

 Chapter 405 - 405: I Shouldve Wished For Something Else

    <h4>Chapter 405 - 405: I Should''ve Wished For Something Else </h4>


    "Are you listening to me?" Szar asked Lucifer, not getting any reply.


    "Hmm? What¡¯s that?" Lucifer finally said something, but there was a surprise on his face.


    "What?" Szar asked, approaching the window. He also looked outside.


    As he looked outside, he was able to see something brighting towards them.


    "That¡¯s a missile!" Szar yelled, but it was already toote. The missile had already reached the ne, hitting it.


    Szar¡¯s yell brought Caen out of his sleep too.


    As the missile had already hit the ne, Szar cast his Domain in a hurry, slowing down the impact.


    There was no way to stop the missile. The only option was to slow down the damage as much as they could before jumping.


    Under Szar¡¯s domain, the time slowed down.


    Szar hastily brought three parachutes that were kept in the cabin. The ne shook extremely slowly as the missile which had hit the ne exploded.


    The missile was also under Szar¡¯s domain, just like the ne, so even the explosion was slow. The fire spread exceptionally slowly.


    In the meantime, Szar made Lucifer wear the parachute. He also made Caen wear the parachute. He also wore one himself.


    Szar couldn¡¯t control his domain to perfection. He couldn¡¯t affect certain things and make other things unaffected. Everything inside his domain was affected, including Lucifer.


    Szar carried Lucifer with his left arm while keeping Caen on his shoulder before he walked to the exit.


    By now, the fire had started spreading inside the ne as the exterior of the ne was destroyed. The massive explosion kept expanding only.


    "Man, just when Iined about this flight being short, it was made short. I should¡¯ve wished for something else. Such a wasted opportunity," Szar said, disappointing.


    A cloud of fire was reaching him from behind, onlynding one meter behind him by now when Szar opened the exit door.


    He tossed Caen outside before jumping with Lucifer.


    As Caen came out of the reach of Szar¡¯s domain, he felt extreme winds brushing against his face and his body. Shocked, he found himself in the middle of the air, extremely confused. He couldn¡¯t understand what had happened. How did he end up here?


    He also noticed a parachute on his back. Bncing his body, he looked up, wondering what actually happened.


    He could see Szar alsoing behind him with Lucifer. The ne behind them was slowly being blown up.


    As Szar got out of the ne¡¯s reach, the ne also came out of his Domain. The time in the ne returned to normal.


    Boom!


    A deafening noise fell in everyone¡¯s ears as the ne was blown up to pieces. What remained of it started falling down.


    Szar stopped his Domain, sighing a breath of relief. The three of them had survived. Fortunately, Lucifer had noticed the missile at thest second.


    As Szar stopped using his powers, Lucifer also returned to normal. He looked at the massive cloud of fire in the sky and the pieces of their ne crashing down.


    "Lucifer, listen. You have a parachute. As soon as I free you, bnce your body and pull it. We willnd safely," Szar reminded Lucifer. "Alright?"


    "Yeah, free me," Lucifer said.


    Szar released Lucifer, who, instead of falling down, continued floating in the air.


    Not only him, but he also made his winds help Szar fly.


    "Ah, right. How could I forget that you can fly? We didn¡¯t even need these." Szar smiled wryly.


    Lucifer looked around, trying to find Caen. He was able to find Caen under him. Caen had already pulled the parachute, and he was going down slowly.


    Lucifer flew towards Caen with Szar and helped himnd safely too.


    All three of themnded on the ground safely.


    Caen took off the parachute, freeing himself.


    "Well, there goes our ride. It¡¯s surprising though. Why would someone try to bring down our ne? Did someone leak the information about our trip? Is it the work of the Warlock Council?" he asked, ncing at the empty sky.


    "I¡¯m not sure. This was really unexpected actually. For someone to attack us. This information was kept under wraps. Even though many people knew we were going to the Divine Empire, none knew about the route we were going to follow," Lucifermented, frowning.


    "The route was decided at thest moment. Only Kellian and a few other people knew about the route we were going to take, and that was also decided just before we sat inside the ne," he further added. "That much time isn¡¯t enough for someone to n an ambush."


    "Still, if it was leaked, who could have done so?" Caen asked.


    "My bet is on Kellian. With you gone, he would be the sole ruler. He gets the most benefit from your death," Szar pointed out.


    "No. Kellian isn¡¯t that stupid. He would have known that just an explosion isn¡¯t enough to kill me. At best, It would have killed you and Caen. I would¡¯ve survived. He won¡¯t be behind such stupid ambush." Lucifer shook his head, not believing it.


    " As a matter of fact, no one in Uprising would be stupid enough to think that it would work," he further added.


    "Freaking great. There¡¯s no signal either." Caen cursed, noticing no signal on his phone. We can¡¯t contact the base either."


    Szar also checked his phone. "That¡¯s right. It seems like we can¡¯t."


    "Don¡¯t worry; I can. Mine is connected to our satellite. Who knew this was going toe handy so soon," Lucifer said, bringing out ck sunsses from his pocket.


    "You¡¯re going to wear sunsses at night?" Szar asked, looking at Lucifer weirdly.


    "These aren¡¯t sunsses. I mean, they are, but they¡¯re more too. They¡¯re amunication device," Lucifer replied, wearing the sunsses.


    "Call Kellian!" Lucifermanded.


    "Voice matchplete. Calling Kellian." Lucifer heard a voice that only he could hear.


    Next, he heard the sound of ringing. Kellian soon picked up the call.


    "Kellian, our ne was just blown up. I want you to find what happened and who is behind it. Get me as much information as you can. I want to know what¡¯s happening here," Lucifermanded Kellian.


    "Your ne was blown up? What?" Kellian asked, surprised. "How are you? Are the others fine?"


    "Yeah. Szar, Caen, and I, we¡¯re all safe, but the ne has been blown up to pieces," Lucifer answered.


    "I am sure you can get my location. Take Vega¡¯s help and tell me where I am? Also, tell me what¡¯s happening here so I can decide what to do next."


    "I¡¯ll find what¡¯s happening. Give me some time.. Until then, you stay where you are."

 Chapter 406 - 406: The Culprit

    <h4>Chapter 406 - 406: The Culprit </h4>


    "Also, I¡¯m sending another jet for you. It should be there in a few hours to pick you up again," Kellian replied before disconnecting.


    "What did he say?" Caen asked Lucifer, who took off the sunsses.


    "He¡¯s trying to find more about it. Also, he¡¯s sending a jet for us. It would be here in less than a day," Lucifer replied.


    "A day? We would die from hunger by then. We need to find a ce to stay and something to eat," Caen said, wondering if they could even find something.


    They were standing on rocky nes where no speck of grass was at sight.


    As far as the eyes could see, there was nothing in sight. No buildings or structures could be seen in sight either.


    "Let me see from up. If a missile was fired at us, there must be a city nearby," Lucifermented, rising in the air.


    He flew higher and higher and looked all around, finding any source of light that wasn¡¯t natural.


    "Strange, there¡¯s nothing here. Caen was right," he muttered,ing down.


    "You¡¯re right. There¡¯s no city here as far as I can see, but there¡¯s a forest nearby. It would probably have some beasts too, and maybe even water. Let¡¯s get to it first," he told Szar and Caen, pointing towards the south.


    He started rising in the air again, shooting towards the first. Caen and Szar also flew behind him, without any control since they were only flying because of Lucifer.


    The three of themnded inside the forest that was closest to them. Even then, it took them ten minutes of flying to get there.


    Fortunately, it wasn¡¯t too dark. They could see things clearly because of the moonlight.


    Landing inside the forest, the three of them started searching to see if there were any beasts in the woods when Lucifer received a call. The sses which were in his pocket started vibrating slowly.


    He brought the sses out and wore them, picking up the call.


    "Did you find where we are?" Lucifer asked Kellian right away.


    "I did. And I also know who blew up the ne and why it was done," Kellian replied.


    "Where are we? And who was targeting us?" Lucifer asked, frowning. "Was it the Warlock Council?"


    "No. I don¡¯t think anyone was especially targeting you guys. They probably didn¡¯t even know about you, or they wouldn¡¯t have pulled a trick like this. You¡¯re actually in the Nation of Dalia," Kellian exined.


    "I don¡¯t know why your ne entered their airspace. It¡¯s only now that I found out about the chaotic situation in Dalia. There is a powerful group of Militants in Dalia, who are trying to take over the nation, but Dalia forces have managed to hold on," he further added.


    "Now that we searched about it, it came to light that the Militant Leader released a statement an hour ago, saying that he would do whatever it takes to bring the Dalia government down, even if it takes destroying all the financial lifelines of Dalia."


    "I think blowing up the flights passing through Dalia is just a show of force. They want to force the Dalia government to surrender. Pretty idiotic approach if you ask me," he continued.


    "Militants? Couldn¡¯t they have waited for us to pass?" Lucifer asked, frowning. "Because of them, we¡¯re dyed by a day."


    "Yeah. They¡¯re certainly idiots. If they keep doing things like this, in the end, the other nations will be pissed and start supporting the Dalia government. They really shouldn¡¯t involve other nations in their inner battles," Kellian agreed.


    "But that¡¯s also where the problem starts. I can certainly send another Jet for you, which cannd in the International Dalia Airport, which is only two hundred kilometers away from you."


    "The problem is that they¡¯ll probably blow up that ne too. And sending military jets isn¡¯t feasible at all."


    "The other option remains for you to travel to the neighboring nation, which is nine hundred kilometers away from your current location. I can send you the map for your journey. What do you think?" Kellian asked after telling his n.


    "How far away is the settlement of these militants?" Lucifer asked.


    "They¡¯ve spread throughout Dalia actually, but their real base is in the City of Akmod. They have full control of the city. Even Dalia¡¯s army hasn¡¯t been able to take back that ce," Kellian exined.


    "Why doesn¡¯t the Dalia army just blow this ce up then? Finish them once and for all?" Lucifer asked, wondering why Dalia was taking this soft approach.


    "It¡¯s because they can¡¯t. The militants also have their capital city in their target. If Dalia attacks Militant Capital, Militants will attack their Capital. It¡¯s like a status quo has been established, where the two cities are forbidden," Kellian exined.


    "Moreover, the militants have modern weapons which can intercept missile attacks too. So they can¡¯t be taken out in an instant. If they could be taken out in a single attack, Dalia wouldn¡¯t have any risk," he further added.


    "How far is Akmod from this ce?" Lucifer asked.


    He had decided something. No matter what, he was going to take the shortest route. If getting to another nation was faster, he was going to do that. And if getting to Akmod was faster, he was going to show those Militants the consequences of attacking his ne.


    "Akmod is three hundred kilometers away from you in the south," Kellian replied.


    "How far is Dalia Capital City from Akmod?" Lucifer asked.


    "It¡¯s another three hundred kilometers from there to get to Dalia Capital


    "That¡¯s good. I think it¡¯s time to get some practice. I¡¯ve been silent for too long," Lucifer muttered, cracking his knuckles. "Send me their coordinates."


    "What do you mean? Don¡¯t tell me you want to take them out?" Kellian asked, stunned.


    "That¡¯s right. Three hundred kilometers to get to their base, another three hundred to get to Dalia. That¡¯s only six hundred kilometers, still shorter than nine hundred to get to the neighboring nation," Lucifer exined. "Just send me the coordinates."


    "Wait, I think I can get that myself too. You just send the ne to Dalia Airport to pick us up. That¡¯s going to be all," he continued before disconnecting the call.


    ...


    Beep!


    "Bu-" Kellian was just going to convince Lucifer not to bother with it when he heard the beeping noise.


    The call was disconnected.


    "It looks like we¡¯ll be jumping into another nation¡¯s civil war. Well, hopefully, he¡¯ll make it short and won¡¯t get caught in the middle.. Too much attention to us wouldn¡¯t be ideal in that situation," Kellian muttered, shaking his head.

 Chapter 407 - 407: Opportunity

    <h4>Chapter 407 - 407: Opportunity </h4>


    "What did Kellian say? Who attacked us?" Caen asked as Lucifer returned to them.


    "He said that we weren¡¯t the target of the attack. It¡¯s just that our ne happened to be at the wrong ce at the wrong time," Lucifer answered.


    "Any ne that enters this country¡¯s airspace will be blown up," he further added.


    "How will we get out then?" Caen asked. "If all nes are going to be blown up, how will we leave?"


    "It¡¯s nothing serious. We¡¯ll just go to the people that blew up our ne and... convince them to let our nend here," Lucifer replied.


    "By convincing, you mean...?"


    "Yeah. I¡¯ll be going there. It can be a good opportunity to get some exercise," Lucifer exined. "Let¡¯s find something to eat before leaving. Our next flight should be en-route soon. We need to take these people out before that."


    "You¡¯ll be going there? You mean alone?" Szar asked, noticing the minute details of Lucifer¡¯s words.


    "Yeah. I¡¯ll be entering that ce alone. I¡¯ll drop you off near that ce so I can pick you up after I¡¯m done," Lucifer exined as he started walking straight, searching for something to eat.


    Szar and Caen followed behind.


    Caen knew he wasn¡¯t of any use in a war. He wasn¡¯t an explosive Warlock. Lucifer, on the other hand, was different, and so was Szar. He didn¡¯t insist on entering that ce with Lucifer since he would¡¯ve only been amodity.


    "Are there any Variants in that ce?" Szar asked Lucifer.


    "There are a few from what I heard, but they aren¡¯t too powerful, so nothing to be concerned about," Lucifer answered. "Their biggest strength is their military might."


    "It¡¯s the first time I¡¯ll be facing an enemy that entirely depends on modern weapons. It should be fun," he further said, smiling. "It¡¯ll be like a breath of fresh air after facing the Warlocks and the monsters."


    "I think I shoulde with you too. It¡¯s just modern weapons. They aren¡¯t that powerful," Szar responded, throwing his name ahead. He didn¡¯t desire for Lucifer to go alone.


    "Nope. As I said, I¡¯m going alone. It¡¯ll be faster for me alone since it¡¯s pure destruction. You¡¯re a specialist of taking our powerful enemies easily, and that¡¯s good, but we aren¡¯t focusing on powerful enemies," Lucifer replied, refusing again.


    "This time, we would be fighting weak enemies that hide behind their high numbers and powerful weapons," he continued. "Taking you there would be a waste."


    "I think he is right. From what I know about your powers, you won¡¯t be of crucial use in this mission. You¡¯re a powerful Warlock, but not in this case. By the time you finish a hundred people, Lucifer would have killed a thousand," Caen agreed with Lucifer.


    "Just let him take the lead," he further added.


    "Fine! Go alone then," Szar let out, rolling his eyes. Even though he acted upset, he knew that he wasn¡¯t needed on this mission. His powers weren¡¯t for something like this.


    "There it is!" Lucifer suddenly eximed as he flew straight ahead. His cloak pped with the wind as Lucifer flew as fast as he could.


    "What happened?" Caen grew confused, watched Lucifer fly in such urgency. He and Szar started running behind Lucifer.


    They soon caught up to Lucifer, who was standing straight. The body of the deer was lying on his feet.


    Szar and Caen stepped closer to him. As their feetnded on twigs and dry leaves on the ground, it created very subtle noises, but even that was enough to alert Lucifer.


    "That takes care of the dinner," he said, turning around. "Do any of you have a lighter?"


    "I don¡¯t," Szar replied.


    "I don¡¯t either," Caen also said.


    "Sigh, fine. Go and get some wood and some stone. Let¡¯s light the fire in the old style."


    Caen left to collect some wood and soon returned. As for the stones, they were already there.


    Lucifer arranged everything ordingly and lit the fire using the stones. The fire started burning on top of which the deer was cooked.


    Within a short time, the deer waspletely cooked for everyone to eat.


    "I¡¯m surprised you know how to light a fire like this," Szarmented as he resumed eating.


    "I didn¡¯t know it at the start. But I learned it as I grew up. That reminds me... I wonder what happened to that girl...?"


    Seeing Lucifer mention ady, Szar couldn¡¯t help but ask, "Whichdy? Some crush?"


    " Not really. She was a girl who looked like my mother. She had helped me a little, even giving me her lighter so I could light a fire when cooking in the forest," Lucifer replied. "In a sense, she taught me that cooking the food was needed."


    "She was one of the first few people that I met that were nice to me," he continued but stopped midway as he also remembered the couple who had fed him.


    With one memory, many events returned. He also remembered how he had killed that couple because they wanted to have him arrested.


    He also remembered how he killed that girl¡¯s brother who helped him, all because he talked bad about his parents.


    "I shouldn¡¯t have killed that boy," Lucifer muttered. "Only breaking his hands should have been enough. I was really easy to upset in my younger days, too impulsive."


    "You shouldn¡¯t have killed who?" Szar asked. "Which boy?"


    "Nothing, it¡¯s all in the past. Neither I nor anyone else can change my past. It¡¯s what makes me who I am today," Lucifer let out, shaking his head.


    He also started eating, stopping thinking about the past.


    After everyone finished dinner, they all went to a pond nearby that was discovered by Caen when he was searching for wood. They all drank the water from the pond.


    Lucifer let the others rest for half an hour. He also rested a little. Sitting with his back resting against the tree, he donned the sses and started ying with them.


    " Show me the map of Dalia," hemanded the sses.


    As per hismands, a map opened before him. Even though the map was shown on the screen of the sunsses, for him, it seemed like a three-dimensional map had opened right before his eyes.


    "Highlight my location on the map," he furthermanded.


    A red dot appeared in the northern part of the map.


    "Highlight Akmod on the map," he further said.


    A green dot appeared in the southern part of the map.


    "Good.. Now minimize the map and keep in on the corner of my view," he further said.

 Chapter 408 - 408: Is It A Plane?

    <h4>Chapter 408 - 408: Is It A ne? </h4>


    The map became smaller and moved to the side, clearing the view of Lucifer.


    "Begin live tracking of my location," Lucifer stated.


    "Live tracking begins." A mechanical voice fell in Lucifer¡¯s ears while the red for which was highlighting his location started blinking.


    "That¡¯s better. Now guide me towards Akmod," Lucifer said, standing up.


    "The rest was over. Let¡¯s get going," he told Szar and Caen, as the time of rest was over.


    Szar and Caen also stood up, prepared to leave. Lucifer started floating in the air and flying towards the sky. He didn¡¯t fly too high, but he didn¡¯t fly too low either.


    Caen and Szar also flew with Lucifer.


    After flying for three hours straight, Lucifernded in another forest to eat something again, feeling hungry.


    It was midnight when they hunted another beast. Szar and Caen had just eaten, so they didn¡¯t eat again. Unlike Lucifer, they weren¡¯t hungry so soon.


    "Are you sure you don¡¯t want to eat?" Lucifer asked the Szar and Caen as he ate.


    "We¡¯re not hungry. Don¡¯t worry," Szar replied.


    "If that¡¯s what you want."


    Lucifer finished eating before standing up, yawning.


    "Only fifty more kilometers to cover," he said, noticing the distance in the map. He had already covered most of the distance, leaving only a little more.


    He again started flying, leaving the first. He only stopped when only twenty kilometers of distance was left.


    " I think I should go alone from here on. You guys stay here. I¡¯lle to take you after I¡¯m done there," he told Szar and Caen, making them softlynd on the ground.


    He had chosen another forest for them to hide in so they could have food and water if needed.


    After leaving them here, he once again flew towards Akmod, prepared to blow the ce that blew their ne.


    ...


    Akmod was a militarized city, only upied by militants. No ordinary civilian dared to even think about living in the city. They all preferred to stay as far away from this city as possible, leaving the entire city for the militants alone.


    Many defensive infrastructures were created in this ce since it was such a crucial point of this movement. This city contained many high-profile Weapons and other crucial tools needed to keep this fight going.


    No one knew how a group of militants managed to collect such incredible weapons. Some imed that they were supported by other nations that wanted instability in Dalia, while others imed that it was just a scheme of the Dalia government.


    There were also many conspiracy theories going around about this ce, but no one knew what the truth was at all. No one knew how such powerful technology ended up in the hands of these people.


    There were many tall buildings in Akmod, but the Command Center of these militants wasn¡¯t in any of these tall buildings.


    Instead, themand center existed in a ce that seemed like an ordinary house from the outside. It was kept a secret that themand center was inside the house.


    To be precise, it was under the house, but this house was the only way to get to the underground bunker where themand center was.


    "Sir, our radar is picking something up. Something is flying towards us at really fast speed!"


    This was the moment when Lucifer¡¯s presence was noted by themand center through their radar.


    "Is it a ne? Do you even have to ask? Just blow it up," A bearded man replied, sitting in the main chair.


    "It¡¯s not a ne, Commander Hamilton. From what our systems are picking up, it¡¯s something really small," the man on the systems said, addressing the bearded man asmander since he was the leader of this Militant Organization.


    "It doesn¡¯t matter what it is! Just blow it up," The bearded man known as Commander Hamilton said, brushing his long white beard with his fingers.


    "Yes, Sir! Launching missiles at the target!"


    ....


    Lucifer reached closer to the city. He had just started wondering why there were no attacks so far. He wasing so openly not even trying to hide his trail, but no attacks came from the city.


    "Could it be that they still don¡¯t know? That can¡¯t be. For a group of people that can detect nes in the air to blow it up, I can¡¯t believe they wouldn¡¯t have detected me by now," he wondered, confused.


    That¡¯s when he saw two missiles flying into the sky from the city.


    "Ah, there they are," he let out, smiling. "And so it begins!"


    He didn¡¯t stop flying; instead, he increased his speed, not stopping at all.


    He didn¡¯t even attack the missiles enough, instead letting theme closer. By the time those missiles reached the boundary of the city, Lucifer was already there.


    He casually waved his hand, changing the flow of wind right around the missiles, turning their directions. The missiles soon turned around, unable to resist the control of winds.


    The guards on the walls had already noticed Lucifer as well. They started firing at him. Some even used missileunchers to attack him, knowing that it was a Variant who hade with bad intentions.


    Under the control of his winds, the two missiles that were fired from themand center were turned towards the soldiers that were firing at him. In any case, this firing was useless as it couldn¡¯t even prate through his battle gear.


    "They¡¯reing at us! Stop firing and run!"


    Seeing the missilesing towards them, the soldiers started running away from their stations, scared for their lives.


    The two missiles fell near the soldiers blowing up. A cloud of fire erupted, taking most of the soldiers in its embrace.


    More Soldiers ran towards Lucifer, shooting at him, using their fully automatic guns but to no benefit.


    "Sir! I have visuals! I think you should see right now! We¡¯re under attack! And the enemy is a... variant!" A man in themand center yelled, seeing the terrifying visuals that wereing from the border.


    The bullets were useless; their missiles were sent back towards them. Nothing was working at all.


    Hamilton stood up and approached the screen which was showing Lucifer demolishing everything around him.


    "This Variant... Where did Dalia find this guy? Just who exactly is he?" Hamilton asked, frowning. "This guy looks like a warlord, destroying everything around him!"


    "Sir, what should we do? Should we fire more rockets?"


    "You think that will work? With the way he¡¯s handling our missiles, it¡¯s one they¡¯re toys for him. Use X356 on him," Hamiltonmanded.


    "Sir, are you sure? Our men are there too. That thing will kill them as well."


    "If we don¡¯t take out this guy, we¡¯re going to be dead anyway. Do what I said!"


    "Yes, Sir!"

 Chapter 409 - 409: Assassination

    <h4>Chapter 409 - 409: Assassination </h4>


    Lucifer was enjoying ying with the enemies and their weapons. Their bullets were useless against him, and their missiles were diverted by him, using his wind.


    So far, he had only used his wind. He hadn¡¯t even used his lighting, but that was going to change as dark clouds started forming in the sky.


    Lucifer was amused that no missiles wereing towards him now.


    "Looks like they learned their lessons with missiles, but they still keep shooting. When will they learn that?"


    Lucifer spread out his arms, creating a massive wind tornado around him. One tornado split into two, which split into four.


    It was the same trick that Xander had used against Lucifer when they fought outside the facility. Inspired by that attack, Lucifer had also created this wind tornado.


    Unlike fire tornados, the wind tornados couldn¡¯t burn anyone, which was why he created thousands of wind des inside the wind tornados to make them more threatening.


    Tens of wind tornados moved inside the city, creating devastating destruction.


    The soldiers of Akmod kept getting caught by the tornadoes, sliced into small pieces.


    Hundreds of screams drowned in the crackling of thunder in the sky.


    The tornadoes kept moving deeper and deeper into the city, followed by Lucifer, who was wondering if he was even going to need his lightning. Is this why fighting humans was so easy?"


    While Lucifer was flying deeper into the city, an underground pathway opened behind him.


    A dark-haired man stepped out of the underground tunnel, dressed in all ck. He was carrying a ck sniper rifle in his hand. Standing straight, he aimed his gun towards Lucifer, whose back was facing him as he floated away.


    "You think your bulletproof clothes can save you? Your head is fully exposed, my friend," the man said, smirking.


    He got a precise aim of the back of Lucifer¡¯s head, which was fully exposed.


    Taking a deep breath, he stabilized his hands. He released his breath and fired.


    Bang!


    A bullet flew straight towards Lucifer, who didn¡¯t think that a person could be behind him since he had killed them all.


    The bullet flew towards him and soon prated from the back of his head, passing through his forehead, leaving a see-through hole in his head.


    ....


    "Hahaha, It¡¯s a clear shot! This guy is dead! It looks like we won¡¯t need to use X356," Hamilton startedughing, seeing Lucifer being shut on his screen. He believed they had already won.


    "Ah, sir? Why isn¡¯t he falling to the ground?" His underling asked, shocked how Lucifer was still flying despite being shot.


    "Ah..."


    As time passed, even Hamilton was feeling strange. Why was this guy still flying? Since they couldn¡¯t see Lucifer¡¯s face clearly in the footage, they couldn¡¯t see that his wound was healing.


    Instead, they saw Lucifer turn around.


    ....


    Lucifer gently touched the hole in his forehead, which had already started healing by now.


    "It looks like I left someone alive in the back¡ªa really rookie mistake by me. But then again, this was why I didn¡¯t want Szar toe with me. If it was him, he might have been dead. Unfortunately for them... I came."


    Lucifer nced around and soon found the ck-clothed man.


    "Good aim," Lucifer said softly. "Now, my turn to aim!"


    He raised his right hand towards the sky and brought it down. As if initiating the movement of his hand, a lightning bolt fell from the sky,nding on the ground.


    The ck-clothed man looked at the sky, noticing the pitch-ck lightning bolt falling towards him.


    His feet froze as he didn¡¯t know if he should dodge to his left or right. He didn¡¯t even know if he should dodge at all. There wasn¡¯t enough time, and he didn¡¯t know where this bolt was going to fall.


    "Oh, Cra-" Ultimately, he said hisst words, realizing where that bolt was going to fall. He couldn¡¯t even finish his words as the bolt impaled him.


    ....


    "W-what was that? Did lightning fall on hismands?" Hamilton asked, shocked.


    "I-i think so, sir. The lightning did fall on hismands from what it seemed like. I think... We shouldn¡¯t mess with him. He didn¡¯t even die when he was directly shot! I think we shouldn¡¯t make him our enemy!"


    "Don¡¯t think too much. Use X356 now! So what if he doesn¡¯t die from bullets? That will take him out! That¡¯s our most advanced weapon!" Hamilton said.


    "Alright, sir. I¡¯ve already told all our men to go inside bunkers near them. I think we¡¯re ready to give it a try."


    "Good! On the count of three!"


    "Three..."


    "Two..."


    "One...! Now!"


    ...


    A missile was fired from the back of the city, straight towards Lucifer.


    "Hmm? Another missile? Do they still think it¡¯ll work? Or have they given up?" Lucifer wondered.


    He raised his hand towards the missile, firing a lightning bolt at him.


    The lightning bolt struck the missile, making it blow up, creating a small cloud, but there was no explosiveness to it. Only small explosions took ce, but a strange white cloud started spreading everywhere.


    It spread so fast that before Lucifer could even realize that this white cloud was odd, he was already inside the white cloud, breathing it in.


    "Something isn¡¯t right about this cloud?" he muttered, using his winds to make the white gas fly away from him.


    Even though the white cloud flew away, Lucifer felt somewhat odd as his heart started beating irregrly. He started feeling a bit sick, but as soon as his healing kicked in, he felt refreshed.


    "Ah, I get it now. That was some kind of poison. Not bad for using a new trick," Lucifer muttered, shaking his head.


    "I¡¯m bored now. It was a good trick but not great. That¡¯s nothing interesting anymore," he dered,zily shaking his head.


    One after another, massive lightning bolts started falling from the sky, destroying buildings, missileunchers, vehicles, and everything else in their path wherever they fell.


    ...


    "Ah, sir? I think he¡¯s still fine. That didn¡¯t work."


    "I can see it!" Hamilton roared in rage. "How is that possible? How can this guy not be affected by our greatest chemical poison? How?!"


    "Alright! I¡¯ve decided! We can¡¯t fight him! If we can¡¯t win openly, I¡¯ll ckmail him! Turn on the speakers inside the city!" Hemanded.


    "Turning on!"


    ....


    Lucifer kept attacking every establishment in the city when he heard a voice.


    "Greetings, young Variant! Wee to Akmod, but let me remind you, if you move even an inch closer, you¡¯ll regret it!"


    "Is that a threat?" Lucifer asked.

 Chapter 410 - 410: Flaw

    <h4>Chapter 410 - 410: w </h4>


    "You can take it as a threat. Dalia sent you, didn¡¯t they? But just know, we have other bases too. And our missiles are already aiming at Dalia Capital. If you don¡¯t stop attacking, that city will be blown up." Commander Hamilton said, trying to scare Lucifer.


    " And once that city is gone, who will pay you? Will it be worth it? Just know what¡¯s at stake! On the other hand, if you stop attacking us, not only will Dalia be safe, but we¡¯ll also pay you a lot if you work for us!" he further added.


    "So if I don¡¯t stop, you¡¯ll blow up Dalia?" Lucifer asked loudly.


    "That¡¯s right. So, decide now. Will you keep attacking, or will you start working for us?" Commander Hamilton asked.


    "Fine. Go ahead and blow up Dalia. Why should I care about them? I¡¯m here to destroy you, not to save them. I don¡¯t care what you do to them," Lucifer replied straight.


    "You don¡¯t care what happens to them? You weren¡¯t sent by them?" Commander Hamilton asked, surprised.


    If this guy wasn¡¯t sent by Dalia, why was he here? He couldn¡¯t understand.


    "Why do you want to destroy us if you¡¯re not sent by them? Who sent you then?" he asked.


    "Come out and talk to me face to face. Stop hiding, and I¡¯ll tell you!" Lucifer replied as he started flying above the city that kept being demolished.


    Almost half the buildings were destroyed because of the lightning. Explosions were taking ce left and right as lightning bolts fell on the weapon storage of the militants.


    Commander Hamilton went silent, not knowing how to respond.


    ...


    "That man isn¡¯t sent by Dalia? I wonder if he¡¯s lying to confuse us." Inside the bunker, Hamilton started walking back and forth, confused as to what was happening here. Who was this guy, and where did hee from?


    Lucifer kept standing in the air with his arms folded as his lightning and wind tornadoes wrecked the surroundings.


    "Why did they go silent?" He wondered, looking around.


    He wasn¡¯t sure where they actually were hiding, but he had some general idea.


    He didn¡¯t hurry though. Instead, he simply stood and waited. He knew that these people were soon going toe out. They couldn¡¯t hide for long.


    ...


    While Lucifer continued the wreckage, Szar and Caen sat near a pond, waiting.


    "How long do you think he will take?" Szar asked Caen, ncing at the sky.


    "I¡¯m not sure. It probably won¡¯t take long as far as I know him. He should be back soon," Caen replied.


    "How long have you been with Lucifer?"


    "Me? I met him when he was ten years old. In fact, I think I was the first person who escorted him to the Uprising base for the first time. He was in a cage of APF, already captured," Caen answered. "I thought I would help him, but I didn¡¯t need to. He got out of it himself."


    "When ites to it, that guy is pretty resourceful," he further added.


    " He has quite a lot of those abilities. He¡¯s like abination of risse and Zale if they were one. No, I forgot to count his healing. He¡¯s even above. But he stillcks something to get to their level," Szar muttered, sighing.


    "What does heck?" Caen asked. "I don¡¯t think hecks anything now. The only w I knew of him was that he was too impulsive when it came to his family. I think he got it covered now. What could there be?"


    "He doesn¡¯t have patience. I think he needs that a lot. Without that, he could be in trouble," Szar answered.


    "Patience? Why do you say that?"


    "I heard about his journey. He took out Varant, but he didn¡¯t wait for even a day before attacking the APF base, even when most of his team was injured. Then again, he didn¡¯t wait and attacked the capital the next day itself," Szar exined.


    "And fast forward to now, he¡¯s going to the Divine Empire while spreading his resources thin, telling others to conquer other nations while the threat of the Warlock Council is on the horizon. I think he¡¯s trying to do too many things at once," he further added.


    "I¡¯m sure he has the foresight and a n, but he¡¯s trying to do too much when he doesn¡¯t need to. He is only eighteen years old. I don¡¯t think he needs to be so impatient. He has his whole life ahead of him to do such things."


    Caen nodded as he heard Szar. He also understood what this guy was trying to say to some extent.


    "Maybe because he has self confidence which isn¡¯t a bad thing. I mean, he hasn¡¯t failed so far. Even though he was in a hurry, he did seed. In three days, he took out the APF and controlled Elisium," he replied.


    "As long as he has the foresight and a n, I¡¯m sure it would be fine," he continued.


    "Hopefully." Szar nodded. "But if a dayes when he doesn¡¯t have that foresight, I do hope that he will listen to someone else. Because the way he is now, that seems unlikely."


    ...


    "Sir, we can¡¯t stay here for long. He would soon destroy the entire city. And I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll find these underground bunkers sooner orter. We can¡¯t pretend to be dead, can we?"


    Inside the Militant Command Center, people were starting to get worried as they watched the scenes on the screen.


    It wasplete destruction outside.


    "We can¡¯t do anything against this man. He doesn¡¯t seem to die from bullets, and he doesn¡¯t get affected by our chemical weapons. He can control lightning, and he can control the wind. He¡¯s like the worst person to make an enemy!"


    "I agree. He is like a god who just doesn¡¯t die! What do we do now? I¡¯m ready to die for our cause, but there needs to be a meaning in that. Dying in his hands is useless since we can never hurt him!"


    As more and more people started speaking, Commander Hamilton became furious.


    "Silence! Let me think!" he roared in rage.


    The entire ce went silent.


    "Jay, turn the speakers on again. Let me talk to him!"


    "I¡¯m sorry, sir, but I can¡¯t. His tornadoes already destroyed the systems outside. We can¡¯t get our words to him."


    "Fine! I¡¯ll go outside myself! You all stay here. I¡¯ll talk to him personally and try to get to the issue.. Let¡¯s try that as well," he ultimately said, taking a deep breath.

 Chapter 411 - 411: Strange

    <h4>Chapter 411 - 411: Strange </h4>


    Having no other option, Commander Hamilton knew that he couldn¡¯t just sit idle and wait for the problem to go away. He needed to be a leader and approach the problem from the front.


    He also tried to believe Lucifer when he said that the Dalia army didn¡¯t send him. In any case, Dalia could never afford a powerful being like this. But he also knew that this assumption held a risk.


    If Lucifer was actually sent by Dalia, then he was undoubtedly bluffing when he said that he didn¡¯t care if Dalia was blown up.


    " Keep everything ready. If I¡¯m dead there, that would mean that he really was sent by Dalia, and we were wrong? Fire all the missiles on Dalia in that case. Take those bastards out. Also, keep listening to our conversation," Hamiltonmanded his men before taking a secret tunnel.


    "Ah, sir. Should Ie with you too?" Some armored soldiers ran after him.


    "What¡¯s the benefit? Will you be able to stop him if he decides to attack us? You¡¯ll die as well if youe with me. Stay behind. Either I alone am enough, or even our entire army won¡¯t be enough," Hamilton replied, refusing to take them with him.


    He continued walking alone.


    On the outside, Lucifer continued his wreckage, wondering when these people were going toe out. He knew that it was going to happen soon. They weren¡¯t going to die idle.


    "Hey, big guy! Look here!" A powerful voice suddenly came from a loudspeaker, making Lucifer turn back.


    Turning around, he noticed that a man was standing in the back, carrying a loudspeaker in his hand.


    "No weapons! Interesting. Is he here to talk?" he started floating in the direction of the man, soonnding before him.


    "Who are you?" He asked the man, staring at him. The man was slightly intimidated as the man he considered a monster was standing before him.


    "I¡¯m Commander Hamilton. I¡¯m the leader here. I came here to talk to you myself. Since you said you aren¡¯t sent by Dalia, I want to know why you¡¯re attacking us! How did we offend you?" Hamilton asked Lucifer, standing his ground.


    "How did you offend me?" Lucifer asked, frowning. He grabbed the man by his throat. "You mean other than you blowing up our ne that was passing through the airspace of this country?"


    "Let me think. How about the fact that you fired two missiles at me before I could evennd here? Would that be enough? Or how about the fact that we¡¯re dyed by a day in our journey because of you?"


    "Or shall I talk about how you almost killed two of my important men? Or shall I be offended that it¡¯s because of you that I¡¯m not on a flight on afy seat instead of spending a day here without any food?"


    "Which one do you think is worthy for me to be offended about? Pick that."


    "ne? We didn¡¯t blow up any ne? There must be a misunderstanding! We didn¡¯t do that! As for the two missiles being fired at you, that was an ident. We thought it was an enemy ne that wasing to attack us," Hamilton exined, struggling to breathe.


    Taking each breath was proving to be a challenging job for him.


    "So you didn¡¯t fire the missile at us? You also didn¡¯t release the statement that any ne thates above the city will be blown up?" Lucifer asked sarcastically. "Enough of ying around."


    Crack!


    Before the man could even have a chance to continue, his neck was broken as he was tossed aside.


    After dealing with Hamilton, Lucifer started looking around, trying to find something.


    "One can be an ident, but two people appeared behind me. This time I was sure that no one was behind me. That can only mean that a tunnel exists, which helped them get here. That tunnel should be somewhere around here."


    He wore the sunsses andmanded, "Turn on the see-through vision."


    Something akin to X-Ray activated on the sses, which was something used to see through the walls. Lucifer wanted to use it to see through the ground to find the tunnels.


    It didn¡¯t take him long to find the tunnel either, as he realized that he was standing on top of one of them already.


    He still continued his search, trying to find the entrance. He soon found the entrance, which was a metallic door made to look like the ground. He opened the door and jumped inside the tunnel.


    ...


    Inside the Command Center, people were already sweating as they saw what had happened to theirmander. But the conversation also proved to them that this guy wasn¡¯t sent by Dalia.


    "He will soon be here. What should we do? Destructive tornadoes are outside the tunnels. And inside, he ising to us. No ce is safe! What should we do?"


    People started worrying about what to do. No ce was safe for them. They were all concerned about their lives to think about anything else.


    There was only one person in themand center that was calm. He was sitting on the chair, frowning. He was focusing more on what Lucifer had said about the ne.


    "We didn¡¯t blow up any ne. We didn¡¯t release any statement either. What is this guy talking about? I don¡¯t think he would lie like that."


    Sitting on the chair, a deep frown engulfed the face of the man as he continued talking to himself.


    "But we didn¡¯t blow any nes in recent days. Why would he think we did? And what statement? We didn¡¯t release any statement either?"


    There was immense confusion on his face.


    "Could it be that there¡¯s a misunderstanding? Or someone lied to him, shifting the me to us?"


    He started checking his systems to search for something, wondering if a ne was blown up nearby. He checked all the news portals and soon found it.


    "So he was right. A ne was blown up recently, but it wasn¡¯t done by us. Why are all these news articles ming us? What the heck? Why are they lying about our statement? Why would we blow up a ne? This is all a lie!"


    The man grabbed his head, not understanding what was happening. Who was trying to frame them like this?


    And all these articles had appeared after the ne was blown up.. Before that event, there was no mention of any deration to blow up nes. It was as if the ne was blown up, and then someone came up with this story!

 Chapter 412 - 412: We Didnt

    <h4>Chapter 412 - 412: We Didn''t </h4>


    "Someone certainly framed us, and this guy fell for it. But will he believe us if we tell him? He didn¡¯t even listen to themander. He is too upset." The green-eyed man stood up and started walking back and forth, worrying.


    He was known as Heath. He was not a leader of the faction, but he was the most calm-headed person here. Instead of being scared for the future, he was trying to think of a way to get out of it.


    No matter how much he thought about it, he knew that convincing Lucifer was the only option, but he also knew that it was almost impossible. This guy wasn¡¯t going to learn at all. What could he do? That was the question floating in his head.


    ...


    While Heath thought of a way to get out of this situation, Lucifer kept advancing deeper and deeper into the tunnel, getting close to the control room.


    Along the way, he found many men in the tunnel carrying weapons. Seeing Lucifering towards them, they started firing in his direction.


    Casually waving his hand, Lucifer created a barrier in front of him, using the ability he had stolen from the monster inside the Dungeon.


    The barrier wasn¡¯t the strongest barrier that existed in the arsenal of Warlocks. In fact, it was weaker than the barrier that Alicia used for herself. Still, this barrier easily protected him from the bullets that were raining on him.


    He waved his other hand, creating a smaller tornado inside the tunnel, which moved towards the soldiers, taking them in its embrace before shredding them from piece to piece.


    All the firing suddenly stopped as the soldiers were killed. Keeping his hands in his pocket, Lucifer casually stepped ahead while the tornado ran ahead of him like his bodyguard, protecting him.


    ....


    Only Heath remained inside the underground Command Center while all the others ran away at the sight of Lucifer advancing towards them. They didn¡¯t want to be likembs waiting for ughter.


    It was risky, but they used the Tunnels to escape, hoping that they weren¡¯t going to meet Lucifer. As for some rare few, they didn¡¯t want to take the risk of being caught by Lucifer.


    Instead, they took the risk of going out on the ground in an effort to escape even though tornadoes were wrecking the whole city.


    Soon, the only person who was left was Heath. He stood alone in themand center, not running away. Many people tried to convince him to run away with them, but he didn¡¯t listen.


    Instead, he stayed behind, making others think that he had given up and epted death. They didn¡¯t know that it wasn¡¯t because Heath had epted death. Instead, it was because he wanted to try his hand at survival.


    He walked back to his desk and started using the system to investigate something.


    The first thing he did was find the site of the crash to know where this event urred and if there was any military site near that ce that might have attacked.


    ...


    Lucifer soon reached themand center, taking care of anyone that appeared in his path.


    Standing at the entrance of the Command Center Room, he observed the back of the only man who was left behind.


    He casually walked closer to the man, not even trying to hide the sound of his footsteps.


    Tap!


    Tap!


    Tap!


    Hearing the sound of footsteps, Heath slowly turned around. Even though he had prepared himself for this moment, seeing Lucifer stand in front of him, his heart skipped a beat.


    "You didn¡¯t run away. Why?" Lucifer asked, stopping before the man. He observed the screen, noticing what the man was doing.


    "Those spots? Are they Dalia Military Bases?" Lucifer asked, reading the search headlines on top.


    "T-that¡¯s right. I heard the conversation of yours with our Commander before you k... I mean before he died. I heard that you¡¯re here because your ne was blown up. Now, I know we didn¡¯t do it."


    "And before you ask about it, I also noticed those statements online that im to be from us, but they aren¡¯t from us. We didn¡¯t release those statements at all. They all only appeared after the ne was blown up as if someone was trying to shift the me to us!"


    "So I was trying to get to the truth. I wanted to know who actually did it and if it was some rogue base from our organization," Heath told Lucifer.


    "Interesting. Let¡¯s suppose I believe you. Now, tell me, who did it? Was it really a rogue base of yours?" Lucifer asked, curious. "From what you¡¯re searching, I don¡¯t think you believe that."


    "That¡¯s right. I found the location of the crash and where the ne was blown up! As it turns out, we don¡¯t even have a base in that area. Now, we do have long-range missiles, but none have the range to get to your ce from our closest base to that ce," Heath exined.


    "That¡¯s why we made most of our bases close to the Capital of Dalia so we could threaten it. Even our longest missile only has a two hundred kilometers range. That¡¯s why none of them are kept here since we can¡¯t blow up Dalia Capital from here!" he continued.


    "Here, let me show you the details of all our bases and what weapons they possess and their ranges! You can judge for yourself!" he further added, opening another tab on his systems.


    It showed ten red dots on the map. Most of these dots were close to Dalia Capital, forming a cage-like formation.


    He showed Lucifer the arsenal of all these bases, none of which were capable of blowing up his helicopter.


    "I can confirm; we aren¡¯t capable of blowing up nes! Why would we even blow up international nes? We aren¡¯t stupid. If it were just about forcing Dalia to give up, attacking Dalia cities would¡¯ve been much better!" Heath exined.


    "On the other hand, look at these yellow dots! They are the Dalia Military bases, ording to our information. And as it happens, one of them was close to the ce where this explosion took ce!"


    "It¡¯s probably the work of Dalia to make us the enemy of the whole world, to get more support! But this time, they didn¡¯t just blow up any ordinary ne."


    "They blew up your ne, which I¡¯m sure they wouldn¡¯t have done if they knew someone like you was inside! As ourmander said, this is a big misunderstanding which affected us for no fault of our own!"

 Chapter 413 - 413: It Was Him?!

    <h4>Chapter 413 - 413: It Was Him?! </h4>


    "If I¡¯m not wrong, this base right here was the one that attacked your ne. It belongs to the official Dalia Military, and it¡¯s just fifty kilometers away from the ident site! It can only be them," Heath told Lucifer.


    " And if it¡¯s not them, then it could be some other enemy of yours that wanted to take advantage of the chaos and leave scot-free after failing," he further added, finishing the exnation.


    The new discovery made Lucifer run his temple in frustration. Just when he thought he had dealt with everything, it turned out that he was wrong, and the Jet from Elisium, which wasing to get him, was still at the risk of being blown up since he basically wasted his time.


    However, it also raised some serious questions. Was it really the doing of Dalia? Or was it some enemy?


    "It can¡¯t be my enemy, though. All my enemies know that I can¡¯t die in an explosion," he muttered, frowning.


    "Well, maybe you weren¡¯t the target then? You did mention that your friends had almost died. Since they¡¯re your friends, they must be important too. Maybe they were the targets? It¡¯s either that of Dalia. That¡¯s for sure," Heath let out, throwing a possibility at Lucifer.


    "Or maybe, it¡¯s your enemy that forced Dalia to blow up the ce? I mean, that¡¯s also a real possibility. Your enemy would have been sessful in taking out your friends, and with all this fake news, the me would¡¯ve been shifted to us."


    "In a rage, you would¡¯ve destroyed us, helping Dalia unintentionally? That¡¯s a big incentive for Dalia to help your enemy by blowing up the ce? Isn¡¯t it?" he further added, feeling like he was pretty close to the truth.


    All of this couldn¡¯t have been a coincidence.


    "I didn¡¯t even think about this. There was also this possibility. Did someone want to take those two out? I don¡¯t think anyone would want to take Caen out," Lucifer muttered, frowning.


    "He doesn¡¯t have that much significance. So if what you¡¯re saying is true, then I wasn¡¯t the target, but it was Szar? Someone wanted Szar to die?"


    "Well, I don¡¯t know who this Szar is, but possibly," Heath agreed. "Is there someone who would have wanted Szar dead and could have resources to influence Dalia?"


    "Someone who wanted Szar dead?" Lucifer muttered, confused. "The only people who knew about Szaring with me were my team members. As for wanting him dead..."


    He remembered that Kellian was upset a little when Lucifer had decided to let Szar work with them. He was also suspicious of Szar, thinking that he was going to betray them in this important mission.


    He couldn¡¯t help but wonder if this was actually done by Kellian? Is that why he asked if others were safe? Is that why all the fake reports about this organization appeared soon after he had requested Kellian to investigate who was behind this?


    He could see the timing of the articles that talked about the threat of this organization. And the timing matched out with what he knew. These appeared precisely one minute after he had asked Kellian to investigate.


    "If this is true, then Vega is also involved. He could be the only one who could pull it off so fast. As for Drak, I don¡¯t believe that guy would do something like this without informing me. He¡¯s more loyal to me than others."


    "This possibility... There¡¯s a good chance indeed. But if it¡¯s true, that would mean Kellian really went behind my back, putting not only Szar but even Caen at risk. He even ces this whole mission in danger because of his anger?"


    Seeing Lucifer think deeply, Heath finally breathed a sigh of relief. He had sessfully managed to put his point across.


    "I think only Dalia can answer your question. Only they¡¯ll know if they did it on their own or if someone elsemanded them," he told Lucifer. "So, will you go to them now?"


    "Not only me, but you¡¯re alsoing with me. If it turns out that you¡¯re lying, I¡¯ll kill you right then. And if it turns out that you¡¯re telling the truth, I¡¯ll make you the Ruler of Dalia aspensation since I destroyed your organization. Do you ept?" Lucifer asked Heath.


    He realized that he had acted hastily before seeing the bigger picture. The situation wasn¡¯t just ck and white. Moreover, now that there was a chance that Kellian was guilty, he needed to investigate it.


    He didn¡¯t know what he was going to do if it turned out that Kellian was really guilty, but he knew that he was going to be really angry in that case.


    The tornadoes that were ravaging the city stopped, disappearing entirely. It was toote though. Most of the city was already destroyed by now.


    "Come with me," he told Heath.


    ...


    "I¡¯m starting to get hungry. Let¡¯s go and hunt something. We don¡¯t know how long he¡¯s going to take. We shouldn¡¯t stay hungry."


    Back in the forest, Szar had already stood up, getting tired of all the waiting. The sun had already started rising in the distant horizon, signaling the morning. Thest they had eaten was right after the crash.


    "I¡¯ll prepare the wood and fire. You can bring a beast," Caen agreed, standing up.


    As the work was decided, the two of them walked in separate directions, deciding to meet back here as soon as they finished.


    Caen got the easy task of finding wood for cooking. As for Szar, he searched all around, trying to find a beast only to fail. There was no beast at sight.


    "Finally!" Szar eximed, finding some rabbits in the distance. He casually used his Domain, covering a huge area under it. His Domain also engulfed the rabbits, making them extremely slow.


    Szar casually walked towards the rabbits, who extremely slowly ran away from him. Unfortunately, in this Domain, they couldn¡¯t get away from Szar as their running was slower than the walking of Szar.


    Szar brought a knife out, thrusting at the closest rabbit.


    ...


    Caen was also affected in this domain, but he didn¡¯t realize it since he couldn¡¯tpare it to anything else.


    If he had seen Szar move before him, he would have realized that time for him was moving slowly, but without any reference, he didn¡¯t find anything odd. For him, everything was normal.


    Caen collected the wood and brought them back, only to find Szar already sitting calmly. Three rabbits were ced before him.


    "So fast? I was only gone for ten minutes?" Caen eximed in surprise.


    "You feel you were gone for ten minutes, but an hour has passed in the real world," Szar answered.

 Chapter 414 - 414: New Guests

    <h4>Chapter 414 - 414: New Guests </h4>


    "An hour?" Caen asked, surprised. "Don¡¯t tell me you used your abilities on me again?!"


    "Correction. I didn¡¯t use them on you. I used that on the whole forest to make it easier for me to hunt," Szar replied. "Anyway, light the fire. My stomach will start growling if you don¡¯t hurry!"


    "Then you shouldn¡¯t have slowed down time. I would have been back long ago. Everything would¡¯ve been set up by now," Caen expressed, shaking his head.


    He started setting everything up.


    ...


    "Ah, a-are you sure I won¡¯t fall? I mean, I would prefer to walk! I don¡¯t want to fall to my death!" A yell filled the surrounding,ing from a man who was flying but not because of his abilities.


    His face was pale as he looked down, realizing that he was thousands of feet above the ground now. When he heard Lucifer say that he was taking him, he didn¡¯t expect it would be like this.


    "Don¡¯t worry. You won¡¯t be falling that easily. I flew three hundred kilometers carrying two men like that. I think I can safely carry one," Lucifer replied.


    "I don¡¯t think we¡¯re going in the right direction either. Dalia Capital should be in that direction. We¡¯re going the wrong way!" Heath reminded Lucifer.


    "I know. We¡¯re not going to Dalia directly. I need to pick some people up along the way," Lucifer answered.


    "You mean Caen and Szar? You talked about them!"


    "That¡¯s right. They¡¯ll being with us too. Can¡¯t leave them in the middle," Lucifer replied. "We¡¯re there already¡ªjust a few more minutes.


    ...


    Caen and Szar finished cooking the rabbits, and they were just about to start eating but stopped in the middle, noticing a young boynded before them.


    The silver-haired boy picked up one of the rabbits and started eating.


    "Perfect timing. I was just starting to get hungry," he said, eating.


    "Ah, you¡¯re back. How did it go? And who is this guy?"


    "It went well. But apparently, I made a mistake. These guys weren¡¯t behind the attacks. The Dalia Military had attacked our nes. As for why they did that, only they can answer," Lucifer answered, sitting nearby.


    "That still doesn¡¯t exin who this man is? Is he also a Warlock?" Szar asked. "Are you bringing him with us on the mission?"


    "Not at all. He¡¯s just the only survivor of that ce. Since he helped me by telling me the truth, I decided to give him a ride to the Capital. If Dalia were actually behind it, they¡¯d die. And if they weren¡¯t, and he was lying, then he would die," Lucifer casually replied.


    Standing in the back, Heath wiped his sweat. He was standing in front of three Warlocks who could kill him in an instant. This also made him think about something.


    It made him realize how strength mattered so much in this world. Before absolute strength, no weapons are enough. The ones who hold the strength can decide someone¡¯s life and death so easily.


    Szar and Caen also picked up one rabbit each and started eating.


    "Are you hungry?" Lucifer asked, noticing Heath standing in the back silently.


    "N-no," Heath replied.


    "Good. Then I¡¯ll take thest one," Lucifer said, picking up thest rabbit.


    They finished eating and soon left for the Capital City of Dalia.


    ....


    Back at the Capital of Elisium, Kellian was sitting in his office, staring at hisptop. He had tried calling Lucifer so many times, but that guy wasn¡¯t picking up. He couldn¡¯t understand why.


    He was really curious as to where Lucifer was since he had also stopped sharing his location with Uprising.


    He closed theptop and stood up, moving his chair aside. He walked to the window, looking outside.


    "I wonder what happened there. Is he alright? I haven¡¯t been able to contact him since he told me that he was going to attack the Militants. Did he destroy them already or...?"


    Many questions floated in Kellian¡¯s head.


    "That ne should be there to take them soon. It should always be mid-way by now."


    Ring!


    Kellian was talking to himself when his phone started ringing. He walked back to his table and picked up the call.


    "Oh? The president of Afria agreed to surrender his nation to us? Good. Stay there and take care of everything else." Kellian told the other person over the phone. He put the phone down before walking back to the window.


    "That makes it five. Only five more nations to go now. The progress is faster than even I expected," he muttered, observing the streets of Elisium.


    "Now, we rule over six nations, including Elisium. But now is also when the real problem will begin. I can feel the other nations starting to get concerned. They won¡¯t stay out of it for long."


    "Even the Warlock Council has sent another Envoy to Elisium. He¡¯ll be there by tomorrow, and we can¡¯t even blow them up, or it¡¯ll make them sure that we were behind thest ident too. Things are starting to get noisy."


    "Things are progressing too fast."


    ....


    In another part of the continent, a ne was flying towards the Nation of Elisium, but it wasn¡¯t alone. This time, it was being escorted by five fighter jets as a show of force since it was the ne of the Warlock Council.


    Theirst ne came alone; that¡¯s why they sent five fighter jets with proper radars to protect the ne this time.


    The ne was also taking a different route this time for some reason.


    Inside the ne, two people were sitting. As for the two of them, they were both women.


    One of them was a woman who seemed to be in herte thirties.


    The Dark-haired woman had two bunny-like earsing out of her head, which oddly suited her and made her look even cuter. She was also dressed in a revealing ck dress.


    Looking at her looks, no one could have guessed that she was a high-ranking Warlock in the Warlock Council. She was known as Jia.


    As for the second woman, she was none other than Jenilia that had met Lucifer twice.


    The Warlock Council had only sent Jia as an envoy, but Jenilia had also decided to join in as she heard someone mention that there was a good chance that Elisium was behind the explosion in their ne, which caused the death of her brother.


    She wanted to get to the end of it and find the truth behind her brother¡¯s death. She wanted to destroy whoever took her brother from her after finding that person.


    Surprisingly, the Warlock Council also epted her request and let her apany Jia.

 Chapter 415 - 415: No One Shall Attack

    <h4>Chapter 415 - 415: No One Shall Attack </h4>


    Jia was reading a book when she casually nced at Jenilia, who was sitting near her.


    "Thinking about your brother?" She asked Jenilia, frowning.


    Jenilia nodded her head, agreeing.


    "I still don¡¯t understand why you¡¯reing to Elisium and not going to the team that will be investigating the crash site of your brother¡¯s ne. You must really be confident that Elisium was behind this like everyone else," Jia said, sighing.


    Jenilia nodded her head, not saying anything.


    "Are you going to stay silent the entire flight?" Jia asked. "You haven¡¯t spoken a single word since I met you."


    "What do you think? Was Elisium behind that explosion?" Jenilia asked, taking a deep breath.


    "Maybe... Or maybe not. We still need to wait for the investigation report. I don¡¯t want to rush to the conclusion, but I doubt Elisium would¡¯ve been stupid enough to do it. But who knows, maybe they are just that. We¡¯ll have to see when we meet them," Jia answered, shaking her head.


    "Soon, we¡¯ll be face to face with the new leadership. We¡¯ll get our answers from them directly. We¡¯ll have to see what their attitude is towards us," she further added.


    "Did you hear the reports about a young man leading Elisium now?¡¯¡¯ She asked Jenilia.


    "Yeah. I heard something like that. Haven¡¯t read much on it," Jenilia replied, nodding.


    "Apparently, he is a pretty powerful Warlock but really young too. I really wouldn¡¯t mind recruiting him if possible. He¡¯ll be a good addition to our Council. He¡¯s just eighteen, from what I heard. If he¡¯s this powerful now, he can only be more powerful in the future," Jia answered.


    "Only eighteen is certainly good. It¡¯s amazing that Warlock Council doesn¡¯t have even a single picture of that man," Jenilia let out. "All we have is a rough description."


    "Yeah. Our sources were killed in Elisium when this takeover happened. In any case, it¡¯s not that important. Whoever he is, we¡¯ll meet them soon enough," Jia replied before immersing herself in her book again.


    ...


    Far away from the nes of Warlock Council, another nended at an airport.


    Cassius and Alicia stepped out of the flight, went through the checking, and left.


    "So, where is this academy of yours?" Alicia asked, walking towards the airport exit with Cassius.


    "It¡¯s in this city as well. But we won¡¯t be going straight to that," Cassius replied.


    "Hmm? Where will we be going then?"


    "We¡¯ll go to my home. We need to stay put for a little, at least until I find out what the situation of the Academy is. We can¡¯t blindly rush inside," Cassius answered.


    "Won¡¯t your parents ask about me? Won¡¯t they be suspicious?¡¯ Alicia asked, soon stepping out of the airport.


    Even though she asked a question, she soon found herself distracted, looking ahead.


    "Huh? That¡¯s a long line. I wonder why so many cars are standing in line here. Is there some big shoting here?"


    She was able to see more than ten ck SUVs standing in line in front of the airport.


    She didn¡¯t realize, but Cassius was smiling wryly in the back. "Did they really have to send so many to receive me?"


    "Young Master Cassius, Wee back!" A group of ck-clothed men got down on one knee, greeting Cassius.


    "Huh?" Surprised, Alicia turned back to look at Cassius, wondering what was happening. "Are they your people? I didn¡¯t know you were a king or something?"


    "I¡¯m not a king. It¡¯s just that my family is one of the four families of this city. I really shouldn¡¯t have told my father that I wasing back. He went overboard," Cassius answered, sighing.


    "When I told him that he didn¡¯t need to send a helicopter and that a car would be enough, I didn¡¯t expect he would send so many," he further added, shaking his head.


    "You must be really rich. I thought you were an Orphan. But to know you had a family and a rich family at that, it¡¯s surprising," Alicia let out.


    "I wasn¡¯t an orphan. We made that story since I didn¡¯t want anyone to realize who I was. If my family had found out what I was doing, it would¡¯ve been bad. They¡¯ll never let me take risks like that. Don¡¯t tell anyone at home, alright?"


    "Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll keep that secret." Alicia replied.


    The guards opened the doors of the car in the middle for Cassius.


    Cassius gestured to Alicia to enter first.


    Seeing Alicia enter first, the Butler grew surprised. He didn¡¯t know thedy was with Cassius. It was the first time he had brought ady home.


    "Ah, Young Master. Is thisdy your friend?" he asked Cassius.


    "She¡¯s an acquaintance from the nation I visited. She wanted to visit our Ind, so I brought her with me. Don¡¯t think too much," Cassius replied, stepping inside the car.


    The doors of the car were closed. The butler also sat in the front seat.


    All the cars started moving together in a straight line, going straight to the Zaini Pce.


    ....


    Back in Dalia, more than five hours had passed since Lucifer destroyed the militant city. By now, he had almost reached the capital city of Dalia.


    He could see a city in front of him. The capital city was much bigger than the city he had just destroyed. He could already see that it was at least three times bigger.


    "Are you going to fly straight inside? I mean, they might think that you¡¯re an enemy ne and attack you. I think we should enter from the main entrance instead," Heath reminded Lucifer, who was flying like a rocket without stopping.


    "There¡¯s no need for that. I don¡¯t have time to y the guessing game! I want my answers," Lucifer repliedzily, not stopping. Instead, he increased his speed.


    Since this was the capital of a war-torn country, it was heavily fortified since the destruction of Capital was no different than the fall of Dalia.


    Massive walls were surrounding the city. There was only one entrance from where a person could step inside the capital.


    Unfortunately for them, Lucifer wasn¡¯t going to take that route. Instead, he wanted to go from above the walls.


    "Ah, are you seeing what I¡¯m seeing? Aren¡¯t those humans that are flying towards us?"


    "They look like humans as well. But they can fly. They should be Variant."


    "They aren¡¯t slowing down. I don¡¯t think they have any intention of following the protocol. Should we attack?"


    The guards had noticed Lucifer advancing towards them with three other people following behind him. They believed he was a risk for them.


    "Inform the higher ups. In the meantime, I¡¯ll try to stop them.. No one shall attack."

 Chapter 416 - 416: I Made A Mistake

    <h4>Chapter 416 - 416: I Made A Mistake </h4>


    "Only attack if they pass the walls without stopping," The leader of the guard said, looking at Lucifer in the distance.


    He started waving his hand, gesturing for Lucifer to stop.


    Seeing the gestures, Lucifer slowed down.


    "Are we stopping?" Caen asked, wondering why Lucifer suddenly changed his mind.


    "Yeah. I just remembered that we need to know where the President of Dalia stays. We can ask that guy. He looks like the leader here," Lucifer said, exining his reason.


    Seeing Lucifer and the others slow down, the guards finally rxed a bit. It seemed like these guys weren¡¯t here to create trouble. Even after all that, they remained alert.


    The guards in the back kept their weapons in their hands, ready to fire at a moment¡¯s notice.


    Lucifernded in front of the team leader. The others alsonded behind him. Finallynding on the ground, Heath sighed a breath of relief.


    It was only now that he felt like he was in control of his body.


    "Greetings to you all. May I ask who you are? And what brought you to the Capital City?" The Captain of the guards asked.


    "We¡¯re here to meet your president. And you¡¯ll take us to them," Lucifer said calmly.


    "Why do you want to meet him? Do you have an appointment? You don¡¯t answer. Who are you all?" The Captain again asked.


    "It doesn¡¯t matter who we are. What matters is that you answer me," Lucifer said, grabbing the man by his cor.


    Multiple tornadoes took shape all about Lucifer, creating what seemed like a wall around him, blocking them from the view of the other guards.


    The guards remained outside the tornadoes, not knowing how to react. It all happened so fast. They couldn¡¯t even attack now since they couldn¡¯t see through the tornadoes. And they didn¡¯t want to identally shoot their captain.


    The tornadoes were like a wall around them.


    "So, are you going to answer me, or shall I throw you off the wall first?" Lucifer asked, raising the man in the air through his cor.


    "Look, young man. I think you should answer us right now. I can assure you that he will definitely throw you. There are more people like you that we can ask. You don¡¯t hold any leverage, and they¡¯ll certainly answer if you don¡¯t. So think smart," Caen reminded the Captain of the guards.


    The dark-robed captain reached out his hands to his gun, but before he could even bring out the gun, Lucifer grabbed the gun.


    He tossed the gun towards Caen. "Keep it."


    Caen kept the gun.


    "Are you answering, or should I give up? This is thest time I¡¯ll ask," Lucifer reminded the pale-faced Captain of the guards.


    "H-he lives in the Presidential Pce in the center of the city. It¡¯s the biggest building. You will easily find it!" The Captain instantly blurted out the truth.


    "That¡¯s better. Now listen carefully. Your president probably did something that he shouldn¡¯t have. But I want to confirm it personally from him. If he and Dalia did it, then he would die. If he didn¡¯t, then someone else will die," Lucifer told the man, ncing at Heath near the end is his statement.


    "So be a good boy and tell the other soldiers that we passed the security check. I¡¯m not in a mood to kill. If any of them attacked us, my mood would easily change. Don¡¯t let that happen," Lucifer said, tossing the man to the side.


    He started flying, carrying Szar and the others. The tornadoes disappeared, revealing everything.


    The other guards watched their captain, who had stood up by now. Noticing the dirt on his clothes, they realized that he was hurt.


    They raised their guns towards Lucifer and the others that were flying.


    "Ready to attack! Give us themand!" They asked their Captain.


    "Stand down! They¡¯re not dangerous. They showed me that they were invited by the President himself. And they passed the check. No one attack them!" The captain yelled loudly, stopping his men.


    All the men lowered their weapons at once, letting Lucifer and others leave without any worries.


    Lucifer and the others flew above the city, soon reaching the center. Just as the guard had mentioned, they did find a Pce there.


    They stopped at the entrance of the Presidential Pce, where a group of men was standing, keeping guard.


    Following the casual wave from Lucifer¡¯s hands, a gust of wind followed, which took the guards with it, tossing them aside.


    Kicking the door open, Lucifer stepped inside. After asking a few people for directions, he soon ended up in front of the bedroom of the President of Dalia, who was said to be resting inside.


    Even though there were special guards in front of the bedroom, they weren¡¯t able to do anything either as Szar took care of them before they could even raise their weapons.


    "Heath, remember what I told you. If you¡¯re lying, you¡¯ll be dead. And if he¡¯s lying, he¡¯ll be dead, and you¡¯ll be the new ruler of Dalia," Lucifer reminded Heath before kicking the door open.


    ...


    One day passed. The day turned to night which again turned to the day as time kept trickling away.


    The ne from Elisium had already reached the airport of Dalia Capital. It also safelynded without having any idents.


    A ck helicopter alsonded inside the airport, carrying a group of men.


    Lucifer was the first person to step out of the helicopter, followed by Szar and Caen.


    As for thest person, he was none other than Heath. He was followed by some Dalia Ministers who respectfully stood behind Heath.


    "I would like to thank you once again. It¡¯s all because of you that we got Dalia back. Our Commander would have been so happy if he was alive," Heath respectfully told Lucifer.


    "Well, if he were alive, he would certainly be angry at me for killing him for no fault of his own. But I ept, I made a mistake. That¡¯s why Ipensated by making you the new President," Lucifer replied. "But remember one thing. You work for me now."


    "I¡¯ll always remember that. I¡¯m only the President in name. But this ce belongs to you," Heath nodded. He knew what Lucifer could do if he went against this guy.


    In fact, it was only because of Lucifer that he got to this position. It was Lucifer who killed the previous president after finding the truth behind what had happened.


    He was also the one who threatened the Ministers to make him the new President.

 Chapter 417 - 417: Ill Deal With It Myself

    <h4>Chapter 417 - 417: I''ll Deal With It Myself </h4>


    It was because of Lucifer that a stable government was formed without much hassle.


    He watched Lucifer and the others enter the ne which was waiting for them, without leaving. It was only when the ne left that he also left.


    ...


    The ne flew high in the sky, soon leaving the airspace of Dalia. Unlike before, the ce was mostly empty now as no ordinary people were inside the ne this time.


    The ne only had the pilots and the air hostess. Since Kellian sent the ne in a hurry, he couldn¡¯t arrange formoners.


    Lucifer and the others still sat in the business ss of the ne, taking the same seats they had taken in thest ne.


    "Are you going to address what we heard from the previous Dalian President? Or are we going to ignore it entirely?" Szar asked Lucifer.


    "It¡¯s the third time I¡¯m asking since we found out. Should I take your silence as your unwillingness to do anything since..."


    "Don¡¯t think too much. Just don¡¯t talk about it at the moment. I¡¯ll deal with it myself after we go back," Lucifer replied, closing his eyes.


    He again felt the vibration of his sses which made him open his eyes again.


    He wore the sses to see who it was now.


    "Pick up the call," he said softly.


    The call was connected.


    On the other end of the call, Kellian finally breathed a sigh of relief as Lucifer picked up the call.


    "You finally picked up. I was wondering what happened to you. You know, I had to ask the pilot about you to have any idea as to what was happening."


    "I was just slightly busy," Lucifer calmly replied.


    "So, I heard the news about a government change in Dalia. Did you do something?" Kellian asked, getting back to the topic.


    "I just lent a little helping hand to someone," Lucifer replied. "You don¡¯t have to be concerned about anything. I dealt with everything."


    "Anyway, I have to go now. I¡¯ll talk to youter," he continued before disconnecting the call.


    Kellian remained seated on his chair, frowning. "He sounded different. It was as if he was upset. Did something happen?"


    ...


    One more day passed. Elisium¡¯s ne reached even closer to their destination.


    "Sir, we¡¯re nearing the destination," the air hostess came to Lucifer, bringing the pilot¡¯s message


    "Alright," Lucifer responded.


    The ne soon started going down. Through the window, Lucifer was able to see a beautiful city outside. It seemed like a beautiful city with a perfect mix of greenery and infrastructure.


    There were many tall buildings in the city at the same time; there were many beautiful forests inside, which he was able to see through the window.


    The ce soonnded on the airport of Frey city, which was also the city where the Warlock Council branch was established.


    Lucifer and Szar stood up while waking up Caen, who had fallen asleep.


    All three of them stepped out of the ne together.


    "I¡¯m sure they¡¯re going to find it odd that a ne came here with only three passengers. Just act normal," Lucifer reminded everyone as they reached near the checkpoint.


    Caen went through the checking first. Since he wasn¡¯t carrying anything out of the ordinary, he easily passed through the scanner. Next was Szar¡¯s turn. As he wasn¡¯t carrying anything out of the ordinary, he also passed through easily.


    In the end, it was Lucifer¡¯s turn who had kept his weapons in the secret pocket of his robe. It was the time for the rest of this robe¡¯s capabilities.


    He had faith in the scientists of Uprising, but he also knew that there was a little chance that he could be caught.


    He passed through the checking, wondering if he was going to be caught. He didn¡¯t get caught though. He easily passed through, reaching the next checkpoint where their passports were checked.


    All three of them had received the passports of Elisium, which were made officially for them. But the details inside the passport were fake.


    After some questions about their purpose of arrival, they were allowed to pass through without much trouble. The three of them soon left the airport, stepping on the streets of the city.


    "Sir, let me help you. I¡¯m the best guide in the city!"


    "No, he¡¯s lying! Come with me. I¡¯ll show you all the ces worth seeing in the city!"


    "Don¡¯t listen to them. Their cars stink. Come with me!"


    "No,e with me."


    Many cabs were waiting outside the Royal City, trying to lure in passengers to choose them


    "Sorry, we¡¯re not interested," Lucifer replied, leaving without talking much.


    The Warlock Council branch was closer to the airport, so much so that it only took a person ten minutes to walk to that ce.


    For such a short distance, Lucifer didn¡¯t bother with a cab.


    The three of them walked towards the Warlock Council branch, observing the other buildings on the way.


    Just after a short walk, the three of them reached an empty alley that was closed from one side. It was also so narrow that only two people could fit at one time.


    Caen entered the alley with his bag in his hand while Lucifer and Szar covered the entrance of the alley.


    When inside the alley, Caen changed his looks to make himself look like the Winged Warlock from the Warlock Council who had visited this ce only recently.


    His hair started bing longer,ing down to his shoulders. They also changed color to be blonde. At the same time, four Eagle-like wings appeared on his back, pure white in color.


    He also became slightly taller. After finishing the transformation, he wore the clothes of the winged Warlock.


    Keeping his old clothes in the bag, he walked back to Lucifer and Szar.


    "I¡¯m done," he said, attracting their attention.


    Lucifer and Szar walked out of the alley, freeing the entrance and letting Caen leave.


    "You look pretty good. I know you can¡¯t impersonate the abilities of the Variants, but can you use those wings to fly?" Lucifer asked, observing Caen from top to bottom.


    "I can make my wings move, but I can¡¯t fly. So you¡¯ll have to use your winds to make a show," Caen answered, taking the lead.


    As per the n, he needed to act as the leader now. He couldn¡¯t let others walk before him.


    With Caen leading at the front, Lucifer and Szar reached the Warlock Council branch.


    There was no guard at the entrance of the branch, which was something they expected.. The branch barely had one man to keep it running after all.

 Chapter 418 - 418: Is It Done?

    <h4>Chapter 418 - 418: Is It Done? </h4>


    Uheim was one of the three nations that existed on the continent of Darkness near the Western Edge. It wasn¡¯t close to the sea like the Southern Nation, but it was a popr tourist destination.


    It was the only nation in the Continent of Darkness that allowed tourists toe there. In fact, a significant source of their ie was from tourism which made them trade with other nations as well.


    It wasn¡¯t a big nation, but it was an important nation that was said to be neutral to the other forces. Unlike the other countries, they weren¡¯t under the influence of the Divine Empire, at least not openly.


    To express their neutral side, they even allowed the Warlock Council to open a branch on theirnd, which was allowed to work here, as long as it followed the rules of thend.


    Not only the Warlock Council, but embassies of other nations also existed inside the nation of Uheim. It was a really popr nation, after all, and the only link for the other countries to the Continent of Darkness.


    Moreover, the surroundings of Uheim were rich in resources which helped their bargaining power as well.


    Uheim was like a modern nation on a Continent that followed old times, but they were left as they are. The Divine Empire mostly ignored them as long as they kept sending resources to the Divine Empire to show their goodwill.


    The capital city of Uheim was also known to be slightly different. It didn¡¯t have much police force.


    For some strange reason, despite all that, no crimes weremitted here since the punishment for a crime was really severe.


    ording to thews here, if a person was found to havemitted a big crime, he was to be executed. It was an extremely hard punishment that was given for small crimes like theft.


    The fear of execution had scared the civilians, keeping them away from the path of crime. Unfortunately, none of them knew that a crime was going to take ce just now, and no one was even going to know about it if everything went right.


    A helicopter was close to being stolen, that too from the Warlock Council.


    Pushing the door open, Caen stepped inside the Warlock Council branch, followed by Szar and Lucifer.


    As soon as the three of them entered, they were captured in the camera that was everywhere inside the branch.


    Catching the sight of people entering, a device started beeping.


    "Hmm?" A middle-aged man was giving maintenance to the Warlock Council helicopter when he heard the beeping of his device.


    "Guests are here? Who could it be? No onees here?" Confused, he brought his device out of his pocket to see the footage.


    "Hmm? Master Andreas?" His eyes opened wider as he saw the winged man.


    "Why is he back so fast? Did hee back to give it another try? I¡¯m amazed the Warlock Council hasn¡¯t given up despite so many failures in convincing the Divine Empire."


    Shaking his head, he started leaving that ce. Taking the shortest route, he reached the main hall to greet guests.


    Standing in the main hall, everyone looked around, wondering where the manager of this branch was. They had expected him to be present to greet them, but there was no one here.


    Suddenly, a door opened before them, and a man stepped out of the door.


    The middle-aged man supported a long coat which was as long as his long hairs that came down to his ankles. His long hair was tied to a ponytail.


    He was the manager of the branch known as Shuri.


    "Wee Back, Master Andreas. I didn¡¯t expect you to be back so fast. Are you here to meet Queen Milena again?"


    Caen nodded his head. "Yes. Prepare the chopper."


    "Ah, I apologize, sir. But I wasn¡¯t expecting anyone from the main branch toe here, especially you. That¡¯s why I had started giving maintenance to the helicopter. It¡¯s not prepared to fly at the moment. It¡¯ll take a few hours at the least," Shuri exined.


    "Alright. Prepare it fast," Caen replied, keeping his words short. He didn¡¯t want to talk too much and make the man suspicious.


    "Right away, Sir," Shuri said before shifting his attention to Lucifer and Szar behind him. "These two behind you? Are they new to the Council? I haven¡¯t seen them before?"


    "They aren¡¯t new. But yeah, it¡¯s their first timeing here," Caen exined. "Now, can you get to work? I can¡¯t afford to bete."


    "Ah, yes sir." Shuri didn¡¯t talk much and hastily left. Caen and the others also followed him this time.


    Through the same shortcut, they reached the ce where various equipment of the Warlock Council was kept.


    The three of them were already pretty pleased that this man wasn¡¯t suspicious of them at all. He didn¡¯t even contact the main branch to talk about their sudden arrival.


    The three of them could rx and watch Shuri work. Everything was on schedule.


    While the man got to work on the helicopter, Lucifer observed the other equipment that was in this ce.


    There wasn¡¯t much actually. There were two helicopters, a few drones and some weapons, and armored cars. It was clear that the Warlock Council didn¡¯t ce much trust in weapons. Only the bare minimum was kept here.


    There was certainly something that made Lucifer confused. There were two helicopters here. One needed maintenance, which was why they were dyed. But what about the second one? Why weren¡¯t they using it?


    Since he was supposed to be a new Warlock here, he believed he could ask such questions. On the other hand, if these questions were asked by Caen, then it would be suspicious.


    He stepped forward, taking the lead.


    "Why don¡¯t we just use the second helicopter?" He asked Shuri.


    "Second helicopter? Did Master Andreas not tell you about that? That is an emergency helicopter. It can only be used when the first helicopter is destroyed or if it fails to work. Under any other situation, we can¡¯t use it," Shuri exined, not minding the question.


    Caen and Szar sat on the sofas that were ced in the back as they started waiting. It was only Lucifer who was moving here and there, observing the items that were here.


    Soon, he also went back to the couch and sat in silence for the helicopter to heal.


    ...


    Three hourster, Shuri finally stepped out. He picked a white towel that was lying nearby and wiped the sweat.


    "Is it done?" Caen asked Shuri.

 Chapter 419 - 419: No Mercy

    <h4>Chapter 419 - 419: No Mercy </h4>


    "Yeah. It¡¯s in perfect condition to fly now. Just give me thirty minutes more. I¡¯m covered in sweat. I¡¯ll fill the fuel and take a short shower," Shuri exined as he hastily left.


    Lucifer and Caen waited in silence for Shuri to return. None of them talked, not sure if there were any surveince systems here.


    Shuri soon returned, dressed in different clothes. His hair was still wet, as if he had just finished his shower.


    He started filling up the helicopter, which didn¡¯t take much time. "I¡¯m done. We can get going right now if you want?"


    "Finally." Lucifer stood up. He stepped towards the helicopter, following Caen.


    The three of them entered the helicopter. As for Shuri, he sat on the pilot¡¯s seat.


    There remained a number pad before him. He pressed some buttons, turning on the engine.


    This was one of the main reasons why Lucifer needed to fool Shuri. They couldn¡¯t just steal the helicopters, which required a passcode to turn on. They needed Shuri precisely for that passcode.


    Now that they had seen what the code was, they could rx even more. There was also another reason why they wanted Shuri alive. None of them knew how to fly a helicopter. Thus they also needed this man to escort them.


    Fortunately, everything went smoothly as the helicopter started rising in the air. It left the Warlock Council branch and flew out of the city, soon leaving the airspace.


    "Ah, Sir. If you don¡¯t mind me asking, I wanted to know about how things are going with the Warlock Council and the Divine Empire. Last time¡¯s trip seemed like a failure. For you toe here again, there must be a good reason, right?"


    "Are you here to extend the offer again? Or are you here to dere war? Because I didn¡¯t expect the Warlock Council to have so much patience when it came to such things."


    The helicopter had just left the city when Shuri started asking questions that he was curious about.


    "Yeah. I want to talk to that woman once again. This will be thest time though. I don¡¯t think another trip would be needed after this," Caen replied.


    "So this matter will be over soon? Would I be allowed to go back to the Main Branch after that?" Shuri asked.


    "Possibly," Caen answered.


    He was sitting in the middle while Lucifer and Szar sat on each side of him, near the window. They looked outside, watching the terrain change.


    So far, there were forests as far as they could see, but that soon changed as they reached the mountain region. No greenery could be seen there. Not even a single tree was visible outside.


    It was just as Kellian had exined. It was utterly barrennd, scorching under the heat of the Sun outside. But the inside of the helicopter was fully air-conditioned, protecting everyone from intense heat outside.


    The journey didn¡¯t take long either. Within three hours, the white helicopter reached close to the Divine Empire.


    Since it was a Warlock Council helicopter that had entered the Divine Empire a few times already, no one stopped the helicopter, letting it pass through.


    The Divine Empire was really rxed in terms of security. They had already given Warlock Council an ess toe meet them, but the permit only allowed one helicopter. It was so that the Warlock Council couldn¡¯t bring their army inside like that.


    Moreover, even if they happened, the Nobles and the Queen were confident in their strength. Basically no one considered the Warlock Council as equal to them.


    There was also a change in the n for Lucifer. Previously the n was that they would infiltrate the Divine Empire after making the helicopternd outside and move in stealth to observe the situation inside first.


    The n was different now. Sitting in the ne, Lucifer had changed the n a little. Now, he wanted to meet the Queen first.


    He wanted to ask them nicely if he could have their stone while also saving the important people in the Divine Empire that were present in the Royal Court.


    The n to live stealthily was to be followed after meeting the queen. If the n was to go ordingly, they would have then left the Divine Empire just like they came, only tond outside the Empire from where they were to infiltrate again.


    It was all a theoretical n only. Everything was dependent on how things went, but one thing Lucifer was sure about. It was about to be a make-or-break meeting.


    It was going to be him meeting the strongest woman in the Divine Empire that even the Warlock Council was slightly concerned about. Not only her but her subordinates were said to be powerful, especially the Nobles that possessed their old powers.


    The Divine Empire was surrounded by mountains from all sides, but it was in a in area in the middle, which was no different than the Terrain of Elisium.


    The mountains made it impossible for any army to infiltrate this ce, especially inrge numbers. At least no one could do so without any proper mode of transport.


    If one were to ignore the mountainous terrain surrounding the Divine Empire, they would have noticed the in terrain under the Divine Empire. Despite all that, the Divine Empire didn¡¯t take advantage of that terrain.


    There weren¡¯t any high-rise buildings inside the Divine Empire. People lived in ordinary houses that weren¡¯t taller than two stories. In fact, this old ce seemed to have a hint of old times, a ce that was stuck in the past.


    It was really like how Empires were in the old times.


    Simrly, there were many cities inside the Divine Empire. There were no Kingdoms though. No one knew why this ce was called the Divine Empire and not the Divine Kingdom.


    After some more time, the helicopter reached the Royal Pce, which was being heavily guarded.


    Even though Nobles had a pretty high position in the Divine Empire, the responsibility of Guardian the Pce was given to them. The newborns were told to guard the ordinary ces and other cities.


    "Hmm? These guys? They came one again. I think Her Majesty is really going to be upset this time. After the second rejection, they came again."


    "She won¡¯t have mercy this time. These people are dead toast," one of the nobles said, noticing the Warlock Council helicoptering in the distance.


    The man was wearing a white robe with the symbol of Divine Empire on his chest as he watched the Warlock Council nend before him.


    His deep red eyes observed the helicopter, which starteding down slowly.


    "I agree. But then again, I doubt she would truly destroy them.. They¡¯ll just be brought back as the Nobles."

 Chapter 420 - 420: Kill One Of Them

    <h4>Chapter 420 - 420: Kill One Of Them </h4>


    "Who knows, maybe they really wanted to be one of us; that¡¯s why they keeping back?" Another noble said, smiling.


    His clothes were also the same as the clothes of thest man. The only difference was that this man had spiky ck hair, contrary to the long red hair of the former.


    The Helicopternded in front of the Pce, but no one stepped out of it.


    Lucifer brought out a full face mask from a bag he was carrying. He covered his face with the pitch-ck mask that only had the opening for his eyes.


    There was only a smile engraved on the mask.


    Szar also brought a mask out of his pocket. His Mask was red in color; it also had the same odd smile carved on it. They had brought these masks to hide their true faces, at least until it was the right time.


    Caen wasn¡¯t the only one who wasn¡¯t wearing a mask since his face was already a mask. While Shuri remained seated, confused as to why Lucifer and Szar wore masks suddenly, he didn¡¯t ask.


    Caen opened the doors and stepped out. Lucifer and Szar stepped out of the helicopter too.


    Since they were still outside, they followed the suit, making Caen pretend to be the leader of their group.


    "Ah, it¡¯s you again! You came so soon? Don¡¯t tell me you decided to take Her Majesty¡¯s offer of bing a Noble?"


    "Hahaha, of course, he would. That¡¯s the only way weak people like him can gain strength and achieve their second evolution!"


    The nobles startedughing amongst themselves, not even taking Caen seriously since he hade here twice already, ording to them.


    "Come, let us take you to our queen," one of the Nobles said, taking the three of them inside. " I think she would be amused too!"


    Lucifer, Caen, and Szar entered the Pce. It was only after entering the Pce that they switched the ces. Lucifer walked ahead of Caen, taking the first position. Szar remained in the end. Caen was the weakest amongst them. He needed to be in the middle to be safer.


    Moreover, Shuri couldn¡¯t see them now as he was still outside. They didn¡¯t need to keep the charade of Caen being the leader.


    "Wait right here. I¡¯ll tell her majesty about your arrival," the dark-haired Noble told Caen before he pushed the door open and stepped inside. Other nobles still remained with the three of them, keeping an eye.


    ....


    "I heard you wanted to be a Noble? Tell me why I should make you one?"


    Inside the Royal Court, Queen Milena was sitting on the throne, talking to a young man who was brought to her with an odd request. The young man wanted her to kill him and turn her into a Noble.


    The young man was sitting on one knee respectfully.


    "Your Majesty, I awakened my powers eight years ago. Since then, I have had a dream of bing a noble and serving the Empire with my powers. Now that I have turned eighteen, Ie to you, offering my services," the young man answered, keeping his head down.


    He didn¡¯t dare to raise his head in front of the Queen.


    "Do you realize that you¡¯ll need to die for that? Why do you want to die? All to serve the Divine Empire? Are you prepared to die? You know, it¡¯s easy to talk about dying, but it¡¯s really hard when the time actuallyes," Milena reminded the young man.


    "I am ready to die, Your Majesty. I promise I won¡¯t back off," the young man answered.


    "Tell me your powers. What did you awaken? If that¡¯s with my attention, I might listen to your request," Milena told the young man, ncing at him interestingly.


    "My powers, ah, I can bind anyone using my energy wave and also attack them using the same!" the young man replied.


    "Is that it?" Milena asked, frowning.


    "I-i think I can¡¯t exin clearly, but it¡¯s a really strong power. I can restrict the movement of any enemy and slice them in half! I-i know it can be helpful in battles! I can be useful for the Empire! Please give me a chance!" The young man said, hitting his head on the ground.


    "What do you all think?" Milena asked the others in the court.


    "I think he can be a good addition. He does have loyalty, and he wants to serve. Moreover, after getting additional powers as a noble, his strength would only increase. And with high agility, his binding can really catch enemies," One of the nobles said.


    The others also seemed to agree with him.


    There was only one noble who disagreed. "I don¡¯t think we should. A Noble is a high position. He hasn¡¯t proven himself yet. I don¡¯t think we should until he does that."


    "Hmm? That¡¯s true as well. But then again, I do want to see how it goes. Does he have real courage? Or is it for a show?" Milena asked.


    "Give me a knife," she calmly said.


    A Noble gave her their golden knife at once.


    Milena tossed that knife towards the young man.


    "Hmm?" The young man looked at the knife, confused.


    "Go ahead. Prove your courage. Pick up that knife and stab your neck. Let me see if you¡¯re really serious," Milena told the young boy.


    "Will you make me a Noble then?" The young man asked.


    "Who knows? I might, or I might not," Milena casually replied. "I leave the choice to you."


    The young man slowly picked up the knife, cing the sharp end near his neck.


    He swallowed deeply, ready to take the risk.


    Just as he was about to thrust the knife towards himself, the golden doors opened.


    The young man stopped, looking back.


    The others also looked at the doors, watching a dark-haired Noble enter.


    "Speak," Milena said calmly, ncing at the dark-haired Noble.


    "Your Majesty, the Warlock Council rats are here to meet you again. One of them is the same winged one that camest time," the man informed Milena.


    "They came again? Now they¡¯re really annoying me. If they want death, then so be it," Milena said, frowning. "Fine. Send them in."


    "Yes, Your Majesty," the dark-haired man left.


    Milena shifted his attention to the young man who still had the knife on his neck.


    "You, kid. You don¡¯t have to stab. You said your powers were strong. Fine. Let me see how strong they are."


    "You¡¯re going to attack the people who enter the Royal Court next.. As long as you kill at least one of them, I¡¯ll make you a Noble," Milena said.

 Chapter 421 - 421: Ill Turn You

    <h4>Chapter 421 - 421: I''ll Turn You </h4>


    "You can go inside." The dark-haired Noble returned to Lucifer and the others, telling them to go in.


    He, on the other hand, stayed behind.


    Lucifer took the lead, pushing the door open; he stepped inside. Behind him, Szar and Caen also stepped inside.


    Lucifer had only taken his first step inside, observing the entire court, when he saw a shining rope flying towards him which seemed to be made of pure energy.


    The other end of the rope was in the hands of a young man who barely looked eighteen years old.


    Watching the rope getting close to him, Lucifer understood it wasn¡¯t good. He couldn¡¯t let himself be hit by the rope. He cast a barrier in front of him, protecting himself from the attack.


    Unfortunately, the barrier was the weakest ability of Lucifer. It was an excellent ability to protect against weak attacks and bullets, but against the energy wave rope, it couldn¡¯t do anything.


    The barrier shattered instantly as the rope continued to advance towards Lucifer.


    At thest moment, Lucifer used his winds to change the direction of the rope. Just the tiny bit of distraction was enough for him to take off his gloves.


    He kept his gloves in his pockets. The rope had lost its direction, but under the control of the young man, it again flew towards Lucifer. This time, it didn¡¯t go as nned though.


    Lucifer didn¡¯t use the winds. Instead, he caught the rope barehanded before he pulled with incredible strength.


    The eighteen-year-old young man was stunned as he was suddenly pulled, unable to believe that someone had grabbed his rope. Moreover, instead of his energy wave rope slicing the enemy¡¯s hand, it started getting weaker.


    Also, as Lucifer pulled the man, he lost his ground, flying towards him straight. The force of pull was just so high. To help the young man more, Lucifer used the winds to make sure he came straight to him.


    As soon as the young man reached Lucifer, he grabbed the young man¡¯s neck, crushing it before tossing the young man aside, not letting anyone know about his decay. He did everything too fast.


    Seeing the quick interaction and how swiftly Lucifer dealt with the young man, the Nobles grew surprised. Now they didn¡¯t think too much of Lucifer.


    None of them knew how strong the young man¡¯s whip was. They believed that it was probably weak, and that¡¯s why Lucifer managed to take care of him so fast.


    Dealing with the man, Lucifer nced at thedy on the throne. His eyes observed not only her but everyone else in the Court from behind the ck mask.


    There was one main Throne straight before him, where Milena was sitting. Her beautiful Silver Hair seemed simr to Lucifer¡¯s hairs, but they were shorter, barelying under her shoulders. On the contrary, Lucifer had longer hair.


    Milena¡¯s eyes were also a shade of dark red, simr to everyone else here, except for one person. Lucifer didn¡¯t know who it was, but he could see a man standing behind her with his arms folded.


    He was the only man in the entire court who didn¡¯t have red eyes. Moreover, he was standing so close to Milena; it was evident that his position was pretty high. The young man looked to be in histe twenties. His light blue eyes remained stuck on Lucifer.


    Even though the man had white hair, they suited his pale face a bit. Lucifer couldn¡¯t help but wonder if the man was also a noble. He was indeed dressed in a white robe, but his eyes made Lucifer confused. The man was also taller than the others present here. He was taller than six feet.


    From what Lucifer knew, the Nobles possessed red eyes after they were turned. Then why was this man different? And if he wasn¡¯t a noble, then who was he? Why was he in such a high position?


    Milena also observed Lucifer, slightly amused. There was a subtle smirk on her face as she watched Lucifer. Milena looked to be the youngest here as she was only eighteen. Even though she looked Pale too, she looked less Palepared to others present in the Court.


    On both sides of the Royal Court, some seats were ced, on which the Nobles were sitting. Even though the Divine Empire possessed many nobles, not all of them enjoyed such privilege of sitting in this Court.


    Only the highest-ranking nobles had the privilege. In essence, Milena¡¯s Royal Court was filled with the strongest nobles of the Divine Empire. They were top of the top.


    On the left side of Lucifer, ten nobles were sitting. On the right, there were also ten. Counting Milena and the man behind her made it so that only twelve people were inside the Royal Chamber from the Divine Empire.


    Surprisingly enough, most of the Nobles that were present here were women. Amongst the ten Nobles that were sitting on both sides of Lucifer, seven of them were women, while only three of them were guys.


    Silence ensued in the Court as no one spoke anything. The nobles waited for Milena to speak while Milena waited for Lucifer to speak.


    After what seemed like a long time, Lucifer finally spoke.


    "Is that how you greet your guests?" he asked Milena.


    "Hmm? Since when did you be our guests?" Milena asked, amused. "Did I invite any of you toe here? Isn¡¯t that how the outside world works? You invite someone; theye and be guests? After I kicked you outst time, you all still dared to return?"


    "Didn¡¯t I warn you that you¡¯ll die the next time youe? You can¡¯t me me for this now, can you?" She told Lucifer.


    ¡¯She kicked out Andreasst time while issuing threats?¡¯ Lucifer thought, surprised. Even he didn¡¯t know this had happened. Now he understood why their arrival might have antagonized Milena.


    She had threatened someone with death, but the people still dared toe. It was certainly going to upset anyone since it would showplete disregard of their words as if no one took them seriously.


    That also exined why they were attacked right away, but then again. Why was the person that attacked him so weak? He realized that the young man wasn¡¯t a noble from his eyes and clothing. Why did he attack them?


    ¡¯Were they testing our strength?¡¯ he thought, frowning.


    "Now that I think about it, wasn¡¯t that wing guy talkingst time? You seem new. Even your voice is different. Do you have a higher position than him?" Milena asked Lucifer.. "Don¡¯t worry, after I turn you; I¡¯ll give you a nice position."

 Chapter 422 - 422: You Think You Can?

    <h4>Chapter 422 - 422: You Think You Can? </h4>


    "You really think you can do that?" Lucifer replied, rubbing the back of his head, shaking his head. "I think you¡¯re going to have to wait for a long time if that¡¯s your wish


    "You think we can¡¯t?" Milena asked, amused. "Just because you took out that man?"


    "Your Majesty, this man is too arrogant! Let me show him his ce!" A Noble chimed in between the conversation, angry. It was a middle-aged man with deep red hair which matched his eyes.


    He seemed to be the oldest person here based on his looks alone.


    Lucifer turned to notice the man. "Can¡¯t you see two big people talking? Stay silent and don¡¯t disturb us."


    "You!"


    The red-haired man became even more enraged, standing up. He didn¡¯t attack right away though.


    Milena didn¡¯t interfere or stop the middle-aged man. He was also interested in having some fun.


    "You want my stone?" She ultimately asked Lucifer.


    "That¡¯s why I¡¯m here," Lucifer nodded. "Return your stone to us. Let it return where it belongs."


    "Alright. I¡¯ll give you that stone. Let¡¯s just say the stubbornness of the Warlock Council convinced me," Milena nodded.


    "Hmm?"


    Shocked gasps filled the Royal Court as the nobles were surprised that Milena had agreed to give away something of hers.


    "You will?" Lucifer asked, surprised. "Even though he came to ask for the stone, he hadn¡¯t expected that she would easily agree on the first meeting itself."


    "Of course I will, but you just do one thing for me," Milena said, smirking.


    "What?" Lucifer inquired.


    "Tomorrow marks the beginning of our annual divine battles. Nobles from Divine Empires, Newborns, and the strongest Variants of the Divine Empire will take part in the contest," Milena answered.


    " I¡¯ll keep the stone as the prize for the winner of the tournament. If you won, you could take the stone," she further added.


    ¡¯ Competition? That can be a good excuse to stay in the Empire to fulfill the mission,¡¯ Lucifer thought, finding merit in this offer.


    To take over the Empire while corroding it from inside, he needed to stay here. That¡¯s what the n was in the first ce. Now they just received a VIP invite for them to stay here, which was even better.


    "I ept," Lucifer agreed.


    "Don¡¯t be happy so soon. There will be consequences if you lose," Milena stated.


    "What consequences?" Lucifer inquired, curious.


    "If you lose, you¡¯ll help me steal the stone from the Warlock Council. Since they¡¯re after my stone, I¡¯m sure something must be special in it. Now I want theirs too."


    "I can turn you into a noble right now, but then they would easily recognize you when you go there. You won¡¯t be able to steal. So I need you to support me on your own. If you win, you¡¯ll get the stone. If you lose, you¡¯ll bring me your stones."


    "And if you lost but still didn¡¯t help me, we¡¯ll wage war on the Warlock Council and kill you. So think carefully. Only ept if you¡¯re ready to betray your homnd," Milena reminded Lucifer, not realizing that he wasn¡¯t rted to the Warlock Council at all.


    "I don¡¯t need to think about it. I ept," Lucifer agreed, smiling.


    He didn¡¯t need to care. So what if he betrayed her? So what if she waged war on the Warlock Council? That was going to be even better for him. In any case, he wasn¡¯t going to let ite to that. Before the finals of the tournament, he was going to conquer thisnd and Milena.


    "Good. Now take off your masks. We need to know your faces if we want to trust you," Milenamanded Lucifer. His words also implied Szar.


    "Isn¡¯t it so you can find me in the Warlock Council to kill me if I betray you after losing?"Lucifer asked, smirking.


    "You¡¯re not as stupid as I thought," Milena let out. "Take off your masks, both of you."


    Lucifer didn¡¯t worry about taking off his mask. The only reason he wanted to wear the mask was so that he coulde backter when infiltrating the Divine Empire and roaming inside.


    He didn¡¯t want anyone to link him to the Warlock Council then. But now, he had the permission to stay here as a Warlock Council member. He didn¡¯t need to worry about anything.


    He wore his gloves again before raising his right hand, cing it over his ck mask.


    He slowly lowered his mask, revealing his beautiful eyes that possessed a different color. He continued lowering his mask, ultimately revealing his full handsome face.


    Szar also lowered his mask, revealing his face as well. He hadn¡¯t spoken even a little since entering the Pce, but many female Nobles who were sitting in the Royal Court found him handsome.


    "Aren¡¯t you too young to be in a high position at the Warlock Council?" Milena asked, looking at Lucifer¡¯s face.


    Her words made Lucifer smile wryly. He had asked the same question when he had seen Milena for the first time.


    "Aren¡¯t you as young as me? Who can know better than you that age doesn¡¯t matter in certain things," he reminded Milena.


    "As for my position in the Warlock Council, I¡¯m one of the Seven Leaders. So if your nobles can defeat him, I¡¯ll really bring the Warlock Council stone to you," he further added, bluffing even more.


    He had be such an expert in lying that no one could have recognized the fact that he was lying from his face.


    "Leader of the Warlock Council?" Milena inquired, surprised. She hadn¡¯t expected this either.


    "One of the seven, not the sole leader. Even though it¡¯ll be hard to bring that stone here, I¡¯ll keep my words if I lose. And simrly, I expect you to keep your words," Lucifer exined.


    "Don¡¯t worry. As soon as you win, you¡¯ll have the stone. This thing is useless for me anyway," Milena answered, revealing her ne, which had a blue stone hanging on it.


    ¡¯ The second stone. She keeps it so close to her. But now I know where it is. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll need to disturb Jiang to search the whole Pce after taking over. It¡¯s good she showed it herself,¡¯ Lucifer thought, observing the beautiful stone that was slightly shining.


    The stone which was inside his cloak pocket also started shining a little in the presence of another stone, but no one noticed.


    Milena tucked the ne under her clothes again.


    What Lucifer was here for was right before his eyes now, but he wanted more. He wanted everything, not just the stone!

 Chapter 423 - 423: Becoming A Noble

    <h4>Chapter 423 - 423: Bing A Noble </h4>


    "So you ept my proposal?" Milena asked Lucifer, just to be sure.


    Lucifer nodded. "I ept."


    "So, all three of you will be participating. But just remember, there¡¯s a good chance that all three of you might die in thepetition even though I need you. The rules are brutal. Your survival will depend on you only. So don¡¯t lose, but don¡¯t die, because no one will save you," Milena reminded Lucifer.


    She turned to look at thedy who was sitting on the right side of Lucifer.


    It was a young woman who looked to be in her mid-twenties. Her eyes were also red, signifying her noble position.


    "Feronia, take them to the guest house. You¡¯ll be with them during their stay in the Empire," Milenamanded thedy.


    "Yes, Your Majesty," the woman stood up respectfully, realizing that she was tasked to keep an eye on these people.


    "Come with me," she told Lucifer, walking towards the doors.


    Lucifer took onest nce at Milena before he turned and left with Caen and Szar.


    As they left, the ce returned to its usual silence.


    Milena stood up finally and walked towards the body of the young man who was killed by Lucifer. His body was still mostly intact. Only his neck was crushed.


    "Your Majesty, are you really going to make this guy a noble?" One of the Nobles asked, taking a guess as to what she was going to do.


    Milena smirked. "I think it¡¯ll be more fun with him around. He can also take part in the battles. I¡¯m sure the rematch would be interesting."


    The young man was lying on his stomach. Milena turned him around and raised him up. She brought her luscious lips close to him, opening them to reveal two sharp teeth. She stabbed her teeth in the neck of the young man.


    After a few seconds, she moved back and ced the man down before she walked back to the throne.


    The young man who was lying on the ground remained unmoving, but he did start to go through some changes.


    His height increased ever so slightly as the man became taller. His neck also started recovering as his crushed bones healed slowly. His body turned even paler as his hair became an inch longer.


    The man¡¯s eyelids started flickering. Soon he opened his eyes, revealing his eyes that were red now. He looked around, confused as to what had happened.


    Initially, his mind waspletely nk, but he soon started recovering his memories. As he was now a Noble, he regained his old memories up to the moments right before her death.


    He looked towards Milena, who was casually looking at him. The other Nobles were also looking at him, expressionless.


    The young man looked down, noticing his pale skin. He touched his neck to feel the bite marks that hurt even now.


    "I am a Noble now?!" He eximed in surprise.


    "No need to be so happy, young man. You failed miserably in stopping the people. Your powers were not that powerful either. And you died so fast that it was embarrassing," Milena told the young man.


    " So even though I brought you back as a Noble, it¡¯s not the end of it. It¡¯s just so I could give you your next test since you failed thest one so miserably," she further added.


    "W-what test?" The man asked, hesitant.


    "The man who killed you. He would be participating in the Annual Divine Empire. And you¡¯ll be his first opponent. It¡¯s for you to get your salvation. If you win, you¡¯ll be allowed to remain a Noble," Milena answered.


    " If you lose, you¡¯ll die. And even if you survive the Battle despite losing, I¡¯ll kill you personally." she continued.


    "I-I won¡¯t disappoint you, Your Majesty! I¡¯ll kill that man, I promise on my life! I¡¯ll either win or die on the battlefield!" the young man dered, cing his hand on his chest.


    "Good. You can leave now. Meet Cadell outside. He would tell you the protocol that you need to know."


    Hearing themand of Milena, the young man bowed once again before he left the Royal Court.


    As the doors were closed again, the Noble Elders started talking about their real concerns. They weren¡¯t pleased with what was done, but they couldn¡¯t question the decision of Milena either.


    So they just talked as if they were giving suggestions.


    "Your Majesty, do you really think this guy can defeat him? If his im about being a Warlock Council leader is true, then he won¡¯t be weak enough to be defeated by a weakling like him."


    "I agree. No matter how much we underestimate the Warlock Council, they¡¯re still made of the strongest Warlocks of their counting. We can defeat them, but I doubt a new Noble can do it."


    "Agreed. Instead of sending a weakling, why don¡¯t you send one of us against him? We would end him in the first battle. That would be good for the dignity of a Noble. On the other hand, if we send him, the Warlock Council guys would defeat him. What will happen to our dignity then?"


    "What do you think, Your Majesty?"


    One after another, all ten Noble Elders asked to be sent first instead of the youngster.


    "What would be the fun in that? I don¡¯t want them to lose in the first battle. It¡¯s not always that we get such an opportunity for enjoyment. We¡¯ll go with the order I decide. No more questions about it!" Milena dered, silencing all the questions.


    Throughout the discussion, one man hadn¡¯t said anything. He didn¡¯t even move. He was the white-haired man who stood behind Milena. He simply stood with his arms folded. He was the only person who didn¡¯t have red eyes.


    Milena soon stood up. Following her, all the other nobles also stood up in respect.


    "Sirius,e with me," Milena said as she started leaving. The white-haired man finally moved, leaving with Milena.


    ...


    Lucifer and the others stepped out of the Royal Pce, escorted by Feronia.


    Outside the pce, they met Heath.


    "You¡¯re back. How did the conversation go?" Health asked Caen, ignoring Lucifer.


    For him, Caen was the leader. Feronia did grow confused though. Why was this man not asking their leader? Were they not allowed to talk to them? She just shrugged this whole thing as a difference in culture.


    "Ah, right. It¡¯s not good to talk here. Get in; we shall leave," Heath continued, realizing the presence of a noble. He walked back to the helicopter.


    "We aren¡¯t going back, Heath," Caen told the man.

 Chapter 424 - 424: Entering The Forbidden

    <h4>Chapter 424 - 424: Entering The Forbidden </h4>


    "Huh? Why?" Heath asked, confused. "What¡¯s happening?"


    "We¡¯ll be staying here. And you¡¯ll be staying here with us too. As for that helicopter, leave that here. When we go back, we¡¯ll take it," Caen told Heath.


    "We¡¯ll be staying here? Why?"


    "We¡¯ll be taking part in apetition here. Think of it as a challenge. After we win, we¡¯ll leave," Caen exined.


    "Heh? You and win?" Feronia scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Keep dreaming."


    Caen ignored the taunt of Feronia and kept his eyes on Heath. "I¡¯ll tell you more in detail. For now,e with us. She¡¯ll show us our rooms."


    Heath was confused, but he believed Caen was the Warlock Council leader. He nodded.


    "Come, I don¡¯t have all day." Feronia started walking towards the city.


    "We¡¯ll be walking?" Szar asked, frowning.


    "Oh? Not at all. Unicorns wille to take you," Feronia said sarcastically.


    "Can¡¯t you answer directly?" Lucifer asked, getting annoyed at Feronia¡¯s tone.


    "Shut up! Don¡¯t think you¡¯re some big shot just because you have a high position in a random organization. It¡¯s our Empire! And we will behave the way we want! If you have a problem, scram!" Feronia retorted.


    "Ah, Young Miss. I think you shouldn¡¯t talk like that. It¡¯s never a bad idea to not antagonize this guy," Szar reminded Feronia, smiling wryly. "You can never know when he¡¯ll blow up."


    "You mean I should be scared of upsetting the kid? You can be scared of him, but not me. I¡¯m a Noble Elder of the Divine Empire! If I want, I can kill you all right here and right now! Even your ashes won¡¯t be found for an eternity!" Feronia responded sharply.


    "In any case, you¡¯ll die in thepetition. So I¡¯ll control my urges," she continued.


    "Ashes?" Caen muttered, shaking his head.


    ¡¯She has no idea what she¡¯s doing, does she?¡¯ he thought. ¡¯I need to change the topic before things really go overboard.¡¯


    "Youngdy, we were just asking if we¡¯ll go on foot or we¡¯ll use those carriages. There are so many of them lined up there. Why don¡¯t we take them?" He asked.


    "Those are for Nobles only. You can¡¯t use them," Feronia answered. "And why are you acting like a crybaby? What¡¯s wrong with walking? Aren¡¯t I walking with you too?¡¯"


    Lucifer rubbed his temple, calming his anger. He knew that it wasn¡¯t a long time. He just needed to stay put for a little while.


    The four of them left the Royal Pce gates, following Feronia.


    As Lucifer and the others walked in the Royal City of the Divine Empire behind Feronia, they attracted a lot of attention from the citizens of the city.


    Most of the citizens were wearing cloaks, but none of them were wearing a white or ck cloak since only special people had the permission to use them.


    Moreover, the citizens were confused as to why a High Ranking Noble was escorting them. Who were these people to receive such a high privilege?


    Lucifer¡¯s cloak was red. Caen didn¡¯t wear any cloak. On the other hand, Szar was wearing a blue cloak. These cloaks were enough proof that these people weren¡¯t nobles, so it was surprising that they received such special attention from a Noble Elder.


    While the citizens observed Lucifer and the others, Lucifer was also observing the citizens. He found quite a few people with red eyes in the Empire. There were many newborns on the streets.


    As for recognizing the Newborns, it was also mostly easy. The newborns also had red eyes, but they didn¡¯t look as sharp as Nobles. Instead, they seemed slightly dull.


    Unlike Lucifer, Szar observed the buildings in his surroundings, trying to find something.


    Soon, he found what he was looking for. His eyes lit up.


    "Luci, look! I found a bar! Let¡¯s have some drinks. I¡¯ve been having an urge to drink for quite some time. Come!" He patted Lucifer¡¯s shoulder before he started walking towards the left


    "Alright." Lucifer shrugged, not stopping Szar. That much was fine here. He also walked to the doors that were just a few meters away from him.


    As Feronia was walking ahead of them, she noticed itte that Lucifer, Szar, and Caen had diverted. By the time she noticed, the three of them were already at the doors of a building.


    There was a board hanging on top. "Delight Bar."


    "Wait! You can¡¯t go in there?" She suddenly called out, but it was toote. By the time she called out, Lucifer and the others had already entered the bar.


    They didn¡¯t notice a board on the side of the gate that read, "Only Newborns and Nobles allowed."


    Feronia also ran towards the entrance.


    Seeing Feronia concerned, the citizens were surprised. It was the first time they saw a Noble Elder so surprised.


    On the other hand, some little had nodded where Lucifer and others entered. Since they knew that Lucifer and his teammates weren¡¯t Nobles, they were amazed.


    "I always wondered what happened inside. Unfortunately, no humans are allowed there. This is the first time someone has entered this ce. I wonder what¡¯s going to happen."


    "Well, ording to the rules, if any person enters that ce who isn¡¯t a Noble or a newborn, they are to be executed. I wonder if these guys will be executed."


    " Yeah. I wonder the same. It¡¯s an interesting situation. They were being escorted by the Noble Elder, so they are special, but at the same time, they broke the rules. I heard the Queen is very strict about the rules. I wonder what she¡¯ll do."


    " Exactly. She doesn¡¯t care about the identity of the person who breaks the rules. Did you forget, justst year, a Noble Elder broke one of her rules? She instantly executed the Noble Elder. I am sure these people are dead! They shouldn¡¯t have entered!"


    Most of the citizens hade to a conclusion as to what was going to happen next. They all believed that these people were going to be executed now. They were all interested to see what was going to happen next.


    They all stayed where they were, watching what was about to unfold. No one wanted to miss. Soon, the crowd started to increase as more and more people found out about what had happened.


    ...


    Unaware of what this ce actually was, Lucifer entered the ce, thinking it was what they thought it was.


    Unfortunately, they were wrong. As soon as Lucifer entered the ce, his lips opened slightly. Even Caen and Szar grew shocked.


    "What the heck is this ce!" Szar eximed out loud.

 Chapter 425 - 425: Prey

    <h4>Chapter 425 - 425: Prey </h4>


    "What the heck is this ce?" The words echoed in the surroundings, filling the whole ce.


    It wasn¡¯t only Szar who wondered about such a thing. Even Lucifer was thinking about the same thing, wondering what the heck was happening here. The same was the case for Caen. This ce, it wasn¡¯t a bar at all.


    There were couches and tables ced everywhere. All the seats were filled as well, upied by white-robed people. As white robes were only worn by nobles and newborns, it was clear to understand that this ce was filled mainly by them.


    They weren¡¯t the only ones there though.


    On the couch closest to Lucifer, a white-robed man was sittingfortably. He wasn¡¯t sitting alone though.. A woman was sitting on hisp, seemingly an ordinary human.


    The man¡¯s teeth were stabbed in the neck of the woman as he sucked her blood. The woman didn¡¯t resist though. Instead, she seemed like she was going through ecstasy. A smile remained on her lips as she let the man drink her blood.


    Simrly, on another couch, a white-robed woman was sitting. Her beautiful red hair came down to her waist. Most people would have been attracted by her beautiful looks, but Lucifer and others were disgusted as they watched a man lying on herp.


    She stabbed her sharp teeth in the neck of the man right before their eyes, making the man bleed while she sucked his blood.


    Simrly, the same thing was going on all around this ce. There were a few people that weren¡¯t drinking blood directly from humans though. A few people had sses in their hands which were filled with blood. Bottles filled with blood were ced on the tables before them.


    "This isn¡¯t the bar we expected it to be," Caenmented. "I think we should leave."


    Unfortunately, their entrance wasn¡¯t stealthy. Some nobles had already seen them, standing up.


    Slowly, more and more nobles realized what was happening here.


    "It looks like a human doesn¡¯t know how to read. He really dared to infiltrate this ce? Who wants to im him? He¡¯s fresh blood, it seems." A young dark-haired Noble said, grinning.


    His words brought even more attention to the situation.


    The woman who had just started sucking the blood of a well-built man brought her teeth out of his neck, ncing in the direction of Lucifer.


    "Step aside," A red-haired Noble said, pushing the woman in hisp aside.


    "Wait... Take more!" The woman called out, sad that the man had stopped sucking her blood mid-way. She wanted even more of that ecstasy.


    Shey on the sofa, sad.


    There were around fifty Nobles inside the bar, and almost all of them were looking at Lucifer and his friends. Some even licked their lips.


    "Because of Her Majesty¡¯s rules, we can¡¯t drink from any human unless they break a rule. After they do that, they are sent here," One of the Nobles said, smiling.


    "In a long time, there hasn¡¯t been any fresh blood here. I was sad that no one breaks any rules nowadays. Who knew someone was going toe in here, offering themselves," he further added, bursting intoughter.


    "Same here. I guess it¡¯s our lucky day. Four of them came at once," another Noble chimed in, smiling.


    "You know, the first bite is always the best," the red-haireddy chimed in. "There are four of them. Only four of us can have that first bite. I¡¯m calling dibs on the silver-haired sweetheart."


    Her gaze remained on Lucifer as she talked, to be specific, on his neck.


    "I¡¯ll take the blondie then," Another Warlock said.


    Slowly, more and more Nobles started chiming in, expressing their desires to take the men for themselves.


    The talks soon evolved into an argument as everyone wanted the first taste.


    Standing near the entrance, Szar looked weirdly at what was happening.


    "Are they really talking about using us as food bags? I mean, can you tell me something?" Szar asked Caen.


    "Yeah. That¡¯s what¡¯s happening, I think. Also, what do you want to know?" Caen asked in return.


    "I wanted to ask if they¡¯re underestimating us a bit too much or overestimating them even more?" Szar asked, frowning.


    ording to him, he could easily take everyone out here. It didn¡¯t matter if people here were nobles or powerful Warlocks. For him, they were all nothing. He could wipe them all out before they could even bring their fangs out.


    "Should I take them out?" Szar asked Lucifer.


    Lucifer slowly shook his head. "That won¡¯t be needed."


    Folding his arms, he remained calm, observing all the Nobles.


    He was more curious about this blood thing. There wasn¡¯t any data about this thing in any of the files. He was sure that even the Warlock Council didn¡¯t know about these things.


    The Nobles drank human blood. He didn¡¯t know if they drank it only casually because it tasted good to them or if it was something essential for them.


    If it was essential for their survival, then it could exin a few things. Most of the Nobles were pale. Their bodies probably didn¡¯t have enough blood, maybe because they were dead before being brought back to life.


    Their bodies didn¡¯t have the same capacity to produce blood as an ordinary human, which was probably why they needed human blood. That was the theory Lucifer came up with, but he wasn¡¯t sure about this.


    Seeing the argument escted, one of the Nobles chimed in. "Let¡¯s not argue! How about wee up with a fair way to decide the turns."


    "What fair way? Let¡¯s go with seniority. Since I¡¯m the eldest of you all, I¡¯ll take the first turn."


    "No, let¡¯s go with youngsters first. I¡¯m the youngest, so I should go first."


    "No, I was made a noble before you all. So let¡¯s go by the date we became a Noble. I¡¯ll go first."


    "How about we go by height?"


    "Weight?"


    "Let¡¯s go by looks. I¡¯m the most handsome. Let me go first!"


    All the Nobles suggested a form of selection, only suggesting the things in which they were good at.


    Seeing no goode out of it, the Noble who had stopped thest argument chimed in again.


    "How about we let the prey choose instead? That would be fairer as no one has an unfair advantage in that. Let¡¯s see who they want to surrender to. That way, there¡¯s no cheating, and no one can be upset."


    "I ept," the red-haired woman said, smirking. She slightly lowered her dress to reveal even more of her fair skin.

 Chapter 426 - 426: No Touching

    <h4>Chapter 426 - 426: No Touching </h4>


    "Wait! That¡¯s unfair! Of course, she would have an advantage in it as she¡¯s a woman and we¡¯re faced with men. They would all say yes to her. I think we should try another method to decide how these people will be shared."


    Watching the antics of the woman, even more Nobles became upset. How did this sound fair for everyone? It was giving someone an unfair advantage.


    "How do we decide then? Like this, the argument will never be solved!¡¯ One more Noble jumped into the mix."


    Lucifer finally turned around, shaking his head. "I think this is enough. Let¡¯s leave."


    Szar nced at the Nobles once again before he also turned. Caen also started leaving..


    As Lucifer was already close to the door, it didn¡¯t take him long to reach it. His hand touched the doorknob, but before he could even twist, the figure of the red-haired woman flickered and suddenly appeared before Lucifer.


    She grasped his neck in her throat, smirking.


    "And where do you think you¡¯re going, sweetheart?" She asked, raising Lucifer in the air.


    Frowning, Lucifer looked deep into thedy¡¯s eyes.


    At the same time, he raised his right hand and grabbed the hand of the woman.


    "Arghhh!"


    Just his tight grab was enough to crush the wrist of the woman. Her hand grew weak as a pained scream left her lips.


    Lucifer was freed from her grasp, but he didn¡¯t release thedy.


    Instead, he next grabbed the throat of the woman, raising her in the air before smashing her down.


    The force of the impact was so strong that even the floor cracked. At the same time, the woman coughed out a mouthful of blood.


    "I don¡¯t like when someone touches me," Lucifer told thedy grimly. "So next time, keep your hands to yourself if you don¡¯t want me to tear them off."


    He raised the woman again and tossed her towards the back of the room.


    The woman flew towards all the nobles, who stepped aside. Instead of stopping the woman by standing in her path, they simply moved aside, letting the woman continue flying back.


    The woman soon crashed on the wall.


    "So he isn¡¯t an ordinary human. He¡¯s a Variant, it seems. Not still, daring to attack a noble? These people are digging their graves deeper."


    The atmosphere inside the bar grew tense as Lucifer attacked a Noble, which riled up the other nobles.


    "Am I allowed to go all out now?" Szar asked, cracking his knuckles.


    "No, you should leave. Stand outside. I¡¯ll take care of them," Lucifer told Szar.


    "Kid, you¡¯ve made the worst mistake of your life! And you¡¯ll regret it!" A sharp pitched voice filled the room,ing from the back.


    The red-haired woman had stood up, and she was even more furious.


    A strange aura spread around the woman as she red at Lucifer.


    "Enough! Everyone stop!"


    The red-haired woman was about to attack when the door opened again. A woman stepped inside the war.


    "Lady Feronia!" At the sight of the new arrival, the other Nobles went down on one knee, following proper courtesy.


    Even the red-haired woman went down on one knee unwillingly.


    The people that had the right to sit in the Royal Court of the Queen were special Nobles who were close to the Queen. They also had a higher position than other Nobles, which was why every Noble desired to reach that position.


    "Lady Feronia, these people barged in our sanctuary, and they attacked us! Please allow me to punish them," the red-haired woman told Feronia.


    "As I said, no one will attack them. Her Majesty needs them alive," Feronia replied.


    "Huh? Her Majesty need these people alive? Who are these people?" The red-haired woman asked, surprised.


    "They are Variants, so maybe Her Majesty liked their abilities? It might be possible that she wants to make them Nobles too. In any case, we have no right to question her decision," A dark-haired man chimed in, assuming things.


    "That¡¯s not true. Her Majesty doesn¡¯t want to make them Nobles," Feronia exined.


    "Hmm? Then why?"


    "These people are the Warlocks of the Warlock Council from Triton. As for this young man, he¡¯s apparently one of their leaders. Her Majesty wants them to participate in the Divine Annual Competition. They can only die in thepetition and not here," Feronia exined.


    "That¡¯s all I¡¯ll say at this point. Just know, you can¡¯t attack them, or that would upset Her Majesty," she further added.


    "So they won¡¯t have any consequences? They broke the rules by entering this ce. And after that, they attacked us. What will civilians think if they are allowed to walk out freely? Won¡¯t that be bad for Her Majesty¡¯s dignified image?" The red-haired woman asked.


    "Moreover, Her Majesty wanted them to take part in the Divine Empire before they broke the rules. Shouldn¡¯t you at least tell her what they did so she can decide on what to do? She needs to know what they did," she continued, standing up.


    The other nobles also stood up one after another.


    "I¡¯ll tell herter, but I doubt she will kill them before the Tournament. So, if you want to get back at these guys for attacking you, join the Annual Divine Competition. If you¡¯re lucky, you cane face to face with them while having the right to kill them openly," Feronia replied.


    "That¡¯s all I¡¯ll say regarding this matter. As for what people will think, don¡¯t worry about that. When they see these people die in the tournament, they¡¯ll understand everything," she added.


    "And even if they don¡¯t, why do you care? If what you said turns out to be the truth, more people will break the rules, and you¡¯ll get fresh blood daily. Isn¡¯t that good? Get back to your work," she told all the Nobles before she turned to look at Lucifer.


    "As for you, you¡¯re not off the hook either, duffers. Who told you to enter this ce without informing me? Do you know you would¡¯ve been dead if I hadn¡¯te on time? This is not your Triton, kiddo! Death cane at every step for you if you¡¯re not careful!"


    Feronia started scolding Lucifer, giving herself the credit for saving their lives, unaware that it was the other way around. If she werete, people would have died, but they wouldn¡¯t have been the ones she thought.


    "If I weren¡¯t in time, your blood would¡¯ve been in their mouths, your bones broken, and your mind destroyed. I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m stuck in the babysitter duty for you all," she continued, shaking her head in disappointment.

 Chapter 427 - 427: Ill Return The Favor

    <h4>Chapter 427 - 427: I''ll Return The Favor </h4>


    "Come with me," Feronia said before she opened the door and stepped outside.


    Lucifer and the others also left, taking onest nce inside the bar.


    They could see the red-haired woman clenching her teeth, really upset.


    As Lucifer and his group left, the door once again closed. The bar returned to its silence and darkness. It was so silent that even the breathing of Nobles could be heard.


    "That guy was really the lease of Warlock Council. I think I can understand why Her Majesty wants him alive."


    "Think about our dignity when we kill the leaders of one of the strongest forces outside of the Divine Empire. The Annual Divine Competition would be fun.."


    "Yeah. I can¡¯t wait to see how strong these Warlock Council people are. From the initial impression, they weren¡¯t weak at all. But then again, he only got a surprise attack on Jia."


    The Nobles returned to their discussion, forgetting the red-haired woman they were talking about.


    "Warlock Council leader, Huh. I¡¯ll return all the insults and embarrassment to you soon. You¡¯ll regret this day," the red hair woman known as Jia muttered under her breath.


    She walked back to the couch, bringing the bare-chested man closer to her. She inserted her fangs in the neck of the men, even sharply.


    Unlike before, the man didn¡¯t seem like he was in ecstasy this time. He was in extreme pain as Jia didn¡¯t hold back this time. She was angry at Lucifer, and she was letting it out on the man by failing to control herself properly.


    ...


    The citizens of the Divine Empire were waiting eagerly outside the bar to see what was going to happen. Most of them believed that Lucifer and his friends weren¡¯t going to return alive.


    Unfortunately, something entirely different happened. The door of the once opened and Lucifer stepped out with his team members. Let alone being killed; there wasn¡¯t even a scratch on him and the other guys.


    They were being escorted by Feronia once again. Soon, they left the ce, leaving the big crowd behind, wondering about the identity of these men.


    They couldn¡¯t understand why these men were getting special treatment. What was the identity of these people?


    Many questions remained in the heads of the civilians as they watched everything unfold before their eyes. The conversation started happening, and soon the information spread in the entire city about what had just happened.


    Many people also started wondering about the identity of these people.


    Some thought that they were from the guests from the outside world, and that¡¯s why they weren¡¯t killed, while others thought they were the rtives of Feronia, which was why they were getting special treatment.


    Some even guessed that they were probably the ones who were soon going to be Nobles too, which was why no one was offended when they entered a noble-only establishment.


    ...


    Feronia escorted Lucifer to another Pce inside the city. The new pce was smaller than the Royal Pce of the queen, but it still looked veryvish and beautiful.


    The entire pce was pure white as if made from the purest of marbles. As for the gates, they seemed to be made from gold.


    Some Newborns were standing at the entrance. Seeing Feronia approach, they opened the doors.


    Feronia, Lucifer, and the others stepped inside the premises of the Pce.


    "This will be where you¡¯ll stay. Tomorrow, I¡¯lle to take you to the tournament where you¡¯ll be taking part. You aren¡¯t allowed to leave this ce, and if you broke more rules by sneaking out without any permission, you¡¯d be killed mercilessly," Feronia informed Lucifer, who was the leader for her.


    It once again stunned Heath. What was happening? Why did it seem like Lucifer was the leader instead? He had been walking in the lead all this while.


    Even inside the bar, Caen was asking him for orders, and now this. Something seemed odd, but he didn¡¯t know if he should ask.


    "To serve you, there are human maids inside the Pce. They¡¯ll bring human food to you. That will be all." Finishing up, Feronia turned and left. She didn¡¯t want to stay for longer than she had to.


    As Feronia left, Lucifer stopped looking at her. He had entered the Pce, and now he was observing the interior of the Pce.


    The Pce looked like it was in a perfect condition. There weren¡¯t any cracks on the walls, nor was there any damage. The paint still looked as good as new. Moreover, everything was spotless.


    Not even a little dust could be seen as if this ce was thoroughly cleaned every day.


    Inside the main hall at the entrance, a few couches were ced, probably for guests.


    Walking towards one of them, Lucifer sat down, resting one leg above the other, sitting rxed. Caen and Szar also sat on the following couches.


    Heath was also following suit when he was stopped.


    "Go and select a room for yourself. And find that maid they talked about," Caen told Heath just as he was about to sit. "Tell her to prepare something to eat and bring out the wine bottles if there are any."


    He used this as an excuse to send Heath away so they could have some privacy, but at the same time, these were genuine tasks that needed to be done.


    "Ah, yes." Health nodded, going upstairs to find the maid.


    After Heath left, the three of them were the only ones left in the giant hall.


    "So, what¡¯s the n? I don¡¯t think this contest was something any of us could have expected. Are we really going to take part in it?" Caen asked Lucifer, frowning.


    "Yes. Also, not us. Only I and Szar will take part in thepetition," Lucifer exined.


    "Hmm? Why? Why do we need to take part in thepetition? What about the old n? We were here for something else, right? Or was getting that stone our only goal?" Caen asked, confused.


    "Of course, we¡¯re here for more than just the stone. And our goals have always been the same. But we can¡¯t be hasty. Tonight, we¡¯ll do recii and understand more about this ce and the defenses of the Pce. Tomorrow, we¡¯ll take part in the first stage of the event."


    "Since it¡¯s only the first stage, the enemies will be weak. We can win without revealing too much of our abilities. And tomorrow night, we¡¯ll use the information we collect tonight to... I¡¯m sure you can understand."


    Lucifer exined the n vaguely but in a manner where Caen could understand it. So he wanted to understand more about this ce before attacking.

 Chapter 428 - 428: High-level Strategy

    <h4>Chapter 428 - 428: High-level Strategy </h4>


    "That¡¯s only the rough n though. Who knows, we might not even need to go that far. Everything will depend on tonight," Lucifer said, wondering how the night infiltration was going to go.


    "I found her," A voice came from the distance, attracting everyone¡¯s attention.


    Lucifer nced back, noticing Heath return with a beautiful woman.


    The young woman was in herte twenties, dressed in a ck gown. From the way she was dressed, it didn¡¯t seem like she was a maid at all. Instead, she looked like the owner of the Pce.


    "The servants here dress pretty nice. Not bad," Szar muttered, smiling.


    .


    The woman stepped down the stairs and approached the three guests.


    "Greetings," she said, bowing respectfully.


    "What¡¯s your name?" Lucifer asked the woman whose long blue hair came down to her waist, matching her deep blue eyes perfectly.


    "My name is Adonis. I¡¯ll be taking care of you all while you stay here," the woman respectfully said.


    "So, Adonis. Can you bring something to eat for us? Something ordinary that humans here can eat?" Szar asked Adonis. "Right away."


    " Since I didn¡¯t know in advance that guests would being, I didn¡¯t prepare anything. Just wait for a little while. I¡¯ll go and prepare something for you all. In the meantime, should I show you your rooms? You can rest." Adonis offered an exnation apologetically.


    "Are you the only one who works here? No one else?" Szar inquired.


    "That¡¯s right. Since not many guestse here, only I stay here. In fact, you¡¯re the first guests in thest five years since I started working here," Adonis answered.


    "Adonis, can I ask you something?" Lucifer asked, still thinking about what he saw in the bar.


    "Yes." Adonis nodded.


    "I wanted to know what happens to the humans that break the rules here. What¡¯s done to them?" Lucifer asked.


    He remembered hearing at the bar that those people were sent to the bar to be used as a blood bag, but he wanted to know if humans here knew about such things. Was it known, or was it kept a secret?


    Because Feronia did warn them not to mention what they saw inside the bar to anyone. That could certainly mean that it was a secret.


    "Well, Her Majesty is really stern about the rules. To motivate people not tomit any crimes, our Divine Empire has really seriousws. ording to them, all the people who break the rules are taken and executed," Adonis answered.


    "So they are killed. Is there a public execution of them?" Lucifer inquired.


    "No. It¡¯s done in the presence of the Queen at her Pce. Nomoners can attend that," Adonis answered.


    "Then how do you know they are executed?" Lucifer asked, intrigued. It seemed like these people were kept in the dark, but even if they knew, they couldn¡¯t do anything but obey. So telling them was of no benefit to him either.


    "Because that¡¯s thew?! They are taken and executed. We never see them again, so of course, they¡¯re dead. Anyway, should I take you to your rooms? The faster I show you your rooms, the faster I can get to cooking for you."


    "Alright. Take us to the rooms," Lucifer agreed, standing up. "Make sure our rooms are close to each other."


    Szar and Caen also stood up.


    They followed Adonis, going upstairs.


    "Adonis, I had another question. What do Nobles eat?" Climbing the stairs, Lucifer asked again.


    "Hmm? I don¡¯t know. I haven¡¯t seen them eat. But then again, what more can they eat if not ordinary food? I mean, of course, their food would be more delicious andvish than ours, but that¡¯s the extent of it," Adonis answered. "Why are you asking?"


    "As you may know, we¡¯re guests from the outside world. There were some rumors there that Nobles drink blood. I was just curious if there was any truth to it," Lucifer replied, not telling her about the bar.


    "What nonsense!" Adonis retorted. "Those rumors are so stupid. Why would Nobles drink blood? Just know, there are no such things as that. It is a fake rumor spread in the outside world to rile them against us. There¡¯s no such thing as that."


    She soon realized that she had raised her voice against the guests, which weren¡¯t good manners. She instantly started regretting it.


    "Ah, I apologize for raising my voice. It¡¯s just that there is no such thing like that."


    "Don¡¯t worry about it," Luciferzily said. "I can understand where you¡¯reing from."


    "Thank you."


    She soon stopped.


    "Here¡¯s your room. This is the first time. Any of you can take it. All the rooms on this floor are fully furnished, so you can take any of them. But as you prefer rooms near each other, I suggest you take the next four times."


    She opened the door of the first room, stepping inside.


    As you may notice, this special button is something you can use to call me in case you need my services. I¡¯lle to your rooms to see what you need. You can use it even in the night, in case you need help."


    "There¡¯s a button like this in every room. That will be all. I¡¯ll go and prepare something to eat. You can select rooms."


    Turning around, Adonis left, leaving the four men inside the room.


    "Heath, you stay in the room. We¡¯ll take the next three," Lucifer told Heath, turning around as well.


    " Wait! I wanted to ask something." Heath stopped Lucifer and the others.


    "Yeah?"


    "I wanted to ask what¡¯s happening here. I waited for us to be alone to ask these questions, but why was he being treated like a leader? It¡¯s so odd and something I can¡¯t understand," Heath asked Caen.


    "That¡¯s because we¡¯re undercover," Lucifer answered instead.


    "Huh? What?" Heath grew confused. What did that mean?


    "I mean, they don¡¯t know that he is the leader. I lied to them that I was the leader so he could stay under the radar while I attracted all the focus. You won¡¯t understand; it¡¯s a high-level strategy," Lucifer exined, lying through his teeth.


    "Ahh! So that¡¯s why! That¡¯s so clever! I understand now! I¡¯ll y along too!"


    "That would be for the best."


    Lucifer and Szar left the room with Caen, walking to the next room.


    "This will be my room."


    He didn¡¯t enter the room, walking to the next.


    "This will be Caen¡¯s room."


    He continued walking to the next.


    "And this will be Szar¡¯s room."


    "Caen, now let me tell you the next part of the n as to why you received the middle room," Lucifer told Caen, stepping inside the third room.

 Chapter 429 - 429: Witness

    <h4>Chapter 429 - 429: Witness </h4>


    Closing the door, Lucifer walked over to the bed and sat down.


    Caen and Szar also picked up a chair and sat, facing him.


    "Szar and I will be leaving the Pce tonight. So we need witnesses to prove that we were always inside the Pce in case there is any suspicion on us. That¡¯s where youe to y," Lucifer exined as he began talking about the n.


    "After we finish eating, we¡¯ll all go to bed. But that¡¯s when the game starts. At exactly two, Szar and I will sneak out of this ce. At three, you¡¯ll call the Adonis. You can use any excuse as to why you called her. Just make sure she sees you inside the room."


    .


    "Half an hourter, you¡¯ll change your looks to mine and go to my room. Then you¡¯ll do the same thing. You¡¯ll call Adonis and ask her for something. I¡¯m sure you can think of some excuse."


    "Half an hour after that, you¡¯ll go to Szar¡¯s room and call Adonis as him. I want you to do it throughout the night, so Adonis bes our witness that the three of us were always inside the Pce. Just be subtle about it."


    Lucifer finished the exnation before asking, "Do you understand it?"


    "I get it." Caen nodded. "I¡¯ll make sure that she knows we¡¯re here."


    ...


    After an hour, Adonis returned. She called Heath out of his room. At the same time, she called Szar out of his room, where Lucifer and Caen were also present.


    "Dinner is waiting for you at the dinner table. Please follow me."


    Adonis escorted them to the dining room, where a massive table was filled with food.


    "You made all that in an hour?" Caen asked, surprised.


    He was amazed at how much was on the table.


    "Yes. Please try," Adonis replied.


    ...


    "That¡¯s some delicious food. Thank you." Alicia thanked the maid who served food.


    She was sitting at the same dining table with Cassius and his family.


    Many family members of Cassius were taking subtle nces at Alicia, smiling. It was the first time Cassius had brought ady home, and they all wondered if she was going to be his life partner.


    The two of them did seem close as they were often seen talking secretly, only to stop as a family member approached them. That act made people even more suspicious about their rtionship.


    What they didn¡¯t know was that Alicia and Cassius were talking about the n to infiltrate the Academy of Gifted Variants.


    "So, Alicia. What do you think of our Cassius?" Cassius¡¯s mother asked Alicia.


    "Cough! Mother, can you not talk such nonsense?" Cassius replied, coughing. He understood where his mother was getting at.


    ¡¯You know, many girls have a crush on him, but he never even looked back. I thought he didn¡¯t have any interest in a romantic rtionship, but who knows. With the right person, that might change," Cassius¡¯s mother didn¡¯t stop, continuing talking.


    Seeing the awkwardness on Cassius¡¯s face, his father shook his head. "Vina, don¡¯t make things awkward for our son. Let things take their natural course,"


    ..


    Everyone finished their dinner, but Lucifer was still eating. He ate the most out of everyone present here, at the same time, eating for the longest.


    Everyone waited for him to finish, sitting at the dinner table.


    It was only after he finished eating that everyone went back upstairs. They all went inside their rooms and started waiting for the right time.


    Lying on his bed, Lucifer closed his eyes as he lost himself in thoughts.


    The Nobles drank human blood while keeping it a secret from the world. But that still didn¡¯t prove if it was a hobby of theirs or a necessity. If it was a hobby, then he couldn¡¯t do anything with it, but if it was a necessity, there were ways he could use it.


    Bringing out his sses from his pocket, he wore them and called Cassius.


    ...


    Cassius¡¯s father stopped his wife, who was making things awkward for his son, but at the same time, he started helping his son without being direct.


    "Cassius, this is the first time Alicia came here. Why don¡¯t you take your friend for sightseeing tomorrow?"


    "I n to. I¡¯m still setting things u-"


    Cassius was answering his father when he stopped mid-sentence.


    He could feel his phone vibrating in his pocket.


    Bringing out his phone, he looked at the number.


    "Excuse me for a minute," he let out as he pushed the chair backward while standing up.


    He walked away while picking the call.


    "Hello?"


    "That¡¯s right. We reached here safely. What about you? Did yound in the Divine Empire?"


    "That¡¯s awesome. So how¡¯s the n going there? What¡¯s that ce like? Are there any problems?"


    "Hmm? Really? You think you can finish the mission in a few days if everything goes right? That would be good.


    "About me? We still haven¡¯t started. I¡¯m still in the information collecting phase. I¡¯ll soon begin too, probably tomorrow, since I have received the information I needed. If everything goes right, tomorrow we¡¯ll get what we need."


    "Yeah. ording to our information, no teacher is at the academy at the moment. It¡¯spletely sealed. It might not be as hard as I thought."


    "Yeah. You too, stay safe."


    The call was disconnected, and Cassius returned to the dinner table.


    As soon as Cassius returned, his father asked. "Who was it?"


    "It was a friend," Cassius answered. "Anyway, I was saying..."


    ...


    As he finished getting an update from Cassius, Lucifer took off the sses and started waiting.


    As soon as it was two in the night, there was a knock on the door. He got off the bed and opened the door, letting Szar enter the room.


    Caen also entered.


    Lucifer and Szar gave Caen the keys to their rooms.


    Lucifer opened the window after putting back the sses. He turned on the night vision to make sure that no one was outside. After making sure, they left the Pce, flying away.


    Caen was the only one left in the room, watching Lucifer and Szar fly away.


    "Hopefully, it will be over tonight." He muttered before walking to the bed; he sat down.


    ....


    Lucifer and Szar flew through the dark skies of the Divine Empire. As the night was darker than usual because of no moon presence in the sky, he had an easier time staying hidden.


    Soon, he and Szar reached the Royal Pce, where the peak power of this Empire stayed.


    "Let¡¯s find the weakest part of their defense," Lucifer said, flying closer to the Royal Pce.

 Chapter 430 - 430: Queen Cant Blame Me

    <h4>Chapter 430 - 430: Queen Can''t me Me </h4>


    Lucifer and Szar reached the Royal Pce, but they still kept their distance as they circled the Royal Pce to find the weakest part of the security.


    "The whole Pce is surrounded by Nobles. I don¡¯t think there¡¯s even an inch left. And the problem with Nobles is that they can see in the dark too. They can certainly notice us if we fly closer," Szar reminded Lucifer, noticing no weak spots.


    "I think we should attack them directly and barge inside. Isn¡¯t that a better n?" he asked, suggesting the bard approach.


    "No, I have a better n," Lucifermented, smiling.


    He ced his head in his pocket and brought a gun out.


    He inserted the magazine with the sleeping bullets in the gun..


    "A gun? What do you want me to do with it?" Szar asked. "You want to shoot them?"


    "No, I want to miss them," Lucifer answered, smiling. "These bullets have a sleeping gas inside. They¡¯ll put them to sleep. But I need your help."


    "What help?" Szar asked, frowning.


    "I want you to slow down time if the Nobles start running. They need to stay in the range of the bullet for some time for it to take effect. That¡¯s one of the ws of this bullet. And I need your help for this," Lucifer exined.


    Szar nodded, agreeing with the n.


    Lucifernded on top of one of the buildings where he could hide after firing. The fundamental aim of the mission was to make sure they could infiltrate while leaving no proof that it was the work of a Variant.


    That¡¯s why he didn¡¯t want to kill any of them tonight.


    Lucifer raises the gun, aiming it towards the main entrance where four Nobles were standing.


    Taking an aim, he fired before taking cover.


    The bullet flew towards the Nobles, who seemingly heard the sound of a gunshot. Their ears were really sharp. They heard the gunshot.


    Raising their head in the direction of the sound, they grew surprised as they found no one. The bulletnded on the ground, missing the target,nding in the middle of them.


    "A bullet?" One of the noblesnded on the ground, observing the bullet.


    "It looks like some stupid human wanted to kill us? Hah, childish," A red-haired Noble mentioned.


    "You all wait here. I¡¯ll check myself," he added, flying towards the direction of the bullet.


    The other three Nobles remained near the bullet.


    "The humans really dared to use their toys on us? That too with such a bad aim? That person must have a death wish."


    "Heh, just wait. He¡¯ll be found. Then we¡¯ll have fun with him and his family."


    The three Nobles started talking whileughing, unaware as a strange gas filled their surroundings.


    The red-haired Noblended on the roof where Lucifer and Szar were hiding, only to find no one there.


    Only a bullet was lying on the ground.


    The strange gas has filled this ce too.


    The red-haired Noble picked up the bullet, keeping it in his hands as he looked around.


    At the same time, Lucifer and Szar had moved to a different ce, watching everything.


    "Looks like we won¡¯t need to slow time. It¡¯ll work just like that," Lucifermented, realizing that no Noble was moving. Even the red-haired Noble stood in the range of a different bullet, looking around.


    Soon, one minute passed... Two minutes passed... Five minutes passed...


    Even after five minutes had passed, no noble fell asleep.


    "Ah, I hope you got a warranty on that gun. Because I doubt it works. You should return that," Szar reminded Lucifer, who himself was frustrated.


    Why wasn¡¯t this working? It did work on the humans. Could it be that this gas didn¡¯t work on the nobles?


    "These bullets didn¡¯t work on me either. It seems like they probably have poison resistance too. That would certainly mean that the gun is useless," Lucifer muttered, nodding his head.


    "What next then?" Szar inquired.


    "Next, we¡¯ll get serious. No need to be subtle. Kill them all as we infiltrate the ce. We just need to make sure their bodies aren¡¯t found, so no one could me us," Lucifermented.


    "You think you can take care of those three Nobles at the entrance?" he asked Szar.


    "Do you even need to ask that?" Szar smirked, stretching his arms. "Just leave that to me."


    "That¡¯s good. I¡¯ll take care of the fourth one in the building," Lucifermented, flying towards the building.


    As for Szar, he slowed down time, covering the entire Pce as he started running towards the entrance, bringing out his sharp knives from his pocket.


    Lucifer, at the same time,nded on top of the building, which was free of time restrictions.


    Seeing Lucifernd on the building, the red-haired Noble was surprised.


    "Aren¡¯t you the man from the bar? I thought it was a human who attacked us, but it was you? The leader of the Warlock Council is a weakling, not surprising," the red-haired manughed, amused.


    He was also in the bar when Lucifer had entered that ce in the morning. At night, his duty was at the pce.


    "Why did you show yourself now though? Why no hiding anymore? Did you ept your death already?" He asked.


    "You talk too much," Lucifer answered, shaking his head.


    "And I¡¯ll keep talking, but you won¡¯t be capable of hearing," The red-haired man said, grinning.


    "Queen can¡¯t me me for killing you n- arghhh."


    The man couldn¡¯t even finish speaking as he felt immense pain. His head rolled down, falling off his body.


    His eyes remained open even as he died. He didn¡¯t even know how it happened. All he knew was that suddenly winds started brushing against his skin, and the next thing he knew was that his head was lying on the ground.


    He still couldn¡¯t believe that it had happened. He didn¡¯t even see Lucifer move his hand, after all.


    "As I said, you talk too much," Lucifer repeated, shaking his head. "A Warlock shouldn¡¯t talk this much. But then again, you¡¯re not an exception. I have a feeling that all nobles are too arrogant, not taking anything seriously."


    He stepped towards the Noble. Taking off his gloves, he touched the face of the Noble, letting it decay. Next, he moved over to the body and did the same thing.


    Soon, nothing of the red-haired Noble was left, except for some ashes. Even the ashes soon flew away with the wind, going to the unknown.


    Finished, Lucifer turned around, looking towards the Pce in the distance. There, he could see Szar fighting.

 Chapter 431 - 431: Mess

    <h4>Chapter 431 - 431: Mess </h4>


    Standing on top of a distant building, Lucifer nced towards Szar.


    As he was out of Szar¡¯s range, which was intentionally kept low by him, Lucifer was able to see everything happening at natural speed.


    He could see the Nobles moving extremely slowly while Szar moved normally.


    ....


    "You guys are slightly faster than ordinary humans. Even in my domain, you can move fast," Szarmented, appearing near the first Noble.


    He sliced the neck of the Noble before moving over to the next Noble.. He avoided an extremely slow energy ball that was fired at him.


    As Szar dodged the energy ball, itnded on the Noble he had just killed, blowing up his head.


    He stabbed his golden knife in the chest of the Noble who had attacked, before slicing his neck, he kicked the chest of the Nobles, moving over to the next Noble.


    For Szar, everything was extremely slow, which gave him an immense advantage. On the other hand, everything was extremely fast for the Nobles.


    They were already extremely fast, but their speed seemed like nothing in front of Szar.


    All they saw was a blur. No attacks of theirsnded on Szar, who was like a shadow, moving like lightning.


    Two nobles were already dead, leaving the third alone.


    The third noble was soon killed as Szar appeared behind the third noble, slicing his throat.


    After the four Nobles were killed, Szar removed his domain, smirking.


    "Hmm? What¡¯s that?"


    As he removed his Domain, he noticed something strange. He had sliced the throat of two Nobles, but the wounds were healing now. Only the first Noble wasn¡¯t healing whose head was blown up.


    "This is interesting. They can also heal?" Szar eximed, surprised. "I thought only Lucifer had this ability?"


    As he was observing the two Nobles, one of them opened his eyes.


    The dark-haired Noble stood up. His white robe was already covered in blood as his chest was stabbed. "You shouldn¡¯t have done that."


    "Now you¡¯ll regret it," he added as a blue fire started burning all around his body. The man seemed to have be a being made purely of blue fire.


    The second Noble also stood up. His throat waspletely healed. He also turned into a being of mes. His mes were slightly different though. His mes were ck.


    "Is that a Noble-only power? Why do you have the same power?" Szar asked, intrigued. He couldn¡¯t help but wonder about it.


    "It¡¯s because we¡¯re twins, not because we¡¯re both Nobles," The man with ck mes answered.


    "You don¡¯t have to answer him. Just kill him," the Blue-med being answered.


    A massive wave of blue mes flew towards Szar, intending to burn him.


    Szar again cast his Domain, slowing down everything.


    "This whole thing became a mess. They can heal. But the first guy didn¡¯t heal. Maybe their healing is actually a different healing? If I take their head off, that should be enough to take them out," Szar thought, watching the mes slowlye towards him.


    ...


    Standing on the building, even Lucifer was surprised. Could nobles heal to this extent too? This was something that wasn¡¯t in their record.


    "Their healing is weaker than mine. They can¡¯t regrow limbs, it seems. And if their heads are taken off, they die. Their healing isn¡¯t threatening, but what it implies is certainly worth thinking about."


    "They received the healing from Milena after she turned them. But they would certainly mean that her healing is stronger. Could it be simr to mine?"


    Many questions arose in his head as he watched the battle of Szar.


    He didn¡¯t intervene in the battle though. If he did, he was also going to be affected by the Time Domain. Instead, he left everything on Szar, trusting him.


    Szar avoided the blue mes, running sideways. He wanted to find a weak spot from where he could get close to the enemies without burning to cinders.


    Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t have any openings as ck mes also started spreading out. It was as if a tsunami of fire wasing in every direction.


    Szar tossed the golden knife, aiming at the neck of one of the Nobles, but the de passed through as if the two beings didn¡¯t have any flesh.


    "He¡¯s in pure me form. I¡¯m certainly useless against them like this. I need help," Szar muttered, frowning.


    He knew that he could only wound someone physically, but none of the two had a physical form. At the same time, he could only use his other ability on one of them, but there were two. So it was also useless.


    Frowning, he looked in the direction of Lucifer.


    Lucifer noticed Szar looking for help. It looked like he was defeated


    Without waiting, Lucifer started flying towards Szar.


    Szar kept decreasing the range of his domain slowly so that Lucifer wouldn¡¯t be affected by it.


    Ultimately, Szar fully retracted his domain, keeping it within two-meter range of him, slowing down the mes for as long as he could.


    "You should¡¯ve thought about it twice before attacking. Now you can die and enjoy life in hell since nothing but ashes will be left of you. "The blue-med Noble said, grinning.


    "You have no path of escape. No matter how much you slow or mes, they¡¯re everywhere. They¡¯ll soon get you, and you can¡¯t avoid them. Not even God can help you now." The Dark-med Noble agreed, smiling


    "I don¡¯t need any god to help me. Just one Demon is enough," Szar answered, smiling.


    As soon as he finished, the two Nobles watched Szar fly up, avoiding the mes.


    They looked up, noticing another man in the sky. A man who donned a Dark Cloak was standing in the air, looking down at the two Nobles.


    "They have healing. Be careful," Szar Informed Lucifer, who had just entered.


    "You bastard! You dared to wear a ck Cloak! sphemy! Only our queen can wear that!" The two Nobles became upset, but mostly because of the Cloak of Lucifer. They stopped the me tsunami.


    "I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll be here for too long to worry about my attire," Lucifer responded,nding on the ground before them.


    Szar alsonded behind him. Lucifer gestured for him to leave, and Szar listened, giving enough space to Lucifer.


    In the meantime, he brought the gun again, changing the magazine.


    He fired the gun near the feet of his enemies. As the bulletnded, an energy barrier formed around them, engulfing even Lucifer inside it.


    Only Szar was outside the barrier. It was a barrier that couldn¡¯t be broken from the inside, ording to what he had heard.

 Chapter 432 - 432: Plan Gone Wrong

    <h4>Chapter 432 - 432: n Gone Wrong </h4>


    Even though the sleeping pills had failed, he believed that this wasn¡¯t going to fail. He and the enemies were inside the barrier, and now none of them could leave before time was up. And that time was enough for him to take out the enemies.


    He kept the gun back and took off his gloves.


    "A barrier? Hah, you idiot. You trapped yourself inside with us? Did you really think we¡¯ll be looking to run? You should¡¯ve cast it around yourself. And why are you taking off the gloves? Keep wearing them. It won¡¯t matter when you¡¯re dead anyway," The blue-med Noble said, smiling.


    He didn¡¯t take the barrier seriously.


    Lucifer didn¡¯t respond and kept the gloves in his pocket. At the same time, he also took off the sses and kept them in his pockets..


    After keeping everything in his pockets, he finally nced at the two Nobles.


    "Since I don¡¯t have much time,e together," he told the Nobles as he stepped towards them.


    "Too arrogant!" The blue-med Noble said, raising his hand. He fired another wave of his scorching mes towards Lucifer, who didn¡¯t avoid the fire.


    Instead, he simply made a cross before his face, protecting it. As for the rest, it was handled by his cloak, which not only protected him from the mes but also absorbed energy in the meanwhile.


    The energy orbs inside the cloak started charging as well.


    "N-nothing is happening to him! His cloak should be special! It¡¯s not burning!" The Dark-med Noble reminded his brother.


    "I see that too. It won¡¯tst for long. In any case, I¡¯ll take care of him. Even before the otherse here, this guy would be dead," the Blue-med Noble let out, not taking it seriously.


    Just as he had expected, the Nobles that were guarding other sides of the Pce had also noticed the light from his mes. All the Nobles from the Pce were running towards them.


    Some of them entered the Pce to inform others about the intruders.


    "I guess it¡¯s going to be arge-scale war tonight itself. There goes the ns of taking things lightly," Szar muttered, smiling wryly.


    They wanted to enter silently, but things went south. It was as if they had really messed up this time.


    Lucifer increased his speed, appearing in front of the Blue Haired man, reaching out his hand to grab the neck of the blue-haired man, but he also realized that there was nothing that could be grabbed by him.


    Something was really odd there. It was as if they didn¡¯t have a tangible body now.


    "Now you know how futile your efforts are?" The Blue-med Noble asked,ughing.


    At the same time, he grabbed Lucifer¡¯s neck. "You can¡¯t touch me while I can."


    "Wait, something is wrong. What¡¯s happening?! What are you doing?! Tell me what you are doing! Why is my body growing weak?"


    The man¡¯s arrogance started decreasing as he felt something odd. His body was getting weaker, and so were his mes. It was as if something was absorbing all the strength of his mes, stealing them.


    "You¡¯re doing it!" He eximed, realizing that Lucifer¡¯s hand was still inside his body. He flew back, running away, but Lucifer didn¡¯t leave him.


    Lucifer followed the man, keeping his hand inside the man¡¯s chest. As they were inside the barrier, there was no ce to run to.


    "Get away from me! Leave me this instant!" The blue-med Noble roared, unable to shake off Lucifer no matter what he tried.


    "Let me feast. I¡¯m still not full," Lucifer answered, not letting the man leave. His hand was already no more than a skeleton inside the ming body of the Noble, but he didn¡¯t care.


    "Argh! You bastard! Leave me!"


    The Noble kept screaming, but his voice grew weaker as his body slowly disappeared. Soon, only a speck of light was left of him.


    This time, however, Lucifer didn¡¯t kill the man. Instead, he tested a theory. He grabbed the speck or fire inside his fist and stabbed his fist in his own chest, letting it decay inside his body.


    He wanted to test if his body could do the same trick as it didst time. After destroying the speck of me inside his body, he retracted his hand, letting his chest heal.


    His body absorbed the me. Once again, he felt like his body was being filled with energy as an energetic feeling filled him up.


    He raised his hand, observing it carefully. After a little more focus, he was able to cast the skill as well, creating a ball of blue mes on his hand.


    "Amazing. Just as I expected," Lucifer muttered, smirking. This was the second power he had stolen.


    Since the blue-haired man had turned to mes, this fire was his body, which was the same as what he didst time. He decayed the me body inside his own body. The only difference was that it wasn¡¯t a beast this time.


    Seeing his brother die tragically, the Dark-med Noble started getting concerned for his life. Just as his brother had proven, their mes were useless in front of Lucifer. At the same time, he had something which could kill them even in this form.


    He didn¡¯t want to die like his brother did. He tried to stay away from Lucifer since he knew that if he fought in close range, he¡¯d end up getting caught like his brother. Unfortunately, he was inside the barrier, which had limited space.


    "I need to break this thing!" The Dark-med Noble dered as he started punching the barrier, but it wasn¡¯t something that could be broken from inside.


    It could only be broken from the outside and not from the inside.


    "It won¡¯t break like that," Lucifer told the dark-med noble appearing behind him.


    The Noble turned back to find Lucifer standing before him. He couldn¡¯t even speak before Lucifer¡¯s hand entered his chest. Unlike before, his hand didn¡¯t burn this time though.


    ...


    "Your Majesty, someone has attacked the Royal Pce!"


    "Who dares?"


    "Those guests from the Warlock Council are here. They tried to infiltrate the Pce, but they were discovered, and now they¡¯re fighting against our guards!"


    The news of the Pce being attacked had spread inside. All the Noble Lords woke up from their slumber, running outside. Even Milena was informed about what was happening.


    She donned her ck robe before she left as well.


    ...


    Lucifer finished the ck-med Noble, whose screams went silent as he dropped to the ground.


    Finishing the enemy, Lucifer looked around, shaking his head. He could see hundreds of Nobles surrounding them. Even Szar was standing near him by now.

 Chapter 433 - 433: Arthur

    <h4>Chapter 433 - 433: Arthur </h4>


    Lucifer touched the barrier which was keeping him safe, destroying it instantly.


    He stepped closer to Szar, who was gravely looking at all the enemies before him.


    There were so many Nobles around them, and all of them were strong Warlocks with incredible healing.


    "Are you ready to go all out?" Szar asked Lucifer, smiling.


    "I¡¯ve always been ready," Lucifer replied grimly.


    "I¡¯ll need air support then. You should go up so I could cast my Domain without affecting you," Szar reminded Lucifer, who nodded.


    "You¡¯ll get more than air support," Lucifer let out as he started floating in the air. Dark clouds began covering the dark skies, surrounding the entire Royal Pce, spreading outwards..


    "He¡¯s running away! Stop that bastard!"


    Seeing Lucifer fly up, the Nobles thought that he was running away.


    "I don¡¯t think he can run. Look there! He¡¯s also here! I think he¡¯ll take care of the kid now." Another Noble pointed towards the Royal Pce.


    On top of the Royal Pce, a man was standing, with his arms folded. His dark red eyes were fixated on Lucifer, who was flying up.


    Unlike the others, the man was wearing all red. He wore a red vest, on top of which he was wearing a red coat.


    A silver cross was stabbed in his right ear, being used as an earring. The silver cross matched his short silver hair.


    The man lowered his hand, shaking his head. He took off his red coat before he also started floating in the air.


    The dark clouds that had appeared in the sky started intensifying and roaring as ck lightning shed in the sky.


    The loud roar of the clouds woke up the citizens of the city from their deep sleep.


    Caen stood near his window, looking towards the dark clouds in the distance.


    "Looks like the n didn¡¯t go as he thought it would. This can be a problem," he muttered as he jumped out the window.


    ....


    Lucifer stopped more than a hundred feet above the ground, but he wasn¡¯t alone. A red vested man also stood before him.


    "Daire... Arthur Daire," The silver-haired man softly said.


    "What?" Lucifer asked, confused.


    "My name. I think you should know the name of the man who kills you. It¡¯s only good manners," Arthur said calmly.


    Lucifer didn¡¯t answer, simply shaking his head.


    It was only after his initial disappointment that he replied.


    "Azarel... Lucifer Azarel..."


    Hearing Lucifer reply with the same arrogance, Arthur¡¯s face twitched unwillingly.


    He opened his pale lips to reply, but before he could, a sh of ck lightning fell. The lightning shot towards Arthur, but it wasn¡¯t the only lightning bolt.


    Hundreds of Lightning Bolts came crashing down, some even aiming for the Pce to bring Alicia out.


    As the lightning was about to hit Arthur, he disappeared. In the next moment, he appeared before Lucifer, punching his guts.


    His speed was so fast that it seemed like the mad had simply teleported. Lucifer couldn¡¯t even see the man move.


    The punchnded on him, the power of which was high enough to send Lucifer flying back uncontrobly. He crashed on a distant building, breaking the walls he kept passing through before his body ultimately stopped.


    "Cough, that was unexpected."


    Holding his stomach, Lucifer coughed out a mouthful of blood as he stood up.


    He could feel that some of his ribs were broken, but they were healing.


    Even though Lucifer was out of the picture, the lightning bolts still fell. More than thirty lightning bolts fell on top of the pce, destroying the roof and everything below it.


    The Pce came crashing down, destroyed entirely. The other lightning bolts fell on the nobles, killing the ones that hadn¡¯t managed to dodge.


    Arthur looked around, amused. "That destruction. It¡¯s not bad. He is powerful indeed."


    He was amused at how many of their men were killed by Lucifer at once. More than fifty Nobles were dead at the same time their pce was destroyed.


    He wasn¡¯t concerned about Milena, who was still inside the Pce with other Nobles Lords since he knew they could protect themselves from it.


    Just as he expected, an explosion took ce as all the rubble of the Pce flew away, revealing a group of Nobles. Milena was standing in front of the group. A powerful aura wasing from her as a red mist formed around her.


    Behind Milena stood the white-haired man who was also standing behind her in the Royal Court. Despite not being a noble, hemanded high respect in the Empire because he was considered the right hand man of Milena.


    As for why he was so dear to Milena, even the Noble Lords didn¡¯t know about this. All they knew was that he was special. They also couldn¡¯t understand why Milena didn¡¯t make that man a Noble.


    Milena was really angered at what had happened. Not only did some Warlock Council pests decide to attack them, they even destroyed their Pce. This was the limit to her patience.


    ¡¯She seems upset. I can¡¯t me her for that. It was her decision to let these people live here. I would be upset too if I were in her ce,¡¯ Arthur thought, looking at Milena, who was looking angry.


    ¡¯I wonder if she¡¯ll send Sirius to take care of this mess or send someone else,¡¯ he thought, ncing at the white-haired man behind Milena, known as Sirius.


    Milena looked around, noticing Szar fighting her man. For some strange reason, she could feel that something was odd.


    Szar was fighting against her nobles, who were moving extremely slowly, unable to do anything.


    Frowning, she started walking towards Szar himself.


    "Hmm? Is she going herself? It looks like this guy is going to die. Well, at least he knows the name of her. He can die in peace, knowing the name of his murderer," Arthur thought, watching Milena walking towards Szar.


    The red mist around Milena kept getting intense as she approached Szar.


    ...


    Dancing with the winds, Szar kept killing the nobles while avoiding all the attacks that wereing to him.


    This time he was more careful as he didn¡¯t want them toe back again. He kept taking their heads off.


    The fact that everything inside his domain was slow helped him immensely. What helped him even more, was the fact that Lucifer took out quite a lot of them with his lightning.


    He was curious as to why the attacks of lightning stopped suddenly. He looked up, surprised to see that Lucifer wasn¡¯t there.


    Instead, it was a red-vested man who simply smirked.

 Chapter 434 - 434: Salazar Against Milena

    <h4>Chapter 434 - 434: Szar Against Milena </h4>


    The man pointed in a different direction from where Milena wasing.


    Szar avoided another attack that was just about to hit his chest before taking out the Noble who had attacked.


    After getting some breathing room, he looked in the direction where the man pointed, wondering if Lucifer was there.


    As Szar looked in the direction, he noticed Milenaing towards him.


    Seeing Milena shocked Szar but for different reasons. She was surrounded by a red mist, but that wasn¡¯t what surprised him. What shocked him were the wings on her back.


    The Wings were simr to the wings of a bat, but they were bigger.


    "Just how many things do these people hide?" He muttered, frowning before going down on his knees, avoiding another attack that was close to him..


    He threw his know towards another Noble. The Golden knife stabbed the forehead of another Noble.


    He instantly woke up and appeared before the Noble, who was slowly raising his hand to take that knife off. The Noble was so slow because of the Domain that he couldn¡¯t even touch the knife by the time Szar reached him.


    Szar removed the knife and stabbed it in the throat of the man while casually walking behind him to slice his entire throat.


    Using some force, he grabbed the bones that were in the neck of the Noble before tearing them off, along with his head. He tossed the head aside.


    Many more attacks came in his direction, only to hit the body of the Noble that was just killed. The body was used by Szar as a shield.


    There were no attacks after that as all the attacks stopped. Szar looked around, curious. He couldn¡¯t help but wonder why the attacks were stopped. It was onlyter that he understood why it was.


    All the Nobles started stepping back, watching their Queene towards them.


    "Uh, I get it. You want to give Mama bear some space to fight. I won¡¯t mind," Szar smirked, tossing the body aside.


    With a knife in each hand, he looked towards Milena, who was entering his Domain. Since she was a single target, he believed that it was the best chance to use his ability.


    By killing Milena, not only could he destroy the morale of the entire army, but he could also take out a powerful enemy. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity as no one was going to intervene in their battle this time.


    All he needed was to use his Mental Cage to keep Milena lost in dreams while he used that time to take Milena out.


    He stared into the eyes of Milena, attracting her attention.


    "Greetings, Queen Milena. Today is a good day for you to die, isn¡¯t it?" He asked, smiling.


    For his ability to work, not only did he need to stare in the eyes of the enemy, but the enemy also needed to look in his eyes, at least until the skill took effect. It didn¡¯t matter if he looked deep into their eyes or not after the mental cage was cast.


    Just as he expected, his taunt worked as Milena looked up.


    "You¡¯re right. It¡¯s a good day for someone to die. But even your death can¡¯t atone for what you did today. Unfortunately, that¡¯s the best I can offer to you," Milena replied, looking into Szar¡¯s eyes.


    The red mist around her became even more intense.


    Szar cast her Mental Cage at the same time as Milena looked at him, but it didn¡¯t stop her. It simply gave Milena a minor headache as she rubbed her forehead a little.


    "Mental tricks? Even those can¡¯t save you," Milena reminded Szar.


    Szar¡¯s lips opened slightly as his brows furrowed. It was the first time that his Mental Cage didn¡¯t work on someone.


    Was it because Milena had resistance, or was it because of her strength? He didn¡¯t know what it was, but he knew he couldn¡¯t wait for answers.


    He cast his domain once again that he had retracted momentarily so he could cast his other skill when Milena was looking at him.


    The Time Domain was once again cast as he started running towards Milena, but this time something strange happened. Milena didn¡¯t slow down. Instead, she was only faster.


    Her feet weren¡¯t on the ground as she floated a few inches above the ground while shooting towards Szar. Instead of bing slow, he was much faster as she appeared before Szar, grabbing his neck before he could even dodge.


    The way everything unfolded made Szar wonder if Milena was inside the Domain or him.


    He attacked with his knives to take off Milena¡¯s hands, but before his des could even touch her, Milena crushed the neck of Szar.


    ....


    Lucifer flew out of the building, his bodypletely healed by now. He straight looked in the direction of Arthur, who attacked him previously, only to notice him looking in a different direction.


    Instead ofing after Lucifer for another attack, he shifted his attention which made Lucifer intrigued. He also looked in that direction only to notice Szar in the grasp of Milena.


    Before he could even move, he saw Milena crushing the neck of Szar, killing him.


    There was a small part of Lucifer which was slightly upset that Szar was killed, but there was another part that knew that Milena was going to use Szar against him.


    Seeing her crush his neck, he believed it was because she was going to turn him into a Noble.


    He prepared to activate the Limiter of Szar if he was turned, but that didn¡¯t happen.


    Instead, Milena kept grabbing the neck of Szar before shepletely tore off his head, along with his spinal cord.


    A gruesome scene took ce before Lucifer as Szar was killed brutally.


    Milena tossed Szar aside before she shifted her attention to Lucifer.


    Her gaze made everyone else look towards Lucifer as well.


    "Hmm? He¡¯s still alive too? Even after that attack? That¡¯s intriguing," Arthur muttered, rubbing his chin.


    "It looks like I still underestimated him. But he¡¯s still an idiot. He should have run away when he had a chance. Now he¡¯s going to die an even worse death," he let out, shaking his head.


    Milena didn¡¯t fly to Lucifer though. Instead, she looked back, her gaze falling on the white-haired man known as Serius.


    Serius stepped towards Milena, stopping beside her. He whispered something in Milena¡¯s ears.


    Milena didn¡¯t react much as she began flying towards Lucifer. Serius walked back to everyone else who was wondering what he said to Milena.

 Chapter 435 - 435: Selection

    <h4>Chapter 435 - 435: Selection </h4>


    "I allowed you permission to live in mynd, and that¡¯s what you do?!" Standing before Lucifer, Milena asked, enraged. The red mist around her was even more intense.


    "You did kill a friend of mine. Shouldn¡¯t I be the upset one?" Lucifer asked, frowning.


    "You! You attacked my Pce and my people first! And now you¡¯ll pay for it with your blood!"


    "I love my blood a little too much, so I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be doing that anytime soon," Lucifer answered calmly as electricity started crackling around his arms. At the same time, the sky thundered as a powerful ck bolt fell towards Milena.


    Milena¡¯s figure flickered as she appeared in another spot as if she teleported.


    Lucifer grew surprised at this teleportation. Wasn¡¯t it simr to what Arthur used? He knew that Nobles didn¡¯t have this ability. If they did, so many of them wouldn¡¯t have died.. So it was certainly a Warlock ability.


    He was mostly sure that it was the Warlock ability of Arthur. Then why did Milena possess it? He was already surprised because of her wings which were simr to the wings of one of the Nobles he saw in the bar in the morning and now this.


    So far, he had already seen two Warlock abilities on Milena, which were simr to the Nobles she turned.


    "You possess the abilities of the Nobles you turn, aren¡¯t I right?" Lucifer asked, frowning.


    Milena didn¡¯t ept, nor did she deny. Even though she said nothing, her silence contained all the answers that Lucifer nodded.


    "Interesting. That¡¯s a very interesting ability. Much better than the way I do it," Lucifermented, getting his answer.


    ¡¯I want to steal her powers, but can I? She¡¯s more powerful than I thought. She possesses the powers of hundreds of Nobles that she turned. We only knew the tip of the Iceberg so far.¡¯ he thought, wondering if he should kill her instantly or capture her, using the Limiter which was in the hands of Szar.


    With the Limiter, he believed he could keep Milena in check as he killed the other Nobles. Then, he couldter test to see if he could steal her powers too, but that was also a problem. There was no way Milena was going to let him get to that.


    He took a deep breath, sighing. Even though he had faith in himself, he didn¡¯t want to take this unnecessary risk since even after getting the bracelet; it wasn¡¯t easy for him to ce the bracelet on Milena¡¯s wrist.


    She wasn¡¯t going to let him get closer without killing him.


    "Can you give me one minute?" He asked Milena.


    "You want to pray to your gods before death?" Milena asked, frowning. "Fine. Take thest minute of your life. The next minute, you¡¯ll be dead."


    Instead of praying like Milena thought he would, Lucifer looked at Arthur in the distance.


    ...


    Arthur expected Milena to kill Lucifer instantly, but he was slightly surprised that Milena even bothered to talk with Lucifer.


    He knew that Lucifer¡¯s death was still inevitable since he destroyed the Pce, which actually used to belong to Milena¡¯s father, who was dead now.


    It was the house where she grew up. It contained all her childhood memories which were why it was precious to her. It was more than just a building that was taken by the enemies.


    Arthur knew that it was only a matter of time before Lucifer died.


    Soon, he saw Lucifer ncing in his direction.


    He grew curious as to why Lucifer was looking at him when he saw Lucifer raise his hand slowly.


    Believing that Lucifer was about to attack, he braced himself.


    Not only him, but all the other Nobles were thinking that he was going to attack Arthur. Even Milena thought the same, but she didn¡¯t stop him.


    She wanted to see what Lucifer was nning. In any case, she knew Arthur could protect himself with his teleportation.


    Everyone was expecting an attack from Lucifer, but there was no attack.


    Instead, Lucifer simply raised two fingers as he called out. "Arthur, pick one finger!"


    "Huh? What?"


    "What?"


    "Is he ying a game at this time? What the hell is he doing?"


    "Why would he ask him to pick a finger?"


    Not only Arthur but all the other Warlocks were confused because of Lucifer¡¯s actions.


    Even Serius was frowning, observing Lucifer.


    "Ah, I get it! I know why he did that! He¡¯s pretty clever!" one Noble suddenly eximed out loud as if he had cracked the mystery.


    The other Nobles looked in the direction of Noble, who looked a little chubby.


    "Why? Tell us too!"


    "That¡¯s right! Share with us too! Why is he doing that?!"


    "We want to know too!"


    The other nobles also started asking the chubby Noble about the reason since they were sure Lucifer wasn¡¯t going to tell them.


    Serius and the other Noble Lords also started listening in carefully while keeping their eyes on the sky.


    The chubby man puffed out his chest as he proudly smiled.


    "I had to think a lot about it, but now I know the answer. Only a clever Noble like me could have uncovered this mystery. Are you all ready to hear?" he asked.


    "Since drag! Just tell us already!" One of the Noble Lords yelled.


    Being scolded by a Noble Lord, the chubby man started sweating.


    "Ah, right. So here¡¯s the answer. Lord Arthur was the first one who attacked him. I believe he simply wants to show him the middle finger before he dies, and he wanted to take Lord Arthur¡¯s help in that," he exined.


    "If Lord Arthur chose the first finger, that man will lower his first finger, leaving only the middle finger up, showing it to Lord Arthur. If Lord Arthur chose the middle finger, he¡¯d probably say that Lord Arthur made the right choice since he deserves the middle finger," he further added, smiling.


    The Noble Lords started coughing, unable to believe that the enemy could have such childish reasons for doing something like that right before his death.


    If he really wanted to mess with Arthur, he could simply have attacked him. Most Noble Lords understood that whatever the chubby man said was simply not true.


    The other nobles also started cursing the chubby man for thinking of something so childish while thinking that he was a genius.


    Everyone looked up, wondering what the real reason was.


    "What are you thinking about, Arthur? Are you scared?" Lucifer asked, amused.


    "Nonsense. Why would I be scared," Arthur let out, rolling his eyes.


    "Then pick one," Lucifer insisted.

 Chapter 436 - 436: Old Lucifer

    <h4>Chapter 436 - 436: Old Lucifer </h4>


    "Pick one," Even Milenamanded Arthur to pick one, curious what Lucifer had nned.


    No one realized that Lucifer actually had two ns in his head, and he simply wanted to leave the selection to luck at this moment.


    He had ced one choice on the middle finger selection while the other was on the index finger selection.


    "Fine. I select the index finger," Arthur let out, making a choice. He remained alert in case there was a surprise attack, but no attack came.


    "That one, huh. I was also tilting more towards that one. So be it," Lucifer muttered, lowering his hand.


    ording to Lucifer, if Arthur had chosen the middle finger, that would have implied that he needed to show a middle finger to all the concerns and go towards the path of stealing Milena¡¯s powers..


    As for the Index Finger, it was the choice of selection of him going for the kill and not leaving Milena alive.


    "Your friend made a choice. It looks like I¡¯ll have to get serious," Lucifer told Milena as winds started flowing.


    Gentle winds started brushing against the fair skin of Milena, hiding the wind de in them, which was also flying towards her.


    The wind de soon hit her neck, only to bepletely ineffective. It couldn¡¯t even leave a scratch on her neck, surprising Lucifer.


    What was her body made of? It looked ordinary, but even a sharp wind de failed to slice her next.


    "That was your trick? I¡¯m disappointed," Milena replied, teleporting behind Lucifer.


    She grabbed him by the neck, tossing him away while firing a me ball towards Lucifer


    Lucifer was tossed towards the same building where he hade out from, but this time, he managed to bnce himself mid-air, right before he could crash on the wall.


    At the same time, he saw a ball of fireing towards him. Instead of avoiding the ball of mes, he raised his right hand, absorbing the me directly in his body.


    He had stolen the power of a me Warlock, which gave him the ability to absorb mes without being hurt. Moreover, the fire Milena used to attack were the same ones that she had received from the Warlock that Lucifer killed. She used the same blue mes.


    Unfortunately, that wasn¡¯t the extent of the attack as Milena once again appeared behind Lucifer, but this time Lucifer seemed prepared. He knew where she was going to appear. Sharp ws had already extended from his left hand.


    As soon as he saw Milena disappear from before him, he turned around without thinking twice.


    As it happened, Milena happened to appear behind Lucifer, just as he expected. His ws stabbed in the stomach of Milena.


    "Hmmm? He injured her?"


    "He injured the queen?"


    "How did he do that? No one has managed to injure Her Majesty!"


    The Nobles were stunned at the sight of Milena, unable to believe what had happened.


    Only Ordinary nobles were stunned, though. The Noble Lords didn¡¯t seem shocked. This much was nothing for Milena.


    Milena grabbed the ws of Lucifer, breaking them while kicking him.


    Lucifer felt the extreme pain of his ws being broken as he flew back, but his mission was done. He had left a parasite inside Milena. All he needed was to wait for the Parasite to take control.


    "Huh?"


    As soon as he bnced himself in the air, his lips opened slightly as he saw Milena stab her hand in her stomach. She pulled out the Parasite from her body, right before his eyes.


    "Anything else?" Milena asked, raising her hand, which contained the parasite. She crushed it right before his eyes.


    She did the same thing which Lucifer had done when he was affected by the Parasite. The only difference was that he killed the parasite inside his body while Milena did that outside since she didn¡¯t have the Decay.


    The hole in her stomach started healing right before Lucifer¡¯s eyes,


    Seeing her healing, Lucifer shook his head. He remembered what he had told Uzuki before. This trick would only work on someone who can heal his body. And that¡¯s exactly what happened. Milena crushed the parasite while also healing her body.


    Lucifer started scratching the back of his head. "Do I really need to turn into my ten-year-old self? No n is anything. Simple battle to the death? All ns seem to fail. I can only tear her to shreds," he thought, frowning.


    "If that¡¯s what¡¯s needed, then alright. I¡¯ll show her the Lucifer that didn¡¯t appear in thest eight years," he muttered, taking a deep breath.


    He nced towards the sky, which started thundering as if showing support for his decision.


    "Did you already ept defeat?" Milena asked Lucifer.


    "I can ept death, but unfortunately for you, death doesn¡¯t ept me."


    Lucifer¡¯s answer made Arthurugh in the background.


    "Kid, where did you learn all these cringy dialogues from?" Arthur asked,ughing.


    Lucifer didn¡¯t react. Instead, he started stretching his arms, standing mid-air. He started letting the killing urges take over momentarily.


    These urges were the same that he first started experiencing a few days after he wore the pendant ne that he found on the beach, left by his parents.


    His first serious experience with it was inside the restaurant where he had killed the restaurant owner in his anger because of a kid.


    Since then, he had been keeping these urges a secret while trying to understand what these were. Unfortunately, he couldn¡¯t understand these so far.


    His urges were like an untamed beast that wanted to destroy everything in his surroundings, and he wanted to let that beast free.


    The strange tattoo on Lucifer¡¯s back started shining, getting even brighter. It was now so radiant that some of the light was seeping through his cloak too.


    His left eyes also started getting even more violet as the electricity around him intensified.


    Previously, the lighting only flickered around his hand, but now it was even flickering all around his body, only getting more intense.


    More and more lightning started cracking around Lucifer, forming what seemed like an Armor around his body.


    Milena didn¡¯t attack Lucifer, letting him do what she wanted. She didn¡¯t want to defend him when he was weak. Instead, she wanted to crush him when he was at his strongest, showing him what true devastation meant.


    She simply stood in the distance, waiting for Lucifer to attack because his next attack was going to be the end of this battle. She wasn¡¯t going to give him any more chances or breaks.


    With his emotionless eyes, Lucifer nced at Milena. Winds intensified, and so did light, breaking the silence before the terrifying storm.

 Chapter 437 - 437: Arrogance

    <h4>Chapter 437 - 437: Arrogance </h4>


    While the people who imed to be from the Warlock Council were going through a battle in thend of the Nobles, the real Warlock Council Envoys hadnded in Elisium.


    The Warlock Council nended in the Capital City of Elisium. It wasn¡¯t alone though. Many military nesnded nearby that had escorted the ne safely here.


    The doors of the private ne opened as twodies stepped out. One of thedies happened to be Jenilia, who was an intern at the Warlock Council.


    On the other hand, the other person was Jia, who was a Warlock Council Elder.


    Stepping out of the ne, thedies noticed a well-suited man waiting for them. The handsome-looking man was dressed in a ck suit and ck pants as if he was a businessman.


    He approached the twodies of the Warlock Council calmly..


    "Greetings to the Warlock Council Envoys. I am Das, the Uprising Envoy who was sent here to wee you." The well-dressed man informed Jia and Jenilia.


    "Hmm? You were sent here? I thought your leader woulde here personally?" Jia asked, amused.


    Was the Uprising trying to lower their prestige by sending a low-level member to wee them?


    "I apologize, but he doesn¡¯t have time for such minor things. He has many more important things to attend to," Das replied, following Lucifer¡¯smands.


    He was following the order of treating the Warlock Council like an organization that was at best on the same level as theirs.


    "Are you implying that the Warlock Council isn¡¯t worth his attention? We¡¯re not as important as the things he does?" Jia asked, feeling slighted.


    "You have a very big tongue, young man. Even when APF and Hunter Union existed in thend, they didn¡¯t dare to talk to us like that," she added, frowning.


    "It¡¯s not only my tongue which is big. You should find some time; I¡¯d love to show you other big things," Das answered, smiling.


    "You!" Jia understood what he was implying, making her face turn red. It was unclear if her face turned red from anger or something else.


    "Anyway, please don¡¯tpare us to APF and Hunter Union. If they were really that special, they would still exist today. Unfortunately, they weren¡¯t on our level," Das continued, changing the topic.


    "So we can certainly dare more than they did. As for how much more, I hope you won¡¯t need to see that," he added, smiling. "Please follow me. I¡¯ll take you to the higher ups."


    He gestured for Jia to follow him as he walked towards a nearby helicopter.


    "Well, they¡¯re certainly more courageous now, it seems. Uprising existed even before, but they weren¡¯t as vicious and courageous then. It looks like new leadership gave them even more courage than we expected," Jia let out, following Das.


    Jenilia also walked behind her.


    "With their arrogance, they are certainly ones who could have killed my brother without being concerned. I feel it inside my heart. They were certainly involved," Jeniliamented, unaware that the man she was following was certainly the one who had killed her brother.


    She was trying to find the killers of her brother, not knowing that he was right in front of her eyes.


    She and Jia entered the ck helicopter behind Das, which started rising in the air.


    After a short trip, the helicopternded on top of the new Uprising headquarters.


    Jia and Jenilia were escorted inside the building to Kellian¡¯s office.


    Knock! Knock!


    Das knocked on the door.


    "Come in," A man¡¯s voice came from inside the room.


    Opening the door, Das stepped inside with Jia and Jenilia.


    The twodies were expecting to meet the leader of the Uprising at least now, but even now, they found someone else, which made them disappointed.


    "You¡¯re not the new Uprising leader, are you?" Jia asked.


    "I¡¯m the Vice-Captain of Uprising and the acting head, Kellian. Please take a seat," Kellian said calmly, not even standing up to wee them.


    "Hmm, the Uprising has really grown arrogant. Your leader didn¡¯te to wee us at the airport. And even now, he doesn¡¯t meet us. I wonder how you got so courageous so suddenly," Jia asked, sitting before Kellian. Jenilia also took a seat.


    Only Das remained standing, folding his arms.


    "Hmm? Why should our leader wee you? You¡¯re not our bosses, are you? And if it¡¯s about respect, you aren¡¯t a leader in the Warlock Council. If your leader wasing, it might have been proper courtesy to wee him but not you. I don¡¯t think you can me us for that," Kellian calmly answered.


    "Anyway, the leader is busy. If you need anything, you can talk to me. And if you don¡¯t want to talk to me, then you can leave. That¡¯s all I can do," he added.


    "Alright. I¡¯ll talk with you then. Why did you attack our ne? You know, that¡¯s a valid reason for us to attack Elisium, right? You can be arrogant now, but before the army of the Warlock Council, you¡¯re nothing. Do you understand?" Jia asked, observing the expressions of Kellian.


    As she offered a threat to him, she expected him to at least worry a little, but no such expressions appeared on his face.


    It was as if he wasn¡¯t worried about something like that at all, which was very odd.


    "You can certainly tell a great joke, youngdy. But how could we attack your ne? Didn¡¯t yound safely here? You wouldn¡¯t be alive if we had attacked you," Kellian answered.


    "Don¡¯t act smart. I¡¯m talking about our other ne, which was toe before this one. But it was blown up mid-way. A Council Elder died in the st. As I said, that¡¯s enough of a reason for us to attack you."


    "Hmm? I don¡¯t remember getting any information about any other Warlock Council neing here. In fact, even the information about your ne¡¯s arrival was given to be by the Warlock Council an hour beforending," Kellian replied, acting ignorantly.


    " Without any information, how could we attack your ne? In any case, I don¡¯t remember the news about any ne explosion in Elisium. Are you sure it happened here?" he asked.


    "It happened in another Nation," Jia replied.


    "Let me get this straight then. A ne of the Warlock Council is blown up in a random nation, and we have no information about the arrival of that ce, and you want to me Elisium for that?" Kellian asked, rolling his eyes.


    "Is the Warlock Council really that stupid? Or do they think that we at Elisium are stupid?" he further inquired.

 Chapter 438 - 438: Odd Noble

    <h4>Chapter 438 - 438: Odd Noble </h4>


    The seed of conflict had already started taking shape between the Warlock Council and Uprising, having the potential to destroy many lives in its path. Still, neither the Uprising nor the Warlock Council cared for the consequences.


    The Warlock Council was confident in its strength. They believed they could take out any nation, especially a weak nation like Elisium, which was further weakened by thest war.


    On the other hand, Uprising was also at the height of their confidence, not caring about who stood before them. It didn¡¯t matter if the Warlock Council came against them since they had faith that they could take on the Warlock Council with the support of Lucifer.


    Far away from the new conflict which was taking shape, Lucifer found himself caught in a different conflict of his own, which was much more severe..


    Szar was killed, and now he was facing Milena, surrounded by all the Noble Lords who haven¡¯t involved themselves in the conflict since Milena took the lead herself.


    Lucifer found himself trapped in the enemy territory alone, facing an enemy who possessed hundreds of powerful abilities that she absorbed from the Warlocks she turned.


    Despite all the odds being against him, Lucifer didn¡¯t back off. He knew he could escape if he wanted to, but he didn¡¯t. He didn¡¯t desire to run in the face of adversities.


    Instead, he decided to give it his all. He decided to go all out.


    A pitch-ck lightning armor formed on his chest and shoulder. A ck lightning gauntlet also appeared on his hands.


    Under all the lifting, the ck cloak was providing him additional defense.


    "Lightning armor, huh. That¡¯s a cool ability. I wonder why he didn¡¯t use it before," standing in the back, Arthurmented. He still hadn¡¯t understood why Lucifer made him choose a finger. Instead, he was more curious about what was happening.


    A sh of lightning was left in the wake of Lucifer as he finally moved, appearing near Milena instantly, before she could even blink her eyes.


    Milena teleported again, watching Lucifer¡¯s wsing towards her neck. She appeared ten meters away from him, only to grow shocked as she saw a powerful lightning bolt fall from the sky in her direction.


    Even though she was behind Lucifer, the lighting bolt fell from the sky as if Lucifer had eyes in the back as well.


    That wasn¡¯t the only bolt though, as many more fell all around the city, not just near Lucifer, but all over the city.


    ...


    In a bar inside the Royal City, some nobles were drinking blood from humans, enjoying their free time when a lightning bolt fell on top of the building, bringing it crashing down.


    So far, it was only lightning without any rain, but even rain arrived soon enough, showering the entire city with its cold droplets.


    Boom!


    An explosion took ce in the city as the lightning bolt fell on the energy station, which provided electricity to the entire city.


    The night itself was dark, but the destruction of the power station brought power cuts, turning all the lights of the houses off. The entire city was covered in a veil of darkness as if nothing existed here.


    The civilians were scared to step out of the houses, seeing the lightning fall outside, but they were also afraid to stay inside the house since lightning could fall on their homes too. They just kept praying to God that the lightning wouldn¡¯t fall on their houses.


    In the drenching rain, Caen walked towards the Royal Pce, changing his looks. Instead of looking like the winged Warlock Council leader, he now looked like a civilian of the Royal City. He wanted to see what was happening with the n.


    Fortunately, he had only walked for over ten minutes outside the Pce when he saw a lightning bolt fall on top of the ce where he was staying.


    Seeing the pce being attacked by the lightning, Caen sighed a breath of relief, realizing how close he was to Death. If he hadn¡¯t left the Pce, he would have died inside.


    "Heath should be dead too. Now we don¡¯t have any pilots, it seems. Hopefully, things aren¡¯t as bad as I imagine them to be," Caen muttered, stepping closer to the Royal Pce.


    His long robe brushed against the puddles of water as he walked through the streets that had started being covered in water slowly.


    "Hey, you! Where are you going! The pce is under attack along with the entire city! It¡¯s not safe to walk out of the house. Stay inside!"


    "Who?" Caen asked, looking around as he heard a man¡¯s voice.


    Looking around, he soon found who had spoken. It was a young man who was standing inside his house. He was talking to Caen through the window, suggesting that he go back and not put his life at risk.


    Caen opened his lips to respond when he saw lightning sh before his eyes. A lightning bolt fell on top of the house, destroying the entire building, bringing it down.


    Caen scratched the back of his head, shaking his head. "As if staying inside is any safer."


    ...


    As the lightning fall intensified, even the Nobles near the battle of Lucifer started getting concerned as they dodged the lightning.


    Instead of worrying about the battle, they were worried about the lightning falling on them. Most of them kept their focus on the sky instead of the Battle to protect themselves.


    As the lightning fell, some dodged it, while others cast their barriers to protect themselves. Unfortunately, no barrier was able to stop the lightning.


    The ones who dodged the attack survived, while the ones that opted for the barrier protection were caught by the lightning, which killed them instantly.


    Just like that, thirty more Nobles had died in one minute.


    "Don¡¯t use barriers! That lightning is strong! Just keep dodging!" Arthur reminded the Nobles, who seemed to be helpless.


    Only the Noble Lords were safer as they avoided the lightning safely.


    There was only one person who hadn¡¯t moved at all amongst all the nobles. It was Sirius who stood with his arms folded, not concerned about lightning falling on him. Instead, his focus remained on the battle of Milena against Lucifer.


    So far, no lightning had fallen on him either.


    Arthur also observed this odd phenomenon. Why wasn¡¯t any Lightning falling on Sirius? He was always curious about the identity of Sirius and what was so special about him.


    So far, no one even knew the abilities of Sirius, but he did seem impressive with the way he handled himself.

 Chapter 439 - 439: Caught

    <h4>Chapter 439 - 439: Caught </h4>


    "Why isn¡¯t any bolt falling on him?" Arthur asked, frowning. However, just as he said it, a bolt did call on Sirius.


    Sirius didn¡¯t take his eyes off the battle of Milena. He didn¡¯t try to avoid that bolt either. Instead, he simply raised his hand, casting a blue barrier around him.


    So far, no barrier had seeded in stopping a lightning bolt. Even the energy barriers of Noble Lords had failed. Arthur believed Sirius would fail too. And he would die, but that didn¡¯t happen.


    "Hmm?"


    The lightning bolt fell on Sirius¡¯s barrier, but it wasn¡¯t able to break it. This was the first time Arthur saw the lightning fail to break a barrier..


    "His Barrier... Is powerful. Even more powerful than mine. Very interesting," Arthur muttered, smirking.


    Sirius finally took off his eyes from the battle and looked in a different direction. He straight looked at Arthur, who was observing him. After taking a subtle nce, he focused back on the battle.


    The battle between Milena and Lucifer was only intensifying in the sky as the figure of both of them kept flickering all around the city, fighting.


    Milena¡¯s teleportation was creating the most problem for Lucifer though. No matter how many times he got close to her, she teleported away as if she was toying with him.


    He didn¡¯t let her escape though. Lightning kept calling everywhere, where she appeared, not giving her the room to breathe either.


    It was odd for all the Noble Lords to watch though. Why wasn¡¯t Milena attacking? Why was she only dodging? Was she trying to mess with Lucifer before finishing him off?


    Caen reached the battleground and also noticed Lucifer in the sky, fighting against Milena. Instead of a fight, it seemed more like a chase where Milena was running away, and Lucifer was chasing n


    "Wind, ws, and lighting. It seems like you only have these three powers. If there¡¯s anything else, show me," Milena told Lucifer, appearing behind him.


    "If that¡¯s all, I think I can finish you now. I thought you¡¯d have some unique ability that might force me to make you a Noble to get your abilities, but you¡¯re not anything special. I¡¯m disappointed," she soon added, sighing.


    She raised both her hands, creating thousands of Clones of her, all around Lucifer. All the Clones surrounded him, and they all attacked at the same time, but only one of the attacks was real. Most others were illusions.


    As for which attack was real, it was impossible to guess.


    Lucifer shot towards the sky, dodging all the attacks. He gave up on the ordinary forms of battle, deciding to use the skill that Raia had told him about. Raia warned him not to use that skill until he had really mastered it, but he didn¡¯t care at this point.


    Then again, before he could do anything, Milena again teleported behind him, stabbing her right hand in the back of Lucifer¡¯s chest. Her right hand had changed into sharp ws, which easily prated the back of Lucifer, shredding through his letting Armor while also tearing his cloak.


    Milena grabbed the heart of Lucifer from the back, but before she could pull out, Lucifer also stabbed his own chest. He grabbed the hand of Milena which was holding his heart


    A chain was made inside Lucifer¡¯s body. His hand from the front led to his heart, and Milena¡¯s hands led to his heart from the back, finishing the chain.


    Lucifer¡¯s decay started taking effect as he grabbed the hand of Milena.


    "Huh?" Milena¡¯s face turned pale as she felt a pain like never before.


    She couldn¡¯t understand why she was feeling this path. She had all the abilities of her Nobles, and one such ability was pain resistance.


    She also had abilities rted to strong body defense, which was why she wasn¡¯t affected by wind des, but for some reason, she was feeling pain. And it wasn¡¯t any ordinary pain. It was as if her body was breaking apart, slowly, from inside out.


    She started growing older as her skin started decaying slowly. She tried to teleport away to save her, realizing that it was because Lucifer had touched her.


    She understood it was because of his touch. It was some ability of his which she didn¡¯t know about. Something he kept a secret so far, probably waiting for her to get close.


    Despite her attempts to teleport away, she wasn¡¯t seeding. She couldn¡¯t teleport back, no matter how much she tried.


    Something was blocking her abilities. It was as if she couldn¡¯t teleport because her body was constantly changing form because of Decay.


    "Free my hand before I crush your heart!" Milena warned Lucifer.


    "Go ahead," Lucifer said grimly, without looking back.


    "You!" Milena clenched her fish, crushing Lucifer¡¯s heart, but his healing kept him going. He still held her hand with full strength, not letting her be free.


    The decay got even worse for Milena, who started struggling to keep her mouth closed. She wanted to scream in pain, but her dignity didn¡¯t allow her.


    "Free me now!" Milena yelled again, not getting any response. She could use her other abilities but not her Teleportation, which was what she needed to free herself if she didn¡¯t want to cut her hand.


    For some reason, she decided against cutting her arm, which was grabbed by Lucifer since she had healed, but she couldn¡¯t regrow limbs.


    That¡¯s why Nobles died when their head was decapitated. They could heal wounds, broken bones, and other things, but they couldn¡¯t regrow limbs or head, unlike Lucifer.


    She didn¡¯t want to live the rest of her life without her arms.


    "Fine. Let¡¯s see how you survive after this!" She dered, raising her other hand.


    A long knife made of blue energy appeared in her free hand, which she swung towards Lucifer¡¯s throat to take his head off.


    Even if he could go on despite his heart being crushed, he couldn¡¯t survive if his head was chopped off, she believed.


    She swung her free hand towards Lucifer¡¯s neck, but before it could go too far, a lightning bolt fell from the sky, hitting the hand which held the knife.


    "Arghhh!" Finally, a scream left Milena¡¯s lips as her hand was cut because of lightning. Her hand started falling down, soonnding on the ground right in front of Caen.


    One of Milena¡¯s hands was chopped, while her other hand was grabbed by Lucifer. It didn¡¯t seem like she had any way out of the situation, especially without her hands in this situation, but that didn¡¯t stop her.


    Despite being in such a bad situation, she controlled her pain, deciding to use other methods.


    She started flying ahead, pushing Lucifer, who was holding her hand.

 Chapter 440 - 440: Taken Out

    <h4>Chapter 440 - 440: Taken Out </h4>


    Milena pushed ahead, forcing Lucifer as well.


    The two of them were towards a nearby building, looking like Milena was going to smash Lucifer on the building.


    Unfortunately for her, Lucifer also used his wind, stopping just a few inches away from the wall. He turned his body around, making sure that Milena¡¯s back faced the building before he pushed back.


    The walls of the building broke as Milena¡¯s back smashed the walls. The two of them entered the building, but they didn¡¯t stop there.


    Instead, Lucifer continued pushing back, breaking even more walls while using Milena as a shield. At the same time, he continued holding Milena¡¯s hand, which was inside his chest.


    Milena was still holding into the crushed heart of Lucifer, which had started healing.


    .


    Seeing Lucifer¡¯s heart growing in her hand, Milena grew surprised, understanding that he probably had healing too; moreover, his healing was even stronger from what it seemed.


    Milena continued getting older as wrinkles developed on her face. Her healing was the only thing that had kept her from turning into ash, but even that was being chipped slowly.


    One of Milena¡¯s hands was sliced while her other hand was unavable. She couldn¡¯t teleport, and she couldn¡¯t use any other offensive attacks as they all needed for her to use her hands.


    All of her offensive attacks were like that, which proved to be a bane for her now that she didn¡¯t have a hand.


    Lucifer had Milena in his grasp, and he wasn¡¯t going to leave her. Unfortunately, out of nowhere, a blinding sh of red light appeared. It appeared only a few inches away from his neck.


    As soon as he realized what was happening, he cast a barrier around his neck while at the same time bringing his hand to stop the attack.


    Unfortunately, the red arc not only passed through his barrier, but it also sliced his hand before the red arc of light sliced through his neck.


    The world started turning upside down, but that wasn¡¯t the case. Instead, it was his head that was turning upside down, rolling off. It soon fell off his body, falling down, along with his sliced palm.


    Caen noticed Lucifer¡¯s head fall, getting stunned. Did this imply that the battle was lost? Or could he heal from this? Many questions remained in his head, but that¡¯s when he saw something even more shocking.


    The white-haired man appeared near Lucifer. As for that red arc of light, it seemed to be a light trailing from his knife, which he had used to slice the head of Lucifer.


    His ability to go invisible allowed him to get close to Lucifer without letting him realize it.


    "Invisibility, huh. So that¡¯s what¡¯s special about him. Not bad," In the background, Arthur nodded. Finally, he had an idea as to what ability Sirius had.


    But that wasn¡¯t all Sirius was also flying. There seemed to be more to him.


    After taking Lucifer¡¯s head off, he sliced his other hand, which was holding Milena¡¯s hand, helping free Milena.


    As Milena¡¯s hands came out of Lucifer¡¯s chest, he started dropping to the ground as well.


    Sirius looked at Milena; getting close to her, he whispered something in her ears again. Milena nodded.


    The two of them looked down at Lucifer¡¯s body which was going through a strange transformation even now. Something odd was happening as bones started growing out of his neck, forming a skull.


    "He is still healing. His healing is very powerful," Milena muttered, frowning. "I can¡¯t turn him even now though. With his healing, it seems impossible."


    Milena said it was impossible, but Sirius had other thoughts in mind. He went down, cing his hand on the chest of Lucifer, who was still going through the healing process.


    Even Sirius didn¡¯t know that the strange pattern in Lucifer¡¯s back had started changing shape. As for the red stone which was inside the pocket of Lucifer, it started melting as its essence passed through his body, going to the strange tattoo on his back.


    The body of Sirius started shining, and so did Lucifer¡¯s body. The two of them started shining in a mysterious white light. Soon, Sirius took off his hands, looking in a certain direction towards the sky.


    ...


    In the sky, a person was standing, watching everything. The person was dressed in ck, and a blindfold was wrapped around his eyes, but still, he was able to see everything.


    The person was none other than Predictor, who grew surprised, watching Sirius look at him.


    He was here in his dreams, so it was odd that someone was able to see him. Not only did Sirius see him, but he even flew up, grabbed Predictor by the throat.


    On the ground, Lucifer¡¯s body was still going through a strange phase as a strange formation started appearing under him, which was the same as the tattoo on his back.


    The same formation appeared in the sky as well. Lucifer¡¯s body started floating in the sky slowly, stopping when it was in the middle of the two formations.


    The stone which was in the neck of Milena also flew away,nding on the forehead of Lucifer, being absorbed by him. That energy ultimately ended up in the tattoo on his back as two more formations appeared, one on Lucifer¡¯s left while the other on his right.


    In the sky, Sirius grabbed Predictor by the throat and crushed his throat.


    "Haah!"


    Predictor suddenly opened his eyes, finding himself on the bed.


    His entire body was covered in sweat, including his clothes. As for his heart, it was thumping madly.


    "Just what was that? A prediction? It can¡¯t be. In Prediction, no one can see me. So a dream? But it seemed too realistic to be a dream. I need to inform him," Predictor got off the bed, wiping the sweat on his forehead.


    ...


    "Excuse me, I¡¯m getting a call," Kellian informed Jia and Jenilia as his phone started ringing.


    He was still sitting in the meeting with the two of them.


    "Yeah?" He asked, picking up the call.


    The calm and confident expressions of Kellian soon disappeared as he became serious.


    "Are you sure?" He asked, frowning.


    "Alright. I¡¯ll send you the number you can contact him on," Kellian replied. "In the meantime, I¡¯ll also try contacting him."


    He put the phone down and sent the number to Predictor, who had just called him.


    "Can you two wait outside? Something urgent hase up. Give me a few minutes," he informed Jia. "Das, take them outside and show them the city."

 Chapter 441 - 441: Changing Future

    <h4>Chapter 441 - 441: Changing Future </h4>


    "What do you mean? Is that another way of yours to insult us? First, you send a subordinate to escort us; then, you don¡¯t let your leader meet us. And now you want us to wait for you outside? Nonsense!" Jia stood up, smacking the table.


    "There is a limit to insults, and you¡¯re crossing it!" She said firmly.


    "I don¡¯t care what you think. Please wait outside or go back. I have more important things to attend to," Kellian let out without backing off.


    ....


    Predictor received the number of Lucifer and called him, hoping that he wasn¡¯t toote..


    Lucifer had just jumped out of the Pce, going towards the Royal Pce with Szar, when he felt a vibration inside his pocket.


    Frowning, he brought the sses out and wore them.


    "Predictor?" he muttered, noticing the name. He picked up the call.


    "Yeah?" he asked, picking up the call.


    "You need to listen to me right now. I think I just saw a Prediction rted to you! Where are you right now? What are you doing?" Predictor asked.


    "I¡¯m going to the Pce of Milena to take her out. Why?" Lucifer asked, confused. "What dream did you see?"


    "Are you going there with Szar, leaving Caen behind?" Predictor asked. "Did you want him to impersonate you throughout the night?"


    "That¡¯s right. How did you know that? Ah, that Prediction. Since this much is urate, the next part should be too. Tell me what you saw?!" Lucifer asked.


    "I had a really bad dream. I don¡¯t think you should go there tonight! It will turn out to be bad! Go back!" Predictor told Lucifer.


    "Nonsense! I¡¯m not going back. Tell me what you saw?" Lucifer asked, not taking the suggestion. "Let me know what happened, so I know how to n!"


    Taking a deep breath, Predictor started exining. Lucifer also slowed down a little, so he could hear the whole thing.


    "She can do that? The Powers of everyone she turned? And Healing? Teleportation? How could she have so many?" Lucifer asked, frowning. He was amazed at the discovery. Milena had so many powers? It was somethingpletely unexpected.


    "That¡¯s what I saw. Moreover, that white-haired man, stay alert of him. I don¡¯t know what, but something is seriously wrong about him."


    "I don¡¯t know what he was about to go with you, but it wasn¡¯t right. Moreover, the strange formatting that appeared all around you? I think it came from your back. I¡¯m not sure what that is, but that¡¯s certainly important. So be careful." Predictor soon exined everything to Lucifer, who nodded while profoundly frowning.


    "Thanks for the information. I¡¯ll see what I can do about it now that I know. Tell me if you see anything else in the future," Lucifer answered before he disconnected the call.


    He continued flying towards the Royal Pce and soon reached there. He wanted to be sure about something.


    It was just as Predictor had said. Every person was at the exact position where he had described. There was no difference.


    One thing was different though. Now he knew that the Nobles could heal, and they were unaffected by sleeping gas. He also knew about the brothers who possessed mes.


    Now that he knew the future, he had an idea of how to avoid things bing a mess.


    "Who were you talking to?" Szar asked Lucifer.


    "I was talking to one of my men. He can asionally see the future. He just told me what he saw. And it doesn¡¯t look good,¡¯ Lucifer answered.


    "What did he say?" Szar asked.


    Lucifer told him everything that Predictor said.


    "I died just like that?" Szar asked, frowning. "It¡¯s strange. How was Milena unaffected by my Time Domain? That¡¯s odd."


    "That¡¯s not the only odd thing. In any case, I think it¡¯s better that we sneak inside the Pce instead of calling everyone out. That would be much better," Lucifer let out, ncing towards the Pce.


    "And how are we going to do that? Their vision is too good. They will see us flying towards the Pce. We¡¯ll be found out."


    "No. That won¡¯t be the case. They won¡¯t see us flying towards them because we¡¯ll being from the top," Lucifer exined.


    "What do you mean?" Szar asked, confused.


    Lucifer didn¡¯t answer and simply started flying away from the Royal Pce with Szar. After gaining sufficient distance, he started flying straight up towards the sky.


    With Szar, he went at least a thousand feet above the ground, making sure that even the Nobles wouldn¡¯t be able to see him approach the Royal ce.


    After gaining enough height, he started flying towards the Royal Pce. He soon reached the Royal Pce, flying a thousand feet above it.


    He started flying down.


    Soon, Lucifer and Szarnded on top of the Pce, undetected.


    None of the guards were looking at the Pce. Most of them were keeping an eye on the surroundings; thus, they didn¡¯t see them.


    Lucifer and Szar moved over to a window. Using his decay, Lucifer destroyed the Window before he jumped inside the Royal Pce.


    "This was actually really easy. I wonder why you didn¡¯t think of this in thest timeline. It would have saved us so much time," Szar said, walking in the empty corridor. "Anyway, how are we going to find Milena¡¯s room? Should we kidnap a Noble?"


    "No. A Noble is extremely loyal to Milena. They would die but won¡¯t betray her. It would be useless to go to them. Instead, it might backfire. We need a maid or a servant. Only they can lead us to Milena," Lucifer exined.


    He and Szar started floating in the air, flying on top of the forty-foot-tall hallway, in order to avoid any Noble even if they got here.


    They flew through the corridor, searching for anyone who wasn¡¯t a Noble. Unfortunately, all they found were white-robed nobles. They avoided the Nobles and continued their search.


    It was only after a long time that they found a maid who was walking through the empty hallway.


    Lucifernded in front of the maid and closed her mouth to stop her from screaming.


    "Just know, if you scream, I¡¯ll kill you," Lucifer warned the maid, who became teary-eyed, nodding.


    Lucifer removed his hand from the lips of the Maid. "You chose well. Because you¡¯ll die before anyone cane to help you if you scream."


    "What do you want?" The maid asked, scared.


    "We want you to lead us to the room of your queen. Lead us to Milena¡¯s room," Lucifer told the maid.

 Chapter 442 - 442: Not Lying

    <h4>Chapter 442 - 442: Not Lying </h4>


    Lucifermanded the maid to lead them to the room of Milena, and the maid also agreed, in fear. She couldn¡¯t dare to say no in the face of death which was looking deep in her eyes.


    She could only nod.


    "I¡¯ll take you there, but only that. I don¡¯t stay there. And you can¡¯t tell her that I led you there," the woman asked, concerned for her life.


    She wasn¡¯t worried that Milena was going to be hurt. In her eyes, the Queen was invincible, so it didn¡¯t matter even if she led these people there. The only problem was that Milena was probably going to kill her if she knew about it.


    She wanted to safeguard herself first. "Promise me.."


    "We won¡¯t tell her that you led us there. We have no need to. So take us there," Lucifer agreed. "We¡¯ll be up. Just know, don¡¯t try to be clever, or you¡¯ll be dead."


    The maid agreed and started walking towards the other end of the corridor. Lucifer and Szar floated up in the sky again.


    The maid escorted Lucifer and Szar through the confusing hallway. She asionally passed by a few Nobles, which was where her real test was. Fortunately, she didn¡¯t tell them about Lucifer and Szar. She didn¡¯t want to put her life in jeopardy.


    The Nobles considered it beneath their dignity, so theypletely ignored the maid as they walked past her.


    The maid soon stopped, gesturing for Lucifer toe down.


    Lucifernded behind her. "Yeah?"


    "This is as far as I can go. If you go left from here, you¡¯ll find Her Majesty¡¯s room in the end. Her room is being guarded by two Lords. If I go ahead, the Lords will see me. I can¡¯t go," the Maid informed Lucifer. "I already led you to her. Shall I leave?"


    "Not yet. I want to make sure that it¡¯s actually Milena¡¯s room. You¡¯re going to stay here," Lucifer replied.


    "Keep an eye on her. I¡¯ll check ahead," hemanded Szar before he started floating up. He went ahead alone, soon noticing two Nobles standing in the distance.


    The Nobles were looking at each other, lost in their conversation.


    ¡¯Two Nobles guard that ce. It should be the room of Milena,¡¯ Lucifer thought, noticing the two Nobles that were immersed in a conversation with each other.


    They were so lost that they didn¡¯t have any guards. None of them expected an intruder to get so deep without anymotion.


    Finding them in such an unaware state, Lucifer took advantage of the situation. Waving his hand, he used his winds to attack the two Nobles. The silent winds filled the corridor, flying only in one direction.


    The two Nobles found it odd that wind was flowing in a closed space, but before they could check, silent wind des sliced their heads, making them roll on the ground.


    Lucifer flew back to Szar. "I took the Nobles out. The path is clear. You cane."


    "Huh? You took out two Lords so fast? How?" The maid asked, shocked. She was stunned to know that Lucifer had managed to kill the Noble Lords so easily. It was only now that she wondered if he could actually threaten the queen.


    She hastily shook her head. ¡¯No! What am I thinking! There¡¯s no way for him to hurt Her Majesty. Her Majesty is in apletely different league than the Noble Lords. Even if he took them out, he did it with surprise. That won¡¯t work on Her Majesty.¡¯


    Szar and the maid followed Lucifer, stopping before the room where two Nobles¡¯ dead bodies were lying.


    "This is her room. Now can I leave? You promised you¡¯d let me go. If you still don¡¯t, she¡¯ll know that I helped you!" Standing before the Queen¡¯s room, the maid started feeling concerned.


    She found herself stuck between a rock and a hard ce, knowing that if she stayed here, she was going to be killed by Milena, and if she left without permission, she was going to be killed by these intruders.


    "You¡¯re right. We should let you go. But then again, we need to make sure she¡¯s inside," Lucifer said.


    He ced his hand on the door, slowly opening it. As the door opened, it surprised everyone. Why wasn¡¯t the door locked?


    Lucifer stepped inside the room, floating in the air so there wouldn¡¯t be any sound of footsteps. He didn¡¯t forget to gesture to Szar to keep an eye outside before entering.


    The inside of the room wasn¡¯t asvish as he had expected. In fact, the room wasn¡¯t any bigger than the room he had received as a guest. Moreover, there wasn¡¯t anythingvish here.


    Only a few portraits were on the walls, belonging to Milena. There were also portraits of a white-haired old man with a young girl who looked like she was only ten years old.


    Seeing the portrait, Lucifer assumed it was Milena with her grandfather since the old man looked too old to be her father.


    There was also a table inside the room, on which a tray was ced with a golden jug and a golden ss.


    Other than these few times, there was only a carpet and a bed in the room. Unfortunately, that bed seemed empty as no one was there.


    Milena wasn¡¯t on the bed, and she wasn¡¯t anywhere else in the room either. He did find another door inside the room, which seemed like a door that led to the bathroom.


    He floated towards the smaller door and grabbed the doorknob. Turning the doorknob, he remained ready to attack. He soon opened the door, but there was nothing there either. Strangely enough, this whole room was empty.


    Confused, he remained alone in the room, wondering what was happening. Why wasn¡¯t Milena here? He also wondered if the maid had lied to him as he flew out of the room.


    "Huh? You returned alive? Did you actually kill her?!" The maid asked, seeing Lucifer.


    "She wasn¡¯t inside. Now you¡¯re going to answer me why. If this was her room, then why isn¡¯t she here. And if this wasn¡¯t her room, then also you need to answer, telling me why I shouldn¡¯t kill you right away for lying to me!"


    "I¡¯m not lying! I swear to the Empire! This is her room. I don¡¯t know why she isn¡¯t there, but that would exin why her door was closed. The only people who could have known about her are the ones you killed," the maid answered, pointing at the bodies lying near her feet.


    The headless bodies of Noblesy unmoving.

 Chapter 443: Trap

    <h4>Chapter 443: Trap</h4>


    "Think! Think and tell me where she could be. Because one thing I''m certain about is that she''s inside the Royal Pce. Where in the Pce? That''s the question."


    "I don''t know. From what I knew, she should be inside her room. Maybe she went for a walk outside? I can only guess at this point."


    "Did she often go for walks at night?"


    "I''m not sure. I don''t spend my might here, but I don''t think I''ve seen her out the night before. I-i don''t know what to say. I told you everything you asked, but from this point on, I''m not sure about anything! Please let me go."


    The maid dropped to the ground as tears filled her beautiful eyes.


    "I wish I could, but we didn''t find Milena. There''s a good chance we might not find her tonight. And that would mean that we''ll go back empty handed tonight. Leaving you alive would only be a problem for uster since I don''t want anyone to know we came here," Lucifer answered, shaking his head.


    He slowly took off the ck glove of his right hand and turned around.


    "I swear I won''t tell anyone about you!"


    "If only swears worked..." Lucifer muttered, sighing. "I apologize in advance."


    "You can still help us though. If you can help us find Milena in an hour, we won''t have to kill you," he asked, stopping his fingers just a few inches away from her face. "So, now do you know where Milena might be?"


    "S-she must have gone on a walk! Let''s check the special garden in the pce. That''s her favorite ce. She might be there!" The maid let out, grasping at thest chance of life.


    "Let''s try that as well," Lucifer smiled, retracting his hand. Instead, he walked over to the bodies of the Nobles and Decayed them, leaving no trace behind them.


    Watching the two Nobles being destroyed to the core, the woman understood what would have happened if Lucifer had touched her. Her heart started beating fast.


    She pushed her body up and led the path to the garden.


    The Royal Garden was a special ce in the Pce, which was the favorite ce of Milena. Everyone knew this fact. Even though there were no rare flowers in the garden, Milena still loved that ce.


    Milena didn''t allow any person to enter the garden, but with her life in danger, the maid didn''t care about anything else. She simply led Lucifer to the garden.


    Milena had strictly told everyone to never enter the garden, and no one dared to break hermands. That''s why there was no need for security in that ce.


    The only thing which protected the garden was a metallic door that could only be opened by the key, which only Milena possessed.


    The maid brought Lucifer to the door and tried pushing it, finding it locked.


    "It''s locked. She isn''t here either," She informed Lucifer. "I know; she might be on the balcony. I heard she loves the dark nights. Tonight is one; maybe she''ll be there?"


    The maid brought Lucifer to many ces, which all led to failure. No matter where she brought them, they couldn''t find Milena. In essence, they searched the entire pce for the most part, except checking the private rooms, but Milena was nowhere.


    Searching for so long, even Szar was starting to get tired. He looked at the time on his clock, sighing.


    "It''s already four. Soon, it''ll be bright outside. We can''t afford to stay here for long since Feronia would go to the Pce to bring us. I think we should leave," he informed Lucifer.


    "I was thinking the same. We aren''t going to find her tonight, it seems," Lucifer agreed. "Tonight was a failure. I wonder where Milena is hiding."


    "I-i... can I try again? I think she might be in the painting room? We still didn''t check that?" The maid let out, feeling scared. She could feel extremely close to death.


    "Fine. Lead us to that ce. But that will be thest time," Lucifer nodded.


    He and Szar followed the maid who stopped in front of a in white door.


    "Inside that room. You can go in," the maid told Lucifer, staying back.


    She was petrified, but she also knew that it was herst chance. She couldn''t give up. She needed to take Lucifer and Szar out now since she knew she couldn''t find Milena at this point.


    "Go ahead," she told Lucifer. "It is also her favorite ce since she loves to paint. I''m sure she''ll be there."


    Nodding, Lucifer pushed the door open and stepped inside. He went deep inside the dark hall, unable to find anyone.


    "She''s more here either," he muttered, shaking his hand. He turned back to leave.


    Tuck!


    As soon as Lucifer started going back, he felt like he had hit something. It was some kind of ck barrier which appeared out of nowhere before him, blocking him.


    "What is it?" He muttered, confused. "Why would the painting room have a barrier like that? Wait, did she scheme against me?"


    "He hasn''te out yet; I think he might have found Her Majesty. But for him to still note out? It seems like he should be caught," the maid told Szar outside the hall.


    Since the hall was so dark, even Szar wasn''t able to see inside safely.


    "It''s indeed odd that he hasn''t returned. You stay here; I''ll check inside," Szar told the maid who sighed in the background.


    She was relieved that the n was working. Lucifer was trapped, and now Szar was going to be trapped too. Then she could run away and bring the nobles here to help her.


    She eagerly waited for Szar to enter the ce. Her heartbeat grew slightly faster as she waited for the moment he was inside.


    "Tell me one thing though. Why would Milena be in a painting room which doesn''t have any light? No one can paint in such darkness. Her presence here doesn''t make sense. Why would she be here?" Szar asked, frowning, turning around.


    "Ah..."


    "What happened? Why are you so stunned?"


    "Ah, nothing. I was just thinking about how to say it correctly, but she has a power that helps her see in darkness. That''s why she paints in a dark room," the maid replied.


    "It might look dark to you, but to Her Majesty, it''s a perfectly lit room. That must be why she managed to catch your friend so easily," she further added.


    She didn''t tell Szar to go inside since she didn''t want to make him suspicious. She wanted him to do it on his own here.

 Chapter 444: Here to bring you

    <h4>Chapter 444: Here to bring you</h4>


    Finding the exnation feasible, Szar agreed and decided to step inside.


    The maid expectantly watched Szar, cing her hand on her chest. She was ready to run as soon as he entered inside, but something different happened.


    Her face went pale as she saw a person step out of the dark room who was none other than Lucifer.


    ''H-how is he out? Did that trap not work? That must be the case. If it had worked, he wouldn''t be able toe out. What should I do now?'' the Maid thought, concerned.


    "That''s why I don''t trust people," Lucifer let out, ncing at Milena.


    "Did you not find Milena inside?" Szar asked, trying to peek through the darkness of the room.


    Lucifer shook his head.


    "Then what took you so long?" Szar inquired. "I was just about to enter to see what happened."


    "I''m sure you would have. Because that''s what she wanted," Lucifer replied, stepping close to the maid. "Aren''t I right?"


    "Wasn''t that what you nned? So tell me.?What should I do to you? Not only did you fail to help us find Milena, but you also tried to trap us?" he further asked, sighing.


    "I won''t ask you why you did that. I think I already know. But it doesn''t change the oue."


    He raised his hand, grabbing the maid by her neck. He instantly crushed her neck but didn''t free her. He let his Decay take effect. It was only now that her bodypletely disintegrated, he retracted his hand.


    "There was a trap inside?" Szar asked Lucifer.


    "I''ll tell you on the way back. For now, we need to leave. It''s going to be bright soon," Lucifer let out, frowning.


    He and Cassius left the Royal Pce through the window, going back the same way they came from.


    They went back to the Pce where they were staying. Through the open window, they stepped back into their rooms.


    Szar closed the window while Lucifer walked to the nearby table, picking up a water bottle. He started drinking.


    The door of the room opened, and Caen also stepped inside. He grew surprised to find Lucifer back. "You''re back!"


    "Where were you?" Lucifer asked Caen.


    "I went to my room to follow the n. I''m justing back after sending that maid away," Caen answered. "So, how did it go? Did you find out anything?"


    "Yeah. We found out something. We found out that Milena doesn''t stay in her room at night," Szar answered, sighing. "Tonight was a total waste. We still don''t know where she actually was the entire night."


    "Was she not in the Pce?" Caen inquired, wondering what happened tonight.


    "It does seem like she wasn''t in the Pce, but he says she was. So you should ask him," Szar answered. "Anyway, I''ll go to take a short nap. He''ll tell you what happened."


    Szar left the room and walked back to his room.


    Back in Lucifer''s room, only Caen and Lucifer were left.


    "So tonight was a failure?" Caen asked, sitting on the bed as well.


    "Not entirely. If I hadn''t gone out tonight, we wouldn''t have known a lot of these important things. Tonight was important," Lucifer replied, shaking his head.


    "What important things?" Caen asked.


    Lucifer exined everything that Predictor told him about how the night would have gone.


    "Now we know the powers of Milena, especially the important ones. She is more important than we thought. And we also know a bit about that white haired man. And that Arthur guy. There needs to be more nning involved, it seems," he further said.


    "So Szar and you both died tonight? That''s certainly a problem," Caen muttered.


    "It seems that way. But I don''t think I was purely dead. Something strange happened to me. Unfortunately, Predictor didn''t see what happened after that. But we certainly know that the white haired man isn''t ordinary," Lucifer let out, frowning.


    "I need to take him out too," he continued. "He can see Predictor peeking in our current time from the past. He''s certainly a threat."


    "I''m still stuck at how the two of you were killed. You think the three of us are enough for this ce? Should we really take this risk?" Caen asked.


    "Are you scared with just that?" Lucifer asked, amused.


    "No. I''m just saying that maybe we should have more people here. Let''s call for backup? We''re in enemy territory with powerful enemies. You and Szar are our only offense. You need some backup which I can''t provide," Caen exined, sighing.


    "Don''t worry about such things. I''ll deal with them as theye. I''m not that weak to die so easily. I don''t even know what happened in his Prediction, but things won''t go like that," Lucifer answered.


    Sliding his body back, heid on the bed, resting his head over a soft pillow before continuing. "Now, don''t worry and go take a nap. We''re going to have a long day ahead of us. Just forget that tonight happened and act normal,"


    Caen got up and left the room, still lost in thought. The prediction of how tonight would have gone had slightly phased him, shaking his confidence. Especially because he waspletely useless in the dream.


    He went back to his room, still wondering how he could help the team more.


    He fell on his bed, still lost in thought. He didn''t even realize when he fell asleep while thinking.


    ...


    Lucifer was wondering where Milena actually was during the night. On the other hand, Milena was actually standing in front of her room.


    Her brows were furrowed as she looked down. She could see some blood droplets on the ground, but there were no bodies here. No traces of bodies were found either.


    She couldn''t get any smell either, but she had a feeling that someone was killed here. There were certainly intruders here.


    "Someone managed to get so far without alerting anyone? Impressive. They killed two of my men without making any noise? Even more impressive," She muttered, smirking. "It seems like I was their target. It could only be them."


    Her robe waved as she turned around, waking away.


    ...


    Knock! Knock!


    There was a set of knocks on the doors of Lucifer, who only recently fell asleep.


    His eyes snapped open as he got off the bed. He wore the cloak and walked to the door.


    "Yaaawn!" he yawned, opening the door. "What do you need?"


    There were two white robed nobles standing before him.


    "Is it time to go for thatpetition? So soon?" He further asked.


    "We are here to bring you to Her Majesty!" The Nobles informed Lucifer.

 Chapter 445: Step Closer

    <h4>Chapter 445: Step Closer</h4>


    "May I ask why?" Lucifer asked the two Nobles. "Is there a change in the tournament schedule?"


    "You don''t have a right to ask. Juste with us. And bring your friends too," the Nobles answered, stepping back.


    Lucifer stepped out of the room, finding the maid standing behind the Nobles. He understood that she was the one who brought them to him. He simply closed the door before moving on to the following rooms to call out Szar.


    Since Szar had sleptte, he also didn''t wake up instantly.


    Lucifer nced back at the maid. "Do you have an extra key?"


    The maid nodded. "I have the Master Key."


    "That''s going to work. My friends wake upte. I''ll have to go in," Lucifer told the maid, who seemingly understood.


    She tossed the key towards Lucifer.


    Catching the key, Lucifer inserted it in the lock, twisting it to the right.


    Click!


    With a click sound, the door unlocked.


    He pushed the door open and stepped inside, finding Szar sleeping on his stomach.


    He stepped closer to him.


    "Szar, get up!" He said, moving the body of Szar.


    "Uhmm? Is it morning?" After some time, Szar opened his eyes, looking at Lucifer.


    "It is. Wake up and get ready. We need to leave," Lucifer informed him. "Milena called us to meet."


    The Nobles frowned, hearing Lucifer call their queen by the first name, but they didn''t say anything.


    "Can I sleep five more minutes?" Szar asked, not getting up.


    "You can''t. We don''t have time. Get up fast."


    "Sigh, fine!"


    Szar pushed his body up and rolled off the bed. He wore his shirt since he was sleeping bare-chested. On top, he wore his sleeveless cloak.


    Within five minutes, he got ready. "I''m ready."


    Following Lucifer, he left the room.


    Lucifer went to Caen''s room. He didn''t knock this time and directly opened the door using the Master Key.


    Pushing the door open, he stepped inside to find Caen staring at him.


    Even though he also sleptte, he was more alert. Hearing the sound of the door opening, he woke up from his sleep, getting alert.


    "Get ready. We need to leave. Milena wants to meet us," Lucifer informed Caen.


    Caen followed Lucifer outside.


    "We''re ready to go," Lucifer informed the two Nobles who stood with pride stered on their faces.


    "Isn''t there another person who should be with you? I heard from Feronia that there were four of you?" One of the Nobles asked.


    "The fourth is an ordinary pilot. He isn''t a part of the team," Lucifer responded.


    "We don''t care. Bring him with you," the Noble insisted.


    "Caen, wake Heath up," Luciferzily told Caen, not arguing.


    Caen walked to the fourth room and woke up the pilot, bringing him out of the room.


    Heath stepped out of the room, rubbing his eyes.


    " Are we going out?" he asked, still a bit sleepy.


    "We''re going to meet Milena, and you''reing with us," Lucifer exined. "I''m sure you know how to behave, right?"


    "M-meeting her? Why would I be needed?"


    "She just wants to see our faces. Don''t worry about it. It''s nothing serious. There won''t be any danger to you," Luciferforted Heath.


    He turned back to the Nobles and asked, "Can we finally leave now? Are we going to have breakfast here too?''


    "Hmph," the Noble rolled his eyes as he started leaving.


    "Follow him," the Second Noble told Lucifer.


    The group of four followed the first Noble while the second Noble walked in the back to keep an eye on the two of them.


    At the entrance of the Pce, four golden carriages were standing, waiting for them.


    "Get inside the middle one," the first Noble informed Lucifer, telling him to go in.


    "Really? Feronia said only Nobles could travel in the Carriages. Are we finally allowed?" Lucifer asked, amused.


    "Don''t be smug about it! Your smugness won''tst long. It''s just that Her Majesty wants to meet you urgently. That''s why she allowed you to sit in the Carriage!" The Noble informed Lucifer and his group.


    Smirking, Lucifer stepped closer to the carriage. "Whatever suits you."


    Pushing the door open, he stepped inside.


    Caen, Szar, and Heath also stepped inside.


    The first and the Second Noble stepped inside the Carriage in the back, keeping an eye on the second carriage.


    All three carriages started moving.


    Within ten minutes, the Carriages stopped at the Royal Pce. Throughout the journey, Lucifer and the others didn''t speak. They remained entirely silent.


    Only after the Carriage stopped did they step out.


    The two Nobles also stepped out. They escorted Lucifer and his team inside the Pce, stopping before the Royal Chamber.


    The doors were opened, letting them enter.


    As Lucifer entered the room, he found the ce simr to how it was thest time he came here. Everyone was in the exact same ce asst time.


    The only difference was that two people were missing as two chairs were empty.


    He also had a general idea as to who those two were. They were probably the two that were killed by himst night since there was no way that two Nobles would dare to be absent.


    Lucifer also recognized some people now.


    He was able to recognize Arthur, who was sitting on the first seat on the right. The white haired man stood behind Milena even now. Lucifer still didn''t know his name though, but he knew that he needed to keep an eye on this guy the most.


    "We were told that you called for us? May I ask why it was?" Lucifer asked Milena before she could even speak.


    "Don''t worry; we''ll get there. There''s no hurry. First, why don''t you tell us how your night was?" Milena asked Lucifer, smiling.


    "It was good. The room was clean, and the beds were nice. I had a really nice sleep. How about you? Your beds must be better. Did you have a good sleepst night in your room?" Lucifer asked in return.


    His question brought a smile to Milena''s face.


    "I can''t say I did. Apparently, some pests entered my Pcest night. Don''t worry though; they''ll be killed soon enough," Milena replied calmly.


    She shifted her attention to Heath. "That man looks new. I didn''t see himst time you came here. Who is he?"


    "He is our pilot, Heath," Lucifer answered.


    "Heath, huh," Milena muttered.


    "Heath, why don''t you step closer. I want to see you from close," she told Heath.


    Heath looked towards Lucifer, hesitant. He was wondering if he should go or not since he cared for his life.

 Chapter 446: Conflict?

    <h4>Chapter 446: Conflict?</h4>


    "Don''t worry about anything. Do as she says. Nothing will happen to you," Lucifer told Heath, who seemed hesitant.


    Heath didn''t listen, though. Instead, he looked towards Caen since Caen was the real leader for him.


    Caen also nodded. It was only then that Heath stepped forward.


    Milena found it all very amusing. It was interesting to see the man ignore their leader''s words to listen to someone else.


    Heath stepped forward with shaky steps, stopping three meters away from Milena.


    "That''s still too far. Come even closer," Milena repeated as she saw Heath stop.


    Heath took a few more steps, stopping just one meter away from Milena, but that wasn''t enough for her.


    "Take one more step," she informed Heath.


    Taking a deep breath, Heath took another step.


    He was within arm''s reach of Milena.


    "I can hear your heartbeat, young man. Why is it beating so fast? It seems like you''re scared. Did you do something wrongst night?" Milena asked Heath, smirking.


    Heath shook his head repeatedly.


    "Then why do you look scared?" Milena asked again. "Do I look that scary?"


    Heath again shook his head.


    "Then why?" Milena asked.


    "I-i heard stories about you," Heath answered. "That''s a bit intimidating."


    "Oh? What stories about me?" Milena asked. "Let me hear them too."


    "A-about how you killed ourst Envoy and how you''re so powerful."


    "That one? Those are old stories. And your envoy is still alive. See? He''s standing right there." Milena pointed towards a Noble who stood in the back.


    He was the same man who was sent by the Warlock Council in the past as an Envoy. He was not only killed, but he was brought back as a Noble.


    "Anyway, that''s what intimidated you? You think I''ll kill you?" Milena asked as her smirk widened.


    "Y-yes."


    "Well, you''re not wrong here. I''m certainly going to kill you today!" The smirk on Milena''s face suddenly disappeared as she stood up, grabbing Heath by his neck. She raised him in the air.


    Heath found himself being choked, unable to resist. He could barely even breathe.


    "What are you doing?! Put her down!" Lucifer yelled, running towards Heath, but Arthur teleported in front of him, blocking his path.


    "Not so fast, my friend. I can''t allow you to step closer. Please stay behind, or I''ll be forced to take action," he informed Lucifer, calmly standing in front of him.


    "Is this how you all want to do this? First, you allow us to stay here to participate in thepetition, and now you all attack us?" Lucifer asked, looking towards Milena.


    "Attack you? You tried to attack usst night by sneaking inside our Pce," Milena answered.


    "Nonsense! We were in our roomsst night!" Lucifer retorted. "I can prove our innocence, but if you still hurt my friend because of this lie, then I''ll be forced to take action as well."


    "Step aside, Arthur!" he warned Arthur. "Or you''ll be hurt instead."


    "Huh? You know my name?" Arthur asked, surprised. "How do you know my name? I don''t remember talking to you before? And I certainly didn''t tell you my name. So why?"


    "I said step aside," Lucifer firmly stated.


    "So you''re saying you were in your roomsst night?" Milena asked Lucifer.


    "Of course. We were all sleeping. Why else would we try to attack the Pce? And if we attacked, do you think you and your friends here would be left alive?" Lucifer asked.


    "Is that what your statement is as well?" Milena asked Heath, who was choking.


    "Yes!" Heath answered.


    In fact, he was telling the truth. He was in his room all night. He didn''t even know that Lucifer and others had left the roomst night. He was kept out of the loop.


    '' He''s telling the truth, it seems. That''s very interesting,'' Milena thought, tossing Heath back towards Lucifer.


    She sat back on her throne. "You said you can prove that you were in your rooms. Go ahead and tell me how you can prove it?"


    "Our maid! I believe she saw us in the Pcest night. My room didn''t have a water bottle, so I called her to help mete at night. You can ask her."


    "I believe I also saw hertest night and in the early morning. She can vouch for me as well," Szar chimed in.


    "Same for me!" Caen also let out.


    "Interesting. That makes me even more suspicious of you all. You all have a witness ready in advance," Milena said, amused.


    "Fine. Call the maid!" Shemanded.


    " She is right outside! I''ll call her in," A noble said, leaving the room.


    He soon returned with ady who was none other than the maid that took care of Lucifer.


    The maid respectfully bowed before the queen, greeting her.


    "Enough of the greetings. Tell me where the four of them werest night? They im they were in their rooms, and you saw them? Is that the truth?" Milena asked.


    "That''s right, Your Majesty. These four were therest night. In fact, I kind of saw them every hour. They slept prettyte. If I''m not wrong, it was after five that they slept," the maid answered.


    "And how do you know that?" Milena asked. "I mean, how can you say that with such confidence?"


    "As I said, I saw them every hourst night. Sometimes they asked for water. Other times they asked for drinks. I can say with sureties that they were in their rooms," the maid exined.


    "Alright. You can leave," Milena let out, sending the maid back.


    "Now, do you believe us?" Lucifer asked. "We weren''t in your Pce. But if you still want to use that excuse to target us, then?I won''t argue. I''ll be happy to oblige."


    "You can leave too. The tournament is dyed by a day. It''ll be held tomorrow now. You''ll be taken back to your ce where you''ll spend another day. You aren''t allowed to leave today either; keep that in mind."


    Milena sent Lucifer back too. He and the others were escorted out by the same nobles that brought them inside.


    On the way out, Heath was rubbing his neck, which now had a red mark because of the choking.


    "Are you alright?"?Caen asked Heath, who simply nodded his head.


    "I''m happy to be alive. I really thought she was going to kill me," Heath answered. He turned to Lucifer. "Thank you for the help. I''m sure she wouldn''t have left me if you hadn''t interfered by proving our innocence. Thank you so much."


    "Don''t worry about it. It wasn''t nothing."

 Chapter 447: Not your home

    <h4>Chapter 447: Not your home</h4>


    The small group was escorted to the luxurious Carriage, which was waiting outside for them. But just as they were about to enter the carriage, a dark-haired Noble stopped them.


    "You can''t go back in that. That''s only for Nobles," he told Lucifer.


    Taking off his eyes from the beautiful carriage, Lucifer turned back.


    "Are you seriously repeating that nonsense?"


    "It''s not nonsense. It''s the Law!" The man expressionlessly stood, keeping his arms folded.


    "Where was this Law when you brought us here? Whatever, it''s better if we walk anyway. I''m not going to argue with you. But just know, you are an idiot." Stating his mind, Lucifer started leaving.


    Ignoring the carriage, he calmly walked back. The others also followed behind him. The Dark Haired noble didn''t walk with them though.


    Instead of walking with them all the way like Feronia did, he entered the carriage, which followed the group of four people.


    Lucifer and Szar walked in the lead while Caen and Heath walked in the back. They walked through the city, observing the surroundings.


    They didn''t go directly back to the Pce though. Instead, they roamed through the city, casually taking a walk.


    Their casual approach frustrated the dark-haired man in the carriage, who ultimately stepped out of the carriage.


    "What are you doing? Go straight back! I don''t have all day to babysit you!"


    ...


    "I''m not leaving this room. You want to talk to someone or do work, go ahead. But I''m not leaving. If you want me to leave, then make an appointment for me with your leader."


    Refusing to budge, Jia remained seated in front of Kellian, who had asked her to leave.


    "You really need to act your age. Don''t act like a kid. I don''t owe you anything," Kellian retorted. "If you''re not leaving, then I''ll leave. Stay here."


    Kellian stood up. With his phone in his hand, he walked towards the door.


    Ring~


    Just as he reached the door, the phone started ringing. He picked up a call without even looking at the name.


    "Yeah?"


    "You talked to him? What did he say?"


    Hearing the words over the call, Kellian nodded in satisfaction.


    "That''s good. I won''t call him then," he let out, disconnecting the call. He kept the phone back in his pocket before walking back to his chair.


    "I''m done. Now tell me what you wanted to say?" he asked Jia as he moved the chair back before sitting.


    "I already said what I wanted to say. I want to meet your leader, and I want to interrogate your men about the ne st," Jia dered.


    "If that''s all you want, then you can leave. Your request is denied. I can confirm we had no hand in that ident, and I would know that. I won''t let my men waste their time over this nonsense."


    " As for meeting our leader,e back after making an appointment. He doesn''t meet anyone without an appointment."


    "I think next month his schedule is free. I can book your appointment for that time. Come back then. Maybe he''ll meet you. That would be all."


    The calm on Kellian''s face as he dealt with the Warlock Council Envoy was certainly impressive. He didn''t seem like he was intimidated at all. Instead, it seemed like he was talking to ordinary people here.


    The crimson walls of his room seemed to be painted with blood, matching the red door and the grave atmosphere in the room.


    Das also wore a red shirt which seemed the same as the paint on the walls, making him be one with the wall in the back for the most part. He stood with his arms folded, calmly looking at the events happening.


    As one of the strongest Warlocks of the Uprising, he appreciated the upromising attitude of Kellian since it matched his personality. He was a Warlock who didn''t speak many words. He only spoke through his actions, gaining many achievements in the Wars.


    The conversation between the two sides reached a dead end as Kellian refused to entertain even the thought of letting the Warlock Council have their way here.


    "Are you sure you want to go that way?" Jia asked, frowning.


    As she grew upset, a strange mist filled the room. The white mist was mostly transparent, not affecting the vision by much, but something else was there about it, which was special.


    A sword made of mist took shape behind Kellian, cing itself on the neck of Kellian. Even though the Sword was made of mist, it was so sharp that it could easily slice someone''s head off.


    "Is your answer still the same? Why don''t you try saying that again and see if you remain alive after that or not? The Warlock Council isn''t a toy that you can y with as you wish. I can destroy you in a second if I want to."


    Jia red at Kellian with squinted eyes as she threatened him.


    Unfortunately for her, it didn''t have the effect she intended to. There was no fear on Kellian''s face as he heard the threat. Instead, a calm smirk decorated the lips of Kellian.


    "I should say the same thing to you," Kellian told Jia as he picked up a ss of water, taking a sip of water.


    He ced the ss back on the table. Jia remained confused, wondering what he was talking about when she felt something touching her neck.


    She lowered her head, only to find a pitch ck shadow sword resting on her neck. A shadow had appeared behind her out of nowhere.


    "Miss Jia, please remember. This isn''t the Warlock Council, and you aren''t a big shot here. If I want, I can kill you a thousand times while staying perfectly safe." Kellian''s voice filled the room,ing from a different ce.


    Jia grew surprised, hearing the voice as it didn''te from Kellian. Instead, Kellian stood in front of her with his lips closed.


    She turned around, wondering who had spoken, only to find Kellian standing near Das with his back resting against the wall. His right knee was bent as his foot rested on the wall behind him.


    Stunned, she turned back to look at Kellian, who was sitting before her to find him disappear, turning into thin air as if he wasn''t real.


    The real Kellian walked back to the chair and sat again.


    He stared deep into the eyes of Jia as he continued, " You can''t give me a single scratch while I can cut your body into a thousand small pieces. Just remember that. It''s not we who are at your mercy, but it''s you who are at our mercy."

 Chapter 448: Leaking

    <h4>Chapter 448: Leaking</h4>


    "So don''t throw your weight around. We didn''t kill any Warlock Council members, and we didn''t have a hand in the st, but if you want to start a conflict with that, I won''t mind that either."


    "We here want to coexist with the Warlock Council, but we don''t want any interference on what we do and what we don''t. You stay on your continent, and we stay in ours. Follow that, and we won''t have a problem."


    "On the other hand, if you want problems, I don''t mind that either. But I''ll give you some friendly advice. Just make sure you all are prepared to die if you decide to attack the Uprising."


    Every single sentence of Kellian was filled with threats towards the Warlock Council members, and Jia could see that he was serious.


    She couldn''t help but wonder how these people got so much confidence to issue a threat to the Warlock Council.


    Hahaha~


    Herughter filled the room, but there was embarrassment and anger hidden in herughter.


    "Good! Very good. It seems like you people have grown up a lot! Don''t worry; I''ll convey your words to our leaders. But this won''t be thest you see of us. We''ll meet again, Mr. Kellian."


    Screech~


    The sound of the chair being pulled back filled the room as Jia stood.


    Jenilia also stood up. She followed Jia, who turned around to leave.


    Watching Jia leave, Kellian looked neither happy nor sad. It was as if it was apletely ordinary thing.


    "Have a safe flight back. Our helicopter is waiting for you on the roof. It''ll take you to the airport," Kellian told Jia, who had just opened the door to step out.


    Jia turned around. "I hope when we meet again, you won''t beg us for forgiveness. Hopefully, you''ll retain that confidence of yours."


    She stepped out of the room, followed by Das, who was to escort them back to the airport.


    Ting~


    The lift doors opened on the roof, and three people stepped out of it, being Das, Jia, and Jenilia.


    The three of them entered the helicopter, the rotors of which had started moving already.


    It soon started rising in the air, departing for the airport.


    Sitting in the ne, Das nced at Jia. "I heard you mention about that ne st which killed your member. You have my sympathies. I hope you find the real culprit one day."


    "Save your sympathies. We know your people had a hand in it. And we''ll find proof. And when we do, we won''t be nice," Jia replied.


    " I''ll kill that person personally that day!" Jenilia also opened her cherry lips to speak.


    "Hmm? Little girl, why do you want to kill that person personally? Shouldn''t you leave that thing to the big guys?" Das asked Jenilia, amused.


    "The man who was killed in the ne st was her brother. He was her only family member," Jia exined, not even looking at Das as she talked.


    "Her brother, huh. Hopefully, you''ll find the culprit one day," Das let out, ncing out the window.


    The helicopter soonnded at the airport where the Jet of the Warlock Council was already waiting for them.


    At the same time, the door of another Private Jet opened, which had only recentlynded here.


    A young man stepped out of the ne, appearing to be somewhat surprised to see Das there.


    "Yo, Das! Did youe to receive me here?" Jiang approached Das, calling out from a distance.


    "You?! You work for the Uprising too?" Seeing Jiang, Jenilia was surprised. She had seen Jiang with Lucifer before, who called him his friend.


    She was surprised to see that a friend of Lucifer was working with her enemies. In fact, she believed that it was something else. Was it an Uprising member who worked with Lucifer?


    Carrying his bag on his shoulder, Jiang approached Das, who stood with Jenilia and Jia.


    He also grew surprised as he recognized Jenilia. "Huh? You? Aren''t you the girl that tried to rob my carst time? What are you doing here? Didn''t you leave the country then?"


    "You know her?" Das asked Jiang. "May I ask why you would have contact with the Warlock Council?"


    "Not only me, even the little boss knows her," Jiang answered. "We gave her a liftst time."


    "Little Boss?" Jenilia asked. "Are you talking about that guy who had a conflict with the APF escort? Wasn''t he just a bodyguard of Lucifer? Why would you call him little boss?" Jenilia asked, curious.


    "I''m not talking about him. I''m talking about-"


    Jiang started exining, but Das cut him off in the middle, seeing what was happening. It seemed like Lucifer knew these people, but they didn''t know who he was. And this idiot was going to give away that information.


    Not willing to let that happen, he cut the conversation in the middle. "Enough! Our guests are in a hurry to leave. Jiang, you should go sit in the helicopter. Kellian wanted to talk to you urgently."


    "He? Alright." Jiang nodded. ncing back at Jenilia, he continued. "I''ll see youter. Best of luck."


    He walked back to the helicopter.


    The abrupt interference of Das was noticed by Jia, who realized that it was something he didn''t want to know. Whoever this little boss was, it was important information.


    "No, wait! We''re not in a hurry to leave. We can spare a few minutes. Jenilia, why don''t you finish the conversation with your friends. In the meantime, I''ll entertain Das," she chimed in, smiling.


    Jia understood it as well. She started running towards Jiang.


    "I''m sorry, but I can''t allow that. You must have all the time in the world, but we don''t," Das retorted as he blocked the path of Jenilia.


    It made Jia even more sure that he was trying to hide something.


    "Fine. Since you''re in such a hurry, we won''t interfere. We''ll leave," she let out, smiling.


    "Come, Jenilia," she said, walking to her jet. Jenilia also followed her. The two of them entered the private jet, which started moving on the runway, soon taking off.


    As the ne took off, Das kept an eye on it. The military nes of the Warlock Council also took off, providing protection to the jet.


    Das walked back to the helicopter after the ne left.


    "You know, you''re an idiot," he scolded Jiang as soon as he entered the helicopter. "Can''t you keep your mouth shut for a minute?"


    "What did I do?" Jiang asked, not understanding what he did wrong. Why was this guy so upset? It wasn''t as if he betrayed them or something.

 Chapter 449: You made me wait a lot

    <h4>Chapter 449: You made me wait a lot</h4>


    Das stared at Jiang, frustrated. Ultimately, a sigh left his lips. "Forget it."


    He didn''t want to talk about it anymore now that it was over. He simply closed his eyes as the helicopter started rising in the air.


    ...


    Contrary to the silence in the Uprising helicopter, a conversation was taking ce in the Warlock Council ne. Jia had begun her interrogation.


    "So, Jenilia. May I ask more about the event you talked about before? How did you know that man?"


    "It happened when I came herest time. Our car broke down in the middle and..."


    Jenilia started exining what had happened and how she had met Jiang. She even talked about Lucifer and her conversation with him.


    "So there were only three men there? Jiang, the bodyguard, and that Lucifer? That man confirmed that he wasn''t talking about the bodyguard when he talked about the little boss, so that can only mean one thing," Jia muttered, putting the pieces together.


    "That Lucifer should be the person he called Little Boss. And he works for Uprising, so his little boss should be the boss of Uprising too. That matches the information we had about the new leader being a youngster," she further added. "What do you think?"


    "You mean Lucifer is the leader of Uprising? That''s impossible. There''s no way. He''s a businessman," Jenilia responded. "I think we''re misunderstanding those words."


    "I don''t think we are. If that wasn''t the case, why would Das get so serious when Jiang talked about it? Why would he shut him up? Why would he be ready to fight just so we couldn''t talk to him?"


    "They''re trying to hide the identity of that guy. I don''t think we''re wrong. Do you have the number of Lucifer?"


    "I don''t. I gave him my number but didn''t get his. He said he doesn''t keep a phone."


    "There''s no person in this world who won''t be using a phone in current times. He certainly lied about that. Anyway, that Lucifer should have the stone we''re looking for. And since he''s the leader, he must be behind your brother''s death too."


    "No. He isn''t an Uprising member, let alone a leader! If he was, do you think the APF escort who was with me wouldn''t have recognized him? You''re overthinking. I can prove it."


    No matter what Jia said, Jenilia stubbornly stuck to the notion that Lucifer wasn''t the leader since she believed there was no way.


    "You can? How?" Jia inquired. "Tell me how you can prove it."


    "By finding out how the real leader of Uprising looks. That will prove my point," Jenilia dered.


    "Oh? And how will you find out what the real leader of Uprising looks like? We only have vague data about him. Moreover, our spies who could have seen him are dead too. So, how will we find it?" Jia asked, rolling her eyes.


    "I can understand you though. You don''t want to believe that he''s the leader. Of course, you wouldn''t. He''s someone you considered your friend after all. I might think the same if I was in your ce. But your judgment is biased. It''s clear."


    "Just forget it. It doesn''t matter who their leader is. What matters is how we deal with him. They''re too arrogant. The entire Council will have to decide how we deal with the Uprising to show them their ce."


    ...


    The dark-haired noble was frustrated that Lucifer and his team were wasting time instead of directly going back.


    Pushing the textured wooden door of the carriage, he stepped out and started scolding them.


    Unfortunately, his words seemed to have fallen on deaf ears as no one took him seriously. In fact, he waspletely ignored.


    Themoners that upied the street also observed the entiremotion, amused that a Noble was being ignored by a random person.


    Some of the people recognized Lucifer and his team as the ones who had entered the bar.


    They understood why these guys were so arrogant, believing that they were probably special too, despite not being Nobles. That''s why they weren''t killed for breaking thewsst time.


    Seeing the gazes of themoners as he was ignored, the dark-haired Noble grew even more frustrated.


    "You! Stop ignoring me!" he roared, releasing his mighty aura.


    His powerful aura spread everywhere, bringing all themoners down to their knees.


    Even Heath couldn''t oppose the noble aura as he was forced to his knees. As for Caen, he was also feeling the brunt of the aura, struggling to stay standing.


    The only two people who weren''t affected at all were Lucifer and Szar, who stood calmly as if nothing was happening.


    "Why did everyone go down to their knees? Did something happen?" Szar asked, looking around as if mocking the dark-haired man about him, not even feeling it a little.


    As for Lucifer, he was also amused.


    "You!" The Noble red at Szar.


    "Why are you getting so hyper?" Lucifer asked, chiming in.


    "We''re walking back. It doesn''t matter which route we take for walking back. That''s none of your concern. Since we can''t travel in the carriage, we might as well enjoy our walk entirely. And we''re doing just that," he further added.


    "After that point, you should have no problem with us," he continued, patting his chest as a speck of dust hadnded on it.


    The face of the Noble turned red in anger as he heard the response. He was so angry that he wanted to attack, but he knew he couldn''t, or he would upset his Queen.


    He also understood why these people were doing it. They were upset that he didn''t let them go through the carriage, which was why they were dying the whole thing.


    "Fine! You cane in the carriage too! Stop with this nonsense!"?he ultimately dered, giving in.


    Instead of wasting time, it was better just to let them use the carriage as that was better and faster.


    "Are you sure?" Szar asked, smirking.


    "I''m sure! Get inside now!"


    "If you insist," Szar chuckled, walking back to the carriage.


    Heath also stood up as the noble retracted his aura. Caen could also rx a little now. Lucifer and the others also walked to the carriage and sat inside with the Noble.


    Finally, the drama was over, and the carriage went back to the Guest Mansion through the well-made roads of the city.


    The carriage dropped the four at the entrance of the Mansion. Only after watching them enter the mansion did the Carriage leave.


    "You made me wait a lot, young man."


    As soon as Lucifer and the others entered the room, they watched a person sitting on the sofa.

 Chapter 450: Milena on the run

    <h4>Chapter 450: Milena on the run</h4>


    "What are you doing here?" Lucifer asked, stepping closer to the person on the couch.


    "I came to meet you. Can''t I do that?" The man on the couch asked, smiling.


    "You came to meet me or to interrogate me?" Lucifer asked, amused.


    "Can''t it be both?" The man asked. "Please sit."


    Lucifer and the others sat as well.


    "So, why are you really here?" Lucifer asked, sitting on the couch as well. "Let me guess. You came here to ask how I knew your name? Right Arthur?"


    "That''s right. I want to know just that. How did someone like you get to know my name? Only the Nobles know my name, and they wouldn''t have told you for no reason," Arthur answered.


    He remained unaware of the fact that he had already fought Lucifer in the Prediction, and he even helped Lucifer choose.


    "I''ll answer that question, but first, you need to answer something too," Lucifer let out.


    He nced at the maid who stood behind them. "Can you bring us some water?"


    Nodding, the maid left.


    Arthur slightly moved back on the couch, adjusting his position. "What do you want to ask me?"


    "I want to know about the white-haired man who stood behind Milena. Who is he?" Lucifer asked.


    "About Sirius! Why do you want to know about him?" Arthur inquired, amused. "How does it benefit you? Do you think you can buy his loyalty just because he''s not a Noble?"


    "It doesn''t benefit me at all. I know I can''t buy his loyalty, nor do I want that. I just want to know more about him," Lucifer responded. "If you can answer me, you''ll get your answers as well."


    "Fine. I''ll tell you as much as I know. It''s not much of a secret either. He''s the closest to Her Majesty, always apanying her. In fact, I don''t think I ever saw the two of them without each other for some reason."


    "Moreover, as you already noticed, he''s the only person in the Royal Court who isn''t a Noble. Much about him is unknown as he doesn''t talk to anyone. He doesn''t have many friends, but he has many enemies who are jealous of his position despite him being amoner."


    "That man... is a mystery. All we know is that he saved Her Majesty''s life when she was on the run. Since then, she trust him. Still, she didn''t turn him for some reason."


    "Milena was on the run?" As Arthur exined, Lucifer''s focus went straight to the most surprising thing. It was about Milena being on the run? Why would someone as powerful as her run?


    "Isn''t your queen powerful? Who could be strong enough to make her run? And how could a human save her in such a situation?" Szar also chimed in.


    Arthur shook his head. "She wasn''t always this powerful. It happened before she gained her powers if I''m not wrong."


    "Can you tell us about it?" Lucifer asked, intrigued by the story.


    "First, you tell me how you knew my name. I answered your first question. Now it''s your turn to answer mine," Arthur stated firmly.


    "It''s simple. I had a dream," Lucifer replied.


    "Nonsense! How could you know my name in a dream?"


    "It wasn''t a normal dream. It was the dream of the future," Lucifer answered. "It''s one of my abilities. I can sometimes see dreams of the future, only rarely though. And I can only see up to one day in advance."


    "That''s why I knew that your queen would be questioning me. That''s why I kept our witness ready because I knew that she was going to me me for no reason at all. Why else do you think we would make sure that the maid knew that we were here all night?" he further added.


    "Ah, I was wondering about that. It seemed too fishy that you had witnesses ready like that. That does exin it, but I still find it a bit hard to believe. You''re saying you can see the future? Won''t you know what will happen in the tournament?" Arthur asked.


    "It doesn''t work like that. As I said, I only rarely have these visions¡ªabout one every month. I have no control over what I see and when I see. I already saw one for this month, and it happened to be rted to today''s event," Lucifer exined.


    "Is that so? Tell me what was about to happen then?" Arthur inquired. "How did it lead to you finding out my name?"


    "It''s simple. I don''t have a witness. Milena med me, and I couldn''t prove my innocence. She killed Heath. A battle began," Lucifer exined.


    "You and I started to face each other. But before you attacked me, you stated your name, saying you wanted me to know the name of the person who was going to kill me." He continued. "That''s why I knew your name."


    "So, what happened at the end? How long did it take for me to kill you? Don''t tell me it took me more than five minutes. I''ll be disappointed if that was the case."


    "I''m not that easy to kill. So when we fight, it''s not going to end in five minutes. If it does, then you''ll be the one dead. Anyway, there was no oue of the battle. The battle stopped in the middle as Milena took over. You just stood in the back and watched after that," Lucifer answered.


    "What happened next?" Intrigued, Arthur asked.


    "After that, my prophetic dream broke, and I woke up. I started preparing to prove my innocence," Lucifer replied.


    "Why didn''t youe to us instead? Why didn''t you tell us that someone was going to intrude the pce if you knew about it?" Arthur asked.


    "Why would I know about it? I just know that Milena med me, mostly lying, because she knew I wouldn''t be able to prove my innocence," Lucifer answered.


    " She wanted to use the excuse to kill us. At least that''s what I thought. So no benefit in telling. I just safeguarded myself," he further added.


    Hearing the answer, Arthur nodded. "Well, that''s certainly a good story. I''ll ept that. I can''t find a w in it either... At least none that I can prove. So I''ll take your word for it."


    "Now, tell me about Milena. Why was she on the run?" Lucifer asked. "What happened to her?"


    "What happened to her? In short, a lot happened to her.?The Divine Empire you see today wasn''t always like this. It was much worse in the past," Arthur replied, sighing.

 Chapter 451: Rare

    <h4>Chapter 451: Rare</h4>


    The maid returned with a white tray that had a flower-shaped painting on the bottom. From the top, the tray was in white.


    Five transparent sses were resting on the tray, four being at each corner, while the fifth was ced at the exact center of the tray. All sses were filled with water to the top, barely leaving one inch of them empty


    As she respected Noble Lords the most, the first person she approached was Arthur. She bent forward, extending the tray towards Arthur, offering him water.


    "I''m fine. Give the others," Arthur casually waved his hand, refusing the water.


    The maid respectfully backed off.


    She moved over to Lucifer, who was also sitting on the couch, offering him the water. Using his left hand, Lucifer picked up the ss of water. "Thank you."


    Nodding, the maid stepped back since only two people were sitting on the couch. As for the other three, they were sitting on chairs on the other side.


    As she stepped back, she didn''t look behind.


    A ss table was ced at a few meters of distance from the sofa where Arthur was sitting. The ss table was mostly empty, having an old book ced at the center, which was in the localnguage of the Divine Empire.


    Even reading the name on the cover was hard for people who weren''t from here. It also had a flower vase that had flowers of myriad of colors peeking out of it.


    The strange flowers were something that was hard to find in the outside world as they only grew in the specific climatic conditions of the Divine Empire.


    They weren''t rare here either. Every day, the flowers in the vase were changed by the maid as the old flowers couldn''t survive for even two days after being plucked.


    The maid stepped back, forgetting about the table which was lying behind her.


    Tuch~


    Her legs identally hit the ss table, making her lose bnce. The tray flew off her hand into the air as she started falling down, unable to bnce herself.


    In the direction she fell, she was going to crash on top of the flower vase while also possibly breaking the ss table; however, something strange happened.


    A gust of wind came from nowhere, holding onto the slender body of the maid, keeping her in the air. Her back remained only a few inches away from the vase which was saved.


    Because of the winds, the flowers that were inside the vase started waving left and right as if they had started dancing, celebrating the arrival of the wind.


    She wasn''t the only one who was stopped though.


    The tray which had flown into the air also stopped mid-air, floating. The four sses of water also flew at some distance from the tray, all seemingly going in a different direction before they were caught.


    The water from the sses had also spilled out of them, but before the water could fall, the wind caught it too.


    Each droplet of water flew in its respective ss before the ss flew to the tray,nding on it.


    The tray started flying to the ss table; going under the maid, the traynded on the ss table.


    The maid also started flying up, standing on her own two feet. A look of disbelief graced her beautiful face as she tried to make sense of what had just happened. It all seemed like a dream. She was actually flying.


    If she hadn''t seen the tray lying on the ss table, she might have even considered that she was actually dreaming, but that wasn''t the case as she now understood.


    ording to her, it was the work of someone who was present in this room. She didn''t know what powers each of them had, but her first thought went to Arthur.


    She believed that only Lord Arthur was graceful enough to protect her.


    She looked at Arthur as she bowed respectfully. "Thank you for saving me."


    "Don''t thank me. I wasn''t the one who did it," Arthur casually replied, shrugging.


    "Huh?"


    Confused, the maid looked at Caen. Only he had wings in this room, so he was evidently rted to wind. She wondered if it was him.


    "Don''t look at me either. I wasn''t the one who saved you." Before the maid could even ask, Caen answered.


    She looked at Szar, who was standing behind Caen.


    "Not me either," Szar answered. "You might want to look ahead, by the way."


    Hearing that, the maid understood everything. There were only two people sitting in the direction where Szar was pointing¡ª Lucifer and Arthur. Arthur already said he wasn''t the one; that only left one person there who could have done it.


    She turned around and looked at Lucifer, who was drinking the water, taking small sips.


    "Thank you for saving me," she told Lucifer, bowing respectfully.


    "Don''t worry about it. It was nothing. Next time watch where you walk," Lucifer let out, smiling wryly. "I won''t be there to always save you."


    The girl nodded, slightly embarrassing. A shade of pink appeared on her fair cheeks, highlighting her embarrassment. She hastily stepped forward and picked up the tray again before she walked around the table to serve water to the others.


    Heath was the closest to her, so she served him first. Heath picked up a ss, passing it over to Szar, who was sitting right beside him.


    He picked another ss for himself and took a sip of water. "Hah, after being thirsty for so long, drinking water feels like drinking heavenly liquor."


    "Howe you''re so thirsty?" Caen asked, amused.


    "Well, being almost killed can have that effect, I guess," Szar let out, smiling.


    "Can you all not tease me like that? It was scary," Heath responded, rolling his eyes.


    The maid walked over to Caen, who was thest person. He also picked up the ss of water. He finished the ss in one attempt, cing it back on the tray. "Thanks."


    The maid nodded respectfully. She walked over to the others and collected the empty sses.


    "You can leave now. Give us some privacy," Lucifer told the maid who had finished taking the sses.


    The maid walked away, going upstairs to give some privacy to the others as she wasmanded.


    cing his right leg over his left, Arthur once again turned to Lucifer.


    "I don''t know what happened when we fought in your dream before, but it was interesting to see your powers at y. Such precise control of wind is rare."


    "Are you implying that there are people in the Divine Empire who can control wind too?" Lucifer asked, surprised.

 Chapter 452: The Excessive Demand

    <h4>Chapter 452: The Excessive Demand</h4>


    "Of course. In fact, there isn''t one. There are actually two. Their control over the wind is much worse though. From what I saw, they can''t do half the things you did," Arthur answered Lucifer.


    "Also, they''ve had the powers for a long time. I don''t think you were even born when they received their powers which makes it even more strange. In such a short time, you mastered your powers so much," he further added.


    "I think we''re getting off-topic," Lucifer let out, realizing that there were more important things to talk about.


    "What was it like before? From what we managed to find about the Divine Empire, only thest ten years of history exist in our database. I''m not sure about the past. What happened there?" he asked.


    "The past, huh. No wonder you don''t know about it. Not many people outside this Empire know about it. But it was something which changed the entirendscape of this Continent."


    "Entirendscape of the continent? How?" Lucifer took great interest in the topic.


    "In the current time, there are only three nations in the Continent of Darkness and one Divine Empire, but that wasn''t always the case. This vast continent had many civilizations that lived in different parts of the continent."


    "There were twelve nations and five Empires with the monarchy in the Continent of Darkness, but that''s when things changed."


    Hearing about the history, which remained a secret all this while, even Heath couldn''t control himself as he slightly pushed his body ahead on the chair.


    "Was there a War?" Lucifer asked, taking a guess.


    "That''s right," Arthur answered.


    "One of the five Empires made an alliance with another powerful Empire to wipe all the Nations so they couldn''t threaten the idea of Monarchy. They were worried that the idea of freedom and free thought was dangerous for their Empires."


    "And thus, the two Empires waged a War on the Twelve Nations."


    "Only two? Why didn''t the others support?"


    "The other three Empires didn''t want to get in on the War. They wanted to wait and watch how everything yed out."


    "Seeing the two Empires have an advantage in the War, and fearing their revenge for not supporting them, two more Empires started supporting them, jumping in the War."


    "Only one Empire stayed out of the historical event, not sending even one of its soldiers to die in the war. They didn''t want to support the nations, but they didn''t want to support the Empires that were attacking the other for no reason at all," Arthur said, remembering the history as if it happened just yesterday.


    "So they just remained spectators? Not a good decision. The four Empires would certainly be angry at them. Even a blind man could see thating. Was thatst Empire the Divine Empire?" Lucifer asked.


    Arthur nodded. "That''s right. The Divine Empire was a spectator in thest great war."


    "I''m surprised your Emperor couldn''t see iting. He should''ve supported the Empire, even if it was to safeguard his Empire in the future."


    "Well, even I don''t know why he did what he did. We can''t go back in time to ask him. So we can only guess. But yeah, what you said did happen," Arthur replied.


    "Did the four Empires attack the Divine Empire?" Lucifer asked.


    "They didn''t. They instead sent an Envoy. I still remember the message of that Envoy. It''s still printed in all our important history books."


    "What was the message?" Lucifer inquired as curiosity filled him up.


    "They used the Divine Empire of betrayal by not supporting other Empires in their crusade."


    "They used the Divine Empire of being corrupted by sympathy towards the nations. The Emperor said that it was nonsense, and he didn''t ept the usations."


    "Unfortunately, that wasn''t the end of it. The Envoy further stated that the Divine Empire was required to serve the other four Empires. They asked him to do one more thing to prove their loyalty to the other Empires."


    "What thing?"


    "The Divine Emperor had four daughters... Can you guess where I''m going with that?" Arthur asked.


    "Don''t tell me they asked him to marry his daughters to their sons?" Lucifer asked.


    "Worse. They asked him to have his daughters warm the beds of their sons, without ever being married to them," Arthur exined, sighing. "I really can''t understand those people."


    "Those bastards! They''re so evil! What nonsense is this? After levying false usations on the Divine Empire, they even asked such sphemous things?" Heath appeared to be most affected by this revtion, unable to believe it.


    Caen, Lucifer, and Szar were more in control of their emotions, but then they understood how bad it was. They were basically forcing the Divine Emperor to send his daughters to be r*p*d by their sons! No matter how even a person was, this seemed to be crossing the line.


    "I believe the Emperor responded in a simr fashion," Arthur responded. In fact, in his anger, he killed the envoy.


    "The death of a messenger was a war crime for the Empires which gave them a good excuse to attack the Divine Empire."


    "The Divine Empire was invaded by millions of soldiers. Divine Empire soldiers bravely faced the enemies, but ultimately, they couldn''t hold on against the enemy forces which were ten timesrge in numbers."


    "The Divine Empire fell that day, but that wasn''t the end. The Emperor stayed behind to dy the enemies while making all four of his daughters run away with his trusted General."


    Reaching this part of the story, Arthur took a deep pause.


    "Don''t stop there! Tell us what happened next? Did the princess manage to escape? Did they survive? We know about Queen Milena; what about the other three? They must''ve survived too, right?" Heath asked, getting impatient.


    He found himself too invested in the story. Even a single minute of pause was too much for him, especially near the climax.


    "I think the other three died. That''s why we didn''t see them with Milena," Szar chimed in. "Why else would she be alone? One question remains though. All four of them ran together. How was it that three died while one survived?"


    "Well, actually all four of them were supposed to die because they were betrayed. The Emperor had trusted his General to protect his daughters to save his life, but that wasn''t what happened," Arthur replied.


    "Instead, the savior became the evil. To save his own skin, he didn''t help the Princess escape; instead, he took them straight to the enemy and handed them over while swearing their loyalty to them."

 Chapter 453: Motivation of death

    <h4>Chapter 453: Motivation of death</h4>


    In one of the Pces that was reserved for special guests, a group of one of the most powerful Warlocks was sitting, listening to an intriguing story about the history of the Divine Empire and its formation.


    Unfortunately, most of it seemed to be depressing for the most part as it talked about how most of the continent was wiped by four Empires.


    Despite hearing about that, Lucifer and the others knew the ultimate end. They knew that in the end, only one Empire was left, which was none of the four initial Empires. The only question was how they got here.


    Lucifer and Arthur were sitting on the couch while Caen, Szar, and Heath were sitting on the other side, facing the two of them. A ss table rested in the middle of the two sides.


    The maid was sitting in her room, folding her clothes as she wasn''t allowed to be outside to hear the conversation.


    No one realized that she was still able to hear everything even though she wasn''t downstairs. Not a single person knew that she was a Variant who had the power of Super Hearing. She was able to hear things far and wide, no matter the distance or the obstruction.


    As for her range, it wasn''t small either. As long as she wanted, she could hear any conversation within ten kilometers of hers.


    And this wasn''t the first time she was using this ability. She had been using this ability since Lucifer and his team entered the Pce.


    Throughout this entire time, she heard everything they talked about. She even heard their nsst night about infiltrating the Royal Pce at night.


    She even knew that it was Caen who was fooling her. Even Caen didn''t know that she knew all about it in the first ce.


    In fact, she even knew about the fact that Nobles drank blood all this while. She still acted ignorant though. Even though she knew that it was Lucifer who infiltrated the Royal Pce, it seemed like she had lied to her Queen.


    She continued folding the clothes as she heard the story which was being told downstairs by Arthur. Despite already knowing the story, she didn''t mind hearing it again. No matter how many times she heard it, she always found it fascinating.


    She folded another dress and ced it on the stack of folded clothes before moving over to the next dress.


    She picked up another dress.


    At the same time, as she picked a dress, Lucifer spoke downstairs. "It''s not surprising. For people, the fear of death can be the biggest motivation. Some people can even sell their souls to avoid death."


    "That''s true for weak people. But strong people can ept death since they believe they have the strength to face it. For example, look at yourself," Arthur responded.


    "Look at myself?" Lucifer asked, amused. "What about me?"


    "You were sure to die in the morning if you had attacked Her Majesty. But you were still prepared to fight. All because you had faith that you could defeat her. On the other hand, look at him," Arthur replied, pointing towards Heath, who was sitting on the chair, hearing everything.


    Before he could even ask why he was being mentioned, Arthur continued, "He was shivering by only the thought of walking close to Her Majesty. He''s the person who can be scared of death because he''s weak, and he knows he has not even a little chance of survival."


    "On the other hand, people like us are strong.?We are at the top of the food chain. We aren''t the prey; instead, we are the predators. We trust our strength; that''s why we can look at death straight in the eyes without running away."


    "That''s the difference between the strong and the weak. Death is a good motivation for the weak, but for the strong, it''s just another part of life," Arthur calmly stated, talking about what he believed in.


    "Aren''t I right?" he asked.


    "I don''t think I''m the right person toment on that," Lucifer responded.


    "At this point, death is like an old friend of mine. Ites, takes me in its embrace, and leaves after releasing me, promising toe next time," he further added, sighing. "But I suppose you''re right. Strength can be a factor in how people deal with deadly situations."


    "Old friend? Ah, I suppose you talk about your dreams. How many times have you died in your dreams? And do you feel pain when you die in your dream predictions?" Arthur asked, misunderstanding Heath.


    "Pain?" Lucifer muttered, remembering about his rtionship with pain.


    A smirk spread across his lips as he remembered that pain was where his journey began. It was when he was pushed into the path of self-destruction that he is still following. Unfortunately, his healing didn''t allow for that either.


    Remembering about the painful experiment and his experience, he could still feel slightly tingling in his hands.


    He lowered his gaze, looking at his hands that could still remember that feeling which made him feel like his entire body was being shredded to pieces.


    He also remembered the headache he experienced at that time, which made him feel like someone had ced thousands of nails on his head, and they were hitting the nails with the heavy hammers, destroying his skull.


    As for his nerves, he remembered the feeling of burning that was spreading in his entire body as if moltenva was coursing through his body.


    As Lucifer nced at his hands nkly, Arthur was surprised. "Why are you in a daze? Did you get lost in memoryne?"


    "Huh?" Lucifer came out of his daze. He shook his head. "It''s nothing. I just remembered something."


    "Anyway, I guess you can say that. I did die and felt extreme pain too, but my starting was at a high point. So it wasn''t hard to protect myself so that the pain wouldn''t break me," he added.


    "Anyway, enough about me. What happened after the four Princesses were given to the enemies?" he asked, getting back on track.


    "That''s right. It seems like we got a bit off track," Arthur agreed.


    "The four Princesses were given to the enemies by the traitor. The Divine Emperor was also caught alive. He was alive as he watched his daughters being given away right before his eyes. The daughters he worked hard to protect were in the enemy''s hand."


    "From what I know, right then, his head was impaled by a spear. Just like a father watched his daughters being captured, the daughters watched?their father being killed."

 Chapter 454: The same

    <h4>Chapter 454: The same</h4>


    "That''s..." Heath found himself struggling to form his next sentence, being overwhelmed since he was imagining himself in the ce of the Emperor.


    He also had a young daughter back in Triton and a wife. He was living away from his home because he was assigned to the Continent of Darkness, but he still knew how precious his family was for him.


    Keeping himself in the ce of the Emperor, he knew he would''ve gone crazy if it had happened right before his eyes.


    The others also weren''t fond of what had happened. Even though they all had killed people, taken lives but they never did something like this.


    "How old was Milena at that time?" Lucifer asked Arthur.


    "Her Majesty was the youngest at that time. She was only eight years old when this happened. The Eldest Princess was twenty. The second Princess was seventeen, and the Third Princess was sixteen," Arthur answered.


    "What happened after that? The Emperor was killed and then?" Lucifer asked.


    "Well, the Emperor was killed along with all the subordinates that stood loyal to him. From the staff of the Emperor, only the general who had betrayed them was left alive," Arthur replied.


    "What about the girls?"


    "The girls were separated from each other. The envoys of all four Empires took one Princess. The weakest of the four Empires received the youngest Princess while the strongest Empire of the four received the Eldest Princess."


    "As for the Divine Empire, it was divided equally by the four Empires who took equal part of thend in their control," Arthur exined.


    "After that?"


    "Not much of what happened after that is known. But from what I know, Princess Milena was taken to the Arian Empire, but since she was too young, they didn''t do anything to her. They kept her locked in a cell, probably waiting for her to get old enough."


    "That''s where Princess Milena lived for at least one year before she ultimately awakened her powers. She met Sirius there as well, who worked for the Arian Empire. He helped her escape, taking pity on her plight."


    "The two of them ran away, and he helped Milena control her powers which was what sheter used to form her army. Sirius killed the enemies, and Princess Milena turned them. That''s how things continued for one year."


    "And then began the Carnage. Her Majesty attacked the Arian Empire. People kept dying in the War, unable to face the Nobles that were stronger and faster."


    " The Nobles also turned the people who kept dying in the War which increased the number of the rebel army even faster. The Arian Empire fell, unable to face the onught. But before being wiped out, they did inform other Empires about what was happening."


    "Feeling worried, the other Empires also joined the battle, attacking the army of Her Majesty with their full force, but the result was the same. The ability of Her Majesty wasn''t something they could take lightly."


    "Two days... It took just two days before the war was over. I''m sure you can understand what a ughter fest it was."


    "Which Empire did you fight for at the time? When did Milena turn you?" Lucifer asked.


    "I fought for the strongest Empire in the war, well, if you exclude the Divine Empire. It was the Empire that took the Eldest Princess. I was their General," Arthur exined.


    "You were their General? You must''ve had some fun in the war then. Your Teleportation is a mess to deal with. How many enemies did you kill?"


    "Enemies? I don''t think I remember at this point. Probably a hundred thousand? Or maybe two hundred? But ultimately, I was killed," Arthur exined.


    " It''s impossible to fight so many people for so long, even for someone like me, especially when food and water run out. Ultimately, I was killed because of a random arrow that prated my heart," he continued.


    "Funny, right? A Warlock dying because of a mortal''s attack from an ordinary arrow? It was a pitiful death for someone like me. Man, I would have preferred to die with more dignity against another Warlock instead."


    "Anyway, Her Majesty brought me back to life. And since then, I''ve been with her," he added.


    "I can guess what happened next. Milna took over all the Empires. But what about her sisters? What happened to them?" Lucifer asked.


    To the question, Arthur went silent for a moment.


    After taking a brief pause, he replied, "The Eldest Princess... She took her life, but not before she was forced to stay with the Eldest Prince for one night."


    "When Her Majesty found out about this, she killed the Emperor and took that Prince, giving him to the Newborns who weremanded to... I am sure you can guess..."?he muttered, smiling wryly.


    "They were told to kill him?" Heath asked, but understanding.


    "Why would she ask Newborns to kill him when she can do it herself? Newborns aren''t clever, unlike Nobles. Moreover, they will listen to anymand without feeling disgusted. So she asked them to vite the Prince who made her sister suffer in the same way," Arthur exined, more clearly.


    "Punishing them with their own methods? I think I know someone else who does the same thing," Caen let out, shaking his head as he nced at Lucifer.


    He remembered how Lucifer had punished the scientistsst time.


    Folding his arms around his chest, Lucifer nodded. "I would have done the same if I was in her ce."


    "What about the other two princesses?" he asked.


    "The other two princesses? Well, they also died. The second Princess tried running away, and she was killed because an arrow hit the back of her head when she was running," Arthur answered.


    " As for the third Princess, he was fed to the dogs after being sliced in small pieces because she spat on his face in disgust when he was with her. The Prince was really enraged because of that and had her killed like that," he continued.


    "So all the sisters of Milena were killed, and her father was already dead. So she conquered the entire continent only to find herself all alone in the world, without anyone to share her aplishment with," Heath chimed in, sighing.


    Lucifer nced at him, lost in thought. Why did his words sound like they were aimed at him? He didn''t know his identity, so he couldn''t have known about the fact that he was also alone in this world, having no family.


    He wondered if this was just a coincidence, but Milena was in the same ce as him. The only difference was that she watched her parents killed right before her eyes while Lucifer didn''t watch that scene personally.

 Chapter 455: Another

    <h4>Chapter 455: Another</h4>


    Moreover, he didn''t have any siblings. He was an only child, unlike Milena.


    It was interesting to know more about Milena and how she reached the ce where she currently was. That also made him understand her more. It seemed like she was more like him than he cared to admit.


    She also suffered and then went on to take over the entire continent, just like he was nning to.


    "Anyway, that''s how we reached here. The Divine Empire was once again established in its full glory where it previously was. As for the citizens of the other Empires, they weren''t allowed to stay in the Divine Empire."


    "That''s why three nations were established on the three corners of the continent to house the people of four Empires that survived the onught. And that''s the full history."


    Arthur finished the story before observing the expressions of Lucifer. "What are you thinking now?"


    Lucifer seemed lost in deep thoughts as he tapped the couch with his fingers.


    "I''m thinking about Sirius. It''s intriguing how he sided with Milena in all this. It just sounds too convenient. Why would he oppose his Empire to side with an eight year old kid? I don''t believe it was because of sympathy," he expressed his concerns.


    "You''re saying he had ulterior motives?" Arthur asked as a smirk spread across his lips.


    "He''s the only person in Milena''s squad who isn''t turned by her. That means he isn''t forced to have absolute loyalty to her. Isn''t that right?" Lucifer asked.


    "Moreover, if he wanted to, he could have destroyed the Arian Empire himself. He could have used his Invisibility to kill the Emperor and the Princes instead of running. It somehow seems like he forced the circumstances," he further added.


    "He has invisibility?" Arthur asked, taken aback.


    He had never known about the abilities of Sirius, so it came as a surprise.


    "That''s right. He has invisibility. I fought him too. And that isn''t all. I''m not sure what it was, but he has something else too," Lucifer replied.


    "As for what, I don''t know. But I believe his other ability will be the key to understanding why he helped Milena and what his ulterior motives were," he further added.


    Even though Arthur had also been suspicious of Sirius, he didn''t believe Lucifer''s words instantly. Lucifer was still a stranger who might be lying, he believed.


    However, he also remembered an incident that made him slightly tilt towards believing him.


    When he died, he didn''t know that an arrow wasing to him. In fact, he had looked all around just a moment ago to make sure no attacks wereing at him.


    Unfortunately, an arrow stabbed him in the back out of nowhere as if it had appeared out of nowhere. At that time, he wondered how it happened since the arrow wasn''t invisible.


    He also had a feeling that someone had stabbed that arrow instead, but there was no one behind him.


    If Sirius could go invisible, he could certainly hide the arrow in his clothes to stab in thest moment when he was close. But that still wasn''t enough for Arthur to believe.


    He remembered more incidents too though. It was after he had be a Noble. There were many times when he had a feeling that he was being watched by someone when no one was there.


    In one of those times, he remembered feeling like he was being watched by someone. Right after that, a vase had fallen behind him, but when he turned, there was no one there.


    Moreover, the falling of the vase should have been impossible since no wind was flowing inside the room either. Furthermore, the Vase was heavy too. It couldn''t have fallen on its own.


    As the vase fell, it made Arthur even more suspicious. He searched the entire ce, but he couldn''t find anyone there either.


    "How can I believe that you''re telling the truth?" he asked Lucifer.


    "I''m not here to prove anything. You can trust me if you want. Don''t trust me if you don''t want to. I just told you what I thought. In any case, you''re a Noble. It''s not like I can use you to support me," Lucifer responded.


    Hezily stood up, stretching his arms.


    "Your loyalty to Milena is unbreakable after all. It''s not like I''m going to get anything from you by telling you. So believe what you want to. Just don''t forget, I also know about your Teleportation. So I have an idea what I''m talking about," he further said as he started going to the stairs.


    "Where are you going? Our conversation isn''t over." Arthur stood up, watching Lucifer leave.


    "What''s more to talk about? I already got answers to my questions, and you got answers to yours. I believe we''re done," Lucifer responded without looking back.


    His finger touched the railings of the staircase as he climbed the first stair.


    "We''ll be done when I tell you. I have more to talk about." Arthur frowned.


    "Like what?" Lucifer asked, ncing back.


    "Like the stones!"


    "What about the stones?"


    "I want to know what they are. Why do you people want them so badly? What''s so special about them? What mystery do they hold?" Arthur asked.


    "And you think I''ll tell you that?" A glimpse of a smirk appeared on Lucifer''s face.


    "And why won''t you? Unless that stone really is something special? If you tell me something about that stone, I''ll also tell you something that might save your life in the future," Arthur expressed.


    "Save my life, huh." Lucifer muttered, shaking his head. "I refuse."


    "Saving his life? That''s the worst pitch someone can offer him." A voice fell in Arthur''s ears, spoken by Szar.


    ''The dude is undying. Can he really care about something that can save his life?'' Szar thought.


    "Fine. I''ll tell you about the second stone then." Arthur let out.


    "Second stone? What do you mean?" Lucifer asked, surprised.


    He was sure that he wouldn''t be talking about the stone which was with the Warlock Council. Then which stone was he talking about?"


    "Do you know about another stone like this? Is there a second one on this continent?" he asked.


    "Yes. It was discovered at the bottom of the sea. But it''s not with Her Majesty or with me.?And only I know where that stone is. If you tell me what''s special about the stones, I''ll also tell you about one such stone."


    "How can I be sure it''s the real thing?" Lucifer asked, wondering if he was really talking about the same stones and not some ordinary ones.

 Chapter 456: Weakness?

    <h4>Chapter 456: Weakness?</h4>


    "Because I saw it myself. It''s the same stone with the same style of character visible in it. The only difference is that the color was different."


    "That''s indeed true. The colors of each stone are different. I''m tempted to believe you," Lucifer muttered, rubbing his chin.


    He turned around and walked back. "Fine. Tell me where that stone is. I''ll tell you what''s special about the stones.''


    The maid in her room also heard everything. Her ears perked up as she heard it. She was finally going to know what was special about the stones and why everyone was after them.


    She desired to know about them from the moment she got to know about them. Finally, she had the opportunity.


    She stopped folding the clothes and stood up, just to make sure she didn''t miss it.


    "Fine. Come with me; let''s talk outside." Arthur let out as he started walking away. "Only you and me."


    Lucifer nodded, following Arthur. At the same time, he gestured for the others to stay behind.


    He and Arthur left the pce, standing outside.


    "They..." The most frustrated person in the Pce was the maid, who couldn''t believe that she was going to miss the opportunity to hear.


    She hoped that Lucifer wasn''t going to get out of her range, even if he left the Pce.


    "Since you can control the wind, I suppose you can fly too?" Arthur looked back at Lucifer.


    "I can. And I know you can too. Let me guess; you''re one of the two Wind Users of the Empire you talked about?"


    "Hahaha, he seems like we really did fight. Not bad. That''s right. I''m one of the two in the Empire that can use winds. But my control is in no way close to yours. I can only fly with my control and nothing else," Arthur replied as he started floating in the air.


    Lucifer also started elevating in the air, following Arthur.


    "Follow after me," Arthur said as he flew towards the sun.


    Lucifer also flew behind him, soon catching up to Arthur and flying side by side.


    "Are you not worried about Milena? She asked me to stay in the Pce. And you''re taking me out? She might misunderstand your intentions; you know that?" Lucifer asked, amused.


    "Well, that''s the advantage of being a Noble. She knows we can never betray her. Because we are dependent on her. If she dies, w-"


    Arthur soon stopped speaking as if he had spoken something wrong.


    He looked elsewhere andmented, "That''s a rare bird. I don''t think I''ve seen it before. What a beautiful bird."


    Lucifer also looked to the left, noticing a bird flying away. The bird had beautiful rainbow wings and a snow-white body. It indeed looked beautiful, but he was more intrigued about Arthur changing the topic suddenly.


    His words did give him some clues. What did he mean when he said that if she died...? Why didn''t he finish? He was mostly sure that his next words were, ''We.''


    He also said that they were dependent on her. It gave Lucifer a curious thought.


    ''Was he trying to say that if she dies, they die too? That would be really useful information. But he could also be saying something like if she dies, they all lose their senses, or they all get hurt. There are many possibilities. It could also be that if she dies, they lose their powers, and that''s why they''re dependent on her?''


    Many thoughts upied his head, but he believed that it was the first case. He knew that there was a severe possibility that their lives depended on hers.


    Maybe that was why Sirius didn''t want to be a Noble? Because he didn''t want his life to depend on someone else''s life?


    Arthur realized that Lucifer was suspicious. He tried to spin even more.?"It''s the first time I saw the bird. What a beautiful creature. Anyway, where was I?"


    "Yeah, I remember. I was saying that we all depend on her, and if she dies, we lose a great leader. And we can''t betray her because of some mental restrictions in our heads," he added, trying to recover the situation.


    He couldn''t even believe what a blunder it would be if Lucifer managed to guess what he was trying to say before. Fortunately, Milena couldn''t hear his thoughts, or she would have been really upset because of this blunder.


    He further continued, "We can''t even think about betraying her; that''s why she trusts us. Other than that, we all have the freedom to act independently. So I can do it, and my loyalty won''t be doubted because she would know that I can''t betray her."


    "That''s true. She''s your leader. Of course, you all depend on her. And the mental restriction makes sense. We also heard something about that." Lucifer nodded, acting as if he wasn''t suspicious at all.


    He actually made Arthur believe that he was still ignorant.


    Arthur was finally relieved as he believed he was safe.


    "Anyway, where are we going now?" Lucifer asked.


    "We''re going nowhere. We''re just randomly flying since I didn''t want anyone else to hear what I''m about to say."


    "You really think I won''t tell my friends?" Lucifer asked.


    "I''m not talking about your friends. Of course, telling you is the same as telling them."


    "You mean the maid?" Lucifer inquired.


    "She, Sirius, and everyone else. As you said, he can go Invisible. It''s better to be safe. Not only do I not want him to hear what I''m saying, but more importantly, I don''t want him to hear what you''re going to tell him. I want to be the only one who hears about the specialty of that stone," Arthur exined.


    "Hmm? I didn''t think about this. He can easily spy on us now," Lucifer muttered, frowning. It was something he noticed just now. "It looks like I need to be more careful too."


    ''I wonder if the X-Ray feature of the sses can help me see him? I''ll have to talk to Kane about this,'' he thought.


    "So, tell me. What''s special about the stones?" Arthur asked, slowing down a bit.


    "First, you tell me where the next stone is. Last time, I spoke first. This time, it''s your turn."


    "Do you really think I would cheat you?" Arthur asked, frowning.


    "It''s just fairer this way.''


    "Meh, excuses. Fine, I''ll go first. I''m sure you know that only one of the three nations is near the sea?"


    "Yeah. In the south." Lucifer nodded. "Is the second stone there? If that''s the case, it might be easy to get it."

 Chapter 457: Why did you tell me

    <h4>Chapter 457: Why did you tell me</h4>


    "That''s right. The stone was discovered in the sea there. It was inside the stomach of a fish that was caught in the depths of the sea by some fisherman," Arthur exined.


    "Is that so? May I ask how you knew about it in that case? Don''t tell me those people instantly knew that it was a special thing, and they came to give it to you?" Lucifer asked, countering.


    "Not at all. Of course, they didn''t know it was that special. They thought it was just a gem, and thus, it was auctioned. I just managed to see its pic in the auction documents."


    "So, where is it now?" Lucifer asked.


    "As I said, it was sold to a foreigner. I do have the details of that foreigner though. And I know where he lives."


    "I would''ve gone to recover that stone myself, but that thing doesn''t matter to me much. I''m just curious about it to some extent."


    "Tell me the address of that man."


    "Nope. I told you a few things; now it''s your turn to tell me. If you can''t trust me, I won''t either. So just know, this is all you''ll get. Want an address? Then tell me, what''s so special about the stones?" Arthur asked, slowing down even more.


    By now, the two of them had long stepped out of the range of the maid who was walking back and forth in her room in frustration.


    She couldn''t believe she was so close to getting the answers, only to fail.


    "Did he really have to take him so far? Did he know about my ability? Nonsense! No one knows about it. Then why did he take him away?"


    Many questions floated in the head of the maid, who couldn''t understand why Arthur took Lucifer so far that that was out of her range.


    In the meanwhile, Lucifer also didn''t drag the topic and started exining the specialty of the stones. In any case, it wasn''t something that could make people greedy for it.


    In fact, the desire for these stones was only going to decrease after they knew that these stones weren''t a treasure but keys to the ce where no one wanted to go.


    "The specialty of these stones??I don''t think they''re as special as you think them to be. They don''t have any specialty like that. They can''t make anyone stronger or give anyone powers. They also can''t be used as weapons."


    "Then why are you people after them? As you im, they''re not special?"


    "It''s because they''re dangerous. Even though they''re not special for humans, they are capable enough to bring forth the next apocalypse. At least ording to the stories."


    "That''s the only thing special about them. They''re like the keys that can open the gates to another dimension. You heard about thest great war?"


    "Last Great War? I did hear some rumors. Did it really happen?"


    "Yeah. The whole world suffered in it, but some continents remained rtively safe. Your continent was one of them since no Dungeon appeared here. But the Last Great War happened because of these stones."


    "These stones were created by the Demons to open the gates to another dimension. But our brave warriors stopped them and took the stones."


    "Unfortunately, things didn''t go as nned, and the stones had to be separated. Now, we''re trying to collect the stones to remove the risk of them being used to open the gates again."


    "You''re telling the truth?" Arthur asked, surprised.


    Previously, he thought that these stones were treasures, but only now he realized that it wasn''t the case. If what Lucifer said was true, then these stones were terrible news, he thought.


    "Since we''re the strongest organization in the world and our branches cover vastnd, we decided that it was our responsibility to secure the stones and the future of this world, even if it means putting our lives at risk," Lucifer further stated, continuing with his bluffing.


    "The only reason we don''t tell anyone about why we want the stones is that we don''t want them to realize how dangerous they are because our enemies woulde after them too," Lucifer exined.


    "Then why did you tell me?" Arthur asked.


    "Because I trust you to be sensible. I know you won''t want to see the world being destroyed either. Also, because this is the only way I can get the information of the other stones out of you." Lucifer responded.


    "Securing the stones is worth it. So, will you tell me now?" he asked.


    "Fine. I''m trusting you here." Arthur nodded, bringing out a folded paper from his pocket. "This paper contains all the information you might need."


    Lucifer took the piece of paper, stopping mid-air. He unfolded the paper and started going through it.


    "This person? Are you sure?" Lucifer asked, seeing the picture and the name of the person.


    "That''s right. I don''t have his exact address since he was a foreigner but we did find the nation he was from. You should be able to find him after getting there," Arthur replied.


    Lucifer folded the piece of paper and kept it in his pocket forter. "Thank you for the help."


    "I should also thank you for the information. I don''t know why, but you don''t seem like a bad person. We can probably be friends in the future. As long as the Warlock Council and the Divine Empire don''t be enemies." Arthur let out, smiling.


    "But if your Council did be an enemy, just remember. I won''t think twice before killing you."


    "Friends in the future? Maybe," Lucifer muttered, smiling. "Anyway, now that I''m done, I''m going back."


    "So soon? Since we''re already here, let me show you a ce," Arthur said as he resumed flying. "Follow me."


    Lucifer followed after Arthur again, but it didn''t take long. He soon noticed Arthur going down.


    He appeared to be going to the massive arena that was like an amphitheater. It was a circr building with rising tiers of seats ranged about an open space.


    Many people were in the open space, working.


    Arthurnded on the walls of the building, looking at the arena.


    "What''s happening here?" Lucifer asked,nding beside him.


    " This is the ce where the tournament will happen tomorrow. And these people are giving it the final touches," Arthur replied. "This is also the ce where you''ll fight tomorrow."


    "So this is the ce where all your Nobles would be trying to kill me?" Lucifer asked, smirking. "Will you also be joining then? In which round will I be facing you?"

 Chapter 458: Challenge

    <h4>Chapter 458: Challenge</h4>


    "Me? Don''t worry. I''m not taking part in the event. I''m toozy to participate in such things. But I would certainly attend the event to watch your battles. It''s not always we get to see an outsider fight against the Nobles," Arthur answered, smiling.


    "I wonder how far you can reach in that event. If I were to go by your confidence, I would think that you''ll certainly win. But it''s not that easy, unfortunately," he added. "I haven''t seen you fight, so I can''tment, but I think if you can reach the finals, it''ll be a miracle."


    The people in the arena soon finished their work and left, emptying the colosseum.


    Lucifernded in the center of the empty arena and started observing the entire ce.


    "What are you looking at?" Arthur inquired,nding beside Lucifer.


    "This ce is small. Even stray attacks can hit the people in the seats. I thought this ce would be bigger," Lucifer responded, shaking his head.


    "You''re concerned about that? Don''t be. This whole ce will be covered in powerful barriers to protect the spectators. Moreover, all the Nobles would be here. There''s no chance of things going wrong," Arthur answered.


    "That reminds me. Now that we''re here, how about we also have a small battle?" he asked Lucifer, smiling.


    Lucifer turned back, squinting his eyes. "Don''t tell me this was the actual reason you brought me out to this ce? That spies thing was just an excuse, wasn''t it?"


    "Can''t I have two reasons simultaneously?" Arthur asked, smiling wryly. "Come on. Don''t be unfair. You already fought me in your dreams. But I didn''t get to fight you. I''ll go easy on you if that''s what you''re concerned about."


    "Sorry, I''m not interested," Lucifer responded as winds surrounded him, making him rise in the air. "See you tomorrow, Arthur. And thanks for the information."


    Lucifer flew away.


    Sitting in the arena, Arthur watched Lucifer leave.


    "Did he really get scared? It doesn''t seem like that. It''s so annoying."


    Frustrated, he kicked a stone that was lying under his feet, making it fly far away.


    "Huh? Lord Arthur? Did youe to see the progress?"


    Arthur turned around, hearing someone address him.


    He noticed a man standing there in dirt-covered clothes.


    "Do you work here?" Arthur asked.


    "Y-yeah. I''m the incharge of the construction here."


    "Good. Keep up the good work," Arthur said before flying away.


    The worker remained behind, confused as to what had just happened.


    ...


    In the continent of Triton, the Warlock Council''s main headquarters existed. People of the Warlock Council were busy as usual.


    Some were training, some were resting, and some were having lunch. A lot of them were busy in work as well, going through the immense data to locate the things that the Warlock Council wanted but didn''t possess.


    There was also one section of the Warlock Council that was having a meeting. It was the highest echelon of the Warlock Council who were there.


    The meeting room was upied by the strongest Warlock Council Leaders. Since the Warlock Council was a coalition of Warlocks from Various nations, it didn''t have one leader.


    In fact, they had one leader for each of the nations, which had at least five Warlocks be the part of the Warlock Council.


    That was why all nations wanted to send their Warlock to the Warlock Council to bring their contribution to five, so someone from their nation could also get the leadership position.


    Unfortunately, it wasn''t easy. Only the most talented Warlocks were selected to be a part of the Warlock Council.


    Every year, the nations could nominate at most five Warlocks from their side, which created arge pool of Warlocks since the number of Empires wasn''t small.


    The Hundreds of Warlocks that were selected by the Nations then had to go through the Warlock Council Test, which was a six month long test.


    Every year, only twenty people were selected through the test, and even that wasn''t the end. The twenty people were then chosen to be the Warlock Council Interns for two years.


    Only the best three of the twenty people were selected to be a part of the Warlock Council. The other Seventeen were then sent to the Junior Warlock Council, which was like a branch of the Warlock Council.


    There, the failed people had to prove themselves to be promoted to the main Warlock Council. It was a really long and hard process to get selected by the Warlock Council.


    Even Jenilia was stuck in the Internship part of the Warlock Council while her brother passed the Internship five years ago.


    The rise of her brother was the fastest in the history of the Warlock Council since he was the youngest person to be selected in the main Warlock Council in thest ten years.


    Unfortunately, he was also the youngest person of the main Warlock Council to be killed.


    Around a rectangr table, all the leaders of the Warlock Council sat. There was only one seat here which was empty.


    All the Warlock Council leaders had a ck file ced in front of them, which had the words "Confidential" outsider.


    "So, we''re here. What''s the update? Did you again call the meeting because of the Divine Empire problem?" One of the Warlocks asked.


    "Didn''t Andreas go there personallyst time? What''s the update? Don''t tell me even he wasn''t able to solve it. It would be embarrassing if even a Warlock Council leader failed there."


    "Hah, did anyone really think he could seed? If he had seeded, he would''ve been the one sitting here. Unfortunately, that''s not the case here."


    "I was telling you all that I should''ve been the one going there, but none of you listened to me, did you?"


    An old man stood up, tapping the table. "Silence."


    Everyone calmed down and looked at the old man, who was the person who had established the Warlock Council. He was also the oldest person here.


    "Can everyone please calm down? It''s true that Andreas didn''t seed in getting the stone on the first try, but that''s not the end of it. He''s again going there, and he promised that he would return with the stone this time."


    "He''s going there again? Are we supposed to be happy? He already failed once, and he''s going to fail again. We''re just wasting time by sending him," A Warlock snorted in annoyance.


    There was another Warlock who was thinking about something else.


    "Don''t tell me you called me here to talk about something so minor? You couldn''t tell us that over the message too. Tell us the real reason why we''re here?" he asked.

 Chapter 459: Stop underestimating

    <h4>Chapter 459: Stop underestimating</h4>


    "You''re right. I didn''t call you here to talk to you about it," the old man responded.


    "What I called you here for was something else entirely. It''s about a different challenge that has the potential to be a big obstruction in our path," he further added.


    "What obstruction?"


    "Elisium!" The old man answered.


    "Huh? That tiny ce? Didn''t it suffer in a civil war only recently? Most of the powerful Warlocks of Elisium were dead thest I heard about them."


    "Yeah. The biggest threat was that Zale. He died long ago. And now that Zeiss and Varant also died, ording to thest update. Both the organizations were wiped out. Are they still troubling you?"


    "Man, if such weaklings have started to trouble you now, then it seems like you have lost your touch, old man. Step down from the position and let one of us take over."


    There was a lot of impatience in the Warlock Council over the direction they were going in. They weren''t getting any major breakthrough with anything.


    Not being able to take the stone from the Divine Empire was already hard enough as it was, but now there was another problem. Even small nations like Elisium were troubling them? It was making the other leaders annoyed.


    Sitting in the end was a young man who was sitting with his eyes closed. His chair was bent to the back so much that it was almost horizontal at that point. The young man seemed like he was lying on the bed, rxing.


    His clean shaved face made him seem like he was barely twenty, but the man did have some good muscles. His long blonde hair was almost touching the ground, which didn''t have even a speck of dust.


    He also appeared to be chewing something slowly as he heard the discussion taking ce in the room.


    Yawn~


    The man finally opened his eyes, yawning.


    "Gentlemen, let''s can''t you just hear what he has to say first. Why are you all dragging the meeting so much? It''s already lunchtime, and we''re still here. I need to leave too. Let the old man finish."


    "Julien, you finally decided to wake up? I don''t get why you even attend such meetings since you clearly don''t care. You''re either sleeping or thinking about leaving."


    "Your being here and not being here is the same. If you''re hungry, you can leave, but we''re talking about the survival of our organization here. We can''t take such ax attitude lightly!"


    The other leaders were already pretty upset and seeing a young man teach them how to act made them even more upset, especially since Julien was the youngest to be made a leader.


    In fact, he only became one only two years ago, and now he thought he could teach others how to react?


    Seeing everyone scolding him now, Julien started smirking.


    He stretched his arms as if he had just woken up from his sleep as he stood up, pushing the chair back.


    With his left hand in his pocket, he walked closer to the people who had just scolded him.


    "Man, can''t you stick to your story? First, you guys were saying that Elisium was a minor problem and that you would have solved the Divine Empire problem if you were sent there, and now suddenly it''s the topic of survival of the Council?" he asked, looking straight at the other Warlocks.


    "If you think the Divine Empire and Elisium can put the Warlock Council at risk, then stop underestimating them. You can''t underestimate them while ming the old man and overestimate them while ming me," he further stated, chuckling.


    "So, what''s it going to be? Is the problem big, or is it small? Because if it''s small, then stop talking to me as if it''s big and if it has the potential to be big, then start listening to the damn old man! Am I clear?"


    Putting his point across, he walked back to his chair andid on it again, closing his eyes.


    Almost every single leader present in the meeting looked at Julien. Some were furious at him, while others were amused by him. But almost every single person knew that he had a point.


    "Old man, are you going to speak, or should I consider the meeting over?" Julien asked, wondering why everyone went silent.


    "Ah, right." The old man came out of his daze, nodding.


    "So, I was talking about Elisium. I called you here to update you on the situation and to decide on something important. Let me tell you what happened first."


    "Sometimes ago, we all decided to send an Envoy to Elisium after finding out about their change in leadership. The n was also to secure the stone there. Unfortunately, before our envoy could reach there, his ne was blown up." the old man stated.


    "We already know about that. Are you saying that Elisium was involved in that?" A Warlock asked.


    "We have no proof regarding that, but it would seem like Elisium did it. Maybe they did, or maybe they didn''t, but that''s not what matters. After that, we sent another Envoy there."


    "Yeah. We know that too. Why don''t you tell us something we don''t know about?"


    "Yeah. Don''t give us a recap. Just tell us what happened to that Envoy. Is she killed too? Or did she get the stone?"


    "None. She wasn''t killed, and she safely reached there."


    "She did? And still, you say that she didn''t get the stone?"


    "That''s right. Let alone getting the stone, she didn''t even get to meet their leader. Moreover, Elisium also issued a threat."


    "Hmm? Those weaklings dare to issue us a threat?"


    "What was the threat?"


    "From what I heard, they told her that they''ll be independent of our influence, and if we decide to attack them, they''ll wipe us all out," the old man stated.


    Everyone looked at the old man, stunned. Ultimately, they all startedughing. Laughter filled the room as everyone found it funny. A weak nation was threatening to wipe them out? What could be more amusing than that?


    "Is that even a problem? Let''s show them what it means to threaten us. We can''t ignore everyone like we avoid the Divine Empire. I alone am enough to bring that nation to dust. Arrange for me to go there." A man stood up.


    "Yeah. Who even needs Elisium anyway? Let''s take them out and take the stone. Moreover, it would be a fun exercise too. We also have a decent excuse."


    "It doesn''t matter if they actually blew up our ne or not. We can just im they did to justify this invasion to our citizens."

 Chapter 460: Decision

    <h4>Chapter 460: Decision</h4>


    "Exactly. It''s already annoying that we have to think so much before attacking the Divine Empire, but we don''t need to do that when we''re dealing with a minor enemy, do we?"


    "I also support the decision. It''s been a long time since we were active. I guess that''s why these kids are getting arrogant. They forgot that there is always a mountain beyond a mountain."


    All the Warlock Council leaders started showing their support for the attack, putting a little pressure on the old man.


    The old man sighed, observing everyone''s reaction. An overwhelming majority supported the attack, while only a rare few existed who remainedpletely silent.


    "Alright. Since everyone supports the decision, I''ve decided that we''ll destroy Elisium and recover the stone with force."


    "Now the question remains. Who shall we send? Of course, it''s clear that all of us won''t be needed. Moreover, if too many of us had to go there to take a small nation down, it would be downgrading. So how many shall we send and who shall we send?" the old man asked.


    "I think two of us should be enough with their teams. No need to deploy the Warlock Council forces to arge extent." Julien was the first one to suggest.


    "Moreover, I think we already have volunteers. Send the two people who were talking about going there in the first ce. I''m sure my kind friend won''t mind," he further added, smiling.


    Everyone understood who he was implying, including that person himself.


    "Julien, do you really think you''re getting back at me by nominating me? Instead, you''re only helping me. Because of course, I want to go! It''s not always that we get to destroy such arrogant enemies."


    The targeted noble didn''t fire back. Instead, he epted his nomination.


    "That''s great then. I wish you luck. Now that the person going is decided along with the course of action, I suppose we can consider this meeting to be over?" Julien smirked.


    "If the others agree with it, then why not," the old man let out. "So, do all the members support the decision?"


    "I do."


    "I do too."


    "That''s right. Let them take care of this mess."


    "I''m fine with anyone going. What matters is that this problem gets solved."


    "I also agree."


    One after another, all the Warlocks expressed their confirmation to support this nomination.


    "Alright. In this case, it''s final. Zhu and Hanzi would go to Elisium with their teams to take that ce under the Warlock Council''s control and to bring back the stones. In the meanwhile, Andreas will continue working on securing the Divine Empire part of the stone."


    "That''s good. Now I can finally leave," Julien let out, smiling. He stood up, picking the crystal bottle that he carried with him. " I''ll take my leave now."


    He started drinking from the water bottle while walking to the door. Soon, he left the chamber.


    Other Warlock Council members also left, one after another, vacating the chamber until only the old man was left inside.


    The man sat on the couch, sighing. "Did I make the right decision? Why is it that I have an uneasy feeling about this?"


    ....


    Milena sat in a dark room where not a single speck of light could be seen. In the room, she was the only person, or at least that''s what appeared to be.


    She was looking in the direction of the wall as she started talking. She only spoke in random words though, which were hard to understand. It didn''t even seem like her words made any sense.


    For the most part, they sounded like the words from some strangenguage. She continued speaking for close to three hours.


    It was only after three hours that she finally stopped. She stood up and silently turned around. Soon, she left the room and started walking back to her room.


    As she walked, she soon reached one of the windows in the hallway, which had a good view of the city. She couldn''t help but stop as she looked outside, observing the beautiful city that she had created.


    As she observed the city, she noticed Arthur flying towards the Pce. Her brows squinted as she nced at him.


    She pushed the window open.


    Even Arthur noticed her at this point. He saw her gesturing him toe to him. Arthur flew to her and stopped on the other end of the window.


    "May I ask where you''reing from?" Milena asked. "It''s not often that you go outside."


    "I went to meet Lucifer."


    "Why?"


    "I wanted to know how he knew my name."


    "Did you get your answers?"


    "I did."


    "And what''s the answer? How did he know?"


    "He ims that he saw it in a dream. Apparently, it''s some power of his."


    "A power of his? Tell me more about it."


    Nodding, Arthur started exining what Lucifer told him about his dream and the restriction about only being able to see it once a month.


    "Ah, is that so. That certainly exins why he had witnesses ready. That was the only thing that made me suspicious about him. But if what he says was true, then he certainly wasn''t the one who infiltrated the pce? Who was it then?"


    The story that Lucifer intentionally told Arthur worked its miracle and removed even more suspicions from him.


    ....


    "I don''t understand. Why did you tell Arthur about that dream thing? Did you really have to be honest?" Szar asked Lucifer about the same thing.


    He hadn''t been able to ask about thisst time when Arthur was here, but now that they were alone, he got the opportunity.


    That dream thing was their trump card. Now the enemies were going to be even more suspicious of them, as he believed.


    "How else do you think I would have exined why we had a witness ready? Do you think no one doubted that? Just think clearly."


    " A crime happened, and the most suspicious person happened to have a witness readyte at night? I knew Milena was going to be suspicious about this. But she wasn''t going to do anything right away. At least that''s what I believe, and it turned out to be true."


    "That''s also why I intentionally let out Arthur''s name in that court. I wanted him to wonder why I knew about it. I wanted him to ask me right there. I wanted the opportunity to justify this while talking about the dream."


    "Unfortunately, he didn''t ask right there. That was a slight problem in the n, but it didn''t matter. I knew that I had ced the seed of doubt in his head, and he was going toe to me."

 Chapter 461: Back tenfold

    <h4>Chapter 461: Back tenfold</h4>


    "That''s exactly what happened. Arthur was already waiting for us here to get his answers. And now I''m sure he would go back and inform Milena. This would also decrease the suspicions in her head at this point."


    "Moreover, this way I also won a bit of the trust of Arthur. That''s also how I managed to get such an important piece of information that I wouldn''t have expected otherwise."


    Lucifer informed his thought process.


    As he exined in simpler terms, everyone finally understood why he exposed their abilities like this, and it also made them realize that he was right.


    "That''s... actually good. You were right. I didn''t really think about that before, but yeah, that would have been suspicious." Szar agreed.


    "Well, that''s not the end of it though. We''re still not free of suspicions. I''m sure there would be people keeping an eye on us tonight," Lucifer said, sitting on the couch.


    "So we won''t be leaving tonight?" Caen asked.


    "We won''t. At least not tonight," Lucifer responded.


    "Tonight, we will just sleep."


    "Huh? Will we just wait until then? Tomorrow will be the start of the tournament. And after that, we might not get the opportunity. Shouldn''t we utilize this opportunity?"


    "Nope. We are going to have an even better opportunity tomorrow. I have a n," Lucifer replied, smiling.


    "What n?" Szar asked.


    The maid in her room listened carefully to what was going to happen. She also wanted to know their n.


    Lucifer opened his lips to speak, but he soon closed them.


    "You''ll know when the timees. For more, let''s just have faith."


    He stood up.


    "That reminds me. I''m getting hungry. Where is she? We didn''t even have breakfast in the morning. In everything, Ipletely forgot about eating."


    "Ah, that''s right. I''ll go and find her." Heath stood up, running to the stairs.


    ...


    Heath soon returned with the Maid, who informed them that the lunch was already prepared.


    She escorted all of them to the dinner table, where the lunch was already arranged properly.


    In the lunch, five types of dishes were prepared by the maid, all made from the vegetables that were taken from the nations in control of the Divine Empire.


    As the Divine Empire was situated in such a bad terrain, not much could be grown here. Only some specific types of items could be produced here.


    Fortunately, that much was enough to feed the poption of the Divine Empire. As for the Nobles, they survived on Blood, so they didn''t have a problem either.


    The person who enjoyed the food most happened to be none other than Heath. Even though Lucifer ate the most here, Heath was the one who enjoyed it the most.


    He didn''t shy away from praising the food either.


    "If I were to name one thing I like about the Divine Empire, it''s going to be their food. It''s so delicious," he let out.


    "I am d that you like it," the maid happily responded.


    "Why won''t I like it? It''s really great. I wish I could eat something like this daily," Heath stated again.


    "Heath, you do know that you can stay here if you want. Then you can eat the delicious food daily. I can talk to Milena if you want," Lucifer reminded Heath, smirking. "What do you say?"


    "S-stay here? No! Not in a million years! After what I saw at the bar, I would have to be crazy to think about staying in this Empire! Even though I like the food, I don''t want to stay here!"


    "Hahaha, you''re scared of just that?" Szar found it amusing. "You''re a Warlock Council member. You shouldn''t be scared with just that."


    "May I ask what you all saw inside the bar?" The maid asked, chiming in on the conversation.


    "Hah, nothing. It''s better if you don''t know," Health responded, not answering. He didn''t want to upset anyone by leaking about that. They were especially warned not to tell anyone about this. And he wasn''t going to ignore that warning.


    Moreover, he knew that it might affect their rtionship with the Nobles, which was already pretty strained.


    Just likest time, everyone finished eating except Lucifer, who was thest one to finish. It was in the end that he stood up. He washed his hand and left.


    The others went back to their room, and so did Lucifer.


    Sitting on the bed, he brought the document that was given to him by Arthur out of his pocket and unfolded him.


    Using the sses, he sent an image of this document to Kellian.


    After sending the image, he contacted Kellian and informed them to find more information about the person mentioned in the document.


    "Give me some time. I''ll get back to you with the information," Kellian replied, sending the document to the specific team that could handle it.


    "That''s good. Get back to me with the information as fast as you can. By the way, how did it go with the Warlock Council Envoy?" Lucifer asked.


    "It didn''t go well at all. I think I really pissed them off. But then again, they asked for it," Kellian responded.


    "Do you think you upset them enough for them to attack?" Lucifer asked.


    "I don''t think they''ll be that petty. At best, they''ll send a couple of powerful Warlocks to handle this inside, but they won''t send their entire army. We''re keeping an eye on them. We''ll have more information soon. Hopefully, we''ll be able to handle it."


    "Not hopefully. You''ll certainly be able to handle it. In any case, it''s only for a short while. I''ll be back soon too. It won''t take long here now."


    "Really? Did you get some breakthrough?"


    "I guess you can say that. Everything will depend on what happens tomorrow," Lucifer answered. "If things go as nned, it would be pretty amusing."


    "The dream of Predictor... I''m sure he told you about that. And you managed to avoid troubles, but that just proves how dangerous that ce is. So stay alert. And if you need any help, just tell me now. I''ll personallye with some of our best."


    "There''s no need for that at this point. I have everything under control. Just take care of our base at the moment. Make sure it doesn''t fall before I get there."


    "I will. I wouldn''t let anyone order us around, especially the Warlock Council. If they want to attack us, they will get it back tenfold at least. No matter who it is. So take as much time as you need," Kellian told Lucifer.

 Chapter 462: The Princess who survived

    <h4>Chapter 462: The Princess who survived</h4>


    Lucifer disconnected the call and stood up, walking to the window


    He pushed the wooden windows open to look outside. The first thing he noticed was the road leading up to the Royal Pce, which waspletely empty.


    Columns of trees existed on both sides of the road, increasing its beauty, but not a single person existed on the road, which wasn''t unexpected. It was the Royal Property, and nomoner would havee here either.


    Only Nobles could approach the ce, and if any Noble came at this time, it was evident that they would have been here for spying. They weren''t going to be showing themselves that easily.


    It was still afternoon outside, so the bright sun was gracing the sky. Some rare birds could also be heard chirping in the surroundings.


    "Milena Sephene... The Princess who survived," Lucifer muttered, looking straight at the sun without covering his eyes. "We are so different yet so simr. I hope you won''t create too much trouble for me."


    He stepped back and closed the window before he walked to the table which was ced near the bed.


    Krrr~


    He opened the drawer.


    As he had already opened the drawer once before, he knew what was inside. A small notebook was kept in the drawer, which had a green cover. There was no name or branding on the notebook.


    Right beside the book, a ck fountain pen was also kept. Other than that, some nk pieces of paper were also kept in the drawer.


    He picked up the green notebook and a pen before closing the drawer. He walked back to the bed.


    Sitting on the bed, he opened the notebook to reveal the pale yellow pages of the notebook. He removed the cap of the pen and started writing something.


    After about five minutes, he finished writing.


    He tore off the page in which he had written before he kept the pen and the notebook to the side.


    He folded the piece of paper and kept it in his pocket, and stood up, leaving the room.


    He walked through the long corridor until he reached the stairs. Using the stairs, he had just started going down when he noticed the maiding up.


    "Are you going somewhere?" the maid asked, looking up at him.


    "Yeah. I''m going to take a walk in the outer garden." Lucifer continued stepping down.


    "Shall I apany you?"


    "There''s no need. I would like to be alone there."


    Rejecting the fine proposal, Lucifer left the woman behind and left the pce.


    The beautiful pce had a garden on both sides of it, which had a variety of flowers. It was simr to what the Royal Pce had, except it was smaller.


    He walked to the left garden from where he had a clear view of his room window.


    He walked inside the garden with hands in his pocket, observing the beautiful flowers.


    "This is intriguing," he suddenly let out, bringing his right hand out of his pocket to touch a beautiful green flower. As he pulled out his hand, a piece of paper fell from it, which happened to be the same paper he had just written.


    Lucifer didn''t look like he was aware that the paper had fallen from his pocket.


    Instead, he touched the green flower, which had a soft yet intriguing texture as if it was made of cotton.


    He plucked one of those flowers and started walking back, smelling the flower.


    He next went to the other garden. After taking a walk in the garden, he went back inside the pce and back to his room.


    ...


    The piece of paper that had fallen from Lucifer''s pocket was still lying in the garden, unmoving.


    However, a few minutes after Lucifer went inside the Pce, the piece of paper started floating in the air.


    The piece of paper rose about five feet above the ground before it started unfolding itself.


    As the paper was open, the words on it were revealed.


    ~ I already know you''re there. If you want to stay there like a coward, then you can be my guest; however, if you really want to, you cane to my room and talk face to face. I promise I don''t bite~


    The paper was crushed into a ball mid-air as a mysterious voice appeared out of thin air. "Interesting. Very interesting."


    The ball of paper started flying even higher until it was flying right in front of Lucifer''s window.


    ...


    Lucifer was sitting in his room, ncing towards the window as if waiting for someone.


    The wooden-framed window had transparent ss in the middle, which allowed a person to see outside. Unfortunately, people from the outside couldn''t see the inside.


    Tuck~ Tuck~


    As Lucifer was observing the window, there was a knocking sound on the window. No one could be seen on the other side of the window though.


    Standing up, Lucifer walked over to the window and opened it. "I was wondering if you''de out now."


    Leaving the window open, Lucifer walked back to the bed and sat with one leg resting above the other.


    "So, may I ask why you were spying on me, Sirius?" he asked, ncing in the direction of the floating paper.


    As he asked, something strange happened. A leg appeared out of thin air, but that''s not where it stopped. Slowly, more and more of a human body was revealed.


    Soon, a white-haired man could be seen standing before Lucifer. The man was dressed in a beautiful white robe, staring at Lucifer.


    "So Arthur was right. You were the one who told him about this." Sirius moved a chair and sat, facing Lucifer.


    "About your peculiar ability? Yeah, I might have told him something about it. I must say I didn''t expect him to be surprised. I thought he would know about it since he''s a high-ranking noble. You kept yourself hidden quite well I guess," Lucifer replied, smiling.


    " I heard about your dream story. And I might believe it too. But tell me one thing."


    "What thing?" Lucifer asked.


    "How did you know that I was in that specific garden?" Sirius inquired.


    "That? I knew Milena was probably going to send a person to spy on me. And it was obvious that the person was going to be you. As for how I knew where you were, you can do an equal exchange for that information," Lucifer responded. "Answer one question of mine, and I''ll answer one question of yours.''


    "What question do you want to ask?" Sirius asked, frowning.


    "Something rted to your past, about the time you first met Milena," Lucifer answered.

 Chapter 463: Let me show you

    <h4>Chapter 463: Let me show you</h4>


    "What about that time?" Sirius asked.


    "I want to know why you didn''t help her in killing the King and the Prince? With your power, revenge should''ve been easy for you," Lucifer responded.


    " You could''ve found out about her sisters and helped her in revenge; instead, you made her walk on the path which was to lead her to conquer the continent. It doesn''t seem like a coincidence. It was nned, wasn''t it?"


    "You wanted to use the girl as soon as you saw her awaken? But that also raised a question. How did you know what she was going to be like in the future? How did you know how powerful her powers were going to be in the cell? She hadn''t used them to that extent."


    "That''s why, at first nce, it seems like you couldn''t have nned it, but the things that happened after that made me believe you had another ability."


    "It was because of that other ability that you knew about her powers and her potential, which was why you led her on that path. Isn''t that right?"


    After talking about his theory, Lucifer left the question to Sirius to answer.


    "That''s right. I nned everything," Sirius answered, smiling. "What can you do about it? Will you tell her? You can go ahead."


    Seeing how straightforward Sirius was, Lucifer grew stunned. He hadn''t expected him to be this open. Was he epting everything without even trying to deny it?


    But he also understood why. So what if Lucifer knew? That wasn''t going to help him in anything. He was still an enemy in Milena''s eyes. She wasn''t going to believe him.


    "That''s true as well. She won''t believe me. That''s probably why you told me so openly." Lucifer nodded. "But that''s still surprising. Why don''t you tell me more about that reason?"


    "Sure. Let me begin from the start. The day I met Milena..."


    Sirius acted like a good man and didn''t say no, which shocked Lucifer even more.


    Even if he wasn''t scared about being exposed, that still was too much. Why was Sirius that eager to talk? It was just too convenient, which was making him suspicious.


    "That girl was too scared. She couldn''t even look at me without shivering in fear. Moreover, she constantly cried. She was such a crybaby. Want to know another truth? I wasn''t actually the one who helped her. I just helped myself."


    "Everyone believes that I was the person who was assigned to guard her, and I took pity on her to help her. But that couldn''t be far from the truth. I wasn''t a guard there. Instead, I was the Prince," Sirius let out, talking in a calm tone.


    "Prince?"


    "That''s right. I was the Crown Prince of the Arian Empire, Sirius Arian. I was also the person she was supposed to be with when she grew up."


    "She was to be brought to me as soon as she was brought to the Empire, but I saw her entering the Pce. It was right then when I realized who that girl was."


    "I also discovered the secret of her abilities that even she herself didn''t know about," Sirius exined to Lucifer.


    Lucifer wasn''t the only one hearing it though. The maid was also hearing everything. Her face was already pale at this discovery. She couldn''t believe it.


    She had heard many secrets in the Pce, but no secret was as big as it


    "You were Arian Prince? If that''s the truth, then why did you scheme this then? Why did you have your own Empire destroyed? What did you n to gain with all this?" Lucifer asked.


    "Why did I do it? The answer is very simple. But I can''t tell this to you here. First I need to show you something. Only after that can I tell you. Then you''ll understand better."


    "What do you want me to see?"


    "You''ll understand soon enough. That''s all I''ll say here. If you want the answers, you''ll follow me. But if you''re too scared, you can just stay behind," Sirius responded as he stood up.


    "Oh right. I wasn''t sent here by Milena to spy on you. If I were here for that, I wouldn''t be standing in the garden. I would''ve been standing in your room then. I came because I wanted you to know, and I want you to join me and help me."


    " If you follow me, you''ll see what I''m talking about. But if you don''t follow me, you''ll lose the opportunity of a lifetime."


    Sirius jumped out the window. His body appeared to have grown extremely light as hended on the ground.


    Lucifer also walked to the window, looking out. He could see Sirius walking away.


    "He wanted me to know? Intriguing. I wonder what it is. I guess I''ll have to see," Lucifer let out, determined. He also jumped out the window and followed after Sirius, having no idea as to what he was going to see.


    ...


    Half an hour after Lucifer left, the maid also left the Pce too. Her heartbeat was beating at a rapid pace as she couldn''t believe what she had just heard.


    She had never acted as a spy to Milena. She didn''t even tell her that Lucifer and his friends had left the mansion, but now she couldn''t stop herself. She couldn''t believe that Milena was being fooled by someone so close.


    She wanted to tell Milena to help her.


    She ran straight to the Royal Pce, ensuring that she didn''te across Lucifer or Sirius. She was extremely serious about her safety.


    After treading a long path, she soon reached the Royal Pce before she finally slowed down. She was still panting as she stepped closer to the Royal Pce.


    Even the guards of the Pce knew her. They allowed her entry.


    "Where is Her Majesty? I need to talk to her urgently!" She told one of the Nobles inside the Pce.


    "She''s in her room," the Noble answered. "Let me escort you to her. But make sure what you want to talk about is actually important. She might punish you otherwise for wasting her time."


    "It is important. Please take me to her," the maid said, respectfully bowing.


    The Noble started escorting the maid upstairs.


    Arthur was walking in the dark marbled hallway, not in any hurry.


    He noticed the maid walking with another Noble.


    He stopped near the maid and asked, "What are you doing here? Did something happen with the Warlock Council members that you had toe here?"


    "N-nothing happened with them. I''m here to talk to Her Majesty about something else," the maid answered.

 Chapter 464: Talking to Milena

    <h4>Chapter 464: Talking to Milena</h4>


    "What do you want to talk to her about?" Arthur asked, intrigued. What could the maid of the guest Pce talk about? What could be so important? Did she find out something about the enemies?"


    "That... I can''t tell you. I only want to tell Her Majesty and no one else. Please forgive me, Lord Arthur."


    "Is it really that serious? You can''t even tell me? That''s making me even more curious. Tell us what happened. We are the trusted men of Her Majesty. Doubting her is the same as doubting her," Arthur responded. "Tell me, and I''ll tell her."


    "I apologize, but I must tell her first. It''s something private. I can only tell her, and then she can decide if she needs to tell others or not," the maid answered, not telling.


    Even though she was scared of Arthur, who was one of the highest-ranking Noble Lords, she couldn''t tell him before telling Milena. She didn''t want this information to get to Sirius, who was just as influential as Arthur.


    She didn''t know who here was working with Sirius. She knew her life would be in danger if someone knew about this. So she only wanted one person to know.


    She believed that after Milena knew, she wasn''t going to tell anyone. Moreover, she was certainly going to kill Sirius. After that, she was going to have no risk to her life.


    "Fine." Arthur sighed. "Just tell me one thing. Is it rted to the guests there?"


    "It''s not." The maid shook her head.


    "You can go to her then," Arthur let out as he started walking away. He was only interested in it if it was rted to those people. Any other secret was just a random thing for him which he wasn''t concerned about.


    Just as Arthur left, the Noble continued taking the maid to Milena. She soon brought her to the room of Milena, which was being guarded by two Noble Lords.


    As thest two Noble Lords who guarded the ce were killed, this ce was reced by two new Warlocks.


    None of the two guards had any Weapon.


    "This woman wants to meet Her Majesty. She says she has something important to talk about."


    "Alright. I''ll ask Her Majesty. If she says yes, the girl can go in."


    The Noble Lord knocked on the door and announced about the woman being here to meet Milena.


    "Send her in." Milena''s voice came from inside the room.


    "You can go in." The Nobles opened the door and allowed the woman to enter.


    As the maid entered, she was able to see the bed, which was covered in a white silky bed sheet, but no person was on the bed.


    Her gaze roamed all around the room, but she couldn''t find Milena anywhere.


    Soon, the other door in the room opened, and Milena stepped out. Her hair was still wet as she had just finished taking a shower. Her slim figure was wrapped in a towel that covered most of her breasts and her thighs.


    "Speak. What brought you here?" Milena asked the maid while walking to the wardrobe.


    "Y-your Majesty." The maid went down on her knees in respect.


    "Don''t bother with all that. Just tell me what brought you here," Milena let out, not even looking back.


    She continued going through the wardrobe, not even looking back.


    "Ah, yes. This should be good." She picked a beautiful red gown and ced it on the bed.


    "I still don''t hear you. Are you going to speak or not?" she asked, frowning.


    "Ah, right. Your Majesty, I came here to talk to you about Lord Sirius," the maid answered.


    "What about him?" Milena asked, still not looking at her.


    She opened her towel and tossed it on the bed before she walked back to the bed and started getting dressed.


    "Your Majesty, today he came to meet Lucifer who is staying in the Guest Pce."


    "And? Even Arthur went to meet him. Why are you only mentioning one person then?" Milena asked as she finished wearing the gown.


    "Because I heard Lord Sirius''s conversation with Lucifer. I heard him talk about Her Majesty and the scheme he yed on you."


    "Scheme he yed on me? What do you mean?" Milena asked, ring at the maid.


    "I heard him say that he wasn''t a guard in the Arian Pce when he freed you. Instead, he was a Prince in the Royal Pce. He was Prince Sirius Arian. Moreover, he made you think that he was helping you escape, but it was all his n," the maid exined.


    Milena didn''t say anything and simply kept hearing the maid describing the conversation that took ce between Sirius and Lucifer.


    "Are you telling the truth?" Milena asked, her frown deepening. You know the punishment of lying to me would be your head?"


    "I know, Your Majesty. But every word of my statement is true," the maid replied. "That''s why I came here despite knowing the truth."


    "Hmm, good. Very good. So that man really fooled me. Come with me. Let''s go where he is," Milena said. "You''reing with me."


    "Huh? I?"


    "That''s right. I want you to see what happens to traitors too. Since you brought me the information, you deserve to see!"


    "Your Majesty knows where he is? He left with Lucifer, it seemed. How do you know?"


    "Don''t ask me questions! Come with me."


    Milena left the room with the maid.


    She left her room and started leaving. On the way, a few Nobles tried to apany her, but she refused everyone. She didn''t let anyone follow me.


    Through the eastern stairs, she went downstairs.


    ''Huh? We''re going to the basement? Why? What''s happening here? Why would Sirius bring Lucifer here?''


    The more the maid followed Milena, the more confused she became.


    Milena brought her to the basement. The door of the basement was locked, but that didn''tst for long. Milena bit her finger lightly and made it bleed before she touched the lock.


    As Milena''s blood touched the lock, it opened, allowing Milena and the maid to pass. The door once again closed behind them, locking.


    Tuck~


    Hearing the locking sound, the maid was scared, but she didn''t question Milena.


    Milena continued taking her deeper and deeper into the basement before she finally stopped.


    "Here," she muttered.


    Milena stood in front of a metallic door that seemed to be rusted for the most part. She again made her blood touch the gate.


    With a metallic sound, the door opened on its own.


    Milena stepped inside the room, and so did the maid, even though she was scared.

 Chapter 465: Master

    <h4>Chapter 465: Master</h4>


    "Huh? What is this ce?" the maid asked as she grew even more confused.


    She found herself standing inside a room that was mostly dark, but still, she could see here.


    The room was mostly empty. Neither Lucifer was here nor Sirius.


    She didn''t understand why she was here. Milena said that she was here to punish Sirius? Then why wasn''t Sirius here?


    Moreover, she only found a giant statue in front of her.


    The statue seemed like that of a chubby man who was sitting in meditation, but the statue didn''t have a head. It was a headless statue, but that wasn''t what made this statue odd.


    Instead, it was the other features. The statue had two stone arms on the left side, while it had only one stone arm on the right. It wasn''t a human statue since no human was born like this.


    Moreover, the statue had a face popping out of its stomach which made it look even more creepy.


    "Ah, Your Majesty? Are you going to tell me what this ce is?"


    Other than the Statue, a few skeletons could also be seen lying in various parts of the room. Some of the skeletons were intact, while most of them were broken in one way or another.


    Some had the skill crushed while others had rib cage smacked. Sshes of blood also existed on the wall making this ce look even more creepy.


    Seeing everything, the maid started having a really bad feeling. It didn''t seem like something good was going to happen here. Neither Sirius nor Lucifer was here, but Milena still brought her to this ce. Something was seriously wrong.


    At the moment, the maid couldn''t help but wonder if she shouldn''t havee to inform Milena about Sirius.


    "Y-your Majesty?" She asked again, stuttering. However, Milena still didn''t reply.


    Milena kept facing the status with her back facing the maid.


    The silence slowly crept in as the maid grew even more scared. She started stepping back in fear slowly.


    In fear, she nced back at the door only to realize that it was also closed. No one coulde in, and no one could go out of this ce either.


    After a long time, Milena finally opened her lips. "So, you heard Sirius talk about betraying me?"


    "Y-yes."


    "You shouldn''t have."


    "W--what?"


    "I said you shouldn''t have heard that. Spying on Master andining about him? You only deserve death," Milena let out, frowning.


    "M-master? Your Majesty, you mean he...?"


    The maid''s face turned pale as she heard Milena address Sirius as Master for some reason.


    As Milena turned back, the maid was able to see her emotionless face, which didn''t look anything like the usual Milena. It was as if she was looking at a dead person.


    The heartbeat of Milena started beating faster as she realized that she was probably going to die here.


    The room in which they were standing was a room that waspletely sealed. No amount of noise was able to leave the room.


    So no one coulde to save them. Moreover, no one was standing outside the room in the first ce to hear, even if the voice was managed to escape. The entire basement was empty.


    ...


    The sun started setting in the distance. The light started decreasing, signaling the arrival of the evening.


    Whatever bit of natural light was left also left as the sun disappeared entirely soon after.


    The street lights were turned on, keeping the streets of the Royal City brightly lit. Most of the citizens had returned to their homes by the time it was nine.


    Only a rare few people were still outside, taking a night walk.


    Szar stood near his window, looking outside.


    "It has been so long, yet I can''t find Lucifer. Just where did he go? He didn''t even tell me before leaving."


    Szar didn''t know that Lucifer had left with Sirius. The only person who knew was the maid, and even she wasn''t here to tell everyone. In fact, she herself was missing for hours, but no one had realized it.


    Knock~


    "If it''s you, Caen, then you can step inside. The door is open," Szar responded to the knock calmly


    The gates opened, and Caen stepped inside.


    "I rechecked every ce, but I couldn''t find him. He''s certainly not in the Pce. Moreover, I can''t find the maid either," Caen informed Szar.


    "Huh? Even the maid is missing? This is strange. It couldn''t have been an enemy since I don''t see any signs of battle. That could only mean that he left on his own. The problem is how to find him now. The n was to stay put tonight, but he himself left?"


    "You think there''s a possibility someone took him out without giving him the opportunity to fight back?" Caen asked, speaking about a possibility.


    "I don''t think there''s a good chance for that. He''s not that weak. Moreover, no adverse effects like poisoning and other things act on him because of his healing. So taking him out like this should be impossible," Szar responded.


    "Then where could he go?"


    "I wish I had an idea," Szar muttered. "But the maid is missing too. Maybe the two went out to see the city?"


    "But in that case, he would have called us to go with him. Why would he leave alone when it was just about visiting the city?" Caen asked. "I''m getting concerned about him."


    "Can you try contacting him?" Szar asked.


    "I did. But he didn''t pick up."


    "He didn''t pick mine either. I thought it was just the case with me," Szar responded. "Try calling Kellian? That guy doesn''t like me. So it''s better if you call him. You should ask him to locate Lucifer."


    "I can''t contact him either. Somehow nomunication is going through outside the city. There seems to be some kind of block. Only Lucifer''s sses could''ve avoided this block. We can''t," Caen exined, sighing. "I already tried."


    "Then we have no choice but to wait?"


    " We can either have faith in him and wait for a day, or we can try searching ourselves?"


    "I prefer thetter instead of sitting idle."


    "Can the two of us really find him? The city is really big, and none of us can fly."


    "So? Are you saying we should wait instead?"


    "Not at all. I''m saying that we should ask Milena for some manpower. She needed Lucifer to lose tomorrow so she could use him to infiltrate the Warlock Council. She wouldn''t want him hurt either. She should be able to help us," Caen suggested.

 Chapter 466: Missing

    <h4>Chapter 466: Missing</h4>


    "Don''t be naive. Who else do you think is capable of kidnapping Lucifer if not her and her men? They''re certainly behind it. That is if he is kidnapped. In that case, going to Milena would be useless," Szar answered


    "And if he isn''t kidnapped and left himself, then this thing could get really problematic. Who knows, maybe he went to spy on Milena alone? Or something else? If we inform Milena that he''s missing then his entire n would be screwed," he further added.


    "Either we wait for him, or we search ourselves without telling anyone," he continued.


    "Where will we search? It''s not like he''ll be roaming in the city if he''s kidnapped? And we can''t check every house without being found out by the Nobles?" Caen let out, realizing that Szar''s n was also wrong.


    "I guess you''re right too. Instead of being hasty, we should wait till the morning and have faith that he left on his own. He should be back by morning."


    " Yeah. And if he isn''t, then everyone would already know since he won''t be attending the event. Then we can see how to deal with it."


    And thus, it was decided that the two of them were going to have faith that Lucifer left himself and he wasn''t in danger.


    Moreover, they also made themselves believe that the reason he didn''t tell others was because he wanted a solo mission.


    "That''s one more problem though," Szar suddenly let out, frowning.


    "What problem?" Caen asked.


    "The maid. She''s also missing. If he went on a mission, why would he take the maid? But it''s the same thing with the other side. If Milena''s men took him, then why did he take the maid too?" Szar asked.


    "Argh, this is giving me a headache now. If only we could reach Kellian, we might be able to find him," Caen muttered, frustrated. "Are you sure we shouldn''t go to Milena?"


    "Yeah. Wait for one day. It''s too soon toe to a conclusion now," Szar nodded even though he was also concerned.


    "Fine. We''ll wait." Agreeing, Caen started leaving. "Also, since the maid isn''t here, I''ll check the kitchen to see if I can find something to eat."


    He soon vacated the room, leaving only Szar behind, who simply looked at the city glittering with light


    "Where did you go?" he muttered, sighing.


    ...


    After eating the dinner created by Caen, Szar went to sleep, still slightly concerned about Lucifer.


    He only fell asleep when it was two at night. Until then, he continued waiting for Lucifer''s return.


    It was at four in the early morning when his slumber broke. He rubbed his eyes as he got off the bed.


    He left his room and walked to the room of Lucifer.


    The room waspletely empty even now. Even the bedsheet was properly arranged as if no one had slept in it all day.


    The ss of water which was lying on the table was also full as no one drank water in the room.


    "Where did he go?" Szar muttered, frowning. He walked to the bed and sat, lost in deep thought.


    As he looked around, his gaze soon fell on the notebook and the pen which was lying on the table.


    "Huh?" This notebook? It wasn''t outside thest time I checked. Did he bring the notebook?"


    Reaching out his hand, he touched the notebook and picked it up before opening it.


    The first page of the book waspletely empty, which made him wonder if he was thinking too much, but as soon as he turned the page, his eyes regained their shine as he believed he had found something.


    It was clear that the second page was torn from here.


    "If he tore the page, it must be something important. Was something important written here?"


    He ced his finger over the third page and started feeling the marks that were left on the third page, which could point him in the right direction. He wanted to know what was written on the page.


    He used his eyes as well as his fingers to guess what was written on the pages and just as he expected, he managed to get a clue.


    "Hmm? So someone was spying on him from outside? Did he send that page to the spy to let him know that he knew about him?"


    "That idiot! Why didn''t he tell us about that!"


    "That can only mean that he knew about the spy. Moreover, the spy wasn''t here to assassinate him or kidnap him. If he were, then he wouldn''t be spying like that."


    "Could it be that he managed to find something from the spy and went with him to investigate? That is certainly a possibility. That could be the only reason why we don''t see any battle marks here. Because he went on his own?"


    This indeed gave Szar some insights into what was happening here. But he still didn''t know the crux of it. He knew that Lucifer met with a spy and left on his own, but there was no way for him to guess where he went and why.


    Ultimately, he left everything on Lucifer and simply hoped that he could return by morning.


    Standing up, he left the room and went back to his own.


    ....


    A new day brought itself new opportunities for many Nobles and even some ordinary Variants since it was the day where the Divine Empirepetition was to be held.


    A lot of Nobles waited for this opportunity since they wanted to show their skills and win the favor of Milena. Some even hoped that they could be Noble Lords after showing a good performance.


    While most of the Nobles took part in the event just to show their skills and win Milena''s favor, they weren''t the only ones who took part.


    The Noble Lords who already had the highest position also took part in the event; not because they wanted rewards, but simply because they wanted to have fun.


    The Colosseum seats started getting filled, and the citizens rushed to take their ces, so they weren''tte for this big event.


    Now only the citizens from the Royal City, but even the citizens from other cities also attended the event, which included some rich families of the Divine Empire too.


    Soon, all the seats in the Colosseum were filled by spectators, but still, a really big crowd remained outside the ce, unable to enter.


    Thousands of people weren''t able to gain an entry because the ce was already filled before they could arrive.

 Chapter 467: Jumping in

    <h4>Chapter 467: Jumping in</h4>


    The only seats which were empty were special seats that were reserved for Noble Lords and the first row, which was reserved for Nobles.


    Most of the Noble Lords were still not here. Only the ones that were handling the arrangement were here.


    Szar and Caen also stood at the entrance of their Pce, still waiting for Lucifer.


    "He still isn''t here. I''m starting to think that he might actually be in trouble. What should we do now?" Caen asked, sighing. "Look, even the carriage has arrived to take us to the Colosseum. What are we going to do without him?"


    A royal carriage was advancing towards them to take them, which was marked with the Royal Crest. Since they were now allowed to sit in the Royal Carriage because of exceptions, one was sent here.


    Szar took a deep breath, sighing. "Let''s check the arena onest time. Maybe he''s already there waiting for us? If he''s not there, I''ll listen to you and try to ask for Milena''s help."


    Caen nodded, looking at the carriage approaching them. The carriage soon stopped in front of them, and a woman stepped out of the carriage.


    The beautiful woman who just stepped out of the Carriage was none other than Feronia, who was the first person to escort them to the Guest Pce.


    "Are you all ready?" Feronia asked as soon as she stepped out of the carriage. But she soon noticed the absence of Lucifer from the group. "Where is the fourth one?"


    "We have no idea. We didn''t find him in the morning. We''re thinking that maybe he went to the Colosseum ahead of us," Szar responded.


    "Are you sure he''s not inside?" Feronia inquired.


    "That''s right. He''s not inside."


    "Alright then. If you say so. Get inside, or you''re going to bete."


    Everyone entered the beautiful carriage, which turned around to take them to the Colosseum.


    As the carriage reached the entrance of Colosseum, Heath looked out amazed, finding thousands of people waiting to get entry from themoner gate.


    The Nobles had a special gate for entrance which waspletely empty. Only one or two Nobles could be seen entering from that ce.


    "This event of yours seems pretty popr in public," Heath expressed.


    "Of course it is. Who wouldn''t love seeing gods fight? The Nobles are like gods to these people, and they love some high-powered action," Feronia exined.


    "Not only them, but even we like watching these battles as they''re a great form of entertainment. "


    "It''ll be the first time you''ll be fighting, so I suppose I should advise you something."


    " Surrender instantly when you realize that you can''t win. If you''re too stubborn, only your dead body wille out of the Arena. So be alert and be cautious," Feronia reminded the three of them just as the carriage stopped at the special entrance of the Colosseum.


    The doors of the carriage opened, and everyone stepped out of the carriage and walked behind Feronia.


    They were easily allowed entry without having to go through checking since a Noble Lord had brought them.


    "Since you''re going to be participating, you''ll get to sit in the first row. Just report in the arena as soon as your name is announced. That would be all," Feronia informed them right before she started leaving.


    "Wait! I''m not participating. So am I not allowed to sit in the first row?" Heath suddenly asked, stopping Feronia.


    "Who said you''re not participating? All of you are participating. And if you back off now and don''t report to the arena, you''ll be killed," Feronia exined with a scary smile on her face.


    "T-this is nonsense. I didn''t register myself. I''m just a pilot!" Heath retorted.


    "Nothing is nonsense. You''re all participating, and that''s themand of Her Majesty. If you don''t want to didn''t, you can surrender as soon as your battle begins. You''ll be out. But you just participate. That''s all I''ll say about this matter."


    Feronia turned around and left.


    "Sir, do I really have to fight?" Heath asked Caen after Feronia left.


    "Just do as she said. Go in the ring when it''s your turn and surrender as soon as the battle starts. There''s nothing to worry about. I''ll do the same," Caen replied.


    "Huh? You''ll surrender too? But why? You''re the leader of the Warlock Council! You''re so strong! You can certainly beat them all. Why would you surrender?" Heath asked, stunned.


    "You don''t need to know that. Just sit back and watch," Caen responded.


    In the meantime, Szar was observing the entire Colosseum.


    He checked the face of every person that was sitting in the stands, trying to find Lucifer.


    Almost all the seats were filled, but Szar didn''t lose his focus. He went row by row in his search. Even though it took him over twenty minutes, he wasn''t able to find Lucifer.


    "He''s not in the seats," he informed Caen, frowning.


    "He''s not in the arena either. What should we do now?" Caen asked.


    Szar rubbed his chin, lost in thought. The only option left now was to inform Milena, but he didn''t feel like that was the best option. He wanted to avoid that at all cost, but no other options were left, it seemed.


    "Ah, that''s right! He!" Szar suddenly eximed as he saw another Noble Lord enter the arena.


    The silver-haired Noble Lord was dressed in a beautiful white attire that matched the silver cross which was hanging by his ears.


    All the Nobles greeted Arthur with extreme respect since he was not only a Noble Lord, but he was also one of the most powerful amongst the Noble Lords.


    Arthur entered the arena, checking the preparation


    "You mean, Arthur?" Caen asked.


    "That''s right. Lucifer left with him earlier in the day. He disappeared aftering back. He might have some ideas. Wait here; I''ll talk to him," Szar let out as he jumped from above the three feet tall fence tond in the arena.


    As the tournament hadn''t begun, no one was allowed to enter the Arena other than the Noble Lords. The Nobles, which were here to keep the peace, noticed Szar jumping the fence and running towards Arthur.


    "Stop him!"


    "He''s going to attack Lord Arthur!"


    All the Nobles in the arena became alert, watching Szar enter the arena.


    The Closest Noble, who was near Szar, jumped before him, attacking him to take him down.


    "Sorry, man, but I am in a hurry. Can''t stop." Szar cast a short range domain, slowing down the time.


    The Noble who had attacked also got caught in the Domain, slowing down. Szar easily avoided the attack and continued running to Arthur.

 Chapter 468: Help

    <h4>Chapter 468: Help</h4>


    Arthur was simply taking a casual walk while observing the preparation when he heard amotion in his surroundings.


    Curious, he looked to his left to find a person running in his direction, calling for him.


    "Hmm? Isn''t he that person who was with Lucifer? That''s interesting."


    He observed Szar curiously, not interfering. He was having fun seeing Szar use his powers to get to him. It not only gave him an idea about Szar''s powers, but it was also entertaining.


    "Amusing. So he can slow down the people in his surroundings. That''s not a bad power."


    "Hmm? What?" Just as he felt like he understood the abilities of Szar, he saw something entirely different.


    "That''s new. Even the attacks are slowing down around him? So he can not only affect the enemies but even the attacks in his surroundings. It''s as if he can... slow down the time around him. But his range is still small. That should be the limitation," Arthur muttered, signing.


    Within minutes, Szar reached Arthur to stand before him. "Are you going to stop your men or not?"


    Upon Szar''s request, Arthurzily nodded. He raised his right hand as he called out. "That''s enough. No one shall attack him."


    Since Lord Arthur had spoken, all the Nobles slowed down, ultimately stopping their attacks.


    "You can go back to your positions," Arthur furthermanded the Nobles, who respectfully went back.


    "Alright. Now, tell me. What do you need?" he asked Szar after they were given privacy.


    "I wanted to ask you about the whereabouts of Lucifer! Where is he?!" Szar asked directly.


    "Hmm? How would I know where he is? Shouldn''t he be with you? Or are you telling me that he didn''t return after he left with me yesterday?"


    "No. He did return; he''s been missing since the evening. Apparently, someone came to meet him, and he''s gone since then. Tell me where he is!"


    "Hmm? Someone came to meet him? Who? Can you give me more details?" Arthur himself grew confused. Who could have taken Lucifer? That guy was certainly strong. For him to leave and not return, things seemedplex.


    Moreover, the timing seemed to be right after he had informed Milena about his meeting with Lucifer. Could it be that she was behind it? Or another Noble?


    Szar told him about the words written on the page and the torn letter. He also talked about the open window and everything else that he managed to discover.


    "That doesn''t give many clues for me to y around with. I don''t think I can help you here. The letter doesn''t mention who he was talking to, so I can''t investigate," Arthur replied, shaking his head. "So you have any spies in the Divine Empire? Maybe he met his informant?"


    "We don''t have any informants here. It was only four of us. So the person who he caught spying on him must be a Noble. Who else would spy on us?"


    "That does make sense. I''d try asking Her Majesty if she sent any Noble to spy on Lucifer. But I doubt that would be the case."


    "One more thing. Not only Lucifer, but even our maid has been missing for a long time. In fact, we found her missing the same time we found Lucifer missing. So she might be involved too," Szar further said, remembering one more detail about the case.


    "Your maid?" A deep frown formed on Arthur''s face as he heard about the missing maid. He remembered seeing the maid in the Royal Pce yesterday. She seemed concerned and wanted to talk to the Queen.


    But on being interrogated, she did say that the thing she wanted to talk about wasn''t rted to the Warlocks. Could it be that Lucifer''s disappearance is rted to the thing she wanted to talk about? Was she there to talk about the person who took Lucifer?


    It seemed like the only person who knew what was happening here was the maid. Moreover, she went to talk to Milena, so she should have known too. But it was strange. Why didn''t the maid return after that?


    Just to be sure, he decided to ask Szar. "Did the maid not return sincest evening?"


    "Nope. We had to cool dinner ourselves and even breakfast. She isn''t at the Pce. It''s like she disappeared in thin air, just like Lucifer."


    ''That''s intriguing. She came to talk to the Queen, but that was a long time ago. Why didn''t she return after that? What''s the mystery? Only Her Majesty can answer.''


    "Alright, you can go back to the stands. Take part in the event as usual and leave everything else to me. I promise I''ll find out the whereabouts of Lucifer, no matter where he is. So give me time," he told Szar, patting his shoulder. "You can go back for now. Leave the rest to me."


    Szar nodded. "You really should find him. Because I don''t want to threaten anyone, but the consequences would be really bad if he isn''t found. He''s not an Ordinary Warlock whose disappearance would be ignored by others. That''s all I''ll say."


    Turning around, he started going back. That was all he could do at the moment. He needed to keep his calm.


    Szar went back to his seat, leaving the rest to Arthur. He was an insider, but he also seemed a bit just. Even though Szar didn''t trust Arthur entirely, he did have some faith that this guy could at least find the information and share it with them.


    If he didn''t, even that was fine since that was going to prove that Milena was behind the disappearance of Lucifer.


    Szar walked past a noble who was ring at him. He had just tried to chase after Szar only to fall to his face and fail. Unfortunately, he couldn''t do anything but re at Szar at the moment.


    Szarpletely ignored the Noble and jumped over the fence to get to his seat in the first row.


    "How did it go? Did you find out his whereabouts?" Caen asked as soon as Szar reached him.


    "He doesn''t know, it seems. He says he''ll find the whereabouts of Lucifer and ask Milena himself. We should have our answers soon," Szar replied. "And if we don''t get our answers, then that would just mean that these people are involved."


    "Do you think Lucifer is killed? I mean, without that, how could he be missing for so long? No barrier or prison should be able to stop him if he''s alive. His decay is just that powerful. Moreover, he could''ve also sent us a signal through his lightning. But he didn''t. Something doesn''t seem right." Caen let out, sighing.

 Chapter 469: New War

    <h4>Chapter 469: New War</h4>


    He was starting to have many negative thoughts at the moment.


    "I don''t know. At the moment, even I don''t have any idea. All I can say is that these people are going to regret it if something happens to him," Szar responded, sitting on his seat with folded arms.


    "How? The two of us aren''t enough for that?" Caen asked.


    "Ah, sir. Are you forgetting that you have the entire Warlock Council behind you?" Heath reminded Caen, still unaware that these people weren''t from the Warlock Council. "You just have to give an order, and the Warlock Council force will be here to get revenge!"


    "He''s right," Szar agreed. "We have our own force behind us. Even though Kellian and the others don''t like me, that would certainlye here when they realize that Lucifer is missing. This whole ce will be a Warzone."


    "Let''s just hope it doesn''te to that," Caen muttered, looking upwards.


    ...


    A private flightnded in the Dark Continent, which had a name boldly imprinted on the outer shell of the jet.


    The name was "Warlock Council."


    The Warlock Council jetnded on the Dark continent.


    Inside the ne, there seemed to be no one who was in a hurry.


    A young man calmly walked to a person who was sitting in the front. "Sir Andreas, we''re there."


    "I know. You guys go out and wait for me. I''ll be right outside," the blonde-haired man replied.


    One peculiar thing about the blonde man who was addressed as sir was his beautiful winds. There were four wings on his back, two on the left and two on the right.


    He was Andreas De Ville, one of the Warlock Council leaders who was incharge of retrieving the stone from Milena.


    He was also the person who hade here before, only to fail in diplomacy. This time, however, he decided to try a different approach.


    Unlike before, he didn''te with only two Warlocks. Instead, he was with over a Hundred high-ranking Warlocks from the Warlock Council.


    Two more Warlock Council nesnded in the same airport, which was carrying the rest of the Nobles.


    Andreas opened hisptop and connected it to the Warlock Council secure server to contact the Headquarters.


    Blink~


    A screen opened on theptop, giving visuals of another person. It was showing an old man, who was also a leader of the Warlock Council. Moreover, he was one of the oldest Warlock Council leaders.


    "Ah, Andreas. Did you reach the Continent of Darkness?" the old man asked.


    "That''s right. We justnded here. Now we''ll wait for refueling here before advancing to the Divine Empire. This shall be our first assault and the beginning of the War on the Infected!"


    "I wish you great luck in this endeavor. But you must remain careful. And make sure that your men can''t be used against you," The old man reminded Andreas.


    "Don''t worry. I took precautions rted to that. All my men are wearing explosive cors. As soon as they die, the cor would blow up, taking their entire head. No one can turn them. I can''t let my men be used against me!"


    "That''s good. You stay careful too. This mission is more important. And its sess is of grave importance. You must take out Milena and all the others infected," the old man let out gravely.


    "That''s what I''m here for. I''m here to take out that arrogant Milena. We talked kindly for so long. Now it''s time to use our might and show her how stupid that girl was."


    "I know, it''ll be a hard battle, and quite a lot of our men die, but it''ll be a battle which shall be remembered by generations as an example as to why no one should offend the Warlock Council." Andreas dered proudly.


    "May the goddess of Victory be with you. I''ll wait for the good news."


    "Don''t worry, old man. I won''t disappoint you. Anyway, what''s the situation with Elisium? I heard that''s also creating trouble?" Andreas asked, seemingly curious.


    "Well, in a way. But that''s also being taken care of. I''ve sent two teams to bring Elisium to dust too."


    "Hahaha, that''s good. After this, we would have Elisium stone and Divine Empire stone as well. We would have a total of three. Only four more to go then." Andreas burst intoughter. "Anyway, I shall get going. My men are waiting for me."


    The old man nodded as the screen turned ck.


    Andreas stood up after closing theptop and stretched his arms, yawning.


    As he stood up, a beautiful ck cor was revealed around his neck as well. It was also an explosive cor. He also didn''t want to turn into a Noble and be used against his people in a war, so just like his men, he also wore the same cor to make sure he couldn''t be forced to be a Noble.


    Andreas stepped out of the ne to be greeted by a light shower falling from the sky.


    "Sir!" A man stepped forward and opened an umbre to protect Andreas from the rain. The man was also wearing the same cor


    "It''s just a little rain, John. You don''t need to protect me from it. Save yourself." Andreas smiled, shaking his head. He stepped out of the shade of umbre to greet the rain.


    There were around three hundred men standing before him, all of whom were mighty Warlocks of the Warlock Council that had managed to pass through its rigorous testing to reach their current position.


    All three hundred of them knew the n, and they were prepared to even give their lives for the cause. There was no need to discuss anything at all


    "All of you, wait here. I''ll go to meet Heath and be right back." Andreas informed his men as his wings started pping.


    His body started floating in the air soon; he left the airport.


    The people of the city noticed a man with wings flying, amazed.


    In the left shower and the dim light of the sun, some mistook Andreas to be a real angel.


    Ignoring all the shocking reactions, Andreasnded before the Warlock Council branch. He pushed the door open and stepped inside.


    "Heath! Come out! Where are you now? You didn''t even reply to the messages that we sent yesterday! Come out right now!"


    Andreas continued searching the entire branch in an effort to find Heath, but he wasn''t able to. Strangely enough, the man wasn''t here.


    "Is he again in the garage?" Frowning, Andreas walked towards the garage.

 Chapter 470: Betting

    <h4>Chapter 470: Betting</h4>


    Andreas reached the garage. "Heath! Where are you?"


    Even now, he didn''t get a response. Not a single person was here, but there was something else that attracted his attention.


    "One of the helicopters is missing? How could that be?"


    There were usually two helicopters here. One was to escort the Warlock Council members to the Divine Empire, while the other one was for backup in case the first one was destroyed. Strangely enough, only one helicopter was here, which was the backup helicopter.


    "That idiot! He dared to take the helicopter for his own leisure?"


    "Is that why he didn''t answer our messages informing him of our arrival yesterday? Because he wasn''t here?! That idiot of a man! He just had to go at a time like this!"


    "I guess I have no choice. I can only take the backup helicopter," Andreas muttered, sighing. "I''ll deal with himter."


    He walked to the only helicopter in the ce and checked it to test if it was working fine or not. "Good. It works."


    He inserted the passcode for activating the helicopter, which he also knew, along with Heath.


    The rotors of the helicopter started moving, gaining momentum. The helicopter started rising in the air, soon leaving the Warlock Council branch.


    The helicopter went back to the airport andnded near the Warlock Council members.


    The door opened, and Andreas stepped out.


    "You''re piloting it? Where''s Heath?" John approached Andreas and asked.


    "No idea. He wasn''t at the branch. The helicopter is missing too. There are no signs of forced entry or anything else. No defense systems were activated either. It all points towards one thing," Andreas replied. "It''s that Heath took the helicopter himself. Maybe to take a trip? But we can''t wait for his return."


    "So we continue with the n?" John asked.


    "That''s right. We move ahead with the same n. The only difference will be that Heath won''te with us," Andreas responded. "So, is everything ready?''''


    "Just five more minutes. The nes will be ready for travel."


    "Good."


    ...


    While real Andreas thought that Heath left on a pleasure trip, Heath was sitting with an Andreas of his own, unaware that the man he believed to be a Warlock Council leader was none other than a fraud.


    Even Szar and the others were unaware about the arrival of the real Warlock Council with the intent to attack the Divine Empire.


    Instead, they sat in the first row of the stands, watching more and more seats of the first row being filled.


    More and more of the participants continued arriving with each passing second, taking their seats.


    The Noble Lords also arrived one after another. A special area was arranged for them to sit right behind the throne of Milena.


    There were thirty seats for the Noble Lords and one throne specially reserved for Milena in the Northern part of the Colosseum, which was supposed to give her the best view of the uing battles.


    From the thirty Noble Lords, only five of them had arrived so far, and two of them were Arthur and Feronia.


    Everyone was patiently waiting for others to arrive so that the tournament could be started. Even though it was taking time, no one dared to express their difort at a time like this. They didn''t want to die, after all.


    Szar kept his eyes on the neer, hoping that one of them was going to be Lucifer, but so far, that didn''t happen.


    More and more Noble Lords arrived, soon bringing their number to twenty-eight.


    Other than Arthur, everyone else had taken their seats.


    "Arthur, are you not going to sit?" Feronia asked Arthur, who stood, keeping his eyes at the entrance while being lost in deep thoughts.


    "I willter," Arthur replied calmly.


    The people in the stands continued their chattering, talking about who was going to win.


    Almost all of them knew that some foreigners were going to take part in thepetition too and that they were the strongest warriors that existed in foreignnd, which excited the people even more.


    They wanted to see the strongest warriors of the outside be thrashed by their Nobles. They were too proud of their Empire. For them, their Queen and the Nobles were avatars of gods, and they couldn''t be defeated by anyone. It was just not possible.


    So none of them even considered the possibility of a foreigner winning. They were sure that one of the Noble Lords was going to win.


    Every year, many nobles took part. Some Noble Lords also took part for fun. And every year, it was a Noble Lord who won. In fact, it was only once that a person who wasn''t a Noble Lord had won.


    "Do you think another Noble Lord is going to win?"


    "Of course. Noble Lords are superior to Nobles. They''ll certainly win."


    "Who knows. I remember when Lord Feronia had won. She wasn''t a Noble Lord at that time. I wonder if we''ll see something like that again."


    "That was just one exception. It didn''t happen after that. And I don''t think that will happen again."


    "Hahaha, I guess you''re right. But I''m curious about the foreigners. They''re said to be the strongest warriors outside. I wonder how they''ll perform. Will theyst until they get to face a Noble Lord or be defeated even before that?"


    "Get to face a Noble Lord? Hahaha, nonsense! They''ll be out in the first round! Just you watch!"


    "Who knows man. I don''t think we should underestimate them."


    "Huh? Don''t tell me you seriously think they can win the first round?"


    "I don''t know. I''m just saying that we shouldn''t underestimate them. I''m sure that can''t defeat a Noble Lord, but I''m not sure about Nobles. Many newly made Nobles take part too. Who knows, they might be able to defeat them by luck."


    "Man, if you have such faith in foreigners, why don''t you go and bet money on them in the stands?"


    "Money in the stand? What do you mean?"


    "Huh? Don''t tell me you don''t know about the betting? Have you been sleeping? There is now a betting stand for people to bet. There, they can bet on how far they think the foreigners can reach."


    "If you bet money on them being able to pass the first round, you''ll get ten coins for every one coin you bet. If you bet on them being able to pass the second round, you''ll get a hundred coins for every one coin you bet."


    "And if you bet on them being able to reach finals, you''ll get a thousand coins per coin you bet!"

 Chapter 471: High Lords

    <h4>Chapter 471: High Lords</h4>


    "Is that so? I think I might try that. One coin of nothing, after all. And a hundred coins will be sweet."


    "Huh? Don''t tell me you''ll be betting on them going past the second round?"


    "Yeah. I might as well take the risk. As I said, one coin is worth it. If I win, I''ll be rich. Moreover, I''m sure they won''t be faced with the Noble Lords in the first two rounds."


    Even though most of the spectators had no faith in the foreigners, the high odds of betting on them made quite a lot of them bet on foreigners.


    While most people bet on them being able to pass the first round, there were also a few who bet on them being able to pass the second round.


    Moreover, there was one person in the ce who went as far as to bet on them being able to reach finals rounds. Furthermore, that person didn''t bet only one coin.


    "Ah, Sir. Are you sure you want to bet so much on the foreigners?" The person handling the betting stall asked the bearded man.


    "Hahaha, I am. You can just say that I have a hunch," The old man replied,ughing. He received his betting slip and went back to his seat.


    "Man, the old man seems crazy. Betting so much on the foreigners and that too on them reaching finals? He''s going to lose big," The man on the stall muttered, sighing as he watched the old man leave, wondering who the old man actually was.


    ...


    The chatter in the stands continued for a long time, only getting louder with time until it suddenly went silent.


    Pin drop silence spread everywhere as all the spectators stood up in respect. The Nobles and the Noble Lords also stood up as the Queen had arrived in the arena.


    Seeing everyone else stand up, Szar and his team members also stood up as they didn''t want to stand out.


    Milena was dressed in a beautiful ck gown that came down to her ankles. A beautiful ck robe rested on her shoulder, which had the Divine Empire symbol engraved on it in blood-red color.


    A young white-haired man was following Milena closely behind, who was none other than Sirius. He looked calm and serene like he always did. He was donning a white cloak on his back which went along with the white shirt and white pants he wore.


    Milena''s gaze roamed over the citizens that were in the Colosseum. Her gaze seemed ordinary, as if she was just trying to see how many people were there, but that simple gaze was enough to make the people she nced at shiver.


    Her gaze soonnded on Heath, who remembered being choked by Milena. He started looking down. Next, her gaze moved over to Caen, who didn''t back off. Caen looked straight into Milena''s eyes as if showing he wasn''t scared.


    He had faced the cruel torture from Varant. He already had a fierce mindset that wasn''t scared of such measly things.


    A hint of a smirk formed on Milena''s lips as she moved over to the next person, who was none other than Szar.


    As a Warlock King of Elisium, Szar was even a harder nut to crack. Milena''s smirk changed to a smile as she watched Szar.


    She stopped looking at them and walked towards her Throne.


    "Did you notice that?" Szar asked, frowning.


    "Notice what?" Heath asked.


    "She looked at us, but she wasn''t surprised by the absence of Lucifer. It''s as if she knew he wasn''t going to be here," Caen let out. He understood what Szar was talking about. He had also noticed that odd thing.


    "Does that mean she knows his whereabouts?" Heath asked, frowning.


    "It does seem that way. At this point, I''m a hundred percent sure that she knows something. Let''s see what Arthur''s can find out," Szar responded, frowning.


    Now they knew where they could get their answers from. It was just a matter of time.


    "If Arthur can tell us about it, we won''t have to try the hard way. But if he can''t, then we should be prepared for what''s toe," he further added.


    Milena reached her throne to be greeted by the Noble Lords. She nodded as she turned around and sat on her throne.


    "You may sit!" She dered in her calm tone. Even though she didn''t yell her words, everyone in the stands was able to hear her, including the people who were sitting in thest row.


    The Noble Lords also sat down behind her.


    There were thirty seats behind Milena, but only five of those thirty were in the first row. Another twenty-five were in the second row, highlighting the position of the top five Noble Lords.


    The top five Noble Lords were known as the High Lords, even amongst the Noble Lords. There wasn''t any ranking in the High Lords as all five of them were considered equal.


    Still, Sirius was the closest to Milena, so he was considered the most important High Lord. After him came Arthur and Feronia.


    Another of the High Lords was a green-haired man who was the tallest of them all. He was seven feet tall and known as Draven.


    As for the fifth, it was a dark-haired woman known as Aira who actually looked like she wasn''t a single year older than sixteen, but she was actually in the mid twenties.


    Of the five seats behind the throne, the middle seat was taken by Sirius. The left side of him was taken by Feronia. The right was taken by Arthur. As for the other two, they were taken by Aira and Draven.


    "Is everything ready?" Milena asked.


    "Everything is ready, Your Majesty. We can start as soon as you wish," Feronia answered.


    "Good. You can start then." Milena nodded.


    "Start the tournament!" Feronia called out to her men, who were the organizers of the event.


    A chubby man stepped to the middle of the arena, carrying a loudspeaker in his hand.


    "ording to the wishes of Her Majesty, we are going to start our annual Divine tournament! Even though most of you may already know the rules, I need to repeat them again since we have many neers this time!" The man let out, ncing at Szar and his team.


    "There are going to be only four rounds! And the fourth round will be the final round! The person whoes out victorious in that round shall be granted a special reward by Her Majesty!"


    "And one more thing! If you die in the tournament, only you''ll be responsible for your death! Killing is legal in the battles, so if you don''t want to die, you should surrender on time!"


    "But for that, you must know the rules of surrender as well!"

 Chapter 472: He ran away

    <h4>Chapter 472: He ran away</h4>


    "If you surrender within the first five seconds of the battle, your surrender will be active instantly, and you''ll be allowed to leave! The enemy won''t be allowed to attack!"


    "But if you don''t surrender within the first five seconds of the battle, then the rules change a bit!"


    "Even then, you can surrender, but then your surrender will only be considered legal after ten seconds!"


    "So if you surrender at the time, then the enemy would still be allowed to attack you for ten seconds, and you must survive until your surrender is legal!"


    "Any questions?" He asked, looking at everyone.


    No one raised any questions at the moment and carefully listened to the rules.


    Even Szar wasn''t much focused on the technicalities, but it wasn''t concerning for him either. He could easily take care of this thing. He was still more concerned about Lucifer.


    Moreover, the people who should really be concerned were Caen and Heath since they were going to surrender, and the two of them could surrender right at the start. So it wasn''t bad.


    "Good. That was the most important rule. There are basically no other rules. You can use any of your attacks with the intention to kill, and even if you kill the enemy, you won''t be disqualified as long as you didn''t attack him after the enemy sessfully surrendered."


    "Now, I''ll begin the battles. Make sure to report to the arena as soon as your name is called. The first round of the battles will be today. The second stage will be held tomorrow. The event willst for four days."


    The man dered the rules and turned around, watching another man run to him. The second man gave him a list of names.


    The chubby man read the list, nodding.


    "Alright. The first Battle shall be between Quonda and Yami! Step in the arena!" he dered out loud.


    "Hah, finally, my turn!" A bulky man startedughing as he jumped over the fence tond in the arena.


    The man''s red eyes were a dead giveaway of his Noble identity. But his body was also pretty big. His biceps alone were the size of Szar''s head from the way it looked.


    Other than that man, another man jumped in the arena from a different side of the stands. The second person seemed half the size of the first man, but he also had red eyes. His body was more athleticparatively


    Both of them walked to the middle of the arena, looking confident in their abilities. Both of them believed that they were going to win.


    "Wait for a few minutes until we cast the barrier to protect the spectators. After that, the Battle can begin on my count!" The Chubby man reminded the two participants as he walked back.


    "Cast the barrier!" Hemanded soon after he reached the edge of the arena.


    Some Nobles started using their abilities at themand, each of them standing in a different end of the arena.


    Soon, a powerful Barrier spread everywhere, covering the whole ce in its embrace. The arena where the fight was going to be was separated from the ce where people and the Noble Lords were sitting.


    The excitement in the spectators was at an all time high at the moment as they waited for the battle, which could begin at any moment now.


    "You are going down, my ground," The bulky Noble known as Quonda warned Yami. "So surrender right now if you want to be safe."


    "I apologize, but I can''t surrender," Yami replied. "I''m here to win, and that is what I shall do. You should be more concerned about your own safety."


    As the back and forth continued in the arena, people eagerly waited for the beginning of the tournament.


    The chubby man walked over to Milena and asked her if he could begin.


    Looking at Milena''s subtle nod, he also dered, "The three of you can start fighting on the count of three! Take your positions now!"


    Hearing hismand, both the Nobles took five steps back and waited for the count.


    "One...!"


    "Two...!"


    "Three...!"


    At the count of three, the Battle in the arena began while both the Nobles gave their all.


    As the Battle in the arena began, cheers of the crowd filled the entire ce.


    Believing that now was the perfect time to ask, Arthur approached Milena. "Your Majesty, I wanted to ask you something."


    "Go ahead, Arthur," Milena responded.


    "Ah, Your Majesty, I wanted to ask if you knew anything about Lucifer''s disappearance. I noticed that he didn''te to the arena today. When I approached his friend, I was told that he had been missing since yesterday along with their maid."


    "And you think I had something to do with it?" Milena asked, amused.


    "Not at all. I was just curious. I saw the maid approach your room in a hurry yesterday. I was wondering if she told you something about the disappearance of Lucifer,"?Arthur inquired, minding his words.


    "Well, she did tell me something about it. She said that Lucifer had run away, leaving his friends behind. She even said that she watched him leave the city. And that''s why she came to inform me." Milena answered.


    "He ran away? Why would he do that?"


    "How should I know? I told you what I was told. After that, I sent the maid back to keep an eye on the others to ensure that the other three didn''t run away. It seems like they were braver than their leader," Milena let out, shaking her head.


    "It doesn''t matter. I only needed one person to bring me their stone. Any of the remaining three should be able to help," she further added.


    "So you send the maid back? But they said that she wasn''t back? If she didn''te back and she wasn''t in the Pce, then where did she go?" Arthur asked, confused.


    "How should I know? I sent her back, and that''s all. We should be the ones asking them what they did to that maid. I give you the responsibility to find out the whereabouts of the maid and if these people killed her. That will be all, now let me enjoy the tournament," Milena responded.


    Arthur knew that there were some things about Milena''s story which didn''t make sense, but he couldn''t question her.


    He simply nodded. "I''ll try to find her whereabouts after the day is over."


    "Good."


    ....


    "Looks like he''s having a conversation with Milena. We should be getting our answers soon," Szar muttered, noticing Arthur having a conversation with Milena.


    "Yeah. But looking at his expressions, I don''t think he received any good news. We''ll have to see," Caen chimed in.


    In the meantime, the first battle was already over. The bulky man had realized that he was no match for Yami. Moreover, he was at the edge of death. He believed he had no choice. He could either surrender or die. And he chose to surrender.


    After surrendering, he survived the onught for ten more seconds before being allowed to leave the ring. The winner of the first match was Yami, and also the person who moved on to the next round.

 Chapter 473: Caens Evolution

    <h4>Chapter 473: Caen''s Evolution</h4>


    As the first battle was over, the next set of contestants were invited to the arena.


    It was also a pair of nobles that began to fight for victory.


    Szar wanted to go and ask Arthur what Milena told him about Lucifer, but he knew it wasn''t the right time. Arthur would havee on his own if it was the time. He decided to wait for the end of the day to talk to him.


    In the meantime, he observed the Battle of nobles, learning more about them and how they fought.


    "They are fast," Caen let out, noticing the movement of the Nobles as they avoided the attacks of each other.


    "That''s right. And their healing is also pretty good. It''s just as we heard," Szar agreed. "The two of them haven''t even started using their abilities yet, and their fighting skills are still so good."


    "Exactly. No wonder Nobles are considered powerful. They are like Variants on steroids. But then again, they can''t use Overdrive either. So that should be a disadvantage for them," Caen responded, learning a few things from the battle.


    "That''s right. For overdrive, you need to burn your life essence. But they can''t even form their own blood, instead surviving on blood from others. I doubt they can use Overdrive either. But then again, Overdrive is only thest option," Szar replied.


    "Do you think you''ll be using Overdrive ever?" Caen asked Szar. "I wonder how it''ll affect your powers."


    "I''m not sure. But I don''t think I''m going to be using Overdrive. Using that means you have no faith in your victory, and you end up sacrificing your life in exchange for more power for onest strike. I would never lose faith in my skills, so I won''t be using it,"?Szar replied, sighing.


    "Sigh, that''s true as well. I won''t be using it either. Since my power would still be useless even if I use Overdrive," Caen let out, frowning.


    His powers were of shapeshifter. What could he even do with a more effective overdrive? Get a better disguise? That was useless as well.


    "Don''t sell yourself short. I think Overdrive would work great on you. But it would still be ast resort only," Szar responded.


    "How?" Caen asked. "How can it be useful?"


    Szar didn''t respond right away and nced at Heath instead. He didn''t want to talk about it before Heath since he was still under the impression that Caen was Andreas.


    "Heath, can you get some coffee for us from the stands?" he asked Heath.


    "Right now?"


    "Yeah. I''m craving it. I heard they offer that for free for the participants. Get three cups for all three of us."


    Heath didn''t understand why Szar felt the urge to drink coffee so suddenly, but he still listened. He stood up and left.


    "He''s gone now. You can speak." Caen told Szar.


    "Well, the answer is simple. What is your power?" Szar asked.


    "It''s shapeshifting," Caen responded.


    "Wrong. Your power is impersonation. You can impersonate anyone from looks to voice. So Overdrive would boost your Impersonation even more.?What do you think you would be able to do if your Impersonation is boosted?" Szar asked. "What do you think the next step of your power will be?"


    "You mean... Impersonating powers?" Caen asked, stunned. He hadn''t even thought of this possibility before.


    "That''s right. I believe the next evolution in your power would be to impersonate looks as well as the powers of the person you''re impersonating, at least to some extent,"?Szar exined.


    "But I also think you don''t have to wait for overdrive to do that. Just keep training yourself and your abilities. One day, you shall be able to impersonate powers too," he further added.


    "That... I didn''t think of this possibility. But if ites here, then I really won''t be useless anymore," Caen muttered. "Thank you."


    "You don''t need to thank me. I just told you some basic things," Szar replied, shaking his head. "Oh, and one more thing. I don''t think you''re useless. Your ability is already pretty powerful. At its next evolution, it would be even more powerful. You would be a powerful Warlock that could be a headache for anyone."


    "So don''t underestimate yourself. If you were useless, you wouldn''t be sitting beside me, selected by Lucifer," He continued.


    "You know, you''re not half bad. I was wrong about you," Caen said, sighing. "You''re actually a nice guy."


    "What do you mean you were wrong about me? What did you think about me?" Szar asked, smiling wryly. "I''m as normal as a person can be. Though I do get a bit scary when I''m angry, but that''s the case with everyone."


    "It''s nothing. I just thought that you would one day betray us since you don''t like Uprising. But here you are, trying to help me."


    "I don''t like Uprising? When did I say that?"


    "I mean, you did attack our base with the intention to kill everyone?" Caen reminded Szar, rolling his eyes.


    "Ah, that wasn''t because I hated you all. I mean, it''s true that I don''t appreciate some of the things that Uprising did, but the only reason I attacked Uprising was because I thought you were manipting him. I know I was wrong," Szar exined.


    "In any case, we''re both on the same side now," he added.


    " Can I ask you something?" Caen asked.


    "Go ahead."


    "It''s about Lucifer. I mean, from the way you talk, it seems like you care for him. Then why didn''t you help him when he was little?" Caen asked.


    "Why didn''t I help him then? I think the answer is a bitplicated," Szar replied, sighing.


    "I idolized Zale for what he did for me. He protected me from bing an orphan when I was little. He''s the only reason I was able to grow up the way I did."


    "The day I heard about his death was the day I received the shock of my life. I knew he had a son, but I didn''t know that his son was going to be alone. I thought people were going to take care of him and that he''ll have a life that a kid should have with the government who will take care of him."


    "I was a Warlock who had just started walking on the path of growth. I had many enemies, and I didn''t want Lucifer to be dragged with me."


    "But I didn''t know that his future was going to be so grim. I didn''t know the government was going to use him in experiments and give him an even worse future than it would have been with me," he exined.

 Chapter 474: Regret

    <h4>Chapter 474: Regret</h4>


    "You thought he would be better off without you?" Caen asked, frowning.


    "Something like that. I didn''t know Zale was a person who didn''t have any close family members to take care of his kid and keep an eye on him. If I knew, I would have done something even before," Szar replied.


    "I only found out about this when I saw the message by Uprising on the TV," he continued. "From that point on, I started searching for him. Unfortunately, by the time he had disappeared. There was no clue about him for the next eight years."


    "Neither APF knew nor the Uprising as to where Lucifer was. I had already lost hope when one day I heard the news about the Capital City''s fall. I think you know the rest. I went there and had a conflict with you people. The rest is history."


    Szar finished telling the whole story to Caen before stopping.


    "To be honest, I don''t even know why I am here with him. I should''ve stopped him froming to this dangerous ce. But instead of me influencing him, it''s like he influenced me. It would suck a lot if he is dead here," he further added, sighing.


    "Don''t worry. We will find him. He would be perfectly safe. At best, he might be trapped somewhere he can''t get out of. Killing him is impossible after all," Caen responded,forting Szar.


    None of them could afford to lose faith at the moment.


    "Here, coffee for all," Heath returned with two cups of coffee in his hand.


    "You didn''t bring one for yourself?" Caen asked.


    "I drank mine there since I couldn''t carry three. Don''t worry about me," Heath responded as he handed over the cups to Szar and Caen.


    Caen had just picked the cup when he heard a call from the arena.


    "Next would be Caen and Sonia! The two of you shalle to the arena right now!"


    Thest battle was already over, and it was now the turn of the third battle.


    Caen stood up and returned the cup to Heath. "Here, you can drink it. It''ll just get cold otherwise."


    "Why would it get cold? Don''t forget; you just have to go there, surrender and return. You don''t have to really fight there," Szar reminded Caen. "Stick to the n. Only I and Lucifer were allowed to fight. Since he''s not here, I''ll fight. You just surrender and watch."


    "I don''t know. I was thinking that I should give it a try. Even though I''m not a powerful Warlock, I do have some skills."


    "No! In Lucifer''s absence, I''m taking the leader position. Mymand shall be followed now. And you will stick to the n. Don''t put everything in jeopardy. Surrender instantly and return," Szar let out, frowning.


    "Sigh, fine. I''ll stick to the n," Caen said, ultimately agreeing. He was just thinking about giving it a try, and he also knew that it wasn''t needed. He dropped the n.


    "Caen! This is thest call for Caen! If he doesn''t step forward, he will face the consequences!" the chubby man called out again as the second person didn''t step in the arena.


    "Coming!" Caen eximed as he hastily jumped over the fence tond in the arena.


    There were marks of battles already left on the arena because of thest two battles.


    Observing the markings, Caen reached his opponent.


    A blonde-haired woman stood before him, dressed in a green gown.


    The woman had beautiful blue eyes and a curvy figure that could''ve made any man fall for her, but Caen remained focused on her eyes.


    "Your eyes aren''t red," he said, frowning.


    "That''s for pointing out the obvious, dumbo!" thedy retorted.


    "Wait, are you not a Noble?" Caen asked, surprised. The enemy he faced wasn''t a Noble?


    "That''s right. I''m a Variant, and I joined thispetition so I could win and be a Noble! So give it your all! Because only when you give me a toughpetition can I show my full skills to impress Her Majesty!" Sonia informed Caen, cracking her knuckles.


    The stands were also filled with excitement. It was finally the time they were going to see one of the so-called foreign powerhouse Warlock in action.


    The people who had bet on the foreigners were grinning ear to ear as they realized that the enemy wasn''t a Noble.


    "Man, this guy is so lucky! In the first round, he isn''t matched up against a Noble! If he is really as powerful as they say, then he can easily move over to the next round!"


    "I regret not betting my money on foreigners! I lost such a great chance! I''m not lucky like this man!"


    The people who hadn''t bet on the foreigners were shocked and sad at the lost opportunity, while the rare few who had bet on the foreigners were as happy as a person could be.


    They felt as if they had this victory in the bag. If the enemy were a Noble, the battle would have been much more brutal, but with a random Variant, it wasn''t hard.


    They were all waiting for the battle, and most of them had already guessed who the winner was going to be.


    Even Milena was looking at the battle, intrigued. It was the first time she was going to see Caen in action. She wasn''t the only one as the Noble Lords were interested too.


    Szar, on the other hand, was perfectly calm as he already knew there was going to be no battle.


    The only person who was frowning here was Heath. Szar''sst words were still floating in his head.


    He said in Lucifer''s absence, he was going to be the leader now? Why did it seem like Caen actually wasn''t the leader of the group?


    ''Ah, could it be that all three of them were the Leaders in the Warlock Council! That would make sense then! That''s why they talk to a leader like that! Because they''re the leader too! They fooled me!''


    ''No wonder that Lucifer was ready to face Milena at the start! So this was the trick! The Warlock Council sent three leaders instead of sending one leader and his team! They fooled me really well.''


    From the conversation, he had managed to guess that there were only two possibilities. One was that Caen wasn''t the leader either. And that was why others talked to him like that.


    But he knew that it wasn''t possible since he knew Caen was a leader from hisst trip. That''s why he went with the other possibility, which was that they all had the same position.

 Chapter 475: Insult

    <h4>Chapter 475: Insult</h4>


    As Heath justified the loophole himself, he finally calmed down and focused in the arena


    "Are you two ready? Take your positions! You can start at the count of three!" the referee dered as the barriers were cast again to protect the citizens.


    "One!"


    "Two!"


    The count began, and at the same time, the heartbeat of the citizens started getting faster as they waited in anticipation.


    "Three!"


    "I surrender!"


    Silence...


    Silence spread everywhere as soon as the referee finished the count since Caen surrendered instantly.


    The woman had just prepared to attack, but her jaws dropped, leaving her mouth wide open. A look of disbelief spread across her face, but she sure wasn''t alone. The same look spread across almost everyone in the stands.


    Even the Noble Lords were surprised. They hadn''t expected the Warlock Council member to surrender so fast, especially against an ordinary Variant.


    "Did we overestimate them?" One of the Noble Lords asked, stunned.


    "I think we did. They are nothing but weaklings who talk big. They can''t even gather the courage to face ordinary Variants. What a disappointment."


    Their responses were harsh, but they only talked amongst themselves.


    The spectators were different. They couldn''t control their anger as they started booing Caen.


    "Coward!"


    "Coward!"


    Many of the spectators started chanting Coward while others cursed Caen openly.


    " I already knew these foreigners weren''t anything special! They are just cowards who enjoy fake reputation!"


    "That''s right! Let alone being a match for Divine Empire Nobles; they can''t even face ordinary Variants of the Divine Empire!"


    "That''s right! I feel pity for the people that bet on these cowards. They are nothing!"


    "That''s right! They are weaklings! They''re just here to beughed at! That must be it! I think they''re here to be the jokers of the event!"


    "Hahaha, this birdman certainly looked like a joker! No wonder!"


    "You bastard! Vacate the arena for the next contestant! It''s no ce for cowards like you!"


    The curses continued being fired at Caen, who didn''t look like he minded them. Frowning, he turned around and started walking back.


    "Meh, I thought you were something special. You were just a coward. Because of you, I couldn''t show off my skills!" Sonia said from behind Caen. "It''s because of you that people will say that I only got to the next round because I faced such a weakling!"


    Caen didn''t reply and continued walking. Soon, he reached the fence. He jumped over the fence to walk to his seat.


    A cup of coffee was ced on his seat, which he picked up before sitting down. He started drinking from the coffee.


    "Don''t mind their mocking. They aren''t capable enough to understand," Szar told Caen, who was sitting in silence.


    "Don''t worry; I know that. These things can''t affect me," Caen replied.


    In the arena, the next set of contestants were called. The curses that were hurled at Caen finally stopped as the mind of spectators was shifted to the next set of battles.


    The battles in the arena continued as more and more people fought. A wide variety of abilities were put on disy in the battles as everyone gave their all to win. Some of the abilities even intrigued Szar, who was observing every battle.


    After five more battles, it was once again the turn of Warlock Council members.


    Heath was called to the Arena along with another participant.


    This time, the enemy was a real Noble though.


    The Noble Lords again hoped that they would get to see a battle, but after the disy ofst time, they didn''t keep their hopes high.


    As for the spectators, their reaction was even more harsh.


    A vast majority of them were convinced that this guy was also going to be a coward and he was going to surrender as well.


    The conversation in the crowd wasn''t if Heath would surrender or not. Instead, it was a conversation about when he would surrender.


    "I say he will surrender in the first second itself!"


    "Who knows man, thest guy surrendered in the third second. I think he''llst till the second before surrendering."


    "Hahaha,e on! Look at his face! He looks like an even bigger coward! I think he wants to surrender before the match could even begin officially! Hahaha, just you watch!"


    "Are you two ready? On the count of three, you can begin," the referee said as the barriers were cast again.


    "Kid, don''t you dare surrender! I promise I won''t kill you! I''ll just beat you up, but I''ll let you live! So you don''t need to surrender! How''s the offer? I''m sure even a coward like you can appreciate it!" Heath''s enemy said,ughing.


    Unfortunately for him, Heath already had a n which he was supposed to follow. Moreover, he was actually a coward who didn''t want to fight.


    So even if surrender weren''t a part of the n, he would have done it on his own.


    "Three!"


    "Two!"


    "One!"


    "I surrender!"


    As soon as the count finished, Heath surrendered and started walking back.


    Unlike before, there wasn''t much of an anger this time. Everyone expected him to surrender already. Instead, the spectators wereughing at the cowards who couldn''t even stand two seconds before surrendering.


    "See? I told you, he won''t evenst one second before surrendering! As I said, they''re all cowards! They''re almost non-existent in the tournament! They''re justedy relief!"


    "Yeah. Now I''m starting to regret betting on the foreigners. All I needed was for one of them to get to the second round, but I doubt they will even do that. I wasted my money!"


    Almost everyone who had bet money on the foreigners was sad as they lost all hope. There was only one person who wasn''t sad.


    It was the old man who bet most of his money on the Foreigners being able to reach the finals. He was sitting in his seat perfectly calm. There was still no distress on his face, as if he was still confident.


    He drank the coffee from a cup, enjoying the battles.


    A drink was also served to Milena in a cup, but the Drink wasn''t coffee. The spectators couldn''t see what was in the Cup, but if they could, they would have been surprised to see that the cup had blood in it.


    Milena started drinking the blood as if she was drinking coffee, enjoying every sip.


    Drinks like these were served to the other Noble Lords too.


    After the disappointing performance of Heath, the battles shifted to other participants.


    "Next, Szar from the Warlock Council against Noble Lord Vian from the Divine Empire!"

 Chapter 476: Salazars Prowess

    <h4>Chapter 476: Szar''s Prowess</h4>


    "Noble Lord Vian! This couldn''t be! He''s taking part too! It looks like we already know who would be winning thepetition!"


    A loud cheer came from the spectators as they heard the name of Noble Lord Vian, who was called to the arena.


    "Man, his enemy is that foreigner. What a disappointment! These people already surrender against even the weakest of enemies. How can they even face a Noble Lord?"


    "Matching a Noble Lord against those cowards is an Insult!"


    "That''s right! These cowards should''ve been matched against real ants and insects! They''re worthy to face them only! They aren''t even worthy to stand before our Noble Lord!"


    "Hah! Facing insects? I think these cowards can''t even face insects! They''ll surrender even before tiny insects!"


    "Hahaha, that''s true!"


    Szarzily stood up, hearing all the insults. There wasn''t any anger on his face. Instead, he seemedpletely calm and serene.


    He simply jumped over the fence and walked over to the arena.


    One of the Noble Lords also stood up from the seats and jumped over the fence tond in the Arena.


    The High Lords who sat behind Milena were already disappointed in the performance of the Warlock Council leaders. They didn''t even expect any good battle this time.


    "Does Vian really need to go to the Arena? These people are just wasting everyone''s time here! Theye to the arena just to say that they surrender before the battles can then begin! They''re too weak!" One of the High Lords said, sighing.


    "I think we shouldn''t underestimate them just yet. I get a weird feeling from this Szar. It''s as if he is quite powerful, unlike the other two. Who knows, we might just get to see a good battle," Another High Lord said, smirking.


    He wasn''t the only one who felt that way. Even Arthur had a feeling that he wasn''t going to see a surrender this time.


    He had already met with Lucifer''s team before. ording to his initial assumptions, Caen and Heath were the support, while Lucifer and Szar were real fire powers.


    Now that Lucifer wasn''t here, only Szar could show what the Warlock Council was capable of, and he was quite interested in seeing that.


    Finally, he could see a glimpse of the real abilities of the Warlock Council.


    Vian and Szar both reached the center of the arena.


    At this point, even the referee has just hopes. He wanted to directly ask Szar if he was going to surrender so he wouldn''t have to bother having the barriers be cast again.


    However, he still had to follow the rules and the protocol.


    He stepped back and had the Nobles cast the barriers.


    "On the count of three, you can start the battle!" he dered as he started the count.


    "One!"


    "Two!"


    "Three!"


    At the count of three, he already expected a yell of surrender, but there was none.


    Even the spectators were ready tough at Szar for surrender, but even their mouths opened slightly.


    All the spectators were shocked that Szar didn''t surrender.


    Even Noble Lord Vian was stunned. He hadn''t expected it either.


    "Don''t keep your hopes high! So what if he didn''t surrender in the first second! He still has four more seconds! He''ll certainly surrender on the fifth second!" Some theorized only to be proven wrong.


    Szar didn''t surrender. Instead, he stood with his arms folded around his chest and a calm smile on his face.


    "So, Vian. I heard you''re pretty good. I hope you can give me a good fight here. But just remember, I won''t go ways on you. You might even die. So I''ll be a good guy and give you ten seconds. Surrender if you want, and I won''t attack," Szar told Vian, extending an offer.


    "Hahahaha!" Vian burst intoughter. "You''re funny. But it''s alright. I don''t need your offer. Instead, I want to see where your arrogancees from! Unlike your partners, you didn''t surrender right away! It would be fun!"


    "You''re right about that. It would be fun indeed," Szar agreed as he stretched his arms while yawning. "You can go first. Attack me!"


    "Hah? Are you kidding me?" Vian asked, rolling his eyes. "You can go first!"


    "Well, don''t mind if I do," Szar let out,ughing as he started running towards Vian.


    As he ran, his body split in thousands of Szars and attacked Vian from all sides.


    Vian found himself overwhelmed as he faced so many Szars, but he didn''t lose easily. He gave it his all as he faced the attacks bravely.


    "What is happening? Why isn''t Vian moving?" In the distance, one of the High Lords asked, confused. All they saw was that Vian was standing in his ce as if he was frozen in time.


    In the meantime, Szar calmly walked toward him, getting closer.


    "W-what is happening? Why isn''t Lord Vian attacking?"


    "Why is Lord Vian standing like a statue? What happened to him?"


    "Who knows! Maybe it''s some trick of his to toy with the opponent? He wants to show that even if he lets enemies get close, he still couldn''t be harmed?"


    Many questions floated in the stands as people tried to make sense of the situation, wondering why Vian was standing like a statue.


    None of them knew that it was all because Vian was caught in the Dream Realm, which was cast by Szar.


    Even though it hadn''t worked on Milena in the prediction of Predictor, it worked on other Nobles perfectly fine. And the first victim of the Dream Prison here was none other than Vian.


    In his dream, he was giving Szar a fierce right. But in reality, he was at the mercy of Szar.


    Szar stopped right in front of the Vian, leaving only half a meter of distance between the two.


    He pulled out a knife from his shoes and ced it over the neck of Vian.


    "You can''t me me for this now. I did give you the opportunity to surrender," Szar said softly as he thrust his knife in the neck of Vian, slicing his head off.


    Lucifer had already told him about the healing of the Nobles and taught him how to kill them swiftly. It was why he straight took off the head of Vian.


    Silence...


    There was only silence in the stands as a Noble Lords had died, that too, so easily. It was such a pathetic death that no one could believe, especially since it came from the hands of the people that everyone considered cowards.


    A deep frown could also be seen on Milena''s face. "Intriguing."

 Chapter 477: Lucifers whereabouts

    <h4>Chapter 477: Lucifer''s whereabouts</h4>


    The Royal City of the Divine Empire had many beautiful structures, most of which looked to be from a bygone era even though they were created not long ago.


    There were many buildings that were simr to what the outside world possessed, including the Libraries, Theatres, and ygrounds.


    There was also one colosseum for battles like the ones that were taking ce at the moment between the strongest of the Warriors of Divine Empire.


    Most of the Royal City citizens had gone to the arena. While quite a lot of them had managed to get entry into the Colosseum, there was a loud crowd that was outside the arena, only hearing the cheers and the results of the battles that were dered outside as well.


    In fact, it could be said that most of the Royal City werepletely empty at the moment except for the area near the Colosseum.


    Not a single person could be seen anywhere else. There were still some guards left outside that were guarding the Royal Pce.


    As most of the city was destroyed in the Last war of the Empires, all the structures were newly built since most of everything was destroyed once upon a time during that war.


    There was only one structure that was left standing there at that time. It was also the structure that wasn''t modified either.


    In fact, it wasn''t wrong to say that the enemy Empires had destroyed all the buildings in the Divine Empire when they attacked this ce, leaving only that one building for some reason.


    As for why this one ce was left standing, no one had any idea. All people knew was that the Arian Empire was the one that was attacking this area, led by their Prince.


    Even though many didn''t know why the ce was left standing, there were some guesses that it was because the Arian Prince was a religious person. He was tired after destroying so many temples and religious ces, so he decided to leave this one temple standing in the end before going back.


    That one theory gained much traction during these years, making people believe that it was correct. In any case, no one had a way to verify the theory.


    The temple was made on the North Side of the Royal City by the first Divine Emperor. At the time, anyone was allowed to go inside the Divine Temple, but the rules soon changed as more and more temples started being made.


    As more than one Temple existed,ter on, It was decided that only the Royal Family would be allowed to enter this one while the other Temples would remain open for everyone else.


    Unfortunately, it was now the only Temple standing as others were destroyed. Even after the Divine Empire was re-established and many buildings were reconstructed, the temples were a different case.


    No other Temples were made in that time, leaving only this one Ancient Temple in the entire Divine Empire. Still, no one other than Royal Family members was allowed to enter this ce.


    Even the High Lords and the Nobles weren''t allowed to enter this ce.


    The massive temple was spread over two acres ofnd, covering a vastnd. It was also fifty meters tall, with each floor having a height of over three meters.


    The entire temple was made from the most expensive of materials. The outside was made from beautiful blue marble, which were further painted to give it an even better look.


    Throughout all these years, the paint had worn off to reveal the beautiful blue of the marble.


    The temple had no windows and only one door which could have been used to enter.


    The twenty foot tall door was made entirely from gold. Unfortunately, there was a lock ced on the door.


    Dust and webs had started collecting on the lock as if it hadn''t been touched in decades.


    Even a tiny spider could be seen crawling on the lock.


    Looking at the lock, anyone could have guessed that not a single person had entered the temple, especially after knowing that there were no other doors or windows. Unfortunately, that wasn''t the case.


    Inside the temple, there was one person and only one person.


    It was a young silver-haired man who looked like he was barely eighteen years old.


    The young man was lying on some unknown floor, not moving at all. His eyes were closed while his face remained pale.


    The man was dressed in a green cloak which wasn''t removed.


    Except for him, there was no one else in the room. And for some strange reason, there wasn''t any door in the room either, making it even stranger.


    If there was no entrance and exit in this room, then how was the man able to enter here? Moreover, that wasn''t the weirdest thing about this ce either.


    What was even weirder was the ce where the young man was lying.


    On the ground under him, a formation circle could be seen, which was red. It felt like it was made using blood, and it still looked fresh


    Some weird characters were carved inside the formation circle as well, which waspletely unreadable.


    Unfortunately, that also wasn''t the extent of the weirdness here. There was also a statue here. And that statue was the same as the statue which was in Milena''s basement.


    It was a statue of a headless chubby being that had a face protruding out of his stomach. Moreover, that being had more than one hand on both sides¡ªone having two hands while the other having three hands.


    However, unlike the statue in Milena''s room, this statue''s hands weren''t empty.


    There was one thing in each of its hands. One of his hands was holding a stone sword which had one of the strange symbols that were carved on the formation under the young man.


    Another hand of his was holding what appeared to be a scroll. Unfortunately, it was also made of stone, so it was impossible to be opened. But that scroll also had a symbol that was carved on the blood formation in the ground.


    The third hand was holding a decapitated head of what appeared to be a horned bear. That head was also made from stone though.


    The stone bear head also had a symbol on his forehead, which was carved on the formation under the young boy.


    Each of the bear''s horns also had one unreadable symbol, which was carved on the formation as well.


    The fourth hand was holding something even weirder in this ce.


    Each of the statue''s hands was holding one thing and the fourth hand wasn''t an exception.

 Chapter 478: The Temple

    <h4>Chapter 478: The Temple</h4>


    The fourth hand was holding what appeared to be a small bowl. The bowl was also made of stone, but that wasn''t the intriguing part about it. The most intriguing part about it was what was inside the bowl.


    The bowl was filled to the brim with real blood. And worm-like insects were swimming in the bowl. Unlike the other things, the insects were actually alive though.


    The fifth hand waspletely different. It wasn''t holding anything odd. Instead, it was simply holding a shield made of stone which wasn''t very big. The shield was only the size of a human head which couldn''t protect much for anyone.


    Lucifer remained on the ground, unmoving for some reason. It looked like he was simply sleeping as his heartbeat waspletely normal. The pale face did look a bit odd though.


    Moreover, the blood formation under him also appeared to be growing bigger for some reason. It was unclear if it was actually slowly expanding or it was a misconception.


    Szar and the others had no idea that Lucifer was inside the Temple. And even if they began searching for him in the city, it was unclear if they could even find Lucifer here since it was evident that no person had entered this ce, looking at the gates.


    Moreover, the room in which Lucifer was lying wasn''t on one of the floors of the Temple. Instead, it was on the underground floor of the Temple.


    ...


    Twenty hours ago~


    Lucifer had left the Pce, following Sirius, who promised to show him something important which could answer why Sirius had helped Milena.


    Even though Lucifer was suspicious that it could be a Trap, he also knew that it was a good opportunity to get some answers.


    Moreover, he was a bit confident in himself, thinking he could take care of traps even if there were any. He didn''t realize what it actually was that was going to happen and how serious it could be.


    "Where are we going?" Lucifer caught up to Sirius and asked.


    As Sirius was walking, he also walked instead of flying.


    "You''ll get all the answers soon. And I''m sure after you know the truth, you''ll also think that you should support me," Sirius replied.


    "I doubt that will happen though," Lucifer responded. "But what is that ce? It doesn''t seem like we''re going towards the Royal Pce."


    "That''s because we aren''t. We are going to a different ce. We are going to a ce where it all started," Sirius replied calmly.


    Even though it was evening when they left the Pce, for some reason, the path that they took didn''t have many people there. Most of the roads seemed empty.


    Seeing this, Lucifer grew slightly suspicious.


    As if he could read Lucifer''s mind, Sirius spoke, "I''m just taking this path because I know it''s mostly empty. I don''t want there to be amotion when people see me walking with you. I have a reputation to maintain."


    As that excuse sounded valid, Lucifer nodded. But he didn''t lower his guard. He was still suspicious.


    Through aplicated maze of pathways, Lucifer and Sirius treaded through the city, not seen by anyone.


    Sirius had also used a different color cloak instead of his usual white. Moreover, Lucifer already had a green cloak. The cloaks hid their faces.


    After walking through most of the city, Sirius finally stopped at the entrance of what seemed like a forest.


    "This is the ce? A forest?" Lucifer asked, intrigued. "What''s special about this ce?"


    "This isn''t the ce, but we''re close," Sirius said, stepping inside the forest. Lucifer also followed him.


    "Around ten years ago was the first time I came here," Sirius finally said after a long time as he continued walking.


    "With Milena?" Lucifer asked, curious.


    "No. I came here with my Army. It was at the time when the Four Empires had attacked the Divine Empire. All four Empires had sent their armies to destroy the Divine Empire entirely," Sirius replied.


    "My Arian Empire was responsible for destroying the North part of the Divine Empire, and so I did. It was an interesting experience as it was my first crusade. I destroyed anything I saw in my path except one thing!" he continued.


    "My crusade stopped in this forest as I found it," he further added.


    "Found it? Found what?" Lucifer asked, confused.


    "Look there." Sirius pointed ahead.


    Lucifer looked in the direction only to find more trees, but he could also see the top of the Tower in the distance.


    "That tower?" he asked.


    "That''s right. That is the Temple that changed everything. That''s where I found it," Sirius said.


    "Found what?" Lucifer asked.


    "You''ll see. It''s a really fascinating thing. I''m sure you''ll love it too."


    "Is it a treasure?"


    "Something akin to that. It''s hard to describe at the moment. But you''ll understand more when we get there."


    After a little more time, the two of them finally stopped in front of the temple, which stood fifty meters tall.


    "It doesn''t look like someone has been here in decades," Lucifer muttered as he noticed the lock on the door. "Do you have the keys?"


    "We don''t need keys," Sirius replied. "Moreover, it''s not right to say that no one has entered this ce in decades. I myself entered. Just that I used a different path."


    Sirius stepped forward and ced his hand on the walls of the temple, and closed his eyes.


    As if feeling the texture of the wall, he continued moving sideways.


    Standing behind, Lucifer wondered what this man was trying to do. Was he finding some secret switch in the walls?


    His assumption turned out to be correct as he heard a clicking sound.


    "Here it is," Sirius let out as he stepped. A small section of the wall had moved back with just a little force.


    "Is that a secret switch?" Lucifer asked.


    "Yeah. The first time I came here, I identally rested my hand in this spot which opened this pathway. I entered through this ce. If this pathway hadn''t opened at that time, I might have destroyed this temple too."


    "Because there was no way to enter the Temple. The lock on the gates was simply unbreakable. Anyway, this is where we enter from."


    A door shaped opening appeared in the wall as that section of the wall entered the ground.


    "Are youing?" Sirius asked, gesturing for Lucifer to hurry. "Come fast; it''ll close on its own!"


    Lucifer didn''t instantly reply as there was something inside him that was telling him that he shouldn''t go in with an enemy.

 Chapter 479: Alive?

    <h4>Chapter 479: Alive?</h4>


    Taking a deep breath, he gathered his courage as he decided to enter. He couldn''t be scared aftering so far.


    ''Fear can be my greatest enemy! I can''t be scared at this point! I need to know what''s inside the Temple!'' he thought as he took his first step forward, deciding to enter.


    "Don''t worry. You won''t regret this decision," Sirius informed Lucifer as he stepped inside the temple.


    Behind him, Lucifer also entered. The door closed after the two of them entered.


    Lucifer and Sirius found themselves on the ground floor of the Temple.


    Even though the Temple looked old from the outside, from the inside, it seemedpletely new, as if it was made just a few months ago.


    However, there was nothing on the first floor. The first floor seemed to bepletely empty. Only stairs could be seen which were going up.


    He walked toward the stairs.


    "Wait, where are you going?" Sirius called out, stopping Lucifer.


    "To the stairs, where else? This floor is empty. We can only go up?" Lucifer responded.


    "You''re wrong. We won''t be going upstairs," Sirius replied.


    "Then where?" Lucifer asked, but it soon took a guess. "Are you saying there''s another secret path here?"


    "That''s right. You''re not aplete idiot, it seems. There is a secret path. It was also something I discovered the first time I came here," Sirius responded, smiling.


    He walked over to another wall and started doing the same thing. His hand started grazing through the wall to find the switch since even he didn''t know the exact ce of it.


    Click~


    Finally, a clicking sound came as he pressed the secret switch.


    The floor started shaking mildly, and soon a small rectangr opening appeared in the floor, which was two meters wide.


    Lucifer approached the opening to find secret stairs there that were going down.


    "That''s the stairs we''ll be taking. What are you waiting for? Go down," Sirius told Lucifer.


    "You can go ahead. It''s fine," Lucifer replied, ying it safe.


    He didn''t want to be the first person to go down. He wasn''t sure if it was the same thing that the servant had pulled on him in the Royal Pce.


    She also lured him with something and told him to go inside the room, which was only a trap. If he had asked that woman to go first, the truth would have been out.


    Learning from that incident, he wasn''t going to go first, instead sending Sirius.


    "Don''t tell me you''re scared?" Sirius smirked, amused. "Fine. I''ll go first."


    Sirius took the lead and stepped on the stairs, going down.


    After Sirius, Lucifer also stepped on the stairs and went down.


    The two of themnded on the underground floor.


    As soon as Lucifer got off the stairs, the opening on the roof closed, and the stairs also submerged in the ground, leaving no exit from this ce.


    "Don''t worry; it''s not a trap. The stairs will appear when it''s our time to leave," Sirius told Lucifer as if again reading his mind.


    "So, what is this ce?" Lucifer asked, frowning. "And what''s that ugly statue?"


    Inside the room, Lucifer found the headless statue as well, which intrigued him. However, there was no blood formation on the ground at the moment.


    Other than the statue, there was nothing in the room, not even a door.


    Moreover, the room wasn''t veryrge either. It was a square room if one was to look from the top with a length of ten meters.


    "Ugly statue? What do you mean? That''s not an ugly statue. That''s the most beautiful thing I''ve seen in my life," Sirius replied.


    "In that case, you certainly need to get out of the Pce more," Lucifer responded, rolling his eyes. " Because that thing is the definition of ugly. Anyway, what did you want to show me? Don''t tell me it was this ugly statue?"


    He stepped closer to the statue, stopping only one meter away from it.


    He observed the things in the hands of the statue, but only the blood in the bowl made him disgusted. It didn''t look like an ordinary temple. It looked like some devilish temple instead.


    "Stop calling it ugly!" Sirius snapped in anger as Lucifer kept insulting the statue. But he didn''t attack or show any killing intent.


    "Fine. I won''t call it ugly. Now tell me why we''re here?" Lucifer asked again.


    "We came here so I could tell you a story,"?Sirius said, smiling.


    "What story?" Lucifer asked, turning around to face Sirius. As he turned, his back faced the statue.


    He didn''t realize that there was a movement in the statue as soon as he turned back.


    The eyes on the stomach of the statue slowly opened.


    "The story on how the Temple came to be like this," Sirius responded. "When you hear the story, you''ll get all your answers."


    "You could''ve for me the story back there too."


    "I couldn''t. It wouldn''t be that impactful. The story of this temple should be told in the temple, so you not only hear it but also feel it," Sirius replied, smiling.


    As Lucifer was distracted, the eyes of the statue looked at Lucifer''s back.


    The mouth on his stomach also opened a little as what seemed like a real tongue came out from the mouth.


    The tongue kept extending slowly, reaching close to Lucifer.


    "Many many years ago, a war happened in the outside world between humans and the so-called Dungeon Dwellers," Sirius said.


    "That''s right. I know about that," Lucifer responded.


    "Exactly. The dungeon dwellers came out from the dungeons that popped up all around the world," Sirius added. "Almost all those Dungeon Dwellers fought humans and destroyed many countries in the process."


    "That''s right. Will you get to the point now? Or are you simply going to give me a history lesson about what I already know?" Lucifer asked, rolling his eyes.


    "Keep calm. We''re getting there," Sirius said, smiling.


    "Dungeons appeared all around the world, but they didn''t appear in the Continent of Darkness, leaving the continent safe. And soon, the War ended with the victory of the Humans."


    "That''s right." Lucifer nodded.


    "The War ended with the death of all Dungeons Dwellers that had left the Dungeons. As for the rest of them, they were trapped in the Dungeons again," Sirius expressed.


    " As long as certain conditions were met, those Dungeon Dwellers couldn''te out. Is that right too?" he asked.


    Lucifer frowned, getting frustrated. It was as if the man was just wasting his time. "That''s right too! Now can we please get to the point?"

 Chapter 480: Angels

    <h4>Chapter 480: Angels</h4>


    "The point is simple. The entire world thought that all the Dungeon Dwellers that hade out at that time wanted to kill humans. They thought that those people were beasts and that they were all killed by them. However, they were wrong," Sirius said, smirking.


    "How were they wrong?" Lucifer asked, unaware of the threat that was slowly creeping closer.


    "They weren''t beasts that were out to wipe humanity! Instead, they were angels sent by gods to bring forth gods. Unfortunately, the Devil also sent their powers to humans so they could wipe the angels and keep the world caught in this turmoil!"


    "Huh?" It was at that point; Lucifer thought that he was talking to a crazy man.


    Sirius was actually saying that Variants were created by the Devil while Dungeon Dwellers were sent by gods? This man was absolutely crazy, it seemed.


    "I think you might have the wrong idea about it. Dungeons Dwellers came out a long time after humans received powers. So your logic fails before it could even gain ground," Lucifer responded. "You just say that because you never saw them and how they behaved since they didn''t appear in this continent."


    "I don''t me you. You''re just a naive boy. Let me educate you here. You''ll learn everything," Sirius said, smiling. "It''s wrong to say that the angels didn''t appear in the Continent of Darkness. That brings me back to where I started the story."


    "Humans thought that all Dungeon Dwellers were out to kill them, so they wiped them instead. However, it wasn''t exactly as they thought. They hadn''t wiped all the Dungeon Dwellers since not all were trying to kill humans."


    The more Lucifer heard, the deeper his frown got. He had a feeling as if he understood where this conversation was going. However, before he could do anything, the tongue of the statue wrapped around his neck.


    For some strange reason, as soon as the tongue touched him, Lucifer couldn''t resist in the least. He instantly lost consciousness before he could even raise a finger.


    His legs buckled as he lost his bnce. His eyes also closed weakly.


    Sirius'' smile widened as he saw the scene before him.


    "Some of the Angels spread out and started resting. And one of those angels came to the Dark Continent, taking shelter in this Temple."


    Even though Lucifer had lost consciousness, Sirius still continued with the story.


    In the meantime, the tongue freed Lucifer, letting him drop to the ground.


    The tongue moved back and went inside the mouth of the statue, which closed. The eyes of the statue also closed.


    "I met the angel when I came here for the first time. And that was the moment my eyes opened to the truth. That was the time when I saw the reality and the greatness of the Angels. And now I support their cause as their loyal servant. I''m not alone either," Sirius said, stepping closer to Lucifer.


    "Now, my dear friend. I''m sure you''ll awaken to the reality as well. Either that, or you''ll be the food for my Angel. It all depends on you. I hope you can see the truth," he added, smirking.


    He bent forward and held Lucifer''s hands before he dragged the body of Lucifer to the other side of the temple, away from the statue.


    Leaving the body on the corner of the room, he walked back to the statue.


    Standing before the statue, he bowed respectfully, going down on his knees. After what seemed like a strange process where he smacked his head on the ground three times while chanting some strange words, he stood up.


    He reached out his left hand and dipped it in the blood-filled statue. He walked with his bloody palm to the center of the room and started carving the blood formation on the ground.


    Theplicated formation cost him over an hour of his time in its creation. He had to make many trips back to the bowl to take more blood toplete the formation, but the blood in the bowl didn''t decrease in the least.


    It was as if the bowl kept filling up, no matter how many times blood was taken from it.


    After finishing the formation, Sirius stood up and wiped his sweat from his clothes. "Finished."


    He walked over to Lucifer and ced one of his hands under Lucifer''s neck while cing the other hand under his knees. He picked up Lucifer and walked back to the formation on the ground.


    He ced Lucifer in the middle of the blood formation.


    After finishing up, he bowed before the statue onest time before he flew in the air.


    He touched a certain spot on the roof. Following his touch, a small opening was created on the roof. Through that opening, he left the room.


    The opening closed soon, and the room returned to its scary silence as Lucifer remained unmoving in the middle of the blood formation, which kept getting bigger albeit exceptionally slowly.


    For a moment, it even seemed like the face on the stomach of the statue was smiling, looking at the body in the blood formation.


    ...


    Present time~


    Unaware of Lucifer''s whereabouts, his team was still in the Colosseum where the battles were taking ce.


    Caen and Heath had surrendered long ago, attracting the ire of the crowd, which was mixed with mocking.


    However, the entire notion of foreigner weakness was changed suddenly with the participation of Szar.


    He not only took out a Noble Lord who was expected to win the whole thing, but he did it in such an overwhelming manner that the enemy didn''t even get the opportunity to offer resistance.


    If citizens hadn''t known more about Lord Vian, they might have even considered the fact that this whole thing was fixed to improve the reputation of foreigners.


    However, they knew that it wasn''t the case. A Noble Lord could never betray hisnd, and even if he did, he would never have epted his death so readily. That could only mean one thing... Szar was actually very powerful.


    Szar looked at the dead body of Lord Vian, sighing. "Rest in peace."


    He didn''t forget to nce in the direction of Milena and Arthur before he turned around and started walking back to his seat.


    Unlike before, there was no mocking as he walked back. The entire arena was so silent that one would have wondered if there was anyone in the arena or not.


    Szar jumped over the fence to get out of the arena before walking to his seats.


    "That was a good performance. You didn''t show up too much and even won. But I think you attracted some attention too," Caen informed Szar, taking a subtle nce towards Milena, who was looking at him.

 Chapter 481: Getting the truth

    <h4>Chapter 481: Getting the truth</h4>


    "We were on their radar since we entered this Empire. I think it''s time we stop hiding and show them some things, so they don''t underestimate us too much to attack us," Szar replied calmly.


    "Moreover, ording to what we know, my second ability doesn''t work on Milena, but other than that, it works on everyone else here. So I have a good chance to win this time unless Milena personallyes to fight me," he further continued. "I doubt she would do that."


    "Don''t forget, she can use the abilities of the people she turned," Caen responded. "It''s quite possible that she received that mental resistance from one of the Nobles she turned. She might not take part, but that Noble might."


    "So you should still stay alert," he continued. "Because it would be game over if we lose you at this point."


    "Don''t worry about that. I''m not dying anytime soon. That prediction gave me some ideas. I think I know how to protect myself even if Milenaes before me," he added as he raised his shirt to reveal a gun.


    "That gun... Isn''t that Lucifer''s gun?" Caen asked, recognizing the gun. It was the gun that was given to Lucifer by Kane in the uprisingb.


    "That''s right. He gave me the gun to protect myself against Milena after that Prediction. He doesn''t need it since it''s mostly useless now that the sleeping bullets are useless," Szar exined. "He gave it to me so I could use it against Milena when the timees."


    "If thingse to the worse, we can trap her in the barrier momentarily and escape. But that''s only thest resort. I don''t think we would need to do that," he further stated, smiling.


    Heath remained amazed at the performance of Szar. He was pretty impressed and mostly sure that Szar was also a Warlock Council Leader. That could be why he was able to take out a Noble Lord so easily.


    It was the first time he had seen Szar use his ability in the first ce.


    After the initial shock, the citizens had also started recovering anding out of their daze as they came to terms with what had happened. A Noble Lord was killed by a foreigner, and no one could change the truth.


    "Maybe we underestimated the foreigners a little too soon. The surrender of thest two must have been a trap to make others underestimate them. They''re pretty clever!"


    "That''s right. I guess they aren''t that weak. At least they''reparable to a Noble Lord. It looks like the tournament is going to be fun."


    The initial shock soon turned to excitement as people understood the meaning of this. It meant thepetition in the future was going to be even more fierce. It was a battle between the foreigners and the Nobles now, which gave them even more excitement.


    There were also those people who had betted on Foreigners being able to reach the second round. Those were the most excited at the moment since all they needed was for one foreigner to pass the first round.


    Szar''s victory in the first round had brought them to victory. The money they bet on the foreigners had doubled instantly. In fact, at this point, they were wondering why they didn''t bet all their wealth on this! They would have been ten times richer now.


    Unfortunately, none of them could go back in time to bet more.


    The High Lords were also lost in a conversation of their own.


    Most of them didn''t understand what had happened in the battle.


    "I don''t get it. Why didn''t Vian move? Was he restricted by some invisible force? Or was he out to sleep? I don''t understand."


    "I don''t think it''s any of that. I think it was a form of mental restriction," Feronia eximed.


    "How do you know?"?Another High Lord asked, curious.


    "Because I can sense such things. It was clear that Vian didn''t even try to move. So it couldn''t be a physical restriction. It was probably a mental one where Vian didn''t know where he was," Feronia replied.


    "But he wasn''t sleeping either since his heartbeat hadn''t slowed down. Instead, his heart was only beating faster at that point. From what I can guess, it must be some kind of a dream that he used," she further eximed.


    Sirius didn''t chime in and simply nodded. Arthur also found it feasible.


    Moreover, he had already seen Sirius use his powers to slow down time before. He was sure that Sirius at least had two powers¡ª the mental restriction and the time control.


    In that case, it was evident how strong he was. Moreover, that also amused Arthur.


    ''If Sirius is so strong, how strong would Lucifer have been, who was their leader? Why would someone as strong as that person run away, leaving his teammates behind. That doesn''t seem to be the case as Her Majesty said,'' he thought, observing Lucifer.


    ''That only leaves one possibility. Either he''s hiding, or he was kidnapped. But why would he hide at this point? It seems more likely that he was kidnapped,''


    ''For someone to kidnap Lucifer, it can''t be the work of any ordinary Noble. It must have been a High Lord. And I''m most suspicious of Sirius. Lucifer exposed Sirius'' powers to me. And after that, he went missing? It''s just too convenient. Could it be Sirius?''


    ''That would exin the note Lucifer wrote as well. If Sirius was spying on him while being invisible, that note bes exinable. The more I think about it, the more I feel like it was the work of Sirius,'' he thought, ncing at Sirius.


    Sirius also felt someone ncing in his direction. He turned to his right and noticed that it was Arthur. He didn''t speak anything and simply smirked before he shifted his attention back to the Arena.


    ''It can only be Sirius. He seems to be the only person who is suspicious here. Ahh! Wait! Could it be that the Maid saw Sirius taking Lucifer away? Is that why she came to inform Milena about something?''


    ''Because when I asked her about why she was there, she said it wasn''t because the guests did something. She also said that it was about something else! Could it be that she was here to talk about Sirius and what he did? That would exin it!''


    ''But Her Majesty said that it wasn''t the reason for her arrival? She said that the Maid was there to talk about Lucifer. That directly counters what the maid told me! Is it that Her Majesty lied to me? Why? Because she knew about it?''

 Chapter 482: Babysitter

    <h4>Chapter 482: Babysitter</h4>


    ''Could it be that she was the one who put Sirius up to the task? That would exin it as well. But why did the Maid go missing after that? Where is she? Was she killed by Sirius after that, or was she killed by Her Majesty? Or could it be that she is trapped somewhere?''


    ''Only that maid can get me to answer, but even she went missing. Things are gettingplicated. If Her Majesty had Lucifer kidnapped, then why? And why didn''t Lucifer resist? Was Sirius so strong that he didn''t even let Lucifer resist?''


    ''No. I think it''s more because Lucifer was lured away. That''s why there were no battle signs there. And he was probably taken out somece else. To find Lucifer, we need to find where he was taken. I only have until the tournamentsts to find the truth. I must get to the core of it!''


    Manyplicated thoughts floated in the head of Arthur, who had managed to theorize what happened with Lucifer to the utmost uracy as soon as he saw the victory of Szar.


    Even though he believed he was close to the truth, even he didn''t realize how close he was.


    The next set of contestants took their ce in the Arena as the battles resumed.


    It was five in the evening when it was finally the turn of Warlock Council again.


    "Next! Jason and Warlock Council Leader Lucifer, pleasee to the stage!"


    The referee announced the name of Lucifer toe to the arena. However, he didn''t forget to add the title of Lucifer, exposing his identity to the crowd.


    "Warlock Council Leader? Isn''t Warlock Council the name of the foreigners'' organization? Does that mean we would now see their leader in action? Szar wasn''t their leader?"


    "Apparently not! I can''t wait to see what Lucifer can do. He might even be stronger than Szar. I am excited to see his performance. It looks like Foreigners sent two powerful Warlocks to show off their prowess!"


    The performance of Szar had raised the expectations of the entire crowd, which were now even more excited to see the performance of Lucifer, who was supposed to be stronger.


    A young man walked over to the stage, dressed in a white robe.


    "That''s a Noble! It looks like Lucifer would be facing that new Noble. Unfortunately, we all know who will win. Szar was able to defeat a Noble Lord, so a Noble in nothing before Lucifer, it seems."


    "That''s right. I think a high Lord would have to face the foreigners to take them down. I can''t wait for that battle. Generally, a High Lord wouldn''t have taken part, but after seeing the performance of enemies, they certainly would!"


    "That''s right. A High Lord would certainly participate now. That seems to be the one good thing that came out of it. Can''t wait to see a Noble Lord in action!"


    ...


    "Lucifer? This is thest call for Lucifer. If you don''te on stage now, then you''ll be out and considered a deserter!" The referee repeated again after not getting a response.


    Szar stood up instead of Lucifer and shouted, "He''s not here. You can move on to the next!"


    "Hah? Lucifer isn''t here?"


    "Man, why?"


    "If I hadn''t seen the performance of Szar, I would have thought that Lucifer was a coward who ran away, but that doesn''t seem to be the case now! Szar can even defeat a Noble Lord! There''s no way that the leaders of the Foreigners would run away from a Noble!"


    "What could be more important than the battles! Where did he go?"


    "Who knows man. Maybe he received the position of the leader now because of his talent but because of nepotism or corruption? That would mean that he''s weaker than Szar in strength and ran away! That would exin it."


    "Ah, we didn''t even think of that. That seems to be the case!"


    Seeing the absence of Lucifer, most people wonder why. On the other hand, some still found a way to say that Lucifer was a coward with their theory.


    Without caring for the reaction of the crowd, Szar sat back on his chair, observing the response of Milena and others.


    Milena remained expressionless as the opponent of Lucifer was dered to be the winner.


    "Tsk! That man killed me when I wasn''t a Noble, and now that I''m a Noble, he ran away? The coward!" The young man walked back to his seat, cursing Lucifer.


    He was the young man who had attacked Lucifer in the Pce, and he was killed by Lucifer for that reason itself.


    He was waiting to get his revenge on Lucifer in this ce, but he didn''t show up, bringing immense disappointment for the young man.


    The battles resumed again, and ultimately something happened which most citizens were waiting for.


    The name of a High Lord was called to the arena!


    After seeing the performance of Szar, almost everyone was sure that a High Lord was going to take part in thepetition and it happened as well.


    Seeing a High Lord standing before him, the opponent didn''t even try to fight. Instead, he surrendered within the first five seconds itself before walking back.


    The High Lord also moved over to the second round.


    At this point, everyone was sure that the High Lord was going to face Szar in the tournament, but no one knew which stage it was going to be in.


    At eight in the next, the first stage of battles was over, and everyone was told to leave.


    The second round was going to start with the winner of the first round tomorrow.


    Szar and his team also stood up and left from the special exit. They were escorted back to the guest Pce, where they were going to rest.


    This time, a new maid was also assigned at the Pce to take care of the food.


    It was also decided that Feronia was going to stay in the guest Pce with Szar and the others to keep an eye on them.


    "Do you really have to stay with us here?" Szar asked, sitting on the couch in the Pce. "We don''t need babysitters."


    "I''m not your babysitter. I''m just here to keep an eye on you, so you don''t run away like your friend," Feronia replied.


    "He didn''t run away," Szar replied, frowning. "Moreover, why isn''t Arthur here instead of you? We need him!"


    "Why would Arthur be here?" Feronia asked.


    "To investigate the disappearance of Lucifer,"?A man''s voice came from the entrance.


    Everyone looked towards the doors, finding Arthur entering the hallway.

 Chapter 483: War in Divine Empire

    <h4>Chapter 483: War in Divine Empire</h4>


    Arthur stepped inside the hall, surprising everyone who hadn''t expected him to be here.


    "Arthur? Howe you''re here?" Feronia asked, stunned to see Arthur here.


    She was already assigned to be here by the Queen. There wasn''t any need for another Noble here.


    "Can''t I be here?" Arthur asked, seemingly amused.


    He walked over to the sofa and sat on it, resting one leg above the other.


    "Can you bring some water for me?" he asked, ncing at the new maid.


    The maid bowed respectfully before she turned and left.


    "You can certainly be here, but I wonder if you would havee here for no reason," Feronia told Arthur. "Did you need them for something?"


    "I guess you can say that. As you may have heard, Her Majesty assigned me the responsibility of finding more about the disappearance of Lucifer," Arthur exined. "I''m here regarding that."


    "That''s right. We wanted to approach you too. Did you find out where he is? What did Milena tell you about his whereabouts?" Szar asked, not keeping his hopes high. He was already sure that Arthur was going to say that they didn''t know.


    Still, there was a sliver of hope inside him which made him think that he might actually get some answers.


    "Regarding that, I have no clue at the moment. Even Her Majesty doesn''t know about the whereabouts of your leader. She thinks that he ran away in fear," Arthur replied.


    "Nonsense! Why would he run away in fear? And that too, without us? That''s the stupidest excuse you people could have used!"


    "Hey, we don''t know what kind of person he was. We''re going by our assumption. It''s just that at this point¡ª an assumption. That''s why I was assigned this case to investigate the truth," Arthur replied, sighing. "So, let''s not lose hope at this point."


    The maid returned with a ss of water and gave it to Szar.


    Szar drank water before returning the empty ss to the maid.


    Sirius shifted his attention back to Szar before he continued. "If I want to get the answers, I need to ask you a few questions. Only you can help me locate Lucifer and find the truth."


    In the absence of Lucifer, he was sure that the only person worth his attention was Szar. Caen and Heath didn''t appear to be worth his time.


    "You might need to get to the truth, but not us. I think we already know the answer to who is behind all this. He disappeared in this ce. And only you people are capable enough of doing it! No other enemy could havee here!"


    "Now, Arthur. I don''t know what you''ll investigate when you already know the crux of the situation, but it doesn''t matter. Just remember, if we don''t get Lucifer back, there will be death and destruction everywhere. And I''m not talking about myself!"


    Szar threatened Arthur, frowning.


    "You think I was bad in the battles today? I was nothing! I''m not even strong enough to be a leader! Lucifer is a thousand times stronger than me. And there are hundreds of people as strong as Lucifer in the Warlock Council!"


    "We kept avoiding the arrogance of the Divine Empire because we had high patience. You turned one of our envoys? It was fine. We didn''t grow upset. But not with Lucifer. Just remember my words," He further stated, trying to intimidate Arthur to return Lucifer.


    He even lied a light about having many people as strong as Lucifer, but it wasn''t as if anyone was going to know about it.


    He even warned of a possible future war as a consequence of this disappearance, not knowing how close the situation was to an actual war.


    "I don''t take kindly to threats, my friend." Arthur frowned, getting slightly upset. "I know you''re upset about the disappearance, but that doesn''t mean we''ll be scared of a threat! Here I am, trying to help you. But if you want to antagonize me, then just know it won''t be good for anyone!"


    Arthur issued a warning of his own. He opened his lips again to continue but stopped as he felt some vibration in his pocket.


    He brought his phone out of his pocket and picked up the call, "Yeah?"


    "Huh?"


    Arthur''s face went grim within a few seconds of him picking up the call.


    He wasn''t the only one. Feronia''s phone also started ringing at the moment.


    She also picked up the call. Her reaction was the same as that of Arthur.


    "Are you serious?" Arthur asked, standing up, shocked.


    "Alright. I''ll be there!" he dered. "As soon as I take care of things here!"


    He disconnected the call before ring at Szar. "You bastards! You really tricked us!"


    "What do you mean? What did we do?" Szar asked, confused.


    "Don''t act innocent now! Here you are, threatening to attack us while your people have already started attacking us? Is that the way you want things to be done? Then so be it! Just know, you''ll regret turning against me!" he raged.


    "Attacking you? What nonsense. We can''t even contact our people while we''re here. How would we even tell them to attack?" Szar asked, confused. "Are you telling the truth? Warlock Council is attacking?"


    Even he was surprised at how it was happening so fast. From the information they had, it was clear that the Warlock Council had no ns of attacking the Divine Empire in the near future. There was no way they could have attacked.


    As for the attack of Uprising, that was also impossible. They couldn''t get here so fast! They didn''t even know about Lucifer''s disappearance. But if the attackers weren''t those two, then who was it?


    "I think he''s lying. He wanted to me us so he could take us out. Moreover, this story about the Warlock Council attacking this ce is just to confuse us so we can''t give our all when they try to kill us!" Caen let out, putting the pieces together.


    Even he had seen the confidential data. It made evident that the Warlock Council wasn''t going to attack. If they were going to, then why would Uprising even send their team here?


    They could have just waited in the background to take on an exhausted enemy who was left standing after the war. Why did they need to be first!


    "I think the same. First, they took out Lucifer. And now they want to take us all out with excuses?" Szar muttered. "If the Warlock Council was attacking us, we would have known! And as I said, we can''t even contact them because of the jammers you guys use!"

 Chapter 484: Teleportation or Illusion?

    <h4>Chapter 484: Teleportation or Illusion?</h4>


    "The jammers only affect the Empire. It stops people from contacting the outside world without our permission, but it doesn''t apply outside the Empire! And guess who could have contacted your team outside? The only person who was missing!" Arthur yelled.


    "I can''t believe I honestly thought that you people were innocent and that Lucifer was kidnapped! It is clear that it was all a trap! He actually ran away, not because he was scared but because he wanted to leave the Empire so he could arrange an attack! The timing matches perfectly!" he added.


    "Nonsense! Why would we even do something like that when we had the opportunity to take the fragment by winning the tournament? It''s much easier than waging a war!" Szar retorted.


    "Because he realized that he couldn''t win?! He probably saw it in his prediction dream! It''s obvious now! I was so stupid to trust that bastard! He betrayed us all, but he doesn''t know what he did!" Arthur responded.


    "So what if he brought an army! The Divine Empire will be the Graveyard of the Warlock Council! If he brought a hundred, we would kill a hundred! If he brought a thousand, we would kill a thousand! Not a single person from them will leave alive!" he dered.


    Szar still didn''t believe it, but he felt like Arthur wasn''t lying. From his mannerism, it appeared that he was telling the truth. But he still couldn''t believe it. Did the Warlock Council really make a surprise attack? Howe Heath didn''t know about this?


    "Do you have any proof that it''s the Warlock Council which is attacking us?" he asked Arthur.


    "Is this proof enough?" Feronia said, stepping forward.


    She showed her phone to Szar, which was showing live footage.


    It showed a devastated border defense. There was fire and destruction everywhere. Dead bodies were spread everywhere. All the defense mechanisms were destroyed.


    A group of nes could be seen in the footage, advancing towards the Royal Capital.


    That footage didn''t leave any room to doubt since there was a huge Warlock Council symbol on the ne and the name written in bold letters. It was evident that these were the Warlock Council nes.


    In the footage, some Warlocks could be seen standing on the top of the nes while others were flying right beside it!


    A crimson barrier was also surrounding the nes, not affecting the wind at all. It was just here to stop any unseen attacks from damaging the Warlock Council nes.


    "Is that enough? Or do you still want to deny it? After we treated you people like guests, you really went ahead to backstab us like that? You should be ashamed!" Feronia scolded Sirius as well.


    "But we can''t me you. You outsiders have dirty blood. You just showed it!"


    Seeing the footage, Szar was convinced that the Warlock Council had really mounted a sneak attack. Those sneaky bastards!


    He also knew one more thing though. An attack was going toe. Feronia and Arthur were both going to attack him soon in their anger. It was as if they were just waiting for an exnation.


    In their eyes, Szar and others were enemies after all. He had no choice but to escape from this ce with the others.


    "Are you going to let us exin? We didn''t know about this. We can certainly stop it!" Caen said, trying to get some time.


    "We don''t need your help. We know full well how to protect our homnd!" Feronia responded. "Unfortunately, you won''t be there to see it!"


    It was clear that it was toote to do anything now. They were trapped in the Pce with two High Lords, and all evidence pointed against them. No matter what they said, it wasn''t going to help them!


    They could only fight their way out.


    "Even though you don''t believe us, just know that we''re not behind this. But to save us, we would still resist," Szar let out, deciding to go all out.


    He spread his time domain, slowing down the time in his surroundings while running to Arthur, who was closest to him.


    As if realizing what was happening, Arthur instantly teleported behind Szar. He was prepared for something like this since he knew Szar''s powers.


    ....


    In the vast sea, there appeared to be a small ind that was covered with water from all sides.


    The ind wasn''t very big, only having a diameter of two kilometers. The ind was covered with sand only. Not a single tree or ntation could be seen in a ce one this.


    This was the ce where Lucifer found himself. He was standing at the shore of the beach, looking at the vast sea.


    There was a questioning gaze on his face as he wondered how he ended up in a ce like this.


    From what he could remember, he was standing in the temple with Sirius. And the next thing he knew, he was on this beach?


    "What just happened there? It didn''t look like a teleportation. Is it a dream prison? Or some illusion? Or did I recall teleport?"


    There were many questions in his head and not enough answers. He knew that he needed to find an escape. But he didn''t know how he could.


    If it was really teleportation, then it was a big problem since he needed to find his way back to the Divine Empire. If it wasn''t because of the teleportation, then it was an even bigger problem because it meant that he was in a dream and his body was still at the mercy of others.


    "Even after I went through so much, how could I be stupid enough to fall to this?" he muttered, scratching the back of his head. He couldn''t believe he actually fell for it. "I should''ve killed Sirius outside the Temple instead of going in. My curiosity got the best of me."


    "But what did Sirius do? If he had the potential to do it, he could have done it even before. Why would he take me to the Temple? Unless the temple had something which boosted his ability?"


    "Or could it be that he wasn''t the one who did it? And he simply took me to the thing that could? He was certainly talking about something weird. As if Dungeon Dwellers were his idols. Why would he think like that?"


    "No sane person would think that unless they were brainwashed by a Dungeon Dweller."


    He started walking back and forth on the beach as he tried toe up with a n.

 Chapter 485: Coming to life

    "From what I can remember of hisst words, he did say that it was wrong to say that angels didn''t appear in the Continent of Darkness?"


    "That should mean that Dungeon Dwellers came here too? But they didn''t kill anyone? That''s strange. Why would theye here then? And he found out about this after he entered the temple for the first time?"


    "Could it be that a Dungeon Dweller lives inside the Temple? That Dungeon Dwellers brainwashed him? And he didn''t take me there to exin something. Instead, he took me there as an offering to the Dungeon Dweller?"


    "There was no one else in the room. I''m sure of that. The only odd thing was that stat- ahh, so that''s what it was!"


    "That statue was a Dungeon Dweller? That would exin it! How could I be so stupid and forget such a basic thing! There are some Dungeon Dwellers who are experts in disguise! It''s certainly possible that one is hiding as a statue!"


    "Sirius distracted me with his conversation, and in the meantime, the Dungeon Dweller got to me! But what did it do? My healing should have been able to protect me from poison and other effects. It shouldn''t have worked unless he targeted my mind without alerting my healing?"


    "Argh, I can leave any prison, but I''m always weak against the mental effects! Last time it was the dream prison in APF headquarters, and now this! Now how do I leave this ce? It''s all inside my head! So how can I escape!"


    Lucifer managed to guess what had happened, which made him even more upset. It reminded him of his weakness which was against mental attacks of such kinds.


    He knew he needed to do something about this weakness of his, but he also knew that now wasn''t the time. He needed to think about getting out of this trouble now.


    He still had the Cardigan Particles robe on him. Just to make sure onest time if it was a mental prison or teleportation, he decided to try calling Ken with the sses.


    He opened the robe and checked his pocket. It only resulted in his deep sigh as he realized that there was nothing in his pocket and it waspletely empty at the moment.


    "Just as I expected, it''s not a teleportation. I would have had the things inside my pocket if it was teleportation. It''s a mental prison of some kind!"


    While Lucifer was trapped in the dream world of his, his real body still remained inside the Temple, unmoving.


    As for the formation under him, it continued growing until now. It was only a few millimeters short of covering the entire formation.


    After a couple of minutes, even that gap was covered. The blood formation soon covered the entire floor in the room, even getting under the statue.


    As the blood formation filled the room, the statue once again opened the eyes on his stomach.


    The blood formation started shining, filling the room with a blood-red light. The entire room was covered in a red tint, giving this room a grim-looking atmosphere.


    The headache statue appeared to be a statue of a headless being sitting on the ground on his knees, but he moved now.


    He slowly started rising as he pushed his body up. The statue appeared to havee to life. It still looked to be made of stone, but now the headless statue was standing.


    The statue walked towards Lucifer in slow steps. The face on the stomach looked even more active now. Not only were his eyes open, but a smirk was also visible on the lips of the face.


    After a few short steps, the statue reached the body of Lucifer, gazing down at him.


    He once again sat down, bending his knees. This time, he sat near Lucifer''s face.


    He moved his fourth hand, which was carrying the bowl filled with blood. The insect was still swimming in the bowl.


    Bringing the bowl above Lucifer''s head, the statue turned it slightly. The blood started dropping off the bowl, pouring on the face of Lucifer, which was covered in blood.


    Even though the blood fell on Lucifer, the blood on the bowl didn''t decrease. The bowl appeared to be magical and kept filling up with blood, no matter how much of it was poured.


    The small worm that was swimming in the bowl also fell on Lucifer''s face along with the blood. As the worm had fallen, the statue stopped pouring the blood.


    The worm stuck to Lucifer''s face, and as soon as the blood stopped pouring, it started moving.


    Its tiny body wriggled as it moved over Lucifer''s face.


    At the moment, it was on Lucifer''s lips. It kept dragging its body up, moving past Lucifer''s lips to reach his nose. Instead of moving away, it entered the nose of Lucifer and went upwards.


    The worm kept going up through the passageways. On the ces where no passageways existed, it just made some of its own, but it didn''t stop.


    As the worm moved towards Lucifer''s brain, the statue moved his hand and started pouring the blood on the chest of Lucifer.


    Another insect fell on the chest of Lucifer from the bowl. Instead of finding an opening to enter Lucifer''s body, the insect dug inside his chest, entering his body. The wound on the chest of Lucifer healed as his healing activated, closing on its own.


    Seeing his chest, no one could have guessed that an insect had just entered his body.


    The statue continued pouring the blood, only stopping when the blood covered the entire body of Lucifer from chest to toe.


    The green cloak of Lucifer was now blood red entirely.


    In the meantime, the insect reached the brain of Lucifer and housed itself there.


    As for the other insect, it housed itself inside the heart of Lucifer as if he had found his new home.


    The smile on the statue''s face widened as he felt that.


    He retracted his fourth hand and instead used his other hand, which was holding a stone scroll.


    Even though the scroll was made of stone, it opened like an ordinary scroll, revealing some strange characters that were carved on it.


    "&#&@$ @$$# ¡é£¤£¤€..."


    Looking at the scroll, the statue finally opened his lips and started chanting something that was impossible to understand. It didn''t even seem like any humannguage that someone could understand.


    As the statue was changing something on the outside, a change was happening inside the dream world of Lucifer as well, where he was standing on an ind.

 Chapter 486: Partially

    <h4>Chapter 486: Partially</h4>


    Lucifer walked back and forth on the ind, trying to think of a way to escape. He even tried hurting himself, thinking it would help him wake up.


    He attacked his leg with his lightning.


    As the lightning bolt passed through his leg, a hole became apparent in his leg, which soon healed. However, for some reason, he didn''t feel pain.


    "It was such a far-fetched idea. Of course, it wasn''t going to work," Lucifer muttered, shaking his head.


    He was already out of ideas as he couldn''te up with anything. He was like a sitting duck who was waiting for his healing to somehow wake him up.


    Finding himself so helpless, he was angry as well. He was especially angry at himself, kicking the sand as he walked here and there.


    "Hmm?"


    He slowly looked up, noticing his surroundings getting dark. It was as if it was evening suddenly. It shouldn''t have been that way since he had just seen a bright sun in the sky.


    As he looked up, his lips widened. It wasn''t evening but something else that was creating this darkness.


    He noticed a giant being in the sky which was so big that even the sun and its light was hidden behind it.


    As for the massive being, it was the same statue that Lucifer had seen in the temple.


    The headless being was flying above him. His size was even bigger than a mountain from what it appeared.


    "So I was right. This was your work. A dungeon dweller that survived the onught of the Variants? Or should I say a dungeon dweller who didn''t even take part in the war and instead chose to hide in the temple here?" Lucifer asked, ring at the massive statue in the sky.


    Unlike in the temple, the statue was still in this ce. His face was also more expressive. The face on its stomach had a broad smile as if he was mocking Lucifer.


    "Is this the dream world created by you?" Lucifer asked as his body started floating up.


    He flew higher in the sky, getting closer to the massive statue.


    Even though he asked the question, Lucifer hadn''t expected an answer since he believed this thing wouldn''t be able to speak.


    "That''s right. This is a world created by me. Or you can say, a prison created by me to hold you temporarily," the statue answered, proving Lucifer''s assumption wrong.


    "And you''re now here to destroy my consciousness?" Lucifer asked again, having a general idea.


    The statue said his stay was here temporarily. That could only mean his consciousness was either going to go back to his body or die here, making those words true.


    He was sure that the statue wouldn''t free his consciousness, so it could only mean he was here to destroy him entirely?


    "I must say, this is a good n. I thought I was immortal, but I forgot that the body could be immortal but not the soul. If you destroy my soul, I''ll be killed. Hah, all this time, I was thinking if I could ever get my eternal sleep. And here, I finally have a way, don''t I?" he asked.


    The statue smirked again, luckily his lips. "You''re partially right."


    "Partially?" Lucifer asked, frowning.


    As he kept the statue busy in conversation, he continued getting closer to the statue. In the meantime, he also started using his powers.


    He was sure that his attacks couldn''t hurt the statue in this dream world since he wasn''t a physical entity here, but this was the only thing he coulde up with at the moment.


    He had no other way to resist than trying this. If it worked, then it was perfect, but if it didn''t work, he could finally sleep peacefully in the embrace of death.


    He found both options eptable, even though he was more inclined towards staying alive since he still wanted to find his origin.


    "That''s right. I''m not here to destroy your soul. I''m here to possess your soul," the Statue answered, showing his stone teeth.


    "Possessing my soul?" Lucifer asked, frowning. His face twisted in disgust. "What?"


    "A fraction of my soul will merge with your soul, taking control of it," The statue answered. "You would still live, but just as a spectator, listening to all mymands."


    "In short, you want to make me your ve?" Lucifer inquired, unable to believe.


    He had thought that he was here to destroy Lucifer, but he was here to take control of his body?


    "That''s right. I have arranged everything to make sure it happens. Your body already has my Divine Insects, making it even stronger, so your body is worthy of my possession," The statue answered.


    "You should thank me instead. Because of me, your abilities will be even stronger," he added, cackling evilly.


    " I understand now. I know why Sirius was stupid enough to call you an angel? You possess him too? Don''t you feel embarrassed with self praise?" Lucifer asked, rolling his eyes.


    "I think I can put the pieces together. Sirius came here to destroy the temple, but he found his way inside the Temple identally. He found his way to you, falling for your trap. You possessed him and let him leave."


    "Through him, you wanted to take control of the continent, but you were scared of the Warlocks realizing the truth anding to wipe you out? You''re a coward, so that exins it."


    "You ran away from the battle with the humans, probably after seeing that you all had no chance. That would exin why you were scared of humans here. You didn''t want them toe after you, knowing that it was the work of a Dungeon Dweller. You are scared of death, aren''t you?"


    "Unlike the other Dungeon Dwellers, you didn''t face death bravely and ran here. In fact, you probably didn''t even leave the Temple for years in fear."


    "Even though you had control of Prince Sirius, you were still scared. You wanted to remove all the threats, and that''s where Milena came to y."


    "Sirius saw Milena, and through his powers, he managed to guess her abilities. And through him, you also knew her abilities. That''s when you decided to use Milena to remove all threats, right?"


    "I mean, Sirius could easily have freed Milena without having her run away. He was the Prince, after all. However, it was important for your n that Milena hated everyone else."


    "That''s why you used Sirius, having him pretend to be an ordinary guard who took mercy at Milena."

 Chapter 487: Wanted to open to portal so we could...

    <h4>Chapter 487: Wanted to open to portal so we could...</h4>


    "And then, you made circumstances in which Milena had no choice but to walk on the path youid out for her, resulting in where they are now. Now, all the enemies are gone. No one can threaten you in the Empire either. Isn''t that right?"


    "So, how close am I?" Lucifer asked after he finished guessing. Even though he had guessed all that, he was sure that he was right. All the clues pointed towards this one theory. There was no way for it to be wrong.


    "Kekeke, not bad. You guessed correctly. That''s why I''ll forgive you for calling me a coward," the statue replied. "You don''t have to be jealous though. You''ll also be a part of me soon."


    "I understand why you want me. It''s because of my strength. You want to use me to do in the outside world what you had Milena do in the Continent of Darkness. Is that true too?"


    "It is." The Statue answered. "All the others were too confident! They waged wars on humans, underestimating them! Who knew those freaking Variants would be so powerful! They defeated all of us."


    "I barely managed to escape with my life, realizing that we couldn''t seed like this! And I wasn''t the only one! But I will be the one who will seed! I would use you people against you, ultimately taking over the entire world! And then, I would open the portal!"


    "The portal? Why do you want to open the portal? Do you even need to open the portal after you have already destroyed everything in this world? What would the person on the other side do aftering here? There would be nothing left to destroy?" Lucifer asked.


    As he talked, he used the theory of others, ording to which the Dungeon Dwellers wanted to open the portal to call that being here. At least that''s what all the Warlocks said about the motives of Dungeon Dwellers.


    "Huh? Open the portal to call him here? Nonsense! We don''t want to call him here!" The statue answered.


    "So all the Warlocks were wrong about your motives? Just as I expected. They misunderstood that person..." Lucifer muttered, taking a deep breath.


    The only thing he knew was that he was somehow rted to the person on the other end of that portal. And now he also knew that the Dungeon Dwellers didn''t want to call him to this world.


    "Then why do you want to open the portal to him?" he asked. "Ah, wait. Portals are two sided. If you didn''t want to call him here, then it could only mean two things. You either wanted to talk to him through the portal, or you wanted to go to him? Which one is it?"


    "Kekeke, you''re right! We want to open the portal so we can go to him and kill that bastard!" The Statue dered. As he talked, an incredible bloodlust surrounded him. A red and white mist also appeared near him.


    "Kill?" Lucifer muttered, frowning. He had expected many things about the situation, but this was none of them.


    The Dungeon Dwellers weren''t with the person who rested on the other end of the portal? Instead, they were his enemies? They wanted to kill him?


    "Who is that person? Before you take over my soul, can you tell me more about him? What is his identity? Why do you want to destroy him so badly that your entire race was willing to sacrifice itself against the Variants?" Lucifer asked.


    Ever since he knew about that person who had eyes simr to him, he was wondering who that person was.


    He wanted to know more about the person who could answer more about his identity. Unfortunately, only his parents could have answered that, but even they were dead.


    It was finally after a long time that Lucifer found someone who could answer him.


    Hearing the question of Lucifer, the statue went silent. He looked upwards, ncing at the dark sky that was covered in ck clouds.


    "That person... he is a demon!"


    "He is the devil that we all want to destroy! He is the biggest criminal of our civilization and our eternal enemy! He''s the person who took everything from us! He is also the person who destroyed our world while wiping billions of us!"


    "If it weren''t for our King, our entire civilization would have been wiped in that demon''s hands!"


    "He is the one who destroyed your world?" Lucifer asked, stunned.


    The reality was going against the assumptions of other Variants. When they thought that Dungeon Dwellers wanted to call that Inhuman here, it turned out that it wasn''t the case.


    When they thought that these two sides were at least working together, he found out that it wasn''t the case and these two sides were enemies?


    Andstly,?everyone thought that the person woulde here to destroy the earth, but it turned out that it wasn''t the case? In fact, he had already destroyed a world in the past, and now the Dungeon Dwellers wanted to go to him to destroy him?


    "So he destroyed your world, and you all escaped,ing to earth? That''s why Dungeons appeared here?" Lucifer asked.


    "That''s strange though. Why do you want to go to him now? ording to him, he is so strong that he destroyed your world, and you couldn''t do anything. Why did you all want to go to him to kill him immediately after you escaped?"


    " I mean, it''s clear that you were helpless before him. What makes you think you can defeat him now?" Lucifer asked.


    "You''re wrong. We didn''t escape just now! It has been two million years since that thing destroyed our home world! We didn''te to this world immediately after our world was destroyed!" the statue replied.


    " Instead, we waited for close to two million years, getting stronger, increasing our numbers, and waiting for the time we would be capable of taking our revenge!"


    "Two million years? He... is two million years old?"


    As the conversation reached the topic which was interesting to him, he even forgot his n to attack. He didn''t want to lose the chance to get his answers.


    As for the dark clouds that he had prepared to attack, they remained as they were, waiting formands from Lucifer.


    "Two million years since west saw him. As for his real age, we don''t know," the Statue replied.


    "Now, I shall begin taking over your body. You wasted enough of my time," the statue said as he spread all five of his arms.


    The strange mist which was around him started flying outwards, especially moving towards Lucifer.

 Chapter 488: Arrival?

    <h4>Chapter 488: Arrival?</h4>


    "Wait! I have onest question!" Lucifer called out, moving back. He still didn''t have all the answers. He didn''t want the conversation to end.


    The face on the statue''s stomach frowned, but he did listen. The mist stopped moving towards Lucifer.


    "Fine. Since you''ll be working for me from today, I shall fulfill that wish of yours. Ask yourst question!" he said.


    "You said you waited for millions of years to get ready. But why is it that you were still so weak that you couldn''t even defeat the Variants?! How do you expect to defeat him like that?" Lucifer asked.


    "Defeated by humans? Hah, do you all really think you defeated the best of us? The ones you faced were just foot soldiers! We are nothing before the true warriors of ours! We were sent ahead to create a path for our Warriors by taking care of the pests that surrounded this world!"


    "Unfortunately, we underestimated you pests!"


    "When you were defeated, why didn''t your Warriorse out then?" Lucifer asked, frowning. "Unless they were scared?"


    "Nonsense! They didn''te out because they couldn''t!"


    "They couldn''t? Is it because of the Monster Index?" Lucifer asked.


    "Monster Index? What''s that?"


    "It''s a term we humans use to talk about the Dungeon Dwellers Poption inside the Dungeons. When the Monster Poption inside the Dungeons reaches a certain level, the barriers stop working, allowing monsters toe out," Lucifer exined.


    "That? That''s partially true. But we don''t call it the Monster Index. We call it World Block," the headless Statue replied.


    "It''s the natural barrier between the worlds which stops any foreign species from overwhelming the world. If our leader hade to this world alone, it wouldn''t have mattered."


    "The world block wouldn''t have affected him. However, we appeared here in mass, with all our poption through the Dungeons."


    "This somehow activated the World Block outside the Dungeons. As the World Block affected the powerful the most, our stronger Warriors had a tough time. They can''t leave before they can weaken the World Block through their sheer individual auras. That''s why the numbers matter."


    "I think you can say that''s also one of the reasons we were sent first since we could overwhelm the World Block faster for us because of our weakness."


    "Isn''t that the same thing as saying your powerful warriors couldn''te? You were so close to opening the Portal to another world while your people couldn''t even leave the dungeons? What would you have done if that being hade to this world instead?" Lucifer asked.


    "You''re too naive to understand. The stones that we created? They weren''t just to open the portal! They were also weakening the World Block! As soon as the Portal was fully open, the World Block would have been destroyed as well! Our people would have been able toe out!" the statue answered.


    "Unfortunately, our n failed! We were too weak. As for that demoning to this world? That was possible, but so what! Our people would have been freed by then too. We could have killed that bastard!"


    "So your leaders are strong enough to kill him now?" Lucifer asked. "Are you sure?"


    "Of course they are! Our leader is the strongest leader in our history! He can easily kill that bastard!" The Dungeon Dweller said confidently.


    Lucifer was doubtful about that statement though. There was no way they could be so sure.


    "Is that the end of your questions? Can I begin?"


    "Onest question!"


    "Onest? You asked like ten questions while calling them thest question every time! Enough!"


    "No, seriously! This time it''s finally the end!"


    "Fine! Ask!"


    "Why earth?" Lucifer asked.


    "Uh? What?"


    "I mean, there are so manys. Why did you guys choose earth for appearance? You could''ve appeared on other worlds, preferably empty ones. You wouldn''t need to face humans. No one would have stopped you from opening the portal either," Lucifer exined.


    "That''s a stupid suggestion! How would we create those stones in empty worlds? We needed billions of sacrifices to create them! So, of course, we would choose a popted world!" the Statue responded.


    Sigh~


    Lucifer couldn''t help but sigh. So the humans were right about one thing at least. The reason Dungeon Dwellers killed so many humans was to create the seven stones. Each stone was created with hundreds of millions of lives!


    "If yourst question ended, I''d start now!" the Statue said as he again stated.


    The mist from its body kepting out, filling the entire surrounding as it flew towards Lucifer.


    "Wait, one more question," Lucifer said, flying back.


    His words made the stomach of the statue''s face twitch in frustration. Was this guy seriously trying to make him go crazy?


    This time, he wasn''t going to listen.


    "Save your questions forter! After you be my ve, you can ask then!" the statue said, cackling.


    "Don''t worry; I don''t want you to answer my question. I just want you to hear it," Lucifer responded as he kept flying back.


    "I wanted to ask if you would die from my lightning?" he asked, pping his hands.


    Roar~


    The clouds that were silent for a long time were finally let loose. They roared like wild beasts as tens of powerful lightning bolts fell from the sky.


    At the same time, Lucifer used his winds to make the mist fly back instead ofing towards him.


    Winds surrounded him, flying outwards to protect him from the strange mist. However, the mist remained unaffected by the wind for some reason.


    As for the lightning, it also didn''t go ording to the n. The lightning bolts passed through the body of the statue as if he was nothing but an illusion that they couldn''t touch.


    "Did you think it would work?" The statue asked.


    Lucifer scratched the back of his head, disappointed. He had already expected something like this.


    He was sure that it would''ve worked since the statue wasn''t here in his real body. Without leaving this world, he had no chance at survival, and he couldn''t escape either.


    Lucifer continued moving backward, avoiding the mist for as long as he could, but before long, he was surrounded by the mist.


    The strange mist was everywhere, trapping him in the middle. It kepting closer.


    Back in the real world, the statue remained seated with his eyes closed near Lucifer.


    As his entire focus was inside the dream world, he didn''t realize that something very interesting was happening in the real world.


    Just as the blood-red formation was shining on the ground, another formation had started shining on the back of Lucifer, getting bigger.


    The stone fragment in the inner pocket of Lucifer also activated, shining brightly.


    The entire Divine Empire started trembling.

 Chapter 489: I know that!

    <h4>Chapter 489: I know that!</h4>


    There was neither a moon nor a sun in the sky. Not even a single cloud could be seen in the sky, which appeared to be dark yellow instead of the usual blue on earth.


    Just like the sky, the ground was alsopletely barren. Not a single speck of greenery could be seen in the ground, which waspletely barren.


    The world appeared to be quite different from earth. Even water didn''t exist there as it was all justnd and no sea or rivers anywhere.


    Even amongst the barrennds, there existed many mountains and cliffs facing the strange sky.


    On one such cliff was sitting a man, looking at the sky.


    His feet were hanging off the cliff as he sat at the edge of it.


    The man had beautiful blonde hair that came down to his waist behind his back. As for his face, it looked slender.


    Even though the man looked very handsome by earth''s standards, there was a strange mncholy on his face.


    He remained seated expressionless, unaware of how long he had remained seated here.


    Other than the man and the barrennd, there were more things in this world which appeared to be thousands of colorful stones that were flying everywhere in the world like free birds. Still, most of them continued circling the man as if they were thes and he was their sun.


    There were no lifeforms in the strange world except for that man.


    There was no day or night here. The weather and the light intensity always remained the same here as well.


    After what seemed like an unknown amount of time, the man finally moved.


    His eyes squinted as a glimpse of expression finally appeared on his face for a brief moment.


    He looked towards a stone that was beside him, vibrating intensely.


    The man appeared to have some simrities to Lucifer as well. He not only had long hair and simr facial features, but he also had the most distinctive feature of Lucifer, which was his eyes.


    He also had a blue and a violet eye, but the violet in his eyes was more dominant than Lucifer. It looked one a pure and deeper shade of violet.


    Noticing the vibrating stone, the man slowly raised his hand towards the stone.


    With the movement of his hand, the stone started flying towards him, soonnding on his hand.


    The man closed his eyes for what appeared to be a brief second before he opened them again. He clenched his fist before opening it to reveal the stone, which had now turned to dust.


    Wind started flowing, taking the fist of the stone with it. The red dust started flying around the man in circles.


    In the meantime, the man also floated up before ultimatelynding on his feet.


    With the movement of the wind, his blood-red robe also pped, matching the stone dust.


    The man opened his lips, letting out a sigh.


    Just with his casual sigh, the world he was standing on started trembling as if a mighty attack was unleashed on it. However, it wasn''t an attack.


    ...


    The Divine Empire was trembling as Lucifer''s body remained inside the Temple.


    The Nobles of the Divine Empire were stunned by the trembling, thinking that it was because of the attack by the Warlock Council. Thend rarely faced earthquakes, after all.


    Unfortunately, they didn''t know the reality.


    Inside the basement of the Temple, Lucifer''s body started floating up, separated from the blood-red formation on the ground. The entire room was still filled with a red hue.


    However, that red hue started changing to violet as another formation was bing dominant in the room.


    The violet formation, which was on the back of Lucifer, appeared to have created another formation that was even bigger than the red formation. It also grew bigger to cover the entire room; however, it wasn''t just under Lucifer.


    A simr formation appeared above Lucifer as well. Both the violet formations started shining simr to the red stone inside Lucifer''s pocket in perfect synergy.


    The stone on Lucifer''s chest appeared to be trying to free itself; however, it wasn''t able to get out of his pocket.


    However, that didn''tst for long as the stone finally freed itself to fly out of his pocket. Instead, it flew to Lucifer''s forehead as if it had a mind of its own.


    Itnded on Lucifer''s forehead gently and didn''t move.


    In the meantime, Lucifer was still inside the dream world, facing the statue. None of his attacks were having an effect. He was already sure by now that he couldn''t resist like this.


    In this dream world, he had no defenses or attacks that could help him. Unless he left this world, he couldn''t do anything.


    Unfortunately, he had no way to escape either. He was like a prisoner in his own mind, which was now under the control of someone else.


    The ck and Red mist surrounded him from all sides, even top and bottom. He couldn''t even fly to escape. The only thing he could do was to use a barrier which was his newest skill, hoping that it could give him some time.


    He cast his violet barrier around himself, creating a sphere around him inside which he trapped himself.


    Unfortunately, that also didn''t work as the mist was able to pass through the barrier without any troubles.


    The mist was like an illusion that wasn''t affected by anything, but he knew that it was dangerous if the mist touched him, he was going to be lost forever. He wasn''t sure if he could ever return after that.


    He wasn''t scared of death, but he was intimidated by the thought of bing someone''s ve, unable to have a free will. He didn''t want to live a life like that, but he knew that if his soul was taken over here, he wouldn''t even be able to die.


    He''ll just be like a guest in his own home, watching the intruder do whatever they want with his house.


    The mist soon reached Lucifer, who closed his eyes. There was no way for him to run. He couldn''t do anything.


    However, it was at that moment something changed.


    The two of them were flying above what appeared to be a small ind that was surrounded by sea from all sides, but for some reason, everything turned extremely cold.


    At the same time, the entire sea froze, and it took only one second. Moreover, the terrain of the ind also changed. A snow mountain started rising from the ind.


    "What?" The statue''s face turned pale as he saw the snowy mountain!

 Chapter 490: Helpless

    <h4>Chapter 490: Helpless</h4>


    The snow mountain brought so many bad memories back! Even though he wasn''t there at the time when a snow mountain like that appearedst time, he knew the significance of that!


    He had read about the snow mountain, which had a massive star symbol on it! The snow mountain was synonymous with pure terror!


    He still remembered reading about that snow mountain which brought forthplete annihtion of their world because, at that time, it was apanied by someone else too!


    "That mountain! How can it be here again! How can it appear here! Impossible! This can''t be! How can he be here?!" The statue eximed as he flew back in fear.


    He pped his hand, trying to leave this world.


    "I can''t leave this ce! I''m trapped too! Arghhhh! Impossible! Why would he appear here! And how! He shouldn''t have been able toe to this world!" The Statue yelled.


    As he screamed in fear, he even forgot about taking over Lucifer. The ck and Red mist disappeared on its own while his entire focus remained on the mountain.


    Hearing the scream of the statue, Lucifer also opened his eyes. He looked around, surprised that no mist was there. Moreover, the statue looked scared.


    "What is happening here?" He muttered as he rubbed his arms, feeling cold.


    He looked back, also noticing that mountain, but he simply thought that it was the work of that statue since he controlled the entire dream world. That was why he couldn''t understand why the statue was scared.


    "I-i can''t face him! I can''t! Let me escape! Let me get out of here! Arghhh! Stop messing with me! I''ll f*cking destroy this whole dream world if that''s what it takes to get me out!"


    In his fear of death, the statue didn''t care about anything else. He didn''t even care about taking over Lucifer since he decided to blow up the dream world if that''s what it took to get him out of here.


    He knew that blowing up the dream world meant that Lucifer''s soul was going to be destroyed forever and he wouldn''t be able to take over him in the future, but he didn''t care! Life was supreme for him.


    The statue raised his stone sword towards the sky, firing a red beam of light towards the sky. Unfortunately, that red beam froze in mid-air before falling down.


    That didn''t appear to be all as a lightning bolt fell from the sky, in the direction of the Statue. Unlike Lucifer''s lightning bolt, this one wasn''t ck. It wasn''t blue either.


    This time, the lightning bolt was blood red in color and much thicker than Lucifer''s lightning bolt.


    The statue''s eyes opened wide as he saw the blood red lightning bolt.


    "It''s him! It''s him!" He yelled, confirmed!


    He raised his stone shield to protect himself from the lighting. The shield and the bolt shed, which ultimately resulted in the victory of the bolt.


    The stone shield shattered on the first impact while the stone Statue fell down, crashing on the snow mountain.


    "What the actual heck is happiness here? Is he losing control of my dream world? Is it some form of my healing ability which is now starting to protect my soul? I did know that the healing adapted to the damage but even damage to the soul?"


    As Lucifer had no idea as to what was happening, he tried making some sense of the situation. In any case, he knew that whatever was happening was for his own good. If it hadn''t happened, he might have been gone forever!


    The statue had crashed on the snow mountain on the ind. His shield was broken, and so were some of his hands, but he didn''t care.


    It was a fight for his survival, and he needed to get out of here. Moreover, two of his hands were still intact, one of which possessed the sword which he could use to destroy this world and the other being the hand with the blood bowl.


    He again stood up, looking around in fear.


    Fortunately, he still hadn''t seen the person he was looking for, which gave him somefort that maybe he wasn''t here physically.


    He once again raised his sword to destroy this world, but before he could, his sword hand disintegrated on its own.


    "I know it''s you! Where the f"ck are you! Stop hiding! I know you''re going to kill me here! Why are you still hiding? Let me see you before my death!" The statue yelled.


    He knew his death was confirmed since his sword hand was gone. He couldn''t destroy the world. So he wanted to see the person at least once.


    "Who is he talking to? Did my healing make him go crazy?" Lucifer muttered, frowning. "But it is certainly good. It''s like the immune system which is trying to kill him for invading my head."


    He had been in distress for a long time, but after seeing the statue in such a pitiful condition, Lucifer was actually enjoying it.


    He was the only one here who seemed to be enjoying as the statue appeared to be on the verge of crying. He never really wanted to face the person.


    Even when opening the portal n was conceived, he only went along with it because he was told that he wouldn''t need to fight the person and that others would handle the battles aftering out of the Dungeons.


    Who knew that before the portal could even be opened, he woulde here?


    "Show yourself!" The statue yelled.


    As if taking mercy on the statue, a figure finally appeared before him out of thin air.


    The figure wasn''t perfectly clear. There appeared to be a dark mist surrounding him which made it difficult to see him. There was only one thing visible which was his emotionless eyes.


    "Those eyes... They''re exactly as described in the scripture. So you are really him! I don''t know if I should be happy that someone like you came personally to kill me or be sad that someone like you personally came to kill me!" the statue muttered, sighing.


    "Why now though? Why after all this time? Why did you appear only when I was about to take over this guy? I took over many people before this! But you never appeared. So what''s special about him?"


    Even though the statue asked a question, he didn''t expect an answer. He knew he wasn''t going to get any.


    "You''re not going to answer. I knew it. But it''s good that you came. Now I can actually..." The statue muttered softly but didn''t finish.

 Chapter 491: Ill take you with me

    <h4>Chapter 491: I''ll take you with me</h4>


    His solemn expressions turned to a grin suddenly as he tossed the blood in the bowl towards the statue.


    "So what if I die? I''ll take you with me!" he yelled.


    The statue abruptly tossed the blood which was in the bowl towards the person covered in mist, finally emptying it all.


    What appeared to be a tsunami of blood flew towards the person covered in mist. Even the small insects that were upying the blood flew towards him. Unfortunately, before the blood could even reach him, something strange happened.


    As soon as the blood reached the strange mist, it started disintegrating in itself.


    Not only the blood tsunami but even all the insects turned to dust, ultimately disappearing.


    The expressionless eyes of the mysterious person looked towards the statue as he slowly walked toward him.


    The statue started stepping back slowly. "You aren''t really here, are you? There is no way you would havee inside with your physical body! Did you send your consciousness here? Didn''t you?"


    The person didn''t answer and continued walking towards the shadow on the frozen mountain. At the same time, the legs of the statue disintegrated on itself, making him fall. He couldn''t walk back anymore.


    "You sent your consciousness here to kill me? Is that so I couldn''t open the portal in the future? Or is that because you wanted to save the kid? I think it''s thetter. But you mustn''t forget. You won''t live forever! We will kill you! As soon as hees out, he will wipe you!".


    The statue had given up running, but he didn''t give up talking. Since there was no way to save himself, he came to terms with the death but not before threatening the other person.


    It didn''t look like his threats were working as the person stopped before him. He slowly raised his right hand, cing it on the forehead of the stone statue.


    It was at that time, he opened his lips, muttering something inaudible.


    Even though it was unclear what he had spoken, the shadow seemed to have heard it. His mouth opened wide in shock.


    Arghhh~


    His shock didn''tst for long as it was reced by his scream.


    As his soul was destroyed in the dream world, the body of the Statue in the real world also started falling apart slowly.


    First, a crack developed, followed by many more cracks.


    Within minutes, the entire Statue was covered in cracks. The cracks continued spreading before ultimately destroying the entire statue.


    In the real world, the statue was broken. At the same time, the statue''s soul in the dream world also disappeared.


    The statue waspletely gone. And along with it, all the influence and the control it had also started disappearing.


    Sirius was standing on top of the Royal Pce, right beside Milena, looking in the distant horizon as if waiting for something.


    He wasn''t alone. All the High Lords were waiting for the arrival of the enemies from the Warlock Council. All the defensive mechanisms were established as well.


    However, suddenly Sirius lost consciousness, dropping to the ground. Milena also held her head which started thumping badly. She dropped to her knees.


    Another High Lord lost consciousness.


    "Your Majesty!" One of the High Lords yelled as he watched Milena drop to her knees. He ran to her. "Are you alright?"


    Milena didn''t answer and simply kept holding her head. Pain was written all over her face. She didn''t try standing up.


    "Sirius is also down with Fian? Two High Lords and you falling at the same time? This doesn''t seem anything ordinary! It might be the work of enemies!" Another High Lord yelled.


    "What enemies? They haven''t reached here! The only enemies here are the envoys of the Warlock Council. Arthur and Feronia are taking care of them! I doubt they are the ones doing it."


    "It''s not the work of the enemies," Milena said, lowering her hand. She stood up.


    "Your Majesty, don''t stand. You need rest!"


    "No, I''m fine. Don''t worry. It isn''t the work of an enemy. Well, at least not the work of a foreigner enemy," Milena said, frowning.


    She turned to look at Sirius and started walking to him. On her path, another High Nobleid who had lost consciousness.


    She ignored the other Noble and only stopped before Sirius. She looked down at Sirius grimly. She raised her foot and stomped on the head of Sirius. "Traitor!"


    Milena crushed the skull of Sirius under her feet.


    "Y-your Majesty? What did you...?"


    "I did what I should have done a long time ago! This bastard manipted me for a long time!" Milena dered.


    "Manipted? How?"


    As the High Nobles didn''t understand what maniption she was talking about, Milena started exining.


    She talked about how Sirius had used his abilities to take control of her head. The only reason he helped her with everything at the start, even going as far as helping her wage war, was to make her trust him.


    His ability of mind control only worked on the person who fully trusted him. He won her trust and then used his abilities to control her. Even though Milena was the Noble, the real ruler behind the shadows was actually Sirius.


    However, even she didn''t know that it wasn''t entirely correct. The real Lord behind the shadows was the Dungeon Dweller, who was controlling Sirius.


    Since the Dungeon Dweller couldn''t control Milena''s head because of one of her abilities, he decided to control her through the powers of Sirius.


    He made him do all those things, even going as far as destroying his whole Empire to win Milena''s trust so he could control her.


    Even though it was an indirect method of control, this was the only option for him since he couldn''t use the same method he used on Sirius, Fian, and Lucifer.


    Unlike Lucifer, Milena''s mental resilience was too strong because of another of her ability.


    Now that the soul of the statue was destroyed, Sirius and Fian were free from his influence. Unfortunately, Sirius couldn''t survive the wrath of Milena, who was now free and back to her real self.


    ...


    Back in the dream world, the statue''s soul was just destroyed. The dream world in which Lucifer was trapped also started shattering. Cracks developed everywhere, signaling the destruction of the world, which was close.


    Lucifer could only see the back of the strange figure who was covered in a strange mist. He was still under the assumption that it was his healing, but it was still odd. Something didn''t make sense.


    The figure slowly turned back and raised his head to look at Lucifer.

 Chapter 492: I was right

    <h4>Chapter 492: I was right</h4>


    The figure nced back to Lucifer, still not properly visible.


    At the same time, the dream world kept falling apart slowly. Just before the dream world was entirely destroyed, Lucifer managed to see the emotionless eyes of the figure. Any other features of it weren''t visible to him because of the strange mist.


    The deep eyes seemed a bit simr to his yet quite different. Seeing them, Lucifer felt somewhat strange. He didn''t know what it was about those eyes, but they made him feel extremely ufortable.


    Fortunately, he didn''t have to look at those eyes since the dream world broke apart. Lucifer''s consciousness was tossed out of the dream world.


    In the real world, he regained his consciousness. He slowly opened his eyes, feeling a bit heavy. He felt like there was. Something heavy on his head.


    He raised his right hand and touched the thing which was lying on his forehead, picking it up.


    "This stone? Why would it be there?" he muttered, frowning. The stone was in his pocket. It was understandable that it was taken out of his pocket, but why would someone keep that on his forehead?


    He sat up, keeping the stone in his pocket again before observing his surroundings. The Statue that used to be prominent in the room was missing. Instead, some stone pieces were lying all around, looking like the pieces of that statue.


    The red formation under him was also a mess by now. It wasn''t shining, and most of its lines were destroyed, making it ineffective.


    Moreover, Lucifer also noticed two insects trying to wriggle away. These two were the same ones that had entered his heart and chest, but they couldn''t stay there anymore and decided to run. However, before they could run too far, they burst into mes on their own, dying.


    "What is happening here?" Lucifer muttered, frowning. This whole day was weird.


    Facing a Dungeon Dweller that imprisoned him in his own head, the insects, and finally, that strange misty figure which he categorized as his Healing Immune System because of its simrities to him.


    He ced his hands on the ground and pushed his body up. He also picked up one of the pieces of the broken statues and kept that in his pocket before destroying all the other pieces.


    There was nothing left here to see anymore, making him decide to leave.


    "This whole thing made me understand how weak I am before certain attacks. No matter what I do, I need to find a way to strengthen my mental defense against beings like those. That''s my only weakness at this point."


    "I don''t like this weakness," he muttered, frustrated.


    Lucifer didn''t realize that after the current incident, even that weakness was actually gone. Because of what he went through, his mental resilience was even stronger.


    Moreover, the arrival of the snow mountain in his dream world and the influence of that stone had created a form of immunity for him against attacks of simr nature.


    Unaware of his newly gained benefits from this experience, Lucifer wondered where he could find something which could help him with things like that.


    "I''ll have to ask Kane to develop something. Maybe he''ll have some ideas. If not him, then I''ll need to ask Kellian to find me someone who I can absorb! In any case, I can''t let this weakness pull me back for longer."


    "Weak mental attacks are fine since I can break them if they are simr to the attacks I faced before, but the ones who are strong like this one will be a?problem even though these shall be rare. This will be my first priority now," he muttered, deciding his next n of approach.


    "Not where is that exit? Do I again need to find a secret switch?"


    His body started flying up as he wondered where the exit switch was. However, within a second of searching, he gave up and decided to use a more brute method.


    He raised both his hands, firing a couple of lightning bolts to create an opening for himself. He flew up from the opening, going to the ground floor.


    On the ground floor, he again attacked the walls to create an opening before stepping out of the temple.


    With his hands in his pocket, he walked away from the temple as Dark Clouds started covering the sky above the temple.


    Boom~


    He didn''t even look back as mighty ck lightning bolts fell from the sky, right above the temple.


    Within seconds, the massive temple started falling apart,pletely destroyed.


    Walking away from the Temple, Lucifer patted his dirty cloak before he looked in the sky, guessing the time. He was sure that at least one day had passed since he was brought here.


    To check the exact time he wore his sses and checked in them.


    "As expected. It''s been one day. The first stage of the tournament should already be over by now. I wonder what those people did to Szar and the others. If even a single hair on their heads is harmed, they''ll regret."


    His body started floating in the air as he flew towards the guest Pce, keeping his sses back.


    His blood-covered cloak pped with the wing along with the hair of Lucifer, which wasn''t tied in a ponytail.


    Lucifer touched the cloak with his finger, activating the cleaning function of the cloak. The blood was removed, and the cloak returned to its usual green color.


    Following that, Lucifer made another circle on the cloak, changing its color to pitch ck, simr to the cloak that Milena used to wear.


    Now that he was actually hurt in such a way, he didn''t care about being subtle. He wanted to take revenge on Sirius and, while he was at it, take out everyone who tried blocking his path.


    He wanted to make it thest day of the Divine Empire before it was changed forever.


    ....


    Back in the guest house, the battle had begun as Szar attacked Feronia, who instantly cast an energy barrier around her to protect herself from the sudden attack.


    On the other hand, Arthur had already teleported away from Szar to keep himself safe. Not only that, but he appeared right in front of Caen, grabbing him by the throat.


    "Szar, if you don''t surrender yourself, I''ll kill him! Stop right there and let us capture you!" Arthur warned Szar, who had just used his ability to imprison Feronia in his dream so she could stop using that barrier; however, it didn''t work.


    Feronia wasn''t looking in her eyes. Instead, Feronia kept her eyes on his chest.

 Chapter 493: Promise

    <h4>Chapter 493: Promise</h4>


    Szar turned back to look at Arthur, who was holding Caen hostage.


    "Heh, is that how the prideful Nobles fight? By taking hostages?" Szar asked, scoffing.


    As he taunted Arthur, he expected him to look straight in his eyes, but Arthur also kept his eyes on his chest for some reason.


    Feronia had long guessed that the ability of Szar worked when someone looked in his eyes, but it was just her guess. However, the current events confirmed her suspicions.


    "Arthur, I was right," Feronia informed Arthur.


    "It seems that you are," Arthur replied, smiling.


    "So, Szar, are you going to?surrender, or should I kill your friend?" Arthur asked.?"You can''t save him any other way. Even in the slowed time, I''ll kill him before you can even reach me. Think fast."


    Szar stood frowning with long knives in each of his hands, frowning. He knew that if he surrendered, they were going to die. But if he didn''t surrender, he was going to be the bad guy and let Caen die.


    ''Instead of two deaths, one death is better,'' he thought, frowning.


    He was tilting towards saving himself, but he also thought of a n, knowing that he could escape easilypared to Caen and others.


    "Fine. I''ll surrender but only if you free him and let him leave," Szar offered Arthur.


    "Let him escape? We won''t. You''re both going to our prison. None of you is escaping," Arthur responded.


    "Then why should I surrender? Since we''ll both end up at your mercy then?" Szar asked. "Caen is weaker than me. Let him escape, and I''ll surrender. In any case, I''m a bigger threat to you all. That offer seems good, doesn''t it?"


    "I think my offer is better. You surrender, and he won''t die.?As for you, we can still capture you after killing him," Arthur responded. "If you surrender, you''ll both be alive. If you don''t, you''ll both be dead. It''s as simple as that."


    "Fine. Go ahead and kill him. And then we can see how easy of a time you can have in killing me," Szar smirked, raising his hands.


    "Arthur, free him! Take his offer!" Feronia chimed in.


    "What? Why?"


    "It''s better if he surrenders peacefully! With the time we''ll save, we can go and protect our Empire from the intruders. As for Caen, he''s no threat. On the other hand, if we engage in fighting here, we''ll certainly kill Szar, but it''ll waste a lot of our time. Take the offer!" Feronia exined, still inside the barrier.


    Szar hadn''t removed his domain either, and she wasn''t going to take the risk by removing her barrier since Szar was standing so close to her. With his single sh, she would have been dead without the barrier.


    "Sigh, fine. Szar, I will ept your offer," Arthur agreed after thinking for a little. "You will surrender if I free Caen!"


    "I promise I will," Szar responded.


    "Fine," Arthur let out as he rxed his grip and freed Caen.


    "Now get down on your knees!" hemanded Szar.


    "Not before Caen can leave this ce. So give him ten minutes of a head start, and I''ll go down on my knees!" Szar said.


    Arthur rolled his eyes, but he agreed. He nced at Caen. "Run! You have ten minutes to run! I promise none of us wille after you in these ten minutes!"


    Heath ran immediately, without thinking twice. As for Caen, he didn''t run. Instead, he looked at Szar. "You...?"


    "Don''t worry about me. You should run! You''re the weak one, not me!" Szar replied. "And don''t forget what I told you in the stadium! One day, you can change your destiny. Just have faith and give yourself time!"


    Caen still felt like staying behind to help Szar in whatever way he could, but he knew he couldn''t. He only had his fast reflexes and battle skills. He didn''t have any offensive or defensive special powers.


    As for what Szar just said, he understood. He was talking about being able toprehend his skill to the extent where he could not only copy the looks but skills as well. With that ability, he could certainly be a big name in the world of Warlocks.


    "One minute is already over. Don''t me me after ten minutes. I won''t give an extension," Arthur reminded Caen, keeping his arms folded.


    "Run, you idiot!" Szar also scolded Caen.


    Caen took a deep breath before he started running.


    He ran through the hall, leaving the Pce. He kept running without stopping. Instead of walking to the main road, he took other ways to keep himself hidden as he ran so he couldn''t be trackedter.


    However, Caen had only run for five minutes when he saw something in the distance, which brought a smile to his lips. He could see dark clouds in this distance. Soon, he even heard the crackling of thunder as ck lightning bolts fell from the sky.


    "That''s... He returned? It''s about time...." Caen muttered, smiling wryly. He stopped running.


    ...


    "Ten seconds to ten minutes."


    "Nine seconds."


    "Seven Seconds."


    "Three seconds."


    "One second."


    "Time up. It''s your turn to surrender now. We kept our promise," Arthur told Szar as time was over.


    "I know. But before I surrender, let me tell you something," Szar said as he stood with his hands in his pocket.


    He slowly started bringing his hand out.


    As he brought his hand out, a gun was revealed, aiming it towards Feronia.?" I did promise you that I''ll surrender after you let him go free, but I didn''t say that it''ll be immediately after you let him go free. After he is free can be ten years after he is free as well."


    "So you''re breaking the promise with that loophole? And do you really believe a weapon like that can help you here?" Arthur asked.


    "What can I say? I can''t break a promise without a loophole, or I''ll be the one suffering. You should''ve been careful with the terms of the promise," Szar replied.


    Even Feronia was chuckling at the face of the gun. She was still inside the barrier and knew that a bullet couldn''t do anything.


    "You''re so naive," she said, smirking.


    "Is that so?" Szar muttered, smirking.


    He walked a few meters away from Feronia before he lowered his gun and fired near the feet of Feronia.


    A strange energy-filled bullet left the gun, hitting the ground. A different energy barrier appeared, this time even bigger than Feronia''s defensive barrier, trapping her inside.


    Szar kept the gun back in his pocket.


    "Now we can have some fun without any interruption," he muttered, cracking his knuckles.

 Chapter 494: What about me?

    <h4>Chapter 494: What about me?</h4>


    Szar stretched his arms as he prepared for the battle. He knew that he only had a few minutes in which Feronia was trapped inside to take Arthur out. After Arthur was gone, he could have a much easier time escaping.


    "So you want to fight me without any interruption? You should''ve said that before. I would''ve asked Feronia to not interfere. But it''s a stupid decision altogether," Arthur muttered, sighing. "I really hate people who break their promise."


    He instantly teleported behind Szar, extending his hand to grab him by the throat. Unfortunately, Szar still had his domain active. Even the fastest movement of Arthur was slow to him.


    Before Arthur could even get to him, he turned around, swinging his knife.


    His knife was just about to slice the wrist of Arthur, who teleported at thest moment.


    "So that''s the power of time. It''s only after I experienced it did I realize how great it is," Arthur let out, rubbing his wrist.


    A slight scratch was left on his skin, but that was much better than what would have happened if he hadn''t Teleportation. His entire hand would have been cut.


    "Why don''t you experience it again?" Szar asked, smirking as he extended his domain to cover an area even bigger than the Pce. No matter where Arthur could run to, he was going to be in his domain.


    Arthur previously stood at the spot where he could see he was unaffected by the Domain as he watched the slower movement of Feroniapared to him, but something felt strange. Feronia was moving at an ordinary speed. As for Szar, he wasn''t moving much fast either.


    He wondered if he had removed his Domain. He felt something was wrong, and his suspicions turned out to be true as he saw Szar attack him.


    Even though he was standing much farther, every movement of Szar seemed lightning fast


    Boom~


    Szar had just decided to mount a surprise attack but stopped as he heard a crashing sound.


    The roof was broken, and tens of White Robed men entered the pce,nding all around Szar, surrounding him.


    "What are you all doing here?" Arthur asked, frowning.


    "You were taking a long time, so we came to check,"?A dark-haired High Lord responded.


    All the people who hade here were the High Lords of the Divine Empire.


    "It looks like you still haven''t dealt with one. Lord Arthur, you''re getting slower," Another High Lord responded.


    "Ten more," Szar muttered, scratching the back of his head. And all ten of these were the Noble Lords.


    There were now twelve of the Strongest Noble Lords here, all of whom were a part of the royal court.


    Szar felt a headacheing, but he still didn''t find himself defeated. "So what if there are ten more. That just means more fun for me."


    "Hahaha, this one is pretty confident." A Noble Lord said, bursting intoughter. "Kiddo, I alone would be enough for you, let alone ten of us."


    "Why don''t you back your words by your action then? Fight me alone. I promise I''ll go easy," Szar said, mocking the man.


    "Hehehe, kiddo. I would have done that as well. However, you''re not our prey. Someone else is here for you."


    "Someone else?"


    The Noble Lord pointed his finger upwards. Szar nced up for a moment, understanding what they were talking about.


    He patted his gun, frowning.


    The gun only had one special bullet, which was to be used against Milena but he had already used that, thinking Milena wasn''t going toe here, but he was wrong. Milena was here, flying above his head.


    She slowly came down,nding before Szar.


    "Your Majesty," Arthur and Feronia greeted the Queen.


    "The enemy is at the door, and you''re still wasting time here? I came to see personally what was taking you so long. And now I understand," Milena muttered, raising her hand.?"I can feel that there is some kind of restriction that''s slowing everything in the surroundings."


    "Is it your ability?" she asked Szar.


    Szar frowned, not responding. He was still wondering how he could get out of the situation. Through the prediction, he already knew that his time domain wasn''t going to be effective against Milena. And his mind prison wasn''t effective either.


    Moreover, he didn''t have the bullet to trap Milena temporarily so he could have a way out.


    "Well, I don''t know if I should be upset or happy. All the strongest people of the Divine Empire came to capture me personally, including the queen. Not bad," Szar let out, smiling.


    "I believe you should be more upset. Because my arrival means your death. It doesn''t matter what we did at the moment. We had no control over it, but we have control over the future. And we can see that your side is attacking us! So we can''t treat you as a guest anymore," Milena answered.


    "Treat us as a guest? Is that why you had Lucifer kidnapped? Because you were treating him as a guest?" Szar asked.


    "I didn''t kidnap him. But it''s true that someone from my side did, and I knew about it. And by now, he might be dead already. But as I said, we can''t change the past since we weren''t in control. It was all someone else, pulling the strings," Milena replied.


    "But that doesn''t mean we would forgive your side for attacking us because that''s not rted to the disappearance of your friend," she continued.


    "So it is clear that you came here with bad intentions. Even then, we would have given you the offer to surrender, but we can''t now. The enemy is at our doors, and we need as much help as we can get. That''s why your death is important so that you can join our side as a noble!"


    "I get it now. You want to turn me Noble so I can fight for you. It''s not about your anger or anything. How about it, you free Lucifer, and I''ll fight for your side willingly? Not only I but he will too. Because we aren''t from the Warlock Council." Szar exined.


    "Another story now? You came here in a Warlock Council helicopter with a man from the Warlock Council Branch and now you im you aren''t one of them? Has fear of death really brought you to that extent?" Milena asked, sighing.


    "But it doesn''t matter. We can only trust you when we make you a noble. Moreover, we don''t need your permission for you to help us. You have neither the authority nor the strength tomand us!" she added confidently.


    Boom!


    At the same time, another person entered through the roof,nding on the floor. Hisnding created a crater on the floor.


    "He doesn''t, but what about me?" the newly arrived guest asked, facing Milena.

 Chapter 495: Apology?

    <h4>Chapter 495: Apology?</h4>


    "What about me?" A calm yet confident voice filled the hallway as a man came flying down tond on his feet.


    Milena''s eyes squinted, seeing Lucifer. She didn''t know what Sirius did to him, but she didn''t expect him to be left alive, at least.


    "You''re back. About time you returned," Szar let out, sighing a breath of relief. Be patted the shoulder of the young man before him. "It''s good to see that you''re safe. So, where did you go?"


    "I went with Sirius since he wanted to show me something. Apparently it was a trap," Lucifer replied, not taking his eyes off Milena. "But I''m sure the Queen here knows about that, don''t you?"


    Milena didn''t answer. In the background, Arthur was actually surprised. So it was right that Lucifer was taken by Sirius. His guess was right. That would mean that Lucifer hadn''t contacted the Warlock Council to attack.


    "Where is Caen," Lucifer asked Szar.


    Szar replied, "I helped him escape."


    "And you stayed behind?" Lucifer asked.


    "Of course I did. In your absence, I was the ship of the captain. It''s my responsibility to help the crew get out before me. Moreover, Caen is weak, so he wouldn''t be of help either. I could''ve held them back longer."


    "Not bad. I suppose I should thank you for taking care of everything in my absence. I really thought that you two would be dead by the time I return."


    Lucifer turned around and hugged Szar, shocking him.


    But Szar looked down after Lucifer freed him. He understood what was happening. It wasn''t a hug, but it was something else. He didn''tment on it so that he wouldn''t alert the enemies.


    "Hahaha, we were quite close, I must say," Szar responded, bursting intoughter. "You came just at the right time. As long as you keep Milena busy, I should be fine."


    He was mostly concerned about Milena, who wasrgely unaffected in his Time Domain. All the others were of no threat to him.


    Arthur was also a concern with his teleportation, but Lucifer believed that he could take care of them.


    Lucifer nced at the thirteen Nobles in the room, including Milena. He shook his head lightly. "There is no need anymore. I''ll take care of all of them. You leave and find Caen. Keep him safe."


    "Are you sure?" Szar asked. "You don''t have to take all the burden. Moreover, I know Caen. He can keep himself safe because of his abilities."


    "It''s alright. Don''t worry. Because of being trapped for so long, I''m pretty frustrated. It''s good to be back in the real world again. I want to get some steam out," Lucifer let out, stretching his arms. "You should leave. You''ll just be an obstruction in my path."


    Szar nced at Lucifer momentarily but ultimately nodded. "Alright. I''ll keep him safe in that case. But I think you should know about something important first."


    Milena stood silent, hearing their conversation. She didn''t intervene. Simrly, other Nobles waited formands from her.


    "What important?" Lucifer asked, frowning.


    "It''s about the Warlock Council. Apparently they have attacked the Divine Empire. nes filled with their Warlocks are en-route to this city," Szar exined.


    "Warlock Council? Why would they attack suddenly? Did they find out about us being here?" Lucifer asked, surprised. "From what we know, they weren''t nning to attack this ce? That''s why we came here first."


    "I''m not sure. Maybe they changed their ns. Whatever the case, keep some of your energy in reserve. After fighting the Nobles, we would need to fight the Warlock Council army too," Szar responded before he turned and left.


    "The Warlock Council, huh. Whatever, let theme too. Might as well take out all obstructions at once!" Lucifer dered, cracking his knuckles.


    "But first, where is Sirius?" he asked Milena. That invisible man was also a threat. Moreover, he was also the main target here.


    "He is dead," Milena responded. "But is it really true that you''ll fight the Warlock Council after fighting us? Why would you fight your own team?"


    " Dead? Nonsense! He can''t die on his own! His life is mine! And I''ll take his life with my own hands!" Lucifer yelled, ignoring the other words of Milena.


    "I''m sure you''re angry at her, but her life belonged to me more than it did to you! He only fooled you recently, but he was controlling me for close to a decade! It was a well-deserved death," Milena replied.


    "Ah, I get it. Now I understand. After I destroyed that Dungeon Dweller, his control on Sirius broke, and in turn, the control of Sirius on you broke. So you''re actually free now," Lucifer muttered, rubbing his chin.


    Milena didn''t respond. She raised her right hand and held the stone which she was wearing as a pendant. She snatched her pendant from her neck and tossed it towards Lucifer.


    Raising his left hand, Lucifer caught the stone, frowning. "What are you doing?"


    "Apologizing for my mistakes," Milena replied, taking a deep breath.


    "Hah?"


    "What?"


    Gasps filled the hall as the Noble Lords grew shocked. Milena was apologizing to someone? Were they dreaming? Their queen was apologizing to someone?


    Even Arthur and Feronia had their mouths opened. Milena had actually apologized? What the heck was happening here?


    "What are you apologizing for?" Lucifer asked.


    "I''m apologizing for what you went through in our Empire. And for ming you for the Warlock Council attack. And I apologize for almost killing your friends, thinking they were with the Warlock Council," Milena replied.


    "However, from the conversation between you and your friend, it''s clear that you''re not with the Warlock Council. Instead, you''re also their enemy. So I want to ask for your help," she added.


    It was hard for her to ask for help, but she was prepared now that she was back to her real self.


    "That''s right, Your Majesty. Szar did mention that he''s not from the Warlock Council. Instead, they were impersonating the Warlock Council to get the stone," Arthur chimed in, remembering what Szar had told him.


    At first, he thought it was a lie, but now he realized that there was a good chance he was telling the truth. These people were probably the enemy of the Warlock Council, using their names.


    "What help do you want?" Lucifer asked.


    "The Warlock Council is attacking our Empire. I have faith that if we fought you, we would probably win, but we''ll lose a lot of our people. And I don''t want to lose them. Some of them are like family to me. So I want to do anything to save them!" Milena replied.

 Chapter 496: Takeover

    <h4>Chapter 496: Takeover</h4>


    "Enemy of an enemy is a friend. There''s a saying like that. Since you''re the enemy of the Warlock Council, and we are also their enemy, we can fight together to take them out!" Milena said.


    "And you''re here for the stone. I already gave that to you. So there''s no reason for conflict between us," she added.


    "That''s an interesting offer, but why me? Why don''t you just fight me and give this stone to them instead?" Lucifer asked.


    "Because that would boost their ego and make it seem like we''re defeated. The Warlock Council would probably be even more brazen in the future," Milena replied. "They would return again in the future for another conflict.?The only way to solve this is by giving them crushing defeat."


    "And you are certainly strong. Instead of fighting, I must as well hire you as a help," she continued.


    "Is that so? And how do you know that I''m strong?" Lucifer asked, amused. "I don''t think we fought before. At least not in this reality?"


    " You were able to defeat that Dungeon Dweller that was controlling everything in this Empire! You were able to take him out and free me," Milena answered. "So, I''m sure you are strong."


    She also remembered the time when she med Lucifer for invading their Pce. She was about to kill Heath to force the answer out, and Lucifer was prepared to attack her.


    "Moreover, on our first meeting, you didn''t hesitate in attacking me for your friend. It was enough for me to understand that you weren''t weak," she added. "And even now. Despite knowing that all of us are here, you came to save your friend. Not only that, you stayed behind alone, still confident that you can kill us all."


    "I''m not sure if you really can. In fact, I mostly think that you''re a bit overconfident, but it shouldn''t be by too much. That''s why I want your help. So will you?" she asked.


    "Help you?" Lucifer muttered. "Can I trust you?"


    "You can. I never break my promise. Especially now that I''m not under any influence. Moreover, the lives of my men are at stake. So I wouldn''t betray you," Milena answered. "Moreover, I already gave you the payment for this job in the form of that Stone you were after. You''ll get even more treasures after you''re done."


    Lucifer lost himself in thought as he observed the other Nobles. All of them were surprised that Milena was taking someone else''s help.


    He didn''t look at them to see their expressions. Instead, he memorized their positions to make some calctions in his head.


    "Well, I was looking forward to this battle. But fine. I''ll ept the offer and fight the Warlock Council," he ultimately said yes as he reached out his hand towards Milena to shake her hand.


    "I''m d to have you join our side," Milena smiled as she also reached out her hand to shake Lucifer''s hand.


    However, just when her hand was about to meet Lucifer''s hand, Lucifer moved his hand ahead a little bit and grabbed her wrist.


    "Happy to have this cooperation," Lucifer said, retracting his hand.


    Milena looked down at her wrist, surprised to find a bracelet on her wrist.


    "What? What is this bracelet?" Milena asked, frowning.


    "It''s simple. You can think of that as a friendship bracelet," Lucifer responded, smiling. "Also, it''s a device which will stop you from using your powers. So don''t even try it. Moreover, you can''t take it off. In short, you''re now no better than an ordinary human."


    "So you betrayed me?" Milena asked, taking a step back.


    "Betrayal? Not entirely. I promised that I would fight the Warlock Council. And I''m going to keep that promise. Moreover, I will also keep your men safe, as long as they don''t go out of their way to die. It''s just that you won''t be joining this war," Lucifer responded as he kept the second stone in his pocket.


    He kept the second stone in a different pocket, but both the stones could still feel each other''s presence.


    Milena red at Lucifer and yelled, "You''re not a good person."


    "Who knows," Lucifer shrugged. "I''ll leave that decision to you. But that doesn''t change the fact that you''ll be out of the battle."


    "If you think that this toy can stop me, then you''re wrong!" Milena dered as she touched the bracelet with the intention of breaking it.


    She didn''t take it seriously. Moreover, she had faith in her healing. She was mostly sure that Lucifer was simply bluffing. That''s why she didn''t attack Lucifer. It was the same for Arthur and others.


    They also believed it was a bluff. There was no way for humans to develop a device that could stop someone from using powers. Even if it were possible, Variants wouldn''t have supported this development since it put them at risk.


    Lucifer understood what Milena was trying to do, but he didn''t interfere. He simply stood back and watched.


    Milena touched the bracelet, but as soon as she applied even a little pressure, she felt a current course through her body. Moreover, it wasn''t any ordinary current. It seemed like a pretty high grade one which made her scream.


    "Arghhh!"


    Milena yelled before dropping to the ground. Her eyes closed.


    "Your Majesty!" Arthur yelled as he teleported near Milena. "Are you alright?"


    He didn''t get any response. Feronia also sat near Milena, worried for her.


    As for the other Nobles that were surrounding Lucifer, they also got impatient.


    "You Bastard!" They yelled as they all ran towards Lucifer to attack him.


    A glimpse of a smirk appeared on Lucifer''s lips, watching the attacks.


    Boom~


    Lightning bolts fell all around him in circles targeting the Nobles.


    At thest moment, the Nobles flew back, saving themselves from the inevitable death.


    All of them realized how close they were to death.


    "Be d I didn''t target you. If I wanted, you wouldn''t even have time to move back. As I said, I promised Milena that I wouldn''t let you die unless you go out of your way. So stay within your limits and don''t do it again. It''s yourst warning," Lucifer said.


    He also noticed Arthur ring at him. "And you, the same warning goes to you. I won''t give a second warning. Moreover, I already warned Milena that she wouldn''t be able to take it out. She underestimated my warning, thinking I was lying. You can''t me that on me."


    Lucifer shrugged all the responsibility, acting like an innocent kid.

 Chapter 497: Youre mine!

    <h4>Chapter 497: You''re mine!</h4>


    "Oh, I should remind you something too. Only I can take off that bracelet. If I''m hurt, Milena will die too, despite her healing. And if you tried taking off the bracelet yourself, she would still die. So you better listen to me instead. Your Queen''s life is in my hands," Lucifer reminded everyone.


    "At the moment, she''s just unconscious. She isn''t hurt. But if I want, that unconsciousness can turn to eternal sleep," he continued.


    "Take care of Her Majesty," Arthur told Feronia, handing Milena to Feronia.


    He turned to look at Lucifer. "Is this your way of getting back at us for what Sirius did to you? Even after Her Majesty apologized?"


    "What do you think?" Lucifer asked, smirking.


    He stretched his arms, yawning. He waved his hand, making a distance chair fly to him.


    The Chairnded before him. He walked around the chair and sat on it with one leg resting on the other, facing Milena and the others.


    "Maybe you''re right. Maybe I''m still upset because of what happened to me in the Empire, and I want revenge? Or maybe that has nothing to do with it? Who knows. You can select any reason."


    "Whatever reason you select, it won''t change the truth. The truth is that Milena''s life depends on my life. And it''s also the truth that you people will need my help in taking out the Warlock Council."


    "It''s also the truth that I''m willing to help you in this battle. And all I ask for is that Milena stays out of the battle, letting me take the lead. Why are you all upset about it?"


    "As long as Milena doesn''t try to take out the bracelet and doesn''t use her powers, she is perfectly safe. In fact, you can still treat her as your queen and keep her safe. Moreover, don''t you agree that it''s better if she stays out of the battles?"


    "If she takes part in the battles and dies, you''ll all die too. So you should be happy with my decision to keep her out as that keeps you safe?" Lucifer asked.


    "This?"


    "What?"


    All the Noble Lords were shocked at Lucifer''s words.


    "What happened? Are you shocked why I heard it? Let''s just say a beautiful rainbow bird told me," Lucifer saidzily. Even though he didn''t nce at Arthur, Arthur understood who Lucifer was talking about.


    He identally implied something simr to itst time they were flying in the sky, but he stopped mid-way and started talking about birds to change the topic. Who knew that Lucifer was going to guess.


    "Your reactions just go on to confirm my theory. So in a way, your life depends on me too. As I said, my death will mean Milena''s death. And her death will mean your death. What an incredible death chain," Lucifer let out,ughing.


    "It''s better than anything I could have asked for. So, who wants to attack me now? Go ahead. I won''t use any defense," he added, amused.


    He couldn''t have asked for any better leverage.


    Even though he was lying about the fact that his death was going to mean Milena''s death, he was sure no one was going to take the risk.


    Milena already took the risk by trying to take off the bracelet, thinking he was lying. The oue was in front of everyone now. No one was going to risk their lives to test it. If they were wrong, all the Nobles were going to die.


    "What will you take to free Her Majesty?" Arthur asked.


    "Free her? What do you mean? I don''t have her imprisoned? Don''t you already have her in your hands?" Lucifer asked, amused.


    "Anyway, I''ll talk about the rest of the terms with Milena when she wakes up. For now, you should focus on keeping her out of the battle. And focus on the battle against the Warlock Council," he continued.


    "The lives of all of you are in my hands. So effectively, I''m the ruler of the Divine Empire. If anyone has a problem, they can raise their hands."


    No one raised their hands. It had no benefit. Lucifer was right. All their lives were in his hands since he controlled Milena''s life.


    "That''s good. So, as the Emperor, I dere that no one shall be allowed to harm the Empire. Even if it''s the Warlock Council! Who is going to give me the update? How far are the Warlock Council nes from this city?" Lucifer asked.


    One of the High Nobles checked their device. "Ten more minutes before they''ll be in the airspace of the city."


    "Good. Let''s wee the enemies," Lucifer said, standing up.?"Feronia, you stay here with Milena. And tell her everything when she wakes up. Keep her out of the battle and harm''s way."


    "As for the others, you follow me!"


    Lucifer flew up, leaving the same way he came.


    The other Nobles sighed but ultimately followed behind Lucifer.


    Arthur also nced at Milena onest time before he also flew after Lucifer.


    Everyone flew after Lucifer, who hadn''t gone far before he went down.


    Lucifer noticed Szar on the ground. He was with another man.


    ''These idiots. I told them to run away. Not to wait for me! But they are still nearby.''


    Hended before Szar and Caen.


    Seeing the Nobles behind Lucifer, they thought that Lucifer was being chased.


    "What happened??Was Milena too powerful?" Szar asked as he prepared for battle.


    "Nonsense. I already control Milena now. Moreover, I took over the Divine Empire," Lucifer replied.


    Behind him, the Noblesnded. They didn''t attack.


    Szar''s jaws dropped. What did he mean he took over the Empire? How did it be so easy suddenly? Just what happened?


    As far as he could see, only one time lightning fell from the sky since he had left. How did this one attack bring the Divine Empire down to their knees?


    Since when did it be so easy?


    Even Caen was surprised. Just what magic did he use? He had thought that it was going to be hard to take over the Divine Empire, especially after finding out what happened in the Prediction of Predictor.


    In any case, it was going to be harder than the takeover of Elisium since there were only three of them here. So how was it that it was easier instead?


    Ten minutes! Only ten minutes had passed since Lucifer''s arrival, and he changed everything. Was it even possible to break the record of this ten minutes?


    "Why are you two looking at me like that?" Lucifer asked, rolling his eyes. "Anyway, I don''t have time to exin. I''m going to take out the Warlock Council. You guys go back inside the Pce and keep Milena safe."

 Chapter 498: Shes now no better

    <h4>Chapter 498: She''s now no better</h4>


    "Keep Milena safe?" Szar asked with a twisted look on his face. Since when did they be protectors of Milena? What actually was going on.


    Lucifer raised his left hand and tapped his wrist three times to signal something. "She''s now no better than an ordinary human."


    Seeing that gesture, Szar appeared to have understood everything.


    "Ah, so that''s what you did! Take out the head of a snake, and the entire snake falls. Clever indeed. Don''t worry. I will keep her safe until your return."


    Szar turned to Caen and waved his hand. "Come with me. You''ll be safer there as well."


    Caen nodded.


    "Ah, right." Szar looked back at Lucifer as if remembering something. "I think you might be needing this. It didn''t work on Nobles, but it mighte in handy against the ordinary Warlocks."


    He tossed the gun to Lucifer, which was given to him.


    Lucifer caught the gun and kept that in his pocket.


    "I already used the energy bullet. Keep that in mind when you use that," Szar said atst before leaving.


    Caen followed Szar and left but not before wishing Lucifer luck.


    "We only have seven minutes left. Can we go now, or do we waste time until enemies are inside our home?" Arthur asked Lucifer, rolling his eyes.


    "Yeah, let''s leave."


    Lucifer started rising in the air, using the wind. The other Nobles did the same.


    At first, it was a little surprising to Lucifer to see that all the Noble Lords could fly. He remembered that Arthur had told him about only three Nobles being able to use the wind.


    He didn''t understand how it was.


    "Also, as we fly, I want all of you to tell me your powers so we can coordinate properly. Also, what method do you use tomunicate with each other when you''re in battle?" he asked, to understand everyone more in the shortest time.


    "I think you already know about me. I can use wind and teleportation. And I have other Noble specific powers like superior strength, speed, agility, and ability to fly." Arthur went first as he flew right beside Lucifer towards the Easter Border.


    "Flying is something all Nobles can do?" Lucifer asked, surprised. He thought it was because of their abilities, but it appeared that he was wrong.


    "In a way,* Arthur nodded. "However, it isn''t as easy as controlling the superior strength and agility. It takes a lot of time for a Noble to be able to fly. That''s why only we Noble Lords and a few rare Nobles are able to fly at the moment. The others will still take time."


    "Even after all that, the ability is still good. I''m sure that the enemies wouldn''t have many aerial fighters," Lucifer replied. "What about my second question?"


    "Your second question''s answer is that we use the same methods to contact others as you people do," Arthur said, showing his defense.


    "However, when we''re within one-kilometer proximity of each other, we don''t need to use it. We can then use telepathy to transmit our thoughts," Lucifer replied, sighing.


    "Now you have telepathy too? Is there something you people don''t have? And here people said I was an oddity," Lucifer muttered, sighing.


    "You don''t have to be jealous. All you need to do is be a Noble. You''ll have all the advantages too," Arthur suggested.


    "Good attempt, but no thanks," Lucifer responded.


    "You, what''s your ability?" he asked the next person. "Introduce yourself while telling your ability. There needs to be no mimunication."


    "I am Duke. I''m a High Lord in the Divine Empire, and my ability is Hot sma Vision. I can fire aser with my eyes at the enemies," the next man replied.


    "That is a pretty good ability. You can be the firepower we will need. How powerful is thatser? Can it destroy barriers of enemies?" Lucifer asked.


    "Most probably. There has never been a barrier I wasn''t able to destroy," Duke replied.


    "Good. You''ll attack their nes with me. One thing I learned throughout the years is that one shouldn''t waste an opportunity. Take the ne down when it''s in the air! You''ll stay with me," Lucifer nodded.


    "What about you?" he asked anotherdy in the back who was dressed as a man. The woman also had short hair. From her face, no one could make sure if she was ady or a feminine looking guy. However, her chest gave her away.


    "I am Latvia and can use High Density Energy Field and use that same energy field to fire energy projectiles,"?thedy answered.


    "Latvia, you''ll be at defense then. Protect the others and make sure that not a single person dies. Except me, provide your defense to everyone," Lucifer let out.


    "Next?"


    "I am Jiani, and I can use Energy Maniption," the next woman answered.


    "Energy Maniption?" Lucifer shook his head. "You''ll have to exin in better terms. I don''t understand what that is."


    "It means I can absorb the energy attacks in my surroundings and manipte them to be mine. And then I can attack with them," Jiani answered. "I can manipte any attack as long as it''s not as strong as the lightning you used."


    "So you can piggyback on the attacks of others but not as strong as mine. Disappointing," Lucifer responded. "Alright, you stay in the back."


    "Next?"


    Since most of the Nobles weredies, another woman stepped forward.


    "I am Yasmine,"?the dark-haireddy said. "And I also use something simr to her known as Energy Negation."


    Before Lucifer could ask her to exin, Yasmine continued. "I can create a field around me inside which no one can use Energy attacks. Moreover, all energy attacks that enter the field are negated, as long as they''re not out of my range."


    "Negate Energy attacks in your range? That means a long-range attack would be useless on you. Not bad. Only warrior type Warlocks can take you down. That''s good. You''ll also stay with me in the battle," Lucifer nodded, impressed.


    "Stay with you?" Yasmine asked, surprised.


    "That''s right. You, Dukes, and Arthur will be the leading squad that will go ahead. The others will stay back and take the people down who escape our assault and manage to get inside the Royal City," Lucifer agreed.


    "That means you four will stand outside the city alone?" Jiani asked, squinting her eyes.


    "Four people standing together isn''t the definition of alone. Also, that''s true. We''ll be outside the borders and the first line of defense." Lucifer nodded.?"We''ll take them down before they can get inside. But if some still do, I want them to be weed with all you have."

 Chapter 499 - 499: Youll Do As I Say

    <h4>Chapter 499 - 499: You''ll Do As I Say</h4>


    "What kind of n is it? We already fortified the royal City. All the Nobles are guarding the barrier. You shouldn''t go there alone! That''s just a waste!" Latvia responded.


    "I said what I said. And that''s what you''ll listen to. If you don''t want to, you can leave and hide in the Guest Pce too," Luciferzily responded.


    "Next!" he said, asking others to introduce themselves


    The introductions continued, and soon, all the Noble Lords were finished with the introduction. Amongst the rest, Lucifer didn''t select anyone else to take with him. He had decided on a team of four only, and that was going to be it.


    The Border of the Royal City generally had no defense structures. As for the Border Wall, it was only at the entrance of the Divine Empire, surrounding it. However, that defense waspletely annihted already by the Warlock Council.


    Fortunately, after destroying the border defense and gaining an entry, the Warlocks didn''t attack the citizens of the Empire. Their only target was to neutralize the Royal City, take the arrogant Milena down, and receive the stone from Milena.


    The Warlock Council was here, hoping for one stone, not realizing that there were two here, both with one man.


    Two Warlock Council nes flew towards the Royal City at full speed, surrounded by a powerful barrier that was cast by an S-Rank Warlock of the Warlock Council.


    Inside the first ne, Andreas was sitting, casually sipping his coffee as he looked at his clock. There were still five minutes before they reached the Royal Empire.


    There was a kind of excitement inside his heart as he was going to face a powerful enemy. It had been a long time since he fought with the intention to kill.


    But there was even more excitement in his heart because he was going to take the arrogant Milena down. He still remembers the way she talked to him whenst time he came on a visit.


    It was the only reason he had personally decided to mount this assault, not letting anyone else take the opportunity.


    He took hisst sip of coffee before he ced the cup on the tray and stood up.


    Seeing him stand up, the other Warlocks inside the ne also stood up.


    "Are you all ready?" Andreas asked, smirking. "Tonight, we shall have a feast in the Royal City."


    The Warlock started cheering, filled with fighting intent.


    Andrea walked toward the door of the ne and slid it open. He peeked his head out and looked ahead.


    Fast winds brushed against his face, but they immediately stopped as if controlled by some mysterious force. They flew without touching him.


    "There it is... The Royal City," Andreas muttered. "That''s intriguing. I don''t think there was a border wall like that before."


    He could see the entire city surrounded by thick walls.


    All the walls were created by a Noble Lord with her powers as soon as she realized that enemies wereing.


    It was to provide at least some level of defense.


    "I''m surprised they think a wall would be able to help them," Andreas muttered.


    "They''re naive. They underestimate the Warlock Council too much." Another man appeared behind Andreas, happening to be his closest aid, John.


    "I don''t know why, but u want to crush that wall first before entering," Andreas smirked. "Give them a glimpse of what''s toe."


    "It will be my pleasure," John responded, grinning. He raised his hand towards the sky, making ten golden swords appear above the image


    The Golden Swords weren''t the size of ordinary swords. Instead, each of the swords was the size of the ne in length and in width.


    Ten giant Swords made from golden energy flew above the ne at the same speed, however with a casual wave of John''s hands, the Swords started flying much faster.


    They got ahead of the nes, flying towards the walls. At their normal trajectory, it appeared that the swords were to destroy the border walls.


    ...


    Lucifer left everyone else behind the walls to get in positions before flying past the walls with Duke, Arthur, and Yasmine.


    "Hmm? They''re already here. It appears we''re just on time," Lucifer muttered, smiling. He also noticed ten golden swords flying towards them. "Yasmine, it''s time for you to show your magic. Negate the Golden Swords."


    "I-i can''t. The golden swords are too big. They cover a big area too. My energy negation field is enough to cover only one swore," Yasmine let out, frowning.


    "Much more useless than I imagined in that case,x Lucifer muttered, frowning.


    He nced at Arthur before asking, "Arthur, can you teleport with Yasmine?"


    "I should be able to." Arthur nodded.


    "Good. Take Yasmine and Teleport in the proximity of all Swords. So what if the words can''te inside her domain? We''ll take her domain outside the sword, one by one," Lucifer let out. "Be fast. Not a single sword should be allowed to hit the wall."


    Arthur nodded. He held the hands of Yasmine and disappeared.


    He appeared right above the middle sword. Yasmine cast her domain, making the golden sword disappear.


    After the first Sword was dealt with, Arthur disappeared again and appeared above the second golden sword.


    "What is happening?" John eximed, seeing his Swords disappear one after another.


    "Interesting. They are fighting back and making your attack useless. They''re more resourceful than I thought," Andreas muttered, smirking.


    After a short observation of Andreas and Yasmine, his eyes fell on Lucifer, who was standing like a proud Warlock.


    "Who is that guy? I remember the other three from the Royal Council of Milena, but the fourth doesn''t look like one. He doesn''t have red eyes, and he''s wearing a ck cloak?" he muttered, frowning.


    "ck Cloak? ording to our information, that''s something only the Queen of the Divine Empire wears," John let out. "So how is he wearing that? And where''s Milena?"


    Just as Andreas was looking at Lucifer, Lucifer also looked back.


    Andreas saw a smirk spread across Lucifer''s lips as their gazes met as if Lucifer was mocking him.


    "That man... He is very interesting it seems." Andreas also smirked. "I''m going to have fun with him."


    John was concerned about his swords being taken out, but he also noticed the sudden shift in weather. "What''s happening to the weather? Suddenly, there are ck clouds everywhere? It''s also getting cold."


    "It''s certainly the work of an enemy. Don''t bother with it," Andreas replied, but just as he finished, he heard the roar of the clouds, which forced him to look up.

 Chapter 500 - 500: Strongest Defence

    <h4>Chapter 500 - 500: Strongest Defence</h4>


    Lucifer''s gaze met with Andreas. He also recognized that person. He was the leader of the Warlock Council, Andreas. Moreover, he was also the same person that Caen was impersonating.


    "That man... Isn''t that your friend?" Duke asked, also noticing Andreas.


    "He''s not Caen. Caen was impersonating to be him. He''s the real deal," Lucifer replied. "Anyway, it''s time for you to show your skills. Let''s give the guests a wee gift."


    "You mean..."


    "That''s right. Target the first ne," Lucifer replied.


    In the meantime, his clouds had also gathered. They even started roaring as if telling Lucifer that they were prepared to take the enemy down.


    Arthur and Yasmine took out thest golden sword as well before they returned to the wall to stand beside Lucifer.


    Arthur appeared perfectly fine, as if what he did was too easy. On the other hand, Yasmine was sweating and breathing heavily as she went through a lot.


    It was hard for her to cast her domain ten times in quick session.


    "You did good. Now stay back and let us take care of them," Lucifer said, patting the shoulder of Yasmine.


    He also took off his gloves and kept them in his pockets. "Duke, not!"


    As Lucifer stretched his arms, Duke attacked. A brightser beam left his eyes, getting thicker as it reached farther.


    The beam advanced towards the first ne from which Andrew was peeking out.


    Andreas wasn''t phased. He didn''t even bother to go back inside the ne. He had faith in the barrier around the ne.


    The beam of energy hit the barrier, making it p. The barrier started flickering a bit in the face of the powerful attack, but that was all. The barrier wasn''t broken.


    However, before Andreas could even smile, another attack came towards his ne, this time even more powerful.


    The attack this time doesn''te from the front. Instead, it came from the sky.


    ck bolt of lightning prated through the dark clouds beforending on the barrier of the ne. The barrier again flickered but did not stop there. Another lightning bolt fell from the sky.


    One after another, lightning bolts kept falling from the sky on the same spot.


    Inside the ne, a blonde man was sitting on his seat with his eyes clenched tightly. He was the S-Rank Warlock who was maintaining the defensive barrier.


    His entire body was covered in sweat as he wondered if he could maintain the barrier for long.


    A few Warlocks noticed the condition of the blonde Warlock. They hastily ran to Andreas.


    "I don''t think Drake wouldst long like this. This attack is powerful. And unlike other powerful attacks, it doesn''t stop. It''s as if the person who is attacking us doesn''t get tired at all! If it continues like this, we will lose the barrier!"


    "That''s true. It''s also harder since he''s covering all the nes with his barrier, which weakens him further. If he were only using the barrier in a small area, it would have been easy for him," John agreed.


    "So, what shall we do?" he asked Andreas. "Should we still wait until we''re inside the city? Or attack now?"


    "I wanted to be inside the city before we started our assault, but it doesn''t matter anymore. We''re going out now. Tell the others to jump out. Instead of being one bigger Target, it''s better for us to be spread out," Andreas agreed.


    As he finished speaking, he jumped out of the ne. His beautiful white winds spread wide as he started flying.


    Within seconds, the other Warlocks from the ne also jumped out.


    Strangely, none of them had any parachutes, but still, they went down slowly as if they were as light as a feather.


    It was also the ability of another Warlock who was casting it on arge scale.


    Lucifer''s attack continued on the ne while Duke attacked with hisser again, this time targeting the people who had jumped out of the ne.


    The battle between lighting and the barrier continued. The barrier continued weakening, especially when Drake opened his eyes.


    He also walked to the exit and jumped out.


    Only after he jumped out did the barrier disappear. The lightning crashed on the ne.


    Boom~


    A loud explosion urred as the ne blew up.?Its ming pieces started falling down, crashing towards the wall of the Royal City because of its trajectory and close proximity to the wall.


    Lucifer stopped his lightning and clenched his fist, bringing forth powerful wind tornadoes which stopped the ming ne pieces from crashing on the wall.


    The tornadoes took the rubble of the ne and flew back towards the Warlock Council members that were still in the ne.


    Now that Drake didn''t have to defend the entire ne with his barrier, he was freer. He sighed a breath of relief as he sighed.


    After collecting a few breaths, he again prepared for battle, now having the opportunity to be more effective since he didn''t have to spread his barrier too thin.


    He raised his left hand towards the iing beam of red energy, casting a barrier as the barrier was cast. This time, the barrier was concentrated in a small ce. It was only two meters wide, but it stopped theser attack.


    It was also stronger. Unlike before, it didn''t even flicker before the energy beam.


    "Now, time to show them what we can do," Drake muttered as hended on the ground.


    He noticed a tornado filled with the ne pieces flying towards him. He shook his head and started walking towards the tornado alone. No one even bothered to stop him since they all had faith in Drake.


    As for Andreas, he also stood with his arms folded, seemingly amused.


    ''It''s so good to have Drake on my team. He has one of the strongest defenses that I have seen. In fact, he''s also capable of bing a Warlock Council leader with his skills.''


    '' Unfortunately, the Warlock Council focuses more on offensive skills and not defensive. Otherwise, Drake would have been in a higher position,'' Andreas thought, watching Drake step ahead.


    As Drake reached the Warlock Council nes, he casually pped his hand, casting a barrier all around the tornado.


    The barrier trapped the tornado from all sides and started closing in.


    As the barriers closed in, the tornado kept bing smaller and smaller before ultimately disappearing.


    Drake shifted his gaze to Lucifer and started walking in his direction.


    "Interesting," Lucifer muttered, smirking. "Yasmine, it looks like he would be a good opponent for your energy negation. Want to go y with him?"


    "I wouldn''t mind," Yasmine nodded.


    "Good," Lucifer let out as he wrapped his hands around the soft waist of Yasmine and jumped down the wall.

 Chapter 501 - 501: What Shall I Do With It?

    <h4>Chapter 501 - 501: What Shall I Do With It?</h4>


    Lucifer jumped off the wall with Yasmine, who was stunned as Lucifer abruptly embraced her waist. Yasmine never let a person touch her. And even when she did, it was only to touch her hand.


    No one had ever touched any other part of her body. It didn''t matter if the other person was a girl or a guy.


    It was known throughout thend. That''s why, even when Arthur had to teleport with her, he only held her hand.


    No one knew the reason behind Yasmine''s difort at being touched, but they respected her wishes. It was an unknown fact that Yasmine was extremely sensitive.


    As soon as someone touched her, she started feeling strange inside her body, as if her sensitive spot was touched. It was only eptable if her hand was touched. Other than that, she was ufortable, especially in a ce like her waist.


    Stunned at suddenly being touched, she was about to push Lucifer back, but before she could, he had already jumped with her. She couldn''t push him back now as she was going to fall.


    She bit her lower lip, trying to stop herself from making a noise. It was only after the two of themnded on the ground that she finally pushed Lucifer back.


    As Lucifer was pushed back, his fingers brushed against Yasmine''s skin, making her unable to control anymore.


    "Aaah."


    Yasmine let out a light moan as she dropped to her knees weakly.


    "What happened? Are you alright?" Lucifer asked, confused. He didn''t understand why Yasmine was suddenly acting like that. "Do you have a fear of jumps?"


    "You idiot! Don''t touch me again!"Yasmine responded weakly as she tried standing up, but her knees were still weak.


    Lucifer weirdly looked at Yasmine, not understanding anything. What happened to her suddenly?


    "Is it because you''re shy about a man touching you?" Lucifer asked.


    "Nonsense," Yasmine let out firmly.


    She ced her hand on the cold soil and pushed her body up to finally stand.


    "You''re weird," Lucifer muttered, rolling her eyes. "Whatever, hold this."


    He gave her his gun.


    "What shall I do with a gun?" Yasmine asked as she took the gun, confused.


    "He''s a bit too confident in his barriers. He thinks he can take care of anything. That''s why he''sing alone. But as soon as hees in your range, he''ll know how useless that is. You are to shoot him at that time. You understand?" Lucifer asked. "That would be an easy win."


    "I... I don''t know how to shoot. I never used such toys," Yasmine responded.


    Lucifer scratched the back of his head, annoyed. It was such an easy way out, but she didn''t even know how to shoot. He could give her a short tutorial on how to shoot, but there was no time.


    "Fine, return it to me." He took the gun. "Just stay with me and leave everything to me. Also, cast your domain right after mymand!"


    He had already changed the magazine in the gun with the ones that had real bullets. He walked toward Drake, who was still walking alone. For some strange reason, the other team members were casually walking behind Drake.


    ''''So he''s their tank. Not bad. Let''s see how far their tank can take them," Lucifer muttered as he also walked toward Drake.


    Even though Yasmine was slightly hesitant, she walked behind him.


    Only a few meters of distance was between the two sides, and it didn''t seem like the two sides were enemies. Instead, it seemed like Lucifer and Drake were walking towards each other for a business meeting.


    Andreas remained in the sky, watching Lucifer with great interest. He already had an idea as to what was happening. He had seen thedy behind Lucifer destroy the energy swords.


    "If I''m not wrong, that girl can destroy energy in her surroundings. But just to be careful, let''s assume that she can make all attacks around her ineffective. That would exin why the man beside her is walking with a gun in his hand," Andreas said softly.


    "Moreover, from her previous actions, we can also assume that her abilities only work in her surroundings. Otherwise, they wouldn''t have teleported her near the sword. You understand, right? It''s a trap."


    Andreas kept talking to himself from what it looked like, but in reality, there was a Warlock amongst them who established a link between all of them.


    Because of that, Andreas was able to broadcast his words to others. Moreover, he could also hear the words of others. He wasn''t just talking about this ce to himself. Instead, he was telling others.


    At the moment, everyone knew about this n, including Drake, who was walking to them.


    "They want toe close to you, to make your barrier ineffective and shoot you. It looks like they underestimate us too much," Andreas continued.


    "Zhan, time for you to get to work. And Drake, don''t get closer. Try to stop them in their path while maintaining your distance," he continued.


    As soon as he spoke, Drake stopped. The others also stopped behind him, however before he could do anything, his lips opened in surprise.


    "Yasmine, now!"


    "But they''re too far! Not in my range!"


    "I told you now!" Lucifer repeated.


    Yasmine nodded and cast her domain in her surroundings.


    Frowning, Drake tried using his barrier to test if it was working. A barrier appeared before him.


    "It works," Drake muttered, frowning. "Were they trying to create a smokescreen?"


    Drake and everyone else was focused on Lucifer and what he was trying to do. None of them realized that there was another person they needed to keep an eye on.


    It was Andreas who took a casual nce towards the wall, feeling something wrong.


    However, as soon as he looked at the wall, his face turned weird.


    "Drake, it''s a distraction! Protect yourself from all sid-" Andreasmanded, however before his words could even reach Drake, it happened.


    A man appeared behind Drake, happening to be none other than Arthur.


    Arthur ced his hand on Drake''s shoulder before anyone could know it. He disappeared but not alone. He took Drake with him.


    Just like he had taken Yasmine, this time Arthur took Drake right in front of everyone. He appeared behind Lucifer, who raised his gun without even looking back.


    And the aim of the gun happened to be so perfect that it rested right in the direction of Drake''s head.


    Bam~


    Lucifer pressed the trigger.


    Drake tried casting his barrier; however, nothing came to his defense.. The Warlock with the strongest defense happened to be so useless that he died from an ordinary bullet.

 Chapter 502 - 502: Shouldve Looked Back

    <h4>Chapter 502 - 502: Should''ve Looked Back</h4>


    Drake dropped to the ground. The hole on his forehead was visible for everyone to see. The blood even started covering the ground, but Lucifer didn''t bother.


    "Good aim," Arthurmented. "But you should''ve looked back. What if you had shot me?"


    "As long as you appeared with him exactly where I told you to, why would you be shot? And even if you made a blunder with that, you could''ve saved yourself with the Teleportation," Lucifer replied.


    " In fact, I would argue that you''re the toughest Warlock to kill with your Teleportation. It''s such a perfect ability to escape. So I couldn''t be worried about you being shot. You can call it my faith in your skills. Or you can call it my faith in your abilities. Whatever suits you," he added, smiling.


    He shifted his attention to Yasmine. "And that''s how we shoot. You got it?"


    "Now you can practice and make your skill perfect," he added before tossing the gun to Yasmine. "Now you kids can go crazy. Let me deal with the man above."


    Lucifer started floating up.


    A red beam of light came from behind, targeting the group that had gathered behind Drake, confident in his ability.


    At first, the n was to take out all the enemies, but after seeing the strength of their defense, the n changed.


    The new n was to take out the person who was their tank. Lucifer expected it to be hard to find that man, but it was too easy. That man came forward on his own in his arrogance.


    That''s when the n was made. It was to distract the enemies by giving them a hint of their n and using Arthur in secret.


    Sincere the enemies had already seen Yasmine in action; she was the perfect distraction.


    ....


    Unlike the other victims of the bracelet, Milena didn''t take long toe out of her unconsciousness. By the time she woke up, everyone was already gone.


    "What happened? Where is everyone else?" Milena asked Feronia. "Did he hurt them after I lost consciousness?"


    "He didn''t. He took your man and went to fight the enemies," Feronia replied.


    "He went to fight? I thought he didn''t want to fight. Why else would he take me out?" Milena wondered.


    "He says that the Divine Empire belongs to him now. This bracelet is linked to him. And if he does, you''ll die. And only he can take off the bracelet. If you try taking it off, it''ll bring you to your death," Feronia answered.


    "Also, for some reason, he already knows that our lives are linked to yours. He''s using that to dere himself as the Emperor," she further added. "He essentially controls the lives of us all."


    "He... I shouldn''t have trusted him. He''s a bastard!" Milena let out as she pushed her up. "Take me to the Warzone."


    "You? We can''t! You can''t use any powers. It''s risky to go there," Feronia replied. "Also, he told us that we are to keep you safe here."


    "Who will you listen to? Me or him?" Milena asked, ring at Feronia.


    "I will listen to you. But Your Majesty, please listen to me. He could have sat back and sent the Nobles to fight instead. Why would he go together with them? He certainly wants to win and keep his promise to help the Empire," Feronia answered.


    "If we offended him at this stage by avoiding hismands, what is to stop him from leaving us alone in anger? And even worse, what if he decides to abandon the Empire and kill you directly? All the Nobles will die too. And he won''t be affected," she added, standing in the path of Milena.


    Milena didn''t try flying since she remembered Lucifer''s words. If she used her powers, she was going to be knocked out again. She needed Feronia''s help to fly her to the border.


    "You should listen to her." Another voice filled the hall.


    Milena turned around to find Szar with Caen.


    "So you''re here too. Not running away anymore?" Milena asked.


    "Run away from who? You? In case you''re forgetting, you''re not the Queen you were before. You''re nothing but an ordinary human," Szar replied.


    "Don''t create trouble for us. You''re to be kept here. If you don''t want to, then we can do nothing about it. Your stay here is inevitable," he added.


    Caen nodded. "That''s right. Please try to understand. He''s saving your Empire and your men. No matter what method he used, it doesn''t change the fact that it''s a good thing for you."


    "And if you go there, you''ll only be a distraction for our side. Let them deal with the enemies. If you want to talk to Lucifer about the rest, tell him when he''s back," he continued.


    "Oh? When the tigress is weak, even insects dare to talk to her as an equal?" Milena asked. "Amusing."


    "Nothing you say will affect me. And it''s evident that the battle will go on for a long time. Instead of arguing, you might as well sit down and save your energy," Caen said calmly. He sat back on the chair.


    "Feronia, don''t you dare help her. You know it''s not good for everyone," Szar reminded Feronia before he also sat on a chair.


    "Your Majesty, please?" Feronia asked Milena with a pleading look.


    Milena stared at Feronia for a long time before she ultimately gave up. She turned around and walked over to the couch, and sat. "I''ll wait."


    "That''s better," Szar let out, smirking. "Anyway, you know, I''m pretty disappointed in you."


    "Disappointed? Because your friend managed to fool me?" Milena asked. "In this case, you aren''t alone. I''m disappointed in myself as well. I should''ve been careful."


    "Not about that. It''s about something else,"?Szar responded.


    "About what then?" Milena asked.


    "When I was back in Elisium, and we were first briefed about you, I thought that you were just some lucky brat that got Powers and took control of the Empire. But it was only recently that I was told your history."


    "I felt sad about what had happened to you¡ªall those tragedies.?But I was also impressed. You didn''t have an easy life. You climbed from the bottom to take over the entire continent. That''s when I felt impressed with your achievements."


    "But to find out that it wasn''t you? It was all that Sirius who controlled your head to make you do it? That''s disappointing."


    As Szar finished speaking, he shook his head in disappointment.


    "Save your pity for yourself. I don''t need that," Milena retorted. "Moreover, you''re wrong. He didn''t control me from the start. He simply guided my path.. I did everything myself."

 Chapter 503 - 503: Swallowed By Earth

    <h4>Chapter 503 - 503: Swallowed By Earth</h4>


    "It''s only after I created the Divine Empire after winning everything that he took control of my head because not only was I rxed, thinking there were no threats anymore, but I also had faith in him. That''s when he took control of my mind," she added. "So don''t give all credit to that bastard."


    She looked down at the bracelet in her hand, disappointed.?"Now that I think about it, I suffered every time I trusted a person. First, I trusted him, and I ended up losing control of my actions. Then I trusted your friend to take his help, and he also took advantage of my trust."


    "I guess that''s why Lucifer rarely trusts anyone. At least never to the extent that he might be at risk," Caen responded. "He learned that lesson long ago. That''s why he doesn''t even trust us entirely."


    "Was he betrayed too? Is that why he goes around betraying everyone else?" Feronia asked, taking a seat as well.


    "Betrayal, I guess you can say that. His life has been rough too. In no way did he have an easier life than your queen," Caen replied.


    "What do you mean?" Feronia asked. "Can you tell me more about it?''


    "There''s no need to talk about that," Caen let out. "He would be upset if he found out we were going around telling his life story."


    "Come on! You know the story of our queen! Tell us the story of your king! Now I''m curious about him. How did he grow up to be such a scum?" Feronia asked.


    "Scum? He''s no scum. Scums were those people who...." Caen stopped mid-sentence.


    "Which people?" Feronia asked. "Don''t stop in the middle. Or is it that you''re lying? That''s why you can''t tell?"


    "That tactic won''t work on me," Caenzily said. "I''m not telling."


    "Caen, I think it''s fine," Szar said in the middle. "We can tell them."


    "What? Why?" Caen asked.


    "Now, this Empire belongs to Lucifer. All these people will be working for him. It''s better that they know some things about Lucifer too. Moreover, it''s not like it''s a secret back home," Szar answered. "If you''re not telling, I will."


    "Fine. I''ll tell. But if he''s angry, I''ll throw all responsibility at your head," Caen said, smiling wryly.


    "I doubt he will be angry just for that. His life history is known by everyone," Szar replied.


    Caen took a deep breath before he started talking about the past of Lucifer.


    "Five years... That''s how old he was when he became an orphan," Caen said. "Simr to yours, but he was three years younger."


    "As his parents died, he was also taken by some people, but in his case, the people who took him weren''t his enemies... At least that''s what it seemed. However, he was also imprisoned, just like you."


    "But there was no one to help him escape. He spent his next five years in that research facility. His powers didn''t awaken."


    ...


    "His body was tossed outside like some trash after his death."


    As Caen reached that point in the story, Milena also frowned.


    She had a bad life, but his life doesn''t appear any less bad. The only difference was that his parents weren''t killed right before him. But on the other hand, he also couldn''t escape. He was forced to embrace death.


    "Since he''s alive, I suppose he came back to life? So someone brought him back to life like Her Majesty brought us back to life?" Feronia asked.


    "No one brought him back to life. It was all his own work. He brought himself back to life by awakening his powers," Caen answered. "After that..."


    ...


    As Caen continued talking about the past of Lucifer, attracting empathy for him from his enemy, Lucifer was on the battlefield, flying straight to Andreas.


    On the ground, aser was fired towards the group of Warlocks by Duke.


    Most of the Warlocks that were in the path of the beam moved away, dodging the attack. Moreover, they also spread out in every direction as per themand of Andreas.


    Arthur also disappeared to take advantage of this suddenmotion to take some enemy out. However, as soon as Arthur disappeared, the ground under the feet of Yasmine split open, making her fall inside.


    The ground closed again after swallowing Yasmine whole.


    "Yasmine!" Arthur returned to the ce, calling to Yasmine, but within a single second, a beam of light came towards his neck.


    Arthur disappeared before the energy attack could hit him. He clenched his fist as he realized that Yasmine was probably killed. If she were alive, that energy attack would have been useless.


    Moreover, even if she was alive, he couldn''t find her without knowing where she was. Whoever took her could control the ground too.


    It was easy for someone like that to kill Yasmine.


    Even the gun which was given to Yasmine was left behind on the ground. She was defenseless.


    In the back, even Duke was disappointed. "We already lost one, and it''s only been a few minutes. Why are we fighting alone! We should attack them with all the Nobles! This Lucifer has gone crazy! We''ll die like Yasmine too."


    He looked back inside the town, noticing all. The Nobles that were still in their positions, waiting for the enemy toe.


    "Sigh, whatever. If it''s our death, then so be it," he sighed as he also vacated the wall and started flying towards the enemies, attacking with hissers.


    Thousands of attacks were fired towards him, which he struggled to avoid as well.


    Even though he mostly avoided all the attacks, some managed to scratch his arms, making them bleed. Fortunately, his flying speed was fast, making him able to avoid most of the attacks.


    The enemy had hundreds of Warlocks while Lucifer''s side only had four, one of whom was already missing, leaving only three.


    They weren''t enough to stop the enemies who kept moving past them. There were just too many enemies.


    Arthur was proving to be most effective against the enemies as his teleportation was creating a headache for his opponents. No one knew where he was going to teleport. Sometimes, he appeared at one end of the battlefield, appearing in an entirely different corner the next moment.


    Moreover, as soon as he appeared near his target, he grabbed their neck and used his supernatural strength to crush their necks. And by the time the surrounding Warlocks realized what had happened, he went to a different ce, making his tricks most effective.


    "Seventh!" Arthur muttered as he crushed the neck of his seventh target before he tried to disappear.


    "Huh?" His lips opened slightly.. His teleportation didn''t work this time.

 Chapter 504 - 504: Dont Need To Answer

    <h4>Chapter 504 - 504: Don''t Need To Answer</h4>


    Suddenly finding himself unable to teleport away, Arthur found himself being surrounded by the enemies. He had be the focus of everyone''s attention.


    A flying sword came straight towards Arthur''s head. Arthur tilted his body to the side, dodging the sword by a hair''s breadth.


    He continued trying to teleport, but for some reason, it didn''t work.


    Instead of trying to teleport, he flew in the air to avoid a barrage of attacks, flying back. He wasn''t left alone even then as a barrage of attacks was fired in his direction, leaving him no direction to avoid the attacks.


    "Come on! What is happening!" Arthur cursed, not understanding what happened.


    Fortunately, before the attacks couldnd on him, a red beam came from the distance, which destroyed the attack which was about to hit Arthur.


    "Are you alright?"


    Duke approached Arthur.


    "Do I look fine? I don''t know what''s happening, but my Teleportation has suddenly stopped working!"


    Duke floated near Arthur and continued attacking and stopping all the attacks that wereing in their direction.


    "I think it might be something simr to Yasmine''s ability. There might be a Warlock who is stopping your Teleportation. Do one thing. Go back to the wall and try testing your Teleportation. If it works, that means it''s exactly as I said."


    "What about you?" Arthur asked.


    "Don''t worry about me. I can take care of myself. You''re our most important weapon. Keeping you safe is our priority!"


    "I''ll be back immediately after testing!"


    Arthur started flying away from all the Warlocks to test the theory.


    The other Warlocks were also running towards the wall. In fact, most of them had almost reached the walls.


    "I must say, it was a really brave decision toe with only three infected to stop us. But it''s also a stupid decision. You thought you could stop us from getting inside the city with just the three of us?"


    Andreas looked in the eyes of Lucifer, who approached him.


    "It doesn''t look that hard," Lucifer repliedzily.


    "Is that so?" Andreas asked. "I think you should look behind. Most of my men are already near the wall. Soon, they''ll be inside the city. You can do nothing about it."


    "Who told you I''m going to do something about it?" Lucifer respondedzily.


    In the background, a Warlock jumped over the massive wall to enter the city.


    "There goes my first Warlock," Andreas said.


    "And there hees back," Lucifer responded, without having to even look back. Just as he said, the body of the Warlock came flying back tond outside the city.


    Andreas''s face twitched as he saw that.


    "I think you forgot something," Lucifer said. "Only three people were brought outside the city. That means all the rest are still inside. At the moment, your goal shouldn''t be to enter the city. It should be to be able to stay inside the city."


    Boom~


    With another explosion, two more Warlocks came flying outside the city tond on the ground. Their heads were bleeding as their entire body appeared to be burnt.


    Andreas frowned.


    "So the reason you came out wasn''t to stop us. It was to find us a sense of victory at being able to go past you so our men would be more rxed when they enter the city. You wanted them to underestimate the defenses."


    "Well yed. But it won''t work for long."


    "I''m sure it won''t. I don''t want it to work for long either. Just long enough until you''re all wiped out, and it starts with you," Lucifer said as his figure flickered.


    He appeared right behind Andreas and reached out his hand to grab his throat.


    His hands were only a few inches away from Andreas''s neck when Andreas disappeared to appear three feet away from Lucifer.


    "Another Teleportation user?" Lucifer muttered, frowning.


    This ability seemed too simr to the ability of Arthur. "Why is everyone getting this annoying skill?"


    "Well, you should thank your friend for giving me this ability. Or should I say, you should thank yourself for letting me take their abilities?"


    A calm smile graced the lips of Andreas.


    "So you copied their abilities?" Lucifer asked. "An ability stealer. Not bad."


    Andreas smirked.


    "Not copied. You can say I stole their abilities in their entirety. They can''t use their abilities as long as I can use theirs," Andreas smirked. "Do you now understand how futile your efforts are?"


    "Intriguing. You had that kind of ability, and even then, you were scared of attacking the Divine Empire. Let me guess... It''s because you can''t steal her abilities?" Lucifer asked.


    "I don''t think I need to answer you anything!"


    Andreas disappeared and appeared behind Lucifer. His right hand turned into beast-like ws which he thrust towards Lucifer.


    Lucifer didn''t move this time. Instead, he casually remained in his ce. The ws reached his throat, but before they could hit him, a barrier appeared around Lucifer to protect him.


    The barrier wasn''t violet like the one he used. Instead, it was blue now.


    The ws hit the barrier but couldn''t pass through.


    "This barrier? Drake?" Andreas eximed, recognizing the barrier. It seemed to have the same properties as the barrier used by Drake.


    "You can steal powers too?" Andreas asked.


    "No, but I can steal people who use those abilities," Lucifer replied.


    On the ground, Drake was standing, looking in their direction. The hole in his head was still as visible as before. His eyes were also lifeless, but he was still able to use his abilities.


    Lucifer had subtly used his w spikes to leave a parasite in the body of Drake after killing him, letting him wake up.


    Six more barriers appeared around Andrew, trapping from all sides. However, the barrier was still unable to stop his Teleportation as he appeared in front of Lucifer.


    "Ability to bring the dead back to life? It''s simr to Milena''s ability. Not bad. I wish I were able to see you use it before I filled the slot," Andreas muttered, frowning.


    "Let me guess. So that''s what it is. You need to see the person use his ability to be able to steal it?" Lucifer asked, keeping Andreas distracted.


    "No points for guesses. Also, your wind des can''t do anything. So stop using them again and again. They tickle me!"


    As Lucifer had been using wind des to target Andreas, it was clear that they weren''t working. Let alone working; they kept disappearing before they could even hit Andreas.


    "You also stole Yasmine''s powers?" Lucifer asked, taking a guess.. Seeing his attacks disappear, it was clear that it was simr to the effects of Yasmine''s domain.

 Chapter 505 - 505: Collars Effect

    <h4>Chapter 505 - 505: Cor''s Effect</h4>


    Even his own lightning attacks disappeared as soon as they reached Andreas.


    Even though the lightning attacks weren''t working on Andreas, they continued creating destruction in the Warzone.


    Only the Warlocks that were still on the field knew how chaotic the lightning was. They couldn''t even focus on fighting Duke without having to worry about the lightning falling on their heads.


    Theser of Duke was a problem on its own, mixed with his agility and his flying skills.


    ...


    Arthur flew five kilometers away from the battlefield before trying to use his teleportation, but it still didn''t work.


    "It''s not a domain skill. What happened to me?" he wondered, frowning.


    "Whatever. So what if I can''t use Teleportation! I can''t leave the battlefield!"


    He started flying back.


    As he flew back to the battlefield, he noticed the battle of Andreas and Lucifer, which had just begun. He could see Andreas Teleporting simr to how he used to do. Moreover, he could also see Lucifer''s lightning disappear as soon as it reached the vicinity of Andreas.


    He recognized both the abilities. One was his own Teleportation, while the other was Yasmine''s Energy Negation.


    "He stole our powers? Are they not working because of him? That Bastard!"


    Arthur increased his speed and started flying towards Andreas instead.


    Screech~


    Before he could even fly closer, a screeching sound filled the ce. Arthur was forced to close his ears, pained from the sound which was no less than an attack. His ears also started bleeding.


    Massive bone ws came out of the ground, seemingly belonging to a giant.


    The bone ws reached out towards Arthur, grabbing him in their palm.


    Another bone w stepped out of the ground before a skeleton head also popped out. Soon, an entirely massive skeleton came out from the ground.


    The ten-meter-tall skeleton was a giant who was holding Arthur in his palm, trying to squeeze him. However, Arthur was resisting the fist, stopping him from closing entirely.


    "Hmm?"


    Duke noticed the situation of Arthur. He changed his target and fired aser towards the skeleton.


    The bright redser hit the wrist of the giant skeleton, breaking it apart. The left w of the skeleton fell down.


    Freed, Arthur flew out. He looked towards Duke to thank him; however, he saw something else.


    "Watch out!" he screamed; however, he was toote.


    A ming sword was already too close to him, about to hit his forehead. He had no way to escape.


    As if giving up, Duke closed his eyes as he muttered, "May the Divine Empire remain victorious!"


    "Huh?"


    He had expected a painful ending, but the pain didn''te. He slowly opened his eyes as he peeked.


    "What?" As his eyes opened, he found himself stunned. There was a barrier protecting him from all sides.


    Attacks keptnding on the barrier, unable to even leave a scratch.


    "Who did this?" he muttered, but he soon noticed Drake standing on the ground, despite being dead.


    "Dead brought back to life? Who did it? If it were Her Majesty, his wound would have healed. And an enemy wouldn''t bring him back to life to help me. Does that mean Lucifer?" He muttered, ncing upwards in the direction of Lucifer.


    Boom!


    Suddenly, an explosion took ce, filling the ce where Drake was standing in a cloud of fire.


    "Look! That''s the cor taking effect! Fortunately! I thought it was malfunctioning!"


    "That''s good! I didn''t want to face Drake as an enemy! These bastards won''t have a defense now!"


    Seeing the explosion, the happiest people were none other than the Warlock Council members.


    All of them had worn the explosive cors that were to blow up their heads so they couldn''t be brought back to life by Milena after that.


    Even though Milena wasn''t here, the principal behind himing back to life seemed the same. So the blown head was supposed to take?Drake down.


    The cloud of me soon disappeared, leaving a headless body of Drake standing in its ce.


    Despite not possessing a head and shoulders, Drake still remained standing like an ugly corpse.


    Moreover, his barrier was still effective, surrounding him.


    His onlymand was to keep himself safe and to help others whenever they were in need. So he had cast a barrier around himself and was helping Lucifer and others.


    Seeing the headless Drake, even Duke was weirded out. Just what kind of ability was it? Even Milena couldn''t bring back a corpse like that to life. How was Lucifer able to?


    Even Arthur was surprised at what he saw. Previously, he was relieved that Duke managed to survive, but his pleasure soon changed to shock after seeing Drake.


    The screeching sound came again from the Skeleton, which again attacked Arthur with his right hand, which was still intact.


    "Can''t be distracted!" Arthur repeated as he started flying towards the head of the skeleton.


    The skeleton waved his hand to catch Arthur, but he wasn''t able to guess the swift movement trajectory of Arthur, who avoided all the attempts of the skeleton.


    He reached the skull and packed his fist, and thrust his fist forward.


    Boom!


    Arthur dropped to the ground brutally before he could evennd his punch. A sudden force hadnded on his body, which pushed him towards the ground.


    As Arthur crashed on the ground, a crater appeared under him. He tried pushing his body up; however, that incredible force didn''t let him.


    The skeleton raised his right foot and stomped on Arthur.


    "Heh, there goes another." A chubby man chuckled in the distance, watching the skeleton stomp Arthur.


    He was the person who had brought Arthur down to the ground with his powers. After finishing Arthur, he shifted his attention to Duke.


    "Huh?"


    As soon as he looked at Duke, his eyes widened. He saw a red beam of lighte towards him. He tried dodging to the side, but it was toote. The mean prated through his head, leaving a big hole in his face.


    Duke attacked the foot of the skeleton as well, concerned about Arthur. He left everything else behind. Nothing else was important at the moment.


    Only five Warlocks had remained behind. Others had gone to invade the city.


    Amongst the five, one was controlling the massive skeleton. The second was just killed by Duke, leaving only three more, excluding Andreas.


    Lucifer''s side also had three, from what it seemed. Duke was still alive. They also had Drake, who was stopping the attack of the three Warlocks from reaching Duke. Andstly, there was Arthur, whose life or death was unknown.


    The skeleton raised his foot, prepared to stomp again.


    Boom!


    A person came flying from a distance, crashing on the skeleton''s chest.


    Breaking the bones of the skeleton, the person crashed on the ground.

 Chapter 506 - 506: Army Of Undead

    <h4>Chapter 506 - 506: Army Of Undead</h4>


    "Cough!"


    Andreas stood up and rubbed his chest while coughing.


    The person who had crashed happened to be none other than Andreas. He was also the one who passed through the skeleton, breaking it.


    "That was impressive," he muttered as he finally stopped coughing.


    "Strength which is much superior then the strength of the infected. It should be your ability, if I''m not wrong. That is actually very intriguing. Because if I''m not wrong, our other enemy also has simr abilities," he added.


    Lucifer also came flying. He grabbed the eye socket of the skeleton before tossing it aside. Hended near the crater of Arthur.


    "Are you alright?" he asked Arthur.


    "What does it look like?" Arthur asked as he stood up.


    "Your nose is bleeding. So I suppose you''re not fine. Anyway, it seems like you lost your Teleportation ability?"


    "My wounds would soon heal. But how did you know about my Teleportation?" Arthur asked.


    "Because I already told him that I took it," Andreas said as he Teleported right behind Arthur.


    Lucifer also moved, knowing that Andreas was going to do something like this. After their back and forth, he had a general idea of Andreas''s mindset. That''s also how he was able tond an attack on Arthur.


    He had also expected Andreas to be heavily injured from his attack, but he still seemed mostly fine.


    Andreas attacked Arthur with his ws. In the meantime, Lucifer appeared in the middle of the two, changing his hand to ws too.


    Instead of saving Arthur, he attacked Andreas as well.


    His w happened to be at the same distance from Arthur''s neck as Lucifer''s w was from his chest.


    Andreas Teleported before he could be hit. But at the same time, he also missed the chance ofnding an attack.


    Andreas was one of the leaders of the Warlock Council, but not because of his powerful abilities, but mostly because of how useful and dangerous his abilities were in a battle.


    He had a variety of abilities. One of those abilities was that he was able to control wind like Lucifer because of his wings. He was also the person who helped his mennd safely on the ground.


    His other ability was that his body had a powerful defense. He was able to take powerful attacks without being killed instantly. He didn''t have any superior strength, but he had a third ability which made him a real threat.


    His third ability was known as ability theft.


    With that ability, he was able to steal any three abilities from his enemies and stack them to his own, but his ability also came with a few limitations.


    He wasn''t able to steal more than three abilities in a day. Moreover, he couldn''t keep the three abilities he stole for more than a day. At the end of the day, the abilities returned to their rightful owners. Moreover, he couldn''t steal those abilities again.


    There was one more limitation to his powers, which was that he could only steal abilities that were used before him.


    Since he saw Arthur and Yasmine use their abilities, he was pretty pleased. He understood that those two were powerful abilities. That''s why he stole those two abilities.


    As for his third slot, he was saving it for Milena. He wanted to wait until he met Milena to steal her ability of turning corpses into undead.


    Unfortunately for him, Milena wasn''t here.


    Even though Milena wasn''t here, he knew that Milena was probably inside the Empire. He kept his third slot reserved for Milena, who could change the entire battle with her ability.


    That''s also why he wasn''t taking any of Lucifer''s abilities since they were a waste for him. Even though he was intrigued about the ability to make lightning fall from the cloud, that wasn''t as good as Energy Negation.


    No lighting could hurt him as long as he had Energy Negation. Moreover, he had Teleportation, which was perfect for the battlefield.


    However, despite all that, Lucifer was creating trouble for him. For some reason, he was able to stop Andreas. It was as if he could read minds and knew where Andreas was going to appear.


    Andreas rubbed the back of his head in frustration. "You know, you''re really making me upset."


    He was also upset for losing Drake at the start. That was the most frustrating for him. Not only that but Drake was now being used against their own side.


    "It''s just the start," Lucifer muttered as he moved again.


    He flew towards Andreas.


    "You can never hurt me. Teleportation is enough for you. And energy negation is enough for your lightning," Andreaszily said. "But who is to save your friends?"


    Andreas again attacked Arthur, but this time he was stopped by Drake''s barrier. The barrier not only surrounded Arthur, but it also surrounded Duke.


    "Who told you I was looking to hurt you?" Lucifer asked as he smirked.


    Drake started attacking with his barrier. He didn''t just attack Andreas but also trapped his teammates.


    In the meantime, Lucifer kept flying in the field, stabbing the chest of all the dead Warlocks.


    "That should be enough," Lucifer muttered as he finally stopped. He stretched his arms, smiling.


    "Wake up, my brave men!" He called out, spreading his arms.


    On his call, all the dead started rising. All the Warlock Council members who had died on the battlefield stood up, returning as the warrior of Lucifer. A parasite remained inside the heart of every single one of them.


    "You!!!"


    Andreas''s face turned red in frustration. He was worried about Milena using his men. That''s why he made those cors, but now Lucifer was using them. And these cors were useless.


    All the headless bodies were standing.


    Most of them had surrounded the three Warlocks that were trapped by the barriers.


    Drake removed the barrier that was keeping them trapped, letting all the attacksnd on the Warlock Council members.


    The Warlock who could control the Skeleton was the first one to die as his head was sliced by a flying sword.


    The second Warlock was forced to his knees by powerful gravity before a ball of firended on his face, killing him.


    The third Warlock was killed by a bone spur that came out of the ground, impaling him.


    "You were saying something?" Lucifer asked Andreas, smirking. "Now, we shall see how far your Teleportation can take you."


    "You know, I was saving the third slot for Milena. But I think I''ll use it on you now.. That ability seems pretty good," Andreas responded.

 Chapter 507 - 507: Third Slot

    <h4>Chapter 507 - 507: Third Slot</h4>


    Andreas raised his right hand and changed them to ws which were simr to Lucifer''s ws.


    "And there goes the third slot," he muttered, smirking.


    "Strange. I took his power. But why can''t I control the men he brought back to life?"


    He tried using the ability he had stolen from Lucifer to control the men, but he wasn''t able to.


    It didn''t matter if he had stolen the power from Lucifer temporarily. The parasites were sent by Lucifer, and they were still connected to him.


    Andreas could use that power on others, but he couldn''t wrestle the control of the ones that Lucifer had controlled.


    Lucifer also checked his hands. He couldn''t use that ability of his anymore. But he still wasn''t surprised. He had already expected that much. However, he was really curious about the ability of Andreas.


    How was he able to steal abilities? And if he could, why didn''t he steal all the abilities at once? Why was he so selective?


    ''He can probably steal a limited number. And he appeared really unwilling to use it on me before, saying he was saving it for Milena. If I''m not wrong, then he can only steal three...'' Lucifer thought, ncing at Andreas, who kept dodging the attack.


    He wanted to use his ws on Duke and the others, but Derek''s barrier kept creating an obstruction for him. Whenever he tried attacking the Nobles, that barrier appeared to stop his attack.


    He still wasn''t overwhelmed as he had an idea. He still hadn''t used his energy negation. He was sure that he could stop the barrier with that. Moreover, then he could stab the Nobles with his ws to turn them.


    Both his hands were in the form of ws as he avoided the attacks again, making everyone forget for a moment that he had energy negation. He Teleported in front of Duke and thrust his ws ahead.


    The barrier appeared again, but before his ws could hit the barrier, he used his energy negation. At the same time, Duke used hisser; however, the energy negation worked on it too. Theser disappeared into thin air as the ws kept closing in on Duke.


    The undead that was standing far away also attacked, but their attacks also disappeared.


    Duke applied pressure on his legs to push himself back to avoid the attack, but it appeared to be toote. The ws reached his chest, prating the shirt and thrusting ahead.


    The sharp ws had entered half an inch inside the chest of Duke, which made his eyes widen in pain.


    Arthur was standing close to Duke. He flew towards him, but he appeared to bete as well.


    The hand didn''t go any further and stopped there.


    "That should be all." A calm voice fell in Duke''s ears.


    Duke moved back, letting the ws leave his chest while looking sideways at Lucifer, who was grabbing onto the wrist of Andreas.


    There was only one thought in his head. ''Fast!''


    He was amazed at how fast Lucifer reached there. Thest time he saw Lucifer, he was standing far away. But he was able to get there at the speed of lightning, stopping the attack at the right time.


    "You!" Andreas eximed, stunned that Lucifer was there so fast. Moreover, something was wrong. He didn''t know what it was, but he could feel his skin burn as soon as Lucifer''s hand touched his wrist.


    And this burning sensation was spreading all over his body. A pain was also spreading inside his body which appeared to have started getting old.


    Andreas didn''t know that Lucifer had this power since he hadn''t used it from the start, but it appeared to be something that passed through his energy negation! He couldn''t stop it. He could still try Teleportation, but he decided against it.


    He made up his mind to make Lucifer his ve by using his own ability. He stabbed his sharp ws in Lucifer''s chest, which was unprotected as he had his cloak open.


    The hand stabbed his chest and started leaving a parasite inside his body. Strangely, the parasite didn''t affect him this time. It was even weaker thanst time.


    "So you can steal abilities but the weaker version. I''m disappointed," Lucifer muttered, shaking his head. With this, he didn''t even need to be in a hurry to get the parasite out since it was already too weak.


    Instead, he used his other hand to grab the throat of Andreas firmly.


    Unable to take it anymore, Andreas Teleported away, but he was already very weak. He looked like a sixty year old man with wrinkled skin until his young self.


    "Will you keep running all the time?" Lucifer asked, shaking his head. He stabbed his hand inside his chest and grabbed the parasite before crushing it. He brought his bloodied hand out of his chest, leaving a gaping hole. The hole closed slowly.


    Andreas''s face looked ugly in frustration as he saw the wound heal. It appeared that lightning, flying, and making others his ve weren''t his only abilities.


    Lucifer nced towards Arthur, who was also looking shocked. "Your Teleportation is really an ugly ability. It''s so frustrating,"


    Arthur didn''t reply. He remained shocked at Lucifer''s healing. It was faster than his own ability for some reason. Just what exactly was he?


    All the Warlocks that were still alive had already jumped inside the city, leaving only Andreas behind, who was still alive. All the others were dead and turned to enemies.


    Moreover, his own condition wasn''t good at all. He found himself trapped in this ce. He couldn''t get any advantage over the enemies. At best, he could only Teleport.


    He was starting to regret the abilities he had stolen. He believed that he shouldn''t have stolen the revival skill of Lucifer since it didn''t appear to work as he thought.


    Moreover, the Teleportation was good, but it wasn''t working either. Derek was spoiling it.


    As for his Energy Negation, it was a good defensive skill, but it was useless if it couldn''t stop that decay and other such skills.


    "I''m getting bored here. This stalemate isn''t fun. I''ll be going. You guys y amongst yourself," he calmly said before he disappeared.


    "Running away?" Arthur asked, hearing the words.


    Lucifer looked around, wondering where Andreas was. Did he actually run away?


    As he looked back, he saw Andreas flying towards the city instead.


    "Since he can''t defeat us, he wants to fight inside the city. Probably to kill some people and get some self confidence," Dukemented.


    He squinted his eyes, firing a redser towards Andreas, but theser disappeared as soon as it reached him. "That freaking energy negation!"


    "Leave it.. Lucifer is going after him personally," Arthur chimed in, pointing towards Lucifer, who was already on the trail of Andreas.

 Chapter 508 - 508: Changes

    <h4>Chapter 508 - 508: Changes</h4>


    Andreas entered the city, hoping to see a scene where his men were wiping the floor with nobles, but something was wrong. Other than a few destroyed buildings, he couldn''t find anything. Something was wrong.


    Where were his men? What happened to them?


    He couldn''t find most of his men.?It was as if they had disappeared into thin air? Where were they?


    Confused, he flew deeper into the city in the direction of the Royal Pce, but he still couldn''t find them. After a certain point, there was no trail of destruction.


    "What happened to them? Are they eaten by the sky or swallowed by clouds? Where exactly are they?"


    Boom~


    He heard a loud explosion. The ground split apart, and a headless body flew outside.


    Andreas moved back, avoiding the body, but seeing the attire, he was sure that it was one of his men.


    The headless body dropped to the ground. The opening on the ground closed.


    "They are underground?" Andreas muttered, frowning.


    He flew downstairs, but he hastily retracted, avoiding the fist of Lucifer, which was about tond on his face. However, even though he moved back, he wasn''t entirely safe as a round kicknded on his chest, making him fly back.


    Rubbing his aching chest, he stood up. "You''re here ag-"


    He started speaking, but before he could even finish, a fistnded on his chin, making him fly straight up.


    The sudden punch managed to break a few of his teeth. His mouth was filled with blood.


    Thoo!


    He spat the mouthful of blood as he bnced himself. However, another punch came towards his face. As if already expecting it this time, Andreas Teleported behind Lucifer and kicked the back of Lucifer, making him fly as well.


    "If you want to try like that, then so be it! All I need to do is stop you from touching me!" Andreas dered as he Teleported above Lucifer and kicked down, however just as he talked about not getting caught, exactly that happened.


    Lucifer caught his ankle before shing a cheeky smile.


    He stabbed the chest of Andreas, but before he could crush his heart, Andreas Teleported away.


    Andreas held his chest as he appeared ten meters away from Lucifer. His chest had a big hole, but unlike Lucifer, he didn''t have healing.


    He looked down at the wound, pale faced. Even if he could escape, he was sure that the bleeding was going to be enough to kill him. He didn''t have much time left. Even if he was going to die, he wanted to die with Lucifer.


    He Teleported right before Lucifer and threw his hand to stab Lucifer''s neck with his sharp ws, unending to cut his head.


    However, once again, his hand was caught. Expecting that, he Teleported behind Lucifer and made the same attack against him. Once again, his hand was caught, but instead of moving again, he used his other w for a simr attack.


    Lucifer also grabbed his other hand without turning back. Firmly grasping both the hands of the man, he freed one hand and used the other to toss Andreas ahead before flying straight to him.


    Andreas''s body had started turning cold as the blood loss continued. His body also grew weaker. Soon, he wasn''t even able to move his hands, which were trembling.


    Lucifer appeared above Andreas and once again inserted his hand inside the chest of Andreas. This time, he grabbed the heart of Lucifer and pulled it out.


    Andreas''s pale face became even paler as he felt even thest glimpse of light disappear. His body started falling.


    Boom~


    The cor on his neck blew up, taking off his head while following the surrounding with mes.


    Lucifer hastily brought out his gloves to hold the heart which had started decaying in his hands.


    After carefully securing the heart, he flew down to the ground. Whatever remained of Andreas''s body was decayed by him, leaving only the heart as hisst remaining piece.


    "I''m still not sure if it will work. But with the ming Noble in the prediction, it worked because I absorbed whatever little bit of him remained. I wonder if it''ll work too. His ability certainly is good.


    He took off his cloak and ced it on the ground. Next, he ced the heart on the cloak.


    He also took off his shirt, leaving himself bare chested.


    "I hope it works," he muttered as he rubbed his stomach. Even though he was ustomed to pain, he still felt off after doing such things.


    He changed his left hand to ws and stabbed them in his stomach, creating a home. He pulled out his hand, and before the hole could close, he picked up the heart and inserted that inside his stomach.


    This time, he kept his fingers on the heart, letting it decay inside his body. Andreas''s heart decayed inside the body of Lucifer, turning into pure energy which was absorbed inside his body.


    After he finished decaying, he brought his hand out and let the hole close.


    He closed his eyes and started feeling the changes inside his body. Unlike before, he didn''t feel much different. That changed abruptly though.


    He felt slightly ufortable. His back had started itching for some reason. That itching continued, only intensifying with time, which forced him to scratch uncontrobly.


    The more he scratched, the more that itching increased. His back also started turning red.


    "What is happening?" As he scratched, he could feel somethinging off his body. He wanted to see what was happening. He needed a mirror!


    Without stopping, he flew straight towards a building that had ss gates. He faced his back towards the ss door and tried to turn his neck to see behind him.


    He couldn''t turn his neck to that extent, but he was still able to see behind.


    "That''s that tattoo? When did it get there?"


    The first thing he noticed was a circr tattoo. He hadn''t known about that tattoo until now.


    "Wait a minute. Did I always have that? It looks simr to what was on the key?" he muttered, confused.


    His attention was soon shifted to the thing which wasing out of his back. It appears to be something ck and feathery.


    It kept getting bigger and bigger, and the itching stopped as well.


    Lucifer soon recognized what it was. It appeared that he had actually managed to steal the powers of Andreas and these wings were one of those.


    His wings were different from the wings of Andreas though.. His wings were ck, unlike the white ones of Andreas.

 Chapter 509 - 509: Stupid Plan

    <h4>Chapter 509 - 509: Stupid n</h4>


    His wings also looked less like an angel and more like the wings of a Demon near his shoulders. Each of his wings appeared to be one and a half meters long, which didn''t appear to be much.


    "One thing I didn''t want to borrow from him," Lucifer muttered, shaking his head. He expected to take the powers and not the physical features, which could mess with his look.


    "What happened to you?" Arthurnded before Lucifer, noticing his wings.


    Duke alsonded beside him. "Where''s that guy?"


    "He''s dead," Lucifer replied. "Now stop wasting my time and finish up the rest. Leave me alone."


    Lucifer was already pretty upset because of these wings. He didn''t want to spend more time talking about it.


    He flew away, picking his cloak on the way.


    After finding a peaceful ce, he againnded on the ground and started to wonder about his wings.


    "Should I cut them? But what if they grow again? There must be a way. If they''re because of a power, then there must be a way to keep them froming out as long as I want."


    He closed his eyes and tried to focus on retrieving the wings.


    ...


    "What happened to him? He looked upset," Duke asked.


    "Don''t worry about him. He''s right. We should be more concerned about the others. Their leader is already out. Let''s help the others in taking the rest out too," Arthur responded, sighing.


    Duke nodded and looked down during hiszer on the ground, making a hole that was big enough to amodate both of them.


    After making the hole in the ground, he jumped down. Arthur also jumped down.


    Taking a short flight underground, theynded on the ground.


    "Hmmm? You already cleared the rest?" Arthur asked, surprised.


    Under the ground, there was an ample empty space where all Nobles were standing.


    All the Warlocks were also dragged here in the midst of battles to keep the city safe. Not only that but the Warlocks were also killed swiftly by now.


    Marks of destruction could be seen everywhere. Craters could also be seen on the ground, which was filled with headless bodies that seemed to have suffered the explosion of the cors.


    The Nobles also had torn clothes that were covered in blood. However, they had mostly healed by now.


    "Of course. Did you expect us to be defeated?" A red-haired Noble Lord replied, smiling. "Anyway, where''s Yasmine?''


    "She''s dead," Arthur answered. "What''s the number of casualties here?"


    "We lost ten Nobles and fifty newborns," the red haireddy answered.


    "Ten Nobles... That''s a lot..." Arthur muttered. "Her Majesty wouldn''t like it."


    "What can I say? The enemies were strong. In fact, ten is after the fact that we could heal. If not, the number would have been too high. We really shouldn''t have underestimated the foreigners," thedy replied.


    "Also, as far as Her Majesty is concerned, I think she''s going to be more upset at the loss of Yasmine," she added, sighing. "Let''s go to her. The others will clean up here.''


    Arthur nodded and flew outside with Duke and the red-haireddy known as Jis.


    "Where''s that Lucifer now?" Jis asked.


    "No idea. After killing the enemy leader, he just took off. He didn''t look happy," Duke replied. "Who knows where he went."


    "Let''s just hope that he ran away and won''t ever return. We don''t need that bastard in our Empire," Jis replied.


    "I don''t think you should be that harsh. No matter what, he helped us while putting his life in danger," Arthur muttered, shaking his head. "Even though I hate to admit it."


    "Help? What help? He kept Her Majesty out of the war and inserted himself. In essence, we lost our Strongest Warrior in exchange for him! So it was certainly not worth it!" Jis retorted.


    "Moreover, his n was stupid! Instead of separation, we should''ve been together! Yasmine would have been alive if Her Majesty was there!" she continued.


    "I''m not sure about that. I think there was a good chance that Her Majesty would have been hurt too. And keeping everyone there would have been dangerous," Arthur answered.


    "Preposterous! Are you trying to say that Lucifer did better than our queen would have done? You''re going off the deep end of the cliff, it seems!"


    "That''s not it. I''m saying this because I saw the powers of their leader! He was able to steal powers. He stole mine and Yasmine''s powers! And just imagine, if Her Majesty was there, he could have stolen her powers too!"


    "What if he stole her powers to bring people back to life? He would have brought his men to life! And used our advantage against us! He would have had all the powers of his men then, who would''ve had our healing too!"


    "Just tell me this. How many people would have died if the Warlocks had our Noble abilities and healing too? And then tell me what was better. Keeping her away from the battle and splitting up or not having her join the battle?" Arthur asked.


    "On this topic, I''ll have to side with Arthur too," Duke chimed in. "It would have been risky to have Her Majesty there. Lucifer''s trick to take her out of the battle was bad, but it worked for the better."


    "Hmph," Jis rolled her eyes. "Still, it doesn''t change the fact that Lucifer is a scummy person who used the goodwill of Her Majesty to snatch her control!''


    "I won''t argue there," Duke let out, smiling wryly.


    The roof of the guest house was already broken for the most part. Instead of going through the door, the Nobles flew in through the opening in the roof.


    "And that''s when he took over Elisium, finishing the first chapter of his life and a small part his quest for revenge." Caen finished the story of Lucifer up to the point of his takeover of Elisium.


    He intentionally skipped some part of the story about the goal of their takeover of the world and the reason they came to the Divine Empire. At the same time, he didn''t forget to mention their enmity with the Warlock Council to get some goodwill from Milena.


    "Who took over what?" Arthur asked,nding in the middle of the conversation.


    "Arthur! You''re back. How did it go? Is the battle over?" Milena asked, standing up.


    "It went ording to the n. We won the war. All the enemies are dead," Arthur nodded.


    "That was fast.. I thought it''ll take longer," Feroniamented. "So, how was the battle? How many enemies were there? And is there any loss to our side?"

 Chapter 510 - 510: Alive

    <h4>Chapter 510 - 510: Alive</h4>


    Lucifer sat in the middle of the battlefield outside the city in silence, trying to see if he could retract the wings.


    It had already been twenty minutes since he arrived here, and he appeared to be gaining some control over the wings. He was able to control and move them. Moreover, he could also make the wings disappear now, retracting them.


    It was only after he retracted the wings that he sighed a breath of relief.


    "Finally," he muttered, sighing a breath of relief.


    He stood up, stretching his arms. "Fortunately, it was controble."


    He brought the gloves out of his pocket and wore them before donning his cloak again. Since the shirt was already destroyed, he hadn''t taken it when he flew here, which made it such that he wasn''t wearing any shirt inside the clock.


    He didn''t close the cloak either, letting his chest remain visible to some extent.


    "Now, what shall I do with them all?"


    He looked at all the headless Warlocks that were a part of his army now because of the parasite. Even though they all looked ugly, he didn''t want to waste them.


    The strength of theirs was very good indeed, especially Drake''s, whose barrier was the most powerful one he had seen.


    As he stared at the bodies, an idea popped in his head while a devilish smirk crept up his lips.


    Taking small steps, he walked towards Drake while alsomanding him toe closer to him. The distance between the two of them kept decreasing until there was only half a meter of distance left between them.


    Lucifer took off his left hand glove.


    "Since you''re already dead, I suppose you won''t me me," he muttered as he stabbed his right hand in the chest of Drake.


    He grabbed the heart of Drake and pulled it out. Drake still didn''t fall on the ground, even though his heart was taken out.


    Lucifer grabbed the arms of Drake, letting his decay take effect. Drake''s body was destroyed, leaving nothing behind. Even the parasite which was inside his body was destroyed.


    "Let''s see if it works. If it does work as intended, I shall have a lengthy feast," Lucifer let out as he nced at all the undead Warlocks behind him.


    He followed the same procedure as he did with Andreas and stabbed his stomach with his hand before inserting the heart inside his body with his right hand.


    As the heart reached inside his body, he used his left hand to grasp it, decaying it inside his body.


    Within seconds, the heart and whatever remained of Drake werepletely destroyed.


    Lucifer felt a different kind of strength inside his body. To test his theory, he tried casting the blue barrier that Drake used.


    "Hmm? It''s not working? I failed?"


    "That''s strange. Is it because he was dead for a long time?"


    The barrier didn''t work, even after he tried multiple times, making him think that the bodies had some problem.


    "It would be a big waste in that case," hemented, frowning.


    He had nned to take the powers of all the Warlocks, but it didn''t work. The only conclusion he coulde up with was that it was because the bodies were dead for a longer time.


    "Do I really have no easier option than to carry all this weight in their current form to Elisium? Nah, other than Drake, none of them is particrly exceptional. It would be better to turn fresh enemies in wars."


    He was already disappointed that he wasted Drake. If he was to take one undead with him who he considered worthy, it was going to be Drake. Unfortunately, he destroyed the body of Drake, thinking he could take his powers.


    As for the rest, he didn''t find them worthy toe with him on flights back to Elisium. It wasn''t a good look, and it wasn''t worth it either.


    He decided to destroy the undead that were left.


    "At least they can be good for target practice."


    He raised his right hand towards the Warlock, who was standing the farthest.


    "What? I can''t fire lightning either? What''s happening?"


    He wanted to fire lightning from his hands and not from the sky, but nothing happened. For some reason, it didn''t work.


    He tried again, but it still didn''t work. Next, he tried using lightning from the sky, and that worked as intended.?A lightning bolt fell on the undead Warlock, destroying most of his body.


    "I don''t get it. This works, but that doesn''t?"


    "Decay works too. Then why is lightning misbehaving?"


    He tried testing his other powers just to be sure.


    He was still able to turn his hands to ws. He could still fly, but he couldn''t use wind des in close proximity. He also tried casting the barrier that he had received from a Dungeon Dweller, but that didn''t work either.


    "This... This looks awfully lot like energy negation? It''s as if I''m inside a barrier and can''t use those attacks in its range?"


    Frowning, he flew up.


    After he reached a certain height, he tried again, but this time he was able to use the lightning perfectly fine.


    "As expected. This was an Energy Negation Domain! But how could it be? Andreas stole the powers of Yasmine, and he''s dead. After his death, no one should be able to use Energy Negation since it should return to its original owner, who is dea-"


    "Ahh, so that''s it! She is still alive, despite being swallowed by the ground. It must be the work of a Warlock."


    He looked down at the ground, assured that Yasmine was trapped inside, but he couldn''t get her out. He could break the ground, use lightning to attack the ground to make an opening, but he didn''t.


    He didn''t know where she was. It could hurt and kill Yasmine too.


    Even though he wanted to help Yasmine and it wasn''t good news, his eyes suddenly lit up in excitement.


    "Wait, if that ce is under the effect of Energy Negation, does that mean Drake''s barrier didn''t work because of that?"


    He wanted Drake''s powers at any cost. He was highly disappointed that he couldn''t get that, but now there was a possibility that it was all because of the Energy Negation?


    He once again raised his hand and tried casting a barrier.


    This time, the barrier appeared as normal. Moreover, it was exactly the same as the barrier of Drake, which brought a smile to Lucifer''s lips.


    "Just perfect!"


    Hemanded all the undead to attack the barrier to test his strength.. ording to hismands, all the Undead started attacking at the same time.

 Chapter 511 - 511: I Need You

    <h4>Chapter 511 - 511: I Need You</h4>


    A myriad of attacksnded on the barrier; however, none was able to destroy it.


    "As expected. A perfect addition," Lucifer muttered, smiling.


    "Fortunately, his n hadn''t failed. He hadn''t wasted Drake. Moreover, now he didn''t need to take an Army of Undead or destroy them. Instead, he couldn''t take them all in a different form. He could carry all their powers with him.


    Most of the Warlocks that were brought here were powerful Warlocks of the Warlock Council. And mostly, all of them had incredible powers.


    Hended on the ground and started approaching all the Warlocks one by one. He kept collecting their hearts and before destroying their bodies.


    From what he knew, this ability worked when he absorbed thest remnant of a being, so he didn''t forget to destroy their bodies before absorbing, just to be sure.


    After one hour and absorbing forty hearts, he finally finished with them all.


    "Now, I shall help Yasmine get out too."


    As he finished absorbing, his attention returned to Yasmine. He started flying away instead of trying to dig the ground.


    He went back inside the city and went underground, where the battle between Warlocks and Nobles took ce. He wanted to hunt two birds with one arrow.


    One was to find the Noble who could control earth to take Yasmine out, and the other was to absorb the rest of the Warlocks.


    "Hmm? Where are the bodies?" Lucifer asked, confused.


    Inside the underground arena, only Nobles were standing. There appeared to be no bodies, only fires burning here and there.


    "We burnt their corpses." A Noble Lord approached Lucifer.


    Lucifer scratched the back of his head, but he wasn''t too upset. Even though it was a lost opportunity, he believed he already got what he wanted for the most part.


    Moreover, he had managed to collect crucial information which he could use to make himself stronger.


    "I want you toe with me," Lucifermanded the dark-haireddy who answered him.


    "Come where?" Thedy asked, frowning.


    "Don''t ask questions. I need you right now," Lucifer responded.


    As thedy heard his words, she felt something was wrong. What did he mean he needed her? The War was already over. So why could he need her?


    She knew he was a man, and she had heard thatmoners had high sexual desirespared to Nobles. She couldn''t help but wonder if he wanted her for that?


    The Dark-Haireddy took a step back before he replied. "I won''te unless you tell me what you need me for!"


    "I need you to create an opening in the ground for me. You''re the Warlock who made this underground ce for battles. I need that simr expertise. So are youing or not?"


    "You need me to use my powers? Why didn''t you say that in the first ce? You scared me," thedy let out, sighing.


    "Scared you how?"


    "N-nothing. Lead me to the ce."


    ....


    Lucifer brought thedy outside the city to the spot where he had felt the energy negation.


    "Don''t go ahead. Your powers won''t work after a certain point," Lucifer warned thedy.


    "Yasmine is trapped inside the ground, I think. And for some reason, she''s using her Energy Negation. It''s probably to give a signal, but she did not stop even after we knew. So your powers won''t work inside her Domain," he added.


    "Don''t worry about that. My powers will work even in her Domain since they work differently," the woman answered. "But it''s a good news. I thought she was dead."


    "We all did," Lucifer muttered. "Get her out now.''


    Thedynded on the ground and ced her hand on the ground before closing her eyes.


    "So there she is."


    The ground split apart, creating an opening to the small space where Yasmine was trapped.


    As the ground was split apart, it was discovered that Yasmine was actually trapped ten meters underground, in a space that was only one meter wide and as tall as her height. She didn''t even have room to move hands


    However, now that the ground had opened, enough space was made.


    Yasmine flew up andnded on the ground, breathing heavily.


    "Thank you so much, Aslima! I thought I was going to die there!" she thanked the dark-haired Noble as she rubbed her chest.


    "Well, I think you should thank him, instead," Aslima answered, smiling. "He told me about you being trapped here. If he hadn''t said that, we would still be considering you dead. And we proudly wouldn''t have found you for a very long time."


    Yasmine nced towards Lucifer. She bowed her head. "Thank you for the help."


    "Don''t mention it. You fought for me, so it''s my responsibility," Lucifer answered.


    ''It also helps that you''re alive. I said I wouldn''t let anyone die under me. And with your survival, that makes it true. The three people I brought with me are all alive,'' he thought.


    As for how many of them died inside the city, it wasn''t his concern. He could only protect the ones that were with him.


    Moreover, he already did a lot for your Empire.


    "Let''s go back now. Her Majesty probably heard about your death too. She would be happy after knowing that you''re alive," Aslima informed Yasmine, who nodded.


    They both looked towards Lucifer to take the lead. Even though they didn''t like it, he was still the temporary leader. They needed to have him fly first so they couldn''t offend him.


    Lucifer understood why they were waiting. He didn''t dy much and flew back, followed by Yasmine and Aslima.


    ....


    "Yasmine died too?" Milena asked, ring at Arthur.


    "She did. The enemies were too many. Moreover, one of them stole mine and Yasmine''s powers in the battle. We couldn''t do much. If not for Lucifer, a lot of us would''ve been dead," Arthur answered.


    Duke nodded. "I agree. The enemies were stronger than anyone could have expected with their powers, especially their leader. The theft of powers was shocking. I am just d that Her Majesty didn''t join the battle. If he had stolen your powers, it would''ve been a disaster."


    Milena lowered her head and didn''t speak. There were many thoughts in her head. She needed to think about it deeply. Her people had died. She needed to think about who was responsible for it.


    Was Lucifer''s betrayal responsible? Or did his betrayal help her instead since the war would have turned ugly if her powers were stolen?


    As Milena was wondering about these things, a new group entered the Pce.. But this time, they entered through the main entrance.

 Chapter 512 - 512: You Need More

    <h4>Chapter 512 - 512: You Need More</h4>


    Lucifer walked in the lead as he stepped inside the Guest ce.


    Yasmine and Aslima walked behind him, one on the left and one on his right.


    "You''re back!" Szar was the first to notice Lucifer.


    After him, Caen and the others also noticed him.


    While Szar and Caen were concerned about Lucifer, the others were staring at Yasmine.


    "You are alive?" Arthur asked.


    "Yeah. I was trapped in the ground. These two help me get out," Yasmine answered.


    Milena also stood up. She was pleased that Yasmine was alive. The loss of Nobles wasn''t much for her, but the Noble Lords were the ones who were truly close to her.


    With Yasmine''s return, all the Noble Lords were safe now.


    "It appears that you''re up as well," Lucifer said, observing Milena. "That bracelet does look good on you. I suppose Feronia told you about all that you need to know about that bracelet?"


    "I was waiting for you too. The broken child who now wants to break everyone else. Is that why you don''t want to let me roam free?" Milena asked Lucifer.


    Lucifer frowned, hearing her words. What did she mean by broken child?


    He red at Caen, understanding a few things. But he didn''t say anything.


    He looked back at Milena. "I don''t understand what you''re talking about."


    "The son of the hero, forced to turn into a viin. A kid broken by society? Is that not you?" Milena asked.


    "It appears that someone told you about me more than they should have," Lucifer muttered. "But it doesn''t matter. Words are useless now."


    "Moreover, you do know that I can also use words, right?" He added as he walked to the chair and sat, one leg resting above the other. "And remember, my words will be much sharper."


    He didn''t appear phased at her words.


    "Don''t misunderstand me. I''m not mocking you. It''s just that knowing more about you helped me understand you more," Milena replied as she sat as well, facing Lucifer.


    The two of them sat face to face, at a few meters of distance from each other.


    Szar and Caen stood near Lucifer while the Nobles stood near Milena.


    "And may I ask what you understood?" Lucifer asked.


    "At first, I used to think that you were just like the Empires that destroyed my home, despite our goodwill. Even I extended my hand for support; you trapped me," Milena said, frowning.


    "With that, you didn''t appear any different than all the cruel people I crushed under my feet. Simrly, I also wanted to crush you under my feet. But after knowing more about you, I realized that you might be slightly different," she added.


    "And how? If I may ask?" Lucifer asked.


    "You are cruel, and you are clever. But it''s not because your heart is cruel. It''s not because you want to destroy the world. You do it all for a different reason," Milena said.


    "What different reason?" Lucifer asked.


    "To keep yourself safe. After dying so many times at the hands of those stronger than you, you have lost all the faith. You are scared. You are scared for yourself. It''s simr to how I was."


    " I wanted to destroy all the Empires for my revenge, but a part of it was also because I felt I was going to feel safer after all my enemies were gone. I did that on a small scale, but you''re trying to do that on a big scale."


    "What do you mean?" Lucifer asked, smirking.


    "I destroyed the Empires in the continent of Darkness so I could stay in peace. But that was the limit of my ambition. You, on the other hand, want to either destroy or take over all the powers that have the potential to kill you. Isn''t that true?" Milena asked.


    Lucifer nced at Caen, frowning. He couldn''t help but wonder exactly how much they told her.


    "Don''t worry; they didn''t tell me anything about your ambitions or goals ining here. But it wasn''t hard to guess either," Milena replied.


    "From what I know, my Divine Empire and the Warlock Council are two of the most powerful forces in this World. Taking us down would mean no one would be able to threaten you. It''s easy to guess."


    " That''s why you have enmity with the Warlock Council, and that''s also why you pulled that trick on us," she continued.


    "And why are you so sure? Can''t it be that the only reason for my enmity with the Warlock Council is because of what they did to me? And the reason for meing here was the stone," Lucifer replied.


    "I might have believed that if you hadn''t dragged me down," Milena answered, showing her bracelet.


    "You already had my portion of the stone and the promise of my support, but you still pulled this trick. Why? Because you don''t trust in cooperation. Probably because your father was betrayed by his teammates?"


    "I mean, it''s not as if you trust your own men, let alone trusting me. This bracelet? If I''m not wrong, it was in the hands of Szar before me. Probably because you were intimidated by him too?"


    "A person like you isn''t capable of trust any more. The person who can''t even trust his own men? How can I expect him to trust me?" She asked.


    "Well, you''re in luck then. Because I don''t need you to expect either, as long as you stay in your ce, you''ll be fine. Don''t cross me, and maybe one day I''ll take off that bracelet," Lucifer responded.


    "To get trust, you need to earn it with your actions like Szar did by not leaving Caen behind at the time of need," he continued.


    "That''s what you say. But we both know you still didn''t trust him entirely, do you?" Milena asked, smirking.


    Lucifer didn''t answer. Instead, he changed the topic. "If you''re finished with all this nonsense, can we get to the point?"


    "And what point will that be?" Milena asked, amused.


    "As you already know, you can''t break that bracelet or use your powers. Moreover, the life of you and all your Nobles is in my hand. That means you will work for me from now on. Are we clear?" Lucifer asked.


    "Heh, let me guess. You want to use my Nobles in your war with the Warlock Council?"?Milena asked.


    "My war?" Lucifer smirked. "Youngdy, this is now your war more than mine. The Warlock Council''s team has died here. And trust me, they weren''t even a fraction of their full powers. It was just one leader of theirs with his team. They had many more!"


    "Who knows, next time they''lle with all their force to destroy the Divine Empire? You need them dead more than I do," he added.

 Chapter 513 - 513: Crowd

    <h4>Chapter 513 - 513: Crowd</h4>


    "And if you think you don''t need to take them out anymore than I do, I would be happy to wait and watch. I give it one month at most before they mount their full scale attack on the Divine Empire," he added.


    Hearing Lucifer, Milena understood that he wasn''t lying either. It was true that he had enmity with the Warlock Council, but it was also true that she was probably the biggest enemy in the eyes of the Warlock Council. They were probably going to return soon.


    "I think you already know that much," Lucifer continued. "So it''s not that I want to use your Nobles to fight my wars. It''s instead you who will be giving me your Nobles to take the Warlock Council out."


    All the Noble Lords looked at Milena, waiting for her response.


    "So it''s clear that we''ll all be fighting the Warlock Council," Milena nodded. "Don''t you think it would be better if I could use my powers again?"


    She raised her hand to reveal the bracelet again.


    "Oh, don''t worry about that. I fully intend to use your abilities to their fullest extent, but that won''t need me taking off the bracelet," Lucifer replied.


    He stood up and walked closer to Milena, and touched her bracelet gently.


    The red light on the bracelet turned green.


    "Now, you can use your powers without being hurt, but you still can''t take that off. If you even try, you''ll get badly hurt. And the link to me still stays. If I''m hurt, that limiter will kill you. So you should know how to behave."


    He sat back on the couch. Now that he had the ability of Derek, he wasn''t concerned about his safety. He didn''t need to keep Milena restricted.?He was sure that he could take care of her easily now.


    The only reason he had used the Limiter on her was because he was concerned about her after what he went through. He had been too rxed and confident recently, which got him trappedst time.


    He wanted some time to think about how to handle Milena. She was more threatening than any other Warlock from the Warlock Council in his eyes.


    He didn''t want to trust her in haste and fight beside her, just because a team of Warlock Council was at the door.


    Now that the Warlock Council problem was solved temporarily, he could think with a calm head.


    Milena raised her right finger in the direction of Lucifer. A white sphere of light appeared above her finger, floating in the air.


    She could actually use her powers without being hurt. It appeared that he wasn''t lying about that either.


    "Shall I consider it your willingness to fight beside me?" Milena asked.


    Now that she was allowed to use her powers, she wondered if he wasn''t scared of her anymore.


    "Of course you can. You can''t kill me in any case. And even if you did, you''ll die as well. Not only that, if I end up in a mental prison or something like that, you''ll die even then. So you can''t use the trick either," Lucifer answered.


    "I won''t keep you restricted. You''re free to do whatever you want but remember. I control your life now," he added as he stood up.


    "Caen, Szar, follow me."


    He started walking away, leaving a stunned Milena behind.


    "Where are you going?"


    Milena followed Lucifer. The other Noble Lords also did the same.


    "We''re going to the city to eat something. I haven''t eaten in a long time. I''m hungry," Luciferzily answered. "You don''t have toe. I don''t want a crowd with me."


    "Crowd?" Milena asked, ncing back. It was true. All the Nobles wereing behind her. "You all go back to the Pce and take care of the repair works. I''ll be back."


    She directly told her men to stop following her. Since it was a matter of crowd, it didn''t matter if she came alone.


    Arthur released a mouthful of breath, but he didn''t say no. He stopped with the rest.


    Milena left the Guest pce, flying behind Lucifer, who was carrying Caen and Szar with his winds too.


    "Do you need toe? It''s not as if you will eat anything. As for blood, you won''t get any in the open," Lucifer told thedy who was flying beside him.


    "Who told you I only drink blood? Unlike the Nobles, I can survive on both. I didn''t always drink blood, after all. Blood is a necessity for the Nobles, but it''s only a luxury for me," Milena answered. "In any case, do you even know where the human restaurants are? I can guide you."


    "Are you trying to win my trust?" Lucifer asked. "Acting close won''t make me take off the bracelet."


    "It doesn''t matter. As long as I can use my abilities to protect my people, I don''t care about this bracelet. Also, even though I don''t like the thought of my life linked with yours, if it had to be anyone, I''m d it''s someone with your healing abilities, which are stronger than mine."


    "How do you know about my healing? You weren''t in the War? Ah, Arthur and Duke told you. I got it."


    "Nope. I found it from your story. I mean, your story starts from a dead personing back to life. It''s safe to say that you can heal," Milena replied.


    She pointed in a direction. "Look there! That''s the best restaurant, ording to what I heard."


    "You heard? You didn''t go there?" Lucifer asked.


    "I didn''t. But I ate the food made by the chef of this restaurant in the Pce a few times. I think you''ll like it," Milena answered.


    Lucifer felt suspicious at how innocent Milena was acting. It was as if she had no ill intention towards him.


    He wondered if it was because she came to terms with the reality that she needed him? Or was it because she wanted to have him take off the bracelet like he took off Szar.


    Lucifernded before the restaurant that was suggested by Milena. Pushing the door open, he stepped inside.


    The restaurant interior was pretty ordinary. There were wooden chairs surrounding rectangr wooden tables. ss windows gave a view of the outside and let lights in.


    A middle-aged man was sitting on one of the chairs, keeping his eyes closed as if he had fallen asleep.


    Since there was a war on the horizon, the Nobles had dered that no one was to leave their homes.. That deration was still in effect since the general public didn''t know that the war was over.

 Chapter 514 - 514: Warlock Councils Move

    <h4>Chapter 514 - 514: Warlock Council''s Move</h4>


    As for the middle-aged man, he was the owner of this restaurant, and it was also his home. He didn''t leave this ce.


    "It appears to be closed. There''s only one man here, and even he''s sleeping," Caen muttered. He walked towards the man and shook his shoulders. "Wake up."


    "Huh? What?"


    The man suddenly opened his eyes, still slightly sleepy.


    As his eyes opened, the first person he saw was Caen. However, the next person his eyes fell on was enough to make his face go pale.


    "Y-your Majesty!"


    He stood up in respect before going down on his knees.


    "Is the restaurant closed?" Milena asked. "I was hoping my guests could have something delicious to eat."


    "Ah, I sent them home because of the warnings by the lordships. They are all at their homes. But you don''t have to worry! I can prepare the best dish of our restaurant personally for you all!" The man dered.


    "Prepare fast. Some people are really hungry," Milena said, ncing towards Lucifer.


    Lucifer walked towards the table closest to the window and sat down.


    Milena sat in the chair which was right beside him.


    Szar took the chair on the other end of the table with Caen.


    Lucifer kept ncing out the window in silence, not speaking. Caen also kept his mouth closed, checking the menu which was lying on the table.


    "This ce isn''t half bad. It looks simr to the restaurant which I had back in my hometown." Szar broke the silence.


    "It is decorated by Feronia. So you should thank her for that," Milena said.


    "Hmm? Why would a Noble decorate this ce?" Szar asked, surprised.


    Even Caen and Lucifer grew slightly curious about it.


    "Because she owns this ce," Milena answered. "That man who just went to cook for you? He is the owner and also the father of Feronia."


    "Feronia''s father is alive?" Lucifer asked.


    "Did you want him dead? Feronia wasn''t from the Divine Empire. She lived with her father in the Southern Empire. In my war with the Empires, she was killed by Duke."


    "After that, I turned her. When the Divine Empire was established, she and her father shifted here. She oftenes here to help her father with things like management and decoration, but not many people know about this because she secretlyes when no one is here."


    "Why would shee secretly? She''s one of the most powerful people in this Empire. She could alsoe openly?" Szar asked.


    "She doesn''t want anyone to know that she''s rted to this restaurant. She wants her father to live an ordinary life. If civilians knew she was rted to this ce, they would get intimidated."


    " Their behavior towards her father might also be tinted in fake politeness because of fear. At least that''s what she told me when I asked her why," Mna exined. "Anyway, why are you all so surprised that she has a father? Is it that rare where you''re from?"


    "Not a single member of the Warlock Council has a family member," Caen answered. "That could be the reason. We always forget that not everyone is as unlucky."


    Lucifer knew it wasn''t entirely true. Kellian also had a mother, but he didn''t want to meet her. She was dead for him.


    Then there was also their newly hired tech guy who had a family. Caen didn''t know about those things like everyone else in the Uprising.


    "So you two don''t have a family either?" Milena asked Caen and Szar.


    She already knew about Lucifer, but the other two were still a mystery for the most part.


    "I''m also a member of Uprising. Do you even need to ask that question?" Caen responded.


    "My parents died five years ago in a car ident," Szar answered.


    "So this table is filled with four orphans," Milena smiled. But some pain was clearly hidden behind that smile as she remembered the death of her father.


    "Milena?" Lucifer muttered.


    "Yeah?"?Milena responded.


    "I hate fake people," Lucifer said, without even looking at her.


    "What do you mean?" Milena asked.


    "That fake persona you''re putting on currently? I''m just warning you. That I hate fake people. I won''t mind if you''re rude to me as long as you''re honest. On the other hand, if you fake yourself, I won''t appreciate it even if you put in more effort."


    Even though he wasn''t looking at Milena often, he was now entirely sure that she was faking that friendly girl next door personality.


    "What do you mean? I''m not acting at all," Milena answered. "It''s just your deep suspicion speaking."


    "If you want to keep ying, I won''t stop you. I said all that I wanted to," Lucifer replied, shaking his head.


    He once again stopped speaking.


    The middle aged man soon returned with two tes of his best dish.


    He ced both the tes on the table. "I''ll be right back with two more. It''s just that there''s no waiter, and I couldn''t carry it all at once."


    He went back.


    Lucifer took one of the tes and started eating without waiting for the others. He was starving as he hadn''t eaten in a long time.


    The second te remained in the middle of the other three, but none of them took it.


    As the middle aged man came with two more tes, only then did the other start eating.


    The dish which was served appeared to be a seafood dish made from the imported fish.


    Within seconds, Lucifer emptied the te. "Bring one more!"


    The middle aged man went to bring one more and soon returned.


    Lucifer was about to start eating but stopped in the middle.


    He brought the vibrating sses out of his pocket and wore them.


    "Yeah."


    "They are? How many?"


    "Two leaders and their men?"


    "Hold the line when they get there. I''ll being back soon. I always handled the matter here."


    "That''s right. The situation here is under control. I''ll leave today. Just hold them back if they get there before me!"


    Lucifer took off the nces and kept them back in his pocket.


    "What happened? Who was it?" Szar asked Lucifer. "What is happening?"


    "The Warlock Council has sent a team to attack Elisium. The team is being led by two of their leaders," Lucifer exined. "We need to get back."


    "They''re attacking us instead of attacking the Divine Empire after their team was wiped? Do they know Elisium was involved?" Szar asked.


    "I doubt that. Their men died only recently. I don''t think they can get that information so fast, analyze it and decide our role. It must be because their meeting with Kellian didn''t go well.. It''s something I expected, but I didn''t expect them to be so fast and so swift," Lucifer answered.

 Chapter 515 - 515: Lockdown

    <h4>Chapter 515 - 515: Lockdown</h4>


    "Do you know where Heath is?" Lucifer inquired as he resumed eating.


    He wanted to at least eat enough before leaving. In any case, they needed to prepare before they could go.


    "Heath? I don''t think I saw him. He ran away when we were surrounded by the Nobles, and I held them back," Szar replied. "If I''m not wrong, he left before I sent Caen."


    "Hah, that''s a problem. None of us know how to fly a helicopter. How will we go back?" Lucifer asked.


    He turned to Milena. "Do you have someone who can fly helicopters?"


    "We live in an Empire, but we aren''t that backward. Of course, we have people who can fly helicopters," Milena answered. "We also have helicopters of our own, after all.


    "That''s good. Get that pilot. Also, get prepared. You''reing with me. Take all the High Lords with you as well. And gather the strongest Nobles. We''ll take them too."


    "Have you gone crazy?! Just because your nation is in danger, you want me to take all my forces there and leave this ce defenseless?" Milena fired back, dropping all the nicedy acts.


    She further exined. "As soon as the Warlock Council knows what happened to their men here, what do you think they will do? Won''t they attack this Empire as well?"


    "That''s what I''m saying. They wille to attack your Empire. So before they do, we shall attack them. In any case, Elisium walls in the middle of the Divine Empire and Triton! To get to the Divine Empire, they need to fly past us. So they won''t get here," Lucifer exined.


    "There''s no need to leave your men here," he added. "And even if you want to, what I say will happen. Unless you forget your situation?"


    Milena nced at her bracelet, frowning. She was again using his advantage.


    '' Will I have to do what he asks all my life? How long will I have to act before he takes it off?'' she thought, frowning.


    She also realized that he was right. If Elisium was actually in the middle, that would be a better interception point.


    Moreover, that way, they could keep the battlefield away from home. The farther they fought from the Divine Empire, the less risk they had of their Empire being destroyed. They could keep the Empire and the citizens safe.


    Moreover, when they fought in the backyard of the Uprising, they could take advantage of their forces.


    Unlike here, the brunt of the pressure was going to be taken by Elisium forces. And after they seeded, they could mount an assault on Warlock Council Headquarters.


    "Enough thinking. I don''t have all day. Stand up and get things prepared for our departure. I''ll find you near the Royal Pce after I''m done eating. In the meantime, finish what I asked. Select and gather your men! And arrange the mode of transport!"


    Milena stood up and left. She didn''t look too happy about followingmands.


    "One more!" Lucifer ordered.


    ....


    The Warlock Council jets had long left Triton. In fact, Uprising only got information about them when they had already entered their continent.


    Elisium has already started preparing for the war under the lead of Kellian. All the Military Weapons were prepared for attack.


    The civilians were told to gather supplies and spend their days in a home since a two week long lockdown was going to be ced after twenty-four hours.


    Hearing themands, there was an instant rush to the marketce as people tried to get enough supplies tost two weeks.


    Fortunately, Kellian had seen iting. He knew that one day the Warlock Council was going to attack. He made sure that Elisium store had enough supplies to handle the rush.


    Fortunately, there was no shortage. After a long day, everyone managed to get enough supplies for them before they locked themselves in their homes, waiting to hear the second address of Kellian.


    "Citizens of Elisium!"


    "I am sure you all know about me already. I am the vice captain of Uprising! You can also call me Vice President of Elisium!"


    "Today, I am here to inform you of the true reason for the lockdown. There is a powerful enemy in a foreign continent who is going to wage war on Elisium!" Kellian dered, being watched by almost all the nations.


    His words were being covered by all the channels.


    Hearing the true reason, the citizens were shocked. A war that needed the entire nation to be sealed? They could only imagine the scope of this war.


    "The enemy army consists of Warlocks who are very powerful. Uprising is prepared to face and defeat them to protect Elisium! But we don''t want any civilian to get hurt in this war," Kellian continued.


    "That''s why we decided to ce this lockdown! If you''re concerned about your safety, don''t leave your homes until my next announcement! I am sure I will be giving you good news in less than a week."


    "The two weeks are just a safe estimate of how fast we can win the war. In most cases, the true duration would be much less. So I hope you won''t roam outside. This is a seriousmand for your safety and ours so that we can fight freely!"


    "And if anyone is still found roaming outside, they shall be killed first and asked questionster! This isn''t a time to y around! So stay serious! That will be all!".


    The broadcast was stopped.


    Kellian stood up and left the room to take cognizance of the situation.


    The civilians understood how serious everything was. Moreover, they also knew the reputation of the Uprising. They didn''t want to take the risk of defying the rules by going outside as they were sure that they were going to be killed as Kellian said.


    Some citizens were even wondering why Kellian was doing the press release. Why wasn''t it Lucifer who was the leader? Where was the leader of the Uprising and their nation? Was he busy preparing for the War?


    Not only Elisium, but even the surrounding nations that were taken over by Elisium had started preparing theirrge scale military weapons to attack the Warlock Council.


    The nations which weren''t under the control of Elisium were the most concerned at the moment. They didn''t know about the Warlock Council and why Elisium was preparing for war.


    Some Nations were even concerned if Elisium was preparing to wage war on other nations as well.


    The nations which weren''t affiliated to Elisium started a meeting amongst themselves, talking about the motives of Elisium and if they needed to be prepared to counter Elisium''s ever growing reach.

 Chapter 516 - 516: I Oppose

    <h4>Chapter 516 - 516: I Oppose</h4>


    The nations which weren''t in the control of the Uprising decided that they needed to protect themselves from a sudden invasion. Still, they also couldn''t attack Elisium prematurely without determining if they were actually going to attack.


    They sent more soldiers to the border and deployed their long-range weapons. They didn''t have any intention to attack unless Elisium actually attacked first.


    They also wanted to stop all the flights to and from Elisium; however, before they could dere it, Elisium dered it first.


    Since Elisium was sealed, they sealed their airspace as well. Not a long time had passed, but the looking of Elisium already started looking like a dead nation that didn''t have anyone living inside. All the public ces, including shops, malls, and streets, were empty.


    Only a few cops were seen on the streets asionally who were making sure that the rules were being followed.


    Uprising had a shortage of Variants. Most of their own men were killed in the War, and they were still trying to reinforce their ranks with new members. However, it had been a short time, and they didn''t receive much sess.


    They also had the support of the Hunter Union, but even that wasn''t something they could rely on since the Hunter Union was much weaker now since their most powerful Warlocks were killed. And the members who were remaining were taking care of Dungeons.


    Kellian issued amand for the Hunter Union to send at least half their men to join the war while keeping the bare minimum to keep Dungeons in control. Both things were important.


    All the guild members from different parts of the nation had taken a flight to the Capital City to get more information from Kellian about the uing war and what they needed to do.


    As most of the Hunter Union members rushed to the capital, more than five thousand Variants ended up in the Capital.


    The Uprising didn''t have enough space inside their temporary headquarters to amodate all, so they only allowed the Hunter Union executives and the Guild Leaders to enter the building for a meeting.


    Twenty-five guild leaders and seven Hunter Union members entered the Uprising Headquarters, representing the five thousand people of Hunter Union.


    The meeting room this time was even bigger than the one which was used thest time for meeting with top ten guild leaders.


    All the Hunter Union members were taken inside the meeting room where Uprising Members were already present.


    Kellian was sitting in the main seat. Besides him, Das, Jean, and Tristan were also present inside the room. Other than the four Uprising Members, no one else was inside the room.


    The Hunter Union members knew that these four people were the highest in the Uprising hierarchy, but they were still surprised. Why wasn''t Lucifer here? Wasn''t he supposed to be the leader?


    The Guild Leaders who were herest time also wondered about it. Evenst time they came, they hadn''t seen Lucifer. Just what kind of person he was who never attended any meeting.


    "Stop gawking and sit down," Kellianzily said.


    The men sat on the avable chairs ording to their positions.


    "I''m sure you know why you''re here. That''s why I will keep it short. The Warlock Council is going to attack Elisium, and if they seed, Elisium will be destroyed. So I want you to fight with us," Kellian said after everyone took a seat.


    "I am sure that the Warlock Council will first attack the capital before going to other cities, but I don''t want the war to reach here. That''s why you shall be assigned to the border town," he added.


    An image started showing on the screen in the back, which was the map of Elisium. Two border towns were marked with red.


    "We have their flight trajectory, and we believe they would pass through the airspace of one of these two border towns to enter Elisium."


    "That''s where we will stop them. Any questions?" he asked.


    "I had a question," One of the men raised his hand. "How many Variants will be in the enemy army?"


    "We believe there would be three hundred Warlocks only," Kellian said.


    "Three Hundred Warlocks?" The room filled with gasps.


    That wasn''t a small number, especially when all of them were Warlocks.


    Even though the enemy was only in the hundreds, their firepower was certainly more.


    "We will take care of most of them. They''re nothing to be scared of," Kellian said. "So no need to be intimidated. Any other questions?"


    "I have one," Another Warlock raised his hand. "I haven''t heard about the Warlock Council before. Who are they? And why are they attacking us so suddenly?"


    "Why are they attacking us? It doesn''t matter. What matters is that they are attacking us. Just keep that in mind," Kellian answered.


    "Can we solve this by talking with them? If we knew why they''re attacking, we could stop them without losing our people," Another Guild Leader suggested.


    "Solve by talking? You mean by groveling under their feet? I''ll tell you directly. This war will be avoided if we beg them for forgiveness. Now tell me, how many of you agree that we should do that?" Kellian asked, staring at the Guild Leaders.


    "If that helps the citizens and helps maintain the peace, I think it''s not a bad decision," A Guild Leader said after slight hesitation. "If we go to war, a lot of us will die. Isn''t it better to just apologize?"


    Kellian nced at the manzily. "Is that so?"


    "Anyone else who agrees with that decision? Raise your hands. If you think we should rub our noses at their feet and beg them not to kill us, raise hands right now," he continued.


    Slowly, more and more hands started rising.


    Soon, there were thirteen hands raised, all belonging to the weaker of the twenty-five guild leaders.


    As for the others, they didn''t believe they should beg.


    One of the Warlocks who hadn''t raised his hand exined his reason, "I don''t think we should beg any outsider for anything. They want to attack us because they think we''re weak. We should instead show them our strength so they won''t bother to attack us again!"


    "Yeah. If we started begging, how is that different from throwing away our self-respect? I oppose it."


    Contrary to the thirteen weaker Guild Leaders who supported asking for forgiveness, the others opposed it since they had a self respect that they didn''t want to give up.


    The Guild Leaders'' vote was split as thirteen supported surrendering and twelve supported fighting.

 Chapter 517 - 517: Dont Need Cowards

    <h4>Chapter 517 - 517: Don''t Need Cowards</h4>


    Other than the Guild Leaders, there were twelve Hunter Union direct members who were here as well.


    Kellian shifted his attention to them. "And what is your opinion on it? Do you support begging them, or do you support fighting?"


    "Those who support fighting raise their hands."


    Seven hands rose from the Hunter Union Members.


    "Those who support begging for forgiveness raise their hands!"


    Three hands raised this time.


    One of the three exined his reasons. "I think that keeping our dignity is impossible, but keeping our lives is more important. What if we fight and lose? Not only will we all die, but the citizens will be at risk too. Surrendering is better for everyone."


    "So there are thirty-five of you here," Kellian muttered. "Sixteen support surrender. Neen doesn''t support it. I think the vote is clear."


    "Also, one more thing. I don''t think we need people who don''t want to fight for their country. So we won''t be needing your participation in the war."


    Sixteen shadows appeared behind the men who had supported surrender. All the shadows were holding the swords. Seeing the shadows, the Warlocks were shocked. Before they could even realize what was happening, their heads rolled to the ground.


    "We don''t need cowards." Kellian stood up and started leaving. "I expect the rest to keep their men ready. We would be leaving to the town in an hour."


    He left with his team members, leaving gobsmacked men behind. The ones who were alive couldn''t believe what had just happened. Some swallowed hard, thinking that they would have been headless if they had supported surrender too.


    The Uprising was just as cruel as they heard. Even in the time when they needed people to fight, they didn''t hesitate to execute people on the spot.


    The ones who were left in the room stood up and went to get their men ready. They didn''t want to end up like that.


    ...


    "Did you really need to have the vote? What if they had all voted for surrender?" Tristan asked Kellian, following behind.


    "Then thirty-five heads would be lying on the ground instead of sixteen," Kellian answered. "We have no ce for cowards in our reigns."


    ...


    Lucifer finished eating and left the restaurant with Szar and Caen.


    They walked back to the Royal City, where seven helicopters were already standing in line.


    Pilots were inside all of those helicopters. The Nobles Lords were also standing outside the Pce with Milena.


    "You''re bringing all of them?" Lucifer asked. He thought Milena would only bring the Nobles he asked for. Why was she bringing them all?


    "They''re alling. I think it''s time we handle the threat of the Warlock Council. First, we shall destroy the team of the Warlock Council thate to Elisium, and then I''ll personally go to Triton to give them a taste of their own medicine," Milena answered grimly.


    "So you''re preparing for thest war.'' Lucifer smirked. "Not bad."


    "I''m also leaving the Nobles behind to take care of the Divine Empire in my absence. I''m only bringing Noble Lords. But it''s fine. I think the battlefield would be a good ce to increase my army," Milena answered.


    Lucifer understood what she was implying. She was only taking her strongest Nobles and was going to make more Nobles in the War.


    He had a problem with this n though. He also wanted the powers of the Warlocks. For that, he needed to eradicate them. There was no way that both of them could get what they wanted.


    "I have no problem with you turning anyone into a Noble. You can even turn Uprising Members who die since it''s good if they can live even after death. But I have one condition," Lucifer stated.


    "What Condition?" Milena asked.


    "You would need my permission before turning anyone. I can also tell you in advance who you''re not allowed to turn. Even if they die, you can''t turn them. Is that clear?" Lucifer asked.


    Milena didn''t like such restrictions on the way she used her power. She wondered why Lucifer was doing that? Was it because he wanted to show that he had control over her?


    "Is that because you want to turn into your undead?" Arthur asked, guessing the reason. "You can''t do that if she turns them first."


    He had seen Lucifer turn Andreas'' men into his instead that he could control. It was an easy guess that he also wanted some powerful Warlocks as his undead in that war.


    "You can think like that," Lucifer shrugged. He didn''t need to exin his reason behind it.


    "So you want me to take Warlocks rejected by you as if I''m a dustbin?" Milena asked.


    Lucifer smirked. "It''s good to see that you''re back to your normal self. That fake personality before was annoying. Now get inside. We''re leaving."


    He walked to the helicopter in the lead with Caen and Szar. Milena and Arthur also stepped inside the same chopper with Feronia. As for the other Noble Lords, they entered the other helicopters.


    The rotors of the helicopters started moving as they rose in the air before flying away.


    The Nobles that were left behind watched the helicopters leave. They couldn''t help but pray for the sess of their queen and her safety. It was only when the helicopter disappeared that they walked inside the Pce.


    ....


    Inside the leading helicopter, Feronia was the most excited about this trip.


    She had never left the continent and seen the outside world. She was really curious about those ces.


    "It''s my first time going outside the continent. I wonder what your nation would be like. I only heard about them in thest. Are they really that differentpared to our ce?"


    "Different? I would say they are very different. You''ll be amazed when you see the tall buildings and the beautiful cities," Szar replied, smirking.


    "I saw their pictures before." Feronia nodded.


    "Pictures are nothing. They look even better from close," Szar nodded.


    "I can''t wait."


    "We aren''t going there for sightseeing. Control yourself." Arthur chimed in. "Moreover, they''re just buildings. Nothing special for you to be excited about."


    "Heh, it''s easy for you to say. You already left the continent once," Feronia rolled her eyes. It''s my first time."


    "You left the continent? May I ask where you went?"


    Lucifer took an interest in the travel of Arthur. From what he knew, Arthur never left the continent. But if he left after bing a Noble, that made him wonder why he didn''t leave to bring back the stone.


    "Yeah. I went on vacation when I was younger," Arthur exined.


    "So you didn''t leave after bing a Noble?" Lucifer asked, observing Arthur.

 Chapter 518 - 518: Not As Free

    <h4>Chapter 518 - 518: Not As Free</h4>


    "Not really. As a Noble, our responsibility is only towards Her Majesty. Moreover, why would I leave? I already saw the outside world. And in all honesty, I like the serene atmosphere of the Divine Empire more."


    Arthur''s exnation put all assumptions of Lucifer to rest. He again stopped talking and went back to his silence.


    The helicopters traveled for hours before reaching the airport.


    The Divine Empire helicopters alerted the City and Airport officials, who hastily came out to wee them.


    Milena ignored them all and told them to leave them alone.


    Elisium ne was standing at the airport from which Lucifer had arrived. Everyone walked inside the ne, which was given the permission to take off instantly.


    The ne sped up, and soon it rose in the air, having Elisium as the destination.


    ...


    It was night in the small ind nation.


    The Academy of Gifted Variants was closed for all. Not even teachers were at the academy, let alone the students. All the lights were off as well.


    Despite that, there were still some security guards who were assigned to guard that ce.


    The entrance was guarded by two guards, while three more guarded the interior with regr rounds.


    The entire academy was surrounded by tall walls. Electric wires rested on top of the walls to stop anyone from climbing the walls to enter.


    Unfortunately, that and all the other defense mechanisms weren''t enough to stop Alicia and Cassius, who reached the academy.


    The two of them had snuck out of Cassius'' home to get here without alerting others. In fact, Cassius didn''t even take the family car to get here.


    They used a different car that Cassius had already arranged for him to wait outside.


    They stopped the car far away from the entrance of the Academy so the guards couldn''t see it before they walked to the academy.


    Instead of going to the gates, they walked to the other end, intending to enter using other methods.


    "Are you sure this will work?" Cassius asked Alicia, still not sure about the n.


    "Don''t worry. I''m not that weak. I can carry you," Alicia answered.


    "If you say so."


    Cassius reached out his hand, which was grabbed by Alicia.


    Alicia used her ability to walk in the air while carrying Cassius with one hand.


    Cassius hung in the air, supported by Alicia, who helped him get inside the Academy through the air.


    The two of themnded inside the academy premises, on the other end of the wall.


    "So, where are the Limiters kept?" Alicia asked Cassius, who was carrying his heavy sword on his back.


    "If I''m not wrong, they should be in the storage in the administration block," Cassius replied, pointing towards one of the campus buildings."Stay alert. I''m sure there would be guards patrolling this ce."


    "Don''t worry. I would be able to sense them if they''re nearby. Just lead me to that ce. I''ll inform you if anyone is nearby," Alicia responded, following Cassius.


    Even though the academy was already closed, the lights inside the academy were still on. The entire ce was brightly lit on the inside, especially all the hallways and the paths. It was to help the guards keep an eye.


    Moreover, after the incident with Lucifer, cameras were ced everywhere. Previously, cameras were only in some important hallways, but now all the hallways were covered in cameras.


    All the rooms also had cameras, which Cassius had also discovered. Generally, he would have been concerned about being caught in cameras and bringing a bad name to his family, but he had Alicia, so he wasn''t concerned.


    One of the abilities of Alicia was to cast a domain around her, which made it impossible for the cameras to see them.


    That was also why Cassius and Alicia didn''t split to search. Cassius walked closer to Alicia since that was the necessity for the stealth of this mission.


    The two of them stopped at the entrance of the academic block only to find a locked door.


    Cassius brought a small stick out of his pocket and used his Divine Sword Energy to change the stick to a small yet powerful Sword for himself. He sliced the door using the Stick.


    The stick worked like a powerfulser that sliced the part of the door which housed the lock. He removed the entire lock before keeping the stick back in his pocket. He pushed the door open and stepped inside.


    Alicia also stepped inside and closed the door. There was a cut in the door, and there was a chance that the guards could see it, but the chance of them seeing an open door was even more if it was left open.


    The two of them walked to the storage section of the Academic Block.


    ...


    All the camera feeds from the academy were being sent to one room which contained many screens, broadcasting the live footage.


    Inside the room, one guard was observing all the footage.


    "Hmm? What?"


    The guard couldn''t see Alicia and Cassius, but he saw a section of the door being cut on its own. The door also opened on its own before it closed.


    "G-ghost?" He stuttered, but he soon started wondering if it was instead the work of an intruder who had some ability to avoid the camera.


    He pressed a button and spoke into the mike. "Intruders in the Academic Block! I want someone to check!"


    After informing the guards, he also informed the higher ups about this strange phenomenon.


    ...


    Xaen Eandril, the young Dean of the Academy of Gifted Variants, was sitting on the roof of the academic block. There was a ss of wine in his hand. He wasn''t alone either. An old man was also with him.


    The two of them were drinking wine as they talked about the past and how everything had changed.


    "That''s true. The world is changing too fast. I wonder if we''re getting too old for this ever-changing world," Xaen muttered, sighing.


    The wordsing from a man who looked like a ten year old kid seemed odd, but the old man didn''t find it odd since he knew the real age of Xaen.


    "We are," the old man said as he also took a sip. "How long are you nning to stay as the Dean of this academy? Why don''t you pass it to someone else and enjoy your life instead? Maybe you''ll start feeling young again."


    "Whenever I go back to the sea, I always feel young. It helps me. It shall help you too," he added.


    "Leave this ce? Maybe after I find a worthy sessor. If I leave now, the Great Families will all try to upy or influence the academy," Xaen answered, sighing.. "I''m not as free as you."

 Chapter 519 - 519: Caught

    <h4>Chapter 519 - 519: Caught</h4>


    "That''s partially true as well," the old man muttered, smiling. "You''re stuck between a rock and a hard ce. On the contrary, I am free of all responsibility."


    Xaen thought of something as a smirk formed on his lips. "There is one way I can be free of responsibility though."


    "What way?" the old man asked.


    "If you ept to be a Dean of the academy. I''ve been asking you for a long time. When are you going to say yes?" Xaen asked, bursting intoughter.


    "The academy can afford to have two Deans. When I''m out, you take care of this ce. When you''re out, I will. We can both have some freedom then," he added. "If there''s anyone who can properly hold all the Great Families back, it''s you."


    "Nah, I''m not interested in bing a Dean here. As I said, I am not good with kids."


    "It''s not as if I''m particrly good either. If I were, your grandson wouldn''t have created that mess for me." Xaen smiled wryly.


    As he noticed the frown of the old man, he continued. "I''m not talking bad about him. I''m just saying casually. You just have to be the figurehead. All things will be handled by the teachers. It''s not as if I do much either."


    "I-" The old man started speaking but stopped in the middle, hearing something. "Hmm? Did you hear that?"


    "Hear what?" Xaen askew.


    The old man stood up and looked straight ahead. "It looks like something happened. Your guards are running in this direction."


    Xaen also stood up. "I''ll be right back. Let me check."


    A portal appeared before him. He inserted the portal.


    "I''ming too." The old man also entered the portal.


    The two of them came out of another portal that had opened before the guards.


    "May I ask what you''re hurrying for? Is there an intruder?" Xaen asked the guard.


    "It looks like someone infiltrated the administration block ording to the information," the guard answered. "We were just going to check."


    "Someone infiltrated this ce? That''s amusing." Xaen smirked. "You can go back to your posts. I''ll personally check."


    With hands in his pocket, he started walking towards the administration block.


    "Do you keep something special in your admin building? Why would someone try to infiltrate that ce?" Grandpa Chi asked Xaen.


    "I''m not sure. I don''t think this has ever happened before. But we do keep all our student documents there. Who knows, maybe some Great Family sent someone to see those documents to find more about your Grandson?" Xaen responded.


    "They have been trying to get me to tell them more about my investigation and the identity of the student that killed two Great Family heirs. Since I don''t give them, I won''t be surprised if they stoop so low," he added.


    Soon, he reached the entrance of the Academic Building to find the cut in the door.


    "So it''s true. Someone did infiltrate. And it''s a Variant," Xaen smirked. "Not bad. When I find that person, I would certainly use them against the Great Families to bring them down a notch."


    He pushed the door open and stepped inside the building.


    Xaen went straight to the room where they kept all the student documents, but the gate was locked. No one had entered that room.


    "If not here, then that person isn''t here for the documents. Probably he is after our technology? The Families were also curious about the workings of the Limiters. It''s also possible. Let''s check the Storage too," he said as he turned around.


    ...


    Inside the vast storage room, many big boxes were kept, some of which were even taller than Cassius himself.


    There appeared to be hundreds of boxes there, all of which were sealed.


    "You check from there. I''ll check from here!" Cassius told Alice as he walked to one corner.


    He opened the first box. The box was filled with papers only which made him move over to the next box.


    Alicia also continued checking. She was the lucky one though. She found the box filled with Limiters on her first try.


    "I found it!" She eximed.


    "Perfect!" Cassius ran up to her and checked inside the box, which appeared to be filled with hundreds of limiters. "That should be all we can carry at the moment. If we have time, we''lle for moreter."


    He closed the box and picked up the wooden box, which was filled with Limiters.


    "Need my help?" As soon as Cassius picked up the box, someone asked.


    "It''s fine. No ne-"


    He subconsciously refused the offer but stopped as he realized that it wasn''t the voice of Alicia.


    He turned to look at the entrance to find a young boy standing there.


    "Dean?"


    He dropped the box on the group, stunned. Of all the people he could have met, he had to meet this personally?


    Alicia didn''t know who the person was, but she heard Cassius call him Dean. She also heard that the Dean of the Academy was a powerful Warlock, but at the same time, he had the looks of kids.


    She frowned, wondering what they could do now. They needed to steal the Limiters from this man''s academy, but they were already caught?


    They had already made ns on what to do if they were caught and how to escape, but their n didn''t include a scenario where the person who caught them was the Dean.


    The Dean wasn''t alone either. There was an old man standing behind him.


    "What should we do?" she asked Cassius, bringing her lips close to his ears.?"Should we fight?"


    "Youngdy, I can hear your words," Xaen said, amused. "But I wee you to try."


    "Don''t. He isn''t someone we can fight," Cassius muttered. "Just surrender."


    Cassius went down on his knees. If there were literally anyone else, he wouldn''t have surrendered so easily, but he knew about Xaen. That man was a legend! He was also the person who led the crusade against the Dark Warlocks at one time!


    It was also under his leadership that the Dark Warlocks of this nation disbanded. Moreover, the Dark Warlock leader had also disappeared after that.


    He didn''t know much about that time since it was before he was born, but ording to the legends, the leader of the Dark Warlocks was known as the Dark Wizard. He was a terrifying person who was someone that everyone was scared of.


    After years of fighting, one day, he suddenly disappeared. All credit went to Xaen, who was leading the cause at that time.


    Cassius knew that he couldn''t stand a chance against Xaen.. Instead, he and Alicia might only die, which wasn''t good for their cause.

 Chapter 520 - 520: Known

    <h4>Chapter 520 - 520: Known</h4>


    If they surrendered, they could make any excuse. And he was ultimately going to be let free since he was from a Great Family. That was the best option at the moment. Even though he was going to get scolded by his father and interrogated, he had faith that he could handle that.


    "Good decision," Xaen said, nodding. He snapped his fingers, making a spatial thread appear around Cassius, which tied both his hands. He did the same with Alicia.


    As Alicia was still standing, he waved his finger, using his space control to bring Alicia to her knees as well.


    He stepped ahead and sat on one of the boxes, using it as a seat.


    "I had a feeling that someone was here to steal the Limiters, but I didn''t know that it would be a direct member of the Zaini family. I''m surprised your father sent you here? It doesn''t seem like something he would do."


    "Yeah. Even the Great Families won''t send their direct heir to steal when they have better people for it," Grandpa Chi agreed. "If I''m not wrong, they probably came on their own."


    "I was thinking the same thing," Xaen agreed. "But that''s also an amusing thing. Why would Cassiuse to steal Limiters?"


    "Then again, he is certainly friends with that guy," he added, smiling. "So, tell me, kid. Did Alex, I mean, did Lucifer send you to steal the bracelet?"


    Cassius grew stunned. How did this guy guess that?


    "You''re wrong. I wanted some of these bracelets for myself," he answered.


    "If you wanted it enough that you were willing to steal, you couldn''t tell your family. They would''ve sent experts. But you personally came here. That makes me think that it''s rted to something you don''t want your family to know?"


    "And in that case, it''s most likely rted to Lucifer. I mean, you went to Elisium where Lucifer stays, as soon as the academy was closed. So don''t tell me it has nothing to do with it?" he asked.


    "You know where he lives?" Grandpa Chi asked, surprised.


    He didn''t understand how Xaen knew where Lucifer was. Was he keeping track of Cassius? But if that was the case, howe he didn''t know Cassius was here? He didn''t even know there was an intruder?


    "Of course I know," Xaen replied. "I knew instantly after he left. You know why?"


    " The day he ran, some Limiters were destroyed by him, including his own personal Limiter. But there was one Limiter that was missing. Just like all Limiters, that one also had a tracer," he added.


    "It wasn''t hard to guess that Lucifer took it. And through that Limiter, I was able to find him going to Elisium. He removed the tracer in Elisium, but it was enough for me to know his location."


    "And Cassius also left the nation soon after the academy was closed. When I tried to find out about this, it turned out that he went to Elisium as well. Not a surprise honestly. These two are working together."


    "I didn''t care much after that point. It didn''t matter what they did in Elisium as long as it didn''t affect this nation. That''s why I didn''t know that Cassius was back. Albeit, he is. And he''s already here to steal?"


    "Also, if Cassius needed the Limiter for himself, he could have asked his father. However, it was different if he needed for Lucifer. He couldn''t ask his father in that case. It''s not hard to guess that."


    "If I''m not wrong, Lucifer messed around with the Limiter and changed it to his advantage. Now he''s probably using it against his enemies, and he needs more of them. So he sent Cassius."


    Xaen looked towards the old man, smirking. "Old man, just what exactly is your grandson trying to do? So many Limiters? Don''t tell me he''s trying to take over a nation or something?"


    "How should I know?" The old man shrugged. "Last time I checked, he was only trying to take his revenge. Since he didn''t need me, I came back. In any case, a few Limiters are nothing. Let the kid take it. Treat it as a favor to me."


    "Favor, huh? If that''s the case, I won''t mind. But I still feel uneasy about it. These Limiters can one day be used against us as well, you know?"


    "They won''t be. Don''t talk nonsense," Grandpa Chi rolled his eyes.


    Cassius kept his head down, hearing the conversation. However, he was actually surprised. Xaen was talking to the old man like an equal? Other than the masters of Great Families, this guy didn''t speak to anyone like equals. So why this old man?


    Moreover, during the conversation, it appeared that the old man was the Grandpa of Lucifer? Didn''t that mean he was an ordinary viger who found Lucifer in the sea? How was an ordinary viger who couldn''t even afford a car so close to the Dean of the Academy?


    Also, it wasn''t just Xaen who was talking to the old man like an equal. The old man was also talking to Xaen like an equal. Just who was this guy?


    "Sigh. If you say so." Xaen sighed. He looked at Cassius as he said, "You can take the box. Get out before I change my mind."


    "Really?" Cassius asked, unsure.


    "Do you want a written letter or something?" Xaen chuckled. "Take the box and scram. Also, tell Lucifer to stay safe. If he doesn''t stay safe, his old man will be sad again. And I don''t want to see this guy sad."


    "My hand..." Cassius muttered. His hand was still tied by the Spatial rope. And he was also restricted by space.


    "Ah, right. I forgot," Xaen said, smiling wryly. He snapped his finger again, freeing Cassius and Alicia.


    Cassius stood up and picked up the box before he left, taking onest nce at Xaen and the old man.


    Alicia also left with him.


    The two of them left the Academy and ran back to the car. They kept the Limiters in the back seat of the car and left.


    ...


    "Thank you. For not exposing his identity to the Great Families even after knowing where he was. You could''ve betrayed me if you wanted."


    Inside the storage room, Grandpa Chi thanked Xaen.


    "Don''t mention it. In any case, your son is like my nephew in a way. Moreover, betraying you? I don''t want to shorten my lifespan." Xaenughed. "But don''t forget the favor you owe me.. Because I''m certainly going to cash it in someday."

 Chapter 521 - 521: Formation War?

    <h4>Chapter 521 - 521: Formation War?</h4>


    The Warlock Council nes were advancing towards Elisium at full speed, apanied by high-speed warnes that were flying beside them.


    The Warlock Council didn''t realize that the information about their arrival was already leaked somehow. Still, even if they knew, they wouldn''t have cared. They were that confident in their strengths.


    There were two teams that were in charge of this mission. Both teams were told to work together on this, but almost everyone knew that it wasn''t going to be the case. Both Warlock Council Leaders that were on this mission wanted the glory for themselves.


    Both of them were going to try to overtake the other with different ns. It was something that all the Warlock Council Leaders knew, but no one cared since it only motivated these two more.


    That was also why the two groups were flying differently and taking different routes.


    The first group was taking the flight straight to Elisium while the other group was taking the long route to enter Elisium from the back.


    Both groups had different ns. One wanted to break all obstructions to defeat the Uprising.


    The other group felt that it was too bothersome. They didn''t want to waste time taking down minions. They wanted to attack the Capital directly. They also wanted to use the first group as a distraction.


    The first group was being led by a Warlock known as Zhu, who was the sixth strongest Warlock in the Warlock Council.


    Zhu was also known as the second strongest summoner in the continent of Triton.


    He was a man dressed in nt white clothes, wearing a leather jacket on top, which was grey in color.


    There was also a snake sitting on hisp. The white crystal snake was the size of an ordinary snake, but unlike ordinary snakes, it had a horn on its head.


    The first ne was also amodating Jia, who was the envoy that met with Kellianst time. She was also the one that informed the Warlock Council about the looks of Lucifer.


    Thanks to Jenilia, they now possessed a sketch of Lucifer, who was decided to be the main target on the battlefield. He was the person who was the biggest threat to the Warlock Council, along with Kellian.


    Jenilia was also sitting in the same ne in the back, looking at the sketch of Lucifer.


    "Are you really the Uprising leader? Did you lie to me that time? I hope that''s not the case. However, if you''re on the battlefield, you''ll be my enemy. And I won''t go easy on you. But I do pray that it''s not the case."


    ...


    The second group was something that Uprising knew about, but even they didn''t even realize that they were taking a different route.


    Kellian thought that they were going to be in the same entourage. That''s why he was keeping an eye on the nes of the Warlock Council, not knowing that it wasn''t their entire force. It was just the first group.


    As for the second group, they flew under the radar of Kellian, who had applied all the forces in the town to face the enemies. The other end of Elisium was leftpletely defenseless.


    ...


    The second group was being led by a Warlock known as Hanzi.


    The man was in his early thirties and was slightly weaker than Zhu, who was leading the first group. At least that''s what was said. The Warlock Council didn''t actually have Warlocks fight to decide who was stronger.


    Only their performance in battles against the enemies was judged to decide their strengths, and so far, Zhu was considered to be in the lead. That was also why Hanzi wanted to be the one to crush Lucifer.


    He wanted the glory of killing the enemy leader to get an edge above Zhu in the organization. He was already tired of being known as weaker than Zhu.


    Even though no one said that on his face, he knew that they all thought that; that''s also why he felt like he was given less importance in the organization.


    Hanzi sat in the ne, sipping on his coffee as he nced outside the window.


    "My friend, thank you for unknowingly acting as my pawn. Weaken the enemies while I''ll be hunting some real big fishes," he muttered.


    Three groups were en-route to Elisium in nes, alling to Elisium from different directions.


    The first group was the closest to Elisium, while the second group and Lucifer''s group appeared to be at the same distance from Elisium.


    The first group also reached the neighboring nation of Elisium first.


    As soon as it entered the airspace of the nation, three missiles came flying towards the nes.


    The Warlocks didn''t even need to disturb Zhu to take care of such missiles. It was only after taking care of the missiles that they informed Zhu that their ne was attacked.


    "Don''t bother with them. Just keep the ce safe and let us reach Elisium. We''ll take care of this nation on our way back," Zhuzily said.


    He was upset that even pesky nations were attacking them, but he also knew that it could be a tactic to dy them. He didn''t y along.


    Throughout the way, more and more attacks came towards the ne, but none of themnded on the ne.


    The nes soon reached near Elisium.


    "Sir, we''re almost there!" A Warlock informed Zhu.


    "Good," Zhu muttered, smiling.


    He tapped his earphones. "You have the permission."


    As he finished hismands, the fighter jets that were surrounding the nes sped up even more.


    ....


    "They''re almost here," Kellian said, looking at the screen.


    He could also hear more details in his ears which wereing from Vega back at the base.


    "Tristan. Ready?"


    "As ready as I can be," Tristan responded, smirking.


    He held the hilt of his sword.


    Five fighter jets came slicing through the winds; however, it was as if the enemies knew about them. Before they could even get inside the airspace of Elisium and attack, two five powerful arcs of ck light came flying towards them.


    The beam of light reached the jets, but that''s also when a strange formation that was carved on the ne started shining.


    The formation became bigger and appeared as a shield before the nes that blocked the attacks.


    " Sword Formation? Without a Sword?" Tristan eximed in shock.


    He had seen the same thing being used by Cassius. It was the formation that absorbed the attack and fired it back with more force! How could the Warlock Council use this on nes instead of swords? Just what technology did they use?


    Just as Tristan had expected, the same attack came back in their direction from the formation.


    "Dodge!" Tristan yelled, warning the Uprising member who was in the line of attack; however, it was toote. The attacks hit the Warlock, killing him.


    The nes also entered the airspace of Elisium before dropping the bombs where the Warlocks were standing.

 Chapter 522 - 522: You Cant Go On

    <h4>Chapter 522 - 522: You Can''t Go On</h4>


    The powerful fighting jets entered the airspace, unaffected by the attacks of the Warlocks.


    Even though the warnes appeared to be ordinary but the formations that were made on them made them even more threatening.


    No attacks were able to pass through the formation shields, which not only absorbed the attacks but fired them back with equal force.


    The warnes dropped the bombs as they continued racing ahead.


    The defensive Warlocks cast the barriers to save themselves and their allies, but most didn''t get such a chance. They had thought that the battles were going to be between Variants.


    For some reason, it was the machinery of the Warlock Council against the Warlocks of Uprising, and the machinery had an advantage.


    "How did they manage to use the Sword Formations on nes? We had no idea they were so developed. And these are just ordinary fighter nes. Their Warlocks aren''t even here yet," Kellian muttered, observing the explosions that were taking ce all around.


    Amongst the five fighter nes, one of them continued going straight ahead without stopping. The other four turned around after some distance and started flying back.


    "Cassius should have known more about Sword Formations. If only he were here, we might not be at such a disadvantage," Duke said, ring at the nes.


    "What disadvantage! I shall destroy all shields! The shield stops the attacks and fires back? We only need to overwhelm them! Use an attack that even the shield shouldn''t be able to defend!" Tristan dered.


    "Stop treating these nes as ordinary human toys! Treat them as your biggest enemies!" he added as he took a step forward.


    He held the hilt of his sword once again and took a deep breath. "Here we go once again. It''s time to bring you outpletely."


    He tapped the hilt of the Sword three times before he pulled his sword out in its entirety!


    The deep silver de of the Sword came out at a speed that made it impossible to see the de!


    Unlike before, Tristan pulled out his entire sword before putting it back instead of just a fraction of it.


    The Sword was back in the sheath instantly; however, the attack had already left the Sword.


    A pitch-ck arc of light left his sword, which was apanied with a hint of blood red. The attack kept getting bigger and bigger the more it traveled, also gaining more strength.


    The attack was so destructive that even Spatial cracks started flickering in its surrounding as it flew ahead.


    The formation shield once again appeared to stop the attack; however, this time, the oue was different. The destructive attack had so much strength that even the formation shield was incapable of stopping it.


    After a momentary resistance, the formation was destroyed. The attack was also weakened in this conflict.


    Tristan smirked as he saw the formation being destroyed. It showed that these nes weren''t anything to be concerned about. These five nes could be taken out by him alone.


    "Huh?" His smirk disappeared abruptly.


    Another formation had started shining on the ne, which was simr to thest one. This one did manage to stop the attack as the first formation had already weakened the attack.


    "They have more than one on each ne? Just what exactly is happening here? How many do they have?"


    Tristan grew stunned. Not only did Warlock Council manage to use the Formation on things that weren''t swords, but they also managed to make backup formations work.


    Now the question remains! Just how many backup formations did one ne have? What if they had a hundred? What about two hundred? Could he attack that many times just to take out one helicopter?


    Just as Tristan was stunned, his own attack was fired in his direction.


    "Get out of your daze!" Das tapped the shoulders of Tristan as he raised his hand, casting a barrier before the two of them.


    The attack hit the barrier and disappeared swiftly.


    The nes continued firing missiles while also reversing the attacks of the Warlocks as well.


    The entire field became chaotic because of four fighter jets. The powerful Warlocks of Uprising were able to avoid the attacks or stop them entirely. Still, the weak Variants who were here to provide backup to the main team found themselves at the biggest disadvantage at the moment.


    Most of them didn''t have enough strength to block the attacks.


    mes, craters, and explosions could be seen everywhere as the Variants started running.


    They had tried attacking the nes only to realize that it was useless. Since the attacks only came back at them, they stopped attacking entirely and started running.


    Kellian observed the chaotic field, stunned. This whole battle was against all his expectations. So many of them were killed, and they hadn''t even seen the face of the enemy Warlocks.


    In fact, he wasn''t even sure if there were Warlocks inside the nes. These nes were covered in the formations. That''s what they were using to fight back. It didn''t need a Warlock.


    "If the Warlock Council has nes like these, they don''t need Warlocks to fight either. They can simply use humans," Kellian muttered.


    A missile wasing towards him from the back, but he remained lost in thoughts.


    "But why would they do something like this? If humans could use the Sword Formations of Sword Warlocks, wouldn''t it be bad? Humans can start fighting the Warlocks, and one day, they might even attack the Warlock Council."


    "The existence of technology like this isn''t good for any Variant. They must have taken some precautions to protect themselves. It''s either something that only works for a limited time, or it''s something that can be used by a Variant only?"


    The missile reached awfully close to Kellian, just one meter behind him. The missile soon hit him.


    As the missile hit Kellian, it passed through his body. What appeared of him turned to a shadow and dispersed.


    The real Kellian appeared in a different ce, still lost in thought.


    "The Sword Formation can work without any energy of the Variant as it collects energy from the Nature with synergy, so I doubt it has any limitation like working for a limited time. It should be able to work for a long time."


    "I wonder what they did if they did anything."


    "Come out of your daze. We need a n!" Tristan yelled.


    "Hmm?" Kellian turned to find Tristan yelling at him.


    "It''s not the time for observation. We need a n. We can''t go on like this. Even if we destroy the shields of the ne, others appear instantly!"


    "I agree. We need a n. Most of the Guild Members are dying," Das also agreed.. "If it goes on like this, only the Uprising Member would be left."

 Chapter 523 - 523: Way

    <h4>Chapter 523 - 523: Way</h4>


    "I apologize. I went in depth, thinking about how they achieved it. You''re right. It doesn''t matter. What matters is that we need to destroy them." Kellian agreed.?"And I have a n."


    "What n?" Tristan asked.


    "W-" Kellian stopped before he could even finish his sentence as he turned around.


    He could see more nese towards them, but they weren''t fighter jets.


    "It appears that our guest is here as well."


    "Great. Now the Warlock Council is here too. Let''s leave the jets and go for the Warlock Council directly," Tristan let out as he took a step forward.


    "No. You won''t be doing that!"


    "What do you mean? Why?"


    "They can use formations on the jets. Won''t they use it on the nes they''re traveling in?"


    "Didn''t we blow up their ne easilyst time?"


    "Exactly. After that, do you think they''ll bring weak nes without defense? They didn''t expect that and sent ordinary nes at that time. But this time, they came for war."


    "So? Just because they have the formations, we shouldn''t attack? What shall we do then? Run away?"


    "You won''t be doing that either."


    "Not this and not that either? What are you trying to say? What exactly is your n?"


    "I want you to keep your focus on the jets. I''ll handle the nes," Kellian said.


    "Alone?"


    "Who said I''m alone?" Kellian smirked. "Jean ising with me as well."


    "You take out the jets only. Oh, and I think it''s not that hard to take out the jets either. As long as the attacknds on the ne after destroying the first barrier and before the second could be formed, you''ll have a clean hit. And how you can achieve that, I think you already know."


    Kellian started walking away, followed by his trusted air Jean.


    After Kellian left, Tristan looked at Das. "Did you understand what he meant?"


    "I did." Das nodded. "I need you to use the same attack again. Can you do that?"


    "Of course I can. Just watch."


    "Jean, are you ready?" Kellian asked, looking at Jean.


    "I am prepared. You can go ahead," Jean agreed as well.


    She raised her hand in the direction of the iing nes, making a majestic spear appear above her.


    The fifteen meter long golden spear appeared to be made of pure energy.


    Kellian turned into a shadow again, which turned into the shadow of the eagle. He started flying towards the iing nes. He had the shape of an ordinary eagle, but his speed was much faster.


    Jean clenched her fist, and the spear above her shot towards the Warlock Council ne.


    On the other end, Tristan also attacked one of the fighter nes.


    The pitch ck arch of lightnded on the ne, shattering its barrier. As the barrier was destroyed, another barrier appeared, which stopped the attack.


    The attack was fired back by the barrier. Tristan brought his sword out again, destroying the attack which came back from the barrier.


    "That was your n? Useless," Tristan muttered.


    At the same time, the spear alsonded on the formation barrier that appeared around the ne.


    The translucent barrier shattered from the impact, but another barrier appeared. The second barrier was also broken by the spear; however, when the third barrier appeared, it looked like a defeated battle.


    The spear wasn''t able to destroy the third barrier instead of being destroyed itself.


    The energy of the barrier was absorbed by the barrier, which became even stronger. The formation darkened in color as it fired the same spear back, which was red this time instead of the usual yellow.


    Instead of trying to block the spear and waste her energy, Jean simply stepped aside, letting the spear crash on where she was previously standing.


    "If that was the n, then weren''t we following that already?" Tristan was still disappointed.


    He was told that there was a n. That''s also why he attacked, but it was the same thing again.


    "No need to panic. Just enjoy the fireworks." Das smirked.


    Tristan looked at him with confusion when he saw Das snap his fingers.


    Boom~


    A loud explosion resounded in the air. Tristan looked up to realize that the ne which he had attacked just now had exploded abruptly.


    "W-what did you do? I don''t understand?" Tristan asked.


    "What I followed was a simple principle. You''ll need to know how the formation works for that," Das answered.


    "One attack activates the formation. The formation stops the attack. The attack slows down. When the formation is broken, the slower attacks move ahead, but the second formation is ready by then. So how can we pass through that?" he asked.


    "By making sure that the attack doesn''t slow down?" Tristan suggested. "But what was different about my attack this time? It was the same asst."


    "You''re wrong. We can''t make your attack faster after it''s blocked by a formation. The only thing we can do is take advantage of that slight window to sneak in another attack that is faster," Da lld replied.


    "As soon as you attacked, I was also ready. I had already seen how long your attack takes to destroy the first barrier. So I timed my attack in such a way that it would reach that ce right when your attack destroys the barrier."


    " So my attack didn''t slow down because of the barrier. And it passed through tond on the ne before the second barrier activated for you. And here we have the result. Neat, isn''t it?"


    "This is great! If it''s like that, we can take them all out," Tristan let out, grinning. "Now that''s what I call a good n!"


    Tristan looked towards another jet that was circling in the sky, firing at the Warlocks on the ground as it had used all the missiles.


    "Ready?" he asked Das.


    "You can attack anytime. You''ll always find me ready." Das smirked.


    "Stay safe," Jean muttered, ncing towards the ne of the Warlock Council.


    The Warlock Council nes were circling around the battlefield, enjoying the sight and waiting to see if they were going to be needed in the battle or not.


    Even Zhu was looking at the screen ahead, which was broadcasting the battlefield.


    "So they found a way to pass through the barriers. Not bad. But it''s certainly intriguing. They didn''t attack us directly instead?" he muttered. The snake in hisp wriggled down.


    "Are you bored little guy?" Zhu asked the snake. He was immediately distracted. "Hmm? That''s intriguing. Another jet is taken out. They''re fast."


    Inside the ne, a shadow had appeared, unknown to everyone.

 Chapter 524 - 524: Hunting

    <h4>Chapter 524 - 524: Hunting</h4>


    Sitting in the back seat, Jia and Jenilia were also looking at the battlefield through the screenshot before them.


    "I don''t see Lucifer on the battlefield. See? I told you that he wasn''t their leader?" Jenilia said.


    "We don''t see any teenagers on the battlefield. And we know the Uprising leader is a teenager. Lucifer isn''t in the field, but the Uprising leader isn''t there either. You can''t be sure yet," Jia replied.


    Jenilia didn''t have an answer to that question. She simply started focusing on the battle.


    "This is very intriguing though. We had heard that the Uprising leader was a powerful Warlock who was capable of changing the direction of any battle. But he isn''t here? Maybe the rumors were wrong? Maybe there isn''t any young leader?"


    "It could also be a ploy by that Kellian to keep the Warlock Council wary by letting the information about this mysterious leader leak? If he were actually real and as strong as described, he wouldn''t be hiding."


    Jia doubted the existence of the leader itself.


    "Hmm?" She started rubbing her eyes as if something hadnded in them. Even after rubbing, she didn''t get the report.


    "I''ll be right back." She stood up and left.


    Jia walked to the washroom in the back and started washing her face, unaware that a shadow had appeared behind her.


    She sshed the water on her face before looking at the mirror ahead, only to find a pitch ck shadow behind her. She opened her lips to alert others. She even prepared to use her abilities to protect herself, but before she could, her head was sliced.


    Jia''s head was solved. It rolled off her body andnded on the group.


    "I told youst time. If you don''t take my warning, next time we meet, you''ll end up dead." A whisper was heard.


    The shadow turned to a shadow who caught the body of Jia. He ced the body inside the toilet along with the head before locking the door from inside.


    "Time to go proper hunting," Kellian let out, grinning.?He once again turned to a shadow and disappeared.


    ...


    Lucifer was also getting the live feed of the battle which was taking ce at the moment, even though he was far from Elisium.


    He had contacted Vega already to share the battle feed with him as well.


    Lucifer and his team members were watching the feed. Caen and Szar were sitting together while Lucifer was sitting alone.


    Milena noticed him watching something, looking serious


    She got up from her seat and walked to Lucifer, sitting beside him. "Watching something?"


    "The live battle. It has already started. I wonder if we can even get there in time," Lucifer replied, frowning.


    He didn''t understand how the nes were able to use the formations. When he had asked Cassius if he could use the formation as well, he had said that only swordsmen could use the formation with swords. That''s also why he dropped the n of using the formation.


    Now he was seeing somethingpletely opposite to what he heard.


    "Looks like your side is in a bad condition. So many of them are dead, and enemies haven''t evennded on the ground. I thought your side would be stronger?" Milena asked, seeing all the dead on the battlefield.


    "Most of the dead are from the Guilds. All the Uprising Members appear to be safe at the moment, except a few," Lucifer answered.


    "Huh? There are only a few hundred years on the battlefield, and most of them are dead. That means your uprising had so few members? Isn''t that a bit... I mean, you control a nation. Your side should have more than that."


    "Uprising had more members. But we only recently went through two wars. So most of them are dead," Lucifer exined. "Moreover, shouldn''t you be thest person talking about how many members I have?"


    "What do you mean?"


    "I mean, if we go back to basics, all your Nobles died long ago in battles. Even though fewer members survived on Uprising throughout the years, your side didn''t have even a single member survive," Luciferzily said.


    "If we''re looking at living members, Uprising has more. And if you''re talking about dead members, then why count them based on the living? My side had more people die than yours as well. The only difference is that I didn''t have the power to bring them back. I didn''t want to do that either," he continued.


    "Now you''re going on technicalities," Milena rolled her eyes.


    "I-" Lucifer stopped abruptly as he felt a vibration in his pockets.


    He brought his sses and wore them.


    "Are you trying to show off now?" Milena asked, smiling wryly. Seeing Lucifer wear sunsses suddenly was odd, but she couldn''t deny that he looked good even in them.


    "Yeah, Cassius. Did you get what I asked?"


    "I did. But it was a mess. You know, we were caught by the Dean there?"


    "Dean?" Lucifer asked, frowning. "How did you escape? Did you use your family''s influence?"


    Even though Lucifer talked, he kept his eyes on the screen.


    "Hah. You think that guy would have bothered about my influence when he caught me stealing? It was your Grandpa who helped me. At least that''s what I got from their conversation.x


    Lucifer went momentarily silent. "Are you sure?"


    "That''s right. There was a white-haired old man there..."


    Cassius described the characteristics of the man and how everything went. He even talked about the odd thing where the two talked to each other like they were friends and equal.


    "It''s because of him asking for a favor so that we could get out with the Limiters. I didn''t know your Grandpa had that much sway. Didn''t you say he was an Ordinary Variant who lived in a poor vige?"


    "I''m not sure either. Do they know where I am?" Lucifer asked.


    "They do. The Dean said he knew from a long time since you firstnded with the Limiter in Elisium. It doesn''t look like he''s trying to catch you. Even I''m not sure why. He''s going against the Great Families by not catching you. And I have a feeling that it''s because of your Grandfather."


    "That man isn''t my grandfather," Lucifer stated firmly. "Anyway, can youe back? Or send Alicia back with the items?"


    "I''ll being tomorrow. I have already arranged for a flight. How''s everything going in the Divine Empire? Any progress?"


    Lucifer nced at the beautiful yet silent Milena. "That chapter is done. That ce is ours now."


    "Anyway, I''ll talk to youter. I''m getting another call."


    Lucifer disconnected the call as another call started shing on his screen.


    He picked up the second call.


    "Yeah?"


    "Another Warlock Council group?"

 Chapter 525 - 525: Use The Bracelet

    <h4>Chapter 525 - 525: Use The Bracelet</h4>


    "That''s... intriguing. Despite being strong, they''re trying to attack from the back? Must be a backup n for them."


    Lucifer tapped his knees as he wondered what he could do. He was pretty close to the other group. If he wanted, he could have the ne diverted to them.


    Uprising members also needed his help. That was also something he needed to deal with. He couldn''t leave his team alone either. And even though they had started fighting back and destroying the nes, they weren''t in any good condition either.


    "If I''m not wrong, that team could have the second Warlock Leader we talked about. So I can''t send others alone either unless..." Lucifer nced sideways, looking at Milena.


    A smile formed on his face.


    "Why are you looking at me like that?"?Milena looked back in confusion.


    One moment he was talking to her, next moment he started talking to himself and now he was looking at her weirdly? She wondered what was happening with him.


    "You''re here to fight the Warlock Council. And you''re upset that you didn''t get the opportunity to fight themst time, aren''t you? I have a great opportunity for you," he added.


    "What opportunity?"


    "Another Warlock Council team''s ne ising in the same direction. I need to get to my team to help them so I can''t take care of them. But that''s where your team can be helpful. You can have all the fun you want."


    "Also, you don''t need to be concerned about the formation on the nes either since Yasmine''s energy negation would make them ineffective against you. You''re the perfect person to show them a mirror. How about that?"


    "That does sound interesting. But what will I get in return for this extra effort of going alone? How about you take off these bracelets for that?"


    "Don''t even think about it. As for what you''ll get? Are you forgetting you''re their enemy like I am?"


    "I know that I was, but not anymore," Milena smirked.


    "Two leaders of the Warlock Council are killed by your side if you win. Compared to my side, that''s nothing. I don''t think they''lle to the Divine Empire before trying to crush you. Since you''re like a cockroach who doesn''t die, you''ll be in an unending battle. And I''ll just sit back and watch."


    "I don''t have to do anything. I was their biggest enemy before this. But if you win, you''ll take that position. So I am not in a hurry." Milena shrugged.


    Lucifer rubbed his temple. "Since you''re not going to help, do I even need to keep you alive?"


    "Are you threatening me again? Go ahead. Use that Limiter to kill me. You need me."


    "And why would I need you? I don''t like that you alreadypared me to a cockroach of all, but since we''re there, why would I need you since I''m that? I can just keep fighting and winning. If I need to do it alone, I don''t need you."


    "You are entitled to your opinion. But I want something if I want to help now that the Divine Empire isn''t at the risk of attack by the Warlock Council."


    Lucifer red at Milena. "Is that your final decision?"


    "That''s right. If you don''t need my help, you can use that bracelet to kill me. All the Nobles would die too. And you''ll be left alone in the War with your team. And if you want my help, offer me something in return."


    A silence spread in the ne as Lucifer and Milena looked into each other''s eyes.


    Lucifer knew that she was useful alive, then she was dead. Even if he stole her powers, he still couldn''t be at two ces at once. She was perfect to lead Team B. He couldn''t kill her.


    "I''m not taking off the bracelet. That''s final as well," Lucifer replied. "If you want anything else, I can think about it. And if you don''t want anything else and want to be stubborn with this demand, then I''ll actually kill you."


    "Think fast. There''s not enough time."


    "Something else?" Milena rubbed her chin. "I want a favor from you. As long as you ept, I''ll help you in any way possible in destroying the entire Warlock Council."


    "What favor?"


    "Just give me a blind promise that you''ll do any one thing I ask after I help you this time. That would be enough."


    Sitting in the back, Szar shook his head, smiling wryly.


    This girl was asking him to promise? The guy who didn''t care for promises like these? He was sure that Lucifer was going to agree. If the promise was within his rangeter, it was great. If it wasn''t, then he wasn''t going to follow through.


    It was also good since this vague promise was going to keep Milena motivated and ready to fight without throwing such tantrums like now.


    Just as he expected, Lucifer agreed right away.


    "Fine. I''ll do one thing you ask, but only as long as it doesn''t involve taking off this bracelet and something that puts my men in danger."


    "I don''t think it will put your men in danger. As for you, is there anything that''s dangerous for you?"


    "Enough nonsense. I ept your condition. Now prepare to fight. I''ll have the coordinates sent to the pilot where the two nes can meet the fastest if he changes direction.


    "You can also look at this screen. It''ll tell you when you''re near. You can jump out of the ne then."


    Milena nodded.


    "Now move aside," Lucifer told Milena, who was sitting on the seat, blocking him from leaving.


    Instead of standing up, Milena simply moved her legs to the side, creating an opening.


    Lucifer left the seat and walked to the pilot. After talking to him, he came back.


    He stood before the ne door.


    "Caen, Szar,e with me."


    "You''re leaving?" Milena inquired, walking to him.


    "Yeah. We aren''t far from there. We''ll fly. You all take the ne since you need directions more."


    He pushed the door open and jumped out.


    Caen and Szar also jumped behind him.


    The three of them flew in the air, right beside the ce.


    As the ne changed the direction, their figure became more distant until they disappeared entirely.


    Milena was left alone in the ne with no oversight.


    She closed the door and walked back to her seat. Instead of looking at the screen, she started observing the bracelet on her wrist.


    "I need to find a way to get this thing out, so I can be free. And now I have a way. Since the Warlock Council is so advanced in technology, they must know about these bracelets. They''ll have a way out.." A smirk formed on her lips.

 Chapter 526 - 526: Because Of You

    <h4>Chapter 526 - 526: Because Of You</h4>


    Boom~


    Another explosion took ce, taking out the fourth fighter jet as well, leaving only the main nes that were circling in the air.


    Inside one such ne, Kellian had already killed Jia before moving over to the pilot''s cabin sneakily.


    Inside the cabin, the pilot and the co-pilot sat, keeping their entire focus on the ne to know what had appeared behind them.


    The shadow, which started taking shape behind them, pulled out a shadow sword, gripping it firmly.


    The Sword hackled through the air to ultimately slice the heads of both of the Pilots. As their head rolled on the group, Kellian pulled a lever of the ne before leaving.


    Two nes of the Warlock Council were flying close to each other when one of the nes appeared to go out of control. Instead of turning like the other ne, it started going straight to it.


    The pilots of the second ne grew stunned at the development. They hastily tried to turn their ne while trying to talk to the other pilots, but it was all to no avail. There were no pilots to reply to them. And they didn''t have enough time to avoid the collision.


    The nes looked like they were going to sh with each other, and the Warlocks inside the first ne had no idea. They were still watching the battles on their screen.


    The fourth fighter jet was destroyed. It was then that the Warlocks stood up.


    They walked to the doors, ready to jump out as it was their time to join the battle.


    Zhu also stood up. He whistled lightly to call his Snake to him. At the sound of the whistle, the snake came to him. He picked the snake and nced at the gates.


    As soon as the doors opened, the Warlocks saw what was happening outside, bing pale-faced.


    "Step back!" One of them called out as he raised his hand towards the iing ne, using maic fields to create distance between the two nes that were going to collide since he knew what was going to happen if that was allowed.


    Both the nes had defensive formations. When. They were about to sh with each other; these formations were going to get activated, which was good in normal cases but not in this case. When the two formations fought with each other, it was going to be a disaster.


    At the right time, he managed to control the nes, pushing his own ce back.


    Tuck~


    His head abruptly dropped to the ground as soon as he managed to stop his ce. His control was gone, and the ne started falling down.


    Beep~


    Beep~


    The beeping sound started echoing in the ne, but there were people who were more concerned about the death of their fellow who was just standing right beside them.


    "Wh-"


    Another person opened his mouth to speak when his head also dropped on the group.


    It wasn''t just him who had died as the heads of Warlocks started dropping to the ground, one after another.


    Since everyone was more concerned about the collision, no one was alert. Moreover, they couldn''t have expected that the enemy was already inside the ne with them.


    The shadow of each of the Warlocks came to life, appearing behind them. All the shadows sliced their heads before they could even know what was happening


    Before long, more than eighty percent of the Warlocks on this ne had died. Some bodies even dropped off the gates, falling outside. In the meantime, the ne kept going down.


    The Warlocks inside the second ne saw what was happening. One of them flew outside and went to the first ce to stop it from crashing.


    He flew under the falling ne and raised his hand. His handnded on the bottom of the heavy ne that kept falling.


    The dark-haired Warlock kept applying force to slow down the ne. The ne was heavy, but because of his strength and his ability to fly, he had faith that he could stop the ne or at least slow it down.


    However, this act of his was noticed by Jean, who frowned on the ground.


    She made a strange gesture as she moved her hand in a circle.


    Another spear appeared near her, but this time it was smaller than before.


    The spear started flying towards the dark-haired Warlock Council member whose back was facing him.


    The spear reached the Warlock, who managed to slow down the ne, but it stopped before it could hit him.


    "Jay, shouldn''t you watch your back as well? What would you do without me?" A chubby man muttered, standing safely in the second ne.


    He snapped his fingers, changing the direction of the spear. The spear stabbed on the ground.


    The dark-haired Warlock didn''t even know how close he was to death as he continued trying to slow down the ne while his body was pushed closer to the ground.


    "And then we have you." The chubby man smirked, ncing at Jean.


    He jumped off the ne along with all the other Warlocks in that nt.


    ...


    Inside the first ne, Kellian had just killed most of the Warlocks except for one.


    Unlike using other shadows, he had personally appeared behind Zhu to slice his head.


    His shadow Sword moved to Zhu''s throat at the same time as the others.


    The snake in the hands of Zhu hissed fiercely as its crystal skin started shining. Its eyes also turned pale. A shield appeared behind Zhu, which had the face of a fierce snake visible.


    The shield not only stopped the attack of Zhu, but it also fired back some sharp needles that were extremely poisonous towards Kellian.


    Not taking a risk, Kellian hastily returned to the shadows and disappeared.


    "That won''t work here, my friend," Zhu said, smiling.


    "But I must say, you really surprised me. I didn''t expect you to infiltrate the ne. So that''s what the spear was for. And now most of my men are dead because of you."


    He looked around, seeing only dead bodies lying on the ground with blood spilling out of them.


    Almost everyone inside the ne was dead, including Jenillia.


    Even that young girl wasn''t left by Kellian, who wanted every enemy dead. Even the Warlock who could genuinely protect themselves were dead because it was a sneak attack that came from nowhere.


    "Apparently, it wasn''t good enough to take you out," Kellian appeared in the distance. The ne also started stabilizing as the dark-haired man had managed to get it under control.. It was still falling constantly.

 Chapter 527 - 527: Summoned Reversal?

    <h4>Chapter 527 - 527: Summoned Reversal?</h4>


    "You know, the ones who were inside this ne were closest to me. And I don''t appreciate the fact that you killed my people."


    "How about you join them as well in that case?" Kellian answered, smirking. "They would be missing you."


    "No. I have a better n. Instead of joining them myself, I should rather make them join me again."


    Kellian felt weird hearing such words. He could feel that there was something hidden in his words.


    Three shadows appeared around him again, noting out of the ground entirely. One shadow sword also came out from the ceiling, falling to his head.


    Unfortunately, the snake shields once again appeared, stopping all attacks while firing poisonous needles.


    "You should give up. My little friend won''t let anyone hurt me. He likes me too much for me to die," Zhu said as he patted the head of the small snake in his head.


    "It''s futile for you to even try. Oh right. There''s one more person who loves me too much. Want to see him?"


    Zhu made the snake sit on his shoulder. He went down to his knees and made a small circle on the group with his fingers before he started making some strange lines in the middle of the circle.


    As he was only brushing his finger, the circle, for the most part, appeared to be invisible, but as soon as it was finished, every ce he touched started shining.


    "Another formation?" Kellian muttered, ready to disappear if there was a risk.


    The small formation started getting bigger until it was one meter wide.


    The space inside the formation turned pure white. A figure starteding out of the formation. The white light disappeared along with the formation to show a ck cat in its ce.


    "It wasn''t a formation but a summoning circle." Kellian recognized.


    He now understood that Zhu was a summoner.?That meant his individual strength wasn''t high. That was probably why he carried that snake to defend him.


    ''I should''ve killed him when the Snake wasn''t there.''


    Regr and early stage Summoners could summon beasts, but they could only summon weak beasts. That''s why they didn''t need to draw the summoning circle on the ground.


    The high-ranking and powerful Summonersmanded powerful beasts that couldn''t be summoned easily. They needed the aid of the summoning circles to call them forth to this world.


    The Snake was a powerful summoned beast as well. Zhu always kept him outside, never sending it back since it was for his safety. Even though it was hard to keep a beast out every second, but he was fine with it as it was for his safety.


    Kellian had a versatile ability, but he didn''t have the brute force of Tristan to break the shield of that caliber.


    The cat looked ordinary, but it needed a summoning formation, so it was also a powerful beast, ording to Kellian. If one snake was so powerful, how powerful was this cat?


    He was prepared for the cat to attack, but it didn''t. It turned to Zhu, and started scratching his shoes cutely.


    Zhu sat on his knees, smiling wryly. "Are you upset that I didn''t call you out before? Can you forgive me, little guy?"


    He started rubbing the head of the fluffy cat.


    Purr~


    The cat made a noise.


    "Thank you, big guy. Now, can you help me? As you can see, my friends were killed. I need your help. Will you do it?"


    The cat nodded his head. It tapped the floor three times.


    Boom~


    A booming sound echoed, and everything turned white for a moment.


    As Kellian came back to himself, he found himself near the washroom.


    Jia was washing her face as something had fallen on her head.


    Jia also went pale suddenly.


    "W-what was that? Did I have a dream that someone killed me?" She hastily turned back.


    Kellian had already disappeared by then.


    So he wasn''t the only one who remembered that? He was stunned.


    Almost everyone inside the image was alive. Moreover, the ne was safely flying.


    Everyone inside the ne remembered what had happened. They all remember what had happened. They stood up, restless.


    Zhu was still sitting in his seat. The Snake was on hisp. The cat was also beside him this time. That appeared to be the only change.


    "Thank you, big guy. You helped me a lot," Zhu said.


    He stood up and looked at the confused faces of the Warlock Council members.


    "An intruder had stepped inside the ne. He is none other than the person leading our enemies! And I''m sure you all remember dying? That wasn''t a dream! You were all killed by him. But thanks to a friend, we''re back in time. So remain alert. That person is still here!x


    Lucifer was flying towards the city with the others, but the next moment, he found himself sitting beside Milena.


    He also remembered everything that had happened. Milena also remembered it, and so did everyone else.


    They were all confused. What had just happened


    "It''s so strange. I think I''m dreaming in the middle of the day. I saw you asking me to help you, promising me and then leaving with your team. It looks like I''m tired." Milena rubbed her eyes.


    "You aren''t the only one. I saw it too. Something strange is going on?" Lucifer muttered.


    He looked back and asked Szar and Tristan if they saw the same thing. They also agreed.


    '' Was that just a dream we all saw at the same time? But then, how would Milena know what I actually wanted to ask her? That probably happened? So is it something of a rewind where we all remember what happened?"


    ...


    The entire world was facing the same phenomenon as they all remember. The ces where people were murdered by criminals, they also came back to life and started avoiding their death scenario.


    The criminals who were caught by police avoided the ce where they were caught.


    Everyone has the knowledge of their immediate future, and they all started using that to their advantage in various manners.


    Tristan and Das had just destroyed their first fighter jet when they experienced this phenomenon.


    "What happened?" Even they were confused.


    A few people had guessed as to what might have happened, but most didn''t know.


    ''Time reversal? This bastard! How can he have something like that? With this, he will never be defeated, no matter who he fights? No matter what, I must take out that Summoned Cat so he can''t reverse time! Such a headache!'' Kellian thought, hiding in the back.

 Chapter 528 - 528: Running Away?

    <h4>Chapter 528 - 528: Running Away?</h4>


    "Kellian, why are you hiding, my friend? We both know what just happened and what your situation is. Do you think you won''t be found?" Zhu said as a subtle smile formed on his lips.


    "I did hear about that great reputation of yours and how you challenged Jiast time. You know she is a part of my team? When I heard you not only insulted her but even threatened her, I thought you were nothing but an idiot who didn''t know the height of the mountain you talked about climbing."


    "But I''m genuinely impressed. You managed to kill everyone on this ne so easily. That was certainly impressive. That''s why I''ve decided to do something I never thought I would do."


    "And what would that be?" Kellian appeared near the entrance of the pilot''s cabin.


    "So there you are."


    Everyone''s attention was shifted to Zhu. Even Jia red at him. So this bastard actually kept his words. He killed her the next time he saw her, and he did that so easily. She felt insulted. If it weren''t for Zhu, she would be dead.


    Jenilia also stood stunned. This was the first time she had experienced death like that. This was literally her second life.


    She knew that she should''ve been more careful since she was so close to the war. If she had been more cautious, she wouldn''t have died so easily. This showed howcent the Warlocks were since they were inside such a safe ne.


    The cat stood near Zhu, being the focus for Kellian, who was thinking of a way to take it out. It didn''t matter if he wasn''t able to kill Zhu here, but he couldn''t let that Summoned Beast exist here.


    With the cat, it was going to be impossible for him or anyone else to defeat Zhu.


    "As I said, I have a proposal for you. Since you''re actually pretty talented, I want to offer you a position besides me. Join the Warlocks Council."


    Zhu extended his hand towards Kellian.


    "Why should I do that?"


    As Kellian tried to keep him engaged, the shadow of the small cat started rising under the small cat.


    "Because you wo-"


    Zhu tried to answer but stopped as he smiled, noticing the cat teleporting on his other side, leaving that shadow behind.


    "So you were trying to take the little guy out? My young friend, let me tell you. You see how hard it is to kill me with this little guy around?" Zhu pointed towards the snake in his hand. "Now multiply that difficulty by a thousand, and that''s how hard it is to kill the other guy."


    "Why else would I not be keeping him close to my heart before you?" He smiled. "So you must understand your circumstances first. You can''t kill me. And you surely can''t even touch the little guy."


    "So why even fight? You should be happy that I''m giving you an opportunity to get out of this mess. And all you have to do is join my side. You''ll see the results. What else can I offer you? I''m already offering you your life. Isn''t that the best thing?"


    '' Teleportation, Sensing danger, time reversal.'' Kellian could guess some abilities of the beast. For someone like that to be summoned here? No wonder a Summoning Circle was needed. It was a powerful cat.


    He scratched the back of his head as he wondered what he could do. He believed that he could still kill most of the other Warlocks, at least as they were still distracted by him, but what was that going to achieve?


    That cat was going to bring them all back. And it was only going to waste his own time. But he couldn''t back off either. The others were depending on him.


    But he also knew that he didn''t need to surrender and join their side just to save himself. If he wanted, he could easily escape from their midst as if he was never there.


    "Think fast. I won''t give you all day. Your friends have started destroying our pawns, and I am also getting eager to finish the battle fast. So do you choose toe to our side, or do you surrender?"


    "I have already decided." Kellian turned into a shadow that split into fifty parts, all going in different directions. Most of them flew towards the Warlocks, while quite a few went in random directions as well.


    It was impossible for anyone to know which one was real. One such shadow was the real one which had sneaked to the doors in the confusion.


    It easily snuck out of the ne, leaving his other shadows running everywhere inside as bait.


    The Warlock Council members wanted to attack, but they were stopped by Zhu. ''You don''t need to bother. None of them are real."


    Outside the ne, Kellian turned to the shadow of an Eagle and flew straight to Jean.


    Reaching her, he came to his human form.


    Tristan and Das also ran up to him along with Uzuki, who was mostly useless in all this since he was a close range fighter. He couldn''t attack the fighter jets that were all destroyed.


    "What happened inside? We saw the ne crash and Warlocks falling out, but everything disappeared, and we were back in time. Did it not go as nned?"?Jean asked, seeing the nes that were perfectly fine.


    "The enemy is stronger than I thought. He''s a powerful summoner who has two powerful beasts. One can protect him with shields that fire back needles. The other beast is even worse since it can reverse time," Kellian exined.


    "It can also teleport and have a high sense of danger. It seems tough to kill that beast as well," he added before ncing at Jean. "Give me the earpiece back."


    As Jean returned the earpiece, Kellian inserted it in his ears and contacted Lucifer.


    He informed Lucifer everything that had happened before he continued, saying that they couldn''t win the war. He wanted his team to have a strategic retreat.


    Soon he walked back to his team. "It''s final. We''re leaving."


    "We''re running away?" Tristan asked, frowning. "A swordsman never runs! I don''t care how high his defense is. I shall shatter it with my sword!"


    "Tristan, it''s not the time to be stubborn. It''s not running away. It''s only a tactical retreat. We need more nning and more time to take on him. He isn''t an enemy we can defeat with brute force. We need to be clever about it!"


    "Now, don''t argue ande with me! That''s an order," he stated firmly before he started walking to one of the few helicopters that were still safe from the explosion.

 Chapter 529 - 529: Magic Trick

    <h4>Chapter 529 - 529: Magic Trick</h4>


    Kellian stepped inside the helicopter and informed the pilot that it was time to leave.


    Behind him, the other team members also stepped inside, still stunned that they had to leave in such disgrace, but most of them understood that if Kellian was saying that, there must be something to it.


    Most of them took their seats while one woman stood near the door.


    She didn''t even need to talk to Kellian to know what was her responsibility. Her eyes turned bright white as she started using her powers. A white mist started spreading everywhere, covering the entire area within seconds.


    It spread far and wide, bringing visibility down to zero.


    "We''re ready to take off. So where should we go?" The Pilot nced at Kellian.


    "Get us out of Elisium. We need time, and it''s better to not stay in Elisium for the moment as we do it."


    "Roger."


    The pilot got into action mode. The rotors of the ne started moving.


    "May I suggest Triton? That ce is pretty good for hiding?" A calm voice filled the helicopter, which had just started rising a few seconds above the ground.


    Tristan looked to the side to find a man standing there with a smile on his face as if he was just enjoying the show.


    On the man''s shoulder rested a crystal snakefortably. On his left hand was a small ck cat.


    "Why are you all looking at me like you don''t recognize me? Ah, how silly of me. I didn''t introduce myself to you in the first ce."


    "I am known as Zhu by my colleagues. I am the person leading the Warlock Council against you. So I thought it would be better to tell you my name before killing you all."


    "Kellian already met me in the first ce. I''m not sure why he ran so fast without answering me. I also came to get my answer. If one of you can prove his abilities, I''ll also extend the same offer to him. If you can''t, then you better die."


    Tristan stood up, gripping the hilt of his Sword.


    "That reminds me. We won''t be taking off. The weather is better outside. So how about we enjoy it there?"


    Space started changing along with the surroundings. One moment everyone was standing inside the helicopter; the next moment, they were inside the Warlock Council ne, surrounded by all the Warlocks.


    Tristan prepared to attack, but the space changed once again as everyone found themselves standing in the group, still surrounded by the Warlock Council members.


    "Enough ying!" Tristan raged as he pulled his katana out thrice in quick session, firing energy des at Zhu.


    Zhu smirked as he tapped the head of the cat in his hand.


    Purr~


    Following the noise of the cat, Zhu disappeared from where he was standing. Instead, an Uprising Member appeared in his ce. On the other hand, he appeared in the position of the Warlock Council members.


    The attack that was supposed tond on Zhunded on an Uprising member instead.


    "Aww, why are you killing your own team member? Proving your loyalty to me! Not bad. Unfortunately, your abilities aren''t that impressive. You''re nothing but a brute," Zhumented.


    "Y-"


    "Tristan, don''t attack again. Can''t you see? He''s manipting you by intentionally making you upset. He''s just toying with you," Kellian dered. "If he wanted to protect himself from that attack, he didn''t need to dodge. But he''s ying here."


    "Hahaha, you''re clever as well. It''s fun to y around a bit. But don''t stop them from entertaining me," Zhu answered.


    He further continued. "Because the moment I stop being entertained is the moment your team members will die. Don''t you want to see them alive instead?"


    Lucifer was flying towards the town as fast as he could. He was able to hear the conversation taking ce between Zhu and Kellian as well, through the earpiece of his as Kellian was still connected to him.


    "So it can''t only teleport itself, but it can also help you teleport and manipte the space around you. With that, you can switch positions with others or make any person you want appear in a different ce? You''re like the god of the battlefield," Kellian said, trying to get the information to Lucifer.


    The wind kept brushing against Lucifer''s lips as he flew at his fastest speed. "Another teleporting mess? Why is everyone spawning with this messy ability? That summoner..."


    There was only Szar beside him as he had already dropped Caen to a safe ce. Caen wasn''t a fighter, so he couldn''t leave him on the ne with Milena, but he couldn''t take him either, so he left him in a small town along the way where he could stay safe from the battle.


    The roaring sound of a fighter jet fell in Lucifer''s ears, drowning the sound of Zhu''s reply.


    A fighter jet wasing from the distance, straight towards Lucifer.


    "The fifth ne. It must have that annoying shield too," Lucifer muttered, sighing.


    "Doesn''t matter." He sped up in the direction of the fighter jet while taking off his gloves.


    As the fighter pilot saw a person flying towards him, he realized that it was another enemy. He started firing bullets towards Lucifer, who was flying towards him.


    A powerful barrier appeared before Lucifer, taking care of all the bullets until Lucifer reached the ne.


    The formation activated, but instead of being afraid, Lucifer ced his palm on the formation as he started pushing back.


    The ne that was going as fast as it could slowed down a lot at such a fast speed, warning sounds started resounding in the pilot''s ears.


    The Sword formation wasn''t destroyed by Lucifer, who simply let his decay take care of the formation. As soon as the formation was close to breaking, he used his left hand to fire the bolt.


    In the small fraction of a second, when the first formation was broken and before the second could be active, the lightning bolt managed to pass through, shattering the reinforced ss of the jet, which was bulletproof but still unable to defend against the attack of such magnitude.


    The light in the pilot''s eyes dimmed as his head weakly fell ahead.


    Lucifer released the ne and let it race ahead. The trajectory of the ne was downwards, and the elevation kept decreasing with each passing second until the ne actually crashed on the ground.


    He once again races ahead to the town with Cassius.


    "Sigh, you guys are no fun.. If you don''t make it fun, I''ll make it fun myself," Zhu smiled innocently as he looked at thedy in the back.

 Chapter 530 - 530: Toyed

    <h4>Chapter 530 - 530: Toyed</h4>


    A blue-haireddy stood in the back, appearing to be in herte thirties. The woman looked beautiful and gentle, but she was one of the powerhouses of this Warlock Council team.


    "Qissy, attack in any random direction. Let me show you some magic."


    "Y-yes, Sir," Qissy let out, stuttering.


    She was a Warlock Council powerhouse, but her personality was very timid. She didn''t talk much, and when she did, she often stuttered. That was especially the case when she spoke to the man in the back.


    She didn''t question why she needed to attack and just followed themand as she chose one random direction in the mist and attacked.


    "Aaah!"


    Within seconds of her attack, a loud scream spread everywhere as if her attack had hit someone.


    "That was Awlson!" Kellian muttered, recognizing what had happened. This man was really toying with them. He was now making his team members attack in random directions and teleporting their teammates in the line of attack?


    Tristan was intended. It appeared like he wasn''t going to listen to anyone this time. He took a step forward.


    "Tristan?" Kellian called out.


    "What! Don''t stop me now! It''s better to die fighting than die like cowards!"


    "Who told you to stop? What I was going to say is something else. I retract my previous orders! Kill them all even if we die!" Kellian deres as hundreds of shadows appeared all around the Warlock Council members, attacking them.


    Most of the Warlocks were prepared this time for something like that after going through itst time, but still, some of them were killed right away.


    Jia and Jenilia survived, but that was also because of Jenilia''s ability. She managed to restrict one of the shadows that hade to attack her. The shadow soon dispersed.


    "Now that''s more fun!" Tristan dered as he grinned. He pulled out his katana, making a faster attack, but the same thing happened again. Zhu switched ces, but this time he didn''t swap ces with any ordinary Uprising member.


    He switched ces with Tristan, who had just finished attacking, only to end up on the receiving end of his own attack.


    Tristan''s lips opened slightly as he found him facing his own attack. He hastily dodged to the side, barely escaping his attack.


    "What?"


    He had barely dodged the attack when the next moment, he found himself a thousand feet above the ground. He started falling, not controlling himself.


    "This...?"


    Kellian noticed the danger Tristan was in. One of his shadows turned to an Eagle and took to the air.


    The shadow eagle grew in size the higher it flew, ultimately bing ten feet long with a wingspan of twenty feet.


    Tristan turned his body in the air as he saw the eagle sent by Kellian, but before he could evennd on the Eagle, the Eagle disappeared easily.


    It appeared fifty meters away.


    Zhu remained grinning as he saw what was happening. He was enjoying ying with Tristan. For others, this ce was a battlefield, but for him, this ce was simply a yground for him to have fun. He was the god of this ce.


    Despite not being particrly strong on his own, his Summoned Beast made him almost undefeatable. He was known as one of the ten strongest Warlocks of the Warlock Council for a reason, and this was that.


    Despite possessing such dominating ability, he wasn''t particrly appreciated by the Warlock Council members, who believed he was nothing on his own. All of his sess was because of borrowed strength and not his own.


    They couldn''t respect a person like that, even though there was nothing wrong with a Summoner using his Summoned Beasts.


    Like a god, Zhu kept switching the enemies from one ce to another. When his own team members were about to get hurt, he switched their ces with the enemies.


    The whole ce had turned chaotic, and the Uprising Members had no idea as to what was happening.


    There was another ce that had be chaotic, and it also involved the Warlock Council team. Unlike the first team, the second team was the one that was being dominated instead.


    They didn''t have the summoned beasts of Zhu, which was something that they were missing a lot since their enemy had that.


    Arthur was no less like a devil for them. Firstly, Milena''s Energy Negation stopped the ne''s defense from working. Second, she even entered with force after breaking the windshield.


    It was a ughter fest as the ne started falling. Milena started attacking the Warlock Council members. Another noble restricted the leader of the team from even moving. All he could do was watch his men being killed by Milena and Arthur. The other Noble Lords left behind, watching the massacre.


    Within minutes, all the Warlocks inside the ne were dead. Only the leader of the group was left.


    "Was that all? And here I thought that Warlock Council leaders were threatening and challenging? What''s this?"


    "What are you doing here, Milena Sephene?" the leader of the group asked.


    "If you all cane to me, why can''t Ie to you?" Milena asked. "Anyway, you don''t need to ask why I left you alive. The answer is simple. I want something from you. If you can help me with that, I might help you take out Lucifer Azarel and Uprising."


    "And why would you do that?" the leader asked.


    "Because I don''t like him either? All of you are arrogant, but he''s even more arrogant. I want to support you to take him out. Moreover, he has the stone you need now. He took that from me. You can take that stone from him and forget this enmity between us."


    "You''re saying that after you killed all my men?"


    "Don''t worry. They aren''t dead. They''ll be brought back by me," Milena smirked. "Anyway, what choice did I have? You weren''t going to listen to me anyway? You would''ve just attacked me at first nce. This was needed to get your attention."


    "I leave this choice to you. Are you with me or not? Because if you''re not, I can kill you and go to another leader. I heard there are quite a few there. Maybe they''ll listen?"


    "What do you want in exchange?" The man asked, frowning. If this demoness wanted a deal, it couldn''t be for something easy.


    "It''s simple. I want you to take this thing off of me," Milena said, raising her hand to reveal the bracelet.


    "You want me to take off your bracelet? Why don''t you take it off yourself? Break it if it''s too tight to remove? Why do you need me for that?"


    "Because it''s not an ordinary bracelet."

 Chapter 531 - 531: Lure

    <h4>Chapter 531 - 531: Lure</h4>


    "It does look like an ordinary bracelet. What''s special about it?"


    "This bracelet stops me from using my powers as long as the person who ced this on me wants that. He could also use the bracelet to kill me if he wanted." Milena touched the bracelet.


    "I heard the Warlock Council is technically advanced. You must have a way to get this thing off of me. If you can do that, I''ll support you."


    "A bracelet that can restrict powers? That''s fascinating," the middle-aged man muttered. "Can you free me so I can see closely?"


    "I think this isn''t the ce to," Milena said, smiling."Within seconds, this ne will crash on the ground."


    The ne was still falling to the ground. Only the speed was slower now because Milena''s powers were influencing the fall.


    Arthur teleported in front of the door and pushed it open, and flew outside.


    Milena also left through the door, taking the Warlock Council leader with her. When she stepped out of the ne, the ne was only a hundred meters above the ground.


    She and her team members stepped aside, watching the ne crash.


    All of themnded safely in the distance while a cloud of smoke spread everywhere.


    "Now, I''m going to release you. But remember it. If you tried anything, you''d end up dead faster than you can say sorry." Milena freed the Warlock Council leader from her restriction and stepped back.


    The middle-aged man stepped closer to Milena and touched the bracelet.


    "Don''t try to do anything if you don''t know how it works," Milena said as she frowned. She didn''t want the man to try to break the bracelet here if he didn''t have any knowledge.


    "I still can''t see anything special about this bracelet, but it does have this white light. It doesn''t look like an ordinary bracelet either. If it actually works as you described, this would be really fascinating."


    He soon freed the hand of Milena before he stepped back.


    "Someone was able toe up with a technology like this to restrict the Variants? I must study it! Can youe back to the Warlock Council with us?" he asked Milena.


    "Come back to the Warlock Council? So you can''t help me here?" Milena asked.


    "I would need to know more about it. I don''t have information about it at the moment, but I believe we can find more at ourb. Moreover, if we know its secret, we might be able to mass produce something like this. It''ll be a game changer."


    "Sigh, that''s a disappointment. I was thinking I could be free," Milena muttered, looking down. She turned around and started walking away.


    Thud~


    The middle-aged man suddenly dropped to the ground, lifeless.


    "If I wanted to go to Warlock Council, why would I ask you for help?" She said, sighing. "I was thinking you could help. Disappointment. Such a massive disappointment. It looks like it''s better and easier to stick with him instead. I must win his trust and get him to take off this bracelet."


    "You think you can do it? He doesn''t seem like a person who can trust someone? Moreover, he himself breaks the trust of everyone. Those kinds of people are the hardest to fool since they''re so hard headed."


    "I can at least try. Even though I know that it''s hard though," Milena muttered, shaking her head.


    Feronia caught up to Milena and chimed in, "Why don''t you use your biggest weapon against him? Use his weakness!"


    "Hmm? His Weakness? What''s that? And what is the biggest Weapon? Are you forgetting that he can kill me with a thought? Will he let me use a Weapon?" Milena looked back with confusion.


    "Ah, you don''t understand, Your Majesty. I''m talking about the weakness that all men have! He won''t be different. We heard this story, right? He never had a romantic interest. And he''s most probably a virgin,* Feronia let out, grinning.


    "Cough! Feronia, what are you getting at? Mind your words. Don''t be vulgar!" Yasmine let out, her face turning red like a tomato.


    "Oh,e on. What''s vulgar about it? The truth is the truth," Feronia responded.


    Arthur, on the other hand, decided to stay out of this topic.


    "So...? What are you getting at? How is being a virgin his weakness?" Milena asked. "I''m one too. I don''t see any weakness in it?"


    "You don''t understand the world, Your Majesty. Men are creatures of their desires. And they are emotional fools! He never had a romantic interest, so he must be pretty weak in that department."


    " If you can make him fall for your charms, what won''t he do? If he falls in love with you, he will do anything for you."


    "Not only would he not harm you, but he''ll also remove this bracelet. Which lover would keep his lover in such restrictions? Moreover, he would also listen to you more. That''s his weakness. And your biggest strengths are your looks and your personality."


    "You just have to make him fall in love with you and then watch him dance on your fingers," Feronia said, shing a cheeky smile.


    "D-do I really have to do that? You do it! You''re better than me. You seem experienced as well. You do it for me!"


    "I''m not the one that needs to get that bracelet off, Your Majesty. Even if he falls in love with you, he''ll still treat you as an enemy. Even if he trusts me, he''ll still be suspicious of you. He won''t take off the bracelet!" Feronia answered. "So you must do it yourself!"


    Milena looked at Feronia nkly. She knew that this n made sense. And it was probably faster too, but she had no idea as to how she would do it.


    "How shall I do it? I don''t have any experience in romance either. How should I make him fall for me?" Milena askew. "I''m not sure how, but he always knows when I''m being fake with him."


    "Then don''t be fake with him. Be your true self and just do small things that can make him notice you more. Don''te strong on him. Don''t be too fake either. And try to act genuine. Don''t worry; I''ll teach you everything. After my training, there won''t be a single guy who won''t fall for you!"


    Arthur scratched the back of his head. ''Just what is Feronia trying to teach her? Whatever, I''m not stepping into this mess. These girls will handle it.''


    "Let''s go to Lucifer to help him. I''ll tell you more on the way." Feronia flew towards their ce, which was circling in the sky.


    All of them stepped inside the ne and closed the doors.

 Chapter 532 - 532: Not Bad

    <h4>Chapter 532 - 532: Not Bad</h4>


    Tristan kept falling from the sky rapidly. He didn''t have any ability which could help him fly. Kellian was trying to save him, but all the help he sent was being teleported to a different ce


    Standing in the distance, Zhu had a wide grin on his face as he was waiting for the fall of Tristan.


    He didn''t even bother with defense.


    "Hmm?"


    His snake barrier appeared behind him as an explosion took ce.


    "That''s an interesting ability you have there," he turned to nce at Das. "I''m interested in you too. Keep performing, and maybe I''ll give you the same offer. In the meantime, I''ll watch the show."


    He again looked at Tristan.


    Tristan kept getting closer and closer to the ground. The distance of a hundred feet turned to fifty and then to thirty. It only decreased faster as his speed increased.


    Kellian kept trying to save him, but nothing he could do was working. Even his shadows were out of bounds in this teleport.


    Finally, the distance between Tristan''s face and hand ground remained only five feet.


    As his face reached only a few inches away from the ground, Tristan''s body stopped, remaining mid-air.


    "What?" Zhu frowned. He was expecting a ssh and blood everywhere, but Tristan stopped, and now he was floating in the air. Moreover, no one was nearby.


    Roar~


    The roaring of the clouds resounded as winds increased, taking all the mist away with it, clearing the path.


    The mist was removed to reveal half the Uprising Members who were still alive. The Warlock Council members were still perfectly fine; however, they also started dropping on the ground, one after another, as the winds sliced their throats.


    The winds that looked ordinary didn''t be grim reapers as they sliced the heads of the Warlocks.


    Same wind des attacked Zhu, but his shield appeared again as the snake hissed, protecting Zhu from the attacks.


    Just to be safe, Jenilia and a few Warlocks had also cast a shield around them who had the ability to use shields as soon as they saw the strange behavior of wind.


    Despite that, most of the Warlocks were dead. Only ten or so survived.


    "Do we have a new guest?" Zhu smirked, noticing the strange winds. He was sure that the Uprising Members couldn''t do it. If they could, they would have done it already.


    "Are you alright?" A calm voice fell in the ears of Tristan as Lucifer flew to him.


    "So you finally got here. About time," Tristan muttered, sighing. "I thought I was gone today."


    "Can''t let you die now, can I?" Lucifer asked, smiling as hended beside Tristan.


    The winds gently ced Tristan on the ground.


    "Ah, the sketches were of you. I really didn''t think that it was true. You are just a kid. Are you even eighteen? Bing a leader of such Calibre at such a young age? Not bad."


    Luciferzily ribbed his neck as he turned around.


    "Killing so many of my men. Not bad either," Lucifer responded.


    "Hahaha, I was just having fun. But it''s good. You''re here. I was starting to get bored. So let me guess how you saved that man. Did you use your wind to hold him? Even if I teleport wind, more will take its ce. So it won''t work, isn''t it right?" Zhu asked.


    Lucifer didn''t answer him. Instead, he looked at the cat in the hand of Zhu and the Snake.


    He couldn''t help but wonder what would happen if he could take the powers of Zhu. Will he be a summoner? It wasn''t the same as taking the powers of a Warlock. Summoning didn''t just depend on the ability but more factors as well.


    Could he still be able to summon that cat after that? That seemed unlikely since that beast was bonded with Zhu. Even if he got his powers, he couldn''t summon that cat.


    His summoned beast depended on his natural affinity, and it could be anyone. It could be that cat, or it could also be a random beast that was useless.


    He also realized that if he turned Zhu into an undead, would he be able to control the cat? That seemed unlikely too, since these beasts weren''t inanimate powers.


    "Are you thinking about how you can kill me?" Zhu asked, smiling. "But what''s the hurry? Let''s continue the game. I''ll toss him in the sky again, and you have to catch him. And you can use your wind."


    "Because this time, I won''t be teleporting the wind. I''ll be teleporting him to random ces. If you can prevent his death, you''ll win. And if you can''t, we''ll y with someone else."


    "What if I win?" Lucifer asked.


    "Then I''ll let all the Warlocks of your team leave safely. How''s that?" Zhu inquired. He had faith in himself, so he was sure that it was impossible for Lucifer to win.


    "I have a better game instead. I wonder if you''re interested," Lucifer answered.


    All the Uprising Warlocks had started gathering behind him.


    Jenilia kept staring at Lucifer, unable to believe what was right in front of her eyes. It was actually Lucifer. She was wrong, and Jia was right. This guy had fooled her on the ship and in the car, lying to her again and again?


    She didn''t know what to think right now. She had considered Lucifer a good friend that was nothing more than a civilian, but it was all nothing but a feeble illusion.


    Zhu patted the small cat in his hand. "What game? If you have anything better, do suggest."


    "Ten minutes. You have five minutes to kill Tristan. If you can''t kill him, I''ll win, and the others can leave. If I win, you win, and you can go again. How''s that?" Lucifer asked.


    "That''s even better. The fall would take less than five minutes after all. I ept."


    "You won''t go back on your words?"


    "I won''t. I promise on my dignity as a Warlock Council leader. If you can keep Tristan alive for the next five minutes, I''ll let all your team members leave alive."


    "Deal then." Lucifer looked at his clock. "Your time starts now "


    "Heh." Zhu tapped the head of the ck cat gently.


    Lucifer kept looking at Zhu, whose smile started disappearing. Soon, his looks changed to a frown as his brows furrowed.


    He looked at the little cat. "Little guy, stop ying with me. I don''t have time. Please help me."


    The cat purred innocently as she closed her eyes firmly. It red at Tristan and tried again, ultimately shaking her head.


    "What happened suddenly?" Zhu muttered. "Your powers don''t work now?"


    "Try teleporting me."

 Chapter 533 - 533: Why?

    <h4>Chapter 533 - 533: Why?</h4>


    As soon as he said that, he disappeared and appeared ten steps back.


    He looked at one of his teammates and tried again. He also teleported.


    "Strange. It works on him. It works on me. Then why didn''t it work on the guy? Try again!"


    The cat tried again, shaking her head in the end. It wasn''t working.


    Lucifer stood cross-armed as he watched the confusion on the face of Zhu.


    He already knew that Zhu was going to take a long time to understand it.


    Lucifer was using Energy Negation. And he was using it all around him. All the Uprising Members were covered in it. And Space Energy didn''t work in this field.


    The only time Teleportation worked in the Energy Negation field was when the Warlock was using it on himself. Zhu could Teleport in and out of the area, but he couldn''t send anyone outside the field who was standing inside. It was impossible unless the person using the Teleportation was holding that person.


    He got to learn such secrets of space from Arthur when he was leading them in the War.


    Even though he wasn''t entirely sure if this would be the same, he was still mostly sure. And it looked like it was working.


    Zhu tried to use the Teleportation on another Uprising Member, but nothing happened.


    "So it''s your doing! How are you stopping it?"


    "One minute is over," Lucifer dered.


    "This, fine. I''ll kill him personally," Zhu muttered as he sat on his knees. He started drawing another circle.


    "You can''t let him finish! He''s Summoning another beast!" Kellian warned Lucifer.


    "It''s alright. I want to see what beast he can summon," Lucifer responded, not interfering. He had a n for the beast. And he was sure that the beast was going to be some attack type beast this time. "But that doesn''t mean I can''t have some fun."


    He tapped his feet lightly on the ground. Following his tap, the earth started shaking. The ground where Zhu was drawing also changed as a bone came out of the ground. Another one came, followed by one more. Soon, there were five bones which soon revealed to be giant skeleton fingers as the hand also came out.


    Zhu teleported ten steps back, avoiding being caught.


    "This Skelton? I think I saw it before," Zhu muttered. "Isn''t that the same skeleton that is used by one of our Warlocks? He was sent to the Divine Empire. It''s fascinating. He possesses the same ability?"


    Another skeleton hand came out of the ground, followed by a skeleton hand. Soon, the giant skeleton waspletely out of the ground, facing Zhu.


    "John, handle the skeleton. I don''t have time," Zhuzily said as he disappeared. It was unclear where he had gone, but he wasn''t visible.


    "Did he run?" Tristan asked, frowning.


    "He went to a safe ce to finish his Summoning Circle. Should I try to find him?" Kellian took a step forward.


    "No need. You stay here. In the meanwhile, I''ll take care of the rest."


    Stretching his arms, he stepped forward.


    As Zhu had disappeared, there was no one tomand them. The Warlock Council grew impatient as they watched Lucifer step to them.


    They decided to take everything into their own hands as they ran towards Lucifer.


    A ck robed man stepped forward, smirking. "You are too arrogant."


    A small cloud appeared above Lucifer, which wasn''t as high as the dark clouds. It was only two meters wide, but it was able to cover him entirely in its shadow.


    "Blood Rain!" He called out.


    Red droplets started falling from the cloud that appeared to be blood.


    A shield appeared above Lucifer, and the same appeared around all the Uprising members just to be sure.


    The blood kept falling on the shield, unable to prate but the droplets that fell on the ground made Lucifer understand what this rain was.


    "It is called Blood Rain, but it''s no less than Acid Rain, isn''t it? With just that, you called me arrogant? It seems you have some problem of arrogance. Let me show you what true arrogance is," Lucifer grimly dered. "And what true clouds can do."


    Boom~


    A ck lightning bolt fell from the sky. The dark-haired man tried to dodge the bolt as he saw iting straight for him; however, he couldn''t run Anusha.


    The barrier of Lucifer had appeared all around him, trapping him in the middle, unable to let him move. Only his head was out of the barrier, and that''s also where the bolt fell.


    The ck bolt fell on his head, impaling his body. His painful scream echoed in the ears of all the Warlock Council members before it went silent, scaring them as well.


    "Pretty good barrier. It takes care of the ws," Lucifer muttered, amused.


    He had used the lightning before. Most of the time, he was able to kill the enemy, but there were times when even they were able to avoid it. However, the barrier worked well to trap them.


    Lucifer shifted his gaze at the others. More barriers appear around the others, but even letting them move. ck lightning bolts kept falling from the sky, killing the Warlocks that were left.


    Most of them cast a barrier of their own above their heads, but their barrier was nowhere as strong as the barrier of Derek, which could resist lightning. The barriers shattered like a ss window that faced a stone thrown towards it.


    The lightning bolt fell on the heads of all the Warlock Council members, leaving only one.


    Lucifer nced at the only remaining person who was also trapped in the barrier.


    "We meet again, don''t we?" he asked Jenilia.


    "So you lied to me that you were a businessman?"


    "That wasn''t a lie. I''m a businessman." Lucifer spread his arms. "And this is my business."


    "You can''t me me for this. I didn''t go to the Warlock Council to attack. You all came to our home. So don''t me us."


    "Why even justify yourself? Go ahead and kill me. That''s all your Dark Warlocks are good at. First, you killed my brother and now everyone else. Go ahead and kill me too!"


    "Your brother? Which one of these was your brother?" Lucifer asked, amused.


    He was surprised that Jenilia didn''t yell when her brother was killed here.


    "Not here! He wasing to Elisium! You people blew his ne so you could start this war! I don''t think no one would know! We checked the flight proofs. There was one from Elisium that came with just one passenger!"


    Lucifer understood which person she was talking about. Kellian had told him. But he couldn''t ept it.


    "That''s a false usation.. Why would we kill your brother? Do we even need to wage war? And why should we kill them in another city? If we wanted war, shouldn''t we kill him in Elisium? What nonsense."

 Chapter 534 - 534: Third Summon

    <h4>Chapter 534 - 534: Third Summon</h4>


    Even though he didn''t need to talk so much to Jenilia since he could kill her easily, he remembered that she had helped him before. Moreover, she could still be of use in getting inside Triton.


    There were many Warlocks here when he arrived, but Jenilia was the weakest. She was just an intern in the Warlock Council, so she wasn''t close to as strong as the other Warlocks that were here.


    Moreover, she was also the least threatening. If he needed to take a hostage to get some insider information, she was the perfect person. She didn''t need to be concerned about her in the least.


    Also, if he needed to leave one person alive here, she was a better choice since she already knew him and helped him in the past as well, so she had an advantagepared to others.


    "We didn''t need to bother with your brother, did we? If we wanted this war, why would we kill him in another city? And if it was because we were scared of war, then why would we insult your envoys when they came here? There are just too many loopholes in the story of yours," Lucifer exined.


    "And as far as the flight is concerned, you shouldn''t forget something important either. Elisium only recently came out of a civil war. Not many people were traveling after that point in fear. So it''s not surprising that only one person went on one flight."


    "Anyway, I won''t be killing you. I think you were just misled into thinking that we were the bad guys. But that''s not true. We are just the warriors who wanted to take back our nation from the people that were bringing it down to the ground."


    "And after that, we wanted to keep it safe and out of influence from other nations. We didn''t want the Warlock Council to interfere in our matters. Were we wrong? We didn''t harm the envoy that came here. We let her leave safely. Why? And after that, we were attacked. Were we wrong or you?"


    Seeing Jenilia not answering, Lucifer turned his back on her. "I''ll leave you to think about it. Even though the answer is right before your eyes, you can take as long as you want to think about it."


    "Four minutes are already over. Where exactly is that guy?" Lucifer walked back to Kellian and the others. "How long does it take toplete a formation?"


    "It should''ve been faster. It took him less time to call out that cat. I''m not sure why it''s taking him long."


    "Does the time depend on the strength of the beast they intend to call?" Lucifer asked, frowning.


    "That is the case, but which beast can take longer than the space maniption cat? If it''s actually the case, that beast would be pretty strong."


    "That''s good. The stronger, the better," Lucifer smiled.


    "Why does it look like you wanted him to call out a beast? Instead of attacking him, you let him run?"


    Lucifer didn''t answer. Instead, he kept his focus on the time on the clock. There were only thirty seconds left in the deadline, and Zhu was nowhere in sight.


    "Thirty seconds more. And you can leave."


    "Should we really leave? What about you?"


    "You don''t need to be concerned about me. I have my ways to take him out."


    "But his cat... He can go back in time. We''ll all end up back here eventually. So is it really good?" Tristan asked.


    "Better than you all staying behind for him to use you against me. Just get ou-"


    "Hmm? You''re back."


    Lucifer could see Zhu back. He was standing in the distance with the cat and the Snake. There was no other beast with him.


    "So you took them out in my absence? Why leave this one girl alive? Do you have a crush on her?" Zhu asked, ncing at Jenilia. "I''ll again have to work on bringing them back. Oh well, I should just let them be. I''ll think about themter."


    "Ten seconds left," Lucifer dered, ignoring everything else.


    "Nine...."


    "Eight..."


    "Sev-"


    Lucifer reached the count of seven to stop. He could feel the ground vibrating slowly.


    It wasn''t just under his feet but all around him.


    The vibration soon stopped, and the ground between Zhu and Lucifer split apart, wide, and a dark shadow flew out of the split. The shadows circled in the sky once beforending in the ground before Zhu, revealing itself to be a winged creature.


    The dragon-like creature waspletely ck, so much so that it was hard to distinguish it from a shadow when it was moving.


    It had two short feet that were shorterpared to his size and a big stomach. There was a lizard-like head on this creature, and two ck wings remained spread wide behind him.


    There were only five seconds left before five minutes were going to be over. The Dark Dragon flew straight towards Lucifer, flying even faster than the speed of light as it attacked Tristan.


    Tristan brought his Sword out, not waiting for this thing to get close to him. A dark arc of light left his sword and towards the Dark Dragon.


    The Dragon didn''t stop and simply used his ws to stop the attack as it continued.


    "You''re pretty good, aren''t you? That''s perfect!" Lucifer muttered as he stepped before Tristan. "I''ll take it from here."


    Just to see the strength of the Dragon, he cast a barrier before him. The Dragon shed with his ws, shattering the powerful barrier which impressed Lucifer even more.


    Lucifer finally moved. Still, three seconds were left in five minutes


    The Dragon shed towards Lucifer''s neck to take him out fast to kill Tristan at thest second.


    Lucifer took a deep beast before yelling as loud as he could. The ws of the Dragon that wasing towards him stopped as the Dragon roared like crazy because of the supersonic sounding from Lucifer''s lips.


    It was one of the abilities he had stolen. Even though it was powerful enough to kill the enemy when used in close proximity, it wasn''t strong enough to kill the Dragon, but he didn''t want to kill either.


    It served a different purpose. As the beasts were more sensitive towards the noise, it worked even more to distract them. Not only the Dragon but even the ck cat and the snake started making noise in pain.


    The Dragon was distracted momentarily as he felt like his ears were going to start bleeding.. He had forgotten hismand and the mission entirely.

 Chapter 535 - 535: Snatching

    <h4>Chapter 535 - 535: Snatching</h4>


    Three seconds were over as well,pleting five minutes and the challenge of Lucifer, but at this point, that wasn''t the goal. The goal now was something different.


    Lucifer''s right hand changed to the ws. He thrust his ws in the stomach of the ck Dragon. The Dragon looked like a shadow, but that was his real skin.


    The pain of being stabbed made the Dragon go even crazier. He also stabbed his ws in Lucifer''s chest.


    Lucifer continued screeching, not because of pain. He didn''t care that he was stabbed. He was, however, waiting for something else. Only after five more minutes did he stop.


    The Dragon also stopped as his eyes turned nk.


    "Take your hand out," Lucifermanded.


    The Dragon pulled his hand back, leaving a big hole in Lucifer''s chest, which started healing.


    Zhu was stunned to see his dragon listen to themand of another person.


    "Kill him, big guy!" He yelled. The dragon ignored him.


    "I think I should thank you for giving me this gift. I always wanted a beast that could fly. You solved that problem," Lucifer smiled, ncing at Zhu.


    "You! What did you do to my Summoned Beast!"


    "I did nothing. I just made it mine. Also, five minutes are over. But then again, I don''t really need your permission to let my men leave. I can simply kill you myself.?I was just wondering what to do with your beasts. I have an answer to that question now."


    "You yed a gamest time. It''s my turn to y a hand. Five minutes. You have five minutes. If you can survive, I''ll let you have the beast back."


    Zhu''s frown deepened. This guy was actually mocking him? Did he really think it was hard for him to survive for five minutes? He had the Snake for protection. If he wanted, he could also teleport away and return after five minutes.


    He didn''t know what Lucifer did to take his beast, but he didn''t need to take it in. He couldn''t let the Dragon be in Lucifer''s control.


    "I would''ve loved to y this game, but I don''t have to. I would''ve been fine with my men dead, but I can''t let you take my beast.?Time to change the past so I couldn''t make the same mistake."


    He brought his finger down to tap the head of the cat. Lucifer already expected that as well. He had noticed that the man tapped the head of the cat as a signal for her to use her powers. He was sure he was going to have her reverse time like that as well.


    Before the fingers of Zhu couldnd on the head of the man, Lucifer started yelling again, using the same screeching power. The cat and the snake again started struggling restlessly with the noise.


    Zhu rapped the head of the cat, but nothing happened. The cat didn''t look like it was in the mood to think about anything else since it was in extreme difort.


    This time, the Dragon wasn''t struggling though. His mind was asleep, and it didn''t bother him since he was in Lucifer''s control.


    The Dragon started flying towards Zhu.


    "W-what! Don''t you dare attack me! I''m your master!" Zhu yelled hysterically as he stepped back.


    "Cast the barrier!" Hemanded the snake as he didn''t see the dragon stop. As the screeching continued, the Snake didn''t listen either. Without it, Zhu had nothing. He didn''t have an attack or defense of his own. Without his beasts, he was mostly an ordinary human.


    He started running back, only hoping that the Snake would cast the barrier in an emergency. In the meantime, he continued calling the snake and the cat again and again, but no one listened.


    sh!


    The Dagon reached Zhu and swung his ws towards Zhu, who was cowardly running.?It hadn''t even been one minute before the head of the Zhu dropped on the ground.


    Soon, his body also followed suit, dropping with a thud.


    Lucifer didn''t want the cat to reverse time to bring its master back, so he continued screeching as he flew towards the body of Zhu.


    The cat and the snake rolled on the ground even more crazily as Lucifer reached the beasts. The first thing he did was turn both his hands into a w. He stabbed one in the summoned cat and the other in the Summoned Snake.


    Only after he saw them stop moving did he bring his ws out.


    "That takes care of things."


    He turned around, looking at the men. "Get in the helicopter and go back to the base."


    "And you?"


    "I''lle backter. I have some things to do."


    "What about the girl?"


    "Leave her behind. I''ll bring her back too."


    After some rifications, Kellian nodded and went back to the helicopter with the others.


    The Warlock Council members left in the helicopter while Szar remained behind.


    "Did you already know that it was the answer to take him out? Or was it luck?" Szar stepped closer to Lucifer.


    "I had a feeling. I wasn''t sure if it was actually going to work. I studied a bit about tamers. The Variants who can use noise work great against them since most Summoned Beasts can''t bear the noise. Of course, that''s not the case with all beasts."


    "So you took a risk that yed out."


    "I guess you can say that. But even if it hadn''t worked, I had other ways. The only problem was this little cat. If this n hadn''t worked, this cat would''ve been troublesome."


    "In fact, I''m not even sure if what I''m trying to do will work or not."


    "And what is it that you''re trying to do?"


    "Three minutes... After three minutes of the death of the summoner, the beasts disappear. I''m wondering if I can keep them here since they''re under my control. If it works, it''ll be great."


    Lucifer kept looking at his clock as he talked.


    He observed the three Summoned Beasts. "You three aren''t allowed to leave."


    The beasts nodded.


    The time continued trickling away.


    "Five seconds."


    "Four."


    "Don''t leave, right? Remember that!"


    "Two..."


    "One..."


    As soon as Lucifer finished the count, he started frowning. A Summoning Circle had appeared under all three of his beasts.


    The beasts were resisting as per hismands but looked like they were losing the battle.


    "They can''t do it. I''ll need to help them, it seems."


    He reached out his hand and touched the summoning circle that was trying to take his beasts back.


    He thought he would be able to decrease the power of the circle with his decay, but he hadn''t expected that it was going to be something different.


    The three beasts disappeared, and they weren''t alone. Lucifer was also sucked by the Summoning Circle.. They all disappeared.

 Chapter 536 - 536: Reverse Summon

    <h4>Chapter 536 - 536: Reverse Summon</h4>


    The Summoning Circle worked with the nature. It was something that took the summoned beasts back to their worlds after the summoner died or when the summoner decided to send them back. It was a natural process.


    Since Lucifer tried to use his decay on the Summoning Circles, something changed in the circles. It was as if his decay did damage the Summoning Circle but not the way he was expecting.


    Instead of stopping the Summoning Circle, he damaged the limiter of the Circle, which made sure that only Summoned Beasts were called back.


    The summoning circle spread to find five meters, swallowing everything inside, living and dead. All the bodies disappeared. Szar also disappeared, and so did Jenilia.


    The entire ce was left empty.


    After half an hour, Milena reached the ce with her team.


    "Looking at the scene, it should be the ce where the battle took ce. Apparently it''s already over," Arthurmented, observing the scene.


    "He didn''t even tell us that it was over. His pilot must know who to contact and where to go. Let''s go to his base." Milena flew back to the ne that was circling in the sky with her team.


    ...


    Thud!


    "Ouch!"


    A body fell on the ground, followed by a pained noise of ady.


    Soon after, a man also fell on the ground, appearing out of thin air. The man slowed down time so he couldn''t be hurt. He safelynded on the ground. He appeared in a different ce than thedy before him, but he wasn''t too far. The distance was only a hundred meters between the two.


    Next, another man appeared, who happened to be a silver haired young man. Lucifer also controlled his body mid-air to safelynd on the ground.


    Hended in the middle of Jenilia and Szar.


    Szar ran to Lucifer. Jenilia nced at him briefly before she looked around. She wanted to approach him too, but she decided that it was better to leave.


    She turned around and started walking away.


    "And where are you going?" Lucifer shook his head, raising his head towards thedy.


    The barrier once again appeared, trapping thedy.


    Szar caught up to Lucifer. "This ce looks strange, doesn''t it?"


    He could see the trees that were blood red instead of green. The sky was pale green, which also looked odd.


    And they couldn''t see any sun in the sky.


    "Are we even on earth?"


    Lucifer also observed the sky. "I''m not sure either. I shouldn''t have messed with the Summoning Circle. It''s a teleportation formation as well. Maybe it tossed us into another world? Or maybe it''s just a different part of the earth?"


    He wore his sses and tried to call Kellian, but the call didn''t collect. He also couldn''t use any data. It was as if the sses were disconnected from the satellite.


    "I was right. We aren''t on earth," Lucifer muttered.


    "If not earth, then where? And how would we go back?" Szar asked.


    "We''ll have to find a way back. Maybe we can try the same thing again. Summon a beast and then mess with the formation. Better than nothing," he added.


    Lucifer nodded as he looked around. "The problem is how to summon a beast? I don''t have the powers of a Summoner. And apparently Zhu''s body didn''te here with us."


    Just as Lucifer finished speaking, a body dropped to his feet, appearing out of thin air. The body belonged to one of the Warlocks under Zhu.


    "It looks like bodies came too. Zhu''s body should being here as well. Then we can leave. Fortunately, it isn''t that bad." Szar said, sighing a breath of relief.


    "You shouldn''t raise any red gs at this point," Lucifer let out, smiling wryly.


    He stopped before Jenilia. "Where were you running off to? Do you even know we aren''t on earth? Without us, you won''t be able to get back."


    "We aren''t on earth?" Jenilia asked, stunned.


    Lucifer pointed up. "Look up. Since when is the sky on earth green? Now stop being an idiot and work with us."


    Lucifer removed the barrier prison as he sat down, waiting for more bodies toe.


    Every minute, one body fell from the sky. The beasts didn''te even after all this time.


    "There it is!" Lucifer stretched his arms as he watched the body of Zhu fall.


    His head fell fifty meters away from his body. First, he flew to the head, and then he went to the body.


    As Lucifer''s back was facing Jenilia, she couldn''t see what he was doing. All she saw was that the body of Zhu had decayed.


    She couldn''t help but shake his head. Such a powerful Warlock was reduced to ash by a kid. No wonder the Warlock Council was so interested in the Uprising leader. He was even more threatening than what they heard.


    She could also remember his words. It was them who had attacked the Uprising, not the Uprising who attacked first. It was true that they were arrogant, but that didn''t change the fact that they were just defending themselves now. Moreover, if it was true that they didn''t kill her father, then it meant they were in the wrong.


    Her mind was totally conflicted right now. She was her enemy who wiped the team she was a part of. But she was also the person who was in the wrong and not him. Did she really have the high ground to me him? In fact, his men died before their men died.


    Lucifer stood up and walked back to Szar.


    "Are you ready to try?" Szar asked.


    "It''s not that easy. Summoning isn''t simr to other powers. I need to practice a lot before seeding. Do any of you know how to make it easier? I focused more on how to defeat a Summoner in Academy than how to train like a Summoner," Lucifer responded, shaking his head.


    He was capable of summoning, but he didn''t know how to.


    "I saw Sir Zhu summon his beasts, but I didn''t see how he first summoned them. How did he establish a contract with the beasts? I didn''t know."


    "I didn''t see him summon either. And the one that I did see summon back in the Academy was a low grade summoner. He couldn''t Summon a high level beast. Whatever, I''ll try the way I know first. If it works, it works."


    "And if it doesn''t work, we will try your way."


    "Ah, Lucifer. Look up." Szar muttered, staring in the sky.


    Lucifer also looked up, stunned. Tens of Shadow Dragons could be seen flying away.


    "So many of them? Ah, do you think we are in the world where beasts are summoned from?" Szar asked.

 Chapter 537 - 537: Stronger Then Dragons

    <h4>Chapter 537 - 537: Stronger Then Dragons</h4>


    One ck Dragon was summoned by Zhu, which was capable of shattering even the barrier of Derek. That was enough to show how strong it was. And at the moment, there were tens of those Dragons that could be seen flying in the sky.


    "One dragon was summoned by that guy. And there are tens of them in this world? Could it be that we are actually in the world of Summons?" Szar asked grimly.


    "If that''s the case, even if you learn to be a Summoner, you can''t summon anyone since we''re already inside this world. How will we leave then?"


    Lucifer nced back at Szar. "You shouldn''t worry so fast. We''ll cross that bridge when we get to it. But first, we need to find out more about this world and learn the art of summoning."


    Even though he acted calm, even he was slightly concerned. Was there even a way back? If he was actually in the world of Summons, the Summoning Circles weren''t going to work. He couldn''t leave this ce.


    He rubbed his chin as he started walking, lost in thought.


    Jenilia and Szar followed behind him.


    After walking without aim for over ten minutes, Lucifer finally stopped.?"I think we might have a way."


    "What way?" Szar asked.


    "Even if we can''t use Summoning Circles, we can still use them. If a summoner from our world uses a summoning circle, that circle will appear around a beast here. We can use that circle to go back."


    "Will it work?"


    "It''s worth trying. Better than giving up."


    "Sigh, even if it can work, that still looks like a tall mountain to climb. That Dragon was a strong beast. And we just saw tens of those. Just think how many weaker beasts should be here. For this n to work, we need to be near the beast that''s about to be summoned."


    "Even if there are a hundred thousand beasts spread throughout this ce, then finding that one beast at the right time should be hard. If only we could see the future," Szar muttered, sighing.


    Lucifer didn''t answer directly. He didn''t know how he was going to do it, but it was one of the options. It was too soon to make any ns about how they could achieve it. At least they had a goal now.


    The three of them were standing in a ne arena which was surrounded by a forest from all sides. The red trees and their green leaves gave this entire ce a creepy look.


    The ground, which was covered in a light red shade of grass, also supported the bodies that were spread throughout. The bodies had stopped falling from the sky a long time ago.


    Lucifer looked all around him, seemingly disappointed. "The beasts that I had stolen didn''te. And I also feel that they are dead now. The insect I left inside them was also destroyed."


    "So they didn''t appear in this world?" Szar asked.


    "I believe they did. But that''s the thing. Since they were the Summoned Beasts, the summoning circle probably worked differently for them. I''m not concerned about that. What I''m concerned about is who killed them?" Lucifer muttered.


    "Whoever or whatever killed them made sure to kill the parasites too as if it knew what was inside them," he added.


    "It must be another beast who can see through the skin? Maybe the beast saw what was inside them and killed the parasites?"


    "Probably? But I don''t know why; I have a feeling that it wasn''t that simple," Lucifer answered as he started flying up. He used his winds to help the others fly up as well.


    "Shouldn''t we walk instead?" Jenilia finally spoke after a long time as she found them flying.


    "And why is that?" Szar asked. "We can see more of our surroundings from the sky."


    "I know. But the surroundings can also see us," Jenilia replied. "Did you forget? That Dragon was the strongest Beast of Captain Zhu. And there were tens of those beasts. If these beasts decide to attack us, can we stay safe? We don''t know much about this world. We should avoid conflict as much as possible."


    "I can understand what you''re trying to say. I don''t want conflict either. Those Dragons can shatter my strongest barrier too. But we need to have an aerial view if we don''t want to spend our entire life searching for directions," Lucifer exined.


    "Also, we must take at least that much risk. In any case, it''s better than walking and not as dangerous either. The true danger would be stepping inside that Forest without knowing what might be inside. Maybe a beast stronger than those Dragons is there?"


    After the three of them reached a hundred feet above the ground, they got a better view of the surroundings.


    As they looked around, they noticed the beautiful nature in this world. The forest that surrounded the arena wasn''t that long. It was only one kilometer long.


    Outside the forest was where the true beauty of this world started.


    A beautiful river existed in thend that had the crystal clear water that was sparkling because of light.


    Many beasts were drinking water from the river, making it appear safe for consumption. As for the Beasts, some of them were Dark Dragons. There was also a beast that appeared to be simr to a rhino, but it was three times the size of an ordinary rhino.


    A trail of ants was walking parallel to the river with fruits on their backs. The red ants were three feet tall, unlike ordinary ants. There appeared to be hundreds of such ants, each carrying a fruit.


    All these ants were entering a hole in the ground.


    What stunned Lucifer even more, was that he could see tens of crystal snakes swimming in the water. The snakes were the same as the ones used by Zhu.


    It was clear that Zhu received a great beast, but it was also clear that the beast wasn''t that rare. If these beasts were somon here, then what was a rare beast? If that was the average level of beasts here, what was the peak? Just how did this world work?


    "This ce... It is so big..." Szar muttered, amazed. There was a forest, a twenty meter wide river, multiple ponds, and mountains in the distance. He couldn''t help but appreciate the nature in its entirety.


    Lucifer shifted his gaze from the snakes in the water and onto the mountains. The mountain range in the back was white, covered in snow.


    Based on the heights, the mountains didn''t look anything special but there was something special on them.

 Chapter 538 - 538: Harmony

    <h4>Chapter 538 - 538: Harmony</h4>


    The mountains were the same as the ones in their world, but something else attracted his gaze there.


    Even though the mountain was far, his eyesights were way too good. He was able to see someone on top of one of the mountains.


    From your distance, it looked like a silhouette of a human, at least based on shape. Despite good eyesight, he didn''t get a perfectly clear view from here, but if it was actually a human, that was going to be big.


    If another human coulde here, that meant he must know of a way to get out as well. But it was also possible that the human wasn''t from their world? As he was told by the Dungeon Dweller, there were more worlds than one.


    If the person was from a different world, he might not be able to take them back. Still, it was better than nothing. A human could tell them more about this world and how he gets in and leaves. Maybe they could reverse engineer the method to leave?


    "So beautiful," Jenilia alsomented. "Moreover, this world is so peaceful. All these beasts live in harmony, unlike people in our world."


    "You can''t judge a world based on one area. The conflicts in our world are mostly between nations." Szar replied. "Who knows, there might be another gang of beasts that hate these ones? We can''t form an opinion without having a bigger picture."


    "So, where are we going?" he asked Lucifer.


    Lucifer raised his finger towards the mountain.


    "The Snow Mountain?"


    "Yeah. I see someone there," Lucifer answered. "Anyway, prepare for facing the beasts. We might be attacked by the beasts when we try to fly past them."


    "Wait a minute. You saw someone there? That far? Who did you see?"


    "I''m not sure. I think it is a human. I can''t see that clear," Lucifer answered, sighing.?"We''ll have to go there to get an answer. Just stay prepared."


    "I understand," Szar said, nodding. "We can''t always avoid these beasts since they''re everywhere."


    Szar wasn''t the least bit scared, even though he knew he would have a hard time if he were actually attacked. He couldn''t slow down time since that was going to affect Lucifer as well. If only he could have a way to avoid taking him inside his domain.


    Lucifer started flying towards the mountains with Jenilia. As they reached above the forest, they noticed that even more beasts were inside the forest, which were smaller in size. Unlike the beasts outside the forest, the ones inside were smaller, which was odd.


    Even the ant outside was bigger. On the contrary, even the yeti-like beast inside the forest was small, only 5 feet tall.


    He could see the Yeti fighting a tiger for some reason. For a moment, he paused and observed the battle between the Yeti and the Tiger. For some strange reason, the Yeti was faster, but he looked weaker. The tiger was slower, but he had more defense. He was able to wound the Yeti.


    "There goes your harmony of this ce," Lucifer jokingly told Jenilia, who had just praised the peace between the beasts of different kinds.


    He again resumed his flight.


    As he flew past the forest, he finally reached near theke where all the bigger beasts were. The Dragons had just finished speaking when they looked up at Lucifer and the others.


    The Dragons didn''t look for long. Instead, they took off their gaze and got back to drinking.


    "It looks like we were wrong. They aren''t interested in attacking us. Maybe the beasts here aren''t hostile to humans?" Szar suggested, justifying this strange behavior.


    "Probably," Lucifer muttered. "That might be why Summoners can summon them and take their help. That''s better, honestly."


    "We don''t have to bother about them attacking, but there are also the ones that killed the three beasts of mine. Still need to be careful," he added.


    Many beasts near the river looked at Lucifer and his team that was flying, including some of the ants and the snakes, but no one tried attacking.


    Most couldn''t either. Only the Dragons could fly amongst the beasts present here, and as long as they weren''t bothered to join, others couldn''t do anything.


    Lucifer flew right above the river as he flew towards the Snow Mountain in the center. As for the river he was following, it wasing from one of the snow mountains as well.


    As Lucifer reached closer to the mountain, his view became even clearer.?He finally had a better view as to what he saw on top of the mountain.


    "A woman?" he muttered, frowning.


    He could see a woman that was standing on top of the mountain. She had juste out of the water as she finished taking a shower. There was not even a shred of cloth on her body.


    Lucifer was able to see the face of the woman and even her precious bits. The woman had deep red hair and pale silver eyes. There was a tattoo on her slim stomach that appeared to be a bird that had fire around her.


    The woman''s face appeared to be very young as if she was in her early twenties. Her deep beautiful eyes created a serious aura around her, making her seem like a strict person. On the contrary, her cute puffy cheeks not only made her look cute but also adorable.


    The deep red hair of hers came down to her waist behind her back, still wet.


    Droplets of water trickled down her beautiful body. She bent forward and picked up a towel, and started wiping her body, starting from her face.


    Watching the youngdy, Lucifer stopped. He also found thedy beautiful, but that wasn''t why he stopped. There was something else. He didn''t know why, but there was a strange feeling inside him.


    He couldn''t understand what that feeling was. It was as if there was a familiarity between him and the woman, some kind of closeness.


    "Did something happen?" Szar asked, bringing Lucifer out of his daze.?He still couldn''t see anyone on the mountain as it was still too far for his eyes to see. On the contrary, Lucifer saw everything, even some things he shouldn''t have seen.


    "I can see her," Lucifer answered.


    "Her? You mean the one on the mountain is a girl?"


    "It is a woman in her early twenties. At least that''s what I think. She should be able to help," Lucifer said, increasing his speed towards the woman.


    However, he saw something which made him stop abruptly.. His lips opened slightly at the sight.

 Chapter 539 - 539: The Odd Woman

    <h4>Chapter 539 - 539: The Odd Woman</h4>


    The woman that Lucifer was keeping his eyes on finished wiping her body.


    After finishing, she snapped her fingers, making the towel burn to ash.


    She stretched her arm as she yawned before turning back.


    As the woman turned back, Lucifer was able to see the tattoo on the back of the woman as well. As for that tattoo, it was something simr to the tattoo he had on his back with only a few minor differences.


    He didn''t stop flying to her, but what happened next made her stop as his lips opened slightly. He saw something really strange.


    Just like the towel had burnt, a fire also started around her own body.


    Soon, the entire body of the woman turned into mes.


    Seeing thedy burst into mes, Lucifer stopped in his tracks. Just what was happening there? How did the woman start burning suddenly when she was fine not long ago?


    The fire soon spread, taking the shape of a bird. As for the bird, it had simr shapes as the tattoo, which was on the stomach of thedy.


    The ming bird started flying away.


    This time, even Szar was able to see the ming bird. "Another beast. That one looks intriguing."


    "This... So she was a beast herself?" Lucifer muttered.


    "Did you say something?"


    "Yeah. That bird you see there? She was the woman I was talking about. She turned to mes," Lucifer answered.


    "A woman?"


    "It doesn''t matter. I need to follow her. If she can turn into a human, she must be able to talk too. She can tell us a way to get back!"


    Without thinking twice, Lucifer increased his speed as he followed after the ming bird. He didn''t want to lose the woman since she was his best chance of finding more about this ce.


    Even though he flew at his fastest speed, he wasn''t faster than thedy. At best, he was able to maintain the distance between the two so she wouldn''t disappear.


    Lucifer reached the mountains where the woman was standing a few minutes ago. There was a pond on top of the water, which had freezing water.


    "She was taking a bath in freezing water¡ªwhat a peculiar little creature. A me beast who prefers taking a bath in freezing water," Lucifer muttered, shaking his head.


    "That me bird looks powerful. You think chasing her is the right choice? We might end up at her nest with hundreds of such birds,"?Jenilia reminded Lucifer of the dangers.


    "I know there are dangers, but where aren''t dangers? To get back, we need to approach beasts. We might need to approach thousands of them. A beast that can take human shape and speak? That''s a great opportunity to shorten our stay here."


    Lucifer had a goal in his mind, which was to get back, and he didn''t want to fall behind. He was in a foreign world, and he wanted to get a grip on the situation as fast as he could, and this was the answer he found.


    He could use his parasites to control the others, but that was useless for him. Even if he controlled a beast with his parasite, the beast was just going to be like a corpse that was walking without its former intelligence. It couldn''t answer Lucifer.


    He needed a beast to team up with him of its own volition so it could retain its intelligence. Moreover, he also needed the beast to be able to convey information. Finding a beast that was capable of all that was hard. So taking a risk was worth it for him.


    The two sides kept flying through the free skies, one chasing while the other was ignorant that it was being chased.


    Another group of ck Dragons came from ahead, but they noticed Phoenix that was flying towards them. They hastily changed their directions and started flying away.


    "Did you see that? It looks like even the ck Dragons are scared of her," Jeniliamented.


    "I know. But that doesn''t change my resolve. Just because she''s strong doesn''t mean we must give up. Instead, it strengthens my resolve. She is powerful. That means she should be high in the hierarchy of this world. She should be more knowledgeable, and she should be able to help us,"?Lucifer exined, sighing.


    "I think that makes sense," Szar agreed. "She should know more. And if she can speak, that''s even better. We would be able tomunicate with her."


    "And even if she doesn''t help us find a way back, we can at least find out about the Summoned Beasts from this world through her. Then we can wait around those beasts and wait for them to be summoned," he continued.


    "Sigh, of course, you two would agree. You''re on the same side, but I still don''t think it''s right."


    "Do you think us being here is right? Because I think that''s even more wrong," Szar replied. "We need a way back."


    "So whatever you want," Jenilia rolled her eyes. "Since you don''t want to listen to my advice, then so be it."


    She was certainly right as Lucifer entirely ignored her and continued following the Phoenix.


    "T-that..." Jenilia was the first one to grow, shocked as she saw something ahead.


    "That ce..." Szar muttered.


    "Fascinating. So they have a city like the humans," Lucifer let out, noticing a huge City ahead.


    The city was spread in a vast area and contained many towers that looked to be from a time forgotten. There were also many buildings that looked simr to the human houses in the modern world.


    The Phoenix flew straight and reached the center of the City. The mes of the bird started shrinking again, turning back into the same woman. The only difference was that the red-haired girl wasn''t naked now. There was a red gown tightly wrapped around her body.


    The woman went down andnded inside the city.


    After a few more minutes, Lucifer also reached that ce. He looked down, noticing that the woman wasn''t there anymore. She looked all around, but he couldn''t find her.


    "Did we lose her?" Szar asked.


    "I think we did," Lucifer replied, sighing. "At least she led us to this city. We should be able to get our answer from this ce."


    He could see many beings walking on the streets. Some of them looked like someone had mixed a human and a beast. On the contrary, there were also some who looked like real humans simr to the girl.


    One such person was a man, dressed in a beautiful white gown, who was walking with twodies. His hand wrapped around the twodies that were on his left and right.


    The twodies also had something off about them. They didn''t look like a real human like the man.. What made them different was a fluffy tail behind them and wolf-like ears on their head.

 Chapter 540 - 540: Spies

    <h4>Chapter 540 - 540: Spies</h4>


    In fact, the ones who looked like real humans were very rare. He could only see two of such people.


    Lucifernded on the ground with the other three and observed the surroundings.


    "Humanoid beasts?" Szar muttered, frowning.


    "I think so. That''s so odd. I don''t think I''ve ever heard about someone summoning a humanoid beast before. This is so odd. It''s like the other side of the Summoning Spectrum that variants hadn''t been able to explore," Lucifer responded, frowning.


    Jenilia also chimed in. "Isn''t it possible that the ones who look like humans are actually humans? Just because thest girl wasn''t a human doesn''t mean the others who look like humans won''t be either."


    "Since we''re taking the risk of approaching them, instead of thedy who is certainly a beast, why don''t we approach that guy who might be a human?" she further added.


    Lucifer wanted to find the woman instead since he was getting a special feeling from her, which he wasn''t getting from the guys? It was not only to get answers about this ce but also to get answers about this strange familiarity that he was feeling.


    However, he also agreed that he had lost the woman. Instead of waiting to find her again, he needed to try approaching the girl.


    He started stepping towards the young man who was walking with his arms wrapped around the wolf-eareddies.


    As he was walking, he didn''t know why, but many beasts in the city kept looking in his direction. Some even started talking amongst each other, trying to be subtle.


    Through his exceptional hearing, he was also able to hear their conversation. The Beastkins that were a mix of humans and beasts, were apparently using anguage that he could understand.


    "Three High Beasts walking together? How is that possible?"


    "That''s right! They all appear to be from different ns, ording to their features! How are they walking together? Moreover, I don''t think I even saw one of them before in the city."


    "Could it be that they are from enemy cities? They couldn''t be spies, or they didn''t make it so obvious."


    "They are approaching High Beast Hun. Are they here for him? Did he offend him somehow?"


    "Meh, so what if they are here for him. High Beast Hun is pretty strong. He can take them out easily, even if they are three! Just wait and watch!"


    "High Beasts?" Lucifer muttered. "Do they think we are also beasts? Probably because there are some that can take a human shape? Moreover, from the way they talk, I think the beasts that look like real humans are the ones that sit at the top of the hierarchy here."


    "I think the same. It''s good as well. If that can''t recognize us that easily, we can get more answers," Szar agreed.


    "Ah, could it be why the ck Dragons and the other beasts didn''t attack us? Because they thought we were High Beasts?" Jenilia eximed.


    "That looks highly possible," Lucifer agreed. "We should just go with the story that we are who they think we are. We are from a different city, here on sightseeing."


    "Yeah. y along. If there''s a fight, you should stay back since you''re weak. Let us take the lead in that case," Szar reminded Jenilia.


    If they were going to pretend to be a powerful beast, they couldn''t be defeated by one. Also, Jenilia was the weakest amongst them. They needed to keep her out of the battle.


    The man dressed in a beautiful white robe stopped as he noticed the beasts surprised in his direction.


    Curious, Hun took off his hands from the slim waist of thedy and turned around.


    As soon as his eyes fell on thedy in the back, his face was engulfed in a deep frown.


    "Ladies, please step back."


    The fox-eareddies stepped back, looking scared. They knew how much power and influence a High Beast possessed. That''s why they were willing to be with one.


    However, three High Beasts wereing towards them. It looked like they were here to fight. What was happening? Whatever it was, they didn''t want to be caught in the middle.


    There were also some beasts that had run away to inform other High Beasts about what was happening. Some unknown High Beasts hade to their city. If they fought Hun and killed him, it was not only going to weaken their city, but it was also going to be insulting for them.


    Lucifer stopped right in front of Hun. Szar stood on his left while Jenilia stood on his right.


    "Who are you?" Hun asked. "And where are you from? You''re certainly not from our city."


    "That''s right. We are from a different city. We need to talk to you about something important," Lucifer answered. "Can youe with us?''


    "I''m not going anywhere. Ask me whatever you want to ask right here. If you need me toe with you just so you could speak, I''m not going to bother," Hun retorted. "Moreover, why are you even scared to talk here?"


    "We want to talk about things that these lowly beasts don''t deserve to know. We hope you can understand. We aren''t here to fight," Lucifer replied.


    "Fine. If you want to talk, you muste to my home with me. We would have privacy there. And these lowly beasts won''t be there."


    "We are fine with that. You can lead the way," Lucifer agreed.


    "Huh? You agree?" Lucifer''s answer surprised the young man who was thinking that he was going to say no.


    Honestly, why would someone who was here to hurt him agree to go to his home where he was going to have his family? That simply didn''t make sense.


    "Should we not have agreed?" Lucifer asked, frowning.


    "Ah, T-that''s not it. I was just surprised. Anyway, are you seriously not here for any conflict? I''m curious. What would lead you to me? I don''t have any special knowledge that can help other High Beasts either?"


    "Don''t worry about that. We just need some minor information. We can tell you what we want to know. If you think that it''s something you don''t want to answer, you can say no," Lucifer calmly said.


    He was sure that this man was thinking that they needed some crucial information about the working of this city or about some treasure. Their real question was much more simple and couldn''t affect this city or its people.


    "Hmm, alright. You cane with me," Hun agreed. He wasn''t at a loss after all.. There was no risk for him at home.

 Chapter 541 - 541: Very Far

    <h4>Chapter 541 - 541: Very Far</h4>


    "You two can go back. I''ll meet you tomorrow. I''ll be entertaining my guests for now," Hun told the two fox-eareddies who were standing in the back.


    Thedies nodded and retreated.


    "Follow me," Hun said, looking back at Lucifer, but he stopped as he thought of something. "No, wait, you walk ahead.?I''ll tell you directions as I walk behind."


    He didn''t want to be attacked from the back. Who knew if this was the n of these strangers? They wanted to make him lower his guard so they could attack him from the back. He couldn''t lower his guard before reaching home.


    "If that''s what you want." Lucifer shrugged. Without fear, he took the lead with Jenilia and Szar.


    Hun walked in the back. "We''ll need to walk for about half an hour to get there. Walk straight. I''ll tell you when it''s time to turn."


    "Can''t you fly?" Lucifer asked the young man. "That should be faster."


    "What? You mean you can fly?" Hun asked, surprised.


    "All three of us, in a way," Lucifer replied. "You can''t?"


    "A Flying High Beast Species. We only have two in our city. To see three High Beasts that could fly at once, all from different species... Very surprising. So, which city are you from? And howe you three ate so close?"


    "Is it rare for High Beasts to be close?" Lucifer asked, conveniently avoiding the question about the city.


    "I''m not sure about your city, but it''s certainly rare in ours," Hun answered. "Generally, High Beasts don''t make friends with other High Beasts."


    "And why is that?"


    "Why? I don''t think even I know the answer to that question. Maybe you can give credit to our wild instincts? Or you can give credit to the family influence and other factors. That''s just the reality of our world." Hun sighed.


    "Anyway, you didn''t answer. Which city are you from?"


    "We..."


    "Why are you hesitating in answering? If you want me to trust you, shouldn''t you also trust me? Which city are you from?"


    "We are from caster," Lucifer replied, making up a name.


    He knew that there was more than one city, so there was a good chance for there to be cities that were unknown to Hun. He could make up one city and just hope that he wouldn''t dig deep.


    "caster? I don''t think I ever heard about that city. Where is it?"


    "It''s deep in the North, very far from here. We''ve been on a trip to see the whole world. In fact it had been over six months since we left home," Lucifer replied. "We have seen many cities along the way as well."


    "Ah, so you''re not from this region either. Flying for six months... I''m not sure about your speed, but it must be a lot of space covered. Your city is so far away; that''s probably why we don''t know about it," Hun muttered, rubbing his chin.


    "So you left to see the world? Ah, I get it now! Did you want to ask me for directions? But you could''ve asked that before others too. Then what..."


    " Ah, that''s right! You must be tired after traveling for so long. You probably want a ce to rest. And it''ll certainly be odd for you as a High Beast to ask for such help from me before themoners. Am I right?" Hun asked.


    "That... That''s right. We need a ce to rest. Moreover, since we''re not from here, there needs to be no conflict between us. Moreover, won''t you want to experience what it''s like to have High Beasts as a friend? No family equation here," Lucifer answered.


    He wanted to ask about the way to get back, but now that he had this opportunity, he couldn''t say no. If he could stay with a High Beast and get close to him, he could ask much moreplicated questionster.


    "Letting you stay with me... Hmm, we do have a big ce. We can arrange a ce for you, but that won''t be all. I certainly need the permission of my father for it," Hun muttered. "Maybe I can convince him."


    "Your father?"


    "That''s right. He is the head of the family. What he says goes. So if he says no, we can''t let you stay here," Hun answered, sighing.


    "Anyway, I don''t know why, but I really don''t get that repulsive feeling from you three that I get from other High Beasts of this city. Maybe it''s because you''re not from here? Or maybe it''s because of your species? Which species are you?"


    "Species?" Lucifer asked.


    "Yeah. Like I am a Snow Wolf. What are you?" Hun asked.


    Lucifer didn''t know what to answer. He didn''t know what High Beast Species were there. He could lie about the city, but could he lie about the species? There was a possibility that he could since it was impossible for this guy to know all species in existence, but he chose against answering.


    "That reminds me. When we wereing to the city, we saw a bird made of fire. Which species was that?"


    "Ah, you''re talking about that Phoenix? You know how I said I feel repulsive when in the presence of High Beasts? She is one of those High Beasts. She is from the Phoenix n. Her fire and my ice don''t have an affinity in the first ce, so I''m not surprised why I feel that way," Hun answered.


    "The Phoenix n is a High Beast n that lives here, not it''s the smallest n since it only has two members, the n Matriarch and the girl you saw," he added.


    "How many members does your n have?" Lucifer asked.


    "Seven, including me. We don''t have that many people either, but we''re certainly doing better than them," Hun replied. "Anyway, I''m surprised that you didn''t know about the Phoenix n. They''re pretty popr in the nearby cities."


    "Popr? Why?" Lucifer asked.


    "No reason. I guess they are just popr for no reason at all. If I were to guess, I would say that it''s because of their beauty which I fail to see," Hun said, shrugging his shoulders.


    "Anyway, you didn''t answer. What''s your species?" he asked.


    Lucifer opened his lips, thinking of a way to change the topic again, but he didn''t need to.


    The temperature started rising slightly.


    "Hmm? Speak of the devil, and there shees," Hun let out, shaking his head.


    He could see a burning Phoenix flying towards him.


    "Hmm? The Thunder Lion ising too?" His frown deepened as he noticed a blue lion running towards him.

 Chapter 542 - 542: Surrounded

    <h4>Chapter 542 - 542: Surrounded</h4>


    He also started feeling the ground vibrate. He turned around, frowning.


    He could see a Golden Rhinoing from the back. The Rhino was so heavy that he was making the ground shake with each step.


    "That''s odd. Why are they alling here?" Hun asked, frowning.


    The ming phoenix was the first to reach him. She turned to a human,nding a few meters away from Hun. Her deep eyes were still as emotionless, but there was something cute about her.


    She was dressed in the same red robe as thest time when Lucifer saw her.


    Finding her standing in his close proximity, Hun''s face started twitching as he felt repulsed. He didn''t want to stand close to thedy if he didn''t have to.


    The Thunder Lion wasing towards him.


    The Thunder Lion also turned to a human as his body shrunk. He stood on two feet, looking no different than an ordinary human.


    He looked to be a young man who was in his early twenties. His long blue hair came down to his waist, matching the color of his eyes. The dark-skinned man looked at Lucifer and his team members.


    In the back, the Golden Rhino also reached them, and the shaking of the ground finally stopped.


    The Rhino also turned into a human, but he looked different than others. He was much taller than expected. He looked to be over seven feet tall, contrary to the human forms of the other High Beasts that were all under six feet of height in their human form.


    Another difference was that his hair was blonde, and his pupils were golden in color. His body also appeared to be very bulky, as if he was a wrestler in this world who could punch anyone to oblivion.


    If one were to go by looks, they would certainly think that he was able to defeat all the other High Gods present here.


    "So these are the High Beasts that came to attack the city," the Golden Rhino said calmly.?"Now, I don''t care if any High Beast in the city is killed, but I care about the reputation of my city. I''m not going to let any foreigner kill them."


    The Thunder Beast was much calmer. He looked at Lucifer. "You are leading. So you should be the stronger one. Isn''t that right? May I ask your purpose ining to our city? Because it doesn''t look like you''re here to attack anyone, or you would''ve attacked already."


    The red-haireddy remained silent.


    "We aren''t here to attack anyone. As for why we''re here, we already told him. It''s not to have any conflict. So you don''t need to get alert," Lucifer replied before taking a casual nce at thedy.


    "Are they telling the truth?" The Thunder Lion asked Hun.


    "Even though I don''t need to answer the likes of you, I''ll say that it''s right. They''re on a trip to see this world, and they''ve been traveling for six months. They just wanted a ce to rest," Hun responded. "Now, if you''ll excuse me, I need to go back."


    The way he talked to the others, it was evident that he didn''t like the others. The same was the case for others.


    "Well, that''s a waste. I wasted my time for nothing. I was told that three High Beasts were here to kill you. It was insulting for the city, so I came in a hurry. What a mess," The Golden Rhino let out, rolling his eyes.


    "Even if they aren''t here to attack us, we can''t let them stay in our city. They might have ulterior motives. You can''t let them stay with you," The Thunder Lionsmanded Hun.


    "Who the hell do you think you are tomand me like that? You don''t decide what I do! In fact, at first, I was going to let my father decide if they could stay here or not, but since you likedmanding me so much, I promise that they''ll stay in my Mansion!" Hun dered, enraged.


    He looked to Lucifer. "I promise you! You can stay here for as long as you want! It''s the promise of a High Beast! You can count on it!"


    Lucifer smiled, nodding. He believed he should''ve thanked the other High Beasts foring here. It was because of them that he got a promise like that. Moreover, this was also an opportunity for him to seize.


    "Good decision. If I were in your ce, I would''ve done the same thing. No one has any right tomand another High Beast like that," Lucifer said, smiling.


    He shifted his gaze to the Thunder Lion.


    "I can say for sure that I''m not here with any ulterior motive, but even if I was, you shouldn''t talk to him like that! He''s a High Beast too. And you aren''t superior to him. At best, you''ll be equal."


    Hearing Lucifer side with him, Hun grew happy. Unlike the other High Beasts, he didn''t get any negative feelings from Lucifer, which made him biased towards him. Moreover, to see him support him, it made him even more impressed.


    "Hahaha, don''t worry. They are just jealous that I made new friends. Come, let me show you my home!" Hun said as he happily patted his shoulder.


    Instead of walking behind, he now walked with Lucifer in extremely close proximity.


    Leaving the other three beasts behind, he walked away.


    As Lucifer left, he didn''t forget to take another nce at the red-haireddy who hadn''t spoken a single word since the start. Thedy just kept looking at him from beginning to end.


    "This idiot... Whatever. If he wants to be stupid, then so be it," The Golden Rhino muttered, sighing as she shook her head.


    He started walking awayzily. He hade here in a hurry, even going back to his real form just so he could travel faster, but there wasn''t any need for that now.


    The Thunder Lion kept ring at Lucifer''s back, frowning. He was still suspicious. The appearance of three High Beasts that were so close to each other?


    That wasn''t something ordinary. It was a cause to be concerned about, especially when they were trying to get close to a High Beast family in the city.


    He turned around and left as well, not willing to take any action so soon.


    The red-haired woman still stood there, looking at Lucifer. She only took her eyes off of him when he disappeared. She also turned around and left.


    It was unclear what was going on in her head since she was the only one here who hadn''t spoken anything at all.

 Chapter 543 - 543: Species

    <h4>Chapter 543 - 543: Species</h4>


    "This is our home!"


    Hun stopped in front of a beautiful mansion that stood tall before them. The Mansion covered a vast area.


    Looking at the beautiful mansion, it was easy to assume that it was capable of aodating hundreds of people like him. It was surprising to know that only seven people lived there.


    "This is your home? Where you and your family live?" Jenilia asked.


    "That''s right. I, my family, and twenty of our servants. And from today, you''ll be living here as well," Hun answered as he brushed his finger against his snow-white hair that came to his shoulders.


    "Pleasee inside. By the way, you must stay silent. Let me talk to my father. And please don''t do anything stupid even if he is a bit harsh when talking about you," he added, smiling wryly. He pushed his door open and stepped inside.


    Hun entered the house, followed by Lucifer and the others.


    The mansion was just as big from inside as it looked from outside. The main hall was huge. There looked to be a few hallways that had entrances on other ends of the hall.


    A set of spiraling stairs was going to the first floor from the middle of the hall. The entire floor had a beautiful white marble flooring which was the same as the stairs. The walls were also snow-white on the inside, simr to the outside.


    Everything inside looked white, probably because Hun''s family was a family of Snow Wolves that liked snow, and white reminded them of that?


    Lucifer didn''t know what it was, but the ce was also much colder from the inside. The temperature seemed to be in the negatives here. Jenilia had already started rubbing her shoulders as she was dressed in light clothes that weren''t made for winter. She was beginning to feel cold.


    It was the same case for Szar, who was also feeling cold, but he controlled himself. Lucifer was the only person who wasn''t cold.


    "Are you feeling cold?" Lucifer asked, noticing the condition of Jenilia and Szar.


    Jenilia nodded her head.


    Hun also noticed her condition after Lucifer''s question.


    "Ah, I forgot. There are some beasts that can''t bear the cold. Your friend must be one of those. I''ll arrange for some warm clothes for her."


    "That would be great. Thank you."


    "Young Master Hun, wee back."


    A young maid came out of a room to notice Hun.


    "Ah, yeah. Where is father? Also, why does this ce look so empty?"


    "He should be in his study room. As for Madam and the others, they went out for a bit. So only your father and we are here," the maid answered. She kept ncing at the people that were with Hun. "Young Master, they...?"


    "Yeah, they will be our guests for a little while. I''m going to take them to introduce them to my father. But before that, can you arrange some warm clothes for thedy? She isn''t ustomed to the cold."


    The maid was surprised to know that these people were staying here since they were High Beasts, ording to her, and High Beasts of different species rarely got along.


    That was especially the case for Hun, who never liked being close to another High Beast. It was rare to find him talking about letting others stay here.


    "Youngdy, would youe with me? I''ll take you to the clothes. You can see what fits you?" The maid asked Jenilia.


    Jenilia nced towards Lucifer.


    Lucifer nodded his head.


    "Can you arrange warm clothes for Szar too? He doesn''t fit with cold either. Only I can be fine here without warm clothes," he told the maid.


    "Do as he said," Hun nodded, smiling.


    "Alright. You cane too." The maid left, being followed by Szar and Jenilia.


    "Shall we meet your father?" Lucifer asked Hun.


    "Ah, right. By the way, it looks like you are the leader of this small group of yours? The other two seem to listen to you? Even though you look younger."


    "I suppose you can say that. It''s partly because I''m slightly stronger than them and more importantly because we are friends, so they don''t mind listening to me," Lucifer replied.


    "Friends, huh. I wonder what it must feel like to be friends with another High Beast. That looks impossible for me."


    Lucifer smiled. He ced his hand on the shoulder of Hun.


    "Hey, you''re helping us here. It doesn''t matter if you seed or not. You''re already a friend to us. So you can''t say that anymore. Even if your father doesn''t let us stay here, we''ll happily leave. Just the thought that you decided to help us is enough to make you our friend."


    "So w-we are friends?" Hun asked, his lips opening slightly.


    It was the first time someone had called him a friend. He was a High Beast, so he couldn''t be friends with a lower beast.


    However, he spent time withdies, living a lecherous life just because he wanted closepany, but they couldn''t be his friends since he knew they were with him because of his position.


    The only friendship that could be real was something between the equals for him, and that was something he never received. All the High Beasts had enmity between each other. Moreover, he couldn''t bear the presence of other High Beasts, so he was always alone, without friends.


    It was the first time he had someone call him a friend... Someone who was an equal! Someone who could understand what it feels like to be at the top! Someone who wouldn''t be with him for his position.


    Lucifer''s position in his heart had risen even more. Firstly, he sided with him before other High Beasts, and now he called him a friend. Soon, a bright smile formed on Hun''s face.


    "That''s right. We are friends now. I won''t say that again." He nodded. "Nowe, let me introduce you to my father."


    He walked to the stairs, ted. Lucifer followed behind him.


    "Oh, that reminds me. You are also a Snow Beast? You don''t feel cold, unlike the others. You must be someone rted to Ice as well, right? Which species is yours?" Hun asked. "My father will ask that too. It''s better if I know when telling him."


    Lucifer took a deep breath as this guy asked the same question again. It looked like there was no avoiding it this time. He really needs to make something up


    He tried to think of mythical beasts in their lore that he could have heard before.. He couldn''t remember about any such beast in the academy, but he remembered one name which was told to him by his mother in a story.

 Chapter 544 - 544: Mother

    <h4>Chapter 544 - 544: Mother</h4>


    Lucifer remembered one famous story of his time, which was told to him by his mother when he was a kid.


    She used to repeat that story every so often. ording to her, it was a made up story that was made by someone before the world came to know of the Dungeon Dwellers.


    "I... I am a Pegasus," Lucifer exined.


    In the story, Pegasus was the name of a Winged Horse that fought the demons to save the humans from extinction. It was also the only mythical beast he knew about, which he was hoping was unknown in this world.


    "Pegasus?" Hun stopped in his tracks as he looked at Lucifer, frowning.


    Looking at his frown, Lucifer wondered if something was wrong. Did he know this name?


    "I don''t remember hearing that name before. It''s not even in our books. You must be from even farther than I thought. Anyway, can you take your real form so I can see? I am really curious as to what a Pegasus looks like," Hun said.


    Lucifer couldn''t help but shake his head. He had already expected a demand like this. That''s why he wanted to avoid this topic n


    "I can''t take my real form. The same is the case for others. In my city, we are taught to live without going to our real form before people who aren''t from our city. It''s just something that I can do nothing about. These are thews," he replied, making an excuse.


    "Man, that''s a really weirdw. But I guess some cities can have really weird traditions. We also have a few weird ones that I don''t understand, so I can understand where you''reing from." Hun nodded as he started climbing the stairs again.


    "I''m d you understand."


    "Hey, who will understand if not friends?" Hun let out, chuckling.


    The two of them stopped on the first floor.


    As Hun escorted Lucifer through the corridor on the first floor, he talked about his father and how he was such a great person.


    While hearing about the conquests of Hun''s father, Lucifer observed the decorations in the hallways. There were many flower vases along the way, all having ice flowers. There was just so much white here that it was starting to look slightly off. These people had an obsession with white.


    He was sure at this point that the warm clothes Szar and Jenilia would get were probably going to be white as well.


    Finally, after a long time, he saw something that wasn''t white. Hun had stopped before a door that was red in color instead.


    "Why isn''t this door white like everything else?" Lucifer asked, curious. When everything was white except one thing, it made him curious.


    "We don''t have everything white," Hun chuckled. "Anyway, this is our library. Father oftenes here to read to pass the time."


    Knock~


    Hun knocked on the door.


    "Come in."


    "You stay here. I''ll call you inside when I''m finished talking with my father," Hun said as he pushed the door open. He stepped inside before closing the door.


    Lucifer folded his arms and started waiting. He was wondering how his meeting was going to go with the father. Was it going to be easy? Could he also fool the father as he did with the son?


    He walked back and forth, wondering when he was going to be called in. He stopped before a base that had a Frozen flower. Just as he was observing the flower, he heard the sound of footsteps.


    He turned around, curious, only to find some people that had just arrived. He could see a middle-aged woman who had white hair and beautiful eyes, just like Hun.


    ''Must be Hun''s mother,'' he thought, finding the simrities too uncanny.


    The middle-aged woman was being followed by a young girl who looked to be neen or twenty years old. He wondered if thedy was Hun''s sister. Thedy had snow white skin that was the fairest he had seen, but she didn''t look pale.


    Her eyes were full of innocence, and she looked a bit naive.


    Just as Lucifer was looking at the twodies, the twodies also noticed him.


    "Intruder?" The middle-aged woman said as her eyes turned fierce. The temperature decreased even more than before.


    It looked like she was just about to attack.


    "Wa-" Lucifer opened his mouth to exin. Fortunately, he didn''t need to. The door opened right then, and Hun stepped out.


    "You cane inside. Father wants to meet you."


    "Hun? You know this intruder?" The middle-aged woman asked.


    "Huh?" Hun turned back at the sound. "Ah, mother. You''re back. And what nonsense are you speaking about? Why are you calling my friend an intruder?"


    "F-friend?" the middle-aged man stuttered. She turned back to look at her daughter. "Yui, am I dreaming? Did he just call someone a friend?"


    The young girl nodded. "You aren''t dreaming. I also heard the same."


    The youngdy''s voice fell in Lucifer''s ears, sounding like a melody. He couldn''t deny that her voice was slightly cute.


    "What''s so shocking about it? Anyway, I don''t have time to talk about it. Father is waiting for him. I''ll tell youter."


    He took Lucifer and entered the room.


    Inside the room, a man was sitting on his chair with a red book in his hand.


    The man was also dressed in a white robe, but his robe looked even better than the robe of Hun. It looked like something worthy of a king. On the contrary, Hun''s robe was more inviting and luxurious as if he was a young Master that wasn''t scary.


    The man raised his gaze. "So you are the person my son calls his friend?"


    Lucifer nodded his head.


    "Why did youe to this city?" The man asked.


    "We were traveling for a long time, trying to see the whole world. After such a long time, we felt like we needed some recuperation and rest. We stopped at the next city we could find.


    "What was thest city you saw?" The man asked casually. Even though it didn''t look like he was asking anything hard, for Lucifer it was a very hard question.


    He felt like this guy was interrogating a bit too much. Lucifer hadn''t expected this many questions.


    Moreover, he could lie about the city he was from by iming that it was too far, but how could he lie about thest city he saw? It must be a city near this city. He couldn''t make up a name for that?

 Chapter 545 - 545: Crushing?

    <h4>Chapter 545 - 545: Crushing?</h4>


    "Father, why are you asking so many questions? You wanted to see him, and now you did. Come on, give him permission to stay here so we can go out and enjoy!" Hun chimed in.


    "Sigh. Fine. I won''t dy your time. I''ll just tell you one thing," the man told Lucifer. "It''s the first time my son has made a friend. I hope you aren''t ying with his friendship just to be allowed a ce to stay. Because if you made him sad, no one would be worse than me."


    "You don''t have to be concerned about it. When I call someone my friend, I don''t expect anything in return. If that''s how you feel, I can find another ce to stay. And it won''t affect my friendship with him," Lucifer replied, sighing.


    "Father! Why are you talking like that!"


    "Sigh. I apologize. I''m just a bit concerned as a father. I guess I was too suspicious. I allow him to stay here. You can show him a room," the middle-aged man said, sighing.


    Even though he was suspicious about Lucifer"s intention, he could at least be sure that he wasn''t here to hurt his son. If he were, he wouldn''te to their home.


    Moreover, it wasn''t as if they had a rare treasure that could be stolen. Moreover, these three people were High Beasts too. It was fine if his son wanted to make friends with them.


    It was the first time he didn''t find another High Beast repulsive. Even though High Beasts didn''t like other High Beasts, his son was extra rare.


    The other High Beasts didn''t feel repulsive in others'' presence, but his son had a rare condition where he couldn''t bear the presence of other High Beasts. That''s why it was rare for him. That was also why he was so fast to bond with Lucifer.


    Moreover, even the middle-aged man couldn''t help but agree that he got positive feelings from Lucifer. It wasn''t all bad.


    Lucifer stepped out of the library to find the twodies still standing there.


    "Are you now going to tell us what''s happening?" Hun''s mother asked him.


    "I can. This is Lucifer. He is a High Beast from a faraway city, and he..."


    Hun exined to his mother while Lucifer waited in the back, observing the ice flower again.


    There was a child-like curiosity on his face about the flowers. It appeared to bepletely made of ice, but it still looked so alive.


    Yui noticed the face of Lucifer. His innocence was slightly attractive to her. Moreover, she was also the same. She had the same condition as her brother, where she couldn''t bear the presence of other High Beasts.


    However, she felt different in Lucifer''s presence. Instead of feeling upset in his presence, she felt attracted.


    That was the difference between her and her brother. Both had the same problem with High Beasts, but while Lucifer gave a friendly feeling to Hun, for Yui, it was different.


    She was attracted by his deep eyes that seemed like they wanted to say a thousand things but weren''t supported by his lips. She was attracted by his face that seemed to retain his youthful innocence despite facing many adversities.


    She stepped towards Lucifer. "Do you like these flowers?"


    "Yeah. These flowers are beautiful. Despite being so restricted, they look so free and alive..." Lucifer muttered.


    "Why don''t you try touching them?" Yui asked.


    "Can I?" Lucifer asked.


    "Only you''ll be frozen in eternal ice, unable to break free," Yui answered.


    Lucifer took a step back, frowning.


    "Hahahaha!" Yui burst intoughter as she rolled her eyes. "You''re so innocent. I was kidding. I thought you would know about them."


    Even though sheughed at Lucifer''s nativity, her impression of him only increased. He was so easy to talk to.


    "These flowers are called Frozen Camd. They can only survive in the temperature that we maintain here. They''re told to be the flowers that bring luck to the house. That''s why we have hundreds of them," she exined. "It won''t matter if you touch them. They''re just a bit cold, but that won''t freeze you."


    Lucifer didn''t believe her this time. Instead of taking risks, it was better to avoid it.


    "You don''t believe me?" Yui asked, smiling. "Why would I try to hurt a friend of my brother? You''re like his first friend. He''ll kill me if I do something to you."


    Lucifer nodded and raised his hand. Using his finger, he touched the flower. As soon as his finger touched the flower, he realized how cold the flower was. It wasn''t as cold as he had thought. Moreover, it hadn''t harmed him even a little. It did something else entirely.


    As soon as his finger touched the flower, the ice petals of the flower started shining.


    The ice flower looked even cuter as he touched the flower.


    Lucifer observed the beautiful flower.


    He looked at Yui. "Really beautiful."


    "Huh?" Yui was taken aback as she heard Lucifer. How could he say something like that to her?


    Since he spoke directly to her, she thought he was calling her beautiful. She felt slightly embarrassed, but she didn''t let it show on her face.


    "Really?" she asked.


    "Yeah. The prettiest I ever saw," Lucifer answered, realizing that it was the prettiest flower he had ever seen.


    "T-thank you," Yui muttered, still embarrassed.


    "Lucifer, I see you already met my annoying sister,* Hun chimed in, cing his hand on Lucifer''s shoulder. "Anyway, I finished telling my mother about you. I apologize for all the dy. Come, let me show you the room."


    "Alright," Lucifer nodded. He looked at Yui and continued. "Thank you for all the information. See youter."


    He left with Hun.


    "See meter?'' Yui''s heart started beating slightly faster. She couldn''t believe it. Did he really fall for her? But even if he did, she didn''t believe it was so bad. She could also see a future...


    "Ah, wait!" She called out.


    Lucifer stopped and turned around. "Yeah?"


    Yui plucked the ice flower from the vase and walked to Lucifer.


    "I told you this was a flower for good luck? Since you''re our guest, you should keep one. It''ll bring you luck too," she said, raising her right hand towards Lucifer, which was holding the shining flower.


    "Thank you so much," Lucifer said, taking the flower from her.


    As Lucifer took the flower, Yui felt his fingers touch hers.


    It was an odd feeling for her, feeling the touch of his cold yet warm fingers. It wasn''t a particrly bad feeling for her.


    "Hahaha, my stupid sister is really clever today. How could I forget about these flowers," Hunughed. "Keep that with you. It should be lucky."


    Lucifer nodded as he nced at the flower.


    He thanked thedy once again before he turned around and left with Hun.


    The middle-ageddy stepped close to her daughter, shing a cheeky smile. "Is my daughter crushing on a boy?"


    "W-what nonsense?!" Yui yelled, trying to hide her embarrassment.


    "Oh,e on. Those boys are stupid. They can''t see it.. But do you think your mother won''t see it?" The woman asked,ughing.

 Chapter 546 - 546: Dont Have To

    <h4>Chapter 546 - 546: Don''t Have To</h4>


    "So, do you have a crush on him?" Thedy asked.


    "I-i... I don''t know. There''s something about him that''s very attractive, but I don''t know what. Moreover, I don''t even know him that well," Yui answered, lowering her head.


    "Hahaha, I can understand that feeling. I was the same when I met your father. You should try getting to know him. If you like him even then, you cane to me. I''ll set something up."


    "But mother, he isn''t a Snow Wolf..."


    "So what? He''s still a High Beast. And InterSpecies marriage isn''t a taboo. It was just a coincidence that I fell in love with your father, who happened to be a Snow Wolf as well, but that doesn''t mean I simply had to marry a Snow Wolf," thedy answered.


    "What you are doesn''t matter. And what he is doesn''t matter either. What matters is if you like him or not. So decide that first, and then we''ll think about other things," she further stated. "In any case, it looks like he''s going to stay here for a little. You should have enough time with him."


    Yui felt conflicted, but she nodded her head.


    ...


    Hun took Lucifer to the ground floor. As soon as Lucifer reached the lower floor, he was able to meet up with Szar and Jenilia.


    Just as he had expected, the two of them were given white clothes. He couldn''t help but shake his head: these people and their obsession with white. On the contrary, his cloak was pitch ck entirely.


    Szar was wearing a long furry coat that was snow white in color. As for Jenilia, she was also given a simr white jacket which was slightly smaller in size than Szar since she had a smaller build.


    "Are you alright now?" Lucifer asked the two of them.


    "Yeah. These costs are nice." Jenilia nodded.


    "Of course they are. They are made with really rare materials. You can take them with you when you leave. They are yours now. Think of it as a gift from us," Hun let out with a bright smile.


    "Thanks a lot," Lucifer said.


    "You don''t have to say thanks. Come, let''s show you your rooms."


    Lucifer and the others were taken through a different hallway on the ground floor to a set of rooms on the left.


    "All the rooms in this area are free. You can choose any of them that you like."


    "I''ll take this one. You can take the one on the left, and Jenilia can take the right." Lucifer decided the rooms of each of them, making sure that all three rooms were close.


    Lucifer pushed the door of his room open to look inside. As expected, the room was pretty good, but again, it was all white.


    Even the bedsheets were spotlessly white, matching the wall.


    There was no vase inside the room, but one painting was hung on the wall.


    The painting depicted a beautiful white wolf that was howling as the moon.


    "This painting...?''


    "Oh, that''s the painting of my father when he was young," Hun exined.


    ''So that''s what a snow wolf looks like. It''s simr to an ordinary wolf. I expected more,'' Lucifer thought, frowning.


    "Anyway, now that you''ve seen your room, shall we go to see the city?"


    "See the city?"


    "Yeah. It''s your first time here. I think I should show you around. You can''t just stay here all day, getting bored."


    "Alright. Let''s go out." Lucifer nodded, not saying no. Since he was here, he might as well see how things are here and get closer to this guy before asking him the questions about leaving.


    "Awesome. Wait outside the mansion. I''ll be right outside after informing my mother."


    Hun left in haste, leaving the other three behind.


    "We did arrange for a safe ce to stay, but why aren''t we asking him the questions we really want answers to? When are we going to ask him about the Summoned Beasts?"


    "Not yet. We need the right time," Lucifer answered. "And I don''t think it''s the time yet."


    "We really shouldn''t waste time. The outside world should be in shambles without us," Szar responded.


    "I don''t think things will be that bad. The Warlock Council team was wiped. No danger wille on Elisium for at least a few days. Moreover, Milena is still there. I don''t think she would try something stupid."


    "Kellian doesn''t know about Milena. What if there''s a conflict?"


    "Kellian is more sensible than that. I think we can afford to take one day before returning," Lucifer responded. "We can''t hurry here since that can put such an easy task in jeopardy."


    "Come, let''s wait outside. And don''t talk about this again. I''ll ask him personally," he added as he left the room.


    ...


    The small group of three left the mansion and started waiting for Huh. Amongst the three, only Jenilia felt like she didn''t belong here.


    She had be an unwilling ally to the enemies of the Warlock Council, and still, they were carrying her with them instead of killing her? It was awkward for her.


    Standing outside the mansion, Lucifer looked like he was thinking about something serious. She wondered if he was thinking about getting out; however, she was wrong.


    Lucifer was thinking about something else instead. He was thinking about the Phoenix. He had found something really strange.


    ording to Hun, beasts like her weren''tpatible with cold. Then why was that girl taking a bath in freezing water? And what was this strange feeling that he was getting from her?


    "I''m really. Let''s leave!" Hun soon came out of the room.


    ...


    "This is the best bar in the city. It is also my favorite ce."


    Hun showed a bar to Lucifer and also took him inside.


    "We don''t drink. I apologize," Lucifer refused to drink.


    He didn''t want to try a drink of the beasts, which could have some strange consequences. He was fine with his healing, even if it was poison for humans, but that wasn''t the case for everyone else.


    That''s why he refused for everyone before dragging Hun out.


    Hun next took them to the market in the city, which was in the center of the city. It was also the ce where Lucifer had met him. He showed them all the shops and described the things that could be bought here.


    "Are you sure you don''t want to buy you something? I can afford things for you if you need them?"


    "It''s alright.. You don''t have to go through it," Lucifer responded, stepping out of another shop where Huh kept insisting for him to buy something.

 Chapter 547 - 547: Guest

    <h4>Chapter 547 - 547: Guest</h4>


    He didn''t want to get something from Hun since he wanted to show that he wasn''t here with any ulterior motive.


    "If you say so." Hun sighed. He wanted to do something for them, but they weren''t epting anything.


    "Let me show you another special ce then." Hun didn''t stop trying hard and started taking Lucifer to a different ce.


    Even Lucifer was getting bored at this point. This city was good, but it wasn''t anything special at all. He felt like they were wasting time here.


    "Step aside, you insect!"


    "Hmm?" A loud shouting from behind attracted his attention.


    Curious, he turned around.


    He could see a carriage racing in their direction. It was the carriage driver who was shouting at the beastkins in the middle of the road.


    The person who was driving wasn''t a High Beast either since he had a horn protruding from his head n


    The beastkins kept jumping out of the way of the carriage, trying to avoid getting hit. The carriage driver also had a whip in his hand, which he was using at the people on the streets.


    Seeing such behavior at the citizens of the city, Lucifer couldn''t help but frown. Who were these people that were so arrogant?


    He wasn''t alone. Hun was also upset at what was happening, and he decided to do something.


    "I apologize for the sight you had to see. This doesn''t normally happen. Just wait here. I''ll go handle these people."


    He jumped in the middle of the street as his body changed shape. His body also increased in size.


    His hands turned into ws as his face started bing longer. Show white hair starteding out all over his body.


    The process ended almost instantly as the transformation wasplete. Hun had finished changing into a Snow Wolf, which was simr to the one in the painting. His silver eyes looked even more beautiful as a wolf.


    Seeing Hun in the middle of the road, the carriage driver''s face turned pale. He tried stopping the carriage, but it was toote. The Snow Wolf opened his mouth wide and released a freezing breath.


    In front of the freezing wave, not only did the entire road turn to ice, but the wheel of the carriage also froze, refusing to move.


    The carriage was forced to stop. The wolf started walking towards the carriage, taking calm steps.


    The carriage driver started sweating seeing the wolf advance towards him.


    He turned around. "Y-Young Master! A High Beast is blocking our path."


    "Hmm? Is that so?" A calm voice came from inside the carriage, which didn''t sound intimidated.


    The door of the carriage opened slowly, and someone stepped out.


    "Grrrr!" Hun also stopped as he saw the person.


    "Another High Beast?" Lucifer muttered, noticing the guy that had stepped out of the carriage.


    The man appeared to be in his early twenties as well. He was dressed invish clothes, the most noticeable being the Golden Robe.


    Hun changed shape, returning to his usual form. He red at the blonde-haired man standing near the carriage.


    "Who are you?! And why is your driver attacking our citizens!"


    Hearing the words of Hun, Lucifer realized more things. It looked like this man wasn''t from this city. So he was a real High Beast that was from outside the city? That was intriguing.


    The Golden Haired man looked at Hun, smirking. His deep golden eyes seemed as confident as always.


    "I am from the Golden Family in Druci City. I am here as a guest of the Phoenix n. As for my driver hitting these lowly beasts, he was just trying to clear the road for us so we wouldn''t bete."


    "Guest of Phoenix n? I don''t care who you''re a guest of. If you want toe to our city, you just treat the citizens with respect. And if you don''t know the meaning of respect, I''ll have to reach you some," Hun dered grimly.


    "Oh? I had heard about this city''s beasts before, but I didn''t know they were so arrogant. If I weren''t in a hurry, I would''ve loved to see how you think you can teach me," the Golden-Haired manzily said.


    He nced at the wheels of his carriage and casually waved his hand. A wave of fire appeared out of thin air, which melted all the ice, freeing the carriage.


    "Maybe when I''m on my way back, we can exchange some pointers," he told Hun.


    "Hmm?" He soon noticed Lucifer and his team in the back. "Three High Beasts together? Fascinating."


    He shook his head and stepped inside the carriage. That carriage driver took the carriage, which moved past Hun, who didn''t stop them.


    There was no need for unnecessary Conflict since he was sure that the driver got his message. The driver was still sweating after all.


    Through the window, the golden-haired man observed Lucifer while he did the same. The carriage soon turned and disappeared.


    "Can you believe these guys?" Hun walked back to Lucifer. "They had the gall to tell me that I can''t host you people because you''re from another city while they''re inviting guests of their own? Such hypocrisy!"


    "They are here to meet the Phoenix n. That''s strange though. The Phoenix n is the most isted n. Strange. Whatever, it''s nothing to do with me. Come, I''ll show you a great ce."


    ...


    After taking a tour of the city for the rest of the day, Lucifer returned in the evening with Hun and the others.


    Hun took Lucifer to their room. "Have a rest. You must be tired after such a long day. When it''s time for dinner, I''ll call you."


    "Oh, that''s right. I forgot! How could I forget that you might not eat what we eat? You''re different. What do you usually eat? I''ll arrange for that?"


    "What do you eat?" Lucifer asked in return. If these people ate frozen ice, then it was better for him to go hungry.


    "We eat dishes made of snow. But most of you are ipatible with snow. Tell us what you want, I''ll arrange."


    "It''s alright. You don''t have to worry about us. We don''t eat that often. We won''t be eating tonight. And if we did, we would have some arrangement."


    "Are you sure?"


    "Yep," Lucifer responded. It was better for him to go to a forest and find something to eat than take the risk of exposing themselves.


    "If you say so. Tell us if you change your mind. I''ll be backter." Hun turned to leave.


    "Oh right, I had one question. I wanted to ask you something." Lucifer stopped Hun.. It was time for him to throw the main question.

 Chapter 548 - 548: Family

    <h4>Chapter 548 - 548: Family</h4>


    "What question?" Hun asked.


    "Throughout our travels, we heard some rumors. There was no such thing as what those rumors started in our city, so I wanted to ask you if those were true."


    "What rumors?"


    "There were rumors about beasts being taken to another world through Summons? Weaker beasts, of course. And after a little while, the beasts return only for them to be taken out again?"


    "Ah, you''re talking about that. You don''t know about Summons?"


    "Summons?" Lucifer asked, acting ignorant. "As I said, there was nothing like that in our world."


    "Well, there''s not a big mystery in them. It''s actually fairly simple. A summon is something in which a beast is sent to another world by the Gods to help weak Creatures of that world."


    "Generally, only weak beasts are sent in Summons, probably because they are enough."


    "So a High Beast has never been summoned?" Lucifer asked.


    "Not as far as I know."


    "Are there beasts in this city that are summoned too?" Lucifer asked.


    "Yeah. There are a few. Unfortunately, for some reason, they can''t tell us anything about the outer world where they go to. They forget about that world as soon as they return here," Hun exined.


    "So we only have basic knowledge about the world they''re summoned to."


    "So, If a High Beast wanted to go to that world, was there a way?"


    "I don''t think so. Only if God decides to send you, you can go," Hun answered.


    Lucifer understood what he meant by God. He probably didn''t understand the logic of Summoning himself.


    He thought the Summoned Beasts weren''t summoned by humans but sent by gods. He couldn''t me this guy.


    He could only be happy that he at least had a way to get to the Summoned beast. Then he could wait for the Summoning Circle there.


    "I want to see the beasts that were summoned from this city. Can we?" he asked.


    "Hmm? It looks like you''re really intrigued about this phenomenon. It''s alright. I can understand why you would be since it all sounds so special. Tomorrow, I''ll take you to meet some of them."


    ...


    It was nine in the night. Lucifer and the others hadn''t had dinner since it was only ice. However, he was the one who was struggling the most since his appetite was the most.


    In the end, he decided to approach Hun and asked Hun if he could arrange for some meat or fruits. After he described what he was asking for, Hun agreed. Surprisingly, he had ways to arrange for such things.


    Within an hour, the food was arranged. Lucifer ate first to make sure that it wasn''t poisonous for them before allowing others to eat.


    After finishing the dinner, the others went to sleep. Hun also went to sleep. It was only Lucifer who was awake. He had left the mansion since he didn''t feel sleepy.


    He sat at the entrance of the mansion, looking at the sky. The night sky looked even more beautiful than it did in the morning.


    He could also see stars in the sky somehow, the only difference being that the stars were less in number and bigger in sizepared to earth.


    He lowered his gaze to observe the beautiful ice flower in his hand, which was still shining beautifully.


    "You''re supposed to bring luck. Tomorrow we need great luck. Let''s see if you can actually do anything," Lucifer muttered, shaking his head.


    Crr~


    With slight noise, the metallic door behind him opened. He looked back, wondering who it was.


    "Lady Yui. You didn''t sleep yet?"


    The young woman who had stepped out of the house walked closer to Lucifer. "Shouldn''t I be asking you that question? Howe you''re still up?"


    "I just couldn''t sleep yet. So I decided to get some fresh air," Lucifer answered.


    Yui sat beside him. "Let''s say that it''s the same for me."


    Lucifer didn''t reply and went back to silence as he looked at the sky.


    Yui noticed the flower in his hand. "You''re still carrying the flower?"


    "What can I say? I do need some luck," Lucifer responded, sighing. "Also, this flower is really beautiful, just like the sky."


    "And our city? How was it?"


    "The city? It is pretty good as well." Lucifer nced at Yui.


    "Especially the people. You''re all so nice. Your brother allowed us strangers to stay here, and your family treated us so nice. When the people of the city are so nice, how can the city be bad?"


    "May I ask what your home was like?" Yui asked.


    "My home?" Lucifer muttered. He wondered if he even had a home? If there was something he could call home, it could be the Uprising family, but even that wasn''t a real family.


    "My home? We have many people, and everyone helps me when I need it. So I can''tin," he answered.


    "That sounds nice. What about your city? How is it different from ours?" Yui asked.


    "It''s not much different than yours. It''s just a bit more crowded since we have more people. As for the rest, it''s mostly simr," Lucifer exined.


    "May I ask you how long you''re nning to stay here?"


    Lucifer nced at Yui. He smiled as he asked, "As long as Lady Yui allows me to live here."


    "Then how about forever?" Yui chuckled, shaking her head. She knew Lucifer was joking, and she started too.


    "Won''t you get bored of me if I stay here forever?"


    "I won''t. But seriously, it would be great if you could stay here for as long as you could. I hadn''t seen my brother this happy before. Having friends is special for him. Before you, he was always lonely even if he didn''t show. Your arrival changed him."


    "He was lonely?" Lucifer asked.


    "Yeah. He didn''t have any friends. He was too isted since it isn''t easy for a High Beast to make friends, especially with our constitution," Yui answered.


    "What about you? Do you have friends?" Lucifer asked.


    "Me? I don''t have friends either, but I''m still better than my brother since I''m close to my mother. She is my friend," Yui answered.


    "Why don''t you make a friend as well? Outside home?"


    "I can''t. I have the same problem as my brother. I can''t bear the presence of other High Beasts."


    "You seem to be fine with my presence?"


    "Because you''re different. I don''t feel that way with you."


    "I wish I was like you too. You have two High Beast friends, and you''re so open."


    "You''re wrong about that. I don''t have two High Beast Friends. I have four," Lucifer replied.


    "Four?"


    "Yep. Szar, Jenilia, Hun and..."


    "And...?" Yui asked, looking at Lucifer.


    "And you," Lucifer answered.

 Chapter 549 - 549: Many Things To Worry

    <h4>Chapter 549 - 549: Many Things To Worry</h4>


    "Me?" Yui asked, looking at Lucifer, stunned. He had already stopped looking at her and shifted his attention back to the flower in his hand.


    "Of course. Aren''t you?" Lucifer asked.


    He was mostly saying it to get in the good books of these people, but it wasn''t entirely false either. He had some goodwill for these people. Unlike in the real world, here, people epted him with no expectations.


    Hun let him stay in his home without asking many questions. As for this girl, she gave him this flower so he could have some luck even though she didn''t have to.


    These people were actually helping him without any expectations. For them, he was just an ordinary High Beast that wasn''t even going to stay here for long, but they still took him in and treated him well. Especially Hun.


    Still, that much wasn''t enough to phase him. All he had was the goodwill for these people and nothing more... At least that''s what he thought.


    Yui didn''t answer Lucifer. She simply stood up. "I-i think I should go back in. It''s gettingte."


    She quickly ran inside the mansion.


    "Hmm? What happened to her?" Lucifer muttered, confused. He shook his head as he also stood up. "I should also sleep. Tomorrow is the day we leave this ce if everything goes right."


    He got up; however, before he could turn, he noticed a bright light in the sky.


    "This..."


    He could see what appeared to be a ming bird that was flying high in the sky, flying towards the South.


    Curious, he decided to follow her. His body started rising in the air while he hid his aura in the darkness of the night.


    He followed the phoenix for about half an hour. The Phoenix had stopped andnded on the ground, taking her real shape back.


    She was indeed the red-haireddy that was the person he first saw in this world.


    She stopped before a steep cliff, right at the edge.


    Lucifer alsonded behind her, wondering what she was doing here. Was she looking to jump? He wondered, sighing.


    The Phoenix didn''t jump though.


    "Arghhhh!"


    After standing still for what appeared to be an eternity, she yelled at the top of her lungs.


    Lucifer cast a barrier around his ears to protect himself from this sharp screaming. After screaming as long as she could, the red-haireddy sat on the edge of the cliff with her legs hanging down.


    As he heard the scream, he didn''t know why, but it sounded like a scream filled with pain and agony. It was something he was all too familiar with since he also did something like this in the past... All to get some emotions out.


    However, doing this was rare for him since he mostly preferred to destroy things when he was feeling like that.


    After the helpless scream, thedy sat on the ground.


    Lucifer stepped closer to thedy, sighing. He didn''t want to expose himself here, but he felt like he needed some answers.


    He stopped right behind thedy and stopped hiding his presence.


    "So, what''s making you so helpless that you have to scream here?" he asked.


    "Hmm?" The red-haired woman stood up, looking back shocked.


    "You! What are you doing here?" She asked, ring at Lucifer.


    Crack~


    As she was standing at the edge already, moving back one more step in shock brought her to the danger zone of the cliff. The rock where her feet were resting broke apart. She lost her bnce and fell back.


    Lucifer took a step forward and caught her hand. "Be careful."


    His hands met the hands of the red-haired woman, who didn''t understand what had just happened. Did a stranger really touch her?


    She looked at the hands of Lucifer, which had started turning green.


    "Hmm? What''s this?" Lucifer muttered, frowning. He pulled thedy back before he freed her hand.


    His hand had turned slightly greenish, but his healing also activated, healing his hand and bringing it back to normal.


    "Did you really have to attack me with poison? I was only trying to help you?" Lucifer muttered, frowning. He understood that it was probably some poison that was acting on his body. Fortunately, his healing got into action, or he might have been in danger.


    "I didn''t need your help. I wouldn''t have fallen. I can fly," the red-haired woman responded. "Moreover, I didn''t attack you. I''m not such a coward that I''ll have to attack you like that."


    "But still... How is your hand fine? This is the first time I''ve seen someone heal so easily?"


    "So you can''t control that either? Your touch poisons people?" Lucifer asked, frowning. He couldn''t help but look at his own hand. The resemnce was so uncanny. He couldn''t stop his decay either.


    Thedy didn''t answer. She sat on the ground again, with her back facing Lucifer. "Why were you following me?"


    "Because I wanted to ask you something."


    "Ask what?" Thedy asked.


    "You are a Phoenix, right? I heard you people can''t bear the cold? At least that''s what Hun told me. Simr to how he can''t bear heat that well. Is that true?"


    "What of it?"


    "Why were you taking a bath in the freezing pond then?" Lucifer asked. "Something didn''t seem right."


    Thedy grew shocked. "How do you know about that?!"


    "Is that something I should''ve known about? Actually, I happened to be near that ce when that was happening," Lucifer replied as he also sat beside thedy. "That intrigued me a lot. So I wanted to ask you about it."


    "I don''t need to tell you anything. Go back to the Snow Wolves. You''re disturbing me here. Also, next time, try not to peep at bathingdies."


    "I wasn''t peeping. You just happened to be there," Lucifer replied. "But still, I won''t force you to answer."


    "The scene from here is really beautiful though. I didn''t know a ce as beautiful as this existed here." Lucifer changed the topic for a moment, so he wasn''t forced to leave.


    "It is. This is my favorite ce," thedy answered. "Whenever I feel upset, Ie here."


    "So, what''s making you upset today?" Lucifer asked.


    Thedy didn''t answer. "Telling you won''t help anything."


    "Who knows. You should try sharing some time. Maybe I''ll have some ideas to help you?"


    "It''s alright. You don''t need to stress yourself. It''s my problem, and I''ll solve it myself. Moreover, you should focus more on yourself.. Do what you''re here to do and leave," the woman answered.

 Chapter 550 - 550: Unfair

    <h4>Chapter 550 - 550: Unfair</h4>


    "The city doesn''t appreciate the presence of foreigners. Some people are upset with your presence, and they mighte for you. I don''t want any conflict in the city. So it''s better that you leave because any harmes to you. A war between cities won''t be good."


    "Harm me? Who?" Lucifer asked, confused. Who was trying to harm him?


    "You mean that High Beast who told Hun to not let me stay here?" he asked.


    "Maybe. All I can say is that you have many things to worry about yourself. Don''t insert your nose in the matters of others."


    "Isn''t that unfair? Why is my presence a problem for those people? What about the presence of your guests? They came from different city as well. Why only me then?"


    Thedy didn''t answer; however, Lucifer felt like he had noticed something. As soon as he talked about that person, a momentary look of disgust shed on the face of thedy.


    "Let me guess. Your problem is rted to that guy?" He asked.


    "Enough. If you''re not leaving, I''ll leave." The red-haireddy stood up and started leaving.


    "It''s fine. I''ll leave," Lucifer muttered, shaking his head. "It''s your special ce. I won''t take over this ce."


    The woman stopped, looking at Lucifer, making sure he was actually leaving.


    "By the way, thank you for informing me about the dangers on me. That was a great help. By the way, my name is Lucifer Azarel. Maybe we''ll meet again."


    Lucifer''s body started rising in the air.


    "Amelia Everhart," the red-haired woman replied before walking back to the edge of the cliff. She sat down, returning to silence.


    "Amelia, huh," Lucifer muttered, ncing back.


    ''There is really something odd about you. I could feel it even more when I was near you. We''ll certainly be meeting more in the future. I''m not going anywhere until I get all my answers,'' he thought, observing Amelia.


    He flew away.


    ...


    It was two in the night when Lucifer reached the mansion of the Snow Wolves. He went to his room and peacefullyid on the bed, soon falling asleep.


    The next day, he woke up early in the morning because of the knock on the door.


    He rubbed his sleepy eyes and got off the bed. He had long managed to sleep for four hours before he was woken.


    He opened the door to find Hun there.


    "Why are you up so early?" he asked, looking tired.


    "Early? It''s six in the morning. It''s the usual time we all wake up. Did I disturb your sleep? If you want, you can go back to sleep again. I''lle backter? I just thought you wanted to go meet that beast who was summoned?"


    "Nah, it''s fine. I''m up now. Just give me five minutes, and I''ll get ready," Lucifer answered. He didn''t feel like he could sleep again now that he was up.


    "Good. I''ll wake your friends as well. The breakfast is ready as well."


    Lucifer walked to the bathroom and took a shower while cleaning his hair that desperately needed some care.


    After a ten-minute long shower, he stepped out and got dressed. Since he didn''t have different clothes, he had already borrowed some clothes from Hun.


    Now he was dressed in a white shirt and white pants. He donned his cloak on top, changing the color of the cloak to white as well to match the clothing style.


    He sat on the bed after he finished getting dressed. He brought his sses out and wore them, trying to test once again if he was getting a signal or not. Unfortunately, that wasn''t the case. He couldn''t contact the outside world from here.


    He kept the sses back and ced his hand on the other pocket, which was carrying the two stones. One was taken from the APF, while the other was taken from Milena.


    The two stones were shining slightly brighter in the presence of each other, but there was nothing strange besides that. He kept the stones back as well, wondering what was happening in the outside world.


    Even though he had told Szar that nothing was going to go wrong in such a short time in the outside world, even he wasn''t fully sure.


    Kellian and Milena were two different people, after all, both leading a different side. Moreover, he was the piece that was joining them. In his absence, anything was possible.


    "It''s only been one day. Most probably, Kellian would handle everything." He stood up and left the room. Outside the room, he met with Jenilia and Szar. The two of them were ready as well. All of them walked to the breakfast table together.


    As Lucifer reached the breakfast table, there were ten tables already arranged for the seven Snow Wolves. Amongst the seven, Hun''s father was the main member and the leader of the n. He was sitting in the main chair since he had the highest position.


    His three younger brothers were sitting on his left side; one chair was empty after the third brother.


    Hun''s mother was sitting on the right side of the table. One chair was empty beside her. After the empty chair, Yui was seated. And two chairs were empty after her.


    Szar walked to the left and sat beside the third brother of Hun''s father. The three brothers didn''t look happy though.


    They didn''t want these strangers to be guests in the house, but they couldn''t go against the decision of their elder brother and the n leader. They could only go along with them.


    Hun sat in between his mother and his sister, leaving only two seats empty that were after Yui''s seat. Lucifer took the seat immediately after her, leaving thest for Jenilia.


    "Good Morning to everyone. Again, thank you so much for letting us stay here." Lucifer expressed his thanks again since he was before the n leader.


    "Don''t mention it. Anyway, how was your night here?" Hun''s father asked.


    "It was good. After such a long trip, it was good to rest properly again."


    "Is that so? Why is it that you look even more tired now?" The man asked.


    "It''s... It''s because I always look tired after I wake up. It''s a gic thing," Lucifer replied.


    "It''s good that you liked your stay. May I ask how long you are nning to stay here?" The Second Brother asked.


    Hun''s father red at his brother. "Is that a way to talk to guests?"


    "You misunderstand me, brother. I was just asking him how long we have the privilege to host him. It''s not that I was asking him to leave."


    "I''m nning to stay here for a few days.. We would probably leave after a few days if nothing newes up," Lucifer replied.

 Chapter 551 - 551: Marriage

    <h4>Chapter 551 - 551: Marriage</h4>


    Hearing Lucifer was nning to leave so soon, Yui looked at him, not knowing what to say.


    Her mother also noticed her. She couldn''t help but shake her head, knowing her daughter''s feelings.


    "That''s not right. How can we let you leave so soon? You must at least stay here for a week! That''s only fair!" She said.


    "Mother is right! How can we let you leave so easily? You must stay at least a week!" Even Hun agreed since he wasn''t ready to let him leave.


    "I..." Lucifer didn''t know what to say. Even he didn''t know when he would leave.


    It all depended on the next appearance of the formation Circle. It could be today, or it could be after a week. It all depended on the Summoner of the beast as to when he Summoned the beast next.


    "I''ll try to see if I can arrange that." He ultimately nodded.


    The three brothers shook their heads. They couldn''t understand why they wanted to keep these strangers at home for so long.


    The first brother and the third brother looked at the second as if ming him. If he hadn''t asked this question, the n wouldn''t have changed from a few days to a week.


    "Enough talking now. Let''s start," Hun''s father said, taking the first bite of the snow dish.


    Looking at all the snow on the table, Lucifer couldn''t help but shake his head. How boring must it be to eat snow every day?


    Fortunately, he wasn''t forced to eat snow. Fruits were brought for him and his team members on Hun''s demand.


    "Brother, did you hear the rumor about the Phoenix?" The first brother said to Hun''s father.


    "What rumor?" Hun''s father asked.


    "The brat from the Golden Crow n in the nearby city came to the city yesterday to meet the Phoenix n."


    "That''s right. I met him too. He was a bit too arrogant. He imed he was the guest of Phoenix n," Hun also chimed in.


    "What about them? Why should we care who the phoenix n invites? Even though it''s odd for someone like them, but still, it''s none of our business," Hun''s father stated.


    "That''s not it, brother. The rumor states that the Golden Crow brat was invited by the Phoenix n so they could arrange a marriage between the two ns."


    "Marriage? Didn''t the phoenix n only have one girl? Why would they be willing to marry her to another n? It was different if they had more heirs, but it doesn''t make sense when she''s the only one?"


    "That''s right. Even I''m not sure about it. But if rumors are true, the marriage is arranged between the little phoenix and the Golden Crow Brat."


    ''Marriage?'' Lucifer frowned. ''So that''s what it was. That was why she looked so upset when I talked about the guy. It looks like she doesn''t want to marry him. Why doesn''t she just say no then? It''s not as if she can be forced. She could easily run away if she were forced. It''s really confusing."


    Even though Lucifer was thinking about Amelia, Yui was thinking about something else entirely. She was more focused on what her father had just said.


    He said that it was fine if thedy was married into another n as long as she wasn''t the main heir. She satisfied the criteria. Her brother was the main heir, so if she decided to marry Lucifer, there was a path.


    Now all she needed was to make sure if she really had feelings for him.


    "Then again, Phoenixes are rare. Even if they wanted, I doubt they would''ve found another phoenix for marriage. So it makes sense as well. Golden Crows are also fire rted beasts, so it makes sense." Hun''s father nodded. Even though it was odd, he could understand the reasoning behind such decisions.


    "That''s true as well. I just thought that it was fascinating. Anyway, do you think the Phoenix n will leave the city and shift with the Golden Crows after that? If that''s the case, we should be prepared to take over their resources that would be left behind."


    "Don''t think too much. That''s still a lot of time before the marriage. Let''s just focus on ourselves for now." Hun''s fatherzily said.


    The Elders were the first to finish eating. They got up and left, leaving Lucifer and the other youngsters behind.


    ...


    Lucifer was thest one to finish the breakfast. Everyone was already done before him, and they were waiting for him to be done.


    "Shall we get going now?" Hun asked.


    "Yeah. We''re done." Lucifer nodded.


    "Where are you all going? Can Ie as well?"


    "I''m going to show him the beasts that were summoned to the other world. He says things like that don''t happen in his city, so he was interested in seeing them. You''ve already seen them. Why do you want toe?"


    "Why can''t Ie?" Yui asked, rolling her eyes. "I''ming. That''s final."


    "Whatever." Hun smiled wryly. "I already had the carriage prepared since we''ll be going to the other end of the city. It''s much faster with that."


    The group of five left the mansion and entered the snow-white carriage of the Snow Wolf n.


    Lucifer sat on the left berth in the middle of Yui and Hun. Szar and Jenilia say on the other end. The carriage started moving.


    The windows of the carriage were covered by a white curtain that was walking left and right.


    "Can you open the curtain?" Lucifer asked Yui.


    Yui opened the curtain, not saying no. "If you want, you can sit on my seat. You''ll have a good view of the outside?"


    "That would be great. Thank you," Lucifer agreed right away. In any case, he felt he was going to be bored sitting in this carriage in the middle of brother and sister.


    He stood up. Yui moved to the middle while Lucifer moved to her seat, closer to the window.


    Finally, he had a clear view of the outside. Moreover, Yui was fine too, since she was still sitting right beside him.


    "It looks like you like seeing the scenery," Yui said. "Then again, why would you leave your home to travel the world if you didn''t. May I ask what it''s like traveling to different cities?"


    "It''s fun sometimes. Then again, it''s pretty hard at other times. Not every city is like this. And there are many more factors," Lucifer muttered.


    After driving for over an hour, the carriage reached another mansion that was ming red in color. The mansion looked as big as the Snow Wolf Mansion.


    "What''s that?" Lucifer asked.


    "That''s where the Phoenix n stays," Yui exined.

 Chapter 552 - 552: Not At Awesome

    <h4>Chapter 552 - 552: Not At Awesome</h4>


    "Phoenix n?" Lucifer muttered as he observed the building outside. The mansion looked good, but it had a different vibe than the Snow Wolf n Mansion.


    Thest mansion was very inviting even though it looked cold. It wasn''t intimidating at all.


    On the contrary, this mansion waspletely different. It was as if this ce was much different. He didn''t even feel like going to the mansion just because of the strange vibe he was getting from here.


    Just as he was observing the mansion, he noticed a figure looking outside from the window.


    ''Amelia?'' He recognized the person as thedy he had seen justst night. Moreover, the carriage of the Golden Crow n wasn''t here now. It looked like they had left.


    "Not as awesome as our mansion, right?" Yui asked.


    Hun nodded. "It won''tst for long. After the girl here is married, the mother would probably leave too, and some other n will take over thend of the Phoenix n."


    "Why does your n want theirnds? I mean, don''t you have enoughnd already?" Lucifer asked, curious. He could understand if it was about taking out an enemy, but after the enemy was gone, what was the need to do it?


    "Honestly, even I''m not sure about it. I think it''s because none of the ns get together. Since they don''t want other ns to take over the resources of the Phoenix n, they try to take it for them. It might be the same for our n as well. As you heard it from uncles, they want to prepare for that even now," Hun exined.


    "That''s understandable as well. To stop the other side from bing stronger, you want to go ahead first," Szar let out, understanding.


    "Exactly," Hun added.


    "Can I ask you about something regarding the Phoenix n?" Lucifer asked.


    "Sure. I think I have a decent amount of knowledge regarding them since they''ve been living in this city for a long time," Hun responded.


    "What are the strengths of the Phoenixes?"


    "Their strength? I would say it''s fire. Just like our strength is ice," Hun replied.


    "Anything else other than fire?" Lucifer asked. "Something like poison? Or anything unorthodox?"


    "Hmm? Poison? I don''t think there''s anything like that. In any case, why would they use poison? That''s such a scummy method to attack the enemy. I don''t think any High Beast would be so shameless."


    "Anyway, why are you asking about that? Did you hear something about it?"


    "It''s nothing," Lucifer muttered, shaking his head.


    He observed his hand, which he had used to save Amelia from falling. What was that if not poison? His hand had turnedpletely green.


    He was sure that it was something rted to poison. But then again, it didn''t look like Amelia was trying to kill him. If she wanted, she could''ve gone all out.


    Moreover, if it was because of touch, then why was it that his hand was affected even when he was wearing the gloves? His gloves had touched her hand only. It was something really odd.


    Yui noticed him looking at his hand. She also noticed his ck gloves.


    "Those gloves, do you always wear them?"


    "Yeah."


    Yui wondered if it was because his hand had some wound or something that he didn''t want others to see. Why else did he always wear gloves? It couldn''t be that he felt cold since it was clear that his friends were affected by the cold more, and even they weren''t wearing gloves.


    "Is there any reason?" She asked.


    "There''s no special reason. I just like wearing them," Lucifer casually replied.


    Jenilia also started wondering about it now. She had seen him wearing the gloves every time she met him. She wondered what the true reason was.


    "We''re almost there. Just a little more, and we''ll be at our destination."


    "Brother, why didn''t we show him the beasts closest to our home? I mean, why did wee so far? Aren''t we just wasting his time?"


    "Not really. I am just trying to be as useful as I can. There are actually five beasts that were Summoned from the city. However, there''s only one that was Summoned recently. All the others weren''t summoned in months. So it''s better to show him this one," Hun exined.


    Since Lucifer wanted a beast that could help him get home, he wanted to meet the one that was summoned regrly. It was a waste to meet the beast that was summoned a long time ago and never again.


    As Hun said, he was just following the wishes of Lucifer.


    "Ah, that''s good then," Yui let out.


    The white carriage soon stopped before what looked like an ordinary house in the city.


    "We''re here." Hun opened his side of the door and stepped out. Lucifer also opened his side of the door, leaving the carriage. The others also followed him.


    Not a single one of them had any idea that there was one person who was keeping an eye on them from a distance, making sure he wasn''t seen.


    It was a beast that had been keeping an eye on the Snow n Mansion since the morning. As soon as he saw Lucifer leave, he started following the carriage as well.


    "Is this the house?" Lucifer asked. The house looked much like an ordinary house that was used by Beastkins, but it didn''t appear to be one that could be used by wild beasts.


    That was one thing that had made him suspicious. From what he knew about Summoning, no one was able to summon a humanoid beast. At least amongst the people he knew, there was none. It was the same as how Summoners weren''t able to summon high Beasts.


    The strength and skills which was needed to summon a humanoid beast were too much. Even Zhu hadn''t been able to summon one. So the fact that this beast was so often summoned, it was making Lucifer suspicious.


    Just who was the person on earth that was able to summon humanoid beasts without the news spreading to the other humans? He was also suspicious if this beast was actually summoned to earth or another world with strong Summoners.


    He didn''t want to take the risk only to end up in a different world which could be even worse than being here. In this world, he could at least find a beast that could take him to earth, but what was he going to do in another world? How was he going to find a way back?


    He had decided to make sure that this beast was summoned to earth before deciding anything else.

 Chapter 553 - 553: Relic

    <h4>Chapter 553 - 553: Relic</h4>


    Hun knocked on the door of the small house. The door opened not long after the knock.


    The person who had opened the door looked like a human that was so short that it even amused Lucifer.


    The man was only two feet tall, not evening to his waist. He had two big ears like the ears of an elephant and two eyes on each side of his face.


    The man was stunned to see Hun. It was the first time a High Beast hade to meet him.


    "Young Master, what brought you here? If you wanted, you should''ve just called for me. I would''ve been there?!" The little guy said respectfully.


    "There''s no need Gon. It would''ve just wasted time. Anyway, we are here because my friend wanted to meet you and ask you a few questions. It would be great if you could answer him honestly." Hun stepped aside, revealing Lucifer and the others.


    "F-five?" Gon eximed. He was already stunned at the thought of Hun knowing his name, but to see that there were actually five High Beasts standing before his house, he grew overwhelmed.


    "Are we allowed toe in, or do you want to talk here?" Hun asked.


    "Ah, pleasee inside." Gon stepped back and allowed some free space for the others to enter.


    He hastily ran to get some chairs and arranged them in a proper manner for the guests.


    As he only had five chairs in the house, he personally sat on the ground.


    Hun and the others took seats.


    "So, how can I help?"?Gon asked.


    Hun looked at Lucifer, gesturing for him to ask whatever he wanted to.


    "So, Gon. I am really interested in summoning. And I heard that you are often summoned to other world. That''s what I want to know about. What is that world like where you go to? And how often are you called there?'' Lucifer asked, taking the lead.


    "That world? I-i can''t answer that because I don''t remember. It''s something reallyplicated. The only thing I know is that I forget about this world when I''m there and remember all the past summons to that world."


    "However, when I''m here, I forget everything rted to that world and remember everything about this world. So I can''t answer that question. I don''t know anything about that world. However, I do know how often I am summoned."


    "There''s no set pattern, but from what I know, I am summoned a few times every week. During some weeks, I''m summoned tens of times. And the other week, I''m Summoned only a few times. The only thing I know is that there hasn''t been a week in which I wasn''t Summoned."


    After exining, Ron looked at Lucifer, wondering if that guy was satisfied by the answer.


    "So you don''t know anything about that world," Lucifer muttered, frowning. That was something he didn''t want to happen because it meant he couldn''t make sure if the world this guy was summoned to was earth or not.


    He wondered if there was another method he could use to make sure that the world was indeed earth or not?


    He lost himself in deep thought as he tried to think of something. The silence was scary for Gon, who didn''t want to offend a High Beast. However, there was nothing he could do since he didn''t remember.


    "I-i do have something rted to that world. If you''re interested, I can show you?" Gon suddenly let out, trying to do whatever he could to keep these guys happy. Since they were interested in other worlds, he could use that to survive.


    "Something rted to that world?" Lucifer raised his gaze.


    "T-that''s right. After I came backst time, I realized that I had something in my hand. It wasn''t there when I was Summoned. So even though I don''t know what happened after I was summoned, one thing I can be sure of was that I did bring something back from that world."


    "Show me what it is," Lucifer said. This was perfect. If it was something that could be found on earth, it could signal that he was in the right ce. It was better than nothing.


    Even Hun was intrigued. It was the first time he had heard of such a thing. An object from the other world? Even he was intrigued.


    "I will be right back!" Gon stood up and ran in haste, using his short feet.


    He ran to his bedroom where a suitcase was lying in the corner. He opened the briefcase. He could feel his heart hearing heavily as he was still so overwhelmed and scared for his life.


    He picked an item from the suitcase and ran back.


    He stopped before Lucifer and showed the item. "This is it!"


    "That''s it?" Lucifer muttered, frowning. He could only see a small piece of metal in the hand of Gon. "Let me see from close."


    He took the sharp piece of metal from Gon and observed it.


    "It looks like a piece of Sword," Szar pointed out, seeing the shape of the piece of metal.


    "Yeah. It''s just as sharp," Lucifer muttered. "It was certainly from a sword. There was probably a battle with a swordsman. He must have picked up the broken Sword piece before he was sent back."


    Even though this piece of sword looked simr to the swords on earth, it wasn''t something that could prove that he was summoned to earth. Sword was something that could be used by other worlds as well. Even after all that, he was back to square one.


    As he turned the other face of the metal piece, he saw a logo carved on the de of the Sword.


    "A trident?"


    He noticed that a trident was carved on the other end of the sword. "Was it a piece of a trident instead? It doesn''t look like that, but it''s possible as well."


    "Can I see?" Szar asked.


    Lucifer handed the piece to Szar.


    "That''s indeed a trident. Moreover, the shape is really fascinating. I don''t think this trident would be from there, but we can''t deny the possibility either."


    Jenilia also observed the carved trident. She looked slightly weird as she saw the symbol. She reached out her hand and took the sword piece.


    She observed it even more carefully. "I think I saw that before...!"


    "You did? It''s from earth?" Szar asked. If it were the case, it would have been great. That meant they found a way back! This guy could lead them back to their world!


    Hun looked at the three youngsters confused. What earth? He couldn''t understand a single thing they were talking about. Why did it look like they knew something about this other world?


    "Where did you see it?" Lucifer asked.

 Chapter 554 - 554: Atlantis

    <h4>Chapter 554 - 554: Antis</h4>


    "There was a time when I went to the office of Master Zhu in the council. There was a file on his table. This symbol was printed on top of the file. And there were two words written on the file," Jenilia replied.


    "What two words?" Lucifer asked.


    "On top of the file, ssified was written. And in the middle was this logo. As for the second word, that was right under this trident symbol."


    "And what was that?"


    Jenilia took a deep breath before she replied, "It was Antis."


    "Antis? What''s that?" Szar asked, smiling wryly. "The name of a group like Uprising?"


    "I''m not sure. That was the first time I saw the symbol and this word. I''m as clueless about this as you all. Whatever this Antis is, it''s highly ssified. Even the Divine Emperor and Uprising weren''t as ssified," Jenilia replied.


    "If this piece is actually rted to Antis, it must be from there," she continued.


    Lucifer rubbed the back of his head. "Antis, huh. It doesn''t matter. What matters is that it''s from there. The search is over."


    "What search?" Hun finally decided to ask. "Didn''t you say you didn''t know anything about summons? Why does it look like you know more about it than even us?"


    "It''s the truth. We don''t know anything about the summons. But we do know something else. We just wanted to make sure that this summons was rted to what we know about," Lucifer replied. "I didn''t think it would actually be the case, but it looks like that''s the case."


    "Can you be more clear?" Hun asked.


    "Do you really want to know?" Lucifer asked, trying toe up with another story.


    "It would be great if you could be honest." Hun nodded.


    "The truth is that we didn''t lie to you. We left our home because we wanted to travel the entire world, but there was more to it. We also wanted to try to see if we could find our parents," Lucifer replied, sighing.


    "Huh?" Jenilia looked at Lucifer, smiling wryly. What nonsense was he spouting now? She thought he was going to tell the truth, but he made an even more absurd lie?


    Szar didn''t react. He didn''t expect Lucifer to tell the truth since it wasn''t good to take the risk this close to the goalpost. What if they epted the truth and Hun was upset that they lied to him? Everything was going to go south. He was wiser than Jenilia.


    "Your parents?" Hun asked.


    "Yeah. Our parents." Lucifer stood up and walked to Jenilia. He took the piece of metal from her hand, grazing his fingers against the trident symbol.


    "Five years ago... Our parents disappeared from the city. That''s what brought me and these two together since we all shared the same pain. We all came together and ultimately became close friends."


    "Just like that, four years passed, and we weren''t able to find anything regarding our parents. We ultimately gave up. Instead, to calm our heads, we decided to take a tour of the world together. And that''s how those trips came together."


    "However, as we traveled, we came to hear some things about the summons. That gave us hope and some hints. It made us think that maybe our parents were summoned as well. That''s why we were so interested in the summons."


    "Throughout our journey, we tried to collect as much information about summons as we could, but we didn''t get any concrete information, at least not until now," Lucifer exined as he sat back in his seat.


    He didn''t forget to lower his head and close his eyes.


    "W-we are sorry. We reminded you of the hard past!" Seeing Lucifer look so sad, Yui hastily apologized. She believed in each and every world of Lucifer.


    "I-i am sorry. I didn''t mean to use you or remind you of the past. My curiosity just got the best of me. Can you forgive your friend?" Hun also chimed in.


    Lucifer took a deep breath as he raised his head. "It''s alright. You aren''t at fault. Anyone in your ce would have asked such questions. Moreover, you aren''t responsible for the disappearance of our parents. You don''t have to apologize."


    "Thank God you aren''t upset!" Hun also sighed a breath of relief. "So, what is this Antis about?"


    "Each of our parents left behind some things. Jenilia''s mother left behind a diary in which there was a mention of Antis. Unfortunately, she wasn''t allowed to open the diary, as you already heard."


    " Master Zhu is what she calls her uncle. Her mother left the diary to her uncle. When she went to her uncle''s room, she saw the name and the symbol as she had just said. That''s all she knows about this as well," Lucifer exined.


    "Why don''t you ask the uncle to let you read the diary? That would give you so many clues about Antis?"


    "We can''t. After she asked her uncle about the diary, he burnt it. He said he didn''t want Jenilia to dig in too deep and get hurt. That''s why the only thing she knows about them is that it''s rted to this trident symbol and Antis! And now we have proof with this piece of metal!"


    "The world Gon goes to is the same World where our parents also used to go most probably. If I''m not wrong, they used toe back before we could notice their absence, until one day when they couldn''te."


    " The answers we need lie in the world that Gon is summoned to. Finally, we have a clue!"


    "I... I can understand how excited you must be to know about your parents, but as I said. Only the people who are selected by the Gods can go to the other world, and no one knows how that selection is made. Even with that knowledge, you can''t do anything," Hun said, sighing.


    "Also, as much as I want to curse myself for saying it, but it has been five years. If they haven''te back, they are probably dead. I think you should try to leave the past behind and live in the present!" He continued, even though he was finding this topic heavy. He didn''t want to hurt Lucifer.


    "You don''t have parents at home. You don''t have to go back. Just stay here forever! Make this city your home! All of us are here for you!" he added.


    "Stay here forever?" Yui muttered. Even though she was sad about the history of Lucifer, the thought of them staying here forever was making her happy from the inside.


    Moreover, he didn''t have parents.. Even after marriage, he could stay at her home as the son-inw.

 Chapter 555 - 555: Need To Lie

    <h4>Chapter 555 - 555: Need To Lie</h4>


    "I understand what you''re trying to say. And I already came to terms with the fact that they might be dead, but still, there''s a small part in me that wants to know more about that world," Lucifer responded.


    "Sigh, I won''t me you for that. You can stay here and try to find as much as you can. However, what about after that? Will you leave in search again?" Hun asked.


    "I already got the clue. I don''t need to search for them anymore. If I couldn''t find anything significant here, I would drop the search forever."


    "And after that?" Yui asked. "After you give up the search, will you stay here?"


    Lucifer nced at Yui, only nodding. He didn''t say anything. If he got a way back, he was going to leave. But there was no need to tell them that.


    "Good! You can stay in the mansion of ours! We can convince our family as well! Shall we go home and tell them now?" Yui asked, taking his nod as his willingness to stay here.


    "I am staying here," Lucifer stated.


    "Huh? Do you have anything else to ask? I think Gon already told us all he knew?" Hun let out.


    "I understand that. It''s just that I want to see the process of his summon and how it happens. I''m just really curious about it. After he is summoned, I will get back to the mansion."


    "Sigh, are you sure? Brother, let''s take Gon back as well in that case. He can apany Lucifer there when he is summoned; he won''t be far away. That way, he won''t have to stay in this small house either?"


    Hearing the suggestion of his sister, Lucifer started frowning. It was a bad n. He couldn''t stay with them. He needed to be inplete istion with just the summoned beast. There were many risks otherwise.


    Even if he somehow seeded, if he was with Hun at the time, all of them were going to be sent to earth, including Hun.


    Moreover, the energy of a High Beast might affect the spatial trip, messing with the destination. There was a reason the formation couldn''t support a High Beast!


    He started thinking of a way to say no. He needed to stay away from the High Beasts when he was with Gon, but apparently, he didn''t even need a reason to say no as Hun spoke for him.


    Hun shook his head. "It''s impossible."


    "Why?" Yui asked.


    "We are talking about Gon! Father did let some High Beasts stay with us, but he won''t allow Gon to stay here. He isn''t a High Beast. There''s no way father would even agree to it. In fact, he would scold us for evening up with this idea! We can''t bring Gon home," Hun exined.


    ''That''s good. I won''t need to lie again.'' Lucifer thought, sighing a breath of relief.


    "It''s alright. You don''t have to think too much about it. We can stay here. Moreover, it would be for a short time. As he said, he is summoned a few times every week. As soon as he is summoned, I will be back," he also chimed in.


    "But, are you sure you can stay here? A ce like this isn''t suitable for High Beasts?" Yui asked.


    "It''s not. In my youth, I''ve even lived in smaller ces. Moreover, I even slept in forests. It''s not that hard for us," Lucifer replied.


    "But-"


    Hun ced his hand on the shoulder of his sister, stopping her.


    "Sister, he has already made up his mind. You shouldn''t try to force him. Moreover, it''s for a short time as well. Let him get his peace of mind after seeing the summoning. It''s something he needs to put his mind at rest and leave the painful chapter of his past behind."


    Yui took a deep breath and nodded as she realized that she was getting carried over a little.


    "I apologize. I wasn''t trying to force you. If you want to stay here, then you will," she said before she looked at Gon. "These three will be staying here. Do you have any problems?"


    "N-not at all! It would be my pleasure!" Gon said. There was no way he was going to say now.


    He had finally managed to escape the conundrum without making these High Beasts upset. Now all he needed to do was host them until he was summoned again.


    "Good. What''s the sleeping arrangement here? Do you have enough beds? Or shall we send more?"


    "I, ah, I sleep on the mattress on the ground. I don''t have any extra." Gon scratched the back of his head, embarrassed.


    "Fine. We''ll send three beds. But then again, there''s not even enough space for beds in this house. God, how do you even live in such a small house?"


    Hun smiled wryly, seeing his sister so involved. "Sister? That''s not appropriate. Don''t forget; he isn''t a High Beast. And he lives alone. So this house is pretty average for him. It''s us who areing here suddenly and expecting him to have all the facilities?"


    He didn''t understand why his sister was acting so weird suddenly?


    "We can adjust two small beds in this ce though. That would indeed be a problem," Hun muttered.


    "Two would be enough," Lucifer chimed in. He wanted to end the discussion as fast as he could. If he didn''t agree, these people weren''t going to leave. And if the portal appeared now, it was going to be a mess for him.


    "Two would be enough?" Hun asked.


    "That''s right. Only two of us would be sleeping at a time, while the third one will be keeping an eye on Gon, so we don''t miss the summoning. The faster we''re done with it, the faster we can be free. So two would be enough for us."


    Even though he talked about two, in reality, he only needed one.


    Hun opened his lips, trying to speak something, but Lucifer didn''t let him speak and continued, "Can you help us that much?"


    "Ah, S-sure. Do you even need to ask? We''ll arrange for that right away." Hun stood up.


    "Sister,e."


    "You go. I''m going to stay here until you return."


    "Ah, sister. What has happened to you today? You''re really acting weird. Do you know how upset father would be if he found out that we spent so much time in this ce? You need to get back home and stay with the family, so they are distracted."


    "You should go. We''ll be fine. Moreover, a little separation is always good for the bond," Lucifer also chimed in.. "We''ll be fine here."

 Chapter 556 - 556: Plan B

    <h4>Chapter 556 - 556: n B</h4>


    Yui stood up, not saying no to Lucifer. "I''lle to see you often. I hope your stay here is good."


    "Thank you "


    Lucifer watched Yui and Hun leave. After the two of them left, he stood up and closed the door before walking back.


    "You said you had a mattress?" Lucifer asked Gon.


    "T-that is right."


    "Bring it out and ce it there."


    Gon hastily brought the mattress out, cing it in the group.


    "Szar, I think you should go to sleep. I''m going to need you up at night to keep an eye on Gon."


    "I just woke up from sleep." Szar smiled wryly. It wasn''t even afternoon. How could he sleep so fast?


    "I know that. But it''s also here that we need someone up at night and alert. And I trust you the most. So try to sleep, so you aren''t sleepy at night. When you wake up, Jenilia will go to sleep."


    "I think I can stay up at night without having to sleep now. There were many times when I remained up for over twenty-four hours. You don''t have to be worried. Moreover, if I remain up now and at night, I can sleep tomorrow morning. Let''s just skip sleep for today?" Szar suggested, not willing to sleep.


    He knew how impossible it was for him to sleep so early.


    Lucifer looked at Jenilia.


    "I can''t sleep so soon either," Jenilia repeated the same statement.


    "Fine. Both of you stay up. Tonight, you''ll sleep, and tomorrow morning, Szar will sleep."


    Lucifer decided to trust in the confidence of Szar. Moreover, he was also going to stay up tonight, so he didn''t force them if they didn''t want to.


    He returned to ying with the metal piece in his hand.


    "Gon, is there anything else regarding that world that you''re missing? Any minor detail that you skipped?"


    "I told you all I knew. Other than that, I know nothing about that world," Gon replied.


    "No other material that you brought back or something like that?" Lucifer asked.


    "None. Just that one piece, and I don''t even know how."


    "It''s clear you were summoned to fight someone. And that person was either using a sword or a trident. It''s a piece of that weapon since I doubt you''d bring a piece of the weapon of your summoner. But what can this Antis be?"


    "Maybe they are weapon manufacturers? I mean, this metal piece is unlike anything I saw before. It''s much sharper and more durable. Maybe they are the suppliers of the Warlock Council?" Szar suggested. "Weapon manufacturers do care about their brand."


    "That''s impossible. Suppliers won''t be ssified like that," Jenilia chimed in.


    Inside the small house, a discussion was taking ce about Antis. On the other hand, another discussion was happening in a different ce, but it was rted to Lucifer.


    "So the Snow Wolves took the three foreigners to amoner''s house? And they were left there?"


    "That''s right, My Lord. The Snow Wolves came with them. But when they went back, they were alone. I saw it with my own eyes. Those foreigners are still inside that house!"


    "Very intriguing. Why would three High Beasts that came from another city go to an ordinary beast''s house in the city? What could he have that they needed?"


    "Ah, sir? What do you want to do? Should I continue keeping an eye on them?"


    "There''s no need! I would personally go to meet them this time. Who knows, I might have to crush some insects today."


    ....


    "Still no contact with him?"


    "Negative. I''m not sure what happened.?It''s like he has gone off-grid suddenly. We can''t even trace the sses that were connected to the satellite."


    Inside the office of Kellian, a discussion was taking ce between him and Vega. Kane, Tristan, Das, and the other main members were also present inside.


    "Do you think something could have happened to him?" Vega asked.


    "What could have happened? He had killed the enemies when we left. There was no risk, and now he''s nowhere to be found!" Kellian eximed!


    "Maybe Szar...?" Vega suggested.


    "You mean he killed Lucifer?"


    "Maybe? Or maybe he just took Lucifer? That was his goal when he came here after all?" Vega exined.


    "That''s true. The bracelet was also taken off, which could control his powers, so Szar was certainly free to betray us. I think we should try to find Szar instead." Das agreed.


    "There''s also that new group as well. The people from the Divine Empire?" Tristan also chimed in with his suspicion.


    "Certainly. Those people are waiting in the hall downstairs. Why should we believe what they say? They im to have reached the battleground, saying they didn''t find anyone. Who knows, they found them and decided to take them out?" Kane agreed.


    "I''m not sure about that. I still didn''t understand why they would attack Lucifer like that. If they wanted to, they would''ve attacked in the Divine Empire. He didn''t have a big army there either. Why would they wait toe here to kill him?" Das asked, not believing this theory.


    "I believe Szar is rted to it as well," Vega let out.


    Kellian remained seated on his chair, resting his head on his hands as he listened to all sides.


    "Vega? I want you to continue searching for Lucifer but focus more on Szar. Dig out his entire history and try to find where he could go if he wanted to escape. I don''t care how you do it; I want them located."


    "We''re already trying to do that. Is there anything else I should focus on?"


    "Just that for now. Also, keep an eye on the Warlock Council. I want every piece of information you can get me about their reaction. That would be all. You can leave."


    Vega departed from the room, shaking his head.


    "What about those Nobles? What should we do regarding them?" Das asked after Vega left.


    "They im they were brought here by Lucifer to help us. If that''s the case, let them stay here. We might be needing their help against what''s toe. Don''t tell them about the disappearance of Lucifer. We should keep them in the dark about his disappearance," Kellian responded.


    "I had another concern."


    "Speak?"


    "It''s about the Warlock Council. We already killed two of their teams, especially with the help of Lucifer and the Nobles. But next time, they''ll send even bigger forces. They woulde seriously prepared. Should we really stay here like sitting ducks?"


    Hearing the question of Vega, Kellian started smiling. "Who says we''re going to do that?"

 Chapter 557 - 557: If They Didnt

    <h4>Chapter 557 - 557: If They Didn''t</h4>


    "You mean we''re not going to stay here?"


    "Nope. We''re going to move forward with n B. Things are already put into motion," Kellian replied.


    "You mean..."


    "That''s right. This time, we won''t wait for the Warlock Council toe to us. Instead, we''ll go to them. In one day, everything should be ready. If we can find Lucifer by then, fine. If we can''t, we''ll go without him. The Nobles can be our backup."


    Kellian stood up. "I''ll go and talk to them. Just know, we must keep Lucifer''s disappearance a secret. He has gone to another city for an important mission."


    He left the room. The other members followed him as they all went to meet the Nobles.


    ...


    A youngdy was standing near her window, looking outside at the beautiful yet silent city.


    Her beautiful red hair was flying with the gentle winds that came through the open window.


    The room, which was mostly silent, was filled with a creaking sound as the door opened in the back.


    "Amelia?" A female voice fell in her ears.


    The red-haired woman turned back, looking at thedy who had just entered. The middle aged woman had simr features to her, but she looked slightly older.


    Amelia didn''t speak and just looked at the woman.


    "Are you still upset at me for what I did?" the woman asked.?"You know I had no choice?"


    "So you decided to sell me and my dignity?" Amelia asked before she stopped looking at thedy. She again focused outside.


    "Nonsense! What I did was for your own good. You know what kind of physique you have. The cold poison inside your body will eat you alive someday. The only option I had to keep you alive was to have you marry him."


    "They can help you after the marriage! You know I can''t bear to see you in pain. You can''tst long like this. Taking a bath in the frozen pond might give you a short term relief, but even that would stop being effective after some time!"


    "That''s why I''m looking to the future so you can survive. You have no idea how bad it can be!"


    "Mother? I am the one going through it," Amelia replied. "Who would know how bad it is if not me? I''m the one who has to live with constant pain. But that doesn''t mean I''ll marry and sleep with anyone. I would much rather prefer to die."


    "So you would rather prefer to leave your mother alone in this world than listen to me once and survive? You know, if you die, I won''t be willing to live for long either. I''ve tried convincing you for a long time. This will be thest time," the woman answered.


    "If you want the entire Phoenix bloodline to end with you, then fine. Say no. But if you want to see me live, then you will listen to me."


    "Are you trying to ckmail me?" Amelia asked, turning back.


    "You can think of it as whatever you want," thedy replied.


    "They are waiting for confirmation. They wille tonight again for the answer. You have until then to decide. If you don''t ept, you''ll see my dead body, and then you can do whatever you want!"


    The middle-aged woman left, leaving her daughter behind.


    Amelia took a deep breath as she closed the window. She walked back andid on the bed, closing her eyes with her hands.


    Amelia had closed her window, but if she had remained there just one more minute, she would have seen another luxury carriage move past her mansion.


    The carriage this time had a thunderbolt symbol on the doors, signifying the name of the Thunder Lion n.


    The carriage was moving in the same direction in which the Snow Wolf n had gonest time.


    "Huh? Another High Beast Carriage? First the Snow Wolf n and now the Thunder Lion n? Just why are these twoing to this part of the city? It''s so rare."


    "Who knows. It''s not something we should put our nose into."


    More and more people started noticing the carriage that they hadn''t noticed before. Even though they were all curious, none of them tried to find out.


    The carriage soon stopped before Gon''s house, stunning his neighbors even more. People wondered if Gon had done something to upset the High Beasts. None dared to approach his house to ask at all.


    "Is this the house?" A young man stepped out of the carriage.


    "That''s right, My Lord. The three should still be inside. But should you really go in alone? They are three High Beasts. It''s not a good idea to go inside."


    "Don''t worry. I''m just going to talk. And if they listened to me, then good."


    "If they didn''t?"


    "If they didn''t, then neither will this house remain here nor those people."


    ....


    Inside the house, Lucifer had finished interrogating Gon. Hemanded Gon to stay inside the house while telling Szar and Jenilia to keep an eye on them.


    He kept the metal piece in his pocket and stood up. "Keep an eye on him and call me if something happens. I''ll be outside in the meantime."


    Knock~


    As soon as he stood up, he heard a knock.


    "Is Hun back? That was fast."


    He stepped closer to the door in such silence that he could even hear his own footsteps here.


    He soon opened the door to find a young man standing at the entrance.


    "You?"


    "Were you expecting someone else? I suppose I didn''t introduce myself before. I''m Lynx, a member of the Thunder Lion n." The young man introduced himself.


    "Am I supposed to care about your identity?" Lucifer asked, frowning. He was extremely alert at the sight of this man.


    Justst night Amelia had warned him that some High Beasts were nning to hurt him, and now this guy was here? Something wasn''t right. It didn''t look like he was here for an introduction.


    "Shouldn''t you introduce yourself as well? It''s only good manners," Lynx let out, smiling.


    "Lucifer." Lucifer introduced himself as well.


    "Ah, so Lucifer. Are your friends inside as well?"


    "Are you going to get to the point or not?"


    "Fine. I just wanted to talk to the owner of this house. He must be inside. Step aside."


    "What do you want to talk to him about?"


    "Is that something you should stress your little head about? Step aside and let me get in."


    Lucifer didn''t step aside even after the threat. He couldn''t let Gon get hurt. Gon was his only way back, and it was his responsibility to protect him. If there was any battle, it was better to have them outside than having the risk of Gon dying.


    "Tell me what you need with him first."

 Chapter 558 - 558: Escape

    <h4>Chapter 558 - 558: Escape</h4>


    "Little man, are you really trying to stop me in my own city despite not even being from here?" The man with flowy blue hair asked.


    "Not at all. You can go anywhere you want. I won''t stop you. But I don''t want any harm toe inside this house. So tell me what you need. I''ll talk to him," Lucifer responded.


    "Is that so?" Lynx muttered as he turned around, rubbing his neck.


    He looked at the beast that had led him here.?"Ro, did you hear what he just said? I need to tell him what I want and wait for him to get me answers."


    Laughing, Lynx walked towards Ro. "Amusing, isn''t it? I''m being stopped in my own city from meeting a citizen of my own city. And you know why? Because this young man wants to keep the house safe. So, what do you say I should do?"


    Ro didn''t answer. He himself didn''t know what Lynx wanted to do, so it was better to not even answer.


    "Oh, I know. How about this?" Lynx turned back and waved his finger casually, making two blue lightning spearse before him. The spears flew towards Lucifer and the house.


    Even Lucifer hadn''t expected the man to attack so suddenly despite knowing why he was here. He quickly used the barrier that was given to him by Derek, casting it before him.


    The two lightning spears shed with the barrier, shattering them. One of the spears crashed inside the house while another stabbed Lucifer''s stomach, leaving a hole in his stomach.


    Lucifer looked down, seeing the hole in his stomach. "You shouldn''t have done that..."


    Lightning started flickering around him as well.


    The second lightning spear had entered the house, destroying the walls.


    "What?" Szar was drinking a ss of water when he noticed the wall being damaged and a lightning spear entering. The spear was flying straight towards Gon.


    "He can''t die!" He spread his arms, casting his domain.


    Everything inside his domain slowed down to the extreme, including the lightning spear.


    Szar tossed the ss of water aside before running towards Gon.


    As the spear was one meter away from Gon, Szar reached him, tossing him to the side.


    Gon managed to escape the spear, which hit the other wall and continued on its path.


    "Are you alright?"


    "I-i..." Gon was overwhelmed by the sudden change.


    He looked towards the hole in the wall before wiping the sweat from his forehead.


    "I''ll take that as a yes. Jenilia, stay inside and keep him safe. I''ll see what''s happening outside."


    Szar ran towards the exit, leaving Gon behind, only to hear a loud boom.


    He opened the door, finding Lucifer standing in the middle of the road. His fist was still in the air as if he had just punched someone.


    In another house right ahead, there was a human-sized hole. A man stepped out of the wall, patting his clothes.


    "You''re pretty strong, even in your human form. Let''s see if that''s the case with the real form as well. I didn''t want to have to do it, but oh well."


    "A High Beast?" Szar muttered, frowning. "What''s happening here?"


    "What are you doing outside? Get in and keep Gon safe. I''ll handle everything outside," Lucifer responded before he again flew towards Lynx.


    Lynx jumped in the sky, and by the time hended on the ground, he was back into his Thunder Lion form. Electricity flickered around the body of the giant Lion.


    "A thunder beast... Better than anything else." Lucifer smirked. Lightning was the least effective against him since he himself possessed some powerful lightning.


    Despite that, he didn''t use his lightning. Just like lightning was weak against him, it was weak against the Thunder Lion. Moreover, the other skills he had taken were also weakerpared to the lightning, so he preferred brutal strength in this case.


    The Thunder Lion opened his mouth wide as he roared before jumping to Lucifer.


    "Stop!" A scream came from inside the house.


    Szar turned around, realizing that it was the voice of Jenilia. He spread out his domain before running inside the house.


    As he barged inside the house, he saw Jenilia lying on the ground, slowly trying to get up.


    A shadow was flying towards Gon, caught in the slowed down time.


    "Shadow enemy is a mess," Szar muttered, frowning. Still, he ran towards Gon and reached him before the shadow could reach him.


    He carried Gon on his shoulders before moving back.


    He returned time to normal. The shadow missed Gon, returning to his real form, which showed the shadow to be Ro, who hade with Lynx.


    "Another one..." Ro muttered, frowning. Two High Beasts stood before him. Generally, he would have been really intimidated with Two High Beasts since he wasn''t one himself. That''s why he was working for Lynx.


    Despite that, he was pretty confident now since he had already interacted with Jenilia. She was so weak that she couldn''t even stop him. If that was the level of these High Beasts, they weren''t a threat. Lynx was more threatening on the contrary.


    ....


    Lucifer had also heard Jenilia''s scream. The scream momentarily distracted him, which was enough for Lynx to w Lucifer''s chest.


    Lucifer also brought forth his ws, stabbing them in the chest of the Thunder Lion. "Argh!"


    He quickly brought out his ws and jumped back. He could see his ws that were destroyed inside the body of the Thunder Lion.


    Lynx''s entire body was filled with destructive lightning, which wasn''t much harmful to Lucifer on its own, but it was enough to destroy the ws inside his body and the parasite.


    His chest healed once again.


    The Thunder Lionnded on the ground, calmly walking towards Lucifer. Still, by some odd ability, he split into two Thunder Lions, both having the same looks. Two Thunder Lions turned to four and four to eight. It didn''t take long before Lucifer waspletely surrounded by the Thunder Lions.


    ...


    "This will hold him back for ten minutes. Get out of here before he gets out." Szar informed Jenilia as he ran towards the back door.


    "Go where?" Jenilia asked, running behind.


    Through the back door, Szar left the small house, entering the back alley.


    "Are we really running? How will Lucifer find us?"


    "We''re not running. We''re hiding Gon. They have seen the house. It''s unsafe. So I want Gon to hide in a different house and make them feel like Gon ran away!" Szar exined.


    Leaving two houses, he reached the third house and knocked on the door.

 Chapter 559 - 559: Clash Of Lightning

    <h4>Chapter 559 - 559: sh Of Lightning</h4>


    The house door was opened by a beastkin who grew stunned at the sight of two High Beasts.


    "We need to stay at your house for a few hours. Do you have a problem with it?" Szar asked. At the same time, he barged inside the house without even waiting for the response.


    "You two stay here! No one is to leave the house until the battle is over!" Szar strictly reminded Jenilia. "I''ll go and help. Remember, no noise until we''re back!"


    He prepared to leave but stopped as he turned around.


    "That sword?" He walked closer to the Sword hanging on the wall.


    "This sword was a gift from a High Beast to my great grandfather. It''s a family heirloom." The Owner of the house stepped closer to the wall.


    Szar touched the sword, feeling its de which was so sharp that it could even slice metal like butter.


    "I''ll be borrowing your sword for a little." He picked the sword.


    "B-but..."


    "I said I''m borrowing it. I''ll return it soon. Do you not trust High Beast like me?" Szar asked. "Moreover, my people are staying in your house. When Ie to take them, I''ll return the sword."


    He opened the gate and left the house, and ran back to Gon''s house.


    Inside the house, Ro was still trapped inside a small barrier, unable to break it. A bullet was lying on the ground near his feet.


    As Ro was talking about the weakness of Jenilia, Szar had used the gun to cast a barrier to trap Ro momentarily so he could allow Gon to escape without being seen.


    "What now? Gon escaped. And he should be in the Snow n soon. What can you do now?" Szar asked, smirking.


    "Let me out once, and I''ll show you! What kind of coward are you? You have to keep me trapped since you''re not brave enough to fight me?"


    "Is that mocking supposed to work? Think of it as a test for you. How can you face a High Beast when you can''t evene out of an ordinary barrier of ours? If you pass the test, you''ll be allowed to face me," Szar smirked.


    "You!" Ro smacked the barrier, unable to break it. Even though the barrier was weak from the outside, it was still plenty strong from the inside. It wasn''t going to break until its time ran out.


    Still, the barrier had already started weakening as ten minutes were almost over.


    ...


    Outside the house, the battle was only growing more intense as Lucifer took off his cloak to not get it damaged.


    He was dealing with a lightning beast, so he didn''t need to have the damage lowering abilities of the cloak. Moreover, the teeth of the Lion were too sharp. It could easily rip the cloak.


    Lucifer tossed the cloak to the side, revealing his blood covered white shirt.


    There were over forty Thunder Lions surrounding Lucifer, only one being real. The other Thunder Lions were made from lightning, but even they were strong.


    The Thunder Lions flew left and right as Lucifer kept attacking them. At the same time, his own wounds were increasing as the Thunder Lions kept biting him, intending to bite his head off.


    Lucifer protected his head, but he couldn''t protect the rest of his body to that uracy. Moreover, as soon as the teeth of the Thunder Beasts stabbed his body, their electricity entered his body.


    If it was anyone else, the electricity could have destroyed the body, but his own lightning protected him.


    Only the fake Thunder Lions were attacking Lucifer so far, but mixed in them was the real Thunder Lion who finally attacked Lucifer.


    Tens of lightning spears appeared around him, which surrounded Lucifer from all sides, leaving no escape. All the lightning spears flew towards him, impaling his body.


    "Then so be it!" Lucifer dered, recognizing the real Thunder Lion. Even though lightning didn''t hurt him, since this guy was ying with lightning so much, he decided to show him his own lightning, despite knowing it was weak against the Thunder Lion.


    Sky grew dark, covered in clouds out of nowhere.


    Boom!


    With a roaring sound, a powerful lightning bolt fell from the sky.


    The Thunder Lion looked up, finding a strange ck lightning bolt falling towards him.


    He tried jumping back, only to find him unable to move. A barrier had appeared around him, trapping his legs, making him unable to escape.


    The Thunder Lion opened his mouth wide, ring at the lightning bolt.


    A massive bolt of lightning came out of his mouth, unlike anything before. The massive bolt took the shape of a blue lightning lion which flew to the ck lightning bolt.


    The ck bolt shed with the massive thunder lion in the sky.


    Boom~


    As two lightning shed, a crashing sound spread far and wide. Sparkles flew everywhere as the blue lion was destroyed. The ck lightning bolt was also destroyed in the process.


    The show of lightning in the sky was seen far and wide though. Even Amelia, who was in her room, was attracted by it. She looked in the sky, seeing sparkles fly everywhere.


    "Thunder Lion''s lightning? But what was that ck lightning? Who was he facing? Could it be... Him?" She opened the window and jumped outside, turning into a ming phoenix that flew towards the battle site.


    At the same time, Hun had finished arranging the mattresses for Lucifer. He also exined to his mother that Lucifer wouldn''t be staying here for a little while.


    He had just left the house to go back to Lucifer when he saw the battle of lightning in the sky.


    "That... Thunder Lion n? Who are they facing? I don''t think there are any other lightning Beasts in the city with that much power? So who was using the ck lightning that destroyed the blue lightning lion? Could it be... Oh no!"


    He changed shape, returned to his Snow Lion form, and started running towards the ce where he had left Lucifer. He had seen Lynx oppose Lucifer''s stay here. It wasn''t going to be shocking if those two were fighting!


    Unfortunately, his house was the farthest from that ce, so even if he traveled at his fastest speed, it was going to take a long time for him to get there


    The Golden Rhino n heir was also in a market, shopping for something, when he saw the lightning sh in the sky.


    "Lynx? Who is he fighting? Could it be those foreigners?" He also changed to his real form as he started running towards the sh zone, making the earth shake with each of his steps.

 Chapter 560 - 560: All Out

    <h4>Chapter 560 - 560: All Out</h4>


    "I don''t care who you are! Today you shall die!" The Thunder Lion roared. His eyes turned blood red.


    He roared mightily, looking towards the sky.


    The sky that had turned dark was once again brightening, but not because the clouds were gone. It was because a sun had appeared under the clouds. As for the sun, it was made entirely from lightning.


    "That idiot! Did he really have to use that? Is he nning to destroy an entire neighborhood?" The Golden Lion Deon groaned, looking at the lightning sun in the sky. "For someone to force him toe to this?"


    Even though he wanted to stop it, he knew he couldn''t. He was too far.


    Lucifer also looked at the Thunder Sun.


    He clenched his fist. "Then so be it. Since you''re showing me your best skill, it''s only fair that I go all out too!''


    He closed his eyes, prepared to use the strongest ability of his Father that he had heard about. He was told that he shouldn''t use this ability until he was older and more experienced since it was too powerful and dangerous for himself as well.


    However, he had decided to use it now. If a High Beast wanted to kill him, then it was only fair he returned the favor! It had been a long time since he went all out!


    He slowly opened his eyes, revealing pitch-ck eyes. The two bat-like wings unwillingly came out of his back, spreading wide.


    An airtight sphere of wind appeared around him as his wind started acting as well. Since he was using so much of himself on this attack, he had let go of his other abilities, letting them do whatever they wanted.


    The spherical winds circled around him. As the winds were mixed with the good that was dripping from his clothes, the entire sphere had a reddish hue.


    ck lightning also started crackling around him.


    With his pitch-ck eyes, he looked at the blue lightning sun in the sky before lowering his gaze to look at the Thunder Lion.


    Finding himself being stared at, the Thunder Lion felt off. There was something inside him that was warning him of danger. Moreover, the gaze was also intimidating. It was as if Lucifer was able to peer through his soul.


    Lucifer slowly raised his hand toward the sky.


    "Enough!" A powerful scream came from the distance as a wave of fire came, swallowing the lightning sun.


    "Huh?" Lucifer also came out of his zone, seeing the fire. He looked in the distance to see Amelie in her Phoenix form.


    "Lynx! Stop right now if you don''t want me to go all out as well! You know you won''t like that!" Amelia stopper above Lynx.


    "Why are you siding with the outsider!" Lynx yelled.


    "I don''t care whose fault it is! Do you know how many people would have died if your careless attack had fallen?" Amelia roared. "I don''t care about battles, but they shouldn''t involve innocents!"


    "I don''t care what you say! He deserved it, and if you want to side with him, I''ll have to go against you as well!" Lynx firmly stated.


    "Then count me in too!" The temperature that had gotten warm with the arrival of Amelia suddenly turned cold as the Snow Wolf also arrived,nding on top of a nearby building near Lucifer.


    "Hun?" Lucifer muttered. It looked like people were here to help him. So he didn''t need to go all out. Even though he still wanted to, he knew it wasn''t needed.


    The Golden Rhino also reached there. "Lynx! Are you an idiot! Just what were you doing right now? Do you know this area is in my part of the city! You were going to destroy it?!"


    "You too?! I just wanted to kill that arrogant bastard because he deserved it!"


    "I don''t care who deserved what! You want to kill him, then do it in his part of thend! I won''t bother to stop you! But you can''t do that here!"


    The Thunder Lion looked at the three High Beasts, all against him. He also noticed Lucifer, growling.


    "Fine. I''ll let him go this time." He returned to his human form.


    "That''s much better." Deon also returned to his bulky human form.


    Hun also returned to his human form, and so did Amelie, whonded on the ground.


    "So, are you going to tell me how it all started? What did he do?" Deon asked Lynx.


    "I came here to meet a man who lived in this part of the city, known as Gon. But when I came here, I found him inside the house. And he didn''t let me meet Gon. How can an outsider stop me from meeting the people of my city?" Lynx asked.


    "Gon? Why did you need to talk to him?" Deon asked.


    "It''s something personal," Lynx responded.


    "Fine. You can meet him."


    "Nonsense! We came to him first! He only wanted to meet him because we met him! If he has anything important, he can talk to him before all of us! We can''t let him harm Gon or manipte him!" Hun retorted,nding on the ground.


    Lucifer alsonded beside him.


    "You need Gon too? Why do you need him?" Deon asked.


    "My new friend here wanted to see the process in which Gon is summoned to another world. So we came here. We can''t let him be with Lynx alone! What if he is summoned then? We can''t see that, and our time will be wasted!" Hun exined.


    It wasn''t as if they were here for any treasure or something special.?It wasn''t an odd demand either, so he didn''t need to hide it.


    "You''re lying! Why would anyone want to see that?" Lynx retorted.


    "Well, we won''t mind if you want to stay with him as well and observe him like my friend! After he''s summoned, we''ll leave. Then you can keep Gon to yourself," Hun sharply said.


    "You want to see the summoning? Why didn''t you see it in your own city?" Lynx asked Lucifer.


    "Because no beast in my city is summoned. I heard about summoning on my trip, and it''s the perfect opportunity to see it first hand." Lucifer shrugged. "That''s why I can''t let you hurt Gon."


    "I think they''re telling the truth. If Lynx wants to talk about something important with Gon, he can talk before others too. It''s not as if he is nning to kill people that he can''t let it be exposed. What can be such a secret?" Amelia also chimed in.


    "Lynx, as much as I don''t want to support a foreigner, Amelia''s words make sense. If you want to talk, you should be able to talk before us all. Or you should wait for a few days until Gon is summoned at least once.." Deon agreed with Amelia.

 Chapter 561 - 561: Filth

    <h4>Chapter 561 - 561: Filth</h4>


    Lynx red at Lucifer, rubbing his chin. He still didn''t believe that these people were simply there to see the summoning.


    However, if that was the case, it didn''t matter. What he was really here for was to talk to Lucifer and get him to leave, but the appearance of others made that difficult, especially since they were supporting Lucifer, who himself was plenty strong.


    He had seen Lucifer in action, and that guy was certainly as strong as a High Beast. He didn''t know what was going to be the oue of hisst attack, but he had faith that he would have won against Lucifer. Still, that didn''t mean he was weak.


    "Fine. I''ll allow them to stay with Gon, but one of my men will also stay with them. And when they see the summoning, they must leave the city. This outsider actually fought me."


    " I can''t allow him to stay in the city! Think of it as my mercy that I''m allowing him to stay here for a few more days."


    Lynx walked inside the house, leaving Lucifer behind. Lucifer also followed him to see if Gon was fine.


    As he entered the room, he found Szar standing in the middle of the room. He had a sharp sword in his hand, which was covered in blood. The blood was dripping from his blood, still fresh.


    Near his feet, a body was lying, cut in two halves.


    Seeing the body, Lynx''s lips opened slightly. The one who had died was none other than Ro, who was sent here to take Gon.


    Even though Ro wasn''t as strong as him but for him to die so fast? That didn''t make sense. Just what had happened here?


    He red at Szar. "You killed him? That''s enough of your ying around! I don''t care whoes to stop me! I will kill you two today!"


    Lynx jumped forward, getting back to his Thunder Lion form.


    "Is that so?" Szar muttered, slowing down time. Even Lynx was caught in time, moving extremely slowly. He didn''t realize. For him, he was running at his ordinary speed.


    Lucifer was left out of the domain since he was standing in the back, but he realized what was happening as he saw Lynx''s slow speed.


    "I''ve had enough ying around as well. Feeling weak and useless in battles all this time, but not anymore. I don''t care who you are anymore; I won''t step back!"


    Szar jumped towards Lynx, holding the sharp sword firmly. He lowered his sword, thrusting it inside the back of the Thunder Lion.


    "Argh." Even though he stabbed the sword, he felt a current pass through the sword into his body. Fortunately, because of the slowed time, it was also not that extreme yet. Before it could get far, he pulled out the sword and jumped back.


    "Argh!" Lynx groaned in pain as his back started bleeding.


    "Die!" He roared. A wave of lightning energy came out of his body, flying in all directions.


    Szar ran outside, taking Lucifer with him to avoid the energy wave.


    Boom~


    The house exploded into smithereens. Its pieces flew far and wide.


    Fortunately, Lucifer and Szar were already outside now.


    "W-what happened suddenly?" Deon eximed, seeing the house explode.


    "He attacked us after I got inside," Lucifer openly lied as he looked at the Golden Rhino with an amused smile on his face. "Looks like your friend doesn''t respect your words. So much for the leader of this part of the town."


    Lynx stepped out of the lightning storm that followed him, looking as threatening as before.


    "Lynx! What are you doing! Are you ignoring my decision!" Deon roared, ring at Lynx.


    "To hell with yourmands! Today I shall kill this bastard! If you want to fight me to death for a stranger, then so be it! But just remember, it won''t end well for you either!" Lynx raged as well.


    He had alreadypromised in the past to let Lucifer go free, but after his trusted man was killed, he lost his mind in anger.


    "See? It looks like I overestimated the Golden Rhino n. When people don''t even listen to them in their own area, just how weak they must be," Lucifer mockingly stated. "Don''t worry though. You can hide behind me! I''ll protect you!"


    "Y-you!" Deon''s face turned red. He didn''t know why Lynx was behaving like this, but he knew it was about his self-respect. He couldn''t let it go. Even if it was bad to start a battle between two High Beast ns, it was the need of the hour.


    "Lynx! If I had done the same in your part of the town, you would''ve done the same and stopped me! I will do the same. Treat this as myst warning to you! If you don''t stop now, you shall understand the true meaning of wrath!" Deon warned onest time.


    Lynx didn''t listen and jumped towards Lucifer.


    "That''s it! You''re dead!" Deon also turned to his Golden Rhino form as he ran towards the Lynx.


    Lucifer remained in the back, smirking. This was perfect. The one n that didn''t want him to stay here was going against another n that wasn''t close to him. Meanwhile, the Snow Wolf n and the Phoenix n stayed back.


    However, even Hun wanted to get in the battle. He believed Lynx had gone crazy. He took a step forward, only to be stopped by Lucifer.


    "Stay out of it."


    The Thunder Lion started shing with the Golden Rhino. Since the two were High Beasts with immense strength, their sh continued for quite some time.


    The lightning of Lynx wasn''t able to prate the golden defense of Deon. Simrly, because of the slow speed and not as high of an offensive power, Deon wasn''t able to gravely wound the Thunder Lion either.


    "I knew you Golden Rhinos were bastards too! Even after what he did, you will support him! Today I shall clean this city of all the filth!" the Thunder Lion roared, calling forth the Thunder Sun again.


    "The only filth I see here is you!" Deon raged, roaring wildly. A Golden Sun appeared in the sky right beside the Thunder Sun, hitting it before it could fall.


    Boom~


    Another massive explosion took ce in the sky, unlike nothing before. It was as if two powerful missiles had shed with each other


    Even though the explosion took ce in the sky, the destruction spread far and wide.


    Just the powerful winding from the explosion itself was enough to destroy many houses, let alone the explosive power of the explosion, the fire, the golden wave, and the lightning that spread far and wide.

 Chapter 562 - 562: Execution

    <h4>Chapter 562 - 562: Execution</h4>


    Amelia cast a ming shield around her to protect herself. Hun also cast a snow shield around him, Lucifer, and Szar, protecting them.


    "Where is Jenilia?" Lucifer asked Szar. He was sure she wasn''t in the house, at least when it blew up. If that were the case, Szar wouldn''t have been so calm.


    "I kept her hidden in a different house. But if the battle keeps going on, she might die as well. The house isn''t far away either."


    Lucifer looked at Hun. "Hun, can you protect Jenilia and get Gon out of this ce? He needs to remain safe."


    "But you...?"


    "I''lle back after handling some things here."


    Hun looked at Amelia. "I can''t leave you alone with them all. They might turn on you."


    "Are you worried about Amelia? Don''t worry; she won''t harm me."


    "Huh? How do you know her name?"


    "Don''t ask questions. Before the ce is destroyed, take Gon away. I''ll tell youter. Szar will show you the ce."


    "Szar, go with him and leave. I don''t want you to stay here. Don''t dy."


    Szar nced at the battle in the distance and nodded. He wasn''t scared, but Gon''s protection was the main deal. Without him, they couldn''t have a way back.


    "Are you really sure?" Hun asked again. "I still think you shoulde with us too."


    "I''m perfectly sure. Leave now," Lucifer responded.


    Hun removed the barrier after ncing at Lucifer onest time before asking Szar to lead the way.


    "Szar, would you mind leaving that Sword?" Lucifer asked Szar, stopping him at thest moment. "I might need it."


    "This?"


    "Yeah. My ws suffer inside his body. But the sword was perfectly fine. I can use it."


    Szar gave the Sword to Lucifer even though it didn''t belong to him in the first ce.


    "Go now!"


    Szar and Hun left, leaving Lucifer behind.


    Amelia stepped closer. " I''m not sure how you did it, but you brought yourself out of the battle and pushed another High Beast in the battle, singling out Lynx. Not bad."


    "Who told you I pulled myself out of the battle?" Lucifer responded, ncing at the sword in his hand.


    "You mean you''re going to fight again? You really shouldn''t. It''s fine if Lynx and Deon fight since they''ll get tired and stop the battle. But you shouldn''t harm Lynx. If he''s dead, his family will search for you. And the war between cities might begin. You should leave."


    Lucifer shook his head, knowing he couldn''t leave. He had enraged Lynx a bit too much. Moreover, one of their men was dead. If Lynx survived and went back home, he''de back with more people. Killing him was better to remove a future threat.


    Moreover, if Lynx is killed when fighting him and Deon, no matter who killed him, Deon would also find himself wrapped in the conflict with the Thunder Lion n.


    That way, he would be forced to face the Thunder Lion n, keeping them busy with his family. The Snow Wolf n mighte to help as well.


    "Now, if you''ll excuse me." He flew straight into the air, stopping high in the sky.


    The Thunder Lion and the Golden Rhino were still engaged in battle, destroying many nearby houses in the process.


    "Hmm?" From high in the sky, Lucifer noticed more High Beastsing in their direction.


    He could see a group of Thunder Lionsing from one direction. From another Direction, the Snow Wolves wereing to see what the conflict was about. From the third direction, the Golden Rhino group wasing.


    The families of all High Beast heirs wereing. The fireworks in the skysted for so long that they had attracted the beasts. Another Phoenix wasing, who was the mother of Amelia.


    Lucifer looked all around him, frowning. He wanted to finish Lynx quickly, but everyone else was here too. Within a few minutes, they were about to reach the ce. Could he still kill Lynx?


    "Less thinking and more killing!" He stopped thinking and stopped flying. His body started falling down.


    He further boosted his speed with the wind, controlling his direction.


    The Thunder Lion had stabbed his sharp teeth in the neck of the Golden Rhino, who was trying to shake him off.


    Lynx''s eyes soon noticed Lucifer, who wasing towards him from the sky.


    He rted the neck of the Golden Rhino before roaring towards Lucifer, firing a powerful lightning bolt that again took the shape of the Lightning Lion that had shed with Lucifer''s lightning bolt previously.


    Lucifer didn''t stop this time though. He came crashing down. He also cast his barrier all around his body, at the same time donning the lightning Armor that he had learned to use.


    Boom!


    Lucifer hit the Lightning Lion, which exploded. Lightning flew everywhere, some being absorbed in Lucifer''s body while the rest were harming him. His skin was burned because of the lightning, making his bones visible. His entire shirt had disappeared as well.


    He came out of the lightning cloud, thrusting his Sword in the neck of Lynx before hended on the ground, moving his sword with each movement.


    Unlike Szar, Lucifer wasn''t hurt by the lightning that he could experience through the sword. He didn''t need to free Lynx. Instead, he moved his Sword even deeper. Within a minute, he brought his sword out of the beast''s neck, taking his head off.


    Lynx''s head dropped in the group, his eyes remaining open even as he died, unable to believe that he was killed by an outsider in his own city, while the High Beasts of this city supported him.


    "Are you alright? I saw him trying to bite your neck off. I couldn''t want you to die since you were only being fair here, unlike him. So to save your life, I had to take this extreme step!"


    Ignoring Lynx, who was already dead now, Lucifer focused on Deon, trying to ignite some guilt and gratitude inside the heart of Deon while showing that he saved his life.


    Deon came back to his real form, still stunned about Lynx''s death. There were teeth marks on his neck that were still bleeding. He rubbed his neck.


    He looked at Lucifer. "I don''t know what happened here, but I can see that you helped me. Thank you so much. I might have been dead without you."


    "Don''t worry. I always help the righteous. You were just trying to protect your part of the city from a man who had actually gone crazy. He deserved it. You did nothing wrong. And don''t worry, I''ll take all the me on me," Lucifer replied.


    **********


    Author Note:


    Thank you to everyone still reading the book. One small announcement:


    Will be back to mass releases every Monday based on the Golden Tickets.


    Every 100 Golden Tickets in the week will be 1 extra chapter every Monday above the usual schedule of 2 a day.


    Thank you :)

 Chapter 563 - 563: Cowards

    <h4>Chapter 563 - 563: Cowards</h4>


    "It all started because of me. So what if I had to kill you to save him? I won''t let you suffer because of that. Just tell the elders that I did everything, and you came in toote. It''s not as if I have any family members. It won''t matter even if I''m killed. But you have a family. I can''t let you and your family suffer," Lucifer said, sighing.


    "Nonsense! I don''t care what happened! I won''t let you take the me for it! You did everything for me! Moreover, you''re an outsider. You''ll actually be killed. If I take the me, it won''t matter."


    "The Thunder Lion n won''t be allowed to kill me because of my family! And we''re not scared of a little conflict! Just like you, I also know how to respect righteousness! Nothing will happen to you!"


    Just as Lucifer had nned, everything worked in his favor. This guy was actually what he thought. He fell for everything.


    Standing in the back, Amelia was stunned. Just what was happening here? How was he so good at maniption? He literally killed a High Beast because he wanted to and made it seem like it was because of Deon that he had to do it.


    "Give me that sword!" Deon told Lucifer.


    Lucifer already knew how far the High Beasts were. So he didn''t resist and handed the bloodied sword to Deon.


    Five Thunder Lionsnded in the empty ce where houses used to be until just a little while ago. However, only blood and destruction could be seen there.


    Lynx''s father came to see who was fighting with Lynx and what was happening here, but as soon as he reached here, he was greeted with the sight of his dead son.


    The headless body of his son was lying in the middle, and Deon stood before the body with the sword in his hand.


    Without thinking, the Thunder Lion Patriarch roared towards Deon and started dashing towards him. "You killed my son! You shall die!"


    "Who dares to kill me, son! Let me see!" The Golden Rhino Patriarch also reached the ce, roaring in his mighty voice.


    He cast a barrier before the Thunder Lion Patriarch to stop him from getting to his son. In the meanwhile, he reached his son. He stood in the middle of him and his son.


    "What''s happening here?" The Snow Wolves also arrived.


    Hun''s father saw Lucifer standing with Deon. He grew confused as to what happened here.


    "Father!" Hun also arrived in the field, surprising Lucifer. He didn''t run away? He was followed by Gon, Jenilia, and Szar.


    The four of them were getting away when they noticed the Snow Wolves running towards the battlefield. Seeing no other reason to run, they came back. Hun was sure that with his father and his Uncles present, no one was going to harm them.


    "Mother!" Hun approached his mother.


    "Hun, do you know what happened here?"


    Hun looked around, growing surprised to see Lynx was already dead. His head was chopped.


    He could see the blood-covered sword in Deon''s hand, but he was sure that it was done by Lucifer. He was the one who took the Sword. Moreover, Deon was in his real form when he left. He couldn''t have held the sword.


    "Yes. I told you Lucifer was going to stay here? Apparently, Lynx came here to get him out and attacked him. Then Deon came to stop the battle, but Lynx also attacked him. That''s what happened here," he exined, making sure he was loud enough so everyone could hear him.


    Even the Golden Rhino n Patriarch heard him. He looked towards his son. "Is it true?"


    "That''s right father. I came here to stop the conflict, but Lynx attacked me. It was as if he had gone crazy. I had no choice but to kill him," Deon replied.


    His father also noticed the teeth marks on his neck and all the other wounds.


    "Your son tried to kill my son in my area! And now you dare to do the same? Do you want to die as well?!" The Golden Rhino n patriarch roared towards the Thunder Lion Patriarch.


    "You? Your bastard son killed my son, and now he''s making a story?! My son would never have attacked someone for no reason! Your son murdered my son! Now I''ll make it right by sending him to my son so he can apologize to him directly!"


    "Really? I dare you to try touching him!" The Golden Rhino Patriarch took a step forward, challenging the Thunder Lion.


    Amelia''s mother alsonded before her. She was also confused as to what the conflict was about. Why were these two High Beast ns facing each other? But she soon noticed Lynx''s body and the Sword in Deon''s hand.


    She understood a few things just from that. Apparently it was a conflict between the kids that got out of hand, and now the Elders were involved too.


    She asked her daughter. "Can you tell me what happened here?''


    Instead of epting the truth, Amelia also went with the story since that''s what everyone else was doing. She told the same thing that Lynx had attacked the Snow Wolf n guest when Deon came in the middle to stop the fight; he was attacked as well.


    "Father, he saved us from the crazy Lynx! We should side with them!" Hun looked to his father. "The Thunder Lion n is too arrogant, thinking they own the city and they can attack anyone for no reason!


    "Why should we? He didn''t try to harm one of us. Let the two ns deal with the matter themselves. It''s not as if that Lucifer is from our n or anything. We have no stake in this." It was Hun''s second uncle who answered instead.


    "That''s not right! He knew Lucifer was our guest when he attacked. Moreover, I was also attacked. But Lucifer asked me to get away from the battlefield, so I could keep Gon safe. If not for that, I would''ve been standing with them as well! We do have a stake in it!" Hun insisted.


    "Just think about it! Even Deon came to stop the battle since he knew it was wrong. On the other hand, Lucifer is our guest. Deon was an outsider in the conflict, but he stepped in because it was the righteous thing. On the other hand, we are running away from conflict?"


    "The world will call us a coward and mock us for this! We can''t be idle spectators! We need to join!" he added.


    His father looked at him, frowning.. It was unclear what he was thinking.

 Chapter 564 - 564: Survival

    <h4>Chapter 564 - 564: Survival</h4>


    "Fine. We''ll protect your friend." The Snow Wolf n Patriarch ultimately nodded.


    Lucifer observed all the support he had received. It was a perfect ce to be in. Not only had he taken the threat out, but he also destroyed the evidence. Now, most of the me was on Deon.


    Moreover, there was no proof that Lucifer''s side had started it first by killing Ro.


    The Thunder Lions were faced with two High Beast ns. Even though they were strong, they realized that they couldn''t get anything out of this situation. They couldn''t kill Deon and have their revenge since they were singled out.


    Most of the ordinary members of the Thunder Lion n had understood the situation of theirs. Only the leader of theirs was still out of the loop since he was too emotional at the loss of his son.


    The other Thunder Lions stepped forward and whispered something in his ears, reminding him that it was better to leave.


    They had a feeling that it wasn''t going to work, so they also used another excuse, saying that if they fought, Lynx''s body was going to be destroyed as well.


    They told him to take Lynx''s body back to give him a proper burial first and then think about revenge.


    The Thunder Lion n leader looked towards his son before looking at the other n Elders.


    "I''m taking my son back. But this thing isn''t over yet! You''ll regret it!"


    He returned to his human form as a middle-aged man who was dressed in a dark blue robe.


    Seeing the man, Lucifer''s lips slightly opened. He wasn''t surprised at the man''s looks or his answers. Instead, he was surprised at the earring of the man.


    In his wolf form, the earring wasn''t visible clearly, but when he was in his human form, it was clear! It was an earring that was made from a thin thread of metal that was wrapped around a small piece of stone.


    The stone had the same color as the fur of the Thunder Lions, being blue. However, it was exactly the stone that attracted Lucifer. Because the stone looked an awful lot like the two stones he had in his pocket.


    Just the color of the stone was different along with the symbol inside.


    "One of the missing stones?" he frowned. "How did it end up here?"


    "Did you eat something?" Deon asked Lucifer, looking back.


    "Nothing," Lucifer shook his head.


    He ced his hand in his pocket and brought out the piece of metal. He wondered if it was the same case with the stone? A summoned beast identally brought the stone back to this world?


    He already had two stones. And he had located the third with the help of Sirius. And the fourth was with the Warlock Council. The fifth was here. Now there were only two stones which were missing. He basically had all of them located now.


    The third shine was within his grasp. It was so close to him that he could''ve just taken a few steps forward and snatched the stone, but that was also impossible.


    The man who possessed it was probably the strongest Summoned Beast in existence! It was going to be stupid to take the stone blindly.


    Despite all this, he was pleased that at least he knew about it. If he had left this world, he could never have found out about this stone! This one stone would always remain missing. He even wondered if it was an ident that he ended up here or his luck?


    His eyes didn''t stop looking at the stone. The Thunder Lion Patriarch noticed him staring at him. He growled but didn''t attack.


    He walked closer to his son while Deon and the others stepped back. The Golden Lion wasn''t going to stop a father from recovering the body of his son. They were just here to make sure that he didn''t kill anyone.


    The Thunder Lion Patriarch picked up the body of his son and ced it on the back of one of the Thunder Lions.


    "Take him back carefully." He spoke softly before walking to the head of his son, which was separate from his body.


    "I''m sorry, my son. Father wasn''t here to protect you. But I promise you, your sacrifice won''t go in vain. The people who made you suffer will suffer as well." He closed the eyes of his son, which were still open, before picking up his head.


    ncing onest time at everyone who had opposed him, he left. No one tried to stop him either.


    Lucifer still didn''t take his eyes off of the earring. It was something he must have, and he decided to take that before leaving. Because it was unclear if he would ever return.


    He walked to the side and picked up his white cloak, wearing it.


    "We''re going home as well. We need to think about repairing all the damage here." The Golden Rhino Patriarch also returned to his human form with everyone else. "Let''s go, Deon! Also, from now on, you aren''t allowed to leave the house alone!"


    "I understand, father." Deon nodded, smiling wryly. He realized what a mess he was in. The Thunder Lion n patriarch probably wanted him dead.


    He couldn''t go alone until this whole thing died down. He had effectively lost his freedom, but he was still happy that he had maintained his pride!


    He ran to Lucifer, returning the sword.


    "Thank you for everything," Lucifer thanked the Deon as he took the sword. He ran to Hun and the others.


    "Hun, you aren''t allowed to go anywhere alone either." Even though Hun didn''t have any threat, his father was worried for his safety as well and didn''t allow him to leave.


    Amelia''s mother didn''t do anything like that. Since she could fly, she was safer. Moreover, they weren''t involved in this matter in any capacity other than being spectators. So there were no reasons to restrict her.


    "Let''s go, Amelia."


    The two Phoenixes also left.


    Lucifer was left behind, watching the ming birds leave.


    Lucifer observed the sword. "It''s a pretty nice show. Where did you get it from?"


    "I borrowed it," Szar replied. "Apparently, it was a gift from a High Beast."


    "It was a gift from my father," Hun''s father also returned to his human form, recognizing that sword. "Make sure to return it to the person you borrowed it from in the future."


    Lucifer nodded, but he didn''t promise. He still needed this sword, mostly because of his new target.


    Gon was probably going to be summoned soon.. So to save time, he needed to take the stone fast.

 Chapter 565 - 565: Hearing Lies

    <h4>Chapter 565 - 565: Hearing Lies</h4>


    Lucifer reached the Snow Wolf n Mansion with the others.


    Gon''s house was already destroyed, so he couldn''t live there. Moreover, Hun had convinced his father to let Gon stay in the guest house with Lucifer for a few days, so they didn''t need to go out.


    After a bit of back and forth and trying to convince his father, his father had finally given up. Albeit, Hun''s uncles weren''t particrly happy with the decision. Since they epted the other decisions, they epted this one as well.


    Since everything was decided, they all entered the mansion. Lucifer and his teammates went to the guest rooms. Gon wasn''t given a special room. He was to stay with Szar, who could keep an eye on him.


    Lucifer left Jenilia in the room with Gon while taking Szar to his room to talk about something.


    "I saw it."


    "Saw what?"


    "You know I am after some stones like these," Lucifer replied, showing Szar the two stones he had. "I saw the third one. It is being used by the leader of the Thunder Lion n."


    "Let me guess. You want to steal that?" Szar asked, frowning. "Is that really important? It''s pretty risky if you ask me."


    "Not me; we will steal it. The Thunder Lion n will be really impatient today, and we don''t have much information about them. So we''ll go tomorrow. Stay prepared. Tomorrow night, we shall rob the Thunder Lions."


    "What if Gon is summoned today?" Szar asked.


    "Then we''ll just have to miss the flight back home," Lucifer replied.?"We can always get back home, but we can''t get a chance to retrieve this stone."


    "Sigh, I know the stones are special for you, but I still don''t know why. What do you want to achieve with the stones?"


    "Achieve?" Lucifer muttered, ncing at the two stones in his hand. "You''ll see when I have all the pieces."


    Lucifer walked out of the room, leaving Szar lost in his thoughts. Since he wasn''t nning to go back today, he didn''t need to bother staying close to Gon. Just Jenilia''s presence was enough.


    Instead, he stepped out of the mansion to get some fresh air.


    Instead of sitting before the door where anyone could see him, he flew up,nding on the roof.


    He sat on the roof, from where he could observe his surroundings.


    Since the sun was shining too brightly, he used a bit of his ability to call forth a cloud above his head to give him some shade as heid on the roof.


    He closed his eyes and tried to think of a n that could help them snatch the stone swiftly without risking themselves.


    ''I can try to have the High Beast ns fight and steal the stone after the Thunder Lion is killed. But it would take a long time. And there''s no certainty that it''ll work. The leaders won''t fight to the death so easily. They aren''t kids.''


    ''I can bring him out of his mansion and attack him outside? He''ll be pretty alert outside his mansion. A person is more confident inside his own home. And he''ll have his guard down too. I can sneak in at night. But they''ll probably have guards too...''


    ''Still, that seems to be the best option. Steal it inside his house when he''s sleeping. Szar will be a massive asset in taking the stone with his ability if things go wrong.''


    He had no idea what the Thunder Lion mansion looked like, but he had started fine tuning the n, depending on the number of Thunder Lions he had seen.


    "That''s it. That should do it." He opened his eyes and sat straight after half an hour.


    "What should do it?" A man''s voice came from the back. Lucifer turned around, frowning.


    "It''s you." He looked at Hun''s father. "


    "You didn''t answer. What should do it? What were you thinking about?"


    "I was thinking about dinner. I was wondering if I should go to the forest myself to pluck some fruits, but then I dropped the n, thinking the great food you serve should do it."


    "Is it really about food or something more?'' the man asked.


    "Don''t answer. I am not interested in hearing your lies. Just remember, you might have fooled my son, but you can''t fool me. I saw through your lies a long time ago. You aren''t a High Beast, are you?"


    Lucifer squinted his eyes but quickly controlled his emotions. "What nonsense? What am I if not a High Beast?"


    " You''re not a beast at all, let alone a High Beast. But it''s the first time my son has made a friend. He thinks you''re a High Beast. It gave him confidence in interacting with High Beasts. I didn''t want to break that illusion for him, so I didn''t say anything. But don''t think you managed to fool me." The man took one step forward. The temperature in the surroundings decreased.


    Lucifer didn''t answer and stood his ground.


    "So here''s what''s going to happen. Two days... I''m giving you two days. I don''t want to see you after two days. I don''t care what excuse you make, but after two days, if I saw your face, I''ll kill you," The white-haired man said. "That shall be all."


    He turned around, shing his robe, and jumped down.


    "Two days huh... That would be enough for me..." Lucifer also jumped down, not realizing that there was another person who had heard their conversation.


    With his hands in his pocket, Lucifer walked inside the mansion. He informed Szar that he was leaving for some reconnaissance of the Thunder n Mansion.


    "Shall Ie too?"


    "No. I''ll be enough. I''ll just locate the ce ande back. Nothing special." After he finished speaking, he left the mansion again.


    This time, he flew high in the sky to get a clear view of the city. He had already seen where the Thunder Lions had run to. If his assumptions were correct, the house was in that direction.


    He made sure to stay high in the sky to make sure that no one was able to see him easily.


    Finding the Thunder n Mansion was also an easy feat. All he had to do was find the biggest mansion in that part of the city, and that''s what he did.


    From his height, he was able to see the Thunder Lion n mansion, the Phoenix n Mansion, and even the Golden Rhino n Mansion, but he was only interested in one of them and that''s where he went.

 Chapter 566 - 566: Remnant?

    <h4>Chapter 566 - 566: Remnant?</h4>


    He flew towards the deep blue mansion. The mansion was just as big as the other mansions, but there was one difference. The other mansions still didn''t make the owner as evident as this one.


    There were two big statues at the entrance of Thunder Lions.


    There was also one big garden right at the entrance. A person had to walk through the garden to get to the real entrance.


    He noticed a group of Thunder Lions standing in the garden. There was a big hole before them, which they had finished digging.


    Right beside that hole, the body of Lynx was lying.


    Lynx''s father picked up his body and walked inside the hole. He ced the body inside the whole with full respect before stepping out.


    He picked up a fistful of dirt and tossed it on Lynx''s body. The other Thunder Lions also started filling the hole, burying Lynx.


    Soon, the entire ground was leveled. After speaking some inaudible words, the Thunder Lions walked back inside the house with a heavy heart.


    Lucifer saw the main entrance of the house that was used by the Thunder Lions, but his main focus was on the windows and the other weak points in the mansion that could be used by him. He Circled around the mansion from the sky to see it from all around.


    Ultimately, he ended in a position from here when he had a clear view of the two statues.


    He turned to go back, stopping abruptly. "Did I just..."


    He hastily looked back towards one such window of the mansion. He was able to see something through the window, which stunned him.


    Without worrying about being caught or the other risks involved, he flew straight to the window.


    Through the window, he stared inside, still not believing his eyes. His heartbeat fastened slightly.


    He changed his hand to ws and sliced the ss and the lock in the window. After unlocking the window, he reached his hand inside and picked up something.


    "This... Is hers...." He muttered nkly, noticing the pitch ck gloves. These were the gloves that were worn by his mother to control her decay.


    They looked slightly decayed. It was also clear from the dust on them that they weren''t worn in a long time.


    "How is this here? She only had two pairs. One was left behind, and the other was worn by her before she died. How did this end up here...?"


    He jumped inside the room and started observing the room.


    It was an ordinary room with one bed and some decorations. It was like the guest house in the Snow n Mansion that wasn''t used by someone.


    He rubbed his chin as he walked closer to the bed. He looked under it, not finding anything. He even raised the mattress to check under it, but there was nothing except dirt.


    He sat on the bed, lost in thought.


    "How is this possible? How can it be here? Something simr to what happened with the Sword Piece? Did a Summoned Beast bring it back? Still, why would it be in this room?"


    "The Thunder Lions won''t allow any lowly beasts here. And the High Beasts can''t be summoned by ordinary people."


    "It only makes sense if someone summoned the Thunder Lion inside the cave and he brought back the gloves? But who could be strong enough to summon a High Beast?"


    He started scratching his head, confused. He kept the gloves in his pocket before he stood up. He looked towards the window before looking at the gate, wondering if he should check the house to find something.


    There was a sudden urge inside his body to forget everything else and try to get to the end of it, but he ultimately controlled his urge.


    He needed a second set of eyes. Since he was going toe with Szar, he decided to leave it forter.


    There was one change in the n though. The previous n was that they were going to take the stone when the man was sleeping and escape.


    However, now the n was for them to take the Thunder Lion Patriarch hostage to get the answers from him.


    He jumped out of the window and flew away, carrying the gloves with him.


    His heartbeat still wasn''t calm as he had received a clue about his mother. He was praying that she was going to turn up alive, but he knew that it was just wishful thinking.


    The Dungeon Dweller could easily eat the body, but it wasn''t difficult for the glove to be left behind. Maybe she took off one glove for some reason before drinking the poison, and that glove was left behind.


    That was something that he found feasible. He didn''t keep his hopes high either. He didn''t want to be too optimistic to be disappointedter.


    He tapped his chest. "Calm down. No need to be too excited."


    Hended before the Snow Wolf n Mansion and went back to his room, shutting the doors. He didn''t even interact with Szar and others, straight dropping to the bed, closing his eyes.


    He tried sleeping to calm his excitement, but he couldn''t even sleep.


    "Argh! This is frustrating!" He stood up again and left the mansion, unable to calm down.


    He flew away again, however this time, he flew towards the cliff instead, which was used by Ameliast time.


    The cliff was entirely empty as no one was here yet. It didn''t matter. He stepped to the edge of the cliff and took a deep breath.


    After taking a full breath, he yelled as loud as he could. "Aaaaaa!"


    After a long and hearty tell, he calmed down and sat on the edge of the cliff.


    He kept staring at the bottom of the cliff.


    "Looks like you''re the upset one today. What happened? I thought you''d be happy since your n worked and your enemy is gone?"


    "What are you doing here?" Lucifer asked.


    "You''re at my safe ce, and you''re asking me what I''m doing here?" The red-haired woman asked, stepping closer to him. She also sat beside him, her legs hanging in the air.


    "So, what happened to you? Why are you upset?"


    "Upset? I won''t say I''m upset. I''m just... I don''t know how to describe it. It''s like there''s a door before me, and if I open it, I''ll only get more disappointment, but if I don''t open it, I''ll regret all my life."


    "So open the door? Why care about anything else? Who knows, there might not be disappointment on the other side of the door?" Amelia responded.

 Chapter 567 - 567: High Beast Summon

    <h4>Chapter 567 - 567: High Beast Summon</h4>


    "Maybe, or maybe not," Lucifer muttered, not reacting much.


    He casually asked, "Btw; I heard you''re getting married?"


    This time it was Amelia''s turn to go silent.


    "Who told you?" she asked after quite some time.


    "It''s the talk of the town. That golden crow heir also arrived in the city, giving mes to the rumor," Lucifer replied. "Well, I would''ve congratted you, but it doesn''t look like you want to go through the wedding."


    "Is that written on my face?" Amelia asked, smiling, hiding her sadness.


    "You can say that. Thest time I saw you, you were pretty upset. And that''s also when I heard about the news of your marriage. I just tried putting the two together. It looks like I wasn''t wrong. Then again, I can''t me you. That guy was certainly a bit snobbish."


    "You met him?" Amelia asked.


    "Yeah. When I was out on the streets. Pretty arrogant guy, even more than me," Lucifer responded. "With that level of arrogance, someday he''ll end up dead."


    "Then again, that''s what people say for me as well. Who knows," hezily shrugged.


    "What did he do?" Amelia asked.


    Lucifer told her about his meeting with the Golden Crow heir and how even his servant was so arrogant.


    "That certainly sounds like him," Amelia responded, sighing.


    Since Lucifer only wanted some distraction from the gloves and other matters that were concerning him, he started digging deep into Amelia''s life.


    "Why don''t you just say no to the marriage if you don''t want it?"


    "I can''t."


    "Why? Family pressure?"


    "Kind of. My mother wants me to marry so I can stay safe." Amelia muttered. "For that, she doesn''t mind keeping her life hostage."


    "So you can stay safe? I don''t understand?"


    "You won''t understand. It doesn''t concern you. Just enjoy your life," Amelia let out, shaking her head. "You know, I''m a bit jealous of you."


    "Why?"


    "Because you are so free... On the other hand, I''m a prisoner of my own body." Amelia stood up. "I should leave before I say too much."


    Lucifer looked back at Amelia, not trying to stop her. "If you need any advice on how to get out of the situation, you can always ask me. I don''t charge for advice."


    "Thanks for the offers," Amelia replied as she rejected the offer. She started walking away only to stumble on her first step as shended on her knees, letting out a painful grunt.


    "Are you alright?" Lucifer asked, standing up as well.


    "I-i am fine. It''s nothing!" Amelia stood up. From the back, Lucifer only saw one side of her face, which looked pale now.


    Amelia turned to a Phoenix and started flying away. Strangely enough, she didn''t fly to the city. Instead, she was flying farther from the city as fast as she could, as if there was an emergency.


    "No reason for me to get involved," Lucifer muttered, shaking his head, watching Amelia leave.


    "Then again, I don''t have anything to do in the day? I might as well..."


    "Oh heck!"


    He ultimately decided to see what it was about as he flew behind Amelia to see where she was going.


    As he chased Amelia, he noticed something. He was taking the same route which he had taken to get to the city from the mountain.


    He wondered if thedy was going back to the mountain.


    Not long after, they reached the snow mountain where he had seen Amelia for the first time.


    Amelia returned to her human form after reaching the mountain andnded inside the pond.


    "It''s certainly getting worse..." Amelia muttered, frowning. Her face was still pale, and her hands had turned slightly greenish. Her heartbeat was also slow.


    She closed her eyes and started meditating inside the pond to calm her heart.


    Lucifer alsonded near the pond, watching Amelia inside the water. He was able to see her skin slightly greenish. It was the same as what had happened with his hand but on a slower scale.


    Inside the pond, her skin had started returning to normal. Her face also regained color.


    "Are you poisoned?" Lucifer asked Amelia.


    Hearing Lucifer''s voice, Amelia opened her eyes abruptly. "What are you doing here?"


    She didn''t get out of the water and kept inside the water so he couldn''t see her body. Only her face remained outside. "Get out now!"


    "I''m already outside," Lucifer replied, shaking his head. "I just came here to see what had happened to you. It was so sudden. Are you poisoned?"


    "You don''t have anything to tell you! Leave now!"


    "I don''t mind sitting here until you answer. It''s for you to decide." Lucifer sat near the pond, ying with the snow.


    "Why are you annoying me? I don''t want to talk to you! Leave!"


    "As I said, if you want me to leave, you should tell me what''s happening to you. Because whatever that green thing is, that also affected mest time. I want to know what that is."


    Lucifer stubbornly refused to leave.


    "Fine! It''s something I received when I was summoned!" Amelia eximed. "Now get out! Since you haven''t died, it didn''t affect you. You can leave!"


    "You were Summoned? That''s interesting..." Lucifer muttered, rubbing his chin. "A High Beast that was summoned? This is really intriguing. Who summoned you? And how did it result in you getting the poison?"


    "I didn''t want anyone to make a big deal out of the fact that I was summoned a few times! We kept it a secret because it was different when I was Summoned. Unlike Lower beasts, I was able to retain the memory of the world even in ours! That''s why I didn''t tell anyone!"


    "So you retained the memory of earth?" Lucifer asked, surprised.


    "How do you know the name of that world?" Amelia asked, stunned. No one should have known about earth, at least the name. "Were you summoned as well?"


    "I''ll answer that after you answer me! Who was able to summon a High Beast! Tell me everything about that person and where he was from? Which country has people who could Summon High Beasts?!" Lucifer asked.


    "Why are you so interested in it? Weren''t you Summoned as well? You must know the country name of your summoner! You''re a High Beast as well!"


    "Answer me!" Lucifer asked, unable to control his voice.


    "Fine. It was a woman named risse from a ce known as Elisium who summoned me!" Amelia eximed, answering Lucifer.


    "C-c..."


    Lucifer couldn''t even finish the sentence, hearing the name. Was it a coincidence? Another risse from Elisium or was it his Mother....?

 Chapter 568 - 568: Meeting

    <h4>Chapter 568 - 568: Meeting</h4>


    "Describe the looks of thatdy!" Hemanded with authority.


    "Why are you getting so agitated?" Amelia asked. "


    "I told you to describe her!"


    "Fine! She had silver hair that came down to her waist; however, she was shorter than me. She only came to my shoulders in height. She had deep blue eyes and a child-like naive face. But she was pretty strong," Amelia exined.


    "D-did she wear gloves like these?" Lucifer asked, showing his hands.


    "Yeah... How did you know?" Amelia asked weirdly.


    "This... You... Her... How..."


    Lucifer couldn''t understand anything. His mother wasn''t a summoner, let alone someone who could summon a High Beast from the world of Summons. So how was it possible?


    But Amelia knew her. She perfectly described her. That was impossible if she didn''t know about her. So could it be that his Mother was a summoner? Then why didn''t anyone know about it?


    "Did my Mo- I mean, did thatst summon you in public? How many people were there around her when she summoned you?"


    "People? Not many. Usually, there was only one person with her whenever I was summoned. It was a guy who had light golden pupils. Oh, and he was pretty strong. It was only once when I was Summoned with more than one person present."


    "So she did Summon you in public. There must have been a record of that then. Why was it hidden? When was it? When did she summon you with more people present?!" Lucifer asked.


    "A-are you alright? Why do you look so agitated?" Amelia inquired, not understanding why he was so involved. What was happening here?


    "Answer me!"


    "Fine! Thest time she summoned me was the day it happened! It was the day I received this poison!" Amelia exined.


    She remembered the past as well as she could before she exined.


    "We were inside a cave. There were tens of people around us; however, none of them were moving. It was as if they were all dead. Even that woman was lying on the ground weakly. She asked me to take her and her husband to safety..."


    "S-safety? Please tell me you did! Tell me you saved them!" Lucifer eximed out loud, standing up.


    "I... I... I don''t know what it was, but there was some kind of poison in the air and I... My physique attracted that excess poison. I don''t know what happened after that. My memories are a bit hazy. I remember waking up back in my room after that, feeling extremely hot."


    "My entire skin was green as well. Since I''m a Phoenix, I was never phased by heat, but that day, I was feeling like my body was burning. It was as if my own body was destroying me from inside."


    "I called my mother and told her everything." Amelia sighed. "She checked me and told me that I was affected by some poison that made my mes unstable. And this position was only going to get worse. She brought me to this ce."


    "Every time my mes be unstable, Ie into this freezing pond to control my body. Why else would a Phoenix that hates cold stay in this pond? It''s all because it does more good than bad. It''s what kept me alive all this while, but even it''s getting useless."


    "At first, I was able tost a week without having toe here to control my mes, but this time, I wasn''t even able tost one day..."


    Even though Amelia described her whole life story, Lucifer wasn''t interested. He had already dropped to his knees when he heard that Amelia wasn''t able to save them.


    When she told him about meeting themst time, he was sure that it was when his mother and father were poisoned. He thought that Amelia would have saved them after hearing the start of her story, but by the end, he only got disappointment.


    It was the same thing that he told Amelia before. He saw the door of hopes, and when he opened it, there was only disappointment.


    "So you couldn''t save them?" he asked.


    "I don''t know. As I said, I don''t know what happened after that. But most probably, I failed and lost consciousness right there to wake up at home. So you can say that I failed, and I''m suffering all this while..." Amelia answered.


    Even though she was slightly surprised that even after hearing his story and how she was suffering, Lucifer was more concerned about that couple.


    "You look sadder about them. Did you know them?" she finally asked, slowly.


    Lucifer lowered his head, looking at the snow under his feet. "I did know them."


    "How did you know them? Did they summon you too?" Amelia asked. "If that was the case, why did they summon me in thest moments? You seem immune to the position since even after touching me, you were fine. They could''ve summoned you and survived. Why me?"


    "Because they couldn''t summon me. They... They couldn''t do anything. You were their only hope, it seems, and even..."


    He took a deep breath, realizing that he was going down the wrong route. He couldn''t me Amelia. There was no way a Summoned Beast wouldn''t help their summoner if they could. It was just that she was too weak for the position.


    He couldn''t me her. She had no hand in it. Moreover, she was also suffering all this while getting closer to death with each passing day.


    It was because of his family that she wasn''t living the healthy life she could have. Instead, it was her who should have med him and his family. But she seemed to have no ill will for his family.


    "Do you hate that woman?" he asked. "She was the reason you''re suffering."


    "She is the reason for my suffering? I don''t think so. She loved me like a daughter. She would never do anything to harm me. In fact, I''m sure if she knew I was going to be affected by the poison as well, she wouldn''t have even summoned me," Amelia replied.


    "She... I don''t me her, and I never can. It wasn''t her fault but the circumstances that brought her and me to suffering. In fact, I me myself. I couldn''t save her..."


    Lucifer observed Amelia''s expressions. She genuinely looked sad. Even after all this, she didn''t me his family. That only showed how well his mother treated her.


    "You didn''t answer me. They didn''t summon you. Then howe you know about them?" Amelia asked, getting back to the topic.


    "How do I know them?" Lucifer muttered.. "I know them the same way a son would know his family."

 Chapter 569 - 569: Close...

    <h4>Chapter 569 - 569: Close...</h4>


    "Son... You mean you are their..."


    "The woman who summoned you was my mother," Lucifer replied, bringing his mother''s gloves out of his pocket. "That day, she was poisoned, and she was never found after that. She died there with my father."


    "H-how? How are you here?" Amelia asked, not understanding. "A humaning to our world?"


    "That''s right. I identally ended up here because of a summoned beast. My friends are also humans. That''s why we were trying to find a beast that is usually summoned so we could go back," Lucifer replied.


    He had also understood why he felt some familiarity from Amelia. It was because she was linked to his family through a special summoning bond. Even though his mother was gone, that bond still existed with his family and, in turn, with him.


    "I-i don''t know what to say. It... I am sorry for not protecting your mother..."


    "Don''t worry about it. I''ve alreadye to terms with her death," Lucifer replied, patting his heart. "It''s just that this weak heart of mine gets excited a bit too easily on asions. What can I say, sometimes I return to my younger self."


    "Anyway, this poison of yours... Is this the same one that my parents were affected with? Was their skin also green?"


    "It was. That was the case for everyone there." Amelia nodded.


    Lucifer stood up, approaching Amelia. He stepped on the water and walked on it. He used his wind to remain stabilized and prevented his clothes from getting wet.


    "W-what are you doing?" Amelia asked, moving back.


    "Stay right there."


    Lucifer reached Amelia and started going inside the water without stopping. Soon, his body was also inside the water, with only his head remaining outside.


    He was facing Amelia while their bodies remained just a few feet away from each other. Unlike him, Amelia didn''t have a shred of clothing on her body.


    She felt odd, being so close to a man without her clothes. She wondered if he could see something?


    Lucifer reached out his hand and grabbed Amelia''s hand as well.


    The same thing happened again. His hand started turning green.


    "W-what are you doing? Even if you''re slightly immune, you would still suffer if you didn''t leave fast! Your body might be destroyed!" Amelia yelled, trying to retrieve her hand, but Lucifer didn''t free her hand.


    He didn''t speak anything and just watched the green poison spreading in his body slowly.


    "What are you trying to do?" Amelia asked.


    "I''m trying to live the moment," Lucifer replied. "I want to experience what they experienced in theirst moments... I want to be there with them..."


    The poison couldn''t kill him, so he wanted to go through what his family went through.


    "This... Have you gone crazy?" Amelia asked, trying harder to free herself to free her. "You''ll be hurt!"


    Lucifer shook his head. "I won''t be hurt with just this much. So let me... For a little bit."


    Amelia felt the sadness in his voice. She could understand how a kid would feel after hearing such things. However, she still didn''t want to have him hurt. It was a scary poison. She didn''t know about his healing and just thought that it was his immune systemst time.


    In one ce, she wanted to listen to him and let him do what he wanted. It was just holding her hand after all, but she worried for his safety, especially after knowing his real identity. She couldn''t watch him die for his stupidity.


    She kept pushing herself back. Annoyed by her disturbance, Lucifer grabbed his other hand as well before pulling her closer.


    "Huh?" Amelia was stunned as her body was pulled close so easily. It was as if she was caught by a powerful man who had more strength than her.


    In her shock, she didn''t realize when Lucifer wrapped his hand around her back. Since the poison was all around her body, he didn''t just need to touch her hand. It was the same no matter where he touched. Moreover, it was easier to keep Amelia calm this way.


    "W-what are you doing?" Amelia felt stunned, feeling Lucifer''s warm hands wrapped around her slim waist. For a moment, she even forgot where she was as her face turned red.


    Lucifer rested his chin on Amelia''s shoulders. "Just let me be. Please..."


    Even though he spoke slowly, Amelia heard each of his words clearly since his lips were so close to her right ear.


    "Y-you..."


    She wanted to say something, but only a squeaky voice came out of her mouth. She hade here to calm her body which was getting warm because of the poison. It was painful for her even though she didn''t show it, but as soon as Lucifer touched her, it was as if he was sharing her pain.


    Her own pain decreased. Even though she was feeling slightly hot because of being hugged by a man when she wasn''t wearing anything, it was different from the zing heat she felt because of the position. It was a different kind of warmth.


    "You will be hurt if you don''t let me go. Please don''t hurt yourself," she weakly said.


    "I won''t. Just trust me and let me be," Lucifer replied.


    This time, Amelia didn''t resist. She also felt slightlyfortable in the embrace, and since Lucifer was so confident and didn''t look hurt, she gave in.


    The green poison had spread all around Lucifer''s body slowly. Even the nerves in his neck had turned green. His face was still normal though.


    The poison couldn''t reach his brain. And it couldn''t reach his vital organs. The healing was keeping them safe and attacking the poison.


    At this point, the position had started losing the fight as Lucifer''s healing became more familiar with the position and how to heal the damage. The green poison started being refined inside his body to increase his immunity.


    After a few minutes, Amelia asked, "Are you really fine."


    Lucifer didn''t reply. He just kept his eyes closed. His breathing was calm, which was felt by Amelia as well.


    Moreover, her pain also kept decreasing. It was even more effective for her than taking a bath in the cold. The cold only controlled the heat and kept her alive, but she could still feel the pain. It was only now that she started feeling less pain from the poison.


    She couldn''t gather her courage to push Lucifer back before suchfort.. Instead, she wrapped her arms around his back as well, returning the embrace as well.

 Chapter 570 - 570: It Helps Me

    <h4>Chapter 570 - 570: It Helps Me</h4>


    The poison which had spread all around Lucifer''s body started retreating after his healing started overwhelming it.


    Even though more poison entered his body with each passing second, it was healed even faster.


    Even his neck had turned green, but it returned to normal, just like his chest and legs. Only his hands remained green.


    Lucifer kept his eyes closed, feeling all the change in his body, especially the pain of the poison, imagining him with his family when they were suffering.


    However, he was healed unwillingly. Only his hands had the poison after some time. He slowly opened his eyes,ing out of his dream world.


    He looked down at his hand, which was resting on the soft back of Amelia.


    Most of his arm was free of poison, leaving only his fingers.


    He breathed out a mouthful of breath, seeing it was over. His healing had already understood the poison and how to perfectly counter it. The poison couldn''t overwhelm him again.


    He prepared to free Amelia; however, it was only then that he realized Amelia was also hugging him. Her arms were wrapped around him just like his arms were wrapped around hers.


    "Amelia?" he asked, but Amelia didn''t reply.


    He moved his head back, observing her face.


    Amelia was sofortable in his embrace that she didn''t even realize when she had fallen asleep. It was the first time she fell asleep without having to force herself.


    "Are you sleeping?" Lucifer asked softly.


    Amelia didn''t reply. Her calm breathing and peaceful face already answered Lucifer though.


    "Sleeping so peacefully..." Lucifer muttered. "You haven''t slept peacefully in a long time, have you?"


    He looked up, seeing it was still day. He still had plenty of time before he had to go back.


    "Fine. Since you served my mother, let me help you this time. Sleep... No one will disturb you..." He rested his chin on her shoulder again before closing his eyes.


    Just as Amelia had felt his calm breathing, he could also feel hers.


    The two remained in each other''s embrace for hours as Lucifer waited for Amelia to wake up on her own.


    Simrly, he kept refining her poison which was only making him and his healing stronger. It was two birds with one stone. He could help Amelia, and he could help himself just by staying close to her.


    That wasn''t the only reason though. The main reason he remained in her embrace was because he wanted to. Just like Amelia feltfortable in his embrace, he also feltfort in her embrace, something he hadn''t felt before.


    He had never been this close to a person, especially never being in someone''s embrace since his childhood with his family.


    After three hours, Amelia finally came out of her slumber. "Umm."


    She raised her head. "Did I fall asleep?"


    As she woke up, she realized that she was still naked and in a man''s embrace. Her face again turned red, but she didn''t push Lucifer.


    "Are you alright now?" She asked Lucifer. Before she fell asleep, she found him slightly disturbed. She wondered if he was fine so she could free him.


    "Looks like you''re up." Lucifer looked at Amelia''s face.


    Their faces were only inches apart. Amelia had a clear view of Lucifer''s eyes. She hadn''t focused on them before, but as she looked deep into his colorful eyes, she grew slightly dazed.


    "Your eyes... They are beautiful..." Sheplimented without thinking about this.


    "Beautiful?" Lucifer asked, bursting into a smile. "That''s the first time someone called these eyes beautiful. Most people who used to see my eyes in the past ssified me as a devil because of them."


    "You''re certainly an amusing person," he added, shaking his head. "Anyway, are you feeling fine? Can I free you?"


    "Me feeling fine? Shouldn''t I be asking you that question? You were the one feeling down..."


    "Not that. I meant your pain. Your body isn''t releasing as much pain as before. Are you feeling fine now?" Lucifer asked.


    The poison was only Limited to the tip of his fingers now.


    "Poison...? Ah, that''s right." She looked at the sky. "What happened? How are you still perfectly fine?"


    "Is the poison really useless against you?" Amelia asked, forgetting that she was still tightly embracing Lucifer.


    "I told you at the start. This poison doesn''t affect me. Instead, it helps me. So, are you fine now?" Lucifer asked.


    "I-it looks like I am for the moment. The poison which had filled my entire body and started looking for a way out has decreased a lot. My body doesn''t hurt as much. It''s even better than the first time I took a bath in this pond. You... Thank you."


    "Don''t worry about it. I should thank you for letting me do as I wished. You allowed me to live thest moment of my parents. Thank you." Lucifer replied. "By the way, your eyes are pretty good themselves."


    He didn''t forget to return thepliment that he had received before he took his hands off Amelia''s back.


    Amelia still kept holding onto him, looking at him in surprise after thepliment.


    Since he didn''t want to ask her directly, he asked in a different manner for her to free him. "Shall we get out of the water now?"


    Amelia nodded her head, still not freeing him. In fact, she didn''t even remember that she was still holding onto him.


    Lucifer scratched the back of his head as he smiled wryly. "Well, why don''t you go out first? I''ll follow you back?"


    Amelia nodded again as she tried moving back, only just realizing that she was holding onto him.


    "I-i apologize. I forgot I was holding you." She hastily took her hand off before she started swimming to the shore.


    She stepped out of the pond, revealing her beautiful body, which was hidden by the water previously. She quickly brought forth a towel and wrapped it around her so she could dry her body first.


    Lucifer also flew out of the pond,nding on the ground in the distance.


    Unlike Amelia, he couldn''t change clothes with magic. His clothes were wet, and they were going to dry on their own.


    Amelia donned her red gown before looking back at Lucifer, finding him looking in a different direction.


    ''He didn''t even look at me getting dressed. A decent guy...'' Amelia thought, seeing the considerate behavior of Lucifer.


    She didn''t realize that he had already seen all he had to.


    She walked closer to Lucifer, tapping on his shoulder. "Your clothes are wet."


    "Really? I didn''t know.." Lucifer smiled, amused at thedy who was pointing out the obvious.

 Chapter 571 - 571: Theyll Have To Be Capable

    <h4>Chapter 571 - 571: They''ll Have To Be Capable</h4>


    "You should wear these," Amelia raised her head, revealing a set of clothes in her hand.


    "Hmm? Where did you get them from?" Lucifer asked.


    "Where do you think I get my own clothes from?" Amelia responded. "We High Beasts can use the energy of this world to form clothes. Or we would all be naked whening back to human form after transformation."


    "Now, don''t ask too many questions and get dressed. It''s not good to stay in wet clothes."


    Lucifer took the clothes, which were ming red in color, matching the gown off Amelia.


    Lucifer took off the cloak and ced it on the ground. Only the cloak was still dry because of its peculiar nature, but his other clothes were wet.


    Amelia turned back without Lucifer having to ask to give him some privacy.


    Lucifer took off his old clothes.


    "Oh, I forgot to mention, if you need a different color, you can tell me. I can bring different clothes if you don''t like re-"


    Amelia abruptly turned back as soon as Lucifer had taken off his clothes, remembering that she forgot to offer more choices to Lucifer; however, she remained still as her jaws dropped at the sight.


    Lucifer was standing before her,pletely naked. He had just finished taking off his clothes.


    "I-i am sorry. I didn''t see anything, I promise!" Amelia hastily turned back as she started apologizing extensively.


    Even though she had seen everything clearly, she decided to lie, so Lucifer wasn''t embarrassed. However, she didn''t realize that Lucifer wasn''t embarrassed that much. So what if she saw him.


    "It''s alright. Don''t worry about it," he replied as he finished wearing his clothes.


    "T-thank you for not ming me. I didn''t intend to look."


    "As I said, don''t worry about it. I know it wasn''t your intention," Luciferzily answered.


    He walked back to a rock that was lying near the pond. "Can you sit down as well? There are more things I want to know."


    Amelia sat before him. "About your parents?"


    "That''s right. This glove, did you bring it back?" Lucifer asked, tossing the glove before Amelia.


    "This...? I don''t understand."


    "This was one of the gloves my mother wore. I asked if you brought these gloves back thest time you met her?"


    "I don''t think I did. She was wearing both her gloves when I saw her. I don''t think I would have taken her gloves instead of saving her. Moreover, when I woke up, I didn''t have any gloves in my hand. You sure that''s the one she worest time?"


    "I am sure of it. It was the one she worest time she left." Lucifer insisted. "I want to know how it ended up in this world since you were apparently thest one to meet her."


    "Where did you find it?" Amelia asked, frowning. "Because I''m sure it wasn''t brought back by me. If it was actually the one she was wearing, then it''s certainly odd."


    "I found it inside the Thunder Lion n mansion


    "There? H-how?" Amelia was even more shocked than Lucifer. Since she didn''t bring it back, she didn''t understand how it ended up here.


    "Looks like you don''t know it either. I''ll only get my answers from them." Lucifer stood up and walked closer to Amelia.


    He took the glove of his mother from her hand. "It''s evening. We should get back."


    Keeping the glove in his pocket, he started flying away, leaving Amelia behind.


    "Wait for me!" Amelia stood up and turned to a real phoenix before she started flying after him.


    She soon caught up to him. "Don''t tell me you''re going to the Thunder Lion n! You were responsible for the death of their heir! They''ll eat you alive if they see you!"


    "Well, they''ll have to be capable enough to do that first," Lucifer calmly replied. "I don''t have much time, and I need my answers. If my answers rest inside the Thunder n Mansion, then even they can''t stop me from getting to them."


    "I can''t let you do that. I wasn''t able to save your mother. I can''t let you die as well! Let me go talk to them instead if it''s that important to you."


    "No need. They don''t answer honestly. You won''t have enough leverage with them," Lucifer responded, refusing the offer. "As I said before, don''t worry about me. I am more than capable."


    "But this..."


    "Amelia... Enough. I don''t want to hear anything about that. Please let me do what I want. I''m grateful to you for many reasons, but I won''t listen this time."


    "But you''ll die! How about you have the Snow Wolf Patriarch talk to them? They''ll answer!"


    "Sigh, you really think I''ll die?" Lucifer asked, sighing.


    "Yes," Amelia responded.


    Lucifer looked at Amelia, sighing. "Maybe you''re right. I shouldn''t be stupid just for some answers. What was I even thinking? I can''t take on an entire n. I shouldn''t do it. I''ll ask the elders to help me."


    "That''s exactly right! Now you understand!"


    "Yeah. Thank you for stopping me from being stupid." Lucifer nodded.


    "By the way, I just realized it. Didn''t you say before that your mother wants you to marry so you can be safe? Is that rted to your poison?" Lucifer asked, changing the topic.


    Instead of going back and forth, it was just better to lie to her that he wasn''t going to do it if that got rid of the argument. After lying, he conveniently changed the topic.


    This topic was the weakness of Amelia which quickly distracted her.


    She sighed as she answered. "That''s right. My mother is convinced that the treasure possessed by the Golden Crow n can heal me."


    "However, Golden Crows don''t want to help me for no reason. They asked for my hand in marriage to their son in exchange for helping me. And since then, my mother has been trying to force me. In fact, she gave me a deadline of tonight to agree."


    "Since your poison isn''t a problem anymore, you don''t have any reason to be forced, right?" Lucifer asked.


    "The poison is still inside my body. And my mother can see it. You healed the poison that had reached the outeryer of my skin. The core is still inside my body. It''ll only get stronger and reach my skin again. I have relief from this poison but not healed."


    "Since my mother can see it, she won''t listen to me. Moreover, it''s not as if you''re always going to be here for me to heal me.. That''s certainly what her first argument is going to be," Amelia replied.

 Chapter 572 - 572: Better Than Two

    <h4>Chapter 572 - 572: Better Than Two</h4>


    "I''m not even sure if I can resist my mother for long. She''s already threatening me about killing herself if I don''t agree."


    "So you''ll marry that brat?" Lucifer asked.


    "Brat?" Amelia burst intoughter. "Yeah. That sounds urate. But if it stops my mother from taking her own life, I would ultimately be willing to sacrifice myself. I resisted as long as I could. But I don''t think I have more time."


    "So the poison is still hiding in your body..." Lucifer muttered.


    "Yeah. It''s like a parasite. It only grows stronger with each passing second. You can kill them, but when even one is left, it grows and multiplies again," Amelia answered, sighing.


    "Parasite," Lucifer muttered, rubbing his chin. He had an idea.


    ''If I send my parasite inside to swallow the poison ande out...?'' he thought; however, he soon dropped the idea.


    He had already experienced this with Lynx. The parasite couldn''t survive inside the body of these High Beasts.


    Inside Lynx''s body, it was destroyed by fierce lightning. And inside the body of Amelia, it was going to be destroyed by heat and fire before even getting to the poison.


    There was really no way to destroy the poison inside her body. Even his healing could only heal himself and not others.


    Lucifer went silent.


    "What happened? Are you thinking about how to save me?" Amelia asked. "It''s impossible. You don''t have to waste your time with my poison. Maybe he''s what I deserve for failing to save your money and thedy who treated her even better than my mother."


    Lucifer turned to her but didn''t answer. There were many things in his head right now.


    "Huh, looks like we''re already in the city. I didn''t even realize how fast this journey was with you. Well, thank you for everything. And thank you for helping me with the poison." Amelia slowed down after reaching the city.


    Lucifer also stopped.


    "The few days of relief that you gave me... I could never thank you enough. You are just as kind as your mother was. Anyway, good night."?Amelia flew towards her mansion.


    Even though she talked as if everything was normal, Lucifer understood manyplicated things from her tone. She was certainly pretending to be fine with it.


    "As kind as my mother?" Lucifer muttered. "You''re wrong. I will never be as kind. She died because of her kindness and stupidity. I shall never be that kind for strangers..."


    Even though he spoke firmly while turning back, he couldn''t help but nce back at Amelia, who was flying away alone, shining brightly in the darkest of night.


    Shaking his head, he flew back to the Snow n Mansion.


    He walked inside the mansion.


    "There you are! We were looking everywhere for you! Where did you go?" As soon as Lucifer entered the mansion, he met Hun, who was relieved to see him.


    "I went outside to get some fresh air,"?Lucifer replied.


    "Sigh. Young friend, you shouldn''t go out. You know how risky it is? I was worried that you were caught by the Thunder Lions. So d it wasn''t the case. Come, dinner is ready!"


    "Oh right, what happened to your clothes? Why are you wearing different clothes now?"


    "My clothes got dirty on the way. I bought new ones," Lucifer exined, following Hun.


    "Ah! There you are! You worried us all so much!" Yui also eximed, seeing Lucifer.


    "I didn''t expect I would worry you all. I apologize." Lucifer calmly responded.


    He seriously hadn''t expected them to even care this much.


    Lucifer met up with Szar and walked to the dining table.


    Jenilia was left behind with Gon since he wasn''t allowed to sit in the dining hall. Food was served to him in his room. And Jenilia also had dinner in the room.


    The two youngsters reached the Dining Hall and took seats around each other.


    "You''re back. I thought you left the city," Hun''s father asked Lucifer.


    He had thought that Lucifer was scared after he exposed the fact that he knew Lucifer''s true identity. He was a bit disappointed at the cowardice of Lucifer.


    "Not leaving just yet," Lucifer replied, smiling. He started eating.


    ...


    It was midnight. Almost everyone had gone to sleep except Lucifer and Szar.


    Lucifer had already told Szar to stay away since they were going to leave tonight


    At exactly twelve in the night, Szar came out of his room. Lucifer also stepped out at the same time.


    The two of them sneakily left the mansion.


    None of them realized that there was a man who was looking at them, leaving through the window of his room.


    "Now, where might you be going in the middle of the night?" he muttered, smiling.


    ...


    Lucifer and Szar flew through the city in the middle of the night to reach the Thunder Lion Mansion. There were no guards outside the mansion since they never worried about someone intruding. Just their reputation was enough.


    However, Lucifer did find one person standing near the mansion.


    He went down with Szar. "What are you doing here?"


    "Shouldn''t I ask you the same question? Since you said, you weren''t going to do something this stupid?" The red-haired woman before him replied. "I came here before I had a feeling that you''lle here. And it looks like I was right."


    "Yeah, you were right. Now leave!" Lucifer let out, keeping his voice low.


    ''These two seem close. I wonder when this happened." Szar thought, standing in the back.


    "I''m not leaving. If you want to do this stupidity, I''m going to be with you. Let me help!" Amelia insisted. "You helped me today. It''s time I help you too!"


    "You! You are an idiot; you know that? Why do you care about what we do? You have no reason to take part in it!"


    "You''re wrong. Just as she was your mother, she was also someone to me! I also want to know what happened to her as much as you want to! I''m also hurt by her departure, just like you are! So yes, I do have a stake in it too!" Amelia responded firmly.


    "I think we shouldn''t argue. She is strong. She should be able to protect herself. Let''s take her as well." Szar chimed in.


    He wasn''t sure what the argument was about, but he knew that it was better to have three strong beings when invading this ce than two.


    "We''ll just be wasting time otherwise," he continued.


    "Fine! You cane as well! But I want you to stay in the back. Let us take the lead and keep your mouth shut!" Lucifer dered, finally allowing her to help.


    "I promise!" Amelia nodded.


    The three of them turned to the mansion.

 Chapter 573 - 573: Cant Make Noise

    <h4>Chapter 573 - 573: Can''t Make Noise</h4>


    Lucifer started floating upwards.


    "Huh?"


    Amelia grew stunned as even her feet started rising in the air. "What''s happening? Are you doing it?"


    "Don''t worry, you''ll get habitual to it," Szar reminded Amelia. After flying like this for so long, it was pretty ordinary for him.


    "So you''re doing it?" Amelia asked.


    "Me? Don''t look at me like that. I''m not capable of it. But I am pretty experienced in it. It''s quite safe."


    Lucifer flew straight to the window that he had unlocked in the morning. Fortunately, the room wasn''t being used anymore, so no one realized that the window was open in the morning.


    Lucifer pushed the window open andnded inside. Szar and Amelia followed suit.


    He looked at Amelia before softly asking, "Do you have any idea where the Thunder n Patriarch would be? Something rted to his room? The direction or anything?"


    "It''s my first time here. And I have no idea. But I believe he''ll be on the highest floor since he''s the leader and might want to stay at the highest ce."


    "The Highest Floor." Lucifer rubbed his chin.


    "Szar, spread out your domain and show your miracle. Take this whole mansion in your domain."


    "You''ll be slow as well if I do that?"


    "I won''t. I have energy negation. I can be free of your domain as well. So I''m safe if I want. So you don''t have to give yourself a handicap for me anymore."


    "Wait. You have energy negation? If I''m not wrong, it''s the ability of that Noble? How do you have it?" Szar asked, surprised.


    He had seen Lucifer steal powers after taking them in control, but he was sure Lucifer hadn''t done any such thing to thatdy.?So how did he have her power?


    "Are you just realizing I have that? I mean, I used that against Zhu as well. Why else would his Spatial Maniption not work?" Lucifer smiled. "Anyway, we can talkter. First, get to work."


    Szar nodded, still curious. How was Lucifer able to take her power without using his parasite? Just what kind of growth was he experiencing?


    He casually waved his finger, casting his time domain over the entire pce before he walked towards the door.


    "Huh?" Amelia watched Szar walk so fast that before she could even blink, he was already at the door.


    Lucifer also cast his energy negation in his immediate surroundings. "Time has slowed down. Everything will be moving extremely slowly, including you beasts. So don''t get surprised. Just stay behind me, and you''ll be out of the effects because of my negation."


    He also walked to the door.


    "I''m opening." Szar reminded Lucifer.


    "Wait," Lucifer called out. "Let me walk ahead. You just maintain your domain. Your domain will slow them while my speed will slice them."


    Szar stepped back, letting Lucifer lead.


    Lucifer twisted the doorknob, pulling the door open.


    Leaving the room, Lucifer stepped into the hallways, which were slightly different from what he saw at Snow n. There weren''t rooms on both sides of the hallways; instead, there was a massive ss floor in the center, which had a clear view of the lower floor, which had the same ss floor in the same position.


    The rooms were around the ss floor in a circle, making this hallway look slightly odd.


    The spiraling stairs were also going down from the middle of the ss floor.


    "The security of this ce really sucks. No guards at the entrance and none inside either," Lucifer muttered, sighing. "At this point, they''re just running on a trust system."


    He observed all the rooms on the floor, most of which gave a clear view to him.


    "Check the rooms from the left. I''ll check from the right. Call for me as soon as you find him." He signaled Szar pointing towards the left.


    "What about me?" Amelia asked.


    "You stand back. You''ll be affected by the time domain. You won''t be any fastpared to them," Lucifer responded before walking away.


    "You...." Amelia folded her arms, realizing that they were underestimating them. But she was fine. As long as she wasn''t needed, she didn''t care.


    Lucifer walked to the first door on the right and pushed it open before peeking in.


    He closed the door, shaking his head. The room was empty.


    Since there were only seven thunder Lions, it was already evident that most of the rooms were going to be empty.


    He quickly flew to the second room.


    Amelia was already out of the energy negation field. Every movement was too fast for her, but she was still able to keep an eye on the two of them.


    Szar also checked the first room, finding it empty.


    He walked to the second room with silent footsteps.


    He checked the second room. This time he actually found someone. A man was sleeping in his room peacefully. He closed the door silently. It wasn''t the leader that they were looking for.


    Lucifer was already on his fifth door by now.


    He opened the door, finding a man as well. The man he found wasn''t sleeping though.


    The light of the room was on, and the man was sitting, meditating.


    Since he was alert, even the slightest sound of the door opening alerted him.


    "Who is it?" he asked calmly, but he soon got the answer as he saw the face of the person on the other side of the door.


    "It''s y-" he opened his lips, eximing in shock as he recognized Lucifer.


    In the meantime, Lucifer flew straight to the man who was about to yell. If he yelled, everyone was going to be alert.


    The man also started transforming.


    sh~


    The hands of the man had turned to ws while his face became longer. His body changed. He was almost finished with the transformation as well when the silver Sword came swinging at a lightning-fast speed.


    Lucifer''s speed was already fast enough, but it was even faster because of the Domain of Szar. At least for the man, it appeared like Lucifer had Teleported.


    "-ou." The man''s head dropped to the ground as he weakly finished his word.


    Lucifer departed from the room, leaving the body behind, without even trying to use his parasite or using his decay to absorb the body. He wanted to haste in finding the patriarch of the n.


    As he left the room, he looked back to Amelia, who was still standing where she was previously. As for Szar, he was gesturing to Lucifer about something while pointing towards a room.


    Lucifer flew straight to Szar. "Is he inside?"


    "Yes."

 Chapter 574 - 574: Remnants

    <h4>Chapter 574 - 574: Remnants</h4>


    "That''s right. He''s sleeping. But we can''t make much noise. There''s another one sleeping in the next room," Szar informed Lucifer.


    Lucifer turned the knob and entered the room, pushing the door open.


    Szar was right. That man was indeed sleeping in the bed. It was quite surprising as well. His only son was killed today, and the man was still sleeping peacefully?


    Just because he believed that this guy wouldn''t be able to sleep tonight, he wanted toe tomorrow night. That was the initial n, but the discovery of gloves had forced him to change his n, making him unable to wait.


    He walked closer to the man who was in a deep sleep. On the way, he even picked up a chair. He took the chair with him, cing it beside the bed.


    He ced the sharp Sword close to the neck of the Thunder Lion Patriarch, holding it in his left hand.


    Using his right hand, he grabbed the earring of the man which had the stone in it.


    Snatch~


    Lucifer snatched the earring, not being subtle about it at all. If it was another time, he might have thought about being subtle, stealing it, and escaping, but he wasn''t in the mood.


    The earring of the man was pulled, which made ears bleed.


    "Urgh!" The man grunted in pain as he raised his head, but he stopped as he felt a sharp de against his neck.


    "You''re lucky. One more inch, and your head would have been lying on yourp," Lucifer said calmly.


    "Now, don''t do anything stupid. Because my sword will certainly be faster than your hand or your transformation."


    "Who are you?" the man asked, frowning. "Wait, I recognize you! You were with the boy who killed my son."


    "You''re wrong. I wasn''t with the person who killed your son. Instead, I was the one who killed your son personally. In fact, I even used the same sword. And if you don''t listen to me, the sword which drank the blood of your son will drink the father''s blood as well."


    "Do you understand the consequences of what you''re trying to do? I can kill you right away!"


    "You''re wrong. If you could kill me, you would''ve killed me already. But you aren''t attacking me because you know you''ll die. I know about High Beasts. You''re pretty weak in your human form. That''s why you turn every time. And by the time you turn here, you''ll be dead."


    "So, are you listening now?"


    "What do you want?" The man asked, frowning. He raised his hand to hold his bleeding ear. "Why are you trying to hurt me?"


    After rubbing his ears for a few seconds, he reached out his hand towards Lucifer''s threat.


    Lucifer cast his energy negation on his body again, which he had removed so he could talk properly with the man.


    As the energy negation was back, he was once again much faster than the man.


    His hand had just reached Lucifer''s neck, but before he could even grab it, the sword moved.


    A scream filled the entire room while the head dropped to the ground.


    The scream was so loud that it alerted the Thunder Lion in the n.


    All the n members ran to the room of the Patriarch, which was now apanying Amelia and Szar as well.


    The running speed of the n member was extremely slow as well.


    "Do I have your attention now? That could have been your head as well. Now yell just as loudly that you were yelling in a dream. Ask your men to leave."


    "Are you alright?'' The men started knocking on the door.


    Seeing the speed of Lucifer and his close that sword was to his neck, the Thunder n Patriarch was really intimidated, especially since he wasn''t in his real form, and it was going to take time even if he tried.


    "I am alright. Just a bad dream. Go and sleep."


    "Are you sure?"


    "I am freaking sure! Now get the hell back to your rooms and don''t annoy me!"


    The n members left, shaking their heads. Some did look disappointed, feeling that it was because his son had died that he was behaving like this.


    "They are gone! Now tell me what you want to let me go free!"


    "I already received what I wanted." Lucifer patted his pocket, which already had the third stone. "Now, I only need one more thing from you."


    "And what''s that?"


    "Answers. I need my answers from you."


    "Answers about what?"


    Lucifer brought a glove out of his pocket and waved it before the man''s eyes.


    "Tell me why this thing was in your mansion?" Lucifer asked.


    "This thing? Where did you find it? I thought my son lost it when he was ying with it?" The man asked.


    "That''s not the answer to my question. Tell me where you got it from?" Lucifer asked.


    "I received it from a lowly beast who was saying that he brought it back from the other world. He sold me three items. That glove was one of the three."


    "What did that beast look like? Was that a two feet tall humanoid beast named Gon? Did that kid lie to me?" Lucifer asked.


    "No. It wasn''t a small one. It was a pretty tall beast. Just as tall as me."


    "Is he from this city? I might know him?" Amelia chimed in.


    "Ah, so you''re here as well. The phoenix, the Snow Wolves, and the Golden Rhinos. In one day, three High Beast ns went against me for a foreigner. Not bad. Just what''s the magic in him?" The man asked, looking at Amelia.


    "Describe his looks. Don''t talk nonsense. My time is precious," Lucifer grimly reminded the man.


    "He had a small horn on his head, which was pitch ck. He was the same height as me with simr features. Oh right, he had two wings on his left side. While his right side had no wings, which was something pretty odd," the man described what he remembered.


    "Amelia, do you know anyone like that?" Lucifer asked.


    "I don''t. I don''t think there''s a beast like that in our town."


    "Are you lying to me?" Lucifer asked the man.


    "I''m not. Why would I lie? However, she is right. She won''t recognize him because he doesn''t live in the city. He was a passerby that was passing from this city. He was trying to sell some things to get some money. And I bought those items," the man eximed.


    "You said there were three items? What were the other two?" Lucifer asked.

 Chapter 575 - 575: Skill Sacrifice

    <h4>Chapter 575 - 575: Skill Sacrifice</h4>


    "If you let me leave, I''ll bring those two back for you. They aren''t in this room."


    "Not happening. Tell my friend where to find it. He''ll handle everything."


    It was hard to keep a walking hostage. There were many risks of mishaps. It was better in bed since the man was at more risk like that.


    "He can''t find them. Only I can."


    "Looks like you don''t want to co-operate then. That''s alright. I won''t force you either."


    The man felt the sword inching closer to his neck with each passing moment as Lucifer talked.


    "I was thinking about freeing you after getting my answers. But then again, maybe it''s better this way."


    "Wait! I''ll tell you about the other two items! They are kept in a box in the second room to the right! The key to the room is in my drawer!"


    "Szar?"


    "On it." Szar brought the golden key out of the drawer before he snuck out.


    "While he''s fetching the items, tell me about them," Lucifermanded the man, staying in the back.


    "Kid, you''re really brave. How would you like to join my n instead? I''ll offer you hefty rewards. You''ll have more benefits than you can imagine."


    Even though he was answering all the questions of Lucifer, he had a feeling that Lucifer was going to kill him after getting all the answers, but this was only a suspicion. He couldn''t confirm it, so he wasn''t taking a risk.


    However, he still tried to lure Lucifer to his side so he could free him.


    "I told you. My time is precious. And there''s nothing you can offer me which I can''t force you to give me. So just answer my question if you want to be left alive. If you don''t, that''s a different matter altogether," Lucifer sharply responded, not letting the words affect him.


    "Fine. I got three things; one was a glove that he imed was worn by a person from the other world. The second thing was a diary which he imed to be written by a person from another world. Andstly was a small map."


    "Diary and a map?" Lucifer muttered, frowning.


    He did watch his mother write something in a diary sometimes, but he wasn''t sure if she had taken the diary to the tomb with her. And a map? That could be the map of the Dungeon they went to.


    Amongst the two things, he only found the diary to be intriguing, that too if it actually belonged to his family.


    "What was inside the diary? Did you read it?"


    "I couldn''t. It was in a foreignnguage. It''s just the sheer value of the collectibles that made me buy them. However, the gloves were lost by my son. At least that''s what I was thinking all the while. They were still inside the mansion, it seemed."


    "Still, I don''t understand. Why are you so interested in the gloves? I mean, it can''t be that you guessed where these gloves were from."


    The room door opened, and Szar stepped inside the room with a diary and a piece of folded paper that was pale yellow. "I found only these."


    "Are you sure everything you told me is the truth? That beast sold you these things, and you know nothing about them?" Lucifer asked, keeping his focus on the man.


    "Yes."


    "Good." After getting his answer, Lucifer slightly moved his sword ahead, which easily sliced the throat of the man as if it was sliding through soft butter.


    The man had already expected the possibility of something like this happening, but it still came as a surprise to him.


    He had expected Lucifer to ask about the whereabouts of the seller, and then he was nning to tell Lucifer that he could lead him there, giving himself more time. However, who would''ve thought that he wasn''t even going to reach that point.


    His head dropped on hisp; his eyes remained open.


    Lucifer looked back as he wiped the blood on the sword with the bedsheet. "You two wait outside in the room where we came from. I''ll catch you there."


    "Do you need something here?" Amelia asked.


    "Yeah. Something of that nature," Lucifer responded. "Just wait for me."


    "Let''s leave. Give him some privacy," Szar let out, realizing what Lucifer was going to do.


    Amelia nodded, still filled with curiosity. She left the room with Szar and went to the room they firstnded inside.


    ...


    Inside the room, only Szar and Amelia remained, waiting for Lucifer.


    "So you''re from earth as well?"


    "Hmm?" Szar frowned, surprised that she knew.


    "Don''t be surprised. He already told me," Amelia answered. "Anyway, do you know what he''s doing back there?"


    "He''s cleaning up," Szar answered, shaking his head. "He should be back in a few minutes."


    Just as Szar finished speaking, the door opened, and Lucifer stepped inside.


    "Did you get it?" Szar enquired.


    "Yeah. The diary?" Lucifer asked.


    Szar handed the diary to Lucifer.


    Seeing the cover, Lucifer shook his head in disappointment. It was clear that the diary didn''t belong to his mother.


    He opened the first page, finding a name.


    "It''s in English. It''s certainly from earth," Lucifer let out. "And the owner of this diary was Nic Andrea. I don''t think I heard that name before. Did you?"


    "I didn''t either. Must be some random person," Szar answered, shaking his head.


    Lucifer turned another page and started reading a bit about what was written in the diary.


    "Fascinating. Whoever wrote it... Doesn''t appear to be anyone ordinary," he muttered, frowning.


    "What''s written in it?" Szar asked.


    "It talks about sacrificing abilities," Lucifer responded. "Certainly a fascinating concept if it works."


    "Sacrificing abilities? What does that mean?"


    "From what I understand, it talks about sacrificing certain abilities to make other abilities stronger. At least that''s the gist of it. I''ll have to read more when I''m back home to understand what it actually means. First, let''s get out of here."


    Lucifer pushed the door open and left the mansion with Amelia and Szar, just as stealthily as he came.


    He first went to the mansion of Amelia, dropping her on the balcony before leaving.


    Amelia watched him leave, still unable to grasp what she experienced before.


    These two people had joined their powers to take out a High Beast leader so easily. They were certainly powerful. She was amazed at how powerful the humans from earth became.


    She was slightly happy as well, since Lucifer could protect himself with that strength. How she didn''t need to worry about his safety when he went back.


    "Best of luck on your future endeavors, Lucifer. And thank you for everything you did for me. Have a great life ahead meanwhile I..."


    She stepped inside her room.

 Chapter 576 - 576: Evolution

    <h4>Chapter 576 - 576: Evolution</h4>


    Lucifernded outside the Snow n mansion and stepped inside the house with Szar after observing the surroundings.


    The two of them reached their rooms.


    "Get some sleep. I''ll read the diary and see what it''s about. And don''t even tell Jenilia about what we did."


    "Yeah." Szar entered his room, wishing goodnight to Lucifer.


    Lucifer also stepped into his room and closed the door.


    He walked to his white bed and ced the diary and the map there. He also took off his cloak, keeping it in the corner before he went inside the shower to freshen up.


    After a short shower, he stepped out.


    As soon as he stepped out, he noticed someone in his room. "What are you doing here?"


    The white-haired man was smiling. "Can''t Ie? It''s my own house, after all."


    "Sneaking inside the room of your guests. That''s not good, is it?" Lucifer asked, walking closer to the man. He snatched the diary that was in the man''s hand.


    The patriarch of the Snow Wolf n didn''t try to stop him. He had already tried reading it, but he couldn''t understand even a single thing. The words were iprehensible to him.


    "Since you can sneak in and out of my house, why can''t I sneak in your room? By the way, may I ask where you found this diary? In the Thunder n?"


    "So you were following me?" Lucifer frowned.


    "Well, I was just trying to make sure you didn''t get yourself killed. Let alone being killed; you killed the Thunder n Patriarch himself? I certainly underestimated you."


    "You do you know that?"


    "I entered the mansion after you stepped out. It was certainly surprising to know what you did. But you left a mess. You left other Thunder Lions alive. Even without their leader, they could''ve made amotion. You know how stupid it was to leave them alive?" The man asked, rolling his eyes.


    "Leaving a weakened n alive is worse since they would''ve tried revenge sneakily. So I had to finish them off," he added.


    "So you killed the rest?" Lucifer asked.


    "Yes. At first, I simply wanted to kill them after finding out what you did there. If I had even the slightest proof of you working with them, you would''ve been dead by now as well. However, you killed their leader. There''s no way you were working for them."


    "And that''s why you''re still alive, talking to me."


    "May I ask what this is?"


    Lucifer''s frown deepened, but he didn''t reply.


    "So why did you do it? Because he threatened you and risked attacking others?" The man asked.


    "You can say that," Lucifer responded. "Now, please leave. I need to sleep. Moreover, I''m about to leave soon as well. You won''t have to worry about me anymore."


    "You''ll leave? But I was just starting to like you. However, that''s probably for good. Make sure to give Hun a good reason, so he isn''t disappointed." The man stood up, turning to leave.


    "Oh right. I forgot to mention one thing. I don''t know what''s written in that diary, but the man is something I find familiar. If you need my help,e to me in the morning."


    The man left the room, disappearing into the night.


    "The map?" Lucifer threw the diary to the side and walked to the map. In everything, he had forgotten to check the map as well.


    He picked up the old man and unfolded it to reveal what was inside.


    "This handwriting!" He eximed, seeing the map.


    Even though the diary didn''t have the handwriting of his family, making it belong to someone else, the map did have his parents'' handwriting.


    It wasn''t any random map but something that they kept with them.


    He sat on the bed and started trying to understand the map.


    "Seventh Tomb." There was one word written on the map which wasn''t written by his parents.


    However, the second line was written by his father from what he could understand.


    "Stopped search at Seventh Section. Need to continue from here next time."


    After the line, there was an arrow that pointed towards an X mark on the map.


    "So that''s where they stopped search? Search for what? And why did they stop?" Lucifer eximed. "Moreover, it looks like the map isn''tplete.


    There was another like which could be seen stopping on the left edge of the map. It was as if the line was pointing towards something, but that part was missing.


    "Did that man hide something from me?"


    "The map didn''t name the location either. It just said it was in the Seventh Tomb. This ce will certainly be in Elisium. But I don''t think I heard about it before."


    He quickly left the room, stepping into Szar''s room.


    "Wake up."


    "Did you need something?" Szar had just closed his eyes to get some sleep when Lucifer woke him up.


    "Do you know about the Seventh Tomb?" Lucifer asked.


    "Seventh Tomb? I don''t think I''ve heard about it before." Szar shook his head. "Is it something important?"


    "It''s nothing. Go to sleep." Lucifer departed from the room and barged inside Jenilia''s room.


    Jenilia was still up, keeping an eye on Gon, who was sleeping.


    "He''s still not summoned back?" Lucifer asked.


    "Not yet," Jenilia replied.


    "Alright. Leaving that aside, did you hear about the Seventh Tomb?" Lucifer inquired, wondering if the Warlock Council had any information.


    "Seventh Tomb? Is this about a Tomb of some king or something? I don''t think I heard about it before."


    "Alright." Lucifer left the room, disappointed. He walked back inside his room, keeping the map aside.


    "Hun''s father did say that he knows something about the map. I''ll talk to him in the morning."


    He picked up the map and kept it inside his pocket safely. "And if I can''t get any information, after getting back, I can scan the map to find matches. Something should turn up. Whatever they were looking for, it must be important."


    After putting the matter of the map at rest for a moment, he picked up the diary and started reading it.


    The diary had over five hundred pages, making it slightly thick. Most of the pages were empty though.


    It didn''t take Lucifer even two hours to finish reading the diary.


    "Is that even possible? If it is, it would be something incredible... This man... He was a genius. I''m surprised this theory hasn''t spread to others. Could it be that it didn''t work, and that''s why? But the way I read it, this certainly makes sense.. If it works, it''ll be amazing."

 Chapter 577 - 577: Sacrifice

    <h4>Chapter 577 - 577: Sacrifice</h4>


    ording to what he had read, the theory talked about Sacrificing the other abilities of the Variant to increase the grade of one ability.


    The person who wrote it theorized the way to sacrifice the ability and that it could only work on Variants that had more than two abilities since one sacrifice was needed for the other.


    However, it also talked about the chance of failure. There was always a chance that one Sacrifice wasn''t enough for the evolution of other abilities. That''s why the man wanted to try his theory on a person who had three or more abilities to increase the chance.


    At the end of the diary, he talked about how he was going to go on a search to find a perfect candidate who could prove his theory. There was no further entry in the diary there.


    Lucifer couldn''t help but wonder if the man had ever found his candidate. Since this news didn''t spread, there was a chance that he couldn''t find the person he was looking for.


    It was certainly understandable. No one was going to sacrifice their abilities forever in the words of a stranger.


    However, this theory was something that he found perfect for himself. He had plenty of abilities that he had taken, which he could sacrifice to focus on his main abilities.


    He wanted to reach the same level of strength as his parents, but it needed more than just the grade of skill.?It required experience and a long time. However, if he was able to evolve his ability further, he believed he could reach that level.


    "Which ability should I focus on? Decay? That''s my strongest in a sense, but there''s a risk if I go with it..."


    He observed his gloves, frowning. His decay was already so powerful that it was decaying his gloves slowly. If it evolved even further, what if his gloves stopped working?


    What if his decay became so powerful that even the gloves were destroyed in an hour? He was never going to be able to touch anything again. He would be strong, but he''d lose an important element of his life.


    He wouldn''t be able to touch anyone or eat anything. He could still survive by decaying things in this world, but how long was it going tost?"


    Lucifer shook his head, sighing. "I can''t take risks with decay. First, I need to understand how much growth we''re talking about. Decay and Lightning are born S-Ranked in ssification. I can certainly see what an evolution will do with lightning."


    "Wind is lower grade. And I can''t test anything with healing. And strength... That won''t help me understand the growth with evolution."


    "Lightning it is."


    He decided to test with lightning. However, he couldn''t do it inside his room. He needed to go outside to have some room to achieve it and test.


    He got off the bed and donned his cloak before leaving the mansion again.


    He once again left the city, this time going to the same cliff where he met Ameliast time.


    The entire ce was empty. There was not a single person in the surrounding area.


    Lucifer sat ten meters away from the cliff. He folded his legs as if he was sitting in a meditation position while wearing his wrists on his knees.


    Keeping his head straight, he closed his eyes.


    The process of sacrifice in the diary was very clear. It was something that everyone could do, at least that''s what he wrote.


    The sacrifice talked about location; the core is that ability inside the body and pushing that core to the core of the abilities a person wanted to make stronger.


    The things about the ability cores wasn''t a secret, and it was already discovered. Each ability had a core inside the body which couldn''t be destroyed.


    Even if a person attacked the ce where the ability core was, it wasn''t going to do anything since the ability core was something that was illusory to some extent.


    It couldn''t be destroyed. Nic linked the cores with energy, saying that it couldn''t be destroyed, but its form could be changed and its energy transferred to other abilities.


    The problem was finding the right core though. Unlike others, Lucifer didn''t have one or two abilities. He had many which he had stolen. He knew his original cores, like lightning which was in his chest.


    The decay core was near his right wrist. The wind core was near his throat, and the strength core was near his left knee.


    As for the Healing Core, that was the biggest mystery. He tried to find that a long time ago, but that was like nonexistent. He could only locate four cores when he tried the first time.


    He located the parasitic core and the barrier core he absorbed from Derek.


    Other than these two, he selected three more abilities that he didn''t want to sacrifice at any cost, including the one which he had stolen from Andreas in the Warlock Council.


    After securing nine cores, he decided that others were fair game for sacrifice.


    He selected one core which was something he stole from a Warlock in the Divine Empire.


    He kept his entire mind focused on the core and moved it towards his chest, where his lightning core was resting.


    The core seemed slightly resistant at first, but it kept moving ording to his will, soon reaching the chest of Lucifer.


    After reaching the lightning core, Lucifer made the core split into multiple parts so it could be easy to absorb. The specks of the core were absorbed by the lightning core, which grew slightly.


    Lucifer observed the lightning core, shaking his head. The core was certainly stronger, and he felt strong as well, but he didn''t believe that the core had jumped a level.


    The growth wasn''t that high. ording to the theories he read, a jump in the grade of an ability was signified by its size. If the core was double the size of a grade B core, then it was Grade A. If it was double the size of Grade A, then it was considered Grade S.


    Simrly, he knew that he needed at least double the growth to achieve a breakthrough.


    "If one doesn''t work, I''ll throw more. It''s certainly working, just not that well. I do have some abilities to spare though," he muttered, shaking his head.


    He shifted his attention to another core which was already close to his heart, and started moving it to the lightning core.


    The second core was also absorbed by the lightning core, which grew once again.

 Chapter 578 - 578: Invitation

    <h4>Chapter 578 - 578: Invitation</h4>


    The lightning core grew a second time with another absorption, but that wasn''t the end of it. Since it still wasn''t double the size, Lucifer kept throwing more and more abilities to the lightning core without stopping.


    The more he tried, the more tired he became. However, it finally happened. After he sacrificed his 200th core to the lightning core, the core finally reached the threshold and even crossed it!


    At one moment, Lucifer was even sure that it wasn''t going to work. When he had tossed the 100th core, the lightning core was just a tiny bit away from the threshold, but that threshold was the hardest.


    He had to toss another hundred cores just to break that threshold since he didn''t want to give up. He had already decided that he wasn''t going to believe this diary if the 200th core didn''t work either. Fortunately, it did.


    "Two hundred simr ranked abilities to increase one S-Rank ability... No wonder this theory wasn''t mentioned anywhere. No one could achieve this sessfully since every person had only one or two abilities. Even the best Warlocks only had a couple of abilities at best."


    "If I''m not wrong, Nic was probably killed by one such Warlock who believed his theory and sacrificed his ability for no reason."


    Lucifer muttered softly as he kept observing the changes in his lightning core. The core looked much darker now. Moreover, there was lightning inside the core as well, which wasn''t before. It was as if the core was a world in itself which contained the most terrifying of lightning.


    Seeing lightning sh inside the core was something he found very amusing. However, it wasn''t the only ce where Lightning was cracking.


    Even in the outside world, a heavy lightning storm had taken ce around Lucifer.


    Roar~


    Bright lightning had formed a tornado that was spinning around him. The sky was already dark since it was night, but it was asionally shining as lightning asionally shed, highlighting the dark clouds in his surroundings.


    Lucifer slowly opened his eyes. As his eyes were opened, a tiny bolt of lightning was also momentarily visible, shing in his eyes.


    He observed the thunderstorm that was circling him. Everything appeared to be new. He felt a connection with the lightning that he had never felt before.


    In the past, he felt like lightning was his acquaintance, but now he felt like lightning wasn''t a stranger but a part of his family that he could understand and talk


    He slightly raised his hand. With the rise of his fingers, all the lightning storms disappeared as if they were never there.


    Two dark wings appeared behind his back as he stood up, not even trying to wipe the smirk off his lips.


    He wasn''t sad that he had sacrificed hundreds of peak abilities since they were nothing before what he had now! He was now a Warlock with an ability that was above S Rank.


    He flew high in the sky, floating between the clouds and the ground before raising both his hands. Hundreds of lightning bolts fell from the sky, following his single gesture, but unlike before, they didn''t fall on the ground.


    The lightning bolts stopped in the middle of the air, around Lucifer.


    In the past, the lightning bolts were like the spear of Zeus. Once they were thrown, they couldn''t be controlled or retracted. They crashed where they were aimed. But now, the bolts were like a part of his body that could follow him like loyal soldiers.


    Lucifer started spinning where he floated. The lightning bolts which were around him also started spinning, creating an even bigger thunderstorm.


    Lucifer stopped, and so did the lightning bolts.


    As he raised his hand towards the sky, all the lightning bolts went back inside the clouds before disappearing.


    "This was worth it. The biggest weakness of lightning is gone. And it''s even stronger. Moreover, I haven''t even tried all the things I can achieve now. A worthy sacrifice," Lucifer muttered.


    He brought out a diary from his pocket and stared at it. "Nic, you were a genius. If you''re actually alive, you deserve to be awarded."


    Lucifer wanted to evolve even more abilities, but he knew he didn''t have enough. He believed he needed around two hundred to grow other top abilities of his, and he didn''t have enough.


    "More abilities, huh. Isn''t there a war we need to attend to?" His smirk widened as he remembered the Warlock Council. Soon, he was going to be back to fight the Warlock Council.


    That war was like a feast for him! He could hunt enough Warlock to grow all his original abilities!


    He observed his surroundings once again before he flew back to the Snow n Mansion, filled with confidence that he was capable of facing any challenge with his newfound strength, even the High Beast Leaders.


    Reaching his room, he dropped straight to his bed since he was extremely tired by now. Even though he was just sitting when sacrificing his abilities, it took a heavy mental toll, making him extremely tired.


    He didn''t even bother to take off his cloak as he fell asleep.


    It was four in the early morning when he slept. And in just two hours, Hun came knocking at his door to wake him up.


    Lucifer was so heavily asleep that he didn''t even wake up at the knocks.


    Worrying about Lucifer, Hun used the other key to open the door. Entering the room, he checked up on him.


    "Hah, just sleeping. I thought something had happened. It''s alright. Take enough sleep..."


    He left the room and went to wake the others. Unlike Lucifer, Szar and Jenilia woke up instantly.


    Jenilia was once again served in the room while Szar went to dinner with Hun after making sure that Lucifer was sleeping and didn''t want to wake up.


    Hun set aside food for Lucifer.


    "Where is the other one?" Hun''s father asked after seeing only Szar with Hun.


    "He is sleeping. Maybe he slepttest night. Who knows," Hun responded, taking a seat.


    " Sleepingte? What were you two doingst night?" Hun''s father asked Szar, already knowing the answer. "You should sleep on time."


    "We''ll keep that in mind." Szar nodded.


    After finishing dinner, he went back to his room.


    ...


    It was four in the afternoon when Lucifer woke up from his sleep. He washed his face before looking out the window to check the time.


    "I''m alreadyte, it seems."


    The food was already ced on the table beside him. He quickly finished eating before going to Szar''s room.


    They had everything prepared. They had the stone and the answers which he needed. Now all he needed to do was to watch Gon and leave with him.


    "Ah, you woke up! I was waiting for you! Hurry and get prepared! We''re going to the wedding in the Phoenix n! Apparently we got an invitation!"?Hun saw Lucifer leaving his room and called out.

 Chapter 579 - 579: The Second Part

    <h4>Chapter 579 - 579: The Second Part</h4>


    "Wedding?" Lucifer turned back, slightly surprised. "What do you mean?"


    "Since you were sleeping, you don''t know about it. But just a few hours ago, we got a message that there is a High Beast wedding. Moreover, we were invited as well," Hun responded.


    "I told my father that I don''t want to go, but he says that we would look like jealous pricks if we didn''t attend. And since he''s forcing me to go, I''m here to force you toe with me," he further added, smiling.


    "Are you sure? I mean, we just met them yesterday. I don''t think there was any news of a wedding being today?"


    "It is a serious invitation. Even I''m slightly surprised. The Phoenixes are really in a hurry for this marriage. Who cares? It doesn''t concern us. We only need to attend for a little while ande back." Hun responded.


    " Get ready. We''ll be leaving in two hours. Oh, and also convince your friends. When I asked them, both of them refused since you were sleeping. They''ll probably listen to you," he added, waving his hand. "I''ll be back in half an hour after getting myself prepared."


    Lucifer stood before his room, watching him leave.


    He started feeling slightlyplicated at this news, not knowing why.


    Shaking his head, he stepped inside Szar''s room.


    Gon was sitting on a chair with Jenilia keeping an eye on him. Szar stood before the window, looking outside.


    " You''re up!" Jenilia stood up, watching Lucifer enter.


    Szar turned as well.


    " Good Morning. Today is the seventh day of Gon being summoned. ording to him, there had never been a week when he wasn''t summoned even once. That means today; he is going to be summoned. Are you prepared to leave?"


    " I am. We have already finished everything we had to do here. Now all that''s left is to leave. Keep everything ready. I''ll go and meet Hun''s father. If the Summoning Circle appears, call for me and slow down the time. Alright?" Lucifer reminded Szar.


    " I know the basics. Be back fast. He can be summoned any time now. Moreover, it''s also good that all the High Beasts are going to that Phoenix''s wedding. No one would be here to watch us leave."


    " Yeah. That''s right," Luciferzily replied before he left.


    Everything was in ce for departure, but he still had a feeling that something was missing.


    " After finding more about the map from him, I''ll let them go and leave this ce." He clenched his fist as he walked to the main hall.


    There, he met up with a maid and asked her about the whereabouts of Hun''s father.


    "Library? Thanks."


    He had already seen the libraryst time. He quickly ran up the stairs and went to the library.


    Knock~


    "Can Ie in?" Lucifer asked after knocking once.


    "Ah, the sleepyhead Lucifer. Come in." A calm voice came from the other side.


    Lucifer pushed the door open and stepped inside.


    " So you finally woke up. Were you busyst night trying to understand the diary and the map?" The middle-aged man asked, smiling. He slowly raised his gaze, shifting it from the book to Lucifer.


    "Hmm? Something is different about you. I just can''t put my finger on it, but you look different..."


    "I''m the same old person," Lucifer replied. "Anyway, let''s get back to the topic. I want to know more about the map. What do you know about it?"


    The middle-aged man smiled. "I know that half of it was missing.


    " How did you know?" Lucifer asked.


    "It''s because I owned the other half." A smirk formed on the lips of the white-haired man. "And I still have it."


    Lucifer raised his hand. "Give me."


    "And why should I?"


    "Because you want me out of here. And after getting that part, I''ll be leaving forever. In fact, I''ll be gone by night if you give me the map. That''s thest thing I need."


    "I need you to leave, but I''m not in a hurry anymore. Instead, I''m more curious about your motives now. Why did youe here? Why were you after the things from the other world? You went to Gon first, and then you went to take the items that the Thunder Lions owned. Why?"


    The man folded his arms, waiting for an answer.


    "I already told your son the answer, and the essence of it was true. I need these things because I can learn more about my parents from these things. These things are useless for you anyway. So give me."


    " Well, if these things were useless, why would I even buy them from the seller?" The middle-aged man asked, smirking.


    He had purchased the map from the same man who sold the diary and the other half to the Thunder Lion leader at the time. It was also why he knew that the other half of the map was missing as soon as he opened it in Lucifer''s room.


    The man did observe Lucifer''s expressions as he spoke. He believed that Lucifer was telling the truth here.


    " I already answered you. What more do you want!" Lucifer eximed as his tone became slightly louder. "Return the map, and I''ll leave! What more can you be looking for from me?"


    The man stood up, stretching his arms.


    He stopped before Lucifer, leaving only a meter of distance between them.


    Lucifer also clenched his fist. He wasn''t the same old Lucifer this time. Afterst night, he didn''t feel the need to be intimidated.


    If the man was going to attack, he was also prepared to fry a Snow Wolf tonight, forgetting that he was Hun''s father.


    The middle-aged man looked deep into Lucifer''s eyes before bursting into a smile. "What I wanted was simple. All I wanted was the truth from you. And it looks like I got it."


    " Here is the missing part. Take it, and best of luck on your future journey." He started walking towards the exit after handing over the second part of the map.


    The man stopped before the door and turned around. "Oh right, are youing with us for the wedding, or you''ll be leaving in our absence instead!"


    "You can attend it. I''m not joining," Lucifer carelessly said, more focused on the map.


    He opened this part of the map, cing it in the group before opening his part. He joined the two pieces together.


    "So that''s where it is...." he muttered, realizing the location. The second part of the map contained more information about the location.. It also contained more writing by his parents.

 Chapter 580 - 580: Crashing

    <h4>Chapter 580 - 580: Crashing</h4>


    In the bottom corner was the name of the person who drew the map. Right above it, his father had written about the location of the map and even the coordinates.


    "If you change your mind about attending the wedding, you can join us there." The middle-aged man left the library, leaving Lucifer behind.


    Lucifer folded the pieces and kept them in his pocket before leaving the library as well.


    With this, he had finished all his goals in this world. Only exit was left.


    As he walked downstairs, he again saw Hun.


    "You didn''t get dressed? I told the maid to get you some nice clothes. Did she not deliver?" Hun asked, seeing Lucifer in old clothes.


    "No need. I''m noting. You can enjoy it."


    "You''re noting? Why?"


    "Just a little tired. Enjoy the wedding," Luciferzily said.


    " You''reing from upstairs. Did my father say something? You can tell me! Did he say you shouldn''te?"


    "Nope. Instead, I told your father that I''m noting. That''s why I went to meet him," Lucifer replied. "Please don''t force me."


    "I-i..." Hun didn''t know what to say. Was he really forcing here?


    He simply watched Lucifer leave, confused at the strange behavior of Lucifer.


    He shook his head, not taking this to heart. Maybe he just wasn''t in the mood to go out today. It wasn''t surprising after what had happened yesterday. He believed Lucifer was slightly intimidated by the Thunder Lion n and wanted some time with himself.


    He dropped the matter for the next day as he left.


    ...


    An hour passed and the entire Snow Wolf n was prepared to attend a wedding.


    Yui was also informed that Lucifer and his friends wanted to rest at home and not go. At first, she also talked about staying behind, but after her father''s insistence, she agreed.


    Everyone left the mansion, leaving only the guests behind.


    Lucifer stood in Szar''s room, looking out through the window. He watched the white carriage leave the mansion, going to the Dark n.


    "Thinking about something?" Szar asked, stopping beside Lucifer. "Don''t tell me you want to attend the wedding?"


    "Why would you think that?" Lucifer asked, not shifting his gaze.


    "The way she came to help usst time. Even though she wasn''t needed, just the gesture itself was a big deal since it was a risky ce. For her toe, I can only assume that you two are friends. You also told her where we''re from," Szar replied, smiling.


    "It''s odd that a friend won''t be attending another friend''s wedding," he continued, shaking his head. "In any case, why should I even care? We''ll be back home soon anyways."


    Lucifer kept his hand in the pocket of his hands, not answering Szar.


    "I''ll be sitting on the roof. If there''s any change, contact me." He opened the window and jumped outside to sit on the roof.


    He slightly waved his hands again, calling clouds to give him some shadow, andid on the roof, closing his eyes.


    He didn''t know why, but the strange feeling inside him was only increasing since the morning. It was as if he was missing something which he shouldn''t. The feeling only increased with each passing second.


    He kept his eyes closed and cleared his mindpletely. He stopped thinking entirely until it was his time to leave.


    His difort wasn''t over even now.?He started going through everything that had happened since he had arrived here to understand what it was that he was missing.


    As he was going through his memories, a scene shed before his eyes... A scene of a stranger lying to her mother to protect him... The same stranger who didn''t think about dangers toe help himst night.


    The same stranger who looked so serene when she was inside the freezing pond. It was the face of a person who didn''t show her sadness, always keeping it hidden by a tough exterior, but her eyes gave her away every time.


    As his thoughts were clouded, Lucifer suddenly opened his eyes and sat up.


    "What nonsense am I thinking! It''s her life! I don''t need to interfere. I have nothing to do with her! I don''t need to go help her..."


    There was another part inside him that was trying to convince him otherwise by reminding him that she hade to help him without thinking about anything. It also reminded him that the only reason she was suffering was because of his family!


    It was the enemies of his family who had poisoned his family. She was also affected by the same poison. The only reason she had suffered all this while was indirectly because she knew his family.


    She was also thest link he had to his family. She was rted to his family by the bond of summon. She knew his mother, and she was also much more.


    The more he thought about it, the more his conviction weakened.


    Thest nail in the coffin was the memory of his experience with her in the pond. Even though he was experiencing poison to understand the plight of his family, it still made him feel at peace like he had never felt before.


    He believed it was because he was slightly emotional and thinking about his family, but the embrace of Amelia also had something to do with it, no matter how much he didn''t want to believe it.


    He took a deep breath and held it for as long as he could. After a long time, he let out that mouthful of breath with a sigh.


    "Am I really turning soft?" he muttered to himself. "Or is it something else?"


    "It doesn''t matter. I can think about itter. First, I should help her. If not for anything else, then just to get rid of this strange feeling."


    He stood up, stretching his arms before jumping down.


    He stopped mid-air before Szar''s room.


    "Szar,e. It seems like we need to crash a wedding."


    "Hah, I had a feeling I''ll be hearing that," Szar smirked. He shed the sharp sword. "I''m already prepared."


    "You didn''t return the Sword?" Lucifer asked, amused. He thought Szar would have returned it by now.


    "Yeah. I liked it a bit. So I exchanged something for the sword with the owner," Szar replied. "Anyway, what about Gon? Will we leave him here? What if he''s summoned?"


    " We''re not leaving him anywhere. He''sing with us. Who cares if a bunch of beasts are summoned back with us. It doesn''t matter. I''ve had enough seriousness for a week.. Time to let loose today."

 Chapter 581 - 581: Getting In

    <h4>Chapter 581 - 581: Getting In</h4>


    Lucifer took Jenilia, Gon, and Szar with him, helping them all fly as well.


    It was the first experience of Gon flying which made him extremely excited. Lucifer gave the task of keeping an eye on Gon in the wedding to Jenilia. Meanwhile, he and Szar were supposed to do whatever they wanted.


    " Shouldn''t you change clothes? That ck cloak doesn''t match the red clothes at all. We should crash the party in style," Szar reminded Lucifer.


    " That''s certainly true." Lucifer made a gesture on his cloak, turning it from ck to ming Red which not only matched the clothes that were given to him by Amelia but also made him look more intimidating.


    " How is it now?" he asked.


    " Much better. Now we look proper." Szarughed. "So, what''s the n?"


    "No n this time. The only n is to do whatever my heart wants today without holding back. Today we are the arrogant young masters of the exaggerated novels."


    " Hmm? I''m surprised you know about such novels. I didn''t take you for a guy who reads things like these?"


    " My mother used to read me such stories. Not the extreme ones though. It was only in the Academy that I read a few," Lucifer replied.


    The City was big, but the distance between the Snow Wolf n and the Phoenix n wasn''t that high. Within a short time, Lucifer reached the Phoenix mansion.


    " There are quite a few guests, it seems," Szarmented, looking at the carriages that had lined up in front of the Mansion.


    One of the Carriages belonged to the Snow Wolf n. There was also one carriage for the Golden Rhino n. The carriage of the Golden Crow n had also reached there, it seemed. It was stopped right in front of the mansion.


    There were a few more carriages, probably from the city where Golden Crows were from. It wasn''t surprising that they also brought some guests from the city.


    "All High Beast ns. Are you intimidated?" Lucifer asked, smiling.


    "Intimidated? I am just excited since it looks like fun."Szar chuckled. "It''s been a long time since I did something like this."


    "Hmm? Did you crash another wedding before?" Lucifer asked as hended before the red mansion.


    "Yep. I crashed the wedding of the girl I loved."


    "Weren''t you single?"


    "I am."


    "I don''t understand. You crashed the wedding of a girl you loved. And you''re still single? What happened?"


    "What else? It turned out she didn''t want to get out of the wedding. I was left looking like a fool." Szar smiled. "Apparently, I misunderstood something."


    "If it was a bad memory, why are you smiling?" Lucifer looked at Szar weirdly.


    "Ah, it''s nothing. I just remembered the rest. The groom was irritated that I had interrupted his wedding. He sent his guards to break my legs and throw me out," Szar smiled wryly.


    "Did they not know who you were? Why were they so stupid? Then again, humans generally are," Lucifer responded, shaking his head.


    He reached the main gate of the mansion. Just like other ces, there wasn''t any security either. So many High Beasts were inside. No one was going to be stupid to barge inside uninvited. At least that''s what the guests thought.


    "I wasn''t famous at that time. In fact, they didn''t even know I was a Warlock. That news soon got out as I broke the legs of everyone who even thought about hurting me," Szar replied.


    "Oh, the girl whose wedding I crashed? After seeing I was a powerful Warlock, she even forgot that I hurt her fiance and came after me."


    "Let me guess, you didn''t say yes to her this time and left?" Lucifer asked as he pushed the door open.


    "Yeah. She already said she didn''t love me. If it changed after seeing my abilities, that wasn''t true love. So I left. Let''s just hope that''s not the case today, and you get yourdy." Szar smirked.


    "Not mydy. I''m just here to help her. It''s not because of love." Lucifer rolled his eyes, taking his first step inside the mansion.


    There were over a hundred people inside the mansion, making it a crowded ce. No one even noticed the arrival of Lucifer since everyone was busy in themselves already.


    It didn''t take Lucifer long to find the Snow Wolf n. They were standing in the front. Except for Hun and Yui, all of them had a ss of wine in their hands.


    Not far from them, the Golden Rhinos were standing.


    Moreover, straight ahead, two big throne-like chairs were ced. A person was sitting on one of the chairs, being the same guy that Lucifer met before. He was the heir of the Golden Crow n.


    A middle-aged man having the same features was talking to Amelia''s mother in the distance.


    They went around the hall, talking to guests. Amelia''s mother introduced the middle-aged man to the High Beasts of this city. The man also introduced her to the people of his city.


    "Shall we take the lead?" Szar asked Lucifer.


    Lucifer nodded.


    "Jenilia, take Gon and stand in the corner. Only inform us when the summoning circle appears," Lucifer reminded Jenilia before he stepped forward.


    As Lucifer stepped ahead, Amelia''s mother noticed him. She walked towards Lucifer. "I didn''t know you three wereing as well?"


    "Who are they?" The middle-aged man asked her, curious who these three were. It didn''t look like she was pleased to see them here.


    "We aren''t wee here?" Lucifer asked, slightly surprised.


    Why was thisdy behaving oddly? He was the guest of the Snow Wolf n. Moreover, she shouldn''t have known that he was here to stop the wedding. So why was she looking so displeased?


    "I am Lucifer Azarel. I''m not from this city. Simrly, my friend here is also from outside. We''re living in the city for the moment," he answered the man himself, raising his hand to shake hands.


    The middle-aged man looked weirdly at Lucifer. He didn''t shake hands.


    "You didn''te with the Snow Wolf n. I asked them, and they said you weren''ting. What changed your mind?" The red-haired woman asked.


    "Whatever, stay in the back and don''t create any nuisance." She didn''t even wait for the answer of her question since she remembered something.


    She looked at the middle-aged man and said, "I think it''s time. I''ll bring her down."


    "That would be good." The man nodded.


    The woman turned and went upstairs. The man also walked away, getting busy in conversation with others.


    In the meantime, Lucifer walked to the groom, who was sitting on the chair.

 Chapter 582 - 582: Bed Of Thorns

    <h4>Chapter 582 - 582: Bed Of Thorns</h4>


    The boy on the chair also noticed Lucifering out of the crowd and in his direction.


    Jaq was the direct heir of the Golden Crow n, known for its wealth, treasures, and influence in their City. He was also the only son of the leader.


    "It''s you. It looks like you came as well, along with that arrogant kid." Jaq stood up.


    "Lucifer? What''s he doing here?"


    Amongst everyone that was present here, only Lucifer had approached the young groom, which ced a lot of eyes on him.


    Even Hun and his family finally noticed him.


    "It looks like he changed his mind and decided toe after all," Hun''s father smiled.


    "I just had toe. There was one thing that I needed to tell you. And I didn''t want to dy since I''ll soon be leaving," Lucifer replied to Jaq, not stopping closing in.


    "What thing?" Jaq asked, frowning.


    Even his father was looking at Lucifer by now. He didn''t know why but he felt something was wrong.


    "Excuse me for a minute," the middle-aged man eximed as he walked to his son in haste.


    "It''s that you really shouldn''t be an arrogant prick, at least not until you have a certain level of skill. You might never know who you might offend." Lucifer smiled.


    "Hah, are you saying that I offended you? Is this about thest time I saw you? That carriage incident? Hah, kid. Don''t overestimate yourself and scram. Just because it''s a special day for you, I won''t hurt you. But leave before I change my mind."


    Lucifer smirked, looking deep into the man''s eyes.


    "I epted this answer from you. And that''s why I feel pleased to tell you that you''ve been sentenced..." Lucifer calmly said.


    "Sentenced what?" Jaq scoffed in contempt.


    "Sentenced to death." Lucifer finished.


    Lighting shed in his arms momentarily before two lightning bolts appeared, one in front of Jaq and the other behind him.


    "Wh-"


    Jaq was stunned that Lucifer was so brazen. His father and so many High Beasts were here, and still he was daring to attack? It was something that he hadn''t expected at all.


    Before he could even react, both lightning bolts stabbed him, one stabbing his heart from the front while the other passing through his neck from the back.


    "Remember my words in the next life. Control your arrogance," Lucifer muttered, looking deep in the eyes of Jaq, which lost its light.


    Blood came out of his neck, chest, and from his lips as his body dropped to the ground.


    "Jaq!" Jaq''s father yelled, seeing his son die right before his eyes.


    The hall was filled with gasps. No one had expected something like this today. It was the day of the wedding. And now he is dead?


    Even the Snow Wolves were surprised. What happened? Why did Lucifer suddenly murder the groom? Was there a conflict between the two?


    Even the Golden Rhino heir looked with his eyes wide open. What was with Lucifer and killing the heirs of other High Beast ns? First Lynx and now Jaq?


    Hun took a step forward, trying to get to Lucifer, but he found a hand resting on his shoulder, stopping him.


    He looked back, realizing that it was his Second Uncle.


    "Don''t take a single step. This is something we shouldn''t get involved in. He killed a young man out of his own volition. If we went to help, everyone would think it was the n of our n to destroy this wedding. We''ll be seen as the bad guys."


    "But uncle, he''s my friend!"


    "Forget your friend in that case. He selected his own future when he decided to kill the kid. He made his own bed of thorns; now, he must sleep on it alone. It has nothing to do with our n."


    "Father, do something!" Hun asked his father, but even his father didn''t react.


    His father simply stood with his arms folded, looking curious.


    He had already seen Lucifer kill the Thunder Lion Patriarch. He knew that Lucifer wasn''t weak at all. If he decided to kill the kid in front of everyone else, then he must have a n of his own.


    ''I wonder how he expects to get out of it? What is his n? Or could it be that he thinks we''lle to help? It''ll be intriguing to see how it goes.''


    ...


    "Jaq!"


    Jaq''s father seemed to have gone crazy as he ran to his son.


    "Get up, my son! You can''t leave me!''


    He kept shaking his son, expecting him to wake up, but there was no response.


    "You! You killed my son! You shall die as well!" The middle-aged man yelled like crazy as crazy mes came swirling towards Lucifer.


    This time, it was Szar''s turn to show his magic. He spread his domain, slowing down everything.


    "I don''t have any intention to die. Sorry to disappoint," Lucifer muttered as he looked at the mesing towards him at the speed of a snail.


    His figure flickered as he appeared behind Jaq''s father, who was still affected by the time domain.


    Szar also stepped aside to avoid mes as well.


    He canceled the time domain.


    "Argh!" The crazy mes that were thrown by the middle-aged man missed the targets who he saw move like lightning.


    In their absence, the mes but the beasts that were standing behind them, which all happened to be the High Beasts from his city.


    The High Beasts were also capable of protecting themselves and weren''t hurt, but someone did get hurt.


    It was Jaq''s father who found himself surrounded by lightning spears from all sides, even from the sky.


    "Old man, You should''ve taken the same advice I gave your son. Albeit it''s toote now."


    "You!" The man started transforming inside the mansion. Unfortunately, all the lightning spears impaled him from all sides.


    His body dropped to the ground while Lucifer looked at the other guests.


    "Ladies and Gentlemen, the wedding is over. The groom and his father left on a long vacation. You leave as well. Only those who want to join the father and son on their trip should stay behind."


    Many High Beasts looked at Lucifer, finding him too arrogant.


    As if reading their minds, Lucifer smirked.


    "Those who think I''m arrogant and they need to teach me a lesson can stay behind. But just ask yourself a question first. Do you really want to risk your lives for those two?" He spread his arms. "Because if you want to, then I wee you to try."


    Following his arms, hundreds of lightning spears appeared on both sides of Lucifer.

 Chapter 583 - 583: The Reason

    <h4>Chapter 583 - 583: The Reason</h4>


    All the guests looked at Lucifer with a deep frown. They could also see how this kid had killed a High Beast Patriarch here.


    Even though it wasn''t nice for the reputation of their city if they just turned back and left, but it was also true that they had no stakes in this personally other than some silly attitude.


    It wasn''t as if they were friends of the dead guy. They just came because they were invited.


    A bulky man was the first one to turn back.


    "This is a matter of the Phoenix and the Crow. I don''t see any reason to waste my time here."


    Even his wife followed behind him and left.


    The departure of one person had the intended effect since more and more people started leaving, following suit. It was as if a card was pulled from a house of cards and the rest of them came crashing down as well.


    All the High Beasts from the other city left, vacating the premise. Even the people from this city also left, especially the ones who didn''t know Lucifer.


    Only two ns left behind: the snow wolves and the Golden Rhinos.


    "May I ask why you killed him?" The Golden Rhino Patriarch asked Lucifer.


    "Nope," Luciferzily replied. "I am grateful for your helpst time, but I see no reason to exin my motives."


    The golden-haired man looked towards Hun''s father. He didn''t know if he should leave or fight back. If it was just a one-off incident, then it didn''t matter. But if it was Lucifer going crazy, then it was another matter since he could put them at risk.


    "One more thing. You don''t have to worry. I won''t hurt you if you don''t try to attack me. So you can rest assured and leave. However, if you attack me, I would forget the previous help, and you''ll end up as the Thunder Lion n Patriarch as well." Lucifer patted his clothes casually.


    The lightning spears that were around him disappeared.


    "Thunder n Patriarch? You mean the reason he''s not here is because....?"


    "That''s right. He''s enjoying the same vacation as these two. I can''t forgive a person who threatens to kill me after all," Luciferzily shrugged.


    "This..."


    "He isn''t lying. I verified it myself. That guy is dead," Hun''s father finally spoke.


    "This is fascinating. Just who exactly are you? A youngster who can kill us? Why did youe here?"


    "As I said, I see no reason to exin myself. Please leave. I want to be alone in this ce. This is thest warning."


    The golden-haired man sighed, "Fine. I don''t care either."


    He patted the shoulder of his son as he left. There was no benefit of having conflicts.


    Only one n was left. Hun couldn''t understand why Lucifer had suddenly killed the boy. Was it because of theirst interaction on the street? Even then, how was he so strong? And if he was, why did he take so long to kill Lynx at the start?


    "Lucifer, we should go home. We can talk there," he told Lucifer.


    "Y-yes." Yui also chimed in.


    Lucifer scratched the back of his head, stepping towards Hun. "I''m sorry, but I don''t think I''ll have enough time toe back home. Today is most probably the day when I''ll be leaving. This should be myst day with you all."


    "I can''t tell you how much you helped me. Without you, we wouldn''t have had a way back. Thank you." He patted the shoulder of Hun.


    He looked at Yui, who stood beside Hun, and ced his hand gently on her hand. "You as well. Thank you."


    After his initial interaction, he walked back to the throne-like seats and sat on one of them, with one leg resting above others like he was the king of this ce.


    "Way back?" Hun asked.


    "Yeah. I think it''s time I told you the truth. I''m not a High Beast. I''m from the other world where the beasts go to. I identally ended up here because of a summoning portal malfunction. And I was looking for a way back. That''s where you came to help me."


    "So you lied to me?" Hun asked, taking a step back.


    Lucifer knew the reaction was going to be like this. He would''ve been upset as well if someone had lied to him. However, he was leaving. He wanted to end his cooperation with truth.


    "That''s right. I lied to you about my origins," Lucifer responded.


    "And about your parents going missing as well? How could you? How can a friend lie to another friend?"


    "That''s right. My parents didn''t go missing. They died when I was just five years old. And other than that, I don''t want to tell you anything. It''s true that I lied to you, but it''s also here that many things that I told you were here."


    "About me being your friend? Was that a lie too?!" Hun asked.


    Lucifer took a little pause before he started answering. "Y-"


    Tap~


    He didn''t even finish one word before he stopped as he heard footsteps.


    He stopped speaking and turned back, looking towards the stairs.


    And there she was... A youngdy dressed in a beautiful red gown. Even though there was not a shred of happiness on her face, she looked so beautiful, as if a princess wasing down from heaven.


    She had a beautiful red ne on her neck that properlyplicated her gown. Two silver earrings on her ears also stood out with all the red she was wearing.


    Her long red hair was tied into a ponytail.


    "She looks even more beautiful during the day. I can only praise your choice," Szar whispered in Lucifer''s ears.


    "Huh?" Lucifer looked back at Szar. "What do you mean?"


    "Come on. You might not understand what you feel since you''re slightly young, but I can see the look on your face. You''ve fallen for her, young man."


    "The reason you were willing toe here, the reason you were feeling restless when I talked about leaving today?"


    " The reason you were in a bad mood since morning? You''ve not realized it yet, but you''ve started liking her. And the thought of not being able to see her again was troubling you." Szar patted Lucifer''s shoulder.


    "Nonsense!" Lucifer responded.


    "You don''t have to listen to me. Just ce your hand on your heart and feel your heartbeat. You should get your answer.." Szar smiled as he held Lucifer''s wrist and ced his hand on his chest.

 Chapter 584 - 584: She Tried To

    <h4>Chapter 584 - 584: She Tried To</h4>


    Lucifer''s hand was ced on his chest. He didn''t understand what Szar was trying to show him. However, he didn''t try to understand either.


    His entire focus returned to Amelia, who was stilling down the stairs.


    "Don''t forget to behave properly, alright? Many guests are waiting for you."?Amelia''s mother patted her shoulder. "Huh? Where did everyone go?"


    As she looked down, the first thing she saw was that the entire hall was empty, except for one group.


    She looked to the other side, finding Lucifer standing near the chair. There were two bodies lying on his feet.


    "W-what? What did you do, brat!" She grew enraged as she left her daughter''s hand and started running down the stairs.


    "Me? I did nothing. The groom and his father said they needed to do something at home, so they left. They told me they''ll contact youter." Lucifer shamelessly said, ignoring the bodies under his feet.


    In fact, he even tried to tuck the bodies back with his feet right in front of Amelia''s mother.


    Hun''s father tried to control hisughter at Lucifer''s actions, but he couldn''t stop a smile from gracing his lips.


    Even Szar shook his head, smiling wryly. ''Is he trying to upset his mother-inw?''


    Szar soon noticed the shock on Amelia''s face, seeing everything. She watched her mother attack Lucifer.


    ''Ah, so that''s what he''s trying to do. He wants to see if the girl will go against her mother to save him. Intriguing.'' Szar smiled.


    "You! You killed them!" The red-haired woman was extremely enraged. Her eyes seemed to be filled with mes.


    Her body started burning as mes took over her. Soon, her body disappeared, leaving only a ming phoenix that was smaller in size.


    The Phoenix could control her size since she didn''t want to be too big to be able to fly here.


    Lucifer sat back on the throne, not doing anything. It was as if he was the king of the court, waiting for the greeting from his subjects.


    Hun was upset with Lucifer, but even he couldn''t stop caring about this guy entirely after the friendship that was a first for him. He could also understand why Lucifer lied to him. And subconsciously, he was willing to forgive Lucifer as well.


    Seeing him sit like an idiot before the raging phoenix upset him.


    "Get up, you idiot!" He yelled firmly.


    ''Hmm? Intriguing. Still thinking about my safety?'' Lucifer looked back at Hun, surprised.


    '' He''s certainly an idiot. But he''s a good idiot.'' He sighed.


    Even though Lucifer wasn''t looking at Amelia''s mother, he was still aware of her. He also knew how close she was to him. He was also prepared to protect himself.


    There were many new abilities that he could use now that his lightning was even more powerful. However, he was still waiting for something and not taking any action.


    If he was going to save someone, he needed to make sure that the person could actually be loyal to him. He didn''t want to be a nice idiot for no reason just because of his personal feelings.


    "Mother, stop!" Amelia yelled, seeing her mother about closing in on Lucifer to burn him to cinders.


    She also transformed and flew even faster than her mother to appear before Lucifer and her mother.


    "Step aside! This person came here to sabotage the wedding! He killed the groom and also destroyed your future prospects of your healing!" Amelia''s mother eximed.


    "He did that because of me. I told him that I didn''t want to marry! That must be why he did that! You can''t me him for that!"


    "You told him! Why?! Do you want to die from the poison?"


    "I don''t care about any poison! I am tired of living in fear! If it''s death I''m meant to embrace; then I''ll do so happily! It''s better than living after surrendering my dignity! He did me a favor! You can''t hurt him!" Amelia firmly yelled.


    It was only when Amelia exined that the Snow Wolf n realized why Lucifer was here.


    At first, Hun thought that it was because of their conflict with the groom. But the real reason wasn''t the groom but the bride.


    "Hah, so it''s about young love. It''s surprising how far kids can go for love nowadays," Hun''s second unclemented.


    His words fell in Yui''s ears, who clenched her fist, feeling something iprehensible inside.


    "Sigh, you idiot daughter of mine. You might be able to watch yourself die, but I can''t. That was the only chance for your survival! I can''t believe even that is gone now as well. All because of that kid! No matter what, I won''t leave him!"


    Amelia''s mother seemed determined to kill Lucifer. She didn''t even listen to her daughter as she screeched.


    A massive wave of mes came from her, which tossed Amelia to the side. No matter how strong Amelia was, she was still a kid before her mother, who had lived longer than her.


    She wanted to block the path of her mother and make her understand, but it was impossible for her.


    She uncontrobly flew back before crashing on the ground.


    "Shall I?" Szar asked Lucifer, seeing Amelia fail.


    "No need," Lucifer calmly stated. "I''ll take care of it myself."


    Patting his clothes, Lucifer stood up. Lightning once again intensified, but this time it wasn''t the lightning spears that appeared before Lucifer. Instead, all the ck lightningpressed to make a Sword... A sword that was made purely of lighting.


    "Are you going to kill her?" Szar asked, frowning. "That won''t send a good message."


    Szar knew that Lucifer was slightly naive when it came to feelings. He knew what love and feelings were in definition, but he had forgotten what those things felt like.


    At the moment, Lucifer was a man who had emotions but didn''t know he had them. Szar didn''t want him to kill Amelia''s mother to push Amelia away from her.


    "She wants to kill me.?All those who want to kill me will die," Lucifer calmly said, gripping the sword firmly.


    Amelia''s mother opened her mouth wide, letting another wave of fire towards Lucifer. This time, the mes were even fierce, so much so that they could even burn stone within seconds.


    As Lucifer was holding his sword in his right hand, he raised his left hand. A lightning glove appeared on top of his ck gloves, matching the sword.


    Clenching his left fist, he punched the ground. This time, he also merged some of his strengths behind it.. The solid ground cracked with a vibration that could be felt in the entire city.

 Chapter 585 - 585: Trapped

    <h4>Chapter 585 - 585: Trapped</h4>


    As soon as Lucifer''s fistnded on the ground, something happened which had never happened before. Instead of the lightinging from the sky, the ck lightning came from the ground through the cracks that were developed because of the punch.


    All the powerful lightning formed a lightning wall before Lucifer, which blocked all the mes, not letting even a tiny bit reach him.


    The fierce mes of a High Beast faced the mighty thunder of a Warlock which had evolved from S Grade. It was something that could even defend him against such attacks.


    Lightning was not only more powerful now after the evolution, but it was also more flexible. It wasn''t only something that could be used to attack blindly. It could also provide a defense to him.


    "This..." Standing in the back, even Szar''s jaws dropped open. He had never seen something like this. He was a big fan of Lucifer''s father, but even he hadn''t used an attack simr to this. The son was certainly achieving new milestones.


    He couldn''t help but wonder how far Lucifer could reach. His future prospects are immeasurable with this growth.


    When he first saw Lucifer, he was strong, but he couldn''t defy his time domain. He wasn''t strong enough to defeat Milena alone.


    He wasn''t capable of taking on the Warlock Council. However, in such a short time, he had defeated two leaders of the Warlock Council, including Milena. Not only that, he achieved something even more.


    At first, it was hard to defeat even ordinary Summoned Beasts, but this time, he wasn''t just facing the ordinary beasts. Instead, he was capable of facing High Beasts, especially their leaders.


    After the fire was taken care of, Lucifer didn''t stop. This time, the lightning didn''te from the ground; instead it actually came from the sky.


    Hundreds of lightning bolts fell from the sky in the small area where Amelia''s mother was standing. He was using his wind control to feel the presence of thedy.


    All the lightning bolts dropped in the small area, blocking all the escapes of Amelia''s mother. Even she was stunned at this sheer power.


    This control over lifting was even better than what the Thunder Lions used. She could only be smaller to avoid the bolts as much as she could b


    "That trick won''t work,dy," Lucifer said in an emotionless voice. All the lightning bolts that had fallen stopped in their ce. Some even flew back after falling on the ground, forming a Prison of lightning.


    All the bolts formed a small box that was made from ck lightning. And Amelia''s mother was trapped inside.


    In the small lighting prison, not even the tiniest bit of gap was left.


    Moreover, the prison only kept getting smaller. The lightning wall disappeared as Lucifer started walking towards the lightning prison.


    "The sheer strength..." Hun''s father muttered, frowning. All this while, Lucifer only defeated the High Beasts that hadn''t turned. It was the first time he was seeing Lucifer defeat one fully turned beast, and that too with such ease.


    Lucifer reached the small lightning box, which was only fifty centimeters wide now, shrinking with each passing second.


    Inside the lighting prison, Amelia''s mother was trying her best to free herself. She kept using her mes to destroy the prison, but to no avail.


    Lucifer stood just a meter away from the lightning box as he raised his lightning Sword.


    He brought the sword shing down to cut the lighting prison in half and the woman inside with it.


    Even though it looked like a long time had passed in this battle, but only a few minutes had passed since Amelia''s mother turned. It wasn''t even a minute since she sent her daughter flying out the window.


    The lightning sword came shing down.


    "Lucifer, stop!" Szar yelled abruptly.


    Lucifer stopped just as the sword was a few inches away from the box.


    "What?" Lucifer turned back.


    "Don''t do it."


    "Why not? She tried to kill me? All those who try to kill me will die."


    "I understand what you''re trying to say, but I think she learned the lesson. She won''t try it again. Moreover, weren''t we here to save your friend? Is it really right to kill her mother after we interrupted the wedding in the first ce instead?"


    Szar took a deep breath. "We''ll be leaving this ce soon. Do you want to leave your friend an orphan? I''m not saying that you shouldn''t kill the ones who try to kill you, but don''t kill the mother of that girl. You already punished her enough."


    "Moreover, after we leave, we won''t see. Her again!''


    Szar tried to convince Lucifer.


    "Not leaving her an orphan?" Lucifer muttered, frowning. "Argh, you''re really annoying, you know that?"


    "I know, but sometimes it''s needed. Kill everyone you want, just not her mother. Trust me; you''ll thank me a few yearster for stopping you," Szar responded.


    "Whatever. I''ll listen this once," Luciferzily said. "But if she tries to attack me again, I''m taking her head."


    The small box stopped shrinking. The lightning sword also disappeared.


    Lucifer walked back to the main seat and again sat down. The lightning box also flew behind him, stopping before him.


    It was also when Amelia came flying inside. "Mother, please don''t! Huh? Mother? Where is she?"


    "Aren''t you a bit too soon? You should''vee back after finishing snacks etc.," Szarughed, looking at Amelia. Thatdy actually came after everything was over.


    "Your mother is right here," Luciferzily said, sending the lightning box flying to Amelia. "Teach your mom not to mess with me next time. Who knows, I might not be in the mood to forgive."


    The lightning box stopped before Amelia. The lightning started disappearing, slowly revealing the bird inside, which was tired after trying for so long to escape.


    As prison actually disappeared, the birdnded on the ground, returning to her human form.


    Amelia''s motherid on the ground, breathing heavily. Her body was covered in sweat. She had also heard Lucifer''s conversation with Szar. She knew how close she was to death.


    But mostly, she was shocked at the strength of Lucifer.


    She wasn''t the only one. There was another girl who had been standing in the farthest corner for a long time, watching everything unfold.


    Jenilia hadn''t seen this side of Lucifer before. He was actually no less than the peak tier Warlocks of the Warlock Council. In fact, he was only stronger.


    She wanted to tell the Warlock Council to not offend Lucifer the first opportunity she could get. Because she knew one thing after spending time with Lucifer.. It was that offending this guy was the biggest mistake someone could make.

 Chapter 586 - 586: Why Would Anyone...?

    <h4>Chapter 586 - 586: Why Would Anyone...?</h4>


    "Mother, are you fine?" Amelia went on her knees, watching her mother lie there.


    "I am fine." Her mother sat up, still staring at Lucifer.


    "Who are you exactly?" She asked Lucifer. No ordinary beast could be so strong, especially without turning. In the human form, beasts could use powers but only a tiny fraction of their true power.


    That''s why all High Beasts preferred to change forms when fighting. It was different with Lucifer though. Lucifer fought all this while without turning.


    He wasn''t just strong at her, but he was stronger than her in his human form, which stunned her the most since it implied he was a thousand times stronger than what he showed if he turned. Just what kind of monster was he?


    "Who am I?" Lucifer asked in return. "I already introduced myself when you weren''t here. I am Lucifer Azarel, the Warlock who shall rule everything one day."


    As Lucifer spoke, his voice seemed filled with power, making others feel that he wasn''t just telling what he wanted to do, but he was reading the future of this world instead. The level of confidence was just incredible in his tone.


    "You... I don''t want to get involved with you." Amelia''s mother stood up, forcing her weak body. "Even though I want to kill you, I know it''s impossible with my strength, even if you destroyed my daughter''s life. Please leave."


    "You already destroyed the wedding. Leave us alone now and do whatever you want to do."


    "I think you misunderstand something. I didn''te here for your permission. I came here on my terms, and I''ll leave when I want," Luciferzily stated.


    Even though he hadn''t killed Amelia''s mother, he didn''t have any goodwill left for her in his heart since she attempted to kill him. In fact, he only had contempt for her.


    "Amelia, step forward," hemanded Amelia. "I don''t have much time."


    Amelia stood up. After taking a brief look at her mother, who was saying no, she walked towards Lucifer.


    She stopped before Lucifer. She knew he wasn''t going to hurt her, most probably.


    Standing before him, she bowed slightly. "Thank you for helping me. Because of you, I can live and die in dignity. I''ll always be grateful to you, no matter how long I live."


    "Will you be silent and listen to me first?" Lucifer calmly stated. "I came here to talk to you."


    Amelia nodded.


    "I am leaving soon. And I probably won''t being back. That''s why I wanted to help you before leaving. It''s all because you helped my mother. So don''t overthink why I did it."


    In the back, Szar was struggling to control his smile. ''He really doesn''t understand himself. He''s not lying to Amelia. He''s lying to himself instead.''


    "I didn''t want you to suffer because of the poison you received while saving my mother. Think of it as me settling scores," Lucifer told Amelia.


    "The poison she received while saving your mother? So it''s your family which destroyed the life of my daughter?!'''' Amelia''s mother eximed, hearing the words of Lucifer. "So you''re not a beast but a so-called human?!"


    She continued yelling. "And you think breaking her marriage absolves you of all responsibility? She''ll still be suffering until she dies in a few months, all because you destroyed the wedding!"


    Lucifer''s frown deepened. Lightning again shed in his eyes as a lightning bolt came crashing from the sky,nding just a few inches away from Amelia''s mother.


    "Don''t think I''m joking when I say I''ll kill you. Don''t test your luck," Lucifer grimly dered. "If I hear one more word from you, you''ll find your head in your feet, and that''s the promise of a Warlock!"


    Amelia''s mother looked at the hole in the ground that was made because of the bolt. She started sweating, realizing that she was too weak here. She couldn''t even voice her opinion or anger.


    "Please don''t!" Amelia eximed before looking at her mother. "Mother! Stay silent! If you don''t, I''ll never see you again!"


    Even without Amelia''s insistence, her mother had realized that she needed to remain silent. If she died, her daughter had no one to take care of her.


    "That''s better. Now, where was I?" Lucifer rubbed his chin. "Ah, yeah. Settling scores."


    "I''ve decided to settle scores and heal you. But I need to strengthen my abilities to heal you. And it''ll take time. So I want you to apany me back. That way, I can control your poison from hurting you. And when I get strong enough, I''ll heal your inner poison and send you back. Do you ept?"


    "ept?" Amelia asked. "Coming with you?"


    "Yeah. Coming with me to earth." Lucifer responded. "Think carefully. I won''t force you, but that''s the best option for you. And you won''t have to marry any stranger either. After you''re healed, you cane back."


    "Ah, Lucifer! It''s happening!"Jenilia''s abrupt yell attracted everyone''s attention.


    Lucifer turned around, looking towards Jenilia. She could see a small white circle appear under Gon''s feet which was getting bigger.


    It looked like the Summoner on Earth had started drawing the Summoning Circle.


    "Lucifer, time to leave." Szar also became alert. He started walking towards the summoning circle.


    After reaching the circle, he spread his Time Domain to slow it down even more.


    Lucifer also stood up.


    He curiously looked towards Amelia, raising his hand. "Will youe?"


    It was the first time he was inviting someone to join him... The first time he was raising his hand towards another person, trying to extend his trust.


    Amelia looked down at his hand, which was hidden by ck gloves that were slightly degraded because of time. She didn''t grab his hand though.


    She looked at her mother in the back. The thought of leaving her mother forever? She didn''t like it. She didn''t want to leave her behind.


    Lucifer waited for Amelia to hold his hand for about ten seconds with expectations, but his hand remained empty.


    Amelia didn''t hold his hand. Instead, she turned her back on him and started walking towards her mother instead.


    ''I am sorry, but I can''t leave my home.'' she thought but didn''t have the courage to speak out loud.


    Lucifer''s hand was left where it was, empty as always.


    He looked down at his empty hand, slightly chuckling. "Of course... Why would anyone...?''


    He lowered his hand, clenching his fist tightly. The sky outside was already dark, but it also started raining. Some of the water droplets fell from the broken roof, falling on Lucifer.


    He didn''t look back as he walked towards Szar. Both his fists were clenched, and there were no expressions on his face.. Thunder kept roaring in the sky again and again.

 Chapter 587 - 587: Farewell

    <h4>Chapter 587 - 587: Farewell</h4>


    Amelia stood with her mother, looking towards Lucifer, walking back.


    ''I am sorry... I can''te with you. This is my home. It''s where I''ll live, and it''s where I''ll die... Thank you for everything. And best of luck for your future...''


    Even Szar hadn''t believed that it would go like this. He wondered if he had made a mistake by pushing Lucifer towards Amelia...


    He had thought that it was good if he made Lucifer realize his feelings towards Amelia, but he didn''t know that it could also be a disaster like this. He knew he shouldn''t have been so optimistic.


    Lucifer''s lonely yet powerful back could be seen getting distant from all the High Beasts as he stepped closer to Jenilia in the corner. He stepped inside the portal.


    "You can release the Time Domain. I don''t want to stay here a second longer than I have to," he calmly said to Szar.


    "Ah, right."


    Szar removed the time domain, letting time move at its usual pace.


    Lucifer went down on his knees, watching the formation getting bigger and bigger. He needed to wait until the formation was at its fullest to try what he had tried before.


    His left fist was still clenched. He hadn''t rxed it even now as he watched the formation getting bigger slowly.


    Yui saw Lucifer be rejected by Amelia. She felt really bad seeing him like this.


    She took a step towards Lucifer but realized that someone had held her hand.


    She looked back, realizing that it was her mother.


    Her mother shook her head weakly. "Don''t. Forget him and let him go. It''s good for everyone."


    Yui wanted to go and give Lucifer a big hug and maybe go with him to see this new world since she heard him say that he could send them back. But she was on the edge of the decision.


    After seeing her mother stop her, she also realized that maybe it wasn''t meant to be. He wasn''t even a High Beast after all. They were from two different worlds that could never be together.


    She looked back at Amelia, feeling slightly jealous. At one side was thedy who was given everything. She was openly invited by Lucifer to go with him while he promised to take care of her.


    At the same time, there was her, who did want to go with him, but she wasn''t invited. She couldn''t go either. All she could do was watch a disappointing guest leave and hope to forget him.


    Even Hun was controlling himself from going to Lucifer since he didn''t want to identally be transported and leave his parents behind.


    If he wasn''t concerned about identally being transported, he couldn''t quickly say bye to Lucifer while giving him a hug.


    The formation finally stopped getting bigger after it was two-meter wide in diameter.


    "I''m doing it. Keep holding onto each other. We can''t her send back to different ces," Lucifer reminded that Szar and Amelia as he opened his fist finally.


    He took his right glove and held it in his left hand.


    Szar held Jenilia''s hand. He ced his other hand on Lucifer''s shoulder. It was so he could hold onto all two of them while at the same time to actually give some support to Lucifer at times like this.


    Lucifer took a deep breath before cing his right hand on the ground, decaying the summoning formation. He didn''t even bother to look back this time. He didn''t want to see the face of anyone from this world.


    "Lucifer!"


    Suddenly, he heard a shout which made him actually look back. It was Hun who had called for him.


    Hun was waving his hand. "Have a safe journey home, my friend! And remember, if you evere back again, you can alwayse to our home! You''ll always have a friend in the Snow Wolf n in the form of me!"


    "Safe journey, young man. And best of luck for the future." Hun''s father also bid farewell to Lucifer.


    Lucifer looked nkly at the Snow Wolf n, but he didn''t say anything.


    A blinding light filled the hall as the formation was affected because of the Decay, just like it was the first time.


    As the light stopped, it revealed an empty space. Gon had disappeared. However, he wasn''t alone. Lucifer also disappeared with him, and so did his friend.


    Only Amelia, her mother, and the Snow Wolf n were left behind, along with the body of the Golden Crows and some marks of lightning damage here and there.


    In the end, Lucifer didn''t bother absorbing the Golden Crows as he didn''t care at the moment.


    He was gone from the World of Summons. It was unclear if he was ever going to return, but it didn''t look like he would want to return even if he had a chance.


    Yui freed her hand from her mother and walked straight towards Amelia, who was standing with her mother.


    Throughout this time, Amelia was looking at Lucifer, disappointed that he didn''t even look at her once before leaving. She wondered if she really hurt him.


    Yui stopped before Amelia. She took a deep breath, looking deep into the eyes of Amelia. "I don''t care what you do in your personal life. And it didn''t concern me at all. But I just wanted to say one thing."


    "What?" Amelia asked Yui.


    "You made a really big mistake by not going with him. And I hope you won''t ever regret it." She sighed before she walked back to her family.


    The Snow Wolf n left, leaving only Amelia and her mother behind. The marriage was over; Lucifer was gone. That wasn''t all. Before leaving, Lucifer had changed the world of Summons forever.


    The dynamics of this city were different now. The Thunder Lions were gone. The Golden Rhinos were defensive. The Phoenixes were weak. That only left the Snow Wolf n to indirectly be the kings of the city.


    ...


    In an unknown part of the World of Summons, there existed a dark pce.


    Inside the Dark Pce, there existed a throne. A dark figure was sitting on the throne. There were two bodies lying under the feet of the dark figure that were severely damaged.


    "Did you manage to find out who dared to leave those parasites inside them to control them? Who was trying to defy the natural order of things?" The dark figure asked in a heavy voice.


    Of the two bodies which were ced before him, one belonged to a cat while the other belonged to a Dragon.


    "We did manage to find some things. And I think you''re going to find it very interesting.." Another calm voice filled the room before everything went silent.

 Chapter 588 - 588: Flaws

    <h4>Chapter 588 - 588: ws</h4>


    "Today, I will be the one winning! Mark my words, Aaron!" A mighty voice said.


    A burst of mockingughter came in response. "Hahaha, Gwan, you naive kid. First, manage to bring out your pet sessfully. It''s been so long, and it''s not here yet. Be happy that I haven''t attacked you yet."


    It was a closed room. There were metallic walls all around them.


    The floor was lit in a greenish light. Two men stood on opposite sides of each other.


    A white-haired man stood on one end dressed in all white who was addressed as Aaron previously. There were some cool-looking sses on his face. He also wore two white gloves, which had multiple sensors. They were monitoring his body conditions and other factors.


    The young man looked to be in his early twenties. He was looking at another man before him with a mocking gaze.


    A dark-haired young man stood before him, frowning. He was dressed in simr attire as other man, with the same gloves and simr clothes that looked futuristic to some extent. He also had the same sses as the other guy.


    The only thing different was that there was a summoning circle before him that he had finished drawing, but the circle wasn''t shining.


    Gwan couldn''t understand why his summoning circle wasn''t working.


    He raised his right hand and made some strange symbols on the gloves. A holographic image came from the gloves, revealing a woman.


    The hologram belonged to a youngdy in her mid-thirties.


    "What?" Thedy asked.


    "Joana, Analyse the summoning formation that I drew and tell me why it''s not working. What ws are in it? As far as I''m concerned, there should be none," Gwanmanded.


    The holographic woman that he was talking to wasn''t actually a woman. It was an AI that was created. It was installed in all these gloves, which could be used ordingly to analyze problems.


    That wasn''t all. The green light that was on the floor was also analyzing everything in this ce.


    The AI looked down at the formation and started analyzing it.


    "Heh, what a crappy summoner. Can''t even draw a formation properly. Man, you''d be so toast if you were ever in a real war. You''ll keep waiting for the summoning circle to work while the enemy will take off your head," Aaron chuckled.


    "Can you keep your mouth shut for a minute? Just let me understand what''s happening. As soon as I get the formation working, then I''ll show you how superior we Summoners are! There''s a reason I managed to get this far after all," Gwan proudly stated.


    "Reason? Hah, we all know the reason. Don''t make me speak that out loud since we''re being recorded here." Aaron rolled his eyes. "Just surrender and leave. You already wasted so much of my time."


    "Scanningplete. Computing results..." The woman finished her task and looked back at Gwan.


    "Results Computed. There are no major ws in the formation. ording to the database, it''s a good formation."


    "That doesn''t make sense. Why isn''t it working then?" Gwan''s frown deepened as he looked back at the empty formation.


    Swiss~


    The formation abruptly started shining.


    "Finally, it works. It''s still strange, though. Why did it work sote this time?" Gwan muttered.


    Something else happened, which was strange. Generally, when he summoned his beast, it came like normal. There were no blinding lights. However, this time, a blinding white sh came suddenly, forcing Gwan and Aaron to close their eyes.


    After the light disappeared, they all opened their eyes slowly.


    "What? Who are you?" Gwan eximed, seeing three humans in the room with them suddenly.


    Gon also stood in the middle of them.


    Lucifer calmly raided his gaze and stared at the man who had spoken. Since he still wasn''t in a good mood, he didn''t respond.


    Instead, he looked around, observing the room.


    His eyes fell on Aaron in the back.


    The room was fully closed. There appeared to be no door either.


    Also, since Gon was in this world, his memories of the world of Summons were blocked. He couldn''t remember Lucifer and others. He simply walked over to Gwan.


    "Where is the way out?" Lucifer asked the young man.


    "First, you answer! How did you get in! Do you know we''re in the middle of an important examination? What the heck are you doing interfering!" Gwan asked.


    Already in a bad mood, Lucifer felt slight bloodlust after being scolded.


    Without thinking twice, he raised his right hand and grasped the neck of Gwan.


    "I asked you a question!" he spoke in a devil-like tone, raising Gwan in the air.


    "Hey! What the heck are you doing!" Aaron ran towards Lucifer. Even though he and Gwan weren''t friends, they were still in the same school.


    Aaron misunderstood Lucifer to be from another school who hade here to interfere with their examination. Why else would he try to hurt Gwan? He ran towards Lucifer to save Gwan.


    Not only him, but even Gon couldn''t see his summoner being attacked. Since he didn''t remember Lucifer, he also attacked.


    Gon ran towards Lucifer.


    Lucifer shifted his attention to Gon, who had thrust his body towards Lucifer.


    He raised his right foot, smacking it on the ground. The perfect floor cracked with a crater in the middle.


    Gon jumped high towards Lucifer, only to get in his range.


    Bang~


    Lucifer spun his body around, kicking Gon.


    Boom~


    Gon flew back like a lifeless doll, crashing on the wall in the back, instantly losing consciousness. A formation Circle appeared under him, and he disappeared, going back to the world of Summons.


    Aaron was still the problem. After dealing with Gon, Lucifer looked back at Aaron.


    He wasn''t alone though. Szar was also feeling slightly regretful about his conduct in the world of summon when it came to Amelia and Lucifer. Now that he was here, he wanted to help Lucifer instead by standing beside him.


    That was also why he jumped into the mix.


    "Not so fast, young man." Szar spread his Time Domain as he stepped in the middle while bringing out his Sword.


    Aaron was surprised at the speed of Szar, not realizing that it was him who was slow. Before he knew it, Szar was standing right in front of him. The tip of his sword was resting on Aaron''s neck.


    "Young man, take one more step, and you''ll experience first hand the sharpness of my sword," Szar calmly stated.


    "W-who are you all?" Aaron asked.


    "We''ll be the ones asking questions instead," Szar replied, smirking.

 Chapter 589 - 589: Call Your Teacher

    <h4>Chapter 589 - 589: Call Your Teacher</h4>


    "What is this ce?" Lucifer asked the man before him. "Where are we?"


    "Y-you don''t know? You entered this ce. Are you seriously trying to say you don''t know where you are?" Gwan asked, frowning.


    Lucifer tightened his grip. "I don''t like waiting for answers."


    "You... Fine! You''re in Antis, inside the Royal Northern Academy examination grounds!" Gwan responded.


    "Antis?" Lucifer asked, frowning. "So that was the name of a ce?"


    "Why are you talking like that? You don''t even know Antis? Where exactly are you from?"


    "Are we in Continent of Triton?" Lucifer asked. "How do we get out of Antis? And in which direction is Triton?"


    "Triton? I heard that name before. It''s a continent onnd. So you''re from Triton. How did you get here?" Gwan asked. "The way you talk, I think you might actually be here because of an ident. I can take you to our teacher. She would be able to help you?"


    "That is right. If it were actually an ident, our teacher would be able to help you out. Let us take you to them. In fact, the incharge of the examination is his father. He can also get you an audience with him!" Aaron agreed.


    Since these people weren''t here to harm them, he also eased up. He added.?"But first, you''ll have to free him."


    "Something doesn''t make sense. If this is an exam hall, why isn''t there an exit? No doors here. How do you leave? And what kind of exam is it? Who is overseeing it? And if someone is actually overseeing it, why aren''t they here yet?" Szar asked.


    "It''s an automated exam. The AI will observe our battle and grade us ordingly," Gwan replied.


    "AI?" Szar muttered. "You mean artificial intelligence?"


    "Yeah." Aaron touched his gloves, calling the samedy''s hologram as before. "Introduce yourself to the guests."


    The hologramdy looked at Szar. "Greetings. I am Ai, you can call me by any name you prefer. I am the guardian, guide, and observer of the students here."


    She didn''t stop there. "After scanning you, it appears that you aren''t calm. Your heartbeat is slightly faster than ordinary. Should I arrange a medical room for you?"


    "Hmm? You could even see that?" Szar asked, surprised.


    This was always the case with him. When he slowed down time or used his ability, his heartbeat grew fast. It wasn''t something new. It wasn''t harmful to him either. Still, he was surprised to see thedy notice him.


    Ai turned to Lucifer and observed him as well. "After scanning you, it seems that you are angry and sad. Should I y calming music for you?"


    "A holographic AI that can scan us? Automated examination hall? This ce... Just what is it?" Szar muttered, rubbing his chin. "Looks pretty advanced."


    "Call your teacher here," Lucifermanded the youngster in his grasp. "Since this is such an advanced ce, I don''t think it''ll be hard for you to bring her here."


    "Can you put me down first? I''m having trouble breathing."


    "Not before you bring your teacher here and lead me out of this ce," Lucifer responded.


    "So you''re taking me hostage?" Gwan asked.


    "You can think of it that way," Luciferzily stated.


    "You have ten minutes to call your teacher here. If she doesn''te, I''ll twist your neck and leave this ce myself. So avoid all the damage and invite her here."


    "I''ll call her here!" Gwan didn''t resist for long. For him, Lucifer looked like a crazy person. Moreover, he was a Summoner. He couldn''t hurt Lucifer without calling his beast.


    On the contrary, Aaron was a warrior, but he was stopped by Szar. Moreover, there was anotherdy here on the side of enemies. He knew they weren''t safe here. He decided to listen. Furthermore, he had faith that after his teacher got here, she could help them more.


    Unlike them, the teacher was stronger and more capable.


    "Good kid. Don''t tell her about us. We want her toe alone." Szar chimed in.


    "That won''t be possible. Everything that happens in this room is being recorded. As soon as I contact her, she''ll check the footage of this room. It can''t be kept a secret," Gwan responded.


    Lucifer let out a mouthful of breath, shaking his head. "Whatever, just get her here! I don''t care anymore."


    Moreover, he actually freed the boy this time, getting tired of holding him. The boy wasn''t entirely free, though.


    Some Lightning bolts came around him, trapping him in the prison of ck lightning. Unlike the prison of the Phoenix, this prison did have some openings so Lucifer could see Gwan and talk to him.


    In any case, he was sure that Gwan couldn''t be smaller to escape.


    He turned to look at Aaron, who was standing at the edge of Szar''s swords. Some Lightning bolts also appeared around him, trapping him in a simr prison.


    Szar also lowered his Sword.


    Aaron observed the prison, frowning. He wasn''t sure how strong Prison was, but he didn''t try to break it. Even though he could break it, he still had to face these two men. It was better to wait for their teachers to get here. They could teach with them alone.


    Gwan called Ai through his gloves. "Ai, contact teacher."


    "Establishing Contact. Contact rejected. Your teacher is in an important meeting with the other teachers."


    "Ai, inform the teacher that it''s something really important! Tell her to contact me fast!" Gwanmanded.


    "Sending a message..."


    "Message sent sessfully."


    ...


    Inside the massive academy that covered a long area, there existed a meeting room. Inside the meeting room, all the teachers were sitting, talking about the uing examinations.


    Amongst the twenty teachers, there was onedy who was sitting on the left side.


    She was also dressed in white. There were two white gloves in her hand. One of them was vibrating intentionally as someone was calling her.


    She tapped the glove twice, rejecting the call. The gloves, however, vibrated once again, but this time it also revealed a message on its surface.


    Thedy looked down, reading the message on some gloves.


    "Jane, am I boring you?" A middle-aged man asked, observing thedy looking down.


    "Ah, N-not at all. I just got a message from a student. There seems to be a problem. I need to excuse myself for a bit. I am really sorry." The violet-haireddy responded.


    "It''s alright. We''re almost done with the important matters anyway." The white-haired man in the main chair answered. "You can leave."


    "Thank you, sir." Thedy stood up and left the room.


    After leaving the room, she tapped the glove.. "Ai, contact Gwan."

 Chapter 590 - 590: Offending

    <h4>Chapter 590 - 590: Offending</h4>


    "What happened? Did you contact her?" Lucifer asked Gwan.


    Gwan answered. "Yeah. She is in a meeting. I left her a message. She would probably contact me soon."


    Just as he finished answering, his gloves started vibrating.


    "Here ites."


    A holographic image came out from the gloves, revealing to be anotherdy.


    "Greetings, teacher!" Gwan respectfully stated.


    "What happened? I was in an important meeting. This better be urgent!" Jane firmly stated. "And what are these ck bar-like things around you?"


    "Ah, teacher, that''s a long story. But trust me. It''s really urgent. I wouldn''t have disturbed you if I wasn''t in a mess. I need you toe to the examination hall no. 17 and save me!"


    "Save you?" Jane frowned. "I''ll be there right away. But I promise you, if it''s a prank, you''ll regret it. Even your father won''t be able to help you!"


    Jane disconnected the contact.


    ...


    After she disconnected her connection, she tapped her other glove. "Aia, show me the live scenes from Examination Hall 17!"


    The academy generally used two AIs. One was known as Ai, who was used by everyone, mainly for calling others and other student rted overwatch.


    On the contrary, Aia was one that could only be used by teachers for administrative purposes.


    Aia started showing the footage from the room, showing how there were five people in the room, with two of them being inside the prisons.


    "This... Who are these three?" She frowned, looking at Lucifer.


    "Aia, identify the three foreigners in the room. Who are they?" She asked as she hastily walked towards the end of the hallway.


    "Unable to identify. No record in the database," Aia replied.


    "No record? That''s strange. Almost everyone in Antis is included in the Database. They''re not in the database? Show me how they came inside the examination hall!"?Janemanded before stopping in front of a ck ss door.


    The door opened on its own, revealing a small room with strange markings all around. She stepped inside the room. The door closed.


    All the symbols inside the room started shining brightly.


    In the meantime, the gloves started showing all the footage of thest ten minutes.


    "They came with the summoning portal? How is that possible? They''re not beasts. Gwan summoned humans?" Jane eximed in surprise, seeing the footage.


    She also heard Lucifer''s conversation with Gwan. She was able to understand a few things.


    "So that''s what it was. These people are from Triton. For some reason, the summoning circle malfunctioned and summoned not only the beast of Gwan but also three people from Triton."


    "Since they were summoned so suddenly, no wonder they were surprised and went on the offensive. Sigh, such a mess."


    She pressed one of the shining symbols, sighing.


    The small room was filled with a bright light which disappeared soon. However, thedy was not inside the room now. She had disappeared with the light.


    ...


    Lucifer was standing with his back resting against the wall inside the room, waiting for the teacher to arrive. At the same time, he also wondered where she was going toe from. There appeared to be no entry or exit into the room.


    A strange formation appeared on the ground in the southern part of the examination hall. A woman also appeared out of thin air from that ce.


    "I am here. Shall we start talking now?" Jane observed Lucifer and asked.


    From what he saw in the footage, Lucifer was the leader.


    Lucifer observed thedy in return. "You are their teacher?"


    "That would be me. And it looks like you''re from Triton; who identally ended up here? I can understand why you''re so confused, but that doesn''t give you the right to imprison my students. Release them, and we can talk," the woman said.


    "Release? Not before I get my answers. After I''m done, I''ll free them."


    "Generally, I would''ve loved to talk to you in peace to understand what went wrong, but seeing your attitude, I don''t think I''ll be doing that anymore. We''ll talk on my terms since you''re the guest here. Not the other way around," the woman said calmly.


    "Aia, Send the students out." Shemanded.


    Just as she finished speaking, two formations appeared under the feet of the two students.


    Within seconds, both the students disappeared.


    "Now, do you regret not freeing them when I asked?"


    "Regret?" Lucifer asked, smiling. "I don''t regret a single thing. And I won''t ever regret either. And as far as the students are concerned, that doesn''t matter. That was just my attempt to be civil. But since you''re so intent on respect, then let me show you more."


    Lucifer didn''t tone down his arrogance, instead only increasing it more. He felt like thedy was challenging him while talking to him like he was a kid.


    "Then so be it. Stay here and rot. Tell me when you get your attitude in control. I''ll be back to talk." Jane also disappeared, leaving only the three guests in the room with no way out since Lucifer couldn''t use the Teleportation technology that was applied in this academy.


    "Ah, I think we should talk nicely. We''re in their domain. We shouldn''t offend them," Jenilia suggested, smiling wryly.


    "Offend them?" Lucifer muttered. "They haven''t seen offending at all so far. They''ll see now."


    In his anger, Lucifer wasn''t patient. He hadn''t been since he came back, and Szar knew why. But he also knew that Lucifer was probably not a force to be reckoned with. No matter if it was Antis or Warlock Council.


    Antis was underestimating him a lot. However, it was also true that they didn''t know Antis either.


    Outside the examination hall, Jane was observing Lucifer. She had a mocking grin on her face. "I was nice to them, but they just had to be arrogant. It serves them well. I won''t let them out until they beg me on their knees!"


    "Huh? What''s he doing?" Her smile suddenly disappeared as she saw lightning flicker around Lucifer. His eyes also turned slightly whitish.


    Boom!


    Jane heard a roaring sound. She didn''t know where it came from. The entire academy was soundproof. So such a loud sound was off. However, she soon received her answer as hundreds of lightning bolts fell from the sky.


    A couple of them fell near Lucifer''s feet, leaving a hole in the room. But they weren''t all. There were more lightning bolts that fell all around the academy, destroying many structures. Lucifer wasn''t subtle at all.


    After an opening was created on the roof, he started flying with Jenilia and Szar.

 Chapter 591 - 591: Theyll Tell Us

    <h4>Chapter 591 - 591: They''ll Tell Us</h4>


    "This... Did he just...?" Jane''s lips opened slightly as she saw what had happened. "But that room waspletely reinforced. How easily did it break? Is that even possible?"


    Even though she was surprised at the abilities showcased by Lucifer, she knew that she couldn''t be dyed.


    She had to inform the others urgently as she knew that all the responsibility would fall on her shoulders since she was the one who left them inside without taking any precautions.


    "Aia, ring the rm! Inform all the guards and teachers that there''s an intruder who attacked the Academy, and he''s escaping! Also, keep an eye on those three! I want their exact location every second."


    At the same time, she also started running in a certain direction in haste. Gwan and Aaron were brought out of the room by Jane. She had already told them to leave the ce as exams were dismissed before Lucifer''s attempted escape.


    In fact, the two of them were already halfway gone when they heard the sirens everywhere.


    "Warning! An intruder has entered the academy! All students are told to stay inside their rooms and not go out unless needed! The ones who ignore the orders will be expelled!"


    The same warning echoed everywhere, surprising most of the unaware students that didn''t understand what was happening.


    It was the first time in the existence of this academy when an announcement like this happened.


    Only two people had any idea about it. However, even they were surprised. Thest they had seen, the intruders were inside the examination hall, trapped by their teachers. There was no way for them to escape. So why this rm? Could it be that those two weren''t alone? There were more intruders?


    Without thinking much, they made haste and ran back to their safe ces to stay safe.


    ...


    In the meantime, Jane had informed all the teachers about what had happened. All the attacks that happened all around the academy were the work of a single person? This was what came as a surprise for most of the teachers.


    A single person was able to inflict so much damage to their restricted structure? Moreover, that person was from Triton?


    "Intriguing. Triton isn''t as weak as we thought, it seems." The Dean stood up. "I''m giving you all the permission. Find those intruders and execute them at sight."


    ...


    As a straight opening was made in the roof of the examination hall, Lucifer flew up, only to realize that there was another room on top. And on top of that, there was another room.


    The examination hall was underground, and there were four more floors on top. However, one bolt of his was able to make an opening in all of them.


    After a short flight, he came out of the academy.


    "What... Is this ce...?" As soon as Lucifer stepped out, he stopped mid-air.


    Even Szar looked around, stunned. "It looks like we are underwater?"


    There was literally no sky here. As they looked up, they could only find a spherical dome which seemed to be going as far as the eye could see. It was as if the whole ce was covered by an upside down ss bowl, and the end didn''t seem in sight.


    Moreover, that wasn''t surprising. What was actually surprising was that only water could be seen outside the dome. It was as if they were in a city which was surviving inside the sea.


    Normally, there weren''t any clouds either. It was only after Lucifer utilized his ability that some clouds appeared under the ss, which had helped him.


    Moreover, since they were underwater at an unknown ce, there was no sun at sight. All the light that came down wasing through massive lights that were ced on the ss dome at the top.


    Above them was the ss, while under them was the Academy which was damaged extensively.


    The academy wasn''t small either. It was even bigger than the Academy that Lucifer went to by another ten times.


    There was nothing much around the Academy. It was as if the Academy was made in an isted ce, far away from the main city, so students could receive some privacy.


    "Which direction?" Szar asked Lucifer. They had to select a direction if they wanted to leave and get to the city.


    "Directions? They''ll tell us the directions themselves..." Lucifer dered, folding his arms and waiting.


    It was an Academy that knew about Triton. And from the way they talked, it was evident that this wasn''t Triton.


    They didn''t just select a random direction and hope to find a way back home. Even the students at the academy weren''t very knowledgeable about Triton. The chances of random citizens knowing the way back home were even less.


    The ones who could certainly answer them were the teachers of this academy. And Lucifer wasn''t in a mood to waste time elsewhere.


    Szar understood what Lucifer was implying, but Jenilia was still thinking that Lucifer was being impulsive.


    However, she also knew that no one was going to listen to her. If it was in her control, she wouldn''t have attempted an escape and would have apologized. However, she wasn''t in control. Her life was in the hands of Lucifer. She could either die with them or survive.


    She released a mouthful of breath before shaking her head.


    "If that''s the path we walk, then so be it. I''m also joining." She cracked her knuckles.


    "You sure? I thought you stand back in this too?" Szar asked, smiling.


    He had noticed how Jenilia never participated in battles. She was just an intern in the Warlock Council, after all. She wasn''t anywhere close to as strong as them.


    "Nope. If we''re dying anyway, I might as well die fighting."


    "Well, aren''t you optimistic about our chances?" Szar smiled wryly.


    "We don''t need your help. Just stand back like always. You''ll only be a distraction," Lucifer calmly stated without even looking back.


    He could see a group of peopleing out of the academy, standing on what appears to be a surfboard. However, those boards were flying for some reason. With the help of those surfboards, all the teachers from the academy approached Lucifer high in the sky.


    "You''re still here. We thought we would have to find and chase you. Did you already give up?" One of the teachers asked.


    "Hahaha, of course, he did." Another teacher startedughing. "This Triton rat must have thought he could escape, only to be shocked by the revtion that he''s inside water. We can''t me the kid.. Let''s just get it done with."

 Chapter 592 - 592: Hit

    <h4>Chapter 592 - 592: Hit</h4>


    "Another batch of arrogant brats." Szar smiled wryly. "I suppose this is going to be fun."


    "Did you just call us a brat?" A furious teacher red at Szar.


    "Enough nonsense." Lucifer finally opened his lips, attracting everyone''s attention, especially of Jane, who knew his capacity.


    "There are twenty of you. So plenty of you to give me answers. All I need is two answers. And I''ll leave without harming any of you," Lucifer calmly stated. "But if you don''t answer me, neen of you will not be alive to answer me."


    "I just want the location of Triton and information on how to get there. Not asking for any treasure, so you should be able to answer."


    "Heh, maybe before we could have, but not anymore. After the damage you did to the academy, you are a criminal of Antis. And we can''t let a criminal leave so easily. Moreover, we already have our orders on how to deal with you," a dark-haired teacher proudly stated.


    "And what are those orders, if I may ask?" Lucifer asked. The corners of his lips curled into a smirk. He already had his answers that these people weren''t going to answer easily.


    He had enough of being nice. It was told for them to see the other side of him. He took off his gloves.


    The dark-haired teacher smiled. "That is to exterminate you! And that shall be what happens."


    He started flying towards Lucifer with the help of the skateboard.


    "Aia, established the restriction field around the criminals," Another teachermanded.


    A bright beam came out from one of the buildings downstairs.


    The beam didn''t attack Lucifer though. Instead, it carved a semi transparent box around all of them.


    It was an energy field box that amplified the teachers by increasing their speed. At the same time, the so-called prisoners were restricted by a force that restricted them from even moving.


    The bunt of the effect was taken by Jenilia, who couldn''t even move her hand anymore. She was just like a statue that couldn''t move.


    It was the same for Szar. He could move a bit, but because of the restriction, his movements were extremely slow.


    ''Just what is this ce? So far, I haven''t seen them use any Warlock Abilities. Just these machines and the so-called Aia. Are these even Variants or humans? This Antis... What is it?'' he thought.


    Instead of staying at the mercy of the others, he also used his Time Domain.


    The energy field had slowed down Szar and the Time Domain slowed down the teachers, bringing them all on an equal footing.


    However, Jenilia was still worse off. She was already affected by the energy field, but now, she also had to take the brunt of the Time Domain.


    On the contrary, Lucifer stoodpletely calm, even though he hadn''t moved at all either.


    The Dark Haired man reached Lucifer. Seeing the unmoving Lucifer, he was sure that Lucifer couldn''t move.


    "It''s too easy." Heughed as he raised his hand.


    "Aia, give me my sword."


    As soon as he finished themand, a sharp silver sword appeared in his hand.


    He swung the sword towards Lucifer, trying to take off his neck.


    As the sword reached Lucifer, he raised his gaze, looking deep into the eyes of the dark haired teacher.


    "Is that it?" he asked calmly, raising his hand to grab the de of the sword with his thumb and index finger.


    "What? You can move?" The dark haired man was stunned to see Lucifer move abruptly, unaware that this energy field was already negated on Lucifer because of his Energy Negation.


    As Lucifer had grabbed the de, it started decaying as well, until there was nothing left of it.


    "T-this..."


    The man tried flying back; however, he couldn''t do that either as his throat was grabbed by Lucifer. Only the flying surfboard flew back, leaving the man in Lucifer''s grasp.


    "I told you only one will be left. There goes first..." Lucifer calmly stated before he crushed the throat of the man.


    However, at the same time, he also used his lightning bolts, not giving the others any chance either.


    Eighteen lightning bolts came crashing from the sky.


    The teachers saw the ck bolts. They had already heard about the strength of these bolts. These had destroyed the reinforced walls of the academy. They could only imagine what it could do to their skin if it fell on them.


    Most of them moved aside, dodging the bolts. They didn''t realize that the bolts could also return. After the bolts missed them and went down, they came flying back up.


    This time, they prated the surfboard before impaling the bodies of all eighteen teachers at once, giving them no chance to even breathe.


    The eighteen teachers fell down with the damaged surfboards, falling t on the ground.


    Within a minute, Lucifer made his statement be the truth. Only one teacher was left, and that teacher was Jane herself.


    She was the one who started it all in the first ce, and now she was the one who was left.


    "So, can I expect my answer now?" Lucifer asked, ncing at Janezily.


    "I..."


    "Three seconds..." Lucifer calmly dered as he saw Jane hesitate.


    Three lightning Spears appeared around Jane, waiting to take her out.


    "Two seconds..."


    The Spears flew even closer to Jane.


    At the same time, another bolt took out the energy restriction field by destroying the ce where that beam wasing from.


    "Come on, girl. Answer us. Why are you making it moreplicated than it has to be? Let us leave! All we want is to go home!" Szar eximed, sighing. He didn''t understand why no one wanted to answer them. These people were just so stubborn.


    "Aia! Teleport me back!" Jane hastily said.


    The three Spears flew towards her as soon as she spoke, to kill her, but she had already disappeared. There was nothing but empty air left behind.


    Lucifer clenched his fist in frustration. "If that''s how they want to y, then so be it!"


    The dark clouds covered the entire academy


    He shifted his focus to the academy. This time, not one, not hundred, but thousands of lightning bolts appeared in the sky, right above the academy.


    ....


    "Sir! They''re all dead! That man is a beast! He is too powerful. We can''t stop him! A weak academy like ours can''t do anything! We need to contact the city and ask for help!"


    Jane appeared inside the room of the Dean, informing him about the oue of the battles if she could even call it that.

 Chapter 593 - 593: The Coffin

    <h4>Chapter 593 - 593: The Coffin</h4>


    "You''re right, it seems. Our academy is already the weakest in the precinct. I thought we could at least take care of the Triton rat, but maybe I overestimated us. I''ll contact the cit-"


    Boom~


    Before the old man could even finish his sentence, a bolt came breaking the roof, crashing right on his head, killing him on the spot.


    His burnt body dropped to the ground.


    Even Lucifer hadn''t known that one of his thousands of bolts could actually fall so urately on a target he didn''t even know about. His luck worked out as he took out the leader of this academy without even realizing it.


    "Dean!" Jane ran to the deal, realizing that it was toote already.


    The Dean was also taken out. In the entire academy, she was the only person left in authority. All the teachers were Dead, including the Dean.


    Another lightning bolt came crashing in the same room, falling mere inches away from Jane.


    Jane looked at the hole on the ground as the bolt didn''t stop on this floor and kept going down.


    She held her head as she started walking back and forth. "What should I do now! Only Dean had the authority to contact the city! Without that, we''re like sitting ducks. God, we just had to offend this demon?! How is the Triton Variant so strong!"


    "We thought Variants were weak! Heck, what am I even thinking! Of course, Variants are weak! Before the advancement of Antis Royals, Variants are nothing!"


    "We humans can take them out easily! It''s not that they''re stronger than Antis! It''s just that they''re stronger than us!"


    "Ah, what should I do? Try to run? But all the students will be in danger. Stay back? I''ll be killed. And if I answer him, he''ll kill me even then to not leave any evidence behind! I''m stuck between a rock and a hard ce!"


    "If only I were a teacher in the Academies at the Capital! I wouldn''t be in this mess! I just had to be a part of this third-grade academy where defense can''t even stop this measly Variant?"


    Even though the AC in the room was still running, her forehead was covered in sweat. She couldn''t understand how to deal with the situation safely.


    She wasn''t alone though. The entire academy was under attack. rms were beeping as the Power supplies were also taken out. The academy shifted to the backup power to keep itself running.


    The Barrier that had appeared around the academy was also shattered, unable to offer even a shred of resistance.


    Lucifer stood in mid-air, looking down at the academy like a god. He wasn''t going to ask any more questions. He had already asked many times! Now he was going to leave it to them to answer on their own.


    Explosions took ce left and right. There was no structure that was left intact in the academy. The bolts weren''t just falling in the academy. Some were falling around them in random ces as well.


    Lucifer had no target at the moment. He stopped controlling the bolts and let them choose their targets on their own.


    However, he hadn''t realized something. He hadn''t realized that one such bolt was going to change his destiny forever...


    Tens of stray bolts had fallen around the academy on barren ground. Amongst the thousands of bolts, no one cared for these tens of bolts.


    However, one such stray bolt had just left the clouds... Falling ten kilometers away from the academy.


    The bolt prated the ground, leaving a hole in it. However, unlike the other unremarkable ces, this ce was different.


    As the bolt left a hole in its wake, it was revealed that there was a room underground.


    Inside the room, there was a coffin lying in the middle. The bolt had exactly fallen in the center of that coffin, disappearing in the end.


    Seconds turned to minutes, and nothing happened. The coffin remained in its original position, however after the sixth minute passed, something changed.


    A pale yellow wave of energy came from the coffin, looking very destructive in nature.


    It kept destroying everything in its path. The ground blew apart. Grass disintegration and stones were crushed.


    The energy wave was so fast that before Lucifer could even realize what was happening, the energy wave hit him and the others. It took only a second to travel close to ten kilometers to hit the group.


    Lucifer''s entire focus was on the academy, making the effect of this energy wave even worse.


    His body flew uncontrobly, shooting towards the distance. The same thing happened with Szar and Jenilia, who were more hurt instead.


    Szar slowed down the time for him to protect himself as much as he could, including his own fall. He managed to slow down the damage.


    Moreover, his Cardigan Particle overcoat also decreases the damage to some extent, keeping him alive. Despite that, his back was mostly burnt. At least he survived though.


    On the contrary, Jenilia was much worse again.?She neither had the protection of the Cardigan Particles nor an idea on how to protect herself in this situation since it was so sudden.


    She could only watch the energy wave pass through her eyes, destroying most of her body. She started falling.


    Lucifer gained his senses after flying uncontrobly. He gathered his momentum and turned back, watching Szar fall. Jenilia was also falling, but half her body was already destroyed. Her lifeless eyes were closed as well.


    "Argh!"


    He raised his left hand, casting a barrier before him. At the same time, he used his winds to stabilize Szar and Jenilia in the air. The fall was even more damaging from that height after all.


    In the meantime, the Energy Wave also reached the academy, destroying it even more than it was already destroyed.


    The front half of the academypletely disappeared before the energy wave actually disappeared.


    Half the academy and most of the students were killed because of the Energy Wave, as their quarters were in the front half of the academy. The Academic Block was in the back.


    And at the end of the academy was the room of the Dean where Jane was standing.


    She was looking at all the devastating scenes of destruction.


    "Such a monster! He doesn''t even care about where he is! He actually killed all the innocent students as well! Antis will never forgive Triton!" Jane crushed, clenching her fist.


    She didn''t know that it wasn''t the work of Lucifer at all.


    Lucifer flew back towards Szar. "Are you alright?"


    "Argh, I think I''ll survive," Szar responded, not showing the immense pain he was under. "On the other hand, she...."

 Chapter 594 - 594: Damage

    <h4>Chapter 594 - 594: Damage</h4>


    Lucifer checked Jenilia. "She is dead."


    He looked in the direction where the explosion came from. There was a massive crater on the ground that was visible from where he was. He noticed a ck coffin in the crater.


    All the signs were pointing towards the coffin being the source of destruction. Lucifer flew towards the coffin. Other than that, there was no damage.


    "That coffin... That''s where it came from." Szar also looked at the coffin.


    "I want to check the coffin. Are you sure you don''t need medical attention?" Lucifer asked Szar.


    Szar smiled. "I told you. I am fi..."


    Before he could finish his sentence, his eyes also closed as his head lowered.


    Lucifer checked Szar in haste.


    "Still alive. That''s good," he muttered, sighing. He looked back at the coffin but shook his head. He needed to do something to protect Szar first. It was in the middle of nowhere. He was sure the coffin wasn''t going anywhere.


    Despite all that, he cast some lightning bolts around the coffin, trapping it in a lightning prison as well.


    "Now, let''s get you some help."


    He flew towards the Academy.


    "Whoever is in charge,e out of the Academy! This is yourst warning! If you don''te out, I''ll destroy what''s left of this academy as well!"


    Stopping right above the Academy, Lucifer used Supersonic Voice to get his message far and wide.


    "You already know I don''t talk nonsense! Come out and do as I said. And you''ll all be left alive! Stay hidden, and I''ll burn this ce to the ground!"


    ....


    Jane was sitting on the chair, holding her head. She was still thinking if she had any option.


    Hearing his second threat, he couldn''t stay silent anymore. In the first attack, he had taken out the first half of the academy. In the second attack, he could take out what was left of it, including her life!


    She knew she couldn''t hide anymore.


    Still, she didn''t stand up.


    "Aia, can you give me the authority to contact the cities? Everyone else is dead! I''m the highest in authority! Please help!"


    "Negative. Only the Dean can share permission. Without his permission, nothing can be done!"


    "Come on! He is dead! Don''t toy with me!"


    "Negative. Only the Dean can share permission. Without his permission, nothing can be done!" Aia repeated the same answer.


    "To heck with you! You useless thing!" Jane cursed, standing up. "If I have to die, I''ll die taking a chance! Even though I know he''ll kill me after getting the answer; I still have to do it!"


    She brought another surfboard. "Aia, Teleport me outside!"


    Some light rays surrounded her before her figure disappeared.


    She appeared on top of the academy, still standing on her surfboard.


    "You finally came! Tell me you have a medical facility! I want you to help my friend."


    "Medical facility?" Jane asked, surprised. She looked behind Lucifer, finding Jenilia and Szar with their eyes closed. "How did this happen? Wait? That energy wave just now? It wasn''t your work, was it?"


    "Enough nonsense! I want you to save them. If you do a good job, I''ll let you live. Answer me now!" Lucifer grimly said.


    He was sure that the academy must have a medical facility. Since it was in such a barren ce, they couldn''t just send students to the City when they needed treatment. There must be something here.


    "You promise you won''t hurt us if we help you?" Jane asked.


    "I promise!" Lucifer calmly stated. Promises were even cheaper than pennies to him. He didn''t care what he had to promise.


    Jane thought for a little before she disappeared again.


    "This girl. She is actually looking for death!" Lucifer eximed, even angrier than before.


    However, the woman came back again. This time she had three pairs of white gloves in her hand.


    "Wear these. They''ll help you Teleport to the medical room. You can''t go there without these," She said, tossing the gloves towards Lucifer. "Make them wear as well."


    Lucifer didn''t grab the gloves though. He used wings to hold the gloves in ce.


    Jane looked at him in confusion. "Are you worried that I''m trapping you? Where can I even trap you with these gloves? You can break even the most protected rooms! I just want us to be done with it!" Jane eximed.


    Even though she would have loved to send Lucifer to a prison through the gloves'' teleportation, she had already seen that he could get out of any room.


    And other than having Aia and Teleportation, these gloves had nothing special. And none of them could harm him.


    Lucifer wore his ck gloves first. He couldn''t wear white gloves as they were just going to be destroyed. He only wore the white gloves on top of the ck ones, which made Jane wonder if this guy was crazy. Who wore gloves on top of gloves?


    He also made Szar and Jenilia wear the gloves. "Next."


    "Now, we''ll go to the medical room. Just rx," Jane calmly said.


    She touched her gloves. "Aia, take us all to the medical room."


    "Affirmed," Aia responded before everyone disappeared.


    The ck coffin remained in the back inside the ck prison, unmoving as if it was an ordinary coffin that hadn''t just destroyed half the academy.


    ...


    Lucifer appeared inside a in white room which was filled with machines. Even though Jane called it a Medical Room, it was much bigger than any room he had seen so far. It was a massive facility in itself, which was five hundred meters long.


    "ce the two on these tables. Let''s see what we''re dealing with," Jane told Lucifer, pointing towards two white tables.


    Lucifer ced Jenilia on one table and Szar on another simultaneously.


    "Aia, check their condition. Tell me if they can be saved."


    A green light started scanning the two.


    "That energy wave? Where did ite from? And if your friends are hurt, why are you safe?" In the background, Jane started asking questions. She hadn''t seen the coffin in the back.


    "Focus on them," Lucifer calmly stated. Even though he was already sure that Jenilia was dead, he didn''t mind bringing her along for evaluation. Who knew they could bring her back.


    "Scanningplete. The woman is dead. She can''t be saved." The first scanning waspleted, and Aia gave the verdict.


    "I think your female friend can''t be saved," Jane informed Lucifer.


    "We can do nothing. If we could, wouldn''t we first bring back the people who were killed by you? We can heal, but we can''t bring back to life," Jane responded.


    "Scanningplete."


    Aia dered as Szar''s scanning wasplete as well.

 Chapter 595 - 595: Inside

    <h4>Chapter 595 - 595: Inside</h4>


    "Scanning Complete. The body is badly burnt. Blood loss is critical. Multiple bones damaged."


    " Damage Score: Thirty Percent."


    " Healing possible: Present."


    "Time needed: Seven Hours. It is advised to start treatment fast."


    "Looks like at least the guy can survive. So, should I continue the healing?" Jane asked Lucifer. "After he is healed, you can leave as you promised."


    "Yeah. Heal him at any cost. And you''ll win back your life," Lucifer responded, observing Szar. Szar had apanied him quite a lot.


    Moreover, he had already proven that he was trustworthy and someone who wasn''t going to backstab the team in times of danger. Lucifer didn''t want to lose him.


    "Aia, start the treatment," Janemanded.


    A ss shell appeared around Szar''s table, sealing him in a ss cage. An anti gravity field was released in the airtight shell, which made Szar''s body rise in the air.


    As Szar''s body floated in the air, two machine hands came out from under the table, taking his clothes off. Meanwhile, the table went underground, leaving Szar''s body floating mid-air.


    The mechanical hands also went back, leaving a naked Szar. Without the clothes, his burns were even more visible. His skin was badly burnt. Some of his bones were also visible.


    "This idiot," Lucifer observed the wounds, feeling disappointed that Szar didn''t tell him how badly he was wounded before.


    A pink gas started filling the ss chamber. The entire chamber was filled with the gas, leaving nothing visible.


    "What is that gas?" Lucifer asked.


    "Don''t worry, that''s not poison. That''s something which will increase his healing speed while protecting his body from infections and other risks," Jane answered.


    "Anyway, about the girl. Do you want us to burn her body or bury it? We can''t leave that here?"


    "None. I want you to keep her body safe," Lucifer responded.


    "Why? She''s dead. It''s better to just..." Jane answered but stopped as she saw Lucifer re at her.


    "Fine. If that''s what you want, I''ll keep her body safe." She tapped her glove. "Aia, seal thedy''s body in an airtight chamber."


    "Affirmed." A ss chamber appeared around Jenilia''s body as well, keeping her body safe.


    Jane looked back at Lucifer. "So we''re fine now, right? You won''t destroy this academy?"


    Lucifer kept his hands in his pocket as he calmly answered. "Who knows. If he isn''t fine, I''ll still destroy you all. So you better make sure that he''s safe."


    "I had a question. Is everyone in Triton as strong as you?"


    "Triton?" Lucifer smiled. "That''s right. We have a Warlock Council there. I''m a member of that council. I''m sure you must be thinking about attacking us after we leave for what I did."


    "But it''s alright. I don''t care about that. In fact, I challenge you openly. After I leave, and you desire it, collect the entire Antis army and attack us. We aren''t scared at all."


    Since he was slightly calmer now, he started plotting for the future. He knew that leaving thisdy alive was the best option before leaving. She believed that they were from Triton. Even if Antis were to attack, it would attack the Warlock Council, ming them.


    That certainly wasn''t bad for him. But he kept his other options open as well, which was to just kill them all to remove all evidence of him being here. He left the decision toter. At first, Szar was more important.


    "Warlock Council? I heard about them. They''re a group of Variants that rule Triton. So you''re from them," Jane said, rubbing her chin.


    This was an important piece of information which she could use to inform the Royals when they asked who destroyed this ce.


    "Are you thinking about attacking uster?" Lucifer asked.


    "N-not at all. I would never!" Jane hastily responded.


    "I don''t care much even if you did. Just keep my friend safe, and I''ll keep my promise to you."


    "Also, send me outside the academy."


    "Outside? Why?"


    Lucifer again frowned. "I don''t think you''re important enough to know my reasons. Just do as I said. When I want toe back, I''ll inform you. Bring me in. Also, don''t let anything happen to him in my absence."


    "Sigh, fine. Do as you want." Jane sighed. "Aia, teleport him outside the academy."


    A shing light appeared around Lucifer, taking him away.


    After Lucifer disappeared, Jane finally sighed a breath of relief. She walked to a nearby chair and sat down. "Looks like I can indeed survive. But still, Why did he want to go out? Could it be to investigate the origin of that energy wave?"


    "Aia, keep an eye on Lucifer and transmit the scenes from his surroundings back to me without letting him know."


    "Affirmed."


    Through the gloves that Lucifer was wearing, she could not only teleport him back, but she could also keep an eye on his surroundings or talk to him. She chose to be sneaky though.


    A holographic image appeared around her, which showed a clear view of what Lucifer was seeing.


    ...


    Lucifer appeared outside the half destroyed academy and started flying towards arge crater in the distance.


    Within seconds, he reached the crater andnded in it. There was a ck lighting prison just a few inches away from him and a Beautiful coffin inside which hadn''t moved even an inch.


    He waved his hand, making the lightning cage disappear before stepping closer to the Coffin.


    "This thing brought the energy wave... Is it a treasure?" he frowned as he walked around the coffin, observing it.


    He even used the wind to raise the coffin in the air to look under it.


    Under the coffin, there was a number carved.


    "001? Does it even mean anything?"


    The coffinnded on the ground again.


    Lucifer picked up a small piece of stone and ced it on the coffin to see if it was safe to touch. Nothing happened even as the stone fell on the coffin.


    He tried touching the coffin to test even more.


    After touching the coffin, he realized that it was like an ordinary coffin. His hand was fine.


    "It doesn''t look any special. How did that energy wave originate from this?"


    He slowly opened the coffin to see what was inside. Since it was a coffin, he believed there must be a body inside, but he couldn''t be sure.


    However, after opening the coffin, he finally realized what was inside. A weird frown spread across his face at the sight.


    "It... How is this possible?!" he eximed, taking a step back.. He started walking back and forth, lost in deep thought.

 Chapter 596 - 596: Remembering

    <h4>Chapter 596 - 596: Remembering</h4>


    Lucifer appeared stunned and confused as he opened the coffin. He couldn''t believe what he was seeing.


    ...


    Eight years ago...


    Lucifer was still inside the facility. He had just turned ten years old when he was given the results that he could never be a Variant.


    Before he could evene to terms with the sadness and the pain, he was taken by the scientists on hisst trip to thep.


    He was ced on the bed, and some machines were attached to his body. Before he even knew it, he started going to what seemed like a torture. His entire body was burning as his cells started being destroyed.


    He kept his eyes open, crying and screaming throughout the process. It was only in the end when his screams stopped and his tearful eyes closed.


    Even though the moment was one of his worst memories, he still remembered it like it happened just yesterday. It was a memory he could never forget.


    He also remembered the moment when his eyes closed.


    He couldn''t take the pain anymore, and his heartbeat stopped. His eyes also closed.


    He thought everything was over. He thought this was his end... An end of his life and his dreams, but just before his eyes closed, his vision had already turned ck. And in thest moments, he saw a face before him in the darkness.


    The face belonged to ady that appeared to be in herte teens. She had beautiful violet hair and eyes matching her hair. Her small face was slim yet beautiful.


    The woman was floating before him; at least that''s what he felt.


    His eyes closed...


    ...


    He didn''t know what happened next, but the next moment, he found himself in a ck space. There was no light anywhere.


    In the darkness, he again saw the same woman. She was looking so beautiful that for a moment, he had forgotten about his death as well. Despite being only ten years old, he was fascinated by how beautiful the girl looked.


    She was dressed in a beautiful red dress that wrapped her figure tightly, highlighting her curves even more.


    "You went through a lot of pain, didn''t you?" The girl asked Lucifer in her melodious voice.


    As she asked, Lucifer finally came out of his daze and remembered everything.


    He nodded his head weakly as he looked around. "Am I dead? Are you an angel here to take me?"


    He had heard the stories where good people were escorted by angels a few times. He wondered if it was the same here.


    "Angel? Hahaha." The girl started smiling. With a smile on her lips, her charms only increased.


    "I''m not an angel. I''m just a spirit of my past that craves to go back to how things used to be. You''re the first person here though. I''m surprised you even managed to get into my dreand."


    "Your Dreand?" Lucifer asked.


    The smile on the girl''s lips disappeared as a craving sadness became visible. "That''s right. It''s the dreand where I live and watch over the world, trying to get a glimpse of a life that I can''t live myself..."


    "It''s the first time one of those that I was watching managed to get here though. It''s slightly surprising, to be honest. But maybe it''s also one of your specialties. You''re from there after all..." The girl said.


    "From there?" Lucifer asked.


    "I think it''s not the time for me to talk about that," the girl said as she stepped forward. "I''ll just tell you one thing..."


    "What?"


    The girl continued stepping closer to Lucifer.


    "It''s that I really wish you can survive until you grow up. I''m excited to see how things will be with you at your fill glory..."


    "Survive? You mean I didn''t die?"


    "Die? Hahaha, what you gained isn''t death. But a new life... The life which is rightfully yours. However, you couldn''t attain it without igniting your..." The girl stopped and didn''t finish.


    "Just know, you have the capacity to achieve a life that others can only dream of. But at the same time, you have a chance to be destroyed under your own expectations..."


    " You can either shine brighter than anyone in existence or burn faster than anyone did before..."


    Lucifer didn''t understand what the girl was trying to say. All he understood was that she confirmed that he wasn''t dead. Then again, he wasn''t even sure if it was just a dream.


    The girl ced her hand on the cheeks of Lucifer. "Best of luck, Lucifer. Or should I call you by your real name A... Nah, maybe next time if you evere to this dreand again. Let''s save it for then."


    "Hmm...? It looks like your healing is working. Time to go back, kid."


    The girl stood up and turned around. Her figure turned blurry before she disappeared.


    ...


    After that, Lucifer had a dream about his parents. For some reason, he forgot all about the meeting with the violet-haired girl he initially considered an angel.


    It was only now when he remembered that dream and thatdy again... All because the coffin had the body of the samedy.


    She still looked like she was eighteen or neen years old. Her face still had the same old shine, making her look as beautiful as she did before. She was wearing different clothes though.


    She was wearing ck pants and a royal red coat.


    Lucifer just remembered the long forgotten dream, which appeared even more creepy now that thedy was back.


    At first, he would have thought the dream to be any random imagination of his, but seeing thatdy before him, he couldn''t believe it. There was something more to it.


    He stepped closer to thedy and checked to see if she was breathing. She wasn''t breathing at all. At least he couldn''t feel that from her nose.


    Next, he ced his hand on her chest to see if his heart was beating while checking her nerves with his other hand.


    "She looks dead. How is this possible? She looks the same age as she did when I saw her before? Moreover, her body looks as good as new, as if she had just slept for all these years. How is this possible with a dead body? Something doesn''t make sense."


    He opened her eyes, checking to see if she really was the same woman or just someone who looked like her.


    He brought his face closer to hers and observed her eye color.


    "Same eye color... She is really the same..."

 Chapter 597 - 597: Identity

    <h4>Chapter 597 - 597: Identity</h4>


    Everything pointed towards the same conclusion. The girl was the same.


    And with the sudden insurance of the memory, it was even odder. In fact, it was so odd that he even wondered if the memory was actually from the past or imnted in his head only now.


    Because whoever this girl was, she wasn''t anyone ordinary. That energy wave was very powerful, after all.


    He wanted to stay alert, but he also knew that he couldn''t just ignore that dream. It was fine if it was nted just now, but if it wasn''t nted and was actually a real dream he had in the past, then he couldn''t ignore it.


    The girl was somewhat rted to him, if that was true. Moreover, she wasn''t that bad either in that case.


    "This girl... I can''t leave her behind either. It doesn''t matter if she''s actually rted to me or not. Just the fact that she is so strong that she could release an energy wave despite being seemingly dead should be enough."


    " Moreover, even if it was a nted dream, that could only mean her mind is still active. That in itself is something to consider. I''ll take her back."


    He closed the coffin again and used his wind to make the coffin follow him as he flew back.


    After getting back to the academy, he took the coffin in his hands before calling out Jane. "Bring me in!"


    His sharp voice reached far and wide, reaching the depths of the medical facility.


    He didn''t need to do that though. Jane was already looking at him through his gloves. She already knew he wasing back with the coffin. She was also intrigued about the coffin as well.


    Shemanded Aia to bring Lucifer inside with the coffin he was carrying.


    Lucifer appeared inside the medical room, keeping the coffin down.


    "What''s that coffin?" Jane asked, acting ignorant. "You brought it for your friend?"


    "There''s another girl inside. I want you to analyze her as well. Tell me if she is fine or dead." Lucifer opened the Coffin, revealing the girl that was already seen by Jane.


    He picked up the beautiful girl in his arms and carried her to the third bed. He ced her on the bed. "Also, tell me how much you know about her. Who is she? Why was she buried here?"


    "I don''t personally remember her. I never saw this face before. I''m sure I wouldn''t have forgotten if I did. Also, she can''t be a teacher or a student here either. We wouldn''t have buried her outside if she was," Jane replied, observing the girl.


    "However, we can try asking Aia."


    Jane touched her gloves. "Aia, analyze the new girl. Also, run a facial recognition in the database to find more about her."


    "Affirmed..."


    A simr ss appeared around the violet-haired girl, which sealed her. A green light started scanning her.


    "Analysis finished."


    " No damage seen in the body. Mind is still active, but the heart isn''t beating."


    "Conclusion:?It''s something I never saw before. She appears to be in some kind ofa, but her heart isn''t beating."


    " Suggestion: Can attempt to jump-start the heart, but the chances are low."


    "That''s intriguing. So her body is dead, but her mind is alive?" Jane let out, rubbing her chin. "An interesting case. I''m sure the city hospitals would love to have a case like that..."


    ''Mind active but body dead. It sounds simr to what I heard her say in the dream. So whatever''s left of her is hiding in her dreand, keeping her mind active. However, her body is still perfectly fine.''


    ''Despite not getting any energy or blood, she seems perfectly fine.''


    Lucifer observed the girl.


    "Shall I ask Aia to attempt starting her heart?" Jane asked Lucifer, bringing his attention back to her.


    "Go ahead," Lucifer replied, trying to see if it was going to work. "No, wait!"


    Even though he had given her permission, he stopped abruptly, thinking of something.


    The coffin was probably there for a long time, most probably. However, the energy wave never came to destroy the academy. It was only when his lightning fell in the surrounding that it came.


    If that was the case, it wasn''t a good idea to use electricity in a ce like this. If that energy wave came again, it could destroy the facility again. Another energy wave was certainly going to destroy the chances of Szar''s survival.


    "What? Why?"


    "You don''t have to attempt it now. First, find me her identity."


    "Her identity? Ah, right. Aia, did you find anything about her?"


    "Negative. There is no match in the database." Aia''s emotionless voice fell in everyone''s ears.


    "It looks like I was right." Jane turned to Lucifer. "She isn''t anyone that was a part of the academy."


    "Should I start the electric therapy now?"


    "As I said, there''s no need. I''ll handle everything myself. Just heal my friend and tell me the way to leave this ce to get outside."


    "You mean to Triton? There''s only one way to leave.." Jane replied.


    "What way?"


    "The only way in and out of Antis is through the teleportation portals that are made in the cities. But they are controlled by the Royal Army. You''ll have to talk to them if you want to leave. They can arrange a way back."


    "No other way to get out is Antis?" Lucifer asked.


    "Not really. That''s the only way. In fact, we''re a pretty small academy. We don''t have much equipment. We only barely managed to bring a teleportation grid to the academy that could only be used in close surroundings."


    "Our teleportation portals can''t send anyone to the cities. If they could, we would have run away already. Only cities have bigger and better technology. They can teleport anywhere they want, even here."


    "You can only use their facility if you want to leave. Other than that, there''s no way out."


    "What about the dome at the top? If I break it and go to the surface of the sea, how far will Triton be?"


    "I am not sure about that. There is no data about the direction of Triton. All I know is that it''s pretty far and not something which can be reached through flight, even if you can get to the surface of the sea."


    "So there''s no other way except getting to the city?" Lucifer asked again just to be sure.


    "Exactly. That''s why I couldn''t tell you the directions when you asked. Because we don''t know ourselves."


    "Is that so? Didn''t you say that it was because of my arrogance that you weren''t telling?" Lucifer asked, frowning.

 Chapter 598 - 598: Fifth Gen

    <h4>Chapter 598 - 598: Fifth Gen</h4>


    "Cough, leave that in the past. We''re over that. I behaved badly, and you destroyed the facility. Now I helped you, and you agreed to forgive me. We should be equal now."


    Lucifer didn''t answer. Instead, he walked to the violet-haireddy. He picked her up and kept her back in the coffin before closing it.


    "Get me another coffin for her as well," hemanded Jane, pointing towards Jenilia.


    ...


    Lucifer kept Jenilia in the borrowed coffin, leaving both coffins side by side.


    He started waiting for Szar to be healed before doing anything else.


    Time kept passing as Lucifer sat on a chair, waiting for Szar.


    He also kept Jane sitting beside him, not letting her go anywhere to keep an eye on her.


    At the same time, he didn''t waste even a single second. Instead, he kept asking her questions regarding Antis to understand what this ce was actually about.


    Jane also answered everything honestly.


    ording to what Lucifer grasped from her exnation, Antis was actually a human haven. Surprisingly, there was not a single Variant living in Antis.


    It was a country that was said to be established by humans to protect themselves when Dungeons started appearing around the world. They also wanted to avoid Variants who were too powerful and treated them badly.


    That''s why a section of humans left the human continents and decided to make a new home. And that home happened to be none other than Antis.


    It was a technological marvel, ording to Jane. Also, from the way she talked, Lucifer realized that she wasn''t lying this time. He had a good understanding of her.


    It was slightly surprising for him as well, especially to find out that the people he fought weren''t variants. However, he also had a feeling that it was the case.


    They allmanded Aia to use Teleportation. He hadn''t seen them use anything special they didn''t need to call Aia for.


    If that was the case, he was sure that these people weren''t a threat to him.?With just that much, they were too weak. Let alone being a threat to him; they couldn''t even stand against the Warlock Council.


    He couldn''t understand why the Warlock Council kept Antis so ssified if they were so weak. They weren''t a threat at all. Unless there was something, he was missing.


    "Do all humans in Antis use Aia to teleport and for other abilities?" he asked Jane.


    "No. They don''t use Aia. It''s just something we use. Aia uses the first generation technology and is very limited. On the contrary,?the Royal soldiers use what we call the fifth generation technology."


    "Also, there''s also a rumor that Royals have the sixth generation technology as well, which only they can use."


    As Jane answered Lucifer, he was slowly understanding that he might have been underestimating them.


    The first generation tech can help them teleport within a certain range and bring weapons to them. The fifth generation could only be many times more special.


    "Can you tell me what fifth generation technology can do that Aia can''t?" Lucifer asked.


    Even though Aia knew she was giving away secret information that she shouldn''t, she believed her life was more important. Moreover, there was also a scheme in her mind, so she was sure it wasn''t going to matter even if Lucifer knew.


    "Fifth Generation technology is much stronger than the first generation. In fact, the first generation is actually ancient, but since we couldn''t afford the second or third generation, we used Aia," Jane answered, sighing.


    "But your student called this ce Northern Royal Academy. Doesn''t that mean the Royals own it?" Lucifer frowned.


    "Not really. There are thousands of academies here, and all use the Royal Academy at the end of their name. It just signifies that we''re all under the Royals, even though we don''t get help from them," Jane exined.


    "In reality, there''s only one academy which is directly supported by the Royals, and it''s in the Royal City, known as the Royal Military Academy."


    "They are given fourth generation technology, and the graduates are allowed to join the military where they can even use fifth generation tech."


    "Why do students even join your academy if it''s so bad?" Lucifer asked.


    "Sigh, it''s because this academy had a lower admission standard. Moreover, the fees are also low." Jane answered. "You see, we are nothing in the grand scheme of things. Why else do you think we were defeated so easily?"


    "You still didn''t answer. What can the Royal Army do that you can''t with Aia? What''s the difference?"


    "There are many. Firstly, they don''t have to touch the gloves to use the tech. They don''t have to call out Aia or anyone else. All they need to do is think, and they can teleport."


    "Their teleportation is also faster and covers more range. Moreover, they have more offensive abilities. On the contrary, we have almost none. We could only restrict you and attack you with an ordinary weapon. But they... They wouldn''t have needed a weapon."


    "I don''t even think I can describe the extent of what they can do. Just understand that they are no less than proper Warlocks."


    "The only difference is that there is no limit on who can possess what power. As long as the technology allows it, they can all use anything."


    "So they are strong," Lucifer said, rubbing his chin. "I guess I can understand why the Warlock Council is so interested."


    ''They probably feel threatened by Antis since it''s a human only ce which isn''t good for Variants. It could also be that they want to own the technology of Antis? Or it could also be that they have a working rtionship with Antis, and this woman just doesn''t know about it.''


    "Strong would be an understatement," Jane answered. "So instead of fighting them, just surrender and ask them to help instead. I''m sure they''ll forgive you. And you''ll be able to leave safely."


    "I don''t think you need to be concerned about me. I''ll be able to leave safely faster than you can imagine," Luciferzily said.


    He stood up and walked closer to Szar. Four hours had passed, and his body was still hiding inside the mist.


    He brought out the sses from his inner pocket and wore them.


    ''Good. There''s a connection avable. I''m certainly on earth.''


    "Contact Kellian," hemanded softly.


    Through the sses, a connection was established directly with Kellian.


    "You! Finally, you got back to me! Where are you? Are you fine?"


    As soon as the call connected, Kellian''s excited voice came from the other end.


    "I am perfectly fine.. What about you all? What''s happening there?" Lucifer asked in return. "Is Miyali there as well? Was there any conflict?"

 Chapter 599 - 599: Do Your Thing

    <h4>Chapter 599 - 599: Do Your Thing</h4>


    "Conflict? Not much. Just a bit of back and forth since she believes that she should be the one deciding things in your absence. Nothing major."


    "What about the Warlock Council?"


    "The Warlock Council hasn''t attacked us so far. In fact, they''re awfully silent. There has been no movement on their side until now. So we were thinking about following the old n that you set."


    "The n about attacking their base instead?" Lucifer asked, understanding what Szar could be talking about. "Where are you right now?"


    "I am still at the base. But yeah, that''s the n I''m talking about. It took longer than I expected, but everything is ready. I was about to take the Nobles and sneak inside Triton to take out the Warlock Council before they could realize anything," Szar answered. "Where are you? Will you join us?"


    "I will join you all as well. I''ll meet you in Triton. As for where I''m not sure. Just stay put there and wait for me. I''ll tell you everythingter. Don''t attack anyone there. And don''t forget to send me your coordinates after getting there."


    Lucifer disconnected the call after delivering hismands.


    He kept the sses back in his pocket before turning back.


    He noticed Jane looking at him. "What are you looking at?"


    "Were you talking to your friends with those sses? Can I see them?"


    "No need," Luciferzily replied.


    He walked back to the seat and started waiting for the treatment to bepleted.


    After a couple of hours, a beeping sound filled the entire ce.


    "We are done," Janemented. The mist started clearing on its own before it disappeared entirely, showing Szar''s body which was flowing in the air. There was no burn on his body. It looked clear as new.


    It was simr to Lucifer''s healing. His body was back to its original state. The only difference between the treatment and his healing was that his healing was faster and had no limitation. It could bring him back to life, even from death.


    On the contrary, this healing only worked on people who were only alive.


    The bed came up again, and the body of Szar was ced back on the bed.


    Jane stepped closer to Szar, checking his pulse. "Yup. He is perfectly fine. He''s just sleeping now. Do you want to let him sleep or wake him up?"


    "Wake him up," Lucifer replied, getting close to Szar as well. He shook his body. "Get up."


    "Huh? What?" Szar slowly opened his eyes and looked around.


    His eyes were slightly blurry, but they soon regained his focus. He found himself inside a white room. Jane and Lucifer were standing around him.


    "You?" He asked, looking at Jane.


    "Yeah, me." Jane smiled. "I''m the reason you''re still alive. Want to thank me?"


    "Reason I''m alive?" Szar asked, frowning. "Ah, that attack!"


    He rubbed his back, surprised that it wasn''t hurting anymore.


    "You are healed, don''t worry," Lucifer patted the shoulder of Szar. "Now, get up if you have had enough rest already."


    "And wear these." He returned the clothes to Szar. "We can''t go back home like that."


    Szar stood up, wearing the clothes before he stretched his arms, testing. "That''s true. I feel perfectly fine. Not bad."


    "Where is Jenilia?" he asked. He couldn''t find her in the room.


    Lucifer raised his hand without even looking back.


    Szar looked in the direction of his finger, noticing two coffins beside each other. One was something he had seen before at the core of the crater, but the second was different.


    "She is... Dead?" he asked, frowning.


    "She couldn''t survive," Lucifer answered. "Only two of us are left."


    Szar took a deep breath, sighing. "That energy wave came out of nowhere. If I had any idea, I..."


    "Don''t me yourself. Even I didn''t see iting, let alone you."


    "That second coffin... It was at the core of the attack. Did you check it?"


    "I did. I''ll tell youter about it," Luciferzily said.


    "Since you''re in a hurry to leave, let me take you to the exit," Jane chimed in, trying to get Lucifer to leave. "I''ll also give you the map to the city to make it easier for you."


    "City map? Don''t need one."


    "Huh? You don''t want to go to the city? You don''t want to go back home?"


    "I don''t need to go to City to go back home," Lucifer replied. "Why would I when you have a portal to get me out yourself?"


    "What? We don''t!" Jane took a step back.


    "Look. I''ve had enough of a bad day. But even then, I''m not stupid enough to not recognize lies. You have a way to get me out. And if you want to stick to lies, I''d be happy to send you all to hell!"


    "Y-you promised me!" Jane fiercely replied.


    "Promise?" Szar let out, smiling wryly. "You are really naive,dy."


    He had seen enough of Lucifer''s promise to see things through. This guy could promise to get to his goal, only to break it when it suited him.


    Lucifer was the most selfish man he had seen in this regard, but then again, he was also someone who was willing to do anything to save him. So he wasn''t that selfish for his close ones. At least not to the same extent.


    "Don''t try to teleport, or you''ll regret," Lucifer warned thedy, seeing her hand move slowly.


    Even Szar was getting impatient by now. "Lookdy. I am grateful that you helped me. But you''re also the reason so many people died today. We just wanted a way back."


    "You sealed us and left. Then again, we didn''t attack you. We asked for a way back again, but you came with the other warriors to attack us."


    "We still didn''t attack the academy and left you alive. Still, you didn''t answer us and escaped. If you had answered us, our friend wouldn''t have been dead as we would be gone already. It had been three times already. Send us back! Why do you chase death?"


    Jane looked at Szar and Lucifer, getting slightly pressured.


    "I... Fine! I have a way back, but I can''t send you through that. There is a main Teleportation chamber in the academy underground. That can be used for intercontinental travel. But I can''t use that. Only our Dean knew the code to enter, and he''s dead."


    "So even though I lied about not having a way back here, but I didn''t lie entirely. It''s the truth that we can''t send you back. I''m just an ordinary teacher. I can''t use that teleportation portal."


    "Another lie. Go ahead and do your thing," Szarzily said to Lucifer, turning his back on Jane.. He had enough of her dying them.

 Chapter 600 - 600: Gift

    <h4>Chapter 600 - 600: Gift</h4>


    "I''m not lying! I swear on my life! It''s the truth. He is the only one who knows the password. We don''t have much authority. Otherwise, why do you think I didn''t call the city authorities to help us? If I had, they would be here already!" Jane responded, insisting that she was innocent.


    "Where is that Dean? How was the academy running before my arrival if he was dead? Or he died outside in my hand?" Lucifer asked.


    "He was inside his office with me when your lightning fell on him," Jane answered, rolling her eyes. This guy actually took their Dean out without even realizing it.


    "Ah, so he died with that. I guess my aim is even better than I thought," Lucifer smiled jokingly. He looked back at Szar. "See? Attacking aimlessly has advantages of its own."


    Szar smiled in return. He was just happy that Lucifer was calm now. It looks like he just needed some time to forget Amelia or at least get her out of his head.


    He again turned to Amelia. "It doesn''t matter though. Take us to the entrance of the room.?I''ll take care of the password myself."


    "You can?" Jane looked at Lucifer weirdly.


    "Just take us there," Lucifer stated before walking to the ck coffin. He picked it up.


    "Pick up Jenilia''s," he told Szar.


    Szar walked to the second coffin and picked it up.


    Jane shrugged. "Whatever. If you want to see how childish you''re being, then I''ll take you. The entrance can''t be breached. You''ll see."


    She touched her gloves andmanded, "Aia, take us to the Intercontinental Chamber entrance."


    After hermand, the three of them disappeared with two coffins.


    They appeared before a dark metallic door. There were some numbers carved in the door.


    "You need to touch the numbers on the door in the exact order of the password. But if you''re wrong three times, the door will be sealed for one month. Even the right password won''t be able to open it then," Jane reminded Lucifer, pointing towards the portal.


    "I understand that." Lucifer nodded. "Now, bring your Dean here."


    "He''s already dead. Did you not hear mest time? Or do you still think that I''m lying?"


    "I didn''t ask you to bring him alive, did I?" Lucifer asked, frowning. "Stop being annoying and bring him here."


    "You mean his body?" Jane asked.


    Seeing Lucifer nod, she disappeared. She didn''t know how that was going to help. It wasn''t a fingerprint sensor, after all.


    She appeared back in the office and picked up the body of the old man beforeing back to Lucifer.


    "There. Now do you believe me?" she asked, cing Lucifer''s body back on the bed.


    Lucifer ignored the girl and walked to the body on the ground.


    He took off his right hand gloves. His fingers changed into ws right before Jane.


    ''These Variants are really intriguing,'' Jane thought, frowning. ''So many abilities. But still can''t bepared to the Royal Army. Their best can only bully us weak ones.''


    Lucifer brought his ws out. His hand returned to normal, and he stood up.


    "Do you know the password now?" Jane asked.


    "I don''t know the password," Lucifer replied.


    "See? I told you that it wasn''t going to work."


    "You didn''t let me finish. I don''t know the password. But he knows." He pointed towards the old man''s body on the ground.


    Jane was looking at Lucifer like he was an idiot. He was talking nonsense for a long time.


    "Stand up," Lucifermanded.


    "We''re already standing," Jane responded, but she soon noticed that Lucifer''s gaze wasn''t on her. He was looking behind her.


    She also turned back, growing stunned. The Dean was standing up! Even though he was dead, he was standing up! What was this? Necromancy?


    She couldn''t understand. In the meantime, the dead body walked closer to Lucifer.


    "Enter the password to open the entrance," Lucifermanded.


    The dead body started pressing some numbers. Even Jane saw the password. The door opened.


    Lucifer and Szar stepped inside with the coffins. Even the dead body and Jane walked in.


    "Do I need to stand in a circle?" Lucifer asked Jane.


    "Yeah. Stand in a circle. And since you already have the Dean, ask him to set the coordinates," Jane informed Lucifer.


    Lucifer nodded. "That should be enough."


    He walked towards Jane, taking a deep breath.


    "Even though we had some bad blood between us, in the end, it''s because of you that we can go back. So thank you," Lucifer thanked Jane.


    "I-it was nothing," Jane replied, slightly surprised.


    "Now that I''ve settled the gratitude, there''s one more thing. You helped us get back. So I have a gift for you."


    "Gift? What?" Jane asked.


    Lucifer didn''t answer. He simply turned around.


    Three spears appeared in the back, stabbing thedy. Her eyes opened wide as she was stabbed. She dropped to her knees.


    "Even though you helped us get back, it''s also here that you''re partly to me for Jenilia''s death. You also tried to have me killed by trying to mislead me to get to the city. So I gift you... A peaceful sleep..." He muttered softly.


    He had thought about it quite a lot if he should leave her alive or kill her. Leaving her alive would have brought Antis'' army to kill the Warlock Council. But it was also evident that Antis had some rtion with the Warlock Council. There was a good chance they wouldn''t have fallen.


    And even if they fell for this trick, by the time they were going to get to the Warlock Council, he believed he was already going to end up conquering them. In the end, Antis would have be his headache if thisdy was left alive.


    "Set coordinates for Zeston," hemanded the old man. "Ande with us."


    The old man made some strange gestures on the wall before he joined Lucifer in the middle of the circle.


    A blinding light filled the room. By the time this light disappeared, only a dead body was left behind. Lucifer was long gone with others.


    Two hours after Lucifer left, another teleportation portal appeared above the Northern Royal Academy. Five figures stepped out of the light.


    They were wearing a royal blue jacket that came down to their knees. There was a trident carved on the chest of the jacket.


    "Is this the right ce? The ce from where an unauthorized teleportation took ce?" One of the men asked.


    "It is. Just what happened to this ce. It looks like a storm came here," Another man replied, observing the surroundings.


    "It doesn''t matter what happened here. Intercontinental Travel isn''t allowed without permission from the Royal Army. Whoever is behind, they''ll be punished.. Let''s see who dared."

 Chapter 601 - 601: The First Variant

    <h4>Chapter 601 - 601: The First Variant</h4>


    One of the five people waved his hand casually, getting ess to the entire database of the academy.


    A holographic screen opened before them, which started showing the entire map of the Academy.


    "The portal is on the northern side."


    They all disappeared.


    ...


    The five Royal Guards appeared outside the Teleportation Chamber.


    The leader amongst the five ced his hand on the door. Without having any need to put the password, he managed to open the door.


    The five stepped inside, observing the chamber.


    "A dead body... Looks like a teacher who worked here," One of the fivemented.


    "The teleportation coordinates are set in the continent of Triton in the nation of Zeston. It''s confirmed," Another man said after checking something.


    The third man started checking all the footage of the academy to see what had transpired here and who was the one that actually used the teleportation.


    "That''s very interesting. I think you should check it." He invited the others to see the footage.


    The others joined him, observing the footage which showed Lucifer appearing with a Summoner Beast in the examination hall.


    It further went on to show the conflict between him and the Academy.


    "A Variant managed to infiltrate Antis. I think His Majesty would be very interested in it."


    "True. Especially since the Variant was somewhat strong. Not bad. But if the Variants had indeed found a way to infiltrate Antis without being noticed, it could be very... Problematic."


    "Indeed. We came here to avoid them. But now they''re evening here?"


    Seeing the discussion of his fellows, the fifth human rolled his eyes.


    "Heh, why is it something to be concerned about? When humans came here, running from Variants, we were weak. But now, the Variants are not challenging at all. Moreover, it''s just a weak academy he destroyed. It doesn''t mean much."


    The video continued ying, tracking Lucifer.


    There were no recordings of Lucifer after he flew out of the Academy.


    The five soldiers thought that Lucifer had escaped, but after a short time, he was once again seen inside the Academy with his two friends. Both of his friends were hurt.


    "Heh, that''s funny. Three Variants infiltrated, and two got hurt while facing this weak academy with first-generation equipment. See? I told you it''s nothing to be concerned about. They''re too weak."


    The others nodded in agreement.


    Lucifer once again disappeared and came back with a ck coffin.


    Seeing that coffin, everyone''s eyes opened wide in shock.


    "T-that... Do you see that symbol? I-isn''t that the Royal Symbol of Origin?"


    Another soldier gravely nodded. "It looks like that."


    He casually waved his hand, bringing up a new holographic screen that showed the Symbol on the coffin clearly.


    "It''s the same."


    "The coffin contains the Royal Symbol of Origin? And the intruders found it? Could it be that they actually infiltrated to get that coffin? If I''m not wrong, there was only one person who was given the right to use the Royal Symbol of Origin... Could it be that inside the coffin..."


    The others remained silent and waited to see if that was the case.


    They saw Lucifer open the coffin and bring the girl out.


    It was as if all the soldiers had seen a ghost.


    "It is... Her..." One of them said nkly. "We need to inform His Majesty!"


    The footage continued. The girl was kept back in the coffin, and Lucifer took the coffin.


    He came with the coffin to the Teleportation Chamber. There was no footage from that point.


    "So the person who left Antis was the Intruder. He also killed the guide who helped him," the first guard said, looking at Jane.


    "We need to bring the Coffin and that body back at any cost!" The guards eximed.


    "Yeah. But the Royal Rules state that even we can''t travel without the Royal Permission. Save the coordinates of their travel location ande back to the Royal Pce. We need to inform the King first. He shall decide!"


    The others nodded in agreement. The five of them disappeared again, this time traveling farther.


    The five appeared outside the Royal Antis Pce as teleportation wasn''t allowed inside the Royal Pce for safety reasons.


    The five of them entered the Royal Pce, advancing towards the Royal Court.


    The five opened the doors and stepped inside to meet the Royal King, who sat on the main throne.


    Around the ministers were sitting on both sides of the court. The Royal General was also standing there.


    "Speak. You said you had something important to talk about?" The King asked. "He was already informed about the soldiers willing to meet him."


    "Your Majesty, we were investigating a case about an illegal Intercontinental Teleportation when we came across something that you must see." The leader of the soldiers stepped forward.


    "Go ahead. Show us what you found." The King nodded calmly.


    The soldier pped once, making an even bigger hologram appear before him. It started showing everything that happened in the Academy.


    "At 9 in the morning, these three people infiltrated Antis, appearing in a small first-generation academy."


    "Infiltrated without being noticed? Intriguing. Did you catch him?" the King asked.


    "No, your majesty. That academy didn''t inform us about an Intruder. We only went there after these people escaped from Antis using intercontinental teleportation at the academy."


    "So some people infiltrated the Academy and escaped? You came here for permission to chase after them?" The King asked.


    "No. We came here because of what the infiltrators took with them before going back. We believe they specifically came here to take it, and they seeded."


    "Take what? What could a lowly academy possess that they would want?" The Minister of Defence chimed in. "They only had first Generation technology, if I''m not wrong."


    "That''s correct. They only have first generation technology, but that isn''t what I''m talking about."


    "What then?" The King asked, intrigued.


    The soldier pped his hand again, making the previous screen disappear, and two screens appeared instead.


    Both screens showed a different image. One showed the closed coffin while the other showed the opened coffin with the sleeping girl inside.


    Seeing the images, the King stood up surprised. It was the same reaction with all the Ministers.


    "She is... The First Variant..." The first King said, nkly.


    "The only person allowed to use the Royal Symbol of Origin because of being the first Variant that appeared in the world..." One of the Ministers eximed.


    The minister of Defence also chimed in. "How did she end up there? And how did Variants know about her being there? Even we didn''t know that she was there?"


    ******


    Author Note:


    Thank you to everyone still reading the book. One small announcement:


    Will be back to mass releases every Monday based on the Golden Tickets.


    Every 100 Golden Tickets in the week will be 1 extra chapter every Monday above the usual schedule of 2 a day.


    Thank you :)

 Chapter 602 - 602: Threat

    <h4>Chapter 602 - 602: Threat</h4>


    36 years ago, Year 2020...


    The world had just started changing. Many weird structures starteding out of the ground.


    All the humans were confused about these structures. They tried to explore these ces; however, none came out alive from them.


    It was after a long time that a person finally came out alive, but even he was heavily injured. He informed everyone that there were many monsters inside these Dungeons that were never seen before.


    The new discovery shocked the humans as they knew the risks if these monsters coulde out. They started researching these Dungeons.


    At the same time, another change was happening in the world.


    An eighteen-year-old girl wasing back from college when she felt her body burn. She lost consciousness.


    The people who knew her brought her to her home.


    After the girl woke up again, she realized that she was different. She could feel something strange. She was faster, and she was stronger. Moreover, she realized that she had gained some powers.


    Even though Eve''s family was poor, they loved her a lot and didn''t believe in witches and stuff. Thus even after she told them about her strange powers, they simply told her to keep it a secret and not tell anyone.


    Despite that, the people of the town started noticing it as she couldn''t keep her powers under wraps after seeing people in trouble. She started using her strength for the good, contributing to safety and in the advancement of technology.


    Despite her being weird, she became the favorite of the town that respected her instead of fearing her.


    After three years of her Awakening, the phenomena of awakening appeared again, this time on a bigger scale.


    More Variants started appearing. It was as if everyone was suddenly gaining powers. The phenomenon was called the Dawn of Awakening.


    The world changed even more as the governments started focusing on training the Variants to reach their full potential.


    ...


    Year 2024...


    Another bright young man gained his powers when he was just neen years old.


    The young man was named Zale Azarel, who became a Warlock, awakening a year before his future wife.


    ...


    Year 2028...


    Just as the humans becamecent that the Dungeon Dwellers couldn''te out, it happened.


    Millions of Dungeon Dwellers came out of the Dungeons.


    There were massacres everywhere. The Variants also stepped forward to fight the Dungeon Dwellers and keep the humans safe.


    All continents were engulfed in wars except two: the continent of Darkness and the small ind where Lucifer studied with Cassius.


    After billions of deaths and a hard fight, the humans were finally Victorious, thanks to the contribution of all Variants, especially of Zale Azarel...


    After the war, another change happened in the world. The awakenings changed slightly. At the start of Dawn of Awakening, people woke up at any age. There were no limits.


    However, it was discovered that after the great war, only people who were younger than ten years old could wake up...


    Another change in the world happened with the equation between the Variants and the humans.


    Because of their great performance in the War, they were highly respected. Some Variants were nice and didn''t interfere in governance even after that like it happened in Elisium.


    However, there was also another continent where Variants were more brazen. They ruled thends in tyranny, treating humans like ves.


    Eve also lived on the same continent. Despite being the first Variant, she hated using her powers in battles and wars. She hadn''t even fought against the Dungeon Dwellers, let alone against the tyranny of other Variants.


    The humans, upset by the conduct of the Variants, decided toe to her for help. They wanted her to do something to help them, but Eve said she couldn''t fight.


    Just as the humans were disappointed, she suggested something else though.


    "We can move to another ce... A safe ce where only humans can live and Variants can''te?" She suggested. "Variants except me, of course, since I''m one of you."


    That one suggestion... It was the foundation of Antis.


    Eve and the humans left the continent and found a new ce to live.


    With time and the technology they had, they slowly started working on Antis... A city under water that was far away from war and destruction.


    ...


    Year 2032...


    The construction of Antis waspleted... At least the outer structure and the houses where people could live.


    The Town Elder of the town where Eve lived before was made the King of Antis to make sure that Antis worked like it was supposed to.


    ...


    Year 2036...


    Eve continued working with the humans, helping them master new technology. Within five years, the humans were strong enough to face the Variants on their own with the help of this technology.


    But in the background of all this corporation and growth, some discontent was growing as well.


    There were some people who started advocating against Eve, saying that it was only a matter of time before they would have to face the Variants in War. And they didn''t trust Eve to side with them at that time.


    Through propaganda and misinformation, they managed to nt the seed of doubt and hatred in most of the citizens of Antis.


    The King was strictly supportive of Eve, so he didn''t let anything happen to her.


    ...


    Year 2037, March 20...


    The King of Antis was found dead on his bed. It was said that he suffered a heart attack; however, no one knew the truth as there was no investigation.


    The eldest son of the King became the new King.


    Unlike the old King, the new King was more suspicious of Eve because of all the rumors about her possible betrayal. Moreover, he was surrounded by all the negative people only.


    He was convinced that they had already advanced enough in technology that they didn''t need her.


    After slight consideration, he ordered the death of Eve... And the task was given to one of his ministers.


    After a little more discussion, it was decided that she wasn''t to be killed with weapons as she could fight back. She was to be killed with the fiercest poison to ever exist, a poison which had no cure.


    ....


    December 20, 2037


    Eve was invited to dinner by the minister who was tasked with killing her.


    Eve knew that there were some people who didn''t like her, but even she didn''t expect that even the Royals would try to kill her.


    She drank the poison without any suspicions.


    The poison started acting immediately, and Eve dropped to the ground. Her face turned pale, and her heartbeat stopped.


    The Minister checked up on her and checked her heartbeat. After making sure she wasn''t breathing, he smiled proudly. "Heh, finally, I''m done."


    He called one of his servants. "Bring the coffin I arranged. Even though she died a rat''s death, at least we can bury her with her royal symbol. Hehehe."


    ...


    Year 2038...


    Lucifer opened his eyes in the arms of his parents at the hospital¡­

 Chapter 603 - 603: Quest

    <h4>Chapter 603 - 603: Quest</h4>


    The King looked at the Minister who was tasked with killing Eve.


    He had recognized Eve already, but what he couldn''t understand was why she was in the middle of nowhere. She was killed around neen years ago in this city by his minister on hermand. So how did her body end up so far?


    "Would you like to exin yourself?" he asked the Royal Advisor, who was the Minister of Defence neen years ago.


    He was also the person who was tasked with killing Eve.


    Almost all the Ministers here were trustworthy to the King, but even then, there were some ministers who didn''t know about the past and how Eve was killed.


    Right after the disappearance of Eve, it was dered in the public that Eve had run away to be with her fraternity, leaving Antis behind.


    The ministers who had heard that announcement were slightly surprised that she was still in Antis, buried in a coffin. They had a feeling that something was wrong.


    There was probably a scheme that they didn''t know about. And it looked like the King, and the Royal Advisor knew about it, the way they were looking at each other.


    "I-i..." The Royal Advisor stuttered.


    "Are you just going to stutter or say something?" The King frowned.


    "I buried her body there, far away from the Royal City." The Royal Advisor epted.


    "Why! Why didn''t you destroy the body of that witch as Imanded!" The king raged.


    The ministers who had known about this were perfectly calm, but the others were slightly surprised.


    They finally understood what had happened. Eve hadn''t run away. Instead, she was killed. And they could understand why it had happened.


    They remembered the rumors going around at the time before she had disappeared. It was said that there was a lot of distrust between her and the Royal Family. No wonder the Royal Family killed her, they thought.


    "I-i wanted to destroy her body. But I couldn''t..." The Royal Advisor said, lowering his head.


    "I''m asking you why! Why didn''t you destroy her body!"


    "It happened on the day when I invited her to dinner. My wife saw me put the poison in the food. After she asked repeatedly, I told her the truth about what I was nning."


    " She didn''t want her to die, but after a little insistence, she agreed to let me kill Eve. However, my wife was a little superstitious."


    "She said that destroying or burning the body of hers will bring bad luck to Antis and us. Even though I didn''t want to believe in superstition, I couldn''t get it out of my head either."


    "So you didn''t destroy her body," the King said grimly.


    "Yes. I killed her. So it didn''t matter if we destroyed her body or buried her. It wasn''t as if she coulde back from death. The only risk in burying her was the chance of someone finding her dead body. So I took the coffin to a barrennd and buried it safely."


    As the Royal Advisor finished exining, he bowed respectfully.


    "Buried her to a ce where no one could find her, isn''t that right?" The King scoffed sarcastically. "Apparently, that wasn''t the case, was it?"


    "But Your Majesty, she has been dead for close to two decades. She can''te back to life. And it''s not as if the Variants can have an advantage with her body," the Royal Advisor suggested.


    "You''re too naive! If they took the risk of infiltrating Antis to get the body, they must be nning something big! We must bring back the body or destroy it!" The King dered.


    "Destroying it would be easier. We already know where the intruders went. We can send some men to destroy the body of Eve," the Royal Advisor suggested.


    "Hmph!" The King scoffed as he sat back on the throne. "We have to go through so much, all because you failed to destroy a body! Royal Advisor, I am not happy with you. You have made a big mistake!"


    "Generally, I would have killed you for this oversight, but I''ll give you one more chance to correct your mistake!" He red at the Royal Advisor.


    "Your wish is mymand, My King!" The Royal Advisor bowed respectfully.


    "I want you to go to the maind! Take as many people as you find suitable! Your task is to find Eve''s body and destroy it! Also, you are to find out what the intruders wanted to do with her body!" The Kingmanded.


    "It shall be done." The Royal Advisor said before bowing again. He started leaving.


    "Failure won''t be tolerated. Just remember that!" The King reminded the Royal Advisor, who nodded in respect.


    "You''reing with me," the Royal Advisor told the soldiers who had informed everyone about this incident.


    The soldiers were slightly worried about going with the Royal Advisor. They could feel that the Royal Advisor was angry at them. It was because of them that the King found out about the oversight of his. The soldiers wondered if they were going to be punished by the Royal Advisor.


    That wasn''t the case though. After leaving the Royal Chamber, the Royal Advisor stopped and looked at the soldiers. "Give me the coordinates of their teleportation."


    The soldier in the lead did as he was told.


    "So the nation of Zeston... Good. You five areing with me to the maind. I''m sure you already heard of the mission?" The Royal Advisor asleep the soldiers as he walked to the end of the hallway.


    "We did. It would be our good fortune to apany the Royal Advisor on this mission." The soldiers nodded.


    "Good. So wait before the intercontinental portal. I''ll be right back after getting some things ready. Then we shall leave on the hunt!" The Royal Advisor said before disappearing.


    ....


    Lucifer teleported from the academy in Antis only to appear in a small room.


    The square room was only three meters wide, and it was covered in strange formations everywhere.


    The symbols looked simr to what they did in the chamber in Antis.


    "Are we in Zeston?" Lucifer asked the Dean.


    The Dean nodded his lifeless head.


    "So this is the connecting portal. If I want to go back to Antis, can I use this?" Lucifer asked.


    The Dean again nodded.


    "Are there more such portals in Zeston?" Lucifer asked.


    The Dean shook his head.


    "In the continent of Triton?" Lucifer inquired.


    The Dean again shook his head.


    "Good." Lucifer nodded.


    He fired a couple of lightning bolts, destroying the formations on the ground, effectively making the only outlet of Antis in the continent of Triton useless so no one could chase after them.

 Chapter 604 - 604: Were Not Done

    <h4>Chapter 604 - 604: We''re Not Done</h4>


    He pped his hand again, firing more lighting bolts towards the sky, creating an opening in the ground.


    He flew out with the coffin in his hand. Szar and the Dean also flew behind him.


    After leaving the room, Lucifer found himself in the middle of a desert. There was no human establishment nearby.


    Not stopping with just that, he called forth the lightning from the sky, destroying the underground room even more than it was already destroyed.


    After destroying the chamber, he called forth wind tornadoes to bury the room with sand, making it impossible to be found.


    "That''s much better," he said, patting his clothes.


    He changed the color of his cloak to white and covered his head with the good as the sun was shining bright above his head.


    He also brought his gloves out of his pocket and wore them.


    "Show me the map of Zeston and highlight my location from it," Hemanded.


    A holographic image appeared didn''t before his eyes which showed the map of Zeston. A green dot was beeping in the map, highlighting the location of Lucifer.


    The green dot was right at the edge of Zeston.


    "Right on the border, huh. It doesn''t matter."


    "Highlight the Warlock Council headquarters as well," he furthermanded.


    A red dot appeared in the middle of the map.


    "What''s the distance between me and it?" he asked.


    A grey line connected the two dots. A number appeared above the line.


    "The distance is six hundred and fifty kilometers," the assistant voice echoed in Lucifer''s head.


    "Connect to the phone of Kellian and point out his location. Also, connect a call with him," hemanded again as he started flying towards the Warlock Council Headquarters.


    At the same time, a bigger map appeared, highlighting the map of the continent of Triton. A yellow dot highlighted the location of Kellian, who had just entered the continent of Triton. He was advancing towards Zeston.


    "Where are you now?" Lucifer asked Kellian as the call was connected.


    "I am on amercial flight. Just entered the Continent of Triton. Do you have the location ready where we''ll meet?" Kellian answered.


    "Are you with everyone else from the team?" Lucifer asked.


    "No. We are already out. All of us are taking a different flight to get inside Zeston. We''ve also inserted our data into their system. We would be considered the citizens of Zeston. No checking," Kellian replied. "At the moment, only Triston is with me."


    "What about Milena?" Lucifer asked, frowning. "Why aren''t you keeping an eye on her?"


    "She is with me as well. I was just answering about the members of our original team.?If we talk about our extended team, then Milena and what''s his name... Ah, yeah Arthur. Milena and Arthur are also traveling with us," Kellian exined.


    "Don''t worry. None of the Nobles are unsupervised," he further added. "So, where are you? Did you reach Triton as well?"


    "I am already inside Zeston. I''m traveling to the main city where the Warlock Council Headquarters is situated. I''ll send you the location on your phone within minutes. We''ll meet in that small town which is right at the edge of the main city."


    "Understood."


    As the call was disconnected, Lucifer tapped on a small town in the holographic map. "Send this location to Kellian."


    "Location sent," the assistant answered.


    ...


    Sitting in the passenger flight, Kellian received the location of the meeting.


    ''So that''s the ce. Good. Just when I thought we would have to fight without him, he appeared to help us. The Warlock Council is the only strong force that stands in our way! And soon, it''ll be fine as well. We would control everything and won''t have to be in conflicts anymore,'' Kellian thought, looking at the time, which wasn''t far from the Warlock Council headquarters.


    He sent the location to other team members as well who were in other ces, telling them to find a way to get to the meeting point.


    ...


    All the Uprising Variants were getting close to the Warlock Council for a surprise attack to end the war before it could begin.


    And an even bigger threat in the form of Lucifer was also getting closer to the same aim.


    The entire Uprising was united. On the contrary, the Warlock Council was never as divided as it was now.


    Throughout the days, many meetings had taken ce, all ending up in chaos before any decision could be reached.


    Today, another such meeting was called, this time called as final.


    All the Warlock Leaders were sitting in the meeting Chamber. The meeting hadn''t started yet as the managing Warlock of the Warlock Council was yet to arrive.


    The dark door opened, and an old man stepped inside. He walked to the main chair.


    "Greetings to everyone. And thank you foring back again," the old man said before sitting down.


    "Old man, we would still say the same thing. Until you resign and give that post to someone else, we won''t support anything! It''s been enough!"


    "Yeah! Throughout the years, the Warlock Council was the biggest force! No one dared to even think about opposing us! But under the weight of your decisions, we lost all that reputation! Three of us are dead, and I''ll give a big credit of that to you!"


    "Yeah! We were all saying that we should all attack the Divine Empire! But you and some of your idiots were so stubborn that you didn''t listen! You sent Andreas! And we all know the result! It wasn''t Andreas who died but our fear in the mind of our enemies!"


    "Agreed! Old man, resign. It would''ve been fine if it was just one mistake, but you did a second one as well! Instead of attacking Elisium with our full force for them disrespecting us, you sent only two of us there to attack them. And the two ended up dying!" I''ve never felt this insulted before!"


    "Not only did we not get the stones, but we also lost our dignity and respect! You must reign and let apetent person lead!"


    "Yes! Resign!"


    "Resign!"


    One after another, the chants started echoing in the meeting room, trying to force the old man to surrender his seat.


    Just like thest meeting, there was once again a man who was lyingzily on his seat with his eyes closed as if he wasn''t interested in the meeting even now.


    "Man, you''re all like vultures," the manzilymented.


    "Julien, you stay out of it! We''re not done with you either! It''s partially your fault as well! You were the one who moved Hanzi, which made him decide to go only with Zhu!"

 Chapter 605 - 605: Invitation

    <h4>Chapter 605 - 605: Invitation</h4>


    " My fault that you guys were so overconfident in yourself?" Julien asked, smirking.


    "It was you all who were hungry for war. It was you who were underestimating the enemies. It was you who was saying that the old man was wrong in taking time to decide what to do with such weak enemies."


    "Moreover, you were the ones who suggested only sending two people since the enemies were so-called weakling, ording to you."


    "The old man went along with your demands, and now that it turned out to be wrong, you''re ming the old man?" Julien asked.


    "It''s not that I particrly care for the old man or this Council, but still, even I can see how stupid you''re all being. If anyone was at fault, it was you for being stupid. And if there was any mistake of that old man, it was listening to you all."


    "That''s why I said you''re all acting like vultures here. Moreover, since yourst suggestions are the reason we''re in this mess, shouldn''t it be you all who should be apologizing?"


    "The so-called loss of respect? That''s because of you. The so-called insult... That''s because of you. The death of three Warlock Leaders, that''s because of you! So before the old man apologizes, you should do it."


    After finishing what he wanted to say, Julien closed his eyes again and stopped speaking.


    For a moment, there wasplete silence in the entire hall. No one said anything, however, the heavy breathing sounds could be heard as some people were infuriated by Julien ming them.


    One of them opened his mouth to yell at Julien, but before he could say anything, the old man who was incharge of the meeting stood up.


    The sound of his chair moving alerted others who looked at the old man.


    "Can I say something now? If you''ve all had your turn, it''s time you listen to me. First of all, I''m not giving away my seat, at least not at a time like this."


    "Second of all, before I have the decision of Zhu leaving for Elisium, I asked from you all. And you all said it was a good decision. So Julien isn''t wrong. I did what the majority wanted!"


    "What about sending Andreas to the Divine Empire..."


    "That was also what Andreas wanted! I didn''t tell him, nor did I force him. We were confident, and I let him do it. Even I''m surprised that he was killed, but that''s no reason to divide ourselves!"


    "I''ve had enough of being silent and letting you do what you wanted! This time, you''ll listen to me, and that''s final!"


    "But..."


    "No but! It''s the time of emergency, and I''m takingmand!" The old man dered. "Those who don''t want to listen can leave this meeting right now!"


    Hearing the old man''s tone, some Warlocks were indeed upset, but they didn''t leave. They stayed behind.


    "That''s better! Now that we''re done with the nonsense, time to talk seriously!"


    "The Warlock Council had suffered damage in two ces, one in the Divine Empire while the other in Elisium! Moreover, the damage in Elisium is even higher since two of us were killed there!"


    "That just shows how threatening the Uprising has be after the arrival of their new leader... So I have decided what to do!" The old man dered.


    "We''ll attack them with full force. I know. I''ll keep my men ready." One of the Warlocks nodded.


    "No. We won''t do such a thing," the old man replied.


    "What? Why not?"


    "Because I want to talk to him instead. If he is actually so strong, we can use him. We just need to bring him to our side."


    "Nonsense! He killed our men! And you want to bring him to our side?"


    "Yeah. That''s exactly what I want. That man is strong, and he is someone that can help us take over the Divine Empire."


    "Heck! We don''t need his help! We must kill him first and then destroy the Divine Empire!"


    "You''re not understanding. You need to see the bigger picture," the old man replied.


    "What bigger picture! I don''t want to see any such thing! All I want is to kill the men that dared to challenge us so we could gain back our dignity! If we make him join, it''ll just make us seem weak and scared!"


    "Yeah! What would our enemies think if we did that? It''ll send the wrong message that you must kill a Warlock Leader if they want to be invited to the Warlock Council! It''ll paint a target on our back!"


    "Yeah! We don''t ept!"


    "Sigh, you still don''t listen. Just think about it clearly. How many people will die if we attack Elisium? The person who could kill Zhu with all his Summoned Beasts, just how talented could that guy be?" the old man asked.


    "If I''m not wrong, at least five of us will be killed in the War with them! And with that weak side, will we be able to attack the Divine Empire? That would be more embarrassing!" he added. "On the other hand, we can team up with Lucifer and fight the Divine Empire! We can use him to take out the Divine Empire."


    "That still seems like apromise." The Warlocks still didn''t agree.


    "I have a suggestion. With that, both of you will get your wishes." Julien opened his eyes and smiled.


    "Yes Julien?" The old man asked.


    " Why don''t you do both?"


    "Both? How is that possible! We want that person dead, and he wants that person to be a part of us?''


    "You''re really naive," Julien replied. "Have Lucifer join our side. And take his help in the War against the Divine Empire. If he is killed in that War, then fine. You''ll get your wish."


    "If he isn''t killed, then?" One is the Warlocks asked.


    "If he isn''t killed, then just kill him yourself. He would have already served his purpose by then. Moreover, he would be unsuspecting. You can easily kill him. I mean,e on. Did none of you think of such a basic thing?" he asked, amused.


    "This..." Hearing the suggestion, almost everyone was stunned. This was indeed a good n. They could use him, and then they could get rid of him easily.


    Even though it was a little shameless to backstab a teammate after using him, it didn''t matter. That guy killed their men first. So it wasn''t a bad n.


    "I agree. That can work."


    "Yeah. It''ll be much easier that way. I also ept that."


    "Even though I don''t generally agree with Julien, this is indeed good.. I ept it as well. We should go forward with the n!"

 Chapter 606 - 606: Beauty In Simplicity

    <h4>Chapter 606 - 606: Beauty In Simplicity</h4>


    "Good then. If everyone is on board with it, I''ll invite Lucifer to meet us to join the Warlock Council." The old man nodded.


    "But that guy is too arrogant. He didn''t even meet our envoyst time. I don''t think he respects us. Do you think he''ll evene if we invite? What if he directly refuses to join us without evening?" One of the Warlocks asked.


    "Then we can only go with n B," the old man replied.


    "And what might that n be?" Another Warlock asked.


    "Going there with our full force and showing him our might to make him join us," The old man dered. "But hopefully, it won''te to this."


    ...


    While the Warlock Council was deciding on how to deal with Lucifer as best as they could, Lucifer was flying towards the main city of Zeston.


    The Warlock Council had decided to invite him and were even wondering if he woulde. But they didn''t know that he was already there and getting closer with each passing second.


    He reached the town where he had decided to meet with his friends.


    The Town wasn''t big. There were only around fifty houses. Not even a hundred people lived in the town.


    Because the town was so close to the main city of Zeston, most of the youngsters in the town had left the town, shifting to the city. It was only the old people who had sentimental value associated with the town that refused to leave.


    They still lived in the town, whichcked most of the facilities. There weren''t any proper roads in the town. None of the people here owned any vehicles either.


    The Town didn''t have electricity either. It only had one well, which was used by citizens for water as there was no direct water supply from the city. The Town was considered to be abandoned since the city didn''t want it.


    The city authorities wanted the town citizens to leave the town so they could destroy it since they imed it was bad for the aesthetics of the city. However, the citizens didn''t agree to leave, angering the authorities.


    The authorities couldn''t force the citizens either, so they simply used other methods. They kept the town without any facilities, trying to make the citizens leave themselves. They didn''t believe the citizens could stay here for long.


    Unfortunately, the citizens were stubborn as well. They lived without electricity and other facilities, but they didn''t leave the town. They stayed here, antagonizing the city authorities with their presence.


    It was six in the evening when Lucifer reached the town. Hended in the middle of the town, observing the surroundings.


    The two coffins floated behind him. The lifeless body of the Dean and Szar also stood behind him.


    "This town is so empty... I don''t think it can even apany the gang," Szarmented.


    "Not like we need to live here for decades. Don''t worry about it," Lucifer repliedzily. "It''s a good ce and small. We can easily control it and keep information from leaving. Moreover, we had already researched this town. It doesn''t have a good rtionship with the city. None here can contact the city."


    Lucifer walked to the closest house to him. The door had a steel lock on it which was covered in dust and web. It was clear that no one had lived in this house for a long time.


    He took off his right hand and grabbed the lock.


    The lock was destroyed. Lucifer opened the door and stepped inside.


    He ced both the coffins inside the house and alsomanded the Dean to guard the coffins before he left the house again. He closed the house and walked to the next house.


    The second house didn''t have a lock.


    He knocked on the door. The door wasn''t open.


    He knocked again. "Is anyone inside?"


    "I''ming! I don''t have wings! Wait!" An old sounding voice came from inside.


    After a few minutes, the door opened, revealing an old woman on the other side.


    The face of the woman was covered in wrinkles, and she looked to be in her eighties.


    "Who are you? Did the city send you? Tell them we won''t vacate this ce! Only our dead bodies will leave this town!" The olddy replied.


    "Ah, I think you''re misunderstanding us. We''re not from the city. We''re actually travelers. We saw this beautiful town. It is so peaceful and beautiful. We were wondering if we could be allowed to stay in the town for a few days so we could live in this beauty?" Lucifer asked the olddy, smiling innocently.


    The olddy looked at Lucifer, surprised. "Huh? It''s been a long time since someone called this town beautiful. Everyone else calls it ugly and tries to destroy it."


    "Ugly? Nonsense! It''s such a beautiful house. In the fast-paced world of today, it''s so hard to find a calm and peaceful town like this! And people want to destroy it? That''s crazy!" Lucifer eximed, seemingly shocked.


    The old woman nodded her head. She was impressed by Lucifer, who was still so down to earth and knew how to appreciate the beauty in simplicity.


    "Young man, you have a good eye. I''m d that people like you still exist in this world." The olddy ced her hand on Lucifer''s head.


    "Come on inside. Let''s talk inside," she added as she reached out her hand to hold Lucifer''s hand.


    "Ah!"


    Lucifer hastily retracted his hand. He hadn''t worn his gloves. "My hand is still dirty. I can''t dirty your hand by touching you."


    The woman looked at him, confused. But she didn''t mind. "It''s alright. Come in."


    She stepped inside the house.


    Behind her, Lucifer and Szar also stepped inside.


    "Please sit."


    ...


    Two dayster...


    "Is this the town?" Uzuki asked, standing before the town.


    "ording to the location, it''s the one," Das answered. "Lucifer must be here."


    The first batch from Uprising had already reached the town, which contained four Warlocks and three Nobles.


    The seven of them stepped inside.


    "Ah, there he is." Das smiled, seeing Lucifer standing with Szar, talking to some old men.


    They walked up to him.


    "You''re here. That''s good," Lucifermented. He looked at the old people around him. "These are my friends. When I told them about how beautiful this town was, they started talking abouting as well. I hope you don''t mind?"


    "Ah, not at all! It''s good! After a long time, our town is going to be so lively!" One of the old men replied.


    "Yeah. In fact, you can invite even more people if you want. They''ll be even better," Another added.


    Lucifer only smiled in response.. "I''ll see what I can do."

 Chapter 607 - 607: Why Should I

    <h4>Chapter 607 - 607: Why Should I</h4>


    "Great. In the meantime, your friend can live here. There are many empty houses. Stay as long as you want," the old man replied


    "Exactly. Select any house you want."


    "Thank you. I''ll show them their room." Lucifer took Das and others who were slightly surprised. They didn''t understand why these old people were so friendly with Lucifer.


    They had thought that he might have secured thend or kept the people in the town hostage to keep information from leaving. However, it was nothing like that. Instead, these people seemed happy with their presence.


    The group of old people left, going back in houses to give Lucifer time with his friends.


    "They are the people of the town. Since I''ve been here for a few days, I''ve told them some lies." Lucifer gestured for the men to follow him.


    He further added. "ording to them, we are travelers from distant cities who like peaceful ces like this. So stay with the script and don''t make a mess. I don''t want to have to kill the people of this town."


    He stopped before a house.


    "This is the house where you''ll stay. I''m sure you can adjust yourself here until the others arrive. Then we can start the mission."


    Das agreed. Opening the doors, he stepped inside the house to observe it. The others also stepped inside.


    "Tell them other things as well. Now that they''re here, it should be fine." Aftermanding Szar, Lucifer left.


    He left all the responsibility to Szar to handle the ce. Instead, he went back inside the ce where he was staying.


    He opened the door and stepped inside. Inside the house, he could see two coffins lying in the distance. One was the coffin of Jenilia, while the other was the coffin of Eve.


    He walked closer to the coffin of Eve.


    He picked up the coffin of Eve and left the house.


    Taking the coffin with him, he left the ce. Until now, he had been waiting for other team members to arrive in town before leaving to do what he wanted. He didn''t want to leave Szar alone to take care of everything.


    Now that the others were here, he didn''t need to worry about anything.


    He carried the coffin and flew a long distance to get to apletely barren ce that was far from any human establishment.


    He ced the coffin on the barrennd before opening it.


    "Alright,dy. Time to see what you actually are. Let''s jump-start your heart."


    ording to thedy at the academy, the only option of helping her was to use electric shock, and even that didn''t have a high chance of sess.


    Moreover, there was a chance that the same energy wave was going to attack the surroundings if he even tried it. That''s why he brought the coffin so far to not affect the others.


    He didn''t want Szar to end up in the same condition as before. They didn''t even have a facility to heal him nearby.


    Moreover, he didn''t want to absorb the strength of thedy since he didn''t even know who she was.?He believed a person this special could be more useful alive than dead, especially after her link with his past self.


    "Alright,dy. It''s time for you to wake up and tell me who the heck you are. Don''t disappoint me now."


    He inserted his hand inside the clothes of the girl to have his handnd on her left breast to have direct contact with her so he could use his shock more effectively without harming her.


    The only thing between the two was his gloves. He wanted to remove even his gloves so he could touch her directly, but that could have killed the girl because of decay, so he didn''t.


    As his handnded on her chest, he could feel something soft.


    "Three..."


    "Two..."


    "One..."


    After the count of three, he released a light electric shock with precise control to control the damaging factor of his lightning.


    The lightning reached the heart of thedy; however, nothing happened.


    Lucifer increased the intensity and tried again, but the same thing happened even now. She didn''t wake up. Her heart didn''t beat.


    "A failed endeavor?" he muttered, frowning. "Onest try."


    This time, he used even more of his lightning¡ªa current spread through the body of thedy, mainly targeting her heart.


    "It didn''t work even now. Should I try with full strength? But that will leave a hole in her heart."


    "No. I should leave her be. I''ll have someone else have a look at her to see if we can wake her up."


    He was about to pull his hand out of her clothes when he felt something. He could feel the heartbeat. The heart of the girl had actually started working. Her chest started moving up and down as she started breathing.


    "It worked?" In his surprise, he even forgot to take out his hand from her clothes and simply looked at the face of Eve, surprised.


    She was actually breathing. Her face was gaining even more colors, and her eyelids flickered.


    Eve soon opened her eyes, revealing her beautiful violet eyes that were filled with innocence. She looked towards Lucifer, lowering her head.


    She noticed his hand on her left breast.


    "Ah Lucifer, can you take out your hand? That''s a ce you shouldn''t..."


    "Right." Lucifer pulled out his hand. He stood up, stepping back. "It''s good to see you up. Now you can tell me who you are. And how do you know me?"


    "How do I know you?" Eve asked, smiling. "Who would know you more than me? I''ve been watching you all this while... I watched your every action from your birth to now."


    She also stood up and stepped out of the coffin.


    "So my meeting with you... That actually happened? You were there when I died?" Lucifer asked.


    "I wasn''t there. But I saw everything..." Eve replied.


    "Why should I trust you?" Lucifer asked. "It could also be possible that you are a Variant who can read memories and manipte them. Why should I believe that you didn''t mess with my memories only recently?"


    "In my dream eight years ago, you looked the same as you did now. That can only mean you nted it now," he added.


    "Well, that''s a good question as well." Eve smiled.


    "And I expect a good answer as well. If I don''t, I''ll send you to a worse ce than you were in before," Lucifer remained thedy grimly.


    He didn''t want to believe her so easily and fall for her tricks.

 Chapter 608 - 608: Ask Him

    <h4>Chapter 608 - 608: Ask Him</h4>


    "Don''t worry. Since I''m not lying, I won''t need to make something up. The reason I look the same is because that''s exactly how I''ve always liked since I awakened," Eve replied.


    "It has been decades actually. My ability doesn''t let me age. I was eighteen before I awakened, and I''ll be eighteen even after a hundred years if nothing changes," she added.


    " So you are an immortal," Lucifer summarized.


    "That won''t be a correct statement. Immortal means I''m unable to die. Actually, I can die. I''m not as, ah, resilient as you with your healing. But I do have some tricks up my sleeves as well. So I''m harder to kill, but not impossible," Eve replied.


    "That still doesn''t answer why I should trust you. How does that prove you didn''t just nt memories in my head about seeing you?" Lucifer inquired again. He brought her back to life for his answers, and he wasn''t going to let her go easily.


    "Sigh, you know, that''s the problem with you. You''re always so serious." Eve chuckled. "But I also know what kind of person you are. So I''m not surprised. But I''ll answer that question as well."


    "I can prove that I didn''t nt any memories in your head,"?she added.


    "Prove how?" Lucifer asked.


    "Simple. I can prove it easily. As for how that was the case, I''m not sure. If I simply messed with your memories, that means I was nowhere close to your friend Cassius, right?" Eve asked. "No way I could have messed with his head."


    "And if I could actually mess with his head from so far away, won''t I be too overpowered? Why would I even need you to wake me up?"


    "So you know about Cassius. How does it matter? You could have found out about him in my memories?" Lucifer asked. "What does it prove?"


    "If I knew about it from your memories, why would I know his phone password? Unless you''re iming that you know his password?" Eve asked.


    Seeing Lucifer frown, she further continued. "Go ahead and call him. Ask him if his password is 23864 or not."


    Lucifer brought his sses out and contacted Cassius.


    "Where are you?" he asked as soon as Cassius picked up the call.


    "I''m on a flight to Zeston. Should be there in two days," Cassius asked. "Jean from Uprising, Alicia, and some Nobles are also traveling with me."


    "You''reing as well?" Lucifer asked.


    "Of course. How can I stay back after all this? I''m also bringing the Limiters with me," Cassius replied.


    "Get to the point," Eve reminded Lucifer.


    "Cassius, answer me one thing honestly."


    " You sound serious. Ask."


    "Is the password of your phone 23864?" Lucifer asked.


    "Ah, how did you know? I changed the password only yesterday. How did you find out?" Cassius was slightly surprised to see Lucifer guess his password so easily.


    Lucifer looked back at Eve, who had a calm smile on her face. "Alright, I''ll call youter."


    He took off the sses and kept them back in his pocket.


    "Do you believe me now?"


    "How did you know about it?" Lucifer asked calmly.


    "Because I was in dreamworld until you woke me up."


    "What is this Dreamworld?"


    "Ah, think of it as a special space. In this way, I can travel to any part of the world and see whatever I want to see. I was with your friend Cassius when he was changing his password. Simrly, I was watching over the meeting of the Warlock Council until recently," Eve replied.


    "I mean, honestly. I didn''t even know that you were going to try to wake me up," she added. "I''m actually surprised it worked. With how chaotic your lightning is, I thought you''d kill me the moment you try something like this."


    "Meeting of the Warlock Council? What meeting?"


    "Oh that? Nothing. They just talked about inviting you to join them. They want to make you a part of the Warlock Council to use you against the Divine Empire. And then after the Divine Empire fell, they wanted to kill you," Eve replied.


    "Not a bad n honestly. Albeit, a wrong situation. How could they have known that you already have the Divine Empire with you," Eve answered, smiling.


    Grrrr~


    Grrrr~


    Lucifer was hearing Eve''s words when his sses started vibrating.


    He wore the sses again and picked up the call after seeing the name of Kellian.?"Yeah?"


    "Kane contacted me from Elisium. There''s something you should know."


    "Is it about the invitation of the Warlock Council for me?" Lucifer asked, ncing at Eve.


    "This... How did you know about him? He told me he didn''t inform you yet?" Kellian inquired, surprised.


    "Nothing. I''ll tell youter. When are you getting here?"


    "The town? A couple of hours, and we''ll be there."


    "Good. I''ll talk to you there."


    Lucifer took off his sses.


    "Do you trust me now? I wasn''t lying. I was just trapped in an unfortunate situation."


    "What situation?"


    Eve took a deep breath before she started talking about herself and how she awakened. She also spoke about the establishment of Antis and how she was poisoned.


    "They poisoned me and buried me in the ground. But they didn''t know about all my abilities. Choosing poison against me wasn''t a good decision," she said.


    "You have poison immunity?" Lucifer asked, taking a guess.


    "Something simr to that but not quite. It''s just that my body can refine the toxins it encounters. But the problem is that it literally shuts itself down to refine the poison. And I have no control over it."


    "The poison didn''t kill me. But my annoying ability shut my body down. My heart stopped, and I was trapped in the Dreand. Unlucky, isn''t it? An ability which is so messy for its owner?" Eve asked.


    "It happened even once before. Fortunately, it was when I was young. I was taken to the hospital and came back to life. However, this time, I was buried in the middle of nowhere."


    "All I could do was spend time in dreand, watching others live their lives and imagine myself in their ce." She released a mouthful of breathing and sighed.


    "Why didn''t you ask anyone to help you?" Lucifer asked, frowning.


    "Because I couldn''t. I could watch others from the Dreamworld but not talk to them. None of them coulde inside the Dreand either. And even if someone coulde, it wouldn''t matter. After leaving the Dreamworld, they were going to lose all their memories regarding the interaction," Eve exined.


    "That''s why I was so surprised when you entered the Dreamworld."

 Chapter 609 - 609: Inside

    <h4>Chapter 609 - 609: Inside</h4>


    "Are you satisfied with my answers?" Eve asked, smiling. "I think I covered everything the best I could. There shouldn''t be any room for doubt anymore."


    Lucifer rubbed the back of his neck, observing thedy. Her words did make sense to some extent. That could also be why the academy didn''t know about her. She was buried by the Royals.


    "So you''ve been with me most of my life," Lucifermented.


    "More or less," thedy replied.


    "In the dream, you talked about something else. Like where I''m from and my real name. What was that about then? It seems you know more about me than myself. So tell me. What''s my real identity?" Lucifer asked.


    "You remember that as well. Oh man, that''s going to be hard." Eve looked elsewhere.


    "Are you answering or not? What is it that you know about me that I don''t?" Lucifer asked, taking a step closer to her.


    "There are many such things. I mean, I was with your father before you. So I honestly saw some really weird things. It made me learn more about this world than I would have learned otherwise."


    "Like what? Tell me clearly!" Lucifer said firmly.


    "I don''t think you''re ready to hear that right now. If I told you, it might affect your path. What if I tell you after everything is over?" Eve asleep.


    A lightning sword appeared in Lucifer''s hand. His figure flickered, and he appeared right in front of Eve. His sword rested close to her neck.


    Just a little movement, and the sword would have stabbed her.


    "You won''t be alive by then if you don''t tell me now," he warned her. "Since you''ve been apanying me for so long, I''m sure you know about my limited patience with things."


    Eve nced at the sword in Lucifer''s hands. "That sword isn''t half bad. But it can''t bepared to the sword which you had when you were found."


    "Sword I had? What do you mean?" Lucifer asked.


    "Fine. I guess I''ll start from the beginning. Since you want to know so bad, I''ll tell you everything I know about you. Can you lower this sword now?" She asked.


    Lucifer lowered the sword, which disappeared.?He stepped back.


    "You may speak."


    "Well, as I already told you. My body shut down when I was poisoned. And I was trapped in the dream world.?I spent a couple of days observing the person who had poisoned me, wondering if someone would wake me up."


    "Albeit, that didn''t happen. That person buried me in the middle of nowhere. I was sure I wasn''t going to wake up anytime soon, so I decided to live my life the next best way..."


    "Through the eyes of others." Lucifer finished the sentence of Eve.


    "Exactly. I traveled all around the world, watching a myriad of things. In the end, I ended up with your parents."


    "When did that happen?" Lucifer asked.


    "Don''t worry. By the time I finish, the timeline will be clear to you," Eve responded. "So, where was I? Ah, yeah. I ended up in Elisium."


    As she talked, she also started walking in the direction of the vige where Lucifer was staying inside.


    Lucifer walked beside her. "Then?"


    "They were about to enter a newly discovered dungeon. And I decided to tag along to watch the live action," Eve replied. "I must say, they were pretty strong. Even though I hate violence and don''t appreciate it, there was just a different kind of beauty in their battles."


    "How can I describe it better... Ah, let''s say your battles are chaotic. You are pretty dominant in battles and think about destroying the enemy as fast as you can. That''s a good thing, but sometimes you use a bit too much strength when you don''t need to."


    "On the contrary, your parents had a more artistic battle style. They also had incredible strength, but it was as if they didn''t want to end battles too fast. They tried to enjoy the fights."


    "Enjoy the fights?" Lucifer asked. "What does that... mean?"


    "Yep. That would be correct. They tried to enjoy the battles. They talked to each other in the middle of battles, joked around about the enemies, and a whole lot more. It was somewhat funny as well. And flirting, oh god! Even I was embarrassed watching them flirt in the middle of battles."


    "Fun in the middle of battles..." Lucifer muttered, rubbing his chin. It was pretty interesting to know that. He had always thought that his parents fought with more dominance.


    "Yeah. It didn''t look like a particrly hard battle for them. They easily cleared the Dungeon and reached the end of it."


    "That''s it?" Lucifer asked. He thought there was a point to the story? There didn''t seem to be any. They entered a dungeon and cleared it. Why was she wasting his time by telling this?


    "That''s what I said as well," Eve replied, smiling. "I was disappointed as well. I thought there would be more powerful enemies and more challenging beasts, but it was pretty smooth sailing."


    "Tell me more about myself, and don''t waste my time like that. Get straight to the point," Lucifer reminded Eve, who seemed to not get the point.


    "Will you let me finish first?" Eve responded. "I thought the dungeon exploration ended. And I was about to leave to find someone else who could be more interesting to observe. However, that''s when something happened."


    "It was your mother who said something... Which made me stop."


    "What did she say?"


    "She said she could hear someone crying," Eve answered. "She had some good senses. She said she could hear some crying from the other end of the wall."


    "Weren''t they at a dead end already?" Lucifer asked.


    "Hahahaha, that''s what your father asked as well. But your mother was adamant that she could hear the sound of crying from the other end. So guess what your father did?" Eve asked.


    "He destroyed the dead end with his strength," Lucifer took a guess.


    "Pretty much," Eve said. "He destroyed the dead end. And it appeared that your mother was right. There was another path behind the wall. And it wasn''t a dead end."


    Lucifer didn''t intervene and kept hearing carefully.


    "Your parents tread through the new path to find a new room at the end. That new room''s discovery by your parents started this entire story."


    "What was in the room?" Lucifer asked grimly.


    "Who was inside that room?" Eve asked as well. "The answer is right in front of my eyes."


    Lucifer observed Eve looking in his direction.

 Chapter 610 - 610: Taken

    <h4>Chapter 610 - 610: Taken</h4>


    Seeing Eve look at him, Lucifer lowered his gaze. He noticed the key hanging on his neck.


    "This key was there?" he asked.


    "No, idiot! You were there!" Eve dered.


    "Nonsense! How can I be there!" Lucifer fiercely responded.


    "I''m not lying. Inside the room, there was a baby. And that baby was you," Eve answered.


    "You were lying on the ground, crying. Also, there were two things with you at that time. One was the key that you have on your neck at the moment. And the second was a full-size golden chest," she further added.


    "The crying which risse heard was your crying. And that was the day your parents met you for the first time. You aren''t their actual son, but just someone they adopted. And that''s why I didn''t want to tell you about it. It sucks telling people that they were adopted after so long," Eve sighed.


    "But you can''t me me. You forced me to tell you."


    "How can this be... I wasn''t their son?" Lucifer muttered nkly.


    "I mean, I''m sure you knew about it somewhere deep inside your heart. Isn''t that why you were trying to find the stones? So you could find your real origins."


    " It was your subconscious mind pushing you towards this goal since your conscious mind didn''t want to believe the possibility of you being adopted," Eve exined.


    "So I was really not their son? I was really the son of that person who the Dungeon Dwellers were after?" Lucifer asked.


    "Even I''m not sure about that. I never personally saw that person. But from the way his characteristics are described, it would seem that way."


    "And even if you aren''t his son, you two are certainly rted. Maybe you''re his brother? Or just a person from the same species? There are infinite possibilities. Only he can answer that question."


    Lucifer kept walking with Eve for half an hour without speaking anything. He had too many things to process.


    It was after a long time that he spoke again. "What happened after that? What happened after they found me? They brought me home? What about that golden box?"


    "They tried to get close to you, but there was a protective barrier around you. Maybe it was something to keep you safe. I''m not sure. But it was risse who gave it her all to destroy the Barrier to get to you."


    "She spent one month there, trying to use her decay on the barrier. The barrier which was around you... It was so powerful. Even with her decay, itsted for a month. I''m sure it would have been unbreakable with other beasts," Evemented.


    "After that?" Lucifer asked.


    "risse walked to you and observed you. Watching you in such an odd ce was certainly odd. And she was careful. But she couldn''t control herself for long after watching you cry."


    "She took you in her embrace and started calming you down by feeding you. I think her motherly instincts took over. I can''t me her. You were just so cute as a toddler," Evemented. "Hey, no need to re at me like that. I''m not mocking you.''


    "Focus on the story," Lucifer said.


    "Fine. Your father tried opening the golden chest after you were calm, but he needed a key. He took the key from your neck and opened the chest."


    "And inside the chest was...?" Lucifer asked.


    "There were two things inside the chest. One was that sword... The most beautiful sword with an aura that spread far and wide. Even your father was amazed by the sword and tried picking it up. But he couldn''t even touch it."


    "He told your mother that the sword was alive and resisted his touch. He also said that there was a possibility that this sword was for you and that only you could touch it. So she tried that. She made you touch the sword''s hilt."


    "What happened next?"


    Eve started smiling wryly. "Next? You grabbed the sword and swung it. An arc of energy left the sword towards the sky. The entire dungeon was damaged. Your parents had to collect everything fast and run before the Dungeon could fall entirely. You were such a troublemaker."


    "Anyway, your parents came out of the Dungeon with you and the Golden Chest."


    "After seeing you handle the sword so easily, your father''s theory was confirmed. And seeing your strength and your eyes, he also realized that you weren''t an ordinary human. His theory was that you were rted to the Inhuman on the other side of the world."


    "He didn''t kill me despite that?" Lucifer asked. "Or did he try and fail?"


    "He didn''t even try. Your mother was so attached to you; I don''t think he could have suggested it. And I don''t think he wanted to do that either. He didn''t appear like the kind of person who could hurt a kid."


    "They took you home and called a doctor there. And there, they nned to make up a story about you being born. Since your eyes were so reminiscent of the being on the other side, they didn''t want people toe to kill you. So they thought it was better to make a story that you were born to them."


    "With that story, no one could link you to the other side even if your eyes matched. And that''s what they did. It was a pretty neat n and fun to watch. A perfect setup!"


    "Unfortunately, I don''t think they needed to do that. Because the violet part of your eye started going away slowly. Your eyes turned bluepletely. Don''t ask me why it happens. Even I don''t know. Apparently, your eye is again returning to its old color."


    "Anyway, that''s your story... The story of Lucifer Azarel." Eve finished the story.


    Lucifer felt like Eve wasn''t lying. Making up something so bizarre seemed unlikely. And this also made sense. But this raised more questions than it solved.


    The Dungeon Dwellers hated the person on the other side. Then how did someone from that special end up in a dungeon? And why was he all alone as a toddler? And if he had the strength to raise a sword in his childhood, where did that strength go inter years?


    If he had that strength, he could have been considered a Variant in his childhood. He wouldn''t have suffered like this! Why was he powerless most of his life?


    And there was one more question he needed an answer to.


    "What was the second thing in the chest?" Lucifer asked. "And where is that chest and that sword of mine?"

 Chapter 611 - 611: Same Place

    <h4>Chapter 611 - 611: Same ce</h4>


    "The second thing? It was... Hmm? Why don''t I remember what it was?"


    Eve grew confused as she talked. She couldn''t remember what the second thing was. It was as if there was something about the second thing which made her forget about it as soon as she started speaking about it.


    "Ah, don''t joke around. Tell me what the second thing was."


    "I''m not lying. I don''t know why, but I can''t remember it. The memory suddenly gets blurry whenever I try to remember the second thing. All I know is that there was one more."


    "Fine. Tell me where the box is. I''ll see for myself." Lucifer didn''t try to force Eve. He got a feeling that she wasn''t lying.


    Moreover, it wasn''t surprising either. She had slept for a long time. Maybe her memories were slightly affected because of that, and she lost some. Or maybe the second thing was something that made it impossible for someone to remember. That was also possible.


    "That golden box? It should be in your home."


    "My home was destroyed. There was no golden box there. If there was, I would have known."


    "Nope. What was destroyed was Zale''s home."


    "Are you hallucinating or something? His home was my home. I had no other home," Lucifer replied.


    "That''s what you think. But you don''t know something," Eve replied. "Your parents had bought another home... A better one in your name. They wanted to give that home to you when you grew up as a surprise. Albeit, they weren''t there to watch you grow."


    "This house... Is it in Elisium?"


    "Yeah. It''s not far from your parent''s home either. A pretty good mansion which should still have that golden chest and some other things there."


    "The sword will be there as well?" Lucifer asked, more focused on the Sword.


    "The Sword, huh." Eve rubbed her chin. "That won''t be there."


    Her reply intrigued Lucifer. Where was the sword, if not with the chest?


    "Wait. I had heard that they were searching for a sword when they were killed. Don''t tell me they lost my sword and were looking for it?" Lucifer asked.


    "Ah, that seems to be the case," Eve exined. "The Sword was stolen from the hospital when they were trying to nt the story of your birth. And since then, they were trying to find the sword."


    "You must know where the sword is. You could''ve seen it in the DreamWorld!" Lucifer let out, not losing hope.


    If Eve was honest about the Dream World and what she could do, then there was no way she didn''t know about the sword.


    "Of course I know where that Sword is," Eve replied, smiling brightly.


    "Where is it then?"


    "It''s inside the Dungeon where your parents died actually. An amusing coincidence."


    "H-how did it end up there?"


    "Your parents found the sword on the way to the Dungeon, which finished their search. And they entered the Dungeon with the Sword in their bags. That Sword was left right there after everything finished."


    "So they really died in the Dungeon?'' Lucifer asked as his volume lowered.


    "What were you expecting? That they would survive?" Eve took a deep breath. "Unfortunately, they died. I watched them die right before my eyes."


    "Now you can stop thinking about them surviving. They are gone. And they won''t being back," she further continued.


    Lucifer grew silent again and didn''t speak. It took him a moment to get back to normal.


    "So I need to enter the Dungeon where they died," he said.


    "If you want the sword." Eve nodded. "Is there anything else you want to ask me? Or are we done with the interrogation?"


    Lucifer didn''t have many questions for her now. The way she described her powers, she couldn''t predict the future. She only knew the past from the moment she was buried to now. And he already had all the answers he could get from her.


    After some time, he looked at Eve again. "Onest question."


    "Yeah?"


    "What do you want to do next?"


    "What do you mean?"


    "I mean, you are awake again. What do you want to do next? What are your goals? Will you go to Antis for your revenge?"


    "Revenge? I won''t. I don''t want to. I don''t like all this fighting and violence between humans. I hate it. It''s fine if you kill monsters but killing your fellow humans and Variants? That''s not for me."


    "So you think I am a bad man?" Lucifer asked, bursting intoughter.


    Eve didn''t reply.


    "Go ahead. Answer me. I killed so many people that even I''ve lost count. Do you think I''m a bad man?'' Lucifer asked.


    "I can''tment on anyone else. I can''t just speak about myself. And I think using Violence to get to your means isn''t right."


    "So what should be done?" Lucifer asked. "Should we let others walk over us as they desire? Should we be at the mercy of others? The mercy of these... These bastards?!"


    "I-i think there can be better ways. But I also understand that everyone has a different path to walk. I knew your path was going to be filled with bloodshed, and sometimes you had no choice either. But I still think violence isn''t always the answer."


    Lucifer looked at Eve weirdly. "What did you say your name was?"


    "My name? Eve. Why?"


    "Well Eve. You want to know what I think?'' Lucifer asked.


    Eve waited for his answer.


    "I think you are an idiot. You need to grow up and get out of that childish mindset. If not, you''ll end up dead someday. You have no idea what this world is actually like," Lucifer said.


    "I don''t have an idea?" Eve smiled. "I''ve been watching this world for thest eighteen years. And let me tell you, there are many good people in this world! In fact, there are more good people than there are bad!"


    "Really? And what can those good people do when bad peoplee firing at them?" Lucifer asked. "Will they invite the bad people for a debate or something?"


    "There is no such thing as a good person! What you know as a good person is just a person who didn''t face the situation that could make him go bad yet," he further added.


    "The person in ss houses who preach to others about walking the righteous path and nevermitting any crimes? They would be the first person to raise their guns if their lives or the lives of their children were in danger!"


    "The so-called good people will be the first to steal if they were dying of hunger and all righteous paths of earning failed."

 Chapter 612 - 612: Jealous

    <h4>Chapter 612 - 612: Jealous</h4>


    "No one is born inherently good or inherently bad. Life situations make them good or bad."


    " So your definition of good is faulty in the first ce," Lucifer dered.


    "The world won''t work ording to you. The ones who want to kill you will still kill you, even if you are the nicest person on earth. By being good, you leave your destiny in the hands of others. But me... I take my destiny in my own hands."


    "You can be naive all the way you want and forgive the ones who tried to kill you, but not me. I won''t only kill the ones who try to kill me, but I''ll kill them in the most brutal way possible!"


    The more Lucifer talked, the more Eve felt like he was telling the truth. But still, she didn''t change her mind about how she had to deal with situations rted to her. She still didn''t want to have revenge on Antis.


    "I''m not saying you need to walk the path of no bloodshed. All I''m saying is that it''s an option that you can try sometimes. Who knows, you might like it," Eve replied.


    "Whatever," Luciferzily replied. "You''ll be staying with me from now on."


    "Until you can verify the truth in my statement by using your Variant friend who is back in Elisium?" Eve asked, smirking. She already knew why Lucifer wanted her with him.


    She couldn''t provide battle support. She was just the knowledge basket for Lucifer, who he couldn''t trust entirely. So he probably wanted to see if she was telling the truth in a more conclusive manner.


    "Doesn''t matter what I want. All that matters is that you''ll be staying with me," Lucifer calmly replied.


    "Whatever you say, boss. Not like I had another ce to go," Eveughed, stepping closer to Lucifer. "It feels so good to talk to another human after all this while."


    "By the way, are we only going to walk, or you''ll use your signature trick as well?" She further asked, talking about the flying skill of Lucifer.


    Lucifer kept his silence, but he did start rising in the air. Eve''s body also started floating. The two of them flew straight towards the small town.


    ...


    After a short trip, Lucifer and Evended inside the town again. Lucifer met with Szar and Das and introduced Eve.


    He didn''t tell them her origins. He only said that she was going to be staying with them. It was only Szar who knew her origin and where she was from. But most importantly, he was stunned to see her walking.


    She didn''t look like a dead person who was walking because of the parasite. She was actually alive.


    As time passed, more and more Variants started gathering in the small town.


    The town, which barely had any people living in the past, suddenly had many guests. There were around thirty Uprising Members and over fifty Nobles that were already here by now.


    For some reason, Kellian and Milena were dyed. They still weren''t here yet. On the contrary, Cassius and Alicia were already there.


    As Alicianded in the town, she saw Lucifer talking with Eve alone in the distance. She walked straight to them to tell Lucifer about her arrival and to interfere between the two of them. Even she didn''t know the reason she felt the need to do it.


    "Alicia. Wee back," Lucifer smiled at the sight of Alicia. "Well done on finishing the mission sessfully."


    "Of course we were going to," Alicia replied. "By the way, who is thisdy here?"


    "She?" Lucifer asked. "She is Eve. Think of her as a new member of Uprising."


    "Anyway, you girls talk. I''ll go and meet Cassius. Need to adjust the Limiters as well."


    Lucifer left swiftly, leaving twodies behind.


    "A new member, huh. You probably don''t know me, but I''m one of the oldest members," Alicia proudly stated.


    "Hahaha, I know. Honestly, you don''t need to feel jealous."


    "What? Jealous? What do you mean?" Alicia asked, stunned.


    In the distance, Lucifer met with Cassius and congratted him as well. He took the box that Cassius had brought with him and left.


    Even though he left Eve behind, he didn''t leave her out of sight. It was Szar''s responsibility to keep an eye on her.


    Lucifer entered the small house where he was staying and opened the box filled with Limiter. He already had the experience of messing with one of them. He knew what to do this time.


    The first thing he did was disable the location of the Limiters and instead connected a different system that could only send their location to him. Next, he modified the Limiter to only react to his voice.


    He didn''t want someone using his own Limiter to trap him. And he didn''t trust others. So he added the measure. His voice was like the master key of the Limiters.


    Next, he added another system in the Limiter so that they would simply blow up if someone tried to mess with them like he was messing with them. He didn''t want someone to reverse engineer them against him.


    Andstly, he made the Limiter shock even more powerful. Since he was dealing with powerful Warlocks and not just the kids at the academy, he couldn''t use the same intensity of current on them.


    In fact, he wanted to add his own lightning in the Limiters. He even tried to do that, but the Limiters blew up. They couldn''t handle his lightning. He needed more research if he wanted to do that.


    He spent the rest of the day modifying each of the Limiters one by one.


    Knock~


    Just as Lucifer finished modifying most of the Limiters, he heard a knock behind him.


    "Just a minute," he responded before focusing on work. It was only after he finished thest Limiter that he stood up.


    He walked to the door after closing the box of limiters. "Yeah? Ah, it''s you. Wee."


    Kellian was standing before him. Milena was standing behind him.


    Jiani was also standing with Milena, trying to push her to take the lead. She wanted Milena to go ahead with the n of making Lucifer fall for her so he could remove the Limiter.


    Milena clenched her fist. She was so embarrassed at the thought of what she had to do. But it was for her freedom. And Jiani said that it was going to work.


    She took a deep breath before she stepped ahead of Kellian and took Lucifer into her embrace.


    She hugged Lucifer so tightly that he could feel her breasts as well. He didn''t understand why she would do that. Did thedy go crazy?


    "It''s so good to see you safe.. I thought something might have happened to you!" Milena said.

 Chapter 613 - 613: You Care

    <h4>Chapter 613 - 613: You Care</h4>


    In his confusion, Lucifer even forgot to free himself. He simply looked at Kellian in the back, weirdly.


    "Did she hit her head on the way?" he asked Kellian.


    "Not to my knowledge," Kellian replied.


    At first, he was also stunned to see her hug him with such intimacy. He thought that Lucifer and thedy probably had a different kind of rtionship with each other.


    However, as he saw Lucifer just as confused, he understood that he wasn''t wrong.


    After a long hug, Milena freed Lucifer. "Why are you looking at me like that? Can''t I miss you?"


    "Alright, something is wrong. Fess up. What did you do?" Lucifer frowned.


    Seeing the awkwardness, Jiani stepped in the middle.


    "It''s nothing. Her Majesty was just a little excited after seeing you for so long. Seeing your absence, she had thought that something might have happened to you." She ced her hand on the shoulders of Milena and pulled her back.


    She could see that Lucifer didn''t look happy at all. It would have worked if he was even slightly pleased to have such a prettydy hug him, but he lookedpletely unfazed.


    "Whatever. It''s good that you''re back. I was waiting for you. Come inside," Lucifer told Milena, stepping aside.


    Seeing Lucifer''s invitation, the biggest smile spread across the face of Jiani. She used her thoughts to convey her message to Milena.


    "Ah, he is calling for you. It looks like he was just acting in public. That hug worked miracles. He now wants to be with you alone. Go inside and y along. But don''t let him touch you this time. Time to y hard."


    Milena was slightly hesitant at the thought of being alone with Lucifer when she couldn''t resist. Especially after knowing what his thoughts might be, she clenched her fist and stepped inside the house.


    Behind her, Kellian also took a step forward.


    "Wait. Where are you going? Give the two of them some privacy," Jiani told Kellian, standing in his path.


    "It''s alright. He can alsoe inside," Lucifer''szy voice came in response, surprising Jiani again. Just what was this guy thinking?


    She could only step aside. Kellian entered the house, wondering why the Nobles were acting so weird.


    In the back, Arthur had some idea, but all he could do was smile wryly. He felt slightly embarrassed after watching Milena act that way.


    He stepped inside the house as well with Jiani.


    Kellian had also arrived with Vega, who was going to be the technical support of the team in this quest. Meanwhile, another technical Variant was left back at Elisium to handle things there.


    Vega was with Alicia, talking to her at the moment.


    ...


    The small house suddenly found itself crowded with Kellian and Jean from Uprising and Milena, Arthur and Jiani from the Nobles.


    Lucifer stopped before a Coffin.


    "There''s a girl inside that coffin. I want you to turn her into a Noble and bring her back to life."


    "A girl?" Milena opened the coffin and saw Jenilia inside.


    She didn''t recognize thedy and just wondered if she was an Uprising Member.


    "Isn''t she from Warlock Council?" It was Kellian who recognized her.


    "Yeah. She is from the Warlock Council," Lucifer replied. "An intern there."


    "Did you kill her?" Milena asked.


    "No. She died from something else. Can you bring her back or not?"


    "How long has she been dead for?" Milena inquired.


    "A couple of days," Lucifer answered.


    "Then I can''t bring her back. I am sorry, but I can only turn the people who have died in thest twenty-four hours. She died long before that. Even if I tried, it wouldn''t work," Milena answered.


    "So there''s no way?" Lucifer asked again just to be sure.


    "Not to my knowledge. She is gone forever," Milena replied. "Was she important for the mission?"


    Lucifer nced at the emotionless face of Jenilia.


    He didn''t answer. He simply closed the coffin.


    "Since everyone is here, I want you to prepare for the fight tomorrow. We''ll attack at two in the night. Dere that to your people."


    After everyone left the small house, Lucifer observed the coffin. He could absorb the body of Jenilia. But he didn''t feel like that was good.


    She wasn''t particrly strong. But leaving that aside, he just didn''t feel like destroying the body of this girl. She had helped him on the ship when he needed it.


    She also informed him about the existence of the Warlock Council and the whereabouts of the stones. She had proven her worth, and he felt like she deserved a bit of peace after her death.


    Turning his back on the coffin, he walked to the box on the side and picked up some Limiters.


    He picked up around ten Limiters. Amongst those ten Limiters, he ced five on his left hand. The other five were something he wore on his right hand.


    Even though he wore the Limiters, he kept them deactivated. He didn''t want the Limiters to be damaged while trying to control his powers.


    Moreover, he believed his hands were the best ce to hold these Limiters temporarily.


    After taking the Limiters he needed, he picked up the box and stepped out of the house.


    He ced the box at the entrance of the house and observed his surroundings.


    He could see two groups of people. One group was the group of Nobles. They were being briefed about the attack, which was going to be made soon after the date changed.


    Lucifer waited in the back with his arms folded. Eve also joined him soon as she wasn''t a part of any gang.


    "Who says you don''t have a family. See? There is your family. Such a big family that people would be jealous of you," Eve said. "But then again, more than half of them would be dead in a War tomorrow. How does it feel?"


    "Doesn''t matter. Everyone who is born will die one day. Why would I worry about anyone else dying after already losing some of the most special people to me?" Lucifer asked.


    "Everyone will die one day, except you apparently," Eve replied. "However, don''t you want to cherish them longer? Don''t you want them to live longer?"


    "What are you trying to say?" Lucifer asked. "Speak straight."


    "What I''m saying is that you don''t need to take them, do you?" Eve asked. "You don''t need to put their lives in danger."


    "You mean I should go alone?" Lucifer asked, smiling.. "Do you really think I mind? I wouldn''t even invite them here since I''m confident in myself."

 Chapter 614 - 614: Accepting Invitation

    <h4>Chapter 614 - 614: epting Invitation</h4>


    " It would''ve been faster if I hadn''t waited for them. But they were already on the way. So I waited. In any case, do you really think I would care if any of them die?"


    "You think you won''t?" Eve asked in return. "You have more emotions than you let out, young man. And I saw the extent of those emotions in the pond with that phoenix."


    "Don''t talk about her." Lucifer frowned.


    " See? And you say you don''t care," Eve said, raising her head. "Look up and tell me what you see."


    Lucifer raised his head. It was already evening. The sky was starting to darken, but there was still enough light.


    "I see the sky and some clouds. And I see the sun is setting. What about it?"?Lucifer asked.


    "That''s right. Do you know the specialty of the sun?" Eve asked.


    "It gives light," Lucifer replied.


    "That''s one of them. But I''m talking about the second one. The specialty is that you can''t see the sun at night. After the sun sets, all you see is darkness. But does that mean the sun doesn''t exist at night? Or is it not giving light in the night?" Eve asked.


    "It''s always there, even if you can''t see it. A person''s emotions are the same," she added. "You might not see your emotions at times. You might even feel that you''ve lost your sense of pain and sadness, but it''s always there, just hidden from in sight."


    "Ignoring your emotions won''t make you stronger. That will just mean that you aren''t strong enough to ept your emotions. The day you gain strength to acknowledge your strengths and your ws while epting your true emotions, you''ll beplete."


    "Remember my words."


    After finishing, Eve lowered her head and stopped looking at the setting sun to find Lucifer looking at her.


    "What are you looking at? Have you fallen for me already?" Eve asked,ughing.


    Lucifer stopped looking at her right away. "You might be right about one thing. So many people don''t need to die, especially when there is a better n."


    As he looked away, he noticed that Kellian and Milena were done with the briefing.


    He started walking towards them instead, leaving Eve behind.


    ...


    Now that Kellian and Eve were finished with the briefing, Lucifer joined them and gathered all of them together.


    "I''m sure you all understand what you need to do?" he asked.


    "We did." Everyone said in unison.


    "Good. Now forget all that. There had been a change in the n," Lucifer dered.."You won''t be attacking the city tomorrow. Instead, you''ll be staying back here."


    "W-what?"


    "Are we backing off? What happened?"


    "Is there a new n? Are we going back?''


    Many questions were raised suddenly,ing from both sides. Even Kellian had tons of questions himself.


    "Silence!" Lucifer yelled, silencing everyone. "We''re not going back. The Warlock Council is still going to be destroyed. The only difference is that we''ll use a different n now!"


    "Kellian!" Lucifermanded.


    Kellian stepped forward.


    "The Shadow Monarch of Uprising and one of the most threatening Warlocks in the arsenal of Uprising. You''ll being with me tomorrow."


    "Milena and Arthur, the two of you will also being with me," he further said, selecting only three Warlocks. "Only four of us will go."


    "Only four? What? Why are we all here then? You want our queen to fight alone when all of us are here? Nonsense!" Jiani called out.


    "Who the hell do you think you are to call any n by him nonsense?" Jane responded to Jiani. She was from Uprising and didn''t ept the insult of Lucifer.


    "Silence! No infighting!" Lucifer intervened before the argument could get bad.


    "Previously, I was moving with the n that I had made after knowing that you were all going to be here. But I had ignored something important," he said. "It was about the invitation!"


    "Invitation?" Milena asked, frowning. She didn''t know what invitation he was talking about.


    "You mean the Warlock Council invitation?" Kellian asked.


    "That''s right. It was such an important thing. We can''t ignore it." Lucifer smiled.


    "What Warlock Council invitation? Is someone going to tell us?" Jiani asked.


    "Warlock Council invited me to join them in destroying the Divine Empire," Lucifer answered. "They don''t know that the Divine Empire is mine as well."


    "Anyway, we''ll use that invitation. I will go to them tomorrow. Kellian, Arthur, and disguised Milena wille with me as my envoys."


    "We''ll get an entry inside the Warlock Council headquarters, and we''ll be taken to a meeting with all the Warlock Council leaders."


    "There, it''ll be our responsibility to take out all the Warlock Council leaders who will be in one ce."


    Lucifer told the n in brief.


    "That... That would certainly be a big advantage. If we attack openly, all the leaders will be spread out. It''ll be pretty chaotic. But if we can get them all in one ce, it''ll be pretty amazing," Kellian agreed. "It''ll save us a lot of time."


    "Yeah. And after we crush the heads of the Warlock Council, the rest will be child''s y," Lucifer said. "And if something goes wrong, it''s fine too. All I said is that our army won''t enter the city tomorrow. But that doesn''t mean they can''t surround it from a safe distance."


    "If needed, they''ll bemanded to attack," he continued. "Any questions?"


    "Yeah. One question." The hand which was raised belonged to Cassius.


    "Yeah?"


    "Why are you taking only three people?" Cassius asked. "Why am I not included?"


    "Because I don''t need firepower. I need stealth and someone who is difficult to kill. Milena and Arthur can use teleportation. They can kill fast in a small space while protecting themselves. On the other hand, Kellian has his shadows."


    "They''re selected keeping the worst situation in mind. Andstly, I need more firepower outside. In case things go wrong, it''ll need your sword to bring the city crashing down."


    "Any other questions?" Lucifer asked again after answering Cassius.


    "I have a question. I''m also pretty good at keeping myself safe. My energy negation can be pretty good. Why am I noting?" Yasmine asked.


    "Because I already have that arranged. We don''t need more. And three are already enough. If I go with more people, the Warlock Council might get suspicious," Lucifer exined. "That''s why even Kellian will be in the form of my shadow when going there."


    "Onest thing. I''m sure most of you already know the use of these bracelets. There are some in the box. I want everyone to take one and use it on the enemies if needed.. As for how to use them¡­."

 Chapter 615 - 615: Illegal

    <h4>Chapter 615 - 615: Illegal</h4>


    After briefing everyone about the Limiters and how they worked, he handed over one to each of them. As for the reasons? There was none. He just had too many of them here and felt like they might need it.


    Just ten were enough for him personally.


    After giving each of them a Limiter, he didn''t forget to tell them that he still controlled the Limiters, so none of them could even think about using them for something that they shouldn''t do.


    Everyone took a Limiter, including the Nobles. This was certainly useful to them as they were faster and could use these more effectively.


    "So many of these," Arthur observed one of the Limiters. "Such a small thing yet so dangerous."


    He kept one in his pocket just for the heck of it.


    While everyone was focused on the Limiters, Lucifer was the only one looking elsewhere.


    He was looking at the entrance of the small vige. In the distance, he could see a vehicle racing towards the vige from the city.


    The pitch-ck SUV looked expensive. It wasn''t something that people of the vige could afford, so it was clear that whoever wasing didn''t belong to this city.


    He wondered if someone found out about them but soon shook his head. There was no way that the Warlock Council was only going to send one vehicle if that was the case.


    The ck SUV entered the vige, finally attracting even more attention with its noise. The others also turned around.


    The SUV honked a few times as it stopped in the middle of the vige.


    Hearing the honking sound, the elders of the vige stepped out of their houses.


    "Tsk, they''re back again." The vige head locked at the car weirdly.


    He walked to the car in his slow steps.


    Lucifer also followed the old man; however, he stopped the others from following. He didn''t want a crowd.


    The old man reached the car. Lucifer remained behind him.


    There was one driver at the front seat inside the car and two well-dressed people sitting in the back.


    "Old man, we were here to convince you to vacate the vige, but what is it that I see? Instead of vacating the vige, you invited more people? You know you''re really getting on our nerves." The man in the back red at the old man.


    "This is our vige. I don''t think you have any right to decide who we can invite and who we can''t," the old man calmly replied.


    "Is that so?" The man in the car smiled. "That''s it. Our patience has run out. It was fine as long as you old fogeys were living here since you were going to die sooner orter, but you even invite old people? This is it. We won''t be merciful anymore."


    "Tomorrow, our cranes will be here to tten the vige. You can''t me us anymore. It''s your fault that you invite strangers into the vige and use this ce for illegal activities," the man in the car said.


    "What illegal activities?" Lucifer took the lead and asked.


    "Hehehe, kid. Do you think anyone would care? We don''t need to prove any illegal activity. Just the presence of so many people in this crappy vige is enough for us to justify this lie. The vige will be gone by tomorrow. You better leave tonight if you don''t want to be arrested for no fault of your own." The man in the car reminded Lucifer before closing the window.


    Hemanded the driver to go back.


    The car moved in reserve and left the vige.


    "Tsk, these bastards. They''re just using excuses to justify taking out this vige. It doesn''t matter. We will fight to ourst breath to keep our home safe!" The vige head said. "You don''t need to worry. We won''t let anything happen to you all. But still, if you want to leave, we won''t stop you."


    "This is our problem to face," he further added.


    "No need. I believe your words. Nothing will happen." Lucifer nced at the car which was leaving. "Go and rest."


    The old man turned around and went back into the house.


    "What did they say?" Szar approached Lucifer.


    Lucifer turned to Szar and smirked. "They said they want me to help them a bit. I''ll be right back after helping them achieve their wishes."


    Lucifer flew away after finishing.


    Szar remained back, smiling wryly. He understood what Lucifer meant. But it wasn''t something significant. So what if he killed a few people today. By tomorrow, they were going against the entire Warlock Council anyway.


    ...


    "Finally, the vige will be gone tomorrow."


    "Do you think those old idiots will let us demolish the vige so easily?" The second man asked. "They''ll certainly stand in our path."


    "I know. That''s why we''ll take even more force with us. Our men will keep them away while we roll over the vige. And then, after that ugly thing is gone, the old idiots will have no choice but to shift to the city. They''ll thank uster. Just watch," the first man said.


    "Hopefully."


    "Ah, sir? I think someone is blocking our path," the Driver chimed in, attracting the attention of everyone in the car.


    "Which idiot dares to block the path of an official vehicle? Doesn''t he see the symbol of the City Council?" The first man in the back said as he looked ahead.


    The car also stopped so as to not hit the man.


    "Hmm? This guy? Wasn''t he back there with the old man? How did he get here so fast?"


    "Something seems wrong. Don''t stop! Keep driving! And if the man doesn''t move aside, drive over him! It''s not our fault he stood in our path! I''ll think of some excuse if others ask."


    Hearing themands, the driver pressed his foot on the elerator.


    The car closed in on the man ahead, increasing speed.


    Smack!


    Just as the car was a few feet away from Lucifer, it hit what appeared to be an energy wall that came out of nowhere.


    The airbag on the driver''s seat came out abruptly as the car crashed with the Defensive Barrier of the man. Even though the driver was safe because of the airbag, the people in the back weren''t in such great condition.


    Their heads hit the front seat. One of them even started bleeding while the other found his head spinning and selling.


    Lucifer walked around the car and punched the window, breaking it. Next, he grabbed the door and pulled it, breaking it.. He tossed it far away.

 Chapter 616 - 616: Theft

    <h4>Chapter 616 - 616: Theft</h4>


    "W-who are you?" The man inside the car asked.


    "Hmm? Didn''t you already recognize me? A man who was involved in illegal activity? Honestly, you weren''t wrong," Lucifer said. "However, I can''t let the information get to the city."


    "You see, tomorrow is a big day. I''ll be going to destroy the Warlock Council. And if the news spreads that there are close to a hundred youngsters in the outside vige, the idiots at the Warlock Council can put the pieces together after my arrival. And that is something I don''t want."


    "That''s why I''ll have to do something."


    "Moreover, you stole my wallet. You deserve punishment for that too."


    "What? We didn''t steal your wallet!" The man responded.


    "I know. But it''s fun to speak fake usations on others to get your means. Isn''t that right, my friend?" Lucifer asked, grinning.


    He grabbed the man by his cor and tossed him outside before pulling out the second man as well.


    Lastly, he also pulled out the driver.


    All three menid on the ground, looking at Lucifer in fear. None of them was a Variant, but they knew that Lucifer was one. They couldn''t resist. They didn''t even carry a gun.


    "Decaying you won''t give me much energy. But then again, I think I would at least recover what I spent on chasing you so far."?Lucifer started taking off his gloves as he walked towards the men.


    Arghhh~


    The scream of the men spread far and wide in the silent evening, but no one was here to hear them. Their cries grew silent within seconds.


    Lucifer walked to the car and ced his hand on the bo, letting his decay take ce as he watched the bright city in the distance.


    "I need to kill quite a lot of people tomorrow to have enough to evolve another ability. Hopefully, I''ll get enough for one ability. But which ability should I evolve?"


    "Wind is something which could evolve faster since it''s lower grade. On the other hand, strength is something which can be good too. But decay..."


    He looked behind at the car, which was already mostly destroyed with his decay.


    He was still slightly concerned about his own ability of decay. It was a chaotic ability that wasn''t under his control. Despite the evolution, it was already so powerful. As it went through an evolution, he was scared that his life could be hell.


    He might not even be able to eat even with these gloves. But on the other hand, it was his most frightening ability. If he selected that, he could truly be a Warlord that was impossible to defeat. And who knew, evolution might also give him control?


    There were many questions in his head, and he knew that he needed an answer soon. Because it wasn''t every day that he could absorb S-Rank Warlocks to have enough energy for evolution. He couldn''t waste this opportunity.


    He knew he had a tough decision to make ahead of him.


    After the car waspletely destroyed, he turned around and flew back to the town.


    ..


    It was midnight. Almost everyone was sleeping except a rare few.


    While Lucifer was sitting on top of the house which he was given, watching at the moon, Milena was inside the house, talking with Jiani. The twodies were trying to decide what should be their next step.


    For some reason, Lucifer hadn''t approached Milena so far, and he even rejected her advances before. That was a bit confusing for them.


    "No, that won''t work," Jiani said, rejecting her own suggestion after an hour of deliberation.


    "Isn''t it best to just apany him and be yourself?" Arthur chimed in, getting bored with all this discussion.


    "I think if you want to win the heart of the person, you need to be genuine. I know Her Majesty has many qualities that can make anyone fall for him. Even Lucifer can''t stay away. However, I feel like those qualities are being buried under this fake visage," he further added. "So just be yourself. You don''t need anything else."


    "Arthur, you don''t understand. You''re still naive in the ways of love. Just leave it to usdies to decide," Jiani responded.


    "I might not know love, but I do know guys. Then again, It was just a suggestion. You don''t need to take it." Arthur shrugged.


    ...


    After an hour-long nning, Milena stepped out of the small house to spend some time with Lucifer, listening to Jiani. However, as soon as she stepped out, she noticed that Lucifer wasn''t alone.


    He was lying on the roof. And Eve was lying beside him. Both of them looked calm and serene together. She walked back inside the house since he wasn''t alone.


    "Should I ask how you got up so easily?" Lucifer asked Eve, keeping his focus on the moon.


    "Do you want to ask?" Eve replied.


    "I don''t care enough," Luciferzily responded.


    Throughout the night, the two of them remained on the roof; however, they didn''t talk much. There was a strange kind of beauty in the silence as well.


    Two people who found beauty on the moon after going through hell on earth, lying together in the serene silence.


    It was six in the morning when Lucifer finally moved.


    "Time to leave. Can I trust you not to run away in my absence?" Lucifer asked Eve.


    Even though he asked her, it wasn''t as if he was actually going to leave her. He had left Szar to keep an eye on her in his absence. Even Eve knew that much.


    She simply smiled in response. "You don''t need to. Because I''ming with you."


    "And why would I take you with me?" Lucifer asked.


    "Because I''ll run away if you don''t take me," Eve replied. "You know, Szar won''t be able to stop me."


    "Why are you telling me that now instead of running away after I''m gone if that''s the case?"


    "Because I have a feeling that I can''t miss this. Now that I can''t ess the Dreand, I can''t watch the interaction. And I miss watching. So I''ll being with you."


    "I''m not running a tv channel for your entertainment," Luciferzily responded. "It''ll be a War Zone and not a meeting. You''ll die."


    "Hey, I told you already. I''m more resilient than you think. I can survive longer than Arthur, at least."


    "My answer is still no." Lucifer jumped down, leaving Eve behind.


    He gathered Eve, Arthur, and Kellian and started flying towards the city, leaving all other Warlocks back in the town,manding them to start moving towards the city as well.

 Chapter 617 - 617: Meeting

    <h4>Chapter 617 - 617: Meeting</h4>


    As he had selected three Warlocks like Milena, Kellian, and Arthur, he didn''t need to use his winds to make them fly.


    Milena and Arthur could fly on their own. Meanwhile, Kellian had turned into a shadow Eagle and flew behind Lucifer.


    The group of four entered the city without any obstruction. It was only when they reached near the Warlock Council that they attracted some attention.


    They weren''t subtle at all on their way inside the city. The Warlock Council members intercepted them in the middle.


    Four Warlock Council members surrounded the group. More remained on the ground, keeping an eye on the interaction in the sky.


    Within seconds, there were hundreds of Warlock Councils there.


    Apparently, no one was allowed to fly in the sky except for the Warlock Council members that were on security duty, and even they could only fly after wearing a special uniform.


    It was why Lucifer and his team stood out like a sore thumb.


    "I''m invited by your leaders to meet them. You can ask them." Lucifer didn''t force his way through the security since it wasn''t the end goal.


    "May we know your name?" The Warlock Council Guards asked, observing Lucifer.


    Milena and Arthur also stood behind Lucifer, but their faces were covered in masks.


    "Lucifer Azarel," Lucifer answered.


    One of the Warlock Council members flew back and contacted the higher-ups to ask about it.


    The man soon flew back. "I talked to them. It''s true that you were invited, but you alone were invited. Why are there two more people with you?"


    "They''re my subordinates. Don''t tell me your bosses expected me toe alone without anyone apanying me," Luciferzily replied. "You can talk to them. If they allow my subordinates toe, I''lle as well. If not, we''ll all go back."


    "Wait a minute."


    The man flew back again and conveyed Lucifer''s words.


    It was only after ten minutes that he came back. "Alright. You can follow me."


    He alsomanded the other Warlock Council members on the ground to disperse.


    He took Lucifer and the others to a ce that looked no less than an office tower.


    It was a tall building with ss windows. But even the ss windows were covered in formation circles.


    Lucifer remembered seeing these circles before. They were the same as the fighter nes¡ªthe formation circles which fired back any attack with the same force.


    "Are any of you carrying any weapons?" The Guard asked.


    "We Warlocks don''t need weapons," Lucifer replied, smiling.


    "Good. Then you won''t mind going through that detector."


    Lucifer passed through the detector without a single care in the world. He was certainly carrying a gun that was given to him by Kane, but he knew his cloak could keep the gun hidden. Moreover, there were more things in the pocket of his cloak than just a gun.


    Kellian had remained hidden in the shadows throughout the way, and he went inside with Lucifer. No one noticed him.


    In the back, Arthur and Milena also stepped inside.


    "Are all the Warlock Council leaders in this building?" Lucifer asked the guard who was escorting them to the lift.


    "I don''t know," the guard replied. He didn''t want to answer such internal questions to strangers, so he simply said he didn''t know.


    Lucifer also didn''t ask again. Everyone entered the lift, which took them to the higher floors.


    Almost everywhere inside the building, Lucifer saw the formation circles. There were circles of different types, but there were a lot. The building was probably a fortress.


    The guard took the four of them to a seventh floor room. "Please wait inside."


    Lucifer, Milena, and Arthur stepped inside the meeting room. There were quite a lot of chairs in the room. There were around twenty chairs.


    Lucifer observed the room. He couldn''t find any cameras, but he was sure there were some. He didn''t sit on the chair, which could give him a clear view of the Warlock Council members in the meeting. Milena sat on his left, and Arthur sat on his right.


    Both of them were wearing contact lenses to keep their eye color hidden. Their eyes looked a beautiful shade of blue at the moment.


    Click~


    Suddenly, a clicking sound echoed in the room. Arthur stood up and walked to the door to check it.


    "It''s locked," he said, frowning. "You think this might be a trap for us?"


    Lucifer didn''t believe it was a trap. If he believed Eve, then it wasn''t a trap. The Warlock Council definitely needed her. But that was also a problem. What if she had lied to him about their real goals behind this invitation?


    "Don''t worry, young man. This isn''t a trap. Please sit." An old-sounding voice came abruptly.


    At the same time, a man''s hologram appeared in the main chair.


    "I am Andrim. I am in charge of decisions in the Warlock Council. You can also call me the spokesperson of the Warlock Council. I was the one who called you for a meeting," the old man said.


    "I didn''te to meet a hologram. If that''s what it''s going to be, then I''ll take my leave." Lucifer stood up.


    "Don''t be so hasty. Actually, I didn''t know you were going to be here so fast. I am in a different city at the moment. If you had informed us beforeing, I might have been there to wee you and meet you personally. Albeit, the situation doesn''t allow it."


    "What about your other Warlock Leaders? There should be quite a lot of them. Don''t tell me none of them are here. If that''s the case, it''s just a waste of my time." Lucifer frowned.


    The only reason he came here was because he thought he could get them all in one ce. But if he couldn''t, it was useless. He might as well just destroy everything here and get enough lives to upgrade his ability. There was no one to stop him anyway.


    "There are some Head Council Members there. But they don''t have the deciding authority. Since I invited you, It''s only fair that I meet you."


    "Nope. What''s fair is that I leave and next time, youe to Elisium to meet me. Because all I can see is contempt for me here. None of your leaders are here for this meeting, including you. Goodbye."


    Lucifer started leaving the room.


    "Wait! Don''t go! I''ll send all the members who are in the office for this meeting. They''ll be there, and I''ll be in my holographic form. Would that work?" The old man asked, keeping his calm.


    "That should work. Show me your sincerity. I didn''te here to be insulted.." Luciferzily walked back to his seat.

 Chapter 618 - 618: Secret Of Stones

    <h4>Chapter 618 - 618: Secret Of Stones</h4>


    The old man''s hologram disappeared.


    ....


    "What? You want me to be in the meeting with that guy? Old man, have you gone crazy? You go deal with him!"


    "Huh? He is being stubborn? So what? Why should I care?"


    "Fine! I''m going to listen this once!"


    ...


    The old man kept contacting everyone who was in the head office to be in the meeting with Lucifer. After a lot of hard work, he finally convinced everyone who was there to attend the meeting.


    Everyone agreed except one person. And that person was the same person who had supported the old man in thest few meetings. It was Julien.


    "You want me to meet him? Sorry, I''m feeling toozy today. Can''t get up."


    "Nope. No matter what you say, I''m not going. I''m already tired after all the meetings with you. No space for more. Just tell him I''m more here either. No one would care."


    The old man tried his best, but Julien remained stubborn. In the end, the old man could only give up.


    He went back to Lucifer in the meeting room.


    "I contacted all who were in the office. They''ll be here soon. However, there are around eight leaders who aren''t in this city. You can only meet with the ones who are here personally."


    "And how many are here in this city?" Lucifer asked.


    "Twelve of us will be attending the meeting physically. And I should also be back in the city by tomorrow," the old man answered.


    Click~


    Just as he finished speaking, another clicking sound was heard. The door opened, and a man stepped inside.


    The middle-aged man was dressed in the Golden Robe.


    He took the seat on the left of Andrim.


    "Ah, Joan. You''re the first one here," the old man said to the dark-haired man who seemed pretty arrogant.


    "Lucifer? This is Joan. He is one of our most inspirational members. And Joan, he is Lucifer. The guy we talked about."


    Joanzily nced at Lucifer. "So you''re the person who killed our men."


    "Cough." Andrim started coughing after seeing Joan raise this issue.


    "You mean the people that invaded mynd and killed my men?" Lucifer asked, smiling. "That does ring a bell. They were your men? I honestly thought they were joking when they said they were from the Warlock Council. How could Warlock Council members be so weak."


    "It wasn''t even challenging to kill them honestly. That''s why I didn''t believe them when they said they were from this ce. My mistake," he further added.


    Joan''s face twitched unwillingly. He could see that Lucifer was trying to insult them, and it was working.


    However, before he could retort, Andrim chimed in. "Let''s forget the past. It''s time we write a new chapter of our life."


    The door again opened, and another man stepped inside. The chubby man was wearing casual clothes.


    He had donned a white shirt and a ck jeans. He sat beside Joan. "So he''s the kid? I thought he would look even younger."


    "Lucifer, this is Ganso. Another member of the Head Council here," Andrim introduced the second guy as well.


    One after another, more and more Warlock Council heads kepting in. Before long, there were twelve Warlock Council members physically present there.


    "Now that we''re all here, shall we begin?" Andrim asked Lucifer.


    "Go ahead," Lucifer replied.


    "Actually, we have been thinking about something. We have seen you in action. And you are certainly strong. We believe that you can be a good addition to our Warlock Council. So we wanted to give you an offer to join us. You don''t have to leave the Uprising to join us either."


    "After you join us, you can still rule Elisium. And no one would trouble you again. Not only that, but we would even help you in extending your territory if you want. Moreover, you''ll be allowed to use our resources which will help you get stronger."


    "And what would I have to do for you?" Lucifer asked. "There''s no free lunch in this world. So, tell me. What do you expect in return?"


    "Nothing much. We just want you to be one of us. We want you to be a friend and not an enemy. With that, we cane to your help if you ever need it. Simrly, you''ll have toe to our help when we need it. That''s no catch," Andrim said.


    "At first, we were only issuing this invitation to you. But seeing that you brought two friends as well, we won''t mind letting them join us as well," he further added.


    "Huh?" Seeing the old man give two more head positions like this, quite a lot of Warlock Council members looked at him in surprise.


    "Of course, they''ll be part of your team under the Warlock Council. They won''t be head of the Warlock Council like you, but they''ll have the second-highest position after that. I don''t think there should be any reason for you to say no. So, what''s your answer?"


    Lucifer already knew what they wanted from him, so he didn''t need to think much about it. It was all a trap so they could use him and then kill him after his work was done. So he didn''t actually want to join. But it was a good chance to get some information.


    "If I want to join you, won''t I need to trust you first? And simrly, if you can''t trust me, I don''t think I''ll be able to join. So, do you trust me enough to be your teammate?" Lucifer asked.


    "Of course we do," Andrim responded.


    "Prove it," Lucifer said, smirking.


    "Prove how?" Andrim asked.


    "Tell me why you need the stones? Why were you after the stone of Elisium? If you tell the truth, I might even share that stone with you after joining you. So show me your trust."


    "This..."


    The old man didn''t reply. He was slightly surprised at what Lucifer asked for.


    "This is something that only the leaders of the Warlock Council can know. I''m sorry, but we can''t tell you."


    "Aren''t you inviting me to be a leader? I should be allowed to know. If you don''t trust me to tell me what other leaders know, it just shows you don''t trust me. I can''t join," Lucifer replied. "Sorry, I refuse the invitation."


    "This... Fine! I''ll tell you. But get your friends out first. I''ll only tell you. And you aren''t allowed to share this information. Moreover, after knowing this, you can''t refuse the invitation. Since we won''t allow you to leave.. So are you sure you want to know?" The old man asked.

 Chapter 619 - 619: Weapon Of Dreams

    <h4>Chapter 619 - 619: Weapon Of Dreams</h4>


    "If you''re ready to tell, I''m ready to listen. And if you tell the truth, you can start considering me a member of the Warlock Council as well," Lucifer replied.


    "That''s Perfect," Andrim smiled.


    The other Warlock Council members were upset at this. They didn''t want the secret to be revealed to the outsider, especially someone like Lucifer.


    However, they kept their silence, thinking that Lucifer was going to be dead soon anyway. It didn''t matter.


    "Can you send your friends outside?" The old man asked Lucifer.


    "Mili, Artho, can you wait outside for a minute? Don''te back until I invite you."


    Milena and Arthur also wanted to hear what was so special about the stones. Why were these people after that? However, They still went along with the n and left the room.


    Kellian still remained hidden in the shadows of Lucifer.


    The door locked again after Milena and Arthur stepped out. The room was sealed. The words that were said inside couldn''t be heard by anyone on the outside.


    "Can we start now? Why do you want these stones?'' Lucifer began the questioning.


    "I am getting to that," the old man smiled. "Don''t worry."


    "Let''s start from the beginning. You weren''t even born when the Dungeon Dwellers attacked the world. They killed billions of people on almost every continent. Most people think it was to simply kill people since they were monsters. However, that wasn''t the case."


    "The Dungeon Dwellers killed humans everywhere, but they had a purpose behind it. Do you know the purpose?" The old man asked Lucifer.


    "I don''t," Lucifer lied with a straight face.


    "The purpose was to create the seven stones which were made using the life essence of humans," Andrim exined. "Initially, the main purpose of these stones was to open a portal. Maybe a portal to their home? We can''t say for sure. But that was the case."


    "However, just when they opened the portal, some people stopped them. And one of them was your father," Andrim said, smiling.


    "In the eyes of most Warlocks, it was your father who stopped a cmity. And maybe those people are right. I won''tment on it. It''s better left to the understanding of others since we can''t really judge what the intention of the person on the other side was," he added.


    "So you want to collect the portals to call that being here to know his intention?" Lucifer asked.


    "Nope. Even though we don''t know if he was a friend or a foe, we don''t want to know either. It''s better if he stays away. Let me continue the story. You''ll understand."


    "Your father tossed six of the seven stones in a different direction to stop the portal. And one of those six stones fell on the continent of Triton. And it was discovered by one of our Warlock Council members."


    "That was the point when we started researching on the stones."


    As the old man talked, another hologram appeared, which showed a stone floating in the middle and some scientists surrounding it and researching on it.


    "The stone was discovered in the year 2028. And it took us five years of research to understand something. And what we understood was that the stones weren''t just a key to open a portal. It was something else!"


    ...


    Milena and Arthur stood outside the room, trying to hear what was being said inside, but they couldn''t hear a single word.


    Despite having so many powers, one of which was the ability to hear better, Milena couldn''t hear.


    She was starting to get frustrated. The suspense was killing her.


    "Calm down. No need to get impatient. It''s just a matter of time," Arthur told Milena, calming her.


    "I am calm," Milena rolled her eyes.


    ...


    "What was it?" Lucifer asked Andrim.


    Andrim smiled but didn''t answer. He turned to the man sitting near him.


    "Joan, do you want to take it forward?" he asked a golden-robed man. "You were a part of that research team after all."


    Joan nodded.


    "We were told about these stones a few months after the Great War had ended," Joan said. "The Warlocks from Elisium contacted us and the other continents to tell us about the end of the War and the reason these beasts had attacked and how they were stopped."


    "ording to the information, these stones were a key to open the portal as long as it was with the other six stones. However, I could see that it was much more."


    "That''s why I started testing on it. And I was right. The stone wasn''t just a key. It was a source of incredible power instead! It wasn''t something that was useless without the other six stones! Instead, it was a miraculous energy source waiting to be discovered."


    "And after a long and extensive research, we found how to use this energy. All we had to do was merge the stone with another artifact with the help of a merging formation."


    "After reaching that point, all that was left was to find a suitable formation that couldpliment the stone. And that''s what we found. We used the stone with the strongest weapon we could make. And the merger of the two made something out of this world! It made the strongest Weapon if you would like to call it that!''


    "We call it the Sword of Angels. It''s something I''m very proud about," Joan said, smiling. "We want to find other stones so we could use them to make even more Weapons from the Heaven Series."


    "Now you understand, right?" Andrim chimed in. "That''s why we''ve been trying to get more stones for us without leaking this information. We don''t want others to know how useful they are. We don''t want another Heavenly Weapon in the hands of an enemy."


    "The Sword of Angels..." Lucifer muttered. "Is it really that strong?"


    "Strong? Strong would be an understatement. We don''t call it a Heaven Series Sword for no reason! This truly is a weapon that doesn''t belong on earth. This is the life''s work of the Warlock Council. This is a weapon of dream! It''s something that gives us the confidence to take on any enemy!" Andrim said proudly.


    "If you really had that sword, why didn''t you send your men with that sword to kill me?" Lucifer asked, frowning.


    What he truly wanted to ask was why they weren''t using that sword against Milena.. Why did they need his help? Why were they even worried about losing their men if they really had such a formidable weapon? Something didn''t add up.

 Chapter 620 - 620: Side Effects

    <h4>Chapter 620 - 620: Side Effects</h4>


    Even though he wanted to ask about using that sword on Milena instead of asking for his help, he couldn''t. If he asked that, the first question that was going toe back was how he knew about their n of attacking Milena with his help.


    He could only ask indirectly.


    "That''s a good question. But the answer is simple. That sword... It''s just too powerful. And most importantly, only a strong Variant can use the Sword and that too, only once. After a single use, the Variant ends up being destroyed from inside," the old man replied, smiling wryly.


    "We''re still working on that side effect. Fortunately, we can find a solution soon," he added.


    "What do you mean the person who uses the sword ends up dead?" Lucifer asked.


    "He said what he meant. It''s something we discovered in our real world testing," Joan replied.


    "The sword... Only a strong Warlock like one of the Warlock Council leaders can use it. If a Weak Warlock uses it, they''ll die before they could even pick the sword. On the other hand, one of us can use the Sword, but after one use, the sword eats the user."


    "That''s how we lose two Warlock Leaders after a single attempt each. And the lower level people couldn''t even touch it before dying."


    "So it''s a sword that not only kills the enemy but also the holder?" Lucifer asked.


    "Pretty much. And it''s not surprising either. The main source of the power for this Swordes from the stone, which was made from the deaths of a lot of people. It''s filled with life energy, and it looks for more every time it''s used," Joan exined.


    "That''s why we don''t use the sword when not needed. It''s only for emergencies. And at the moment, only one person is allowed to use the sword if the needes," he continued.


    "And who is that person?" Lucifer asked, trying to select the main threat amongst all the people present here.


    If he could, it was better to take out the guy and take the sword first before doing anything else. Because if the sword was actually so powerful, it was very risky.


    "It''s with the chair of the Head Council. And also the person who is the oldest amongst us," Joan replied.


    Lucifer observed Andrim. "You?"


    This was troublesome for him. The weapon was with the person who wasn''t even here? After so much effort, Lucifer had managed to gather all these leaders here, but the most important person wasn''t here. Moreover, he had a weapon that he could use to put him at risk.


    "Is that sword in this building? Can I see it?" he asked the old man.


    "I''m sorry, but you can''t. Not even the other heads know the whereabouts of the Sword. It''s for his reason," Andrim responded, refusing the request. "However, if you want to see the sword, we do have an image of it."


    He waved his hand again, making another hologram appear in the middle of the table.


    An illusory Sword floated in the middle. The sword looked much like an ordinary sword. It had a dark de and a golden hilt.


    And right at the bottom of the hilt, there was a circr formation. In the middle of that formation, a while stone could be seen embedded.


    It was the fourth stone that Lucifer was looking for. The part of the Warlock Council.


    He observed the sword, lost in deep thought. He hade to this continent with a different n which had to be changed mid-way. And now that he was actually at the center of his new n, he believed there was another need to make some modifications.


    That was the question though. Was it worth it to kill the people who were here right now and lose the chance of getting Andrim and that Sword?


    Or should he wait for Andrim to return and lose the current chance where all the Warlock Council members were together? It was a tough decision which he struggled to make.


    All the holograms disappeared. The meeting returned to silence.


    "Now that you have received your answer, I shall wee you as the Warlock Council member. Do you ept?" Andrim asked Lucifer. "And I also expected you to keep the secret of the stones and the Sword?"


    "Yeah. I ept to be one of the leaders of the Warlock Council. And the two who came with me, they''ll also be the members," Lucifer agreed. Ultimately, he decided not to go through with the n and have some patience.


    It was a hard decision for him to leave the chance aftering so close to the end of his quest. But he took the higher road, which he believed was more advantageous to him. It was better to eliminate all loose ends at once than eliminate most of them while leaving the biggest one safe.


    "That''s perfect. So that is final. From today on, Lucifer shall be a member of the Warlock Council. He shall be the 22nd leader of the Warlock Council, incharge of Elisium!" Andrim dered, standing and pping.


    After the three who were killed recently, the Warlock Council only had twenty-one leaders left, including Andrim.


    They gained one more now, but most of them knew that it was only temporary. After they used Lucifer to kill Milena, they would simply kill him and go back to twenty-one again.


    "With that, the meeting is over. I''ll inform the ones who couldn''t attend about this good news. In the meantime, Joan will show you around the Headquarters and give you some things which you might need," the old man said.


    The other members also started standing up. They didn''t even talk to Lucifer and simply left the room now that their role was over. They left the rest on Joan, secretlyughing at his bad luck.


    "If you need to talk to me, you cane back to this room and contact me. But Joan should take care of all your needs so you won''t need me," Andrim said. His hologram started weakening.


    "When are youing back to personally meet me?" Lucifer asked. The most important part at the moment was getting Andrim.


    " I''lle the day after tomorrow. You can stay here until then. Joan will show you your rooms. I''m sure you''ll like them."


    After the old man finished, his hologram disappeared.


    "Come. I''ll issue your official passes, badge, and the keys." Joan opened the door and left the room.


    As the door opened, Lucifer walked out with Joan. He could see confusion in the eyes of Milena.. She was probably confused why he didn''t kill even a single person or call her inside.

 Chapter 621 - 621: Cant

    <h4>Chapter 621 - 621: Can''t</h4>


    "Is everything fine?" She asked Lucifer, who stepped out of the room.


    Lucifer simply nodded. "Nothing to worry about."


    "You two shall also follow me," Joan told Milena and Arthur, not realizing that those two were the biggest enemies of theirs in disguise. All they had was the mask and some contact lenses, and the man couldn''t recognize them as Nobles.


    Lucifer followed behind Joan, and the others remained behind him, wondering where they were going.


    Joan took all of them to the fifth floor, stopping before another unknown room. He brought a small card out of his pocket and ced them on the sensor. At the same time, he ced his thumb on a different sensor. After two different scans, the door opened.


    Joan turned back to Lucifer. "This is the identification card that all members are issued. Each card has a different set of Authorization, and they''re needed to do everything, including opening doors.


    "Of course, just the card isn''t enough. The fingerprint would also be needed. And at the time of sensing the fingerprint, the sensor also tests if the person is alive or dead so a stranger can''t use the fingerprints," he continued as he stepped inside the room.


    Lucifer and his team also walked inside, observing. All they could see was a giantputer in the room and some machines. It was unclear what these were.


    "Since you three will be a part of us, we need to issue you these cards as well," Joan said, stopping before theputer. He turned it on.?"Please stand before that ck wall. We''ll capture a picture for your identification card so it can be used to recognize you by the ones that haven''t met you yet."


    Luciferzily walked closer to the ck wall and stood before it. After a short sh, an image was taken. Joan started pressing a few buttons on the keyboard, filling in the details.


    Even though Lucifer was a leader of the Warlock Council, he knew it was only temporary, so he kept the validity of this card low. After the validity date was reached, the card was going to stop working.


    He also kept the Authorizations low. Using these cards, Lucifer was allowed to open quite a lot of rooms, but Joan kept the ess to import ces away.


    He only gave him a little more ess than any ordinary member and not as much as a true head received. In fact, Lucifer couldn''t even open this room''s door if he wanted to.


    "You cane back," Joanmanded. "We will need your fingerprints next. We''ll feed them into the systems so you can open doors."


    "ce your thumb on this sensor," he added, pointing towards a sensor near him.


    Lucifer looked weirdly at him.


    ''This idiot doesn''t know, does he?'' he thought, frowning.


    In the back, Milena couldn''t control her smile.


    "I can''t give my fingerprint."


    "Why? Do you think we''ll misuse it?" Joan asked. "You saw me use my fingerprint, right? I''m just asking for that. Stop being so suspicious."


    "No. What I meant was that I literally can''t give my fingerprint," Lucifer responded. He took off his right glove and ced his bare finger on the table.


    As his finger touched the table, the table started decaying. He quickly took off his hand. "If I touch your machine, this is what will happen. So unless you want me to ruin your machine unintentionally, I can''t give my fingerprint."


    "This..." Joan rubbed his chin, frowning. "But how can we make do without fingerprints? Without that, we can''t give you ess to open any important ce. You can only open and close hallways, lifts, and your own room.?Is that alright?"


    "You can give my ess to her," Lucifer suggested, pointing towards Milena. She can take care of such things for me.


    "Unfortunately, I can''t. That would be against thews. I can only give her the ess that she would''ve received otherwise," Joan responded.


    "What rooms would I be able to open as a special member that she can''t as a normal member?" Lucifer asked.


    "Quite a lot. You would''ve been able to gain ess to get to the top floor where all the Heads can go to rx and meet. However, we can''t allow that to happen to your card without a fingerprint. If that was the case and you lost the card, it''d be a mess."


    "Hope you understand. In case you need to go there, you can contact one of us to let you in," Joan responded.


    He shifted his focus back on theputer and stopped looking at Lucifer. After a few minutes, a card came out of theputer.


    "Here, this will be your identification and pass to enter your room. I''ll show you your roomter," he told Lucifer before turning around to Milena. "Moving on, you go and stand. Time to take your picture. Oh, and take off that mask. We need a face to make a card."


    Milena looked at Lucifer, not moving. She couldn''t take off the mask. She was sure that these people had seen her face in their briefings about her. If they saw it now, they would recognize her.


    "They can''t take off the masks," Lucifer chimed in.


    "You mean you literally can''t like you can''t touch the sensor?" Joan asked.


    "Something like that. They''ve served me for a long time. We went through many battles together, and in one such battle, their faces were burnt badly. Since then, they''ve been wearing masks. So even if they took it off, you wouldn''t see a face," Lucifer responded.


    "Sigh, this is so troublesome. One can''t give fingerprints for cards while the other can''t give facial recognition." Joan scratched the back of his head, frustrated.


    "Fine. Go and let me get pics in your mask. I''ll handle the rest." As he just wanted to get it done with, he went along with it and didn''t argue much.


    Milena walked to the ck wall and got her image clicked before it was the turn of Arthur. The two of them have their fingerprints.


    "We''re done here for the most part. Just one more thing."


    Joan opened a drawer nearby and pulled out a couple of coats.


    "These are the official Warlock Council attire. You don''t really have to wear them if you don''t want to. However, your men will need to wear them if they want to roam around the Headquarters."


    He handed the two coats to Milena and Arthur.


    "You can also wear it if you want. Your coat has a special identification. But if you don''t want to, you can just ce this badge near your chest. That would be enough.." Joan gave a different coat and a badge to Lucifer.

 Chapter 622 - 622: Poisonous Snake

    <h4>Chapter 622 - 622: Poisonous Snake</h4>


    Milena and Arthur wore the cloak since that was needed. On the other hand, Lucifer simply ced the badge on his chest just for the sake of it.


    After they were done with the identification, Lucifer took them back to the left, which went to the tenth floor.


    "This will be your personal floor. As a head, you''re entitled to one. This one was being used by Zhu until recently, but he is gone. It''ll be yours. It has everything you may need. Moreover, if you need to contact one of us, there is a phone inside."


    "And if you need any more help, you can just ring the bell, and some men will be here to help."


    "Andstly, your people can also stay in this ce with you. There should be enough rooms. However, if you wantplete privacy, they have also been assigned suites on the third floor. You can tell them to leave. They should be able to use the lift."


    "That will be all. I''ll take my leave now."


    Joan didn''t waste a single second as he talked rapidly and turned to leave before Lucifer could even respond.


    Lucifer didn''t stop him and let him leave. First, he needed to talk to Milena about what was happening and keep his men around the city to stand down.


    Andrim was going to return to the city soon. If he saw the city surrounded by Variants, he was going to be suspicious.


    Joan left the floor through the lift, leaving Lucifer in his privacy. Despite being with his team, Lucifer didn''t feel safe here. He wasn''t sure if there were devices that could hear what was said in the room.


    "Are you going to exin what just happened? Why didn''t we k-"


    Milena didn''t understand such things. As soon as Joan left, she started asking her question. Lucifer swiftly stood up and ced his hand on her lips.


    Seeing the seriousness in his eyes, Milena understood some things. She nodded and didn''t speak. Lucifer freed her mouth.


    "I think we should see what the city is like. We were in such a hurry for this meeting that we couldn''t even see the city on the way. Shall we go out?" Arthur suggested, smiling.


    "I was thinking the same thing. It could be good to see this city a bit," Lucifer answered.


    He walked towards the lift without even checking this floor to see what facilities it had.


    Without fingerprint ess, he couldn''t go to the top floor, but the card he had was enough to take the lift to any other floor.


    The lift went down to the ground floor.


    All the staff was told about the position of Lucifer and that he was a leader now. Watching him leave, some men greeted him respectfully.


    The guard at the entrance even asked him where he was going and if he needed an escort since he was new to this ce.


    Lucifer directly refused, iming he was just going out to take a walk. He didn''t take any person from the Warlock Council with him.


    The three of them walked through the empty streets, going far from the Warlock Council headquarters.


    "Can we talk now?" Milena asked.


    Lucifer turned to Milena, gesturing to her to stay silent.


    He took off the badge which was on his chest and threw it down.


    The shadow which was following behind him grabbed the badge and swallowed it.


    Arthur also followed suit and took off the white coat which was given by the Warlock Council. He also let it fall to the ground, letting Kellian swallow it to keep it away from them and safe as well.


    Milena took a deep breath. She also took off her coat and gave it to Kellian.


    "So much hassle," she said after Kellian finished swallowing everything.


    Lucifer didn''t stop even now. He also gave the card to Kellian. The cards of Milena and Arthur were already in the pockets of the cloak that they gave to Kellian.


    "Now we can talk. We can''t be sure which thing might be bugged. I don''t want them to hear us," Lucifer replied, walking casually while observing his surroundings.


    "So tell us now. What happened in the meeting room. Why didn''t you attack them or call us inside?" Arthur asked. "And what is the information you received about the stones?"


    "That information is certainly what made me change my mind. Apparently, the stones are an immense source of power. And they''ve used these stones to empower a weapon that they im is so strong that it can destroy anything. They call that the Sword of Heaven," Lucifer replied.


    "So you were scared of the weapon? Is it really that powerful?" Milena asked.


    "The way they talked about it, that does seem to be the case. They''re really proud of it. And it makes me think it might actually be powerful," Lucifer responded. "And that weapon is with Andrim if my guess is correct."


    "The guy who wasn''t physically here?" Arthur asked.


    "Pretty much. ording to them, only Andrim is allowed to use the weapon. And it''s in his protection. Even though he didn''t tell me where exactly, I think he must be traveling with that Sword," Lucifer said. "I want to wait for his arrival before doing anything."


    "I don''t want to leave a poisonous snake with a powerful weapon lurking in the background," he further continued before bringing out his sses from his pocket.


    He wore the sses. "Contact Szar."


    The sses established a secret connection with Szar, who was waiting near the border of the city.


    "Szar, I want you to take everyone and go back to the vige. And wait for my nextmand."


    "Did something go wrong?" Szar asked.


    "Hmm? No, nothing series. There''s just a little dy in the n, and I need to wait for someone''s arrival. Just do as I say. Take them back and keep them away from the city. No one should know that we are here in such quantity."


    "Alright. I''ll take them back."


    "Oh, one more thing. Eve is there with you, right? Can you get her on the call? Give your phone to her."


    "Right away." Szar nodded. "Huh? Where did she go? She was right here not long ago. I... Give me a moment. I''ll find her."


    "No need," Lucifer said, frowning. "I have eyes on her."


    He could see Eve in the distance, waving at them.


    "Take the people back, and that''ll be all. And handle the rest.." Lucifer took off the sses and kept them in his pocket.

 Chapter 623 - 623: Whereabouts

    <h4>Chapter 623 - 623: Whereabouts</h4>


    He walked to Eve.?"What are you doing here?"


    "Sightseeing. What are you doing here? How did the meeting go?" Eve asked, acting like nothing had happened.


    "Don''t act ignorant. You knew about the sword, right? Why didn''t you tell me before!"


    "What Sword?" Eve asked, confused. "Oh, you mean the Sword of Angels or whatever they call it? Yeah, I knew about it. Why?"


    "Why didn''t you tell me about the sword and that it was with Andrim! That man isn''t even in the city! If I had attacked them, It would''ve been a mess!"


    "He isn''t in the city? I thought he never left the city. Before you woke me up, I was in the meeting with them, and he was in the city. However, a few days have gone by since then. So maybe he left. Just bad timing, I guess," Eve smiled wryly. "So you didn''t go through with it, right?"


    "I didn''t. I need to wait for more now," Lucifer responded. "But that still doesn''t change the question. Why didn''t you tell me? It doesn''t matter if he was here or not. I needed to know about something like a freaking Sword made using these stones!"


    "Ah, I think you should calm down. People are looking at us," Arthur tapped the shoulder of Lucifer, alerting him.


    Fortunately, the people who were looking at them were casual citizens. They weren''t rted to the Warlock Council and weren''t close enough to hear what was going on.


    The people only thought that it was a lover''s quarrel.


    Lucifer observed his surroundings and calmed down.


    "Walk with me," he told Eve.


    They continued walking while looking at the surroundings as if they were tourists. However, the conversation didn''t stop.


    "I didn''t tell you about that sword because it''s not here. Why would I even tell you about that thing? That''s not of concern for your meeting. If it were with Andrim, of course, I would''ve told you," Eve answered, smiling.


    "The sword isn''t with Andrim?" Lucifer asked. ''Who has the sword then?"


    "Hehehe, it''s a fun story," Eve shed a cheeky smile. "That Andrim guy... He lost the sword."


    "He lost the sword?" Lucifer''s face twitched. "So he was bluffing?"


    "He certainly was. He still hasn''t told his men that he lost the sword in fear of upsetting them. For a long time, he has been trying to find the sword while keeping it a secret from others," Eve replied. "Why else do you think he didn''t use the sword instead of asking you for help?"


    "He said it was because of the Sword''s side effect and that it can kill its welder."


    "That''s just the bs excuse he gives his men." Eveughed. "Even though it''s true, that''s no reason for him to not use the sword. He can certainly find a group of strong Warlocks to wield the sword instead."


    " But he keeps giving this excuse that it''s only for an emergency since he has nothing to show in the name of that Sword," she further continued.


    "If he waged a War without your help, people will certainly ask him to use the sword which he doesn''t have. It''s like he has dug a hole for himself, and he needs you to make it right."


    "How can someone like him lose such an important weapon? I mean, just how?" Milena looked confused.


    A person losing a weapon of this magnitude? How was it possible?


    "Losing it might be putting it lightly. I don''t think I can fault him. He ced the sword in his room safely. But when he went to check, it wasn''t there. So even though I said he lost it, it''s actually stolen."


    "You know who stole the sword?" Lucifer asked. "Then you must also know where that sword is?"


    "Of course, I know who stole the sword," Eve answered.


    "Where?"


    "It''s in the world of Summons. It''s in the ce you just came back from." Eveughed. "But it would be better if you don''t go back there. The sword is already in the hands of someone who is looking for you to kill you. So stay here. It''s safer."


    "Someone who wants to kill me? I mean, you''ll have to be more specific than that. The list is pretty big after all," Luciferzily replied.


    "Showoff," Milena muttered under her breath. She could hear the pride in the voice of Lucifer as he talked about it.


    "Also, how did it even end up in the World of Summons?" Lucifer further asked. Even though he had heard what Milena said, he didn''t pay any heed.


    "One word. Zhu..."


    "What Zhu?" Lucifer asked, frowning. He couldn''t recall the name. "Is he one of the guys I killed? Ah, that Summoner! You mean him?"


    "Pretty much. It was none other than his own beasts who stole the sword and took it to him. And to keep the sword a secret, he took the help of that ck dragon that you had taken into your control."


    "That dragon?"


    He recalled leaving a Parasite in the Dragon and using him to kill Zhu. However, when they were thrust to the World of Summons, he sensed that someone had killed the Dragon and the other beasts.


    "Yup. Since he worried that someone mighte to check his room after the news of the sword disappearing was discovered. So he called forth the Dragon."


    "Don''t tell me he sent the dragon back with the Sword. That idiot! Did he not know that the beasts lose their memories after going back?" Lucifer asked. He couldn''t believe the stupidity of Zhu.


    "Not really. He didn''t send the dragon back. Instead, he told the Dragon to absorb the Sword in his body. When you fought him, you must have noticed that the Dragon wasn''t moving his left hand much. It''s because he was keeping that sword in his left hand," Eve exined.


    "Zhu was an idiot but not enough of an idiot to not know that the Dragon would lose his memories. That''s why he didn''t send the sword back with him but just told him to keep it inside his body."


    "That way, even if he forgot the memories after going back, he couldn''t get rid of the sword or sense it. And when Zhu needed, he could just call the dragon out and ask him for the sword. Unfair, it looks like he didn''t get much of a chance after you took control of his Dragon."


    "So the sword was with the Dragon." Lucifer frowned, frustrated. He couldn''t believe how close the sword was to him. "Is it with the people who killed it!"


    "Yeah. After sending the dragon under someone else''s control because of the Parasite, they killed that Dragon. It is sphemy to let someone else have control of your body like that, after all.


    Not only were the three beasts killed, but their bodies were searched thoroughly.. That''s when they discovered the sword.

 Chapter 624 - 624: Couple Test

    <h4>Chapter 624 - 624: Couple Test</h4>


    "And they want to kill me for manipting their beasts against thews," Lucifer frowned. "Just awesome. They just keeping."


    "Well, there''s a good news as well. The good news is that they can''t actuallye to this ce. They can only use the beasts that are in the Summon Contract with the Summoners here to do their bidding. As long as you don''t go back, you''re perfectly safe."


    "Moreover, they don''t know that the sword is special. They just think it''s an ordinary Sword. So as long as you don''t go back there, no need to worry."


    Eve released a tired breath after speaking for so long.


    "And that is why I didn''t think it was important to tell you about the sword for this meeting. That''s not concerning after all."


    Lucifer rubbed the back of his neck, looking up. "That old man fooled me. I lost such a great chance because of him."


    "It''s now toote. We can still attack."


    "Nah." Lucifer shook his head. "Since I already wasted so much time, let it be. We''ll wait until Andrim returns. After that, we will do it."


    ...


    Back in the headquarters of the Warlock Council, Joan was sitting on the floor which was assigned to him. He couldn''t help but rub his chin as he looked at the recordings of Lucifer''s room.


    He noticed Milena trying to say something, but Lucifer closed her mouth. That gesture of his made him a bit suspicious.


    Moreover, after that, Lucifer didn''t even check the rooms and left directly. Furthermore, no sound wasing from the badge of Lucifer, which had a mic inside.


    "What are you up to, young friend?" He rubbed his chin, looking at the footage of Lucifer.


    He closed the system and contacted someone.


    "Yeah, it''s me. Send someone to follow Lucifer. I want some eyes on him. No matter what he does, I want information about everything!"


    "Yes, sir," The person on the other end responded.


    ...


    "Someone just started following us," Kellian informed Lucifer. He was keeping an eye on the surroundings, using his other shadows. That helped him notice someone keeping an eye on him.


    "He''s been following us since he received a message. It seems like someone high is suspicious. They must have seen you talking to Eve as well. Time to get in damage control," he further added.


    Lucifer scratched the back of his head in frustration. He knew it was only a matter of time. That''s why he wanted to send Eve away after getting his answer, but if he sent her now, it''d be even more suspicious.


    These people might even kidnap Eve to interrogate her. It was certainly time for some damage control.


    He smiled brightly while wrapping his arms around Eve''s waist.


    "Don''t act suspicious. y along," he secretly said without moving his lips much.


    Eve shed another cheeky smile.


    She pinched Lucifer''s cheeks. "You are such a cutie pie. Thank you for agreeing to go on a date with me."


    "Of course. How can I say no to such a prettydy like you," Lucifer shed a grin. His hand moved down, resting on the butt of Eve.


    The man who was keeping an eye on Lucifer rolled his eyes. "Heh, the person is a pervert. It hasn''t even been one day since he got here, and he''s already trying to pick updies? And he''s even seeding?"


    "A3, what is happening? What''s the update."


    "Nothing to update. The man is just picking updies in the market. Well, he seems to be pretty romantic. His two escorts are walking behind him like guards. Nothing suspicious going on. Still, I''ll keep an eye on them."


    "Look, a restaurant! Let''s go on!" Eve told Lucifer.


    "Hahaha, whatever you say, my darling." Lucifer turned to the restaurant and stepped inside.


    Seeing their flirting, Milena started feeling jealous. She needed to make Lucifer fall for him. How was it possible with thisdy? She could pull some moves even in such a serious situation.


    "A table for four?"?The waitress inside the restaurant asked as soon as Lucifer stepped inside.


    "No. Two tables for two each. I only want to be with my sweetheart at the moment," Lucifer told the waitress. "My guards will sit at a different table behind me."


    The doors again opened, and the person who was spying on Lucifer also walked inside.


    Lucifer was given a window seat with Eve. Meanwhile, Milena and Arthur selected a different seat on the left of Lucifer''s table.


    The dark-haired spy sat on the right side of Lucifer''s table, being in such a close proximity that he could hear their words.


    "So, what brought you to this city, young man? It''s not every day that I see handsome men like you here," Eve asked Lucifer as she picked up the menu.


    "Had a business meeting in the city," Lucifer replied.


    "So you''ll leave tomorrow?" Eve asked. "Generally, I don''t go for short-term dates, but with you, I must even be fine with a one night stand."


    ''Shameless woman.'' the ck-haired spy thought, rolling his eyes.


    "Not really. I think I''ll probably stay here for much longer," Lucifer replied. "How can I leave this city after meeting ady like you?"


    A waitress approached the two of them to take their order but couldn''t help herself as she grew awestruck.


    "Aww, you two are so cute. You''re just like models. So beautiful. You know, we have a special deal going on for couples. If you''d be interested in trying it, you might not even have to pay any bill today. You can eat as much as you want if you seed."


    "Actually, we''re not a couple yet. We just met today. And it''s our first date. So you can call us half couple," Eve responded to the waitress. "Are we still eligible?"


    "Hahaha, of course. Since you''re on a date, it counts."


    "Awesome. So what''s the special deal?" Eve asked.


    The waitress pointed towards a board in the distance.


    "We will give you a jug with three liter strawberry milkshakes. If you two can finish that in ten minutes together, you''ll win. But there''s a catch. The jug will only have one straw, and you can only drink from that straw. However, a person can only keep his lips on that straw for one minute at most."


    " After that, he must give the straw to others. So it''s a team effort. And it''ll test your teamwork and your appetite. Do you want to y?" The waitress asked.


    "Three liters is a bit much. Maybe-"


    "We ept."

 Chapter 625 - 625: Stupid Kids

    <h4>Chapter 625 - 625: Stupid Kids</h4>


    While Lucifer was trying to use an excuse to say no, Eve hastily epted.


    "Awesome. I''ll bring it right away!" The waitress excitedly left.


    Meanwhile, another waitress was taking the order of Milena and Arthur.


    This was another problem. Howe they eat anything while keeping their mask on?


    "Just bring us two coffees," Arthur ordered the waitress.


    Even though they couldn''t eat, they could still order something.


    The dark-haired spy also ordered something. He asked for a coffee as well.


    ....


    After a short time, the waitress returned with a huge jug filled with strawberry shake. Lucifer loved eating, but even he hadn''t eaten things with this before.


    He just looked back at Eve.


    "We can begin whenever you''re ready," the Waitress said, raising her stopwatch.


    She also ced one straw in the jug, which was ced in the middle of the table.


    There weren''t many customers in the restaurant, but the ones that were there grew interested. They were looking at Lucifer and Eve, wondering if they could finish the jug or not.


    Since the jug was transparent, they could see through it.


    "I''m ready. On the count of three," Evemented, moving closer to the hug.


    "Alright." The maid nodded. "Three, two, one!"


    As soon as the Waitress finished, Eve took the straw in her mouth and started drinking.


    Eve wasn''t slow either. In fact, she was even faster than most present here. Despite that, she couldn''t even finish ten percent of the jug, and her one minute was almost up.


    "Three seconds! Then it''s your boyfriend''s turn!"


    "One second!"


    "Take off your lips!" The waitress said.


    Eve released the straw and looked at Lucifer with her misty eyes. "Your turn, sweetheart."


    Lucifer didn''t move though. He just looked at the jug.


    "Be fast. Time is running," The waitress told Lucifer.


    "Sigh, whatever." Lucifer moved and ced his lips on the same straw where Eve''s soft lips were resting just a few seconds ago.


    After one minute, he took off his lips. He had drank even more than Eve in his time even though he received less time than her.


    "And that will be our first indirect kiss." Eve chuckled as she again started sipping.


    The time kept passing and Eve and Lucifer kept giving each other turns.


    After a certain period of time, even Lucifer started having fun in this contest. He didn''t want to lose after getting so close.


    Only four minutes were left, and more than fifty percent of the jug was left.


    "Fast!" He told Eve as it was her turn now.


    Before long, only one minute was left, and more than thirty percent of the jug was left. And it was Lucifer''s turn.


    He didn''t know how he could finish it so fast, but he went ahead and gave it his all as he ced his lips over the straw. He started sipping.


    The quantity in the jug kept decreasing. However, the decrease wasn''t fast enough.


    Lucifer was feeling slightly scared of defeat. Only ten minutes were left now, and more than ten percent of the jug was left.


    He couldn''t drink that in such a short time from the straw, no matter what he did.


    "Come on! You can do it! Drink faster!" Eve motivated Lucifer, but he knew it wasn''t going to work out.


    "Time up!" The waitress said as soon as ten minutes were up. "I am so sorry, but it seems like you two failed. But the attempt was so good; we would like to say that consider this jug a treat from us. You don''t have to pay for it."


    "A gift for the sweetest couple we have seen. Do you want to order anything else?" She asked, smiling. "I''m sure you''d be full by now though."


    "Yeah. We''re done. Thank you," Lucifer respondedzily and stood up. He looked at the jug before him, shaking his head.


    He, the Warlock of this world, hadn''t been defeated in so long. Yet this small jug gave him his first defeat. He picked up the jug, tossed away the straw, and finished it up directly.


    Leaving the jug back, he started leaving with Eve.


    The Dark haired spy waited for Milena and Arthur to leave behind Lucifer before standing up and following them.


    "So, shall we go to my ce or yours?" Eve asked, sticking close to Lucifer.


    "My ce would be better. However, I''m not in a hurry," Lucifer replied, looking up. "There''s still time to night."


    The four of them walked through the city, observing every ce. They went through the markets to the parliament in the city.


    "Funny, isn''t it?" Seeing the Parliament, Lucifer smiled, amused.


    "They have a parliament and all the Ministers like any democracy. However, all the important decisions are taken by the Warlock Council in the country. They''re like a democracy in name only," he further exined.


    "The Warlock Council is the King that lets the ministers handle small matters. But this is basically a kingdom of theirs. And now that I''m a member of the Warlock Council, this is mine too. I''m so d I joined the Warlock Council. Now I can live a life offort for decades toe."


    "Whenever I need, the Warlock Council wille to help me. I can rule my ce and enjoy the same treatment in Triton as well."


    Walking past the parliament, he kept talking about how he was pleased with bing a member, making sure that the Spy heard his every word. If he looked pleased with the decision to join, he wasn''t going to look suspicious.


    He just needed to maintain the facade until Andrim returned in the night.


    Just as he expected, the spy in the back heard everything.


    After walking through most of the city, Lucifer was on his way back when he saw a crowd surrounding a ce.


    Wondering what was happening, he walked to the crowd.


    There was no space to walk through the crowd. However, he didn''t have to struggle. He simply pped his hand, and his wind control did everything else. The people who were blocking the path flew to the side, opening the pathway.


    As he looked ahead, he noticed two little kids lying on the ground. The two kids had dirty clothes and looked as if they hadn''t taken a bath in a long time.


    And a man was standing before them, kicking them. The young man who did it was only in his early twenties, but he was wearing the most expensive-looking clothes here.


    He also had two guards behind him that were carrying guns with them.

 Chapter 626 - 626: Tell Me

    <h4>Chapter 626 - 626: Tell Me</h4>


    "What is happening here?" he asked one of the citizens.


    "Nothing. Just some stupid kids who hit Young Master Jack," the man answered. "These kids are so stupid."


    "Hit? You mean they attacked the young man?" Lucifer asked.


    "No. I meant the kind of his you get when you walk in narrow streets and your shoulders sh with the others. I don''t know the specifics but I heard that the kids were running and they identally hit Young Master Jack who wasing out of the shop."


    "So that''s what''s happening," Lucifer said, smiling.


    "Eve, wait right here." He took off his hands from the waist of Eve and walked towards the man.


    Lucifer walked to the golden haired young master who was busy in hitting the kids. The kids kept crying and asking for forgiveness.


    "Forgive you? Forgive you for making my clothes dirty? You bastards! You know this was my favorite shirt! And you want forgiveness?" The young man kicked the kids again.


    As he was getting tired after kicking the kids, he started looking around.


    "That''s right! This is better treatment for you and something your Bastard parents should have done long ago!" He picked up the stick and approached the kids again.


    Thump~


    Just as the young man was walking towards the kids, someone hit him.


    Lucifer intentionally shed his shoulders with the young man, making the young man fall to the ground.


    "Hmm?" He looked at his shoulders and turned around. "You made my clothes dirty it seems."


    "Y-you!" Jack furiously stood up. His blood was boiling! First the kids and now this guy?


    And was this guy blind? After hitting himself, he was ming him instead?


    "Screw your mother, you bastard! You hit me first!" Jack responded fiercely.


    Kellian was hiding in the shadows of Lucifer. But even he couldn''t help butment, "Oh oh..."


    Lucifer was in more of a yful mood at the start. However, hearing the man talk about his mother in such a way... His mood switched instantly.


    From a yful mood, he was now into a full on ughter mood.


    His figure flickered as he appeared before Jack.


    "W-wha?" Jack was shocked seeing how fast Lucifer was. His mouth opened wide in shock, but that was another mistake.


    As his mouth was open, Lucifer inserted his fingers inside the mouth of Jack and grabbed his tongue.


    Keeping his tongue in his fingers he raised his right foot and kicked the stomach of the man.


    Jack flew back uncontrobly at the same time as Lucifer pulled his tongue with full strength.


    Jack''s tongue was separated. His mouth was filled with blood but worse, he could feel that his ribs were broken.


    Heid on the ground, groaning in pain.


    "What?" Seeing Lucifer''s action, the guards finally came out of their daze. They pulled out their guns and fired their bullets.


    Lucifer looked towards the guards. A Barrier appeared before him, blocking the bullets. At the same time, a couple of wind des appeared before the two guards.


    Swiss~


    The wind des moved. And the men dropped to the ground. Unfortunately, their heads were rolling in a different ce.


    Seeing such brutal murders, the crowd started running. Even the two kids who were being beaten were scared. They started running as well.


    Lucifer walked closer to Jack whose face was covered in tears and mouth in blood.


    Reaching Jack, Lucifer went down on his knees. "I''m sorry, I think I didn''t hear clearly. Can you repeat what you said about my mother?"


    "Come on. Tell me. I told you that I didn''t hear clearly. No need to be so judgemental. My ears are weak after all. Not as sharp as your ears." As Lucifer talked, he grabbed the ear of Jack.


    Joan kept making random noises as he tried to ask for forgiveness.


    "I wish I had ears like you to hear what you said." As soon as Lucifer finished speaking, he pulled both the ears of Jack, tearing them off.


    "Ahhh!" Jack cried even more as he felt like dying was better than going through his pain. He couldn''t breathe properly either.


    Lucifer threw the ears away. "Come on. No reason to be shy. Tell me what happened! Tell!"


    As he yelled, he stood up and stomped on the head of Jack, crushing it like a coconut.


    He didn''t stop though. He kept stomping again and again as he yelled, "Tell! Tell! Tell!"


    The dark haired spy who was in the back was shivering after seeing Lucifer''s actions. Until now, he thought Lucifer to be a mild pervert who had some good skills. But seeing his current actions, he was sure that Lucifer was a psychopath.


    Eve stepped closer to Lucifer and ced her hand on his shoulder. "I think he learnt his lesson. Leave him."


    Lucifer took a deep breath as he nodded. But he didn''t forget to stop onest time before he turned around.


    "Let''s go back to my ce." Just as Lucifer put an end to this episode, the door of the shop opened.


    A middle-aged man stepped out of the shop with a bright smile on his face; however his smile disappeared at the sight of two dead guards. The guards were his own men after all!


    He looked around and soon found another body which was unrecognizable for the most part. He could only recognise who the body belonged to though the clothes.


    He saw a man near the body of what appeared to be his son.


    He was so angry that he wanted to shoot Lucifer but he was also scared. The man had literally killed his two trained guards. He was very scared to approach.


    Fortunately, he soon found another path. A Warlock Council member was inside the shop with him recently. He ran inside the shop to ask him for help.


    Lucifer turned to look at Milena and Arthur.


    "Why are you standing there so shocked? Stop acting like you haven''t seen me kill a person until now." He rolled his eyes, seeing them look surprised.


    "Let''s go back."


    He started walking away. Eve walked right beside him. Arthur and Milena followed behind him, asionally ncing at the crushed body of Jack.


    It wasn''t as if they hadn''t seen a brutal death like this before. In fact, each of them had the blood of thousands of people in their hands.


    It''s just that there was something different in what happened just now. It wasn''t the death itself which was intimidating. It was the reaction of Lucifer.. Both of them reminded themselves to neverment about Lucifer''s father and mother.

 Chapter 627 - 627: Were Here For You

    <h4>Chapter 627 - 627: We''re Here For You</h4>


    The doors of the shop opened and the middle aged man stepped out again. He wasn''t alone this time. There was a Warlock Council member who was walking behind him.


    The Warlock Council member was wearing the coat given by the Warlock Council. In fact, it was almost identical with the coats that were given to Arthur and Milena. The only difference was that there was a different identity inside the coats and there was no mic in his coat.


    Unfortunately, Milena and Arthur weren''t wearing their uniform. No one could recognise them as Warlock Council members.


    "They''re the ones! Look, they''re trying to run away!" The middle aged man asked the Warlock Council member. "Sir Qin, do something!"


    "Stop!" The Warlock known as Qin took a step forward and called out.


    "Hmm?" Lucifer turned around.


    He noticed a Warlock Council member. "Do you need something?"


    "Did you kill the son of Minister Lane?" Qin asked.


    "Minister Lane?" Lucifer asked. "You mean that thing there? Yeah."


    Almost everyone inside the Warlock Council was informed about Lucifer i.e most who were inside the Warlock Council. They had even seen the image of Lucifer.


    But the man at the moment hadn''t approached the Warlock Council since then. He had heard about a new member but he hadn''t seen him. Moreover, he didn''t find the badge on Lucifer or the identification. He was sure that Lucifer couldn''t be that guy.


    However there was one person who knew what was happening. It was the Dark Haired spy who was keeping an eye on Lucifer. He couldn''t believe that an idiot was calling out Lucifer who was one of the members of the Head Council.


    He wanted to step out and inform Qin about this, but it could blow up his cover. And he couldn''t contact him directly either.


    All he could do was inform this to the Warlock Council who could either contact the man or do something else.


    He contacted the administrator who he was in contact with. Just as he finished speaking, the Warlock Council started contacting Qin.


    Despite trying again and again, they couldn''t contact him. Since Qin was in such a hurry toe out after hearing about murders, he had left the contacting device inside.


    "So you ept you did all these. You killed these three people," Qinmented.


    "Yep. I sure did. Do you have a problem with it? Raise the issue with your higher ups. I''m not in the mood at the moment."


    Lucifer turned away, not focusing on the man at all.


    "I''m warning you! Stop if you don''t want to be dead! You''re under arrest. You can''t go anywhere!" Qinmanded Lucifer.


    "Whatever suits you," Lucifer replied without even looking back. He didn''t care about the man at all. He was thinking about taking out all of them. Since he was so confident, a small Warlock couldn''t intimidate him.


    "That''s it! You forced me to do it!" Qin started running towards Lucifer to attack.


    The dark haired spy couldn''t control himself anymore after seeing the situation deteriorate so much. He was about toe out of hiding but he stopped as he noticed another movement.


    Tens of Warlock Council members came flying from all directions andnded between Lucifer and Qin.


    Finally Lucifer was intrigued. More people were here to attack him?


    "Well then, they can''t me me for what I''m about to do." He cracked his knuckles as he turned around.


    At the same time, Qin was also pleased that more guards were here.


    "It''s good that you''re here! We need to arrest the man! He killed the son of a Minister in the middle of the road!" Qin informed the other guards, however, something was odd.


    He noticed the guards looking towards him. The guards weren''t looking towards Lucifer. They were looking towards him instead.


    "We aren''t here for him. We''re here for you. Stand down!" One of the guards said, frowning. "Do you even know what you were just about to do?"


    "What?" Qin asked, confused.


    "The people you were about to attack. They are the new Warlock Council members. In fact, one of them is now a member of the Head Council of leaders! Now you understand?" The guards asked.


    "No matter what they did. You can''t attack them. If you had attacked them, we would have had no choice but to execute you. It''s thew. Only the Head Council can decide what to do with the Head Council member if they do something! You have no authority! So stand down!" The other guards said.


    "Also, where is yourmunication device? The Head Office was trying to contact you for so long! Get that device and report to the Head Office!"


    "I-" Qin didn''t have any answer. He had actually made a mistake by thinking about attacking the man but at least he could justify himself by saying that Lucifer wasn''t wearing any identification.


    Also, he hadn''t actually attacked so far. So he wasn''t going to get any strict actions. He knew that at best, he was going to get some scolding since he was stopped at the right time before he could take it too far.


    "I''ll report to the head office," he responded as he turned around.


    On his way back, he didn''t forget to re at the Minister who brought him into this mess.


    The Minister wasn''t having a good time either. His son was killed brutally and now he came to know that the Warlock Council Head was the culprit. He knew he couldn''t do anything against him.


    He was only a human minister and the man who killed his son was at the peak of the Warlock hierarchy. He was above thew.


    All the minister could do was go back inside the shop and hope that Lucifer wasn''t going toe to kill him. As for the body of his son, he could handle thatter. He walked back inside the shop.


    It wasn''t just them who were surprised. Lucifer wasn''t immune to it either. He had thought that these people were here to attack him and that he had to move the n forward. But that wasn''t the case.


    The guards turned to Lucifer after the others left. "Are you alright?"


    "I am fine," Luciferzily stated before he started leaving. He didn''t bother staying here for longer.


    As he was walking towards the Warlock Council headquarters where he had an entire floor to himself.


    On the way back, Lucifer noticed the two kids hiding in the back of the alley. As soon as their eyes met his eyes, they started shivering. He didn''t me the kids either.


    If he was his old self who was inside the facility and he had seen such things in action, he might have been scared as well.

 Chapter 628 - 628: World Might Not But I Am

    <h4>Chapter 628 - 628: World Might Not But I Am</h4>


    He stopped in his tracks and turned to look at the kids.


    Eve noticed Lucifer looking at the kids.


    "Come with me." She held Lucifer''s hand, intertwining her fingers with his as she pulled him towards the kids.


    Lucifer looked at her hand which was holding his hand.?For some reason, he had thought that he might be annoyed at such actions but that wasn''t the case. He didn''t feel angry at Eve.


    For some reason, he found her different. Despite going through so much, she was still such a free and light hearted soul which didn''t hate anyone. She was the kind of person he wanted to be when he was young.


    However as he grew up, he understood how naive he was. He never wanted to be that stupid again. He had already made a different life for himself which waspletely different. He was happy with it as well.


    In fact, he believed he had already achieved most of his goals. After the Warlock Council was gone, he was literally going to have no major enemy as he believed.


    Even though he hated his naive self, he couldn''t hate Eve for that same Naive View. Also, unlike him, she didn''t let the situation change him despite suffering for decades.


    Eve dragged Lucifer towards the alley where the kids were hiding which made him wonder what she was trying to do. The kids already looked scared. Was she trying to scare the kids more?


    Lucifer stepped inside the alley with Eve. Arthur and Milena followed them, wondering what it was about.


    The kids hid behind a dumpster after watching peoplee close to them.


    "Wait here. I''ll be right back." Eve released the hands of Lucifer and walked towards the kids in the back.


    Seeing no way back, the kids found their back against a wall.


    Eve stepped closer to the shivering kids however she simply ced her hands on their heads.


    She patted them gently. "Don''t worry. We aren''t here to hurt you. We only hurt bad people like the one who was hurting you."


    "Here, you want some candy?" She asked, bringing some candy out of her pocket.


    The kids looked at her. Their eyes were filled with hesitation. "Don''t worry. I don''t bite. Take one."


    "These are the sweetest vor one that I could find."


    One of the two kids raised his hand to take the candy but the other remained still.


    After he watched the first pick the candy safely, he also took one.


    "Go ahead and taste them. You don''t be disappointed."


    Milena also ced one of the candies in her mouth and started sucking on it.


    The kids followed her. They unwrapped the candy and ate it.


    "How is it?" Eve asked.


    "Tasty." One of the kids weakly said.


    "Thank you." The other kid said.


    "Don''t thank me. Thank him. If he hadn''t stepped in, the mean man might have killed you." Eve pointed towards Lucifer. "Come, let me introduce you to the future King of this world."


    The kids were still scared of Lucifer a bit even though he was calmly standing there, intrigued by the actions of Eve.


    Eve went down on her knees, seeing the kids still hesitant. She ced her soft hands on the cheeks of the kids and used a bit of her ability to calm their hearts so they could think clearly.


    "I am telling you. He won''t hurt you. Juste and meet him," she said softly. "I''m with you. Don''t worry."


    She stood up. "Come."


    The kids followed Eve slowly as she walked towards Lucifer.


    After reaching him, she stepped aside and let the kids face Lucifer.


    The kids looked at Lucifer. They bowed respectfully. "Thank you for saving us."


    Lucifer scratched the back of his head, not knowing how to react.


    "Come on! Now you need to be brave as well.?The kids won''t bite you. Just ce your hand on their heads and pat them."


    Eve held Lucifer''s wrist and ced her hand on the heads of the kids.


    Lucifer looked towards her only to find a cheeky smile on her face. He looked back at the kids.


    The small kids were so innocent and kind looking. Even though they were scared, they were filled with hope.


    Seeing them, he couldn''t help but wonder what might have happened to the kid he had left back in Elisium... The one he had saved at a restaurant.


    Eve closed in on Lucifer and brought her lips closer to his ears and whispered, "The world isn''t all that bad, is it?"


    Lucifer took his hands back and looked at his blood covered gloves.


    He ced his hand on the back of Eve and pulled her closer. This time it was his turn to whisper something.


    Bringing his lips closer to her ears while keeping her in his embrace, he softly whispered. "The world might not be all bad, but I am. And I''m never going to change. Also, next time don''t steal the candies from the shop."


    After he finished, he freed her from his embrace and started leaving. He didn''t even look back at the kids as he left.


    "Here, enjoy." Eve gave more candies to the kids, emptying her entire pocket before she ran after Lucifer.


    Seeing what had happened, the dark haired spy was most confused. He didn''t know what had just happened. What were they trying to do? He simply shook his head, clearing his mind as he continued following Lucifer.


    ....


    Lucifer reached the Warlock Council building with his hands around Eve''s back, who had again snuggled into his arms.


    "You''re back. We heard something happened on the way? Are you fine?" The guards at the entrance asked Lucifer.


    "I am fine."


    "May we know who thisdy is?"


    "She is my date tonight. I can bring her to my floor, right?" Lucifer asked.


    "Ah, sure you can. But you mustn''t take her to any other floors. It''s fine as long as she stays on your floor and leaves straight from there." The guard replied as he allowed them to enter.


    In his mind, he was slightly intrigued. Was this kid really such a Casanova? He hadn''t even been here for one whole day and he was already bringingdies back.


    "Sigh, advantages of being handsome." The man sighed, getting back to his duty.


    In their attention to thedy, the menpletely forgot that something was different. Milena and Arthur weren''t wearing the white coat now.


    Generally, Lucifer might have thought about bringing the coats back before entering, but he couldn''t since he was being followed. He didn''t want Kellian to be discovered. That was bad if it happened.


    Lucifer entered the lift which took him to his assigned floor.. However, he knew they needed to continue the roley.

 Chapter 629 - 629: Just Do It

    <h4>Chapter 629 - 629: Just Do It</h4>


    "This is where you stay? Such a beautiful ce!" Eveplimented as soon as she saw the massive ce as if it was her first time seeing it.


    "Nope. This is where you stay from now on," Lucifer responded. "The three of you can take a seat. I''ll be right back."


    Lucifer went inside the washroom to wash his gloves from the sshes of blood as much as he could.


    He turned on the tap water before taking off the gloves. After cleaning them, he ced them to the side before taking some water in his hand and sshing it on his face.


    ....


    Joan kept his eyes on what was happening inside the room of Lucifer while sitting on the top floor where all the Warlock Heads coulde except Lucifer since he didn''t have the permit. He had a separate office of himself as well.


    "Thisdy... Did he really go outside to pick up girls? Something feels off."


    He captured the image of Eve and started searching her face through the database to see if there was any match. He couldn''t find any match. Her face wasn''t amongst the list of travelers that entered the city from outside. Her face wasn''t on the list of citizens of Zeston either.


    That was the worst part. If thedy was just someone Lucifer casually found when he went to pick updies outside, then why was she not in any database. It was as if she had just appeared out of thin air, like the appearance of Lucifer.


    He couldn''t find Lucifer in any flight database either. Both of them just happened to appear inside Zeston out of nowhere. That


    "That can''t be a coincidence," he said, standing up.


    "What can''t be a coincidence?" A voice came from the back.


    "Who?" Joan turned around, surprised. "Sigh, it''s you."


    "Did I scare you?"


    "You didn''t scare me. But next time, knock before youe in," Joan told the man who stood behind him.


    The man was none other than Julien. He was the only person who was in the Warlock Council Headquarters but still hadn''t attended the meeting with Lucifer for some reason.


    "By the way, what brought azy person like you out of your room? As far as I know, you even refused the old man to attend the meeting with the kid. So what are you doing here?" Joan asked Julien.


    "Nothing much. I just noticed that you were the only person who wasn''t rxing outside. So I was intrigued about what was happening with you," Julien answered.


    "So? What were you saying? What doesn''t make sense? And may I ask why you''re spying on the new kid? Are you suspicious?"


    "Suspicious? That would be an understatement," Julien replied, sighing. "I think the kid is pretty clever. And he is scheming something. He is hiding more than he is showing."


    "And what makes you think so?" Julien asked, picking up another seat. He sat on the chair.


    "For example, his subordinates were about to say something when I left his ce. And he closed her mouth, trying to stop her," Joan answered. "If nothing was wrong, why would he do that?"


    "And then he left the ce without even checking the door, possibly so he could talk outside."


    "So the kid is suspicious that we''re listening to him. Now bad," Julienughed. "But that doesn''t seem that big a deal. He probably didn''t want her to reveal a secret of Elisium or something."


    "I would''ve done the same if I was in a new ce even if I wasn''t scheming something," he continued.


    "That''s not all..."


    Joan described the oddity about Eve, and now she wasn''t supposed to be in Zeston, and there was no data about her.


    "It is just too convenient that he went out and found ady like her," Joan said. "I don''t trust the kid one bit."


    "Man, and here I thought that something was seriously wrong," Julienzilymented. "It''s just about that. The answer is simple. Go and interrogate thedy."


    "But if we do that, he might be suspicious."


    "Who cares," Julianzily said. "If he actually didn''t know thedy before, you can use that and say it''s for his safety since there are many people who target Head Council members. And if he''s really guilty, then why bother about making him suspicious."


    "The problem is that he''ll probably go crazy and start attacking us if he''s actually guilty.?So I can''t just go alone. He''s not a weak person after all."


    "No need to go alone. Take the other Heads with you," Julien said. "I mean, it''s not like there is ack of people who hated the thought of letting the kid join even if it was temporary. You can use them."


    "Are youing too?" Joan asked.


    "Me? I''m toozy. I think you all would be enough to handle a kid," Julien stood up. He stretched his arms as he started leaving while yawning.


    The idea of Julien was something that Joan thought about seriously. Still, he decided to contact Andrim first before doing it. He thought he should let the man know first.


    Joan even managed to make Andrim suspicious with the way he presented the facts and ultimately received the permission from him to investigate.


    "Even though I''m giving you permission, don''t forget to exercise caution. Don''t offend the kid if he''s actually innocent. We still need to use him for the time being."


    "I won''t. I''ll be careful."


    ...


    Lucifer stepped out of the bathroom and walked to Eve, who was sitting on the sofa. All he needed was to dy things for one day without raising much suspicion.


    He didn''t know though, that suspicion was already raised. Fortunately, the story about him picking up ady in the way still left some room for doubt to make the Warlock Council unsure if he was lying or not.


    Lucifer sat close to Eve, looking into her eyes.


    "Hmm? You suddenly look sleepy. Did you not sleepst night?" He asked, throwing the bait to Eve.


    All she needed to do was say yes so he could ask her to rest for the day and get some sleep.


    "Hmm? Not at all. I had a great sleepst night." Eve answered, not taking the bait.


    Lucifer wanted to scold her so badly for being an idiot.


    He had just portrayed himself as a womanizer. If the woman was finally in his room and he didn''t do anything, he was going to look even more suspicious.. That''s why he wanted Eve to sleep for a few hours until Andrim returned.

 Chapter 630 - 630: First

    <h4>Chapter 630 - 630: First</h4>


    Eve didn''t y along, though.


    "You don''t have to lie. I can see in your eyes that you''re sleepy," Lucifer said, touching the lips of Eve gently.


    "Like this, you won''t be able to give your all in the bedroom. Go and take a nap. After you''re fully rested, we can begin."


    "Come, I''ll show you the bedroom." He held the hand of Eve and helped her up before taking her towards the bedroom.


    It was only now that Eve understood what Lucifer was trying to do.


    She went with him to the bedroom and even thanked him before lying on the bed.


    Lucifer covered her body with a nket and turned on the AC.


    He turned to leave.


    "Wait!" Eve called out suddenly.


    "Yeah?" Lucifer turned around.


    "Aren''t you going to give me a kiss before leaving? So I could have some good dreams?" Eve asked innocently.


    Lucifer''s face twitched a little in annoyance, but he quickly covered his expressions.


    He smiled in return as he walked closer to Eve.


    "How could I forget?" He could see that Eve was having fun messing with him. It was his turn to mess with her now.


    Seeing him step closer, Eve thought he was going to give a kiss on her cheeks. She turned her face to the side to reveal her right cheek.


    Lucifer brought her face closer to hers, but he didn''t kiss on her cheeks. He ced his finger under her chin and turned her face, so it was facing her.


    After turning her face, he ced his lips on the lips of Eve.


    Eve''s eyes opened wide in shock. Even she didn''t expect Lucifer to do it. This guy! Was he messing with her now?


    Lucifer kept his lips on the sweet lips of Eve for so long that after he took his lips off, Eve was breathless. Her face had turned as red as a tomato.


    She couldn''t believe that her first kiss was taken by Lucifer, all because she wanted to mess with him. But there was a part of her that kind of liked the kiss as well.


    "See you in the morning," Lucifer said softly before turning to leave.


    It was also his first kiss, and he could see why people liked it. It wasn''t half bad.


    He nced at Eve onest time before leaving.


    Eve buried her face under the nket as her thoughts were jumbled.


    ...


    Lucifer left the room and sat on the couch in front of Milena and Arthur. None of them spoke anything important regarding their ns.


    All they talked about was the city and how this building was good.


    Within half an hour, there was a sudden knock on the door.


    Lucifer walked to the door and opened it.


    As he opened the door, he found the Warlock Council members before him.


    He had met around twelve of them in the meeting, and all twelve were here. Something seemed odd.


    "What brought you all here?" Lucifer asked, standing at the entrance, blocking it.


    "We believe your life is in danger," Joan said directly.


    "My life? And how?" Lucifer asked, amused. Life in danger? And his? Were they joking?


    "Thedy who came with you. We believe that she is an enemy spy who was tasked to approach you to get close to you and to kill you after winning your trust. Apparently, the information about you joining us had leaked, and the enemies have gotten active," Joan exined.


    "We need to interrogate her to find out who sent her," he added.


    "I think you guys are overthinking it. If she were a spy, I would''ve sensed it. Moreover, who can even kill me? Certainly not that weakdy. Don''t overthink and go back. She''s only a guest for one day. After I sleep with her, I''ll kick her out," Lucifer responded.


    "So please don''t spoil my mood." He started closing the door, but the door stopped suddenly.


    It couldn''t even move an inch.


    He lowered his eyes and noticed that there was a Warlock who was holding the door in its ce.


    He couldn''t believe that someone was trying to challenge him.


    He simply smiled. "You know, it''s looking less like your concern and more like your aggression at the moment. Remember something carefully. When Ie to aggression, you won''t like it."


    Even though it wasn''t a part of the n, he couldn''t let them interrogate Eve. She didn''t even live here. She couldn''t answer anything at all if they asked. And she was going to be exposed to them.


    He didn''t want to waste any time if the ultimate oue was them being exposed. At least now he could use the excuse of theming to him first for aggression.


    "Is something the problem?" Arthur and Milena also came back to Lucifer.


    "Yeah. My friends here think that I can''t keep myself safe," Luciferzily responded.


    "I think they should ask their two friends they sent to kill you about how good we can defend ourselves," Arthur mockingly chimed in.


    Even Kellian was prepared for any conflict at the moment.


    In fact, not many people knew, but Kellian had already gotten into action a long time ago.


    He had left some shadows of his behind to find the control room without being caught after he hade back with Lucifer.


    By now, his shadows were already in the control room, hiding in the Darkness, waiting for furthermands.


    Seeing Arthur mention the head of Zhu and Hanzi, quite a lot of the men here were ufortable. They believed they were being mocked.


    "Young man, I think you should keep your tongue in control. You don''t know who you might offend with that sharp tongue of yours. Someone might actually pull out that tongue of yours." A man behind Joan warned Arthur.


    "The man who can''t even dare to show his face talking about such things? It doesn''t suit them," Another man said.


    "Leaving everything aside, please move. We have good reason to believe that she''s a spy. And if she isn''t, why do you even try to stop us? If she''s innocent, we''ll apologize to her before leaving. I don''t think you should have any problem with it." Joan kept his focus on the main topic.


    "It''s because I know it''s a waste of time. I''m just here for one day, and I want to have some fun. And I know she is innocent. If you interrogate her for no reason, she''ll think I was suspicious of her."


    "And even if you say sorry, will it return her to her old mood? It''ll be a waste.. Interrogate her tomorrow after I''m done with her."

 Chapter 631 - 631: Blocking

    <h4>Chapter 631 - 631: Blocking</h4>


    "I am sorry, but we can''t risk it. If she is really any spy, even one day can be dangerous. Please step aside. All we want is to ask her some questions. Stop blocking us!"


    "You can think whatever you want. But I''m not letting you spoil my day," Luciferzily responded. "As for the guy who is blocking the door. I also have an answer for him."


    Since these Warlock Council brats were showing off their strengths, he also did the same. He used his super strength which overwhelmed the person blocking the door.


    The door shut. The Warlock Council members continued knocking on the door, warning Lucifer but he didn''t respond.


    "Prepare for battle. If they break inside, it''s on." Even though it looked like he was talking to Milena, he was actually instructing Kellian who was already in position.


    Just as he expected, his actions didn''t sit well with the Warlock Council members. It wasn''t as if he cared either. Now that he knew that the Warlock Council didn''t have the sword, it was good to have them start the battle.


    Also, he had missed the chance in the meeting but now they were all in this ce together. It was as if they were inviting him to kill them.


    The smacking on the door intensified. It was only a matter of time before the enemies were going to barge inside.


    "Joan, stop trying. It''s proven. He is guilty. That''s why he doesn''t want us to talk to her. We should just kill him already. He is an enemy of the Warlock Council who is inside our base! We can''t let him do whatever he''s nning!" A middle aged man told Joan.


    He had been opposing this n to involve Lucifer with the organization since the start and now he had the opportunity to get it done with.


    Joan was under pressure from both sides. Lucifer wasn''t listening and the Warlock Council members were asking for action against Lucifer.


    He was feeling so overwhelmed that he couldn''t even think about leaving to contact Andrim. It was time for a decision and he had to take one. And a decision he took.


    He brought his card out which could be used to open the door.


    "Fine. I suppose we have no choice. But try to contain the damage. There are three of them. Five of us shall be enough to take care of Lucifer. The others can contain the other two and contain the damage."


    As Joan gave in, he also contacted the Security Team, asking them to seal the entire building and to activate all the defensive formations so the battle couldn''t destroy the ce.


    "What''s themotion?" There was so much noise that even Eve came out of her room.


    "Just stay back. Don''t get involved," Lucifer warned Eve as he stood before the door.


    He took both his gloves off and waited for the enemies to enter.


    He was prepared to bring this ce to ruins! Lightning kept cracking around his arms. At the same time, the sky was covered in the dark clouds.


    Click~


    Finally, the sound of the door being unlocked came.


    Milena stretched her arms, smiling brightly. She was finally going to thrash the people that wanted to destroy her Empire.


    The door opened. And people stepped inside.


    The entire room was covered in formations which started shining. All the walls started shining in bright golden light which was reinforcing them.


    This was also the time when Kellian took action.


    He was already in the Control Room. He had seen how the people managed the systems.


    His shadows came out of the group with sharp shadow swords and stabbed them abruptly in the back of the defense staff.


    As the entire room was sealed and couldn''t be opened, none of the staff members had their guard up. They hadn''t known that Kellian had entered as the shadow of one of their members.


    Entire room was filled with screams as people dropped to the ground like flies.


    He simply pressed a button, deactivating all the defense. At the same time, he also contacted Szar and told him to attack the city with the help of the Nobles.


    ...


    "We didn''t want to have to do this. You forced us." Joan said as he stared the same in the eyes of Lucifer.


    "But you can''t do anything now. All the defenses are active. And you have no way out. Even your strength can''t break the walls with the formations. No path to escape. And we knew about your external lightning control."


    As Joan finished speaking, a clone of his appeared behind Lucifer.


    The clone started speaking. " The lightning from the clouds can''t enter the building after breaking all the defenses. So do you want to surrender now? We''ll investigate you to decide if you''re actually guilty or not. And if you aren''t, we''ll free you."


    A second clone appeared around Lucifer. "Or shall we kill you directly? Surrender looks like a better option, isn''t it?"


    "You only have three seconds to decide!" A fourth clone appeared as well.


    Within a second, Lucifer was surrounded by the clones of Joan.


    As for Arthur and Milena, they were like weaklings for the Warlocks. Some weak members of the uprising. ording to their data, only Lucifer was a threat. On the contrary, others were so weak that they couldn''t even break through a barrier.


    That was why another Warlock Leader simply cast a barrier around the two of them to seal them in the barrier. The barrier also included Eve.


    "They''re underestimating us a bit too much, aren''t they?" Arthur asked Milena, chuckling.


    "They sure are. Such idiots," Milena responded. She lowered her head and ced her hand on her mask.


    "Three Seconds, huh."


    "Go ahead. Finish your countdown," Luciferzily said.


    Seeing the mocking attitude of Lucifer, the Warlocks grew even more frustrated.


    A lot of them just wanted to send Lucifer straight to hell, but Joan stopped them.


    He believed Lucifer wasn''t an idiot. He was certainly going to surrender before the time was up. There was no way Lucifer could think that he had a chance there.


    After all, the formations in the room were specially made for Lucifer. There was a reason they gave this time to Lucifer.


    Not only did the external lightning note here, but there was more. One of the formations in the room controlled the wind here. No one could use the wind in the room. That effectively made one of Lucifer''s powers useless.


    Secondly, he certainly had lightning but the Warlock Council had arranged for that as well.

 Chapter 632 - 632: Running Away

    <h4>Chapter 632 - 632: Running Away</h4>


    There were formations all around the room to absorb lightning. If Lucifer fired any bolts, before they could even reach them, they were going to be absorbed by the formations near the wall.


    This was what gave so much confidence to the Warlocks.


    They had effectively made Lucifer''s lightning and his wind useless, which were imed to be his strongest abilities.


    There was also his Decay which they knew about, but that was easy to avoid. All they needed was to make sure that they didn''t let him touch them.


    They knew that Lucifer was being a fake tiger at the moment. He was going to cave in. And after capturing them, they could swiftly take him out.


    "One!" Joan started his count.


    The other Warlocks also took their positions.


    "Two..."


    "Before I say three, why don''t you try testing your lightning and your wind?" Joan suggested, wondering if Lucifer didn''t know yet.


    "Go ahead. Try using it on me." Joan confidently said,ughing.


    Lucifer looked at Joan, amused.


    "Are you ready, Kellian?" he said.


    The Warlocks looked at him, wondering who he was talking to. Some of them remembered the name of Kellian as well from previous meetings. He was the vice Captain of the Uprising and known as the shadow Monarch.


    Before they could get to any conclusions, they heard a loud booming sound.


    All the formations that were surrounding the room disappeared abruptly. Even the Wall stopped shining.


    One lightning Bolt appeared behind each of the Warlock Leaders while a wind knife appeared before them.


    The bolt and the knife moved at the same time.


    The Warlocks were still overwhelmed by the sudden change. They couldn''t even think about dodging such abrupt attacks. Fortunately, there was one Warlock in their group who was sharp.


    He was standing in the back, not speaking much. He was just keeping an eye on the situation in case he was needed. He was known as Avil.


    He was one of the most low profile Warlocks in the Head Council but everyone knew that he was also one of the most useful ones. He was an integral part of the Head Council.


    That''s also why the Head Council never sent Avil on a mission alone. If there was a mission of one or two people, they never sent him. He was too important to be lost in minor battles.


    As soon as Avil saw the formations disappear, he understood that something was wrong. He didn''t even wait to know what it was like others. He directly used his powers.


    The lightning bolts were mere inches away from the throat of the Warlock Leaders when they all disappeared.


    "Where did they go?" Lucifer eximed, frowning.


    The barrier surrounding Arthur and Milena also disappeared.


    Milena observed her surroundings. "Looks like they ran away. Pretty fast."


    "I can feel some spatial disturbance. It looks like some kind of mass teleportation. There must be some Warlock who is capable of doing that in their group."


    No one knew about any existence of a Warlock in the Head Council who had a power like this since Avil only used his other power. His power of Mass Teleportation was something that only the Head Council knew.


    That''s also why he was so important to them. He could get them out of any troublesome situation.


    "Kellian, can you see where they are? And who was it that did it?" Lucifer asked.


    Kellian came out of the shadows.


    "It doesn''t look like they are inside the building," he said, observing all the camera footage.


    "I made a mistake," Lucifer said. "I should''ve brought Szar as well. He could''ve slowed them down. Now we don''t know where all these snakes might be."


    "Wait. I can see them. They are on the roof, discussing something. Looks like they appeared there."


    "Can you check the footage of this room to find the person that used this Teleportation? If we just went like this, it''ll be useless again."


    "Just give me a minute."


    The shadows in the control room looked through the footage of the room to find the person who used the ability.


    "I have a feeling that it was the man in the back. His reflexes were the fastest and I can also see a shine in his eyes before they all disappeared.?His name appears to be Avil."


    "Arthur, do you remember the face of the person who was standing in the back?" Lucifer asked, turning to Arthur.


    "I think I saw him," Arthur nodded.


    "Good. I don''t want him to use his powers again. So before I go there, I want you to go and take out Avil first. Can you do it?"


    "His reflexes seem to be fast. I can''t guarantee anything. But I can try."


    "Try isn''t enough. I want you to do it at any cost! I don''t want to y the cat and mouse game forever!"


    ....


    Avil had acted swiftly after seeing all the formations stop. He directly brought everyone away from Lucifer at the first sight of danger.


    After appearing on the roof, everyone was initially confused but soon understood that it was Avil.


    Most of them thanked Avil for what he did. They were all so confident in the formation that they didn''t think what might have happened if the formation stopped.


    Joan directly contacted the Defense Staff to ask them what was happening. He didn''t receive any response though. Everyone in the room was already dead there. Only Kellian''s shadow was there, hearing Joan repeatedly ask questions.


    "Something is seriously wrong. No one is responding," Joan informed the others.


    "I think it might be the work of Kellian. As soon as Lucifer said that name, the formation stopped working. And if I''m not wrong, Kellian is famous for his ability to hide in the shadows," Ganso chimed in.


    "I also think it''s his fault. And the Defense Room isn''t responding. The control of all the formations are there as well. I have a feeling that Kellian might have infiltrated that ce. He turned off the formations!" Another Warlock said.


    "That should be the case! That bastard effectively stole the control of our headquarters so we couldn''t do anything against him!" Joan ahead with the others.


    "You were right about this Lucifer. He was certainly a scheming bastard! He came here with a n! And he had almost killed us all! We can''t let it go! We need to kill that bastard at any cost!"


    "Agreed. But we need to be more careful this time! We can''t lose too many people in this battle!"


    "I have a suggestion we can try.." Avil took a step forward.

 Chapter 633 - 633: Dimensional Shift

    <h4>Chapter 633 - 633: Dimensional Shift</h4>


    "What do you suggest?" Joan looked at Avil. "I personally think we should spread out and attack him cleverly. Don''t give him the chance to find us all in one ce. Use our numbers to keep the damage low, but if you have a better n, I''m all ears."


    Avil took a deep breath before opening his lips to speak. "I think we should, argh-"


    Just as Avil started speaking, he felt some disturbance in space. But before he could do anything, a knife stabbed his heart, right before he teleported.


    Even though he had managed to teleport, he waste. The knife had left a hole in his heart.


    He appeared on a distant roof, coughing out blood. He also dropped to his knees as his face turned pale.


    He couldn''t even find the strength to stand. His vision blurred. He teleported onest time before losing consciousness. And the ce he went to was the medical facility, hoping that they might be able to do something.


    Unfortunately, it was toote. Only his dead body appeared there. Even the doctors couldn''t do anything other than dere him dead while wondering what was happening.


    It wasn''t normal for a member of the Head Council toe here this injured. They couldn''t help but wonder what was happening.


    One thing was certain though. Something was wrong. Their doors were sealed, and themunication in this ce was jammed. Nomunication went out of this ce or came inside.


    It was as if the headquarters werepletely cut off from the rest of the world.


    Julien hadn''t gone to meet with other Warlocks. Instead, he was lying on his bed, ying a game on his phone, when he saw the game stop. The game worked online, and the inte and all other forms ofmunication were shut.


    As soon as the hand stopped, he checked the setting to know what was happening.


    "Inte stopped? That''s fascinating. It''s not something we see often. And very convenient as well. Right after they went to meet the kid, I guess I''ll check out as well."


    He got off the bed and stretched his arms, yawning.


    As soon as he stood up, he started feelingzy.


    "On second thought, they can handle it themselves."


    He walked back to the bed and ced the phone aside before lying on the bed to get a nap.


    There was a reason he was called the Laziest Warlock in the Warlock Council after all. Sleep was most important to him as long as his own life wasn''t in danger.


    But that didn''t mean anyone could underestimate him. He had proven his strength already, and he was one of the top Warlocks in the Head Council because of his abilities to stop time entirely if he needed and not just slow it down like Szar.


    He could also slow down the time as well if he wanted, but that took the same effort as stopping time, so he preferred thetter.


    ....


    Arthur had killed Avil by teleporting right behind him. As for how he knew where exactly he had to appear, he used his brain.


    He didn''t directly appear on the Warlock Council roof. Instead, he appeared in a distant building. From there, he found Avil and made his Teleportation perfectly timed.


    He had just stabbed the heart of Avil. Avil disappeared, revealing him to the other Warlocks.


    Within a second, a barrage of attack flew towards Arthur, but he disappeared again.


    He appeared back inside the Headquarters and held the hand of Lucifer and Milena before going back outside.


    As all three of them could fly, they spread out, surrounding all the Warlocks on the roof. Now that Avil wasn''t there, they had no way for them to teleport. They were surrounded from all sides, but most of them focused on Lucifer.


    "I don''t know what Avil wanted to try, but he''s most probably dead. We''re on our own. Remember what I said. Spread out!" Joanmented as he split into hundreds of clones. All clones started running in a different direction.


    Ganso was known for his strength. He simply stomped on the ground, which made him jump high.


    Hended in a different building.


    All Warlocks used one way or another to spread out.


    One of them grabbed the hands of two Warlock as he flew away to bring them away.


    While other Warlocks were spreading out, there were around three of them who were still on the roof, attacking Lucifer to take him out and to keep him engaged. Two of them attacked Milena and Arthur.


    Lucifer cast a barrier before him simply. He didn''t even need to dodge the attacks. All of themnded on his Barrier. He simply kept his focus on the people who were running away.


    Thump~


    Lightning Bolt fell from the sky with a loud roar on top of the Warlock who was flying away, carrying two others.


    Unfortunately, it didn''t hit them. The lightning Bolt passed through their bodies like they didn''t exist.


    One of the Warlocks being carried used the Dimensional Shift to momentarily shift dimensions with his friends. The lightning passed through them.


    "If he wants to y hard then so be it!" The Warlock smirked. He raised his other hand towards Lucifer. His eyes shone momentarily.


    Boom~


    A ball of fire managed to pass through Lucifer''s barrier, hitting him directly. The ball of fire exploded as soon as it hit Lucifer, making him fly far away. His skin started burning.


    The barrier of Lucifer was made ineffective by Tom, who could not only use temporal shifts on himself and his friends, but he could also use it on the enemies without much concern about the range.


    As long as he was within a hundred-meter range of the enemy, he could use his Temporal Shift on them. That''s what he used on the barrier of Lucifer to make it ineffective.


    "Good work," the Warlock who was carrying Tomplimented him,ughing. He left Tom and the other Warlock he was carrying on the roof from where he could have a clear view of the battle to use his abilities.


    After finishing, he turned around to face the battleground.


    Lucifer was still nowhere to be seen. On the other hand, something even more surprising was happening.


    Everyone had thought that Lucifer was the main threat, but something else was happening entirely.


    He was out of the picture, and Milena had taken the lead. And she was wiping the ground with blood.. That wasn''t all! The Warlocks she killed were standing up again, and their eyes were blood red when they woke up.

 Chapter 634 - 634: The Strongest

    <h4>Chapter 634 - 634: The Strongest</h4>


    Seeing the phenomenon, the man understood something! She wasn''t from Uprising! There was only one person who could do something like this! She was Milena, hiding behind that mask!


    "That Bastard fooled us! He brought Milena here with him!


    It was a bloody scheme by Lucifer to take out everyone while working with their enemies! He pulled the same trick on them that they wanted to pull on him!


    This was also a good opportunity though! Milena was there alone! They didn''t have her army and her terrain to worry about. As long as they could take her out right now, they could solve all their problems at once.


    ....


    Lucifer was blown away by the sudden explosion that managed to pass his Barrier as if there was no Barrier.


    He even crashed into a distant building, breaking the window to fall inside.


    He stood up and patted his clothes.


    "This was embarrassing." Hemented, taking a deep breath.?"This also makes me angry."


    He looked to his left, finding a king size bed. Two people were lying on the bed, looking at him nkly.


    A man was lying on his back without any clothes. And a woman was sitting on him with her back facing him. Even she didn''t wear any clothes as they were doing something intimate before he crashed inside.


    At the moment, both of them were looking at Lucifer nkly.


    He couldn''t help but shake his head. "The city is being destroyed outside, and you are more concerned about this? If you don''t want to regret it, you should go underground."


    He flew out, leaving a stunned couple behind.


    He scratched the back of his head, looking at the battle ahead. Milena had already killed four of them. There were only eight left. In fact, she even turned those four to her Nobles, and now she was using them.


    She was on his side, and he was happy that she was performing, but he didn''t like her turning them into her Nobles. That messed with his n to absorb them.


    He took a deep breath before he yelled, "MILENA!"


    "What?" Milena looked back at him.


    "Step away from the battle! I''ll handle it myself! Go inside the headquarters and kill the others. No turning into Nobles!" Lucifer yelled. "Arthur! Take her inside!"


    Hearing him yell, the Warlocks understood that their suspicions were correct! The woman was actually Milena.


    "Why!" Milena asked.


    "Go inside! If you don''t want to be caught in the middle of what''s going to happen next!" Lucifer replied. "And do you want that bracelet off or not?"


    "Tsk, whatever."?Milena had no choice but to listen. She teleported inside the headquarters with Arthur to help Lucifer.


    Now that the ce was clear and there were no allies, Lucifer was free. He flew up in the sky.


    Unfortunately, at the same time, more attacks came towards him. He again used his Barrier, which was made ineffective by Tom once again. The attacks passed through, only to hit Lucifer.


    He didn''t fly back this time. He was ready to be hit.


    Instead, he looked up at the sky, forgetting that he was on a battlefield.


    His eyes turned dark as if they were filled with his ck lightning.


    His two wings appeared once again, making him look like a true demon in the sky as the light shed inside the clouds behind him.


    Two lightning gauntlets appeared in each of his hands, made purely of ck lightning. An Armor appeared around his chest.


    More and more attacks kepting towards him, but the Armor defended Lucifer now.


    "Tom, take out the Armor as well. We need to take him out so we can think about how to take out Milena!"


    "Right!" Tom agreed. His eyes shone again as he tried to use his abilities on the ck armor of Lucifer, but the Armor didn''t budge.


    Instead, it was Tom who was hurt. His eyes started bleeding. He was forced to close his eyes. Every second he had to keep the barrier in another space, his eyes got damaged.


    He understood that he couldn''t do it for even a few seconds without going blind. And after he went blind, he was going to lose his powers. He decided against using the barrier.


    Lucifer lowered his head, looking at the eight who were still left alive.


    He spread out both his arms, making thousands of lightning tornadoes appear in the surroundings, which formed a wall around all the Warlocks.


    No matter what these tornadoes touched, it was destroyed. Even buildings on the way kept getting destroyed as lightning tornadoes kept moving closer.


    The motive wasn''t to kill them with the tornadoes though. He was going to use a skill of his father that was known to be his most forbidden one, but he was going to use it in an even bigger range.


    The tornadoes surrounded five hundred meters of area around the Warlock Council headquarters, creating a wall to keep them inside. Not only them but most of the other Warlock Council members were also trapped in the wall.


    Lucifer''s dark eyes observed all the Warlocks, and what appeared to be a devilish smirk formed on his lips.


    He pped his hands, joining his Two Electric Gauntlets.


    Boom~


    As soon as his hands joined, a deafening sound echoed.


    The sound spread far and wide, falling in the ears of everyone in the city. In fact, the sound even traveled to the other cities miles away.


    The sound didn''te alone though. It came with the arrival of a five meter wide hundred lightning bolts that fell inside the Tornado Wall, converting every inch of thend, not leaving anything.


    That was the skill of his father. Sealing a big space with lightning and then bringing lightning bolts, so there was no chance of dodging anywhere.


    That was thest thing that Warlock Council members saw. The entire sky was covered in ck, and the sky appeared to be falling.


    They couldn''t even find a ce to run. Some chose to enter the building to take cover, but it was toote. The lightning fell over them. All the buildings in the surroundings were destroyed as they came crashing down.


    The only person who had any chance of survival was Tom, who used the spatial discement on him. And he seeded as well! He had managed to survive something that none of his friends could survive, but he wasn''t safe.


    As the building came crashing down, he fell from the sky, knowing it was a fall to his death. He couldn''t even fly.


    At the same time, he couldn''t use Spatial Discement on himself to survive.. If he did, he was going to be buried under the ground.

 Chapter 635 - 635: Challenge

    <h4>Chapter 635 - 635: Challenge</h4>


    Tom kept falling down, facing his death. Unfortunately, before he could even touch the ground, his face turned pale.


    He looked down and noticed a see-through hole in his chest which was bleeding.


    With his pale face, he looked back at Lucifer, understanding what had just happened. His vision started turning blurry as his eyes ultimately closed.


    Thump~


    He ultimately dropped to the ground, face first.


    ...


    Nothing was left standing at the ce. All the surrounding buildings were destroyed, turning into rubble.


    There was only one which was still left standing, and it was none other than the Headquarters of the Warlock Council itself. It managed to survive while using its defensive mechanism, which consisted of all the special formations that were cast on it.


    Lucifer looked back at the Warlock Council headquarters. He wasn''t concerned about what might be happening inside since all Warlock Council heads that were here were killed.


    He believed Milena was enough for the ones that were left inside the building. He didn''t know that there was one Head Council Member still left who hadn''t attended the meeting with him.


    Including Julien, there were eight Head Council members that were still alive. However, only one of them was still inside the building.


    Lucifer turned his attention to the bodies of the Warlock Heads that he had just killed now. Or, to be more precise, he was looking at whatever was left of their body in all this destruction.


    He flew towards each of them, one after another absorbing their strengths so he could use them to evolve other powers of his.


    He knew that twelve weren''t enough though. He had to take out all the Warlocks that were in the city and were still alive.


    Boom~


    Just as he finished absorbing the Warlock Kings, he heard a loud explosion. He flew up and observed his surroundings, wondering what was happening.


    The first thing he noticed was that a building was on fire. And a battle was going on nearby.


    As for the ones fighting, they were from the Uprising. Das was fighting with a group of Warlocks in the distance.


    He could see that his team was here, and they hade from all sides. The Uprising members had teamed up with the Nobles that could help them get here faster.


    It was a perfect team up. It was also showing its effects. The damage factor of each of the two man squads was so much that they were taking on multiple Warlock Council members.


    Call for help were constantlying to the Headquarters from the Warlocks, but they weren''t getting any response. Unfortunately for them, their message was only reaching Kellian''s shadow, which was ignoring them.


    All the Warlock Council members knew that something was wrong with the headquarters since they had seen the massive lightning phenomenon recently.


    They couldn''t even go back to check either as they were engaged in battles themselves.


    "They''re here. Pretty fast. In fact, it''s a bit too fast..." Lucifer looked at his team members, frowning. "Were they hiding outside the city instead of going back like I had asked them?"


    Instead of being happy about their fast arrivals, Lucifer was more concerned about how they made it possible. He wondered if they didn''t follow his instructions.


    If that was the case, the only person who could be behind it was Szar. As for why he did that, Lucifer couldn''t understand. Szar didn''t look like a person who wouldn''t follow orders properly.


    He looked around, trying to find Szar since he needed his answers. In his mind, he was done with everything else at the moment. Only ordinary Warlocks were left that could be handled by Milena inside the building.


    After looking all around, he finally noticed Szar. He was fighting five Warlocks at once. The only difference was that he had his Time Domain which made it look like he was fighting slow turtles instead.


    Without wasting a single second, Lucifer flew straight to Szar.


    Szar had just killed one of the five Warlocks around him when four lightning bolts fell, taking out the rest of the Warlocks.


    Szar turned around, realizing who might have arrived. "You''re here. It looks like things went well. I saw the massive lightning strike. It was the same as I had heard about your father''s ability."


    Szar kept talking after seeing Lucifer, but Lucifer didn''t look like he was in the mood to talk.


    "May I ask how you''re here so fast?" Lucifer straight asked Szar.


    "What do you mean?" Szar asked, confused.


    "I think you know all too well what I mean. How did you all get here so fast? Even if the Nobles flew at their fastest speed, they couldn''t have brought you all here so fast. So tell me how you''re here so fast!"


    "This..." Szar scratched the back of his head. "Man, your eye for detail is scary. I thought you wouldn''t notice."


    "Are you going to tell me or not?"


    "Fine. I will tell you everything. I was about to take everyone back when one of the Nobles suggested that they could open a path underground. I think you know her,"?Szar replied.


    "It was Aslima, wasn''t it?" Lucifer asked.


    "Yep. Since you were concerned about us being seen, we decided that he was better off hiding underground instead of going back."


    "Why didn''t you tell me about it then?" Lucifer asked.


    Just as Lucifer was interrogating Szar, he felt a vibration inside his pocket.


    He brought his gloves out and noticed that it wasing from Kellian.


    "Think of a good answer. But it must be worth it," Lucifer told Szar before he turned around. He wore the gloves as he flew back.


    "Yeah Kellian?" Lucifer asked.


    "Yaaaawn~"


    The only thing that Lucifer heard in the response was a yawn.


    The yawn was followed by azy voice. "Man, I feel really cranky when I have to wake up in the middle of my sleep."


    "Who are you?" Lucifer asked. It wasn''t Kellian''s voice, that was for sure.


    "Kellian? Is that the name of this guy?" Lucifer asked. "Whatever, I''m toozy to care about."


    "I just called you to tell you that I''ve killed this Kellian of yours. So, my dear Lucifer. Won''t youe to take back his body? I don''t want his body to stay in my bedroom. It might start stinking soon."


    "You killed him?" Lucifer asked, frowning.


    "It depends." Julien''s voice came from the other side.. "I mean, would you be open to considering his thousands of small pieces lying before me as proof of me killing him? If yes, then I''m afraid you''re right."

 Chapter 636 - 636: Absolute Time

    <h4>Chapter 636 - 636: Absolute Time</h4>


    "So, are youing to take his body... Oops, I mean, are youing to take back his pieces or not. I''ll leave his body in my bedroom for your convenience. On the second highest floor," Julien said.


    "I''ll leave the door open," he added. "Don''t worry though. I won''t be in my room. You don''t have to worry about your safety."


    "Since I''m already up, I might as well clean the building of ours. So take his pieces out before I return. You have twenty minutes of free reign before I return."


    Beep~


    As soon as Julien finished speaking, he disconnected the call and tossed the phone away.


    His mood was really bad as he had to wake up in the middle of his sleep after sensing danger. He couldn''t believe that he wasn''t even allowed to sleep peacefully.


    Since he didn''t want anyone to disturb him again, he decided to end all themotion himself. It was time for him to get to work.


    Just as Lucifer was confident about his ability and wasn''t scared of anyone, the same was the case for Julien. In fact, his confidence was even more than Lucifer''s since he had never suffered a setback in his life.


    Julien was the scariest Warlock of the Warlock Council and also the reason Andrim was still in the post of the Warlock Council head.


    The other Warlocks didn''t show any fear of Julien, but deep down, they actually respected him for his abilities. But more than respect, they felt jealous of his abilities as they thought he was just lucky.


    There was often a war of words between Julien and the others, but in the end, most people actually listened to the ideas of Julien. That was when Julien didn''t show his abilities. It was different now.


    He was actually going to take things seriously so he could get back to hiszy routine without being disturbed.


    At the same time, there was another monster that was someone people listened to. It was Lucifer who was flying towards the Warlock Council headquarters.


    Lucifer was feeling enraged. He didn''t understand who this person was! Not only did he im to kill Kellian, but he was also so arrogant.


    He couldn''t understand how any Ordinary Warlock could create trouble for Kellian! And where was Milena when Kellian needed her! He had specially sent her to help him. He couldn''t believe that she had left him alone!


    Two Warlocks... Both were leaders in their own fields, and both were considered someone who could take out any threat. And both of them were heading to a path where only one could be left alive.


    Lucifer didn''t realize how Julien might have killed Kellian. He didn''t know that Julien had the power to stop even time. It was an ability that made even the strongest of power useless.


    When a person was stopped in time, it didn''t matter how much strength he had. It didn''t matter if he could destroy mountains with a punch or kill millions in an instant. Everything was useless. Only time was absolute!


    And the time was siding with Julien.


    Julien picked up a robe and wrapped itself around his shoulders before leaving his room.


    He stepped inside the lift, which went down.


    The lift went straight to the floor, which had the defense room. He needed to find what was happening there through the direct feed of all the rooms that could only be essed from there.


    As he reached the door, he tried pushing it but found it to be locked.


    "Is there even a need to keep it locked?" hezilymented as he brought his card out and unlocked it using the force Authorization.


    With a clicking sound, the door opened.


    Standing in the center of the room, he was able to see everything. There were monitors everywhere, and each of the monitors was showing a different screen. Despite having many monitors, they didn''t show all the feed.


    Julien had to step ahead to take control of the system to change the feed since there was nothing of interest in the current feeds. All he could see in the feeds were ces that were filled with dead bodies.


    He didn''t want to find the bodies. Instead, he wanted to find the intruders that could disturb him. At the moment, he wasn''t even sure if there were any more or not.


    He kept switching through footage again and again. After a long time and too much attention to detail, he finally noticed something. He noticed Arthur fighting some of the Warlocks on the sixth floor.


    On another monitor, he noticed Milena on the twelfth floor. She was walking with her army of Nobles that she had recently turned.


    She had also removed her mask by now, showing her beautiful face.


    "So that''s what''s happening." Julien couldn''t help but smile as he realized what had happened. "Looks like I was the wrong one this time. Who knew I wasn''t suggesting to invite a sacrificialmb but a wolf that was already working with the wolf we wanted to kill?"


    "Man, the old man is going to be so upset about what happened."


    He stood up and left the room.


    He went to the twelfth floor to meet Milena first as he wasn''t someone who liked wasting time on weaklings first. He directly wanted to go deal with Milena first.


    In fact, if he wanted, he could have gone to fight Milena instead of Andreas in the Warlock Council, but he never left Zeston. ording to him, traveling for long distances was tedious and tiring.


    That''s also why he suggested they take Lucifer with them, so he wasn''t going to be dragged in the middle.


    The lift stopped on the twelfth floor, and Julien stepped out.


    His beautiful blonde hair came down to his shoulders, but they looked to be in a mess. His eyes were perfectly calm though.


    He stepped out of the lift.


    At the same time, a door opened, and Milena stepped out with her Nobles.


    Her eyes fell on Julien at the same time as she noticed him.


    "One more for the collection." She smiled, looking at Julien.


    Her figure disappeared, and she teleported behind Julien. She opened her mouth to reveal her sharp fangs, which were advancing towards the neck of Julien at lightning fast.


    Right before her teeth were about to touch the neck of Julien, she stopped. Not only her, but everyone else stopped as well.


    The lift which was closing also paused. The hands of the clock stopped moving.


    "A simr ability to Avil. So that''s how you took him out. I was wondering how," Julien turned back to look at Milena.


    She couldn''t even think, let alone move.. Time had stopped entirely on this floor.

 Chapter 637 - 637: Threat Of Demise

    <h4>Chapter 637 - 637: Threat Of Demise</h4>


    ...


    Thirty minutes ago...


    Kellian had decided to check the floors to kill all the enemies that were left inside. However, unlike Milena who started from the middle floors and Arthur who started from the middle floors, he started from the top floor.


    As a shadow, it wasn''t particrly hard for him to find an entry. He checked the entire top floor, only to find it empty. That''s what made him decide to check the lower floor.


    He appeared at the floor of Julian and started checking for any life. In the end, he had stepped inside the room where Julien was sleeping.


    Finding a sleeping target, Kellian found himself lucky. He didn''t even need to fight.


    He called forth his shadow Sword as he walked closer to Julien. His feet didn''t even make any sound.


    Within a second, he reached right beside Julien. He raised his sword, prepared to take out Julien.


    Unfortunately, that''s when Julien opened his eyes. Kellian hadn''t made much noise but the killing intent of his was enough to alert Julein who enjoyed the benefit of his heightened senses.


    Julien opened his eyes at the same time as he stopped time to understand what was happening and where this killing intent wasing from.


    However as soon as he opened his eyes, he found himself sighing a breath of relief. The Sword of Kellian was only a few inches away from his throat. If he was just a secondte, he would have been dead by now.


    "Man, you guys can''t even let me sleep, can you?" He moved his body aside before standing up.


    After getting off the bed, he kicked the chest of Kellian, making him fall like a statue.


    "Don''t mind it. I just want my bed to be dirty after what I''m about to do."


    He took the dark Sword of Kellia, shing a bright smile on his lips.


    ...


    Present time...


    Milena didn''t even know what had happened. For her, time was stopped entirely. She couldn''t even see Julien turn back and look at her. All she could do was wait for Julien to free her so she could see what had happened.


    Unfortunately, it didn''t look like Julien was going to give him a chance.


    Julien didn''t know that Milena could use Energy Negation if he freed her, but he was always alert and didn''t underestimate his enemies often.


    But there was one more factor. Since time was stopped for Milena and all other enemies of his that he stopped time around, they couldn''t know what had happened to them.


    All they could see when they were freed from the time stop was that Julien was standing in a different ce which gave them a feeling that he had used teleportation instead. It was a good advantage for Julien.


    The only thing that the enemies could use to get an inkling of what had happened was by checking the clock on their time which could sink with the international time as soon as the time was allowed to flow freely.


    As for the clocks that hung on the wall and weren''t connected to other sources, they could only resume time from where they were stopped which again made victims feel like it was teleportation and nothing else.


    With all these advantages, Julien was fairly confident in his abilities to take care of himself.


    He observed Milena, even touching her soft cheeks. Milena couldn''t even blink. Her face was still filled with the predator look as if she was just about to eat the head of Julien.


    "Such a fierce look doesn''t suit this beautiful face of yours," Julien said, smiling. He ced his thumbs around the lips of thedy, raising them to form a smile on Milena''s face as if she was toying with them.


    "That looks much better," hemented, satisfied at his work after a nice smile was on the lips of Milena. "Too bad I''ll still have to kill you though."


    Hezily turned around and started walking towards the Nobles that Milene had turned.


    He stopped before the tens of Nobles. "Meh, they all fell so fast. Then again, I can''t me them."


    "Still, it''s odd. None of my team members are here. What is this partiality? Were my team members not good for her?" He asked, having fun. "Oh right. They are on higher floors. Meh."


    He walked to a Swordsman in the back who was holding a sword in his right hand. He raised his hand and took the sword from the man before turning around.


    After taking the Sword, Julien stepped back.


    "Not bad," he said as his fingers grazed against the sharp edge of the sword. "Time for a real world test."


    Swiss~


    He swung his sword, straight ahead. As the sword was already sharp and the Nobles before him couldn''t move, the sword sliced his head, taking him out.


    Despite being killed, the man couldn''t scream as if he was just a statue. His head also stayed in ce, not falling over as time stopped in the surrounding area. The blood also didn''t ssh anywhere.


    The sword itself was only covered in a small amount of blood.


    "It''ll work." He smiled as he turned around to face Milena but he didn''t walk to her. His face looked like he was thinking about something really grave.


    "If I walk to her, I''ll have toe back again to kill the Nobles and then go back to the lift. Too much time will be wasted." He rubbed his chin. "Sigh, why is there so much work for me?"


    He couldn''t help but shake his head, already feeling tired. "I''ll just finish Nobles first and then go to kill her. Straight to the lift behind her and back to kill others. That would be better."


    Hezily turned around to face the Nobles that used to be Warlock Council members only until recently.


    ...


    Lucifer flew straight to the Warlock Council headquarters without thinking about anything. He needed to make sure that Julien wasn''t lying. Was Kellian still dead?


    He didn''t even bother to take the main entrance, instead trying to use the windows to barge inside the room.


    The main problem was that the Formations on the window were still active. And they weren''t going to let him enter so easily. He couldn''t teleport on the other end either.


    He stopped before the windows but not because he was scared of the Formations. He wanted to attempt something to make his trip faster.


    He raised his head towards the sky as lightning flickered inside his eyes.

 Chapter 638 - 638: Faced

    <h4>Chapter 638 - 638: Faced</h4>


    Boom~


    A massive ck lightning bolt fell from the sky as if answering Lucifer''s call, but it didn''t fall on the building. Instead, it straight fell before Lucifer, a few feet away from his body.


    Lucifer raised his hand, grabbing the lightning bolt that was falling towards the ground, stopping it in ce.


    The lightning bolt was too big for Lucifer to hold but it startedpression as soon as his hand wrapped around it, so much so that it was no thicker than a staff.


    Before long, the bolt started looking like a lightning spear which was filled with immense power. Lucifer threw the spear directly towards the windows with the formation.


    Boom~


    The spears shed with the windows which were reinforced by the shining formations that tried to keep it intact.


    Boom~


    The spear and the formatting shed but the victory was of the spear as the formation was destroyed. Before the spear could enjoy any sess, another formation appeared in the back.


    The spear kept crashing through formation after formation as it got closer to the window, looking almost unstoppable. It was also losing Power though.


    Fortunately, it shed with the ss before it could disappear. The ss was destroyed and the formation before it stopped, leaving a massive entry in the window.


    Lucifer used the window of the building to fly straight inside the floor of Julien. He looked everywhere to find clues about Kellian but he couldn''t.


    Atst, he checked the bedroom of Julien.


    In the bedroom, he did find something that made him even more upset. There was blood on the ground. There was also more than just blood there.


    It was actually none other than Kellian. He was lying dead right before his eyes and not in a situation where he could be healed.


    Lucifer didn''t look at Kellian for long. Instead, he turned his back on Kellian.


    "I don''t care who you are, but you''ve made a mistake you shouldn''t have... And now you''ll pay for it."


    Lucifer turned around to leave, but he stopped before the door and again turned around.


    He was conflicted in his mind about something. He wondered if he should leave Kellian like that or if he should absorb Kellian''s powers.


    After taking a deep breath, he decided to do thetter. Kellian was different from Jenilia. He was much closer to him. And Lucifer felt more sad over his death.


    But at the same time, he felt more angered at the person who had killed him. And he knew that he had to take Kellian''s powers to find that man faster and again use his power to kill that person. That was the true justice.


    Taking a deep breath, he walked towards Kellian, deciding to do it. He uses his Decay to destroy most of Kellian''s body while absorbing thest piece of his, taking the power of Kellian.


    After finishing up, he stood up and left the room where Kellian had died.


    ...


    Back at the lower floors, Julien was going around, doing things as usual. He had killed half the Warlocks by now but there were still more left.


    "I never thought about it, but there are too many Warlocks in the council. What a mess. My arms are hurting already," he said, shaking his head.


    Despite feeling tired, he still continued the massacre, killing more and more.


    It was after quite some time that he finally finished. But that also made him more tired.


    He found himself thirsty already. Instead of walking thirty metres back to Milena, he decided to walk five metres ahead to the room which had the kitchen on that floor. He wanted to drink some water at least before continuing.


    Moreover, he didn''t think that Milena was going to run away. The entire floor was the captive of his time control. None could move without his permission.


    He walked straight ahead, only to find that the door to the kitchen was already open. And it wasn''t enmity either.


    "Looks like someone else had the same idea as me." He smiled as he stepped inside.


    He could see a woman inside who was standing beside the fridge which was open. She was just about to bring something out when time stopped and she found herself here.


    Julien stepped closer to the woman near the fridge. "Aren''t you the woman who was with Lucifer? For amoner, you seem to be awfullyfortable in this warzone. So you certainly were working with them, weren''t you?"


    "Then again, I can''t me you. It''s also because of you that he was found out. Just for that reason alone, I should leave you alive, shouldn''t I?" he asked, bringing a bottle of Water from the fridge.


    He opened the cap of the bottle and started drinking some water while sitting on the ground,zily.


    He nced at Eve again. "I can''t help but notice it. But are all women around Lucifer so beautiful? I mean, so far I''ve seen two. And both of them were certainly special in their own league. He''s a lucky guy, isn''t he?"


    "No wonder his luck has run out so fast. I''ve heard that prettydies are no less than subus who suck the guy dry of everything. It''s much better to live alone and enjoy thefort of sleep, wouldn''t you agree?" he asked.


    "Ah, right. You can''t even speak." Smiling, he stood up. He had finished the bottle.


    He walked to the fridge and kept the empty bottle back and turned to leave.


    He had almost reached the door to leave when he stopped.


    "Then again, It''s better to not leave any threat for the future. Who knows, you might be more than just a pretty face like Milena." He turned around, sighing.


    Even though he said it, seeing that he had to walk back and waste time, he couldn''t help but shake his head. "God, more unnecessary walking."


    "I should n before doing something. Changing my mind in the middle wastes so much time."


    "On second thought, it might be better to leave you for others to handle. Too much work for me to walk back."


    He turned to the door again but couldn''t step out. "Then again, it''ll be even more work if you escaped and I was tasked with finding you."


    He once again turned to look at Eve and started walking back to her.


    He stepped just a few inches away from her. "Don''t me me, alright. I didn''t ask you toe here. It''s not like I wanted to waste my sleeping time either. You all forced me."


    Swiss~


    Hezily raised his sword to slice the head of Eve to take her out right there.

 Chapter 639 - 639: Prey

    <h4>Chapter 639 - 639: Prey</h4>


    Lucifer took the powers of Kellian before leaving the room; however, unlike Kellian, he didn''t move with his real body.


    Instead, he created multiple shadows of himself that were supposed to check each and every one to find the person who had killed Kellian.


    He knew it was hard to find the person since he hadn''t seen who did it, but he was sure that the person was certainly going to stand out at the moment since he was going to kill others ording to his own words.


    Another thing that Lucifer understood was that Andrim had lied to him about the number of heads that were in the Warlock Council Headquarters.


    He said that there were only twelve, but they were already dead, and there was no way that an ordinary member was going to be allowed to live on this floor since the top floors were reserved for Warlock Leaders.


    He didn''t know why Andrim would lie though. Was he suspicious about him?


    Many questions were in Lucifer''s head, but they were all overshadowed by the anger he was feeling inside his heart.


    His shadows went in each floor and found many Warlocks, most of whom were unaware that this ce was under attack.


    One of his shadows even reached the thirteenth floor and continued going down, but something strange happened as soon as the shadow reached the twelfth floor.


    The shadow just stopped... It couldn''t move anymore. Moreover, Lucifer didn''t get any signal from the shadow either. It was as if the shadow had just disappeared abruptly.


    Standing on the second-highest floor, he frowned at the oddity.


    He sent more shadows to that floor, but the same phenomenon happened with all of them. Something was certainly wrong there, and he had a feeling that was rted to that person who had killed Kellian.


    He flew straight out the window and flew down, stopping right before the windows on the twelfth floor.


    Instead of attacking with a spear-like before, he flew closer to the window.


    He took off his gloves and ced his hand on the ss window.


    The formation did try to stop him again, but they kept getting destroyed until his hand actually touched the ss, which started decaying.


    ...


    "You all forced me." Julien dered as he swung his Sword.


    His sword reached closer and closer to Eve, moments away from slicing her head.


    "I agree..."


    Just as the Sword was about to slice the head of Eve, a person came out of a shadow, grabbing the sword before it could touch Eve.


    "Huh! What?" Eve opened her eyes,ing out of the time restriction.


    She noticed Lucifer standing before her. His hand was holding onto the de of the sword. Droplets of blood kept trickling down from his hand.


    Eve couldn''t understand what had happened. One moment she had opened the fridge and the next moment, there were two people standing before her.


    Even though she had spent quite some time in the Warlock Council, she hadn''t seen Julien use his power, so he didn''t know about the power of stopping time.


    All she had seen from Julien was his power to slow down time, which she didn''t consider a threat to Lucifer. But she understood that something was wrong with her understanding. How could she not have seen Juliening to her even if the time was slow?


    "You can move?" Julien asked, frowning.


    He had stopped the time on the entire floor so that nothing could move. How was it that Lucifer was moving then?


    Honestly, Lucifer hadn''t known about the power of Julien to stop time. But he had sensed that something was wrong after seeing Kellian''s death. Kellian had his shadows.


    Even if he was in danger, he could certainly escape, and no one could stop him! That was until there was something stopping him from leaving or turning into shadows.


    Another thing that alerted him was the disappearance of the shadows on the twelfth floor.


    Lucifer didn''t know what it was, but he certainly knew that he didn''t want to give Julien any chance to take advantage of his.


    He had cast his Energy Negation in this war for the first time and especially to enter this floor, without knowing if it was needed or not.


    Lucifer was looking in the stunned eyes of Julien.


    All theziness in Julien''s eyes was gone as he stood before him, unaffected by his time control.


    With his right hand, Lucifer kept holding the sword. There was an intimidating aura around him that was giving Julien chills.


    He tried pushing the Sword to slice Lucifer''s hand, but the sword didn''t move even an inch as if it was unmovable.


    "I think I''m going to enjoy this," Lucifer grimly said. "You must want to run."


    "Ah." Julien actually felt like he was in a mess. He couldn''t help but take Lucifer''s advice seriously. His biggest advantage was useless against Lucifer. And if the time stop didn''t work, the time slowdown wasn''t going to work either.


    And other than these two things and his Threat Sensing ability, he didn''t have any other ability. And that Threat Sensing ability was screaming at him, telling him to run if he wanted to leave.


    Julien freed the sword of Lucifer and started running, trying to save his life.


    Leaving the room, he ran straight to the lift.


    Milena was still stuck in time there since Energy Negation only worked in the vicinity of Lucifer.


    Unfortunately for Julien, that was enough for Lucifer.


    Lucifer turned into a shadow, disappearing.


    The shadow appeared between Milena and Julien, and Lucifer came out of it.


    He didn''t attack Julien though. He let him run. He wanted to see how far he could run.


    Julien turned around and started running in a different direction. Unfortunately, that direction wasn''t enough to save him either as another shadow came out of the ground, blocking the path again.


    The shadow didn''t just block the path of Julien. Instead, it used the shadow sword of Kellian to slice towards Julien.


    "Arghhh!" Julien roared in pain as his left hand was sliced. Holding his left shoulder, he ran towards the left corridor.


    Finding a room, he hastily entered and closed the door.


    "Good ce to hide you have here," Lucifer''s voice came from behind him inside the room.


    "Go away!" Julien roared as he opened the door and started running away again.


    Unfortunately, as soon as he left, another shadow appeared behind him. This time, the shadow sliced his other hand.


    Lucifer had promised himself that he was going to show Julien hell by using Kellian''s powers, and he wasn''t going to let Julien die so easily.

 Chapter 640 - 640: Misunderstanding

    <h4>Chapter 640 - 640: Misunderstanding</h4>


    Lucifer didn''t realise how it happened, but he understood that he had started enjoying the hunt for Julien.


    Julien kept running, but no matter how much he ran, he couldn''t hide. The shadows were everywhere.


    He was going crazy! Just a few minutes ago, everything was under his control, but now he had lost everything.


    He was like the King of his domain that no one could disobey! He could kill anyone and everyone! He was the predator who was too strong for this weak world? How did he be prey from a predator?


    Just what exactly was Lucifer! How was he immune to his abilities? He couldn''t understand.


    He was so close to just giving up when the shadow appeared again, swinging that sword once again. This time the shadow sliced Julien''s left hand from his ankles.


    Arghh~


    Another scream filled the hall as Julien dropped to the ground.


    "Stop crying. You''re hurting my ears." Lucifer''s calm voice fell in his ears again. Looking back, he noticed Lucifer there.


    "Why are you ying with me! Kill me directly, you coward!" Julien yelled with bloodied eyes.


    "Kill you directly?" A wide grin formed on the lips of Lucifer. "That won''t work. You showed me your skills by leaving Kellian in a thousand pieces. And it''s time I show you my skills by doing something simr."


    "Let''s see. Your record is a thousand pieces. I think two thousand should be enough for me, right?" he asked, smirking.


    Ten more shadows appeared around Julien, making him dread what wasing.


    Lucifer turned his back on Julien, whose screams increased more and more. Lucifer didn''t go too far since he had to stay close to shadows to keep them immune from time freeze.


    However, the window wasn''t far from him. He went to the window instead of wasting his time looking at Julien, who was doomed to suffer worse than Kellian.


    Standing before the window, Lucifer looked towards the city. The Headquarters of the Warlock Council was the tallest building in Elisium, which gave Lucifer a clear view of the city in the surroundings.


    He could see fires and explosions all around the city. It looked like the battles were still going on. He hadn''t expected his men to take so long to deal with the Warlocks that were spread throughout the city.


    It looked like the Warlocks weren''t that weak either. They could at least put up some fight for the most part as long as they weren''t faced with the Warlocks of his or Milena''s calibre.


    As Lucifer observed the surroundings, he noticed that the screams of Julien had stopped entirely. But the shadows were still going on. It looks like they were going to finish their target of two thousand for sure.


    Just to be sure, he retracted his Energy Negation domain to only surround himself to see if the effects of Time Restrictions were over. And just as he expected, the shadows could move freely without his Domain.


    Since Julien was dead, his powers had stopped working. Lucifer also stopped his Energy Negation since he didn''t need that anymore. Moreover, that skill always took a great amount of toll on his body.


    It was very energy consuming since it basically used the energy of his body to stay active. In fact, he could feel that it was more energy consuming than his lightning itself.


    Leaving Julien to the shadows, he walked back to Eve and Milena.


    ...


    As Lucifer had left Eve to chase after Julien, she was once again trapped in time, and only after Julien died did she get free. She didn''t even realize that she was again trapped. She was still confused.


    Lucifer and Julien had disappeared from the surroundings. For a moment, she even wondered if she was imagining stuff before but then she noticed the drops of blood near her.


    Lucifer had stopped the sword, protecting her. He didn''t even hesitate to let his own blood flow for her sake.


    She couldn''t help but feel a bit sweet inside her heart. For someone like Lucifer to protect someone else, it showed that he did care for her and his friends even if he didn''t show it.


    As she thought about Lucifer and how he was, the scene of their kiss again shed before her eyes, making her face turn red. "What am I thinking! It''s not the time!"


    She left the room to see what was actually happening.


    ...


    Outside the room, Milena had alsoe out of the time freeze.


    She was in the middle of the air, about to bite Julien, but her teeth onlynded in the empty air. Julien had disappeared.


    "What? Where did he go?!" She eximed, but something even more shocking happened.


    She saw the head of all the Warlocks drop on the ground right before her eyes, all at the same time. This was slightly intimidating for her as well.?How were they killed so fast? Who was doing it?


    She cast a barrier around her and used Energy Negation as she looked around. She was sure that it was the work of Julien.


    Just as she was trying to find Julien, she heard the sound of footsteps. It wasing from the left corridor. She believed that Julien was certainly there!


    She teleported near that corridor and stood on the side, prepared to mount a surprise attack.


    She didn''t realize that it was Lucifer she was prepared to attack.


    Lucifer had already worn his gloves again since there was no threat anymore. Even she didn''t know that Milena was waiting to attack him.


    Milena heard the footsteps getting closer. She was prepared to bite the next of Julien for sure this time.


    And just when the footsteps reached close enough, she teleported before the corridor and jumped towards Lucifer, trying to bite his neck.


    Lucifer was also surprised at the sudden attack. Without thinking twice, he grabbed the throat of the assants as he thrust his hand ahead to w out the heart of the enemy.


    It all happened so fast that no one had a single second to think about it or control their actions. It was toote...


    Milena couldn''t bite Lucifer as he had grabbed her throat, keeping her away. Instead, it was Milena who was in danger as her heart was about to be wed.


    Fortunately, Lucifer saw Milena''s face at the end moment. He acted fast and opened his fingers that were about to stab the chest of Milena to protect her.


    Milena survived because of the fast thinking of Lucifer, but even she wasn''tpletely unfazed. No matter how fast Lucifer acted, he still found his hand pressing against the left breast of Milena¡­

 Chapter 641 - 641: Feel

    <h4>Chapter 641 - 641: Feel</h4>


    "What the heck were you trying to do!" Lucifer scolded Milena, stunned to find her being the attacker. "If I were even a little slower, you would''ve been dead!"


    "I was fighting someone. I thought you were him." Milena replied. "W-what are you even doing inside? Weren''t you outside?"


    Lucifer only looked at her weirdly. After everything was over, she was asking how he got in. He couldn''t help but shake his head. "You weren''t fighting him. Instead, you were about to die. If I weren''t here, he would''ve killed you long ago."


    "He is dead now. So you can rx. And stop attacking random people."


    Milena could only nod in response, but as she looked down, her face turned red. It was only now that she realized where Lucifer''s hand was resting. In her surprise of finding Lucifer before her, she didn''t even focus on where his hand was.


    "Why are you going red?" Lucifer asked, looking confused.


    "Y-your hand. It''s on my..."


    "Hmm? Oh, right." Lucifer finally realized what might be worrying her. But as his attention went into his hand, he could also sense the softness in his palms.


    He took his hands off and freed Milena. "Go and continue what you were doing. But I forbid you from turning any Warlocks. So just kill them and nothing else."


    After finishing, Lucifer continued walking and left.


    He left the building through the window he hade from since he didn''t want to waste time breaking more.


    Leaving the Headquarters, he flew straight to the roof where he sat, looking at his surroundings. The city, which was calm until recently, was filled withmotion, but he didn''t understand.


    He simplyy on the roof, looking at the sky. The sky has started to darken.


    Instead of fighting, Luciferzily rested on the roof, feeling bored. For some reason, he wasn''t feeling like joining the battles anymore. There were no strong opponents here. He left the rest for his men to deal with.


    After half an hour passed, he heard footstepsing from behind him.


    He sat up and looked back. "It''s you."


    After seeing who the person was, hezilyid on the roof again.


    "The view isn''t half bad, right?" A feminine voice came from the back as a woman stepped closer to him and sat beside him.


    "It certainly isn''t bad," Lucifer replied to Eve, who was sitting beside him. "How did you know I was here?"


    "I didn''t know," Eve replied as she alsoid right beside Lucifer. They were so close that even their shoulders were touching. "I just had a feeling that I might find you here."


    "So, how does it feel to take over Zeston?" she further asked.


    "How does it feel? I am not sure. I stopped feeling anything from such things a long time ago," Lucifer replied.


    "So what things make you feel nowadays?" Eve asked, turning her face towards Lucifer.


    "What makes me feel?" Lucifer asked, turning to Eve, looking into her beautiful eyes. "I''m not sure either. I just don''t know myself that well to understand such things."


    He stopped looking at her and shifted his attention back to the sky.


    "Alright. Let me ask you some things. You can answer if those things made you feel something or not. Alright?"


    "Whatever," Luciferzily replied.


    "Living with Grandpa Chi and making friends at the academy?" Eve asked.


    "I didn''t have my memories. So that doesn''t count."


    "Alright then. Killing the people responsible for your parents'' death?"


    "That was good. I felt avenged but still not at peace with myself," Lucifer replied.


    "Living with Uprising members who were like your family?" Eve asked.


    "It was good. But I''m not sure if I feel anything about that."


    "Alright then. Did you feel anything when you were hugging Amelia in the pond? And did you feel when she said no toing with you?" Eve asked.


    Lucifer didn''t answer this time. He remained silent as if he hadn''t heard the question.


    "I know you heard me. Tell me if you felt anything." Eve repeated.


    "I didn''t." Lucifer firmly stated. "Why should I feel anything about that."


    "Alright. Even though I''m doubtful about that answer, I''ll take that. Next question."


    As Eve reached thest question, she stopped looking at Lucifer and also focused on the sky.


    "Did you feel anything when you kissed me today?" She asked.


    Lucifer turned to Eve, not answering. Since she was looking up, he could look at her without feeling odd.


    He remembered the kiss he had shared jokingly, but as he had kissed her, he truly felt something. He just didn''t know what that feeling was, but it was good.


    He observed her sweet lips again, but he didn''tment.


    He turned his face again and answered, "I don''t know."


    "You don''t know?" Eve asked.


    "Yeah. I don''t know."


    "Want to do it again so you can make sure if you felt something?" Eve asked, still not looking at Eve. She knew she was going to feel extremely embarrassed if she looked at him at this time.


    "Do it again?" Lucifer asked.


    "Yeah. So you can tell me if you felt something."


    "I... Alright."


    Lucifer didn''t say no. He agreed to the suggestion so he could experience that feeling again to understand what it was.


    Eve finally looked at Lucifer. Her face turned slightly embarrassed, but she tried to keep her strong expressions.


    Even though she had lived longer than Lucifer, she was still no different than him. He was also her first kiss, just like she was his first. None of them had experienced it before.


    Without standing up, Lucifer just looked deep into the eyes of Eve. Her beautiful eyes were really attractive. And her face looked even cuter with a shade of shyness around her cheeks.


    Lucifer moved his face closer to Eve''s face and ced his lips on hers, feeling that sweet feeling again. However, this time, he didn''t keep it short.


    The kisssted for close to ten minutes before the two of them separated from each other.


    Eve breathed heavily as her Misty eyes looked at Lucifer. "So, what did you feel?"


    "I''m not sure. I''ll have to try again." Lucifer again kissed Eve.


    As the two of them were on the tallest building already, no one could see them kissing each other.


    If anyone could see it, they would''ve been quite surprised about what was happening here. Especially since it was Lucifer, who was involved in it.


    Before Eve could understand what was happening, she found herself in Lucifer''s arms as the kiss continued.

 Chapter 642 - 642: The Call

    <h4>Chapter 642 - 642: The Call</h4>


    After a long time, Lucifer finally freed the lips of Eve again, who was already on top of her by now. His arms were wrapped around her slim waist as he looked at her face, which made her look like she was slightly drunk.


    "Did you feel something?" Eve asked.


    Lucifer could only nod his head.


    "Did you?" he asked in return.


    Eve also nodded her head. "I don''t know what is happening. I''ve only seen people doing these things with their loved ones. But it''s my first time feeling like this. I... I think I''ve fallen for you. I don''t want to leave your embrace."


    Lucifer didn''t reply, but he wondered if that was the case. But how could it be? It hadn''t been long since he met her. How could he fall for her so fast? Was that really the case? Or was it just hormones that he read about?


    He couldn''t be sure what this feeling was, at least until Eve was in his embrace. He needed to be alone to think about it.


    "Do you feel the same?" Eve asked.


    Lucifer could only stay silent.


    "I understand. You aren''t sure yet and need time to think. Isn''t that right?" Eve asked, smiling. She moved aside, getting off Lucifer.


    "You can have all the time you want. I don''t want to force you to like me," she said, lying beside Lucifer again.


    "I''m feeling thirsty, by the way. I''ll be downstairs." She stood up and hastily left to hide her embarrassed face. She often acted strong and bold, but on the inside, she was also like any ordinary girl who worried about her feelings.


    Lucifer watches Eve leave. He didn''t know what to do. He wanted to stop her, but at the same time, he didn''t want to be too quick to judge.


    He brought his gloves out of his pocket and wore them.


    "Contact Kane."


    "Contact barred. No signal." A response came from the gloves.


    "Hmm?" Lucifer looked weird. His sses were connected to a satellite. How were they not working?


    "Did Kellian do something in the defense room to jam even satellite signals?" he wondered, frowning.


    "I told him to jam every mode ofmunication in the city. If that''s the case, I''ll have to leave the city to contact him."


    He stood up and flew straight out of the city. After leaving the city, he tried contacting Kane again.


    It still didn''t work though. He went even farther to get signals, deciding on the small vige.


    He kept going farther and farther from the city, and fortunately, he received a signal just as he was close to the city.


    "Yes, little Boss." As soon as the call connected, Kane answered.


    Kane was one of the two in charge of the Uprisingb. He was also left back at Elisium with some of the Weaker Warlocks that weren''t selected for this mission.


    "Kane, I want you to do something for me," Lucifer said.


    "Just say what you want. I''ll do it."


    "Arrange a ne and send Veracity to Zeston capital city. I need her here."


    "Veracity? Alright. I''ll tell her and arrange everything." Kane nodded. "How''s the conquest going?"


    "It''s almost over. We shall be done soon," Lucifer replied before disconnecting the call.


    He turned back to leave when he suddenly noticed that he was already close to their Vige. And he could see a couple of cars there. He wondered what the cars were doing there. He flew to the vige.


    As hended in the vige, he saw some men who were carrying weapons and were dressed in ck clothes.


    All the one people of the vige were lying on their knees, and the men were interrogating them.


    As Lucifer flew closer, he was even able to hear them.


    "Enough lying! One of us came here yesterday, and he didn''t return. And you''re saying you didn''t do anything to him?" the leading man asked before he kicked the face of the old vige head.


    "If you don''t answer what you did to him, none of you will be leaving alive from here today!" The dark-haired man said. "This matter is much more serious than you not vacating thend!"


    "I''m telling you we didn''t do anything! This is your scheme as far as I know! You just want to intimidate us with this usation, so we leave! Please stop tormenting us! We just want to live in peace here! And we won''t leave even if you kill us all!" the old man said.


    "You think I''m joking?" The middle-aged man raised his gun, aiming at the man. He was just about to pull the trigger when he noticed that he literally couldn''t.


    "Having problems?" Lucifer asked,nding in the back.


    "Who the heck are you?" Another man asked Lucifer.


    Bang~


    The man who had spoken suddenly dropped dead, but it wasn''t the work of Lucifer. It was because a bullet passed through his head.


    "W-what are you doing?" Another man asked, noticing that it was one of them who had fired.


    "I-i don''t know! It''s like some invisible force is controlling my body!" The man couldn''t control himself as his body kept moving and firing at his men.


    Before long, the others also pulled out the guns to kill the man who was shooting them. But it wasn''t the end of it.


    In the end, another man started firing at his men, saying the same thing. He couldn''t control his body.


    Before long, all the men had dropped dead, killing themselves.


    "Strange. What happened to them?" Lucifer asked, confused as if he didn''t have a hand in it.


    "Are you alright?" he asked the old men.


    "We are fine. Just confused about what happened to them," the old man stood up.


    "Who knows. Maybe they realized that they were wrong in trying to fool you and decided that it wasn''t worth the living. Don''t worry about them. Go and rest. In the meantime, I''ll go to the city and talk to their heads to see what''s the problem."


    "D-don''t go. They aren''t good people! You''ll be hurt."


    "Don''t worry. I have a feeling that they won''t hurt me," Lucifer smiled as he walked away.


    After leaving the city, he started flying. But just as he was in the middle of the flight, he noticed his sses vibrate.


    He brought out his sses and noticed that it was a new number. He didn''t know who was calling.


    He picked up the call. "Yeah?"


    "What? How can it be you? This is impossible!" Lucifer eximed, hearing the voice on the other end.


    His face looked grim and confused at the same time.

 Chapter 643 - 643: Possibility

    <h4>Chapter 643 - 643: Possibility</h4>


    "Is it really you? Where are you?" Lucifer asked.


    A calm response came from the other end.


    "Tell me how it''s possible. What are you doing there?" Lucifer further asked, still confused. "I don''t think it should be possible after what..."


    Lucifer stopped flying since he was more interested in hearing the response.


    After ten minutes of silence, he finally continued. "Fascinating. Do one thing then. Veracity will being here. I want you toe with her as well. We''ll handle the rest here."


    After finishing, Lucifer took off his sses and kept them in his pockets.


    He was still slightly surprised. He couldn''t help but look at the darkening sky. "So such things are possible as well..."


    He continued his flight again, going back to the Warlock Council headquarters. Along the way, he noticed that some of the battles were still going on. The Warlocks were really putting up a fight even against the Nobles.


    Unfortunately, they didn''t seem to have an advantage.


    On the way back to the Warlock Council headquarters, he did help out a bit by taking out some of the Warlocks and helping his side, but he didn''t go out of his way to help others because he believed they didn''t need his help at the moment.


    Lucifer reached the Warlock Council headquarters. At this time, the entire building was cleared. Hundreds of Warlocks that were inside the building were killed. While Arthur took care of the bottom half of the building, Milena handled the top half.


    As for Eve, she was walking behind Milena, talking to her about random things to have some entertainment and to distract herself about what happened on the roof.


    Just as Lucifer reached the headquarters, he noticed someone standing near the entrance, wondering if he should enter.


    The young man was wearing ck spectacles and was carrying two books with him.


    Lucifernded before the man, cing his hand on his shoulder.


    "Looking for something?" he asked Vega.


    "Yeah. I was waiting for Szar. He went inside to check if it was fine for me to enter," Vega replied, smiling.


    "Why worry about such things? Come with me. This ce is ours now." Lucifer smirked as he stepped inside the building with Vega.


    Along the way, he also found Szar, who wasing out after checking.


    "Szar, it''s good that you''re here. You need to being with me as well." Luciferzily said. The way he talked seemed odd. But no one could understand what truly felt off.


    Szar and Vega followed Lucifer to the floor where the Defense room existed.


    Lucifer stopped before a door and kicked it open.


    "Vega, this ce is the defense room. I want you to go inside and take over their system to remove all the restrictions in this building. Be fast. I''ll wait for you."


    "I''ll do it right away." Vega stepped inside and started taking control of the headquarters.


    He was even faster than Kellian since he was truly an expert in technology and one of the best in the Uprising. Within seconds, he finished and stepped out.


    "I''m done."


    "Good. We can go to the top floor now."


    Going back to the lift, Lucifer went to the top floor of the building, which was actually restricted for anyone else in this ce.


    As he reached the top floor, he noticed that Milena, Arthur, and Eve were already here with the help of their teleportation.


    "Did you finish it?" Lucifer asked Milena.


    Milena nodded. "Not a single person is alive in this building except us."


    "Good." Lucifer walked to the main hall, inviting others to follow him as well. It was as if he had something important to do.


    He sat on the couch but didn''t say anything for quite some time. He just looked at everyone before him who was looking confused. He didn''t seem pleased for some reason.


    The only person that Lucifer wasn''t looking at was Eve.


    "Do you want to say something?" Szar asked.


    "I do have something important to do. So let''s start with you first." Lucifer looked at Szar.


    "I need your answer. Why did you disobey me and not tell me?" he asked. "Depending on your answer, what happens next will be decided."


    "Are you doubting my intentions?" Szar asked.


    "I asked you to answer, not to ask me a question in return. Why did you not tell me?" Lucifer asked again, resting one leg above the other while sitting morefortably.


    Szar took a deep breath. "It''s because I thought you wouldn''t understand. I thought you would still ask us to leave since you want to handle everything alone. So I didn''t tell you. I wanted to be here to help you when you needed it."


    "You''re an idiot; you know that?" Lucifer told Szar, shaking his head. "Whatever. You can take a seat. But if you disobey me next time or keep secrets from me, I might not wait to hear an exnation."


    Szar walked to the chair nearby and took a seat.


    "Next, let''s start with Arthur..." Lucifer smiled, looking at Arthur in the back. "I think you did really great in the War. You were the reason we could stop the Warlock Heads from running away. Good work."


    Arthur nodded his head.


    "You can sit as well."


    Arthur also took a chair and sat.


    "Milena..." Lucifermented, shifting to the third person.


    "You had almost died today because of your overconfidence which might have killed all your Nobles as well. You know how bad it would have been?"


    "Not only that, you even attacked me in your haste, almost dying twice in such a short time. The lives of quite a lot of people depend on you. And I don''t want Arthur to die because you were careless."


    "So next time, try to be more careful. You may sit as well."


    Milena rolled her eyes but understood that he wasn''t wrong.


    "Next, Eve..." Lucifer said, ncing at Eve.


    "You disobeyed mymands and came to the City, leaving the oversight of Szar. That was really stupid. But then again, I already knew you were an idiot in such matters. So next time, don''t be this stupid. You can sit as well."


    After Lucifer finished, Eve also stepped ahead to take a seat, but instead of sitting away from Lucifer, she sat right beside him.


    Lucifer didn''t react and let her sit. It wasn''t a big deal.


    Lastly, he shifted to Vega.


    "Andstly, Vega... The true reason for this meeting." Lucifer sighed. "Do you know what you did wrong? Tell me what you did.. Maybe I might forgive you."

 Chapter 644 - 644: Hostage

    <h4>Chapter 644 - 644: Hostage</h4>


    "Ah,ing to the battlefield despite not having much battle prowess?" Vega asked. "I didn''t walk alone. I had others with me. I made sure to keep myself safe."


    "Yeah. I know you had other people keeping you safe, like Szar. But that''s not what I''m talking about." Lucifer frowned.


    "Try again. Tell me what you did wrong?" he asked again.


    No matter how much Vega thought, he couldn''t think of anything. He had followed all themands on the battlefield and didn''t do anything wrong.


    "I-i can''t think of anything," He responded.


    "Alright. Let me phrase the question in a different way." Lucifer smiled. "So, how did it feel to have a person keep you safe who you tried to kill?"


    Finally, Vega felt like he understood what it was about.


    ''How did he find out? Nope! He''s bluffing! He must be suspicious, and he''s testing it!''


    Vega understood what was happening, but he kept his expressions calm. He didn''t want his expressions to be his confession. He was sure that there was no way Lucifer could know.


    "What do you mean? I don''t understand." He acted ignorantly.


    "I can understand." Lucifer calmly nodded. "If I tried to blow up a ne, I might also try to forget about it."


    Szar didn''t act surprised. He had already known about it. In fact, he was wondering when Lucifer was going to address the situation.


    "I-i think there might be a misunderstanding."


    "A misunderstanding?" Lucifer asked. "The only misunderstanding was with me when I trusted you, people!"


    The smile that was on his face abruptly disappeared as he raised his hand.


    A powerful pressure of the wind pushed Vega closer to Lucifer. The wind made Vega fall to his knees before Lucifer.


    "You know Vega; I actually wanted to trust you," Lucifer calmly said. "And honestly, you were pretty clever. Telling the leadership to blow up my ne while giving a fake name. Then ming the attack on resistance."


    "As for the articles about the resistance taking responsibility for the attacks just after the explosion? That was like the cherry on top. No wonder you''re called a master nner." He sighed, cing his hand over the head of Vega.


    Vega''s heartbeat was thumping fast. He could see death right before his eyes! He still didn''t understand how Lucifer managed to find him! Not only had he given a fake name, but he had crafted a perfect story!


    He was still suspicious that Lucifer was bluffing to have him confess since he didn''t actually know. Vega decided to stick with the story.


    "I didn''t do anything! Someone must be framing me!"


    "Is that so? So the leader of the nation epting that he had attacked my ne on themands of someone from outside was a lie? It was also a lie that he had received multiple messages to do it with my exact coordinates?"


    "Now, please tell me. Who could be so talented at arranging everything? Moreover, I already asked someone to investigate the origins of the message. And guess what. It came from yourputer."


    "Now only two people can use yourputer. First is you, and the other was with his family when the message was sent. And there''s footage to prove that. I mean, I can find you a hundred such proofs about it being you."


    "But I''m not here to prove anything. I''m here to ask you why you did it."


    "Fine! I did it!" Under the immense pressure, Vega finally caved in and epted. Lucifer wasn''t guessing. He actually knew!


    "We already know. Tell me why instead. Even though I have a general idea why," Lucifer folded his arms, waiting for a response.


    "I didn''t trust this guy! I had a feeling that he was going to be our downfall! And Predictor''s prediction about him killing Kellian? I felt he was someone we couldn''t trust, especially not enough to take him on such an important mission!"


    "But you trusted him and didn''t listen to us! I had no choice but to n something else!" Vega said.


    "So you decide to have a missileunched at our ne." Lucifer rolled his eyes.


    "I knew you had your healing. So you were at no risk. And that was certain to have killed Szar! At least that''s what I thought. But he survived."


    "And Tristan? You knew I was going to survive, but what about Tristan? Was he also going to survive?"


    "He was going to be the coteral damage to keep the Uprising safe from Szar." Vega lowered his head. "I also had conflicted thoughts about it, but in the end, I did it for the greater good."


    "Greater good, huh." Lucifer looked deep into the eyes of Vega.


    "What I''m about to do will be for the greater good as well," Lucifer nodded as a devilish smile formed on his lips.


    "N-no! I just wanted what''s best for you! Don''t!" Vega roared, seeing Lucifer take off his gloves. He even tried to move back, but the constant pressure of the wind kept him in ce.


    "I''m also doing what''s good for you. Don''t worry. I''m just sending you on a long sleep, away from this cruel world. You''ll find it to be a nice ce. I''ve been there a few times. It''s not that bad," Lucifer said as he ced his bare hand on the cheeks of Vega.


    "Argh~"


    A powerful scream filled the entire floor, only stopping when Vega turned to dust.


    A gentle wind took the dust away with it, cleaning the room.


    "You see, I don''t like someone betraying my trust. It doesn''t matter if the person is a friend or a foe. So please don''t ever do that. Or you know what might happen." Lucifer said, not intentionally looking at anyone.


    The only reason he brought Arthur and Milena here for this meeting was especially for that. He wanted them to know what happened to the people who betrayed him.


    "I hope you all understand?'' He asked.


    No one responded, but everyone noticed how brutally the person was killed. And Milena also knew that Lucifer was too strong at the moment.


    She took a deep breath. "Don''t worry. We don''t have any reason to betray you. You already rule most of the world now. I don''t think you''ll need to mess with our small Divine Empire. So we don''t have a reason to go against you."


    "I agree to have the Divine Empire under your control in general. But I do want one thing from you. Can I ask?" Milena asked.


    "What do you want?" Lucifer asked.


    "I want you to remove this bracelet. I''ve already surrendered now. I don''t want to feel like a hostage anymore.." Milena dered.

 Chapter 645 - 645: Of Course, Ill Do

    <h4>Chapter 645 - 645: Of Course, I''ll Do</h4>


    "Maybeter if I''m feeling like it." Lucifer smiled in response. "For now, I have something else to do."


    He stood up. "And you have something else to do as well. The war should end soon. I want you and your men to arrange all the bodies from all the Warlocks in one ce. I''ll be needing them."


    "To make them your puppets?" Milena asked.


    Lucifer didn''t answer the questions. All he said was one thing. "You don''t need to know it. Just make sure to gather all the bodies on the twenty-fourth floor."


    "Any reason for selecting that floor in particr?" Arthur asked.


    "There was someone who didn''t want any bad smell in that room. So, of course, that''s what I''ll do." Luciferzily said before leaving. However, he stopped right at the door.


    "As for what happened in this room, I hope no one would leak it to anyone. That will be all."


    He finally stepped out of the room. It was only after leaving that he contacted Yaliza in the city.


    "Is everything over?"


    "Mostly. I think we have killed everyone. But some might be hiding. So we were going to check the city once again."


    "Good. Make sure you miss none. And while you''re at it, keep an eye on the surroundings and any other enemying from outside. That will be all."


    After finishing, Lucifer stepped out of the lift on the twelfth floor. He walked straight to the ce where he had left the body of Julien and his shadows to make sure his words were followed.


    As he reached there, he was greeted with a brutal scene. Apparently his shadows were a bit too efficient.


    He waved his hand, making the shadows disappear.


    Looking at over two thousand pieces of Julien, he couldn''t help but sigh. "In my haste, I did tell them to make such small pieces of his. But I forgot I had to destroy the rest of his body before absorbing thest. Either that or I need to absorb whatever was left of him."


    "I''ll have to destroy close to two thousand pieces." He scratched the back of his head, sighing. This was a mess for him, and he could only me himself. In his anger, he didn''t see the bigger picture.


    Before starting, he contacted Kane in the headquarters at Elisium. Hemanded Kane to take control of the Warlock Council systems since all the security systems were removed already. It was easy for Kane to do it now despite not being here.


    Aftermanding Kane, he told him to keep an eye on the city and on the other Warlock Heads. He also told them to find more about them and ways to contact them so he could call them here.


    All the systems in the city were jammed. So the fall of the city was still a secret to most people outside. That included the other heads. He wanted to use the opportunity to call them all back so they could fall right into the trap.


    He told the entire n to Kellian before keeping the sses back. He had to focus on Julien now. Or what was left of him, at least since it was a power, he couldn''t avoid.


    ....


    The cleaning of the city continued. The War was almost over, and hundreds of bodies were lying everywhere in the city.


    A search team was made, which was led by Yaliza, who was known as the Assassination King of Uprising. He was a master of stealth and the perfect person to lead the search.


    As for the other members, they weremanded to gather all the bodies of Warlocks at a single ce so Milena could take them to the headquarters at once.


    Arthur was responsible for gathering the bodies that were inside the headquarters, which was many times more than what was outside. In essence, he was given a much harder task since he had to take the bodies from each floor.


    On the other hand, Milena just had to stand on the roof and oversee the people that were doing most of the work for her.


    Cassius and Alicia were walking together on the streets of the city. For the most part of the battle, they fought together.


    "You''re really strong," Cassius told Alicia, walking towards the Warlock Council headquarters.


    "You''re no less yourself. Your sword is so sharp. It''s amazing." Alicia smiled in response.


    After a few seconds, she spoke further. "It''s amazing, isn''t it?"


    "What''s amazing?" Cassius asked.


    "That just a few months ago, we couldn''t even win a battle against the powers of Elisium. And inst few months, not only did we defeat Elisium leaders, but also defeated the Divine Empire forces and now the Warlock Council..."


    "Heh, I agree." Cassius smiled, looking towards the tallest building in the city, which was their reward. It signified their achievement.


    "Even I''m amazed. It feels like it was just yesterday when I attended the initiation ceremony at the academy, and Lucifer talked to me for the first time."


    "Oh right, you said you two studied together. He must be a big headache for the teachers, right? With his Nature?" Alicia asked.


    "Not quite. On the contrary, he was the favorite of all the teachers," Cassius replied.?"He was like a model student who never did anything wrong."


    "If I were to give an example, he was someone who couldn''t have hurt a fly for no reason. He had strength, but his mindset was much different."


    "Really? I can''t imagine Lucifer like him. Are you sure?"


    "Yep. In fact, I would say that he became quite a different person after regaining his memories. That''s when he became the Lucifer you know him as. If you had seen him before, you would''ve been amazed."


    "That''s fascinating," Alicia eximed. "So, which Lucifer was better? The old one or the new one?"


    "For me, the old Lucifer would always be the true Lucifer," Cassius answered, smiling. "And hopefully, the old Lucifer will appear again after this new Lucifer gets done with his endless wars. And that''s the day I wait for."


    "That''s where I''ll be sessful in what I want to do."


    "So you want to change him?"


    "Nope. I want him to be his real self. The self that isn''t caught in the endless revenge cycle. The real self which used tough with me. The real self which wasn''t worried about anyone backstabbing him. The real self which could live his life freely."


    "Hopefully, we can get there one day..."


    Hearing Cassius'' response, Alicia only looked at him in amazement.. "You''re making me feel like that Lucifer was certainly special."

 Chapter 646 - 646: The Fall Of Lucifer Azarel?

    <h4>Chapter 646 - 646: The Fall Of Lucifer Azarel?</h4>


    "He certainly was. At least for me. And I think somewhere deep down; Lucifer also misses the days of the Academy where he could live freely. Even if he doesn''t show or act that his heart is stone now, I know it''s not the case. Just watch."


    "I hope you get your wish. I also want to meet the true Lucifer you talked about."


    "You''ll certainly get to meet him. I think I would ask him toe with me to the ind. Maybe I can help him remember some of those feelings and break his shell?"


    "That would be great. Don''t forget to invite me. We will alle! My father would also love to see that side of his."


    "Of course. It can be a group vacation." Szar smiled. He soon noticed that they were already standing before the headquarters. "Ah, we''re already here."


    "If I''m not wrong, he should be on the top floor here. Let''s go there," Hemented.


    He stepped inside the building, going to the top floor.


    Reaching the top floor, they noticed that there was only Eve sitting there.


    "Where is he?" Alicia asked Eve.


    "I''m not sure. He went somewhere a little while ago," Eve replied. "Maybe try contacting them."


    "I don''t think we should. Let''s just wait for him to return," Alicia let out as she started observing the floor.


    "This ce is really nice. They have a pool table here."


    "Want to y?" Eve asked, smiling.


    "Are you sure? You know I''m a pretty good yer?"


    "I know more than you think," Eve smiled. "Don''t worry. I think I can give you a good fight."


    "Go ahead then," Alicia took off her jacket, keeping it aside before walking to the pool table.


    "By the way, since you''re so confident in your victory, how about we make this game more interesting?" Eve suggested.


    "How?"


    "By making a bet."


    "What bet?"


    "Simple. The loser has to do whatever the winner asks. Alright?"


    "Do you mean anything anything?" Alicia looked at Eve, frowning.


    "Yep. Any one thing. It can be anything. The only limitations are that it can''t be something that can bring physical harm to you. How''s that?"


    "Sounds interesting. I ept." Alicia agreed, not realizing that Eve was also the national champion during her younger days. Even though she didn''t have much practice since then, she still had her talent.


    She also didn''t realize that Eve had challenged her to this with a certain intention in mind. She had already decided what she wanted Alicia to do.


    Alicia, on the other hand, didn''t care. She had seen the closeness of Eve with Lucifer. She wanted to bring her down a notch. And she was also pleased with the bet. She had already decided what she was going to ask from Eve as well.


    Unaware of the bet that was taking ce in the background, Lucifer was still taking care of all the pieces.


    Fortunately, after a long time, he had managed to destroy the pieces of Julien''s body except one.


    He took off his jacket and raised his shirt a bit, preparing for the iing pain.


    He has been doing it for quite some time, but still, it felt off and slightly painful. He stabbed his own stomach with thest piece of Julien''s body before he started decaying it.


    After the decay inside his body, the power of Julien was absorbed by his body. The energy sphere started taking shape near his chest.


    He pulled out his hand, letting the wounds heal.


    He didn''t know why now, but he had started sweating as soon as he absorbed the body of Kellian.


    He wore his gloves again before carrying the cloak in his hand. He stood up, only to fall to his knees again.


    It was as if his legs had lost their strength abruptly. He saved himself from the fall, cing his hand on the ground, which made him look like he was bowing.


    "W-what is happening!"


    He couldn''t understand what happened so suddenly. Why was his body so weak? Why were his legs so weak? And why did it all start after he absorbed Julien''s strength?


    He could feel that something was really wrong. His face was covered in sweat, just like his entire body for some reason. And he could feel that his condition was only getting worse.


    His hands had started trembling. He was shocked at what was happening and slightly scared as well. And the worst part was, he didn''t know what was wrong with him. And even if something was wrong, why wasn''t his healing working for him?


    The cloak which was in his hand also dropped to the ground. With trembling hands, Lucifer tried to bring his sses out of the pocket, but he noticed that he couldn''t even hold the sses to open them.


    And without opening them, he couldn''t use them. The sses needed an ess to his retina to work for safety. But if he couldn''t even wear them, they were useless.


    The trembling of his hands only increased with each passing second, increasing the difficulty of sess.


    His face also started turning pale as his vision started bing blurred. Before long, his hands also gave in, making him drop to the ground.


    As ast attempt, he tried to use a signal! He tried to use his lightning which he couldn''t with his hand. The skies roared, making a terrifying lightning bolt fall on the roof of the building on the exact spot where he was on the lower floor.


    The lightning couldn''t barge inside because of the protection of the building.


    Just that much use was enough for him though. He was finally exhausted. His eyes closed in weakness as his breathing slowed down.


    The lightning didn''t go in vain though. It was noticed by Milena.


    She was flying above the city, guiding her Nobles in collecting the bodies, when she noticed the lightning bolt.


    As she was already so high in the sky, she could notice the top of the building. "Strange. There is no one there. Why would he use his bolt there? That''s very odd."


    She flew to the building, wondering if there was anything special there. But she couldn''t see anything. There was nothing on the building except a scorching mark left on the building.


    "Why would he? It''s strange. Is it his signal to us to work fast?" She wondered, frowning.


    She shook her head and flew back, thinking that she was right. She believed that he was telling them to work fast from inside the building, not even bothering toe out.. She didn''t know that he was much more serious.

 Chapter 647 - 647: Right There

    <h4>Chapter 647 - 647: Right There</h4>


    Milena got back to her ce and startedmanding everyone to finish faster since she believed that''s what Lucifer wanted.


    In the meantime, Luciferid in an unknown corner on the twelfth floor. His body temperature had started rising immensely, and his body continued sweating.


    At the same time, it also seemed like a droplet of tears wasing out of his eyes. The trembling of his hands had stopped, but his body had started shivering instead as if he was lying in sub-zero temperature, finding no source of warmth.


    Outside the Warlock Council headquarters, Lucifer''s men continued searching each house, trying to find any Warlocks that had survived and were in hiding.


    And luckily, they managed to find tens of such people before finishing their search. All of them were killed and tossed to be gathered by Nobles in the middle of the city.


    The civilians of the city were scared about what was happening. They even tried contacting the city authorities, but no one picked up their phone.


    All they knew was that something big was happening, and they could only hide inside their house, waiting for everything to be alright.


    Within an hour, all the bodies were gathered in the middle of the city, which was quite a lot. There were hundreds of bodies present there. Even Milena wondered how she was going to transport them all inside.


    It took her close to thirty minutes and constant back and forth to send all the bodies inside the headquarters.


    On the other hand, Arthur was still busy.


    Another hour passed before Arthur returned to the top floor as well.


    "I''m done!" He eximed, looking tired as he sat on the soda.


    "Why are you looking so angry?" He asked, noticing anger on Alicia''s face. "Did you get scolded or something?"


    "Nah. She is sad because she was defeated," Cassius answered instead.


    "Defeated?"


    "Yeah. In the game of pool," Cassiusughed. "And now she owes one wish to Eve."


    "What wish?"


    "That''s the problem. She didn''t tell me what she wanted me to do. She said she will tell meter!" Alicia eximed. "I wonder what she would ask. That aside, I don''t understand how I lost! She must have been lucky!"


    "Where is Eve though?" Arthur asked.


    "She is taking a shower," Alicia answered.


    "And where is Her Majesty? Did she still not finish?"


    "She was just here. She went out not long before you came."


    "And Lucifer?"


    "How would I know? Ist saw him at the same time when you saw him. He hasn''t returned yet. Must be busy somewhere," Alicia replied. "Not sure what that might be? Did you need him for something?"


    "Yeah. I wanted to inform him that I gathered the bodies."


    "Let me contact him and tell him then. It can be a good excuse to ask him where he is." Cassius brought his phone out; however, he soon kept it back.


    "I forgot, all the signals are jammed. I can''t even contact him as my phone is ordinary one."


    "Fine. I guess I''ll just wait for him to return."


    ...


    Three more hours passed. All the work waspleted, and the Nobles were free, just like the Uprising members. All they could do was keep an eye on the city, waiting for furthermands.


    Szar was leading the teams outside to keep an eye on their surroundings since they knew Andrim could being anytime soon.


    Arthur was there with him to help as well, along with Tristan.


    Back inside the headquarters, most of the senior members were sitting on the top floor, waiting for Lucifer.


    Some were even eating as they hadn''t eaten for a long time. But there was not a single person who wasn''t wondering where Lucifer was.


    Lucifer was still lying unconscious on the ground. The sses, which were almost in his hands, had started vibrating as someone started calling him.


    Unfortunately, there was no one to respond.


    ....


    Back in Uprising Headquarters, Kane was frowning as he walked back and forth.


    "Strange. Why isn''t he picking up?" He asked, frowning. "It is really important! Come on, pick up!"


    He tried once again, but no one picked up this time either.


    Sigh~


    He could only give up and try something else.


    He looked at one of the men in the back who was sitting on theputer.


    "We have ess to Warlock Council headquarters, right?"


    "Yeah."


    "Remove the jamming in the building. I want to contact someone else."


    As per hismand, the signal blocking was temporarily disabled in the building. The same was still active in the entire city.


    "Done."


    "Good." This time, Kane called someone else.


    ...


    Back in the headquarters, the phone of Cassius started ringing.


    He brought his phone out and checked the unknown number.


    He picked up the call. "Who?"


    "Sir Cassius, I''m Kane. I''m speaking from Elisium."


    "Ah, yeah. Kane. I know you. What do you need?"


    "I was wondering if Sir Lucifer was sitting with you?"


    "Lucifer? He isn''t here. Did you need something from him?"


    "Yeah. I''ve been trying to contact him for a long time. But he isn''t picking up!"


    "I''m not sure. Maybe he''s busy outside? Tell me what you need. I''ll tell you when he gets back."


    "That''s odd. I''m getting the signal from his sses. It''sing from the same building. Are you really sure he isn''t there? I don''t think he''ll leave his sses behind? Especially after what task he gave me?"


    "Are you sure you''re getting his signal from this building? That''s odd. In any case, I''ll search everywhere to see if what you''re saying is true. Don''t worry. When I find him, I''ll tell him to contact you."


    "We don''t have the time for you to find him! Ie with important news!"


    "What news?"


    "Lucifer asked me to keep an eye on the other Warlock Council members that were outside the city. And apparently, one of them ising to the city!"


    "Who?"


    "He is known as Andrim. His power of transformation. Be wary of him. And try to take him out as fast as you can because the longer he fights, the stronger he gets!"


    "When is heing?"


    "His chopper isn''t far from the city. It''d take ten minutes at best before his chopper would be inside the city."


    "I''ll inform the others. We''ll be prepared. Send me the direction where he would being from."


    "I''ll send you everything. In fact, I''ll give you his live tracking. Just try to take him out.. And it would be best if you could find Lucifer before that and inform him."

 Chapter 648 - 648: No Control

    <h4>Chapter 648 - 648: No Control</h4>


    "I''ll do everything. Don''t worry."


    After Cassius kept his phone back, he noticed that everyone was looking at him.


    Even Arthur hade back to see if Lucifer was back or not.


    "What happened? You look serious?" Arthur asked. "Who was on the call?"


    "It was Kane from the Uprisingb. He said that Lucifer wasn''t picking up the call, and his signal wasing from this building. I don''t know what is happening, but he might be in danger. We need to find him!"


    "Hmm? That''s odd? I searched all the floors to find bodies. I couldn''t find him anywhere?"


    "Maybe you missed him? Whatever. We don''t have time for answers. Andrim will being in ten minutes! We need to stop that first!"


    "Alicia, you take Eve and search all the floors to find Lucifer or at least his sses! Check every ce thoroughly!" Cassius told Alicia before he disappeared with Arthur.


    Alicia also started feeling concerned about Lucifer, wondering if he was in danger.


    "Did everyone leave?" Eve came out of the bathroom, noticing that there was no one there except Alicia.


    ...


    Arthur took Cassius to Szar and the others, informing them about the arrival of Andrim. He also had the direction where he was going toe from.


    "Alright. I don''t think we''ll be needing too many people to take care of one Andrim. Only the best of us shall go. Agreed?" Szar asked.


    "Yeah."


    "Good. So Arthur, Yaliza and I and Milena will go. Arthur and Milena will teleport us inside the chopper, where we''ll take Andrim out. And if we can''t, we''lle back. It''ll be the turn of Cassius and Tristan to take the entire chopper out then. Alright?"


    "And if somehow things don''t work out, Jake, Das, and Amie will take care of the rest. Any questions?"


    "There''s one more time. I need the rest of you to go to the Warlock Council headquarters and search each floor. We came to know that Lucifer might be inside the building."


    "We need to get this information to him. So as soon as you find him, tell him everything and tell him toe to us at the border!"


    Seeing everyone agree, the n was decided. The team which was selected flew to the southern side of the city to wait for the chopper.


    As for the rest, they went back to the headquarters in the city. ording to the n to find Lucifer.


    ...


    The search for Lucifer began. A small group of Warriors went to each floor to search all the floors at the same time and to save time.


    At the same time, Alicia and Eve had reached the twenty-fourth floor. They wondered if Lucifer was with the bodies that he had asked to be gathered.


    Unfortunately, despite searching every corner, they couldn''t find Lucifer.


    In fact, it was someone else who found Lucifer.


    It was none other than Yasmine who found him. She was the woman who could use Energy Negation. She was also the one that was saved by Lucifer when she was trapped in the middle of the ground in the Divine Empire.


    Seeing Lucifer lying on the ground, she grew scared. She had always seen the invincible side of Lucifer. He didn''t even fall to his knees even once before her, and now he was lying on the ground like a dead person.


    "D-d-did he die?" She hastily ran to Lucifer to check her nerves.


    "Fortunately, he is still breathing. But his body... It''s heating up. He has a heavy fever! I-i need to take him to a safe ce and inform others!"


    She picked up Lucifer and ran to the lift.


    As she entered the lift, she noticed that Lucifer''s breathing was really weak. His heartbeat was slow as well. She couldn''t understand what was happening. She needed someone knowledgeable, but they were all body in the uing battle!


    She hoped that she was going to find someone on the top floor.


    The lift went to the top floor. The door opened, and Yasmine stepped out. "Is anyone here?!"


    Even though she yelled, there was no response, making her understand that she was alone!


    She ced Lucifer on the bed in the closest room and covered his body with a nket. Despite his high temperature, he was shivering.


    After being done, she ran around the room to find something. She couldn''t find any medicines anywhere that she could recognize. And she couldn''t feed him any unknown pill.


    She simply picked up a piece of clothes and tore it ordingly.


    She also brought a bowl filled with water before sitting beside Lucifer.


    She made the cloth a bit wet before cing it on the forehead of Lucifer to give him some relief.


    As soon as she ced the cloth on the forehead of Lucifer, his trembling increased only.


    Boom~


    A barrier came out of Lucifer''s body, pushing Yasmine aside, making her fall on the ground.


    The spherical barrier remained around Lucifer.


    "Subconscious reaction?" Yasmine said, rubbing her butt that was hurting after the fall. "I''m sorry, but this is for your own good."


    She spread her arms, casting her Energy Negation to make the barrier of Lucifer useless. After finishing, she stepped closer to Lucifer and once again did the same. She wanted to get his temperature in control first.


    As Yasmine again ced the wet cloth on the forehead of Lucifer, he again started shivering.


    Unfortunately, his barrier couldn''t do anything.


    Roar~


    The sky roared madly as if scolding the person who was making Lucifer feel ufortable.


    Boom~


    A thick lightning bolt fell on the Warlock Council headquarters, but it couldn''t prate the protection.


    "Hmm?" In the distance, Milena was standing at the border, waiting for the chopper, when she noticed the lighting bolt.


    "This is his lightning. So he''s certainly there. But what is he doing? Why is he making lightning fall there?"


    Even Cassius was confused. What was Lucifer doing? And why wasn''t he picking up the call?


    The phenomenon didn''t stop after one bolt. Instead, it intensified as if angered even more.


    The clouds spread far and wide, covering the entire city. The lightning bolts started falling everywhere, not discriminating at all. They just wanted to ruthlessly destroy everything.


    At the same time, the bolts continued falling on the building.


    "Something is really wrong. I don''t think Lucifer would attack the entire city after we have won. Something is really wrong!" Seeing the entire city being attacked, even Szar felt that something was wrong.


    He looked at Cassius. "We need to find him at any cost and understand what''s going on!"


    "The chopper is here.. Let''s take Andrim out before doing anything else," Arthurmented, pointing towards the iing chopper.

 Chapter 649 - 649: Goodbye Lucifer...

    <h4>Chapter 649 - 649: Goodbye Lucifer...</h4>


    Szar nced back at the city once again before turning to the chopper. "Yeah. We can''t let Andrim escape. Hopefully, the city can survive this onught until this."


    In the background, Cassius was more concerned about Lucifer. He didn''t know why, but his heart felt uneasy after seeing all this.


    First, Lucifer wasn''t responding, and now all this. Something seemed really wrong.


    ...


    The lightning kept falling on the building again and again. The defenses of the Warlock Council headquarters kept getting damaged with each passing second as more and more bolts fell. It was clear that the building wasn''t going tost long.


    At this point, even Yasmine could feel the vibration on the floor. There was a constant drumming sound with terrible vibration.


    She stood up and ran to the window, looking outside. "Just what the..."


    His lips remained open as she saw all the destruction outside. ck lightning bolts were falling everywhere.


    Wherever the bolts fell, destruction took ce. Buildings fell to the ground, houses were destroyed, and thousands of people were killed, but Lucifer had no idea what was happening.


    Yasmine understood why the building was vibrating! She understood that it was probably because of all the lightning, most of which was probably falling over the headquarters.


    Even the Warlocks and the Nobles were having a hard time avoiding all the bolts that fell anywhere without any order.


    One of the Nobles was flying towards the main headquarters while screaming to warn others.


    "Hurry! We need to get to the headquarters! That can be the only safe -"


    Boom~


    In his warning, he failed to avoid a bolt himself as tens of them fell at the same time above him, leaving no room to escape.


    The lightning only intensified. Instead of one bolt everywhere, groups of ck bolts fell around the city.


    The survival of the city was looking unlikely if things remained like these.


    Seeing all the damage, Yasmine was sure that they were all going to die if it didn''t stop.


    She hastily ran to Lucifer.


    "Lucifer! You need to stop! You''re destroying everything you worked hard for! You''re destroying your legacy!" She yelled to Lucifer, but to no avail.


    It was as if he couldn''t hear her. He looked really sick.


    This made Yasmine think of something else. It all started when she had tried to help Lucifer with a wet cloth on his forehead. That''s when the barrier of his came. It didn''te when she carried him here or kept him on the bed.


    She wondered if it was because of that? Was his body resisting any temperature control measures for some reason? Or was it something simr yet different?


    She didn''t have much time to think. She could only go along with her theory and rest.


    She took off the wet cloth from Lucifer''s forehead and ced it on the bowl of water before running to the window again.


    Boom~


    Another lightning bolt fell on top of the building, this time shattering the barrier entirely.


    As the bolt destroyed the roof, its rubble started falling down towards Lucifer.


    Seeing the rubble fall, Yasmine grew scared. She didn''t want Lucifer to be hurt in a situation like this. But she couldn''t do anything else either.


    She didn''t have a barrier to keep Lucifer safe. And her energy negation wasn''t going to keep him safe.


    Fortunately, just as she thought about risking herself to stop the rubble, she noticed that the pieces had stopped.


    A semi-translucent barrier appeared around Lucifer, protecting him from it.


    The barrier didn''t seem to belong to Lucifer as it was a different color.


    "May I ask what''s happening here?" A calm yet confused voice came from the side.


    "Aira! You couldn''t havee at a better time!" Yasmine let out, breathing a sigh of relief. "Thank you."


    "That aside, are you going to tell me what''s happening?" The red-haired woman asked.


    She was one of the High Lords in the Divine Empire and a part of the team that came for the battles.


    "Wait a minute! It works!" Yasmine eximed, seeing the vibrations stop. She looked out the window. "The lightning stopped!"


    The fierce lightning fall had stopped outside. The sky was still dark and roaring, but it wasn''t attacking. It was as if it was warning her, again and again, to not try something like this against its master!


    The Warlocks and Nobles that were still on the way to the headquarters sighed a breath of relief, seeing the onught stop. They didn''t stop though.


    They still continued advancing towards the Warlock Council headquarters just to prepare for another such storm.


    ...


    "Why is he lying like that and not protecting himself? What actually happened?" Aira asked Yasmine.


    "I''m not sure. I found him unconscious on the twelfth floor when I was searching for him. He seems to have a really bad fever. When I tried to help him, his lightning grew restless," Yasmine replied, looking towards the hole on the roof.


    "I wonder what is happening with him. But it doesn''t look good for him and for us."


    "What do you mean? Isn''t it the best opportunity to kill him?" Aira smiled, licking her lips.


    "What?" Yaliza looked at Aira, confused.


    "I mean,e on! This bastard cheated Her Majesty to enve her! And he''s been using us like we''re his servants! Previously, we couldn''t do anything because he was too strong and always had his people around him."


    Aira smirked.


    "But now he is alone! And he is the weakest we can ever hope to see him. What could be a better opportunity to kill him than what we have right now? Just imagine! We can kill him right now and destroy his body! We''ll be free of him!"


    "And then Her Majesty can reign supreme on the whole world. As long as this Demon is gone, no one would be left who is stronger than her! We shall be free! We can also kill his team members after that. Without him, they are nothing for us?"


    As Aira talked, she kept walking closer to Lucifer. She removed the spherical barrier which was around Lucifer as a murderous glint shed in her eyes.


    She stood just a few inches away from Lucifer. She could already see a beautiful world ahead of her which didn''t contain Lucifer!


    "I can''t believe we have been this lucky." She licked her lips, feeling delighted. "A golden sword took shape in her hand, made purely of the energy that she had used to make the barrier."


    She raised the sword, aiming it towards Lucifer''s throat. A devilish grin remained on her luscious lips.


    "Goodbye, Lucifer Azarel. If you have a next life, don''t try to chew more than you can eat!"


    Swiss~


    She brought her sword, shing down.

 Chapter 650 - 650: The Bond

    <h4>Chapter 650 - 650: The Bond</h4>


    ...


    Swiss~


    A sword came crashing down, slicing the head.


    "There he goes."


    A smirk formed on the lips of the person who had just taken a life.


    "Ah, Did we really need to stop to kill him? Don''t we have more important things to consider?" Another voice came from behind.


    "Worry about what? The storm stopped. We don''t have any reason to hide in the Headquarters anymore," The first man said, wiping the blood from his sword on the cloth of the Warlock Council member he had just killed.


    "Who knew we would still miss some of them despite checking everywhere. These rats are really sneaky," he added, smiling.


    The two of them were Uprising members that were going back when they noticed a Warlock Council member hiding behind a dumpster. They couldn''t help but take him out as well.


    "Still, I do wonder why that lightning storm came. Maybe Lucifer was testing something? In any case, we''ll knowter. It''s not like he''ll be going anywhere," the man smiled as he started walking back towards the Warlock Council headquarters.


    ....


    A chopper was flying towards the capital city of Zeston when the pilot noticed the bad weather above the city. The entire city was surrounded by dark clouds.


    It was still fine, but when he noticed the ck lightning fall around the city, even he grew stunned. It didn''t look safe to enter the city in such weather.


    She decided to inform Andrim and his men about this strange phenomenon. Unfortunately, he was a bit toote.


    Before he could do anything, Andrim already understood what was wrong as he saw four people appear in his chopper.


    All four of them went in different directions to attack a different person.


    "You dare?!" Andrim stood up, enraged. His body started bulking up.


    "There is nothing we don''t dare," A sweet and melodious voice fell in his ears as Milena teleported behind him. A sword came, slicing Andrim in half without giving him a chance.


    Both halves of his body dropped to the ground.


    In the meantime, Yaliza and the others had already killed the rest of them.


    "Well, that was easier than I thought,"?Szar let out, observing the dead bodies.


    He walked to the pilot and told him that the helicopter was under their control now and told him to take it straight to the Warlock Headquarters.


    "Arthur, we can go back and inform the others that it''s over. I don''t want them to attack the helicopter. It is a good resource we might need."


    He turned to Yaliza. "You stay in the helicopter ande with it."


    Arthur disappeared, taking Szar with him. They went straight to Cassius and others that he was over and that they were done.


    Milena also disappeared, leaving Yaliza behind with the pilot to safely escort the bodies back for Lucifer.


    Everyone was happy after hearing that the battle was safely won without any casualties.


    "Good! Now take us back to the base! I want to see what happened to Lucifer right away!" Cassius said, still concerned.


    Fortunately, the lightning phenomenon had stopped, but still, he wasn''t at ease. There was a constant feeling in his heart that something really wrong was happening. He didn''t want to be toote if Lucifer needed his help.


    "Alright. I can only take two. The rest of you shall walk," Arthur said, reaching out his hand.


    His one hand was held by Cassius while the other was held by Szar.


    Milena, on the other hand, chose to bring two Nobles, Aslima and Giani, with her.


    Even Arthur and Milena didn''t know about their timing and what was actually going on back at the Warlock Council Headquarters.


    ...


    Yasmine was still in shock about what Aira was saying. Before she coulde out of her daze, she noticed that Aira had already attacked Lucifer.


    "Stop!" She yelled, but his scream fell on deaf ears as Aira didn''t seem like she wanted to stop.


    Yasmine decided to stop Aira herself by using Energy Negation, but before he could, she noticed that more people had arrived.


    Arthur had arrived with Szar and Cassius. All three of them grew shocked at the sight that greeted them. Aira was attacking Lucifer.


    All three of them got into action.


    Cassius pulled out his sword to slice Aira in half. Arthur teleported to take Lucifer away, and Szar slowed down time.


    The fastest reaction belonged to Szar as he slowed down time and ran to Aira.


    The time was so slow that it looked like Szar had teleported behind Aira instead. He raised his sword, swinging it.


    Aira''s sword was only halfway when Szar''s sword sliced his neck. His head slowly started tilting towards the left, slowly as she was still affected in the time domain.


    In the meantime, her sword still continued its downward motion.


    Szar reached out his hand to hold the wrist of Aira to stop her sword, but he didn''t need to as he noticed that Arthur had already appeared. He held Lucifer and disappeared.


    Szar also stopped his idea of stopping the sword now that there was no need to. But he did jump sideways, noticing the attack of Cassius.


    He dropped to the ground, avoiding the attack of Cassius, which further sliced Aira in half from her waist


    Not even a single second had passed, and Aira was already sliced in half for even attempting to hurt Lucifer. That was the power of the bond that Lucifer had formed with his team members, even without realizing it.


    Everything was done. Szar stopped his time domain. The head of Aira rolled to the left, falling. At the same time, the top half of her body fell to the right.


    Soon, her waist and her legs also followed suit. Aira didn''t even realize how fast it had happened. She didn''t even have the time to close her eyes, and she was already dead, all because she wanted to kill Lucifer.


    Arthur appeared near the sofa, keeping Lucifer''s body there before holding his chest. His heartbeat was still beating fast.


    "You betraying bastards! Step away from him if you don''t want to die!" Cassius roared at Arthur, still enraged at what he saw.


    "Look, I know you are upset, but believe me. We don''t want to hurt him. Just give me a chance to investigate! If I wanted to hurt, why would I save him?!" Arthur replied, smiling wryly.


    He could understand why they were impatient as well.


    "Arthur, please step away from Lucifer!" Szar also agreed with Cassius. "Don''t make us do something!"


    "If we weren''t here on time, your people would have killed him! We don''t even know what they did to him already to bring him in that condition! Step away and don''t force us!" Cassius yelled. "This is thest warning!"


    It was now that Milena also appeared to find the Warlocks with their swords raised towards Arthur.

 Chapter 651 - 651: Suspicions

    <h4>Chapter 651 - 651: Suspicions</h4>


    "What is happening here?" Milena asked, confused.


    "What''s happening is that we''ve seen your true side. And if you all didn''t step away from him, I don''t care who you are or how strong you are. You''ll be lying on the ground in pieces!" Cassius warned everyone, stepping closer to Lucifer.


    "Fine. I''ll step away from him. Let me understand what just happened here. I''m just as ignorant as you. And I don''t want this misunderstanding to cause any unnecessary conflict." Arthur started stepping back slowly, moving away from Lucifer.


    "That''s better," Cassius said, stopping right beside Lucifer. Szar also came beside him to keep Lucifer safe. Until they had an answer, they couldn''t trust anyone.


    "Will someone exin what just happened? Why are you talking like we''re your enemies? And why is Lucifer lying like that?" Milena asked again.


    "Ah, Your Majesty, look there..." Jiani pointed towards the body lying on the ground in the distance.


    "That looks to be Aira. She is killed with a sword. I believe they attacked her. Either they''ve gone crazy, or they want to kill us now that we helped them. I''m not sure why though. But we must be careful," She reminded Milena.


    "For now, don''t trust them," she added.


    "There''s nothing like that. I have a feeling that they were justified in killing Aira," Arthur responded, appearing beside Milena.


    "What do you mean?" Jiani asked. "Why did she deserve to die? What happened before we came?"


    "I think the only person who can answer the question should be Yasmine. When I appeared with Cassius and Szar, I noticed that Lucifer was lying on the bed. And Aira''s sword was moving towards his throat. She was about to kill Lucifer," Arthur replied, frowning.


    "What? Why would she try that? Are you telling the truth?" Milena asked, still not believing everything.


    "I am just telling what I saw. Maybe there was a misunderstanding. But at the time, I didn''t think anyone had the time to think. So they acted in haste to save Lucifer and killed her. Fortunately, he wasn''t harmed," Arthur replied, letting out a deep sigh.


    "Because if Lucifer had actually died for some reason, that bracelet would have killed you since it''s connected to his life," he further added.


    "Aira! How could she be such an idiot!" Jiani eximed. "By attacking Lucifer, she wasn''t attacking him but attacking all the Nobles! His death would have been our death!"


    "That would be the case if he was killed. But with his abilities, I have a feeling that the oue would have been much worse," Arthur said, ncing towards Lucifer. "If he were killed, we would have died. But if he had survived the attack, he would''ve killed us all in anger!"


    "Fortunately, we were here to stop this from happening,"He let out, cing his hand on his chest. "I don''t even want to think about a future where we had failed to stop the attack..."


    "How is he?" Cassius asked Szar, who was checking Lucifer. He didn''t keep his sword back either.


    "There are no Physical wounds as far as I can see, but something is certainly wrong with him. He is sweating, and his body is heating up. It''s as if he has a heavy fever," Szar replied.


    " But his face is pale as well, like his bodycks blood. I don''t understand what''s happening to him. His heartbeat is also slow," he further added.


    "Did someone poison him?" Cassius asked.


    "I''m not sure. But if it was poison, his healing should have been working to help him. Poison should be useless on him. I think it''s the effect of some Warlock using their abilities on him," Szar replied. "Maybe so they could easily kill him?"


    "You mean... Nobles. So they truly schemed to kill Lucifer," Cassius muttered. "We can''t keep Lucifer here. We need to take him to a safe ce, away from them. They can''t be trusted!"


    Cassius stood up after checking up on Lucifer.


    "Please don''t get to any conclusion so fast. We promise we didn''t n to hurt Lucifer. Why would we even try! Her Majesty''s life depends on his life! If he dies, she dies! And if she dies, we all die! Why would we try to kill him?! Let''s get to the bottom of the truth together!" Arthur let out.


    Szar looked at the Nobles suspiciously. Their words did make sense, but he also had another theory.


    What if they thought that Lucifer had bluffed about the bracelet being linked to his life, and they wanted to call out the bluff by killing him? He couldn''t trust them just on the basis of that rification alone.


    "Sure. Tell us your side of the story. Let me hear what justification you have for one of you attacking Lucifer and for this condition of his!" Szar let out, pointing towards Lucifer.


    "I can tell you what happened! I have been here since the start!" Taking a deep breath, Yasmine stepped forward. "Arthur won''t know anything, but I can exin what happened."


    "Then tell us what happened," Milena said. "Let me know what could make such a strong Warlock lie like a weakening on the sofa. Just what happened to him?"


    "I-i was sent to search the floors after you all went to take care of the iing enemy. I was tasked with searching the twelfth floor. And that''s where I found Lucifer!" Yasmine said.


    "He was lying on the ground like he is right now. And he had a high temperature. So I brought him upstairs and ced him on the bed, and tried to find medicine. But I couldn''t."


    "So I just filled a bowl with water and tried to bring his temperature down by cing a wet cloth on his forehead," Yasmine eximed.?"I''m sure you can see the bowl of water and the cloth right there. It should be there!"


    Szar looked behind and noticed a bowl was indeed lying there.


    "Very convenient story. You found him like that on the twelfth floor?" Szar asked. "Arthur, didn''t you check the twelfth floor when you were collecting bodies?"


    "Doesn''t it look too convenient that you were in the ce where Lucifer was found lying, and you imed you didn''t see him? Or could it be you did it yourself?"


    "I didn''t see him there. I''m beingpletely honest. But it''s also true that I didn''t check every corner," Arthur scratched the back of his head.


    "I had killed the Warlocks on floor one to floor eleven. And I also checked floor twelve beforeing up.. So I knew where all the bodies were," he added.

 Chapter 652 - 652: Evidence

    <h4>Chapter 652 - 652: Evidence</h4>


    "After that, I met Lucifer. And he told us to collect all the bodies. I searched all the floors but not thoroughly."


    " I already knew where the bodies were, and I only brought those bodies upstairs to end the task fast and not waste time. I''m sure if you check the video footage, you might be able to see that."


    "That''s right. Why don''t we just check the video footage of what happened instead of assuming things? Maybe the videos captured what happened to Lucifer?" Jiani suggesteding up with a nice idea.


    "We would just need to check the footage of the twelfth floor and twenty-fifth floor. And we will know what truly happened." Arthur nodded.


    "Let''s hear the story of Yasmine first. Then we can verify with the footage if she told the truth. That would be faster," Milena chimed in. "Yasmine, continue."


    "Ah, alright." Yasmine nodded. "After that, I ced the wet cloth on his forehead. But that''s when his barrier came out..."


    Yasmine continued telling the entire story. She talked about how she was almost hurt by Lucifer and how she tried again. She even talked about the vibration and the lightning phenomenon.


    Then she exined how the rubble had almost hurt Lucifer, but Aira came in to protect him.


    "You mean to say she helped him?" Cassius asked, looking frustrated. This seemed like a clear lie. Why would someone who saved him try to kill him the next moment?"


    "I know it looks odd, but you should be able to see everything in the footage. I haven''t told a single lie."


    " What happened next?" Arthur asked.


    "Then she asked me what happened to Lucifer. Why is he lying like that? And I told her what I told you," Yasmine said. "And then..."


    She started hesitating slightly as she reached that point.


    "Tell us!" Milenamanded.


    "Then she seemed to have a change of mind. After realizing how weak he was and that he was alone, she started thinking that it was the best chance to kill him and have revenge."


    "She said she might not get this opportunity again as Lucifer is often too strong to be killed by anyone, and he has his people around him. She said this was the perfect chance to be free. And she... She attacked him."


    "I wanted to stop him, but then you all appeared, and you stopped her. That''s what happened."


    After finishing, she took a deep breath. "I promise it''s the truth. You can check!"


    "If you say it''s the truth, I believe you." Milena nodded. "She turned to Szar. You can check the footage to test."


    "I''ll need to go to the lower floor to check. But I can''t leave Lucifer alone. They might try something like that again," Szar said, frowning.


    "There are more of us inside the headquarters, still searching for Lucifer. I think Kane can make an announcement everywhere. Let me tell him. They should be here soon."


    The door once again opened, and another man stepped inside.


    The dark-haired man was dressed in all ck, carrying no weapon that was visible.


    "What happened here?" he asked, confused.


    "Yaliza, you came at the right time. It seems like someone hurt Lucifer. I need you to stay with Lucifer and keep him safe," Szar exined.


    Yaliza''s figure flickered as he appeared beside Lucifer.


    "He is hurt... How? Was that lightning storm because of that? First time I''m seeing him this weak. Who did it?" Yaliza asked.


    "That''s what we''re trying to find. But for now, make sure no Noble gets close to him."


    "Don''t worry. None will get close to him. At least none with their heads intact," Yaliza stated.


    In the meantime, Cassius had contacted Kane on the same number from which Kane contacted him before.


    "Did you find Lucifer?" Kane asked, picking up the call. "And what about Andrim? Is he dead?"


    "We killed Andrim. And we also found Lucifer, but something is wrong with him," Cassius exined. "It''s like he has a fever. And he isn''t moving. We believe he was hurt by an enemy."


    "Can you help us make an announcement to all Uprising members toe to the top floor immediately?"


    "He is hurt? Is that even possible?" Kane asked, confused. "It was the first time he was hearing about Lucifer being sick."


    "Turn on the footage of the twenty-fifth floor," hemanded his men in theb.


    On a big screen, live footage appeared of the floor, revealing Cassius and the others in a tense atmosphere. Lucifer was lying on the sofa weakly.


    "That''s certainly odd," he muttered.


    "You can ess the footage there?" Cassius asked. "Ah, right. How could I forget that?!"


    "Kane, can you send the footage on the screen here? We need to see thest one hour of footage here to see if they''re telling the truth."


    "Ah, I think we can. Just give us five minutes. In the meantime, I''ll tell all members to get to you. Don''t disconnect the call!"


    "That would be perfect," Cassius said.


    "What did he say?" Szar asked Cassius.


    "He says he will tell them toe to us. And he will also show the footage on the screens right here. We won''t need to go to the control room downstairs," Cassius asked.


    "That would be good."


    Milena didn''t even sit in this situation. She wanted to approach Lucifer to see if she could find what was wrong with him, but she knew that no one was going to let her get close. It''ll only cause another misunderstanding and a war, all because of that stupid Aira!


    She couldn''t approach them until their innocence was proven through the video footage.


    Still, she has faith in Yasmine. She wasn''t worried about what the footage was going to show since she was innocent.


    ...


    Eve and Alicia started searching the twenty-third floor when they heard an announcement through the speaker in the entire building.


    "All Uprising members are ordered to get to the top floor! I repeat, All Uprising members are ordered to get to the top floor!"


    "It looks like they found Lucifer. Thank God," Alicia sighed a breath of relief as she walked back to the lift.


    "I don''t know why, but that tone seemed a bit distressed," Eve said softly. "I hope I''m just overthinking it."


    Still, she made haste to get to the lift.


    Taking the lift, both of them reached the top floor, only to find a strange atmosphere.


    They noticed that the roof was broken. Cassius had his sword out. Yaliza and Szar were also around the sofa, guarding an unconscious Lucifer.


    "What happened to him?" Eve ran to Lucifer, seeing him like that. She could feel that he was in pain.


    Alicia also ran to him.

 Chapter 653 - 653: Meeting The Dead

    <h4>Chapter 653 - 653: Meeting The Dead</h4>


    Lucifer didn''t know what happened to him after he had dropped in the middle of the hallway. All he knew was that his body was acting strange and wasn''t in his control.


    Before long, he had lost consciousness, but not entirely. Momentarily, everything turned dark before he lost a sense of his body and all the feeling.


    However, before long, he finally saw the light again. The world turned bright, revealing snow everywhere.


    He looked around, noticing he was in the middle of a ce filled with snow. There was only snow as far as his eyes could see. There was also a continuous snowfall.


    He started feeling cold, only to notice that he wasn''t wearing any shoes. He was barefoot on the snow. Let alone feet; his entire body was naked. He didn''t have any clothes.


    He raised his hand, casting a barrier around his body to protect him from snow while floating slightly upwards to get his feet away from the cold ground.


    Naked in such weather, he felt extremely cold despite his high resistance.


    He had almost no external protection against cold.


    Lucifer could only wrap his arms around his body, feeling cold.


    "What ce is this?" He wondered, frowning. It was like a ce where no life existed.


    He started flying around, trying to see if he could find anyone to get some answers.


    He didn''t even have his sses to get answers.


    However, he couldn''t find anyone in the surrounding area.


    "Am I all alone in this ce?" he wondered, but he didn''t stop flying.


    Fortunately, he didn''t have to search for long in this cold snow. Before long, he was able to find a cave in the distance, and he could see a glimpse of lighting from inside the cave.


    He flew straight towards the cave and entered. The cave was also cold, but it gave him a bit of relief, all because he could see fire there.


    He didn''t know who lit a fire there, but it looked like the work of a human as he could see many sticks lying in the distance to continue the fire in case it slowed down.


    Moreover, there was a bad lying nearby. He couldn''t find any person there though. The cave was void of any person.


    He flew straight to the fire, not thinking too much about the surroundings. He needed some warmth at the moment. Finally, after reaching near the fire, he received some heat.


    Still, staying without clothes was making him feel odd. He flew to the bag and opened it to check what was inside. He really hoped that there were going to be some clothes inside as well.


    Fortunately, he was right. There were indeed some clothes. And they seemed to belong to a man as well.


    The clothes were slightly loose to him. They seemed to belong to a bulky person. On the other hand, Lucifer was more on the slimmer side.


    Still, there was no other option. It wasn''t as if he could find a shop there. He simply wore the clothes before sitting near the fire to give himself some rxation.


    As he calmed down more, he decided to check the bag more to see what else was there.


    The bag only seemed to contain the essentials. There were clothes, tools to light fire, apass, etc. It looked like the bag of an explorer.


    There was also a map on the bag, neatly tucked in.


    Lucifer opened the map, trying to get some clue about his surroundings.


    "This map... It''s a world map. And the cross... Is it where we are? The Frozen Land of Yatva?" Lucifer said, frowning. "If that''s the case, Elisium shouldn''t be far. It should be in North."


    Lucifer checked thepass. "In that direction."


    "Instead of waiting, I should leave to get out of this ce fast." He stood up.


    He had already memorized the map, so he kept it back. But he did take thepass without caring who it belonged to. He was going to need it without his sses.


    Keeping thepass in his pocket, he started leaving the cave and the warmth behind.


    He left the cave and prepared to fly.


    "Those look like my clothes. Are you a thief?" Just as Lucifer was about to fly, he heard a voice.


    "I needed it. So I''m taking it. Don''t try to stop me if you don''t want to di-"


    Luciferzily said, turning in the direction the voice came from, but as soon as he looked there, he choked on his own words, unable to finish his sentence.


    "This can''t be!" he eximed, taking a step back. "Ah, that''s right! I must be dreaming! I''m not actually here! There is no way this is happening in reality!"


    "Ah, don''t worry, young man. I''m not going to steal the clothes back. Since you took them, maybe you needed them more. It doesn''t matter. You can go. I won''t stop you," the man said, smiling.


    "However, I do have one piece of advice. Don''t threaten someone. Not everyone is going to be as nice as me," he added before he stepped inside the cave, walking to the fire.


    Lucifer stood stunned, unable to speak. He could just watch the man sit before the fire, unable to take his eyes off.


    "How could it be possible... Is it truly a dream? Doesn''t look like that. Then how? How is he here?"


    The man who was sitting before the fire had a bulky body, but not too big. It suited his physique. Moreover, he had short dark hair and a serene-looking face.


    The most intriguing feature of the man was his beautiful golden iris.


    He was only wearing a casual white jacket which wasn''t too thick either.


    "Are you going, or do you want to sit with me and take some heat from this fire?" A calm voice came from inside the cave.


    The man had noticed that Lucifer hadn''t left and was just looking in his direction.


    Lucifer clenched his fist as he walked inside the cave again.


    He stopped before the man with the fire flickering between them.


    "May I ask why you''re staring at me like that?" the man asked, throwing more sticks into the fire.


    "What is your name?" Lucifer asked grimly.


    He knew that everything depended on this one answer! Was this a dream? Was this reality? Or was it a mixture of both? Or was it something even more extraordinary?


    "My name?" the man asked, amused. "I''m not sure why you want to know. But I''m known as Zale Azarel.. I''m from the nation of Elisium. What about you? What''s your name?"

 Chapter 654 - 654: Further

    <h4>Chapter 654 - 654: Further</h4>


    ''I''m known as Zale Azarel. I''m from the nation of Elisium...'' These words were enough to shock Lucifer.


    So it wasn''t someone who just looked like his father! It was literally him! But he looked different! He looked much different than Lucifer, and the world remembered him as.


    He wasn''t wearing his signature locket that he never left home without! It was given to him by risse as a gift.


    Moreover, not only was the locket missing but there was something even more amiss! It was that Zale looked much younger!


    He looked like he was barely twenty years old!


    "I was right. I am dreaming," Lucifer sighed, sitting near the fire. "My dreams are really getting crazy now."


    "Dreaming? I don''t understand what you''re saying. But are you also here to train yourself?" Zale asked.


    "Train? What do you mean?" Lucifer asked.


    "Of course, training. Why else would I personallye to this freezing hell," Zale replied. "You see,st year, I awakened as a Warlock. But there are so many Warlocks in this world, all stronger than me."


    "So I knew I was going to need training. So I came here to train my body and my strength," he further added. "Did you note here for that?"


    "You gained your strengthst year? What nonsense. Can''t my dream recreate my memories either? It has been over thirty years since you gained your powers," Lucifer replied.


    "Ah, I am not sure what you''re saying. Thirty years ago? I awakened? Hah, I wasn''t even born thirty years ago."


    Lucifer looked weirdly.


    "What year is this?" He asked, just to be sure.


    "Did the cold freeze your head? You even forgot the year?"


    "Will you just answer me?"


    "It''s January of 2025," Zale replied. "Man, you''re acting weird."


    ''2025? That is three years before the Great War. I heard stories that father became a Variant in 2024. And in 2026, he met mother for the first time. Does that mean I''m dreaming about the past?''


    Lucifer kept looking at Zale nkly.


    ''Or is it because of the powers of Julien? His powers were rted to time. Did they send me back in time somehow?''


    There were many questions in his head, and none made sense at the moment.


    "Can you tell me what your abilities are?" Lucifer asked.


    "I can do this," Zale replied, raising his finger.


    A tiny spark of lightning flickered around his fingers. "But it''s a useless ability. It''s too weak, I think. All it can do is electrocute people I touch while using it. Other than that, it''s pretty useless."


    "And I also have Super Strength. That''s my favorite. It''s not useless like the lightning. You can say, I can easily break a concrete wall with a punch."


    "Lightning, and weak?" Lucifer looked weirdly at Zale. "I guess you still haven''t realized the true potential of your lightning. I can''t me you. You only awakened it. With time, you''ll learn how strong it can be."


    "How do you know how strong my lightning can be? Do you also have something simr?" Zale asked.


    Lucifer smiled. He raised his hand, bringing forth the lightning. A simr lightning flickered around his fingers.


    He tossed out the lightning bolt in the distance. "And that''s how you can attack with it. It''s much stronger. Then again, who am I even teaching? You''re literally the person who made all these skills."


    "Amazing. It looks like we have the same ability but using it to attack like that? How can you bring it out of your body? Is that even possible?"


    "Hmm?" Just as Lucifer was hearing Zale, he noticed something.


    After a long time, he finally realized that his hands had no gloves.


    "If I don''t have them, how was I able to touch things?" With a deep frown, he tried touching a stick. It didn''t decay.


    "I don''t have my decay? That''s odd."


    "What happened?" Zale asked.


    "Ah, nothing. Just give me some time. I need to see something."


    He closed his eyes and started observing the skill cores inside his body to see if he had the Decay Core.


    ''It''s still there.'' he didn''t have to search long before finding out. It was inside his body, but it wasn''t where it was supposed to be. However, it was slowly moving towards the ce it belonged.


    There was also a strength core, a lightning core, and more. However, the strangest thing was that there were some cores that weren''t in ce. They were still slowly moving as if his body was still being constructed properly for some reason.


    Something was really wrong, ording to him.


    Moreover, he also noticed the Time Core, which was reading near his chest. For some reason, the Time core looked extremely unstable.


    ''I have a feeling that it''s not really a dream, but the work of time. During absorption, something must have happened to the Time Core that sent my soul in the past. And my Healing formed a temporary body to amodate myself! Could it really be that?''


    ''I always wonder what was going to happen if my body was destroyed. Could it be simr to that scenario? My Healing was going to form a new body in case I didn''t have one?''


    ''If that''s the case, how can I go back? Will controlling the Time Core help me somehow? How though. This thing... Wait! What if I found Julien again and stole his Time Core again to heal mine?''


    Instead of finding answers, he was only able to find more questions, but at least now he had a theory of why he was here and why he was free of Decay. It was because his Healing was still forming his body. After it wasplete, his Decay was certainly going to work.


    ''But can I really be sure that it''s not really a dream?'' he thought, opening his eyes.


    Even though he had a theory, he had no proof that his theory was correct other than his assumption. But it could all be a dream as well.


    "Are you alright?" Zale asked. "You look concerned for some reason?"


    Lucifer slowly opened his eyes. "You know, your personality in your younger days is really different from what it will be in the future. You seem like youck the confidence now. But there mighte a day when you''ll be the king of self confidence."


    "Who knows," Zale replied. "All I want is to be worthy for this world... Worthy of this power that I was given." Zale smiled.


    "I don''t think there is anyone more worthy than you for your power..." Lucifer replied.


    However, he finished his sentence by adding a small word in the end in his thoughts, ''Father.''

 Chapter 655 - 655: Existential Threat

    <h4>Chapter 655 - 655: Existential Threat</h4>


    "What happened to him? Why isn''t he waking up?" Eve asked, looking at Szar.


    She had tried calling for Lucifer again and again, but he didn''t wake up. Moreover, his body seemed weak as well.


    "Calm down. We don''t know what happened to him. I think we''ll know in a few seconds though," Szar replied. He turned to Cassius. "How long?"


    "It''s starting," Cassius replied, pointing towards the screen ahead.


    As the screen yed the rey of what happened on the top floor, Szar was finally able to see that Yasmine wasn''t lying.


    She told the truth that she was trying to help Lucifer. At least that''s what it seemed like. It was also possible that she was acting, but it didn''t seem that way.


    "Ask him to show the footage of the twelfth floor. That''s where Lucifer was discovered," Szarmanded.


    Cassius conveyed the message to Kane back at theb. Kane followed through, and the footage changed to that of the twelfth floor.


    It showed Lucifer''s entry on that floor and followed him for the most part until Lucifer entered the part of the floor where there were no cameras.


    Not long after, Arthur appeared on the floor and carried the bodies, but it didn''t seem like he went to the part of the floor where Lucifer was.


    "See? I didn''t go there. I don''t know what happened. Now, do you trust me?" Arthur asked. "I don''t know what happened there."


    "I think we need to check that ce ourselves to find clues about what happened," Milena said. "If he was hurt there, that means an enemy still exists. It can be dangerous for us."


    As more and more facts came forward, Szar finally felt that maybe Milena and Arthur truly didn''t know what happened, but he still couldn''t trust them fully after the murder attempt on Lucifer.


    "I''ll go. All the others will stay here, keeping Lucifer safe," Szarmanded.


    He left all the Uprising Members to keep Lucifer safe while he went to investigate.


    Cassius also decided to remain behind with Lucifer.


    ...


    "So, can I know why you came here? Your control over lightning is truly strong. At least it''s a thousand times better than me. I didn''t even know I was underestimating Lightning so much."


    "It doesn''t look like you need any training. Did you have any other reason toe?"


    Zale could see Lucifer was pretty talented in the art of lightning. Moreover, he wasn''t a Physical Warlock like him. He didn''t need physical training in such a cold ce.


    At least that''s what Zale thought, not realizing that Lucifer had all of his abilities and maybe more.


    Lucifer was still slightly overwhelmed by the thought that he was actually sitting with his father. It was the day he often thought about¡ªa day where he was going to be an adult and spend time with his father.


    Unfortunately, he lost the man when he was just five. This opportunity felt like a godsend if it was real.


    ''If it''s the true past, I wonder if I can change things here. Can I change the future by my actions? What if I tell them what is going to happen in the future? What if I told them to not leave me alone to go on that quest? What might happen then?''


    The thought of the future being in his control was really fascinating. But he also knew that there might be many unforeseen consequences. He still needed time to think about the advantages and disadvantages on his life if he interfered.


    His biggest fear was that he might literally disappear... If Zale hadn''t gone to the dungeon, he wouldn''t have ended up in the facility.


    That meant the entire existence of Current Lucifer came into being because of the actions of Zale. If Zale didn''t do that, Lucifer wasn''t going to end up here. Who knew, he might even disappear as his reality was destroyed for a new reality.


    There were many things he needed to consider before taking any actions that could change the core points of the future.


    ''If the past didn''t happen, I wouldn''t lose my parents in time... But that doesn''t mean I won''t lose them ever? His enemies would still be there, scheming against him. And if I disappeared because of changing the past, the past me won''t know what to do to keep us safe.''


    ''Moreover, the knowledge about my true existence might remain hidden forever. And who knows, I might not even awaken ever? Because my death set things in motion.''


    ''If I changed the past, I might live like an ordinary human, unable to protect anyone or keep anyone safe. In fact, I might only destroy what I have now...''


    Thousands of questions floated in his head. He hadn''t really thought about the possibility of this thing happening, and now that it did, he didn''t understand what to do.


    He wanted to save his parents, but he also didn''t want to make things even worse for himself and his parents.


    "You again lost yourself in your thoughts? It''s fine if you don''t want to tell me why you''re here if you don''t want to."


    Taking Lucifer''s silence as his unwillingness, Zale stopped asking too much. It was fine if the guy didn''t want to say or wanted to keep it a secret. Everything was fine with him.


    "Can I at least know your name? Or is that a secret as well? I just realized that I don''t even know your name."


    "My name is Lucifer," Lucifer replied.


    "Lucifer? Interesting name, but I don''t think I''ve heard such a name before. Sounds good though," Zale replied.


    Grr~


    "Are you feeling hungry?" Zale asked, hearing Lucifer''s stomach growl.


    "I always do. It''s nothing surprising. Don''t worry; I won''t die from hunger," Lucifer replied.


    "Meh, nonsense. Come, let''s eat something."


    "Eat what? Not like you have anything to eat," Lucifer replied.


    "Who says I don''t?" Zale smiled.


    He walked to the other end of the cave, where a massive stone was lying. It was even bigger than Zale.


    Zale wrapped his arms around the massive rock and picked it up as if it was made of foam.


    He ced the rock on the side, revealing a hole on the ground which was previously hidden by the rock.


    Lucifer stood up and walked to Zale, looking down.


    "This..."


    The hole was much deeper than he had thought. Moreover, it was filled with the bodies of the beasts.


    "Can''t stay hungry when training. Don''t worry; I have enough stockpiles for a year. Don''t ask how long it took me to dig that hole.." Zale scratched the back of his head.

 Chapter 656 - 656: The Student Becomes The Teacher?

    <h4>Chapter 656 - 656: The Student Bes The Teacher?</h4>


    "That rock there also hides something like this?" Lucifer asked.


    "That''s for the wood. You can''t cook without fire, can you?" Zale shed a smile. "You can see when I bring the wood out next."


    "It''s alright. Let me help you," Lucifer said as he walked to the other rock.


    He picked it up just as easily as Zale did and ced it aside. Seeing the ease with which Lucifer picked up the stone, Zale was left surprised.


    He had be a Warlock only recently, and he wasn''t aware of much in the Variantmunity. It was still a new field for him. He was like a fresh graduate from college that was still doubtful andcked confidence in his new job.


    He didn''t know that it was only going to take him one year and a little bit of experience to be the Zale Azarel he was known in the future... The Zale Azarel who wasn''t scared to offend anyone. The Zale Azarel that never doubted himself.


    And not long after that, he was going to be well respected in the Warlock Community, only to shoot up to instant fame in 2028 after ending the Great War with the others.


    "You are strong as well. Is there anything you can''t do? I thought I was special because of my powers. But it looks like my powers weren''t that rare," Zale sighed as he picked up a beast''s body and walked back to the fire.


    He kept the body on the ground before walking back to cover the hole, which was like his food storage.


    "You are wrong in that case," Luciferzily said. "What makes you special isn''t your power. What makes you special is something else."


    He brought some of the wood back to Zale.


    "What makes me special then?" Zale asked.


    "What makes you special is that you are you. That''s all that matters for me," Lucifer replied, sitting before the fire.


    Zale didn''t know how to reply. He didn''t understand the vague things that Lucifer talked about. Sometimes, he even wondered if Lucifer was just trolling him with these vague things?


    He simply shook his head and started cooking the meat.


    "So, how long do you n to stay here?" Lucifer asked.


    "I was thinking that I might stay here for a year to make myself stronger and temper my mindset," Zale answered.


    "I think that''s a waste of time. You don''t need to stay in the frozen Land to temper yourself. You only recently awakened, right?"


    "Yeah."


    "Then the best thing you can do is to use your power in realistic situations, not in the barrennd. I think this wasn''t discovered at this point since Variants just started appearing, but you''ll understand soon."


    "Train in realistic situations?"


    "Exactly. How else do you think I became so strong? I never trained in this ce or in any desert. I just used my powers, and here I am," Lucifer replied.


    "Do you want toe with me and train using my method?" Lucifer asked. "Since we have simr powers, I''m sure I can teach you some things."


    It felt odd for him to say that he could teach his father, who was the original inheritor of these skills, but he didn''t have any other choice.


    He needed to find Arthur to get back. And he needed to leave for that. But he couldn''t leave Zale behind. After a really long time, he met his father. Even though the man was much younger and didn''t realize that he even had an adopted son in the future, it didn''t matter.


    Lucifer still didn''t want to leave him behind. Moreover, at this point in time, Lucifer was truly more experienced than Zale.


    He literally had his powers for close to eight years, and he even evolved his own powers. On the other hand, Zale had just received his powers.


    Lucifer was actually qualified to teach his father, especially in this time where most of the world was still trying to understand what a Variant was and how their powers worked. His experience was no less than a cheat here.


    "I-i don''t know."


    "Come. Let me show you something. Maybe you''ll want to train with me after seeing it," Lucifer smiled.


    He stood up.


    "Ah, alright."?Zale followed Lucifer outside the cave.


    "What now?" he asked.


    Lucifer didn''t answer. He simply raised both his hands. Dark Clouds started appearing in the sky and started roaring.


    "You called lightning weak, right? Let me show you the power of lightning! The power of yours!"


    Boom~


    Hundreds of ck lightning bolts fell all around thend, creating a fascinating show of force.


    "This..." Even Zale was stunned to see what was happening.


    "That is so strong? You mean I can do it as well if I train like you?"


    "You can do it and much more," Lucifer answered. And he wasn''t lying when he said it.


    "I-i want to learn that as well. I am willing to take you as my Master! Please teach me!" Zale said, bowing in respect.


    "Nonsense!" Lucifer stated as he stopped Zale from bowing. "Don''t ever lower your head before me! Nope! Don''t ever lower your head before anyone in this world! You are Zale Azarel!"


    "And don''t call me master. I''m more worthy! In fact, just call me Lucifer! That''s it!" Lucifer eximed. He didn''t want to feel awkward by having his father call him master and such.


    "You mean you don''t want to be my master? What about a friend then?" Zale asked.


    "Friend?" Lucifer asked.


    "Yeah. Is that not fine either?" Zale asked.


    "I-it is better than being called master. Just call me Lucifer," Lucifer replied. "So, will youe with me to train?"


    "I would love to! If I can get stronger like that, I won''t mind!" Zale said.


    "Good. Then eat first. After that, we will leave."


    "Wait. I forgot something," Zale let out. "How can we leave? It''s a long way back. And I only arranged for a ride back after a year. So it won''t be here anytime soon."


    "Leave that on me," Lucifer smiled, cing his hand on the shoulder of Zale.


    "Hmm?" Finally, he felt something. His decay had finally started working again. He swiftly took off his hands before an irreparable damage to the Clothes of Zale was caused.


    ''There goes my free reign as an ordinary human. How will I eat now? Without any globes... And I don''t think the Gloves even existed at this point in time. This is troublesome..'' He thought as he stepped inside the cave with Zale.

 Chapter 657 - 657: Attempt

    <h4>Chapter 657 - 657: Attempt</h4>


    "So, where will we be going?" Zale asked Lucifer, sitting before the fire.


    "Have you ever heard about the continent of Triton?" Lucifer inquired.


    Zale simply shook his head. "First time I''m hearing about it. I think it''s the right time to tell you that my geography was really weak."


    "Triton is a continent which is not much farther from your continent. There is a small nation in Triton which is known as Zeston. That''s where we''ll be going to train. I''m sure it''ll be fun," Lucifer replied, smiling.


    "Sounds like a fun ce," Zale said as he started eating.


    He observed Lucifer and noticed that he wasn''t eating.


    "Why aren''t you eating?"


    Lucifer just looked at the food and his hand. He didn''t understand how to even pick up the food now that his decay was back.


    "Is there a problem?" Zale asked.


    Lucifer simply scratched the back of his head, sighing. He needed to find something that could resist his decay to eat, but nothing was there.


    "Maybe I can do it," he said,ing up with an idea.


    He raised his finger, making a small lightning bolt appear in his hand. He used the small bolt to slice the meat before using his winds to pick it up.


    He was using the wind as his hand to eat, without having to touch the meat at all.


    "Is that also one of your powers?" Zale asked.


    "You can say that. I can''t touch most things without destroying them. You can call it a curse," Lucifer replied, keeping his focus on eating.


    After the two of them finished eating, Zale asked if they needed to leave now. However, Lucifer was still feeling hungry. It was an entirely new body, and he needed plenty to eat.


    He asked if he could eat more.


    Zale simply nodded, letting Lucifer do as he pleased.


    It was only after finishing the second feast that Lucifer stood up, stretching his arms. "I think I am ready. Let''s leave."


    Zale followed Lucifer outside the cave.


    "There''s apass in my pocket. I want you to keep it and tell me directions."


    "I already have apass."


    "No, you don''t. The one in my pocket is yours," Lucifer repliedzily.


    Zale raised his hand, thinking that Lucifer was going to give him thepass. Lucifer simply stared nkly instead.


    "Just get it out of my pocket. I''m not touching it now. It''ll just be damaged if I do," Lucifer said after the two stared at each other, wondering why none was acting.


    "Oh, right!" Zale brought thepass out from Lucifer''s pockets. "What next?"


    "Next, we just leave," Lucifer said. His body started rising in the air as the winds intensified around him.


    The same winds also carried Zale with them. Lucifer cast a barrier around each of them to keep them safe from the snow.


    "I-i am flying?" Zale let out, looking down at the ground. He was slightly scared as well. He wondered what it would be like if he fell. "Y-you sure it''s safe?"


    Lucifer didn''t know how to react. It was really fascinating to know that this guy was the same man who didn''t think twice before jumping down fifty-story buildings. And now he was worried about such small heights.


    ...


    "This was the ce where I found him," Yasmine said, stopping before the ce where she found Lucifer.


    There was blood everywhere. Many wondered if it was the blood of Lucifer, but it seemed unlikely.


    Milena also noticed some torn clothes in the distance.


    "These clothes... They belong to the Warlock that Lucifer had killed. A Warlock Council member who was able to stop time. But he was killed by Lucifer before he met us upstairs. Why would he return here again?"


    Szar didn''tment anything, but he had some clues after hearing the words of Milena.


    He understood why Lucifer might havee here. His theory was confirmed by the fact that there was only blood and no body of the Warlock Council member.


    ''It looks like he came here to steal the strength of this guy. Did something go wrong during the process?'' Szar thought, observing his surroundings.


    That certainly made sense. The only reason Lucifer coulde back to this floor.


    Still, he decided to check the surroundings to find any other clues. There were certainly no cameras in this ce, which was the most annoying part.


    ''He has absorbed too many abilities. Is this why he became sick suddenly?'' he thought.


    "Do you understand what happened here?" Milena asked Szar.


    Despite having a clue and a possible theory, Szar shook his head.


    "I have a n. If you trust us, we can use it to get some answers," Milena said.


    "What n?"


    "A n where we simply asked Lucifer what happened. He might be able to answer us. That would be better than guessing."


    "And how can we do it? Are you forgetting that he isn''t waking up?"


    "I meant using my ability. If I get inside his head, I can talk to his consciousness. This is an ability that is mostly useless. He doesn''t do anything other than let me talk to the consciousness of sleeping or unconscious people for a short time. I can try?"


    "How can I trust that you won''t take control of his head?" Szar asked.


    "You can either trust me or let him stay in that condition without us knowing what happened to him. It''s your choice. Moreover, do you think I can even control his head?"


    "He is the person who evaded the control of the person who was controlling my head. There''s no way I could do it even if I had that ability."


    ...


    In the current timeline, everyone was trying toe to a decision on what to do with Lucifer to help him. Meanwhile, Lucifer was still in the past, traveling with his soon-to-be father.


    Throughout the journey, he kept talking to his father, trying to get to know him. He wanted to know everything about his father that he didn''t know because of spending so little time with him in the future.


    "You asked so many things about me. Let me ask something about you now," Zale said after hours of questioning.


    "Go ahead. What do you want to know?" Lucifer asked.


    "Where are you from?"


    "I''m from Elisium as well. From Legion City, to be specific."


    "Huh? I''m from there. It''s surprising I didn''t hear about you ever?"


    "The world isn''t that small, after all. So don''t think too much about it."


    "You are so strong.. Your parents must be really proud of you, right?" Zale asked.

 Chapter 658 - 658: Goals

    <h4>Chapter 658 - 658: Goals</h4>


    "One day, I also want to make my parents proud," Zale said, sighing.


    "Parents, proud?" Lucifer let out, not knowing how to respond.


    "I am not sure if they''ll be proud. In fact, they might even be disgusted at me for what I''ve be," he smiled while responding.


    "But I don''t care. In my eyes, they were idiots. The idiots who couldn''t make so much more of their lives if they were just a little bit more selfish."


    "I don''t care if they''ll be proud or not. What matters is that I believe in the path I''m walking, and I am proud of it."


    Lucifer said, letting out his true thoughts.


    "The way you talk about your parents, it seems you don''t like them much. Is there any particr reason?" Zale asked, looking confused at Lucifer.


    Lucifer nced at the dark sky momentarily. "That''s not true. I did love them the most, and I still do. Without them, I won''t even be here. I would still be lying in the corner of a cave, crying. To me, they are no less than gods."


    "Your thoughts lookplicated. On one end, you seem to adore them, and on the other end, you seem to me them. I wonder what your parents actually did for you to feel like this..."


    "I don''t think I can exin. It''s tooplicated to express in words, and I don''t feel like putting in the effort at the moment," Lucifer responded, sighing.


    "I hope you can tell me one day, so I know what not to do," Zale said.


    "What do you mean?" Lucifer asked, wondering if Zale had found out the truth.


    Zale took a deep breath before he answered. "You know, I also want to have kids one day. Watch the little ones grow up to be fine young people like you and me one day."


    "I want to teach them everything I''m going to learn throughout my life. y with them, have fun with them... Give them the best life I could."


    "However, I don''t want them to detest me. So I wanted to know what your parents did so I could avoid them. Because I don''t ever want to hurt my kid, even unintentionally."


    "So I really hope you can tell me what they did. I will remember that and make sure to never do it again."


    Lucifer simply looked at his father, talking about his future kid. He couldn''t help but feel a little pain in his heart.


    Was it what his father was thinking when taking care of him in his young days? To never disappoint his son? To make sure his son had the best life he could? To make sure he grew up to be a nice man?


    "What happened? Why are you looking at me like that?" Zale asked, seeing Lucifer stare nkly at him.


    "Nothing." Lucifer turned his gaze elsewhere and continued flying.


    "So, are you going to tell me what I shouldn''t do?" Zale asked again.


    "I think you should manage your personality. Don''t be so trusting. Even your closest can betray you for no reason at all," Lucifer simply replied, issuing a vague warning.


    He still hasn''t decided if he should do something to change the future. Fortunately, he believed he had plenty of time to decide. He needed to look at the bigger picture of messing with the future, from all sides.


    Helping his parents was good, but not if it made the current him disappear. And even then, it wasn''t guaranteed that Zale could survive in the future.


    Who knew? He might not even trust him. Who could trust what was going to happen in the future, after all.


    ....


    Szar went back to the top floor and told everyone what they found downstairs. He told the Uprising members about the proposition of Milena and how he felt that they were wrong about the Nobles, and there was a good chance they weren''t involved in it.


    In the end, it was decided that they were going to trust Milena once and give her a chance to see if she could find what was wrong with Lucifer.


    Still, they remained wary of the Nobles to be able to counter in case they tried to pull anything.


    Szar and Cassius allowed Milena to stand before Lucifer.


    She simply ced her finger on the forehead of Lucifer and closed her eyes.


    His entire body started shining in a golden light as she used one of her powers that she used to consider most useless to send her consciousness inside Lucifer''s head.


    Within a second, she closed her eyes.


    "I don''t think it''s going to work. I can''t enter his head. There is a barrier there to stop anything from getting in. I think this might be a protection against mental attacks."


    "Something like an immune response of his body after suffering a mental attack back in the Divine Empire. But it also stops other things like my consciousness. I don''t think I can get in."


    Milena stepped back. "His ability is bing the biggest obstacle in us helping him."


    "Is there no way we could help him?" Arthur asked, frowning.


    "I think we should let him be instead of interfering. Maybe his healing will start working soon," Jiani let out.


    "Nonsense. We need to help him in any way possible!" Alicia eximed.


    "But how. We don''t even know what''s wrong with him! None of us can help him." Jiani responded. "Anyone have a better idea?"


    "I think we should try normal methods instead. Let''s take him to the medical room and see if human doctors can find what''s wrong and treat him," Szar suggested.


    Seeing no other option, it was decided that they were going to do it. They were going to use the best doctor this city had to find what was wrong with Lucifer.


    Unfortunately, they were soon going to find out how wrong it was. They couldn''t even take the blood sample of Lucifer without his powers getting restless.


    Many people in the city got hurt again because of it.


    Fortunately, with Yasmine''s energy negation, they could at least take a sample without anyone inside the building getting hurt.


    ...


    After a long flight, Lucifer and Zale finally left the frozennd. However, they continued flying until they reached the nearest ind where they rested. Unlike Lucifer, Zale couldn''t stay up for so long, and he needed more rest.


    They finished their dinner on the ind before checking the directions again.. The next day, they continued their flight again, continuing to advance towards the continent of Zeston, where something very big was going to take ce.

 Chapter 659: Core Theory

    <h4>Chapter 659: Core Theory</h4>


    A day passed... The results of tests were already out, and everything seemed fine. No traces of poison could be seen in the blood Sample of Lucifer, and without it, no one knew how they could heal Lucifer.


    Szar and Cassius kept looking at Lucifer, wondering if there was something they could do.


    No one had any idea on how to help Lucifer, whoid unmoving before them.


    Eve and Alicia were sitting before Lucifer, each holding one of his hands.


    "What happened to you... How could you go to sleep without answering me? Please wake up." Eve said, touching Lucifer''s cheeks. "You know sleeping for so long isn''t good for your health."


    "So no one has any idea what we can do to help him?" Milena asked, looking at everyone in the hall.


    "To know how to heal him, we need to know what happened to him. What was he doing on the twelfth floor when it happened? Without knowing the cause, how can we help him?" Arthur asked.


    Milena let out, sighing. "It isn''t anything physical since all tests look normal. Moreover, it can''t be a mental attack since he has a really powerful mental protection. What could it be then?"


    "Without any answer, we can''t do anything but leave him alone and hope for the best."


    Hearing their words, Szar felt they were right. If he needed their help and their Ideas, he needed to tell them what he knew.


    He took a deep breath before raising his hand. "I think I know what might be wrong with him. At least a fraction of it."


    His words attracted the attention of everyone to him.


    "Do you need an invitation from us to tell?" Milena asked sarcastically.


    "I don''t think he''s waking up anytime soon. I think it''s because of the powers of Julien that he absorbed. He''s gotten sick after that, if I''m not wrong. I think the power is conflicting with his other powers."


    "I don''t understand what you''re saying," Jiani let out, seemingly confused.


    "Just like your queen can take the powers of others, Lucifer can also take the powers of people he devours," Szar said, sighing. "I think he tried that on Julien, who he killed on the twelfth floor. And that''s when he lost his consciousness."


    "Even though it''s only an assumption, I have a feeling that it is precisely what happened," he further added.


    "You mean he stole the powers of Julien? And now that power is shing with his other powers?" Arthur asked, getting the gist of it. "That can certainly exin why he''s sick, but still, some things don''t make sense."


    "The conflict between his powers... The first time I''m hearing such a thing..." Jiani said, ncing at Lucifer. "How can we help him in that case? It''s not like we can remove the conflicting power from his body?"


    "I think we can..." After a brief pause, Cassius chimed in.


    "How?" Szar asked. "Do you have a way?"


    "I know someone who does..." Cassius eximed, sighing.


    "Who?" Milena asked. "What are you waiting for? Call that person here! Help Lucifer."


    "But that''s the thing... That person... He isn''t entirely a friend of Lucifer. I''m not sure what might happen if I call him here." Cassius sighed.


    "It doesn''t matter. Even if he is an enemy, we''ll take care of him! Just call him here! And if he can''te, we can go personally there with Lucifer," Szar let out.


    "Who are you talking about?" Eve asked. Even she didn''t know a person that could do such a thing¡ªtaking away the power of a person?


    "Can someone take his powers from him without hurting the person?" Arthur asked. "Her Majesty can take the powers by turning the person, but the person still keeps his powers. Lucifer can take the powers by devouring the person."


    "Other than these two, I only saw a person who could temporarily take the powers of a person in thest war. Other than that, I haven''t seen it before."


    " I mean, there are certainly people who can disable the powers of a Warlock like Varant used to do, but that just sealed the power. It didn''t take that power from the Warlock entirely. If it''s something like that, I don''t think that will help Lucifer," Das also chimed in.


    "His body is rejecting the presence of this new power, not the use of it. I don''t think we can help him without reversing the time. Unless you know a person who can reverse time?" he further continued.


    "Wait! Reversal of time? I think we can also try that!" Tristan eximed suddenly. "Did you forget Zhu, who had reversed time to bring the dead to life?"


    "Yeah, but he used a Summoning Beast. What are you implying?" Das asked. "We don''t have that beast or a Summoner capable of calling that beast."


    "I''m saying, if we can somehow find that beast, we should be able to help him!" Tristan said. "We just need to find a Summoner!"


    "Or we can go to the World of Summons to meet the beast to take his help?" Szar said, frowning.


    "I need everyone to calm down first!" Cassius eximed, making everyone shut up.


    "The theory you are trying... I think that can work, but it''s almost impossible in practice. Finding a Summoner isn''t hard, but finding a Summoner who can summon that exact beast is impossible!"


    " A Summoner doesn''t choose his contracted beast, no matter how strong they might be. It''s random!"


    "So you''ll need immense luck for that n to seed. And going to World of Summons? It''s literally impossible!"


    Cassius firmly stated, telling everyone to bring down their expectations. He didn''t know that Lucifer and Szar had already been to that world.


    Szar opened his lips to talk about it, but before he could speak, Cassius continued. "I have another way, which is a little less impossible."


    "What way?" Szar asked.


    "Have you heard of the Core theory of Variants?" Cassius asked.


    Almost everyone shook their heads except Eve. She was literally the person who came up with that theory. Somehow it reached the ind of Cassius as well. Still, it was something that a lot of Variants didn''t know about.


    "Should I ask what that is? Or you''ll tell on your own?" Milena asked, rolling her eyes.


    "It means that each ability you usees from a core inside your body." Eve stood up.


    "For example, if a person has two abilities, he is certainly going to have two energy cores in his body, one for each of his abilities. If you have ten abilities, you''re supposed to have ten cores and so on."

 Chapter 660: Odd Proposal

    <h4>Chapter 660: Odd Proposal</h4>


    "The ability cores are inside your body, but they can''t be touched physically. They are more into an illusory form."


    "If my energy core is inside my finger, it doesn''t matter if you slice my finger since my energy core will just move to a different part of my body."


    "It was a theory made for understanding the abilities to a deeper extent."


    "So the ability of Varant...?" Das asked.


    "It just momentarily trapped the energy core in a special type of barrier. That''s why he needed to touch the person, getting a Direct control to influence their cores. The core theory is absolute," Eve said.


    "Exactly. That''s the same theory I was taught in the academy with Lucifer. And I believe this theory contains our answers," Cassius said.


    "How? Didn''t you say the cores are illusory? We can''t take them out. We can''t even touch them. So how does it help us?" Jiani asked.


    "Just leave it to me. I think you''ll get an answer soon. Still, it should be ready for battle in case things go wrong. In any case, I believe we can bring Lucifer back with this," Cassius said as he turned around and called someone.


    Eve walked back to Lucifer, holding his hand again. She believed she understood what Cassius was trying to do. She also knew who he was going to call. And it gave her faith that Lucifer was going to be back soon.


    ....


    Unaware that his teammates were nning on making his trip to the past short, Lucifer was still flying with Zale.


    He was trying to find a way back on his own as well. If he had known what was happening with his real body, it was unclear if he was going to be happy or upset.


    He wanted to do many things in this world. He wanted to leave of his own volition and not on someone else''s wish. However, he had no clue.


    He and Zale kept flying for hours straight before Lucifer once again became hungry. Instead of finding an ind, he decided to pull the same old trick as he saw a cruise ship in the distance.


    "Come, let''s eat something." He smiled as hended on the cruise ship. Unlikest time, he didn''t try to stay hidden though.


    He believed he was pretty strong to handle any unforeseen circumstances. He didn''t need to hide.


    There were many people on the deck of the ship who saw Lucifering through the air from a distance. And watching himnd made some people wonder if they were hallucinating.


    These were the starting days of the Variants, and not many people knew about them. In fact, most of the world didn''t know about the existence of superhumans that could achieve such a feat which stunned them.


    There were certainly a few humans on the cruise who understood what Variants were. They also knew the significance of such people.


    One such man was the richest man on this cruise who was here with his daughter and his wife.


    The man was in his mid-forties while his daughter was only in her early twenties.


    Seeing Lucifer and Zale, he believed he had found a nice groom for his daughter. If he could establish a rtionship with one of these two handsome young men, he could certainly gain a big advantage and a powerful supporter.


    He picked up two sses of wine, one in each hand, and approached the two guests.


    "Wee, young men. I am Joan King. I own the-"


    The man was still speaking, but Lucifer simply ignored him and walked straight to the stairs. Zale followed him, leaving the middle-aged man behind.


    "Hmm?" The man just looked nkly, wondering if he was invisible.


    His daughter approached him. "Tsk, what arrogant people."


    "Shhh, don''t talk like that! Of course, they''ll be arrogant. They are special, after all. If I were in their ce, I wouldn''t talk to random people either. Don''t take it personally," the man said, patting the head of his daughter.


    "We just need to try a little more. After we win them to our side, you can''t even imagine the benefits we can have."


    "Moreover, they are certainly handsome men, right? If you make one of them your husband, your friends will certainly be jealous, won''t they?"


    The girl just rolled her eyes. "Whatever."


    She walked back to her table. She understood what her father was trying to do. Even though she wasn''t eager to marry, she didn''t mind her father''s attempts since she did find the men attractive. Still, she didn''t show her father what she truly felt, letting him do as he pleased.


    The man went downstairs, following the men, wondering what they were looking for. He was sure that they were tired and probably looking for rooms. He had already decided to offer them his luxurious rooms to rest.


    Unfortunately, the moment he reached downstairs, his jaws dropped. The two men weren''t looking for a bed. Instead, one of them was sitting at a dining table. It was Zale.


    The other person was standing in the back, talking to the staff of the ship. He couldn''t see the face of Lucifer since his back was facing him. He couldn''t even see the staff''s face because it was being hidden because of Lucifer.


    If he was able to see the face of the man, he might have noticed the frightened face of the staff member because a lightning bolt was resting on his neck. Just a little closer, and he was going to be dead.


    "You understand, right? If you don''t want each and every person on this ship to die, get us something to eat. And we''ll leave."


    "I-i understand," The man said, wiping the sweat off his forehead.


    "Good boy," Lucifer let out, smiling. His lightning disappeared. He turned around, shing his calm smile as he walked back to the table of Zale.


    "What did they say?" Zale asked Lucifer.


    "I talked to them nicely, and they understood our plight, deciding to help us," Lucifer replied. "Nice people."


    "Excuse me, Gentleman. May I sit with you here?" Joan asked, approaching Lucifer and Zale.


    "Nope," Luciferzily replied.


    "Ah." The man''s face twitched unwillingly.


    "Do you have something important to talk about? I think you wanted to talk to us upstairs as well," Zale let out.


    "Right! I wanted to talk to you about something important. I''ll just take your five minutes," Joan said.


    "I think we should hear him," Zale told Lucifer.


    "Fine. You can sit." Lucifer didn''t say no to Zale.


    "Awesome!" The man sat on the third chair.


    "So, what did you want to talk about?" Lucifer asked.


    "Have you ever thought about marriage?" Joan asked straight away. As he talked, his nce was at Zale since Zale seemed more amodating.


    It made Lucifer look at him weirdly. He couldn''t believe it. Was the guy actually talking about his father''s marriage right before his eyes?

 Chapter 661: Son in law

    <h4>Chapter 661: Son inw</h4>


    "What do you mean?" Zale asked, confused.


    "Oh, sorry. First, I should ask if you two are married or single?" Joan corrected his question as he remembered he didn''t even know if the two of them had any wives already or not.


    "I am not married yet," Zale answered before ncing at Lucifer. "Are you?"


    Lucifer also shook his head.


    "That''s good. So the thing is that I have a young daughter who is of marriage age. She is really beautiful and a kind-hearted soul. Someone that many people crush over. But I always wanted to find a worthy husband for my daughter."


    "I was wondering if any of you would be interested in getting to know my daughter? If things work out, then all is well. If they don''t, it''ll still be fine. I just want her to find the right match."


    While talking, the man tried to hide his real motives while acting as a concerned father of her daughter who just wanted her happiness.


    "Ah..."


    Zale simply looked at the man. He had thought the man had an important reason to talk to them, but he just wanted to set one of them up with his daughter?


    "I think you should leave. None of us are interested in marriage at the moment," Lucifer chimed in, taking the lead.


    Joan had already expected Lucifer to say no. He had a feeling that Lucifer was a spoilsport, but he still had hopes on Zale, who was much calmer.


    "Yeah. I don''t think we are ready for marriage. We still have a lot of things to achieve," Zale agreed with Lucifer.


    "I''m not talking about marriage. But you can at least talk to her and get to know her. I''m sure you''ll fall in love instantly," Joan insisted. "Please just once! Just talk to her!"


    "Old man, I told you that we aren''t free. This is thest time I''ll say it. If you don''t stop talking about it, you literally won''t be able to talk the next minute. You know why?" Lucifer asked, ncing at Joan.


    "Why?" Joan asked.


    "Because your tongue will be in my hand, and your body would be lying near that wall in the distance. So if you want to be able to speak in the future, you should leave this instant."


    As Lucifer talked, he didn''t forget to give a little hint of his power by making the chair of Joan fly in the air.


    The chair kept going farther and farther from the table of Lucifer.


    "W-what?" Joan grew scared even though his chair was only flying a few inches above the ground.


    He hastily got off the chair and ran away. He didn''t dare to speak of this matter again, at least not until Lucifer was with Zale.


    "What an idiot." Lucifer rolled his eyes, watching Joan leave.


    "I think we should''ve handled him with care. Do you think we went overboard?" Zale asked Lucifer.


    "Overboard? Not at all. You haven''t seen my overboard at all. This was pretty tame," Lucifer replied, smiling. "Sometimes, you need to go to such lengths to get rid of idiots like them. Or you''ll just waste your time."


    ...


    Joan hastily ran upstairs, heavily breathing. His face was covered in sweat, and his face was slightly pale after running so fast.


    He walked to a chair near his family and sat down, wiping his sweat.


    His pale face attracted the attention of his daughter. "What happened? Why does it look like you ran a marathon?''


    Joan told her and his wife everything that had transpired and how Lucifer behaved with him.


    "I think that Silver-haired dude is more fierce. He is scary, arrogant, and gives me a bad vibe. The dark-haired guy is very nice. I think he would be a good husband for you. Now I just need to find him alone to talk to him," he said, sighing.


    "No, wait. Instead of me talking to them, I think you should do it yourself. Try to attract the dark-haired Variant."


    "Even after them insulting you like this, you still don''t want to leave them alone? Who cares about those idiots. Let them be."


    "My dear daughter, you don''t understand. They are Variants and probably strong ones amongst them! Of course, they''ll be arrogant. But as you know, all men fall before beauty."


    "They might not understand my words when I tell them how beautiful my daughter is, but when you try to seduce them, there is no way they could resist," Joan said, patting the head of his daughter.


    "Please, make my dreame true. I don''t ask anything else from you as long as you can make the dark-haired Variant marry you. Just do this one thing. Please, daughter? Think of the future!"


    "Sigh, you..." Joan''s daughter didn''t know how to respond. It seemed like his father had gone crazy about her marriage.


    "Sigh, fine. I''ll try. But I won''t go out of my way. If it works, it works. If it doesn''t, I won''t try again. Moreover, if I don''t like him after talking to him, I''ll leave."


    "Agreed!"


    ...


    The waiter had left to get the best of dishes for the Variant guests that had suddenly arrived there, but on being asked, he didn''t forget to tell his higher ups about the threats that he had received.


    As he repeated the threat of Lucifer to his fellow members, the threat soon spread far and wide, ultimately reaching the Captain of this ship.


    It also reached the deck. Slowly, the threat was everywhere. Everyone knew that the ship was hijacked by Variants, who were going to destroy it if their threats weren''t met.


    Amongst the people, Joan and his family were there as well.


    "See? That''s the power of the Variants! With just one sentence, they shook the entire Cruise and took everything in their control. I can''t even imagine how beneficial they would be for my business," Joan let out,ughing.


    Instead of being scared, he was proud of his future son-inw.


    That wasn''t the worst part though. The worst part was that the threat also reached another Variant who was travelling on the ship as an ordinary passenger.


    It was a dark-haired man who was basking in the sunlight on the deck. He had noticed two Variantsnding on the deck, but he hadn''t reacted much.


    He didn''t care about the appearance of Variants since he was also one, but it was a different matter now that he heard how arrogant those Variants were being.


    The man wasn''t any ordinary person either. He was the most important piece of the future that was going to define what the world was going to be in the future.

 Chapter 662: Counter Challenge

    <h4>Chapter 662: Counter Challenge</h4>


    "Sigh, these newly awakened people. Just because they gained some powers, they think they are the kings of the world," the dark-haired man said as he took off his sunsses.


    He got off his chair and wore a jacket before walking downstairs to have a talk with the two Variants.


    His long dark hair was tied into a ponytail that came down to his waist. His deep ck eyes were slightly intimidating as they seemed to be filled with dominance and arrogance.


    "Father, you want me to talk with the people that threaten to kill everyone here?" Joan''s daughter asked, hearing the rumor.


    "Don''t worry, I told you about the silver-haired guy, right? The threat must be given by him. The dark hair one is more cordial. I want you to go for him instead," Joan said. "Just wait for them toe upstairs and then go talk to him."


    Letting out a deep sigh, his daughter nodded. She wondered what kind of person Zale was going to be. So far, she was going just by his looks. She did find him attractive and hot. Other than that, she didn''t know anything.


    She started waiting for Zale toe upstairs.


    ...


    The Dark Haired Variant reached downstairs. He picked up a nearby chair and walked to Lucifer and Zale.


    He ced the chair right there and sat down, sharing the table.


    "So you two are the Variants?" he askedzily.


    Lucifer just observed the face of the man who had taken a seat.


    "You know, I''ve already been disturbed once. I''m really not in the mood. Moreover, I am really hungry. And I can be really cranky when I''m hungry. So leave and don''t annoy us."


    "As expected, you really are a bunch of arrogant kids," the dark-haired man said. "Anywhere, I am Jastor Flien. You?"


    "Zale Azarel," Zale was the first one to introduce himself before Lucifer. "And he is Lucifer. May I know what you need from us?"


    "Nothing much. I just heard a rumor going around that you people threatened to destroy this ship and kill everyone?" the dark-haired man said.


    "I just wanted to say that a Variant should always know his limits and never cross them. Because once you try to cross the limit, you might end up worse than you started before," Jastor said calmly.


    "Also, I wanted to tell you that this ship is under my protection. If you tried to do something here or hurt even a single person, you''ll both end up dead," he further added. "Have a good day, gentlemen."


    After he finished, he stood up and started leaving.


    "Oh wait, I forgot something." Along the way, he stopped. "One should always clean up behind them."


    He snapped his finger, making the chair he was sitting on appear back at its original ce. It was as if he had teleported the chair.


    "Third Teleporter in a week, just my luck," Lucifer muttered, frowning.


    After Arthur and the Warlock Council member who was able to teleport from ce to ce, it was his third time meeting a person with simr powers. It was also slightly annoying for him since such people were the most difficult to deal with.


    He couldn''t stop them just by using Energy Negation either. They were worse than cockroaches. They were so hard to kill.


    Jastor went upstairs after giving a glimpse of his strength, not even looking back.


    "What was that guy talking about? What threat?" Zale asked Lucifer.


    "Nothing. It looks like that guy went crazy. Or someone must have started a rumor about us. Maybe that old man I sent away before," Lucifer replied. "Forget it."


    "On other hand, just sit right here. I''ll go and clear up the misunderstanding with the guy. Save my seat. The waiter should be here with food soon."


    It was Lucifer''s turn to reply to the subtle threat he was given. He never took kindly to threats after all.


    He went upstairs, leaving Zale behind.


    "That should remind them that they aren''t alone in this world. Hopefully, they''ll learn to tame themselves after this." Jastor took off his jacket and sat on the chair to continue his sunbath.


    Lucifer stepped on the deck as well. Joan was constantly keeping an eye there to make sure he didn''t miss Zale when he came upstairs, but it was Lucifer who came first.


    "My dear daughter, I think it''s time for you to get into action. That rude guy is on the deck. That must mean the other one is downstairs alone! Go and spread your charm to make the man fall on his knees before you!" Joan told his daughter.


    His daughter just rolled her eyes. "Sigh, whatever."


    She stood up and went to the stairs. Along the way, she walked past Lucifer with just a few meters of distance between them.


    Lucifer reached Jastor and stood before him.


    "Taking a sunbath?" he asked Jestor. "I think this much should be enough. Don''t want your skin to burn."


    He snapped his finger just like Jastor had done downstairs.


    With a snap of his fingers, dark clouds appeared in the sky, covering the sun entirely.


    "You? You''re following me?" Jestor asked. "And you think these tricks will intimidate me?"


    "Who says I''m here to intimidate you?" Lucifer respondedzily. "You came to introduce yourself. I thought I should do the same."


    He casually waved his fingers. Winds started flying with a single gesture of his. The winds picked up a distance chair and carried it with them.


    The chair stopped right before Lucifer.


    "So, let''s start the introduction," Lucifer said, sitting on the chair.


    "My name is Lucifer Azarel. And the thing I hate the most is blind threats. You are the third guy who I''ve seen use teleportation. You know what happened to the other two guys that do the same?" he asked.


    "One works under me, and the other is dead for going against me. I hope you''re not looking to be thetter kind."


    "Oh, and about that threat of yours. What did you say?"


    "If I''m not wrong, you said that this ship is under my protection. If I tried to do something here or hurt even a single person, I''d end up dead. Very brave of you to threaten me. Let''s just see if what you said is something you can really follow."


    Lucifer raised his hands and gently pped.


    Boom~


    A pitch-ck lightning bolt fell from the sky, just a few meters away from the ship.


    "W-what was that?"


    Seeing the lightning fall so close, all on the deck were frightened like rabbits.


    "Next bolt will fall on this ship. Try stopping it," Lucifer said, smirking. "You have three minutes. Let''s see what your protection truly means."

 Chapter 663: Toying

    <h4>Chapter 663: Toying</h4>


    "Are you really trying to test me? Because just remember, you will really regret it," Jestor asked,zily ncing at Lucifer. "You know, I can kill you in a second?"


    "Go ahead," Luciferzily said. "Since you already threatened me, I do want to see how you can kill me."


    "If that''s what you want, then so be it."


    Jestor teleported away from Lucifer. He appeared in the middle of the ship since he didn''t want Lucifer to secretly attack him.


    Lucifer smiled in response. He didn''t move.


    "Passengers of the ship, stop running away! Nothing will happen to you!" Jestor yelled.


    He pointed towards Lucifer. "All of this is his doing! He wants to scare me by keeping you hostage. But you don''t need to worry. Before he will die right here and right now."


    His words made people stop. They all looked towards him, wondering what he was going to do.


    Jestor raised his hand. "You will regret the moment you decided to ckmail me."


    He shed a mocking smile before he raised his right hand. He slowly brought his two fingers together, snapping them.


    Snap~


    The sound of the snap was drowned in the roaring sounds of the clouds; however, what followed was something that Jestor hadn''t expected.


    His calm expressions disappeared as he noticed that Lucifer was still calmly sitting on the chair.


    "H-how?"


    He tried again, but still, nothing happened. Frowning, he looked in a different direction and snapped his finger again, testing on a distant object.


    This time his ability worked as the chair disappeared.


    "Why isn''t it working on him then?" he asked himself, trying again and again. Nothing happened though.


    "Let me guess. You wanted to use your teleportation to kill me? Probably by teleporting me to the bottom of the ocean or something?" Lucifer asked, smiling.


    "That''s the thing with you Teleporters. You are so difficult to kill, but you are also mostly harmless as long as the right person stands before you."


    He had already tested this theory in the past. The person who could Teleport was able to do it even under the Energy Negation field, as long as he used it on himself or the thing he was touching.


    On the other hand, if he tried to use this on other objects, the Energy Negation stopped it.


    "I told you about the two people with simr powers to you, right?" Lucifer asked. "There was a third person as well. But he used mostly borrowed power to it. It was fun to kill him as well."


    He even rested one leg above the other as if he was on a vacation, looking at his prey.


    "Come on, do something! Time is passing. You only have two minutes to show me on what basis you dared to threaten me. Either you show me that, or you die along with everyone else on this ship. The choice is yours."


    "Why isn''t it working on you? Just what are you?" Jestor asked, taking a step back.


    "Who am I?" Lucifer asked, smiling. "Didn''t I already give my introduction before? I am Lucifer... Also known by many other names such as Demon, Devil, and so on. You can call me by any name you prefer."


    "Still, you only have less than two minutes. After that, you won''t be capable."


    "All this talking is making me thirsty. I was already hungry as well. I already told you I get cranky when I''m hungry, didn''t I? You can''t me me anymore."


    "Oh, and one more thing. I can see you people moving in the back. If anyone tries to leave the deck before me, you''ll regret it as well."


    "Come on, Jestor. Only sixty seconds. Do something. I don''t want to have to destroy the ship just because of you. So please stop me."


    Each word of Lucifer fell in the ear of Jestor, punching his self confidence. It was as if he was really weak before the guy on the chair who kept mocking him.


    "Fine! If that''s the way, then so be it. I didn''t want to get blood on my own hands, but I won''t hesitate now!"


    Jestor disappeared. However, he didn''t appear again for the next ten seconds. Everyone wondered if he had run away in fear, leaving them in trouble.


    ''All he had to do was ask for forgiveness. But he really wants to go that far, don''t he?" Lucifermented, sighing.


    Jestor once again appeared behind Lucifer. This time, he was carrying a knife in his hand.


    Appearing like an assassin from the back, he thrust the knife in the back of the throat of Lucifer.


    "See? The consequences of being arrogant?" Jestor asked. "You chose a wrong ship to show your arrogance on."


    p~


    p! p! p!


    The sound of pping came from the back. "See? You are so predictable."


    "W-what?" Jestor was stunned to hear the voice of Lucifering from behind him.


    The figure he had stabbed dispersed like a shadow that never existed.


    "What the..." Jestor teleported, appearing in the distance in fear.


    "Time is up. You failed, my friend." A shadow appeared behind Jestor, whispering in his ears.


    Horrified, Jestor teleported once again. His heart was thumping like crazy.


    Meanwhile, the real Lucifer once again appeared on the chair.


    "And that''s why you should never threaten someone like me. I hope you got your lesson."


    Lucifer snapped his finger, making the clouds disperse, letting the sunlight fall on the deck again.


    "Don''t worry though. I was only having some fun with my friend here. You can rest easy. I''m not going to kill you all, at least not until any of you think threatening me is a good idea."


    Lucifer stood up, stretching his arms. "Enough fun for the day."


    He nced at Jestor in the distance, who was ring at Lucifer like a scared bunny.


    "You don''t need to be scared. I just wanted to show you how foolish you were being. I''m not going to kill anyone today. At least not until you do this foolishness again."


    He turned to leave.


    "Oh wait, I forgot something." He stopped right before the stairs. "One should always clean up after themselves."


    He casually waved his finger, using his winds to bring the chair he was sitting on to its original ce, acting just like Jestor did.


    He went downstairs.


    "This guy..." Joan was in awe of Lucifer after seeing him in action. "He is amazing! He is so strong! He is like a god! I don''t care what his personality is like, but I really want him as a son-inw. There is no way the dark-haired one could be as strong as him."

 Chapter 664: Confusing Lucifer

    <h4>Chapter 664: Confusing Lucifer</h4>


    Jestor ced his hand on his chest, sighing. He really thought Lucifer was going to destroy everything. Fortunately, nothing happened like that. He was actually safe, just like everyone else on the ship.


    "I thought they were like the frog on the bottom of a well, but it looks like I was the frog instead. I need to be more careful from now on."


    ...


    A few minutes ago...


    The daughter of Joan reached the dining hall right after Lucifer had left. She sat on the chair of Lucifer without even asking.


    "Hello."


    "Ah, that chair is taken actually."


    "It''s alright. I''ll stand after the person returns. Don''t worry."


    "Did you need something from me?" Zale asked.


    The woman bit her lower lip and seemed slightly shy as she looked at Zale, acting to attract Zale.


    "A-actually, I needed your help."


    "How can I help you?" Zale asked.


    "I-i wanted to ask you if you could help me a little. I''ve noticed that you are a Variant. You must be really strong in that case. Actually, there are some people who trouble me back in my city. I was wondering if you could help me."


    "I''m already, but I can''te to your city. I am on a mission with my friend."


    "Oh." The woman lowered her head, seemingly disappointed.


    She moved her chair closer to Zale''s chair. "Then can you teach me some things I can use to defend myself? I''m sure you know some great fighting skills."


    "I did learn a bit of fighting skills, but I think any ordinary teacher would be able to teach you better than me," Zale replied.


    "P-please? I am really poor and can''t afford a teacher."


    "Poor? How are you on this ship then?" Zale asked, frowning.


    "My family won the tickets in a lottery. That''s why we are here. And the clothes are something I have borrowed from my friends. I''m sure they don''t suit me, right? I must be looking really funny."


    Zale wanted to say, ''Not at all. You look really pretty.''


    But before he could even open his lips, another calm voice came. "Yeah, you do look funny. Now get out. This is my seat."


    "You..." The woman swiftly stood up. "I am sorry for taking your seat. Please sit."


    She moved closer to Zale so that he was between her and Lucifer.


    "Can we talk somewhere else in private?" She asked, sticking so close to her that her soft thighs were rubbing against Zale''s legs.


    Lucifer noticed it clearly. It made his blood boil even more. His father was being seduced by a vixen!


    "A-alright. I''ll talk to you alone. Let me hear your problem." Zale nodded as he stood up.


    "You can''t!" Lucifer reacted.


    "A man never runs away when someone is in need. I''ll see if I can help us without affecting our trip. If I can''t, I''ll be back. Don''t worry," Zale answered.


    "The deck would be a nice ce to talk. Pleasee with me." The woman said as she held the hands of Zale and started taking her to the stairs, hiding her smirk.


    ''You think you can stop me? Just watch how I make your friend my ve! You can''t stop me!'' she thought as if talking to Lucifer.


    Lucifer remained behind, watching his father leave with the Vixen.


    At the same time, the waiter also arrived with the food. He filled the table of Lucifer with food.


    "These people are really stepping on my nerves now."


    He wanted to chase after Zale, but he didn''t want to leave the food behind to get cold either.


    He turned into a shadow and disappeared.


    He appeared back on the deck, right beside Jestor. "Jestor?"


    "You?!" Jestor felt his soul shiver, hearing the voice of Lucifer again.


    "Don''t worry. I''m not here to kill you. You aren''t a concern to me. There is a more threatening issue that I am facing, and I need your help," Lucifer said, ncing at Zale and the woman in the distance.


    "You? And need my help?" Jestor asked, looking at Lucifer weirdly. "What could be troubling a monster like you? What do you want me to do?"


    "There is a table downstairs, filled with food. But I need to stay here to keep an eye on a vixen. But I don''t want my food to get cold either. I want you to Teleport the table with the food here."


    "This..." Jestor didn''t know if he shouldugh or cry. His powers were being used for this purpose?


    But he also noticed the nce of Lucifer on the woman with Zale.


    "Do you have a crush on that woman? You want to steal her from your friend?" he asked.


    "Not at all. Instead, I want her to leave Zale alone. Zale is supposed to marry a different woman. I can''t let this vixen spoil the future."


    "Ah, sure. I understand everything now. That clears everything." Jestor said sarcastically.


    "Come on. Are you bringing my food here or not?" Lucifer asked again. "I''m really hungry. And I might really destroy this ship in anger."


    "Fine. I''m bringing it!" Jestor rolled his eyes as he stood up. He disappeared and appeared back at the dining hall.


    He sent Lucifer''s table back to the deck before appearing there as well.


    "Good work." Lucifer smiled as he sat near the table and started eating.


    "You know, I don''t understand you one bit," Jestor said, sitting nearby.


    "What don''t you understand?" Lucifer asked in the middle of the meeting.


    "One minute you seemed like a devil who wanted to destroy everything. The next minute you were like a kid who said he was just ying around."


    "Then you were like a caring friend who worried about someone else, and now you''re like someone who cares for his food so much.''


    "What''s confusing about that? Can''t a man care for his food just as much as other things?" Lucifer asked. "Are you hungry as well? There''s quite a lot on the table. Join in. More will being soon."


    "Nah, I just ate. But still... You really are an interesting person. I guess I really misunderstood you. I really thought you were like an arrogant person who took this ship hostage. That''s why I went to warn you."


    "Who knew you did it all just to have something to eat fast."


    "You aren''t entirely wrong. I am certainly an arrogant person. I won''t deny it," Lucifer replied. "But I can''t stop being arrogant either. It''s really important for me."


    "And why can''t you stop being arrogant?" Jestor asked.


    "Because I need this arrogance for what I''m trying to do," Luciferzily replied. "It''s my shield."


    "I don''t understand. Do you mean you use this arrogance for some advantage? Shield against what?" Jestor asked.


    "It''s better you don''t understand," Luciferzily said as he continued eating while keeping his eyes on Zale.

 Chapter 665: Much less

    <h4>Chapter 665: Much less</h4>


    Lucifer was seeing thedy hold the hand of Zale while requesting something. As she talked, she stood really close to Zale.


    "The two seem really close. I wonder if the girl is proposing to the guy," Jestormented, noticing the closeness of Zale and thedy.


    "She''s not. She''s asking him to train her," Lucifer said. He could hear the conversation of Zale as he had sent a shadow near Zale to listen to the discussion.


    "She wants to learn from your friend?" Jestor asked. "Is he a teacher?"


    "She doesn''t actually want to learn from him, genius. I know people like them really well. She just wants to get close to him to make him fall in love with her because he is a Variant."


    "Not long before the girl approached him, a man approached us, talking about our marriage to his daughter. If I''m not wrong, this girl is the same daughter he talked about."


    "Since his scheme didn''t work, he sent his daughter here instead."


    "Are you sure about that?" Jestor asked. "This seems like a really scummy thing to do. Using his daughter for some advantage?"


    "That''s the man right there," Lucifer said, pointing towards Joan. "See where he is looking. You''ll understand if she''s her daughter or not."


    "He? Yeah, he is looking straight at the girl. I think you are right. Then again, why don''t you just frighten the girl? This should be easy for you? I don''t think she would dare to go against you."


    "I can''t. If I do that before him, he will start hating me and leave alone. I don''t want him to leave me alone again." Lucifer nced at Zale, sighing.


    "You really are aplicated guy. I really don''t understand you."


    "Good thing. You don''t need to understand me either. Just help me while I''m on the cruise, and I''ll leave. We both get what we want. Isn''t that right?" Lucifer asked.


    "What do you want me to do?" Jestor asked Lucifer.


    Lucifer was about to answer when he stopped as he noticed the woman hugging Zale tightly. "Hmm?"


    She used the excuse of being over-excited now that he had agreed to teach her for as long as he was on the cruise.


    "Sigh, who knew he was such a big simp in his younger days." Lucifer scratched the back of his head.


    "Alright, Jestor. I have decided. I want to talk to her Father. Teleport him to me. Since he put her up to it, he can stop her as well, without forcing me to be the viin here."


    "Alright." Jestor snapped his finger, making Joan disappear. Joan appeared in front of Lucifer along with his chair.


    "Huh? What? What happened?" Joan was overwhelmed after going through a sudden teleportation.


    "Don''t worry. I''ve just made you change positions. You''re still safe," Lucifer told Joan calmly. "At least until I decide to kill you."


    "It''s you!" Joan understood what had happened. "You two are working together."


    "Working together...?" Lucifer asked, ncing at Jestor. "I guess you can say I''m taking some of his help since I don''t want to cause a scene."


    "Have you finally decided to take my offer of meeting my daughter for marriage?" Joan asked.


    He still preferred Lucifer over Zale after seeing him in action. He wanted Lucifer to be his son-inw if possible.


    Hearing his words, Lucifer came to a sudden idea. A calm smile graced his lips. "That''s right. I think I might actually be interested in marriage. I want to meet your daughter. Send her here so I could talk to her and get to know her."


    "T-that''s incredible! I will tell her right away!" Joan excitedly stood up and walked away.


    "What are you doing? I thought you were going to threaten him?" Jestor asked.


    "I have something between them threatening him. There were too many variables in issuing threats. Her daughter seems to be a very scheming person. Who knows what she might have told him after hearing I threatened her father."


    "When I can take care of this situation much more easily, why be heavy handed."


    "Whatever. It''s fine as long as no one on the ship dies."


    "Who said no one will die?" Lucifer asked, smirking.


    He had finished eating already. He stood up, leaving half the food on the table. "Send the table back downstairs."


    Jestor sent the table and the food to its original position.


    "So, let''s start right now. I''ll show you some of the basic skills I learned as a human. Make sure to see carefully!"


    Zale started showing his fighting skill to the woman.


    "You understand?"


    "I did. Let me try as well!" The woman followed the actions of Zale, but she intentionally made mistakes in her posture.


    "You''re doing wrong. You need to keep your waist straight and your chest high. Without bnce, you won''t be able to do anything."


    "H-how? Can you correct my posture?" The woman asked like a person in need of help.


    Zale walked behind the woman and ced his hand on her shoulder to pull her shoulders slightly back, but as soon as the woman realized that Zale was behind her, she took a subtle step back so that her back was rubbing against Zale, sticking tightly to him.


    Zale stepped back as well to create more distance. "Don''t move your feet and your body. Just stand still and let me correct your shoulder position!"


    "Ah, sorry to intervene, but my dear daughter, can I talk to you alone?" Joan finally reached Zale and asked her daughter.


    "Father? What do you need? I am a bit busy," the woman replied while gesturing to her father to leave.


    "It''s something really important. Pleasee with me." Joan held the hand of her daughter and started leaving. "Sir Zale, I''m sorry for the disturbance we caused you. But my daughter is going to be busy today. Please excuse us."


    Zale remained behind, confused. He simply shrugged his shoulders before he started leaving as well.


    Lucifer turned into a shadow, disappearing from the deck.


    He appeared from another shadow right beside Zale. "There you are. The food is getting cold. Come fast."


    He left with Zale, going back to the dining hall.


    After Zale left with the shadow clone of Lucifer, the real Lucifer came out of the shadow, right beside Jestor.


    "Can I ask you a question?" Jestor asked abruptly.


    "What question?"


    "I''ve seen you use many abilities. I wanted to ask you just how many abilities do you exactly have?"


    "Much less than I would have had if I hadn''t ended up here," Lucifer muttered, remembering about all the stocks of powers he had his team gather on the twenty-fourth floor.

 Chapter 666: I hope you know swimming

    <h4>Chapter 666: I hope you know swimming</h4>


    He wanted to evolve another ability after absorbing them, but now all the ns were postponed since he was in an entirely different time at the moment.


    "How many do you have? Is it just teleportation?" he asked Jestor.


    "Yeah. So far, only this one ability. Still, it''s one of the more powerful ones where I''m from. I''m considered a really important Variant there."


    "I''m sure you would be. The ability of teleportation in this time would certainly be rare. When I heard about this ability the first time, I also thought that it was rare."


    "I wonder why this ability didn''t work on you. Do you have some kind of block or something?" Jestor asked.


    "You can think of the possibilities. Isn''t it more fun to guess?"


    ...


    "Father, what are you trying to do! I was so close to him!"


    "My dear daughter, leave him! We have an even better guy! He is so strong that he is no less than a god! Moreover, he looks much more handsome than that guy. I think you should go for him instead!"


    "You mean the guy you were calling arrogant and ill-mannered?" The woman asked, frowning. "Have you gone crazy?"


    "Well, I was wrong about him! He isn''t arrogant. Well, he kinda is, but that''s not the point! The point is that he is an incredible guy who can truly be called a King!"


    Joan kept exining to his daughter why he changed his mind.


    "He would be right for you! You just have to make him fall for you. I''m sure it''ll be interesting!"


    "Please? Listen to your father this once?"


    "But father, I met him as well. He didn''t even look at me properly. I don''t think he is the kind of person to fall easily for someone."


    "I''m sure he was just pretending to not fall for you. Maybe he didn''t want to look weak. But he personally came to me, offering this marriage. He truly wants you!"


    "You won''t even need to work hard to seduce him! He might be tough on the outside, but I''m sure he is like any ordinary guy on the inside."


    "Sigh, fine. I will agree to it!" The woman ultimately gave in. "Where is he?"


    "He is right there, waiting for you." Joan pointed towards Lucifer in the distance, who was sitting with a ss of wine in his hand, talking to Jestor.


    "I''m going there. But you better hope you''re right. If I flirt with him, I don''t think I''ll be able to try on his friend after it doesn''t work out."


    "Don''t worry. I''m sure it''ll work out! You''ll do great!" Joan said, patting the shoulder of his daughter. "Now go ahead."


    The woman took a deep breath before walking to Lucifer. Her first interaction with the guy hadn''t been pleasant, but she couldn''t deny that she did prefer Lucifer over Zale."


    One was like an innocent angel, while the other was like a charming devil. She was indeed more attracted to the more devilish Lucifer as it was more fun to bring the devils on their knees.


    "Hello," she said, sitting beside Lucifer. "My father said you wanted me to meet you."


    "He was right. I certainly wanted to meet you," Lucifer replied.


    "May I ask why?" She acted ignorant.


    "Because I have fallen for you. Seeing you with him made me jealous and made me realize that I want you..." Lucifer replied, smiling. "So, what do you say? Want to give it a try?"


    "You want to date me?" The woman asked.


    "What else can I want with such a prettydy in my presence. I want you to be mine and mine alone."


    Hearing the words of Lucifer, the woman couldn''t believe how easy it was. She didn''t even need to try anything.


    '' Who could have expected that this guy was so weak. No wonder he was trying to ovepensate with her unruly attitude before. Such an idiot. But it''s cute too. I want to y with him more.''


    "Why should I listen to you? What if you''re just ying with my heart?" The woman asked. "Can you prove that you truly love me?''


    "How shall I prove?" Lucifer asked.


    "Simple. You muste to my hometown with me. If youe there, I shall agree to be with you and marry you."


    "Only that? Sure. Anything for you." Lucifer smiled. "So, where are you from?"


    "We are from Minelo."


    "Isn''t that in the continent of Triton?"


    "That''s right. That''s where my home is. So, will youe?"


    "Sure, but first, you must do something for me as well. I want you to be all mine. I don''t want Zale to lust after you. Before Imit to you entirely, I want to make sure Zale won''t be in any misunderstanding. I don''t want him to think I betrayed him."


    "Only that?" The womanughed. "Don''t worry. I know how to handle the situation. I''ll just tell him that I only talked to him because I wanted to know more about you from him because I like you. That should make things clear."


    "That would be nice. But I have a better idea." Lucifer smirked.


    "What idea?"


    " An idea which helps him be a bit warier of vixens like you," Lucifer smiled. "You know, you are just like I thought. No difference at all."


    "W-what?"


    "Instead of being with someone like you, I would much rather prefer being dead. Still, I wanted to make sure that you were exactly as shallow as I thought. This would be more fun now."


    "Y-you are scaring me now." The woman stood up, feeling that something was wrong.


    "Scaring you? But I haven''t even started," Lucifer repliedzily. "I will start scaring you now."


    Lucifer pped his hand once, calling forth his winds. The winds picked up Joan and his daughter and carried them off the ship, right above the ocean.


    "I didn''t see that ending," Jestor muttered, staring nkly at Lucifer.


    Lucifer didn''t reply. He just stood up and flew off the ship to float before the woman and her father.


    "W-what are you doing to your future father-inw? Did my daughter say something to you?"


    "What I''m doing to my future father-inw hasn''t even started yet. It''ll start when I drown you into this sea slowly for scheming against my father!" Lucifer said, shing a devilish grin.


    "W-what father? We didn''t do anything to your father!" Joan eximed.


    Lucifer didn''t reply. He started lowering the father and daughter pair closer to the water.


    "I hope you know how to swim for five days straight. Because the next ind should be five days away from here."

 Chapter 667: Play

    <h4>Chapter 667: y</h4>


    "W-why are you doing that? Don''t leave us here, please! I don''t know how to swim! What do you want?!" Joan yelled hysterically. "We''ll do whatever you want!"


    "What can I even ask from you? I mean, leaving you here seems more fun, doesn''t it?" Lucifer asked.


    "Enough with the talk. Tell us what you want. If you didn''t want something from us, you would''ve left us here already. You''re still talking to us. You want something." The woman red at Lucifer.


    She didn''t care about mincing her words after the way Lucifer fooled her.


    "You''re quite perceptive." Lucifer smiled. "I certainly want something from you. But I don''t necessarily need it."


    "Still, I''m a bit merciful today. So if you do the one thing I ask, I''ll forgive you and not leave you here."


    "W-what do you want? We will do anything you ask!"


    "Father, do you even need to ask? Don''t you see how he''s looking towards me while talking about wanting something? In the end, he''s a man, after all. He probably wants me to sleep with him in exchange for our lives."


    "You really think too highly of yourself, but no. I have no interest in sleeping with you. So you can drop that thought."


    "Then what do you want from you? What else can I give that you don''t have? If you need money, you can literally gather as much as you want with that strength of yours. Why trouble us?" The woman asked.


    "I want you to help me. You see, the guy you were trying to seduce...? He is really innocent... Even worse than I knew him to be. If he''s like this, who knows, some woman might seduce him like you were trying to do," Lucifer said.


    It was fine if Zale was in the snowynds alone since there was no woman there, but Lucifer had just realized that by bringing Zale out, he might have already risked the future.


    He needed Zale to be more hard headed so he couldst until meeting his mother.


    "So I want to use this as a teaching experience. All you need to do is enact a y. Since you''re already so good at acting, it wouldn''t be hard for you."


    ...


    Zale finished eating the food while Lucifer''s shadow clone waited.


    "Looks like you are done as well. Shall we leave?" Lucifer asked Zale.


    "Not yet. I promised the woman that I''d teach her some fighting skills. It seems bad to leave like that. Can I get a couple of hours to teach her at least some moves before leaving?"


    "Sure. Why would I say no? Let''s go and meet her. I also need to apologize to her for my behaviorst time," Lucifer said, smiling.


    He stood up and walked with Zale upstairs.


    Just as they reached the deck, they noticed the woman and her father standing near the railings of the ship, looking at the sea.


    "She is with her father," Zale said.


    "Don''t worry. I will take her father with me and keep him busy for an hour. You can talk to her. Let me talk to her father before you speak, so he isn''t suspicious." Lucifer took Zale with him to thedy whose back was facing them.


    Lucifer raised his hand to call Joan, but before speaking, he sent a little wind as a signal to Joan and his daughter.


    "My daughter, you really did good in fooling that Zale."


    Lucifer stopped mid-way and didn''t touch Joan. He looked at Zale in confusion while gesturing to him not to make a noise.


    "Of course I did. Who do you think I am, dad? No man can resist my looks. All I needed to do was tell him a sob story about being poor and stuff," the woman startedughing.


    "He melted so easily and agreed to teach me. Now I''ll keep getting close to him, and before he knows it, he''ll be lying on his knees before me, begging me to love him back like a ve."


    "Then we can take him home and use him to spread our influence in your business rivals."


    "Hahaha, that''s so perfect." Joanughed. "I''m so proud of you, my daughter. You did great."


    "No, you did great, father. You found the perfect target. That Zale guy is so naive, unlike his sharp friend. Lucifer wouldn''t have been fooled so easily."


    "Of course, it won''t work on him. I understood it as soon as I interacted with him. That guy is arrogant, but he isn''t naive. It looks like he has seen a lot of the world and knows how it works. Zale was more naive, like a kid. People like him are so easy to fool."


    "Just continue your onught, and soon, we''ll be sessful."


    "Yes, father. I think I should put forth the second part of the n and continue getting closer." The woman smiled as she turned around.


    "Huh? W-what?" As soon as she turned around, she acted shocked to see Zale and Lucifer there. "H-how long have you been here?"


    "Long enough to hear you talk about how stupid I was." Zale sighed. "I must say, you really showed me what I failed to see about myself."


    Zale didn''t get angry or try to hurt the people who fooled him, but he was really disappointed. He truly understood how scheming people could be.


    Instead of getting upset, he just turned to Lucifer. "It seems like you have a better grasp of things. Why didn''t you tell me about this possibility?"


    "I just had a feeling. But if I had told you, would you have believed me?" Lucifer asked, frowning. "We are lucky that we caught them."


    Joan clicked his tongue. ''What lucky, you a*shole, you nned this whole conversation and the timing!''


    "T-this is a misunderstanding. W-we were just practicing our y lines! Please don''t believe what you heard! Just believe me!" The woman said, cing her hand on the shoulder of Zale.


    "Enough. I heard everything that I had to," Zale said as he shrugged his shoulders, freeing them from thedy.


    He started walking away. Lucifer followed after Zale, smiling.


    Another Lucifer clone appeared from the shadow near Joan. "This should keep him wary until he meets the right person."


    "We did as you said. Are we free now?" Joan asked Lucifer.


    "You are. But if I catch you doing something like this next time, you won''t be so lucky." The shadow dispersed.


    ....


    "Do you want to stay here for longer, or shall we leave?" Lucifer asked Zale, already knowing what his answer was going to be.

 Chapter 668: She will...

    <h4>Chapter 668: She will...</h4>


    "No need to waste a single second here. Let''s continue. Training is more important," Zale let out, agreeing to leave. He didn''t even nce back.


    "Good decision." Lucifer started rising in the air with Zale and left.


    "Sigh, what an intriguing guy. I wonder if we''ll ever meet again." Jestor watched Lucifer leave, partly d that he left finally.


    "Still, it was intriguing for him to see how he manipted the people around him to do his deed happily and still make them feel that they received something from it."


    ...


    After the one cruise stop, Lucifer didn''t stop anywhere with humans, mostly because there were enough inds on the way. He only stopped after reaching the continent of Triton, which was his destination.


    After getting to the continent, hended on the port town, tired after such a long flight.


    "Is this the ce?" Zale asked.


    "Not yet. We are still far from our destination. But we should be there tomorrow. For now, we need to look for a hotel to rest for a little."


    "Do you have the currency of this continent to pay for the hotel?" Zale asked, smiling wryly.


    "Currency of this continent?" Lucifer asked in return. "I doubt we''ll be needing it."


    "You mean we''ll force our way in?" Zale asked.


    "Nope. I meant we would borrow a room for a little and pay them backter," Lucifer replied. "Now,e with me."


    He walked to the closest person to ask him the path to the hotel.


    "Help!" A loud scream echoed in the surrounding, attracting the attention of quite a lot of people.


    Hearing the call for help, Zale didn''t even think twice before running to help.


    "Sigh, I''m the son, and I need to act like the babysitter here." Lucifer watched Zale leave, sighing.


    He also started chasing after Zale. "It seems at his core; he''s still the same person who can never refuse a call for help. At least, he won''t fall for a vixen again... Hopefully."


    He saw Zale enter an alley, disappearing from his sight.


    What followed was a painful grunt before Lucifer reached there. He saw a man lying in the distance. His mouth was bleeding while some of his teeth were lying on the ground.


    A knife was also lying near him.


    The man red at Zale like he was going to eat his seven generations for hurting him. He picked up the knife and started walking to Zale, who had his back turned to the guy.


    Zale was still talking to thedy, asking if she was alright.


    Argh~


    An even louder scream filled the alley, but the scream belonged to a man this time.


    The scar-faced man was screaming in pain. His right hand was lying on the ground, sliced from the wrist. It was the same hand which was holding the knife.


    His arm was bleeding heavily as his face turned pale. He felt like he was dying.


    ''Sometimes, I really wonder if he''s actually my father. How can he make such a rookie mistake of showing his back to a criminal who he hurt? Could it be that I was wrong?"


    " No. He did say his name was Zale Azarel, and he was from Elisium. It''s just so hard to believe that he was so naive in his early days. I''ve always known him as the best of the best. But here he is... He is like a hero wannabe."


    Zale was looking at the criminal, who was groaning in pain. "We need to take him to a hospital!"


    Lucifer''s face twitched unwillingly.


    "He certainly needs a good doctor. Let me send him to the best doctor in this world." He waved his hand, sending a wind de to slice the neck of the man, silencing him forever.


    "W-what did you do?" Zale asked.


    "I sent him to the best doctor in the world," Lucifer said, pointing his finger to the sky. "You know how doctors say that only God can save the patient when they have no hope? I sent him to him. He should be fine there."


    Seeing a murder happen right before her eyes, the woman started shivering. Finding an opportunity, she ran away without stopping.


    "Killing for trying to steal a purse of a woman? Isn''t that overboard?" Zale asked.


    "Nope. Who says I killed him for that purse? I couldn''t care any less about that purse or any such thing," Luciferzily said as he turned around. "Now, let''s get rid of the body before the woman calls the cops on us."


    He stopped before the body of the man and started using his decay.


    "What? We helped her. There is no way she would do such a thing."


    "Want to bet?" Lucifer asked, smiling. "It''s only a matter of time. She should already be trying to find cops to tell them that a murder took ce here."


    "Fine. I am ready to bet. If she didn''t tell cops about this murder, I''d run. And after that, you won''t kill anyone. Deal?" Zale asked.


    "In that case, if I will, you''ll also do one thing I ask from you, no matter what."


    "What would that one thing be?"


    "That''s a secret. But since you''re so sure, why worry? Make a bet." Lucifer shed a smile as he finished taking care of the body and stood up.


    "Fine. It''s a bet!" Zale agreed.


    "Sure. Let''s wait then." Lucifer said, standing by the support of the wall, waiting.


    "Sure. You can wait here all day. She won''t being here with the cops." Zale also waited right beside Zale.


    Time slowly kept trickling away, and soon, ten minutes had passed, but no one showed up.


    "See? I told you it wasn''t going to happen. You were wrong."


    "What''s the hurry? It''s only been ten minutes," Lucifer replied.


    Just as he finished speaking, the sound of screeching of tires was heard. A cop car stopped before the alley, and two cops stepped out of the car.


    "These two match the description! You there, if you don''t want to be shot, raise your hands and surrender! We have a witness saying you murdered someone!" Theymanded, pointing their guns to Lucifer and Zale.


    "You were saying something?" Lucifer asked Zale, smirking. "You are too naive about how this world works."


    He nced at the cops. "May we ask what we actually did? Is hanging out in the alley a crime?"


    "Didn''t you hear us for the first time? We have a witness saying that you killed a person here a few minutes ago!"


    "We killed a person here a few minutes ago? That''s funny. Where is the body then? Don''t tell me I ate the body?" Lucifer asked, amused.


    "If you''re so eager to believe anyone, let me tell you. Twodies killed fifty people in the alley right beside. Go and arrest them."


    "You see, it''s really easy to make usations. We''re innocent travelers and nothing more. Why would we kill anyone?"

 Chapter 669: Tip

    <h4>Chapter 669 - 669: Tip</h4>


    The cops frowned as they observed Lucifer and Zale before observing the alley. It was true that there was nobody there. Still, they didn''t think that the woman was lying to them.


    "I''m sorry, but I''ll have to ask you toe with us to the station for interrogation."


    "Well, that''s unfortunate. We are honestly in a hurry. We are travelers, and we haven''t eaten all day," Lucifer responded. "So I think we''ll be leaving. Unless you want to arrest us for no reason at all? And I can promise that it won''t be something you''ll like."


    He turned to Zale. "You owe me one now. Anyway, let''s get going."


    He started walking away with Zale, not caring about the cops that were standing there with the guns aimed at them.


    The cops simply stared at them nkly, watching them defy orders. "Are you crazy or something?"


    "Crazy?" Lucifer asked, seemingly confused. "That''s a new one. I''m not though."


    "Oh, next time you see the girl who told you about the murder, tell her that lying about such a thing isn''t a good thing. She shouldn''t do it next time."


    Waving his hand, Lucifer walked away.


    "Shall we stop him?" One of the cops asked the other.


    "I don''t know. There is something really odd about that person. I don''t know what exactly it is though. Something tells me that we shouldn''t stop him. In any case, there isn''t really a body here."


    "Yeah, I don''t think he could''ve moved the body so fast without being seen. It might be wrong information, after all. Let them be."


    The cops didn''t chase after Lucifer and entered their cars again, taking the best decision of their lives.


    They drove away.


    "Now be more careful and don''t leave so suddenly. Let me handle things if something happens next, alright?" Lucifer told Zale, walking to another person to ask for the location of a hotel.


    "I still don''t understand why the woman would tell the police about this..."


    "It''s because... Well, just know fear makes people do really stupid things sometimes," Lucifer replied.


    He stopped another man and asked for directions.


    Before long, he found himself standing before a hotel.


    He entered with Zale and walked straight to the reception.


    "Greetings, Gentlemen. How may I help you today?"


    "Give us two of your best rooms. We need to stay here for a day."


    "Of course. That will be our deluxe rooms on the top floor. Please finish the payment."


    "How much would that be?"


    "Only Thirty Zens for one day."


    This was the point where Zale thought that Lucifer was going to use some trick to not pay, but to his surprise, Lucifer pulled out a wallet using his wind.


    "Pay him the money." He told Zale as the wallet flew into his hand.


    "Huh?" Stunned, Zale opened the wallet and paid the money, still confused why Lucifer had the money.


    "Perfect. Just wait a sec; I''ll call my men here to escort you to your rooms."


    "I''ll be right here," Lucifer smiled as he walked to the sofas nearby.


    "Where did you get the money from?" Zale looked at Lucifer, showing the wallet.


    "Let''s just say it belonged to someone who isn''t going to need it anymore," Lucifer answeredzily.


    "You mean you stole it from the man you killed?"


    "Nope. I found it on the ground after he was killed. It had dropped from his pocket. In any case, it doesn''t matter." Lucifer shrugged.


    "You know, sometimes I truly don''t understand you. It''s like you have a way to get to every goal, even if you need to take a much darker path."


    "I shall take that as a Praise." Lucifer smiled. "Unfortunately, I can''t reach all of my goals. Some goals still seem impossible to achieve without sacrificing myself."


    "And what might they be?" Zale asked, returning the wallet to Lucifer.


    "No, keep the wallet. It''s useless for me." Lucifer said, not taking it b


    "I meant about the goals you said you can''t achieve?" Zale asked.


    "I didn''t say I can''t achieve my goals. But the cost associated with it might be more than I can afford," Lucifer said, taking a deep breath.


    He wanted to protect his father and mother, but he knew that it was going to be the end of his life if he did that.


    Everything he had achieved would go to waste. The young man was certainly going to have a better life. He could also kill Varant and the others in this world if he wanted to not leave any threat, but that would really mess with his origins.


    He didn''t know if changing such things was going to mean that things were going to be alright.


    What if he killed all the enemies and the future changed in such a way that his father never found him in the dungeon? What if he remained trapped his entire life there? What if he was found, but he never awakened?


    How was he going to take care of the enemies that were going toe for him? He could kill all the enemies he knew at this time, but that wasn''t enough to make sure that no new ones were going toe.


    That''s the conundrum he had. Should he trade his knowledge and his powers for the life of his parents? Or should he trade the life of his parents to keep himself the way he was and hold onto his knowledge and memories?


    This was the biggest challenge he had faced since he couldn''t just protect his parents without sacrificing himself. And he didn''t believe sacrificing was the answer.


    "What happened? Where do you lose yourself again and again?"


    "Nothing. I suppose I''ll tell you some things when it''s my time to leave. You might not believe me even if I tell you right now," Lucifer replied as he stood up, noticing the staff calling for them.


    He followed a man with Zale to the top floor.


    The staff member brought Lucifer to the room but didn''t leave. He just stood before Lucifer innocently. "Wee to the hotel, sir. I hope you have a great day."


    "Yeah," Lucifer replied.


    The man still didn''t leave. "Just call me if you need anything."


    "Will do."


    "I will be right here in case you need anything to help you."


    "Are you going to leave or not?" Lucifer asked, rolling his eyes. Just what was this weird behavior.


    "I think he is asking for a tip. I heard it wasmon practice in other ces," Zale chimed in.


    He opened the wallet and gave a note to the man.. "You have a great day too."

 Chapter 670: The Meet

    <h4>Chapter 670 - 670: The Meet</h4>


    "Tip? I don''t think I''ve ever seen this happen," Lucifer said, sitting on the bed. "No one ever asked me for a tip before."


    "Geez, I wonder why. It''s not like they might be scared to approach you before," Zale let out,ughing.


    "Why would anyone be scared of me? I don''t eat people." Lucifer smiled. He noticed his bare hands. "At least not in a conventional manner."


    "How are we going to start our training here? You haven''t told me the way to train yet."


    "It''s still not the time. We''re not there. The way to train is now hard though. As I said, put your knowledge to practical use. Fight other Variants, use your powers, challenge yourself. And if that''s hard, explore dungeons."


    Originally he wanted to tell Zale to not explore dungeons since that''s where he died, but he changed his mind after remembering he was found there too.


    A dungeon was the ce where his life began while also being the ce where Zale''s life ended.


    "So we are here to explore Dungeons?" Zale asked.


    "Nope. We are here to fight real people. I doubt we''ll need it though. If I''m not wrong, there won''t be a Warlock Council at this time. So he would most probably be alone," Lucifer said. "It shouldn''t be hard."


    The two spent the day in the hotel, resting and eating. After sleeping through the night, they left in the morning, leaving for the nation of Zeston.


    A two day long journey followed suit where two people flew through hot and cold, forests and deserts, all to get to Zeston at the fastest.


    Luckily, there was no obstruction on the way.


    On the way, Lucifer didn''t forget to teach Zale how to use his lightning more effectively. He taught Zale how to best attack using the lightning and how to get it out of the body.


    Being a fast learner, Zale immediately grasped the concept, but he was still slow in forming a connection with the clouds.


    He couldn''t form the clouds despite doing just as Lucifer said.


    "It''s still not working. I guess it''s not possible for me." Zale said in disappointment, standing not far away from the Zeston Capital.


    It was barren ground that Lucifer had selected for training since he wasn''t sure if he could teach Zale more after getting into the city and going back to his old time.


    "You''re wrong. If I can do it, you can do it as well!"


    "I can''t. I tried the way you described it. I tried to use my memories to stimte my lightning to form a connection. I even tried my sad memories, but it didn''t work."


    "What is your saddest memory?" Lucifer asked Zale.


    "Ah... I think it''s the moment my father died."


    "Was he murdered?"


    "Ah, no. He was in an ident."


    "Maybe sad memories just aren''t your trigger. You don''t have impactful memories," Lucifer muttered, looking at the clear sky.


    "When I was trying to learn the lightning, I thought your courage was your trigger, and it didn''t work for me. I had to find my own trigger. I suppose my trigger won''t work on you either."


    "Huh? What are you bbering?" Zale asked.


    "Your Trigger... I believe it might be your courage. The zeal to protect people from danger. Since that''s the only time, I saw you use the Wrath of Heaven."


    "Courage? Of course, I have courage, but how can I trigger lightning with it?" Zale asked, sighing.


    "I suppose that''s something we''ll have to find out. And if we can''t while I''m here, you''ll have to do it alone. But I''m sure that you will... And when you do, you''ll surprise the entire world."


    "Surprise the world? I doubt I will. Even if by a fluke I mastered this skill, I''ll still be the second. You''ll always be first."


    Lucifer nced back at his father. "That''s debatable, I suppose."


    "Anyways, let''s leave that forter. It''s time we reached our destination," he said, looking towards the city in the distance.


    He started flying, carrying Zale with him.


    Lucifer reached the city. "Now that we are here let''s go find Julien."


    "So you know where to find this guy?" Zale asked.


    "I''m not sure. All I knew is that he belonged to this city. Now that we are here, we should be able to find him," Lucifer let out, smiling. But even he wasn''t sure if he was going to find the guy that easily.


    "To find him, we would need to hack into the city database. And I think I know where in the city we would find a ce to do that," he added, ncing at the tallest tower in the building.


    It was the ce where the Warlock Council was going to be established in theing years, but from what he had heard, before that, this ce was used by the highest echelon of the government.


    And who could be better than the government when it came to finding a person at the earliest.


    "Wait, is that what I think it is?" Zale abruptly eximed as he started running.


    "What happened now?" Lucifer asked, frowning. He noticed Zale running towards a shop. "Did he find something he liked?"


    He alsozily followed behind Zale, feeling like a babysitter.


    He entered the shop after Zale to find him staring at the clothes on the disy.


    "You want new clothes?"


    "Yeah. I think it would be best. If we''re going to attract some attention while training, I don''t want to stand out too much with our winter clothes," Zale exined. "Pick one for you as well. The money in the wallet should be enough."


    "You think clothes were going to make us stand out?" Lucifer asked, shaking his head.


    Still, he started checking the clothes and selected some new ones. He simply bought a ck overcoat. Zale could help him wear that, at least since he couldn''t touch them himself.


    That''s why he didn''t select a new pair of pants either.


    Zale helped Lucifer wear the red overcoat after paying the bill before changing his own clothes.


    After finishing, he took the lead and left the shop while Lucifer was distracted by his reflection in the mirror.


    "Can''t you watch while walking?"


    "I think it''s both our faults though. You were walking too fast!"


    "Are you really ming me?"


    "Who else will I me? Your ice cream fell on my new clothes. You think I wanted that?"


    "Hmm?" Lucifer''s attention was attracted by two voices that were arguing.


    Surprised, he turned to the door.. Through the ss door, he noticed Zale arguing with a person he didn''t expect to see here.

 Chapter 671: Unlikely Match

    <h4>Chapter 671 - 671: Unlikely Match</h4>


    He quickly ran towards the door to stop the argument to stop it from increasing too much.


    "You used me after you suddenly came out of the shop?"


    "I''m not using you. I''m just saying that it is the fault of the two of us. None of us were looking carefully," Zale replied. "So, instead of ming me, you should apologize as well since I already did."


    "But instead of apologizing, you keep ming me even more?"


    "You want an apology? Here is your apology," the other person threw their ice cream cone at Zale, making his clothes an even bigger mess before walking away.


    "You!" Zale took the cone and threw it at the back of the other person, returning the favor.


    "Did you just...?" Stunned, the other person turned back after being hit by ice cream. "You are really an arrogant person! Let''s see how arrogant you can be!"


    "I don''t hurt people, but I won''t step back either!" Zale replied. Lightning started crackling around him.


    "Enough!" A mighty voice came.


    Lucifer stepped out of the shop, standing between the two people.


    First, he looked at Zale. "Calm down. There''s going to be no battle!"


    In his mind, he was also slightly restless. ''Throughout the entire way, he was so naive. He didn''t offend anyone, but now he offends someone and that too...''


    He looked at the other side, letting out a deep sigh. He knew what a big mess this was. ''Maybe I shouldn''t have brought him with me. Did I already change the future?''


    He could see a girl standing before him. The girl was wearing a blue gown which was now dirty because of the ice cream on it.


    The girl was looking like she was barely eighteen years old, but her face was covered in anger.


    ''Leaving that aside, howe she has the gloves? I thought they were madeter? Was I wrong about my timing? She was already working for Elisium government by this time?''


    "So you called for a friend? As expected of cowards!" risse said, ring at Lucifer, unaware that she was standing before the son she was going to love more than her life in the future.


    "I think it''s a big misunderstanding. We aren''t bad peo-"


    Lucifer tried to exin. He didn''t want to make things worse. Originally, his father and mother were supposed to meet next year in Elisium while trying to help people in danger.


    That''s where their friendly rtionship started on a good note which reached the stage of marriage not long after.


    But that waspletely different now. The meeting happened much earlier than it should have. Moreover, it wasn''t a nice meeting. Instead of making things better, it made things worse.


    He tried to alleviate the situation by exining, but before he could even finish, a powerful gust of wind came, tossing him away.


    Bang~


    His back hit against a wall. Hended on the ground safely.


    "Sigh, just what is happening. Father was so tame in his young days, but he became courageous and brave in the future. On the other hand, mother was gentle and kind, but in her younger days, she was a brute who craves fighting?"


    "Did something happen in the future that changed their personalities to what I knew? Or was it the influence of them on each other after their meeting?"


    "Sigh, it doesn''t matter at the moment. I need to stop them. If I had known she was here, I wouldn''t havee here with father. So much for not messing up with the history."


    "Are you alright?" Zale asked Lucifer. "You hurt my friend? You must be one of those Dark Variants!"


    "No, wait!" Lucifer called out, but before he could, Zale had already fired a lightning bolt towards risse.


    risse dodged to the side, using her wind, and avoided the bolt.


    "So you aren''t weak. No wonder you were that arrogant! But that doesn''t matter. Today, I''m bringing you on your knees and making you apologize!"


    "You can dream all you want!" Zale said, frowning.


    risse pped her hand, sending a massive gust of wind to hurl Zale like Lucifer, but her winds didn''t work as Zale used his immense strength to jump ahead.


    risse''s winds were strong, but they couldn''t stop Zale, who was using the impact of his strength to force his body ahead.


    "Then so be it!" risse spread her arms, intensifying her winds. At the same time, she flew even higher to avoid being grabbed by Zale.


    "Hey, you can''t fly, can you?" risse asked, shing a sneaky smile.


    Her winds kept intensifying with each passing second.


    "Both of them are fighting, but none of them care about the civilians. If only they remained like this in the future, they would still be alive. However, it''s toote now. I need to separate them."


    "Maybe I can use the citizens to stop their fighting?"


    Lucifer flew high in the sky. "He can''t fly, but I can. And I say that you''ve had enough fun. You''re putting the lives of the citizens in danger! What kind of people are you?"


    "The strong have the responsibility to use their powers with care. You two are acting like snobbish kids!"


    While talking, he used some of his Sonic voice to increase his voice. While he was doing it, he believed he might as well get some respect from the citizens to help him in the future.


    "Who are you to call me a kid!" risse said. "Just because you can fly, you think you can do anything?"


    risse waved her hand, sending winds to attack Lucifer.


    Lucifer snapped his fingers.


    Poof~


    With a snap of his fingers, all the winds disappeared.


    "You''ve been doing it for a year. I''ve been doing it for eight," Luciferzily said.


    He pointed his finger at risse, casting a barrier around her.


    After trapping risse in a spherical barrier, he made the barriernd on the ground.


    Lucifer alsonded before the barrier. "Now, are you ready to listen?"


    "You caught her."


    "Nope. I caught you both!" Lucifer said, trapping Zale in the same Barrier. "And you two will only be let out after saying sorry to each other."


    He made both the spherical prison rest before each other while he stood in the back, keeping his arms folded.


    "You think this can stop me?" risse asked, ring at Lucifer. It wasn''t the first time she had faced something like this, and she knew how to get out.


    "I hoped I wouldn''t need to use this. But..."


    She started taking off her gloves.

 Chapter 672: Look Around

    <h4>Chapter 672 - 672: Look Around</h4>


    "I know about your decay. But you should also know about me. I can kill you faster than you can decay the Barrier," Luciferzily said. "Look around you."


    risse looked around her, noticing multiple lightning bolts keeping an aim at her, waiting to stab her at one mistake.


    She didn''t know that Lucifer was only bluffing. There was no way he was ever going to hurt her. He just wanted them to calm down. If fear was what it took, then it was what he was going to use.


    "You want me to ask for forgiveness after what he did?" risse yelled.


    "As I said, stop being a kid. You think you didn''t do anything? How many innocents would have died just because you couldn''t control your anger?" Lucifer asked.


    "We were simply here to look for a person. After buying some clothes, we wereing out. He was slightly excited and didn''t look around, but don''t tell me you couldn''t see either?"


    "Even after that, he apologized, and still you hit him to destroy his new clothes? That was sane of you? Not only that, you attacked me as well?"


    "If I weren''t a Variant, I would''ve been dead after that attack! At least some of my bones would have been broken!"


    "On the other hand, if I was a little bit more inpatient, I could''ve easily killed you a thousand times by now! Just because you have strength, stop being so arrogant if you don''t have backup options!"


    "I-" risse didn''t know how to reply. She was being scolded, but she couldn''t find any lies in what Lucifer had said.


    "And you." Lucifer looked back at Zale. "You shouldn''t have attacked her with lightning. What if she was hurt? You can''t imagine how bad it would''ve been!"


    "She is an ignorant girl who is a little impatient. But you should''ve been the smart one? Do you think you were the smart one?" he asked.


    "I-i am sorry. You are right. I lost the sight," Zale replied.


    "Don''t tell me. Tell her," Lucifer said, smiling.


    Zale nced at risse in another prison sphere. "I am sorry. I shouldn''t have acted so rashly. I should''ve just epted my mistake and dropped the matter. And I''m sorry for attacking you."


    "But we truly aren''t bad people. I don''t usually do it. I don''t know what happened today. I''m really sorry."


    Zale respectfully apologized.


    risse stared at Zale. She knew she also needed to apologize, but she had never apologized to anyone. It was her first time.


    "I..."


    "It''s alright. You don''t have to say it. I''ll ask him to free you. I''m sorry once again." Zale turned to Lucifer. "I think we both understand our mistakes. Can you let her out at least?"


    "You want her out before you?" Lucifer asked, smiling.


    ''Now that''s what the person I knew would have done. I might be able to salvage the situation after all.''


    "Yeah. It was more of my mistake. She shouldn''t be suffering for my mistake," Zale said, sighing.


    Lucifer could see a surprised shine in the eyes of risse. On the inside, he was pretty happy.


    He had a feeling that Zale''s words were a masterstroke. Maybe this bad meeting could actually be ended in a positive tone.


    "If you say so." He removed the barrier from both risse and Zale.


    risse opened her lips to say something, but she still couldn''t. She turned around to leave.


    After taking two steps, she stopped. She looked back. "I am sorry as well. I misunderstood you. Sorry for spoiling your clothes. I''ll buy you new ones. Come with me."


    "I should also do the same because I ruined your clothes. Let me buy you something as well," Zale said, walking with risse towards the clothing shop at the entrance of which it all started.


    Standing in the back, Lucifer just appreciated the view of seeing his father and mother together. It was such a lovely sight to see them together again after so long.


    He also walked inside the shop, unaware that someone was keeping an eye on him in the distance.


    A dark figure was standing on a distant building, observing Lucifer. "An interesting person indeed. He could neutralize risse so easily."


    "But he''s also someone who can spoil my ns. I suppose I will need to take care of him fast. But I can''t be hasty... He doesn''t seem like an ordinary Warlock."


    "Barrier, wind, lightning, and something that makes his body stronger. He wasn''t hurt even after shing on the wall. Amusing indeed..."


    The figure disappeared.


    ....


    Back in the real world, Cassius had informed Xaen that he needed him in Zeston Capital. He didn''t tell Xaen why he needed him but only said that it was something urgent.


    He also reminded Xaen that no one could know about this, especially his family. He asked Xaen toe alone.


    Moreover, without taking a long time to think, Xaen had agreed toe to him.


    At the moment, Xaen had already reached Zeston Capital which was technically entirely sealed.


    In Lucifer''s absence, Uprising had decided to not take the risk. They had sealed the Capital. No one was allowed toe in or leave the city without their permission.


    In thest few days, Xaen''s ne was the only ne thatnded at the airport where hundreds of nes used tond daily.


    Cassius personally went to wee Xaen, leaving Szar to protect Lucifer. Amelia didn''te with him either. She remained with Lucifer.


    Instead, it was Assassination Emperor Yaliza who had arrived with Cassius. They were apanied by Arthur.


    "I am here. So, tell me. What did you need from me?" Xaen asked. "What help did you need?"


    "It''s not me who needs your help," Cassius replied. "But it''s another of your students.


    "You mean Alex? I mean Lucifer? What happened to him?" Xaen asked, frowning. "If you had told me before, I would''ve brought the old man with me as well. I had to leave him to protect the academy in my absence."


    "He would be so angry to find out that his grandson was in danger and that he wasn''t informed," Xaen scratched the back of his head. "Please tell me that he''s safe."


    "He... I''m not sure how to describe it. He is sick. And we believe only you can help him," Cassius replied.


    "What happened to him?" Xaen asked, following Cassius out of the airport.


    "We believe he has absorbed an ability. And that ability is conflicting with his other ability because it''s only after he absorbed the power that he lost consciousness. It has been days, and he hasn''t woken up!"


    "Absorbing an ability?" Xaen asked, frowning.

 Chapter 673: Not How It Works

    <h4>Chapter 673 - 673: Not How It Works</h4>


    "I never expected there would be a time when I would be the more patient one of the bunch."


    Standing in the back, Lucifer watched his father and his mother shop for each other, finding everything slightly amusing.


    He was known as the impatient one and the person who often got angry fast, but here, he found himself to be the more sane one when his father and mother started a fight over hitting each other identally.


    "Then again, it makes me feel good that I''m not the only impatient one of the family." He smiled.


    "Hmm?" He nced out of the shop, feeling as if someone was looking at him. However, as soon as he looked there, he found no one.


    Thinking that it must be his misconception, he stopped looking in the direction and focused back on his family.


    After his family finished the shopping, they paid for the clothes, dressed in newer clothes.


    "Thank you for gifting the clothes. And once again, sorry for what happened," Zale told risse, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment.


    "Do you want me to say sorry again as well? Stop talking about it and better forget that it even happened," risse answered. "I was equally wrong. Anyway, you said you were new in the city?"


    "Yeah. I came with my friend there to train with him. He said that training in this ce was better than training in the Frozen Lands like I was doing at the start," Zale replied. "Are you a citizen of this city? Do you know someone named Julien Long?"


    "I''m sorry, I don''t know anyone by that name. I''m not a citizen of this city either. I came here, ah, I forgot! I had to meet them! Oh god, I''m going to bete!"


    "Have a safe day! I''ll be going now!" She started running towards the door, but she stopped beside Lucifer.


    "Thank you for stopping our battles and sorry for attacking you for no reason! Bye!" She stepped out of the shop and flew away.


    "Don''t thank me for stopping the battles. I had my own benefit in that. How could I let my father and my mother kill each other like that," Lucifer muttered, watching his mother fly away.


    He caught up with Zale and left the shop. This time, Zale was more careful while stepping out of the shop to not sh with someone else.


    "Now time to get to the destination," Lucifer nced towards the tallest building in the distance. "Hopefully, there won''t be any obstruction now."


    He walked towards the tower with Zale.


    ...


    In another ce, a dark figure was following risse.


    While chasing after risse, who was unaware, the dark figure kept talking with himself. "It''s good that she left them. I thought she was going to stick with them. It would''ve been a messy situation."


    ...


    Xaen was brought to Lucifer''s body in the current timeline.


    Lucifer was lying unmoving on the bed. His body was still pale, and his temperature was still very high.


    After observing the condition of Lucifer, he let out a deep sigh. "His condition really doesn''t look good. It''s like he''s dead, but his body is trying to keep itself alive... It''s really odd."


    "Can you help him, Master Xaen?" Eve asked Xaen. "It doesn''t matter how you do it. Just bring him back!"


    "It''s not that easy. If I did something prematurely, instead of bringing him back, we might even hurt him more," Xaen answered.


    "At the moment, his body has found its equilibrium. His condition isn''t improving, but it''s not deteriorating either. He can stay in this condition for a really long time without any change," he further exined. "But..."


    "But what?" Milena asked.


    "But if we mess with the equilibrium without knowing what we''re doing, we might destroy the equilibrium. From that point, his condition will start deteriorating. We won''t have time to help him then," Xaen answered.


    "We already know his powers are conflicted. And Cassius talked about the Core Theory. Can''t you just remove the core to remove that conflict?" Arthur asked. "From that point, his healing should be able to bring him back."


    "That''s the problem. His body has many ability cores. In fact, even I''m surprised how many he actually has," Xaenmented, unaware that this much was nothing.


    His body was filled with hundreds of cores not long ago. To evolve his body, he had absorbed most of them, leaving only the most essential abilities. Since then, he had only absorbed around a dozen more abilities from the Warlock Heads here.


    He didn''t even have twenty cores at the moment.


    "So? How does that matter?" Arthur asked. "Just remove the conflicting one."


    "You think I wouldn''t if it was that easy?" Xaen asked, frowning. "You don''t understand the true problem. It''s not about taking out his core; it''s about taking out the right core."


    "Just get the core that''s shing with the other cores," Szar said. "Is it that hard?"


    "You don''t know the Core Theory entirely. I don''t me you, but it''s impossible to actually find which core belongs to which power. Only the real owner of the body can see the true form of his cores in his body," Xaen exined.


    "Even if the others are talented and have ways to look inside the other person''s body, they can only see cores shrouded in a hazy dark light," he further exined. "To us, all the cores would look like the same cores."


    "So we can''t recognize what''s thetest core that he absorbed," Cassius muttered.


    "So he can''t do anything either?" Jiani asked. "Remind me again why we called him all the way here for no reason?"


    "Calm down. We can''t see the cores, but we can still see what cores are conflicting with other cores because the two cores must be extremely close to each other for conflict. That way, we can detect the two cores that shed," Cassius exined. "It should still be possible."


    "You mean that he should take out both the cores? Won''t that mean Lucifer will lose two abilities? One which he absorbed and another original?"


    "It shouldn''t work like that. We can try taking out one of the two. If that doesn''t work, we can take out the second," Cassius exined.


    "You mean you want to do trial and error on him. But what if the first ability you take out is the wrong one? Can we put it back?" Szar asked.


    "That''s not how it works. As soon as the corees out of the person, it''s destroyed. If it weren''t that way, I would''ve been able to steal many cores and send them in my body," Xaen responded.. "Sadly, it doesn''t work like that."

 Chapter 674: Complications

    <h4>Chapter 674 - 674: Complications</h4>


    "There are manyplications in it." Cassius nodded.


    "At best, we''ll only take out the conflicting ability and none of his old abilities. And at worse, one of his original abilities might be gone too. You understand that?" Xaen asked Szar.


    "So there''s a good chance that he might lose his healing," Szar muttered, ncing back at Lucifer. "If that happens, he''s going to be really angry when he wakes up."


    "I don''t think it''s the time to think about that," Eve said. "At the moment, his life matters more. Even if it needs his healing or other abilities to be sacrificed."


    "He had already defeated most of the enemies. He already conquered most of the threats. I think Uprising can take it from here even without his healing," Alicia agreed.


    "And even without healing, he''ll be able to take care of things. Underneath all this, he''ll be the same old Lucifer after all. The leader who brought us so far. From being one of the factions in a small nation to taking out the Warlock Council," she continued.


    "So the situation of this ce is the handiwork of you all. I was wondering why this city was in shambles. You have been going around, waging wars?" Xaen asked, sighing.


    He looked at Lucifer. "Sigh, the old man was the same, thinking about taking over the nation. He changed but the kid... Still, it''s surprising that he has reached so far. I knew he could reach far, but this far...?"


    "Please take out both the cores if needed. Just help him first," Szar told Xie, agreeing to the procedure.


    Lucifer without healing was still Lucifer for him. He also prepared for what was toe.


    "Ah, sir?"


    The door opened as a Warlock stepped into the room and approached Yaliza.


    In the absence of Kellian, Yaliza was indirectly incharge of the Uprising Team.


    "Not now. I don''t have time. If it''s not important, wait outside. We''re dealing with more important things," Yaliza told the man.


    "Ah, it''s a little important. A ne has been seen approaching the city."


    "Enemy?" Yaliza asked. He turned to Szar. "You all take care of him. I''ll see what''s happening. If needed, I''ll give you a call."


    Yaliza left the room.


    "What details do you have?" he asked the man.


    "Apparently, it''s a ce that''sing from Elisium. We just received information about it."


    "A ne from Elisium? Is Kaneing here?" Yaliza asked.


    "I''m not sure. It just said that someone important is traveling from the ne," the man replied.


    "Why did you need me then? Couldn''t you have gone to receive wherever wasing?" Yaliza asked. "I thought it was about an enemy."


    "I-i just thought that you should know about the ne. Someone from Elisium ising here at this time. We don''t think it''s something ordinary."


    "Sigh, fine. I''ll go personally to see who ising. Is the chopper ready?"


    "It''s waiting on the roof."


    "Good."


    Yaliza went to the roof and left the base, going to the airport.


    Afternding at the empty-looking airport, he started waiting for the ne tond.


    After around ten minutes, he saw peopleing out. The first person he saw was none other than Veracity. She had a calm yet tired expression on her face.


    Seeing Veracity, Yaliza sighed. "So it was just her? Lucifer must have invited her."


    He stepped towards Veracity but stopped as he saw the person behind her.


    "What? How can he be alive? I thought he..."


    ...


    Lucifer reached the tallest building in the city, which was going to be the ce where the strongest of Warlocks from the continent resided.


    It was also the ce where the government operated from at this moment. Many government offices were in the building, which was why the security wasn''t bad either. There were armed guards at the entrance.


    Right at the entrance, Lucifer and Zale were stopped. "May we know your purpose of visit?"


    "We need to go to the lost and found department," Lucifer replied.


    "So you have an appointment? Wait a minute, there is no lost and found department! Are you joking with me?"


    "There isn''t a lost and found department?" Lucifer asked, surprised. "Don''t worry; we''ll make one. Let us go in."


    "I''m sorry, we can''t allow you to get in. Please step away!" The guards refused to let anyone in.


    Zale took a step forward to handle the situation. "Actually, both of us are Variants. We need to go in for important work."


    "First of all, why should we believe that you''re Variants? Secondly, even if you are, we can''t let you in without an appointment." The guards refused to budge.


    "Hmm? You want me to prove it?" Lucifer asked. "Fine with me."


    Snap~


    Lucifer snapped his wingers, creating a wind st around him which sent the guards flying.


    The guards fell to the ground. Most of them dropped the weapon. The weapons they dropped flew towards Lucifer on their own.


    The weapons which weren''t dropped were also taken by Lucifer. He sent all the weapons flying high to make themnd on the roof of a distant building.


    "Ah, what were you saying about not hurting the people?" Zale asked, smiling wryly as he remembered Lucifer''spassionate words before risse.


    "Not over an ice cream. You''reparing Tomato with potato," Lucifer replied, smiling. "That reminds me. The potato chips weren''t bad at the hotel. I should have that again before leaving."


    As he talked, he stepped towards the door, which opened on its own with the wind.


    The guards on the outside stood up. "A-alert the security!"


    "How? He not only took our weapons but also ourmunication device. We would need to go to that roof to get them. Or we could try entering the building, but the two of them will be there. I don''t want to take that risk," the other guard replied, sighing.


    "Ah, that..." The others were also slightly intimidated at the thought of how easily Lucifer took them out.


    "Should we really antagonize him? I mean, he can kill many people. Maybe he truly needs to get some work done."


    "You idiots! Two Variants came, pushed us aside, and you are scared? Is that how we''ll defend this nation?! You stay here if you''re that scared. I''ll go inside myself and alert others!"


    One of the guards ran inside the building. He could see Lucifer stepping inside the lift with Zale.


    He ran to reception. "Enemies are inside the building! Quickly stop the left! Turn on the power of the lift. We can trap them."


    Thud~


    The lift was going to the top when it stopped abruptly in the middle of the two floors.

 Chapter 675: Arrival

    <h4>Chapter 675 - 675: Arrival</h4>


    "Bring out both the cores if needed. Just save him at any cost," Szar gave permission to Xaen while Yaliza left for the airport.


    "Sigh, that would''ve been something that I would''ve done to save Lucifer even if you hadn''t asked. But we can''t do that either." Xaen signed.


    "We can''t do that either? Why not?" Szar asked.


    "Because I can''t see any conflicting cores. In fact, he doesn''t have two cores which are close to each other. All his cores are at safe distance from each other," Xaen replied. "That''s the problem."


    "They''re at a safe distance? You mean they aren''t conflicting? So his problem is something else?" Szar asked.


    "I didn''t say that either. Cores can conflict with each other as long as they are inside the body. That''s the problem. That leaves the same problem for us, but makes it even more difficult to solve the problem since we can''t detect which core is conflicting."


    "And that doesn''t leave the choice between two cores. That widens the field even more. The problematic core can be any in his body."


    Xaen seemed very grave as he talked. The problem was much worse.


    "That means we can''t just take out two cores to help him?" Cassius asked.


    "Yeah. We might even have to remove all his cores one by one until only one is left, if we are unlucky in finding the right core," Xaen exined, grimly.


    "He won''t just be losing one of his powers, but he might lose all of his abilities if that happens," Szar let out. "That makes the choice much more difficult. We''re literally talking about taking everything from him!"


    "And that''s assuming that his problem is truly the cores. What if his problem is something else and his core is what''s keeping alive?" Alice asked.


    She further exined. " If the problem was something else and we took away his healing which keeps him alive even in this condition, what will happen?"


    "Sigh, this is certainly a difficult choice. But it''s something we must make. Are you going to leave him in this condition his entire life? Or will you sacrifice his abilities to bring him back?" Xaen asked.


    "I-" Szar didn''t know how to respond.


    "This is not our choice to make though," Jiani let out. "It''s his powers. How can you decide for Lucifer? You shouldn''t do anything. I think we should let him be like that. I''m sure his healing just needs more time to kick in."


    While speaking, she truly believed that no one else had the right to decide what happens with a person''s power other than that person. That was her principal. However, the true reason she was supporting letting Lucifer be like that was Milena.


    If Lucifer was in aatose situation his entire life, Milena was literally going to be the ruler of this world. Moreover, she won''t have to worry about the bracelet as her powers were unsealed. The only thing she couldn''t do was take off the bracelet.


    However, if Lucifer''s powers were sacrificed, he might be able toe back to life, but he was going to be very weak. In fact, if he was unlucky and the only power which was left at the end was something weak like his wind, then he was going to be a weakling as well.


    He couldn''t protect himself. He was certainly going to be wary of Milena and seal her powers again in fear. Strong Lucifer wasn''t afraid of Milena with powers but same couldn''t he said about weak Lucifer.


    Also, if Lucifer was weak, he could be killed by any enemy which was going to put Milena''s life in danger. If he was in the same state, Milena could keep him safe while she found a way to get out of the bracelet.


    "You think he has the right to decide what happens to his powers?" Szar asked. "I think the same. But you think he is in any situation to answer? If he was able to answer, why would we even need to worry about making this choice?"


    "The only reason we need to take this decision is because he can''t," he continued.


    "We need to make a decision now! His life or his abilities! And I think we all know the answer to that question!" he dered. "Unless someone thinks that his powers are more important than his life?!"


    "I didn''te here for Warlock King Lucifer Azarel! I hade to Uprising for the boy known as Lucifer who is the son of Zale Azarel! And I believe his life is more important than anything!"


    As Szar talked, his voice kept getting louder and louder. "Does anyone have a problem with my decision?! If there are consequences and he is angry when he wakes up, I''ll be here to take his anger! But I''m bringing him back at any cost!"


    "Well, that was a very passionate speech if I ever heard one." A calm voice filled the room.


    Everyone looked to the entrance and noticed a shadow on the ground. They couldn''t see who the shadow belonged to as there was no person there.


    A person stepped out of the shadow, dressed in all ck. He was wearing a Cardigan Particle robe which could change color as well. It was simr to what was made for Lucifer.


    "You are alive? But I heard you died?" Szar asked, frowning. "Kellian!"


    "Well, generally I would have asked why you don''t know that I''m alive, but Yaliza told me everything on the way. Apparently something happened to Lucifer, so he probably didn''t have the time to tell you anything."


    Kellian walked closer to Lucifer and sat near him.


    "Are you here to stop me from deciding to sacrifice his powers?" Szar asked Kellian. Even though he was strong, Kellian was technically the boss of Uprising after Lucifer. People were going to listen to him if he said something.


    Szar worried that Kellian was going to oppose him because he was more concerned about the Uprising than about Lucifer.


    Two more people stepped inside the room. Yaliza and Veracity stood in the back.


    "Calm down. And stop being so hyper. I thought you were an adult, but it seems like you''re still a kid. Let me take care of things from here on," Kellian told Szar.


    He turned to Xaen. "I heard what you said. Is it true that you might need to take all his powers away?"


    "Yeah. If we''re lucky, we might take out the conflicting power on the first try. If we''re unlucky, it might be thest ability we take out.." Xaen nodded.

 Chapter 676 - 676: Cards

    <h4>Chapter 676 - 676: Cards</h4>


    Kellian nced back at Veracity in the back.


    "He is lying," Veracity responded.


    "I had a feeling that it was the case when I heard your exnation," Kellian said, sighing.


    Hezily stood up. "Don''t you think you chose the wrong time to y your cards?"


    "What is happening here?" Szar asked, frowning.


    Xaen also stood up, amused. He looked at Veracity.


    "You really brought a snake into our home, didn''t you?" Kellian asked Szar, shaking his head. "If I had known this was going to happen, I would''ve warned you in advance."


    "I don''t understand what you''re saying," Szar let out, still not understanding.


    "Yeah. What are you trying to say?" Cassius also asked.


    Kellian pped his hand once, letting his shadows appear under the bed on the hunting ground. The dark shadows swallowed Lucifer along with the bed.


    "W-what are you doing? Are you betraying us?" Cassius roared, pulling out his Sword. "Kellian, if you''re really trying to hurt Lucifer, you will regret it!"


    Almost everyone was shocked at Kellian''s actions. But most believed that he might have a reason. And one of them was Alicia.


    "Don''t worry. I''m keeping him in the shadow realm. He''ll be safe there, in a ce where our friend here can''t hurt him," Kellian replied calmly.


    "Arthur, you''ve seen it before, right?"


    "Yeah. Lucifer won''t be hurt there," Arthur agreed. "But may we ask why you''re doing it?''


    "As I said, I''m doing it to keep Lucifer safe from him," Kellian replied, pointing towards Xaen.


    "From me?" Xaen asked, frowning. "But I''m only here to save Lucifer. I have no ulterior motive."


    "Another lie," Veracity once again chimed in.


    "Let me guess, you don''t want him to lose his abilities so you''re using me? You don''t want me to save him, do you? Let me guess. You want leadership? I can understand why you''d be tired of working under a youngster," Xaen said, sighing.


    "But it''s more important than you or me. We need to save him!"


    Cassius looked confused at Kellian and Xaen. Who was wrong? What was happening?


    Seeing the atmosphere getting tense, Milena decided to intervene.


    "Kellian, you speak first. What are you doing?" She asked.


    "What''s happening is that you people were stupid enough to invited him. Just a couple of weeks ago, someone hacked our system and stole all our ns!" Kellian exined. "Kane tracked the signal back to... Guess where?"


    Cassius nced at Xaen, understanding what Kellian was implying.


    "Exactly. The signal came from your ind. They very carefully hid their traces, but it wasn''t just hard to find either. I decided to investigate it because I wanted to make sure it wasn''t the Warlock Council." Kellian said.


    "But I couldn''t leave the base without any supervision. So I split my body in two. One went to the ind to find the truth while the other remained at the base to fight in the war."


    He looked at Milena. "It happened not long before we left for those ces. With a little help, I was able to track the person. The person also confessed the truth. He did it because someone named Xaen Eandrel told him."


    "I wanted to personally meet you to ask why you did it, but I heard quite a lot of praise for you. Apparently you''re pretty strong. I thought it was better to intercept you after we were done with the Warlock Council battles, so I came back to Elisium."


    "You can certainly expect my surprise when I was told that these people called you here to help Lucifer."


    "And it''s not surprising to see what you suggested and why you did what you did. You read our n, didn''t you?" Kellian asked, frowning.


    "You know stopping Lucifer would be hard for you, so you decided to use this opportunity? Take out his abilities right before our eyes while acting like a savior." He looked at Szar. "And you fell for it? You idiots, you were giving weak Lucifer to this wolf to devour? Why are you all such idiots?!"


    "You made a really good story. I must give you props." Xaen smiled. "Unfortunately, none of that is true. Why would I want to hurt Lucifer? He is the grandson of my friend. In fact, I even helped by letting Cassius take the Limiters for Lucifer."


    "You know what''s funny?" Kellian asked. "The system breach happened right after Cassius informed us about receiving the Limiters. You gave him Limiters, but you still weren''t at ease, thinking about the future."


    "Look, I understand you''re jealous of Lucifer and can go to any extent to protect your interest, even if it means sacrificing Lucifer. But making up such a ludacris story?" Xaen looked at Cassius. "Do you believe this guy?"


    "Who said you need to believe me?" Kellian asked, smiling. "Why else do you think I immediately didn''t expose you? I wanted to make sure if you were actually scheming something or you were actually trying to help Lucifer."


    "I literally would''ve let you take out all abilities of Lucifer if your first answer hadn''t been a lie."


    "It wasn''t a lie though," Xaen said.


    "Another lie," Veracity again chimed in.


    Xaen''s face twitched a bit. "Stop speaking that. I can also say you''re lying. It doesn''t matter."


    "You see, it matters when she says it," Kellian replied. "Because Veracity can detect lies. That''s her ability."


    He nced at Cassius and Szar. "You should know that as well. Moreover, she''s always been more loyal to Lucifer than to me. It''s not a hidden fact."


    "I have one question then," Szar let out. "If you can give a reasonable answer, I''ll believe you.''


    "Go ahead. What do you want to know?"


    "I heard that your body was destroyed here. All of your shadows were destroyed after that. How did your other half stay alive? And if what was destroyed wasn''t the real you, then why were all shadows destroyed? Something doesn''t make sense."


    "Have you ever wondered why I''m called a Warlock and not a Sorcerer?" Kellian asked. "The answer is hidden in there."


    "You mean.... Your Physical Ability?"


    "Somewhat. Besides my elemental abilities of shadows, I also have the ability to create another me. Both Kellian''s were like different people, possessing the same abilities. But this ability is something I rarely use."


    "Because it''s something that eats a lot of energy and only one of my two selves can possessplete power. The other has only a fraction of my true power."


    "Are you the real one or the one with a fraction of your power?"


    "You think I would send my weaker self to war here?" Kellian asked, rolling his eyes.. "But my other self is destroyed, so this body should soon return to my full glory."

 Chapter 677 - 677: Siding With The Wrong

    "This is getting funny. You''re making up a story and using me when you called for my help?" Xaen asked. "Return Lucifer this instant. He is the grandson of my friend. I must save him."


    "Believe me or not, but I do want to save him," he continued.


    "I don''t doubt that," Kellian replied. "I''m sure you want to save Lucifer, but only after taking everything from him, so he''s not a threat to what you hold dear, isn''t that right?"


    Xaen rolled his eyes, turning to Cassius. "Cassius, tell your friend to stop talking nonsense and return Lucifer. His condition can deteriorate at any time. He needs help."


    "You do know I''m strong enough to tten this ce if I wanted. Why would I waste so much time if I was here with ulterior motives? The only one with ulterior motives is this guy!" He pointed towards Kellian.


    "I-i don''t know who is telling the truth." Cassius looked back and forth between Kellian and Xaen.


    It was true that Veracity could detect lies, so it was quite possible that she detected the lies of Xaen, and he was indeed lying.


    But it was also true that Veracity was with Kellian beforeing here. If he made her lie, they were never going to do. She could be lying on Kellian''smands; who was the one with real ulterior motives?


    It was very odd that Kellian was killed here, didn''t before Lucifer came down with this condition. And after Lucifer was gone, Kellian came with Veracity? If it was a scheme, it was a very thorough scheme.


    "I think Master Xaen is telling the truth. Kellian, please return Lucifer. He truly did help us before. And if he wanted, he could''ve killed Lucifer anytime since he knew where Lucifer was. But he didn''t do anything. I don''t think he''s that kind of person," Cassius said.


    "You are probably misunderstanding something. Bring Lucifer back," he added.


    "So you chose to trust the devil," Kellian muttered. "Anyone else here that wants to trust him?"


    Szar was also confused, but it was true that he trusted Kellian very little. Kellian has been involved with Uprising since the start. There was a good chance that Uprising was more important to him than Kellian.


    At the same time, he couldn''t believe Xaen either. If it was true that Xaen had the ns of Uprising, then he was certainly going to know that Uprising wanted to conquer the world, which involved the ind as well.


    There was no way Xaen was going to allow it. The biggest weapon of the Uprising was Lucifer Azarel. If Xaen could take Lucifer''s powers, Uprising wasn''t going to be a threat to anyone. So he certainly had a great motive.


    As for why he didn''t kill everyone here, he believed there could be a good reason for that as well.


    Szar also didn''t know who to side with. He just stood in the middle. However, it was the Uprising which had made up their minds.


    The Uprising members stood behind Kellian, supporting him. Uprising was like a family, and Kellian was the oldest member of the family. They couldn''t doubt him


    Not only the Uprising, but the nobles also side with Milena. They had the benefit in keeping Lucifer like he was. Waking him up was counterproductive for them. So they stood beside Kellian as well.


    "As much as I don''t want to do this, but I think I''ll have to believe Kellian on this," Milena said. "We don''t need your help. Please leave."


    Eve knew Xaen more than anyone else. If it was true that Xaen had the ns of Uprising, she was sure that Kellian was telling the truth about the rest. She believed he was here with ulterior motives to take advantage of the situation, but she still didn''t know what she should do.


    If they let Xaen do what he wanted, Lucifer was going to wake up. There was a good chance of that. He was going to be very weak, but at least he was going to be alive. She could be with him again, and that was more important than anything.


    On the other hand, she also knew that this was going to make Lucifer really sad when he woke up. It was also going to alter his destiny. She didn''t believe her happiness was more important than the future and happiness of Lucifer.


    She also stood beside Kellian, taking a deep breath. "Please leave. We''ll find some other way to help him. You can go."


    Alicia also stood beside Lucifer.


    Ultimately, Szar also chose to believe Kellian and walked to them.


    Entire Uprising and Noble forces stood before Xaen, who was only supported by Cassius.


    "You are making a mistake," Xaen told the small group. "You sure you want to do this?"


    "We are sure. Leave this ce this instant," Jiani said.


    "Why are you all doing this? Do you think Lucifer''s life is less important than his abilities? I don''t see any reason for Master Xaen to lie! Please return Lucifer!" Cassius dered.


    "He was happy in the Academy when he believed he only had one power! We''ll keep him safe once again. If you don''t want weak Lucifer, I''ll take my friend back! Back to where his true home is! I am sure he won''t interfere in your matters! Just let us have him!" he further stated.


    He had seen Lucifer when he was a kind boy who only had strength. He knew that Lucifer was still going to be special, even with one power.


    Moreover, he could also go back to his old life, far away from all this bloodshed. This wasn''t an entirely bad future at all.


    "Cassius, you''re siding with him?" Alicia asked.


    "I''m siding with what''s best for Lucifer! And living his entire life in a limbo isn''t best for him!" Cassius retorted.


    "You''re siding with the right thing, Cassius. If we left Lucifer with him, he''d die. And his grandpa would be really angry. I don''t want to see my friend upset. So I want to save your friend at any cost!" Xaen told Cassius. "Will you support me?"


    "Support?" Cassius asked.


    "Yeah. If they don''t return my friend''s grandson, I''ll take him back with force! If I need to be a viin to save him, I''ll be one. But are you prepared to go against the people you worked with? If not, please step back," Xaen said as multiple Spatial Portals appeared around him.


    "I-" Cassius nced at everyone he spent time with. Everyone treated him like a friend, but it was about Lucifer.. He didn''t have the liberty to think.

 Chapter 678 - 678: If Not Here

    "If it''ll save Lucifer, I''m willing to fight by your side. I''m sure Lucifer will understand," Cassius said, holding his sword firmly.


    In the current timeline, a battle to retrieve Lucifer''s body was going on. In another ce, Lucifer was standing inside the lift, which had suddenly stopped working.


    "Is the power gone?" Zale asked. "Let me try opening the door."


    He stabbed his fingers in the metallic door and tried to pull the door open. "Like like we are in between floors."


    "I assumed as much. It''s not that the power is gone but the lift which is turned off," Lucifer replied. "They probably want to trap us. Oh well, so much for thinking we can do it without using a bit of violence."


    Lucifer raised his hand, creating a lightning Sword. His body started floating up. He stabbed the sword on the corner of the top and started slicing.


    At the same time, he used his wind to keep Zale floating because he was going to make the entire life fall down.


    As he started slicing the lift from edge to edge, the lift started bing unstable.


    Thud~


    As soon as he finished slicing, the rest of the lift fell with incredible force while the top half flew up with simr force. It was even more amplified by the winds of Lucifer.


    He continued flying up, only stopping after reaching the top floor.


    Using the same lightning sword, he started slicing the door of the lift. After cutting the door, he stepped on the floor, slightly surprised that there were no guards.


    Initially, he had assumed that he was going to find a barrage of bullets flying towards him. "Looks like all the security is concentrated downstairs. Good for us."


    He stabbed the sword in the controls of the other lift to stop it from working. Now no one could get here without using the stairs.


    He also covered the entrance of the stairs with his barrier before walking down the hallway.


    "Which room?" Zale asked.


    "The closest. Either it''ll be the right one, or it''ll be the right one," Luciferzily said. "Not like the person won''t be able to find an answer for us."


    He ced his hand on the door, which started decaying slowly.


    "This... Is this why you don''t eat with your hands?" Zale asked, noticing the decay.


    "Yeah. It''s always active," Lucifer replied, smiling.


    "Whatever I touch is destroyed. Then again, it''s not just with my powers. It''s like my destiny. Wherever I walk, death and destruction follow," Lucifer smiled, hiding an iprehensible emotion in his eyes.


    The door was destroyed entirely, allowing the others a path to enter.


    "W-who are you?" A well-dressed man was sitting behind a table. Seeing two strangers enter after destroying his door, he stood up.


    He pulled the drawer while looking for a gun.


    "Looking for a weapon? Or something to call security? Go ahead; I''ll wait." Luciferzily said, walking to the window in the back.


    He observed the city through the window. "The city looks so different than it''s about to be. I must say, I like this iteration more. It looks so peaceful, contrary to the crowded mess."


    The man brought his gun out and aimed at Lucifer. "Who are you?"


    "You are slightly slow. It took you three minutes to search for your gun." Luciferzily turned around. "That''s pretty bad when ites to self defense, you know?"


    "Answer me. Who are you?!"


    "I am just a concerned citizen who is looking for someone. And I was wondering if you can help me find the person."


    "I''m in the finance department! How can I help you locate people? I''m not lost and found! Tell me your true motive. I''m not joking with the gun. I''ll really shoot!"


    "You''ll really shoot?" Lucifer asked, amused. "I thought you were joking."


    "Anyway, enough jokes. Check your system and find me the person named Julien Asade."


    "I told you I can''t help you. If you don''t leave, you''re going to be in a big mess. I''ve also alerted security. They''re going to be here soon!"


    "Oh, I doubt that," Lucifer replied, slightly amused. "I think they''ll be busy trying to find a way to step on this floor in the first ce. But I can send you to them if you want a faster way to meet them."


    He snapped his fingers, making the gun leave the hands of the man. The gun appeared in the hands of Lucifer. Within seconds, it waspletely destroyed.


    "So, are you going to help me now? Because I do have some other ways to convince you if you don''t."


    "Other ways?" The man asked.


    Lucifer punched the ss window, shattering it. Some ss pieces even hit his hand, making it bleed, but the bleeding soon stopped.


    Lucifer waved his hand, using his wind to toss the man out the window.


    "Argh!"


    The man screamed as he was pushed out the window, but he realized that he wasn''t falling. He was floating in the air.


    "You either help me find the person I''m looking for, or I''ll help you find the god," Lucifer said, smiling. "Understood?"


    "I-i understand! I will help you! Please take me in!"


    "Good boy." Lucifer brought the man inside.


    "I don''t know how you do it, but I want the location of Julien Asade. He is a citizen of this ce," he added as he sat on one of the chairs, one leg resting above the other.


    "Why are you standing?" he asked, looking back at Zale. "Take the seat. It might take some time."


    ...


    risse was meeting a young man who was dressed in a white robe as if he was a doctor, but he wasn''t alone. The man had two guards standing behind him, both carrying weapons.


    The man had long white hair despite looking like he was barely in his early twenties. His hazel eyes and good looks were making many girls nce at him as they walked past.?The man was more focused on risse though.


    "You''re prettyte. I didn''t expect this from you," the man said.


    "I was dyed. I know. But there were circumstances I couldn''t avoid. Anyways, can we please get to the topic? Why did wee all the way here?" risse asked.


    "Where would we go if not here? You know it''s hard making those Gloves. We exhausted all the stock we had. If we don''t get more, we can''t make more of those Gloves or other things rted," the man said, smiling.


    "You mean this ce has what we need?" risse asked.

 Chapter 679 - 679: Mission

    "ording to my sources, it''s here in this city. That''s why I called you to meet me here because I''m going to need you if I want to receive it," the man said.


    "Tell me where we need to go," risse let out.


    "The mansion of an antique collector. His name is Ramian Asade," The man replied.


    "Is the man a Variant? What''s the security level of that ce?" risse asked. "Any Variants on duty? And what about him? Is he a Variant?"


    "I''ve gathered all the information about him. He isn''t a Variant," the man answered. "But he is truly rich. Since he has money and a really expensive collection, the security is very tight."


    "Moreover, he also employs a Variant. Not much is known about the Variant since he doesn''t leave the mansion. He''s more like the house guest at this point than a guard."


    "So we don''t know the ability of the Variant," risse mumbled. "Fine. Do you at least know where the materials we need are kept?"


    The man shrugged his shoulders. "I only know that it''s inside the mansion."


    "How are we going to find it then?"


    "We''ll have to ask around," the man replied. "Someone there must know, most probably Ramian."


    "So it''s not a simple break in and get it before anyone knows it kind of mission, is it?" risse asked. "It''s a proper takeover mission which would most probably involve fighting."


    "Most probably," The man said. "That''s why I needed you here. I have an escape route ready. As soon as we''re done, we''ll leave the city. No one will know we were from Elisium."


    risse scratched the back of her head. "I don''t know why, but I don''t have a good feeling about it."


    "Don''t worry. Nothing will go wrong. Moreover, I''lle with you. My guards will stay outside to alert us in case someone approaches the mansion. So, are you ready? We really can''t dy the mission."


    "Sigh, I am ready," risse ultimately nodded, ncing at her gloves.


    She needed the material for more gloves. Only she knew how difficult life was for her without the gloves. After receiving the gloves, she believed she had received a second chance to have a somewhat normal life.


    She couldn''t go back to her old self where everything she touched was destroyed.


    "Good decision. Follow me."


    The man calmly said as he started walking.


    risse followed behind the man.


    The dark shadow was still following behind risse. It hadn''t intercepted or attacked. Instead, it just silently kept following like a spy.


    "Breaking inside a house with a Variant? This can be a good opportunity for me to increase my chances of sess. When she''s fighting the Variant, I can..."


    ...


    Lucifer waited on the chair while the Finance Minister searched for Julian Asade in his database, looking for any financial records of the guy.


    "Can you tell me how old the guy is?" he asked Lucifer while looking at him curiously.


    "Ah." Hearing the question, Lucifer went nk. He couldn''t believe he hadn''t thought about that until now!


    Julien wasn''t that old when Lucifer met him. He was probably in his early thirties. Now that Lucifer hade back in time, didn''t it mean that the guy was either a kid or he wasn''t even born yet?


    ''If that''s the case, there''s no way he can have what I''m looking for. Let''s just hope that he looked younger than he actually was. That should be quite possible given his abilities.''


    Lucifer was optimistic after realizing the loophole in his n that was so evident, yet he had missed. He was now thirty-one years in the past!


    "I don''t know how old he would be. Maybe he''s a kid. Or maybe he''s a teenager. Just find me any Julien Asade you can," he told the man.


    The man momentarily looked at Lucifer in surprise. He was looking for a person, and he didn''t even know how old that guy was? That was certainly odd.


    He shifted her attention back to the screen.


    After five minutes, he signed. "Nope. I can''t find any Julien Asade. Either he doesn''t exist, or he''s really good at hiding. But that can be the case if he''s a kid."


    "I did find another Asade in the city though. If only his name were Julien, we could''ve been done here."


    "Can you show me what this person looks like?" Lucifer asked.


    "Just a sec." The man turned the screen to Lucifer, letting him see the face of the man.


    "This face... I can certainly see simrities with Julien. But he''s older than Julien was. Maybe Julien is his son. Who is this guy? I need his address."


    "He is known as Ramian Asade. He is a pretty wealthy person from what I can see," the man let out. "So many transactions rted to him. His mansion isn''t far from here."


    "Give me your phone and open the location so it can take us there," Lucifer told the man, frowning.


    "M-my phone?"


    "Will you give your phone or your life?" Lucifer asked.


    "I-i am giving!" The man opened the map on his table and ced it on the table. "It''ll guide you to the mansion.''


    "Good. I''ll leave the phone outside the mansion. You can collect it after a few hours. In the meantime, please try to not send any forces there. I truly don''t want to do anything stupid in front of these two. It''ll be a bad influence," Lucifer told the man before he flew out the window.


    The phone and Zale flew behind him, only to stop.


    They noticed two militarized helicoptersing in their direction.


    "Did they already call for backup?" Lucifer sighed. "So much for keeping things positive. I don''t have time for this."


    He waved his hand, sending a massive wave of wind which sent the helicopters flying away, throwing them off course.


    At the same time, he flew towards the mansion, which was shown on the phone.


    ...


    risse reached the Mansion with Jake and the two guards. Both the guards were told to cover both ends of the streets to make sure no one suspicious passed through without information.


    After leaving them, risse helped Jake fly, taking him to the roof while avoiding the cameras.


    She opened the doors on the roof, using her decay, and went down with Jake.


    "Try to kill as few people as possible," Jake told risse. "We don''t want the incident to be big."


    "I know. I''ll just knock them out. Don''t worry," risse replied.


    "Good. If I''m not wrong, Ramian must be living on the top floor. We''re already pretty close to her, but there should be cameras all around the hallway.. If we''re seen, the guards will surround us within seconds," Jake said.

 Chapter 680 - 680: Gift

    "So we need to take care of the cameras first."


    "Exactly. You''ll have a few seconds to do it."


    "If Cameras are destroyed, won''t the guards be alert then?" risse asked.


    "They will, but they won''t hit the rm. They''ll most probably suspect a bug in the system. They''lle to check personally and won''t be in big numbers. Much better than a beeping rm," Jake replied.


    As soon as risse stepped foot on the floor, she sent her wind des down the hallway, slicing all the cameras that were keeping an eye on the hallway.


    Other than the cameras, the hallway waspletely empty. There was not a single guard there since Ramian didn''t like guards near his family.


    risse took a step forward, but Jake stopped her.


    "What now?" risse asked, ring at him.


    "There are motion detectors. Don''t walk on the floor. Don''t walk on the floor," Jake said.


    "You seem to know an awful lot about this ce for a person who ims to not know where the materials we need are," risse let out, frowning.


    "Focus on the goals. You''ll have all the time in the world to think about such nonsenseter," Jake reminded risse as he brought a small metallic ball out of his pocket and ced it on the ground.


    "What''s that?" risse asked.


    "Just a small gift for the guests who mighte up to check the floor now that cameras are gone," Jake answered.


    "Whatever." risse rolled her eyes.


    She started floating in the air and flew with Jake towards the room on the other end of the hallway.


    "This is the room. It would be locked from inside. You know what to do."


    "I know." risse took off her gloves and ced her hand on the door, which started deteriorating.


    The door opened as the lock was destroyed. risse and Jake stepped inside the room.


    On another end, Lucifer and Szar had justnded on the roof of the mansion as well. Instead of taking the long route from the main entrance, he chose to sneak inside with Zale.


    "There is no door here? What poor security," Zale said, finding the door missing.


    "Certainly intriguing," Lucifer muttered, frowning.


    Just to be sure, he spread his Energy Negation around him.


    "Stay within two meter range of me," he told Zale.


    He didn''t know if Julien''s father was going to have the same ability as Julien, but if that was the case, he needed to take all the precautions he could, even though it took a heavy toll on his body to keep the energy negation maintained since his energy negation wasn''t perfect.


    He hadn''t stolen energy negation from Yasmine like he usually had to do for most of his abilities. Instead, it came as a hidden surprise for him when he had killed the Warlock Council leader in the Divine Empire.


    The man had temporarily stolen the powers of Yasmine and Arthur. However, as soon as Lucifer had killed the man, the temporary abilities he had stolen from the two started going back to the body of the original owners.


    By the time Lucifer absorbed thest of the man''s body, the powers of Arthur hadpletely left him, but a small fragment of Yasmine''s ability was still in his body, going back slowly.


    After Lucifer absorbed the body, the energy negation fragment formed a core of its own inside his body, but unlike Yasmine''s core, it was much smaller and imperfect.


    It gave him the powers of Yasmine, but because of the imperfections, it came with heavy energy costs to keep the barrier maintained. That was the reason he didn''t always keep the barrier active.


    That absorption also gave him some other abilities, including the dark wings, but for some reason, he couldn''t use the ability which allowed the man to borrow the abilities of others.


    Instead, he felt that his Parasite ability had gotten stronger and more efficient. He didn''t understand the basics of it, but now he had a feeling why it happened after absorbing the abilities of Julien.


    He believed that if there were abilities that conflicted with each other, there must also be abilities thatplement each other.


    That gave him a possible answer to the old question that was guing his mind regarding where the borrowing ability went.


    ording to him, it was taken by his parasitic control to make it stronger, just like he made his lightning stronger by sacrificing other abilities. The weaker ability was devoured by the stronger parasitic control.


    "It''s not my old body, so it might take an even heavier toll on me. We need to intercept Ramian faster."


    He took his first step down the stairs.


    As Lucifer reached the top floor, he noticed a small ball on the ground.


    He had only noticed the ball when the ball started beeping repeatedly.


    "A bomb?" Lucifer muttered, rolling his eyes. He cast his energy barrier around the small ball, trapping it.


    Boom~


    Within seconds, the ball exploded, filling the barrier with smoke.


    "Certainly an interesting way to wee guests," Lucifer let out,ughing.


    "That thing... I''ve seen it before."


    "You have?" Lucifer asked.


    "Yeah, it was used in Elisium by the authorities. This isn''t actually a bomb but a sleeping gas."


    "Sleeping gas, hug. Quite simr to what Kane made for us. So that''s where he got the idea from."


    The guards also came up the stairs to check the cameras when they noticed Lucifer.


    "You! Hands in the air!" Theymanded Lucifer.


    "As you say." Lucifer started raising his hand. At the same time, he removed his barrier from the wall and sent a gentle wind, which brought all the smoke to the guards.


    "T-this..."


    Taking in all the smoke, the guards started feeling weak. Before long, they all dropped to the ground, falling into a fast sleep.


    "That was easy. Now, time to get to the guy."


    He started walking to the first room; however, as soon as he took the first step, he stopped.


    Beep! Beep! Beep!


    A loud rm started echoing in the mansion.


    "They certainly have an annoying security," Lucifermended as he kicked open the first door, which was empty.


    He kept kicking the doors, ignoring the rm until he reached thest room.


    "This..." He noticed the signs of decay on the door, which immediately made him understand who was here.


    "Why would she be here?" he muttered as he pushed the door open.


    "What?"


    As soon as Lucifer opened the door, his expressions changed.


    Even Zale felt slightly disgusted at what he saw.

 Chapter 681 - 681: The Kid

    The room was like any normal bedroom. It had some decorations on the wall and a bed which had a white bedsheet.


    However, that white bedsheet was covered with blood. The unmoving body of a young boy was lying on the bed with a bullet mark on his chest.


    Besides the man, a woman was lying unconscious. She seemed to be pregnant.


    On the other side of the dead boy, a middle-aged man was sitting pale-faced. "Y-you killed my son! I''ll kill you!"


    A man was keeping his gun aimed at them while risse seemed confused, not knowing how to react. This wasn''t part of the n. How did they end up killing a kid? She didn''t believe they were doing the right thing, even if it was for getting the materials they needed.


    She was just about to do something, but attacking someone from her side was a bit conflicting. She had to think a lot about it.


    "What are you doing? We don''te here to kill someone! You said yourself! Why did you kill the kid?'' risse asked.


    "I didn''t kill the kid. They killed their son. I told them not to move. They thought I was bluffing?" Jake replied.


    "Sometimes, you must sacrifice one person to get what you need." He turned to the man on the bed.?"Now, answer my questions. If you don''t, I''ll kill your wife as well!"


    Just as he finished, a sigh echoed in the surroundings.


    "No you won''t," Lucifer replied, snapping his fingers. The gun flew out of the hands of Jake,nding in the hands of Lucifer, who crushed the gun.


    "Who?" Jake and risse turned back, surprised.


    "You two?" risse immediately recognized Lucifer and Zale. What were they doing here? More importantly, what did they see? Were they misunderstanding her as well?


    "Variants? You must be the Variant Guard I heard was here," Jake said, shaking his head. "risse, take him out so we can get out fast."


    ''This is interesting.'' A dark figure was watching everything, seemingly amused. He kept himself hidden despite being in in sight. Things were getting interesting for him.


    "I-" risse stayed still. Just this morning, she had fought them, and she had lost easily. Moreover, she knew that these people weren''t bad. They said they were tourists here. How could they be guards here?


    "Are you guards here? Did you lie about being a tourist?" risse asked.


    "I''m really not against killing anyone. I''ve killed many personally, but to see you do things like this... I don''t know what to think," Lucifer replied. "I am not here to fight you. Please step aside and let me do what I''m here for."


    "And what would that be?'' risse asked.


    "I''m here for him," Lucifer said, pounding towards Ramian Asade. "Please leave. I don''t want to fight you."


    Lucifer walked to the bed,pletely ignoring the two guests.


    "What are you doing? Take him out!"


    "I-" risse didn''t move. Everything was suddenly so confusing for her, especially now that they seemed like the bad people.


    "Did you forget our mission? Do you not want to have a normal life? Because if we don''t get what we''re here for, at best, you''ll have a year before the Gloves give up!"


    "And you won''t have more! You want that? Don''te crying to us after that!" Jake reminded risse, cing his finger on the weak nerve of risse, who just wanted to have a life without worrying about destroying everything she touched.


    "The boy who died... What was his name?" Lucifer asked Ramian.


    "J-Jian Asase," Ramian replied. "Are you here to help us?"


    "Help? That won''t be entirely false. I''m here to help you so you can help me," Lucifer replied, ncing towards thedy.


    "That must be your son Julien then," he said, noticing the stomach of thedy. "Too bad he isn''t old enough. The wait would be too big and won''t have any abilities at the moment."


    "Son? My wife is pregnant with a daughter. Please help us! I''ll give you all the moments you can ever want!" Ramian told Lucifer.


    "That''s a girl? So that''s not Julien either?" Lucifer asked, scratching the back of his head.


    "I suppose you don''t have an ability either?" He had hoped that Ramian was going to have the time control ability of Julien, but it was impossible. If he had the ability, he would''ve stopped risse and the man without having his son killed.


    One after another, Lucifer was getting disappointments. Now his n to take the powers had gone down the drain, leaving nothing for him.


    He let out a sigh. This is disappointing."


    He turned around, looking at Zale. "Let''s leave. This ce doesn''t have what we need."


    "What about these people? We''re going to leave them in danger?" Zale inquired.


    "You want to save them?'' Lucifer asked.


    Zale nodded. "They just lost their son. I think they don''t deserve this."


    Lucifer nced at Jake. "I heard what you were saying. You seem to be from Elisium. You need things to make the gloves. And I suppose they are here. I have no problem with it. In fact, I don''t want to stop the construction of gloves since others will need it in the future as well."


    "Who are you? How do you know so much about us?" Jake inquired.


    "I doubt you''ll be getting that answer here," Lucifer replied. "Since he said we can''t leave you like this, I''m going to listen to him. Moreover, I am not really fond of people that use their age to kill kids. Sweet dreams."


    He raised his finger towards Jake.


    "Wait!" risse stepped in the middle, understanding what Lucifer was going to do. She had seen him using his bolts. She couldn''t let Jake be killed.


    Sheunched a wing st, pushing Lucifer and Zale back while she flew away with Jake.


    "What are you doing? You''re running away instead of killing the man?" Jake asked risse. "We still haven''t received what we came here for! Why are you running away!"


    "I''m running to save your life, Genius. If you''re dead, most of the research will go with you. I need you to stay alive. We can always find the materials again.''


    "Saving my life? Just who are those people to make you step back like a coward?"


    "All I know is that they aren''t security here. Moreover, they are very strong. They came here with an ulterior motive like us. But your stupidity of killing a child made them hate you! It''s a failed mission!"


    "This-" Jake started replying, but before he could answer, he stopped.


    risse also stopped in her ce. She could neither go forward nor go back.. She couldn''t even blink as she was paused in time.

 Chapter 682 - 682: Finalized

    "T-thank you," Ramian told Lucifer, seeing that it''s because of Lucifer that the people ran away.


    He turned to his dead son, who was just five years old, cing his hand on the cheeks of the little boy.


    "I, no, we are sorry for your loss. You shouldn''t have lost your son. I can only try to imagine your pain," Zale said, sighing.


    Lucifer didn''tment anything. He simply nced at the dead boy. There was something strange which he was feeling inside himself. He didn''t understand what it was, but it was slightly odd feeling.


    "We are leaving," he told Zale. "We have people to meet."


    He stopped looking at the boy and left the room. He believed that risse had run away by now. The only reason he didn''t chase her was because he truly didn''t want to fight. He subconsciously wanted to let her leave.


    Ramian watched Lucifer leave, letting out a deep sigh. He couldn''t help but wonder how different it would''ve been if they had arrived just a few moments ago. Their son would''ve been alive.


    He got off the bed, picking his son''s body in his arms.


    ...


    Lucifer left the room, stepping into the hallway, only to grow surprised that risse hadn''t left.


    She was standing in the middle of the hallway, unmoving.


    There was a man standing before her, dressed in a dark robe. Her eyes were shining in a mysterious ck light.


    Five men were standing behind him, aiming their guns at risse and Jake.


    The man turned his attention to Lucifer in the back, who had just stepped into the hallway.


    As Lucifer and Zale were stunned, they were momentarily still as well, giving the dark robed man a feeling that they were under his abilities as well.


    "Fire!" Hemanded the guards.


    All the guards behind him started firing with their machine guns. At the same time as they fired, the man removed his time Barrier to let the bullets through.


    Thud~


    One of the bullets stabbed in the forehead of Jake. Others prated his chest. When it came to risse and Zale, nothing happened to them as Lucifer cast his barrier around them precisely.


    At the same time, Ramian had stepped out of the room just before the first bullet was fired.


    Thud~


    The first bullet hit his knees, second hit his shoulders, while the third one passed through the center of his forehead.


    Hearing the painful grunting from the back, Lucifer turned around.


    "Ramian?"


    He cast a barrier on Ramian as well, but it was toote. Ramian dropped to the ground with the body of his son.


    "Ramian!" The Dark Robed man yelled, seeing Ramian being shot.


    He again cast his time Barrier on the surroundings just as risse had started to use her winds after understanding the situation. She again found herself paused in time.


    The dark-robed man pulled out his knife and ran ahead to finish everyone on his own.


    This time, Lucifer was sure that he was using the ability of time stop.


    "So the trip here wasn''t aplete waste in the end." He started flying towards the man as well.


    As soon as Lucifer left, the Emergency Negative field moved away from Zale, letting him get stuck in time.


    Lucifer cast another barrier around risse, seeing the knife just inches away from her body.


    "You! You can move!" The man roared.


    "I can do much more," Lucifer replied, thrusting his hand inside the chest of the man, grasping the heart of the man.


    He pulled out the heart, letting it fall on the ground since he didn''t want to decay it entirely by holding it.


    "I''m sorry, it''s nothing personal. It''s just my ticket back. Don''t me me." After finishing, he ced his hand on the pale face of the man, decaying what was left of his body.


    Seeing the strength of Lucifer, some guards started running while others started firing even more intensely.


    Lucifer snapped his fingers, sending his wind des. All the guards dropped to the ground.


    The spy was still hiding in the shadows. He wanted toe out and attack when everyone was busy, but he understood that he was going to fall quite fast under that time domain. All he was going to do was give away his position.


    He decided not to take any action, especially after seeing the skills of Lucifer. He still needed to understand more.


    The time barrier had gone, risse once again came to her senses, sending a fine attack towards the guards.


    "Huh?" Even though she had attacked, she was surprised to see that everyone was already dead. The battle was already over? Howe she didn''t know anything?


    She soon remembered that Jake was lying on the ground, dear.


    "Jake!"


    "He is dead, like everyone else here," Lucifer answered instead.


    "You saved me?" risse asked. "You could''ve saved him as well, right?"


    "I could have, but he wasn''t worth it," Lucifer replied, stomping on the skull of Jake.


    "Zale, leave with risse. Wait for me near the shop where we first met. I''ll see you there."


    "You aren''ting?" risse inquired.


    "I still have some things to take care of. Now get out before I throw you both out," Lucifer replied.


    risse looked to Zale, reaching out her hand towards Zale. "I know we did bad by killing the boy, but I can promise that I didn''t know Jake was going to do it. Our n wasn''t to kill innocent people."


    "I-i will believe you," Zale nodded, holding the hand of risse.


    "Come back fast!" risse told Lucifer before she flew away with Zale.


    Watching Zale and risse leave together, Lucifer nodded in satisfaction.


    "Now time to take some powers. Since both powers are of simr nature, this shouldplete the time core. With greater control, I should be able to go back whenever I want in the future."


    He raises his shirt, stabbing his hand on his stomach before he swiftly picked up the heart and ced it inside his body.


    The heart started decaying, turning into pure energy for Lucifer.


    Within seconds, Lucifer absorbed the heart. However, as soon as he finished, he started feeling something strange. Unlike before, his body wasn''t feeling cold. Instead, it was starting to feel extremely hot now.


    "Don''t tell me I screwed up again?" he muttered, finding his vision getting blurry. "Hopefully not."


    He flew out of the mansion and kept flying to get to some safe ce.. After flying for a long time, he finally reached the shop where he saw Zale and risse.

 Chapter 683 - 683: Little Selfish

    Kellian had sent Lucifer''s body back in his Shadow Realm; still, he wasn''t at peace.


    Xaen was right inside their new base, but he wasn''t alone. Cassius had also switched sides. It was looking highly probable that a battle was going to take ce.


    "Are you sure you want to do this?" Xaen asked Kellian. "I''m giving you onest chance. Return Lucifer, and we can avoid it all."


    "I''m sorry, but you won''t be getting him back. He''s in a safe ce now. And if you don''t leave in the next five seconds, you''ll be considered an intruder and killed," Kellian answered.


    "Please don''t me meter for that," Xaen replied, sighing.


    He pped his hand, making a Spatial Portal appear under each person.


    "What?" Not expecting something like this, everything fell inside the Portals that appeared under them.


    Before anyone could know it, they were all swallowed by the portals. All the portals closed.


    "D-did you kill them all?!" Cassius eximed. "What did you do! You killed Lucifer as well!"


    "Don''t worry. I don''t want to kill Lucifer. I''m here to bring him back alive. The old man will kill me if he finds out that I killed his so-called grandson."


    "Then what did you do?" Cassius asked.


    "You heard the saying, Teamwork is the strongest?" Xaen asked. "That''s what I did. Stopped their chance of working in a team."


    Before Cassius could ask for rification, Xaen continued. "I sent them all to a different ce on this continent. They''ll have a hard time getting back here. Now instead of fighting them all, we just need to take care of that Kellian guy."


    "Come," he said, opening a portal before him


    He stepped inside the portal. Cassius also stepped inside.


    As Cassius stepped out of the portal, he found himself in a desert. The long desert was only filled with sand. As far as the eyes could see, there was not a single person at the site, none except Kellian.


    Xaen and Cassius appeared before Kellian.


    "Kellian, return Lucifer. I can understand why you want to keep him in thisa! You want him out of the picture but believe me!. Even after we bring Lucifer back, your position won''t be in danger! Return him!" Xaen yelled.


    "Can you please drop the act? Only the three of us are here. You don''t need to keep the act. Just confess the truth. Or are you scared your student might know?" Kellian asked, frowning.


    "I don''t know what you''re talking about," Xaen shed a smug smile while winking. As his back was towards Cassius, he couldn''t see the smile.


    ....


    Even though Lucifer managed to reach there, he could feel his body heating up. He had already taken off his jacket by now, tossing it away.


    "Are you fine?" Zale asked, looking at Lucifer. "You don''t look fine."


    "I''m fine. Don''t worry about me," Lucifer answered. "Just feeling a little warm.''


    "Ah, y-your body..." risse let out, pointing towards Lucifer.


    "What about my body?" Lucifer asked, seemingly confused. He turned around, looking at his reflection on the ss windows of the shop


    "Hmm?"


    Seeing his own reflection, even he was surprised. His body seemed slightly see-through, especially his hands.


    "Now that the conflicting stopped, is my healing trying to bring me back to my real timeline?" Lucifer muttered, frowning.


    He turned to Zale, sighing. "I might be leaving soon, but I should tell you some things before I leave. I don''t know if it''s the right thing or not, but I want you to know about the future."


    "Can you bring something out of my pocket like the first time we met? Because my pockets disappear as well," he added.


    Confused, Zale ced his hand in the pocket of Lucifer.


    He pulled out a piece of folded paper from the pocket. "A letter?"


    "The letter contains everything I think you should know. You must read the letter after I''m gone," Lucifer smiled.


    "Oh, and one more thing..."


    He took a step closer to both risse and Zale


    "I am d I got to meet you again. I didn''t think this was ever going to happen. After the letter I gave you, I might not have a future to go back to, but...."


    " I can only hope You''ll take the letter seriously and find me... Don''t keep secrets from me that time. Tell me everything that''s in the letter! I must know!"


    After finishing, he waved his hand. He had written everything about him being from the future and how they were going to die and where they were going to find the young Lucie and about the seven stones and his unknown rtionship with the Inhuman.


    I also wrote in the letter everything he knew about his origins, hoping that Zale was going to take care of the matters from here.


    "Oh, and one more thing. Sometimes it''s good to be a little selfish. Live for yourself and for your family," he told Zale and risse, who both seemed confused.


    Lucifer stepped closer to the two of them, understanding he didn''t have much time.


    "Andstly... Thank you for everything you did. I didn''t get to say this, but thank you for finding me."


    As he reached the two of them, he used his winds to pull Zale and risse closer to hug them onest time. This was technically like death for him if Zale actually read the letter.


    This was hisst moment, but he knew he was going to return... Return with something even better in a different world where people close to him didn''t need to die.


    Zale and risse flew to him; however, they passed through his body. Lucifer couldn''t hug them since his body was finally out of this realm. He was just like a ghost who could be seen but not touched.


    He turned around, sighing. "I''ll see you in the future..."


    After he finished, his body disappeared, unaware of how the future was going to unfold.


    Throughout the days, he had thought a lot about this. He had even written a letter on the way but didn''t give since he wasn''t sure if it was right to do. He just didn''t want the death of his current self.


    Ultimately, he decided to find ways to tell them the truth while making sure that the real Lucifer wasn''t going to be an ignorant idiot like he was. At the same time, he left some information to give some undue advantage to his younger self.


    The immoral man who couldn''t die finally found a way that made it possible for him to die.

 Chapter 684 - 684: Trapped

    "Give him back. You have no ce to run. And as you said, you''re much weaker than your usual self. There won''t be any backuping for you. If you want to live, give the kid back. Or I''ll be forced to walk the extra mile," Xaen warned Kellian.


    "If you think I''ll betray my organization for fear of death, then you''re wrong. Uprising is my family that saved me when I needed it the most! Lucifer is part of the same family. What kind of family gives up their family member to save their own skin," Kellian retorted.


    He turned to Kellian. "Cassius, I''m not disappointed in what he''s doing. But you... You disappointed me a lot by siding with him."


    After finishing, Kellian raised his hand, shooting shadow projectiles all around him.


    "You think this will work?" Xaen asked, smiling.


    He cast a portal before the projectiles that were aiming at him, sending them to a different ce.


    "Anything else?"


    While Xaen faced Kellian, he didn''t know that he had unknowingly helped Kellian.


    One of the projectiles that Kellian had sent towards Xaen was the real him. He just left a shadow clone behind him. He had taken a risk, expecting Xaen to use the same move and his risk worked.


    ...


    He appeared on a distant ind,ing to his real form. This ce was much better than the desert since it had many trees and enough ces to hide. He kept going farther and farther.


    ...


    In the desert, the shadow clone of Kellian started running away, turning into a shadow eagle. It started flying away.


    "Some work," Xaen reminded Kellian. He snapped his fingers, making a portal appear before the shadow eagle which swallowed it.


    The shadow eagle came out of the portal on the same ind where the real Kellian was. In fact, for some strange reason, it appears right before real Kellian. Instead of hitting him, it merged with him.


    Another portal appeared before Kellian and Xaen stepped out.


    "How did you know?" Kellian asked, frowning.n


    "You mean what gave you away? Besides your painfully oblivious aura?'' Xaen asked. "Most people might not differentiate, but I can see your clones and the real you. The aura ispletely different."


    "Also, now that it''s only the two of us here, I suppose I should tell you the truth."


    "You are right. I do want to take away all the abilities of Lucifer, leaving only one. That way, he can''t be a threat to anyone."


    "I was amazed when Cassius said he needed so many Limiters for Lucifer. I wanted to know why he would need so many, so I asked some people I know to hack your database."


    " I honestly didn''t expect you would be able to track the hack and know who was behind it. Not bad."


    "So it was true. You really saw the ns. And now you want to cripple the Uprising so we can''t seed." Kellian frowned.


    "That''s true. I can''t let you seed. The world has finally achieved some semnce of peace after so long. I can''t let you destroy that by waging a war on the entire world and opening the portal? I can''t let Lucifer seed," Xaen replied.


    "But Lucifer is the favorite of the old man. I couldn''t just kill him, even though it''ll be easy for me to do. So I was trying toe up with a n to seed without being discovered. Who knew that your people would invite me themselves and give me the opportunity on a Golden te."


    "So you can heal Lucifer without taking away all his abilities," Kellian asked.


    "Of course, I can. I can already see two cores in his body which appear to be iplete. I just have to remove the two, and he should wake up, but I want to remove all his abilities instead," Xaen replied, smiling.


    As for the two cores he was talking about, they were the Energy Negation Core and Time core.


    "So, now that you know, what are you going to do? No, a better question. What can you even do? Let''s make it more interesting though. I think it would be more fun if Cassius himself kills you."


    " After you''re dead entirely, everything you keep in your shadow realm should appear on its own. Then no one can save Lucifer''s abilities!"


    He pped his hand, making another Portal swallow Kellian, sending him back to the desert.


    Xaen also left right after him.


    He appeared beside Cassius.


    "Cassius, I tried to convince him! I did my all, but I don''t think he''s willing to agree. Moreover, he confessed that he wants Lucifer to be in a vegetative state. He really has fallen, it seems. I don''t know why I expected anything better from a Dark Variant."


    "He really..." Cassius sighed.


    "He''s lying, you idiot! He was the one who confessed to everything I was saying! He can save Lucifer without taking most of his abilities!" Kellian snapped. "He confessed that! He''s just ying you! Don''t listen to him! He wants Lucifer to be weakened, so he''s in no danger!"


    "Sigh, you''re back to your tactics," Xaen sighed. "Cassius, I don''t think he''s going to listen to us. The best thing we could do for Lucifer is to kill him.''


    "Kill?"


    "Yeah. After he is dead, his control would weaken, and Lucifer woulde back! You must do it now! Kill him! Your Sword is fast as well as strong enough to kill him! You can do it! Use the entrapment formation!'' Xaen said.


    "This is bizarre. He''s lying to you, and you''re taking him seriously?" Kellian yelled. But he didn''t want to stay here either. He knew that Cassius was going to listen to Xaen in the end.


    He split into thousands of shadows, all going in different directions.


    "See? He''s running away. This time, I won''t stop him. I''ll leave everything to you. If you want Lucifer back, kill Kellian. If you don''t, let him leave."


    "Also, that one there is the true Kellian. Don''t me me for what happens next. Lucifer''s life depends on you!"


    "I-i must!" Cassius raised his heavy Sword and tapped it three times. He raised the sword in a zigzag motion, which made a formation circle appear on his Sword.


    sh~


    He swung his sword, firing a powerful red arc of destructive energy. That attack wasn''t alone. It was apanied by an energy field that trapped real Kellian from all sides.


    The stronger Kellian might have a way to escape, but as he was right now, he couldn''t leave the barrier.


    The powerful attack reached him.

 Chapter 685 - 685: How Did They Die

    Cassius finally attacked Kellian after thinking for a really long time. Xaen had left everything on him. If he wanted to have Lucifer back, he needed to kill Kellian.


    If he didn''t, Kellian was going to disappear, and he wasn''t going to be found. Lucifer was forever going to be going. At least that''s what he thought.


    Kellian tried leaving the formation barrier that was keeping him in one ce, but he couldn''t. He could only watch the attacke at him.


    Finally, he stepped out of the shadow, observing the attack.


    "Two deaths in less than two weeks. I seem to be on a roll here," he muttered, shaking his hand.


    He folded his arms, not covering before the attack. "I would probably die with Overdrive, but... I''m going to die in any case. At least I can take him away."


    He took a deep breath. It was always a hard decision to use Overdrive which boosted the strength of a Variant because it only gave them a few minutes before their death.


    However, Kellian was prepared.


    Time seemed to be moving extremely slow for him as he was thinking so fast, having no time.


    ...


    Zale and risse stood before the shop where they had bought clothes with Lucifer.


    Lucifer had just disappeared, and none of them understood where he went. For some reason, the tone of his words made them hear like they were seeing him for thest time.


    "Where did he go?" risse asked Zale.


    Zale was confused, having literally no idea.


    He nced at the letter in his hand, having a feeling that this one letter had the answers he needed.


    He started unfolding the paper.


    "If you''re reading this letter, then I think I have left this ce. I-"


    Boom~


    Zale started reading the letter, but he had just finished reading one line when a massive sand storm came from the back, hitting him.


    The fine sand Particles made Zale bleed, tossing him straight ahead.


    risse was also hit by the sudden sandstorm, but she used her wind to keep minimal damage.


    Zalended on the ground, looking around to see who had attacked him.


    "You..." He red at two men standing before him and risse, but the men weren''t alone. Zale also noticed that there were hundreds of soldiers all around them, aiming their guns at them.


    "Where is your third partner? I heard he was really into showing off by breaking into our government office?" One of the two ck-clothed men asked.


    "Did you know what you just did?" Zale asked, ncing at his hand. The piece of paper in his hand was missing. He only had a small corner of the paper in his hand, which contained just one word, "Must."


    The fine particles of the sand attack had destroyed most of the paper in his hand.


    "We haven''t even begun. Raise your hand and go down on your knees. That is if you don''t want a thousand holes in your body in the next second itself. We won''t be as kind next time."


    "You know what Lucifer would''ve said if he was here?" Zale asked, sighing.


    "What?" risse asked, stepping back to stand beside Zale. "That we should surrender instead of hunting the innocent?"


    "Nope. He would''ve said that there are times when violence is necessary," Zale replied. "It''s one of those times right now."


    He further continued, "If we surrender now, we might be locked up for life for murder and breaking in. The only way to get out of this ce is..."


    "It''s to go through them," risse finished his sentence.


    Zale said. "But the problem is the bullets."


    " I might be able to take them out, but I need a bit of distraction," risse told Zale, keeping her voice low.


    "Then distraction is what you shall get," Zale said.


    He took a step forward. "Are you two Variants as well? May I ask which one of you used the sand?"


    "I don''t see you going down to your knees. You know I''m not going to repeat myself. We don''t have time to waste. Surrender right now. The next warning wille in the form of a bullet and will take your life with it."


    "Fine. I''ll surrender," Zale said, smiling. He raised his right foot a little and brought it crashing down.


    Thum~


    As soon as his right footnded on the ground, a deep crater appeared around him. The cracks on the road started spreading everywhere while the ground started trembling.


    The unexpected trembling made the guards lose their bnce. risse used the opportunity to fire her wind st at all the guards, making them all fly back.


    All the guards crashed on the walls behind them, losing their weapons.


    risse sent another gust of wind to pull all weapons towards her, away from the guards.


    "You!" The two men grew infuriated, but before they could do anything, they felt a sense of danger.


    They jumped back hastily, barely avoiding the ck lightning that had fallen from the sky.


    Two more lightning bolts fell, targeting the helicopters that were roaming in the sky.


    "I-it worked! I did it!" Zale eximed excitedly. It was the first time he was able to bring forth the lightning from the sky. He didn''t know how he did it, but the sudden connection made him feel really strong.


    "That was good, but the battle isn''t over yet," risse reminded Zale, pointing straight ahead.


    ...


    The fierce Sword Energy came flying to Kellian, who was just milliseconds away from throwing away from his life, but he noticed something which made him stop.


    A shadow wasing out from under him on its own. It wasn''t his shadow. He could feel it. That left only one person this shadow could belong to.


    "Lucifer?" he muttered.


    The shadow took the form of Lucifer. The first thing Lucifer saw was the attack of Cassius that wasing towards him.


    He clenched his fist, punching the ground.


    Boom~


    A powerful ck lightning wall appeared before him and Kellian, which intercepted the attack of Cassius.


    "I must say, I thought I was dead and in a limbo when I woke up, only to then realize it was a shadow realm. May I ask why I was there?" Lucifer asked, ncing back at Kellian. "And why is Cassius attacking you?"


    Even though he asked these questions, the main question he had was about himself. How was he here? Did the letter not do anything? There was no change in the history despite his presence in the past?


    Everything seemed simr to the past except the fact that Cassius was attacking them.

 Chapter 686 - 686: Nightmare

    "Ah, wait. Did I not go to the academy in this timeline? I might not have the memories of the new timeline. That would exin why we''re being attacked," he muttered, rubbing his chin.


    "Kellian, how did my parents die? Tell me."


    "They died in the dungeon. They were poisoned by their enemies when you were five," Kellian replied.


    "So nothing changed... How...?"


    "Lucifer!" A loud voice came from the other end of the wall.


    Lucifer removed the lightning wall.


    "Hmm? You remember me?" he asked. "So there was truly no change in this timeline. This is confusing."


    "Dean Xaen? You''re here too?"


    Xaen''s face twitched unwillingly, but he tried to control his emotions.


    "Ah, yes. Cassius asked me toe to save you. Something had happened to you, and I was here to bring you back, but Kellian wanted you to stay in thea so he could enjoy the position of the leader," Xaen replied.


    "He took you away. I was helping Cassius bring you back," he continued. "You should really stay away from Kellian. He might backstab you any second!"


    "Kellian?" Lucifer turned to Kellian. "Tell me the truth."


    Kellian also told his side of the story, mentioning all the red gs.


    "He is lying. You can see through his lies easily, can''t you? You know you can''t trust him!" Xaen said.


    Lucifer observed the facial expressions of Kellian.


    "I can never trust anyone; you are right." Lucifer nodded. "But I trust Kellian more than you."


    "And even if he wasn''t lying, removing all my abilities? Am I supposed to be happy?" he asked, frowning.


    He felt something off though. He started patting his pockets, growing stunned. All two portal stones that he had collected were missing.


    "Where are the stones?" he asked Xaen.


    "I don''t know what you''re talking about. But I think you''re not going to believe me in the condition you are in right now. I''lleter." After waving his hand, Xaen opened a Portal before him to get out of this ce.


    "You aren''t going anywhere," Lucifer said in a calm voice. Now that he had his newfound ability, he was prepared to stop time.


    He cast his time domain around him, stopping everyone, but for some reason, Xaen was still able to move. He kept waving his hand as he stepped inside the portal; another portal appeared under Cassius, swallowing him.


    Both the portals closed.


    Lucifer removed his Time Domain. "This wasn''t effective on him... But it worked on others. Why didn''t it work on him?"


    "He... I am sure he took the stones! He... He shouldn''t have... I didn''t want things to go this way, but if they must, then they must."


    "Thank you for trusting me," Kellian thanked Lucifer. "And I''m sorry I couldn''t protect the stones. I didn''t know he took them."


    "You don''t have to thank me for trusting you. You already told me where you were and why you went to the ind over the call."


    " That was when you didn''t even know what was going to happen and that Xaen was going toe here. It''s no rocket science to see who was telling the truth."


    "But Xaen... He will regret trying to plot against me. I didn''t want to step foot on the ind until the end, but he forced my hand." Lucifer brought his sses out of his pocket and wore them.


    "Locate the Warlock Council headquarters and give me the shortest path to get there," hemanded.


    A small map opened on his sses which showed the way he needed to follow.


    "We are going back for now." He starts flying back with Kellian, who turned into a shadow eagle.


    On the way back, he kept thinking how Xaen was unaffected by his time stop ability. That didn''t make sense unless he had something like Energy Negation which he always kept active.


    "He knew I had the ability of time that I absorbed. It won''t surprise me if he has energy negation which he cast as soon as he saw me to stay safe," he said, talking to himself on the way back.


    "But if that''s the case, killing or even catching him would be very difficult. It could also be that he used something else? The academy is pretty advanced in technology."


    "It might also be his Spatial Control which helped him stay out of my time control since he could''ve kept his body in a different space, like Temporal Discement. I''ve seen something like that in the past," Kellian suggested.


    "In the Delta Squad vice captain of APF?" Lucifer asked. He also remembered a person like that once. "To avoid the attacks, he temporarily shifted his body in a parallel space. He was visible and everything, but in reality, his body was in a different space.


    "Exactly." Kellian nodded.


    "That does make sense too. There are just too many variables. We might need to stay alert in the next few days since he might try to attack us," Lucifer reminded Kellian. "Take all the precautions. The number of enemies we have isn''t low."


    "I don''t understand one thing though. Can you answer?" Kellian asked.


    "What thing?"


    "He just wanted to take away all your abilities, but he didn''t want to kill you. Why? He said something about an old man he was concerned about. Can this be something we can use?" Kellian asked.


    "Old man?" Lucifer frowned. "I don''t know any old man who can scare Xaen or help us. He was probably bluffing to make you trust him.


    ...


    In the continent of Triton, there existed a small nation of Elisia. The nation was smallerpared to the other nations in Triton, but it had quite a lot of influence, all because it had two people who were part of the Warlock Council leadership.


    Both the people belonged to the same family, making the family one of the most influential in Triton.


    It was the Asade family, which had a really big estate in the capital of Elisia, which didn''t look any less than a Royal Pce.


    A blonde-haired man was sleeping on the bed. He appeared to be in his early thirties, at least based on his looks.


    The man was sweating heavily as he turned left and right in sleep.


    "Argh!" After a long time, he woke up screaming.


    The lights of his room were turned on, and a man stepped inside the room.


    "Sir, are you alright?" the man asked. "Another one of those nightmares?"


    The blonde man nodded.


    The butler ced a ss on the table, mixing some medicine.


    "Sir, it has been thirty-one years since that incident... But still, the nightmare haunts you."


    The blonde man drank the ss of water, controlling his heavy breathing.

 Chapter 687 - 687: Childhood

    "What is the time right now?" The blonde man asked the butler.


    "It''s six in the morning. You can sleep a little more."


    "No, it''s alright. I have enough sleep. I need to go to wee my mother at the airport as well." The man removed the nket and got off the bed. "Is everything ready for her wee?"


    "We prepared everything. The estate is decorated just the way you wanted. All the favorite food of the madam is also prepared."


    "Good. Keep the chopper ready. I''ll be out after getting ready."


    "Yes, sir." The butler left the room, closing the door behind him.


    After he came out of the room, he noticed that quite a lot of servants were standing outside, looking worried.


    "He is fine¡ªjust the old nightmare. You can go back to work. Madam is returning from her trip today! Nothing must go wrong."


    All the servants dispersed, going to their stations. One amongst them was a young man who had just joined this ce.


    Unlike others, he didn''t understand how something like this could be normal. The usual nightmare? What did that mean? What nightmare could be so frightening that it could scare the owner of this Estate like this?


    He was assigned to a senior servant known as Wilson, who was to teach him about the work.


    Wilson noticed the confusion on the face of the young man. "You look like you have some questions. Is it about master?"


    "I-it is just that I''ve only heard about master. He''s a legend in my vige. Every Time I''ve seen him on television, he always looks so brave and confident. Moreover, his feats are legendary. Seeing him like this... I don''t understand. Were the stories lies?"


    "I don''t think any of the legends about master are a lie. He is truly a legend in his own feat. Don''t judge him based on what he saw just now. It''s just because of his past that he has a trauma," Wilson said, sighing.


    "What trauma?"


    Wilson looked all around him to make sure no one was here. "Even though everyone knows this story, it''s still not right to speak of it so close to the Master. I''ll tell you, but don''t ever repeat it, you understand? It''s taboo to talk about it!"


    The young man could hear the seriousness in the voice of Wilson. Hearing that, he grew a bit intimidated, wondering if he really wanted to take the risk of hearing.


    "I-i won''t." Ultimately, he agreed.


    "The Asade family isn''t a native of Elisia. You know, right?" Wilson asked.


    "Yeah, they shifted here a long time ago. What about that?"


    "I think it''s around thirty-one years ago when the Asade family used to live in the nation of Zeston," Wilson exined.


    "Zeston? The headquarters of Warlocks Council? Why would someonee here from that ce? That''s like a dreand of people who want to make themselves big! People dream of living in Zeston here!"


    "Stop talking like that. Do you think Master still needs to make a name for himself in Zeston?" Wilson rolled his eyes. "Anywhere, they did have a reason to shift."


    " Master and his family used to live in Zeston. They were a fairly wealthy family of Zeston. In fact, if I''m not wrong, they were in the top three families in terms of wealth!"


    "But that money was what became a bane for them." Weston sighed. "One day, some thieves entered their mansion to steal something. They entered the bedroom where Master was sleeping with his parents."


    "Then...?"


    "After hearing the intruders'' yells, Master woke up along with his parents. Master was really young at that time. I don''t know what the thieves were after, but they shot Master to intimidate his father to give away the location..."


    "They shot him?!"


    "Straight in the middle of the head."


    "Anyways, in that incident, Master''s father had died along with many other people from the security. The culprits managed to escape the city authorities."


    "After that, Master''s mother decided to leave the city ande to a farawaynd where they wouldn''t attract so much attention. That''s when the Asade family came to this small nation."


    "I''m sure you can imagine what a nightmare it would be to be shot in the head when you were just a kid. Even though Master survived, he''s still traumatized by that moment."


    "For thest thirty-one years, he''s been having the same nightmare every night. I really feel bad for him..."


    "You said he was shot in the middle of the head. How is he still alive then?" The young man inquired, amazed that someone could survive even from that.


    "That''s because-"


    "Wilson, what are you doing here? Go check the water. I heard a report that there''s some problem with the supply to the kitchen! Hurry up!''


    Wilson was answering the questions of the young man when he heard a call from someone.


    "I will check it right away!" He started running towards the kitchen.


    ...


    The blonde-haired man stood inside the shower, letting the fine water droplets fall over his body as he looked at the mirror on the wall before him.


    Seeing his own reflection, he stared nkly. Before long, he raised his hand and touched the mirror where the reflection of his forehead was.


    "Thirty one years..."


    With his other hand, he touched his forehead, rubbing it gently.


    He turned his back on the mirror, unable to bear looking at himself.


    As he turned, he was able to face the other wall, which didn''t have any mirrors. Instead, it had something else. The wall had four portraits painted on it.


    Surprisingly, one of the four portraits belonged to Lucifer himself. The one on the left of Lucifer belonged to risse when she was young.


    The third portrait belonged to young Zale. Andstly, the fourth portrait belonged to the person who had shot him in the head... The person who brought risse on this mission.


    Other than Lucifer''s portrait, all three other portraits had a red cross mark on them.


    The man''s focus rested on the portrait of Lucifer.


    "It''s been over thirty years... Where have you hidden... Juste out of the hole once..." The man muttered.


    After finished with the shower, he stepped out of the shower and picked a towel to wipe his body.


    After drying his body and hair that came down to his shoulders from the back, he started getting dressed.


    He wore a violet pant and a white shirt before donning a ck robe on his back.


    After getting dressed, he walked to his bed and moved his pillow, revealing a sword that was resting under his pillow.

 Chapter 688 - 688: Contact

    The silver sword had a golden hilt, giving it a thin contrast. The katana-shaped Sword was reading inside a sheath.


    He picked up the sword and turned to leave, but just as he reached the door, he stopped. He nced once more at his room before finally he stepped out.


    He walked to the roof of the mansion, apanied by the butler.


    "Keep everything ready. Mother ising back after a long time. I want everything to be perfect for her, alright?"


    "Yes, Master Jian. Everything will be just perfect."


    "Good. By the way, still no information about the fourth?" Jian asked, stepping right before the helicopter.


    "We''ve spread the portraits everywhere about how the fourth person might look after thirty-one years, but so far, there has been no information."


    " I really think that he died a long time ago. No one remembers seeing that face in thest thirty years."


    "Keep looking." Jian stepped inside the helicopter and closed the door.


    The?rotors of the helicopter started moving, and the helicopter started rising in the air.


    ...


    Lucifernded on the Warlock Council headquarters.


    "You''re saying he sent everyone to a different part of the continent, including Eve and Veracity?" He asked Kellian.


    "That''s right, but looking at how he didn''t send us far from here, I think his range is limited. I think they will be able to return soon. All they need is to contact us," Kellian answered.


    "Are all the bodies still there?" Lucifer asked, going down the stairs.


    "Yeah. Don''t tell me you''re thinking about...?"


    "I can''t waste time. There are just too many things toe. I need to be stronger if I want the stones back."


    "You think it''s safe?" Kellian asked, sighing. "You just absorbed one ability and were in sleep for so long. Would it really be right to absorb so many abilities? It sounds risky."


    "After the kind of risk I took with my existence, this risk is nothing. Since that risk didn''t do anything to me, this risk can''t either." Lucifer went to the twenty-fourth floor, which waspletely filled with bodies of the Variants.


    Seeing so many bodies and the rotten smell that was filling the floor after so long, Kellian couldn''t help but close his nose.


    "This looks pretty disgusting."


    "I would agree with that," Lucifer sighed, scratching the back of his head. "I don''t particrly enjoy it either. It feels so disgusting every time I ce this in my body..."


    He let out a deep breath. "I feel like I''m corrupting my body by doing this... Making it dirty."


    "If you don''t feel like doing it, you don''t have to do it. You already have many abilities. Just take the ones that you like?" Kellian suggested.


    "You won''t understand," Lucifer replied. "Keep an eye on the surroundings and send one shadow to the systems. This ce still isn''t safe."


    ...


    Jian Asade''s choppernded inside the airport, and no one tried to stop him since he was such a big deal here.


    He opened the door and stepped out, only to be weed by the airport authority.


    "Is the flight runningte?" he asked the airport in charge.


    "All flights have been runningte recently. It should be here soon."


    "Any particr reason for the dys?" Jian asked, curious.


    "We are actually not sure. It''s just that Zeston had suddenly decided that they don''t wee any flights. They gave security reasons, saying that they will make the airports operational soon after making sure everything is right," the official answered.


    "Zeston is the headquarters of the Warlock Council. It''s understandable that they want to take some extra steps to keep it safe."


    "Anyways, because of the Zeston airport not being in operation, there have been quite a lot of route changes in flights which messed up all the timings."


    "I wonder why I wasn''t informed about something like that."


    The man''s words made Jian lose himself in thoughts; however, before he could spend even a few minutes in his thoughts, he heard the sound of a ne''s arrival.


    He looked in the distance, noticing the neing in their direction.


    "Mother is here," he said.


    The flight soonnded, and many of the passengers starteding out, seemingly surprised to find Jian Asade at the airport.


    Jian was waving his hand towards the ground as well. The passengers were stunned, unaware that his mother was one of the passengers as well.


    Jian had told his mother a lot to use the private jet whenever she needed to travel, but she always refused. For some reason, she hated using money to show off after what had happened in the past.


    His mother used to believe that the event wouldn''t have happened if Ramian hadn''t bragged so much about his rare collection and how wealthy he was. She didn''t want to make the same mistake.


    Jian''s mother separated from the ground and walked to Jian.


    Reaching his mother, Jian hugged her tightly. "I''m so d you are back, Mother. How was your trip? Did you enjoy the sites?"


    "It was great. You should''vee with me as well. We could''ve taken Julien and Milly as well, but you all never listen to me."


    "Hahahaha, alright, mother. You know I had work to do. Next time, I promise I''lle with you."


    "You and your work. Julien is the same. He didn''t evene here to greet me. Is he working as well?" The woman asked, waking to the chopper with Jian. She pointed towards the helicopter. "And you brought this? I told you a car was enough."


    "I know, but I didn''t want to waste a single extra second of my mother on the road," Jianughed. "As for Julien, I had informed him long ago. He had confirmed he woulde. He should soon be here."


    "In fact, why don''t I ask him right away? Scold him a lot, alright?" He brought his phone out as he stepped inside the helicopter with his mother.


    He called the number of Julien.


    "Hmm? The phone is off?" he muttered, frowning.


    "Did you try his phone?" his mother asked. "You know howzy he is. Must''ve forgotten to charge the phone."


    "Ah, right. I''ll dial the number of his room." Jian dialed a different number.


    ....


    Back at the twenty-fourth floor, Lucifer was absorbing the ability cores one after another. He had already finished absorbing five, but it was only like a droplet from the sea.


    There were hundreds more. He moved over to the best, but before he could begin, the phone started ringing in the room.


    "Someone is calling Julien''s room?" He let out, frowning. He stood up and walked closer to the phone.


    Picking up the receiver, he ced the phone on his ears.

 Chapter 689 - 689: The Son

    Lucifer picked up the call, cing the receiver on his ears.


    "Julien, why is your phone off? Did you forget to charge it again?" Jian asked as soon as the call was picked up.


    Lucifer frowned. The call was from Julien''s family?


    "Leaving that aside, mother is here. She wants to talk to you. I already heard her scolding. Now it''s your turn, little brother."


    Jian gave the phone to his mother. "You were right. He is still there. Scold him a lot and tell him toe fast."


    "Julien?" A woman''s voice came from the receiver. "Still busy at work? You can''t evene to meet me? Sigh, what am I going to do with you."


    Lucifer remained silent, not speaking anything.


    "Who is it?" Kellian asked, seeing Lucifer in silence.


    "Why aren''t you saying anything? Is something wrong?" The woman asked, finding the silence odd.?"Speak something..."


    "What happened, mother?" Jian asked.


    "I don''t know; he isn''t speaking anything."


    "Julien?" The woman asked again.


    "He isn''t here." Finally, Lucifer said something.


    "Hmm? Who are you? Where is Julien?" The woman asked.


    "He left the base on some business. When he returns, I''ll tell him his mother called." Lucifer disconnected the call after he finished speaking.


    The woman looked at the phone in her hand in confusion.


    "Did he not speak?" Jian asked, seeing the look on his mother''s face.


    "It was someone else. He said Julien left the base on some work. Must be a cleaner or other worker there. We can talkter." The woman returned the phone to Jian.


    "It was someone else?" Jian muttered, frowning.


    "Yeah, is something wrong?" The woman asked.


    "Nothing. Don''t worry about anything." Jian didn''t want to make her mother worried by what he could grasp from just this bit of information, but things didn''t seem right.


    The helicopternded on the roof of the Asade estate. Jian opened the door for her mother and stepped out.


    As soon as the woman stepped out, the servants started showering flower petals on top of her.


    Jian patted the shoulder of his mother. "Mother, go downstairs. I''ll be right there. I just need to make a quick call. Freshen up, and then we''ll have something to eat together."


    The woman nodded and went downstairs with the butler.


    Only Jian was left on the roof, frowning.


    He turned to look at the peaceful city.


    "Julien never allows anything in his room. The phone I called was in his room. There was no way a cleaner or another member would be there. And the silence... The shutdown of the airport... Something is wrong."


    He brought out his phone again and called someone else. This time, he didn''t call anyone inside the Warlock Council headquarters. Instead, he directly called his other sources that lived in the capital city.


    He tried the number of five people, walking back and forth, but none of the calls were connected.


    The entire city was still under lockdown, where all the iing and outgoing signals were stopped. Only the Warlock Council headquarters could receive or make calls.


    Jian called as many people as he knew, but none of the calls connected.


    His suspicions were bing more and more solid with each passing second.


    Ultimately, he decided to call the room of Julien again.


    ...


    "Who was on the call?" Kellian asked.


    "That''s exactly what I''m wondering," Lucifer frowned.


    "Ramian was killed right before my eyes. His son was also killed. The man with the power of time was also killed. So who exactly was the family of Julien?" Lucifer muttered, frowning.


    "Kellian, contact Kane. Tell him to find information about the family of Julien if he''s done locating our men."


    "I''ll tell him right away." Kellian nodded, but as soon as he turned around, the phone started ringing again.


    Lucifer picked up the phone again.


    As soon as Lucifer picked up, the first word he heard was a question. "Who are you? Where is Julien?"


    "I heard the woman ask that same question. I lied to her that he had gone outside. What can I say? I didn''t feel like telling her the truth. But you''re different," Lucifer replied. "If she is still beside you, I would advise you to turn off the speaker."


    "The call isn''t on speaker," Jian let out. "Now tell me, where is Julien?"


    Lucifer nced out the window at the beautiful sun. "I sent him a long time ago. Even if there was traffic, he should''ve reached the destination by now."


    "What destination?"


    "Hell, of course. Where else would I send the people who try to hurt my men," Lucifer replied, sighing.


    "Are you saying that you killed him?"Jian asked.


    "It would be more appropriate to say that he killed himself," Lucifer replied. "I didn''t ask him to do what he did."


    "You..." Jian felt like crushing his phone in anger. His mother was downstairs, wondering if Julien was going to return. He couldn''t believe he was killed! How was he going to tell his mother?


    "Who are you?!" he asked.


    "I''m someone you shouldn''t offend. If you care for your life, stay where you are and take care of your family. I don''t want your mother to lose her second son as well," Lucifer said, cing the phone down.


    "Was it the same guy again?" Kellian asked Lucifer.


    "Yeah. Julien''s brother, it seems," Lucifer replied. "Did you find any information on him?"


    "I did. And I think you might be interested in what I received," Kellian said, frowning.


    He showed an image on his phone. "This is Jian Asade. He is the elder brother of Julien Asade. Like his brother, he is also a Warlock Council leader."


    "However, unlike the other members, it''s said that he has never stepped foot in the Warlock Council headquarters since the day it was formed. He handles everything from Elisia where his family stays," Kellian exined.


    "Moreover, there''s another interesting thing. Julien isn''t actually the real brother of Jian."


    "Then?" Lucifer asked, frowning.


    "Julien was the son of a Variant who used to guard Jian''s father. In an incident, Jian''s father and the guard were killed. His mother adopted the guard''s son and gave her the family name Asade."


    "Jian also has a sister who is the real bloodline of his, unlike Julien."


    Kellian kept exining everything he found on Jian, but Lucifer had already understood a few things from that much information.


    "Did the incident happen thirty-one years ago?" he asked Kellian.


    "Yeah, how do you know?" Kellian asked, surprised. He thought Lucifer didn''t know anything about Jian.


    "Any information on who caused the incident?"

 Chapter 690 - 690: Dragon Has Fallen

    "None. The CCTV cameras were taken out before the attack, and everyone was killed. There''s not much information about it," Kellian replied.


    "Jian... Asade. If I remember correctly, he should''ve been dead as well. So how is this dead man walking and even talking to me? Amusing indeed," Lucifer muttered, observing the blonde man''s image on the pic.


    "That''s not all. I think there is something that you must see. It looks like we found him..."


    "Who?" Lucifer asked, frowning.


    "The person who was responsible," Kellian said, changing the pic on the screen.


    "Kane found this image when he was looking into Jian." He showed the new image to Lucifer. "I think we both recognize this man."


    Lucifer looked at the image; however, as soon as he saw the people in the image, his fist clenched abruptly.


    "The former president of Elisium and the puppet who was behind everything..."


    "Exactly." Kellian nodded. "He had contact with Jian as seen from their pic together."


    "Moreover, you remember what name that guy had given about his contact in the Warlock Council? No matter how much we tried, we couldn''t find that person in the Warlock Council?"


    "Guess what''s the nickname of Jian Asade...?"


    Lucifer didn''t reply. He just looked at Jian in the image with the former president of Elisium, who had schemed against his parents, sending them to their deaths.


    "You''re right. It seems that we truly found him... I thought it was going to be impossible."


    "Do you want to take a flight to Elisia after you''re done here?" Kellian asked.


    "I don''t think we''ll need to go there. He''ll being here himself," Lucifer replied.


    "I wonder why he did it. What enmity could he have with your parents?" Kellian asked, sighing. "I think we''ll get our answers soon."


    "I think I know why he did it," Lucifer muttered, trying to keep his emotions in control. Finally, he had an idea why his parents were killed.


    "But it doesn''t matter. I don''t care what happened to him. I don''t care what he went through, but he shouldn''t have made a move on my parents. That had no hand in what happened..."


    After a long pause, he took a deep breath. He turned around.


    "Kellian, did Kane discover the location of all the Warlock Council heads that weren''t in the city?"


    "He has a list, yeah. There aren''t many people."


    "Tell him to contact our men that are spread throughout the continent because of Xaen. I want all the Warlock Council heads dead. You can decide who to send where depending on their powers. I want everyone dead other than Jian... I''ll handle him personally."


    ....


    Right when Lucifer hadmanded Kellian to put the next part of the n in motion, Jian was going through the same thing.


    He knew that something was wrong after hearing Lucifer. Just that one conversation made him realize that the Warlock Council had fallen.


    Someone who could take out the Warlock Council wasn''t an enemy that could be easy to deal with.


    Jian was a strong Warlock, but he was mostly known for his clever brain. Despite knowing that his brother was killed, he didn''t let anger cloud his emotions.


    That''s where Jian was different from Lucifer. Lucifer sometimes lost himself to his anger even though he knew better. However, when he didn''t lose himself in anger, he was pretty clever.


    On the other hand, Jian was calmer even when he had a fire burning inside his heart. Thirty-one years of nightmares had made him calmer and tempered him.


    That was also why he didn''t directly send the Warlock Council to attack Zale and risse as soon as he recognized them after seeing them.


    Instead, he created a long n to take them out in the best way he could imagine that didn''t leave them any chance of survival. It was all because Zale Azarel had be very popr after the great war of 2028.


    He came out as the hero, but more importantly, he had shown his strength in the battle. No one could underestimate him from that point, even the Warlock Council.


    Keeping their strength in mind, he decided to deal with them through tricks instead of using brute strength.


    At the moment, he was facing an enemy of a simr caliber. In fact, in his head, the person who picked up the call was even more dangerous than Zale since he could take out the entire Warlock Council with such ease, especially Julien.


    Jian knew how frightening the ability of Julien was. For someone to kill all the heads of the Warlock Council that were at the base, including Julien? He wasn''t going to go fight Lucifer without a n.


    He dialed a number and ced the phone on his ears. "Code seven. The dragon has fallen. Take precautions."


    After speaking three lines, he disconnected the call. He nced at the distant sun, understanding that the most dangerous game of his life was going to begin now.


    ...


    "Finally, we stepped foot on Triton! Sigh, why is it that all our outlets in this continent have stopped working." A young man said,nding in the continent of Triton.


    "Is there even a need to ask?" An old man asked, rolling his eyes. "The enemy is clever. He might have known that we would be chasing after him. He destroyed all the outlets on the continent to make it hard for us toe here."


    He further continued, "That seems most likely. Unfortunately, he forgot that Antis isn''t limited to just Triton. We have outlets on all the continents. All he did was dy us for a little. In the long run, it won''t matter."


    The old man was dressed in all white. Even his hands were covered in white gloves.


    He started flying towards the nation of Zeston.


    ...


    Xaen and Cassius came out of the portal in an unknown ce.


    "Lucifer is back. Why did you take me with you? He is safe."


    "You don''t understand. He has been brainwashed. He is listening to the liar Kellian. If we had stayed there for longer, he might have attacked us. And then I would''ve been forced to kill him. As you know, I don''t want to kill him. So I left," Xaen answered.


    "But what about Lucifer? Are we going to leave him there just like that? Send me back; I will talk to him!"


    "You don''t understand. He won''t listen to anyone right now. But don''t worry. We won''t leave him like that," Xaen said, turning away from Cassius.


    "I have a n for Lucifer." Cassius couldn''t see the smile on the lips of Xaen. "It''s not the end.. Just wait."

 Chapter 691 - 691: Xaen’s Help

    Lucifer got back to work, focusing on absorbing all the abilities from the bodies that were gathered. After working non-stop for the entire day, he finally finished.


    He was starving after using so much of his powers, but he was slightly pleased that he was finally done with this monumental task without any obstruction. Now he could put his attention to where it really mattered... In eating.


    "No sign of Xaen in the city?" he asked Kellian after standing up.


    " My Shadows are keeping an eye on the city. No sign of him so far," Kellian replied. "Maybe he truly left."


    "Maybe, but not for long," Lucifer replied.


    "So, what should we do next? Go to Elisia? Go to the ind? Or somece else?"


    "Next we go to a restaurant. They aren''t closed, right? I''m starving."


    "They aren''t. The Nobles that were left behind in the city helped us handle the minor matters like cleaning the damage and instructing all the authorities about the new change in leadership."


    "Most of the life is back to normal, at least to some extent. That''s the case for many local businesses."


    "The bigger ones that need connectivity with other cities are still closed. I was waiting for things to get calmer before removing the data lockdown."


    "You don''t need to hide anymore. Remove the data lockdown. Let the entire world know that the Warlock Council has fallen. The remaining rats should already know it in any case," Lucifer said, leaving the building with Kellian through the window.


    "What''s the update about the other Warlock Council leaders? Our men found them?" he asked.


    "I did send a team to their houses after checking who was teleported where. The teams were led by Milena, Arthur, Yaliza, and our best men. Unfortunately, they didn''t find anyone. The men have gone underground, it seems," Kellian answered.


    "They probably know what happened here. Excluding Jian, five other Warlock Council heads are still alive if I''m not wrong."


    "I think they went into hiding because they were informed by Jian Asade," he further exined. "I think we made a mistake by telling them the truth."


    "Not we, I. I told him," Lucifer replied,nding on the streets.


    Hezily walked on the streets, covered in bloody clothes.


    As soon as hended on the streets, the first thing which attracted him was a clothing shop near him.


    The clothing shop brought so many memories back. It was the same shop where he had met risse and where they stopped in the past.


    He stopped before the shop, momentarily forgetting that he was looking for a restaurant.


    "That reminds me, I need new clothes." He stepped inside the clothing store. Kellian stepped in behind him.


    Most people here didn''t know what the new leader of the city looked like, but they knew Kellian. They had seen Kellian talking to the Nobles. It was evident that this group was of them.


    The store owner quickly approached Lucifer and Kellian respectfully.


    "Greetings, Sir. What may I offer you?"


    Lucifer didn''t focus on the man. Instead, he observed the clothes.


    "The shop had a better selection in the past," he said before turning around. "Nothing interesting here anymore."


    He left the shop and went to the nearest restaurant. He took a table with Kellian near the window seat and called the waitress.


    "You..." The waitress recognized Lucifer since he hade here in the past, but seeing Lucifer with Kellian was surprising.


    " I remember you. The girl who challenged me?" Lucifer asked, smiling.


    "Ah, N-not at all."


    "Bring the same thing you broughtst time. Let''s see if I can finish it this time," Lucifer said.


    "Y-yes." The woman didn''t waste a single second as she ran to the back.


    Within minutes, she returned with a jug filled to the brim with a straw. Lucifer picked up the straw and tossed it away before picking up a jug. He started drinking directly and finished the entire jug within a minute.


    He ced the empty jug on the table, leaving the waitress surprised. How should a man drink so much this fast?


    "If I remember correctly, that gives me free food?" Lucifer asked.


    "Y-yes."


    "Good, because I don''t have any money." Lucifer smiled while talking to the waitress. For some reason, he seemed like he was in a good mood.


    The girl stood stunned. It wasn''t as if she was going to dare ask Lucifer for money after knowing he was with the people who took down the Warlock Council. She didn''t know that he wasn''t with those people; instead, those people were with him as he was the leader.


    "I''m starving. And this didn''t do anything for my hunger. Bring all the best dishes you have," Lucifer told the Waitress, not even checking the menu. "I leave the selection to you."


    "Y-yes." The waitress turned around and left.


    Lucifer''s actions didn''t go unseen by Kellian. "You seem to be in a good mood suddenly."


    "Well, I kind of am," Lucifer smiled.


    "May I ask why?" Kellian inquired.


    "When I talked to Jian, I was pretty upset that I was talking to my parent''s killers. However,nding in this city reminded me of something..." Lucifer replied.


    "What did it remind you of?"


    "Nothing, you won''t understand," Lucifer replied. "Just know that I''ve finally understood something. It''s time to put the past behind me and get over it. I''ve made many mistakes, trapped in my past. But now anymore."


    "Moreover, now I know that there''s a possibility..."


    "Possibility of what?"


    "A possibility of something great," Lucifer answered, looking out the window. "It''s time to stop being the kid who let his emotions drive him. It''s time to be..."


    "Time to be what?" An amusing voice came from the back, cutting him mid-sentence.


    Lucifer turned around. "Milena? You''re back, it seems."


    "You don''t like me being back?" Milena asked, smiling. "I searched everywhere. When I couldn''t find the target, I decided toe back. Others are on the way back as well."


    She sat beside Lucifer.


    "Anyways, now that you''re bing a new person how about taking off these bracelets?" She asked, raising her hands to show her Limiters. "That would be a nice thing. A good start."


    "I said I want to be a bit different. I didn''t say I want to be nicer," Lucifer rolled his eyes. "Anyway, why do you even worry? It''s not like I''m limiting your powers. It''s just a precaution."


    "Anyways, may I ask how you came back safely? All I was told is that you''re back. Did that Xaen help you? Which ability did you lose?"

 Chapter 692 - 692: Plan

    "I didn''t lose any ability. And Xaen isn''t a friend," Lucifer replied. "I healed myself."


    "So we didn''t need to call him?" Milena asked.


    "Were you looking for praise for calling him? You''re lucky nothing went wrong. Otherwise, I would''ve had some neck in my hands," Lucifer let out, sighing.


    "Ah, why is it that this new Lucifer seems the same as the old one." Milena sighed. "I guess I was a bit too optimistic about your words."


    "Anyways, what''s the next n?" she asked. "Warlock Council remaining members went into hiding. What happened here isn''t a secret anymore. They''re like a ticking time bomb waiting to explode."


    "Any n to get them out of their holes?"


    "ns, huh. I don''t think you need to worry about that. The n wille to us personally," Lucifer said, seemingly amused. "In fact, I''m surprised it''s not already here."


    "What do you mean?" Milena asked, seemingly confused.


    Lucifer didn''t reply. He simply turned his focus back to the food that was just ced on the table.


    "Order whatever you want. It''s on me today," he told thedy before he started eating.


    "Hmm? Who are they?" Kellian suddenly eximed, standing up.


    "Who?" Lucifer asked, looking out the window. He couldn''t find anyone.


    "I saw two people fly towards the headquarters on a skateboard. They certainly weren''t one of our men. A Warlock Council leader?"


    "Were they dressed in white?" Lucifer asked, amused.


    "Yeah. Dressed in all white. Do you know them?" Kellian asked.


    "It seems like the guests are here. They''re slow."


    "You deleted all the security footage from the systems of the city, right? No Cameras are on?"


    "I did as you said right after we took control. There is no footage of anything."


    "Good. Can you go and entertain them a bit? Tell them that the Warlock Council has fallen and the remnants have gone into hiding. And you''re the leader of the resistance."


    "They might show you my image. Tell them I''m one of the remnants of the Warlock Council who went into hiding with them."


    Kellian looked at Lucifer in surprise. He was confused about what was happening, but he nodded.


    He turned into a shadow and disappeared. In the meantime, Lucifer continued eating.


    "Are you going to tell me who they are?" Milena asked Lucifer. "You seem to know them. Are they your friend?"


    "They''re the n I was talking about," Luciferzily said. "At least a part of the n. And no, they''re not my friends. If anything, they''re here to kill me."


    He talked so casually about peopleing here to kill him that Milena doubted his words momentarily.


    "Are you serious? They''re here to kill you?"


    "Yep."


    "Why?"


    "How should I know." Lucifer shrugged. "But if I were to take a guess, maybe it''s because I destroyed an academy in their empire and brought something important back. But then again, it''s only my guess."


    "Maybe they''re really not here to kill me. They might be my fans, here for autographs."


    Milena looked nkly at Lucifer. Was this guy trying sarcasm?


    "Do you destroy their academy, and they''re here to kill you. So, what''s the n? Why would you use them?" Milena asked, but she remembered what Lucifer had told Kellian to tell the guests.


    "Argh! I get it! If they think you''re the Warlock Council remnant and the city is under a different control, they won''t kill you! And instead, they''ll try to look for the remnants! Am I right?" she asked.


    Lucifer continued eating. After he finished the te, he finally answered. "Maybe, or maybe not."


    He told the waitress to bring more.


    ....


    The two men from the Antic flew above the city, observing the surroundings. They could see that some destruction had taken ce in the city. Roads still weren''t repaired, and it was clear that some buildings were missing.


    "It seems that arge-scale battle took ce here," the young man in the back said, observing the surroundings.


    "What else can you expect? These Variants are no less than monsters. All they do is fight and kill. That''s why it was a great decision for us Antians to migrate; otherwise, we''d be at their mercy as well," the Minister replied.


    "That tower is still standing. And it''s at the center of the city as well. That seems to be the base."


    "Indeed."


    Both of them flew towards the tower but stopped after finding a man standing on the top of the building as if waiting for them.


    Both of them flew closer to the men, prepared to take action at a moment''s notice.


    "May I help you two?" Kellian asked the old man in the lead who looked like the leader.


    "Are you from the Warlock Council?" Antis Minister asked.


    "I''m not from the Warlock Council. Instead, I''m from Uprising. We have just taken over the city, killing everyone from the Warlock Council. Who might you be?" Kellian asked.


    "What? You destroyed the Warlock Council? You killed everyone? Are you lying to fool us?" The old man asked.


    "Why would I fool you? You can ask any citizen in the city," Kellianzily replied. "Now tell me who you are? If you''re a friend of the Warlock Council, I might have to kill you. So choose your answer carefully."


    "Friend?" The old man asked, disgusted. "Tsk, Friend of those thieves? Nonsense! We''re here to kill the person from the Warlock Council who intruded our ce and stole something precious."


    "In that case, you might bete. We already killed most of them. If the person you''re looking for was here, he should already be dead," Kellian replied. "Can you show me who you''re looking for?"


    The old man raised his hand, showing a hologram of Lucifer and Szar. "These two."


    Kellian recognized both the people.


    "I don''t recognize this guy," he said, pointing at Szar.


    He turned to Lucifer''s hologram. "But I do remember this person. He''s one of the few rats that managed to escape along with six others. All six of them were leaders of the Warlock Council. We killed twenty leaders only."


    "So he''s still alive? That''s good. Did you see this coffin anywhere?" The old man asked, showing the coffin of Eve.


    Kellian also remembered the coffin. He had seen that with Lucifer in the vige.


    At that moment, he shook his head. "I haven''t seen it. Is it something important?"


    "It''s none of your concern," the old man frowned. "We''re taking over the search from here. You can stop looking for them."


    The old man left with the guard. Before long, he disappeared from Kellian''s sight, but they didn''t leave the city.


    As they reached far, the guard asked, "Can we trust him?"

 Chapter 693 - 693: Offer

    <h4>Chapter 693 - 693: Offer</h4>


    "We can''t trust a single person here. There''s a good chance he recognized us from our attire. Get inside their system and start checking the database to find him. Let''s see who this guy actually is," the Royal Advisor said, shaking his head.


    It was his responsibility to return with the coffin and the person who dared to infiltrate Antis. He also knew that he was going to be killed by the King of Antis if he failed since it was his fault that he hadn''t destroyed the body of Eve.


    He looked at the young captain of guards. "Jan, Connect to the systems. Try to find out as much information as you can about what happened here. In the meantime, I''ll ask the people here to verify the information."


    "Yes Sir."


    The old man walked away, leaving the captain of the guards behind.


    The dark-haired youngster didn''t even need to move to ess the systems of the city.


    He just grazed his finger over the gloves he was wearing.


    "Aia, infiltrate the systems of the city."


    "Infiltration sessful." A voice came in response.


    "Good." Jan nodded in satisfaction. "Locate the man we''re searching for. Find out when he wasst seen."


    "Error... Most of the data is corrupt. It appears that the data has been destroyed. The signs suggest it being the oue of idental damage in the battles. Only some data servers are intact. Shall I continue the search?''


    "It''s not surprising that some destruction took ce here. It''s alright. Find what you can locate."


    "I''ve discovered something. Showing right away."


    A holographic image appeared before Jan, showing Lucifer leaving the meeting room with Warlock Council leaders.


    However, the footage soon stopped as only that much was left in the database. It didn''t show Lucifer meeting with Milena and Arthur outside the room.


    "Who are the people with him? Bring me the data about them," Janmanded.


    "ording to the data, all of them are the Warlock Council leaders that run the organization."


    "So it was true. The silver haired guy is from the Warlock Council. The man on the roof wasn''t lying." Jan nced towards the tallest tower.


    "Do me a favor. Find me the details about the guy we met on the roof."


    "Details recovered. The man is known as Kellian. ording to the database, he is a leader in an organization known as the Uprising. Their headquarters is in the nation of Elisium. Total manpower is unconfirmed."


    "Well, that puts more validity to his words." Jan rubbed his chin, ying right into the hands of Lucifer.


    There was no image of Lucifer in Elisium. All his images were deleted by Kane and the Uprising technical staff. There was no footage of him from Elisium either. Moreover, everything about him was erased as if he never existed.


    The only thing which was left of Lucifer in the digital format was the footage of his meeting with the Warlock Council leadership.


    Moreover, some of the battle scenes were also left in the system, which showed Kellian and other Uprising Members didn''t the Warlock Council outside Elisium, proving once again that they were enemies of the Warlock Council.


    It made him understand why the Uprising woulde to destroy the Warlock Council since that incident didn''t take ce too long ago.


    On the other end, the Royal Advisor was also busy interrogating the citizens about what happened here.


    Most of the citizens told him about the battle between the Warlock Council and some enemies. ording to their version, that was the fall of the Warlock Council.


    Since then, they hadn''t seen any Warlock Council members. Moreover, the signals were jammed, so they couldn''t even contact outside. For all they knew, the entire Warlock Council was destroyed already.


    After being satisfied with the answers, the Royal Advisor returned to Jan. "Did you find anything?"


    "Yeah. I confirmed the words of the man we met on the roof. Apparently, he is telling the truth. He is a leader of an organization which was attacked by the Warlock Council, and he only recently came here and attacked this ce."


    "So the Warlock Council remnants went into hiding. That''s a headache. If the battle here hadn''t happened here, it would''ve been so easy to find them. But now they''re in hiding," the old man scratched the back of his head, sighing.


    ....


    In the restaurant, Lucifer finished eating and stood up, stretching his arms.


    "Shall we get going?" He asked Milena.


    "Going where? Aren''t you hiding from the guests who are in the city?" Milena asked in return.


    "Ah, are you forgetting who you are?" Lucifer asked, rolling his eyes. "You can use Teleportation. Just take me back directly."


    "Ah, right. I forgot about that," Milena pped her forehead lightly. She held Lucifer''s hand and disappeared.


    ...


    The two of them appeared on the top floor of the Warlock Council headquarters, where Luciferzily sat on the sofa, looking at the hole on the roof.


    "You caused that," Milena said, noticing where he was looking.


    "I don''t remember doing that, but maybe," Luciferzily responded. "I thought you would''ve repaired it by now."


    "This is a problem. Anyone can see us from above. Let''s go a bit lower." He raised his hand towards Milena. "The floor which was assigned to me might be a good choice. It wasn''t half bad."


    Milena understood his instructions and took him to the twenty-third floor.


    "Anything else?" she asked sarcastically, feeling like she was treated like a helper.


    "Yeah, now that you''re free, I was hoping you could go talk to Kellian. I can''t personally go out. Ask him about the whereabouts of the other members. You and Arthur should bring them back here faster. You should be able to do it."


    "And what will you do in the meantime?" Milena asked, rolling her eyes.


    "I would take a nap." Lucifer smiled in response, lying on the sofazily. "When you go out, remember that I don''t exist."


    "Before I go, I want to ask you something."


    "Sure. I''m feeling generous today. Ask anything. I''ll answer honestly."


    "Why don''t you just kill the two people? From what you said, they''re just humans. They don''t have any benefits to you. Moreover, I doubt they''re strong enough to take out the remnants of the Warlock Council."


    "That''s not the way I see them," Lucifer replied. "They might be humans, but you can''t call them weak."


    "They probably knew the strength of the Warlock Council, and yet they only sent two people. I thought they''d send at least a small army.. But that just shows how much confidence they have in themselves," Lucifer replied, sighing.

 Chapter 694 - 694: Alone

    <h4>Chapter 694 - 694: Alone</h4>


    "I think I''ll be respecting their self confidence to some extent," Lucifer said. "Moreover, I''m also curious to know more about this fifth generation technology of theirs. I only saw the first generation, and it wasn''t half bad.*


    "Let them be. And bring back the others," he further added before closing his eyes.


    Milena rolled her eyes and left the ce.


    ....


    Before Long, the Royal Advisor and Jan returned to Kellian, who was still standing on the top of the roof.


    "You''re back. I thought you left."


    "We believe you''ve been telling the truth. We want information about all the remnants of the Warlock Council who left. They might know the whereabouts of the rat we''re looking for," Jan told Kellian.


    "So give us as much information you can."


    "You know, they''re my enemies too. We can work together to take them out if you want," Kellian suggested. "That would certainly be more efficient."


    "We don''t need your help," the Royal Advisor replied. "Just give us the information. We''ll take it from there."


    "Alright, I''ll tell you. There are six leaders of the Warlock Council who escaped. The most important one is Jian Asade."


    As Kellian said, Jan searched the name. A hologram opened up before him.


    "Jian Asade? Is it this guy?"


    "Yeah, that''s the one. He is closest to Lucifer. And the second person is..."


    Kellian kept giving information about all six Warlock Council heads that were in hiding.


    "Good. We will take care of it from now." The Royal Advisor turned around.


    "The six of them are already in hiding. I really think you might need my help."


    "We don''t care if they''re in hiding. We have ways to find them as long as they left even a single trace behind," Jan said, waving his hand. He left the city with the Royal Advisor.


    The two of them didn''t realize that Kellian had actually sent a shadow of his with them, which was to keep an eye on them.


    After making sure they left the city, Kellian turned around.


    Just as he turned, Milena appeared before him.


    "What are you doing here?"


    "The little guy sent me. He wants me and Arthur to bring back everyone," Milena replied.


    Kellian transferred all the information to Milena about the whereabouts of everyone else, but he used his words when talking about Szar.


    "Alright, I am off then."


    "Wait, where is Lucifer. At least tell me that first."


    "Lucifer? He is in the room which was initially assigned to him by the Council. You''ll find him there." Milena disappeared.


    Kellian nced onest time in the direction where the two men went before he entered the building.


    He went to the twenty-third floor, finding Lucifer lying on a sofa with his eyes closed.


    He didn''t disturb Lucifer and just sat beside him, but before long, he started wondering if Lucifer was actually sleeping or he was in aa likest time.


    He stood up and approached Lucifer to check his temperature, but before he could even touch Lucifer''s forehead, the young man opened his lips.


    "What do you think you''re doing?" Lucifer asked, not even bothering to open his eyes.


    "Just checking if you were fine," Kellian replied as he walked back.


    "Did the people from Antis leave?" Lucifer inquired.


    "Yeah. I even left my shadow with them. They''ve truly left the city. But I still don''t understand. Why take such a long step?"


    "You don''t need to be concerned about it. It''s just a personal decision," Lucifer answered.


    "Ah, wait... Is this about your parents?"


    "What do you mean?" Lucifer asked.


    "He used the hands of other people to kill your parents without even moving his own finger. Are you doing the same thing with him to get equal? Using other people to kill him?'' Kellian frowned.


    Lucifer smiled. "You really have a vivid imagination."


    "That''s not the answer."


    Lucifer didn''t respond. Instead, he changed the topic.


    "Leave Warlock Council remnants to them. I''m more concerned about Xaen. Get a flight ready for me. I''ll be going to the ind."


    "You mean we will be?"


    "Nope. I will be going. I will be going alone this time. You all stay here and take care of this small Empire of mine. I need eyes on the ground to manage things with the Council remnants and Antis."


    "Is it not risky to go alone?" Kellian inquired.


    "What''s risky is sitting here like an idle bird. Prepare the nes. I''ll leave after the others are back."


    "Oh, and in the meantime, get me information about the Xaen. I want to know everything about him that''s there to know. I need my two stones back."


    "I''ll arrange the flight, but I still think going alone isn''t right."


    "Why isn''t it right? I''ve been alone most of my life," Lucifer smiled. "I think I can handle a short trip."


    "Anyways, there''s so much to do and not enough time. It''s time I finish things personally. Enough dying. And hopefully, by the time I''m back, you''ll have the bodies of the Warlock Council remnants ready for me."


    "Now, let me sleep and don''t disturb. The flight from here to the ind is really long. Only wake me up when everyone is here."


    After finishing, Lucifer turned on the sofa and started sleeping.


    "Alone on the Ind with Xaen and the Family Heads that want to kill you..." Kellian muttered, frowning. "I still think this isn''t the right decision."


    Kellian had a feeling that Lucifer was behaving oddly since he heard about the news about why his parents were killed. He wondered if Lucifer was trying to distract himself from the mess of the past by acting different?


    Lucifer didn''t reply. It was unclear if he was actually sleeping or if he wasn''t listening.


    After a six hour long nap, Lucifer woke up, hearing the constant chatter around him.


    As he opened his eyes, he saw all the Uprising members there, including Alicia, Das, Tristan, and others. Only Eve was missing.


    All the Nobles were also there.


    "Is everyone here?" Lucifer asked, yawning.


    He turned to Veracity.


    "Veracity, there''s the one I was missing. You look good in the dress. Are you alright?"


    Hearing the words of Lucifer, Veracity was surprised. Why was he talking like that?


    "Anyways,?where''s Eve?"


    As Lucifer asked, a door opened and Eve stepped inside, drying her wet hair with a towel.


    "You''re up. How was your sleep?" Eve asked.


    "Not half bad. Anyways, now that you''re all here, I have something to tell you."


    He told everyone about his n of going to the Ind alone. Hearing his n, everyone simply looked at him weirdly, surprised at his ce.. It seemed a bit dangerous.

 Chapter 695 - 695: Tasks

    <h4>Chapter 695 - 695: Tasks</h4>


    "In my absence, I need you to protect this ce," he further said. "That''s not all. You need to do something else as well while I''m gone. I''ll give most of you a task of your own. It wouldn''t be very hard."


    He turned to Milena. "If you did good, I would remove that Limiter as well."


    "You will?" Milena asked, stunned. "Are you telling the truth?"


    "I have no reason to lie to you," Lucifer replied. "Anyways, all of you need to get out now. Come out one by one, only the person I call. You''ll be getting individual missions that only you''ll know."


    "Milena, Kellian, and Veracity, you two will stay here. Everyone else, leave."


    The Nobles and the Uprising Members left, wondering what the missions were going to be.


    Only Lucifer, Veracity, Kellian, and Milena were left behind.


    "Milena, first I''ll start with you." Lucifer stood up, stretching his arms. "But before I tell you, I have one question for you."


    "What question?"


    "When I was in the so-calleda, did you get thoughts about taking over the Uprising and keeping my body hostage?" Lucifer asked.


    "I didn''t. I don''t really care about Uprising members. The only concerning person here is you," Milena replied. "But I did think that it was better if you stayed like that,pared to you waking up after losing your powers."


    "Is she telling the truth?" Lucifer asked. Even though he was keeping his eyes on Milena, Veracity knew he was talking to him.


    "It''s the truth," Veracity answered.


    "Good. It seems that I can trust you to some extent. What I want you to do is very simple," Lucifer said, nodding.


    He brought a piece of paper from his pocket. "I want you to go to this address."


    He gave the paper to Milena.


    "Why?"


    "It''s the location of the fourth stone which I had received from Arthur. You should be able to find the person who bought the stone in the auction there. His name is in the letter as well. I want you to recover the stone and bring it back to me."


    "You think you can do it?"


    "I don''t think it should be hard." Milena nodded. "But you''ll really take off this bracelet if I''m sessful?"


    "I will," Lucifer responded. "That''s the promise of a Warlock. But you must bring back the stone."


    "Consider it done," Milena said, reading the address on the paper.


    "Kellian would take care of the flights for you and all the misceneous matters. You can leave now. Don''t forget to send Arthur and Jiani inside after you leave," Lucifer said as he walked over to the window and nced at the calm City outside.


    Milena left the room.


    "Two stones of mine with Xaen. The third stone in the Realm of Summons merged with the sword. The Fourth stone will be back when Milena returns. Now I need to find the rest of the stones."


    "Kellian?" He asked, turning around.


    "Yeah?"


    "Tell Kane to put more resources in search of the other stones."


    "He is already doing that. But it''s really hard, it seems. I doubt we can find it that easily."


    "Did he find anything from the database of Warlock Council? Even they didn''t know the whereabouts of the other stones?" Lucifer asked.


    "ording to Jenilia, the whereabouts of five of the seven stones was known by the Warlock Council while she only knew three. Whereabouts of the other two must be in the database," he further stated.


    "We''re still trying to decipher the entire data. Most of the data has been deciphered, but there''s a section that is much harder. If any important bits of information are kept, it might be there," Kellian exined.


    "How long will it take?" Lucifer inquired.


    "I can''t say. From what we know, our team is being careful with the database since one wrong step will make the data unusable. So it might take a few days or a few weeks. It might even take a few months."


    "I don''t think we can sit idly based on the assumption about the future. Tell Kane to ce a heavy reward on the stones. Anyone who gives the information about a stone would get massive rewards. I want that information to spread in all the nations."


    "If we do that, won''t our enemies be alert? People might also realize that the stones are special?"


    "Make a story about why you need the stones. I''m sure you can handle that. It''s better than waiting for the unknown."


    "I''ll see what we can do. But that will take time as well."


    "Isn''t it good then? You have quite a lot of time by the time I return. Anyways, there''s one more thing I need you to do."


    "Just name it."


    "Find me all the information rted to the death of Ramian Asade and what happened after that in the city. And get me the history of my father and my mother from the year 2025. Get that printed. I might be reading that on the flight."


    "I''ll get it done." Kellian left the room.


    As he was leaving, he saw Arthur and Jiani step inside the room.


    Lucifer turned to Arthur, smiling. "Arthur, I heard you kept me safe as well. I suppose I should thank you as well? Even though it was one of you who was attacking me."


    "I was just trying to stop a misunderstanding. I apologize for the actions of our colleague. She has been punished already."


    "Don''t worry; I didn''t call you here for that. I called you here to give you two a mission. But you aren''t allowed to share your mission with others. Can I trust you?" Lucifer asked.


    Both Arthur and Jiani knew about the abilities of Veracity. They couldn''t lie, so they took it seriously.


    "We won''t tell anyone else."


    Lucifer nced at Veracity, who nodded.


    "Good. I want the two of you to go and kidnap a person for me."


    "Kidnap someone? Who?" Arthur asked, stunned.


    Lucifer smiled, letting out a name.


    "You should be able to do it with yourbined abilities. You have seven days to do it because that''s the most I''ll take before I return."


    "I don''t know why you would want someone like that kidnapped, but whatever. I think that wouldn''t be hard for us." Kellian nodded, having faith in his abilities.


    "Good. You have the Limiter I gave you? Use that to keep things neat. There shouldn''t be muchmotion," Lucifer said. "You two can leave. Send Das and Tristan inside."


    One after another, Lucifer kept inviting people inside the room and kept giving them missions.

 Chapter 696 - 696: Adaptation

    <h4>Chapter 696 - 696: Adaptation</h4>


    Even though Veracity was inside the room with Lucifer this entire time, she didn''t understand the reason behind the tasks and what the goal behind them was. In fact, most of these seemed unconnected to her.


    For some, he was asking for the kidnapping of people she didn''t believe he knew. Not only that, he was asking for the Warlocks to go to different nations in the farthest corners of the world to take over them.


    Thest part was something she truly found hard to digest. He had said that he was leaving the others here to keep this ce safe.


    At the same time, he was sending more than half the team away from here, leaving only the bare minimum, including Kellian and such.


    She couldn''t control her curiosity for long and decided to ask directly.


    Lucifer looked back at her, smiling. "I might want to give some excuses to you, but you''ll see that they''re lies. So it''s better I don''t say anything. Just know; finally, I''m able to see the bigger picture better. Everything will fall into its ce soon."


    As he finished speaking, he noticed that Szar and Yaliza had entered the room.


    "Ah, Szar and Yaliza. Wee back. I saved the best and the most important mission for you two. And I''m sure you can finish it easily."


    "And what mission might that be?" Szar asked. ''I was really hoping to go to the Ind with you."


    "You won''t being with me. But I can''t send you on any ordinary mission in public either since you were there in Antis with me. You''ll be recognized," Lucifer responded. "So I''ll be sending you away from human eyes and all the technology."


    "I''m sure you two have heard about the Dungeon where my parents were killed?" he asked.


    "Yeah. What about that?"


    "I want the two of you to get inside that Dungeon. Your mission is simple... Find the sword that was with my parents inside the tomb. Since it wasn''t recovered, it''s still inside the Dungeon."


    "So I want you to enter the Dungeon, explore it and bring the sword back. Eve will give you the description of the Swordter. It might be in the depth of the Dungeon, taken by the monsters."


    "You need to locate it sessfully, which would be a bigger challenge. But I''m sure you can do it. You can take Jiang with you as well if you want."


    "That guy is expert in locating treasures but remember one thing; if you do decide to take him, his safety will be yours or responsibility. He''s not a fighter and might only be a burden for most of the time, but he''s important."


    "I don''t think we''ll need him," Yaliza responded. "If the sword is there, we should be able to find it. We don''t need Jiang."


    "Good. You two can leave and prepare for departure. Get the briefing from Kellian about the details of the Dungeon."


    ...


    Lucifer kept cing his pieces on the chessboard one after another, preparing everyone for his absence.


    Only after he finished with everyone else did he call thest person who was waiting to be called for a long time.


    He was sitting on the sofa when Eve stepped inside. She stopped before Lucifer.


    "Are you done finally?" she asked.


    "Not here. Onest person left. And this might take some time. Take a seat," Lucifer told Eve, gesturing her to sit.


    Eve took a seat.


    "I want you to answer whatever I ask, honestly. I''m sure you know that Veracity can catch any lies. So don''t even try."


    "I have no reason to lie. Ask me anything. I''m but an open book."


    "Good. Tell me all your abilities and what they do. I want to know every single one."


    "Only that? Are you still suspicious that the memories in your head were faked?" Eve started chuckling. "You''re so cute."


    "Answer the question only," Lucifer firmly stated.


    "Fine. I have quite a few abilities. I''ll start with the first. I call it Knowledge Boost. I think it increased my IQ. At the same time, it helps me learn anything I desire just by reading it once, including understanding the intricacies in the logic," Eve exined.


    "It was one of the reasons I was able toe up with Antis and make it a reality and contribute to the initial advancements."


    "So the first ability of yours makes you smart in short." Lucifer nodded.


    "It''s sad that it only makes you book smart and not street smart. Otherwise, you wouldn''t have been poisoned so easily. Any sane person would have seen that plot from a distance."


    "In my parent''s case, at least they have the excuse that they didn''t know about the poisoning," Lucifer said, assuming that his parents didn''t read the letter he left with them.


    "On the other hand, I''m surprised you didn''t know after all the rumors that were spreading that the Royalty wasn''t happy with you. Anyways, I won''t dwell on it. What''s your other ability?"


    "As I said before, my next ability is Dreamworld," Eve answered, ignoring the sarcasm in his voice.


    "If my body receives a life threatening injury, my body shuts down and goes into hibernation as it starts to heal itself while preserving my body. In the meantime, my consciousness stays in the Dreamworld where I can see everything and go everywhere in this world."


    Since Veracity didn''t say anything, Lucifer understood that it was all true.


    "Next..." Lucifer stated.


    Eve took a deep breath, slightly hesitating. "My third ability is Adaptation."


    "Adaptation?" Lucifer asked. "What does it do?"


    "It allows me to turn into anyone. It''s like the ability of Caen, but the only difference is that I can use the abilities of the other person as well," Eve exined.


    "What?" Lucifer looked surprised as he frowned. "You mean you can turn into me and use all my abilities?"


    "Yes." Eve nodded.


    Lucifer turned to Veracity. "Don''t tell me it''s the truth."


    "She is telling the truth, it seems." Veracity nodded. Even she seemed slightly surprised at the revtion. That ability was pretty good.


    She could basically act like a doppelganger of Lucifer and do everything he could if she wanted.


    "Why didn''t you use this ability before?" Lucifer asked, frowning. He was only hearing about it now. He hadn''t seen her use it even in the battle.


    If it was true, that meant fighting Eve was going to be no different than fighting himself since cloning everything meant that she was going to have his healing as well when he was in the form of his.


    "I saw another ability simr to what you''re saying, at least to a minor extent. The guy was able to steal three abilities of the enemy temporarily. But after that, the enemy couldn''t use that ability for a day. Is it the same with you?"


    "Is it temporary theft?"

 Chapter 697 - 697: Mistake

    "I mean, is there a time limit that''s the most you can hold onto the power? And will the other person be able to use his powers even then?" Lucifer asked.


    "I think I know who you''re talking about, but it''s different. I can''t temporarily steal someone''s powers. I can only clone them along with their looks," Eve exined.


    "Can you clone just the abilities and not the looks?"


    "I can''t do that. Bothe simultaneously," Eve exined. "Moreover, you are right. This is a temporary ability. I can''t infinitely stay in the clone form."


    "How long does the abilityst? And can you use it again right after? What are the ws in Adaptation?"


    "Are you asking that so you can prepare contingencies if I ever go astray?" Eve inquired, smiling wryly.


    "I don''t think a day like that would evere, so I don''t mind telling you. I can only use Adaptation for a few hours at best. If I were to give a round figure, it''s around six hours."


    "Time can even be less if I use Adaptation on someone much stronger than me. Or it can be more if I use on someone much weaker."


    "So less than a day. That''s not half bad," Lucifer rubbed his chin, sighing.


    "Yeah. As for other limitations of my ability, I''m not sure. I didn''t test it much."


    "I don''t believe that. Your first ability makes you smart. That''s no way you won''t know your Limitations."


    "It''s the truth. I didn''t really take an interest in this ability. I was more immersed in the groundwork in the field of science, as you can imagine. I don''t have much interest in fighting skills and such," Eve replied, shaking his head.


    "You can ask your friend if you doubt me."


    "She is telling the truth," Veracity chimed in.


    "Fine. I want you to test your ability more while I''m gone. I want answers when I''m back," Lucifer instructed Eve. "Any other abilities?"


    Eve shook her head.


    "So you have only one ability worthy of a fighter," Lucifer muttered. "Still, it''s pretty powerful in itself."


    "You can be a great asset in wars."


    "I can''t be." Eve straight shook her head. "I don''t appreciate killing and fighting. I don''t want to use my abilities for battle."


    "See? That''s where I start doubting your smartness ability." Lucifer rolled his eyes. "Whatever, I don''t need you to fight."


    "But still, you should understand that one day, you really might need to kill another person, and you might not have any other choice. It''s always good to mentally prepare yourself when you''re in danger. Don''t ever hesitate."


    Eve didn''t reply. She just nodded her head for the sake of not arguing.


    Lucifer stood up. "It''s time I leave. Kellian will handle everything here. But if he''s in danger, do help him out. He''s slightly weaker, alright. You should be able to help here."


    He started walking away.


    "Are you really going alone?" Eve asked.


    "Yeah," Lucifer replied without stopping, however just as he was about to push the door open, he stopped. "Before leaving, onest question."


    "What you said on the roofst time when we were alone. Was everything true?" he asked.


    Eve nced back at Veracity, not answering directly.


    After taking a deep breath, she nodded. "It was true."


    "Veracity?" Lucifer asked.


    "She is telling the truth," Veracity replied, unaware of what the two were talking about.


    Lucifer didn''t say anything. He just opened the door and left.


    His face remained calm. If one was to see his face, they couldn''t notice anything different, but there was something different for sure. It was unclear what it was, but his eyes seemed slightly different.


    Lucifer didn''t speak to anyone as he went straight to the left, which brought him to the roof, where a pilot was already waiting for him along with Kellian.


    "The flight is ready at the airport. It''ll take you straight to the Ind. I''ve disabled the cameras at the airport as well, so no one will record you, but the Ind is different. Cameras might record you there," Kellian exined.


    "That''s why you should take this with you." He gave Lucifer a bag.


    "What''s in the bag?"


    "It''s the next generation Battle Gear prepared by Kane. I brought it back when I came here, but you were in aa, so I couldn''t give you," Kellian exined.


    "You can change your clothes, so even if you''re recorded, no one can recognize you from your clothes. Moreover, there''s a mask in it as well."


    "You can use it to cover your face at times when needed. If you need any information on using them, you can contact Kane. He did tell me a few things, but he''d be better to teach you."


    Lucifer nodded, taking the bag. He opened the door of the helicopter.


    "I''m leaving. Everything is on you¡ªbest of luck. Also, stay careful. You''re weaker now. Don''t put your life in danger. And contact me whenever you need." After instructing the guy onest time, Lucifer stepped inside the helicopter and closed the door.


    The rotors started moving, and the helicopter rose in the air, right before Kellian''s eyes. It soon left, taking Lucifer away on his solo mission.


    Even Lucifer knew that it was slightly risky to leave this ce without his guidance, but he had faith in Kellian and all the preparation he did. Without his presence in this continent, it was much more convenient for his team.


    Moreover, he knew that the Warlock Council remnants and Antis were dangerous, but they were nowhere close to Xaen and how risky the guy was.


    He wouldn''t have gone to the Ind without taking care of matters here if Xaen hadn''t stolen the stones. When it came to the stones, he couldn''t take the risk.


    As Lucifer sat in the helicopter, he opened the bag that was in his hand. On top of all the clothes, there was a stack of paper. He picked up the stack and started going through it.


    "The death of Ramian Asade and others. Reason: Robbery Gone Wrong."


    "So it was true. I did travel to the past. But there were no cameras there, so no one knew the killers. No witnesses came forward to the authorities," Lucifer muttered, frowning.


    "That''s interesting. One guard survived? If he did, he should''ve seen us. But he testified that he doesn''t remember the culprits? How did Jian know it was us then?"


    "Unless he made the guard lie because he didn''t want the authorities to take action?"


    "The case still remains unsolved, ording to the reports.. One of the robbers was found dead on site, but he couldn''t be traced to anyone."

 Chapter 698 - 698: Loop

    He ced the first report aside and read the second report, which talked about another incident that happened the same day.


    Two Variants infiltrated the Government Facility and managed to escape. They were traced outside a clothing store where Zeston Variants cornered them.


    "Hmm? I don''t remember that happening. Did it happen after I left? Don''t tell me they lost the paper in that conflict?" he wondered, frowning. "I guess I really did make a mistake by destroying the entire building. So much for being a nice guy."


    He crushed the paper and tossed it away in frustration.


    The next page further talked about the incident in which the two culprits managed to escape. No Variants of the city died in the incident.


    The authorities tried to find the culprits, but they couldn''t even find a single trace. The authorities were said to possess the footage of the culprits as well, but they didn''t release it to General Public.


    In the end, the authorities of Zeston dropped the matter since no person was killed by the intruders.


    "That''s interesting. It''s after this incident when the Warlock Council was established?" Lucifer eximed, surprised.


    He was amazed to find out how much of the wrong that happened in the past was because of him.


    The Warlocks of Zeston decided that the government wasn''t effective in protecting the city after this incident, so they formed the Warlock Council, which grew too big within years.


    "So if I hadn''t broken in the finding, the Warlock Council wouldn''t have existed. If I hadn''t broken inside Ramian''s house, what then?"


    "No, that''s not my fault. Even if I hadn''t gone there with Father, mother was already there. By the time I got there, the kid was already shot, and the guards were already there. Things would''ve unfolded the same way if I wasn''t there."


    "In fact, mother would''ve been dead instead, trapped in the time domain I helped her out of."


    He tossed the second paper away as well. His head was also starting to ache. Things were making sense, but at the same time, they weren''t making sense.


    Why was everything the same as it happened in the past? In fact, how did it even happen? It wasn''t as if he was born in the future first. He was born in the past and discovered by his parents.


    By that time, he hadn''t traveled to the past. So how did the Warlock Councile into existence then? Why was this paradox so messy? Warlock Council and Jian Asade wrote his destiny by taking out his parents. And that made him like this. And that''s also how he ended up in the past.


    It was so awkward. The Warlock Council came because of him. And he became what he was because of the Warlock Council. It was like a loop, and he didn''t understand how the loop actually started.


    "It would''ve been handy if I had the first ability of Eve. I need some really heavy thinking to understand this mess. Maybe I should talk to her when I go back."


    "You called me?" Eve''s voice came abruptly.


    "Hmm?" Frowning, Lucifer turned around.


    "You?" He could see Eve sitting behind him. "How did you get in here?"


    "You told me to test my Adaptation. I was testing it by turning into Kellian. I tested his shadow transformation and followed you." Eve smiled. "You can''t me me. I was just following yourmands."


    She came forward and sat beside Lucifer.


    "You''re, ah," Lucifer rubbed his forehead in frustration. "Now use the same ability and leave. You need to go back."


    "I don''t want to go back. I''ming with you."


    "No, you aren''t. I''m not going on a pic. And I''m not going to be your babysitter there. I''ve had enough of acting like a babysitter already." Lucifer rolled his eyes.


    "You know I don''t listen, right?" Eve asked, smiling. "Now that I''m getting a hang of Adaptation, I can easily follow you without you finding out."


    "Even if you leave me here, I''ll follow you like I did when you came to the capital city, leaving me behind. Fine, tell me you want that?"


    "Kellian needs you more than I do. You need to get back to him," Lucifer stated.


    "Why? It''s not like I can help in case he needs someone to fight?"


    "I know, but you can help him get away. You can turn into me and protect him. Or turn into Arthur and Teleport him away," Lucifer exined.


    "He can escape easily with his shadows if he wanted, don''t worry about him. In fact, you might need Teleportation more. You''re going to face Xaen, aren''t you? I know more about him than you can imagine. I can be of help?"


    "Hmm?"


    "I''m noting with you as a Warlock who will fight, but I''ming as the person who saw most of the world from the Dreand," Eve exined.


    She further stated. " The information I have can help you a lot. It''s the kind of information that you can''t find in the papers you have."


    "So, what were you talking about asking me? I don''t charge you."


    "The information you have can certainlye in handy. I forgot about that," Lucifer muttered, frowning. "Fine. I''ll take you with me."


    "Yeah. Now that''s like a good boy," Eve burst intoughter. "You won''t be disappointed."


    "Stop talking like I''m a little kid," Lucifer said, rolling his eyes. "I won''t think twice before throwing you out of this helicopter."


    "Anyways, back to the main point, I want to tell you something that might sound crazy. But it''s the truth. And I want you to make sense of the situation," he further said, getting straight to the point.


    He started telling her everything that happened from the moment he started absorbing the ability of Julien and how he ended up in the past.


    He talked about his travels with his father and the entire incident with the Asade family and the government of Zeston.


    "So, what do you think? How did this happen? Who came first, the Warlock Council or this version of me? Because one isn''t possible without the other," Lucifer exined.


    "Moreover, without me, mother would''ve been dead, and father would''ve been on the Frozen Ind. He could never have met her if she was dead. So they couldn''t have found me in the Dungeon? So how is that actually possible?" he further asked.


    The more he thought about it, the moreplicated it became. It was like a thread that was impossible to straighten.


    "This thing... It really sounds crazy, but I will believe you on this.. As for what might have happened first¡­."

 Chapter 699 - 699: Folklore

    "Even I''m not sure about that. What you described certainly seemsplicated as it deals with thews of nature and the entire reality," Eve exined. "But I think I have a theory about how it could''ve happened."


    "What theory?" Lucifer asked.


    "The first question is about your mother. If you hadn''t gone back, what would have happened to her. There''s a chance that she would''ve been killed, and you would be never found to be able to go back. However, I believe that she would have survived even without you," Eve answered.


    "When you went back in time, I believe you changed some incidents there, like dying your mother''s meeting and obstructing her in the mansion as well."


    "Maybe without your presence, they would''ve taken Ramian hostage and escaped instead of ending up before the Variant, unable to move."


    "If that were the case, it would exin some things. The core events like your mother offending the Asade family would have happened in any case, I think. The only difference would''ve been your father''s presence there."


    "But that doesn''t matter. If Jian nned the death of your mother, she certainly wasn''t going to leave your father to find and kill him in revenge. So that would exin how things happened in the past without your interference."


    "I think it''s wrong to say that your parents died because of you. The more urate way would be to say that it was an absolute event in time. Your presence there did twist some things, but overall, most of the oues remained the same."


    "So it''s not my fault that they died?" Lucifer asked, frowning. He didn''t know why, but he felt slightly relieved to hear that. The thought that he killed them weighed really heavily in his mind.


    He was trying to distract his thoughts by acting different, but now he was slightly relieved. He was also conflicted though.


    It was good that his parents didn''t die because of him, but it was also true that they did die, and he couldn''t change the past.


    "Is there a way I could''ve stopped their deaths?" he asked.


    Despite asking, he already knew that the answer was yes. If he knew these things before, he could''ve easily kept his mother away from the Asade castle.


    "I''m not sure if you could''ve," Eve answered. Even your travel to the past didn''t change the absolute event. So I doubt you could''ve done something that would''ve been significant. If not this, then something else would''ve happened."


    "I suppose it was all in the destiny which no one could change. It''s best to try to forget that event," she continued, sighing.


    "Destiny..." Lucifer muttered. He nced out of the helicopter. "Who makes these destinies."


    "This..." Eve didn''t know what to say. In the end, she just said what she heard religious people say.


    "God makes destinies. It''s beyond us mortals to have a say. We can just try to do the best we can to fulfill our destiny."


    "Gods?" Lucifer asked, frowning. "They are just folklore that weak humans use to satiate their fear of the unknown."


    "There are no gods."


    "Maybe, or maybe not," Eve replied, shaking her head.


    The helicopternded at the airport. Lucifer opened the doors and stepped out of the helicopter.


    Eve also stepped out after him. "The weather seems bad right now. Is it good to take a flight in this weather?"


    She felt cold winds brushing against her skin and a sky that was covered in rainy clouds.


    "It''s going to be alright. The more we stay here, the worse it might get," Lucifer responded without stopping.


    He walked to the ne that was waiting for them, being led by the staff.


    The pilot was already waiting for them inside the ne, along with some air hostesses.


    "You stay here. I''ll be back after changing," he told Eve before going to the changing cabin with the bag in his hand.


    Inside the cabin, he opened the bag and started taking out the clothes that were prepared by Kane for him.


    Inside the bag, he found a ck jeans along with a ck shirt which had a lion insignia on the pocket.


    He wore both before taking out thest thing, which looked like an ordinary overcoat.


    The overcoat came to his knees, but it was a bit shorter than what he was used to wearing previously. Also, the cost was slightly thicker than what he was wearing before.


    One thing he was sure about though. The current attire made him look more like a businessman. A small briefcase was also lying at the bottom of the bag.


    He picked up the briefcase and walked to the seats.


    "Here!" Eve stood up, giving Lucifer the seat beside her.


    Lucifer ignored the seat she was giving and sat on the other side near the window seat.


    "This doesn''t look half bad either." Eve swiftly switched seats, taking the seat beside Lucifer.


    "You look good in the new clothes by the way. Like a rich CEO going on a business trip with a briefcase filled with cash."


    "What''s in the bag by the way?"


    "No idea," Lucifer replied. "It''s password locked. I don''t know the password."


    "Did you try Zero Zero Zero Zero?"


    "Kane isn''t a child to keep that password." Lucifer rolled his eyes.


    He brought his sses and wore them. He contacted Kane directly.


    "Little Boss, what''s up." Kane''s happy voice came from the other end as soon as the call was picked up.


    "I opened the bag you sent me. Tell me what''s special about these clothes."


    "Honestly, the clothes aren''t much different than what you wore before. They''re all made from Cardigan Particles like before."


    "The only difference would be in the coat that you wear on top."


    "What''s the difference there?" Lucifer asked. "Other than the thickness."


    "Actually, the thickness is the change indeed. But there was a reason behind it. It can now absorb twice the destructive energy particles before letting something reach your body."


    "Moreover, there''s one more thing."


    "Look at the inner pocket of the coat."


    Lucifer grabbed his right cor and checked the inner pocket.


    The coat was grey on the inside and had the same exterior on the inside as the outside, but it had something really intriguing. On the pocket, a strange pattern was carved.


    "Is that what I think it is?" Lucifer asked.


    "Yep. All thanks to our friends at the Warlock Council. The data we were able to decipher so far gave us some really important information.. And that''s used in your jacket as well."

 Chapter 700 - 700: Covering All

    "I ced the miniature version of the defensive formation that was carved on the nes of the Warlock Council. However, I couldn''t find a way to carve an entire replica."


    "What you have is something which can save your life when needed. Since the formation is facing the back, whenever you''re attacked from the back, it''ll get activated and stop the attack."


    "However, it''s now too strong. I can''t guarantee that it won''t break after a single attack. In any case, it can save your life from unknown danger at least."


    "So it''s like a protection from a sneak attack from the back."


    "In a way, yeah. Not that you need it, of course. But it is still good to have as a precautionary measure."


    "Anything else about these clothes that I should know?" Lucifer asked.


    "Yeah, there''s one more little touch that I added. The lion insignia on your shirt."


    "What does that do?"


    "Actually, that literally does nothing, but it looks cool in case you take off your coat," Kane replied, smiling.


    Lucifer''s face twitched unwillingly. "Don''t tell me you''re being serious right now."


    "Oh, I''mpletely serious. That insignia does nothing. But it''s rted to your family, so I thought it would be a good touch."


    "Rted to my family?"


    "Yeah. In the Warlock Council database, I found an image of your father. He was wearing the exact same clothes as you, including the tiger insignia."


    "Only the coat was missing. I thought this was a cool throwback, so I took some inspiration."


    Lucifer rubbed his forehead, shaking his head. "What is inside the briefcase?"


    "You didn''t open it yet?"


    "Did you give me the password? It''s locked, genius."


    "I told Kellian the password. It looks like he forgot to tell you. Anyways, the password is zero zero zero zero."


    Lucifer looked nkly at the briefcase before turning to Eve.


    He entered the password and opened the briefcase.


    As Eve saw him enter the password, she shed a cheeky smile. "He certainly isn''t a kid, it seems."


    Lucifer ignored her words and focused on the items inside the bag. "What are they?"


    He observed the reading sses that were the first thing that attracted his gaze. "Anything different in the sses?"


    "Not really. They''re the exact replica of the one you''re wearing right now. I made this to suit your current attire. I think reading sses will suit the professional look more. Other than the changed form factor, they''re exactly identical and share the same number."


    Lucifer picked up the reading sses, which certainly looked professional. Their quality was also good.


    "In fact, you can wear them. I''ll transfer the call to them."


    "Alright."


    Lucifer took off the sunsses and kept them in the bag before wearing the reading sses.


    "Can you hear me?" Kane''s voice fell in his ears.


    "Yeah." Lucifer nodded.


    "Good. It seems to be working then," Kane nodded.


    "Anyways, I don''t think I need to exin more about the sses. They are exactly the same thing but in different form factors. The only different thing is that they are transparent, so they wouldn''t have hidden your eyes as effectively."


    "So I added some tweaks. They can disy a different color of your eyes through the sses to the others. It depends on you which color you want to show. Your mismatched eyes are a dead giveaway after all, so a neat feature."


    "Anyways, let''s move into the next part. You see the mask there?"


    "Yeah," Lucifer picked up the mask from the briefcase. It seemed like a cloth mask that covered the lower half of the face, seemingly protecting from pollution.


    "The mask is something I made for you to hide your face in case you need it. The mask also has a voice modifier you can use."


    "However, even the sses and the mask can''t cover you entirely. Your hair is also something which can help people recognize you. So I tried toe up with something for that as well."


    "You see the three bottles in the case? They''re something we made. They''re simr to hair dye but faster and easy to remove."


    "There is blonde dye, ck dye, and red dye. You can choose any. You just need to mix a few droplets with water and wash your hair with the water. The rest will be handled by it. And unlike real dyes, it''s easy to take off."


    "As soon as you wet your hair in clear water, the colores off. Even if you don''t take it off, the effect of onests only a week."


    "So that covers everything. Your face covering, your eyes modifier, voice modifier, and hair color changer."


    "With that, you can keep yourself hidden more effectively in case you need to. Still, it''s just a precaution. I doubt you''ll really be using them. I can''t imagine someone like you hiding."


    Lucifer didn''t reply. He just observed all the items prepared by Kane. They did seem useful since he needed to be incognito to face some fun.


    "However,stly, we have the pen. You can see it in the right corner of the case," Kane said.


    Lucifer picked up the silver pen that seemed to be an ordinary pen.


    "What''s special about this?"


    "The pen isn''t really a pen. It''s filled with neurotoxins. Just stab it in someone while pressing the button in the back."


    "They''ll be in so much pain that they won''t be able to think clearly. It''s for interrogation in case you need to crack someone stubborn without risking their lives."


    "That''s all I prepared for you. There are more things I''m working on, but none are ready at the moment. You''ll have to work with what we have prepared. I hope the toolse in handy."


    "I have a feeling that they will. If not for me, then for someone else," Lucifer responded. "Anyways, how''s the decoding going? Any location about the other stones?"


    "Not yet. That data was kept deeper than the information about the formations. It''ll still take time. But we did start spreading out the information."


    "How is that going?"


    "It would''ve been faster if Vega wasn''t killed by the Warlocks in the battle. But we''re still going as fast as we can. I''ll give you an update when we''re done. But do you really think it''ll work?"


    "Maybe, or maybe not. Better than doing nothing. Anyways, keep me updated." After saying thest words, he disconnected the call.


    "Eve?"


    "Yeah?"


    "Which hair color do you prefer? Blonde or red-haired? Or do you like dark?"


    "Why are you asking me that? I prefer my own hair color."


    "You need to change your hair color. Antis is after you as much as they are after me. Xaen also saw you. I don''t want him to run before I get to him.. So you should temporarily change your color."

 Chapter 701 - 701: The Summoner

    "So, Which color do you want?" Lucifer asked Eve once again.


    "Do I really need to mess with my hair? I really like the way they are."


    "You don''t have to. But it''s more convenient. If you want, you can use other ways to cover your hair too. But it''s faster. Moreover, it''s more efficient as well. I leave the rest to you," Lucifer answered, closing the bag.


    "Are you angry? Fine. I''ll do as you say. Give me the blonde one. I always wondered how I''d look as a blonde."


    Lucifer opened the bag again and gave the small bottle to Eve.


    "Mix a few drops with water and apply to your hair. The effectsts for a week or until you wash your hair in in water."


    Eve took the bottle but didn''t leave. "Will you also change your hair color? Don''t you need it more than me? I mean, your long silver hair does stand out."


    For a minute, Lucifer didn''t reply. It was only after some time that he nodded.


    "I will do the same."


    "Which color are you choosing then?"


    Lucifer picked up the ck bottle and showed Eve. "Go and finish faster. After you''re done, I''ll go."


    "I''ll be right back." Eve started leaving, but after taking a few steps, she stopped and peeked behind her. "I think you''ll certainly look good in ck."


    "This girl..." Lucifer shook his head, watching her leave after throwing such a line.


    He nced out the window, watching clouds in the sky. "Back to the ind..."


    "Everything moved so fast. It seems like I was there just yesterday, studying like nothing had happened in the past. Now here I am."


    "Hopefully, everything will end after this. All the problems should disappear to some extent, including the Warlock Council remnants and Xaen. That will only leave one thing to be dealt with."


    He started going through the rest of the papers about his parents'' history. Some of this data was already with Elisium, but the rest was discovered in the systems of the Warlock Council, which mentioned some things that weren''t known by many people.


    He kept going through the papers.


    Around ten minutes passed before Eve finally returned. "I''m done."


    She looked the same as before. The only difference was that her beautiful violet hair looked pure blonde now. It was a small change, but that small change made her look like apletely different person entirely for some reason.


    "Hmm? Oh right." Lucifer kept the rest of the papers on the side along with the bag before he stood up.


    "I will be right back." He left.


    Eve picked up the stack of paper, wondering what Lucifer was reading.


    ....


    Not long after Lucifer''s ne left, another ne departed from Zeston, which was supposed to take Milena on a mission of her own.


    She was tasked with bringing back one of the stones that was sold in an auction.


    It was such an easy task that she felt like it was simr to taking candy from kids. In fact, she didn''t even feel the need to go on this mission herself.


    Still, it was a mission that was important since Lucifer was going to take off her Limiter if she was sessful, so she couldn''t risk blowing up the chance for any reason, so she decided to actually go personally, even though she felt that it was stupid.


    The ne left, taking her to another Ind nation that wasn''t far from her Continent of Darkness.


    The Western Ind was one of the biggest Ind Nations, which was known for its wealth and resources. It was an ind that had many natural resources. In fact, for that reason, many other nations wanted to have a good rtionship with it.


    It was also said that the Ind didn''t have many Variants of its own, but it was a good vacation spot, so many Variants went to it on vacations.


    Milena had already memorized the name and the address of the person who was supposed to be the winner of the Auction. It was someone named Jonason.


    ording to the information she was given right before leaving the base, the man wasn''t really a rich person. Instead, he worked for one of the richest men on the Ind as his manager.


    "Honestly, this is such a big waste of time. The man isn''t even a Variant. And I need to personally go to retrieve the stone from him."


    Throughout the route, she keptining in frustration, but she was also looking forward to being free of this bracelet and living her life in freedom.


    Arthur and Jiani also left the base on a mission of their own which involved kidnapping someone. They were also given the information they needed by Kellian.


    A third flight took off from Zeston in quick session, amodating the two of them.


    Arthur and Jiani sat near each other, reading the same document.


    "An Sjek," Arthurmented. "The strongest Summoner still alive known by the Warlock Council. I wonder why Lucifer needs him kidnapped?"


    "Who knows what the guy wants. I''m just happy that he''s going to free Her Majesty after returning. Then we can go back to the Divine Empire. Just a few more days..."


    "That''s true, but still... I don''t think he would do something for no reason at all. I just don''t understand how An is linked to everything?" Arthur rubbed his chin.


    "Maybe Lucifer needs a Summoner to work for him? That would exin why he''s sending us to the strongest Summoner?"


    "Why would he ask for that man to be kidnapped then? If he just needs the guy to work, then why all this?" Arthur asked.


    "Ah, do you really not know Lucifer yet?" Jiani rolled her eyes. "The guy is a showoff. Of course, he wants to intimidate the Summoner first before asking him to work. And what could be better than kidnapping the guy and keeping him hostage?"


    "Maybe you''re right. That does sound like something he would do," Arthur nodded. "But does he really need a Summoner? A Summoner we can kidnap doesn''t sound like a powerful force. The Uprising is already very strong, isn''t it?"


    "It''s not our job to think about what that arrogant guy wants. Just do thisst thing and leave with Her Majesty. He can handle the rest from here."


    ....


    Lucifer returned, drying his wet hair that was now dark, unlike the usual shiny silver.


    "Step aside." He told Eve, who didn''t realize that he was back. She was still reading the documents.


    "Ah, you''re back." She raised her nce, noticing Lucifer''s hair. "You do look good in ck.. Completely different from before. But what happened to your eyes? How did they turn ck as well?"

 Chapter 702 - 702: I Know What I’m Doing

    "It''s because of the sses," Lucifer replied. "Looks like they are working."


    Eve stood up, giving Lucifer room to go to the window seat.


    After taking his seat, he kept the rest of the bottle back in the bag and kept it aside before raising his hands towards Eve.


    Eve returned the papers. "So you were reading the history of your parents?"


    "Yeah. I want to see how things changed because of me. So far, there have only been minor changes."


    "My parents met much sooner, but I''m not sure if it''s because of me. Maybe they just didn''t tell me the truth when I was younger about when they met because of what they were doing in Zeston during their first meeting."


    "Other than that, most of the things have been how I know them to be."


    Eve nodded her head.


    "It''s amusing how much I didn''t know about them," Lucifer let out, shaking his head. "If I had known, I might''ve done better."


    "I think I know what I''ll evolve this time."


    "Don''t tell me you''re thinking about sacrificing the abilities you absorbed to evolve Time Control this time?" Eve asked, stunned. "I don''t think it''s safe!"


    "The only other abilities that I could evolve were strength and Decay. I don''t need more strength. And if I evolve decay, I might be in trouble since I already have a hard time controlling what it can do. I don''t want the gloves to be useless."


    "That leaves only the Time Control as a worthy ability."


    "Evolving time control is just as risky as evolving Decay. I don''t think you should take the risk. It''s not necessary!"


    "Why do you think it''s riskier? I can control Time with the ability. It''s not a passive ability like Decay which is always on. I don''t see the risk."


    "Because you don''t want to see the risk. Controlling time is already a blessing, but if you evolve it more, it might go against thews of Nature. You can control it now, but if it goes out of control because of evolving, what will you do?"


    "I know why you want stronger time control. You''ve seen that it is capable of sending you into the past. It''s not hard to guess what you want to do by evolving it. But that''s not the right thing. If you lose control, the entire world can be destroyed!"


    "I think you''re overthinking it. It''s an active ability. My control only increases on them after evolving. The lightning is an example."


    "I''m not overthinking it. I just know how it can go wrong. Lightning is much different than iprehensible time. You can control lightning as it''s technically a Physical Element, but what about Time? Time is infinite. It''s eternal."


    "If things go wrong, you can stop the time of the entire world and get stuck yourself. We''ll all be like statues, including you. Or what if your body loses control and keeps switching from one time to another without your body without your control?"


    " It can also be something worse, like trapping you in something akin to a time prison. There are just too many Variables with Time. Moreover, lightning was your original ability."


    "It had been with you for a long time. Your body had a natural affinity with it. On the other hand, you just gained the control of time, stealing it from someone else. It''s like borrowing something."


    "Your body can amodate the borrowed abilities since they''re within the limit, but what if one of the borrowed abilities crosses the limit?" Eve asked, frowning.


    "I know what I''m doing. Don''t worry." Lucifer stopped looking at Eve, turning his face to the window.


    "That''s the thing. You don''t know what you''re doing. You just think you know what you''re doing," Eve responded. "I won''t let you do it."


    "And how will you stop me if I were to do it?" Lucifer asked, rolling his eyes.


    "I can''t, but you can," Eve calmly replied.


    "Are you threatening to use myself against me?" Lucifer smiled, feeling amused.


    "Are you saying I can''t?" A man''s voice came.


    Lucifer turned around, finding himself sitting on the other seat. The new Lucifer had his old silver hair and the same features as Lucifer. In fact, even the clothes had suddenly changed to what Lucifer was wearing.


    "The Adaptation isn''t half bad," Lucifer said, observing his face. "Don''t tell me you really want to fight me?"


    "Why would I fight with you?" Eve asked, smiling. He turned back to herself. "All I need is to keep creating interference when you attempt the Sacrifice. If you are distracted for even a second in the middle, I''m sessful."


    "In any case, I''m not letting you evolve time," she continued. "It''s for your safety."


    "And why would you care about my safety?" Lucifer askedzily. "I''m doing it to my own body. I''m risking my own life. And I think it''s worth it. Why would you care enough to stop me?"


    "Because..." Eve muttered, but she didn''t continue. She started looking down.


    "See? Just care about yourself. I''m in no way affecting you. And even if you try to stop me, you''ll fail. So don''t bring up the topic again."


    Lucifer shifted his attention back to the papers in his hand.


    "It''s because I love you."


    "Hmm? Did you say something?" Lucifer turned to Eve, feeling like he heard something. She spoke in a barely audible voice.


    "I said I care for you. Your life isn''t just important to you. It''s important to me as well. I just don''t want to see you die or be trapped somewhere like I was in the Dreamworld," Eve answered, not repeating the old words.


    Her voice appeared a bit sad as she spoke while keeping her head down.


    "Being trapped there for decades, only watching others go about their business... It wasn''t a fun experience. I don''t want you to go through the same thing. The risks are just too big. I don''t want you to do it. I don''t want to lose you. So please don''t do it."


    Lucifer looked at Eve, not saying anything in response.


    He acted as if he heard nothing and continued reading the documents in her paper, but he couldn''t help but think about her meaning. Moreover, even though he acted as if he didn''t hear her first sentence, he heard everything properly.


    " I''ll think about it," he softly said before returning to silence.


    ....


    Szar and Yaliza were thest ones to leave the Warlock Council base since they were taking a flight back to Elisium.

 Chapter 703 - 703: Vacation

    By now, most of the Uprising members had left Zeston, going on missions all around the world. Only a rare few were left at the Warlock Council headquarters with Kellian.


    More than half the nobles were also left in Zeston for protection in case of attacks. The Castle that was only recently conquered was left at bare minimum defense; however, no one knew about that.


    No one could have imagined that the Uprising would be careless enough to leave Zeston so soon. Even the enemies couldn''t have predicted it.


    It was just a move that no one expected, and that''s why Lucifer was confident enough to think that he had time to take care of other matters in the meantime.


    Zeston was going through a silence after the storm and wasn''t at much risk of being attacked. Even the remnants of the Warlock Council weren''t stupid enough to attack Zeston after knowing that twenty of their leaders were killed like weaklings by Uprising.


    Szar and Yaliza were tasked with going to the Level Four Dungeon, where Lucifer''s parents were killed.


    The Dungeon was said to be filled with strong beasts, but the only reason why everyone considered the Dungeon so hard to conquer was because they believed that the beasts were strong enough to kill Zale and all the others.


    They didn''t know that the beasts didn''t kill them. Instead, it was the poison and backstabbing by their own teammate.


    In reality, the Dungeon was strong, but it was still explorable by Warlocks like Szar and Yaliza. Szar was known as one of the four Warlock Kings in Elisium.


    Yaliza was also a well established assassin that could take out any monsters.


    Personally, Lucifer wanted to go himself to explore the Dungeon and see the site where his parents were killed, but getting the stones was more important for him.


    In the end, he decided to finish everything at once while using his team instead of doing everything on his own.


    "Meet Kane at theb in Elisium before going to the Dungeon. He will give you some things that will help you in the Dungeon. Best of luck for the mission." Kellian told the two men as he personally went with them to the airport.


    Szar was wearing a mask that covered the lower half of his face. He didn''t look particrly pleased for some reason.


    "If you need any other help, you can contact me anytime," Kellian further said, watching the two of them leave.


    "I have a feeling that we won''t be needing that," Szar responded as he stepped inside the ne.


    Yaliza looked back. "I''ll try to finish the mission fast and be back to help you. Just hold on until then."


    "Don''t worry, the least I can do is keep the status quo," Kellian replied. " You can take your time. No need to be in a hurry. It''s still a Level Four Dungeon after all."


    Yaliza nodded before he also stepped into the ne. The doors were closed. As soon as the pilot was given the signal, the ne started moving.


    "Now, back to work." Kellian walked to the chopper as well, going back to the Headquarters.


    The city, which was so chaotic until recently, was looking so peaceful now.


    ...


    Back in Elisia, the Asade family was still having dinner at the same table.


    Jian Asade watched his mother eat.


    "Are you not going to eat?" The woman asked.


    "I am not feeling hungry," Jian answered. "Anyways, Mother. I was thinking about something."


    "What?"


    "You know, I do feel like we''ve been too busy at work. We didn''t spend much time with you in such a long time. I don''t feel that it was right."


    "Well, that''s true. You don''t really care for this olddy, do you? Not a single one of my three babies went with me."


    "That''s not true. All of us care for you. You are our mother. How can we not care? We love you the most. And that''s why I''ve decided to do something for you."


    "And what is it that you''re thinking about doing?" the woman asked.


    "Another vacation but this time, we''ll go to the house of my little sister. Apparently she bought a new house along with an ind. So, what do you say?"


    "Didn''t you say she wasing here?" The woman asked. "Why make her travel again?"


    "She wasing, but apparently the deal for the ind just got finalized. She told me only recently. That''s when I came up with an idea. It can be our short vacation together? I''ll call some friends as well."


    "Julien wille there as well?"


    Jian went silent for a moment before nodding. "Of course, he will."


    "I don''t know about it. I just came back from a long trip and another one so soon... Isn''t it just better for us all to meet here?"


    "A vacation on an exotic ind will be more fun. But if you don''t want to go, I''m fine with that as well. I think I just got a bit excited about a vacation with the family. Forget I said anything."


    "No, it''s not that. I... I agree. I''lle with you."


    "Good. I''ll keep the private jet ready. Finish the dinner. I''ll be right back."


    Jian left the dining hall.


    After leaving the dining hall, he called the butler.


    "Is the jet ready like I told you?"


    "It''s prepared, sir."


    "Good work. Everything must be ording to the n."


    After half an hour, Jian took his mother to the chopper on the helipad, which took them to the airport where a private jet was waiting for them.


    Jian entered the ne with his mother and sat inside.


    Just as he sat down, his phone started ringing.


    He picked the call.


    "Yeah?"


    "Right now? Didn''t you all get any better time? I''m going with my mother on a vacation?"


    "It''s urgent? Sigh, alright. I will give you one day. Wait for me."


    Jian disconnected the call before standing up.


    "Is something the matter?" His mother asked, frowning.


    "Something urgent hase up. I don''t think I''ll be able to leave today."


    "It''s alright. We can cancel the trip for the day." The woman also stood up.


    "No, we can''t. I told little sis that we''re going to be there by tomorrow. She will be disappointed if we don''t go there."


    "I think we can do it like this. You go there and keep her busy. I''ll leave tomorrow and join you two there. That''s best."


    "But..."


    "No, but. It''s just one day, after all. You go there on this flight. I''ll finish up here today and leave tomorrow to join you. I think this is good. Don''t say no."


    "Fine. But you''ll being tomorrow."


    "I will." Jian nodded, smiling. "In the meantime, have a great time with little sis."


    "I can''t wait to meet you all there. Soon." He waved his hand as he left the ne.


    He maintained his smile even after he left the helicopter as he waved his hand. The staff closed the door, and before long, the ne was in the air.


    After the ne left, the smile on Jian''s face disappeared.

 Chapter 704 - 704: Not So Secret

    "What sword do you think we''re looking for? I don''t think I ever read about Zale using a Sword for fighting. It was the same for risse. Why would they have a special sword when going to explore?''


    Getting bored on the flight back to Elisium, Szar couldn''t help but ask some questions to Yaliza that he was curious about.


    "How should I know," Yaliza replied. "You should''ve asked the question to Lucifer."


    "Still, what I can assume is that the Sword must be special. Because Zale and risse weren''t people who used swords but still they carried one, ording to Lucifer. And he wants that Sword?"


    "You mean it might be a special sword like the sword created by the Warlock Council using one of the seven stones?"


    "Maybe?" Yaliza shrugged. "We should be more focused about finding the sword than anything else. Level four monsters aren''t a joke. And we might need to go to the Dungeon Core to find the Sword."


    Day turned to night and night to day as multiple nes continued to travel nonstop, each going to a different destination.


    The first tond at their destination was the ne carrying Arthur and Jiani.


    Itnded in another small nation which was on the continent of Triton.


    It came under the jurisdiction of the Warlock Council; however, the nation didn''t have any members that were a part of the Warlock Council.


    There was only one Variant in the nation who was very popr. In fact, he was also offered a ce in the Warlock Council as a member after looking at his talent, but the man refused to join the council.


    In the entire continent, An was known as the second strongest Summoner after the Warlock Council head that was killed by Lucifer. However, after Zhu''s death, he became the strongest Summoner by default.


    No one understood why An said no to the Warlock Council offer, but many people had many theories.


    Some said that he didn''t want to be an ordinary member. He wanted to be a Warlock Council head like Zhu and considered any other offer as an insult because he considered himself no less than Zhu as a Summoner. That''s why he said no.


    There were also many others who just said that he said no because he waszy. He didn''t want to work for the Warlock Council and just rest at home and enjoy his life.


    There were also some theories that the Warlock Council never offered him a ce, and it was just a rumor spread by An to increase his reputation in the country.


    Arthur and Jiani read all of these details in the briefing documents they were given about An.


    The two of them flew above the city, advancing towards the biggest mansion in the city.


    Seeing two people fly above the city, there was a different kind of excitement in the citizens. It wasn''t often that they saw Variants in the city since the only one here was An, and he couldn''t fly without beasts.


    Many Citizens wondered if the Warlock Council sent these two to convince An again.


    "The man certainly knows how to live a Royal Life," Jianimented as shended before the mansion, which was guarded by two humans.


    "Ah, weren''t we supposed to be stealthy?" Arthur asked, rolling his eyes.


    "Who cares. Let''s just finish it fast. If we need to be careful with weaklings like that, won''t it be embarrassing?" Jiani responded.


    She walked to the guards. "We are here to meet An?''


    "Are you two Variants?" The guards asked.


    "No, we are magicians who came here flying," Jiani responded sarcastically.


    "She is joking. We are Variants. And we are here to meet An."


    "May I know the purpose of your visit?" The guard asked, struggling to keep hisposure. They were really scared of Variants despite working for one.


    "I''m afraid we can only tell that to An."


    "Wait here. We''ll inform him about your arrival first."


    "Man, that seems like it''ll take a really long time. I have a better idea."


    Jiani''s figure flickered as she appeared beside one of the guards. She stabbed her teeth in his neck.


    "This woman..." Arthur sighed. He also got involved since he had no other option. Now that things had reached this level, he couldn''t stay away.


    He also appeared behind the second guard, twisting his head.


    Both the guards dropped to the ground with only one bleeding from his neck.


    "He was tasty; I''m not joking. You should try as well." Jiani licked her blood covered lips, smirking.


    "Focus on the mission," Arthur replied, rolling his eyes.


    He walked inside the mansion.


    "Where is An?" He asked the first maid he saw.


    "S-second room to the left on the first floor." The maid instantly gave him the information.


    Arthur left the maid alive and teleported to the first floor.


    He walked to the room which was told to him by the maid. Jiani also caught up to him.


    Jiani was about to kick the door open, but Arthur stopped him. "We aren''t here to kill him. Just let me deal with the rest."


    "Fine."


    Arthur teleported inside the room without making much noise, only to be stunned at what he was watching.


    He was here to kidnap An; meanwhile, An was busy with twodies in the room. One was sitting on top of him, moving up and down, while the other woman was lying beside him, kissing him.


    Both his hands were busy as well, one resting on the first one''s waist while the other ying with the breasts of the seconddy.


    Arthur just looked nkly at the man, shaking his hand.


    The man didn''t have any idea that someone had infiltrated his room.


    Arthur brought one of the Limiters out of his pocket before he teleported again.


    He appeared closer to An and ced the Limiter on the hand of the man, which was moving towards the breasts of the woman who remained on top of him.


    "What?" The man felt something on his wrist. He stopped kissing the second woman and looked around.


    "Greetings, An."


    "Who are you? How did you get inside?" An moved the woman aside and sat up.


    "Arghh!"


    Before he could speak something else, he started screaming in pain. Before long, he dropped on the bed as his eyes closed.


    "The Limiter certainly works. It''s certainly intriguing. I wonder how it really works?" Arthur muttered, observing the Limiter on the wrist of An.


    He was sure that An tried to summon some beast. That''s why the Limiter shocked him.


    He turned to the two women who didn''t have a shred of clothes on their bodies.. "Ladies, can you help him wear some clothes? I don''t want to drag a naked man back."

 Chapter 705 - 705: Using Against

    Thedies were scared at what had just happened. A stranger had entered the room, and now the owner of the house was lying unconscious.


    They had many questions in their mind, but they couldn''t ask Arthur since they were scared. They just followed themand.


    Jiani waited outside the room patiently for Arthur to return. She wanted to barge inside, but Arthur had told her to stay out.


    However, she soon started getting impatient after five minutes passed. She believed that much time was enough for Arthur.


    She kicked the door open and barged inside.


    As she entered, she looked around, finding two naked women trying to ce a shirt on a man''s body.


    "What''s happening? Why are theredies without clothes?"


    "It''s good that you didn''t enter two minutes ago. If you had, you would''ve seen something you shouldn''t," Arthur answered. "Anyway, after he is dressed, we can leave."


    The women made An wear the shirt as well before looking innocently at Arthur.


    "You''re done. You two can leave." Arthur took An and held the hand of Jiani before he disappeared as if he was never there.


    The two women looked confused. The man appeared like a ghost and disappeared. They wondered if they were dreaming.


    Meanwhile, Arthur took An with him back to the nearest airport.


    Instead of walking through the main entrance of the airport and being seen with an unconscious An, he simply Teleported inside the ne, which brought them here.


    He ced the man on a seat and tied a seat belt around his waist before he walked to the pilot, telling him that they were ready to leave.


    "This mission moved so smoothly. I didn''t even need to do much. I guess I expected more from a strong Summoner. You defeated him so easily."


    "I didn''t defeat him," Arthur replied. "It''s the magic of the Bracelet. These things are really miraculous. Such fascinating technology."


    "It made him unconscious before he could even finish the Summon," he further stated.


    "They certainly are strong. I wonder if they can entrap Lucifer as well..." Jiani wondered.


    "I don''t think you should talk about such things. Firstly, he isn''t an enemy. After we''re done with the missions, he''ll free Her Majesty. We''re technically on the same side now," Arthur responded, wearing his seatbelt as well.


    "And secondly, these things are linked to him. I don''t think they''ll work on him. And even if they work, his voice will deactivate them. It''s a stupid idea. So drop it."


    "I don''t mean like that. Didn''t you hear? These things are called Limiters. And they were brought by Cassius from Xaen in the ind."


    "That means Lucifer just modified the tech to listen to him. Simrly, if we can modify it to listen to us and override it? We would have a really great weapon."


    "I mean, don''t tell me you didn''t think about this? With Lucifer, Her Majesty will always be a second fiddle. She''ll be under him, but if we can weaken him, she''ll truly be the leader that she deserve to be?" Jianimented.


    "If we can find a way to reprogram the Limiters that are left and somehow get one on the wrist of Lucifer, we can switch the game entirely. Moreover, he can experience what he made our queen experience."


    "That still doesn''t change the fact that it''s like betraying our friend," Arthur let out, rolling his eyes. "Let''s not make things worse by trying to be over smart."


    "We''re doing the same thing he did. Her Majesty offered him to work by his side in the same team when he ced the Limiter on her. We are just doing the same thing."


    " Moreover, cing the Limiter doesn''t mean we are attacking him? We''ll still keep him on our side. Just that he''ll be a little less risky for us. What do you say?" Jiani asked.


    "I think it''s a bad idea, and it''ll jeopardize many things if you try. So I''ll say it onest time. You should stop thinking about such nonsense. Things are finally on the right track."


    "You don''t need to go through that stupid n of making Her Majesty made Lucifer fall in love for her for him to free her. Everything is perfect. Soon she''ll be free. Don''t do anything stupid."


    Arthur closed his eyes after speaking what he wanted to.


    The pilot received the necessary permissions as well. The ne started moving and soon rose in the air.


    Sitting on the other side, Jiani didn''t look so convinced with the words of Arthur, but she didn''t say anything. She just nced at the Limiter on the hands of An.


    ...


    Lucifer''s flight was the next one to reach its destination. Itnded at the airport of the small ind nation.


    "I was about to leave in the form of Shadow to not go through all the checking, but you can do better, it seems. Can you turn to Arthur?" Lucifer asked Eve as he picked up the small briefcase.


    Eve nodded. She closed her eyes but soon opened them. There was no change in her.


    "I can''t," she shook her head, smiling wryly.


    "You can''t?''


    "Yeah. I can''t. I suppose you were right about testing it. It seems I can''t use Adaptation here. There are two possible theories I have."


    "One is that I can use this for a limited amount of time which seems highly likely. I already used it twice in a short interval. It''s either that or the distance. It''s also possible that I need to be close to the person I want to adapt to?"


    "I was close to Kellian when I adapted to him, but we''re not close to others now."


    "If those are the only two theories, they''re easy to test. Try switching to me again."


    Eve nodded. She tried to switch to Lucifer. This time, it worked. She became identical to him.


    "It seems it''s about proximity indeed. It doesn''t matter. We''ll leave as shadows in that case. Just follow me."


    Lucifer kept the bag in the shadow realm before turning into a Shadow. He left the ne. Eve followed behind him, doing the same thing. Both of them soon left the airport.


    ...


    "Argh, what a beautiful ce! It feels so good to be back here after so long!" A middle-aged woman stepped out of the airport, holding the arms of a middle-aged man, sticking close to him.


    The woman looked to be in her early fifties, while the man looked slightly younger.


    "It hasn''t been that long.. Why are you talking as if we were out for decades?" The man asked, smiling.

 Chapter 706 - 706: Battle Of Women

    He walked to the luxurious car that was waiting for him before the airport. The driver opened the door for him.


    The man stepped inside the car, moving to the right. The woman entered after him, sitting on the left side.


    The car slowly started moving.


    The woman was looking out the window when she saw two men appear out of thin air. Both men looked simr in looks and clothes.


    The only difference was that one had silver hair while the other had ck hair. It was as if they were twins. However, the woman''s eyes stuck at the silver haired man as she started trembling.


    "Stop the car!" She yelled at the driver. The driver stopped the car.


    "What happened?" The man asked his wife, frowning.


    "There is a man outside!"


    "What man?"


    "The man who tried to kill me! I told you, didn''t I?!"


    "You mean the Variant on the ship?"


    "Yeah! It''s him! You must get back at him for me! You must show him what he shouldn''t have done!"


    "Sigh, are you sure?"


    "I am! It''s the same person!"


    "Alright. I might as well put your trauma to rest." The man opened the door and stepped out.


    He looked towards the airport but couldn''t find any middle aged man there.


    "Where is he?" he asked his wife.


    The woman also stepped out of the car and looked at the airport, but instead of two identical men, he found a dark haired man and a blonde woman with him.


    "There! The ck haired man! His twin was just standing beside him! He was the one!"


    "His twin?" The red haired man looked at his wife weirdly. "He is a teenager. Are you saying that a teenager''s twin bullied you thirty-one years ago?"


    "That''s right! I don''t know how they did it, but none of them aged, it seems! It must be another of his powers!" The woman responded.


    The man just scratched his head in frustration. "I think you''re mistaken. It must be a boy who looks simr to the guy. There is no way a guy would look the same even after thirty-one years. Even I''ve never heard about a power like that."


    "I''m telling you! It''s the same guy!"


    "Fine. I''ll talk to him just for the sake of it. Come." The man walked towards the airport with his wife.


    ...


    "Alright, new rule. You won''t be changing to me. When you be me, your hair is silver, and eyes are like mine. What''s the benefit of disguise if you''re going to walk around like me? You understand?" Lucifer asked Eve.


    "Understood, captain. Anyways, where to next?" Eve asked, holding Lucifer''s hand.


    "We aren''t here on site seeing. You know why we''re here. And you''re the one who''s supposed to be the one with more information about this ce and the whereabouts of Xaen."


    "So tell me where to go next? Where might we find Xaen or people who are close to him?" Lucifer asked as he walked towards the center of the city.


    "You mean his family? He doesn''t have any, but there are certainly more people he''ll be in touch with." Eve nodded. "The first one of them would be your Grandfather."


    "Grandpa Chi? That''s right. He was rted to Xaen. But how is he rted?" Lucifer asked.


    "It''s because-"


    Lucifer raised his hand, stopping Eve as he noticed a man stepping closer to him. The man looked to be in histe forties, but his aura was strong.


    Lucifer could feel the man''s aura even from a distance. He also found the woman with him a bit familiar for some reason.


    "This guy..." Eve muttered, noticing the man. "Stay careful."


    The man stopped before Lucifer. "Where is your brother?" he asked Lucifer.


    "Brother?" Lucifer seemed confused. "I don''t have a brother."


    "Stop lying! He''s talking about the silver haired guy who was standing beside you! Did he disappear again? He could certainly do that evenst time! That''s how he fought!" The woman asked, yelling in anger.


    "I don''t understand what you''re trying to say. There were only the two of us here. There was no silver haired guy. Are you mistaken?" Lucifer asked, acting ignorant.


    He was sure that they hadn''t seen Eve turn to her real self. If they had, they wouldn''t be asking where the other guy is. So he could still act ignorant.


    "You! Look at you acting so innocent to save the other guy! Where was this innocence when he made my father and me hang on the ocean to threaten us? Now that he is scared, he ran away?" the woman asked.


    "Either you answer us, or I''ll hang you on top of the ocean, doing the same as he did!"


    '' Hanging her and her father? Ah, I remember. Is she that Vixen? It seems like she did find a Variant Husband like she wanted.''


    "What are you looking at?" the woman asked. Answer me!"


    "I don''t know what you''re saying. It''s my first time on this ind. I came on vacation. Moreover, I have no brother, so it''s impossible that you saw one," Lucifer replied.


    "Are you saying I am crazy? You!" the woman swung her hand towards Lucifer''s face, intending to p him.


    "What are you doing?" Eve stepped before Lucifer, stopping the woman''s hand. "Why are you hitting my husband for no reason? He''s telling the truth. Only the two of us came here. You''re repeating a lie won''t change the fact!"


    She turned to the red haired man. "And you! I''ve seen your image before when I was reading about this ind before deciding on a trip. Aren''t you the head of one of the eight great Variant families of the Ind?"


    "Just because you''re strong, you let your wife do anything she wants? Is that decency? Fighting is always wrong but what''s more wrong is misusing your authority and strength. Do you really want to watch as your wife hits innocent people for her misunderstanding?"


    The man didn''t reply. He just stood calmly.


    "You! Did you just call me indecent? You and your husband think you can fool me? I''m telling the truth. He was just standing with him! Stop acting like it never happened!"


    "Because it literally never happened," Eve replied. "You probably need a doctor or something."


    "You!!!"


    The two women kept arguing while the two men stood behind them, watching everything silently.


    The red haired man observed Lucifer, who seemed awfully calm despite his wife just telling the identity of his out loud. It was as if Lucifer didn''t even care.


    It was indeed true. Lucifer was slightly surprised after hearing that the man was one of the eight great family heads of the ind, but it didn''t matter.. He knew the man was a strong Variant as soon as he saw.

 Chapter 707 - 707: What Would You Have Done?

    "I think that''s enough." The man finally took a step ahead. He ced his hand on his wife''s shoulder.


    "What? You really believe them?" The woman asked, stunned.


    "I don''t believe them. I just believe mymon sense. I don''t think someone can look the same even after living for so long. It''s probably a mistaken identity," the man said, shaking his head.


    "But I really saw! He was the same person with the same eyes! How can another person have the same eyes?!"


    "Hallucination maybe? You wanted to see the person so badly that you started hallucinating him?" Eve answered.


    "You keep your mouth shut! You would understand what insult I went through if it happened to you?"


    "I won''t deny that. Maybe you went through something really bad. I mean, a person wouldn''t start hallucinating for something small," Eve responded, shing a cheeky smile.


    She turned to Lucifer. "Hubby, shall we get going? We wasted enough time already."


    She held Lucifer''s hand and started walking away.


    The woman tried to follow Lucifer, but she was stopped by her husband. "Let them leave. Don''t make a spectacle of us. People are starting to gather here!"


    Many people had stopped in the surrounding area as they recognized the man who wasn''t an unknown entity. Even many cars stopped in the surrounding area as one of the great family heads was arguing with someone.


    He held his wife''s hand and walked back to the car.


    "But...but..."


    "No buts! I wasted my time as you said it was the same person, but the man waspletely different than the one you described. His hair was dark; his eyes were different. And the one you hallucinated wasn''t even here."


    "Instead, a woman was here who looked nothing like him. I don''t me you. I agree the man was probably simr to the one you saw over thirty years ago."


    " It''s easy to get mistaken and think you saw something you didn''t. It''s perfectly alright. But what''s not alright is not epting when you''re wrong and double down instead."


    He opened the doors of his car and stepped inside. "We also need to maintain the reputation of the Raasin Family. We can''t go around killing innocent people just because they look simr to someone who insulted you and your father over thirty years ago!"


    "Now, it would''ve been a different matter if you were at least right, and he looked like that man, but he didn''t look even that."


    The woman kept ring at Lucifer, who stepped in a cab with Eve. The cab started going away.


    She couldn''t help but clench her fist as she watched that. She couldn''t believe she finally saw that person again and let him leave, especially now that she had a powerful husband.


    In fact, the only reason she married such a strong Variant was for her revenge. Previously she only agreed to marry a Variant to make her father happy.


    However, after getting insultedst time at the hands of Lucifer, she decided that she needed strength to protect her dignity! Instead of looking for any random Variant to marry, she went after the strongest Variant she had heard about.


    After struggling, she even managed to win the heart of Jake Raasin, the young heir of the Raasin Family, which was a wealthy family that had just shot to fame when Jake awakened his abilities.


    She couldn''t help but shake her head, wondering if she had hallucinated. However, just as she was about to sit inside the car, she noticed the camera on the other end of the street, which had a clear view of the spot where Lucifer was standing.


    "Wait! I can prove it! I can prove what I saw!" She eximed.


    "How?" Jake inquired, frowning.


    "Look there. That camera! It will prove what I saw! Just you watch, it''ll show exactly what I''m saying!"


    "Fine. Let''s do that as well if it makes you happy," Jake replied, rolling his eyes. He closed the door once again and went to the shop with his wife, slightly frustrated.


    As he entered the shop, he and his wife were weed like they were kings. They just had to issue amand, and the shop owner started showing them what the front camera saw.


    The footage started from ten minutes before Jake, and his wife left the airport and continued. However, a few minutes after that, it turned ck for some reason.


    "Hmm? What happened?" The shop owner eximed. After a few minutes, the footage returned to normal to show an empty spot. Eve and Lucifer had left.


    "I think there might have been some technical error. I didn''t record the footage of a few minutes in between," the shop owner exined. "It doesn''t happen often. I''ll have a technician check it."


    "I don''t think it''ll have any effect. Those people weren''t recorded at all. Now you believe me? I was telling the truth?" The woman told her husband.


    "How does that prove anything?" Jake asked.


    "Don''t tell me you find this normal. They weren''t recorded! They probably pulled some trick to stop the recording so the two of them wouldn''t be recorded. Why would they try to hide themselves if they did nothing wrong? Because it could prove that they lied to us!"


    Jake scratched the back of his head, frowning. "I agree, it''s odd. They were certainly trying to hide something, but I don''t think it''s what you think it is. That leaves one question if it''s actually true. Why were they trying to hide themselves?"


    "We would''ve known if you had listened to me and hadn''t let them go. But you let them go," the woman rolled her eyes. "Now find them."


    "No need. I remember the number of the cab they took. It should be enough to find where it is."


    The man left the shop and dialed a number. "Jake? I want you to find the whereabouts of a taxi. It''s carrying two people, one guy, and one girl. Its number is PSK23483Z."


    "The passengers are the ones I want captured. After finding the cab, surround it and wait for me to get there. Under no condition should they be allowed to leave."


    "Got it."


    ...


    Unaware that their cab was on the radar of the great Raasin family, Lucifer and Eve were sitting in the car, which was traveling to a hotel that was selected by Eve for tactical reasons.


    "You did good by not losing your temper," Eve exined.


    "Why would I lose my temper? It was fun to see twodies fight. I was expecting more though," Lucifer responded, smiling.


    "What would you have done if I was hit by her?"

 Chapter 708 - 708: Tsunami?

    "Why would I need to do anything? Did you forget who you are?" Lucifer asked, seemingly amused. "You''re capable of replying to anyone in anynguage you choose."


    "In fact, I really wouldn''t have interfered at all. You always advocate for a solution without fighting and oppose all Violence. I really wanted to see what you would''ve done in that case," he further added. "Too bad things didn''t reach there."


    Eve''s face twitched. She rolled her eyes. "So you would''ve let her attack me? And here I was worried for you so much that I jumped before you when she was going to hit you. Next time I''ll just watch."


    "Did you really jump before me to save me?" Lucifer asked, smiling. "Wasn''t it to save the other two people instead?"


    "Can''t it be for you and them? If you were hit, you would''ve killed thedy in response," Eve replied.


    "And her husband would''ve fought you. The man isn''t weak at all. He''s the Head of the Great Raasin Family here. He''s a powerful Warlock. You might''ve been hurt fighting him."


    "Moreover, your identity would''ve been exposed if you had fought. So I jumped in the middle to save you and your n. Saving the other two was just an additional bonus," she continued.


    "Raasin family... I heard about them when I used to study here," Lucifer let out, sighing. "Unfortunately, they didn''t have any students from their family in my ss. Didn''t get a chance to know what they''re about."


    "Well, they''re one of the eight great families of the Ind and one of the four that lives in the central district. In terms of strength, they would probably be kept at the third position of the eight. However, their Patriarch is really strong."


    "What are his abilities?" Lucifer inquired.


    "He has... Hmm? Why did the cab stop? I don''t think we''re there yet?" Eve looked out the window as the cab stopped.


    The section between them and the driver was blocked, so they couldn''t see through the windshield of the car.


    She opened the door and looked ahead.


    She noticed three ck cars blocking the road before the cab. The driver also stepped out of the car and walked to them to know what was wrong.


    Eve stepped back into the car.


    "I think we might be in trouble. The cars are blocking the road ahead. The cars have the symbol of the Raasin Family. I think they''re here to intercept us."


    Lucifer looked back. Some cars also blocked the road in the back.


    "Either that or we have some really great fans in this city. Anyways, I am not in the mood to fight. Let''s just leave."


    He turned into a Shadow. Eve also did the same after turning into a shadow. Both of them snuck out of the car and left without being seen.


    Far away from the road, they came out of the shadows in an alley. Eve immediately returned to her real self to not be scolded again.


    "I think the Raasin family is suspicious about us. They''ll certainly do something stupid by tomorrow if they don''t find us," Evemented. "What did you do to that woman for her to hate you so much?"


    "She''s nothing but a Vixen. She wanted to lure my father to marry her. If that had happened, things would''ve gone really wrong. So I just talked to her nicely and made her understand how wrong it was. How should I know why she''s so angry? It''s not like I killed her," Lucifer replied.


    "Hanging her on top of the ocean is talking to her kindly?"


    "In my defense, I was also hanging with her," Lucifer responded. "She''s making it sound much worse than it actually was."


    "Anyways, the past is the past. I can''t let her screw the present over it. I think I should make things right with her."


    "You''ll apologize to her?" Eve asked.


    Lucifer looked back as if he was looking at an idiot.


    "Where do they live?"


    "Not fat from here. They have a mansion in the city," Eve answered. "We can get there by walking in just ten minutes."


    "Good. In ten minutes, you can tell me about his abilities. Escort me there."


    Eve left the alley with Lucifer, once again finding his arms like she was a young wife, traveling with her husband.


    "Yo-"


    "That''s right. We were talking about the abilities of the Raasin n. When ites to that, they have quite a lot of Variants, each possessing a different kind of ability.


    Just as Lucifer tried to say something about the handholding, Eve cut him off and changed the topic to distract him.


    "The strongest of them would be the Head of the n, Jake Raasin, the guy you saw previously. In fact, he was a part of the squad that was made to fight the dark variants of the Ind once upon a time which was led by Xaen personally."


    "It was a war thatsted for years. It certainly kept me engaged. It''s also the reason I spent so much time on this ind and know so much about him."


    "Can you guess who the leader of the Dark Variants Xaen fought against was?"


    "Who? Must be someone strong like Varant at least to keep Xaen on his toes." Lucifer took a guess.


    "It was certainly a strong guy. In fact, you also know him. The enemy of Xaen, whoter became his friend... Your Grandpa Chi."


    "He? He''s the leader of the Dark Resistance that happened here?"


    "That''s right."


    "But wasn''t he friends with Xaen, ording to Cassius?"


    "How do you think an ordinary fisherman would be such a close friend with Xaen? It''s because they are the two strongest Warlocks of the Ind. In fact, even with the help of all the Great Family Heads, Xaen had a hard time taking your Grandpa out."


    "Things were so bad that people from his own squad had started mocking Xaen for his failure, which forced him to use some underhanded methods to take care of your Grandpa."


    " It was certainly very hard to watch even though I knew Xaen was doing it for the greater good and to save many lives in the future. I really feel bad for your grandpa."


    "What do you mean? What happened?"


    "The tsunami which killed the family of the old man? You know about that?" Eve asked.


    "Yeah. When the old man wasn''t in the city, there was a Tsunami which destroyed the vige.. Many people had died, including the family members of the old man? Don''t tell me the Tsunami came because of Xaen? That should be impossible."

 Chapter 709 - 709: Changed Human

    "He didn''t bring the tsunami," Eve answered, shaking her head. "In fact, the tsunami was quite natural. He had no hand in it."


    "Then?"


    "The Tsunami didn''t kill the family of your Grandpa Chi. It''s true that the Tsunami did kill many vigers, but quite a lot of the vigers survived the Tsunami as well. The old man''s family was one of the few survivors," Eve exined.


    "Don''t tell me Xaen killed them instead?'' Lucifer asked. "If Grandpa Chi was the leader of Dark Variants, there''s no way he couldn''t differentiate between two different kinds of deaths."


    "You think Xaen didn''t think of this? When he came to check the destruction in the vige after everything was over, he noticed the family members of Grandpa Chi who were carrying some important things they saved from the house."


    "Unfortunately for them, the things they were carrying contained the portrait of the entire family together, which included Grandpa Chi. Xaen recognized them and understood everything. However, he didn''t just kill them personally."


    "Instead, he made some portals appear under them which had an outlet at the bottom of the ocean. The family members of the old man died, unable to breathe at the bottom of the ocean," Eve exined.


    "After they were dead, Xaen brought their bodies back without even touching them. He didn''t leave any trace behind. He left just as silently as he came."


    "Not long after he was done, the old man finally reached there with his warriors, only to find many dead bodies belonging to the people who died in the tsunami. His family members were one of them."


    "In the end, the old man was broken by the death of his family members and med himself for it. He med himself for not being there when his family needed it. For his bigger goals, he left his family behind, and now they were gone forever."


    "I don''t think even Xaen could have expected such a good oue, but it happened. The old man, also known as the Dark Wizard at the time, disbanded his organization and disappeared."


    "After a year, he returned, now as a different person with a different mindset. The enthusiastic Dark Wizard was now nothing but an old man who cared for nothing in this world. He lived an ordinary life in the vige where his family had died, ording to him."


    "Why didn''t you tell me before?" Lucifer asked, slowing his steps.


    He had met Eve a long time ago, and he was sure that Eve knew about his rtionship with the old man and Xaen. Why didn''t she tell him about Xaen in the past? He couldn''t understand.


    "It was all in the past. Everything was fine now. Xaen became friends with the old man after he stopped supporting the Dark Variants. I don''t want to raise the issue again to throw everything away."


    " The truth would''ve set them against each other. The things which were bnced would''ve been tossed in turmoil. How would I know that he was going to target you... I thought he had changed after so long."


    "I''ve seen him for a long time. He hasn''t done anything like that in so long that I thought he changed..."


    Lucifer sighed, shaking his head.


    "Thoughts are always biassed. We think what we want to think, no matter how far from reality that may be."


    He further continued. "The reason you don''t see him do anything like that is because he didn''t need to. The Dark Variants were home. Why would he need to do things like that again? But that doesn''t mean his core personality changed."


    "Eve, would you do one thing for me?" Lucifer asked Eve after thinking for a little.


    "What?" Eve inquired.


    "I think I can handle things from here. I can use the sses to find the n. But now that I know about Grandpa Chi''s strength, I think it would be good to have him join us."


    "It would certainly be good. He is quite strong indeed."


    "Exactly. That''s why I think we should split. Go to Grandpa Chi. I''m sure you know where he lives. Tell him the truth and bring him here. In the meantime, I''ll create a base for us here."


    "You want me to leave you alone?" Eve asked, frowning.


    Lucifer rolled his eyes. "Do you think you''re my babysitter or something? I have fought alone most of the time. You don''t need to worry about me. Go and bring Grandpa Chi here."


    "Are you sure?" Eve asked once again. "I really don''t think we should separate."


    "Nothing will happen. Stop stressing yourself," Lucifer responded. "We can cover more bases like this. Moreover, we can stay in contact. If you don''t find him in the vige, you can just return."


    "Here, take this mask. It was created for me, but you''ll need it more since you''ll be turning into me. Take this cap as well."


    He gave some items to Eve to help her hide her identity.


    "I would still advise you to avoid turning into me if you can." After finishing, he turned into a shadow and disappeared.


    Eve remained standing in the back, watching the shadow leave.


    She shook her head. "There he goes alone. I don''t know why, but I have a really bad feeling. I hope I''m worrying needlessly. I should get the old man back fast."


    She turned into Lucifer and wore the face mask and the hat before turning into a shadow. She left in a different direction than Lucifer.


    ...


    Milena''s flight alsonded on the small ind nation near the Continent of Darkness. Since she didn''t need to hide her face, she openly stepped out of the airport.


    She stopped a taxi and stepped inside. "Take me to the Cloud Mansion on Central Street."


    "Ah, mam? Do you work at the mansion?"


    "Nope."


    "Then you have an appointment?"


    "I suppose something like that."


    "Good. Because you won''t be allowed there if you don''t. I just didn''t want you to waste your money. There are many travelers whoe here and ask to go to that ce for sightseeing. Honestly, they just waste money since they can''t even get in."


    "And then theyin about our ind, calling us scammers after they leave. That''s why I thought I should inform you first."


    "Don''t worry. I''m not worried about money." Milena smiled. "Just take me there. I''m sure I''ll get an entry myself."


    The driver started the car, taking Milena to the ce known as the Cloud Mansion, where the richest man on the ind lived.. But the man wasn''t famous and feared for his wealth.

 Chapter 710 - 710: Trip To Space

    The driver brought Milena to the centre of the city where the Cloud Pce was established.


    The mansion was situated at the ce known as Central Street. In fact, it was the only mansion there.


    Both sides of the streets had gates that only allowed people to pass through after they were verified to have an appointment. No other visitors were allowed to pass through.


    The car also stopped at the checking gates.


    One of the guards stepped closer to the car.


    The driver lowered the window.


    The guard checked the backseat of the cat before turning to the driver. "What are you doing here?"


    "The woman in the back has an appointment. I''m just dropping her here," the driver said, pointing in the back.


    The guard looked at the driver like he was looking at an idiot.


    The driver thought that the guard didn''t trust him. He turned around. "Mam, please show him your appointment letter."


    "Huh? What?" As soon as the guard turned around, his eyes opened wide. "Where did she go? She was just here."


    "Good. Just what we needed, a crazy driver who hallucinate about passengers." The guard shook his head in disappointment. "Go back, and don''t forget to get yourself checked by a good doctor."


    He turned around and walked back. "It''s nothing, just a crazy driver. No need to open the door!"


    The driver looked back once again, scratching the back of his head. She was just here. Where did she go?


    He turned the car around and left, wondering if he was really seeing ghosts.


    In the meantime, Milena was already walking on the Central Street alone. It was easy for her to Teleport on the other end of the gates after getting so close.


    She could see a Mansion in the distance. There weren''t many guards outside the mansion. It seemed like most of the security was ced at the gates that led to the mansion.


    She could only see two guards, each holding a semi-automatic rifle in their hands.


    The two guards watched Milena getting close to them, but they didn''t attack. They believed that she was checked by the guards at the entrance and allowed in. No rms were going off either, so she didn''t try to stop her, letting their misunderstanding prevail.


    Milena stepped before the guards and shed a cute smile. "Good Evening, Gentlemen. May I know if Jonathan is inside?"


    "Sir Jonathan? Yeah, he''s inside in his office. Please go ahead."


    The guards stepped aside.


    Milena passed through the gates and stepped inside the Mansion. It was much easier for her than she expected.


    "I knew I wasn''t needed for this mission. It''s so boring. No challenge at all," Milena muttered, observing the surroundings. There were many portraits on the walls, all belonging to one man only.


    She assumed the man to be the owner of the mansion. However, she didn''t care about him. All she needed was Jonathan, who had the stone.


    She stopped a maid who was watering the nts. "Where is the office of Jonathan?"


    "It''s right there." The maid pointed towards the back.


    Milena walked to the back and noticed a room which had the namete of Jonathan hanging outside.


    She knocked on the door.


    "Come in." A voice came from inside.


    Instead of opening the door, Milena teleported inside.


    The man was sitting behind a table, going through some documents. He didn''t even notice that Milena had Teleported inside. Only when he heard her footsteps did he raise his head, slightly surprised that he didn''t hear the opening of the door.


    He didn''t think about it too seriously. "Sit."


    Milena sat before the man. "Are you Jonathan?''


    "Yeah? Who might you be? I don''t remember having a personal appointment today."


    "I don''t know about the appointment, but it''s certainly personal," Milena said, smirking. "You bought a small stone in the continent of Darkness a few months ago. I am here to take it back."


    "So, would you hand it over nicely, or do I need to get my teeth dirty?"


    "The stone? Who are you? Who allowed you in!" The man pressed a bottom on the table. An rm started ringing in the entire mansion, which even Milena could hear.


    "Hard way it is then." Milena appeared behind the man, holding him by his neck as she raised him high in the air.


    She disappeared from the room with the man and appeared a thousand feet high in the sky.


    Finding himself so high in the sky, the man started screaming like a dying pig. He was so scared of great heights that he started shivering.


    "If you don''t want to die, stop this chaos. I''m not here to kill everyone here. Don''t make me kill more than I have to. You understand?"


    "I-i understand! Don''t kill me, please! Take me back! I beg you!"


    "Good boy!" Milena appeared back in the room. "Stop this rm. It''s giving me a headache.''


    The man pressed a different button and spoke into a mic. "I''m sorry, I identally pressed the button. Everything is alright. Stay where you are!''


    After finishing, he turned to Milena.


    "I did it. Now no one wille."


    "Good boy." Milena sat back on her chair. "Now, where were we? Ah, right. The stone. Give it to me!"


    "I-i can''t."


    "Do you want to take a tour of space this time?" Milena asked, frowning.


    "N-no! I''m being serious! I can''t give you the stone because I literally don''t have it!"


    "Then who does?"


    "The stone is with my Master. It''s with Master Jestor! He likes the stone so much that he always carries it with him!"


    "And where will I find this Jestor?" Milena asked.


    "He went to the opening ceremony of his new museum."


    "Just to be sure? It''s the man in the portrait, right?"


    "N-no. There are no portraits of the master. The portrait on the walls belongs to Master''s father."


    "Alright. It seems like we''re going on a museum trip. You''ll be giving me directions." Milena grabbed the man and disappeared.


    "Arghhh!" The man once again started screaming as he found himself in the sky.


    "Stop screaming. You don''t die. But if you don''t stop screaming, I might literally drop you. Just tell me the direction. The faster we get there, the faster we''ll be done."


    "T-that direction!"


    ...


    In a different part of the street, a newly constructed museum was standing tall.


    A man who seemed to be in his mid fifties was standing with a ss of wine in his hand. A ne was hanging on his neck, which contained a beautiful jade-like stone.


    He was dressed in an all-white attire.. His hair had turned white by now, but his face still looked full of life.

 Chapter 711 - 711

    "The museum is looking great." Another middle-aged man approached Jestor.


    "You came, John."


    "Of course. How can I ignore an invitation by the strongest Warlock."


    "Strongest? I''m not the strongest now, and I wasn''t the strongest then. There are some really strong people in the world. I''m nowhere close to them," Jestor responded, smiling.


    Hearing the reply, John burst intoughter. "Hahaha, you''re just being nice. You know that''s not true. I''ve never seen someone best you in all my years."


    "That''s because we live on a small ind. We don''t see what''s in the outside world. I do."


    "Are you being honest? There really are stronger people than you? Can you give me an example?"


    "I won''t me you. I also used to think the same as you. I was also quite confident in my strength as well until I met him..."


    "Him?"


    "Yeah, A man who was impossible to understand. He was fierce as a beast, arrogant like a King, and strong like a god. One moment he was a warrior who could kill anyone to get done with things."


    " The next moment, he was like a caring friend who worried about what his friend might think about his actions. I don''t think I''ve ever met a person like him," Jestor said, sighing.


    "That certainly sounds like a fascinating character. Why don''t you invite him to the ind someday? I want to meet him as well."


    "Invite him? For that, I need to know where he actually is. I have no idea. That was the first, and thest time I met him. Since then, he has only been a memory," Jestor exined. "I wonder where he might be right now."


    "The only thing I can be sure of is that he must be ruling some ce like a king..."


    "Intriguing. Very intriguing. It seems like I really was a frog at the bottom of the well," John muttered, rubbing his chin.


    "I think you should travel the world as well. Take a world tour and see all the ces and how they work. I think that''ll give you a good idea about the outside world. It''ll broaden your horizon."


    "Why don''t the two of us go together? Like this, you should be able to find that man you talk about."


    "Sigh, I wish I could. But this ce is my home. It depends on me. I can''t leave it alone."


    "Heh, why are you so worried? This Ind is really peaceful. It''s not like it''ll descend into chaos after you leave. Everyone is responsible here." John spread his arms. "Look around. What''s the worst that can happen in a peaceful ce like this? Some minor arguments?


    Thud~


    Just as he finished speaking, he heard a noise followed by yelling.


    A guard that was standing outside the entrance came flying after the door was opened. The guard slid on the tiles that graced the floor, only stopping when he reached the feet of Jestor.


    "There you are..." A woman''s voice filled the room.


    Jestor followed the voice, ending his gaze on Milena.


    He turned to John. "You were saying something?"


    He walked to Eve. "I recognize you. I remember seeing your portrait. You must be the Queen of the Divine Empire. Am I correct?"


    "That''s right. It''s good that you know me. That makes things easier. I''m not here to hurt anyone. I just want the stone that you possess. It was bought in the Divine Empire. Return the stone, and no one gets hurt."


    "And if you don''t return..." She observed her surroundings. "Everyone will die here in three minutes."


    "This stone?" Jestor touched his ne, showing the beautiful jade.


    "That''s right," Milena nodded, raising her hand towards Jestor.


    "This stone? I don''t have any particr attachment to this. In fact, I would''ve given it to you if you had just asked like a nice guest. However, you...," Jestor said, slowly turning his gaze at the guard lying on his feet.


    He held the hand of the man and helped him up.


    "With the way you behaved, I don''t think I''ll be giving you anything."


    "Are you sure about that?" Milena asked, frowning.


    "As sure as I can be." Jameson snapped his fingers. However, nothing happened.


    He let out, slightly surprised. "Hmm... What I heard about you was correct. It''s simr to what he had. It doesn''t work on you either, but that''s not too surprising."


    "I didn''t have much information before, but I thought a lot about thatter. And I know why it didn''t work. All thanks to information about the Divine Empire."


    This time, instead of trying to send Milena away with his Teleportation, he personally disappeared. He appeared behind Milena, held her shoulder, and disappeared.


    Milena was able to use the Teleportation she received from Arthur, but Jestor had a slightly different version of that.


    Arthur could only Teleport himself and the people he was holding. On the contrary, Jestor was not only able to Teleport himself, but he could also Teleport others from ce to ce without touching them.


    Moreover, his Teleportation range was much longer than the range of Arthur and Milena.


    After being defeated by Lucifer, two things happened to Jestor. Firstly, he started respecting Lucifer as a powerful Warlock, and secondly, he started looking for answers.


    He was filled with immense curiosity about why his Teleportation didn''t work on Lucifer. More importantly, it was so he wouldn''t end up in a simr situation if he were faced with another Warlock with simr ability of making his Teleportation useless.


    It was only after he heard about Milena and her Noble that he understood what might have happened.


    He found out about the Energy Negation and how it worked, which made him understand the theories behind it. He also assumed that Lucifer had something simr.


    In thest thirty years, he had found out how to deal with a situation like this, the loopholes and the ws in the skill and such.


    It could stop Teleportation in the surroundings of the owner, but it couldn''t stop the Teleportation of the enemy, which was proven when he was able to Teleport before Lucifer. It was onlyter that he found it.


    He could not Teleport the enemies without touching them, but it was different if he was teleporting with them since that was a loophole.


    As soon as he touched the shoulder of Milena, he disappeared.


    The man appeared in the far end of the ind, which was an empty beach where no humans existed.


    After bringing Milena there, he teleported around five meters away from her.


    He cracked his knuckles. "Here, we can talk in peace.. It should be slightly fun."

 Chapter 712 - 712

    Lucifer reached the mansion of the Raasin n, which was much more heavily guarded than anything he ever saw before.


    The Raasin n was like a fortress.


    "Are they so scared of being attacked? Even the Academy didn''t have that much security." Lucifer observed the surroundings.


    He could see some really incredible security measures. There weresers surrounding the Mansion, which made a web that was impossible to pass without being detected.


    At that point, he wasn''t sure if thesers were only going to set up an rm or if they were truesers which could split them all in half.


    Fortunately, thesers weren''t enough to stop a shadow from entering, which stuck close to the ground.


    Other than thesers, there were also cameras all around. All the cameras were keeping an eye on every spot in the surrounding, leaving no blind spot.


    Each guard was carrying guns that could fire multiple bullets at once.


    Lucifer took a deep breath, preparing to enter the mansion.


    "I think it''s time to test something new."


    He turned into a shadow and passed through the web ofsers, and kept moving towards the entrance of the mansion.


    He walked from right past the guards without being discovered, all thanks to the clouded sky that had darkened the ground.


    The clouds weren''t ordinary either since they came with Lucifer to make his shadows more stealthy.


    Through the small crack on the bottom of the door, he passed through and entered the mansion.


    Unlike the outside, the mansion on the inside was much more quiet. There weren''t many people here. He could only see some servants. However, there were certainly many cameras even inside. That didn''t change.


    He had received the information about the room of Jake from Milena, which was on the second floor of the mansion.


    This was where the problem began though. The hall was filled with light which made a shadow easy to notice. Moreover, the floor was also pure white which made things worse.


    He temporarily sent his Shadows and covered all the cameras with the shadows so they could only transmit a ck light. After using the same trick, he advanced to the stairs.


    Unfortunately, he didn''t notice one hidden camera that was ced on the roof itself. It was hidden near the fan.


    All the cameras turned dark, which alerted the security guards of the mansion. However, one camera wasn''t dark, which made them focus on the camera itself. It was clear that this wasn''t a technical error.


    Moreover, they also noticed a dark shadow moving up the stairs. It was for a brief second before the shadow left the view of the camera.


    For a second, the security staff even wondered if they saw something real. They rewinded the footage and checked once again. Only after making sure it was what they saw did they stand up.


    "An intruder has entered the mansion! Ring the rm!" Hemanded.


    "Wait. I don''t think we should yet." Another man chimed in, stopping.


    "Why not? It''s clearly an intruder! I don''t think he has any good intentions for sneaking in!"


    "I know that, but someone who dares to enter the Raasin n mansion? Don''t you think that''s very interesting? You think someone would dare to do that if they weren''t confident?"


    "The person snuck inside the mansion without being seen. And that''s just what we know. That person is really good at stealth. If we ring the rm, he might run away! He is an annoying intruder!"


    "Do you think we shouldn''t do anything? What are you trying to say?"


    "I''m not saying that. What I''m saying is that we should inform the Master first. Let him make a decision first. What if he ran away while we''re talking to Master?"


    "I don''t think he will run away. He went to the floor where Master lives. There aren''t any treasures on that floor. The safe is on the ground floor."


    "You mean he came with a different intent?"


    "I believe that. He is probably sent by the other Great Families. Only they can be stupid enough to think about doing such things. If I''m not wrong, he is here to kill Master. We can use that to our advantage."


    "That... Does sound good. I''ll inform Master first."


    ...


    "You couldn''t even capture people?! I swear to god, I''m feeding stupid people who can''t even do one task right!"


    "He just wasn''t here when we got here. Even the Driver says he doesn''t know. I think he ran as soon as he saw us. As for how he did that, I don''t know. Should we start searching around the city?"


    "No need. When you couldn''t capture him after knowing where he was, I can''t expect you to catch him when he ran away."


    "Then...?"


    "Send a man to all hotels and restaurants. Give them the description of the man and tell them to inform us when he gets there. I''m sure they''ll go for some ce to rest inside. Get to work. And no mistakes this tim-"


    Beep~


    "Hmm?"


    While giving his instructions, he felt his phone beeping and vibrating in his pocket.


    "Go and do as I said. Don''t return before finding them!" He told the men before walking to his car.


    After reaching the car, he looked around.


    "Yeah, what?"


    ...


    "Are you sure?"


    "Alright. Send me the footage. I''ll be right there. Don''t do anything in the meantime. I want to meet him personally." Jake disconnected the call and sat in the car. "Take us back to the mansion."


    "Who was on the phone?" His wife asked him, seeing him smirking.


    "A guest is waiting for us at home. We shouldn''t keep him waiting for long," the man muttered, smiling.


    The car started advancing towards the mansion.


    ...


    At another end of the same Ind, Eve finally reached the small vige where Lucifer used to live. She turned to her real self after reaching there and advanced towards the house of the old man.


    Kids were ying on the streets like normal. The adults and then teenagers were alsoing back from fishing, only to see ady as pretty as an angel. They just stayed staring at thedy.


    Eve already knew the direction, so she didn''t have to ask anyone. She went straight to the house of the old man. There was no lock at the door.


    "Good, it seems that he didn''t leave for the sea."


    She knocked on the door; however, the door opened a bit as her handnded on it.


    She didn''t think too much about it since the old man often used to leave the door open. She pushed the door open and stepped inside.


    As soon as she entered, the door closed behind her on its own.

 Chapter 713 - 713: Time Limit

    "Hmm?" Eve looked back, stunned. "How did the door close on its own?"


    "Master Chi, are you here?" she called out.


    There was no response to her call, which prompted her to ask again. "Master Chi? Are you here? I need to talk to you urgently!"


    "Urgently?" A calm voice came from all around Eve. "What''s the hurry?"


    Hearing the voice, Eve''s pupils dted. She recognized the voice, and it wasn''t who she was looking for.


    "Xaen, it seems like you were expecting us here."


    "I just had a feeling. I knew the importance of those stones for Lucifer. It wasn''t hard to guess that someone was going toe to the ind to take the stone from me."


    " I just had to wait. There was no way he wasn''t going toe meet the old man after all."


    "Honestly, though, I expected him toe personally, not send someone random. I read the entire data I received from Uprising. Your name wasn''t even mentioned in the upper echelon."


    "Why would he send you instead ofing personally?"


    As the voices wereing from every direction, Eve couldn''t pinpoint the location. However, she soon calmed down.


    Since she got used to Adaptation, she was clear on what to do. She didn''t even need to turn into Lucifer. All she needed was to turn into Xaen and leave, but before doing that, she wanted to talk to Xaen first.


    "Xaen, it''s good that you''re here. Please stop hiding. I want to talk to you. Please try to understand. War isn''t good for anyone. If possible, I don''t want any violence."


    "Please return the two stones you took from Lucifer, and don''t forget to add the third one that you already possessed. Don''t increase the conflict more than needed."


    "After much struggle, we managed to make Lucifer less destructive. Don''t bring the old him back. The city and the entire Ind can''t afford it."


    "You mean I should just let him do as he pleases?" Xaen asked, finally showing himself.


    He was dressed in the same attire that he was wearing back on the ind, but there wasn''t even a single speck of dust on it.


    A ten year old''s physique in those clothes could''ve made anyone look funny, but it wasn''t the case with him. No one found him cute even though his face and looks were that of a cute child. In fact, he seemed slightly intimidating.


    "Just because you don''t want him to fight, I should return the stones and let him destroy the world?"


    "Who says the stones are going to destroy the world? It''s not true. The stones are just a gateway and nothing more."


    "A gateway is always two-way. I wouldn''t have cared if it was just a one way gateway that only allows Lucifer to leave, but it''s not. You know how dangerous it can be if he opens the portal again?" Xaen asked.


    "However, before even getting to that point, how many nations would he conquer to collect the stones? How many lives will he take? I didn''t want to kill him, but if it''s for the greater good, I wouldn''t care for longer," he further stated, turning his back on Eve.


    "I wanted to take the powers of Lucifer Azarel and not kill him. However, that didn''t work out. Instead, my motives were exposed. All I can do is kill the guy now before he tells the truth to the old man."


    " I barely managed to bring the old man to the right side. I can''t let two of my worst enemies work together?"


    "I understand what you''re trying to say, but still. It doesn''t have to be that way. If you''re worried about lives being lost in the conquest, work with Lucifer. Guide him like I try to do! Instead, you just want to kill him? I can''t let you do that."


    "I already gave you the benefit of the greater good when you killed the innocent family members of the old man, but not anymore. I can''t watch."


    "Hmm? How do you know about that? That''s certainly interesting. You must be a Variant who can see people''s history. I always thought this was a possibility that someone would know, but even then, what can you do?" Xaen asked, smirking. "


    "Even if you know, you can''t do anything to me!"


    "I can''t, but they can! I don''t personally kill people, but this time, I won''t stop them. I won''t let you get away with it. Your biggest fear is that the two of them will work together? This time I promise you. That will happen," Eve dered.n


    "You talk really big. Fine. Go ahead and tell the old man. I won''t stop you. Leave," Xaen smirked, ncing back.


    He started walking away without even trying to stop Eve.


    Eve seemed a bit stunned. She expected Xaen to kill her. That''s why she was prepared to use Adaptation on Xaen and disappear, but he didn''t even attempt.


    Still, she went along with her n to use Adaptation and started trying to adapt to Xaen.


    "What? It doesn''t work?" she eximed.


    She started adapting to Lucifer since that often worked, but it didn''t work this time either.


    She kept trying different people, but nothing worked.


    She didn''t immediately understand what was happening, only wondering if she had reached her limitation for the day. However, she also had a different doubt.


    Xaen was waiting here. He expected Lucifer toe here. Was it really possible that he didn''t make a trap here? Something wasn''t right. Was it her limitation or something else?


    Just as she was lost in thoughts, she heard the voice of Xaen again.


    "Oh right, I forgot to tell you something. I expected Lucifer toe here, so I prepared this ce ordingly. You can''t use any abilities here. If you want to leave, you can only leave through the gate. I would suggest you to act fast."


    After finishing his warning, Xaen disappeared along with his voice.


    Eve went to the door, trying to open it, but the door seemed locked from outside. She tried hitting it and applying some force, but she couldn''t break it.


    She didn''t have enough brute strength, and she couldn''t use any abilities. Without that, breaking a door didn''t seem usible.


    She didn''t know why Xaen told her to hurry, but she didn''t want to take a risk. She picked a nearby chair and ran to the window.


    She raised the chair above her head, preparing to throw it at the window.


    Boom~


    Before the chair could leave the hand of Eve, an explosion took ce in the middle of the house, taking out everything!

 Chapter 714 - 714: Death?

    The explosion was so powerful that it blew up the entire house at once, leaving nothing in its wake.


    In the distance, Xaen was standing with his hand behind his back, looking at the cloud of fire that was spreading everywhere.


    A smirk formed on his lips. "What a waste to use this on a random person. If only Lucifer had personallye, it would''ve been so much fun."


    He turned around. A portal appeared before him. He entered the portal and disappeared with it.


    ...


    Xaen appeared back at the Academy of Gifted Variants, stepping out of the portal that opened in his office.


    Grandpa Chi was sitting on his chair, seemingly bored.


    "You are back." He stood up, seeing Xaen return. "Finally. I was getting so bored here. Now take care of your chair. It''s time for me to leave. Ever since you left me in charge here, I didn''t get time to go home. So much dust would have gathered by now."


    "It''s only been a few days since I was gone. I don''t think you need to worry about cleaning your house at the moment. I''ve returned after a long trip. Don''t you drink with your friend for now?"


    "That reminds me. Is your friend fine by now?"


    "Friend?" Xaen asked, confused.


    "The friend you went to meet. You said he was sick. Which other friend would I talk about?"


    "Ah, you''re talking about him. Unfortunately, he isn''t fine. I tried to keep him alive, but I couldn''t control destiny." Xaen sighed. "You can say that the friend is dead now."


    "He is dead?!" Grandpa Chi eximed. "I hope he rests in peace."


    "Surely he will." Xaen smiled.


    ''As soon as I manage to get my hands on him.'' He thought secretly.


    "Anyways, I''m returning from a fruitless flight. The least you can do is have some drinks with me?"


    "Alright. It''s my treat this time. Same bar."


    "No, I had something different in mind. How about we don''t go to a bar today? Instead let me open something I have been saving for a long time. I think I want to drink my most expensive wine today."


    Xaen walked behind his desk and pressed a button. A drawer came out from the wall behind him, which had only one bottle.


    Grandpa Chi walked to the bottle and looked at it.


    "There''s still one of these? So old. I thought there were none left.''


    "I managed to find one around ten years ago. Since then, I''ve been saving it for a special asion." Xaen picked up the bottle. "But I don''t think I want to save it anymore."


    "Why not?"


    "My friend''s death reminded me of something. Life is finite. We aren''t going to live forever, so why save the wine for the future. Enjoy it while we still have time."


    "Let''s cherish the moment because who knows when I might die tomorrow, or you might die the next second. Nothing is certain in this life. So just live for today."


    Grandpa Chi nodded. "I suppose you''re right. The two of us are already so old."


    Xaen brought two sses as well and started pouring wine in each of the sses. He gave one ss to Grandpa Chi while keeping the second for himself.


    "To the future and the inevitable death!" He clicked his ss with the ss of Xaen and finished his ss.


    "To the destiny and the future," Grandpa Chi let out as he finished his ss in one sip as well.


    "Still as delicious as I remember it to be," Grandpa Chi smiled. He ced his ss on the table. "One more."


    Xaen smiled as he started pouring more.


    "Hahaha, enough. Are you nning to kill me by drowning me in wine?" Grandpa Chi burst intoughter as he saw Xaen filling the ss to the brim.


    Xaen didn''t reply. He ced some in his ss as well. "Who knows, that might be my n after all."


    Grandpa Chi started drinking as well. "This old man has more drinking capacity than you think."


    He finished the entire ss.


    "Let''s test it then. Here, finish the entire bottle. If you can still stay standing after finishing the entire bottle, I''ll ept my defeat."


    "You''re naive if you think a bottle of wine is enough to bring me to my knees." Grandpa Chi took the entire bottle and started drinking from it.


    Within seconds, he finished the entire bottle. He ced the empty bottle on the table.


    "See? Nothing." He said proudly; however, his calm expressions soon changed as his vision started getting blurry.


    His feet started feeling weak, and his knees started trembling. He couldn''t even stand straight as he dropped to his knees.


    "W-what was in the wine?" He asked straight. He wasn''t naive enough to think that the wine was ordinary wine. "What did you mix in it?"


    "What did I mix in it... That''s a good question. Let me tell you a story, old man."


    "A few years ago, some students were sent on an exploration mission to the Clouding Forest. However, none of them returned alive."


    "The world only knows about the incident as the students died because they ate something poisonous in the forest. I''m sure you heard about that story as well?"


    "However, that wasn''t the truth. Instead, the young Variants were killed by wild animals. Now you may ask, how could wild animals kill young Variants who possessed incredible strength?"


    "That''s the thing I never told anyone, including you. A few days after the youngsters had gone on the exploration, I received a call from a teacher."


    "He told me about the incident of the youngsters losing their abilities in the forest. I went there with him."


    "All the youngsters were still alive there. We retraced their steps and found the cause. Something which could truly make a Variant an ordinary human."


    "Now, you must be wondering what happened? The kids were alive for me to retrace their steps, so how did Animals kill them?''


    "Can you imagine how dangerous it would''ve been for the world if people found out something which could make Warlocks useless? The entire world would''ve been thrown into turmoil. So I did what any sane person would do."


    "You killed them?"


    "Nope. I told you they were killed by the animals. I simply took the kids and tossed them before hungry lions in the forest. The rest was handled by the lions." Xaen sighed.


    "It was really painful to do it.. I was heartbroken that I had to do it, but it was all for the greater good, so I did it.

 Chapter 715 - 715: Always Light

    "Sometimes, I curse my destiny for giving me such strength and such responsibility. I had to do so much wrong in this life, all for the greater good." Xaen took a deep breath, shaking his head.


    "I wish there were better ways. It would''ve been so nice if I had never received these powers. I wouldn''t have had the burden to use them for the greater good. I could''ve lived and died without having any worries."


    The ss in his hand shattered as he applied a bit of force without realizing it. The ss pieces stabbed in his hand, making his hand bleed.


    "My hands had the blood of others on them," he added, sighing. "I killed the innocent kids to keep a secret. I killed the families of people to stop them. I even killed one of my teachers. So much blood..."


    "I thought everything was going to be fine after you had stopped fighting for the wrong side. Everything was going smoothly. I was happy... I was peaceful. I didn''t have to kill anyone else for years. Moreover, I have also received a friend..."


    He observed the pained look on the face of Grandpa Chi. "I wish things could''ve been different."


    " I wish I didn''t have to kill more people. If only he hadn''t refused my offer, everything would''ve been fine. But he didn''t... And they also know what I did. It was only a matter of time before they found you and told you everything. I couldn''t let that happen.''


    "No matter what you think, my friendship wasn''t fake. I truly considered you my friend. I guess I really shouldn''t have made the mistake of getting attached to a person. It would''ve been so much easier."


    Xaen turned his back on Xaen. "I''m sure you already know what I did after hearing the truth?"


    "You poisoned me with the same thing that you found in the forest."


    "That''s right. As expected you deciphered this. The poison I gave you is my own creation. I used the nt I discovered and managed to amplify its effects. Not only is it more effective than what the kids had, but it also acts faster now."


    "You, my friend, are only the second person I''m using this on. Now you don''t have any strength. I can kill you, and you won''t be able to stop me. The Dark Wizard is no more now. You''re truly a mortal."


    "If only I had this form when we were shing, I wouldn''t have had to go for your family."


    "My family? What do you mean? Wait, you said you had to kill families to stop people? You mean..."


    "That''s right. Now that the truth is already out, I don''t need to hide anymore. I was the one who killed your family. One of my darkest moments."


    "You! I''ll kill you!" Grandpa Chi tried to force his body to stand, but it couldn''t.


    "I forgot to mention. I added more things to the mix. Not only does it remove your powers, but it also slowly paralyzes your body. You can''t move your feet, but this feeling will spread all over your body within minutes. Soon, you won''t be able to move anything other than your head."


    "I should never have trusted you..." Grandpa Chi dered, realizing that Xaen was telling the truth. He couldn''t even move his hand at the moment.


    "I would agree with that point because there are still some ws in the form. It doesn''t work if you don''t drink it. Even if I ce this on an arrow and stab you, it won''t work. So I really should thank you for drinking."


    "That only leaves one problem for me now. I want to kill him, but he''s even more difficult to kill than you were. Fortunately, I have a n for him."


    He stepped closer to Xaen and sat on his knees, facing Xaen. "Don''t worry. I won''t kill you. I''ll let you live. No matter what happened between us, I still consider you my friend."


    " After everything is over, I might help you with the paralysis. Your powers can never return though."


    "We talked so much, but it still didn''t ask who I''m talking about?"


    "You think I won''t know after you said all this? You want to kill my Grandson? Heh, good luck trying. This old man sees more shine in Lucifer than he did in himself. Moreover, unlike this fool of an old man, the young guy isn''t as trusting. He will kill you!"


    "See? When you talk like that, it hurts me." Xaen sighed. "Don''t tell me you want your best friend to die? I''m standing on the right side. All I want is to stop Lucifer from bringing a cmity. I can''t let him kill me."


    "Honestly, it would''ve been much better if Lucifer hade to your house directly." Xaen rubbed his chin.


    "You''re right about that. He''s more careful than I gave him credit for, but even people like him often make the mistake of trusting others. And I have a person just like that..."


    He pped his hand once, bringing a portal before the old man.


    "In the meanwhile, let me help you a bit."


    Grandpa Chi fell inside the portal. The portal closed.


    "Take a rest. Everything will be over soon." Xaenmented, standing up. He disappeared as well.


    He appeared on top of the Academy of Gifted Variants. He had a clear view of the city from there; however, he felt a bit lonely.


    He and Grandpa Chi have been friends for quite a lot of years. Their bond was certainly special for Xaen, who was all alone in his life for the most part. However, he had to make the same man suffer again, all because of Lucifer.


    That made him feel even angrier at Lucifer.


    "At least the old man won''t interfere in my business now."


    " It''s just him and me now. Even that won''t be the case for long." He sat on the roof and brought a different wine bottle now.


    "Time to drink one for real. It''s truly a sad day."


    He gazed at the lonely moon while sitting alone with a bottle of wine in his hand.


    Another person who was looking at the moon was Lucifer, who had a clear view of the moon from the window in Jake''s room.


    His hands remained behind his back as he observed the beautiful moon, which was spreading its luminescence everywhere.


    Looking at the moon, he couldn''t help but remember some lines he heard Grandpa Chi speak.


    "People say that the night is dark, but even at night, there is always a light."

 Chapter 716 - 716: Easier

    "Even the night can''t take over the light entirely. The light always finds a way to shine and guide everyone, no matter how dark it may be."


    "Nature was created so beautifully. When you look at it, you can find hidden meaning in everything. Don''t you think so?"


    For some reason, Lucifer remembered the words that Grandpa Chi had told him just one day before Lucifer was taken to the Academy of Gifted Variants.


    "I suppose you were right," he muttered, looking at the moon after remembering the words. "Nature certainly teaches us a lot. Unfortunately, we learn more from people wee across than we learn from nature."


    As he was talking to himself, he noticed Jake''s car entering the premises.


    "Here hees."


    ...


    Jake stepped out of the car with his wife and entered the mansion. As soon as he entered, he was greeted by the team of guards that had gathered there.


    "Did you seal the surroundings?" Jake asked the men.


    "We did activate the barrier as soon as you entered. Not even wind can pass through the barrier now. The entire mansion is a prison that no one can leave."


    "Good. Stay alert. I''ll go meet the new friend who came here for me."


    He looked back at his wife. "You stay with Ronny. It''s dangerous for you toe with me.''


    Giving everyone the instructions they needed to follow, Jake went upstairs. He pushed the door open and stepped inside, closing the door behind him.


    The room waspletely empty. He couldn''t find any person there. It was as if no one had entered the room. Still, he knew the enemy could transform into shadows. The dark room was a perfect ce to hide for a shadow.


    He walked to the little switch, but before he could press it, everything stopped. The man couldn''t even touch the switch before he became something akin to a statue.


    "This skill is certainly convenient." Lucifer came out of his shadow and walked to Jake, who stood unmoving.


    He brought a small bracelet out of his pocket and ced it on the wrist of Jake but as soon as he removed his hand, the bracelet passed through the hand of Jake and dropped to the ground.


    "Hmm?"


    Lucifer picked up the bracelet and observed Jake. He tried touching the face of Jake, but his hand passed through as if Jake was not really there.


    "Illusion?" Lucifer muttered, frowning.


    "Where is the real one?"


    ...


    Outside the room, the real Jake had a curious look on his face. His illusory clone was just about to turn on a switch when he lost connection with the clone. He couldn''t sense anything.


    He prepared to send a different clone; however, he didn''t receive a second opportunity. Lucifer spread his Time Domain around the entire floor, despite the heavy burden it had on him.


    He sent hundreds of his shadows out of the room to find the real Jake. It didn''t take much time. As soon as the shadows left the room, they found the real Jake who was standing near the room.


    A smirk formed on the lips of Lucifer. He opened the door and stepped out of the room. He ced the Limiter on the real Jake this time. He didn''t remove the Time Domain. He picked up Jake and brought him inside the room.


    Only after he closed the door did he remove his Time Domain.


    "What?" As soon as Jake came to his senses, he was stunned to find Lucifer there. Lucifer wasn''t wearing his sses, so his colorful eyes were very obvious.


    "Those eyes... She was right!"


    He was stunned to see Lucifer, but more importantly, he was surprised about his whereabouts. How did he enter the room? Moreover, if Lucifer was really this capable, why didn''t he kill him directly?


    There were many questions that made him feel like he shouldn''t attack. He also felt something on his wrist. Looking down, he recognized the bracelet on his hand.


    Seeing the Limiter, he understood why Lucifer didn''t attack him. He already neutralized him without even attacking.


    "Xaen sent you?" he asked. "I always had my suspicions on him. How much did he pay you to kill me?


    "He can''t afford me," Lucifer responded. "I came because I wanted to. More importantly, because you couldn''t control your curiosity."


    "It''s good that you didn''t immediately attack me. I''m sure you recognize the Limiters, so it''s not shocking. However, they''re slightly different from the ones at the academy. So don''t try to test what they can do."


    "Anyway, getting back to the topic, I didn''te to this continent for you or your wife. You just became a pit stop because you came after me. I hope you won''t me me because I''m being really kind at the moment by not killing you."


    "Honestly, though, this not killing thing is a bit annoying. Suppose I had killed that Vixen in the past. I wouldn''t be chased today by you. That''s what happens when you leave people like that alive, won''t you say?"


    "My old approach was so nice. What do you say? What would be smarter? Killing you all or letting you live?" he further asked.


    "Who are you really? How do you look the same for thirty-one years? Even Xaen doesn''t look entirely the same. Do you not age?" Jake inquired.


    Lucifer shrugged his shoulders. "Who knows."


    "Anyways, no need to get off topic. I needed a nice ce to stay. What better ce than this? And what better servant than you? Help me while I''m here, and I''ll remove the Limiter."


    " If you don''t help me, you''ll die, but you won''t be alone. I''ll wipe the entire Raasin n off the face of this earth. So choose wisely."


    "What help do you need? What can I help you with?" Jake asked. "Can''t you do it alone?"


    "I can, but it''ll be time consuming. Xaen isn''t easy to find. I''ll need help from some insiders. And that''s where you''lle in."


    "Finding Xaen? Why would you?"


    "Can you kill someone without finding them?'' Lucifer asked. "I want your help in finding Xaen, but that''s forter. For now, we need to wait for the arrival of a few guests. After they''re here, we can get moving."


    "That aside, I think your wife really wanted to meet me. Why don''t you call her here? We should let her know she wasn''t insane."


    Hearing themand, Jake fell into deep thought.


    "Why are you looking at me like that? I''m not going to kill her... I think. Also, tell your men that I''m your friend and it wasn''t an enemy.. It''ll be easier that way."

 Chapter 717 - 717

    "Why does it sound like it was all your n? You didn''te here to kill me but to use this ce as yours?" Jake asked, ring at Lucifer. "Don''t tell me that you intentionally showed yourself?"


    "Maybe... Or maybe not..." Luciferzily responded before walking back to the window.


    "Oh, and one more thing. Before going out, hide the Limiter. I don''t want others to see."


    "Fine!" Jake left the room, cursing his luck. How was he so careless to get trapped like this?


    He stepped out of the room and went downstairs, observing his shadow carefully. He was sure that Lucifer hadn''t left himpletely free of observation.


    He went downstairs, bringing out a device from his pocket. "Everyone cane out. Everything is fine. It was a false rm. There is no enemy. My old friend came here and wanted to give me a surprise, so he snuck inside."


    Every guard received the words of Jake and believed it. They stepped inside the mansion.


    His wife was also brought out of hiding.


    "It was your friend? And I had to hide for something like that? Tsk." The woman startedining, unaware that Jake was lying now.


    Jake looked at his wife, frustrated.


    "Yeah, I was mistaken too. It''s been a long time since he came back to the ind; that''s why I didn''t expect it to be him in the first ce. My mistake." Jake smiled. He held the hand of his wife. "Come, let me show you, my friend.''


    "The rest of you, do what you were doing before. Remove the lockdown. Everything is fine."


    He took his wife with him and went back to the room.


    Entering the room, the woman noticed Lucifer''s back towards her. He was looking out the window. She could only see her dark hair and the clothes and a ck robe behind him which came down to his ankles.


    She looked at her husband. "Why don''t you introduce now?"


    "I don''t think there is any need for an introduction. I think we had a pretty good first introduction already."


    "We did? When?" The woman still didn''t understand.


    She had seen Lucifer wearing different clothes at the airport. He wasn''t wearing a robe. Moreover, many people had ck hair on the ind. It was especially the favorite look of middle-aged men. She didn''t link him with the guy she saw at the airport.


    She didn''t even recognize the voice as Lucifer was now speaking in a much dominant tone, unlike what he used at the airport.


    Lucifer raised his hand, snapping his fingers.


    "Haa, what!" The woman started rising in the air against her control.


    "Does this remind you of something?" Lucifer asked. "Or do I need to bring the sea in your room for you to remember?"


    "Sea... Flying... It''s you! That bastard!"


    "Bastard? That''s not a nice way to talk to the one who can kill you, is it?" Lucifer asked, finally turning around.


    Seeing his violet and blue eyes, the woman immediately recognized him. He was definitely the one.


    "I was right! You were here! Just because you changed your clothes, you thought we couldn''t recognize you?"


    She turned to her husband. "What are you waiting for! He''s the one! Teach him a lesson!"


    Lucifer also looked at Jake. "You know, I do pity your situation. You just had to marry her... I feel bad for you. Still, do you want to tell her something, or should I?"


    "I''ll handle it. Can you bring her down?"


    Lucifer brought the woman down. "Talk to her. Oh, one more thing. Did you tell them to prepare food?"


    "I forgot... I''ll tell them after talking to her."


    "It''s alright. I''ll talk to them myself. You two have some privacy." Lucifer left the room and went downstairs.


    "Like you''ll give us any privacy," Jake muttered, looking at the dark areas in the room. He was sure that Lucifer was still keeping an eye.


    "What is happening here? Why is that guymanding you instead?! Why aren''t you killing him?!"


    The man opened his lips to reply but stopped as he realized that telling the truth would lower his respect in the eyes of his wife. What if she spread the news identally? What will everyone think after finding out the truth?"


    "The Raasin n head was defeated by someone without even going through a fight? That too in his own home? It was insulting to him. He knew he couldn''t tell the truth.


    "I told you, he''s a friend. I didn''t recognize him since he looked a bit different than I remembered him. You don''t have to worry about anything," he answered, keeping up with the story he told everyone else.


    "Just forget everything that happened in the past and start anew. He won''t stay here for long. Can you do that without antagonizing him anymore?"


    "You want me to forget what he did to my father and me?"


    "What did he do? Did he kill you two? He just made you stand in the air for a little. Why can''t you just forget that small misunderstanding? If you had forgotten, we wouldn''t be in this mess!" Jake yelled as his frustration reached the limit.


    He was in this problem all because he listened to his wife and went with her to talk to Lucifer. If he hadn''t, they wouldn''t be here. And even after all this happened, his wife still wanted him to sh with Lucifer?


    It would''ve been fine in most cases, but with the Limiter, he was weak. Moreover, he wasn''t even sure what modifications to the limiters Lucifer was talking about.


    It was better to give Lucifer a ce to stay instead of taking a risk by going against him.


    Moreover, he was also slightly intrigued by Lucifer. He wasn''t sent by Xaen. Instead, he came to this ind to look for Xaen? That certainly meant something. There was some enmity between the two.


    He believed he could gain an advantage if Lucifer seeded in taking out Xaen. It was indirectly a blessing in disguise for him.


    "But..."


    "No buts! I listened to you long enough. It''s time you listen to me! I don''t want any excuses! You''ll listen to me now! That''s my final decision!"


    "If you don''t listen to me and antagonize him, I won''t stop him from doing whatever he wants to do. So only do it if you think you can face his anger alone!"


    "You understand?"


    After finishing, Jake didn''t wait to hear the response of his wife either.. He left the room as well, only to find Lucifering back.

 Chapter 718 - 718

    "There you are. I forgot to ask you something. Did you send your men to search for me in the city? Ask them to return. I don''t want Xaen to know I''m here. I don''t want him to run," Lucifer said before leaving once again.


    "Huh? He doesn''t want Xaen to run away? Is he being serious? Since he''s here for Xaen, I thought he had a possibility of defeating Xaen. But to think that Xaen might run from him? Just who exactly is this guy? What''s his rtionship with Xaen?"


    All he knew about Lucifer was that he was on a cruise with his wife a few decades ago. After that point, he didn''t know anything. He didn''t know who Lucifer was and what he did in the outside world.


    "Both of them do have one thing inmon. It has been years, and Xaen still looks like a kid because of the side effects of his abilities. Simrly, this still looks the same as he did decades ago. The only difference is the hair?"


    "Could they be brothers?"


    He ran after Lucifer as well.


    The food was already prepared in the mansion before the arrival of Jake, and it was immediately served as soon as Jake asked.


    Meanwhile, Jake also introduced Lucifer to his staff members, making up stories about their old adventures together and how they were old friends.


    He also told everyone that Lucifer was going to be staying here for some time as a guest since he couldn''t allow his friend to stay at the hotel.


    The man who was told to look for Lucifer previously also returned to find Lucifer sitting on the dinner table. They were stunned. The person they were looking for was here, eating happily.


    Once again, Jake made up a story to cover for Lucifer and exin why it all happened.


    He went with the excuse of trying to prank Lucifer, which he canceled after realizing that Lucifer was already back at the mansion, escaping the prank.


    The guards were slightly suspicious of the excuse, but they ultimately chose to believe the story.


    The search for Lucifer was stopped.


    "Good work," Lucifer told Jake after finishing dinner. "I''m going to my room. If I need anything, I''ll tell you."


    "Your room?" Jake asked. "I didn''t assign your room yet."


    Lucifer smiled, bringing his lips near Jake''s ears. "It''s cute that you think you have the authority to assign my room."


    He stood straight. "I''ll be taking the room right beside yours. That side had a better view of the moon."


    He left Jake behind and went upstairs.


    "What did he whisper in your ears?"


    "Nothing. He just thanked me for the dinner," Jake told his wife before he also stood up.


    ...


    Lucifer took the neighboring room of Jake and once again returned to moon gazing. Tonight, he found the moon to be really interesting. It was calming his heart which had been in turmoil for some reason.


    "I wonder if Eve met the old man. She should be back soon."


    He wore his sses. "Contact Eve."


    "Unable to contact," Came the response to hismand.


    "Hmm? Unable to contact her? Why would that be?" Lucifer muttered, frowning.


    "I don''t think the vige has any problem with signals. She has a satellite phone as well.''


    "Trace Eve," Hemanded again.


    "Unable to trace. No signal avable."


    "This... Grandpa Chi doesn''t use a phone either. I can''t contact him. Do I really need to go there to check?"


    He scratched the back of his head, walking back and forth.


    "Something doesn''t seem right at all."


    "Alright, find the contact details of any of the vigers."


    "Seven numbers located from the Directory."


    "Call the first in the list."


    ...


    One of the vigers was sleeping in the vige. The day had been really hectic since the explosion took ce. He had to help the other vigers in checking for bodies inside the rubble which took the entire day.


    Finally, he returned to his bed to take a short nap, only to be disturbed by a call. In frustration, he didn''t pick up the call.


    The phone kept ringing, but the call wasn''t picked up. In fact, the man even put the phone on silent to not be disturbed.


    "Call the second number," Lucifer said after the first one wasn''t picked up.


    Another person was called. Instead of him, his wife picked up the phone.


    "Who is it?"?The man asked.


    "Some unknown number." The wife said, checking the number while the phone kept ringing.


    "Must be from those call centers. They kept disturbing me even when I said a thousand times that I didn''t want a loan. Put the phone on silent and sleep."


    "As you say." His wife ced the phone on the table.


    The second call wasn''t picked up either, which frustrated Lucifer even more.


    "Call the third name in the list," he said.


    Another phone in the vige started ringing, but this time the call was picked up.


    "Hello?"


    "Finally, someone who picks up the call.''


    "Who are you, man? Get to the point. After the explosion, I''m not in the mood to waste my time over a call. Who are you, and what do you need?"


    "Explosion?!" Lucifer asked. "What explosion?"


    "That''s none of your concern. Tell me who you are and what do you need?"


    "I''m L... ah, I mean, I''m Alex. I''m the Grandson of Grandpa Chi. I lived in the vige for so long. Don''t tell me you forgot me?"


    "Ah, Alex! It''s you! You couldn''t have selected a better time to call. I was looking for a way to contact you and your grandpa to talk about the explosion."


    "What explosion?" Lucifer asked. "What happened there?"


    "It''s about your home. I don''t know why, but it suddenly exploded today¡ªnothing left of your home except thend. Please return and see for yourself. And if you can contact your Grandfather, tell him as well."


    "You mean Grandfather wasn''t there when the explosion took ce? And only our home was damaged?"


    "That''s right. We don''t think he was here."


    "You don''t know where he is either?"


    "Leave everything else. Just tell me when that explosion took ce? And did you see a woman there before the explosion?"


    "That''s right. Some people did mention seeing a woman going to your house. We believe she was behind it. However, we can''t ask her about it now."


    "Did she leave?"


    "No. We found a badly burnt body in the rubble. We think it''s that woman. I don''t know why she would blow up the house with her inside though. Maybe she was a crazy person looking to die."


    "Anyways,e back and see for yourself. We already cleared thend though. If you need, we can help you with the new construction there as well."


    ...


    "Ah, Alex? Are you there? Alex?" After giving the news, the man didn''t receive any response.. It was as if the other side went silent.

 Chapter 719 - 719

    "Alex? Why aren''t you saying anything? Hello?"


    "Huh? It looks like there''s a problem in the connection." The man disconnected the call and tried to call the same number again. But there was no response this time. Lucifer didn''t pick up.


    ...


    Xaen was sitting on the roof, drinking the wine, when his phone started ringing.


    "Yeah?"


    "Sir, as you said, our men have been keeping an eye on the vige. No one entered the vige, but a call dide from the outside. The same number tried calling three people in the vige."


    "Were you able to trace the call?"


    "We did not manage to trace the call unfortunately."


    "Alright, find out who the caller was. And what was the conversation about? Continue keeping a watch on the ce. Tell me when you find something."


    "Yes, Sir."


    ...


    Lucifer remained in the room, looking at the moon outside. For thest few minutes, he hadn''t moved even an inch.


    He just kept gazing outside, not sure what he was feeling. Whatever it was, he didn''t like it.


    Subconsciously, his fist kept closing tighter and tighter.


    "Xaen... You knew I would being for Grandpa Chi. You really shouldn''t have done this..."


    Xaen had crossed the limit. Even when Xaen tried to kill him, he didn''t feel much. He was upset that his stones were stolen, but he could recover them.


    He didn''t care for that either since it was only a matter of time, but now it was different. Now it was too personal.


    The weather outside the mansion also changed. It was already very cloudy, but it had started raining as well.


    "The weather is acting odd today. Is a storm about toe?" Jake''s wife also noticed the rain and the crackling of thunder outside.


    "Storms aren''t that unusual. Stop thinking about it and go to sleep," Jake responded weakly. He didn''t even bother to check.


    "Storms aren''t unusual, but storms with ck lightning falling from the sky?" the woman asked. "I only saw it happen once before... When I was on that ship. I think it''s your friend''s doing."


    "Are you going to go there and talk to him before one of these bolts destroy our home? While you''re at it, don''t forget to kick him out if he doesn''t listen," she further stated.


    "Are you sure?" Jake stood up and walked to the window. "The ck lightning is certainly unusual. I''ll go and see what he''s doing. You stay here."


    He left his bedroom and walked to the neighboring room. For some reason, it was too silent even though there was a storm outside. He could even hear the sound of his own footsteps.


    He took a deep breath as he stepped before Lucifer''s room.


    Knock~


    He knocked on the door, but there was no response.


    "Are you inside?" he asked once again before he opened the door himself and stepped inside.


    He noticed a lonely-looking silhouette of Lucifer, looking at the storm outside.


    "I wanted to ask if everything is alright. Did you create the storm?" Jake asked.


    Lucifer didn''t answer.


    "I''m talking to you. Why aren''t you answering?" Jake asked again.


    "Deactivate." A single word came from Lucifer''s lips.


    The Limiter, which was on the wrist of Jake, loosened up and fell down, finally freeing him.


    Lucifer raised his hand behind him without even looking back. The Limiter flew straight into his hand.


    Jake watched Lucifer crush the Limiter, shattering it to pieces.


    "What happened? What are you doing?" Jake couldn''t understand what Lucifer was doing. He was freeing him? Had he gone crazy?


    "Why aren''t you saying anything?" Jake asked once again.


    "Leave this city..." Lucifer spoke once again.


    "What? What do you mean?" Jake still didn''t understand, but he could feel something wrong in Lucifer''s tone.


    He wasn''t as calm as before. Previously, he was cold like a frozen mountain, but at the moment, he sounded like there was a volcano inside him, waiting to explode.


    Lucifer didn''t exin himself. He snapped his fingers. Multiple lightning des appeared around Lucifer, which shot straight to the window. The window waspletely shattered. Its pieces flew everywhere.


    "If something happened to her, I''ll destroy this city..." Lucifer said as his body started rising in the air. "Then I''ll destroy this ind. I''ll keep destroying every ce I walk on until I find Xaen. Leave if you don''t want to die...''


    He flew out the window. As he flew through the rain, the water droplets of rain kept affecting his hair. The dye that was specially created for his hair stopped working. Each droplet of water brought the original color of his hair back.


    His dark hair kept turning silver, affected by the water.


    Jake watched Lucifer leave.


    He didn''t know what happened to Lucifer in thest hour, but he knew that it wasn''t good. Something had really angered Lucifer, and it was rted to Xaen.


    He was confident in his strength, and he was a proud Warlock, but the words of Lucifer kept echoing in his head as if those weren''t mere words but the future.


    Taking a deep breath, he decided to believe his heart. He walked back to his bedroom.


    "I watched him fly away. Did you kick him out of the house? You did really good. Even if it wasn''t what I wanted initially, it''s better than nothing."


    Jake looked at his wife, sighing.


    "Stop talking so much. We are leaving as well."


    "Leaving? Why?"


    "As you said, a storm is about toe. And I don''t want to be here when the storm hits."


    "We''re running away from the storm? What nonsense are you speaking suddenly? Are you hiding something?"


    "It''s not the time to speak. Pack your bags."


    "But we just returned to the ind."


    "I told you it''s urgent. Stop wasting time. It''s better to be careful than to take the risk. We are leaving temporarily. I''ll tell the others to prepare as well."


    "Others? You mean the others areing with us too?"


    "Yeah. The entire Raasin n will being. Think of it as a long vacation of the entire n."


    Jake left the room and didn''t talk any more. He knew that the questions of his wife were never going to end.


    He informed the other main members of the n that they were leaving and told them to get ready in thirty minutes for departure to the airport.


    Only a couple of members were left behind to take care of the mansion.


    Within thirty minutes, tens of luxurious cars left the Raasin Estate in heavy rain, going straight to the airport.

 Chapter 720 - 720

    Lucifer stopped hiding his real looks. He didn''t care anymore. It was clear that Xaen already knew they were here. That''s why he set the trap at the house of his Grandpa.


    The vigers said that his Grandpa didn''t return for a long time. And Eve couldn''t have blown herself up. Someone who could do something like this while avoiding Eve''s Adaptation was only one person. It was Xaen.


    Lucifer had no doubt that he was behind it. Moreover, Xaen was the only person who could leave the house right before the explosion without being seen.


    Xaen wanted to make the fight personal; Lucifer was prepared as well.


    That night, Lucifer kept flying at the speed of a middle. Not many people were walking on the streets at night, but the ones that were walking only saw a figure sh past them in the sky. Rain followed wherever Lucifer passed through as if it was trying to catch up to Lucifer.


    Before long, Lucifer reached the bank of the sea where he had seen Grandpa Chist time. It was on the way. He didn''t waste even a second at the ce and continued flying.


    Soon, he reached the vige andnded before the remnant of his house. Most of the rubble was already cleared by the vigers. Still, some were left.


    Finally, the rain caught up to him, showering the entire vige.


    The droplets of water trickled down his face, sometimes making it seem like they were tears. However, Lucifer''s expressions weren''t of someone who was crying. His face appeared calm, but his eyes were filled with mes.


    ...


    The phone of Xaen once again started ringing.


    "Yeah?"


    "S-sir, I have eyes on the target. He is here! He is in the vige! He''s standing where his house used to be!"


    "Are you sure it''s him?" Xaen asked.


    "Urgh."


    Instead of a reply, Xaen heard a grunt.


    "Hello? Are you there?" Xaen asked. "Confirm if it''s Lucifer!"


    "It''s Lucifer indeed," Came a reply.?But the voice was different this time. Xaen knew it wasn''t the voice of his man.?He also knew who the voice belonged to.


    Back in the vige, Lucifer was standing inside one of the houses which had a clear view of his house. As the man''s body was lying on his feet. His head was crushed brutally. Even the walls were covered in blood.


    Lucifer gazed out the window with a phone in his hands.


    "Lucifer, so you''re truly here," Xaen said, smiling.


    "Man, if you were really here, why did you send that woman before? The poor girl died for no reason. It even made me waste one trap. That''s not nice, you know?"


    Lucifer once again went silent momentarily. It was basically a confirmation that Eve was actually the one killed.


    "What happened? Why did you go silent? Don''t tell me you''re feeling bad or something?" Xaen taunted Lucifer once again.


    "You and I, we are eternal. I can''t grow old, and you can''t die. We''ll both live longer than others. The death of loved ones will be a in sight for us in any case. Well, at least that''ll be the case for me since you''ll be dying soon. Aren''t I right?" he further asked, smirking.


    "Why don''t you make that a reality? Come and kill me?" Lucifer asked. "Come here. I''m waiting for you."


    "Coming to you? No thanks. I''m not in the mood yet. I just killed one person today. That''s enough for me. Maybe tomorrow," Xaen replied. "Treat this day as my gift to you. One more day for you to live.''


    After finishing, Xaen disconnected the call.


    ....


    Lucifer looked at the number that was used by Xaen just now.


    He wore sses. "Contact Kellian."


    "Kellian, I''m sending you a number. Trace the number and tell me where it is."


    He sent the number to Kellian before he left the house.


    He took a deep breath as if preparing for something.


    "Wake up!" He yelled out loud, using his sonic voice.


    The yell was so loud that it woke up even the ones who were heavy sleepers.


    Everyone left their homes to check what it was.


    "Lucifer, is that you?" One of the men noticed Lucifer before the house. Everyone walked to him, but as soon as they saw his face, they stopped in their tracks. They didn''t know what it was, but they didn''t have the courage to walk close to Lucifer for some reason.


    "Where is the girl?" Lucifer asked, frowning.


    "What?"


    "The girl whose body you found in the rubble? Where is she?" Lucifer repeated the question.


    "Oh, you meant that girl. Her body was taken to the hospital. It should still be there."


    "Which hospital?"


    "Maximus Hospital. Why do you want t-"


    As soon as Lucifer received his answer, he flew away, not even letting everyone finish their words.


    Within ten minutes, he reached the hospital that was closest to the vige.


    Hended at the entrance of the vige.


    Without being stopped, he stepped inside the hospital. He walked to the man at the reception.


    "How may I help you today?"


    "I''m looking for a girl whose body was brought here today. She has violet hair and violet eyes. She''s eighteen years old, and she was in an explosion. Where is she?"


    "Ah, you mean thatdy? Her body was badly burnt. She wasn''t breathing either. She arrived dead here."


    "Where is she?"


    "She''s in the morgue on the second floor. But you can''t see it in the night. You''ll have to wait for the morning if you want to see the body. Those are the rules..."


    "I make the rules here." Lucifer picked up the desk and tossed it away before he grabbed the man by his throat.


    "Tell me where?"


    Seeing Lucifer misbehaving, the guard ran to Lucifer, only to drop on the ground while his throat bled. No one even saw what sliced his neck.


    "Next will be your neck. I''m not in the mood to y around!" Lucifer warned the receptionist.


    "T-that way!" The receptionist lost his entire courage. He escorted Lucifer wherever he wanted to go. He took Lucifer to the morgue, which was closed.


    "I don''t have the key. That''s why I said you''ll need to wait till the morning," The receptionist exined as soon as he reached the morgue, knowing that Lucifer was going to ask for the key.


    He was soon proven wrong though. Lucifer didn''t ask for the key. Instead, he kicked the door open. The door broke off and flew far away,nding in the middle of the room.


    Lucifer tossed the man inside the room. "Which is her body?"

 Chapter 721 - 721

    "T-there! She is in that one!" The man said, pointing straight ahead. "Pull the one with number fifty-seven."


    Lucifer flew ahead and opened the small square door.


    "This?" he asked, looking back at the man.


    "That''s right. That''s the girl who was brought today," the receptionist answered.


    Lucifer raised his hand towards the man. The man''s body flew towards Lucifer as his neck ended up in Lucifer''s hands.


    Lucifer thrust the man''s body inside the opening in the wall.


    "Please tell me you see a body there," Lucifer said, not amused.


    "This... I don''t understand. Where did the body go? I''m sure it was kept here!" The man eximed, shocked. The ce waspletely empty. Nobody was there.


    "If it''s a joke, it isn''t funny. And I''ll make sure you know that if you don''t tell me where her body is!"


    "It''s no joke! I''m sure! The body was here! Let me ask the person in charge of this ce! Maybe he shifted the body? Just give me a second!"


    Lucifer pulled the man out again. "You have five minutes. If I don''t get the whereabouts of the girl in five minutes, I''ll still be standing here, but you won''t."


    The man ran to a phone as soon as Lucifer freed him. He dialed a number.


    "Ah, hello. Sir, I wanted to ask if you moved the body of the explosion victim who was brought in recently. She''s not in fifty-seven."


    "Nope. I don''t think any body was moved. It should still be there."


    "I''m right there. The body isn''t there!"


    "How are you there? The keys are with me?''


    "I don''t have time to answer the question. Please try to remember what might have happened to the body! I only have four minutes left!"


    "I''m telling you, I don''t know. Just stop repeating the question. In any case, it''s just a body. It''s not like you lost a diamond or something."


    "Don''t worry and let me sleep. I''ll check tomorrow!" The incharge of the morgue disconnected the call before putting the phone on silent. He went to sleep.


    The receptionist could feel his heart thumping. An angry guy was standing behind him, and what he was looking for was missing.


    "In this situation, I would''ve preferred to lose a diamond instead of that body," he muttered, scratching his back.


    "Three minutes..." Lucifer dered.


    "Ah, I-i remember! We can check the footage! It''ll tell us what happened to the body!" the man eximed. "Come with me!"


    He took Lucifer with him to check the recording of the day. At the same time, multiple police cars surrounded the hospital.


    They had received the information that a person was killed in the hospital. The sound of sirens filled the surroundings.


    Lucifer entered the security room without much obstruction. No one tried to stop him. They had already seen his actions at the entrance regarding how he killed a person without even touching him.


    They didn''t want to do anything to him. Instead, they preferred to run as they saw Lucifer was being taken in their direction.


    The security room waspletely empty when Lucifer stepped in.


    "Where is everyone?" the receptionist eximed, frowning. "I don''t know how to operate the system here. We''ll need them to find the footage or someone who knows a bit about tech."


    "Wait here; I''ll find someone!" The man left the room, leaving Lucifer behind.


    Initially, he expected Lucifer to stop him as a hostage, but Lucifer didn''t even bother. After stepping out of the room, he looked behind. Seeing Lucifer wasn''t following, he sighed a breath of relief.


    Instead of bringing someone back to Lucifer as he imed, he started running away now that he was out of sight.


    Without looking back, he kept running, and soon he left the hospital.


    There was no evacuation at the moment to not cause amotion, so he didn''t have any problem escaping.


    As he left the hospital, he saw all the cop cars surrounding the hospital. The cops were preparing to go inside.


    He approached the Chief of Police.


    "Halt! Identify yourself!" The cops aimed their guns at the man.


    "I am Johnny. I work at the reception! I was held hostage by the murderer! I barely managed to escape!"


    "Let hime," the Chief of Policemanded his men.


    Everyone allowed Johnny to pass through.


    "Tell me everything you know about the killer? What are his motives? Who is he?"


    "He is a Variant. In fact, he is a really strong Variant, it seems! He can kill people without even touching them. I don''t know how he did that."


    "Yeah, we saw the video of that happening. Any update on the motives of the man?"


    "He''s looking for a body. I don''t know what his rtionship is with the body, but he only wants that."


    "Whose body?"


    "The body of an Explosion Victim. She was brought here today, dead."


    "Why doesn''t he leave the hospital after taking the body?"


    "The body is missing. We don''t know what happened to it but what I know is that the man is crazy. If he doesn''t find the body, he''ll destroy the entire hospital. You need to stop him!"


    "So you lost the body that you just received today. What great administration," the Chief of Police eximed, sighing. "You just made this problem so much bigger.''


    "Will you be going in to capture him?" Johnny asked.


    "We don''t know anything about him. Moreover, he''s a Variant that can kill mysteriously. We can''t go in and risk the lives of our men. Only a Variant can take out a Variant like that."


    "That''s why we already informed the Franci Family. They will be here soon. In the meantime, we just need to make sure the man doesn''t run away."


    "Where did you see him before you ran?"


    "He was in the security room, trying to check the footage of the morgue. But I''m sure he''ll soon start causing a stir since there is no one here to work the system." Johnny sighed.


    "Whatever, I told you everything I know and did my duty as a responsible citizen. I don''t want to stay here a second longer. I wish you all luck. I''m out!"


    Johnny left, going in the opposite direction of the hospital. He didn''t know when the Franci family was going to be here and if they could be here in time.


    And if they werete and Lucifer was out, Johnny was sure that he was going to kill him first for leaving him alone. He didn''t want to be here when that time came.


    ...


    The Franci family was one of the eight great families and had a great reputation, especially because their head was one of the teachers at the Academy of Gifted Variants.

 Chapter 722 - 722

    People respected them a lot because they trained youngsters instead of only caring about themselves.


    That''s why the Franci family was more loved than the Raasin Family.


    A white-haired old man was sleeping soundly when there was a knock on his door.


    He opened his eyes and walked to the door.


    "What?" he asked after opening the door.


    "Father, we received a message from the city police. Apparently, a Variant is attacking the innocent in our area. Since we''re closest to the location, the police want our help."


    "Go and help; why are you asking me then?"


    "Because the man isn''t weak, it seems. Just look at the footage. He killed the guard so easily without evening close. I was wondering if you wanted toe with us as well."


    "Let me see," Franci said.


    His son turned on the tablet and started ying the video they had received. He showed the video to Franci.


    "Hmm? Lucifer?!" Franci eximed, recognizing the man instantly.


    "You recognize this guy?"


    "I do. He was in my ss for four years," Franci said, sighing. "He was the top student of the ss, but he couldn''t do something like this at that time. He could only use his strength."


    "Top of the ss? Don''t tell me it''s the guy who killed..."


    "That''s right. He killed your son Dash along with other youngsters at the academy. Although it seems that Dash was at fault."


    "He is the killer of my son?" Norn asked, clenching his fist.


    "You need to stay calm. It''s all in the past. Don''t let the emotions cloud your judgment. You can''t stop Lucifer without staying calm. He was the best of the best in the ss. It seems he has only grown since then," Franci said, patting the shoulder of his son.


    "I''ll being with you too. It''s time we stop Lucifer." He walked back inside his room and donned proper clothes before going upstairs, where a helicopter was prepared for flight.


    His son Norn and the strongest Warriors of the Franci family also sat inside.


    ....


    The footage of Lucifer wasn''t just received by Lucifer. Instead, it was somehow leaked to the public as well.


    Soon, the information reached all Great Families. Even the Raasin family had received the news.


    He was standing at the airport when he received the video of Lucifer.


    He watched Lucifer kill. "Looks like it begins from the hospital. But why would he be there? Unless the reason he''s going crazy is because....''


    As he thought about it, he remembered the words of Lucifer.


    "If something happens to her, I''ll destroy this city..."


    "So that''s what it is. Someone close to him was hurt, most probably by Xaen. No wonder he is prepared to destroy everything. It must be the girl I saw with him at the airport. Whatever, it''s none of my concern."


    "If he''s killed, it''s fine. If he kills Xaen, it''s fine as well since he''ll calm down. In fact, it''ll be even better if he also destroys all the Great Families as well. When I return, only the Raasin family will be left."


    ...


    Unlike what Johnny thought, Lucifer didn''t need any technician. He had that much knowledge himself.


    Before long, he found the recording of the room.


    As he started ying the recording, he saw Eve''s body being brought in the evening. Her face was pale, and she wasn''t moving. There were burn marks all over her body, including on her face.


    Seeing Eve in such a condition, he felt a tinge of pain in his heart. However, he was a bit calm as well.


    Eve said her body was resilient. As long as it was intact, there was a chance that she was alive. It was easy to confuse Eve with a dead person in a situation like this. Even he had thought the same thing when he first saw Eve.


    "So she was indeed put in fifty-seven."


    He watched the body being kept exactly where Johnny had said. After keeping her body there, everyone left the room.


    After an hour into the footage from the point where the body was brought in, there were movements in the room.


    Someone appeared inside the room out of thin air. Since his back was facing the camera, it was impossible to see the face, but Lucifer recognized the physique. It looked like a young kid.


    "Xaen..." Lucifer muttered.


    As Lucifer said the name, the figure in the footage showed a peace sign with his fingers before he disappeared.


    He didn''t even walk close to the wall, but Lucifer knew that he didn''t need it. He could control the space. He could steal the body without even going close.


    He smacked the keyboard in frustration, destroying the keyboard and the table with it. The screen dropped to the ground along with the table, cracking.


    He stood up and walked to the window in the back.


    "Hmm?" As he stood near the window, he could see many police cars outside. A couple of red dots also ended up on his chest.


    "Snipers?" he muttered, looking at the red dots on his chest.


    His gaze moved around, trying to find the sniper. Soon, his gazended on the men who were aiming at him.


    The men also noticed Lucifer looking straight at them. Lucifer shed a smile to them before pping his hand.


    Roar~


    The clouds roared, frowning the sound of Lucifer''s p. Tens of ck lightning bolts fell from the sky.


    While three fell straight on the head of the Snipers, the rest fell on the cop cars.


    Boom~


    Clouds of mes spread everywhere as the cars explored. The cops couldn''t even run in time. Most of them died in the explosion while the red fell injured.


    "Xaen, you want to stop me to save the world? Isn''t that why you took the stones? Want to try to kill me?"


    "Let''s test your conviction then. Let''s see how much you care for your city. You forced my hand, and now I''ll force yours."


    ...


    "I guess I was right. There was something between the two of them," Xaen was still lying on the roof of the Academy, watching the video of Lucifer that was going viral.


    "He does care for her just like she did for him. That would make things a bit easier, won''t it?" he muttered, looking on the right side of him.


    A woman was lying beside him, unmoving.


    "Trust is such a nice weapon, isn''t it? You can kill even the fiercest beast using it. I used it to take out the old man, and now you''ll use it to take out Lucifer..."


    He gently caressed the cheeks of the woman near him.


    "His greatest weakness will be my greatest weapon.. I suppose your arrival wasn''t a total waste."

 Chapter 723 - 723

    Lucifer stepped out of the hospital through the window. The cars were still burning. The cops who had survived were so injured that they couldn''t even stand up even if they wanted.


    They held their guns firmly as they watched Lucifer stepping close to them.


    "You must be the chief," Lucifer said, grabbing the chubby man by his cor.


    He dragged the man''s body with him inside the hospital.


    "Go ahead. Call your department.?I want all the cops in the city to be here in the next thirty minutes. If they''re not here... Let''s leave that to your imagination, shall we?"


    "Oh, while you''re at it, contact some media houses as well. I want to put up a show like this nation has never seen before. He wants to save the people? Let''s see how he avoidsing here."


    He gave a phone to the chief of police. "If I were in your ce, I would act fast. That''s all I''ll say. I leave the rest to your better judgment."


    The chief did as Lucifer said since the entire hospital was held hostage by Lucifer in a way. So far, Lucifer hadn''t killed any patient, but the man didn''t want to take a chance.


    He called the station and told them to send all the cops that were on duty. The news channels were already on their way to the site when he called the stations.


    Media helicopters from all significantworks were en route to the hospital.


    "I did as you said. Now don''t hurt anyone innocent."


    "What''s the hurry? There''s still one person to call. I want you to call Xaen Eandril here."


    "Master Xaen? How can I call him? I don''t even know where he is or how to contact him. He could''ve been found at the academy, but the academy has been closed. I''m not even sure if he''s in the city."


    "You don''t have to worry about that. He''s in the city. If you don''t know how to contact him, then find someone who may kn-" Mid-sentence, Lucifer looked towards the door.


    "I''m sure you cane up with a way. Try appealing through the media for Xaen toe save everyone," Hr said before looking towards the door.


    He could see lights shing outside and the sound of the arrival of helicopters. "In the meantime, I''ll see the new guests."


    He stepped out of the door; he noticed two helicoptersnd before him.


    Around thirteen people stepped out of the helicopters. Amongst the thirteen, there was only one person that Lucifer found interesting.


    The man who was in charge of their ss at the Academy of Gifted Variants and the leader of the Franci family himself.


    "What are you doing here?" Lucifer asked Franci.


    "It''s funny to see you not addressing me as Teacher." Franci smiled.


    "You were a teacher of a person who didn''t exist. I''m not him," Lucifer responded. "Answer me. Why are you here? This doesn''t involve you."


    "Isn''t that something I should ask you? You ran away, and now you''re back, killing innocents?" Franci asked in response. "And you say it doesn''t concern me? How about killing humans in my area, and then you''re surprised to see me here?"


    "Your area?" Lucifer asked, bursting intoughter. "If this is your area, that vige will be your area as well? You came so fast when I killed someone. Where were you when Xaen killed her in your area as well?"


    "It''s just like that day. None of you came when your Grandson Dash and his friends were beating me. But when I killed them, all the teachers came right away. You''ll have toe up with a better story."


    "Keep the name of my son out of your mouth, you snake!" Norn roared, hearing Lucifer talk about killing his son like it was no big deal.


    "I''m only stating the truth. I killed him, and he deserved it," Lucifer stated.


    "You will die!" Norn roared as his skin started turning darker. Before long, he was pitch ck as if he was made from pure darkness.


    He swung his right hand, shooting out a wave of darkness towards Lucifer.


    A dark shroud flew towards Lucifer, swallowing everything on its path in nothingness.


    Lucifer didn''t even flinch in the face of the attack. He simply snapped his fingers. With a snap of his finger, a barrier appeared before him.


    The beautiful barrier surrounded Lucifer in a sphere, protecting him from the darkness that was trying to destroy anything in its path.


    Lucifer could see the barrier getting weakened before the darkness. The darkness was slowly eating up his barrier.


    He folded his arms, waiting inside the sphere.


    "Stop hiding, you coward!" Norn yelled.


    Lucifer didn''t respond.


    The barrage of attack made purely from darkness kept assaulting the barrier nonstop. Norn didn''t care how much energy he wasted. He just wanted to destroy Lucifer.


    "Norn, calm down," Franci tried to stop his son, but Norn ignored him.


    "Father, please don''t try to stop me! He killed my son! He deserves death!"


    "Yes, Father, you should let him do what he wants. Why are you worrying for Lucifer? Didn''t you hear him say that he isn''t your student?" Franci''s second son also sided with Norn.


    He also hated the fact that someone dared to kill his nephew. It was so insulting. Finally, they could settle the scores.


    "But-"


    "No buts, Father. If you want Dash''s soul to rest in peace, please don''t stop me today! You need to make a choice!" Norn eximed, not letting his fatherplete the sentence.


    "You want your son, or you want the killer of your grandson. If you tried to save this guy, I''ll forever leave this ind and never see your face. Decide what you want?" he further stated.


    "If you don''t want that, stand back and don''t interfere!"


    Franci had arrived here to capture Lucifer and to keep his family members safe in case Lucifer was dangerous, but aftering here, all he saw was Lucifer hiding behind a barrier.


    It gave a subtle hint that he probably overestimated Lucifer. Moreover, it was clear that his son had an advantage. After seeing the heightened emotions of his son and hearing his sharp words, Franci dropped the thought of saving Lucifer.


    He observed all the dead bodies of the guards in the surroundings, letting out a deep sigh.


    In the choice between a former student and his own son, he selected his son. Especially since Lucifer had already killed people here.


    "Fine. You can kill him. I don''t interfere," Franci said as he took a step back.


    Standing inside the barrier, Lucifer smirked at the words of Franci.

 Chapter 724 - 724

    "In the choice between morality and family, you chose family. I''m making the same choice. And my answer will be the same," He muttered, still keeping his arms folded.


    "Let''s see how long you can hide! I''m going to give you such a death that even your soul will tremble!" Norn eximed.


    Shatter~


    The barrier finally shattered.


    The darkness overwhelmed the ce where Lucifer was standing; however, Norn didn''t smile. Instead, his face started twitching. Just as the first barrier broke, Lucifer cast another barrier around him, which was smaller than the previous one.


    Facing the entire barrage of attacks, Lucifer still hadn''t moved a finger.


    "Brother, he''s a coward! Let me help you!" Norn''s brother June eximed, seeing Lucifer survive. "I think he''s so scared; he can''t even think about attacking."


    "He''ll just keep casting barriers until he''s out of energy. We need to make him run out of energy fast!"


    He raised his hand high in the sky, clenching his fist. A dark mist appeared around his hand as well, but it wasn''t as overwhelming like Norn''s dark energy.


    While Norn''s darkness seemed destructive and infinite, June''s darkness seemed concentrated but much sharper.


    His darkness concentrated into a six feet tall and two feet wife dark Sword above his head.


    The sword of darkness shot towards Lucifer.


    As soon as the sword hit the barrier, it destroyed the barrier instantly, concentrating all the energy at one point.


    Lucifer took one step to the right, avoiding the Sword before casting another barrier.


    "You really are a cockroach. I''m surprised a coward like him dared to step foot on the ind again!" June raged. "But now that you''re here, you won''t leave alive!"


    He formed another Sword and attacked.


    The more barriers they destroy, the smaller the next barrier became. Soon, Lucifer had no room inside the barrier to even move. However, he was still keeping calm. He still didn''t move his finger.


    "Let''s see where you run now! You can''t even move!" June burst into a confidentughter before he formed hisst Sword, confident that it was going to be the end of Lucifer.


    Until now, Lucifer avoided the Sword by moving left or right inside the barrier, but now the barrier had no room left at all.


    While the two brothers confidentially attacked, the rest of the family members also enjoyed the site. It was as if they were hunting a bunny that had no way to run.


    There was only one person who found everything so off.


    It was none other than Franci. He has been observing Lucifer since the start. At first, he thought that Lucifer was overwhelmed after seeing so many strong people at once, and he knew he couldn''t fight back, so he was hiding behind a barrier.


    However, something was different. Even after all this, Lucifer didn''t have a single change in expression. He was so close to death, but he still looked so calm. He didn''t look like a person who was trying to hide because he was scared. In fact, his calm was a bit scary at this point.


    June formed his sword, prepared to attack. "This is for my nephew. After your death, his soul will rest in peace!"


    He said, but his voice was drowned in the sound of the arrival of another set of helicopters.


    Everyone looked behind them, noticing the media helicopters arriving there.


    "What are they doing here so fast?" Franci asked.


    "The attack at the hospital by a Variant is big news. It''s not shocking that the media is here," June responded. "In fact, they''re at the right time to watch me kill this guy."


    His sword shot towards Lucifer.


    "Finally..." A calm voice of Lucifer also came. He was gazing at the media helicopters.


    He finally moved his hand, lowering them before turning into a shadow. He disappeared from inside the barrier.


    He snapped his fingers. All the dark mist that was surrounding him disappeared abruptly along with his barrier.


    This time Lucifer didn''t avoid the Sword either.


    Seeing his attack be destroyed so easily, Norn was already stunned, but what happened next stunned him even more.


    Lucifer raised his right hand. ck lightning kept gushing out of his hand, ultimately forming a wall before him.


    The ck sword struck the wall of lightning; however, it didn''t pass through this time. Unlike the barrier, the wall was much stronger. Instead of being shattered, the wall absorbed the dark sword inside it.


    Lucifer took a step forward. The wall of lightningpressed itself, forming a ck heavy Sword.


    Lucifer grabbed the hilt of the sword, which was made of pure lightning.


    He raised the heavy Sword and started walking towards the thirteen people.


    "Thank you for keeping me entertained while I waited," Lucifer told Norn. "Now it''s time to put on a show to draw out that rat.''


    "Oh, before the media, you suddenly got his courage? Do you think that will make a difference?" Norn asked, squinting.


    However, his eyes widened the next second as he watched the world turn upside down.


    "Brother!" June yelled, running to Norn.


    Norn watched an upside down June running towards him. It took him quite some time to realize that it wasn''t June who was upside down. Instead, it was his head that was falling upside down.


    His head soon fell to the ground.


    He couldn''t even close his eyes before he died. A foot came crashing down on him. His skull was crushed under that foot. Thest thing he heard was a voice saying, "Say hi to your son for me."


    "You!" June brought forth the dark sword, but as soon as he reached Lucifer, his hand with the sword dropped on the ground along with the sword.


    Arghh~


    His painful scream was enough to horrify other men, let alone watching what happened next. A ck lightning bolt came flying from the back and passed through the head of June. It left a big hole in the forehead of June.


    Blood trickled down his forehead, covering his entire face. His body dropped to the ground.


    Franci was still in shock at the sight of his two sons dying. It took him time to process everything that happened.


    Both his sons were killed by Lucifer, and he didn''t even know how. How did Lucifer appear behind Norn so suddenly? Could he Teleport like Xaen?


    He didn''t know that this was the work of Time Stop. It was no less than Teleport. The only reason he wasn''t killing everyone when time was stopped was because he wanted the cameras to see everything.


    He wanted the ind to know just what kind of threat they were facing, but more importantly, he wanted to draw Xaen out.

 Chapter 725 - 725

    Both of Franci''s sons have died right before his eyes. They were killed by Lucifer.


    Franci was so angered after realizing what had happened that his eyes turned blood red in anger. At first, he was against killing Lucifer but had to stay behind since he favored his son.


    Now that Lucifer had killed both his sons, his family had no heir left. His entire bloodline was killed.


    "You..."


    "Me what?" Lucifer asked, frowning. "I killed both your sons. If you were going to say that, I already know."


    "You will die!" The left half of Franci turned dark, returning to the purest form of energy, making it seem like he was made purely of dark energy.


    The other half of his still looked normal like before; however, his eyes were shining blood red.


    The sky was covered in dark clouds, but still, some flickering of lighting could be seen, asionally brightening the sky.


    After Franci turned, even that wasn''t visible. Everything turned dark. The clouds were covered in a ck mist, and so did the hospital.


    Before long, everything had turned dark. No one could see anything in this darkness, especially Lucifer. It was as if he had gone blind momentarily.


    He brought his sses out of his pocket to use the night vision, but something hit his hand before he could wear the sses.


    The sses flew away,nding on the ground, but they weren''t alone. He could also feel that three of his fingers were suddenly missing now. His fingers were cut by something.


    "Is that how-"


    He tried speaking, but before he could even finish his sentence, he felt pain in his left hand. His hand was cut from his wrist. It fell to the ground.


    Lucifer cast a barrier around himself, slightly amused at the tactics of Franci. He finally understood why Franci was called the hunter of darkness. He was like a Ghost while his prey was blond in darkness.


    Even though he cast a barrier around him, he noticed that something sliced his other hand as well. His other hand fell on the ground as well.


    "The mist isn''t just mist. It''s like your weapon. Very amusing," Lucifer smiled. "Since it''s everywhere, no matter how I cast the barrier, it''ll be inside it. It''s like the wind. Clever tactics."


    "Killing you won''t bring back my boys," A voice came from everywhere. "But..."


    "But it''ll make you feel good." Lucifer finished the sentence of the man. "Is that what you wanted to say? I know the feeling. That exact feeling is what I''m craving with Xaen."


    "You could''ve done so much good. But you''ve fallen so far. Hopefully, in your next life, you''ll make the right decisions," Franci said, sighing.


    "I wanted to give a good show to the people of this ind, but you made it impossible. They can''t see anything in this darkness."


    "You''re about to die, and you''re still acting so confident? Just what I''d expect from my student. One shouldn''t lose calm even in the face of death and die with dignity."


    "Who says I''m calm because I''m about to die?" Lucifer responded. "I''m calm because I''m disappointed. I''m disappointed in you. You forgot your own teaching, it seems."


    "What teaching?''


    "Even when the enemy is on the backfoot, never get too cocky. Don''t talk too much and finish the enemy fast. You don''t know what they might be capable of. Remember something?" Lucifer asked, sighing.


    His hands had grown back by now as well. Franci noticed his hand, growing surprised. It was the first time he was seeing Lucifer''s healing.


    "I''ll follow the advice then. This time it won''t be your hands. This time it''ll b-"


    "This time, it''ll be your neck." Lucifer sighed, finishing the sentence again.


    Franci did as he said. Lucifer felt something slicing against his neck.


    Boom~


    Just as something touched Lucifer''s neck, hundreds of lightning bolts fell from the sky, covering the entire surroundings of Lucifer. This time, the bolts didn''t even avoid Lucifer and fell on him.


    On their way to the ground, the bolts destroyed everything that stood in their path, including the mist. The dark mist kept disintegrating, unable to bear the destructive force of the lightning.


    Franci looked up, stunned. The range of lighting was so big that he knew he couldn''t avoid it.


    He couldn''t believe that Lucifer was prepared to kill both of them. However, he was still a bit satisfied that Lucifer was going to die as well. He didn''t stop thrusting his sword, which kept prating deeper and deeper into Lucifer''s throat.


    Thud~


    The lightning bolts fell on the ground, destroying everything. The men of the Franci Family that were standing around them also couldn''t avoid the lighting. Not a single one of them managed to escape.


    An old man opened his eyes, stunned. Lucifer wasn''t before him. He also didn''t have his sword. What''s worse was that he felt a soul crushing pain in his body.


    He looked to his left, noticing the cameras that were focusing on them.


    It didn''t take him long to realize that he was in the media helicopters. As for how he got there, he didn''t understand. It was as if one moment he was killing Lucifer, and the next moment he was here.


    He looked down, realizing his chest had a big hole in it.


    The man dropped to the ground, unable to breathe. He still didn''t understand how it happened.


    "Looking for it?" Lucifer''s calm voice came, following his footsteps. He stepped before Franci and sat on his knees.


    Franci''s heart remained in his hand.


    " I''m sorry that you had to die like this. I know you would''ve been happy to die in the lightning, thinking you killed me as well. But that wouldn''t be good. I want everyone to see your death. And more importantly, I didn''t want my clothes to be damaged."


    "I wish things didn''t have to be this way?" Lucifer said, turning Francis''s face towards the camera again.


    "Ai... Cough..."


    Franci tried to speak, but only blood came out of his mouth. His body went limp.


    Lucifer looked at Franci, the man who taught him things when he was a student at the academy. The man who taught him about the world when Lucifer had lost his memories.


    Franci''s eyes were still open even when he died. Lucifer closed his eyes carefully. "Rest in peace, old man. I am sure you wouldn''t want to be in this world for what''s about to happen next here."


    Lucifer stood up and turned to the Camera.


    "Is it running?" he asked the staff in the helicopter that was shivering.


    "Y-yes."

 Chapter 726 - 726

    "Good. Then it''s time for me to let the world know my message." Lucifer patted his clothes casually as he took a step back.


    "The citizens of this beautiful nation. Listen carefully to my message. Your life and death might depend on what I''m about to say next!"


    He sat on the seat, resting his right foot over his left.


    The cameraman kept his focus on Lucifer in a bid to stay alive.


    "I''m sure you all know the person known as Xaen? The head of the Academy of Gifted Variants and the so-called hero of the battle against Dark Variants here."


    " However, your hero has taken something precious from me, and I want it back. If Xaen doesn''t return what he took personally, you''ll all pay me with your lives like them." He pointed towards Franci.


    " Xaen, I''m sure you''re seeing me right now. If you''re really a hero who cares for the lives of citizens,e and meet me. And don''t forget to bring her."


    He stood up and walked to the door, looking down.


    He nced back at the Camera.


    "Or you can be a coward like you are. I''ll just destroy this entire Ind. Keep the stones and protect a world that will have no life left on it! I''ll wait for you in the ce where we first met. That''s where it started, and that''s where it shall end."


    After giving his warning, he turned into a shadow and disappeared.


    The camera was shifted to focus on the destruction that was left behind while others tried to find Lucifer. None could locate him though.


    All they could find were bodies left behind. Most of them werepletely destroyed, while a few of them were left behind.


    ...


    Xaen was watching the live broadcast on his phone. He even heard the threat of Lucifer, which simply brought a smile to his face.


    He stood up and stretched his arms, yawning.


    "He''sing here. She isn''t ready, though. I suppose I need to keep him busy in the meantime."


    He pped his hand. A portal appeared under thedy who was lying near him. Her body was swallowed by the portal.


    Another portal opened up before Xaen. He stepped inside the portal personally, appearing inside a ce that appeared like someone''s bedroom.


    In the room, there was one wall-mounted TV. The News Channel on the TV was showing live footage.


    "It looks like you saw his deration too. Do you have any doubts that your friend is too far gone? Power has corrupted him. He killed so many innocents, all for nothing. You know he will never stop."


    "He says he''ll stop after finding me? But you know that''s not the case. When has he ever stopped? After killing one person, he moves over to the next. You can see it already, can''t you? He has started losing himself."


    "If I want, I can kill Lucifer anytime I want. I''m sure you know it as well. The only reason I''m avoiding him is because I don''t want to have to kill him, but he''s not making it easy for me."


    "Now that leaves a question for you. Do you want me to go meet him? That will mean he will die. Or do you want to stop the matter before it deteriorates so much?"


    Xaen kept talking as he observed a figure which was sitting on a nearby chair.


    "What do I have to do?" The second person in the room replied.


    "It''s simple. What''s corrupting him is his powers. They''re overtaking his mind. Moreover, the abilities he steals from others? I don''t think it''s just the abilities he receives. He also receives a fraction of the other person''s soul and their trail.''


    "All these traits have made him go crazy. If you want Lucifer to live and not be aplete beast, there''s only one thing you can do," Xaen said. "You need to take away his powers. Then we can help him."


    "If you don''t do it, Lucifer will die in my hands. And if he somehow survives and kills me instead, things will get worse. He''ll be a bloodthirsty beast soon enough. Then it will be toote to stop him."


    "It''s the right time! You can still stop him now, Cassius! Take away his powers."


    "I take away his powers?" Cassius stood up, frowning. "How can I take his powers? I don''t have such an ability."


    "You don''t need an ability to do it. You just need a bit of Lucifer''s trust. And Lucifer still hasn''t lost half entirely. I believe you will still have his trust to some extent."


    Xaen snapped his fingers. A bottle of wine came out of a portal that opened just above his hand.


    He stepped closer to Cassius.


    "Make him drink this. It will suppress his powers without taking them away. Then we can help him. He''ll be able to think clearly. We can finally get the old Lucifer back. Do you think you can do it?" Xaen asked softly.


    Cassius took the bottle from Xaen. "This will help him?"


    "It will. And I can guarantee that. It won''t harm him either. Can you do it?"


    Cassius observed the bottle for a brief moment before nodding his head. "I will do it. If it can help him, I''ll do it."


    "Good boy," Xaen smirked, patting the shoulder of Cassius. "We already know where he''ll being next. Let me send you there."


    He opened a portal before Cassius.


    Cassius stepped inside the portal, taking a deep breath. The portal closed behind him.


    Stepping out of the portal, he found himself in the auditorium.


    "The ce where he first met Xaen... It''s also the ce where he first met me," Cassius muttered as he walked to the same seat where he sat in the past.


    He ced the wine bottle on the seat beside him.


    Thud~


    A few minutes after Cassius sat on the chair, the door opened.


    The sound of footsteps started getting closer. Cassius didn''t even look back to know who had arrived.


    Lucifer walked to the front row. He also took the same seat that he had taken during the initiation ceremony.


    "May I ask what you''re doing here?" Lucifer asked, without even looking at Cassius. "Are you siding with Xaen against me?"


    "I will never side against you," Cassius answered. "I''m just here to meet you. Don''t tell me you thought only Xaen would know the ce where you two first met?"


    "If you''re here to stop me, you''re going to have a rude awakening. Leave. If Xaen isn''t here in five minutes, I''ll destroy the academy. I won''t care if you''re here or not."


    Lucifer folded his arms and closed his eyes as he started waiting.

 Chapter 727 - 727

    "I''m here to side with you. I don''t know what you''re trying to do, but I''ll always side with a friend in any case," Cassius informed Lucifer. "If you want to fight against him, I''ll be right beside you fighting your enemies."


    Lucifer didn''t respond. He didn''t even bother opening his eyes. Time kept trickling away.


    "This academy has so many precious memories for both of us. Soon it''s going to be gone forever..."


    He stood up and walked closer to Lucifer with the bottle of wine in his hand.


    "I still remember the first day I saw you here. You were the first person who dared to talk to me here and approach me. Soon you were called on the stage with the others. I also remember the song you sang there. Do you remember it?"


    "I can''t believe how fast things changed. That day, Xaen was the brightest star for us. He was the strongest being that we couldn''t even hope to stand before. He awarded you as well. However, today we will be fighting him if he arrives."


    "Are you done?" Lucifer asked, finally opening his eyes. "I''m not here to talk about the past. The five minutes are going to be up."


    "There''s still a couple of minutes left. I want to stay here for as long as the ce is standing. I want to be here when it''s destroyed as well."


    "May I ask what''s in your hand?" Lucifer asked.


    "Oh, this? Heh, this is something I had bought for you when we were at the academy. I was about to give this to you on your eighteenth birthday. Who knew that you would have to leave the academy before that." Cassius sighed.


    "This bottle was collecting dust in my room. Since I bought this for us to drink during our academy years, I thought we could share a drink before this ce was gone..."


    "What do you say?"


    Lucifer looked at the bottle of wine in the hands of Cassius.


    "Cassius, you want to know a secret?" Lucifer asked, standing up.


    "What?"


    Lucifer walked closer to Cassius. He took the bottle from Cassius and opened it.


    "When I was in this Academy, I was an idiot. But I was a happy idiot. I had everything I could''ve needed. I had friends, and I had a family. I also had an opportunity to study at the greatest Academy. It was like a dream for me at that time."


    "The time was really fun most of the time. You were right. Things changed so much in such a short time."


    "The academy, which was precious to me because the ce I personally need to destroy. The friends that I believed I could trust my life with started lying to me. Things really changed more than I expected."


    "What?" Cassius asked, seemingly confused.


    "You knew me when I was someone else. You knew my other self. But you weren''t the only one. I knew you better than anyone else as well. You think I won''t know when you''re lying?" Lucifer asked, sighing.


    "What lie?"


    "You said you heard my words on the news. That means you also saw me kill Franci. The Cassius I knew would never talk like this after seeing that. He would never be so calm unless he had an agenda of his own." Lucifer turned his back on Cassius.


    "Let me guess. There''s poison in this wine, and Xaen sent you there to use you against me? Isn''t that right?"


    "What are you saying? That''s not true. There''s no poison in the wine!"


    "I''m really disappointed in you, Cassius. Still, I would let you live. Run away and nevere before me. Because the next time I see you, I might not leave you alive."


    "I''m telling you! There''s no poison! Let me prove it if you''re so suspicious!"


    Cassius snatched the bottle of wine from Lucifer and started drinking without thinking twice.


    He was told that the wine wasn''t poisonous. It was just something that could suppress someone''s abilities momentarily. He didn''t care if he had to suppress his abilities as well, as long as he could stop Lucifer before he was too far gone.


    He drank half the bottle alone before stopping.


    "See? Happy now?" Cassius asked. Even though he was acting calm, he was feeling a strange tingling sensation all over his body. His legs were getting weak.


    He ced the bottle of wine on the ground, sighing. "I can''t believe you would doubt me even after all we went through."


    He sat on the chair, giving rest to his legs. Even though he sat for a different reason, he acted like he sat because he was disappointed.


    Lucifer observed Cassius, who truly seemed fine.


    "It''s alright. I don''t me you. You''ve really changed. It''s not your fault. I''m the idiot who thought we were still the same old friends who can drink together without doubting each other. I was wrong. Go ahead. Destroy the academy and me with it. I don''t care anymore."


    "Alright. I''ll drink it. Pick it up and give it to me personally."


    "No need. Don''t drink it. I don''t care anymore. In fact, why don''t you just destroy it."


    Lucifer shook his head as he stepped closer to the bottle of wine. He picked it up and sat beside Cassius.


    "I''m sorry. I guess I was a little too frustrated because of what Xaen did. I won''t doubt you. I''ll drink it."


    "What did Xaen do? You mean him taking away your stones?"


    "I wouldn''t have been this angry over the stones. It''s what he did to Eve. He set up a trap in my home. When she went to meet Grandpa Chi, there was an exposition."


    " Eve is probably badly hurt. Moreover, he has stolen her body from the hospital as well."


    "He did that? Really?"


    "You think I''m lying?" Lucifer asked.


    He raised the bottle and started drinking the wine. Before long, he finished the rest of the bottle before Cassius came to his senses and pushed the bottle away from Lucifer''s hands.


    The bottle of wine shattered after falling to the ground.


    "What?" Lucifer looked back at Cassius, confused.


    "You need to get out of here fast! Xaen fooled both of us!?He lied to me about you and made me give you the drugged wine! Get out before the effects start taking ce?"


    "Effects?" Lucifer stood up stunned but soon fell on his knees.


    "You''re toote, kids." A pleased voice came from the stage as a Portal opened up.


    Xaen stepped out of the portal, seemingly amused.

 Chapter 728 - 728

    "The effects start as soon as it goes to your throat. It''s already toote. I suppose I should really thank you, Cassius. You made things so easy for me. Thank you so much."


    "You lied to me!" Cassius yelled; however, he couldn''t stand up either. He couldn''t even move his finger.


    "Lucifer, you called me here. I epted your invitation. I thought I''d be met with a fierce warrior, but you''re already on your knees? Such a disappointment." Xaen stepped closer to Lucifer.


    "Then again, I can''t me you. This friendship and trust is something that can defeat anyone. Even the strongest of beings fall before family, friends, and emotions. So don''t me yourself."


    "Where is Eve?" Lucifer asked, ring at Xaen.


    "Fascinating. Even in such a condition, you''re more concerned about us. I knew you cared for her, but it seems like your rtionship isn''t that simple. You love her, don''t you?"


    "Where is she? I''ll ask onest time!"


    "You''re still trying to threaten me? Even when you''re like this? Did you even know what you just drank? That wine is something which can turn a Variant into an ordinary human."


    "Now, you''re nothing more than an ordinary human. You think you can threaten me?"


    "In any case, you''re nothing now. Don''t you think it would''ve been amazing if everyone had allowed me to remove your abilities the nice way? You wouldn''t have to die now, would you?"


    "But now I have no choice. You threatened me in public. I need to kill you to calm the chaotic atmosphere in the city. Hope you don''t me me for it."


    Xaen reached out his hand towards the neck of Lucifer.


    Just as his hand was about to touch Lucifer''s throat, Lucifer raised his head. He looked deep into the eyes of Xaen.


    "I asked you where she is?" Lucifer asked as he grabbed the wrist of Xaen.


    "Hmm?" Xaen was momentarily stunned. How did Lucifer have so much strength even now? The wine was supposed to eradicate his power.


    "It didn''t affect you?" Xaen asked, frowning. He disappeared immediately and appeared ten steps behind Lucifer.


    "So it was a trick of yours. You pretended to drink it!"


    "Trying to run?" Lucifer asked, standing up. "Let me borrow a line from you. It''s toote now. I''ve covered this whole ce in Energy Negation. You can''t call your portals."


    "Without portals, you can''t do long-range teleportation to ces which you can''t see. So you can only Teleport inside this room. How''s my preparation?" Lucifer asked.


    "How do you know so much about my abilities?'' Xaen asked, frustrated.


    He was sure no one knew about the limitation of his ordinary Teleportation that didn''t need a portal. How did Lucifer know?


    "A special person told me everything about you. I knew what kind of person you were after she told me. You won''t hesitate to fall to any length to take out your enemies."


    "Also, you were right about something. Trust can make even the greatest of Warriors fall. Unfortunately for you, I''ve seen that happen first hand, how even the closest of your friends can push you to death." He nced back at Cassius.


    "If even after knowing what happened to my father, I drank something unknown and risked my life just because a friend said so, there won''t be a bigger idiot than me in this world."


    He showed his thumb, which was bare. There were no gloves over his thing and a couple of his fingers.


    When his fingers were sliced by Franci, the finger part of the gloves was sliced as well. He used the same to decay the wine while pouring it into his mouth.


    At the same time, he slowed down the time of the wine to make sure not even a single droplet fell into his mouth.


    "As I said, I''m disappointed in you. You already epted that Xaen lied to you, but that doesn''t make it alright. You betrayed me because a stranger said something to you. You''re no different than Varant and Raia were to my father."


    Cassius lowered his head in shame. "I won''t say sorry because it won''t matter at this point. It was my fault."


    "You already received your punishment by losing your abilities. I won''t go as far as killing you."


    Lucifer walked closer to Xaen and grabbed him by his right hand, which had intact gloves.


    He tightened his grip and raised Xaen in the air.


    "You said trust and friends can make even the strongest fall. You know what else can do that?" he asked Xaen, who teleported once again, appearing in another corner of the room.


    He couldn''t Teleport outside the room. He was like a rat trapped in a cage. However, he could teleport inside to keep himself safe.


    "What?" he asked.


    "Pure strength. Pure strength can destroy anything that stands in its path. With strength, you don''t need to scheme. I suppose I had forgotten that momentarily. I was corrupted by the knowledge I received and started thinking otherwise. I should thank you for making me remember my mistakes!"


    Lucifer waved his hand. A wind de sliced the cheeks of Xaen, leaving a bleeding mark behind.


    "I''m going to enjoy it more than I should." Lucifer smiled as he waved his hand again.


    Xaen Teleported as soon as he saw the gesture of Lucifer, knowing another Wind de wasing.


    Fortunately, he disappeared at the right time. He noticed a scratch on his left wrist. If he were a littlete, his left hand would''ve been cut.


    "If you kill me, you''ll never find where the girl and your Grandfather are!" Xaen told Lucifer, feeling a bit scared.


    He kept his eyes on Lucifer, following his every gesture to know when to Teleport to survive.


    "Do I really need you to know that? They''re still on this ind. After I kill you, I will have all the time in the world to find them. Give me one reason why I shouldn''t kill you?"


    "You can never find them without my help! I kept them in such a ce that you can''t find even if you searched for a hundred years! Moreover, I also know the whereabouts of your stones! You think you can find them on this vast ind after you kill me?!"


    Lucifer rubbed the back of his neck, shaking his head. "You''re right. I can''t kill you. You''re too important to be killed. But who says I can''t get my entertainment without killing you?"


    He snapped his fingers. Xaen noticed the movement of Lucifer and Teleported to a different spot in the room.


    Albeit, he waste. He Teleported to another part of the room, but his finger was left behind. It was cut before he could Teleport.


    "Argh~"


    He felt the pain that made him grunt.

 Chapter 729 - 729:

    "I am really going to enjoy it, you know," Lucifer told Xaen, walking casually towards Xaen.


    "You really tricked me this time," Xaen said as he kept stepping back. Blood droplets kept falling on the ground.


    "Where is Eve? I''m asking you onest time! After this, every time I repeat the question, I''ll cut a part of your body. If you want to stay intact, you better be fast," Lucifer warned Xaen.


    Even though he was acting like he wasn''t desperate for the answer, it wasn''t the case. His Energy Negation was too heavy on his body. It was like a ck hole that kept sucking his energy at a rapid speed, mostly because it was a corrupt skill.


    "You want an answer? I have no reason to hide it. She is in a secret base of mine along with your grandpa. There''s only one way to enter the base, that is if I take you through my portal," Xaen exined.


    "Tell me the location."


    "You think you can find the location without my help? I''ve set up a system around my base. As soon as anyone is detected to be moving towards the ce, the entire thing will explode."


    "The ce also has no door. The only way to even get close to that ce is through my Portals.*


    "It seems like I have no other choice but to let you use it once then."


    Hearing Lucifer''s words, a glint shed in the eyes of Xaen.


    "If you think that''s what I was going to say, then you are wrong." Lucifer let out, waving his fingers again.


    A de came out of nowhere, slicing the left wrist of Xaen''s hands just like Franci had done with him.


    Argh~


    Xaen groaned in pain. He Teleported once again, appearing behind Lucifer.


    Instead of running away from Lucifer, he decided to attack him instead. He knew that running away wasn''t an option anymore.


    The door was also locked, so he couldn''t even open it.


    He appeared near a chair and held it firmly before disappearing again.


    Before Lucifer could locate him, he appeared behind him, swinging the chair.


    Thud~


    The chair smashed on the head of Lucifer with enough force to make his head bleed. His body flew back, falling far away.


    Lucifer rubbed the back of his head, standing up. His blood had covered his beautiful silver hair, leaving a darker spot behind him.


    "Don''t tell me you really thought that''s the best choice of action?" he asked Xaen, who once again disappeared.


    He once again appeared behind Lucifer, prepared to hit him. However, this time Lucifer expected it. He turned around, grabbing the chair with his left hand. The chair started decaying.


    With his other hand, he grabbed the throat of Xaen; however, Xaen disappeared again.


    A kicknded on the neck of Lucifer, making him lose bnce.


    "So your n is to force me to kill you? Or do you think I won''t kill you because I need my answers?"


    "I think I''ve understood you to some extent. That girl is special to you. You won''t kill me until you know where she is."


    "And you think you can kill me because of that?" Lucifer asked, frowning.


    "Not at all. Only an idiot would think they can kill you with just measly Teleportation."


    "Then what was your n?" Lucifer asked, frowning. "You just want to waste my time?"


    Just as Lucifer finished asking his question, his frown deepened as he noticed the smirk on the face of Xaen before he disappeared once again.


    "Y-" he couldn''t even speak his next word before a loud noise filled the entire hall.


    The locked door broke open as a bulky man stepped inside the hall.


    The door was open, giving Xaen the sight g outside.


    Xaen Teleported outside the room and kept teleporting as he ran away.


    "No!" Lucifer ran behind Xaen, but it was toote. The man was gone.


    me of anger was ignited in his heart.


    "Arghh!" He roared out loud like he was going crazy. After much scheming, he had managed to trap Xaen, but the guy had run away.


    "You! You made him run!" Lucifer red at the man who had barged inside.


    A bulky man was standing before Lucifer with his hands on his waist. The man had long dark hair and a frown on his face. There were a couple of scars on his face as well.


    "I don''t know what you''re talking about, but what I do know is that you''re not the same Alex I knew. You''ve lost your sanity. I watched you kill Franci and invite Xaen here. I personally came to take you down!"


    "Teacher Yovann, you don''t understand. It''s all because of Dean Xaen! He caused all this!" Cassius chimed in weakly.


    "I don''t know what he did and what he didn''t. All I know is that my friend Franci was killed by him. Someone who can kill his own teacher? He doesn''t deserve to live!" Yovann dered.


    "I decide who deserves to live and who doesn''t!" Lucifer roared. He was already angry that Xaen had run away because of Yovann, but now this man was threatening him?


    "When I invited you to join my family, I thought you would be a great man when you be older. Who knew I was so wrong. It''s time I rectify my mistake of not being there when you killed Franci!''


    Yovann clenched his fist, smacking them together.


    Lucifer stood before Yovann like a devil reincarnate. He waspletely engulfed in anger, so much so that he wasn''t thinking straight. He couldn''t kill Yovann instantly, but now he wanted to hurt Yovann.


    He flew towards Yovann. Yovann jerked his shoulders, prepared for the sh.


    "In the yearly tests, we went easy on you. But this time we won''t. You aren''t a student today! You are an enemy, and that''s how you''ll be treated!"


    He moved his right shoulder back, gathering momentum. He wanted to destroy Lucifer with this one punch itself. He didn''t want to hold anything back.


    Even Lucifer wasn''t going to hold back.


    His fist shed with the fist of Yovann. Just the pressure from the impact was enough to create a windstorm inside the hall. Chairs flew with the wind. Even Cassius dropped to the ground, unable to stand up.


    Woosh~


    A figure could be seen flying back. Yovann flew out the ball, crashing on the wall.


    Lucifer flew to Yovann, grabbing him by the neck before smashing him on the floor.. An enormous crater appeared under the two of them, but Lucifer didn''t stop.

 Chapter 730 - 730:

    He kept raising the man and smashing his body on the ground again and again.


    Yovann could feel that a few of his bones were broken.


    Finallying to his senses, he kicked the chest of Lucifer, shattering his ribs.


    Lucifer didn''t free the throat of Yovann even then. He raised Yovann and flew high in the sky with Yovann as he kept punching the man again and again as if he was going to destroy the manpletely.


    Yovann''s face waspletely unrecognizable. There was blood all over his face. His nose was broken, and his face had started swelling. Some of his teeth were also broken.


    Before long, Yovann was dead from the punches itself as his neck was broken, but Lucifer still kept punching the man, not even caring that he had died.


    He kept hitting the man, only to stop when he felt something off. His body was suddenly pulled down.


    Thud~


    Lucifer crashed on the concrete road in front of the academy. There was a mysterious force acting on his body which was enough to overwhelm his flying ability.


    His body was feeling so heavy that he couldn''t even stand, let alone fly.


    He raised his eyes, looking around. The body of Yovann was lying near his feet, unmoving, but the body flew away on its own.


    Itnded near the feet of a violet-haireddy that was wearing an oversized coat.


    The woman checked the nerves of Yovann, sighing as she shook her head.


    "He is dead; we were toote," she said, looking at a man near her.


    A young man with goat-like horns was standing near her. His beautiful golden eyes seemed disappointed.


    "First Franci and now Yovann... I don''t know what happened to our dear student, but we can''t let it go on. We need to stop him." Alexi said.


    Mirali nodded her head as she stood up, observing Lucifer.


    "Alexi and Mirali, only you two were missing," Lucifer said, smiling. "Let me guess; I''m on the ground; that must mean Morbius is here too?"


    "You have fallen too far. I''m very disappointed in you." A grim voice came from the other side of Lucifer.


    Lucifer turned his gaze, bursting into a crazyughter. "There you are!"


    A man was standing before his gaze,pletely surrounded by armor. Even his face was hidden by a metallic mask.


    A violet mist was surrounding his left fist. He clenched his fist, applying even more pressure on Lucifer as he started walking towards him.


    "The entire gang is here, it seems. Only Xaen is missing. Why don''t you all call him here as well?" Lucifer asked.


    "We don''t listen to murderers."


    "Murderers like you all? The heads of the Great Families? You think I don''t know how many dark secrets you keep hidden in your closet?" Lucifer asked.


    He ced both his hands on the ground and pushed his body up, resisting all the pressure that was acting on his body.


    "Most of the time, the ones who act the most virtuous are the ones with the most skeletons in their backyard!"


    "You don''t deserve to stand before us!" Mirali said, watching Lucifer slowly push his body up.


    She raised her right hand in the air and made a circle with her finger.


    Five arrows came out of the energy circle and flew high in the sky before turning around. The arrows came back to Lucifer.


    One of the arrows impaled his left knee, pinning it into the ground. The other arrow impaled his right knee. The third arrow did the same with his left elbow, while the fourth impaled his right elbow.


    As for thest arrow, it impaled his shoulder.


    Lucifer''s entire body was pinned to the ground. Heid t on the ground with his face down, unable to stand.


    However, the grin on his face didn''t disappear. It just kept getting wider and wider as the hint of madness flickered in his eyes.


    "Lucifer, I wish you hadn''t killed Franci and Yovann; we could''ve let you live. We would''ve given you some imprisonment at worst, but you would''ve been alive. However, things have gotten out of hand now. Please don''t me us now.


    Alexi was thest person. Two beautiful bird-like wings came out of his back as he flew towards Lucifer.


    He flew above Lucifer. After taking a deep breath, he opened his mouth. A small speck of fire could be seen inside his mouth.


    He breathed out the fire from his mouth. It was as if a storm of mes was falling on Lucifer, destroying his body slowly.


    Morbius kept Lucifer under immense pressure, keeping his body down. Mirali kept his body pinned to the ground. At the same time, Alexi burned his body.


    It was like a perfect team effort to burn Lucifer''s body to ashes.


    ...


    In a different corner of the city, Xaen appeared inside a hospital, carrying his fingers with his hand.


    "Doctor! I''m going to need some help" He got the best doctor to help him.


    The doctor took Xaen to the operation theater to attach his fingers again.


    For Xaen, having his body back as normal was more important than anything. He didn''t even know that Lucifer was already pinned down to the ground, and it was the best opportunity for him to take advantage.


    Instead, he was distracted in his treatment.


    Without giving him any anesthesia, the doctors started the operation.


    ...


    Back at the Triton continent, the guests from Antis have located one of the men that they were looking for.


    ording to what they were told, Lucifer had run away with some rebels. They were shown the images of the remnant of the Warlock Council.


    They also managed to locate one of them.


    Kellian was following the two men. Even he was stunned to know that these people were here. It was none other than the home of Jian. He had assumed that Jian would''ve gone into hiding after knowing about what happened, but he was here?


    Kellian had a feeling that this was a trap, but he didn''t warn the guests from Antis. It was better if the two sides had enmity. If the two men were killed, he didn''t care. In the end, both sides were their enemies.


    The Minister of Antisnded before the mansion.


    "They werest seen entering the mansion just recently. It looks like the mission will end today. Prepare for a possible battle," the man said before he pushed the door open.


    He stepped inside the mansion, expecting the unexpected.


    Kellian''s shadow followed the two of them, hiding in their shadows, wondering what the trap was going to be, if there was any.

 Chapter 731 - 731

    As soon as Kellian entered the building with the two guests from Antis, a loud explosion took ce inside the mansion.


    One after another, multiple explosions took ce, destroying the entire mansion from the root.


    Whatever was left of the mansion came crashing down in the explosion.


    There was no movement for a long time.


    A small door opened in the Ground at some distance from the destroyed Mansion.


    A group of men stepped out of the opening in the ground and observed the rubble before them.


    "You were right. They certainly came for you, it seems."


    "I don''t think it''s something to be surprised about. If I were in their ce, I would''ve done the same. For them, we''re the enemies that survived their onught. We''re the biggest threat for them. Of course, they''lle after us."


    There stood seven men. All remnants of the Warlock Council leaders had gathered at this city after receiving the invitation from Jian. Here they tried to n a way to get back inside the Zeston while setting up an ambush here, waiting for the enemies.


    "The battle isn''t over yet," Jian said, sighing. "I don''t think the person who led the charge against the Warlock Council would''ve personallye here. He probably sent his men. Their main forces would still be in Zeston."


    "This is just a small victory, I agree. But this opens up a door for a lot more. Now we can send one of us, disguised as them. We would have a way in."


    Jian nodded but stopped abruptly as he noticed something in the distance.


    The pieces of rubble had started floating in the air, moving aside.


    After enough rubble was moved from the top, two spherical barriers came into sight. Two men were standing inside the barriers, standing on the floating skateboard.


    There was not a single wound on their body as they stood perfectly fine.


    The two of them started rising in the air, observing the Warlock Council remnants.


    Hidden in their Shadows, the shadow of Kellian was also safe.


    Kellian couldn''t believe that all the remnants of the Warlock Council were here. Just what kind of idiots were they? If he had known that they were all going to wait here likembs, he would''ve convinced Lucifer toe here first to finish them.


    "It''s good that you''re all here. I won''t need to waste my time! Where is he?" the old man asked. "In the name of Antis, Imand you to tell me the whereabouts of your silver-haired partner!"


    "Who?" Everyone looked confused at the old man.


    "It looks like you won''t answer nicely. It''s alright. I have other ways to get my answers." The old man said.


    ...


    On a different Ind, the battle between Eve and Jestor was getting intense. Eve''s Energy Negation wasn''t having the desired effect in stopping Jestor.


    He could Teleport wherever he wanted. Since he had a longer range of Teleportation, he had an inherent advantage over Milena, who was trying all she could to catch Jestor, only to fail so far.


    Jestor was like a ghost that was being very clever about where to appear and how to attack.


    The only way Eve was still able to stand was because she was extremely fast, but even then, she was having a hard time. There were many cuts all over her body.


    Her clothes were also wet as she was left at the bottom of the ocean by Jestor quite a lot of time.


    "You are just wasting your time. You can''t defeat me like this. I''m still being nice. Don''t make me get serious! Hand over the stone!" Eve warned Lucifer.


    "I''m sorry, but there is no way I''ll be giving you the stone," Jestor said, appearing behind Eve. Eve stepped aside, protecting her heart from being stabbed.


    "You asked for it," she said, grabbing Jestor''s wrist in return. She crushed the wrist of Jestor before he could Teleport away.


    The Sword of Jestor dropped to the ground as his left wrist was crushed.


    "I told him that I''m going to act nice and not act out, but if that''s what you want to do, then you can''t me me!" Eve said as he started rising in the air.


    "You''re good," Jestor said, looking at his crushed wrist. "And you also have an advantage with your Energy Negation and other abilities. You seemed to be blessed with a number of abilities."


    "I didn''t expect I would see another person like this after Lucifer. But the way you use your blessings, that''s disappointing."


    "Did you just say Lucifer and many other abilities?" Eve asked, frowning.


    "Yeah, why? You know him?"


    "If you''re talking about the same Lucifer with silver hair and too many abilities to count, then yeah. He''s the reason I''m here, after all. He needs that stone?"


    "You''re lying," Jestor eximed. "Why would he send you here? He knows me. All he needs is to talk to me, and I would''ve given a mere stone to him."


    "Why would I lie to you?" Eve asked, rolling her eyes. "You''re not strong enough for me to trick you."


    "If you''re telling me the truth, then call him and let me talk to him. If It''s the truth, I won''t think twice before giving you the stone. I''ll also forgive you for hurting my wrist."


    "I still don''t understand how you know him. I don''t think he ever came here, but still. If that will make you give the stone to me without wasting my time, I''m more than happy to do it."


    Milena brought her phone out and dialed a number, but it didn''t connect.


    The sses in Lucifer''s pocket were already crushed as his body was pinned to the ground.


    She called Kellian instead.


    "What?" Kellian asked as soon as he picked up the call. He was slightly busy, so straight got to the point.


    "Can you connect me with Lucifer? My call isn''t getting through?"


    "Why do you need to talk to him? He might be busy?"


    "Well, someone here wants to talk to him in exchange for giving the stone to me without fighting. Just get me through to him."


    "Alright, wait a minute."


    He tried to connect the call to Lucifer himself, but it didn''t work for him either.


    "I can''t get through to him either. It''s odd," He told Milena, frowning. "Give me a second. I''ll try to see what happened to him. I''ll contact youter."


    "Wait, what would I do until the-"


    Beep~


    The call was already disconnected even while she was sleeping.

 Chapter 732 - 732

    Kellian tried to contact Lucifer, but no matter how much he tried, he couldn''t connect.


    He tried to contact Eve as well, but it didn''t work either.


    He ced Kane on thest of locating the ce where the signal wasst active to see what might be the case while keeping his focus on the people from Antis.


    Within a few minutes, Kane contacted Kellian again. "I found him. I am sending you the visuals. I think you should see them."


    The screen before Kellian turned on showing a Satellite image of the ce where Lucifer was pinned to the ground while three people surrounded him.


    "He''s caught?" Kellian eximed, stunned.


    "It seems that way. I don''t know how it''s possible, though. We can try to send people there to help him, but it would be toote by the time anyone could get there," Kane responded.


    Kellian rubbed his forehead, trying to think of a way to help Lucifer. Soon the visuals changed, showing a different scene where a storm of fire covered Lucifer''s body.


    "I think it''s toote. If he had a way, he would''ve been out by now," Kane said. "You made a mistake by letting him go alone."


    ...


    On the other end of the stream, Lucifer was still on the ground.?His body was being burned by fire as he remained unable to move, but Lucifer didn''t make any noise.


    "He isn''t making any noise. Is he already dead?" Mirali asked. She couldn''t see Lucifer inside the barrage of me.


    "He should already be dead now. No matter how strong he is, his body is still mortal. It should be turned to ashes by now," Morbius chimed in. "Alexi, you can stop now."


    Alexi closed his mouth andnded back on the ground. The fire soon disappeared, clearing the site.


    As the fire disappeared, everyone saw only an empty spot on the ground, which seemed scorched. The five arrows were still pinned to the ground, but there was nobody there.


    "As I said, not even his ashes are left," Morbius said, shaking his head. "If only we were a little faster, Franci and Yovann wouldn''t have been dead."


    "Don''t me yourself. Who could''ve imagined that the kid would suddenly be a psychopath," Mirali said. "Even I didn''t expect this for him when we were teaching him. He was so different from what he became."


    "That just shows us how fast people can change," Alexi said, sighing. "We should teach morals to the students as well so they don''t be like him after growing up."


    "Agreed. People like him don''t deserve to live amongst us." Another voice chimed in, making everyone stunned.


    Morbius turned around towards the voice, only to find a person who was standing just a few inches away from him. He could see the emotionless eyes that were a mixture of two different colors.


    "Y-" He couldn''t even react to the sudden shock before his neck was grabbed by Lucifer.


    Lucifer''s hands turned into sharp ws, which easily prated the chest te of Morbius. His ws entered the chest of Morbius.


    "Urgh~"


    Morbius grunted in pain, but he didn''t do anything as his life was in the hands of Lucifer.


    "Stop!" Mirali yelled as she created another circle.


    This time, two arrows show out.


    "Sweet dreams." Lucifer''s emotionless voice echoed in Morbius''s ears.


    Lucifer turned to the arrows that were flying towards him.


    "That should be enough." He raised his left hand towards the arrows, snapping his fingers. A lightning wall appeared before him.


    The two arrows turned to avoid the wall as if they were clever. They avoided the wall before reaching closer to Lucifer.


    Lucifer shed a smile as he brought Morbius''s body before him right before the arrows were about to hit him.


    Morbius was still not killed by him; however, the arrows prated the body of Morbius, killing him on the spot.


    "I deserve death for killing Franci and Yovann. You deserve death for killing Morbius now. It seems we''re both fighting for justice at this point," Lucifer told Mirali as he tossed the body of Morbius away.


    He started walking towards Mirali. With each step of his, a lightning bolt fell above Mirali, who struggled to avoid the boltsing from the sky.


    Lucifer kept walking towards Mirali as if his feet were inplete sync with the bolts.


    Mirali couldn''t fly, so she struggled even more to avoid the bolts.


    Swiss~


    Fortunately, Alexi swept in. He held Mirali by her waist as he flew away, avoiding all the bolts the best he could.


    "We can''t face him alone. There are just too many unknown things about him, it seems. We need to get out of here and make a better n!" Alexi told Mirali, asionally looking back at Lucifer, who was standing on his usual spot now. He wasn''t following them.


    "Three of us were killed by one man who used to study under him. Can we even defeat him?" Mirali asked, a bit shaken after what had happened.


    "I believe we can. You want to know why?"


    "Why?"


    "Because he''s not the person we taught. He''s physically the same, but mentally he is different. That means he doesn''t take our teaching seriously. He''s corrupt now and forgot what we taught him."


    "I taught him that a person should never be too confident in their strength, and it''s not embarrassing to run away when we''re in danger. He forgot both. He isn''t giving with his head; instead, he''s thinking with his strength."


    "People like him are the hardest to defeat face to face, but the same rigid people can fall under the Art of Tricks."


    "It would''ve been harder to n against him if he was our same old student who remembered what we taught him while possessing all this strength, but that''s not the case with him!"


    "I think we can take advantage of this. But we''ll need the help of Xaen and others. We can''t do it alone!" Alexi told Mirali as he kept zooming away.


    Before long, he disappeared from Lucifer''s site, who didn''t follow them.


    Lucifer just watched the two of them run, letting them live intentionally.


    "Run... Run straight to Xaen..." he muttered. "Let me see where that guy is hiding."


    Even though he wasn''t following them, looking like an arrogant person, a shadow of him was still following Mirali and Alexi.


    The two of them were like rats that he left to find their master.


    He turned towards the academy, observing his hand. His left gloves were destroyedpletely, along with his right ones. His hands werepletely bare.


    Fortunately, his clothes were still intact.


    He patted his chest with the back of his hand, shaking his head. "Destroyed."


    He could feel the crushed pieces of the sses in his pocket.

 Chapter 733 - 733

    <h4>Chapter 733 - 733</h4>


    He brought the sses out of the pocket, only to find thempletely shattered.


    He crushed whatever was left of the sses in his hand before tossing it away. He walked back to the body of Yovann and Morbius but didn''t stop there. Instead, he walked past them.


    The bodies started rising in the air behind him and followed him. He stepped inside the hall, walking back to the chamber where he had shed with Xaen.


    The entire hall was in a mess because of the sh that took ce here.


    He walked closer to the stage, noticing Cassius was still lying on the ground. His eyes were open, but he wasn''t able to stand up at the moment.


    Lucifer stepped closer to Xaen. He raised his finger casually, making the body of Cassius stand before him.


    Cassius gazed at Lucifer, not knowing if he should be happy that Xaen didn''t seed in this scheme or be sad that he fell for the trick and became so weak.


    "I want to ask you one thing. Do you know where Eve is?" Lucifer asked, frowning.


    Even though he believed Cassius didn''t know, he still asked.


    "I don''t know. I didn''t even know she was here, let alone be captured. I made the biggest mistake of my life by trusting Xaen."


    "That you certainly did." Lucifer nodded. "So you can''t use any powers of yours?"


    "I can''t even feel it. Let alone powers; I doubt I could even stand without your help. I am really sorry for what I did."


    "You know what''s the value of a sorry?" Lucifer asked, turning his back on Cassius.


    "A sorry can''t send you back in time to right all wrongs. A sorry can''t bring back the dead. A sorry wouldn''t have kept me safe if I had believed you."


    "Every day, I am being proven wrong. You know why?" he asked Cassius.


    "Why?" Cassius asked.


    "There was a part in me that made me think like things could be different with me than they were with my parents. A hope that I could have people I can trust without having to look over my shoulders."


    "A hope of having something close to a family and not just people who worked for me. But there was another part in me that knew it wasn''t possible."


    " It told me to not fall for human emotions and give people a weakness. I didn''t listen to it for the most part and let myself fall farther and farther inside."


    "I really need to thank you for removing that doubt and that hope I had in my heart. Thank you for making me realize how stupid I was being. Thank you for making me remember that I''m still alone and can be betrayed anytime by anyone. Thank you for everything."


    "I-"


    "Nope. Don''t say anything. There''s nothing left to be said. Everything is crystal clear now."


    He started flying up, leaving the academy with Cassius and the bodies of the two teachers.


    After getting far enough, he ced the body of Cassius on the ground before turning back to the Academy of Gifted Variants.


    Electricity flickered in his eyes as a blinding sh appeared in the sky, which forced Cassius to close his eyes.


    There was a mighty roar of the clouds while Cassius kept his eyes closed.


    By the time he opened his eyes, the sky was back to normal, but nothing was left behind. The academy wasn''t there anymore. Only some rubble could be seen behind. The mighty academy of Gifted Variants was destroyed in its entirety.


    "People should be here soon. Just give them a signal. They should send you back."


    Lucifer started leaving.


    "Where are you going now?" Cassius asked, sighing.


    Lucifer nced at Cassius but didn''t reply. He flew away with the bodies.


    In a faraway continent, Kellian was seemingly pleased to see that Lucifer was fine.


    He breathed a sigh of relief, but suddenly his face started twitching.


    "Fuck!" he cursed out loud as he closed the screen suddenly.


    In their worries for Lucifer, he had forgotten that he wasn''t supposed to see Lucifer because the data could''ve been essed by the guests from Antis.


    He hoped that it didn''t affect things too much since the guests were busy with the Warlock Council.


    He connected to his shadow again, surprised that no battle was going on at the moment.


    Instead, the Antis Minister was standing with a frown on his face.


    There was a hologram before him, which was showing Lucifer.


    "Where is he?" he asked.


    "This...?"


    Jian immediately recognized the hologram of Lucifer. It was the face that was imprinted in his mind from the moment the witnesses made a portrait of him.


    He was the only culprit of his parents'' death that he couldn''t find. In fact, he has tried toe up with all the assumptions about how this guy might look after thirty years so he could find him.


    Seeing Lucifer, he believed that this guy was the son of the person he wanted to find since he looked mostly the same.


    The only difference was the eyes. He was told that the killed had beautiful blue eyes, but the person in the hologram had only one blue eye, the other being violet.


    Seeing Lucifer, Jian believed that he had found a way to locate the killer of his father.


    "Who is this boy? Tell me this instant!" he yelled at the old man.


    "Hmm?" The old man was slightly stunned. Seeing this hologram, why did Jian act like this? Why did he seem like he wanted to kill this guy and didn''t recognize him? He didn''t feel that Jian was pretending.


    He couldn''t help but doubt if what he was told was true. Either this guy was a great actor, or he truly didn''t know Lucifer.


    "You''re telling me you don''t know him? He''s a leader of the Warlock Council of yours."


    "I know all the leaders. He isn''t one. Tell me the truth! Who is he, and where can I find him?"


    The old man opened his mouth to speak something when a loud beeping noise attracted his attention.


    He looked down as the sound wasing from the gloves.


    He grazed his fingers on the gloves.


    "Scanning of all the databasespleted. Signs of maniption discovered." A feminine voice came.


    "The corrupt pieces of data have been recovered. Do you want to see it?"


    "Show me," The old man said.


    "Corrupt data?" The Antis Soldier asked the old man.


    "Yeah, it was a bit odd that all the data was deleted."

 Chapter 734 - 734

    <h4>Chapter 734 - 734</h4>


    "It was possible that servers were destroyed in the fight, but still, it seemed a bit odd. In a quick scan, everything seemed normal at the moment."


    " Still, I asked Ai to use a thorough scan, just for peace of mind."


    The Youngster nodded. " So that''s why it took her so long. No wonder. But still, for someone to be so thorough that even Ai couldn''t detect it at initial nce, that''s surprising."


    Jian and his friends remained confused about what these people were talking about. Their words seemed odd, but they waited and didn''t attack.


    In the background, Kellian wasn''t happy. These people were really too advanced. They were still able to find the deleted database? There should''ve been none left, so it was surprising how it happened.


    A bigger screen appeared before the old man, which started broadcasting the battle from the starting moment. The deleted moments were also added in the footage, which included the arrival of Lucifer in the city.


    It showed him entering the meeting with the Warlock Council andter the conflict between the two sides.


    It also showed them the beginning of the battle and the strength of Lucifer and his teammates.


    Jian looked at the footage more clearly. Finally, he could see what happened in Zeston and how everything unfolded.


    He noticed all the attacks of Lucifer, analyzing them thoroughly.


    "His father killed my father, and now the son returned to kill my brother?" Jian asked, clenching his fist.


    "He is very strong," Another Warlock Council member chimed in. "No wonder he took them out."


    "Not just him, but his entire team is solid, it seems. When is Milena from the Divine Empire? She cannot only kill the strongest of Variants, But she can also turn them into minions and use them in battles."


    "If these two are in a team, I think we are going to have a really hard time to defeat them. And then there''s the third guy, the mysterious person who can slow down time. If I''m not wrong, he should be a noble as well, working under Milena."


    "These two people catch all the warlock constes that were present in Zeston, all alone. And that''s not even counting the rest of the teammates who should be special as well?"


    The discussion between Warlock Council members started taking ce as they watched the footage and the battle unfold.


    "You are right. They seem strong. But the question remains, who are these people?" Another person sighed.


    "I don''t think there is any question left. They are the enemies from the Divine Empire. We sent out men there to kill their queen. They probably came back for revenge."


    "I know the Divine Empire is strong, but half of the army doesn''t seem to be Nobles. It''s more like the Divine Empire working with powerful Variants."


    "The Uprising." Jian finally opened his mouth after a long time.


    "Huh? What?"


    "Recently, the Warlock Council only had conflict with two sides. One was the Divine Empire while the other was the Uprising from Elisium, which was bing a problem," he further added.


    "That does make sense." The others agreed. "So two of our enemies came together to mount a surprise attack! Those sneaky bastards!"


    "Not sneaky, I suppose you can call them clever," Jian let out, frowning. "I wonder who nned this coboration. He can be a real problem."


    "Wait, if it''s the Uprising, that would make sense. I heard Uprising had a new leader, which made it much stronger. And he was said to be a Youngster. If I''m not wrong, the silver haired guy should be the leader!"


    "But who are these two guys floating above."


    "They are looking for the Uprising head," Jian said. "They shouldn''t be from Uprising or from the Divine Empire. If I''m not wrong, they were misled by someone and told that we know the person they''re looking for."


    The footage continued and showed Lucifer with Kellian. Seeing the two people together, the one man was so enraged that he wanted to destroy whatever he could find. He was fooled by Kellian!


    "This bastard! He lied to me!"


    "So the man who stole the coffin isn''t actually from Warlock Council. It was all their n to mislead us and use us against their enemies. Such scheming bastards!" The young soldier also eximed.


    "We''re going back! I''ll kill that guy for lying!" The old man roared.


    "Wait!" Jian called out, stopping the man before he could fly away.


    "I think I understand the situation entirely. Those people lied to you to use you against us. They are the enemies of all of us. Why don''t we work together?"


    "Work together?" The old man asked. "We don''t need the help of you all."


    The old man rejected the offer and prepared to leave when he suddenly stopped as another beeping sound came.


    He tapped his Gloves. "What?"


    "Another set of data detected. It is deleted by the same energy signature. Shall I show the reserved version?"


    "Show it." The old man said.


    Another screen opened up before the old man, which showed Lucifer fighting Morbius, Alexi, and Mirali and winning the battle.


    "There he is! Finally! When was this footage taken?"


    "Just a few minutes ago."


    "Where is this ce?" The old man asked.


    "The satellite signature and the scene matching algorithm confirms this location to be the Academy of the Gifted Variants in the Ind of..."


    The assistant didn''t just tell the location but also gave the coordinates.


    "Ah, so that''s why no cameras found him here! He wasn''t on this continent! He was hiding elsewhere. Even the smartest makes mistakes, though. He can''t run anymore!"


    The old man flew away with the young man behind him.


    Standing on the ground, Jian had also heard everything. He also knew the location of Lucifer. A smile formed on his lips.


    "So this guy isn''t in Zeston Capital. If that''s the case, this might be the perfect time to take over the capital. Only Milena will be there," he said.


    "Shouldn''t we go for the boy and kill him first instead? Going straight to Milena in what is now her fortress sounds dangerous."


    "But Zeston is closer, and I believe tackling Milena is easier. We need to take over the capital first so no reinforcements can get to him when we get here. In any case, he''lle back to the capital."


    "Are you sure?"


    "Two hundred percent. If I''m not wrong, the guy is the leader. Milena was listening to him as well. I want to catch him and get my answers as well, but I don''t want to make a mistake here.. We need to tread carefully."

 Chapter 735

    <h4>Chapter 735</h4>


    "I can''t understand it. They killed your brother. How are you still thinking so calmly?"


    "He killed my brother. Will acting rashly bring my brother back?" Jian asked, shaking his head. "I want to kill him, and I want to make sure it happens in the most efficient way possible that leaves no room for his escape."


    He wanted revenge, but he also wasn''t stern enough to think that he must have revenge now and take it personally. He was very patient when it came to such things.


    It was also why he made such an borate n to have Zale and risse killed, leaving no room for mistakes. Even though it took him a lot of years, he was sessful in killing one of the strongest Warlocks without even having to fight.


    "Moreover, I believe those two will keep the guy busy," he further added, ncing in the direction Altantis Warriors went in.


    "You think they can seed in killing him?"


    "Who knows. But I could see that they weren''t scared even after seeing the strength of the guy. I believe they have confidence, so it''s better to have confidence in them as well."


    " In any case, both oues are good for us. They can either kill him or at least keep him distracted while we recapture the headquarters."


    "Are you all prepared to do it?" he asked his men.


    Hidden in the back, Kellian heard everything that was being talked about. Instead of following the people from Antis, he preferred to stay with Kellian


    He already knew where the Antis Minister was going to go. There was no need to follow. What was more concerning were Jian and his men, who could''ve hid anywhere.


    "So you want to attack this ce." Back at the Warlock Council headquarters, Kellian was walking back and forth, frowning.


    He had expected a distant possibility of being attacked, but he didn''t expect it to happen this fast. The entire city was almost empty. They barely had a few people since everyone else had gone on a separate mission.


    He rubbed his chin, ncing out the window. "This just became a big mess."


    The Warlock Council remnants were prepared to face Milena and others, but if they knew that even Milena and her strongest Generals weren''t at the capital, they would''ve been much more happy.


    "Even if I tell others toe back, it''ll take much longer. By the time they are here, the battle would already be over," he said as if talking to himself.


    "What can I do to dy them? Ah, wait. Caen!" he abruptly eximed.


    Since Caen was only good at disguise, he hadn''t been a big part of the battles. He wasn''t even given much of a mission this time. He was back at the Warlock Council headquarters.


    He pressed a button on the wall. "Caen,e into my room this instant."


    ....


    Back at Elisi, Jian finished telling his n before he noticed something odd.


    His shadow seemed much darker than the shadows of the others here, which was odd.


    He pulled out his sword and stabbed his shadow behind him. He was so fast while using his sword that by the time people could look at his reaction, his sword was already stabbed in the group.


    A dark energy prated the ground, setting the ground on fire. As soon as Jian pulled out his sword, the fire stopped. There was no mark left behind on the ground.


    No one could''ve guessed that the ground was burning just a few moments ago if they were to look at it now. There were no scorching marks left behind.


    The shadow of Jian was much lighter now, matching the tone of others'' shadows.


    "Interesting," Jian muttered, amused.


    "What?" Everyone looked at Jian, wondering what he was talking about. Why did he suddenly attack the ground?


    "Someone was spying on us, I believe. That person was using a shadow. Not bad," Jian said.


    "The people that just left?"


    "I don''t think so. If I''m not wrong, it was the shadow of the person who misguided those two about us. In other words, it was the shadow of someone from the Uprising who sent it with them to keep an eye on them." Jian kept the sword back in its sheath.


    "You mean they know our n now. We can''t infiltrate Zeston now."


    "Nope. On the contrary, this is the right time to do it. They will know that we know about their spying. If I were in their ce, I would''ve also thought that the other side would change their n and go into hiding now that their n was out," Jian said.


    "They''ll think we will change the n now and won''t attack since it would be suicidal now. That''s why it''s the perfect time to do it!"


    "I agree with Jian. He''s right."


    "I am on the fence about it, but if you all believe it''s right, I guess I''ll go along as well."


    "I''m in too."


    Slowly, everyone supported the n, telling Jian to lead.


    ...


    Kellian''s shadow was destroyed. Generally, that wouldn''t have hurt him since it was an ordinary shadow that was barely linked to him, but it was somehow different.


    Kellian held his chest as extreme pain engulfed him. He had a hard time breathing as he dropped to the ground. It was as if someone had burnt his heart in the fire of hell.


    Caen opened the door and stepped inside, only to find a pale-faced Kellian on the ground.


    He ran to Kellian and ced his hand on his back. "Are you fine? What happened?"


    He picked a ss of water and ced it before Kellian. "Drink some water. You''ll feel better."


    Kellian took the ss and took a few sips as he rubbed his chest with his other hand.


    "I am fine, just a bit of weakness," he told Caen as he weakly stood up.


    Caen supported him, taking him to a chair.


    "They know," Kellian said after sitting on the chair.


    "Who knows what?"


    "The remnant leaders of the Warlock Council. They are all together, scheming against us. They know Lucifer isn''t here. They were nning to attack us. They also knew my shadow was spying on them. They destroyed it."


    "Is it the aftermath of your shadow being destroyed? I don''t think something like this has happened before. Don''t tell me it''s because you''re weaker now that your main body was destroyed?"


    "That''s not the case. No matter how weak I am, a shadow''s destruction shouldn''t have affected me. It was something about that Sword of Jian and the fire.. It somehow found me through the link and managed to hurt me here before I cut the connection."

 Chapter 736

    <h4>Chapter 736</h4>


    "You mean you could''ve died," Caen let out as he took another chair. He sat beside Kellian.


    "That does sound like bad news. Almost all big guns are out of the city. All we have is you, who is not even half as strong as you used to be, me and a few others. Can we take them on? Or should we call others back?"


    "I already thought about it, but we don''t have time. Everyone is on an important mission; we can''t disturb them. We need to handle this mess ourselves. And there''s only one way to do it."


    "What way?" Caen asked, frowning.


    "They think they can attack and win because they know that Lucifer isn''t here. The only solution is that we make them know that Lucifer is indeed here, and so is Milena."


    "And how will we do that?" Caen inquired. "The truth is that none of them are here. Do you want them to record a video and pretend they are here? I don''t think that will work.''


    "You''re right. A video won''t work," Kellian agreed. "That''s why I was thinking about a live broadcast from this city showing everyone here."


    "How do we do that?"


    "The answer is simple, and it''s right before my eyes," Kellian smirked. "I want you to turn to Lucifer and go on live with your message for the citizens, dering your conquest of the Warlock Council."


    "Ah, that... I have no problem, but I think we should ask the big guy first. It''s his face that will be on TV after all. It should happen with his permission."


    "Don''t worry; I''m sure he''ll give us permission. I''ll contact him soon. You just prepare yourself. We will start the broadcast tomorrow afternoon at twelve."


    "Do I have to pretend to be Milena too?"


    Kellian nodded his head in response to the question. "It''s not going to be easy, but it will be a show of force to make them know that they shouldn''t attack the capital hastily. It''s important and much better than fighting."


    "Sigh, fine. I am ready. When you have the speech ready, give it time. I''ll memorize it. In the meantime, I''ll practice being him."


    .....


    Lucifer left Cassius behind before flying away.


    He went straight to the beach where he had met with Grandpa Chi for the first time. It was also the beach where he was told that he was already brought into the ind.


    He ced the two bodies on the ground, observing the setting sun in the distance.


    On the way here, he had also picked up the briefcase of his which had the items given to him by Kane. It was also the thing in which he kept his old sses. Since his new sses were broken, he needed the old one.


    He wore the old sses that hid his emotionless eyes before walking back to the two bodies.


    Without thinking twice, he started absorbing the two bodies.


    He had enough Ability Cores to sacrifice for one evolution, but he hadn''t done that yet since he hadn''t decided which ability to evolve, but now he was prepared.


    "I don''t care how risky the ability of Time can be after evolution; I need it..." he said, sitting on the sand, facing the sun.


    Gentle sea breeze brushed against his skin, giving somefort.


    "He has S-Rank Spatial Ability. I''ll take SS Rank Time. Enough games and running around. Next time I find you, you won''t run," he muttered.


    Mirali and Alexi still hadn''t found Xaen, so he had some time to waste as well. Time was also needed for the media to reach the Academy of Gifted Variants and cover the news about its destruction to push Xaen even more.


    If he wanted to be seen as a hero to maintain peace, then Lucifer was prepared to be the viin to bring chaos and force Xaen out.


    There was a part of him that was a bit ufortable at what he was doing, especially at killing the teachers of the Academy that taught him, but his concern was overtaken by his anger which was further boosted by something innate inside him.


    He had already stopped thinking about what he did and focused more on the future.


    He took a deep breath, trying to gather whatever bit of calm he could as he sat in a meditative position while casting a barrier around him to protect himself from sudden attacks.


    He couldn''t be disturbed if he started the process since everything was going to go to waste.


    His eyes remained closed, and he was ready to do the first sacrifice when he stopped. He could feel the vibration on his sses. Another call wasing.


    Initially, he thought to ignore the call but ultimately decided to stop the sacrifice and check what it was about.


    He picked the call.


    "What do you need?"


    "Thank God I could get to you. I really needed to consult with you," Kellian said, sighing a breath of relief as he was finally through.


    "Get to the point. I don''t have time to waste. I''m about to start something important."


    "Ah, right. It was about the problems that popped up in your n."


    "What problem?"


    "The guests from Antis know that you are our leader and your whereabouts."


    "How did they find out?"


    "I''m not sure, but it''s something rted to their technology. They managed to recover everything that we had thoroughly deleted from our systems."


    "So they saw me with you. I see," Luciferzily stated. "And how did they know my current whereabouts?"


    "It''s because they tracked you when I was trying to get to you. You were right about them. They do have some really great technology. They are currently en route to the ind. They''ll be there soon."


    "It doesn''t matter anymore. I''m done with taking the easy route. Let theme," Lucifer stated. "I''ll meet them properly this time."


    "Anything else?"


    "One more thing. Through them, Jian and the other Warlock Council heads know that you aren''t here. So I believe they''ll soon attack."


    "And as you know, I''m weak now, and most of our forces aren''t here in the city, including Milena, Szar, Julien, and everyone else."


    "So you want me to call them back to the city?" Lucifer asked, frowning.


    "No, I don''t want to disturb their mission, but I want to do something that will give us more time to prepare."


    He started telling Lucifer his entire n, including the fact that he was about to use Caen.


    "So, what do you say? Should we do it? Do you want your face toe before everyone in Triton?"

 Chapter 737 - Taking On The Whole World?

    <h4>Chapter 737 - Taking On The Whole World?</h4>


    "I don''t care about such minor things. It''s enough of being careful. It''s time for me toe out before the world," Lucifer said. "It''s time I let them know what they''re dealing with and what will happen if they don''t listen to me."


    "But I don''t want my face before the entire Triton."


    Hearing the response of Lucifer, Kellian became a bit concerned.


    "But we must do it. We don''t know where in Triton those people will be. We need the broadcast to happen everywhere so they know it for sure."


    "I think you didn''t understand me. What I''m saying is that I don''t want my face to be in every nation in Triton. I want my face to be in every nation in this entire world," Lucifer dered, dropping a shockingmand on Kellian.


    "You want the world to know you and what you''ve achieved? Don''t you think there might be a problem with that? If everyone knows, everyone might be prepared for you."


    "The strongest Warlocks of the entire world mighte together to take you out. It''ll just make our n more difficult."


    "I don''t care about that. If it''s difficult then so be it. If they all want toe together, so be it. It''ll just make it easier for me to handle them at once. Better than finding them one by one. I want you to do as I said!"


    "So will you follow themand or you''ll betray me like Cassius as well?" he further asked. His words seemed to be filled with disappointment but his voice waspletely calm.


    "He... Fine. I''ll do as you said. What do you want the world to know? I''ll give the speech to Caen. He''ll give your message word to word."


    .....


    After giving his message to Kellian, Lucifer stopped the call and returned to his Sacrifice.


    Since he had already prepared to take on the entire world, it was time to get stronger as well! He wanted to be ready to wee everyone.


    Throughout the night, Lucifer sat on the empty beach. Not a single person came to the beast as there was a warning that the sea was going to be unstable tonight. People were advised to not go near the sea.


    Throughout the night, Lucifer kept sacrificing one ability after another. At the same time, the weather kept getting bad.


    The sky was clouded and lightning was shing as bolts fell with a roaring sound.


    However, the lightning wasn''t ck this time. This wasn''t a manipted storm that came because of Lucifer. Instead, it was a storm that came naturally. Massive waves roze and fell in the sea, some getting close enough to Lucifer that they could''ve drowned him.


    Fortunately the barrier he had cast around himself protected him from the water and the rain. Even the winds couldn''t cross the barrier to disturb him.


    While Lucifer was performing Sacrifice inplete calm, the entire Ind was in chaos. Almost every single household on the ind was watching a news channel.


    Moreover, all news channels were showing the same news.


    All news channels seemed passionate about this news.


    "Who is this man? The man who challenged Master Xaen, killed Master Franci and destroyed the Academy of Gifted Variants without being caught? Where is Master Xaen?"


    "Tonight we''ll ask this question and more with the experts on our panel and try to get some answers."


    ...


    " He did what he said. Where is Master Xaen? Where are the Great Families? Why aren''t they stopping this person?"


    ...


    "Who is this kid? A Dark Variant? A lost Youngster? Just what are his goals? No one knows, but your own Channel One has managed to find some exclusive news about the identity of the person! You''ll get the answer only on our channel, right after this break!"


    "Please stay tuned, we''ll be right back."


    ...


    All channels tried to take the lead on the story but only one managed to find something crucial about the identity of Lucifer, all because of one person.


    The son of the news channel was a student at the Academy of Gifted Variants. He told his father that he recognised the guy and thus, the simple back became breaking news and the Youngster was brought as guest to talk about Lucifer.


    "That''s right the person causing all this destruction is none other than a former student of the Academy of Gifted Variants! You heard it right! This monster was taught in the Academy of Gifted Variants," the Anchor said passionately before she turned to the young man.


    "So, Jack. You said you studied in the Academy of Gifted Variants with this guy. Who is he? What was he like at the academy? And were you two in the same ss?"


    "We weren''t in the same ss but I know him really well since our ss trained with theirs once. Apparently he was the best student of his ss and every teacher loved him because he was strong."


    "So he was the best student of his ss? No wonder he is so strong, but still? How can a student be stronger than the teachers? Was he so strong in the Academy? How did such a genius be our enemy then?"


    "Genius? Tsk, he is no genius! He is a killer and he was a killer even in the academy. He was always an arrogant prick. He even misbehaved with a teacher once and got a warning."


    "In fact, he never really followed rules. He was never on time and broke so many rules that I can''t even tell!"


    Since his father owned the channel, he had told him to make the interview explosive, even if he had to add some lies to the story and that''s exactly what he did.


    At least he was still sticking closer to the truth to some extent since Lucifer did break some rules but he didn''t mention that it was all intentional.


    However, as the boy noticed the cheering of his father from behind the ss, he became more excited as well. He started outright lying.


    He talked about how Lucifer misbehaved with girls, how he often groped them. He even said that Lucifer was a bully in the academy, bullying everyone.


    "My ssmates and friends couldn''t take out anymore. Lucifer was just too evil so they tried to stop him. The group included the sons of Two Great Families."


    "They went to teach him that he shouldn''t act like this and that they should all live with love and learn from each other, but he was just too arrogant.. Instead of listening to the advice, he killed everyone that was talking to him. After killing, he ran away!"

 Chapter 738 - Repeat

    <h4>Chapter 738 - Repeat</h4>


    "May I know when it happened?"


    "It happenedst year," the boy replied.


    "Wait. Is that why the Academy was closed? The students were killed by Alex? He killed students in the academy and still managed to escape? And now he''s back to kill more? Did I get this right?"


    "That''s right!" The boy nodded his head.


    Such bad publicity of Lucifer reached everywhere and not a single person doubted these ims since they all sounded realistic after what they saw Lucifer do.


    However, all this created fear in everyone''s heart as well. Lucifer was born killed from what it seemed. Everyone was praying that Lucifer wouldn''te before them next.


    Every person on the ind only had one question though. "Where is Xaen?! Why isn''t he stopping this?!"


    None of them knew that it wasn''t that Xaen didn''t try to stop Lucifer. Instead, he did that already and he was defeated so badly that he had to run at the first opportunity he thought.


    Everyone thought that Xaen was probably not on the ind. No one could even imagine the truth.


    In their fear, most of the people weren''t able to sleep at night.


    ...


    Cassius was discovered near the destruction by the media channels. After recognising him, they hastily contacted the Ziani family, telling them about Cassius''s condition.


    They sent Cassius back to his family but they didn''t forget to ask some questions on the way about what actually happened here.


    Cassius didn''t answer them. He kept his silence.


    Even though he didn''t say anything, it didn''t take the media channels long toe up with a story.


    They started iming that Cassius came here to stop Lucifer and fought with him, ultimately suffering defeat. Cassius was made to be a hero who fought the evil without worrying for his life and still managed to survive.


    Since there were so many unknowns, the lies just kept increasing.


    ...


    On the other end, Xaen was lying on a white bed, his hand was wrapped as his fingers were reattached. He was also looking at the TV channels while eating apples. He sighed at some of the stories that wereing out in the media.


    "They just need an opportunity and they''ll make any ims," he muttered. "However, he was happy that no one knew about his crushing defeat."


    "I wonder where that guy is now? He won''t stop looking for me. I must stop him, but I can''t make the mistake of meeting him in a closed space again."


    "I need to catch him outside where he can''t trap me like he didst time. But I''ll need some nice bait for that and some help. He''s a big problem now. I am going to need help."


    He stood up, getting off the bed. Without even waiting for the doctor toe back, he stepped inside the portal that opened before him.


    He stepped inside the portal and disappeared.


    ...


    In another end of the world, Milena was in aplicated situation. Jestor asked her to get Lucifer''s contact, but she failed. He wasn''t willing to give the stone without talking to Lucifer.


    She told him that he was a bit busy and that she would get him to talk to himter, but Jestor didn''t agree. "Fine. Then you''ll get the ster as well."


    After waiting for an hour, she contacted Kellian to ask him if he was able to get through to Lucifer.


    Answering her call, Kellian couldn''t help but p the back of his head, unable to believe that he forgot it. When he talked to Lucifer, he forgot to mention that he needed to talk to Milena.


    However, he couldn''t disturb him again now.


    "You can get through to him now, but he told me he''s really busy tonight. Try calling him in the morning. He''ll reply."


    "Morning? Got it. I''ll contact him in the morning."


    Milena turned to Jestor and told him that she''ll get Lucifer to talk to him in the morning.


    "You can keep the stone until morning. Is that fine?"


    "I don''t mind, since you haven''t killed any person here yet and you do seem like you know a few things about Lucifer, I''ll give you the benefit of the doubt. I''ll wait until morning."


    ....


    The chaotic night ended with the first ray of sunlight. The sea was again calm for the most part. The clouds had disappeared but Lucifer was still seated.


    It was seven in the morning when he finally opened his eyes. His eyes looked a bit different. Unlike the immature eyes of a youngster, his eyes seemed more mature now as if they had traveled through the sea of time.


    He stood up, observing his hand. Everything seemed fine at the moment, but still something felt odd. He didn''t know what it was, but something was much different.


    Ability wise, he didn''t feel any difference. His Time Control had evolved but he felt like his understanding of this ability was still the same.


    When he evolved lightning, his knowledge also increased along with the ability and he was able to understand the various uses that this evolution came with, but it was different this time. This time it was just too... ordinary.


    "Why is the evolution so different fromst time?" he wondered, frowning.


    His hand, his feet, his knowledge, everything was the same.


    Just as he was lost in thought, he heard the vibration of his sses.


    He wore the sses and picked the call.


    "Yeah?"


    "There you are. Look I am near the stone you needed, but it''s with someone named Jestor. He ims to know you. He says he''ll only give me the stone if you talk to him."


    "Jestor? I think I heard that name before. Is he a man in his mid fifties at this time?" he asked.


    "That''s right."


    "So that''s what it was. Give the call to him. I''ll talk to him."


    Milena transferred the call to Jestor. "There, talk to him."


    Jestor took the phone. "Hello?"


    "Jestor, it''s been a long time, hasn''t it? At least for you? Don''t tell me you still hold grudges for what happened on the ship? I didn''t even hurt you there. All I did was y around."


    "So it''s really you! After so long, I''m talking to you again. Brings back the memories. It''s been over thirty years but it still seems like it was just yesterday when I met a Warlock that widened my horizons that there is always a taller mountain."


    "Just that teaching itself is worth more than this stone. I''ll give the stone to her."


    "Good, I''ll talk to youter. I''m busy with something." Lucifer didn''t waste time in talks and quickly disconnected the call.


    He kept the sses back in his pocket and prepared to leave.


    Just as he put sses back in his pocket, they started vibrating again.


    He wore the sses again. "What do you need now?"


    "There you are. Look I am near the stone you needed, but it''s with someone named Jestor. He ims to know you. He says he''ll only give me the stone if you talk to him."


    "Huh?" Lucifer couldn''t understand why Milena was repeating the same sentence again. Did she go crazy or something?


    "Why are you repeating it? We already talked about it. I also talked to him. What more do you need?"


    "What? What do you mean? It''s the first time I got through to you. How can we talk about this already? Anyways, enough ying around. Talk to him so he believes me that I know you."


    Lucifer was filled with confusion. He didn''t know what was happening here. She just talked to him and now she was saying she didn''t? Did she go crazy or something?


    "Fine, pass the call to him."

 Chapter 739 - Loophole

    <h4>Chapter 739 - Loophole</h4>


    "So it''s really you! After so long, I''m talking to you again. Brings back the memories. It''s been over thirty years, but it still seems like it was just yesterday when I met a Warlock that widened my horizons, that there is always a taller mountain."


    Hearing the response of Jestor, Lucifer was even more stunned. These were exactly the same words that were spoken by him before as well. It was as if he had forgotten what had happened.


    "Is it our first time talking after I left you on the ship? Or did we talk a few minutes ago too?"


    "A few minutes ago? I don''t think so. It''s our first time talking."


    "Ah, right. Anyways, I am doing something really important at the movement. I''ll talk to youter."


    "I can understand. Take your time. We can talkter. In the meantime, I''ll give the stone to thedy since you need it."


    Jestor returned the phone to Milena. Lucifer disconnected the call.


    "What''s the time right now?" he asked as if talking to himself.


    A screen popped before him through his sses.


    [07:01:39 am]


    He kept the sses back, wondering what was happening. Thinking of it as a one time anomaly, he turned to leave when his phone started ringing again.


    He wore the sses, bing surprised that it was Milena again.


    "Yeah?"


    "There you are. Look, I am near the stone you needed, but it''s with someone named Jestor. He ims to know you. He says he''ll only give me the stone if you talk to him."


    Lucifer didn''t respond. This was the third time this happened. Something was really wrong. He had two theories of why this was happening now.


    One theory was that a Warlock was erasing the memories of Milena from a few minutes ago every time she called as a prank. He really hoped that it was true since the other theory was much worse.


    His other theory was that it was because of his Law of Time evolution, and it was exactly what Eve had warned him against. He was trapped in something akin to a time prison loop.


    That was also why he checked the time before to verify this theory.


    He checked the time once again.


    [06:59:59 am]


    Seeing the time, he understood the truth. The worst thing became true. He was stuck in a loop.


    He scratched the back of his head, trying to find a way to get out of this loop, but he didn''t have any ideas on how to do it.


    He didn''t get any advanced understanding of the skill like he did with the Lightning Evolution. He waspletely blind to what he could do with this skill and how to control its newer aspects.


    "It must be because I evolved a skill that wasn''t originally mine. Her words did have some merits," he muttered.


    "What?" Milena asked. "Can you repeat that?"


    "Nothing. I wasn''t talking to you," Lucifer let out. "Give the phone to Jestor."


    He talked to Jestor, but this time, instead of finishing the conversation fast, he stretched it to see if the time was going to reset in the middle.


    He talked for ten minutes, but the time didn''t reset. "Alright, I''ll talk to youter."


    He disconnected the call. Instead of keeping the sses back in his pocket, he kept wearing them as he walked away.


    The time once again reset as the call again came.


    "It''s indeed a loop with this call, but initially, the loop only affects me when I''m alone. When I''m talking to someone, or someone is linked with me, it doesn''t reset it seems. This is a real mess."


    He wanted to test this more to find all the loopholes that he could utilize to keep himself immune from the Time Loop.


    Instead of picking up the call, he ignored it and continued flying away.


    He only flew for one minute when everything turned white. When things returned to normal, he found himself back at the beach. Time was once again 06:59:59 am.


    The call once again came.


    "So I can''t ignore the call, and I can''t disconnect it if I want to be free, but I can''t keep talking to someone all my life? I need a way out," he muttered, frowning.


    "This evolution came at a really big cost and no advantage..."


    "If it''s going to be like this, I don''t need time control. But I can''t really control it to go back in time to stop me from evolving it. What should I do? Take it all out?"


    As he didn''t pick up the call, the ringing stopped. After a minute, the reset happened once again. He was back where he started.


    "I will go crazy if this keeps happening."


    This time the phone rang again. He picked up the call.


    "Don''t speak! I know where you are and why you want to talk to me. Listen to me carefully; I''m in trouble. I''m stuck in a time loop. This same call has already happened over five times already. I don''t want to hear the same sentence again! You understand?"


    "Ah..." Milena didn''t know how to react.


    "Listen, I can stay out of the loop as long as you keep talking to me. So I want you to talk to me until I remove the Time Core to free myself from this loop. You understand?" he asked.


    "I understand. I''ll keep talking to you. But what is it about removing the core?"


    "It''s the ability core. The Time Core that I stole from Julien is messing up again. I need to get it out or destroy it. That should stop it," he told Milena.


    "Can you even do it?" Milena asked. "I heard taking out a core is impossible."


    "I don''t care if it''s impossible. I need to destroy it. I can''t stay in this prison all my life."


    While talking, Lucifer took off his shorts and cloak, leaving himself bare chested.


    His right hand turned into a w as he prepared to stab himself to decay the core itself if possible or Teleport it outside where it was going to disperse.


    "Don''t go silent. I don''t want the time to repeat again. Talk."


    "Ah, I don''t know what I should talk about."


    "You can just talk nonsense. Just keep me engaged, so time doesn''t reset. Alright, tell me about yourself. What are your hobbies, your likes, and dislikes? That should keep you talking."


    "Ah, my hobbies? I don''t think there are many, but I do like reading pieces of literature and history. And...."


    Milena kept talking. At the same time, Lucifer stabbed his chest.


    A light grunt left his lips.

 Chapter 740 - I Must

    <h4>Chapter 740 - I Must</h4>


    A grunt left his lips as he stabbed his chest. Even though he only made a light noise, Milena heard it and stopped talking.


    "Are you alright?"


    "I''m done. Continue talking. You were talking about reading. What books have you read recently?"


    "Ah, it was by a writer who goes with the Alias Spirit. His books are really fascinating. In histest book, he talked about..."


    Even though Lucifer had his eyes closed and was more focused on the core, he didn''t forget to listen to Milena since he didn''t want the connection to be broken after so long.


    His fingers soon reached closer to the Time core, which was resting near his heart.


    He tried teleporting the core outside by touching it, but teleportation didn''t work on it. Instead, he just let his decay destroy the core, but as soon as the slightest decay started working, everything turned white.


    When everything returned to normal, Lucifer was standing. He waspletely dressed, still standing on the bridge.


    The phone once again started ringing. He let out a tired sigh.


    "Not again..."


    "So I must keep talking to the other person, or the loop resets. At the same time, if I try to influence the core, the loop resets. I''m thoroughly trapped, aren''t I?"


    He picked the call.


    "Milena, listen to me carefully..."


    "There you are. Look, I am near the stone you needed, but it''s with someone named Jestor..."


    Hearing the same response, he clenched his fist in frustration. He had almost memorized the response by now.


    "He ims to know me. He says he''ll only give you the stone if I talk to him." He finished the sentence of Milena.


    "Huh? Can you see the future now as well? How did you know what I was going to say? Or are you spying on me?" Milena asked, taken aback.


    "As I said, you should listen to me carefully. I know what you''re about to say because we already had this talk many times. I''m stuck in a time loop because of an ability I took from Julien."


    "After our conversation, I''m sent back in time to the moment you dialed my number. I''ve been living these few minutes again and again."


    "And the only way I can stretch the time where I''m not sent to the beginning is by talking to others. So you can''t disconnect the call at any cost until I find a solution."


    "That sounds so crazy. Are you sure you aren''t pulling my leg?"


    "I don''t need to pull your leg. I already told you this before, but time reset, and you don''t know anything. Anyways,st time we talked, you told me youst read the book of some writer who goes by the alias of Spirit."


    "This... You''re making me below you, but this sounds so crazy. You''re stock in the loop? I don''t know how I would react if I were in your ce," Milena let out, smiling wryly.


    "I''ll find a way out. Until then, I''m going to need your help. So make sure the call isn''t disconnected. You understand?"


    "I will make sure. Anyways, what about when you sleep? Won''t you go back in time?"


    "I don''t need to sleep that often. I can stay up until I find a way out. And you''re a Noble, so you can do the same. That''s why you''re the perfect candidate to talk to."


    "It might take days or even weeks to find solutions. What can we even talk about for so long?"


    "As I said before, it can be anything. You can even talk pure nonsense. It should work as long as you''re connected to me and know what''s happening."


    "I understand. I''ll help you."


    "Good. Now put the phone on speaker. I''ll talk to Jestor. Take the stone from him and go straight to Zeston. The capital can be attacked anytime. They''ll need you there.''


    "It''s on speaker now. You can speak."


    "Hey, Jestor. It''s been so long since I talked to you. How have you been since thest time we met? Still going around threatening youngsters?" Lucifer asked.


    As he started talking, he started flying towards the city.


    "Hey, you know it was a misunderstanding. In any case, I don''t do that now. Anyways, how have you been? Did you find a wife for yourself and your friend? Or are you still chasing away Vixens?" Jestor asked,ughing.


    "Well, what can I say? Chasing away Vixens seems to be in my destiny. You won''t believe who I met just a few days ago?"


    "Who?"


    "That same vixen who was after my Fa- I mean after my friend. It looks like she got her wish and married a strong Warlock."


    "You met her? That''s amusing. Let me guess; the meeting didn''t go well. Did he tell her husband to beat you up?"


    "I can''t say that she didn''t try. She went all out."


    "Poor woman. Since you''re still talking here, I suppose you taught them a lesson? Don''t tell me you killed them?"


    "Kill? I haven''t killed a single person in my entire life. I''m the nicest person you can find on this earth," Lucifer responded.


    Cough~


    Milena was drinking water while keeping the phone on speaker when she heard Lucifer''s words. As soon as she heard the words, she almost choked on the water as she started coughing.


    "That''s true. I think you''re not half bad. You threatened people on the ship as well, but you didn''t kill anyone."


    "Exactly. You know me so well," Lucifer replied, smiling.


    Since he was supposed to talk, he decided to keep himself distracted and keep things amusing for himself.


    At the same time, Milena looked at Jestor as if she was looking at an idiot.


    "If only you had an idea," she muttered in a barely audible voice.


    "Anyways, it''s really nice to talk to you, old friend. However, as you can imagine, a nice person like me has many enemies."


    " I can''t have Milena out of the city since it''s without defense at the moment. I''m also out of the city on business, so it''spletely defenseless. Can you give the stone to her so she can return to her post?"


    "Consider it done. In any case, the stone is just a nice ornament for me. It''s nothing special." Jestor took off his ne and gave it to Milena. "Here."


    Mna took the stone.


    "That''s right. I got it," Milena said, confirming that she received it.


    "Good, Now Milena, go straight to the airport and return. Kellian needs you.. Be there as fast as you can."

 Chapter 741 - Am I Yours?

    <h4>Chapter 741 - Am I Yours?</h4>


    "Also, Jestor. Thanks a lot. Now that I know where you live, I''ll certainlye to thank you personally someday."


    ...


    Lucifer kept talking to Milena even after she left Jestor.


    Before long, he finally reached the capital city, feeling a bit hungry.


    People saw him and recognized him. There was not a single person who I didn''t recognize. People ran away from him as if he was a monster. The crowded road became instantly empty.


    "Do I hear screams?" Milena asked Lucifer over the call.


    "Yeah, some people are running away from me, it seems."


    "Should I ask what you did there? You''re already so popr?"


    "I did what I had to do to bring out a rat from hiding."


    "You mean Xaen?"


    Yeah. I almost had him, but he ran away at thest moment because of some interruptions."


    "Won''t he stay away from you if he ran awayst time? And you''re popr; he can always know where you are."


    "He won''t run, I think. I have a feeling he''lle out, what''s why I left some bait for him. I''m just waiting for him to take the bait."


    He pushed the door of a restaurant and stepped inside.


    There was a wall TV inside the restaurant which was showing a news channel. The news channel was still talking about Lucifer and his personality.


    Most of the people in the restaurant were busy in eating, but the ones who noticed him stood up in shock. They looked back at the TV before turning to Lucifer just to be sure.


    The sounds of chairs being pushed back overwhelmed the restaurant and more and more people kept standing up.


    They didn''t know where to run. Lucifer was standing right at the exit. They had no way out. Most of them were scared that Lucifer was probably here to destroy this ce like he destroyed the hotel.


    Lucifer ignored the shocking expressions of the customers and walked to a window seat. He picked up the menu which was on the table and started going through it.


    Seeing Lucifer distracted, the citizens started running to the exit. Lucifer doesn''t bother blocking their path.


    It was only when the staff of the restaurant started to escape at the end that he decided to intervene.


    The door closed on its own, and a barrier appeared before the door, blocking it.


    "Why are you all running?" Lucifer asked, raising his gaze. "If you leave, who will serve food here?"


    The staff members turned to Lucifer, subconsciously stepping back.


    "Get me your best dishes. I''m having a hard time selecting from the menu," he told the waiters before sitting backfortably.


    "Are you back to your bullying?" Milena asked Lucifer,ughing.


    "I can''t go hungry, after all. Time loop or not, I still get hungry," Lucifer responded. "Anyways, are you at the airport now?"


    "Yeah, I just entered. In a few hours, I''ll be in the air."


    "Good. After a few hours, a live feed will be broadcast everywhere in the world. Don''t forget to catch it live."


    "Are you giving a speech?"


    "The words and emotions will be mine, but I won''t be the one giving it. Caen will give it in my ce since I''m not there. In any case, that should be enough."


    "You think he can act like you? I am not sure...''


    "He knows how I am and how he should behave. I think he would do fine."


    "So, what''s your n after having breakfast?" Milena asked, wondering if Lucifer had any ns.


    "No major ns. I''ll just keep destroying ces that Xaen holds dear, forcing him out. Either he can return Eve to me, or he can watch everything he considered important being destroyed, including his reputation."


    "Give Eve to you? What do you mean?"


    "He has Eve. He set a trap, knowing we wereing here. Eve was caught in the trap that was set for me. I don''t even know her situation at the moment since I haven''t seen her since then."


    "So that''s why you''re so impatient? Can I ask you a question?" Milena asked after thinking for a little.


    "What?"


    "If I was captured instead of Eve, would you still do the same thing?"


    "Why are you asking this question?" Lucifer asked, confused what she was trying to say.


    "It''s a normal question. If I was in ce of Eve, would your reaction and urgency still be the same?"


    Lucifer didn''t think about the question seriously and just had a neutral answer. "I would. No one can hurt what is mine and live."


    "What is yours?" Milena asked. Her tone sounded a bit surprised. "Am I yours?"


    "Of course you are," Lucifer replied, talking about her being his team member.


    Milena momentarily went silent.


    "I''m inside the ne now." She informed Lucifer after a bit, changing the topic. "You know, it hasn''t been that long since we started talking, and I already feel like I''m out of things to talk about. How will we talk for days?''


    "Let me ask you a question in that case. It''ll give you something to talk about."


    "Go ahead."


    "What do you see in your future? Like what is your ideal future? What do you see at the peak of your life? A ce where everything is perfect for you? What is that world like for you?" Lucifer asked.


    The waiter served the dishes before Lucifer. He didn''t know that Lucifer was talking to someone through his sses. He just thought that he was talking to himself.


    For him, that was the sign of Lucifer being mentally unstable, which wasn''t hard to believe for him. He didn''t interact with Lucifer much and stepped back.


    Lucifer only had his gloves on his right. The other hand had damaged Gloves. Using his right hand, he picked up the bowl before him and gulped down the soup without even using a spoon.


    On the other end, Milena lost herself in Lucifer''s questions. Just what was his ideal world? What did he see for her future?


    "I... I haven''t thought about what I want from my future. I guess I was satisfied with whatever I had. In the future, after everything is settled down, I''ll go back to the Divine Empire and govern my people. That''s my perfect world, I guess."


    "Nope." Lucifer wiped his lips as he replied. "You''re just giving a political answer from what I can see."


    "I''m being honest. I did have a dream about my future when I was going, but after bing a Warlock, I can never go back.. A stable life is a perfect life for me at the moment."

 Chapter 742 - Childhood Dreams

    <h4>Chapter 742 - Childhood Dreams</h4>


    "Alright then, what were your dreams when you were little?" Lucifer asked, modifying the question.


    "My childhood dreams? Forget it. I can''t tell you that."


    "Why not? Are you scared?"


    "Not really scared, but my dreams of those times sound so childish now that I look back at them. They are embarrassing."


    "What would a child think if not childish things? Don''t worry about it. My dreams in my younger days were even more childish. Tell me your dreams."


    "Sigh, fine. When I was little, my father used to tell me fairytales. How a prince and princess fall in love and live happily thereafter. My dream was to have a simr life."


    " I wanted to find my prince and live like the Princess in the stories. I was so stupid, confusing fantasy stories with my real life."


    "That''s not that childish actually," Lucifer responded. "Everyone wants a perfect life for them in the future. To you, the perfect life was what you read. In fact, why don''t you make the dreams true in the future?"


    "What do you mean?"


    "I mean, you have the means to achieve it. You can find your prince and make a happy life. You can make your happily ever after a reality."


    "Hahaha, that''s impossible. It''s impossible for me to find someone like that. A Prince is supposed to be more valiant and powerful than a princess. He''s supposed to be the one who can protect her."


    "I can''t find someone like this even if I wanted to. On the other hand, if I settle with anything less, my husband will always think of him as less than me. He would see me less as his wife and more as a leader."


    "Since I''m going to live the rest of my life as a leader, why bother finding a prince and getting married? Why not live the way I am currently living?"


    "Let me tell you something..." Lucifer said as he stopped eating momentarily.


    He looked out the window.


    "My father? I now know him better than I did before. He was much different than people thought of him. In fact, at the start, I was surprised after seeing his real personality before meeting my mother."


    "My mother was much stronger at that time. My father was weaker. But they still met and fell in love. And both of them influenced each other."


    "My mother taught my father how to be a Proud Warrior who always trusted his heart without worrying about hurting others. And my father taught my mother how to be more understanding and caring."


    "In other words, they bothpleted each other. If my mother hadn''t given my father a chance thinking that he was weak, both of them would''ve been iplete in a sense."


    "It doesn''t matter how long they lived. What matters is that they lived their lives happily with each other. And I think even if you give them an opportunity to change their past, they won''t change even one thing."


    "So you shouldn''t give up. After everything is over, find a good guy, get married and get your happily ever after."


    "What about you? What will you do after you conquer the world? What is the happily ever after for Lucifer Azrael?" Milena asked. "What do you see in your future?"


    "In my future?" Lucifer asked, smiling. A sadness was hidden behind his smile though.


    "All I see is death in my future. That''s my happily ever after. Achieving what I want to and then sleeping in peace for an eternity... A life where I won''t have to think, I won''t have to face all these nightmares... I can finally rest."


    "Nonsense. Who dreams of death?! And if you only want to die, why are you even fighting?!" Milena asked. "How about you also fall in love? Have kids, live happily?"


    "The reason I can''t die now?" Lucifer asked. "It''s because I want to finish what I started. I want to make my vision a reality... A vision where things would''ve been different for people like me."


    "A vision where no Lucifer will ever face something like this. And if I have to kill half the world to achieve that vision, I won''t hesitate," Lucifer exined.


    "After I make my vision reality, I''ll leave to find my origins, giving the reign of this world to someone else. After finding my origins, that will be the end of my journey."


    " After satisfying my curiosity, I''ll find a way to get the sleep I''ve been craving. But before that moment, I won''t even allow the gods to take my life!"


    After giving his vision for the future, he ended his statement with one deration.


    "Lucifer Azarel will live the way he wants, and he will die the way he wants!"


    "Your dreams... I don''t approve of it. They are nonsense!"


    "Did I say I need your approval?" Lucifer asked, standing up.


    "Just you wait. The future is very uncertain. I''m sure you''ll change your n. I''ll make sure you get a reason to change the ending of your dreams. You will live... And you''ll get your happiness as well," Milena said, not giving in.


    "Lucifer Azarel fought the entire world for the right to exist! And he shall exist for an eternity. No one deserves to live more than you do."


    "Do I?" Lucifer asked, smiling.


    "Of course you do. You haven''t even lived for twenty years, and you''re already thinking about death? I won''t let it happen."


    "May I ask why you won''t let it happen? Shouldn''t you be happy? After I''m gone, you''ll be the strongest. Without me, you won''t have to look over your shoulder every time. So why do you care what my end is like?"


    "I... Because I don''t want that to be your end. You and I are simr. We faced simr things in our childhood. We both rose to the top on our own, facing everyone else. When I''m not tired of life, how can you be?" Milena asked.


    "I didn''t say I''m tired of life," Lucifer responded.


    "You don''t need to say it. I can feel that in your time. Anyways, as I said, ns always change like your ns changed many times in the past. This one will change too. Just you wait; something good is waiting for you at the end."


    "And what good might that be? More friends trying to kill me in the end?" Lucifer asked.


    "No. A better life is waiting for you at the end: a wife, beautiful kids, a nice home for your happily ever after. Just you watch; I''m never wrong. It''ll be reality."


    "Wife and kids?" Lucifer asked. "And who might the wife be?"

 Chapter 743

    <h4>Chapter 743</h4>


    "I don''t know. I haven''t seen your future, but I''m sure it''ll be something good. We both suffered in this life. We both deserve our happy ending. I don''t care if you''re a friend or what, but I think you don''t deserve to die."


    "Do you understand?"


    "I..."


    Lucifer stopped mid-sentence as he focused out the window.


    "Why did you stop mid-sentence?"


    Lucifer could see some cop cars blocking the roads. He also noticed some men on the roof of nearby buildings. The ck clothed men had sniper rifles that were aiming at him.


    Other than the humans, he hadn''t noticed any Variants. It seemed like the news about his presence had spread in the city, and the cops were here to keep an eye in case he decided to attack someone.


    "Nothing. Just saw something insignificant. Anyways, what were you saying?"


    "About your future. What else? Forget it; I''ll talk to you personally about that. Let''s keep things light for the moment. How''s the food there?"


    "Worth eating. Maybe it''s because I''m hungry, but I like it."


    Their conversation continued as Lucifer ignored the cops.


    Before he could even finish all that was on his te, the waiters prepared more food in case he demanded. They didn''t want to make him wait to infuriate him further.


    They kept serving him as he kept finishing.


    ....


    In the continent of Triton, the preparation of the broadcast was ongoing.


    Since no one wanted any mistakes during the special broadcast, special teams were made to take care of different factors.


    The Nobles who could fly were given cameras to suit from different angles. The Variants who could manipte winds were given the task to help Caen fly to make it look like Lucifer was flying.


    Simrly, all other Variants were given such duties.


    Caen was sitting in his room. He waspletely dressed, just like Lucifer dresses usually. His looks were also the same as Lucifer''s, including his long hair and eyes.


    He had a script in his hand that he was memorizing, again and again, to not make a blunder.


    This was literally a deration of war on the entire world, and he didn''t want to screw it up and make Lucifer look weak before the entire world.


    Kellian stepped inside his room.


    Behind him, Jiani and Arthur also entered.


    "You two are back?" Caen asked, standing up.


    "Yeah, we just returned, finishing our task. We heard you''re going to give a big speech? Are you ready?"


    "Ready? It''s the first time I''m nervous about something. I have never threatened the entire world at once while pretending to be someone else. It''ll be the first time."


    "I can''t understand what you''re going to say since I haven''t seen the speech, but I can understand how hard it must be. Getting Lucifer''s mannerism down isn''t easy," Arthur replied.


    " I don''t know what it''s about him, but there''s something about him that''s hard to replicate," he further stated.


    "I know. I can only try my best," Caen replied before he turned to Kellian. "Is everything ready outside?"


    "Everything is prepared. We will start in five minutes. Drink water or something if you need," Kellian said, patting the shoulders of Caen.


    "Just know that Lucifer sounded like he was really serious about fighting the entire world if there was a need. Make sure to get that emotion down in your speech."


    Caen nodded, letting out a mouthful of breath. "I know. He''ll be watching it as well. I won''t disappoint him."


    "Good. I''ll get one final check with the technical staff in the meantime. At exactly twelve, we''ll begin." Kellian left the room.


    Arthur also wished Caen luck before he left with Jiani.


    The man that they had kidnapped was already locked in the Warlock Council room, where he was going to be kept locked until Lucifer returned.


    .....


    Lucifer was sitting in the restaurant. He had finished his breakfast, but he still wasn''t leaving since he wanted to see the broadcast that was going to be shown here as well. He wanted to see how well Caen would do in this.


    Currently, it was a news channel on TV. Ironically, the news channel was showing the footage of the restaurant where Lucifer was sitting. He was watching himself from the views of the media.


    The experts on the channel were arguing about the motives of Lucifer behind staying in the restaurant for so long.


    After a couple of minutes, the channel turned ck. Soon, a nk screen started shing on the screen, which showed the symbol of Uprising.


    There was a counter under the logo that started from five minutes, going down.


    "Milena, it''s about to start."


    "The broadcast? I can see the timer too."


    ...


    They weren''t the only ones seeing the timer. Almost every channel in every nation was changed to this timer. It didn''t matter if it was a small nation or a big one; everyone was going through the same phenomenon.


    Caen was standing on top of the Warlock Council Headquarters, practicing his lines onest time.


    All the cameras were already on his face.


    Kellian stood behind him on one side. Arthur stood on his other side.


    "One minute to go!"


    ...


    "Ten seconds."


    "Nine..."


    "Eight..."


    "Seven...*


    "Six..."


    "Five..."


    "Four..."


    "Three..."


    "Two..."


    As the countdown reached near the end, Caen straightened his back. His face was covered in arrogance and pride as he patted his clothes.


    "One..."


    The timer on everyone''s TVs stopped at zero, and the live broadcast began.


    Everyone watched Lucifer, Kellian, and Arthur on their screens.


    "People of Earth, this is a message for you all. Listen to each word carefully!"


    "I am Lucifer Azarel. Some of you might know me, but there are a lot who won''t at this time. So I''ll give my introduction once."


    "I''m the person who is going to take over this entire world soon, and no one should stand in my path if they hold their life dear. You can treat it as a threat or as advice."


    Hearing Caen on their screens, most people didn''t take him seriously. They thought he was just an idiot who hacked their tv and was bbering whatever he could, but the people of Zeston who saw the takeover knew he wasn''t lying. They took himpletely seriously.


    "I have already conquered the Continent of Triton and the Continent of Darkness by defeating the Warlock Council and the Divine Empire," he further added.


    It was this statement of his that finally made people take Caen seriously.


    Caen stepped forward and jumped down the building.


    The Wind Warlocks came into effect and made him fly in the wind.. The Nobles followed after him with the cameras, asionally showing all the Destruction that was left in the city.

 Chapter 744

    <h4>Chapter 744</h4>


    "The Warlock Council opposed me, and they are gone now. However, because of them, half the city is destroyed as well. The same thing will happen with your cities if anyone takes me lightly!" His mighty voice traveled through the TVs of everyone to send chills down everyone''s spine.


    The scenes on the TV changed. The footage of the battles of Lucifer with the Warlock Council was connected to the broadcast.


    It was saved in an offline medium to make sure Antis didn''t know that Lucifer was against the Warlock Council, but now that they knew, there was no need to hide the footage.


    Moreover, it was better to show it since seeing their strongest Warlocks die could easily make the entire continent of Triton bow before Lucifer, as only the Zeston citizens knew about what had happened. The information about the takeover was kept a secret.


    Hearing about the destruction of the Warlock Council, the entire world was in shock. Many nations didn''t know who Lucifer was, but most of them knew about the Warlock Council. It was the leading authority and a symbol of strength.


    Unlike the Warlock Council, the Divine Empire was mostly unknown since they didn''t show off their strength outside, unlike the Warlock Council.


    Lucifer wanted to use the reputation of the Warlock Council as a stepping stone to make the entire earth know who the new ruler was. Caen was just following the script.


    The Governments all around the world and the leading Warlocks were in shock, trying to find as much as they could about Lucifer and what happened to the Warlock Council. At the moment, all they knew was that the world was facing a really big threat.


    From what they saw in the footage, one person single handedly killed most of the Warlock Council heads. It was so hard to believe that some even thought that Lucifer had faked the video.


    Every nation leader tasked their men with contacting their sources in the continent of Triton and in the Warlock Council to verify the news.


    In another part of the continent, Jian and the others were still traveling to Zeston when they also came across the broadcast.


    Seeing Lucifer, they were stunned.


    "Just yesterday, we heard that Lucifer was on a different continent. How is he here so fast?" Someone asked.


    "I''m not sure. Maybe he has some ability that helps him travel fast? In any case, that ce is definitely our base. There are no questions about it. That guy is in Zeston!"


    "Should we still go with the n? I think we don''t need to attack now. We need to prepare more. I think they knew we were about to attack, so they called back Lucifer. They aren''t taking us lightly like we thought. This isn''t the time to attack!"


    "I agree. We should turn around and wait. We don''t need to jump into their trap!"


    For quite some time, Jian didn''t open his mouth. He only heard the opinions of others, keeping his eyes closed.


    After quite some time, he opened his eyes as a smile spread across his lips.


    "We would be jumping into their trap if we turn around."


    "What do you mean?"


    "This is a clever trap. I must give them credit, but they also underestimated us quite a lot if they thought they could fool us with this."


    "What are you trying to say?"


    "You don''t see it?" Jian asked, smiling.


    He stood up, yawning. "Just answer me one thing. They know we''re about to attack, and they also called back Lucifer for that. Then why would they do this global broadcast?"


    " Why not keep his arrival a secret so they could surprise us and kill us? Why show him to the whole world? More importantly, it''s just one day after they heard that we were going to attack?"


    "Why?"


    *Because they are scared," Jian smiled. "Because they are scared of us!"


    "Why would they be scared of us? That one guy alone killed most of the Warlock Council head. Why would he be scared of the five of us?"


    "It''s not him who is scared but whoever is running things. If I''m not wrong, Lucifer isn''t in Zeston! That''s why they are making this broadcast to make us think that he''s there and to stop us from attacking."


    "Lucifer isn''t there? Then the guy on screen? Special effects?"


    "I studied up a bit on themst night. There''s a person in their team who can impersonate anyone. If I''m not wrong, they''re using him," Jian said, sighing.


    "As I said, they made a mistake this time. Instead of making me change my mind about attacking them, they only strengthened my conviction to attack them."


    "They don''t want us to attack. What could be a more perfect time to attack. Moreover, Milena isn''t in Zeston either. I don''t know why, but most of their strongest Warlocks aren''t in the city, it seems."


    "How do you know Milena isn''t there?"


    "Because I only see Lucifer on screen. I haven''t seen Milena anywhere. If she were in the city, she would''ve been with Lucifer instead of the other two."


    "I think we can take back the city! We won''t get a better opportunity than this when their two strongest Warlocks are out!"


    "What if you''re wrong? What if that''s actually Lucifer? And what if Milena is there as well?"


    "If I''m wrong? You''re right. There''s a five percent chance that I''m wrong, and they''re actually there. But I believe the ny-five percent is worth the risk. Don''t you think so?"


    "Just think, if Lucifer and Milena returned, he''d have his army, and the city would be under his control. Defeating him would be impossible then. But if we take out his army first when they aren''t there, we can take away his advantage."


    "Anyways, that''s only my suggestion. I''ll leave the choice to you. There are five of us. If three of you think we shouldn''t do it, we''ll turn back. You can decide.''


    After leaving the decision of others, he turned back to the screen, but he abruptly realized something.


    If the broadcast was global, then didn''t it mean that his mother and his sister were seeing it too? They were going to know about the death of Julien?


    He called his sister instantly to make sure they weren''t watching TV.


    On the other hand, Caen continued his threat while talking about his goals.


    In the end, he also gave a choice to the citizens.


    "I''m sure you all know about me now? So there are two choices before you! Either your leaders pledge their allegiance to me and surrender your nations, or I''lle to conquer them.. And It won''t be nice when it happens."

 Chapter 745

    <h4>Chapter 745</h4>


    The real Lucifer was sitting in the restaurant, watching the broadcast, slightly amused. He didn''t know why but he was feeling like Caen was overreacting a bit. It wasn''t perfect, but he didn''t take it to heart either.


    These were minor things, and even if he would''ve said these words differently, the oue was still going to be simr.


    The waiters were the most surprising though. They were watching Lucifer right before their eyes in the restaurant, and Lucifer was also on the TV?


    Was this recorded footage that was being broadcast now? Or was it really live? And did it mean that Lucifer had a twin or that he was in two ces at the same time.


    There were many questions floating in their heads.


    Meanwhile, the Lucifer on the screen continued, "You have two days. Either pledge your allegiance to me or..."


    He didn''t speak further, but everyone understood his intent. The broadcast faded slowly, and the channels returned to normal.


    The news anchors that were talking about Lucifer before seemed in shock. Even though they had seen the broadcast, they still hadn''te out of their amazement.


    "Ah, that just happened. It seems that things are going to get really messy. One person... One person has just waged war on the entire world."


    "Should we call it his confidence or his overconfidence? We can''tment on that at the moment, but we''ll just go through the information we have for you."


    "Most of you might know, but the Warlock Council was known as one of the strongest Warlock Organizations. It consisted of the strongest Warlocks from the continent of Triton, and it was known far and wide ording to the data."


    "We don''t know if his ims about destroying the Warlock Council are true or not, but if they are true, then this person is to be taken even more seriously."


    Lucifer only heard the initial response from the anchors before he stood up. He watched what he wanted to, and he was done with breakfast. He needed nothing more.


    Watching him leave the restaurant, the waiters held their breath patiently. Inside, they were happy that Lucifer was leaving and because he didn''t look like he was going to destroy the ce.


    They followed Lucifer''s footsteps to the exit. Seeing Lucifer stop just as he reached the exit, their heart started thumping.


    Lucifer looked back at them. "Scared?"


    The waiters nodded their heads.


    "Don''t worry; I''ve destroyed my fair share of restaurants. Not anymore," he said, shaking his head. "Give mypliments to the chef. The food was good."


    His winds pushed the door open. He left.


    Finally the waiters breathed a sigh of relief.


    ...


    As Lucifer stepped out of the restaurant, he knew that the cops and the snipers were keeping an eye on him, but none of them were attacking.


    He had aplete understanding of his surroundings and knew exactly who was looking at him and from where. But there was someone that even he didn''t know about.


    A pair of eyes were observing each movement of Lucifer. The eyes seemed simr to his in color. One was violet, while the other was a beautiful shade of blue.


    The person who was looking at him wasn''t even in his own world. Instead, someone was looking at him from a faraway world.


    Hundreds of colorful stones were spinning around one man like they weres and he was their sun.


    The man had long silky hair that was shining like the moon, lightening up the surroundings even more.


    The man was none other than the person that all the Dungeon Dwellers wanted to kill. He was known as the destroyer of thousands of words, the person that sent fear down people''s souls whenever his true name was mentioned.


    Observing Lucifer, a calm yet powerful sigh left his lips.


    "Soon, it''ll begin... The beginning of the end."


    "Be ready...."


    He only said a few words, but his words were filled with so much power that the entire barren world started trembling following his mere words.


    ...


    He wasn''t the only one who was looking at Lucifer, though.


    There was another powerful entity that was watching everything.


    So far, many Dungeons were discovered by humans, but the strongest Dungeons that were explored was a Level Four Dungeon. Even some Level Five Dungeons were found, but they weren''t close to breakout, so not many people took the risk of entering them.


    Clearing Level Four Dungeon was already hard in itself, let alone a level Five Dungeon. No one wanted to enter one unless there was an absolute need.


    Still, there were some that had dared to enter the ones that were discovered, but most of them never returned after entering. It didn''t matter if they were strong or weak; everyone died inside the Level Five Dungeon.


    So far, no one knew of any person who came out alive after entering.


    There were, however, some people who entered and came back alive, but they didn''t tell others about these explorations. However, even they couldn''t reach the true end of the Dungeons.


    There were only five levels of Dungeons known by humans until this point, but not a single human knew that there were more.


    There were a few Level Six Dungeons that were in ce where humans couldn''t reach. It was why they weren''t discovered. Moreover, the energy needed for them to open was just too high, so not a single beast came out of them either.


    There were only three Level Six Dungeons in the entire world, and all of them were unknown.


    The Three Dungeons didn''t have many beasts in them, but the ones that they had were capable enough to destroy an entire world alone.


    That was the case for beasts in level Six Dungeon, but there was one more. It was the King of All Dungeons, a Level Seven Dungeon.


    There was only one such Dungeon, and it was in a ce where no one could have imagined.


    In the bottom of the sea, the most dangerous Dungeon existed, but even Antis didn''t know about that even though they also lived under the sea.


    The Entrance to the Dungeon was impossible to discover even for them.


    Grade Seven Dungeon was much different than the rest. Unlike other Dungeons, the Dungeon Dwellers that were stuck inside the Dungeon looked no different than humans.


    They could easily switch between humans and beasts whenever they desired.


    There were only seven Beasts inside the Level Seven Dungeon.


    Amongst the seven of them, only one was sitting on a throne while the rest stood around him.


    There was a mirror in front of them, and the mirror was showing them Lucifer.

 Chapter 746

    <h4>Chapter 746</h4>


    "Are we sure he is the one?" A dark-haired woman asked the man on the throne. She seemed suspicious.


    A figure stepped forward and faced the dark-haired woman who had just spoken.


    "None of us can be sure about that, but all signs point towards him. His aura is very simr to that man. Either he''s rted to him somehow, or he met him. In any case, this man is important."


    "Moreover, we even saw thest moments of memories from that coward who ran away from the battle. He had this kid trapped in his own mind."


    "From the memories, we can see that it''s when that person sent his aura to the inner Dreand of the kid. The kid was saved by him. There is no doubt that he''s rted. All clues point to the same thing."


    Another person stepped ahead.


    "Even that person wouldn''t have been able to enter his dreand without being near him physically to use his abilities unless he was rted to this guy."


    He turned back to the man on the throne.


    "What do you think, My Lord?"


    The man on the throne looked very interested in Lucifer through the mirror. There was an amazed smile on his face.


    The man had beautiful dark hair that covered his right eye. Only his left eye was visible, which was blood-red in color.


    There was a blood-red mark on his left eye, which was very visible as if someone had sliced his skin with a very sharp knife, and it was still bleeding, but no blood trickled down.


    The man wore a beautiful dark cloak that seemed to be made purely of dark energy. There was a frightening aura around his body.


    "This person is the link," the man finally opened his mouth, smiling. "He is the one that will let us out."


    "What do you mean, My Lord?" Someone asked.


    The man on the throne looked towards the person who was standing closest to him. The man held a crystal sphere in his hand, but he hadn''t spoken anything.


    It was only after the man on the throne asked that he opened his eyes.


    He observed everyone else for a moment before shifting his gaze to Lucifer on the screen.


    "If he is indeed linked with that person, he is a blessing in disguise for us. To be able to get out of this prison, we would need thousands of years to get enough energy to break the exit shield. But if he is who we think he is, we should be much faster?" he further added.


    "How?" the ck-haireddy asked.


    "Even if we believe for a moment that he is who we think he is, what can we even do with that information? We can''t even leave this ce to do anything to him. All we can do is just watch?!''


    "You are only partially right, young one," the man on the throne smiled. "While it''s true that we can''t leave this ce, there are indeed things we can do."


    The man with the crystal sphere nodded. "We need to bring this person inside our Dungeon. As long as he is inside, we can use the energy of his link to break the entrance seal without having to put much of our energy."


    "Bring him inside? How can we do that, My Lord? All we can do is use this mirror to watch him. We can''t even touch or contact him?"


    The man only smiled in response but didn''t say anything. A dark glint shed in his eyes as he shifted his focus back at the mirror before him.


    ...


    Lucifer stepped out of the restaurant, observing all the cops standing at a distance, but he ignored them as he continued walking while discussing something with Milena.


    He didn''t even bother about sending a warning signal for them to not shoot him from the back. He was sure that the cops weren''t going to be stupid enough to shoot at him after seeing what he had done before.


    Thud~


    Even though he tried ignoring everything around him for the moment, a sudden thumping sounding from behind him attracted his attention.


    Following the sound, he also felt the vibration in the ground.


    "Just a second," he told Milena before turning around.


    He looked behind him, curious.


    Behind him, he noticed a handsome young man who was ring at him. There was a little bit of killing intent around him as well.


    "You aren''t a human, are you?" Lucifer asked with a curious look on his face.


    The young man before him had beautiful dark hair and a smile on his face, which turned into a wide grin as soon as he heard the words of Lucifer.


    "You are able to guess so easily. That''s impressive," the man responded. "You can sense that as well?"


    "I saw someone with the same aura around him in the Divine Empire," Lucifer said. "So what''s a Dungeon Dweller doing outside a Dungeon?"


    He started stepping towards the man.


    "Don''t worry. I am not here to kill you. I am here with a message for you."


    "Message? From whom?"


    "From your friends. I believe their names were Szar and Yaliza?"


    "Apparently they entered our Dungeon to find something. Too bad they weren''t able to get out after stepping in once."


    "Don''t worry; we haven''t killed them. How else would they be able to send you a message?"


    "It''s good that you didn''t kill them. Otherwise, I wouldn''t be talking to you at the moment. I would probably be talking to your head which was separated from your body," Luciferzily said, tossing out a subtle threat.


    The man stretched his arms, raising them upwards as if he was about to yawn.


    "Am I supposed to be scared? Hehehe, don''t worry. You don''t have to scare me. I don''t have any hand in this. I''m just a messenger her-"


    As he spoke, he felt a cold wind brush against his neck. The next second, he found a lightning Sword resting just an inch away from his neck, prepared to slice it.


    Holding the sword was Lucifer, who had appeared right behind the man.


    "If you kill me, you''ll never know where your friends are."


    "Who says they are my friend? You can kill them for all I care. I just don''t like people thinking they have some leverage over me."


    "Alright. I won''t give you the message. I''ll just leave. So far, I haven''t given you any threat. If you don''t care, I''ll just leave," the man smiled as his head rotated backward while his body stood still. He looked Lucifer straight in the eyes.


    There was not even the slightest hint on his face of him being scared which surprised Lucifer a bit.


    "Tell me your message?"

 Chapter 747

    <h4>Chapter 747</h4>


    "The message is simple. They said they are in danger, and they want you to save them."


    "Danger? In a Level Four Dungeon?"


    "Hehehe, young man, you are mistaken. I do know how you humans ssify those prisons, and let me tell you; it''s not what you call level four."


    "I think you don''t know anything because so far, no one reached that far. But since I like you, I''ll tell you a secret."


    "Secret?"


    "The end of the Dungeon is where the entrance of another Dungeon starts from. Your friends entered a different dungeon, looking for something, not knowing they were leaving the old dungeon and entering a new Dungeon."


    Many questions floated in Lucifer''s head. The man seemed to have noticed these changes.


    "You are curious about the second Dungeon? I don''t think you humans have even managed to ssify something like this. So trust me when I say this, but your friends could survive for long. They''re in danger."


    "A Dungeon that hasn''t been ssified? Why are you telling me all these?"


    "You can think of the reasons yourself. I will give you that much liberty. But what I can tell you is that you shouldn''t miss the opportunity. Who knows what you might find. All I can say is that the trip will be worth it in more ways than one."


    "It looks like you really want me toe there."


    "Are you thinking that it''s a trap? It actually might be; who knows. I''ll leave that to your wise choice. But don''t regret itter. I don''t think your friends can survive for as long as your parents survived there."


    Hearing his parents brought up, Lucifer''s expressions became graver.


    "Oh right, I think I forgot to mention them before," the man said as he brought a phone out of his pocket.


    He gave the phone to Lucifer, who instantly recognized the phone.


    "It is my father''s phone," he said, frowning. "It wasn''t discovered inside the Dungeon along with his body. Why do you have the phone?''


    "When you get some free time, I hope you''ll look at the videos in there," the manmented before he started disappearing slowly.


    Lucifer tried to hold him, but the man was like smoke that couldn''t be touched.


    "As I said, I''m just a messenger. Now that my message is done, it''s time I leave. Best of luck, young man."


    Hisst words echoed in the surroundings before he disappeared.


    Only a single phone remained in Lucifer''s hand, which proved to him that he hadn''t just dreamt about this.


    Before he could even open the phone, he noticed the Wallpaper, which was nothing but a family pic of his.


    After being momentarily dazed, he regained his focus and opened the phone carefully which wasn''t locked.


    There weren''t many things on the phone. There were no applications other than the essential ones. The only thing he could check was the gallery.


    He tapped on the gallery and opened the app.


    Within seconds of opening the gallery, he crushed the phone, destroying it entirely.


    "Are you alright?" Milena heard everything Lucifer, and the man talked about; however, she remained silent throughout the conversation. Only after everything went silent did she finally ask.


    "Lucifer? Why aren''t you answering?"


    "Nothing, I was just distracted with something. It''s nothing."


    "I heard everything. Will you be going to save Yaliza and Szar? It really sounds like a trap. I don''t think you should."


    "It doesn''t sound like a trap; it is a trap," Lucifer responded. "There is no question in it."


    "So, what are you going to do?" Milena asked, sighing.


    Lucifer looked up, lost in deep thoughts. He took a deep breath, making a hard decision.


    "I-"


    "Oh right, I forgot to mention one thing."


    Lucifer''s sentence was cut short as the man''s voice once again came.


    "I finished my job as a messenger, but now I''m here as a brother."


    "I heard you killed my weak brother? Although he was a weak coward, he was still my brother. So what if he tried to take over your head? You shouldn''t have killed him."


    Lucifer looked around, trying to find the source of the voice, but he couldn''t find it anywhere.


    It was like the voice wasing from everywhere at the same time.


    "So please enjoy my gift."


    Bang~


    As soon as the sentence finished, a bullet came flying, passing straight through Lucifer''s skull.


    His body dropped to the ground, but his eyes remained open. He suddenly lost all strength in his body as soon as he was shot, but he hadn''t died. His healing started taking ce.


    On one of the roofs, two snipers were taking cover. The yelling of one of them could be heard even from a distance. "What did you do, you idiot! Why did you shoot him without my permission?!"


    "I-i don''t know. My hand just moved on their own." The second sniper looked rattled as he red at his hand, not knowing what had just happened.


    "I was just keeping my aim on him to be sure. I don''t even know how I pulled the trigger. It wasn''t my intention."


    "Well, I don''t know why you did it, but we were fortunate that you didn''t miss. Otherwise... I don''t even want to imagine."


    The two snipers weren''t the only ones who were scared. The Police Chief was also stunned. They didn''t have orders to shoot unless Lucifer attacked them.


    Even though Lucifer was a criminal, they had orders to let the Warlocks handle Lucifer since it was dangerous for the humans.


    The police chief looked up in the direction of the snipers. He pressed a button on thems.


    "May I know what''s happening?"


    "Ah, sorry, sir, it was an ident. I don''t know how it happened, but at least he is dead now. We don''t have to worry about him anymore."


    "You Idiot! We have information that this person can heal his wounds! Bullets don''t kill him! You literally pushed us into a war! Everyone, get in the cars! We are leaving this ce!" The Police Chiefmanded his men, turning around.


    He couldn''t even take one step when he pulled out his gun and turned around. One after another, he fired multiple shots at Lucifer.


    The other cops looked at the man, stunned. Wasn''t he telling everyone to leave? Why was he shooting instead?


    They had many questions, but somehow, they all suddenly felt sleepy. It was drowsiness that took over then suddenly.


    Their bodies started moving on their own as they pulled out their guns and started shooting at Lucifer.


    The cops weren''t alone either.. The entire city was going through the same phenomenon, including all the Warlocks that resided in the city.

 Chapter 748

    <h4>Chapter 748</h4>


    It was as if the entire city was under the same illusion as more and more people starteding out of their houses, running in the direction of Lucifer to get to him.


    "So you''re the brother of the one who tried taking over my body? Instead of trying that, you''re trying to take over others?" Lucifer asked, shaking his head in disappointment as he pushed his body up.


    The barrier appeared around his body, keeping him protected from the barrage of bullets.


    He had just stood up when the ground split up under his feet. A figure came out from the ground under Lucifer, grabbed his feet, and pulled him inside.


    The ground closed above Lucifer.


    The cops stopped shooting and stood nk with no expressions on their faces.


    ¡­


    Inside the level Seven Dungeon, another discussion took ce as things changed so fast.


    Looking at one of them there before Lucifer, the woman looked back, stunned.


    She looked back at the same man who had just talked to Lucifer. He was standing behind her.


    "How are you there and here at the same time?" she asked. "I didn''t know you could do this. Let alone doing this, how did you even step out of the Dungeon when the barrier is still there?"


    "That''s not me." The man in the back smiled in response.


    "Who is that then?"


    "That''s just the fragment of myself that I was only able to send out because of his powers," the man said, ncing at the man on the throne.


    "It''s just a weak fragment that can barely control the city. If I had gone out personally, I would''ve much rather controlled the entire world instead of being satisfied with one city."


    "My Lord, you used your strength to send his fragment out? You wasted so much of your power. Shouldn''t we save it since we need you in the uing battles?"


    "It was important," the man on the throne replied. "Sometimes, you must sacrifice some things to get others."


    "I¡­ I understand," the woman nodded. "You are wise."


    She turned back to the man who had interacted with Lucifer.


    "May I ask why you''re trying to kill him though? Don''t we need him here alive? If he''s dead, can we still use the link?"


    "We can," The man on the throne answered instead. "We don''t necessarily need him alive. We just need him inside this ce, Dead or Alive."


    "My strength can only send a fragment of yours out and that too, momentarily since we are trapped here. We need him if we truly want to be free instead of waiting."


    "Moreover, I told him to do it. We need him toe here. If he doesn''te to save his friends, he''lle for what he saw in the device."


    "What if he doesn''te? He looked suspicious. I think he knows it''s a trap. What if he doesn''te?" the woman asked.


    "That''s why we did this," the man replied. "If we can kill him, it''ll be easier. And if he is safe, that''s good for us as well. He was most suspicious about why someone would invite you inside a Dungeon."


    "I think he won''t have that question now. It''s better he thinks we want to kill him for revenge instead of him wondering why we''re doing it. With thetter, he would''ve been more careful against the unknown. He wouldn''t havee."


    "All we can do is wait. Everything will be clear in a few minutes."


    ¡­


    Lucifer was swallowed by the ground just a few minutes ago, but there has been no movement since then.


    Everyone inside the city had stepped on the roads, especially the Warlocks who were taking the lead. There were thousands of Variants who were surrounding the spot where Lucifer was standing previously.


    Behind them, there were millions of people. All the roads were blocked. The people included men, women, and kids. It was as if the entire city was on the streets, standing still like they were statues.


    Boom~


    A figure came out from the ground, shooting straight to the sky, leaving a big hole in the ground.


    The figure flew straight to the sky, stopped right under the dark clouds. A man''s neck rested in his hands, firmly grasped.


    The man struggled to free himself, only to fail repeatedly. His struggles soon stopped as his neck was crushed.


    Lucifer tossed his body aside before looking down.


    He could see millions of people on the street that were looking up at him like hungry wolves.


    The Variants who could fly flew up and surrounded Lucifer even in the sky.


    A cylinder-type formation was soon created around Lucifer, trapping him.


    "Sigh, you all really know how to annoy me. I am ready though." He looked determined to stay here and face what was happening when he suddenly found himself distracted.


    He looked in a different direction, frowning. "They met up with Xaen."


    He turned back to the millions of people under him. " I don''t have time to fight you, it seems. You''re too weak for me."


    His figure disappeared from the spot as well, just when thousands of attacks were fired towards him.


    ¡­


    Back at the Warlock Council headquarters, the broadcast was finished.


    Caen walked back and returned to his old self.


    "How was it?" he asked Kellian.


    Arthur and everyone else also formed a circle around them to get an update.


    "It was good. Now we can only hope we managed to dy the Warlock Council remnants momentarily. But we made thousands more enemies to achieve this feat. I think we can''t rx."


    "We need to tighten the security of the city. If the city falls, it would be really bad for the reputation of ours. We need to keep the city safe until Lucifer returns," Kellian said.


    "And until Her Majesty returns," Jiani chimed in. "Don''t forget, she is as strong as Lucifer. It''s just because of the bracelet that she listens to your boss."


    "She is stronger than Lucifer?" Caen asked. "Maybe that was true when we had entered the Divine Empire for the first time, but not anymore. And I''m not exaggerating."


    He still remembered the vision they were told about. In the vision, Lucifer was defeated by Milena. However, now that he had more abilities, including evolved ones, Lucifer was certainly stronger than Milena in his head.


    "Let''s not argue about small things. I think they''re both strong. Let''s leave it at that," Arthur chimed in.


    "Anyways, when is everyone else returning from their missions? How long do we have to keep this ce secure?"

 Chapter 749

    <h4>Chapter 749</h4>


    "Most of them should be back soon. Tristan and Das would be returning today since their mission was canceled. Milena is on the way back as well, from what I''m told."


    "The rest should also be back soon in a day or two."


    "I can''t contact Szar and Yaliza, but it''s not shocking since they entered the Dungeon. They''ll probably take some time beforeing."


    "In short, we need to take care of this ce for a day or more. After that, we''ll have more people. So just stay alert."


    Kellian informed Caen while telling him to stay in the looks of Lucifer in the meanwhile.


    Every corner of the city was taken by a Warlock who kept an eye on things. All the defense mechanisms were activated to make sure that not even a fly could enter the city without being seen.


    ...


    Lucifer flew straight towards the south without stopping as he ignored the people of the city that were under someone''s hypnosis, but there were many people who were still following him.


    The citizens and the Warlocks who couldn''t fly were left far behind, but the Warlocks who could fly managed to locate him. They started following him incessantly.


    "Milena?"


    "Yeah?"


    "Move the phone away from your ears for a few seconds."


    "Why?"


    "Just do it."


    "Alright."


    Milena moved the phone away from her ears, curious why Lucifer was asking such a thing.


    Lucifer stopped flying away and turned back to face the hundreds of people who were following him.


    His body stood still in the air as he took a deep breath.


    He opened his mouth, screaming as loud as he could. The Sonic Scream was an ability that he had reserved for himself as it was something that was highly effective against the beasts, but it worked even on humans, from what he had noticed.


    The scream was so loud that everyone who was flying held their ears firmly, trying to protect their ears.


    The headache from the scream was also so strong that it brought everyone to their senses.


    After the scream stopped, everyone looked around in confusion, wondering where they were, but before they could understand anyway, a gust of wind came, taking them with it, making them unable to resist.


    Lucifer watched all the confused Variants fly back, trapped in the wind.


    Shaking his head, he started flying towards his destination.


    "Are you there?" he asked.


    "I am. Now I understand why you asked me to move the phone away from my ears. I could hear that even from a distance. What were you doing?"


    "Some people were following me. It was nothing."


    "Did you take care of them?"


    "More or less."


    "Good. Anyway, I know the whereabouts of Xaen. I''m going there. After that, I''ll think about what I should do with the invitation."


    "Should Ie with you too? I ca-"


    Beep~


    Milena was talking when her voice stopped, followed by a beeping sound.


    "Hello? Milena?"


    Lucifer wondered what had happened, but soon he saw a notification pop up, which showed that the call was disconnected.


    "This girl... Did she just cut the call?"


    As Lucifer wasing up with his own ideas, Milena was looking at her phone, which was dead. "The battery? God, no."


    She instantly ced her phone on charge.


    Lucifer was flying to the location of Xaen when everything turned white again.


    He felt like crushing everything around him as he saw the white light since it meant only one thing. He was going back in time to the start?


    As the light disappeared, Lucifer found himself in a different ce, but this wasn''t what he expected.


    He wasn''t at the beach like before, and his phone wasn''t ringing.


    Instead, he was standing in a ce he had never seen before.


    He was standing in a barrennd that didn''t look like Earth. The sky was blood red. There was no sun in the sky; still, everything was perfectly bright.


    The wind also had a steep stench of blood in it which was too sharp.


    He turned around, observing his surroundings, but not a single speck of light was at sight, let alone blood.


    He was slightly curious where the stench wasing from. What exactly was this ce? It wasn''t a ce he had been to before, but he was certain he was here because of his Time Evolution.


    "Call Milena," hemanded, but there was no response.


    "Hmm?"


    He trapped his face, only now realizing that he didn''t have his sses. His face also felt a bit longer and slightly different.


    Looking down, he also noticed his clothes as well. Even his clothes were different now.


    He was wearing a white shirt. On top of the shirt, he had a blood red robe. There were no gloves in his hand at the moment. He was also donning a white pants that were spotlessly clean.


    He wasn''t wearing shoes either as he remained barefoot.


    "Where am I?" he wondered as he started rising high in the air to get a clear view of his surroundings.


    Rising high in the sky, he soon noticed a beautiful river in the distance. The river wasn''t ordinary. It was filled with blood.


    The blood river was so long that it went as far as his eyes could see, no matter how high he flew.


    "So that''s where the stench wasing from."


    He shifted his gaze from the river, looking at other ces.


    Thend where he was previously standing was barren, but in the distance, he finally saw a green forest. He also heard screams and calls for helping from inside the forest.


    He started flying towards the forest. Since there were screams, it meant there were people as well. And if people were there, it meant he could get his answers there.


    As he flew to the forest, he also tried to find a way to control the time ability of his, which was messing with him. Previously it was sending him back to the beach, but now it had sent him here?


    The time was malfunctioning for him from what he could understand. Instead of controlling time, he was being influenced by time now that his ability was in a higher domain, all because he didn''t know how to control it.


    Hended at the entrance of the forest, following the sound of the screams.


    It didn''t take him long as he soon found the sources of the screams.


    The scream wasing from the center of the forest. In the center, there was a deep well. The well appeared to have a face and eyes on it that seemed alive.


    There were many bodies littered around the well.

 Chapter 750

    <h4>Chapter 750</h4>


    Lucifer stood before a well, observing the surroundings.


    Three strange creatures were standing at some distance from the well.


    All three of them looked like gargoyles with an ugly appearance, a lizard-like tail, and two dragon-like wings. The creatures looked like a beast, but they stood on their own two feet.


    All three of them wereughing as they heard all the screams. There was a fourth creature that was standing farther away from them.


    It had a simr appearance to the other three, but unlike the other three, he wasn''t standing idle.


    Instead, the fourth one was the reason behind threat screams.


    There were many people sitting before the fourth Gargoyle who looked like humans yet different.


    The people before the gargoyle had deep blue eyes, but their ears were longer than the ears of ordinary humans. They also had a small horn on their forehead.


    The bodies around the well belonged to these people as well.


    The gargoyle picked up a girl sitting in the distance, grabbing her throat. It was the same girl whose scream was echoing around.


    The girl was small, looking like she was around thirteen years old. She was small, but her voice was very loud. Even from such a distance, her voice reached far and wide.


    The gargoyle smirked at the girl. "It is fun to hear your scream; I''ll let you live temporarily until I deal with the rest."


    He tossed the girl away before moving on to the others.


    He picked a different person.


    This time, grabbing the throat of a young man, he raised the man in the air.


    The man tried to free himself, but his strength was just too little.


    His eyes opened wide as his throat was crusted. They soon lost their shine as the man died.


    The sound of people crying was everywhere. Everyone knew they were going to die.


    The Gargoyle pushed the body of the man towards the well where other bodies were lying.


    As he tossed the body, he subconsciously looked towards the well.


    Initially, he didn''t notice it and turned back to the others, but his eyes took a second to register that he saw someone near the well.


    He once again looked towards the well, stubbed.


    His eyes met the eyes of Lucifer.


    The gargoyle seemed like he couldn''t believe his eyes. In fear, he took a step back as his body started shivering.


    Hitting a stone behind him, the Gargoyle fell down as he kept repeating, "Why is he here?!"


    The other Gargoyles noticed the reaction of their friend. They also looked towards the well, but their reaction was not much different. It was like they had seen a ghost.


    "D-destroyer of Worlds! I thought he was just a story!"


    All the Gargoyles turned around and started flying away without thinking twice.


    The fourth Gargoyle who had fallen also struggled to stand as he flew away.


    Lucifer seemed slightly stubbed. It was as if these people knew him. How was it possible? He didn''t remember seeing them before?


    "Am I in my future instead?" he muttered, frowning.


    Just as he was thinking about following them, he heard the screams filled with agony.


    He turned to the people, wondering why they were screaming, however as soon as he turned to them, even he was surprised.


    The people there were screaming because their bodies were being decayed. By the time he noticed, most of them had already turned to dust.


    Only a few people were left, but even they weren''t doing good as their bodies were decaying.


    "Is it because of me?"


    Lucifer stepped closer to them, looking at his hands. He wasn''t touching them. Why were they decaying?


    It was only now that he noticed a violet mist around him that was spreading outwards.


    "This mist? It''s because of me?"


    The trees also started getting destroyed.


    He flew high in the sky, wondering if that was going to stop this, but the mist didn''t move with him. It stayed in the forest, decaying everything.


    Within seconds, everything was destroyed. Nothing was left of the forest. It was no different than the barrennd where Lucifer was standing previously.


    Only the violet mist was left, which startedpressing in itself. The entire mist turned into one small water droplet which flew closer to Lucifer.


    Lucifer watched the mist droplet which was flying closer to him. He didn''t feel scared of the droplet. There was something he felt familiar in it.


    He let the miste closer. The mistnded on the back of Lucifer''s right hand, being absorbed in it.


    As soon as the mist was absorbed, he felt like he was slightly stronger now but not by much.


    If his strength at the moment was a sea, the strength he gained wasparable to a droplet in the sea.


    "Is this the next form of Decay? Destroying things without touching and getting the strength? But I didn''t use this. So it''s working as a passive ability like before?"


    Lost in thoughts, he knew he needed answers, but there was no one who could give him an answer.


    The only ones who could answer him were the Gargoyles, who seemed to have known something about him.


    He located the Gargoyles who were flying away and started chasing them.


    He didn''t know when he was going to be sent back, so he didn''t want to waste time by standing around.


    ....


    "How can this be possible? Why is he here?! Did he just have tond in this world? How unlucky can we be?"


    "I don''t know what we should do. Where should we run? Where should we hide? We can''t survive now that he''s here since the entire world is going to be destroyed soon! We need to find a way to leave this world!''


    "We can''t leave this ce either. It''s impossible! So stop giving stupid ideas. I think the only way to stop him is to kill him! We should all attack him! Get everyone and fight! Our existence and the existence of this world is on the line!"


    "Fight him? Did you not hear the stories about him? You must be crazy to think we can kill him!"


    "The stories might be exaggerated. We need to do something! We can''t just wait for our death! We need to do something! We should fight!"


    The one who was advocating for fighting Lucifer stood still as he started trembling, seeing Lucifer in the distance.


    The others also noticed Lucifer. Their faces turned pale as they didn''t know what to do now.


    "May I ask why you want to kill me?"

 Chapter 751

    <h4>Chapter 751</h4>


    "Y-y-you..."


    The men only stuttered, not knowing how to reply. They couldn''t even gather the courage to speak, especially the man Lucifer was asking the question.


    He was just talking about killing Lucifer only recently, and now he didn''t know how to follow up.


    "Are you going to answer? Why do you want to kill me?" Lucifer asked once again.


    "W-we don''t want to kill you, Your Majesty. We can''t even dare to think about it. Please leave our! Please don''t destroy it! It''s our only home. We''ll die if you destroy it!"


    "Destroy? Why will I destroy this barrennd?" Lucifer asked, but understanding. He didn''t even know where he was, let alone knowing how he''d destroy it.


    The men didn''t seem like Lucifer was telling the truth. They thought he was just toying with them by telling this.


    Tears started pouring out of their eyes. It was the first time Lucifer had seen beasts crying, especially such ugly beasts.


    Since they didn''t believe when he told the truth, he changed his n.


    "Alright, you are right. I was here to destroy this ce. But I''m feeling a little generous today. I''ll think about not destroying yournd. If you can answer me honestly, I''ll let you and your world survive. Do you take my offer?"


    "This...." Having no other options, the Gargoyles nodded their heads.


    A small hope of survival was better than nothing. "We will do anything as long as you don''t kill us. We would even be willing to be your ves! We can be of use to you!"


    "I don''t need ves. I only need some answers. I want you to tell me everything you know about me. Don''t even think about lying to me."


    "W-we won''t dare!"


    "Good. So tell me everything now. Why were you scared after seeing me? You talked about some stories regarding me? What stories? I want to know everything."


    "The stories... Everyone knows stories about you! The Wanderer who wanders from to. No survives his arrival for long, ultimately being destroyed before you move into another world."


    "You are the most well known person in the world. Even kids here know about you. We also heard that you single handedly destroyed thousands ofs so far. That''s why we were scared after seeing you."


    "Please don''t destroy our home!"


    "A wanderer who destroyss?" Lucifer muttered, frowning.


    ''Why would I do such a thing? Could it be...'' he looked down at his hands momentarily.


    "What else do you know about me?"


    "We heard that you are also the most wanted person in the entire universe. The Star Alliance has been looking for you for a long time, but you have been able to avoid them."


    "Star alliance?" Lucifer asked, confused. "What''s that?"


    "Star Alliance is..." The Gargoyle started answering, but he stopped in the middle of his sentence as he heard a screeching sound.


    The gravity of the world suddenly changed. Their bodies were pulled to the ground.


    All Gargoyles fell on the ground under the effect of the gravity, unable to resist the pressure. The Gargoyles weren''t alone. Entire World was under this pressure.


    All the forms of life were lying on the ground, feeling like they were going to suffocate under this pressure.


    Even Lucifer himself was struggling to resist the pressure.


    Lucifer raised his head, focusing on the direction the sound wasing from.


    He could see hundreds of portals open before him. All the portals looked small from where he was standing, but they were thousands of meters long if one was to look from close.


    A ship came out of one of the spatial Portals, followed by more ships. One ship came from each of the portal, one after another.


    Before long, the entire space was covered in massive ships that were surrounding the from all sides.


    The silver ships looked intimidating yet beautiful at the same time.


    A massive star symbol was clearly visible on each of the ships, followed by a word which said, ''Alliance.''


    "Star Alliance?" Lucifer read the words, understanding what it was.


    He didn''t even understand what the star alliance was, but they were already here. And all he managed to find out was that they were looking for him.


    He looked down at the Gargoyles that were stuck on the ground, unable to even raise their heads.


    Lucifernded before the Gargoyles, still resisting the pressure.


    "Tell me about the Star Alliance?"


    "The Star Alliance? They are very powerful. They ar-"


    The Gargoyles tried to speak, but they couldn''t finish as their bodies started cracking under the intense pressure.


    They watched their bodies break, trying to speak, but they couldn''t as their bodies shattered.


    The president kept increasing with time. Even Lucifer was finding it hard to stand against the pressure.


    His feet were firmly nted on their ground which kept getting inside the ground as his body was pushed down.


    Instead of letting his body be buried in the ground, he teleported to a different ce, firmly standing tall.


    The Gargoyles were broken before they could even answer. He had no one who could answer him.


    All the ships had formed a wall around the ind. Energy waves from each ship connected with each other, sealing the entire world.


    The energy shield around the world had sealed the entire world, leaving no space for anyone to escape.


    A bright beam of light came out of the ships,nding all around Lucifer.


    All the beams disappeared, leaving many people behind on the ind.


    The world which was barren until recently was now filled with people everywhere.


    There were thousands of people on the ind. Most of them were covering the sky while the rest stood on thend, surrounding Lucifer.


    Amongst the thousand people, half looked like beasts of different shapes and sizes who had humanoid forms.


    They all looked different and had different features. Some had wings; others had horns, while some had giant Bodies.


    The other half of the people that had arrived seemed like proper humans with not many differences.


    All of them were wearing a white uniform that was surrounded by a thinyer of mist. There was a star symbol on their Clothes, including the Clothes that the beasts were wearing.


    Some Carried weapons while the others were bare handed.


    The one thing that wasmon in all of them was that they all felt strong. There was a powerful aura around their body which was slightly intimidating.


    Thebined aura of all of them was so powerful that even the world had started splitting apart slowly.


    Lucifer observed everyone that was standing around him. They all looked perfectly calm while keeping their eyes on him.


    Unlike the Gargoyles, they didn''t seem scared after seeing Lucifer.. Instead, some of them even had a smirk on their faces.

 Chapter 752

    <h4>Chapter 752</h4>


    One of the Star Alliance members flew closer to Lucifer,nding just a few feet away from him.


    It was one of the Humans who carried a wooden staff in his hand, which was as tall as him. A beautiful crystal orb was resting on the top of the staff, which shone in a beautiful blue light.


    The man wore a white dress like everyone else with the star alliance symbol, but only his uniform had two stars instead of one. The man looked to be in his twenties, which wasn''t very old for the amount of powers he possessed.


    His short blonde hair was messy and all over the ce, as if he didn''t really care to waste time setting his hair. Despite the messy hair, the man still looked great with his long face and a perfect jawline.


    His deep ck eyes observe Lucifer from top to bottom, especially focusing on his hands.


    "It seems we finally met." He calmly said, looking straight into the eyes of Lucifer.


    "Should I be happy or sad?" Lucifer asked in response.


    He had a feeling that they wanted to kill him since they were chasing after him, but he didn''t know how strong they were or what their strengths were. He didn''t know a single time about them, but they seemed out of the world he used to know.


    "Happy or sad? Unfortunately, I can''tment on what you should feel. I''ll leave that for you to decide."


    "You''re here to kill me? May I know what I did first?"


    The man didn''t react to the question, knowing how stupid that question was. He didn''t believe for a single second that Lucifer didn''t know why he was being chased.


    "I''m surprised you didn''t try to run away yet likest time. You didn''t even try to attack us right away. Are you finally regretting what you did?"


    "You mean destroying the world? I heard about that."


    "Destroying worlds? I don''t care about that. These worlds don''te under our jurisdiction, so we couldn''t care any less about them. I''m talking about what you did with her? Do you regret it?"


    Lucifer was filled with confusion. What was he talking about? It wasn''t about the world but about a girl?


    "With who?" he asked.


    For the first time, the man''s expressions changed as a hint of anger appeared in his eyes which he immediately controlled.


    "You don''t even remember her? The woman who loved you more than her life? The Queen of the Star Empire? Your wife?! The woman you killed with your own hands?"


    "My wife?!" Lucifer eximed in shock. What the heck were they talking about? How did he get a wife? And why would he kill his own wife? He didn''t believe he could be that bad? Just what happened?


    For a moment, he even wondered if this was actually the future or just a dream?


    "We are here to dere your Verdict of the Alliance. You are to be killed and not arrested! Do you ept the verdict?"


    "Are you really asking me if I ept being killed?" Lucifer asked, looking nkly at the man before him. "My answer is no. I don''t ept the verdict. I didn''t do anything so far, and I''m not taking any punishment for what I didn''t do."


    "So you want to go to war?" The man asked calmly.


    Lucifer observed everyone else in the surrounding area. The entire world was filled with people. He didn''t know how strong these people were, but he was sure they were much stronger than anything he saw before.


    Moreover, he didn''t even know what his strengths at the moment were and how he used to fight here if it was his future.


    He didn''t want to jump into a flight blind.


    After finishing his words, he Teleported away, leaving the warzone. He knew his time malfunctioning was going to send him back. At least he believed that, so he needed time.


    "So he chose to run. I expected more from him." The man seemed disappointed as he saw Lucifer run away.


    The man tapped his staff on the ground. The crystal in his staff changed color to a Spatial White.


    The spot in his surroundings started changing as the wind started moving in reverse.


    Lucifer found himself back at the spot.


    He knew it wasn''t because of his time reset that he was here now. Time reset felt different. This was apletely different feeling right now.


    "You can''t run." The manzily said, looking down on Lucifer. "I don''t know what she saw in you, but you truly showed that you aren''t to be trusted by backstabbing her. It''s time you get the punishment you deserve."


    The man tapped his staff on the ground again. The color changed to a beautiful shade of blue.


    Tens of chains came out of the ground. The chains grabbed his hand and his feet. Some chains even wrapped around his neck and his waist, pulling him down to the ground.


    Stunned, Lucifer found himself sitting on his knees as his arms were spread by the chains while the rest made him sit straight.


    Another chain came out, wrapping around his forehead, making him look straight at the man with the staff.


    "By the order of the Oasis, I now put you to death!"


    The man raised his staff a third time, tapping it on the ground. The crystal once again changed the color, this time turning into blood red.


    However, at the same time, Lucifer felt something. It was the same feeling as time reset. Everything around him turned white as he found himself back in his old world where he was.


    There were no chains around him anymore, and he felt perfectly fine. He sighed a breath of relief. There were too many unknown factors in the other world. He was d he was back.


    Not wanting to go back and forth in time without his control, he instantly called Kellian since the call was disconnected with Milena. He didn''t want to be lost again.


    ...


    In another ce at a different time, a man was still sitting on his knees, tied to chains.


    Another man with a wooden staff was standing before him. He had just tapped his staff a third time which turned blood red after the tap.


    At the same time, the man on his knees raised his hand. His face lookedpletely calm yet expressionless.


    His eyes were different though. Unlike before, his eyes now seemed to be filled with destruction and bloodshed.. A frightening aura surrounded the main as the chains that were keeping him trapped disintegrated on their own, unable to bear the pressure.

 Chapter 753

    <h4>Chapter 753</h4>


    The chains that were trapping the man shattered just as the orb of the white robed man had turned blood red.


    The sudden change in aura was enough to stun everyone who was present in the world. If the man''s old aura was like a rain droplet of water, his current aura was like a Tsunami that was unstoppable.


    All the Star Alliance members felt their skins burn under the effect of the destructive aura. They were forced to cast a small protection around themselves to make their bodies resist the aura.


    The person who got the worst of it was the person who was standing right in front of Lucifer.


    He should feel his body being destroyed from inside out, just with the aura itself. He also cast a barrier around him. The small star symbol on his chest started shining, casting its protection.


    "Interesting..." he muttered, looking at the deep eyes of Lucifer. "I was thinking it was going to be boring. It''ll be a bit more fun it seems."


    The blood red sphere on his staff slowly became intense as time kept passing.


    "It seems like you''re back to your old self? I''ll ask onest time. Do you regret what you did?"


    Lucifer stared at the staff in the hands of the man.


    "The Staff of Zaira..."


    His grim voice spread far and wide even though he had only spoken lightly. His voice covered the entire world, even making the shields around the world tremble.


    "You remember this? Of course you would. It''s the staff of the woman you killed," the blonde haired man responded.


    "It''s interesting, isn''t it? You''ll die with the weapon of the woman you killed with your own hands. I''ve seen many monsters but not someone who would kill his own wife. Even hell would refuse to take you in after your death!"


    Lucifer looked towards the sky, observing the Shields.


    "May I ask one thing before I kill you? Why did you do it?"


    Lucifer didn''t respond to the question. He kept observing the sky.


    "You don''t want to answer me? You want to die with that secret?"


    After a long time, Lucifer lowered his head, observing the staff again. There was a look of reminiscence on his face that was emotionless until now. "Zaira..."


    "Don''t even speak her name with your filthy mouth!" The man roared, waving his sword.


    A blood red mist came out of the ground, shooting straight to Lucifer.


    Lucifer''s figure flickered as he avoided the attack. He didn''t run away. He just appeared in the air, a few meters above where he was standing previously.


    "You''re not running everywhere!" The man said, tapping the staff once again. Time moved in reverse, bringing Lucifer back where he was standing, right in the middle of the mist.


    The mist prated his skin, entering his body.


    Lucifer felt pain, but he still didn''t react. He just observed the staff as he patted his chest a little.


    "The Curse of Zaira, most painful spell in existence. I know your body can''t be destroyed but it''ll destroy your soul instead. It''ll destroy it in the most brutal way possible, making it even more painful than you can imagine."


    "You can''t protect yourself against this no matter what you do. As each second passes, it''ll get worse."


    Lucifer didn''t react even now. He wasn''t even hearing the words of the man. His entire focus was on the staff.


    It was indeed bing more painful for him but he didn''t seem to care at all.


    "You aren''t scared of death?" The man asked Lucifer.


    Finally Lucifer looked at the man.


    "Death isn''t scary, life is."


    He shifted his gaze, looking down at his hands. A blood red line had started appearing in his hands. "You all should run."


    "We should run? You''re still threatening me even in this condition?"


    Lucifer didn''t respond after his initial response. He just looked back at the sky.


    ....


    Boom~


    A deafening sound spread everywhere. The ships that were forming a barrier around the flew back uncontrobly, being damaged really badly. Some of the ships were destroyed entirely.


    The where the Star Alliance members were standing on also blew up to smithereens in the massive explosion.


    As the dust cleared, a ck hole came to sight where the world used to be. The ck hole started swallowing all the pieces of the world that were floating in space.


    A few meters under the ck hole, Lucifer''s unconscious body was floating, not knowing where he was. The ck hole absorbed all the pieces of the world along with Lucifer and disappeared.


    The Star Alliance members were also unconscious as they were caught in the explosion but their star shields sensed the dangers and activated. The shields teleported them back to the ships they came from.


    The unlucky ones were teleported to the ships that were destroyed while the lucky onesnded in the other ships that escaped the explosion.


    The blonde haired man was one of the lucky ones who had survived as he was teleported on the ship in the back.


    It took him a few minutes toe to his senses, understanding what had happened. He ran to the window, holding his staff firmly.


    He looked out at the ship.


    "Where did the go? And where is him?"


    "Sir, the has disappeared. I would say it''s destroyed already right after we sensed that destructive energy signature. We were lucky to survive that explosion."


    "How can he destroy the world on his own? The Curse of Zaira must''ve blocked his strength!"


    "Sir, we think he used overdrive to kill you all by himself. That''s why this explosion took ce. Our Star Shields saved you but he... I think he died."


    "Could it really be that simple?" The man muttered. "Scan every ce for any life signature."


    "If he''s alive, I want him here! I want to see him die with my own eyes!"


    "Commencing Scans!"


    ...


    In another ce, a block hole opened, tossing out the body of Lucifer.


    The unconscious body floated in space aimlessly. The ck holepressed in itself,bining all the energy.


    It soon turned to a ck sphere that started changing colors. The ck sphere contained theplete life energy of the world that was destroyed, including the energy from its core.


    As the energy waspletely absorbed by the sphere and refined, the ck sphere split into seven small parts.


    Each small part of the sphere was only a few inches wide. The pure life energypressed even more and finally solidified, taking the shape of small stones.


    Each of the seven stones had a different color of its own.. All seven spheres floated closer to Lucifer and started circling around him like he was their sun.

 Chapter 754

    <h4>Chapter 754</h4>


    More stones came out from the pocket of Lucifer. Within seconds, hundreds of stones were circling around him like they were nts and he was their origin.


    After floating for two hours, Lucifer''s fingers finally moved as he came out of his unconsciousness. His eyes slowly opened.


    He controlled his body, making it stand straight as he started observing the surroundings.


    Using his right hand, he tapped the corner of his eyes, removing something wet.


    Reaching out his hand, he touched one of the stones. Even amongst the hundreds of stones, he was able to recognise the newly formed ones.


    The stonesnded on his fingers, tapping them lightly.


    "Death and life... Go to sleep." He waved his left hand, casting a spatial Portal. All the stones entered the Portal before it disappeared.


    Lucifer looked into the distance, taking a moment toe out of his daze.


    "What happened to me there? I felt like I lost control of my body? I was standing idly in the world, the next thing I knew, I was on my knees before star alliance? Why don''t I remember anything that happened in between?" he muttered, frowning.


    He couldn''t remember a single second from the moment the younger Lucifer had taken over his body.


    Shaking his head, he decided to stop thinking about it too much. A bigger portal appeared before him. He stepped inside the portal and disappeared.


    ....


    The young Lucifer was back where he started, not knowing the things that had unfolded behind him.


    Fortunately he wasn''t at the beach this time. He was back where he had brought the people out of theirpulsion.


    He looked at the confused Variants behind him who seemed confused about their whereabouts.


    "Seeing those people and seeing these... There''s just noparison."


    Shaking his head in disappointment, he started flying away back to where his destination was.


    After a short flight, he ended up in front of what appeared like an abandoned factory. The factory seemed like it hadn''t been in use for decades. Even the locks were covered in dust.


    From outside, it looked like it was in urgent need of repairs.


    Lucifernded before the small factory.


    Through his shadows, he knew Mirali and Alexi were trying to contact Xaen. It didn''t take them long before they managed to locate the Xaen as well.


    Lucifer didn''t know previously that there was a protocol between all the Great Family Heads on how to contact each other.


    They all knew how to get in contact with each other in case of emergencies. They used the same route to contact all the Great Family Heads and Xaen, leaving a message for them.


    As Xaen was more careful, he made sure to check if there was any trap or not beforeing out. He also made sure that they weren''t in a sealed spade.


    Fortunately he had live reports about Lucifer being in the restaurant so he didn''t need to be too careful.


    After meeting Alexi and Mirali, he took the both of them with him.


    The shadow of Lucifer came with them, sneaking in the shadow of Alexi without being caught.


    Xaen had also contacted other Great Family Heads, telling them to get to the capital city while being careful.


    All the Great Families that lived in the Capital had lost their heads at the hands of Lucifer.


    There were eight families. Lucifer had killed three family heads who lived in the capital. One had already left the nation after hearing the warning from Lucifer.


    Alexi and Mirali were still alive along with two more who lived in the Southern and the Northern Part of the Nation. The distance was long but Xaen helped them as well, bringing them inside the factory as well.


    Tracing his shadow, Lucifer also reached the factory but he remembered the warning of Xaen as well. Just as Xaen had said, there was a good chance that this ce was going to explode if he tried to break inside.


    Fortunately, he had other ways now. His figure disappeared as he appeared inside the factory without much trouble.


    Knowing the route to follow, he kept teleporting from ce to ce as he went deeper and deeper into the factory.


    ...


    In the depths of the factory, there existed a secretb of Xaen.


    Five people stood in the Lab. Except Xaen, Mirali, Alexi and the other two heads were also here.


    Xaen''s hand still hadn''t recoveredpletely. He was looking at the bed behind him. A woman was lying on the bed, unmoving.


    "May I ask why we''re hiding here when that guy is running around everywhere, causing havoc?"


    "Exactly! Xaen, Alexi, Mirali, what were you doing? Why didn''t you stop him?"


    "You two weren''t here. You haven''t seen him fight. He already killed three of us. Do you think we''re dealing with a kid? He might''ve been our student in the past but he''s apletely different person now," Alexi responded to the two family heads that were questioning them.


    "Moreover, I don''t even know how many abilities he truly has. He isn''t a weak person. Just look at the hands of Xaen! You think he did it to himself? We all tried. It''s not that simple."


    "Maybe you didn''t try hard enough."


    "You mean the ones who died didn''t try hard? Who wouldn''t try when their lives were on line? Stop your nonsense!" Mirali yelled in rage. "Stop mocking the sacrifice of my friends!"


    "I''m not mocking. I''m just telling the truth! No matter how strong he is, he''s still a kid! And you''re hiding here from a kid?"


    "You want to fight the kid? Go ahead. I won''t stop you," Alexi retorted. "But just know, we won''te to save your ass either!"


    "Everyone, calm down. It''s not the time to didn''t between ourselves." Xaen looked back at the group.


    "Lucifer is different. He looks like a kid but he''s much more than a kid. You don''t know about him. Let me tell you what I know about him."


    He walked to the screen before him and turned the screen on.


    "The boy named Lucifer Azarel was born in the house of Zale Azarel, who was a part of the main group that killed the General of the First Great War."


    He started giving briefings about Lucifer that was known by him, including his birth, his awakening and all the people he had killed so far.


    "What''s worse is that he can absorb the ability of the people he killed.. So he might have a thousand abilities or even more. We''re not fighting one kid, we''re fighting thousands of Warlocks in one body!"

 Chapter 755

    <h4>Chapter 755</h4>


    "I won''t stop you all from underestimating him if you want, but I would firmly advise against it."


    As he talked, turning his back towards Eve, a shadow started rising behind him, slowly creeping closer to thedy who was lying on the bed behind Xaen.


    Xaen couldn''t see behind him, but still, a smirk crept up his lips.


    "There''s one more thing I should tell you all about that person," he added.


    "What?" Alexi asked.


    "He is strong, but he''s also a fool at the same time. He lets himself easily be influenced by his emotions, thinking everyone else is an idiot. We can use it against him."


    As he spoke, he ced his hand in his pocket.


    He pressed a small button in his pocket.


    "How can we use it against him?" Mirali raised her head towards Xaen.


    "By taking a toy of his and dragging him back to us. It will work, don''t you think so? Lucifer?" he asked, looking back.


    The shadow of Lucifer that was moving closer to the woman on the bed disappeared as Lucifer came to sight.


    "You!" Alexi and Mirali stepped back in surprise, seeing Lucifer.


    Even Lucifer looked confused to some extent. He felt something off. He didn''t know what it was, but it was as if something was sucking all his energy.


    He couldn''t even use any of his Ability Cores as whatever bit of their energy he tried to use, it didn''t leave his body but was sucked by something else instead.


    "No need to be scared of him. That''s what I said when I told you that he''s a fool," Xaen told Alexi and the others.


    "He thought he could steal my Limiters and modify them so I couldn''t control them? He learned some really great skills to be able to modify them, but he forgot one thing."


    "I am the creator of the Limiters... It''s not hard for me to take control of the Limiters again."


    He turned to Lucifer, smiling. "Are you shocked or impressed?"


    "Let me guess; you''re thinking how can the Limiters affect you? Their lightning shouldn''t affect you? And they don''t work on already running abilities?"


    Lucifer didn''t answer, but his eyes said everything. He needed answers.


    "The Limiters you took, they weren''t the old Limiters you were used to. The tens of Limiters you''re wearing as an essory, thinking you''ll use them on others when needed? They aren''t what you thought they are."


    "They are a Prototype of the next Limiter version that I''ve been creating for a long time since shocking people and making them lose consciousness wasn''t the best approach to stop people from using abilities in the campus. It seemed a bit inhumane to some."


    "So these things were in the process of creation for a long time. They''re still a prototype, but they''re as close to the final version as they can be."


    "New Limiters?" Alexi asked. It was also the first time he was hearing of such things. Just what things was Xaen doing behind their back?


    "They are mostly simr to the old ones. They make you lose consciousness when you use your abilities. To make you lose consciousness, they store some energy and send them to your body as electricity."


    " And as you know, if it can supply energy, It can also store energy."


    "So it stores whatever bit of energy thates from the ability cores of the person before it could leave their body in the desired form. It then disperses the energy in nature in a non-destructive form. It''s like a pacifier," Xaen let out, stretching his arms.


    "Oh, just a reminder. Now it also works on your passive abilities."


    "Why didn''t you use this in the Academy?" Lucifer asked, observing the tens of Limiters. He didn''t even know that he was roaming while wearing the weapon of an enemy.


    Xaen simply smirked in response. "I''ll leave that for you to figure out."


    Lucifer could sense something from his words. If he hadn''t used this in the Academy, it just meant he was more confident in the poison.


    Either he didn''t bring whatever controlled the Limiters, or there was still some w in the Limiter that he was yet to solve.


    If it was the former, there wasn''t much he could gain from that information, but if it was thetter, he just needed to figure out that w.


    ''If I break them, that should be the end of it.''


    He ced his hand on the Limiter, trying to crush them, but he couldn''t crush them. The Limiters felt very strong. He couldn''t even make a dent on them, let alone crush them.


    He didn''t have much strength as all his strength was being sucked by the Limiter.


    Xaen just watched Lucifer, amused.


    "Amusing, isn''t it? How vulnerable can a person be without his abilities? One moment you were threatening the entire world like the king of the world, and the next minute you couldn''t even break a piece of metal. Aren''t I right?"


    "Without your strength, you aren''t nothing but a small kid that doesn''t know what he''s doing. That''s what happens when you start being overconfident about your abilities and stop thinking critically," Xaen said.


    Alexi nodded his head. "It seems you didn''t put anything you learn in the academy to use. I had a feeling that was going to be the case."


    He already understood that Lucifer wasn''t thinking clearly. He was more dangerous and stranger than the Alex they used to know, but that strength came at the cost.


    Since he was stronger, he didn''t need to use his brain that much, which resulted in him ignoring such skills.


    Back at the Warlock Council headquarters, Kellian had a deep frown on his face.


    He stood tall, wearing a headset on his head as he looked at the screen, which broadcast everything that Lucifer was seeing.


    Since Milena was disconnected, Lucifer contacted Kellian instead and was on a call with him just to be sure. At the same time, he was also sending the signals through his sses as to what he was seeing.


    "These Limiters are used against you. Don''t worry though. Just stay there. I''ll ask Roy to find the ws in the Limiters. Just keep them busy for a short time!"


    He moved to another screen and contacted someone else.


    "Roy, you have the sample of New Limiters, right? I want you to open them and understand them thoroughly. Find the ws in them.. You don''t have much time! I need an answer in a few minutes!" Hemanded.

 Chapter 756

    <h4>Chapter 756</h4>


    "I can''t do that. I tried opening one, but it just explodes whenever I try something with it. I think I can''t dive in."


    "It explodes because the Limiters are locked. Contact Caen. He is roaming as Lucifer. His voice should be able to unlock them. Just take his help and do it!"


    "Got it. I''ll get you an answer soon!"


    Kellian turned back to the main screen.


    "That reminds me, can you use your voice to unlock the Limiters?"


    Lucifer shook his head.


    He observed Xaen. "You took over all the controls of the Limiters I''m wearing."


    "Why don''t you try? Maybe I did, maybe I didn''t?"


    Lucifer looked down at the Limiters. Even though he was sure that it wasn''t going to be easy, he still attempted. "Unlock."


    The light on the Limiter didn''t change at all, even after hismands.


    "I get it. We''ll find another way. Just keep them distracted." Kellian told Lucifer, hearing the entire conversation.


    "It is certainly fun to watch you struggle, but I don''t want to give you much time to find a way out." Xaen stepped closer to Lucifer.


    He raised his hand towards the neck of Lucifer.


    Lucifer didn''t even flinch as he saw the hands of Xaening closer to him. Xaen was shorter than him, so it didn''t look like he could even raise him in the air by grabbing his neck.


    Xaen didn''t stop on Lucifer''s neck. Instead, his hand kept going up and stopped right before Lucifer''s sses.


    "Also, you don''t need these sunsses in this dark room. I''ll take them."


    He took the sses.


    "That''s just better. No reason to hide your beautiful eyes," Xaen said. "Tell me yourst words before I kill you."


    "Myst words? I only want to say one thing," Lucifer said, sighing.


    "Go ahead."


    Lucifer moved closer to Xaen, bringing his lips closer to his ears. "Kill me while you have a chance. Because you might not get this chanceter."


    Finishing his words, he moved back.


    Xaen was a bit stubbed at Lucifer''s words. Did this guy really want to die or something? He couldn''t use any abilities, and he was right at the door of death, yet he wasn''t scared. What was happening?


    In his shock, he didn''t even notice the sses in his hand. Frustrated, he crushed the sses in his hand before tossing the pieces away.


    "I''ll listen to yourst wish."


    He pped both his hands, bringing out another spatial Portal before him.


    He inserted his hand inside the Spatial Portal but didn''t enter personally. After a few seconds, he pulled out something from the portal.


    He pulled out a beautiful sword from the Spatial Portal.


    The Sword had a beautiful shade of silver. Its edges looked sharp enough to slice through bones as if they were nothing.


    "I don''t know if it''ll work or not, but we can always try." Xaen ced the tip of his sword on the chest of Lucifer.


    Lucifer didn''t even flinch, watching the sword on his chest.


    "Five..."


    "What?" Xaen asked, hearing Lucifer say something.


    "Four...."


    "Are you having a countdown?"


    "Three."


    Xaen felt something wrong. He didn''t understand why Lucifer was counting down, but he didn''t want to give Lucifer a chance to finish his count.


    "Two...."


    Thrust~


    At the count of two, the sword stabbed the heart of Lucifer, passing through his back.


    Lucifer lowered his gaze, looking at the hole on his chest.


    Xaen pulled out the Sword.


    A smile shed across the lips of Lucifer. He opened his bleeding lips.


    "One."


    Swiss~


    Right as he finished his word, the sword came slicing once again, taking his head off.


    Lucifer was prepared for something to happen, but something was different. He couldn''t feel his vision turning dark. Normally, after connection was disconnected for this much time, his time loop became active, sending him in various times. However, it didn''t happen now?


    He was hoping that it was going to happen again. He wondered if it was because Xaen was in a direct conversation with him in a sense. Did it not work if he was with someone in this world? He couldn''t understand, but he knew he didn''t have the time to think.


    He needed to protect himself.


    He tilted his body backward, avoiding the sharp sword that came zing towards him.


    He barely dodged the sword that managed to leave a scratch on his neck.


    He moved back, knowing things could''ve been much worse.


    "So you finally decided to struggle?" Xaen asked, smiling.


    "What was the countdown about? I thought you had epted your death? Had a change of heart at thest second?"


    "It doesn''t matter. You''re not going anywhere!" Xaen casually waved his hand.


    A Portal appeared behind Lucifer, swallowing him whole.


    Another Portal opened before Xaen. Lucifer came falling from the portal,nding right before Xaen.


    Xaen tried to grab the throat of Lucifer, only to have his wrist grabbed by Lucifer.


    Lucifer swiftly turned around, using the momentum of his body to bring Xaen down to the ground.


    Stunned, Xaen didn''t expect a weak Lucifer to use human fighting skills. He was so stunned he didn''t even know how his sword ended up in the hands of Lucifer.


    He felt the sharp swording towards him, about to stab his forehead. He subconsciously took action and disappeared. He appeared in a different part of the room.


    His heart was still thumping wildly as he looked at Lucifer, stunned.


    "That''s the skills that Morbius taught the students. The art of defense and counter," Alexi muttered, remembering the saying that this skill was taught.


    He was right there, watching Morbius teach the skill to the students.


    "You are using the skills of the person you killed yourself?" Mirali asked, yelling like crazy. "How shameless can a person be?"


    Lucifer turned to Mirali, raising his hands to show his wrist. "You''re talking about shame after fighting like this?"


    Lucifer knew he couldn''t win just with his fighting skills, so he needed to find a way, but he couldn''t talk to Kellian to know what the w in the Limiter was. He could only depend on himself.


    "That was good. I must say, I didn''t think you''d remember how to fight like a human. Good to see my Academy and the teaching left an impression on you." Xaen smiled, patting his clothes.


    "Albeit, even that can''t save you. Since I don''t have much time, I''ll finish it fast."


    "Rami, immobilize him!" Hemanded one of the family heads.


    A white-haired man stepped forward, pping his hands.


    A white rope, made purely of energy, came out of the ground, wrapped itself around the arms and legs of Lucifer, bringing him onto his knees.

 Chapter 757

    <h4>Chapter 757</h4>


    The white ropes wrapped all around Lucifer, tying his hands, his knees, his feet, and even his chest, bringing him down to his knees.


    Two of the white ropes pulled his hand to either side, making him unable to move even an inch. Just a little more force in the rope would''ve been enough to tear his body apart.


    "You can''t use abilities, but still, you''re a decent fighter, but what now? What can you do when you can''t even move?" Xaen asked as he stepped closer to Lucifer.


    Lucifer held the sword of Xaen firmly, but it was a struggle for him to keep it holding since his wrists were burning because of the ropes.


    He couldn''t even use that sword as his hands were tied.


    Xaen stopped before Lucifer.


    "I suppose that belongs to me?"


    Following a casual flick of his fingers, another Portal appeared near them. The portal this time was much smaller. It was only half a meter wide.


    The Portal flew towards Lucifer, swallowing the sword along with the hand of Lucifer.


    It stopped after it swallowed the hand of Lucifer, only stopping after reaching the wrist.


    Lucifer tried to pull his hand out, but the ropes made it impossible.


    "Worried now?" Xaen asked, smiling. He snapped his fingers.


    Not even waiting for Lucifer''s reply, he snapped his fingers. The Portal closed on itself. By the time the Portal disappeared, a painful grunt escaped Lucifer''s lips.


    The portal sliced his hand along with the sword. Another portal opened before Xaen.


    The Sword came falling from the portal with the hand of Lucifer.


    Xaen only grabbed the hilt of his Sword, letting Lucifer''s hand fall on the ground.


    He stepped on the detached hand of Lucifer as he stepped even closer.


    He ced the tip of his sword on top of Lucifer''s hand, preparing to thrust.


    "You know, I realized something," Lucifer said. His tone remained perfectly calm.


    "What did you realize?" Xaen didn''t want to waste more time, but he still wanted to hear thest words of Lucifer.


    "The ws of these Limiters and the reason you didn''t use them before," Lucifer said.


    The smile on Xaen''s face disappeared. Without waiting, he thrust his sword down.


    Lucifer tilted his head sideways as if he knew the exact timing of the attack.


    Even though he protected his head, the sword still stabbed his shoulder, prating deep inside, right from the edge of his neck.


    Boom~


    One after another, the Limiters started exploding. Xaen pulled out his sword hastily and swung it again, but this time he didn''t seed as the figure of Lucifer disappeared.


    The ropes that were holding onto him fell on the ground.


    The shadows once again came out of the ground, taking Eve and disappearing into the shadow realm.


    Lucifer appeared a few meters back, patting his clothes.


    "The reason you didn''t use them was because you knew they couldn''t hold me for long? They are a neat toy that can disperse the energy in the body, but even they have limits on how much energy they can store and disperse."


    "The reason you didn''t use it on me was because you knew I had more than one ability. The Limiter might be able to hold a full fledged strength of one or two abilities, but when the abilities are ten, twenty, or even hundreds, all working at the same time, these Limiters can''t stand."


    "That''s why you wanted to go with the permanent solution instead of using these. And I was using Energy Negation at that time."


    "If I''m not wrong, the source that''s inside the Limiter in the upgraded version, they also work on the principle of an energy core. That''s why energy negation was disrupting it."


    "Since you couldn''t use your abilities, you knew it wouldn''t work there as well. The only way it would''ve worked is if I wasn''t using Energy Negation when you activated it, so it would''ve stopped my Energy Negation froming into effect."


    "You put so much thought into it but couldn''t remove the main w. Even without Energy Negation, it''s easy for me to destroy them."


    Hearing the exnation of Lucifer, Xaen felt his face twitch. How did this guy find out everything so fast?


    "Now that we''re done, I think it''s time I settle some scores now."


    Lucifer spread his Energy Negation field all around him before ncing at the man who had used the ropes on him.


    "You...." He raised his hand towards the man.


    The man felt an invisible force acting on his body. The force raised the man in the air before dragging him towards Lucifer.


    The man stopped right before Lucifer. He tried using his ropes to escape, but under the Energy Negation, his ropes wereing. He couldn''t even do anything else. He was in the same ce that Lucifer was in before.


    "You like bringing people to their knees, right? What a funny coincidence; I like that too!"


    Two wing des sliced through the legs of the man. The pain was so bad that the man''s scream could be heard far and wide.


    His legs buckled as he dropped to his knees, roaring in pain.


    "Now, stay there."


    Lucifer turned to the other head that he hadn''t seen before.


    "You didn''t do anything to me so far, but I heard you mention that you wanted to kill this kid alone? I''ll give you something to y with."


    A shadow soldier appeared before the white haired man, carrying a sword.


    Lucifer looked towards Xaen, who was teleporting all around the room, finding a way to leave, but there was no exit. All he could do was keep changing his ce until he found a solution.


    Lucifer nced at the sword of Xaen, which was lying on the ground. Following his single gesture, the sword flew to the white haired man.


    "You have a weapon; my shadow has a weapon. You can''t use your abilities; my shadow can''t use my abilities. It should be fair. Let me see what you''re capable of," Lucifer said as the white haired man held the sword.


    The shadow started attacking him like a brave knight that was excited for battle.


    Lucifer turned to Alexi and Mirali.


    "The two teachers... You taught me a lot. And I''m grateful for that. But you also tried to kill me. What should I do with you two?"


    The two of them looked at Lucifer, not knowing what to say. The Energy Negation had made them weaker.


    They still had some abilities that they could use even under the energy negation, especially Alexi, who didn''t have many elemental abilities.

 Chapter 758

    <h4>Chapter 758</h4>


    However, Alexi was also the most clever person in the room. He was the teacher that taught the students on how to be cunning and to be sensible.


    After what he saw of Lucifer, he knew he wasn''t a match when the others were struggling.


    This was the Domain of Lucifer, and they were like rabbits that were stuck there. They could fight, but it was something that could lead them to their inevitable death.


    "I know you aren''t stupid, so I''ll give you a chance."


    "What chance?" Alexi asked, frowning.


    "Join me..."


    "What?"


    "Alexi, I want you to join me. Work for me, and I shall let you live. I need clever people like you working for me for what I''m about to do in the future."


    "You want me to work for you? After everything you did? You killed my friends! You destroyed so many lives! You destroyed so many nations, all for your selfish goals of conquering the world! You want me to help you with that?"


    "I would rather die than sell my dignity to save my life!"


    Lucifer smiled. "I expected that answer. But would you rather die for such a stupid reason? You''re fighting the wrong war. I didn''te here to destroy this nation. I didn''t evene here to kill anyone."


    "All I wanted was to find something that was stolen from me by Xaen."


    As he spoke, he looked back at Xaen.


    Xaen appeared before a window, only to find it covered by ck shadows. He couldn''t see anything on the other side to teleport away.


    He also didn''t have enough strength to break the window with his hands.


    He appeared on the other end, picking a chair. He tossed the chair to the window to break it.


    The chair stopped in mid air, before it could even hit the window.


    "Enough ying," Lucifer told Xaen, appearing behind him.


    He appeared behind Xaen like a ghost, cing one hand on his forehead and another on his chin. Before Xaen could even realize that Lucifer had touched him, Lucifer twisted his head.


    "Sleep for a little. There are still things you need to do."


    Xaen dropped to the ground as his eyes closed.


    Lucifer grabbed Xaen by the cor and teleported before Alexi.


    "Where was I? Yeah, the reason I came here."


    "As I said, I didn''te here to kill anyone. I was not even thinking abouting here. It was Xaen who came to me, scheming to take my abilities. When he didn''t seed, he took something else which was very important to me and ran here."


    "I came here to recover that precious thing. Unfortunately, Xaen schemed even then. He set a trap on my Grandpa''s house. You saw that girl on the bed? She was my friend. She just went to meet my grandpa, only to be caught in the trap."


    "What would you do if someone close to you was killed? Will you stay sane? I think you already know the answer."


    "Just because I killed Yovann, you decided to kill me without even taking a second to understand the situation. If you can do that for a friend, then why is it wrong if I kill for... Her."


    "I went to the hospital to take her body, but it wasn''t there. Xaen even took her body from the hospital. Was I wrong in this? Was I wrong in wanting to kill Xaen after all this?"


    "After I left the hospital, I saw Franci, who was there with his family. I had no n to kill him. He was a teacher, after all. Even though it was the other me who studied under him, I still gained his knowledge."


    "But he allowed his son to try to kill me, without even asking me why I was doing what I was doing? He left me to die... That was the moment he lost the right to be a teacher. Even after that, I didn''t attack him until he attacked me first."


    "Yes, I killed Franci, but I would do it a thousand times more if I were in the same situation."


    "I''m not a hero to stand still and let anyone abuse me. If anything, I''m the Devil that will devour anyone who stands in my path!"


    "Xaen hurt her and even stole her body," Lucifer said, looking at the face of Xaen. "I only wanted him dead. I only wanted her back. You all jumped in the conflict that didn''t involve me."


    "I almost had Xaen in the academy when Yovann came and attacked me. The guy who I was trying to catch for a long time was allowed to escape. Who wouldn''t lose themselves to anger? Yes, I killed Yovann, and yes, I''ll do it again if I need to!"


    "After Yovann, you three attacked me. Even you didn''t ask anything and went straight for the kill."


    Lucifer looked deep into the eyes of Alexi. "You talk about Morality and call me bad. Just ask yourself one question. If I hadn''t retaliated to your attack, would you not have killed me? Would you have left me alive? You almost killed me without even trying to talk."


    "What''s wrong if I did the same? If I''m wrong, you''re wrong. And if we''re all wrong, then no one is wrong."


    "You fought for Xaen, thinking you were fighting to save the city. But the city came in danger all because of Xaen. So you were fighting to destroy the city."


    "The more you had saved him, the more I had destroyed the city. So you are at fault for whatever happened, not me."


    "I don''t enjoy bloodshed, but I don''t shy away from it either. Now that I''ve told you everything, I''ll give you one more chance. Do you ept my invitation? Or do you not?"


    Alexi could understand what Lucifer was saying. And he didn''t know why, but the words of Lucifer even made sense for him. The way Lucifer exined it, it certainly seemed like they were the ones to start this conflict.


    Moreover, if it was all Xaen''s fault, they were wrong to fight with him.


    He could also see the appeal of epting Lucifer''s offer since rejecting meant death.


    After clearing his consciousness, he nodded. "You really don''t want to destroy the city?"


    "Why would I destroy something that belongs to me? From this day on, this ind belongs to me. There shall be no more bloodshed here as long as you don''t give me a reason to."


    "Is the invitation only for me? Or can Miralie too?"


    "The offer is only for you," Lucifer replied.


    "Then her...?" Alexi asked.


    Lucifer nced at Mirali, who stood right before Alexi.

 Chapter 759

    <h4>Chapter 759</h4>


    "She is of no use to me. She''s neither smart like you nor strong like others like me. Still, I''ll allow her in too. Only if she passes the loyalty test."


    "What loyalty test?" Alexi asked, frowning.


    Lucifer nced at Mirali. "That man right there... Kill him, and I''ll extend the same offer to you.


    "I won''t kill one of us," Mirali straight refused, not even entertaining the thought for a single second.


    Lucifer smiled in response. "I know you won''t do it. But if you can''t kill one person for me, how will you fight for me in the future?"


    As he spoke, the aura around him became slightly more intense. Even though there was a smile on his face, his aura was showing something else entirely.


    "Alexi, you want her alive?" he asked Alexi. "Then kill in her ce. Let me see if your brain deserves the credit I give it."


    Alexi observed Mirali, who kept shaking her head, telling Alexi to not do it.


    Alexi took a deep breath, ultimately nodding. "I will kill him. That''s the best choice of action."


    He picked a nearby chair and broke one of its legs before he stepped towards the man who was lying on his knees.


    Argh~


    A scream came from the back as another old man was stabbed in the chest by the Shadow Warrior of Lucifer. The man was purely an elemental warrior who couldn''t do anything under Energy Negation.


    Even his fighting skills couldn''t help him against a shadow who neither felt tired nor bled. In the end, it was the old man who was tired instead.


    He couldn''t block the attack of the shadow. The sword used the w in his defense to surpass it before stabbing the chest of the man.


    The man''s painful cry filled the entire hall as his sword flew away, falling on the ground.


    The man nkly looked towards the Shadow as his lips bled. He slowly turned towards Lucifer. In the back of his head, there was only a single thought.


    He wanted to kill this guy, thinking he was a kid. But let alone killing him, he couldn''t even get close to him before dying.


    Lucifer didn''t even have to pick a sword himself. Just one clone was enough to take out a strong person like him.


    He has anger and disgust for Lucifer for killing him, but he also has admiration and respect for the strength Lucifer.


    His body slowly started falling on the ground, falling on the feet of the shadow. His eyes closed slowly, but there was a satisfied smile on his bleeding lips.


    The Shadow split into multiples, swallowing the body of the man before disappearing. Not even the sword of the man was left behind.


    Alexi stopped before the other man who was lying on his knees, unable to move.


    "Alexi, are you really siding with that man to save your own skin? You coward! You still have a chance! Help me get up!"


    Alexi sat on his knees before the man. "I''m sorry. But we aren''t friends. If it were Yovann in your ce, I would''ve thought twice, but I''m not going to lose mymon sense for you."


    "Sorry, but you must die so we can live."


    He ced the sharp end of the wooden piece on the neck of the man.


    "Just know, if I don''t do it, he will. Your death is inevitable. So die with my hands so we can live instead. One dead is better than two dead."


    Thrust~


    He pushed the wooden piece inside the neck of the old man, impaling his throat.


    The old man''s eyes opened wide in shock and pain. His nerves tightened as he found it hard to even speak.


    He tried speaking something, but no words came out. His eyes remained open even as he took hisst breath before his body lost all strength.


    Alexi closed the eyes of the man as he gently pulled out the wooden stick from the man''s throat. "Rest in peace."


    He gentlyid the body of the man on the ground before standing up. He tossed the wood aside.


    He turned to Lucifer. "I did as you said."


    Lucifer nodded. He nced at Mirali. "Run and leave this ce. I won''t kill you. Just don''t stand in my path, and you can watch me make my vision a reality."


    "If I ever find you interfering with my goals, you won''t get a second chance." He turned his back on Mirali and grabbed Xaen by his cor.


    Another shadow appeared behind Alexi, swallowing the second body as well.


    Lucifer grabbed the cor of unconscious Xaen before cing his other hand on Alexi. Both of them disappeared.


    Lucifer appeared on top of the facility, standing under the bright moon with Alexi.


    "This ind is your home." He nced at the beautiful moon, losing himself in thoughts. "This world is my home. I don''t crave its destruction. I only want to make it a ce which I can be proud of."


    "And what would that world be like?" Alexi asked.


    "An old man once said... This world is filled with conflict. There is blood and death everywhere. Variants kill Variants; humans kill humans... People die every day, not from old age but from battles, wars, and conflicts. This world is broken."


    "That same old man said that it''s impossible to change this world. I didn''t understand the depth of his words at that time, but only after regaining my memories did I realize how broken this world truly is."


    "It''s a world where a kid can be killed for the ambitions of a few people. It''s a world where friends can kill friends. It''s a world where even family can backstab you if needed."


    "It''s also a world where a kid can be beaten simply for asking for good or dirtying someone''s clothes. The world isn''t all bad, I agree, but it''s not good either."


    "I want it to be a ce that will be safe for me and for everyone else. A ce where I won''t have to worry about being backstabbed. I want to make it a ce where I can control everything, stopping all unnecessary conflicts."


    "A ce where no one I care for will ever die! I want to make it my world! That''s my vision for this world. That''s how I want to make it before I leave."


    Alexi was stunned to hear the vision of Lucifer.. It was the first time he was hearing something like that. A man who wanted to destroy all boundaries and establishment of the world, all so he could create the world that he wanted? Could he be any more ambitious?

 Chapter 760

    <h4>Chapter 760</h4>


    Even though he thought that Lucifer was arrogant, his vision didn''t sound wrong. His path was more violent, but on the crux of this goal, there was just a kid who didn''t want to suffer again¡ªa kid who didn''t want to live in fear.


    He didn''t know why, but now that he looked at Lucifer, he seemed... different.


    Lucifer was bathing in the beautiful moonlight, looking more like a human than he looked like a terrifying Warrior.


    His beautiful silver hair looked even shinier. His blood-covered figure didn''t look odd.


    "May I ask why you''re looking at me like that?" Lucifer asked, noticing the dazed look on Alexi.


    "Ah, nothing. I was lost in some thought. It''s nothing."


    "Give me your phone."


    "What? Why?"


    "I need to talk to someone."


    "Ah, fine. Not like my phone has any secrets."


    Alexi tossed his phone towards Lucifer.


    Lucifer held the phone with one hand, giving Xaen to Alexi.


    "He will sleep for a few hours. Hold him until then."


    As he finished speaking, he dialed a number and ced a call to Kellian.


    Kellian was going hysterical since they couldn''t contact Lucifer. They had found a w in the energy core of the Limiter, but they had no way to tell him.


    "The sses must be crushed. We can''t do anything. Everything is on Lucifer to figure it out." Kellian looked at the ck screen in frustration. There was no signal.


    As he was lost in thought, his phone started ringing. The unknown number was something he hadn''t seen before.


    Wondering who was calling, he picked up the call.


    "Hello?"


    "Kellian, I am almost done here. Keep the base ready and bring another set of Battle Gear and Gloves. I''ll being back in a few days."


    "You''re done?"


    "Almost. Just minor things left. Is Milena there already?"


    "Not yet. She''s still on the way."


    "Tell me when she''s there. You can contact me on this number."


    "You don''t need to be on a call continuously now?"


    "I don''t. It seems that isn''t needed now. I don''t understand what this mess is, but that didn''t affect me when my sses were broken. So I don''t know what it is, but I think I''ll be fine without calls. If I need to, I''ll do it again."


    "Keep me updated and make sure the Battle Gear and the sses are ready when I get there. Something different this time. Something that does suit me on the mission I''m about to go."


    "You mean suitable to enter Dungeon? It''s already in the process. It''ll be here by the time you get back."


    Lucifer nodded. He disconnected the call.


    Alexi raised his hand to take back the phone, but Lucifer ignored him and kept the phone in his pocket.


    Smiling wryly, Alexi retracted his hand as if nothing happened.


    "Where are we going now?" Alexi asked.


    "You''ll tell me that. Where can we find a shop which sells drugs?"


    "Drugs? Why do you need drugs?"


    "Not for me," Lucifer responded. "I need some for other reasons. Just tell me what I ask."


    "There should be one shop in that direction. The biggest drug store. It has high security, but I doubt that would be a problem for you."


    Winds started circling around Lucifer, making his body rise in the air.


    This time Lucifer didn''t use his wind on Alexi since he could already fly on his own.


    Alexi followed Lucifer, guiding him towards the store.


    In the back, Mirali stepped out of the factory. She watched Lucifer and Alexi leave silently.


    ....


    Kellian had just put the phone down and returned to his work, not knowing that there was trouble at the door.


    Milena was going to arriveter, but trouble had already arrived. The Warlock Council heads were standing right outside the Capital City.


    Theynded in the closest city since entry into the capital wasn''t allowed. They flew the rest of the way, keeping themselves hidden until they finally reached a massive building.


    "This is a drug store?" Lucifer asked, making sure.


    "It is. It''s the biggest one we have. It''s no less than a mall. No matter which drug or medicine you need, it''s avable here, but since it''s a ce like that, there are some security measures in ce."


    "We can go in together, or I can go by myself, which will be easier. Just tell me the drugs that you need?"


    "You go alone then. Give Xaen to me. I''ll wait here."


    He took Xaen and told the names of everything that he needed.


    Hearing the items, Alexi looked at Lucifer, surprised. "Why do you need all that?"


    "Just get what I asked."


    "Fine."


    Alexi flew closer to the mall,nding before the guards. The guards instantly recognized him.


    "Sir Alexi. Greetings. May I know the purpose of your visit. Do you need something?"


    "As you might know already, our city is in danger, and I need some items to help them. Amongst those items, there are some rare drugs that I can only find here. I''m in a hurry, so step aside."


    "Sir, we need to inform others before letting you in, but since it''s you, I think we can skip that step for now. Pleasee with me. I''ll escort you inside."


    Alexi followed the man inside. The man helped Alexi pass through all the defense and brought him inside the main chamber.


    He was surprised when Alexi told him the names of the drugs that he needed but thinking it was for a mission, he agreed. He helped Alexi find those drugs.


    The search didn''t evenst for a half an hour before all the items were found. The man gave a bag to Alexi and even escorted him outside.


    "Thank you for the help."


    Waving at the guard, Alexi flew away.


    ...


    Standing in the air, observing the building, Lucifer was lost in thought. He had many problems that he needed to solve, but at the moment, his mind was only on one thing.


    He was regretting evolving the ability of Time. He had wasted all the other abilities to evolve Time, only to create one more problem for himself. This was very annoying. The more he thought about it, the more irritated he became.


    It was as if he had wasted all the effort he had put in collecting all the abilities for this sacrifice.


    As he was lost in thought, he felt a presence in the air.


    A strange energy had filled the air. He looked up, noticing a bright blue barrier that had surrounded him.


    "Finally, we found you."

 Chapter 761

    <h4>Chapter 761</h4>


    Lucifer looked to his left, noticing two men standing outside the spheres on floating metal boards.


    "You two are here."


    "You think we won''te? Just because you fooled us, we wouldn''t be able to find you? The people from the surface really underestimate Antians."


    "Tell me, where is she?!"


    "She? Who is she?" Lucifer asked.


    "You know who I''m talking about! Where is thedy who you took with you? Where is Eve?!"


    "So you came all this way to find her? I thought I was the reason. I''m hurt, you know. I am just the secondary reason for your arrival?"


    "Enough of your games! Tell me where she is?! Return her to us!"


    "If you had asked in the past, maybe I would''ve considered, but now..." Lucifer shook his head.


    "She isn''t going anywhere. Let alone you; even your King can''t take her from me. You can certainly try though."


    "Is that right?" The Old Minister let out, frowning. "We know you are strong, but you Variants underestimate us humans. We have reached a realm that you can''t even imagine!"


    "You will listen to us!"


    Lucifer waved his hand, making a shadow portal appear under him. He released the throat of Xaen, letting him fall.


    Xaen was swallowed by the shadows as well.


    Lucifer patted his hands, "Now to focus on you."


    The Old Minister smirked. "I like your arrogance. If I was in your ce, I might''ve been arrogant as well since I would''ve been a frog at the bottom of the well."


    "You destroyed an academy of ours, and now you think that''s the strength of Antis. You don''t understand what you destroyed was like a small speck of Antis in the most distant corner. Let me show you the true Strength of Antis!"


    The old man raised his hand towards Lucifer. He clenched his fist. The spherical barrier around Lucifer suddenly contracted, bing smaller.


    As it kept getting smaller, it reached close enough to start pressing on Lucifer.


    Lucifer took off his gloves, keeping them in his pocket before his figure disappeared from inside the barrier. He appeared right behind the old man, extending his hand to grab the throat of the man.


    The man''s throat was a few inches away from Lucifer when his white Gloves turned red.


    Lucifer''s hands passed through the man, unable to touch him at all.


    The old man lowered his gaze, noticing Lucifer''s hands that had passed through his throat.


    He turned around, looking Lucifer right in the eyes. "I stand by my statement. You underestimate us too much. "


    His body was in an ethereal form that couldn''t be touched by anyone, yet he could touch everything. He ced his hand on Lucifer''s chest.


    Boom~


    A powerful energy explosion took ce between his hand and the chest of Lucifer. His body was ethereal, so he wasn''t affected by it. He just stood there calmly with a smile on his face.


    The body of Lucifer wasn''t the same. Caught by surprise, his body shot back like an arrow, crashing on the ground.


    A crater developed under him due to the impact.


    Lucifer''s clothes were still intact, but his body was in a mess. There was a hole in his body, and most of his skin was burnt. Even with the decreased impact of the Battle Gear, the attack was enough to damage him heavily.


    His body slowly started healing as he pushed his body up; however, he once again found himself inside a sphere. The sphere was blood red this time.


    "Same trick?"


    "Not the same trick. Previously, I didn''t know you could Teleport. I hadn''t seen you do that, so I didn''t prepare ordingly. However, this time the system knows the extent of your ability. It has modified itself ordingly."


    "That sphere doesn''t just stop you now, but it also creates a Spatial Chamber inside where you can''t create any Spatial Disturbance. And without creating a spatial disturbance, Teleportation is impossible."


    "You can''t escape, young man. We are superior in technology. The era of Warlocks is long gone. It''s the era of technology now. Technology that can learn your fighting skills just by seeing you and device ns ordingly."


    Lucifer didn''t blindly believe the words of the man and tried teleporting out of this barrier again.


    It didn''t work. There was no way he could teleport outside.


    He raised his hand towards the sky, calling forth his lighting. A Mighty lightning bolt came crashing down, as thick as the barrier itself.


    The lightning bolt crashed on the spherical barrier.


    A blinding sh of light spread everywhere as the barrier and the lightning shed.


    Everything settled down, and Lucifer finally came into view under all the dust that was floating around. He was still inside the barrier that was perfectly fine.


    Lucifer was slightly surprised. The barrier actually survived the impact.


    "I told you, we know all your tricks. We''ve seen you fight. The barrier is made, keeping you in mind. AI considered all the scenarios regarding your skills that it analyzed to make sure it found the best solution."


    The old man floated closer to Lucifer,nding right in front of him, right beside the barrier. The young guard alsonded right behind him.


    Alexi has returned by now, but he didn''t interfere in the battle. Instead, he hid in the back, staying away from everyone''s eyesight. He didn''t want anyone to see.


    Lucifer was fighting the strangers he knew nothing about. He didn''t want to intervene without knowing anything. Since the enemies had Lucifer on the backfoot, he didn''t believe he could contribute anything.


    Moreover, he didn''t want to jump in the battle of two strong people. He wasn''t stupid enough to jump in.


    He just stood in the back, observing the battle. He was, however, very curious. Who were these people? How were they beating Lucifer so easily? Just what was so special about them?


    There was a small part in him that was hoping for the defeat of Lucifer since that was going to mean that he didn''t need to work for anyone.


    There was another part of him that wanted Lucifer to win since he truly wanted to see what the world imagined by Lucifer could look like. Could it really be a perfect world?


    He couldn''t wait to see what the future held for their world? But there was also a big question in his mind.


    Lucifer had waged a war on the entire world. He had destroyed many organizations on the way, and in the future, he was going to destroy more.


    When the world didn''t have any strong people other than the ones Lucifer allowed, who was going to protect people? Who was going to keep the dungeons secure?

 Chapter 762

    <h4>Chapter 762</h4>


    Even with so many organizations and so many Variants, it was hard to keep Dungeons secure. What was going to be the situation when those people didn''t exist?


    To achieve his goal of a world that was exactly as he imagined, Lucifer was removing ayer of defense from this world. He alone couldn''t control all Dungeons all around the world. Alexi knew that Lucifer was walking on a dangerous path.


    He couldn''t see the future, but he knew that the future was going to be very different. If it was going to be a better ce or a worse one, that was the question.


    Lucifer was trapped in the new barrier, which survived even the attack of thunder. It truly was a powerful barrier, just as the old Minister described.


    "You still have time. Tell us where you hid her body. Tell us, and we would be lenient in our punishment."


    "So you saw all my abilities and nned ordingly. I knew the tech of the next generation would be good, but this is better than I thought."


    "An attack that casts a barrier around me which can resist my attacks. The Gloves which can protect you from my attacks and something to help you fly. It seems a trip to Antis would be very fruitful."


    "Trip to Antis? As our prisoner? We can think about it if you tell us where that body is. You''ll be allowed to live."


    "Tell you where she is so you all can kill her like you didst time?" Lucifer asked.


    The old man''s brows raised slightly as he heard Lucifer. "How do you know? Who told you?!"


    "Who else? The girl you''re trying to take. People like you will never change, right? Take help from someone and then betray them? You call yourself better than Variants? Why?"


    "What''s different in you? Your heart is just as corrupt as the ones I''vee across. You think you''re the good guy, but you''re no different than the Variants who kill innocent people for no reason at all."


    "You are wrong! We aren''t monsters like you Variants! We only do what''s good for our survival! On the contrary, you Variants kill innocent humans who couldn''t even threaten you. Compared to you monsters, we''re angels, doing what we need to survive."


    "Monsters? There''s a monster inside all of us. The only difference is that I don''t hide my Monster. You do, pretending to be a Saint for your people."


    "The reason you killed Eve was not for your survival. She wasn''t a threat to anyone. Instead, she was the reason you all survived for so long. It''s just your selfish nature that came out,pelling you to dispose of her."


    "Am I right?"


    "Enough of your nonsense! I am not here to hear you talk nonsense! Tell me where she is! With each passing second, the sphere will keep getting smaller."


    "If you don''t answer, you''ll be crushed to your death!"


    As he finished speaking, the sphere started getting smaller.


    His red gloves also returned back to the usual white as his body returned to normal now that there was no risk.


    "This barrier is good. And so is your technology, understanding my skills, and formting a n. But you missed one thing."


    "What?"


    Instead of answering, Lucifer simply stretched his arms, touching the walls of the barrier.


    "Are you talking about your strength? That won''t help you either. As I said, we nned for everything."


    "Hmm?" Lucifer frowned, touching the walls of the border. It wasn''t because he was surprised that his strength couldn''t break it but because he could feel his fingers burn.


    The surface of the barrier was molten hot. His attempt to decay the barrier was cut short as his fingers were destroyed as soon as he touched the barrier.


    Not even the bones of his hands were left intact since he waited a short time before taking his hand off.


    "Was that an attempt at decaying? I''ll repeat myself onest time. We''ve seen all your abilities, even the ones you used briefly in battles."


    "Generally, the barrier would''ve sent electricity roaring down a person''s body, but especially for you, there is no lightning since that doesn''t affect you. Instead, it''s the ming heat. How will you decay it if you can''t even touch it?"


    Lucifer looked down at his burnt head that was slowly recovering. Things were indeedplicated. He had sacrificed most of the abilities to evolve Time. Now he barely had any new abilities left that weren''t his usual ones or defensive.


    His sonic scream wasn''t of help either in this case.


    "Are you really willing to die for that girl? Why don''t you tell us? You can avoid all this pain! Why are you taking this risk for her?"


    Despite the barrier moving closer to him, Lucifer didn''t open his mouth. Instead, he simply folded his arms and closed his eyes as if he was lost in thought.


    The white robed guard moved closer to the old man, bringing his lips closer to the man''s ears. "Sir, are we really going to kill this guy?"


    "His Majesty strictly told us that we need to kill him, but we also need to recover the body of Lady Eve. If we kill him, we''ll finish the first part of the mission, but what about the second part? Recovering Lady Eve seems more important. I don''t think we can kill him."


    "You idiot, do you think I don''t know that? I am also doing it to get answers. However, what can I do if he doesn''t answer. I can''t beg him to tell us! Don''t worry though; as soon as the barrier touches his body, he''ll understand what it feels like when you drown in moltenva.''


    "Even he won''t be able to resist. He seems confident, but we''ll see how confident he is then! He will tell us everything we want to know. We just need to create some fear in his heart."


    "His entire hand was burnt, but he didn''t even flinch. Are we sure he''ll say anything?"


    "I can also see that much. That''s why I have yed other cards as well. The sphere is slowly being filled with fear-inducing has. Soon, he''ll be shivering in fear like a car. And when that fear meets the extreme pain of his body being burnt, let alone him, even his father will talk."


    "I hope so." The young man stepped back and just observed Lucifer, hoping to get answers. He knew what was at stake.. If he couldn''t get answers, not only the Minister but even he was going to be killed.

 Chapter 763

    <h4>Chapter 763</h4>


    Jian and his four partners stood right outside the Capital City of Triton, covered in a shroud that made them all invisible to a certain extent to all cameras and human eyes.


    "I thought they would have more people since they took over the city, but I can only see a few people keeping an eye on the border," Aron asked, observing the one man he could see standing on top of the city wall, looking out.


    "I don''t think they have many members either. Their biggest strength was Lucifer, who isn''t here at this time. Without him, they are only a few random Warlocks who are too low on numbers to defend this city," Jian responded.


    "Still, just to be sure, we should be careful." He turned to a silver haired man on his left. "Uri, can you see through the city and tell us what the situation is inside? I think you should be able to cover the entire city from this range."


    The Silver-haired man nodded. His eyes turned stark white as he focused in the direction of the city.


    An invisibleyer of mist surrounded the entire city, slowly creeping inside the city. The odorless, invisible mist avoided touching any person as it kept spreading throughout the city.


    The mist covered all the houses and the streets of the city discreetly. The mist didn''t get closer to the Warlock Council headquarters for some reason.


    Uri opened his eyes which returned to their usual ck color. "There are around thirty enemies in the city, spread thin to cover the entire city."


    "Including Kellian and others?"


    "No. I''m talking about the ones that are outside the Warlock Council headquarters. I don''t know how many of them are inside the headquarters."


    "Why don''t you look inside?"


    "The defense of the headquarters is really strong. I personally helped make it. And I took all precautions. Even if it''s my abilities that tried to infiltrate the headquarters, it will set off an rm. They will find out about it.''


    "I understand. So we need to take back the city first without alerting the ones in the headquarters. Only then can we risk entering."


    "Exactly. So, do you want to spread out or travel together?"


    Jian nced at Aron. "Since it''s a stealth mission, we would need your shroud to keep us invisible. We can''t let anyone survive and alert others. So we will travel together."


    "Uri will guide us on where to go for our targets, and we''ll take them out."


    "Uri, take the lead."


    Uri took his first step, which was the first of the many he was going to take towards reiming the Warlock Council headquarters.


    The group of five entered the city, avoiding all the safety mechanisms. It was their own city. It was the city that they created themselves. They knew even the minutest details of the city and just what safety mechanisms there were.


    It was like child''s y for them to avoid what they created. They also yed it safe and remained vignt as they kept an eye out for new mechanisms that could''ve been ced by Uprising.


    However, the chances of that happening were low since Uprising hadn''t been in the control of that city for so long.


    The city was under the control of a different administration, yet the situation didn''t seem much different. Other than the buildings that were missing, most of the city looked the same as before.


    The roads were repaired, the wreckage was cleared.


    People had once again starteding out of their houses aftering to terms with what had happened. Still, there was fear in the hearts of many. Most of the citizens didn''t dare to leave the house, which was slowly changing.


    As more and more citizens left their homes and experienced the life outside, they realized that they probably didn''t need to be scared. Everything was normal outside as the war was over. Moreover, it didn''t seem like the Uprising members wanted to hurt them.


    The Nobles needed blood to work efficiently, but because ofws established by Lucifer, there was no cafe where they couldpel humans and take their blood. They received all the blood supply from the hospitals.


    That was also why blood donation was motivated even more, and people were given rewards for donating Blood.


    Everything seemed to be stable in the city, and things were only getting better.


    An Uprising member was standing near the entrance of the city, talking to a girl who he found quite interesting.


    As he had taken an interest in her, he wanted to know her more. The girl was an ordinary human though. She noticed the attire of the man and knew that he was one of the Uprising members.


    To her, he was too strong and frightening enough to kill her if she said something wrong. She just kept talking to him, fearful for her life.


    The man noticed the fear in the eyes of thedy.


    "You are scared of me, aren''t you?"


    "Ah, That''s..."


    "No need to deny. I can understand how it can be. I''ve just helped take over this city and killed many people. If I were in your ce, I would''ve been scared too."


    "But I hope you trust me when I say it. I haven''t hurt anyone who didn''t stand in the path of our mission. I haven''t killed anyone for any personal reason. And I won''t hurt you even if you leave right now. I''m not the kind of person who will force a girl."


    "Just think of me as a normal human because that''s what I am for you. I''ve never taken such interest in anyone, but that changed as soon as I saw you. If you think you can give me a chance, say yes to going on a date with me."


    "I just need a single shred of hope. And if you don''t want to give me a chance or can''t trust me, say no and leave. I won''t even stop you. That''s the promise of a Warlock that can never be broken!"


    "So, what''s your answer? He asked, looking deep in the eyes of a girl.


    "I-i... I will give you a chance." The girl nodded.


    A beautiful smile spread across the lips of the man, but that smile soon disappeared as his lips opened a bit.


    The girl seemed horrified.


    The man raised his right hand, touching his neck. He nced at his fingers which were covered in blood.


    He tried to look behind; however, as soon as he moved his body, his head came falling down.


    His head dropped to the ground, followed by his body.

 Chapter 764

    <h4>Chapter 764</h4>


    The girl saw the man die such a brutal death, and she didn''t even know how. She couldn''t see anyone else there.


    She was just about to Scream in shock when he felt someone''s hands on her lips.


    "Listen Girl; we are from the Warlock Council. We are here to reim the city from the people who destroyed half of it. Don''t scream and alert everyone. If you want the city to be free again, just go home and don''t mention it to anyone."


    "If you told anyone, there would be anotherrge scale war, and the rest of the city might be destroyed too. Do you understand?"


    The girl nodded her head repeatedly.


    "Good."


    Her lips were freed. Meanwhile, the body that was lying before her also disappeared as if it was never there. Only a few droplets of blood were left behind.


    Uri ced his foot on the ground, throwing some dust on the blood spots to cover them.


    The girl ran away without looking back.


    "Let''s move," Jian said, wiping the blood from his sharp Sword.


    "The next person closest to us just entered a bar. It''s a very crowded bar, so it''ll be hard to take him out. Should we move to the third person?"


    "No need. We''ll go to the bar." Jian dered.


    Uri led them to the bar that was a couple of blocks away from them.


    Even though Uri described the bar as crowded, it wasn''t very crowded. As soon as the Warlock entered the bar, everyone noticed his clothes. They knew he was from the Uprising. No one could dare to stay with him.


    Slowly, people started leaving the bar. Within seconds, the bar waspletely empty. Only the waiters and the owner of the bar were left inside. Even they wanted to leave; they couldn''t.


    "Why is everyone running away after seeing me?" the man asked the bartender, confused.


    "Ah, I think they are intimidated because of who you work for."


    "Uprising? I guess I can''t me them. Anyway, give me the strongest item of yours. Tonight I want to be drunk!" The man said, smiling.


    "Right away." The bartender started preparing the drink.


    The door once again opened, and some people entered.


    The man heard the sound of the door opening. He looked back, but as he looked, the door was already closed. There was no one there.


    "Heh, my ears are ringing, it seems.''


    The man rubbed his chin, smiling.


    The bartender prepared the drink, serving the man.


    The man picked up the sses and took his first step. He was just reveling in the taste when his facial expressions changed too.


    His hands lost strength. The ss dropped to the ground, shattering into hundreds of pieces.


    His body soon followed suit, falling off the table.


    "What?"


    Seeing the bartender shocked, Jian ced his hand on the man''s shoulder.


    "No need to be shocked. We are from the Warlock Council. We are here to reim the city. So you better keep your mouth shut. No one must know what happened here. You understand?"


    The bartender nodded his head like a puppet.


    "What about the body? How will I exin if someonees asking?"


    "What body?" Jian asked, surprised.


    "That!" The bartender pointed down, only to have his eyes open wide. There were no bodies there.


    "Where did the body go?"


    "That''s none of your concern. Just remember what I told you. Many people would die if you opened your mouth, and you might be one of them. So cooperate."


    "I will never tell anyone! I''ll just say that he came, and then he left!"


    "Good."


    The door of the bar opened again and closed on its own. The man couldn''t see anyone but seeing the door open and close; he understood that these people were invisible.


    He didn''t even know how many of them there were. The only thing he could be sure about was that there was at least one person there.


    He didn''t know what chances of sess they had against someone who defeated the rest of the Warlock Council openly, but he prayed for the sess of these people.


    Even though the city wasn''t much different under the new restriction, and it was mostly the same, he still wanted it to return to the way it was before, where they didn''t need to be scared of what could happen.


    The Warlock Council team kept moving from ce to ce, taking out all the Nobles and the Uprising Members.


    There were only Thirty members spread through the city, and ten of them were killed within the first hour itself.


    The small team of five kept getting closer and closer to the center of the city.


    ....


    In another part of the city, a young man was about to step out of the Warlock Council headquarters.


    "Uzuki, where are you going?" Das asked Tristan. He had just returned from exploring the city to find Tristan leaving.


    "Ah, Sir Das. I was just going out to roam the city. I''ve finished the ounting work already. So I was free for the moment and made this n."


    "Sir Das?" Das asked in surprise.


    ''So it''s the other half is Uzuki who doesn''t know he''s a Warlock. He thinks he''s just an ountant here when this half of him is in control.''


    Das scratched the back of his head. "I won''t stop you from going outside, but shouldn''t you wear the Uprising Robe first? I think it''s better if people know you''re one of us so they won''t trouble you."


    "You just arrived here, so no one knows about you. I just don''t want there to be any trouble for you."


    "I''m not going to fight someone. I''m just going to take a stroll outside. Don''t worry. I won''t get in conflict with anyone. Moreover, I don''t want people to be scared of me. How else would I enjoy the true beauty of this city?"


    "I can understand what you''re saying, but..."


    "Fine. Even though the city is very stable now, just keep this badge in your pocket at least. In case you are in need, you can show it to prove your identity."


    Das brought a badge out of his pocket and gave it to Uzuki.


    Uzuki kept the badge in his pocket. "I''ll keep that in mind."


    He left the base. Meanwhile, Das walked to the lift to go upstairs. All the core members that were back in the city were called for a meeting which was going to include Das, Kellian, Tristan, Jean, Arthur, Jiani, Caen, and a few others.


    Das reached the top floor and entered the meeting room, opening the door.


    As soon as he entered the meeting room, he saw Lucifer sitting in the main seat.

 Chapter 765

    <h4>Chapter 765</h4>


    "Das, why are youte for such an important meeting?"


    "I''m sorry. I was just informed about the meeting. I came just as fast as I could." Das apologized. "When did you return though?"


    "That''s not Lucifer. It''s Caen. Don''t mind him. Take a seat." Kellian chimed in, inviting Das inside.


    "Caen, you will never stop ying around, will you? I liked you better in the past when you were more serious." Das sat beside Kellian.


    "So, what''s the meeting about? Any update?"


    "Yeah. There are a couple of updates. The first is that Milena will be here tonight. So we just need to hold on to the fortress for a few more hours."


    Jiani seemed pleased to know that Milena was going to be here soon. The others didn''t feel much different about it.


    "And others update?" Das asked. "About Lucifer?"


    "There is one about him too. He said he had conquered the ind as well. Soon he''ll leave the ind and be back here. Then we can think about what to do next?"


    "How soon is his soon?" Tristan asked.


    "He said a couple of days. But there''s also some bad news."


    "Bad news?"


    "Yeah. Yaliza and Szar are caught by Dungeon Dwellers. After Lucifer returns, we might be needing to go there to save them."


    "They couldn''t even survive a level four Dungeon? I didn''t know they were that weak," Tristan eximed, rolling his eyes. "I should''ve been sent to clear the Dungeon."


    "It''s not a Level Four Dungeon where they''re trapped," Kellian responded.


    "Then what? If I''m not wrong, they went to explore a level four Dungeon? Where else would they be trapped?" Das asked.


    "That we don''t know. But from what we know, it''s at least a Level Six Dungeon."


    "What?" Das stood up, shocked.


    Tristan''s expressions weren''t much different. It was the same case for everyone except the Nobles. They didn''t have Dungeons in the continent of Darkness, so the criteria didn''t hold much value for them.


    Still, seeing the expressions of others, they could gather that it was a big deal.


    "Level Five has been ssified as a Disaster Level Dungeon where each beast holds enough strength to tten a country. A level Six Dungeon has been unheard about. Just what kind of beasts would it have? Are you sure they''re in a Level Six Dungeon? How did they get there?"


    "And even if they''re trapped in a Level Six Dungeon, how do you know about it? I don''t think it''s possible to contact someone inside the Dungeon. So how do you have this information?"


    "I don''t have this information. Lucifer had this information."


    "And how did he get it?"


    "A Dungeon Dweller told him..."


    "What? Why would a Dungeon Dweller tell him that? And how can we know that he wasn''t lying?"


    "Because it wasn''t a Dungeon Dweller that was weak. It was something that we hadn''t seen before. A human shaped Dungeon Dweller. So far, we''ve only seen different. Moreover, he was also very strong. He hypnotized the entire city at once to attack Lucifer."


    "I think it would be fair to believe his words."


    "Even if what he said is true, why would a Dungeon Dweller tell this to Lucifer?" Arthur chimed in. "I think it''s a trap. If Szar and Yaliza are there, they must already be dead."


    "Their names are being used to call Lucifer into this trap. We shouldn''t let him go inside."


    "Even Lucifer has considered this possibility of this being a trap, but you know how he is. He wouldn''t think twice, even if it''s a trap. He is determined to go inside even if it''s a trap."


    "We''ll discuss more about it when he returns. For now, just know that we might need to enter a Dungeon in the future."


    "I can''t help but feel like you''re all being really hasty. You''re spreading your forces too thin, even though you don''t have the liberty to afford such dilution." Even Jiani gave some input of hers.


    "For example, even when you haven''t taken care of the Warlock Council remnants, you sent everyone else on different missions, leaving the city defenseless. And now we''re in this mess where we could be attacked at any time, and we''re waiting for everyone to return."


    "If that wasn''t enough, you all challenged the entire world, and without taking care of that mess, you''re thinking about exploring a never before seen Dungeon?"


    "I just can''t understand you all. It''s like you want to make things hard for you."


    Even Kellian agreed with her. He had the same thoughts, but he didn''t question Lucifer. Lucifer was the reason that they managed to reach so far.


    Even though Lucifer took some decisions along the way that put them in danger, they were ultimately sessful.


    When the Uprising was thinking that it was dangerous for them to attack the APF headquarters right after a war that left most of them injured, Lucifer took the decision to do it, and they seeded without many casualties.


    When they were thinking that attacking the Divine Empire while challenging the Warlock Council was foolish, he did it and seeded.


    Even they thought attacking the Warlock Council with their small forces was going to be hard, he made them do it, and they seeded.


    So far, Lucifer certainly took some strange decisions, but all of his decisions were sessful. He didn''t know if it was luck or a really distant nning, but he knew that whatever it was, they needed it.


    Lucifer had earned his trust with his decisions, and Kellian wanted to support his decisions keeping the past record in mind.


    "I know this is hard to understand, but I''ll still side with him." Kellian agreed. "We can certainly discuss this when he returns, but if he says we need to do it, we would."


    "Man, you''re like a teacher''s pet at this point. No matter what the teacher says, you''ll believe it blindly."


    "You''ll send your people to the Dungeon, then who will defend this ce if thebined forces of this world tries to attack you, agitated from your threats? I thought you were smarter than this."


    "I said what I wanted to say. The meeting is over," Kellian stood up. "Get back to your posts. I''ll tell you if I get any more information."


    He left the room. Even though he left, he could still hear Jiani calling him teacher''s pet.


    "Jiani, I think you went overboard. Sometimes it''s hard to understand ns. There are many things involved.. But what we can know is that Lucifer is a capablemander."

 Chapter 766

    <h4>Chapter 766</h4>


    "He won''t make a foolish decision that would put his people at risk. And I''m sure Kellian knows that. That''s why he''s supporting him."


    "But it''s a stupid decision! It''ll put all of us at risk!"


    "Would you say the same thing if Her Majesty had suggested this n? No right? You would''ve thought that she had some foresight."


    "Why can''t we give this benefit of the doubt to Lucifer? At least wait until Her Majesty is here. Let her discuss this n with Lucifer. We don''t need to involve ourselves."


    "Her Majesty will agree with me that it''s a stupid n. Just you watch."


    "And if she doesn''t?"


    "Then I''ll do whatever one thing you say. And if she does oppose this n, you''ll do whatever one thing I tell you to do. Agreed?"


    "Deal." Arthur smiled, taking the deal. He had some understanding of Milena, and he had some understanding of Lucifer.


    He knew that both of them shared simr thinking. If Lucifer came with a n, there was a good chance that Milena was going to understand it. He was confident enough to take this bet.


    "Easiest bet I''ve ever made," he told Jiani as he stood up. "Anyways, I''m going back to the city to keep an eye out."


    He stood up. His figure disappeared.


    ...


    Uzuki roamed through the city for the first time. He wasn''t even wearing any attire that could link him to the Uprising. Even the token that was given to him by Das was lying in his pocket, away from everyone''s sight.


    Moreover, this ce used to be his home as well, so he remembered everything. He used to live here alone. He was a citizen of this ce.


    Roaming through the city, he subconsciously ended up in front of his house. It was a small house where he was born and grew up. He lived in this house with his parents.


    As soon as his parents died, the memories of his parents started troubling him. Everything in this house reminded him of his parents, which made him decide to leave the city and travel the entire world.


    That was how he ended up in Elisium and ultimately joined the Uprising, which brought him back here. It was like a cycle. He was back where he started.


    There was a lock on the door, but the lock''s key was always with him. The key was hanging on his neck like a pendant.


    He used the key and opened the lock before stepping inside.


    "It''s been such a long time, yet it feels like I was just here yesterday," he muttered, sighing.


    He observed all the paintings that were hanging by the wall and all the portraits of his family. Seeing the portraits, he again remembered his family. A look of reminiscence graced his innocent face, but he didn''t cry.


    He swiftly moved on and walked to his bedroom. The bed was perfectly clean and just as he had left.


    He took off his shoes and dropped on the bed. "I am back home. It feels so good to lie on this bed again."


    Without even realizing it, he fell asleep in thefort of his own bed, losing himself to sweet dreams.


    As Tristan fell asleep, the token of the Uprising fell out of his pocket, falling straight on the invisible mist.


    ....


    While Yaliza slept peacefully, Uprising members kept disappearing. From ten, the numbers had increased to twenty. Only ten of them were left.


    Amongst the ones dying, quite a few of them were Nobles as well.


    "Where to next?"


    "There''s one more nearby. It should be easy to take him out though. He''s deep asleep, all alone in the house."


    "That''s good."


    Uri led everyone towards Uzuki''s House.


    Within five minutes, they reached the house of Uzuki. The door was still open. They just had to push it lightly, and they were allowed inside. With silent steps, they moved closer to the bedroom of Uzuki.


    The five Warlock Council heads entered the bedroom of Uzuki, only to find him sleeping peacefully.


    ''We don''t even need a shroud to kill this guy. Just how peacefully he is sleeping. He doesn''t even realize the trouble he''s in,'' Uri thought, shaking his head in disappointment.


    He gestured for Jian to kill the guy.


    Jian took a step forward, moving closer to Uzuki. He raised his Sword, prepared to kill Uzuki.


    His Sword came shing down.


    Tap~


    Jian abruptly stopped as he heard the sound of footsteps. He looked back in the direction of footsteps.


    The footsteps came closer and closer.


    Jian and the others stepped aside, keeping their silence. They even slowed down their breathing to make sure they weren''t discovered.


    The door of the bedroom opened, and a middle aged man stepped inside.


    He looked at Uzuki on the bed.


    "Uzuki, is that you? You returned?"


    "Huh?" Hearing the noise, Uzuki opened his eyes.


    He sat up. "Uncle Luke?"


    "Hehehe, you still recognize this old neighbor of yours? Where did you disappear suddenly? I thought something happened to you. You can''t even imagine my shock when I saw your door open. I thought someone broke inside your house."


    "Ah, it''s nothing like that. I had left the city for a little while. I just returned," Uzuki responded.


    "You chose a really bad time to return. The entire city is different now. The Warlock Council has fallen. Some outsiders have taken over this ce. They rule this ce. I''m even scared to go too far from my home. But it''s good to see that you''re back."


    The man stepped closer to Uzuki.


    In the back, Jian looked at Uri and others. They were relieved that it wasn''t another Warlock. It seemed like it was just a Human. They could go forward with their n.


    He stepped closer to Uzuki again, prepared to attack once more. Meanwhile, Uri stepped closer to the middle aged man, keeping his steps silent, so there wasn''t any noise.


    As the middle aged man reached closer to Uzuki, he noticed the badge of Uzuki that was lying on the bed.


    "That badge... You work for them?" Stunned, the man took a step back.


    Uri was just standing behind the man, not expecting him to step back so suddenly.


    The man hit him.


    "Who?!" Stunned, the man felt like another person was behind him that he hit. Shocked, he looked back.


    At the same time, Jian brought his sword swinging.


    Uzuki noticed the strange phenomenon with the man. There was a sense of doom inside him which was more clearing felt by the other personality inside him.


    The innocent look on his face disappeared, changing with a fierce one.

 Chapter 767

    <h4>Chapter 767</h4>


    Uzuki had just sat straight when his other hand sensed danger. He immediately took over the body.


    As soon as he took the control of the body, everything changed. His aura became fiercer, and his reflexes became faster. Heid back on the bed swiftly, dodging the sword just by a hair''s width.


    He couldn''t see the Sword, but he noticed the change in the winds as if something had sliced through it. This was enough for him to confirm that there was someone in this room who was attacking him.


    Even though he couldn''t see them, he was sure there was more than one.


    He rolled to the side of the bed, getting down. He once again avoided the sword thatnded on the bed just as he got off. The entire bed was sliced into two halves.


    He jumped towards the nearby window. The ss window shattered with the impact of his body hitting. The ss window shattered.


    Uzuki left the room and ran to the exit. He didn''t want to fight some invisible people in such a closed space, especially when he didn''t have any long range weapons. It was easy for him to handle if he could see the enemies but not now.


    Uri followed after Uzuki through the window after snapping the neck of the man who had spoiled their entire n by his untimely entry. The other four Warlocks also followed after Uzuki.


    ....


    Lucifer stood calm inside the sphere that had trapped him. Even though he looked calm, like he didn''t care at all, there were many questions floating in his head.


    He wanted to find the weakness of this sphere to get out of it, but he couldn''t think of any. The sphere wasn''t destroyed by his lightning, and he couldn''t hold the sphere long enough for his decay to achieve something.


    He couldn''t Teleport outside, and he couldn''t use his wind to free himself. Even his shadow couldn''t leave the sphere.


    The sphere reached really close to him, so much so that it started touching his skin, burning it.


    Having no time to think, he made a decision. He needed to protect himself, and he only had two abilities that had evolved to the next stage.


    He couldn''t control the Time after evolution to the level he could before, but he still hoped to try. That was the only way out of this mess.


    He focused deep as he tried connecting to his Time Core which was unusually big. Not only had he stolen the Time Core of Julien, but he also stole from his father before evolving. It was his biggest core that he could see.


    At the same time, he used his second evolved ability. He cast a barrier made purely of his Dark Lightning to stop the other barrier from shrinking.


    The Antian Barrier could absorb the lightning to be even stronger, but despite that, it couldn''t break through the barrier as Lucifer kept supplying more and more lightning to keep the barrier stable.


    He was inadvertently making the barrier stronger, but he didn''t care. He needed time no matter what.


    The Time Core was too strong for him to control as he didn''t have much insight about the ability of time. It wasn''t a core part of his body that was there from the beginning. He had a slight connection with it, but that wasn''t even enough to ess the outward abilities of the Core.


    The lighting Barrier blocked Lucifer from everyone''s view.


    "This idiot... He is making our barrier even stronger. I thought he would''ve been smarter." The old man smirked, watching his Barrier absorb the lightning, but his smile soon disappeared as he felt the barrier bing unstable.


    Within seconds, the AI also issued a warning, confirming the suspicions of the man.


    "Warning: Due to too much energy absorption, the Antian Barrier is bing unstable."


    "Stop the absorption!" The old manmanded.


    "Absorption can''t be stopped. It is advisable that you move back. The barrier will explode in ten seconds if absorption isn''t stopped."


    "Sir, if there''s an explosion, that guy will die! How will we get the information then? We need to save him!"


    "Do you expect me to pass through the barrier? Even I couldn''t do that! That barrier is too strong now! I''ll be ripped to shreds if we try."


    "So, what should we do?" The young man asked. "If we die, we''ll never find her."


    "I know, but we can''t die for information!"


    "His Majesty will kill us in any case if we don''t find her!"


    "I know, but I can''t do anything. I will find any excuse to give to His Majesty. We''ll tell him that this guy destroyed the body of Lady Milena after finding her useless, and we killed him. We might be able to survive. In any case, this man will be dead now."


    "Don''t die for a dead cause."


    As the old man finished, he moved back. The young man followed suit. Both of them moved thousands of meters away from the barrier to protect themselves from the worst part of the explosion, but they didn''t leave the sight entirely.


    They followed the suggestion of Ai on how much to move back because they were protected by their barrier.


    On the other hand, Lucifer didn''t know that he had already found a w in the barrier. He stood inside his lighting barrier, unaware that it was making the other barrier unstable.


    He was too immersed in trying to use even a fraction of time to escape this mess. He needed to reverse time by a few minutes to get out of this mess, but he couldn''t gain enough control of the abilities he owned.


    Finally, the barrier had enough. It was so unstable that it couldn''t hold on for longer. It exploded.


    Boom~


    The explosion was so powerful that even the lightning barrier couldn''t resist it for even a fraction.


    The barrier shattered. Lucifer''s eyes abruptly opened as he saw a massive unstable wave of energying towards him. It was so powerful that spatial cracks kept appearing around him. The spatial stability was destroyedpletely.


    Lucifer started turning into a shadow. Since the barrier was destroyed, he could escape, but even that wasn''t possible. As he was standing at the core of the exploding barrier, a ck hole developed from all the spatial destruction, swallowing the shadow Lucifer had turned to.


    The ck hole even swallowed all the destructive energy that had created it, stunning even the people from the Antis.


    They watched the beginning of the explosion before everything was swallowed by a ck hole. Even that ck hole disappeared immediately after.


    "What just happened?" The young man asked, stunned.

 Chapter 768

    <h4>Chapter 768</h4>


    Even the old man had his jaws dropped. It was the first time even he saw it. Such a powerful explosion had shattered the fabric of reality, swallowing all the energy.


    The ck hole disappeared. Other than the area of the immediate surroundings of Lucifer, nothing else was damaged.


    Only a crater was left behind where he was standing.


    Hiding in the back, even Though Alexi couldn''t believe his eyes. Lucifer was really dead? That guy was dead? He couldn''t believe it, but he couldn''t deny it either since he saw it himself.


    He looked around, wondering what was happening. Was he still awake?


    He looked at the bag in his hands which was filled with drugs. That was the only evidence that he hadn''t dreamt of meeting with Lucifer.


    The Antian Minister moved closer to the spot of the explosion.


    "AI, check the energy signature. Tell me what happened here."


    "Analysis impossible. No unstable energy signature detected."


    "It seems that guy is really dead." the old man nodded his head. "There isn''t a teleportation signal. His body is destroyed along with his soul, if I''m not wrong. We''re done here."


    "We can leave now." He turned around. "Don''t forget the excuse. He killed Eve and died in the battle with us. Both problems are solved."


    "But what if His Majesty finds out the truth?"


    "How will he know if we don''t tell him? Just follow my lead!"


    "Come, there must be a link in this ind that will take us back to Antis."


    The two men turned and left.


    Only after the two of them left did Alexie out of hiding. He moved closer to the spot as well.


    "Sigh, that''s not how I expected your end to be, after hearing your massive ambitions. It seems like the world will stay the way it is." He shook his head, sighing.


    "I should go back to my home as well..."


    He turned to leave as well but stopped only after taking his first step.


    He didn''t know why but there was a strange feeling inside him. It was as if he truly wanted to see Lucifer''s visione true even if he wasn''t here.


    He took a deep breath. Letting out a sigh, he turned back towards the crater. "I know I''m going to regret it, but..."


    He flew away,nding near the same medical mall.


    He borrowed a phone from a guard who was surprised to see him back.


    He dialed a number. "It''s me, Alexi. I want you to book me a flight to Zeston. I need to get to the capital."


    "The flights are banned to there? Find me a ce nearest to Capital where I cannd. I''m going to the airport. I want everything to be ready by the time I get there. Oh, and bring an extra phone for me. I''m borrowing someone else''s phone."


    He returned the phone after saying what he had to say.


    "Thank you for everything.." He thanked the guard. "Oh, and it seems like I won''t be needing these. You can return them to where we took it from.''


    He returned the bag of drugs before flying away.


    He flew straight to the closest airport where his man was waiting for him. He was given tickets and a phone along with some local currency of Zeston.


    "The flight will take you to the closest city from your destination. You''ll need to fly from there. But I heard that ce is dangerous now. It''s the base of the people who threatened the whole world. If you''re going to fight them, should Ie?"


    "I''m not going to fight then."


    "Then?"


    "You don''t need to know why I''m going there. Just take care of the Family in my absence. I''ll tell you if I need anything."


    Alexi took the phone and the ticket before he left for the flight.


    ....


    Uzuki jumped out the window, avoiding the invisible Assassins, but he didn''t run away.


    He stood in an open area which gave him enough room to fight.


    "This should be enough."


    He folded his arms, waiting for the enemies to arrive.


    He soon heard the sound of footsteps, but he couldn''t see anyone.


    " Hearing the footsteps, it seems like there are five of you," Uzukimented. "You can''t be here just to assassinate me. The Target must be all the Uprising Members. And you''re here so fast; you can''t be from outside Triton."


    "Five people who stay inside Triton who dares to attack the Uprising all alone in their new base. You make it so easy to guess your identity."


    "The Remnant leaders of the Warlock Council are here to get revenge. I thought you''d be hiding instead."


    Jian and the others looked at each other, slightly surprised. This guy had managed to guess everything. Fortunately, no one was here. He had selected an empty ce. If he could kill him, they could stop the news from spreading."


    Jian gestured his friend to surround the man so he couldn''t run.


    Each of them walked with extremely silent steps. Despite that, they couldn''t keep their movements hidden.


    "You want to surround me?" Uzuki asked.


    As he was the other personality of Uzuki, he had really heightened senses since he needed to be alert always to make sure that the other Uzuki didn''t ever suffer.


    He could feel the smallest of movement in the wind, and he could hear the sound that most humans couldn''t.


    He knew the positions of everyone and where they were standing.


    What he didn''t know was their weapons. He didn''t know how many of them had Weapons which made fighting them difficult.


    He only knew that one of them had a Sword which was used to kill him previously.


    "Why are you standing there idly? Let''s start the party." He smiled, cracking his knuckles.


    He also closed his eyes since they were useless in a battle where he couldn''t see anything.


    ...


    Arthur left the Warlock Council headquarters, flying above the city to make sure everything was alright.


    "Hmm? Isn''t that Uzuki? Why is he standing there like a Statue?"


    He noticed Uzuki standing still in an empty ce. Curious what he was doing, Arthur stopped.


    Joy was the first Warlock to move. He moved, appearing behind Uzuki in an instant, using his extreme speed. His hands changed to a knife which he thrust towards the man on the back.


    Sensing the changes in wind and the sound of breathing behind him, Uzuki stepped to the left, barely avoiding the knife, but he didn''t stop.


    He raised his left hand, trying to locate the hand of the enemy.. Locating the band, he grabbed the wrist of the man with his right hand, tossing him to the ground.

 Chapter 769

    <h4>Chapter 769</h4>


    Once Uzuki located the wrist of the man, the rest was easy for him. He could easily locate the throat of the man from his wrist.


    The man himself was stunned, not expecting him to be caught. For a moment, he didn''t even register what had happened.


    A fist came like lightning, crashing on his weak throat, shattering all the bones in his neck, killing him in an instant.


    Uzuki felt blood on his fist. He understood that he was sessful. The guy was killed.


    Arthur also noticed the sshes of blood flying everywhere. It didn''t take him long to understand what was happening.


    "Someone infiltrated the city."


    He didn''t directly jump inside the battle, keeping an eye from a distance. He didn''t know how many people there were, but he was sure that if he joined, they were going to run. It was going to be really hard to find them after they left.


    Instead, he contacted Kellian and informed him what was happening. He also sent their location along with some visuals.


    Arthur didn''t want others to know that he was here. Unfortunately, the mist of Uri was everywhere. He instantly senses the arrival of Arthur.


    He informed Jian, tapping his shoulder. He pointed towards Arthur in the distance. "They know already. We need to leave. If I''m not wrong, we''ll be surrounded from all sides soon. It''s not worth it."


    ''That''s Arthur... He can Teleport directly here. He isn''t joining the battle; that means he wants to wait until everyone is here.''


    Jian understood what the n of Arthur was. He also understood how risky it was to stay here. Killing one Warlock wasn''t worth it if they were going to be surrounded from all sides.


    He signaled everyone for a retreat.


    The remaining four Warlocks stepped back and started running.


    "Running?" Uzuki asked, sensing the footsteps.


    He wiped the blood from his knuckles and opened his eyes as he started running after the sound of footsteps.


    He couldn''t follow them for long as he soon lost them. They were too fast to run away.


    He stopped after losing their track. "Cowards."


    Arthur appeared beside him. "Did you really have toe? You scared them. If you hadn''te, I would''ve killed the rest of them as well."


    "We shouldn''t be overconfident. Don''t fight them alone. You have no idea about their skills. You just came here, after all. Still, I didn''t even expect them to notice me so fast. Now that they ran, it''s going to be really hard to find them."


    "We wouldn''t have to worry about finding them if you hadn''t arrived. I would''ve taken care of all of them. Anyway, I don''t think it''s that hard to find them."


    "What do you mean?"


    "I mean, I didn''t go to find them. They came to kill me instead. If I''m not wrong, they''re trying to take us off one by one. They''lle to us. We don''t need to go to them."


    "You mean they were assassinating everyone after entering the city. They must''ve killed quite a lot before reaching here."


    "Kellian, they ran away. You don''t need toe here now. But I have some bad news. It seems that they might''ve killed quite a lot of us."


    "Can you check how many of us are still alive? Whoever is alive, tell them to stay alert and return to the base. I''ming with Uzuki."


    ...


    Lucifer was stuck in one problem, but before he could get out of it, his problem only got bigger. He escaped the grasp of Antians only to be swallowed by a ck hole.


    Not a single person knew about his current situation. His friends didn''t even know what had happened to him. They still thought that he was safe and soon going to return.


    ....


    In a distant ce, another ck hole appeared in the middle of nowhere.


    As far as the eyes could see, there was only darkness. There was no oxygen to breathe and nond to stand on. There were only stars as far as the eyes could see.


    The body of Lucifer came out of the ck hole, floating in the endless space. All the vast amount of energy that was swallowed by the ck hole also came out, assaulting the body of Lucifer.


    Still, in his senses, Lucifer used his winds to push him further away from the destructive energy while casting a barrier around him to protect himself as much as he could.


    Despite moving as fast as he could, he still couldn''t avoid the destructive energy. It reached close enough to swallow him, only for him to teleport at thest moment, appearing a thousand meters away from the destructive energy.


    He still didn''t stop moving back, as the destructive energy was moving fast, destroying everything in its path.


    Only his fingers hade in contact with the energy, and it actually disintegrated with just the lightest of touch. He didn''t know what it could do, but if this energy could destroy his entire body just like his fingers, he didn''t believe he could even recover.


    How could he recover if his entire body was torn to the smallest of atoms?


    He did everything he could to protect his body from that chaotic energy that not only contained the essence of his lightning but also some of his decay.


    Finally, after tens of teleportations, he could rx. The destructive energy had stopped moving further, and it started disappearing.


    Lucifer sighed a breath of relief as he started looking around.


    He could see multiple stars in the distance but no that seemed like Earth.


    "I am floating in space? How did I even get here? The Time core again? Or something else?"


    He tried to find a sane logic as to how he ended up here, soon noticing the ck hole in the distance.


    "That thing! That brought me here! It should also be able to send me back!"


    He started flying towards the ck hole, avoiding the remnant specks of the destructive energy that hadn''t fully disappeared.


    He flew as fast as he could, teleporting as many times as he possibly could and as far as he could, intending to read the ck hole which had started getting smaller.


    "No! Don''t close!" He roared, putting his entire strength, not to miss the portal. He didn''t even know if he could get back home if the Portal closed.


    By the time he reached the portal, the portal was only a few millimeters wide.. He extended his hand towards the portal at thest second.

 Chapter 770

    <h4>Chapter 770</h4>


    Lucifer reached the portal at thest second, extending his hands, trying to get in contact with the ck hole, no matter how small it was.


    Unfortunately, before his hand could touch the ck hole, the ck hole closedpletely. Lucifer was just a single momentte, missing the portal.


    Seeing the ck hole disappear, Lucifer felt like roaring in madness. He was trapped in this unknown space, and he didn''t even know how far he was from the home.


    He didn''t even know which direction his home was. He could feel his heartbeat uneven. Even he was a little stressed.


    He wanted to leave earth to find his origins, but not like this. He still hadn''t finished his mission on earth. He still didn''t have all the stones that he needed to open the portal to the mysterious man.


    He also hadn''t conquered the earth to change it into what he desired. More importantly, he had disappeared at a really wrong time. He had just challenged the entire world.


    Most of the world was going to be against him. If he were back on earth, he wouldn''t have cared since he believed he could''ve dealt with them, but in his absence, the Uprising was too weak.


    They only had Milena, who was strong, but he wasn''t even sure if she could handle the situation alone.


    Lucifer scratched the back of his head in frustration.


    "I need to find a way back. I can''t go back through the ck hole. I can''t recreate all the steps either."


    "The only way back would be using time. But I can''t even control it. I can''t even use it to slow down time, let alone reverse time. But it was able to send me back in time before."


    " I should still be able to do it now. If only it could send me back in time like it used to send me to the beach, I would''ve been happy."


    "When I didn''t want time to reset, it kept sending me back to the beach, and now that I want it to happen, it doesn''t do that!"


    "Hmm?"


    He was immersed in his own thoughts when he noticed Spatial Cracks appearing in the distance.


    The cracks attracted his attention. He gazed at the Spatial Cracks, which joined together, forming a door made purely of spatial cracks.


    The massive spatial door reminded him of something. He had seen a simr door appear not too long ago.


    When he was sent in an unknown time just recently, thousands of such spatial doors had appeared on top of the inds when he was trying to interrogate the Gargoyles.


    "Star Alliance?" he muttered, taking a guess.


    His guess was proven to be right as he saw a small portion of a massive shiping out of the spatial door.


    The giant star symbol was clearly visible on the ship.


    Within seconds, a massive ship came out of the spatial door. The spatial door closed behind the ship.


    "This is the ce where those odd energy signatures came from?" A young red haired man asked the woman on his right, looking at the surrounding of the ship through the screen.


    "Yes Captain. This is the ce. ording to the systems, a strange energy was sensed here along with some space and time disturbance. We''re still getting those signatures, but the intensity of these signatures are very smallpared to before."


    The man nodded. "I think there must be a sudden burst of energy. I don''t know where it came from though. This part of the space isn''t used by anyone. So it''s really odd."


    "Scan the energy signatures to locate their source. While you''re at it, scan the surroundings for any signatures of life or any other space waste. The sudden energy burst might be because some ship exploded here. That will give us a more clear picture."


    "Yes Captain."


    The woman started scanning the surroundings.


    "Sir, we scanned the energy signature, but we can''t find a source. It doesn''t seem like something that''s in use by Star Alliance or even known by us. It looks more like a mixture of random energies that became too chaotic. But there is something that might be of interest to you."


    "What?"


    The woman pointed towards the screen. "When we scanned for any life signatures, we found one."


    The red haired man looked at the screen as well.


    The holographic screen showed a silver haired man who was observing the ship.


    Lucifer looked slightly concerned. He had seen the Star Alliance when he went to the future momentarily. They were too strong from what he could gather, at least for the current him. He didn''t know what he needed to do.


    Lucifer didn''t know if he should approach them or not. Thest he remembered of the Star Alliance was that they were trying to kill him.


    "I need to approach them. Only they can tell me which direction is the way back for me. Only they can help me. But I can''t forget that they are my enemies. They are strong. If they have some negative ideas about me, I might not even be able to escape."


    "Wait, they wanted to kill me because I killed someone of theirs? That hasn''t happened yet. I''m sure they have no reason to kill me like they did before. I should be able to ask for help!"


    Gaining some positivity, he flew towards the Star Alliance ship.


    "Sir, this person is flying towards us. What should we do?"


    "Scan him. Find his species and his energy levels. Tell me if he is a threat to us. In the meantime, teleport him to our prison."


    "Yes Sir."


    The woman pressed a button. A beam shot out of the ship,nding on Lucifer. His body disappeared.


    Lucifer found himself inside a small room that had no exit. There was only one ss wall before him.


    An image was being broadcast on the ss wall.


    "Greetings, young man. This is Joana. I''m the captain of this ship. We have decided to give you a lift, but until we know more about you, you''re supposed to stay in that room."


    "Think of yourself like our guest, but if you tried to damage the room, we would be forced to do something about it. So be sensible."


    The transparent ss turned ck.


    ....


    "I scanned him." The woman told Joana.


    "And? What did you find about him? He seems like a human. Is he one of us?''


    "He isn''t a human. And he isn''t one of us."


    "Then? What is he?"


    "His species is... I think you should see for yourself.." The woman pointed towards the screen again.

 Chapter 771

    <h4>Chapter 771</h4>


    The red-haired man raised his head, focusing on the screen that appeared before him.


    Lucifer''s face was shown on the left side of the screen. On the right side, there were names of all the species that were known to the star alliance. There were all species names except humans.


    "How can this be possible?" the man wondered as a confusion filled expression graced his face. "It''s impossible. How can he match all the species known to us except the one species he looks like?"


    "Is there a w in the system?" he asked the woman. "Run the scan again."


    "Got it."


    The woman ran the scans again. Within minutes, the results appeared on the screen. The results seemed the same even now.


    Lucifer matched thousands of species known to them even though he looked like none of them. On the contrary, he looked like a human, but he didn''t match a human.


    "Run diagnostics on the scanner. There must be some bug in it. It''s impossible for someone to match all species."


    "If I run the diagnostics, it''ll take two days for it to finish. What should we do with that person in the meantime?"


    "I''ll go talk to him myself. You start the diagnostics. Also, collect the sample of that energy signature and turn the ship back. We''re returning."


    "Yes, Captain."


    The man stood up from his chair and left themand center, going to meet Lucifer.


    "It seems people were right. Whenever I lose myposure, I find myself in trouble. First, I was caught by Xaen; then I was caught by the Antis trap, and now this ce. I''m making mistakes after mistakes. Why?"


    "Is this because I''m disturbed after receiving the message from that Dungeon Dweller? Or is this because I''m troubled by this crazy time ability which is like a ticking time bomb inside me. It can send me anywhere it wants."


    Talking to himself, Lucifer started walking back and forth, trying to calm himself since he had faith in his calm self more.


    He pulled out the phone of Alexi.


    "As expected, there are no signals." He kept the phone back.


    He looked at the dark ss before him.


    ''I should be able to break out of here though. But they are the ones who can send me back. So far, I have no enmity with them. I shouldn''t create one either. I should wait and win their trust first. It''ll take a really long time though.''


    ''Can I afford to waste so much time? But I''ve already made so many mistakes. I can''t attack them and make another mistake when I know they are different from what I''m used to. Can I afford that risk?''


    "I can''t waste too much time either. Xaen will wake up in a few hours too. I didn''t even get the drugs I needed. I''ll just have to break him up before he wakes up. But if I do that before the people from Star Alliance, they would think of me as a threat to them."


    "I need to talk to them first."


    "What do you want to talk about first?" A voice fell in Lucifer''s ears.


    The ss became clear again. Lucifer was able to see through the ss.


    The man wasn''t someone he saw before. Lucifer remembered most of the faces of Star Alliance members that were before him to kill himst time. He didn''t remember seeing this guy there either.


    There was a single star on the man''s chest, meaning he was on the same level as most of the Star Alliance. Members that hade to kill him.


    He couldn''t help but wonder what happened after he went back to his original time. What happened to the person who was surrounded by all the Star Alliance members, close to death?


    "I think I already introduced myself. I am Joana. I am the captain of this ship. It seems you speak the samenguage as us. It shouldn''t be hard for us to converse. Identify yourself. Who are you? What were you doing in the middle of nowhere?"


    "If your story checks out and you''re innocent, the Star Alliance will help you. That''s my promise as the Captain of Starship seven."


    "I don''t know anything about the Star alliance or where I am. I was back on Earth when an explosion took ce close to me. A ck hole appeared and swallowed me. I ended up here," Lucifer exined.


    "Interesting. So you don''t know about Star Alliance? You ended up here because of a ck hole?"


    Lucifer nodded his head.


    "That''s very interesting. Appearance of a ck hole that can send you to the Ounds, that too alive? That explosion must''ve been quite powerful for creating such a ck hole."


    Joana rubbed his chin. "If I''m not wrong, the strange energy signatures were from that explosion as well. That''s why it doesn''t match anything we know. That''s quite fascinating though."


    "I don''t know where you''re from, but if you people can create explosions of such an extent that can disturb space and time enough to alert the Star Alliance, your world must not be too bad."


    "But I haven''t heard of Earth before. I''ll have to look it up. It''s not part of the Star Alliance members'' world. It''s quite odd."


    "Can you let me out now?" Lucifer asked.


    "Not yet. I am yet to know enough about you to trust you. Are all people in your world like you?"


    "What do you mean?"


    "We ran a scan on you. It shows that you aren''t Human, but other than that, you''re giving signals to all other species. So my question is, what are you actually? And is everyone in your world like you?"


    "Everyone in my world isn''t like me. I would say I''m quite unique. Most of Earth is inhabited by humans. Then there are a small fraction of humans who are known as Variants."


    "Variants? What are they? Are you a Variant?"


    "I''m a Variant, yeah. Variant means a human who awakens some special ability. You can call them superhumans."


    "That is interesting. Humans who awaken on their own without any outside help? Interesting indeed. But still, something doesn''t add up."


    "If you''re a human who evolved, you should still match with a human more than literally every other species in existence. I guess I''ll need to wait until system diagnostics isplete to know clearly if the system is wrong or you."


    "Am I supposed to wait in this prison until then?" Lucifer asked.


    "You don''t have to wait. You cane out. But first, you need to wear that ring.." The man pointed.

 Chapter 772

    <h4>Chapter 772</h4>


    "What Ring?" Lucifer asked, turning around.


    "Hmm?"


    He noticed a new shelf in the room that previously wasn''t there.


    There was a beautiful silver ring on the shelf which had a red diamond embedded in it.


    Lucifer walked closer to the ring, observing it carefully. The ring seemed ordinary, but he knew that it couldn''t be that simple. Why would they ask him to wear a ring that had no use.


    "What is this ring?" he asked Joana.


    "It''s just a ring for our safety. Wear it so we can protect ourselves in dangerous situations."


    "Protect yourself?" Lucifer asked. "That sounds risky for me."


    "There''s no risk. The Ring is just embedded with a spatial formation. If you try to attack us, it''ll teleport you back inside this cell. It won''t harm you even a little."


    "Once I wear it, I won''t be able to take it off without your permission. Is that right?"


    Joana simply smiled in response. "Won''t it lose its purpose if you''re allowed to take it off?"


    "I won''t force you. You''re the one who needs our help, not us. I won''t allow any stranger to roam on my ship without any safety mechanisms. Why are you scared of wearing it? Do you think we couldn''t have killed you directly if we wanted to hurt you?"


    "It''s..."


    Lucifer was still suspicious about the ring, but the only other option he had was to attack the ship which didn''t seem like a good option.


    "There''s no hurry. You can take all the time in the world. Think clearly and tell me when you''re ready to wear the ring. I''ll be back in my control room until then."


    Joana turned around.


    "Wait!"


    "Yes?"


    "I''ll wear the ring."


    Finding it to be a better option for the moment, Lucifer picked the ring.


    He wasn''t an enemy to these people, and he didn''t want to make enemies either. He wore the ring.


    Joana turned around, noticing the ring around Lucifer''s fingers.


    "Good. It seems like you really had no intentions of attacking us. You cane out."


    A door appeared in the middle of the ss. Lucifer stepped out of the room, observing the ring. He could certainly feel some spatial energy around the ring. It seemed like the guy had told him the truth.


    Just as he was starting to think that maybe the guy was telling the truth, Joana broke the illusion.


    "Oh, I lied about the ring. If you try to attack us, it won''t send you back to the call."


    "I mean, why would we even keep the person alive who thinks about attacking us? Instead of sending you back to the cell, the ring will destroy your body by assaulting it with the most brutal spatial energy."


    "So please don''t even think about it." Joana patted the shoulders of Lucifer. "But don''t worry about this. The ring is as harmless as an ordinary essory unless you attack us."


    Lucifer didn''t respond. He knew there was some trick in the ring, but it didn''t matter. Even if he knew that this ring had this formation, he still would''ve worn it since getting instant freedom without attacking the ship was a much better option momentarily.


    He believed he could find a way out of the ring whenever he wanted, even if it meant cutting his hands off.


    "So, let''s change the topic. Tell me more about the characteristics of your world so we can think about how to locate it. In the meantime, you can be our guest in our world."


    "The ring would act as your permit to stay in our world as well, but it''ll also be proof that you aren''t one of us. So you might not get all the benefits our citizens get."


    ....


    Coast of Elisium:


    A boat took off from the coast, traveling towards the deep sea.


    The boat carried only a couple of men. One of the men carried apass in one hand and a map in another hand. The other man was behind the wheels.


    After traveling for ten minutes, the man with thepass told his friend to stop.


    "Stop right here! This should be the ce ording to the map!"


    "This wasn''t too far. I can''t believe no one found the treasure this close to the coast."


    "Heh, how will they find it? They didn''t have the map like us. This ce is the one where the pirate ship sank four hundred years ago! ording to the map, we''re standing right above the treasure. Once we get it, we''ll be rich!"


    " Hehehe, that''s right! Finally, we''ll be able to enjoy our life."


    The boat stopped. Both the men started wearing their diving equipment.


    They dove inside the sea after preparing, leaving the boat empty.


    The two men started swimming to the depths of the sea, trying to locate the wreckage of a pirate ship.


    As they reached deep enough, one of them noticed something that looked like a ship.


    He changed his directions a little. His friend followed suit.


    Within a few minutes, both of them reached the deck of the pirate ship that was already too damaged to hold any weight.


    One of the men gestured the other to split up and locate the treasures so they could take some of it that could help them afford a crew to bring out more b


    The two men split up, going in different directions.


    "Umm?"


    The first man used a hole in the deck to enter the ship.


    He found himself inside what seemed like a bedroom. It was in too bad of a condition. However, more than the bedroom, what stunned him the most was that there was a body inside the room.


    Moreover, the body didn''t seem like it belonged to a person who drowned hundreds of years ago. In fact, the body didn''t even look like it belonged to a dead person. It was as if a person was sleeping peacefully in the middle of the sea.


    The man swam closer to the body, wondering if it was another person who located this ship recently but drowned?


    ''Why is this guy naked though?''


    The only w in his assumption was that the man was naked. It couldn''t be that he dove this deep without any clothes or any equipment. So how did he end up here?


    The man ced his hand on the silver haired young man''s chest.


    Thump~


    Thump~


    He could feel the thumping of the man''s chest, which scared him.


    The man moved back, scared. The man was not breathing, yet his heart was beating? How was it possible?

 Chapter 773

    <h4>Chapter 773</h4>


    He swam out of the ce in fear, going to look for his friend.


    Leaving the ship, he moved in the directions he had seen his friend take before.


    After intensely looking for him, he finally found his friend who was just about to break a door open.


    The man tapped on his friend''s shoulder, scaring him momentarily.


    The man gestured to his friend to follow him, who thought that maybe he had found the treasure. The dark haired man followed his friend happily.


    Both the men ended up before the silver haired boy''s body. Even the second man was stunned to find such a perfect body here.


    The first man flew closer to the young man and ced his hand on his chest, telling his friend to do the same.


    The second man also did the same, only to be stunned.


    ''What? He is still alive? How? Could it be that he''s a Variant? Wait... Now that I think about it, doesn''t he look like...''


    He picked up the young silver haired man and started swimming out.


    "Hah?" Even the first man was stunned at what his friend was doing. Why was he carrying a burden outside instead of looking for treasure?


    Despite all his confusion, he knew they couldn''t talk properly inside the sea. He followed his friend up.


    Both the men went back to the boat.


    The first man handed over the body to the second before he climbed the boat.


    Only after climbing up did he bring the second man and the body up.


    The two men took off their masks.


    "What did you do? Why did you bring him out instead of the treasures? We''ll have to dive all the way back in again."


    "Man, it seems like you don''t understand anything. Don''t you recognize who this guy is?"


    "Who? Is he someone well known?"


    "Someone well known? I would say that he''s the most well known person in the world!"


    "Hmm? Howe I don''t know him if he''s so special?"


    "Man, you''re a hermit. You should stay up to date with what''s happening in the world. You didn''t even know that the leadership of Elisium had changed until I told you."


    "Get to the point. Who is this guy?"


    "I saw the live broadcast in which the new leader of Elisium addressed us. And that guy was none other than him!" he pointed towards the silver haired man who appeared like he was peacefully sleeping.


    "You mean he''s Lucifer Azarel? How? I agree I haven''t seen him, but even I know about his strength. Why would he be sleeping under the sea without clothes?"


    "I think it has something to do with the threat he issued to the entire world. I think his enemies ambushed him and hurt him before tossing him in the sea. As for the clothes, they might have been destroyed in the battle."


    "I don''t see any battle wounds on his body though. How are you so sure that he wasn''t under the sea intentionally? If we pulled him out when he went in intentionally, won''t he be upset?"


    "I have faith in my theory. I think he was hurt. As for no wounds on his body, that''s because of his healing. I heard that he has an ability that heals him. If I''m not wrong, that ability is what kept him alive."


    "Just think how much we can get for saving him! If we get treasure, we can live like kings for a short while, and it''ll take a lot of effort to get the treasure out."


    " But if we save the leader of the Uprising who controls many nations, we can live what true epitome of life is like. Are you getting what I''m trying to say? We''d be the saviors of Lucifer Azarel. We would be treated like gods!"


    "I don''t know man. I feel like we''re taking a huge risk, but I see merits in your words as well. I don''t know what to do. I''ll just follow your lead. Tell me what we should do next?"


    "First, we need to get some clothes for him. We need to send him back in good condition. For now, just help him wear something of ours. On the coast, I''ll bring proper clothes his size."


    ...


    Joana gave Lucifer a tour of his ship while talking about the Star Alliance.


    "And that''s what Star Alliance is. We help maintain the peace and harmony between all the words in a sense, even though sometimes we need to get violent for our goals."


    "If we find your words and it''s worthy, we might invite it to join the Star Alliance as well. Then you''d be able to attempt joining our forces. However, until then, you''ll be our guests with a tiny bit of surveince on you."


    "How many worlds are a part of the Star Alliance?"


    "I''m sorry, but I can''t give you that information at the moment. I can''t divulge that information until we can verify your ims and your origins."


    "I get it. Can I ask a different question then?" Lucifer asked. "What do the stars in your chest express? And what if there were two stars instead of one? Would that make some difference?"


    "Some difference? The stars on your uniform make a lot of difference. You need to work really hard and climb the ranks to earn a star."


    "If you get one star in your uniform, it means you''re a Captain level member of the Star Alliance. After reaching Captain level, you''re given a fleet of your own to control and a ship for your adventures. But you need to be really strong to get one star in your uniform."


    " And if you get two stars in your uniform?"


    "Two stars... That''s the next level in the Star Alliance. There aren''t many Two Star Admirals, but the ones who reach two stars are the top of the top."


    "They are the ones who stand at the peak of power in Star Alliance as two stars are the highest you can get in your lifetime. You can understand how hard it is to get two stars."


    "So two stars are the strongest in the Star Alliance," Lucifer muttered.


    ''So the one with the wooden staff was a top member of the Star Alliance. No wonder he could reverse time even for me, that too so easily. He is really strong. But if he can reverse time, does that mean he can see the future?''


    ''If he sees my future and sees me fighting him, he would understand everything.. That would be a real headache to fight him like this.''

 Chapter 774

    <h4>Chapter 774</h4>


    ''Wait. He said I killed the Queen of the Star Alliance? If he could see the future, he should''ve seen me to it and stopped the future froming to fruition before I got close to do it. If he doesn''t, that means he can''t see the future.''


    ''Yet, it''s not like I would really like my wife. That might''ve been some kind of alternative reality or something. I''m not that kind of person.''


    ''Either I''ll kill her before marrying her if I have a problem, or I won''t kill her at all! Why would I even marry someone if I had no feelings for them? It''s impossible!''


    "What are you thinking about?" Joana asked. "Are you thinking how strong the Two Star member would be? Well, let me just say it in simpler terms."


    "Two star members are a thousand times less than one star member like me."


    " Despite that, even if all One Star members go against the two star members, we would have a hard time killing even one before we''re all crushed in the war. That''s the strength you need to be a Two Star Admiral.


    "Anyway, it''s none of your concern. Even getting one star would be a big achievement for you."


    "Are there any Three Star members?"


    "Three Stars? I''m afraid there are none. But who knows, maybe one of the Two Stars will be the first Three Star in the future."


    "Any other questions you have? Because we have already reached the room where you can rest."


    The man tapped a button before a steel door. The steel door opened.


    "You can stay inside and rest. I''ll send something to eat for you. If you want to go out, you can do that, but you must be apanied by a member of my fleet since I don''t want you to enter any restricted area."


    "I get it."


    Lucifer entered the room, following simple instructions. He believed he would''ve done something simr if he was in the ce of Joana. No one could trust a stranger so easily."


    He needed to win the trust of Joana and keep that trust until he found the information about his world that he needed.


    As he entered the room, the door started closing. "If you want toe out, just press the red button, and the door will open. But please don''t leave alone. That will be all."


    The door closed.


    Lucifer walked to the bed and sat. The room seemed pretty ordinary. It wasn''t like a prison but was more like a bedroom of any ordinary person. There were chairs, table, a bed, a shelf filled with books and plenty of clothes.


    There was also another door in the room. Lucifer didn''t even get up to check what was on the other side of the room since he was sure that it must be a toilet.


    He took off his shoes, lying on the bed, gazing at the roof.


    "Star Alliance... Why are things getting soplicated? I hope they find the way back soon. I need to get back before any War begins."


    ''However, if I''m really allowed to open the door, it seems like they have a tiny bit of trust in me and in this ring. I can leave if I want, but I''m sure there are cameras all around me.''


    ''If I''m not wrong, this must be some kind of test to see if I would lurk around the ship. What can I even find by lurking around? I don''t want any secrets of the ship."


    "Won''t be of any use to me. I only want the information on how to get back home, but even they don''t know that yet. It looks like it''ll be a really long wait."


    Luciferid on the bed, lost in thoughts as the Starship traveled through space and time to get back.


    Joana also returned to the control room and sat on the chair at the center.


    "Maya, send some food for the new guest. Also, I want to see everything he does on the screen. You got it? Also, turn on the mics in the room. I want to hear everything he says."


    "Yes, Captain."


    "Also, how long before we get back home?"


    "Half an hour."


    "Good. I think it''s time I contacted the base and informed them about what we found. I don''t want to give them too big of a surprise."


    "Captain, May I ask you something?"


    "Go ahead."


    "Why are you behaving so nice with him?" Maya asked.


    "Depends on your definition of nice."


    "I mean, he''s a stowaway. A random stranger that was found from nowhere. We don''t know what he can do and how risky he can be. Generally, in such a condition, you would''ve kept him in the prison until we found out more about him."


    "But you let him out of there and allowed him to roam freely? Why are you being so nice to him?"


    "It''s not being nice. I just want to see what he does if I free him. Moreover, he isn''t any random stowaway. If the initial scanning isn''t wrong, then he is something we have never seen before."


    "He is someone very special. A person who matches every species known to us. Moreover, he is also the one who survived an explosion that was enough to create a ck hole. That''s not something a normal person can do. I think he deserves some special attention."


    "Some special attention? Do you want to see him be a Star Alliance member?"


    "No. If the scan was correct, he has the potential to be much more than a Star Alliance member. I have a feeling that he is going to reach much farther than we can imagine. Think of it as investing early on him."


    "He is still young. I know myself. I can''t be a Two Star member, at least not in this lifetime. Moreover, none of the Two Star members even care about me."


    "I am on my own in this organization, working on my merits since I had no connections. But now I finally have an opportunity."


    "In the future, if this kid bes a Two Star member, I can have someone in a higher position to support me," Joana exined, observing Lucifer on the screen.


    "You mean if the system Diagnostics prove that there is no w in the system. If it doesn''t, that would mean we were wrong about him."


    "Exactly. I''ll do what''s to be done in that case. But until then, I''m going to believe my gut feeling. This guy.... He can be a trump card in the future."

 Chapter 775

    <h4>Chapter 775</h4>


    A boat stood in the calm water, waiting for its owners to return.


    Soon, a man returned to the boat, carrying a bag in his hands.


    Hastily getting on the boat, the man ran to the silver-haired young man who was lying on the bed, covered in a nket.


    "You''re back. What took you so long? Shouldn''t it be easy to find clothes for him? Anyway, did you get clothes his size in the end?"


    "You idiot, of course, it''s easy to find clothes for him. But we couldn''t let him wear any random clothes. I went a bit further to buy better clothes for him. He is a very special person, after all."


    "You bought special clothes? Let me see."


    The first man opened the bag, revealing the luxurious clothes.


    "These... These look too expensive. Where did you even find the money?"


    "I spent from our emergency funds. In any case, we aren''t going to need any funds after helping him. Isn''t that right? He''ll be our ATM! He is going to lead us to a bright future. Now stop sitting on your ass and help me get some clothes on him!"


    The men removed the nket from the young man, revealing him bare. One of them raised the young man while the other made him wear the clothes.


    "Now he looks like a Prince! We can take him back now!"


    "Ah, I have a few questions. I think we shouldn''t hurry in taking him back. Things might turn out bad for us."


    "What do you mean?"


    "I mean, look at it from a different angle. This guy rules over multiple nations. He is the leader of the Uprising. He is very strong, but someone almost killed him and brought him in this condition."


    "Just how strong must that person be? Now that he defeated Lucifer, what if he decides to attack the Uprising? We''ll be going straight into a Warzone."


    " Moreover, if he finds out that we saved this guy, won''t he be really pissed! Instead of bing kings, we might end up dying!"


    The first man frowned deeply, hearing the concerns of his friend because these concerns were valid. Moreover, these concerns even scared him a bit.


    "What was your second concern?"


    "My second concern is about the Uprising. We''ve all heard about the way they work. Even though they are busy conquering other states, they are still the most ruthless organization."


    "Do you think they''ll just believe us when we bring Lucifer back in this condition? What if they think we were the ones responsible for his current conditions? We''ll end up dead as well, but this time at the hands of Uprising."


    "In other words, instead of being a boon to us, finding this guy might''ve been a bane. Now we''re stuck between a rock and a hard ce."


    The more the first man heard, the worse his expressions became. By the end of it, his face waspletely twisted.


    He was dreaming about living a life of luxury to save Lucifer. He even spent all his savings on buying clothes for this guy, only to then find out this. Instead of a life of luxury, they were walking towards their death.


    "Why didn''t you tell me before, idiot! I would''ve tossed him back in the sea right there!"


    "Then we would''ve been in bigger trouble if Uprising knew we tossed Lucifer in the sea instead of attempting to save him. I just thought of it after you left."


    "Sigh, this is truly a problem. Let me think!"


    The man started walking back and forth in stress.


    Silence soon followed as only the footsteps could be heard. No one spoke anything.


    Tian kept walking back and forth in stress after hearing the possibilities while Amin stood near Lucifer, gazing at his face, who looked like a sleeping prince.


    Tian suddenly stopped, turning back. "I think I see one option."


    "What option?" Amin inquired.


    "He is sleeping. He can''t testify who hurt him and who saved him. That''s the problem. But what if we help him? If he wakes up, he''ll know we helped him."


    " And he''ll also know who hurt him, so he can''t me us. That''s perfect! Then we can go to Uprising without worrying! What do you think?"


    "How do we help him?" Amin asked. "He isn''t a human. He is a Variant. We don''t even know what''s wrong with him. His heart is beating, but his face is pale. There are no wounds on his body. How do we help him?"


    "A doctor? We can take him to a good doctor. He might be able to tell us what''s wrong with him?"


    "What''s wrong with him? You think an ordinary doctor would be able to do something? And even if one could, can we afford him?" Amin asked.


    Tian scratched the back of his head in frustration. "We need to try at least. As long as we tell the doctor who this guy is, he''ll treat him for free."


    "Do you think any Doctor in Elisium would have the courage to ask for money from the Lord of Elisium Lucifer Azarel?"


    "But what if that doctor informs Uprising about us bringing Lucifer to him?" Amin looked at Tian suspiciously.


    "Leave that to me," Tian smirked. "Just do as I say."


    "Sigh, fine."


    Both the men ced a mask on Lucifer''s face and covered his lush silver hair with a cloth before carrying him out of the boat.


    They ordered a cab after reaching the road.


    "What happened to this guy? Is he dead or something?" The driver asked, looking suspicious at the unmoving young man before allowing them inside.


    "He just drank a bit too much. He''s not dead. You can check his heartbeat if you''re suspicious," Tian responded.


    The driver looked at them momentarily before he shrugged his shoulders. "I don''t understand why people drink so much when they can''t handle it. Anyway, get inside."


    ....


    The Warlock Council headquarters was still under the control of the Uprising, but there was a serious atmosphere inside the headquarters as they had just taken a headcount.


    It was just now that they found out that most of them who were in the city were missing.


    "If they aren''t responding, they are probably already dead," Arthur said, shaking his head in disappointment.


    Amongst the people who had died, quite a few of them were Nobles from his side.


    Tristan nodded in agreement.


    "That''s true. But it''s still surprising. They were able to kill so many people without being discovered.. If Uzuki hadn''t discovered them, we don''t even know how many more would''ve died."

 Chapter 776

    <h4>Chapter 776</h4>


    "It''s not the time to think what would''ve happened. The enemy is inside our stronghold. And if Uzuki''s assumption is correct, there were five of them. One of them was killed by Uzuki, leaving only four."


    Kellian observed the screen as he talked. The screen showed the information of the five Warlock Council heads that weren''t in the city during the first assault on the city.


    The screen showed all their abilities that were known, but there was no mention of invisibility in the system.


    " We only know some of their abilities that they didn''t hide, but we can see that they have more abilities. All four of them are very strong. If I''m not wrong, the invisibility is being brought by one of them. If we can take him out, we can remove all of them easily," he continued.


    "At the moment, the headquarters is sealed. We left no point of entry. They can''t enter even if they''re invisible. The only way anyone will go outside is through my teleportation," Arthur took a step forth.


    "We know they are hiding in the city somewhere, waiting to attack us," Kellian said. "They have patience but so do we. No one would leave the headquarters without my permission. Only the ones who are capable enough to face invisible enemies would be sent out."


    "Also, as soon as they run out of their patience, they''ll have toe out in the open or attack this headquarters. We aren''t in a race against time; they are. The more time we get before this battle, the better since Lucifer and Milena will be back soon."


    "The best attack against them at this point would be to do nothing. Moreover, if they attack us in the headquarters, we have her. She can use Energy Negation. That should be able to disrupt the invisibility cloak."


    "Are you all understand what I''m saying?"


    "Yeah, we need to stay put." Arthur affirmed, confirming the n as the momentary leader of the Nobles in the absence of Milena.


    ...


    In another corner of the city, Jian and his two friends were sitting in a bar that was closed. The shutter of the bar was down, yet the owner kept it open for the Warlock Council members, making it their base where they could hide.


    "That person had some really good reflexes. He was able to fight us even without seeing us," Aron said, taking a long sip.


    He had stopped using his shroud, making everyone visible.


    "He was just lucky. If that obstruction hadn''t arrived in his room, he would''ve been long dead. That bastard sure was lucky," Uri responded with contempt.


    "I would kill that bastard when I see him next time!" he further added.


    "He was lucky, but what about us? What are we going to do now? They know we are here. They also know who we are and how many of us are there. This mission isn''t a stealth mission anymore." Aron brought the topic back to the main point.


    "Moreover, they had sealed themselves in our headquarters. I went there to take a look around. They have sealed every ce. We can''t enter without destroying a wall or alerting them," he continued.


    "Doesn''t that mean they are just scared?" Uri enquired. "It means we are on the right track. They don''t have the strength to face us. We should just attack and destroy them!"


    "What do you think Jian?"


    Jian had finished ten bottles already, yet his eyes looked sober. "They aren''t scared. They are just wasting time."


    "Wasting time! What?"


    "Can''t you see? Even after they know we are here; we don''t see Lucifer or Milena looking for us? With the kind of firepower those two have, they wouldn''t be hiding if they were here."


    "My suspicion was correct. The two strongest Warlocks of theirs aren''t here. As for why the rest have locked themselves in the headquarters is because they are waiting for Lucifer and Milena to return before mounting a full assault on us."


    "I''m sure Lucifer and Milena must be on their way back. If they were going to take a long time to return, these guys wouldn''t have chosen to wait. Instead, they would''ve decided to face us themselves."


    "That means Lucifer is going to be here soon? Then can we afford to wait?" Uri asked.


    "We can''t. And I''m sure they know we are desperate for time. That''s why they''ve probably set up an ambush for us already. The moment we attack, we would fall into their trap."


    "But we can''t sit back and waste time either. So we only have one option."


    "What option?"


    "We need a distraction."


    "Distraction? You mean to bring them out!"


    "Yeah. We need a distraction that''s big enough to force all of them out of their bill."


    "What distraction can we use? It''s not like we can attack the civilians? Even if we do, they won''te out. And as you said, if we attack the headquarters, it''ll be like falling into a trap? Then what distraction?"


    "The same distraction they nned for us," Jian said, stretching his arms. "They did a worldwide broadcast; shouldn''t we reply with the same?"


    "You mean you''ll do a worldwide broadcast as well?" Uri asked, stunned.


    "Yep. Uprising holds their reputation dear. If we attack their reputation, they''ll be forced toe out. And what better way than this?" Jian asked.


    "They just dered that the city is under their control. But now the city doesn''t have even a single one of them. We can do whatever we want."


    " So I will do the broadcast. Aron, you can handle the technical side. We''ll show the world what a coward this Uprising is."


    "All we need is a little fire, and then we can enjoy the show."


    "However, all of us won''t be there. Only I and Aron will be there. The two of you will mount an assault at the headquarters after we attract their big guns out. Do you understand?"


    Uri and Roy nodded, agreeing with the n.


    "Since Uprising knows all of us are invisible, they won''t find it odd that you two are here. They''ll just think that you''re hiding nearby. It''ll keep them wary and would help us more."


    "We need to make our disadvantage an advantage and win this battle of wits before Lucifer and Milenae, and we need to do it at any cost. Do you understand? There should be no mistake at all."


    "Don''t worry; we''ll handle everything. Bring most of them out, and I''ll enter the base.. I will take the headquarters system under my control, and we can bring those things out of the headquarters as well. It''ll be our victory!"

 Chapter 777

    <h4>Chapter 777</h4>


    Lucifer waited in his room for the food to arrive, along with the information about his home being found, but he didn''t leave all hopes on the others.


    He didn''t lose sleep idly; instead, he lost himself in deep thoughts, trying to find a way for himself. He personally had many abilities which he believed could help him if he found the right way.


    He was wearing the ring that was supposed to stop him from attacking the owners of the ship, but that didn''t mean it could stop him from using his abilities as long as he didn''t have any hostile intentions towards the hosts.


    The people on this ship didn''t even know what it meant to be a Variant. They couldn''t sense much in him. They couldn''t even detect his correct species. He was sure they weren''t going to notice if he sneakily used some of his abilities.


    ''Before I do anything, I need to think about what can help me. The Spatial ability can''t help me since I''m too far from home. Its range is very small.''


    ''The lighting... I can bring forth the lightning from my body, but I can''t take the help of any clouds in space to boost it. That''s one useful in fighting, so that''s out of the question.''


    ''Decay...? Wait, Decay can help me. It steals energy from things and transfers them to my body. I don''t need to have hostile intentions to use it since it''s always active. Can I use Decay to maybe... Destroy this ring? It should be possible...''


    He looked at the ring on his finger with an interesting gaze.


    ''So that can be one way of destroying this ring without trying to take it out? Other than that, the wind can''t help me either. The other abilities are useless. Maybe Energy Negation can be used, but I''m not even sure if it works or their energy signatures? I don''t want to disrupt their work at the moment.''


    ''The only way out seems to be by using Time Control, but even that doesn''tst. I don''t have control over time. Even if it somehow sends me to the past, it doesn''t take long before I''m back to my original time, which is right back on this ship.''


    ''And even in that case, it looks like time only sends my consciousness back in time. It doesn''t take my real body. That isn''t a permanent solution unless I can find a way to change the future.''


    ''It might be possible to do it permanently if I can master time? But this is easier said than done... Oh wait! Xaen! I forgot about him! He should be up soon! I need to do something about him. If he wakes up, he''ll be out of my shadow re-''


    Lost in thoughts, Lucifer just remembered that he had forgotten about one of the most important things as he was more worried about his way back. He had forgotten about Xaen entirely.


    Unfortunately, he remembered it toote. He looked inside his shadow realm but couldn''t find Xaen''s unconscious body inside.


    "He is up? He ran away? When?!"


    Lucifer got off the bed, shocked. He remembered seeing Xaen in his shadow realm when he had ended up on this ship. If Xaen wasn''t there now, that meant he was somewhere on this ship?


    Stunned, Lucifer ran to the door. He needed to find Xaen or at least alert the people of this ship, so they didn''t think that Lucifer and Xaen were working together and Lucifer was just a distraction to help Xaen sneak inside.


    Reaching the door, Lucifer extended his hand towards the door, only to find the door opening on its own.


    The door opened towards the outside, revealing a kid standing on the other side.


    "Xaen?!"


    "Oh, so you do recognize him. I thought that might be the case. We caught him sneaking around on our ship." A man''s voice came from the side.


    Lucifer stepped out of the room, noticing Joana standing right there. He lowered his gaze, noticing the same time in the fingers of Xaen, which was in his. However, there was another ring in Xaen''s hand which wasn''t in his.


    "We took the liberty of interrogating your friend. I hope you don''t mind."


    "He isn''t my friend." Before things could get bad, Lucifer exined. "He is someone who wanted to kill me. I took him as a hostage in my shadow realm. I don''t know when he woke up and left."


    "Well, you don''t have to worry about us misunderstanding," Joana smirked, understanding why Lucifer was this impatient for an exnation.


    "As I said, we already interrogated him. And he already confessed some things as well. We know he isn''t a friend of yours, and he escaped. However, one thing is interesting that we found."


    "What?" Lucifer asked.


    Joana pushed Xaen inside the room and closed the room. "Stay inside."


    Only Lucifer and Joana stood outside. "Let''s take a walk."


    He started walking away from Lucifer, showing his back to Lucifer as if he wasn''t worried about a surprise attack despite knowing that Lucifer had some strange abilities.


    Lucifer walked behind the man.


    "Yeah?"


    "Just like we scanned you, we scanned him as well. Is he a so-called Variant as well?"


    "He is."


    "I see. That''s interesting. It seems like the Variants aren''t what I thought."


    "What?"


    "I mean, when we scanned you, we found you matching with literally every species whose gene sampling data we have in our systems except humans. We thought that maybe all Variants on earth had this feature; however I was wrong."


    "The scan results show Xaen matching a human. That means even though Variants are different from humans to some extent, their gene sampling is the same. But you... You are different."


    "That means you aren''t a Variant. Moreover, you aren''t a human either. That leaves the question... What exactly are you?''


    "What am I?" Lucifer asked, frowning. "As far as I know, I''m a Variant. Anything more than that, you''ll have to tell me."


    "Don''t worry; we will find an answer to that question as well. We just need to make sure our system wasn''t wrong. But if it turns out that our system was right when scanning you, things are going to be really amusing." Joana said, ncing back at Lucifer with a smirk on his face.


    "May I ask you something as well?" Lucifer asked, having some questions of his own.


    "Go ahead. No matter what you ask, I''ll answer honestly."


    "My question is simple. Why are you doing it?"


    "Why am I doing what?"


    "Why are you helping me?" Lucifer asked, matching the steps of Joana to walk right beside him.

 Chapter 778

    <h4>Chapter 778</h4>


    "Helping what?" Joana asked, acting ignorant as if he had no idea what Lucifer was talking about.


    "I am an oddity, as you described. You didn''t know why I was here or what I was. All you had were my words. Generally, the captain of the ship would''ve kept such a person a prisoner and wouldn''t let him be free, let alone taking such a casual walk with them."


    "You believed whatever I said, and you''re trying to help me find a way. Not only that, you''re even taking me back to your world. I can''t help but feel like you''re treating me less like an unknown prisoner and more like someone you want to help? Why?"


    "Why? Maybe I just want to help a person for no reason at all? Maybe I''m just a trusting person?"


    "To be a captain in such a massive organization, you can''t be an idiot. I assume you''re fairly clever... At least clever enough to not trust a person blindly. As for helping someone for no reason at all, I don''t buy it."


    " No one helps someone for no reason at all. At least not here. So are you going to tell me the truth? Why are you doing this?"


    "Maybe here we just help people for no reason? This is a different world after all."


    "No matter which world, the general character stays the same. Moreover, I have another reason. You gave me this one ring, which is just to protect you and your staff. On the other hand, you gave Xaen two rings."


    " If I''m not wrong, the second ring is much more dangerous. Am I right? Just tell me why you''re helping me?"


    "Who knows. Maybe I''m interested in the unknown. Or maybe I feel like you''re a big enough oddity that''s worth making friends?"


    "When a stranger says they want you to be their friend for no reason at all, it just means one thing. They can see a use for you in their future. Shall I ask what use you see for me in your future?"


    "You''re a very observant, young man. But I can''t tell you too much. All I can say is that I see a bright future for you. And I want to be a part of that future if possible. I believe your bright future is my bright future if I''m your friend."


    "So work hard and take all the help I give. In the future, you''ll be d you did it. In fact, we''ll both be d."


    "Just know that I behaved really lightly with you. That ring is literally the least I had to do to you for our basic protection. We had much worse options for prisoners like we used with Xaen."


    "If you want my friendship, you will have it. But if you don''t want it, I won''t mind putting you back in the cell. I''ll leave the decision to you."


    "What do I need to do?" Lucifer asked. "And what will I get in return?"


    "You just need to be yourself. After you go through some tests in our world ande clear, I''ll help you get citizenship of our world. With that, you can apply for a position in Star Alliance. I can use my position to take you in my crew."


    "From that point, everything is set. You just need to grow to the best of your abilities. I''ll make sure only to give your best reports. You''ll swiftly get promoted. And with time, you will be a One Star Alliance Captain as well."


    "And if I''m not wrong about you, your potential is even more than that. You can literally grow much more than I thought. It shouldn''t be hard for you to be a Two Star member with the specialty you have."


    " There is literally no other person who has a link with every species. You''ll be like a unifying force, shining brighter than the brightest sky. Even if it''s for a name, I''m sure the Star Alliance will make you a two star captain as a gesture."


    "That''s where my role will end. And that''s the point you need to help me. You can help me rise to Two Star as a Two Star Member in the future. And even if you can''t do that, you can at least help me in other ways. Everything would be worth it at that point."


    "Do you want a connection with a Two Star member? Why don''t you just contact the one who already is a Two Star Member instead of making a two-star member from scratch?"


    "It''s because I can''t now. The Two Star Members are impossible to get close to. It''s much easier to make one from scratch."


    "I think I understand why you want to help me now, but what will I get? I''m not interested in the position of a Two Star Member or anything else? What''s in it for me?"


    "A lot of things. In fact, you''ll get more benefits than me. As I said, it''ll take a long time to find your world. That much time shall be enough for you to join Star Alliance."


    "And once you''re part of my crew, you don''t even need to stay here. I can send you as an envoy to your world. There, you can do whatever you were doing. After you''re tired of ying around, you cane back and continue the climb."


    "You just don''t understand the Importance of a Two Star member at this point. You''ll be like the King of this Universe. There are literally no disadvantages for you in it. Moreover, you won''t have to worry about enemies then."


    "As a Two Star member, you''ll have many Captains like me under you. That means you''ll have multiple armies. I''m sure you can''t be stupid enough not to see how useful that can be?"


    "It is certainly an interesting offer. It''s something I can''t deny. But how can I be sure you won''t dy finding my world until I be a member or even longer?"


    "I won''t. It''s not like it''ll take that long for you to be a member. Moreover, even if we found your world, do you know how much energy it''ll take to get you there? The Star Alliance won''t use that much energy for someone who wasn''t at least a Captain Rank."


    "On the other hand, I''ll be able to help you with that as well.. I can use my authority and send you to your world as my crew member. If you don''t join the Star Alliance, it''s impossible to send you back even if we find your world!"

 Chapter 779

    <h4>Chapter 779</h4>


    "So I have no other choice but to help you?" Lucifer asked, understanding what the man was implying.


    He was literally keeping his way back as a hostage. At the same time, he was iming that even if he wasn''t, going back was going to be impossible for Lucifer if he didn''t join the Star Alliance.


    If he didn''t do that, even if he wasn''t pushed back in prison, he wasn''t going to be allowed back due to the energy expenses that the Star Alliance needed to open a portal to his world.


    "There''s no hurry. You don''t have to give me an answer now, even though I know what your answer is going to be like. You said I''m not stupid enough to trust you blindly. Simrly, I know you aren''t stupid enough to not take my offer."


    "But still, just for the illusion of it, you can think about it. I''ll wait for your answer tomorrow."


    Joana kept walking straight with Lucifer, only stopping after reaching a white door. He didn''t take a single turn along the way at all.


    "It seems we''re back at your room. You''ll be sharing a room with Xaen until you give me your decision. However, I have a feeling you won''t mind that since you have some scores to settle with him?"


    "You can do whatever you want with him. Unlike you, we''ve ced a restriction on all his abilities with the second ring. He can''t escape. Meanwhile, you can still use your abilities. So have a good time, young man."


    "Abilities?" Lucifer asked, turning back. He had thought that this guy didn''t know about the abilities that Lucifer had. However, it appeared that he knew.


    "Yeah, the abilities. As I said, we interrogated Xaen before. He told us everything about me, but more importantly, he told us your entire life story, regarding your abilities. So we do know you better than you think."


    "Despite knowing my abilities, you aren''t restricting my abilities. You''re really taking a risk by trusting me so much, all for your future. Not bad."


    "As I said, I do have some faith in my heart. Just like I''m trying to win your trust for my future, you''re trying to win our trust because we aren''t your enemies and you need a way back."


    " Since we''re both trying to win each other''s trust, why shouldn''t we both trust each other?" Joana said, smiling.


    He ced a hand on Lucifer''s shoulder. He opened the door. "Think about it clearly. I can be a great enemy but I can be an even better friend if you give me a chance."


    The door opened, revealing Xaen inside. Even though they didn''t take a single turn and only walked straight, somehow they ended up where they started. Lucifer didn''t know how it happened but he felt like there was some spatial disturbance that was used.


    This ce was much moreplicated than he thought. This ship could really be like a maze for him if it needed to be. He could feel that there was much more danger in this ship than he had seen.


    He knew that Joana wasn''t stupid enough to trust him blindly. He probably had faith in his ship and on his squad to handle the abilities of Lucifer.


    ''This walk... Was it intentional?'' Lucifer thought, looking back at Joana.


    It was Joana''s way to show Lucifer that they could use much more than he could which he clearly understood.


    He gained many insights from this one act.


    He stepped inside the room, not taking a second nce at Joana. The door slowly closed after he entered.


    Lucifer shifted his focus from Joana to Xaen who was sitting on the bed, looking upset.


    "I don''t even know what this ce is, but I''m here because of you. Are you happy now? I''m a prisoner of some aliens."


    "It isn''t my fault that you tried to cross me. It isn''t my fault that youid traps for me. It isn''t my fault that you stole my stones. If anything is my fault it''ll be the uing death of yours before I''ll do it personally if you don''t return the stones that you took.''


    "You idiot? You''re still thinking about the stones in this condition? What stones, we''re literally in an unknown space in a ce that even I didn''t know existed. You can''t even go back, let alone get more stones."


    Hearing the answer of Xaen, Lucifer started walking towards him. He stopped right before Xaen.


    He slowly observed his hand which didn''t have any gloves. Only his left hand had gloves at this point.


    He brought his finger closer to the forehead of Xaen, stopping just a few millimeters away from him.


    "I won''t repeat my demand. If you don''t want to be crushed in the next second, return the stones to me."


    Xaen rolled his eyes. "You can''t even use your abilities here. You''re a prisoner just like me. See these rings? They block our abilities much better than any of my Limiter ever could. At the moment, you''re no more than a human just like me."


    Lucifer didn''t respond. He simply touched the forehead of Xaen.


    As Xaen''s forehead was touched, he started feeling a burning sensation on his head. It was like his head was being forged in the mes of hell.


    Before too much damage could be done to Xaen''s body, Lucifer removed his fingers again. His actions had answered the question of Xaen, proving that they were different even though they were both prisoners.


    Xaen looked horrified at Lucifer, surprised at how Lucifer was still able to use his abilities. It was only now that he realized that there was only one ring on the fingers of Lucifer on the hand in which he wore a glove.


    "The ring! They only gave you one ring? That means they didn''t give you the ring that blocks abilities. Why? Why did they let you be?!" Xaen asked, stunned at the sudden revtion.


    "It doesn''t concern you. Just tell me where the stones are? If you don''t, I''ll kill you right this instant. And believe me when I say it, but I won''t get punished for killing another prisoner.''


    "They already got what they wanted from you. They don''t care about your life. That''s why they left you for me. Tell me or you''ll die!"


    Xaen nced at Lucifer nkly for a moment before he burst into aughter.


    "Hahahaha!"


    "Do you think I''m a kid who is two years old or something?" Xaen asked. "I only have one leverage on you, which is that only I know where the stones are.. If you kill me, you won''t be able to find them in your entire lifetime."

 Chapter 780

    <h4>Chapter 780</h4>


    "You won''t kill me until you know where the stones were. On the other hand, what''s stopping you from killing me after I gave you the information you need?"


    "Who said I''ll kill you?" Lucifer shed a devilish smile.


    "I''ll keep you alive. I''ll just make you wish you were dead instead. I can wait for the answer I need. But I''m really going to enjoy what I''m going to do with you."


    "Wh-"


    Arghhh~


    As soon as Xaen tried to respond, his eyes opened wide as the hall became filled with his pained scream.


    One of his fingers from his left hand was lying on the bed, separated from his bleeding hand. The blood covered finger dirtied even the bed.


    "Xaen, don''t worry, you won''t die from that much. I''m sure they can help you survive. For the next ten days, I''ll slice one finger every day. And then on the eleventh day, we''ll increase the fun."


    "As I said, I''m not in a hurry since I''m going to be here for quite some time. You can take a month or more before telling me. I don''t mind actually."


    "You! You think you can scare me with torture? That''s never going to work!"


    "Who says it''s not going to work? It will definitely work. It''s just a matter of time. For now, I''ll enjoy my time with you. As soon as we find a way back, that''ll be the day I''ll show you what true fear looks like. You''ll be begging me to take the stones from you that day."


    Luciferid on the bed,fortably, ignoring the bleeding Xaen.


    Xaen picked his finger and ran to the door. He started knocking on the door heavily, to ask for someone who could reattach his finger if possible. He knew if it was toote, his finger was going to be lost forever.


    Within a few minutes, a man opened the door. Observing the sliced finger in the hand of Xaen, he took Xaen with him. He didn''t speak even one word to Lucifer.


    On the ship, almost everyone knew that Lucifer was special for the Captain. No one wanted to offend him.


    ...


    Back at Earth, another silver haired man was lying on a white bed, looking as if he was sleeping peacefully.


    From his hair to his face, he lookedpletely identical to Lucifer, even in his age.


    In front of him, a doctor was facing two men, looking really concerned.


    "I-i am supposed to treat him? Are you sure the Uprising wants that? But I''m just a human doctor. I haven''t treated a Variant of this caliber," the doctor said, ncing back at the young man again.


    "Doctor, don''t think too much. As you know, the Uprising is very busy in a massive war against the entire world. In such a massive War, they can''t afford to lose their captain but they also can''t treat him at their base since their every move was under the watch of their enemies."


    "That''s why they took the help of ours since we weren''t connected to them to that extent. No one knows we are working for the Uprising and no one knows that Lucifer is hurt. You need to treat him at any cost, without letting even a single soul know that Lucifer is here!"


    "If you do a good job, you''ll be heavily rewarded by the Uprising as soon as the War is over, but if you fail, just remember that Uprising can be very ruthless."


    "In fact, I would''ve made you talk to them directly, however they believe all transmissions to them are being tracked and heard by the enemies so we are in radio silence until Lucifer is up. Do just trust us and help Lucifer!"


    "At the moment, you''re literally the most important doctor in the world who is dealing with the most important person in the world! So don''t think twice and just agree!"


    The doctor was still a bit scared of operating on such an important person. However, he couldn''t do anything else either. He couldn''t say no to Uprising else his life was almost as good as gone.


    Ultimately, he nodded. "Fine. I''ll take this case and I''ll try my best to treat Lucifer Azarel!"


    "That''s a really great news doctor! But remember, not a single soul except us should know that Lucifer is here. It''s a secret that you must protect with your life if needed."


    "I promise, I won''t let anyone know that Lucifer Azarel is here. I''ll be the only person treating him. If the need arises, I''ll bring the entire hospital equipment to another ce for a few days so we can treat Lucifer Azarel there without anyone knowing."


    "That''s great. Also, Doctor, as you know, this is a secret mission so there can''t be any money trail which might lead the enemies here. So all the treatment cost and more will only be given to you after Lucifer goes back to the Uprising safely."


    " So until then, you''ll need to bear all the costs which I''m sure you can since you''re literally the top doctor in Elisium. You''re very rich so that shouldn''t be a problem for you."


    "Don''t worry about money. I won''t even ask for money. I''m treating Lucifer Azarel! I''ll have to be an idiot to ask for money from him. The treatment will be free of cost."


    "Are you sure you don''t want a fee even in the future?" The dark haired man asked, seemingly stunned.


    Contrary to his expressions, he wasughing in his heart. These people were dirt poor and they didn''t have enough money to even go to the cheapest doctor and now they were before the best doctor in Elisium.


    It was all because of the reputation that Lucifer had created for himself. When it came to him, no one was willing to take any risk of offending him.


    At the moment, Lucifer Azarel was the most well known and most feared Warlock in the entire world, especially after his transformation and after the defeat of the Warlock Council.


    Many nations had already surrendered to the Uprising after finding out that the news about the Uprising defeating the Warlock Council in the most brutal war was true. The story was true which was enough of a reason for weaker nations to surrender.


    At the moment, more than half the world was in control of the Uprising. In other words, Lucifer ruled over most of Earth.


    When amongst the nations that had surrendered yet, it was all because they were still thinking about the future.

 Chapter 781: 781

    <h4>Chapter 781: 781</h4>


    The Warlock Council was one of the strongest organizations in the world but that didn''t mean every nation considered it the strongest. There were some continents where the Warlock Council didn''t have even the tiniest of footprints.


    These continents knew of the Warlock Council but for them, it wasn''t a threat. They believed they were capable of facing the Uprising if there was ever a need.


    All because they didn''t cross paths with the Warlock Council, they couldn''t gauge the strength of the Uprising just on the basis that they defeated the Warlock Council.


    These continents had nations that hadn''t surrendered as they were trying to understand the true Strength of the Uprising. Moreover, these nations were also frustrated. A single kid dared to threaten the entire world? They wanted to teach the kid a lesson for being so arrogant.


    All these nations had started contacting each other to create a coalition of nations that were willing to face the Uprising and all the nations that were under them.


    The world was prepared for the uing war between multiple continents which involved thousands of Warlock Organizations all around the world working together to face Lucifer and his Uprising.


    Many countries had even agreed to the coalition. Within one day of the threat being issued to the world, the resistance coalition had twenty signed nations already. Meanwhile, the rest of the nations were going to join aftering to a final decision.


    However, one morning, suddenly another broadcast was sent to the entire world. It was being broadcasted live straight from the Zeston.


    Moreover, the broadcast started from the same building where Caen stood during his broadcast, pretending to be Lucifer.


    It was obvious that this was done to mock the Uprising and their broadcast.


    A young man stood on top of the building, holding a sharp Sword, facing the camera.


    "Greetings. This message is intended for the entire world to see. I''m sending this message to tell you the entire truth about the Uprising."


    "As you can see, I''m standing in Zeston which was imed to be under the control of the Uprising. It was imed that the Uprising had taken over this nation and entire continent after defeating the Warlock Council."


    "I want to tell you all that the Uprising isn''t strong enough to destroy the Warlock Council. All they are is an organization that knows how to pretend and chew more than they can digest!"


    "So today, through the medium of this broadcast, I want to tell every nation that''s listening, you don''t have to be scared of Uprising. The Warlock Council was here to protect everyone, it is here to protect everyone and it will always be here to protect everyone!"


    "No Uprising can destroy the Warlock Council as you can see. Instead, all they can do is hide."


    Even as Jian kept talking, the feed changed and started showing various parts of the city. Not a single person from Uprising could be seen on the streets, unlike in thest feed that was broadcasted by Uprising which showed their members almost everywhere.


    "What is he doing?!" Tristan roared in frustration, watching the feed.


    Even the others were frustrated as they felt like Jian was mocking them and calling them a liar.


    Kellian also stared at the broadcast in surprise. Quite a lot of nations had surrendered to them without them even needing to send people there. It was all because those nations were scared.


    However, now that they were called liars, it was enough to remove their fear from the leaders of these nations. It could easily bring them back to square one.


    Not only that, thinking that the Uprising truly fooled them, these people could very easily start thinking about revenge, working against every other nation to eradicate the Uprising.


    At the moment, there were only some nations who were making an organization against the Uprising and even they were not brazen enough to think about attacking the Uprising carelessly.


    However, with this story about the Uprising being a weak organization, the number of nations could easily increase, creating even more headaches for the Uprising.


    "Find out which frequency they are using and cut it off immediately!" Kellianmanded.


    "They aren''t using any frequency, at least no frequency of this continent," Came the response. "I don''t know how they are doing it but their broadcast originates from the Albitan Continent!"


    "So they are sending this feed to Albitan somehow. And from there they are broadcasting live."


    "And we can''t cut off the broadcast from the Albitan Continent?" Kellian inquired.


    "We can, but first we''ll have to take over theworks of the Albitan Continent which is going to take time."


    "How much time?" Kellian asked.


    "Around ten minutes."


    Standing in the back, Arthur heard the entire conversation. "I think by that time, his broadcast will be over on its own. It''ll be a waste of time if it''s going to take that long."


    "That''s right as well. It looks like his message can''t be stopped." Kellian nodded. "I really didn''t expect him to do this. I thought he''ll get desperate and attack us, but it looks like I beas wrong."


    "We were all wrong." Arthur sighed.


    "What are you even talking about? This guy is literally mocking us and calling us a liar! Instead of stopping his broadcast, why don''t we just kill him in his own broadcast? That''ll prove he''s the one who was lying!"


    "We can certainly do that, but the question is if we should or not," Kellian responded.


    "Why shouldn''t we?" Tristan asked. "We wanted to find them. The biggest problem of ours was that we didn''t know where they were hiding. Now we know. So what''s the problem? Why are you all so scared?"


    "You don''t understand. Do you think this guy would be stupid enough to not know we would attack him if he does that? The only reason he''s doing that now is to bring us out. It''s a trap."


    "So? So what if it''s a trap? I don''t care if it''s a trap. If it is, I''ll just destroy this trap? What''s the worst trap they can set up? There are four people."


    "One is drawing us out and the other four will attack us?" Jiani chimed in, tossing out her theory on what kind of trap it might be.


    "That is nothing. We are so many in numbers but even if we weren''t, we could still take four of them out, couldn''t we?" Tristan asked. "I mean Uzuki alone took one of them out when he was surrounded by five."


    "If even Uzuki can do that, just how hard can it be to take out the rest?"


    "What do you mean if even Uzuki can do that?" Uzuki asked, ring at Tristan. "Are you calling me weak?"

 Chapter 782: 782

    <h4>Chapter 782: 782</h4>


    "No, I''m just saying, that if even you can do that, then for me, it might be like a child''s y. I''m not calling you weak," Tristan answered before turning to Arthur.


    "Arthur, only you can take us out. Take me to that ce. I''ll take care of everything else."


    "No one is going anywhere!" Kellian stated as his voice became slightly louder.


    Tristan also didn''t take that loud tone kindly. He was feeling insulted by Jian already and he wasn''t even allowed to go and kill Jian?


    "I don''t remember you being this cowardly, Kellian. What happened to you? How is it that one person is enough to scare you now? Where is the old Kellian who would''ve wished to go out and kill that bastard more than me?"


    Kellian didn''t answer. He just kept his focus on the broadcast as he kept looking at his watch in between. A timer was running on his watch which was counting down.


    "Is it because you''re weak now?" Tristan asked.


    Kellian still didn''t reply, even though his eyes were suddenly filled with an estranged emotion.


    "In the past, you were strong. But you split yourself in two. As your other half was destroyed, this half was left which isn''t even a fraction of the old Kellian in strength. Is that why you suddenly became a coward?" Tristan asked. The more he was ignored, the sharper his words became.


    Hearing the words of Tristan, Arthur looked at Tristan in surprise. Was it a conflict? Two important members of the Uprising were in a conflict? This didn''t look good, especially at a time like this when unity was needed more.


    Moreover, it wasn''t just a fight between two ordinary members. It was someone calling out the second inmand for weakness which was a much more serious thing. It was like the members didn''t have trust in the person who was supposed to lead them in the absence of Lucifer.


    Arthur was sure that if Lucifer had given the same order, Tristan wouldn''t have said anything like this. He wouldn''t have called Lucifer weak or even a coward.


    For him to use these words for Kellian, it was evident that there was more to the story than what he had seen so far. It certainly wasn''t about the current decision.


    Kellian still didn''t reply. However, it was someone else who stepped forward.


    A beautiful silver-haired man stepped between the two.


    "Tristan, I think you should control your words."


    "Caen, you think I''m saying something wrong? I''m just speaking what I feel. There''s not a single lie in my statement! Tell me honestly, is Kellian not weak now? Is he not the weakest out of all of us now?"


    "It''s because he sacrificed his other half for the Uprising!" Caen eximed.


    "He didn''t sacrifice anything. It was a mission and he died. If I would have died, I wouldn''t have called it a sacrifice. In any case, all I''m saying is that Kellian is weak now, and that''s why he has started fearing death. That''s why his decision reeks of cowardliness."


    "Just because he''s inmand now, why should I listen to him? He''s just an image of his glorious past. In the past, he was strong and he was brave."


    " That''s when he deserved the position and the right to make decisions, because his decisions weren''t influenced by fear."


    "But now, not only is he weak, but he''s also letting fear of a few Warlocks influence his decisions so much that he''s asking us to be scared of four Warlocks and hide like rats? This isn''t the making of a leader we should listen to."


    The more Tristan talked, the more arrogant he seemed which surprised quite a lot of people in the room, especially the Uprising members.


    They knew Tristan was sometimes a person who didn''t listen to anyone and did as he felt was right, but even they didn''t expect such sharp words.


    They didn''t feel that it was right. They couldn''t understand why this guy was ming Kellian for being weak? Even if he was weak, it didn''t matter. He was still a good leader?"


    Kellian didn''t speak a single word throughout this entire episode, keeping his entire focus on the speech of Jian and on the timer. It was as if he didn''t even care what was being said about him.


    Caen cared a lot though. Caen had known Kellian for a long time. He understood Kellian and he knew his personality. Just because Kellian was weak, he wasn''t going to be scared.


    Moreover, Caen also felt like he was being targeted in a way. By calling out Kellian for being weak, it was as if Jian was saying that weak people weren''t allowed to be leaders?


    Amongst all the Uprising members, Caen was the weakest. He could only use Transformations and he wasn''t a Warlock who could win battles when it came to fighting, so he didn''t take such words kindly.


    If Kellian wasn''t allowed to lead just because he was weak, by that logic, didn''t it mean that Caen wasn''t even allowed to be in the organization just because he was even weaker?


    "So what are you trying to say? You want to decide what we should do? You want to take all the decisions now? Just because you''re stronger?" Caen asked. "Weak Warlocks can''t even take decisions? Why does strength matter in decisions?"


    He didn''t stop there either as he further continued. "Do you think Lucifer didn''t know who was strong and who wasn''t when he made Kellian our leader in his absence, even after knowing that Kellian was currently weak? Do you know more than him?"


    This time it was Tristan''s turn to be surprised as he watched Caen talk to him in such a manner.


    "Yo-"


    "And you talk about fear of death being the reason behind his decisions?"


    Tristan tried responding but before he could even let out a single word, Caen resumed talking, cutting his sentence short.


    "What do you know about fear of death? As the current leader in the absence of Lucifer, why would Kellian worry about death? If he was scared of death, couldn''t he just ask every member of the Uprising to leave this ce and attack them while he stayed inside alone?"


    "He wants everyone to stay back, not himself only! It''s not about fear, but he''s thinking cleverly. He doesn''t want Uprising to lose even more people, falling into something that''s clearly a trap!"


    "Soon we might need to face against the entire world.. The more people we have, the better! That''s why he doesn''t want any of us to die now! That''s why he''s more careful. Even I can''t see that, but you can''t! How stupid can you be?!"

 Chapter 783: Secret Of Jian (part 1)

    <h4>Chapter 783: Secret Of Jian (part 1)</h4>


    "You-"


    Tristan was stunned, unable to find words; however, he didn''t like the tone of Caen. He tried to respond a second time, only for his words to be cut off again.


    This time it was Arthur who had spoken.


    "So that''s what the timer was for. I see now."


    "What?" Tristan turned to Arthur, wondering what Timer he was talking about, only to find him staring at the screen as well.


    Tristan also turned to the screen. His lips opened slightly.


    He couldn''t help but wonder if the only reason Kellian wasn''t allowing him to go out was because of this? Was he waiting for this moment?


    Even though Caen defended Kellian, even he was stunned at the sight.


    On the screen, they could see that Jian had suddenly stopped speaking. Jian was looking up, seemingly surprised.


    At some distance from him, a figure could be seen floating in the sky, donning a long robe.


    The deep red eyes of the figure were looking at Jian with a tiny bit of curiosity in them and a lot of anger.


    Kellian soon turned back, revealing aforting smile. "Alright, she is here. Arthur, send me, Tristan, Das, and Uzuki to that roof now."


    "What about the rest?" Arthur asked, looking at the rest of the members.


    "They''ll be staying back. We still don''t know where the other three Warlock Council leaders are. For all we know, they might not even be here. They might be near the base, waiting to take over it after we all leave. Leave us there, and you all return."


    Arthur didn''t ask too many questions. He just held the hands of Kellian and Tristan as he disappeared.


    Kellian and Tristan appeared behind Jian on the same roof. Tristan couldn''t help but feel a bit bad. He was using Kellian of being a coward, but Kellian was thinking about everyone else? He came out before everyone else. That meant he really wasn''t a coward.


    "Kellian, I..."


    "You don''t need to say it. I know you''re an impatient person. You didn''t have any ill intent behind your words. You were just upset. I didn''t mind it," Kellian responded.


    Arthur disappeared and went back to the base beforeing out with Das and Uzuki as well.


    Jian stood at the roof, alone and surrounded from all sides. However, his focus remained only on the person before him.


    "So I was right. Lucifer and you weren''t here. Unfortunately, I wasn''t right about the timing of your return. You came back faster than I expected," Jian told Milena before he finally observed his surroundings.


    Arthur came back with Jiani as he finished hisst trip, bringing everyone here who was needed to be here.


    "Arthur, you can go back now. In our absence, everything in the base will be under your control. You''re the leader. Keep it safe."


    Arthur didn''t feel like going back as the battle here was imminent, but he also understood that he might not be needed here. Milena was finally here.


    "I''ll leave, but Jiani will stay here with Her Majesty. I''ll keep an eye on the feed. If the others are here too, I''ll return." Arthur disappeared again.


    "I heard you''ve been making a lot of noise in this ce. You killed quite a lot of my Nobles?"


    "Quite a lot would be an overstatement," Jian responded, stretching his arms as if he was feeling slightlyzy. His Sword remained inside its sheath, which he held in his left hand. "I only killed the ones that weren''t hiding like rats inside the base."


    "Talking about rats, where is Lucifer Azarel? Still on that small continent?"


    "You want to meet him? You know he would be really happy after meeting you. Can''t say the same for you though," Milena replied. "By the way, I can''t sense any fear in your eyes. May I ask why is that?"


    "Fear of you? I haven''t fallen to that level yet. I prefer using my brain to kill enemies and not getting my hands dirty, but I think it gives people the wrong impression. You might be under that same impression as well."


    "And what impression would that be?"


    "That I''m a coward?"


    ....


    Arthur returned to the base once again, shifting his entire focus on the screen. They had sent cameras of their own which were sending them a broadcast of their own in case Jian stopped it for some reason.


    The phone at the base suddenly started ringing heavily. It wasn''t just one phone. All the phones were ringing simultaneously.


    Curious, Arthur picked up the call.


    "Yeah?"


    "Arthur, It''s me, Kane! I was working on decrypting the data of the Warlock Council base, and I found something really important! You must tell this to Kellian! Don''t let them fight Jian! At any cost, tell them to return! They need to know everything before fighting him!"


    "Know what? What are you talking about? Why do you sound scared of Jian?"


    "Because we were wrong about him! Everything that was recorded about him was a lie! The secret about him was in this heavily encrypted data! I just went through it! Bring everyone back, this instant, so I can exin to them!"


    "Why are you so worried? Our queen is already here. Don''t worry about it. Kellian and the others aren''t alone now."


    "It doesn''t matter who is before him! I would''ve been this hysterical even if Lucifer was there before him! They must know it before they fight him! This broadcast! It wasn''t a trap to call you out of the base only!"


    "Instead, it was done so he could kill you all live, for the whole world to watch! That Jian! He is too dangerous!"


    Kane was literally yelling in urgency as he watched Jian talking to Milena. "Get them back fast! I''ll exin everythingter!"


    "You think they''lle back with me? Others might, but Her Majesty won''te back just to hear something about Jian. She''ll stay there and fight him. You need to tell me what you know about Jian! I''ll tell her there, be fast."


    "It''s too much to tell so fast; I''ll just tell you that everything we know about Jian and the Warlock Council was wrong. The Warlock Council wasn''t started by anyone else. It was started by Jian when he was just a kid!"


    "Jian isn''t just one of the leaders of the Warlock Council, but he''s the true King! He never took any part in any mission.. That isn''t all there is about him. There''s more! He is too strong, especially with his sword!"

 Chapter 784: Secret Of Jian (part 2)

    <h4>Chapter 784: Secret Of Jian (part 2)</h4>


    "Moreover, he can''t be killed! When he was a child, he was killed in his mansion by some people. His father had died that same day, but that''s when he had woken up as well!"


    "His first ability is that his body recovers to its best condition whenever he''s killed! Not only does that happen, but every time he is killed, he bes stronger! This guy! He literally killed himself every day just to get stronger!"


    "So he can heal and get stronger?"


    "It''s not healing but time reversal of his body. His body returns to the condition of the past when it was perfect whenever he dies, but he didn''t go back in time. He stays at the same time; just his body age goes back."


    "If I''m not wrong, this guy has killed himself over a thousand times to gain strength and his strength is now..."


    "His strength is now what...?"


    "I don''t know what his strength is, but from the data we just managed to unencrypt, I can confidently say that even the entire Warlock Councilbined couldn''t have defeated him."


    "No one knew about the true Strength of Jian except the Chair of the Warlock Council. For the entire world, the old man was the one who started the council, and he was stronger, but he was just... a puppet of Jian!"


    "This Jian... He is a psychopath, not much different than Uzuki!"


    "Uzuki? You mean split personality?"


    "Crazy level of split personality. But unlike Uzuki, both of his personalities know about each other. One is the clever one who takes the lead most of the time, killing people when needed using schemes and all. That personality stays out most of the time."


    "What about his second personality?"


    "I don''t know when his second personalityes out, but I feel like I don''t want to watch that happen. It''s somehow rted to his sword."


    "Tell Milena and everyone else about it before they force this other personality out! Don''t let them fall into this trap!" Kane eximed. "Act fast."


    "Alright, I''m going to tell them!" Arthur kept the phone back.


    "I''ll be right back. Take care of the base," he told the others, preparing to leave. Milena and Jian still talked. No one had made a single move until then, which gave Arthur more time.


    Boom~


    Just as Arthur was about to leave, he heard a booming sound. rms started ringing all over the headquarters as the left entrance of the Warlock Council headquarters caught on fire.


    "Kellian was right. They were going to attack, but he was wrong about one thing. Jian wasn''t the distraction for this attack. Instead, this attack seems to be a distraction for Jian."


    Arthur scratched the back of his head. He needed to leave, but he also had a task to protect this ce. Only he could teleport the members from one part of the headquarters to another.


    "Jake, Roy, Elina, you three areing with me. We are going to the site of the explosion. The others shall stay behind. Am I clear?"


    Not even waiting for the response from others, he held the hands of the ones he called for and disappeared.


    He appeared on the first floor, slightly farther from the entrance. He already considered how far these people could''ve traveled inside the base since the explosion and teleported ording to that so he could wait for them.


    "You three stay here. You know those guys can be invisible; that''s why I selected you. You can sense them. You three have the abilities that can help you. Just keep them busy for a little. I''ll be right back! I need to inform Her Majesty about something important."


    Boom~


    Arthur tried moving again, only to find that he couldn''t Teleport this time. There was some kind of obstruction.


    He looked around in confusion.


    "Greetings, Arthur and everyone else."


    A man''s voice came through the speakers.


    Arthur raised his hand and looked towards the speakers.


    "The Control room!" His expressions soon turned weird. He could understand that the only way to ess the speakers was through the control room.


    "This means those people are already inside the control room? From the time of the explosion to now, even a minute hasn''t passed. How could they get there so fast?''


    "Even with Teleportation, you are slower than us. It seems we overestimated you. We thought you''d be blocking our path, and we''d have to go through you." The voice changed, sounding like it belonged to a different person now.


    "That''s why we didn''t attack directly and used Jian as a distraction to bring your strongest out first. However, it seems like it wasn''t even needed."


    "It looks like at least two of them are here. Either Jian has the third one, or the third one is here as well. In any case, they''re calling Jian a distraction. So they really don''t know about Jian. As expected, the information was secret even from them."


    "Either it''s that, or Jian truly isn''t thinking about revealing his other self even now? Could he really be a distraction for the moment so they could use the base?! Argh, I need to get this information to them somehow! I need to go out!"


    " The headquarters is under enemy control now. They must be in the control room, while the rest of our members are on the top floor. You three run up and alert them and stay with them. I''ll leave this building so I can inform Her Majesty and others."


    Issuing hisst set ofmands, Arthur started running towards the exit. The teleportation was blocked somehow. He could only run. However, he didn''t even understand how teleportation was blocked."


    Did this ce have some facilities like this? And they didn''t know about all that? So even after being here for so long, they couldn''t explore all the functions of this ce? Many questions floated in his hand as he ran towards the exit.


    Now he was regretting why he didn''t just teleport right near the entrance instead of giving him buffer room.


    He kept running and running, ultimately teaching the exit.


    "After leaving this ce, I should be able to teleport. However, getting back inside this ce would be hard again. I''ll think about it when we get to that part. Until then, I can only hope that others can stay safe!"


    He was only ten steps away from the exit. His long hair floated with the wind as he ran. He could also feel. He could feel the heating from the entrance that was covered in mes.


    He covered his face, preparing to jump through the mes.


    Pushing his body ahead, he jumped.


    Only a moment after he jumped, he felt something. There was a feeling of danger that grasped his heart. The heat was different as well.. Suddenly the me turned colder.

 Chapter 785: Distraction Or Not

    <h4>Chapter 785: Distraction Or Not</h4>


    Still covering his face, for the most part, he slowly opened his eyes, taking a glimpse of what was happening ahead.


    As soon as his eyes opened, he noticed a Sword made entirely of mes flying towards his neck. The Sword wasn''t made of hot red mes. Instead, they were made of chilly blue mes. All the red mes had turned into blue in an instant.


    Still in the middle of the air, he thought about teleporting at thest second, only to remember that he couldn''t. He still wasn''t outside the building.


    Using his winds, he pushed his body to the side.


    The freezing sword missed his throat but managed to cut a small trail of his hair in the process. The sword turned around, once again, following Arthur.


    Arthur once again tried to avoid the Sword as he moved again. Even this time, he managed to protect his vitals; however, not perfectly.


    A light groan left his lips as the sword sliced his left arm, leaving one inch deep cut on it.


    Arthurnded in the back, holding his arm that was hurting. His arm was feeling so cold. He moved his hand aside as he kept moving back, noticing a dark blue wound on his arm. The wound was spreading out, hurting him even more.


    "Freezing poison?"


    This wound was like a poison that was extending outwards.


    "If I don''t stop it, it''ll obliterate me."


    He diverted his attention in avoiding the freezing sword so as to not get more wounds like this and in trying to find ways to protect his arms.


    Not having any other way, he formed a wind de and stabbed the knife in his arms deep, and started cutting his skin. He sliced whatever part of his arms was corrupted.


    His arm was already bleeding; however, as he slicedrge chunks of his arm, his hand started bleeding even more, so much so that he didn''t even know how to stop the bleeding. He was already having a hard time, trying to stay sane even through all this pain.


    Having no healing abilities as good as Lucifer, Arthur found himself in a much worse situation. However, his abilities as a noble provided him with some healing, even if it wasn''t as good as the healing of Lucifer.


    His bleeding slowly stopped as his wound started recovering.


    The blue mes still blocked the entrance while Arthur stood on the other end. A beautiful blue sword made purely of freezing mes stood in the middle, blocking the path of Arthur as if challenging him to move if he dared.


    "Shall I ask where you''re hiding, or are you going toe out on your own?" Arthur asked calmly. "Or are you going to be scared even when you have an edge?"


    The freezing blue mes that were blocking the entrance startedpressing as if responding to the words of Arthur.


    The mes that blocked the entrancepressed into a single figure with a humanoid shape, however still made entirely from fire.


    The mes slowly started changing color, turning more human. Within a minute, the me figure became a real human.


    A bald man stood before Arthur. A smirk graced his lips as he licked his lips. "That you''re right about. I do have an edge. So I might as well enjoy it."


    "Zain, from the Warlock Council. As I expected. So you''re the third person who is here. That means Jian is truly alone there."


    "Yes. But it''s fine. He is strong enough to survive until we finish what we''re here to do. And when we''re done, the Uprising will be finished. Today shall be the end of this stupid organization that flew too close to the sun," the bald man said, raising his hand towards the floating sword.


    The blue Sword flew towards Zain,nding in his hands.


    "You know, I expected more from this battle. However, I''m pretty disappointed. Without your teleportation, you''re nothing. Your winds aren''t strong enough to stop my mes, and your healing isn''t strong enough to help you survive for long."


    Zain continued talking to Arthur in a mocking tone as he looked down at the young noble.


    "In short, you''re too weak for me to even take seriously. I don''t think I can get any enjoyment out of it, can I?"


    "You want enjoyment? Let me step out of this building, and then I''ll make sure you get the enjoyment you want and even more." Arthur cracked his knuckles, keeping Zain busy to give his arm some time to heal.


    "I would allow you out if I could; however, I already agreed to kill you inside. I can''t go back on my words. But I do know what I can do. Let''s make it more fun. Run..."


    "What?"


    "Run, little rat. Run wherever you can inside this building. I''ll chase you, and I''ll hunt you. Since you''ll be inside the building, I won''t be breaking my words. And I can get some enjoyment from it."


    Zain burst intoughter, feeling like a predator who was looking at his prey that he could kill anytime.


    Arthur stared back, not running. He knew that running deeper into the building was the worst thing he could do aftering so close to the exit. If he entered, he was truly going to beat prey that had no way out.


    Even if he ran inside, he would have to eventually fight against Zain one way or another to survive. If it was something that was going to happen in any case, he didn''t feelfortable running. It was much better to stay here and fight.


    He looked at his arm, which had almost healed.


    "You aren''t going to run?" Zain asked, surprised that Arthur hadn''t taken him up on his offer.


    "You scared that I''ll catch you too fast? Alright, I''ll give you a ten minutes head start. If you run, I don''te after you for ten minutes. You can go anywhere inside, and I won''t even see."


    Prepared to fight, Arthur suddenly thought of something. He nced back, noticing the hallway, which had two ways, left and right only. An idea popped up in his head.


    "How would I know if you''re seeing or not? There are only two ways inside, left or right. If you see where I went, you''ll know where to find me. If you know where I went, it''ll be easy for you to locate me. It''s not worth it," Arthur said, sighing.


    "The ten minutes head start is nothing if you''re going to know where I went."

 Chapter 786: Fool

    <h4>Chapter 786: Fool</h4>


    "Hahahaha, even with ten minutes head start, you''re concerned about me having an easier time finding you just because I could see where you turned? You truly are a coward, aren''t you? Fine, I''ll close my eyes and won''t even look. Run! I won''t see where you turned."


    "Why should I trust you? Why should I believe that you won''t see?"


    "Because I''m not an a*shole like you and your partners. We in the Warlock Council are very upright people."


    "Upright and you? Attacking us from the back, using the cloak of invisibility like cowards? That''s upright?"


    "That was war, but this is different. This time, I''m giving you my word. We might select some unique ways to fight, but we stick to our words and don''t go back on it. Trust me and run! I will give you one minute to run! If you don''t, I''ll forget that I even gave you an opportunity, and I''ll kill you right here!"


    "Fine. Close your eyes," Arthur said, ring at the man.


    Zain closed his eyes as he folded his arms, starting a countdown from sixty.


    Arthur observed the man for ten seconds, making sure he wasn''t looking.


    He floated in the air and took off his shoes without making much noise. "Don''t look if you truly have some dignity!"


    Zain smiled, "Don''t worry. I don''t need to cheat to get cowards like you."


    "Forty seconds left!"


    Arthur turned around, cing his shoes on the ground as he waved his fingers. His shoes started rising on the air and moving back as if they were running on their own.


    The shoesnded with such impact that they sounded like they truly were on the foot of a human.


    Zain heard the sound of footsteps going away from him.


    "Truly a coward."


    "Thirty."


    "Twenty nine."


    "Twenty eight."


    The shoes kept running on their own while Arthur started floating towards the exit carefully. He surrounded his body with an air bubble to not create any disturbance in the atmosphere around him as he moved so Zain couldn''t sense him.


    Zain kept his eyes closed as he continued the countdown, not realizing that Arthur had reached right beside him.


    Arthur flew past Zain while his shoes kept running away, keeping the illusion that it was him who was running away.


    "Three!"


    "Two!"


    "One!"


    Zain opened his eyes. "Here Ie, little rat!"


    He started running inside the building, following after the shoes.


    As he reached the turn, he looked to his left. That''s where he had heard the footsteps go.


    As soon as he looked left, his eyes opened wide in surprise. He noticed a pair of shoes lying at the turn.


    "His shoes? Why would he take off his shoes here? He didn''t want me to hear his footsteps? But if he knew I was hearing his footsteps, why would he take shoes off here and not before turning?"


    "Could it be a diversion to make me think he went left while he went right?"


    Even after finding the shoes, Zain still didn''t realize that Arthur had fooled him to that extent. He only thought that Arthur had gone a different way.


    He turned and took the right turn, not realizing that Arthur was already out of the building. He tried to find a person who wasn''t even inside the building.


    Meanwhile, Arthur had already left the Warlock Council headquarters. He was able to teleport once again.


    Feeling control over his surroundings, he finally sighed a breath of relief as he felt the warm sunlight fall on his body.


    ....


    A few minutes ago~


    Milena was floating in the sky before Jian, not realizing how strong Jian truly was. For her, he was still one of the Warlock Council leaders, not much different than many she had already killed.


    She didn''t feel intimidated by Arthur, but she was surprised to some extent by his calm. Even when he was surrounded, she could feel that he wasn''t scared at all.


    Moreover, she was already informed about what was done here and how these people killed her Nobles using an invisibility Shroud.


    Initially, she had thought that this was the reason for their confidence, but she soon realized that it wasn''t the case.


    She had used Energy Negation to bring out the people who were in the hiding, but even after she used Energy Negation, no one came to light. It was evident that no one was hiding nearby, at least not while being invisible.


    "Your friends aren''t nearby either. It makes me really curious. What''s giving you such confidence here?"


    Boom~


    Just as she finished speaking, she heard a loud explosion. Every time except Jian looked towards the Warlock Council headquarters. They saw a huge cloud of smoke surroundings the headquarters.


    "So I was right. This guy is just a distraction. They want to take out the others while keeping us distracted," Kellianmented, noticing the explosion near the Warlock Council headquarters.


    However, he didn''t hurry to go back. As if predicting something like this, he had sent Arthur to the headquarters. Moreover, he had left everyone else in that ce to take care of such a situation.


    He hadplete faith in the abilities of Arthur.


    "Shall I go back?" Das asked Kellian, concerned about the base.


    "No need. Arthur and the others are there to handle everything. At the moment, taking out Jian is more important. He is the brain of this operation, and taking him out is of essence. Now that we are here, we can''t go back without taking him out," Kellian responded.


    "What we can do is make sure we kill Jian fast and then go back to help others if needed."


    "You won''t even need to do anything. You can go back right now," Jiani chimed in, smiling brightly. "Her Majesty is already there. This guy holds no chance."


    "Don''t be too overconfident. I don''t know what it is, but his calm is making me feel a little uneasy. There''s something odd about him, and I don''t know what. None of us will leave until he is dead."


    "Then let me make it happen fast," Milena said, hearing the words of Kellian. "I don''t want any annoyances to be here before Lucifer returns. He still needs to take off this Limiter after all."


    Milena flew towards Jian as two dark wings appeared behind her back, made purely of dark energy. The wings not only made Milena stronger but also made her faster.


    ...


    A new Lucifer was taken out of the sea and brought to a hospital, where he was kept a secret from the entire world.


    The man kept lying on bed as if he was sleeping peacefully as his body went through multiple tests one after another.

 Chapter 787: Good News And Bad

    <h4>Chapter 787: Good News And Bad</h4>


    The best Doctor of Elisium tried to find what problem could''ve been in the body of Lucifer as no wounds were visible.


    After finishing all the scans and tests, the doctor returned to the two men who brought the young man out of the sea.


    "Doctor, any update? You found what''s wrong with him?"


    "Well, I have good news and bad news. What do you want to hear first?" The doctor asked the middle-aged men, letting out a deep sigh.


    "Tell us the good news first."


    "The good news is that his body and his mind are perfectly fine. Initially, I thought that his mind was dead or he might be in aa, but it''s none of that. Moreover, I believe that the activity in his mind is slowly increasing," the Doctor exined.


    "If it goes on like that, he might wake up soon."


    "That''s really great news. How soon can he wake up? Do you have any idea?"


    "I am not sure. It might be a few days, or it might be a few weeks. But if everything goes on as it is now, I''d bet on it being a few days."


    "That''s incredible! But what''s the bad news then?"


    "The bad news... It is also about his mind. The speed at which his mind activity is increasing, he might wake up soon, but this speed can be really dangerous for him. It''s like his mind is trying to recover all his memories from scratch."


    "So if he wakes up, the memories might flood him all at once. If it can overwhelm his brain, he might break."


    "He might break? What do you mean?"


    "I mean, we''re at a really critical stage. Everything will depend on how well he can absorb all his memories. If it goes well, he might be perfectly fine. However, if he can''t take it, he might go crazy and start attacking everything he sees before him."


    "Since he''s Lucifer Azarel, we might need to be really careful. If he can''t take the burden and his mind breaks, he might destroy us and the city. So I don''t think all of us should be here."


    "I would rmend that only one of you stay here. That way, if something goes wrong, the other can at least alert the Uprising."


    Hearing the words of the Doctor, both the men looked at each other. Just as they thought everything was going to be fine, they were told that they might have created a killer?


    ''Why is it that the more we do for Lucifer, the more we find ourselves in danger. I don''t even know this guy, and now I''ll have to stay with him when he might kill me?''


    The bald man looked at his friend, sighing. "I think you should stay here. I''ll wait outside."


    "Why should I stay here? You stay here; I''ll contact Uprising if something goes wrong."


    The second man didn''t even take a second before rejecting the offer. He didn''t care enough to stay behind. Moreover, it wasn''t like they even had a way to contact Uprising since they didn''t really work for them.


    If anything went wrong, the other person was just going to run as far as they could. He didn''t want to be the one to be left behind at that time.


    None of them wanted to stay behind alone while the other left since leaving had no need.


    After a lot of back and forth, both of them agreed to stay behind together.


    "You two don''t want to risk dying alone while the other survives, am I right?" The doctor asked, seeing the awkward moment where the people who were friends tried to pull the other person to die with them.


    "I guess you can say that. If we die, we will die together. And if we can survive, we will survive together as well and get the spoils of our victory. I really hope that things won''t be bad."


    "Alright. If you two want to stay behind, I''ll allow it. But you really should inform Uprising about this. Or at least leave a way for them to get a message if things go wrong."


    "Ah, Doctor. Can I ask you something?"


    "What?"


    "Is there a way for you to... Like... I don''t know, put him to sleep if his mind breaks?"


    "You mean drug-induced sleep?" the doctor asked. "I thought about this, but no drug works on him. I tested on him already. The drugs are removed from his body within seconds, so it can''t help."


    "So we can only leave everything at the hands of gods at this point and pray that things will be fine."


    "You all should go rest. I''ll inform you when you''re needed," the doctor said.


    Beep~


    Beep~


    "Huh?" The doctor looked at his watch, sighing. "Now? How is it possible? Did the speed increase? This makes it even more dangerous!"


    The doctor started running,manding the two men behind him, "Come after me!"


    The two men started running after him. "Doctor, what''s happening?"


    "Lucifer! He is gaining consciousness. His brain started waking up faster. I don''t know why it happened, but we need to be there."


    "He is walking up?"


    The two men felt a bit scared at the thought of dying in the next few minutes. They even wondered if they should forget about the money and everything and just run away.


    "We can do it! Everything will be alright. Nothing to worry about!" The bald man kept muttering, trying to give himself some courage.


    They soon reached the special room where Lucifer was being kept. cing his thumb on the sensor before the door, the doctor unlocked the room.


    He pushed open the door and entered the room.


    Luciferid on the bed. Multiple machines were connected to his body through wires that were scanning his vitals and his brain activity. The lines in all these scans were going crazy.


    For a moment, the doctor even wondered if it was right. The heartbeat of Lucifer was above three hundred, which even surprised the doctor. Not only was the heartbeat so fast, but the machine was able to read this high heartbeat.


    He ran to Lucifer and ced his fingers on the wrist of Lucifer. "Yeah, his heartbeat is really fast. And his brain... It''s starting to wake up. We should be prepared for everything."


    Lucifer''s fingers moved a little, making the doctor release his hand. He had heard about Lucifer''s decay. Thest thing he wanted to do was fall a victim of Lucifer''s unintentional Decay.


    Freeing Lucifer''s hands, he stepped back. "He is moving his hands.. It could be any second now."

 Chapter 788 - New Awakening

    <h4>Chapter 788 - New Awakening</h4>


    All three men present in the room stared at Lucifer, trying to stay calm. Even though the doctor looked the calmest, he was the most scared. He had nothing to do with Lucifer, yet he was caught in this situation.


    In fact, he didn¡¯t even need to do anything. Everything happened on its own. If Lucifer weren¡¯t brought to him, even then, he would¡¯ve woken up soon.


    He couldn¡¯t believe how bad his luck was. He was dragged into this mess for no reason at all, and now that he was here, he needed to stay here until the end.


    Lucifer¡¯s eyelids flickered a bit. The readings started to calm down slowly. Within a few seconds, his heartbeat returned to normal as his heart started beating at sixty beats per minute.


    His brain reading was a different matter though. As Lucifer¡¯s heartbeat returned to normal, the machine even refused to recognize any brain activity as it was too much even for it to handle.


    "Arghh!" A sharp scream left Lucifer¡¯s lips as he sat straight. A wind st came from his body, destroying all the machines that were near his body, tossing them towards the wall.


    The three men in the room also flew back, crashing on the wall.


    Lucifer¡¯s eyes opened. The wind kept circling around him as if they were a tornado, and he was its eye.


    Lucifer wasn¡¯t able to see anything momentarily. His vision was blurry, and a bit dark; however, his vision continued recovering. His eyes became better, and he was able to see clearly.


    He pped his hand once again, roaring like crazy, sending even fiercer waves of wind around him. Lighting also mixed with the winds.


    The doctor watched everything with fear, understanding that maybe they had truly broken Lucifer.


    He tried to drag his body to the door to escape, but the wind pressure kept dragging him back towards Lucifer.


    Being able to see everything clearly, Lucifer noticed three men in the room; however, none of them was the person he remembered.


    His body floated up and flew towards the doctor near the door.


    "Where is Varant!"


    "Who? I-i don¡¯t know any Varant."


    Lucifer clenched his fist. He didn¡¯t ask a second time as he stomped on the head of the doctor, crushing it.


    He turned to the bald man in the room who was trembling.


    "Where is Varant!" he roared as he raised his hand towards the man.


    The winds raised the man in the air, dragging the man towards Lucifer.


    "Leader of APF? He died a long time ago! You killed him, I think."


    "Just yesterday, he stabbed me, and you say I¡¯ve killed him?" Lucifer asked. His voice was so heavy, sounding like he was death reincarnated.


    He clenched his fist. Following the movement of his hands, the winds crushed the neck of the man.


    The man¡¯s eyes opened wide as he lost hisst breath as well. He was thinking about bing a wealthy man with influence all over the world with the help of Lucifer, only to die for his greed.


    He couldn¡¯t help but feel pity for himself as he died.


    Lucifer turned to the third man in the room, who hid behind a table.


    He floated towards the man. "You three are humans. You can¡¯t be APF Warlocks. Is this an APFb? More experiments on me? You people never learn!"


    This time, he didn¡¯t mind the wind as he grabbed the throat of the man personally.


    The man¡¯s body started decaying as terrifying pain coursed through his body.


    "What are you doing? We saved you! You should be grateful!"


    "Grateful to humans?" Lucifer asked. "In the next life, maybe."


    The man¡¯s body turned to ashes, mixing in the winds.


    Lucifer was already dressed in clothes; however, he didn¡¯t know what had happened. He didn¡¯t even realize that so many years had passed since he was killed by Varant and tossed into the sea.


    After killing everyone in the room, he didn¡¯t even bother trying to find a mirror to look at himself to realize that he was older now. To him, he was his same old self.


    Even though he believed that it was possible that some time had passed since he had died, he didn¡¯t even think about the possibility that it had been eight years since that moment.


    He looked at all the machines in the back, sighing. "So that bastard didn¡¯t kill me. He brought me back for experimentation."


    "This must be someb of APF if I¡¯m not wrong."


    He was already under the impression that he was in ab like the one he was kept in during his childhood. The white robe of the doctor didn¡¯t help the situation either, instead making it even worse since that was the first thing he saw which made him even more furious.


    Unlike the real Lucifer, who had lost his heart and was brought back because of his healing, this Lucifer came from just the heart of his.


    For the real Lucifer, his body made a new heart, but for this Lucifer, the heart made his body. Unlike the real Lucifer, this Lucifer hadn¡¯t experienced life after hisst moment with Varant.


    He was still the broken Lucifer who hadn¡¯t experienced life at the Academy of Gifted Variants. He was still Lucifer, who hadn¡¯t experienced friendship or any semnce of living between humans.


    Instead, he was the Lucifer who was stabbed in the back a second time, just when he had thought about stopping the life of violence. He was the one who was killed a second time.


    He wasn¡¯t the one who went through the training at the Academy of Gifted Variant, which taught him how to use his gifts well and control his emotions.


    He was the one who let his emotions take the lead and entered any War without a second thought or a backup n. However, there was also a w to this.


    Unlike the real Lucifer, this Lucifer hadn¡¯t learned that he could steal someone¡¯s powers. He hadn¡¯t gained any abilities other than the ones he possessed when he had died.


    He was also Lucifer, but he was not as strong as the real Lucifer. On the contrary, he was also more fierce than the real Lucifer since he gave everything to his battles.


    Lucifer walked to the door before him, kicking it open. The door broke from the hinges and flew away,nding on the other end of the hallway.


    Lucifer stepped out of the room, selecting a direction.. He could see no cameras or guards in the entire hallway, which surprised him a bit.

 Chapter 789: I am weak

    <h4>Chapter 789: I am weak</h4>


    However, he didn''t give it too much thought. It was possible that these people didn''t consider the possibility of him waking up. They didn''t leave any security measures behind for him.


    Turning left, he started flying, prepared to kill anyone who tried to stop him from leaving.


    Surprisingly, he couldn''t find a single soul in the entire ce. He easily left the building tond on the main street outside.


    He could see humans walking back and forth.


    "Ab in the civilian area?"


    His long silver hair was messy, yet it didn''t stop people from recognizing him.


    Standing in the middle of the street, he watched people walk past him but slowly, the people started noticing him.


    As more and more people recognized Lucifer, they realized who he was. Stunned and scared, they started taking steps back slowly.


    Some of them tried to not look at him so as to avoid his gaze, while others were too shocked to realize that they were looking at him.


    Watching their gaze, Lucifer was slightly surprised. These people looked like they recognized him.


    "Oh, that''s right. Just before the attack, the information about me was released. These people think I''m a murderer." Lucifer scoffed, understanding why these people were ring at him.


    He ignored these humans since these weren''t of use to him.


    "APF will get the news about me soon. They might be here for me. I can either wait for them or leave. I''ll wait!"


    He started walking back and forth, waiting for the enemies to get to him. He wanted to find Varant and kill that bastard for attacking him from the back.


    If he was here, he believed he could see Varant. It was also safer for him since he could expect an attack here. If he left, he had to be alert all the time to make sure Varant didn''t attack him sneakily like before.


    Instead of having to watch his back all the time, he preferred to wait and get things done now that he had time.


    As he was walking back and forth, he soon noticed his reflection in the ss windows behind him. As soon as his gaze fell on his reflection, he stopped in his tracks.


    He ced his fingers and felt his face. The reflection did the same, proving that it was indeed his reflection.


    "That''s me?" Lucifer eximed, stunned at his looks. He looked older... much older than he remembered.


    "Is this me? I look older? How long was I in thisb for? Was I in aa?"


    The questions in his head only multiplied, whereas the answers in his head were none. Moreover, he heard the growling of his stomach.


    In the immediate rush after waking up, he didn''t notice it, but his body was just now starting to catch up. He hadn''t eaten anything for a long time, and his body was already out of energy.


    The number of humans standing before him also increased as more and more people joined the group that was trying to see what Lucifer was doing.


    For them, Lucifer was a scary Warlock, but he was also their leader, so they wondered if he was here for something important.


    "I can''t fight like this. I am weak... And this body... It''s older. Too much time has passed and I don''t know what happened in this time. It''s not the time."


    His body started floating in the air as he prepared to leave.


    "Give my message to Varant! Tell him I will kill him!" Lucifer told the citizens before he flew away, disappearing into the distance.


    The citizens looked at each other in confusion. What was Lucifer saying? Which Varant was he talking about? They only remember one person named Varant, and apparently, he was long dead as well. So which Varant did Lucifer want to kill?


    The news about Lucifer''s appearance in the city didn''t reach Varant as he was dead, but it certainly reached Uprising. Kane was surprised as soon as he heard about Lucifer''s presence in the city.


    From what they knew, Lucifer was supposed to go straight to Triton to help the others. It was surprising to find him here in that case.


    "Moreover, even as they tried to contact Lucifer after knowing where he was, they couldn''t get any response. In fact, they weren''t able to get through even on the new number that Lucifer gave them.


    Kane wanted to give the information to Kellian, but Kellian was already busy fighting. Everything came on Kane''s shoulders to detect Lucifer.


    "Search entire Elisium. I want to know where Lucifer is," hemanded his men. "I hope he knows what''s happening in Triton. He needs to know about Jian and how much he might be needed there."


    He had a feeling that Lucifer''s presence here might be because he wasn''t nning to go to Elisium, probably because he underestimated the opposition like everyone else.


    "When even I used to think that the opposition of the Uprising was weak before the revtion, it must be the same for Lucifer. He needs to know."


    "Sir! We found him! He''s in the same city where he wasst seen!" A man''s response came within a few minutes.


    "Where is he? Show him on the screen."


    "This feed is from a restaurant. Apparently, he has taken over the ce, and he''s asking them to feed him. He seems to be behaving a bit odd though."


    "It''s nothing to be surprised about. He always acts unorthodox when he''s hungry. Get the restaurant on the line. I want to talk to them."


    " Yes. sir."


    The restaurant was called directly, however not a single person in the restaurant bothered to pick up the call. Lucifer was sitting before them, demanding food. They didn''t have time to pick up a call, ignoring him.


    The chefs started cooking their best dishes for Lucifer. On the other hand, the phone kept ringing, annoying Lucifer.


    Seeing Lucifer look annoyed, a waiter ran to thendline and removed the wire to disconnect it entirely.


    After disconnecting thendline, he turned to Lucifer, seemingly concerned about the reaction.


    Fortunately, Lucifer didn''t even stand up. Instead, Lucifer was looking out the window, observing the bustling city.


    "Which year is it?" he asked the waiter.


    "It''s 2056." The waiter stepped closer to Lucifer respectfully.


    "So eight years... It has been eight long years. The city still looked the same though. Everyone is going about doing their jobs. All the buildings look the same. It''s like only I''ve changed in this city."


    "Does the APF and Uprising still fight regrly?" Lucifer asked. "Varant must''ve been stronger now. What about Raia?"


    "APF?" the waiter asked, stunned. He couldn''t understand why Lucifer was talking like an idiot. Was he testing him?

 Chapter 790: Eight years

    <h4>Chapter 790: Eight years</h4>


    He further continued, "Ah, sir? APF was destroyed a long time ago."


    "Hmm? What?" Lucifer genuinely looked shocked as he turned back. "APF was destroyed? How is that possible? Who did it? What happened to Varant? Just what happened in the time I was sleeping?"


    The more the waiter heard Lucifer, the more stunned he became. Did Lucifer lose his memory or something?


    "Sir? Did you lose your memories? Uprising defeated the APF in your leadershipst year. You led them to this feat. Not only that, you took Uprising global, and now you rule over half this world. APF is long gone, and so is every other organization."


    " Only Uprising stands tall on this continent."


    "You know I don''t like these kinds of jokes. If you''re going to make something up, make it at least believable," Lucifer let out, rolling his eyes.


    ...


    Outside the restaurant, a man was walking, going to his work. His phone started ringing just as he reached near the restaurant.


    He looked at his phone, finding an unknown number.


    Curious, he picked up the call.


    "Hello?"


    "This is Kane, the Technical Head of Uprising. I''m contacting you for a matter of grave importance. The restaurant you''re walking past... An important person is sitting inside. Step inside and give the phone to Lucifer. Tell him it''s important."


    "L-lucifer? That Lucifer?"


    "Do as I said if you don''t want to upset me. Do it!"


    The man nodded. Even though he didn''t work for Uprising, he was also living in the city. He knew who these people were. He couldn''t survive while offending them. However, he was still scared of approaching Lucifer.


    He pushed the door open and stepped inside. His eyes soon located Lucifer sitting on a chair near the window.


    "S-sir Lucifer. There is a call for you from Uprising." Shivering, he stepped closer to Lucifer.


    "From Uprising?" Lucifer frowned. He reached out his hand towards the phone but stopped right before taking the phone, noticing his bare hands.


    "If I touch the phone, it''ll be destroyed. ce it near my ears."


    The man ced the phone near Lucifer''s ears.


    Through the camera, Kane could see Lucifer clearly and his every action.


    "Lucifer, I''m so d I could get to you. This is Kane from the base."


    "Kane?" Lucifer asked, confused. He didn''t remember any Kane. He only met a few people in the Uprising.


    "The Lab Incharge of Uprising. I''m the one handling the operations of Elisium."


    "You''re the one handling Uprising operations? What happened to Raia?" Lucifer asked.


    "What?" Kane''s lips opened slightly as he heard Lucifer. "What are you talking about? Raia diedst year in our battle with APF. You saw him die. In any case, it''s not the time to talk about that. Listen to me carefully."


    "I was therest year when Raia died?" Lucifer asked, stunned.


    He looked at the waiter, frowning. The waiter saidst year the Uprising took over Elisium in his leadership.


    Now this guy on the call was saying that Raia diedst year in his presence. Does that mean that he wasn''t sleeping for thest eight years? Instead, he fell asleep only recently?


    "Did I really lose my memories of thest eight years?" Lucifer muttered, talking to himself.


    Even though he was talking to himself, his words traveled thousands of miles to fall in Kane''s ears. "Wait? What? You lost your memories of thest eight years?"


    "It''s either that or you''re trying to scheme against me, making up this story. And this waiter is on it with you too."


    "So you really don''t remember," Kanemented, sighing. Through Lucifer''s expressions, he could feel that this guy wasn''t lying. "That makes thingsplicated."


    "Alright, tell me, what''s thest thing you remember?" Kane asked, sitting down in disappointment.


    On one screen, he noticed the battle begin between Milena and Jian, and on other screen, he saw Lucifer, who had lost his memories. Why weren''t things going their way?


    He wanted to contact Kellian and take his advice but let alone Kellian; he couldn''t even contact the ones in the Uprising headquarters since all the connection was gone.


    Lucifer started telling thest thing he remembered before he lost his memories. "Sitting on the beach with Caen and then suddenly..."


    ....


    "And that''s how I''ll kill you ultimately, after years of torture. Not a bad n, right?" Lucifer asked Xaen, smirking.


    Xaen had just returned after getting himself treated, only to have Lucifer tell him that it was just the start and that the future was going to be much worse.


    Xaen had begged those people to give him a different room after they finished treating him, but no one listened to him. Ultimately, he was brought to the same room which he was supposed to share with Lucifer.


    "I hope you take your sweet time in not telling me. It''ll be really fun," Lucifer said, stretching his armszily.


    "But if you don''t want to go through that, you have an easy way out too."


    "What easy way?" Xaen asked.


    "In three days, I''ll be a member of Star Alliance. And in the next two days, I''ll be posted on this ship. Then on the sixth day, I''ll be sent back to earth. If you can tell me the location of those stones, I''ll take you with me, and I''ll also free you."


    "But if you don''t tell me, I''ll go alone. And when I return, your torture will begin. I''ll leave the decision to you. I''m not in a hurry for those stones that much. In any case, I need to find the ones that were still missing before you took mine."


    "So, will you tell me or not?" Lucifer asked. "You have five days to decide."


    "I kept the stones safe, but you can''t get them without my help. Also, let me tell you one more thing. If you think you can torture me for an eternity to have your fun, you''re wrong."


    "Seven days."


    "Seven days what?" This time it was Lucifer''s turn to be confused now.


    "If I''m not back on earth in seven days, I''ll die," Xaen smiled. "So there goes your n about torturing me after returning."


    "You''re bluffing."


    "You think so? You don''t understand me; I don''t me you. I need the atmosphere of Earth to survive. It''s not a published theory, so I won''t call you stupid."


    "What do you mean?"


    "The ability energy cores are what you can see inside your body. They are connected to the nature and the atmosphere where you gained them. Since you gained your abilities on earth, you can''t retain them after you leave."

 Chapter 791: Seven days

    <h4>Chapter 791: Seven days</h4>


    "The longer you stay away from earth''s atmosphere, the weaker the connection of the ability cores be. Mine has already started weakening. And in seven days, the connection will bepletely gone."


    "And guess what happens when that happens?"


    "You lose your abilities?" Lucifer stared at Xaen.


    "No. Your ability cores be a ticking time bombs them. They start exploding inside your body, killing you in the most brutal way possible. And guess what? Same time will happen to you if you stay away from earth for seven days or longer."


    "Your body will be a nuclear bomb, destroying everything around you, including yourself. So if you want to know the location of the stones, you must take me back to earth every seven days. Not only that, but you must also go there every seven days."


    "You''re bluffing. How can you know all this?" Lucifer asked, not taking all this information at face value.


    Xaen had tried fooling everyone before as well. He was good ating up with these stories to make someone do his bidding, just like he made one to convince everyone to allow him to remove his abilities.


    It was only because of Veracity that Lucifer was still safe as she caught the lie. Without the presence of Veracity, he couldn''t trust this man. But if what he said was true, then this was truly a risky thing to be away from home.


    "Manlis? Ever heard of it?"


    "The empty that was destroyed because of being hit by aet?"


    "Good. It seems you studied well in the academy. Tell me another significant thing that happened just a week before that explosion?"


    "The Manlisnding. A nation sent a team to Manlis to study that ce. The team had only stayed there for seven days before thatet struck the."


    "Everyone was killed. It all happened ten years ago. What about it? Wait, you''re saying one of the Astronauts was a Variant?"


    "Mission Commander Luke Benseres. He was a friend of mine. The story about theet was a lie. We made it up to make sure that some things stay secret."


    "It was on his seventh day when he startedmenting on his difort and the strange behavior of his energy cores. That was thest message we received before that explosion. There was noet or anything. It was all him."


    "And if we don''t return, we''ll suffer through the same thing."


    "How do you know it was because of the links? It could be something else with him too?"


    "Because we repeated it. We sent another Variant and observed them in space. I know all the changes that the body goes through. We brought them back before seven days."


    "You don''t trust me, do you?"


    "You don''t leave too much to trust you," Lucifer replied. "You''ve already lied to all of us so many times."


    "I told you what I wanted to tell. If you want to take the risk and leave me in this ce, I won''t stop you. In fact, shouldn''t I be happy? After seven days, you won''t be able to torture me anymore. I feel likeughing at you right now. You''ll never get the stones back."


    Xaen walked over to the table and picked up the ss of water, drinking it all in one sip.


    Finishing the water, he kept the ss on the table before turning to Lucifer. "Either you take me with you or you never see me again."


    "Who else knows about this seven day limitation?" Lucifer asked.


    "Everyone that was involved with the mission knows it. You can ask them to be sure after going back. Just know, it will be toote by then."


    "If you want the stones, you only have six days to get the answer from me, but I won''t answer. You gave me an option, right? That I need to answer before you leave if I want to be free?"


    "Now I''ll give you a simr option. If you want those stones back, you will make sure that these rings are off my fingers. After that, you''ll take me to Earth with you. And when I feel that I''m safe, I''ll give you the stones."


    "Don''t worry, I don''t want an answer now. You have five days to decide." Smirking, Xaen sat on the chair, letting one leg rest over the other.


    He felt so pleased at using the same like as Lucifer, tossing the same time limit back.


    "That''s impossible. I can''t take you with me. They can only send a Star Alliance member to another ce. They won''t spend that amount of power on you."


    "Then have them make me a member like you too. You said it takes a few days. I can wait."


    "I think you''re really misunderstanding the situation. I''m not at your mercy. You''re at my mercy instead. I don''t need a lifetime to make you wish you were dead. One day is enough." Lucifer warned Xaen.


    "As I said, you can do what you feel like doing, but it won''t change anything. In any case, I''ll be dead in seven days. So if I can''t be sent back, I would make sure you don''t get what you want either. And as far as pain is concerned, I think I''m ready for that."


    "You can start whenever you''re ready. If I tell you the whereabouts of the stones just because of the torture, no one would be more stupid than me."


    ....


    "It''s...."


    Sitting in themand room, the Captain of the ship observed the happenings on the ship.


    Joana couldn''t help but smile wryly. He heard everything that was being said in the room. He didn''t know what stones these two people were fighting for but he heard the demands that were put to Lucifer.


    Hearing the demands, he shook his head. "Even if it''s for Lucifer, it is impossible to send two people to earth when we find it. Even though I''m a Captain, I don''t have that much authority. Even sending Lucifer alone is stretching it."


    "This guy can''t be sent back, I agree. But sir, aren''t you concerned about what he said?"


    "What?" Joana looked back at thedy in the back.


    "Seven days... They''ll explode in seven days. We are taking them to our home world. Won''t it be dangerous if the explosion happens there?"


    "Don''t worry about that. That guy will be kept in the Frion Cell. Even if an explosion of such massive capabilities took ce, nothing will happen. The damages won''t even leave the cell. We don''t have to worry about that," Joana exined. "However, still... We would need to mention that on a report."

 Chapter 792: False Report

    <h4>Chapter 792: False Report</h4>


    " This will make things a bitplicated. With such danger, the higher ups might not allow this Lucifer to be a Star Alliance member. A person who can explode at any time is too dangerous."


    "I don''t think so," Joana responded. "Lucifer is inherently different from the other guy. Both aren''t even the same species if the scan is to be believed. So we will wait for the diagnostics to bepleted."


    "After it''spleted and it shows that the scan wasn''t wrong, we can ssify Lucifer as a different species that has characteristics of them all. The other guy will be ssified as a human. We don''t need to mention this explosion thing in the briefing about Lucifer."


    "Moreover, even if that thing is true, so what? Lucifer would be back to earth before seven days are over. And we can make sure he doesn''t spend more than seven days away from earth at once."


    "We can keep sending him back once every seven days at least if worstes to worst. However, I genuinely think that Lucifer won''t have the same problem because of his species."


    "Aren''t we intentionally hiding the information from higher ups than? If we tell them that there''s no chance of Lucifer suffering an explosion, they''ll certainly believe us. But if we do, the worst they''ll do is keep Lucifer in a cell for seven days. We should tell them the truth."


    "If he indeed doesn''t have this problem, he''ll be let out after seven days."


    "Is that so? And what if I was wrong and he dies in an explosion? I''ll lose this opportunity. It''s much better to keep sending him back until he reaches a high enough level and bes a Level Two member. Now don''t talk more about this. I don''t want to hear anything."


    "And remember, only mention in the report what I told you. No one outside needs to know more than that."


    Thedy stepped back, sighing. She nodded her head. "I''ll do as you say. But I really hope you''re right. If something goes wrong in the future, you''ll be med otherwise. And I don''t want that to happen.


    "Hahaha, I''ll be med? That''s an understatement. If I were to be honest, I might be executed." Joana burst intoughter.


    "If you know, then why take this risk?"


    "Because bigger risk means bigger rewards. Send the report fast. We''ll be home in an hour. The report needs to get there so that Lucifer can be allowed tond without being arrested. You understand?"


    Talking with thedy in the back, he was really distracted. As he turned back to the screen, his eyes opened wider.


    Lucifer was standing before Xaen. Blood was all over the floor. Many of the body parts of Xaen were missing.


    "God..." Joana rubbed his forehead at the sight. "He really can be brutal to get what he wants... I don''t know if I''m doing the right thing or wrong, but I''ll really need to be careful with this guy. He can be a double edged sword."


    "Bring Xaen out of Lucifer''s room and send him to a doctor. Can''t let him die. We need to know if he''s telling the truth about the explosions or not. We need him alive. Also, prepare fornding."


    ...


    Milena flew towards Jian, calling forth a dark edged Sword, made purely from energy.


    Mid-flight, she also cast Energy Negation to safeguard her.


    Thest time she faced Julien, she was so close to death, being caught in his Time Prison. She couldn''t even use Energy Negation after that point. If Lucifer hadn''t arrived at the right time, she would''ve died.


    Since then, she had decided that whenever she was going to fight against a powerful enemy, the first thing she was going to do was cast her Energy Negation to protect herself.


    Jian stood calmly, watching Milena fly towards him. Even now he didn''t seem worried as he held the hilt of his sword which still rested in the sheath. However, for some reason, even the sheath of the sword was sharp enough to slice someone''s throat easily.


    Kellian also sent some of his shadows towards Jian. Before Milena could reach Jian, Kellian''s shadow reached him. The shadow vines the feet of Jian to hold him in ce.


    Two more shadow vines came out, wrapping the wrist of Jian.


    Jiani was surprised to find Kellian interfering. By the time she realized that Kellian had interfered, she was already furious. "What are you doing? It''s the fight of Her Majesty!"


    "I''m just helping. It''s not a time to show off. It''s the time to fight against an enemy. The headquarters is under attack. We need to finish him fast. If he runs, it''ll be problematic. So I''m stopping him."


    "Don''t worry, I wasn''t going to run. You didn''t need to do this." Jianughed. "I didn''te here to run. I came here to take care of some pests who thought it was a good idea to kill me brother!"


    "However, now that we''re all here, I think it''s good. Let the whole world see what happens to the ones that attack the Warlock Council. You all were right."


    "The entire world needs to be scared of an organization that can destroy them all at once. But you were wrong about that organization. It isn''t Uprising. It''s the organization I created. Today the whole world shall see the truth."


    He turned towards the camera in the distance.


    "And Lucifer Azarel, if you''re seeing this, be prepared. What I do to these people is nothingpared to what I''m going to do to you for what you did to my father!"


    Milena reached Jian and swung her sword.


    Still tied by the shadow wines, Jian raised his hand. The shadow vines that were holding him until now broke apart, not even providing the slightest of resistance against Jian.


    ''Even though I''m weak, my shadows shouldn''t be that weak. How did he break them so easily? Just what...''


    Breaking the vines, Jian raised the sword which was still in the sheath to block the shadow sword of Milena.


    The shadow sword shed with the sheath of Jian''s sword but couldn''t pass through. Let alone damaging the sword, it couldn''t even damage the sheath of Jian''s Sword. Not a single scratch was left on Jian''s Sword.


    Milena grew stunned at how fast Jian was. It was as if he moved even faster than her.


    She teleported behind Jian, swinging the sword again.


    "I expected more from you," Jian''s calm voice came as he stepped to the left, barely avoiding the sword of Milena as if sending the attack.

 Chapter 793: Return

    <h4>Chapter 793: Return</h4>


    However, what was surprising was that it seemed like he was able to predict the attack of Milena and knew exactly what point she was going to attack.


    "Your Majesty, stop! Return this instant!" A sharp scream came from the back.


    Arthur appeared behind Milena and held her hand before disappearing with her.


    He appeared near Kellian with Milena, letting out a sigh of relief.


    "Arthur, what are you doing?!"


    "I''m stopping you all from making a mistake. I just received an update from Kane. Jian isn''t who we thought he was. He''s much stronger than we could''ve thought. In fact, he isn''t barely a member of the Warlock Council. He is the creator of the Council and the true hands behind the curtains."


    "True hands behind the curtains? That''s an odd title to give me," Jian smiled, slowly turning back.


    "However, I''m surprised you managed to find it before I could reveal it myself. I wonder how you find out about this. Initially, I would''ve assumed that the old man failed to keep his mouth shut and bbered everything to you."


    "However, it seems you just found out about that. And the old man died long ago. So he couldn''t have told you. I''m really curious how you know then. It doesn''t matter though. Soon, the entire world is going to know."


    Kellian looked back and forth between Jian and Arthur. The words of Jian all but confirmed whatever Arthur was saying. There was something about Jian that they didn''t know.


    "Tell me what you found out about him!" Kellian said, staying alert as he kept his eyes on Jian.


    "I was told that he is so strong that even if Entire Warlock Council was to face him together, they couldn''t defeat him. Moreover, whenever he''s killed, hees back to life even stronger than before."


    "So we can''t kill him at any cost." Das rubbed his chin. "That makes thingsplicated. If he''s really that strong, he can''t be taken alive. But killing him makes things worse. So what can we do?"


    "Ah, guys? Aren''t you forgetting something? You''re standing in the middle of the Warzone. It''s not a time to discuss your ns right before the enemy?" A voice came from the front.


    Jian was finding it fun to see everyone discussing him so seriously, that too right before him.


    "Anyway, the world is watching. I don''t think we should dy. If you''re not going to start, let me do it."


    Jian started walking towards the group. His sword still rested in the sheath. It was the same for Tristan, whose Katana hadn''t left the sheath either. However, there was something different about his Sword.


    He didn''t need to bring out his Sword to kill people as the sheath itself was sharp enough.


    "I need to tell you more about it, but it''s not the time. We need to get out of here so I can tell you more about it. Your Majesty, let''s take everyone!" Arthur held the hands of Kellian, Das, and Tristan.


    Milena was slightly confused about what was happening, but she also did as Arthur said. She held the hands of everyone else.


    "None of you are leaving," Jian calmly said, raising his right foot. He stomped the floor lightly.


    There wasn''t much strength behind his stomp. It didn''t even leave a single crack on the roof. It appeared more like an ordinary human''s stomp on the ground.


    However, that small stomp did something strange. There was an abrupt spatial disturbance as soon as the footnded on the ground.


    Arthur teleported away with Kellian and Das just moments before, but Milena and others were caught in the Spatial Disturbance, which blocked the teleportation.


    "Where are you going? You think you can leave after youe here?"


    "Jian, just because I was leaving doesn''t mean I was scared of you. If you want me to y with you, I can do that as well. Just make sure you know what you wish for." Milena freed the hands of everyone else as she turned to Jian.


    She wanted to know more about Jian from Arthur; however, she didn''t feel it was truly needed. She already knew the basics that he became stronger whenever he was killed.


    She also knew he was strong, so she was careful now. Other than that, it was a battle she needed to fight in any case.


    "Good. Let''s continue where we left off then," Jian smiled.


    "Let''s start from a new ce instead. I''ve been wanting to y with you as well!" Another voice distracted the attention of Jian.


    He turned to Tristan, only to find a sharp energy waveing towards him.


    He raised his sword, blocking the attack once again. Not only was the attack stopped by the sheath, but the energy of the attack also disappeared, being absorbed in the sword.


    "Tristan, if I''m not wrong? Let me deal with you first."


    "Oh, I''m here as well." A woman appeared behind Jian, kicking his back.


    Jiani''s kicknded straight on the back of Jian, sending him flying ahead.


    Jian controlled his body mid-air,nding on the ground. "You too... It seems the revtion made you understand that you must be working together. Not bad."


    "Not bad indeed," Tristan appeared right in front of Jian, bringing his Katana out of its sheath.


    Jian raised his sword, blocking the attack once again, however this time, he didn''t stop with just blocking the attack.


    Raising his right foot, he kicked the chest of Tristan, making him fly.


    His figure flickered as he appeared behind Jiani, moving like lightning. His sword came slicing.


    Jiani had attacked once again where Jian was standing, only to watch him disappear. His speed was so fast that even her fast reflexes couldn''t keep up to him. By the time she realized where Jian was, it was already toote.


    A sword came slicing, taking out the head of Jiani. Her head flew high in the sky as her body dropped to her knees.


    Jian grabbed the head of Jiani with his left hand, smiling.


    "Catch." He tossed the head towards Milena, who stood still. She had just watched Jiani die, and she couldn''t even move to protect her.


    The flying head of Jiani brought Milena out of her daze. She raised her hand, holding the head. The eyes of Jiani were still open, seemingly in disbelief. Her eyes had already lost their shine.


    "Let me take care of other pests as well. Then I''ll get back to you." Jian chuckled, turning to Tristan, who was hanging by the edge of the building, barely protecting him from the fall.


    Tristan pulled his body up with his left hand, holding his dear sword with his left hand.


    Tristan pulled himself up, only to find Jian''s footing towards him.

 Chapter 794: Clash

    <h4>Chapter 794: sh</h4>


    Raising his sword, Tristan blocked the kick of Jian.


    Despite blocking the luck, just a simple push was enough to push Tristan off the building. His body fell off the building.


    "Your sword isn''t half bad. It seems like it left a scratch on my sheathst time. I must give you credit. However, you need to die now."


    Jian turned back, finally shifted his attention to the mainst. Milena stood on the other end of the building, still holding the head of Jiani as her red eyes turned even bloodier.


    "Now, no one will disturb us," Jian said, smiling.


    ....


    Arthur appeared in a distant part of the city with Kellian and Das. He looked around, waiting for Milena, but she still wasn''t there.


    "Where are the others?" Kellian asked, confused as well. "Did they stay behind?"


    "Maybe. I''ll go check. You two stay here. Oh, and here is a phone. Talk to Kane. He will tell you everything. I''ll go check what happened!"


    Arthur gave a phone to Kellian before he disappeared, going back.


    Arthur appeared back before Milena, noticing the head of Jiani in her hand. "This...?"


    "Sigh, just when I thought I''d deal with Milena, another pestes. Fine, I''ll deal with you too."


    Jian tapped his foot on the ground as his figure moved like lightning. He appeared before Arthur, attacking; however, he felt something around his neck.


    An invisible rope had wrapped itself around the neck of Jian. The rope pulled Jian high in the sky before tossing him away.


    Jian''s body flew uncontrobly, crashing on the window of a distant building. The window shattered as Jian fell inside.


    "Your M-" Arthur turned right, ncing at Milena.


    Milena gave the head of Jiani to Arthur. "No one will take more from me, even if it''s him."


    A terrifying aura surrounded her, which only spread outward. The aura of death felt all too familiar to Arthur. He remembered seeing that same aura before when Milena fought in the Continent of Darkness.


    She was not only serious, but she was in a mood to destroy whatever she could. She was filled with bloodlust as she had never been before.


    Arthur understood why it happened as well. Jiani wasn''t just a member of the Nobles. She was like a sister to Milena. She was like a family.


    Even though she and Arthur had a little back and forth, even he considered her a dear friend. Holding her lifeless head in his hand, even he felt broken.


    Milena disappeared after giving the head to Arthur.


    She appeared inside the building where Jian had crashed.


    Jian had barely managed to stand up when he felt an aura.


    He couldn''t even see Milena inside the room. He could only feel her aura all around him.


    "No wonder you managed to scare the Warlock Council. You''re fast."


    Milena didn''t respond. She appeared before Jian.


    "There you are!" Sending Milena, Jian turned back, swinging his sword.


    As his sword moved, it was as if the time stoppedpletely. His sword moved so fast that everything seemed slow before it. Even Milena''s hands moved towards Jian slowly,pared to the sword.


    Within a fraction of a second, the Sword sliced the head of Milena, but before he could take a victoryp, he felt a cold hand around his neck.


    His body was dragged back and ultimately stomped on the ground.


    Even after being thrashed, he didn''t let his sword fall.


    "I''m not allowed to kill you, but I don''t have to kill you to get what I want."


    Thud~


    Milena stomped her foot on the right wrist of Jian, crushing his wrist.


    The bones of his wrist shattered, yet he didn''t make a noise. The sword finally dropped from his hand through.


    Milena stomped on his right hand once more before onto both his legs. She crushed his knees as well before ultimately targeting his left hand.


    Winds started intensifying in the room slowly, circling everyone.


    "You know, I don''t like pain," Jian said, sighing.


    "Is that so? You should''ve said sooner. I would''ve enjoyed it more!"


    Milena bent forward, grabbing Jian by his hair.


    "You used this sword to kill her? It''s only fair if I return the favor with the same sword." Using her other hand, Milena grabbed the Sword of Jian that had fallen on the ground.


    She raised the sword. Jian felt the sword in someone else''s hand. His smirk widened as he smiled.


    "A big mistake."


    The Sword started vibrating fiercely. An energy st came from the sword, tossing Milena out the window. The st destroyed. The windows and everything else in the room, however, it didn''t harm Jian even the slightest.


    Jian turned his broken body around and held the sword, which dropped to the ground again.


    He grabbed the sword with his left hand, raising it high.


    Milena flew up the building and entered the room, only to notice the mocking smirk on the face of Jian as he thrust the body towards his neck.


    Before Milena could respond, the sword of Jian stabbed his throat. His eyes widened in pain as a trail of blood came down his lips. His smile still remained the same though.


    His eyes lost their shine. His body lost its strength. The sword dropped to the ground once again.


    "Nooo!" Milena didn''t want to kill Jian as that meant he was going to recover; however, she was toote to stop it.


    She flew towards Jian, whose body started healing on its own. All broken bones of his started healing as his body recovered to its initial state, where he was perfectly fine.


    "You heal, but it doesn''t matter. The more you heal, the more I''ll break you! But this time, you won''t be allowed to kill yourself!" Milena kicked the Sword of Jian, not taking the risk of touching it again.


    The Sword slid away, stopping near the wall.


    "Now to you."


    Milena raised her fingers. This time, she wasn''t going to break his bones. This time, she was going to make himpletely useless by cutting all his limbs.


    Four sharp knives made purely of wind appeared, two above the hands and two above the feet.


    The knives slowly moved closer to the skin of the man.


    Jian''s fingers moved slowly as soon as the wind de touched his skin. A strong barrier appeared around Jian''s skin, protecting him against the wind des.


    The thinyer of Barrier couldn''t be broken by the wind knives. Jian''s eyes opened slowly. His eyes remained blood red as well, unlike his old pair of eyes as if he was a different person entirely. His face also appeared more mature.

 Chapter 795: Not for me

    Chapter 795: Not for me


    "I suppose you''re the one I''m here for?" Jian asked as if he was looking at Milena for the first time.


    Seeing the gaze of Jian on her, Milena felt as if a poisonous viper was observing her.


    Seeing Jian''s eyes open, Milena felt like something was wrong. His barrier had managed to protect him against her Wind des which was the most surprising part for her.


    She was using her Energy Negation constantly, and even then, he was able to cast his barrier? His barrier overwhelmed the energy negation of Milena as well, working even now.


    Not only did the barrier protect him, but the sword that Milena had tossed away also flew back to Jian, falling straight into his hands.


    ....


    Kellian called Kane using the phone he had received from Arthur.


    Kane initially ignored the call as he was busy talking with Lucifer. However, the constant ringing of the other phone made it difficult for him to ignore it.


    He gestured for a teammate to pick up the phone as he continued talking to Lucifer. "I can understand that you lost your memories but so much has happened in thest eight years, mostly because of you."


    "You became the leader of the Uprising after Raia and took us to War with the Warlock Council. The team is still fighting the Warlock Council. Wait, you have a TV near you. Tell the waiter to turn it on. You''ll be able to see it live!"


    "I don''t know how you lost your memories, but if I''m not wrong, it must be rted to this war. Maybe you were hurt or something. In any case, stay there. I''m sending a team to you. We''ll talk face to face. I''ming right there. Don''t leave! And keep that phone with you!"


    He disconnected the call and looked at his men. He hastilymanded. "I need a chopper right now! It''s urgent!"


    The second man picked up the phone that was constantly ringing. "Who is it?"


    "Ah, it''s you." The man turned to Kane. "It''s Kellian. He wants to talk to you."


    "Kellian? Perfect timing. It looks like Arthur got to him. Give me the phone," Kane said. "We need to tell him about Lucifer losing his memories."


    ....


    "Losing his memories? Again?!" Kellian eximed in shock. "It just had to be now? But how did he get to Elisium?"


    "That''s right. He lost his memories. I''m going to get him right now. However, he doesn''t remember anything since the incident where he was targeted at Orion Beach."


    "He only remembers meeting you for two days only when you trained him. I think you need to talk to him, so he trusts us."


    "Let me talk to him!"


    "Just a second. I''m taking you to a conference with him. Talk to him and help him trust us. Because at this point, we''re all strangers for him, except you."


    ...


    Lucifer asked the man to turn on the TV, wondering what war they were talking about. He couldn''t remember anything at all, no matter how hard he tried. It was like he was suddenly pushed into a life that he didn''t recognize at all.


    Even though he hadn''t watched the footage of the war, just the details he had heard so far were making his headache increase.


    "Why would I work for Uprising? Why would I lead them? I just wanted to be alone? Why did I take this stupid decision?" He muttered to himself.


    The waiter turned on the TV.


    As soon as the TV turned on, a building came to sight with a broken window.


    Lucifer stared at the building in confusion but knowing what was happening there.


    Boom~


    A ming explosion took ce inside the building. Clouds of mes came out from all the windows, along with what appeared like a human figure.


    A beautiful red-haired woman''s body came flying out of the building. Her fair cheeks had turned red from all the blood that was dropping down from the wounds on her cheeks.


    Even her clothes were torn from the shoulders. Fortunately, the clothes were fireproof, protecting her from further embarrassment.


    The woman crashed into a distant building. Another figure jumped out of the building, looking like it was flying. The second personnded on the building as well, standing tall before Milena.


    "Who is that man?" Lucifer asked the waiter.


    The waiter shook his head, not knowing the answer himself. It was even his first time watching that man.


    The man who was holding the phone of Lucifer answered instead. "I was watching the same stream before getting the call. I saw his introduction."


    "Who is he? Uprising member?" Lucifer asked. "And thatdy? She''s being beaten so badly. Don''t tell me she''s on our side?"


    "The man is a Warlock Council Member. At least that''s what he told the world. So he''s your enemy," the man answered, shaking his head.


    "I don''t know who thedy is, but since she''s fighting this man, she must be with Uprising."


    "So this strong guy is the enemy?" Lucifer asked as his frown deepened. He started observing the man even more carefully.


    "That woman stands no chance. If I''m not wrong, she will die soon. This guy is really strong," he added, shaking his head. "I don''t even think I can fight him. I thought I was strong with four abilities, but so far, he has shown more than that."


    "Why would I challenge him? Do you know why we went to War with the Warlock Council?" he asked the man.


    "Ah, this... How can I tell..."


    "Tell me. I won''t kill you for an answer. For not answering, I truly might."


    The man let out a deep sigh. "It''s because you wanted to take over the world. You attacked other nations to take them over. If I''m not wrong, the Warlock Council is the organization of Triton which you attacked."


    "I want to take over the world?" Lucifer asked, seemingly even more surprised. "So this entire war is for no reason? There''s no goal or purpose behind it? I just want to take over the world?"


    The man nodded. He even seemed worried that Lucifer might kill him. However, he was also surprised that Lucifer had lost his memories.


    "This is stupid. I only did things for my revenge until now. I only killed people who I needed to or who tried to harm me. Why am I wasting my time in conquering the world in my future?"


    "Wait... Uprising. They wanted to conquer Elisium. If they convinced me to lead them, that means they convinced me to take part in their wars, all for what? For nothing at all?"


    "Varant is dead. Raia is dead. I killed all my enemies. Why should I fight a war for someone else?"

 Chapter 796: Won’t last

    Chapter 796: Won''tst


    He didn''t want to fight for anyone else. It wasn''t his mission or goal. He had promised himself that he was never going to let himself be used by anyone.


    He didn''t understand how stupid his future self could be, but with his current mindset, he couldn''t convince himself to fight for Uprising, especially against an enemy like that.


    He kept eating while keeping an eye on the battle on the screen. The situation was getting worse for thedy, but Lucifer didn''t care. Neither did he know her nor he cared. She was no less than a stranger to him.


    He finished eating.


    "Now that Varant is dead, I have nothing to do. I have no wars to fight for myself, and I don''t want to fight for others. It''s time I leave."


    He stood up and prepared to leave, taking onest nce at the screen. Two figures flew in the air, fighting one another. It was only one side that was losing so far, and it wasn''t the side of the man.


    Soon, another man joined the battles.


    Seeing Arthur use Teleportation while fighting, Lucifer grew really intrigued. However, even with Teleportation, Arthur couldn''t gain an advantage as Jian was even faster than Teleportation, it seemed.


    In fact, even cameras were having a hard time keeping a focus on him. No one even knew how he was doing it, but the wounds on Milena and Arthur''s bodies kept increasing.


    "They have healing like me too? Apparently, it wasn''t as rare as I thought."


    Noticing the wounds on the Nobles'' body, Lucifer shook his head. They had healing as well, which somehow disappointed him.


    "Even with the healing, they can''tst long. They''re being hurt faster than they heal. Before they heal one wound, three more appear on them. It''s a lost cause."


    "And how was I leading them? These people are so strong. Even I would have a hard time defeating thisdy, let alone the guy who is having such an easy time defeating her."


    He stopped watching and turned to leave. He had enough of watching such things.


    Ring~


    Just as Lucifer was about to push the door to leave, the phone started ringing again.


    The dark-haired man picked up the call. "Hello?"


    "Sir," he said, running to Lucifer. "This is for you."


    Lucifer stopped. "ce it on my ears."


    The man ced the phone on the ears of Lucifer.


    "Yes?"


    "Lucifer, is it you?" A different voice asked.


    "Yeah. Who are you?"


    "I am Kellian. I heard you lost your memories. Even then, you should remember me. I met you at the base before you went to the beach."


    "Kellian? I think I remember you. I''m not entirely sure."


    "So you really did lose your memories. I worked as the second head of Uprising under you. Do you know what happened to you? What made you lose your memories?"


    "I don''t know anything. Thest thing I remember after waking up was that I was in ab. There was a doctor before me and two men."


    "Did they tell you anything? Like where they found you or who they are?"


    "They didn''t tell me anything."


    "Alright, we can ask themter. For now, you need to hear me carefully. We are in the middle of a battle in Triton, and I think you shouldn''t join us if you don''t remember anything. We can''t risk you."


    "So wait there. Kane will be right there to take you in. In the meantime, I''ll try to handle the situation with Milena here. We need to help you get your memories back fast; only then can we do anything else."


    "So go back to the base. Kane will tell you about thest eight years. Maybe seeing history and knowing such things will help jog your memories. You understand, right?"


    Lucifer didn''t reply. He just looked at his feet which were already half out of the restaurant. He was nning to leave, but he remembered that he needed his memories back. He also needed to know what had happened to him in thest eight years.


    As for deciding if he should take part in this battle, he knew he could take that decision eventer. It didn''t need to be right now.


    "Alright, I''ll wait." He took his step back, letting the door closed. "But even if I don''t have my memories, I have mymon sense. Let me suggest you something."


    "Suggest what?"


    "I''m looking at the battle on the screen, and if the two people fighting with that man in the sky are your best people, then you should run. Run from the battlefield. You can''t win. You''ll just die fighting."


    "You''re telling us to run away? Heh, you truly lost your memories, it seems. If it were the old you, you would''ve been fighting at the front."


    "If it were me, even then, I wouldn''t have won. The winds are useless against him. He can avoid lightning. He''s too fast for me to even touch. I couldn''t have harmed him even the least. So even if it were old me, unless I was an idiot in the future, I would''ve told you to run."


    " It''s good to risk your life for something personal, dying to take over the world... Even I find that stupid. So run... That''s all I''ll say. Don''t die for the goal of Uprising dominance. Return."


    "The Goal of Uprising Dominance? If only you hadn''t forgotten, you would''ve known that Uprising had no n to expand globally. You brought us on this path because you wanted it. You wanted the entire world to make it the way you want it to be," Kellian responded.


    "It''s not the goal of the Uprising that we''re fighting for. It''s your goal we''re fighting for."


    "My goal? Even if it was my goal, drop it. Leave that ce if you don''t want to die there. And while you''re at it, tell the two fighting in the sky as well. If not, I suppose that they''ll die in the next few minutes as well. Don''t tell me I didn''t warn you."


    Lucifer walked back to the table, leaving the phone in the hands of the man. "You can disconnect the call. I''m done."


    The dark-haired man followed themands of Lucifer. Even if Lucifer had forgotten his memories, he was still the man that couldn''t be ignored.


    Even after knowing that the person on the other end of the call was probably some heavyweight from Uprising, the man disconnected the call before he walked back to Lucifer.


    "I was wrong about a few minutes. She''ll die in the next few seconds," Lucifermented, shaking his head. "She should''ve run away while she had the chance."

 Chapter 797: Fake

    Chapter 797: Fake


    "Isn''t she one of your team members? You don''t feel sad for her?" the dark-haired man asked Lucifer.


    "She isn''t one of my team members, at least not yet. For me, I have no team members. I can''t trust them blindly, whatever they say. I need to know more about what happened before deciding anything," Lucifer answered, sighing.


    " And even then, these will just be fake memories for me. I can''t feel any attachment to these people. So I truly feel nothing here," he continued, shaking his head. "For me, there are two people fighting, and one will die. That''s all."


    "Wait, let me show you something. Maybe that will jog your memories. You can see that second guy standing with you in that video too. It shall prove that you know him." The dark-haired man unlocked his phone and started searching for a video.


    "What are you showing me?" Lucifer asked.


    "I''m showing you the video of you threatening the entire world, which is only a few days old," the dark-haired man said. "Since it was your video that the entire world saw, it''s all over the inte now."


    "Before this, there weren''t any videos of you. I don''t know why, but it seems you didn''t want people to see you. That''s why this video became so popr and came as such a surprise."


    "Here it is."


    Opening the video, the man held the phone before Lucifer.


    In the video, Lucifer stood with Kellian and Arthur, issuing the warning to the entire world while showing snippets of his war on the Warlock Council.


    "That''s Kellian, I know. And this second guy is the one fighting. I see... So these two did work for Uprising. Still, this isn''t right." Lucifer shook his head, sighing.


    "What isn''t right?" the man asked, frowning. "Did you notice something?"


    "That guy... He isn''t me," Luciferzily said, shaking his head.


    "He isn''t you? What? How can you say that? I can''t find any difference between him and you. Why do you say it''s not you? Just because you don''t have any memories and you think you wouldn''t have done that?" asked the man.


    "It''s not because of that. It''s just that this guy isn''t me," Lucifer said casually. "It must be Caen. I remember he could impersonate anyone. They used him."


    "Caen? Who is he? And how did you know it''s him and not you? I literally can''t find even one difference between you and the person in the video?"


    "You won''t notice the difference; you need to know Caen transform to see this. I noticed this thing when I saw him impersonate someone for the first time near theb. I''m a hundred percent sure it''s him."


    "And if that''s the case, it means that I didn''t challenge the entire world. They made it seem like I did it. And as you said, there were no videos of me before, so most probably, they used Caen as me."


    " It''s all a big trap. I should''ve expected it. They wanted to use my name and my face!"


    "So you''re saying you weren''t leading the Uprising? They made someone impersonate you to make it seem like it was you leading them? Why would they do that?"


    "Why? People can be really scheming; you should''ve realized by now. I wanted to trust them, but now I see that I can''t even do that. These people lied to me and used fake videos to make it seem like it was my idea to do this. Even Kellian betrayed me. They''re no different."


    Frowning, Lucifer stood up. "When theye here, tell them if they use my name again, I''ll kill them."


    Lucifer started walking away once more, this time with no intention to stop.


    "Could you be mistaken?" the dark-haired man asked, following after Lucifer.


    "I am not mistaken. As soon as I saw that person, I realized it''s Caen. Moreover, even in the videos of the War, the person that they showed fighting, that wasn''t me."


    " I don''t even have those abilities that they showed. It was just a fake video, and now they''re paying the price of faking as they deserve to pay."


    "Also, if I was leading them and it was my idea and goal, why would they use Caen? I would''ve given that message myself. These people... They are fake... They aren''t any different. I should''ve known. They can use anyone for their own benefits."


    Pushing the door open, Lucifer left the restaurant and disappeared into the horizon, not looking back.


    The dark-haired man stayed in the restaurant, sighing. He didn''t chase after Lucifer as he finally was free. Still, he was scared. He needed to be here to give the message of Lucifer to the Uprising, but he was trembling already in fear.


    Lucifer had recognized that this video was fake? If it was true and he told the Uprising that Lucifer knew it, they were going to be really pissed. Moreover, they could even kill him to keep this secret if it was true.


    He wanted to run, but then Uprising would''ve killed him as well, he thought. In any case, he was going to risk death.


    He turned to the waiter, who was the only person that heard Lucifer''s words.


    "Listen to me carefully. We heard a secret that we shouldn''t have heard, and if Uprising finds out that we know this secret, they will kill us. You understand, right?"


    The waiter nodded his head. "What should we do now?"


    "Just keep that secret. Don''t tell them anything. We don''t need to tell them that we know the secret. Just tell them that Lucifer said he was going to leave, and he didn''t want to wait for anyone. They can''t me us for not being able to stop Lucifer since we''re only humans," the dark-haired man exined.


    "That way, they don''t know that we know about the video. And they can''t me us either. This should be our best attempt at survival, but only you can help me. It''ll only work if our stories match."


    "So make sure you don''t mess up. If they find out that we lied, we''ll die as well. So get your poker face on."


    The waiter nodded as he tapped his heart, which was beating like a drum. He even felt like his head was going to explode with all the stress. He sat on a chair, finding it hard to breathe.


    "Calm down. It''s not your fault. They won''t do anything to you. Just tell them the story I told you, which isn''t a lie. The story ispletely true. It''s just that we are omitting some parts from the story. That doesn''t make it a lie."

 Chapter 798: Disband

    Chapter 798: Disband


    After half an hour, a helicopternded before a restaurant, shocking everyone in the surrounding area, especially since the helicopter had the symbol of Uprising, which in itself was enough to stun everyone.


    The door of the helicopter opened, and three dark-robed men stepped out of the restaurant, being led by Kane.


    Kane''s face was already pale, and he was looking down like he had gone through some shock.


    "It''s all over. Only Lucifer can find a way out of this mess. We need to help him regain his memories, or we''ll all die." Kane said, letting out a sigh.


    "Don''t worry. He will regain his memories soon. We will find a way. And then everything would be alright."


    "What can be alright? Jian would still exist. And if I''m not wrong, he will personallye here next. Not only him, but the entire world will alsoe for us, now that they had lost all the fear of the Uprising after what happened. We don''t have much time."


    "We might even need to disband and hide if we can''t find a solution to this problem."


    Kane pushed the door open and stepped inside the restaurant. His eyes roamed around the restaurant, trying to find Lucifer. However, he couldn''t find Lucifer anywhere. He only saw the dark-haired man that he had called. The man was sitting with a waiter.


    Seeing Kane enter, both the men stood up. They lowered their gazes in fear. They didn''t know what to say. They had watched the telecast on the screen.


    They knew that Kane was going to be in a really bad mood after what happened. They didn''t want to anger him more.


    Even though Uprising members had no insignia on their chests or any symbol, everyone recognized them just from their aura alone. They seemed like kings standing beforemoners.


    "Where is Lucifer?" Kane asked, taking some steps before the dark-haired man.


    "Lucifer sir left," the dark-haired man said, taking the lead since he knew the waiter was nervous. If he gave him a chance to speak, the man might make a blunder.


    "He left? What?!"


    "Yeah. He waited for a little but left after watching the oue of the battle. He didn''t want to wait for you and said he was going alone."


    "You''re lying! Lucifer can''t leave us in this mess. He isn''t a coward who will run away in the face of the problem!" one of the men said.


    "Kane, why aren''t you saying anything? They''re lying. You know Lucifer. He won''t run away like a coward."


    Kane shook his head in response.


    "I know the older Lucifer who had a good rtionship with Uprising. I know a Lucifer who treated us like a family, but this Lucifer isn''t that Lucifer. He lost his memories," he said, sitting on the seat in disappointment.


    " For him, we''re all strangers. It''s quite possible that Lucifer preferred not to take part in the battles of strangers," he further continued.


    "So we''ve been abandoned?"


    "It looks like that."


    "No, that can''t be. We must find Lucifer. We must help him gain his memories! He will definitely help us."


    "It''s toote. Now that he left and knows about a few things, it''ll be almost impossible to find him. And by the time we find him, it''ll be toote. I doubt he would even agree to help us. Kellian talked to him and told him to stay here."


    "If he didn''t even listen to Kellian, who he knew, you think he''s going to listen to me?" Kane asked, resting his head on the table in frustration.


    "What do we do now then? Fight without him?"


    "Fight without him? You think that''s any different frommitting suicide? With him, we could at least fight even if the opponent was strong since we knew that our sacrifice won''t be in vain, but without him, even if we all fight, we''ll all die, and that sacrifice would mean nothing."


    " The Uprising will disappear after the Battle. We''ll be forgotten. Since it''s the ultimate oue, I think we should forget it," Kane said. "Let''s just disband Uprising. We can all go in our different directions. We will survive, at least. Staying together is a waste now."


    "Without the others, you''re the leader. So, of course, everyone will listen to your decision of disbanding but are you sure you want to do this? Once we disband, it''ll all be over. We might not evere together again? The Uprising will be history, and we''ll all be known like cowards. Do you really want that?''


    "You think I want to run away?!" Kane asked, standing up. "I don''t want to run away either. I also want to fight. Uprising is also my home that I want to defend. I don''t want our legacy to go down the drain and for us to be called cowards."


    "But I don''t want you all to die either. You must live, even if it''s like before. At least you will survive. Go, spread out in the world, make a home, start a family and grow old happily. That''s much better than dying in vain."


    "I know you''re thinking of us, but still. I think we should give up another chance. We still have some time. Let''s try finding Lucifer."


    "Time... Fine. One more day. If we can''t find Lucifer in one day and convince him, we''ll all disband."


    "I understand. But don''t worry, we''ll find him. I promise!"


    Kane stood up. He looked at the dark-haired man. "Did he say where he was going?"


    "He didn''t tell me anything. He just said he doesn''t want to be a part of it."


    "So he might have gone anywhere. It''ll certainly be hard to find him," Kane said. "If you see him anywhere, or remember anything, call the same number. Your help will be heavily awarded."


    Finishing, Kane left with his men. They entered the chopper. The helicopter started rising in the air and left.


    The Dark-haired man watched the helicopter leave, letting out a sigh of relief. "It''s good that they didn''t ask us too many questions. We seem to be safe now."


    He walked back inside the restaurant and sat at a table. "We went through a lot today. I think we deserve some wine after all that. Can you bring one?"


    The waiter also rxed a bit. He finally could live. He brought the best wine bottle and sat before the man. They started drinking happily.


    On the other hand, Lucifer left the city long ago. He had a destination in his mind, and he decided to go there to calm himself.

 Chapter 799: Return from space

    Chapter 799: Return from space


    Five dayster~


    The sun shone brightly in the sky, giving its warmth to the earth. There were barely any clouds in the sky to provide any shadows.


    People didn''t even leave their homes in such scorching heat without carrying umbres.


    It was one in the afternoon when the sky suddenly started to darken.


    Instead of finding it odd, people took it as a relief, thinking that maybe it was because of the clouds. Just as people looked up to bless the clouds, they noticed that there wasn''t a single cloud in the sky.


    Instead, there was something that was slowly covering the sun.


    "Sr Eclipse?" Some wondered, but the shape in which the sun was being covered didn''t look the same as a sr eclipse.


    Before long, the entire sun was covered entirely. Not a single shred of light came to earth. The day suddenly turned to night, making people odd.


    In some observatories, some scientists also found it off. Today wasn''t supposed to be a sr eclipse. They all went to their machines and started looking towards the sun, zooming as much as they could.


    "This isn''t a Sr Eclipse!" The leading scientist eximed as he stood up from his chair, shocked.


    As the picture became clear, he realized what it was.


    "It... It isn''t the moon covering the sun! It''s a ship! Such a massive ship! It can cover the entire sun on its own?"


    "Spaceship? Did some country make a spaceship and is testing it? Or could it be A-aliens?"


    "I doubt a country could''ve kept this a secret. This doesn''t seem to be something that we should make on earth with our current technology. It... It should be aliens."


    "Sigh, really. After we went through the Dungeon Dweller Invasion, then we overcame Uprising''s war on the world and now aliens? Do we ever get a break?"


    "Send this information to all organizations and tell them to stay alert for the danger. We don''t know what is the intention of these aliens. If they''re here to attack us, we need to be ready."


    "Yes, Sir."


    Lucifer stood inside the massive spaceship, which had a star alliance symbol engraved outside.


    He wasn''t wearing his old clothes now; instead, he was wearing a white robe. There was no star symbol on his robe. Only a single word was written on it... Alliance.


    He stood with Joana, observing earth from space. In the entire ship, only Joana had a star symbol on his chest.


    "It does look beautiful from space," Lucifer said, looking at the earth from space.


    "So this is really your world. It seems we came to the right ce," Joana smirked. "The world that had a life yet was unknown to us. Very fascinating. So, you want to go there alone, or should I help?"


    "Help how? Don''t you have to go back?"


    "Well, technically, I do have to go back. I need to go back to my station. However, I can spend an hour or so here. If you need help, I can provide some?"


    "Help... Well, I might need help. Five days have passed. I don''t know what might have happened to Uprising in my absence. If the war is still ongoing, you might be able to help."


    "War? Oh right, you were in a war here as well. That I can''t help you with, as the captain of the ship, I can''t take part in the conflicts of another world."


    "So I can''t fight there either?" Lucifer asked, frowning. "This is stupid.''


    "As the official envoy of Star Alliance to this world, you can certainly take part in the conflicts that affect you. The world is in your protection after all."


    "But I''m not the envoy for this world, neither is anyone else from my team. So we can''t help you fight. But yeah, we can help you find the pieces of stones that you were supposedly looking for. That won''t count as meddling in the affairs of this world."


    "You can help me with that in an hour? Are you sure?"


    "Do you doubt me?"


    "It took you literally three days to find earth, after all," Lucifer let out, shaking his head. "An hour seems unlikely."


    "That''s because we had to search the entire universe for a world simr to what you described. It was hard and time consuming. You''re lucky we found this ce in three days."


    "On the other hand, the stones are still in this world. So we will only need to scan one world for the stones. We should be done in Twenty minutes at best. So, want our help? I won''t force it on you."


    "If you can help me find the missing stones, why would I say no. Do it." Lucifer nodded, folding his arms.


    "Do you have even one stone we can use as a sample? We need to scan the stones and the energy signatures to find the rest."


    "One stone..." Lucifer frowned. "I don''t have any with me."


    He lost himself in thoughts, trying to locate the missing stones.


    "Let me remember... I had two stones which were taken by Jian. One belonged to the APF; the other belonged to the Continent of Darkness. I don''t know where they are, even now. Third known stone was in the Warlock Council."


    "Apparently, it''s embedded in a sword and in the world of Summons. It''ll be hard to get that in an hour."


    "Fourth and fifth were supposedly in an unknown ce. Sixth and seventh were yet to be discovered."


    "The stone which Milena recovered for me must be the stone that was considered undiscovered. As for the confidential location of the two discovered stones, I needed to wait for the unencrypted data from Warlock Council."


    "My people must''ve decrypted the data by now to find the location of those two stones. But getting them would be time consuming as well. I''ll need to take Milena''s stone that she recovered for me. It should be the fastest way possible."


    "So you can get me a stone?"


    "Yeah, it should be easy. I just need to find Milena."


    "Milena? I don''t think I can help you in finding her. You know where she is?"


    "I don''t, but I think I know someone who should." Lucifer nodded. "Are youing down with me?"


    Joana smiled as he nodded his head. "Of course. Now that I''m here, it would be bad if I didn''t walk on thend of the earth to experience its atmosphere personally."


    "Prepare for teleportation on earth!" Hemanded thedy in the back.


    "Yes, Captain."


    "Earth... I hope everyone managed tost five days. It shouldn''t be that hard for them though. They had Milena and everyone else, after all," Lucifer said, hopeful about the earth.

 Chapter 800: Affect

    Chapter 800: Affect


    "The portal is ready. Please tell me the coordinates of the opening."


    A holographic image of earth appeared before Lucifer. Lucifer circles the holographic image.


    "I don''t know where they must be. I can go to the Uprising base in Elisium, but Milena might not be there. I believe they should be in Triton. There''s no way they would lose the Warlock Council base."


    Lucifer selected a spot in the capital of Zeston. "Send us there."


    A portal big enough for two humans to enter opened in the middle of the ship. "The portal is ready. You can go. After fifty minutes, I''ll open another portal to bring the Captain back," the woman said, ncing at the portal.


    Joana gestured for Lucifer to step inside first, letting him take the lead.


    Lucifer didn''t oppose the offer either. After getting to this ce, he was sure that he wasn''t going to be betrayed now, at least for a small thing like that.


    "Keep an eye on the ship in my absence. And keep the ship ready for departure. I''m already stretching our time thin. We need to get going as soon as I return," Joana told the red-haired woman before he also stepped inside the portal.


    ...


    A portal opened in the middle of the city. Lucifer stepped out of the portal, stretching his arms. "It feels like I''m stepping foot here after a decade."


    Joana came out behind Lucifer. "A city on earth... You have some intriguing structures. But why is this ce so dense?"


    "For that, I''ll have to go into details about our geography, and we don''t have time for that. Come with me."


    Lucifer walked through the street, attracting many strange gazes from the people. The gazes weren''t of fear though. It appeared as if people were more surprised to see him back and less scared.


    The city also seemed different. There was just something about the mood of the city, which felt different.


    "Something feels strange."


    "What?" Joana asked. "You look to be pretty popr here. Everyone is looking at you."


    "That''s what''s strange. Normally, these people would''ve kept their gazes down. But it''s different now," Lucifer exined, frowning.


    "Something is really od-"


    Joana listened to Lucifer carefully, only to find Lucifer stop in the middle.


    "What happened?" he asked. He focused on the gaze of Lucifer and looked in the direction where he was looking.


    They were standing near the crossroads of the city. In the middle of the road, there were four long spikes standing tall.


    The bottom of the spikes was buried in the concrete floor which supported them.


    "This is... You know them?" Joana asked, turning back to Lucifer again. "Seeing your expressions, it seems that you do. Your friends?"


    Lucifer didn''t reply. He just nkly walked towards the spikes. There were four spikes, and one body was hanging on each of the spikes.


    The spikes came through the chest of the bodies, prating their hearts.


    "Das..." Lucifer stopped before the first spike. A man''s lifeless body remained on top of the spike. "I was wrong. The war seems to be over already... We lost."


    He grabbed the spike, crushing it between his fist. Without the support, the spike came crashing down.


    Lucifer held the body of Das and pulled him out of the body.


    He gently ced the body on the ground. "I was toote, wasn''t I?"


    Leaving the body back, he moved to the second spike. He brought the second body down as well and ced it near the body of Das.


    The second body belonged to a beautifuldy. Her eyes weren''t even close even though she had died. Her lifeless red pupils stayed open as if watching the vast sky above.


    Lucifer ced the body of Jiani down and moved to the third spike.


    The third spike had the body of a young-looking man. Seeing the body, Lucifer felt really bad. Even though the body belonged to the person who wasn''t a part of his team Uprising, he had helped him a lot.


    Lucifer remembered all the times he had spent with Arthur. Arthur was one of the smartest people amongst the Nobles that he knew.


    Despite being in the Nobles, he always supported Lucifer and helped whenever needed. He was the person who always thought of the biggest picture and kept the team before his immediate needs.


    Lucifer ced the third body on the ground. "Why did you have to die? With your teleportation, you could''ve easily run away. Yet, you stayed behind and fought. Idiot..."


    Lucifer closed the eyes of Arthur and moved to the fourth andst spike. The fourth spike made him feel even worse.


    The person on the fourth spike was wearing the same attire that he wore before leaving. However, his face was different.


    "Caen..." Lucifer muttered as he carefully brought the body of Caen down.


    "After so long, I see your real face, but it''s after you''re gone. I''m sorry for not being here."


    Seeing the attire of Caen, Lucifer was sure that Caen was impersonating him to help the team before he was killed. After dying, his abilities stopped, making him reveal a face that he had never revealed before.


    Lucifer had assumed thousands of faces for Caen, but he had never asked the guy to reveal his real face.


    He thought that one day Caen would show his real face himself. He never expected that this was going to be like this.


    Caen had a small yet slender face in reality. Moreover, he wasn''t even a guy in reality. Seeing him now, Lucifer realized it. She was a girl who looked to be in her mid-twenties.


    She had thin lips, a small nose, and beautiful blue eyes. However, there was a big scar on the girl''s face that went from the left side of her forehead to her right cheek. The deep scar seemed like it could never heal.


    For a moment, Lucifer even wondered if this scar was the reason Caen never showed her real face. She felt ufortable showing others her scar? It was toote to ask her now.


    Lucifer couldn''t even ask her how she got that scar, but what he knew was how she died. He stood up and looked towards the Warlock Council headquarters in the distance.


    "It seems like you really cared for them. Sometimes War can be really bad for both sides." Joana stepped closer to Lucifer. He ced a hand on Lucifer''s shoulder to support him.


    "You can''t always win; sometimes you lose people as well. I hope you don''t let it affect you."


    "I won''t let it affect me... But I will make sure it affects who did it," Lucifer dered.

 Chapter 801: He can die

    Chapter 801: He can die


    Five days ago~


    Leaving the city, Lucifer kept traveling north without stopping. He only stopped mid-way when he started feeling hungry.


    He had already learned about hunting and cooking food, but without his gloves, he had a really hard time cooking anything. He couldn''t even light up a fire.


    The only option he could see to satiate his hunger to some extent was by taking energy through his decay.


    With Decay, he felt like he was gaining energy, but still, there was a hunger inside him. His body was gaining energy, but in his mind, he still felt that he was hungry since he couldn''t eat anything physically.


    He even tried eating raw meat, leaving everything else to his healing to protect himself from any risks. Unfortunately, he didn''t like thest at all. On the first bite itself, he tossed out the food.


    "This is really bad. I need to find a city," he muttered, standing up.


    He continued his travels. After traveling without eating anything for over half a day, he still hadn''t reached the next city.


    Flying through the forests, he noticed a caring from the distance, traveling on the nearby road.


    Hended near the road and started waiting for the car. "There might be some food with him."


    Since he was in good clothes, he also felt like people weren''t going to run away from him.


    He stopped in the middle of the road, waving his hand, gesturing for the car to stop.


    ....


    A car was traveling on the empty road. The sports car only had two seats. Two people stood inside the car; a man and a woman.


    However, through the windshield, only the man could be seen who was driving the car. As for the woman, she was busy, going down on the man.


    "That bastard, does he want to die before my car?" the young man asked, sighing.


    "Mmm?" the woman raised her head, looking at the man.


    "Eu Swaid Shumthing?" She asked, sounding like her mouth was filled with something.


    "Nothing, just a random person, asking for the lift, it seems. He''s blocking the road as well. That idiot should know that he shouldn''t stand in the middle of the road. I can run him over."


    The woman swallowed something before she licked her lips. She adjusted her clothes and sat straight. "Don''t do it, Roy. Just stop the car and tell him that we don''t have space. No reason to kill someone. I don''t want you to get in trouble."


    "Get in trouble? What trouble do you think I can get in? Uprising rules thend, and my brother works for them. So you think the police would even bother with a random death? Just the name of my brother is enough to get out of any trouble," Roy replied, chuckling.


    "Still, just stop. I think we can afford to waste a few seconds to tell him we don''t have space. He should understand."


    "Heh, why should I stop? Did I tell him to stand in the middle of the road? If he wanted lift, he should''ve stood on the side. If hees in the middle of the road, he epts the risk. It won''t be my fault even if I run him over. It''ll all be his fault."


    Instead of slowing down the car, Roy only increased the speed as he pressed on the elerator.


    "In any case, I don''t think he''s that stupid. He''s just bluffing. He will jump away when he sees that I''m not slowing down. Nothing will go wrong," he said, ncing at thedy again.


    "Maybe. I guess you''re right. I''m thinking too much." The woman also rxed. She believed that Lucifer was going to jump aside as well.


    "By the way, shouldn''t you be doing something else?" The man ced his hand behind the neck of the girl and brought her towards him.


    The woman nced down towards thep of the man. "So fast? We just... How do you have so much stamina?"


    She opened her lush lips and became busy again.


    In the meantime, the man kept his eyes on the road. "You''re so good at it, baby."


    He even stopped focusing on Lucifer.


    Lucifer observed the car. It was surprising for him that the car didn''t slow down even after getting close to him.


    "He isn''t going to stop." It didn''t take Lucifer long to realize the intentions of the driver after all this time. He turned around, sighing.


    "Wait... That face..." Getting closer to the car, the man noticed something familiar.


    Roy looked at the face of Lucifer carefully, feeling like he had seen that face before.


    "Why does his face look familiar?" Roy wondered. Even after all this, he still couldn''t remember where he had seen this face before.


    "Why can''t I remember?! Meh, he must not be that important if I can''t remember, but still... For me to see his face before, should I stop?"


    "Whatever, Why take a risk."


    "I remember now! That''s Lucifer! I briefly saw in the video my brother showed me! Damn! What''s he doing here?! If there''s even a scratch on his body, I''ll die!" Roy eximed.


    Roy decided to press the brake ultimately. In his haste, he forgot that someone was busy under him.


    The sudden brake made the girl hit her head before.


    "Arghhhh!" The man also screamed in agony as if he had lost his life. Something precious was still in the mouth of the woman.


    The sudden brake and the shock made the woman clench her teeth before hitting her head under the dashboard.


    The sudden brakes were effective, yet the car slid ahead.


    Roy kept crying like he was drying as he started bleeding, yet he didn''t remove his feet from the brake.


    Fortunately, the car stopped just a few inches away from Lucifer.


    The car didn''t even touch him. "It seems I was wrong. They weren''t going to hit me."


    Lucifer walked towards the driver''s side and tapped on the windshield.


    Roy''s face had turned pale by now, and his ears were ringing already from pain.


    He lowered the windshield. "Sir, I am bleeding. I need to get to the hospital right now! I will die if I don''t! Please let me go!"


    Even after all this and knowing that he needed to get to the hospital, he didn''t zoom off into the distance. He still waited for Lucifer''s permission after knowing what had happened.


    Understanding the urgency of the man, Lucifer stepped aside. "You can go, but before that, do you have something I can eat? I am hungry."

 Chapter 802: You knew

    Chapter 802: You knew


    "I-i didn''t carry any snacks," Roy responded. "If I knew you needed it, I would''ve filled the trunk with snacks. But there''s a city not too far from here. It''s in the direction I came from."


    Lucifer shook his head in disappointment. He started walking away, ignoring the bleeding man who covered hisp with a thin cloth that barely hid what had happened. The woman alsoid unconscious on hisp.


    Lucifer departed to the next city, controlling his hunger.


    Kane spent an entire day trying to find Lucifer once again, yet he couldn''t find Lucifer this time. For some reason, Lucifer was very careful to note before cameras this time since he didn''t want any stupid conflict.


    Eventually, Kane stopped the search. "As expected, we aren''t going to find him. He is gone. And after what happened in Zeston, I see no hope either. It''s time we disband. Call all the members we have. I want to address them onest time."


    Within an hour, all uprising members that were in Elisium came to the main chamber where Kane was waiting for them.


    The members already looked down since they had all seen what happened in Triton, that too live. Not only them, but the entire world has seen it. They knew that the conquest of the Uprising ended with the event at Zeston.


    Everyone wondered why Lucifer hadn''t fought in the battles. Only a few people in Uprising knew about a new Lucifer and his memories.


    "My dear friends... You have been no less than family members to me. I am forever grateful that I got to serve with you for a greater cause!" Kane said, starting his address.


    Hearing his tones, people felt as if it was thest time they were going to hear from Kane. At least that''s what his words made him sound like.


    "Why are you talking like you''re down? So what if we lost one battle? We will win the war! We still have Lucifer! We can regroup!" Came a voice from the crowd.


    Kane shook his head. "We don''t have Lucifer. Lucifer has lost his memories... We already talked to him. He doesn''t remember us. Moreover, he doesn''t want to fight for us now. Instead, he went into hiding now. We can''t even find him."


    "Lucifer ran away? What?"


    "How could he do that to us?! We all fought for him, putting our lives on the line, and when it was his turn, he ran away?!"


    "He went into hiding?"


    "Enough. This isn''t the time to talk about this. As I said, he lost his memories. So he isn''t the Lucifer we know. It''s not that shocking. In any case, we can''t force anyone to fight for us. But we can''t die either. Dying for no purpose is worse than death itself. That''s why I''vee to a decision!"


    "From today onwards, Uprising shall cease to exist!" Kane dered. "I want all of you to go your separate ways! Change your names, hide your identities and remove all traces of Uprising from yourself!"


    "Leave and stay happily, far away from us and all this mess. I''m giving you all an hour to decide where you want to go. After that, you must leave. I''ll arrange your routes. From today, you aren''t a member of Uprising!"


    Kane turned around after finishing his deration and left.


    Within an hour, all the members came out of the shock they received about the disbanding. They decided where they were going to go and informed Kane.


    They were all given some money, and a route was arranged for them. Slowly, everyone started leaving the base.


    Kane deleted all the data they had in their systems, only saving the crucial bits on his drives. He even destroyed all the systems after he was done before he left, ncing at the base onest time.


    They had just finished creating a proper base in Elisium capital, and now they had to leave it.


    "Wait... I forgot that."


    He again entered the base and walked to theb. Giving his palm print, he opened the door of theb. He took a briefcase with him and left theb.


    "How could I forget this..." He muttered, looking at the case.


    He went to the roof where thest chopper was waiting for him.


    Standing on the roof, he gazed at the entire city.


    "We had worked so hard to take over this city, and now we have to give it up without a fight. What a waste. It looks like we ate more than we could chew."


    Kane entered a chopper. "Take me to the old base. There is still one person who lives there. I need to take him as well."


    The chopper started rising in the air and took Kane to the old base.


    The old base, buried under the sand, was still unknown to anyone outside the Uprising. It was still a secret where no one could reach; however, it was also empty as all the members had moved to the new base, having no threat left to them.


    Now that a threat came, Kane decided that it was better to just leave than toe back to this ce and fight an impossible war. They didn''t have any strong Warlocks here after all.


    There was only one person who was still inside this base. It was someone who had refused to listen to even Lucifer when he was told toe to the new base.


    The man who Lucifer ced a high importance on. However, after thest prediction a long time ago, the Predictor hadn''t given any more predictions.


    He had gone awfully silent. When he was asked why he only had an excuse that he didn''t see any significant dream.


    The choppernded in the underground base. Kane stepped out of the chopper and walked to the room of Predictor.


    He pushed the door open and stepped inside the dark room. Entering the room, he couldn''t see anything in the darkness. He wore his sses which made everything visible.


    He saw Predictorfortably lying on his bed. His eyes were still behind a blindfold.


    "Kane, what brought you here?" Prediction asked, smiling. "And why are you so silent? For a moment, I thought you were Lucifer."


    "You knew about it, didn''t you?" Kane asked, not engaging in other conversations.


    "Knew what?" Predictor asked.


    "Don''t act stupid. Until now, I had suspicions on you that maybe you truly didn''t know anything, but now I know better. Uprising has disbanded."


    "It''s such a significant thing that there is no way you wouldn''t have seen this. And the deaths in Zeston? You didn''t even warn us about that. Why?"

 Chapter 803: Third

    Chapter 803: Third


    "I don''t understand what you''re speaking about. I told you I didn''t know anything," Predictor responded.


    "Don''t think I didn''t notice that subtle smirk on your lips. Tell me the truth. What did you hide from us? And why didn''t you tell us anything?" Kane asked again.


    Even after asking again, he only received silence in response.


    He stepped forward and sat beside Predictor on the bed. "Look... Uprising has been disbanded. All the members have left. I have no way to contact them again. I''m the only one who is here. Whatever you say won''t affect anything now."


    "So you can tell me what you saw. It won''t change anything. I just want to know if we had any other option or not?"


    "You want to hear the truth?" Predictor asked as his smile became wider.


    "What else would I want to hear? Tell me what you saw?"


    "I saw quite a lot of dreams actually. And for some reason, they all came one after another. I never experienced this phenomenon before. It came as a surprise even to me."


    "But the first dream I saw started it all. It was just a few days ago."


    "What did you see?"


    "Let me go in order. The first dream of mine was exactly what happened now. It was about the disbanding of the Uprising. You gave the speech and the Uprising disbanded."


    "If you heard my speech, you must''ve heard what happened as well. You must''ve heard about all the deaths. Why didn''t you warn us? Why didn''t you tell us how dangerous that ce was? Why didn''t you warn us?" Kane asked.


    Even though he had already expected this, he was still in disbelief. If they had known about this before, they might''ve changed the future like they did before.


    "Let me continue... The reason I didn''t tell you anything was because of the third dream."


    "What was that?"


    "What''s the hurry? Let me speak in order. We were on the second dream..."


    "Before I could wake up, my first dream stopped and the second dream began. It was the first in my lifetime."


    "What did you see?"


    "I saw an explosion... I saw Lucifer being swallowed in that explosion. He disappeared after that. I believe he dies."


    "Where did it happen? It looks like that''s yet toe true. We just saw him yesterday."


    "I don''t know when it happened. I didn''t see a time there. The dream was over before I could see. Anyway, now to the third dream..."


    "If I hadn''t seen the third dream, I swear I would''ve told you everything I saw. I would''ve helped you all. But the third dream changed it all. It changed all my feelings."


    "Tell me! What did you see?!"


    "I saw death," Predictor dered.


    "Whose death?"


    "Mine."


    "What? Who killed you?"


    "I don''t think I need to answer that question at this point in time. Just know that I don''t want anything to do with you all. Please leave this ce."


    "You must tell me! Who kills you? And why did that stop you from telling us? You should''ve told us! We could''ve saved you as well!"


    "You really want to know?"


    "I do! Tell me who did it?!"


    "You did it..."


    Thud~


    As soon as Predictor finished his sentence, a knife came swinging. The knife sliced the neck of Kane.


    Kane''s eyes remained open wide as he looked at Predictor in shock. He held his neck, trying to understand what had just happened but he failed to understand. Did Predictor see him kill? Why would he kill Predictor?


    He tried speaking but no voice came from his lips.


    "You killed me... You stabbed me right in the chest. I would''ve been fine if it were just you but the entire organization was here, including Lucifer."


    "In the third dream, I saw you killing me. Uprising hadn''t disbanded. I asked you all why you killed me even after I told you about what will happen in Zeston and helped you, but you didn''t answer."


    "Seeing that scene, I understood that I was seeing an alternative reality."


    "Generally, I only see what was going to happen. I don''t see what would happen if I try to change that future often. However, hearing my words, it was clear that in this reality I had helped you all. In that reality, I had told you what I saw. And you survived as well..."


    "However, your survival came with my death. Why would I do something that would have me killed? Instead, I let the future take its course. Uprising disbanded. You''re gone and so is everyone. The scene can''te true now."


    "I hope you understand my plight," Predictor said, cing his hand on the shoulders of Kane.


    "Also, guess what...."


    Predictor brought his lips closer to the ears of Kane. "I told Jian about the people that were in Zeston and the ones who were outside. I told him everything. The reason I managed to n everything is because I helped him as well."


    "You can''t me me for switching sides after you backstab me when I don''t. Hope you forgive me. And have a great time in hell."


    He pushed the body of Kane to the side. The lifeless body of Kane dropped on the bed. "Sleep well."


    Predictor stood up and left the room, leaving the body behind.


    "I really wish you hadn''t done that to me. You can''t me me now. I helped you all. You saw my nice side. Now you saw my bad side. We''re equal."


    Predictor walked towards the helicopter, slowly finding his way.


    He stood before the helicopter, sighing. "I promised myself I''ll never leave this ce. Who knew this day woulde so soon..."


    "Lucifer is still alive. That means my dream about him dying hasn''te true. He mighte here as well. I can''t even kill him if I tried."


    "This is such a mess. I will die if I leave this ce. And I will die if I stay here." Talking to himself, he circled around the helicopter slowly.


    "If Lucifer lost all his memories, he would''ve had a hard time getting here, but he only lost a fraction of his memories. He still remembered the time he came here. He mighte here again."


    "But then again, he doesn''t have his memories. He even refused to help the Uprising. So he might note here either. Even if hees, he won''t attack me for no reason."


    "It might actually be safer for me to stay here. However, there is one more person who needs to leave."


    Predictor stepped inside the helicopter and walked up to the pilot. "Waiting for Kane?"

 Chapter 804: To welcome

    Chapter 804: To wee


    The pilot nodded his head. "Yes."


    "He sent me to tell you to leave. We''ll be staying here. You should go and leave this city. The Uprising is disbanded, and it''s time for you to leave. Take this helicopter as well. Remember, no one must know about this ce."


    "You don''t know about this ce. You only knew about the base in the capital, and that''s it. You understand? If you ever remember about this base, just think of the consequences you might face," Tristan warned the pilot before stepping out of the helicopter.


    The pilot took the warning seriously. The roof opened. The helicopter started rising in the air and left.


    Tristan heard the sound of the helicopter leaving. He started walking back towards his room to take care of the body of Kane.


    "That marks the end of the Uprising. Who knew I would have to help contribute to the end of my own organization. It''s over now. Everything is done. Only Lucifer is left, but if I''m not wrong, he would have to face the future I saw for him."


    "However, I still don''t understand something... What happened to the future I saw for him before? That still hasn''te true. The different reality dreams made things reallyplicated. Even I don''t know what wille true."


    "But if I''m not wrong, Lucifer will die now that the future has changed. Let''s see what the new future bes..."


    ...


    The spaceship of the Star Alliance came out of the spatial portal.


    During a short journey of a few hours, many changes took ce inside the ship.


    Xaen was kept in the same room, but Lucifer was shifted to a different room. He wasn''t allowed to stay in contact with Xaen as it was getting hard to heal Xaen again and again.


    Joana didn''t want Lucifer to actually kill Xaen on the ship. They had already sent a report to the headquarters that they had captured two people. If one of them was to die, questions were going to be raised about his actions there.


    He didn''t want that to happen right now. As for the whereabouts of the stones, it was evident that Xaen wasn''t going to tell right now.


    In return for taking Xaen away from him, Joana promised Lucifer that he was going to help him get the whereabouts of the stones.


    After a lot of convincing, Lucifer agreed. In any case, he wasn''t going to get an answer immediately.


    "Lucifer, I already told the headquarters everything about where I found you and all, so I want you to be honest with them. Tell them exactly what you told me. And let me remind you, they will know when you''re lying. So try to refrain from lying."


    "And more importantly, I am sure they won''t ask what we talked about, so don''t mention anything on your own. Keep our deal to ourselves. Don''t make them suspicious. Because if they are suspicious, they will start asking more questions."


    "I understand. I will tell them everything they ask and nothing more than I have to."


    "Good. That''ll be perfect. We''ll be docking soon. I think it''s time I take you in handcuffs. Need to make them feel like you are a prisoner. "


    "Remember, they''ll take you to a cell and keep you there until they clear you after interrogation. I''ll be right there. You just won''t be able to see it. I''ll try to make the process fast for you."


    "Now, give me your hand."


    Lucifer brought both his hands together. Joana ced handcuffs around Lucifer''s hands. Lucifer wore the handcuffs.


    "The ship will be docked in ten minutes. Everyone, prepare ordingly!" Joanamanded his men, taking his seat. "Some of you go cuff Xaen as well. After that, bring him here!"


    A ship moved closer to a massive, entering the atmosphere and slowing down. The color of the ship changed from the outside as the exterior of the ship became pitch ck.


    The re-entry into the atmosphere became even easier for the ship as it became ck. It appeared as if the ship faced no resistance now that it had changed color.


    The ship slowed down even more, reaching near the surface. It floated just a few meters above the surface as it advanced towards a bridge into the distance.


    Aligning itself against the bridge perfectly, the ship stopped. It kept floating in the air but didn''t move ahead. The doors of the ship closed.


    Multiple dark-robed men stood on the bridge with their hands behind their back, waiting for the people toe out.


    As soon as the ship stopped, Joana nced onest time at Lucifer, but he didn''t say anything.


    The door opened. Joana was the first person to step out.


    As soon as Joana stepped out of the ship with thedy closely following behind, his lips opened slightly.


    "Captain of the Royal Guards? I will be honest. I didn''t expect you to be here personally."


    Even he was surprised to see the man here. Amongst the men who stood on the ship, there was one person who had a one star symbol on his chest.


    The man stood out amongst the rest, not only because of the Star on his chest but also because of his aura.


    The white-haired man seemed to be in histe seventies, but even then, he looked really fit even now. Instead, he seemed even stronger than Joana.


    "May I know why you''re here?" Joana asked.


    "Can''t Ie to wee you?" The old man asked, shing a light smile.


    "I won''t be stupid enough to think you''re here to wee me. I suppose it''s about the prisoners? But they''re already cuffed. You didn''t have to personallye here to take them."


    "I know I didn''t have toe. However, I read the report you sent me. The prisoner this time seems special. Not only is he from a world yet to be explored but also someone who has characteristics of all the species? I wanted to see this anomaly myself. "


    "I wanted to see just who exactly is this person? Or should I say what exactly is he? We''ll have to scan him at the headquarters as well. It would be really fascinating if your report were true. You would be rewarded for this discovery. You might take one step closer to a promotion," the old man said, cing his hand on Joana''s shoulders.


    He brought his lips close to Joana''s ears. " But if you did some exaggeration, just know Her Majesty would be upset as well. You might take one step closer to demotion instead."

 Chapter 805: Two Star

    Chapter 805: Two Star


    "Her Majesty is also excited about this discovery after all. So for your sake, and ours, I hope there wasn''t a single lie in your report."


    "Don''t worry. There wasn''t any lie there. I did the scan twice just to be sure. And I even ran diagnostics on the systems. There was not a single error. So I ampletely sure that it is the truth. As for how that''s possible, your guess is as good as mine," Joana replied, smiling.


    "Now, please step aside. My crew and the prisoners need toe out as well."


    Joans took off the old man''s hands from his shoulders and stepped aside. The old man also stepped aside.


    Lucifer stepped out with cuffed hands before him. He was escorted by two Star Alliance members who kept an eye on him.


    "So he''s the one. I see. He truly doesn''t look that special, as you said," the old manmented, smiling.


    Behind Lucifer, Xaen was brought out as well.


    "An adult who looks like a kid. That must be the second one you talked about. It''s amazing that there is nothing special about him. We''ll scan him again as well, just to see how different these two are from each other."


    "You can hand these two to us. They''re our responsibility now," the old manmanded.


    The guards looked at Joana for further instructions.


    Joana nodded in response.


    The crew members of Joana handed over Lucifer and Xaen to the guards following the old man.


    "Good. Now you can rx in the city until your next mission. We''ll be leaving now." The old man turned around and started leaving.


    "Jouzi, wait!" Joana called out from the back.


    "What?" The old man looked back.


    "I''ll being with you as well," Joana said, running to the old man. "I also want to see the result of the second scan since the machines at the headquarters are more in depth."


    "You don''t have toe. I''ll tell you the results."


    "No, it''s fine. I want to see it live. In any case, there are more things I want to talk about, regarding the future."


    "Are you sure you want to waste your time like this? A lot of time will be wasted there. You came from a long journey. You should rx instead."


    "I don''t need to rx. It''s not like I was running on the ship. I was just sitting. I don''t need rest. Is there a reason you don''t want me toe with you?"


    "Nope. Why would I care? If you want toe thene," the old man shook his headzily.


    ....


    Lucifer was taken to a different cell than Xaen.


    He was kept in a dark room, under a machine. He could only hear one voice which told him to stay calm down as a deep scan was going to take ce.


    The voice also told him to lie down on the bed. In another room, Xaen was going through the same thing.


    In a different room, a small group of people was sitting, watching both the rooms.


    The room seemed to be filled with many one star members, which surprised even Joana. It was as if everyone was interested in Lucifer.


    "It would''ve been so nice if we had three of them. We could''ve known which of the two was an anomaly for people of that world. We can only assume that Lucifer is different and all the rest are like Xaen, but what if it''s the opposite?"


    "I talked to them. It is evident that most of them are like Xaen. However, I can check once by going to that world when we find it," Joana responded.


    "We''ll decide on that after the interrogation. If he''s born to humans there, it might be possible there are more like him on earth. Everything wille out in interrogation. And if needed, we will send you."


    The white haired man opened his eyes. "We''re ready for the scan. Beginning now. Everyone stay silent."


    The dark room became bright as a green light filled the room.


    As the scanning continued, everyone looked at the screen that was about to show the result with great curiosity.


    "Joana, I must say. It is a great discovery if it''s true. I''m jealous of you. It has been a long time since a new species was discovered. Your name might go into history books."


    "Heh, he was just lucky that he was in that sector. It''s not like he discovered that world. That people appeared in that space instead. I would just say he was lucky. It could''ve been anyone in his ce, and the oue won''t change."


    "Yeah bu-"


    The discussion suddenly stopped as the door opened once again.


    Everyone looked to the door, only to stand up in shock as they saw who had arrived.


    A man had stepped inside the room. His chest had a two star symbol. Unlike the one star members, the neer didn''t exude any aura. He appeared like an ordinary human.


    Everyone cleared their chairs for the man to sit, but the man didn''t even look towards the chairs. His eyes remained on the screen.


    "Which one is it?" He asked calmly.


    "The one on the left," the white haired man responded.


    Fortunately, Lucifer wasn''t here to see the neer. If he were here, he would''ve recognized the man. Not only that, he would''ve been stunned as well to see the man here, in real life.


    "We just started scanning. We should get the results soon. Why don''t you sit until then?" The white haired man asked.


    "It''s alright. I don''t feel like resting," the man let out. "I just came here to see the person. She is really interested in this new person. She personally sent me here to check if the reports are urate."


    "She herself wanted toe. I had to stop her. It''s beneath her dignity toe here personally for someone unless it''s proven that this person is really special or not. If it''s proven, then we can see what''s to be done."


    "If it''s proven, can we have him join the Star Alliance?" Joana asked, taking the opportunity. "I was thinking about training him under me about the basics on my ship."


    "You want to train the guy? What makes you think we''ll let that happen? If the guy is as special as you mentioned in the report, why won''t I train him personally?"


    "Because it''s against thews. And I''m sure you won''t break thews. Any potential star alliance member must train under a Star One Captain on their ship before he can climb higher," Joana responded, reminding the man about thews.

 Chapter 806: Different Origins

    Chapter 806: Different Origins


    "Who do you think makes thews?" The two-star man casually responded, making Joana go silent.


    It was true that the two star members of the Star Alliance had a major say in thews that were made. They could easily influence thews as they pleased and whenever they wanted.


    If this guy was really annoyed, he might actually change the rules or send Lucifer under a different captain.


    Thinking of that possibility, Joana became worried.


    The two star man nced briefly at Joana. Noticing the worries on Joana''s face, he smiled.


    "Don''t worry. I won''t take him from you. I am just curious about him. Even if he is as special as the report mentions, it won''t matter. He''ll still need to go through proper training before he''s capable enough to sit with the upper echelon."


    Joana''s face lit up, hearing the words. Now that this person had promised, he was sure that he was going to get Lucifer as long as nothing went horribly wrong.


    The scanning of Xaen finished within ten minutes before Lucifer could be done. His data started showing on the screen.


    "Yeah, he isn''t anything special. His origin genes are of Human whichter mutated," the two star man shook his head.


    "You''re right, Master Layim. We should not focus on this person. The main focus should be the second person. Since his analysis is taking so long, it means something really is special about him," the white haired man smiled. "So far, he''s only done with fifty percent scanning."


    Layim nodded. Folding his arms, he closed his eyes and started resting. His beautiful blue eyes closed. His dark green hair moved with the gentle winds that were flowing inside the room. It was unclear where these winds wereing from.


    Time kept trickling away. Lucifer remained lying on the bed, unmoving as he looked at the roof.


    He wondered how long it was going to take.


    As ten more minutes passed away, a beeping sound filled the room. A voice came, telling Lucifer he could stand up and rx.


    In another room, some details appeared on the screen regarding Lucifer.


    Jouzi ced his hand on Layim''s shoulder. "Sir, we''re done with him. His scanning is finished."


    Layim slowly opened his eyes, ncing at the screen.


    There was a lot of data being shown on the screen, but all of the data was written in the form of symbols that only the people of the Star Alliance could understand.


    "I see. So it''s the truth. There''s something about this person that makes him unique. Bring him to the interrogation room. I''ll interrogate him personally. As for the other kid, you can interrogate himter," Layim dered as he stood.


    ....


    Two people brought Lucifer out of his room. He was still in handcuffs as he was escorted out of the room. Through the long hallways, he was brought before a silver door.


    In the entire corridor that spread for thousands of meters, there appeared to be only this one door that was near the end of it.


    "Listen, kid. Someone special will be interrogating you. So make sure to be respectful." The men reminded Lucifer before they opened the door.


    Lucifer was pushed inside the room. The door was closed behind him.


    The sparsely lit only had one rectangr table in the middle of the room.


    The table was only four meters long and two meters wide. On each end of the room, there was a chair.


    The chair on the left was already filled. There was a person already sitting in the room, but because of the bad lighting conditions and the man facing the other side, Lucifer couldn''t see his face.


    The table was big, but it looked so small in a room that seemed unending. No matter where Lucifer looked, he couldn''t see the end of the room.


    He didn''t take a step towards the table and kept observing the surroundings.


    "Take a seat." A calm voice fell in Lucifer''s ears as the man tapped the table.


    Hearing the voice, Lucifer''s brows raised slightly. He felt like he had heard the voice before. His feet started walking towards the table on their own as he tried to see the face of the man.


    Finally, as he reached closer to the table, he was able to see the face of the man. His feet stopped.


    He recognized that man right away. It was none other than the man who was about to kill him in the future he went to. The man lookedpletely identical.


    He also had the two star symbol like before. The only difference was that he didn''t have the crystal staff with him this time.


    Lucifer scratched the back of his head, seemingly concerned. However, he didn''t say anything. He was told that his lies could be caught in this room. He couldn''t let the man feel like he knew him because if he asked, Lucifer knew he wasn''t able to answer.


    "You seem worried after seeing me?" Layim asked, amused. "Is it because you know what I am? Did Joana tell you about the meaning of the stars on the chest?"


    "He told me about the meaning of stars." Lucifer nodded. It was a good deflection of the question, and he didn''t even need to lie.


    "Don''t worry. I''m not here to harm you. Instead, depending on your answer, I might even reward you appropriately. So try to answer all my questions. Take a seat."


    Lucifer stepped towards the table and sat in front of Layim on the other end of the table.


    In a separate room, all the one star members saw what was happening in the interrogation room. They could also hear all the conversations.


    "So, tell me about your world. I heard only Humans used to live there who started mutating after the appearance of some so-called monsters? Is that true?" Layim asked.


    "It''s true as far as I know."


    "So, You were a human before you mutated? You were born to human parents?" Layim asked. "If that''s true, why is your origin gene not human but made of multiple genes?"


    Lucifer didn''t answer.


    "I''m asking you a question. But your silence makes me think that there''s something more you know. Answer my question," Layim repeated.


    "I wasn''t born to my parents. They had adopted me. I don''t know my real parents and if they were humans or not."


    "I see. That makes more sense. That would exin your different origins. So you weren''t born to a human. That''s why you have different origins in our database."

 Chapter 807: Offer

    Chapter 807: Offer


    "Still, your genes link with so many species. It''s hard to determine what you actually are."


    "Do you know where you were first discovered on earth? You didn''t try to trace your origins? Or asked the parents who adopted you?"


    Lucifer took a pause, and only after thinking for a little while, he spoke, "They are dead, which made it hard for me to ask them anything."


    He could''ve told the man about him being discovered in the dungeons, but he left out that answer and answered another question instead.


    "That would certainly make it hard. The only people who knew about you died. So it''s hard to find how you ended up in that world and who your true parents were. It''s possible that your true parents traveled that world but left you behind for some reason."


    "It could also be possible that you came to that world with the appearance of the dungeons because of some spatial disturbance. There are infinite possibilities, and we don''t know what the real one can be."


    "Alright, let''s leave that. We''ll try to find out for ourselves. We need to spread the information about you in all the worlds we know. Someone must know something. We can leave that in the backdrop. Answer my other questions."


    ....


    The interrogation of Lucifer continued for two hours straight where he was asked about his history and everything he went through.


    After the interrogation waspleted, Layim sat rxed.


    "Let''s get to the main topic now that we''re done with the formalities. I heard quite a lot of things about you. And I think I''ve formed a General Idea about you by now. That''s why I want to offer you a ce in the Star Alliance."


    "I think you are special, and it can be good for Star Alliance to have you in our organization. So, do you want to be a Star Alliance member?" Layim asked Lucifer.


    "What benefits will I get?" Lucifer asked, despite having heard the answer from Joana previously.


    "The benefits are simple. First, you''ll be free from the shackles. Secondly, you''ll be granted temporary citizenship of all Star Alliance member nations. You''ll be allowed to stay anywhere as long as you don''t avoid your duties."


    "You won''t have to pay to stay in any hotels. Moreover, as a star alliance member, with enough contribution, you can apply for a permanent citizenship in the future. And that''s the benefits you''ll receive with just the basic membership."


    "If you do good in your service and get promoted to a one star captain, you will get even more benefits, including a ship and a crew of your own. As for the other benefits, you''ll know when you get there. But I''ll just tell you it''ll be worth it."


    "So, what do you say? You want to join? Or do you want to stay in the prison and wait for the courts to decide on your future about what to do with you for creating disturbance in our space? I''m sure the choice is simple, right?"


    "The choice is indeed simple," Lucifer nodded. "I ept joining the Star Alliance, but I have one condition."


    "What condition?"


    "I want my world to be discovered as soon as possible, and I want to be made an Envoy of my world for a few years. I have some unfinished business there that I need to finish."


    ...


    Hearing Lucifer''s demands, Joana pped his forehead. He had already promised this to Lucifer. He was going to be subtle about it when the time came and get the permission while making it seem like it was his decision and not Lucifer''s.


    A decision by Lucifer could easily be rejected since the Star Alliance couldn''t give in to the demands of a new member, but if he was to say it, it could''ve easily been done.


    Moreover, he wanted to give some false reporting about Lucifer being on the Ship while he was on earth to increase his score in the database. Now that everyone knew he was going on earth and for how long, the door to that shortcut was closed.


    Joana was sure that Layim was going to say no to the demand. However, to his surprise, Layim instead smiled.


    "You know, generally I would''ve said no. But I seem to like you. Despite being a prisoner and only having this one way out, you''re demanding from me instead of jumping over the opportunity. I like that straightforward nature of yours. I''ll say yes."


    "I, Layim Malic, as a Two Star Admiral promise you that you''ll be assigned as an envoy on Earth for a few years as soon as we find earth. And we will find it soon with your help. So, now do you want to join?"


    Layim reached out his hand towards Lucifer.


    Lucifer ignored his hand. "I can''t shake hands. I destroy everything I touch. So I better not."


    Layim retracted his hand. "No troubles."


    "Anyway, now that it''s final that you''ll be joining, let me tell you about another thing. As a new member, you''ll be working under a one star captain on a ship. And since you already know Joana, you''ll be training with him."


    "I promised you without his permission to make you an envoy, but after you return, you''ll continue your training with him. You''ll need to work hard to climb the stairs of sess. I won''t help you more than I did now."


    Layim stood up. "I expect to see you at the top next time. Best of luck, young man. I hope you won''t disappoint me."


    He left the room, leaving Lucifer alone.


    ''The man who wanted to kill me is wishing me luck? What a day.'' Lucifer stood up as well. He started walking back and forth.


    Seeing Layim, a small worry about the future was established in his heart. He had thought that this wasn''t a future of his where he met Layim, at least not this soon.


    However, now that he had met Layim, he was sure that what he had seen was his future and nothing else.


    ''So I''m going to kill their queen, who is supposedly my wife? I still can''t understand why. Instead of making the entire star alliance my enemy, I better stay away from their queen. If I don''t get close to her and don''t marry her, that future won''te true.''


    ''So it''s final. I don''t know who their queen is or what she''s like, but I''ll stay away from her whenever I''m before her.''


    As Lucifer finished deciding, the door opened. It was Joana who had walked inside.


    He walked closer to Lucifer and removed the handcuffs. "Congrattions. From today, you''re a part of Star Alliance. I look forward to our future."


    "I don''t..." Lucifer replied.

 Chapter 808: Potential

    Chapter 808: Potential


    Present day~


    Lucifer had justnded back on earth. After going through all the formalities of the Star Alliance, he had received his membership. He was also assigned on the ship of Joana for his training.


    Moreover, as per the promise, he was allowed to go to his world as soon as his world was discovered. He was made an envoy of the Star Alliance to earth. It was his task to inform the earth about the Star Alliance.


    The massive ship was waiting for Joana to return. However, Joana also had a task of his own, for which he hade down.


    He wanted to leave a message for the entire world about the Star Alliance, but he left that task for Lucifer and didn''t do it after seeing the emotional turmoil of his.


    He didn''t want to bring the attention to himself, especially when he didn''t know much about this world.


    Lucifer destroyed all the spikes to recover the bodies.


    He ced all the bodies in one line and stood before them, closing his eyes.


    The citizens of the nation looked at Lucifer from a distance. They could feel that something big was going to happen. Lucifer was someone who had single handedly destroyed most of the Warlock Council to take over this ce.


    When Jian returned and destroyed all the enemies, they thought that Lucifer had run away because he was weak and couldn''t face Jian. They had started underestimating Lucifer.


    Not only that, on the second day, Jian did the public execution of the Uprising members that they had managed to catch. Every day, he executed four Uprising members, live for the world to see before leaving their bodies on the spikes for twenty-four hours.


    After every twenty-four hours, he executed different people. People felt like it was done in order to draw out Lucifer because the Warlock Council had failed to find Lucifer, no matter how much they tried. It was as if Lucifer had gone into hiding.


    The people that Lucifer found on the spikes weren''t the only ones who were killed. They were just the ones that were killed yesterday, right before everyone.


    Seeing Lucifer return, many citizens were starting to have different thoughts. If Lucifer was truly a coward like they thought previously, why did he return now?


    Were they wrong? Was he not scared? Or was it that he was drawn out because of the public executions.


    "I''ll make everything alright. It''ll all be over, don''t worry," Lucifer said as if talking to the dead bodies before him.


    He raised his hands. A dark shadow came out from under him. The shadow moved under the four bodies, swallowing them all.


    All the bodies disappeared.


    Lucifer turned to Joana. "You wanted to see this world, right? I think you shouldn''t waste your time here. Use your abilities to see the world. You only have half an hour. I''ll be busy with something to show you around."


    "It''s alright. I don''t need to see. I''d rather apany you. I want to see how our envoy deals with this situation," Joana responded.


    "As I said before, I can''t intervene in the situation. But if I was in your ce and my friends were killed, believe me when I see this, this entire city would be buried underground by now."


    "They deserve whatever ising to them. Go ahead. I''m ready to have an entertaining next twenty minutes. I see you looking towards that building. Are your enemies there?" he asked, pointing towards the Warlock Council headquarters.


    "They should be there. That''s the ce I''ll get all my answers. But first..."


    Lucifer nced at the citizens who were looking towards him. He raised his finger towards one of the men.


    The man who was pointed at felt his hands and legs being shackled by invisible chains. His body raised in the air and was pulled towards Lucifer.


    His bodynded before Lucifer.


    The man felt his neck being choked a little.


    "What happened in thest five days?" Lucifer asked the man. "Who killed them?"


    "M-master Jian! The Warlock Council!" The man eximed, struggling to let out his voice.


    "Jian... I remember. He''s the one I talked to. So he came here. He killed them all alone?"


    "Y-yes. He did a live broadcast. The entire world saw him do it. I have it saved as well!"


    "Show me!" Lucifermander.


    He was surprised why no one hade out of the Warlock Council headquarters, but he wasn''t in a hurry to go inside either, without understanding the entire situation.


    "It''s in my phone."


    "I told you to show me, not tell me where it is," Lucifer snapped.


    "I think he meant you need to release his hands first," Joana reminded Lucifer. "I know you''re upset. But you need to remain calm. That''s the first thing we''re taught in the Star Alliance. It is that we must never lose ourposure."


    "Moreover, you''re a part of my team. So I''m supposed to train you. This can be a good opportunity to tell you some basics."


    "I know the basics. I just forget it sometimes," Lucifer let out. He freed the hands of the man.


    The man pulled out his phone and started ying a video.


    Joana tried to watch the video, but looking at such a small screen, he started having a hard time.


    "The screen is so small," he said, frowning. "You can''t even see anything clearly. Let me help."


    He took the phone from the man and covered the screen with one hand.


    A semi transparent screen appeared before Joana, out of thin air.


    The blueish screen was fifty inches wide and thirty inches tall. It was big enough to show everything clearly.


    The screen started ying the challenge of Jian to the Uprising.


    "Is this your enemy?" He asked Lucifer.


    "He should be Jian. He''s the one behind it all," Lucifer said. It was also his first time watching Jian. If he hadn''t heard Jian introduce himself, he would''ve had a hard time recognizing this guy as well.


    "You can slip his taunts. Skip the speech. I want to see the battle."


    Joana increased the speed of the video.


    Lucifer saw the arrival of Milena. "So she dide. Even with her presence, this happened?"


    The Battle began, and Lucifer finally understood that he truly had underestimated Jian. He thought Jian was an ordinary Warlock but seeing him battle; he realized that he was wrong.


    Calling Jian ordinary was an understatement. Jian alone managed to face Milena, Arthur and the rest. Lucifer wouldn''t have cared even if Jian was able to defeat everyone in his team.


    However, him defeating Milena was making an entirely different statement altogether, especially since he did it with such ease.


    "This person isn''t half bad. I think he has potential," Joana couldn''t help butpliment Jian, seeing his battle skills.

 Chapter 809: Small thing

    Chapter 809: Small thing


    "He is someone who knows how to fight. He reminds me of another friend I used to have. He was also a brutal fighter who gave it his all when he started fighting."


    "I think he can analyze what the opponent is about to do and make his response ordingly. Not only can heprehend the actions that his opponents can take, but he can interrupt those."


    "What do you mean?" Lucifer asked. "He can see the future?"


    "I don''t know if he can see the future or not, but I think there were moments when I felt like he was prepared for the uing attacks as if he read the mind of his opponents or saw it happen. I might be right, or I might be wrong, but I''m ny percent sure I''m right."


    "For example, he knew where thatdy was about to appear behind her. He also knew when to interrupt that guy''s Teleportation. I think he could see what was happening."


    "Not only did he know what the others were going to do, but he also had everything to obstruct them. He could stop their teleportations as well as their other skills. I don''t know how he did that."


    "That''s only what I could tell after looking at the videos. We could''ve received a more in depth analysis after scanning him properly. However, we can''t take him to the ship."


    "That would be against thews and would be considered as us kidnapping people from this world. We can''t do that unless these worlds join the alliance and sign the treaty."


    "Just know that I know what I''m talking about. He knows what you''re about to do before you do it. At least, most of the time, that''s the case. As for how he does that, your guess is as good as mine. So you might need to be careful about this."


    "You aren''t allowed to interfere in the matters of this world. But if your Envoy is attacked by them, Will you be allowed to attack?" Lucifer asked Joana.


    Joana shook his head in response. "The envoy is supposed to be strong enough to take care of such situations. That''s why we only send strong envoys there," Joana exined.


    "And if our intervention is needed, we would need permission from the headquarters before doing anything. So I literally can''t do anything here other than recalling you back to the ship."


    "That way, I can save your life. However, just know that if there everes a need when you''re recalled to the ship, you would lose your envoy position."


    "You might note back to this ce again. So I would hope that there neveres a need for that until you''re done with everything here."


    The video continued, showing the defeat of Milena and Arthur. The fight didn''t evenst that long before both of them were defeated.


    "His sword is pretty strong as well. You should avoid it during the battles," Joana reminded Lucifer; however, Lucifer didn''t look like he was listening.


    His eyes stayed on the screen where Arthur was stabbed in the chest. Arthur coughed out a mouthful of blood as his body started falling down.


    Even Milena looked tired, which was something that Lucifer found odd. Joana didn''t know Milena enough to know her stamina, but Lucifer knew it. He knew that there was no way Milena was going to get tired from just this much.


    She should''ve been able to fight for days without running out of stamina, but here she seemed like she was so tired she couldn''t even raise her hand.


    "That sword...." Lucifer muttered, frowning. "It steals their energy."


    "What?"


    "I said that the sword truly isn''t an ordinary sword. It just isn''t something that''s sharp. It''s also special in more ways. I think it''s stealing their energy with each slice."


    "You mean the sword makes the enemies tired?"


    Lucifer nodded. "I''ve known Milena for quite some time. She has even more stamina than me sometimes. She couldn''t get tired so easily. The only thing I''ve noticed so far is that she received too many wounds from the sword."


    "That could be the only thing that made her tired. Even though her healing healed her, I think she already kept losing energy before the wounds healed. This guy is clever."


    "He certainly is clever if what you say is true. He''s also a hard enemy to defeat. He can predict your reactions," Joana agreed. "Are you sure you want to fight him?"


    " He can stop your attacks and avoid them. Not only that, but he can also weaken the enemies. He''s like a perfect all-rounder who covers all the fields properly."


    "If you don''t want to find him, I can talk to him. I can tell him about the Star Alliance and tell him that you''re our Envoy and that he shouldn''t attack you? However, that would mean you won''t attack him either. Are you ready for it?"


    "I''m not. I''m not going to let him live. I''m going to show him a hell worse than humans made up in their imagination."


    Lucifer started rising in the air. He tossed the body of the man back.


    "Then I won''t be able to help you. You''ll have to do things on your own." Joana sighed at Lucifer''s response.


    The sky was already covered in dark clouds, but the clouds only became darker. Soon, the entire city was covered in the clouds. The clouds didn''t stop as they kept extending even outside the city.


    "This isn''t how I expected things to go," Joana said as he started rising in the air as well. He flew after Lucifer.


    Lucifer and Joananded before the Warlock Council headquarters, which was surrounded by a blood red energy barrier from all sides.


    It was the first time Lucifer had seen this barrier. It wasn''t there when he used to control the Warlock Council headquarters.


    "Not bad at all. This barrier is pretty good. It''s not close to what we have, but it''s much better for this primitive world." Joana smiled, observing the barrier.


    He took a step towards the barrier.


    "Be careful. It can harm you." Lucifer reminded Joana, trying to stop him. "Let me destroy it first."


    "Harm me? This small thing? I doubt it," Joana said, shaking his head.


    He easily passed through the barrier as if it was nothing but air. He didn''t face even the smallest resistance.


    Curious, Lucifer also tried the same. However, it was different for him. As soon as he touched the barrier, an explosion took ce right before his eyes. The explosion tossed him back.

 Chapter 810: Goodbye

    Chapter 810: Goodbye


    Lucifer turned mid-air tond safely on the ground.


    "As expected, there was something in this barrier. It wasn''t just for show." Lucifer flew back to the barrier.


    "I know. I was about to tell you, but you touched it with such haste. The reason the barrier didn''t affect me is because it can''t. I''m the Captain of the Star Alliance, after all. Wouldn''t it be embarrassing if this thing can stop me?" Joana stepped out of the barrier again.


    "Don''t see me and think you should do the same. I''m different. You just joined the Star Alliance, so you don''t know." Joana patted the shoulder of Lucifer.


    "I forgot that for a moment," Lucifer said, frowning. "I won''t forget again. In any case, now that I know it''s a barrier of this kind, I would much rather destroy the entire barrier instead."


    Lucifer raised his hand towards the sky as if calling for the lightning. However, the lightning didn''t fall towards the Warlock Council headquarters.


    The lightning bolts fell around Lucifer. Five thick boltsnded before him. The bolts took humanoid shapes, made purely of lightning.


    "Fascinating." Joana couldn''t help but smile at the sight.


    Lucifer didn''t stop even after making five lightning puppets. He raised his other hand towards the sky as well.


    He slowly clenched his fist towards the dark sky. The cracking thunder intensified as the lightning bolts came out of the clouds. The bolts didn''t fall even now.


    Instead, they remained right under the Cloud and started merging with themselves.


    Thousands of small lightning boltsbined into one big bolt that was fifty feet wide and hundreds of feet long.


    The pitch ck lightning bolt started changing shape from one end, which became thicker and split into three sharp ends. The other end remained the same, instead only getting thinner.


    "It looks like the Trident of Poseidon in our stories. Not bad," Joana gazed at the lightning trident in the sky.


    "They yed enough. It''s my turn now. Let''s have some fun." A voice filled with anger spread far and wide.


    Lucifer didn''t even realize as he used his ultrasonic voice as he talked. His words fell in the ears of each and every person in the city.


    His words also reached the Warlock Council headquarters.


    A young man was standing on top of the Warlock Council headquarters. A Sword was in his hand, which was still inside its sharp-edged sheath.


    The man had a slightly surprised look on his face as he looked at the massive trident in the sky, which was filled with terrifying destructive energy.


    Just as he was thinking about something, he heard the words of Lucifer.


    "You want to y, do you? Let''s y then," the man muttered.


    He raised his left hand and pressed a button on his watch. After speaking a few words, he lowered his hand.


    "I don''t know if this Trident is strong enough to affect the barrier, but it''ll be boring to just sit and watch. Let''s make things more interesting."


    The man stepped towards the edge of the building and looked down at Lucifer.


    Lucifer was already looking up at the trident as he spoke. As he lowered his gaze, his eyes fell on the figure who was standing on the top of the roof.


    Lucifer''s gaze met the gaze of Jian. Both of them locked eyes. One pair of eyes looked like they were filled with so much anger that they wanted to destroy everything. On the other hand, the other pair of eyes seemed like they were in a teasing mood and not intimidated at all.


    The trident became even bigger as more and more lightning bolts joined it. The sky didn''t run out of listening. The roaring of the clouds was the only sound that could be heard as everyone else waspletely silent.


    Even the rain didn''t dare toe down to interfere. The slight chilly atmosphere was getting even colder though.


    "So he''s the person. For some reason, he doesn''t look concerned. Very interesting." Joana chuckled lightly. "I think it''ll be fun."


    Lucifer slowly started twisting his left hand. The trident also started turning as it slowly took aim in the direction of the man who stood on the roof.


    Time seemed to have stopped for a moment as both the men stood still. The roaring of clouds continued. The trident waited to fall. It was like the moment before a tsunami. Everyone knew that something big was going to happen.


    People had already gone inside their houses, hiding. There were only three people who were still standing outside: Jian, Joana, and Lucifer.


    Far away on the Star Alliance Ship, even the Star Alliance members were looking at what was happening. For some reason, they were able to see clearly, even through all the dark clouds.


    "Goodbye..." Lucifer broke the silence, speaking the first word. He clenched his fist tightly, preparing to attack with the Trident.


    Jian also widened his smile as he raised his hand towards the back.


    Another man came forward, entering Lucifer''s view on the roof. The man was carrying a body in his hand.


    The body of the beautiful woman didn''t have a single wound on her body, yet her clothes were covered in blood. She seemed like she was sleeping peacefully. Even from the distance, Lucifer could feel her chest moving as she breathed.


    Jian spread his arms wide open. It was finally his turn to speak.


    "Lucifer Azarel!" He spoke out loud. Even his voice seemed to reach Lucifer easily.


    "I won''t let you say goodbye so easily. We are just starting, after all. How can I let someone special die so easily?"


    "You want to y with hostages?" Lucifer asked the man as he started rising in the air.


    He reached the same elevation as Jian. The only difference was that Jian stood on the roof, and Lucifer stood in the air, on the other side of the barrier.


    "Hostage? Just like your parents tried to take me hostage to force my father and then killed him too? That kind of hostage?" Jian asked. "That kind of hostage? I guess you can say I learned from your side."


    "Let her go. You''re strong. Face me properly. Why hide behind a woman?"


    "Better than hiding behind a kid, right? Though I''m not as cruel as your parents were. I will let her leave as soon as you answer one question of mine."


    "What question?"


    "Over twenty years ago, some people had infiltrated my home. One of them was someone from Elisium. Another person was your father, and third person was your mother. I won''t ask you why they did it."


    "I already gave them the punishment for their actions. However, I have an entirely different question in my mind."

 Chapter 811: Selection

    Chapter 811: Selection


    "I want to ask about the fourth person. It was the person who looked just like you. ording to the sketch, you were there. So my question is simple. Were you there on the day my father was killed? And if it wasn''t you, then who was that person who looked just like you?"


    "That person didn''t kill your father. Your father died from the bullets of your own guards," Lucifer respondedzily.


    "I suppose I got my answer already. So you were truly there to witness it," Jian lowered his head, sighing. "So you aren''t the son of Zale. It was all a pretentious y."


    "It''s amusing that you don''t age at all. However, it''s also amusing that four people infiltrated my home. Three of the four were such powerful people that the world was going to call them Warlock Lords."


    "For the greed of some treasures, the great Zale Azarel became a thief and a murderer. For some treasures, the strongest Sorcerer, risse Azarel, became a murderer!"


    "Just imagine how funny it sounds. The Great Lucifer Azarel... The Warlock who managed to scare the entire world was nothing but a bare thief who killed mortals for their treasures?"


    Bursting intoughter, Jian turned to the man who was holding Milena. "Hahaha, Doesn''t it sound funny?"


    Even though he wasughing, hisughter failed to hide the anger in his eyes. Such strong people entered his house, all for some wealth, and destroyed his entire family.


    It was all for revenge that he went through so much pain all his life. It was all because of them that he could never sleep in peace, always having nightmares of that night.


    "I told you we didn''t murder your father. We went there to stop some people. Your father was shot by stray bullets that were fired by your own men. Treasures would be thest thing I would be interested in. If you think treasures can make me do something, you''re an idiot!" Lucifer responded fiercely.


    "In fact, it should be me who should be angry! We didn''t do anything to your family. However, you destroyed everything I had! You caused this all! You nned the murder of my father! You caused it all!"


    "It''s because of you that I had to spend five years in a literal hell and the rest of my life fighting against the world! You changed the entire course of my life, all because you wanted to y god!"


    "You call him your father? It seems I was wrong. You weren''t there before. Then how did you know what happened? How were you seen at that ce? Wait... After that incident, that person disappeared."


    "You took a trip to the past?" Jian asked, stunned. "That''s why we couldn''t find you! Because you didn''t even exist until recently! We were looking for an adult when the person wasn''t even born! So that''s how it was!"


    "Ability to go back in time? That''s pretty interesting. But if you could really do it, you would''ve gone back and saved your father? But then you would''ve changed your future, and it would''ve been different. Am I right?"


    "Still, you could''ve gone a week into the past to kill me. That wouldn''t affect your existence. But you didn''t do it. You can''t really control that ability, can you? It''s not that easy to control time, is it?"


    "It doesn''t matter. I can''t tell you how happy I am to see you before me. Thest one who managed to stay hidden for so many years. With your death, my revenge shall beplete."


    " My father''s soul would finally be able to rest in peace. I would finally be able to put my nightmares to rest!"


    "Are you done?" Luciferzily responded. "Let me tell you something too now."


    "Your father won''t rest in peace if you don''t release Milena in the next five minutes. Instead, it''ll be you who''ll be resting in peace because I''ll destroy you from inside out."


    " Instead of resting in peace, your father''s soul would die a thousand times again seeing the kind of end I am going to give his son."


    "Hahahaha!"


    Jian burst intoughter. Even in this condition, Lucifer was threatening him.


    "You know, this girl said something simr before she fought me. You should''ve been here when I crushed her confidence. Compared to her, you might be a little challenged, but even so, the oue will be the same."


    "Go ahead. Attack with that trident. Let''s see what happens. Either my barrier will resist it, or the barrier will break, and it''ll fall on us, destroying your friend as well."


    "It won''t destroy you?" Lucifer asked.


    "Me?" Jian looked towards the trident in the sky. "That little thing isn''t enough for me."


    "However, if you want to rest, I won''t stop you. Just prepare to lose your friend, though. Because I''ll remind you, she''s thest person who I left alive, and that too because I was waiting for her to wake up before I killed her today. You came just at the right time."


    Lucifer nced at Milena in the building. Jian was right. If the barrier broke, Milena was going to be killed. The trident was also so big that it was impossible to avoid her.


    Lucifer took a deep breath.


    "As expected, he can''t kill me. He seems to care for his team members. It was easy to understand from the way he reacted to the four dead bodies. This girl will be his weakness now," Jian muttered, shaking his head.


    He was somewhat pleased, but he was a bit disappointed as well.


    "He won''t attack." Even Joana felt the same. "Maybe it''s for the good. When the two sides don''t attack each other, the opportunity of conversation increases. The conflict might be solved without battles."


    Lucifer closed his eyes momentarily. He felt an inner resistance as he remembered the moments he spent with Milena only recently. The girl was stubborn, but he was also there to help him. It''s because of him that she was in this situation.


    However, there was another side that was telling him that he didn''t need to be weak! The other side of his was telling him to take action and remove his enemy along with his weakness. There was a conflict inside him between both sides.


    Lucifer clenched his fist tightly. He slowly opened his eyes. Unlike before, his eyes seemed emotionless now.


    He brought his hand down as he only muttered a single word. "Die."


    The trident started falling towards the Warlock Council headquarters.

 Chapter 812: Joana’s interference

    Chapter 812: Joana''s interference


    After giving it a long thought, Lucifer decided to take the decision. His decision came as a surprise to everyone, including Joana, who was expecting Lucifer to stop and talk now.


    He felt that Lucifer did care for thedy, or he wouldn''t have stopped initially, but he couldn''t understand his decision to attack how.


    "He probably thinks that giving up will make him weaker." Joana rubbed his chin, finding the entire situation amusing. He also felt a bit disappointed by the reaction of Lucifer.


    "He is good, but he still needs to learn a lot. I think his definition of strength makes him weaker instead. He thinks he needs to do certain things even if they go against what he truly wants. He thinks that he must not listen to his emotions. However, he forgets one crucial thing..."


    Joana started rising in the air after Lucifer as well. "He forgets that these emotions are what makes a person. He doesn''t always have to sacrifice what he wants to stand tall. He can do it without this as well."


    Joana reached Lucifer, but he didn''t stop. He kept flying further. He passed through the barrier around the Warlock Council headquarters.


    "What are you doing?! Step away!" Lucifer roared, warning Joana, so he didn''t get hurt in the attack.


    Joana smiled in response, ncing back.


    Jian also seemed confused as to who this person was. He had managed to pass through the barrier so easily. Moreover, this person also seemed a bit too mysterious.


    Jian couldn''t put a finger on it, but he felt that there was something about this person that was out of this world.


    It was his first time seeing this man, but still, he felt a little intimidation from the man. He didn''t feel it even when he stood against Lucifer. For some reason, this man gave him the jitters.


    Jian held the hilt of his sword firmly as he watched Joana get closer to him. He didn''t know who this person was. It made him even warier.


    The Trident kept falling from the sky, getting closer and closer to the Warlock Council headquarters.


    "Don''t worry. I am not here to interfere in the matters of this world," Joana told Jian, smiling.


    He raised his right hand toward the sky and stood in the path of the lightning trident.


    The massive trident touched his hand; however, instead of destroying his band, the trident started getting smaller as all the destructive energy was absorbed in the body of Joana.


    It seemed as if Joana was absorbing the entire trident. The Trident broke into pure lightning and entered his body before disappearing entirely.


    The massive trident, which seemed powerful enough to tten an entire city, was swallowed by Joana like it was nothing.


    This was the first time Lucifer had seen Joana in action, and he was surprised at his strength. More than surprised, he was upset at Joana for interfering.


    "What are you doing?!"


    "I''m just stopping you from making a mistake."


    "You said you won''t interfere with whatever happens!"


    "I kept my words. I didn''t interfere in the matters of this world. I just stopped a star alliance member from making a mistake that he might regret in the future. And I think you''ll be grateful someday that I did it."


    "Who... are you?" Jian asked Joana, frowning. "You don''t seem like an enemy. You stopped him. But you aren''t a friend either since you seem to be with him. So what exactly is your aim?"


    Joana turned to Jian.


    "Who am I? I don''t think you''ve earned the right to know that yet. As for me being your enemy, you should hope that day neveres. For now, just know that I''m a neutral party here."


    " I''m not going to interfere in the matters of this world unless you force me. In that case, I might forget the rules. So you better not make that happen."


    "As for you, Lucifer. I think it''s not the time to fight, especially if it''s going to hurt someone you care for. I think we should take things easy and focus on themon ground to solve the conflicts. What do you two say?"


    "Oh right. Ten minutes have already passed. I only have ten more minutes. I think before we talk about cooperation, we should get to finding the stones!"


    "That cooperation will never happen," Lucifer straight told Joana, but he soon thought of something.


    He couldn''t get Joana to take part in the battle, but he could certainly get the guy to take Milena from them.


    "But you''re right. We should focus on the stones. And as I said, the stone was with a girl. That''s the girl." Lucifer pointed towards Milena.


    "She has the stone?"


    "Yeah. And only he should know where she kept it."


    "Fine, let me ask her where it is.".


    Joana flew towards the building.


    "I will be taking that girl. Don''t try to stop me if you don''t want to die. If you attacked me first, I''d take that as hostility, and it''ll be a deration of war against the Star Alliance. I''ve warned you."


    Joananded on the building and walked towards the middle-aged man who was carrying Milena.


    The man nced at Jian. He didn''t know how to react. He waited for instructions from Jian.


    Jian stood silent, keeping his eyes on the man. He didn''t know who the man was, but hearing the words of Joana, he felt that the man had some extraordinary origin.


    He had also noticed the massive ship that had surrounded the sun. He had received the information from the scientists as well.


    He managed to put the pieces together that this man wasn''t from earth. He didn''t know how strong that massive ship was, but he was sure that the ship was going to have some powerful weapons.


    "You aren''t from this earth. Are you?"


    "I''m not," Joana answered.


    "Let him take the woman," Jian told his man calmly. "


    "I''m giving you the woman. Take her. But only, I''m taking your words. You won''t interfere in the matters of Earth, no matter what we do here," Jian reminded Joana.


    He wasn''t scared of Lucifer, but he was certainly wary about an organization from space that had strong people like Joana. He didn''t want to make enemies before he knew more about them.


    "I have better things to do than to fight your wars," Joana respondedzily.


    Joana took Milena and stood at the edge of the building.


    "I''m taking her to the ship to wake her up. Are youing?" he asked Lucifer. "I only have a few minutes left. We need to be fast."

 Chapter 813: Misunderstanding

    Chapter 813: Misunderstanding


    Lucifer stared at Jian before turning to Joana. He nodded. He wanted to do many things now that he was here. There was a storm of emotions inside his heart, and he wanted to let that storm manifest into a Tsunami.


    However, he also knew that finding the stones was a priority. If Joana left without being able to find the Stones, it was going to be hard for him to locate them on his own, especially now that the core of Uprising was gone.


    He had lost everything. All the fear and the reputation he had created before the world was gone in just five days. He couldn''t use that influence to find the stones without having to jump through many loops. This was the best option for him this time.


    "Good decision." Joana looked up. "Maya, beam us up."


    Two rays of light came prating through the dark clouds. The beams engulfed Lucifer and Joana. Both of them disappeared along with the body.


    "So I was right. They dide from that ship. Now only a few questions remain. How does Lucifer know them? How close are they? And what''s the strength of this Star Alliance? What''s the purpose ofing here? We need to prepare for the worst."


    Jian seemed like he was talking to the middle-aged man who stood beside him. However, he talked to only himself. He turned around and started walking back inside the building.


    He turned around and walked back inside the building.


    "Milena is taken by him. They will probably heal her. She will be back with Lucifer. Both of them together will be a much messier situation than before. But it''ll be fun as well. Let''s see how it turns out. I''m excited for his return."


    ....


    Lucifer and Joana appeared back on the ship.


    "Take her."


    Joana gave the body to Maya. "We don''t have much time. Take her to the medical and help her up. We need an answer from her, and we need them at least five minutes before we need to go back so we can take care of the contingencies."


    Maya took the body of Milena. Joana and Lucifer followed her.


    "You want to say something?" Joana asked Lucifer, seeing him silently follow behind.


    "Why did you stop me? Why did you help them?"


    "Didn''t I already tell you? I didn''t help them. I helped you," Joana smiled.


    "Now that we''re working together, you can think of me as a friend. I noticed that you cared for this girl, but you forced yourself to sacrifice her to take care of an enemy. I didn''t want that to happen. I didn''t want you to sacrifice her."


    "Who said I was going to sacrifice her?" Lucifer asked, confused.


    "You weren''t? What do you mean?"


    "The Trident was just to break the barrier and to kill them. It wasn''t going to hurt Milena. The barrier was blocking my teleportation on the other side. The trident was going to break the barrier, so I could teleport inside and bring Milena out," Lucifer exined.


    "I would''ve been sessful if you hadn''t interfered."


    "This..." Joana didn''t know whether tough or cry. He thought he was helping Lucifer, who had lost his reasoning. Who knew that Lucifer was perfectly fine. It was him who had underestimated Lucifer.


    "I suppose I should apologize. I misunderstood you. I shouldn''t have intervened."


    "It''s alright. You brought her back safely. That''s enough," Lucifer replied. "Now locate the stones, and we''ll be done. You can go back. The next time you return, you''ll see a different earth."


    "I can''t wait to see what the world will be like when Ie back. I wish you the best, Lucifer. I hope you achieve great feats that I can use to put in a good word for you in the reports. That can help you climb the ranks fast. But just remember one thing."


    "What thing?"


    "Star Alliance isn''t a conquering organization. We don''t conquer worlds. We just help them and the officially selected governments. So If possible, try to get a good reputation amongst the majority of the people in this world. That would be even more beneficial."


    "Get a good reputation?" Lucifer nkly stared at Joana. "I think you''re a few years toote for that. My reputation is already made. And it''s impossible to heal it. I don''t want to heal my reputation either. I would rather keep what I have than be a fake person like all the fakes I met in my life."


    "Sigh, I won''t force you. It''s not a mandatory thing. It''s just a suggestion that I thought could help you. But it''s no problem even if you don''t do it. Do what you find right. I told you, you''ll be free after you join my organization? And that will be the case."


    "I hope that''s true." Lucifer nodded.


    They entered theb. Milena was ced on a bed. A green light started shining on her body.


    "She should be up soon. But we''re literally in a race against time. We need to leave this ce soon if we don''t want to bete. I hope she kept the stone where we can reach fast. It''ll also take time to scan them and scan the world for their traces."


    Joana sat on a nearby chair, lost in thought.


    Maya walked to him. "I think it''s impossible to be on time. We''ll bete in any case if we wait to locate the stones. The only question is howte we will be."


    "What are you suggesting?" Joana asked.


    "I think we should leave. We can find the stones when wee next time. If we arete, we will get negative points. That won''t be good for your future perspectives as a captain. You shouldn''t take the risk."


    "Risk? What risk is there? Not like I had many perspectives in any case. Still, you''re right. It''s not a question of if we''ll bete. Instead, it''s a question of howte we''re going to be. I think I''m willing to take a few demerit points for my friend here. When he gets to a higher position, I''m sure he''ll remember me and help me."


    Lucifer nced at the man and nodded. "I will."


    As soon as he answered, he felt a terrible headache. He started feeling dizzy. His vision turned blurry, and soon, everything turned white.


    When his vision returned to normal, he noticed a different ce. He wasn''t on the ship anymore. Instead, he was in a strange room. There was a Sword in his hand, which was covered in blood.


    A man was sitting on his knees before him. The man was bleeding from his chest, which had a sword wound on his chest.


    The man looked up. Blood trickled out of his lips.


    "Joana?" Lucifer eximed.


    "Don''t take my name from that vile mouth of yours! Trusting you was the biggest mistake of my life!"

 Chapter 814: Captain Lucifer

    Chapter 814: Captain Lucifer


    "What happened here?" Lucifer asked, stunned at the situation.


    He didn''t know where he was, but it was clear that he had hurt Joana. As for why he did that, even he didn''t know.


    Joana was already extremely weak. His eyes had already started getting blurry from all the blood loss.


    He couldn''t even see Lucifer clearly anymore. His eyes started closing as his body lost.


    "I hope you die..." He softly muttered as he finally dropped to the ground.


    "What actually happened here?"


    Lucifer was still confused about what the situation was. He didn''t understand the situation one bit.


    "Joana, are you alive? Answer me! What happened here! Why did I do it?"


    He kept asking the questions but he didn''t receive any answers.


    He looked into his surroundings, trying to find any clues he could.


    He was still in the attire of the Star Alliance but there was now a one star symbol on his chest. He also had beautiful white Gloves on his hand.


    The gloves felt to be of better quality than he was used to wearing. They were not only thinner but they were also morefortable.


    The sword he held was different though. He didn''t know where he got this sword from but it felt really sharp.


    The entire room was a mess, tables and chairs were broken. There were marks of battle even on the wall. However, the damage was contained.


    The House was still intact which made Lucifer believe that they probably didn''t go all out before the battle ended.


    Near a broken table, he noticed a small photo Frame that was lying upside down.


    Lucifer walked to the photo frame and picked it up, turning it upside down.


    As he turned the photo frame, he noticed a picture. The ss above the picture was cracked. Through the cracks, he could still see the picture.


    The picture belonged to Joana. He was standing with a little girl who appeared to have simr features to Joana. On the other side of the girl, another man was standing who was none other than Lucifer himself.


    Even though he looked slightly older in the picture, he could recognize him. The oddest thing in the picture that he discovered was that there was a smile on his face.


    Lucifer let out a long breath as he kept the photo frame back.


    "I still don''t understand why I would do it." He scratched the back of his head.


    He walked to the door, trying to check another room.


    Beep~


    Beep~


    Just as he was about to leave the room, he heard a beeping sound.


    "Hmm?"


    He turned back and tried to locate the source of the sound.


    Following the sound, he ended up in the corner of the room. The nose wasing from under the bed that was broken.


    He picked up the bed and tossed it aside.


    There was a small ck box under the table. He picked up the box.


    "Themunication device? Joana had something like this. It must''ve fallen under the bed when the battle started. I hope he didn''t inform the others about this before losing the device."


    Lucifer tapped the top of the small cube.


    "Joana, finally you pick up! Where are you?! Everyone is waiting for you!"


    Lucifer recognized the voice.


    "Maya?" he asked.


    The voice was the same as to what he heard in the ship previously. It was the second inmand of the Ship of Joana.


    "Lucifer? Is that you? Where is Joana? Are you two together? Can you tell him to hurry up? He isn''t picking up. We just got a new mission and we need to leave soon. Tell him toe to the departure strip as soon as he could."


    Lucifer nced at the dead Joana. "Ah, yes. I''ll tell him. Don''t worry."


    "Good. I''m so d you''re there. I wish he was as punctual as you. Anyway, I need to prepare a lot for departure. I''ll be going. Don''t forget to tell him toe. We already have plenty of demerit points. I don''t want us to umte more."


    "Got it."


    Lucifer tapped the top of the cube. With a beeping sound, the call stopped.


    Lucifer tossed the cube down.


    "I''m sorry for what I did, but I''m sure I must''ve had a reason. I can''t afford to regret what I did. I hope I''ll soon know why I did it, but first I need to clear the site."


    Lucifer pped his hands.


    His shadows came out from the ground and swallowed all the materials that were in the room, including the body of Joana.


    The marks on the wall were still there. He couldn''t do anything about them.


    Using his wind des, he scratched the entire wall to make sure it didn''t look like a battle took ce here but looked more like an artistic design.


    Clearing all the evidence, he stepped out of the room.


    Leaving through the room, he ended up before the stairs that went down.


    Taking the stairs, he left the building.


    He stepped out of the house and observed his surroundings. There were some people walking nearby who noticed him leaving. However, he didn''t pay them heed as he left. He couldn''t kill them all in this ce. There were lots of cameras all around after all.


    He noticed a car standing before him that had a Star Alliance insignia. The car also had the same number that his uniform had.


    "Is that Joana''s car?" he stepped closer to the car and checked his pockets. He didn''t have any keys which made him believe it was Joana''s car. However, as soon as he reached closer to the car, the car unlocked on its own. The door opened for Lucifer.


    "Hmm?"


    Lucifer stepped inside the car. As soon as he sat, the door closed.


    "Greetings, Captain Lucifer. Starting the engines. Please have a safe trip ahead."


    "This car... I don''t even know how to drive it," Lucifer muttered, frowning.


    The car did have a steering wheel like the cars in his world used to have, but there were just too many buttons and some things were missing that he was used to.


    "Can you tell me what all these buttons do?" Lucifer asked, taking a shot in the dark. He was sure there was an assistant here, but he wasn''t sure if the assistant was going to answer this question.


    "I would be happy to exin."


    The assistant became active. The first button lit up and the assistant started exining about it. One after another, more buttons kept lighting up and the assistant kept exining.


    Still in the midst of exnation, Lucifer noticed another Star Alliance car stop before him.

 Chapter 815: SOS

    Chapter 815: SOS


    The car stopped in front. Another car stopped in the back.


    "I think I''ve had enough of the exnation. Time to leave."


    Lucifer pressed the red button and turned the steering wheel towards the right.


    Unfortunately, more and more cars arrive right then. The cars parked parallel to him, blocking all the paths.


    The doors of the first car opened and a man stepped out. He curiously looked at Lucifer''s car in the back.


    Smiling, he walked to the car. He knocked on the windshield of Lucifer.


    Frowning, Lucifer opened the door. He didn''t know if these men knew what he had done, but he was prepared for everything. Still, he hoped that it wasn''t the case.


    "Lucifer, I''m surprised to see you here. Did you finally get the time to show your face on missions?" the red-haired man said,ughing. "In any case, you arrived before me even though the SOS came over recently. You''re very fast. You must''ve been nearby."


    "The dearest puppet of the Queen is finally doing some work. In any case, it seems like all of us got an SOS from Joana. Let''s check it out. We shouldn''t dy."


    The man stepped aside.


    Lucifer didn''t know the name of this man, but the one star Symbol on his chest was enough to tell a few things. As more and more cars opened, more people stepped out. All of them had a star on their chests.


    ''So many one Star members. Joana was very strong thest time I saw him in action. With this many people, it''ll be hard for me as well. But it looks like they don''t know if it was because of me. I should y along."


    Lucifer stepped out of the car.


    "It''s not me who is fast. Instead, it''s you who is slow," Lucifer responded as he stepped out of the car.


    He closed the door as well.


    Including Lucifer, there were six 1-star members here. Seeing so many high ranking star alliance members, the nearby people were surprised.


    The six of them entered the building.


    "The door is open," the red haired manmented as he opened the door. "Things don''t seem right. I don''t hear any noise."


    "We should split up. The three of us will check this floor. You three check upstairs."None of the men in the back suggested.


    "Good idea." The suggestion was epted by the red haired man.


    He took the stairs. Lucifer also followed after him, clenching his fist.


    All three mennded on the top floor. The red haired man pushed the door open and stepped inside.


    "I came here before. This was the bedroom of Joana. But it has nothing now. And the strange markings on the wall... I think something happened here."


    He stepped closer to the wall and touched the marks.


    " They were recently made. I think someone made them intentionally to hide something. Maybe the signs of a battle were hidden here? It''s very interesting."


    "Let me see."


    A green-haired man from the team stepped forward. She ced her hand on the wall as well.


    As soon as her hand touched the wall, all the marks started reversing as if the time of the wall was being reversed.


    "You were right, Lyon. If I''m not wrong, these marks were made only a few minutes. Whoever did it was here not long ago. He must''ve left right before we came."


    Soon, all the extra marks that Lucifer had made disappeared, leaving only the original marks.


    Lia stopped after removing all the excess marks. She stepped back.


    All three looked at the wall, standing right beside each other.


    "What do you think Lucifer?" Lyon asked.


    "They are markings of a battle it seems. Maybe an argument took ce here. The battle doesn''t seem to be too extreme," Lucifer replied.


    "For Joana to send a SOS, that means the enemy was at least as strong as her if not stronger. If those two properly fought here, the building would''ve been destroyed," he further added. " I think it wasn''t a full on battle but a small skirmish."


    "I don''t think so," Lyon shook his head. "You know what I believe?"


    "Whosever attacked this ce finished the battle before it could be something big. He was very fast in what he did. I mean, let''s look at you."


    "Let''s assume you were the attacker. What tactic would you use to kill him? Would you kill him swiftly or would you wait for the building to be destroyed so you could be caught?"


    "If I was the attacker, Joana wouldn''t even get a chance to attack back. The marks wouldn''t have been on the wall. Whoever did it might''ve been fast but he wasn''t very clean."


    "I disagree... I think it''s as clean as someone can get while killing a one Star member of ours," the Green haired woman chimed in. "Just look around us. There''s nothing we can use to find him. He also cleared the entire room. The only thing he has is the markings."


    "If he took the items from here, he must''ve been seen by someone. He just left a few minutes before we got here. We should check the footage first and interrogate the neighbors. A one star captain has been killed. We need to find whoever killed him."


    Lyon started leaving the room. "Let''s see if others found something."


    "How can you be sure Joana is dead?" Lucifer asked, following Lyon. " I think there''s also another possibility."


    "What possibility?" Lyon asked. "Don''t tell me they both left not a drink after the Battle."


    "I mean it''s possible that Joana is kidnapped instead," Lucifer suggested. "I mean, it''s quite possible that the purpose was to kidnap Joana. Whoever it was made Joana pass out mid-battle then took him with all the items in the room."


    "It''s quite possible," Lia agreed. "I think both possibilities make sense. We should get more answers from the footage."


    The three of them met the other three people who had finished checking the lower floor.


    Both the teams exchanged the information they had discovered.


    All of them left the ce. Lyon walked to his car and brought aptop out. He ced theptop in his car. Using theptop, he entered the authorizedwork of the Star Alliance and managed to get ess to the footage of this street.


    Lucifer took a deep breath, ncing at the cameras around them. He was sure that he was seen by the cameras. If these people discovered that he was inside the building when the SOS came and he left after, they could easily understand everything.

 Chapter 816: Pretence

    Chapter 816: Pretence


    Lucifer kept his entire focus on the screen. A small wind pressure started developing in his surroundings as he prepared to attack using his wind des.


    "Lucifer, may I ask what you''re trying to do?" Lyon asked as if he had noticed something. "I know you''re impatient. Joana was your friend. But don''t lose control of your abilities."


    "Right." Lucifer nodded and stopped his winds. He didn''t understand how they sensed his winds. He was so careful not to alert them.


    ''These people are really different and more aware of their surroundings. It''ll be hard to get out of here.''


    "You check the footage. I think I forgot something in my car. I''ll be right back." He turned around.


    No one tried to stop him.


    Lucifer swiftly reached his car. The door opened again. He felt leaving was better than fighting them. He could at least find a way out during the chase.


    He was just about to take a step inside the car when he heard the frustrated voice of Lyon. "How is this possible? There is nothing here!"


    "What?" Lucifer took a step back in confusion. "There''s nothing there?"


    "Yeah. It''s all nk. Whoever did it made sure to cut the feed? It''s all nk," Lia exined. "Look yourself."


    Lucifer ran to them and checked the screen. As they mentioned, it was all just a ck screen.


    Seeing the screen, he sighed a breath of relief.


    ''It looks like my future self wasn''t that stupid. He took care of the loopholes. But still, the problem isn''t solved. There are witnesses who saw meing out. I should''ve been more careful,'' Lucifer thought, frowning.


    Lyon closed the screen.


    "That person is certainly someone with high reach. He managed to bypass the security of our national feed and controlled the cameras ordingly. But this does give us some clues. The feed was cut off an hour ago. So whatever happened has happened in thest hour."


    "He can stop the cameras, but it''s still possible that there are witnesses who saw it? We should focus on interrogation," Lia suggested.


    "I doubt it''ll be fruitful. Someone who is this clever, do you think he''ll make the mistake of being seen by someone?" Lyon asked. "What do you think, Lucifer?"


    "Yeah. I also think that we won''t get anything fruitful from interrogation." Lucifer agreed.


    "We must at least try," Lia let out. "It''s better than doing nothing. Unless you all have a better idea?"


    "Do as you please. I''m leaving. I''ll check the central database to see if there has been anyrge-scale movement from the city. I''ll also check the feeds of the areas that lead to this ce."


    "Maybe we''ll find him. He must''ve been clever enough to cut the feed of this ce, but he couldn''t have cut the feed of the entire city. If he had done that, it would have alerted the city officials."


    "You all do the interrogation. I''ll see you allter. It''s time for me to conduct my own investigation." Lyon opened the door of his car and stepped inside.


    The car started rising in the air and left the premises.


    "You want to leave as well?" Lia asked Lucifer. "Don''t force yourself if you don''t want to be here."


    "I''m not forcing myself. If you think it''ll give us some clues, I want to be here for it. I want to see whates of this investigation as well."


    "Sigh, Joana must''ve been really close to you. To draw a hermit like you outside it''s not a small feat."


    "Do I really note out often?" Lucifer asked, slightly curious. He was also very curious about his life here.


    "Often? I''ve only seen you leave the pce once since you got married to the queen. And even that day, you were apanied by her. I haven''t seen you alone in such a long time that I can''t recall. That''s why it was surprising to see you here," Lia said, shaking her head.


    "In any case, I can''t me you for that. Our queen is such a nicedy. Who can even think to leave her alone after winning her favor? Anyway, it''s so nice to work on a case with you. I hope we find Joana soon," she further continued.


    "Me too..." Lucifer nodded. He knew he couldn''t continue the y for long. Maya knew that Lucifer was with Joana right around that time since he had picked up the call.


    He needed to work really hard to hide this secret. But first, he decided to take care of the matters at hand.


    He followed Lia in the surroundings. Wherever she went to ask questions, he went as well. Whenever they reached people who hadn''t seen him, he let Lia take the lead.


    However, whenever they went to a person who had seen Lucifere out, he took the lead and slightly changed the question.


    "Have you seen someone go inside that house ore out of it who wasn''t us?" he asked.


    From the initial nce, his question seemed normal to Lia. They had gone inside the house ande out. They didn''t want this person to speak about them. She didn''t find the question odd.


    The old woman who had seen Lucifere out of the house shook her head in response. "I didn''t see anyone else go in ande out. Did something happen there?"


    "It''s none of your concern," Lucifer replied. "You can leave."


    One after another, the small team of two kept moving from one house to another. Even after asking everyone in the surrounding area, they didn''t get any answer.


    On the other hand, Lyon was already in a different part of the city, from where he connected to the mainframe and scanned all the feeds of areas that were near Joana''s house.


    Hezily sat on a chair and went through the feed one after another. Even he didn''t expect to find something that significant since there were thousands of people who moved every hour through each of these areas. It was hard to pinpoint one.


    He switched to a different footage. Ten minutes passed into the footage when Lyon noticed something. He saw something which made him sit straight on his chair.


    "That''s very interesting. The SOS came at a specific time. What is Lucifer doing, going towards Joana''s house thirty minutes before that? That reminds me. When we reached there, he was already there. I thought he had just arrived. Could it be that he...?"


    He started pressing some keys and tried to bring out the log of Lucifer''s vehicle to know where it had been at what time.


    "Error? Ah, that''s right! He''s a one star member as well. I can''t ess this data without the permission from a two star member!"


    He pressed a button on the dashboard. "Contact Admiral Jo."

 Chapter 817: Forced

    Chapter 817: Forced


    "Yes Lyon? What do you need?" A voice came from the other end.


    "I need some help!"


    "What help?"


    "I''m investigating the SOS of Joana. He is missing. And I think that Lucifer has hurt him. I need permission to ess his Vehicle Logs to know if he was there at the time of the crime or not?"


    "Do you really doubt him? Why would he kill Joana? Aren''t those two close?" The gravelly voice asked. "You know he''s close to the queen. If I help you do this, and he turned out to be innocent, both of us could be in trouble."


    "Please give me ess! I will prove it! If I''m wrong, I''ll ept punishment. Just trust my hunch this one! If Lucifer hurts Joana, this needs toe to light."


    "Moreover, if he''s proven guilty, even Her Majesty would have to dere a death sentence for him. She won''t misuse her authority to save Lucifer. And don''t you also like Her Majesty? If Lucifer is out of the picture, you can have a chance again to pursue her. Aren''t I right?"


    "You! Stop talking nonsense if you don''t want to die. Anyway, just because it''s a matter of the life and death of a member of ours, I''ll y along. I''ll give you the permission. You have a one time authority to ess the logs of Lucifer."


    "Great! Thank you, sir! That should be enough!" Lyon disconnected the call.


    He tried to ess it once again. This time, he didn''t face any error, and he was able to ess Lucifer''s logs directly.


    "Bingo! He was there at the time of SOS! Why would he hide it? Did he do it?"


    "That makes perfect sense! Joana knows him! There''s no way Joana wouldn''t let him inside the house. Joana wouldn''t even be alert before him. This wound gives Lucifer an undue advantage over Joana!"


    "That''s where the building was intact! The markings on the wall... He probably made them using his winds as well. That really makes sense! It was Lucifer behind it!"


    "I need to inform everyone! We can''t let Lucifer Azarel escape! But if I send themand to others, Lucifer will hear it too. I''ll need to send them individually."


    Lyon sent everyone a message, alerting them about Lucifer and that he was to be arrested.


    Lia was thest person to get a message.


    "Are you sure? You know what you''re saying?" she asked, frowning.


    They had already interrogated everyone and were just about to separate.


    Lia nced at Lucifer subconsciously. "Alright. Yeah, we''re still here. We just finished. Okay, I got it."


    "Did something happen?" Lucifer asked Lia.


    Lia nodded her head. "Apparently Lyon didn''t find anything in the central mainframe either. He was asking if we''re here. He''sing here to decide the next n of action."


    "Is that so?" Lucifer felt something was odd. Even though Lia was acting good, he could feel some things. Something wasn''t right. Lyon wanted to investigate separately, then why was heing back?


    "It''s good that he''sing back. He can apany you. I''ll be leaving. I want to check something."


    "What''s the hurry?" Watching Lucifer leave, Lia stood in his path.


    "May I ask why you''re trying to stop me? Can''t I investigate separately like Lyon did?"


    "It''s not that," Lia replied. "It''s just that he''sing, and I told him we''re all here. If you leave, it''ll look wrong. Moreover, we can work better together. Lyon also learned that. So stay."


    "I told you, I want to go alone this time. I already wasted enough time in the interrogation. It was a waste of time. I''ll go on my own this time. See youter."


    Waving his hand, Lucifer continued walking towards the car, but he still remained alert as he had a feeling that he might''ve been attacked from the back.


    "Alright, enough with the act. You know we know, don''t you?" Lia asked, dropping the act. "Stop right there if you don''t want me to get heavy-handed with you."


    "What do you mean? I don''t understand anything?" Lucifer turned around, stopping.


    As he expected, they knew about him. He didn''t know how they found out, but he had a feeling that it was discovered by Lyon. Either he talked to Maya, or he found something in the footage of the bigger area. In any case, it wasn''t good news for him.


    "We know you did it."


    "I did what?" Lucifer asked. He heard the sound of more vehicles arriving. There was a siren going on in all the vehicles. The people in the surrounding started clearing the area.


    All the vehicles surrounded Lucifer from all sides. A beam of light came out from all the vehicles that joined together on top. The beam started spreading out, forming a dome-shaped barrier around Lucifer.


    Lucifer nced at his surroundings. "I don''t know what misunderstanding is there, but you should know that the consequences of what you''re doing won''t be good for anyone."


    "Lucifer, I honestly didn''t expect this from you. After a long time, you finally came out of the castle, and that too to hurt Joana? Tell me what you did with him? Is he still alive?" Lia asked.


    Lyon also stepped out of his car. "Good work. We got him."


    More and more star alliance captains stepped out of their cars, surrounding Lucifer.


    "Surrender, Lucifer. No matter what you did, you''re still one of us. We''ll make sure you don''t get a stricter sentence. Tell us where Joana is, and we can help you."


    Lucifer let out a deep breath, rubbing the back of his neck. "Why is it that trouble always finds me. I always end up in situations like these. This time, it''s not even my fault."


    "Stop talking to yourself. Tell me, where''s Joana? What did you do to him?"


    "I don''t know." Lucifer stuck with his statement. He started taking his gloves off without anyone noticing. "I''m also in the dark, just like you."


    He kept the gloves in his pockets.


    "You won''t answer like that. Don''t worry. We''ll get all the answers in the prison. We have our ways!" Lyon eximed. "ce your hands on the ground. Any attack on us would be considered a crime worth death!"


    Lucifer nced at fifteen one-star captains that were surrounding him. He knew he was in a mess like never before. He couldn''t even teleport inside this dome.


    "I''ll count to three! If you don''t get down on the ground, we''ll be forced to attack! We won''t care who you are!" Lyon warned again.

 Chapter 818: True Strength

    Chapter 818: True Strength


    "Lucifer Azarel! This is thest warning I have for you! ce your hands on the ground."


    Lucifer let out a deep sigh. He knew fighting wasn''t a good option in this situation. He was caught, and he was surrounded from all sides. After a long thought, he decided to surrender instead of fighting.


    In any case, he believed he could get out of this ce as soon as he was sent back in his real time. He just needed to dy until then. Moreover, his supposed wife, was also the queen. If he could give some nice excuses, he might as well about the punishments.


    There was another thing that was working to his advantage. It was that he wasn''t the Lucifer of this time.


    Even if they could sense his lies, when they asked in the room if he killed Joana, he could easily say no, and it wasn''t going to be a lie since he truly didn''t kill the guy. It was his future self.


    "I''ll count to three. You can''t me me then," Lia eximed. "Lucifer, don''t make us do anything."


    "Sigh, fine. I will surrender. But remember, I didn''t do it. You got the wrong guy," Lucifer responded as he went down on his knees.


    A one star captain sat on his knees before fifteen others.


    "ce your hands on the ground!" Lyon eximed.


    "I''m doing it! Just shut up!" Lucifer rolled his eyes. He ced his hand on the ground.


    "Good." Lyon stepped towards Lucifer as soon as he ced his hand on the ground, but he abruptly stopped as he sensed something.


    He felt something inside his body. It was as if he was getting weaker. The ground around him also started developing cracks and getting damaged.


    He wasn''t alone either. Lia and the others also felt they were getting weaker. It was as if something was stealing their energy.


    Even Lucifer was stunned. As soon as he touched the ground, he felt like he was getting stronger. All the weakness inside him was gone, and he felt that he was getting even stronger.


    "Decay?" Lucifer muttered under his breath.


    He found that this feeling was simr to the energy he received when he used decay on people in the past. Looking at the deterioration of the ground, he realized that he was right. It was because of his decay that he was getting this energy.


    However, he still didn''t understand one thing. How was he getting energy from decay from touching the ground? He remembered touching the ground many times before, but he didn''t receive any energy in the past. Why was he getting it now?


    "It''s his decay! I forgot about that! Everyone! Don''t stand on the ground! He''s using the ground to suck it dry!" Lyon remembered about Lucifer''s decay.


    He reminded his men as he flew up as well.


    Seeing everyone''s reaction, Lucifer finally understood where his energy wasing from.


    "So I was able to decay them through the ground? Fascinating. Is this the evolved version of Decay?" Lucifer eximed, frowning.


    "Lucifer, we gave you a chance to surrender, but you showed your true face!" Lyon eximed from the sky. "Your attack on us proves your guilt. We wanted to arrest you without fighting, but you don''t want it to happen. If you want a battle, then a battle is what you shall get!"


    Even though Lyon didn''t want to kill Lucifer because of his closeness with the queen, now that he had an excuse, he knew it was the best option now. Everyone here saw that he wasn''t the first one to attack. The queen couldn''t me him now.


    Moreover, the two star member that he had asked for permission was also going to be happy with him if he killed Lucifer. That man had a crush on the queen since a long time.


    However, before he could do anything, Lucifer came into the picture. The queen married him and made him her husband.


    Lyon knew if he cleared the path of the Admiral, he was going to be heavily rewarded as well. Moreover, he could also take out apetitor.


    Lucifer and everyone here was a One Star member. Soon it was going to be time for promotions, and each decade, only one person was a problem at best. If Lucifer was here, Lyon was sure that the promotion was going to him with the queen''s grace.


    However, if he took out Lucifer before that, not only could Lucifer not get out of this me by using his sly tongue and excuses, but he also wasn''t going to be avable for promotions that were good for him.


    ''Just my luck. Even when I want to surrender, things fall apart.'' Lucifer thought, standing up.


    "Look, I didn''t intend to attack. It was just-"


    Lucifer tried to exin, but before he could finish, he felt something around his throat. It was as if there was a rope that was tightening around his neck. He wasn''t able to speak anything.


    Another rope tied around both his arms and tried to pull him to the ground.


    "Now use your decay, you bastard!" Lyon eximed.


    Lucifer struggled to free himself, but he failed. Ultimately, he decided to give up. He had tried to be a nice guy enough. Now it was time for him to get back to his old self. If everyone wanted a fight, he was going to give them a fight.


    He didn''t know what others could do, but he knew what he could do in the past. If those abilities had evolved, he was sure he could find a way out.


    The clouds covered the sky once again as Lucifer''s eyes turned a little red.


    Still entrapped in the rope, Lucifer''s body started turning darker. Before anyone could realize what happened, Lucifer turned into a shadow and got out of the ropes.


    One Shadow split into hundreds and spread all around the dome. None of the shadows were able to leave the tomb even now though.


    "Which one is the real one?" Lia asked, frowning.


    Boom~


    On one hand, no one knew which of the shadows Lucifer was; on the other hand, the sky was going crazy.


    Within the clouds, a pitch ck lightning dragon could be seen moving slowly.


    Even Lucifer noticed the Dragon, ground stunned. Previously, he could only use bolts in the sky, but now there was even a dragon. He didn''t remember being able to call lightning bolts this time. It was as if the Dragon came on his own.


    Moreover, he could feel the Dragon in his head. It was different than him feeling connected to the clouds. It was as if the Dragon was a part of his body as well that he could use.

 Chapter 819: Mysterious Dragon

    Chapter 819: Mysterious Dragon


    "Let''s see what you can do," Lucifermented, hoping that the Dragon could break this dome.


    In the meantime, all his shadows flew in the air, each targeting a different Captain. No one knew which of these shadows was real.


    However, as soon as Lucifer was midway, he noticed a smile on one of the faces.


    It was a red haired man who was smiling. His eyes were shining in the golden light.


    "Lyon, yours is the real one," the red haired man eximed.


    "Thanks," Lyon smiled as he spread his arms.


    An energy sphere came out of his chest, which shot towards Lucifer. Before Lucifer could dodge, the sphere hit him and exploded.


    Lucifer''s clothes were burnt as his body flew back uncontrobly. He crashed on the walls of the dome.


    His clothes were charred ck. Holding his chest, Lucifer stood up, groaning in pain lightly.


    "You''re still standing. No wonder everyone calls you resilient. But even if you''re resilient, you killed one of us and tried to kill others as well! You won''tst long!" Lyon eximed.


    "We will see," Lucifer responded, patting his chest, looking up.


    At the same time, the massive dragon crashed on the wall of the dome.


    Boom~


    Another loud explosion took ce as soon as the dragon crashed on the dome, surprising everyone.


    All the cars that were trying to keep the dome intact exploded from the sudden explosion of energy. The Dome slowly disappeared.


    "Not bad," Lucifer muttered, stunned at the strength of the dragon.


    The dragon was still intact as well. It didn''t stop even now. Instead, tossing Lyon aside with his tail, the Dragon flew to Lucifer.


    "Good. I think it''s time to leave as well," Lucifer said as if talking to the Dragon. He jumped on top of the Dragon. The Dragon flew high in the sky with Lucifer, entering the dark clouds and disappearing.


    All the Captains followed Lucifer and the dragon; however, even as they reached the clouds, they couldn''t find Lucifer. It was as if Lucifer had disappeared.


    "Arghhh!" Lyon roared in frustration as he pped his hands. Another massive wave of energy came out, destroying all the clouds. The sky was once again clear, but Lucifer was nowhere to be seen.


    "Where did he go?" Lia asked, frowning. "How could he disappear with the dragon?"


    "You forgot he can Teleport?" Lyon asked, rolling his eyes. "That''s why I had made that dome. Now that he escaped, he can be anywhere."


    Lyon looked the most upset out of everyone here. He was so close to killing Lucifer.


    "Argh, we had him! We let him escape! That damn bastard! He is really strong! He kept his abilities secret as well. We never knew he had a dragon like that! That bastard!"


    "Alert everyone," he eximed. "Send the message to the headquarters that Lucifer Azarel is a fugitive who murdered Joana. We need to find him at all the costs. Send some men around the Royal Pce as well in case he goes there. And most importantly, inform the queen!"


    "Also, send some men around his ship."


    "Right," Lia eximed. "I''ll get to it."


    Lia used her device to contact the Star Alliance headquarters. It was the most important step since the only way Lucifer could leave this world was through his ship that was docked. If he reached there and left the world, finding him was going to be really hard.


    For that possibility to be avoided, they needed to remove all the authorities of Lucifer and take away all the benefits he received for being a captain. That way, even if he reached the skip, he couldn''t enter or turn it on. Only the Star Alliance headquarters could remove the authority of a One Star Captain.


    While everyone was trying to figure out Lucifer''s next move to capture him, Lucifer was sitting in the same city where they were. In fact, he wasn''t even too far from them. He was sitting inside the room of Joana, which waspletely empty.


    He carefully nced out the window, sighing. "This is a big problem. I need to get out of this ce, but how. Only if I leave can my future self regain the control of this body. He should know what to do since he understands this body and his options better."


    "I don''t even know this city or anything about this ce to do something."


    Lost in thought, Lucifer sat down with his back against the wall.


    He had already removed all his clothes and tossed away all the devices he possessed so he couldn''t be traced. He only kept the pure white Gloves since he needed them.


    Instead, he was wearing different clothes that he found in his shadow storage. The clothes seemed to be ordinary clothes since they were neither white nor possessed any star Alliance insignias.


    "I can just bide my time until I''m sent back. This ce should be good for a short time stay, but it''ll soon be filled with investigators as well. Before that, I''ll need to find a new ce. Hopefully, that won''t happen before it''s night. The darkness of night should make it easier for my shadow."


    He spent the entire evening in the room. Fortunately, no one came to check the room again. However, there was another problem. Even though no one came to check this ce, the entire city was surrounded by Star Alliance members who were checking every ce


    This wasn''t the only city which was going through checking either. Almost all the cities were through it. Moreover, the Star Alliance had already removed his authority as a Captain. Lucifer had lost his position, and his Ship was sealed.


    Not only was his ship sealed, but his entire ship team was kept under probation, so they couldn''t help Lucifer. All the ces where Lucifer was known to stay in the past were searched, including the Pce.


    The queen gave the permission for the Pce to be searched even though she didn''t need to.


    Lucifer was in none of these ces. He was still sitting in his room. As soon as the night arrived, he stood up.


    He teleported outside the room in an empty alley that he had noticed previously. He immediately turned into a shadow and started teleporting, sneaking around to find a ce which went through, checking where he could stay.


    Even after searching for a long time, he couldn''t find an empty room.


    "Why is there not a single ce avable?" he cursed, sitting around a corner.


    Even after searching all night, he didn''t find any ce.

 Chapter 820: Core Trouble

    Chapter 820: Core Trouble


    Lucifer searched the entire night yet failed to find a ce where he could spend the night. He couldn''t even find a way out of this city. He knew nothing about this city, but he could see that there was a gigantic barrier around it.


    He had a feeling that it was going to stop and alert others if he tried to leave from here. He needed someone''s help, but who could help him at a time like this? He didn''t know anyone here. It was possible that his future self had some contacts, but it was different for him.


    He had to toss all his devices away so he couldn''t be discovered. He had nothing but his clothes.


    "Sigh, this ce is giving me a headache. Why is this time messing up with me so much? I need to find a way to control it before it brings more trouble onto me," Lucifer sighed as he found no other option.


    Ultimately, he just decided to take the step, no matter how risky it was. He decided to escape even though there was a barrier around the city.


    "I''ve been here for a long time, but I''m not going back. It''s the first time it hassted so long. I can''t wait for my soul to be sent back. If I stay here, I can be caught anytime. I need to leave! It''s a risk that must be taken."


    Not only was there a barrier surrounding the city, but there were also vehicles of Star Alliance outside the city. It was as if the entire city was sealed where no one coulde in or leave without the permission of the Star Alliance.


    Lucifer tried to find the perfect spot to attempt an escape, but even the perfect spot was hard to find when there were guards all around.


    After a long search, Lucifer finally located a spot that hadparatively low risk. There was only one patrol car near that ce, and even that was around two kilometers away. This was the blind spot in the defense.


    However, even though the patrol car wasn''t nearby, the barrier was still there. And if it alerted anyone about an attempted escape, the Star Alliance members were soon going to be here.


    Lucifer stood on the roof of a building, closest to the spot, as he observed the surroundings.


    "Even after I leave, where would I even go though. To a different city? What if that''s surrounded as well? Maybe this isn''t the right n after all."


    Just as he was on the verge of executing his escape, he started having second thoughts. He sat again, with the support of the wall, losing himself in thoughts.


    "How can I control an ability which I don''t know much about? Controlling time would be incredible, but something is wrong. It can''t just be because the ability didn''t belong to me since birth. It must be something else. What am I missing?"


    Immersed in thoughts, Lucifer started thinking about the events that led him here to see if he was missing something.


    "Usually, whenever I stole an ability, I was able to master it from the start. The problem started with the Time Core. Wait a minute... This mess didn''t start at the time of evolution. Something happened even when I had absorbed the ability. There was some problem. I remember!"


    "At that time, I was sent into the past. That''s right. That''s where all the problems started! Could that be what I''m missing? The problem isn''t that I evolved an ability that I stole, but it''s that I evolved an ability that was iplete."


    "Ipleted it by stealing the ability from the past and came back to the future, but maybe that didn''t entirely solve the problem? There was still something that was missing? To understand what''s wrong now, first I need to understand what went wrong the first time when I stole the ability."


    "As far as I remember, I did everything I usually did. There was no difference in stealing the core. I''m sure of it. The cure sessfully entered my body. Then the problem must''ve started after it entered my body. That''s what I need to discover. Maybe I might truly be able to solve this problem?"


    He stood up once again, but this time he had a better n. It wasn''t to leave this town. Instead, the n was to leave this timeline altogether by solving his biggest problem. However, he couldn''t do it here. He needed to find proper privacy, which he wasn''t going to receive near the border.


    He decided to go back to the only empty ce he knew. It was the room of Joana, which waspletely empty. All the search of the room was finished, even by forensics, and the house was sealed. No one was going toe to that ce anymore.


    Finding that ce to be the safest to spend a few more days, Lucifer moved back to the house again.


    Instead of sitting in the same room where he had fought with Joana, he moved back to a different room.


    In case someone came to check the room, he didn''t want to be the first thing they found. Instead, he went to the storage room and sealed the door from the outside to give the impression that there was no one inside.


    After sealing the room, he appeared inside the room. He sat in the corner of the storage room and closed his eyes. He decided to observe his Time core carefully in case there was something he had missed.


    Inside his body, there were many ability cores, but the time core seemed to be alone in the middle of his body. There weren''t any other cores near it.


    "I can''t find anything wrong, other than the shape of it. The shape seems slightly off," he muttered, frowning. "Is that the problem? There seems to be more than that. Something is making the core unstable. I don''t know what could be doing it. It''s not like there''s another core which is conflicting with it?"


    Just to be safe, he observed all the other cores to see if there was another core that was unstable that could be creating this problem. However, he couldn''t find even a single core that was unstable.


    "There is none. Could it be that I was overthinking? Maybe it''s truly the evolution that made it unstable? Anyway, that would make sense why I can''t control this core. That seems to be the only option since no other core is unstable. I checked all the cores."

 Chapter 821: Last Mission

    Chapter 821: Last Mission


    Disappointed, Lucifer opened his eyes. Hezilyid on the ground, feeling like for the first time, he was helpless against something. As he dropped to the ground, he forgot to check the floor. A small pin was lying on the ground near him.


    As soon as heid on the ground, the pin stabbed on his shoulder.


    He sat again without making much noise. This tiny bit of pain was nothing for him. He pulled out the pin and tossed it away.


    He rubbed his shoulder gently. The pain stopped immediately as his wound healed. "Healing is so convenient. I don''t know where I would be without it. One of my favorite abilities. I can understand why Father liked it so much."


    " If only I could evolve this ability as well, it would''ve been so amazing. Unfortunately, I don''t even know where the healing core is, let alone being able to evolve it."


    He againid on the ground, this time after checking carefully. He gazed at the roof nkly, trying to think how amazing it would''ve been if he could evolve having and what it would''ve been like.


    "Wait a minute... Healing! That''s it! I checked all the cores but not Healing! It might be the Healing core which is making the Time core unstable since both are superior ability cores! And I can''t see the healing core doesn''t mean it''s not there!"


    "If it''s actually the healing core which is making the Time core unstable, it must be near the Time core! But what can I even do with this knowledge? I can''t move a core from their original position. I don''t know how to do that with cores like these."


    "If I could move them, I could''ve moved the time core as far as possible to bring it out of the influence of other cores. Even Star Alliance can''t help me with this since Variants and our cores are unknown to them."


    "They can''t even see our cores, let alone understand them. I need someone who is knowledgeable about cores. I need someone like... Xaen! But Xaen was in star alliance headquarters in the past."


    " I can''t go back to the headquarters aftering to earth, or I won''t be allowed toe back for a long time. I need someone else who could be as knowledgeable about the Cores as Xaen was. Maybe the mysterious person who wrote the evolution theory of cores? I have his name."


    "If he''s alive, I might be able to find him? If not, I could still find other people who have some knowledge about it! In any case, I need to find someone. I need to change the ce of Time Core at any cost if I want to have a stable life. I don''t want to keep going back and forth in time all my life."


    "That''s still fine, but if therees a time when I''m not able to go back? Or worse, if I''m stuck in a time loop again, that would be a fate worse than death! I can''t waste time. This ability is like a ticking time bomb. I need to solve this problem."


    ....


    As Lucifer tried to think of someone who could help him with this problem, arge-scale manhunt had started for him. The news about his betrayal had reached everywhere. All his friends and enemies knew what he had supposedly done.


    As the news spread to more people, even Maya came to know of it. She stepped forward with the information about Lucifer answering her call from Joana''s device around the same time.


    Her testimony removed the doubts from the minds of even the ones who used to support Lucifer. They knew Maya wasn''t going to lie about something like this. What they couldn''t understand was why Lucifer would hurt Joana?


    Lucifer had started his journey in the Star Alliance with Joana. Throughout his journey, Joana supported him. Not only that, they were said to be a great team who even went on quite a lot of missions together. It was confusing why Lucifer would do this.


    The only way for them to get an answer was through catching Lucifer since only Lucifer knew why he did this. Lucifer''s supporters in the Star Alliance also joined the search for him, but it was hard to find him.


    The centralmand device which was given to him was soon discovered in an abandoned condition along with his clothes. It was evident that he knew what he was doing, and he had gone into hiding, abandoning his identity.


    They knew that Lucifer could be anywhere at this time, yet all the cities were sealed. Movement from city to city was blocked, and inteary travel was also stopped. No ships were given authority to leave this world.


    Lucifer was sealed, having no clue how bad things actually were. Fortunately, he didn''t go along with his n of breaking through the barrier, or things could''ve been much worse for him.


    He was immersed in a different problem entirely. Lucifer knew there was nothing he could do at this point about his time core unless he could go back to earth and meet the ones who knew.


    Realizing he couldn''t change anything here, he stood up and decided to do what he could. He was sure he was going to go back soon in any case. It might''ve been taking long, but he had faith that he was going to be tossed back in time again to his original timeline.


    Instead of running and hiding, he decided to use the time wisely. Since he was already here, he needed to find out as much as he could about the future and his actions. He was sure there was a reason behind his actions. He just needed to find what it was so he could change his future if needed.


    He was inside the storage room. There were many boxes all around him that were filled to the brim with documents. He decided to go through those documents first to find more about this world.


    He picked one of the boxes and sat on the ground. One after another, he started going through the documents.


    "These seem to be mission files regardingpleted missions by Joana."


    "Establishing a peace treaty between the Trish Empire and the Lyon Empire? Fighting the Dark Pirates? All these missions...." He kept the box back and picked up the next box after being unable to find anything in the first.


    He opened the second box and checked the first file inside.


    As he went through the file, his frown deepened. "This seems to be from the time when I had just joined Star Alliance. This was his mission? Really? How could he do it?"

 Chapter 822: Wrong

    Chapter 822: Wrong


    Reading the file regarding Earth, Lucifer was stunned. Not only was this file from the mission on earth, but it was also belonging to the same time frame in which the Star Alliance had sent Lucifer back to earth.


    He went through the entire file before keeping it back. He kept going through the other files; however, the rest of the files didn''t have anything special. He checked all the files but only found something special in the first file.


    "I guess now I know why I might have killed him. It is quite possible that my current self found out about this just now? Still, even though it''s bad, why would I take the risk of killing him? I don''t understand."


    Lucifer stood up and left the room. He wasn''t in the mindset to sit around. However, as soon as he left the room, he felt something strange. It was as if the space was getting unstable.


    "Finally!" Lucifer eximed. He knew what this feeling meant. He was being sent back. It couldn''t havee at a better time.


    Everything turned white. As his eyes opened, he found himself back in the ship.


    "She is waking up." Coming to his senses, Lucifer felt a bit weak. He walked back and sat on a chair. His eyes remained on Joana, who was more focused on Milena.


    He still didn''t know the exact reason as to why he would kill Joana. The mission could''ve been one reason, but he knew that the missions came from upstairs. He knew he wasn''t petty enough to kill Joana for a mission he couldn''t refuse.


    "Something wrong?" Joana asked, looking back at Lucifer.


    "Nothing. I was just thinking about something."


    "About what?"


    "Nothing. Just some random stuff about what happened back there. It''s nothing."


    "I can understand. I would''ve been out of it as well if my friends were killed. Don''t worry; take your time."


    "Ah, Captain?" Maya chimed in. "Sorry to interfere in your intimate moment, but she''s waking up."


    "She is? That''s good. Lucifer, I think it''s your turn to talk to her. Remember, no small talks. We''re already running out of time."


    "Yeah," Lucifer nodded. He walked to Milena, who slowly opened her eyes.


    Milena was momentarily surprised as she remembered thest moment before losing consciousness. She teleported, appearing in a different corner of the room. A sphere of energy appeared before her, which she was ready to attack with. However, she couldn''t find Jian anywhere.


    Her eyes soon fell on Lucifer. "You? Where am I?"


    Except Lucifer, everyone else here was a stranger that she didn''t recognize. "You are back."


    "I am. Sorry for not being herest time. I was tangled in something and wasn''t able toe. It''s because of me that so many of our people lost their lives. I''m sorry. But now that I''m here, I''ll make everything right."


    "They killed everyone... They killed them all right before my eyes...." Milena told Lucifer.


    Lucifer hadn''t seen Milena cry before, but this time he could see a tear in her eyes. It was the first time he saw that. He doesn''t know why but seeing her sad, he also felt a bit sad.


    His figure flickered. He appeared before Milena. "I know what they did. I saw it when I went there. But I promise you; I''ll give them a pain worse than what they inflicted on our people."


    "Now stop crying." He brought his fingers closer to Milena''s eyes to wipe her tears but noticed that his fingers were bare. He was back in the past. He couldn''t touch her.


    Letting out a deep breath, he closed his fist. Gentle winds started flowing that took the tears of Milena with them. "That''s the best I can do for now."


    Instead of calming down, seeing the care of Lucifer, even more tears came in the eyes of Milena as she hugged Lucifer. "We need to kill them! We need to kill them all for what they did!"


    "We will."


    "Ah, Lucifer. We''re running out of time," Joana reminded Lucifer, smiling wryly. "Can you do thatter?"


    Lucifer came to his senses. "Milena, remember the stone I asked you to bring? Where is it?"


    "That stone... It''s right here..."


    Milena freed Lucifer and wiped her tears before making a circle with her fingers. Following the movement of her fingers, the spatial portal appeared before Milena.


    She ced her hand inside the spatial crack and pulled out a small stone.


    "Here." She extended her hand towards Lucifer.


    Using his winds, Lucifer made the stone float to Joana. "Find the stones."


    Joana grabbed the stone. "Got it!"


    "What is happening? Who are these people?" Milena asked, confused.


    "You can think of them as friends, I guess. They''re here to help me find more stones. They''ll scan that stone and locate others. But they need to leave this ce. They can''t stay here for longer. They need to go back to their worlds."


    "Their worlds? What?"


    "Oh right, I didn''t tell you about that yet. Because of an explosion caused by the Antians, I was tossed into space with Xaen. That''s where these people found me. Apparently, there are more words besides ours."


    "And there''s an organization which is kind of like an authority in space, made up of people from different worlds. These people are from that organization. They need to go back to their base after bringing me here."


    "You mean like the Warlock Council was to Zeston, they are to space? Are you not joking with me?"


    "Why would I tell such a stupid joke? In fact, we''re already standing on their spaceship. I''ll show youter. But first, I need to focus on the stones. You wake up, rest, and eat something. I''ll be right back."


    Lucifer made the woman sit before walking to Joana, who was standing before a screen. He had already ced the stone on the table. The scanning had already started.


    "Alright, signature of stone captured," Mayamented. "Starting the scanning of the world to find match signatures!"


    "Good work. Let''s see where the stones are...."


    "We are already over our time limit," Joana said, smiling wryly. "Herees one demerit point. Maya, be fast?"


    "We''re done!" Maya eximed.


    "How can we be done? ording to Lucifer, there are supposed to be seven stones. The screen only shows two stones on earth. We have one stone. There must at least be six. Where are the other four?"


    "They aren''t on earth maybe? In any case, I can''t answer that question. I can only tell what I find," Maya replied as she started printing a map.

 Chapter 823: The missing stones

    Chapter 823: The missing stones


    A printed map of the earth with the whereabouts of two stones came out. Maya folded the paper and gave it to Lucifer. "There, we''re done! It''s time for you to leave? We are alreadyte."


    Lucifer looked at the screen, frowning. However, he ultimately nodded. "One stone must be in the world of Summons. That means three stones are still missing. Two of them must be the stones that were taken from me by Xaen. So they''re with him! That''s why they aren''t on Earth."


    "Don''t worry about him. I''ll get answers from him when he''s avable for questioning. However, that still leaves one stone that''s yet to be ounted for. Do you have any idea where it can be?" Joana asked.


    Lucifer shook his head. "I hope I had an idea, but if it''s not on earth, it could only be in two ces. It could either be in the World of Summons, or Xaen actually has three and not two. That will make him really important."


    ''Make sure to get an answer from him and send me the stones."


    "Don''t worry. We''ll get the answers. In any case, he isn''t going anywhere. We already kept him in a cell where we recreated the atmosphere of Earth, so his cores don''t be unstable. After the seventh day is over, I''ll personally go to interrogate him."


    "Anyway, now can we leave?" Joana asked.


    "You can. Send us down."


    "Tell me the location where you want to go? Where we went before or a different ce?"


    "Why would I choose a different ce? Send me back there. I have unfinished business."


    "As you wish. Best of luck though. Don''t get yourself in trouble. And whenever you want toe back, don''t forget to press the button. We''ll get the signal ande for you. That will be all."


    Joana turned to Maya. "Send them back."


    A portal appeared before Lucifer.


    "Milena,e. We''re going down." Lucifer called for Milena, stopping just before the portal.


    Milena had just started eating a piece of bread. Carrying the bread in her hand, she stood up and walked up to Lucifer. She and Lucifer stepped inside the portal.


    Both of them appeared in the small nation of Zeston, right before the Warlock Council headquarters.


    "That''s the ship where we were before?" Lucifer said, pointing towards the sky.


    Milena raised her head. She could see something move in the sky. The darkness that was covering the sun was moving away. Before long, the shippletely disappeared.


    "So we were truly on a ship? Other worlds? What are they like? Have you been to one before?"


    "I have been to one. I''m also a member of the Star Alliance now. I am allowed to live in any world controlled by Star Alliance now. Moreover, I''m an Envoy of the Star Alliance for Earth now."


    "So you''re working for someone? That feels odd just to hear. The strongest on earth is an ordinary member of an organization?"


    "That was the only way toe back. It''s much harder than you think. I didn''t even know where I was. In any case, it''s not entirely bad. It gives me something to think about. Joining them opens up thousands of new doors for me. Now I know things I wouldn''t have known otherwise."


    "Anyway, that aside, it''s time to focus on the task at hand. Tell me everything. How did you lose?"


    Finishing his question, Lucifer noticed the bread in the hand of Milena. Instead of walking to the Warlock Council headquarters, Lucifer stepped inside a restaurant. Milena followed behind.


    "Are we going to eat?" Milena inquired.


    "What else? You look hungry. Since we''re going to be discussing some things, it''s better we get some food while we''re doing it."


    "Ah, but in this ce? Jian is not far from here. Shouldn''t we not lower our guard?"


    "Screw him. What can he do now? I already met him once. Let him know I''m here. I don''t think he''ll run away. So no worries. Tell me more about our team. Anyone managed to escape?"


    Milena nodded. "Kellian, I think. I don''t know how many more left. Maybe more managed to escape. I wish they did. The ones I saw during fighting, they''re all dead, including Arthur and Jiani. My team is dead."


    "That bastard killed them all! I think I was too overconfident. I underestimated him. If I was more careful, I couldn''t tell others to run while I distracted him alone. If I did that, many lives would''ve been saved."


    "You did the best you could. Don''t think too much. What happened wasn''t your fault. Even I couldn''t have predicted it. As they say, I also gained a bit too much confidence. I should''ve taken care of the Warlock Council first before leaving for the ind."


    "I shouldn''t have split the team too thin. I left everyone weaker. This way, not only were the ones in this ce left weak against the assault of the Warlock Council, but the team I sent to the Dungeon also came in trouble. I should''ve taken care of matters myself. I was in too much of a hurry."


    "Most of the me is on my shoulders. In trying to get more, I lost even what I already possessed. I still can''t understand how everything was destroyed in five days? What about the team in Elisium? They must''ve known what happened here? Tell me they went into hiding?"


    "I don''t know. This is the first time I''m up after that battle. But if I''m not wrong, they must''ve hidden themselves by now since it''s clear that people would send someone to destroy them."


    "I need to find a way to get in contact with them. I need my gloves after I''m done here. I also need their help to locate a person."


    Lucifer sat on the chair, but no waiter dared to get close to him. Immersed in his conversation, even Lucifer didn''t notice that no one hade up to take his order.


    It was Milena who noticed it. She could see people trying to sneak out of the restaurant.


    Snapping her fingers, she closed the door. "Where are you going, leaving customers?"


    Hearing her, Lucifer also realized that he was here for the food.


    He looked back towards the door, noticing a crowd there. "Five days and you all forgot me, it seems. Do you want me to remind you all?"


    "N-not at all. Please tell us what you need."


    "Bring me your best dishes and make it fast." Luciferzily stated before shifting his focus back to Milena.


    "Which person are you trying to find?" Milena asked.


    "Just someone who can tell me a few things about the Ability Cores. I need a person like that urgently. I need some answers so I can make everything right."

 Chapter 824: Depth

    Chapter 824: Depth


    "But before that, we need to solve this problem," Lucifer said, gazing out the window.


    The city seemed ordinary from the initial nce. Still, almost everyone knew that with Lucifer''s arrival, the city was once again caught in the vacuum between two opposing forces that were fighting for supremacy, and the city was the battleground.


    They had seen Lucifer in action and knew he was the leading force of the Uprising. They had also seen Jian and knew that he was to the Warlock Council what Lucifer was to Uprising. They had also seen the strength of Jian. They knew how strong he was.


    However, Jian and Lucifer hadn''t fought yet. When Jian took over the city, Lucifer wasn''t here. It was as if this was the conflict that was waiting to happen.


    "I need to get my gloves soon. It''s a headache to do things without them."


    With the gloves, he had be habitual to living an ordinary life where he didn''t need to be careful about touching things. But now that he didn''t have them, he was realizing what a hassle it was.


    Fortunately, he had learned to use his winds for the most part. He had better control of his winds and more precision as well.


    He used his winds, raising the ss of water in the air.


    The ss moved closer to his lips and tilted slightly. The droplets of water went down his throat. The ss went back to the table.


    "Five days... Everything changed so much in five days. It''s like only the two of us are left now, and everyone else is home. That reminds me. Where is the one who went with you? That girl, I didn''t see her here. Where is she?"


    "You know you can take her name. Anyway, she is sleeping. She went through something, and she was hurt by Xaen. She is sleeping as her body heals itself. Once it is done, I''ll help wake her up. Until then, it''s better she isn''t here." Lucifer exined.


    The waiter brought the dishes and ced them on the table before Lucifer. Lucifer once again tried to use his winds, but Milena stopped him. "Wait."


    "What?" Frowning, Lucifer nced at Milena. "Is something wrong with the food?"


    "No. But as you said, you can''t touch the food. You''ll need to use your winds which sounds like a headache for the soup and everything else."


    "And?" Lucifer asked, confused. "What are you trying to say? I shouldn''t eat?"


    "No. What I''m saying is that it''s more time saving if I help you. It''ll be easier for you to eat as well. That way, you won''t spill anything either," Milena suggested as she picked up a spoon, dipping it in the soup.


    "You help me?"


    As Lucifer looked at the spoon, wondering if she meant what he was thinking, Milena brought the spoon toward his lips.


    "I''m not a kid. I can eat myself," Lucifer eximed, rolling his eyes. "You don''t need to do it."


    "I know you aren''t a kid, but as I said, it''s easier. Moreover, it''s not like my hands will hurt if I hold the spoon for you. So stop being snobbish and open your lips."


    Lucifer looked nkly, stunned. Was he truly being scolded? Still, he opened his mouth and brought it towards the spoon.


    "How is it?" Milena asked, dipping the spoon in the soup again.


    "It''s not bad. A bit spicy though, but it''s good."


    "I see." This time, Milena brought the spoon to her lush lips and took a sip. "You''re right. It''s not bad."


    Milena kept feeding Lucifer with her hands, asionally eating herself as well. For some reason, Lucifer liked the feeling of being spoiled. It was the feeling of being loved. Since his early days, he had been forced to grow up fast.


    He was five when his family was killed, and then the debacle of theb happened. He was forced to be an adult who couldn''t show weakness. He was just a kid, but he didn''t have much of a childhood where someone could care for him like this.


    Even though he was an adult now, this feeling was something he enjoyed. It was as if he was experiencing a missing part of his childhood.


    His colorful eyes gazed in the beautiful red eyes of Milena as she fed him. It was the first time he was looking in her eyes with such care. He could see so much depth in her eyes that even he was surprised. These eyes were simr to him.


    Milena had also gone through a lot in her life, almost on the same level as him. She didn''t have it easier either. She also didn''t get to have a life she deserved.


    She was forced to lead in her early years, where she also couldn''t afford to make a mistake. Instead of living like a princess, she was forced to live like a Warrior. She had to fight for everything, including her life.


    "Why are you looking at me like that?" Milena inquired, surprised at the way Lucifer was looking at her.


    "Your eyes are really beautiful," Luciferplimented.


    "Huh? Is the great Lucifer trying to flirt with me?" Milena asked, smiling.


    Lucifer found her smile to be just as beautiful as her eyes, if not more.


    Lucifer shook his head. "I''m not flirting with you. I am just telling the truth. Your eyes are really beautiful. They are the prettiest eyes I''ve seen, now that I think about it. They have so much depth in them."


    "I can say the same about you, Lucifer. I don''t know about my eyes, but your eyes are like nothing I''ve seen. Not only because of their different colors but because of something else."


    "Why then?" Lucifer asked.


    "Because I can see the pain in them. I can see the sadness, but that sadness doesn''t overwhelm your eyes. Instead, I don''t know why I feel like these eyes are filled with the confidence, unlike anything I''ve seen before. It''s that confidence which can change the future," Milena exined.


    "Not only that, but I also see a hunger in your eyes. A hunger for making the world your own. A hunger to get back everything that you lost."


    "Confidence that can change the future? That confidence isn''t always a good thing, is it? That confidence is what led me down the path of destruction. If only I had listened to Kellian, it would''ve been different."


    "If he was here, I could''ve told him how wrong I was. I lost him along with everyone else as well. In the quest to make this world safer for me, I lost everything I possessed. I lost the family that I had managed to make with the Uprising."

 Chapter 825: Offer

    Chapter 825: Offer


    "You didn''t lose everything you possessed. You still have me. And I still have you. Even though there are only two of us, are we two less than anyone? Loss is a part of life," Milena reminded Lucifer as she fed him again.


    "But we can''t give up aftering this close to our destination. We need to reach the end goal, or everyone''s sacrifice would go to waste," she further added as she dipped the spoon in the cup, only to find there was none left.


    However, she was immersed in the conversation that she didn''t want to break. She just gestured for the waiter to bring more without making much noise.


    "You''re right. I can''t give up now. I already lost everything I possessed. What more can I lose at this point? It''s lost us left. And I won''t allow anyone to take more from me."


    "Aww, are the two lovebirds on a date?" A snarkyment came from the back, interfering in the conversation.


    Lucifer nced back. "You are here to die? Aren''t you?"


    A young man was standing at the entrance of the restaurant. The man was carrying a sword with him.


    Seeing the man, Milena stood up. Two dark wings appeared behind her back as she cast her energy negation.


    "Calm down, little girl. Stop acting like you''re some bigshot. We already saw what you are thest time we fought. Don''t even bother to try again. If it weren''t because of the others, you would''ve been dead by now."


    "How about I try this time instead of her?" Lucifer asked as he stood up.


    "Look, I''m not here to fight. If I wanted to fight, I could''ve killed you when you were immersed in feeding each other like little lovebirds. You wouldn''t even know I was here if I hadn''t spoken. So can we drop the hostilities and get to talking?" Jian asked Lucifer,zily yawning.


    "You think we''ll talk to you after you killed everyone close to us?!" Milena yelled.


    "Who started it first? You all came here, all guns zing. You killed all the Warlock Council Members, including my brother. In return, I killed your friends. We should be equal now," Jian responded. "You can''t pin the me on me."


    "You attacked my Empire first!" Milena responded. "You started it!"


    Jian smiled in response. "Remind me again, who killed our envoy who went to your Empire to nicely talk to you? Wasn''t it you? So technically, you started the bloodshed, not me. Yet I''m asking for a ceasefire. Don''t make it harder than it has to be. We already lost too many people."


    After finishing, he turned to Lucifer. "Also, before you say that I killed your parents, let me also remind you that my father also died because of you first."


    " So even here, your side started it all. We are equal now technically. You had a hand in my father''s death. I had a hand in yours. Let''s drop the matter here. What''s past is past. Let''s forget it and think about the future. Unless you want to live in the past?"


    "So, do you want to forget this enmity and work together? You want to rule over the world? I can make it happen. I''ll also help you personally. Your dreams wille true. Isn''t that what you wanted?"


    "If you don''t take that path, you might need to fight me and everyone else. And let me remind you, what you saw when I fought your girlfriend wasn''t even a fraction of what I''m capable of. So think carefully."


    Hearing the words of the man, Lucifer went silent as if he was thinking of something.


    Milena couldn''t believe Lucifer was actually thinking about this offer. "Don''t tell me you''re really thinking about it! That bastard killed our friends!"


    Lucifer didn''t answer Milena either. He was seriously thinking about the offer, not because he wanted to take it because he ced his goals over the life of others but because this offer raised many questions in his head.


    One of the questions was why Jian was being so kind? His attitude was suddenly different? Another question he had was what Jian wanted in return. Of course, he couldn''t be doing it from the kindness of his heart. There must be something he wanted in return.


    "What do you want in return?" he directly asked Jian, to the dismay of Millena.


    "I guess you''re not as stupid as your Girlfriend."


    "Stop calling me his girlfriend!" Milena eximed. Watching Lucifer seriously think about this offer, she was really heartbroken. It was as if the death of her friends was in vain.


    "Look missy; you are neither strong enough to be here nor important enough. Moreover, this deal isn''t for you. If you want to leave, you can leave! I''m only here for Lucifer," Jian reminded Milena as he opened the door for her to leave.


    "Are you really thinking about it seriously?" Milena asked Lucifer onest time. If his answer was yes, she was prepared to leave.


    "Milena, let me discuss it first. Sit down," Lucifer said as he nced into her eyes. " Trust me; I know what I''m doing."


    Looking into Lucifer''s eyes, for some reason, Milena felt like he was being genuine. His eyes weren''t cruel or emotionless as that of a person who could forget the sacrifices of people for him. She decided to wait and see what he truly decided.


    "Good. Now the adults can talk." Jian chuckled.


    "Tale a seat," Lucifer told Jian, inviting him closer.


    "Hah, I better not. I think it''s better we keep a safe distance at this time until wee to a decision."


    "Fine. Do as you wish. Tell me what you want in return?"


    "The man who was with you a few minutes ago? He was from another world, wasn''t he? It seems his ship has left."


    "Are you worried about him hurting you?" Lucifer asked.


    "Not at all. I trust his words when he said he wouldn''t interfere in the matters of this world, so I''m not worried about him. But I''m really curious about the existence of another world."


    "Imagine there existing multiple worlds with people stronger than you ever knew. Not only that, but they also possess the technology to make such massive ships that I''m sure are capable of destroying worlds," Jian said, lost in thoughts.


    "We think we are strong and the rulers of this world, but we are nothing but a small speck in the grand scheme of things," he continued, thinking out loud.


    "Are you here to write a thesis or tell me what you want?" Lucifer inquired, frowning. He couldn''t understand half the things the man was saying.

 Chapter 826

    Chapter 826


    "Isn''t it easy to guess by now? I want us to work together. I can help you get this world. We can work together. And in return, I want you to help me in understanding the outer world. Why limit ourselves to this small world when we can have much more?" Jian suggested.


    "So you want me to help you control the outer world?"


    "Not control. Control would be a wrong word. I just want to understand what the situation outside is and, if possible, learn how to use that for myself. I just don''t like unknown factors in my life, and the appearance of that spaceship has tossed all my notions out the door."


    "That''s why I want you to help. Think clearly. In exchange for some information, not only will you get my help, but you''ll also get my support. And who knows, maybe we could achieve even better things in the future by working together. There are so many possibilities for the future now."


    Coming up to Lucifer, Jian had many things in his mind. Initially, he just wanted to kill Lucifer, but after seeing Joana and the ship, he knew that he couldn''t kill Lucifer, at least until he didn''t know more about the situation.


    He wanted to know more about the outer world, but that didn''t mean he had dropped the n to kill Lucifer. On the contrary, he had only dyed the n. There was no way he was going to give this world to Lucifer. It was only a matter of time. He just wanted to get everything from Lucifer that he could.


    On the other hand, Lucifer wasn''t a saint either. Even though he decided to hear the offer, he didn''t intend to help Jian. Hearing the offer of Jian, he realized that he could use this to his advantage to get the things he needed. He was never going to forget the fact that he had killed so many of his friends.


    It was as if both sides stood before each other, ready to backstab the other person as soon as they received what they wanted.


    "So, what do you say? Let''s forget this enmity and make a new future together?" Jian suggested.


    "How can I trust you?" Lucifer asked, taking a step closer to Jian.


    "We must find a mutual ground so we can treat each other. I know we both made a lot of mistakes but let''s not get trapped in the past," Jianmented as he finally stepped closer to Lucifer as well to show that he was willing to trust him.


    Jian stopped just a meter away from Lucifer. "You just need to take that one step. I am putting my life in danger by trusting you, but if that''s what''s needed to show that I''m ready to put the past behind, then so be it."


    "You can either kill me and get it done with, or you can trust me as well. Just imagine what the two of us can achieve if we work together?"


    Milena nced at Lucifer as if hoping for him to kill Jian! He was standing so close to him. It was a perfect opportunity. However, Lucifer had something else in mind.


    He could feel that something was wrong. Why was Jian standing before him sofortably? Even if he trusted Lucifer, there was no way he would put his life in danger like that.


    Even until now, Lucifer wasn''t informed about the ability of Jian where he just couldn''t die. It was literally impossible to kill him. On the contrary, each death made him stronger. It was an ability even superior to healing in some ways.


    In the heat of the moment, Milena had also forgotten about this ability of Jian as she started hoping for Lucifer to kill him. Going against her expectations, Lucifer didn''t do anything like that.


    "Fine. As you said, it''s only fair. You killed my men; I killed yours. I can''t let my past define my future. However, I want your help to take over the world. My goal stays the same." Lucifer informed Jian, taking him up on his offer.


    "That''s good. Consider this world yours. With your strength and mine, there is no one who can stop you. So, can we get to talking about the space thing? Who was that guy? And what is this spatial organization?" Jian took a seat.


    He only needed the answers to his questions. He wanted to get it done with fast so he could kill Lucifer fast.


    "This is a ce to eat, not to talk." Lucifer smiled in response, taking a seat before Jian. "What''s the hurry?"


    Lucifer ordered something for Jian as well. Jian wasn''t hungry, but he could see what Lucifer was trying to do.


    "You don''t want to tell me, do you?" Jian directly asked.


    "I don''t want to tell you so soon; you''re right. First, I need to see how sincere you are about working together," Lucifer responded. "Taking over the world is a time consuming task, so I won''t ask you to do that to prove your sincerity."


    "Then what do you want as a gesture of my sincerity?" Jian asked. Even though he was a bit annoyed, he didn''t let it show on his face as he waited patiently for Lucifer to finish.


    "It''s simple. I want you to explore a Dungeon with me. It should be simple for the two of us?"


    "A dungeon? What? Why? Which Dungeon?"


    "The same Dungeon where my parents were killed."


    "Why would you want to explore that Dungeon?" Jian asked, confused. "What''s special in it?"


    "Two of my men are trapped there. I want to get them out. Since we''re working together, of course, you''ll help me, won''t you?"


    He hadn''t forgotten about the men who were trapped in the Level Seven Dungeon that was connected to a Level Four Dungeon. Initially, his n was to recover the sword of his from there, but things went South, and his men were captured there.


    Not only that, a higher ranking Dungeon''s existence was made apparent to him. He was about to go there after finishing the mess of this ce, but he had a better idea now. He was strong, but if he could take Jian with him, it was going to be even better for him.


    Jian was as strong as him. With Jian and Milena, he was sure he could break any trap in the level seven Dungeon and face anyone. It was the perfect situation to use Jian. If Jian was killed, it was fine. If he didn''t, it was still fine since Lucifer could take out the Level Seven Dungeon beasts with Jian.

 Chapter 827

    Chapter 827


    In the process, he could even recover his sword, which could help him be stronger. Moreover, slowly, he was also nning to use Jian to take on Antis. It was a perfect situation that was made for him where he could use one enemy to kill others.


    After he was done taking care of all other enemies, only one was going to be left, and it was none other than Jian. By then, Lucifer knew he could be even stronger by absorbing more abilities and evolving another ability in the process.


    Milena couldn''t understand what Lucifer was trying to do. She didn''t know how far he was thinking of. Even in the past, he had nned to use one enemy to kill others, but things didn''t go as nned that time. This time, he wasn''t going to let that happen.


    "So after we save them, you''ll tell me everything I want to know?" Jian asked.


    "Of course," Lucifer nodded. "If you help me save my men, it would prove that you truly don''t consider me a threat. Then we can work together."


    "Sure. If that''s what it takes, then I''m ready." Jian agreed immediately. Even though he didn''t like working with others, he knew it was needed. His mind had already calcted a few things.


    He had thought of all the possibilities, from Lucifer actually working with him to Lucifer betraying him in the end. None of those possibilities concerned him.


    "Since we''re both ready, why wait then? We''ll leave tomorrow. But before that, I need an answer from you."


    "What answer?"


    "How many of my men were killed here. Are there ones that are alive?"


    "How many of them are killed? Almost everyone except that Kellian. I don''t know where he ran to, but he just disappeared, leaving everyone else. Except for him, I think we covered all. Everyone else is dead."


    "I see...." Lucifer muttered. "Another question. I want to enter the Warlock Council headquarters and use your systems to look for someone."


    "That''s not a big deal. You cane anytime. Now we''re partners, after all. Still, who do you want to look for?"


    "Just some people who do research on Variants. I had a question I wanted an answer to."


    After a little back and forth as Jian tried to understand what Lucifer actually needed, he agreed. All of them finished dinner, and Lucifer was taken back to the Warlock Council headquarters.


    The citizens who were expecting Lucifer and Jian to fight were stunned to watch them walk together like they were friends instead. Milena walked behind the two.


    She could feel her heart burning in anger and disgust as she walked with the person who had killed everyone close to her. She had never felt this disgusting about herself in all her life.


    Lucifer wanted to tell her everything about his n, but he wasn''t getting the time to do that. He could only hope that she would understand what he was trying to do.


    "Turn off the barrier!" Jianmanded, stopping before the barrier.


    The barrier which surrounded the building was turned off. Jian, Lucifer, and Milena stepped inside the headquarters.


    As they entered the headquarters, they noticed three men. The entire Warlock Council headquarters was only upied by four people. Everyone else was long dead.


    For some reason, those three men didn''t question the decision of Jian of bringing Lucifer inside the room. It was as if Jian had already informed them all what he might be doing. Still, a surprise was visible in their faces as they watched Lucifer before them.


    They had seen him on the video, and he looked really intimidating but personally, he looked even more intimidating. He was like the Blood Prince who had shed so much blood that he reeked of blood at this point.


    Without stopping, Jian kept walking as he escorted Lucifer to the control room. It was a crucial ce that controlled everything in this ce.


    If Lucifer wanted, he could cause a big mess there, but Jian wasn''t worried. For him, such things didn''t matter. In any case, he wasn''t going to let Lucifer touch anything.


    "Tell me who you want to find?" Jian asked Lucifer, sitting before his keyboard. "We should be able to locate them. If we can''t, we can ask other nations."


    Lucifer told Jian the name of the person who had written the book about core evolution theory.


    "Hmm?"


    For some reason, as soon as Jian heard that name, his expressions momentarily changed. However, no one noticed his expression as his back was turned towards them.


    "Who is he? Give me more information about him so I can customize the search better."


    "I don''t know much about him. He must be a researcher or something with great insight on abilities. Other than that, I don''t know anything," Lucifer responded. Even he didn''t know much about these things.


    Jian started searching for the person.


    "Can''t find him. I can contact the other nations about this, but I doubt we can find him."


    " Alright then, search for the people who researched on Core Theory with Xaen Eandril."


    "As you say!"


    Jian searched again, but this time the search did bring some results.


    "There were three people who worked on a team with Xaen when he was studying abroad."


    "Where do they live?" Lucifer asked.


    "Apparently in heaven or in hell. They''re both dead now. They were killed a long time ago," Jian responded. "Anyone else I should search for?"


    "Find the person who is the leading authority when ites to ability cores then."


    "I don''t even need to search for that. I think I can answer that question," Jian responded, smiling. "The person with the most research papers published about ability cores and known as the leading authority in this department."


    "Who is he?"


    Jian smiled as he pressed a button on his keyboard. The screen changed. On the right most corner of the screen was the picture of Jian. On the left were his achievements and all the awards he had received in the fields of search.


    "You?"


    "Yep," Jian smiled. "Don''t go on my age. I graduated from the academy at the age of sixteen. I''m a Warlock, but that doesn''t mean I can''t be smart and pursue other careers?"


    "Now, may I ask why you were looking for me?" he asked, seemingly amused.


    Lucifer didn''t know what to say. If this guy was the person who could help him, it was a problem. He couldn''t tell Jian about his problem. There was no way Jian was going to help him be stronger.


    "Do you not want to tell me?" Jian asked. "If you need help, why keep a secret? Just tell me. I''ll help in any way I can."

 Chapter 828: Play along

    Chapter 828: y along


    "I want to know if I can move my ability core from one part of my body to another part."


    Even though Lucifer wanted to keep it a secret, ultimately he chose to divulge the information.


    "Why would you want to do it? It''s not like moving it will have any benefits?" Jian asked, confused. He was sure that Lucifer wasn''t telling him everything. There was certainly some reason behind it.


    "Does there need to be a reason? I would just prefer if all my cores were closer to each other instead of being spread out. It would make it easier to keep track of them," Lucifer made up an excuse. Instead of telling that he wanted to move a core away from another, he gave an entirely different excuse.


    "That sounds like such a superficial reason. Then again, you do have a kind of ability unlike most." Jian nodded, believing the words of Lucifer.


    Even though he pretended to trust Lucifer, on the inside he knew Lucifer was making it up. It wasn''t hard for him to guess that Lucifer couldn''t have such a stupid reason. He knew that Lucifer wasn''t going to tell even if he asked, so he just didn''t ask.


    Still, he knew a solution to that problem. Then again, he could''ve told Lucifer the solution if it somehow worked to strengthen him. Even though they were working together, both of them were also working against each other.


    They both knew that there was soon going to be the time to backstab the other person and they couldn''t let the other person be stronger by that time.


    "So can I do that?" Lucifer asked, taking a seat beside Jian.


    "Of course, no one tried to do it. There has been no research in this field. After all, why would anyone research moving the cores? That''s why there are no answers I can tell you. I would need to research on it from scratch but I believe I should be able to find a way to make it happen," Jian responded.


    "However, it''ll take time since I''ll need to consider a lot of factors before I can give you a concrete answer, all while making sure the movement doesn''t affect you," he added.


    "How long will it take?" Lucifer asked, frowning.


    "One day? Or could take a week. It might also take a month. It''ll depend on how little errors I make along the way which I can''t guarantee. This field of research isn''t easy after all."


    "Take your time. There''s no hurry," Luciferzily responded as if he wasn''t in a hurry. Seeing the reaction, he had already understood that Jian was intentionally trying to dy him to see if he was in a hurry or not. He knew Jian wasn''t going to answer by now.


    The two men were both scheming against each other and they both knew that the other person was scheming against each other. Despite knowing that the other person was going to betray them, they still worked together.


    It was like a game of chess where they needed to pretend the next move of the other person and take their decisions at the right time. It wasn''t a question about who was going to backstab the other person.


    Instead, it was a question of who was going to backstab the other person at just the right time, not too soon and not toote. The timing needed to be just right so they could harvest all the benefits.


    "We have plenty of time together after all. I''m not going anywhere," Lucifer said before he turned. "I''ll be going to my old room to rest. You can prepare the helicopter for our departure."


    "Departure?" The dark-haired Warlock Council member asked.


    "We''ll be going to clear a level Five Dungeon," Jian informed his men, letting their jaws drop.


    "Why would you be going to a level Five Dungeon with him?" The men didn''t know anything about this deal. All they knew was that Lucifer was going to be working with them.


    "I''ll be helping him save some people from there..." Jian started briefing his men. Meanwhile, Lucifer left the room as if this conversation didn''t concern him.


    A Warlock Council member also followed him, keeping an eye. Even though they were working together, they couldn''t let him roam freely in any ce.


    The man made sure that Lucifer went back to his room with Milena. Even after that, the man just stood outside their room. All the cameras were active, keeping an eye on each corner of the ce. Even the movement sensors were activated.


    ....


    Entering his room, Lucifer sat on the couch with Milena. It was the same room where he rested when he ruled over this ce. The ce was the same. Just the roles were reserved.


    Throughout the way, Milena kept ring at Lucifer. Even now, she was ring at him as if she was going to eat him alive.


    "You want to say something?" Lucifer asked.


    "Can I now ask what you''re trying to do here? That man killed everyone close to us and you''re working with him? Why?" Milena inquired, shooting multiple questions together.


    "Do you even need to ask? I''m getting what I wanted. He will help me take over this world and I''ll help him with what he needs. We''ll be working together. It''s a good business deal," Lucifer replied, smiling.


    Even as he talked to Milena, he could see the focus of the cameras on him.


    "So you''ve really made that deal! You really forgot the sacrifice of everyone all because of such pitiful reasons!" Furious, Milena stood up. "Enjoy your stay here. I won''t be a part of it!"


    "Milena, you know me. I thought you''ll understand me. You should know that I won''t make a wrong decision," Lucifer stood up, following Milena.


    He stopped right before her, blocking her path. "It''s not wrong to work together. As Jian said, we all did wrong. It''s time we get over it. Please try to understand! You can''t leave me! Stay by my side as I rule over this world!"


    As Lucifer talked, he took a step closer to Milena, hugging her suddenly. "Everyone else left me, I can''t let you leave me as well!"


    "What?" The sudden hug shocked Milena. She had never been this close to Lucifer. She could feel his warmth all around her body.


    Lucifer brought his lips closer to Millena''s neck, gently kissing her. Just as his lips touched the neck of Milena, he softly whispered, "All cameras on us. y along for now."

 Chapter 829: Safe

    Chapter 829: Safe


    After gently kissing her on her neck, Lucifer moved back, ncing into the deep eyes of Milena. It was as if he was conveying many things with his eyes.


    However, his few words were enough for Milena to understand that he wasn''t serious about working with them. Was he ying them?


    This time, Milena did the same, bringing her lips closer to the ears of Lucifer, biting his lips gently, whispering. "So we''re really going to kill him?"


    "You won''t leave me, right?" Lucifer asked, slightly nodding. "I know it might be hard for you to forget the deaths of our men, but we need to get over it. They are gone."


    "Revenge can''t bring them back. Instead, we can use their sacrifices for a bridge that will bring the two organizations together to make a new future. There has been enough bloodshed already! Moreover, I''m not an Envoy of Star Alliance for earth. I can''t be the one bringing destruction to Earth," Lucifer eximed, sighing.


    As he was talking in his usual tone, Milena understood that he was making sure that the cameras heard him. However, there was still an uncertainty in her heart if these were his serious words.


    "Now drop the n of going away from me. We will be leaving for the Dungeon soon. Get as much rest as you can. We might not get time for rest after this."


    Lucifer''s fingers grazed Milena''s cheeks as he walked back to the chair. He had said all he wanted to say. He believed Milena could understand after this much, at least.


    Lucifer walked back to the sofa. Folding his arms, he sat down with his eyes closed. There was a lot for him to think about, regarding the Star Alliance and how they involved him in their mess without him knowing.


    Milena also walked back to the sofa and sat beside him. She had questions of her own, but for now, she let them go. She simply observed the calm face of Lucifer.


    Three hourster~


    Lucifer opened his eyes, hearing the knock on the door. "It must be Jian.."


    He knew that Jian was eager to go to the Dungeon since he was expecting answers to his question soon after that. In fact, he was even more eager than Lucifer.


    Just as Lucifer had expected, as soon as he opened the door, he was able to see Jian standing outside the room.


    "Everything is prepared. We can leave at any time," Jian informed Lucifer. He was also dressed in different attire.


    Jian was now wearing a long robe which had a Warlock Council insignia on it, just like Lucifer had the robe with Star Alliance insignia.


    "Milena, let''s go. Everything is ready. It''s time we leave!"


    Hearing the shout of Lucifer, Milena woke up from her sleep. She hadn''t even realized when she had fallen asleep. Standing up, she walked to Lucifer, leaving the room with him.


    Lucifer and Milena followed Jian, who was all alone.


    "Anyone else from your sideing with us?" Lucifer asked.


    "No. I can''t afford to bring anyone. As you all killed most of my men, I''m only left with a few. If I let theme with me, who will take care of the base? So I''m going alone," Jian exined, reminding Lucifer of his own decision to leave alone in the past.


    When he did that, he didn''t know that by the time he returned, everything was going to be different. However, he also found it amusing. Jian was also doing the same thing here, and the oue was going to be different yet simr.


    If only he had more men here, he could''ve nned to take advantage of the situation, but he only had Milena, who wasing with him. He couldn''t do many things.


    This time he needed to handle everything alone, and that was what he was going to do after clearing the Dungeon.


    Getting to the roof, Lucifer noticed a chopper was already waiting for them.


    "It''ll take us to the airport, and from there, we''ll go to Elisium," Jian described, stepping inside the helicopter.


    Lucifer and Milena also stepped inside. If someone would''ve seen all three like that, they couldn''t have imagined that the three were enemies who wanted to kill each other until a few hours ago. And now they were traveling together, talking as if nothing had happened.


    Milena still looked like she was out of it, but Lucifer was ying his part so perfectly that even Jian was surprised. If he hadn''t known better, he would''ve thought that Lucifer truly forgot about the past.


    Their conversation wasn''t only limited to the mission ahead. They even talked about things regarding the status of Elisium.


    Lucifer didn''t know what had happened to Elisium. He had only assumed that everyone there was gone by now as well. However, hearing Jian mention theck of members, Lucifer felt like there was a possibility that these people hadn''t attacked Elisium.


    He directly asked if these people attacked or not. The reply came as a good news to Lucifer since Jian confessed that he hadn''t sent anyone to Elisium yet. He was still trying to handle the other things in Zeston.


    "Even though I didn''t go to Elisium in thest five days, I was nning to go there in the near future as there was a possibility of you being there. However, you came here before I even needed to go. And now we''re working together, so I feel no need to destroy Elisium."


    "Instead, I''ll help you rebuild the Uprising while I rebuild the Warlock Council. This time, instead of being enemies, the two organizations will work together," Jian exined, shing a bright smile.


    Since he was going to kill Lucifer after getting his answers, it didn''t matter how tall promises he made. It wasn''t as if he needed to fulfill them after Lucifer was gone.


    Moreover, even though Lucifer had healing, he was still more prone to death than Jian, who was impossible to be killed. He didn''t even think about the possibility of losing.


    There were a lot of things that Lucifer came to know which made him slightly happy. Not all Uprising members were dead. Kellian had managed to escape, and everyone in Elisium was probably alive as well. Even in such massive losses, he was getting some good news.


    ....


    As Lucifer and Jian had just left the Warlock Council base to get to the Dungeon, there was another Lucifer who was already standing before the same Dungeon, right at the entrance.


    Clenching his fist, the other Lucifer stepped inside the Dungeon, not knowing whatid ahead.


    *****************


    *****************

 Chapter 830: You’ll be angry

    Chapter 830: You''ll be angry


    Two days ago~


    Leaving the Capital City after abandoning the Uprising, leaving them in the middle of trouble, Lucifer had gone straight to Legion City, where his home used to be. In times of trouble when he felt like an entirely different person, the only ce which could give him sce was the home where he was born.


    On the way back home, he happened to pass through the town where he had learned how to cook food. It was the same town where he had met a girl who looked like his mother.


    At that time, he used to be someone who was easily irritable. That was also why he had killed the brother of thedy. However, he felt like he was a bit different now. He had finished his revenge on theb. He was calmer now.


    Moreover, Varant and everyone else were dead as well, even though he didn''t know when he did that.


    He understood that he had nothing more to do anymore. He had achieved everything he wanted to achieve, if not more. As for more than that, he didn''t feel the need. He just wanted to spend his life in silence, in his own way.


    He hadn''t gone through the change in mindset that other Lucifer went through based on what he experiencedter on in his life. This Lucifer was someone who hadn''t found a purpose in his life.


    He thought he had a purpose of killing Varant, but that was gone too. He was like a nk piece of paper at the moment who was looking for a purpose that could be his own where he didn''t need to fight for someone else.


    Stopping in the town, he remembered the time he started his journey. He had just killed a few APF members before running from home. This was the next town.


    He gazed at the house where he stood when a car was about to hit him.


    His feet started walking towards the house on their own as his desire to look at the woman who looked like her mother overwhelmed him. It was as if he wanted to see what his mother looked like once again.


    Standing before the door, he knocked on it.


    Click~


    The door was unlocked. A middle-aged woman opened the door.


    "Y-you?" Even the woman recognized Lucifer. She was stunned to see a Warlord before her.


    She went down on her knees in respect.


    Seeing her reaction, Lucifer was slightly surprised. Just what was with this respect? It was as if he was a King. No matter where he went, he only received respect from people, unlike what he used to get during his childhood.


    Hidden inside that respect was a tint of fear.


    "You don''t need to do it. Don''t you recognize me?" Lucifer asked. " I''ve been here before when I was little. You fed me, and your daughter taught me how to hunt. Did you really forget me?"


    "I remember. At the time, I didn''t know who you were, but I came to know with time. Please forgive me for any disrespect I might''ve shown at that time."


    "Disrespect? You showed no disrespect. You were all very kind. Anyway, I was passing through, and I started getting hungry. I was wondering if I can eat some of your delicious food like before?"


    "Ah, p-pleasee in! I''ll make something for you!" There was no way the woman was going to say no to Lucifer.


    She stepped back, allowing Lucifer inside the house.


    Lucifer walked to the living room, observing the walls that looked the same as before. All the pictures were in the exact same ce as he remembered.


    "It''s good to see that not all things change," Lucifer muttered. His gaze shifted to the couch where he had killed someone in his anger.


    Now he was feeling somewhat guilty about killing the family member of people who were so kind to him, but he couldn''t tell the woman that he was the reason behind her son''s disappearance.


    The middle-aged woman closed the door and came to Lucifer. "Please wait half an hour. I''ll prepare something."


    She started running to the kitchen.


    "Where is your daughter?" Lucifer asked just as the woman was about to leave the hallway.


    Hearing the mention of her daughter, the woman stopped in her tracks. Her hands started trembling.


    Lucifer noticed her strange reaction at the mention of her daughter.


    "What happened?" He walked closer to the middle-aged woman. "Where is she?"


    "She is with her father and brother now..." the woman said, slowly turning back. Tears were trickling down her cheeks even though she tried hard to control them.


    "What? She...? How...? Is she dead?" Lucifer asked, stunned for words. When he came here, he hadn''t expected this. "How did it happen?"


    "It''s nothing. Please don''t think about her. She''s in a happy ce now. I don''t me anyone," the woman muttered, turning back.


    Lucifer stepped before her, blocking her path. "Tell me the truth. What happened to her? Why do I feel like you''re trying to hide something?"


    "I can''t tell you what happened to her," the woman responded. "I don''t want to make you angry either. I don''t want to be hurt. So please sit. Let me prepare food."


    "Why can''t you tell me? And even if I get angry, why would I hurt you? What are you trying to say?" Lucifer asked, frowning.


    "It is nothing. She died in an ident. I know she helped you, so her death can definitely upset you," the woman replied.


    "Even with that, why would I hurt you? This doesn''t make sense," Lucifer muttered.


    "I just heard some rumors that when you''re upset, you don''t look at your surroundings. That''s all. Please don''t think too deeply about it. Can I prepare food now?" The woman asked.


    Lucifer nodded. He didn''t ask any more questions. It was surprising that the girl died in an ident. It was bad news, but it wasn''t something that could make him go crazy. Many people die in idents daily, after all.


    He wasn''t wholly unfazed either. There was a small disappointment in her eyes, but it wasn''t murder or anything, so he couldn''t me anyone but her fate.


    After an hour, the woman invited Lucifer to the dining table. She had prepared all her best and delicious dishes.


    Lucifer moved to the dining table. "Aren''t you going to eat with me?"


    "I just eat. You can go ahead," the woman replied, standing in the back.


    Lucifer gazed at his hands, smiling wryly. He wasn''t as good at controlling winds as good as other Lucifer, so he struggled much more. However, he somehow managed to eat.


    He had only taken a few bites when he felt something in his body.


    "Poison?" he muttered, staring at the woman in the back.


    *****************


    *****************

 Chapter 831: Gift

    Chapter 831: Gift


    Lucifer had just started eating. He only took a few bites when he started feeling a tingling sensation in his body. He could also feel some pain. It all started after he ate. It wasn''t hard for him to guess that it was because of something that was in the food, most probably the poison.


    He nced at the woman, frowning. Even she was trying to kill him? Fortunately, he had his healing which soon kicked off.


    She didn''t know about Lucifer''s immunity from poison, it seemed. Lucifer yed along, acting as if the poison was overwhelming him.


    As soon as he asked the woman about the poison, she appeared to be scared. Her expressions gave it away. It was her doing.


    "Why?" Lucifer asked. Pushing the chair back, he stood up.


    However, as soon as he took a few steps toward her, he dropped to his knees as if his legs had turned weak.


    "It''s working! Good!" The woman eximed. "Now you just die!"


    Her words were sharp, but her expressions weren''t that of a scheming person. Instead, she had tears in her eyes as if she wasn''t happy at killing a person, and she didn''t do it for any greed. It was as if she herself was in pain.


    "Why?" Lucifer repeated the question again weakly.


    "For what you did to my daughter and my son! You think I don''t know you killed my son?! It became evident when I saw you on the screen! You killed my son! On the other hand, I kept waiting for my son, thinking he would return someday!"


    "Just because you had the strength, you think you can take lives as you wish? Even though I have no right to take someone''s life, taking your life would take millions of lives like that of my daughter and my son from all the wars and bloodshed! I''m willing tomit this sin!"


    Even though she talked tall, her tears were only increasing. Her face was also pale by now.


    "What did I do to your daughter? I don''t remember anything..." Lucifer responded as his eyes kept getting close. He dropped to the ground but was still breathing from what could be seen.


    "My daughter, she wasn''t killed in an ident! She was murdered! She was murdered by your people, including you!"


    "What?"


    "Like every other day, she was working in the Hunter Association headquarters as an assistant when you decided to attack the capital. You people targeted the Hunter Association headquarters at the start."


    " The Hunters who were strong managed to escape, but my daughter and many others were left behind, dying under the rubble! And even after all that, you justified your attack with excuses?"


    "You think the world is an idiot? You took both my kids from me; even after we''d been so nice to you in the past, you returned our kindness with cruelty!"


    "And even after doing all this, youe here, hoping that I''ll feed you?! It must be God''s doing! He wanted me to kill you!"


    "So that''s what it is," Lucifer let out, standing up. He finally dropped the act of being weak. "I don''t know what happened in the future because that''s not me. That''s someone I don''t even remember or understand. I don''t know why my future self took the decisions that he took, but I can''t change the future."


    "You''re fine?" The woman was scared to see Lucifer up, perfectly fine.


    She started running towards the door.


    Despite that, she couldn''t run faster than Lucifer. Lucifer appeared at the entrance of the door, blocking the path.


    "I''m not going to hurt you, don''t worry," Lucifer eximed, shaking his head. "However, I don''t want you to run without hearing mepletely."


    "I told you I don''t know why I did what I did, but I know I was wrong. Even if I don''t recall that moment, I did it, so I need to take the responsibility. But I can''t let myself be killed either for what I did. Not like it''s possible either. However, what I can do is apologize to you!"


    "I want to apologize to you for everything I did! I want to apologize for causing the deaths of your kids. It wasn''t my intention. If I had known your daughter was there, I would''ve protected her first. She is more special to me than you think she is. However, I won''t ask you for forgiveness for what happened. I''ll leave that decision to you."


    After finishing, Lucifer stepped aside, freeing the doorway. "I said what I wanted to say. You can leave if you want to."


    Lucifer walked back to the dining table, leaving thedy behind. He started eating the poisoned food again.


    Watching him still eat the same, the woman couldn''t get herself to leave. Moreover, Lucifer had promised he wasn''t going to kill her.


    "Why are you eating it even after knowing there''s poison in it?" She asked Lucifer.


    "Because food is food. And you prepared it for me. I can''t let it go to waste," Lucifer replied. "Also, this poison doesn''t affect me. And I''m really hungry."


    Even Lucifer knew that he was being a little shameless here, but he couldn''t do anything about it. He couldn''t bring her daughter back to life. He couldn''t punish himself for killing her. If it was someone else, he couldn''t have done something but not when he himself was the culprit.


    Throughout the time Lucifer was there, the woman couldn''t get herself to say anything. She was just too shocked to say anything.


    After finishing, Lucifer stood up. "Thank you for the food."


    He was also bad at consoling people, so he didn''t know what to say to the woman tofort her when he was the culprit. He just decided that silence was better than anything at this point.


    He left the house and left. He had only taken a few steps away from the home when he sensed something. It was some kind of strange smell that wasing. The sky had also started getting dark.


    "It looks like you didn''t take ourst conversation seriously. I was waiting for you, but you are roaming around carelessly." A hoarse voice came from the back, prompting Lucifer to turn back.


    A dark figure was standing behind him.


    "Looks like we need to get more serious to convince you. I noticed that you had some kind of rtionship with the woman inside? I left a little surprise inside for you. If, after all this, you feel like finally meeting me again,e to the Dungeon where your parents disappeared. Enjoy the gift."


    *****************


    *****************

 Chapter 832: Return

    Chapter 832: Return


    Letting his message out, the figure disappeared.


    Even though the Dungeon Dwellers were keeping an eye on Lucifer after delivering their messagest time, the explosion caused by Antians spoiled their ns. For a moment, they even thought that Lucifer was actually dead.


    They were all furious in anger at the death of Lucifer since he was the key to their early escape.


    They wanted to kill Antians for spoiling their n. Fortunately, it was only after a few days when they sensed the same energy again and located Lucifer in Elisium.


    Finding him in Elisium, they thought he wasing for them, but Lucifer was going in an opposite direction to the Dungeon as if he had no intention ofing there.


    They had already lost hopes once again, and they didn''t want to dy any more in case Lucifer again ced his life in danger. Even they didn''t know that this Lucifer wasn''t the same.


    As the dark figure disappeared, Lucifer stood confused. Who was this person? Was he also someone that his future self had offended? Why was he being invited to the Dungeon where his parents had died? And what about the gift?


    "Don''t tell me he..." Lucifer ran towards the house he had juste out of.


    Kicking the door open, he ran to the dining hall. As soon as he entered the Dining hall, he was greeted with a gruesome sight.


    Thousands of body parts were spread all over the room. There was blood everywhere. Someone had used the same blood to write something on the wall.


    [Come if you dare!]


    The words on the wall looked like they were a challenge for him, but more than that, the words looked like they were taunting him. And this taunting had worked!


    Lucifer turned his back on the bloodshed and silently left. He didn''t scream in anger, but there was a fire inside his heart. This just got personal! He didn''t have a purpose of his own, but now he had found it! His purpose was to find the person who did it and make them regret ever being born.


    Lucifer left the house. He knew which ce he needed to go, but he didn''t know where it was exactly. He hadn''t seen much of the world. Even finding the facility he was kept in took a long time. Fortunately, he now had a reputation that people were scared of him. He could easily ask them where to go.


    ....


    After asking around and flying nonstop, Lucifer finally reached the Level Four Dungeon. He observed the Dungeon momentarily.


    No one was guarding this Dungeon, and people could''ve been seen anywhere. He was all alone here.


    "Father must''ve stood right here before entering the Dungeon. He never knew he wasn''t going to return," Lucifer muttered, gazing at the ground on which he was standing.


    Even though he had never been to this ce before, this ce was a part of his trauma. It was where everything started. It was where his story was written.


    He didn''t know how risky it was inside, but if there were monsters who managed to kill his parents, he didn''t overestimate himself. He was prepared for everything, including death.


    He didn''t expect toe out as he took his first step inside the Dungeon, unaware that he wasn''t the only Lucifer who wasing here.


    ~~~


    A flightnded in the central airport of Elisium. As Uprising had disbanded, the control of Elisium was in no one''s hands at the moment. No one knew who was in charge. The city was just running on its own with old rules.


    There were some high-ranking people who found out about the disappearance of the Uprising from the city, but they didn''t tell anyone since they didn''t want things to be chaotic.


    Uprising had troubled the neighboring nations too much. If the nations found out that the Uprising was gone, there was a chance they could gather the courage to attack. No official wanted this. So they kept things under wraps from not only the public but also the whole world.


    As the flightnded in Elisium, Lucifer, Milena and Jian stepped out. None of them knew about the disbanding of the Uprising. Jian only had a little idea of the possibility of that being the case.


    None of the airport security staff was expecting Lucifer to be the one who arrived on this flight. The staff didn''t even bother to check his documents as they allowed him to pass. None of them even made any eye contact.


    However, everyone had one question in their heads. Why were these three together? They had seen the live feed as well. Jian had thrashed Milena and mocked Uprising. Why were these three people walking together? None of them had the courage to ask this question.


    They watched Lucifer step out of the airport. There were no cars waiting for them outside. They didn''t expect any either. It was the cab drivers who stopped after seeing Lucifer.


    Tens of cars stopped before the airport. None of them even stepped towards any cab though. Lucifer started rising in the air and shot towards the building that used to be the Uprising headquarters here. Milena and Jian followed after him. Since all three of them could fly, it made things easier.


    Lucifernded at the entrance of the building. There were two guards standing at the entrance, but none of the two were Variants. The two were humans, which was an odd sight since the headquarters was usually guarded by Variants.


    The guards immediately lowered their heads as soon as they saw Lucifer.


    "You aren''t in the Uprising. What are you two doing guarding this ce?" Lucifer asked.


    "Ah, sir. It looks like you don''t know. This is supposed to be a secret, but since it''s you, we can tell. Uprising has disbanded. All the members left a few days ago. Since then, it''s humans who are trying to take care of the bureaucracy while keeping this information away from the public so as to not cause panic."


    "Uprising has disbanded?" Lucifer asked, slightly surprised. "Where did the members go? Did they say anything?"


    The guard shook his head.


    "Do you really think they''ll tell anyone?" Jian asked, smiling. "They ran away in fear because they knew they couldn''t face the anger of the world after you were gone. I doubt they''ll ever return."


    "Did you know about this?" Lucifer asked, frowning.


    "I had a feeling that this might be the case. If I was in their ce, I might''ve done the same after all. It''s a perfectly clever decision," Jian responded. "Anyway, it looks like the trip here isn''t needed. Let''s get straight to our destination."


    *****************


    *****************

 Chapter 833: Pity

    Chapter 833: Pity


    "There''s no one left here? But even Kane?" Lucifer asked the guard.


    "Not even one person," the guard replied, sighing. "They all left."


    Lucifer nodded, but he didn''t turn around. "Open the door."


    The guards opened the door, letting Lucifer in.


    Even though everyone was left, he was sure that at least theb was going to be here. There was a good chance that something that he needed was left behind.


    He stepped inside the building with Jian following him inside. The two unlikely allies went everywhere together at this point, maybe because they wanted to keep an eye on the other person, or maybe it was something else?


    Hearing about the arrival of Lucifer, the humans that were taking care of the city until now came running down to greet him. Their effort was only greeted by a cold nod from Lucifer, who didn''t even stop for them.


    Lucifer went to the second-highest floor and stopped before the metallic doors. There were no locks here, yet no one could open the door. It was as if it had a different system of itself and couldn''t be controlled from the main control room. It was impossible to override the security mechanism of this ce.


    Lucifer didn''t need to override anything though. He just stood before the door, gazing at the center. A green light came from the door, which not only scanned the facial features of Lucifer but also his retina and heartbeats.


    All the vital data of Lucifer was already inside the system. In fact, this new defense system was only developed for Lucifer, who couldn''t use fingerprint sensors and such.


    Not only his but the vitals of everyone who was granted ess to this room was fed to the systems. However, amongst the ones that were here, only Lucifer could open it.


    Even for the humans here, it was the first time they had seen thisb open. After Uprising left, they had tried to open this ce, thinking there might be something important there, but they only failed.


    Jian entered theb, curious about theb that Lucifer was so eager to search.


    Entering theb, Lucifer looked everywhere. Most of the times were left here and weren''t taken yet, including the Battlegears of others that were still in the process of being made. However, all those items were of no use to Lucifer, who was here for something else entirely.


    He kept searching every ce, from shelves to drawers.


    "What are you looking for? Maybe I can help as well?" Jian chimed in. "It should make things easier."


    "No need. I already found it," Lucifer eximed, looking inside thest drawer he had opened.


    He ced his hand inside the drawer and pulled the item he was looking for. He wore a dark pair of gloves in each of his hands.


    "Gloves? That''s what you needed?" Jian asked, chuckling. "I really pity you. Without gloves, you can''t even touch anything. I don''t know how I could''ve survived if I was in your ce, not being able to touch my sword."


    "Anyway, if you''re done now, can we leave?"


    "We can get going."


    ....


    The humans arranged a helicopter for Lucifer to leave. Even though they were initially scared to see Jian here, they were happy to see that Lucifer and Jian weren''t enemies anymore.


    They were working together, which meant Elisium didn''t need to worry about revenge of Jian, and it wasn''t going to be a Warzone.


    Moreover, even if the Uprising had disbanded, with the presence of Jian and Lucifer, there was no way any other nation could''ve thought about attacking them. It was the best safety they could''ve hoped for.


    The chopper started rising in the air, carrying two men and a young woman. Three of the strongest people in the world from three different parts of the world were sitting together in the same chopper. The pilot was excited at just the thought of escorting such high profile people.


    After traveling for around two hours non stop, the choppernded in the middle of a desert. There was only one cave entrance in the massive desert. Except it, nothing could be seen.


    Jian stepped out of the helicopter first, observing the entrance of the Dungeon. "That''s the Dungeon I heard so much about. Still, it''s a level four Dungeon, so it shouldn''t be challenging. For your men to get trapped here, they must be really weak."


    "It doesn''t matter if they were weak or not. What matters is that every single member of Uprising who is still alive is important to me at the moment." Lucifer jumped out of the helicopter as well.


    "Moreover, the ones who entered the Dungeon are even more special for me since they are the ones that have proven their loyalty to me. I can''t let Szar and Yaliza die in there," he added.


    Milena was thest toe out. She didn''t have anyone special she needed to save here. Everyone she had brought with her was already killed in Zeston.


    The rest were back at the Continent of Darkness. There were no stakes for her in this other than just helping Lucifer and maybe finding a way to get rid of Jian. She still hadn''t told Lucifer about the fact that Jian couldn''t be killed. Honestly, she herself forgot about the fact that she didn''t tell this to Lucifer.


    "There are footsteps. Someone was recently here," Jian went down on his knees, observing the footsteps. "If I''m not wrong, maybe a few hours ago. That''s very interesting. Why are so many people interested in entering this Dungeon? Am I missing something?"


    "It doesn''t matter. Whoever entered is of no concern to us. We have a different mission of our own," Lucifer responded. However, even he was slightly curious who would enter.


    He could guess that the person was most probably the Dungeon Dweller that had delivered the message to him before.


    "Let''s go." Going against the winds that made his robe clutter, Lucifer stepped inside the Dungeon.


    "So be it," Jian chuckled as he also stepped inside with Millena.


    As the three of them entered, they felt as if they had passed through some kind of barrier. It was just a feeling.


    The Dungeon Dwellers were hoping for the arrival of Lucifer for so long. And when the time came for it, not one but two Lucifers entered the Dungeon and not even alone. Jian and Milena were also brought together.


    The Dungeon that could have a hard time handling the aura of Lucifer alone was supporting much stronger auras.


    "He is here!" In the Level Seven Dungeon, shocked voices came.

 Chapter 834: Race

    Chapter 834: Race


    The Level Seven Dungeon housed the strongest Dungeon Dwellers that were capable of destroyings with a flick of their fingers. However, even these strong Dungeon Dwellers needed one mare human to free them.


    Their strength was their biggest curse since the stronger they were, the stronger the seal of the Dungeon was going to be, and it was going tost for a long time. On the contrary, if they were weaker, they could''ve left the Dungeon a long time ago.


    That''s why they had nned to invite Lucifer inside and use his energy to shatter the seal. Fortunately, they didn''t know about the second Lucifer entering the Dungeon. They had been keeping an eye only on the first Lucifer as soon as he entered. Their entire focus was on them.


    If they hadn''t kept all the focus on the first Lucifer, they could''ve noticed that more people had entered the Dungeon. Their n was only a part for the first Lucifer.


    Lucifer, Jian, and Milena walked inside the Dungeon, prepared to face the Dungeon Dwellers. However, they were slightly surprised. It wasn''t that they didn''t find any Dungeon Dwellers. However, they had found a Dungeon Dweller that was already dead.


    Along the way, they only saw bodies and blood.


    "Whoever it was that entered before us, he''s having real fun, it seems. He left nothing for us," Jian said amusingly. "Either this Dungeon is really as weak as I imagined it to be, or whoever entered before us is quite strong."


    He touched the bodies of the beats. "Yep. The wounds are still fresh. The blood is still warm. If I''m not wrong, this happened in thest half an hour. If we''re fast, we might be able to catch up to that person. These beasts would be slowing him down after all.


    Lucifer nodded, observing the wounds. He didn''t know why but it seemed somewhat familiar. "They are killed using lightning and brute strength."


    "You noticed it too, it seems." Jian smiled. "That''s right. Whoever did this has some abilities simr to you. Or your father, for that matter. That''s why I''m curious to see who did it."


    "I initially thought it was someone from your team who was here, but I studied up on your members a bit, and I know that none of them possess these abilities. So it''s none of them. It looks like it''ll be fun."


    Jian looked excited to know more about the person who was ahead of them, but Lucifer wasn''t as amused. These cuts didn''t look like the work of the Dungeon Dweller that he was thinking about. Moreover, why would that Dungeon Dweller be killing his own beasts? It was certainly a human, and he was sure of it now.


    With that theory, he would''ve assumed it was an Uprising member as well who was informed about the plight of Szar and Yaliza, but that didn''t make sense either.


    Just as Jian had said, none in his team could control lightning to such precision. In fact, these wounds weren''t much different from what he would''ve left behind.


    "I''m also curious to meet the person who did it," Lucifermented as he started walking.


    They walked for twenty minutes straight. Without any obstruction, it was much faster for them to travel. They didn''t need to waste time. However, even though they traveled so fast, they hadn''t caught up to the person who was ahead of them.


    "We still haven''t managed to catch up to him, even though we didn''t need to fight. Meanwhile, he has been killing beasts which should''ve slowed him down. Despite all that, he is still faster than us. That can only mean one thing," Jian muttered, observing the body before him.


    The wound was also fresh on it, just like it was with every other body along the way.


    "It means these beasts aren''t even a threat to him," Lucifer finished the sentence of Jian. "He isn''t wasting even a single second in killing them. That means he is quite strong. Moreover, he''s moving very fast, as if he''s in a hurry for some reason. That person is really good."


    "Exactly. He''s moving faster than us despite having more to handle. We need to increase our speed if we want to catch up to him." Jian nodded.


    Milena hadn''t spoken anything since they entered the Dungeon, but seeing the obsession of these two men with the person ahead of them, she couldn''t control herself from chiming in.


    "Why are we even so concerned with this person? Don''t we have a different mission of our own? In any case, we also need to get to the end of the Dungeon. Even if we aren''t fast, we''ll still meet that person eventually!"


    "You don''t understand, little girl. It''s not about meeting that person. It''s about the curiosity. The faster we get rid of this curiosity, the better it is for us. You won''t understand," Jian responded,ughing.


    "We need to be fast. We can''t let that person have all the fun," he added, standing up. With a confident smile, he turned to Lucifer. "How about we have a race?"


    "What race?" Lucifer asked, frowning.


    "Let''s see who reaches that person first! With this race, we will give it our all. We won''t waste as much time either. So, what do you say? We didn''t fight, so we couldn''t decide which one of us was stronger. This race can be that battle," Jian chuckled. "No benefit in wasting time."


    "Fine. We will have that race," Lucifer nodded. It wasn''t a bad idea either. All of them were strong, and all of them could go faster than they''d been going. This wasn''t half bad.


    Jian stretched his arms. "On the count of three..."


    "One..."


    "Two..."


    "Three...."


    As soon as the count was over, two figures shot straight, leaving dust in their wake.


    Milena shook her head. "These guys..."


    She hadn''t taken part in the race. In any case, she didn''t want to get in between the battle of two men.


    Still, she couldn''t stay too far behind. She also started following after them, asionally teleporting in the middle to cover any excess gap.


    On one hand, Milena was trying to catch up to Lucifer and Jian. On the other hand, Lucifer and Jian were in a different league altogether.


    Not only was Lucifer using his winds, but a flicker of lightning could also be seen around him. He could''ve used teleportation as well, but he was being fair and using pure and raw speed of his.


    Surprisingly, Jian wasn''t much behind either. It was unclear how he was so fast, but there wasn''t much gap between him and Lucifer. In fact, it was Lucifer who was a few meters behind Jian, trying to catch up.

 Chapter 835: Winner

    Chapter 835: Winner


    "I didn''t think you''d be this slow, you know. Then again, I do have a habit of overestimating people at times," Jian was holding onto a very thin lead, but despite that, he didn''t forget to have fun with Lucifer.


    "Is that so..." Lucifer let out. A bolt of lightning appeared in his left eye as the lighting around him intensified. Within seconds, his speed multiplied.


    Swiss~


    Lucifer zoomed past Jian like a rocket, leaving him behind. Finally, for the first time, he had gained the lead again.


    "Looks like I stepped on the cat''s tail. Why were you hiding that speed?" Jian chuckled. "But that doesn''t matter. You know I don''t have a habit of losing. And I''m not starting now!"


    Jian also increased his speed; however, despite his speed, he was still behind. In fact, instead of closing in, the distance between the two only kept increasing.


    Jian''s eyes twitched in frustration. Was he really going to lose? Just the thought of losing itself was enough to make him angry, especially losing to someone like Lucifer.


    "I generally don''t like calling him out on my own, but..."


    Tuck~


    He tapped his sword with his thumb twice, right at the sharp edge. The Sword was so sharp that a small cut was left on his thumb just following the light tap.


    A blood droplet trickled down the sword, being absorbed by it slowly.


    "You''re disappointing. Calling me for such pitiful reasons!" A mysterious voice echoed in the head of Jian as the sword shone for a brief second. It was a voice that only he could hear though.


    "Enough nonsense. I don''t want to lose. Make me win!" Jian muttered softly. "I can''t lose. But you can''t hurt him. I need him for something. Just win the race!"


    "Sigh, you humans are so pitiful. I''m not helping you over such small things!" The voice responded.


    "Don''t forget, we have a contract! I didn''t sacrifice my soul just for you to say no when I need you! You must do as I say for now!" Jian responded with an ugly look on his face.


    "Tsk Fine. This celestial will help you once more!" Came azy response.


    The aura around Jian suddenly changed, bing even fiercer.


    Following in the back, even Milena felt the aura of Jian. She remembered it. It was the same aura that Jian had when he defeated her, as if she was nothing.


    She couldn''t help but be shocked to sense that aura once again. Why was this aura here? Was Jian attacking Lucifer? It was also now that she remembered about forgetting to tell Lucifer about the split personality and the undying nature of Jian.


    She also increased her speed and started using teleportation more extensively to get closer to help Lucifer in case it was actually a fight.


    The Aura around him changed, but that wasn''t the only thing. It was as if he was apletely different person now.


    "Hehehe, he''s not even that fast. Can''t believe I was called for him?" Jian cackled as his figure increased speed even more.


    In fact, now his speed was so fast that only a shadow could be seen instead of his figure. And even that shadow was only visible for the blink of an eye.


    "You''re very slow, little guy." Jian slowed down around Lucifer after catching up to him, only to mock him.


    "You...?" Lucifer nced at Jian, getting an odd feeling. It was as if the person he was seeing wasn''t Jian. However, thinking of it as his misconception, Lucifer didn''t take it seriously.


    The aura around Jian was something he found somewhat familiar. He didn''t know what was so familiar about it, but there was just a feeling inside him. It wasn''t the aura of a Dungeon Dweller, a summoned Beast, or anything he had ever met before. It was something different.


    The figure didn''t stay around Lucifer for long as it disappeared again. He wanted to get to the end of the Dungeon faster than Lucifer. That''s what he had promised to Jian. If it weren''t his promise, he would''ve loved to talk more.


    The figure zoomed past Lucifer. It wasn''t just Lucifer who was feeling something odd.


    "This person... I don''t know what it is about him, but I get a really dreadful feeling from him as if there was a dark abyss around him. For a demon like me to get that feeling from a human, something isn''t right. Was it just my misconception?" The empty words of Jian were spoken so softly that they didn''t even enter his own ears.


    "I can''t return this body to Jian after winning. I need to find out more about this man. Just what was that feeling?"


    Boom~


    The figure abruptly stopped at the end of the Dungeon,nding on his feet.


    After a few seconds, Lucifer also reached there.


    "It seems you won." Lucifernded on the ground as well. "You''re fast indeed."


    Even though he could''ve won with Teleportation, he wanted to test his limits more than he wanted to win the race.


    Jian stood there, silently observing Lucifer. He still didn''t know where he was getting that feeling from. But it was really odd.


    "Have you ever been to hell?" Jian asked after a long time.


    "Hell? What?" Lucifer looked in confusion.


    "Nothing." Jian shook his head as if he had already received his answer. "Your aura is really unique. It has a very specific scent."


    "It looks like I was wrong. He had never been there, so that he couldn''t have that. That means I was wrong. I guess I''m losing my touch in the realm of humans. I better leave." The aura of Jian disappeared. His eyes returned to their usual color, and his expressions became mild again.


    "I won, didn''t I?" Jian asked.


    "You don''t remember?"


    "I don''t. I think my other personality took over. Did Milena not tell you about my split personality? I don''t remember what my other self did. But it''s good that I won," Jian smiled. "Wait, where is the person who was ahead of us? Ipletely forgot about him. If we''re already at the end, where is he?"


    "I didn''t see anyone along the way except dead bodies. If I''m not wrong, this shouldn''t be the end of the Dungeon," Lucifer exined. He remembered that he was told about the ends of this Dungeon being the entrance of a higher realm Dungeon.


    "But yeah, it seems Milena forgot to tell me about your personality. It looks like you''re the same as Uzuki used to be, with your other personality being different."


    Jian nodded his head, but only he knew how wrong this statement was. It was all but a story he made.

 Chapter 836: Welcoming

    Chapter 836: Weing


    Lucifer kept traveling alone, soon reaching the end of the Dungeon, unaware that there were people who were trying to catch up to him.


    Soon, he reached the end of the Dungeon, finding a dead end. "This was all? This wasn''t as challenging as I thought? Where is the person who challenged me toe here? Was this a joke?"


    Lucifer looked everywhere but couldn''t find any other way. Ultimately, he decided to turn around and leave.


    He had only taken one step back when a figure stepped out of the wall in the back. "Lucifer Azarel, it looks like you really kept your side of the deal. You reached here."


    "So here you are..." Lucifer turned around, slightly surprised as to where this person came from.


    Without wasting a single second, he tossed out a lightning bolt.


    Before the lightning bolt could hit the man, the figure stepped back, passing through the wall in the back. The lightning bolt also passed through.


    "A secret entry?"


    Lucifer also flew inside the wall, feeling as if he had passed through another barrier.


    ~~~


    "It''s a dead end," Jianmented, looking at the wall. "I think we really flew past that person without realizing. Where is Milena? Maybe she saw him?"


    "There shees." Lucifer noticed Milena flying towards him.


    "Are you alright? Did he attack you?" Milena eximed in shock.


    "Why would he attack me?" Lucifer asked. "I''m fine. We just had a race which I lost."


    "I just sensed the aura of his other personality. I thought he was attacking you. I came as fast as I could, but you two were really fast," Milena exined.


    "He just used his other self to win. However, it''s interesting that you mentioned about his other personality, which is stronger than his usual one," Lucifer let out, shaking his head.


    "I forgot to mention it. I just remembered. I was just so immersed in everything. I thought you knew about it. I just thought of the possibility of you not knowing it," Milena exined, lowering her gaze.


    "Is there anything else I don''t know about?" Lucifer inquired right before Jian. It was a general question, so he didn''t bother if Jian heard them.


    "There''s one more thing. Right before our battle started, Arthur told me more about the abilities of Jian," Melina said, ncing at Jian. "He can''t die. He''s immortal in a sense."


    "He has healing as well?"


    "No. His immortality is different from yours. He doesn''t have healing. Instead, it''s his body that returns to a perfect condition as soon as he dies. His body reserves its time by a day to bring him back to life. Moreover, every death makes him stronger," Milena described.


    Lucifer nced at Jian with a bit of surprise. This Ability was certainly good as it was instant healing from death to a perfect status. However, one department in which it was behind his healing was that it couldn''t heal wounds as long as he didn''t die.


    "She isn''t wrong," Jian innocently smiled. "However, there are some things that even she doesn''t know. I''ll let them be a secret for now."


    As he spoke, hezily shifted his body back to stand with his back resting against the wall.


    "Wha-"


    His body didn''t get the support of anything solid behind him as he passed through the wall, falling on the other end.


    "The entrance of the Higher Dungeon..." Lucifer muttered. He had a feeling it was something like that. Who knew Jian was going to find the entrance first.


    "Milena, stay alert. We''re entering a higher grade Dungeon that has never been explored before. Moreover, the people on the other end are already expecting us, so there might be a trap there. Be careful," Lucifer reminded Milena before he turned into a shadow and passed through the wall.


    Milena also took a step forward and passed through the stone wall, disappearing.


    ....


    Lucifer came out of a different wall, noticing Jian standing before him. There was no one else in the surrounding area.


    He jumped out of his shadow as well.


    "What is this ce?" Jian asked, ncing back.


    Milena also came out by now.


    "It''s a Higher Grade Dungeon, it seems. This was connected to the other Dungeon," Lucifer exined. "Let''s continue the search."


    "You knew about this, didn''t you? You knew the mission involved a Higher Grade Dungeon?" Jian asked, frowning. "That''s why we haven''t found the friends of yours we''re looking for, and you weren''t surprised either."


    "Of course, I knew about it. I''m here to save my friends," Lucifer exined. "I already told you at the start that we''ll be saving them from a Dungeon. It might be a Higher Grade Dungeon, but it''s still a Dungeon. Moreover, thest Dungeon wasn''t even a challenge. This couldn''t be much different either."


    "Come." Lucifer took the lead.


    He was slightly surprised though. He had expected to be weed by hordes of Monsters that were to be here to kill him, but there was nothing.


    "You think the person who was ahead of us also entered this ce?" Jian asked. "If that''s the case, we might be seeing a few dead bodies soon."


    "Maybe," Lucifer muttered. Since the entrance wasn''t that hard to discover, it wasn''t hard to believe that someone else could''ve entered this ce as well. He was still more concerned about no one being here to attack them. He couldn''t even feel any danger?


    ~~~


    Ten minutes ago~


    "Greetings Lucifer Azarel. If only got knew just how many special people are here to wee you..." The dark figure muttered, standing before Lucifer, who just came following him.


    There were four more people standing in the back, all having a frighteningly powerful aura.


    He had just appeared in apletely unknown ce only to be weed by Dungeon Dwellers that looked like humans. He didn''t even know that the people in the back were Dungeon Dwellers.


    "Who are you all? What do you want from me?" Lucifer asked.


    "Who are we...? I suppose you don''t need to know the answer to that question." A fifth person stepped out of the Shadow, appearing to be a bulky man, dressed invish dark clothes. "Just know that we''re the people who have been wronged. And you have the key to make things right for us."


    The man had the strongest aura of all of them. He also looked the calmest of them all. The others had a look of excitement on their faces for some reason, as if they had received the biggest just with the arrival of Lucifer.


    The man kept walking closer to Lucifer, and with each of his steps, Lucifer felt a quake in his heart.

 Chapter 837: Forever here

    Chapter 837: Forever here


    "Now that you''re here, I suppose we can begin," the King of Dungeon Dwellers smiled as he kept stepping closer to Lucifer. "We already waited a long time for your arrival."


    Lucifer knew he wasn''t here to meet friends based on how they invited him. Letting these people get close to him was a mistake. He kept stepping back, soon reaching the wall from which he had entered; however, he couldn''t pass through the wall to go back.


    "The entrance is closed. You can onlye here, but you can''t leave," the man said, sighing. "It''s that damn barrier. Just like us, you''re also sealed here."


    "Anyway, we aren''t your enemies. We just want to leave this ce just like you''ll want to leave this ce. Since you''re trapped here, you can''t leave. You''ll need our help to leave, and we''ll need yours. We need to work together if we want to leave," he added, stopping just as he was a few meters away from him.


    "Who are you?" Lucifer asked. He didn''t directly attack for two reasons. First, he had a feeling that if he attacked, he wasn''t going to win. The man was just in apletely different league altogether. He could feel it. It was as if he was a man who was standing before a god.


    "I am Licorice, the King of the Baltics," The man responded.


    "Baltics?"


    "Oh, you call us the Dungeon Dwellers," Licorice smiled. "However, we are the proud Baltics from a distant world which was destroyed by a beast. We escaped and came here, only to realize that we were locked here. We couldn''t leave. That''s why we need your help."


    "Dungeon Dwellers who look like humans?" Lucifer asked, frowning. "Why would I help you get out? Don''t you just want to destroy the world? If I let you out, it''ll be even easier for you to do it with your strength. Even though I don''t care about the destruction you cause, it''s still the world I need to live in. Why would I do anything for you?"


    "If not for us, how about doing it for yourself, your friends, and your family?" Licoricezily stated as he turned around. "I won''t force you. I''ll leave the decision to you. If you want to get out, work with us."


    "However, before I leave, let me remove a misconception of yours. We Baltics don''t like killing anyone. We don''t even want to destroy the earth. It''s just the lower-ranked Baltics who haven''t evolved. They couldn''t control themselves in new surroundings, scared at what happenedst time."


    "If we were outside, we could''ve stopped them, but we couldn''t. We were trapped here, destined to watch them attack the innocent creatures of this world. Trust me, that''s not our intention. That''s all I''ll leave you with. If you think you can trust us and want to help,e after us. If not, you can just sit there since there is no way out anyway."


    Licorice left as calmly as he came. His four followers also left, following closely behind.


    Lucifer had expected them to attack him, not that wasn''t what happened. What happened waspletely against what he had assumed. Confused, he started following after them.


    He tried to catch up to Licorice, but the four followers blocked his path. "What are you trying to do?"


    A barrier appeared between the two sides. Seeing the running approach of Lucifer, everyone thought he was about to attack Licorice.


    "It''s alright. Let the little onee." Licorice chimed in as he snapped his fingers. A single snap of his destroyed the barrier of his followers.


    The men and women stepped aside at themands, allowing Lucifer to pass through.


    Lucifer started walking right beside Licorice. "You said I''ll listen to you for me, my friends, and my family. What did you mean by that?"


    "Hmm? Did you not watch what was on that phone?" Licorice asked, frowning.


    "Which phone?" Lucifer inquired, confused. Which phone? It had been decades since he had touched a phone. Even now, he couldn''t hold one because he didn''t have his gloves. "What are you talking about?"


    "The phone that Jestil gave youst time he met you?"


    "He didn''t give me any phone. All he did was kill a person, and for that, I''m going to kill him for sure," Lucifer responded, taking a nce back at the dark-cloaked man.


    "He''s talking about the phone I gave you during ourst meeting where I invited you toe here," Jestil chimed in. "Don''t tell me you didn''t check that phone?"


    "I suppose that meeting was around a week ago? Because I don''t remember anything that happened before this week," Lucifer exined.


    "Ah, that would exin why you didn''te here. And I thought you just didn''t care about your parents," Jestil chuckled. "It looks like I didn''t need to kill that olddy to make you furious. The poordy died a dog''s death for no reason. Oh well, all well that ends well."


    Hearing himugh at the death of the girl, Lucifer grew even more upset. Fortunately, Jestil didn''t give him the same feeling that Licorice and the four others gave him. He could attack that guy and had the confidence to win.


    Moreover, he didn''t have to worry about Licorice attacking him since he already understood that he was the key that could get them out. Since he was of such high importance, he could literally do anything as long as he didn''t go overboard and get believed killing Jestil wasn''t going overboard.


    Without much thought, Lucifer swung his hand, shooting a lightning bolt.


    "Hehehe, I''m not as easy as my brother for you to kill," Jestil''sughter echoed as his body turned to mist. The lightning bolt passed through his body.


    Unlike the real Lucifer, this one only had strength, lightning, decay, and wind. He had nothing that could hurt the mist form of Jestil.


    Still, he didn''t hold back. He flew towards Jestil. "It''s not the end yet. The end will be when you die."


    "Lucifer, calm down. You can''t defeat him," Licorice reminded Lucifer, but he didn''t stop him. Instead, he stopped his four generals from interfering in the battle.


    The battle began as Lucifer fought a misty creature, trying to get an attack in whenever Jestil came to his real form from the mist, which was right after every dispersal. However, Jestil was so fast to disperse again that he sessfully avoided all the attacks.


    The attacks created loud explosions, the sound of which traveled far and wide. Some of those explosions even fell in the ears of Lucifer... The real one.


    "Something is happening! Stay alert and keep yourself hidden!" Lucifer eximed as he shot ahead.

 Chapter 838: Me

    Chapter 838: Me


    Lucifer, Jian, and Milena flew towards the sound of the explosions.


    "If I''m not wrong, it must be the other person who was ahead of us, fighting the Dungeon Dwellers," Jian theorized. "So far, he has been able to easily take them out. At the moment, he seems to be having a hard time. I wonder who he''s fighting."


    Lucifer also had the same question as he flew in the lead. The closer they reached to the sound of the explosion, they started slowing down.


    "It''s happening right around that corner. Don''t jump inside. Let me check first," Lucifer informed Jian,nding on the ground. He turned into a shadow and moved towards the turn ahead.


    Still, in his shadow form, he reached the turn, looking at the battle.


    He could see five people standing tall, watching the battle. The aura around all five of them was frightening. Lucifer could even see their dark aura, clearly making even bigger figures behind them. He understood they were Dungeon Dwellers.


    What attracted his attention more was the battle and the participants. He remembered one of the participants as the person who had given him a phone. However, the person who was fighting him stunned Lucifer the most.


    It was... Himself? How was this possible? How was he fighting the enemy when he was here? He could''ve made a clone just like Kellian did once, but that would weaken him, so he never attempted it. He didn''t remember making any clones, so how was there one?


    Moreover, it wasn''t as if he was someone who just looked like him! The man had his skills and fought simr to how he used to fight once upon a time, relying heavily on lighting and winds.


    "It''s you?!" Came another shocked voice from the back. Lucifer noticed Jian peeking as well, along with Milena.


    He pushed the both of them, hiding behind the wall. "Shhh!"


    "So the person who was ahead of us all this while was none other than your clone. Man, did you need to keep such a secret? Did you send a clone for recii ahead? You could''ve told me," Jianmented.


    "However, Why are you there fighting them? You can make clones too? That clone looks weaker though. Shouldn''t we help him instead of hiding here?" he asked, frowning.


    For once, Milena also agreed with him. "We should jump in the battle and take advantage while they''re busy."


    "We can''t. Because that''s not my clone. I don''t know who he is. I want to know more about the situation before jumping in. So wait here. We''ll watch for a little while to understand the situation better. If we''re needed, I''ll tell you. Until then, don''t speak much!"


    All the conversations happened in whispers to make sure the Dungeon Dwellers didn''t hear them. Fortunately, the Dungeon Dwellers were so immersed in Lucifer, they didn''t notice anything. Moreover, any sound of conversations was drowned in the constant explosions of the battle.


    After the battlested for half an hour, Licorice finally decided to intervene. He snapped his fingers once again. A barrier appeared between Lucifer and Jestil. Even the most powerful bolt of Lucifer couldn''t prate the barrier.


    "Are you two done, or do you want to continue for an hour more? I already know that the battle won''t be over even if we continue it for days. Lucifer can''t be attacked, and Jestil can''t be hurt. So stop the battle already."


    Licorice appeared before Lucifer. "As for the woman who died, I know Jestil did wrong, but he''s important for us as well since he''s the only one of us who cane inside this Dungeon and leave. Except him, we''re all trapped here, including you. So if we need to convey any messages outside, we need him."


    "Moreover, we didn''t know you lost your memories. He actually thought you didn''t want toe, even for your parents. So he had to stroke your ego and make you angry," he further exined. "I know he went a bit too far. I apologize from his side."


    "However, how did you lose your memories? Did that explosion cause it in which you disappeared? We couldn''t feel you anywhere for a few days until one day; you appeared in Elisium. And you im that''s when you werecking your memories."


    Lucifer nodded. "I don''t remember what explosion you''re talking about, but if what you said is true, it''s possible. I don''t remember anything up to the moment of waking up in Elisium, all grown up. Thest thing I remember was eight years ago, being killed by Varant in a helicopter. From that point on, all memories are missing."


    "Hmm?" The real Lucifer heard the words of the second Lucifer, stubbed. This one statement had raised too many questions for him.


    Even he had lost his memories after he was tossed into the sea by Varant. That''s when the old man found him in the sea and brought him to the ind where he was taught everything until he remembered the memories.


    There were many questions in his head, one of which was the question about his own existence.


    ording to both of them, they were the real Lucifer. The one difference was this new Lucifer didn''t make any more memories after that point, unlike the old one.


    Hiding in his Shadows, Lucifer found himself lost in deep thoughts.


    ''I woke up after being brought out of the sea... That''s when my new memories started. His started a few days ago. That means he was probably taken out a few days ago? The sea is near Elisium as well.''


    ''That would exin how he appeared there. But how is that possible? If what I''m thinking is right, the sea had two Lucifers after the incident with Varant? One was me, and the other was him?''


    '' I was taken out while he was left behind? That''s why I woke up before him? But how? How can two of me be there? How could the other onee to life? How?''


    Lucifer came out of his shadow, hiding behind a wall.


    "What happened? You look like you received some shock?" Jian asked, noticing the nk look on Lucifer''s face.


    He couldn''t understand what Lucifer heard that could shock him so much. He also heard the same conversation, but he didn''t find anything odd there.


    Lucifer looked down, trying to remember everything that happened on that chopper. That could give him some clues on how it was possible.


    "Could that be it?" he muttered, slowly lowering his gaze as if he remembered something that could give an answer.

 Chapter 839: Caught

    Chapter 839: Caught


    Lucifer slowly ced his hand on his chest, frowning. The only thing that he could find odd was the fact that his heart was taken out.


    He wondered if he and his heart were tossed separately. His body made a new heart for him, whereas his heart remade a new body? Was that how two Lucifer came to be? One was pulled out of the water, starting his life again, while the other was left behind?


    It wasn''t that he lost his memories but that he didn''t make any memories in the first ce since he was buried in the sea all this while, bringing his own existence into question.


    He wondered if that was even possible, but that was the only thing that could exin this phenomenon.


    ''If there were two Lucifers, he isn''t a clone? He is me? Or am I him? Which one of us would be the real Lucifer? Who came from the body, and who came from the heart? Could this also be the reason why I can''t find the Healing Core?''


    ''That could also exin why the Healing Core is creatingplications with the Time Core? Just like Time Core was distorted, maybe my Healing Core also went through the same thing because of the existence of the two of us?''


    There were thousands of questions in the head of Lucifer; however, he barely had any answer.


    He only had theories about certain possibilities, but he could only be sure of that if he found out where this Lucifer woke up, and was that ce near the sea? If that was the case, that could work to prove his conjecture for the most part.


    Lucifer ced his fingers on his lips, gesturing for others to stay silent. Even though there was another one of him, in his head, he was the only Lucifer. The two of them might be the same, but they were different at the core. Instead of being clones, at best, they were twins who shared some abilities.


    While the old Lucifer had the benefits of experience and knowledge that he managed to grasp aftering out, the new Lucifercked both of them. Not only was he limited to four abilities, but he also didn''t know how to use his lightning to the best of its abilities.


    Even though Jestil was in the misty form, Lucifer could use the evolved form of Dark Lightning to destroy even the misty form with the lightning prison.


    .....


    "As I thought, it''s the explosion. In any case, it doesn''t matter. You still hold the key for us to take out the barrier. Your old memories y no role, even though they could''ve helped us understand some things. But that''s for theter. Come, I''ll brief you again about your family since you don''t remember."


    Licorice ced his hand on the shoulder of Lucifer and started leaving. The others also followed suit.


    Hearing the footsteps bing distant, Lucifer took a nce, watching everyone leave. He sent a small shadow of his to chase after Licorice and others while he waited with Milena and Jian for the others to leave.


    After everyone left, Lucifer stepped out. "Come."


    "Why are we acting like we''re scared? I still don''t understand. Why all this hiding? What are you trying to do?" Jian inquired,zily following Lucifer. "If we came here to spy on people, just tell me so I can stop expecting a battle."


    "I''m sure these people have nned a trap. Now that my other self is there, he is working as a good distraction. Through him, we can see what trap they nned. In the meantime, as they are detracted, we can help the hostages escape. That can lessen their leverage on us," Lucifer respondedzily. "Not everything is about the battle. I told you we''re here to save someone."


    "I understand now," Milena eximed."You''re right. If they know we''re here as well, they can do many things to the hostages, depending on how the battle goes."


    "That''s right. So before doing anything, I want you to help Szar and Yaliza, but even before that, we need to find where they''re kept. So you can''t do anything until then." Lucifer nodded.


    "Heh, I''m here helping you. It''s not my first. I won''t do anything until you ask me to, don''t worry. However, if yours or my life is at risk, I''ll be forced to move a hand." Jian smirked.


    ....


    Licorice escorted Lucifer to a certain section of the Dungeon as he kept talking and introducing different sections of the Dungeon as if he was the guide.


    It was like the rest of the cave, simr all around, but one thing was different. There was a small door shaped opening in the wall on the left corner. The opening was covered by a dark barrier which made it impossible to see what was on the other end.


    "What''s on the other side?" Lucifer asked.


    "If you hadn''t lost the memories, you would''ve known what''s on the other side. I am sure you saw it on the phone," Licorice responded. "However, now that you forgot all that, I have a feeling you''re in for a surprise."


    He ced a finger on the barrier. As soon as his fingers touched the barrier, the barrier disappeared, being sucked inside the body of Licorice to the surprise of Lucifer.


    When others used barriers, they wasted their energy which they couldn''t get back without spending a considerable amount of time, but with Licorice, it was different. He could absorb the same energy that he used to cast the barrier; it was assuming that the barrier was cast by him in the first ce.


    The barrier disappeared, allowing Lucifer to see the other side.


    "Come." Licorice stepped inside the massive room, which was like an entirely different world inside the Dungeon.


    So far, Lucifer hadn''t seen anything but rock in the entire dungeon, but the room was different. It was like an entirely different world. He could see lush green grass everywhere, like the outside world.


    There were no walls on the inside. He could see a beautiful blue sky inside as well. There was no end to the ce as far as the eyes could see.


    Following Licorice, Lucifer stepped inside. The Shadow of the other Lucifer also tried to enter the space; however, as soon as it entered the ce, the red-haired woman turned around.


    The shadow of Lucifer paused in its ce as if it was trapped in the shackles of time.


    "Is that yours?" Licia asked Lucifer, attracting everyone''s attention.


    Jestil agreed. "That shadow? It seems to be his. He can control them, if I''m not wrong. I wonder why he''ll be using his shadows here?"


    "That''s not mine." Against all his expectations, Lucifer gave a different answer.

 Chapter 840: Battle of mentality

    Chapter 840: Battle of mentality


    "Stop lying! I''ve personally seen you use shadows before! It''s yours! What are you scheming using your Shadows when you''re between us?" Jestil roared. "Looking to betray us?"


    "I''m not sure what you''re trying to say, but if you''re looking for an excuse to fight, you don''t need it." Lucifer''s fist tightened. "I told you I can''t control any shadows. I only have five abilities, and shadow control isn''t one of them."


    "You dumb human! What childish lie? Only five abilities? Who are you trying to fool? Fess up! What were your intentions!" Jestil stepped closer to Lucifer.


    "Jestil, stop." Licoricezily chimed in. His single word was enough to send chills down the spine of Jestil, who stopped.


    "If he says it''s not his, then I believe him. He has no reason to lie at this point. Moreover, he''s right. He doesn''t remember anything, so it makes sense he thinks he only has four abilities," he further added. "I doubt he would lie like this."


    "If that shadow isn''t his... And it''s not one of ours, then who...? That means someone else is here as well!" Jestil eximed. She red at Lucifer. "Who did you bring with you?"


    "No one. I came alone," Lucifer responded innocently.


    "We kept an eye on him all the way. I know he didn''t inform anyone beforeing here. It''s not his fault," Licia exined, acting as the witness for Lucifer.


    From the time Jestil informed Lucifer to now, they had been keeping an eye on him.


    "That can only mean someone else is here and not because of Lucifer," Licorice muttered, smiling. "Let''s see who it is..."


    He turned to a dark-haired man on the side. "Azurel?"


    The dark-haired man stepped closer to the shadow of Lucifer, that was trapped in space and time.


    "Little guest, why hiding behind a shadow? Since you came here, I''m sure it''s not an ident. Why hide then?" Azurel ced his hand on the Shadow. His eyes started shining in a beautiful dark shine.


    "Time to give the control of your mind to me. I promise I''ll be gentle," Azurel smirked.


    In another part of the Dungeon, Lucifer had suddenly stopped. He was connected to the shadow that was following after Licorice. As soon as his shadow was trapped in space, he realized he had messed up. Those people knew about him!


    He couldn''t even disperse his shadow as it was trapped in space that even he couldn''t mess with.


    The entire space of that room was like a different world altogether.


    Before he could do anything, he saw Azurel stepping before his shadow.


    "They know about us. Prepare for battle!" Lucifer eximed, alerting his teammates.


    As soon as he finished alerting them, he sensed something. It was as if someone was trying to break down the defense of his mind, trying to take control. Fortunately, thest experience like this had managed to strengthen him and his mental defenses.


    Despite the strength, it was struggling against the onught of Azarel''s attack.


    "Who is behind that Shadow?" Licia asked Azurel.


    Azurel shook his head. "I don''t know yet. Give me some time."


    "What''s taking so long? Shouldn''t it be a child''s y for you to take control of anyone like this, especially when that other person?" Licia asked. "Unless a person isn''t in the Dungeon? Is he controlling the shadow from outside?"


    "That''s not the case," Azurel responded. "It''s so strange, but whoever that person is, he''s still inside this Dungeon. Despite that, I am having a hard time entering the head of whoever is controlling the shadow."


    "This shouldn''t be possible unless that person is really very strong, which should be unlikely," Licia eximed in surprise. "Someone with enough mental tenacity to oppose your control?"


    She turned to the man who held a small crystal sphere in his hand. "What do you think Milen? Should it be possible?"


    "There are many things that can make it possible. The Variants gain different abilities. The abilities give them certain advantages which don''t make them stronger than us. However, if that person gained a mental defense ability, that can exin how he can resist," Milena exined.


    "Let it be, Azurel. I can see the entire Dungeon. Let me see who it is," he continued as he raised his sphere.


    "No!" Azurel yelled, ring back. "It''s like a challenge from that person. I want to find him on my own now! Don''t you dare see him!"


    "Fine..." Milen lowered his crystal sphere, but he didn''t entirely listen to Azurel. He still wanted to see who was behind the shadow. He decided to sneakily check alone without informing others.


    The sphere started shining as Milen closed his eyes. After a few seconds, he opened his eyes, that were filled with shock.


    "How is this possible?" he muttered, ncing at Lucifer.


    He could see another Lucifer, resisting the mental control of Azurel, but he wasn''t alone. He was with Milena and Jian. Milen knew about both of them and knew they were rted to Lucifer.


    Did that mean the Lucifer before them was a clone sent to distract them?


    He closed his eyes again. His crystal sphere shone even brighter as he looked at Lucifer before him.


    His eyes started shining brightly; even though they were closed, the shine was visible.


    ''No. He is certainly not a fake. He has a soul as well. He isn''t connected to the other Lucifer in any way. I can''t see any threads. That means he isn''t a clone either. So how?'' Milen thought, frowning.


    Licorice noticed the actions and reactions of Milen. It was the first time he had seen Milen, so shocked.


    He moved closer to Milen. He slowly asked, "What did you see?"


    Milen brought his lips closer to the ears of Licorice and whispered something.


    For a moment, a surprised look was visible even on the face of Licorice which immediately disappeared.


    "I see," he muttered as he stepped back.


    ''This makes things somewhat interesting. That means that Lucifer outside is the one we knew about in the past. He is the stronger one with all those abilities. And the one here... He''s also not a clone, but he isn''t the stronger one. He wasn''t lying when he said he only has five abilities.''


    ''I don''t know how it''s possible, but these two are rted to him somehow. I''m sure there should be a reason behind this. It doesn''t matter though. We just need the connection of Lucifer. It doesn''t matter if it''s the stronger Lucifer or a weaker one. In fact, the weaker one only makes things easier for us.''


    Smiling, Licorice ced his hand on Lucifer''s shoulder. "Let them y around. Youe with me. I want to show you something."

 Chapter 841: My domain

    Chapter 841: My domain


    Lucifer was curious about the shadow in the back, but he turned his back on it and started following Licorice.


    He started following Licorice, leaving the shadow behind. Milen and everyone else stayed behind to see who had dared to infiltrate and who could still resist.


    Out of all of them, Milen was the most eager. He had seen the other Lucifer. He wanted to know how it was possible? Two people, and none of them was a clone, under the control of others? None of them were connected either.


    ~~~


    Lucifer had just warned Jian and others to prepare for battle, but instead of looking concerned, Jian looked excited. It had been a long time since he had cleared a Dungeon.


    Moreover, this Dungeon was supposedly a higher grade Dungeon as well, which was another experience in itself that he didn''t want to miss.


    "Mental attacks are such child''s y. If that''s all they have, do we even need to worry?" Jian smirked. His mind was already connected to someone else who was there to protect him. He didn''t need to worry about mental attacks.


    He was very eager to get in on the action. However, he couldn''t go ahead alone. He needed to wait for Lucifer, who was still under the mental attacks that were only getting stronger. It was as if someone was smacking on the barrier around his head with a hammer.


    "Are you alright?" Milena ced her hand on the shoulder of Lucifer, who seemed distracted.


    "I am fine. I just don''t know how long I canst under the mental thrashing," Lucifer responded, rubbing his forehead.


    "Isn''t the solution simple? Before the enemies break through your defenses, you crack theirs," Jian suggested.


    "Can you do that? Use that connection to target him back?" Milena asked, misunderstanding the suggestion of Jian as him asking Lucifer to respond to a mental attack with a mental attack.


    However, Lucifer understood his meaning properly. He smiled in response. "You''re not wrong. I don''t want to risk myself falling under his control. So we might as well forget the old n. The new n is for us to go crazy."


    He turned to Milena, hugging her as he whispered. "Milena, you won''t join the battle. You''ll be tasked to go ahead and find my family. I''m sure they''re inside that space as well. As soon as you locate them, try to get them out and alert us. We''ll keep everyone else busy. They shouldn''t know that you are here."


    He didn''t want Jian to know that his family was alive, at least not right now when he needed him. If he knew that his family was there, he could forget the alliance and go for revenge.


    The only reason Jian could evene down to working together was because he thought they were equal. Lucifer didn''t want him to know the truth that he had failed. He wanted to keep Jian in a misunderstanding in which he was living until recently.


    "What are you two lovebirds talking about? Saying yourst goodbyes?" Jian shook his head, turning his back on Lucifer. "If you''re done with your public disy of affection, can we get to work?"


    Lucifer nodded. He gave Milena a look before he also turned around and started flying in the direction of the Dungeon Dwellers.


    Within a few minutes, Lucifer reached the end of the cave where the barrier was previously ced. Since the barrier had disappeared, he could see inside clearly.


    His eyes fell on Azurel, who was still immersed in his shadow, trying to break through. He didn''t even notice that the person he was trying to control was standing right before him.


    The other ones saw Lucifer clearly, including Milen. "What a lucky day. We wanted one, but we have two keys."


    Hearing Milen, Azurel also raised his head, noticing Lucifer standing before him. Jian also arrived, standing on the right of Lucifer.


    "See? I was right! This shadow was the work of Lucifer! The one with Licorice must be his clone that he sent to distract us! What a scheming bastard!" Jestil eximed, feeling slightly pleased that he was proven right.


    The others didn''t look as happy. They were more stunned than they were happy. Another Lucifer? Moreover, this one looked a bit stronger as well, based on looks alone.


    "I often prefer to solve problems without violence, but I do enjoy some violence from time to time as well," Jian was the first person to speak. " This is going to be fun..."


    "You did good. You made a clone that could even fool us. Not bad. However, you''re here. I don''t see any benefits in what you did for yourself. In the end, it led you here as well. Am I missing something?" Licia asked Lucifer from inside the massive space.


    Lucifer didn''t answer her question. Instead, he asked a question of himself. "Everything inside that space is created by you. This reminds me of another time when my shadow was trapped in someone''s domain."


    He couldn''t help his nce at Jian as he spoke. Thest time it happened was with his brother Julien. With that old experience, Lucifer knew that stepping inside the space blindly was going to be really problematic as he could get trapped there.


    Fortunately, since he knew about it in advance, he could use Energy Negation in advance to make him immune for some time. The only reason he spoke it out loud was to alert Jian.


    "You''re right and very perceptive." Licia nodded. "This space has been created by me. It''s my Domain, and everything in my Domain is mine. From the grass to the sky, everything has been created by me here. I''m the god of this Domain. Scared yet?"


    "You''re not enough to scare me," Lucifer let out a simple sentence that was enough to enrage Licia. Even though Lucifer was important to them, that didn''t give him the right to be so disrespectful to them.


    Ignoring Licia''s reactions, Lucifer focused on Jian. "Don''t step inside the Domain, and if you do, don''t go more than ten feet away from me."


    "Interesting man indeed." Licia heard theughter of people in the back. It was another one of the four Generals, Loy, who couldn''t control hisughter at the snappy response of Lucifer.


    "Grr!" Licia growled, looking back. Two sharp fangs came out from her mouth as her eyes turned red.


    Loy shut his mouth right away and started looking elsewhere as if he waspletely innocent in all this.


    Just as Loy stoppedughing, anotherughter filled the space. It was none other than Jian this time, chuckling over a different matter.

 Chapter 842: Something special

    Chapter 842: Something special


    "Don''t worry about me. I don''t need to worry about any Domains. If it were that easy to trap me, I wouldn''t be able to defeat your girlfriend back in the city," Jian chuckled, grasping his sword firmly. He still hadn''t pulled it out.


    "She''s not my girlfriend," Lucifer respondedzily. "Now, focus more on the battle ahead."


    "More focused than you. Don''t worry," Jian replied, tapping his Sword as he took a step forth, taking a step inside the Domain of Licia.


    Azurel also stood up, freeing the shadow of Lucifer. Now that the man was here himself, he didn''t need to use the shadow.


    Lucifer and Jian stood before four Generals in the Grade Seven Dungeon, each strong enough to destroy the world on their own. They were further supported by Jestil, who wasn''t weak himself.


    "That arrogant of yours... I would love to wipe that off your face!" Jestil dered. "You think everyone here is weak like my brother was? You''re in for a surprise just like that clone of yours learned when fighting me."


    Luciferzily looked at Jestil. "Your brother? Are you talking about that coward who abandoned the Dungeon Dwellers and hid in fear? It was certainly fun to watch him be destroyed. Not as fun as you''re going to be."


    "You! With your clone, I didn''t fight back, but I won''t hold back this time. We only need one key, so I think I can afford to kill you now. Thank you foring!" Jestil roared, flying towards Lucifer. His body turned to mist, spreading everywhere.


    "You''re too quick to judge. The one you fought wasn''t even a fraction of what I am," Lucifer replied, slowly raising his hand.


    Even though his hand seemed to be moving slowly, it was so fast that within a blink of an eye, his hand was facing the sky.


    Thousands of lightning bolts appeared above his head, all shooting towards the mist.


    "Hah, same tricks?" Jestil eximed. "Pitiful!"


    He had seen the other Lucifer use the Lightning bolt to kill him. He knew how useless they could be! The bolts couldn''t prate the mist!


    Unfortunately, the bolts didn''t fly towards him. They flew around him, stabbing at the ground. The thousands of bolts formed a wall all around the mist, even closing the top and the bottom.


    There was no space in the lightning bolts for even air to pass, let alone mist. The mist was sealed inside the lightning prison.


    Jestil returned to his real form, roaring. "Let me out, arghh!"


    No matter how much he tried, he couldn''te out of the person. Instead, as soon as he even touched the lightning bolts, he felt a current course through his body that only weakened him the more he struggled.


    The prison kept closing, getting smaller with each passing second.


    "That''s enough," Licia chimed in, clenching her fist.


    The lightning prison of Lucifer disappeared as if it was never there, freeing Jestil.


    "I gave you plenty of time to y around. Now it''s enough. Don''t forget; this is my domain. This is my space. Not even winds can move without my permission here!" Licia reminded Lucifer, smiling. "Now that you''re done ying around, why don''t you go down on your knees."


    Thedy waved her finger, distorting the space around Lucifer.


    Lucifer noticed the spatial cracks developing around him. However, even the Spatial Cracks couldn''t hurt him. His Energy Negation kept him free for the most part. It protected him from freezing in space and time, but other than that, it couldn''t stop the energy of Licia in the surroundings.


    Except for being able to control Lucifer''s body, Licia was able to do anything, including control the space as she wished.


    However, that''s where Lucifer''s control came into y as well. He had also mastered the art of space to some extent with his Space Core. The Spatial Cracks didn''t harm his skin.


    What he was more surprised about was Jian instead. Jian had said he wasn''t going to be affected by the space domain, but he was proven wrong immediately.


    He stood like a stone statue, unable to move.


    "So much for bringing help," Lucifer muttered, frowning. "Looks like I''ll have to do everything alone."


    He not only needed to fight everyone alone, but he also needed to distract them enough to allow Milena to sneak past them, using her energy negation.


    Jestil returned to his body from the mist, breathing heavily. He sat on his knees. The lightning prison had taken a lot of toll on him, which he hadn''t expected. He wasn''t a Beast from the Level Seven Dungeon, nor was he as strong as them.


    It was easy to weaken him. On the other hand, the four generals were much stronger. He could see that none of them had even started seriously fighting so far. It was as if they wanted to test Lucifer''s abilities and have some fun.


    "Since you want me to stop ying, so be it." Lucifer shot toward Licia. She was the queen of this space. She was the anchor. If he could take her out, the others were going to be easy, ording to him.


    He shot straight to Licia to distract him as well as to take him out. At the same time, he cast three lightning prisons around the other three Generals. He knew Licia could make the prison disappear, so he didn''t use it on her; however, he didn''t let her focus on helping the others either.


    Unfortunately, he forgot one thing. This time things were different than they had been with Jestil. The three Generals weren''t him after all.


    Seeing the use of lightning prison on the Baltic Generals, Jestil scoffed. "Idiot. He thinks they''re nothing without Licia? Naive."


    Standing inside the lightning prison, Milen just touched the lightning walls with his crystal sphere. Entire lightning prison was sucked inside the sphere.


    Milen didn''t join the battle even after getting free. Instead, he just nced at Lucifer, more interested in the battle. He didn''t even bother helping others out.


    The others didn''t need his help either. Azurel and Lou were more than capable of getting out. Loy''s figure flickered. The best moment, he appeared beside Milen. Without doing anything to the lightning prison, he stepped out.


    "What do you think about him?" Loy asked Milen, looking at Lucifer. "He looks nothing special to me. Is he really rted to that person?"


    Milen nodded his head. "That''s right. It doesn''t look like he''s a clone of that person. The connection between him and the other one is different. Moreover, he doesn''t even have that connection with the other Lucifer."


    "So something is really special about them. That''s what I want to find out. Let me see what he''s truly capable of and if he can tap into that immense power. That he''s capable of."

 Chapter 843: Trapped

    Chapter 843: Trapped


    Far away from the battle going on in the back, Licorice brought Lucifer to a faraway ce in the same space, from where they couldn''t even see the others.


    A beautiful mansion stood before them, made from the white marble. The door of the mansion opened on its own as Licorice stepped closer.


    Lucifer stepped inside the mansion with Licorice. From the outside, the mansion looked so big that Lucifer had expected there to be hundreds of rooms inside; however, it was different.


    From the inside, it was even bigger, but it didn''t have hundreds of rooms like he had imagined. Instead, on the inside, there wasn''t even a single room. It was just a massive hall only.


    In the middle of the massive hall, a massive crystal was floating, which was simr to the size of Lucifer. The beautiful red crystal was shining so brightly that it was bathing the entire hall with a reddish hue.


    At another end of the hall, two men were lying on the ground. Their hands and legs were tied to the wall through an unbreakable chain.


    The two men noticed Lucifer. Their hopeless eyes regained some of their shine. "Lucifer?"


    They believed Lucifer was here to save them.


    Unfortunately, Lucifer gazed at them like he was looking at strangers, which stunned them.


    "Do I know them?" he asked Licorice.


    "I guess you can say that," Licorice smiled. "They worked for you. Or should I say that they worked for your other self? The self that you know nothing about."


    "They came here to take something and attacked us. Unfortunately, they didn''t know what they were dealing with. Still, instead of killing them, we just kept them hostage. You see? We really aren''t the bad people here," he further added.


    No matter how much Lucifer tried, he couldn''t remember Szar and Yaliza. "You want me to free them? As a gesture of friendship, I can do that?"


    Lucifer didn''t know them, but he still nodded his head. Who was he to say no if someone was getting free, especially someone who supposedly worked for him.


    He nodded his head.


    Licorice smirked. To win the confidence of Lucifer, he was willing to even do that. In any case, these two weren''t even a threat to him. They were insignificant.


    He snapped his fingers, shattering the chains that were tying and sucking the energy from them.


    Being free, the two men stood up and walked to Lucifer.


    "I''m sorry we failed you. And thank you foring here to save us," Yaliza let out, sighing.


    "It looks like you''ve made friends with them, though. So not bad." Szarmented. He hadn''t even faced Licorice, but still, he knew how strong this guy was, based on how others acted before him.


    It wasn''t good that they were friends now. That solved the bigger problem without having to fight.


    Lucifer simply nodded.


    "Even though I''ve freed them, they also can''t leave this Dungeon. We are all sealed here, so if you help us open the entrance, everyone might get out," Licorice reminded Lucifer. "Convinced yet?"


    "If not, there''s one more thing I can show you that might make up your mind. Come." He calmly walked towards the massive crystal in the center of the hall.


    Lucifer followed behind him. Both of them reached the Crystal in the center.


    "This can''t be....?" Lucifer eximed, stunned. Inside the crystal, he could see two people. The two people were none other than his father and his mother. It was as if they were frozen inside the crystal.


    "What is the meaning of this?" he yelled, ring at Licorice. "You kept them hostage?"


    Clenching his fist, he punched the crystal to save his parents. Unfortunately, the crystal was just unshakable. It didn''t even develop a crack even in the face of the strong attack of Lucifer.


    "You can''t break it. You aren''t strong enough. Also, Hostage? That would be an overstatement," Licorice smiled in response. "It would be better to say that we saved them."


    "What you see inside the crystal are the frozen bodies of your parents. They are dead, yet they aren''t dead at the same time," he further exined.


    "What do you mean?" Lucifer asked, frowning.


    "Do you know what happens when a person dies inside a Dungeon?" Licorice asked.


    Lucifer shook his head. He hadn''t studied or experienced Dungeons before this. He only knew people died.


    "After a person dies, their bodies and their souls are absorbed by the Dungeons that are used as a power source. That''s why the Dungeon defense gets stronger as more beasts are killed inside. That''s why the humans send people inside the Dungeons to kill innocent beasts," Licorice exined.


    "However, that absorption doesn''t just happen with the beast. It happens with every life form that dies inside, including the humans. That''s what''s happened with your parents as well," Licorice exined.


    "After they were poisoned by their own friends along with the entire crew, they died. Everyone was absorbed by the Dungeon, except these two," he continued.


    "Their souls were absorbed by the Dungeon, but we managed to protect their bodies. At that time, we didn''t know they were rted to you. We just noticed that as soon as their souls were absorbed, the defense of the Dungeons got a massive boost which wasparable to what happens when one of us dies. So your parents were really strong."


    "We didn''t want the Dungeon to get even stronger by absorbing their bodies, so we did what we could. We stole the bodies before they could be absorbed and froze them in this crystal so the Dungeon can''t absorb them."


    "If you take them out of the crystal, their bodies would be vulnerable again, and they''ll be absorbed entirely. So don''t try breaking it, not that you can."


    "So they really are dead?" Lucifer muttered nkly, cing his hand on the crystal. Seeing them here, he thought they were alive. Unfortunately, it seemed he was too optimistic.


    He wasn''t alone in this optimism though. The other Lucifer also thought the same that they were frozen here, alive. That''s why he thought he could save them.


    "That''s right, but it''s not impossible to save them, you know?" Licorice suggested, smiling.


    "How?" Lucifer asked.


    " The soul of your parents was absorbed by the dungeon. However, fortunately, we managed to stop the process before their body could be absorbed. That''s why the process is still iplete. Because the body''s weren''t absorbed, the souls couldn''t be refined either. So if I''m not wrong, their souls are still trapped in the dungeon."

 Chapter 844: Only way

    Chapter 844: Only way


    " If we take the bodies of your parents out of the crystal, they''ll be absorbed by the dungeon, and the refining will beplete; then, there will be no way to bring your parents out. However, if we manage to destroy the dungeon and free the souls of your parents before bringing their bodies out, The souls could find their way to the bodies, and they could return back to life."


    " The bodies are still in a perfect condition after all. As I said, you stand to benefit more from this partnership than us. We only get to go out. That''s the only thing that we got from this partnership."


    "On the other hand, not only do you get to go out just like us because you''re also trapped here, But you also get your friends back, and you get your dead parents back. That''s why I see no reason for you to say no. There is not a single reason at all. So I shall ask once again, Do you ept our offer?" Licorice asked, already knowing the answer.


    He had covered all bases already. The weak Lucifer was here, but the connection was the same. That was all he needed. Now everything had fallen into ce. Not only did he not have to fight to convince Lucifer, but he could also get him to help willingly.


    Lucifer kept looking at his parents. He didn''t even need to think about this question. Even if there weren''t any other offers and just the life of his parents, he would''ve taken it in a heartbeat. Everything else was just a bonus. He couldn''t believe his parents were going to return to him.


    He turned back to Licorice, nodding. "I ept the offer. What do I need to do?"


    " Good decision," Licorice replied, smiling. "What you need to do is simple. You just need to allow me free ess to your heart and mind. Using that connection to you, I can manipte my own abilities to destroy this Dungeon and the barrier altogether," Licorice eximed.


    "As soon as the Dungeon is destroyed, the barrier will also be gone, and we''ll be free along with your parents."


    "I''m ready." Lucifer nodded. "I''m willing to do anything as long as it saves my parents!"


    "Wait, Lucifer!" Szar chimed in. "I also want your parents to return but are you sure that this is the right decision? You are literally freeing one of the worst and the strongest dungeon dwellers on Earth. They can literally destroy the earth and all life."


    "Your parents fought hard in thest great war to keep these monsters away. Would they want toe back if the price was freeing these things?" Szar asked, not thinking this was the right decision.


    He couldn''t just agree to it. They were putting everything at risk.


    "You''re wrong. Your parents fought the misguided Baltics who didn''t have us to stop them. Things would be different this time," Licorice responded. "Moreover, what did your parents get even after fighting for others? The same people, in the end, betrayed him?"


    Licorice wanted his hand, bringing forth a mirror that started ying the scene of all the plotting against his father and all the insults that were tossed at Zale to remind Lucifer.


    "I''m sure you already know it, but don''t be stupid. Sometimes it''s good to be selfish. If your parents were selfish, they could''ve survived. Do you want to make a sacrifice for others as well for no reason at all?" he asked after showing Lucifer everything that he didn''t know about.


    Seeing all the betrayal, Lucifer was shaken. Especially, seeing his own friends betray Zale was something he hadn''t expected. At this point, he hadn''t known about it.


    Seeing everything, his mind was made up. He wasn''t going to sacrifice for those humans! The same people that kept him in a facility and tortured him as if he was nothing but amodity! The same people that betrayed his parents who were fighting for them. Those people didn''t deserve his consideration.


    "Don''t listen to him! You can''t trust him either!" Szar again eximed. He already knew about everything. He had found out at the same time as Lucifer in the past. "Don''t fall for his scheme!"


    "Shut up!" Lucifer snapped. "I don''t care what you say! I''ll do what''s best for my family!"


    Since he didn''t know Szar, he couldn''t care less about what the guy was saying. Seeing Lucifer snap, the Szar was taken aback. However, he could also understand that Lucifer wasn''t going to listen to anyone when it came to his father. It was understandable.


    Moreover, it wasn''t as if he could do anything to stop Lucifer. He was already a hostage until now. It was clear he couldn''t face Licorice. Also, even if he was ready to fight, not only did he have to fight Licorice but Lucifer as well.


    Yaliza had been silent so far. He was more focused on another statement which was that they were sealed here as well. If the Dungeon wasn''t broken, they couldn''t leave as well. So was he really willing to spend an eternity here? The answer was no.


    "I think we need to support him. He''s right here. We need to destroy this Dungeon," he told Szar. "We need to take a leap of faith. These people have kept us alive so far. They aren''t truly that bad people, it seems. Moreover, you can''t say they kept it alive as bait. If all they needed was bait, then his parents were enough. I think we should work together to get out of here."


    "You too want to trust them? Did you forget what happened in thest great war and how many people died? My parents had almost died there as well. It was because of the sacrifice of brave Warlocks that we managed to stop them. You want that to be repeated again? This time with even stronger Dungeon Dwellers?" Szar asked in response.


    "In fear of the future, we can''t spoil our present," Yaliza replied.


    "Well, I would love to hear you talk, but you don''t matter here. Only Lucifer''s decision matters," Licoricezily stated. "And he had made a decision. I don''t need more."


    "Now, let''s go to the ce where we need to be to start." Lucifer ced his hand on the shoulder of Lucifer and disappeared.


    A few minutes after he disappeared, Milena entered the mansion. She finally managed to get here, thanks to all the distraction in the back.


    "Yaliza, Szar! You two are here. Where is Lucifer?" she asked, stopping before them.


    She also noticed the crystal with Lucifer''s parents. She was tasked to save them. However, before she could even attempt to take them out, Szar told him why she couldn''t do that and that they were dead.


    He also told her everything that he heard. The Dungeon was going to be destroyed, and all beasts were going to be out!

 Chapter 845: Coming out

    Chapter 845: Coming out


    Hearing about what was going to happen, Milena didn''t know what to do. She couldn''t just stop the other Lucifer if it meant it was going to put his father at risk. But she couldn''t bring his father out of the crystal either if they really weren''t alive since that could put them at risk.


    She needed to consult Lucifer about it, but she didn''t have time for it. One Lucifer was engaged in a battle so she could sneak inside. He didn''t have time to talk. It was time for her to make a decision.


    "We need to stop him at any cost!" Ultimately, she decided to stop Lucifer. She had her reasons for it though. She wanted her Lucifer to be the one to make the decisions if the Dungeon were to be opened. She didn''t want someone else to make the decision for him. So she needed to dy the other Lucifer as much as she could.


    "Do you know where they went?" she asked Szar.


    Szar shook his head. "They just disappeared. I don''t even know where we are, let alone know where they went. They could be anywhere in the Dungeon at the moment."


    He didn''t leave Milena disappointed though as he further added, " However, if I were to take a guess, I think they went to the Dungeon Core. If they want to destroy the Dungeon, they would have an easier time starting from there."


    "Where is the Dungeon Core?" Milena muttered, frowning. "We don''t even know if that''s in this massive space or somewhere else.''


    "I might be able to help," Yaliza chimed in.


    "Tell then! We don''t have much time!" Milena eximed.


    "First, I want to know why you''re trying to stop Lucifer. If he has already decided to open the Dungeon, why are you trying to stop him? Also, do you not know that we''re also trapped here?"


    "Because the person you saw wasn''t Lucifer," Milena exined. "The real Lucifer is outside, still fighting the Dungeon! That''s why we need to stop this fake before something goes wrong!"


    "He isn''t the real Lucifer? I had a feeling like that¡ªthe way he refused to recognize me and didn''t take our opinions seriously. I had a feeling something was wrong," Szar let out, clenching his fist. "But the way he reacted before his parents, that couldn''t have been fake. Are you really sure he isn''t Lucifer?"


    "I''m sure of it. I came here with Lucifer, after all. That other person isn''t Lucifer. Even I don''t know who he is exactly, but he isn''t our Lucifer who is still fighting outside to keep people distracted," Milena replied.


    "Now stop wasting time and tell me where the core of the Dungeon might be?" she asked, seemingly in a hurry.


    Yaliza stepped out of the mansion with others following behind. "The Core of this Dungeon can''t be here. Because in Higher Ranking Dungeons, the Cores are always in a ce where the beasts can''t reach that easily. If the core was here, this giant space couldn''t have been created here. It would''ve been impossible."


    "That can only mean the Dungeon is far away from this ce. It should be in the depths of the Dungeon. That''s all I can say since that''s all I know."


    "So that''s why they need Lucifer! They can''t reach the core and need him? That would make sense! It''s also good that the core isn''t here. This space is in their control. It would''ve been hard to have an advantage here. Moreover, on the way out of here, we can also get in contact with Lucifer."


    "Stay close to me though. The Energy Negation field will help you to some extent, helping you move without being discovered. Because if you''re discovered, the Energy Negation might not work for you."


    After warning them, she started flying back where she came from. Along the way, she also helped Szar and Yaliza fly behind her since none of them could fly on their own.


    ....


    At the other end of the battlefield, the battle was just beginning.


    Milen and Loy watched in amusement as Lucifer fought with Licia.


    On another side, Jian was still frozen in space. His mind was still working though. He tried to free himself, but he was failing. His Sword gave him immunity from Domains to some extent, but that had failed for him since this ce wasn''t exactly a Domain.


    He tried to free himself, but without moving his body, he couldn''t use his sword to free himself.


    In his head, he kept talking to someone, trying to call someone out. However, he wasn''t getting a response this time.


    "Come on, I know I already called you once, but I really need you now! Stop ignoring me! Come out!" He called, but nothing happened.


    On another end, Azurel was the only person still inside the lightning prison but not because he couldn''t leave. It was because he was cursing himself for not being able to control Lucifer''s mind. After criticizing himself enough, he focused back on the cage.


    The lightning cage that troubled Jestil so much was standing tall, no space in between. However, he didn''t need any space or any help.


    Just his aura alone was able to rip the cage to pieces. The cage exploded as lightning cracked all around. Azurel stood tall inside.


    He turned to Lucifer in the back, who was already fighting Licia. He wanted to have revenge and fight Lucifer instead, but it was toote. He belonged to Licia now.


    He shifted his attention to Jian on the other side. With calm steps, he walked to Jian and ced his hand on Jian''s head.


    Since he couldn''t control Lucifer, he was now going to attend to control Jian, who also appeared strong. It was just a way for him to prove to himself that he could control strong Variants.


    Moreover, he was attempting to take over Lucifer through a weak link of the shadow. With Jian, he was directly going to take over.


    Jian''s eyes turned Pitch ck as soon as Azurel ced his hand on his forehead. Azurel also closed his eyes, focusing on the mind of Jian.


    The resistance wasn''t even close to what he faced with Lucifer. In fact, he directly managed to enter the mind of Jian without even the slightest of resistance.


    Azurel stood inside the mental domain of Jian, which was the weakest part of a person''s psyche. That''s where the consciousness of Jian was hiding, trying to avoid Azurel.


    A small blue me was floating in the middle of the Mental Domain. That was the consciousness of Jian. Azurel raised his hand towards the small speck of me. The me started floating towards Azurel, unable to resist.

 Chapter 846: Evolution

    Chapter 846: Evolution


    "This would''ve been Lucifer if my connection with him wasn''t through a shadow. But it''s fine. After you, it''ll be his turn," Azurelmented.


    His fingers were just about to touch the blue speck of me.


    "Argh!" Just a second before his fingers could touch the mes, the blue me turned Pitch ck. Azurel''s fingers touched the blue me. Instead of being able to control the me, he felt resistance.


    Something was wrong in the me! As soon as he touched, his hand burnt, and the fire spread throughout the entire body.


    He knew if he didn''t get out, it was his consciousness which was going to be hurt. He hastily vacated the mental domain of Jian and returned to his body as he took two steps back, freeing the head of Jian.


    Jian''s eyes returned to normal, but they still looked different. It was as if the eyes were of a hunter now who was filled with arrogance.


    His eyes red at Azurel. "This guy always finds himself in trouble. Sometimes if he just had to be my vessel here."


    He nced at Lucifer, who was fighting with Licia, using his lightning Sword. "It would''ve been better if I was with the other kid. At least he can fight without external help."


    "Sigh." His deep sigh echoed in the entire space. "It''s toote now. I''m stuck here and can only work to make him stronger so that he won''t need to call me."


    "Leaving that aside, I didn''t like the fact that you tried to take over his mind. I don''t like when people try to take what''s mine!" Jian told Azurel, causally taking a step forth.


    The dark aura around him was so overwhelming that even Milen was attracted to it. Milen turned back, finally shifting his attention from Lucifer.


    The space restrictions weren''t working on Jian, which even surprised Licia, who was ying with Lucifer, going easy.


    Lucifer was also trying to gauge the strength of Licia, not going all the way out. He wanted to give Milena some time first.


    "His other identity? Right time," he smiled, sensing that aura. Jian was free to support him.


    "I guess now I don''t need to hold back. Since he''s out, we can seriously go all out," he stopped attacking Licia, stopping on the ground.


    "Jian, wee back. Can you handle two of them? I''ll handle the other two. It''s time we ended this!" He told Jian.


    "Hahaha, I wouldn''t mind taking all four of them for bothering me toe here. But I''ll let you have some fun too. You can have two. Select who you want?" Jian asked, smiling.


    His figure flickered as he appeared beside Lucifer. All four Generals and Jestil also gathered.


    "This is very intriguing." Milen was still more curious about Jian than he was about fighting. This fighting had no importance after all. Licorice already had the other Lucifer.


    Just as Lucifer was trying to distract them, they weren''t in any hurry either. However, seeing Jian like this has really intrigued him.


    "Who are you?" he directly asked. "That isn''t the aura of a human. That isn''t an Aura of a Baltic either. Who exactly are you?!"


    "I''m your father," Jian replied, bursting intoughter. "I must say, I like human sayings. Anyway, jokes aside. It doesn''t matter who I am since you aren''t going to live for long. Why waste time by telling you my name?"


    He ced his hand on Lucifer''s shoulder. "So, which two do you want? I will give you the first selection."


    "I want these two," Lucifer said, raising his fingers towards Licia and Azurel. "You can have the other two. Make sure they don''t disturb me."


    "Hehe, they won''t," Jian smirked. "They are too busy trying to survive."


    He brought his sword out of the sheath and stabbed it to the ground.


    His sword stabbed the ground, shattering the Spatial Domain Licia, creating a different domain of his own between him, Milen, Jestil, and Loy. Only Lucifer, Licia, and Azurel were still out.


    "I knew it was worth bringing him here," Lucifer muttered. Four generals were too much for him to handle alone, but with two, he didn''t worry. Finally, he could get serious.


    "You really think you can take us?" Licia asked, controlling herself from bursting intoughter.


    "I don''t know if I should be happy that you''re so naive or pity you. You think the battle so far was our strength? That was just fun games. You don''t have what it takes to make us go serious," she added, cracking her knuckles.


    "And that''s when we''re inside this Dungeon where we are weaker. If you can''t even force us to bring a fraction of our powers out here, just think what will happen when we''re outside? So instead of working against us, work with us," she continued.


    The only reason she hadn''t hurt Lucifer so far was because she wasn''t sure if they were going to need him on top of other Lucifer. She was thinking about the future.


    Lucifer also didn''t take her words lightly. He knew he was inside a higher level dungeon. He couldn''t underestimate these people. However, if he ever had a chance to take these people out, it was now while Jian was with him.


    Also, the more he kept them busy, the more time Milena got to save his parents. After his parents were safe, he could think about what to do next. In any case, he wasn''t willing to do what these people wanted him to do.


    He had a vision for the earth, and he wasn''t going to let these people out who wanted to destroy everything. Also, these people had a bad rtionship with the person he was trying to get to after locating all the stones. He couldn''t let them get to him first.


    All those reasons brought him to one conclusion only. He needed to take the two out and hope that Jian could take care of the rest. That was going to leave only Licorice for the two of them to handle, which was a better position than having to face five!


    He didn''t have his dark Gloves, but his decay wasn''t of much use here either since he needed to get close to them and have enough time while holding them. That just time was enough for them to destroy him. So he could only fight without decay.


    Two ck gauntlets appear around his hand, made purely of dark lightning. A lightning armor appeared around his chest with shoulder tes and shoes. Two dark wings came out of his back to boost his speed even more.

 Chapter 847: Beast

    Chapter 847: Beast


    "That''s a nice dress change. But it''s not going to change anything," Azurelmented. He didn''t even hurry to attack Lucifer. Instead, he just stood calmly, giving Lucifer ample time to prepare as if they weren''t in a hurry and didn''t consider Lucifer a threat.


    Surrounded in his lightning armor, Lucifer was ready. His wings had already started boosting his speed even though he wasn''t moving. His vision also became better as he could see even the most minute details.


    The lightning armor was also working in his favor in a different way. The lightning was creating a disturbance in the surrounding space, creating Spatial Cracks, which protected him from the spatial control of Licia.


    Lucifer pped his fists together as he nced at the two enemies before him.


    "Are you done?" Azurel asked. "I''m getting tired here."


    "I won''t make you wait anymore," Lucifer responded before his figure disappeared. Within the blink of an eye, he appeared before Azurel, reaching out his hand, which had turned into a w.


    Lucifer thrust his w, trying to stab it in the chest of the man. He still had his mind controlling parasite ability which he hadn''t used in a long time. Since this guy was so interested in controlling someone else''s mind, Lucifer decided to give him the taste of his own medicine.


    "You''re very slow," Azurelmented as Lucifer''s ws passed through his body which dispersed as if it was nothing but an afterimage.


    Azurel was behind Lucifer. His handnded on the head of Lucifer as he again tried to take over Lucifer. Unfortunately, Lucifer ced his own hand on top of Azurel''s hands.


    "Let''s see who falls first," Lucifer responded, making it a race between the two. His decay had started working on Azurel while Azurel was trying to break the mental defense of Lucifer.


    Fortunately, Licia wasn''t fighting now. Both the Generals give themselves too much importance. Fighting one against two was beneath their dignity, which was why Licia let the two fight. No matter what happened, she wasn''t going to interfere, which was good news for Lucifer, who believed he could win.


    The body of Azurel started decaying, albeit extremely slowly. His skin started bing ky, and his body became weaker. On the other hand, Lucifer was bing stronger from the stolen energy. Unfortunately, that strength was only going to his body and not his mind, which was under constant assault.


    His armor became even stronger as the space became even more unstable.


    "If that''s the battle you want, then I won''t hesitate either!" The eyes of Azurel started shining in a beautiful crimson shade. His body increased in size as a third eye opened in the middle of his forehead.


    Boom~


    As soon as the third eye of Azurel opened, Lucifer felt a thumping pressure. Cracks started developing in his mental defenses, which he couldn''t resist. The bnce between the two sides was broken as Azurel brought an even higher strength.


    Lucifer knew he couldn''t let his defenses break, or he was going to be in big trouble.


    Fortunately, in his long years, he had learned that he didn''t need to y by the rules. Only the rules he made existed.


    As if dancing with the wind, he turned his body around, still holding onto the hand of Azurel. Turning his body, he kicked the right knee of Azurel.


    "Urgh!" Azurel groaned in pain, having his knees shattered. He didn''t have healing like Lucifer either. In his anger, he forgot about the mental attack and punched Lucifer.


    Boom~


    An explosion took ce as the fistnded on the armor. Lucifer''s armor te was shattered. The explosions shot lightning everywhere. The pressure st was enough to toss Lucifer away. It was the same for Azurel, who couldn''t stand his ground either.


    As his knee was shattered, he couldn''t even stand up properly.


    "I will kill you!" He roared as his body started transforming, even more, returning to its real form. His skin turned red, just like his red eyes. His hair became longer,ing to his ankles.


    He was six feet tall before, but his height was ten feet now. He already had two arms, but two more arms came out from the side of his body, giving him a total of four arms, two on each side.


    His legs also became thicker. Still, the shattered bone inside was still broken. He couldn''t stand.


    Fortunately, he had other ways to engage in the battle. His body started floating up.


    "The kid made you change? Not bad for him. He is making you go all out," Liciamented emotionlessly. "Do you want help with your leg?"


    "I don''t! Don''t you dare heal my leg! This is my battle!" Azurel eximed fiercely.


    Liciazily stepped back. "As you say."


    Lucifer also stood up, frowning. Just one punch had shattered his armor. Not only was his armor shattered, but his chest was also broken. It was only after he had heard that he was able to stand. This guy really had some good strength


    "Finally, back to your beastly form?" Lucifer asked. "I was right. No matter how much you pretend to be like us, on the inside, you''ll always be a beast!"


    The armor started repairing itself, returning to his chest. However, that wasn''t the end.


    "I will deal with you how a beast should be dealt with!" Lucifer raised his hand towards the sky. A lightning bolt fell from the sky, changing into the form of a Sword beforending in the hands of Lucifer.


    The Sword was five feet long, but its width was unlike anything Lucifer had used before. The heavy sword was ten inches wide and as heavy as a stone, weighing a ton despite being made purely of lightning.


    " Roarrr!" Azurel roared as he shot toward Lucifer.


    The group started splitting apart as the effect of the roar, right around Lucifer. Thousands of hands came out from the cracks, grabbing onto Lucifer.


    Lucifer turned the sword upside down and stabbed it in the ground. The lightning coursed through the hands but couldn''t stop them. It was as if the hands were immune to the lightning.


    As Lucifer was distracted by the beast, Azurel reached him. He spread all four of his hands wide before bringing them together to crush the head of Lucifer into nothingness.


    Lucifer tried to pull out the sword and fly back, but the hands not only kept holding onto him but the sword as well.


    Lucifer noticed the mocking grin on the ugly looking face of Azurel right before his hands came pping.


    Boom~

 Chapter 848: A deal with the devil

    Chapter 848: A deal with the devil


    As the palms of the beast came shing, everything in between them was destroyed, even the space as sshes of blood flew everywhere.


    A heavy wind st urred simultaneously. However, this time Azurel stood his ground.


    Licia''s eyes widened a bit as she looked at the aftermath. "As expected."


    The sshes of blood flew with the wind, even falling on her own face. She wiped the blood from her face.


    Thud~


    A headless body dropped to the ground, falling t miserably. However, the body wasn''t alone. A head was still rolling in the sky. It also came crashing down, falling on top of the body.


    Behind the body, a figure stood tall. However, the figure didn''t have four hands. Instead, he had two dark wings like a demon. There was a ck sword in the hands of the figure, which was covered in blood.


    "Next?" Lucifer turned around, looking at Licia.


    Licia smiled. "You did well. You made him underestimate you, acting as if you couldn''t free yourself; meanwhile, you kept your teleportation ability a secret, waiting for just the right time. Not bad at all. But you won''t always be this lucky."


    ....


    Inside the separate spatial realm, Jian was also immersed in a battle, but his battle was going a bit differently.


    Even though he had already killed a General as well, the battle was more one sided here. Loy was killed so brutally that he couldn''t even resist.


    Simr to Licia, Mn hadn''t joined the battle this time. He was just observing the battle, keeping his eyes closed. His crystal ball kept shining brightly throughout the Battle.


    It was only after Loy had died that Mn opened his eyes.


    "A human''s body being upied by someone else. You aren''t a Baltic, but you aren''t a Variant either. You aren''t even from this realm. Am I correct?" Mn asked. "Would you like to identify yourself?"


    "You are right. I''m not from around here," Jian smirked. "Win, and maybe I''ll tell who I am."


    "I won''t fight you. I already know my chances of defeating you are nil. Only Lord Licorice can destroy you. I don''t want to waste my time in an aimless battle. Tell me what you want, and I''ll help you," Milen responded, sitting on the ground. He wasn''t going to fight.


    "You are upying a human body in this realm. That means you want something. Otherwise, you won''t be in this realm and in this body. Let me offer you what you want, and you side with me. I assure you, we can help you more than humans can," He added.


    "You can help me more than this human? That''s true. You can certainly help me, but as a Demon, I don''t go back on my promises. I''ve already established a contract with this human when he was on his dying breath. I won''t break the contract!" Jian eximed.


    "You don''t have to break any promise. You can keep that human as well. All of us can work together. We don''t have any enmity with the humans either. We only have one enemy! This guy!" Milen responded, showing an illusory image to Jian.


    "Help us, and we will help you rule the entire world. That human you possess will also be left safe. Do you ept my offer? We have no enmity between ourselves. We also want to leave this hellhole where you''re also trapped now along with the human. Since we both have the same goal, why fight? We aren''t enemies!"


    Milen kept talking to Jian, but Jian didn''t respond to him. Instead, Jian nkly looked at the holographic image before him.


    "That person, how do you know him?" Jian asked, stepping closer to the hologram.


    "He is the person who destroyed our world! He is the reason we are trapped here," Milen exined. "He''s the reason behind all this mystery. Do you know him as well?"


    From the reaction of the man, it looked like he knew the man as well, which was surprising.


    <i>  [


    . c o m ]</i>


    "This man! He''s the reason I came to this realm!" Jian eximed. "Do you know where he is?"


    "Do we know where he is? We have more. We have a way to open the Portal straight to him. How do you know him?!"


    "That bastard! He stole the Royal Sword! It was my responsibility to protect the Royal Sword, but that bastard stole it and disappeared. I looked for years, unable to find the sword! I''ve been living in such misery since then for losing the sword!" Jian eximed.


    "It was only eighteen years ago when I felt the energy of that swording from this realm? That''s why I came here. But I couldn''t enter this realm personally without it being destroyed due to my aura! So I established a contract with a human to allow my corporal soul to possess him."


    " If only I got that Sword, I would be allowed back and regain my old glory, which I lost because of that bastard! But I won''t go back alone! I''ll go back with the body of that bastard that caused hundreds of years of misery to me!" Jian eximed.


    "You didn''t find that sword in thest eighteen years?" Milen asked, frowning. "I thought you could sense it as you said."


    "I can sense it but only when it''s being used. Since the sword was stolen a hundred years ago, it was only once used, and that too on this earth. Since then, the Sword hasn''t been used, and I can''t locate it!"


    " By the time I reached the location of the swordst time, I only found rubble and destruction. The sword wasn''t there. Someone had taken it. Since then, I''ve been looking for it!" Jian exined.


    "How about we make a deal then?" Milen suggested.


    "What deal?" Jian asked.


    "We will help you find that sword after we leave this Dungeon, and you''ll help us destroy that person after we open a portal to him? And we won''t fight amongst ourselves. What do you say?" Jian asked.


    "If you can find that Sword, you will get the deal you''re looking for. As a Demon, I always keep my words. But can you really look for something that even we can''t find?" Jian asked, frowning.


    "Of course, I can find it. I can find anything in this world as long as I get out of these Dungeon restrictions. I just need to go to the ce where youst saw that sword, and I''ll be able to see the present and the past of that ce to know who took the sword. Through that ce, I can find the exact coordinates of the Sword for you. It''s a child''s y for me!" Milenmented.


    "You got a deal then!" Jian smiled, taking the offer. A deal with the devil had been made.

 Chapter 849: Last I’ll see

    Chapter 849: Last I''ll see


    Divided by their different ideologies, the two sides were united by amon enemy as they decided to work together. Jian agreed to work with Milen in getting them out so they could find the lost sword that he came into this world for.


    Unaware of the deal that had just taken ce between Jian and Milen, Lucifer had just finished Killing Azurel, and he only needed to kill Licia.


    Without taking long, he shot toward Licia. His figure kept flickering from one ce to another as he kept disappearing while closing in.


    Only a trail of electricity was left in his wake in his unpredictable movement.


    Licia stood calm, not moving even a little. She didn''t need to move either as there wasn''t time. Before she couldn''t even blink, Lucifer was already right beside her, thrusting his sword.


    As if sensing the movement of the sword, Licia smiled, but she didn''t move even now. The sword struck her. Despite hitting Licia, the sword couldn''t pass through her body. It was as if her body was made from the strongest materials. Even his lightning sword was failing in prating her skin.


    Lucifer''s eyes opened in surprise. Within the next second, he felt a cold hand around his neck. His body was raised high in the sky before it came crashing down.


    His body was smashed on the ground, creating a crater under him.


    A trail of blood came out of his lips as he felt the impact. He looked at the one who had attacked him, trying to see who it was. He had already killed Azurel, and the other two were busy with Jian, so there should''ve been none. And he was sure it wasn''t a woman''s hands.


    He wasn''t as stunned when his sword failed to stab Licia as he was now, seeing the one who had attacked him.


    "Jian? You''re betraying me at this time? You don''t want the information?" he asked, holding his chest. His figure disappeared and appeared ten meters away to get a clear view of Jian, Licia, and Milen standing together. "Or did they take over your mind already?"


    "These people taking over my mind? They don''t have the capacity," Jian snorted.


    Hearing his arrogant words, Licia''s lips twitched. Even she didn''t know what had happened; she didn''t like the way this guy was talking about them as if they were nothing.


    Milen ced his hands on the shoulder of Licia and whispered in her ears about the deal he had made with Jian. He even talked about what kind of person Jian was and that the person who was controlling him wasn''t from this realm.


    Hearing all the new information, Licia was slightly amused. Someone from another realm was here too?


    "That''s why I was feeling that otherworldly energy. I see," she muttered, folding her arms.


    "Look, kid. I would''ve worked with you since I want to help Jian achieve what he wants, but the other side has offered me a great deal which I can''t refuse. So it''s time we stop this battle. I can''t let you stop the deal and spoil everything. So drop your fighting spirit and let the Baltics do what they want," Jian warned Lucifer.


    Lucifer was momentarily silent as he heard the threats. The entire equation had changed suddenly. However, it wasn''t bad either. In any case, he needed to take care of Jian in the future. It seemed like it was the time already.


    "Lucifer Azarel, stop fighting, and let us proceed with our n. Just as we promised to help Jian, we promise to you as well that we won''t hurt innocent humans!" Milen also chimed in to stop the battles, which were already over in his eyes. "In any case, you''re all alone here. You can''t beat us and get your way. No one ising to help you!"


    <i> [ Updated from


    . c o m ]</i>


    "I''m all alone; you''re right. And you are three now, including Jian. It''s hard, you''re right. Especially since even my sword can''t prate some of you," Lucifer eximed, nodding. " However, you''re wrong about one thing."


    "And what would that be?" Milen asked, curious.


    "That no one ising to help me," Lucifer respondedzily as he dropped to his knees, cing his palm on the ground.


    "What is he doing?" Licia asked Milen. "Seems like he''s surrendering, but his tone isn''t right."


    "He isn''t surrendering. He is creating a Summoning Circle!" Milen eximed. "No one can go out from here except the Summon Beasts through a Summoning Circle."


    "This guy won''t surrender," Liciamented, sighing. "Let me finish him."


    She took a step forward, but she was blocked by Jian.


    Jian''s sword was blocking her path. "Let me take care of him. I already gave him a suggestion. If he doesn''t listen to even me, that''s my insult which I won''t take nicely."


    Jian started stepping towards Lucifer with calm steps, seemingly not in any hurry. A white Summoning Circle appeared around Lucifer, which covered an area of five meters around him.


    The Summoning Circle kept getting bigger and bigger and only stopped when it covered an area of twenty meters.


    Jian stepped on the Summoning Circle, which he could''ve broken easily just by stabbing his sword on the ground, but he wanted to deal with Lucifer directly.


    "You only the summoned beast will take a few minutes before it cane, even if you finish the Summoning Circle. And if the summoner dies in the meantime, the circle and the summoned beast disappear. You really think I would''ve allowed you to do it?"


    Lucifer raised his head, looking deep into the eyes of Jian. Initially, his eyes seemed deadly serious, but his lips curved into a smile.


    Noticing his smile, Jian frowned. Just why was he smiling? Did he think that he couldn''t kill him?


    "I think it''s time I ended this. I really don''t like that mocking look on your face. I would''ve let you live if only that weren''t there," Jian eximed, frowning as he raised his sword, pointing it straight at Lucifer''s head.


    He didn''t notice that by the time he did that, Lucifer also did something. He ced his bare finger on one of the formation lines.


    "You want to know why I am smiling?" Lucifer asked, seemingly amused.


    "Why?" Jian asked.


    "Because this is thest I''ll see your ugly face. What can I do if not smile?" Lucifer retorted. The formation under him started shining brightly, getting defected by the decay.


    After finishing his words, Lucifer disappeared. He appeared a hundred meters away, outside the range of the formation circle.


    Licia, Jian, and Milen looked at Lucifer in the distance, having a feeling of doom.

 Chapter 850: Tricks

    Chapter 850: Tricks


    They looked down, seeing the formation breaking apart. Even if it was breaking, they didn''t think it was harmful to them. Just a tiny bit of energy was nothing, but Lucifer''s smile was off.


    "You wanted to leave this Dungeon, right?" Lucifer yelled from a distance. "Your wish is granted! No need to thank me!"


    Just as Lucifer finished, everyone''s face turned pale as they felt a spatial energy like nothing before. They tried running away from the formation, but they were trapped in the spatial energy. Even Licia couldn''t control the chaotic space to free herself.


    "I will kill you!" Licia screeched like crazy. Her scream kept echoing in the surroundings even as she disappeared along with Milen and Jian.


    All three of them were gone, unable to return. It wasn''t an offensive skill. It wasn''t even a skill of Lucifer to do this. This was just an idental discovery that he made during a battle with the Warlock Council.


    It sent him to the World of Summon, all because of the decay and Summoning Circlebinations. If these people had left the formation in time like Lucifer, they could have escaped, but they didn''t know that this was going to happen.


    After going through the exact thing twice, Lucifer knew about the importance of each second, which helped him escape in time.


    "Without luck to be in the presence of a summoned beast and the decay, they can''t return to this world, no matter how good their control is. I hope they enjoy their freedom," Lucifer muttered, sitting on the ground. "Until next time we meet."


    He breathed heavily even as he sat, sighing. This whole thing took a heavy toll on him, especially casting the Summoning Circle and using decay on it. However, he was also happy that it worked.


    He knew that Jian couldn''t be killed. No matter how many times he was killed, he was going toe back stronger. So the best he could do was trap him in a ce where he wouldn''t need to be killed, but he couldn''te back from either.


    This was a n he came up with as soon as he was told about the specialty of Jian. As for practicing making the Summoning Circles, he had started that long ago, as soon as he heard about the presence of one of the stones in the world of summons, since this was his only way to enter that realm. He didn''t know this was going toe in handy as a weapon.


    Unfortunately, this problem wasn''t solved entirely. He had dyed facing it forter. One day, he needed to enter the world of summons as well to recover that stone. That was the day he might face them again. Fortunately, he had time until then... Time to be even stronger, so he didn''t need to avoid a battle with the three of them together.


    Moreover, he was also sure he could find his sword until then... That was with him when he was found.


    Milena came running with Szar and Yaliza, finally reaching Lucifer, only to find him sitting on the ground, tired.


    There was no one here except him.


    "Where is everyone else?" Milena asked. "They left?"


    "I trapped them in the world of summons, including Jian. Good to see that you recovered Szar and Yaliza," Lucifer responded, looking back. "Did you not find my parents?*


    He seemed a bit disappointed to see Milena alone; however, he didn''t me her. It was quite possible that his parents weren''t in this space.


    "It''s not that I didn''t find them," Milena answered after a bit of hesitation. "In fact, we did find them, but we can''t bring them with us."


    "Why not?" Lucifer asked, frowning as he stood up.


    This time, it was Szar who took the lead as he exined everything they saw, including the crystal and everything else.


    "Their souls are trapped by the Dungeon?!" Lucifer eximed. "That... I read about the Dungeons eating souls, so I won''t doubt it. I don''t know if the Soul can be refined by the Dungeon without the body or not, but if it can''t, then that man is telling the truth. They might be brought back to life."


    "Did you make sure they were dead?" he asked.


    "They were inside the stone and unmoving. It''s possible they were dead, but it''s also possible that they were trapped alive, and that man lied about them being dead to convince... The other you. But we have no way to test. If we bring them out, the Dungeon will devour their body. That''s why we came here to let you decide," Milena eximed.


    Lucifer''s frown deepened. "Something doesn''t add up."


    "What do you mean?" Yaliza asked.


    "My parents were poisoned in a level four Dungeon. That''s where their bodies were stolen ording to that man, so shouldn''t their soul be trapped in that level four Dungeon? I don''t think Dungeons can share souls from one ce to another? So how would breaking this Dungeon help them? Moreover, this Dungeon doesn''t have their souls, so it can''t devour their bodies either!'' Lucifer exined.


    "That man bluffed!" he eximed.


    He turned to look back at Milena. "Half of his story might be true, but the story about breaking this Dungeon to help my parents is a lie! If anything, we need to break Level Four Dungeon. There''s no danger in bringing them out of that stone!"


    "Where are they? Take me to them!"


    "That way!" Milena pointed behind her and started flying away. Everyone followed behind her.


    ....


    Back in the world of Summons, Jian, Licia, and Milen found themselves in a different realm entirely.


    Licia and Milen looked up towards the bright sun in the sky.


    "O-outside... We are actually outside? We are free from the Dungeon?" Licia eximed. Excitement was clear in her tone.


    "You idiots! You think he would free us for no reason? He trapped us here! This isn''t Earth! This is the world of Summons! He trapped us in a freaking prison with no way out! We aren''t going to be summoned to be able to get out of here! We''re trapped here forever! That damn bastard!'' Jian yelled in rage.


    "After so much effort, I had established a contract on earth, spending whatever soul crystal I had! I can''t do it again! I need that sword, but I''m not even on earth now! Just when I was close to retrieving it! I would kill that bastard!"


    His yell spread far and wide, alerting the entire city.


    Many Great Beast families came out of their houses to see who was yelling.


    One of the arrogant youngsters was the first person to reach the spot: the heir of the Golden Rhino n.

 Chapter 851: All a lie?

    Chapter 851: All a lie?


    "Keep your mouth shut. You''re disturbing my peace!" he arrogantly stated, but before his mouth could close, he felt the world turn upside down as his headnded on his feet. It was only then that he realized that he was dead. He didn''t even know how it happened.


    Jian red at the man. "Wrong time to irritate me!''


    He turned to Licia and Milen, who still didn''t look upset. "Don''t you two feel anger? That boy fooled us all and trapped us in this prison?!"


    "It doesn''t matter where we are. Don''t worry. Master Licorice will find a way to bring us back as soon as hees out of the Dungeon. This is only temporary," Milen calmly replied. "Don''t worry. Our deal is valid. We''ll make sure youe with us when we go back. Just like you, we also don''t go back on our promises.


    ....


    Back in the level seven Dungeon, Licorice reached a golden barrier with his version of Lucifer.


    Lucifer waited for Licorice to destroy the barrier like the barrier before, but he only saw Licorice standing still, looking at the barrier.


    "Is something wrong?" Lucifer asked, frowning.


    "I can''t break this barrier," Licorice responded. "This is like the barrier that stops us from leaving the Dungeon. It''s just a slightly weaker version from the main one. Still, it''s unbreakable to us. We are the prisoners, and it recognizes our energy signature. The Dungeon had been sucking our energy for centuries. It has be immune to our attacks."


    "This is why it''s so hard to get out of the Dungeon," he added. "But if we want to break this Dungeon, we need to go to the other side. That''s where the Dungeons Core is. That''s why there are so many defenses here."


    "Can''t you teleport to the other side?" Lucifer asked to which Licorice responded with a shake of his hand.


    "If we could get to the other side, why would we need your help? We need a strong energy that we can use to destroy this Dungeon, but it can''t be ours. However, it can''t be weaker than ours either. That''s why I needed you," Licorice exined.


    "You said the energy can''t be weaker than yours? So how can I help you? I haven''t fought you, but I''m sure I''m not as strong as you. It''s a feeling I have. So why me? I''m sure there are many people stronger than me out there, especially that Jian guy I saw in the video? Why not him?" Lucifer inquired.


    "Even that person can''t help us. He is too weak. There is not a single person on earth who has the strength that''s needed to break this barrier." Jian eximed.


    "Then how can I do it?" Lucifer repeated his old question, still having no answer.


    "You''re right. You don''t have the strength that''s needed either," Licorice agreed, confusing Lucifer even more. Why was he called here then?


    "However... You can link us to someone who has that much energy," he smirked as he ced his hand on the head of Lucifer.


    "What?" Lucifer asked, confused. "What do you mean?"


    "Give me your hand," Licoricemented as he reached out his hand toward Lucifer.


    Lucifer hesitated, but he didn''t take the man''s hand.


    "Don''t worry. I won''t kill you. I don''t need tricks if I want to kill you," the man smirked. "Moreover, if you don''t give me your hand, how will he bring your parents out? How will we go out ourselves?"


    Lucifer raised his hand slowly, reaching out towards the man, but he didn''t hold his hand. He didn''t forget about his decay. "I can''t hold your hand. My decay will start working. I don''t want you to think that I attacked you."


    "I know that." Licorice smiled as he held the wrist of Lucifer. Even though Decay couldn''t kill him, he couldn''t afford to lose even a light energy during what he was about to do next.


    "Whatever you do, don''t resist. I need to establish a connection with someone through you. So you might feel a headache. Whatever happens, don''t resist since it''ll be bad for your health."


    Lucifer nodded as he took a deep breath.


    Gentle winds started brushing against his skin as he felt a strange sensation all around his body. It was as if there was a warm yet cold sensation that was moving through his nerves.


    Suddenly, he felt a thumping pain as if his head was about to explode. He clenched his teeth.


    "Don''t resist!" Licorice yelled, keeping his eyes closed as well.


    Lucifer tried to rx, but it was hard. However, he also didn''t resist that strange feeling all around his body. His body started shining in a beautiful golden light while Licorice''s body started shining in a dark light.


    ....


    Lucifer had just reached the mansion when he felt a strange sensation even in his body. He couldn''t understand what it was, but it was a very minute sensation.


    More concerned about his parents, he didn''t put much thought into that sensation as he entered the mansion.


    Inside the mansion, Lucifer saw a beautiful red crystal that was huge enough to contain two grown up humans inside.


    Lucifer stepped closer to the crystal, noticing the body of his parents inside. Both of them had their eyes closed and stood unmoving as if they were dead. However, he also noticed something odd about it.


    Something wasn''t right even here. His father was without a shirt inside the crystal. When he had gone back in time, he had seen his father.


    He also knew the small scar his father had near the back of his arm, which wasn''t on the body of the man inside the crystal. Moreover, his mother... She looked older. Throughout the years, his mother was always young because of her abilities. How could she grow old after death?


    The excited expression on his face changed to a grim expression as he ced his hand on the crystal.


    The crystal slowly started decaying as his handnded on the crystal. Unfortunately, as the crystal started shrinking, the Bodies of his parents inside the crystal also started shrinking.


    "What is happening?" Milena asked, confused. She noticed the other hand of Lucifer, which had a clenched fist. His expressions were slowly bing uglier as each second passed.


    Szar understood everything. He let out a deep sigh. "His parents aren''t inside the crystal. It was all a lie... There''s something special about this crystal that conjured them, if I''m not wrong. What we see inside the crystal is an illusion made by the beasts. That''s why it''s disappearing as the crystal shrinks.


    Within seconds, the figure of Zale and risse becamepletely see through, confirming the words of Szar.

 Chapter 852: Free Soul

    Chapter 852: Free Soul


    "This was a fake seed nted by them to make sure Lucifer works for him. As the other Lucifer didn''t do any critical thinking, he couldn''t catch a lie. However, the one with experience found multiple loopholes in the story, and now he was sure it was a lie. The video was also of this crystal. So everything was a lie. The only truth about this whole thing was that Yaliza and I were captured! Everything else was a lie," Szar further stated.


    The red crystal disappearedpletely, leaving no trail behind. Lucifer stood silently, not speaking anything. However, there was a volcano inside his heart. It wasn''t just the fact that he was fooled. However, he was given hope, and then it was snatched away. This made him even angrier.


    He looked towards the roof of the mansion, taking a deep breath.


    "Arghhhh!" He yelled at the top of his lungs, letting out all his emotions. "I will kill you!"


    He made sure to use his sonic voice as he screamed to make sure his voice reached Licorice.


    Thousands of shadows came out of his shadow and flew out. Now that Licia wasn''t here, there was nothing that could trap his shadows which were a perfect weapon to locate his parents.


    A few seconds after all his shadows left, his robe waved behind him as he turned around after letting out the scream, not speaking anything.


    Milena wanted to talk to him and tofort him, but she didn''t know what she could do. She herself went through such emotions in her past, and no matter what others said, it didn''t calm her down.


    She knew that the person needed to be alone with their thoughts at times like this. She couldn''t disturb him, but she couldn''t leave him alone. She silently followed behind him.


    Even Lucifer didn''t realize the strength of his emotions which had traveled far and wide. The Dungeon was under the sea, so no clouds were above it, but if one were to look from a distance, they would''ve noticed that the dark clouds had covered the entire sea.


    One of Lucifer''s shadows located Licorice with another Lucifer.


    Getting the information, Lucifer started flying towards that spot.


    ....


    In an unknown location, a world existed which was destroyed from top to bottom. Not a single life form or ntation existed in the world.


    The entire world was barren, only having volcanos that kept exploding at regr intervals.


    A young man, seemingly in histe twenties, sat in the world, on a lonely cliff, staring thousands of feet down at the bottom, lost in thoughts. It was unclear what he was thinking, but hisck of expression made him look very mysterious.


    Slowly, the man looked to his left, noticing a projection of a man sitting beside him. The other man was none other than Licorice.


    "So you''re still hiding in this ce?" Licorice asked. "Reminiscing how you destroyed our home?''


    The man didn''t reply. His colorful eyes looked at Licorice emotionless.


    "Not going to say anything now?" Licorice asked.


    "You don''t have to distract me," the man finally responded. "I already know what is happening and what you''re trying to do. I won''t interfere."


    He could already see that Licorice was here using the connection with Lucifer, through which he was stealing his energy to use on the barrier. He didn''t even bother to stop him, as if this much energy was nothing for him.


    "You know what I''m trying to do?" Licorice asked. "Then you also know next time I''lle for you?"


    The man only nodded his head. "Why else do you think I''m still in this world? I will let Destiny take its course. If you seed,e. I''ll be here. If you don''t seed, even then, it doesn''t matter since I''ll still meet someone I need to meet."


    "Would that someone be Lucifer?'' Licorice asked. As he was gathering the energy, he still had some time that he could waste here. It wasn''t often he got the time to talk to the destroyer.


    The man didn''t reply, going silent once again.


    After a few minutes, he finally opened his lips. "Thank you."


    "What? You''re thanking me? For what?" Licorice asked, stunned. Why was this man thanking him? What did he do?


    "I think that much energy should be enough for you to break the barrier," the man let out, talking about something else entirely. "You can leave."


    The man snapped his fingers.


    Boom~


    Licorice heard an explosion as his illusory body disappeared. He also felt as if the connection he was using through Lucifer was gone. He found himself back in the Dungeon, still holding the hands of Lucifer. However, he couldn''t feel that connection anymore.


    It didn''t matter though. The man was right. He had collected enough energy to break the barrier, but the energy wasn''t with him. He was just establishing the connection. As it was through Lucifer''s body, all the excess energy was stored inside his body.


    In any case, he could use that energy since Lucifer was with him and didn''t know what to do with that energy.


    He kept holding the hands of Lucifer and ced his other hand on the barrier.


    A wave of violent energy came out of his fingers which was absorbed by the barrier; however, the energy seemed to be too much for the barrier. Cracks started developing on the barrier, which multiplied. Within a second, the entire barrier was covered in cracks.


    Tuck~


    Ultimately, the cracks were enough to shatter the barrier as if it was nothing but a piece of ss.


    "Finally," Licorice smirked. Still holding onto Lucifer''s hands, he stepped ahead.


    ~~~~


    Three minutester, Lucifer also arrived on that spot.


    "They broke the barrier. The core of the Dungeon must be ahead," he muttered as he continued his flight.


    ~~~


    The distance of the core of the Dungeon from the shattered barrier wasn''t much. After flying for only a minute, Licorice reached the core of the Temple, where he saw a small violet crystal.


    "Sigh, this small thing! This thing has been powering the Dungeon for so long? This was what gathered our energy! This tiny fragment is what made this ce a prison! But not anymore! We''ll be free finally!" The man eximed as he picked up the crystal from the center of the room.


    He reached out his hand towards Lucifer. "Give me your hand. After we break this crystal, your parents'' souls will be free."


    Lucifer raised his hand again.


    Licorice held his hand. At the same time, the other Lucifer stepped inside the core. Gusts of winds apanied him as hended inside the core with Milena and others.

 Chapter 853: Lucifer vs Lucifer?

    Chapter 853: Lucifer vs Lucifer?


    Licorice took the hands of Lucifer, holding his wrist once again as he reached out his other hand towards the crystal before him.


    A violet luminescence surrounded both their bodies; however, just as the man could touch the crystal, a dark shadow came out of nowhere and swallowed the crystal.


    Another Lucifernded at the entrance of the core, intending to send the core to his shadow realm so it couldn''t be destroyed. However, as soon as his shadow touched the core, it disintegrated. The crystal was still in its ce.


    Lucifer clenched his chest, feeling the pain of his shadow being destroyed.


    Licorice also noticed the shadow. He turned around, curious.


    "It''s you," he smiled, noticing the other Lucifer. Finally, both the Lucifers were standing before each other, looking at each other.


    "You think it was that easy to move that crystal? If it were that easy, I wouldn''t need to wait so long. However, I''m surprised that you were able to pass through my men. How did you do it?" He asked, curious.


    He knew that Lucifer was strong, but he wasn''t that strong to take care of them.


    Lucifer observed the Crystal behind Licorice. The crystal was thest level of defense that was keeping this Dungeon sealed. If it was gone, the Dungeon was going toe crashing down.


    Lucifer and Licorice were more stunned than anyone else. He hadn''t known that there was another Lucifer. He thought there was only one... Him. The dark-robed Lucifer stood before him, who was dressed in white. If their clothes weren''t so different, he would''ve thought he was looking in the mirror.


    "You...?" he asked, frowning. "Who are you?"


    "I am you... And you are me. We are one, yet we are two," the real Lucifer responded.


    "What?"


    "I don''t have time to exin anything. Just know that I''m Lucifer Azarel, who lived the same life as you until we were tossed in the sea. My heart was pulled out of my body which my body healed. It was pulled out of the water within a few months, and I lived."


    "If I''m not wrong, you''re the Lucifer that came from the healing through the heart who just came out. In other words, you are not me, but you''re also me. I lived for thest eight years while you stayed in the sea. You didn''t lose your memories. It''s just that you never made any memories in the first ce. Only I did," Lucifer exined.


    Even though he didn''t have much time, he decided to exin briefly.


    "He''s lying. Such a preposterous story," Licoricemented. "He is a Variant who can clone anyone, along with their abilities. He''s also with those people who want to stop you from freeing your parents. Don''t listen to them."


    He turned around and ced his hand on the Crystal. The Lucifer he was holding onto was stunned, but he decided to believe Licorice. That story was stupid, and he had seen a person in Uprising who could shapeshift.


    It wasn''t difficult for them to do it. In any case, even if he wanted to stop Licorice, he couldn''t do it. He was just a conduit of power who couldn''t control his body anymore.


    Surrounded by the violet hue, Licorice grabbed the crystal.


    Boom~


    As soon as he grabbed the crystal, a lightning bolt came crashing on his chest, tossing him back.


    Lucifer''s hands were freed as Licorice shot back, crashing on the stone wall in the back. The crystal alsonded on the ground.


    The real Lucifer shot toward Licorice to attack him again; unfortunately, before he could get to the man, he was forced to stop as he found someone standing before him.


    The person who blocked Lucifer''s path was none other than Lucifer himself.


    "I told you all; I won''t let you interfere. This is for my parents. If you don''t want me to kill you, leave!" The weaker Lucifer said, threatening the real Lucifer.


    Licorice stood behind the white robed Lucifer, smirking. Only the ck robed Lucifer could see his smirk though.


    "Don''t be an idiot. He is fooling you. Our patients aren''t in that crystal! They were never there. It was just a fake projection inside the crystal that the man used to fool you. I also came here to save my parents! I checked that ce! It is all a lie!" The ck robed Lucifer eximed.


    "You think I will trust you? I saw them with my own eyes!" The white robed Lucifer roared.


    "They think you''re an idiot. They forget you''ve been forged in the cauldron of betrayal. They can''t fool you so easily. However, they won''t let us do it as long as they are here. How about we take them out?" Licorice asked, stepping closer to him.


    Lucifer could feel his face twitch. He was being obstructed by none other than himself? It was him who was fighting with Licorice, but it was also him who was blocking his path?


    "I''m giving you ast chance. Leave and stop obstructing us. If you don''t leave now, I will kill you!" The white robed Lucifer warned again.


    "You might be me, but even you''re not allowed to stand in my path if you''re going to side with the stupid!'' the dark robed Lucifer eximed as lightning surrounded him.


    A kicknded on the white robed Lucifer''s face, which tossed him towards the exit.


    The lightning armor appeared around the dark robed Lucifer, along with ck wings that came from his back.


    Licorice nced at the white robed Lucifer, who crashed on the wall before turning to the dark robed Lucifer.


    "Even you can''t stop me now. I''ve covered all the things, including gathering the abilities. Now you aren''t needed. So I won''t hold back," Licorice stated as his eyes shone in a blood red light. "I need to kill that man, and if I have to kill you to get to him, I won''t hesitate!"


    A strange dark aura surrounded his body.


    ~~~


    Milena, Yaliza, and Szar stood before the white robed Lucifer, who had just crashed on the wall. They blocked his path so he couldn''t interfere with the battle of their Lucifer.


    "You two keep him busy. I''ll go help him," Milena told Yaliza and Szar. Both the men nodded.


    Milena turned around, only to be greeted with a gruesome sight.


    It had only been a few seconds since the battle started, and she saw her Lucifer flying back as well. There were thousands of cut marks all around his face, which was strange since Licorice didn''t have any sword as a weapon.

 Chapter 854: Betrayed by own

    Chapter 854: Betrayed by own


    Within a second, Licorice''s figure also disappeared as he appeared behind Lucifer, teleporting.


    He grabbed both the wings of Lucifer that were boosting his strength and tore the wings from his back, tossing them away.


    "Argh!" Lucifer groaned in pain as he felt like his nerves were torn off.


    "Do you even need to block my path?" White robed Lucifer asked Szar. "It doesn''t look like Licorice needs my help. He alone should be able to kill you all. You''re just dying our important work and nothing more."


    Just as he said, even Szar and Yaliza were worried about the same thing. They knew how strong these people were and how difficult it was to take them out. However, they also knew that Lucifer had defeated four of them already, even though they didn''t know how. They believed he had a way.


    Lucifer''s back bled as hended on the ground. He noticed a footing towards his head to crush him. He teleported at thest moment,nding in a different corner to get some time to collect his breath, but Licorice also teleported right after him. The foot reached even closer to him, barely a few inches away from crushing his skull v


    Lucifer called forth his lightning sword, thrusting it towards the iing foot. At the same time, he called forth a lightning shield, not attempting teleportation anymore since he knew that it wouldn''t have any effect.


    The sword hit the foot of Licorice, unable to harm him even a little. It was as if his skin was also as strong as the skin of Licia. His sword was nothing before it.


    The footnded on the lightning barrier, shattering it in an instant.


    Just as the foot was about tond on Lucifer''s face, a white sphere of lightnded on the chest of Licorice, sending him flying.


    Lucifer was protected at thest second.


    "Are you alright?" Milena asked.


    "Watch out!" Lucifer yelled, noticing that Licorice was back. Licorice grabbed the neck of Milena. She couldn''t even teleport now that she was being held by him.


    "You pests think you can stop him? Just because you defeated some kids outside, you think you are strong enough to face the Baltics? You aren''t even Worthy to stand before me!" Licorice yelled, thrusting Milena down.


    Her back crashed to the ground, making her cough out a mouthful of blood as she felt that her breathing stopped momentarily.


    ~~~


    Back in the barren world, a man was still sitting idly on a cliff. However, there was a mirror before him that was broadcasting everything that was happening inside the Dungeon.


    There was a smile on his lips as he saw Lucifer on the ground.


    "Too weak... I really wonder if you can survive. This time I won''t interfere," the man muttered softly.


    "Your life will bring my death. But your death won''t bring my life. So it won''t matter... I already did enough..."


    Heid on the cliff, facing the sky. The mirror also moved on its own to face him in the sky, giving him a clear view.


    Another volcano exploded in the back, making a loud explosive noise.


    ~~~<i>  [


    . c o m ]</i>


    Licorice''s feet came crashing at Milena this time as he nned to take out the obstructions first.


    Milena closed her eyes, still unable to teleport. She could see her death right before her eyes.


    However, the impact she was hoping for didn''te. She slowly looked up, wondering what had happened.


    Even Yaliza and Szar had a shocked look on their faces as they saw what had happened.


    "Huh?" Milena looked straight ahead as a trail of blood came out of her lips.


    Licorice stood still with one foot in the sky as if he was a statue.


    "Move!" She heard the yell of Lucifer, which brought her out of her daze.


    She slid her body back before standing up. She could see Lucifer still on the ground. His eyes were focused on Licorice, but he seemed to be in pain as well. Her nerves were visible as if they were going to explode.


    She couldn''t help but wonder if Lucifer had trapped him in space. It was impossible to affect Licorice in space. She had already tried that. He was immune to it. So how was he like that?


    "Time?" She eximed in shock, but she knew she couldn''t waste this opportunity, no matter what it was.


    She pulled out her sword from her spatial storage and swung it towards the man''s neck. Lucifer was already clenching his teeth, struggling. He knew he couldn''t hold the man for long. This was probably theirst opportunity.


    Milena''s sword came swinging with full force, even slicing the winds along the way.


    Bang~


    Out of nowhere, a lightning bolt came flying. Itnded on the chest of Milena, who wasn''t expecting it. The sword flew off from her hand before it could even hit Licorice.


    Shended on her knees, looking at the hole in her chest, which had barely missed her heart. She looked towards the white robed Lucifer in the distance, who was standing behind Yaliza and Salzar.


    Both of them were so immersed in the attack of Milena and Lucifer, they forgot to keep an eye on the other Lucifer, especially since the other Lucifer stood like a calm boy who had no intention of interfering. It was only now they realized how wrong they were!


    The ck robed Lucifer also couldn''t hold back anymore as he lost control of Licorice. His body dropped to the ground.


    He had used so much strength just now to use the time control that he barely had anything left since his time core was defective. He couldn''t do it again.


    He tried to push his body up, which was a chore in itself as he looked at the other Lucifer. They were so close to winning, and they failed, all because of the other Lucifer.


    The real Lucifer was infuriated. He interfered, but he also hurt Milena, who dropped on the ground as her body kept bleeding.


    Thum~


    The feet of Licoricended on the ground, but no one was under his feet.


    Stunned, he looked at his surroundings, finding Milena bleeding in the distance.


    "Time?" he muttered in surprise as he nced back at the weak Lucifer. "You were even able to control me, if only for a few seconds? You never cease to amaze me," the man eximed, sighing.


    He turned to the other Lucifer. "Good work. If they had seeded, your parents would never return. It''s good that you didn''t let them seed."


    "Now it''s my turn to handle the rest," he added.

 Chapter 855: Impossible

    Chapter 855: Impossible


    Licorice stepped closer to Milena, who was lying on the ground, unmoving. He bent on his knees and reached out his hand toward her face.


    Swiss~


    A knife came flying out of nowhere, hitting his fingers that were getting close to Milena. If he were an ordinary human, his fingers would''ve been sliced, but there wasn''t even a scratch on his fingers.


    Amused, he nced to his left, noticing Yaliza running toward him. Lucifer ran after him to stop him, but he found himself moving exceptionally slowly as he was trapped in the Time Domain of Szar. He moved so slow that it seemed like he wasn''t even moving. Having no immunity skills, the white-robed Lucifer was trapped in a cage, unable to stop Yaliza.


    Yaliza wasn''t sure about what he was doing. He knew he couldn''t help Milena, who was already dead, it seemed. He also couldn''t stop Licorice, who was too strong for him. However, still he didn''t hold back. He knew that they were all going to die in any case if they didn''t stop him. After Milena, he was surely going to kill them.


    If they were going to die in any case, then it was better for him to die while doing something useful. If he could help Lucifer escape by distracting Licorice for even a minute, that was worth it. At the same time, Szar could take Lucifer away.


    Keeping the white-robed Lucifer in his domain, he ran to the ck-robed Lucifer, who was lying on the ground, trying to force his body up.


    "Get up! We need to get out of here. We aren''t in a good situation here!" Szar informed Lucifer, cing his hand on the man''s shoulder as he tried to move him up.


    "You''re right. The situation isn''t good." A calm voice fell into the ears of Szar as he felt someone grab him by the neck.


    His body was forcefully pulled back and tossed away.


    The white Robed Lucifer was freed from the Domain of Szar, who himself was in trouble. Aw Szar''s body flew back uncontrobly; he noticed Yaliza, who was standing still. His little eyes were still open; however, a trail of blood trickled down his throat, which was sliced.


    He needed to distract Licorice for a minute at least, but within a second, he had died.


    Szar covered his head, bracing for the impact with the wall.


    "Argh!" He groaned in pain as his body struck the wall behind him.


    Even as he protected his head from hitting, which could result in his death, he felt his bones crush. His eyes became pale as he saw the face of Licorice once again.


    There was a smile on the face of Licorice this time. It was as if the time had stopped for Szar this time. He knew what wasing. His throat was grabbed once again as Licorice raised him in the air.


    "You people can''t do anything. I have everything I want now! I have the key! I don''t need to y with you. You all can''t even scratch me, let alone defeat me!" Licorice eximed as he kept applying more and more pressure on the neck of Szar, about to crush it.


    He was like the god of this ce. Without his wish, no one could leave this ce alive. However, he had forgotten that he wasn''t alone in this ce.


    Behind him, the dark-robed Lucifer stood up again, still feeling extremely weak. With trembling legs, he started stepping closer to Licorice. Unfortunately, he was once again blocked. This time, it was once again his other self who was blocking him.


    Freed from the Time Domain, the other Lucifer blocked the dark-robed Lucifer. "You can''t even stand properly. You think you can fight him? You can''t even fight me! You can''t stop me from bringing my parents back!"


    "I don''t remember me being that obnoxious in my younger days," Lucifer let out, shaking his head in disappointment. "If I was, then I''m d I''ve changed! I''m not wed like you are!"


    "You''re still sticking to that story?" The white robed Lucifer responded.


    "Step aside!" Lucifermanded in a grim voice, hearing the pained voice of Szar.


    " I''ll move!" the white robed Lucifer responded as he moved. However, instead of moving away from the dark robed Lucifer, he moved towards him, clenching his fist as he called forth his supreme strength.


    The real Lucifer just clicked his tongue. This was the same trick he used to do, but it wasn''t going to work before him.


    As if knowing the exact trajectory that was going to be used to attack, Lucifer simply closed his eyes. He could predict everything his other self was going to do and where he was going to attack since he just needed to know where the attack was going toe.


    Feeling the pressure of the wind against his face as the punch got closer, he just raised his left hand up. He grabbed the fist of the other Lucifer. At the same time, he thrust his other hand ahead without giving the white robed Lucifer a chance. This guy was a kid before him, after all.


    "Urgh!"


    Licorice was just about to crush the throat of Szar when he heard a pained crying from behind him. That cry itself was something that made him tremble because that was the cry of his freedom! Lucifer was his key, and it was the cry of that key! If something happened to that key at this time, everything was going to be for naught!


    Tossing Szar aside, he turned back, only to be stunned. Both the men were facing each other, having the same face and features. However, one man was clearly the one in danger.


    The dark robed Lucifer was standing perfectly calm, even though he was weak. However, the white robed Lucifer was looking down towards his chest. A hand had prated his chest, and now it was holding onto his heart.


    "Don''t you dare kill him! I would tear you to pieces!" Licorice roared like a mad beast, seeing his key in the hands of the dark robed Lucifer.


    White Robed Lucifer was the vessel of all the robbed strength that was needed to break the crustal. If anything happened to him, it was going to be impossible to use that strength!


    The dark robed Lucifer nced towards Licorice as an amused smile graced his tired-looking face. The reaction was amazing. It was as if the life of this Lucifer was really important to him. There was no way that he was going to care for a person''s life unless it was for his own good.

 Chapter 856: Overdrive

    Chapter 856: Overdrive


    Lucifer also knew that the only thing this man cared about was getting out of this prison. That meant that Lucifer was important for this cause for him.


    Licorice had already destroyed so many people dear to him. They were dead because of him. And Milena was also dead because of this Lucifer and him. He couldn''t care any less for these two people. If hurting Lucifer could stop Licorice and make him regret messing with him, what could be better?


    Lucifer clenched his fist, destroying the heart of the other Lucifer, crushing it to nothing.


    Even though he knew that Lucifer coulde back to life with healing through, he still chose to do this to mess with Licorice. Moreover, this could keep Lucifer out of this battle for a little while.


    After killing the white robed Lucifer, he tossed the body aside and teleported to Szar. At the same time, Licorice ran to the other Lucifer, checking if he was alive. Unfortunately, he could only see a dead Lucifer for now.


    Enraged, he red back at Lucifer with blood covered eyes. The entire Dungeon started trembling under his rage.


    Lucifer helped Szar up,manding him to take Milena''s bodies back since it was unclear if his body could heal her or not.


    "What about him?" Szar asked, frowning.


    "Decaying my other self has given me some energy. I should be able to fight him and keep him busy. You''ll only be a distraction here! Run!" Lucifermanded before standing up.


    He saw Licorice standing mere inches away from him. "I will kill you for this interference!"


    Licorice extended his hands towards the neck of Lucifer, only to find that this Lucifer was nothing but an illusion. A cold hand grabbed his neck from the back.


    Lucifer grabbed Licorice and flew up, hitting the head of Licorice on the roof with a smash. He still didn''t leave Licorice as he pulled him down, smashing his back with his knees.


    Unfortunately, for his knees, it was as if he had hit an iron te. There was no effect on Licorice, but there was certainly an effect on his knees, which started hurting even more.


    Lucifer''s hands turned into ws which he stabbed in the chest of the man; however, even his ws couldn''t prate that thick skin.


    In the meantime, Szar picked up Milena and ran out of the room, running without aim. The room was vacated.


    Licorice was caught in surprise; however, he had regained his senses as he grabbed the hair of Lucifer and flew back. Since Lucifer was behind him, he smashed his back against the wall, hurting Lucifer in the process.


    Lucifer called forth a lightning knife in his hand, thrusting it towards the neck of the man. The knife smashed to pieces, unable to prate. Licorice kept hitting Lucifer again and again.


    At the same time, Lucifer also kept calling his knife, again and again, stabbing the same spot. He didn''t care how many times the knife shattered. All he cared about was hurting Licorice once, so he could create an opening. At the same time, he kept his other hand on the skin of Licorice, letting his decay work.


    Unfortunately, that didn''t look as easy. Despite being evolved, his lightning was still bound by thews of this world. Meanwhile, Licorice was an evolved life form himself who possessed a strength that broke mortal bounds. That''s why he was trapped in this Dungeon, unable to step foot on earth for an eternity. Moreover, the decay was also ineffective.


    The strength Lucifer had wasn''t enough. He also needed to have strength that broke mortal bounds, but he didn''t have enough abilities to evolve his lightning anymore. He had to work with what he had.


    After a long time, Lucifer finally had some sess with his lightning bolt as he noticed a minute scratch near the next of Licorice. Even though it was just a scratch, it proved that he was on the right track. He conjured another knife. However, this time it didn''t go as he nned.


    Licorice grabbed the wrist of Lucifer and pulled him ahead, thrashing him onto the ground. At the same time, he stomped on his chest, crushing the ribs of Lucifer.


    "You small pest, just because I didn''t kill you, you think you can dance on my head?!" Licorice roared as he kept stomping on Lucifer.


    Lucifer''s vision started getting blurry under the brutal attacks as he started feeling that maybe he truly was too weak to win. Most of his abilities weren''t working in this ce, and the ones that were working were too weak to hurt Licorice. What could he even do?


    His eyes slowly closed; however, his mind was still active.


    Seeing Lucifer''s eyes closed, Licorice stopped.


    He raised his hand towards the sky. A small Portal opened above him. Licorice entered his hand inside the portal and brought out a beautiful white sword. "Let us end this chapter for an eternity!"


    He ced the sword on the neck of Lucifer.


    ~~~


    Szar kept running with Milena, getting tired himself. He noticed a door on his left that they had seen when they wereing after Licorice. They hadn''t checked the room before since Lucifer already knew where Licorice and the other Lucifer were. However, now that he was tired, this ce looked to be the safest to rest.


    It was better to rest in this ce than resting in an open hallway.


    He kicked the door open before barging inside the room.


    "This seems to be some kind of storage room..." He muttered, observing the surroundings. "I also see the stuff they took from us here."


    He ced Milena on the ground and walked to his bags. As they were sent here on a mission, they had brought a lot of items with them, including food. However, they were captured, and they were brought here. Their items were taken from them as well.


    However, more than his items, he was stunned at the other things that were here. There were bags here that looked to be decades old. Near those bags, he could see a sword that was covered in the dust yet seemed ordinary.


    For him, that sword was the most important item here since that was what Lucifer wanted him to find!


    ~~~


    In another room, the sword of Licorice came crashing down on Lucifer''s neck.


    Lucifer, who seemed to have given up, slowly opened his eyes, seeing the swording toward him.


    His lips moved, forming only one word that came out of his mouth. However, that one word was enough to change everything. "Overdrive¡­"

 Chapter 857: The Sword

    Chapter 857: The Sword


    The entire atmosphere changed. The warm room turned bone chilling cold. A strange kind of energy filled the entire body of Lucifer like nothing before.


    All the energy cores of Lucifer were in overload, drawing out an excessive amount of energies that weren''t generally permitted. It was impossible for anyone to survive after entering overdrive. That''s why it was also called a suicide mode which people rarely used.


    Lucifer had a different idea in his mind as he used overdrive. He wasn''t entirely confident that he was going to be perfectly fine after this. Even if he survived, he wasn''t going to be in any reasonable condition. However, even that was worth it. To defeat Licorice, he needed to break the mortal bonds of his abilities, even if it was only for a minute.


    His abilities were already top tier, and overdrive boosted them even more, making him stronger.


    He grabbed the sword of Licorice in his bare hands when it was just a few inches away from his neck. At the same time, he kicked the chin of Licorice, sending him flying.


    His body floated up as he stood. His eyes shone in a mysterious dark light which was a sign of overdrive. The dark eyes made him seem even better. It was as if time was moving exceptionally slowly for him.


    Licorice also controlled his body mid-air,nding on the ground.


    The entire surrounding changed around Licorice. His body, which was standing over twenty meters away from Lucifer, was now just a few meters away from him. He was brought ahead without his control.


    Lucifer grabbed the neck of Licorice, who did the same in return. Both men grabbed each other''s necks as they flew straight into the nearby wall. Thrashing the wall, they both ended up in a different room altogether.


    Thousands of swords appeared behind Lucifer, shooting straight toward them. As the sword reached them, Lucifer disappeared and appeared in the distance.


    All the swords kept thrashing Licorice, one after another, on the same spot. At the same time, Lucifer had once again used the time restraint, which he was able to use because of his overdrive.


    He only had twenty seconds of overdrive left, but those twenty seconds were most crucial since those were thest twenty seconds he was going to have. If he couldn''t kill Licorice in these twenty seconds, it was impossible. He needed to break that awful defense of Licorice in those twenty seconds.


    All the swords kept attacking the same point on the chest of Licorice. One after another, thousands of swords hit the man, who couldn''t even resist due to being trapped in time.


    All Licorice could do was re at Lucifer.


    Despite his overbearing strength, the swords still weren''t able to break through the defense of the man. Not even a scratch was made. Instead, it seemed more as if Licorice''s defense had improved!


    Lucifer called forth his sword once again, this time holding onto his own hands as he shot straight towards Licorice. He ced all his strength behind this one attack. Only five seconds were left in his overbearing strength. He ced as much strength as he could to begin this attack.


    The lightning sword was surrounded by spatial energy and sharp winds to make it even stronger.


    Boom~


    A loud explosion took ce as the crash urred. Dust and smoke spread everywhere. The impact was so strong that even the body of the white-robed Lucifer was pushed back along with the Dungeon Crystal!


    Even through the dust, Lucifer could see very clearly. Pieces of dark lighting flew all around him, some even slicing his own cheeks. A look of disbelief surrounded his face as he held onto the half shattered sword. Meanwhile, the chest of Licorice was still intact, without as much a scratch.


    Only one second was left in his overdrive, and that one second was gone as well.


    "Arghhhh!" Lucifer roared in pain as his weak body dropped to the ground, lifeless.


    Licorice was free from the time restraint as Lucifer dropped to the ground. Lucifer roared in terrifying pain like he never felt before. His own skin had started disintegrating, bit by bit. Despite having a stronger body than the rest, along with his healing, the effect of Overdrive was a bit too much for him since it boosted all his cores which overwhelmed even his own body.


    Licoricended on the ground, observing his chest. He patted his chest gently before looking down at Lucifer. "In your quest to destroy me, you destroyed yourself."


    "I feel bad for you. I want to end your pain right this instant by killing you, but then again, you troubled me so much. I think you deserve this pain. I''ll let you die on your own. Until then, you can watch me free us!" he added as he noticed the white robed Lucifering to his senses in the distance. He went to that Lucifer and helped him up.


    "Are you alright?" he inquired.


    "Is it over?" The white robed Lucifer asked, only to stop as he heard the scream of the other Lucifer.


    "Ignore him. We''re almost done. We just need to finish thest step," Licorice let out, smiling.


    He grabbed the wrist of the white robed Lucifer before looking for the crystal.


    "There it is," he let out, stepped towards the crystal which was lying in another corner of the room.


    The screams of Lucifer were like a melody to his ears as his screams kept getting intense. For a moment, he even wondered if Lucifer was going to survive to watch them be free.


    He picked up the crystal with his left hand while holding onto Lucifer with his right.


    He started drawing the power from Lucifer to use it to destroy the core. The amount of energy needed was just too immense. Fortunately, he wasn''t using his own.


    ~~~


    Szar picked up the sword that Lucifer was looking for. It was a sword covered in dust that didn''t look anything special at all. It didn''t even have an edge. Holding the sword in his hand, Szar didn''t feel any special.


    He couldn''t understand why Lucifer was looking for this cheap feeling sword.


    "I can''t judge him. Since he was looking for it and Zale carried it despite not being a swordsman, there must be something special in this sword. Only he can know though. I should get this sword to him."


    "But her..." he nced at Milena, letting out a deep sigh. "Can I leave her alone?"


    "What can I even do by staying here? We can''t leave this Dungeon. If this sword can help Lucifer, then it should be worth it!"

 Chapter 858: Two for one...

    Chapter 858: Two for one...


    He checked the wrist of Milena. Fortunately, her heart was still beating, and it seemed like she was healing.


    "Milena, I don''t know if you''re listening or not, but I need to get going. I might not be able toe back once I leave, but it''s for the good. If you heal, don''t wait for us and go as far as you can!" The man dered as he stood up. He ran to the door and left.


    In his haste, he forgot to check the back of Zale entirely. If he had checked, he would''ve noticed a beautiful crystal in his bag, which was one of the seven crystals that Lucifer was looking for.


    Szar closed the door from the outside before running back to where he came from.


    ~~~~


    Lucifer wriggled in pain, roaring. He had experienced a lot of pain in his life, from the worst in his childhood to literally dying many times, but nothing wasparable to this pain. He couldn''t even breathe as he felt like he was going to suffocate. His hands were trembling, and his vision started getting blurry. Even his brain was shutting down slowly as all his thoughts became jumbled.


    There was only one thought in his mind. He needed stronger healing if he wanted to survive, and there was only one way to strengthen his healing at this moment.


    With a blurry vision, he nced at the other Lucifer who stood right beside Licorice.


    He ced his trembling hand on the ground as he pushed his body up before moving ahead with heavy steps. He clenched his lips to make sure he didn''t yell in pain. He clenched his lips so tightly that they literally started bleeding. He could taste his own blood. The pain of his lips hurting was nothing before the pain he was already feeling.


    Lucifer dragged his body ahead, not knowing how long it was before he was going to fall.


    As the hall went silent, Licorice wondered if Lucifer had finally died. However, he needed to keep his focus on the stone, which made him unable to divert his attention.


    Lucifer reached the other Lucifer after a long time, standing just a few inches behind him.


    "You owe something to me. I need it back!" The blood-covered Lucifer let out as he changed his hands into a w, stabbing the chest of Lucifer. This time he didn''t shatter the heart, though. Instead, he directly pulled out the heart.


    At the same time, he used another hand to make a hole in his own chest and ced the heart inside his own body. He still didn''t decay the heart though. First, he needed topletely destroy the other Lucifer before decaying hisst bit to take the strength.


    Without his heart, the white robed Lucifer once again dropped to his knees, but he didn''t fall entirely. He supported his body with one hand.


    Lucifer grabbed his neck and started letting his decay take effect. Even though his own decay didn''t work on him, the other Lucifer was another identity in itself, which made his decay effective.


    Holding the body of the other Lucifer, the dark-robed Lucifer flew back. He needed to avoid the man until he could decay Luciferpletely.


    "Even after all this, you still have all my skills. It looks like you weren''t lying. You really are me..." The white robed Lucifer weakly stated as his eyes lost their shine.


    "I am. And I''ll make sure we live on our own terms, not falling for the trap of Licorice. However, for that, I need to take your life."


    "Can I say no?" The other Lucifer asked weakly. He knew he wasn''t in a position to say no. His heart was gone. Moreover, his healing wasn''t fast enough to stop the decay of his body.


    "A few years of head start can change so many things. Your decay is really strong...." The white robed Lucifer stated as his body started disintegrating at rapid speed.


    The dark robed Lucifer wasn''t in any better condition either. The overdrive effects were still there. His body was also decaying. It was a race to see if he disintegrated first or the other Lucifer because only one of them coulde out of this alive. If he died, others could live. And if other died, he could potentially live!


    Licorice wanted to stop Lucifer, but he still couldn''t stop the process. The crystal was already cracked and losing energy. He didn''t need Lucifer anymore to continue the rest. He ignored Lucifer and kept attacking the stone with his own energy this time. Since the crystal was cracked, it couldn''t even face the onught of his own energy.


    More and more cracks kept developing in the crystal. At the same speed, the Dungeon also started cracking as terrifying trembling could be felt everywhere in the Dungeon.


    The decay showed its effects, and one of the two Lucifer''s disintegrated. Fortunately, it happened to be the white robed Lucifer.


    The blood-covered Lucifer wasn''t in any good condition himself. Within a few seconds, he was going to disappearpletely as well. His skin was already that of a hundred years old person.


    Now that he had destroyed the other Lucifer, all that remained of him was the heart inside him.


    He stabbed his ws in his chest to destroy the heart as well to steal the abilities of the other Lucifer, only to realize that something different was happening. It was somethingpletely out of his expectations. The heart... It had merged with his body already, as soon as the other Lucifer had disappeared.


    Now he had two hearts in his body that were working simultaneously, one on his left and one on the right side of his chest.


    The merging of the heart gave the same effect as destroying it, if not better. All the core abilities of Lucifer had evolved except his lightning which he had evolved before.


    All his core abilities that the other Lucifer possessed jumped one stage in the chain of evolutions. His wind control became an S rank ability. His healing also became stronger. As for his strength, it reached the same stage as his lightning, passing the threshold above S Rank.


    It was as if he had received a new life and a new soul. The effects of overdrive disappeared abruptly, and his body finally started healing. The decay stopped.


    He experienced something even more, though. There was a strange strength coursing through his body that was different. It was as if it was a strength that was out of this world!


    The strength that Licorice had taken from the man in another world was kept in Lucifer as a vessel. Now, this Lucifer possessed everything of that Vessel which was broken now.


    The borrowed strength started coursing through his body as his eyes turned stark white. It was as if he could see everything happening in the world suddenly. He was one with his abilities, and his abilities were one with him!

 Chapter 859: Bonding

    Chapter 859: Bonding


    The cracks on the crystal became so intense that it was hard for the Crystal to stay intact. Even under all the pressure, it was still holding on.


    Unfortunately, it ultimately gave in as the stone turned to pieces. The roof of the Dungeon Split apart as the entire Dungeon started falling without any support.


    Licorice dropped the stone pieces on the ground as he looked up. All the water started rushing inside the Dungeon from the roof.


    He shot straight up. Now that the Dungeon defense was home, he didn''t want to stay even a second in the Dungeon. He couldn''t control himself. He shot up, leaving through the opening, not even caring for Lucifer, who wasn''t worth anything to him.


    He didn''t realize the massive change that was taking ce inside Lucifer. The strength... The immense strength was too much for even the world to contain, let alone Lucifer. All the cores started bonding with him in perfect sync, giving him immense control.


    A symbol appeared on his body for each of his cores in the shape of that ability. A dark lightning bolt appeared on his right forearm. A whirlwind appeared on his right hand, signifying winds.


    On the back of his left wrist, a tree appeared, which only had branches but no leaves or anything. It was like a dead tree that had lived most of its life already.


    More and more such symbols appeared around his body, on his chest. Only his back was still intact without any such symbols. However, his back had an old tattoo of its own.


    With the newly gained temporary abilities, some of that strength even seeped into that tattoo.


    Lucifer was still in the process of bonding when his back tattoo started shining. Everything around him turned white.


    As the colors returned to his surroundings, he found himself in a pale world which had nothing but barrennd. The entire sky was covered in ashes as the volcanoes in the distance kept exploding.


    Lucifer turned his back on the volcanos to notice the cliff he was standing at. He also noticed a man sitting on the cliff. The man had beautiful silver hair.


    "Where am I?" Lucifer asked.


    The man raised his head, ncing toward Lucifer.


    As the man looked at him, Lucifer saw his face properly. The pale face and a blue and violet eye... This barrennd... He couldn''t help but wonder if he had againe forward in time. Even if that was the case, why was he looking at the person from a different perspective? Why wasn''t he inside him?


    "Am I in the future?" Lucifer inquired.


    The man shook his head in response.


    "So it''s the current time?" Lucifer asked, frowning. "Are you the person those seven stones lead to?"


    "You mean stones like these?" The man responded as he snapped his fingers. Thousands of stones appeared all around the man and started circling him like he was their sun, and they were thes. "The answer to your second question would be yes, but your first question would be a no.''


    <i>  </i>


    "So you''re that person... I was looking for you!" Lucifer eximed. "Why is the answer to my first question a no? This isn''t the current time either? It''s the past?"


    "It''s neither the present nor the past and the future," The man replied, talking calmly.


    "Then what is this ce?" Lucifer asked.


    "I suppose you weren''t looking for me to ask about this ce? I don''t think you have much time. You''ll have to go back when you''ve assimted all my powers. You''ve been quite lucky to snatch that strength from him, I must say. I didn''t expect that."


    "You mean you were looking?" Lucifer asked.


    "I have nothing to do here. Of course, I''ll look at you," the man answered. "Killing your own self for your survival... A bold step."


    "I did what I had to do to survive," Lucifer retorted. "He was siding with the wrong!"


    "And you know what is right and what is wrong?" the man asked, frowning. "Everyone has their own definition of what''s right and what''s wrong. For him, he was right. For you, you were right. Ultimately, only the might makes someone right, proven by you standing here."


    "Tell me about me! Why are you so interested in me? Why are my eyes like you? Who am I to you? Am I your clone? Or am I another you like the other Lucifer was to me?" Lucifer asked, getting straight to the topic.


    "You aren''t me," the man answered. "You aren''t a clone of mine either. I didn''t create you. You would exist even without me if that''s what you''re asking about."


    "Then who am I? Where is my family? Who are we to each other? Are you my family member?"


    The man simply turned his face towards the sky. "You see the sky? It''s so clouded that we can''t see the other side. However, even if we could see the other side, all we would find is darkness only."


    "What does that mean?" Lucifer enquired.


    "Your bonding is almost done. Just remember, my strength that you luckily received is only temporary. It''ll soon overwhelm your body and destroy you if you don''t let it out. I won''t wish you luck though..." The manzily said as he rested his back on the ground.


    "That''s not my answer! I was asking..." Lucifer stepped toward the man; however, the surrounding started turning white again. "Wait... I''m not done yet... I can''t go back without my answers!"


    Lucifer''s words didn''t have any effect as he woke up back in the real world, still standing in the Dungeon, which was already half filled with water. More and more water kept gushing inside.


    He was frustrated at not getting his answers. For a moment, he even wondered if he had dreamed. He couldn''t do anything about it now. All he could do was go back with the stones to have a conversation again, this time without being in any hurry.


    He raised his hand towards the sky, creating a wind wall at the opening on the roof to stop the water from rushing inside. He needed time to do something.


    ~~~~


    Szar was running towards Lucifer with the sword, only for the trembling of the Dungeon to start. He barely controlled his body and kept advancing. The trembling soon stopped, only for worse to happen. He noticed the water gushing towards him at full force.


    Casting his Time Domain, he started running back. He needed to save Milena from drowning. She was unconscious and couldn''t swim.

 Chapter 860: Recovery

    Chapter 860: Recovery


    Szar raced against time to get back to the room where he left Milena. The flooding water trailed behind him ruthlessly, non-stop.


    Szar reached the room and unlocked the door. He entered the room and hastily picked up Milena before running out. He kept running away from the water, trying to find the high ground where he could keep Milena safe.


    He nced back as he kept running, wondering how far the water was from him. "Hah?"


    He slowed down and ultimately stopped running as he noticed the water pressure slow down. The water was stilling toward him, but the intensity wasn''t there. The flood had be a calm stream of water as if the source of water had turned empty.


    Frowning, he observed the water for a long time, seeing if it was just temporary. After making sure the water wasn''ting, he started walking towards the water.


    "Looks like you found the sword." A calm voice fell in the ears of Szar.


    Recognizing that voice, Szar turned back. Lucifer was floating before him. However, something was different about him. His eyes were stark white, unlike their usual color. Moreover, his skin was slightly darker.


    "It''s the real you?" Szar inquired.


    Lucifer didn''t reply. He just reached out his hand, making a circle with his finger. A portal opened near Lucifer of human shape. "That will take you back."


    "Are youing with us? Did you kill that one?" Szar inquired.


    "He''s still alive. I''lle backter after I''m done dealing with him. Take Milena back and wait for me." Lucifermanded.


    Szar didn''t ask any more questions as he noticed Lucifer bing annoyed. His skin also kept turning darker, even if very minutely. It was as if something was happening to him.


    Szar stepped towards the Portal.


    "Szar?"


    "Yes?" Szar stepped before he could step inside the Portal.


    "Aren''t you forgetting something?" Lucifer inquired.


    "Oh!" As if realizing something, Szar tossed the sword toward Lucifer.


    Lucifer grabbed the sword. Szar entered the portal, which closed.


    As soon as Lucifer held the sword, he felt a strange familiarity with the sword, as if it belonged to him and it was a part of him. The sword was so light for him as if it was made of paper.


    He swung the sword above himzily.


    ~~~~


    Licorice came out of the sea, feeling the first ray of sun fall on his face. It had been decades since hest felt the warmth of the sun.


    He nced towards the sky above him, soaking in all the heat and the fresh air. "So this is what freedom feels like! It''s so good."


    "Why should I taste freedom alone though? Everyone needs to!"


    He raised his right palm towards the sky. "Let the world witness the true strength of Baltics! We have returned, and we will find our way! We will have our revenge on the people who stopped usst time."


    Dark red clouds started appearing all around the world, slowly clouding the entire sky of the earth. No matter from where a person looked up, they all saw red clouds above him.


    The red clouds started raining blood, only in select locations though. If one were to notice carefully, they would have noticed that the blood rain was only urring in the ces that had Dungeons. The rain kept destroying the Dungeons, one after another. All the Dungeon Dwellers were getting free.


    The weaker dungeons were destroyed instantly, while stronger Dungeons room a few seconds longer.


    Now that Licorice was out of the Dungeon, his strength was free of any restrictions. He was like a god of this world!


    Boom~


    The destruction of Dungeons all around the world alerted all Variant Organizations that were keeping an eye on them, especially now that all the beasts were free and running towards the city.


    "Go ahead, kids! Kill them! Make the stones again! Kill as many as you can! Have your fill!" Licorice roared. His voice was heard far and wide.


    "Umm?" Suddenly, a frown graced his forehead as he looked down as if noticing something.


    The water under him rose abruptly as a beam of energy shot out. The man suddenly moved, avoiding the beam.


    "You still live?" Licorice muttered, frowning. "The attack was certainly very strong. I don''t know how you still had energy left. But if you think that can stop me now that I''m out, you''re too naive!"


    He didn''t realize that it wasn''t even Lucifer''s attack that he just experienced. It was just a casual flick of his sword that he saw.


    Back in the Dungeon, Lucifer stood in amazement, looking at his sword. "Was that strength of the sword alone, or was that my strength? I don''t think I used any strength. Just what is this sword?"


    The water started flooding down once again from the new opening that was made, bathing Lucifer in it.


    This time, Lucifer didn''t close the opening. The Dungeon was empty. He didn''t care whatever happened to the Dungeon now.


    He was as amazed about the sword as he was concerned about his skin darkening. His body was bing more rigid as time passed, and he could feel it. This made him remember the words of the man where he talked about some borrowed strength which he needed to get out if he wanted to live.


    "Is it because of that strength? The surreal feeling I get is because of that?" He thought, surrounded by water from all sides.


    He closed his eyes and observed his body from the inside, wondering about the changes. Soon, he noticed a small white sphere that wasn''t an ability core. It was inside his body, shining brightly.


    "So that''s it. This must be the strength that Licorice needed to break the Dungeon. Some of it must''ve been left in the other Lucifer and ended up inside me. But if it''s that strength which even Licorice wanted, it would help me a lot."


    He opened his eyes and shot straight up, ending up in the sea. He didn''t stop flying and kept going to and up, ultimately getting out of the sea to find Licorice waiting for him.


    "You finally came out. Want to see the new world order? All the Baltics are out and roaming free. Soon I''ll open the portal and kill that bastard as well. Then things will go back to normal. But I suppose you''ll want to stop me even now?" Licorice enquired, smiling.


    Lucifer shook his hands. "I won''t stop you. Just like you wanted me to watch your new world order, I''ll make you watch mine."


    Two spatial chains appeared around Licorice, trapping his arms, making him unable to move. At the same time, his legs froze in time.


    "You''re not the one who got some extra strength today. I should thank you for bringing this strength to me."

 Chapter 861: Doesn’t belong to you

    Chapter 861: Doesn''t belong to you


    "What... This feeling! This stench! You''re using the vessel strength! How can you use it?!" Licorice eximed, shocked as he found himself trapped. He could still move his lion, but he couldn''t move his body.


    "It''s just the beginning," Lucifer smiled as he looked up at the red skies above him.


    Powerful winds started flowing, mixed with some decaying Elements. As soon as the winds touched the red clouds, the clouds kept disintegrating.


    The winds kept advancing, only in the skies though. Before long, the winds traveled through the entire world, destroying all the clouds. The winds flew so high that they didn''t hurt any humans. Somehow, the winds also avoided any nes that were still airborne. They couldn''t avoid innocent birds though.


    As the red clouds kept disintegrating, dark clouds kept taking their ce in the back. Before long, the sky that was covered in red clouds was covered in dark clouds.


    Licorice was looking more and more ufortable as time passed, even though he possessed so much strength. There was a weird feeling in his body that was intensifying. It was as if his body was burning from the inside. He had so much strength yet the vessel energy wasn''t depleting.


    ~~~~


    "Come on! We can''t let those beasts enter the city! This would be a disaster otherwise!" A group of Warlocks stood outside one of the cities, facing the horde of monsters.


    In another ce, some Warlocks had already started the battle, barely holding on. They didn''t know if they could even win but losing wasn''t an option.


    The entire world was tossed into turmoil. The cities which were near the Dungeons faced the worst attacks; however, they were also the most prepared for such attacks. Since the cities were near the Dungeons, there were quite a lot of Guilds established there which could get ready to face the attacks immediately.


    The problem came from. High Ranking Dungeons that were too strong for guilds to handle. It was an onught everywhere. Even worse were the cities that were near the Dungeons that hadn''t been explored yet. They had no idea about the Dungeons near them. The attacks came as aplete surprise.


    Level Four and Level Five Dungeon beasts were proven to be unstoppable for most, but level Six Dungeon Beasts were in a different league altogether. Fortunately, there was only one Level Seven Dungeon which was being handled by Lucifer.


    "This strength doesn''t belong to you. You can''t control it in its real form! With each second, the strength will continue devouring your body. Let me help you before it''s toote! Your body is already suffering!" Licorice yelled, noticing the dark skin of Lucifer.


    More than Lucifer, he was concerned for himself. He didn''t even know how Lucifer was able to use the vessel''s strength. It should''ve been dormant, only to be used when Licorice wanted. How did Lucifer use it?


    Licorice saw the danger of Lucifer being able to use this skill as it allowed him even more strength than he possessed, possibly giving him an immense strength out of this world. That wasn''t something he could allow, especially since this ability was being used against him.


    That vessel of energy wasn''t an ability in itself! It was more like a source of energy that was filled to the brim. It didn''te with a strength of its own. Itst amplified the true strength of the existing abilities of the person as an unending stream of energy. Lucifer could literally use his abilities to any extent until the stream of energy was extinguished.


    Licorice knew that this strength was even worse in the hands of someone who could control time. He had already seen Lucifer control time and stop him before. Manipting time was very hard and required a lot of energy.


    That was also Lucifer couldn''t keep him trapped for longer. However, things are different now. Now he didn''t need to worry about exhausting his limited energy! This was what truly frightened him. The time maniption was like a bane of his, and he was trapped in it.


    His entire body was stuck in time, only leaving his eyes, mouth, and his brain working to see what was happening. It was what Lucifer wanted to happen. With just his brain, Licorice couldn''t use any abilities. He needed his body to be free to use his own energy source to use any abilities which he couldn''t.


    "You are right. This strength will destroy my body. It has already destroyed most of it, but that much time is enough for me to correct some things," Lucifermented with a smile.


    "You made a fool of me, using my parents. It was all so you could free yourself and your minions? Let me take that all from you!"


    Lucifer looked at the sky. His eyes turned pitch ck. The sky roared, which could be heard all around the world.


    Thousands of lightning dragons came out of the clouds all around the world. The Dragons flew straight down towards the cities. The Dragons looked simr to the lighting dragon that had saved him in the future when he was surrounded. That''s also what gave him this inspiration!


    The human cities were facing massive bloodshed. Some cities were resisting the horde of beasts, losing men with each passing second, while the rest had already lost all their defense. The beasts were killing humans and Variants alike!


    Within a few seconds, millions of humans had already died.


    "We can''tst long! The beasts just don''t end! There are too many!" One of the Warriors roared as he thrust his sword inside a ming lion.


    "We can''t run, can we? We just fight?" Another Warlock responded, slicing the head of a tree giant. "We grew up learning about the Legends of people like Zale Azarel, who made us win the first great war! It''s time we write legends of our own! We can die, but we can''t run!''


    "Look up!" One man roared suddenly as he subconsciously took a step back. Everyone looked up subconsciously.


    Everyone noticed the lightning Dragons in the sky. There were three lightning dragons that wereing toward him. The Dragons looked so scary that even the men who had been fighting the beasts until now were scared.


    The leader of the group clenched his fist as he took a step forward. "Brave men, stand your ground firmly! Even if they are Dragons, we shall defeat them! Tonight isn''t the night we fall!"


    His words seemed to fall on deaf ears. Just the aura of the Dragon alone was enough to overwhelm the warriors. They weren''t the strongest Warlocks in the world. In fact, their group was only guarding a Third Grade Dungeon and still having a hard time. The Dragon was in a whole different league altogether!

 Chapter 862: The end

    Chapter 862: The end


    "I''ll fight and distract the Dragons! You kill the beasts!" The leader of the group roared, trying to motivate others. "It''s just a beast!''


    He prepared to fly to attack and distract the Dragons. However, before he could even fly, he noticed something strange. Instead ofing towards them, the Dragons were moving towards the Beasts in the back.


    One of the Dragons opened its mouth. Thousands of lightning bolts came out of just his mouth, shooting toward the beasts on the ground. Each lightning bolt impaled the beast that it was targeting, killing them instantly.


    Another lightning dragon just kept eating any Dungeon Dweller it saw. There were thousands of beasts before the men, and it only took ten seconds for the Dragons to kill them.


    The warlocks were stunned at what was happening. They looked at each other, only noticing the nk face of their friends. No one understood what was happening. The Dragons were on their sides?


    "I think they aren''t Dungeon Dwellers," one of the men theorized. If they were, they wouldn''t be attacking them.


    "I also think so. Maybe they are the summoned beast of a Summoner? Only that makes sense!" Another man eximed, taking a guess.


    "You mean there is a Summoner who can Summon such strong beasts? Can someone so strong even exist? I believe even Lucifer and Jian wouldn''t be able to defeat a Summoner like him! How could someone like him stay unknown for so long?"


    "I have no idea, but that''s the only thing that makes sense. In any case, I''m d the Summoner is on our side. If he hadn''t sent his beasts, we would''ve been dead within half an hour..." The leader of the groupmented.


    "The hero of the first great war was Zale. I thought the hero of this would be either Lucifer or Zale, but now I know for sure. Whoever this Summoner is, only he can help us win! Maybe the world isn''t doomed after all!"


    ~~~~


    On another small Ind where Lucifer had taken his education after losing his memories, troubles were brewing.


    The Ind didn''t have any Dungeons... At least that''s what everyone thought. No one knew that they had a Dungeon underground. And it wasn''t any ordinary Dungeon. It was a level Six Dungeon that was silent until now. That''s why no one knew about it.


    With all Dungeons breaking, even this one broke. All Level 6 beasts barged inside the ind, filling it up.


    The Ind was in very big trouble. During a fight with Lucifer, the Ind had already lost multiple Great Family heads. They had lost their strongest Warriors. Only two of them were still alive, and they weren''t enough to fight these things. Still, the fight was on.


    The father of Cassius was also the head of the Great Family. Carrying his heavy sword, he left with his men to stop the city. Only the women and the kids were left at the castle.


    There was another person in the castle who stood near the window, looking at the red clouds in the sky.


    "Is this the end?" Cassius muttered, hearing the explosions all around the city. He had already lost all his abilities because of a scheme, and he couldn''t fight. All he could do was watch.


    He was slowly losing hope though, as he heard the situation of the battlefield. The beasts were too strong. The Warlocks kept dying, and so far, not even a single Dungeon Dwellers was killed.


    Cassius nced back at his sword, letting out a deep sigh.


    Boom~??? ????? ???????s ??? ?????s??? ?? ????????????.???.


    "Huh?" Hearing an explosion noise, he looked at the external Gate of the mansion premise. The door was flying towards him. He ducked, avoiding the door which came crashing inside the room. He also noticed a Red-Skinned Wolf at the entrance. The wolf had two eagle-like wings on his back that seemed to be on fire.


    The beast took a step inside the premises.


    "No no no! There are no warriors here! If he entered the castle, my entire family would be dead! I can''t let it happen!"


    Even though he had no strength, he still had his conviction. He couldn''t sit idle when the threat was so close.


    Cassius ran to the sword that he hadn''t used since he lost his strength. He left his room and ran out of the castle.


    As soon as he left the mansion, he noticed the winged beast only a few meters away from him. Only a mortal man with his sword stood between the Dungeon Dweller and the mansion.


    "Heh, another human came to die. Not bad, kid. I appreciate your bravery. But I won''t let you live!" The Sixth Grade Beast spoke.


    "You can speak?" Cassius eximed in shock.


    "You think I would be like those low ranking Baltics who can''t speak? You naive kid! I''m a proud Baltic in the upper echelon. Comparing me with those kids is an insult in itself!" The beast roared, but before he could continue, he slowly raised his head up in confusion. The red clouds that were in the sky started disappearing, and their ce was taken by dark thundering clouds.


    Seeing the clouds, even Cassius was slightly surprised. Whenever he saw thundering clouds, he remembered Lucifer. Even now, he was wondering if Lucifer was nearby or was it a natural phenomenon.


    "What am I even thinking! After what happened, why would hee to save me?" Cassius muttered, shaking his head. He held the sword firmly with both hands as he started running towards the beast, trying to use the opportunity when he was distracted.


    Unfortunately, his footsteps gave him away. The beast red at him. A mocking look existed in the Beast''s eyes as he opened his mouth. A ming sphere started taking shape before his mouth.


    Cassius stopped in his tracks, preparing to Dodge, but something happened which made him stop in his tracks.


    Thud~


    The ming Beast dropped to the ground as a lightning bolt prated his skull.


    Seeing the lightning bolt, Cassius'' eyes lit up. He should recognize these lighting bolts anywhere. They weren''t natural! There was no way natural bolts would''ve fallen so precise on beasts. It was too good to be a coincidence.


    With an excitement in his eyes, he looked up. "Lucifer?"


    His excitement soon changed to a weird look as he noticed a Dragon flying above him. The Dark Dragon disappeared into the horizon, attacking more and more beasts that it found.


    Ten Dragons existed in the airspace of the ind, changing the entirendscape. The beasts that were winning one sided battles finally found the situation reversed.

 Chapter 863: Rest in peace

    Chapter 863: Rest in peace


    Even the strongest of Warriors couldn''t face the onught of level Six Beasts. The morale was as low as it could be. They had only heard about thest great war and the strength of the beasts in those wars, and these beasts were nowhere close to them. They were multiple leagues above!


    In fact, it looked less like a battle and more like a suicide mission to fight the beasts. Many of the Warlocks actually ran away in fear, abandoning their posts.


    Even the ones who stayed to fight had given up on Victory. Only a miracle could save them. They had epted.


    It was at that point that everything changed. The darkness disappeared, and light appeared in their life as Lightning Dragons came, fighting the Dungeon Dwellers.


    Even the Dungeon Dwellers couldn''t believe what was happening. Just where did these Dragonse from? How were they so strong!


    The level Six Beasts fought intensely against the Dragons, giving a really tough fight, but even they couldn''t win. Even as they destroyed a lightning dragon, another Dragon came from the sky, taking its ce. It was only now these beasts knew what it felt like to fight enemies that didn''t end! It was what humans used to feel against the Dungeon Dwellers.


    The humans sighed a breath of relief, but they remained alert and didn''t lower their guards. Even though the Dragons were fighting their enemies, they couldn''t be sure that the Dragons were on their side and weren''t going to attack them when they finished the Dungeon Dwellers.


    Fortunately, after the Dragons killed all the Dungeon Dwellers, they didn''t stay here and left, disappearing into the sky!


    "Stop destroying everything! Stop destroying more Baltics! They already had their homes destroyed by that man! Please don''t do the same thing by using his strength! If you''re truly brave, fight me without these restrictions!" Licorice roared, realizing what was happening on the ground. He could feel his people dying.


    Even after being free from the Dungeon, he was still under restrictions. He couldn''t believe it. It was all coincidence the energy source ended up with someone who could use the Time Control. He could still get out of the restrictions, especially since some of his body wasn''t in time restrictions, but it was still very time consuming, and at the rate, Lucifer was killing his beast, he couldn''t afford the time.


    Having no other choice, he decided to do something unthinkable. He used his mental connection with the Baltics andmanded all those who could fly to stop whenever they were doing and to attack Lucifer. A little distracted was what he needed to free himself and to use defense to make sure he wasn''t trapped in the time restrictions again.


    At the same time, he tried to keep Lucifer distracted.


    "Your body is seventy percent destroyed. And it''s not normal destruction! Even if you have healing, you can''t recover what has been destroyed! Try to understand. If your heart is destroyed by this energy, it won''t ever return, no matter what you do! Save as much of your body as you can! Let me help you!" Licorice stated.


    "I promise if we work together, I can help you, and I will also stop my people from attacking. We would leave this world for you! Why do you want to die for people like us? It doesn''t benefit anyone! Live your life, and let us live ours! We won''t interfere in each other''s way. What do you say?"


    Having no other options but to distract Lucifer, even an arrogant person like Licorice talked about working together with Lucifer, epting defeat.


    "You are a really good actor, but I''m not an idiot like the other Lucifer," Lucifer stated. "I can see when you''re lying, and I can also see why."


    "That''s the benefit of this strength. This immense strength lets me do anything I couldn''t do before. Want to see?" He inquired.


    Screech~ ?????? ???? ????????????.???.


    As Lucifer finished, something flew past him.


    His body split into two halves. The second half started falling, but the first half stayed in the air.


    A giant eagle with sharp as de wings came into sight in the distance, turning off its invisibility.


    Despite being sliced into two halves, the calm look on his face regained. The second half of his body flew up, joining with the first half once again as if nothing happened.


    "You were right. I can''t heal the damage of this strength," he muttered, noticing the dark skin of his. "However, except that, I can do anything as long as I have this strength. I''m a god!"


    He raised his palm towards the eagle and clenched his fist.


    Screech~


    A painful screech of the eagle came out as his body was crushed. The body was swallowed by a portal and disappeared forever.


    "I suppose there are more?" he let out as he turned around. "You aren''t the only one with an army though."


    More and more lightning Dragons came down from the sky and started circling around Lucifer.


    "If I weren''tcking time, I would''ve loved to finish them myself and take my sweet time," he muttered, shaking his head. "Albeit, I can only let the Dragons handle them. It''s faster."


    The Dragons shot toward the flying beasts, even finding the invisible ones without any trouble.


    Lucifer flew towards Licorice. "For the same reason, I also can''t fight you properly. I don''t have time. You can call me a coward if you want. I have the energy, but I don''t have a body that canst long. So for my good, I need to kill you fast, even though it seems a bit anticlimactic. I hope you won''t mind."


    Licorice didn''t know if Lucifer was serious or mocking him the way he was talking to him like a child, but he didn''t like him getting close.


    He started trying to resist, but the time restraints were too strong since they were backed by the strength that could even shatter the level seven Dungeon cores, which itself was strong enough to hold Licorice for so long.


    Lucifer ced his hand on the head of Licorice. "Rest in peace."


    Not only was time stronger with this new Lucifer, but even decay wasn''t any different. Within a few seconds, half the body of Licorice was destroyed.


    With his other hand, Lucifer stabbed his hand in the chest of Lucifer. He pulled out the heart of Licorice and tossed it into his spatial dimensions, casting a restriction on it so no healing could bring Back Licorice


    Even as his body was destroyed, Licorice didn''t scream in pain. He just looked in the eyes of Lucifer. "You''re just as big a monster as that man. In one world, two monsters like you can''t live. There wille a day when you two will have to face each other. And I hope both of you die that day, but if One of to survives, I hope it''s you."

 Chapter 864: Over...

    Chapter 864: Over...


    "You at least had a reason to kill us because we offended you. But that bastard came out on his own, destroying everything. If only one of you can die, I hope you kill that bastard for destroying our lives!" Licorice''sst words echoed in the ears of Lucifer before his body disappearedpletely.


    Licorice''s body turned to dust which flew with the air, ultimately disappearing. All the beasts that hade to attack Lucifer were also destroyed, along with all the beasts that had escaped Dungeons.


    Not only did Lucifer kill the beasts that had attacked the cities, but he also sent some of the Dragons to destroy all the Dungeons once and for all. It wasn''t because he had any enmity with empty Dungeons but simply because he wanted to spend some of his vessel strength which was refusing to die.


    Even though the destruction of Dungeon took a lot of energy, it still wasn''t enough. He was still a long way off from spending all the excess energy that was destroying his body, and he had nothing to do, which was still left.


    He observed his trembling hands. Despite using so much strength, he still wasn''t even close to an end.


    "What more can I do?! At this stage, this will never end until my body is destroyedpletely!" Lucifer eximed, frowning.


    He did all he could do, and it still wasn''t enough. What else could he do that was within his ability and was very energy consuming.


    "Time and space..." He eximed,ing up with an urgent idea. His skin had started cracking up already by now.


    He didn''t know if his idea was going to work or not, but he knew that it was going to consume an earth shattering amount of energy just to attempt.


    He looked towards the dark clouds above him and shot up. He kept flying up without stopping. His figure flew past the lightning and the clouds. Thousands of Dark Dragons remained in the sky, circling.


    The humans were scared of the Dragons who had Killed all the Dungeon Dwellers. Even after all that, the Dragons were still circling above everyone''s head, and made him feel uneasy. Were the Dragons going to kill them next?


    Even the Warlocks who thought that there was a Summoner behind the Dragons waited eagerly, wondering when the man was going to reveal himself.


    "Why isn''t the Summonering out? Isn''t the battle already over?"


    "I don''t know. Maybe there are still some Beasts left, and he doesn''t want to show himself? We need to wait."


    Jian stood outside his mansion, looking at the sky. He had a feeling that Lucifer was behind all this. The problem was that he didn''t know where Lucifer was. Lucifer wasn''t showing himself.


    The Variants who had survived thanks to the Dragons started helping others in trouble who were caught in the destruction. The Variants who had run away were regretting their decision. If they had waited a few minutes, they could''ve avoided the embarrassment.


    ???s ??????? ?s ?????? ?? ????????????.???.


    They all ran to their family leaders to apologize.


    "After abandoning the family and humanity, youe to ask for forgiveness? It''s toote for that now. You have already shown your true faces. We have no ce for cowards in our midst. You all are hereby banished!" Jian''s father said authoritatively before leaving to check if everything at his home was fine or not.


    There was just too much death and destruction all around the world, even though the war onlysted for a few minutes. Too many innocent lives were lost. Fortunately, it was stopped before things could get worse, thanks to Lucifer and his luck of getting the Vessel energy which he could use.


    Lucifer left the Earth''s atmosphere and ended up in space, surrounded by an energy bubble that kept him breathing.


    From a great distance, he looked at the beautiful earth. He had already seen it from the spaceship, but for some reason, it looked even better now.


    "If I seed, it would be world changing to say the least. If I fail, I should still use all this excess energy," he let out as he raised both his hands and joined them


    His eyes closed as a serene aura took over him. An illusion appeared behind him, which even he didn''t know about. The illusion seemed to be making a giant clock. The hands of the clock kept moving slowly in clockwise direction.


    After a few seconds of calm breathing, Lucifer opened his eyes and separated both his hands. A simr clock as the one behind him appeared in both his eyes. However, the clock in his eyes was moving in an anticlockwise direction.


    Following his eyes, the clock behind him also started moving in reverse. Even the earth started spinning in reverse. The dark clouds disappeared. The people on earth, on the other hand, found themselves frozen in time, not knowing what was happening.


    The lightning dragons disappeared with the clouds as well. ???? ??? ?????.???


    Lucifer could feel his energy depleting fast. It seemed to be working. Finally, his energy was depleting faster than his body was being destroyed.


    The earth was changing, going through massive changes but all ording to Lucifer. He was the god of time! Even if he was controlling everything, he decided to keep some things out of the maniption.


    His body was under a lot of stress. Even though he was using the energy of his, it was still too much for him to handle. He couldn''t keep that energy in his body as it was harmful for him, but at the rate he was spending that energy, that was also harmful to him since it was putting a lot of stress on his time and space core.


    His head had already started spinning, and his vision turned blurry, but he didn''t stop. He kept going through it. His breathing slowed down. He started having trouble breathing, but he didn''t stop.


    He couldn''t stop until he used everything if he didn''t want to die. At the same time, he could only hope he would survive after using everything!


    Unfortunately, it was too much for him to handle. His eyes slowly started closing as his body turned weak.


    He knew that before he lost consciousness, he needed to go back to earth if he didn''t want to float in space endlessly. He had already prepared multiple spatial portals all around him in case he lost consciousness along the way.


    Ultimately, that''s what happened. His eyespletely closed as his brain went to sleep. His body turned limp and started floating back on its own. The body touched the spatial portal in the back and disappeared.

 Chapter 865: Returned

    Chapter 865: Returned


    Lucifer''s body touched the portal in the back and disappeared inside. As soon as his body went in, all the portals also stopped and disintegrated. The space returned to silence. The earth also returned to normal and started moving on its own.


    The calm in the space was as before, yet something seemed different about it.


    Back on earth, the time restrictions were over. People were allowed to move, yet for some reason, they felt different. They didn''t know why or what was different about them, but they felt odd.


    Even Szar was sent back to Triton with the unconscious body of Milena. He was sent straight to an abandoned house, from where he was looking at all the Dragons outside, amazed at the strength of the beasts. The three Warlock Council members that were left in the city were killed by the Dungeon Dwellers as well, within a few seconds of the battle''s beginning.


    The Dungeon Dwellers were just so strong. Yet, the Dragons managed to destroy all the Dungeon Dwellers like they were nothing. This kind of strength was nothing like Szar had ever seen before in his life. What surprised him even more, was that these Dragons were made by Lucifer. Someone who could make something so strong, just how strong he had be?


    It was when the Dragons left that he started wondering if the War was over. The clouds had started disappearing. He wondered if Lucifer had won. Before he could get any answers, he froze in time like everyone else in the world.


    After everything was over, he was again freed of time restrictions. Coming out of the restrictions, he felt odd. He remembered the feeling of being trapped in time since that was something he had gone through before. He looked at the clock in the back. Instead of the same time as before, it was showing older time.


    The clock was back by one minute, which was strange. If he was stuck in time, that meant more time had passed. Why was the clock one minute behind?


    "Umm?"


    As he was lost in thoughts, trying to figure out the mystery, he heard a voice behind him. It sounded like it wasing from Milena.


    "Are you up?'' He ran to Milena, who looked around. "Where are we?"


    "We are back in Triton," Szar eximed.


    "We are back? How did we get out of the Dungeon? Was the Dungeon Broken? Are the Dungeon Dwellers out?!" Milena''s eyes widened, and she stood up. "Where is Lucifer?"


    She ran to the Window to look outside.


    "You''re right. The Dungeon was broken, and not just one but all Dungeons. All the Dungeon Dwellers came out of their Dungeons and attacked the city. Even the city outside was attacked," Szar eximed.


    Hearing him, Milena ran outside to see with her own eyes.


    "You won''t find any outside. All the Dungeon Dwellers were destroyed by the Lightning Dragons. I think the Dragons were sent by Lucifer. As for where he is, even I don''t know. I think he must be fighting that man even now if he hadn''t won already. Because if that man had won, the Dungeon Dwellers wouldn''t have died," Szar eximed.


    Even as he kept speaking, he got no response from Milena, who just stood at the window like a statue.


    Szar noticed slight trembling of Milena.


    "How is this possible?" Her words fell in Szar''s ears.


    "How did he conjure the Dragons? Are you surprised by that?" Szar asked, thinking she was shocked about the story he told.


    He stepped closer to Milena. "Lucifer is just an anomaly. How he does what he does is something we can never understand. We should just be d that he can do these things."


    "Not that," Milena responded as she pointed out.


    Szar reached beside her and looked in the direction she was pointing at. Her eyes fell on the streets of the city. As soon as he saw, even his Jaws dropped open.


    "How is that possible? Didn''t you say they were all dead?" he asked, frowning.


    "They were supposed to be. I saw them die with my own eyes... Some of them died before you during battles as well," Milena eximed. "I don''t know how they are back."


    "Ah, could it be time? Lucifer''s Time Maniption?" Szar suddenly eximed, thinking of something.


    "His Time Maniption? Even if he could control it, it shouldn''t be strong enough to bring the dead back? This doesn''t make sense," Milena nkly muttered.


    "As I said before, what no one can do, Lucifer can. So we should stop being shocked at his endeavors. Just be happy that he did it. It doesn''t matter how he did. Just be happy that he did," Szar smiled as he opened the window. "Let''s go meet them."


    He jumped out of the building. Shaking her head, even Milena flew outside. Even though she didn''t know how it happened, as she saw her people standing outside, including Arthur and Jiani, she felt a warmth in her heart.


    She knew it wasn''t an illusion as the connection that was broken when they had died was back again. She could feel it. They truly were the same people. It was as if the time of these people were reversed in that time zone to bring them to the future and back to life.


    It wasn''t a dream. It really was happening. "He really has gotten stronger if he can even do this. I still remember the day he came before me for the first time. I thought he was nothing but a weak Variant, but he grew up so much in thest few years."


    Shended on the ground. Jiani ran to her at first sight as soon as she saw Milena. ?? ? ????? full


    Szar also went through the crowd, noticing all the men that had died right before his eyes. They were all back as well. Even Yaliza, who had died in the Dungeon, was here.


    "How did you end up here? I thought you died?" Szar asked Yaliza, thinking he must know something.


    "I have no idea. Thest thing I remember was that I was stabbed. Then I was here. My body was healed as well," Yaliza exined, sighing. "I am just d to be alive. And I see I''m not the only one who is back from the dead here."


    "Yeah. I believe Lucifer is behind it," Szar muttered as he observed the surroundings. His gaze ultimately ended up on two distant figures who were standing on top of a roof, looking down at them.


    "This... Did he really...?"

 Chapter 866: Returning from dead

    Chapter 866: Returning from dead


    Standing on the distant roof was the figure of two people that Szar could recognize even in his dreams. These were the people who were his idol. They were the ones who had saved him when he was young. The two people were none other than Zale and risse.


    Both of them looked at the crowd on the streets, slightly confused as if they were trying to figure out why they were there and what had happened. They didn''t recognize most of the people on the street either. In fact, they didn''t recognize even a single person.


    After observing for a few seconds, they turned around and started walking back.


    "Milena!" Szar yelled, but his voice was drowned in the celebration. He started running towards Milena, having no option.


    As he reached Milena, he stopped. "Milena, hurry up! We need to get to that roof!"


    "Why? What''s there?" Milena asked. "Did you see Lucifer?"


    "No! I saw his parents! Zale and risse were on that roof! Lucifer brought them back too. Now I''m sure he''s behind it. Anyway, like everyone else who returned, I''m sure they don''t have memories of what happened since they died. We need to stop them before they leave and inform them!" Szar eximed in urgency.


    "His parents?" Milena grabbed the hand of Szar and started flying toward the building where Szar pointed at.


    As they reached the building, they noticed the two people standing near the stairs. They were just about to go down when they heard footsteps behind him.


    Zale turned back, frowning. "May I ask why you two came after us?"


    He was already very suspicious of this ce, and after remembering that he was poisoned by the people he had trusted, he didn''t want to trust anyone else.


    "Zale, it''s me! I am a friend of your son, Lucifer. Thirteen years have passed since you were poisoned in the Dungeon. I know you. You might not remember me, but you saved the life of my family in thest great war. That''s why I''ve been working with your son and developed a friendship with him!" Szar exined in brief.


    "Hmm?" Zale''s frown deepened. "We are thirteen years in the future? Are you on drugs? How is that possible?"


    "Wait. How do you even know that we were poisoned?" risse also asked.


    "In thest thirteen years, your son worked really hard to find what happened to you. He even killed the people who were behind that cowardly attempt on your life as a revenge. Varant and Raia are both dead, and so is Zeiss, all killed by your son. He has be a really powerful Warlock and a great man."


    "How could that be...? If this is the truth, where is Lucifer now? And how are we here?" Zale asked again. "I remember dying!"


    "How are you here... Well the reason is the same as the reason behind the appearance of all the Variants on the street. They were all brought back from life. And if I''m not wrong, it''s done by Lucifer. He brought you back too," Szar exined. "There''s a really long story behind it though."


    "Bringing people back from the dead? Nonsense! There is no ability as preposterous in this world as you''re iming. And even if there is one, it''ll take so much energy to bring even one person back, let alone so many!" risse snapped at the nonsense. "Tell us the truth? Are we still inside the Dungeon? Is this ce an illusion?" ????????????.???


    "Lady risse, trust me. Everything I said is the truth. Your son Lucifer and we had fought together against the enemies. He even entered the Dungeon to save you as soon as he found out where you were. But... Alright, let me start from the start and tell you what had happened after you disappeared."


    Szar started exining the entire story since the time the two had disappeared. He talked about how Lucifer was taken from his home and how experiments were conducted on him, which resulted in his death.


    Hearing that, the couple was infuriated. After all that they did, this was done to their kid? risse didn''t even realize as tears appeared in her eyes. Meanwhile, Zale punched the wall in anger, making a hole in the wall.


    "After he returned to life, he realized that he could heal from anything. He had healing, and not only that, he had the powers of you both." Szar exined.


    He talked about the conflict of Lucifer with the APF, his interaction with the Uprising, and how he destroyed the facility before he was caught by Varant.


    He had heard this entire story from Lucifer, which gave him a clear insight. He talked about Lucifer ending up on an ind, his studies there, his memory loss, and his return to Elysium.


    Szar then talked about the methods which Lucifer used to kill Variant, Raia, and Zeiss before talking about his takeover of Elysium.


    He didn''t forget to mention the reason of Lucifer behind doing it, which was for his own safety as he didn''t want an enemy like Varant again, also because he wanted to change the world. He talked about the war of Lucifer against the Warlock Council, his meeting with Milena. He also showed the videos of Lucifer fighting, which were avable all over the inte.


    The more Zale and risse heard about the exploits of their son, the more they grew stunned. They also felt sad how much their son had to go through and how his personality changed through all this. They never wanted their son to experience bloodshed, but it was because of their failure that it happened.


    The couples looked at each other, noticing the sadness of each other. Initially, they didn''t even believe the story, but the videos portrayed that it was true.


    "Inside the Dungeon, we found out that we were lied to and that you two weren''t alive. It was all a trap by that man so Lucifer could help him get free of the Dungeon. Unfortunately, that''s exactly what happened. The Dungeon was broken."


    "Lucifer sent me back to this city and stayed behind to fight. I don''t know what happened after that to him, but I''m sure he is alive. When the Dungeon Dwellers attacked the city, the Dragons..."


    "And that''s when I felt that odd sensation as if someone had messed with time. My ability is also rted to time, so I am more sensitive to it. I''m sure that''s the time Lucifer used his time maniption to bring you all back because, before that moment, no one was outside, but right after that moment, all these people were back, including you."

 Chapter 867: Back where started

    Chapter 867: Back where started


    After a long time, Szar finished exining, taking a long breath.


    "Where is Lucifer? Where is my son now?" Zale asked.


    Szar looked towards the sky, shaking his head. "I''m not sure where he is. All I know is that things are too silent now. It makes me feel that Lucifer had won already. That means he killed that bastard. Maybe he is on his way here? That should be the case. That''s why I stopped you from leaving. I want you to be here when he returns."


    ~~~


    The city of Triton wasn''t the only city which had peopleing back to life. Elisium was also the same. The Uprising members that had died fighting for Lucifer were back, as confused as they could be.


    If there was one ce that was more surprised, it was the Divine Empire. First, they were attacked by Dungeon Dwellers, and then Dragons came. And now, there were Nobles that had returned to life that had died fighting the Warlock Council in the Empire? Even more shocking was the return of the dead humans.


    The sisters of Milena... They were back along with her parents. However, one thing was different about them. Unlike the others, they didn''t remember theirst moments. It was as if someone had removed those traumatic memories from their head before bringing them back.


    Fortunately, there were Nobles in the city who recognized Milena''s family. They took them in and allowed them in the ce after making sure they weren''t clones.


    ~~~~


    "Hmm?" Milena was talking to the father of Lucifer when she suddenly stopped. She closed her eyes as if she was focusing on something.


    "This can''t be!" She eximed out loud. There were tears in her eyes which started trickling down her cheeks.


    "What happened?" Arthur and Szar asked at the same time.


    "Return from the dead¡­ It didn''t just happen here," Milena replied. "I got a mental message from Ryi. The ones that had died fighting the Warlock Council in the Divine Empire are also back."


    "That''s amazing, but why are you crying over that?" Arthur asked, frowning. He could feel that there was more to the story. "Who else returned?"


    "My family..." Milena smiled as tears kept trickling down her cheeks. "My sisters and my father are back. Lucifer didn''t forget then. He is amazing. I don''t know how I can ever repay him!"


    Hearing the praise of her son, risse was So happy. She knew she wasn''t there for him yet her son had grown up to be a nice man who did such nice things for his friends. He was not only strong, but he was also kind.


    Despite what he did, despite all the wars he fought, there was still good inside his heart. She couldn''t wait to meet her son.


    She had seen him in videos and saw how big he had be, but she wanted to see him with her own eyes and hug him tightly so she could apologize to him for never being there for him. It was all her fault that he had to suffer so much. She couldn''t help but give all the me to herself.


    Back on the Ind, something more had happened. Grandpa Chi was also back, perfectly fine. Moreover, he was also younger now! Not only him but his kid and grandkids were also back to life in the exact form where they were killed in thest.


    Their house, which had exploded, was also back inside, which all of them had appeared.


    Lucifer had remembered everyone that had helped him along the way, and now that he had excess strength that he needed to spend, he decided to spend it for the ones who stayed with him and helped him.


    Each and every person who had helped him was back to life, even the woman from the Warlock Council who was killed inside Antis when he, Szar, and her were attacked from the back. Emilia also came back to life.


    What more was that all the abilities of Cassius were also back now, all thanks to Lucifer. Lucifer had helped everyone he could to spend all the strength to save his own body, and time maniption atrge scale was the only option he coulde up with.


    He didn''t know how many Time Paradoxes his actions were going to cause, but he didn''t care. If he hadn''t done it, his own body would''ve been destroyed.


    Many people were back from the dead, and they were happy; however, no one knew where the person who brought them back was. No one knew where Lucifer had gone.


    The person who brought happiness to so many faces was in pain himself in a faraway ce.


    Lucifer hadnded back on earth through his portal. Unfortunately, the ce he appeared wasn''t where he wanted to be. He had created a pathway for the continental of Triton through the Portals, but as he lost consciousness and his excess strength, the connection weakened, and the destination got messed up.


    Instead of appearing on the City of Warlock Council to get his victoryp, Lucifer appeared in the one ce he never would''ve selected to go to.


    He had appeared inside Antis and not when he was at his strongest. He had appeared in the same academy that he had destroyed thest time he was here. Since then, the Academy had been abandoned, and all the equipment from the Academy was taken, leaving only the building which had a damaged structure.


    Lucifer had appeared on the roof of the Academy,nding on his back. Heid unconscious. Most of his skin had turned pitch ck initially, including his feet and legs, but now that same skin was a dark shade of green as if he was prisoned. Even his own healing couldn''t return his skin to normal.


    Fortunately, he had spent all the excess energy in time before the damage could''ve reached his hearts as that couldn''t be healed in that case.


    His breathing was slow, but it was stable. His healing couldn''t heal his body parts that were damaged, but all his vital organs were fine, which worked with his healing even now.


    He stayed on the roof for three straight hours, unmoving, before he finally made some movement. A pained grunt escaped his lips as he opened his eyes slowly. ?ll ? ???? Fu??.c?m


    "Not this ce..." he muttered, looking straight above. He recognized this ce right away, which made him let out a sigh.


    He started observing his body condition as he sat straight. "Nerves are damaged. Can''t be healed. That''s the worst part of it all."


    He could feel his hands tingling and his fingers making unnecessary movements that he didn''t want them to do.

 Chapter 868: Decisions

    Chapter 868: Decisions


    "This is going to be annoying," Lucifer muttered, observing his hands. "But at least I''m alive. I was right; Time Maniption is really energy consuming. It was the right decision to use it to get the energy spent."


    "Using time energy gave me more insight into Time as well. I might not be able to bring anyone back to life, but now that my Time Core is healed, I should be able to do some fun things."


    Even after being hurt, he was still happy at his gains. Absorbing the other Lucifer had not only healed his Time Core ws but also evolved his other core abilities, which were affected.


    For some reason, his control over all his abilities was better now, especially his Decay. He noticed that his hands were on the roof, yet the roof wasn''t decaying without his wishes. It was only after he willed it that the roof started decaying, but the roof wasn''t the only thing. Even the ground and the surrounding started decaying. The range of his decay also received a massive boost.


    It could now cover more range. Overall, he was happy with whatever happened. He was happy that he came before Licorice, and things progressed the way they did. He also thanked his luck that he absorbed the other Lucifer. He didn''t know how that other Lucifer had this immense Vessel energy.


    When he absorbed the other Lucifer, he was only thinking about healing himself faster after using overdrive, but it came as a blessing in disguise. Without that Vessel strength, he wasn''t sure if he could''ve even defeated Licorice. It all came down to the Time Maniption!


    He stopped the decay and pushed his body up, and looked straight into the horizon.


    "Now that I''m here, I would certainly love to have some fun here," he smiled. "But I want to see my father first. I can alwayse here again. This ce will always be here.


    The only reason he hadn''t messed with Antis with his Time Maniption was because he wanted to deal with them himself to test his new abilities without the vessel strength. This was his testing ground. However, he didn''t want to do that right now. That''s why he hadn''t intended toe here so soon. He was more eager to see his parents and everyone else that he had brought back!


    He teleported inside the building and straight into the room where he had used the portal to go backst time. Even if he could control space, the distance to Triton was just too much. He couldn''t teleport to that ce.


    If he wanted, he needed a hundred times more energy than he had. He would''ve been able to achieve it easily if he had the Vessel energy. Unfortunately, he was back to his old self again, just a bit stronger.


    "Hmm? There is nothing here?" He eximed in surprise as he appeared in the room. The equipment and the portal were missing from this ce.


    "This academy also seems awfully empty, and all the destruction fromst time is still here. They made no renovations. I guess they decided to shut this academy and took everything from here. This is annoying."


    He appeared back at the roof after checking the academy, seemingly disappointed. He wanted to be back in Triton right away, but it seemed like this was going to take some time.


    He looked in the direction of Main Antis city. His body started rising in the air as Lucifer flew straight towards the center of the city.


    He was informed of the direction thest time he came here, but at that time, he had chosen against going there since he believed he wasn''t strong enough. Now he wasn''t worried, especially since he could find something to eat and get stronger along the way if needed.


    ~~~


    In the Royal Antis city, the Young King sat on his court with all his ministers. The Dungeon Dwellers had attacked every ce except this one ce.


    The Antians didn''t even know what had happened in the outside world as they weren''t informed yet. It didn''t evenst for half an hour, after all.


    The Royal Advisor of Antian King was also present in the court, back at his position aftering back from Triton. He had gone there to bring back Lucifer and the woman that the King was most scared of. However, the old man returned empty handed.


    Hearing that, the Minister of Defense returned empty handed; the King was infuriated and only calmed down after the old man told him a story about why he had returned empty handed.


    The old man made up a story about Lucifer killing himself after he was surrounded, and the body of the woman was also destroyed at the same time. Even though the King was angry that the man who angered him so much wasn''t brought back, he was happy that at least they weren''t alive.


    The King had forgiven the minister and had allowed him an entry into his court again. The entire ce was back to normal as they were before Lucifer''s arrival. Everything was as before. Things were calm in Antis; no one knew that a storm wasing toward them.


    Even though Lucifer wanted to be with his parents before dealing with Antis, now that he had to go back to the main city of Antis, he decided to finish things once and for all.


    Just because he did a good act and brought his family back while saving himself didn''t mean he was much different than before. He was still the same Lucifer who never forgave the people who attempted to kill him. He was the same person who could destroy an entire city to get one person back.


    As he flew, he realized that his speed was also much faster. Unfortunately, he was also getting hungrier faster. He ate something almost every ten minutes to satiate his Hunger, most probably because he had juste out after sending too much energy.


    Taking short breaks along the way, he finally reached the Capital City of Antis. It took him thirty minutes to get there though, even at his fastest speed.


    After a long flight, he finallynded outside the Main City. There was a wide grin on his face. He didn''t know why but this was a feeling he really enjoyed... The feeling of revenge! The feeling of destroying his enemies and watching looks of fear on their faces.


    "Last time you gave me a gift. Let me give you one this time," Lucifer dered as he cast his ability of energy negation.

 Chapter 869: I disagree

    Chapter 869: I disagree


    "Today, I called you here for an important discussion. I hope you all can advise me on the matters." The Kingmented, proudly.


    "Of course, we will. What matters?" The ministers eximed.


    "As you all know, we''ve been in Antis for decades, keeping our interactions with the outside world at all minimum because we were worried. We evolved our technology to be stronger. I believe we are already very strong now, much stronger than any Variant can be. Do you agree with that statement?" The King inquired.


    The Royal Advisor nodded. "That''s right, we agree. We have be much stronger because of our technology. I don''t believe any Variant is as strong."


    "When I went outside, I saw it first hand. That man Lucifer was the strongest Variant ording to them, but he was really weak when I was before him. If their best was so weak before my second best generation of tech, I can only imagine how minuscule he would look before you," he further added. "If I''m not wrong, you are the strongest person in the world right now!"


    Hearing his praise, the King couldn''t help but smile. He really loved being called the strongest and being praised.


    "Exactly. Antis is stronger than any Variant Organization. We don''t have to hide anymore. We don''t have to live in Antis anymore. We don''t have to close ourselves to the world! That''s why I''ve decided that we need to go out. Instead of worrying about the Variants, it''s time we make them bow before us!" The King dered.


    "They sent Lucifer here as a show of force. They might send more people in the future. Those people are really arrogant so it''s time we showed them that they are worthy of being nothing but our pets."


    "You mean wage war?" The Ministers eximed, stunned.


    "Exactly. What I meant was that we should really wage war. If it is war that makes them realize our strength then war is what they shall get. We shall defeat them, and we shall make them bow before us. The whole world needs to know what Antis is. We have spent decades hiding in the shadows, but now I think we have had enough. You have had enough time to prepare. Now it is time to show your preparation." The king dered.


    " So what do you all say? Should we do it or should we not?" he asked.


    "Ah, your majesty. We have not fought a war since the beginning. We have always been peaceful. Are you sure that it is the right decision at this point?" One of the ministers asked.


    " Are you doubting our decision?" the King asked arrogantly.


    "N-not at all. That''s not what I meant, your majesty. What I meant was that simply fighting a war is a really big decision. We don''t need the outside world. That way, below the sea, is enough for us. Why should we waste resources in fighting the Variants? Because even though we are strong, I''m sure many of our men might die as well."


    " So all I meant was that it is a really big decision and you should consider all the factors before deciding. But if you want to wage war, I will always support you. I will agree with your decision. I think you should be the one to decide, not us."


    " Anyone have any suggestions or anything to say?" The King asked as his eyes roamed over the court.


    No one else raised their hands.


    " All right, I will make it simpler for you. I will agree that we should go to war; here is their hands. And if you think that we should not go to war, Don''t raise your hands. Let me see what you all think. And after that, I will decide what we should do," The King let out.


    Slowly, the ministers started raising their hands. One after another, more and more hands began raising. Even the ones who didn''t want war raised their hands because they realized that their king had already made up his mind. They could see it in his eyes and really wanted this war. Many of the ministers even felt that maybe this was a test to see if any amongst them was a coward and scared of war.


    Within seconds, all hands were raised as no one wanted to keep their hands down.


    "I see all hands raised. It seems you all agree that we should go to war. So start preparing. It''s time Antis finallyes out!" The King dered as he stood up, dismissing the court.


    "Wrong!" A voice echoed as soon as the King stood up. "Not all hands are raided and not everyone agrees that you will go to a war. Because you need to be alive to go to a War, don''t you?"


    "Who dares?" The King roared, ring at all his Ministers, but even they seemed confused as to who had spoken. Slowly, all the Ministers started looking toward the King.


    "Your Majesty, behind you!" One of the ministers yelled.


    The King tried looking back, but before he could, his glove started shining, and his body disappeared. His body appeared again around ten feet away from where he was previously standing.


    " Ah, so it still works. I must say that gloves of yours are amazing. And you were right; you did make some really amazing technology. It can sense danger and send you to a safe ce away from danger. And it can do much more. Very fascinating after all," the voice once again said.


    The King red towards the throne. If looks could kill, whoever was speaking would''ve died a thousand times.


    The King noticed a man arrogantly sitting on the throne where he used to sit. It was a young man who looked to be a 19 or 20-year-old boy. You also recognize that man as well which made him re at the Royal Advisor.


    " Didn''t you say he had died?" The King asked sarcastically. " Looks quite alive to me."


    Even the Royal advisor was shocked. How could Lucifer be alive? Even after that massive explosion. His body had disappeared from there, he was sure. How can he return from death?


    " I-i saw it with my own eyes, Your Majesty! Not even his ashes were left. I don''t know how he''s alive!" The Royal Minister tried exining b.


    He turned back to Lucifer. "How are you still alive, you bastard!"


    "Did you think I could die before killing you all? That''s so cute." Lucifer smirked.


    "Big words!" The King roared. "So what if you''re alive. You came to death yourself. You think you''ll survive now?"

 Chapter 870: The Difference

    Chapter 870: The Difference


    Before the King could do anything, the Royal Advisor stepped forward. He needed to save his reputation. Lucifer turned out to be alive even after he had said for sure that he killed him.


    Now that he was here, the only way the Royal Advisor could salvage his reputation was by stopping Lucifer.


    "You pest, I don''t know how you survived, but you won''t for long!"


    He raised his hand towards Lucifer. The same sphere appeared all around Lucifer and the throne in which he was trapped by the Royal Advisor before the explosion.


    It was the same sphere that Lucifer couldn''t break out ofst time as it kept adjusting and strengthening itself based on the data about Lucifer''s abilities. It even stopped the Teleportation of Lucifer at that time.


    Instead of getting worried and trying to get out of the sphere as he triedst time, Lucifer just sat on the thronefortably as if not even caring about the sphere that had trapped him.


    "You seem to be pretty arrogant this time. You won''t try to escape now?" The Royal Advisor asked.


    Ignoring the Royal Advisor, Lucifer shifted his attention to the King. "Are your dogs allowed to bark when two kings are speaking? It would be better if you keep them on a leash."


    "You!" The Royal Advisor had never felt as insulted as he was feeling now that he was addressed as a dog.


    Unfortunately, he wasn''t even allowed to express his anger as the King gestured for him to stay silent.


    The middle-aged King stepped closer to Lucifer. "May I know what is giving you so much confidence that you came here despite knowing we''ll kill you?"


    "Maybe I want to die?" Luciferzily stated. Unfortunately, even if that was true, you aren''t capable, so my reasons behinding here are different."


    The King''s face twitched in anger, but he didn''t attack. He was more curious to know about this guy''s mentality behinding here and still being so arrogant. Was he crazy?


    "I want you to do two things for me, and I''ll leave."


    "What two things?" Amused, the King asked. He had no intentions of fulfilling his demands, but he was still curious as to what Lucifer was going to ask.


    " Firstly, I want you to lead me to the portal that can take me back to Triton. And secondly, I want the names of everyone who was responsible for the plot to kill Eve," Lucifer dered. "Oh, I mean other than you yourself and that old man who thinks this barrier can stop me. I want to know who else was responsible or knew about it?"


    "And what if I don''t tell you?" the King asked, frowning.


    "Then I''ll just have to kill you," Lucifer replied.


    "I would certainly love to see you try," The King scoffed, noticing Lucifer in a Barrier. He knew there was no way for Lucifer to get out of the barrier. Even though the barrier of the Royal adviser wasn''t as strong as his, it was still second best to none. There was no way Lucifer could get out of this barrier.


    "Sure." Lucifer shed a bright grin as he stretched his arms. He even let out a yawn before he stood up.


    He stepped forward, stepping away from the throne.


    "What? How is this possible?" The King eximed, stunned. Lucifer had passed through the barrier as if he was a ghost.


    Without wasting even a single second, Lucifer kept stepping toward the King. With each of his steps, one body of a minister dropped.


    Thud~


    Thud~


    Sounds of bodies dropping kept echoing with his footsteps as the humans dropped to the ground.


    "How is this possible? How are they dying?" The King eximed in shock. Generally, they shouldn''t have died. They all had the technologically advanced gloves, which should''ve teleported them away from any life-threatening attack. Why weren''t they safe then? Just what was this person?


    The King couldn''t wait anymore. He couldn''t waste time in trying to understand what Lucifer was. His men were dying, and he didn''t want to take the risk. He decided to kill Lucifer.


    "I wanted to see what you were capable of and understand your decision behinding here, but I''ve had enough. You aren''t worthy of living!" The man raised his gloves towards Lucifer.


    "It''s time you die!" He dered as he snapped his fingers.


    Following the snap, Lucifer held his chest as he stopped in his tracks as if his breathing had stopped. It was as if he was going through suffocation.


    A smirk formed on the lips of the man. "I told you, you aren''t worthy to stand before us."


    "Hahaha!" Lucifer suddenly burst intoughter as he stopped acting. "That was fun."


    He stood straight as he stretched his arms again, letting out another yawn as if he was feeling a bit sleepy since it was too easy.


    "You know what the big difference between you and me is?" Lucifer inquired as he stopped just a few inches before the King.


    The King kept trying to use his AI to teleport him away or help him in any way, but that thing had gone silent entirely. It was as if something had gone wrong, and without the Ai, he was nothing but an ordinary human who wasn''t any special.


    Now he finally understood why his ministers kept dying. Their AI wasn''t working either to sense danger. But how was it possible? How did AI stop? There was no way for Lucifer to affect AI since it was a decentralized tech, and only the King could control it.


    In fear, the King stumbled as he kept moving back from Lucifer. As he stumbled, his body dropped to the ground.


    "How did you do it?!" he asked as he still kept dragging his body back.


    Lucifer kept stepping closer, finding it amusing. This was the guy who thought he was the strongest in the world? Without external help, he wasn''t even as strong as the weakest Variant.


    "Tell me, what do you think is the difference between Variants and you? You''ll get your answer as to how I did it. In the meantime, let me meet my old friend. I''ll be right back at you."


    Instead of attacking and Killing the King, Lucifer turned around, observing the Royal Advisor. He was the only man who was still alive. The man even felt his legs tremble as he realized that Ai had stopped working and his life was on the line.


    "Y-young man, don''t do it! Don''t kill me. I can be of help to you. I can be very useful."


    *****************


    *****************


    Announcement: New Book and Mass release!


    My new book "The idental Vampire" is out on Web novel. Please give it a read and vote for it if you can. It will be a massive help. You can find the book by searching for it on Web novel or by going through my profile :)


    If I can get a hundred total collections on it, I''ll make a mass release of 5 Chaps on Inhuman Warlock this week. Thank you.

 Chapter 871:Let me live

    Chapter 871:Let me live


    " You can be useful to me? You, who can''t even save yourself, can be useful to me? You, who needs to beg for your life from me, can be useful to me? Why do you think I would ever need you or someone like you? What can you do that I cannot? Tell me one use of yours that I might need you for, and I might let you live."


    "I-i..." The old man stuttered. " I know this ce from top to bottom. I know all the secrets of Antis. I can help you easily take over this ce and leave you to all that treasures that we have collected throughout the years. Let me leave. I''ll make sure that I make it worth your time. Moreover, I also have a beautiful granddaughter. I can also give her hand in marriage. I''m sure you love her. She''s the prettiest woman in Antis!"


    " You know I''ve seen many shameless people in my life, but I''ve never seen one as shameless as you. You even thought about selling your daughter to me for your life? I don''t even know how to react to that, but if you were thinking that I let you live after hearing that, then you were quite wrong. People like you don''t deserve to live, and they don''t deserve to be fathers. If you can''t even respect your own daughter, how will you respect me after I let you live?" Lucifer asked, shaking his head.


    He slowly raised this right hand towards the man at the end of the hall. The Royal Advisor felt as if his body was suddenly caught by an invisible force. His body suddenly started being pulled towards Lucifer, who had taken his seat on the throne once again, inside the barrier that the old man had cast.


    The old man''s body flew towards Lucifer but stopped right before it could reach the barrier. Old mannded on his knees and had his head lowered towards Lucifer as if he was his king?


    Lucifer sat on the throne with pure confidence, looking down on the old man.


    "You know so many things have happened since the day I met you: some good things and some bad things. Let''s start with good first. It''s because of you that I got to know that there is an even bigger world outside and stronger forces that control them. If you haven''t trapped me in your barrier, I might never have known about them. And I would still be ignorant."


    "It is also because I met them that I managed to find the way about the missing stones that I was looking for. So I guess that credit also goes to you partially."


    "So I should let you live, shouldn''t I? Since good things happened because of you?" Lucifer inquired.


    "Y-yes!" The man nodded hastily. "Whatever happened was in the past, and I''m d it resulted in your benefit. So you should let me live."


    "Not so fast. Let me tell you the bad things that happened. Then you can decide properly," Lucifer smiled.


    "Because you trapped me, I had almost died. I was tossed into space where I might be floating even now if that ship had not found me. So I might have been forced to live in eternity in darkness all because of you. That''s the first thing."


    "Secondly, because I was tossed in the space, I wasn''t able to get back to Triton on time, and all my men who had fought for me since the beginning had died fighting. Even the people who were like family to me had died because I wasn''t there to protect them, and it''s all because of you. I''ve never lost so many men that I lost that day all because of you."


    "Third, It''s because of me not being there that Jian managed to defeat the Uprising right in front of the entire world. Because of that Uprising went through such embarrassment. The fear we had created in the entire world was gone in a single day. We were so close to having the entire world surrendered before us, but we were back to square one now because you stopped me."


    As Lucifer kept exining, the old man felt his heart thumping. The positives that Lucifer said were certainly less than the negatives. Did that mean he was going to die?


    "Now you tell me should I kill you or should I not kill you? What do you think?" Lucifer asked.


    In the background, the King had already stood up. He had sneakily started moving towards the door, intending to sneak out of the room. Unfortunately, as soon as I reached the door and touched it, he felt the space around him change. His body was suddenly standing back where he started as if he was teleported back.


    "My dear King, I told you you won''t be able to leave. Think of the answer to my question. Don''t waste your time on other things," Lucifer reminded the King.


    It was as if this ce was the hostage of Lucifer now. One of the strongest ces in this world belonged to Lucifer now.


    Lucifer shifted his attention back to the old man. "Have you decided if I should let you leave or not, depending on what I told you?"


    "L-let me live. Please let me live. I think the positives are better than the negatives. Knowing about the external world is certainly more useful!" The old man replied.


    "Really??? So you think knowing about the outside world is more important than losing your family and friends?" Lucifer asked. "Well, you know you had been honest; I might''ve let you live since you were just doing your job, but even now, you lie. Sigh." Lucifer shook his head.


    A slit appeared around the neck of the old man as his body dropped to the ground. His eyes remained open even as he died.


    That left only the King in the room other than Lucifer, and it was his turn. His body flew towards Lucifer this time.


    As the King was forced onto his knees, he felt so humiliated. Throughout the years, he sat on the throne, and the world sat on its knees before him. Now, it was him who was forced to bow before someone. He felt like dying already.


    ''This damn AI! Why isn''t this thing working suddenly!'' he thought in frustration.


    "So tell me, what''s the difference between you and a Variant?" Lucifer asked. "Let me see if you can know how I defeated you all today."


    "I am merciful and kind. Variants are arrogant and ruthless! That''s the difference!" The King dered.


    *****************


    *****************


    Announcement: New Book and Mass release!


    My new book "The idental Vampire" is out on Web novel. Please give it a read and vote for it if you can. It will be a massive help. You can find the book by searching for it on Web novel or by going through my profile :)


    If I can get a hundred total collections on it, I''ll make a mass release of 5 Chaps on Inhuman Warlock this week. Thank you.

 Chapter 872: Someone better

    Chapter 872: Someone better


    "They are ruthless and arrogant? Is the pot calling the kettle ck? If they are ruthless, what are you?" Lucifer inquired. "Eve tried to help you all the while. She is the reason you all managed to get here and establish this city! She taught you what to do and how to do it, and after learning everything, you had her murdered? That seems to be more ruthless than anything I''ve ever done."


    "At least I don''t go around backstabbing the ones who helped me," he further added. "Take another guess? What''s the difference between you and a Variant? Well, I guess I''ll tell you myself."


    Lucifer stood up and stepped out of the barrier once again, and stood before the man who was on his knees. "The difference between you and me is simple."


    "It''s that I don''t need any external help to be what I am. You, on the other hand, are nothing without external help. Take out that external help, and this is what you be, someone lying on his knees before me," he saidzily. "All I had to do was freeze your gloves in time, and there goes all the tech you had the help of. Neat trick, isn''t it? I just learned it."


    "I would love to kill you myself, but I think there is someone who deserves it more." He smiled as he waved his hand. A shadow appeared near him on the ground, and a body came out of the shadow.


    The body belonged to a violet-haireddy who seemed to be in sound sleep. Lucifer smiled, gazing at thedy before observing his surroundings.


    "I''m sure you are seeing what is happening in the Dreand. You also know that I can wake you up now that your body is healed," he let out, smiling. "But I won''t do it, at least not now. If you wake up, you won''t kill him. You''ll only lecture me about how it''s wrong to have revenge. That''s why let me deal with it my way first."


    The body of Eve started floating up in the air. It was as if she was doing it herself, all because Lucifer used the wind to control her like a puppet.


    A shadow sword came out of the ground, which he sent towards Eve. The sword was grabbed by Eve, whose eyes were still closed.


    At the same time, the King also felt the restriction around his body as if was pinned to the ground. The body of Eve reached the man.


    "See? External help can fail you anytime. Without it, you can''t even stand before an unconsciousdy. And that''s why you shouldn''t have done what you did." Lucifer let out as he started walking towards the exit.


    He heard the calls for help from the man as he left, but he didn''t care. The cries for help soon went silent following the movement of a sword, at the same time as Lucifer opened the door.


    A wind de moved on its own, slicing the hands of the King which was wearing the gloves. The hands flew straight towards Lucifer. One by one, Lucifer took off the gloves from the man''s hands and wore them on his hands. "Now, this is much better. Feels normal."


    The body of Eve kept floating behind him as he advanced ahead.


    "Hey Ai?" Lucifer called out. "Remove everyone''s ess to AI except me."


    Since he had the highest authority gloves, he could do anything now, including taking the ess of everyone else. Without that ess, the guards of this ce were nothing.


    And now that he was taking the only gloves that had the ess to the system, no one could do it again, especially since his nextmand was to delete all research data and only keep one copy for himself that couldn''t be essed by anyone else.


    "Task achieved." The AI''s voice came.


    "Good. Now lead me to the teleportation chamber, which can send me to Triton."


    A holographic map opened up before Lucifer, which led him straight to the formation chamber. Along the way, he met many guards. However, he didn''t even need to kill them to take them out. They were so weak that a gust of wind was enough to send them flying.


    It was only after Lucifer reached the chamber did he ce the body of Eve down.


    "Now that we''re done let''s get you up before we leave."


    The body of Eveid on the ground. Lucifer ced his hand on her chest and sent a small jolt of lightning in her body to jumpstart her heart like he did in the past. Fortunately, her skills kept her safe for the most part in the Dreand.


    Following a light jolt, the breathing of Eve started. Her eyes suddenly opened as she sat straight in shock.


    Instead of being happy, the first thing she did was re at Lucifer. "You just had to make me kill him, didn''t you?"


    "What else did you expect me to do? He is a bigger enemy of yours. This felt like a better way to show him how weak he was. The despair on his face was certainly amazing to watch after all," Lucifer replied as he stood up. Hemanded Ai to send them to Triton.


    Eve rolled her eyes. "You and your ways."


    Despite being angry, she soon hugged Lucifer, surprising him. "I''m d you''re safe though. I watched everything from Dreand. You were so close to death so many times. It''s a miracle you''re still alive after all this!"


    "What miracle is living? With what I have, dying would be a bigger miracle. Though I do agree, I came close to it. And it''s also not over yet. Jian is still alive, and so are the other two Generals in thend of Summons. They are going to be troublesome," Lucifer replied, sighing.


    "Fortunately, I have this now!" He muttered as a sword came out from his shadow storage. The sword was the one given to him by Szar in the tomb, which was supposed to belong to him since childhood.


    As Lucifer held the sword, he did feel a familiarity with it. "This sword is really very strong. I wonder who made it."


    "Who made it?" Eve smiled wryly. "I suppose then I can''t answer that question. All I can say is that Jian was after this same sword! It was for this sword that he betrayed you in the Dungeon. I managed to find out more through their conversation in the Dungeon as well."


    "What?"


    "This sword doesn''t belong to you," Eve exined. "It was stolen."

 Chapter 873: Still remember

    Chapter 873: Still remember


    "Stolen by who?" Lucifer asked, frowning. This sword was apparently discovered with his newborn self. That meant whoever left that sword with him was the one who left him there? His family? Could they be the ones who stole it?


    Only Eve had the answer she could give. As she saw the eager look of Lucifer, she couldn''t say no. She took a deep breath as she sighed. "ording to the one who was possessing Jian, the one who robbed that sword was none other than the man you want to meet."


    "ording to him, that man stole the sword. That''s all I could hear."


    "That man... I am sure he is rted to me somehow, but he said he isn''t my family. I need to talk to him again to get clear answers. I had too little time!"


    "You talked to him? What?" Eve eximed in shock. It was the first time she was hearing of it.


    "Yeah. After I absorbed my other self, I saw him. I don''t know if I actually saw him or if it was just an illusion, but it felt real," Lucifer exined, letting out a sigh.


    "That... That''s big news. What did you talk about? Did he tell you his identity?" Eve asked.


    Lucifer shook his head. "I could only talk to him for a few seconds, and most of his answers ended in a no. He isn''t my family or even me from the future. If this wasn''t an illusion, then his identity just became even moreplicated to guess."


    At first, he used to think that the man was his real father, who sent him here for some reason right after he was born, but his answers removed that possibility. Another possibility he believed was that there was a good chance that man was himself in the future. But he also refused that. So who was he?


    Lucifer kept cursing his luck for not having more time with that person. Still, it wasn''t as if he had no opportunity. All his enemies on earth were gone now. The ones who were left were too weak to stand before him. All he needed to do was find the stones which he knew about already now. He was going to open a portal to that man, no matter what it took.


    "Wait, did you just say the thing which was possessing Jian?" As Lucifer was lost in the thoughts of the man, he only heard the words of Eve but didn''t think about them thoroughly. It was only now he went through the words she spoke more clearly.


    "Yeah. From what he said, he isn''t from this universe. His body isn''t even in this universe, and he couldn''t cross through with his main body. That''s why he established a contract with Jian. Jian didn''t have another personality that was stronger. He just gave control of his body to that entity," Eve exined.


    "So I didn''t only make Jian an enemy but also who is controlling him. That thing... If he can make Jian so strong just by controlling him from another universe, I''m curious how strong his real body will be, wherever he is..." Lucifer muttered, remembering the words that Jian had spoken to him previously.


    That person had asked Lucifer if he had ever been to Hell. At that time, Lucifer didn''t know that it wasn''t another identity but another being entirely. Now that he knew he wasn''t from this universe, he could get some clues. That entity was from Hell?"


    "Eve, do you know about hell?" Lucifer asked.


    "The mythical ce in human stories where bad people go?" Eve asked. "I heard some stories."


    "It seems that the ce isn''t entirely mythical after all," Lucifer responded. "I mean, it might not have anything to do with the hell you and I know about, but there seems to be a ce with the same name. That thing most probably from there," Lucifer eximedzily.


    He gazed at the sword in his hand. "I have a feeling sooner orter we''lle across him."


    He sent the sword back to the shadow realm.


    "Ai, we are ready. Send us back to Triton!" Lucifermanded.


    The formation under Lucifer started shining. The entire room was filled with light. By the time the light stopped, the room turned out to bepletely empty. Neither Lucifer nor Eve was here.


    ~~~~


    Back in Triton, everyone had finished meeting with each other, and all the people who had returned from the dead were briefed about what had happened. They were also told that the Warlock Council was now theirs and that they could go inside and rest or go out in the city and celebrate.


    However, most of them selected to just wait with Szar for Lucifer''s return. They wanted to thank him for bringing them back to life.


    "Lucifer isn''t in the city!" Szar eximed. "It might take him some time toe here. Don''t worry. As soon as he returns, I will make sure he addresses all of you. So you won''t miss him. Until then, go and have fun. Eat, dance, celebrate! It''s a special day! It''s a happy day! All our fallenrades are back now!"


    ~~~


    Lucifer came out of a portal, far away from the capital city of Zeston, still being on the continent of Triton. Asst time he had destroyed the Formation neat Zeston, this was the closest he could be sent. Fortunately, Antis had repaired some of the formations, so he wasn''t sent too far.


    Lucifer was so excited to meet his parents that he didn''t want to waste a single second! He wanted to be in Zeston right away and meet with his family! He had taken too much risk to bring his family back! He had literally messed with time without caring about causing any disturbance in the timeline.


    "I''ve never seen you this excited. I am so happy for you," Evemented, flying right beside Lucifer. "After thirteen years, you''ll meet your parents."


    "Wrong," Lucifer replied. "I met my parents justst year when I went back in time. But this year, it will be my first time in thirteen years when I''ll be meeting the version of my parents that I know and love!"


    "I still remember how they used to be back then when I was little. I wonder if they will recognize me now? Will they still love me as they did before? Or will they hate me for what I did throughout the years? I''m excited as well as scared to meet them," he let out, seemingly concerned.

 Chapter 874: Dont tell

    Chapter 874: Don''t tell


    "I have a feeling you''re in for a surprise. There is no way your parents won''t recognize you, no matter how many years pass. It might be a bit odd to see you all grown up, so the way they express their love might be different. They aren''t your parents after all," Eve said.


    "So don''t worry about anything. Don''t control your emotions either. You are allowed to act weak! You are allowed to cry and hug them when you see them! Don''t think about anything else. Just listen to your heart," she added.


    Lucifer ced his hand on his chest. His hands were still trembling because of all the damage to his nerves, but he had learned to live with this.


    "Not heart, rather hearts," Lucifer smiled. "And both my heart craves for one hug from them. No matter how the other Lucifer was or which side he was on, one thing will never change. He loved them as much as I did. I can feel it."


    "I wonder if I didn''t have to kill him, what would it be like," he sighed. "All he wanted was their safety after all. He was just my naive little self who didn''t know better. It feels like I killed my old self. To the world, I am the viin, but I''m sure, to even my other self, I was a viin."


    "Who says you killed him? Nonsense! You saved him! You saved both of you! If you had died, you would''ve been gone, and Licorice would''ve killed him as well! By doing what you did, you didn''t kill your other self!" Eve exined.


    She ced her hand on the trembling hand of his, which was over his chest. "You merged with him! That little naive boy who can do anything for the safety of his parents? He isn''t dead! He still lives! He lives inside you! He lives in each of your breaths! He will never be gone!"


    "He will never be gone?" Lucifer muttered, looking down. The other-self was truly a part of him... They were the same person, after all.


    He nodded. "You are right! He isn''t gone. He lives!"


    After a long flight, Lucifer finally reached the Capital City. Seeing the city, his eyes lit up in excitement! For others, he was a fierce Warlock who had no emotions, but only people closest to him knew that this guy wasn''t really a bad guy. There were times when he was as excited as a kid.


    Lucifer flew above the small vige which he had saved thest time he was here. The vigers noticed him fly from above them. They immediately recognized him and waved their hands.


    Lucifer smiled and waved back. The man who mostly looked brooding was smiling so much today that sometimes Eve even wondered if she was dreaming. Was this really Lucifer? She felt so happy to see Lucifer like this.


    ''I pray to God that he always stays happy like this,'' Eve thought, looking at the bright sky.


    Lucifer finally entered the Capital City. As he floated above the city, his eyes looked for someone special.


    The roads were filled with humans who were celebrating surviving the onught of the Dungeon Dwellers! They didn''t know who was behind saving them, but they were just happy. Their cheers could be heard far and wide. The entry city was in a celebratory mood.


    This city wasn''t alone, though. There were thousands of such cities all around the world that were almost wiped out! If Lucifer hadn''t interfered at the right time, more than half the world would''ve been destroyed by now.


    Their savior was right above them, but none of them knew. They were busy with their celebrations.


    Amidst the crowd, Lucifer noticed many faces of Uprising members that had died recently. They were brought back now. Seeing the smiles on their faces, he also smiled.


    He has always taken life only. It was the first time he had given life to people as if he was a god. It was a really special feeling. Taking lives only made him feel satisfaction since it came as revenge but watching the people he brought back to life celebrate happily, he felt happy as well.


    He had contributed to their happiness... In the happiness of the people who fought and died for him! They were his family in the absence of his real family! They were special! They were all special.


    Lucifer kept flying above the city, going straight towards the Warlock Council headquarters, but he didn''t take his eyes off the streets since he didn''t want to miss his parents.


    He knew Szar was a fan of his father. That''s why he had sent his father right here! He was sure that as soon as Szar saw them, he was going to understand everything! There was a good chance that his family was inside the Warlock Council headquarters, waiting for him!


    Reaching the Warlock Council headquarters, Lucifernded at the entrance. Both his hearts were thumping crazily as he observed the entrance.


    There were also many Warlocks who were standing outside the Headquarters. As soon as they all saw Lucifer, their eyes lit up. They all went down on their knees.


    "Lord Lucifer! Wee back! And thank you for saving all of us! You literally brought us back from death! We don''t know how to thank you!" The men eximed.


    "You can thank me by not dying again," Lucifer jokingly replied. "Anyway, I''m also happy that you''re all back. This is the second innings of your life! Spend it well."


    "Yes, Lord Lucifer!" All the Variants eximed in unison.


    "Is Szar and Milena inside?" Lucifer asked.


    "Yes. They are all inside with some special guests. Please go to the top floor. A big surprise is waiting for you!" One of the Warlocks cheekily responded.


    Lucifer knew what he was implying. He nodded and took his first step inside the Warlock Council headquarters. The entire world is different now! This entire world belonged to Lucifer, even though indirectly.


    His Uprising was back at its full strength, and all his major enemies were dead! Not only that, but he was also stronger now that all his cores werepleted! The world was almost close to thepletion that he had visioned.


    Entering the building, Lucifer straight went to the lift with Eve and pressed the button on the top floor with his trembling finger.


    "What happened to your finger? I''ve been noticing for a long time. Your hand had been trembling. Is it because of the battle?" Eve asked, noticing Lucifer''s hands again.


    "Side effects of using the strength that doesn''t belong to me. Even my healing can''t heal it," Lucifer responded. "My hands will always be like this..."


    "Don''t tell anyone else! I don''t want my parents to worry," He added.


    The door of the lift opened¡­

 Chapter 875: the meet

    Chapter 875: the meet


    The lift stopped on the top floor. Lucifer had been to this floor many times when he ruled over this ce. In fact, he even stayed here, but this was the first time he was feeling so nervous ining here.


    He was finally going to meet his family after so long. And they were going to see him as well.


    His heart was thumping. Even as the lift opened, he didn''t step out. It was as if his feet were frozen in fear.


    He was a Warlock who was never scared of anything. Unfortunately, today was the day when he did.


    Eve held his hand firmly. By now, she had realized that his decay was gone. Holding his hand, he stepped out of the lift. Lucifer stepped out with her. The lift door closed, and the lift went down.


    "Beyond this door should be your family. I can open it, but I think you should be the one to do it," Eve told Lucifer, stopping before the door.


    Lucifer nodded. He knew he had to take the step. No matter how worried he was about their reaction to what he did, he needed to face them. The decisions of his were right, ording to him. So even if they felt bad or disgusted, he knew he was still going to feel the same about his decisions. Even though their reaction was going to hurt him, he was still going to stand tall.


    Taking one more breath, Lucifer knocked on the door.


    He could feel some footsteps getting closer to the door. Each of the footsteps was in perfect sync with his heartbeat.


    Click~


    Following a clicking sound, the door opened as a figure looked out.


    "It''s you!" An excited voice came. "I knew you woulde here. Wee, wee to your castle!"


    "It''s good to meet you as well, Kellian." Lucifer smiled.


    Kellian moved aside, revealing the entire hall behind him. The hall was nothing like Lucifer had remembered. It was as if it was renovated by the Warlock Council after the war. It looked more intact and clean. Everything was in its ce.


    Lucifer took his first step inside the hall. Eve entered after him.


    Inside the hall, Lucifer saw so many familiar faces. There was Alicia standing near the window. She was standing with Milena and risse.


    On the couch, there was his father with a ss of wine, sitting with Szar and Yaliza.


    Seeing Lucifer enter the hall, everyone who was sitting stood up. Everyone wanted to go talk to Lucifer, but they knew it was time for his parents.


    Lucifer stood frozen, shifting his gaze between his father and his mother. It was as if he was back in time when he was five years old, and they were back home.


    Zale ced the ss of wine on the table and started walking toward Lucifer. He could see simrities between the little boy he had left behind and the man he had grown up to be. He was so proud of his son.


    Lucifer opened his lips to speak, but no words came out.


    Zale didn''t need any words to understand what Lucifer was trying to speak. Everything was evident in his eyes. They were talking through emotions.


    "You have grown up so much," Zale said. "It''s just yesterday you couldn''t even reach my waist, but now you''re as tall as me." Zale smiled as he spread out his arms to hug Lucifer, but before he could even get close, another figure rushed past him.


    A figure of a woman rushed past Zale and hugged Lucifer tightly. The figure belonged to risse, who had also frozen momentarily, wondering if she was dreaming. As soon as she came out of her daze, she flew straight into Lucifer''s arms.


    risse hugged Lucifer. It was as if her life depended on it. The dam of her tears was broken as she started sobbing like she was a little girl. Even though Lucifer wasn''t her real blood, for her, she was his real mother. She had helped him grow up like he was his own. She had grown attached to him.


    Even though it was a bit off to see him all grown up but her love was still the same.


    Tears kept dripping down her cheeks. Her eyes became red. "I am sorry! I am sorry for not being there when you needed me! I am really sorry!"


    Lucifer had thought they were going to scold him for what he did since their mindset was against such kinds of things, but instead of scolding him, they were asking him for forgiveness?


    As expected, his parents really loved him a lot. They didn''t ask him about what he had done in thest few years at all, even though he was sure that they knew about him.


    "Right. We are sorry. Please forgive us." Zale also hugged the two of them from the side. "I should''ve been more careful and less trusting of those bastards. If only I had an idea about what they were nning. Forgive us... It''s because of us you had such a hard life!"


    Standing in the back, Eve had a bright smile on her face. She was so happy for Lucifer. Nothing he was worrying for happened. Instead, everything was going great. The family was reunited.


    After a long time, Lucifer responded. "You did nothing wrong. Don''t me yourself. The ones who were to be med got the punishment. It''s all in the past now."


    Milena watched Lucifer''s family reunite. She couldn''t help but wonder if her reunion was going to be like this too. Her family was back in the Divine Empire. She wanted to go there right away, but first, she wanted to make sure that Lucifer was fine. That''s why she stayed here and waited for him. Now that he was here, she could leave.


    After a long time, Lucifer was freed. His family brought him to the sofa, thinking he must''ve been tired. The others vacated the couch and thus began a long conversation session where Lucifer and his family talked nonstop. His family asked him everything he went through. They had heard that from Szar, but they wanted to hear from Lucifer now! They wanted to feel everything.


    Lucifer talked about everything from the beginning to the end, not hiding anything. There were some things that he said that even Szar didn''t know, like meeting the man on the other side of the Portal and talking to him. It was as if Luciferid his entire life bare before them in this ce, which helped everyone understand him better.

 Chapter 876: Daughter in law

    <h4>Chapter 876: Daughter inw</h4>


    Hearing his stories, even the people who had been with him since the start were amazed. Many of them looked at him in amazement.


    What shocked Alicia the most was the part where Lucifer confessed about Killing Raia. She hadn¡¯t known that he did it, but after hearing his story, she understood why he did it. She could understand his reasoning.


    What she didn¡¯t know was that there was a more shocking part that was toe regarding Lucifer Killing Vega.


    Lucifer knew that Alicia was in the room already. He could see her through the corner of his eyes as he spoke. He didn¡¯t know how she was going to take it. Vega had been like a father to her, but he didn¡¯t forget to mention that Vega had messed with her memories, and he wasn¡¯t her real father and that he had betrayed them.


    Every single person he had killed was either an enemy or someone who betrayed him.


    Lucifer even talked about the war with the Divine Empire as he introduced Milena. He introduced everyone through his stories, telling his parents how he met everyone.


    After a long time, the story finished. Throughout the story, his parents remained on one spot as if they were living the story through Lucifer¡¯s words.


    ¡°So you went into the past and met us. That was really you! I did think that you looked familiar! You were their friend I had that had disappeared!¡± Zale let out, slightly amazed. ¡°So this is why you had disappeared. You came into the future!¡±


    ¡°You know something fun? The reason we named you Lucifer is also because of it! It¡¯s because the one we met who helped us was named Lucifer. So your make was inspired by your name,¡± he added, smiling wryly.


    For a long time, he had wondered where that man had gone and why such a strong man hadn¡¯te out in thest great war where Zale rose to prominence. He was sure that if Lucifer were there at that time, he would¡¯ve taken all the limelight.


    ¡°I had a feeling this was the case. Lucifer isn¡¯t amon name after all,¡± Lucifer responded. ¡°It seems to be a paradox. You named me because you met me as Lucifer. And you met me as Lucifer because you named me Lucifer. One isn¡¯t possible without the other ¡°


    He was really curious how everything worked. Just what happened first?


    He shook his head. ¡°Leaving that aside. It seems you remember meeting me. So it did happen. Then tell me, why didn¡¯t you read what was in the letter and change your future?¡±


    ¡°The letter? Ah right! That letter. As soon as you left, we were attacked, and that letter was destroyed before we could even read it. I always wondered what was in the letter,¡± Zale answered. ¡°It seems the letter was your way of telling us what was going to happen in the future, wasn¡¯t it?¡±


    Lucifer nodded. ¡°I wrote in that letter my real identity and what was going to happen to you in the future and who betrayed you. It seems sometimes it¡¯s really hard to change the future even if we try. That letter just had to be destroyed.¡±


    ¡°But maybe that was for the good. If the letter wasn¡¯t destroyed, you would have acted differently. I might¡¯ve been different too. I might not have a hard life like I did, but I also wouldn¡¯t have this family that I had created in your absence.¡± Lucifer¡¯s gaze roamed over everyone in the hall, observing all the Uprising members and his friends that he had made along the way.


    ¡°I am happy what happened, especially now that you¡¯re all back. I feel like the family ispleted. Now I can leave this ce without any worries. You¡¯ll all be safe here,¡± he added, sighing.


    ¡°Leave this ce? Wait, what?¡± Zale eximed. ¡°You¡¯re leaving?¡±


    Lucifer nodded. ¡°I need to leave. I need to meet that peeps. Even though you¡¯ll always be my family, I still want to find my origins, and only that person can tell me my origins. If I stay on earth, I can never find my true origins. That¡¯s why I must leave. But before that, I want to finish some things.¡±


    ¡°When will you leave?¡± risse asked, with a pale face.


    She has just reunited with her son, and he was talking about leaving?


    ¡°I would take one month to finish what I want to finish here, so after a month,¡± Lucifer let out, sighing. ¡°The ship should be here by then with the information about the other stones. By then, I¡¯ll collect the stones on Earth and finish the takeover.¡±


    ¡°Takeover? You mean conquering Earth?¡± Zale asked, frowning. ¡°You still want to do it?¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t stop what I started before finishing it,¡± Lucifer replied.


    ¡°So you¡¯ll kill more people?¡± Zale asked.


    ¡°Sometimes death is impossible, but I doubt I would need to kill anymore. I¡¯m sure they all saw the might of my Dragons,¡± Lucifer smirked.


    He could still conjure the Dragons. Without the vessel strength, his Dragon wasn¡¯t going to be as strong as what they were before, but only he knew that. On the outside, the Dragon was going to look simr, so he was sure that no one was going to dare oppose him. There was no need to kill anymore.


    Antis had fallen, the Divine Empire was under his control, and now Warlock Council was his again.


    ¡°Before I leave, I want to see my dreame true, the dream I saw for this world, and I won¡¯t leave that dream iplete because that wasn¡¯t just my dream. There was someone else who saw that Dream. I just took some inspiration and modified that dream ording to my needs,¡± Lucifer eximed.


    ¡°So no innocents will die anymore?¡± Zale inquired.


    ¡°No innocents will die,¡± Lucifer nodded.


    He didn¡¯t finish his sentence though. No innocents were going to die as long as they didn¡¯t stand in his path.


    ¡°Alright. You can do it,¡± Zale agreed.


    ¡°Hey, enough talk about warlock stuff between father and son. Let me ask something as well!¡± risse chimed in. ¡°She had been sitting silently for a long time.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Mother?¡±


    ¡°You are already an adult now. You are of an age where you can select a wife for you. And I see many beautifuldies here. ording to what you said, three of them are very close to you as well: Alicia, Eve, and Milena. So which of them is going to be my daughter-inw?¡± risse inquired.


    ¡°Cough! Cough!¡± Lucifer started coughing intently as he heard the question. All threedies in question were also stunned at what was asked. They all looked at Lucifer to hear his answer.

 Chapter 877: Daughter in law

    <h4>Chapter 877: Daughter inw</h4>


    Hearing his stories, even the people who had been with him since the start were amazed. Many of them looked at him in amazement.


    What shocked Alicia the most was the part where Lucifer confessed about Killing Raia. She hadn¡¯t known that he did it, but after hearing his story, she understood why he did it. She could understand his reasoning.


    What she didn¡¯t know was that there was a more shocking part that was toe regarding Lucifer Killing Vega.


    Lucifer knew that Alicia was in the room already. He could see her through the corner of his eyes as he spoke. He didn¡¯t know how she was going to take it. Vega had been like a father to her, but he didn¡¯t forget to mention that Vega had messed with her memories, and he wasn¡¯t her real father and that he had betrayed them.


    Every single person he had killed was either an enemy or someone who betrayed him.


    Lucifer even talked about the war with the Divine Empire as he introduced Milena. He introduced everyone through his stories, telling his parents how he met everyone.


    After a long time, the story finished. Throughout the story, his parents remained on one spot as if they were living the story through Lucifer¡¯s words.


    ¡°So you went into the past and met us. That was really you! I did think that you looked familiar! You were their friend I had that had disappeared!¡± Zale let out, slightly amazed. ¡°So this is why you had disappeared. You came into the future!¡±


    ¡°You know something fun? The reason we named you Lucifer is also because of it! It¡¯s because the one we met who helped us was named Lucifer. So your make was inspired by your name,¡± he added, smiling wryly.


    For a long time, he had wondered where that man had gone and why such a strong man hadn¡¯te out in thest great war where Zale rose to prominence. He was sure that if Lucifer were there at that time, he would¡¯ve taken all the limelight.


    ¡°I had a feeling this was the case. Lucifer isn¡¯t amon name after all,¡± Lucifer responded. ¡°It seems to be a paradox. You named me because you met me as Lucifer. And you met me as Lucifer because you named me Lucifer. One isn¡¯t possible without the other ¡°


    He was really curious how everything worked. Just what happened first?


    He shook his head. ¡°Leaving that aside. It seems you remember meeting me. So it did happen. Then tell me, why didn¡¯t you read what was in the letter and change your future?¡±


    ¡°The letter? Ah right! That letter. As soon as you left, we were attacked, and that letter was destroyed before we could even read it. I always wondered what was in the letter,¡± Zale answered. ¡°It seems the letter was your way of telling us what was going to happen in the future, wasn¡¯t it?¡±


    Lucifer nodded. ¡°I wrote in that letter my real identity and what was going to happen to you in the future and who betrayed you. It seems sometimes it¡¯s really hard to change the future even if we try. That letter just had to be destroyed.¡±


    ¡°But maybe that was for the good. If the letter wasn¡¯t destroyed, you would have acted differently. I might¡¯ve been different too. I might not have a hard life like I did, but I also wouldn¡¯t have this family that I had created in your absence.¡± Lucifer¡¯s gaze roamed over everyone in the hall, observing all the Uprising members and his friends that he had made along the way.


    ¡°I am happy what happened, especially now that you¡¯re all back. I feel like the family ispleted. Now I can leave this ce without any worries. You¡¯ll all be safe here,¡± he added, sighing.


    ¡°Leave this ce? Wait, what?¡± Zale eximed. ¡°You¡¯re leaving?¡±


    Lucifer nodded. ¡°I need to leave. I need to meet that peeps. Even though you¡¯ll always be my family, I still want to find my origins, and only that person can tell me my origins. If I stay on earth, I can never find my true origins. That¡¯s why I must leave. But before that, I want to finish some things.¡±


    ¡°When will you leave?¡± risse asked, with a pale face.


    She has just reunited with her son, and he was talking about leaving?


    ¡°I would take one month to finish what I want to finish here, so after a month,¡± Lucifer let out, sighing. ¡°The ship should be here by then with the information about the other stones. By then, I¡¯ll collect the stones on Earth and finish the takeover.¡±


    ¡°Takeover? You mean conquering Earth?¡± Zale asked, frowning. ¡°You still want to do it?¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t stop what I started before finishing it,¡± Lucifer replied.


    ¡°So you¡¯ll kill more people?¡± Zale asked.


    ¡°Sometimes death is impossible, but I doubt I would need to kill anymore. I¡¯m sure they all saw the might of my Dragons,¡± Lucifer smirked.


    He could still conjure the Dragons. Without the vessel strength, his Dragon wasn¡¯t going to be as strong as what they were before, but only he knew that. On the outside, the Dragon was going to look simr, so he was sure that no one was going to dare oppose him. There was no need to kill anymore.


    Antis had fallen, the Divine Empire was under his control, and now Warlock Council was his again.


    ¡°Before I leave, I want to see my dreame true, the dream I saw for this world, and I won¡¯t leave that dream iplete because that wasn¡¯t just my dream. There was someone else who saw that Dream. I just took some inspiration and modified that dream ording to my needs,¡± Lucifer eximed.


    ¡°So no innocents will die anymore?¡± Zale inquired.


    ¡°No innocents will die,¡± Lucifer nodded.


    He didn¡¯t finish his sentence though. No innocents were going to die as long as they didn¡¯t stand in his path.


    ¡°Alright. You can do it,¡± Zale agreed.


    ¡°Hey, enough talk about warlock stuff between father and son. Let me ask something as well!¡± risse chimed in. ¡°She had been sitting silently for a long time.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Mother?¡±


    ¡°You are already an adult now. You are of an age where you can select a wife for you. And I see many beautifuldies here. ording to what you said, three of them are very close to you as well: Alicia, Eve, and Milena. So which of them is going to be my daughter-inw?¡± risse inquired.


    ¡°Cough! Cough!¡± Lucifer started coughing intently as he heard the question. All threedies in question were also stunned at what was asked. They all looked at Lucifer to hear his answer.

 Chapter 878: Selection

    <h4>Chapter 878: Selection</h4>


    Everyone looked at Lucifer, eagerly waiting for his answer to this odd question. Was he really going to marry one of the threedies? And if yes, who was it going to be?


    Lucifer was like a little brother to Kellian, who certainly wanted to attend Lucifer¡¯s wedding and celebrate with him. As for Szar, he had seen Lucifer being rejected by the little phoenix back at the Realm of Summons. Lucifer hade so far from that day.


    Now he had three people to select from. Szar was very clear about these things. He could feel that all three Ladies were going to agree if Lucifer said yes.


    Lucifer nced at Alicia, standing in the back, before shifting his gaze to Milena. Milena seemed most shocked by this question. She couldn¡¯t even look in Lucifer¡¯s eyes. Only Eve stood calm behind Lucifer.


    ¡°Knock, knock!¡± There was a knock on the door.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be right back,¡± Lucifer stood up and went to the door, taking a hasty retreat. He was happy that there was a knock at this time as he was saved from this question since he hadn¡¯t thought about such things yet.


    Lucifer opened the door, wondering who it could be. All the special people from Uprising were already inside. Did something happen outside which needed them to be informed?


    As soon as Lucifer opened the door, a slightly surprised look graced his face. He could see many people standing outside, but there were a few faces he recognized.


    The one who stood at the front was none other than Grandpa Chi!


    Without thinking, Lucifer hugged the old man. ¡°You came just at the right time. If you hadn¡¯te, I would¡¯vee to meet you before leaving.¡±


    ¡°Leaving? Where are you going?¡± The old man asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s a long story,¡± Lucifer responded. ¡± I¡¯ll tell youter.¡±


    ¡°By the way, that must be your wife and son? They look so nice,¡± he added, noticing the family of Grandpa Chi which he brought with him.


    ¡°Yeah. I don¡¯t know how they got back, but I¡¯m sure you had a hand in it, didn¡¯t you?¡± The old man inquired.


    Lucifer just smiled and didn¡¯t say anything.


    He freed the old man and shifted his attention to Cassius, who stood beside him. ¡°You came as well.¡±


    ¡°Am I not allowed?¡± Cassius asked, sighing. ¡°I know you saved me, so I came to thank you. No matter what mistakes I make, you will always be my best friend. I wanted to be here to make sure you were fine.¡±


    ¡°Of course, you are allowed to be here. It¡¯s a happy day, so I will let go of what you did,¡± Lucifer responded.


    ¡°Recognize them?¡± Cassius asked, pointing at the two young men in the back.


    ¡°How can I forget them. My roommates at the academy,¡± Lucifer let out, smiling. ¡°You are here as well. Wee to Triton.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t recognize him though. Who is he?¡± He asked, observing the middle-aged man in the back.


    ¡°He is my father. He also wanted toe to thank you for what you did,¡± Cassius responded.


    His father took the lead. ¡°Lucifer Azarel, I used to think that you were a viin when you attacked the ind. But my son told me why you did it and what was done to you. Even though it still doesn¡¯t justify your actions, what you did just recently saved the lives of everyone. So I¡¯m here to thank you.¡±


    He bowed respectfully, despite being before a man much younger than him.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t see you attacking me on the Ind with Xaen. So I don¡¯t have any enmity with you. I ept your gratitude. Come inside.¡±


    Lucifer stepped aside, letting everyone in. He took them all to his family and introduced each other.


    Cassius was most surprised to see the parents of Lucifer being present here, along with so many people that he had personally seen die when he was with Lucifer.


    He was so shocked that he couldn¡¯t speak. Was it an illusion, or were they really back? He looked at Lucifer nkly.


    As if reading his mind, Lucifer nodded. ¡°You are right. I brought them all back from death, just like I brought back your abilities that you had lost because of Xaen. I changed reality.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Not only Cassius but even his father was stunned to his core. Lucifer had brought them all back to life? He had the strength to change reality? Just what kind of a monster was he?


    Lucifer simply shrugged his shoulders. ¡°You all talk; I¡¯ll be right back.¡±


    Leaving everyone back in the room, Lucifer¡¯s figure disappeared as he teleported to an unknown location. No one knew where he went.


    Lucifer appeared on the roof of the Warlock Council, sitting at the edge, looking at the beautiful sun in the distance.


    He was all alone in this ce, observing the sun. So much had changed in this world, but there were also so many things that were still the same. The sun was still providing warmth to earth like it often did. Even Lucifer could feel its warmth.


    ¡°Everyone is back now. Everyone is happy now. I can leave them here without any worries, but the threat isn¡¯t over yet,¡± Lucifer muttered as if talking to himself.


    ¡°Star Alliance knows the location of the earth now. If¡­ No, not if. When they go against me, they will target earth, taking it hostage. Just like I know about them now, they know about me. And the file of Joana¡­ Star Alliance is not a friend even if they aren¡¯t enemies yet.¡±


    ¡°If the futurees to fruition, they would be the first to turn on me as they already did. This problem needs to be solved. But now I have the means to control it. As soon as I get my answers, I will begin my n!¡± Lucifer dered, clenching his fist as he promised himself.


    ¡°But first, there is something I need to do. While I¡¯m at it, let¡¯s get it done!¡± He stood up, stretching his arms.


    Now that he had met his family and made sure that they were fine, he could leave and get things done.


    Without asking anyone¡¯s permission, Lucifer flew away before disappearing into the horizon. It was unclear where he was going, but one thing was clear. He was really serious about what he was going to do.


    Even though he had promised his family that he was going to take a month, he wanted to finish such things fast, and before that, he needed something else.


    He had already nted a seed in the past. Now was the time to harvest the seed.

 Chapter 879: Entrance

    <h4>Chapter 879: Entrance</h4>


    Lucifer kept flying to an unknown location, only stopping as he reached an unknown city, only because he was starting to feel hungry.


    Hended in the city and asked the people in his surrounding about a restaurant.


    It took him only a few seconds to reach the restaurant after knowing the directions. The restaurant was also mostly crowded as many people were celebrating the disappearance of the beasts that had attacked the city. They didn¡¯t even realize that the man who had just entered the restaurant was behind what had happened.


    Lucifer¡¯s eyes roamed all around the restaurant, but there were no tables empty. Even amongst the chairs, there was only one that was empty. It was around a table that had two seats, and a young woman was already upying one of the seats.


    Having no choice and not intending to make a scene, Lucifer walked to the empty chair and sat without asking for permission.


    ¡°Hmm?¡± The young woman who was eating peacefully was stunned to see Lucifer taking a table. She frowned, looking at him.


    ¡°Excuse me? What do you think you¡¯re doing?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Taking a seat?¡± Lucifer repliedzily. ¡°This was the only table which was empty.¡±


    He picked up the menu and started going through it.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you have any manners? This table wasn¡¯t empty. You didn¡¯t even ask before you sat! I¡¯m waiting here for my brother! Hurry and vacate the seat!¡± The womanmanded, not knowing thatmands like these had no effects on Lucifer.


    Fortunately, Lucifer was in a good mood, so he ignored her. He called for a waiter and ordered almost everything on the menu.


    Taking the order, the waiter was just about to leave when the womanined to him that Lucifer was harassing her and he needed to be kicked out.


    ¡°I¡¯ll inform my manager about it. Please wait!¡± The waiter left swiftly.


    ¡°Tell anyone you want, but make sure my food gets here on time. Don¡¯t spoil my mood, please,¡¯ Luciferzily called out, watching the waiter leave.


    Hezily started waiting for the food to arrive.


    ¡°You are really arrogant, aren¡¯t you? You think you¡¯re some bigshot? Do you have any idea who my brother is?¡± The woman asked arrogantly, smacking the table.


    ¡°Why should I know your brother? I only know important people,¡± Lucifer responded as he turned his chair, so he didn¡¯t look at the face of the woman. He faced the window, looking out.


    Clink~


    The door of the restaurant opened again, and a middle aged man stepped inside. After finding the woman, he walked up to her.


    The woman noticed the man. ¡°Brother, you¡¯re here! Right on time. You need to teach this man a lesson! I was saving a seat for you, but he sat here and started harassing me!¡±


    She stood up and hugged her brother, crying, acting weakly.


    ¡°Is that so?¡± The red-haired man frowned, looking at the back of Lucifer.


    ¡°Young man, arrogance is good, but too much arrogance can be bad for health!¡± he warned Lucifer.


    ¡°I wholeheartedly agree,¡± Luciferzily responded. ¡°So many people have died unnecessary because of arrogance.¡±


    He didn¡¯t even look back at the man as he spoke. The man¡¯s face turned red in anger, hearing the response. He couldn¡¯t believe what daring this guy had! He had no self-awareness!


    He clenched his fist to attack in range. That was also the time when Lucifer smelled the taste of food. He curiously looked towards the kitchen, turning back. ¡°That smells good.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± The red-haired man who was just about to attack Lucifer finally saw his face as Lucifer turned back. His face turned pale as he took a few steps back in fear, stumbling on himself and falling.


    Lucifer ignored the fallen man and walked straight to the kitchen, wondering what this tasty smell was.


    Meanwhile, the woman ran to her brother and helped him up. ¡°Brother, what happened? Why do you look like you saw a monster?!¡±


    ¡°You idiot, you don¡¯t know who he is?!¡± The red-haired man eximed! ¡°That¡¯s why I tell you to be wary of your surroundings! This is the same man who had threatened to take over the entire world! At one point, he ruled over half the world! I¡¯ve seen his strength! He is so strong that, let alone me, this entire city can¡¯t face the wrath of this guy! I can¡¯t believe I almost hit this guy!¡±


    The man patted his chest, trying to calm down his racing heart.


    ¡°D-don¡¯t offend that guy anymore! Is he known to be ruthless? We are lucky he wasn¡¯t in the mood today!¡± The man said, ncing back at Lucifer, who was stopped near the kitchen.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry sir, but only staff can enter!¡±


    Lucifer just flicked his finger, sending the man flying back. With a casual push, he opened the door and stepped inside.


    ¡°See? That guy doesn¡¯t care about anyone! He could¡¯ve killed you so easily!¡± The red haired man said. ¡°Let¡¯s leave this table for him. We can take another table! Look, that couple is leaving!¡±


    He pointed towards another table. Holding his sister¡¯s hands, he started walking to a different table and sat down. The other table was also near a window coincidentally.


    ¡°Is that man truly so strong? No one can defeat him?¡± The woman asked her brother, sitting at a different table.


    ¡°There was a guy called Jian who fought with his organization. That guy is also very strong. If anyone can defeat Lucifer, I¡¯m sure it¡¯s him. The two of them haven¡¯t fought yet, as far as I know. I don¡¯t know what this guy is doing here though. Maybe he¡¯s just stopping here for a little since he was hungry?¡± The red-haired man responded, sighing. ¡°Whatever, it¡¯s none of our concern!¡±


    Lucifer roamed inside the kitchen, observing the freshly prepared dishes that were hot yet tasty. Without even waiting for the dishes to be sent out, he started eating them right in the kitchen.


    The entire restaurant is in a turmoil, but no one can stop Lucifer. Fortunately, Lucifer wasn¡¯t attacking anyone either. He just ate and asked for more to be prepared for him.


    After a long time, Lucifer finished eating. He felt full.


    Stretching his arms, he left the kitchen. The kitchen staff finally sighed a breath of relief, watching Lucifer leave.


    Lucifer waved his hand at the red haired man and his sister as he left the restaurant. Now that he was full, he was also feeling full of energy. It was time for him to travel faster.


    He raised his hand towards the sky, calling forth the dark clouds. A lightning dragon came out of the clouds.

 Chapter 880: Absorption

    <h4>Chapter 880: Absorption</h4>


    The Lightning Dragon came out of the clouds andnded before Lucifer right on the streets of the city, shocking everyone. Even the red haired man who was looking out stood up, shocked as his Jaws dropped wide!


    ¡°I-i was wrong! Jian can¡¯t defeat him either. I don¡¯t think no one can defeat this monster! The lightning Dragons that saved the world were summoned by him! Just how strong is this guy, actually? He is truly a monster! I think it won¡¯t be long before he truly bes a king of this world!¡± The man eximed.


    Even his sister was shocked. She hadn¡¯t thought that Lucifer was so strong. The Dragons¡­ She had always wondered who brought those dragons! Who saved the world! Who was the hero that deserved their eternal gratitude! So it was this guy! She was calling her hero arrogant! She couldn¡¯t help but curse herself for what she did. The man who was supposed to be praised by her to no end was scolded!


    She stood up and ran to the door. She had decided! She needed to apologize to Lucifer for her behavior and thank him for what he did.


    She pushed the door open and stepped out of the restaurant. Unfortunately, she was toote as she saw the Dragon fly high in the sky, carrying Lucifer.


    Lucifer left, disappearing into the horizon. It was unclear if he was ever going to be seen again.


    ~~~~


    High above the cloud, Lucifer traveled, sitting on top of the Dragon. The Dragon consumed a bit more energy than him using his winds to fly, but the Dragon also traveled faster, at lightning speed. For now, Lucifer only cared about speed since he had taken care of his enemies, and there wasn¡¯t going to be any problem at the moment even if he spent a bit more than usual.


    After a long flight, Lucifer finally reached an ind in the middle of the sea. He jumped off the Dragon andnded on the Ind, straight in the center.


    In the center of the ind, therey something which Lucifer wanted. He picked up what appeared like a heart with a smirk on his face.


    When he had killed Licorice, he hadn¡¯t destroyed him entirely. Instead, he had saved the heart of Licorice, all because of one reason. He had realized it long ago that he could absorb the strength from Monsters and from Variants. Licorice was the strongest Dungeon Dweller, so of course, he was going to have lots of abilities. Those were what Lucifer was after.


    Licorice had made his life so hard. It was time he got something back to Licorice for all the trouble that guy caused him. Moreover, Lucifer needed to go to the world of Summons to get back thest fragment that was there. In that world, he needed to face two of Licorice¡¯s generals. He knew he needed strength to defeat them now that he didn¡¯t have the unlimited Vessel Strength.


    However, his biggest problem was Jian, whose body was upied by someone. That was what Lucifer was most worried about, and that¡¯s also why he needed as much strength as he could get.


    Lucifer took off his robe and his shirt, getting bare chested before he started the processing.


    He stabbed his ws in his own chest, making a huge hole. He entered the heart in his body and started letting the decay take ce. The heart started decaying inside Lucifer¡¯s body, turning into his own strength. Many new ability cores appeared inside the body of Lucifer. He could feel the strength emanating from those cores. This was an incredible strength!


    That strength was on par with the strength of his evolved lightning core of not more.


    His chest healed, and the wound closed. Lucifer wiped the blood from his chest with some water before he wore the clothes once again.


    ¡°That was worth it,¡± Lucifer muttered, yawning. ¡°It seems like I¡¯m done on earth now. Just basic things left.¡±


    ~~~~


    Throughout the next few days, Lucifer traveled from country to country on his lightning dragon, making sure that he met the leaders of that country. He challenged each country to defeat him, no matter how many Warlocks they used, and if they didn¡¯t, they had to surrender.


    Fortunately, no country was daring enough. They had seen the might of those Dragons. They knew it was impossible to defeat them. Their Warlocks had already failed in defeating the beasts that these Dragons ate alive!


    One after another, all the countries surrendered to Lucifer, swearing their loyalty. Even the nations which were working together in the past to resist Lucifer¡¯s upation couldn¡¯t dare now that he had a dragon.


    Twelve days! It took Lucifer twelve days to travel to all the countries in the world and convince them to Surrender. He even went to the nation where his old friend used to stay, who he had met on a ship when he traveled to the past and convinced him.


    In less than two weeks, Lucifer had finished the takeover of the entire world! Now every nation bowed to him and listened to hismands.


    After being away for two weeks, Lucifer finally returned to Elisium, where he met everyone again. He had decided that Elisium was going to be his base instead of the Warlock Council. This was the ce where it all started! This was where his home was. It was only fair that this was his capital.


    He had called everyone from Triton to Elisium, including his family, who were already waiting for him here.


    He met everyone again and informed them what he had been doing and where he was. This came as another shock that Lucifer had already finished the takeover.


    Lucifer gave Kellian the responsibility to establish Uprising once again, create a proper headquarters and find the members that had abandoned the Uprising after his disappearance.


    ¡°Ah, Lucifer!¡± A voice came from the back suddenly.


    ¡°Hmm?¡± Lucifer turned around. ¡°Kane? What?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been wanting to meet you for a long time. I have something important to tell you.¡± Kane said.


    ¡°Go ahead. I¡¯ll listen.¡±


    ¡°First of all, thank you for bringing me back to life as well, but I want to tell you about a betrayal that led to our forces are the Warlock Council, fallingst time,¡± Kane let out, sighing.


    ¡°Betrayal?¡± Lucifer frowned. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Predictor! He was the one who was working for Jian. He leaked the secret information which helped Jian defeat our forces. He is also the one who killed me when I confronted him about it,¡± Kane exined.


    ¡°Predictor, huh,¡± Lucifer muttered. ¡°Well, for someone who can predict the future, he seems very stupid now. Come, let¡¯s meet our old friend¡­¡±

 Chapter 881: Intruder

    <h4>Chapter 881: Intruder</h4>


    ¡°I¡¯ll get fresh, and then I¡¯ll be right back. You can tell Kellian to prepare a squad and for our departure. It¡¯s time we go back to our old base,¡± Lucifer smiled, patting the shoulders of Kane.


    ¡°But¡­ I¡¯m not sure if he¡¯ll even be there now. There¡¯s a good chance he ran away by now,¡± Kane replied, sighing. ¡°What if he¡¯s not there? I think you shouldn¡¯t go. Kellian would be enough.¡±


    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry. He would be right there,¡± Luciferzily stretched his arms. ¡°He wouldn¡¯t leave that ce even if he wanted to. Just go to Kellian and tell him what I said. I¡¯ll be right back.¡±


    Finishing, Lucifer entered his room and closed the door. Kane went to find Kellian.


    ¡°Hmm?¡± As soon as Lucifer entered the room, he felt someone¡¯s presence. He frowned deeply. Who could dare to enter his room without his permission?


    He could hear the sounding from the kitchen, which made him walk there.


    ¡°Ah, there you are!¡± As soon as Lucifer entered the room, he saw the intruder, who seemed slightly pleased to see him here.


    ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Lucifer asked, frowning. ¡°I thought you went to meet your parents in the Divine Empire?¡±


    ¡°Nah. I just called them here instead,¡± Milena replied as she finished preparing two cups of coffee. He gave one cup to Lucifer before taking a sip from her cup.


    ¡°They are in my room with my sisters, talking with your parents. I¡¯ll take you to meet themter,¡± she added.


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t exin why you¡¯re in my room,¡± Lucifer let out, cing the cup on the table.


    ¡°As I said, my room is a little busy. Yours was empty, so I came here,¡± Milena answered.


    ¡°There are many rooms in this building,¡± Luciferzily stated. ¡°I¡¯m sure many of them are vacant!¡±


    ¡°Not enough,¡± Milena smiled. ¡°So many people are back from life, and some Nobles from my Empire are here as well. They took the rooms that were left. We don¡¯t have any rooms left.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a hotel nearby,¡± Lucifermented. ¡°Take them there.¡±


    ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll tell you the truth. I came here to wait for you.¡± Milena scratched the back of her head as she epted the truth.


    ¡°And why is that?¡±


    ¡°Because I wanted some alone time with you.¡±


    ¡°You want to talk about something?¡± Lucifer asked.


    ¡°Yeah. I wanted to tell you something I couldn¡¯t tell before others.¡± After a slight pause, Milena stated.


    ¡°Go ahead. I¡¯m listening. Be fast though. I don¡¯t have much time. I need to get going soon,¡± Luciferzily let out as he walked to his wardrobe.


    Milena followed behind, cing her cup on the table as well. She seemed a bit hesitant, as if she didn¡¯t know how to say what she wanted to say.


    Lucifer opened the wardrobe and went through the clothes to select what he would be wearing.


    He brought a white robe and a pure white attire. He had enough bloodshed and fighting. Now he wanted to wear something clean. He took the clothes and turned around.


    Milena stood right behind Lucifer. As soon as he turned around, his face came so close to hers that only a few inches of distance remained between their lips.


    ¡°Why are you acting so strange? Tell me what you wanted to talk about?¡± Lucifer asked, taking a few steps back.


    Unfortunately, before he could create some distance between the two, Milena grabbed his wrist.


    Not expecting Milena to be like this, Lucifer was pulled closer to Milena as the clothes dropped from his hands. The distance between the two decreased even more. Milena could feel Lucifer¡¯s warm breathing on her face.


    Her heart was thumping so fast as she tried to gather her courage.


    ¡°Do you have a fever or something?¡± Lucifer inquired. ¡°You aren¡¯t acting like yourself.¡±


    ¡°Shh! Let me speak now!¡± Milena ced her fingers on the lips of Lucifer, making him stop speaking.


    Milena took a deep breath. ¡°I¡­ You.¡±


    ¡°You me what?¡± Lucifer asked. Her words didn¡¯t make much sense.


    ¡°Argh, why does it have to be so hard!¡± Milena cried, looking up. ¡°Fine! This time for real!¡±


    She closed her eyes so she couldn¡¯t look at the expressions of Lucifer. Even though she was an adult and a powerful Warlock, on the inside, she was still a naive little girl. It was her first time saying something like this. It was also her first time feeling like this!


    ¡°I love you!¡± She eximed, keeping her eyes closed.


    Lucifer stood nkly before her, hearing her words. Thisdy¡­ He knew she had lied quite a lot of times to get free from his restrictions in the past. That¡¯s why he had never taken her seriously, but this time, she had no restrictions. Lucifer had long taken off the Bracelet of Limitations from her hands. She waspletely free now. The way she spoke, it was as if she was speaking the truth!


    Milena sneaking opened one of her eyes, peeping through it like a kid to see what Lucifer¡¯s reaction was.


    She noticed thepletely stunned look of Lucifer, which scared her even more. He wasn¡¯t saying anything, and she couldn¡¯t decipher anything from her expressions!


    After a long time, Lucifer finally opened his lips, letting out one word. ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Because you are you! Because you are the one I like! Because you have made me fall for you. The long conversations of ours when you were stuck in a time loop, they made me feel reallyfortable and made me know you better. You seem to be really stern and emotionless from the outside, but on the inside, you are a really nice guy.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve always stood by my side to protect me. And even when I was a liability, you never left me behind. You are the only person who isn¡¯t a Noble converted by me who cares for me like this. They have a reason to care for me since they¡¯ll die if I die, but you¡­ You are different.¡±


    ¡°You had nothing to do with me, yet you didn¡¯t leave me behind! Even in the Level Seven Dungeon, you protected me and stayed behind alone! Szar told me everything.¡±


    ¡°So just because I protected you, you love me?¡± Lucifer asked.


    Milena shook her head, looking down. ¡°Not just protection.¡±


    ¡°Ever since I was a little, everyone only wanted me for my powers. No one really thought about my wellbeing. I had to fight to climb to my throne, losing so many things in the process, including my emotions at times. I hadpletely forgotten what it felt like to be cared for¡­ What it feels like for someone to remember you at times of danger.¡±

 Chapter 882: Words that mean

    <h4>Chapter 882: Words that mean</h4>


    ¡°Even when you brought everyone back to life, you didn¡¯t just bring back your family alone. You just didn¡¯t bring back the people who fought for you. You also brought my family back¡­ The family that I had lost forever. The family that you had nothing to do with. The family that I¡¯m sure most of my Nobles also forgot about. But you remembered¡­ You remembered everything.¡±


    ¡± Not only did you bring them back, but you also removed their painful memories of that time so they can live a life without trauma. I realized it when I talked to you. You tell me yourself now? How can someone not love you after all you did? How could I have not fallen for you? How could I have stayed immune?!¡± Milena eximed.


    ¡°It took me a lot of courage to confess my feelings, Lucifer. All because I don¡¯t want to lose you. I don¡¯t want you to leave without knowing my feelings,¡± she added.


    ¡°I¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t.¡± As Lucifer tried to speak, Milena cut him off. ¡°You don¡¯t have to answer me right now. I won¡¯t force you to answer me. If you feel the same, you will know where to find me.¡±


    Milena disappeared swiftly, leaving the room. The room was once again empty, only having Lucifer.


    He looked at his clothes on the ground, frowning. ¡°First Eve and now Milena?¡±


    Things had just be soplicated for him. He didn¡¯t want to break anyone¡¯s heart or hurt them, but he also couldn¡¯t select two Ladies. That wasn¡¯t fair. He rubbed the back of his neck as he picked up the clothes. He didn¡¯t know how he was going to solve this problem.


    He took off his clothes and entered the shower.


    He turned on the shower and started bathing as he thought about what had happened.


    ¡°Eve was the first toe to me with this intention. She also stayed with me for a long time. And she¡¯s actually a nice girl as much as I know her, and I certainly feel something for her. I just don¡¯t know if that feeling is simply attraction. She is really beautiful, after all.¡±


    He talked to himself as the droplets of water dropped on his body.


    ¡°Milena is inherently different. She is also very beautiful, but her nature is more simr to me. She went through a hard life like I did. Her soul had been forged in the torment of mes. He never had a day of happiness in her younger days, never having an opportunity of living an ordinary life or falling in love.¡±


    ¡°I also loved talking to her. She is fun to be around, and she tries her best in everything she does, even if it needs taking life. She is also very beautiful. But what about me? What are my feelings? Why is it so hard to understand feelings? I don¡¯t even know what I feel for who. Is it because I¡¯ve had such a messed up life? I need someone¡¯s advice if I want to figure myself out.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t go to father. I can¡¯t go to mother. I also can¡¯t go to Szar. He never had a rtionship either. Ah, right! Veracity! I can lie to myself, but I can¡¯t lie to her! Even if I don¡¯t know my feelings, she should be able to help me! She is also a woman! This is perfect!¡±


    Lucifer turned off the shower and stepped out, using a towel to dry his body. He wore his white attire like he was the Prince Charming. He donned a beautiful white robe on top before using the winds to dry his hair.


    He tied his dried hair into a ponytail before leaving his room.


    As soon as he left, he saw Kellian standing outside with his arms folded as if he was waiting for Lucifer toe out. Kane also stood with him.


    Tristan, Yaliza, and Szar stood in the back. A team of five was selected to apany Lucifer; not like any was needed. Lucifer was already so strong after all.


    ¡°Is everything ready?¡± Lucifer asked.


    ¡°Everything is prepared. The helicopter is waiting at the top to take us to the airport,¡± Kellian replied.


    ¡°Good. Where is Veracity?¡±


    ¡°Veracity?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. She ising with us too. Inform her to meet us at the top. We¡¯ll leave in fifteen minutes.¡±


    ¡°But Veracity isn¡¯t in the headquarters,¡± Kellian responded.


    Lucifer frowned. ¡°Where is she then?¡±


    ¡°She went to the mall to do some shopping with some of the Nobles. It seems she has made some new friends,¡± Kellian answered.


    ¡°Which mall? You know?¡±


    Kellian nodded. ¡°She took my permission before leaving. If I knew we were going to need her, I wouldn¡¯t have given her permission.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright. It¡¯s no big deal. Let¡¯s just pick her up at the mall,¡± Luciferzily stated. ¡°We aren¡¯t in any hurry. Not like predictor will run anywhere.¡±


    ¡°Right, predictor?¡± He looked towards empty air as he spoke.


    ¡°Huh?!¡± Predictor woke up from his sleep, breathing heavily. ¡°Could he see me? He ising. It looks like today will be myst day.¡±


    Back at Uprising Headquarters, Lucifer took the lift and went to the top, where a helicopter was waiting for them. He entered inside the helicopter along with his team. Surprisingly, many people hade to the roof to see him off as if they knew he was leaving.


    Amongst them, Lucifer could see Eve, Alicia, Milena, his family, and a few others.


    The chopper turned in the air and flew towards the biggest mall in the city.


    The mall was very crowded as today was a holiday. Many people havee to the mall with their families to do some shopping and have some fun.


    A helicopternded right at the entrance of the mall. Everyone who was under the helicopter moved aside at the sight time. No one could say anything to the pilot of the helicopter fornding right before the entrance since everyone knew who this helicopter belonged to.


    What they didn¡¯t know was the people that were inside the helicopter. They didn¡¯t know who from the Uprising wasing here.


    As the door opened, everyone looked at the helicopter, wondering who was going to step out. Even the most experienced people were shocked as they saw Lucifer step out of the helicopter! Lucifer wasn¡¯t just the King of Elisium! He was a King of the entire world now! He was like a god walking on earth!


    Behind him, the second in charge of Uprising, Kellian, also stepped out. The third person was Tristan, who was also a powerful member of Uprising who could destroy the entire mall in one sword strike of his. Yaliza and Kane also stepped out.


    Everyone recognized Szar as well. He was already well known before the reign of Lucifer. He was one of the four Warlock Kings!

 Chapter 883: Challenge

    <h4>Chapter 883: Challenge</h4>


    There were so many big names that had arrived here with Lucifer, stunning everyone. The one who attracted the most attention was still Lucifer, though.


    Everyone stepped aside, clearing the path to the entrance. They knew that if Lucifer was here, there was a good chance that he was here to enter the mall. Most assumed that he was here for shopping. Even powerful people did shopping after all.


    With calm steps, Lucifer advanced towards the entrance of the mall. His men followed closely behind.


    As Lucifer reached the entrance, he went through a detector that started beeping as soon as he and his team passed through for some reason.


    Lucifer nced at the guard, seemingly amused. The guard didn¡¯t even bother to step closer to Lucifer to check him. If this guy wanted to, he should blow up this entire mall from the outside. Did he really need to bring something illegal inside? And even if he did, the guard wasn¡¯t going to be the one who stopped Lucifer.


    Lucifer shrugged his shoulders as he continued advancing. Szar nodded toward the guard, knowing he had made the right decision. Even he didn¡¯t know why the detector started beeping as soon as Lucifer had entered. It wasn¡¯t as if Lucifer was carrying a weapon.


    Lucifer stood in the middle of the hall, observing his surroundings. In such a big mall, he needed to find Veracity which wasn¡¯t an easy task.


    ¡°You have any idea where she might be in here?¡± he asked, ncing back at Kellian.


    Kellian shook his head. ¡°Let me locate her.¡±


    He spread his arms. Thousands of shadows came out of his bodies, going in different directions to locate Veracity.


    It was as if the time had suddenly stopped in the entire ce as everyone was focused on Lucifer. Not a single person who had seen Lucifer was moving. They all wondered why he was here.


    With one hand in his pocket, Lucifer started walking towards a small shop. By the time Kellian was looking for Veracity, he decided to explore the mall. He had heard a lot about this ce, but it was his first timeing to a ce like this. There were just so many times here.


    He noticed many shops on the ground floor, but there was one particr one which attracted his attention. It was the kid¡¯s zone where he should see multiple games. The games brought out his inner child. Unlike all the adults, the kids were still going about, doing their things, ying games.


    Pushing the door open, Lucifer stepped inside the kids¡¯ zone and walked to the first game he could see. It was a physical game where a kid had to throw the rings at the items, and whichever item the ringnded on was the prize.


    Watching Lucifer observing a kid ying the game, Szar couldn¡¯t help but smile. He could see Lucifer wanted to try it as well. He just needed a little push.


    ¡°You know, Predictor isn¡¯t running away. We have some free time as well. How about we y a game? Let¡¯s see who wins?¡± Szar suggested.


    The kid¡¯s turn was already over, and he had failed to win anything. With disappointment on his face, he moved over to a different game.


    ¡°Only for kids under 15,¡± Lucifer pointed at the rules on the side. ¡°I suppose none of us are 15 anymore?¡±


    ¡°Oh, I doubt the staff is going to make a fuss about the rules,¡± Szar smirked. ¡°It¡¯s just a game, after all.¡±


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we go ahead?¡± he asked one of the staff members, already knowing their answer.


    The staff member nodded their head immediately. He would have to be crazy to say no.


    He swiftly gave eighteen rings to Szar. ¡°You all get three rings each. Whichever item you get will belong to you.¡±


    ¡°Great.¡± Szar spread the rings equally. ¡°Lucifer, you take the first turn. Whoever gets more items wins.¡±


    Holding three rings in his hand, Lucifer took the lead.


    ¡°Which is the most expensive one?¡± he asked the staff member.


    The man pointed at a small red box which was the smallest item there and thus hardest for her. ¡°That small box contains a beautiful golden ring, but to win, you need to make all three rings fall on it.¡±


    ¡°I see. Doesn¡¯t look hard.¡± Lucifer focused on the small box in the middle. cing his entire focus on the box, he tossed the five-inch wide ring.


    The ring flew towards the small box, only tond just a few inches before the box. Lucifer failed in the first try itself.


    ¡°It is harder than it looks,¡± he let out, smiling wryly. He tossed another, but this time he used a bit too much strength, and the ring hit the wall in the back. He failed again.


    Even though he knew he couldn¡¯t win the box anymore, he still wanted to get at least one ring in. He could¡¯ve easily used his wind to help him, but he wanted to do it himself without help.


    Unfortunately, even the third ring couldn¡¯t help him as it missed as well.


    ¡°My control is worse than I thought,¡± he shook his head in disappointment as he stepped back. ¡°Go ahead.¡±


    Szar went next. For some reason, he was much better than Lucifer at it. All three of his rings fell on one item each. Even he didn¡¯t target the small box though.


    Tristan also attempted to get the small box, but two of his three missed. There was not a single person here who managed to get the small box three times in a row.


    Ultimately, the winner was decided to be Szar, who got the most items. All the items that he won were given to the kids in the shop.


    Lucifer left the shop, being informed that they had found Veracity.


    Kellian had located her in a shop on the third floor.


    Instead of taking a lift, Lucifer used his flight to reach the third floor with everyone else.


    Kellian led Lucifer to the shop where Veracity was buying clothes. Pushing the door open, Lucifer stepped inside.


    However, as soon as he entered, he froze still. It wasn¡¯t because he saw Veracity. Instead, he had seen another face that he had never thought he would see ever again.


    ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Lucifer asked grimly. This person¡­ He wasn¡¯t supposed to be here! How was he here!


    ¡°Lucifer Azarel?¡± The person responded with just as much surprise. ¡°Is it really you?¡±


    ¡°Why are you here?! Answer me!¡± Lucifer asked again in full seriousness.

 Chapter 884: Sudden Appearance

    <h4>Chapter 884: Sudden Appearance</h4>


    ¡°Why are you here?¡± Lucifer asked, stunned at the sight of an unexpected face. This was thest person he had expected to see here.


    ¡°Maya, Did Joana send you to spy on me?¡± he asked the beautiful woman who was in the Star Alliance Uniform.


    ¡°Well, not exactly to spy on you,¡± thedy responded. ¡°I was sent here to investigate something.¡±


    ¡°Investigate what?¡± Lucifer asked.


    In the meantime, Veracity and others also noticed Lucifer in the shop. They all walked to him, standing beside, wondering who this woman was.


    ¡°As you know, after discovering this world, we made you our envoy of this world and added this world to our database. That¡¯s why we can monitor the energy signatures even from far away. Around a few weeks ago, we received the signs of a massive disturbance in the energy signatures of this world. We don¡¯t know what that was, but whatever it was, it was enough to shock Captain Joana.¡±


    ¡°That energy disturbance was nothing like we have ever measured before. It was on the levels of apocalypse energy. That¡¯s why he immediately went to the Queen to take permission. After a few weeks, he finally got the permission to send another envoy here to get in contact with you so we can get a report since, for some reason, the device we gave you wasn¡¯t working.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why I was sent here. I¡¯m here to write a report about that disturbance and its effects. In fact, today is the day I arrived here,¡± Maya exined.


    ¡°Is Joana here as well?¡± Lucifer asked.


    Thedy shook her head. ¡°We only had the permission to send one person, so I was sent here. Unfortunately, there seemed to be some trouble and the portal opened in the dressing room.¡±


    ¡°I was just leaving to look for you. Fortunately, I found you here as well. Now, do you have anything to report? What was that disturbance?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Argh, that¡¯s right. The device I was given was destroyed in the conflict. I can understand why you couldn¡¯t contact me. Anyway,e with me. I think we should talk in some privacy.¡± Lucifer held the hands of Maya.


    ¡°Kellian, take Veracity and wait for me in the helicopter,¡± hemanded Kellian before he disappeared with Maya.


    Lucifer appeared on the roof of the mall, hoping to get some privacy. Unfortunately, he wasn¡¯t alone even now. He noticed a young man standing on the roof, taking selfies.


    ¡°Is it so hard to find some privacy?¡± Lucifer asked as he snapped his fingers. A Portal opened under the young man, which swallowed him, sending him to the lower floors.


    ¡°This should be enough. Anyway, back to the topic. The reason for that disturbance was that the world was under attack.¡±


    ¡°World was under attack? Who dares to attack Star Alliance territory?!¡± Maya eximed in rage. When she heard that the world was attacked, she thought it was by another Spatial organization. Almost all the worlds were informed that this world was under the protection of the Star Alliance. If there was some world who ignored these instructions, then it was like raging a war against earth.


    ¡°You know Baltics?¡± Lucifer asked. ¡°They are what we called Dungeon Dwellers. Their King managed to get free. That¡¯s what that energy signature was. Fortunately, we managed to kill him. Everything is under control now, so no need to worry. You can write that on your report and leave.¡±


    ¡°Baltics? I think there was a species like that, but didn¡¯t they go extinct a long time ago? The world of Baltics was destroyed, ording to our database. Not even the ruins were left as the world disappeared. Are you sure they were Baltics?¡± Maya asked, frowning.


    ¡°That¡¯s what they called themselves. And I¡¯m sure they weren¡¯t lying. They also mentioned that their world was destroyed and they had arrived here, so the story matches up. It seems like your database was wrong. They hadn¡¯t gone extinct. At least not until they attacked this world. How you can say that they are extinct in true sense,¡± Lucifer exined. ¡°Anyway, there¡¯s your report. You can leave now. I¡¯m a bit busy.¡±


    Lucifer jumped off the building, bidding farewell, leaving stunned Maya behind. However, only a few seconds had passed when Lucifer came back again. ¡°I forgot something. Can I get another device I can use to contact you since mine was destroyed?¡¯


    ¡°Ah, yeah.¡± Maya gave a small badge to Lucifer. ¡°This should help you.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good. Have a safe trip back home.¡± Lucifer jumped again, but a few secondster, his figure appeared behind Maya again as he teleported behind her.


    ¡°Onest thing!¡± He called out Maya from behind, shocking her. ¡°Did you find information about the other stones from Xaen?¡±


    ¡°Not yet. We are in the process. It won¡¯t be long though. We will contact you soon with the information as soon as we find it,¡± Maya answered.


    ¡°Got it.¡± For the third time, Lucifer jumped off the building like it was a ride.


    Maya looked at her surroundings, expecting Lucifer to appear again. Unfortunately, this time he didn¡¯te. A helicopter took off and departed right before Maya¡¯s eyes.


    Maya watched the helicopter leave, sensing Lucifer to be inside. ¡°I honestly didn¡¯t expect him to appear right before me. It¡¯s good that he wasn¡¯t suspicious.¡±


    She let out a sigh of relief as she looked at the beautiful sky. ¡°Now, time to focus on my mission.¡±


    His figure disappeared as shended on the ground as well. She started advancing towards an unknown direction.


    She didn¡¯t realize she wasn¡¯t alone. A shadow was closely following behind him. Even though Lucifer had left, he had made sure to leave his shadow behind, hiding it in the shadow of Maya. That was also the reason why he kept appearing around her again and again after leaving. He wanted to be close to her without attracting too much attention.


    He didn¡¯t trust a single word that Maya had said. He was sure that she told him many lies in her statements. There was just this feeling inside him, especially since Veracity had signaled him back in the shop when Maya was telling him her story.


    From that point on, he didn¡¯t believe a single thing she said. He was sure she was here with some ulterior motive. As for why she was keeping it a secret from him, he wasn¡¯t sure. All he knew was that he needed to know the secret. Was her mission rted to the file he had read back in the future? If that was the case, he knew he had to stop her.

 Chapter 885: Test of Truth

    <h4>Chapter 885: Test of Truth</h4>


    Lucifer left one of his shadows with the Maya as he departed in the helicopter toplete his mission. In any case, he didn¡¯t feel the need to stay with Maya now that his shadow was there. He coulde back whenever he noticed something suspicious happening. In case there was nothing wrong, he could let Maya leave.


    ¡®In the future that I went to, Maya was alive. In fact, she had called Joana when I was in his house with his dead body. That means I let her leave alive. So maybe she isn¡¯t here for something bad. In any case, it¡¯s better to keep an eye on her.¡±


    Sitting near the window, Lucifer gazed out as he lost himself in thoughts, trying to guess what the true reasoning of Maya could be.


    ¡°Who was that girl?¡± Kellian asked after a long silence. ¡°You look really concerned since you saw her. It¡¯s not normal.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s someone really strong,¡± Lucifer answered. ¡°And the one she works for is even stronger. I told you about the Star Alliance, right? She¡¯s a Vice Captain for that organization and part of the team I had joined.¡±


    ¡°So you two are teammates. Why are you concerned, then? If she is a threat, I¡¯m sure we can take her out.¡± Tristan chimed in. ¡°If you don¡¯t want to get your hands dirty, I can do it.¡±


    He held his sword firmly as he smiled.


    ¡°She isn¡¯t a threat¡­ So far,¡± Lucifer muttered. ¡°So I don¡¯t want to hurt her. The Star Alliance is behind her. If something happens to her, it might be the start of a war in which Earth might not survive. After a long time, Earth has settled down. I don¡¯t want it to face an even fiercer war.¡±


    ¡°Because if you thought the Variants and Jian were scary, the Star Alliance is another beast altogether. I haven¡¯t seen the true strength of a Captain of theirs, but I can feel it. They are stronger than Baltics. And that¡¯s just a Captain. There¡¯s a General above that and a Queen as well,¡± he further stated.


    ¡°Are they really that strong?¡± Szar asked.


    ¡°Yeah. I guess you can say I was before one of their Generals at a point in time. His abilities¡­ They were impable. He was able to trap me in a time loop. It was something that even I couldn¡¯t do. I could only do that much with the Vessel strength, but he was able to do it without that. Not only that but the chains¡­ It was impossible to free myself from them,¡± Lucifer exined.


    ¡°The Star Alliance isn¡¯t an enemy I want to face at this point in time,¡± he added. ¡°I¡¯m sure there wille a time for that, but that time isn¡¯t now.¡±


    As he walked, he couldn¡¯t help but remember the moment he had faced an entire army of the Star Alliance, and he was caught, only to be used of killing the Queen, who was also his wife, supposedly.


    As soon as the thought crossed his mind, he bit his lip in frustration. He was going to be married to a woman he hadn¡¯t even met? Meanwhile, on earth, he had such troubles as well. He didn¡¯t know what to decide.


    ¡°Ah, right! Veracity, now that you¡¯re here, we can begin!¡±


    ¡°Begin what?¡± Veracity asked. ¡°I don¡¯t even know the reason you brought me here. I¡¯m not good at fighting.¡±


    ¡°I know, but you¡¯re good at something we aren¡¯t good at,¡± Lucifer answered. ¡°You are good at catching lies and seeing the truth. That¡¯s what I need.¡±


    ¡°You want to interrogate someone?¡± Veracity asked.


    Lucifer nodded. ¡°That¡¯s it.¡±


    ¡°Who?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Who else? We are going to catch Predictor. It must be him only,¡± Tristan chimed in the middle as if this question wasn¡¯t even worth guessing.


    ¡°No.¡± Lucifer shook his head. ¡°I want to interrogate someone else. Someone who is present here.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Everyone looked amongst each other. Who was Lucifer going to interrogate? Was there a traitor amongst them? Was there someone Lucifer didn¡¯t trust?


    ¡°Who?¡± Kellian asked, frowning. He couldn¡¯t guess who it might be. Everyone here was someone he trusted with his life.


    Lucifer gazed at the clouds out the window. The helicopter had startednding at the airport.


    As the helicopternded, Lucifer opened the door and stepped out. However, he didn¡¯t forget to mention something before leaving. ¡°Me. I want you to use your abilities on me, Veracity.¡±


    After leaving, he reached out his hand to Veracity.


    Veracity held his hands and stepped out as well. The others followed suit as everyone advanced toward the private jet that was waiting for them.


    After entering the jet, Lucifer sat with Veracity in afortable seat. The others also took seats nearby, really interested in what was going to happen next. What was Lucifer going to ask? Why did he want to interrogate himself?


    ¡°So, can we begin? I want you to find lies in my statement.¡±


    ¡°I still don¡¯t understand. Why are you doing it?¡± Veracity asked, confused. She didn¡¯t understand why Lucifer was doing it.


    ¡°It¡¯s because there is a confusion in my head and in my heart. I don¡¯t know what the answer I crave for. I don¡¯t know what the answer I want is. That¡¯s why I need your help to find the subconscious truth that even I don¡¯t know. Can you do it?¡± Lucifer asked, looking in the eyes of Veracity.


    Veracity nodded her head. ¡°That¡­ Does seem possible. Alright, let¡¯s start. You can start talking. I¡¯ll tell you when I sense lies in your statement.¡±


    Lucifer took a deep breath. ¡°I am really happy that everyone is back from dead. I am happy that the group is together. I am happy that my family is back.¡±


    ¡°All truth so far.¡± Veracity nodded.


    ¡°I am not angry at Cassius for what he did. I have forgiven him entirely,¡± Lucifer stated.


    ¡°That seems to be a lie,¡± Veracity answered.


    ¡°I had a feeling,¡± Lucifer muttered. ¡°It¡¯s not easy to forgive someone after you¡¯ve been betrayed. I might never be able to trust Cassius entirely, but he¡¯ll always be my friend.¡±


    ¡°True.¡± Veracity nodded. ¡°Anything else you want to check?¡±


    ¡°I like Milena,¡± Lucifer stated.


    Veracity was slightly surprised at the sudden statement, and so was everyone else, but she nodded. ¡°True.¡±


    ¡°I like Eve,¡± Lucifer continued.


    ¡°True.¡±


    ¡°I like Alicia.¡±


    ¡°True as well,¡± Veracity answered. ¡°I think I now understand what you¡¯re trying to do. You want to know who your heart wants?¡±


    A beautiful smile formed on her lips. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, don¡¯t say like. That¡¯s a very general statement. You can say you like your friends, and that¡¯ll be true as well. So try with Love.¡±

 Chapter 886: The truth

    <h4>Chapter 886: The truth</h4>


    ¡°Because there¡¯s a difference between like and love,¡± the woman smiled.


    Lucifer scratched the back of his head. Saying like was already embarrassing in itself, but now he needed to say love?


    He picked up a bottle of water and took a few sips as he stopped looking at Veracity. He looked out the window.


    Everyone eagerly waited for him to speak. Everyone wanted to know who Lucifer loved. Who was going to be his wife? Everyone amongst them had a favorite of their own. While some backed Milena, some backed Eve. There were also a few who backed Alicia, like Tristan.


    ¡°I am in love with Eve,¡± Lucifer stated after a long pause.


    ¡°Lie.¡± Veracity sighted. ¡°I don¡¯t sense truth.¡±


    With this answer, everyone was already sure what it was going to be. Did Lucifer love Milena?


    ¡°I love Milena.¡± After a long pause, Lucifer continued.


    ¡°Not the truth either,¡± Veracity answered, frowning.


    Even Lucifer was surprised with her response. Both these statements were lies? So he truly hadn¡¯t fallen in love with them yet?


    ¡°I guess that¡¯s why I was confused. I¡¯m not there yet,¡± he muttered. ¡°It¡¯s only like an attraction at that point.¡±


    ¡°Try Alicia,¡± Tristan suggested.


    ¡°I love Alicia,¡± Lucifer let out, getting it over with.


    ¡°Lie as well,¡± Veracity answered.


    ¡°It seems I don¡¯t like anyone yet.¡± Lucifer smiled, hiding his emotions. He wanted to be in love. He wanted Veracity to say yes to one of his statements so things could be easier for him. He wasn¡¯t someone who had grown up in an ordinary household, living a good life where he could have experienced love and a crush. His life had gone to death and bloodshed.


    He was somewhat hoping that his mind would settle after Veracity¡¯s final answer.


    ¡°That¡¯s it. Thanks for ying.¡± Lucifer stood up. ¡°I¡¯ll be going to take a nap. I haven¡¯t slept in a long time. Wake me up when we¡¯re there.¡±


    He started leaving.


    ¡°Ah, Lucifer?¡± Watching Lucifer leave, Szar called out.


    ¡°Yeah?¡± Lucifer turned around. ¡°You need something?¡±


    ¡°I also had a name. Do you want to try with that name?¡± Szar asked, slightly hesitant.


    ¡°What name?¡± Lucifer asked. ¡°I don¡¯t think anyone is left.¡±


    ¡°There is one person I know that you were somewhat close to? You haven¡¯t taken their name yet. I might not be doing the right thing by taking that name, but I want to test something,¡± Szar let out.


    ¡°What name are you talking about? Other than those threedies, I don¡¯t recall any I had been that close to?¡± Lucifer rolled his eyes.


    ¡°There is one that I recall,¡± Szar said, sighing deeply.


    ¡°Be direct? What name?!¡± Lucifer asked, frowning.


    ¡°Amelia,¡± Szar stated, silencing Lucifer.


    Lucifer clenched his fist as soon as he heard the name. It brought back so many memories of time spent together, of rejection. The embarrassment, the anger¡­ Everything returned with the name.


    ¡°Nonsense. How can you even think that I would have those feelings for her? I only wanted to help her, and she said no. That¡¯s it. I never loved her,¡± Luciferzily stated as he walked away. ¡°I¡¯m not testing anything.¡±


    Lucifer entered the private cabin and closed it. It opened a bed andid on it. Unfortunately, he couldn¡¯t sleep as he had just heard the name. The name he hadn¡¯t spoken in a long time¡ªthe Phoenix from the Realm of Summons who had rejected his invitation in front of everyone.


    He closed his eyes, trying to think of other things, but his mind was very chaotic.


    Outside the cabin, Szar didn¡¯t know what to do. He just let Lucifer be. When he was with Lucifer in the realm of Summons, he had seen the way Lucifer looked at Amelia. She was special to him. She was the firstdy he had gotten close to. She was the first woman he had opened his heart to. She was the first he had extended his hand for¡­


    ¡°Who is this Amelia?¡± Kellian asked, having no idea who thisdy was. He didn¡¯t remember hearing that name before. It was the same case for everyone since only Szar from this ce was with Lucifer when they were trapped in the Realm of Summons. It happened before the war with the Warlock Council, right after Lucifer hade back from the Divine Empire.


    At that time, he hadn¡¯t met with Eve. Moreover, his equation with Milena wasn¡¯t good either since he had just betrayed her and trapped her in the Limiter.


    ¡°He was the girl we met in the World of Summons where we were Trapped for some time. It happened right before the war with the Warlock Council. Remember we had disappeared for some time? That¡¯s where we had gone,¡± Szar exined.


    He started telling everyone the story of the World of Summons and what had happened there. He talked about meeting Mysterious beasts. He mentioned Amelia, who Lucifer followed because he was intrigued by something. He talked about Amelia helping them in attacking one of the High Beasts, despite the danger to herself.


    Ultimately, he talked about Lucifer interrupting her marriage by killing the groom.


    ¡°He invited her toe with us back to Earth. We didn¡¯t have much time as the Summoning Portal wasn¡¯t going tost long. I was trying my best to slow the Summoning Circle as Lucifer extended his hand towards Amelia,¡± Szar exined. ¡°At that moment, even though Lucifer would never agree, I felt like I saw some emotions¡­ Ones I had never seen before. I was rooting for him. I was sure that Amelia was going to say yes.¡±


    ¡°W-what happened next?¡± Kane asked, extremely curious.


    ¡°Against all my expectations, Amelia turned her back to Lucifer and walked away. She decided to stay back with her mother, leaving Lucifer standing there.¡±


    ¡°I had never seen such disappointment on his face as I saw that day. He was so angry and disappointed that he didn¡¯t say anything. When we came out of the realm of Summons, he let out his anger on the enemies, destroying so many of them. I don¡¯t know; I always felt that he loved her. Maybe I was wrong?¡±


    ¡°You weren¡¯t wrong,¡± Veracity chimed in. ¡°You werepletely right. I sensed it. Even he said he had never loved Amelia¡­ I could sense that it was a lie. However, as you know, love isplicated.¡¯


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t take long for love to be hate. I¡¯m sure he loved her in the past, but if he loves her even now? I¡¯m not sure. I can¡¯t test unless he speaks that statement directly for me to sense.¡±

 Chapter 887: Selection

    <h4>Chapter 887: Selection</h4>


    ¡°So we need to make him say it if we want to know what¡¯s in his heart? Shouldn¡¯t be hard,¡± Tristanmented, smiling. ¡°At least we would know what he wants. Then we can work to make it true.¡±


    ¡°Exactly. He had done so much for us. If he still loves that girl, the least we can do is find a way to bring her back into his life,¡± Yaliza agreed. ¡°He deserves that much.¡±


    ¡°You think it¡¯s that easy?¡± Kellian let out a sigh. ¡°Did you not see his reaction when Szar mentioned the name of that girl? No matter what he feels for her, the fact of the matter is that he doesn¡¯t like hearing that name. He doesn¡¯t want to remember her. If we attempt to make him talk about her even more, he can really get angry.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true. I think it isn¡¯t easy,¡± Szar agreed. ¡°Now that I¡¯ve mentioned this topic already, it¡¯ll be hard to raise it once again.¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t just drop the matter then, can we? We need to do something.¡± Tristan frowned. ¡°If we can¡¯t even help him, what is our use? Just to benefit from his strength?¡±


    ¡°Well, there might be a way,¡± Szar muttered, thinking of something. ¡°That way, we might not need to ask him about it either.¡±


    ¡°What way?¡± Yaliza inquired, frowning. ¡°I hope it¡¯s a good n because we¡¯ll be messing with a tiger.¡±


    ¡°Thatdy is in the world of Summons,¡± Szar smiled. ¡°We all know that much.¡±


    ¡°Agreed. What about it?¡± Yaliza asked.


    ¡°We also know that the stones that Lucifer is looking for¡­ One of them is in a sword that¡¯s hidden in the World of Summons,¡± Szar smirked. ¡°That means he will be going there soon. And if he goes, of course, we would be apanying him.¡±


    ¡°Then?¡± Kellian frowned, not knowing what Szar was implying.


    ¡°What I¡¯m trying to say is simple. We don¡¯t know if Lucifer loves Amelia now or not. But we certainly know that there was a point where he did love her. If we can reignite that love¡­ It won¡¯t matter if he loves her now or not. The two can be together. It¡¯ll be like a new beginning,¡± Szar exined in brief.


    ¡°That is easier said than done,¡± Kellian smiled wryly. ¡°Are you forgetting something? If Lucifer goes to the world of Summons, there is a good chance that he¡¯ll bring Milena with the group as well. Eve might also join. With him surrounded by those girls, what can we even do?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Kane agreed. ¡°Moreover, if we¡¯re just going to make him fall in love, why bother with Amelia? Why not select Milena or Eve and help them? I mean, even if he doesn¡¯t love them entirely, it doesn¡¯t mean he doesn¡¯t like them. And like can easily blossom into love. They are already very close after all.¡±


    Szar grimaced. This did make sense. Was it really right to ce Lucifer in a mess like that? If he really hated Amelia now, it was going to be a disaster to attempt what he wanted.


    Lucifer let out a deep sigh as he looked back towards the distant cabin.


    ¡°Who says we can¡¯t attempt it all?¡± Tristan let out after a long thought.


    ¡°What?¡± Everyone looked at Szar in confusion.


    ¡°I mean, we know there are four girls. Amelia, Alicia, Eve, and Milena. Who says we can¡¯t attempt to help all four of them to get closer to Lucifer? Whoever gets his love the fastest can have him?¡± he added. ¡°I mean, isn¡¯t this good? That way, we give him more options? He can understand them better and know what they want. It can also be apetition amongst ourselves to see who selects the right person for him.¡±


    ¡°You mean, you want to have apetition and use him as a prize? Nonsense. He will kill us all if he finds out!¡± Yaliza rolled his eyes.


    ¡°I¡¯m not saying we use him. I¡¯m just saying we help the girls. What¡¯s wrong with it? I mean, if he can find someone he can love through our help, is it really so bad? You might not see it, but I can see that he needs someone¡­ Someone whose ce we as his friends can¡¯t take. As for thepetition, it¡¯s only to help us do better,¡± Tristan further exined as hezily stretched his arms, letting out a yawn. ¡°We don¡¯t have to do it if you don¡¯t want to. It was just a suggestion.¡±


    ¡°This¡­ This doesn¡¯t sound so bad. As the only woman here and someone who isn¡¯t in the equation, I can see the merits of this idea.¡± Veracity smiled as she agreed with the idea. ¡°But what will be the prize? What will motivate you all to make your selected candidate win?¡±


    ¡°How about the seat of the Ruler?¡± Tristan suggested, shing a bright smile.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°I mean, Lucifer would be leaving soon. And we here are the people he trusts the most, so of course, the responsibility of the Uprising will be on one of our shoulders, most probably Kellian. But if one of us can find ady and help Lucifer fall in love, that top seat in Uprising and the leader position will go to him after Lucifer leaves for the upper world. What do you say?¡±


    Seeing the suggestion of Tristan, Kellian couldn¡¯t help but smile. This guy was still after the seat. However, this wasn¡¯t bad either. At least this could help motivate him. In any case, it wasn¡¯t entirely sure if Lucifer was actually going to select one of them to rule. If he selected someone else at the end, the entire deal would go down the drain.


    Moreover, Kellian also trusted everyone in this ce. He knew that even if one of them became the leader of the Uprising, there weren¡¯t going to be any major changes. They were all a team. And even if there was some problem, they could still solve it.


    ¡°Alright. I agree. If it helps Lucifer, I don¡¯t mind giving up the seat. So who do you want to help?¡± Kellian asked. ¡°Who do you select?¡±


    ¡°Of course, I will select Alicia. I still help her. She has been with Uprising for the longest. Lucifer knows her longer than he has known other girls. And if it¡¯s a race, I believe I can make her win. As for Eve and Milena, I don¡¯t have a nice bond with them, so I doubt they would even listen. As for Amelia, I don¡¯t even want to touch that headache who has already pissed off Lucifer,¡± Tristan exined.


    ¡°So I selected Alicia to help,¡± he dered his final decision. ¡°I will make sure Lucifer falls for her.¡±

 Chapter 888: Knock knock

    <h4>Chapter 888: Knock knock</h4>


    Kellian smiled as he nodded. ¡°Alright. Alicia is a really nice girl. She¡¯s kind, and she¡¯s smart. Not a bad choice. I would be happy if Lucifer selects her.¡±


    ¡°Next, who else wants to take part in this smallpetition to help Lucifer?¡± he asked, observing others.


    ¡°I¡¯m out of it,¡± Kane responded, sighing. ¡°I don¡¯t think I can be of any help in this. I don¡¯t know how to help myself find a girl, let alone help Lucifer.¡±


    He refused to take part in thepetition and raided his hands.


    ¡°Yaliza, you?¡± Kellian asked Yaliza.


    ¡°I also want to do this if it can help Lucifer. I would select Eve in that case. I¡¯ve seen her bond with Lucifer. I¡¯m sure she¡¯s halfway there already. Just a little more, and she can do it,¡± Yaliza responded with a smile. ¡°This is going to be fun.¡±


    ¡°Szar, you?¡± Kellian asked thest person here.


    ¡°I still believe that Amelia is the one he wants. Moreover, I saw their bond when I was in the World of Summons. Even though it¡¯ll be hard, I want to help mend that bond. I¡¯ll select Amelia,¡± Szar answered.


    ¡°Are you sure? The others selected the girls who are here. They already have an advantage. We don¡¯t even know when Lucifer will go back to the World of Summons and if he¡¯ll take us. Are you sure you want to select her?¡± Kellian asked just to be sure.


    He believed if there was any person here who deserved the Uprising throne here, it was Szar. He didn¡¯t want Szar to make a wrong decision.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure,¡± Szar smiled in response. ¡°I want to do it.¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s what you all want, I won¡¯t oppose it. That leaves only Milena. I will help her. I think she has a good chance as well. She is a girl of emotions who has faced many adversities. She knows how scary loneliness and the loss of loved ones can be. I believe she can understand Lucifer the best and help him in his journey, physically, emotionally, and mentally,¡± Kellian dered, taking thest choice.


    With that, everyone had selected a girl they wanted to help win Lucifer¡¯s heart. The battle had just begun¡­ As for who the winner was going to be¡­ No one knew.


    Unaware of what was happening behind his back, Lucifer had just fallen asleep on the flight. Even though it wasn¡¯t easy, he had managed to calm his heart and sleep.


    If only he knew what the others were nning for him, it was unclear what his reaction was going to be. It certainly wasn¡¯t going to be good that everyone could be sure of.


    After a short time, the flight attendants informed the squad that they had started their descent near the airport. They were almost at their destination.


    ¡°I¡¯ll wake him up,¡± Szar let out, walking towards the cabin of Lucifer. He didn¡¯t want to wake Lucifer up so soon, but he was sure that Lucifer knew how short the flight was. If he still decided to sleep, it was clear that he knew the sleep was going to be short.


    He opened the cabin door to find Lucifer peacefully sleeping. However, something wasn¡¯t right.


    He didn¡¯t know why but he could see a tear in the corner of Lucifer¡¯s eyes. Even when he was sleeping, his hands were still trembling because of the damage to his nerves.


    ¡°Lucifer?¡± Szar shook Lucifer, trying to wake him up.


    Lucifer slowly opened his eyes, somewhat seemingly relieved to know where he was. He sighed as he pushed his body up with his trembling hands.


    ¡°Are you alright?¡± Szar asked, a bit concerned.


    ¡°What could be wrong with me?¡± Lucifer asked. ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡±


    ¡°Your hands¡­ They are trembling,¡± Szar pointed.


    ¡°You noticed it just how? They¡¯ve been trembling for weeks. My nerves are damaged, but it¡¯s not a big deal. It¡¯s just a bit of trembling,¡± Lucifer responded as he stood up.


    ¡°This¡­ I didn¡¯t know. What about your healing? Why isn¡¯t that working on your hands?¡± Szar inquired.


    ¡°The damage is beyond what my healing can handle. It¡¯ll be like this forever,¡± Lucifer answered, letting out a sigh. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about this.¡±


    ¡°Are we about tond?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Yeah. That¡¯s why I came to wake you up. But before we leave, can I ask you one more question?¡±


    ¡°What question? If it¡¯s not about my hand, ask,¡± Luciferzily responded.


    ¡°You were crying in your sleep. There was a tear around your eyes. Were you having a bad dream?¡± Szar tossed a question, wondering if Lucifer had a nightmare. However, he wasn¡¯t looking concerned. He was perfectly calm as he slept except for that one tear.


    ¡°Probably because of that nonsense dream. Don¡¯t worry. It wasn¡¯t anything major,¡± Lucifer let out, sighing. He pushed Szar aside and left his cabin, walking to the others.


    ¡°Something that can make you cry¡­ How can it not be anything major? Just what were you dreaming?¡± Kellian muttered, watching Lucifer leave. He didn¡¯t know what Lucifer dreamt, but he was sure it was something major.


    If Lucifer didn¡¯t want to talk about it, he couldn¡¯t force him. He could just let the matter go since it was a dream. He joined the others as well.


    The ne soon prepared fornding. As the nended sessfully, the team of seven stepped out of the ne and entered the helicopter that was waiting for them outside. Even though Lucifer had simply brought Veracity with him for his own questions, now that she was here, he decided to bring her with him to meet the Predictor.


    The helicopter took flight and advanced towards the previous Uprising Headquarters, where Lucifer had only been a few times. In fact, he believed he had only gone there twice in his lifetime, one when he was young and the second time to collect his Baattlegear and to meet Predictor.


    The flight soon reached the ce where the Headquarters was established, thanks to Kellian guiding the pilot.


    The helicopter floated in the middle of the desert, waiting for the doors in the ground to open. Unfortunately, the doors didn¡¯t open.


    ¡°Looks like our old friends don¡¯t want to wee us,¡± Kellian informed Lucifer, who was wondering why they hadn¡¯tnded yet.


    ¡°He must be shy,¡± Lucifer smiled. ¡°Let¡¯s go say hi.¡±


    Lucifer slid the doors off the helicopter open and jumped down,nding on the sand.


    ¡°Predictor, I came all the way here for you. Won¡¯t you say hi?¡± Lucifer asked,ughing.


    He raised his head towards the sky, calling forth a massive bolt of lightning. ¡°Knock knock.¡±

 Chapter 889: Because I saw…

    <h4>Chapter 889: Because I saw¡­</h4>


    ¡°Knock knock!¡± Lucifer called out, not expecting the door to open. However, he had already prepared for that.


    A frightening lightning bolt came from the sky, falling straight towards the opening on the ground.


    Tuck~


    As soon as Lucifer called forth the lightning bolt, the door of the Base made a noise as it started opening.


    Lucifer waved his hand, changing the direction of the bolt. The bolt turned mid-air,nding on the ground in the distance.


    Wherever the Bolt felt, a massive hole was left in the ground due to the sheer power of the bolt.


    The metallic door on the top of the base openedpletely. Lucifer signaled the pilot tond in the base as he jumped down.


    He was kind of expecting Predictor to be present at thending strip, but at the same time, he knew that there was a good chance he wasn¡¯t going to be there.


    As expected, the strip was perfectly empty. There was not a single person there. The choppernded behind Lucifer. The group of six stepped out of the helicopter.


    ¡°Yaliza, protect Veracity and Kane. Those two aren¡¯t strong. Stay here with them and make sure no one escapes.¡± Lucifermanded Yaliza before shifting to Kellian. ¡°Take the rest to themand center. There¡¯s a good chance the Predictor will be there.¡±


    ¡°What about you?¡± Kellian asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to another ce he might be. If I find him, I¡¯ll bring him back here. Don¡¯t worry.¡± Smiling, Lucifer departed alone, giving a different assignment to the rest.


    He walked all alone through the all too familiar hallways. Thest time he was here, he was led by someone since he didn¡¯t know where that ce was, but it was easy a second time. His memory was very good.


    He didn¡¯t even seem to be in any hurry as hezily advanced ahead with his hands in his pocket. He had left Yaliza at the entrance, but he was sure that no one was going to attempt an escape. He knew Predictor really well.


    That¡¯s why he had selected this ce to search¡­ The ce where he had met Predictor for the first time.


    Lucifer stopped before a metallic door. His fingers danced through his hair as he adjusted his hair which was messy because of the helicopter wind.


    Knock knock


    He once again knocked on the door like a proper gentleman.


    ¡°Do you even need permission toe inside?¡± A calm voice came from the inside.


    ¡°I don¡¯t need to knock when it¡¯s an enemy I¡¯m meeting or a friend and team member,¡± Lucifer answered.


    ¡°But Neither are you an enemy of mine nor are you a friend anymore. Since I¡¯m meeting aplete stranger, it¡¯s only fair I keep things proper,¡± he added before he pushed the door open.


    He took his first step inside the dark room, noticing a man who was lying on the bed. The man had dark cloth wrapped around his eyes. Everything was exactly as the first time the two had met. The only difference was that Lucifer didn¡¯t need special sses to see through darkness this time. Also, the equations between the two were different now.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you call me what you think I am? A traitor. Isn¡¯t that what you think?¡± Predictorzily stated without getting up.


    ¡°So you think you are a traitor?¡± Lucifer asked, waving his handzily. A chair came out of his shadow,nding on the ground.


    Hezily sat on the chair, keeping his focus on Predictor.


    ¡°Not at all. In your eyes, I¡¯m the traitor because you saw what happened in the past. For you, I betrayed you first. But in my eyes, you all are the traitors because I saw what happened in the future. You betrayed me first,¡± Predictor answered, letting out a sigh.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you run?¡± Lucifer asked. ¡°You knew I wasing. Even though I know why you¡¯re still here, I want to ask from you. Why didn¡¯t you run? What¡¯s outside which you¡¯re more scared of than death?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t run¡­ Because I now know the future can¡¯t be changed. There are some absolute points that can¡¯t be changed, especially the ones that directly involve you. I thought if you died, my future would change After I saw you killing me. I did everything to make that happen!¡±


    ¡°Not only that, but I also destroyed the entire Uprising. Most had died. There was no way for them to return. There was no way for the future to be true. I had seeded¡­ But I guess I was too naive. I had forgotten something really crucial.¡±


    ¡°Just when I thought everything was over, you happened. You returned from the dead and destroyed everything. Not only did you kill all enemies, but you brought people from death. Someone who can even reverse death, which is absolute; how can I fight him?¡± Predictor responded.


    ¡°I realized that whenever a future involves you directly, it can¡¯t be changed. The universe wille upside down, but you¡­¡± He let out a deep sigh. ¡°I really was too naive.¡±


    ¡°You know, I just happened to be lucky with that one,¡± Lucifer replied, sighing. ¡°Even I thought I wouldn¡¯te out of it alive. So technically, you have changed the future to some extent.¡±


    ¡°So it¡¯s not entirely false that the future can¡¯t be changed. But still, I can¡¯t overlook what you did, even though you might¡¯ve had your own reasons. It¡¯s because of you that everyone went through such pain. They literally died because you didn¡¯t want to.¡±


    ¡°But you forgot one thing,¡± Lucifer let out, sighing. ¡°Even if you saw me killing you in the future, why would I do that without reason? You made that reason. You know what would¡¯ve been an easier way to change this future?¡±


    ¡°Not betraying us! If you had followed that, this day wouldn¡¯t have arrived. Aren¡¯t I right?¡± Lucifer asked, frowning.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that the future can¡¯t be changed. That¡¯s just that you think. You just need to know how to change and what to change. This isn¡¯t a future that couldn¡¯t be changed. This is something you made yourself! You made this future. And I really hoped this day wouldn¡¯t arrive. I really thought you were special¡­¡±


    Lucifer stood upzily. The chair behind him disappeared, swallowed by the dark ground. ¡°Let¡¯s get going. Since you already made this future, it¡¯s time we finish it.¡±


    Predictor stood up. He didn¡¯t resist at all as he started following Lucifer out of the room.


    ¡°You are right about everything you said, but the reason I said the future about you couldn¡¯t be changed is because I saw¡­ I saw what was meant to happen in the distant future¡­ I saw the truth.¡±

 Chapter 890: Trapped in own mind

    <h4>Chapter 890: Trapped in own mind</h4>


    ¡°You saw what?¡± Lucifer asked, hearing the mumble of Predictor. ¡°Did you see another dream?¡±


    ¡°Maybe,¡± Predictor smiled in response. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. What¡¯s destined will happen. And what¡¯s not destined¡­ No matter how much we try, it will never happen.¡±


    Lucifer stopped in his tracks. He turned back to look at Predictor. ¡°There is no such thing as destiny. I don¡¯t believe in such nonsense.¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if we believe something or not. Our beliefs can¡¯t change the absolute. Well, maybe yours can¡­ You aren¡¯t ordinary after all. Still, I believe even you won¡¯t be able to change destiny. You can certainly try, but it¡¯s inevitable,¡± Predictor stated, without being intimidated.


    ¡°Is that so?¡± Lucifer muttered. ¡°We shall see.¡±


    ¡°Not we, you shall. I will be dead in a short while.¡±


    ¡°You seem to know a lot about what will happen. I would really love to have that ability, you know?¡±


    ¡°I certainly know what you¡¯re getting at and what you¡¯re capable of, but if you think this ability is a blessing, you¡¯re wrong. It¡¯s not a blessing; it¡¯s a curse,¡± Predictor let out a deep sigh. ¡°I would advise you to not take this ability, and it¡¯s for your own good.¡±


    ¡°What curse?¡± Lucifer inquired, frowning. ¡°Tell me more about it.¡±


    There were two reasons for Lucifer toe here. One was that he wanted to kill the traitor, but more importantly, he wanted the ability of Predictor. The man could see events before they happened. Now that Predictor had betrayed him, he couldn¡¯t let him live, but he also couldn¡¯t let this ability disappear forever.


    He had decided to take that ability for himself. However, if there were some ws in it that he didn¡¯t know about, then he wanted to know.


    ¡°What are dreams¡­ What is reality? Even I could neverprehend it. Even if you live life like I did, you realize what a curse it is. Every movement, you spend not knowing if you¡¯re in reality or a dream. Even now, I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s reality or a dream.¡±


    ¡°When half your dream bes a prediction, you never know what to trust? Which dream was a prediction? Which was a normal dream? You don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°Sometimes, you destroy your own life, thinking that your dream was a prediction, while at times you can ignore the prediction, thinking it¡¯s a dream, only to suffer. Either you take all dreams seriously, or you take none. There is no in-between.¡±


    As Predictor followed Lucifer, he talked about his abilities as if he wanted someone to remember him. He wanted to know about him and how hard his life was even when he was gone. He had alreadye to terms with his death, but before that, he wanted to tell Lucifer everything.


    ¡°When I was young, I awakened this ability. For the first three days, whatever I saw came true. I thought I had be a god who couldn¡¯t go wrong. That¡¯s when reality hit me hard. One night, I had a dream¡­¡±


    ¡°What dream?¡± Lucifer inquired, frowning.


    ¡°I saw my father¡¯s flight crashing¡­ I saw his death¡­¡± Predictor answered. ¡°I knew he wouldn¡¯t believe me if I told him about my ability since I had kept it a secret up to that point.¡±


    ¡°So I took things into my own hands. I went ahead and canceled the flight of my father without informing him. I was prepared for him to praise me for what I did when he was going to miss his flight and get the news of the flight crashing but guess what?¡± Predictor asked, sighing.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°The flight didn¡¯t crash. It was the first time I realized that not all my dreamse true¡­ Not all of them were predictions; some were just that¡­ Dreams.¡±


    ¡°My father needed to take that flight urgently to attend an important meeting, but because of me, he missed it. Not only did he miss the meeting, but he also lost the business deal that could¡¯ve saved our family from debt.¡±


    ¡°Defeated by destiny and not having enough courage to fight the debt, my father gave up¡­ He¡­¡± As Predictor talked about this part of his n, his words became heavier. He didn¡¯t even know how to speak.


    ¡°He killed himself.¡± After a long time, he eximed, taking a deep breath. That¡¯s what happens when you don¡¯t know the difference between prediction and dreams¡­ You make mistakes¡­ You make deadly mistakes like I did.¡±


    Lucifer didn¡¯t know how to respond. So many had lost their family, all for different reasons. After a long time, he opened his lips. ¡°This wasn¡¯t your fault. You didn¡¯t know¡­¡±


    Predictor shook his head. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if I knew or didn¡¯t. Even if I knew that half my dreamse true and half are just dreams, I still would¡¯ve done the same since I wouldn¡¯t have wanted to take the risk. That¡¯s where this ability corrupts a person. It uses your fear to trap you inside your own mind.¡±


    He further continued. ¡°This ability¡­ It might look like a blessing, but it¡¯s a curse. I would¡¯ve been so happy without it. I would¡¯ve been so happy without being able to see the future. At least I won¡¯t be hiding in this ce all my life, scared to even step out.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you step out? What¡¯s the story about it?¡± Lucifer asked, not going into the depth of the curse or blessing debate. By now, he had understood all the ws of this ability properly.


    ¡°Hah, you really want to know?¡± Predictor asked as a smile spread across his lips.


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°Same reason. Because I had a dream, I had a dream where I was leaving this ce, and I died. I don¡¯t know if that was a normal dream or a prediction, but as I said, that¡¯s the crux of this ability, trapping you in your own head,¡± Predictor exined.


    ¡°If you had left, you would¡¯ve died. If you didn¡¯t leave, you still would¡¯ve died here at my own hands. Since both were happening, why didn¡¯t you take the risk of trying to leave? There was still a fifty percent chance of survival with this, but staying inside, there was zero percent chance of your survival since you knew I had returned. So why?¡±


    ¡°Because a fifty percent chance of ¡®that¡¯ death is still worse than any death you can give me. I would rather choose to die at your hands than dying the way I saw.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? Let¡¯s test that then. I really want to see what can happen if you leave. What kind of death it can be? Since you¡¯re trapped in your own head, let¡¯s free you!¡±

 Chapter 891: Aftermath

    Chapter 891: Aftermath


    Moreover, he was also very d that he chose to listen to Lucifer ande out on his own. Now ording to Lucifer''s own words, he couldn''t kill him.


    "It seems whatever you saw was really a dream," Lucifermented. "I got excited for no reason."


    "You promised me you won''t kill me if I left and survived! You must keep your promise now!" Predictor stated. "I survived and fulfilled your condition, and I deserve to live."


    "Of course, I always keep my promises. I won''t kill you. You can leave," Luciferzily stated as he flew back inside the helicopter.


    Predictor couldn''t believe he had survived. He had faced death in the face and came out surviving! He was so happy that he couldn''t contain his smile. He tossed his head back and startedughing, lying on the warm sand.


    "So we are really letting him leave," Killian muttered, seeing Lucifer return.


    "I promised him I''ll let him live if he surviveding out of that ce, against his prediction of his death. He seeded. I will keep my promise," Lucifer answered.


    "I''ll tell the pilot to get us back." Kalian nodded. He walked to the pilot.


    Some others also looked slightly unsatisfied with the decision, but ultimately it was Lucifer''s decision. They couldn''t do anything against it.


    "What''s the hurry, Killian." Lucifer stopped him. "We aren''t done here yet."


    "What do you mean?" Killian looked back.


    Luciferzily sat on his seat as he closed his eyes. "I promised Predictor I wouldn''t kill him, but you all didn''t. He isn''t just my enemy; he is yours too. He betrayed you as well, leading you to your death. My revenge might bepleted because of my debt, but yours..."


    "This..." Hearing Lucifer, a smile formed across Tristan''s lips. He understood what Lucifer was implying, and he was right. Predictor hadn''t just hurt Lucifer. He had hurt them as well.


    "You are right." Tristan stood up, holding his sword firmly. He jumped out of the ce,nding before Predictor.


    Predictor sat straight, noticing someonend before him. "What are you doing here? Don''t you know Lucifer has forgiven me? You must leave me alive now. Listen to the boss!"


    "Well, boss forgave you, but shouldn''t you be asking for our forgiveness as well? You didn''t just betray him after all. He said he forgave you. He didn''t say all of us would forgive you, did he?" Tristanughed out loud. "Oh, how I love this moment!"


    Predictor''s jaws dropped as he finally understood! Lucifer had been really careful with his words. He wanted to cover all his bases. He never intended to leave Predictor alive!


    "Lucifer, you bas-" Predictor screamed in rage, but before he could even finish his words, a sword came flying. His head was separated from his body.


    Predictor''s head dropped to the ground, followed by his body.


    Standing near the door of the helicopter, Lucifer was looking down on Predictor with his hands behind his back. "You''re free of your mental prison. You''re wee."


    He turned around and sat on his seat.


    "Won''t you take his ability?" Kellian asked, seeing Lucifer sit calmly as if he wasn''t interested in the body outside.


    "That''s what I wanted, but I''ve changed my mind now," Lucifer responded. "Prediction certainlyes with a lot of baggage. I already have plenty of nightmares; I don''t want to confuse them with the future."


    "This ability... It is better if it is gone with him."


    The helicopternded on the ground to allow Tristan to enter again. The helicopter rose in the air, turned around, and departed from the ce. The body of Predictorid on the sand, lifeless.


    "Did you set the base as I wanted?" Lucifer asked Kellian as they started leaving.


    "It should be any second now," Kellian answered, looking at his clock.


    Boom~


    A loud explosive voice fell in everyone''s ears as a cloud of fire spread above the base. The old Uprising base had suddenly exploded.


    "There it is," Kellian let out, ncing back. "There goes all the remnants of the old Uprising."


    "It''s better that way. The new Uprising is the future, and it''ll be even when I leave," Lucifer answered.


    The helicopter went straight to the airport, where the jet was already waiting for them to take them back. Everyone entered the jet.


    Lucifer once again went back to his cabin to get another short nap. He was also slightly concerned about something.


    He had left one of his shadows with Maya to keep an eye on her. It was to make sure she wasn''t here to do something which could be harmful to him, but what she was doing... It confused even him.


    She hadn''t gone to the Uprising base to do anything. Instead, she went to the ruins of the Dungeon in Elisium, from where Lucifer had gone to the higher ranking dungeon.


    Unfortunately for her, along with the destruction of the Dungeons because of Lucifer, the portal was also destroyed. After observing the ce for quite some time, she left.


    From that moment on, she went from the rubble of one Dungeon to another. Lucifer couldn''t understand what she was trying to do. Was she really here to make a report on what had happened? Or was she trying to find more about the appearance of Baltics in this world? Or was it something more? Was she trying to find clues about how Lucifer had managed to defeat someone who could cause so much destruction in this world?


    The Dungeons she was exploring were all destroyed by Lucifer, after all. Maya took a sample from each of the Dungeons, keeping it in her storage sample.


    Lucifer was really curious. He wanted to ask her directly, but he knew she wasn''t going to answer. He also couldn''t attack her for not answering. He couldn''t force her like he could with others. She was like an envoy of Star Alliance. If anything happened to her, it was all going to be on him.


    She was the trickiest opponent for him as he couldn''t use his forceful tactics on her. He also couldn''t ask her directly. He needed to find another solution to get an answer from her.


    While Lucifer was concerned about a future threat, his team outside was thinking about something else entirely. They were all nning on orders in which each person was going to go to help Lucifer fall for their candidate. Who was going to attempt what and when was being decided.


    Since they didn''t have any threats, they were more concerned about Lucifer''s love life.

 Chapter 892: Lucifer... expelled and arrested.

    <h4>Chapter 892: Lucifer... expelled and arrested.</h4>


    The people on the ne weren''t the only ones concerned about his love life. Back at the Uprising Headquarters, there were more people who had the same concern.


    Milena was wondering what Lucifer''s answer was going to be. She had proposed to him, but she hadn''t received the answer right away. She had given Lucifer some time to think about it before deciding on anything.


    She was still hopeful that he was ultimately going to say yes. She felt that the two of them were right for each other, and she was sure that Lucifer was going to see it someday.


    Other than her, Eve was already sure that she and Lucifer were going to be together. They had already spent an intimate moment together, and she didn''t see anyone else that could be worrying for her.


    The only person who still hadn''t expressed her feelings was Alicia. Even though she also liked Lucifer, she hadn''t told him about it. She hadn''t even approached him as she was scared of making things worse. She was the most cowardly of them all, and she still hadn''t taken any steps despite being jealous of otherdies.


    She had spent most of her childhood, deep asleep, being experimented on. It was just a few years ago that she was freed, and she spent that time with Uprising, only focusing on her training. She hadn''t experienced something like this before.


    All threedies, each with a different personality and a different approach... They all wanted only one thing. And the parents of Lucifer had noticed it. As they saw Lucifer enter the room for the first time and the reaction of thedies, they understood right then what was happening.


    It was Lucifer''s mother who was first to realize as her intuition was better than Zale''s.


    This was also why she had directly asked Lucifer which of the three women he liked. Unfortunately for her, Lucifer didn''t know the answer himself, so he found a way out without answering.


    Zale could understand the troubles of Lucifer, but instead of being worried, he wanted tough out loud. This guy... His problem was that too manydies liked him. This wasn''t a problem at all. At least he wasn''t as bad as real problems tended to be.


    ~~~~


    In an unknown ce... Maya had gone inside the depth of the sea to find the remnant of the High Ranking Dungeon, which was thest on her search. She had already checked the rest of the Dungeons.


    After observing the rubble, she returned to thend. There was a thoughtful look on her face as she brought out a device from her pocket. She pressed a button. "It was as you expected.''


    After speaking only a few vague words, she stopped to wait for the response. A heavy voice came from the other side. "Return with Lucifer. It''s time we have a conversation with him."


    Lucifer heard the entire conversation but what stunned him the most was that the voice didn''t seem to belong to Joana. Who was the onemanding Maya? Who had sent him here? It was certainly the voice of a man, but which man, it was unclear. He didn''t remember hearing that voice ever before.


    Fortunately, Lucifer knew that Maya was going to return to him now. Whoever this person was, he wanted Lucifer back at the Star Alliance base. That meant she was going toe here to convince him to bring him with her.


    Lying on apact bed, Lucifer smiled. "It''s good. Come to me. Let me know who it is that wants me so I can say no openly. No force can bring me back so soon. I''m yet to recover all the stones that are on this earth. And without that, I''m not going anywhere."


    He tested his trembling palm under his head as hefortably rested on the bed, thinking about the future ns. He had recovered most of the stones that were present on earth in his searches, except one stone.


    As for that one stone that was left, it was in the world of Summons. After receiving that, the only ones that were going to be left were the ones that were in the custody of Xaen, which wasn''t hard either once he returned.


    The only immediate problem left were the two generals that were in the World of Summons and Jian... That man who couldn''t die... After every death, he came back stronger, mostly because of the support of the one who stayed in his body. Those three were the toughest opponents left for him, especially now that he didn''t have that excess strength.


    That was the only reason he had been dying going there. He wanted to strengthen himself here as much as he could. He wanted to finish everything because that ce was going to be very risky. The Leader of the World of Summons had the sword with the stone, and he also wanted him dead. This journey wasn''t going to be easy at all.


    Lost in his thoughts, Lucifer didn''t even realize how time had passed. Before he knew it, the ne was near thending. Lucifer was informed to get up.


    Standing up, he left his cabin.


    As soon as he left the cabin, he noticed a weird smile on everyone''s face as they looked towards him.


    "Why do you all have that shady smile on your face as if you''vee up with some sneaky n?" he asked, frowning.


    "Nothing at all." The united response came.


    Lucifer didn''t care much to interrogate further. He just took his seat beside Veracity. "You''ll be staying with me, alright?"


    "Another interrogation of yours?" Veracity asked.


    "A guest would being. It''s thatdy from the mall. I want you to be with me to catch her lies. I want to know everything," Lucifer exined. "You understand?"


    "Of course." Thedy nodded. "You want me to stay with you. I''ll stay with you."


    ~~~~


    The flightnded on the ground. Everyone was slightly surprised to find ady outside, waiting for them. It was as if she knew when they were going tond and had arrived here.


    The only one who didn''t seem surprised was Lucifer. He already knew about her arrival.


    "You''re still here?" Lucifer asked, pretending to be ignorant about her motivation. "Don''t tell me you came to visit the airport."


    "I came here to meet you. I would need you toe with me."


    "Come with you where?"


    "Back to the headquarters. Your presence is requested. You are to be arrested and taken as a prisoner!"


    "Taken as a prisoner?" Lucifer asked, smiling. He was really curious about how she was going to answer.

 Chapter 893: Criminal!

    Chapter 893: Criminal!


    "You have been expelled from the Star Alliance. You''re a Criminal for the Star Alliance, and you need toe back with me to give your exnation to the Investigation Head." Maya dered, shocking Lucifer. Even he hadn''t thought this could be so worse. What did she mean he was expelled and a criminal? Why? "If you''re joking, this isn''t a good joke." Lucifer grimly stated. Veracity ced her hand on Lucifer''s shoulder. "She isn''t lying." "Huh?" Confirmation from Veracity shocked Lucifer even more. Thisdy... She was truly here to arrest him? But why? He hadn''t done anything so far. He hadn''t killed the so-called queen as he was used in the future. He hadn''t killed Joana yet either. So why was he a criminal? "May I ask what is my crime?" Lucifer asked. "You''ll get all the exnations once we are back there. Until then, I can''t tell you anything. Lucifer, please understand. Even captain Joana has tried his best, but you moste with us. You can''t avoid it. So please surrender kindly," Maya dered grimly. "I would love to see how you arrest him." Tristan stepped between Lucifer and thedy, blocking her view. "Lady, I don''t care who you are, but you''ve been talking an awful lot. It''s time you leave this ce." Maya ignored Tristan and kept her eyes on Lucifer. "Will youe or not? Please don''t force me to do something we''ll both regret. I''m being really amodating here." "First, tell me, what is my crime?" Lucifer asked, frowning. "If you don''t tell me, I won''t be able to answer you. I''m not going anywhere without enough information. You cany to force me, but you''re right. It won''t end well for both of us."


    "It''s about your species..." Maya answered after thinking for a long time. "We''ve found a perfect match." "What?"


    "Pm not joking. At first, we found partial matches. Your species matched with everyone. It had a trace of all the Bloodlines. Even our systems didn''t know how to ssify it, but now we have a perfect match. That''s why you''re being called back. We thought we could make you a peace symbol for the world... But you... That will be really hard now for what you are," Maya further exined. "If you cane with me and give an exnation before the Royal Court, you might be freed. But if you don''t, things will get really bad. I''m saying this as a friend of yours. Pleasee with ma You won''t have to do much. Just be honest. I''m sure they''ll see you aren''t a bad person like... those people." "Which people? Who are you talking about? What is my species? What do you know?" Lucifer asked, getting agitated. Did he finally have a clue what he really was?


    "I already told you all I was allowed to. If you want to know more, you''ll have toe with us," Maya responded.


    "May I ask why you were looking around the Dungeons?" Lucifer asked. "If you were here to arrest me, why were you looking around?" "Because it was my mission. I was told to make sure if you were really from that species. And I got the proof from the energy traces of the Warzone. The energy that you used there... It leaves no doubt. You''re from that species... Moreover, since you were able to use that cursed energy, it seems you''ve started awakening your Bloodline." "I''ve gathered enough evidence to prove it. All that''s left is your testimony. Come with us and show that you aren''t a threat, despite your Bloodline. Can you do it? Just know, if you disagree, it would mean that Pll have to use force. And you can''t win against me." "Even if you somehow win against me, more wille. The entire gxy will be your enemy. And then you won''t even get the chance to exin yourself. Please understand!"


    Maya talked really nicely to Lucifer, trying to make him understand. Even though she issued threats, it was more like she was exining what might happen as a friend. ''The energy I used... Does she mean the Vessel energy from that guy which I received? Should I tell her about that guy? But she said my bloodline matches that species too. It''s just that my energy signature wasn''t matching. So my bloodline.. and his energy... I was right! We are both rted somehow! As for how, I will find that out.''


    ''I can''t tell these people about him in any case. If they think my Bloodline has awakened, I can ask them to test my energy signature again. Now that I don''t have the vessel energy, the energy signatures won''t match. I can prove her investigation wrong. As for bloodline, that would be a real problem to prove wrong.''


    Lucifer lost himself in thought as he wondered what he could do to get out of this problem. If he could prove that his energy signature was wrong, he could seed some doubt in their heads. From then on, at least he had some chance to crawl his way out, but he also knew that if he failed, he was going to be back in the shackles, unable to use his abilities.


    He raised his head, ncing at the bright sky. ''If I can talk my way out of it, then fine. But if I can''t, will hee to help me? Wait, what am I even thinking? I''ve been to the future! I know that nothing happens to me! I marry their Queen and also be a level one captain! If that future is true, then this incident isn''t going to change anything. I will be safe'' 0


    He took a deep breath as he nodded. "Alright, I wille with you." He had decided to take the offer. Instead of going against the Star Alliance, it was better to go with the flow, trusting the future he saw. Moreover, this way, he could also get to know more about his bloodline! He could get the answer he had been looking for a long time! Just who was he?! Just what were his origins? Where did hee from? Why was he abandoned on earth? And why is his bloodline considered so bad despite having traces of all bloodlines? He had so many questions, and he believed all his answers that he was looking for were present at the Star Alliance Headquarters. He just needed to go with them and do his best to make the future he saw be true. But only was he going to get his answers, but he could alsoe out better than before. At least that''s what he thought at that time...0


    ImportantAnnouncementi ti


    New Book a. "Hob/ Necromancer Rebirth of the Cursed Chad"

 Chapter 894: Choice

    <h4>Chapter 894: Choice</h4>


    "That''s the choice I expected from someone as smart as you. This is also the best option and also much better than making an enemy of the Star Alliance. Please wear these rings, and we can continue the proceedings of transfer. I''ll tell you the rest on the way."


    Maya gave two rings to Lucifer. Seeing the rings, he couldn''t help but smile. Last time, he was only given one ring, which prevented him from attacking anyone on the ship. But this time, there was one more ring along with that. He remembered seeing the second ring before as well. That ring was on the finger of Xaen.


    From what he was told at that time, this ring was something much worse than the other ring as it blocked all abilities of a person. Unlike the limiter, which only limited active abilities, this ring also limited passive abilities. That meant his healing wasn''t going to work if he wore the ring, let alone his offensive skills.


    He was going to be no more than an ordinary human as he was taken to the prison on the Star Alliance base.


    "Lucifer, just say the word. You don''t have to surrender. We are ready to fight whoever is the enemy. No one will take you from here!" Szar dered grimly. He wasn''t going to let anyone hurt Lucifer. After a long time, they had received their happy ending. The world was at peace, everyone they had lost was back, and people were happy. He wasn''t going to let things get bad again.


    Lucifer raised his hand, gesturing everyone to step back. "Don''t worry about me. I''m just going to give testimony in the upper court. Nothing will happen to me. I will be back before you know it. And then we can continue what we were doing."


    "Until I return, keep my family safe. I''m giving themand of Uprising to Kellian. In my absence, he will be the highest ranked. His decision will be my decision, so don''t trouble him much." Lucifer wore the first ring, letting out a deep breath. He had never thought he would willingly surrender himself in a situation where his life could be in danger, but there he was, doing exactly the same.


    Fortunately, he was taking a calcted risk with this, so he didn''t feel too worried. There was a small chance that he was going to be killed, but if the future was anything to go by, he believed he was going toe out safe, and preferably with the information about his Bloodline.


    The second ring was the biggest problem, but if he needed an answer, he needed to wear that as well. And once he wore the ring, he couldn''t take it off. Only a Star Alliance member could take off his ring. Last time it was Joana who did it. He didn''t know who was going to be the one taking it off this time.


    After a deep breath, he wore the second ring as well. As soon as he wore the ring, he felt extreme weakness. He stumbled on his feet, almost falling. Fortunately, Kellian supported him, preventing his fall.


    "It''s nothing to worry about. That''s the ring working. The start is always like this. Within a few seconds, you''ll feel fine." Maya calmly stated as she signed.


    She took a step back and folded her arms as she started waiting for the side effects to be over. She knew these people weren''t going to let her take Lucifer until he said he was fine and wanted to go, so she just waited.


    In the meantime, she had already informed the base that she was ready for the return transfer.


    The Star Alliance received the message and assigned a ship toe to this area. The ship wasn''t Joana''s ship though. The Star Alliance had sent a different Captain to bring Lucifer back.


    Just as Maya had said, the side effects of the ring onlysted for a few seconds. After a few seconds, Lucifer was once again stable. His head had stopped spinning. He was still feeling weak, but it wasn''t hard for him to stand. His powers were restricted though.


    "The Ship will be here soon. Say your goodbyes," Maya told Lucifer as she gazed up at the sky.


    Lucifer gazed back at Kellian. "I only have a few seconds, so I''ll be brief. Don''t worry about a thing. The Star Alliance won''t harm me. I''ll being back. Until then, don''t let my parents and anyone else know what happened to me or where I went. Just make up any story about me going on a mission. You understand?"


    "You don''t want them to worry, do you?" Kellian asked.


    Lucifer smiled in response. "I don''t want anyone to worry for no reason. As I said, nothing will happen to me. Just keep my family busy. I''ll handle the rest."


    "I''m also telling the same thing to you all." Hemanded everyone else. "No one must find out what happened here. If you tell anyone and I find out, the day I return, I might not be so kind. So treat this secret like your lives depend on it. Alright?"


    Kellian and everyone else nodded. They could only believe Lucifer''s words. There was no other option. If even Lucifer wasn''t willing to fight, that could only mean that the enemy was very strong. However, he also wasn''t the one who would willingly ept death just because the enemy was strong.


    They knew Lucifer was someone to fight till thest breath, even if the enemy was as strong as Licorice when he had no hopes of victory. He still didn''t give in and fought. Since he was giving him in here, that could only mean he was really confident that his life wasn''t in danger, and they decided to trust it.


    Seeing everyone agree, Lucifer smiled in satisfaction. He could now leave withplete leave of mind.


    Just as he finished, the sky also started getting dark. A portal had opened in the middle of space, and a massive ship came out of it, covering the entire sun behind it.


    "Looks like our ride is here." Maya extended her hand toward Lucifer.


    "Joana arrived." Lucifer held the hand of Maya after getting close to her.


    "It''s not Joana. Since Captain Joana was considered to be close to you after he defended you against this decision, he had been removed from this assignment. It''s another captain that came to bring us back," Maya exined.


    A beautiful white light appeared around Lucifer and Maya. Kellian and the others only saw Lucifer''s calm face before his figure disappeared...

 Chapter 895: The twenty...

    Chapter 895: The twenty...


    Kellian looked up, gazing at the darkness in the sky.


    "So that is really a spaceship. The world is really bigger than I thought. Now Lucifer is a prisoner of another world," Veracity muttered. The massive ship started moving and soon disappeared.


    "Do you think he can really return? The way that woman talked, it appeared as if things were really serious. She called him a criminal as well. I worry for Lucifer," Kane chimed in. "Everything was going so well, and suddenly this¡­"


    "I have faith in him. He will return... He will definitely return!" Kellian dered confidently.


    "He will certainly return. Let''s get back to work." Kellian agreed. "We need toe up with a better story to make sure no one at the base finds out what happened here."


    "It''s a good thing that Veracity is with us. Hiding the truth from her would''ve been impossible. Now she''s also with us, so we don''t need to worry about getting caught. I think we should tell them that Lucifer left to find something which might be anywhere in this world, so he''ll take some time before he can return." Kane suggested.


    "They will be suspicious. They''ll ask how he can leave without informing them." Yaliza chimed in. "We need something better."


    "Didn''t Lucifer leave thest time exactly like this? He just took off for weeks and didn''t return until recently. I doubt they''ll think too much about this story. Let''s just keep it simple. I think we should go with this story. That''s Lucifer''s personality after all, just leaving when he feels like it after all."


    "You''re right. That''s his personality." Kellian agreed. "We can use that trick. It''s better than making aplicated story. It''ll keep them busy for a few weeks. And if Lucifer didn''t return within a few weeks, we can say that he already left the world as he was nning to do."


    "Yeah. I think we should go with this as well. I will tell Zale and risse. I''ll make sure I can convince them," Szar took the lead. "You all can handle the rest."


    ~~~~


    On earth, people were deciding on what lies to tell to cover for Lucifer''s disappearance; meanwhile, on the ship, Lucifer was already tossed inside a cell. Since the Ship wasn''t under Joana, his treatment this time was much different, especially since he was a Criminal of the High Council this time.


    Even Maya couldn''t do anything about this treatment. She was only tasked with bringing him here. From this point onwards, Lucifer''s custody was with the captain of this ship.


    A middle-aged man sat on the Captain''s Seat, gazing at the feed on his screen, which showed Lucifer.


    "Are you sure this is the guy?" he asked Maya.


    "Yes, he is Lucifer." Maya nodded.


    "Honestly, he doesn''t look any special to me. What can I do?" Captain Mak rolled his eyes. "He looks so weak. The people from his supposed Bloodline... I read stories about them."


    He continued, "ording to stories, they were much different. It was said that they could instill fear in the heart of anyone with just one nce. This man... If he''s really from that species, I guess that species really wasn''t that special."


    "Captain, with all due respect, do you think you''ll be able to repeat that same statement before the High Council? There''s a reason the High Council is treating this case with such seriousness. We thought Baltics were extinct, but that isn''t the case. Baltics made an appearance. And he is supposedly the one who destroyed them," Maya exined.


    "Baltics... I heard they were really strong as well. This guy must''ve defeated a weakling amongst them. Every strong n has one or two weaklings," Mak responded.


    "Three Thousand four hundred Seventy Five..." Maya let out.


    "What?" The man asked, frowning. "What do you mean? What is that number?"


    "That''s the number of Baltics he has killed. That''s what I was investigating as well. He has killed thousands of Baltics alone. Moreover, not ordinary Baltics, I sensed a remnant Royal presence as well. That could only mean there was a Baltic who possessed the Royal Bloodline. No matter how weak, if he was the current King of Baltics, he couldn''t be too weak, can he?"


    "Why were you investigating it though? Weren''t you sent there to bring Lucifer back only?" Mak asked. He only had a brief knowledge of the situation. He had just returned from a mission when he was told that he needed to pick a Criminal from a distant Gxy and escort him back. Other than knowing Lucifer''s name and a few things about him, he didn''t know much about Maya''s mission.


    "It''s because we sensed both presences... Our systems were keeping an eye on the energy signatures of the earth when we sensed two very powerful auras. One belonged to the Baltics while the other aura matched with their aura..."


    "The High Council believes that Lucifer killed them intentionally."


    "Why?"


    "The Destruction of Baltics... Their home world was destroyed, and itpletely disappeared. The Star Alliance went there to investigate and found two auras there..."


    "One was the aura of the Baltics, and the other was the Aura of them..."


    "As you know, a long long time ago, there was one particr species which ruled over the entire world... They were the Kings of the universe. They were the strongest. It was until one day when all the other species revolted against them."


    "Literally every species joined hands and attacked them. To fight one n, it took the force of the entire universe, when there were only twenty members in that n..."


    "Billions of Warriors fought those twenty, and over ny percent of them had died in the war. Fortunately, the twenty n Members of that species were also killed. That''s when the world thought that it was the end... It was the end of them."


    "However, when Baltics were destroyed, the High Council discovered that same old aura again... The aura of that species..."


    "Revenge."


    "Any reason for them to specifically attack Baltics? When the entire universe had fought them, why would they only attack Baltics?"


    "It''s not just them... It''s not just the Baltics who were destroyed... There were three species that started the revolt. They were the ones who brought everyone together against them..."


    "All three of those species werepletely wiped around the same time. And we believe it''s the work of theirs."


    "The High Council thinks that the species this universe hadpletely wiped hadn''tpletely gone extinct. One of them still lives... And he is the one who destroyed Baltics and the other two. The High Council thinks that as long as that person lives, the world isn''t safe."


    "And in that scene enters Lucifer... He destroyed remnants of the Baltics using the same strength... The High Council thinks that Lucifer is one of them... The ones who escaped the assault."

 Chapter 896: The twenty...

    <h4>Chapter 896: The twenty...</h4>


    Kellian looked up, gazing at the darkness in the sky.


    "So that is really a spaceship. The world is really bigger than I thought. Now Lucifer is a prisoner of another world," Veracity muttered. The massive ship started moving and soon disappeared.


    "Do you think he can really return? The way that woman talked, it appeared as if things were really serious. She called him a criminal as well. I worry for Lucifer," Kane chimed in. "Everything was going so well, and suddenly this¡­"


    "I have faith in him. He will return... He will definitely return!" Kellian dered confidently.


    "He will certainly return. Let''s get back to work." Kellian agreed. "We need toe up with a better story to make sure no one at the base finds out what happened here."


    "It''s a good thing that Veracity is with us. Hiding the truth from her would''ve been impossible. Now she''s also with us, so we don''t need to worry about getting caught. I think we should tell them that Lucifer left to find something which might be anywhere in this world, so he''ll take some time before he can return." Kane suggested.


    "They will be suspicious. They''ll ask how he can leave without informing them." Yaliza chimed in. "We need something better."


    "Didn''t Lucifer leave thest time exactly like this? He just took off for weeks and didn''t return until recently. I doubt they''ll think too much about this story. Let''s just keep it simple. I think we should go with this story. That''s Lucifer''s personality after all, just leaving when he feels like it after all."


    "You''re right. That''s his personality." Kellian agreed. "We can use that trick. It''s better than making aplicated story. It''ll keep them busy for a few weeks. And if Lucifer didn''t return within a few weeks, we can say that he already left the world as he was nning to do."


    "Yeah. I think we should go with this as well. I will tell Zale and risse. I''ll make sure I can convince them," Szar took the lead. "You all can handle the rest."


    ~~~~


    On earth, people were deciding on what lies to tell to cover for Lucifer''s disappearance; meanwhile, on the ship, Lucifer was already tossed inside a cell. Since the Ship wasn''t under Joana, his treatment this time was much different, especially since he was a Criminal of the High Council this time.


    Even Maya couldn''t do anything about this treatment. She was only tasked with bringing him here. From this point onwards, Lucifer''s custody was with the captain of this ship.


    A middle-aged man sat on the Captain''s Seat, gazing at the feed on his screen, which showed Lucifer.


    "Are you sure this is the guy?" he asked Maya.


    "Yes, he is Lucifer." Maya nodded.


    "Honestly, he doesn''t look any special to me. What can I do?" Captain Mak rolled his eyes. "He looks so weak. The people from his supposed Bloodline... I read stories about them."


    He continued, "ording to stories, they were much different. It was said that they could instill fear in the heart of anyone with just one nce. This man... If he''s really from that species, I guess that species really wasn''t that special."


    "Captain, with all due respect, do you think you''ll be able to repeat that same statement before the High Council? There''s a reason the High Council is treating this case with such seriousness. We thought Baltics were extinct, but that isn''t the case. Baltics made an appearance. And he is supposedly the one who destroyed them," Maya exined.


    "Baltics... I heard they were really strong as well. This guy must''ve defeated a weakling amongst them. Every strong n has one or two weaklings," Mak responded.


    "Three Thousand four hundred Seventy Five..." Maya let out.


    "What?" The man asked, frowning. "What do you mean? What is that number?"


    "That''s the number of Baltics he has killed. That''s what I was investigating as well. He has killed thousands of Baltics alone. Moreover, not ordinary Baltics, I sensed a remnant Royal presence as well. That could only mean there was a Baltic who possessed the Royal Bloodline. No matter how weak, if he was the current King of Baltics, he couldn''t be too weak, can he?"


    "Why were you investigating it though? Weren''t you sent there to bring Lucifer back only?" Mak asked. He only had a brief knowledge of the situation. He had just returned from a mission when he was told that he needed to pick a Criminal from a distant Gxy and escort him back. Other than knowing Lucifer''s name and a few things about him, he didn''t know much about Maya''s mission.


    "It''s because we sensed both presences... Our systems were keeping an eye on the energy signatures of the earth when we sensed two very powerful auras. One belonged to the Baltics while the other aura matched with their aura..."


    "The High Council believes that Lucifer killed them intentionally."


    "Why?"


    "The Destruction of Baltics... Their home world was destroyed, and itpletely disappeared. The Star Alliance went there to investigate and found two auras there..."


    "One was the aura of the Baltics, and the other was the Aura of them..."


    "As you know, a long long time ago, there was one particr species which ruled over the entire world... They were the Kings of the universe. They were the strongest. It was until one day when all the other species revolted against them."


    "Literally every species joined hands and attacked them. To fight one n, it took the force of the entire universe, when there were only twenty members in that n..."


    "Billions of Warriors fought those twenty, and over ny percent of them had died in the war. Fortunately, the twenty n Members of that species were also killed. That''s when the world thought that it was the end... It was the end of them."


    "However, when Baltics were destroyed, the High Council discovered that same old aura again... The aura of that species..."


    "Revenge."


    "Any reason for them to specifically attack Baltics? When the entire universe had fought them, why would they only attack Baltics?"


    "It''s not just them... It''s not just the Baltics who were destroyed... There were three species that started the revolt. They were the ones who brought everyone together against them..."


    "All three of those species werepletely wiped around the same time. And we believe it''s the work of theirs."


    "The High Council thinks that the species this universe hadpletely wiped hadn''tpletely gone extinct. One of them still lives... And he is the one who destroyed Baltics and the other two. The High Council thinks that as long as that person lives, the world isn''t safe."


    "And in that scene enters Lucifer... He destroyed remnants of the Baltics using the same strength... The High Council thinks that Lucifer is one of them... The ones who escaped the assault."

 Chapter 897: Lies

    <h4>Chapter 897: Lies</h4>


    "If that''s true, the situation is about to get reallyplicated. We''ve really picked up one of them? Moreover, I''ve seen that kid. He isn''t older than twenty that I can say for sure. That means whoever destroyed those three worlds is still out there. If this kid is really rted to him and we aren''t wrong, then we might be in trouble." Mak frowned.


    "Keep defense high throughout the journey! I want everyone to stay alert!" Hemanded hastily.


    Since he now understood the entire situation, he couldn''t help but feel like they were in danger. Twenty people... It took the entire universe to kill those twenty people. That just showed what kind of strength those twenty possessed. If even one of them was alive, they had just made him their enemy by picking up Lucifer.


    Even though he still wasn''t sure if that was actually the case. There was still a chance that they were wrong about Lucifer being rted to that person, but if it was true, there was a chance that they were about to be attacked, and he needed to stay alert.


    "Don''t worry. The rings I gave him hide his aura. No one can know where he is. This ship should be safe. Moreover, we''ll be at the base in a few minutes. The base has already taken all the safeguards they needed for the possible attack. In fact, that is one of their goals," Maya exined.


    "Ah, I get it. So the reason they wanted Lucifer was because they needed bait. They hadn''t been able to catch that person for a long time, and now they want to drag that person out of his hiding by picking up Lucifer." Mak seemingly understood everything. "So they aren''t actually interested in the kid, but in the person behind the kid."


    Maya shook her head. "That''s not entirely correct either. They are interested in both of them. They want to know how many of them are actually alive and how they survived. If the kid is actually from that species, then he is an enemy, and he will be killed to lure the other one."


    "And if he isn''t?" Mak inquired.


    "If he isn''t, then he will be freed. However, chances of that are wrong because all the evidence is against him. I have collected remnant energy samples, and they are a perfect match. That''s all I can say for now. The rest will be decided by the High Council." Maya took a seat nearby.


    "Even though what you said makes sense, I still want to keep the defense high. It''s better not to take risks. Anything can happen on this journey." Mak dered as he sat with a grim look on his face.


    Previously, he had expected that the mission would be an easy one. He just needed to pick up a convict, but only now did he realize how wrong he was. He didn''t just need to pick any ordinary convict, but it was much worse.


    Back on the screen, Lucifer was still being shown. He was sitting in the cell inplete silence. He even had his eyes closed as he waited to reach the headquarters. He didn''t know how things were going to go, but he was stillpletely calm.


    He didn''t waste even a single second of his time here. He was already told by Maya what he was being arrested for, and he was utilizing his time trying to form his defense to prove that he was wrongly used.


    The only evidence against him so far was his bloodline. As for the energy signature, he could easily deny that since he had no shred of that left anymore. The bloodline part was going to be harsh. There was no easy way out of it. Moreover, there was another problem. He had literally told Maya that he was the one who killed Baltics.


    Sitting with his back resting against the wall, he rubbed his chin. ''I can lie about that, can''t I?''


    ''That''s right. No one actually saw me killing the Baltics. I can just say that I bluffed that I killed them to show off and that it was someone else who killed them. That way, I can also remove any proof about my presence in the ce where Licorice was killed.''


    ''That''s it! That might just work. I went there to fight, but he was too strong. I sent others back and then ran myself. That''s what I''ll go with. I have no idea who killed Licorice and the other Baltics outside. I don''t even have that much strength after all. Maybe the Baltics had some other enemy who came to kill them?''


    As he thought of his testimony, he sighed a breath of relief. He had covered the most damning evidence. And as far as the bloodline was concerned, he had also thought of a way to exin that.


    He was already told the first time he met Joana that his bloodline showed the trait of every bloodline. Now they imed it was his Bloodline matched someone? He also thought of a way to justify it. As long as they couldn''t match the energy signatures, he was sure he could find his way out now.


    He let out a sigh of relief as he smiled. He had made a foolproof n to prove his innocence. Now all he needed was to act innocent and not scared at all.


    He stretched his arms, letting out a yawn before closing his eyes. Since he was already sleepy, what better way to show his innocence. He fell asleep in the cell itself. There was nothing else he could do anyway.


    The massive ship traveled through space at the fastest Speed. Only a few minutes had passed since Lucifer fell asleep when he heard a knock on the bars of the cell.


    "Hmm? What?" Hezily said, still sleepy.


    "Lucifer, get up," Maya''s voice came. "We are already docked. It''s time to leave the ship."


    "That was fast," Lucifer opened his eyes.


    Lucifer stood up as his sleep disappeared entirely. He was at the destination, and now he needed to fight for his freedom. Unfortunately, this fight wasn''t the fight of strength but the fight of words.


    He stood up and walked to the door, which was opened by Maya.


    Maya didn''t stand alone at the entrance though. She was apanied by another young woman and a bulky man in the back who was wearing the unicorn of the captain.


    As Lucifer stepped out of the cell, Maya introduced Lucifer. "He is the Captain of this shop, Mak. And she is the vice-captain. They were only responsible to bring us here. Another team will be waiting outside for you. Come."

 Chapter 898: Space

    <h4>Chapter 898: Space</h4>


    Maya held the hand of Lucifer and took her with him. Mak and his vice-captain apanied them to the exit. They needed to make sure that these two met the team outside. Only then their responsibility was going to be done.


    The door of the ship opened. Lucifer couldn''t help but feel a deja vu. He had gone through something simr in the past as well. The first time he was brought here by Joana, he was a prisoner even then, but the situation was different.


    At the time, there was a small team outside to take him and Xaen, which was led by another one-star captain. Moreover, Joana had apanied himst time.


    This time the team was much different. It was being led by a Two Star General who was leading a couple of one-star captains. It looked like the strongest people of this Empire were sent here to bring him back, which was slightly surprising.


    Lucifer was really curious about what he actually was. Why did it look like these people were scared of whatever he could be? They were sending such powerful people to escort him.


    Mak saluted the two-star general as hemanded Lucifer to go down.


    Maya and Lucifer got off the Ship. Lucifer''s custody was handed over to the Two Star General and his men.


    "They''ll take you from here on. Best of luck." Maya patted the shoulder of Lucifer.


    "You aren''ting?" Lucifer inquired.


    "I can''t. I need to submit my report." Maya bid Lucifer farewell before she left.


    Lucifer was made to sit inside a car. He recognized this car. In the future he had been to, he had a simr car. As a Captain, this car and some other items were given to him.


    In the back seat of the car, Lucifer sat with the General. Two more cars followed behind as Lucifer was escorted in full security.


    After the initial silence, the old General smiled as he nced at Lucifer. "So you''re the one."


    "I don''t even know what''s the one you''re talking about. All I know is that I did nothing. You got the wrong guy," Lucifer answered.


    "You seem fairly confident. Do you know why we arrested you?"


    "I don''t need to know why I''m arrested to know that I''m innocent. I haven''t broken any rules. And I don''t think I did anything wrong either," Lucifer exined.


    "If you say so. Don''t worry; we''ll get the truth out soon enough. We will know everything we want to know, and you''ll be the one telling us." The old man smiled. "Don''t worry; no one is going toe here to save you this time."


    "Who would evene to save me? I''ve grown up all alone. None of my teammates even know how to travel in space, let aloneing here to save me. And even if they had a way, they are too weak. All of thembined can''t defeat me, let alone the Star Alliance." Lucifer rolled his eyes.


    "Oh, I''m not talking about your friends from Earth. I''m talking about your other friend..."


    "I have no other friends. I don''t know what you''re talking about."


    "Alright, don''t answer now. I don''t want to know either. We''ll begin the interrogation in the presence of Her Majesty. That''s where you''ll need to answer."


    "Her Majesty? You mean the Queen of Star Alliance?" Lucifer asked in surprise. He had expected to be interrogated by the Star Alliance, but the Queen was also going to be involved?


    He had never seen the queen. He didn''t even know how she looked. All he knew was that he was supposedly married to her, and he was also the one who killed her. As for why he did that, he wasn''t sure even now. If it was true that she was going to be there, then it meant that he was finally going to see the woman!


    Just who was she? Just who was her supposed wife? Who was it that he had killed?


    "Not only her, all Two Star Members are going to be here, along with the One Star Captains that aren''t on a mission outside. You''re quite the celebrity now. Everyone wants to see you," the old man answered.


    "Why does everyone want to see me?" Lucifer asked, trying to get some information. "Why am I arrested? What is happening?''


    "Looks like you really weren''t told. You''ll know soon enough." The man smirked. The cars started rising in the air as they reached the end of the road. They traveled by air, traveling towards the Royal Pce in the distance.


    The interrogation was going to take ce in the Royal Chamber, which was rarely opened. It was the most secure ce in this entire world! Even the old man had only been there once. It was going to be his second time with Lucifer.


    The three carsnded inside the Royal Pce. There were already many other cars in the ce.


    The door was opened. The old man and Lucifer stepped out.


    "Looks like everyone else is already here. We seem to be thest one to arrive," the old man let out. "That''s good as well. Now we won''t have to wait for anyone else. We can start right away. Come."


    Waving his cloak, the man started leaving. Lucifer followers behind. The other two captains followed Lucifer to make sure he didn''t attempt an escape.


    Along the way, many guards and servants of the pce saw Lucifer, who was being escorted like a prisoner. They didn''t know what was going on. All they knew was that it was something really serious since all the influential people of the Star Alliance were here already.


    Moreover, as Lucifer was being brought by a General and two guards, they could feel that this meeting was probably because of him. They couldn''t help but wonder who this guy was.


    For him to be escorted by such influential people? Just what kind of crime had hemitted? How strong could he actually be that it needed so many people to decide what to do with him?


    Lucifer ignored the strange gazes that were being shot at him, rolling his eyes. He wasn''t interested in such gazes. His life was on the line, after all. However, he did feel somewhat intrigued. The maids and the servants weren''t of the same species.


    Some maids looked like humans, exactly like Joana did, but he knew they weren''t humans. The most surprising were the others who didn''t look like humans at all. Some had horns, some had Tails. On the other hand, there were also some who had scales in ce of skin.


    "Space..." He let out a wry smile as he shook his head.


    As they reached the Royal Chamber''s entrance, the guards opened the door¡­

 Chapter 899: Before the High Council

    <h4>Chapter 899: Before the High Council</h4>


    Majestic doors separated Lucifer and the others. The doors were pushed open by two guards, revealing the beautiful sight inside.


    The floor inside the Royal Chamber was made purely from white marble that was spotlessly clean. The walls weren''t much different either. However, some gold engravings were present on the wall that seemed beautiful.


    The ce... It truly looked like it belonged to a queen. Through the door, Lucifer could see almost everything inside. He noticed a throne straight in his line of sight at the end of the chamber.


    On the throne, there sat a beautiful woman on the beautiful throne that had some shade of blue. The woman seemed a bit pale, which was further highlighted because of her beautiful silver hair. She was wearing a beautiful white gown that wrapped around her tall figure firmly.


    The woman''s eyes looked straight into the eyes of Lucifer. As both the gazes met, Lucifer felt something odd. He didn''t know what it was about this woman, but something wasn''t right. He just couldn''t put his finger on it.


    There were two rows of chairs on each side of the ball. The two-star members of the Star Alliance sat in the front while the one-star members sat in the ending seats. Lucifer could see that there were around thirty people in the ball, and all of them were either captains or Generals. So he was literally in a ce filled with the strongest people in the universe, ready to be judged.


    There was another person that attracted his attention. It was a young man who had two stars on his chest. Lucifer recognized the man as he was the one who had interrogated himst time as well. Not only that, but he was also the one that had attacked him in the future when he went there.


    This man was also the reason Lucifer knew how strong the Two Star members could actually be.


    The man also observed Lucifer looking at him. He didn''t know why that was the case. He had noticed itst time as well. As for why Lucifer did that, he didn''t understand. Was there some secret?


    Standing still in his daze, Lucifer was still standing at the entrance while the old man had already walked inside.


    The two captains in the back pushed the shoulders of Lucifer, bringing him out of his daze.


    Lucifer stopped looking at the man and calmly stepped inside the chamber as well.


    He stood in the center of the hall, where everyone had a clear view of him.


    "You are in the presence of Her Majesty; go down on your knees!" The old manmanded Lucifer, who was still standing.


    Frowning, Lucifer went down on one knee only.


    "Your Majesty, he is the man. We brought him here. We can begin the proceedings." The old man dered.


    The queen simply nodded her head. "Good work. You can sit now."


    Following the queen''smand, the man went back to the seat near the front, which was left empty.


    The two one-star captains still stayed behind Lucifer.


    "We can begin the proceedings. Identify yourself." The queen said, gazing straight at Lucifer.


    "I am Lucifer Azarel. And I''m a member of the Star Alliance. I don''t know why I''ve been summoned here, but I know I''m innocent," Lucifer exined.


    "That''s for us to decide if you''re innocent or not! Just answer the question!" A General scolded Lucifer.


    Lucifer didn''t respond. However, he found this situation quite funny. If he had his way, these people wouldn''t have dared to speak before him, let alone scold him.


    "Do you know about Baltics? Have you ever interacted with them?" A question came from another General.


    "I know them. They were what we called Dungeon Dwellers. They were the monsters who appeared in our world mysteriously and started attacking the humans. All the Variants fought them. We had been living like that for decades. However, it''s only recently I found out that they were known as Baltics."


    "So you didn''t know they were Baltics?"


    Lucifer shook his head.


    "How did you find out they were Baltics?"


    "Their King, Licorice, told me when I identally entered his Dungeon," Lucifer answered.


    "identally... Interesting. We heard you were the one who wiped out the Baltics? You killed their King? May I know why you did that? Did you take revenge for what they did to your family?"


    "To my family? I don''t know what you''re talking about. My family is perfectly safe back on earth. My father and my mother, both of whom are human, haven''t been hurt by Baltics."


    "We aren''t talking about your human family. We are talking about your real family. You probably didn''t know that the so-called Dungeon Dwellers were Baltics, but as you imed, you recently found out."


    "That made you want revenge for them leading their people to destroy yours? Isn''t that right? Because as you im, you recently found out what they were, and you killed them right after. So, tell me. What do you know? Where are your other family members? How did they survivest time? When did youst meet them?" The General asked, thinking he had caught Lucifer.


    "One correction. I didn''t kill them after I found out who they were. For me, the name Baltic waspletely irrelevant since I didn''t even know what it meant. And secondly, I didn''t destroy them. Instead, I ran away when I realized how strong they were. I sent my people away and snuck out myself after the King of Baltics broke the Dungeon and left." Lucifer exined.


    "You''re iming you didn''t kill them?" Asked an old man.


    "Yes." Lucifer nodded.


    "y the sound!" The old manmanded.


    A sound started ying in the back, which appeared like a recording of Lucifer telling Maya that he had killed the Baltics.


    "You know lying before us is a crime? And on top of that, you dare lie after confessing?!" The old man yelled.


    Lucifer took a deep breath as he looked down. "I''m not lying now. I had lied but not now. I had lied before."


    "When Maya talked to me, I was with my people. So I had to lie to her that I killed Baltics because I had told the same lie to my squad."


    "As I said before, I had run away in fear since I wasn''t strong enough to face them. I don''t know how, but some dragons came from the sky and destroyed the Baltics. I don''t even know what happened to the King. He either left the world, or he was killed by the Dragons."


    "I just took the credit for that attack to show off before my people... It was an honest mistake since I wanted some praise. I made a mistake. However, as I said, I''m not lying before the High Council. Instead, I had lied before Maya to save my reputation!"

 Chapter 900: Truth or Not?

    <h4>Chapter 900: Truth or Not?</h4>


    "Is that so," Someone from the High Council smiled at the response of Lucifer. "My little friend, I suppose you are forgetting something really important."


    "What?" Lucifer raised his head in confusion.


    "We have a way to find out if you''re telling the truth or not. There is not a single person in this entire ce who doesn''t know you''re lying," the old manzily stated. "So it would be wise if you answer honestly and tell us the entire truth."


    Hearing the deration, Lucifer was initially surprised as he nced at everyone who was present here.


    He had heard Joana mention that they had a mechanism to get the truth out of people, but he thought that was a bluff. If it was true, would these people really need to keep Xaen in an environment like Earth in worries that he might be telling the truth?


    If they really had a mechanism where they could catch lies, they wouldn''t need to create that atmosphere for Xaen at all. They wouldn''t need to keep Xaen in the environment at all every so often.


    Moreover, if that were really the case, they wouldn''t find out the trust about where the stones were right away.


    With that information at hand, Lucifer was sure that what Joana told him was a bluff. And even now, he was sure that they were bluffing. They just pretended to have a mechanism to catch lies to scare the other person into telling the truth.


    Most of the people in the High Council were very smug, but in the gazes of some of their eyes, Lucifer could sense some uncertainty as if they were slightly confused by the words of Lucifer if they actually caught the wrong person. Just that much was enough for Lucifer to get a clear picture. These people! They were bluffing him!


    "I know you have a mechanism to catch the truth; that''s why I''m only telling the truth. I don''t know why your mechanism can''t catch it. Please see my truth. There must be something wrong with your mechanism. I really didn''t kill Licorice and the other Baltics. I am sure of that!" Lucifer dered confidently.


    Hearing his words, the people in the surroundings went silent for a moment. Even the old man who had bluffed Lucifer earlier seemed somewhat confused. Lucifer''s expressions and the way he talked everything made it seem like he was telling the truth. Were they really wrong about him?


    "You don''t need to worry about our system. It''s working perfectly. And it''s showing us exactly what we need to see. You are still lying; however, it''s fine. We will prove your lies in other ways too, so you can''t me our mechanism." The old man stated before he shifted the topic.


    "So you im you didn''t kill the Baltics."


    "Exactly." Lucifer nodded. "I didn''t have the strength needed to kill them. If you want, you can test. If I had the strength to kill them, why would I be here in shackles instead of roaming freely?" Lucifer answered.


    "Since you didn''t kill Baltics and their King, that must mean the ce where the Baltic King died; we shouldn''t find your energy signature remnants? Is that correct? Since you supposedly weren''t there?" Another Two-Star General asked.


    So far, the queen was sittingpletely silent, just observing Lucifer.


    "That''s my understanding. Since I wasn''t there, it shouldn''t match." Lucifer nodded.


    "Sure. In that case, you shouldn''t mind giving us your energy signatures? Use your abilities and let us collect a fresh energy sample. When it matches the one we collected on earth, it will prove your lies once more."


    Lucifer raised his hand to reveal beautiful rings in his hands. "I am ready to use my abilities to prove my innocence. But due to these rings, I can''t use any abilities. You''ll have to remove this ring for me to be able to do anything."


    The old man who was sitting nearest to the queen stood up. He snapped his fingers, making a shield appear around Lucifer, which trapped himpletely. It was to make sure he couldn''t hurt anyone in this room after his ability block was removed.


    After making the shield arrive, he flew towards Lucifer andnded right before him. The shield didn''t block him and allowed him to pass through as if it was nothing.


    He reached out his hand to hold Lucifer''s right hand and removed both the rings.


    He dropped a small stone near Lucifer''s feet before he left the energy prison.


    After leaving the energy prison, he turned back to face him. "Go ahead. Use any of your abilities. Attack the barrier if you want. That would be even better."


    "If you want me to do that, I wouldn''t mind trying." Lucifer raised his trembling hand toward the barrier before him. He could feel the element of lightning getting restless inside his body.


    A powerful element of lightning became even more intense as a small yet powerful bolt of lightning appeared before Lucifer. The lightning bolt shot towards the barrier straight ahead.


    The lightning bolt might''ve been small, but Lucifer made sure to ce quite a decent amount of his strength behind the attack. He wanted to test if his strength was anywhere close to what he needed to break a barrier that these people thought to be useful.


    Unfortunately, the lightning bolt couldn''t even hit the target before it was turned into pure energy, which was sucked into the crystal that the old man left on the ground.


    "That''s enough." The old man nodded in satisfaction before he stepped inside the barrier once again.


    He picked up the stone and left while leaving the two rings inside the prison this time.


    "Wear the rings again, and we can remove this energy prison."


    Since Lucifer wasn''t here to fight, he wore the rings. Moreover, he was also surprised at the crystal, which could suck his energy without him wanting to. This was certainly something he had no idea about. He didn''t know what this crystal was, but he was very sure that it must be rare.


    If it weren''t rare, these people would''ve made this entire ce with this crystal to make it more secure in case of attacks in the future.


    Also, he didn''t know what was the capacity of each Crystal, but he was sure there must be one. No crystal should''ve been able to store an infinite amount of energy. Lucifer was already trying to find a way to break this stone since he knew that there was a good chance he was going to be facing the Star Alliance soon.

 Chapter 901: The Shocking Change

    <h4>Chapter 901: The Shocking Change</h4>


    Lucifer knew that there were troubled times ahead with the Star Alliance on his tail. Not only were they really strong, but they also had items like this crystal that could absorb their energy.


    Moreover, he had also seen one of the Two Star Members of the Star Alliance reverse time. Even though he could also do that to some extent, it was still something that took a lot of energy. The threat was really strong, but that was for the future. For now, he needed to get out of this ce safely without being caught.


    He gazed at the rings in his hand, which were restricting his strength. His freedom depended on his ability to lie.


    Lucifer kept his calm as he gazed back at the old man, showing the rings on his finger. The old man nodded in satisfaction as he removed the barrier that had trapped Lucifer before he walked back to his seat with the crystal having Lucifer''s energy sample in his hand.


    "Maya,e inside." The old man calmly stated.


    The entrance door opened. A youngdy stepped inside.


    Lucifer gazed back in surprise. She was also here? Didn''t she say that she wasn''t going toe with him?


    Maya observed the surprised expressions on the face of Lucifer, but she didn''t react. She walked past him to get to the old man with the stone.


    Her hands weren''t empty either, as she seemed to be carrying a small box in her hand. The beautiful golden box was only a few inches wide and had some strange markings on it that seemed to have life of their own. The peculiar markings kept moving and shifting ces as if they were snakes that didn''t like staying in one ce.


    Maya stopped before the Two Star General, who sat in the lead. She reached out her hand to give the small box to the old man.


    "Is everything done?" The old man asked Maya.


    Maya nodded. "I''ve fed the energy I collected back on earth in this."


    "Good. You can step back now."


    Maya stepped back, clearing the way for the old man.


    The old man opened the small box and ced the small crystal that he had just collected inside the box before closing it.


    "Lucifer, as I said, you might lie, but you can''t fool us. The energy sample was collected on the site of the final battle where the Baltics King had died. We already have that. And now that we fed your current energy signature in it, the results should be out soon. The golden box will turn green as soon as both the energies are found to be the same. On the other hand, it''ll stay golden if energies don''t match."


    "You still have time. Do you want toe clean? ept your lies before theye out naturally." The old man kept his focus on Lucifer, who refused to answer.


    Lucifer just stood calmly. He had faith that the two weren''t going to match. What he had used while killing Licorice was purely the stolen energy source. On the other hand, what he used now was purely his energy since he had run out of the other source of energy already fortunately.


    The energy was destructive for his body. It was so strong that it left a lifetime''s worth of damage behind. His nerves were still damaged despite his healing. He couldn''t even imagine what might have happened if he still had the destructive energy. His entire body might''ve been destroyed. That''s why he was sure that the two energies weren''t going to match.


    "Huh?"


    Shocked expressions graced everyone''s faces as they all looked at the small box in the hands of the old man. Even the old man himself was shocked. "How is this possible?"


    Many two-star members stood up from their seats. Even the Queen had almost stood up, but she forced herself to stay seated. She curiously gazed at Lucifer.


    Even Lucifer seemed confused. Why was everyone shocked? Also, what was with the box? He was told that the box was going to turn green if the two energies matched, while it was supposed to stay golden if the two energies didn''t match. However, none of the cases happened.


    The box was neither green nor golden. Instead, it was an entirely different shade. The box had turned pitch ck as if it wasn''t even solid anymore, but something made purely of nonexistent darkness.


    The old man gazed back at the queen with a Deep frown. "Your Majesty, this..."


    The queen took a deep breath. "That''s enough for the interrogation. There''s no need for it anymore. We are done here. Imand Lucifer to be freed. He isn''t who we''re looking for."


    Lucifer didn''t know what the box turning ck meant, but if it meant that he was innocent, he was pleased. Fortunately, the box didn''t turn green.


    "Moreover, because we caused such inconvenience to a member of ours for no reason, I would offer him something in return." The Queen stood up. She raised her hand toward the sky. A beautiful orb appeared in her hand.


    Lucifer''s brows furrowed as he recognized that orb. It waspletely identical to the one that was used against him by the two-star captain in the future.


    The queen held the orb in her right hand. A ck card appeared in her hand. Thedy handed over the card to Maya by calling her closer.


    "Y-your Majesty, this...?"


    "This isn''t for you. This is for Lucifer, who we inconvenienced for no reason. It''s an apology from us. Give it to him and tell him about it. The High Council is dismissed."


    After giving the card to Maya, the Queen turned around without even ncing at Lucifer even once. She left...


    The Generals and the Captains also stood up and left, not forgetting to take another brief nce at Lucifer. Everyone seemed stunned at what they experienced today.


    Even now, Lucifer didn''t understand what had happened. Just what was the meaning of all this? How was he suddenly proven innocent? Was it because his energy signatures didn''t match? But what about Bloodline? He had prepared an excuse for that as well, but he wasn''t even asked about it. Something didn''t feel right at all... Something was seriously wrong.


    Before long, only Maya and Lucifer were standing in the hall.


    Lucifer moved closer to Maya. "Can you tell me what the box turning ck meant?''


    Maya shook her head. "Even I don''t know about that. I''ve never seen that happen, but it seems that everyone else knew about it. Whatever, it seems to be a good thing for you."


    "You''re not only free, but you got this as well! I''m so jealous?" She raised the pitch-ck card. "Oh, how much I would''ve given to be in your ce!"

 Chapter 902: Right thing?

    <h4>Chapter 902: Right thing?</h4>


    "What is this thing?" Lucifer still didn''t know what it was. All he knew was that it appeared to be something that even made Maya jealous of him.


    He found something really out of ce. Was his lie really that good? That didn''t seem right. It shouldn''t have been able to fool everyone that easily. For some reason, he was still somewhat suspicious. His suspicious nature didn''t let him drop this matter. He knew he needed to stay wary.


    "It''s the pass... Pass for Trial of Captainship," thedy exined.


    "Every year, each captain nominates the name of their Vice Captains for promotion to a Captain. Out of thousands of suggestions received in such a way, the High Commission decides on the names of fifty people who had the highest merit."


    "Those fifty are given this ck card. It''s proof that they''ve been selected for the trial. Out of fifty of them, only one can get the promotion in a year to a one-star captain rank. You think I shouldn''t be jealous?" Thedy bit her lips in jealousy.


    Just a few minutes ago, Lucifer was like a prisoner, and now, he was a candidate to be a Captain? She couldn''t believe it even though she had been here from the start to finish.


    Lucifer gazed back at Maya, even more stunned. This was even more confusing now. If previously he thought that something wasn''t making sense, now he was sure of it. He was given an opportunity to be a Captain? And it was this soon?


    "I need to know what that box turning ck meant. And there is only one person who can answer me." Lucifer clenched his fist as he turned to leave but stopped as he realized something.


    "Oh right, my card." He took the card from the hands of Maya and kept that in his pocket. "You can tell me more about this on the way out since we''re free. And I suppose you''re assigned to take me out of this ce since you''re the only one left here."


    "That''s right." Thedy nodded. "Since you are a free man, I''m supposed to take you back to Captain Joana. From now on. It''ll be his responsibility to take you to the world of Trials."


    "World of Trials?" Lucifer asked, advancing towards the massive door, walking side by side with Maya.


    "Yeah. The trials to select the next one-star member of Star Alliance. They are supposed to start next week. You are really lucky you got this card now. It''s right on time since it takes us a long time to get there. And we can''t bete. If the Trials start, no one is allowed to enter the world, so the card would''ve been useless if we werete."


    "And Joana would be taking me?"


    "Yeah. Since you''re free, I believe he will be allowed to interact with you as well. And you''re a part of his team, at least for the moment. So it''s his responsibility to take you to that world," Maya exined.


    Lucifer nodded as if he understood what she was trying to say. He was also happy that he could meet Joana.


    Even though he was going to kill Joana in the future, no one knew about it, including Joana. For now, the two worked together. Moreover, if anyone could know about what the color of the box meant and tell him, it was going to be Joana.


    He was already nning to go back to Joana. It was even better that the two were going to be traveling together for some time. He could also ask more about his arrest from Joana to understand his real history.


    "That''s good. By the way, are these rings supposed to be on my fingers? I''m free now.''


    "Oh right, I forgot about that." Maya stepped before Lucifer before holding his hand.


    She pulled out both the rings from his hands. "The Queen had dered that you''re innocent. So you aren''t supposed to have these rings on. Also, I''m sorry for what I had to do on earth. It was my work. I had to follow the rules to make sure the safety of this universe wasn''t put in jeopardy. So please don''t keep that in mind. We are still teammates."


    "Don''t worry; I know you were just doing your duty. You aren''t a high-ranking member who could''ve gone against the High Council. I might''ve done the same if I was in your ce."


    Whileing to the main hall, Lucifer was so serious about what the future was going to hold that he didn''t even focus much on the servants of the pce. He only observed them quite rudely, but now, he was perfectly calm.


    On his way out of the pce, he even waved his hands at some of them.


    The servants didn''t understand why Lucifer was waving his hands. Was it some signnguage? Was he signaling them? The servants remained confused as Lucifer disappeared from their sight.


    Lucifer stepped out of the massive yet beautiful mansion. He was led to a car that was parked in the distance.


    "This belongs to Captain Joana, but he let me use it for a little." Maya opened the door and sat inside.


    Lucifer was also about to step inside when he felt odd. He felt as if someone was looking at him.


    Curious, he nced back but couldn''t find anyone. No servant was there who could be looking at him.


    It was only when he raised his head that he realized that he wasn''t wrong. It wasn''t his misconception. Someone was actually looking at him, and it wasn''t any random person.


    There was a youngdy standing on the balcony in the castle, gazing at Lucifer. As for thedy, she was none other than the Queen of the Star Alliance!


    She wasn''t alone either. There was a young man standing beside her, who was none other than the Two Star General who was about to kill him in the future, using the same orb as the Queen.


    ''Thedy I allegedly killed and the man who was about to kill me. For now, the future seems to be going as predicted. But I still don''t understand why I will kill her? Just what could be the reason? Why did she let me go so easily? And why will she marry me? Let alone her, why will I agree to marry her when I won''t love her enough to not kill her? Something big is at y.''


    Lucifer didn''t stare for long. He was brought out of his daze by the voice of Maya, who called him to step inside the car.


    Lucifer stopped looking at thedy and stepped inside the car. The car left the premises.


    "Are you sure it''s the right thing?" The young man asked the Queen, watching Lucifer leave. "This might be a wrong decision."


    The queen simply smiled. She didn''t answer.

 Chapter 903: Because I...

    <h4>Chapter 903: Because I...</h4>


    The young man didn''t let the queen go without answering. He was the Royal Guard, despite being a two-star captain! He was responsible for the safety of the Queen.


    The man followed the Woman inside. "Your Majesty, I''m asking you something. It might be dangerous for you to let that man go. He... He..."


    "I know what I''m doing. Don''t worry about me," the Queen calmly answered. "Moreover, why are you so concerned about it? It''s like you''re more concerned than I am. Don''t worry; nothing will happen."


    Thedy simply turned back and disappeared, going back to her resting chamber, leaving the General behind.


    There was no one with the General as he stood alone in the hallway, seemingly nk.


    "Of course, I will care more about you. It''s because I... Love... You." He spoke in a barely audible tone, talking to thin air. No one was here to listen to him.


    No matter how many times he tried, he never had the courage of telling the truth to the Queen. In the conflict between his duty and his emotions, he selected his duty.


    He was worried that if he told the truth, he might upset her. He didn''t want her to think less of him. He didn''t want to be removed from his position of her guard since he wanted to keep her safe at any cost.


    ****


    Maya drove the car straight through the beautiful Royal City.


    "And that''s the stadium where we have different local sports tournaments." Maya pointed towards a distant arena. " It''s really fun. You should attend it next time if you survive the Trial."


    "If I survive?" Lucifer didn''t let the word skip past him. This word had some heavy implications. He was already very suspicious about this whole thing, after all.


    "Of course. Don''t tell me you thought the Trial of Promotion was going to be a child''s y? You''ll be against the other potential Captains. In the past, there had been many who survived the trials even though they didn''t win it, but there were also a few who perished trying. That''s why I said if you survive..."


    "What Trials are there?" Lucifer inquired.


    "I honestly have no idea. As you can already guess, I haven''t attended the Trials yet. My name was suggested this year, but it wasn''t in the selected fifty... It''s the same as thest five years. I don''t know why that''s the case, but I never seem to make it in the top fifty selected." A disappointed grunt left the slender lips of Maya.


    "You didn''t ask Joana about it? He must''ve gone through the Trial. And since he''s already a Captain, he must''ve won it as well. There''s no way he won''t know what trials are there. Don''t tell me you were never curious enough to ask him?"


    "You think it''s that simple? I''m not an idiot not to ask him. Unfortunately, he never answers. He just says that they were all forced to take an oath before they were allowed to leave the world of Trials."


    "What Oath?"


    "It was that they are never going to tell what Trials they faced. That''s why he can''t answer me. And I can already see that you''re nning to ask him, trust me, he won''t answer you either. The Oath can''t be broken like this without alerting the Oathgiver," Maya further exined.


    "That''s why you''ll have to go insidepletely blind. You won''t know what trials you''ll have, but you won''t be alone in this. Every other participant who is there won''t know either," she further continued.


    "Does that mean the ones who failed the Trailsst time won''t participate?"


    "Yeah. A captain can give your name for selection as many times as they want; however, that''s only for selection into the top fifty who get the ck card. The only exception is that the name can''t belong to a person who was given a ck card before. You can only get a ck card once in your lifetime," Maya answered.


    "So if I fail this time, I won''t get the position of Captain?" Lucifer nodded as he understood the whole thing. This also brought a smile to his lips. Since he was already a captain in the future, that means he has won.


    "Not exactly. I mean, you can still be a Captain even if you lost in the trials. There are two other ways. One is based on merits. You do something so incredible that the High Council promotes you. There are quite a lot who are promoted like that," Maya responded, removing the misconception of Lucifer.


    "As for the second way, it''s if the Queen personally thinks that you''re worth promoting for some reason. If she thinks that, she can promote someone even if that person doesn''t win the trial or have any merits."


    "Is that so," Lucifer muttered.


    ''That means it''s not confirmed if I''ll win the Trial or not. I can lose,'' he thought, letting out a deep sigh.


    He scratched the back of his head, really curious as to what he was going to face. In his curiosity, he momentarily forgot his main objective ining here... Finding his origin.


    Maya stopped the car at the entrance of the massive ship that was parked near the bridge. She sent a verification signal through the car. The door slowly opened in response.


    The car entered the ship and parked in a ce that was like a massive parking lot, but there was only one car there.


    Lucifer and Maya stepped out of the car to find Joana already waiting for them.


    "I got the news. That was fast. Congrattions on getting the clean chit, young man. That too, on the first day itself. I knew you''de out without a scratch. I told them they were mistaken." Joana stepped closer to Lucifer and hugged him as if he was really pleased that Lucifer was safe.


    Lucifer was his investment in the future, after all. Moreover, not only did Lucifere out safely, but he also came out with a ck card.


    He was already nning to find a way to get Lucifer promoted, but even ording to his best estimates, he could only get Lucifer an opportunity after a few years at best.


    The opportunity was going toe so soon; even he couldn''t have imagined.


    "You and I... We have a lot to talk about." Lucifer wasn''t swayed by the concerned act of Joana. It was his life that was in danger after all, not Joana''s. Joana wouldn''t have lost anything even if he was killed, so this act was useless for Lucifer.


    "I know you will have lots of questions. Come with me, let''s talk in privacy. I''ll answer all your questions that I can¡­."

 Chapter 904: The Angel

    <h4>Chapter 904: The Angel</h4>


    "Maya, since our friend is here with the ck Card, get the ship started. We need to be on our way, so he doesn''t get here. In my absence, you handle everything. I''ll be with Lucifer for some time. You have all the coordinates, right?"


    "I do," Maya affirmed. "I will handle it. You can rest assured."


    "Good." Joana tapped the shoulder of Lucifer before letting out, "Let''s go. I know what questions you have. You''ll get all the answers."


    Joana issued a subtlemand, gazing at the cameras. A beautiful formation appeared under the feet of Lucifer and Joana. A bright light came out from the formation that surrounded both.


    The two men were disappointed, leaving Joana behind, who shook her head lightly. "Lucifer Azarel... Just why are you so special? I don''t even know what it''s about you, but you seem to be getting everything I wanted, from the consideration of the Captain to the ck Card of Promotion."


    "I wonder if you were really born with a golden spoon." She was jealous of Lucifer already. This man... He was just something else. Unfortunately, she couldn''t do anything about it. All she could do was go with the flow and wait for her time.


    She also departed from that ce and went to the main chamber to prepare for the takeoff.


    Before long, the giant ship started rising in the air. It slowly turned around and left the world...


    ****


    Joana escorted Lucifer to a different section of the ne, which was only open for Joana. Not a single person other than him was allowed toe here as these were his personal quarters.


    As he arrived here, he issued newmands, which turned off the cameras.


    "Where are we going?" Lucifer was intrigued. He hadn''t seen this part of the ship. It waspletely empty. No guard was present here, which was pretty rare for this ship.


    Moreoy, Joana also had his back to Lucifer, which slightly surprised him.


    There was a little doubt in his head at the start that maybe he wasn''tpletely free since it all appeared too easy, but that doubt was now decreasing. He had no restrictions on his abilities anymore. If he wanted, he could attack and kill Joana right now, especially now that cameras were off.


    However, there was also another part of him that felt like maybe it was bait? Was it a test for him? Joana had turned off cameras and brought him where they were all alone. Was this a test to see if he was going to attack or not?


    "Don''t worry. We are just going to my room. What I''m about to tell you, I can''t let that be recorded in the system, or I''ll be in trouble. My room is the safest ce on this entire ship." Joana stopped at the end of the corridor before two metallic doors.


    As if sensing his hand, the metallic doors started opening up.


    Joana stepped inside. "Come on in."


    Lucifer also stepped inside the dark room. The Metallic doors behind him closed. As the door closed, the lights in the room turned on.


    The room of Joana, it appeared to be really fancy. There were couches, chairs, a bed, and everything that one might need. This ce was like a mini house. The only difference was that it wasn''t mini from any angle.


    "Take a seat." Joana sat on a chair before a metallic table.


    He tapped on the table twice. An opening appeared on the table, from which two bottles came out with some sses.


    Lucifer sat before Joana and picked up the bottle on his side. He wasn''t given anything to drink for a really long time and was certainly thirsty.


    He poured the wine into his ss before gulping it down at once. "Tell me, why was I arrested. I wantplete details this time, including the meaning of the ck color of the box."


    "I know. It wasn''t hard to guess what you''ll be asking. That''s why I brought you here." Joana carefully opened his bottle as well. "However, to tell you everything, I would need to start from the beginning."


    "I have time. Tell me everything."


    Joana also took a sip before he exined. "Angels... That''s what they called themselves. The strongest species in the universe. There weren''t many Angels, only twenty or so ording to the history books."


    "Angels?" Lucifer repeated.


    "Yeah. If you consider this universe as a massive Empire and worlds as the Kingdoms in the universe, then the Angels were the Emperors of this Empire. The strongest species and the ruler of the entire universe."


    "No one could offend them, or else they facedplete extinction. Throughout the years, the Angels had destroyed many worlds for simple mistakes. Even the strongest of worlds were destroyed as if they never existed, and the Angels didn''t even need to send their entire force to do it."


    "One... All it took was one Angel to destroy a world. As for the Angels that used to do it, he was known as the Angel of Death."


    "Surreal, isn''t it?" Joana asked, smiling. "I mean, we can also destroy worlds but only weak worlds that can''t defend themselves. But Angel of Death destroyed the strongest of Worlds which had people even stronger than our Generals. Those people... They were a nightmare."


    "What happened to them?" Lucifer grimly inquired. Did this mean these people thought he was an angel from his energy signature!


    ''Wait! Doesn''t that mean the man who destroyed the world of Dungeon Dwellers was also the so-called Angel? And he has simr features to me. Could I be one as well? But he said I''m not from his family and I''m not his clone. Then... Why does everything have to be soplicated?''


    The more Lucifer thought about it, the more frustrated.


    "After millions of years of rules of Angels and destruction of multiple worlds, the Angels had managed to thoroughly offend everyone. Unfortunately, no one could do anything against them, so Angels didn''t care. Unfortunately, they were wrong. They should''ve cared."


    "Six Origin Families came together to bring down the Angels. They started meeting with envoys of different species, creating a coalition. It was all done inplete secrecy. Miraculously, the six families managed to bring all the species of this world together with one promise... The promise of a world without Angels... A promise of a world withplete freedom."


    "Oh right, you might not know what Origin Families mean. I should''ve exined that first. They are the six strongest Families of the universe after the Angels. Or rather, I should say they were. Most of them are extinct now. The Royal Baltic Family was one of them that has recently been wiped out."

 Chapter 905

    Chapter 905


    "So, that guy will be freed soon."


    "Where will he go after being freed? He''ll also be allowed to join the Star Alliance, or you''ll send him back?"


    "As I told you before, we can''t send him back. Each portal to that space takes a lot of energy, and we aren''t going to waste that on someone like him. He will just be granted citizenship in one of the worlds under the jurisdiction of the Star Alliance. He''ll have to find a way to survive on his own from that point on," Joana exined calmly.


    "His abilities... Isn''t it too risky to leave him alone in the world?" Lucifer frowned. "He can be really troublesome. You have no idea. He can control space and manipte it. If you freed him, he''de back to bite you in the ass. Just don''t underestimate him."


    "Oh, don''t worry about it. We aren''t underestimating anyone. We know exactly what he''s capable of. All I said was that he''d be freed. He''ll still be under restrictions. There will be some conditions applied to him as well."


    A grin spread across the lips of the man.


    "For example, he still has the rings of restrictions. And if he removes them without legal permission, he dies. Moreover, he will be needed to register his presence at the Star Alliance branch in whichever City he''s assigned to stay in. He can''t leave that city for as long as he lives."


    "So you bluffed him too." Lucifer''s fingers tapped on the table as he understood what these people did. "One must be really careful when dealing with the Star Alliance. You promised him freedom but the kind of freedom you gave him... I''m sure his definition of freedom was quite different."


    "Hah, our definitions don''t need to match. He didn''t specify what kind of freedom. We gave him what we considered freedom. We always keep our words. Well, mostly anyway." Joana scratched his temple as he rolled his eyes, going on the technicalities.


    "It doesn''t matter. As long as you don''t send him back to earth to create dangers for my family, I don''t care where he lives." He kept the three stones that he had received in his shadow realm. " I already got what I needed from him."


    He was also slightly surprised that he had received three stones. This meant that the guy had one more than the two he took.


    ****


    The gigantic ship raced through the infinite space, asionally even creating portals to pass through the Spatial barriers.


    The World of Trials was an isted world that didn''t have anyone living in it when it was discovered by the Star Alliance members.


    The World was reported to the High Council, which decided to use it for the good. Before the world was discovered, there were no Trails for Promotions. Every promotion depended on the Higher Ups. However, it was only after the discovery of an empty world that the High Council came up with this idea.


    They decided to make the Word into a Training Ground for their members at first beforeing up with the idea of Trail for Promotions to generalize the entire process to save some time for them. The world was the perfect ce for it, after all.


    As the world was something that was going to be used for promotions to prestigious Captain Ranks, there were many safety precautions that were taken to make sure that no one could interfere in the trials when it was ongoing.


    Multiple spatial barriers were cast around the world, which only got activated when the Trails had started. Once that happens, even the Captain Rank ships couldn''t pass through the barriers. No one could get inside except Two Star Members of the Star Alliance.


    Moreover, even before the Trials started, no ships were allowed tond on the world. At best, the ships could escort the participants to the range of the Portal, from where the candidates were ported inside after making sure that their Card of Entrance was valid.


    The Ship of Joana traveled many light years before ultimately reaching the vicinity of the World of Trials, where it wasmanded to stop.


    By now, Joana had taken back themand of the ship after clearing up every misunderstanding with Lucifer.


    Lucifer stood right behind Joana, gazing at the beautiful red. The world appeared to be slightly shorter than Earth, yet it seemed more special.


    There was no sun or moon in the atmosphere. There weren''t any meteorites either. The entire space was clear. Except for darkness, nothing could be seen. Despite having no sun or moon, the red world still seemed to have some left. It was unclear how.


    Beep~


    Joana''s system started beeping, which forced her to gaze at Joana. "Captain, we are getting a transmission from the world. Someone is asking to enter the ship."


    "Let it through. I have a feeling who it will be. They''reing to check the pass." Joana ex exined. "They''ll take Lucifer after making sure it isn''t fake."


    "People forge even these? Isn''t that stupid?" Lucifer inquired. "The Star Alliance has the data of all its members. If the data was forged and someone sessfully passed the Trail during the time of Promotion, wouldn''t it be easy for that person to be caught and punished?"


    "Oh, you really misunderstand the number of crazies in the Star Alliance. There are people who have been waiting for an opportunity to take part in the trial for over a century. The desperation can make them do some really stupid things."


    "There have been some people who were caught lying to get an entrance. That''s why every entry is verified now."


    "You still seem to remember a lot, Joana." An old-sounding voice came from the back as a figure appeared inside the Ship.


    Joana stood and turned around. "Commander Norn? You came here personally to check?"


    "Yeah. All the members who were supposed to be here are already here, all fifty. Yet you arrive here. Of course, I''lle personally to check. There have never been fifty-one participants," the old man stated.


    "So you think I brought a faker here," Joana chuckled. "Do you really think I can be this stupid?"


    "Well, stupidity should be your middle name. I know how you cleared the Trial of yours. You were really lucky that despite all your stupid actions, you won." The old man rolled his eyes. "Anyway, who is the candidate this time?"


    He noticed ady sitting on the vice-captain seat. "You must be the one. Show me your card."


    "I''m the one," Lucifer''s voice came, attracting the attention of the old man.

 Chapter 906: The New World

    Chapter 906: The New World


    "You?" the old man weirdly looked at Lucifer. "Fine, show me the card. Let''s see what forging you went through."


    Lucifer pulled out the card and gave the card to the man. "This card was given to me by the Queen herself. If you call it fake, you would effectively be calling her into question."


    "Hah, the Queen? She has never given a card to anyone. The cards are given by themittee. Come up with a better story next time," the old man retorted before he started observing the card.


    "Hmm? How can that be?" As the old man stopped observing the card, even his face was filled with surprise.


    "This Card... It is real. That would mean your story about the queen giving it to you..."


    "That''s real as well, old man. The Queen gave this card to him in the presence of the High Council," Joana chimed in to remove some of the shock of the old man.


    The old man had been living in the world of Trials. He never left the ce and didn''t know much about the outside world. Moreover, even if he knew about the outside world, he wouldn''t have known about Lucifer since his arrest, and the usations weren''t publicized.


    "The card given by the Queen in the presence of the High Council? Just who exactly is this boy? Why is it that I see nothing special in him?" The old man asked.


    "You might not see his specialty, but Her Majesty did. Lucifer here might be the most significant recruit for the Star Alliance in centuries. Old man, I''m sure he''ll surprise you soon. I might not know what candidates you have in the world already, but trust me, this guy is going toe out winning," Joana chuckled. "Take it as the final words of another winner."


    The old man rolled his eyes. "We shall see. He might be special in one way or another, but that doesn''t mean he will achieve something that others can''t. That''s not how the Trials work. They will test everything... One or two departments in which a man excels won''t change the oue."


    "Anyway, enough talking. I''ll take the kid with me. You all can go back. Come back after a year. The Trial will end by then. You can take the kid back if he survives until then."


    "Oh, I have a feeling he will," Joana answered before shifting his attention to Lucifer. "Best of luck, Lucifer. Show them all what you''re made of. And don''t worry, I''ll do as you asked. Your message will be delivered to your friends. They can stay in peace knowing you''re perfectly fine and free. So just focus on your tasks."


    "I wi-" Lucifer started responding, but before he could, he and the old man disappeared.


    "There he goes," Joana muttered. "If his luck is good, he wille out as a Captain. From then on, his journey should be even easier. I can prop him up even more, and he will soon be a two-star member after that. I will finally have someone in the Upper Echelon who can stand up for me."


    "Captain, if I may ask, why do you support that kid so much?" Maya stepped closer to Lucifer. "I mean, I know he can be of help once he reaches higher up, but still, the risk didn''t seem worth the oue. Even as a Captain, you don''t have to worry about many things. The plus doesn''t seem to make up for the hard work you need to put through."


    "It''s not about authority or anything like that, Maya. It''s about self-respect. I don''t have any support. I can be sacked anytime with one mistake. And even if I don''t do anything wrong, I can still be insulted like I was insulted recently when they restricted me from leaving my ship."


    "If I had someone in the High Council at that time, I would''ve been treated with more respect. It''s not the strength and authority that I''m after. It''s the respect that I believe I deserve. Since I can''t get it with my own strength, I''ll use any means I can, and that includes Lucifer."


    He gazed at the distant. "I just hope he won''t disappoint me."


    "Turn the ship. We need to get going. Only then will they seal the world and start the trial. We don''t want anything else."


    The Ship turned around in the middle of the space and disappeared into nothingness, leaving.


    As soon as the ship left, a beautiful ck barrier appeared around the space, which not only sealed the world of Trials but also made it invisible to be seen in the dark space.


    The red was impossible to be seen as if it was never there.


    ****


    The old man appeared with Lucifer in a dark room which had no window or any door. There was only a single sphere of light which was floating in the middle of the room that had only one bed.


    "Take some rest. This is where you''ll be staying for the night as we scan you to know more about you," the old man exined.


    "Scan me? Why?"


    "That''s how the Trials are made. We scan all candidates to understand them better so we can make trials that arepletely neutral. We don''t want to give a trial of lightning when we have someone from the Lightning Species here. That would be an unfair advantage. The Trials aim to be as fair as possible to everyone, so this is needed. Do you have any problem with it?"


    Lucifer shook his head. "No. You can go ahead, but I think you''ll be slightly surprised by the results of the scan. I went through two such scans already before."


    "Just know, the bloodline matches doesn''t mean I have abilities of those bloodlines. Because if you went with that logic, you''d be having a real hard time setting the trials."


    "What are you even talking about?" The old man gazed weirdly at Lucifer, wondering what this guy was talking about.


    Lucifer walked to the bed and took a seat. "You''ll understand the meaning of my words when you have the results of my scan."


    "Whatever."


    The old man just considered Lucifer to be talking nonsense as he disappeared.


    He went straight to themand room, starting the scan.


    A green light filled the room after an instruction echoed in the small room,manding Lucifer to close his eyes.


    The scan proceeded swiftly, and it was even faster than the scan on the ship. Within seconds, the old man had the results of the scan.


    His head tilted in confusion.

 Chapter 907: Unending Cycle

    Chapter 907: Unending Cycle


    After his scan waspleted, the old man returned to take Lucifer with him. This time, his entire perception was different though. He gazed at Lucifer more curiously and was able to understand why he said what he said.


    He also understood why Joana was acting so smug. This boy, he was nothing like they had seen before. He was certainly somewhat special.


    He took Lucifer with him to a separate room which was assigned to him, intentionally taking the longer route so he could talk to him more.


    Lucifer told him everything that he had told the Star Alliance since that wasn''t a secret anymore, regarding his history on earth and his appearance in space.


    He conveniently omitted the thing about being arrested over usations and being given this card. He didn''t want the old man to be suspicious. Even though he was proven to be innocent, it was still better for him to keep such things a secret.


    "So you were a part of Joana''s crew. It''s certainly a miracle. You were a part of Joana''s crew for only a few weeks, and now you''re already in the race for promotion. This is certainly impressive." The old manplimented Lucifer before he stopped in front of a door. "But don''t be overconfident. Just because you are here doesn''t mean you will have an easy time."


    "As soon as the trials start, you''ll know how nightmarish this ce can be. And I won''t be going easy on you either, even if you''re special."


    He pushed the door open. "This will be your room for as long as you''re here. Your uniform and food will be inside. In the meantime, if you want, you can roam outside as well. You don''t need to inform us about that. Just don''t get lost and be back before it turns dark. Since everyone is here, the trials will start forty-eight hours from now."


    "You''re free to do whatever you want until then." The old man didn''t even enter the room to check things. He just showed the room before disappearing, leaving Lucifer all alone.


    "No matter what you call this ce, this ce is a prison world, and we''re all prisoners until the trials are over. Just remember that," Lucifer gazed at the empty spot where the old man was standing previously.


    The world was sealed. They could go out, but they couldn''t leave this ce. For months, this ce was going to be their new home, whether they liked it or not.


    Despite missing his home, Lucifer was determined to win the Trials and be a Captain Rank member of the Star Alliance. With that, he wasn''t going to need anyone''s permission to go home when he needed to. Moreover, he was also going to get the authority to investigate exactly what happened in the past.


    The Star Alliance was going to be his stepping stone for him to reach his goal.


    Lucifer observed his room which was much better than the room he was scanned at. The room appeared to be very modern with everything that he was going to need, including a private bathroom.


    There was also a freezer avable which was filled with drinks. There was afortable King Size bed for him to sleep along with a wardrobe that was filled with the uniform.


    There were around twenty uniforms, all looking the same.


    Shaking his head, he walked to the wardrobe and picked up a set of uniforms before entering the shower to freshen up.


    He came out of the shower, dressed in the new uniform, which was pure white. There was a symbol of the Star Alliance on the left portion, while there was a ck badge on the right side.


    The small badge was pitch ck in color previously, but as soon as Lucifer wore the attire, a number appeared on the badge. "51."


    "Participant number 51," Lucifer muttered, shaking his head.


    Now that he was dressed, he wanted to roam outside, but he also wanted to sleep. Back on earth, he hadn''t been able toplete his sleep on the flights. From there, he was brought to the High Council, and in his worries, he again couldn''t sleep. It was the same case on his way here.


    He hadn''t properly slept in days.


    "It''s already evening outside. I should see the world in the morning. There are still two days before the trial starts." Hezily dropped to the bed.


    Things were finally calm again. He didn''t need to worry about being killed by the High Council. He also received the pieces of the Portal Stones from Xaen. Now, as soon as he went back, he could get the others on earth.


    "Next time I go back, I''ll be the Captain of my own ship. I should be able to locate the other stones easily. That will only leave the stone in the World of Summons."


    "Wait... Isn''t the World of Summon also a world? I forgot to ask this. If it''s also a world in the database of the Star Alliance, I can go there as an official representative of the Star Alliance with my ship. Things would certainly be easier with my own crew from Star Alliance. It would also help in locating the exact spot of the store in the World of Summon, which is still unclear."


    Lost in his thoughts and his future ns, Lucifer didn''t realize when he fell asleep.


    Deep asleep, Lucifer lost himself in the dreams that seemed a bit too realistic.


    He found himself back in the world where he had gone after receiving the Vessel Strength. He stood on the exact cliff, but there was no one there anymore.


    Lucifer flew up and observed his surroundings to find even one glimpse of the man, but he was nowhere to be found. Lucifer kept flying at his fastest Speed as he circled the entire world to find the man who was herest time, forgetting that he was in a dream this time.


    Afterpleting the entire circle, he returned back to the cliff. Tired, he sat at the edge of the cliff as he took calm breaths. "He isn''t here. Did he leave?"


    "Looking for me?" Just as Lucifer had given up hope, a voice came from nearby.


    Lucifer turned around to find the man standing behind him. "There you are! I was looking everywhere for you! Where did you hide?!"


    "Why were you looking for me?" The man asked, sitting beside Lucifer.


    "I had many questions to ask you regarding the Angels and the past and my link to everything," Lucifer answered, but before he could finish, the man started speaking.


    "Hard times give birth to strong people. Strong people create good times. Good times give birth to weak people. Weak people create hard times. It''s an unending cycle of beginning and ends that even gods can''t avoid¡­."

 Chapter 908: 51st

    Chapter 908: 51st


    "Even the so-called Angels weren''t able to avoid it," the man stated further.


    "I know what happened to them. I''m asking my rtion to them and to you? Am I really from the same species as you?" Lucifer asked.


    The man simply smiled. "What do you think the answer to that question would be? Since this is a dream, whatever answer youe up with will be what you receive."


    "Dream?" It was only now that Lucifer remembered he had gone to sleep in the World of Trials. So he was dreaming about the man being here.


    He hit his forehead in frustration. "So you actually aren''t here. You''re just a fragment of my imagination in my dream."


    "We''re all but a fragment of someone''s imagination," the man responded. "You must really want to meet me since you''re already dreaming about me?"


    "I only want my answers about my origins. I want my answer about my identity and how I ended up in that Dungeon with the sword that you... I mean the sword that real you stole from whoever possessed Jian. I don''t care about anything else but finding out about myself so my heart can calm down. And that''s what I''ve been trying to achieve."


    "What after you get your answers? What will you do?" The man asked.


    "It will depend on the answers," Lucifer answered. "Whatever the answer may be, it will decide what happens."


    The manid on the ground, gazing at the Star. "You know, as you subconscious fragment of imagination, I can see what you truly think. Sometimes it''s better to not get some answers as you might spoil your future as well."


    "Great, so basically, I''m talking to myself now," Lucifer rolled his eyes in response. "Anyway, it doesn''t matter what answers lie ahead. I need to know them. If I can''t even know who I was, how can I know what I truly am? I don''t even know what happened to my real family. ording to the stories, the Angel n was wiped centuries ago."


    " I''m not even twenty years old, so it''s impossible that my real mother was killed centuries ago. I don''t know what happened to her, but I can''t sit without knowing why she let me go and where she went."


    The young man nodded. "Have you considered the possibility that she might have died in thest twenty years?"


    Lucifer went silent but didn''t respond.


    "You don''t need to speak for me to know your answer. Just know that there is a lot of conflict in your heart. First, you need to clear your internal conflict and then do something. Make sure if you truly want to know when living in ignorance can be a bliss."


    "You can forget about your past and focus on your future. You already have a family. Why insert yourself into a conflict you can avoid? Let that man do whatever he wants. Let him kill wherever he wants. You are cleared by the Star Alliance. You have a new life now. Why risk it?" The young man once again tried to convince Lucifer. Unfortunately, Lucifer had already made up his mind.


    He couldn''t argue with himself about himself. It would be as if he was lying to himself. Whatever the man said was truly the conflict in his heart. He had a family now, he had friends, and he had a home. If he entered an unnecessary conflict, he was going to put them all in danger.


    As Lucifer lost himself in thoughts, he heard the knocking on the door. It was odd. Why was he hearing knocking when there were no doors in this world?


    "Someone is at the door. You should wake up now." The man tapped the shoulder of Lucifer.


    "Huh!" Lucifer''s eyes opened, falling on the roof. He was back in his room. "My dreams are getting weirder."


    Knock~


    The knocking on the door continued.


    Lucifer nced at the clock to notice that it was already morning. Still, the Trial was supposed to be after two days, so who could be knocking at his door at this time. He got off the bed and walked to the door.


    He pulled the door open, wondering who it was.


    As the door opened, Lucifer noticed a group of youngsters standing outside. There were a total of ten youngsters, all having a number from 1-50 on their chest. Seeing the numbers, Lucifer realized that they were the participants as well.


    "So the news was right. There is a 51st participant this time. Really fascinating." A blue-haireddymented.


    She was standing in the lead. There were two written on her chest, which was pretty high.


    ording to what Lucifer was told about this ce by Joana, the numbers here mattered a lot. The number on the chest wasn''t just the number of participants. They were also the current rankings.


    Even though the Trial hadn''t even started yet, each of the participants had an initial ranking that was decided by the High Council based on their past performance in the field and their strength.


    For the girl to have two on her chest, it implied that she was currently in the top two participants in this ce.


    Since Lucifer was given a ck card at thest moment when everyone was already assigned numbers, his ranking was undetermined. He was given the 51st rank for now.


    The girl nced at the number on Lucifer''s chest. "51st. I thought the new participant would be someone special, but he''s literally the weakest here, it seems."


    She didn''t even take a second nce at Lucifer before she turned. "He must be someone who reached here with the help of Nepotism. He must be the rtive of a General who gave him the pass. Tsk, what a waste of a spot."


    She left. The others also started leaving one after another after taking a sigh of relief. When they had heard that there was a 51st participant here, they thought he must''ve been someone special for rules to be broken for him. However, his ranking proved that he was nothing special.


    Lucifer watched everyone leave. His head tilted sideways in confusion. He shrugged his shoulders as he walked back inside the room.


    He went to wash his face before leaving his room as well. He hadn''t seen the world yet, and it was the perfect time to do it. It was already bright outside. Moreover, he needed some fresh air to clear his head of his weird dream.


    Fortunately, there were maps of the facility in each hallway to make participants know which ce was where. There were also some forbidden ces marked on the map.

 Chapter 909: Attempt to kill?

    Chapter 909: Attempt to kill?


    The Map had most of the ces marked as forbidden. None of them were allowed to go to those ces. Under the maps, it was written in clear terms that if one was found in the forbidden zones, they were going to be disqualified immediately.


    Lucifer took the warning seriously and made a mental note to not go into those ces even though he was really curious what was there. He didn''t want to be disqualified.


    "So I''m here in the participant quarters. If I take those stairs, I should be straight at the exit. They made the quarters so close to the exit, probably so no one could go to the forbidden parts and use the excuse that they were lost."


    After memorizing the map, Lucifer left towards the stairs and departed from the building. Along the way, he didn''t see anyone. It was as if all the other participants had disappeared. Moreover, for some reason, there were no guards here. It was as if the administration here didn''t worry about intruders.


    As Lucifer stepped out of the building, he gazed back to see how big the building actually was. It didn''t appear to be too big. The building only seemed to have four floors. Moreover, even when it came to the area covered, the building didn''t even cover half the area inparison to his own Uprising Headquarters.


    "Such a massive world, and they made this ce so small. I guess they made only what they needed," Lucifermented before observing the surroundings.


    Ake was surrounding the entire base from all sides. There was only one bridge to cross theke.


    Lucifer could fly like many others here, so he knew he didn''t need to use the bridge, but he also understood that there must be people amongst the participants who couldn''t fly since there were multiple species here.


    Instead of flying, Lucifer also took the bridge to cross it.


    While crossing the bridge, Lucifer nced at the crystal clear Lake. The water was so clear that he could even see the stones that were lying on the bottom of theke. There also appeared to be some strange coins in theke, each having a different design.


    For a moment, Lucifer stood still, observing the coins for some reason. For no apparent reason, he also brought a coin of earth out of his pocket and tossed it inside theke, making a wish.


    He didn''t know why the other coins were there but seeing them; he had a feeling as if it was akin to the wishing fountain back on earth.


    After making a wish, he left through the bridge and entered the forest. The trees in the forest were so big that the trees of earth were nowhere close to them in height. Even the tallest tree on earth was only a fraction of the height of trees here. Moreover, the trees didn''t have green leaves. Instead, their leaves were blood red.


    Lucifer flew up and took a leaf from the tree to observe it. As soon as he touched the leaf, he noticed that his hands had turned red. The tree was also somewhat wet for some reason.


    "The spell of blood... This isn''t just the color of the leaves. They are literally the leaves of blood."


    Hended on the ground with a leaf in his hand. He crushed the leaf, only to notice a few blood droplets fall on the ground.


    " No matter which world it is, blood shouldn''t grow on trees. That begs the question. Whose blood is it?" Lucifer observed the trees in confusion.


    He tossed the crushed leaf on the ground before he advanced ahead.


    In the entire forest, all he saw were those trees. There were no nts or flowers. There was also no sign of life in the form of animals.


    This world... It just appeared to be so empty. After traveling for close to an hour, he finally reached the end of the forest.


    He appeared in a in area. There were some strange marks all around that area. In the middle, there appeared to be a stage that was twenty meters wide.


    Lucifer stepped on the stage. The stage was really firm, as if it was made to survive even the strongest of attacks.


    "I suppose I know what will happen here," he muttered before getting down the stage.


    He started rising in the air to get a better view from the top.


    As he gazed at the stage from the top, he noticed a massive star alliance symbol on the center of the state.


    From the height, he could also see the forest he had just crossed, and it looked even more majestic from height.


    As he was at such height, he could also see far and wide. He noticed many things. There appeared to be a waterfall in the south that was even more majestic than anything he had seen. It was a thousand-meter-high waterfall. In another part, he noticed what appeared like a volcano which was frozen in snow for some reason.


    In the North, there appeared to be a massive cliff. At the edge of the cliff, Lucifer could see what appeared like a figure of a person who was wearing the same uniform as him.


    He started flying toward the cliff andnded right behind the person who sat unaware about Lucifer''s arrival.


    "Don''t tell me you''re nning to jump?" Lucifer asked. As soon as the girl heard the voice, she hastily stood up, losing her bnce in haste.


    Her body tilted back as she tried to bnce herself to stop her fall; however, it appeared to be impossible.


    Lucifer took the lead and held the hands of the girl, pulling her back. "Why do you want to die?"


    "Y-you idiot! I didn''t want to die! I didn''te here to die! I was just sitting here in peace when you scared me! I almost died because of you!" The girl snapped.


    She soon noticed the number on Lucifer''s chest. "Fifty-one? Is that even possible? I thought I was the lowest-ranked person here. Where did youe from?"


    Her own badge showed that she was fiftieth in ranking for now.


    "It''s like you haven''t been back at the base in a long time. Everyone knows about me now. I just arrived here today, and I''ll be the 51st participant," Lucifer exined.


    "And just because my rank says so, it doesn''t mean I''m weakest. These things are useless. I''ll be changing my ranking soon. So don''t focus on these things. These things can''t predict anything." He also sat at the edge of the cliff. "By the way, you were right. The view here is really nice."

 Chapter 910: The Temple

    Chapter 910: The Temple


    "How can you stay so calm despite being the weakest here?" the youngdy asked, gazing at Lucifer in amusement. "Don''t you realize that the weaker you are, the higher your chance of dying here?"


    Lucifer smiled in response. "Would anyonee here if they were scared of death? Moreover, aren''t you the secondst? What applies to me applies to you as well, doesn''t it?"


    "Of course it does! Why else do you think I''ll be so worried? This ce isn''t a yground for people like us!" The girl answered, sitting beside Lucifer.


    "Then why did you even decide toe here? If you were so scared, you should''ve stayed back."


    "Beforeing here, we didn''t know where we were going to be in our initial standing. I didn''t expect everyone else to be stronger than me. Well, everyone else except you. Anyway, now that I''m here, I can''t leave."


    Lucifer let out a deep sigh. "What a waste of a spot. There are people like Maya who have been waiting for years for a spot in these trials, and here, we have you who got the spot but didn''t have the courage."


    "Youngdy, death and life are something you should stop worrying about. Focus on what you want to achieve in this ce and give it your all. Because from what I''ve been told, you are never going to get this opportunity again. And if you miss it, you might regret it."


    For a moment, the girl waspletely stunned, hearing the advice of Lucifer. She just stared nkly at him.


    "Are you really not worried about the Trials ahead?" she asked after a long time.


    "If I started getting worried about things, the trials would best on that list," Lucifer responded. "I wasn''t aiming toe here. I didn''t want to be here either, but now that I''m here, I''m not going to waste this opportunity. If you''re worried about your safety, you should stay out of my path as well."


    "Anyway, It was nice seeing you. I will see you in the trials." Bidding his farewell, Lucifer jumped off the cliff.


    "What?" The woman eximed in shock, watching Lucifer jump down. She couldn''t help but wonder if that man was crazy! He told her not to kill herself, but he killed himself instead?


    "That madman!" She shook her head in disappointment and prepared to disregard everything that Lucifer said.


    Swiss~


    Just as she was about to leave, she noticed a figure fly up and leave. Her jaws dropped, noticing it was none other than Lucifer. "H-he can fly too? Just who is he?"


    Throughout the entire day, Lucifer flew from ce to ce, observing every significant ce. He went to theke, the freezing volcano. After roaming the entire world, thest ce on his Target was a tall temple that was the tallest ce in the entire world.


    He circled around the temple, noticing that there was no other path to enter except the main door. As for the main door, it was sealed. He could break the seal and enter, but he didn''t want to break the rules so soon.


    Despite being curious about the temple, Lucifer departed just as swiftly as he came.


    A few moments after Lucifer left, there came a thudding sound from inside the temple as if something had fallen.


    Lucifer returned back to the base just as the sun had started setting. On the way back, he noticed even more participants. All those people gazed at Lucifer as well, especially at his initial rank.


    Some of them scoffed while othersughed and made jokes about how Lucifer was literally the lowest-ranked participant in the entire history of Trial of Promotion. Before him, there was no one who ever received the 51st rank.


    Lucifer ignored the tauntingments and went straight to his room; along the way noticing thedy he had seen on the cliff.


    The Night passed away inplete silence. Lucifer went to sleep in his room after finishing dinner. As he slept, he wondered if he was going to have the same weird dream as before. Fortunately, that didn''t happen. He didn''t dream about talking to his consciousness. Instead, his current dream was even weirder.


    In the dream, he was back in the past, where he hadn''t lost his parents. In the dream, he didn''t be what he was since he had loving parents. Instead, he went on to start his own business and lived the life of amoner.


    He grew up married ording to the wishes of his parents. In the dream, he even had two cute kids. He was dreaming of a calm and peaceful life far away from all the chaos. The world that was never meant to be.


    His dream broke suddenly as his kids were killed in the battle between two Variants when a stray attacknded on them.


    Roaring, Lucifer woke up from his slumber, reaching out his hands toward nothingness. His face was covered in sweat, and his breathing fastened.


    He soon realized that it was all just a dream. He was back in the room, all alone.


    "Without strength, there is no safety in this world." He got off the bed and walked into the shower, not willing to think about his dream anymore.


    After getting ready, he once again left the ce; however, this time, as soon as he left his room, he was greeted by a middle-aged man.


    The man wasn''t the same he had seenst time. Instead, it was a different man.


    "Pleasee with me," the man told Lucifer before he started leaving.


    Lucifer followed the man, wondering where he was being taken. He was taken out of the building.


    Lucifer''s body started floating in the air on its own. This time, he wasn''t the one doing it. It appeared to be the work of the man ahead.


    "Don''t worry. You won''t be hurt. This is just so we could move faster," the man calmly stated as he started flying as well.


    Lucifer and the man flew above the forest, going toward the east. As Lucifer had already seen everything yesterday, he understood where they were going. In the direction they had selected, there was only one ce there.


    Just as Lucifer had expected, the mannded before the strange ce with him. The man who had greeted Lucifer when he first arrived here was also standing here.


    Lucifer gazed at the sealed temple, wondering why they were brought here.


    "Are the Trials starting sooner than nned!" he asked.


    "There are no trials. We are here for something even more important," the man answered.

 Chapter 911: Unseal

    Chapter 911: Unseal


    The old man further exined. "The Trials will start tomorrow, as I told you before. So you''re brought here for something else."


    "Something rted to this Temple?" Lucifer asked calmly. Since they were at the entrance of the Temple, what else could there be?


    The man nodded. "That''s right. We want you to open this Temple."


    "Why would you need me for that? Just break the lock and enter?" Lucifer gazed at the old man in confusion.


    As far as he could see, there was only one lock on the doors of the Temple which shouldn''t have been hard to break for people as strong as them. In fact, he believed he also could''ve broken the lock if he wanted yesterday, but he resisted his urge since he didn''t want to break any rules.


    "You think we wouldn''t have done it if we could?" The old man could only roll his eyes in response. "This lock isn''t any ordinary lock. It''s the Bloodline Seal. Only someone who has the Bloodline of the person that cast this lock can open it. Except for the ones with the Bloodline, all others are fated to fail."


    "And why do you suppose I would be able to break it?" Lucifer gazed at the man, wondering if this Temple was made by the Angels since these people thought his bloodline was going to solve it.


    "We don''t know who made the Temple or who made this Bloodline Seal. This entire world was Abandoned when it was discovered by the Star Alliance a long time ago. There was nothing in this world, including no structure. All this world had was its terrain and this one Temple."


    "The Star Alliance tried everything to get inside the temple, but it''s impossible to break the walls of the temple to get inside. The only way to get inside is through the door, and even that can only be used if the lock is open."


    "Since we don''t know who made the Temple or whose blood is needed to open the seal, we haven''t been able to open it for centuries. But now you''re here, and I believe you can help us open it. Because of you, we might finally be able to get some answers," the old man exined.


    "And why do you think I''ll be able to open it?" Lucifer asked. "Since you don''t even know who made this lock, why do you look so sure that you''ll be able to open it with my help?"


    The old man only smiled in response. "Because you''re the master key. Your Bloodline, as we discovered in the scan, matches all the bloodlines we have in our database to some extent. That means your Bloodline should also match the one who made this Temple, no matter who that person was."


    "That''s why we believe you can open it."


    Hearing the responses, Lucifer understood everything. He couldn''t help but curse under his breath.


    ''That cunning Queen! She didn''t give me the entrance pass for this trial because she was sorry! That was an excuse for her to send me here so I could open this Temple! She... No wonder she gave me this card! It wasn''t a gift but a bait to get me here.''


    Lucifer couldn''t help but gaze at the lock ahead in frustration. He was yed...


    ''If she thinks she can use me, she is wrong. She sent me here to act as a key. I''m sure even she didn''t believe I could be apetition. I''ll prove her wrong! As for what''s inside the Temple, I don''t know, but I''ll make sure it doesn''t benefit the Star Alliance either! If there is a treasure here, it will be mine only.''


    Lucifer made a promise to himself as he agreed to try opening the lock. "I will help you. Tell me what I need to do to open the seal?"


    "All we need is one blood drop of yours. Make a droplet of your blood fall on the lock. That should be enough."


    Lucifer stepped closer to the lock and bit his thumb lightly. Following a bite, his thumb started bleeding. Lucifer ced his blood on the lock before his wound could heal. He stepped back.


    Everyone observed the lock with eager breaths.


    The blood thatnded on the lock seemed to be slowly absorbed by the lock before it disappeared entirely. The lock still didn''t open though.


    The old man tilted his head as he stepped closer to the lock.


    He turned back to the other man. "Why isn''t it open? Could it be that we were wrong?"


    "Let''s give it some time. The blood was absorbed instead of being rejected, so something must be happening."


    After waiting for over twenty minutes, the old man grew even more disappointed. The lock still didn''t open.


    He shook his head in disappointment. "It seems we truly were wrong. His blood might match every species in our database, but it looks like whoever made this Temple isn''t one of those Species. We wasted our time."


    "Send Lucifer back to his cabin." The old man departed.


    The man who brought Lucifer stayed back with him. He once again started making Lucifer''s body fly. This time, Lucifer stopped him though.


    "I don''t need you to send me back. I just want to roam around thend for a little. I''ll be back by evening. You go ahead."


    "Are you sure?" The man inquired.


    Lucifer nodded. "I am sure. Tomorrow the trials will begin, so today is the only free day for me, and I want to roam around freely."


    "As you wish, but don''t forget to be back on time." The man departed, letting Lucifer stay behind.


    Only Lucifer stayed before the Temple at this point. Both the men left.


    Lucifer made sure that the two men were indeed gone before she stepped closer to the lock again. He once again bit his finger, but instead of one droplet of Blood, he let more blood fall on the lock.


    "If my bloodline partially matches other bloodlines, that means more of my blood will be needed to beparable to those bloodlines. Let''s see if my assumption is correct."


    Lucifer kept losing his blood, but he didn''t care. Now that he was all alone, he wanted to go inside and see what was there. Who made this Temple which even the Star Alliance couldn''t get inside? This certainly didn''t belong to the Angels, that he was sure of.


    As soon as Lucifer''s fingers healed, he bit them again and followed the same process. It was only after ten minutes that something changed. He heard the clicking sound and the lock actually opened.

 Chapter 912: Entering the Unknown

    Chapter 912: Entering the Unknown


    The lock opened and dropped to the ground right at the feet of Lucifer.


    Lucifer picked up the lock. "I would be needing it again to lock this ce when I leave."


    He kept the lock in his shadow realm before taking one more nce to make sure that no one was here. He also left a shadow where he was standing to make sure that he was going to find out in case someone closed in on the Temple.


    He also sent a few more shadows in the surroundings to cover an even bigger area. Only after setting up all the precautions Lucifer prepare to step inside.


    Creek~


    He pushed the door open.


    The door hadn''t been opened in a long time. As soon as Lucifer opened the door, a metallic screeching sound filled the surrounding area.


    The doors appeared to be heavy, especially with the sound they were making, yet Lucifer didn''t feel it. He was able to open the doors easily with a casual push after the doors were unlocked.


    Lucifer stepped inside the temple and closed the door behind him.


    The entire temple waspletely dark on the inside. It became even darker as the doors were closed.


    Fortunately, Lucifer wasn''t affected by it. He raised his right finger, bringing a sphere of light into existence.


    As soon as the sphere of light appeared, the entire surroundings illuminated.


    Lucifer noticed the inner walls of the Temple, and they looked to be in a really bad condition. The walls on the outside didn''t even have a scratch and looked as if they werepletely new despite so many attacks by the Star Alliance to enter.


    The Inner Wall was telling apletely different story though. It was as if the walls here had gone through a war. There were cracks all over the walls which made it appear as if the Temple could fall at any time.


    There also appeared to be strange markings on the wall, which were like drawings that were telling a story.


    He didn''t know from where the drawings started though, since these marks were all over the temple. They didn''t have a start or the end. It was as if it was aplete cycle.


    Lucifer ced his finger on one of the carvings, feeling the texture of the wall.


    Right before him, there appeared to be a carving that depicted something akin to a cage. There appeared to be a person inside the small cage who was ring at three people before him.


    Each of the three people before the person in the cage held a spear in their hands, aiming it at the cage.


    Lucifer moved over to the next carving, which appeared something akin to the torture of the man in the cage as he was stabbed by the spears. Arrows were fired at him, and then man was even burned in the mes, all without letting him out. Despite all that, the man never fell on his knees.


    Lucifer took a few steps and moved over to the next carving. The people with the spear stood in a group as one of them pointed toward the cage.


    The following carving depicted the men creating something... Something simr to the Temple where he was standing.


    As soon as Lucifer saw that, his expression shifted. He didn''t even go through the rest of the story to find its beginning and the end to know what might have been the possibility.


    The Temple was created around the caged person.


    "This ce... It''s not a Temple but a prison! That''s why there is destruction in the inner walls!"


    He became extremely alert as he sent his shadows to check every corner of the Temple to find that cage or the prisoner.


    The Shadows checked the entire temple from top to bottom yet nothing was found. There was no cage here. There were also no signs of life.


    Only after making sure that he was wrong Lucifer calmed down.


    "That means the temple in these carvings is different. Either that or they made more than one temple to make sure no one could easily find the correct Temple."


    He could only get his answers through the carvings, and that''s what he decided to do.


    He recalled all his shadows and moved over to the next carving. The Temple appeared to be finished.


    In the next carving, there was no mention of the Temple. Instead, it showed something else entirely.


    Two groups stood before each other, one holding a spear and the other holding what appeared to be a staff.


    It was unclear why the two groups were together. There were no dialogues or actions on the carving. And even if there were, Lucifer knew he wouldn''t have been able to read them.


    He moved over to the next carving in which a body was lying between the two groups. The group with the spears pointed them to the group with the staff. A war ensued. The next few carvings appeared to depict a magical war.


    Lucifer was amazed at how amazingly the war was depicted. The battles were so vivid. It was as if Lucifer could see the battles taking ce with his own eyes, even though this was just in the form of the carvings.


    Most of the carvings from that point on depicted that war in which many people seemed to have died.


    Atst, only four people were left. Three of them held a spear in their hands, while the fourth was the one who was using a staff previously.


    Unfortunately, that staff appeared to be sliced in half. Still, the person wasn''t killed. No matter what the three Spearman did, the fourth man just refused to die. It was as if he was a true immortal, unlike the others from his race.


    Immersed in the story, Lucifer didn''t even realize that he had finished the entire circle of the Temple, and he was almost back where he started. The man was ced in the cage.


    As soon as he realized that the story was back where it started, he finally came to his senses. "So that''s where the story starts."


    "The reason this world is abandoned is probably because all the people here already died in the war of their own. As for the three who survived, they were all men and couldn''t continue the species, ultimately dying of one age. The world was left all alone. So that''s the history of the world with no life..."


    "Still, if this isn''t the real Temple of the prisoner, then where is the real Temple? And if it''s the real Temple, then where is the prisoner?"


    Tuck~


    Lucifer abruptly heard a strange sounding from behind him.

 Chapter 913: The Stranger

    Chapter 913: The Stranger


    The strange noiseing from the surroundings that were supposed to bepletely empty stunned Lucifer. He hastily turned around.


    As soon as he turned, a figure appeared before him. A fistnded on his face sending him flying to the distant wall.


    At the same time, the future ran toward the exit. Opening the unsealed floor, the figure disappeared into the outside world.


    For some reason, as the future moved past the shadows of Lucifer, the shadows were destroyed on their own to make it impossible to chase the figure.


    Lucifer rubbed his cheeks where the first hadnded. The punch was so powerful that it had managed to dislocate his jaws momentarily.


    Lucifer stood up after his healing took ce, gazing at the door on the other end of the temple.


    "So this was the prison. But where was he hiding in that case? I checked everywhere before, and I couldn''t find him anywhere. It was like he could... Disappear?"


    "If that was actually the case, then even I can''t locate him in the outside world. However, it''s not as if he can leave this ce either. The world is sealed. This can be really troublesome. Should I tell the instructors?"


    Even though Lucifer had just been hit, he was more concerned about the person that hit him. There was one thing which he was sure of. Whoever that person was, he was trapped for centuries because he lost a war. That was all.


    Centuries of istion could make anyone go crazy, yet that person only attacked him but didn''t kill. He just left. That made Lucifer feel like there was more to that person. He was certainly a threat, but he wasn''t a crazy killer.


    "No, I can''t tell the Star Alliance. I will be expelled from the trials for entering without informing them. It''ll be my loss. They don''t know the story of this temple or that it was a prison. They will never know that man appeared here because of me."


    Lucifer left the temple and made sure to close the door. He ced the lock on the door once again.


    Now that he had managed to cover his trail, the only thing that was left for him was to find the person who had attacked him. That person doesn''t belong in this timeline, but one thing was certain. For him to live so long without dying, there was just something simr between him and Lucifer.


    Unfortunately, that simrity didn''t appear to be bloodline since Lucifer believed he was more simr to the person he was collecting the seven stones for. The man who was imprisoned here just had immortality which was somewhat simr to him.


    He believed that it could also be because a part of his bloodline matched this person''s species as well, so he was able to draw the strength?


    A fraction of his Bloodline matched the Baltics. And it''s the effect of the arrival of the Baltics which made humans awaken their abilities that should''ve stayed with the Baltics.


    However, he himself wasn''t a Variant or a human. So he couldn''t have received the abilities from the Baltics. Yet he had simr abilities to the Variants. He had started considering the possibility that it was because of his Bloodline which made him capable of awakening the abilities of other Bloodlines.


    He had somewhat managed to find the origin of his abilities and his simrities to the person.


    In one way or another, this person was also simr to him, unable to die. Moreover, Lucifer also had an ulterior notice in not attacking the person.


    Whoever that person was, he was really strong and could be a great ally. Lucifer had seen a future where he was to go against the Star Alliance. The Star Alliance, which was trying to be his friend now, was going to be the one that tried to kill him. And they also had strength as well.


    Even if they couldn''t kill him, they could imprison him and let him run out of his energy. He didn''t want to let the future be a reality, and for that, he needed allies! The Allies who weren''t weak in the grand scheme of things! The Allies like the person who just swung at him.


    He didn''t want to be loyal to the Star Alliance. If he told them about this person, not only was he going to be Punished for ignoring themand, but he was also going to lose the opportunity of making a great ally in the process.


    Moreover, if he managed to be a Captain after this Trial, he was also going to be able to hide that man on the ship.


    There were just too many advantages of not giving up on that person. But first, he needed to find that person.


    Lucifer spread his arms. One after another, shadows kepting out of him, each taking a different direction for search.


    Instead of searching alone, he ced thousands of his shadows on the task. Even though thousands of shadows were like thousands of people searching for that person, it was still not easy.


    It was like thousands of people who needed to search for a person in the huge world who could be anywhere.


    Unfortunately, this was also the best he could do. Even he couldn''t form an infinite number of shadows in the process. Even his own strength was limited.


    After sending his shadows for the search, he also left the crime scene and went back to the cliff to face some peace of mind to think.


    In a different part of the world, a tall figure was running without stopping. The person ran through the freezing mountains and zing desert before he ultimately stopped in front of a pond.


    For some reason, the person appeared to be really confused, as if he didn''t recognize a single thing. The surroundings were different, the fields were different, and nature was different.


    It was as if he was in a different world altogether, one which wasn''t even slightly simr to the world he used to know.


    The man who appeared to be only in his early twenties felt as if the entire world was spinning around him. He had managed to get out after centuries of imprisonment, and the ce he came to, it wasn''t even his home.


    The dark-skinned man sat before the pound, gazing at his slender face, which was covered in sweat. His beautiful crimson eyes were filled with confusion.


    He drank some water from the pond before washing his face. He finally spoke a few words. "Just what have they done to my home?"

 Chapter 914: The Gift of Immortality

    Chapter 914: The Gift of Immortality


    The long-haired man gazed at his reflection in the water. The only thing he could recognize in this entire ce was his own face which still looked identical to what it looked like centuries ago. There was no difference.


    His body was still as well-built as before, even though he had no food for centuries. All he could do was get nutrition from the atmosphere around him to maintain himself.


    "Those people... They waged a war over a lie. They killed everyone and even sealed me, and even after all that, they didn''t even protect this ce?"


    He could sense that the people who sealed him weren''t here. He was able to feel all the life essence in this world, and none of them belonged to those people.


    That was also why he didn''t attack Lucifer with all his might. He had sensed that Lucifer wasn''t one of them.


    After taking another sip of the water, the young man stood up.


    "Centuries have passed since that day. Everything is different. And the people I could me are no more. My family is also gone. Is there even a purpose for me left in this world?"


    The man grew really different. It was as if he had woken after centuries to find out that everything he cared for was gone. Nothing was left.


    He jumped inside theke and let his body float freely without moving at all. He even closed his eyes, letting his body slowly submerge in the water as he tried to think


    His body kept drowning in theke, but the man didn''t appear to be phased.


    He remained inside the water for an unknown amount of time, and it didn''t look like he was nning toe out anytime soon. In fact, it even appeared as if the man was sleeping inside the water even though he wasn''t.


    In the outside world, the shadows of Lucifer searched for the man everywhere, but he was nowhere to be found.


    One of the shadows even reached near theke and was about to leave before noticing something in the crystal clear water.


    ****


    Lucifer sat on the cliff all alone, wondering if he was ever going to find that person when he realized that he had found him. One of his shadows noticed a body in the middle of theke.


    Without waiting for even a second, Lucifer took off.


    The girl he had metst time here just arrived on the cliff to find him sitting there. She was just about to approach him, but before she could, Lucifer flew away.


    "It must feel so good to be able to fly. You can go anywhere, and no obstruction can stop you." Carrying a wry smile on her face, she sat at the edge of the Cliff, wondering where Lucifer was going now.


    "If only I were as free and careless as him. I''m stronger than him, yet I''m more worried about the Trials ahead."


    ****


    Lucifernded before theke.


    As soon as his firm feet nted on the ground, the dark-skinned man inside theke opened his beautiful eyes, revealing his green pupils.


    His body started rising in the air.


    His clothes should''ve been drenched in the water since he spent so much time there, but that didn''t seem to be the case. His clothes were perfectly dry as he got out of the water tond before Lucifer.


    "It''s you again," the man calmly stated.


    "Yeah, the guy you punched without warning," Lucifer responded.


    "If you''re here for revenge for that, I would advise you against it. That was me being considerate to you. I didn''t want to kill you since you aren''t those people. But I also wanted peace of mind, so I couldn''t let you chase after me. So I did what I could without hurting you," the Young Man exined.


    "By breaking my jaws," Lucifer let out, rolling his eyes. If that punch was the gentle punch of this guy, he didn''t want to see the serious one even though he also had the super strength. He wasn''t here to make enemies.


    "Your jaws look perfectly fine to me," the young man answered. "You''d have to be really weak for that hit to break your jaws as well."


    Irritated at the constant back and forth over the topic that didn''t matter for now, Lucifer shifted to the main point. "I''m not here for revenge. I wanted to talk to you."


    "I''m, but a ghost of the forgotten past left all alone in this world. Why would you want to talk to me?" The man inquired, tilting his head sideways.


    Even though he was confused by Lucifer''s presence here, he was slightly d as well. Lucifer didn''t seem like a bad person. He could sense in his tone that he wasn''t here to harm him. He didn''t appear to be angry either. Moreover, the man also felt that it was nice to talk to a person after spending so long in istion.


    "I saw the carvings on the wall in that temple. I believe that was your story?"


    "That ce was no Temple. It was a prison. And yeah, I made all those carvings on the wall since I was bored," the man answered. He turned his back on Lucifer and sat at the edge of theke. "Centuries of Istion can do that to you. You start doing anything you can to maintain your sanity."


    He didn''t feel Lucifer was a threat to him anymore, so he didn''t need to be alert either. Him showing his back to Lucifer was his way of saying that he was going to trust Lucifer this time.


    Lucifer stepped closer to the man and sat beside him. "I did manage to decipher some of that, but I''m not sure if I got it right. There are also some times that I''m confused about. Can you tell me who you really are? And why you were sealed?"


    "It doesn''t matter who I am, and it doesn''t matter why I''m sealed. All that matters is that I''m all alone now in this world. I don''t even have someone to take my revenge on. What luck."


    "The first carving where a body was lying before two groups, who did it belong to?"


    "That body was from the other n... A girl from that n who was killed. And the me was ced on our shoulders. That led to the war, and the rest is history. The war took such a heavy toll on everyone... If only the war hadn''t happened... If only those people believed that we didn''t do it..."

 Chapter 915: Invitation

    Chapter 915: Invitation


    "As you said, that''s all in the past. All your enemies are gone, and so are all your friends. What do you n to do now?" Lucifer inquired.


    The man just shrugged his shoulders. "If only I knew. I would''ve loved to just die, but even that isn''t possible. I''m cursed to walk for an eternity because of what I am."


    "And what are you? That''s right! Everyone in your group died except you. Only you couldn''t be killed. How is that possible? Unless... Immortality isn''t the ability you received from your Bloodline?!"


    It was only now that Lucifer realized what should''ve been obvious from the start. Everyone from his species could be killed. Either this Immortality wasn''t a Bloodline ability or...


    "This isn''t the Bloodline Ability. If only it was, my family would''ve been alive... My friends would''ve been alive. They wouldn''t have been killed right before my eyes," the man answered.


    He didn''t know why, but he was really opening up talking to Lucifer. Maybe it was because it had been a long time since he was with another person? Or because he was starting to consider Lucifer like a friend even though they just met. Even he didn''t know what he was. All he knew was that he didn''t feel any animosity with Lucifer at the moment.


    "Then how? How did you get that Immortality? Where did you get it from?"


    "It was granted to me..." The young man stated calmly.


    "Granted by who?" Lucifer inquired again.


    The man shook her head. "I''m not sure who that person was. The lower half of his face was covered when I met him. All I know is that he was a man who wasn''t from this world."


    "Why would a stranger give you Immortality? And how can he even do that?" Lucifer didn''t understand how it was possible.


    Immortality was a heaven-defying ability. Was there really a person in the past who was granting this ability to others? And if that was the case, shouldn''t he be immortal as well? That meant he was still alive?


    "Even I can''t answer that question. I asked him why he was giving me this Immortality. He didn''t reply. Maybe he did it because I helped him? That''s only a guess though."


    "Help him? The person who was immortal, how did you help him? He should''ve been strong enough to help himself."


    "By helping him, I didn''t mean help in anything major. It was a very minor thing that I did. I gave him a ce to stay, took him to my home, gave him food and such. And before leaving, he gave me this ability."


    "And throughout this time, you didn''t see that person''s full face?" Lucifer asked.


    The man shook his head in response. "I didn''t. All I know is that the man was really kind. The manner in which he talked and everything about him... It was just perfect."


    "I wonder who that person could be. My immortality could be linked to him as well. I doubt I''ll ever find him again." Lucifer was really intrigued about the person who had the Immortality. Previously he thought his Immortality was rted to the man before him, but that wasn''t the case anymore.


    "Your Immortality? Do you also have this curse?" The man eximed in surprise, staring at Lucifer.


    "Something simr to it." Lucifer sliced his skin a little and let it heal right before the man.


    "So you do." The man watched Lucifer''s wound heal in amazement. "So that''s why your jaw isn''t broken. You probably weren''t lying about that. I apologize for that. I thought I was going easy on you, but even my easy was a bit too much for you."


    "I''m not that weak," Lucifer rolled his eyes. "That aside, it seems the two of us are simr in more ways than one. Do you want to team up with me?"


    "Team up with what? As I told you before, I don''t know a single thing about this world anymore. You''ll have to be clearer."


    "Alright. Let me tell you about this universe first. At least as much as I know."


    ...


    Lucifer spent the next two hours talking about the Star Alliance, some parts of his life, and what this world was being used for. He also talked about why he was here and what he was used for.


    He didn''t forget to talk about some of his past either to show that this guy wasn''t the only one who had a messed-up history.


    "So as you can see, for now I''m with the Star Alliance. After I be a Captain, I can help you as well. Staying with me is better than staying here all alone, isn''t it?"


    Even though Lucifer talked about a lot of things, he didn''t talk about his ulterior motive in approaching this guy. He didn''t tell this guy about his future conflict with the Star Alliance and that he was going to be in trouble in the near future. He also didn''t mention that it was the time when he was going to need him the most.


    He didn''t want this person to feel like Lucifer was trying to use him as a shield because that wasn''t the case.


    He just wanted a stronger alliance, but that didn''t mean he was going to hide while he fought. If anything, he was going to take the lead on the battlefield before sending anyone else! That''s the kind of person he was.


    "After I am the Captain in the Star Alliance and have my own ship, we can search for the person who gave you the Immortality. Life would certainly be interesting. So, friends?" Lucifer reached out his hands toward the young man.


    "Friends..." The man gazed at the hands of Lucifer for quite some time before he ultimately reached out his own hand as well, nodding in agreement.


    "I had no purpose in this life before you arrived. I was like a dead man living who didn''t know why. But you brought a purpose to me. Exploring this world and finding the benefactor. You saved me from roaming like a crazy with no purpose for an eternity. So I ept... Friends."


    Lucifer let out a sigh of relief. Everything went on smoothly, but things weren''t over yet.


    "That''s good, but there is one problem. The Star Alliance members who are present here can''t know about your presence. You''ll have to hide until the Trials here are over and the barriers are opened. After that, with the help of Joana, I should be able to smuggle you out. Can you stay hidden?"


    The young man nodded his head. "I can."


    "That''s perfect. Also, I forgot to ask your name. I am Lucifer Azarel. You?"


    "Gabriel," the young man answered.


    Hearing the answer, Lucifer felt like he had heard that name before. He just couldn''t recall where it was¡­

 Chapter 916: Weakness

    Chapter 916: Weakness


    The name Gabriel was too familiar. Lucifer felt as if he had heard that name quite a lot of times, but his memory failed him. He was sure he didn''t hear that as a name of a random person on Earth.


    "What are you thinking?" Gabriel asked, noticing Lucifer lost in deep thoughts.


    "Nothing. I just thought that your name sounded familiar, but maybe I''m just imagining things." Lucifer dropped the matter altogether and decided not to think too much about it.


    It didn''t matter if he had heard that name before or not. All that mattered was that Gabriel had agreed to side with him. One problem had been solved, and he had gained an ally. Now, all that was left was to understand his strengths and weaknesses, so better nning could be done.


    "When you came out of the Temple, you destroyed my shadows along the way without even getting close to them. How did you do it?" he asked. "What other abilities do you have other than your Immorality? And strength apparently."


    "Your shadows?" Gabriel asked, seemingly confused. "I''m not sure about any shadows. I don''t understand the question."


    Lucifer called forth a shadow right before Gabriel. "This is my shadow. It was keeping an eye outside the Temple to alert me in case someone got close to the Temple."


    "They were destroyed when you came out."


    "Oh, these things, yeah, I destroyed them because I could feel them observing me. I have good sense when ites to these things."


    "That''s what I''m asking. How did you destroy them without getting close?"


    "By isting these things. It was evident that these things don''t have a life of their own. They were linked with someone else. I just isted the entire area around me as I ran," Gabriel exined.


    "Without those connections, these things couldn''t exist on their own. It''s the same for everything else either. Life can''t exist on its own. Your body needs a soul to make a life, but if I iste your soul, making it feel as if the soul is gone, you are going to die. It''s the same principle."


    "You can do that?" Lucifer asked, stunned.


    If this man could remove the soul from the bodies, wasn''t he too frightening? And that too without getting close to them? Didn''t that mean he could literally kill anyone without any trouble?


    "I was just giving an example. I can''t do it. It was a form of expression to exin the principles behind what I did. Even I can''t iste souls," the young man rified.


    "You can''t do it because it''s impossible, or you can''t do it because it needs more training?" Lucifer inquired grimly. Both things were different. The former meant he could never do it, and there was no threat, and thetter meant he just couldn''t do it now, but he could do it in the future, and he was a potential threat.


    "I can''t do it for now and possibly never. The amount of control it needs is too high. It''s literally impossible, but then again, if a person like me can be immortal, then anything can be possible. By the way, Why are you asking so many questions?" Gabriel asked in return.


    "I just wanted to know more about you since we''ll be working together. If we face troubles, we might need to fight together as well, so it''s good we know the strength and weaknesses of each other," Lucifer exined.


    "I am sorry, but I can''t tell you everything. I can only tell you what I already did. Anything more, I can''t. Especially my weakness." Gabriel refused to tell Lucifer everything. "The person who gave me this ability told me to not tell others all my secrets, even if they are my closest family members."


    "He told me that one must keep a few secrets even from their own souls so they can be used in case of emergencies."


    Lucifer didn''t force Gabriel to answer as he backtracked. "I was just curious. You don''t have to tell me if you don''t want to."


    He stood up and tapped the shoulder of the young man.


    "Anyway, as I was telling you before, the Trials will begin tomorrow so you should find a ce where you can hide without being seen. In the meantime, I''ll try to win the Trials. For the next few weeks, I might not be able to meet you."


    "Let''s get to finding a safe ce for you where I can find you after the Trials are over."


    Gabriel also stood up and stretched his arms. "You don''t need to look for a ce. I already have a ce where I''ll stay."


    "Follow me," he informed Gabriel before he started flying.


    Lucifer followed after the young man, keeping an eye on his surroundings to make sure they weren''t seen.


    After flying for half an hour, the young man brought Lucifer to the frozen mountain.


    "This is where you''ll hide?" Lucifer asked,nding on the frozen mountain.


    "This is my home even though it looks nothing like it used to do. There should be an entrance right here under the thickyer of snow." The young man pointed at the general area. "Let me remove the snow. If my home hadn''t been ravaged by those bastards, it would still be there."


    Gabriel used his hands to dig the snow.


    Noticing how long it was going to take like this, Lucifer stepped forward to help. "Let me take care of it."


    He spread both his arms.


    Entireyers of ice started rising in the air as wind des kept digging the snow and moving the snow aside.


    Lucifer kept moving the snow from one ce to another as he dug deep in the freezing mountain. It was only after digging for ten meters straight that he finally noticed the solid ground under all the snow. There was a wooden door in the mountains.


    "There it is." Gabriel jumped down the hole andnded near the door. He pulled the door open before jumping inside the house of his.


    Lucifer also jumped inside,nding in the house of Gabriel. Contrary to the surface, the room was very warm on the inside.


    Despite centuries being passed, the room still looked so clean.


    Lucifer observed the room, noticing there was nothing much here. It was a basic room that only had a bed and a few portraits that were hand-drawn.


    Gabriel picked up one of the portraits.


    "Is this the person that gave you Immortality?"


    The portrait depicted a young man with the lower half of his face covered. The man had a really slender build and quite long hair.

 Chapter 917: The Three Seeds

    Chapter 917: The Three Seeds


    The portrait was really good for a hand-drawn drawing.


    "You seem to be a really good artist."


    "That isn''t drawn by me. My sister drew it," the Young Man gazed at the Portrait. A beautiful yet sad smile spread across his lips. "She was really good at drawing. She loved it.''


    "I still remember convincing that man to pose for the portrait so my sister could draw it. I was so embarrassed asking it, and I thought he would say no, but surprisingly he agreed."


    Gabriel pointed toward the wall. "That''s where he stood for over half an hour as my sister drew him. He was a really nice person."


    Lucifer ced the portrait back. "Did he tell you anything about where he was from or where he might be going?"


    "He didn''t say anything about that. He rarely talked about himself."


    "Well, it''s fine. We will still find him one day," Lucifermented. Even though he wasn''t really going to find that person, he still had to tell the young man to keep him happy.


    Even though these were false hopes, it was better than nothing. Moreover, he doubted he was going to have time to go search for that person amidst all his troubles.


    "Anyway, this is certainly a good ce to hide. Stay here for a few weeks. I wille here when I am done to inform you," he exined. "Also, regarding the food. Do you need any?"


    "I can live without food. It''s gone. You don''t need to worry. You can just leave me here. All the memories I have of this ce are enough to spend years here for me. The silence here would only be helpful to me so I can get my thoughts together."


    Lucifer spent some more time with the young man before he left, closing the door. He also covered the opening with snow once again, so no one was going to discover this opening.


    After covering his tracks, Lucifer flew back to the residence, noticing the sun had started setting. He couldn''t stay out toote, or it was considered breaking the rules. Fortunately, his speed made him capable of getting back in time.


    Along the way back, he noticed a youngdy running back as well. She seemed to be running as fast as she could. It was unclear how long she had been running for, but she appeared to be tired.


    "She''s going to bete." Lucifer shook his head in response, recognizing thatdy as the one he met on the mountain. He didn''t know why she didn''t get back on time, but it was evident that she was in real trouble.


    Lucifer flew down andnded right before the young woman who was huffing as her chest heaved up and down.


    "Need help?"


    "You would help me? Why? Aren''t I yourpetition?" The youngdy asked in confusion. "Won''t it be beneficial if I''m disqualified, so you have one less person to worry about?"


    "You''re wrong. No one here is mypetition for me." Luciferzily answered. "Now, do you want my help or not?"


    "I-i do. I identally fell asleep on the mountain. By the time I woke up, it was toote. I don''t think I can run all the way back in time. Will you really help me?"


    Lucifer didn''t speak in response. Instead, he started flying back to the residence.


    The youngdy sighed in response. "As expected."


    She also started dashing, only to notice that her body had started rising in the air.


    She was also flying in the air, as fast as Lucifer. Before long, she was right beside him.


    "Is it your doing?" she asked Lucifer in amazement. "You can help others fly as well?"


    "Am I not supposed to?"


    Both of themnded at the base right at the time and entered barely a few minutes before the doors closed.


    The youngdy ced her hand on her chest as she sighed a breath of relief. "Thank you for helping me. Without you..."


    She was in the middle of thanking Lucifer, only to notice that he wasn''t even listening to her. Instead, he had already started leaving for his room.


    "Just what kind of person is he?" She muttered as she watched Lucifer disappear from her sight.


    She also went to her own room, still very grateful to the young man who had helped her.


    Lucifer went straight to the room, unaware that he was under watch. As soon as he entered the ce, there were cameras that had been observing him. Fortunately, the cameras couldn''t follow him outside.


    Sitting in the control room, the Head of the Trial Committee was observing all the participants.


    "It seems he is making friends," the old manmented.


    "Sir, do you really think he can win this year?" A man working under the old man inquired.


    "Who knows. I can''t say anything for sure. The participants this year are stronger than they had ever been and this is certainly going to be an interestingpetition. Each participant is better than the other."


    "Moreover, these people are even more special. Almost every other year, we get a seeded participant who has a higher chance of winning. They are mostly the ones rted to the High Council, the heir of the Supreme ns."


    "There is one like that ever so often, but this year is the first time when there are three seeded candidates: the heir of the Rasin n and the grandson of General Rasin in High Council who is the first Seeded Candidate and the rank one for now."


    "Then there is the granddaughter of General Nimel, the Heir of the Nimel n."


    "And third, there is Ron Ostrin, son of the Ostrin n."


    "Everyone is going to give their best year, but those three... They will be next tier since this isn''t just about promotion for them. This is about the reputation of their world, their n, and their Grandparents who rmended them."


    "As if those three weren''t enough, now we have this oddball, who is special in an entirely different way altogether. It''s unclear just how strong he can be, but so far, he''s also a pretty interesting candidate, especially since he has been sent here by the Queen herself," the old man exined to his juniors.


    "I''m not sure who will win, but I have a feeling that thispetition is going to be between the four of them. As for who will be standing tall at the end, that''s worth seeing. Keep observing them."


    "As for who will win, you''ll know soon enough. Tomorrow we will start."

 Chapter 918: Challenge

    Chapter 918: Challenge


    The old man turned to leave after leaving the rest of the work on his juniors.


    It was only after the old man left that everyone else in the room rxed. They started chattering amongst themselves.


    "I don''t believe this kid can stand before the Prince of Internal mes." A middle-aged man stated, gazing at the rank one participant in the tournament.


    "Yeah, the heir of the Rasin n is certainly very powerful. It''s said his mes can even burn the spiritual bodies that don''t exist in the material world. He had really made a name for himself throughout the years, especially when he stopped the uprisingst year," Another man agreed. "Even though his methods were said to be a bit questionable, there''s no doubt that he seeded. I believe he can really win."


    "Yeah, but you can''t ignore the Young Witch of the North, Raayi Nimel. Even though she is given rank two for now, it doesn''t mean she is weaker than Mander Rasin. On the contrary, if anyone can defeat Mander, I believe it''ll be the Young Heir of the Nimel n."


    "Also, the third-seeded Candidate from the Ostrin n isn''tcking either. He''s known as the Warlord of the South. His strength is impable, and so is his motivation."


    "Yeah, I believe he might''ve been given rank one at the Start. The only w in him is that he''s a bit stubborn and doesn''t often listen to themands of higher-ups. If it wasn''t for his grandfather, he could''ve been expelled as well. That''s the only reason he wasn''t in the first two seeds. Still, he is going to be really fun to watch."


    "Those three are going to make this tournament like never before. I''m really excited for it. As for the fourth kid, I don''t know what he''s capable of, but I''m sure he can''t stand before the three seeds."


    "Yeah, just look at him. He neither had the dignified aura nor any other specialty except his Bloodline. He might be eliminated at the start as well."


    "Yeah, I don''t know what the Captain sees in that guy. Who knows. Everything will be clear tomorrow."


    ****


    Lucifer went into his room and picked up a piece of paper and a pen.


    He started writing something, but he intentionally wrote everything in a way that his writing could only be readable to him.


    He made something akin to a schedule which was to remind him in the future on what his goals were so he didn''t miss them.


    He started his goals from winning the Captainship. The next was taking Gabriel from here with the help of Jovana and getting to his own ship.


    "After that, I''ll go home and inform everything that I''m fine before going to the World of Summons to retrieve thest stone. From that point onwards, I will take a leave from the Star Alliance and go meet that person through the portal and get the answers that I need."


    At the end of his goals, he wrote one special line. "Don''t Marry the Queen."


    He didn''t know why he was going to marry thatdy, but he had promised himself that he wouldn''t do it. As long as he didn''t marry her, he might not have to kill her. He also wouldn''t make the entire Star Alliance his enemy.


    As for what to do after achieving all these goals, he left it all for the future itself to decide when that time came.


    He folded the piece of paper and kept it in his pocket before cing the pen back.


    ****


    A new day arrived. This time, Lucifer woke up on his own and got dressed. By the time there was a knock on his door, he was already prepared.


    He opened the door to notice it was the same middle-aged man as yesterday. There were a few participants standing behind him. He was here to take them all to the ce where their first challenge was going to be held.


    The middle-aged man took Lucifer and the others before leaving.


    Following the middle-aged man, Lucifer stepped out of the building, noticing the other participants also waiting there. Everyone took a nce at his number.


    Lucifer also did the same to get a general idea as to who was the strongest here.


    He noticed three people standing in the lead. None of them had bothered to look at him at all. The first was a young man in his early twenties. The man had zing red hair and hazel eyes. He appeared to be slightly impatient at having to wait for others.


    Beside the young man, there stood a youngdy. It was the same girl who had arrived at his door the day before yesterday to see his number. She had rank two on her chest.


    The third man was the most interesting here. He didn''t look particrly strong. There also wasn''t any aura around him. Despite that, there was just something about that going man which Lucifer couldn''t put a finger on. He reminded him a bit of Tristan back at home. The person who only did what he wanted, no matter what the others said.


    The three people took the lead, and the rest of the participants stood behind them as they waited for the others to arrive. There were still some participants who weren''t here.


    The Rank Fifty Girl Malin arrived well. Her eyes lit up as soon as she saw Lucifer.


    "Good Morning," she greeted Lucifer, but he didn''t hear her. Instead, Lucifer advanced ahead.


    Right before everyone''s shocking gazes, Lucifer stepped ahead and stood right beside the Top Three Seeded Candidates. In fact, he took one more step, taking the lead instead, leaving them behind.


    Not only the other participants, even the three seeded candidates gazed at the young man.


    They were amazed that thest ranked person dared to stand beside him. Except Rank 3 Ron, everyone else gazed at Lucifer with judging gazes.


    "This isn''t the ce you should stand. Go stand in the end," Rank 2 Raayi reminded Luciferzily. "This ce is for the seeded Candidates."


    "Is that so?" Lucifer asked as he casually nced at the youngdy.


    He tapped his chest, showing his rank. "Do you think a 51st person would be here if I wasn''t seeded? Didn''t you sayst time that I got here due to the mercy of the High Council? Then why do you imagine I wasn''t seeded?''


    "Which General sent you here?" Rank 1 Mander inquired.


    "None."


    "Then you aren''t seeded. You are just a lucky bloke," Raayi chimed in. "Go back to where you belong. Only people personally rmended by a General can be Seeded."


    Lucifer tilted his head in amazement. Generally, he didn''t look for conflict, but he didn''t want his next two months here to be boring. He wanted to have some motivation to do better and win, so the conflict was needed. That''s why he was taunting them.


    "Who is Higher Ranked? A General or the Queen?"


    Ron gazed at Lucifer in amazement, realizing what he was implying.


    "You were Seeded by the Queen herself?" he asked.


    "He''s bluffing. No way Her Majesty would seed someone. The High Council takes care of these things. He''s bluffing to show off," Raayi responded. "If you didn''t go back in the next ten seconds, I would be forced to send you back personally."


    "Can you?" Lucifer inquired in a calm tone.

 Chapter 919: Forced back

    Chapter 919: Forced back


    If it were ordinary circumstances, Lucifer wouldn''t have bothered to take the lead or even contact them. All he would''ve done was show his strength during whatever trial paid ahead, but that was the problem. He didn''t know what Trials there were going to be, and if he started gettingzy now, he wasn''t going to win.


    He definitely needed to win this Trial since there was a lot on the line. Slightpetition was the best way to get through things, and it also worked as a nice distraction.


    Seeing Lucifer''s audacity, everyone in the back was stunned. This guy was really talking to the three seeds like that? Even Mallin couldn''t believe what she was seeing. She wondered if this guy had gone crazy for some reason.


    Hearing the challenging tone in Lucifer''s voice, Raayi gazed at him in surprise. This guy... Did he really not fear her? He was actually thest ranked person here, and he still had such arrogance?


    She wondered if it was true that this guy was special? Could it be true that the Queen herself sent this guy here? If he was sent by the Queen, something was really special about him. She couldn''t help but think about testing him to see what it was.


    She took a step back but right then, the middle-aged man who was supposed to take them to their trial destinationnded before them.


    "Alright, everyone is out. We can leave. Everyone ready?"


    Raayi stopped in her tracks and went back to her position.


    "Good. Let''s get going then." The middle-aged man was also slightly surprised to see Lucifer standing on equal footing with the three seeds, but he didn''tment on it. He was upset that the young man didn''t know his ce to think he could stand with the top three people, but he couldn''t say that out loud.


    The man used his abilities. Winds wrapped around all the participants, making them rise in the air.


    Everyone started flying, with the middle-aged man being in the absolute lead.


    As for the four youngsters that stood on an equal footing, only three of them were flying right behind the middle-aged man thanks to him.


    As for Lucifer, the middle-aged man intentionally used his winds in such a way that Lucifer''s speed was slower than the others. He kept falling back before he was right beside Malin.


    ''Heh, now you''re where you belong.'' the Middle-aged man thought, smirking. He didn''t even have to look back to know what had happened since it was his doing. He made sure that the top three were in the lead while thest three were at the end.


    The participants who were flying in the middle of the group couldn''t help butugh at Lucifer.


    "Heh, that braggart is finally shown his rightful ce! At the end."


    "Heh, he thought he could fly at the same level as us?! He doesn''t deserve that!"


    "Yeah. Hopefully, he will get his arrogance in control now."


    Quite a lot of participantsughed at Lucifer for what had happened.


    Raayi and the others in the top three also noticed what had happened. Raayi smiled in satisfaction. She understood that it meant Lucifer wasn''t seeded. He was bluffing.


    Mander didn''t react. It was as if it didn''t matter to him.


    As for Ron Ostrin, he let out a disappointed sigh. He thought that Lucifer was actually seeded by the Queen and the tournament was going to be interesting but what happened just now showed that he had lied. He got excited for no reason at all.


    "Wee back," Malin said, gazing at Lucifer, who was right beside her. "Don''t mind theirments. The initial rankings are considered somewhat important here. They will never let you fly in the lead since it undermines the rankings. You can raise your rankings slowly in the tournament, and then you can stay where you want. Until then, you can''t."


    Lucifer noticed the winds that were intentionally slowing him down more than the others. He realized who was ying with him. The middle-aged man it was.


    Lucifer couldn''t help but smile a bit. "He wants to have fun with me? Let me show him what fun is."


    He nced back at Malin. "I''ll see youter."


    He has had enough. If someone thought they could use winds to make him embarrassed, they were wrong. He was the Emperor of Winds. He could control the wind as well, and possibly even better than the middle-aged man.


    He started activating his Core of Wind. The winds around him that were in control of the middle-aged man were now under his control.


    Lucifer''s speed increased. He wasn''t flying because of the middle-aged man''s ability now, so his limitations didn''t apply to him. He used his own winds and could fly as fast as he wanted.


    Lucifer''s speed increased. Fromst ce, he reached the middle. The people who wereughing at Lucifer closed their mouths, stunned.


    Lucifer was sent from the first ce to thest ce. How did he get ahead again? Just what was the Instructor doing? They didn''t realize that it wasn''t the instructor''s doing. Instead, it was all on Lucifer.


    Lucifer didn''t stay in the middle of the group. Instead, he went back to the lead, flying right beside the top three, surprising them with his return. All three of them seemed confused.


    Unfortunately, they were in for even more surprise as Lucifer didn''t stay with them. He increased his speed even more and took the absolute lead, flying ahead of the top three.


    Raayi''s face turned red in anger. "What''s the meaning of this? Is the Instructor being biased by giving him lead?!"


    "I don''t think it''s the Instructor who gave him the lead. If he did, he would''ve stopped right there," Ron chuckled as he pointed ahead. Lucifer still hadn''t stopped increasing his speed.


    He kept moving even faster and only stopped increasing speed when he was right beside the Instructor!


    A middle-aged man and a young man flew side by side.


    The middle-aged man gazed at Lucifer in surprise. This guy? How did he get here?


    It was only now that he understood that Lucifer could fly as well. He couldn''t believe it! This guy was mocking him just because he could use winds too?


    The Instructor was enraged and decided to teach Lucifer a lesson.


    ''He thinks he can use winds better than me?! I''m from the Gale n! We are born to rule the wind! I also have more experience! If he thinks he can use his wind skills to mock me, he is wrong! I will snatch back the control from him!


    Instead of asking Lucifer to go back nicely, the man decided to teach him a lesson!

 Chapter 920: Too far

    Chapter 920: Too far


    Lucifer didn''t want to take the absolute lead. He only wanted to stand on equal ground with the best of the best, so he knew who he had to defeat in the tournament, but the Instructor messed with him by sending him back.


    To teach the man a lesson, Lucifer not only came ahead, but he flew right beside the middle-aged Instructor.


    If he didn''t need the instructor to show him the path, he would''ve flown ahead alone as well, but he was content with flying right beside the man to teach him a lesson, not knowing that this had enraged the man even more.


    The Instructor didn''t just try to slow Lucifer down now. Instead, he decided to teach the young man a lesson about how he should never mess with the Gale n. Using winds against the Gale n was like using tricks of fire against the Raasin n, which was the Overlord of mes!


    "Please tell me the man isn''t going to do what I think he''s going to do?" Mander Rasin asked calmly. He could see the middle-aged man getting agitated. The winds around them were intensifying.


    "He''s going to teach that idiot a lesson. It''s not wrong. He is insulting an Instructor by flying right beside him," Raayizily responded. "I see nothing wrong in it."


    "You see nothing wrong because you''re biased, Raayi," Ron chimed in the conversation. "An instructor isn''t allowed to hurt a participant."


    "Oh shut up. I''m just speaking facts. That idiot deserves some punishment, and it''s not like he will be killed. He''ll just be taught a lesson. Don''t tell me you are going to intervene.''


    "I know I should, but I won''t," Ron answered. "I don''t know what it''s about this guy, but there is something special. I want to see what he''s capable of because I have a feeling that he can surprise us all."


    Just as the three were conversing amongst themselves, the sh had started.


    The winds fastened as the middle-aged man sent a gust of wind that only worked against Lucifer.


    He knew he couldn''t hurt the young man, so he didn''t use anything stronger, but he did use his winds to create resistance to Lucifer. The winds acted against Lucifer, trying to slow down.


    It was as if there were two sides of the winds, and both were fighting for supremacy. The race was something which Lucifer appeared to be losing through.


    Winds were the Bloodline specialty of the Middle-Aged man, and he certainly had centuries of experience and control of wind. He kept chipping on the defense of Lucifer at the same thing, slowing him down. The man also used all his might to take control of Lucifer''s winds so he could control him.


    An invisible sh was taking ce in the wind between an instructor and a participant. No one could see the wind but everyone understood what was happening. Most of the people were smug or careless. Only one person seemed to be caring for Lucifer, and it was Malin.


    Lucifer kept resisting the man''s wind while also struggling to maintain control on his own wind. Despite that, he still hadn''t fallen even an inch behind the man.


    Lucifer gazed at the middle-aged man, who was also looking back at him. He could see a smile on the face of the middle-aged man, but there was an anger hidden behind that smile. It was evident.


    It was as if the man was saying with his smile that he had enough of Lucifer''s showoff, and it was time to bring him down a notch.


    He kept chopping away at the control of Lucifer.


    With the antics of the man, even Lucifer was starting to get angered now. It was all fun and games until now, but if this guy wanted to use his abilities against Lucifer, then even Lucifer was ready.


    Since he was better at wind, he wanted to take Lucifer''s winds from him? Lucifer decided that if the man was looking for a conflict, then it was only fair to give him one.


    ''Your winds are really powerful.'' Lucifer thought. ''But not as powerful as the other elements there are!''


    The two people kept flying as fast as they could. The invisible conflict kept getting worse, but it was just the beginning.


    Since Lucifer was losing his winds to some extent, his speed was starting to sleep down. The resistance was also having an effect, but Lucifer didn''t stop.


    Dark clouds started surrounding the sky. In this world, things like this never happened. It surprised everyone, but the man didn''t care. It was a matter of his dignity. He couldn''t let this going man trample on his dignity.


    Lucifer was also not going to back off from this conflict. He had gone through thousands of conflicts in his life which were even worse, and he didn''t like losing.


    To counter his slow speed, Lucifer used another of his abilities.


    Two dark winds made purely of energy appeared behind his back which gave him an immense boost.


    Lucifer sliced through the wind resistance as he shot ahead, finally taking the lead! He left the middle-aged man behind, amazing everyone who watched it.


    Raayi had her lips parted in disbelief. Just what was this guy? He had wings and could control winds? She had never heard of any species like that. She certainly heard of species that had wings and the ones that could control wind, but these were two different species. There wasn''t any single which had both these abilities.


    Even Ron was surprised but more than that he was excited. He was right about Lucifer. This guy had something special.


    The middle-aged man''s face turned red. He was defeated, and he was defeated in front of everyone! In his embarrassment and anger, he lost his calm.


    The heat of the moment was such that he couldn''t even think straight. Unable to think clearly, the man subconsciously reacted following his urges as he shot thousands of wind des at Lucifer.


    Since Lucifer also had a connection with the winds, he could sense the wind desing toward him. He couldn''t believe it! The man was so petty that he was attacking him with something that could kill a person?!


    This was it! All the limits had been crossed. There was no need to hold back anymore!


    At first, he uses his Teleportation to appear in a different ce, avoiding all the attacks, but he doesn''t stop there. There was an attempt on his life all because of one defeat!


    "You shouldn''t have!" Lucifer responded. The sky roared as if answering to him!

 Chapter 921: All out

    Chapter 921: All out


    As if following Lucifer''smands, a massive bolt of lightning fell from the sky, straight at the middle-aged man.


    The man''s eyes opened wide as he saw the frightened Lightning Bolt, which was a pitch-ck like the darkness of nights.


    "Thee ck Lightning? Isn''t that the specialty of our Ostrin n?" Ronmented in surprise as he recognized the attack.


    "This guy is certainly very interesting," Mander said, frowning. "He can use Winds like the Gale n; he can use ck Lightning like the Raasin n, he can use wings like the Daemon n. Just what is he?!"


    Raayi waspletely silent at this point. This guy... Everything he showed until now was special. As time passed, she felt more and more that the man was a seeded Candidate sent by the Queen herself. Did this mean she has just mocked the candidate of the queen?


    The ck Bolt of lightning fell from the Sky. The middle-aged man was frozen in ce. He hadn''t expected an attack like this. He even forgot to move.


    Bang~


    The Lightning Bolt hit. An explosion took ce. Unfortunately, the bolt didn''t hit the middle-aged man. Instead, the attack hit a stark white barrier that had appeared above everyone else to protect them.


    The old man appeared in the center like a ghost, ring at Lucifer. "May I ask what is happening here? You think this is a yground where you can attack your Instructors?"


    "He used a life-threatening attack on me first. Maybe you should ask your ''Instructor'' why he would do that?!" Lucifer asked without backing off.


    The old man was taken aback. He gazed back at the middle-aged man in the back. "Is he telling the truth? You attacked a participant with deadly force?!"


    "I-i identally... I wasn''t thinking straight. It''s because he was undermining my authority and trying to get ahead of me. I lost control for a moment." The middle-aged man bowed respectfully.


    "You lost control?!" The old man roared in rage. "You are an Instructor! You are older and more experienced while the kids are inexperienced in things! Nothing you said justifies attacking him!"


    "What if he was harmed? What if he was killed? How would I answer that to the higher-ups?! It''s different if they die in the tournament, going through challenges, but if one dies outside the trials, this is disastrous! How can you make such a mistake?!"


    The middle-aged man bowed again. "I am really sorry. I promise this will never happen again."


    "It better not!" The old man rolled his eyes before gazing back at the young man. "Now, take the kids to the ce that was decided."


    The middle-aged man took everyone with him, this time not daring to do anything extra.


    Lucifer also prepared to follow him, only to be stopped by the old man. "You stay here."


    Lucifer stopped and turned around to face the man. "You need something."


    "He attacked you yet you have not a single scratch on your body. That implies that you managed to dodge that attack. And despite not being harmed at all, you used such an attack on him with the intent to kill." The old man floated closer to Lucifer with his hands behind his back.


    "If I wanted to kill him, he wouldn''t be alive. I just wanted to scare him a little to make him understand it''s never a good idea to attack me like that," Lucifer answered calmly. "Even if you hadn''t arrived, that attack wouldn''t havended on him. I would''ve diverted it."


    The old man squinted his eyes. He didn''t know if Lucifer was telling the truth or not, but he could only assume that it was the truth.


    "I will take you at your word, but just because he started it, you aren''t allowed to kill him either. If you have the strength to kill him, that means you have the strength to control him ore to me. Next time something like that happens, I don''t want you to kill anyone. Juste to me and inform me. I promise I won''t let you go through any bias. Everything will be fair for you here."


    "I will do that." Lucifer nodded. He had already done enough for the day to make his future here interesting. He didn''t need to do more. Everything from here was going to happen on its own.


    "That''s better. Now follow me."


    The old man started flying away. Lucifer flew after the old man, who went in the same direction as the other Instructor.


    As previously Lucifer was immersed in hispetition, he hadn''t noticed that he was getting close to the snow mountain. It was only now that he realized where they were going! They were going to the mountain where Gabriel had his house.


    ''What do they want to do there?'' Lucifer thought, frowning. "Fortunately, I managed to cover the opening of the house. They shouldn''t be able to see it or find it, but there''s still a possibility that they can sense him. I hope they can''t."


    He was somewhat worried about the Trial being there.


    "The Trial is on the Mountain?" Lucifer asked the old man.


    "Yes." The old man didn''t take even a second to answer. "Right on that mountain is the first challenge you''ll have to face. That challenge will also decide your new rankings."


    "So if I win that, I can straight go to rank one?" Lucifer asked.


    "Heh, that''s not how it works. There are no winners or losers in that challenge. It''s not something like that. I suppose you haven''t been told enough about your ranks yet, so let me tell you."


    "Ranks aren''t useless, even the initial ones. They can be very rewarding instead since each rankes with a certain amount of points. For example, if rank one gets five hundred points, rank two gets four hundred fifty, then rank fifty-one will get five points or something like that."


    "As the tournaments progress, you''ll all fight for more points. Aftering out of each challenge, you''ll be awarded a certain amount of points. The new points will be added to old points, and the rankings might change."


    "You can climb some tanks, but it''s impossible to get enough points from a few challenges to take the top rank unless the top rankers perform so badly that they get no points at all in the tournaments."


    "That''s why ranks are so important at the start, and only after the deliberations of the High Council the initial ranks are given. Moreover, the top three are considered seeds. They are said to be the winning candidates, each selected personally by a General. So they get even more points at the start for being a seed."

 Chapter 922:Bias

    Chapter 922:Bias


    "So basically, the entire tournament is rigged already in favor of the seeds. No wonder Malin was so worried and said she had no chance of winning. Is that your way of nepotism in the Star Council Ranks?" Lucifer asked.


    "You might be selected by the Queen herself, but you just came sote that we can''t do anything about the ranks. You are at a really big disadvantage, but it''s still not impossible to cover the gap before the tournament is over. In fact, there have been people before who defeated Seeded Candidates," the old man exined. "You know one of those people as well."


    "Joana?" Lucifer took a guess. He was the only captain that Lucifer knew well.


    "That''s right. Joana," the old man smiled in response. "He was ranked twenty at the start, and he climbed through each challenge to win. Honestly, even I hadn''t expected him to win, but he was really lucky during some challenges."


    "Still, that trial only had one Seeded Candidate, but this one had three. Even if one makes a mistake, that doesn''t mean you can win. You need to defeat all three of them throughout the trials," he further exined. "Do you think you can do it?"


    "Do I have any other choice?" Lucifer inquired. "What I want can only be achieved if I win this thing. So I have no ns of losing."


    "That''s what I want to see. Don''t give up. You do have the potential to take the crown. You might even set a record for the highest spots climbed to win the Captainship.


    "Until now, no one had managed to win the Captainship while starting from thest ranked. The current record is with Joana himself for twentieth starting tank. You might be able to make a record that others won''t even have the opportunity to break since there will most probably not be another rank fifty-one in the future."


    ''There might not be a Star Alliance in the future either if what I saw in the future happens,'' Lucifer thought, shaking his head.


    The old man didn''t stop on the mountain and straight flew to the top. Lucifer followed the man, letting out a sigh of relief as they flew past the ce where the entrance of Gabriel''s house was.


    The old mannded on the top of the mountain, where a t snow arena appeared to be made. Lucifer remembereding herest night. There was nothing like this here. It was as if these people had made this ce in thest few hours.


    All the fifty Participants were standing in the arena, waiting for Lucifer and the Administration of the Trials to arrive.


    The middle-aged Instructor that Lucifer had a conflict with also stood there. He was so embarrassed that he didn''t dare look at the expressions of others.


    There were also other instructors present there. In total, there were five instructors, each of them having a calm expression on their face. They all look in the direction of the old man whonded right before them in the center of the arena. Lucifer, on the other hand,nded near the participants, once again taking his ce in the lead.


    This time there was no one who was mocking Lucifer for standing in the lead. What he had shown on the way here was nothing less than a miracle. He had defeated the instructor, who was from the Gale n.


    He went against the rulers of the Wind and came out victorious. Not only that, but he was also about to kill the instructor. Whenever the lower rank participants imagined the scene they had seen, they felt a chill run down their spines.


    The higher-ranked participants were still slightly in a better condition. They had seen many things in their lives, and they were all from powerful ns. They respected Lucifer''s strength, but they weren''t scared of him.


    On the other hand, the top seeds had a different reaction to his show altogether. All of them had enough strength to defeat an instructor, so they didn''t think much of it, but what shocked them was the ability that Lucifer used while doing it. He didn''t just use the bloodline specialty of one n. Instead, he used a specialty of many ns altogether.


    "From which species are you?" Ron asked Lucifer. The other two seeds also seemed intrigued about this.


    Lucifer simply shrugged. "I have no idea. They say I''m all of them."


    "What?" None understood what the young man was trying to say. What did he mean by he was all of them?


    "Don''t ask him if he doesn''t want to answer us," Raayi reminded Ron.


    "Don''t tell me what I should and what I shouldn''t do," Ron snapped back. He was getting tired of Raayi thinking she was the boss. No matter what he did, she always had toment in between.


    He had been patient with her for a long time, but now he was getting tired. "I will do what I want, and you do what you want."


    "I was just advising you, so you don''t look like an idiot, but if you don''t want to follow the advice, then be my guest." Raayi stopped speaking with the man who turned his eyes around.


    "That''s better." Ron shifted his attention back to Lucifer. "You said you''re all of them. What does that mean?"


    "It means exactly what it states. I don''t think I can rify more than that," Lucifer answered. "It''s not that I''m avoiding the question. It''s just that the answer itself is very confusing. Even the Star Alliance hasn''t been able toprehend the answer. All they say is that I''m all of them."


    "Even the Star Alliance don''t know your species? Which world are you from then?"


    "Earth."


    "Earth? I never heard of it before."


    "It''s a world that is just discovered by the Star Alliance," Lucifer answered. "What about you? What species are you from?"


    "I''m the Lightning God n," The young man answered proudly. "The ck Lightning that you used? It is the specialty of our n itself. That''s why I was curious as to what you were. If my father saw you using the ck Lightning, even he would be amazed."


    Ron further continued. "How about this? No matter what the oue of this Trial, I invite you to my home world. If I win Captainship, you cane on my ship. If you win, I can go in yours. My family would really love to have you. Moreover, we might even be able to teach you some ck Lightning skills that you should be able to use."

 Chapter 923: Offer

    Chapter 923: Offer


    "You can use ck Lightning too?"


    This was the first time Lucifer had heard about someone else being able to use ck Lightning.


    Ron raised his right hand. ck lightning flickered around his hands and gathered together to form a ck crystal that floated in his hands.


    "You should''ve tossed this at the Instructor. This is more powerful than the ck bolt you used. That one was pretty basic."


    "What is this?" Lucifer inquired, gazing at the ck crystal. He could see that it was thepressed form of Lightning, but what of that?


    "This is a bomb..." Ron casually stated. "Toss it, and someone and not even their bodies will be left behind. This only looks small, but oftentimes, what''s small is also the strongest. Since you don''t know about it, I''d assume you can''t form it."


    Lucifer raised his right hand and tried to conjure his lightning. He triedpressing all that energy into the core of the crystal just like Ron did, but the core on his hand started bing unstable instead.


    "I think you should stop. That looks really unstable. What I did was not as simple aspressing the lightning. If it was as simple, it shouldn''t be a skill that takes so long to master," Ron exined as he patted the shoulder of Lucifer.


    "It seems you do have the specialty of multiple Bloodlines, but that''s the gist of it. You can only perform the basic skills of those bloodlines. That''s why you couldn''t defeat that Instructor in the wind. Your mastery on the elements isn''t good," he further exined. "You''re the jack of all but master of none."


    "Still, just the sheer ess to the abilities itself should be a pretty big advantage. It would be fun topete with you in the tournament."


    Unlike the other two, Ron seemed different. He wasn''t arrogant with Lucifer. Instead, he was pretty calm andposed, as if he was really curious about him.


    It was also because he wasn''t really that eager to get the position of the Captain. Mander wanted to win the Captainship Trial, so he could further improve the reputation of his n and make his grandfather feel proud. It was the same for Raayi.


    Unlike them, Ron didn''t care about the reputation of his n. He knew that his n was already pretty influential. They didn''t need this victory to prove that they were special.


    That was also why he wasn''t that eager toe to this ce in the first ce. He didn''t want to take a shortcut to rise through the ranks of the Star Alliance. He just wanted to do as he pleased.


    The only reason he agreed to evene was because his grandfather told him that he could face some really powerful opponents, so this could be good for him.


    He was already satisfied that he would get topete with Mander, who was known as the Young Prince of mes. Then there was also Raayi. No matter how arrogant she was, she was still an opponent worthpeting with.


    Ron was already very satisfied, but his excitement forpetition just reached the next level with the presence of Lucifer. For some reason, he felt that hispetition with Lucifer was going to be fiercer and more fun.


    "You aren''t like the other two seeds," Lucifermented. He could see the fighting intent in the eyes of the young man, but there was no malice. He also didn''t see any arrogance as he saw in the eyes of the other two.


    "Thispetition will certainly be fun," the young man smiled. "I look forward to it."


    Lucifer nodded. He was also looking forward to what thispletion was about, but there was also another thing in his mind. These Seeds, they seem to have some really special tricks, for example, this bomb that Ron could create.


    He certainly had a good grasp on his abilities, but as he expected, these abilities paled inparison to their original counterparts. He was truly the jack of all trades.


    ''So my abilities are simr to the Bloodline abilities. But what about father? What about the others on Earth? Did they also receive individual abilities from other Bloodlines? But that doesn''t make sense. Father can''t have the ck Lightning Bloodline. He also doesn''t have my Bloodline.''


    He had assumed that everyone got the abilities because of the appearance of the Dungeons and that it was rted to the Baltics, but some of these abilities didn''t make sense if they came from the Baltics. Just as he had thought that he had solved the mysteries of the world, he realized that he hadn''t. It was bigger than the Baltics.


    He was sure that the Baltics were a part of the cause of mutation in humans, but they couldn''t be the only cause.


    ''Wait... Wasn''t I also found inside a Dungeon when they appeared on earth? The reverse reaction that was caused on earth which provided the people on earth their abilities... Could my presence have yed a part in it? That would certainly exin the ck lightning of my father...''


    ''But doesn''t that create even moreplications? It furtherplicates the time paradox.''


    Tap~


    Lucifer lost himself in his own thoughts to even forget his own surroundings. He was brought out of his daze by a tap on his shoulder.


    "Did you even hear what I said?"


    Ron''s voice fell in Lucifer''s ears.


    "Huh? Did you say something? Sorry I was distracted."


    "Of course I said something. I asked you if you wanted to bet with me?" Ron asked.


    "What bet?"


    " A bet which can be really helpful for you. A bet to see who can get more points in the tournament. Since I''m higher-ranked, it''ll be harder for you to take first ce from me, so I won''t bet on that and make it unfair for you. It''ll be simply about the points from this point on."


    "And what if I get more points by the end?"


    "Then I''ll teach you the skill that I just showed you. That should be enough of a motivation. Even in my own world, only the Royal Family is allowed to learn this skill."


    "And what if you win? What do you get out of this bet?"


    "Simple. If I win, I want you to join my team. I want you to be part of my crew and be my Vice Captain," the young man dered. "Doesn''t seem like a bad offer, right? If you win, you win the skill. If you lose, you still win the Vice-Captain position."

 Chapter 924: Selection

    Chapter 924: Selection


    "That''s not a bad offer, but I''m sorry, I don''t think I''ll be working as a Vice Captain," Lucifer calmly answered.


    "So you are refusing my offer?" Ron asked. "I thought you''ll be brave. But I''m not surprised. The chances of you getting more points do look low."


    "Who said I''m refusing the bet? I''m taking the bet right now."


    "But you said..."


    "I said I won''t be your Vice Captain because I''ll be taking the knowledge of your skill," Lucifer calmly stated. "I hope you won''t hesitate when it''s time for you to teach me the skill."


    ****


    On one end, the participants talked amongst themselves. On the other end, the Instructors discussed something with the old man.


    "Do you understand?"


    "We do. We will make sure nothing goes wrong.x


    "Good."


    The group dispersed, and all the Instructors went back to their ces.


    "Everyone, listen to me." The old man''s authoritative voice filled the surroundings.


    Lucifer was sitting in meditation in his room, but even he could hear the voice of the old man. He slowly opened his eyes and looked up. "Someone is on the mountain."


    Despite sending someone, Lucifer didn''t go to check. He simply closed his eyes and continued meditating.


    "I''m sure you''ve all been waiting for the start of your trials. You must be really curious what it will be about? So stop talking and listen to me! I''m going to exin the trial to you."


    "There are fifty-one of you here. The First Trial will be a teampetition. There will be seventeen teams, consisting of three people each. Before I tell you what the Trial is about, you can decide on your teams. You have five minutes. If, after five minutes, there are people who don''t have a team, I''ll make their teams myself."


    After issuing his initial instructions, the man folded his arms as he waited for the youngsters to select their teams. He was really curious to see if there were going to be some strangebinations like three seedsing in a single team, but he had a feeling it was highly unlikely. These three had too much self-confidence and wouldn''t join the team with the other seeds.


    Even if the three seeds decided toe in a single team, it was still going to be troublesome for them to decide who was going to be the captain of the team.


    Lucifer nced at the three seeds who were surrounded by all the participants who literally begged them to select them. There was only one person who hadn''t surrounded them.


    Despite Lucifer''s performance, there was no one who came to him for teams. They all wanted a seed in their team. Even though Lucifer was strong, they didn''t believe he was stronger than the three seeds.


    Lucifer nced at the only person who was left. It was a young girl who was standing in the back, all alone.


    Lucifer walked to the girl that he met on the mountain.


    "Are you not going to ask them to take you on their team?" he asked the young girl who appeared to be ying with her fingers.


    "What''s the benefit of asking them when I know I have no chance. I''m going to be rejected. I''m the weakest here ording to rank."


    "Don''t I tell you before that ranks are useless? Did you not see what happened before?"


    "I did. You''re different. You''re an exception. Maybe because you came right at the end of the ranks being selected, you were given thest rank which didn''t justify your strength, but it was different for us. We are thoroughly examined, from our abilities to our battle skills. It was after that that we were given ranks, so they do justify our strength and skills," the young girl exined.


    "I mean, just watch. No matter how many people surround them, only the top of the top will be selected by them."


    Just as she spoke, the crowd around the three seeds seemed to have dispersed.


    Rank 1 Mander was joined by rank 4 and rank 6 participants. Rank 2 Raayi was selected by Rank 5 and Rank 7 participants, making Malin''s wordse true for the most part. Unfortunately, she was wrong about them all.


    Rank 3 Ron hadn''t selected the top-ranked participants. On the contrary, he had only selected one person... Rank 49.


    Ron appeared to be walking toward Lucifer amidst the jealous gazes of the other participants. His Target didn''t appear to be him though. He stopped before Malin. "Youngdy, will you join my team?"


    "Huh, what?!" Malin couldn''t believe what she was seeing. One of the top three was selecting her? But why? She wasst ranked. She was the weakest here.


    Even though she didn''t understand what was happening here, there was someone who did. Lucifer couldn''t help but smile. He could see that Ron was intentionally selecting the weakest people here since he wanted to make things more challenging for him.


    "Go ahead. Your team is waiting for you," Lucifermented before he walked away. Malin had found her ce.


    Since the Three Seeds weren''t avable, the other participants decided to go for the next best thing... The person who had shown his mettle recently.


    "Ah, would you like to join my team?" A youngdy asked Lucifer. The number eight was clearly visible on her chest.


    "We will be one of the strongest teams here if you join us." The Rank 9 man chimed in. He had formed a team with rank 8, and only one spot was left, which he wanted to be given to Lucifer.


    "No, please join our team instead. We might be lower ranked than them, but our skills make up for it."


    "No, join us! Forget them!"


    Just like there was a fight with The top three seeds, something simr was happening with Lucifer as everyone started fighting to convince him.


    Lucifer thought carefully. Even though he wanted to go solo, ording to the rules, he needed to be in a team, so it was better to select someone.


    He observed all of them as he thought about who to select. He didn''t have good feelings about any of them though. All of them had mocked them at least once before, and now they were here, acting like that never happened.


    "How about you join my team instead?" A sweet voice came from the back, which attracted Lucifer''s attention. He turned around.


    "Malin? Have you not joined Ron''s team? Why?"


    "Because I want to be on your team. I''ve thought a lot about this before refusing him. But now that I have, there is no other way. You''re my only option. So, the weakest participant, do you want to make a team with the second weakest?" Malin reached out her hand to Lucifer. "If you think I''m not worthy, you can refuse. I promise I''ll understand."

 Chapter 925

    Chapter 925


    Lucifer had many to choose from. At least amongst the ones that were left.


    Unfortunately, as those people saw Malin reject Ron, they all rushed to him once again, leaving Lucifer behind. Ron had rejected them for Malin, but now that she had refused him, they still had a chance of being on his team.


    Lucifer looked at the participants with an incredulous look on his face. "These people have no shame, do they? Even after being rejected, they are going back to him."


    "Of course, they will. He is a top contender for winning this entire thing. Since it''s a team thing, they would get some real advantage because of Ron. Even if they did nothing, Ron would probably bring them to victory. And if their teamse on top, they would get equal points to the top seed and could improve their rankingspared to the people in the losing team," Malin exined. "They aren''t wrong."


    "Then why didn''t you take this opportunity? You don''t want to win?" Lucifer asked.


    "I honestly don''t believe I will win this promotion, but I still want to do my best and end this event with the best rank I could possibly get. The ranks would always stay with you and can be useful in the future after you go back to the Star Alliance," Malin exined. "So yeah, I want to do my best as well. I want to go as far as I can."


    "My question remains the same. If you want to do great in the events, why reject Ron? He is strong, and even his personality is much better than the other two seeds," Lucifer nced at Raayi and Mander.


    Both of them had their teams already, and their teams were also strongest if one was to look based on the ranks of the participants only.


    They were the first to finish their teams.


    "Do you really need to ask?" Malin rolled her eyes. "I rejected him because I want to team up with you. I want to be on your team. I have this feeling in my heart which is telling me that I need to be in your team."


    "So, so you want me?" she asked.


    "Fine. I''ll take you on my team. You can be the second member of my team. Since I need to select someone in any case, it might as well be you."


    "Thank you so much! I promise I''ll do my best to make you win!" Getting the approval of Lucifer, Malin grew so excited that she couldn''t stop herself. She stepped ahead and hugged Lucifer tightly.


    The hug didn''tst for long as Malin stepped back immediately. "I''m sorry."


    "Don''t worry about it. Now all that''s left is a third member." Lucifer ignored what had just happened and shifted his focus on the participants who were surrounding Ron.


    "I really don''t want to select any of them. People like them won''t even think twice before betraying us. Wait here; I''ll be right back."


    Lucifer flew to the old man in the back who was administering this Trial.


    "Do you need to ask something? You only have a few minutes left before team selection time is up."


    "Yeah, I had a question. I wanted to ask if I really need to have a team of three participants. Can I have only two participants in the team instead?" Lucifer asked.


    "Huh? Why would you want that?" The old man frowned. "You can have more participants to help you in your team, but you want less?"


    "Yeah. So is this possible?"


    The old man shook his head. "It can''t happen. There are 51 participants. If you have a team of only two members, in the end, there would be only one person left. He won''t have any other ce to go to. We can''t keep that person out of the Trial either just because you don''t want a third participant, can we?"


    "You''ll have to select someone, and I would advise you to do that fast. It seems Ron is done selecting. You have a big pool to select from. I''m sure after the disy before; everyone would be eager to join your team."


    "Yeah, but I''m not eager to take them on my team. Still, if I have to, I''ll take one."


    Lucifer flew back. There was no benefit since he wasn''t allowed to do what he wanted.


    Hended before Malin as all the participants returned to him, again offering him thest spot in their teams.


    "I can''t enter any team since I have a team of my own," Lucifer told everyone. "I already have a member. So, who wants to be ourst member?"


    "Who is a member of your team?" Rank eleven girl asked.


    Lucifer brought Malin ahead of him. "She is my team. So, who wants to be our third member."


    "She? That trash? But she''s ranked fifty!"


    "So? Aren''t I lower ranked than her?"


    "Yeah, but you''re stronger than her. You''re a seed who probably couldn''t be given a higher rank because of your arrival timing. Your rank is useless for now."


    "Exactly. You are a strong participant. You need a strong team, not a weakling like her. She will drag the entire team back. Forget her ande join our team."


    "No,e to our team."


    Lucifer shrugged his shoulders as no one epted the offer ofing into his team. Instead, everyone wanted him toe to their team or at least make the team without Malin.


    Lucifer just gave up and decided to leave everything to the old man. He left the decision on who to send to his team to the old man, waiting for the time to be up.


    Seeing Lucifer wasn''t interested in joining their team, the others also gave up on him. They couldn''t wait for him as time was running out. They didn''t want someone else to decide on their fate for them.


    Giving up on him, they decided to make their teams without him. The top participants selected teams of their own, going with people who were close to them in ranks.


    Within a few seconds, almost all the teams werepleted. There were sixteen teams that were alreadyplete, leaving only Lucifer, Malin, and one more person.


    Lucifer nced at another youngdy who stood nkly. She was thest person who was left... Rank Forty-Seven. Rank 48 and rank 49 were already taken by Ron, so she was the lowest Ranked that was still avable.


    "Time up." The old man dered. "It seems most of the teams are alreadypleted, leaving only one. Then again, there''s no question left. All three who are left will be in a team. Move closer."

 Chapter 926: Sit

    Chapter 926: Sit


    "Now that the teams are finalized, let me tell you. The teams you made just now? Those teams will stay the same until thest trial. And only three of the teams will reach thest trial, depending on how they do from now on."


    "Each Trial will give a team points based on the ranking they achieve, and the points will be shared by the entire team with the Captain getting forty percent of the points, the other two will share thirty thirty."


    "The teams will be dissolved after the secondst trial, and the nine yers from those three teams will have a chance of bing a Captain Rank promotion."


    "It doesn''t matter if you''re in the top nine based on your points at the end of the secondst trial. If you''re not a part of the top three teams, you won''t go ahead. So I hope you all understand how important Teamwork is going to be for you all," the old man said, especially ncing at Lucifer and Ron.


    He believed those two were the candidates that were sure to reach the top nine based on their individual performance, but with the members they had selected, their teams were at a real disadvantage. He had a feeling that those two hit an ax on their feet by not taking the team''s thing seriously.


    On the other hand, Mander and Raayi were sure to go to the finals based on the teams they had selected. Their teams were technically the strongest. That meant there was only one team''s spot avable for the finals, which could be taken by either Lucifer or Ron, unless the two could pull off a miracle to oust one of the two strongest teams.


    Because Ron had effectively nerfed himself by making such a weak team, even the other participants had a chance of getting ahead of him to reach the finals.


    The old man was really curious as to how everything was going to unfold.


    "Alright. Now that the teams are final, we can begin with the first trial. You must perform well in this if you want to reach the finals since each point will matter at this moment!"


    The people who had selected the strong teams of Mander and Raayi were too happy. They had basically reached the top six without doing anything. Even the lowest Ranked members couldn''t believe it. They were really happy with the rules since it meant they could reach the top nine as well because they were with Ron.


    Ron appeared to be really careless. He didn''t look even the slightest worried. It was the same for Lucifer.


    Lucifer was slightly taken aback by this whole arrangement since he didn''t know what kind of Trials were going to be there, but as long as the Trials didn''t need the Team Members to perform individually, he was fine.


    "Everyone, sit down wherever you are," the old manmanded.


    Following hismands, everyone sat down.


    "That''s it. That''s the trial. Keep sitting there. The one who can stay seated for longer, they will win."


    "Simple, isn''t it?" The old man asked, seemingly amused.


    All the participants were confused. What did he mean this was the Trial? How could sitting be the Trial? It was effortless. They didn''t need any skills for it. Even the weakest could sit for as long as they please.


    "That''s it. That''s all the instructions for you. Whoever stands up or lies down they are considered out. The ranks are decided based on which team gets out first and so on."


    "If even one member of your team can stay seated until the end, that team will get the most points."


    "So, best of luck, young people. I''ll see you when everything is over."


    "Also, you are allowed to stand if you need to take nature''s call but only two times a day, so use your tries wisely. And even then, you can''t stay up for more than five minutes."


    After issuing the most basic of instructions, the man just flew away. Not only him but all the Instructors also left. Other than the participants, no one else was there on top of the mountains.


    "What are they doing? Is no one going to be here? What if someone cheats?" A young man asked, stunned that they were abandoned.


    "You idiot, they had ced cameras here before we arrived. Look, there they are. Each of our movements is being noticed. Even if they aren''t here, they''ll know if someone cheats, and they''ll adjust the scores ordingly. If you try to cheat, you might even be disqualified," Another young man answered.


    "Oh, that''s good. I wasn''t asking for myself. I can sit for days. It''s not a problem. Sitting is the easiest task. I just didn''t want someone else to cheat."


    "Suuure..."


    ****


    "Sitting as a Trial? Are they trying to test our patience?" Malin thought out loud. She thought the same thing that everyone else thought.


    "It shouldn''t be that easy. I''m sure there is more to it," the young girl who was also a part of the same team answered as she observed the cameras in the distance.


    "Those cameras, they have been covered in a special material. For them to go the extra steps, I''m sure there''s more to it.x


    "Special Material?" Malin asked.


    "Yeah, something that protects the cameras from freezing."


    "How is that odd? We are on a snowy mountain. They probably didn''t want the cameras to stop working."


    "That''s not it. Even ordinary cameras can resist the freezing temperatures of this ce. I know because they are manufactured in my home world. Why would they reinforce something that can already resist whatever this mountain can throw at us?" The youngdy asked with a frown. "Unless..."


    "Unless the trial isn''t just to test our patience but also our resistance," Lucifer replied. "You both feel the temperature getting cold? It''s not natural."


    "Ah, now that you mention it, this ce has suddenly turned a lot colder." Malin agreed.


    "That''s true. Even though this mountain goes a lot colder at night than it is right now, the temperature shouldn''t have changed this fast. It''s like external forces are at y. I believe the test isn''t to see who can sit for the longest but see who can resist the cold longest," the young girl agreed.


    "Since everyone here is strong, they couldn''t just leave everything to the natural cold since everyone could resist it easily. If I''m not wrong, this must be the work of Instructor Li."


    "Instructor Li?" Malin frowned. "That''s true. He can control snow. That makes sense! He must be on the mountain as well!"

 Chapter 927: Targeted

    Chapter 927: Targeted


    With each passing hour, the cold in the surrounding kept increasing, and it didn''t appear to be any ordinary cold.


    People could feel the cold in their blood. Even the ones who lived in areas that were much closer than this mountain started shivering. With time, everyone started realizing that this wasn''t any ordinary cold.


    Since the rules didn''t stop anyone from using their abilities to protect themselves, the ones who could do it cast a Barrier around themselves to keep the cold out. They also helped their teammates with the barriers, but even the barriers didn''t stop the cold entirely.


    Everyone used whatever they could to protect themselves since they needed tost longer than others. The cold here could easily make anyone sick and make them pass out, which no one wanted.


    Mander brought both his hands together. A fire lit up in his hands which started warming him up, keeping him safe.


    As for Raayi, she herself was from the n which was known for controlling the cold. She wasn''t affected by the cold. It was her Bloodline Ability. No matter how cold it got, she didn''t be phased. However, unlike others, she didn''t help her teammates. She couldn''t pass her Bloodline ability on to others to protect them since it was impossible.


    She let her teammates suffer on their own. ording to the rules, all three of them didn''t need to stay up. As long as even one person on the team stayed sitting, the team was going to win and get the points, so she wasn''t affected by her teammates. She didn''t even care if those two gave up just now.


    "You two can get up and go back to the base. You can''t be of any help here in any case. I''ll get the points for our team here," she told her teammates.


    The two teammates felt somewhat insulted. They had just started the trial, and she was asking them to give up? Did she think they were really that weak? They might not be as strong as her, but they were strongest after the three seeds. Their dignity didn''t allow them to give up, so they remained seated.


    The youngdy didn''t force them either.


    Raayi was so pleased that this was the first Trial. It was like free points for her since no one could defeat her when it came to cold resistance. She was sure she was going to be thest person sitting.


    Each team used something to protect themselves, some of them even utilizing all three members to cast even stronger protection or take multiple types of defenses.


    There were also some teams that didn''t have any effective protection. They just used their body''s natural resistance, but they were sure they couldn''t win against the others.


    They just didn''t want to best, so they didn''t give up right away.


    Back in Lucifer''s team, Malin cast a dark barrier around all three of them. "This should protect us for some time, but I can''t keep that barrier up for a long time. I don''t have enough energy. At best, I can keep it up for an hour."


    She gazed at the seconddy on the team. "Do you have anything to help?"


    "I don''t have anything to help in this type of trial. I''m sorry. I am probably the weakest link of this team for this kind of Trial." The young girl refused right away.


    "Lucifer, do you have anything? If you don''t, we will probably freeze after an hour. At least we won''t be thest to be out. It looks like there are many teams who don''t have any protection either. We should be able to oust them at least," Malin theorized.


    "There are seventeen teams. From the looks of it, there are around five of them which arepletely at the mercy of the cold. So we should still end up in the top twelve this time, at least. That is if you don''t have any form of protection. So, do you have anything?" she asked Lucifer, who hadn''t spoken anything yet.


    Lucifer hadn''t even reacted to her question. He seemed to be distracted by something else.


    He could see that it was only the weak Participants who were having a hard time. All top three seeds were sittingfortably.


    "The old man told me he wanted to n trials that were neutral and didn''t give advantage to anyone. But this trial... It seems to be neutral in no way, shape, or form. The three seeds have a massive advantage in it from what it seems."


    One has mes to resist cold. Other had her ice Bloodline. And the third seed had the thunder barrier.


    "Is this really the trial? Or am I missing something?" he thought out loud.


    Only the old man knew the answer to this question, and only he could answer, but Lucifer couldn''t ask him since he wasn''t allowed to leave this ce at all. All he could do was go through the Trial and finish it. Maybe there was more to it than met the eye? For now, it didn''t seem that way.


    "Lucifer? Stop zoning out. Tell me if you have anything that can help us after I run out?" Malin asked, seeing Lucifer not react. "We can n ordingly."


    "Who knows," Lucifer calmly replied.


    "You, who else?" Malin rolled her eyes. "Why be vague? Do you have or do you not?!"


    Luciferpletely ignored the youngdy, once again being distracted by something in the distance.


    He felt something odd. He could feel that the area around his team appeared to be colder than it was around others. Since he had a connection with the wind, it did help him sense something like that.


    Because of the barrier around them, the others couldn''t sense how cold it was outside. Most also didn''t know how their surroundingspared to others, but Lucifer could feel that it was different, especially around them.


    ''The other moderators are targeting me as well? Probably because of what I did with one of them?''


    As soon as Lucifer realized what was happening, he was slightly amused. If they wanted to y like this, he didn''t mind. He was going to let them be happy.


    Time kept passing slowly. Teams started getting eliminated as there were many who gave up by lying on the ground before waving at the cameras, saying they couldn''t go longer.


    It was just as Malin had said. Within one hour, five teams were eliminated, along with some members of other teams.


    The moderators returned and took the ones who were out before disappearing.


    "The barrier will stop soon, so brace for the impact."

 928 Chapter 928

    Malin could onlyst for an hour. An hour was already up, and she was struggling to keep the barrier up. Her body had grown weak.


    Crack~


    Crackle started developing on the barrier. The cracks kept getting bigger and bigger before the entire barrier shattered.


    The impact of her barrier breaking was so powerful that Malin felt extremely weak. She was about to fall on her back out of weakness when she felt a warm hand resting on her back. Lucifer prevented the fall of the youngdy since he didn''t want her to be out. If she fell, she was going to be eliminated.


    Cold winds rushed at all three of them, sending both thedies shivering.


    Lucifer also felt the cold. Without the barrier obstructing them, he could feel just what the extent of the cold was.


    "You two should give up for now," Lucifer calmly stated. He removed his hand from the back of Malin, changing his mind. "Leave everything to me. I''ll get the points."


    It was better to do it alone from what he felt. The other team member of his also gave up immediately.


    The Moderators came and took the twodies, but they didn''t forget to ask Lucifer if he wanted to give up as well. Lucifer rejected the offer without even considering it.


    Both thedies stared at Lucifer in confusion. Just what was this guy nning? How could he resist the cold without anything? Could he really stay like this here without seriously harming himself?


    The twodies were escorted off the mountains as the trial was over for them. That left only Lucifer here from his team.


    Lucifer didn''t cast any barrier at all. Instead, he stood up. Since he was allowed two five-minute breaks in a day to get out, he took the first one this instant.


    He walked past all the other teams to check just how cold his surroundings were inparison to them. Just as he expected, the difference was like day and night. The cold around him was like twice powerful as what others faced. It was the same for the three seeds. It appeared as if the equality was only for the other members. He and his team didn''te, but that''s exactly what he wanted.


    That''s the entire reason he had poked the moderators. Firstly, this made things interesting for him. And secondly, this worked as a distraction for the moderators, so their entire focus was on them. He didn''t want any of them to find Gabriel.


    Each of his steps was perfectly calcted, even though he seemed like a reckless person to others.


    After making sure of what was happening, Lucifer returned to his own ce and decided to get the game started.


    He sat in his old ce under the extreme cold, but it was just the start for him. His eyes shone momentarily before returning to their original color.


    An invisible barrier of time appeared around him, which trapped his surroundings in time. Even the cold winds couldn''t harm the barrier of time. They couldn''t even pass through the barrier. After casting a barrier in his surroundings, Lucifer created a small me in his hand to warm his surroundings. There was still some cold air trapped inside the barrier, which he tried to warm up.


    Seeing the small flicker in the hands of Lucifer, Mander rolled his eyes. As a Prince of mes, he found that me really embarrassing. It wasn''t even close to the intensity of his deep blue mes. He didn''t believe that fire could warm him up in the face of increasing cold.<sub> </sub>


    Unfortunately for him, there was no increasing cold. He had warned his surroundings with just that me alone, and the cold winds couldn''t even get close to him because of the barrier.


    He had safeguarded himself. It didn''t matter what the Moderators did or how much cold they tossed at him; it couldn''t pass through time without getting stuck. The strength just didn''t matter to him.


    Another hour passed. At the start of the trial, almost all the participants had assumed that they couldst for days in a ce like this. Unfortunately, reality had set in within two hours.


    More than ten teams were out now, leaving only seven teams.


    There were only two of the remaining seven teams that had only one participant in the team, and it was the team of Raayi and Lucifer. Mander still had all three participants. It was also the case for Ron.


    Two more hours passed, and more teams were out.


    In the starting four hours, thirteen teams were out, even the ones which had top ten participants.


    That left only four teams for top rank.


    Back in the Headquarters where the participants stayed, the ones who were disqualified watched the trial on a big screen.


    The team of Lucifer was the most stunned out of them all since Lucifer was sitting without any barrier. He was the only person on the mountain whose team didn''t contain a single Seed, yet he was still in thepetition. Moreover, he seemedpletely unphased as well.


    It was as if the cold wasn''t even a concern for him.


    ****


    Moderator Li was in-charge of this specific trial. He was the one who controlled the temperature on the mountain, and he also selected how and when to increase the cold.


    He was apanied by a few more Moderators. All of them had camped on the mountain itself as they were responsible for taking the participants back who were out.


    "Li, I can understand how three Seeds have resisted your cold so far, but what about Lucifer! Are you going easy on him? X


    "Easy? If you think that''s called going easy, then I don''t know what to tell you. He''s facing more cold than the others. Yet he just refuses to give up. I''m not sure, but it might be because of his bloodline? He might have something simr to what Raayi has. That would make sense."


    "Does that mean no one is gone to eliminate anymore?" One of the moderators asked. "It''s impossible to stop the me of Mander. Simrly, cold can''t affect Raayi, and the lightning Armor of Ron is also a hassle. And now even Lucifer can''t be eliminated?"


    "We can''t say for sure. I''ve not used the full extent of my cold on anyone before. I don''t think I''m even allowed to, but who knows. I might get the permission to use it if there are no winners. All of them are really young, so they might not resist. Even the Bloodline of cold could fail. When pushes to shove. So let''s see."

 929 Chapter 929

    The cold kept increasing even more, yet there was no effect. There was only one change.


    Mander, who had been using a dark me to keep his teammates warm, realized that he couldn''tst long like this. Observing the ease with which others were going through this trial, he understood that this wasn''t going to end anytime soon. It might take days, only to end up in a draw. It might even take more.


    Unfortunately, he couldn''t keep up this me for an infinite amount of time. He also had the need to not exhaust himself too fast.


    "You two leave," he calmly stated.


    "What?" His teammates looked at him in confusion.


    "I told you to leave. You two are of no use at this point. The strength I''m using to keep you warm can be better utilized to protect me even better. Moreover, all three of us don''t need to be here. Only one from the team is enough. I''ll be that one person. You two get out this instant."


    "We..." The two men gazed at each other before nodding. It wasn''t as if they could say no. They were at the mercy of Mander at this point.


    They stood up and waved at the camera, giving up.


    The moderators arrived and took the two young men with them before disappearing.


    Even now, four teams were left, and three of them had a single member each. Only the team of Ron had all three members since Ron was protecting the other two members with all he got.


    He cast a dark lightning dome around them, which sealed them inside. He made sure to make the dome in such a shape that it left no room for even a single of them to lie down since he didn''t want anyone to use him of cheating and resting inside the lightning dome.


    Unfortunately, the weakness of the dome came to light only when one of his teammates asked him to make an opening since he needed to go to the washroom.


    "You know if I open this ce, you two will be frozen right here. I would still be fine, but you two will be in a real mess as cold rush inside."


    "I... I can''t hold back."


    "Fine. You two can l give up.  I''ll be here from our team." Ron allowed his team to give up as well since there was no other option.


    He stopped using his lightning. The dome disappeared, and just as he had said, cold winds rushed inside, sending the two teammates of his instantly shivering.


    The two people instantly gave up, calling for moderators.


    Ron, on the other hand, sat without the room as his lightning bloodline warned his body from the inside. Meanwhile, a smallyer of dark Lightning protected his body from outside.


    Except for Raayi, everyone here was using their Bloodline Ability which meant it was only a matter of time before one of them ran out of energy to be forced out.


    As for the person who was at the most risk for that, it was none other than Lucifer. Unlike the others here who had their Bloodline abilities, his abilities were supported by his energy cores which couldn''t store an infinite amount of energy.<sub> </sub>


    Moreover, as he was using the time barrier, which provided an impable defense at a high consumption rate, he believed he was at the risk of running out faster.


    He knew that he couldn''tst here for more than a day. If the trial went on for longer, he was going to be out next.


    Fortunately, the moderators didn''t know about this. They thought that Lucifer also had the bloodline ability of Raayi, which was helping him so he could never run out of it.


    That''s why they didn''t go with the n to wait them out since they believed that could leave Raayi and Lucifer in the top two teams. Moreover, they also had to set up more challenges. The Trial for promotion was on a strict timeline. They couldn''t keep the first one going for days.


    Moderator Li finally decided to take some stricter action as he contacted the old man who was in charge of everything here.


    "Sir, thirteen teams are out, but thest four all have Bloodline abilities that make themst for days. At this rate, a lot of time will be wasted. We have only three options at this point. We can either dere a draw for the top four and divide points equally, or we can let this go on for days which will put us behind schedule. As for thest option, it''s to remove my limitations."


    "I''ll only use my full strength for five minutes, and the kids won''t be harmed too much. Moreover, that way, we can get a more urate ranking as well. So, what do you suggest?"


    "You can use the third option," Came the response. "But make sure the kids aren''t hurt."


    "I will."


    Li finally had the permission. He could end this entire thing in an instant now.


    He flew back to the top of the mountain andnded before the four men who were still in thepetition.


    "You four did really well in resisting the cold, but what''s about to happen next will be more brutal. It''s not something you can resist, so if anyone wants to give up, I suggest they do it now. Better save yourself from going through the absolute cold." The man exined a bit as to what he was going to do, giving everyone a chance to give up and take the fourth position, but no one took his offer.


    His words did, however, surprise a few of them. Raayi knew what absolute cold meant. It was the extreme cold that could even freeze the heart of their opponent. It was a skill that her father knew, but she hadn''t managed to master it.


    She believed her Bloodline could provide some resistance against the absolute cold, but even that couldn''t help her for a long time. Absolute cold could even freeze her Bloodline temporarily. Since she couldn''t use the absolute cold herself, she also didn''t have a way to protect herself from it.


    "I just have to oust the other three. That shouldn''t be a problem, at least." All three seeds thought the same thing at the same time, so no one gave up.


    As for Lucifer, he was relieved that these people were about to end this event soon. If they had stretched, he would''ve been having a hard time, but if it was about resisting for a little while, he knew his time barrier could do it! Time was supreme!


    "As you wish."


    The man joined his hands together as he used the Absolute Cold.


    It was as if even the winds of the mountain stopped as he used the extreme cold. The mes of Mander froze in ce. The lightning of Ron also froze and shattered. Even Raayi felt her heart slow down¡­

 930 Chapter 930

    Only twelve hours had passed since the first trial began, which people expected tost for days if not weeks.


    The sun had already set. There were many youngsters who stood at the entrance of the base, gazing toward the mountain.


    It was so dark, yet everyone could see some figures approaching them from a distance.


    Only when the people got close to the base, which was lit up, everyone saw them clearly. There were four people who were all apanied by the moderators.


    All the participants gazed at the four of them in curiosity, wondering who had won. As soon as absolute cold was used, even the cameras went nk, making it such that no one here knew what happened after that.


    The people tried to guess who won from the expressions of the participants, but no one showed anything. All four of them directly went inside the base, not reacting at all. Even Lucifer didn''t stay there more than he had to as he went back inside his room, not even talking to Malin.


    "Sir, can you tell us who won? What''s thest rank? Or was it a draw?"


    Many youngsters asked the moderators to get some answers, especially the ones who were part of thest four teams. They wanted to know if their team member actually won or not.


    "You will know tomorrow when the rankings are posted on the main wall," The Moderators responded. "Until then, you all go back to your own rooms. You''ll know tomorrow morning in any case."


    *****


    Lucifer closed the door of his room and dropped onto the bed, closing his eyes.


    There were thousands of thoughts in his head, but most of them were about himself. Throughout the day, he had made so many decisions, especially early in the morning.


    Now that he was finally in thefort of his bed, he finally started thinking more deeply about it.


    "Why did I be so impulsive today? Just to have some fun, I irritated that moderator when I could''ve just done everything without doing it."


    "That''s not me. I don''t run from conflict, but I also don''t create them. Just what happened to me today?"


    "I didn''t feel like myself. I know I made that decision, but why?"


    No matter how much he tried to think about anything else, his mind kept going back to all those things.


    At first, it wasn''t his n to do anything like this. He also had more control and patience in the past, but something had changed in him today. He didn''t know why.


    "Is it really just a casual act, or is there something more? It happened right after I met with Gabriel. It''s like messing with people gave me pleasure. It''s like I wanted that! I wanted that feeling! I craved for it!"


    "Argh, I hope I''m just overthinking things."


    He buried his head under a pillow, trying to sleep to calm his head. He didn''t even change his clothes before going to sleep.


    It was only after he felt slightly ufortable that he got up to get back to morefortable clothes. He took off the shirt he was wearing and went to the wardrobe to bring out his old clothes.


    Knock~


    Before Lucifer could even open the wardrobe, there was a knock on the door.


    "Hmm? Who could it be now?"


    He walked to the door, not even bothering to don a shirt.<sub> </sub>


    Lucifer opened the door. "You two... What are you doing here sote?"


    He noticed two women standing outside the door being none other than the two that were on his team.


    "We came here to talk to you," Malin answered, trying to prevent her eyes from straying at the sight of bare-chested Lucifer.


    The other girl couldn''t achieve the same feat as her gaze went down.


    "Come in. We can talk inside."


    He turned around and went back to the wardrobe to get the shirt again.


    The twodies entered the room, closing the door behind them.


    "Your back tattoo looks intriguing," Malinmented, noticing the mark on Lucifer''s back.


    Lucifer casually nodded. He didn''t really like this mark which came on him from the pendant. Even though he knew about it, he didn''t particrly like it.


    "I''ve never seen someone who covered their entire back though." Maya also chimed in. "You must''ve really liked tattoos."


    "What are you talking about? It''s not on my entire back."


    "Ah, if you don''t call that the entire back, I don''t know what to say." Maya chuckled. "The tattoo covers your back from head to waist."


    "Hmm?" Frowning, Lucifer stopped getting dressed and went to the mirror in the distance.


    Turning his back toward the mirror, he tried to observe the mark, only to be stunned. The mark which was covering only a small part of his back before was now covering his entire back. It was as if the mark was expanding on its own.


    Lucifer didn''t know what to think of this. He didn''t know if there was any way to stop the mark. He didn''t even know why it even expanded in the first ce. Just what was the secret of this mark on his back?


    "Is something wrong?" Malin stood up, seeing Lucifer distressed.


    "Huh? No, nothing." Lucifer wore the shirt again, covering his back. "Don''t tell anyone about this tattoo."


    He didn''t know what this tattoo was, but he still wanted to keep it a secret. There was a possibility that this mark could be rted to the Angels. He didn''t want the Star Alliance to know of it and be his enemy.


    "What did you want to talk about?" He changed the topic, getting it back to the twodies.


    "We came here to ask you about the first trial. What happened in thest moments. Even the cameras couldn''t resist the cold. For that to happen, the cold must''ve been something iprehensible."


    "So you want to know if I won or not. Don''t worry; in any case, you''ll get the points."


    "It''s not about points. We won''t care even if you were Fourth. Just the fourth position itself is great for us. We are just curious as to what happened."


    "We also wanted to ask if you were fine, but you do look fine, so we didn''t."


    Lucifer picked up a chair and sat before the twodies. "You know it''s not good for twodies toe thiste in a guy''s room. Do you think the people who see you leaving this room will think you came here to ask me questions?"


    "Why? What else will they think?" Malin asked innocently, only toter realize. Her face turned red.

 931 Chapter 931

    "Nonsense. Only idiots will think that. We are teammates, so of course, we wille here." Malin repeated sternly.


    "So what happened on the trial? Who won?"


    "I did."


    Lucifer''s simple answer shocked both thedies, stunning them.


    The twodies gazed at each other. Even though they hoped he would get a good rank, even they couldn''t have expected him to win the first rank. He defeated the three Seeds? At least in the trial of cold, it seemed.


    "And Raayi also won." Before the threedies became too excited, Lucifer further stated.


    "It was a draw between two for the first ce," he exined. " Mander came second, and Ron was third."


    "Apparently, the Elder only had permission to use his absolute cold for only a second. The two who ousted that one second won. Mander and Ron failed before absolute cold since their abilities weren''t sufficient in the face of cold."


    Lucifer described what happened on top of the mountain in more detail, talking about how the mes of Mander were frozen by the absolute cold, taking him out. It was simr for Ron.


    Thanks to her Bloodline, Raayi managed to escape that one second while he survived because his Time Barrier stopped even the absolute cold. Despite that, the burden that absolute cold applied on even the time barrier was too much.


    Even now, Lucifer wondered how long he could''vested before that cold. He wasn''t sure how long he could, but one thing he was sure of was that the attack was very powerful.


    "Now that you got your answer, you two can leave. I''ll see you tomorrow. I''m tired. I just want to go to sleep."


    Lucifer walked to the gate and opened them for the twodies to step out.


    Thedies also didn''t trouble him too much. They were just curious about the result, and now that the results were out, they listened to Lucifer and left his room.


    Lucifer closed the door after the twodies left.


    As soon as he closed the door, Lucifer once again took off his shirt, going straight to the mirror and looking at his back.


    Even though he didn''t show it before the twodies, the mark was really concerning for him. Unfortunately, there was no one who could answer him.


    If anyone could answer him, it was a person who was staying in a faraway world.


    "This mark..."


    To distract himself from the mark, Lucifer went back to the shower, letting cold water remove all his worries.


    ****


    Time kept trickling away as dates changed. Lucifer went from one trial to another, noticing another phenomenon.


    Just as the first trial was something that was advantageous to Raayi, the second trial used the element of mes, which was beneficial to Mander.  It was as if this wasn''t a neutral trial either. There was not a single doubt left on this assumption when the third trial turned out to be beneficial to Ron.


    Despite the unfairness, Lucifer didn''t hesitate. He gave each trial his all, even though his team wascking. Fortunately, his team wasn''tpletely useless.


    Maya from his team was an expert in technology and artifacts, which came really useful in one of the trials. In fact, her knowledge even made her win the seventh trial.


    Lucifer''s team was turning out to be a dark horse but not quite since everyone knew how long Lucifer was by now. They also believed he was a special seed, so no one found it odd at all.<sub> </sub>


    Weeks had passed since Lucifer''s arrival on this world. Gabriel remained inside his room all this time, never evening out.


    With time, more and more teams started losing hopes of ever having a chance at victory since the battle appeared to be between the three seeds and Lucifer for the top three team spots.


    In this world, many things were tested, including their resistance, their strength, their defense, their knowledge, their critical things, and such.


    Throughout the weeks, Lucifer''s team had surprisingly managed to take the first ce in the team rankings. Lucifer''s personal ranking was still very far from the top.


    There was only onest trial left before the top three teams were finalized and dissolved. As for the Trial, it was where the arena that Lucifer had seen at the start finally came to y.


    Every team stood around the arena where the Administrator told them the rules about the final trial, which was very simple.


    "There are seventeen teams here right now. But only sixteen teams will take part in this. Looking at that, thest ranked team is automatically disqualified. Please step back."


    The team with the least points until now wasn''t even allowed to take part in it. All three members of the team stepped back.


    "There are only sixteen teams. Each of the sixteen team captains need toe forward and pick one of the cards on the table without flipping the card and showing others. There are sixteen cards on the table. The cards will decide which team you face in the trial. There are two cards with number one on them. The teams which pick those two cards will go first."


    "Simrly, the team with number eight will gost."


    "This will be an individual team battle! Each team will have three battles, and the order of participants will be decided by you. The team that wins two of the three battles will be part of the eight winning teams here, getting maximum points. If a team can win all three of its battles, there will be bonus points."


    The old man gave his instructions before stepping back.


    "Pick up the cards. Lucifer, since your team is leading the ranking, you''ll get to pick a card first."


    Lucifer moved closer to the table, picking up the card before going back to his ce. It was only after he was back that he nced at the card.


    Mander went next as his team was tied for the second ce with Lira and Ron. Still, he had the most points in the individual ranking, so he was given a preference.


    Raayi went third and picked up the card before it was the turn of Ron.


    One after another, all sixteen captains picked up the card, yet none told others what their number was. In fact, captains didn''t even tell their team members.


    "You can tell your numbers out loud now. Let''s see who you''re paired with. Who picked one?" the old man asked, roaming his gaze over the participants.


    Two captains raised their hands.


    "Number two?"


    ...


    "Numbers Six?"


    Finally, Ron stepped forward, sighing in disappointment that he wasn''t paired with any of the seeds.


    In fact, he found his luck so bad that he was paired with the sixteenth-ranked team.

 932 Chapter 932

    The matchup was decided through the numbers, and some of the matchups came as real surprises, especially thest pair.


    Ron was paired with the Rank Sixteenth team, which made it almost inevitable that he was going to qualify. Since only three teams could enter the next stage of selection, one spot appeared to be reserved by Ron''s team.


    Raayi''s team was paired with the fourth-ranked team, which made her battle slightly harder than the other two teams. Despite that, it was also all but confirmed that she was going ahead if even one of her two team Members could win their battle.


    That left only one team''s spot in the finals, and that''s where things became slightlyplicated since the Third Seed Matchup came as aplete surprise to everyone.


    me Lord Mander was paired with one of the dark horses of the tournament. His team was paired with the team of Lucifer!


    In essence, it also confirmed that Mander was going ahead since even if Lucifer could win his battles, he couldn''t go ahead unless one of his team members could win their battles as well, which was better said than done.


    His team was filled with the lowest ranking members of the entire tournament, just like Ron. On the other hand, the team members of Mander were all top ranked. The chances of Lucifer going ahead were almost close to none now since this was one of the events where one win wasn''t enough, and even he realized it.


    The difference between his teammate and Mander''s teammates was just too big.


    Unfortunately, it wasn''t just the case for him. Even Ron was at a small risk. Even though his battle was against the lowest ranked team, that team also had members who initially had higher rankings than his team members. So he was in the same boat as Lucifer. The only difference was that his teammates at least had a chance to defeat the opponents.


    "Lucifer, I think I should apologize in advance since it appears that we''ll be the reason our team will be out."


    Observing the uncertain expressions of Lucifer, Malin understood what he was thinking. He probably regretted his decision to go with them, but they couldn''t do anything about that choice now. All she could do was apologize to him.


    Because of him, she had an epic rise in her rank, which brought her to a respectable rank in the upper tier even though she didn''t do much. On the contrary, they were going to be the ones to pull down Lucifer.


    Even Lucifer hadn''t expected an elimination match like this, so he was also taken aback.


    "Don''t worry about it. It''s still not our loss for sure. I can give our team a win. You just need to win one of your two battles, and we can be through..."


    "Win battles against them? We were rankedst on our abilities while they ranked near the peak. Winning against them is..."


    "It doesn''t matter what you were ranked. Look at your current rank instead. You aren''tst ranked now. Instead, you''re ranked near the top as well, aren''t you?"


    "But that''s because of yo-"


    "No, it''s not because of me. As I said before, initial ranks are useless. Just because you were rankedst doesn''t mean you were weak, and you can see that if you look back at your journey throughout. I didn''t carry you over my shoulder. I only gave you a little push, and you did the rest on your own."<sub> </sub>


    Demotivating his teammate when he needed them the most wasn''t a good form of n, and Lucifer understood that. When demotivated, even the top ranked could perform poorly, but when motivated, even a weak candidate could cause the biggest upset of the tournament like Maya caused before.


    He lightly patted the shoulders of the youngdies standing beside him. "You two got it. We won''t win two matches in it. We will win all three."


    "Of course. I didn''te so far to lose." Unlike Malin, Lucifer''s other teammate, Maya, was already filled with determination to win.


    If she won, she could enter the prestigious top ten in this event. However, if she lost, she was going to be out. This wasn''t even a choice for her.


    "But if we are going to win, we would need a n, and I think I got one," she stated.


    "What n?"


    "A n that takes into consideration their strength and their weaknesses so that we know who we should fight and how we should fight. Because of our current ranking, it''ll be his team who will send candidates first, dering their order of battle. We would dere our order second, and that would be our biggest advantage."


    "Just give me a second. I need to take all factors into consideration beforeing up with a n."


    Maya brought a small device out of her pocket, unfolding it to be a much bigger device, the size of a notebook. Using her fingers, she started writing everything she knew about her own team members and the opponent team members.


    Throughout the tournament, she had been observing every action of every team, understanding their fighting tactics, strength, and weaknesses. She was the tactician in her world, and now it was finally her time to shine.


    Lucifer didn''t interfere and let her do as she pleased. Since they were to gost, they had plenty of time.


    ? On the other hand, Raayi''s team was to fight first, going against the fifth ranked team.


    She didn''t even care about the order. Her team was genuinely stronger, and there was nothing that she believed could stop her, and it went exactly as she nned.


    It was absolute destruction. Her team was ruthless, not even giving the opponent a chance to counter. Both of Raayi''s teammates won their battles in less than a minute, dominating the entire field.


    By winning the first two matches, it was already evident that her team was going forward, but they also wanted the bonus points and to win the third match, which no one doubted they could do. It was Raayi''s turn herself now.


    Five seconds... It took her five seconds on the stage before the match was already over. To most, it looked as if the match was over before it could even begin as Raayi walked off the stage, leaving a frozen statue behind.


    Her strength was absolute, and so was her cold. However, no one was surprised at what they saw. It waspletely within expectations, even for Lucifer. She was dangerous.

 933 Chapter 933

    Raayi walked back to her ce after winning her battle and the bonus points for the team, taking her ce.


    Following a moment of silence, the next pair of teams were called forth, being the 7th and the 13th Ranking teams.


    The Seventh Ranking Teams won the battle, but only two out of three. Unfortunately, that much wasn''t enough to reserve a ce for them in the top three. Even if they had won all three battles, it was impossible. The real battle was between the top four teams only.


    Other teams only fought to improve their rankings


    The third batch of battles ended, followed by the fourth.


    Each of the battles was a learning experience for Lucifer, who could see how the heirs of the strongest families fought. Through them, he was able to take a guess about how strong their families could be.


    Since the battles were between closer ranked teams, no team was able to dominate their opponents like Raayi had done. That was also why the battles stretched for much longer than the first pair of battles.


    Three hours passed by the time it was the turn of the next battle. It was the turn of another Seed.


    Ron''s team was matched against the sixteenth-ranked team, which he found disappointing. In fact, he even asked the old man to change his pairing with either Lucifer''s Team or Mander''s team, giving them his opponents since he didn''t want a weaker opponent.


    Unfortunately, his request was rejected, leaving him no option.


    Once again, it came as no surprise that Ron defeated his opponent effortlessly. Even his team members won their individual battles, bringing three victories to their team. Two of the three team slots were already final now.


    Out of nine finalists, six passed through to thest stage. That left only thest spot of three team members, which was going to go to Lucifer or Mander.The Chances of Mander taking that slot seemed more likely at this point.


    Despite not having much significance on the final positions, the other battles continued.


    It was the seventh team battle, and the next one was going to be thest.


    In the back, Maya was still doing some calctions. Throughout the time, she hadn''t stopped calcting for even a second, trying to find the best approach. She even rejected most of the ces she came up with, finding ws in them.


    "Did youe up with something?" Malin asked Maya while the battles took ce on the stage.


    Maya shook her head. "There is no wless n which ensures our victory, but there is one which gives us the highest chance we are going to have."


    "And how much chance is that?"


    "Thirty percent chance of sess, that''s considering that Lucifer wins his battle."


    "So there''s a thirty percent chance that we can win one of our two battles? That''s not as bad as I thought."<sub> </sub>


    Maya nodded. "That''s right. A small chance but a fighting chance. The next battle is ours, so we don''t have time toe up with a better n. That''s why we need to go with the best option we have. Let me give you a brief."


    Maya told them about her n and the order of battles she had nned. She also told them about what ws she was able to find in their opponents and how they could utilize that to create an upset.


    "That''s the n for us. And now the n for Lucifer." She ced her entire focus on Lucifer.


    "I am sure Mander will ce himself in thest battle. And that''s the best for us. If he was first and you had won the battle against him, then it would''ve made his teammates more serious. We need to have them consider us weak."


    " The first battle is our best chance to get that victory when they don''t take us seriously. With Mander in the first battle, it would''ve been a wasted opportunity."


    "That''s why, Lucifer, you need to make sure that he goesst. If possible, give him hints that you''ll gost, so he doesn''t do something unexpected like cing himself in first spot. And then, you need to win that battle!"


    "I will go in the first battle, and hopefully, I''ll win through the element of surprise. As for Malin, her chances are really low, so she might be able to win, but her chances of losing are higher since after losing the first battle, that team will take us more seriously, taking away the advantage from her."


    "That''s why, if I can win, the tie breaker will be on your shoulders, along with the responsibility to get us through, which won''t be easy, even for you. Mander is known as the me Lord. His mes might not be as strong as the mes of his father, but they are still powerful enough to burn anything in their path. So no matter what, you need to avoid his mes."


    "Don''t let the mes touch you, and no matter what you do, don''t get within his close range. He is more threatening in close range, so keep your distance from him."


    "Out of all the seeds, Mander is the scariest fighter because his mes are very effective at long range, but at close range, they get even more effective. It''s like this guy has no ws, but still, it''s better to keep distance than to get close to him."


    "As for how to win the battle, I''ll leave that to you since I don''t have enough data about all your skills or what you''ve hidden from me. Just keep my warning in your mind."


    Maya was right as well since Lucifer still hadn''t shown his Decay yet, which he had gained even more control over now. There were even more abilities that he had kept hidden, not showing even the Star Alliance.


    "The eighth pair, step forward." A call came from the old man. The Seventh Pair of battles were over as well, leaving only thest pair, which was also what everyone was more interested in as this was going to decide thest three participants that were going to reach the finals.


    If Lucifer won, he was going to enter the top nine and continue in the race of the Captainship, but if Mander won, Lucifer was going to be out with his team. Everything was on line in this battle.


    It was afternoon when Lucifer and Mander stepped forward with their teams.


    "Tell the order you''ll send your members in," the old man asked Mander.


    "Mai will go first. Jaek will go second, and I''ll go third," Mander answered.


    "And from your side?" the old man asked Lucifer.


    "From my side, Maya will go first, Malin second, and I''ll go third."

 934 Chapter 934

    Amongst the two people in his team, Maya was supposed to be the weakest. She was considered to be the Strategist. She could certainly fight using her tech, but her raw strength was the bare minimum. That''s why no one had seen her properly fight before.


    That''s also what she considered to be her biggest advantage at this point. For a moment, the opponent could even take Malin seriously, but her... She was the weakest from all the trials, despite not being rankedst.


    Maya went on the giant stage, seemingly a bit hesitant, as if she was already worried about what was going to happen. In response to her, another woman stepped on the stage, dressed in a beautiful yellow gown.


    "This is going to be a short fight. It might even be the shortest of this tournament. I wish Lucifer hade in your ce. That would''ve made things a bit fun at least."


    "I-i don''t want to fight, but I have no choice. Please go easy on me." Maya lowered her head in respect.


    "Heh, I just had to match with this coward." Mai rolled her eyes. "I''ve seen you in the trials before. You''re the weakest link. Even that other girl would''ve been a better opponent than you. At least she wouldn''t have begged before the battle even started. You''re an embarrassment."


    "Whatever, I''ll finish it fast for your sake."


    Mai was so disappointed in her opponent, yet she was also pleased that she didn''t have to worry about losing this one.


    Her hands transformed into a beast''s ws. Two bat-like wings appeared behind her back.


    "I won''t even have to transform entirely for you," Mai''s sharp-pitched voice echoed in the surroundings as she flew straight to Maya, reaching out her ws to grab Maya by her throat.


    Since she didn''t take Maya seriously, she treated her like an ordinary human that could be taken out easily.


    Her ws reached the throat of Maya, but before they could even touch her throat, something happened.


    "Spatial Discement." Maya softly muttered before her figure disappeared.


    She appeared behind Mai. "Boosting Gauntlet!"


    She changed. Her steel bracelet started expanding, transforming into a ck gauntlet that covered her hand, providing a mechanical boost to her strength.


    "Boom."


    Maya punched the back of Mai, who was already in forward motion. The fistnded on the back of Mai, shocking him. Mai was taking it so easy that she hadn''t even considered the possibility of this.


    Maya had kept such specialties hidden throughout the trials since this was the only advantage she had. She didn''t have more strength than others. She didn''t have more defense than others. She didn''t have more speed than others. If it came to raw strength, even with her mechanical boost, she couldn''t defeat others.


    The only thing which changed this to her advantage was the element of surprise. If everyone considered her weak, they weren''t going to take her seriously. This was also a reason why she didn''t show such things even to Lucifer. She was saving it for the right opportunity, and this is where that opportunity came.


    The explosive punchnded on Mai''s back, adding to her own speed. It easily sent Mai flying off the stage straight in the direction of Lucifer.


    Lucifer casually flicked his fingers, sending a gust of wind that not only protected him from the sh but also tossed Mai aside.<sub> </sub>


    Mai''s face fell t on the ground.


    "You!" She roared, infuriated. "You sneaky rat!"


    She flew back toward the stage, but the old man stepped before her, blocking her. "That''s enough. You''ve left the boundary of the battle."


    "The winner of the first battle is Maya." The old man dered, making Maya sigh in relief.


    It seems her n had worked. Even though she used a sneaky trick, in the end, it worked and gave them the initial advantage they needed. Now they had the win they needed! All they needed was one more win, and they were going to be through.


    Maya got off the stage and walked back to her team, smiling. "Told you it''ll work."


    Mai had her face red in anger, not only because of Maya but also Lucifer, who tossed her away like a fly even though he could''ve stopped her with his win. It was as if it was intentional.


    "Sooner orter, we will leave this world. I''ll see you two then." Mai red at Lucifer and Maya before walking back to her team.


    She was so embarrassed at losing to such a weakling. Noticing others'' gazes, she felt as if everyone was mocking her for losing such an easy battle.


    "Don''t consider them weak. They are really sneaky. Treat them like a powerful enemy, or you''ll end up like me," Mai reminded Jaek, who was the next participant from their team.


    "Don''t worry. I know we can''t afford to lose this battle. They can''t fool me. I won''t take them lightly."


    Jaek jumped on the stage. Based on the initial rankings, he was even higher than Mai. Moreover, unlike her, he didn''t depend on close-range attacks, so he was sure he couldn''t make the same mistake as her. Still, he was careful.


    "This battle will be hard for you. They''ll take you really seriously. You won''t have the element of surprise like I did, so be careful. Give it your all."


    "I''vee this far. I''m not going to lose now," Malin smiled, ncing at Lucifer. "Someone taught me that ranking was just an empty number that didn''t define who we are. It''s time I forget my initial rankings and give it my all. I will win this battle and bring us to the finals!"


    Filled with determination, Malin jumped on the stage.


    Lucifer''s team had the initial advantage. They only needed to win one of their next two battles. On the other hand, Mander''s team needed to win both of their battles. They had no other choice.


    Malin knew Lucifer was strong, but Mander was a nightmare. She didn''t want Lucifer to have the burden of winning, so she wanted to win her battle. That way, he could fight without any excess burden.


    She knew it was hard for her, but it was the only option. Lucifer had brought her this far. It was time for her to return the favor to him.


    "Are you also going to depend on a trick like your friend? If yes, they let me remind you. It''s not going to work. So you might as well give up now," Jaek rubbed the back of his neckzily. "Don''t waste your time and mine."

 935 Chapter 935

    Malin didn''t react. She just nced at the old man in the distance, waiting for him to signal the beginning of the battle. It was evident that the battle was going to be hard. And if it were the old her, she probably would''ve already surrendered, knowing that she had no chance of winning the battle.


    However, she was different now. She didn''t hesitate, even if it was an uphill climb.


    Jaek didn''t appreciate being ignored, but he considered that it could be a tactic to get him worked up, just like these people used in the battle before.


    He remained calm, not letting his temper rise. Instead, he only smiled.


    He stood with his hands behind his back, also ncing at the old man.


    "Start!" The old man dered once both thepetitors were looking at him.


    As soon as he signaled the beginning of the battle, Malin ran to Jaek. Unlike the tactics of Maya, she didn''t want to let the enemye to her. The closer she was to the edge, the higher her chance was of being forced out of the ring.


    She took the centre stage and didn''t stop with just that. Two wings, made from a bluish energy, appeared behind her, increasing her speed even more, all too abruptly.


    "Useless!" Jaek pped his hands together. Even though it appeared to be a casual p, the sound waves that came from the p were so sharp that it made many who were watching the battle clench their teeth. This was just when the sound waves didn''t even target them.


    The real target was Malin. It was as if Malin had already expected an attack of this kind. It was all per Maya''s calction. As soon as she watched, his hands came together, casting her barrier around her, protecting her from the sound waves.


    The Barrier did protect her from the Sound Waves, but Jaek wasn''t done yet.


    He ced both his hands on the ground, sending a trembling in the ground. The floor started trembling as if an earthquake wasing. Multiple spikes came out of the ground, targeting Malin.


    "As expected, he kept some of his skills hidden before. And even this isn''t the extent of his skills, I''m sure. That''s why I said the chances of Malin winning are so low. With his skills that we know, winning is already hard, let alone if we consider his other skills that he hadn''t shown us."


    Maya shook her head in disappointment. Even though Malin survived the spikes thanks to her barrier, it still wasn''t enough.


    Some of the spikes had managed to prate the barrier, barely missing her by a few Inches.


    Jaek finally moved as soon as the barrier was shattered.


    "Fall back!" He softly spoke. Once again, there were mysterious sound waves hidden in his words, all of which targeted Malin. It also came as a surprise that Jaek would use the same attack without using his hands. He just needed to speak to hurt someone.


    The sound waves were like needles and arrows that hit Malin, sending her flying back. However, Malin managed tond on her feet.


    "That''s the best you can do?" She asked, even as a trail of blood trickled down her lips.


    Jaek scoffed. "Little kid, your friend already used that trick. It won''t work on me. I''m not losing my patience. Don''t worry; I''m not in any hurry either. I''m going to enjoy my sweet time. I have all the time in the world, after all."<sub> </sub>


    Jaek ced his hand on the ground once again. More Spikes came out of the group, right where Malin was standing.


    Malin jumped ahead, avoiding the spikes, but even then, there was a scratch on her legs. The spikes managed to leave a mark on her foot, making it bleed.


    Jaek wasn''t even going to allow Malin toe close to him. He knew she was a close-range fighter. Whenever Malin tried to get close to him, spikes came out of the group, pushing her back.


    "She isn''t going to win." Seeing the progression of the battle, even Lucifer had realized the oue of the battle. No matter how far Malin had arrived, there was an inherent difference between the two sides that she couldn''t close just with her sheer determination.


    ? "You''re right. The chances of her winning are getting slimmer. Moreover, the enemy isn''t getting impatient either. He isn''t even going close to Malin," Maya agreed.


    "This battle will take a really long time to finish like this. And she''ll only get hurt more," Lucifer let out. He picked up a small red handkerchief.


    Maya noticed Lucifer picking up the red handkerchief. She understood what Lucifer was trying to do.


    "What are you doing? At least give her the time to try everything?''


    "Saving her some time. This battle isn''t important. If she is hurt here, she won''t be able to fight tomorrow," Lucifer answered as he flew to the stage.


    He stopped right at the edge of the stage, holding the red handkerchief.


    As Malin''s back was facing him, even she couldn''t see what Lucifer was trying to do. Instead, she was more focused on finding a way to get close to Jaek.


    ''He can use his spikes and his voice. So getting close to him is really hard. Especially that voice, which he only uses after breaking my barrier with his spikes. I need to do something about it. Maybe I can...''


    Malin kept dodging the attacks while trying to devise a new n. She even felt that she was close to finding a way to him. Unfortunately, she was only in for confusion when she noticed that Jaek had stopped attacking her. Instead, he wasughing heartily.


    Through the corner of her vision, Malin also noticed Mander shaking his head in disappointment. Quite a lot of people were looking at her with a mocking gaze.


    "The battle is over! Jaek wins! Both the teams are tied, and now the final battle will decide the winner."


    "Huh? The battle is over? How? I haven''t left the stage; I haven''t surrendered either. How can the battle be over?" Malin asked, confused what was happening.


    "Other than the member who is fighting, a team''s captain can decide when to forfeit a battle. That''s why I said choose a captain wisely," the old man pointed behind Malin.


    Malin turned around. It was only when she turned around that she noticed what had happened. A red handkerchief was lying on the corner of the stage, and Lucifer stood right beside it. Lucifer had forfeited the battle for her.

 936 Chapter 936

    "Why?" That''s the only thing Malin could ask Lucifer.


    Why would he surrender? He was the one who gave her all the confidence that she could win any Battle as long as she wanted! He was the one who told her that initial rankings didn''t define who was stronger. And now he didn''t trust her himself?


    Lucifer stepped on the stage. "The battle isn''t worth it. I know you could''ve won, but at a cost that you can''t bear to afford at this point. There are more battles to fight next. I don''t want you to end up at the ninth rank only. I want you to go Higher and show others what you are capable of in the finals."


    He exined his side of the story, so Malin didn''t misunderstand him. In any case, he had decided to win the next battle. He was confident about it. They didn''t need bonus points to qualify, so it was quite stupid to give their all in the second battle. Unlike him, Malin couldn''t heal whenever she wanted.


    "You..."


    Malin didn''t know how to react. On one side, she could see that Lucifer did it for her in a way. On the other hand, she felt slightly discontent that he didn''t let her decide for herself. Unfortunately, there was nothing she could do now. It was the captain''s decision to even forfeit a battle. If he wanted, he could''ve disqualified the entire team before even starting.


    Malin picked up the red handkerchief and went down the stage, leaving Lucifer on the stage.


    Jaek was stillughing. "And here I was hoping to enjoy the battle. What cowards. Why don''t you surrender as well? Instead of bothering our captain toe on the stage?"


    Lucifer squinted his eyes, feeling somewhat insulted.


    He snapped his fingers. A wind st appeared right before Mander, sending him flying back to his seat.


    "You aren''t big enough to stand before me. Let your fathere."


    "You!" Jaek yelled. He was so furious over being attacked out of nowhere, even though Lucifer made sure to keep the wind st tame enough to not hurt Jaek.


    Jaek was another to jump back on the stage, but a ming wall appeared before him, stopping him.


    "Stay where you are."


    Mander started walking to the stage with calm steps. A me burned around both of his fists.


    "Your wind is not bad." He jumped on the stage.


    "You haven''t seen half of it," Lucifer answered.


    "I don''t know where you came from or which family you belong to, but you definitely deserve to be here. One day you''ll definitely reach the Captain Rank in the Star Alliance, but that day isn''ting this month."


    "It''s more than just about bing a Captain at this point. I''ve promised someone that I''m winning this whole event. And I intend to keep my promise."


    "I''m afraid your promise will be broken today," Mander exined. "But you can still be proud of all you''ve achieved in this ce. You can go back with pride, even after losing."


    "Shall we begin?" he asked the old man.<sub> </sub>


    This was the battle that everyone had been waiting for. It was a battle between the Two Seeds, both being stronger than the others. It was also going to be the battle between two equals, being more intense than anything. Almost everyone here was excited over this battle, including all the Administrators.


    Mander was the prime contender to win the entire Captainship Tournament, but if Lucifer could defeat him, it was going to be the biggest upset ever. It was going to be the first time where the lowest ranked person was going to reach the finals, that too after defeating the candidate who was ced at the top in the initial rankings.


    "This will be thest battle, and it''ll decide who goes to the finals," the old man exined."Are you two ready?"


    "I am." Mander nodded.


    Lucifer also nodded. "I''m ready as well. We can start."


    "Alright. You can begin!" The old man dered, finally signaling the beginning of the battle.


    As soon as the old man signaled the start of the battle, the entire stage lit into mes. Over twenty feet tall mes rose everywhere, covering the whole battlefield. The only area that wasn''t on fire was where Mander stood.


    Mander didn''t y around at all. He started with the finishing move right away. Moreover, he didn''t go easy either. He didn''t worry about hurting Lucifer or even killing him. Death was allowed in battles like this. Furthermore, he already allowed Lucifer to surrender. It was his fault that he didn''t surrender.


    "And the battle is over. If anyone expected another result, they were an idiot," Raayi muttered, smirking.


    "As expected, the three seeds will go to the finals," Another youngster signed. "I don''t know why I expected more."


    "It''s not over yet," Ronmented.


    "What do you mean?" Raayi heard him. She couldn''t help but ask what he implied. How could he think that the battle wasn''t over?


    "Scream..." Ron answered. "There is no scream. If Lucifer were burned, we would''ve heard at least some resemnce of a scream or pained yell. However, there is none. That means the me hasn''t hurt him, which is quite interesting in itself. It''s not often that we see Mander''s mes fail.


    It was only now that others also started noticing it. There were mes, but there was no scream.


    Even Mander was surprised by it. He stopped his mes. All the mes that were covering the battlefield disappeared, revealing Lucifer still standing where he previously stood. The only difference was that there was still fire around him. However, that fire was different. That fire appeared to be frozen in time.


    As soon as Lucifer removed his time barrier, the mes also disappeared.


    Lucifer nced at Mander. "You did surprise me."


    Even he hadn''t expected Mander to attack right away. Fortunately, as soon as he felt his skin burn, Lucifer cast his time barrier around him, stopping those mes in time while giving his skin a chance to heal. When the mes were canceled, Lucifer removed the time barrier and watched the mes disappear.


    ''When he sat in the absolute freeze, I had a feeling that there was something more to it than his resistance. And now with these mes... This guy... He can control time. That''s interesting... Very interesting. The Time Lords.... One of the Three Commander Level Species along with the Baltics that were wiped... Just what actually is this kid...?''


    The old man hadn''t seen someone stop time before. Even though others couldn''t understand how Lucifer stopped the mes, he was able to see it clearly. Especially now that it was with mes, that made him even more curious about what Lucifer actually was.

 937 Chapter 937

    Throughout the entire examination, if there was one person who surprised the old man the most in this ce, it had been Lucifer. Not only did he have the strength to be a seed, but he also had a glimpse of almost every bloodline, which allowed him to master their arts.


    It didn''t matter if Lucifer could win the battles or not; the old man had made up his mind. Someone of Lucifer''s caliber deserved to be a Captain. He believed Lucifer could take the star alliance to great heights.


    He had decided to put in a rmendation for Lucifer, even if he didn''t win here. He wanted that promotion for Lucifer even if he failed here. He had already thought of the words he was going to write on a rmendation letter.


    As the Incharge of the Trial World, he had a special advantage that no one knew about. He could rmend anyone for a promotion if he felt that the person was worthy. That''s why all the best youngsters were sent here for the trials.


    Not only was this so the strongest of the bunch could be promoted for winning the event, but it was also so that the old man could have the time and opportunity to judge the youngsters to see if there was one amongst them who was a talent worth nurturing.


    Every year, the old man was allowed to rmend one person from his side on top of the winner. However, he had never used that advantage. Throughout the years, he had never rmended anyone for promotion. Even though there were talented youngsters, there were none that managed to catch his eyes¡ªat least none before this moment.


    He had made up his mind for the first time, deciding on a name. However, even he had to wait for that. The Tournament wasn''t over. If Lucifer could actually win the tournament, the man was going to have none to rmend anyone, and the slot was going to go empty once again.


    "Every year, I knew who had the potential to win and who was going to be thest one standing. But this year... There are too many uncertain factors..." He gazed at the two seeds standing outside the stage and the two who were still fighting.


    He still didn''t know who was going to win at the end amongst the four. All of them had the potential and the strength to win. Even he was in suspense at this point. However, if there was a dark horse, he believed it was Lucifer.


    If Lucifer truly had the strength of all the Bloodlines, then what he showed was just the beginning¡­


    "I''vee this far, not to lose. So I''ll have to end this..." Lucifer flew toward Mander.


    Mander also decided to face Lucifer''s attack head-on. mes appeared around his feat. Two ming wings appeared behind his back as if he was an angel made purely of the zing mes.


    "If Lucifer is truly immune to mes, I don''t think Mander has any chance of winning the battle. He has truly met his match," Raayi shook her head, watching the two participants on the path of collision.


    She had seen Lucifer surviving a zing inferno, which made her believe that he was immune to mes. She believed that Lucifer was the worst match for Mander, whose entire strength was rted to his ming Bloodline.


    "I don''t think he''s immune to mes," Ron smiled. "There is no way he is immune to mes...."<sub> </sub>


    "Stop acting so knowledgeable. You know nothing. If he wasn''t immune to mes, how could he stay unaffected in the field of mes? He would''ve been turned to ashes, but nothing galore to him."


    "I don''t need to act knowledgeable to know the basics. All I need is somemon sense to see that he isn''t immune to mes," Ron responded to Raayi, who was talking to him in a very rude manner. Despite that, he didn''t mind her tone.


    "You''re right that he wasn''t harmed by mes, but maybe you didn''t put focus on his clothes..." Ron further exined. "His clothes are still intact. He''s using the attire given to him here. That means there''s nothing too special about his attirepared to others."


    "Our clothes do provide some protection against mes, but even they can''t remainpletely intact against Mander''s mes. Even if his body were immune to mes, the clothes would''ve been burnt, at least to some extent. That meant the mes didn''t actually reach him¡­ And if the mes didn''t even reach him, the question about me immunity doesn''t evene into effect."


    "I''ve noticed the same thing even when we faced absolute freeze, and he managed tost through that. His clothes didn''t look like they went through absolute freeze.. "


    "That''s why I don''t think it''s Immunity at all. He neither had me immunity nor cold immunity. What he has is a really decent barrier that can not onlyst against the absolute Freeze but also against Mander''s mes. I must say, I underestimated him. He does have quite a lot of trump cards. It would be fun to face him in an actual battle."


    While most people were still shocked about how Lucifer survived, Ron had realized the secret of Lucifer''s survival. Unfortunately, even he wasn''t as close to the Administrator''s level of understanding, who realized exactly what kind of barrier Lucifer used.


    Just like ming Wings appeared behind Mander, the Wings made from ck Lightning appeared behind Lucifer. Lightning Gauntlets appeared around both his hands and his feet. An Armor made purely of the most destructive of lightning appeared around his body as well.


    Seeing the barrier appear, even Ron startedughing. It was the second time Lucifer had shown him a skill that came from his Thunder Bloodline.


    "Not bad, Lucifer. Not bad at all. Just a few tweaks, and you can master our Thunder God Armorpletely..."


    Both the youngsters met in the middle of the battlefield. Two fists collided, both cing their entire strength behind the attacks. The mes of Mander were proven to be as strong if not stronger than Lucifer''s lightning. Even though the lightning Gauntlets, Lucifer felt his skin burn.


    Even Mander wasn''tpletely immune as he felt his own fist burned by ck lightning. Fortunately, the impact wasn''t long. Since Lucifer used his super strength behind the attack, he managed to break through the defense of Mander, sending him flying back. Even he himself was tossed back though, because of the impacts.


    Both the youngsters flew back, almost falling out of the stage.

 938 Chapter 938

    Both the youngsters flew back, yet both managed to control their bodies at thest moment before they could fall off the stake.


    While Lucifer used his winds to stop him, Mander used his mes to propel himself ahead.


    Both the youngstersnded back on the battlefield, even though they had almost gone past it.


    Mander looked at his hand, surprised at Lucifer''s strength. It wasn''t just the lightning, but there was something more behind that attack. Not only did it have more physical strength behind it than someone Lucifer''s size should''ve been able to possess, but there was something more. He just didn''t know what it was.


    When he was in contact with Lucifer, he could feel that his mes were getting weaker, as if their strength was being sucked.


    Unlike Mander, Lucifer was much more rxed. His hands were burnt a little, but his healing took care of his hands. He was back to normal. The only one who was still hurt was Mander. Unlike Lucifer, Mander couldn''t heal himself.


    "So that''s what it is... You are better at me in close range. But that just means I''ll have to fight without getting close."


    Mander kept advancing ahead, shooting fireballs at Lucifer. With each fireball he tossed, his mes kept getting darker and more fierce. It was as if the more he used his mes, the stronger his mes became.


    "You''re right. I''m bad when I''m close... But keeping me away isn''t something you can do..." It was as if Lucifer''s feet danced with the wind as he dodged all the fireballs. But a single fireball could touch him.


    Instead, the fireballs flew past him, advancing to the spectators who also had to dodge at thest moment.


    The mes hit almost everyone except the target itself.


    Unfortunately, Mander didn''t appear to be in a hurry either. It was less like he was trying to attack Lucifer and more like he was trying to make his mes reach their peak strength. The more mes he used in the battle, the closer his mes reached to the limit.


    "Like that, can he even hit Lucifer? Isn''t he wasting his energy?" Malin chuckled, surprised that Mander was using such a stupid thing. He was only weakening himself.


    "I think it''s more than just him getting impulsive..." Maya grimaced. "Can''t you see? The more he uses his mes; the darker his mes are getting. I think he''s stimting his Bloodline, bringing out his strongest mes."


    "What''s the benefit of calling forth his strongest mes if they can''t even hit Lucifer?"


    "There is a benefit to that. If I''m not wrong, he wants to use the ming Battlefield again, just like he did before. The fireballs can''t hit Lucifer, but as long as he''s on the battlefield, he can''t avoid the ming Battlefield."


    "That guy... He is intentionally using his mes so much... It''s not an impulse... It''s preparation for his final attack. Since he can''t let Lucifer get close, that removes his biggest advantage. And in the long range, the ming field is his strongest skill."


    "His ming field couldn''t pass through Lucifer''s barrier before, but he wants to use his dark mes now... And if he does, there''s a good chance that Lucifer''s barrier couldn''tst before it... He''ll need to finish the battle faster, not giving Mander an opportunity..."<sub> </sub>


    "Shouldn''t we tell him...?" Malin was about to yell, but before she could, Maya stopped him.


    "Don''t forget the rules. We can''t interfere or give any advice... We are just spectators. Why else do you think Lucifer didn''t tell you to surrender instead of surrendering himself for you?"


    "Let him handle it. I''m sure he should be able to realize what Mander is trying to do. He is much smarter than we give him credit f-"


    Maya was in the middle of her sentence when her jaws dropped. Almost everyone in the area had the same reaction. One moment, they were watching Lucifer being bombarded by the fireballs, and the next moment, something entirely different happened!


    The mes had almost turned pitch ck. Mander also prepared for the end.


    He ced his hand on the ground. The ming field once again appeared on the battlefield. The entire field was once again covered in mes. This time, the mes were pitch ck in color though.


    "He is toote!" Maya eximed. Just as she thought Lucifer could do something, the mes covered everything. Let alone her; no one could see anything!


    No one outside could see what had happened¡ªno one except the old man. If everyone could see, they could have seen Lucifer disappearing just a brief moment before the mes rose from under his feet. He used his Teleportation at thest moment, appearing right behind Mander.


    If there was a ce on the battlefield which wasn''t covered in mes, it was the immediate surroundings of Mander, and that''s exactly where Lucifer appeared.


    He waited until Mander waspletely confident of his victory before making a move. Just as Maya had expected, Lucifer also noticed the mes getting stronger. In essence, he was also waiting for Mander to use the ming Field. When the enemy thought they were invulnerable, that was the time when they were at their most vulnerable.


    By the time Mander realized that someone had appeared behind him, it was toote. Lucifer was standing behind Mander, and Mander''s neck was in his hand. One grasp, and he could crush the neck of the young man. However, he didn''t do it. Even though it wasn''t going to get him punished if Mander died in the battle, Lucifer didn''t want to kill Mander.


    He knew Mander came from a high family, and it wasn''t worth making enemies of theirs, especially when he already had a quite messy future prediction.


    Unfortunately, it appeared as if destiny had something else in its kind. Just as Mander felt a hand around his neck, he was shocked. He thought that Lucifer was going to kill him. In his haste, a ming knife appeared in his hand, which he stabbed into the chest of Lucifer without thinking twice.


    "Urgh!" As the knife was stabbed in his chest, Lucifer subconsciously clenched his fist. His strength took care of the rest.


    Mander''s neck was crushed, and the young man''s eyes closed. One minute, he was fighting, and the next minute he was dead. The ming knife disappeared from Lucifer''s chest as soon as Mander died. The mes in the surrounding area also started going down slowly while Lucifer''s chest wound healed.


    When the mes appeared, everyone expected Lucifer to be dead, but when the mes went away, everyone else was in shock of their lives, as they saw the person who was lying on the ground, lifeless¡­

 939 Chapter 939

    Something had happened that shouldn''t have happened...


    Everywhere, there was only silence as everyone was in immense shock. A body was lying near the feet of Lucifer, and the body belonged to none other than the grandson of one of the Highest Ranking Generals in the Star Alliance!


    The rule did say that death was a possibility in the battles, but still, everyone knew that there were people amongst the participants that shouldn''t be killed if the world wanted to be peaceful! Not only was Mander the Grandson of the strongest General in the Star Alliance, but he was also the heir of the me Lord n!


    The Master of the me Lord Bloodline was the father of Mander! Mander''s family were the rulers of an entire world, which was one of the strongest species in existence after the Three Major Species were wiped. And the young prince had just been killed.


    Even the old man was stunned. He could see through the mes and knew what was taking ce inside, but even he hadn''t expected something like this to happen. As soon as he saw things going wrong, he was about to interfere. Unfortunately, everything happened too fast. Before he could even move, Mander was dead!


    He rushed to the stage and picked up Mander''s body. He checked the nerves of the young man. Mander''s heart had stopped beating. He ced his palm on Mander''s chest, using his abilities to try to heal Mander, but nothing worked. He managed to heal the physical damage on the body, but he couldn''t bring Mander back to life. The man... was dead...


    The first death had happened in the Trial World, but it wasn''t the weakest person who had died. Instead, the person who was top ranker, and projected to win this whole thing at the start of the Trials was killed! And he was killed by none other than thest ranker.


    Since everyone here knew the family that Mander belonged to, they knew that this wasn''t the end of it. Even though the Star Alliance wasn''t going to punish Lucifer for this death, Mander''s family wasn''t going to let him rest. A major event had taken ce...


    Raayi had her lips slightly open, looking at Mander''s dead body. She couldn''t help but imagine if she could be in Mander''s ce. She didn''t see what happened inside the mes, but whatever happened wasn''t good...


    "This is troublesome." Even Ron didn''t know how to react to this whole thing. He came here to fight and challenge the strongest youngsters. If there was one person here who didn''t care about rules andws, then it was him. However, even he never thought about killing someone while he was here. Especially Mander and Raayi.


    Amongst the families that were part of the Star Alliance and the major forces in the world, the me Lords, the Snow Lords, and the Thunder Lords held a lot of power, along with some other ns.


    He knew if he killed one of the other two seeds, this could lead to an esction in tension between the strongest families. Even though his family wasn''t going to let any harme to him, he still wanted to avoid the conflict between the two families.


    Unlike him, Lucifer didn''te with the backing of any major families. He wasn''t like them. His life was in much more danger than it would''ve been for them if one of them had killed Mander.


    "He is dead..." The old man informed his men. "Take the body back and keep it secure. I''ll send a message to the Alliance..."<sub> </sub>


    His men stepped forward and carried Mander''s body off the stage. They carried the lifeless body back to the base.


    The old man remained standing in the middle of the stage for quite some time, seemingly lost in some serious thought.


    "This shouldn''t have happened... Things went too far." Even though he talked to himself, Lucifer could hear the words of the old man.


    Even he understood that this whole thing was troublesome. He had inadvertently made some new enemies, and that too at the top of the Star Alliance Hierarchy. Even though it was an ident, he knew it wasn''t time for excuses. Now that things had progressed so far, he could only ept it.


    "It certainly went too far..." Lucifer looked down at his clothes which were covered in blood. "I was about to make him surrender when he attacked me. And subconsciously I..."


    "Then again, if he didn''t care about going easy in a battle, I didn''t need to go easy either. He wanted my death, and he received death instead. It''s only fair. You can''t remove me from the Trials for that," he stated, slightly worried that he was going to be expelled from here aftering this close.


    He didn''t want to be expelled from this ce. He needed to win and stay till the end when the barriers of the world were removed. He needed that to take Gabriel out with him.


    "Don''t worry. Even though what happened here was unfortunate, it''s not against the rules. And I saw everything that happened. You aren''t in problem from my side. You''ll continue in the trial. And as long as you''re here, no one will harm you over what happened. But once you leave here, that''s where the troubles will start.''


    "If you don''t leave this ce after winning, you''ll just be an ordinary member of the Star Alliance. But even if you win, you''ll just be a one star Captain. You won''t even be close to a General. If you were a General, even Rasin n would''ve been hard pressed to attack you, but if you''re just a Captain or less, they can take many approaches to have you killed."


    "I don''t think the Trial is something you need to worry about at this point. But the future..."


    "Rasin n?"


    "Yeah. It''s the n Mander came from. His full name is Mander Rasin. And the Rasin n is one of the strongest ns in the Star Alliance. That''s the problem. I''ll try writing to the Queen to see what we can do to keep you safe, but even if she gives decree that you aren''t to be attacked, that''ll just stop them from openly attacking you."


    ''Just my luck... Rasin n will be after me now. Then again, it''s not too bad either. If I were to look at the bigger picture, soon, the entire Star Alliance would be after me. What''s one n... Though I do have Gabriel now. And there''s Ron as well... His family is also a high-ranking family. Maybe¡­'' He nced back at Ron.

 940 Chapter 940

    Ron had already invited him toe to his n If he managed to win the Captainship. If that was the case, he was going to be with the Thunderlord n, possibly in the Royal Pce. After learning the skills there, he nned to leave on the journey back to the Realm of Summon to retrieve thest stone.


    Throughout the way, he believed he could avoid any traps set up by the Rasin n, especially since no one could know about his ns other than him. And as long as the Rasin n didn''te from the front to attack him, he was sure he and Gabriel could face any enemies.


    That''s why he didn''t worry about his future. His future wasn''t in other people''s hands. For him, his future was what he could make of it. For now, his focus was on his goal, to be a high-ranking member of the Star Alliance so he could travel on his own without having to worry about the other factors.


    The old man couldn''t see even a shred of fear in Lucifer''s face. He didn''t know if it was because Lucifer was confident that he could keep himself safe or if it was because he was underestimating the dangers because he didn''t know the true strength of the Rasin n.


    In any case, the old man couldn''t do much. He could only do basic things like writing to the Queen about what happened here and how Lucifer was in danger. He could request her to keep Lucifer safe since he was so special, but other than that, there was nothing for him to do. He couldn''t protect Lucifer himself outside of this ce. This was where he was to stay forever...


    "Are you really not worried about the Rasin n?"


    "I don''t think worrying will keep me safe. If it could, I would''ve been safe all my life." Lucifer smiled in response. "What''s going to happen will happen. The ones who want to kill me will try to kill me. The ones who want to hurt me will try the same."


    "Nothing I do can change their mind, especially not worrying. So why worry about what''s toe? My focus is on winning the Trial and getting the Captainship. That''s all!"


    "Can I ask why you''re so eager to get the Captain Rank? Instead of being concerned about your life, you''re more concerned about the Captainship Rank? Why is that? Why is the Captain Rank so important to you?"


    "Just because it is," Lucifer vaguely answered. He wasn''t going to tell the old man his goals, especially not his true goals.


    "Fine. If you don''t want to answer, I won''t ask." The old man stepped back, getting off the stage.


    "The exams for the day are over. The top three teams are in the finals. Everyone can go back and rest for now. The final stage will be held tomorrow, and the winner will also be decided right then!" The old man dered as his body started rising in the air. "The ones who managed to qualify, congrattions! Just remember, things will get even harder tomorrow. So get proper rest!"


    The old man started flying back, disappearing into the distance. The moderators started taking back all the participants in small groups.


    Only Lucifer didn''t go along with any of the groups. Instead, he used his own winds to fly back with Maya and Malin. Today was thest day when they were going to be in a team. From tomorrow, they were allpetitors for the top rank.


    However, even Malin and Maya knew that they couldn''t defeat Lucifer. They weren''t even in thepetition at this point. They didn''t even hope for the top rank. Instead, they wanted to get the highest rank that they could under the three seeds.<sub> </sub>


    There were nine people in the final, and most of them were stronger. Just getting the fourth and fifth rank in the Trials itself was worth being proud of for them as that meant they were the best after the seeds, which was quite good for their future.


    Both Maya and Malin looked at Lucifer, still in shock about what had happened. None of them spoke anything along the way. Lucifer dropped Maya and Malin before the entrance of the base.


    Without speaking much, he walked to his room, leaving the twodies behind.


    He walked inside his room and closed the door behind him. For some reason, he felt likeughing as he took his clothes off. But it wasn''t over what happened. It was because of Joana.


    He knew Joana wanted him to be a Captain and then a General. It was so he could have a higher support system in the Star Alliance. He could only imagine Joana''s reaction when that guy was going to find out that before Lucifer could even be a General, he made a General his enemy. Imagining Joana''s reaction made him feel likeughing.


    He took off his bloody clothes before walking to the Mirror. He looked at the mark on his back, checking if it had increased in size since hest saw. Unsurprisingly, it had be slightly bigger in size.


    He really wanted to know what was the meaning of this mark, but the only one who could answer him couldn''t be reached until he received thest portal Fragment.


    Until then, he had to live in curiosity. He could approach the Star Alliance and ask them to find out what this mark was, but even he knew that it was stupid. If that mark had anything to do with his Bloodline, then it was like him going to the Star Alliance with a board hanging above his head that he was who they were looking for!


    Droplets of water started falling over his body as he entered the shower to calm his head.


    While Lucifer was calming his head, the old man who was in-charge of the Trials was sitting in his office, lost in deep thought.


    He was trying to frame the words with which to inform the Queen and the Star Alliance about what took ce here.


    He let out a tired sigh. "That kid... He increased my headache. If only there were no deaths, how good would it be..."


    "As soon as the Rasin Family finds out about this, their warships are going to be here, waiting for the portals to open. The Star Alliance ships would be here too. This ce... It''ll be a zone of conflict. Unfortunately, there is no way to avoid that. I can''t keep this news a secret..."


    "Only the Queen can do something about it. So first, I''ll send her the message and consult with her...."

 941 Chapter 941

    The next day arrived. After a decent night''s sleep, Lucifer woke up. Today was the day when the final was supposed to happen. They were on thest stretch of the trials. Just a little more, and he could leave this ce.


    He took another shower, possibly hisst here, since he believed by the night, the Trials were going to be over, and everyone was going to be waiting outside for them.


    He got ready. This time, he wore his old attire. Since these were the finals, there were no restrictions on what they could wear. They didn''t just have to wear the uniform or their number tags. Since there were only nine people in the finals, it was easy to keep track of them.


    Lucifer returned to his old attire, which was made from the Cardigan Particles. On top of his darker shade of clothes, he donned a beautiful robe. He was finally ready, looking like an heir from a wealthy family like the three seeds.


    After getting ready, he left his room. He walked down the stairs, noticing many youngsters leaving as well. Even though they weren''t going to be in the finals, they were still curious about who was going to win.


    The people that had a mocking gaze on their faces when they first saw Lucifer now had fearful gazes since they had seen what Lucifer was capable of.


    From thest ranked before the event started, Lucifer had reached this far. He had topped so many events, bing the top scorer in them. With the help of those events, he had managed to increase his rank to the third position. And if he could bring it to the first rank by the time the event ended, he was going to be the winner.


    The youngsters cleared a path for Lucifer, letting him take the lead.


    Lucifer left the tower and stood before the bridge outside, waiting for the others to arrive. He asionally nced at the mountain, wondering if Gabriel was still waiting.


    The other youngsters maintained their distance from Lucifer. Today, he was allowed to wait in the lead.


    Maya and Malin also arrived. Malin wore a ck gown which was somewhat surprising since Lucifer felt that it could affect her mobility. He found her choice slightly weird, but he didn''tment. They weren''t a team anymore, after all.


    Maya, on the other hand, was looking even more bizarre. She was wearing white pant and a shirt, but on top of that, it was as if she had donned an entire armor.


    She had white shoulder tes, white gauntlets, shoes, and everything. Now that there were no restrictions on what they could wear, she wore all her tech that she had brought with her. Because she wasn''t allowed to wear such things before, she was at a massive disadvantage which was now removed.


    She walked closer to Lucifer and stood beside him."Ready for today?"


    "You seem excited?"


    "Yep. I finally feel like myself again," Maya shed her fists. "I feel like I''ll do great today. And who knows, I might even defeat you."


    "I doubt I''ll let anyone take this win from me," Lucifer responded. "But still, give your best. It''ll at least be fun."


    He turned to Malin. "As for you... What do you think you''re wearing? Are you going to a ball dance?"


    Even though Lucifer didn''t want to question Malin, he couldn''t control himself. Her choice was just so bizarre.


    "I know what I''m doing. There''s a reason behind what I wore. I''m not sure how good I''ll do, but I''ll give it my all. And today, there won''t be any surrendering."<sub> </sub>


    The other finalists also started arriving one after another. Maya observed the attire of everyone. She even gave an exnation to Lucifer about what those attires were, what they were made from, and what their advantages were.


    "Why are you telling me all that? Aren''t wepetitors?"


    Lucifer wondered if she had forgotten that they weren''t a team anymore. The information she was giving him, she could use for her advantage instead.


    "You helped me get this far. I can at least help you to some extent here," Maya answered. "Moreover, not like I''m telling you my weakness. I''m telling you the strengths of what they chose to wear."


    She kept her strengths and weaknesses to herself, only telling the specialties of the attires of different worlds. While some were more resistant to attacks, some protected the wearer by alerting them of attacks. Meanwhile, there were also some robes that were even more special, especially the one that was worn by Ron.


    Seeing Rone out, even Maya appeared somewhat surprised. Rob was donning a violet robe that covered his shoulders. He seemed to be wearing the clothes that were made from the same material as the robe.


    "That''s interesting. Why would he?" She frowned.


    "What''s about his clothes?"


    "His clothes aren''t from a material that''s used to protect. When he''s wearing those clothes, each attack on his body is amplified. It''s like he wants to receive amplified attacks for some reason. Is he really looking to lose? That man is really weird..."


    Maya couldn''t understand why he would wear such a useless thing, especially on the day of finals. Unlike her, Lucifer had done interaction with him. He had started understanding Ron to some extent.


    "He wants to be challenged... He''s here to win, but he wants to win under harder circumstances," he exined.


    Ron came to Lucifer, shing a smile. "Remember our bet? No matter who wins here, you''reing to my home as our guest."


    "You know I''ve killed Mander. The me Lords can create trouble for you."


    Even though Lucifer wanted to go with Mander after getting his own ship, he was still upfront about the problems he could attract. He didn''t want Ron to say noter on.


    "Don''t worry about the Rasin n. It''s not like I killed Mander. They can''t dictate who we can or can''t have as a guest. And creating trouble over that will just be stupid of them. If I had killed them, then they could''ve," Ron exined. "So don''t worry about them."


    Raayi was thest person toe out. Simr to Malin, she was also wearing a gown. Her snow-white gown seemed to be made from the purest of snow. It was much thicker than Malin''s gown and seemed even more beautiful.


    It made Raayi look like the ice princess.


    "The Gown of Ice Queen. Quite interesting that her mother let her bring that gown here. It was as if her mother knew what the final was going to be about." Ron frowned, noticing the woman''s gown.

 942 Chapter 942

    "What''s so special about that gown?" Lucifer couldn''t find anything special in that, other than it being slightly thicker. However, since everyone looked at the gown in amazement, he had a feeling that they knew something he didn''t.


    "The Gown of Ice Queen is the treasure from Rayi''s home world. If I were to give aparison, it would be equivalent to my father''s most prized treasure. My father doesn''t even let me touch that treasure. Apparently, her mother didn''t have any such restriction," Ron exined. "She would probably have some nice advantage going forward. It''ll be fun."


    "I realize that something is special about that gown, but what? That was my question. What can that gown do?" Lucifer repeated the question, getting even more curious about the gown.


    "Absolute Freeze and absolute Defence," Ron answered.


    "That means she ispletely immune to attacks as long as she''s in that gown. It''s not called one of the top five treasures in the world for no reason. Because these treasures are so special, many bandits or Families want them. That''s why it''s surprising that a young girl was allowed to bring something like that here."


    "Maybe because her mother thought that this ce was safe? It''s still somewhat amusing. Just to give her daughter a better chance of Victory, her family risked their treasure. If it''s stolen or she is kidnapped, I can only imagine themotion that''ll happen."


    Almost all the participants knew what a big deal it was. Even some of the moderators were amazed. It was as if even they didn''t know about her possessing a treasure like that.


    The old man stepped out behind Rayi. He was the only one who knew about this. He had also expected this reaction from the other students.


    He was sure that the participants were going to call him biased since he allowed their own uniforms to be worn in the final, despite knowing what Raayi brought with her. He wasn''t wrong either. Many people were thinking that, including Lucifer himself.


    The sudden change in rules... It appeared to be something that could give an advantage to Rayi.


    On one side, there was Ron, who wore something that made battles harder for him. On the other, there was Rayi, who wore something that removed all the Challenges in a sense.


    "You said the Gown makes herpletely immune to attacks? I''m sure there must be a way to defeat her even with the Gown. If the Gown were actually invincible, her mother would''ve been the Queen of the Star Alliance and the entire universe, just based on that treasure."


    "Of course, the gown isn''t invincible. It''s only near invincible," Ron responded. "The gown has two forms of defense. Close range, and long-range."


    "If someone attacks from close range and touches her when she''s wearing the gown, they are affected by Absolute Freeze. And by Absolute Freeze, yes, I meant the same that we faced on top of the Mountain. For ones like us, that means instant loss."


    "What about long range attacks?"


    "The gown protects her from long-range attacks through a protection Barrier. That barrier is the weakest link and the weakness of the gown. If the barrier is broken, long range attacks can hit Rayi."


    "However, breaking that barrier isn''t easy. The strength of the barriers is almost the same as the strength of defense barriers used by the Star Alliance ships that are given to Captain Rank Members. I''m sure that should be enough to give you an idea why the Gown is called a near invincible treasure."<sub> </sub>


    "You said your father has a simr treasure? Is that also as strong?"


    "Yeah, something like that. But my father''s Worldly Treasure isn''t for defense like that gown. His Treasure is purely for the offense. Maybe that''s why I''m not allowed to touch it until I take the throne."


    "Anyway, that aside, the finals will certainly be interesting, to say the least. You''ll be there. Then Rayi will be there with that Gown. I''m so d I came here! This was exactly what I was looking for! Winning here would be worth it!"


    "If you want Challenge, shouldn''t you not give any handicap?" Lucifer asked, noticing the attire of Ron. "For challenges, the strongest of yours need to fight the strongest enemies. Is there even any challenge in that when you weaken yourself? Isn''t that insulting the challengers and, in turn, insulting yourself?"


    He didn''t even know if the finals were going to be about battles, but still, he felt that Ron wasn''t receiving what he wanted.


    "Hmm? You know what this does? And here I thought you didn''t know what all these attires were. Anyway, you''re partially right. I''m indeed underestimating my opponents, but I won''t underestimate you or Rayi. When it''s your turn, I won''t have this shirt and robe. You''ll get the strongest of me against the strongest of you. So you don''t need to worry about that."


    "I won''t make it that easy for you, my friend."


    "It seems everyone is here." The old man counted all the youngsters. "Good."


    He started rising in the air and flew into the distance. The other Moderators also flew behind him, taking the youngsters with them as well.


    For some reason, everyone started rising higher and higher into the sky, which stunned the youngsters. Why were they going to the sky instead?


    Even after flying high in the sky, they didn''t stop. They reached the atmosphere of the world and passed it as well. It was only after everyone reached the world''s barrier that the old man stopped.


    Lucifer looked back at the world, confused. Why were they brought here? He wondered if they were made to leave because of Mander''s death? But if that was the case, how could he get Gabriel with him? That was the question in his head. He needed to go back to the world if they were indeed being made to leave.


    On one side of the barrier, the old man and the youngsters floated. On the other side, there was a massive ship, seemingly waiting for them.


    "Are we going back home?" One of the youngsters asked. "What happened to the finals?"


    "You''re not going back home. You''ll only leave when someone from your Crew is here to take you. For now, you''re all going somece else." The old man ced his hand on the barrier, creating an opening in the barriers.


    Through the opening, he left and took the youngsters with him. Lucifer kept ncing back at the world. This was a headache for him, but he couldn''t do anything. Unless¡­

 943 Chapter 943

    He knew he needed to get Gabriel. Even though the old man imed that they weren''t going back, that didn''t mean they were going to go back to the world.


    It was also quite possible that by the time they returned to this ce, the Crews would already be waiting to take them home. It was possible that they weren''t going to be allowed back here.


    If he still tried toe back after everything was over, the scrutiny on him was going to be over the top. Especially since this is the time when he killed Mander.


    "Get inside the ship!" The old manmanded. All the participants started entering the ship¡­ All except one.


    Instead of flying inside the ship, Lucifer started flying back to the world.


    "I forgot my lucky charm in my room. I''ll be right back! Hold the ship for me!" He informed the old man, not even waiting to hear his response.


    By the time the old man could even respond, it was already too long. Lucifer was gone. Moreover, to make sure that the old man or anyone else couldn''t follow him, he used multiple long-distance teleportations to make them lose his trail. It was a gamble, but it was a gamble he needed to take for his future.


    It was possible that the ship was going to leave without him, but he had faith. They couldn''t leave without him. He was also a finalist. It was supposed to be a small wait as well.


    The old man let out a sigh. He didn''t find it too suspicious. There were many people who believed in lucky charms. Even though he felt that it was stupid to believe in such things, he let them be. If Lucifer believed in something like this, he let that happen.


    In the meantime, he took care of other things. Before the ship could leave, there were many things to do. There were many preparations to be made, especially taking the youngsters inside. He believed that Lucifer should be back by the time they were done.


    Since Lucifer could also fly on his own, he didn''t send any Moderator behind him.


    Lucifer reached the strange world. He looked up to make sure that no one was following him before flying straight to the frozen mountain.


    Even as he reached the mountain, he didn''t go to the entrance of the ce where Gabriel was staying. He just flew in the distance. Instead of going through the door, he chose to teleport inside to not leave any trail behind.


    Lucifer appeared inside the small room, which lookedpletely identical to before. The only difference was that it was slightly warm. Gabriel was still sitting in the meditation.


    Only after he sensed another presence in the room, he opened his eyes.


    "Is it time to leave?" he asked. "Yourpetition is over? I''ll imagine you won?"


    "It''s not over. There''s still a final stage, and I''m to take part in it."


    "Then what are you doing here instead?"


    "I came here to take you. The final stage of the trial won''t be held in this world. It''s time for me to leave this world, and I''m not sure if I''ll be able to return. I''ll need you with me."


    "And how will you take me?" Gabriel stood up, seemingly curious.


    "Through my shadow realm," Lucifer answered. "You can hide there. However, it''ll be a dark ce. There won''t be anything there but darkness. And the strength you possess, it won''t be easy for me to hold you there for long."


    "You''ll need to sitpletely still in the nothingness. Even the slightest movement can affect my shadow realm, letting you out. And that won''t be good."<sub> </sub>


    Lucifer told Gabriel everything about his shadow realm and how he was going to hide Gabriel. He also warned him about what to do and what not to do.


    Surprise, it wasn''t as hard as he expected, to convince Gabriel to stay in the shadow realm without moving.


    Even though it was somewhat akin to living like a prisoner, but still he agreed, which saved some time for Lucifer.


    Lucifer sent Gabriel into his shadow realm and stayed in the room for a few minutes, making sure that his shadow was actually stable and not breaking apart.


    Fortunately, that seemed to be their case so far.


    Lucifer teleported outside once again and flew back to the space. The ship was still waiting for them at the ce; however, only the old man was still outside the ship. Everyone else was already inside and seated.


    "Got your lucky charm?" The old man asked.


    "I did," Lucifer brought a small feather out of his pocket, shing before the old man.


    "Good. We''re alreadyte. Get inside now!" The old man personally took Lucifer inside the ship. The doors of the shop closed.


    "May I ask what it is that we''ll be doing? Why do we need to go to another world for finals?"


    Since Lucifer was now alone with the old man, he attempted to ask him, even though he knew that the chance of getting an answer to the question was almost non-existent.


    Even though he didn''t know why they were going to another world, he did know what the final Trial couldn''t be. He was sure that the final Trial wasn''t about fighting each other. If it was the case, then they could just conduct it where they were. They didn''t need to change the world at all.


    "We''re going to test your conviction. In the Star Alliance, not everything is rainbow and sunshine. We don''t just protect; we destroy as well. And that''s what your final test will be. As a Captain of the Star Alliance, there might be a need to destroy a world or two if there is ever an uprising."


    "That''s what you''ll all be doing now. There is a world... A world that is creating trouble for the Star Alliance. If the Star Alliance wants, they can just send an entire fleet to destroy the world. However, we have decided to give this opportunity to you all. This will be your final test! Killing everyone on the that dared to stand before the Star Alliance in defiance!"


    The old man pped his hand. The hologram of a world appeared before Lucifer, also showing some images from that world.


    As soon as Lucifer saw the images from the world, he was taken aback.


    "That''s the world?"


    "You know that world?" The old man asked in surprise. "How? Isn''t it too far from the earth where youe from? How can you know this world?"


    "It''s... The World of Summons. I''ve been there before..."


    He couldn''t believe that their mission was to destroy the beast world of summons...

 944 Chapter 944

    "Oh, you''ve been there before?" The old man was slightly surprised to learn that Lucifer knew about that ce. It was quite intriguing for him since they rarely had people knowing about the ce which they had to destroy, let alone someone like Lucifer who was supposed to be from a world far away from their target.


    "Then you should know quite a lot about that ce. If your bias wille in the way of this mission, you should tell me right now. We can''t have someone helping the ones we are supposed to destroy. I hope you understand."


    The mission was to destroy the people of the world. Before deciding on this as the final challenge for the youngsters, the old man made sure that none of the finalists had any rtionship with the world to make sure it was a neutral venue for everyone.


    "There won''t be any problem. I won''t have a bias. I do want to go for this mission."


    Instead of backing out, Lucifer epted the mission. He didn''t know what the world could''ve done to anger the Star Alliance to an extent where they were willing to destroy the world, but what he did know was that he needed to get to the World of Summons.


    Even if he said no now, that wasn''t going to save the world. The others were going to destroy the world anyway. His decision didn''t matter at the moment. Ron and Raayi alone were enough to destroy everyone in the world. Even the Beasts of that world shouldn''t be able to face them. If they could, the Star Alliance would never agree to give them this mission.


    What mattered was thest stone Fragment that was in the world of Summons. He needed to retrieve that stone before the world was destroyed.


    "I don''t have any nice feelings rted to that world. I was just trapped there once upon a time and had to find a way out myself. That''s all there is to it," he further rified.


    "So while you were there, you didn''t get any new friends?" The old man asked. The holograms stopped, leaving only the two people in the ce.


    "Friends...?" Lucifer asked, remembering that he did have someone he could call a friend. The heir of the Snow Wolf n.


    There was also a little phoenix who he considered his friend until she rejected his offer...


    "I had no friends."


    "Fine. You can also join on the mission. Only the nine finalists will be sent to that world. You''ll be tasked with killing people there."


    "You will have three days there... Three days where the nine of you can do whatever you want. It doesn''t matter how many people you kill, because after three days, we will destroy that world after you''re all brought back. And the final ranking will be decided based on which one of you managed to kill the most there in the three days you were there."


    "You understand?"


    The other finalists were already exined the mission. The one person that was still left to learn about this was Lucifer, and even he was informed now.


    The old man brought Lucifer to his room and left him there, telling him to rest since it was going to take some time.


    The doors closed on their own after Lucifer entered the room.


    Even though the ship looked somewhat different from Joana''s ship, the rooms lookedpletely identical.


    Lucifer picked up a wine bottle from the table before walking over to the bed, taking a big sip.


    The Trial had taken a really strange direction, but for him, it was something that only saved his time. He needed to take back the stone. In any case, he had to go to that ce sooner orter. That just fastened the process for him.<sub> </sub>


    He sat on the bed, drinking straight from the wine bottle, lost in thoughts.Even though he told the old man that he had no friends there, that wasn''t the truth. There was someone he didn''t want to die.


    On one side, he was upset that the world was going to be destroyed and the Snow Wolves were going to be killed as well. On the other hand, he was slightly excited that he was this close to thest stone Fragment. Now it wasn''t going to be long before he had all his answers.


    ****


    An hourter, Lucifer was lying on his bed. His eyes remained closed as he tried to sleep, but he didn''t receive any sleep. For some reason, his mind was hyperactive.


    Throughout the journey, he just remained on the bed, trying to get some sleep. Instead of sleep, all he received were memories of his past. His mood was quite down. He missed his home... He missed his family... He missed the earth.


    He felt quite lonely here, even though there were some friendly people here as well.


    After having enough of it, he sat up. He walked out of his room. Instead of opening the door, he just teleported into the hallway.


    Since he had been on a simr ship before, he had a rough idea about themand center of the ship. He decided to take a stroll to themand center to keep himself busy, as being alone with his thoughts was quite ufortable.


    "What are you doing here?"


    Before he could even get to the Command center, someone appeared before him, blocking his path.


    "Where do you think you''re going?" A middle-aged man stood before Lucifer, being the same moderator that Lucifer had a conflict with in the air.


    "I''m going to blow up this ship. Is that even a question?" Lucifer sarcastically answered. "I''m just taking a stroll since I couldn''t sleep."


    "This isn''t your garden where you can take a stroll. No one is allowed to get out of their rooms."


    Even though the middle-aged man didn''t like Lucifer, he was already scoldedst time for not behaving right with Lucifer. This time, he wasn''t as heavy handed as before. He simply informed Lucifer that he wasn''t allowed to be here.


    "Let me take you back to your room. And next time, stay there. When we reach our destination, you''ll be let out."


    "Oh, Lucifer? What are you doing here?"


    As the man was about to send Lucifer back, the old man arrived. Even though he was surprised to see Lucifer here, but he didn''t send Lucifer back.


    "Come with me."


    Now that Lucifer was already here, he told Lucifer to follow him to themand center. The old man had started liking Lucifer to some extent as a student. He didn''t even realize when, but he started having some bias for Lucifer since the boy had limitless future prospects.


    Leaving the moderator behind, he brought Lucifer to themand center while talking with him. The old man treated Lucifer quite favorably.

 945 Chapter 945

    The old man brought Lucifer to themand center of the ship, where no one was allowed toe without permission. For some reason, the old man appeared to have quite a favorable view of Lucifer.


    Then again, the people here weren''t surprised about it anymore. They knew the old man really liked Talented people. He wanted to see the Star Alliance be as strong as it could, and that''s what made him work so earnestly in selecting the best of the best through these trials.


    When it came to talent, who could be better than Lucifer? The young man not only managed to kill the me Lord but also to do it with such ease. If there was one person who had impressed them the most throughout the week, it was Lucifer. It wasn''t just the old man who was impressed by Lucifer but almost everyone who didn''t have an inherent hate or bias toward him.


    With the talent that Lucifer had shown, it was evident that he was going to get to a really high position in the Star Alliance as long as he didn''t die young. Most of them were sure that Lucifer might be the youngest person to reach the General Rank.


    It had been a long time since a Captain was promoted to a General Rank as the criteria, and the strength needed for that was quite high since the Star Alliance General was the peak of the hierarchy that a person could reach if one were to ignore the Queen.


    A General was the most influential person after the queen, which made almost everyone strive to be a General. Seeing the potential inside Lucifer to be a General, most of the men here had quite a favorable opinion of him.


    The only problem was that he had killed someone he shouldn''t, and that could create some trouble in his path. If he didn''t seed in the trial ahead to get promoted to the Captain Rank at least, then his life could very well be at risk.


    It wasn''t easy to win either. Even though he had been topping all the trials since the beginning, since his starting point was so low, he was still below Ron and Raayi in the main ranking. If he wanted to clear this Trial sessfully, then he needed to win thisst challenge as well. He needed to win it by a huge lead, which seemed quite hard at this point.


    At the moment, the most likely to get promoted was Raayi since Ron wasn''t taking these challenges seriously. Raayi was going through these challenges with the intent to win, but Ron was just going through it like it was a game for him to test himself.


    Unlike Raayi, Ron was making things hard for himself. That''s what made everyone feel that Raayi could win. Still, even if Lucifer couldn''t win, they still respected him. From the lowest ranked, he was still able to enter the top three Ranks, especially with such powerfulpetitors of this year. That in itself was worth respect.


    ? If there was anyone who won their respect, it was Lucifer. It was also why they didn''t oppose Lucifer''s arrival here.


    "Excited for the challenges ahead or nervous?" The old man asked Lucifer.


    "None..." Lucifer answered. "It''s an entirely different feeling."


    "Fear?" the old man asked, smiling. "Worried about the Rasin n because of what happened with Mander?"


    "Not that either. I don''t worry about the Rasin n. I have a feeling I''ll be safe from them after I win and get promoted, at least for some time, so that''s not what I''m thinking about either."<sub> </sub>


    "Then what?"


    "It''s just an intrigue... I thought the Star Alliance just worked to protect the worlds, but here we are going to destroy one. So I was wondering just what kind of entity is the Star Alliance..." Lucifer exined, thinking out loud.


    He also had another concern which he didn''t tell anyone yet. In the world where he was going, there were three troublesome guests that he had sent there himself. That world was more like a prison for those three as he wanted to avoid themst time.


    Two of the three were the Baltics that the Star Alliance wanted to protect. In case those three came before the others from the Star Alliance and told them everything, then they could know that it was Lucifer himself who killed them. His story about him not knowing anything was going to be in trouble as well.


    That''s why he needed to get to those three first, but how? He didn''t know where those three were going to be. First, he needed to find those three. At the same time, he also needed to find thest of the seven Stone Fragments that were embedded in the Council Sword.


    He had three goals, and all of them had equal importance. He needed to find the stone, kill the Dungeon Dwellers, and then win this trial, for which he needed to take as many lives as he could.


    All these goals had hardships of their own. It would''ve been much easier if he had arrived here as a Captain on his own ship like his initial n. At least he could search for those three without being observed by others.


    "Will everyone be assigned a different territory of their own?"


    Before the old man could even answer thest question, Lucifer asked a different question.


    "That''s right. We were nning to have everything be divided in the ten territories to make things easier for you all. However, that is just an idea for now, but it''s quite hard to execute since amongst the ten territories, some would be weaker, and some would be stronger."


    " One of those ten territories can also cover the Royal Territory of that world, which would be hardest to clear. That''s why it might be quite unfair for some while giving benefits to others. That''s why it''s not the final n. We still need to think about it."


    "I''ll take the Royal Territory!" Lucifer eximed instantly. If it was a territory system, then it was perfect for him.


    He was sure that the stone was with the Royals of that world. He also had a feeling that the Baltics might try to approach the Royals for help to get out of that world or at least live in luxury there. The Royal Territory would solve one of his biggest problems.


    Moreover, if he convinced the old man to use the territory system, he could make sure that no one else entered his territory and saw the Baltics! It definitely made his trial harder than the others, but it was still perfect for him!

 946 Chapter 946

    Throughout the rest of the journey, Lucifer kept trying to convince the old man about how it was a good idea to divide the world into ten domains where all tenpetitors could fight freely without interfering with others.


    "If you divide the World into ten domains, it''s much more efficient and safer.For example, instead of fighting amongst ourselves, we can focus on fighting the enemies. One of your three seeds is already dead in thest exam. I don''t want to have to kill another if they interfere in my trial," he exined, mentioning about Mander to give a little more push.


    The Trials this year were already very dangerous since the grandson of one of the Generals had died. If one more died like that, then questions were going to be raised on the old man. It was that concern of the old man which Lucifer wanted to exploit.


    "I understand what you''re trying to say, but that still doesn''t remove the main concern," the old man responded. "If we divide the world into ten territories, giving each of you your own territory to kill, then it is going to be unfair to some."


    "Isn''t luck also part of one''s strength?" Lucifer retorted. "If one is truly capable, why would they worry if they get a strong enemy or weak? Why would they care for it? The person who is truly worthy of winning won''t give an excuse that his enemies were stronger than others."


    "If you do a random draw on who gets which of the territories, that should be fair enough. Who gets stronger territory to destroy can go about doing that, and whoever gets weaker will destroy weaker. You can give points ordingly," he added. He really wanted to convince the old man, and he was also seeding to some extent.


    "Moreover, this unfair thing that you''re worried about... When is life actually fair? Had this trial actually been hair? Thest exam was more about luck, wasn''t it? Mander faced me and died. If he had faced someone else, he would''ve been in the final as well."


    "Raayi''s opponents didn''t even have a chance. If they were paired with someone weaker, they could''ve been in the finals as well. The fairness is non existent in these trials since the beginning. Luck has been ying a role far more prominent than you think. So why not let luck y a role here as well?"


    "If I''m supposed to win, I will win even if I get the strongest territory and if I''m not supposed to win, I''ll lose even if I get the weakest territory."


    That was thest strike that Lucifer was convinced was going to do the magic. And he was right as well. His words actually managed to convince the old man.


    "Alright. I see some sense in your words. I''ll go with this format, but there''s one more thing..." The old man shed a grin.


    Lucifer had won half the battle by getting the man to implement the Territory System in thest trial, but there was one more thing left.


    He also needed to convince the man to give him the strongest central territory, which was going to be the hard part since he himself had to suggest a random draw to convince the old man. But before that, he looked at the weird smile of the old man, finding it somewhat strange. Just why was the old man smiling like that?


    "What thing?" he asked.


    "You advocated for this Territory System. Generally, I would''ve thought that you did it because you wanted to try your luck in getting an easier territory, but knowing you, I know that won''t be the case," the old man answered. "Still, since you said that it isn''t unfair if one gets the strongest territory to destroy, I want to see you take on this challenge."


    "I want to see you keep your word," he added.<sub> </sub>


    Lucifer frowned, wondering if the old man was actually talking about what he thought. He kept his expressions under his control to notugh. Through those words, he could feel what wasing. It seemed he didn''t even need to convince the old man to give him the strongest territory.


    The old man was himself going to give him the strongest territory since he talked so lightly of it.


    "Instead of making it a random draw, I''ll assign territories to everyone ordingly. Since you suggested it, I want to give you the strongest territory to destroy and see if you can still stick to your words that it''s not unfair.''


    "Instead of a random draw, the weakest will be given the weaker territories, and the strongest will get the strongest territories. Other than you, everyone will get the territories assigned to them ording to their current rankings," he further exined.


    He somewhat expected Lucifer to be surprised or at least somewhat shocked since he was getting the hardest challenge, but for some reason, he felt that Lucifer was happy instead.


    He considered Lucifer to be a very strange person at the core. He was like Ron, who appeared to be getting more excited as he received a harder challenge.


    After everything was decided, the old man sent his men to call out the other nine finalists as well.


    All the finalists were called to the Central Control Room, where they all stood in a line.


    The old man informed everyone about the new format of the final trial. He also assigned everyone territories right before them.


    As he dered before, Lucifer was given the strongest central territory to face. Raayi was given the territory which was considered to be the second strongest by the Star Alliance. Ron received the third strongest.


    As everyone was assigned territories, they weren''t informed that they were getting stronger and weaker territories. To the students, all territories were the same, so they didn''t feel jealous of each other. Only Lucifer and the staff here knew about her difference in challenges that the stronger ones faced.


    By the time the old man finished exining, the ship was also near the World of Summons.


    "From here, you will be directly sent to the territories that belong to you. Moreover, there is also a change. You''ll be there for two days now before being pulled back. The ones who kill the most in those two days will receive the most points."


    "The new points will y an important role in your final rankings, so I hope you give it your all. And show this world what happens when you go against the Star Alliance!"


    The old man signaled the ones on the control to send everyone down.

 947 Chapter 947

    The World of Summons... It was a world where Lucifer had been to before. Appearing in the same world once again, breathing in the same air that was filled with the same old familiar scent, it all made Lucifer remember thest time he was here.


    Lucifer stood right outside the Royal City. He looked up, gazing at the clear sky above. There were no signs of any ship being above. Even though he knew there was one where he came from.


    As Lucifer was sent here, he didn''t know what the people on the ships were seeing or how they were going to measure just how many people each of them was killing, but just to be safe, he considered the possibility that they could see if.


    Just to be sure as to what the old man was seeing, he intentionally left a shadow of his own back on the ship even though he wasn''t sure if it was going to be of help.


    He wasn''t sure if he was going to be able to connect to his shadows from this distance.


    It was also just as he expected. Standing in this world, he couldn''t even feel his Shadow, despite being stronger than before.


    "It doesn''t work. I''ll just have to consider that they can see everything. I''ll have to be careful..."


    He created hundreds of shadows, sending them in different directions. He sent half his shadows to the Royal City straight ahead to see just how many people they had. He also wanted his shadows to locate his three targets.


    Right before hisst battle with the Dungeon Dweller''s ruler, Licorice, he had to fight his three generals. One of the three generals was Licia, who was able to create and control space around her. She was the hardest opponent to defeat among the three Generals. The second was Azurel, who had incredible strength, and the third was Mn.


    At that time, he had taken the Warlock Council Leader Jian with him. Jian had started fighting Milen while Lucifer was about to face the other two. He had even managed to kill Azurel, leaving only Licia for him to face, but before things could progress, Jian appeared with Milen, siding with them.


    Once again, the battle turned to three against one. Having no choice but to save some time, Lucifer created the same Summoning zone, which sent all his enemies to the world of Summons, trapping there.


    It was only after that, he went to have Licorice and even managed to kill him, thanks to the incredible yet temporary strength he received, which belonged to the Mysterious Inhuman.


    Last time, he had avoided a battle against Jian, Licia, and Milen, but now that he was here, those three were the first ones he wanted to kill, and he also had a reason for that. He didn''t want the Star Alliance to find out about the Licia and Milen, who were the only two living Baltics.


    He knew that through them, the Star Alliance could find out that he had lied. After the three main targets, he sent more shadows to locate the mysterious sword, which had thest stone that he needed.


    He had a strong feeling that both were in the Royal City as there was no way Licia and Jian were going to stay in a small city.


    Despite being sure that his targets were in the Royal City, he sent the other half of his shadows in different directions as he wanted to look for someone else as well.<sub> </sub>


    When hest came here, there were more people who helped him, and one of the most devoted ones amongst them was Hun, who was a High Beast.


    Hun was a part of the Snow Wolf family. Lucifer still remembered how much Hun helped him, treating him no less than a brother.


    Initially, Lucifer had lied to Hun, telling him that he was also a High Lord from a distant city to get some information, but with time, their bond had changed. Even Szar was impressed with Hun.


    Even if the entire world had to be destroyed, he wanted to save Hun and his family, which helped him a lot in the process.


    Lucifer sent his other shadows to locate that city. Even though he was sure that the city was near the Royal City, he still wanted to know exactly where. He didn''t know which direction it was from here and if it was actually in his Domain or not.


    He also remembered that there was one more person in the city who had initially helped him, but he didn''t want to think about that person, who was none other than Amelia, who was from the Phoenix n.


    He had literally broken into her wedding venue to help her, only to get a rejection. He kept his entire focus on the Snow Wolves. Still, he had also decided to help Amelia, justifying his decision with actual logic.


    Amelia was the contracted Summon of his mother. He didn''t want her mother to lose her Summon, which she had bonded with as a Summoner


    In his mind, he was helping his mother by helping Amelia. Moreover, through Amelia, he could also send a message to his mother and the others that he was fine and going to be back soon.


    Instead of running anywhere blindly, he let his shadows do his job for him as he waited to receive the information. Instead of being hasty and fast, he wanted to be more efficient this time.


    "Huh, what?" His shadows had just entered the Royal City when Lucifer received his first shock.


    It hadn''t even been five minutes since he created his shadows when he saw Amelia! Amelia was inside the Royal City as well. Moreover, she looked really pale, as if her sickness was increasing.


    In another part of the city, another one of his Shadows also found the Snow Wolf n!


    Hun was also inside the city with his mother and his father. His little sister Yui was also there.


    "Why are they all here instead of being in their city? This doesn''t make sense."

 948 Chapter 948

    For a moment, he even doubted himself if he was actually outside the Royal City or not.


    "This is definitely the Royal City, then why?"


    His curiosity overtook him as he turned into a shadow as well, entering the city. He wanted to enter with a big bang before, but he changed his mind. For his answers, he directly entered the city.


    The other candidates had already started killing the ones that they saw, but Lucifer didn''t.


    Lucifer straight went to one of the mansions in the city, where he had seen Hun and his family.


    It was only after he entered the mansion that he came to his real form.


    He came to his human form.


    Appearing in the mansion, it was the same atmosphere as before. It was freezing cold here, almost as cold as it was on top of the mountain where they had their trials.


    The only difference from before was that the mansion looked mostly empty. Unlike before, there didn''t appear to be many people here.


    "Hun!" He called out. He was at his friend''s house. Instead of sneaking inside, he directly called him.


    After a few minutes, a person came out of one of the rooms, confused as to who was calling him. The voice did seem familiar to him.


    As soon as he came out of the room, he looked at Lucifer. Lucifer was slightly older now, but he still looked mostly the same. Moreover, his features and his silver hair were very hard to forget.


    "Lucifer?" Hun asked, just to be sure.


    "Who else?" Lucifer stepped closer to Hun. "Your new house isn''t half bad, but I liked the old one better."


    "You aren''t the only one who liked the old house." Hun shed a weak smile. "But it''s really good to see you back."


    He stepped forward and gave Lucifer a light hug before stepping back. "Come; the others will be happy to see you as well. It''s been so long since west saw you."


    "Same here. But why did you change your House? Why did you shift to the Royal City?" Lucifer asked. "I saw Amelia and the Gold Rhino n as well. It''s as if all High Beasts of the city shifted to the Royal City."


    "We didn''t have much of a choice. If we wanted to live, we had to leave the city," Hun answered.


    "What do you mean?" Lucifer inquired, following Hun up the stairs.


    "Nothing. You just came here. It''s better that I don''t spoil your mood with this. Anyway, have you eaten anything? I can get you something to eat."


    "Don''t change the topic." Lucifer grimaced, noticing Hun''s attempt to change the topic. "Tell me what happened that made you alle here?"


    He wondered if it was because they knew that the Star Alliance was going to attack. But if that was the case, why was the Royal City without much Security? Shouldn''t this ce have a high security now?<sub> </sub>


    It was evident that the information about them being attacked wasn''t here. Moreover, this world wasn''t like modern earth, which had the technology to detect such things.


    Lucifer was sure that the other nine candidates had already started destroying their territories. Even then, the Royal City had no idea because there was no way to send a message here fast.


    "Alright. It''s because we were forced to leave," Hun answered. "We had no choice but to leave. We came here and settled here."


    "Why? Who could force you? I''m sure it wasn''t the Royals. If they had forced you out, then they wouldn''t allow you here. Who else could be strong enough? Wait, I think I know..."


    "Were there three people?" he asked, thinking of someone. Someone who could force the High Beast ns... They could only be Baltics if they weren''t the Royal Beasts.


    "How do you know there were three people?" Hun asked, surprised. "Did you also see them on the way to here? Did you fight them?"


    "Technically, yeah. I saw them, and I fought them. Tell me what they did?" By now, Lucifer was sure that it was the work of Licia, Jian, and Milen. The three who were sent here by him.


    "It happened a few weeks after you left when those three appeared in our city. There was a conflict between the High Beasts and them, but they were very strong. Most of the High Beasts died in the Battles. They dered themselves the ruler of the city."


    "They kept saying that they needed a ce to stay until they figured out how to go back or something. But they didn''t want to coexist. They gave us only two options. Either live there under him or leave the city."


    "We all chose to leave, and they were left with an abandoned City."


    "Hmm? You mean those three live in your city now, and they aren''t here?"


    "They aren''t. They have been staying in the city where they appeared as if waiting for something,"Hun answered. "From what I heard, they haven''t left the city, even once."


    "I see, so that''s where they''ll be... That''s good. It will be easy then..."


    "What will be easy? What are you talking about? Also, you don''t answer what brought you here. Hahaha, don''t tell me you came to meet us. It seems you didn''t even know we were living here."


    "What will you say if I tell you that I''m here to destroy your world?" Lucifer asked, telling the truth but in the form of a question.


    "Hahaha, I''ll tell you that it''s a great joke. Now be honest and tell me why you''re actually here. Are you looking for something even now? Or you''re identally here?" Hun asked.


    "How is your father?" Lucifer asked, changing the topic. "He must be quite upset at having to leave home, right? Is he adjusting well to this ce?"


    "Why don''t you ask him yourself?" Hun smiled, stopping before a door. He knocked on the door. The meeting was quite simr to how Lucifer was introduced to Hun''s fatherst time.


    After his father told him toe inside, Hun opened the door and sent Lucifer inside first before entering as well.


    From outside, Yui and her mother also returned home.

 949 Chapter 949

    After getting his permission, Lucifer pushed the door open and stepped inside the room. It had been a really long time since he had seen Hun''s father.


    He knew that he had to kill as many people as he could to win the Captainship, but first, he wanted to know more about the situation rted to the Baltics he had trapped here.


    "Did you need something?" The leader of the Snow Wolf n asked, without even looking back. Since it was his son who asked him for permission to enter, he assumed that it was none other than Hun. There was no one else who could evene to meet them as they weren''t as special here as they used to be in their city.


    In the Royal City, there were many High Beast ns. In fact, there were so many that it was hard to even count them. Amongst all those High Beasts ns, the Snow Wolf n was a mid-tier n at best. No one paid any attention to them.


    "Just wanted to greet you," a response came from the back, surprising the middle-aged man.


    The middle-aged man stood up, slightly taken aback. It was clear that this voice didn''t belong to his son. Instead, it was a voice that he couldn''t forget.


    It was the voice of the human who had created such a ruckus in their City thest time he was there. He was also the person who fooled them by pretending to be a High Beast to stay with them.


    Despite all that, the man didn''t have any bad feelings for Lucifer since he never even tried to harm them, even though he was capable of.


    "What are you doing here?" Turning around, the man finally made sure that it was indeed Lucifer. He couldn''t understand why this guy was back again. Last time he identally got trapped in this realm and had to find a way back. Was it the same this time as well?


    "I came here on some business," Lucifer answered the middle-aged man. "Don''t worry. I am not lost this time."


    Thest time when Lucifer was here, he was way weaker and not even close to the level of the man. However, now he was not only stronger but way stronger. Despite that, he didn''t disrespect the middle-aged man.


    He walked to one of the chairs that were lying nearby. He picked up the chair and walked closer to the man.


    "When I came to this city, I didn''t really expect you all to be here. That doesplicate things a bit." He ced the chair before the man, facing him.


    "I have something important to discuss with you. Please sit..." He calmly stated even though he was before the man who used to be a leader of his city that could kill him with a flick of a finger once upon a time, l


    The middle-aged man was slightly surprised. He could clearly see that Lucifer''s entire persona was slightly different now. He was more like an equal than anything else, just by the visage itself.


    Even Hun was surprised by this change in Lucifer. Then again, it wasn''t his first time seeing something like that. He had seen something simr thest time he had seen Lucifer.


    It was just a glimpse of this feeling when Amelia said no to apanying Lucifer. When Lucifer became serious at that time, the feeling was quite simr. But why was he like that now? They were friendly. So there was no need to be this serious, was there?<sub> </sub>


    He stepped closer to his father and stood right beside him, wondering what Lucifer was going to say.


    "I am here for something really important. I''m here for something in which a lot of people are going to get hurt, and eventually, you might be amongst those as well since there is no future for this ce," Lucifer stated.


    He had to kill people here to seed. It didn''t matter even if he let two people leave this city, but there was no benefit since, eventually, the entire world was going to be destroyed. So this ce definitely had no future at all.


    He didn''t care about anyone in this world, but if there was someone he definitely wanted to save, it was the Snow Wolf n.


    "What are you talking about?" Lucifer''s words were quite vague for these people. No matter how much they tried, they just couldn''t understand what he was saying.


    "You want us to leave this city?" Hun asked, trying to take his best guess based on these words.


    "No. I don''t want you to leave this city since it''ll be useless in any case. Instead, I want you to leave this world altogether!"


    "You are joking. Why would we leave this world? It is our home." Hun''s father couldn''t even take Lucifer seriously when he talked like that. "Where can we even go if we leave this ce!"


    "There are many ces to go after you leave this World, especially earth. However, if you don''t leave this ce, the only ce you''ll be going to will be hell, if it even exists," Lucifer dered, stunning the father-son duo.


    "If you thought that the Baltics who forced you to leave your home were scary, then you haven''t seen anything yet," he further stated. "In a few days, this World-"


    Lucifer was about to tell the essence of the matter, but he stopped, noticing that maybe it was bad to tell this. If the Ship was listening, then it could look bad if he gave away ssified information directly. Even if he wanted to give away the information, he had to be vague just to be safe.


    "Just know that the world isn''t safe. I want you to go to earth. If you have no way to get there, I''ll help you," he said, regaining his focus. He shifted from what he was saying.


    "I-"


    "You bitch! Come out right now!"


    Lucifer was about to speak something else as well when he cut his words short, hearing some shoutinging from outside the mansion. It was as if someone was especially targeting this mansion when speaking.

 950 Chapter 950

    "You bitch! Come out this instant!" A loud roar came from outside, which attracted Lucifer''s attention.


    "Do you have some enmity with people here?" he asked the middle-aged man.


    However, seeing the man''s expression, he realized that even the man didn''t know anything about it.


    Curious, he decided to see what was happening.


    The middle-aged man also stood up and followed Lucifer, who left the room.


    Leaving the room, Lucifer walked to the stairs which led to the main door, only to see Hun''s sister Yui there, seemingly scared.


    Her mother was right next to her, keeping the door closed. Someone was trying to break the door as a loud thumping sound echoed.


    "Step out right now, or it won''t be good for you!" The same voice came again, having even more authority.


    Lucifer went down the stairs with the middle-aged man and Hun.


    "What is happening here?" The middle-aged man asked his wife. "Who is yelling outside?"


    Yui heard her father''s voice and turned around, revealing her tear-stained face. It was as if she was just about to run to hug him when she froze, noticing Lucifer standing there as well.


    "Y-you here?" For a moment, she forgot everything, thinking as if it was no more than a dream. How else was Lucifer going to be here?


    While Yui was standing stunned, Lucifer was more distracted by her tears. When he had stayed with the family, Yui had always been really nice to him. She had always been like a very close family member, and he had never seen her cry. Seeing tears in her eyes was really off.


    He didn''t even need to ask her what happened to feel angry at the person who was outside. It was evident that the person had made her cry.


    He walked closer to Yui and raided his right hand, but he didn''t touch her face. Instead, his gentle winds cleared the tears from Yui''s face.


    He didn''t say anything either. After momentarily observing her to see that she wasn''t hurt, he walked past her.


    Hun''s mother was still keeping the door closed, but he told her to move aside.


    Hun''s mother didn''t know why, but she couldn''t refuse Lucifer''smands. It was as if it was something subconscious. She moved aside, clearing the door.


    The thumping of the door continued, and without support, it only looked like it was only a matter of time before the door was going to be broken.


    Lucifer opened the door, noticing a ball of blue light flying straight at him.


    He gracefully raised his right hand, casting the Barrier of Time, stopping the attack that was used to attempt to break the door.


    While the attack was stopped, he ced his fingers on the sphere of light, letting his decay destroy the attack.


    The attack disappeared without doing any harm to him, surprising the people who were outside.


    Lucifer stood at the entrance of the door, observing the people outside. Even though there was only one person roaring, there were way more people outside.


    In fact, there seemed to be close to twenty people there already. Even though there were so many people, only the blonde man in the lead looked like a leader, dressed in avish attire as if he came from a really good family.


    "He is from the Royal Family. Don''t do anything stupid. Let father deal with it." Hun also saw these people, recognizing the person in the lead.


    He had been here for over a month and knew more about this ce and the people who held influence here. Compared to his family, the top families here were much stronger, and if there was a Family that stood on top of them, it was the Royal Family!


    The young man in the lead had blonde hair and beautiful blue eyes. Even the man''s skin seemed a bit blueish.


    He wasn''t very bulky, but his body was still oozing with power.


    As Lucifer looked at the blonde man, the man also observed him. It was quite surprising for him to see this man stop his attack so easily. Moreover, he hadn''t seen this person before, making him a stranger.


    "Can I help Your Highness?" Hun''s father stepped forward, standing between Lucifer and the blonde-haired man.


    "Your Highness? He is the Prince?" Lucifer asked Hun. No wonder Hun was so respectful. So the Snow Wolf n was scared. But so what if it was the Royal Prince? He was here to destroy the entire Royal Family from its root, along with everyone else.


    A simple prince was nothing to be scared of. Still, he let things y out. If the Snow Wolf n wanted to deal with things, he gave them an opportunity as he stood tall.


    "We have you a ce to stay, having mercy on you, and that''s how you repay us?" The blonde man roared. Instead of talking calmly, he started scolding Hun''s father without any respect.


    "Did we do something wrong?" Hun''s father hated having to be so respectful to a kid, but it wasn''t the kid who was a concern here, but the influence and family which was behind the young man.


    "Your daughter stole something from me! I want it back!" Huang eximed, looking disgusted.


    "That''s not possible. My daughter can never steal."


    "Are you calling me a liar?" Huang squinted his eyes.


    The man didn''t know how to respond. He just nced back at his daughter, who confirmed that she didn''t take anything.


    "Whatever it is that you lost, we will pay it back." Hun''s father responded, having no other option. It didn''t matter if his daughter took anything or not. Even if they were innocent, they had to pay back if they didn''t want to face the wrath of the Royal Family.


    "I don''t want payment! I want the treasure which your daughter took from me!"


    Hearing the conversation, Lucifer was sure that the man was lying, but why? That was the question. What did he want? Just what was he after?

 951 Chapter 951

    Lucifer took a few steps back to her to Yui, who was the only person that could tell the truth. It was clear that the man wasn''t going to tell the truth, let alone ept it if someone else told him.


    "Tell me what happened?" he asked Yui. "Also, stop crying. No one is going to hurt you, I promise. Just tell me what happened. Did you really take anything from him?"


    Yui shook her head in response. "I didn''t take anything."


    Yui told Lucifer everything, including how she just went to buy some essentials for her family when Huang saw her.


    Ever since, he had been following her and eventually approached her, directly telling her toe to his castle with him.


    "When I said no, he started threatening me that I didn''t know what I was doing and that he could make my life hell. I didn''t listen and left. And now here he is, with this lie! He''s doing all this to punish me!"


    "I see... So that''s what it was." Lucifer understood everything after hearing Yui''s version. It was clear to him that the man was attracted to Yui as soon as he saw her, and being a Prince, he didn''t ept a no from her.


    "You hurt his ego, and now he wants to hurt you in return..." Having theplete story, Lucifer walked back to the middle-aged man who was still trying to make the Prince calm down.


    Huang refused to calm down and kept insisting that he wanted his treasure back.


    "I''m sure she will have my treasure! Either you give me treasure, or your entire family won''t be alive to see the sunrise tomorrow!" Huang dered, sounding very serious.


    "If she doesn''t have the treasure, how can we even give you?" Hun''s father asked, not knowing what to do. On the inside, he was so angry that he just wanted to kill the young man for messing with their family, but the Dragon n was very powerful.


    He could kill the young Prince, but the n was something that couldn''t be defeated. If he as much as even scratched the young man, it was no less than signing their own death warrant.


    "Prove it! I won''t believe your words! You are the family member of that thief! How can I take your words seriously? If you still insist that she didn''t take it, I''ll give you onest chance!"


    A barely noticeable smirk spread across the lips of Huang as if he was waiting for this moment only.


    "What chance?" The middle-aged man asked, not having a good feeling from the tone.


    "I''m sure she took my treasure, but since it''s small, she could''ve hidden it anywhere, including inside her clothes. That''s where I think she kept it!" Huang dered. "I want to check myself to see if she''s keeping it or not!"


    "To make sure there are no distractions, I want to check when I''m alone with her!"


    Hearing Huang''s words, the middle aged man felt his blood boil. This man was actually asking him to go alone with his daughter so he could strip search her? What nonsense!


    His fists clenched tightly. In his mind, he had already killed Huang a thousand times, but he controlled himself.


    "I''m afraid I can''t allow that. She doesn''t have any treasure, and I''m not letting a guy touch her!" The middle aged man decided to stop taking the young man seriously. "And if you want to bully my family just because we live in your city, then we would happily leave!"


    The man turned around, being done with this conversation. It didn''t matter if he offended the Royal n. As long as he didn''t hurt the Prince and ended the conversation right here, at worst, he was going to be kicked out of this ce.


    "I''m afraid you have no choice in the matter. Stealing a royal treasure is a sin that only has one punishment! Death! But since I''m so King, I''ll make sure myself that I''m not publishing the innocent!" He pped his hands once.


    Following his p, a group of men rushed ahead and captured Hun''s Father.


    All the men that caught him belonged to the Dragon n as well, so they possessed a lot more strength than a High Beast like the Snow Wolf. Even the middle aged man couldn''t free himself despite the struggle.


    Hun''s father tried to transform to free himself, but before he could finish, the men ced a cor around his neck. It was unclear just what that cor was, but it stopped the man''s transformation right away. Not only did it stop the transformation of a High Beast, but it also weakened them.


    "As I said, you have no choice in the matter," Huang smiled as he stepped forward. "Don''t worry though. If you''re all truly innocent, we will free you. I am not evil after all."


    Licking his lips, the man walked closer to Yui, looking directly into her scared eyes.


    Hun stepped between his sister and the Prince. "If you want her to be checked, you can send a female guard. We would be happy to prove our innocence."


    "Idiot. Like Father, like son." Huang appeared right next to Hun within a fraction of a second, grabbing Hun''s neck.


    "Young man, your father might be strong enough to stop me, but you aren''t. You are nothing! If I want, I can kill you right this instant, and no one will be able to stop me. Your father is weak now, and my men are holding back your mother as well. So it would be best for you if you controlled that boiling blood of yours!"


    Huang tossed Hun back, straight to his men, who caught struggling Hun as well. Fortunately, Hun wasn''t killed by him.


    "Little girl,e. Let''s see your innocence... I''ll make sure to be really thorough, so no innocent gets punished, and no guilty escapes punishment!" Huang chuckled, stopping barely a meter before Yui, whose face was stained in tears seeing her father and brother in this condition.


    Watching Huang''s handing toward her, she felt even more scared.

 952 Chapter 952

    Huang felt fearless. There was no person here who could stop him! This city was his domain, where no one could go against the Royal Family, especially these outsiders.


    Whenever they tried to stop them, they were going to be held back as the girl was dragged inside the castle.


    In the outsiders, there was also one special person who hadn''t tried stopping the Prince. Even though the Prince was intrigued about the identity of the person who had blocked his attack before, he didn''t ce much attention on Lucifer since he saw Lucifer standing back like a good boy all this time.


    It was clear to him that Lucifer was scared and wasn''t going to intervene.


    He reached out his hand toward Yui,pletely fearless.


    "Arghhh!" His fingers were barely inches away from touching Yui''s shoulders when the man stepped back, yelling in pain. His right hand was detached from the rest of his arm, falling to the ground, bloodied.


    Even the guards with the Prince were stunned that their prince was hurt. Even at their speed, they hadn''t seen just who attacked him. Lucifer was still standing in his ce in the distance. It was as if he hadn''t even moved a finger. As for Yui, she was a Snow Wolf, so she couldn''t even use an attack like this.


    Other family members were also captured, so they couldn''t have attacked. That left only one question. Who actually dared to attack a Prince in the open? And where was that person hiding?


    Seeing their Prince get hurt, the guards quickly surrounded him, preventing other simr attacks from harming him.


    They even pushed Yui back to create some distance. The other guards also took control of the crowd, telling them that no one was allowed to move.


    The Prince was still roaring in pain, watching his hand bleed. "Who did it!"


    "Step aside!" He moved the other guards aside and stepped out in the open.


    "Whoever attacked me,e out this instant! Stop being a coward! If you have the courage to attack, then you better have the courage to take the responsibility for the attack!"


    The young Prince red at everyone around him, trying to see just who could''ve attacked him. His bleeding had already stopped by now, and even his hand had started regenerating, which was the specialty of his n. They could hear from most of the attacks. They could even regrow their limbs.


    "If the attackers don''te out themselves within the next five minutes, all of you are going to be killed here! Either you give me the attacker, or you all die trying to protect him!"


    Seeing the regrowth of the man''s hands, Lucifer was intrigued as well. This kind of healing was simr to his own healing, just a slightly limited version.


    He was sure that if he sliced their heads, even this healing couldn''t bring them back, but he didn''t. He wanted to see just how far they were going to go to find him.


    He wanted to see if these people were really that stupid.


    "You!" Huang red at Lucifer, making him wonder if they had found out. He was waiting for it.


    " You were looking at me! Did you see where the attack came from?" The Prince asked, disappointing Lucifer.


    Lucifer let out a sigh. "You really are an idiot, aren''t you?"


    "What did you say?" Huang couldn''t believe the way Lucifer was talking to him. He hated being disrespected, especially by outsiders. Even Hun''s father didn''t dare be so disrespectful.


    "I said you are an idiot and not just foring here." Since these people were stupider than he expected, he decided to just go with it and fast forward the process.


    If he wanted, he could get the Prince to kill his own men using the stupidity of the man, but he needed to be the one to kill them, and what better time to start?


    "Lucifer, don''t!" Hun''s father called out to stop Lucifer, not wanting him to be dragged into this. "Take Yui and leave!"


    Lucifer nced at the middle-aged man. "I am not taking her with me to leave. You''ll be the one leaving and not alone. As if you didn''t have enough reason to leave before, let me give you more reasons now!"


    He wanted to make them leave this world to go to earth, and what better way than by using this enmity with the Royal n? After that, they had no option but to leave. They couldn''t live in this world while carrying an enmity with the Royal n.


    That way, he could give them an excuse to leave this world without having to tell them that the world was going to be destroyed.


    "You have a really big mouth, don''t you!" Huang eximed beforemanding his men to kill Lucifer while he waited for his hand to be fully healed first.


    "Huh?" As soon as he finished giving themand, his jaws dropped, noticing his men fall to the ground.


    It wasn''t just one person who had died... Every single guard that he brought with him had been killed, and he could only watch.


    He didn''t even know how to react as he saw the headless bodies of his guards fall on the ground, rolling around like fruits.


    Even the guards who were holding onto Hun and his father had been killed, and it all happened in the blink of an eye.


    "Since this already happened, I might as well go all the way."


    Lucifer spread his arms, sending even more wind des, killing even the spectators. The goal to send him here was for him to kill as many people as he could, and the shock factor helped him kill everyone who was there right away.


    Even Hun''s father couldn''t believe it. This guy... Did he just kill the Royal Guards? He had made an enemy of the Royal Family, which was much stronger than these guards.


    Unfortunately, it was toote now. Even if he stopped Lucifer now, it was still useless.


    Fortunately, the Prince was still left alive!

 Chapter 953 953: Stupid Guy

    ?


    All the guards who had apanied Huang here were dead now.


    The people in the distance who had gathered to watch the spectacle of a family being harassed were still alive, but even they were quite horrified as they saw what had just happened.


    Just who was this young man that didn''t hesitate even a second before killing the guards of the Royal Family? Not only did he kill them, he even threatened Prince Huang.


    The people couldn''t help but wonder if Lucifer had gone crazy with all this. Even Hun''s family was stunned to their cores.


    Lucifer didn''t care what these people were thinking about him, but he certainly cared about his mission. Now that he had already started, he couldn''t hold back. He was here to kill as many people as he could, and this was where it all started. The fact that the Baltics weren''t here only made things easier for him.


    "Y-you! Do you know what you just did?" Huang stepped back, feeling a chill run down his spine as he watched all his guards being killed. He didn''t even know how Lucifer killed his guards in the first ce.


    Just to be safe, he cast a barrier around him to protect himself from the invisible attacks. He didn''t know how Lucifer attacked them, but he didn''t want to make the same mistake as the others did. He took safety precautions right from the start. As important as it was to destroy anyone who opposed them, it was just as important to protect themselves.


    After casting a barrier around himself, the young Prince finally calmed down. The barrier he used was something that even his father couldn''t break without putting in a significant effort. There was no way Lucifer could break it.


    "Oh?" Lucifer could see the barrier and could also feel some great strengthing from it. The barrier was certainly strong.


    Just to test the limits of the barrier, he used another Wind de, but even the Wind de couldn''t pass through the barrier.


    "As I said before, even you can''t break my Barrier. Also, it seems you still haven''t realized just what a mistake you hadmitted by attacking us. You''ve just signed your death sentence by attacking me. The Royal Pce should already have information about what happened here!"


    Huang was as confident as he could be, especially since he knew that a power backup wasing for him from the Royal Pce. Since he was in a hurry, he only brother the soldiers who were patrolling the city with him.


    He believed that just these guards were going to be enough since no one was going to dare stand against him. Unfortunately, that''s where Lucifer came in, creating this mess. But now, he had actually called for the real firepower of the Royal Pce.


    He already sent information of this to the Captain of the Royal Guards.


    The Royal Guards of the Pce were in an entirely different league than the Royal Guards who were patrolling the city.


    Lucifer rubbed the back of his neck, ncing in the direction of the Castle. If the Royal Guards were actuallying, he didn''t care much about himself. He could easily take care of himself with all that was at his disposal, but there were still some people that he wanted to protect. He didn''t want them to be coteral damage in everything else.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    That''s also why he wanted to send them to another ce before he started his assault.


    "Alright. If they''reing, I''ll wait for them." Lucifer didn''t attack the young Prince anymore. He just walked to Hun''s father and helped him up before telling all of them to get back inside the castle.


    Hun''s father knew that it was toote for them to even apologize to the Royal Family, but still, he didn''t want Lucifer and his family to get caught in this mess.


    "I''ll hold them back. Take my family and get out of the city." Hun''s father insisted, only for Lucifer to reject the proposal.


    "Do as I said."


    Hun''s father didn''t know why, but he felt beneath Lucifer for some reason. He couldn''t get himself to say no. Lucifer had be too strong for him now. But could he really defeat the Royal Guards of the Pce? The Royal Guards were truly in a different league as the group consisted of the strongest of the High Beasts in the Royal City.


    Lucifer took Hun''s entire family with him inside the mansion and closed the door once again, leaving the young prince stunned. Was this guy really so stupid that even after knowing that Royal Guards wereing, he decided to hide inside a mansion that could easily be destroyed instead of running away?


    Huang''s lips curved, forming a smirk. "This guy¡­ I would crush his skull myself."


    He didn''t chase after Lucifer inside the mansion. He just waited outside for the arrival of his Royal Guards. He didn''t dare remove his barrier either since he didn''t want to fall in case this was a scheme of Lucifer to make him remove all his protection.


    The people who were watching the scene were also sure that Lucifer was scared. That could be the only reason why he didn''t attack anymore and instead retreated inside the mansion.


    Most of them even startedughing at Lucifer for acting up so much, only toter get scared after hearing the name of the Royal Guards of the Pce.


    If they were eager to see an interesting scene y out before, they were even more eager since now; they were going to see an arrogant kid being thrashed by the Royal Guards.


    The news about what happened started spreading out in the nearby areas, reaching more and more people with time. Wherever heard what happened only said one thing, "This stupid guy will surely be dead."


    The news even managed to reach the Phoenix n, who was also taking shelter in the Royal City. Unfortunately, the Phoenix n didn''t know that the person in question was none other than Lucifer, and the n which was being harassed was the Snow Wolf n.

 Chapter 954 954: Proposal

    ?


    A middle-aged man ced back and forth inside the mansion, worried about what was going to happen. asionally, he even walked to the window and looked outside, noticing the Young Prince still standing there.


    The situation had turned from bad to worse.


    "I don''t know why you''re so calm in a situation like this. The Guards that you killed were strong, but the Royal Guards of the Pce are a thousand times stronger. They have been trained to handle situations like this, and they never make a mistake that these guards did."


    "They always have protection around themselves whenever they fight, and their protection is just as strong as the Prince. I don''t know how you killed the other guards so easily, but whatever long range attack you used, that won''t work on the Royal Guards."


    The middle-aged man stared at Lucifer, who was sitting on a chair, eating in a situation like this.


    As soon as he entered the mansion, he asked for some food since he was feeling somewhat hungry. From no angle did he look like a person who was worried about his death, let alone more.


    No one could understand why Lucifer was so carefree at a time like this. While they were feeling that they were in the clutches of death, Lucifer was simply eating as if nothing had happened.


    "Are you listening to me or not?" The middle aged man asked, wondering if the young man was even listening to him or was he more interested in eating even at a time like this.


    Lucifer didn''t answer the question right away. Instead, he asked a question of his own.


    "Have you thought about my proposal now?"


    "Proposal?" The middle aged man asked, slightly confused. However, he soon remembered what Lucifer was talking about. It was about the proposal that was given to him in his room previously.


    "You mean the proposal to leave this world?" The Snow Wolf n patriarch asked.


    "Exactly. As you said before, you''ll be dying if you stay here. Your family might die as well since I won''t be able to protect them and fight at the same time. So, isn''t it better to just leave?"


    "This..." The man didn''t take this proposal seriously before, but with the kind of threat outside, he couldn''t believe but consider that proposal genuinely.


    Now that they were the enemies of the Royals, they couldn''t survive staying behind. Even if they hid in a different city, sooner orter they were going to be found. This world had no ce for them anymore. Lucifer''s proposal appeared like a very lucrative deal for now.


    "Will you being with us too? And how will we go to your world?"<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Yui didn''t interfere in the conversation between the two men, but she could feel her heart beating faster. They were going to go to a new ce? The world of humans? She was never summoned there, so she had no idea what that ce was like, but she had all kinds of imaginations for what that ce was going to be like.


    Moreover, she was going to be in the same world as Lucifer. That meant she could see him whenever she wanted.


    Thest time when Lucifer left this world, he had invited someone else toe with him, but not her. She wasn''t sure if she could''ve said no to being invited by him since she actually wanted to be with him. But now, was this her opportunity? She wondered.


    She eagerly hoped that if the invitation was as she guessed, her father was going to agree.


    "How will you get there? That''s certainly an interesting question. The answer is as easy as it was in the past. We just need to open a reverse summoning formation."


    "Didn''t you sayst time that it was impossible to do that from here and that you needed to wait for someone from the other side to summon someone and wait for that summoning to happen?" Hun asked, remembering all the problems that they facedst time.


    First, they had to find a beast that was regrly Summoned, and then they had to wait, not knowing when the next summoning was going to happen. They were just lucky that it happened when they were there.


    "The beast we usedst time is already dead, so we can''t bring him here. And even if we could, we don''t have time to wait for a summoning that could take a week or a month. If only we knew someone who could summon from than would and do it right now. But that''s impossible."


    The n appeared simple, but it was filled with ws from top to bottom since they were missing the most importantponent to put the n in motion.


    "That''s true for sure. We need to be in contact with someone from that World who could Summon and then use that formation to leave. I am sure I know just the person. I have a n to achieve that as well. But for that, I''ll be needing your help."


    "My help?" The middle aged man asked, slightly surprised. What could he help in? He didn''t even know half the things that Hun and Lucifer talked about, rted to the problems in the n.


    "Yeah. Your help would be needed for sure. I need you to be my Summoned Beast," Lucifer dered.


    To everyone in the Snow Wolf n, it was like Lucifer had dropped an explosive bomb. He wanted their Patriarch to be his summoned beast? Even if he agreed to that, just how was this going to help? They couldn''t understand that.


    Until now, many beasts were Summoned, but all of them were on the weaker side. If one was to consider the strongest summoned beast ever, it was the Hair of the Phoenix n, but she was just that... A Heir. If the middle aged man agreed, he was going to be the strongest beast that was ever summoned. But first, he needed to know why.


    "How will that help?" he asked Lucifer. "What does that achieve?"

 Chapter 955 955: Reverse Summon

    ?


    "I''ll be using that to create a path back for you all," Lucifer answered. "We need someone to cast a summoning spell that connects our two realms. As you said, we can''t wait for luck likest time, hoping someone was going to be summoned. This time, I need to take matters into my own hands."


    Not a single person on earth had managed to establish a contract with such a Summoned Beast who was so powerful at the time of the contract, but Lucifer believed that he could do it as long as the man in question agreed in advance.


    "Aren''t you already here though? How can the summoning establish a contract between our world and earth when the summoner himself is on our world? Why would my father be Summoned to you when he''s already next to you, even if he agreed?"


    Hun didn''t know much about summoning, but he didn''t understand just how it was going to work. Even if his father agreed, there seemed no possible way.


    "The Summoning Circle doesn''t establish a connection between the two beings when performing a Summon. It establishes a connection with earth for that summon," Lucifer answered. "In other words, even if I am right next to my summoned beast when I perform a Summon, a conduit between two worlds is established."


    Even though Lucifer exined in technical terms, it was clear from everyone''s faces that they didn''t understand much. It was as if everything went over their heads.


    "I''ll make it even simpler." He walked closer to Hun. "Suppose you''re my tamed beast. If I am on earth, and you are here, then you''ll be Summoned to earth directly. But if you''re already on earth next to me and I Summon you again for some reason, you''ll be sent back to this world and then summoned again."


    "Simrly, if you are here with me and I summon you, first you''ll be Summoned to earth and then sent next to me in this World. Even if I''m in a third World when summoning you, you''ll be Summoned to earth and then sent to me. As I said, the earth acts as a connecting point between each summon."


    Lucifer was trapped in this worldst time and experienced how troublesome it could be to find a way back. That''s why, when he went back, he consulted many knowledgeable people on this matter to get their help in finding a way back.


    He was already nning to return to this world to get a Fragment, so it was necessary for him to find a way back. That''s when they all came up with this solution. At that time, he didn''t know that it was going toe in handy in a situation like this though.


    The middle aged man still shook his head in confusion. "I still didn''t understand what you said, but if you''re sure it''ll work, I have no problem. As long as it will save my family, I''ll agree to the summoner contract."


    "Wait. You''re the Patriarch of this n?" Hun chimed in. "You are more important to the n than me. If something went wrong, we might lose you. I think I should be his Summoned Beast."


    "Would that be possible?" he asked Lucifer.


    Lucifer could only reject the offer. "As I said before, it''s not possible."


    "Why?"


    "If we were sending a few humans back, it would''ve been fine. But we are sending a few High Beasts. To make the summoning circle stronger and safer to handle that n, we need it to belong to your father. Once the Summoning Circle is calibrated to his strength, it should be much safer."


    Lucifer genuinely didn''t care who became his summoned beast since they weren''t of much help to him. The middle aged man might be powerful on earth''s standards, but where Lucifer stood, that strength was too insignificant.


    "I agree." The man didn''t resist the proposal, eventually agreeing to it. His family''s life was on the line. If he hesitated now and something happened to his family, he knew that he was never going to forgive himself.


    He went down on one knee before Lucifer. "Tell me what I need to do. I''ll do that."


    "You don''t need to do much. Just don''t resist the contracting process. Since we''re both in the same world, it should be easier."


    The time was of the essence at the moment since the Royal Guards could be here at any time. He wanted to send all these people back first before he started letting loose. He didn''t want to hurt them in the process.


    Lucifer ced his hand on the middle aged man''s forehead before closing his eyes. He started using his Summoning Core to establish a Contract between the patriarch of the Snow Wolf n and himself. That contract was established much more swiftly than even he could''ve expected.


    Within ten seconds, the contract was established and even epted by the middle aged man. There appeared to be no major problems for now.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Not wanting to raise any red gs, he didn''tment on how smoothly everything went.


    He just stepped back and informed everyone that it was a sess.


    "I''ll be using the Summoning Spell. Stay ready and jump on the formation when I tell you that it''s ready."


    Hun walked closer to his father. Yui and her mother also walked closer as the entire family was ready to leave.


    Lucifer cast the Summoning right away. It was his first time using a summoning. Even though he had that ability for a long time, he had never tried to establish a Contract with anyone since he didn''t get much free time. He was always so busy that he kept pushing it back against and again.


    The air in the room turned colder. A beautiful blue formation circle appeared in the middle of the room, revealing the beautiful pattern that was different from any summoning circle that was seen in this world. The summoning circle was even bigger than the one that he usedst time to go back.


    As soon as the summoning circle appeared, Lucifer cast his decay on it, creating a w in the summoning before it could even begin. A spatial vacuum was created above the Formation Circle, which tried to push everything that was in the room toward it.


    Lucifer used his own wind to keep himself away from the Summoning Formation. He couldn''t afford to leave this ce, at least not at this moment.


    "Now, jump on the formation!"


    Hearing his instructions, Hun and his father jumped on the formation. After taking a brief nce at Lucifer, Yui also jumped on the formation.


    "Why aren''t youing?" Even after they all stepped on the Formation Circle, they realized that Lucifer wasn''ting. They thought he was just joking around when he said before that he wasn''ting, but looking at his hesitation, it seemed true.


    "I told you, I won''t being," Lucifer answered. "I have many things to handle here before I can leave."


    "If you stay behind, you''ll have to face the entire Royal Army again. Don''t be stupid! It''s not as easy as you think!" Hun exined, slightly worried for Lucifer. "You hadn''t seen them yet! They are the strongest of this world! Even my father can''t stand against one of them, let alone so many. And the Emperor is just something that''s like a god! You need toe with us?"


    "Even if he''s the Emperor of this world, for now, he won''t be for long. If I don''t do it, someone else will. Your Emperor is doomed to fall. Don''t worry. I''ll be perfectly fine. I have some help as well. You can leave without any worries. Oh right, don''t forget to give my message to my family."


    "Tell them that I''m doing good and I should be back from my journey soon."


    Last time he was taken by the Star Alliance after being arrested. He was sure that his people were apprehensive about him already. They must''ve lied to his family about him going on a journey, but that didn''t mean they weren''t trying to find him themselves.


    Through the Snow Wolf n, he could send a message to them that he was doing fine. That was enough to put them at ease.


    "But-" Yui also tried speaking, but before she could, she disappeared along with her family. The formation sent them to earth, even when it was wed before it stopped working.


    After the entire family left, the room returned to silence again.


    "That takes care of one problem. Now the second..." He walked to the window, taking a look outside. He could feel some powerful auras approaching. It looked like the Royal Guards were finally here.


    "Hmm?" He felt some extreme sense of danger which put even him on alert. He disappeared from the room and appeared on the roof of a distant building, watching the Snow Wolf n mansion explode. Only a crater was left where the mansion used to be.

 Chapter 956 956: Something More

    ?


    "That wasn''t nice," Lucifermented, shaking his head. "I still wanted to eat more."


    He was also slightly d that he had finished everything in time. If he was just a momentte, everyone who was with him inside the mansion might''ve been dead since he couldn''t help all of them teleport.


    Raising his head, he looked at the sky where a couple of Royal Guards were standing.


    The sound of the explosion was so loud that it alerted everyone in the vicinity. Even the ones who weren''t interested in seeing themotion initially came out of their houses, hearing that explosion. One of them was Amelia.


    A beautiful red haired girl came out of her house as her silver eyes tried to look for the source of the explosion.


    Just like the Snow Wolf n, her own n also came from another City, migrating here after their own city was taken over by the Baltics.


    Despiteing together, their ns weren''t very fond of each other, at least nowadays, mostly because the Phoenix n didn''t even try to resist the upation of their City unlike the rest of them. Even the Golden Rhino n tried their best, but the Phoenix n was like a coward, not doing anything.


    That was also what created such bad feelings in the other ns for them. The other ns didn''t keep much contact with them in the city, keeping it limited. The Phoenix n was left on its own.


    The Golden Rhino n heir Dion also arrived there, only to be shocked as he realized that it was the mansion which was given to the Snow Wolf n!


    "They are killed? Why?" He couldn''t believe what just happened. Even though he heard some n went against the Royal Family, he never expected that n to be the Snow Wolf n, he knew how cautious and respectful the Snow Wolf n was. Why would they do such a stupid thing? It didn''t make sense at all.


    He couldn''t help but look toward the prince who was behind it all, wondering if there was more to this situation than what caught the eye. It was clearly a scheme since there was no way it was true. But why would someone scheme against the Show Wolf n?


    "Do they not like the outer familiesing to this city? Is that supposed to be a subtle threat that we should leave while we have a chance or stay prepared to be destroyed like the Snow Wolf n?" He clenched his fist. "This City is ruthless."


    Amelia also arrived, only just realizing that the n in conflict with the Royal Family was the Snow Wolf n.


    Unlike before, Amelia looked much healthier as there was no poison in her body. Since Lucifer''s mother had returned, after summoning Amelia to their world, she had finally healed all the poison of her.


    Amelia dropped to her knees, watching the crater where an estate used to be before. One of the High Beast n was wiped so easily... One which was even more powerful than hers. Even she could feel that something didn''t add up.


    Even though Amelia was in the crowd, Lucifer didn''t notice her. His entire focus stayed on the Royal Guards in the sky, who were possessing more strength than what he faced recently. It was clear that the Snow Wolf n didn''t exaggerate when they said that the Royal Guards were way stronger than the guards he had faced so far.


    These guards were stronger for sure. Unfortunately, they weren''t anywhere close to Malin or any other top scorer of the Star Alliance exam. This world was strong by its own standard, but by the standard of the Star Alliance, it was weaker.


    "I wonder why the Star Alliance wants to destroy them though. They rejected the proposal? Even if they did, all the Star Alliance had to do was show off its strength and make the Royal Beasts realize just how futile their resistance was."


    "If they didn''t try it, then why not? Why were they so impulsive to destroy this World? That''s the question. And if they did convey how strong they were, then why would the Royal Family not surrender? It doesn''t matter which side it is, but one side''s actions don''t make sense."


    Lucifer knew that the entire story of the destruction of this world wasn''t as he heard. But he didn''t care either. There was rarely anyone he cared for in this world. And even if he tried to save them, it wasn''t as if they were going to live for even a week.


    That''s why, he decided to use their eventual death to win this exam and get the promotion that he needed. If he didn''t get a promotion, he was going to be like a sitting duck. He had killed Mander, a grandson of a Two Star General in the Star Alliance. For protection, he needed to show his worth.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Winning this exam was important to him in more ways than one.


    He nced in the distant horizon, in the direction of the domains of others.


    "Those two would''ve had thousands scored already. I am in my tens... I should start catching up as well."


    Lucifer patted his clothes, removing whatever bit of dust they had umted before jumping down.


    "What did you do?!" The Prince scolded the Royal Guards. "Why did you kill them all so soon? I wanted them to fall up my feet! I wanted them to bed for forgiveness, especially the man who dared to attack the Royal Family! How dare you give them such an easy death!"


    Huang was the most unhappy one in this ce since he wanted to give Lucifer a painful death... As painful as it could be. By killing him in such a way, he believed the Royal Guards had robbed him of his happiness.


    If anything, he would''ve preferred to torture them for a few days before having a public execution of them to make an example of them as to what happens when someone goes against the Royal Family.


    The Royal Guards looked down at the Prince but they didn''t respond. They had no reason to listen to the Prince as they worked right under the King. Only the King and their Captain had a right to order them and the Captain was the one who told them to make it quicker and destroy the enemy swiftly to make sure no more lives were lost in this battle.


    They followed theirmands and after that point, they didn''t care for anything. They turned around to leave now that they had finished their work.


    "Hey I''m talking to you! Answer me!" The young prince yelled.


    Finally, the Royal Guards stopped as they turned around, making the Prince smug, believing that they stopped because of hismand.


    Unfortunately, the real reason was different. The Royal Guards felt danger... A sense of danger that they only felt when they stood before their Emperor when he was angry. It was like a vicious snake was looking at them, waiting to strike.


    The Royal Guards looked around the crowd, finally finding a person. It was a young man with beautiful long hair. The man didn''t have much of an expression on his face and if one was to judge based on looks, he didn''t look very strong either. However his aura, that was an entirely different thing.


    If one was to judge based on his aura alone, then he was no less than their Emperor!


    Wherever Lucifer walked past, bodies kept dropping on the ground, lifeless. He wasn''t even touching or attacking the people around him physically but they still kept dropping as their bodies turned to dust without even so much as a scratch.


    "That man... He is dangerous. Is he one of the people we hear about? The strange group that took over one of the cities?" A Royal Guard grimly asked. "Are they finally attacking us?"


    "His description doesn''t match what we received from the witness about the Members of that group, but it''s possible. If he''s here, then his friends should be here as well. The city is under attack!"


    "Either that or he came all alone," Another Royal Guard chimed in. "It''s possible he came here to test out strength or create amotion before their main forces attack us. What I don''t understand is how he managed to get inside the city without us finding out. The border should''ve been secure!"


    "We don''t have time to think about how he entered. The more time we waste here, the more lives are lost. We need to kill him and we need to do it without getting close to him. Whatever ability he has, it is killing the people around him without giving them a chance to resist. Maintain your distance!" The Captain of the Royal Guards reminded the others. "I''ll protect the Prince."


    He flew down, holding the Prince by his cor but just as he was another to fly up, he realized that someone held his wrist as well... Lucifer had appeared right next to him.

 Chapter 957 957: Rise Of The Fallen

    ?


    "Arghh!" The Captain of the Guards couldn''t even react to protect himself as Lucifer caught his wrist.


    Lucifer''s decay started taking effect. With time, his decay had only gotten powerful. Even though he could let out work without even touching things directly, but when he used direct touch, the effect was only more powerful.


    Within a fraction of a second, the screams of the Captain of the Guards stopped as he turned to fist.


    "You bastard!" The other Guards were going crazy to watch their captain being killed. Since they couldn''t get close to him, they prepared for long-range attacks, only to have Lucifer grab the young Prince by his cor, bringing him forward like a shield.


    "You shameless man! Using a person as a shield? Are you even a warrior?"


    "I don''t need to be a warrior for what I''m about to do next," Lucifer answered. "I''ve already wasted too much of my time. It''s time I clean things up here as well. You see, it''s not easy when your opponents have thousands in the lead."


    The sky started turning darker. The Dark Clouds covered the entire city, leaving not even an inch that was unaffected.


    "Leave the Prince, and we''ll give you an easy death!" One of the Guards issued a threat.


    "It seems you''re misunderstanding your positions here. You aren''t the ones giving anyone death here because that''ll only leave fewer people for me. So leave that to me."


    Now that the Snow Wolf n was left, Lucifer didn''t care much about anything else. He didn''t need to hold back anymore.


    For a second, the entire sky shed brightly, following which a roar of lightning was heard.


    Thousands of Lighting Bolts fell from the sky as if giving the Divine Punishment to the citizens of this city.


    Most of the lightning bolts fell on houses, bringing them crashing down and destroying anyone inside. If possible, Lucifer wanted to avoid all the Bloodshed, but in this situation, it wasn''t possible. He had to kill them if he wanted to protect his life in the future. These people were already dead, after all.


    "This..." Therge scale attack stunned everyone. They had never seen an attack of this range that was so destructive. Even the Royal Guards couldn''t stay unfazed at the sight of this attack.


    "I-is this your doing?" One of them asked, stuttering.


    "This is just the beginning," Lucifer answered as another assault came from the sky, this time targeting a different ce.


    "We can''t stay idle! If we don''t stop him, he will destroy the entire city!"


    "But he has Prince Huang hostage. What can we do?"


    "We can''t sacrifice the entire city for Prince Huang, can we?" The Guards were getting uneasy watching all this distraction, especially since they couldn''t take any action themselves because of Huang being taken as captive.


    "You''re right! We need to do something about it!" As the destruction intensified, more and more Royal Guards agreed that they needed to stop it, even if they needed to sacrifice the Prince. They didn''t have much time to go back and consult either.


    If anything, they could make up a story that the enemy killed the Prince. They were going to get punished for that, but it was better than losing the entire city.


    The Royal Guards didn''t hesitate any longer.


    "You idiots, what are you doing? You want to kill me?" Huang couldn''t believe that his guards were going to attack even him. Did they lose their minds?


    "Imand you to stop right away!" Hemanded his man, only to have hismand fall on deaf ears.


    "You were quite slow. I thought you would give up on him much sooner," Lucifermented as if he was already expecting them to eventually attack. What was more surprising was that he was allowed to kill so many before they even took action.


    ****


    Back in the Star Alliance ship, there was a list on the screen which showed the names of all ten participants in the final events.


    It was showing the scores of everyone in this event. At the top, there was Raayi, with over thirty thousand being killed. The second spot was taken by Ron, who has killed over twenty-five thousand.


    As for Lucifer, he was rankedst, having killed only twenty people.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "This guy... Just what is he doing? Is he on a pic? At this rate, he can''t win. Let alone win; it''ll be surprising if he isn''tst. It seems he isn''t taking it seriously.Sigh, and even after I told him so much about the importance of winning..."


    "I agree. It''s like he doesn''t even have the intention to win. I think Raayi is going to win at this rate.The onlypetition is between her and Ron. It seems that Lucifer is already out of the race," another man agreed.


    "This was certainly disappointing." The old man stood up. "Keep an eye on the scores. I''m going to my room to rest."


    "Yes, Sir." The man affirmed.


    "Huh, what the hell?" At around the same time, a shocked voice filled the entire room.


    The old man was already at the door when he stopped and turned around. "What happened?"


    "S-score!" The middle-aged man eximed.


    "Hmm, score what?" The old man also raised his head, wondering just what was so surprising about that. Did Ron climb above Raayi?


    "Huh, what?" He wasn''t expecting to be as shocked as he was since; generally, he was more calm, not the scores were just upside-down now!


    Lucifer was rankedst just a few seconds ago, but now he was at the top rank? He had killed forty thousand people in just a few seconds? How was he so fast?


    "The score isn''t stopping. It increased even more!" The middle-aged man eximed as the score increased by another twenty thousand.


    "It looks like he just started getting serious. Not only is he in the lead, but he has killed twice as many people as the second ranked Raayi!"


    The old man couldn''t help butugh as he came back to his seat. "This is getting interesting. Even I didn''t expect him to have such an ability. He can target so many people at once? Get me visuals of the ground."


    "I know it isn''t what we normally do since we leave them to employ whatever method they can without worrying about being seen, but I can''t control my curiosity. I just have to see how he''s doing it!"


    The staff members didn''t refuse themand either. If anything, they wanted it more than the old man. They also wanted to see just what was this guy doing that was killing so many people at once.


    The visuals of the battlefield were brought to the screen, which showed the city that was covered in dark Clouds. The Lightning Bolts kept falling from the sky as if not intending to stop until the entire city was brought to rubble.


    "This ability, it''s simr to Ron and his family''s skills, but he can use that on such arge scale?" The old man theorized.


    "Sir, I have a question. If Ron has a simr ability, why isn''t he using the same to collect scores fast as well?" One of the men asked.


    The old man wasn''t surprised at the question since he would''ve wondered about the same if he didn''t know better.


    "There are possibly two reasons," the old man responded. "One is that he doesn''t want to end this too soon. He wants to enjoy each of his battles. He probably doesn''t want to identally kill a powerful opponent that he could''ve enjoyed fighting."


    "As for his second reason, it''s that he couldn''t pull it off with the perfect of Lucifer. When he use such an attack, he doesn''t know where to attack precisely. In other words, Lucifer is using another ability which is helping him keep an eye on the entire city."


    "Lucifer knows where the buildings with the most people are or where they are gathering. Ron is blind to all that since he can''t see the entire city like that. Even if he used the same skill that Lucifer is using to kill, his efficiency would be much lower since it''ll be like a blind attack."


    "That''s what gives Lucifer an advantage."


    "I see."


    With the old man''s exnation, the others finally understood why Lucifer seemed to have such a massive advantage. It wasn''t that Ron couldn''t use that skill. It''s just that he couldn''t use that skill as efficiently as Lucifer, which made all the difference in the world.


    ****


    Back in the Realm of Summons, Lucifer had already gone through a battle, and he came out victorious. Even though all the Royal Guards attacked him at once, he wasn''t harmed. If anything, he had already killed all the Royal Guards while keeping Prince Huang in his control even now.


    He turned around, looking at the crowd that had gathered around them. They were all too scared to even move.

 958 Chapter 958: Overwhelming

    <h2>958 Chapter 958: Overwhelming</h2>


    Wherever Lucifer passed through, death followed as people kept disappearing, turning into dust. 1 At the moment, Lucifer was the most dangerous being in the entire world, ording to the people who were in the surroundings. They were scared of running away before, but they also knew that even if they stayed behind now, they were going to be killed. Did they even have any options? Some of them even started begging for Lucifer to let them live. In exchange, they promised that they were going to leave the city forever and never step foot here. They also imed that they had no hand in what happened here. Unfortunately, their pleas fell on deaf ears. They were strangers to him. He already took the people he cared about to safety. Now, there was nothing more for him to do with these people but kill them.


    No matter what they did, they died. Even the ones who tried to run away couldn''t go far before being killed.


    At the moment, Lucifer was the god of death... The Hunter who was on a hunt.


    "Brother Lucifer, stop!" Lucifer was in the middle of his carnage when he heard someone call his name. Hearing his name again brought him out of his zone for a moment. He raised his head, wondering just who was calling him.


    "It''s your Lucifer recognized the young man who had called him.


    "Golden Rhino n, Deon?" He had met Deon in the past as well. In fact, he had used Deon to kill the Thunder Lion without getting in trouble.


    What was more surprising was the person behind her. It was a beautiful woman, having ming red hair that came down to her waist. She was Amelia from the Phoenix n.


    Amelia had some fear in her eyes. It''s been a long time since shest saw Lucifer, and now that she saw him, it was in this situation. He had killed so many innocent people without even the slightest hesitation. Just what had happened to him? She couldn''t understand.


    Lucifer also didn''t care to exin anything to her. He wanted to keep his interaction with her as little as possible. "I-" Amelia tried speaking, but Lucifer didn''t look like he cared. He started walking away. He was still on a mission. Since he didn''t know what kind of scores his opponents had gathered, he couldn''t afford to take things lightly. Watching Lucifer walk away, Amelia lowered her head


    ''He still hates me!


    "You two should take shelter: Lucifer stopped after some distance. "And if possible, stay together. You should reach safety when my mother Summon Amelia. Use the portal to escape." "But remember. If you take anyone other than your own family members, when I get back home, I''ll destroy you and them with my own hands!"


    Amelia was a Summoned Beast of his mother. He had already told the Snow Wolf n to give her mother a message that she needed to Summon Amelia. As soon as she got that message, she was going to Summon Amelia.


    And due to the existence of his decay in the atmosphere, there was


    no way that portal was going to work as expected. If anything, it was going to be nothing less than a portal simr to what he used to send the Snow Wolf n.


    He didn''t want that portal to be used by these people to do social service and clearing the entire city to take it to earth. He had already warned them in advance before disappearing. Amelia and Deon were the only ones left behind who were alive. Everyone else in that area was already dead, which prompted Lucifer to move to the next area.


    Amelia and Deon looked at each other.


    "He... He has gotten stronger. But he still told us a way to safety. I think we should believe him: Deon told Amelia. "I''ll go tell my family to gather at your home. In the meantime, don''t tell anyone about this. It would be wise to not upset that guy:


    Amelia nodded, ncing at all the dead bodies on the ground. The carnage here was just too much. Lucifer moved through the city from one area to the next, leaving no life behind. There were times when he felt slightly bad that he had to kill so many people who did nothing to him, but eventually, he was also working toward a goal. He knew that he couldn''t do anything to stop the Star Alliance, even if he wanted to. He was already taking a huge risk by taking the Snow Wolf n, the Phoenix n, and the Golden Rhino n into his world. If he did more, he believed he could really upset the Star Alliance.


    "Two Million!" After a day of work, Lucifer''s score had already crossed two million.


    He was the first person who had managed to reach such a high score. The second person at the moment was still Raayi, who was


    also getting closer to two million, closely followed by Ron. Even though those three candidates were given the provinces with the strongest beings, that was not proving to be a problem for them. It was just as Lucifer had stated before. The weaker candidates were going to have a hard time, even when their opponents were weaker,pared to stronger candidates. "At this rate, he might clear the city before time runs out! This guy, he is incredible: the Data Analyst of the ship stated. Lucifer''s score had even surpassed his expectations. And the speed of his score rising was only increasing with time, which was the most incredible part.


    "It''s not that easy. The real headache will be the King of that world, who is still inside the city," the old man stated, carrying a frown. "Exactly," Another person agreed. "Don''t you don''t this strange that the king, who was so arrogant during the negotiations with the Star Alliance, hasn''t even made a move even though so many of his people have been killed?" "Can''t it be that he''s just scared after seeing the level of destruction that Lucifer is able to bring forth?" The Analyst asked. He was sure that if the King of that world were really that strong, he would''ve already taken action. "Not quite. I can''t help but have a bad feeling. I have seen those negotiations. He didn''t seem like the person who would be scared of this much. He was also quite powerful. I wonder just what he''s nning. Why is he staying back?" "We would have to wait and see. If something bad happens and Lucifer''s life is in danger, we will take action personally and call an early end to this test:''


    "Yes Sir."


    After seeing Lucifer''s skill, everyone knew just how important he%¡ª'' could be for the Star Alliance. He was still a young man who hadn''t been with the Star Alliance for long, and he was already that strong. With time, the boy had the potential of being the strongest general in the Star Alliance.


    Losing them on trial like this was undoubtedly going to be a pity. Moreover, it was clear that the old man had taken a liking to the king.


    "Just what are you nning... I wonder when you''ll show your hand, Aizar!" ****


    Back at the Royal Pce of the World of Summons, the King was still sitting on his throne. He had his eyes closed as if he was sleeping. "Your Majesty, the Southern Block has been destroyed as well: One of his men informed him.


    "I seer The King of Beasts only gave ackluster reaction even after hearing that news. Even his strongest Warriors, who were sitting in the Main Hall with him, couldn''t understand just why they weren''t being mobilized to stop the intruder. As soon as the attacks began, they asked for permission to go and kill the intruder, only to have the King reject that request for some reason. They were given no exnation even after all this time. Since then, they had been sitting here as if waiting for something.


    "The South East Block has fallen as well!" After about an hour, another news came.


    There was still no difference in the man''s expressions. Even his reaction was the same. He didn''t even bother opening his eyes as if it wasn''t worth his time.


    "Your Majesty, may I ask you a question?" With so much time having passed, one of the men couldn''t help but take the initiative to ask. "Why aren''t we attacking the intrude''? "At this rate, he would destroy the entire city. Eventually, we''ll have to face him as well. So why not face him right now instead of waiting forter?" The man who had two Ox-like horns asked. He wasn''t the only one who had this question. Almost everyone here had this question. It''s just that the others hadn''t been able to gather the courage to ask that question yet. Finally, the King opened his eyes after receiving the question. As soon as he opened his eyes, almost everyone felt a heavy pressure that was pushing down their bodies...

 Chapter 959 959: Consequences

    ?


    Even the strongest beasts of the Pce felt helpless against the spiritual pressure the King released.


    The man who had asked the question immediately went down on his knee, worried that he might have upset the King.


    "Your Majesty, my intent wasn''t to make you angry or question your decision. It''s just that I am too stupid and was unable to understand the wise n of our Majesty. I didn''t mean to imply that the n was wrong. If it came across as that, I beg for forgiveness."


    The King closed his eyes again. Throughout this time, he hadn''t spoken anything. As soon as he closed his eyes, the mountain-like pressure disappeared, freeing everyone in this ce.


    The man who had just raised this question sighed in relief as he wiped the sweat that had formed on his forehead.


    He stood up and silently sat on his seat again, not daring to raise any question. No matter what happened, he wasn''t going to question the King, even if the enemies destroyed the entire city and were standing right at their door.


    "It''s not the time yet," the King only let out a few words. "Let it continue. This is for the best."


    "The one who is performing this onught isn''t our true enemy. Our true enemy is the one pulling the strings from above. Even if we defeat this guy, we will face an even stronger attack. That''s why I want to prepare to kill the main enemy and not just this one."


    The men in the Royal Room wanted to ask just what their King meant, but after seeing what happened thest time someone asked a question, they didn''t care.


    The King of the Realm of Summons opened his eyes once again. Fortunately, this time there wasn''t that pressure. It was as if he was controlling now.


    The King known as Deyis ruled over everyone in the realm of Summons. He was an absolute authority in this world, said to be a god here! He was so strong that it was said even if the entire World of Summon joined forces and fought him, they couldn''t win.


    It wasn''t just strength that Deyis possessed. He also possessed the brain. He was also known to be the wisest in the entire Royal Pce. It was said that there was meaning behind each action, even though it wasn''t clear at times.


    For Lucifer, the numbers mattered. He could either fight the powerful enemies now, but that was less efficient for him. First, he wanted to gather enough score so that he could take his time even when fighting more powerful enemies without much worry.


    With time, he kept getting closer to the Royal City.


    Deyis observed the confused expressions on everyone''s faces. It was clear that they didn''t understand a single thing he said.


    "Remember the envoys we received a few weeks ago?" he asked.


    "Envoys? You mean the ones that said they were from Star something?" One of the Ministers asked. "If I''m not wrong, they wanted us to pledge loyalty to them and join their association as a member world? When we rejected them, they threatened consequences."


    "So the ones that are infiltrating the city are from Star Alliance? I thought the man was from the enemies that had taken over one of our cities. Are they from Star Alliance too?"


    "No. Those people have nothing to do with the Star Alliance. But the one who infiltrated the city certainly did. He isn''t just trying to kill us or take over the city. He''s trying to kill as many people as possible as if to show us our ce. If I''m not wrong, this city isn''t the only ce that''s being attacked," the King stated, letting out a sigh.


    "You mean¡­ All the cities...?" Shocked, all the ministers stood up. "So those bastards are really here to destroy us? Give me permission; I''ll wipe them off the face of this world!"


    "It doesn''t matter. The ones attacking the city should be a soldier of the Star Alliance. In any case, he shouldn''t be the highest authority. If we kill one, another one wille."


    "Then what shall we do?" The Minister asked, slightly worried. Was this an unending war? Were the enemies really that strong? Were they going to surrender?


    "We will destroy them; what else?" Deyis stated as he raised a Sword that was lying next to his throne.


    The sword was filled with energy that wasn''t from this world. A beautiful gem could also be seen embedded in this sword. It was none other than one of the seven fragments that Lucifer was looking for.


    "This Sword is something that we found in the past. And this Sword is what will help us," Deyis exined. "The Sword is already so strong that if we want, we can kill that intruder in a second. But even I''m not sure if this strength is enough to destroy the main enemies that haven''t shown themselves."


    "As soon as we kill the young man, that hidden enemy should show himself. That''s why, before that happens, I want to gain as much strength as possible."


    The King''s exnation was shocking, but it made some sense for a few people. Still, there was also something that didn''t make sense. How was the King gaining strength just by sitting here?


    As if Deyis was able to read through their expressions, he answered that question as well.


    "This sword from the world of humans is a godly sword of death. Even I didn''t know about this in the past, but with time, I found out what was so special about it. Want to know?" he asked.


    The Ministers all nodded. "What is it?"


    "This Sword gains strength from death," Deyis answered, shocking everyone who heard the statement. The Sword that gained strength from the dead?


    "The energy of death condenses in this sword. To be specific, it condenses in the gem that is attached to it. The Gem is what provides the Sword its strength," he further exined.


    "So that''s why we aren''t doing anything? To gain strength, we need to sacrifice our own people?"A Minister asked.


    "It''s a necessary sacrifice," Deyis answered. "We have no choice. We can either take action now and stop this destruction, only for the main enemy toter kill us first. Or we can sacrifice most of our poption to gain strength to face the main enemy. Their sacrifice won''t be in vain!"


    "If we fight now when we aren''t ready, we risk the entire world. But if we wait, we have more chances of sess. After we destroy the Star Alliance, I''m sure we can rebuild again. It''ll send a signal to all our enemies, ensuring the next thousand years of peace at least!"


    A decision to sacrifice millions of their own citizens for strength. That''s what Deyis had taken. There were definitely a few in the Royal Court who didn''t agree with this decision, but they could also see that it made sense. Moreover, it wasn''t as if they could even resist. Even if they tried, it was them who were going to be killed.


    In a situation like this, they couldn''t afford to doubt their own King. No matter what, they had to always stay by their side.


    "It''s a wise n, and the sacrifice is necessary. We have no choice. I agree with Your Majesty."


    "That''s right. There is no other option. We have no choice! If we want to save our world, we have to sacrifice some lives! But we''ll make sure to get revenge! We''ll kill all the enemies! We''ll take more from them than they took from us!"


    One after another, all the Ministers showed their support to their King and sat back in their seats.


    The King also ced the Sword on hisp, feeling the Sword getting stronger with time.


    Billions of lives on earth had to be sacrificed to make those stones. They were bathed in the energy of death through their creation, and it was the same even now. Even if the death was of a different species, it still made the stones stronger, which in turn made the sword stronger.


    The stones drew power from the dead, and the sword that was created by the Warlock Council drew the strength from those Swords.


    This sword was the secret weapon of the King of Summoned Beasts, who didn''t even consider Lucifer a threat. The main threat he considered was still back on the ship... The old man who was observing the scores of all the students.


    Deyis believed that all the people who were attacking his world were one of the strongest Warriors of the Star Alliance. Unfortunately, he didn''t even realize that their world was much less important for the Star Alliance.


    The Star Alliance didn''t even send their main forces to this world. If anything, they had sent students who were just here on an exam. If the Star Alliance had sent even one Captain to destroy this World, it would''ve been gone by now.


    The forces of Star Alliance were more powerful than anyone imagined¡­

 Chapter 960 960: Face to face

    <h4>Chapter 960 Chapter 960: Face to face</h4>


    It wasn''t just the old man back at the ship who was worried about the inaction of the King of the Beasts.


    Even Lucifer was slightly confused. By now, he was sure that he had caused more than enough destruction to attract the attention of the King of this world. Despite that, he wasn''t here?


    "What is he waiting for?" Even Lucifer wondered. He had already killed many people in this town. Let alone the King, he hadn''t seen even a single Royal Guard up to this point either.


    The only Royal Guards he saw were the ones who came to stop him before he began his onught.


    No matter how strange it was, he could only utilize the situation. In any case, it was only better for him if those people dyed more.


    The more he killed with his Decay, the stronger he got. Spending more time on this was better for him.


    Previously, he could only use decay by touching the opponent, but after Decay evolved, he was able to use it without even touching the person as long as they were in range. Not only could he take out his enemies this way, but with the evolution, he could also absorb a fraction of their strength which was much more than before.


    While Lucifer kept getting closer to the Royal Pce with each passing second, Amelia and Deon had gathered their families. Those two families were the only families that were left alive in that area.


    "This is so... Evil!" Deon''s family was horrified at the sight. The streets were covered in blood. Bodies were littered everywhere. "You said your friend was behind this? Just what kind of demon is he?"


    "Father, please don''t speak! We should be grateful that he is allowing us to leave this ce. I know it looks bad, but I''m sure he must have a reason. So don''t say something we will regret in case he heard!"


    Deon didn''t know where Lucifer actually was, but he was really worried. In case he was nearby and heard them, he could just as easily kill them in anger.


    "Moreover, the Royal Guards attacked him first. Who wouldn''t get angry? Let''s stop worrying about them and worry about our safety!"


    The Golden Rhino n reached the temporary mansion that was assigned to the Phoenix n. The Phoenix n was also ready for departure. They had already taken everything they wanted to take.


    For everyone present in this ce, this was all like a dream.


    Even Amelia''s mother couldn''t believe that the person who crashed her daughter''s engagement was now so strong that he could destroy the Royal Capital all alone.


    That man... Just what kind of power did he possess? Even she was scared and didn''t feel like she could even look in that man''s eyes.


    The two families met up. Both seemed worried and unsure. Even though Lucifer had told them that they were going to survive, they weren''t sure if that was truly the case.


    What if he changed his mindter on and killed them? Or what if the formation didn''t work? Or what if it only took one person with it? There were so many questions that they had no answer to.


    All they could do was wait...


    They didn''t have to wait long either. As soon as the Snow Wolf n reached earth, they immediately took help of people around them to ask for the people of the Uprising.


    Since the entire world was under Lucifer''s authority now, it wasn''t hard for them to find some help. They were taken to the nearest Uprising branch which was in a government building.


    ****


    A middle aged man was sitting in an office, going through some documents when he heard knocks on the door.


    "Come in."


    The door opened and a well dressed man entered the room. "Sir, there are some people here who im that they''ve been sent by Lord Lucifer. They im to be carrying his message that''s to be delivered to Lord Kellian."


    "Lord Kellian? Message from Lord Lucifer? Have you verified their identity? Who are these people?"


    "They don''t have any identification. They im they aren''t from this world and that they''ve been sent here by Lord Lucifer. I believe we should listen to them and convey that message. If it''s really important, we might be in trouble for dying," the young man suggested.


    The middle aged man also agreed. Even though he was also a member of Uprising that belonged to Lucifer, he was still at the bottom of thedder. Kellian was the top authority after Lucifer. He couldn''t afford to get on the wrong side of anyone.


    "Send them in. We''ll convey his message. If that group is being truthful, then good. But if they aren''t, then I''ll kill them with my own hands for trying to fool us."


    "Yes Sir." The young man left swiftly.


    Within ten minutes, he returned with a group of four. The four people looked simr to humans, but there was definitely some differences. It was clear from first nce that they weren''t entirely humans.


    "Are you Kellian?" Hun''s father asked the middle aged man.


    "I wish," the middle aged man signed. "What message do you have for them?"


    "I''m already, but I was told to deliver this message to Kellian. And in his absence, to someone named Szar. I can''t tell more to you."?Hun''s father already told most of the basic things regarding his origin and that he was sent here by Lucifer, but he didn''t tell the entire message.


    "Fine. I''ll connect to Lord Kellian," the middle aged man didn''t force him either. If these people were really close to Lucifer, he needed to be careful. He had seen just how strong Lucifer was. There was no one in this world who didn''t know about the Leader of the Uprising.


    He pressed a button on the phone that was ced on the table and ced it on the speaker.


    Ring~


    Ring~


    As the phone rang, no one in the room said anything.


    After some time, the phone was picked up.


    "Yes?"


    "Connect me to Lord Kellian. There is someone here who ims that he was sent by Lord Lucifer with a message for Lord Kellian."


    "Alright. I''m connecting you..." The operator didn''t waste much time either. Generally, not many people were allowed to contact Kellian who was at the absolute top of the hierarchy at the moment, but when it was about Lucifer, everything was allowed.


    ****


    Back in his room, Kellian was standing near the window, looking outside at the clear sky. Tristan and Szar were also in the room.


    "It''s been so long since he left. I wonder if he''s fine. I hope they haven''t done anything to him..." Kellian let out a deep sigh.


    "Don''t worry. You know our little boss. We all know how strong he is," Tristan responded. "I don''t believe anyone will be able to harm him. If anything, he should be having fun there. I''m sure he''ll be back soon. We can''t lose hope, can we?"


    Szar was also about to speak something but before he could, the phone started ringing.


    Kellian walked to the phone, putting it on speaker. "Whoever it is, tell them I''m busy. I''m not in the mood to talk to anyone right now."


    "Sir, I''m afraid I must tell you the reason first. It''s rted to Lord Lucifer," the operator answered before listening to Kellian''smand. He was sure that after knowing who it was about, there was no way Kellian was going to do the same thing.


    "About Lucifer? What do you mean?"


    Tristan and Szar were both immediately interested as well.


    "One of our members from Syin city called us. He told us that there are some people who im to be from the Snow Wolf n. They say they were sent to this world by Lord Lucifer and that they have a message for you from him. They are asking for permission to connect," the operator exined what he had heard.


    "The Snow Wolf n?!" Szar eximed, remembering when was thest time he heard that name. "Don''t tell me Lucifer is in the World of Summons already?"


    "Put them through," Kellian instructed the operator.


    As soon as the call was through, Kellian didn''t even wait for the other side to speak anything. He directly asked for the message since he believed these people weren''t lying.


    "Before that, can I ask what all your names are?" Szar stepped forward with a question of his own.


    The entire snow wolf n identified themselves. Hearing those names, Szar was finally convinced that these people were the same.


    "Hun, Yui. I should say wee to our world. Don''t worry, we''re sending someone to bring you to us. Last time you took care of us in your homes. This time, it''s our turn."


    "Who is it?" Hun asked.


    "I''m Szar. Don''t tell me you forgot me. Anyway, before we talk about the past, hurry and tell us the message! What did Lucifer say? Is he really in your World at the moment?"

 Chapter 961 961: The Final Strike

    ?


    Hun''s father delivered the message, word to word. He didn''t leave anything behind.


    "Is that all he said?" Ken asked. There were only two things that were conveyed in the message. First was that he was safe, and there was nothing to worry about. And the second thing was to ask his mother to summon Amelia as soon as possible.


    In the message, it still wasn''t clear if and when Lucifer was going to return.


    "That''s all he said to us," Hun''s father confirmed. Now that he had delivered the message, he could finally rx."


    "Alright. Just stay where you are. We''ll bring you to us soon."


    Kellian disconnected the call before leaving his office. Now that he had Lucifer''s message, he wanted to deliver it personally to his parents.


    Ever since Lucifer was taken away by the Star Alliance, he had to lie to Lucifer''s parents about their son''s whereabouts. He didn''t even know previously if Lucifer was actually safe or not. However, now that he knew, he could handle the situation much better.


    ****


    After three more hours, Lucifer finally managed to bring the entire town to ruins. Not a single structure was left standing... None except two: the house where Amelia and Deon''s family were waiting for the Portal and the Royal Pce.


    "Hmm? It seems the message reached her. That was fast..."


    Just as Lucifer was about to attack, he sensed some Spatial disturbance in his surroundings. He could feel that it wasing from the mansion where Amelia was present.


    It was clear what this Spatial disturbance was.


    A beautiful Summoning Circle appeared in the hall in the middle of the room. The Summoning Circle was quite big in itself, but I was still smaller than the Summoning Circle that Lucifer had managed to make.


    Once the circle appeared around Amelia, the others also stepped on that Summoning Circle just as they were instructed.


    Before long, everyone in the room disappeared, leaving nothing behind.


    Finally, the town waspletely vacant of anyone that Lucifer wanted to save. He could focus on what was ahead, which was a beautiful castle.


    The Royal Castle before him was a beautiful castle, at least by the standard of this World. All the entrances of the castle were made in big sizes so that Beasts of all sizes could enter when the King demanded an audience with them.


    There were no buildings near the Royal Castle since no one was allowed to make one nearby. There was only a beautiful garden surrounding the Royal Pce, covered in blue grass that shone under the moonlight.


    "Let''s see how long you can hide," Lucifer raised his right hand. So far, he had avoided attacking the Royal Castle. Even as his lightning bolts wrecked through the entire city, not a single onended on the Royal Castle.


    Unfortunately, now that Lucifer was free, he could ce his entire focus on the castle ahead. Thousands of ck lightning bolts fell from the sky, having only one aim... The Royal Pce.


    Inside the Castle, the King of Beasts was still sitting on the throne with his eyes closed. However, he suddenly opened his eyes, holding the hilt of a mysterious sword.


    "It''s time."


    Lucifer expected the castle to be destroyed or at least a barrier to be used that could protect it. That''s why he used such a powerful attack. Strangely enough, none of that was the case.


    No Barrier was used, and the castle wasn''t destroyed either... At least not because of his attacks.


    As the lightning fell from the sky, the roof of the castle broke as if another attack hit it first before his attack. Lucifer watched a dark red beam of energy fly straight above as if it was a dragon made of the most destructive energy in the world.


    The dark red dragon shed with the ck lightning in the sky. Strangely enough, it not only destroyed all the lightning bolts, but it did so while remainingpletely intact itself.


    Seeing the powerful attack, even Lucifer was slightly surprised. It wasn''t an understatement if he were to say that it was the most powerful attack he had seen in his entire life.


    He could also feel that something was really familiar about that destructive energy.


    "The strength of death?" he frowned. He hadn''t fought the King of Beasts before, so he didn''t know everything about the guy, but he was sure of one thing. This attack, it definitely wasn''t his own attack. There was no doubt in his head that the King of Beasts took external help.


    Not long after that attack, a figure flew out of the Castle through the opening in the roof that was created by that attack.


    The middle-aged man stopped in the air, looking at Lucifer. Right behind him, his Ministers also came out, but for some reason, they didn''t join the battle; instead, they moved back, as if they were told to just be spectators and nothing more than that.


    Noticing Lucifer looking at his ministers in confusion, the King of Beasts spoke, "Don''t worry. They don''t interfere in our battle today. It''s between me and you. No matter which of us is losing, my men won''t interfere. Even if you kill me, they won''t do anything. That is if you''re capable of killing me in the first ce."


    "That sword," Lucifer felt the same energy that he felt in the attacking from the Sword in the Beast King''s hands.


    "You mean this?" The King of Beast raised his sword, showing the sharp de of the sword. "This is what I''ll use to write your death sentence today. Your blood shall be the ink that it needs!"


    "That Sword..." As soon as the King of Beasts turned that Sword around, Lucifer noticed the beautiful gem that was attached to that Sword. Wasn''t this exactly what he was looking for? Thest of the seven stones that were needed to open the portal?"


    Now he finally understood why that attack felt Familiar! It was using the energy of the gem. Moreover, this Sword was made by the Warlock Council to use the powers of that gem in battle. Even they didn''t know that something like this was going to fall into the hands of someone else so soon.


    "No wonder you''re so confident." It was finally clear for Lucifer why this guy didn''te out to fight before. He knew the history of these gems and how they were made.


    "You let your own people be killed for strength?"


    "You killed them. I didn''t. I just let you do as you pleased. I am not to me in the slightest! If there is someone who is a killer, it''s you!"


    "I definitely won''t deny that," Lucifer responded. It wasn''t as if he didn''t consider himself a killer. He was very self-aware of all that he was doing.


    "Now that I have this Sword and it''s gained enough strength, not only can I kill you, but I can also kill all your friends! I can also destroy the people above! I''ll destroy all your arrogance by sending you all straight to hell, all thanks to this sword!"


    "What Sword?" Lucifer asked, tilting his head to the side as if he was confused.


    "This!" The middle-aged King raised his right hand, only to feel a terrible pain that even made his face go pale.


    "My hand!" He roared, realizing that his hand fell off as soon as he raised it! Moreover, there was no Sword in his hand anymore!


    Just how was it possible? How did the man before him take the sword without him even finding out about it? And cutting his hands without even moving? His body had an extremely high defense. Even an attack like wind des couldn''t even scratch him even if he didn''t use any Barriers!


    He was sure that he could even survive the assault of ck lightning with his physical defense alone. Then how? How was this guy able to cut his hand? And where did the sword disappear?


    Let alone the King, even the ministers who were watching in the back were stunned. They were watching everything from the beginning, and even they didn''t understand what had just happened.


    "I-is this the strength of an ordinary warrior that the Star Alliance sent? If one of them is this strong, then what about others that are attacking our world? And what about the ones who stayed above, thinking it wasn''t worth them appearing themselves?"


    "This Star Alliance... Just what is it?"


    The ministers were horrified. After seeing the start of the battle, they had already lost hope of victory. Their King had lost his precious treasure, for which he let millions of lives be sacrificed!


    Not only that, but even his defense failed him. If he couldn''t face the enemies, how could they? They were much weaker, after all.


    With one of his actions, Lucifer had managed to cast fear in all the ministers'' hearts.

 Chapter 962 962: Accumulation

    Chapter 962962: umtion


    Fear... It was a strange feeling that the Beasts of the Royal n rarely experienced. They were the strongest beings of this world and they could do anything they wanted.


    There was no one who could stand up to them or make them feel fear. However fear was what they felt now... A fear like never before.They didn''t even feel this kind of fear when their King got angry at them.


    Such fear made a chill run down their spines and made them tremble. The enemy who wanted to kill them had already taken the weapon that their King wanted to rely on. Along with the weapon, the man also took one of his hands.


    At this point, it was already very evident that they had no chance. They couldn''t win, even if they wanted to.


    "Yo-" the King of Beasts couldn''t believe that all his preparation went down the train. He was furious.


    He lowered his head, looking at his other hands. It was the first time in his life that he saw his hand tremble. What was this? Fear? He had never experienced this feeling. There was a person who could make him feel fear? How?!


    Realizing that he was also experiencing fear, the King of Beasts was even more angry. Anger clouded his judgment as he rushed ahead to kill Lucifer without thinking anything.


    "It''s easy to kill people in arge area with lightning, but when ites to you, it''s even easier," Lucifer disappeared right as the King of Beasts reached near him. Within the next second, he appeared behind the King of beasts.


    His hand was surrounded by a dark Spatial energy that could slice through even the hardest of defenses like it was nothing. Space was supreme.


    "Argh!" The King of Beasts roared in pain as Lucifer''s hand prated through his hard skin.


    Lucifer grabbed the heart of the King of Beasts and pulled it right out before appearing in front of the man.


    The King of Beasts was pale, looking at the hole in his chest and his heart in Lucifer''s hands.


    Right before his eyes, he watched Lucifer crush that heart. The King of Beasts felt his body getting weaker as his vision became darker. He had expected so many oues of this battle, but this was not one of them.


    He wondered if this could even be called a battle? He was killed before he could even fight back. No, this wasn''t a battle! He finally realized... This was a massacre.


    His lifeless body fell down, crashing on the ground.


    Seeing their King be killed, the other Supreme Beasts understood next was their number. They didn''t want to die! They didn''t do anything! They knew they had to find a way out!


    "My Lord, please have mercy! If you let us live, we promise to be your ves! You will be our only master and we can do everything you need us to do! You can be our King!" The Ministers stated.


    Fear of Lucifer was clearly visible in their eyes.


    "You want to work for me?" This proposal wasn''t bad in the least. Lucifer knew that these people were strong. If he didn''t have his spatial edge, even he would''ve had a hard time killing them. Their defense and their attack was just in a different league altogether!


    He knew that they could definitely help him in battles. In any case, he had already killed so many people. He had a feeling that his score was now in the safe zone. It wasn''t going to matter if he let a few people live.


    In any case, he knew he was destined to walk a different path than the Star Alliance. Was there really a need to sacrifice such great warriors for the Star Alliance when he could use them in the future?


    "Fine. I''ll let you live but you must ept a ve Summoner Contract!"


    He didn''t want to establish the same contract that he did with Hun''s father. Instead, he went for something much harsher.


    In an ordinary Summoner Contract, even if the Master died, the summon could live. However, with the Summoner ve Contract, the life of beasts depended on the master. In case he died, they were going to die as well.


    This kind of contract ensured that he got the best of deals. In case his life was in danger, there was no way these beasts could run since their lives were attached to his life.


    If the King of Beasts had the same contract with them, he was sure that these beasts couldn''t have afforded to stay back and watch. They would''ve fought him as well as that was better than inevitable death once their master was killed.


    The Supreme Beasts had no choice but to agree. They couldn''t resist since the oue was death if they resisted.


    One after another, Lucifer established a contract with all the Supreme Beasts before telling them about the earth and how they had to behave once he sent them there.


    After teaching them everything, he sent them back to earth, just like he sent the Snow Wolf n.


    After sending them back to earth, Lucifer finally could rest. The city waspletely destroyed. There was no one left here. He had done his part.


    "I wonder how the others are doing. My score should be at the top, but I can''t be too sure. Raayi and Ron are very powerful as well. They should be quite close to my score if not already above me."


    He brought a bottle of water out of his shadow storage and drank some water while resting. He didn''t have much time to rest with all this war. He was already quite hungry. Fortunately, he had already prepared food beforeing here.


    Sitting on the rubble, he started eating. After so long, he could finally rx. He finally had all seven stones that he needed! As soon as he brought them out, he was sure that those stones were going to synergize and open the portal again.


    He wanted to do that right away, but couldn''t. The Star Alliance hated the person he wanted to find and their ship was already keeping a watch on this world.


    He knew he couldn''t do much here. He did take one good step in all this. When he was sending all those Supreme Beasts back to earth, he didn''t forget to send one more person with them.


    He was keeping Gabriel in his Shadow Realm whom he had found sealed in the ancient temple. Since Gabriel was so strong, the shadow realm could be destroyed if he made even the slightest movement inside.


    Gabriel had to sit like a statue all this time to keep the shadow realm stable. However, now with all this destruction, Lucifer finally found an opportunity to bring him out and send him to a safe ce.


    He sent Gabriel back to earth with the Supreme Beings, giving him slightly different instructions. He told Gabriel to give a message to Kellian as well, and to wait for him since he was going toe take him when he received his ship and promotion.


    Gabriel didn''t oppose either. Just meeting more people and being free was already fun enough for him. Moreover, he had already waited for centuries. He was quite patient.


    After Lucifer sent Gabriel back, he had finally taken care of everything. This was the day he almost aplished all he set out to do. He had all the stones and he was almost at the edge of that promotion.


    There was only one thing left to do now... Kill the Baltics and clear all the evidence of him being involved in their destruction. The Star Alliance didn''t know that some of the Baltics were still alive who had seen the person that destroyed them. He couldn''t afford to let them live.


    Fortunately, he already knew where those people were hiding. They had taken over an entire city. He could kill them without raising much suspicions since the task at hand was no different than destroying cities before this world''s inevitable destruction.


    After eating to his heart''s content, he stood up and prepared to leave the Royal City.


    ****


    Just like Lucifer, Raayi had already destroyed the first City that was assigned to her. The only problem was that the poption of that city was slightly lower than the Royal City. Because of that, her score was already lower than Lucifer.


    Despite that, she didn''t seem worried since she didn''t even believe that Lucifer could''ve killed more than her in this time.


    Raayi left the city, leaving behind a city that was covered entirely in use. The city waspletely frozen, and so were the people inside.


    In another part of the world, Ron had destroyed one of the cities as well. Scorching marks left behind thanks to his lightning were visible everywhere.


    Ron was quite disappointed that he couldn''t find any powerful opponent to keep him entertained in the city. He was hopeful for the next city though.


    ****************


    (Author Note: Please read new chapters at least an hour of release, so some small problems in chapters could be solved before you read that are usually left behind.)

 Chapter 963 963: Finished

    <h4>Chapter 963 Chapter 963: Finished</h4>


    The top three in the Trials moved over to the next cities on their list. Meanwhile, the rest were still struggling against their first city Itself.


    Even though they were given slightly easier cities with less concentrated forces, it still wasn''t as easy to destroy an entire city as Lucifer, and the others made it look like.


    In the fourth ce, ording to the leaderboard, was Malin, who was on Lucifer''s team before. As for the fifth and sixth, they were taken by Ron and Raayi''s team members.


    The rankings were seeing a lot of turmoil on the lower side. However, on the higher side, the scores more or less looked settled for now.


    Lucifer left the Royal Beast City and advanced to the next city on his list. It was the city where he met Hun and the other High Beasts. But for now, he only wanted to destroy that city and kill the Baltics, who were taking over the city in the process.


    ****


    Even though there was another city closest to the Royal City, Lucifer didn''t stop there for now. He only had one Target for now.


    Still, he also couldn''t afford to let his scores fall just because he wanted to kill three people. The city he wanted to go to only had three people, after all. An addition of three to his score was nothingpared to the time he had to waste.


    That''s where an old trick came into y. It was a trick used by Kellian in the past when he was needed at two ces at once. Kellian had created temporary clones of himself to go on a spying mission while he himself stayed behind.


    Thanks to some lucky circumstances, Lucifer received the Shadow Abilities of Kellian, which allowed him to do something like this.


    Lucifer created a temporary clone of himself and sent him to destroy the other cities to keep his score up. He didn''t worry about the risks at all since he was sure that one clone was enough. If there were any problems, that clone could even summon the Supreme Beasts to help.


    That allowed him an opportunity to focus on the main enemy without having to worry about the score at all.


    ****


    "It''s been so long. Didn''t you say that the so-called King of yours was going to get us back?"


    In the mansion that previously belonged to the Snow Wolf n, three people were sitting around a round table.


    One of the three was Jian Asade, who used to be the head of the Warlock Council. He was trapped in this world by Lucifer, along with the two Baltics as well.


    "You don''t have to teach us what we said! We know all too well!" A youngdy sharply responded.


    She was known as Licia, the strongest out of the four generals of the Baltics Race.


    "Calm down. It''s not the time to fight," the third person on the table chimed in. He was the second general of the Baltics Race.


    Lucifer had already killed the other two out of the four, only sending these two here to save some time.


    "Something must''ve gone wrong on the other side. I''m sure His Majesty would''ve brought us back by now. Since he hasn''t, that can only mean-"


    "That he abandoned you?" Jian finished Licia''s sentence.


    "He would never!" Licia smacked her hand on the table in anger as she stood up. "He can never abadon us."


    "What Licia was trying to say was that he might be dead," Mn spoke. "If he hasn''t called, I don''t see any other reason other than that he might be dead."


    "You mean Lucifer killed your King? Don''t tell me your King was so weak!"


    "Shut up! One more word out of you about our King, and I''ll y you right here!"


    Licia could ept anything, but she couldn''t ept someone talking bad about their King, who Sacrificed so much for their people.


    "Jian, I would appreciate it if you don''t try to anger us. Choose your words wisely. If there is someone who is strong enough to kill our Majesty, then that person will be strong enough to kill Tens of you at once!" Even Mn couldn''t take the insult of his King.


    "There is no way that someone like Lucifer, who couldn''t even face us properly, managed to kill our Majesty. I think it has more to do with the destroyer who killed our homes. Maybe he sensed the freedom of His Majesty and came himself."


    "Only he has the strength to do something like that. And since His Majesty was all alone in our absence, maybe he was killed?"


    Mn was the wisest of them all here when it came to long term nning, but even he hadn''t realized just how wrong he was. He was taking credit away from the person who actually deserved it, once again underestimating Lucifer.


    Then again, it wasn''t shocking. When Lucifer faced them, he was indeed weak and couldn''t defeat them. He had to seal them here. They couldn''t believe that someone who couldn''t even defeat them was capable of killing their King.


    "It doesn''t matter who killed who. What matters is how we get out of this ce. I want to go back to earth! We need to find a way!"


    Unlike the Baltics, who revered their King, Jian was more interested in being able to go back. They''ve been here for a long time and still had no idea on how to get back to earth.


    There wasn''t any technology in this world for being able to create a ship. And even if they could, they didn''t know where Earth actually was.


    "You can control space, right? Can''t you find a way to create a portal back to earth?" he asked Licia.


    "I can only manipte the space around me to control my surroundings. It is to kill enemies and no more. The effects are limited to this world. I can''t create any portal." Licia rolled her eyes. "It won''t be as easy to find a way back. I wonder if it''s even possible or not."


    "I see. You''re useless then," Joan sighed in disappointment. "I really made a mistake at that time by siding with you. If I had stayed with Lucifer, I wouldn''t be trapped in this Hellhole. I could''ve even killed himter when I had an opportunity and retrieved the Sword that the Ancient Soul is after."


    "But now, not only did that soul abandon me, making me lose most of my skills because I couldn''t go back to earth to help it, but I also have to live in this Hellhole for who knows how long!"


    Jiang was so angry, but not at the Baltics. He was angry at himself for being so impatient. Throughout his life, he had been so careful that he didn''t even let anyone know that he was the true leader of the Warlock Council, hiding in the shadows.


    For someone like him to get so impatient at such a crucial time to make a mistake like that...? He wanted to curse himself out loud. He knew that if he had been more careful, he could''ve had everything!


    "You... Hmm?" Lucia was about to say something, but she stopped in the middle as she looked back.


    "What happened?" Seeing such a strange reaction from Licia, even Mn was quite surprised.


    "I covered this city in my space domain before. I''m sensing that someone entered my Domain," Licia answered.


    "Just be some stray beast. I''ll go take care of him." Mn stood up. This city was off-limits to the people of this world, and they usually killed whoever entered, even if it was by ident.


    "No, you can''t go alone. This presence... It''s familiar! It''s none other than him!" Licia also stood up.


    "Him? What do you mean by him? Who?"


    "Lucifer! That kid dared toe here and barge inside this city!"


    Hearing the news, Jian also stood up, excited. "He really did? If he came back, then he must have a way to go out as well! We can finally leave this hell! It looks like gods are with us!"


    "We must capture him alive! Don''t you dare to kill him! We need him to bring us back! You understand?!" he warned the two Baltics before leaving the mansion.


    Even though Lucifer was an enemy that he wanted to kill, for now, leaving this ce was more important. As for killing Lucifer, they could do it back on earth as well.


    "She was right... It''s actually him..." Jian saw a familiar person flying in his direction from a distance.


    There was no doubt about it! It was the same silver-haired boy that he hated the most! It was Lucifer!


    Seeing Lucifer after so long, Jian licked his lips in excitement.


    Licia and Mn also came out, looking at Lucifer in the distance.


    "This kid is really brazen. He actually came here and all alone. Why would hee here though?" Mn wondered.

 Chapter 964 964: Devour

    <h4>Chapter 964 Chapter 964: Devour</h4>


    Mn was happy to see Lucifer here since he was their ticket out of this damned ce, but it didn''t make sense why he woulde here, despite knowing that they were here as well. Unless he was intentionally looking for them? But why would that be?


    He was their enemy after all.


    "Oh? You''re all waiting for me already?" Even Lucifer was slightly surprised to see all three of them waiting for him as if they were expecting him.


    "I support that spatial disturbance I felt when I entered the city was what alerted you?" Lucifer asked,nding on the ground not too far from the others.


    "Of all the people, you were thest person I expected to see here," Licia eximed. "Don''t tell me you came here to take us back?"


    "Take you back? Are you even worthy of going back to earth?" Lucifer also asked in response. These people had almost destroyed the earth. He didn''t believe that they deserved to even live, let alone live on earth.


    "You came here to kill us and finish your pending job," Mn stated, taking a guess. It didn''t look like a coincidence that Lucifer was here. If he wasn''t here to take them back, that meant only one thing. He was here to kill.


    "Kill us? The kid who had to trap us here because he wasn''t even strong enough to fight us?" Licia rolled her eyes. "Don''t make meugh. This kid''s arrogance knows no bounds, it seems."


    "Both of you, stay silent!" Unlike the others, Jian was more eager to go back, even if it meant siding with Lucifer now. After a long time, he had a chance to go back. He wasn''t going to miss it.


    "Lucifer, after being trapped here for so long, we''ve all realized our mistakes. We were wrong. Please take us back to earth. I promise that we will behave properly. If we don''t, you can send us back here!"


    Even though this world was home to many, but for the people who lived on earth, which was filled with modern technology and convenience of life, this world was no different than medieval prison.


    "Just imagine what you can achieve when you use our strengthsbined!" He further stated, trying to convince Lucifer.


    "I told you before; I''m not here to take any of you back. None of you deserve to live on earth.?I''m here to kill you. And you''re right. I can do a lot of things with our strengthsbined. That''s another reason I''m here... To take your strength!"


    "So you won''t listen to us?" Jian asked onest time. He wanted to solve things peacefully, but that didn''t seem to be working.


    Lucifer didn''t respond. Instead, he looked at his surroundings. He could feel that the spatialws here were different. It was like a world of its own. This was quite simr to what he felt when he fought Licia for the first time.


    This was something simr to her Domain. This kind of strength was something that even he wanted. This was simr to his Spatial Maniption, but it was arger range skill. He believed that if he could get that skill andbine it with his other skills, he could create a really nice skill.


    With what he had to go through in the future, it was quite necessary for him to get stronger. He hadn''t absorbed anyone''s abilities since he left earth. Finally, he felt like home again.


    "You really think you''re invincible, don''t you?" Jian asked, letting out a deep sigh. He took a few steps back. "I was hoping to solve this peacefully, but if you don''t want to, then so be it."


    "It doesn''t matter if you agree or not. We''ll be going back to earth, and we''ll be using you for that! If you don''t help us, we''ll just have to force you to do it after we break a few of your bones." Mn stepped forward as well.


    They were all ready for a battle, and they even expected to win this battle based on Lucifer''s strength that they had previously seen.


    The three enemies spread out, surrounding Lucifer.


    "Last time you escaped death, but you won''t this time," Licia stated as her control around her domain strengthened.


    Even with all these threats, Lucifer didn''t look concerned. They were measuring him with his past strength, not realizing that he had gotten a lot stronger since thest time they saw him.


    "This should be easy," he muttered.


    ****


    Around thirty minutester, the sound of battle stopped entirely. Licia''s Domain was broken, and she was lying under Lucifer''s foot.


    Mn''s lifeless body was already lying in the distance. As for Jian, who was said to be impossible to kill since he coulde back to life, even that person was defeated. Only ashes were left behind.


    Previously when decay was weaker, it could only destroy the body and not the soul... At least not entirely. However, now that he had evolved this ability, it was much better at destroying the person entirely, including their soul.


    Before the evolved decay, even Jian''s ability was nothing, as he realized soon after the battle began. He felt like a hopeless prey for a predator who wanted to devour him whole.


    The only person alive was Licia, and even she wasn''t doing good.


    "It took some time to break your domain. That''s a really troublesome ability you have there, you know? But the more troublesome it was, the more useful it''ll be. So let me have it..."


    "You... How are you this strong?" Licia asked weakly. Even her vision was blurry and her face pale. She couldn''t even move her body.


    She still remembered how weak Lucifer was in the past. Just how was he this strong now? This didn''t make sense. How could he grow so much in such a short time?


    "You should thank your king for that. If not for him, I wouldn''t be this strong," Lucifer answered. "He also left quite a few good abilities behind for me to absorb after I killed him and all the other Baltics that he freed. It was like a proper feast. That man really did some good work. If not for him, I would''ve still been weaker."


    "You... So you killed him...?" Licia could never believe this. A kid who wasn''t even thirty years old killed her King? Just what kind of nonsense was it?


    Unfortunately for her, Lucifer didn''t care if she believed him or not. He killed her and from her Domain Ability as well, leaving behind a silent City that had seen a battle like never before.


    Just to kill three people, Lucifer came here personally. But now that he was done, he could go back and continue the task at hand.


    ****


    Time passed slowly as the youngsters kept increasing their scores before the time of the Trial was finally up.


    All ten finalists were called back to the ship. Most of them looked quite rugged and tired. Since they didn''t want to lose, they didn''t even rest properly and just kept increasing their score since each point mattered for their future.


    Even if they couldn''t win, just their rank alone was going to be a criteria that could help them a lot in the future.


    Out of all of them, only three people looked as if they hadn''t done anything and weren''t tired. Since Lucifer could absorb energy from his surroundings through decay, he didn''t need much rest. His clothes were still spotless and clean.


    Raayi and Ron were also in a much better condition than the others.


    All ten participants were curious to see just who won the trials. It was clear that it was one of the top three, but which of them?


    "I know you''re all curious about your scores, but first, we still need to finish the mission," the old man calmed down the youngsters who were waiting for the revtion of their scores by shifting their attention to the world before the.


    "Now that the trial is finished, there''s no need to keep this World around anymore. Let it be an example for anyone who dares to go against the Star Alliance!"


    On the old man''smand, their ship attacked. A powerful beam of light shot out, hitting the core of the world of summons.


    It was the first time that Lucifer had seen a world being destroyed. The strength of Star Alliance was just too much. If they wanted, they could''ve easily destroyed the earth as well.


    Seeing the destruction of the world, Lucifer realized that he needed to be more careful from now on. He had to find a way to protect earth before the Star Alliance became his enemy!


    ****


    After destroying the World thoroughly and making sure that no one was left alive, the ship turned around and started going back.


    The old man also gathered all the youngsters to tell them the score. Finally, it was time.

 Chapter 965 965: Promotion

    <h4>Chapter 965 Chapter 965: Promotion</h4>


    All the participants had finished the task they were assigned, no matter how hard it was. Fortunately, throughout all this, Lucifer had managed to save the people he really wanted to save.


    In this way, he also got some good servants from the World of Summons, along with thest piece of stone that he needed. Now he had all the pieces of the puzzle.


    The only thing that was left now was that promotion that could give him the freedom that he needed to handle his matters himself, without much interference from the Star Alliance.


    Even though he was confident that his score was better than others, he couldn''t be a hundred percent sure of it. He still wanted to hear the final results from the old man.


    The Ship was on the way back to the Star Alliance headquarters. Usually, they needed to go back to the world of Trials and wait to have themselves be picked up by their respective sides, but the old man had a different idea.


    He knew that if he went with the usual method, Mander''s family was definitely going to create some trouble for Lucifer. That''s why he decided to take a different path and take Lucifer back to the Star Alliance Headquarters instead.


    That was the world where all the Higher Ups lived, including the Queen herself. If there was one ce where even a General wasn''t going to be so brazen, it was the Star Alliance headquarters, as there was a power bnce there.


    "Finally, all the trialse to an end, and we finally have the end results before us. I''ll be announcing them now!" The old man said, taking a seat.


    "I won''t tell you your individual scores in thisst trial. I''ll only be telling you your final ranking, which is created taking your initially assigned points and your performance in the trials."


    "Rank 51: Oli."


    "Rank 50..."


    "Rank 13, Malin."


    The old man went through the ranking from the lowest to the highest.


    Seeing Malin''s rank, quite a few were surprised. Most of them were jealous of her luck.


    "That girl was lucky. She just got assigned to Lucifer''s team!"


    "Thanks to him, she could reach so far and even got such a good rank despite being ranked fiftieth. I am so jealous of her!"


    Most of the jealousy came from the ones who were ranked lower than her in final results, despite being near the top at the start.


    "Rank 10: Riya."


    The tenth ranker surprised Lucifer the most. That girl was also his teammate and was more into tech enhancement. Seeing her get such a good result, he was quite impressed, especially since she had an even better ranking than Malin.


    "Fifth is Mander!" The old man dered.


    "How could it be? Isn''t he dead? How did he get fifth rank?" One of the youngsters asked.


    "Being dead doesn''t erase one''s scores. Mander was near the top before this final round. Even though he didn''t get any score in the final round, his points that he gathered before were enough to have him ranked fifth," the old man exined.


    ...


    The old man continued with the ranking.


    Finally, it was the turn of the top three, and that''s what most were waiting for, especially since they wanted to know how the three seeds performed and which of them got the top rank.


    "Rank third is Raayi," the old man stated, shocking almost everyone in the hall.


    "What? Nonsense!" Even Raayi couldn''t believe it. She was ranked first in overall score before this final round. How could she be third now??Did Lucifer and Ron score above her in the final round? Even then, this was too much!


    "I killed so many people! There is no way that these two killed more than me!" She eximed.


    Even the others found it hard to believe. Even though Lucifer and Ron were strong, that was the case in one-on-one battles. Thisst trial was aboutrge-scale destruction, which was the expertise of Raayi!


    The old man didn''t like being questioned, but he couldn''t stay silent either, especially since there was nothing wrong with the numbers.


    "Even though I said I won''t be telling anyone''s scores in the final round, I''ll make an exception and tell yours. Raayi, you killed four million people. The second ranker killed five million, and the first ranker killed twelve million."


    "Is that enough?" The old man asked after telling the shocking score.


    "Five million and twelve million? How is that possible? No, it can''t be! How can they kill that many!" Raayi still found it hard to believe.


    This was just too much.


    Even Ron was quite surprised. This much information was enough to make him understand everything. He was sure he killed somewhere around five million people. That meant the twelve million...


    He couldn''t help but nce at Lucifer. Just what kind of person was he? Even if theybined his and Raayi''s score, they still killed less people than Lucifer. This was quite surprising for him.


    "You can believe it or not. That doesn''t change the oue. Just don''t disturb us anymore," the old manzily stated.


    "Second rank goes to..."


    "Me." Before the old man could even take a name, Ron stepped forward. After realizing Lucifer''s score in the final round, he was sure that he was ranked second in the final rankings.


    "Correct. I suppose you guessed that much from the score revtion?" The old man asked, amused at how perceptive Ron was. Ron just looked and acted like a brute warrior, but in reality, he was quite clever as well.


    "And the first rank belongs to Lucifer. He is the winner of this Year''s Captainship Trial," the old man dered.


    Finally, after hearing that from the old man himself, Lucifer could sigh in relief. He finally did it! He had received that rank upgrade that he was after.


    He wasn''t sure if he could get to the rank of General or not, but for now, the Captain Rank was enough.


    "Lucifer, you stay behind. The others can leave." The old man sent everyone else back.


    Even as the youngsters left, there were some jealous gazes with which they looked at Lucifer. This kid was just promoted.


    More than the jealous gazes, there were some worshiping gazes. A lot of the youngsters here were impressed by Lucifer''s strength. They believed that it was a well-deserved victory and that Lucifer could achieve great heights in the future.


    After everyone else left, only Lucifer was left behind with the old man and the staff of the ship.


    "Once wend in the headquarters, I''ll personally take you to Her Majesty and tell her these results. Our people will take care of all the documentation for the promotion.?Within one day of all the process being finished, you''ll be shown the Ship that you''ll be taking themand of," the old man exined the basics about what was going to happen next.


    "What about the crew? Will I be provided that, or do I have to select them myself?" Lucifer asked.


    If possible, he wanted to be the one to select his crew himself. That way, he could get a few people from the earth that had been with him for a long time, like Szar and Kellian.


    He also didn''t want to rely too much on the people of Star Alliance since their loyalty was more to the Star Alliance and less to him.


    If the Star Alliance selected them, they could easily send some spies on his ship to keep an eye on him.


    "As for your crew, you will have to select them on your own. The Alliance will give you a list of new recruits and suitable candidates. You can select from them. If you don''t like them, you can select them on your own. As a captain, you will have the authority."


    "The only thing is that whoever you select, they''ll have to go through a one month mandatory training about how to handle the ship. That is if they weren''t Star Alliance Members."


    "Any other doubts?"


    The answers made Lucifer quite happy. This meant that he didn''t have to worry about spies. Since he controlled everything, he could definitely select his friends who were loyal to him. And the one month technical training, that much was nothing.


    "Not for now," he told the old man. "No question."


    "Good. You can go and rest as well. You''ve worked hard. I''ll send someone to inform you when we reach near the base." The old man stood up and turned his attention back to the screen.


    Lucifer turned and left. So far, everything had gone ording to the n. He had managed to protect people, send Gabriel away, and now he was promoted.


    So far, things were moving smoothly.


    He went back to his room and dropped to his bed. His score was the highest, but that was also because he hadn''t rested even a little. Throughout the days, he hadn''t slept and kept on using his lightning nonstop.


    So much use of his abilities did make this stronger though.

 Chapter 966: Before the Queen

    966 Chapter 966: Before the Queen


    Throughout his time on the Ship, Lucifer didn''t leave his room. He just remained in his room, resting and trying to understand the new ability he had received from Licia.


    The Space Domain skill was very powerful. If it was by earth''s standards, he was sure it would''ve been considered an S Tier ability. He wanted to merge this ability with his Spatial Control to make both of them more powerful.


    The two skillsplement each other so well. Throughout his time inside the room, he kept trying to perfect his control of his new skill enough so he could use both of them simultaneously.


    Lucifer only stopped his practice to eat and drink. Other than that, he didn''t even stop.


    He had killed Mander and was now the enemy of the Rasin n. Even though he was sure that the Rasin n wasn''t going to kill him before the Queen so openly, but still he didn''t want to rely on others. He wanted to protect himself with his own hands, even if it was against a General.


    Even though the ship moved at a speed that should''ve been considered impossible by earth''s standards, on the inside, it felt as if the ship wasn''t even moving at all.


    asionally, the old man came to Lucifer''s room to see if he was doing fine, but he didn''t spend much time there.


    Presently, the old man once again came to Lucifer''s room, but this time, he came to inform Lucifer that they were going tond soon. They were already at their destination.


    "Right about time." Hearing the announcement, Lucifer stretched his arms. He had been training so much that his body was starting to feelzy. He wanted to go out so bad.


    Fortunately, he had already mastered both his abilities in the meantime. He wasn''t sure if he could defeat a General now or not, but he was confident that even if he couldn''t defeat them, he could at least fight on an equal field and ensure his own safety.


    After a few hours, the ship finallynded. All the participants were allowed to leave the ship, where vehicles were already waiting for them to take them back to their factions.


    The old man who handled the Trials was so cunning that he only informed all of them about their arrival at thest moment, making sure that Raasin n wasn''t going to have gone to gather their forces here.


    By now, he was already sure that the world of the trial was surrounded by their forces as they waited for Lucifer, not realizing how useless it was.


    The old man personally escorted the top three participants in the Trial with him. He had already received permission for the audience from the queen herself.


    Lucifer, Ron, and Raayi entered the car that was waiting for them. All three of them were told to enter the same car with the old man sitting in the front seat.


    In the back seat, Lucifer was sitting on the left, Ron was on right, and Raayi had to sit in the center.


    She was still quite upset that she couldn''t win. She felt as if she had disappointed her Nimel n with her performance. She couldn''t even get second ce despite her confidence after all.


    Initially, she med Lucifer and Ron for her bad result, but since then, she has had time to think about it.


    She eventually realized that it wasn''t their fault. If anything, she herself was to me for her performance. She underestimated them, especially Lucifer. She never gave him credit, despite him proving again and again how capable and talented he was, even though he didn''te from a major family.


    She nced at Lucifer, who was looking out the window. From such closeness, she didn''t know why but something seemed different about him. Now that she had stopped looking at him with anger, she could see that the man was very different from them, and not in a bad way.


    Even after winning, he didn''t show off before them. She had insulted him so much in the Trial. Why wasn''t he insulting her back now that he had won? Not only that, he didn''t look too happy even after his win. It was as if the victory wasn''t his goal but just a step to reach his goal.


    "You were really strong in the Trial. I was just lucky to win," Lucifer stated without even looking back. It was as if he could feel that she was looking at him.


    "Nonsense. There is no luck in such things. You were strong and more capable than me. That''s all there is to it," Raayi rolled her eyes.


    Lucifer didn''t answer. Honestly, he didn''t feel much enmity toward Raayi. Even though she was quite arrogant, but that was to be expected since she came from such a family.


    "Little Brother, don''t forget that you promised toe to my n to rest after promotion. Don''t forget to give me a lift in your new ship," Ron also chimed in.


    "I''ll make sure to give you a visit. I also want to learn more from your n after all,"Lucifer smiled in response. Out of all three seeds, he had the most favorable feeling for Ron. He was no less than a friend for now.


    Lucifer didn''t know what Ron was going to do once he became an enemy of the Star Alliance. Was Ron going to hunt him as well? He wasn''t sure of that. It didn''t matter for now, though. That was all in the future.


    "You should really be careful," Raayi said. "Even though you''ve won the trial, you''ve made a major n your enemy by killing Mander. I''ll try to get my n to help you as well. With our two nsbined, I doubt they''ll do anything, but still, it''s better to be careful. Don''t go anywhere alone from now on."


    "You''ll help me too?" Lucifer asked, somewhat surprised. "But why?"


    Ron was like a friend, so it made sense that he wanted to help, but why Raayi?


    Raayi rolled her eyes. "Don''t think too much about it. I just don''t want a major family to bully someone, as that''ll spoil all our reputations."


    Even though she gave such excuses, even she wasn''t sure why she actually wanted to help Lucifer. She could only use such excuses.


    "Little Brother, isn''t it clear already? She has a crush on you," Ron said out loud, even though he knew that Raayi was sitting right next to.


    "You!" Raayi punched Ron''s shoulder. "If you don''t want to be turned into a popsicle right now, shut your mouth! It''s nothing like that!"


    Ron wasn''t scared of Raayi, and he had said that jokingly, but seeing her sudden uneasy reaction, even he was surprised. He wondered if it was really true. Was this girl really in love with him?


    "Well, this is certainly an unexpected development." Ron smiled but didn''t speak more.


    Lucifer also didn''t take his words seriously. He didn''t believe someone like Raayi could fall for him. They hadn''t even talked properly before. How was it even possible that she''ll fall for someone like him?


    "You''re overthinking. There''s no way," he stated. "Raayi is the Princess of the Nimel n."


    Raayi didn''t know what to say. Even she didn''t know what it was, but for some reason, she was feeling really strange near Lucifer.


    The Car stopped outside the Royal Castle. All three youngsters stepped out of the car with the old man.


    "Her Majesty is already waiting inside. Some of the Generals will also be there. So mind your manners and don''t speak anything unnecessary," the old man stated, but his warning was mostly for Lucifer b


    Raayi and Ron were grandchildren of two Generals, so they didn''t have to worry about much, but Lucifer didn''t have a major backing after all.


    "Mander''s grandfather will also be inside. But he wouldn''t dare attack you there. He''ll certainly instigate you to find an excuse to kill you openly. So just maintain your calm. No matter what happen, don''t do anything stupid. If you don''t want to say anything, just stay silent, and I''ll speak. Clear?"


    The old man was quite concerned about Lucifer since it was the first time a family member of a General was killed in the trials, and that too in the hands of a so-calledmoner. Fortunately, thatmoner was the winner of the entire event, so it did give him some leverage, but not enough to offend a General.


    Right now was the most important part, as Lucifer''s safety depended on what happened next. If he could get the Queen''s favor, that meant he would at least not have to worry about being killed openly. But if he failed and did something stupid, the Generals could easily kill him right there.


    Lucifer was escorted inside the hall along with the other youngsters. Finally, he was going to be before the Queen once again!

 Chapter 967: Why would you?

    967 Chapter 967: Why would you?


    The Doors of the Royal Chamber opened, revealing the beautiful queen who was sitting on the Main Throne.


    On each side of the room, the Generals of the Star Alliance were sitting. There was not a single Captain Ranked Member in the hall. Moreover, Lucifer could also see that some Generals were missing. There were fewer people than there were when he was initially brought here after being arrested.


    Lucifer hadn''t even stepped inside, but he could already feel extreme killing intent which was targeted toward him.


    It didn''t take Lucifer long to realize where it wasing from since he could already see the bloodlust in one of the General''s eyes.


    It was an old man who appeared to be in histe fifties, despite being much older. The man had beautiful white hair, but his eyes were somewhat simr to Mander''s eyes. This man was clearly her grandfather.


    Lucifer took his first step inside the majestic hall, but as soon as he ced one foot inside, he felt extremely suppressed. It was a mysterious force that was trying to push him down to his knees.


    With this kind of force acting on him, anyone else would''ve already been on their knees, but Lucifer was still standing, albeit with some struggle.


    Looking around, he could see that this force was only acting on him and not on Raayi and Ron. It was specially targeted at him.


    He red at the Rasin n Patriarch, who upied a General''s post in Star Alliance. This was clearly his doing. He was trying to provoke him. However, why wasn''t the Queen acting? That was the question in Lucifer''s head.


    He had heard quite a few stories about how capable the Star Alliance Queen was. There was no way she didn''t know he was being targeted by this strange pressure. However, she didn''t even react andpletely ignored it.


    ''If you all think this is enough, then let me show you what I can do as well...''


    Being the only one who was targeted by the Rasin n Patriarch was one thing, but beingpletely ignored was another, which was making him angry. If he could be targeted at a ce like this, was the Star Alliance really that reliable?


    He decided to take things into his own hands.


    The Old man who was targeting Lucifer expected him to drop to his knees right away. However, even he was surprised to see that Lucifer was still standing tall. It was clear that he was under pressure, but he didn''t fall to his knees. The old man couldn''t understand how a kid could stand despite his pressure.


    ''Good, very good! You''re quite capable! No wonder you were able to kill my Grandson! But if you think you can stand before me, you''re really underestimating me!''


    The old man increased his pressure on Lucifer. Even the other Generals knew what was happening, but they also ignored it.


    The pressure on Lucifer was so much now the pressure made a crater appear under him. Despite that, he was still standing. With the crater around, even the other Generals couldn''t pretend not to see anything.


    They were about to ask the old man of Rasin n to stop, but before they could, something even stranger happened!


    Lucifer started walking! Not only was he able to stand under this pressure, but he was also able to walk? Was he really that strong?


    The Queen just watched what was happening, quite amused. Seeing Lucifer not only stand but also walk, she was even more interested in him.


    Initially, Lucifer didn''t react in the face of the pressure, but when the old man increased it, even Lucifer felt as if he couldn''t stand for long. He had to take action.


    He had just taken Licia''s domain and merged it into his own spatial skill, making both of them stronger. Thanks to that, he was able to cast a Domain around him. It was like he was in a different realm altogether. Even the mysterious pressure couldn''t pass through his barrier.


    Since it was a Spatial Barrier, most of them couldn''t even see it. Some of them did feel a spatial disturbance around them though.


    This was just the first step. Even though the Administrator told him to not fall for provocation, that wasn''t his nature. Lucifer had only learned of one way to deal with Provocations, and that was to pay it back in full!


    Protecting himself was just the first part of his payback. The next part was something even more fun. Lucifer cast a simr spatial domain around the old man who was targeting him. It was as if their Spatial Surroundings had shifted, even though they were still in the same ce.


    The pressure that the old man sent for Lucifer acted on him. Meanwhile, the calm surroundings of the old man were acting on Lucifer.


    The old man was infuriated to find Lucifer walking casually despite his pressure.


    He stood up in anger. He didn''t even care about being subtle in his targeting anymore and increased the pressure at the peak, not even realizing that Lucifer had already switched the realms around them.


    The old man targeted Lucifer with his strongest suppression. Unfortunately, that level of suppression only returned back to him with increased force.


    Since the old man wasn''t expecting something like that, he was suddenly caught in his own suppression.


    Thud~


    The old man dropped to his knees as another Crater appeared, but this time it was under him.


    He wanted to bring Lucifer to his knees, but instead, it was he who was forced to his knees. The old man couldn''t believe it. How was it possible? The young man used his own attack on him?


    He was furious.


    "You!" The old man stood up, but right around that time, the sound of a slow p resounded in the surrounding area.


    Not only the old man but even Lucifer was surprised. Someone was pping?


    Everyone looked toward the throne, noticing that it was the queen herself who was pping, quite impressed with the skills and bravery of Lucifer.


    "My Bloodline is special. It helps me awaken new abilities with time. Just like lightning that Ron uses," 19:43


    Lucifer answered. "It''s all random."


    "That was a good disy, young man," sheplimented Lucifer. "The skill that you used was certainly very interesting. If I''m not wrong, that has the essence of Baltics. May I ask how you learned that skill?"


    Lucifer was quite surprised that the woman was able to sense that, even though he merged that with his own skills as well. Then again, it wasn''t hard to exin to him.


    "My Bloodline is special. It helps me awaken new abilities with time. Just like lightning that Ron uses," Lucifer answered. "It''s all random."


    "Hmm? Lightning of our n?" Ron''s grandfather asked, quite surprised. Was it true that the young man could use the abilities of their n? Even he found it hard to believe.


    "That''s right, Gramps. He used the ck Lightning, and he wasn''t bad at it either. Just not on our level," Ron confirmed. "I even invited him to our n as a guest."


    "Sigh, this child..." Ron''s grandfather sighed. He was sure that Ron knew the trouble that Lucifer had attracted. Despite that, he invited the kid? If he said no now, it was going to look like his n was scared of the Rasin n.


    "Since you already invited him, then he cane. But before that, can he show me the ck Lightning so I can be sure if it''s actually the same?" The old man asked.


    Lucifer didn''t wait for Ron to ask him. He directly created a small bolt of lightning. For now, he needed allies, and Ron''s n had the potential of being one. Moreover, he wanted to learn more on how to use this Lightning in even meow powerful spells, and for that, he needed their help.


    "I also invited him to our n," Raayi also stepped forward, informing her grandfather.


    Her grandfather''s jaws dropped. Was this even possible? His granddaughter, who didn''t even take interest in any boy all her life was finally inviting a boy to her home? Just what happened in the Trials that Lucifer killed Mander and became so close with Raayi and Ron?


    Not only that, but ording to their information, he was also the winner who was to be promoted.


    "Enough! How dare you attack me!" His grandchild was killed, and all these people were being friendly with the kid? Rasin n Patriarch couldn''t believe it!


    Fortunately, he now had an excuse to attack Lucifer. No matter what the circumstances, Lucifer had attacked a General! He could use this opportunity!


    "I attacked you? When?" Lucifer asked ignorantly. "Why would I dare attack a General? I just cast a spell around me that reflects all attacks. If General Rasin was attacked, does that mean you had attacked me and were caught by that reflection?"


    "But that doesn''t make sense. Why would a brave General attack a Kid like me in the Royal Court when I''m not even a Captain yet? Isn''t that right?"

 Chapter 968 968: Stuck

    ?


    "Not only that but Senior, are you saying that I was enough to bring someone like you on their knees? If that were the case, wouldn''t it be embarrassing for the Star Alliance that Lucifer could be brought to his knees by a kid?"


    "You!" The old man didn''t even know how to respond. In the same breath, Lucifer had taunted him so many times.


    Not only did Lucifer subtly call him out for attacking someone weak like him despite his position, but at the same time, he also mocked the old man for failing so magnificently.


    The old man was stuck between a rock and a hard ce. If he agreed that Lucifer attacked on his own, that was quite embarrassing for him since it meant that the attack of a kid was enough to bring him down.


    It was much better if he went with the story that his own attack hit him. That way, it could at least save him some face. It was better to be hit by your own attack than be hit by a kid''s attack and falling to knees.


    However, if he went with the story, wasn''t it going to prove that he attacked the kid first and that too with such a powerful attack that could even bring someone like him to his knees?


    The situation was quiteplicated. He couldn''t help but feel as if he was caught in Lucifer''s web, and no matter which path he took, he was ying right into the kid''s palm.


    If they weren''t in the Royal Chamber, he would''ve directly killed the kid, but in this ce, he had to be more careful.


    "You... As I said, I was just testing you," the old man scoffed. "Why would someone like me attack a weakling like you?"


    "Oh, so you were testing me with an attack that was strong enough to bring a General to their knees? I must be regarded quite highly by Senior."


    Lucifer still kept his respectful tone that wasced with hidden meanings that were for everyone to see.


    "The kid... He is certainly interesting." Ron''s grandfather and almost every other General was slightly impressed by Lucifer''s courage.


    Even before someone like the Rasin n patriarch, Lucifer wasn''t scared.


    Raayi''s grandfather also realized that Lucifer was different from any other person he met. Everyone else would''ve fallen to their knees, begging for forgiveness by now, but this kid was still standing proudly, even after being attacked.


    "No wonder that little girl took interest in him. Not only does this guy have skills, but he also has courage. Moreover, I suppose it won''t be too bad even if Raayi decides to marry him. The Kid can use our skills thanks to his Bloodline as well, so it would be no different than finding someone from our own n."


    The old man looked at his daughter, slightly impressed by his selection.


    After seeing what Lucifer disyed before everyone, he finally decided something. Initially, he didn''t want to step into the conflict between a kid and a General, but now he decided to do it. That way, he could at least gain some favor of Lucifer.


    The old man from Raayi''s n also stood up.


    "Agreed. Old Rasin, you were too careless. You should''ve controlled your strength. I see that the kid only protected himself and didn''t attack you. That''s why there should be no problems."


    "Agreed. The kid isn''t in the wrong. I''m sure everyone here saw it. So Patriarch Rasin shouldn''t make things difficult for the little guy," Ron''s grandfather also stood up to side with Lucifer.


    Initially, Lucifer wasn''t sure if he was going to get the support of anyone from this ce. He was only hoping to get some support from the queen, and from there on, he was on his own. However, getting the support of the two patriarchs was surprising even for him.


    Not only him, even the old administrator of the Trials in the back was stunned. He brought Lucifer here to introduce him to the queen again and ask for a decree for his protection.


    As soon as Lucifer attacked General Rasin, he thought that it was impossible now. But the situation waspletely against all his expectations now. Not only did he get the support of Two Generals against one, but he also got the Queen to p?


    Just as he expected, the kid was too talented! Not only did he have physical talents, but even his brain was quite smart. It was as if he could turn any situation in his favor.


    "You two! Are you ming me? Did you forget that this guy isn''t innocent? He intentionally targeted me! First, he killed my grandson, and now he attacked me in the Royal Court. You want me to forget this matter? Not in a million years!" The old man eximed, furious.


    "Is it really as you described? Is he the one targeting you, or are you targeting him? He killed your grandson, but I heard it was during the trial, and it was your grandson who tried to kill him first. He is new to the Star Alliance. He didn''t even know your Rasin n. Why would he target you?" Raayi''s grandfather asked.


    "Instead, it looked more like you were targeting him! Isn''t that right?" he further inquired. "Is it because you''re angry at your grandson''s death? You shouldn''t be so petty, should you?"


    Even though the Star Alliance was one organization, it was made with multiple factions, each belonging to one of the Generals. None of the Generals got along with each other, but they also didn''t target each other. It was an unwritten rule for them to stay out of each other''s matters.


    That was also why the others didn''t interfere initially. However, now that they had seen Lucifer''s skill, they wanted him to join their faction. And what better way to approach him than by helping him in his time of need?


    It was clear that with the kind of strength Lucifer possessed, his future was indefinite! There was no doubt in anyone''s head that Lucifer could be a General in the near future. Even now, his strength seemed to be more than most of the Captains in the Star Alliance.


    That''s why the Generals decided to break the unwritten rule.


    "You two! Good! Very good! You want to do this, then so be it!" Even though Rasin n Patriarch was strong, he wasn''t sure if he could defeat the two other Generals alone. And even if they fought, the Queen''s Royal Guard was going to take them down for breaking the rules of the Royal Court.


    He could only sit down for now and leave the matter of dealing with Lucifer for theter.


    He walked back to his seat and sat down. From his face, it was evident that he was filled with Bloodlust, but he certainly wasn''t going to target Lucifer in the open like before. Even if the Queen didn''t give him his protection, Lucifer was sure that he was safe as long as he was in the open.


    They were his biggest help for now.


    The other two Generals also took their seats, giving a nce to Lucifer.


    "Now that things have calmed down, you can proceed." Strangely enough, even after so much had happened, the queen didn''tment on it. She moved on as if nothing had happened.


    "My Queen, I came here to introduce the winner of the Promotion Tournament," the Administrator finally took the lead.


    "Old man, did you really have to bring them here? You never brought the winners here before, did you?" One of the Generals asked. "Last year, when my Grandson won, I don''t remember you bringing him here."


    "Last year, the final trial was different. This year, the final trial was held in a world that is closer to this ce than the world of Trials. So on the way back, I thought I''ll drop the youngsters here and introduce them to Her Majesty. It''s not often that Ie out after all," the Administrator stated.


    Many of the Generals gave a knowing smile. Even though the old man gave an excuse, they could already see what he was here for. It wasn''t hard to guess that he wanted to protect Lucifer from the Rasin n and came here personally.


    "I suppose the young man in the lead is the winner?" The Queen asked, ncing at Lucifer. She had already received the report.


    Even when she read the initial report, she wasn''t surprised since she had already expected something like this. That was one of the reasons she gave a pass for Lucifer to enter the tournament.


    "That''s right. Lucifer is ranked first, Ron is ranked second, and Raayi is ranked third." The old man nodded.


    Hearing the results, Ron''s grandfather couldn''t help but look at Raayi''s grandfather, shing a smirk. It was as if he was bragging that his grandson was better than Raayi.


    Raayi''s grandfather red back at him.

 Chapter 969 969: The only Hope

    <h4>Chapter 969 Chapter 969: The only Hope</h4>


    "Quite impressive for sure. Despite being rankedst at the start due to participation, you managed to take the spot before the end. Not bad. If I''m not wrong, this should be some kind of record, right?" The Queen asked the Administrator in the back.


    Since she had already received some reports before, she knew quite well just how amazing this young man''s performance was. They again, since his bloodline was so special, it wasn''t surprising.


    If anything, she would''ve been more surprised if the young man had failed instead.


    "That''s right, Your Majesty. That kind of performance is never seen before. Usually, getting in the top ten after being cedst at the start was already considered a miracle before, but reaching the top... Even this old man was surprised," The Administrator took the opportunity provided by the Queen. Now was the time to y his final card.


    "If even with such disadvantages, he can take the top spot, winning almost every challenge, that just shows how talented this young man is. In the future, he''ll really be a great pir of support for our Star Alliance, making it even stronger. I believe we need to protect this child as much as we can," he further stated.


    "A premature death would be a pity since it''ll rob us of an opportunity to strengthen our Star Alliance even more. If anything, thanks to his bloodline, once he fully grows up, his strength will truly be immense. He could even be able to fight the Ancient Beings all alone if they decide to make a return."


    "Fight the Ancient Beings alone? Nonsense," the Rasin n patriarch rolled his eyes. "Old man, I can see what you''re trying to do to protect him, but you should exaggerate in limit. The Ancient Beings that once ruled over the entire universe were so powerful. I''m sure you know that as well."


    Another General agreed. "That''s right. Even though in the war, we managed to kill most of them, the losses for us were too many. For every ancient being we killed, we lost hundreds of our strongest warriors. Even then, one person supposedly managed to escape."


    "That one person alone destroyed three General ns that led the war against the Ancients. And you say that a person like that could be held back by this kid?"


    Even Raayi''s grandfather felt as if the old man was slightly exaggerating. Even though Lucifer was strong, but he wasn''t strong to that level. Even in the future, it seemed unlikely.


    Even for them, they needed tobine all their strength and take the help of the treasures to be able to fight back. Even then, they weren''t a hundred percent sure if they could actually defeat that person when he actually makes an appearance, and the old man was saying that a kid could fight him alone when he grew up.


    The entire hall was inmotion as everyone refused to believe that it was possible. The only one who was still silent was the Queen herself. Once again, she didn''t chime in.


    "I''m not exaggerating one bit," the Administrator stood firm on his stance. "The future that you all call impossible is definitely possible. It''s just that you all don''t want to ept it."


    "With the possible return of the Ancient Beings in the future, we need as much strength as we could since I''m sure none of you are sure that the current Star Alliance could win against them or not!"


    For a moment, all the Generals stopped speaking and only heard the old man, wondering how he could justify his impossible prediction.


    "I''m sure you all know as well that Lucifer has a bloodline that we have never seen before. He is like the universe''s gift for our problem! With his bloodline, he can master the ability of any bloodline. Just imagine once he grows up, how strong will he be? He would be the umtion of our Star Alliance!"


    "If he''s able to use all our strength thanks to his bloodline, do you really think he won''t be able to defeat the Ancients? To defeat someone like them, we need something crazy ourselves, and that''s where Luciferes in! We need to help him grow up and be stronger now that we have the time! If we don''t, then it might be toote to regret in the future!"


    The old man wanted the Queen and the other Generals to see how important Lucifer was and that they needed to protect him if they wanted to protect their future.


    His intentions were good, but somehow, Lucifer was not happy. He had his head down, cursing his luck.


    He only wanted some protection in public in the form of backing influence, and he received that from Raayi and Ron''s grandfathers. But the way that old man talked, it was going overboard.


    Lucifer could feel that at this rate, they might actually assign powerful people to protect him or force him to stay here and train until he grows up. That was the troublesome part. If that happened, his freedom of movement was going to be quite restricted!


    He still had to leave this ce and go to an isted world where he could use all the stone fragments to open the door to that ce. Unfortunately, if he was being watched constantly, that part became very hard to execute. That''s why he felt like the old man was going overboard.


    Even though the old man''s intentions were good, but he was creating problems without even realizing.


    "You aren''t wrong," the Queen agreed with the old man. "We haven''t seen such a bloodline before, so he''s really unique. And it''s clear that he could be very strong in the future. I''m not sure if he could be strong enough to defeat them alone, but he should be a great help."


    "I agree that he needs some protection, and I''m granting it. From now on, Lucifer is not only promoted to the Rank of Captain, but I''m also assigning General Nimel to protect him."


    The Queen''smand came as a shock to everyone, especially Lucifer! If she wanted to protect him without trapping him in a room, he expected her to assign a few guards that could inform the higher ups if something went wrong. However, this girl... She actually assigned a General directly? That was the troublesome part!


    Getting a General as a guard who was always going to be with him always was definitely enough to protect him from the wrath of General Rasin, but wasn''t it too much? It was hard to fool a captain-ranked member, but it was even harder to deceive a General! This one move... It restricted his movement a lot!


    He couldn''t help but take another nce at the Queen, feeling as if there was something more to this decision. Was this decision really to protect him? Or was it to keep an eye on him so he couldn''t do the things he wanted? This thing was very troublesome for him now.


    "Your Majesty, assigning a General as a guard of a Captain ranked member? Isn''t this too much?"


    "Agreed. This..."


    Just as Lucifer expected, the decision shocked even the Generals. Eventually, the Generals started voicing their opinions.


    Lucifer couldn''t help but watch, hoping that that would be able to sway the Queen. For the first time, he wanted the Generals to seed.


    The General who was assigned this task was Raayi''s grandfather. Even he was taken aback, not knowing how to respond. Just what was happening? He wondered.


    "Don''t overthink. It''s not that I''m assigning General Nimel as a guard. I''m assigning him to Lucifer so he can train him. I''m assigning him as a master who could stay with him and train him," the Queen further stated, calming the Generals.


    "It''s true that Lucifer has a bloodline that helps himprehend all the bloodline abilities. But without proper training, even he can''t bring out that ability. That''s why he needs to be trained by the people who have already mastered those skills."


    She nced at General Nimel. " You''ll be Lucifer''s teacher, helping him grow as a person! So don''t call it guard duty. Being able to protect him at the same time is just an additional advantage. So, General Nimel, do you agree to train Lucifer and stay with him?''


    "I do," Raayi''s grandfather agreed as he stood up. "I am willing to teach Lucifer. In the long run, it''ll only help the star alliance after all."


    The old man was already looking for a way to get close to Lucifer, and what better way than to train the child? That way, he could form some good rtionship with the kid. Moreover, since this wasn''t called guard duty but the duty of a teacher, he didn''t need to be embarrassed either. This was just perfect for him, and he saw no reason to refuse.


    Seeing the old man agree, Lucifer could only facepalm himself.

 Chapter 970 970: Surprising Arrival

    ?


    The worst thing that could happen to Lucifer at the moment was having to fight General Rasin. However, the second worst situation was being assigned a babysitter in the form of a General. Thetter was what actually happened, making him very disappointed.


    He had been waiting to gather all the stone fragments for a long time and wanted to use them as soon as possible. However, now that he had the stone fragments, he couldn''t even use them directly. He first had to find a safe space where he could use the stone safely without being detected by the Star Alliance, and that seemed impossible now!


    He couldn''t even say that he didn''t want that. If he said that, it meant that he didn''t want to learn their skills and didn''t think they were worthy of him. With one rejection, he could offend almost every General here. He really was stuck between a rock and a hard ce.


    "Do you have any objections?" The Queen asked Lucifer. Lucifer could only agree with the Queen.


    "No objections. It would be my honor to learn from Senior."


    ''Since it''ll take a month to train my own people as the Ship Crew, I should have one month. I should be able to learn the ice skills from the old man in the meantime. After that, I can probably leave my clone here with him to learn more as I sneak out.''


    Even though the situation was a headache and trying to fool a General wasn''t easy, he still tried to look at the positive side. At the moment, he wanted to gather as much strength as he could.


    "Good. Then it''s decided. You can all leave now," the Queenmanded. All the Generals stood up and started leaving.


    Even as he left, the old man of Rasin n still red at Lucifer.


    "Lucifer, you stay behind for a moment. I have something to talk to you about." As Lucifer was about to leave, the Queen stopped him


    The Generals who still hadn''t left were slightly surprised. Just what could the Queen need him for? Unfortunately, they couldn''t stay behind to listen. Even the old Administrator left the room to wait for Lucifer outside after he was done talking with the Queen.


    Lucifer stayed behind, all alone in the room with the Queen. The doors behind him were closed to ensure that no one outside could hear what they were talking about.


    ****


    An hour has passed. The old Administrator was still waiting for Lucifer outside the royal room, but he wasn''t alone. Raayi and Ron were also waiting for him, along with their grandfathers.


    "Old Ostrin, why don''t you leave? Why are you waiting for my disciple?" Raayi''s grandfather asked Ron''s grandfather in a taunting tone.


    "Screw you! Who is your disciple? It''s a rotating position. Just because you''re teaching him, he doesn''t be your disciple. I''ll be teaching him too!" Ron''s grandfather scoffed.


    "It doesn''t change the fact that I''m his teacher for now," General Nimel smirked.


    "You''re just assigned to teach him as you stay with him. He isn''t assigned to you. You are assigned to him. So you need to be where he is. Since Lucifer has promised my Grandson to apany him to our n, that''s what I''m waiting for."


    "Since you''re his teacher for now, you cane as well. Don''t worry; I''ll feed you plenty of delicacies in my home. You don''t have to worry." General Ostrinughed.


    A General never went to another General''s home. But since Nimel was assigned to Lucifer, he had to be where Lucifer was! That meant General Ostrin could bring him home and increase his reputation.


    "You wouldn''t want Lucifer to break his promise by stopping him, will you? You know how impossible a promise is to the Star Alliance?" General Ostrinughed. He had General Nimel exactly where he wanted.


    General Nimel who was smug until now went silent suddenly. His face started twitching.


    "You-"


    Before he could speak anything, the door opened.


    "Finally, hees out," Ron sighed. It''s been an hour. He couldn''t help but wonder just what it was that Lucifer and the Queen discussed, which took such a long time.


    Unfortunately, he also knew like everyone else that he couldn''t ask. Since the Queen only asked him to stay behind, it was a privileged conversation that couldn''t be shared.


    "Lucifer?" As Lucifer stepped out, the others were slightly surprised. He appeared a bit different. He looked grim and slightly angered.


    "Are you alright?" Ron''s grandfather asked, cing his hand on the young man''s shoulder. "Did something happen?"


    Lucifer shook his head. "Nothing happened. I''m fine."


    Lucifer didn''t say much. Even though his words said that he was fine, but his face was telling an entirely different story. Something definitely happened inside the chamber, but they didn''t know what.


    Since Lucifer wasn''t willing to answer, they couldn''t force him either. They could only hope that it was something he could deal with alone.


    ****


    In the next few days, Lucifer was assigned his ship and the temporary crew until he selected ones for himself. The temporary crew was responsible for helping Lucifer.


    At the same time, Lucifer had also sent some people from the Star Alliance to earth with his message. He gave them a list of names from Earth about the people that he wanted on his crew.


    Now it was Star Alliance''s responsibility to bring them here and train them. He was sure that the Star Alliance could at least handle that much. If he weren''t busy, he would''ve gone himself.


    However, he had promised Ron that he was going to go to his world to learn the mysteries of the Dark Lightning. After his decay, his dark Lightning was his most explosive skill and also his original skill. He wanted to make it stronger no matter what.


    For some reason, he was even more eager to get stronger ever since he came out of the Royal Chamber after the discussion with the Queen.


    Raayi''s grandfather didn''t want to go to the World controlled by the n of Ron''s family, but he didn''t have the choice. He had to apany Lucifer, so he had to tag along.


    Surprisingly, even Raayi joined on the trip with her grandfather, giving him the excuse that she wanted a small vacation. However, it didn''t take her grandfather long to realize the true reasoning behind her.


    It was clear to him that his granddaughter just wanted to be closer to Lucifer. He didn''t have any objections either. If that''s what she wanted, he was fine with it since Lucifer was certainly someone who had the potential to stand above everyone else in the future!


    With the kind of potential he had, he was certainly special.


    It was the first time Two Generals were right in a ce that wasn''t the Star Alliance headquarters, and it wasn''t for a fight!


    The Ostrin n prepared extensively to wee General Nimel. No matter what, he was still the ancestor of the Nimel n, which was a n that was on the same level as the Ostrin n! Just like the Nimel n, the Ostrin n also controlled the world!


    Moreover, the journey was done through the ship of Lucifer that was just assigned to him.


    A Captain Rank ship moved in the back, surrounded by Two General ranked ships which were there to protect them! The entire fleet contained a total of twenty ships which was a power that could destroy quite a few worlds at once!


    The Captain Rank ship of Lucifer was the one ship other than the two General Rank ships that were allowed to pass through the protective shield of the Ostrin n''s territory. These three were also the only ships thatnded on the surface right outside the city where Ostrin n stayed.


    All the Ostrin n members were here to wee their Ancestor who rarely came back home. General Ostrin mostly stayed in the Star Alliance headquarters. Thest time he was back was around ten years ago.


    His sudden return and that too with the General of Nimel n was something that stunned everyone.


    Almost all the members of the Ostrin n who were here to wee the guests looked at the General Rank ships, expecting the two Generals toe out from them.


    Surprisingly, it was the door of the Captain Rank ship that opened.


    A young man stepped out of the ship, but people didn''t pay much attention to him. However, not too far from him, General Nimel and General Ostrin came out, which shocked them the most!


    "Who is this kid? The two Generals are walking behind him? They came from the Captain Rank Ship? What is happening?"


    "What''s the identity of that kid?"


    Quite a few Ostrin n members started talking among themselves. Even Ron''s Father was surprised.


    Lucifer walked in the lead, the two Generals behind him, and his own grandson after them with the granddaughter of the Raayi n?

 Chapter 971 971: Agreement

    Chapter971 971: Agreement


    "Father, General Nimel!" The current head of the Ostrin family respectfully greeted the two Generals.


    The manpletely ignored all the youngsters. Even though one of them was his son, and the other two were also probably special people, but they were still not at his level to get his greeting.


    "Hmph," Raayi''s grandfather didn''t react much. He only nodded lightly. "This ce isn''t half bad. Just a bit too warm for my taste."


    Since the Nimel n controlled ice and snow, they lived in a world covered with ice. They felt morefortable there.


    "General is right. But we''ve already prepared a cold room for you. I promise we won''t let you be ufortable. You''re our guest."


    While the three men talked, Ron held the hand of Lucifer and brought him to his mother, who he was closer to. Raayi also walked with them.


    "Mother," Ron greeted his mother.


    "Little one, it looks like you brought your friends with you? Aren''t you going to introduce them?" The middle-aged woman asked. Despite her age, she still looked as if she was in her early twenties.


    "Of course." Ron started with Lucifer. "This is my friend that I met in the World of Trials. Even though he looks like an ordinary person, you''d be surprised to know his achievements. He''s also the one who won the current Trial!"


    "Hmm? He won? Weren''t you and two other Seeds taking part? Your friend must be quite strong. Which major n is he from?" The woman asked, slightly surprised.


    Winning against three seeds of three major ns wasn''t a small thing. Not only did he win, but he also managed to make Ron his friend?


    Even though Ron''s Father was talking to the two Generals, he could still hear the conversation that was taking ce in the back. He was as surprised as his wife to know that the little guy won. Was he really from a Major n?


    "He''s not from a Major n. He''s a new recruit that only recently joined the Star Alliance. Hees from Earth, the recently discovered," Ron exined.


    The middle-aged man was slightly disappointed. So the kid was just talented but had no major family support behind him. Then what was he doing here? Did Ron bring him here on this trip as a stowaway?


    "You kids, can you speak less? You''re disturbing my conversation with the Generals. Take that little guy to the Castle first. Don''t worry; we will treat him well as well. Our n is really kind. We won''t worry about wasting some food on your friend."


    Ron''s father was quite upset with his son. This was a special asion when two Generals wereing to their home, and his son wasted his time in bringing a person like that? Even though Lucifer won the tournament, that just meant he was a little talented, and a Captain Ranked person. But so what?


    Without the support of a Major Family, he was missing! Thousands of Captain Ranked members bowed their heads before the Ostrin n, after all. Thanks to that thought, he didn''t even consider Lucifer worth any effort, and it was clear in his tone.


    Lucifer also noticed that strange tone. It was as if he was a beggar who came to beg before their doors, and the man was being merciful by allowing him to stay in the Pce.


    Even though Ron was a person who didn''t care about status and such, his father was different, and it couldn''t be clearer. Lucifer wasn''t the only one who sensed this tone. Raayi, her grandfather, and Lexton''s father also sensed that condescending tone.


    General Ostrin''s face twitched uncontrobly as he watched his son behave in this manner. He worked so hard to bring Lucifer here, and he only managed to seed because Lucifer had already promised his son. And now this behavior? General Ostrin wanted to p his son in anger, but he controlled himself.


    He opened his lips to speak, but before he could, a condescendingughter echoed in the back.


    "Good! Very good! Is that how you talk with my disciple? We are beggars toe to your door? Is that what you''re trying to imply?"


    This was exactly the opportunity that General Nimel was waiting for. He already hated being in someone else''s territory, but because of Lucifer''s promise to the Ostrin n, he had to be here. But now that this had happened, he finally had the opportunity to leave this ce!


    "D-disciple?" Lexton was stunned. When he heard that Lucifer wasn''t from any Major n, he thought that the child was just someone who didn''t have any backing. He thought that the only reason he became friends with Ron was because he wanted tock onto them like a parasite! But this kid... He was the disciple of a General?


    "Old Nimel, calm down. My son is an idiot. I''m sure he didn''t mean to say that." General Ostrin tried to pacify the situation, but it seemed toote.


    "He didn''t mean to say that? Lucifer is the most precious member of the Entire Star Alliance! Isn''t that why Her Majesty assigned all Generals to train Lucifer?! Even Her Majesty treats him with respect, and you think you can insult him? I''ve had enough!"


    General Ostrin could understand that General Nimel was trying to take advantage of the situation to leave this ce early since he was forced to be here. However, he couldn''t do much. This guy genuinely had an excuse that he was waiting for! It was their own n that was in the wrong.


    "W-what? He''s the disciple of all Generals? Respected by the Queen? H-how is that possible?" Ron''s Father was horrified. Initially, he didn''t think of Lucifer as anything more than a poor parasite who wasn''t supposed to be here! Who would''ve known that the person he considered to be a waste of food here was so special?


    "General Nimel, please forgive me! I really didn''t mean to say that! Please don''t leave in anger, and allow me an opportunity to apologize!"


    Laxton was horrified to know the mistake he hadmitted and the intensity of it! If Lucifer was really special, then it meant he was going to be a really important member of the Star Alliance in the future. He could even be the next King one day!


    Even though the Ostrin n was powerful, they were nothing before the might of Star Alliance. He couldn''t afford to offend him.


    problem.


    Moreover, if General Nimel felt this insult with Lucifer''s insult, then what about other Generals? Were they also going to feel insulted? Did he single-handedly offend all the Generals? That wasn''t a small problem.


    He had to solve that problem right here before things escted. He didn''t want the news to spread!


    "Young man, I really apologize for my behavior just now! I really didn''t mean to insult you!" The leader of the Ostrin n apologized to a young man who was in his early twenties. This was a sight that no one believed they were going to see in their lifetime, but that was exactly what happened! This was shocking to every member of the n.


    They all wondered just what was the true identity of this person. Was he the Prince of the Star Alliance?


    Lucifer was also somewhat angry and wanted to leave, but before he could say anything, the Nimel n Patriarch took the lead, giving him no opportunity to speak for himself.


    Moreover, now Laxton was already apologizing to him. He could only scratch his back. He didn''t even get to show his anger, and he had already received an apology. He was somewhat disappointed, but it wasn''t bad. It saved him some trouble.


    Considering the fact that he was here to learn the Thunder Art, he didn''t want to leave so soon either. He believed he could only forgive the man.


    Seeing him lost in thoughts for so long, everyone believed that Lucifer was still angry.


    "Young man, how about this? As a form of apology, we would teach you our Bloodline Art. I''m sure that it should be enoughpensation in exchange for forgiveness?" Ron''s grandfather came forward.


    Even he misunderstood Lucifer''s silence as his anger.


    "You old fox! I''m supposed to be his teacher for now! You dare steal my disciple before it''s your turn?" General Nimel roared in anger.


    "You can still teach him. I won''t stop you," General Ostrin answered. "I''m sure he can learn from both. Also, doesn''t that mean we get twice the time to train him if we train him together?"


    "This..."


    Lucifer was even more stunned. He felt like a child whose fate was being decided by elders. These guys... They didn''t even give him a chance to speak before deciding everything amongst themselves.


    The two Generals even came to an agreement that they were going to train Lucifer together and get twice the time to train. Moreover, as part of the agreement, just like General Nimel came here, General Ostrin was also supposed to go to the world of General Nimel.

 Chapter 972 972: Illegitimate Son

    Chapter972 972: Illegitimate Son


    After the agreement between the Two Generals was finalized, there was nothing much that Lucifer could do other than just go with the flow.


    This agreement was also slightly beneficial to him since he could learn twice as much while he was here. Moreover, without even having to ask, the Ostrin n patriarch had agreed to teach him their secret bloodline art. What could be better?


    Lucifer nodded, agreeing with the suggestion of the two Generals. He wasn''t going to make an issue of Lexton''s tone.


    Lexton sighed in relief. Now that he knew just how special Lucifer was, he decided to pay more attention to the young man and treat him like the Two Ancestors in terms of respect.


    "We should go back. The rooms are prepared for you all to freshen up. Oh right, in the evening, there is going to be a feast celebrating all your arrival."


    Lexton told everyone about what he had nned for today. Even though the Two Ancestors didn''t care for the feast, they agreed to attend.


    The Two Generals went with Lucifer in the car that was in the lead. Raayi and Ron also wanted to enter the same car, but they could only take the second car since there wasn''t much space in the first.


    Raayi entered the second car with Ron and his mother.


    "Little one, you still haven''t introduced this one," Ron''s mother reminded her son after they entered the car.


    Ron hadn''t even finished introducing before the incident with his father happened. He was yet to introduce Raayi.


    "She is Raayi, the third in the Tournament," Ron briefly introduced.


    Hearing that kind of introduction, Raayi''s face twitched. Wasn''t this implying that she was worse than him as he was ranked second? What kind of introduction was this?


    "Greetings. I am Raayi Nimel, the granddaughter of General Nimel," she gave an introduction for herself.


    "Oh, Granddaughter of General Nimel?" Even though the woman had already expected this, she was still slightly surprised.


    She had heard that Raayi was a very cold person who hatedpany. She didn''t have any friends and never apanied anyone anywhere. In that regard, she was even more closed than her grandfather. For her toe here was indeed surprising.


    "She''s also the future wife of Lucifer," Ron further stated, only to get punched in the shoulder by Raayi.


    "Ouch, hey, I am not lying, am I? The way you look at him nowadays, don''t think I haven''t noticed," the young man rubbed his shoulders as he rolled his eyes.


    However, right around that time, he felt the wind getting colder.


    "Alright, alright! I won''t mention it!" Ron eximed as the temperature kept going down. "And here I was thinking of helping you in trying to win his heart. But if you don''t want that, then so be and acted as if she hadn''t heard anything. However, deep inside she was quite surprised.


    it."


    Raayi didn''t say anything and just looked out the door. Even she didn''t know what she wanted at the moment.


    Ron''s mother also didn''t interfere in the matters of the youngsters and acted as if she hadn''t heard anything. However, deep inside she was quite surprised.


    ''That guy, just what kind of person is he? But only did he win the favor of her son, but he also won the favor of the entire Star Alliance despite being a new recruit? Not only that, he managed to win over the Cold Princess, who didn''t put any guy in her eyes? He really can''t be that simple. It seems I really need to treat him well.


    ****


    The entourage of the Ostrin n reached the central mansion in the city.


    Ron''s Father personally led the Two Generals to their rooms. He also madest minute preparations to assign two nearby rooms to the two youngsters so he could also escort them.


    After leaving all of them in their rooms, he finally left and caught up with his wife.


    "This guy... It seems I really avoided a cmity today," Lexton told his wife, letting out a relieved sigh. "If those people had left because of me, Father would''ve beaten me without a care in the world."


    "Yeah. I could also see that they pay a lot of attention to Lucifer. It''s as if Lucifer is already decided to be the next King of Star Alliance. We should also do our best," Ron''s mother agreed.


    She served some water to her husband and made him sit down.


    "I still don''t understand one thing," the middle-aged man let out as if talking to himself. "Why would father say that he will teach him our secret skills? Can an outsider even learn those skills? If I''m not wrong, a person needs our Bloodline to use those skills... So why?"


    "Could it be that Lucifer has your Bloodline? Is it possible that he might be the illegitimate son or grandson of your father?" The woman asked, tossing a wild assumption.


    There was nothing else that could make sense to her. If Lucifer really didn''t have their bloodline, then this skill was useless. It was no different than teaching a donkey how to walk on two feet. The only thing that made sense was that the guy had their bloodline and not a random bloodline, but the Royal Bloodline since only the Royal Bloodline members, who had the purest Bloodline, could learn those skills.


    She was sure that her husband didn''t have an illegitimate child to share the Royal Bloodline without her knowledge. And her son was too young to have a son that was around the same age as him. That only left the old ancestor.


    "Could it be that''s why your father didn''t return here as much as he used to? He had been taking care of his secret family, using the excuse of being busy in the work of the Star Alliance.


    While there were some people who were trying to make Lucifer the illegitimate son of General Ostrin, he was lying on bed in the room that was assigned to him, lost in thoughts.

 Chapter 973 973: Tradition

    Chapter973 973: Tradition


    The room in the Pce was of great quality and had everything that a person could need. It was certainly much better and more spacious than the rooms that he used in the Star Ships.


    However, Lucifer didn''t think about the rooms. For now, he was more concerned about the Seven Fragments. He had all seven fragments, and all he needed was to open the portal, but he didn''t have the opportunity.


    He was like the kid who had a precious toy, but he couldn''t bring it out, or it was going to be stolen.


    "I need to find some time to shake them off in the future. I can go to earth and open the portal there, but I''m not sure if it''ll attract the attention of the Star Alliance. Thest time the portal was opened, it didn''t attract their attention, but thest time, the Star Alliance didn''t even know that a world like that existed.


    Thanks to him, the Star Alliance not only knew about him but they also assigned some monitoring teams on earth. He wasn''t sure if the oue was still going to be the same as before this time. There was a higher chance of being discovered this time if he did that.


    Moreover, thest time the portal couldn''t be opened entirely before it was closed by his Father. The energy signature of a partially opened portal was certainly going to be less than the energy signature of apletely open portal, and that too by arge margin.


    Throughout his time in his room, he didn''t sleep and kept trying to think of a way. He only came out of his thoughts after he heard the knock on the door.


    A servant had brought some clothes for Lucifer to change into for the Royal Feast. The Royal Clothes he was provided were very fancy and not as subtle as the attire of the Star Alliance.


    Still, Lucifer changed into the new clothes. The clothes certainly weren''t of bad quality. If anything, they were morefortable than the Star Alliance attire. The only difference was that the clothes didn''t provide as much defense as the Star Alliance attire.


    Then again, Lucifer didn''t need defense for a feast. Even if he needed, his body was his biggest weapon.


    He changed into the new attire. After half an hour, he heard another knock on his door.


    On opening the door, he found the two Generals standing outside the door. They had also changed into a new attire that suited them.


    Behind them, Lucifer noticed Raayi, who was hiding behind her grandfather. He couldn''t help but move aside to have a clear view of her, wondering why she was hiding.


    As Lucifer saw Raayi, he noticed that she was wearing a beautiful red gown.


    "You look good in it," heplimented, thinking that she was uneasy and that''s why hiding. To increase her confidence, he could onlypliment.


    "Hahaha, of course, she does! She''s my granddaughter after all! Not like someone''s grandson who is a brute!" General Nimelughed, slightly taunting General Ostrin.


    "You''re a brute! Your entire family is a brute!" General Ostrin fired back.


    Seeing the two bickering like kids, Lucifer couldn''t help but smile. Who would''ve thought that the Two Generals who stood at the peak of the Star Alliance could actually argue like kids.


    "Shall we go?" he asked, intervening in their battles.


    The Two Generals finally stopped fighting.


    The two Generals walked behind Lucifer and Raayi. Around the same time, General Nimel had an idea that brought a smile to his lips.


    He stepped forward and whispered something in Lucifer''s ears.


    "Eh?" Lucifer was quite surprised to hear what the old man said. "Really?"


    "Of course." General Nimel nodded.


    In the back, General Ostrin wondered what the old man said to Lucifer.


    "What did you tell him?" he asked.


    General Nimel smirked but didn''t say anything.


    Lucifer was still surprised at what he heard, but eventually, he did something. He reached out his hand and held Raayi''s hands.


    "Ehh?" Raayi was taken aback. Lucifer had suddenly held her hands! It was the first time someone held her hands who wasn''t her family. But why was he doing it?


    She was quite surprised, but she didn''t dislike it. His hands felt so warm to her.


    In the back, the old man''s grin widened.


    "What did you do?" General Ostrin asked again.


    General Nimel finally decided to tell. "I told Lucifer that it''s a tradition for someone who is attending a feast for the first time to enter while holding a girl''s hands."


    "You!" General Ostrin was quite taken aback by the shamelessness of General Nimel. To bring his granddaughter and Lucifer together, he was willing to be so sneaky?


    Still, despite being frustrated, he didn''t expose those lies. Sooner orter, Lucifer had to marry a person. Even though he wasn''t particrly fond of General Nimel, he still knew that Raayi was a good and talented girl.


    He was happy with the happiness of the two youngsters.


    Lucifer entered the Royal hall where the beast was arranged. His entrance also attracted a lot of attention since the two Generals were walking behind him.


    Ron watched Lucifer enter while holding Raayi''s hands. He could only smile. "Looks like you really didn''t need my help."


    The Royal Hall was already filled, and everyone was waiting for the main guests to arrive. Now that the guests had arrived, everyone stood up to greet the Two Generals.


    The Ostrin n had invited quite a few main family members to this celebration, along with some influential people of this world who were responsible for protecting it!


    It wasn''t a small deal that two Generals were in a ce together after all. These two Generals possessed so much strength that they could quickly destroy a few worlds without even breaking a sweat. No one dared to disrespect them, especially since one of them was the Ancestor of the Ostrin n.


    "Greetings to the Ancestors!"

 Chapter 974 974: Arrangement

    Chapter974 974: Arrangement


    "Greetings to Ancestors!" All the guests in the Dining Hall stood up and lowered their heads to the two Generals.


    ''These people really have some great influence.'' Lucifer already knew that the position of a General wasn''t ordinary. But seeing it with his own eyes was a different matter. In the eyes of these people, the two Generals looked like gods.


    In the dining hall, many tables were arranged for the feast. For each family, a different table was prepared with enough seating arrangements.


    As for the Ostrin n Members, their seats were in the middle of the hall.


    The main table was not only bigger than the other tables but also had more seats to amodate more people.


    No one had taken their seats at the main table yet as they were waiting for the Ancestors to arrive first.


    "Little one, select the one you prefer," General Ostrin told Lucifer.


    Lucifer didn''t hesitate either. He just picked the seat which was closest to him. He didn''t care for picking the main seat or showing off. The seat next to him was selected by Raayi.


    "In that case, I''ll select that one," General Nimel took the seat on the other side of Lucifer.


    This time, General Ostrin didn''t argue. For him, it didn''t matter who sat next to Lucifer. As there was only one free seat next to the young man, that meant they had to argue on who was going to sit He took the seat on the other side of General Nimel.


    The other Ostrin n Members were slightly surprised. None of there, and it wasn''t the ce to argue. Since this was his n, he was also the host in a way, so he let General Nimel do as much.


    He took the seat on the other side of General Nimel.


    The other Ostrin n Members were slightly surprised. None of them went for the main seats that were prepared for them. In fact, Lexton had specifically prepared two seats that were slightly higher than the other seats for the two Generals, but they went and sat on an ordinary seat just for Lucifer.


    It was clear to him that these people paid a lot of attention to Lucifer. He didn''t say much either. He ignored the main seats as well and took the seat next to his father. And thus, the seating positions were suddenly changed, making it so that Ron ended up on the main seat.


    With the two Generals present, none of the guests dared to create any trouble. They would''ve had to be crazy to do something like that.


    During the feast, Lexton also introduced the Two Generals once again, even though they didn''t need any introduction. After introducing the Generals, he introduced the granddaughter of General Nimel and Lucifer.


    He could easily introduce everyone there, but the problem was Lucifer. Even though Lucifer was quite special, he didn''t have a special family identity. Moreover, Lexton couldn''t just tell the guests what his father told him about Lucifer since that wasn''t something that people who weren''t a part of Star Alliance needed to know.


    As this decision was taken behind closed doors in a high-level meeting, this came under ssified information, which he couldn''t share that easily. He had to keep those things about Lucifer a secret.


    With those limitations, he could only go with the temporary identity of Lucifer. He introduced Lucifer as the winner of the Captainship event and a disciple of General Nimel.


    Even though being the Winner of the Captainship trial was important, what was more influential was being the disciple of a General. That way, he could ensure that no one was going to create trouble for the young man.


    During the feast, many people came up to the two Generals, introducing themselves respectfully before leaving.


    Even though these people didn''t introduce themselves to Lucifer, he still remembered every introduction, not knowing when he might need such a thing.


    While Lucifer was mildly focused on the instructions, Raayi was still thinking back to the moment Lucifer held her hand out of nowhere.


    She couldn''t help but wonder why he would do that. She nced at Lucifer''s distracted face, wondering if that guy liked her.


    After the dinner was over and the two Generals prepared to leave, Lexton stopped them.


    "General Nimel, we''ve also arranged for a small sparring contest for the young generation of our world to show some talent. We would be really happy if you attend it with my father and be the judge. It would be a great fortune for those youngsters to be judged by you."


    General Nimel wasn''t really tired, and he was also somewhat curious just what kind of talent the Ostrin n had in the younger generation. He had only seen Ron, after all and the kid wasn''t half bad.


    "I''ll attend it."


    He, General Ostrin, and all the other Nobles left the pce and went to the Practice Arena that was right outside the Royal Pce.


    In the arena, the seating was already arranged along with the preparation of the stage.


    "It seems you''ve already arranged for everything," General Ostrin smiled. Even though his son was slightly impatient and short-tempered at times, he knew that he was still the best at what he did as long as he put his mind to it. His nning was always exact.


    As soon as theynded here, he was sure Lexton started preparing for this. This was an opportunity to show off their talent to a General.


    The Two Generals took their seats. However, this time Lucifer was made to sit between the two of them as both of them believed that they could teach Lucifer some things through the battles they were about to see.


    While General Ostrin could exin to Lucifer what tricks and skills the participants were using in the battle, General Nimel could tell the best way to break those skills and win the battle as soon as possible.


    For both of them, this was the perfect opportunity.


    Lexton and his family sat next to their ancestors while Raayi sat next to her grandfather this time.


    The signal to start the battle was given.

 Chapter 975: You want to fight?

    975 Chapter 975: You want to fight?


    In the battle, almost all the Noble Families of this world sent their best youngsters. In fact, they specifically brought these youngsters for this event. When were they going to get an opportunity like this after all?


    All the Noble Families only wanted one thing! If they could get the General''s favor, maybe next time their heir could be selected by them for the promotion tournament.


    Through this showoff, they wanted to prove that their heirs were talented as well. They wanted General Ostrin to see how talented their heirs were and send them as a seeded candidate to the next trials.


    Being a Seeded yer came with lots of advantages. For one, the initial score was usually very high for seeded candidates, so even if they didn''t perform as good as the others in the trial, the initial score was like a failsafe for them, which could still make them win since it was counted in the final score.


    Moreover, since there were two Generals at a time like this, they had an opportunity of getting two seeded spots. Neither General Nimel nor General Ostrin had any other heir that was ready for the trial. The ones they had were sent this year. So the next slot waspletely vacant.


    Previously the n didn''t think of this, but after seeing Lucifer, they realized that they had an even better opportunity. If they could be selected as a disciple by the Generals, then what could be better? That could significantly boost their future prospects.


    With that thought, all Noble ns of this world were excited.


    There were around twenty youngsters here, and there were only going to be ten battles since one battle each was enough to show off their potential.


    The first battle started.


    Back in the spectators, General Ostrin didn''t seem impressed with the first battle. "They both learned some nice skills. And their potential isn''t too bad either."


    "Heh, are you being merciful because these are your people? This battle ispletely trash. What talent isn''t half bad? Their talent is trash. If even at that age, they can only do that much, then I''m disappointed. If they were in this year''s trials, they would''vee inst if they were extremely lucky. If not, they would''ve died at the start itself."


    Unlike General Ostrin, General Nimel didn''t mince his words. Lucifer also didn''t disagree with him. He could see that these people were definitely weak. They didn''t even have a fraction of Ron''s strength.


    Even if both of them fought Ron together, they would''ve died within seconds. He had seen Malin train and grow in the trial. She was the weakest in that event, but even she was much better than these people.


    The first battle was over soon. The winner of the battle was ecstatic as he had shown all his skills. After the battle was over, he looked toward two Generals, waiting for praise.


    Unfortunately, he could only see disappointment.


    "Keep working hard." General Ostrin nodded. "I have high hopes for you."


    Even though General Ostrin knew that he was speaking nonsense, he just couldn''t get himself to hurt the youngsters. He was the Ancestor of the Ostrin n after all. They were his citizens.


    General Nimel also gave General Ostrin some respect and didn''t say anything. He didn''t want to insult kids in the open. It didn''t matter to him if they were all trash.


    He had really expected to see some talented individuals so he could teach Lucifer the basics of battles, but only to be disappointed.


    The battles continued, and throughout all ten battles, he only grew more disappointed. Some of the youngsters were much better than others, but none of them were in the league of Ron and Raayi, let alone being in the league of Lucifer.


    After the ten battles were over, General Nimel stood up. "This should be enough, right?"


    "Yeah." General Ostrin also stood up. Even he had high expectations of the youngsters of this generation. However, he hadn''t been home in a long time. Even he had no idea that the younger generation was this disappointing.


    After seeing the disy of others, he was even more impressed with Ron. This guy was truly talented.


    "Great Ancestors, please stop!" A voice came from the back.


    "Huh?" The Two Generals turned around. They could see that the one who called out to them was one of the youngsters who had taken part in the battle.


    "Yes?" General Ostrin asked. For this kid to approach them directly, he certainly had courage.


    "Great Ancestor, I am nning to take part in next year''s promotion trials. And I heard that the man next to you is the person who won this year. I was wondering if I''ll be allowed to fight him to see just where I stand in the next year''s tournament."


    The red-haired man had seen that the two Generals weren''t impressed. He also med that on his opponent. The opponent he faced was very weak. Before he could even show all his skills, that man lost.


    Even the two Generals left, seemingly disappointed; he realized that there was no way they were going to give him a seeded spot. He needed to do something about it! He wanted another opportunity to show his skills!


    Since the winner of the current trials was already before him, he was sure that this was the opportunity he needed. With Lucifer, he could show all his skills. Moreover, if he could defeat Lucifer, he could prove that he deserved to be the seeded candidate for the next year.


    Moreover, he believed that if he defeated Lucifer, who was the disciple of General Nimel, he could have an opportunity of being selected by them as their disciple.


    "Oh? You want to fight him?" After a long time, there was a smile on General Nimel''s face.


    He hadn''t seen Lucifer fight, but he saw Lucifer bring a General down to their knees. He couldn''t believe that this kid really thought he could defeat Lucifer with his skills. Wasn''t he looking down on others a bit too much?

 Chapter 976: Meet

    976 Chapter 976: Meet


    Lucifer had received a challenge from one of the youngsters who wanted to use him as a stepping stone to climb up the hierarchy.


    No one who actually knew Lucifer believed that this person had even the slightest chance of victory. Even Lexton, who had only heard about Lucifer''s fighting skills, was sure that this wasn''t going to work.


    If Lucifer was an ordinary warrior, why would the Star Alliance pay so much attention to him? Why would his son lose to him? Why would Lucifer stand at the top of the Promotion Trials despite starting from the bottom? It was clear that amongst the younger generation, Lucifer''s strength could be said to be at the peak.


    "Do you want to give it a try?" General Nimel asked Lucifer, leaving the choice to him.


    "Just a waste of time," Lucifer just waved his hand and continued walking back. Fighting random battles that weren''t needed was useless for him.


    "Y-you!" The youngster was stunned. Lucifer even refused to face him?


    "Could it be that you''re scared?" he asked, slightly taunting Lucifer while being careful to not offend the Generals.


    "Huh?" the man had just finished taunting Lucifer, but just as his words finished, he felt something around his neck... It felt as if something sharp, as if a sword was kept on his throat. With just a single movement, his head would''ve rolled on the ground.


    He touched his throat, feeling a small cut. The cut was very small and didn''t hurt or affect the health of the youngster. It looked more like a warning instead.


    The young man was shocked. Just what was this skill? Invisible des? He couldn''t help but wonder if General Nimel was helping Lucifer. Or was it truly his strength?


    "It''s good to be excited for a battle, but it''s just as important to know your opponent''s strength and when they are being merciful. It helps a person live longer," Lucifer stated without even looking back.


    He went back to the room that was assigned to him, leaving stunned spectators behind. Everyone was sure that this young man was not ordinary...


    From the next day, the Two Generals finally began Lucifer''s training. In the Morning, General Ostrin taught him the secret art of Heavenly Thunder that Lucifer was truly after. And in the afternoon, he was taught by General Nimel.


    Lucifer had gathered a skill rted to cold as well, but that skill wasn''t something he relied on. He had just received that when he killed someone. He was already nning to sacrifice that skill along with a few useless skills to evolve another of his skills into a higher tier.


    Many people dreamed of learning from General Nimel, and Lucifer finally understood why. The absolute freeze was a Royal Art of the Nimel n and wasn''t taught to outsiders, but the strength of that skill was really quite good.


    General Nimel didn''t teach the absolute freeze, but he did teach Lucifer a weaker version of the skill that was simr to that, so his body got adjusted to this.


    Throughout the days, Lucifer''s training kept progressing smoothly. On most of the days, he was busy training. However, there were also a few days off where he was allowed to leave the Pce and roam the city or the sights of this world with Ron and Raayi.


    While Lucifer was safely spending his time in the Domain of the Ostrin n, the Patriarch of the Rasin n was finding it hard to spend each day. His grandson was killed, and the killer was still roaming free.


    He had already assigned some spies to give him every information about the whereabouts of Lucifer to find an opportunity to kill him, but Lucifer wasn''t even leaving the Domain of the Ostrin n, giving him no opportunity at all to strike.


    "I''ll see how long you can hide there!" General Rasin stated, clenching his fist. "Sooner orter, I''ll find you alone! And then I''ll send you to beg for forgiveness from my son!"


    ****


    Back on earth, the list of names that Lucifer had given to the Star Alliance was informed about his decision. The Star Alliance members personally went to escort Lucifer''s crew back so they could be trained about the technicalities of the ship.


    Initially, the group was suspicious, wondering if they were actually telling the truth but eventually, they decided to trust Lucifer''s letter and go with the Star Alliance. Only a few from his trusted group were left behind to handle the things back on earth.


    Amongst the ones who were left behind were also his parents since Lucifer didn''t want to drag them into something that could be dangerous for everyone.


    The Star Alliance members were brought back to the headquarters and were handed over to the department that was responsible for training them.


    While Lucifer was training to strengthen himself, his friends were training themselves as well, learning everything they could about the ship.


    It was the first time most of them had seen a ship like that. For them, it was a marvel of technology. Earth was still a few decades or maybe even centuries behind before it could achieve something simr to the Star Alliance through a ship this powerful.


    During their training, they asked the others about Lucifer, getting to learn stories about them. Most ordinary people didn''t know that Lucifer was allowed to train under all Generals if he pleased. They were only told that Lucifer was training in the Realm of the Ostrin n. That''s all these people could tell Lucifer''s friends as well.


    They did also tell them about the achievement of Lucifer in the Trials for promotion and how much he had achieved in such a short time.


    Lucifer was already somewhat famous in the headquarters, and quite a few people already knew his name by now. Usually, new Captain Rank members weren''t paid as much attention since every year there were just too many who got promoted one way or another. However, Lucifer was different.


    ****


    In the Domain of the Ostrin n, time kept passing, and before long, one month had already passed.


    Throughout the month, Lucifer learned his Heavenly Thunder, even more, improving his strength by leaps and bounds. He also gained a lot of understanding about Absolute Freeze. Even though his knowledge wasn''t perfect, but he believed with time, he could cover the distance between where he was now and perfection.


    Lucifer clenched his fist. "May I ask what is happening here?"


    After a month had passed, it was finally the time for Lucifer to leave the Domain of the Ostrin n. As per the promise between the two ns, after one month, it was for the Ostrin n to go to the Domain of the Nimel n as a guest, where Lucifer''s training was going to continue.


    Having learned most of these things, Lucifer already wanted to run away and leave on some mission as an excuse, but eventually, he also had to go with General Nimel.


    ''Only one more month. After that, their turns will be over. I should find a way to leave then...''


    Leaving under two Generals was a feat that was harder to achieve than breaking inside the Star Alliance headquarters, especially since these people never left his side. It was partially for his protection, but for Lucifer, this was no less than restricting his freedom.


    In his head, there were often times when he was cursing the Star Alliance for this. Even though it was a good thing, it came with a lot of baggage that he was ufortable with.


    It had been a month, and he had all the stone fragments. He was so eager to use them.


    Lucifer was taken back to the ship after the month was over. It was their turn to leave for the home of General Nimel. It was also General Ostrin''s turn to be grumpy like General Nume was when he was here.


    "Greetings, Captain." As soon as Lucifer entered the ship, he was greeted by a young man. Initially, Lucifer was so distracted that he didn''t even pay attention to the person before him, not when bothering to look at them. However, it was only after hearing that person''s voice that he raised his head.


    "Kellian?"


    As soon as he looked up, he was convinced! The person before him was Kellian. He was so busy in training that he had already forgotten that he had sent for his friends to be trained as a crew.


    "It''s good to see that you''re doing good. When the Alliance took you, we were all so worried. Finally, we can see that you''re safe. You also look stronger than before."


    "Is everyone else here as well?'' Lucifer asked. He had invited many people after all.


    "That''s right. The old crew left already. We are in control of the ship to help you in any way we can. The others are already in the main cabin, preparing for takeoff."

 Chapter 977: Breakthrough

    Chapter 977: Breakthrough


    Finally, Lucifer hadplete control of the ship, with only his friends working as the ship crew, who were more loyal to him than tothe Star Alliance. This allowed him a greater degree of freedom to pursue his goals in the future.


    He had more or less brought everyone that had worked with him, including Kellian, Tristan, Szar, and Yaliza.


    He also brought Alicia, who was rescued from the Lab by the Variant Uprising and always worked with him. Amongst his crew, there was also Vampire Queen Milena and her loyal subordinate Arthur, who had the ability of teleportation.


    One more person that he brought with him was the youngdy who helped establish the underwater Kingdom, only to be backstabbed by them. Thanks to her, she was back as well. However, unlike before where she knew everything that was happening on earth, even she didn''t know anything about this part of the universe.


    Those were just the main members of the uprising that he brought with him. His father was left on earth, being the strongest warlock. Even though there was no threat to him for now, Lucifer still sent some members back to earth to help them handle things if a situation arose.


    Lucifer met up with everyone. Even though it hadn''t been a long time, he still felt as if he hadn''t seen those people for decades.


    "Don''t forget, our bet is still active," Tristan whispered in Kellian''s ears while Lucifer greeted the other members.


    "Does it even matter? No matter who he marries now, I''m afraid we''ve passed the point of helping him. Only he can decide. Moreover, doesn''t he have another woman with him? They seem quite close," Kellian answered. "Just focus on the given task. He''s still young. I''m sure he knows what he''s doing."


    "One would think so, but don''t you know him? He''s always more focused on the mission than he is on his personal life," Tristan sighed. "Moreover, it''s a question of dignity. I want to see which one of us was right. I''m sure I''ll be winning!"


    "We''ll see." Kellian could only shrug. He was made the Vice Captain of the Ship as it was under Lucifer''s authority. All his team members were made Star Alliance members, thanks to him. No other Captain had as much privilege as Lucifer was given.


    After he introduced his team members to the General and the Generals to them, everyone settled down. It was time to take off.


    Once again, Lucifer''s ship was escorted by two General Rank ships that brought him to the domain of the Nimel n, a world that waspletely covered in ice.


    Beforending, General Nimel advised everyone to wear warmer clothes if they were afraid of the cold since the temperature outside easily went down to negative fifty-degree celsius.


    Lucifer didn''t feel the need for warm clothes, but just as a precaution, he wore some warmer clothes and a warm jacket.


    Since Lucifer had introduced his crew members as his friends, they were allowed toe down and be the guests of the Nimel n as well. As for arranging the rooms, the old man didn''t feel like there was any problem with that.


    Lucifer left the ship and was brought inside the Nimel n, where Raayi''s parents were waiting for him. In thest month, General Nimel had already told his son everything about Lucifer since he didn''t want his son to make the same mistake that General Nimel did.


    His son was very careful not to offend General Ostrin and Lucifer, but he did seem a bit surprised. After hearing everything about Lucifer, he expected the man to be quite different. He couldn''t sense any strength from Lucifer. Other than his extraordinary looks, he couldn''t see anything special.


    Since he didn''t doubt his father''s words, he could only believe that Lucifer was keeping it hidden. Did Lucifer not want his secrets to be seen? That wasn''t bad either.


    He was also informed that Raayi was particrly fond of this guy. It was the first time that his daughter even paid attention to any man in that manner.


    Instead of being upset with her, he was happy. He had always expected that his daughter was going to stay single since it was impossible to find a guy she was happy with. However, she found one herself, and that man was the shining star of Star Alliance with unlimited future potential. He didn''t worry about her.


    Despite being happy with her decision, as a father, he still wanted to get to know more about Lucifer in general.


    "Little brother, wee to our home. I''ve heard a lot about you," Raayi''s father greeted Lucifer. "Are you tired? If not, how about you apany me to drinks?"


    Lucifer wasn''t tired and didn''t worry about drinking with someone since alcohol didn''t affect him much; however, he still refused and asked to be taken to his room.


    "I feel like I''m closer to a breakthrough. I just want to go to the room and work on bing stronger. However, I want to do it without disturbance."


    Not only Raayi''s Father, he told the same words to the two Generals beforending here. He had already nned on what to do. It was impossible to leave with the ship white leaving the Two Generals behind. There was only one way that he could think of... Staying with them while leaving at the same time.


    Since these people didn''t know about his strength structure as to how his body worked while getting stronger, he made an excuse that he could get stronger with training and times, and every few years, he had a breakthrough to get even stronger where he needed topletely iste himself.


    With the excuse of Istion, he found a way to get some time to gain some privacy where he could sneak out. He had also settled all his pawns in ces. Now it was just time to make his move.


    Since he had already asked the Generals permission to iste himself and meditate in his room, none could say anything. They could only allow Lucifer to do as he pleased if it meant he was going to be stronger.

 Chapter 978: The Joining

    "Don''t worry. After your breakthrough, we can still drink. I''ll show you our beautiful kingdom when youe out," Raayi''s father didn''t feel offended. He escorted Lucifer straight to the room that he demanded... Lucifer had made sure that his room was in an area where no one else was staying, giving an excuse that different energy in the same vicinity could not only prevent his breakthrough but also hurt him.


    Thanks to the heavy words he used, no one was allowed to enter the area where Lucifer was staying. Even the two Generals decided to stay away from that ce.


    The other members of Lucifer''s crew were also given rooms but in a different area of the castle.


    ****


    Lucifer was alone in the southern part of the castle. He was also the only person in this area. He had also told Raayi''s father that he had enough food and water for his breakthrough, and they didn''t need to send a servant since that could only be detrimental.


    Back inside the room, Lucifer sat in silence, confirming that no one was spying on him. Only after making sure he sighed in relief. Finally, he had some privacy.


    "Now that the world of Summons is destroyed, I don''t think the Summoning could still establish a point of interaction in the world of Summons.


    This time, it should be a direct terminal with this world. And since it''s Summoning, the defence of this world shouldn''t be able to detect it. If they did, it''d be quite troublesome, but I can only take risks for now.


    Lucifer ced his hand on the ground and started casting a spell. For him, it was finally the time to sneak out of this ce and go back to earth.


    After casting the Summoning Spells, he let the first spell seed, calling one of his ve Contract Beasts here.


    The Summoned Beast was one of the Ministers of the King of Beasts. He was surprised to find himself in a different surroundings. However, as soon as he saw Lucifer, he went down on knees respectfully.


    "This young one, greets Master."


    "You will stay here until I send you back to earth. You aren''t allowed to make any noise or let anyone know of your presence. If anyone finds out that you''re here, you''ll be the first one that will be killed!" Lucifer didn''t waste much time in introducing the situation.


    He was just leaving this beast here as a safe point so he could return to this ce when he needed.


    After warning the beast, Lucifer cast another Summoning spell, linking with a different beast on Earth. However, before the Summoning could seed, he used his decay to manipte the Summoning circle, creating a break in space and time.


    He stepped on the Summoning circle and disappeared.


    Finally, he was free! Finally, he was back on earth and could do as he pleased.


    Lucifer appeared at the headquarters of the Uprising, where his parents and some of his other teammates were staying. Usually, he would''ve greeted them, but for now, he was in a hurry. He had only taken a week of time. At most, the Generals were going to give him two weeks before they came to check up on him to see if he was fine.


    Another reason he didn''t meet his parents was that if he did, he was sure that they weren''t going to let him leave so soon. Leaving this ce would''ve been even harder than leaving the Domain of Nimel n.


    Lucifer teleported outside the Headquarters of Uprising. Now that he was back on earth and out of Star Alliance''s reach, he could use the seven stones to open the portal.


    Unfortunately, the problem remains the same for now. Now that earth was on Star Alliance''s radar, if he opened the portal here, he had a feeling that the Star Alliance was going to know about it and create trouble for him. If they found out that it was rted to the Ancient n, then no one could stop them from destroying earth.


    To save earth, he couldn''t open the portal here as well. Fortunately, he had another ce in mind.


    He surrounded his body in a mysterious spatial energy and flew up. Soon, Lucifer was already in the atmosphere of earth, but he didn''t stop and kept going up until he had left earth''s atmosphere. Fortunately, the Spatial Energy he was using helped protect him from unexpected disasters.


    Being able to breathe even in space, Lucifer kept going farther and farther from Earth. He had already checked the map of the Worlds associated with the Star Alliance. He intentionally went in the opposite direction from them to find a safe space where he could open the portal without being instantly found out.


    Fortunately, after working with Star Alliance, he knew about the range of their radars.


    After flying for four days straight, Lucifer finally stopped. He was feeling quite tired already, but he also felt that this much distance should''ve been enough. He could see a star in the distance, which was one-tenth the size of earth.


    Since he didn''t need much space to open a portal, he decided to use that Star as his base. Lucifernded on the empty star. He expanded his protection domain to have some space for himself to eat and drink.


    After covering arge area under his domain which protected that ce from chaotic spatial energies, he finally pulled out some water and food. Before opening the portal, he wanted to be in his best condition, and that meant being full.


    It didn''t take him long to finish eating. He was finally ready... Reach for what he had been waiting for over a decade.


    One after another, he started bringing out all the stones that he had gathered. Up to three stones, nothing was different. However, as soon as he brought out the fourth stone in the same vicinity, all four of the stones started shining and rising in the air.

 Chapter 979: What you couldve been

    Chapter 979: What you could''ve been


    The Strange Energy of the Stones could be felt by him. The energy was even more powerful than he ever felt before. This was the destructive energy of billions of deaths which was affecting even the space and time in the surroundings.


    All four Stones rose high in the sky. The energy was powerful but was stillcking.


    Lucifer pulled out the fifth stone, which also rose high in the sky, linking with the other stones, making a pentagon. The destructive energy shot up immediately.


    He next brought out the sixth stone and tossed it high in the sky as well. The sixth stone also linked with the stone formation. A small portal started opening up in the sky, but the portal looked very unstable. The speed at which it was expanding was also very slow. At this rate, Lucifer was sure that it was going to take years before the portal could openpletely.


    Fortunately, he still had something to help him up. Lucifer brought out the Sword that he had snatched from the King of Beasts. He grabbed thest stone that was embedded in the Sword and pulled it out.


    This way, he made the sword useless for the most part, but he didn''t care. He only wanted to open the portal for now.


    Lucifer tossed thest stone up as well. Thest stone also joined up with the portal formation.


    Once all the formation stones were in line, the portal formation wasplete, and the speed of the portal opening increased by multiple folds.


    Lucifer remained standing on the Star, looking up at the portal. Finally, he was at this point. Finally he was physically going to meet the person that he had been after all this time.


    Even though Lucifer traveled very far from Earth, expecting the Star Alliance to be unable to find him, he really underestimated the destructive energy of the portal.


    Even though no Star Alliance ship was in the vicinity, this destructive energy was sensed by the Star Alliance.


    There were three Captain Rank ships, each patrolling a different Sector of the universe, that was given the task to check out the strange phenomenon and report back. All three Captain Rank ships moved at once.


    At the same time, the Star Alliance also decided to send more backup, including a General to check things out. It was the time where the Star Alliance was on high alert since the Baltics were wiped out, and there was a possibility of their return.


    ****


    "Is that so? Keep us updated."


    Back in the Nimel n''s Domain, the two Generals who were apanying Lucifer also received this information from the Star Alliance. As Generals, they had the right to receive such information.


    ****


    The portal finally reached the size of the past when the stones were separated by his father.


    "Just a little more..."


    Lucifer waited patiently. Even though he wanted to be done with it as soon as possible, there was nothing he could do. Before the portalpletely opened, rushing inside was stupid.


    Fortunately, it didn''t take long for the portal to bepletely opened. The space and time dimension inside the portal waspletely broken. It was as if the portal had opened a doorway to a different dimension.


    As the door stabilized, the formation wasplete. Lucifer started rising high in the sky and entered the portal. He wasn''t sure if the portal was going to close after he entered, but the changes were low.


    ****


    The same barrennd that Lucifer saw in his dream was before him as soon as he came out on the other side of the postal. The sky was a darker shade of red, covered in strange clouds. As far as the eyes could see, only barrennd could be seen.


    "This is the World of Baltics?" Lucifer had heard from the Baltics that their world was destroyed by someone, and that person was staying in this world. That''s also why they wanted to open this portal to kill him.


    "An entire world brought to this. This level of destructive power," Lucifer muttered as he observed his surroundings. He didn''t know what this world was like before this destructive, but currently, there was no life in it. Even the sky seemed dead.


    "You''ve certainly surpassed my expectations."


    While Lucifer was observing the surroundings, he heard a familiar voice. He turned around, noticing a young man behind him. The man looked like he was in histe twenties now. He had long red hair that came down to his waist.


    The man''s looks were quite simr to his own for the most part. What truly surprised Lucifer was that this man was able to get close to him without him realizing. If the man hadn''t spoken, Lucifer could''ve never known he was behind him.


    Sneaking up to him should''ve been impossible with the abilities he had already used to keep him safe. But this guy did so easily? Moreover, this wasn''t a dream. This was reality.


    "Tell me who you are?" Lucifer asked. The man behind him didn''t look like he had any killing intent.


    "Who am I?" The man behind Lucifer asked. Even though his face didn''t have much expression, his eyes showed some intrigue. "I thought you wanted to know your identity?"


    "To know myself, I need to know you. I''ve thought a lot about it all this time, and I''ve already realized it. You aren''t my family member, but you are more simr to me than any family member could be. It''s as if you''re... Me."


    Lucifer had thought a lot about this person''s identity after seeing him in the dreamsst time. This person was just too simr to him.


    Before killing Licia, he had asked her some questions. He focused most on the battle that destroyed their world. From what he found out, the person who destroyed her was able to use multiple abilities.Moreover, most of those abilities were quite simr to what he was able to use, just more powerful.


    "Then how are you rted to me?" Lucifer asked. Was the man really not him? Then who was he? This statement raised many It was possible for these abilities to run down their Bloodline, but to look so simr to him, this wasn''t as simple as being a family member. It was as if he was looking at his older self in the mirror.


    "You''re wrong," the man behind Lucifer smiled. "I''m not you."


    "Then how are you rted to me?" Lucifer asked. Was the man really not him? Then who was he? This statement raised many questions.


    The man didn''t answer directly. He started rising in the sky and flew away. Lucifer also followed the man. The man maintained his speed as if allowing Lucifer to follow him.


    It was only after the men reached the edge of the cliff that they stopped.


    "This cliff..." Lucifer recognized the cliff. This was the same ce where the two had talked in the dream.


    "You don''t want to answer?" Lucifer asked, sitting at the edge of the cliff.


    The man sat as well, going silent for a moment. "I''ve waited so long, all for this moment. It looks like I''ll finally be free..."


    "Free?" Lucifer frowned. What did this guy mean by saying that he''ll be free?


    "I''m not you. That much is true," the man answered. "On the contrary, I''m what you could''ve been."


    "You''re what I could''ve been?" Lucifer asked, taken aback. What did this guy mean?


    "I suppose you already heard about our past from the Star Alliance?" The man asked, changing the topic.


    Lucifer nodded. "I heard that your n ruled over the entire universe. Eventually, there was a war in which all ns joined up to fight you all, and that only one person was able to escape."


    "You escaped and killed three Major ns before disappearing for all this time," he added. "Is that true?"


    "More or less. Everything was peaceful. I don''t believe our n was ever unjust to anyone. However, jealousy leads people down some really unique paths. The ns worked together to destroy us so they could be the rulers instead. We were strong, but before thebined force of this world, we weren''t strong enough."


    "I watched my family members die in that battle. No one was left alive, and no one was allowed to escape. It was only thanks to my father that I was able to escape and survive."


    Even though the man had already gotten over the past, his voice still had some mncholy as he thought about the past. "Ever since then, I''ve wanted nothing more than the deaths of the people who hurt our n."


    "Only you escaped... Then what am I? Don''t tell me I''m a clone?" Lucifer frowned.


    "Clone? You''re not. You''re as real a person as me if not more... And soon, you''ll be the only one..."


    "What do you mean? Can''t you tell me in simpler terms? Who are we?" Lucifer asked. That was the question that had been guing his mind all this time. "Who were my real parents?"

 Chapter 980: Ill just...

    Chapter 980: I''ll just...


    "Your parents are long gone..." The young man answered after a brief pause. "They died in the assault of the United Forces that attacked our n just like everyone else."


    "As for who we are... I might not have much time to tell you. Now that we''ve met, a time paradox is starting to take ce. I don''t have enough time to tell you everything. So I''ll just..."


    The young man ced his finger in the middle of Lucifer''s forehead. As soon as his forehead touched Lucifer, Lucifer''s eyes closed, and his body went weak. He fell on the ground as if he had fallen asleep.


    The young man observed Lucifer as he retracted his hand, looking very weak now. It was as if he had lost all his strength now.


    A barrier was covering the world in which he was staying, not only keeping it hidden from being discovered by normal means but also protecting it. However, cracks started developing in the barrier.


    Before long, the entire barrier was covered in cracks.


    The young man looked up, realizing that the barrier wasn''t going tost long. He could only sigh in response. "I don''t know if you''re ready or not, but the time hase. Time for me to leave and time for you to..."


    "I am sorry for giving you this pain and torment..." He told Lucifer as he stood up.


    He could only stretch his arms as his face looked as if he was somewhat lost.


    "You really grew up fast. It feels like just yesterday when I brought you here..." The man''s body started turning illusory with time, as if his body was disappearing.


    His life force kept getting weaker and weaker. At the same time, Lucifer''s life force kept getting stronger and stronger as a mysterious energy flooded inside him.


    [Shatter]


    The barrier surrounding the world shattered, revealing the powerful energy signature of the world. For centuries, the Star Alliance believed that the world of Baltics was destroyed, but as soon as the barrier broke, all the rms in the Star Alliance went off at once!


    The Star Alliance was in a frenzy. First, that strange energy appeared in this world. Just as they sent people to check it, the world of the Baltics made an appearance.


    A meeting of Generals was called. Even General Nimel and General Ostrin attended that meeting despite not being present at the Star Alliance headquarters.


    "Your Majesty, the appearance of the World of Baltics... I feel like it had something to do with the person we were trying to find. There''s a good chance that we may find him here. We need to send enough forces to be able to take him down if he''s there."


    "Have you forgotten? It might be a trap. Don''t get too hyper. If we send all forces there, what if it was their n to weaken the defenses of the Star Alliance? What if after we fall for this trap and send our forces, they attack the headquarters?"


    Amongst the Generals, it wasn''t easy to get a consensus since the situation itself was soplicated. They needed to send forces to check that ce, but how much to send was the question.


    "If we send too little, and he''s actually here, our forces will be wiped, and we will lose the opportunity, but if we send too much, we bear the risk of falling into a trap," the Queen muttered.


    There was no perfect choice in a situation like that. No matter what she chose, there was always a chance of being wrong.


    After a discussion, the Queen could finallye to one decision.


    "We should take the risk while also ensuring the safety of this ce!" She dered. "Divide our forces into three equal parts. One will stay here to protect this world! One will go to investigate this anomaly, and the third will keep an eye on our other bases!"


    "General Nimel and General Ostrin, you''re to be a part of the team that protects the headquarters. Please return as soon as you can!"


    "Yes, Your Majesty!"


    With the meeting being over, three teams were decided on, each having an equal number of Captain and General Rank members and ships.


    Since the Headquarters had other means of defense as well, the Queen didn''t keep more people here than she needed, despite the looming threat.


    ****


    Inside the Realm of Nimel n, everyone still believed that Lucifer was immersed in his meditation to get stronger.


    The two Generals were given orders to return, but they also wanted to take Lucifer back with them. Unfortunately, they couldn''t disturb him. They could only decide to leave the youngsters behind, being confident that no harm coulde to them in this ce.


    Still, General Nimel did leave an instruction for his son to protect Lucifer if needed.


    The Two Generals soon left, taking their ships. Only Captain Ranked ships of Lucifer were left behind.


    ****


    Amongst the teams that were sent to check up on the appearance of this mysterious world, the one leading that team was General Rasin, whose grandson had been killed by Lucifer in the Trials.


    The man already wanted to kill Lucifer, but thanks to the Queen''s arrangement, it seemed impossible for now. He still wanted to find an opportunity to do that, but now he was immersed in something more important. He decided to put his personal grudge aside for now and focus on the task at hand.


    ****


    Lucifer was still lying on the ground. Even though he looked like he was sleeping, his body was shivering as if he was feeling extremely cold.


    The young man who was standing before him had already disappeared as soon as the barrier broke.


    Lucifer didn''t know what was happening to him. As soon as he was touched by the young man, something strange happened. It was as if something inside him was unsealed... A strength that he had never felt before could be felt now. But right around that time, strange memories also started rushing through his head.

 Chapter 981: The past

    Chapter 981: The past


    It was clear that these memories weren''t his memories. He had only lived for a few years, and he remembered everything about that. It took him a moment to realize that they were the memories of the person before him.


    ****


    "Congrattions, Master. You''re now a father."


    Cheers erupted as people congratted a couple. The man looked to be barely twenty years old. He looked so happy, as if he had received the entire world today in the form of his son.


    The man walked closer to his son and picked him up in his arms, kissing the young boy on the forehead.


    Lucifer felt the man kiss his forehead, realizing that the man was probably the father of the person he had just met.


    Not too far from him, he could see a woman lying on the bed, looking extremely tired.


    ''Is this his memory?'' Lucifer wondered as memories kept progressing.


    Throughout the memories, he saw himself grow up and his parents also getting older. He was able to see that the people in the Ancient n weren''t bad. Instead, they were very kind and nice, not only to him but to others as well, despite standing at the peak of the world.


    They were nothing like the Star Alliance made them out to be. Things in his memories moved smoothly until he turned neen years old.


    It was his neenth birthday. His parents took him out of the n. Since his father wanted him to know about other worlds so he could take over his position, he took him to each world.


    Unfortunately, in one of the worlds, he saw something that changed their lives altogether.


    His father saw a child being beaten and his mother being dragged by men dressed in the Royal Army''s attire. All her clothes had already been stripped, and the people were just watching her being humiliated.


    No matter the cause, such behavior was unbearable to his father. His father was so angry that he killed the Royal Guards. He thought it was the end of it, only to find out from the woman that their daughter was already taken by the Prince.


    The woman told them that she hadn''t done anything wrong other than offending the Prince by rejecting his demand of sleeping with her daughter for one night.


    Not only did Prince kidnap the daughter, but also sent his men to humiliate the entire family.


    The woman fell on his father''s feet, begging him to save them. His father also didn''t want to leave things as they were. He was here to teach his son how to be a good overlord, and he had to take action.


    His Father went inside the Pce, only to find that the woman''s daughter was already dead. She had killed herself to escape from the fate of being the Prince''s ything.


    Lucifer''s father killed the Prince for this crime, and he did so right before the King! As for this world, it was none other than the world of the Baltics! This was the ce where it all started.


    The King could only watch his son being killed, but he couldn''t do anything. In fact, on the outside, he agreed with the decision of his son being published with death for this crime.


    It was only after he and his father left that the Baltics truly started showing their colors. They secretly started creating an alliance. They used lies to convince some of the alliance members while using treasures and greed to attract others.


    The operation was kept a secret until everything was ready, and it took five years.


    Exactly five years after the incident, on his twenty-fourth birthday, the Ancient n was attacked from all sides.


    Almost all the species were involved in this attack, even the ones that were once saved from the brink of extinction by the Ancient n.


    The Ancient n was the strongest. They were the overlord, but before the attack of so many people, even they couldn''t survive.


    After a battle thatsted for three months, the Ancient n was destroyed, and Lucifer watched everything with his own eyes inside these memories. This type of war... This many enemies...he had only heard rumors about the strength of the Ancient n, but he watched it with his own eyes.


    Even with thebined power of the entire universe, it took the enemies three months to kill a handful of Ancient n Members. Even though the Enemy Alliance won and the Ancient n was wiped out, there was one person who was left alive... The man whose memories he was seeing.


    The man wanted to fight to the death, but his father made him promise that he won''t fight in this war... The man was forced to leave his home behind, which was almost destroyed already.


    Before the man was forced to leave, his father gave him one treasure... The Holy Treasure of the Ancient n. He didn''t want this treasure to fall into the hands of the enemy.


    Lucifer didn''t know what that treasure did, but ording to his father, it could only be used two times in its lifetime, and it was already used once before. That left only one more use...


    The man left this treasure and left, filled with hate. He had promised his father that he wouldn''t fight in this war, but he had already decided that he was going to take his revenge.


    After leaving his n, he wandered from ce to ce, biding his time while getting stronger.


    With time, he also destroyed the three Major ns that were responsible for this war, Including the Baltics. Only a few Baltics managed to escape, taking shelter inside their Dungeons.


    The Dungeons weren''t in any space. They couldn''t be reached through ordinary means, and that was what kept those people safe as the Baltics looked for a suitable world to open an entrance to the Dungeons.


    It took them around fifty years before they managed to find a world where the energy was suitable to help them get stronger... Earth!

 Chapter 982: The Last Words

    Chapter 982: The Last Words


    The young man didn''t leave this world after destroying it either. He sealed it in a separate space so it could never be found. For the entire universe, this world was destroyed.


    The Baltics had a connection with their home world, so they were able to create stones that could open a portal back to this world. They used the energy of death to make it happen as well, only to fail at thest moment.


    Through the memories, Lucifer saw something he found even more intriguing. The young man didn''t fight anyone after destroying the three worlds. Instead, he sealed himself in this world. Lucifer also knew the reason.


    In the battle where he destroyed the three worlds, the young man realized that he alone wasn''t strong enough to destroy all his enemies. His talent was limited, and his strength was also not enough, thanks to him being poisoned in the battle.


    The man could still fight and kill people, but he didn''t want to be too eager and lose the opportunity to have revenge for a moment of anger.


    He waited and started making preparation for this moment... A moment where he could get his goals.


    He used the secret treasure of his people atst. The treasure was a treasure of time that could take a person back in time. Unfortunately, the treasure also had limitations. A person could stay back in time only a few hours, and in that time, he couldn''t interact with anyone other than his past self.


    He wanted to go back in the past to tell his younger self about what was toe in the future so that this cmity could be avoided.


    Unfortunately, the treasure was really something that couldn''t be controlled, as if it had a will of its own.


    The treasure took him back in time, but not to the time that he was expecting. The treasure took him back in time to the moment, which was only a few days after him being born.


    No matter what, he couldn''t tell a toddler about the future. Even if he did, no one was going to understand. He also couldn''t interact with anyone else or leave any notes behind to tell them. An absolute point in time was impossible to solve from what he could see.


    Eventually, seeing no option, he decided to go with the extreme. If he couldn''t stop the cmity, he at least wanted revenge!


    He picked up the young baby right before his time was up, returning to his original timeline. This way, he created a paradox in time...


    Since this war started because his father took him out on his birthday, he thought that if he wasn''t even there in the past, his father couldn''t take him out and create this cmity.


    When he came back to his original timeline, he expected things to have changed, but the oue was still the same. The only difference was that the past had changed slightly. Even though his father didn''t hurt anyone in the Baltic n, the Baltic n still schemed against them and went forward with the annihtion.


    The man felt defeated. No matter what he did, he couldn''t change the past. The only difference in the current timeline was that Lucifer''s parents lost him in childhood, never knowing where he went even until their death.


    Since there were two Lucifers, the man also felt as if the reality was starting to get unstable. There could only be one of them since they were a paradox.


    To protect both of them for the moment, he decided to do something extreme. He decided to aim for their revenge through Lucifer.


    He wanted Lucifer to get stronger so that he could transfer all his strength to Lucifer. With his strength, he believed that Lucifer was going to be the strongest being on earth, even though it also had the potential of making him a cursed existence.


    To help him get stronger, the Ancient infiltrated even the Netherworld and stole the Holy Sword, leaving it with Lucifer in the Dungeons as soon as they appeared on earth. He left Lucifer on earth in the Dungeons, all so he could absorb the natural aura of the Dungeons to nourish his body.


    He didn''t expect Lucifer to be found by some humans who took them out of there. Things didn''t entirely go as nned, but he had always been watching Lucifer, seeing how things went.


    Even when Lucifer was killed in theb, it was he who awakened the Ancient Bloodline of Lucifer to bring him back to life. The man had been helping Lucifer without actuallying before him since the moment they did so; the reality was going to remove the paradox on its own.


    Before that could happen, the man transferred all his strength to Lucifer, as he started disappearing from this world forever.


    The man didn''t say anything. He only watched Lucifer gain his Power as his body disappeared.


    "I took you away from your family, away from the life you were supposed to have, all so I could kill the bastards who destroyed our lives... I hope one day you''ll be able to forgive me..."


    Thest words of the man echoed in the surroundings before his body disappeared.


    The world of Baltics had appeared in the universe again, attracting everyone''s attention while Lucifer was still lying on the ground as if peacefully sleeping.


    It was only after he regained all his memories that he finally made a movement.


    "Arghh!" He roared in pain and page, feeling as if his body was changing internally at the same time as breaking apart. He was bing stronger, but this strength... It was painful... And so was seeing the life he would''ve lived if he wasn''t taken.


    He never saw his real parents, but seeing them in these memories, feeling their love, watching them die... He felt his heart shatter a thousand times.


    "Arghhh!" His roars kept intensifying with time as all his powers ran amok.

 Chapter 983: Unstoppable

    Chapter 983: Unstoppable


    Lucifer was lying on the ground, roaring in pain.. pain like never before. The aura around him also intensified at the same time as his strength kept increasing by leaps and bounds in a short time.


    ****


    General Rasin arrived near the world that had suddenly appeared out of nowhere with an entire fleet that consisted of five General Rank Members and many more Captain Rank members.


    "Sir, there is some energy interference in this world''s field. We can''t scan it for life. Shall we destroy it directly?" One of the Star Alliance members asked General Rasin.


    They didn''t know what kind of threats were in that world, and they also didn''t know if the person they were after was there. If that person was, destroying him right away was the only answer, ording to them, as it was the safest option.


    "No need. I''ll go check it out personally. If there''s any need for blowing up this ce, I''ll tell you myself," General Rasin responded.


    It was after a long time that this world had appeared, which they thought to be destroyed before. If they destroyed it again, wasn''t that a waste?


    He wanted to go down personally and check. Moreover, with three Generals and the backup of the ships above, even if he found someone, he was confident that he could take them down.


    He discussed with the other Generals, and eventually, they all agreed to go down and investigate themselves.


    All five Generals were teleported to the world, along with some backup. The ships were left behind in the control of their deputies, who were connected to them.


    Around twenty peoplended on the world. They divided into five teams of four, each going in a different direction to search faster.


    ****


    After three hours of searching, one of the five teams reached the Cliff Region.


    It was only after they reached closer to that area that they were able to sense some strange energy. They instantly informed the other Teams and told them toe, not taking any action alone.


    Before long, all the teams caught up to the first team near the cliff. They all advanced together, ready to take action at a moment''s notice.


    As they got closer to the cliff, along with the intensifying aura, they were also able to hear some faint screams


    "Someone is definitely there!"


    All the Generals increased their speed, moving even faster.


    The Generals reached the Cliff, only to find out that the source of that strange energy was a person. A young man was lying on the ground, twisting and turning his body as if he was in extreme pain. His nerves had turned pitch ck and were branching out.


    "That bastard... He is here?!" General Rasin eximed in shock, finding Lucifer before him.


    "Isn''t that Lucifer that the Star Alliance paid a lot of attention to? What is he doing here?" Another General asked. "I thought he was in Nimel''s home."


    "This bastard looks like he snuck out. And to get here, that only shows that he had a rtionship with whatever happened here! I think we were right! This bastard was rted to the Ancient n. If I''m not wrong, he might already be the person we were looking for!" General Rasin eximed.


    "So, all his interaction with the Star Alliance... Everything was an act?" Almost everyone was stunned, believing that Lucifer had managed to fool them and infiltrate so deep into their Alliance without them even realizing.


    "What should we do about him? He seems to be going through something really strange. He doesn''t even know that we''re here. Should we kill him directly to avoid any future threats or take him in as a prisoner for the Queen to decide?"


    General Rasin frowned. "As much as I want to kill that bastard for what he did to my son, I think we should take him back. We need more information from him."


    The man brought out handcuffs that were made from a special material that could prevent a person from using their abilities. They had already tried it on Lucifer once, only to know that it worked.


    General Rasin stepped close to Lucifer, protecting himself against the pulses of destructive energy that wereing out from Lucifer.


    He got closer to Lucifer and ced his wrists under cuffs. As soon as the cuffs were ced, the destructive energy stopped leaking. At the same time, Lucifer also stopped moving.


    "This little bastard, I''ll make sure to get back at him for what he did to my son in the future. And that time, even the Queen won''t stop me!" General Rasin eximed, cing his foot on Lucifer''s face.


    The destructive energy stopped leaking from Lucifer''s body, thanks to the shackles, but they still kept building up inside his body, changing something inside him forever.


    General Rasin turned back to the others, still not taking off his foot from Lucifer''s face. "Looks like we''re done here. I don''t think we''ll find anything else here. But still, just for the sake of it, we need to sweep through this world once."


    He instructed the Captain Rank members to continue the search and just like before, contact them if they found anything.


    The Star Alliance members started leaving to continue their search while the Generals stayed here. However, they stopped as soon as they had taken only one step. The ground had started trembling. The space started cracking apart.


    Lucifer''s eyes abruptly opened, this time beingpletely pitch ck. A massive explosion of energy came out of his body that was out of even his control.


    The powerful wave of energy even destroyed the shackles that were ced on his body.


    General Rasin was so close to Lucifer that he was also the first to be affected. The door that he was keeping in Lucifer''s face turned into dust, followed by his entire body. It all happened so fast that he couldn''t even curse.


    The other Generals cast their barriers to protect themselves. Even the Captain Rank Members used whatever they had to defend themselves.

 Chapter 984: Destruction

    Chapter 984: Destruction


    All the Captain Rank Members and the Generals gave it their all to protect themselves from all attacks like that, but their barrier couldn''t resist it.


    Like a thin sheet of ss, the barrier shattered, notsting even a second before this uncontroble power.


    Even Lucifer couldn''t control this power inside his body. It was as if all his abilities had gone out of control. The decay also lost control, mixing in that uncontroble attack.


    The bodies of everyone who came in contact with that burst of energy wave were destroyed. Even the Generals couldn''t protect themselves against this kind of Power. They just couldn''t believe how a young man was able to possess this power.


    Even the Shackles that were ced on him to stop him from using his powers were destroyed. This power was something out of this world.


    At the same time, the teams on the other side of the portal also came to this world to check things, only toe straight before this uncontroble beastly energy that destroyed them and the portal at the same time.


    Within seconds, the entire team that was sent to this world was destroyed.


    The Ship lost contact with the people that went to search the world. All the ships were giving warnings as a strange power was sensed.


    The Vice Leaders of the ships kept trying to establish contact with the people of the world, only to fail.


    "Deploy Shields!"


    All the ships deployed their shields. Even if this was an attack, they didn''t believe it could destroy their defenses.


    Lucifer''s body floated in the air as he lost consciousness again. His screams finally stopped. The world around him was destroyed by the strange power, actually disintegrating.


    The strange pulse of energy even reached the ships, shing with the energy barriers around the ship.


    "Sir, the barriers are on overload. They can''t resist this attack for long!"


    "How long can theyst? We don''t have an opportunity to retreat. If we managed to hold on, we might get through unscathed."


    "How long? A few seconds at this rate..." The crew eximed as their faces went pale. It was the first time that they had seen an attack like that, which was like an uncontroble force of nature that destroyed everything in its path.


    "What?!" The Acting Commander of the ship eximed in shock. Just a few seconds? Even if another General Rank ship attacked them with full force, their barrier would''vested longer. But this...?


    He couldn''t do anything anymore. They could only watch silently. It was toote to pull back.


    As theirst act, they could only send one message to the Headquarters... A message that they faced a powerful attack and they were all going to die. In the message, they told the Alliance to be careful."


    Fortunately for Lucifer, these people didn''t know that the attack was done by him. Since the Generals had underestimated him so much after arresting him, they didn''t even tell the Ships above about Lucifer yet. They weren''t in any hurry. The ships had no idea who had attacked, even as their barriers broke.


    The destructive energy hit all the ships at the same time, destroying the Ships particle by particle, leaving nothing behind.


    Within the next ten minutes, everything was finished. The world that had just appeared was gone, this time destroyed forever. The ships that were there were also gone. Even their rubble wasn''t left behind.


    In the entire space, only one person could be seen... A young man who was unconscious, floating in space. Fortunately, his strange energy had started to calm down again.


    ****


    "They were destroyed?"


    The Star Alliance Headquarters was in chaos. This was news that they couldn''t have expected, even in their dreams. An entire fleet consisting of Five Generals was destroyed with such ease?


    "ording to the report, only one attack was enough to destroy everyone! How could this be possible?" General Nimel stood up, shocked.


    He had just arrived at the headquarters, only to get this news.


    General Ostrin was also stunned. This level of strength? Was this truly someone from the Ancient n? But even if that were the case, how could that person be so strong? It was one thing to destroy the world of the Baltics, and it was an entirely different thing to destroy five General Rank Ships and kill the Generals. And thetter was much stronger.


    Even the Queen''s face was dark. This news was definitely not optimistic. They had lost one-third of their forces at once.


    "Could this be a trap set up for us?" One of the Generals asked. "They lured us to a ce where they had already set up a weapon of mass destruction, only to wait for us?"


    "Yes, that makes more sense!" Another General agreed. "This can''t be the strength of a person. This was definitely a treasure weapon that was used! We fell straight for the enemy''s trap! Good thing we didn''t send half our forces to this trap!"


    "The Queen was very wise in dividing the teams!"


    The Generals couldn''t change the past. They could only be happy that some of their forces were saved.


    "If it''s really a treasure weapon, why didn''t they use it on the Star Alliance headquarters or in the previous war? I think it should be an item that takes a lot of preparation and can''t be used regrly. If I''m not wrong, that person waited for so long, preparing for this trap!"


    "If I''m not wrong, he didn''t destroy the world of Baltics and hid it. Then he started creating this trap for us. He wanted to make us lose as much of our strength as possible. That bastard waited for hundreds of years just for this one moment! That makes me think that this weapon can only be used once every hundred years."


    "Agreed. If that wasn''t the case, he could''ve used it a few more times in thest hundred years and destroyed the Star Alliance. That should be the case!"


    The Generals tried to find reasons behind this long wait.


    "It doesn''t matter what he can do. What matters is what we can do. We have suffered heavy losses. Should we send another team there to investigate? I believe that guy would''ve already left that ce by now."


    The Queen agreed. "The chances are high, but we still need to see if we can find some clues to what happened there. General Ostrin, I''ll have to ask you to go there and check. If you think it''s risky, you can return. Don''t engage with the enemy."


    "Your Majesty." General Ostrin stood up respectfully. "I''ll depart right away."


    General Ostrin left. This kind of mission was dangerous, especially since he was the only one being sent to the ce where five Generals had been killed, but he still felt that it was an excellent opportunity. He also wanted to know more about what happened there. And this just showed the Queen''s trust in him.


    General Ostrin left the Pce and went to his ship, which departed right away.


    Meanwhile, the Queen left instructions to everyone else to be more careful when patrolling.


    "Increase the defenses of the Headquarters and be careful. We might already be at war now! We can''t afford to lose this war!"


    ****


    Back inside the Domain of Nimel n, everyone was waiting for Lucifer to finish his meditation ande out so they could inform him about what had just happened.


    Fortunately, none of them thought about disturbing Lucifer for now.


    ****


    Lucifer''s body floated in the vast emptiness of the space. There was not even a speck of blood on his body. However, all his clothes had also burned. He waspletely bare.


    Despite being unconscious in space, he still didn''t have any problem in breathing. His breaths were constant and firm. Looking at him, it was impossible for anyone to find out if he was really unconscious or if he was just sleeping.


    After floating in space for two hours, Lucifer''s eyes finally opened. He remembered everything he saw in those memories, along with a few glimpses of what happened when he was attacked by the Star Alliance.


    He could also remember that terrifying pain. He nced at his hands. Everything was just like before, but his strength... It was the same strength that he had borrowed to kill the King of the Baltics. If anything, it was even more powerful now.


    With this strength in his body, he was sure that if his body were scanned again by the Star Alliance, this time, they were going to bepletely sure that he was from the Ancient n.


    "This strength is very powerful, but that burst of destructive energy..."


    He didn''t even know why that pulse of energy came out. It was as if he didn''t have control of that power, and it came out on its own.


    This power was strange, but it was also very powerful. It was the most destructive attack that he had ever seen.

 Chapter 985: Conflict of heart

    Chapter 985: Conflict of heart


    It was like an uncontroble force of nature that even he couldn''t control...


    Lucifer floated in space, wondering where he even was. He had been floating for so long that he couldn''t even see any stars around him.


    He wore some Clothes before he raised his hand and cast a Summoning Spell right in the space itself. Usually, a spell like that needed a world to bind itself to, but with the increase in his strength, the Summoning Circle appeared in the air right before him.


    The beautiful red Summoning circle wasn''t much different from before, but it felt stronger, holding an essence of that strange energy.


    He used his decay on the formation circle to still create a w in it before the Summoning could seed, creating a reverse Summoning.


    He ced his hands on the Formation Circle that was starting to break apart.


    Lucifer''s body was sucked inside the portal and disappeared from the empty vast space, appearing back on the earth inside the Headquarters once more.


    Once again, he didn''t meet his family. He cast another Summoning, this time connecting to the beast that was in the world of Nimel n.


    He wasn''t sure what a mess he had created. To see if this mess affected earth or not, he wanted to get to the Star Alliance as soon as possible and check the status. So many Generals had been killed after all. If anyone found out that he was missing things could get even worse for him.


    Another Summoning Circle appeared, only to be broken by him again. Lucifer disappeared again, finally reaching his destination.


    He appeared in the room that was assigned to him in the Nimel n mansion.


    "Did anyonee here?" he asked the beast as soon as he appeared in the room.


    The beast shook his head. "No one disturbed. No one even knocked."


    "Good. You can go back," Lucifer sent the Beast back to earth again.


    After sending the beast back, Lucifer walked closer to the mirror, observing his reflection to find out just what had changed about him after he merged with that strength and his memories.


    His aura was no different than before since he didn''t let his new aura leak. However, his skin seemed even better now. He could also feel that he was a little taller. Other than that, everything felt the same.


    "Not much physical difference," he muttered. "That''s better in any case. Too many changes would''ve been too suspicious. Now all I need is to find information. With the new memories, there are a lot of things to do."


    Even though Lucifer didn''t care about the Ancient n before, other than being curious about his identity, now that he had the memories, he felt different. Through those memories, he had lived the life of the Ancient n''s son and that life felt more real than anything.


    Not only could he feel that love, but he could also feel the anger for the people who destroyed the Ancient n, all over a lie. The story about the Ancient n tormenting people, being tyrants and evil? That was all just a lie and he knew all about it.


    However, still, even though he lived the life of the Ancient n members, could he really destroy the entire universe for revenge? Everyone was involved after all. He just couldn''t get himself to destroy everyone.


    The people who killed the Ancient n were just working onmand of their rulers and had nothing to do with themon people. It was the fault of the greedy rulers. Still, as so much time had passed, most of the rulers involved in the war were already dead.


    Lucifer didn''t want to kill everyone for his revenge, since it was just useless. He only wanted to kill the people who led the war from each n, and the ones who actually killed the Ancient n Members.


    "The Nimel n was also a participant in the war, but they didn''t kill anyone in the war. It seems like they were just assigned the position of backup in case it was needed. The Rasin n was a main force which made sure that no one was allowed to escape. They were the ones who enclosed the parameters around the world."


    "General Rasin is already dead, so that leaves none in the Rasin n. Things are really confusing."


    Feeling tired, Lucifer dropped on the bed. His mind was so confused. He didn''t know what to do. His new memories were telling him to kill every n member that had a hand in this war. However, his reasoning was telling him that it was just a waste of time to punish everyone, evenmoners.


    In his mind, an inner war was going on between his heart that wanted to kill everyone, and his mind that wanted to be reasonable and only publish the leaders.


    After a long time, Lucifer finally stood up. "Do I even have the strength to go against everyone at once? The burst of energy was strong, but I can''t use it at all. It''s not in my control and if it runs wild, it might destroy even the ones I don''t want to die?"


    Eventually, he left the decision forter. First, he decided to check the situation outside, leaving the final decision in the back of his head.


    Lucifer left the room. Just as he had asked, the entire corridor waspletely empty. Not a single person could be seen anywhere in these parts of the castle.


    Lucifer reached the main throne room to find the others, only to be stopped outside the door by the guards.


    "A meeting is going on. Please wait outside. Once the meeting is over, we''ll inform His Majesty about your arrival."


    Lucifer didn''t force himself inside. He just nodded and stepped aside, but not before leaving a small shadow behind which entered the Royal Hall.


    As Lucifer waited outside the hall, his Shadow entered the ce, hearing everything that was being discussed there.

 Chapter 986: Once in a Millenia

    Chapter 986: Once in a Millenia


    "Increase our defenses and double the guards patrolling. There must not be any mishap in security!" The Head of the Nimel n eximed.


    Surprisingly, in the room, every influential person of the Domain was present that Lucifer had seen in the weing party. Raayi and Ron were also in the room.


    Despite Ron not being a part of the Nimel n, he was the heir of another Overlord n and it was clear that his n was provided the same information as them. The Nimel n head didn''t care about his presence. If anything, it was good since it meant two Overlord ns were getting closer.


    "Your Majesty, why so suddenly? Does it have something to do with the Generals leaving in such a hurryst time?" One of the Ministers asked.


    "Partially," Raayi''s father modded. "My father left in such a hurry because something big had happened. An powerful enemy has returned and his Target should be the entire universe!"


    "Someone that can even make the Star Alliance worry? If he is really that strong, can we really stop him based on our strength alone?"


    "Yeah. Shouldn''t Ancestor Nimel be here, protecting this ce. If the enemy is really as strong as you im, won''t this world be destroyed if hees here?"


    Almost everyone was worried about the possibility of death since they all took this threat seriously. This was their home. If this was destroyed, they had no ce to go.


    "He is working with other Generals to catch that person to make sure that person can''t harm them. If every General went back to their world, could that person even be captured?" The Head of n rolled his eyes.


    "I don''t want you to panic, but ording to the reports, a few Generals fell for this person''s trap and they are already dead. We aren''t facing an ordinary enemy. I don''t think even my father would be able to stop him alone!"


    Even though he didn''t want to scare his n members, he couldn''t lie to them either. The situation for now was really bad and no one was allowed to underestimate the threat. That''s why, he told everyone the truth.


    Everyone in the hall went silent, surprised to know that a few Generals were already dead. They all thought that by few, their Head of n meant two. Raayi''s father also intentionally didn''t tell the exact number since he didn''t want to scare these people more than they already were.


    There was a difference between scaring them enough so they didn''t underestimate the enemy and scaring them to the extent that they lost all hope and surrendered before the fight even started. To avoid thetter, he was vague about how many Generals were dead.


    "Just do your duty and guard the parameters. We don''t have to defeat that person. We just have to find that person and hold him back for a few minutes until the Star Alliance reinforcementse with all the Generals. That way, we could defeat the enemy! But if we can''t hold him back, or can''t even detect him, we''ll be as good as dead. I''m sure you all understand the gravity of the situation!"


    "That''s why I tell you to increase the defenses. No matter what, we must do everything we can to help the Star Alliance. I think the enemy won''te here since there are a few other worlds between our World and the ce where he wasst seen, but I want you to work as if his next Target is us! You understand?!"


    The Head of Nimel n also hoped that the situation could be solved by the Star Alliance before things got to the extreme point where their survival was on the line, but that was only his hope.


    The meeting was over after Raayi''s father assigned everyone an area to guard. All the Ministers left the Royal Hall at the end of the meeting.


    Ron and Raayi also left the hall while the Head of the n went back to his room to rest. His headache was increasing the more he thought about the situation they were in. Ever since the Ancient n was destroyed, they had never faced a situation this extreme.


    "Just one person from the Ancient n can scare the Star Alliance so much. No wonder it took all the forces of the world to work together to destroy the n." He sighed as he walked back, wondering if the world wasing into a full circle. The universal forces had destroyed the Ancient n and now the Ancient n was trying to destroy them.


    "You''re out!" Ron eximed, surprised to find Lucifer outside.


    "Did something happen? What was this meeting about?" Lucifer already heard everything, but he still pretended to be ignorant about it all.


    Ron exined everything to Lucifer, including how the forces were divided in three and one of those was sent to the world of Baltics, only to die there.


    "Oh, by the way General Rasin is dead. I don''t think you''ll need to worry about him killing you. The sword that was hanging above your head had been destroyed already."


    Lucifer didn''t know how to react. He already knew what happened since that person died right before his eyes. He was happy that Rasin n Ancestor was dead which weakened their influence in the Star Alliance, but he also couldn''t express his happiness. He had to y his part.


    "That''s not good. At a time like this, we need all the help we can to stop the enemy. What a loss for the Star Alliance..." Lucifer lowered his head, pretending to sigh.


    "You really are special, aren''t you? Even with all the bad blood between you and General Rasin, you still think about the well-being of this world above everything! As especially of my brother!" Ron ced his head on the shoulders of the man,ughing proudly.


    "Don''t worry. I heard that this guy used some once in a millennia treasure and a trap to kill the Generals," Raayi chimed in. "That only means he isn''t strong enough now. The Star Alliance should be able to take him down easily as soon as we find him now. All this increasing security is just a precaution."


    "Once in a millennia treasure?" Lucifer frowned. Did the Star Alliancee up with that exnation to justify the death of so many people at once?


    ''If that''s the case, then it only helps me. They made my work easier for me. With the exnation of a treasure, the threat level should


    be much lower foe me.''

 Chapter 987 987: Hiding

    Lucifer was worried about what the Star Alliance was going to do after what he did. However, it was clear that the Star Alliance itself didn''t know what it should do. They didn''t know anything about the enemy or how he even took out the Star Alliance members so swiftly.


    At the moment, the Star Alliance was ying a game of chess with an enemy whose pieces they couldn''t even see on the board. They could only guess those steps.


    "You don''t need to be scared." Noticing Lucifer lost in thought, Ron ced his hands on his shoulders. "You are at my home. Even the enemy can''t get here so easily. You are safe here. Moreover, you''re the rising star in the Alliance. I think your safety would be the first priority. If there was any threat of being attacked, they would''ve pulled you out of here first."


    Lucifer could only nod. He truly was safe here, but not in the way that Ron thought. He was the so-called enemy after all. How could he be scared of himself in the first ce?


    For now, it was clear that the Star Alliance didn''t know anything about him. The earth also appeared to be safe for now. That gave him some opportunity.


    "Did no onee here to call me to report at the headquarters?" he asked Ron and Raayi. Unlike the two of them, he was now a Captain Ranked Star Alliance member. Generally, he should''ve been called back already since the Star Alliance needed as much help as they could get.


    "No one as far as I know. Only grandfather left with General Nimel after they were called back to report right after that incident. I think Grandpa already told them that you couldn''t be disturbed at a time like this so they didn''t call you? Or maybe they just wanted to keep you out of the battle. We can only guess at this point."


    Ron didn''t have to report. He was not a Captain Rank Member, despite his strength. And as an ordinary member, he could just sit back and take as much time as he needed. No ships were under his control in any case.


    "How did your training go? Did you be stronger? Raayi asked. She could feel that Lucifer was different and slightly stronger. But how much stronger, that was the question.


    "I did get slightly stronger, but not by much," Lucifer answered, not disclosing everything. If he said that his strength more than doubled, it was no different than taking an ax and hitting his own foot.


    For the next two days, Lucifer, Ron and Raayi remained in the Nimel n. The Star Alliance still hadn''t called for Lucifer, but Lucifer did try to get as much information as he possibly could about what the Star Alliance was doing.


    It was only on the third day that Lucifer was directly contacted by the Star Alliance. He was told to report at the headquarters at the earliest. The vacation seemed to be over.


    Lucifer prepared to leave. Even he wanted to join that ce to get more internal information. Now that he was promoted, his ess to information had already increased.


    He didn''t leave alone. Ron and Raayi forced him to take them with him. Even though they weren''t Captains in the Star Alliance, they were still members and could go to the Alliance. They were already getting bored here, just waiting.


    Ron''s father initially didn''t agree to let his son leave, but after repeated requests, he finally gave up, especially when Ron asked his grandfather to talk to his father.


    After finding out that the two Generals agreed to the requests of the youngsters toe and meet them at the HQ, even Ron''s father couldn''t disagree, let alone Raayi''s father.


    The ship finally took off from Nimel n territory, sooner than Lucifer wanted to. Fortunately, Raayi''s grandfather had already taught him some nice skills when he trained him in the Ostrin n territory.


    ****


    The Star Alliance still hadn''t found any clues about what had happened. The world that had appeared was destroyed from its core this time, leaving nothing behind.


    It was as if a ck hole had swallowed that world along with the Star Alliance ships. The Star Alliance couldn''t get any clues in that ce. Not even a single trace of aura was left behind in that space.


    It was confirmed that the person who caused this had already left this ce, and no one knew which part of the universe he was hiding. Without any trace, locating him was harder than finding a needle in a haystack.


    The Star Alliance could only be passive at this point and increase their own security. They also took help from the member worlds to search for the enemy.


    No nation refused to help them either since the enemy didn''t just want to hurt the Star Alliance but also them. The Star Alliance was theirst line of defense. In any case, they knew that if they refunded, they might be considered Traitors and get attacked by the Star Alliance instead.


    Within a few days, the entire universe started searching for Lucifer, having no idea what their target even looked like.


    Most of them didn''t even believe that they could find that person like that. And even if they found someone, they weren''t going to return alive. After being found, there was no way that the enemy was going to let them leave alive to inform others.


    ****


    Lucifer''s shipnded on the Star Alliance territory. As he stepped out with Ron and Raayi, he could see that there were a few ships already there. Most of those Ships were General Rank ships. He appeared to be the only Captain Rank member there since most of the Captain Rank ships were out patrolling.


    "This ce seems busy." Lucifer noticed some cars already waiting for them outside. Moreover, now that he was promoted, his biodata was registered in the system. He could not only take any car as long as he had authority, but he could start that car and drive himself.


    It seemed to be the reason why there was no driver in the car. Lucifer entered the car and after getting Authorization, started. Raayi sat next to him while Ron sat in the back seat. Lucifer also brought his Vice Captain Kellian with him who sat next to Ron.


    All the other members were left back at the ship, instructed to be ready for emergency departure at any time.


    "The Star Alliance has activated every defensive shield possible. It looks like the person really shook them." Raayi looked out the window, observing the shield that was surrounding the world. Without Authorization, even they couldn''t have entered.


    "Yeah." Ron agreed. "It is said that even if all General Rank members attacked together, they still couldn''t break that shield, let alone our strange enemy. There is no way he could enter, especially after he exhausted his treasure."


    " Maybe he''ll hide for the next hundred years and recharge the treasure?" Lucifer suggested a possibility. Since these people were so curious about the treasure that could supposedly only be used once every hundred years, he could use that to lower their guard.


    "That... Does make sense. I heard after the attack on the Ancient n, that person went into hiding. Then he came out and destroyed three top ns. And then he went into hiding for over a hundred years, only toe out now. It''s quite possible that he''ll hide again. That person does have scary patience. I think we should tell this possibility to Grandpa!"


    Ron didn''t know if his grandfather already thought of the possibility, but he still believed that it was better to remind him.


    This was exactly what Lucifer wanted, so he didn''t oppose it. He just didn''t want to be the one suggesting it to the General or the Queen.


    He parked the car and entered the Star Alliance headquarters. This time, he entered wearing his Captain Rank stark white attire, being greeted respectfully by all the guards.


    The others who apanied him also wore their Star Alliance attire since no outsider could enter this ce.


    After showing their badges for verification at the second checkpoint, they finally entered the main building of the Star Alliance headquarters.


    "Where is your grandfather waiting for us?" Lucifer asked the two youngsters who could only point straight ahead.


    "He told us toe to his office. Raayi''s grandfather should be there too. They''ll either be there, or in a meeting. In any case, we should wait at the office for them to return. I don''t think we will be allowed in the meeting hall."


    Ron led Lucifer. He had been here quite a few times to meet his grandfather and knew everything about his grandfather''s room, including the shortcuts to reach there.


    He led Lucifer and Raayi to General Ostrin''s office which was more like a private bedroom and less like an office.

 Chapter 988 988: Abrupt Declaration

    ****


    "What could Her Majesty be thinking? Deciding on something like this at such a time out of nowhere?!"


    "I don''t understand either. Initially I thought she was just joking when she mentioned it but she is really serious about it!"


    Lucifer, Ron and Raayi were waiting inside the office, hearing some voices from outside. The voice belonged to the two Generals that they were waiting for. Both the Generals sounded very shocked which surprised even Lucifer who wondered just what did they discuss with the Queen.


    The door opened and the two Generals entered the room, immediately going silent as they saw Lucifer there.


    "Y-you are here."


    It was the first time Lucifer saw the two Generals stutter. Even though they had invited him here, whatever happened recently shook them enough that they even forgot about it, getting shocked after seeing Lucifer.


    "Did something happen in the meeting? Have there been clues about the attacker?" Raayi asked her father, noticing their strange behaviour. She could only think that it was rted to the enemy they were facing. What else could stun her grandfather like that?


    Raayi''s grandfather rubbed his forehead, "If that was the case, it would''ve been much easier to deal with. But Her Majesty..."


    "She what?" Raayi frowned. "Just what did the Queen want? I''ve never seen you like that Grandfather. Just what happened? What did she do?"


    Even Ron red at his grandfather. It was as if the two old men were hiding something from them. Unlike Raayi who was more focused on what the Queen did, Ron noticed subtle hints in the two old men''s behaviour who kept ncing at Lucifer asionally.


    "Is it something rted to Lucifer?" he finally asked.


    "Sigh, I can''t keep this hidden from you. In any case, within a few hours, this news shall be everywhere, so no benefit in keeping it a secret. The Queen called a sudden meeting of all Generals today, and there seemed to be only one purpose of this meeting. She wanted to inform us about her decision." Ron''s grandfather replied.


    "What decision?" Ron asked. "And what does it have to do with Lucifer?"


    Ron''s grandfather could only scratch the back of his head. Even now, he couldn''te to believe what the Queen said, out of nowhere. Before this meeting, she didn''t even give anyone any indications that this was going to happen. It was as if she just woke up today and decided.


    "Her Majesty has decided to finally marry. And she has already selected a person to be her husband," the old man eventually spoke.


    "That person who the Queen selected... Is he Lucifer?" Even Ron couldn''t believe that it was possible. He finally understood why his grandfather was so shaken. The Queen of Star Alliance who never married or even got romantically involved with a man had finally selected a husband, and that person was someone that she only met two or three times in official settings?


    "That''s right. She selected Lucifer as her husband. The meeting just now was to give this deration. No one knows why she decided to do it. Even the other Generals are shocked," Raayi''s grandfather affirmed.


    "What''s even more strange is that she hadn''t even spent more than one hour with Lucifer even if we count all their time together. So how is it possible, we don''t understand. I don''t think she even spent any alone time with you, did she?" he asked Lucifer. As far as he could remember, there wasn''t any such time.


    "Wait, there was one time," Ron''s grandfather eximed. "It was thest meeting when Her Majesty sent us out and kept him back. Did she talk to you about this then?"


    Lucifer shook his head. "She never told me anything like that. There was never any indication."


    Even though Lucifer had expected a future like this, he used to think that there would be some reasoning. However, this thing was so sudden that even he found it hard to believe.


    Even he wondered just what the Queen was thinking. Why would she make a decision like that? Did she find out his true identity? But if that was the case, she could''ve killed him or captured him. Why would she marry him? There were many questions in his head but barely any answer.


    "What did you two talk about when you were alone?" Ron asked, trying to understand the situation better. It was just too bizarre and didn''t make sense at all. "Maybe something happened that you didn''t notice?"


    "She just told me about the history of the Star Alliance and how it worked to save the universe. She told me to work harder so I could one day be a pir that the Star Alliance could rely on. There were only things like that as far as I can remember."


    Lucifer described in detail about the time he stayed behind the queen while the others were told to leave. There were no hints.


    "I don''t know why she would decide this, but now that she has, I don''t think anyone can change her mind," General Ostrin could only shake his head, sighing. "They again, it might be a blessing in disguise for you. Once you marry the Queen, your life would be much better. Your influence in the Star Alliance should increase as well. And if I''m not wrong, within a few years, you might even be promoted to a General."


    "If he doesn''t want to marry her, can''t he say no?" Raayi chimed in, feeling discontent. "If he doesn''t want to marry her, can he really be forced to marry? What kind of marriage will it be?"


    ****


    On one hand, Lucifer and the others were trying to understand the messy situation. On the other hand, the Queen was standing on the balcony, looking at the beautiful city in the distance.


    Behind her, there stood the Captain of the Royal Guards who was mainly responsible for protecting her. It was said that his strength was even more than the strength of Generals. Despite that, he worked as a guard.


    "Is this really what you want? I don''t understand why. What is it about that boy that made you take this decision? Why him out of everyone? Throughout the years, you haven''t even looked at anyone. Then why him and that too, so suddenly?"


    The man stood behind the Queen. She couldn''t see the man''s eyes. If she could, she could''ve noticed that his eyes were filled with manyplicated emotions.


    For decades, the man had been the Captain of the Royal Guards, protecting the Queen from the shadows from any threats that could put her life in danger. He didn''t do it for any benefits or wealth. In fact, being a General was a much better position and came with more freedom as well.


    Despite all that, he didn''t leave his position, all because he wanted to apany the Queen. Throughout the years, he thought that apanying her was the greatest pleasure of his life and that one day, she was going to see him for what he was, falling for him.


    Unfortunately, the day where she finally paid attention to a man arrived and that person wasn''t him. He felt pain in his heart, feeling confused. Just what was it about the man that she selected which made him better than her? There was only one question repeatedly rising in his head, why not him?


    "That''s what I want," the Queen answered in only one sentence. She didn''t exin more than she had to. In any case, she was the Queen and could do as she pleased, without having the need to tell anyone what she thought. If she wanted, she could tell. But no one could force her to tell as no one had the authority.


    "I will marry in a week''s time," she stated. "I have many things to prepare. I''ll see youter."


    She turned around and left, without even taking a second nce at the man.


    The Captain of the Royal Guards was left all alone on the balcony. His fists were clenched so tightly that his nails were already stabbing his flesh, making his hands bleed. But he didn''t care. It was as if he couldn''t even feel it.


    "After all this time, you still treat me like a stranger," he muttered, looking in the distant horizon. "Why? Just what? I''m stronger than him. I''ve been with you longer. I''m sure people would call me more handsome. Yet you chose him?Why? Just why?!!"


    ****


    The news about the wedding started spreading everywhere. In less than a day, the news had reached all the worlds that were registered to the Star Alliance. The date of wedding was decided and the invitations were also sent for the most influential ns for the wedding.


    It was supposed to be an event like never before and no one wanted to miss it. The Queen of the Star Alliance was getting married after all!

 Chapter 989 989: The fated meeting

    <h4>Chapter 989 Chapter 989: The fated meeting</h4>


    The News of the Queen''s marriage spread everywhere, shocking many people at their core, especially when they found out who she was marrying.


    Throughout the time, everyone was left guessing her reasoning and her purpose.


    The wedding preparations were on pace. At a time when the entire Star Alliance was trying to find the enemy that killed their Generals, the Royal Pce was being decorated and celebration was being prepared, which was even more bizarre to everyone.


    Throughout the days, Lucifer stayed in the Star Alliance headquarters. He hadn''t been called by the Queen even now, but he personally didn''t go to meet her either. In any case, he didn''t believe he could change her mind. The future that he had seen was probably impossible to change ording to him.


    The only thing he could do was to stay prepared. ording to what he saw, the wedding went through, only for him to kill the Queen in the future for some reason. Even now, he couldn''t guess why he would do such a thing like that.


    This marriage gave him an opportunity to get close to her and get the answers that he needed. On the contrary, if he didn''t agree, he might have been punished. The choice to him was simple as there was only one valid option for him to follow.


    The Wedding was seven days after the deration of the wedding by the Queen and six days had already passed, leaving only one day before the fateful day was to arrive.


    Almost all the preparations wereplete and guests had also started to arrive. Mainly, every important person in this universe was now in the Domain of Star Alliance.


    Ron''s father and mother also arrived with his younger sister to attend the wedding. Raayi''s father also arrived, bringing her two elder brothers with him. It was said to be one of the biggest events of the century if one was to ignore the death of five Generals that happened just a little more than a week ago.


    "Little Girl, you seem disappointed. You don''t want him to marry, do you?" Raayi''s Grandfather was apanying her in his office. Lucifer and Ron had already left to meet Ron''s family.


    Raayi didn''t answer. She just looked down. "I don''t know. I don''t know why... But I feel strange... I feel ufortable."


    "You like the little brat, don''t you?" The old man asked.


    Raayi couldn''t answer. Even she didn''t know what was going on in her heart. Even though her initial equation with Lucifer was bad, but with time her bond had gotten stronger. Whenever she was with Lucifer, she felt slightly happy. It was as if she was supposed to be there and she liked it. She didn''t know what that feeling was.


    "You think I can''t see what''s in your heart? The moment I saw you looking at him for the first time, I realized it. I also wanted to make him a son inw of our family. Albeit, destiny had something else in mind. That boy somehow won over the Queen. His destiny is not something that we can control now."


    "After this marriage, his status will be even above me. That boy... He is already out of our reach. I think you should forget those feelings you had for him... That would be best for both of us."


    The old man wanted to help his granddaughter, but even he knew that it was an impossible task. After the Queen married Lucifer, how could she even let him marry another girl? That was not only disrespectful for her with her status, but also impossible.


    Raayi remained silent, not speaking anything. Her heart was filled with sadness.


    ****


    After meeting up with Ron''s family, Lucifer left them to catch up as he was left all alone.


    The two people were with their families now. Only his family wasn''t here. He couldn''t help but wonder what his father and his mother would''ve said if they found out that he was getting married. He hadn''t even invited them since he didn''t want them to know.


    "There you are!"


    Lucifer had just left the Ostrin family when he felt someone''s hands on his shoulders.


    He turned around, noticing a Star Alliance member. "Do you need something?"


    "Her Majesty has invited you to have tea with her. Please apany me." The middle aged man stated, respectfully.


    As Lucifer was going to be married to the Queen, no one dared to be disrespectful to him anymore. Even if they had a higher status for now, after twenty four hours, they knew Lucifer''s status was going to shoot up. They had to be respectful.


    "She wants to meet me? I thought she would meet me directly on the day of the wedding."?After six days, he had already lost hopes of her meeting him. She didn''t even exin her decision to the guy she wanted to marry. He didn''t expect her to call him on thest day.


    He followed the man who escorted him out of the Star Alliance headquarters. The man led Lucifer to the Royal Pce.


    This time, all the guards were also more respectful to him, at least on the outside. On the inside, they were all looking down at him. For them, he was just a man who was favoured by the gods who luckily won the heart of their Queen, even though he didn''t deserve it.


    Inside the Royal Pce, there were many facilities avable since the Pce covered a vastnd. However, the most favourite part of the Queen was the Garden in the pce.


    The Royal Garden was a ce which was filled with the world''s most exotic nts and flowers. In the centre of the garden, there was a tform which was empty.


    "You can go inside," the middle aged man told Lucifer as he stopped outside the garden. "Her Majesty is waiting inside for you."


    Lucifer stepped inside the majestic garden, being greeted with a sight like never before. The scent of flowers was filling the air. There was something mystical about those flowers which could instantly alleviate a person''s mood.


    The garden only had one path in the middle which was further split into three paths. It was as if he was in the maze of these flowers. Fortunately, the flowers only came up to his knees, not obstructing his vision. He could see a woman''s back in the distance.


    The woman was dressed in a white gown, seemingly distracted by the flowers before her.


    Lucifer walked through the maze of flowers and reached the woman, finally realizing what she was looking at.


    In front of her, there was a flower which had died. The flower leaves had fallen and already dried. In the beautiful garden, this was the only flower like that.


    The Queen of Star Alliance was focused on that flower.


    "Even after all the care in the world, some things can''t be avoided," she muttered, finally taking her eyes off the flowers with a deep sigh. "Am I right, Lucifer?"


    "Some things truly can''t be avoided," Lucifer nodded. "No matter how much one wants. But what we can do is to continue growing."


    He reached out his hand, cing his fingers on the withered flower. As soon as his fingers touched the floor, the flower turned to dust.


    However, before the Queen could say anything, a new flower started growing out of the same ce.


    "Every end is a new beginning after all," Lucifer stated.


    "Every end is a new beginning... Wise words. Albeit, not always correct." The Queen held her hands behind her back as she started walking toward the central tform which gave the best view of the beautiful garden.


    Lucifer also followed thedy.


    "Sometimes an end is just that... An end. Something that no one can avoid. And once that endes, everything is over... No more new beginnings, only the eternal end," the Queen continued, seemingly lost in some thought for the moment.


    *I''m sure you have many questions you want to ask me?" She asked, casually ncing back. "For example, why did I suddenly decide to marry you?"


    "I did have that question. If you would like to tell me, I would be happy to listen," Lucifer replied.


    "And if I don''t want to tell you?" The woman asked. "What then?"


    "Nothing," Lucifer answered. "Even if you don''t want to tell me, I can''t do anything. You''re the Queen of the Star Alliance. I can only go along with fate."


    The woman didn''t respond. She just kept walking.


    The two of them reached the tform in the middle where two cups of tea were already waiting for them. Strangely enough, the tea was still warm, as if it was just poured. However, from the start till the end, Lucifer didn''t see anyone here.


    "Have a seat," the woman gestured to Lucifer before she also took a seat. "Today, I called you for two reasons. I''m sure by the time we''re done, you''ll have all the answers you''re looking for."

 Chapter 990 990: Wedding Mystery

    Chapter990 990: Wedding Mystery


    "What reasons?" Lucifer took a seat but didn''t pick up the cup of tea immediately.


    "First is simple. Since we will be getting married soon, I wanted to meet you at least once before it happened. I''m sure you have many questions, so I wanted to clear all your doubts so that there won''t be any problemster on," the young queen replied.


    "And the second" Lucifer asked, believing that the second reason had something to do with why she wanted to marry him in the first ce.


    "Before we get to that, is there anything else you would like to ask?" The Queen inquired.


    "I only want to know why you''re marrying me. If your second reason can answer that question, I don''t have anything else to ask."


    Lucifer didn''t have much to ask. He didn''t even know if there was anything he could ask in this situation. Other than the reason for this marriage, he could only ask about what benefits he was going to receive if he agreed to marry her, but he didn''t think that it was a suitable question to ask in this situation.


    "The second reason is more of a request... Something that I want you to do, which can only be done if I marry you," the woman answered. "So you''re right. This is also the main reason why I want to marry you."


    "And what would that request be?"


    "I want you to go to a ce with me... The Ancestral Domain of my n," the youngdy responded after a brief pause.


    "Your Ancestral Domain?" Lucifer didn''t know just which n the Queen of Star Alliance was from, but one thing he was sure was that she wasn''t from one of the Three Major ns that led the rebellion against the Ancient n.


    Despite not being from a Major n, her n was able to establish the Star Alliance and unite all forces again. This only showed that her background wasn''tpletely ordinary.


    Lucifer even wondered if her n was actually stronger than the three major ns that led the war against the Ancient n. But if that was the case, why weren''t they in the battle? Why did they stay out of the battles?


    He had never been as curious about the woman''s identity as he was now.


    "That''s right. At present, this world is very chaotic. And I''m not sure if our present strength is enough to help us navigate through chaotic times. We need more strength if we want to fight the war that might be on the horizon. That''s why I need your help," the woman exined, taking another sip of her tea.


    "Your Ancestral n Domain... You think it can help you gain strength?" Lucifer was very surprised. The Star Alliance was already very strong, and this woman was nning to be even stronger? If that happened, wasn''t it very troublesome for him since sooner orter, that strength was only going to be used on him?


    "That''s right. Unfortunately, I can''t enter that ce alone. ording to the restrictions set by our ancestors, a son of the n can enter the Domain at any time, but for a daughter of the n, she can only enter with her husband, and that too, if the husband is from the same n."


    The Queen of the Star Alliance told Lucifer some things that she never told anyone else before. Even Lucifer was slightly surprised. A n which ced more focus on the male heir? That was ordinary since there were many ns in this world like that, but a n that focused on the purity of bloodline so much that an heir could only marry a member of another heir? That was unexpected.


    As Lucifer got to learn more about the woman, her origins became even more mysterious to him. Just why did he have no information about her n? Now that his memories had merged with his other self from a timeline that shouldn''t have existed, he knew a lot about the old ns of this universe and the ones who fought against his n.


    Even in those memories, he couldn''t find any mention of this woman. In fact, even his other self was curious about the secret identity of the woman which made him hesitate in directly attacking the Star Alliance.


    "I''m not from your n. So even if I marry you, won''t you be unqualified to enter?" Lucifer asked, slightly curious. The woman was marrying him so she could enter the Realm of her n, but what if that didn''t work? Wasn''t she only going to get upsetter? He didn''t believe that the woman would''ve ignored a w that was obvious.


    "Don''t worry about that. I''ve already thought about it," the Star Alliance Queen casually answered. "Your Bloodline is special. It is a universal bloodline, with a trade of all bloodlines. Even I don''t know why your Bloodline is so special, but it also has a trace of my bloodline. I had it checked before I even saw you."


    "Ever since then, I''ve been paying some attention to you. However, even I didn''t expect that I would be marrying you. I didn''t expect to have to enter the Realm so soon."


    "What about your own n? Why don''t you marry one from your own n instead of taking such a long route? Isn''t it still not confirmed if my partial matching Bloodline will be epted. What if you marry me only to fail?"


    Even though her reasoning was solid, he still didn''t understand why the woman was selecting someone like him, instead of someone from his own n.


    "You don''t have to think about that. Just know that your services will be heavily rewarded. After I marry you, your influence and strength will increase by leaps and bounds. You''ll never have to work hard. You can just rx in the castle and enjoy your life. Isn''t that a future that everyone wants?"


    At this point, Lucifer understood a lot. This woman was going to marry him, but it was only a trade deal between them. The marriage was a sham. However, she was also right that it could benefit him a lot.


    This marriage could give him ess to the entire Star Alliance. However, this came with a bigger problem for him. If the woman seeded, wasn''t she going to get even stronger?


    He didn''t know just how strong the ancient realm was going to make her, but he knew that this kind of strength was only going to be used against him when she found out his real identity. Could he really help her with this?

 Chapter 991 991: Royal Wedding

    Chapter991 991: Royal Wedding


    Lucifer understood just what kind of risk he was facing. He was being asked to help a potential enemy be stronger.


    ''Is this why I supposedly killed her? That doesn''t make sense either. Even though she wants to get stronger, that shouldn''t be enough for me to kill her in the future. There''s something that still doesn''t make sense.''


    Even if he wanted to kill her like that, why would he do so in a way that makes everyone know that he was behind it? That''s what didn''t make sense to him. If he really wanted to make the entire Star Alliance turn against him, he could''ve done that after he was confident enough that he could wipe the Star Alliancepletely.


    Moreover, in that case, why would he be running from the Star Alliance? Currently, he believed he was already strong enough to face a Star Alliance General after he regained the strength from his other self. Then why was he running away from Star Alliance?


    ''Or could it be that I wasn''t running? Then what? Argh, is it why knowing glimpses of the future is such a headache? It clouds one''s judgment to this extent. If I hadn''t known, I would''ve been in a much better condition but now that I know, it''s quite troublesome...''


    "What are you thinking about? Are you scared?" The Star Alliance Empress asked Lucifer, finding him lost in thoughts. "Don''t worry. The Ancestral Realm won''t be dangerous for you. You won''t lose your life there."


    "I didn''t want to force you to marry me either, but we don''t have any choice in a situation like this. I hope you can help me!" The Empress never lowered her head before anyone in the past, but to ask for Lucifer''s help, she even lowered her head.


    The Ancestral Realm was only going to allow her an entry if she was married. And just being married wasn''t enough. The husband had to willingly enter with her. Even if there was the slightest of hesitation in his heart at the time of entrance, the realm wasn''t going to allow them an entry.


    That was also one of the reasons why she didn''t just marry her without exining everything, only to force him to enterter.


    Lucifer didn''t reply even when the Empress misunderstood him. For him, this misunderstanding was much better for him than the Empress knowing his real thoughts.


    "Can you tell me just what actually is your identity?" he asked directly. There was no benefit in guessing since he literally had no idea even with all the new memories.


    All he knew was that the girl was someone special since she was able to establish the Star Alliance and bring everyone under her.


    "You don''t need to know that for now. Maybe after our marriage, one day I will."


    ....


    Lucifer and the Empress sat on the tform, having tea together. They were the only ones in the entire Garden, havingplete privacy. At least that''s what it seemed like. However, now that Lucifer had increased his strength even more, he could sense that there was someone else here as well.


    He could feel the disturbance in space in this garden, as if someone was using space to hide themselves. He didn''t question this since he didn''t want to show what he was capable of. If someone was actually here, he had a feeling that the person was one of the guards of the Empress.


    After finishing the tea and clearing some more doubts about the wedding, he finally left the garden.


    The Empress watched Lucifer leave in silence. There were a lot of thoughts in her head but her face didn''t show any.


    "A bloodline that is so special that it can only be described as miraculous... Yet that''s not what''s most special about him... Maybe this marriage was truly destiny..." The Empress muttered, talking to herself. She was quite impressed by Lucifer.


    Even now, the boy wasn''t giving her any special consideration at all. He was talking to her as if they were both equal... At least that''s what she felt from the way Lucifer behaved.


    ****


    The sun shone brightly on the beautiful garden of the royal pce, where a grand wedding ceremony was taking ce. It was finally the fateful day that every guest was waiting for... The wedding of the Queen of Star Alliance!


    It was as if every important organization had sent their most influential person. Amongst the guests, Lucifer could also recognise a few who took part in the extermination of his n. Unfortunately, he couldn''t simply kill them right now.


    The queen, resplendent in a white gown, stood at the altar with Lucifer who was dressed in a sharp ck attire.


    Guests from all corners of the universe had gathered to witness the happy asion, filling the garden with the sounds ofughter and conversation. A string quartet yed soothing music in the background, adding to the festive atmosphere.


    The queen and her Empress exchanged vows in ordance with the Star Alliance tradition, promising to support each other for eternity.


    In the corner of the crowd, the crew of Lucifer was also present, including everyone that he brought from Earth to help him maintain the ship he received.


    "It looks like we all lost that bet," Kac sighed, gazing at Lucifer standing on the altar. "It doesn''t matter though. As long as he finds his happiness, nothing else matters. Moreover, the woman he''s marrying... I suppose she''s really qualified to stand beside him..."


    Cassius sighed. "Is she still noting out of the ship to attend the wedding?"


    "She isn''t. She says she needs to do some maintenance, but we all know that she just doesn''t want to be here, don''t we?" Kellian answered, shaking his head in disappointment.


    Lucifer and the Empress exchanged the rings, and were finally dered husband and wife. The marriage waspleted, taking only twenty minutes from the start to the end.


    Even as Lucifer stood at the altar, he could feel many piercing gazes on him, one in particr which attracted his attention a lot.

 Chapter 992 992: Alicias heart

    Chapter992 992: Alicia''s heart


    Not too far from him, he could see a young man looking in his direction. As for the person, he recognized him quite well. It was the same person he saw during the time he saw the future.


    It was the man who was leading the group that came to hunt him for killing the Empress. The man had the rank of a General, but more than that, he also had the identity of the Leader of Royal Guards.


    For some reason, Lucifer could already feel some killing intent from the man. The killing intent was very subtle and not as prominent as what he had experienced before.


    ''It looks like this guy already hated me before I even got married. But why? I don''t think he knows who I am. If he knew, he would''ve never let this marriage go through. Then why?''


    Lucifer had no idea what this man was thinking about. However, he did know one thing... Since he had no rtionship with the man, then it could only have something to do with the Empress herself.


    ''Does he secretly like her? That could exin why he shows that killing intent.''


    Lucifer could only shake his head and stop looking at the man. The Leader of the Royal Guards was powerful and could definitely hurt him, but he was sure that if he didn''t give the man an opportunity, there were no risks.


    If anything, Lucifer didn''t even want to allow this man to attack him. Instead, he wanted to kill the man himself! The man was a big headache in the future from what he could see. Not only was he strong, but he was also close to the Empress.


    ''So far, I haven''t been able to change the future at all. Everything went exactly as I saw... But if the next part goes the same, it''ll be a headache. It looks like I''ll need to do something to change things up a little and destroy the flow of time...''


    He knew that the man was going to attack him after the Empress was killed. However, that also gave him an idea. If he really wanted to change the future, he could definitely do so by killing the man! If he was able to kill the Leader of Royal Guards, there was no way for him to chase after him and me him for the Empress''s death. That alone was enough to change the future.


    Moreover, if he killed the Leader of the Royal Guards after finding an opportunity, he could also change other things, such that the future he saw didn''te to fruition.


    ''Since you think about killing me, I''d love to give you an opportunity.'' Lucifer didn''t show anything on the outside. However, on the inside, he had already made up his mind.


    The wedding ceremony was a sess. After giving their gifts, all the attendees started leaving one after another, not forgetting to congratte the couple before leaving.


    Before long, the entire Garden was empty, leaving only the staff here. Even the Star Alliance and Lucifer''s team left. The only person who didn''t live here yet stayed behind was Lucifer but only because this was supposed to be his new house from now on.


    The Empress escorted Lucifer back personally, telling all her Guards to give them some privacy. Even the Leader of the Royal Guards was told to not follow them.


    "Tired?" The Empress asked Lucifer, walking back with him. "How was it meeting with all the supreme beings?"


    "It was interesting for sure. But I''m more interested in the man who is still following us. It seems he even ignored yourmand," Lucifer answered, still sensing that presence.


    "Oh? You can sense him too? Not bad." The Empress was surprised to realize that Lucifer could sense someone like Lein who was her most capable subordinate. She didn''t know that someone other than her could sense him as well.


    "He ignored yourmand. Aren''t you angry?" Lucifer inquired, slightly intrigued. She herself told the man to give them some privacy yet he was following them.


    "There''s no benefit in being angry. He just worries about me to the point that he guards me from the shadows, even when I tell him not too. I can punish him, but then again there''s no need to. He''ll leave after we get to the inner parts of the pce where safety increases,"the Empress exined to Lucifer.


    Lucifer had expected the Empress to be a stern ruler since she was able to control such a big organization. However, in reality, she was a really careless person. She didn''t discipline her people, at least the ones who were close to her and had been with her for long. If anything, she treated them like friends.


    ****


    Back in the Star Alliance Ship, Kellian, Cassius and the others returned after attending the wedding.


    They directly went looking for Alicia who had refused to attend the wedding, citing work.


    As they returned, they noticed that she was still working on some documents in the cabin all alone. In the entire ship, she was the only one who stayed behind.


    Hearing the footsteps, Alicia looked back. "Oh, you''re back. How was the wedding?"


    Even with her question, Alicia didn''t show much reaction. It was as if she really didn''t care. However, Kellian could see that she was hiding the reality. Alicia was someone in the uprising who had been with Lucifer the longest. She was close to everyone, but particrly close to Lucifer.


    It wasn''t a secret from anyone that she liked Lucifer. However, now that she saw Lucifer select someone else, she felt as if she was left behind by him... As if Lucifer didn''t even think about her at all. She felt hurt, but she didn''t have the courage to show her emotions. She could only bury herself in her work and try to not look outside herfort zone, as if nothing else existed.


    "He was asking about you," Kellian answered, not lying either.

 Chapter 993 993: Intentions

    Chapter993 993: Intentions


    Lucifer married the Empress of the Star Alliance. However, only a few people knew that the marriage was only in name.


    The two people didn''t hold any feelings for each other. If anything, they were only using each other.


    While the Empress of Star Alliance wanted to use Lucifer toe to her Ancestral Land with her to help her, Lucifer wanted to use her influence in return to uncover all the secrets of the Star Alliance and the past.


    The sky was covered in darkness as night shrouded the horizon.


    Lucifer stood at the balcony, looking at the majestic horizon. As far as his eyes could see, thend belonged to the Star Alliance.


    However, he knew that the Star Alliance w wasn''t as good as it seemed. He had seen how they destroyed the World of Summons, just because they didn''t surrender to the Star Alliance.


    It was clear what this organization was going to do, once they found out what his Species was.


    "Strength... I need more strength..." Lucifer muttered, as his fists tightened.


    Unbeknownst to him, as his hand grasped the balcony''s railing, it exerted an immense amount of pressure, causing the railing to crumple and break under his grip.


    Letting out a sigh, he jumped out the balcony. In the night where he was supposed to be inside the pce, he jumped out.


    His figure could asionally seem in the dark sky, flying straight toward the Docking Station where all the Ships were stationed.


    Back in the pce, Leader of the Royal Guard Lein noticed Lucifer leaving. However, he didn''t follow the young man. He simply remained in his ce, only revealing a murderous intent in his eyes.


    He was in love with the Empress for so long, yet she married that man. He hated Lucifer for stealing the woman he loved! However, he was bound by duty...


    "If you ever do anything to hurt or betray her, I''ll crush you." He turned his back on Lucifer, taking a sip from the alcohol bottle in his hand. He had already drunk so much alcohol that even his steps had started to stumble.


    zing through the dark sky, Lucifer flew against the cold winds that brushed against his skin.


    After merely a few minutes, he slowed down as he reached the Docking Station. Hended before one particr ship that belonged to him. He was themander of this Ship.


    Now that he could control his Decay willingly, he didn''t have to worry about destroying everything he touched.


    However, despite all that, he still hadn''t gotten rid of his habit of wearing ck gloves.


    After taking off his right glove, he ced his palm on the door, letting it scan.


    With his highest level of Authorization, the door opened without sending any signal to people inside the ship.


    Lucifer stepped inside the ship. The door closed on its own behind him.


    None of the people inside the ship was aware that he was back. Moreover, his footsteps were always calm, so there wasn''t much voice either.


    Through the system, he checked where some of his friends were. Moreover, to his surprise, most were in the Command Room. They hadn''t fallen asleep in their rooms yet.


    Before long, Lucifer reached near the entrance of the Command Room, where the lights were still on. It was clear that most of them hadn''t fallen asleep yet.


    However, as he came close to themand room, he was able to hear the conversation thanks to his heightened senses. He slowed down.


    "He''s already abandoned all of us. Why would he ask about me?" Lucifer heard a voice that seemed to belong to Alicia.


    "Good riddance. Not like I liked him anyway." She further stated.


    Since Lucifer was outside, he couldn''t see her. However, the people in the Command Room could see that as she spoke, tears kept streaming down her cheeks.


    It was clear that she was only saying that because she didn''t want anyone to see her weak side. There was no one here who didn''t know that she liked Lucifer... None other than Lucifer himself at least.


    Outside themand room, Lucifer stopped in his tracks, not taking a single step forward.


    "Exactly. Who would like a guy like him?" Amelia also chimed in, feeling the same way as Alicia. She couldn''t show anyone that she liked Lucifer, so she projected a strong front, not realizing that someone was outside the room.


    The guys knew what the girls were trying to do. However, they didn''t call them out. They were instead sympathetic to them.


    "That''s right. Other than his strength, what does he even have? His personality is shit! You should be grateful. There''s no loss!" One of the guys said, siding with Amelia, so she could get over the feeling of losing something precious.


    "Yeah, I''m happy since I won''t be seeing his face as much now." Another guy chimed in, giving a fakeugh. "If anything, I feel bad for the Empress!"


    However, outside the room, Lucifer heard everything. There was no expression on his face. However, his eyes showed a multitude of emotions.


    Without speaking, or entering the Command Room, he turned around and walked away. He stepped out of the ship, gazing at the dark sky above.


    "Not like they are wrong." He muttered, talking to himself, as he walked back to the Pce...


    Back inside the Command Center, Kec noticed how everyone was lying about their feelings.


    In the end, he couldn''t help but chime in, "Are you all done with your nonsense? None of you believe a single thing you''re saying, and you all know that! Moreover, so what if he didn''t tell us or discuss it with us? Instead of trying to understand his perspective, should we reallye to conclusions of our own?"


    He further continued, "I don''t think he wanted to get married to the Empress either. Even though he didn''t tell us too much, it seems that it was the solo decision of the Empress, and not his!"


    "Most probably, he himself didn''t know about this, and had no choice but to go through with it. Why else would he not even invite his parents to this wedding?" Caen also nodded in agreement. He had been thinking the same, since he noticed that Lucifer didn''t look particrly happy either.

 Chapter 994 994: First Night

    Chapter 994 994: First Night


    "You are back."


    As the door of the bedroom opened, the Empress of the Star Alliance opened her eyes, ncing at Lucifer in the distance.


    Lucifer didn''t say anything. He simply walked to the nearby couch andid down.Resting one leg over the other, he closed his eyes and didn''t speak anything else.


    Even though they were only married in name, they still couldn''t sleep in separate rooms. For the Pce, they at least had to show that they were actually married.


    Moreover, the Empress already knew that many people called Lucifer a Puppet husband. She didn''t want to give any validity to those rumors, which was why she had told him to sleep in her room.


    "You look like you''re in a bad mood." The woman waved her hand, locking the door.


    The only reason she left it open until now was because she didn''t want Lucifer to be locked outside. However, she really expected him to not return tonight, at least not this soon.


    "Did something happen?" The woman asked after receiving no response.


    "Why do you care?" Luciferzily asked, without even opening his eyes. "You don''t need to concern yourself with my matters."


    "Why won''t I concern myself with the matters of my husband?" The woman jokingly asked. "Did someone say something to you?"


    "Nothing happened. I just realized a few things..." Lucifer answered.


    "Oh? And what would that be?" The woman asked.


    "It''s that you talk a lot," Lucifer sarcastically answered.


    For a moment, his response stunned the Empress of the Star Alliance, who expected him to seriously answer. It was rare for a person to talk to her so openly, since mostly people were very reserved around her.


    However, the man before her didn''t care about her authority or how much power she held. The way he talked to her was as if he was talking to an ordinary person.


    Even though the woman was stunned, she didn''t realize that a genuine and intrigued smile had developed on her face.


    "I never had anyone to talk to. In the past, everyone-"


    "If you''re going to tell a sad backstory, then you don''t need to. I have no intention of actually getting close to you." Lucifer interrupted, not letting the woman finish.


    He knew that the woman was going to be his enemy in the future, the moment his reality was out.


    Moreover, he had also seen a future where he personally killed her. He didn''t want to get close to her... If there was ever a day where he had to kill her, he didn''t want to be held back by any emotions.


    "You''re quite rude, you know that? Do you realize I can kill you right now?" The woman asked, revealing a frown.


    Her body rose in the air as she floated before Lucifer, standing right next to the couch.


    "No you won''t." Lucifer retorted, without even turning around. "You need me. You can''t kill me until you get what you want."


    "Now if you''re done ying around, get back to the bed and stop ying the viin. You aren''t cut to be one..."


    Lucifer waved his hand, casting a lightning barrier between him and the Empress of the Star Alliance, cutting off any outside noise from disturbing him.


    The woman stood on the other side of the barrier, frowning. The more she got to know the young man, the more intrigued she became.


    Moreover, she didn''t know why, she felt a strange feeling from Lucifer, as if he was dangerous. For someone like her to feel that, it was clear that he was stronger than many people knew.


    In the end, she turned around and didn''t fight. She just wanted to scare Lucifer, but that didn''t work.


    "You''re right. I can''t kill you until I get what I want. However, if you do help me get what I want, you''ll be the savior of the Star Alliance. I can''t kill you even after that. I know how to repay my favors. So sleep well... My dear husband."


    The woman shook her head as sheid on the bed. She didn''t realize when she fell asleep. However, when she woke up in the morning, she noticed that the couch was empty. Lucifer wasn''t inside the room.


    She stepped out of the room after getting dressed, only to realize that she was veryte. It was already afternoon. She never slept so long, and that too, in someone else''s presence. That was the calmest night she ever had.


    As she stepped out sote, most of the maids looked at her with great interest. Even though they didn''t reveal on their faces, the Empress could see in their eyes what they were thinking.


    All the maids thought that Lucifer and the Empress worked hard on bed untilte, which was why their Empress was left so tired and woke upte.


    The Empress of Star Alliance didn''t bother with exnation. Instead, she directly asked, "Where is Lucifer?"


    "Lord Lucifer is... Ah, he is..." The maids slightly hesitated, not knowing how to answer.


    "Speak!" The Empress'' tone turned darker, seeing the hesitation of the maids.


    "He''s fighting Lord Lein!" One of the maids eximed, scared out of her wits.


    "What?!" The Empress was stunned. Lein was the leader of her Personal Guards, and one of the strongest warriors of the Star Alliance.


    "Where are they?!" She asked.


    ****


    "Do you think I''ll go easy on you?" Lein asked with a curious tone, his eyes scanning the vast battle arena of the Star Alliance, stretching over a distance of at least twenty kilometers. He couldn''t help but wonder why Lucifer was so determined to engage in a fight.


    As for Lucifer, he stood on the opposite side with a spear that appeared to be crafted from ck lightning.


    During the event, several high-ranking officers from the Star Alliance were present to witness the battle.


    Although the battle had been nned as a training exercise, Lucifer had a different goal. His true intention was to eliminate Lein, albeit under the guise of an "ident."

 Chapter 995 995: Changing Future

    Chapter995995: Changing Future


    Lucifer didn''t know what effect it was going to have in the future if he took out one of the important pieces of the future from the board... the man who became the next leader of the Star Alliance after the Empress was killed.


    Lein was the same person who chased him to the ends of the universe to kill him in the future. Even though most things about that future were unclear to him, he decided to change the future through his own hands, trying to create variables.


    Lein raised his staff that was made from a rare unbreakable material. Even though Lein had fought so many people in the past with his staff, including the generals, there was not a single scratch on the staff.


    With multiple high level spectators from the Star Alliance, every single moment of this battle was to be recorded, even though no one expected Lucifer to win.


    Lein raised his left hand, gesturing for Lucifer to attack him, as if he was giving the taking man an opportunity to take the lead.


    Lucifer, already in a bad mood, took the opportunity.


    He tapped his foot on the ground lightly, but even that little bit was enough to leave a crater on the ground, sending the dist flying in the air. All the surroundings were covered in dust. At the same time, Lucifer''s figure disappeared inside the dust.


    "Tsk, we can''t see anything through that dust. It''s not a bad trick by the young man," One of the Generalsughed. "However, such tricks won''t work before someone like Lein. There''s a reason he''s responsible for the security of the Royal Pce."


    "Who knows. From what I know about that kid, he isn''t half bad himself. It would be a good show indeed," another General stated. He really wanted to remove that dust in the field himself to see everything, but he controlled his urges and didn''t interfere.


    A few seconds passed, but strangely enough, there were no battle noises there. It was as if the battle had halted, which made everyone feel strange. Everyone wondered just why the two people stopped fighting.


    "Stop the battle!"


    As everyone was wondering if they should check, a woman''s voice came from the distance.


    The door of the arena opened up.


    "Your Majesty!" All the Generals were stunned to see the woman here. However, they also understood that she was here to save her husband, worried that Lein might thrash the young man a little too badly.


    They all greeted the Empress before they alsomanded for the battle to be stopped. The systems in the arena activated, slowly removing all the dust floating in the arena.


    As the dust disappeared, the arena came into full view again. However, instead of rxing, almost all of them had a shock on their faces.


    There was only one person standing in the arena.


    Even the Empress and the maid which followed her was frozen in her ce, pale-faced.


    The Generals were in disbelief. The person who was standing wasn''t Lein but Lucifer, who appeared to be shocked himself.


    Near his foot, there was Lein''s body, which was missing a head! A few meters away, Lein''s head could also be seen, with his eyes still open.


    The Generals rushed to the field, checking up on Lein to see if they could save him, but it was impossible.


    "Y-you killed him?!" One of the Generals asked Lucifer.


    "I didn''t want to..." Lucifer replied, appearing confused himself. "I thought he would dodge, but he didn''t. It was toote for me to stop my attack...."


    He revealed a shock on his face, which was slightly pale. However, deep in his heart, he was quite relieved that everything went as nned.


    His eyes nced at all the cameras nearby. The shadows that had temporarily covered the cameras retracted, and merged with his own shadows. Not a single person knew what happened in the battle, and no one was ever going to know, he made sure of that.


    "I thought I could train with the best, and be stronger like him. But I never thought that I''d be able to hurt him, let alone kill..." He spoke, ncing at the body of the lifeless man.


    "I-i..." After stuttering for a little, he turned and left, as if he couldn''t see the gruesome sight. "I am sorry."


    He left the Arena, leaving all the Generals and even his wife inside that ce, not even ncing at her.


    After leaving the area, he went back to the pce. The confused and sad expression on his face disappeared, returning to his usual calm expression.


    "That''s one piece out of the future..." He muttered.


    He went back to his room. But to his surprise, the woman that he left back in the arena was already there before him.


    "You killed him intentionally, didn''t you?" She asked.


    Momentarily surprised, Lucifer didn''t break hisposure. "I had no enmity with him. Why would I want him dead? However, I really didn''t expect him to be that weak."


    He sat on the couch, ncing back at the woman. "Do you want to punish me?"


    The woman didn''t reply. She just kept observing Lucifer, as if trying to observe every little thing she could. She always felt that Lucifer was dangerous, but now she realized that she still underestimated him.


    A thought crossed her mind that she should get rid of the man, just to be safe. However, when she thought about the fact that she still needed him, she controlled her urges.


    "We will be leaving in two days. If you have anything pending, finish it. Because we might not be able to return from the ce where we''ll be going."


    She stood up and left the room. Instead of talking to Lucifer directly, she decided to investigate him in other ways. Her suspicions about his identity, his strength and everything else only increased with the recent incident.


    It was as if he had a mission of his own. She couldn''t but link his presence to their target, wondering if theirst test was somehow wrong?


    Was he actually the one they were looking for? If he was, why did he try to kill her guard instead of directly trying to kill her? So many questions crossed her mind.

 Chapter 996 996: Living in the moment

    Chapter996 996: Living in the moment


    For the next two days, Lucifer didn''t see the Empress. It was said that she had gone somewhere to take care of some matters personally. However, only a few people knew where exactly she went.


    During the two days, Lucifer did nothing other than train. He even refused to meet anyone who arrived, including the people that he had known for years from back on earth, including Kec.


    In the past, he never would''ve refused to meet Kec but currently, he paid them no heed. For some reason, Kec felt strange when he was sent back without even getting an audience. He couldn''t help but nce at the pce for quite some time before turning around and leaving.


    Not only did Lucifer stop paying attention to his ship, but for the time being, he assigned a new Captain tomand his ship in his absence, making all of them feel as if they were abandoned.


    However, he didn''t select a random person. He selected the Heir of the Ostrin n, who had be something akin to a friend since they went through the Captain Trials of the Star Alliance together.


    As soon as Ron Ostrin came to know where he was being assigned, he came to meet Lucifer. For some reason, he found it strange that Lucifer was letting him take over the ship whose control he worked so hard to win.


    Unlike Kec and others, Ron was allowed inside the pce since he was the grandson of one of the top Generals of the Star Alliance. Moreover, then Lucifer didn''t refuse him.


    "May I ask why you''re doing this?" Ron asked as soon as he opened the room of the training arena.


    In the center of the Arena, Lucifer stood, topless. In both his hands, there were gauntlets made from ck lightning. However,all around him, cracks were visible, including on the ground.


    Some signs of decay could also be seen in ces, as if the surroundings itself had decayed.


    "Why am I training? Is that even a question?" Lucifer turned around as his gauntlets dispersed.


    He picked up a towel and wiped the seat off his well chiseled body.


    "I need to stay ready for whatever maye my way," Lucifer further stated. "Besides, with the state of the world today, being prepared for anything is more important than ever."


    "That''s not what I''m talking about." Ron closed the door behind him as hended in the middle of the training arena as well. "I''m asking you about your position, that you''re giving me. I want to know why?!"


    "It''s only temporary," Lucifer replied. "I will be going somewhere and might be busy, so I don''t have time to take care of that. And who better than you to take care of them? In any case, I''m sure you''ll be much better than me in that regard..."


    Even though he said that, only he knew that this wasn''t the entire reason. After what he heardst time, he didn''t want to face them. He had a feeling that they would''ve liked to work with someone like Ron much more than someone like him.


    At the same time, he also needed someone to protect his home world. Since it was in his territory, someone else had to do that in his stead when he was absent, and he believed that Ron was the best for that.


    Not only was he honest and genuine, but he also had high influence thanks to his grandfather. In the Star Alliance, if there was someone he could trust with this responsibility, it was Ron.


    "Why do I feel like there''s something more to it than that?" Ron had known Lucifer for quite some time, and he understood the young man quite a lot.


    As he saw Lucifer avoiding his gaze as he answered, he could feel that something was wrong.


    Unfortunately for him, Lucifer didn''t answer.


    "Since you''re here, how about we train onest time before I leave?" Lucifer changed the topic as he tossed the towel away.


    The lightning gauntlets appeared around his arms once again. However, he didn''t use anything else other than the ck Lightning which was the specialty of Ron''s bloodline.


    Ron momentarily forgot what he was talking about as he heard about a training battle. His eyes shone brightly. His mind was very simple and he loved fighting.


    He took off his jacket and tossed it away. Two gauntlets made from ck lightning appeared around his hands. At the same time, lightning appeared covering his entire body.


    "Definitely!" He eximed.


    For the next four hours straight, explosive battle noises could be heard all around the Pce. The maids and the servants could feel the walls vibrate asionally.


    Some of the guards checked to see if they were under attack. However, when they found out that it was just their Prince Consort training with his friend, they were all surprised.


    It was like the battle of two beasts. The crack on the wall outside the training hall kept getting bigger until the entire wall broke apart.


    A figure covered in pitch ck lightning Armor shot out of the training hall, crashing in the hallway. It was none other than Ron.


    However, instead of growing in pain or getting angry, he onlyughed. He was truly enjoying the battle.


    Just like him, Lucifer had also suffered quite a lot. His body was bleeding. However, he was forcefully preventing his Healing from working since he wanted to enjoy this battle like it should be, without using any other abilities.


    It was like the two men wanted to give it their all during this battle, only talking with their fists.


    Ron flew inside the Training Hall once again and the battle resumed, causing more and more destruction around the ce.


    The battle only stopped after an entire ten hours passed.


    Both, Ron and Lucifer,y on the Floor a few meters away from each other, breathing heavily. However, both of them appeared to be very refreshed. Even Lucifer felt much lighter now.


    "Thank you." He told Ron out of nowhere. Since thest few days, there were many thoughts in his head which made him feel like he was going to go crazy.


    However, in this fight, he didn''t have to think about anything. He could finally rx himself and just enjoy the moment, forgetting everything about the present and the future.


    "We should do it again when you return from wherever you''re going." Ronughed in response. "This was fun."


    Lucifer didn''t reply to Ron. He had a feeling that when he returned, things were going to be much different... This was a moment that might never return for him¡­

 Chapter 997 997: The Unknown Portal

    Chapter997 997: The Unknown Portal


    After gathering some strength, Ron forced his body up.


    "Alright. I''ll take care of the ship and its people for you. But as soon as you return, I''ll be returning that responsibility. You know I don''t like to be tied to a ce."


    He reached out his hand to help Lucifer up as well.


    "That''s a deal." Lucifer grabbed the hand of the man who pulled him up. "Just take care of them until I return..."


    Ron still had a feeling that something was amiss, but he thought that it was just his misconception. He bid Lucifer farewell before he finally left, feeling quite satisfied with the battle.


    Along the way, many maids looked at him weirdly, noticing his condition. However they also knew that he was fighting their Prince Consort.


    The damage to the pce caused by the battle between the two wasn''t little either. It made all of them realize just how strong these people from the younger generation were.


    Lucifer also left the training hall to get a shower. If he wasn''t wrong, today was the day when he was to leave this ce with the Empress. However, even he wasn''t clear just what kind of ce he was going to be, or how dangerous it was going to be.


    There was even a distant thought that this all might just be a trap and that they already knew his real identity. However, the chances of that were somewhat unlikely. Despite that, he decided to be careful. If it was a trap, then he couldn''t just jump straight into it.


    While taking a long and rxing shower, he allowed his healing to take ce. The remaining wounds on his body also healed, at a speed visible to the eyes.


    After a shower, he stepped out, fully dressed, only to find the Empress in the room.


    She was dressed in her official attire, as if she had just returned from somewhere. For some reason, Lucifer felt that she was different from before.


    She was thinking about something but it was hard to read her face. It was a minor change, which made him slightly intrigued as to where she returned from.


    "It looks like you had fun today. Though take everything that you need. We are leaving now. It''s time for you to keep your side of the deal."


    After reminding Lucifer, the woman stepped out of the room. As the Captain of the Guards died at Lucifer''s hands, someone else had taken Lein''s position. However, the new Captain wasn''t allowed to apany the woman either.


    Moreover, unlike Lein, the New Captain was less persistent. He followed the instructions of the Empress, instead of secretly following her for her own safety.


    Lucifer didn''t need to gather anything. All he wanted was food and some clothes, which he always carried in his storage ring. Other than that, there was nothing that he needed, including weapons or treasures.


    Moreover, with his healing, he didn''t need any medicine or any antidotes either.


    He followed the Empress right outside the room, preparing himself for whatever was toe. It didn''t matter if it was a trap or something else. What mattered was that he had prepared himself for any contingencies.


    The Empress personally escorted Lucifer. And to his surprise, he didn''t see a single guard or any maid along the way, as if they were all given a night off.


    If someone wanted to kill the woman, it was the perfect opportunity. However, she didn''t look worried either.


    She brought Lucifer to a specific section of the pce, where not even Lucifer was allowed to go previously. That area was restricted for even the most trusted of the Empress.


    No one knew what exactly was there, but there were many rumors about it, including one that stated that a terrifying Creature was being imprisoned there. However, no one had seen that personally, or verified that. Even Lein didn''t know the truth behind this.


    The area was blocked by a door which was made from the strongest metal. Even for a General level being in Star Alliance, it was impossible to break that door with force without attacking it constantly for hours.


    The door could only be opened with the blood of the woman, along with a very peculiar key.


    Lucifer stood in the back, watching the woman bite her thumb. She ced a drop of her blood on the door, before inserting the key at the same time.


    Following a clicking sound, the door opened on its own, allowing the woman to pass through. Lucifer followed her before the door closed.


    Throughout the way, Lucifer walked behind the woman, in case she was leading her to a trap. However, so far, there was nothing close to that.


    On the other side of the door, there were stairs which led down. However, Lucifer also felt another force pushing down on his body, as if his weight had suddenly increased.


    "You can''t fly in this ce. Though don''t worry. The stairs aren''t long." The woman went down the stairs, unaffected by the pressure on her shoulders.


    ....


    "The stairs aren''t long? We''ve been stepping down for half an hour now..." Lucifer sarcastically asked after half an hour passed and the end still wasn''t at sight.


    He didn''t know how deep he was beneath the surface but he was convinced that he had at least walked down a few kilometers towards the center of the world.


    "A little more..." The woman responded.


    After an additional hour, the situation remained unchanged. The stairs appeared to stretch on indefinitely, as though their descent only made them longer. Fortunately, they dide to an end, but not before three more hours passed.


    Finally, Lucifer was on the t surface again. Before them was a spatial portal, which wasn''t restricted by anything. It was as if anyone could just walk in. The only security upto this point was the door at the entrance of the stairs.


    This time, the woman turned back toward Lucifer. She held his hand and pulled him along with her as she entered the portal.

 Chapter 998 998: Zestiria

    Chapter998 998: Zestiria


    Everything turned dark for Lucifer as he was dragged inside the Portal. It was as if the forces of space were dragging him against his wishes.


    This was the longest he had been inside a spatial tunnel, as well as the most painful journey. He felt as if he was breaking apart, his body distorted by spatialws.


    "Don''t use any protective barrier, or it''ll get even worse."


    As Lucifer was thinking about using the Spatial Element to protect himself, he heard Talia''s voice. She was the one who dragged him in this spatial tunnel after all.


    Lucifer stopped himself from using any Barrier. He had better healing than the Queen of Star Alliance Talia. So if she wasn''t worried, then he also thought that he was going to be fine.


    After traveling through the spatial tunnel for half an hour, Lucifer was abruptly expelled out of the space, tumbling down to the ground. Hisplexion turned slightly pale, and he experienced a wave of nausea.


    Talia also came out of the space, falling on the ground. She was in a much better condition than Lucifer as if she had already taken precautions.


    "You''re doing much better than I thought you would do."


    Talia extended her hand, offering assistance to Lucifer, helping him to his feet. Lucifer pushed her hand aside, standing up on his own.


    "You said it was also your first time. How are you doing better than me?" Lucifer asked, wondering if the girl was trolling him.


    Talia smirked at Lucifer''s question, her eyes gleaming mischievously.


    "Well, let''s just say I did my fair share of research and preparation before stepping into this," she replied, her toneced with a hint of amusement.


    Lucifer couldn''t help but feel a sense of annoyance. He noticed another thing.


    When Talia was in the Star Alliance, she was the Queen. She was always serious and busy at work. But this time, she felt free. She looked full of life, as if a child had entered her dream destination.


    Lucifer hadn''t forgotten her purpose ining here. She was here to get her family''s inheritance so she could be stronger and kill the only remaining member of the Ancestral Bloodline!


    The woman didn''t know that Lucifer was thest remaining member of the Ancestral Bloodline, the one she was looking for. She had brought the one she wanted to kill with him.


    Lucifer wasn''t sure what the inheritance was, but he knew he couldn''t let the woman get it. If he had refused to marry her and apany her here, she would''ve brought someone else. It was much better for him to be here.


    Although he didn''t know the specifics, he wanted to take the inheritance for himself so he could protect everything he held dear. Talia was already strong enough, any stronger and it was going to be a disaster for him.


    "Where are we?" Lucifer asked, looking around.


    Talia replied in only a single word. "Zephiria."


    As Lucifer looked around, he could feel that something was extremely wrong in this ce.


    The ce was nothing like earth or any other world he has been to. There was no sun in the sky. There was no source of light, yet it was bright.


    The surroundings appeared even more strange. There was no ground under him. Instead, he could only see a white mist under him, on which he was standing.


    He took a step forward cautiously, his foot barely touching the mist-like substance. To his surprise, it didn''t give way or dissipate, but instead felt solid beneath his weight.


    There was a profound silence, disturbed only by the faintest echoes of distant melodies, as if the very air was alive with music.


    He asked, "So, where is the inheritance you seek?"


    Talia''s eyes locked onto his, a hint of seriousness returning to her expression.


    She extended her finger towards the distant horizon. There, as far as the eye could perceive,y an expanse of emptiness, devoid of any discernible feature or form.


    "How far do we have to walk?" Lucifer asked. Since he couldn''t see anything in that direction, there was only one possibility. What she wanted was so far that he couldn''t even see it.


    "Six months," Talia replied, as she started walking in that direction. "We are on the outskirts of Zephiria. And it''ll take at least six months to get to our destination."


    Lucifer walked behind her, frowning. "Why didn''t we go straight for the source then?"


    "Because we couldn''t," Talia replied, sighing. "This is as far as we could get through the spatial tunnel. The space behind this point is moreplex."


    "Let alone using space to get there, you can''t even fly in this ce, unless you want to be tossed in an unknown Spatial Realm from where, there might be no return."


    She further rified, "This ce is more dangerous than you think. So just walk with me."


    Lucifer shook his head as he caught up with Talia. Six months of walking just to get to his destination, although frustrating, there was nothing that could be done about this.


    ....


    Lucifer and Talia continued their journey without veering off course, only resting asionally.


    Both of them disyed remarkable endurance and did not require much rest. However, their physical strength did not significantly expedite their journey, as the initial estimation of six months already factored this in.


    Along the journey, Lucifer tried to get as much information as she could.


    He tried to ask her more about the inheritance that she was after, and how she was going to get this. He also asked her about the specialties of this inheritance and how it was going to help her.


    Unfortunately for him, Talia didn''t answer anything rted to this.


    All she said was, "You''ll see when I get it."


    Although disappointed, Lucifer could only shift his question to something else. Instead of asking about this inheritance, he asked


    about this Realm, which was quite strange.


    He doesn''t know why, but he didn''t feel like it was a natural realm. It felt like it was created by someone powerful.


    "It was created by my Family. You might not know anything about them since they aren''t in this Universe," Talia replied, confirming Lucifer''s suspicions.

 Chapter 999 999: Origins

    Chapter999 999: Origins


    Talia confirmed Lucifer''s suspicions, affirming that this was indeed a man-made world. However, the power to create a world was something surprising, especially since along the way, Lucifer hade across a few small beasts.


    The small creaturescked any extraordinary abilities or powers. They were not much different from ordinary animals, yet their existence was still quite remarkable.


    "Were the animals also created by your family?" he asked Talia.


    "I would assume so," Talia answered. "This entire ce... No life form can be born here without the interference of the Family. Thews here would never allow it. So it makes sense that even these life forms were created by them."


    "Your family sounds very strong," Lucifermented.


    The more he learned about Talia''s family, the more extraordinary they sounded which made it even more strange how they were unknown in the world.


    Even when the Ancestral Species ruled over this universe, that family was unknown as if they didn''t even exist at all. If they were really that strong, they would''ve been more well known in the war against the Ancestors.


    On the contrary, it was the Baltics who contributed the most in the war, eventually attracting the wrath and getting annihtedpletely.


    "Strong..." Talia fell into a momentary silence, understanding theplexity of her family. "They are very strong."


    "Are they stronger than the Ancestral n used to be?" Lucifer asked, trying to gain more information.


    "Hahaha, although I never fought against the Ancestral n, but from what I heard about them, they were very strong by this universe''s standards. But that''s the extent of it. If my family existed in this Universe, a single member from our family could''ve annihted them."


    Although it sounded like she was bragging, there was not a hint of a lie in her words.


    It was as if she truly believed what she was saying. "Where I came from, the ns like the Ancestral n should be considered only mid tier ns,"


    Lucifer wasn''t sure what to believe, but if what she said was true, then that meant her origins were truly extraordinary. But that left some ws in her story. Was there really an entire universe that they didn''t know about?


    Also, if she indeed belonged to a remarkable family in a universe that was much stronger than theirs, that meant they had better resources as well. So why would Taliae to this universe and establish the Star Alliance here?


    Another question that Lucifer couldn''t shake from his mind was why Talia was so weak if she was from a family like that?


    She wasn''t weak in essence, but ording to his memories, the beings from the Ancestral n were much stronger than her.


    Even if he were to fight her, he wasn''t certain if she could defeat him. If the daughter of that family couldn''t defeat him despite living for so long, then how could her family defeat his n which had the Bloodline Ability of every species in this universe?


    He directly asked her, "If your family is so strong, shouldn''t you be strong as well? Why do you need an inheritance to fight thest remaining member of the Ancestral n?"


    "Are you calling me weak?" Talia frowned in response. "The only reason I''m after this inheritance is because girls in our Family are born weaker than men. That''s why this inheritance was created to close the gap."


    "The men don''t need the inheritance, and they are much stronger. But for me, this inheritance is very useful. You''ll see once I get it."


    "Your story raises so many questions in my mind," Lucifermented. He wanted to ask so many things but he didn''t know where to start.


    "Why did you enter this universe? Why did you create Star Alliance? What is your true goal? The Ancestral n had nothing to do with you. So why are you doing all this?"


    "Don''t give me the story that you care about the people of this universe. No one would believe that after knowing where youe from."


    One after another, Lucifer asked the question in his mind. He had still scratched only the surface of the secrets hidden in the depths of the woman''s heart.


    He still didn''t know why he had killed that woman in the future that he had seen. And even if he killed her, why did her family never appear to kill him in revenge? Instead, it was the Star Alliance that was after him.


    Although he had changed some things about the future, there were still many things that were unclear. He wondered if this was the ce where he killed the woman? But if he did that, no one was going to have any proof that he did it.


    He could easily give excuses about some ident that took Talia''s life. No one was there to find her body after all. So it didn''t make sense for the Star Alliance to chase after him in that future.


    "You shouldn''t ask what you don''t need to know." Talia''s expressions turned darker. It was unclear which of the questions made her angry, but she didn''t look like she was going to answer.


    For the rest of the journey, Talia didn''t answer a single thing about her past or reasons. The conversation between the two was limited to small things about this journey.


    Before long, six months had passed from the moment Lucifer entered this world with Talia. These six months had been the most boring time of his life, as they just traveled silently most of the time.


    Fortunately, the journey was now over as Talia stopped before a thousand feet tall statue.


    In front of the statue, many animals could be seen sitting, as if they were respectfully praying to the statue.


    The statue had no face, as if someone intentionally left that part nk. That nk face made the statue look iplete.


    Lucifer couldn''t help but feel a sense of mystery and intrigue emanating from the statue. It was a strange feeling. It was his first


    time seeing a statue that made him feel such intense hate for some reason.

 Chapter 1000 1000 : Hostility

    Chapter1000 1000 : Hostility


    Talia walked past the animals, moving closer to the statue.


    Sensitive to the footsteps, the Animals raised their heads and looked at Talia. They didn''t react to her and let her pass, but strangely enough, when they looked at Lucifer, there was some hostility. It was as if they were going to attack him if he stepped closer.


    Lucifer released some of his killing intent after seeing the hostility from the animals.


    The animals were frightened by the heavy killing intent, and slowly stepped back with wariness.


    Lucifer followed Talia who stopped at the foot of the statue. She pulled out a knife and made a small cut on her wrist, letting the blood fall on the foot of the statue.


    As the blood fell on the Statue''s feet, but before it could touch the feet, it froze in space. The blood drops started flying above,nding on the forehead of the Giant Statue.


    The blood drop was absorbed by the Statue. For some time, nothing happened. It wasplete silence.


    Ten minutes passed when there was finally a change. The statue slowly opened its eyes. It started shining in a mysterious light.


    The Light was veryfortable, making the animals subconsciously move closer. Even Talia felt as if the light was pure. It was not only healing her fatigue, but also strengthening her to some extent.


    Unfortunately, that same light proved to be strange for Lucifer. He felt a burning sensation as the light fell on his body. His skin was constantly being burned by the light.


    He jumped back,nding far away from the light while using his healing to take care of his skin. He didn''t understand why the light was harming him. Was it only helpful for Talia as this domain was created by her? Or was there something else?


    Seeing Lucifer jump back, Talia nced in his direction, frowning. She watched his burnt skin, which was healing at a fast pace. A strange frown appeared on her face as she thought of something, but she didn''t express her thoughts.


    One thing was certain though. The way she looked at Lucifer had changed. It was full of suspicions now.


    The statue slid back, revealing a hidden passage leading underground. Talia jumped inside, without even calling for Lucifer.


    Lucifer tried to catch up to her, but even with his speed, he wasn''t fast enough. The Statue had moved back to its original ce, closing the entrance.


    As Lucifer came close, the light around the statue only intensified, making Lucifer feel as if a bucket of acid was poured over his head. However, he couldn''t afford to miss this opportunity.


    He wasn''t sure why this statue was harming him constantly, especially since Talia didn''t say anything about it before. In any case, he couldn''t afford to stay behind.


    Getting close to the statue was painful, but Lucifer couldn''t hesitate. He didn''t step back.


    "Can a mere statue stop me?" He clenched his fist, using his superior strength as he dashed towards the statue.


    His skin burned even more, to the point that his healing couldn''t keep up. Some of his flesh and bones also became visible in a short time.


    Boom~


    An explosive sound resounded as Lucifer''s fist hit the statue. The force of the impact sent shockwaves through the surrounding area, causing cracks to spread across the statue''s surface.


    Before his very eyes, the light of the statue dimmed as the entire statue broke into a thousand pieces.


    The animals ran away from the sight, horrified.


    Lucifer ced his hand on where the opening used to be, decaying the entrance to create an opening for him.


    Fortunately, it wasn''t problematic. As the opening appeared, he jumped inside the opening.


    He was also curious as to what kind of inheritance this was. Was it a physical item or was it something that enhanced inner power? In any case, he had to see with his own eyes how dangerous this could be.


    Lucifernded underground, the surroundingspletely dark, making it impossible for him to see anything.


    He raised his right hand, creating a sphere made of condensed mes to observe the surroundings.


    As the mes illuminated the space, Lucifer''s was even to see a hallway, with walls that looked like they were made from ordinary stones.


    He ced his fingers on the walls, testing his decay.


    "Just like I thought, these are ordinary walls."


    The wall couldn''t resist against his decay, making it no different than things he saw before. But what made him truly intrigued was the blood on the floor.


    There was blood on the floor, as if a bleeding body was dragged through the hallway by someone. The blood had fried, showing that it wasn''t recent. It couldn''t belong to Talia.


    Lucifer followed the trace of blood through the hallway.


    The hallways soon split, giving Lucifer two paths. The first path was the one which had the trail of blood. While the second path had signs of footsteps.


    "The footsteps should belong to Talia, but isn''t it too convenient?" Lucifer frowned as he stood on the threshold of making a choice.


    His purpose was to catch upto Talia, but he wasn''t certain which path she took. Fortunately, he had another ability.


    He created two shadows. One of the shadows rushed in the first passage while the other entered the second passage.


    Where the passages further split in multiple paths, the shadows also split ordingly and kept going deeper.


    Along the way, one of the shadows noticed a few lifeless bodies. The creatures weren''t humans, but they weren''t beasts either. They looked like strange Puppets, but they were bleeding.


    The blood was also fresh, as if they were killed just recently. Only one person could''ve killed them.


    "Found the path she took." Raven entered the first path which had the trail of blood. This was where Talia had entered.


    He ran through the passage as fast as he could. His shadows moved just as fast to help him further with the investigation.

 Chapter 1001 1001: Overpowering

    Chapter1001 1001: Overpowering


    Lucifer followed the trail of blood, his shadows serving as his eyes in the other passages. Even though he found the passage that Talia entered, he was still curious about other passages.


    He wanted to see if there was actually something in the other passages, especially in the one where he saw footstep marks.


    The eerie atmosphere of the underground passage only intensified his sense of urgency as Lucifer ran further.


    As he ventured deeper into thebyrinthine tunnels, the walls seemed to close in on him, and the air grew colder and more oppressive. The asional glimmer of his mes revealed disturbing murals on the walls¡ªdepictions of strange rituals.


    In the murals, something akin to a sacrifice was seen in which ten children were sitting on their knees and before them was a woman with a sword.


    Behind the woman was a giant statue of a strange creature which appeared to be an amalgamation of a beast, a Demon and a human.


    The passage he followed eventually opened into a chamber bathed in an eerie, bluish light. In the center of the room stood a pedestal, upon which rested a shimmering, translucent crystal. It emanated a powerful aura, one that Lucifer recognized as a source of immense energy.


    However, there was no one else in the room. Talia wasn''t here and there was no passage ahead.


    He searched the walls to see if there was a secret opening, but nothing could be found. All the walls were solid, with no gaps in them for any opening to be there.


    The only clue he had was the gem in the center of the hall which was giving off a strange aura.


    Just like the statue outside, this aura also made his skin feel a burning sensation, especially as he went closer. It was as if his skin was burning.


    Even as he surrounded his entire body in dark mes of his own, nothing changed. His skin wasn''t protected. The light was able to pass through his clothes and even his mes and lightning. There was no blocking it.


    Another thing that caught his attention were the symbols etched into the floor around the pedestal. They seemed to be a part of aplex sealing array. That was supplying some energy to the crystal.


    He could also feel the turmoil in the element of space there. It was different from outside. This wasn''t sealing teleportation. Instead, the crystal was using the element of space.


    Lucifer walked closer to the crystal. He had a theory and the only way to test it was to get close to the crystal.


    With each step that he took toward the Crystal, the burning sensation increased, making his healing work hard to repair his body. If it wasn''t for his healing, he was certain that he would''ve died a long time ago with not even his ashes left behind.


    He stood merely half a meter away from the crystal, reaching out his hand. The skin on his hand waspletely burned, revealing a grotesque sight of a skeleton hand with skin trying totch onto it only to be destroyed again and again. Even his bones were starting to be destroyed.


    Lucifer''s fingers touched the crystal in the center of the hall. Lucifer could feel a spatial energy trying to surround him and send him somewhere, but the crystal was offering resistance, trying to prevent it.


    Lucifer wasn''t sure if the Crystal was preventing the spatial energy because he wasn''t qualified, but that''s where his own abilities came into y.


    The crystal could try to stop it, but at the end of the day, what it could do was limited, especially before him, who could also manipte space and time to some extent.


    Lucifer utilized his unique spatial element to establish a connection with the spatial aura of the crystal formation, infusing it with his power.


    His goal was not only to ovee the limitations of the crystal but also to briefly bypass its defensive measures so it could teleport him where Talia was sent, which was probably the main core area of the inheritance zone.


    Lucifer''s fingers tingled with pain as he made contact with the crystal. The sh of energies, one resisting and the other pushing through, created a visible aura of light and darkness swirling around his hand. Beads of sweat formed on his brow as he focused all his power on this pivotal moment.


    The crystal fought back fiercely, as if guarding its secrets with a determination that matched Lucifer''s own.


    Lucifer was no ordinary being either. He had faced countless challenges in his existence, and his mastery over space allowed him to bend reality to his will.


    With a surge of effort, Lucifer pushed past the crystal''s defenses. His vision blurred, and the sensation of being torn apart enveloped him. It was as if he was simultaneously being pulled in all directions, stretched to the limits of his existence.


    Then, in an instant, the turmoil ceased. Lucifer found himself in a ce unlike any other. The surroundings were surreal, a kaleidoscope of shifting colors and dimensions. He could see pathways of pure energy weaving through the fabric of this ce, leading to countless destinations.


    "What... is this ce?" He was taken aback by the existence of a ce like this. It was like a world that was created with the destruction of multiple worlds, the fragments of which wereter merged into one to create this ce.


    Talia''s presence lingered in the air, a faint trace that a being like Lucifer could easily detect. That was also a faint scent of blood. It was a beacon, guiding him deeper into this mysterious realm. He followed the trail.


    As he ventured further, thendscape transformed even further. Each step he took brought him closer to the heart of this realm, where secrets were waiting to be unraveled.


    He didn''t understand the reason, but he could feel his blood getting warmer. His heartbeat had fastened on its own, despite him being perfectly calm.


    Not long after, he finally saw Talia''s back. However, seeing her, he could only frown at what he saw next.

 Chapter 1002 1002: All pretenses off

    Chapter1002 1002: All pretenses off


    In the distance, he saw a stage. Talia was facing a statue in the distance. There was a leash on the Statue''s hands, a leash which was tied to what appeared like human beings shackled at the Statue''s feet.


    The humans were alive, and they were breathing. It was impossible for Talia to bring these humans with her, so that made Lucifer think of another possibility.


    These humans have been here from before Talia even entered. Although it was a wild guess, Lucifer felt these people were here from the moment this ce was created by Talia''s family.


    The murals on the wall along the way depicted sacrifices, simr to the scene ahead. Since this was a special realm, thews of this world were controlled by Talia''s family.


    They had already manipted the space ording to will, and only here did Lucifer realize that they didn''t just manipte space but time as well. Time was frozen for these humans. They didn''t grow old.


    They also didn''t need to eat anything. They just waited here, for hundreds of years, all for the moment where the sessor of the n was going to arrive and grant them death. In death, they found their freedom.


    Talia bowed before the statue as she picked up a sword that was kept near the foot of the statue. She was on the verge of getting the inheritance. All she had to do was perform this sacrifice and win the inheritance.


    The sword was heavy, and marked with various unique patterns. This was the special sacrificial sword, created by her n for Inheritance Realms for indoor descendants.


    Talia stepped closer to the first boy. She took a deep breath, before swinging her sword. The first person died, their head rolling on the ground. But instead of regret, the person who died had a sense of relief in his eyes.


    The other humans also looked forward to their deaths. They had been waiting for this moment. They closed their eyes, not even offering any resistance.


    Talia also wasn''t taken aback. She didn''t consider herself to be a saint. To achieve her goals, she already killed many people in the past. A few more were no different.


    She shifted her focus to the next individual, transitioning to the second person. Her sword smoothly swung through the air once more, iming yet another life.


    Talia moved with deadly precision. Each strike was calcted, each life taken swiftly and efficiently, granting the quickest of death.


    As the battle raged on, Talia''s mind remained focused on her mission. Her goal was to take the inheritance with her and write her own destiny.


    As Talia killed the second person, Lucifer noticed the Statue getting more life-like. It was a strange feeling, that made him feel like the statue was watching them. He wasn''t sure if this was part of the inheritance she was talking about, but he had a bad feeling about this.


    From the moment he entered this world, he only felt as if this world was hostile towards him. Everything that was rted to this inheritance tried to harm him.


    If this world itself was so harmful, he could only imagine how dangerous that inheritance was going to be. At the end of the day, the enemy that Talia was looking for was none other than him. Her sess was his failure and his sess lied in her failure.


    In the meantime, Talia took the third life as well, moving on to the fourth person. She raised her Sword, cutting another person.


    Blood sttered across the surroundings as she continued her ruthless pursuit. With that, there was only one more person left between her and her goal.


    The fifth person was thest human. With this, it was all over. She raised her Sword.


    Her Sword appeared to merge with the wind as it came down, performing thest strike. However before the Sword could even touch the neck of the man, it stopped. There was merely an inch of distance between the Sword and the back of the man''s neck.


    Even the man was surprised as hepletely expected his death. Frowning, he raised his head to notice another person standing near him.


    It was a young man, appearing to be in his early twenties. But there was something about him that made him stand out from ordinary humans. It was as if he wasn''t a human but something more.


    Talia also looked at Lucifer, slightly surprised that the man had managed to reach here.


    Lucifer was holding onto her wrist, which had stopped her attack at thest moment.


    Talia frowned as she asked, "What do you think you''re doing?"


    Her demeanor had finally returned to the regal air reminiscent of her days in the Star Alliance. It mirrored the demeanor of a queen who held herself above all others, including her own husband.


    "I don''t feel right about this. I think you should stop. It might be dangerous for you," Lucifer replied, asking her to step back.


    "Dangerous for me, or dangerous for you?" Talia asked, carrying a sarcastic tone. It was different from how she used to talk with him before. It gave Lucifer the impression that she now knew about his true identity.


    Although Lucifer''s expressions didn''t change, Talia could guess what he was thinking. "Confused about how I found out?"


    "The moment where that white light hurt me?" Lucifer asked. That was the only thing that was different.


    He was certain that Talia didn''t know his real identity before arriving here. If that was the case, she wouldn''t have chosen him. Also, thest time she saw him was when he was pushed back by the white light. Until then, everything was very ordinary.


    "That Holy Light only affects one particr species... The eternal enemy of our n! You wanted to know why I came to this realm?! It was to destroy your n after finding out that they were hiding in this world! Unfortunately, by the time I arrived, your n was already destroyed."


    "You think you alone could''ve defeated my n at its peak?" Lucifer asked, his grip around Talia''s wrist tightening. Since all the pretenses were off, there was no need to hide anymore.

 Chapter 1003 1003: Unexpected Step

    Chapter1003 1003: Unexpected Step


    Talia loosened her grip, letting her sword fall. She let her right hand remain in Lucifer''s grasp while grabbing the falling sword with her left hand. She swung the sword toward thest person.


    Lucifer was slightly surprised by her quick thinking. She didn''t try to use her strength to push forward. Instead, he took advantage of something else. Her sword attacked once more, aiming for thest person.


    As soon as Talia released her sword, Lucifer had guessed what she was nning. The conversation was just to distract him.


    He reached just as quickly, freeing Talia''s right wrist. Seizing the opportunity, he skillfully utilized the wind, executing a powerful swing with his right foot. The forceful impactnded on Talia''s stomach, propelling her several feet backwards. The Sacrificial Sword fell from Talia''s hand.


    Lucifer caught the sword, not letting it even though thest human. At this moment, everything was clear. His identity was exposed and it was more important than anything to spoil this sacrifice.


    Talia gained her bnce, her expressions grim as she missed another opportunity to handle this matter without having to fight.


    "You don''t realize what you''re dealing with. Hand over the sword while I''m still asking nicely." Talia reached out her hand, asking for the Sword.


    Her behavior was something that Lucifer found very strange. From what he heard, Talia was the strongest person in the Star Alliance. He also felt that she was very strong.


    Despite her strength, she didn''t even attempt to fight him, trying out methods to kill thest person while avoiding a battle. If it was him, he would''ve fought the moment he was blocked, but she used a sneaky trick to avoid a fight.


    He was unclear just why she was avoiding a fight? Did it have something to do with the Sacrifice? Or was it something else? In any case, he found it interesting.


    "Don''t stop her! I want to die!"


    Thest remaining human in the shackles had fully expected to be killed and freed from this hell, only to be obstructed by Lucifer. He felt hostility towards Lucifer, instead of gratitude.


    Lucifer didn''t care what the man felt. In his life, he had seen many people hate him, so it was ordinary. Instead, his mind remained focused on Talia and her strange actions.


    There were also more questions he had. If the condition to get the inheritance was to kill the five humans, then what if she failed to kill the five because the fifth was killed by him?


    He was certain that freeing the man was impossible after all. The man''s soul was connected to the shackles. The moment those shackles were broken to free him, he was going to die.


    "And what if I don''t?" Lucifer asked in return, as he ced the sword on the man''s throat, revealing his intentions to kill the man himself.


    As he did so, he noticed the expressions of Talia. There was no worry on her face. Instead, that was some eagerness, as if she wanted him to kill the man.


    "I see. So the inheritance will appear as long as the five men are killed, no matter who kills them. And if I''m not wrong, it won''t be good for me if that inheritance appears."


    "Inheritance?" The woman asked, sarcastically. "The inheritance isn''t something you can stop from appearing. The moment I stepped on this tform and killed the first person, everything was set in motion."


    "Nothing you do can stop it! Even if you kill that person, nothing will change. And even if you let him live, it''ll still stay the same. Since the others are killed, he''ll die on his own in less than two days. At most, it''ll cause a dy of two days, but the oue still remains the same."


    She still reached out her hand. "But if you hand over the Sword and let me finish it sooner, I might be able to let you live, granted you be a prisoner."


    Lucifer wasn''t sure what to believe and what not to believe. He had no knowledge about this ce or what the test actually was. But he could certainly feel the man''s life force slowly decreasing. It was clear that he was dying. Even if he did nothing, the man was going to die soon.


    Still, he had one big question. If Talia already had everything in her control, then why was she asking for the sword? She had waited for centuries. For someone like that, two days were nothing. They why? Why did she want the Sword back?


    More than wanting the Sword back, he felt as if she wanted the sword to not stay in his hand. As if she was worried about something quite different. Why was she scared about him having this sword?


    Was she worried that he was going to use it against her? That didn''t feel right either. He could fight her with his own sword. This Sword made no real change.


    He thought about the possibilities, only to think of something that he hadn''t considered before. There was one method to stop the inheritance.


    His eyes nced at the Statue in the distance. The Sword in his hand was made from the simr matter as the statue, and seemed to carry a simr power.


    Another thing he just noticed was that his body wasn''t feeling the same burning sensation as soon as he held the Sacrificial Sword.


    Talia''s expressions were distorted as she saw the direction Lucifer was looking at. This time, she couldn''t stay as calm as before.


    She ran toward Lucifer, appearing right before him to block him. Unfortunately for her, Lucifer could also teleport. The moment Talia appeared before him, he was confined to his choice.


    In an instant, he vanished, reappearing just above the mysterious statue. Summoning all his strength, he forcefully thrust the sword downward.


    The entire mysterious realm trembled as the Sword pierced through the statue. A blinding light erupted from the impact, engulfing Lucifer in its radiant glow.

 Chapter 1004 1004: Change

    Chapter1004 1004: Change


    "What did you do?!" Talia roared, realizing she couldn''t stop Lucifer in time.


    She could only watch as Lucifer thrust the Sacrificial Sword into the statue. The blinding light that erupted from the impact was unlike anything she had ever seen. It consumed Lucifer, obscuring him from view.


    Not that wasn''t the end of it. The entire realm had started trembling, cracks developing all around the world, as if the foundation of the world itself was destroyed.


    Before Talia could react, a huge spatial explosion took ce. A blinding light covered the entire realm and more.


    Everything was engulfed in the light. All the life forms in the world were destroyed, as the artificial world itself broke apart.


    For a moment, there was only silence, as if the world itself had disappeared.


    Following the destruction, nothing but a void was left in the ce. Even the portal that connected to the Pce of Star Alliance broke apart, shattering entirely.


    ....


    It was unclear how much time had passed when Lucifer came to his senses.


    As soon as he had stabbed the Statue, he felt a strange force flooding his body, overwhelming his body and his mind. He didn''t even realize when he lost consciousness.


    When he came to his senses, he felt pain all over his body. Even moving a single finger itself was hard, as if all of his bones were broken.


    His body was physically fine as his healing had done its work, but still the pain was still there, which his healing couldn''t do anything about.


    Despite the pain, Lucifer forced his body up, only to find his body covered in blood. Since he couldn''t see any wound, he wasn''t certain just what exactly hurt him.


    The only thing he remembered was stabbing the statue. His head was spinning with confusion as he tried to piece together what happened. The events leading up to his pain were a blur, but he was certain that it had something to do with the statue.


    He had felt some force entering his body, but now that he looked inside his body, he couldn''t see any unfamiliar force. Everything looked ordinary, which made him wonder if it was his misconception.


    He straightened his body, standing in the endless space. There was nond as far as his eyes could see. He wasn''t certain if the special realm itself was destroyed or he was just tossed away to some endless corner of the space.


    But one thing was clear. He was alone, with no signs of life around him.


    After observing his surroundings for a while, he could see that there were some signs of the space repairing itself, which made him certain that he wasn''t sent to a different space. Instead, the special realm itself was destroyed.


    As for the reason he was alive, he gave the credit to his healing. Even if most of his body was destroyed, he was able to heal himself to perfection. Talia didn''t have this ability, as far as he knew. It made him wonder if she was dead.


    Fortunately, he remembered the Star Alliance Pce. He had left his mark in that ce beforeing here. He even left a summoned beast in his Pce room, just to be safe. That made it easy to return, even without the portal.


    He could return whenever he wanted, but before that, he wanted to search for any signs of Talia. If she was alive, then she was a dangerous link that couldn''t be left free.


    For the next few hours, he searched through the entire space. But let alone Talia, but even a single sign was left. Everything was gone. Except him, nothing was left.


    "Did she really die?" His mind told him that he was dead, but he couldn''t convince himself. How could it be that easy? Unfortunately, he had no choice but to believe it.


    The only ce left to check was Star Alliance. If she was alive, she would''ve gone there.


    He used his Summoning Skills, and switched ces with his Summoned Beast who he left in the Star Alliance.


    As he used the skill, he disappeared. And in his ce, the summoned beast appeared, looking confused as to why he was in the middle of nowhere. He started suffocating, unable to breathe in this space.


    ****


    Back in the Star Alliance, Lucifer appeared where he had left his Summoned Beast. He had switched ces with the beast he left as a precaution.


    Following his arrival, Lucifer canceled his summon. The Beast in the endless space disappeared, having a look of relief on his face.


    Lucifer stepped out of the room, observing the surroundings. The Pce appeared slightly more crowded, as if the security of this ce was increased. There were more guards here, which made Lucifer frown.


    Was it the work of Talia? Did she actually return alive and was preparing against him?


    The Guards were patrolling the pce, their expressions grim. A lot of the Generals could also be seen outside the Pce, discussing something amongst themselves.


    Even the Generals who had previously sided with Lucifer were looking down,as if something really big had happened.


    Lucifer had a really bad feeling about this. He had to find out what happened!


    He found an isted guard and teleported right behind the guard. He closed the guard''s mouth before appearing back inside his room, closing the door.


    Since the room was previously checked and it was clear that he wasn''t there, not many guards searched this area, giving him some time.


    The Guard was initially horrified as he was suddenly brought here, but he couldn''t speak with his mouth being closed.


    Soon, he felt a knife made purely of ck lightning resting against his throat. A single mistake meant his death.


    "If you make any loud noise, I''ll have to kill you," Lucifer told the man, without appearing before him.


    He slowly removed his hand as the guard started nodding.


    "Tell me what''s happening?! Why are there so many Star Alliance Generals in the Pce? Why is the security so strict?"

 Chapter 1005 1005: Destruction Squad

    Chapter1005 1005: Destruction Squad


    "Y-you are..." The Guard recognized Lucifer from his voice. As soon as he realized who the man behind him was, his face went pale in fear.


    For such a long time, the Guards were trying to find him, but none of them realized that he was still within the mansion.


    "P-please don''t kill me! I''ll do anything! I won''t tell anyone about your presence! Just let me live!" Without thinking, the Guard started pleading for his life.


    The way this guard treated him, Lucifer was certain that they treated him as a frightening enemy. Just what happened here in the time he was absent?


    "That would depend on how you answer me. If you''re honest, I might consider your request. And if not..."


    Lucifer didn''t finish his sentence, but the guard was wise enough to understand. He could try screaming, but he was certain that he was going to be killed before anyone could evene to help him.


    "Did your Empress return? Shemanded you to catch me?!" Lucifer asked the Guard.


    It was at this point, the Guard also appeared confused. "How can the deade back? Didn''t you already kill her?"


    Lucifer''s expression darkened. Although he hadn''t personally killed Talia, but if she was truly dead, then how did the Guards here know about it!


    "Why do you think that I killed your Empress?" he asked the Guard for rification.


    The Guard was uncertain what Lucifer was thinking, but he honestly answered.


    ording to the Guard, it had already been a year since theyst saw Lucifer and the Empress. That made Lucifer realize that he had been unconscious for close to six months.


    Counting the six months it took for their journey inside that special realm, an entry year had passed since he wasst in the Star Alliance.


    Another important piece of information he received was that Talia had left a message. She had recorded a message in a crystal that was delivered to all the Generals of the Star Alliance.


    Initially, no General could read the message because there was a condition set. Only if Talia didn''t return to this ce within ten months, the crystal was going to activate and deliver the message.


    "And the message inside that Crystal was...?" Lucifer asked.


    "It was that if she hadn''t returned by the time this message was delivered, then all the Generals were to consider you as her killer," the Guard answered, finally giving Lucifer the answer he was looking for.


    At the time of leaving, Talia didn''t know that Lucifer was part of the Ancestral Species. However, that didn''t mean she wasn''t cautious.


    She was going alone with Lucifer. Even if Lucifer wasn''t an enemy, she took precautions. She set conditions in case she was betrayed and killed by Lucifer in the special realm.


    No matter how unlikely it was, she still considered this possibility before entering. She also knew that if she was killed in the special realm, no one in the Star Alliance was going to know what happened, giving her killer the opportunity to make any excuse.


    With the message, she cut off that possibility. If she was to return safely on time, she could''ve taken back all the crystals and none of the Generals could ever know the content of the crystal.


    Unfortunately, she didn''t return and the message was delivered.


    There were many Generals who had close ties to Lucifer. Their grandchild was friends with Lucifer,and they had also taught some secret skills to Lucifer. They were shocked to learn this news. Although they didn''t want to believe it, but they also couldn''t ignore it.


    As the message was delivered, multiple Star Alliance Ships had arrived in the core world, surrounding it from all sides. A manhunt had begun for Lucifer, something that involved many power houses of the Star Alliance.


    Although Lucifer had tried to change the future, in the end, it hade true. He was on the receiving end of the Star Alliance''s hate.


    "What happened to my ship and my crew?" he asked the Guard.


    Although he was heartbroken by what he heard his old friends say about him behind his back, he still didn''t want them to die. As heartbroken as he was, he was still concerned about their safety.


    They had helped him a lot. Even if they didn''t do it willingly or had ulterior motives, but they still did a favor to him in the past. He was also the cause they were brought here and put at risk.


    "Your crew... They''ve been imprisoned. They''re scheduled to be executed tomorrow," the Guard answered. "A Destruction Squad has also been sent to earth just recently. If I''m not wrong, they should reach earth very soon. And if they find you here, they''re highly likely to destroy the earth."


    "The entire Star Alliance is in a state of shock and furious about the Queen''s death, especially when they''re under threat of outside forces, and they''re letting out their anger on people associated with him," the Guard told Lucifer.


    "If you want to stop that, the only way is to surrender. If they can have their revenge on you, they might leave your friends alive." While exining, the Guard also offered some suggestions.


    Although his life was in Lucifer''s hands, but Lucifer''s friends were in Star Alliance''s hands.


    "Destruction Squad?" Lucifer''s expressions darkened. It was as if he was stuck between a rock and a hard ce.


    In this world, his own team''s life was at risk. Meanwhile, on earth, his parents and his other allies were at risk!


    He had already seen how the Star Alliance destroyed the World of Summons. It was easy for them to destroy Earth in a simr manner, but from what he knew about the Destruction Squad, they were a team of psychopaths!


    They weren''t simply going to destroy Earth, instead they were going to massacre everyone with their own hands!


    "If you surrender now, they can still be stopped," the Guard repeated, but as he finished speaking, he felt a cold de brush against his throat. In the blink of an eye, he lost his life.


    "Surrender?" Lucifer spoke, his voice brimming with killing intent.

 Chapter 1006 1006: Friend or Enemy

    Chapter1006 1006: Friend or Enemy


    The lifeless body of the Guard decayed beneath Lucifer''s feet, swiftly dissolving into dust and vanishing. Not a single trace of his was left behind.


    Lucifer opened the door and stepped out of the room, taking a clear look at the people who were guarding the Mansion.


    One thing was certain. The prisoners weren''t kept in the Mansion. They were kept in the Star Alliance Headquarters, which had an even stronger security.


    He still believed that he could free his teammates, but the problematic part was escaping after that. It was impossible to escape this world without the Star Ships.


    Although he was given control of one of the Star Ships, he had a feeling that he wasn''t able to use it anymore. Since he was being hunted everywhere, it was highly likely that his ess was removed. And without that ess, he couldn''t even start it.


    There were a lot of problems in his path, but he still didn''t feel defeated. His figure disappeared.


    One of the Generals nced in the direction where Lucifer was standing, frowning.


    "What happened?" Another person asked the General.


    "Nothing. I just thought I saw someone there," the Generalmented, still slightly suspicious.


    He called for a guard and pointed him in a certain direction. "Go and check that ce."


    The Guard followed the others and searched the higher floor thoroughly, not finding anything.


    "Looks like it was my misconception," the General shook his head lightly.


    "It''s good to be careful. Nothing wrong with it," the other generalughed. "Though I''m certain we''re wasting our time here. If that man was here, we would''ve caught him already. He''s probably not even in this world and already escaped before we began the search."


    Almost every General believed that Lucifer had already escaped and went into hiding long ago. The lockdown happened after eleven months and it was nothing more than a formality since no one expected Lucifer to be here in the first ce.


    Although no one believed Lucifer to be here, the security was still high, especially around the Star Alliance Headquarters. Now that their Queen was supposedly dead, they couldn''t take any risks. There were still many enemies, even some on the inside who had ulterior motives.


    Lucifer appeared a short distance away from the Headquarters of the Star Alliance, looking from the distance.


    The security was as strict as he expected. It was as if the Star Alliance Headquarter was turned into a fortress.


    A barrier was also cast around the Headquarters which had magic nullifying properties.


    It was also this barrier which prevented anyone from Teleporting inside the Headquarters. There was only one entrance left to enter the Headquarters and it was from the front.


    No amount of magical attacks could affect the barrier.


    Lucifer was certain that a barrier like this consumed a lot of resources every minute, but the ones in control weren''t hesitant.


    It was also this barrier which gave Lucifer a headache. He had to enter the Star Alliance Headquarters to free the prisoners, but it appeared unlikely at this point.


    While Lucifer wasst in thought, he watched a person step out of the Headquarters. The Person passed through the barrier.


    "Ron?"


    The person who stepped out was the Grandson of one of the High Ranking Generals of the Star Alliance. Both of them had taken part in the Promotion Trials at the same time.


    It was also Ron''s grandfather who helped Lucifer understand the true essence of ck Lightning. Ron could be considered a friend, at least before this whole debacle happened.


    Even before Lucifer left with Talia, he had met with Ron. The two of them trained by fighting against each other. Lucifer had also asked for Ron to take care of his ship and crew for him.


    At this point, Lucifer didn''t know if Ron was still a friend or an enemy. It was highly likely that it was the second possibility.


    Despite the uncertainty, Lucifer was sure that he had found the key to free his teammates. And that key was Ron!


    Lucifer''s eyes followed Ron who passed through the barrier. He entered the Car and drove away.


    Lucifer chased after the car, teleporting from one point to another, keeping up with the Car of Star Alliance.


    After the car was far away from the Star Alliance Headquarters in thend of no man, Lucifer finally acted.


    A ck bolt of lightning fell from the sky,nding just a short distance away from the car.


    Seeing the ck Lightning, Ron was surprised. He instantly stopped the car. There were only a few people who could use the ck Lightning. One was his family, which was unlikely to do something like this in this ce. And the other was Lucifer.


    Stopping the car, Ron opened the door and stepped out. Most people would have been scared that a killer like Lucifer was after him, but Ron didn''t appear afraid.


    Ron looked around for any signs of Lucifer, but he couldn''t find him anywhere. While he was still confused, a voice came from inside the car.


    "What are you doing outside the car? Get in."


    Ron looked inside the car, finding Lucifer sitting on the driver''s seat.


    He opened the passenger side door and stepped inside, without taking any precautions.


    "Aren''t you scared that I''ll alert the Star Alliance about your presence?" Ron asked, slightly amused. He was intrigued by the trust that Lucifer put in him.


    "I did consider that possibility, but your reaction gave you away," Lucifer replied, while gesturing for Ron to give his handprint to start the car.


    Ron ced his hand on the dashboard, letting it scan his hand. Before long, the car started.


    "You''re right though. I''ve no intention of giving you away. I''ve known you long enough to know what kind of person you are. And I don''t believe you killed the Queen," Ron answered as he sat backfortably while Lucifer drove the car.


    "Oh? And what if it''s the truth that I killed the Queen?" Lucifer asked in response.

 Chapter 1007 1007: War it is

    Chapter1007 1007: War it is


    Ron looked at Lucifer for a brief moment, not saying anything.


    After a long time, he finally spoke.


    "Then why would you return to this ce? Also, if you were nning to kill the Queen, you would''ve already told your people to escape before they were caught. It''s clear you didn''t n it, so if it happened, that means you must''ve had a cause."


    Ron knew that if anyone else heard him, they would consider him a traitor. However, he believed in Lucifer more than he believed in a single message of the Queen.


    Lucifer was strong, but how could he be strong enough to kill the Queen who had her guard against him? It didn''t make sense.


    He had fought with Lucifer and knew what kind of person he was. He wasn''t a greedy person, so killing the Queen for some treasure made even less sense.


    "You..." Lucifer shook his head lightly. He couldn''t believe that Ron was still siding with him. This was truly a man who wasn''t born for this cruel world, if he was able to trust others this easily. Then again, it wasn''t the words he was trusting, but his heart.


    "Though you''re right. I didn''t kill the Queen," Lucifer answered.


    He told Ron what happened, albeit he had skipped things. He talked about the fact that the Queen wanted to gain an inheritance and needed his help. He then said that the statue that was supposed to grant the inheritance exploded and the entire world was destroyed.


    Everything he spoke was the truth so even if one had the ability to decipher lies from truth, they couldn''t find anyws. He did; however, leave out the part where the statue exploded because he attacked it. There was no need to go into details.


    "I woke up from aa just a few days ago and returned to this ce, only to find out that I was considered a Criminal and a murderer. Everything rted to me is put into danger."


    "Why don''t we go to the Headquarters. We can tell them the truth. I''m sure my Grandpa will side with you," Ron suggested.


    Lucifer rejected the suggestion. "Talia is dead and they need someone to put the me on. Her message gives them the perfect reason and I''m sure they''ll take it. Even your grandfather won''t be able to stop them."


    "You mean even if they can confirm that you''re telling the truth, they''ll still execute you? Why?'' Ron asked. He wasn''t good at politics and didn''t understand the reasoning.


    "Their Queen is dead. If it turns out that I''m the killer, they can kill me and take over the Star Alliancepletely. But if they ept that I''m innocent, as the only living rtive of Talia, I''ll gain the control of the Star Alliance. They''ll have to work under me. So you think they''ll ept that?" Lucifer asked in return.


    "After a long time, they had the opportunity of removing every bit of control over them. They''re like hyenas who were waiting for this opportunity and now that they have it, they''ll go to any lengths for it. Going to them is no different than surrendering my life."


    Although Lucifer wanted to avoid the war with the Star Alliance until he was fully prepared, but things had escted and his own family was in danger now. He couldn''t ignore things anymore.


    "Then what are you going to do?" Ron asked Lucifer, his mind going through amotion.


    If Lucifer wasn''t going to justify himself, then even the people who were righteous were going to consider him wrong. It was a harsh situation but nothing could be done about that.


    "There''s only one thing I can do. If they want a war, I''ll give them a war. But first, I need to save my people," Lucifer spoke, his eyes brimming with intensity.


    "The Headquarters is very secure. Even I can''t meet your friends there. The security mechanism itself is impossible to break, and on top, a General is Guarding that ce. You can''t do anything," Ron eximed, worried that Lucifer might act hasty and then get caught.


    "Oh there''s certainly one thing I can do. And it''s already in motion. I won''t have to enter that ce. Someone will bring my people to me." Lucifer didn''t rify, but he already had a n. And that n relied on Ron.


    "n?" Ron was still unclear what kind of n it could be. Even he couldn''t enter that ce. So who was going to bring his friends to him? Something didn''t add up.


    "Where are we going?" he asked Lucifer.


    Lucifer had been driving for a long time, but Ron still didn''t know their destination.


    "My Ship. They probably removed my ess, but you were temporary captain of the Ship, so I don''t believe they removed your ess. You''re going to help me get in," Lucifer answered Ron. This wasn''t a secret either since they were getting close to the dock where all the Ships were kept.


    Since Lucifer didn''t have ess to any ships, no one expected him toe here. The security here was still basic like before.


    After half an hour, Lucifer applied the break. He recognised his ship. In thest one year, the ship had barely taken flight. Itsnding position was also fixed.


    The car stopped right before the Ship. As it was a Star Alliance top grade car, even the Guards at the entrance of this area didn''t try to stop it, granting an even easier ess.


    Lucifer emerged from the car, gracefully opening the door and stepping out onto the ground. The tranquil breeze caressed his hair, causing it to sway with an ethereal elegance.


    His gaze ascended towards his ship that exuded a futuristic aura.


    It had been far too long since he had entered the ship. Last time he came, it was on the day of his wedding where he had heard his friends talk behind his back.


    Seeing the ship, he was reminded of everything, but he didn''t let his thoughts sway.

 Chapter 1008 1008: Execution

    Chapter1008 1008: Execution


    Lucifer could teleport straight inside the ship, but he waited for Ron.


    Apanied by Ron, they crossed the bridge tond at the entrance of the ship. Ron ced his hand on the scanner. Even he wasn''t certain if he still had ess to the ship.


    Following a metallic sound, he sighed in relief. The door had unlocked. He actually had ess.


    The door opened. Lucifer stepped inside the ship. It was something that used to belong to him. He had been here so many times, but now, it felt so unfamiliar.


    The ship was grounded. There was no crew inside the ship, making it look so lifeless.


    "We can take it for a flight without a crew, but it''s still better to have a team to handle misceneous tasks.


    Just the two of us won''t be enough for a long journey," Ron reminded Lucifer while the two of them entered the Control Room.


    Lucifer sat on the Captain''s Seat. He had already considered all the problems that Ron was talking about. They certainly needed a crew to handle things. Without a crew, a captain was even more helpless than the crew without a captain.


    "The crew will be here soon," Lucifer replied before he grabbed Ron''s wrist and ced his palm on the main dashboard.


    The dashboard further scanned the Palm Imprint. The entire main chamber lit up as soon as the imprint matched.


    The Ship had finally started. Lucifer released the wrist of the young man, before he started going through the settings.


    Although the Ship had removed his ess, there was a method for him to temporarily regain it.


    Oftentimes, the Captain was busy and didn''t have time to handle the ship. So he could grant temporary control to someone else in the ship.


    That Temporary Control could onlyst for a few weeks at most, before it had to be granted again, but that few weeks were enough for him.


    As Lucifer had once been a captain and went through all the descriptions, he knew a lot of such secrets that many other members had ignored.


    After finding the suitable setting, he gestured for Ron to take action. Ron''s Authorization was required once again.


    Ron ced his palm on the dashboard. On another side, Lucifer also ced his palm after taking his gloves off.


    His palm imprint was scanned once more, and right before his eyes, it was added to the Ship as the Temporary Captain. From this point on, the Star Alliance couldn''t remove ess unless they managed to enter the ship personally.


    With everything finished, Ron took off his hands. He also took a seat, still unclear where Lucifer was going to find the crew, and what n he had to free his friends.


    Without the crew, they could only fly the Ship for a short duration as constant adjustment of the system was needed that was often done by the crew. They were like sitting ducks here.


    "When is the crewing?" Ron asked Lucifer.


    Lucifer yed with some settings. Ron wasn''t sure what he was doing.


    Lucifer stood up, walking toward Ron. He walked behind Ron, cing his hand on the young man''s shoulder.


    "Don''t mind what I''m about to do." A ck Lightning Sword appeared in Lucifer''s hands.


    He ced the sharp edge of the de on Ron''s throat, surprising him.


    "Ah, what are you doing?" Ron was filled with confusion. However, just as he finished his question, he heard a beeping sound in the Control Room.


    A mechanical voice resounded.


    "Connection has been established. Call connected."


    A hologram appeared in the center of the control room, revealing an old man. Ron recognized the old man. It was none other than his grandfather!


    His grandfather was an important member of the Star Alliance. He was a part of the Star Alliance Core and a General.


    Seeing his grandfather in the hologram and a sword on his throat, he realized what was happening. He finally had an idea about Lucifer''s n. He was slightly impressed as well. He kept his hands behind his back, as if his hands were tied.


    He was just like a Prisoner of Lucifer.


    His grandfather was sitting in the Star Alliance Headquarters when he received a call. He picked it up, only to be stunned as he saw Lucifer in the hologram!


    Lucifer was in the Control Room of the Ship, but the more shocking thing was that his grandson had a sword against his throat. A single mistake and his grandson could lose his life.


    "Lucifer! Do you realize what you''re doing?" The old man asked. "Let my son go this instant!"


    "I''ll keep it short and concise. You have three hours. Find a way to free my friends from the cell. As soon as the fourth hour starts, you''ll get the dead body of your son back," Lucifer didn''t waste a single second as he issued his threat.


    "You can try to attack this ship or send your forces, but before I''m caught, your son will be dead. So I''m sure you''re wise enough to understand what to do!" he stated, before waving his left hand.


    "Wait, you-" the General tried to speak, but before he could finish, Lucifer ended the call.


    The old man tried to connect again, but no one picked up the call.


    Lucifer took off the sword, walking back to the Captain''s Seat. "Thank you for ying along. I know I''m putting your grandfather in a bad position, but this is the only option I have. He''s the only one who can help me now."


    "Don''t worry. My Grandfather would easily free your friends. As for his position, it won''t be affected much. The Star Alliance would just think that you ckmailed him. They won''t remove my Grandfather from his position just because of that," Ron replied. Although he wasn''t certain about politics, he knew one thing for sure.


    The Star Alliance needed as much strength as they could get. They weren''t going to do anything to his grandfather as that was no different than offending an entire world that was strong enough to trouble them.

 Chapter 1009 1009: The Prisoner Escape

    Chapter1009 1009: The Prisoner Escape


    "Moreover, I know my old man. He won''t do it sneakily. He''ll go and tell the Star Alliance about your presence and that he is going to free your friends to save me. It''s only a matter of time before your friends are free," he added.


    Lucifer nodded. That''s exactly what he thought was going to happen. If that wasn''t the case, he wouldn''t have asked Ron to help him.


    "But the problem will start after that," he stated.


    The Old Man was going to free his friend. And he could even ask his friends to be brought here, but that was the extent of it.


    He couldn''t get them back without releasing Ron. And even if he managed to achieve that, the aftermath was quite troublesome. Even in his n, he was certain that there were many headaches.


    ****


    "To think that we would end up like this." Back in the prison cell, Kellian sighed.


    Not only him, but the others were also caught. Even worse was that they were shackled in these mysterious things that interfered with their abilities. For now, they were no different than mortals that could be killed easily.


    Even though they were captured, they weren''t informed as to why it happened. They were kept in the dark. If it wasn''t for them overhearing the conversation of the guards, they would have been lost about the reasoning.


    "Do you think that he actually killed the Queen?" Tristan asked, sighing.


    "I am not sure. But even if he did, there must be a good reason. The only thing I worry about is his whereabouts. Just like the queen, he hadn''t been seen either. Could something have happened to him?''


    The people in the cell dreaded the possibility. They had already expected their death, but at least they wanted him to live.


    Their conversation was cut short as they heard the sound of the metallic door opening.


    "Enough talking. It''s time for you to be taken to thest ce you''ll ever see in your life!"


    The Guards entered the prison and attached even more shackles to the Guards before dragging them outside.


    The date and time of their execution was almost here.


    The Guards dragged the prisoners out as if they were animals, yet they maintained an unbreakable spirit of resilience. Even if they were to be executed, they don''t show a single trace of fear.


    The Guards took them through the hallway to the first floor, but as they were on the way, they felt a heavy suppression on their body. Taken aback, they looked around to find the source of this unexpected force.


    It was a General... One of the Highest Ranking People in the Star Alliance.


    The Guards respectfully greeted the General. "My Lord!"


    The General nodded and acknowledged their salutation, exuding an air of authority.


    "That''s enough. You can leave the prisoners to me. I''ll handle the rest."


    "But..." The Guards hesitated, their eyes darting nervously between their superior and the prisoners. They were granted this responsibility and they were under a different general.


    Moreover, they hadn''t received any orders from theirmander that a General was personally going to escort them? They couldn''t understand why that would be the case.


    "Are you going to refuse mymand?" The General asked, his killing intent so heavy that it made the Guards shiver in fear.


    "N-not at all. As per your orders, we will hand over the prisoners to you."


    The Captain of the Guards swiftly took a decision. Since the matter was rted to the Generals, he couldn''t do much. A General had too much authority in the Star Alliance.


    Even if he killed them, no one was going to hold him ountable.


    The Guards stepped back. They turned around and swiftly left. The room fell silent as the mysterious stranger''s cold gaze lingered.


    In that tense moment, the air was filled with an eerie anticipation as Lucifer''s friends noticed heavy hostility in the eyes of the old man.


    "If your friend thinks he can survive for long by doing this, then he''s in for a rude awakening. So don''t be happy about this freedom!" The Old Man eximed, before waving his hand lightly.


    Multiple ck lightning des appeared around Lucifer''s friends. The des shot towards them.


    Expecting this to be theirst moment, Kellian and the others closed their eyes, with a serene look on his face. There was no fear or regret. They had epted their fate and embraced the unknown ahead.


    To their surprise, the attack didn''t hit them. Instead, they could feel their powers being unrestricted. They opened their eyes to find that the shackles were broken!


    The Old man hadn''t attacked them, but he had attacked the chains that were holding them captive.


    In another ce in Star Alliance, a message was delivered to every General at this moment. As soon as the Generals opened that message, they were shocked. It was a message from Ron''s grandfather.


    In the message, he informed all the Generals about the fact that his grandson was kidnapped.


    "By the time you receive this message, I would have freed the prisoners and let them escape. And if any of you were in my ce, I''m sure you would''ve done the same thing," the Old General spoke.


    "After I manage to get my grandson back, I will return and ept any punishment for my actions..."


    With thest sentence, the message ended.


    Many Generals were furious. In anger, they mmed the table, shattering it to pieces.


    They all rushed out to check up on the prisoners to make sure they hadn''t escaped. At the same time, they called for all the exits of the Star Alliance Headquarters to be sealed.


    Unfortunately, it was toote by now. Ron''s Grandfather had already left and they couldn''t find anyone.


    The Star Alliance gathered their forces, being led by the Generals. Even if they couldn''t stop the prisoners from escaping, at least they knew that Lucifer was in this world! They also knew the location.

 Chapter 1010 1010: Home

    Chapter1010 1010: Home


    A Shipnded in the middle of nowhere. It was the destination where Lucifer was supposed to meet Ron''s grandfather.


    By now, Lucifer was already certain that everyone knew his whereabouts and the docking station was soon going to be surrounded. So there was no need to hide.


    The door of the ship opened as soon as a car stopped in the distance. From the ship, Lucifer stepped out, his Sword resting on a young man''s shoulders.


    On the other hand, an old man stepped out of the car. The back door of the car opened and Lucifer''s teammates also stepped out. Their hands were free of shackles.


    It wasn''t as if the man trusted Lucifer. The only reason he removed shackles from his friends was because he was certain he could kill all his friends in an instant. So having shackles or not having shackles was no different for him.


    "Release my son and I''ll release your friends," The old man eximed.


    Behind him, Kellian and the others were stunned to find Lucifer back, and that too for them. After so long, he finally appeared and risked himself to free them.


    "That''s not how the negotiations work. What I have is worth more value to you than what you have is of value to me!" Lucifer eximed. "Shouldn''t you be the one to show me sincerity?"


    "Are you saying your friends don''t hold much value to you? Even an idiot won''t believe you. You revealed yourself for insignificant people?" the old man scoffed, not believing a single word that Lucifer was saying.


    For the young man to go this far for his friends, it was clear that his friends held a lot of value to him. Why else would he reveal himself and risk his life.


    Unfortunately for the old man, Lucifer''s expressions remained the same.


    "You can kill them. And I promise I won''t try to stop you. But after that, I''ll kill your grandson. You''ll see who''s more broken after that. But do you really want to risk it?" Lucifer asked the old man.


    His words didn''t seem like a lie. In fact, the old man felt strange. From Lucifer''s eyes, he could grasp that Lucifer wasn''t particrly fond of these people. He wasn''t sure if Lucifer was pretending or being honest, but this was strange. Why would he try to free people that he wasn''t fond of?


    On the other hand, even Lucifer''s friends found it hard to believe. They wanted to believe that Lucifer was saying that to fool the old man, but some of them still felt a tinge of sadness.


    "You have ten seconds. Either you let them enter my ship first, or you can kill them. After the tenth second, I''ll kill your grandson!" Lucifer stated, his time being limited.


    He was certain that very soon, multiple ships were going to arrive here to capture him, so every second was of importance.


    As the tension mounted, Lucifer''s friends exchanged worried nces. Meanwhile, the old man held his ground, contemting the ramifications of giving in to Lucifer''s demands. What if he didn''t release his grandson after taking the hostages?


    Not even giving the old man told to think, Lucifer started the count.


    "One..."


    "Two..."


    "Three..."


    "Four..."


    As Lucifer reached halfway the count, his sword came closer to Ron''s throat, lightly grazing his neck. A small drop of blood trickled down his throat.


    To amplify the act, Ron groaned in pain. Although it was painful, it wasn''t painful enough for him.


    "Grandfather, don''t listen to him! I''m willing to die, but I can''t watch you being forced!" Ron eximed, his eyes filled with determination even as blood trickled down his neck.


    "You..." Ron''s Grandfather was still, his expressions uncertain.


    "Eight..."


    Lucifer continued the count. At this point, the old man could only sigh.


    "Alright. I will listen to you!"


    The old man stepped aside, gesturing for Lucifer''s friends to leave.


    Kellian and the others looked at each other before they started walking toward Lucifer. But even as they reached Lucifer, they couldn''t see a single trace of relief on Lucifer''s face as if he really didn''t care that they were free.


    He didn''t even say anything, simply gesturing them to enter the ship. His gaze was cold, as if he was apletely different person. He was apletely different person than them.


    The group of youngsters simply followed hismands and entered the ship. They were also certain about the risks that they might be chased by the Star Alliance.


    So as soon as they entered the ship, they took their respectable positions and started waiting for Lucifer to return.


    All of them were just as confused though. Why was Lucifer''s gaze so cold? Did they do something to upset him? None of them knew what happened since thest time they saw him but something had changed.


    As they waited, a sense of unease filled the air, making it difficult for any of them to rx. The ship''s engines hummed softly, heightening their anticipation for whaty ahead.


    Suddenly, the sound of approaching footsteps broke the silence, and Lucifer reappeared, wearing a determined expression on his face.


    Strangely enough, Lucifer wasn''t alone. Ron was also with him, which stunned everyone. Wasn''t Ron going to be sent back? How was he here? What happened to the deal?


    "Start the ship." Lucifer sat on the Captain''s Seat, not speaking much.


    He scanned his palm, giving the permission for the flight. His crew was already in ce and now they were ready for the long distance journey. Everything was in ce.


    Outside the ship, the old man watched the ship rise to air. His eyes were filled with anger, as if he wanted to blow up the ship. However, he controlled his anger.


    At thest moment, Lucifer had betrayed him. He refused to return his grandson and changed the deal.


    The old man wanted to attack Lucifer, but he knew Lucifer was faster. If he did that, his grandson was going to be killed. That''s also the reason why he didn''t attack the ship.


    "Where are we going?" Kellian asked Lucifer, as the ship rose to air.


    Lucifer nced at the coordinates on the screen.


    "Home..."

 Chapter 1011 1011: Changing World

    Chapter1011 1011: Changing World


    The ship ascended into the air, its primary objective being to reach Earth ahead of the others. However, shortly after it started the flight, Lucifer heard the warning sounds.


    Numerous warnings were transmitted to the ship''s systems, urging it to halt. The Warnings came from the Grand Ships in the distance that seemed to be waiting in the distance.


    A grand announcement was made, in which a mysterious voice could be heard by everyone inside the ship.


    "Land the Ship and surrender! If you move further, we shall be forced to attack!"


    Lucifer''s ship stopped. Although he expected the Star Alliance Members to catch up, but he didn''t expect them to be this fast, as if they were already waiting for him here. Their reaction time was much faster than he expected.


    Surrender wasn''t an option. No matter the cost, this ship had to leave this world. But at the same time, if he forced his way, then the ship was going to be destroyed and everyone inside except him killed.


    He had a deal with Ron''s Grandfather to stop the Star Alliance from chasing after him, but it was as if the Star Alliance had already expected that.


    The Ships were only beingmanded by One General and Multiple Captain Ranker officers.


    As for the other Generals, they were on the ground, surrounding Ron''s grandfather to prevent him from taking action.


    "This..." Ron scratched the back of his head in frustration, wondering if this was the end of their escape.


    "Send them a message that you''ll kill me if they don''t let you through," he suggested, thinking that the same n might work.


    "It will not work on them. They aren''t your grandfather. If anything, they''ll refuse to acknowledge it."


    For them to hold back Ron''s grandfather, it was certainly that they were nning to go to the extremes to stop them from escaping. Even if Ron''s grandfather tried to stand in their way, they would''ve taken him out.


    In their greed for power, they weren''t shying away from weakening their organisation at all.


    They believed that eliminating any potential threats, even if it meant sacrificing their own members, was necessary to maintain their control over the situation. Theirck of empathy and ruthless determination was both astounding and terrifying to those who witnessed it.


    For a moment, there was only silence as everyone looked toward Lucifer to hear his decision. Even if Lucifer told them to rush through, they would''ve been willing. But strangely, Lucifer didn''t say anything. He just nced at the ships in the distance, his thoughts unclear for anyone to guess.


    "You have ten seconds to surrender! After that, we shall attack!" The voice once again came.


    Not only Lucifer, but the others could also feel that there was a strange power in the surrounding space, which was making the space unstable.


    "They''ve sealed the space. You can''t use Teleportation," Ron eximed, as he noticed that strange power. "They''vee prepared to catch you... Or maybe they had always been prepared!"


    While the mysterious voice continued the countdown, Lucifer''s thoughts were still iprehensible. He shortly nced at the ck gloves on his hands.


    The enemy ships continued charging their cannons, ready to attack with full strength to make sure that not even ashes of the enemies were left behind.


    After the count reached halfway through, Lucifer finally stood up. Ron also stood up, subconsciously.


    "You''ll take themand of the ship. Escape when you have the opportunity..."


    Lucifer turned his back on themand centre, walking toward the exit. Along the way, he briefly nced at his old teammates. Even now, he didn''t say anything to them.


    He ced his palm on the scanner as he approached the exit. With a beep, the back door of the ship smoothly slid open, allowing the wind to rush.


    His long hair fluttered in the breeze as he stepped out onto the tform, feeling the familiar vibrations of the engine resonating through the ship''s hull. Ron watched as Lucifer''s figure faded into the distance, his heart heavy with a mixture of sadness and admiration.


    He understood what Lucifer was trying to do. He was trying to hold back everyone, even if it meant risking his life.


    With calm strides, Lucifer emerged from the confines, effortlessly treading upon the winds.


    Lucifer moved away from the Ship, but he didn''t run. Instead the direction he moved was closer to the enemy ships.


    The people in the enemy ships were surprised to see Lucifer stepping out. This was different from the instructions that they had given him when they asked him tond the ship and surrender. However, their main goal was Lucifer. The prisoners were insignificant.


    With Lucifer attracting their attention, they even forgot about the count. All the Cannons were turned towards Lucifer.


    On the ground, Ron''s grandfather watched Lucifer step out. He was still surrounded so he couldn''t do anything, but it wasn''t as if he was going to do anything in the first ce.


    Lucifer was out of the Ship, and there was no one inside the ship who could threaten his grandson. The ship had avoidedplete destruction. That was exactly what he wanted. As for Lucifer, he couldn''t help him, nor did he want to.


    As the gates of the General''s Ship opened, a person emerged, clutching a set of intricately crafted shackles capable of suppressing even the mightiest of powers. Their purpose was evident.


    Their aim was to give Lucifer an impression that they were going to capture him alive, giving him a false impression that he had a chance to survive.


    As for what happened after he was shackled, no one had second thoughts about it. He was going to be killed right here when he couldn''t resist.


    ****


    While Lucifer was standing against the entire Star Alliance, another change was happening in the universe.


    In the ce where the Talia''s Special Realm used to exist, things were changing. A spatial crack had slowly started forming where the destroyed statue used to be.

 Chapter 1012 1012: Flight

    Chapter1012 1012: Flight


    Lucifer had managed to distract the enemies, but that also put him straight in harm''s way.


    A person emerged from the ship with specially made Shackles, approaching Lucifer. A smug look remained on his face as he came closer.


    Lucifer immediately identified the young man as someone he had encountered before. They had both participated in the Promotion Exams. During the exams, the young man had managed to secure the fourth position.


    "To think that the first rank would be in this position after such a short time. What a fall..." the young manughed. "Meanwhile, after your fall, I''ll get the position that will be vacated by you. I should thank you for that!"


    "A position that''s worth nothing?" Lucifer asked in response. "To think that you would be so happy to be a servant of the Star Alliance."


    "Shut up! A traitor like you has no right to talk about the Star Alliance! You got everything! A trash outsider like you got the promotion, and also managed to marry the Queen! Even after all that, you were so greedy that you wanted more and killed her! You''re thest person I would take advice from!"


    The young man stopped just half a metre away from Lucifer, raising the shackles. However, contrary to his expectations, Lucifer didn''t raise his hands to let him ce the shackles.


    "I''ve no interest in giving any advice to you. But you shouldn''t havee out of the Ship..." Lucifer spoke, his expressions remaining calm.


    He didn''t care who came out of the ship, since the oue was the same. But it was just a pity that the one who came out was such a weak person. He had thought that at least he could get a stronger person...


    The young man felt like he was being looked down on, but at the same time, he felt something wrong in Lucifer''s words.


    These weren''t the words of someone who was scared of what was going to happen to him! These weren''t the words of the man who was about to surrender. Instead, these sounded like a threat.


    The young man had a bad feeling about this. But before he could react, his face went pale. Tens of ck Lightning Bolts appeared all around him. He couldn''t even let out a single word before all the Lightning Bolts impaled him.


    The sheer power and precision of the Lightning Bolts left no room for escape or resistance. It was a ruthless and swift execution, leaving those who witnessed it in shock and horror.


    Lucifer took the shackles from the man''s hands, whose lifeless eyes remained open even in death. The man''s body fell down, a loud sound resounding as the man''s body fell t on the ground from thousands of feet.


    All inside the ship who saw what Lucifer did were stunned. Instead of being scared, Lucifer had reacted more firmly. It was as if he had pped them in the face at that moment.


    The Generals were furious, but before they could decide, they saw Lucifer turn around and fly in the direction of the Star Alliance Headquarters.


    Since all the forces were here to capture Lucifer, the Star Alliance Headquarters was mostly defenceless. The Generals who saw the sudden change were stunned. Even in hisst moment, Lucifer was They were convinced he wanted to destroy the Star Alliance Headquarters as hisst action before his death.


    "This crazy boy." Even Ron''s Grandfather was stunned at the sudden change.


    The Ships that were blocking the path of Lucifer''s ships were allmanded to attack Lucifer. Multiple cannons fired at the same time. In the absence of his Teleportation, there was no way to avoid the attack.


    Even the strongest shield couldn''t stop the attacks that came from the Star Alliance Ships.


    Back in Lucifer''s ship, Ron was also taken aback by the change. He wanted to help Lucifer, getting agitated. However, he remembered Lucifer''s words before he had left.


    He was told to not react, no matter what happened. Lucifer had asked him to take the opportunity to escape and not get involved in anything else. Their goal was to get to earth in time!


    Clenching his teeths, Ron made a decision! He was to escape with Lucifer''s friends and go to earth and try to stop the Destruction Squad from destroying earth.


    He took the Commander Seat and controlled the ship, issuing instructions to Lucifer''s friends. Although the others insisted that they weren''t going to leave without Lucifer, even trying to leave the ship to help Lucifer, he didn''t let them.


    Ron sealed the ship from inside. Other than him and Lucifer, no one could unlock the ship. At the same time, he activated the flight.


    With all the enemy ships focusing on Lucifer, a big gap was left in the blockade. Ron wasn''t officially a Captain, but he was the Grandson of a General, and the young prince of an entire High Grade World. He had been taught many things since his childhood.


    Although he sometimes came across as a silly person who was only interested in fighting strong people and challenging his limits, but at the core, he had great talents in many fields. Andmanding a Ship was one of those talents.


    "Activate the emergency manoeuvre protocol," Ron shouted, quickly assessing the situation. "Unless you all want to be buried here and let your home world be destroyed?! Do you think he would be happy with that decision?!"


    He turned on some settings, using the secret codes that only a General was supposed to know. With the Codes, he removed the extra restrictions from the ship, giving it a momentary burst of power. The limit was ced for the safety, but at the moment, that wasn''t needed.


    As if his words had some effects, Kellian agreed. He took the lead in convincing the others and just like that, although unwillingly, the entire Ship Crew was on board.


    A sudden burst of Power went through the ship''s engines. In the blink of an eye, the ship shot forward. With Ron controlling the ship, he surprised the Captains of the Ship that were part of the Blockade.


    However, since the ships were focused on Lucifer, they couldn''t react fast enough to Ron.

 Chapter 1013 1013: Anti Magic

    Chapter1013 1013: Anti Magic


    Ron swung the ship through a tight maneuver, dodging the iing attacks from the Blockade. As the Ship Crew held on tightly, he expertly navigated through the chaos, leaving the Captains stunned.


    No one knew that it was Ron who was flying. Ron was supposed to be a hostage after all.


    With precision and swift decision-making, he guided his ship into the gap, taking advantage of the distraction caused by the enemy''s focus on Lucifer.


    Ron flew past the blockage. Out of all the ships, two were instructed to go after the escaping ship. They could easily destroy the ship, but now that Lucifer wasn''t inside, it wasn''t worth it.


    Lucifer was the biggest threat. With Lucifer inside, they could''ve justified blowing up the ship. But with Lucifer out of the ship, they couldn''t exin themselves if they were to blow to the ship, especially with Ron inside.


    Instead of destroying the ships, two ships were sent to block and if possible, save Ron.


    In any case, Ron was only a thought in the back of their heads. The immediate priority was still Lucifer.


    The Main Ship was the first to attack, after aiming at Lucifer. The other Ships also did the same, albeit targeting Lucifer''s surroundings, leaving him no ce to dodge. With the absence of Teleportation, it was no different than a dead end.


    The attacks were faster than Lucifer, even as two Demonic Wings appeared on his back to increase his speed. A bright light shed in the sky, as the attack from the Ships had covered the entire sky. It was as if a Heavenly Punishment had fallen.


    In the blink of an eye, the bright light shrouded Lucifer. He couldn''t dodge and waspletely engulfed by the destructive wave that could destroy even an immortal.


    It was the same attack that had destroyed the World of Summons, and now it was used to kill a single person. For a long time, the sky remained bright, the surroundings turning warmer.


    The Generals had already freed Ron''s Grandfather since he couldn''t interfere anymore. At the moment, all the Generals, including Ron''s Grandfather were looking at the sky that was engulfed in the destructive light.


    ****


    Lucifer had run towards the Star Alliance Headquarters, but he had multiple goals in that. First was to distract everyone so the Ship could escape.


    The escape of the ship was the most important part of his n, but without his survival, it was useless. That''s why he had another purpose in escaping.


    He knew what kind of attacks these ships were capable of. The ships had very powerful attacks, but he was certain the Star Alliance wasn''t going to use them as it could hurt the Star Alliance Headquarters.


    At best, they were going to decrease the power of the attack, and that''s what they did.


    He also had another intention, which was to get out of the Spatially Restricted Zone. No matter how strong, the Star Alliance wasn''t going to use the Anti Teleportation Barrier over the entire world.


    They were confident in themselves, which made Lucifer certain that they were going to use what they thought was appropriate and nothing more. It was clear that the barrier had a limited range.


    As for the exact range that they used, he didn''t know. He could only expect that it wasn''t going to be toorge since they didn''t have much time to prepare it.


    As long as he could get out of the range, then coupled with the first two steps of the n, he could turn the field upside down.


    Unfortunately, as the attacks arrived, the third step couldn''t be finished. The restrictive field wasrger than he had expected.


    It was thest and the most important part of the n that had failed. With the attacking straight for him, at thest moment Lucifer turned around, conjuring the Dark Lightning around him.


    He had formed something akin to a cocoon of the dark lightning. At the same time, a devouring field shot out with him at the core, devouring the elements from the surrounding. All elements were being devoured, except the dark lightning.


    He also surrounded the outeryer of the Dark Lightning Shell with ayer of decay that could weaken the iing attack, at least to some extent.


    Even then, Lucifer could feel that he could survive. He had seen the strength of an attack like this. It was strong, but not strong enough to the point it could kill him.


    As the attacks relentlessly bombarded the protective barrier, Lucifer held his ground.


    "Huh?"


    In a moment, all his hopes were crushed. As soon as the attack touched the ck lightning barrier, his barrier shattered.


    The attack wasn''t what he remembered it to be! Instead, this attack contained the same element that was used to create the Shackles that could restrict someone''s power.


    Even at his level, he had never heard that this element could be a part of an attack. This wasn''t possible, as far as he could remember. This attack was something akin to anti-magic.


    The dark lightning crackled defiantly as Lucifer''s barrier shattered, the beam of lightpletely swallowing him.


    ****


    All eyes were on the cloud of light that enveloped Lucifer, the once-mighty being now rendered defenseless.


    The General who was incharge of the Main Battleship looked into the distance with a smug look in his eyes.


    In thest eleven months, many things had changed. Many new developments were made, and more importantly, they had doneplete research on Lucifer who had supposedly killed their Queen.


    With Lucifer as an enemy, they left no stones unturned to prepare a battle strategy in case they came across him. And the Anti Magic Cannon was a part of that strategy, mainly to make all defense useless, along with preventing his healing.


    It was a surreal sight, everyone waiting for the clouds to disperse so the sight could be clear. However, most already knew what had happened.


    It was an Anti Magic attack. Before this, even Lucifer was no different than an ordinary mortal without any powers. And before an attack like this, a mortal was like an ant.

 Chapter 1014 1014: Then who?

    Chapter1014 1014: Then who?


    The cloud of bright light still hadn''t dispersed when many people noticed something fall down. It appeared like a human, falling from great height.


    The man appeared to be unconscious as his body fell, seemingly lifeless. No one could tell if he was breathing or not.


    In the ship, the screen showed the close up of the person. Seeing the person, everyone in the ship seemed taken aback. It was Lucifer. Strangely enough, his body was still intact which should''ve been impossible.


    "How could his body be intact?" The Commanding General frowned, his expressions filled with confusion.


    Lucifer''s eyes were closed, as if he was already lifeless. This made the General believe that Lucifer was dead, which was good for him. But still, it didn''t make sense that the body hadn''tpletely disintegrated in the anti magic attack. No ability should''ve helped him.


    "I want his body! I want to know what secrets his body is hiding!"


    This time, the General personally left the Commanding Ship. The Spatial Barrier was stopped.


    The General used the Ship''s Support to teleport right next to the falling Lucifer. He didn''t want the young man''s body to fall and be damaged.


    Although Lucifer was dead, his body could still be a perfect specimen for their research. He didn''t want to lose this specimen.


    Standing next to Lucifer, an old man grasped the wrists of the young man, preventing him from falling. Lucifer''s body dangled in mid-air.


    "To think that not even a scratch is left behind... Fascinating." He observed Lucifer, only to be even more surprised.


    It was one thing for the body to not bepletely destroyed andpletely another thing for it to remain unharmed. If it wasn''t for the fact that he could see Lucifer''s heart had stopped beating, he would''ve considered that the attack hadn''t killed him.


    Just like his heart, Lucifer''s breathing had also stopped. His body was pale, as if it was void of any blood.


    "You really had too many secrets. What a pity that you had to die at my hands. You could''ve been a good servant for me."


    Holding Lucifer, he flew back towards the Commanding Ship. The other Generals also flew toward the Commanding Ship and stopped Guarding Ron''s Grandfather. Lucifer was dead. This battle was over. They didn''t care what happened to Ron now.


    ....


    The Commanding General had almost reached the Ship, when he frowned. He looked down. For some reason, his hand that was holding on to Lucifer felt warm.


    Curiosity piqued, he nced at Lucifer''s lifeless body only to find a faint glow emanating from it. A surge of rm coursed through him as he felt that Lucifer might not bepletely feat.


    Unfortunately, before he had a chance to formte a response, an electric surge jolted through his arm, causing him to instinctively let go of Lucifer.


    ck lightning flickered through Lucifer''s body which should''ve been impossible if he was dead. It was as if the ck Lightning had a life of its own.


    The lightning continued to crackle around Lucifer, mainly close to his heart. Lucifer''s body fell once again, but gentle winds wrapped him in their embrace, making his unconscious body float.


    At this point, it was clear that he wasn''t dead... Or at least not entirely.


    Another strange phenomenon ured as the sky was covered in dark clouds. Within seconds, zing Lightning Bolts started falling from the sky, like it was the arrival of an apocalypse.


    One of the Lightning Bolts fell on a Star Alliance Ship. Even the Ship''s Defence couldn''t protect itself. In the blink of an eye, the ship exploded, everyone inside it dying.


    The other Captains immediately reached. They activated even stronger protective shields while being confused as to what was happening.


    Even Ron''s Grandfather was stunned. He was the strongest user of Element of ck Lightning. But the ck Lightning that fell from the sky... Even he couldn''t grasp its true essence. It was as if the ck Lightning was simr to what he used, but different at the same time.


    The Commanding General came out of his initial surprise. He was certain that it was the work of Lucifer.


    "He hasn''t died! This scheming bastard!''


    That was the only thing that made sense, since he had never heard of someone''s abilities activating on their own after their death.


    He flew toward Lucifer, only for another lightning bolt to fall right in front of him. He stopped at thest moment, barely avoiding being hit by a hair''s breadth.


    His lips twitched, as he red at Lucifer who was still unconscious. "Still pretending!"


    He couldn''t help but feel a sense of unease as he thought about what Lucifer''s true motives could be. Why was he still pretending to be dead? Did he think that they could be fooled?


    "This time, I''ll make sure that you stay dead!" The old man eximed, as he raised his spear, ready to deliver a finishing blow. But before he could strike, a voice echoed through the air, stopping him in his tracks.


    "Wait!" a familiar voice pleaded. Startled, the old man turned.


    "Are you going to create problems again?!" The old man asked Ron''s grandfather. The man had already made the prisoners escape and now he was trying to save Lucifer?


    He didn''t care. He was only focused on Lucifer. He turned his back on Ron''s Grandfather before shooting out his spear, which was embedded with Anti Magic Stones.


    As the spear hurtled towards Lucifer, a sudden burst of energy erupted from his body, sending the spear shattering into countless shards.


    Astonished, the old man couldn''t believe his eyes. How could it be destroyed? It was Anti Magic! No Element in the World should''ve been effective against it!


    The sudden surge of energy had a limited reach, dissipating quickly. However, it seemed to inflict some pain on Lucifer, as hisplexion grew even paler.


    Simultaneously, bolts of lightning continued to descend from the sky. The old man witnessed one of these bolts striking Lucifer''s heart, leaving him bewildered. He couldn''tprehend why Lucifer appeared to be attacking himself.


    "Or is this... really not his work? Then who?" His expressions darkened.

 Chapter 1015 1015: New

    Chapter1015 1015: New


    The Commanding General''s suspicions deepened as he contemted the ominous possibility of a hidden enemy. Was there really an additional threat lurking in the shadows, beyond what had already been discerned?


    His vignt gaze swept the surroundings, yet he remained unable to detect any other presence. What further heightened his apprehension was his unwavering conviction that the destructive force which shattered his spear had emanated from within Lucifer.


    As the searing lightning bolt struck Lucifer''s chest, a malevolent wave of energy surged directly toward his heart, sending it into a paralyzing spasm.


    The brief cessation of his heartbeat gave way to a renewed rhythm, apanied by the haunting sight of blood gently tracing its path from his lips as breathing was restored.


    Lucifer''s heart had started beating once again, but he still remained unconscious. Something strange was going on with his body. It was something that even he couldn''t understand. It all happened when he was attacked by Anti Magic.


    At that moment, he was certain that there was no escape. He could only bravely face the attack. He was certain that he could be seriously injured in the attack, but that didn''t matter.


    The attack proved to be more overwhelming than he thought, making his abilities unable to be used. He felt a surge of shock as he realized he was defenseless against the attack.


    In the blink of an eye, Lucifer was overwhelmed by the attack. He felt his surroundings getting scorching hot, as if he was tossed straight into ava, his skin burning. However, at the same time, he felt something else as well.


    While all his abilities were made useless, there was something else that he noticed. It was something strange within him that he didn''t notice before. It was only when he was at this stage that he felt this strange warmth rising within him.


    It was something terrifying that even made him scared.


    Lucifer was someone who wasn''t scared even at the face of death before the Anti Magic Attack. But what he felt inside him made him scared. It was akin to some sleeping beast inside him, which was starting to wake up.


    It was a strange power, that was getting stronger the more he was hurt by the Anti Magic Attack. Even the Anti Magic Field wasn''t useful against this strange thing.


    Moreover, he felt as if this strange ability within him was asking him to fully utilize its power if he wanted to survive. But Lucifer subconsciously resisted that strange feeling.


    He felt as if he could forever lose himself if he epted this ability. It was overwhelming, making him feel that he couldn''t control it. More than the harm his body felt from the attack, he felt harmed by this ability.


    The pain within him was stronger than the pain of his skin being burned. It made him roar in pain.


    Lucifer tried to find a way to coexist with this power, but the struggle within himself threatened to tear him apart. He knew he had to make a choice - either embrace the ability and risk losing himself, or reject it and try to find another way to survive.


    In the end, he chose to embrace this ability. Although he was scared that he might lose himself, but in this moment, he had to survive! He had to return to his family and survive, at any cost.


    As Lucifer embraced the strange power, he roared out loud, feeling a pain like never before. His entire body was breaking apart. His heart was overwhelmed. His heart was beating over ten times per second, blood rushing through his entire body.


    Most of his blood vessels burst open, blood trickling down his eyes, nose and ears. In the end, even he couldn''t stay conscious. This pain made him pass out. What happened after that, he didn''t know.


    It was only when he felt a current course through his heart that he finally came to his senses.


    Lucifer opened his eyes, his vision still blurry. As he looked at his body, he was surprised to see that he was fine. Even the blood trails on his face were gone. He remembered his face being covered in blood, along with his clothes.


    However, at this moment, there was no blood on his face or in his ears. Only fresh blood was trickling down his cheeks. It was as if the time itself had been reversed to make sure that he wasn''t hurt to that extent.


    He also thought about reversing time in the past, but he couldn''t do it anymore, especially because of the elemental maniption by the Star Alliance. And on top, the Anti Magic further restricted what he could do, which made it strange.


    He was certain that it wasn''t Time Reversal, but it was something simr. Something that he couldn''t quite understand. At the moment, there was another Ability Core within his body.


    It was an ability core which was in his heart. It was the same Ability Core which he noticed when he was attacked by Anti Magic. It was also what saved him. Unfortunately, he still wasn''t certain how.


    How could his core activate on his own? How could his other abilities protect him from the Star Alliance, as if they had a mind of their own. How was it possible?


    Unfortunately, now wasn''t the time to think about it. With the Star Alliance distracted because of the Lightning Storm, not much attention was on him. At the same time, the Spatial Restriction was also removed by the Star Alliance, which granted him an even better opportunity.


    Instead of trying to escape right away, Lucifer nced towards the Commanding Ship. Since these people were so interested in him, he couldn''t leave them be.


    They had shown him what they were capable of. And now, it was his turn.


    Even he hadn''t noticed it, his thoughts had slightly changed at that moment. Now, he was angrier and felt an urge to kill people he hated. And one such person was right before his eyes.

 Chapter 1016 1016: Taking Command

    Chapter1016 1016: Taking Command


    Lucifer woke up from his slumber, possessing a new energy core in his heart. However he remained oblivious to what this core was truly capable of. Until now, he had been able to use all his cores freely, and even when he stole other people''s cores, he was still able to grasp them.


    With those abilities, he was able to learn how to use them as if they were a part of his body, but with this new ability, he found himself struggling. He couldn''t understand this core. Instead of feeling like it was a part of his body, he felt that it was something external.


    It was akin to a weapon that he could hold but not freely wield, as if the energy core had a mind of its own, resisting Lucifer''s attempts to understand and harness its power.


    He didn''t know what it was or how he received it, but one thing was clear as day. This thing was special in its own way. While his other abilities could be restricted by anti-magic stone, this thing couldn''t.


    With his mind clouded with multiple thoughts, he shifted his attention to the more serious matter at hand. He was still in the midst of the entire Star Alliance.


    Fortunately, the Spatial Restriction was gone at the moment, which granted him a great opportunity.


    Although the Star Alliance could activate the Spatial Restriction once again, he didn''t want to give them an opportunity.


    His main target was themanding Ship. Although it wasn''t going to harm the Star Alliance much, but before leaving, he wanted to deal them significant damage.


    As the Commanding Ship was the fastest, it was the more dangerous as well. In the moment, he decided to make a mess of that thing.


    His eyes changed their color. Unlike before, he now felt like he was brimming with energy. All his other cores felt stronger as well. He became faster. Or rather, the time around him slowed down as he used the Element of Time that he had snatched from earth.


    The spatial field surrounded him, making him appear right at the entrance of the Commanding Ship. Unfortunately, even for him it was impossible to teleport inside directly.


    His fist tightened, as he used the Strengthening Core. A terrifying physical strength coursed through his body. His fists mmed against the reinforced door of the Commanding Ship.


    The people in the Commanding Ship felt the entire ship tremble as a loud noise resounded. Even the ones outside the ship heard it.


    The Commanding General was trying to find the person who had attacked them when he heard the voices of the people in themanding ship through hismunication device.


    He was stunned, but as he looked in the direction where Lucifer''s lifeless body was previously floating, he saw nothing there.


    "Arghh!" He roared in anger, thinking that Lucifer had fooled him. "That bastard attacked himself to confuse me! I''ll kill him!"


    He thought that the Lightning that fell on Lucifer was ording to his own will, all to distract him. And it worked as well. The old man felt furious.


    "Bring me in!" Hemanded the Ship Command to bring him in.


    "We can''t! He destroyed the system responsible!" A voice came from the device in the old man''s ears. Behind the voice, he could also hear multiple explosive sounds, along with sounds of shooting.


    The old man clenched his fist, his expressions distorting in anger. He was far away from the Ship. The other Generals were even farther.


    "That cunning bastard!" He roared as he flew toward the Commanding Ship with all his speed. Although it was only a few seconds worth of flight for him, but those few seconds felt like an eternity in this moment since he wasn''t sure how much more harm Lucifer could cause.


    He couldn''t even ask them to turn on the Anti Magic Field since it could also affect his own men inside the Command Ship.


    Moreover, he wasn''t even certain how Lucifer survived that attack. Was he immune to Anti Magic Crystals? If that was the case then turning on the Anti Magic inside the Ship was worse for them than it was for Lucifer as it could make his men sitting ducks.


    It was the Commanding Ship and many important people of the Star Alliance were inside. He couldn''t afford to lose them.


    "Turn on the Spatial Block right now!" He issued themand. Unfortunately, there was no response this time. Only a static noise could be heard in response. Themunication device inside the ship was also broken.


    The old man felt like roaring at the top of his lungs. Since the Mother Ship was the core, with the destruction of themunicationwork, themunication with all other Ships had also broken at this moment.


    The old man increased his speed, giving it his all.


    After a short time, he finally reached the Commanding Ship with only twenty meters of distance left. His eyes were zing in anger as he wanted to crush Lucifer. But as he stepped inside the ship, he was greeted with an unexpected sight.


    A few other Generals also arrived shortly after him.


    There was blood everywhere. All the corridors were stained in blood. On his way to the Command Room, he was greeted by many dead bodies. No one was spared. And many were left as nothing more than mangled pieces of flesh, impossible to determine who the body belonged to.


    As he stepped inside the Command Room, he saw an even more gruesome sight. Not a single life was spared. With this, it was confirmed that everyone on the ship was killed.


    Unfortunately, Lucifer was nowhere to be found, leaving behind only chaos and confusion.


    Without the Spatial Restriction, Lucifer was like a shark in the deep sea. He wasn''t sure if Lucifer had escaped from this world now, but if he hadn''t, then it was even more dangerous.


    He understood that the first thing he had to do was to restrict the space again. Only then could they decide what to do next.


    Just as the Commanding General reached closer to the control screen, his expressions froze.

 Chapter 1017 1017: Cloud of Fire

    Chapter1017 1017: Cloud of Fire


    As soon as the Commanding General reached closer to the control screen, his expressions froze. He saw a timer on the screen which only had one second left.


    "Run!" He eximed.


    ****


    From a distant point, Lucifer observed the Commanding Ship with great interest. Within his mind, a timer relentlessly counted down towards a crucial moment. And when the timer finally reached its climax, he effortlessly snapped his fingers.


    The sound of his snap apanied the explosion within the ship as arge cloud of fire and smoke engulfed the control room, spreading relentlessly. Explosions shocked the entire Commanding Ship before the entire ship was surrounded in a cloud of fire and anarchy.


    From the distance, Lucifer could also see other Generals including Ron''s Grandfather. They were the ones who hadn''t entered the ship. Even they looked shocked. They hadn''t expected something like this.


    The range of the explosion was so wide that it even engulfed some of the nearby ships, destroying them in the process. Lucifer wanted to stay behind and mess a lot more, but he knew that the longer he stayed here, the riskier it became.


    Because the Communication was down, themands didn''t receive the ones controlling the ship. But with the destruction of the Command Ship, the Temporary Command was shifted to another ship. As for which ship, he wasn''t certain either. This could only happen when the Command Ship waspletely destroyed.


    The new ship had temporarily be the mothership. In essence, everything had reset. With a new mother ship receiving themand. Although the new ship wasn''t as powerful as the main ship used to be, but it had all the control now.


    The new ship could be used to enact the Spatial Restriction once again. Lucifer knew that it was only a matter of time before the Generals were going to find out which was the newmand ship and seal the space.


    The only reason they hadn''t done that yet was because they were still shocked at the sea of mes before them. The mes had consumed the remnants of the oldmand ship, leaving behind only ming bits and pieces that came crashing down.


    Lucifer wasn''t sure how Ron and the others were doing. Although he had attracted most of the attention towards him, there was still one ship which went after the others.


    He took advantage of the opportunity when the space was still free. In a short moment, he was shrouded by spatial energy. Before long, he disappeared entirely. And in his ce, another one of his Summoned Beast appeared that he had intentionally left inside the ship before leaving.


    He had nned to teleport back after distracting the Star Alliance, but he didn''t think so much was going to happen that waspletely out of his expectations.


    Lucifer''s figure was reced by a Beast. But only a few minutester. Lucifer could''ve canceled the Summon to make the beast return as well, but he didn''t.


    Instead, hemanded the Summoned Beast to find a safe ce to hide in this world. Lucifer wanted to leave a piece here in case he needed toe back.


    The ce switching method with his beasts was his most versatile travel technique for long distance travel in the shortest of times, especially since he still hadn''tpletely mastered the art of opening Spatial Cracks to travel.


    There was one n under the Star Alliance which specialized in Spatial Cracks. Lucifer wanted to learn from that n as well. Unfortunately, that n rarely involved themselves with the outside world.


    They had closed themselves and even the Star Alliance Leaders were rarely able to meet with them. The Star Alliance didn''t try to forcefully show off their authority either since the n was very dangerous with their Spatial Control.


    Although the n couldn''t defeat the Star Alliance, but they could still trouble the Star Alliance a lot, which made the Star Alliance let them do as they pleaded.


    From every Major n, a General of the Star Alliance was selected. But it was just that one particr n which despite being powerful and a part of the Star Alliance never sent any Elder to the Star Alliance.


    Because of that, Lucifer wasn''t able to learn from them like he learned from Ron''s Grandfather about improving his control of ck Lightning. He wanted to try again after returning from the trip with Talia, but unfortunately, that also went out of his expectations.


    Not only was he not able to return, but he was now the biggest enemy of the Star Alliance. Then again, he didn''t find it a big loss. At least he had taken out Talia before she could get the Inheritance and be a threat.


    As for bing the enemy of the Star Alliance, he also understood that it was just a matter of time. The day his real identity was exposed as thest remaining member of the Ancient n, the Star Alliance was going toe after him with everything they had.


    Although the Star Alliance still hated him, it was nothingpared to the hate that he would''ve received if his real identity was exposed.


    Currently, only the Star Alliance was his Enemy. But if his real identity was exposed, every single n in the Universe which fought against the Ancient n in the past was going toe after his head. That included all the Secluded ns including the n that he wanted to learn from.


    Although he was in trouble thanks to the Star Alliance, but things were still not as bad as they could''ve been, and he understood that all too well.


    Moreover, this way, he had an additional advantage. He had made this appear like an internal conflict of the Star Alliance which secluded ns weren''t going to care about. This way, he could freely destroy the Star Alliance without them getting the support of the entire universe.


    That way, he could already weaken the threats to him. It was easier to fight the Star Alliance than it was to fight everyone in the world. He took it as a challenge... A challenge that he wanted to win.

 Chapter 1018 1018: Back to earth

    Chapter1018 1018: Back to earth


    Lucifer appeared in the Star Alliance Ship. Although he expected the entire atmosphere inside the Ship to be chaotic as Ron was supposed to be chased by the Star Alliance, strangely enough the ship wasn''t involved in any fighting.


    Instead, it was moving at lightning speed towards Earth. He was curious as to what happened to the ship that was chasing after Ron.


    Slightly intrigued, Lucifer entered the Command Center, where everyone was stunned to see him inside.


    Before he could even speak a word, he felt a sweet fragrance around him as Alicia jumped into his embrace. The others also appeared happy that he was safe.


    Lucifer felt weird by their reaction. He had already heard them talking bad about him behind their back, so he wasn''t sure if they were still faking it. He freed himself from Alicia''s embrace.


    Kellian asked him if he was alright, only for Lucifer to ignore him entirely. Instead, he walked to Ron, asking what happened to the Ship which was chasing after them.


    Ron wasn''t sure why he felt that something was wrong with Lucifer''s equation with his friends. On one end, he didn''t want to leave his friends to die to the point he risked his own life. On the other hand, he didn''t even want to talk to them.


    Although Lucifer said that he saved them because he just wanted a crew, but Ron understood that it wasn''t the truth. If it was just about a crew, they could''ve kidnapped a few of other ships. It would''ve been much safer than freeing prisoners from Star Alliance prison.


    Although he wanted to ask Lucifer what happened between them, but he controlled his curiosity.


    "Since there was only one ship following us, it wasn''t hard to take it down," Ron nonchntly answered as if he hadn''t just taken down a ship being controlled by an experienced captain.


    Lucifer didn''t know how to respond. He was just happy that they had safely gotten past.


    "How far are we from earth?" he asked Ron. The most important thing for him was to save earth now. After that, everything else could be handled.


    "It''ll still take us seven hours even at the fastest..." Ron answered. There was nothing else he could do as the ship had limited speed. If it was the mother ship, it would''ve been faster if they were in a better ship, but nothing could be done about that.


    "Two hours..." Lucifer went silent. At this point, every second was important since he wasn''t certain what the Annihtion Squad was going to do to earth.


    It was highly likely that they were going to first search for him there and if they didn''t find him, they were going to destroy Earth as per their instructions. So it all depended on how long that search went on for.


    Even during the search, he was worried that his family might be hurt. Although his father and mother weren''t his real parents, but they were still the most important people in his life. He wasn''t certain if something was going to happen to them.


    The thought of losing his family filled him with a deep sense of dread, and he couldn''t shake the feeling of responsibility for their safety.


    ....


    For the next few hours, Lucifer could do nothing but wait for the moment while praying. He also started preparing for theing battle.


    Ron also did the same. With a little less than two hours left, he started preparation. He didn''t even care that the entire Star Alliance was after Lucifer and now after him as well. Since he believed that Lucifer was a friend, he was standing by his side.


    More importantly, he had a family of his own so he understood the value of the family. He didn''t want Lucifer to lose his family.


    Ron donned his ck Battle Armor made from Lightning Stones. It was a treasure of his n that was used by his father in his early years. It was also what made his father stand out from the rest of his generation.


    The Battle Armor worked to increase the strength of their n members, along with making them able to use Lightning beyond their capabilities.


    Although Ron rarely used weapons and focused more on his physical strength since he often wanted to challenge himself, but this time it was more than just about himself.


    He brought out the sword specially crafted by his grandfather for him. It was a Sword that his grandfather especially told him to never use unless he had to, and Ron believed this was the time.


    It was just the two of them against the entire Squad of the Star Alliance that specialized in Wars and battles. It was different from other Captains as this could be called the best of the best. Since their numbers were low, he didn''t want to go easy this time.


    Although he knew that it was a serious matter, Ron was also somewhat excited that he would get to challenge the top tier war squad of the Star Alliance.


    ****


    Lucifer finished his preparation and left his room, only toe across Kellian who was waiting for him outside.


    "Did we do something wrong to upset you?" Kellian asked. He had noticed that Lucifer felt distant as if he was upset at them.


    They had gone through so much together so Kellian knew Lucifer. He could easily notice the change.


    "Nothing wrong. You just did what you had to..." Lucifer spoke, not exining. Leaving Kellian behind, he entered the Control Room. It was about time where they were to arrive outside Earth.


    Kellian stood there, unable to shake off the feeling that he felt. He sighed as he also entered the control room. For now, it was time to focus on saving their world.


    Lucifer''s long white robe brushed against the floor as he walked closer to the control screen. At the same time, the ship came to a halt. They had reached their destination.


    However, as Lucifer looked out the window, his expressions darkened.

 Chapter 1019 1019: One with surroundings

    <h4>Chapter 1019 Chapter 1019: One with surroundings</h4>


    Lucifer looked out the ship, his expressions darkening. In the distance, he could see the Ship that belonged to the Star Alliance''s Annihtion Squad. But more than that, he could see Earth in the distance.


    The Star Alliance Ship hadpleted the process of gathering the necessary energy for its imminent attack. As Lucifer gazed upon the scene, he witnessed the beam of formidable energy being propelled directly towards the Earth.


    "This..." Ron was also stunned. Were they toote? He looked towards Lucifer, only to be stunned that Lucifer wasn''t there anymore.


    "Where did he..." He grew confused. A thought crossed his mind as he looked outside. He couldn''t help but consider the possibility. Was Lucifer really going to do something like that?


    As he looked out, he was stunned to find his guess to be correct.


    Lucifer appeared out in space right in front of the beam that was shot towards the Earth''s Core. It was as if he was trying to stop the attack with his body, because if it hit earth, the world couldn''t be saved.


    Lucifer''s pure white attire created a stark contrast with his surroundings, especially the attack that flew straight to him. Ron felt that Lucifer was crazy for trying something like this. Even his Grandfather wouldn''t dare to stand before the attack.


    However, what he saw next stunned him as well. Lucifer didn''t let the attack hit him. Instead, he used another method.


    He raised his right hand, creating a circle with his finger. As his finger moved, the space around him shattered. The Decaying Field spread out, but this time, he stopped controlling it entirely.


    He went above and beyond what he had tried previously to the point that his Decaying started hurting him as well.


    He found himself in a decaying environment, gradually being engulfed by the void. The vast expanse of space that was once empty now transformed into a formless abyss as it was devoured.


    Lucifer didn''t know how to create spatial cracks to travel. He wasn''t good at creation, but when it came to destruction, there was no one better than him.


    He knew that his shield couldn''t block this attack. Even if he might survive the attack thanks to his healing, but his body wasn''t strong enough to stop the attack fromnding on earth. He couldn''t let it hit him, but he also couldn''t let it pass through.


    He needed something that could swiftly stop this attack. There was only one method he could think of. And since he was in space, that method became even more effective.


    He could''ve created a Spatial Portal that could send the attack to another area, maybe even make it hit the ship itself. But since that wasn''t possible for him, he did the next thing. He turned his surroundings into a ck hole with him at the core.


    He used his decay to turn his surroundings into a void, and then used his control over time to increase the passage of time around his surroundings to strengthen his decay.


    Unfortunately, he was in the core of this ck hole, which even his healing was having a hard time keeping up with. He could feel his life essence being devoured.


    Usually, it would''ve replenished itself thanks to the essence he would''ve had from devouring his surroundings, but since his surroundings had turned into a great void, there was no essence left for him to devour.


    He even felt as if he was suffocating. He couldn''t see clearly as his surroundings were nothing but pure darkness.


    The focused attack beam collided with the pitch-ck void it was aimed at, resulting in a spectacr sh of power. The destructive force of the beam and the insatiable appetite of the ck hole created intense waves of energy, asionally evoking the sensation of a zing fire roaring through the emptiness of space.


    As the sh escted, the ck hole began to exhibit unusual behavior. The intense heat and energy of the attack beam caused the void to tremble and ripple, creating cracks in its imprable facade.


    Fortunately, with the attack finally entering the void, Lucifer had a source of energy. With the small frictions of the attack that were being absorbed by his body, he was able to maintain the ck Hole. Not only could he maintain it, but he was also able to strengthen it.


    He felt as if his body was being wrecked apart as arge amount of energy invaded his body, only to be sent out even stronger. He had be a conduit, his mind overwhelmed. At this moment, he couldn''t even think about anything else other than that he couldn''t stop.


    Overwhelmed by the immense surge of energy coursing through his body, he could barely contain its power. His heart seemed to skip beats, as if momentarily stopping in its rhythm. The intensity caused his skin to dry out, giving rise to deep cracks that split open, unleashing a radiant white light from beneath.


    The light enveloped his entire being, blinding him momentarily. As the light subsided, he found himself floating in mid-air, weightless and untethered. His body seemed to be infused with otherworldly energy.


    However, strangely enough, he had lost his entire sense of self. He couldn''t feel any pain. He couldn''t even feel his body. It was as if he had truly be one with his surroundings.


    His mind hadpletely gone nk. He didn''t know how long he remained in that state that made him feel as if he was dreaming.


    After a long time, he finally came to his senses. His vision was blurry but there was no pain in his body. The familiar surroundings had reverted back to their previous state, giving the impression that the attack had finally ended.


    Did he save his world? With this thought, the first thing he did was look behind. His vision slowly recovering as well. Unfortunately, when he looked back, his expressions turned from hope to despair.


    The destruction that had taken ce was immense, leaving his world unrecognizable. It was as if the once green world had now turned into apletely barrennd.

 Chapter 1020 1020: Lost time

    <h4>Chapter 1020 Chapter 1020: Lost time</h4>


    Lucifer wasn''t sure how long his mind remained in that unfamiliar state where he couldn''t feel the reality around him. However, the moment he came to his senses, his world was turned upside down.


    Earth still loomed in the distance, but its once thriving beauty had faded away. The vibrant had transformed into a deste wastnd, devoid of any signs of life. The ruination of Earth had left it as nothing more than a barrennd.


    Lucifer felt a pang of sorrow as he surveyed the bleakndscape. He had witnessed countless civilizations rise and fall, but the demise of Earth struck him in a different way.


    The Earth was beyond recognition to the point that he even considered if this was earth in the first ce, but everything else pointed to that being the case. The seas on earth hadpletely dried and all the greenery disappeared. Even the buildings weren''t left intact.


    Lucifer felt a strange sense of heartbreak. Had he failed in stopping the attack? Was it the attack that destroyed Earth? However, it seemed unlikely as well. If the attack hadnded, the entire earth would have blown up. This felt more like something else.


    He looked behind in the distance, trying to catch a glimpse of the Star Alliance Ship. No matter what, it was certainly that they were behind this attack. However, as he looked back, he only received more shock.


    The Star Alliance ship that belonged to the Annihted Squad wasn''t in a better situation either. Its outer shell appeared rotten, decaying all around. Large scale cracks were also visible all around and strangely enough, he couldn''t feel any life essence inside.


    Ron''s Ship also appeared to be in a simr situation. It was as if the same thing that targeted the Star Alliance ship targeted Ron''s Ship and possibly earth as well.


    Lucifer remained silent, his thoughts in a mess as to what just happened. His mind waspletely nk.


    His memories were missing from the point where he blocked the attack, to the moment when he woke up. It was as if his memories of the time in between werepletely gone and he wasn''t in his senses.


    At the same time, a dreaded thought also crossed his mind. Was he the cause of it all? He wanted to rush straight to earth to check if his family had survived, but he knew that before that, he had to check something else.


    He appeared inside Ron''s Ship. With the Ship in ruin, there was no obstruction to Teleportation.


    As he appeared inside the ship, he found the condition to be even worse than he imagined. All the systems were destroyed. The sses that could even survive nuclear sts were shattered and all the metal had rusted. The entire ship was left as nothing more than junk.


    He tried to find Ron and others, but no one was inside. Even if there was someone when this happened, it was unlikely for them to survive. Lucifer knew that if something could destroy this ship to this extent, it was highly likely that not even ashes were going to be left behind if a human was caught in this.


    No matter how much he searched, he didn''t find anything. His mind felt even more chaotic. A strange fear gripped his heart. Was he really the one who caused this disaster? Was he the one who caused it all? The thought alone was frightening.


    He tried calling out to Ron and the others. Unfortunately, he didn''t get any response. Only a scary silence greeted him back.


    Panic began to consume him as he stumbled through the wreckage, desperately hoping for signs of life. His thoughts raced, filled with regret.


    Failing to find anyone alone, he truly felt like he was suffocating in the deep abyss of his own thoughts, something he hadn''t felt for a long time.


    "Arghh!" He wanted to me himself, feeling he was the cause of it all, but he couldn''t change anything.


    The entire vessel trembled as Lucifer''s powerful fist collided with the wall, causing a gaping hole in the ship''s thick hull. He was certain now that everyone in the ship was dead. He himself had killed them, simply because he couldn''t control himself.


    He clutched his chest, a sense of weightiness overwhelming him. He even felt as if he was going crazy. His mind was filled with haunting thoughts about the scene where everyone was killed thanks to him.


    Next he entered the Ship of the Annihtion Squad and it was the same scene there. Not a single sign of life was left there.


    He felt scared about going back to earth. With this magnitude of destruction, he felt scared of seeing what his actions led earth to. He felt scared of how much he lost. He had already lost Ron and everyone else, and the thought of losing everyone back on earth as well was overwhelming.


    Lucifer''s eyes remained nk with no signs of life as he appeared where the Variant Uprising Headquarters used to be. Before him was a half destroyed building and the rest also felt as if it coulde crashing at any moment.


    The entire city which used to be filled with life appearedpletely deste. At times, Lucifer even thought that this wasn''t the reality and just a nightmare. Unfortunately, he couldn''t wake up from it even if it was.


    Most of the earth was destroyed and what was left wasn''t enough to sustain life either. At the entrance of the building, Lucifer saw a spear lying on the ground that belonged to the Guard who guarded this ce.


    Unfortunately, the other of the spear was missing, possibly dead.


    As Lucifer picked up the spear, it turned to dust right in his hand, as if it was barely holding on until now.


    With hesitant steps, Lucifer entered the building, walking through the corridors where he had walked multiple times in the past. Even though he hadn''t been here in years, he still remembered every turn and which room belonged to who.

 Chapter 1021 1021: The flow of time

    <h4>Chapter 1021 Chapter 1021: The flow of time</h4>


    The worldy in ruins, and Lucifer felt utterly lost. Looking at the signs of carnage, he could see his imprint all over the ce. It was as if this was caused by him and no one else.


    For a long time, his mind wasn''t able toe out of shock. He walked through the lifeless corridor, noticing the cracks on the wall that had decayed for the most part.


    Even the flowers werepletely lifeless, their vessels empty. Unlike theplete deste scene outside, the interiors were in an even worse situation.


    He walked inside the first time that he found, the door turning into dust as soon as he touched it. The room waspletely empty, yet Lucifer could see the signs of someone being present inside the room not long ago.


    As Lucifer nced down, a chilling sight caught his attention¡ª crimson stain scattered across the ground. His mind conjured an image of someone being struck by a devastating force, coughing out blood while being consumed by utter obliteration. The residue left behind was a grim reminder of the decay that had taken ce.


    On the wall, he could see a portrait, which appeared very old. It was in such bad condition that he couldn''t even see the picture clearly.


    Lucifer left the room, his eyes carrying a hint of fear. His feet were hesitant as if he didn''t want to go further. He didn''t want to confirm his suspicions about what happened to his family.


    He had already lost his family once in the past, but this time was different. This time, it happened because of him. He hade here to save them, yet he was the one who killed them.


    In the back of his mind, he kept hoping that it was going to be a nightmare that he could wake up from. Unfortunately, it didn''t appear to be a nightmare. Instead, this was something like his personal hell.


    Lucifer walked inside the room which he remembered to be his parents room. The door was also intact, yet looked rotten from the core. He hesitated for a long time, reaching out his hand only to then retract it.


    Finally, he opened the door and ventured into the room, feeling a sense of chaos consuming his thoughts.


    After entering the room, he was greeted by a familiar sight. The room was bigger than the previous rooms, but that also made it appear even more empty.


    Although finding an empty room was better than finding a room with corpses, but for him, it didn''t make any difference. The empty ce implied the same thing. He had blood on his hands.


    He would''ve been fine even if it was the blood of a million people, but instead the blood on his hand belonged to his family and everyone else that supported him in the past. It was as if he had lost a part of his past. He had lost a part of himself.


    He remained on the ground, watching the portrait on the wall. Although there were multiple portraits, only one was in barely decent condition.


    In the portrait, he saw a picture that he had taken with his family just because he left for the Star Alliance, promising them that he was going to return soon.


    He reached out his hand. Unfortunately, as soon as he touched the portrait, it turned into dust like a fleeting dream, telling him that he was only good for one thing... Destruction.


    Lucifer clutched a handful of dust particles, his grip unwavering. He didn''t say a single word. He just remained standing in the room like an empty statue.


    The crack in the building kept getting bigger. The building had already lost all its structural Strength and was barely holding on, but with time, that wasn''t enough.


    As debris rained down around him, Lucifer''s eyes gleamed with sorrow. He knew what he had to do. With a shattered building as his canvas, he had to try everything possible.


    If it was caused by him, then it was going to be solved by him as well. Even if he had to take the help of that unstable power that caused this in the first ce, he was willing.


    He raised his right hand, both his eyes turning pitch ck with mysterious starts gleaming within them. The building that had started falling came to a halt, as if time itself had stopped.


    Although he wasn''t certain how he did it in the past, but he had indeed managed to change the past and bring his family back! If that was what it took, he was willing to do that again.


    Thest time, it all happened naturally. He didn''t even know how he managed to do that. After that, he had tried many times to go back to the past but it never worked. It was as if he wascking something. There was always something missing.


    Although he still didn''t know what was missing, he now had something that he could rece it with! Even if hecked something, he was forcefully going to use it.


    He created a link between his newly formed unknown core with the Core of Time, temporarily strengthening his core of time by leaps and bounds.


    With this newfound power, he could feel the fabric of time shifting and bending to his will. The possibilities seemed endless as Lucifer started to utilize his Core of Time to the fullest.


    Unfortunately, despite trying, he wasn''t able to send his consciousness back in time, as if that wasn''t a task that could be achieved with just the core of time. It seemed to utilize other factors as well, for which he had limited understanding.


    The Core of Time inside his body felt zing hot, as if it was going to burn Lucifer. It was a power beyond human understanding, yet Lucifer didn''t hold back. Even if he felt like his body was on the verge of destruction, he kept going.


    Even then, he held on. If he couldn''t go back in time, then he was going to bring the world itself back in time!

 Chapter 1022 1022: Carnage

    Chapter1022 1022: Carnage


    Lucifer tried to do something he had never done before, but he knew that it was possible. His future self had done something simr, bringing his younger self from the past to the future to save his life. But now, things were different.


    The surroundings became chaotic as Lucifer started to manipte the time itself. The sky turned dark. Gusts of wind whipped through the air, causing objects to fly in different directions. The roar of thunder echoed in the distance, signaling an approaching storm.


    The buildings that had survived the onught before came crashing down. Only the building where Lucifer stood was still left standing.


    It was a total carnage, as if all the remnants of the civilization on earth were being removed. Lightning fell all around earth and thunder roared in the skies, amplifying the chaotic destruction.


    Lucifer''s aura also intensified as he tapped into the unfamiliar power. Feeling the immense energy surge through his veins, he clenched his fists, feeling his entire body burning.


    He could hear the sound of destruction outside, but that didn''t sway him. His domain kept increasing in size.


    The building where he stood started going back in time. The rotten walls were slowly recovering. At the same time, his domain spread. While outside the domain wasplete carnage, inside his domain, there was only silence.


    As the energy continued to flow through him, he was healing his surroundings. The once shattered windows were now whole, the fallen debris stacked back into ce. Unfortunately, just this much alone brought too much pain.


    His mind felt like it was splitting apart and his energy cores were getting unstable.


    "Just a little more... Just a little more!" He roared, the time in his surroundings kept moving back, albeit slowly.


    After a short time, the room was finally back to how it used to be. The portrait on the wall had returned to its ce and it was now clear. He could also see something else.


    Blood trickled down his eyes, turning his visionpletely red, but he could still see something vaguely. On the bed, there was a person. It was his father who was asleep. As for his mother, she was sitting before a desk, writing something.


    She couldn''t see Lucifer or even realize what was happening to her surroundings. Lost in her own world, she was penning down some intricate thoughts.


    With his parents in his sight, Lucifer was certain that he was close to his goal. Just a little more and he could stabilize this timeline. Everything could be back to the way it used to be. All he needed was a little more time.


    Unfortunately, time was thest thing he had as he coughed blood. His heart had slowed down to the point that it was barely hearing. Even the core of time was overwhelmed with the terrific amount of energy that it was linked to.


    Although it allowed his core to be used in ways like never before, it also overwhelmed it. Slowly, cracks started developing on the Core of Time. In all the pain Lucifer was in, he couldn''t see that cores had started developing in his core of time.


    Lucifer''s Domain had now spread all around the earth and was extending even farther into space. The terrifying storm appeared to be paused in time. Even the lightning that had fallen from the sky was stuck in the middle akin to time being stopped.


    The lightning bolts moved in reverse, disappearing inside the dark clouds. The winds started going in reverse.


    As the air grew colder, time itself seemed to rewind. The buildings that were destroyed also started taking shape. The dried up seas appeared once again, the earth slowly regaining its life.


    Unfortunately, as earth was regaining its life, Lucifer was growing weaker. The cracks on the Core of Time were now covering itpletely. The energy still kept forcing its way inside the core to maintain its domain.


    With time going in reverse, the letter that Lucifer''s mother had almost finished writing was also back to the start with not even a single word being written.


    His mother stood up and moved in reverse, walking closer to Lucifer. Lucifer still remained out of time''s control, unable to be seen by her.


    His mother stopped right next to him, looking at the portrait on the wall. She opened her lips to speak something. Lucifer hadn''t heard her voice in such a long time. It had been over a year yet here he was, standing next to her.


    Crack~


    Before Lucifer''s mother could even speak a single word, a cracking sound resounded. The Core of Time cracked from the middle. In the blink of an eye, it shattered into a thousand pieces.


    The shards of the Core of Time scattered in all directions, causing ripples and distortions in the fabric of reality. Lucifer and his mother were enveloped in a blinding light.


    A loud explosion of time and space shook the entire earth as the Domain shatteredpletely. The entire world was surrounded in a white light, spatial cracks developing all around the world. The entire world appeared to be swallowed by the destruction that it was barely brought out of...


    ....


    An unknown amount of time passed. Lucifer''s body was buried under the rubble of the building where his family and friends used to live. Only his hand was visible through the rubble.


    There were heavy burns on his hand, and strangely enough those burns weren''t healing.


    For a long time, there was no movement. The world had gonepletely silent. Not even the wind dared to whisper its secrets in the deste silence.


    The once bustling city nowy abandoned, with empty surroundings, as if this world had been abandoned for millions of years.


    Even a single de of grass couldn''t be seen in the world and it was clear that nothing could ever grow in this lifeless world. The scorching sun mercilessly scorched the barren earth, leaving it deste and bare.

 Chapter 1023 1023

    Chapter 10231023


    The world hade to a halt. It was unclear how many days had passed, yet there was no movement from Lucifer.


    Even after so many days, his wounds still hadn''t healed and he remained unconscious. Even the Core of Time inside his body was destroyed, its small Fragments merging with his blood, slowly changing the properties of his blood.


    During this time, Lucifer remained unconscious, buried under a rubble of fallen debris. There was no rescue team as he remained the only person still existing in this world. Fortunately, he was still breathing, albeit barely.


    It was the middle of the night when finally some movement happened. Lucifer''s fingers twitched, signaling a sliver of life in his seemingly lifeless body. As the faint pulse of energy surged through him, Lucifer''s eyes slowly fluttered open.


    He pulled himself out of the rubble, his clothespletely destroyed. His bare body came into sight, revealing the extent of damage he had received.


    All over his body, there were wounds that hadn''t healed. He was covered in blood that was yet to dry. A scar was also visible across his chest, leaving a deep trail of pain.


    Despite the physical agony he endured, his face didn''t show any signs of pain. In fact, his face remainedpletely nk, looking at the rubble under his feet.


    He couldn''t feel the Core of Time anymore. He couldn''t control time. As he tried to process what had happened, a sense of despair overwhelmed him.


    He sat down, seemingly lostpletely.


    "That''s it. This is not real. This is a nightmare. I''ll wake up any moment now... That''s right." He muttered, refusing to believe that this was his reality. Too much had happened in such a short time for it to be reality.


    He kept hoping to wake up from this nightmare as he remained seated. Unfortunately, no matter how many days passed, nothing changed. This was his reality.


    His emotions were all over the ce. He felt a mixture of anger, confusion, and sadness. It was as if a dark cloud had settled over his mind, making it difficult for him to see beyond the despair.


    With every passing day, his hope dimmed as he came to face despair. This was his reality... A strange reality that he couldn''t reject.


    An entire month passed. Lucifer didn''t move even an inch. He didn''t eat anything either, yet his body was full of energy. His eyes glowed with an otherworldly light that he himself couldn''t notice.


    With every passing day, another strange thing kept happening. At an irregr interval, he felt his energy could berserk, enveloping the world and the space around it, devouring itpletely.


    He had no control over it. He could neither stop it, nor initiate it. It was as if it was his new reality now. Every time his energy went berserk, it devoured life out of his surroundings.


    That devoured life energy was absorbed by his body in return, making him stronger. Every time his energy went berserk, the area it enveloped wasrger than before.


    Moreover, something else was changing about him with every passing day. His other cores, one after another kept getting destroyed, slowly merging with his blood and bing useless.


    In no time, all his ability cores were gone, including the ones he was born with. There was only one core left, the one that was behind it all.


    With every passing day, Lucifer felt like he was losing his sanity. This was his personal hell. Every day, he found himself being swallowed by the darkness to the point that he found himself suffocating.


    In the second month, he couldn''t take it anymore and thought about destroying hisst ability core as well, freeing him from this torment.


    He stabbed his hand inside his own chest. His healing waspletely gone, making it no different than suicide, but he didn''t care. He just wanted this torment to end.


    His hand stabbed his chest, trying to get to the ability core. He grabbed his heart inside which that ability core was lying. Even in such pain, Lucifer remained lifeless, his eyes seemingly dead.


    He pulled his heart out of his body, crushing it right before his eyes along with the new ability core. As a burst of light filled the surroundings, something changed.


    Lucifer found himself back in time by a few minutes, his heart again inside his body. No matter how many times he tried to destroy his ability core, nothing changed. Everything was always back to the same, time reversing every time.


    His new ability core was chaotic yet it was mysterious. Although it destroyed the Core of Time, it had managed to absorb some of its characteristics, allowing it to reverse time by a few minutes every time Lucifer was on the verge of death.


    That applied to when his heart was destroyed as well. No matter what Lucifer did, he couldn''t destroy the only remaining ability core.


    The earth was already destroyed, but with every passing day, its condition became worse. It was only a matter of time before the earth was going topletely disappear. The chaotic storm originating from Lucifer''s body kept destroying everything it could.


    One more month passed. Lucifer looked at his surroundings that were beyond recognition. Strangely enough, he also felt that the surroundings now looked familiar.


    It was simr to what he had seen when his consciousness was sent inside the body of his future self. At that time, he never could''ve thought that this ruined world was none other than earth.


    All signs of the previous civilization were gonepletely, not even a single scrap metal left behind. Lucifer walked over the barrennd, where even the sun couldn''t be seen anymore.


    The once-thriving cities were reduced to ashes, remnants of a forgotten era. This was his home.


    While Lucifer was walking through the barrennd with no aim, the main force of the Star Alliance arrived.


    The entire earth was surrounded by the Star Alliance Ships. The space was once again sealed, this time leaving no escape.


    All the Generals of Star Alliance were here this time, descending together.

 Chapter 1024 1024

    Chapter 10241024


    They appeared around Lucifer, surrounding him from all sides. Amongst the group, Lucifer saw Ron''s grandfather, holding onto a staff with a beautiful gem on top.


    In the scene he had seen in the past, it was very simr. The only difference was that the man holding onto Talia''s staff this time was Ron''s grandfather and not the Captain of the Royal Guards who was already killed by him.


    Even with the Star Alliance people around, Lucifer''s eyes revealed no emotion.


    He nced at Ron''s Grandfather who only had one question.


    "Where is my Grandson?!"


    "I killed him. I killed them all."


    Lucifer responded without a shred of emotion as if he didn''t feel any pain about the past anymore. He hadpletely sealed his emotions, whether it was happiness, sadness, love or anger.


    There was no benefit in feeling anything since everything around him was going to be destroyed sooner orter. No matter what he cherished, everything was gone... everything except him.


    "This can''t be true! You''re lying!" The old man went pale. He hadn''t expected this. He thought that Lucifer would still use his grandson as a hostage. Why would he kill a hostage that still had benefits to him? That didn''t make sense!


    "If you pay attention, maybe you''ll be able to find his ashes in the vast space..." Lucifer spoke, his eyes lifeless.


    The entire fell silent. Lucifer had killed the hostage and he was talking about it as if it was nothing big?


    Still, only Ron''s grandfather felt broken at this development. He still had hopes that his grandson was alive, but that hope was crushed. On the other hand, the other Generals were happy internally.


    They had thought that Lucifer might be able to escape by using a hostage again, but this time they didn''t have to worry about that.


    With the hostage situation solved, things became much easier.


    The old man didn''t say anything, but his thoughts were clear in his rageful eyes.


    The Staff in his hand belonged to Talia, and it was the strongest weapon of the Star Alliance. No one in the Star Alliance other than Talia knew its origin, but Lucifer understood. This was also a weapon that came with her from her world.


    The gem on top of the Staff started shining. It was simr to what Lucifer had seen in the past. Dark shackles came out of the group, wrapping around his ankles, his wrists and his throat, pulling him down to his knees.


    This was the second time Lucifer experienced this, but unlike before, he didn''t feel a surge of anger or defiance. He didn''t even try to free himself.


    The old man stepped closer to Lucifer, his eyes cold. "Teaching you is the biggest regret of my life! And bing your friend was the worst decision of Ron''s life!"


    "As you killed him, I''ll send you to keep himpany! Even your ashes won''t be found!" he added as he raised the staff which transformed into a sword in his hands.


    Lucifer still didn''t react, his head remaining down. Death wasn''t scary. For him, life was scarier. Unfortunately, life refused to leave him. Even if he was to be killed, nothing was going to change as his body refused to let him stay dead.


    He had gone beyond healing. He had truly be an undying existence. He had be inhuman.


    Before the old man could swing his sword, Lucifer felt his heartbeat increase. It wasn''t the first time this happened. His eyes shone in a mysterious light as the chaotic energy inside him increased.


    He only lightly said, "Leave if you don''t want to die..."


    The old man didn''t take his words seriously. It was like the nonsensical rambling of a crazy person who was on the verge of death!


    "Only one person will be dying here!" The old man swung his sword.


    The sword came crashing down, but before it could touch Lucifer, it turned into specks of fist as a terrifying chaotic energy came out with Lucifer at its core.


    The energy appeared to be in the shape of a domain. In the blink of an eye, the domain covered the entire earth. Everything turned white, as if thest remnants of life from earth were sucked dry.


    In the blink of an eye, everything was gone. The Generals that appeared to be invincible... The Star Alliance fleet that could bring any world to its knees, the powerful weapons of the Star Alliance, everything was gone.


    In the blink of an eye, everything had disappeared. All that was left was Lucifer, sitting on his knees on the ground. Not even the blood of the people he killed was left behind, let alone their remnants.


    Lucifer gazed upon the deste emptiness surrounding him. Unlike him who coulde back to life anytime he wanted, these people were never going to return.


    ****


    Six months passed. The Star Alliance had sent their strongest fleet to kill a traitor which included all Commanders, but none had returned. All of them had gone missing. This has caused a hugemotion in the entire Star Alliance, or at least what was left of it.


    But something else was happening. It was unclear who was behind it, but one after another, many words were left in ruins. Entire species were destroyed, no witness left behind.


    There was only one link between the destroyed worlds. It was that they were all part of the force that had attacked and destroyed the Ancient n.


    Most had already guessed that the person behind this was the supposed heir of the Ancient n who had survived somehow. Many worlds increased their security, but still, nothing changed. It was as if death wasn''t sparing anyone.


    The grim reaper continued to im lives, leaving despair in its wake, and no one had even seen that person''s face.


    Since the Star Alliance was weakened, they couldn''t do anything either. All they could do was ask the Hidden ns toe out and help them, ns like ones that were masters of space and time.

 Chapter 1025 1025

    Chapter 10251025


    ....


    Stalnia, an aquatic realm enveloped entirely by vast expanses of water, revealed no vestige ofnd from its surface. Despite beingpletely covered in water, Stalnia pulsated with vibrant life, manifesting both above and beneath the water


    Below the shimmering depths, an entire civilization thrived, sculpting an extraordinary subaqueous society.


    Meanwhile, above the water, multiple sea ships could often be seen, bearing traders hailing from distant gxies, converging upon Stalnia for interstermerce with its native inhabitants, the Aquarians.


    For the most part, serenity prevailed in this aqueous realm, a testament to the harmonious coexistence of its denizens. Nevertheless, an air of change pervaded in recent times, prompting a discernible surge in security measures surrounding Stalnia.


    Many formidable ships from the Star Alliance could also be seen circling Stalnia.


    In recent times, many Worlds were being destroyed by an unknown force, and most of them were the ones that were involved in the destruction of the Ancient n. Although there was no evidence, most were certain about the identity of the person behind it.


    The Aquarians were also the ones who took part in the destruction of the Ancient Civilization, which made them concerned about their future in these troubling times.


    No one was certain who was going to be targeted next. There was an atmosphere of fear all around the gxy, but since Stalnia was closest to the world that wasst destroyed, the Star Alliance was paying close attention to Stalnia.


    Not just the Star Alliance, but many hidden ns had alsoe out of seclusion and were paying attention to the aquatic world.


    While everyone was prepared for an attack that coulde at any time, no one knew that the person responsible for all this chaos had already entered Stalnia.


    A lonely figure could be seen walking on the surface of the water, his steps leaving ripples behind. There was an endless expanse of water before the man, but the man didn''t stop.


    His eyes were void of emotions, yet his beautiful pupils still made him appear charming. Even his clothes appeared old and tattered, clinging onto him as if they were remnants of a forgotten era.


    It was unclear how long he walked, yet for the first time, he saw a boat in the vast sea. The boat wasing from a distance, carrying a few merchants from another gxy.


    The ship also noticed Lucifer walking on the water. At first, they thought it was an Aquarian as only those people could walk on the water so effortlessly, but they soon erased that thought as Lucifer''s physical features didn''t match.


    "Who might he be?"


    "Could he be another merchant whose boat was destroyed?"


    Amongst the merchants on the boat, a discussion regarding Lucifer had begun.


    "Why would he be alone in that case? Something doesn''t add up. He isn''t evening towards us to ask for help."


    Although no one was certain who Lucifer was or why he was alone, but all of them were curious about his identity. Unfortunately, they were also cautious about that person.


    "Should we approach him and try to ask if he needs help?"


    "Are you crazy? What if he''s dangerous? We are carrying important items for the Royal Family," the Merchant n Head exined. "If we are robbed here, it would be really embarrassing. Just let him be. As long as he doesn''t bother us, we won''t bother him."


    "But what if he bothers us?" One of the guards asked with slight hesitation.


    The Merchant n Head frowned, his expression turning cold. "Then kill him. He can only me his luck for approaching us at such a sensitive time."


    The Guards affirmed, agreeing to the other. Although they weren''t sure who that person was, they couldn''t take risks either. Not everyone had good intentions towards them.


    Lucifer nced at therge boat, but he didn''t show any reaction. He simply kept walking. He was a cmity and with his arrival, it was only a matter of time before this world was destroyed.


    Until then, he just wanted to see this world and understand its essence. It was a burden he had to carry after its destruction.


    "Is he not approaching?" The Merchant Head asked after a few minutes.


    "He... He..." The guard started stuttering in response.


    He had constantly been keeping an eye on Lucifer, yet his face had suddenly gone pale as he finished his sentence. "He isn''t there!"


    "What do you mean he isn''t there? Did you lose him?" The Merchant Head roared, almost feeling like pping the guard to his death. He couldn''t even keep an eye on a person?


    "H-he just disappeared!" The Guard answered, still in disbelief. "One moment the man was there, and the next moment, he simply disappeared..."


    This time the Merchant Head couldn''t control his anger. He kicked the Guard in the stomach, sending him flying. "And that''s why I tell you to stop drinking when you''re at work!"


    He picked up the spyss himself before gazing in the distance where the man was supposed to be. Unfortunately, even as he looked all around, he failed to find that person.


    "How is this possible?" He muttered, thinking of a few possibilities. He looked back at the guard.


    "Did he enter the water?"


    The Guard stood up, holding his aching stomach. He was worried that he would be hit again if he answered honestly, but he couldn''t lie to the man.


    "He didn''t enter the water. He actually disappeared, Master! I''m not lying! I didn''t take my eyes off of him for even a second! He actually disappeared!"


    "Disappear?" This time, the Merchant Head couldn''t find any way to deny it. It was true that the man wasn''t there. Moreover, he also checked that the Guard wasn''t drunk.


    "But that''s something that only high-ranking ns can..." he didn''t know what to think about it. There were a few methods of teleportation.


    The Star Alliance could use their ships to teleport a person to them, but that process left behind certain clues and was easy to distinguish.

 Chapter 1026 1026

    <h4>Chapter 1026 Chapter 1026</h4>


    The other method was something that involved the person able to control space itself, which only a very few high-ranking species could do.


    "Did you see any bright light when he disappeared?" he asked the Guard.


    The Guard shook his head in response. "There was no bright light when he disappeared."


    The Merchant Head rubbed his chin, lost in deep thought. "With an ability like that, it must be an Overlord Rank n. A n like that would never send anyone here for trade. Then what was someone like him doing here?"


    No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn''te to a conclusion. In the end, he decided to stop thinking about it entirely. He just felt a slight regret in his heart.


    If the person walking on the water was actually from an Overlord Rank Species, then they made a huge mistake by not approaching him. They could''ve been able to establish a good rtionship with that person and his n.


    Most of the Overlord Rank Species were the wealthiest and all ruled over a high-ranking world, possessing many mystical treasures. It was almost impossible to meet their members.


    "Big mistake... Such a missed opportunity..." The Merchant Head sighed, but he couldn''t do anything about it.


    Their ship kept progressing further. They reached near a whirlpool in the middle of the sea and stopped on the edge.


    The entire whirlpool was being protected by the Aquarians. They weren''t the only merchant ship near the Whirlpool. Tens of ships could be seen in the surroundings, all waiting since the Whirlpool was the only way to enter the aquatic kingdom.


    Each of the ships went through heavy checking. Their permission and invitations were also checked, along with the identity assigned by the Aquatic Kingdom to make sure no stranger was there.


    Only after a thorough check, the ships were allowed to pass through.


    Once entering the whisper, all the ships were surrounded by a Mystical Aura that protected the ship from getting destroyed by the pressure.


    The merchants were also shrouded by a simr aura thanks to the tokens assigned by the Aquatic n. Because of the aura that surrounded each merchant, they were protected from the water and were able to breathe freely even inside the water.


    Without the token, anyone who wasn''t an Aquarian could suffocate to death within minutes. However, that token wasn''t useful for eternity either. It could only be used for three days at most every month.


    That''s why no merchant could stay in the Aquatic Kingdom for more than three days, which was enough time for trade.


    One after another, the ships entered the Whirlpool, going deeper and deeper inside the water.


    After half an hour, they finally arrived at the entrance of the Royal Capital of the Aquatic Kingdom.


    "No matter how many times I see this ce, I''m always mesmerized. What a beautiful ce..." The Merchant Head sighed in amazement as he looked at the majestic Royal City in the distance.


    The guard who was responsible for previously keeping an eye on Lucifer was also amazed.


    His gaze soon shifted to something else, noticing a young man walking toward the Royal City.


    "Huh!" He rubbed his eyes, in disbelief. How could Lucifer be here, and that too walking so freely in the water without the protection of the token and its golden aura shield around him?


    "Master! Look there!" He called out as he pointed towards the distance.


    "What am I supposed to be looking at?" The Merchant Head looked where his guard was pointing but couldn''t see anything significant.


    The Guard was also taken aback. Once again, the man wasn''t there.


    He wanted to tell the Merchant n Head about what he saw, but even he knew that what he saw didn''t make sense. There was no way the n head was going to believe him.


    Instead, he considered it to be his hallucination. "Nothing. I was just amazed at how beautiful even the border walls looked"


    He kept his mouth closed and didn''t say what he saw. But once again, his mind was filled with thoughts about Lucifer. Was that man really here? Did he actually hallucinate or was it reality? If it was reality, then who was the person? Or rather... What was he?


    The Merchantsnded the ships outside the Royal City and got out of the ships, carrying boxes of trade goods with them as they walked towards the entrance of the city.


    After another thorough check, they were allowed inside the city and escorted to the Trade Market.


    Although the Aquatic Kingdom was inside the water, it looked no different than any normal Kingdom. The only difference was that there was water everywhere, but strangely enough, there was no resistance. One could walk freely even inside the water as if they were walking onnd.


    Inside the Royal City, it was impossible to swim or fly. Only Royal Family Members could do something like that.


    ....


    Lucifer walked through the streets of the Royal Capital, looking at the bustling marketce. The things being sold here were different from what could be seen on Earth. Many treasures that couldn''t be seen in other words could be found in the market.


    At the moment, the entire market was bustling, especially many Royal Carriages could be seen driving past, stopping by various shops. Many big families in the Kingdom were trying to buy the most expensive Treasures that they could find.


    Today was the day when the King of Aquatic Kingdompleted his five hundred years. It was his birthday today, and everyone wanted to show their respect to the King through their treasures.


    Lucifer understood the situation as he heard many people talk about the event. He couldn''t help but find it familiar. His Ancient n was destroyed when they had their guards down during a birthday celebration. The situation appeared to bepletely identical.


    Unfortunately, he neither felt happy nor sad about the timing. It was not up to him when this ce was going to be destroyed. Even he couldn''t control the unstable core inside his body.


    The only thing he knew was that the more unstable his mind became, the shorter that duration became. But even if his mind was void of any emotions, it still didn''t stop the inevitable.


    While Lucifer was walking through the Royal Capital, the Royal Pce was also going through somemotion. The King of the Royal Pce personally came out to wee some special guests.


    No one knew who these guests were or why the King was so respectful to them. The King didn''t even show such respect to the Star Alliance after all.

 Chapter 1027 1027

    <h4>Chapter 1027 Chapter 1027</h4>


    The Kind of Aquarians was highly respectful towards the new guests to the point that even the people around the King were surprised. They had never seen their King be this respectful to anyone.


    Even when the Star Alliance General arrivedst time, the King was only cordial but not this respectful.


    "I didn''t expect Senior Alron would attend my birthday banquet. Your presence has made this celebration even more special," the King expressed with genuine gratitude.


    The King had a humanoid physique but with distinctive aquatic adaptations. His skin was a striking iridescent blue-green, with subtle scales covering his body, which glistened in the light. His tall and lithe frame was well-suited for swimming, with webbed fingers and toes for efficient underwater movement.


    The King''s hair was long and flowing, resembling strands of kelp, and it changed colour based on the surroundings, ranging from deep blues when in water to vibrant purples when on the surface.


    His eyes wererge and round, with vibrant, multi colored irises that could adapt to low light conditions underwater. Gills along the sides of his neck also appeared slightly distinct.


    The King''s regal attire included ornate seashell-inspired jewellery and a flowing robe made of intricately woven seaweed. He exuded an aura of wisdom and authority, befitting his role as the ruler of the Aquarian Species, and his presence is a captivating blend of aquatic grace and regal majesty.


    Unfortunately, before the guests, he appeared no different than a child who was standing before an Elder.


    Although no one knew who this person was for the King to be so respectful towards him, it was clear that neither the person''s identity nor his strength was low.


    The King of Aquarians appeared like a kind hearted person the way he talked to the guest standing before him, but only his staff knew that this was far from true. That''s why his performance was even more surprising.


    "Who might that little girl be? Is she your granddaughter?" The King of Aquarians asked the guest who was apanied by a teenage girl.


    For the most part, the guests also looked like ordinary humans. But they both had dragon-like wingsing out of their backs and horns.


    The guards apanying the king were slightly surprised. The guest appeared to be only in histe twenties. How could the person next to him be his grandfather? Was he really that old?


    The man who arrived as a guest had deep red eyes, and long ming red hair that came down to his waist. Usually, people who had traits simr to mes were worse in Aquatic conditions, but the man appearedpletely fine. If anything, it was as if this entire ce had now be his domain.


    When the King of Aquarians talked about the girl apanying him, the Draconian man''s expression became colder. Seeing that, the King felt his entire blood turning cold.


    He didn''t know if he had made the person angry. In any case, he couldn''t afford that. Although this ce belonged to him, but the man before him was no ordinary man.


    If the man was angry, he could destroy the entire sea in the blink of an eye.


    He was from a Secluded Species that rarely made an appearance in the world. Just because of that, most of the ordinary world had already forgotten about them.


    The one reason he knew about their Species was because he hade across them when he once visited their world almost five hundred years ago.


    At that time, he was just a child. However he will distinctly remembered everything. Even though it was almost five hundred years ago, but he had seen the person in that world. He looked just like he did now.


    In almost five hundred years, he didn''t appear to age even a single year. The King couldn''t even grasp to imagine just how old that person was.


    "M-my mistake. You must be tired. Pleasee inside."


    He didn''t know who the girl next to the man was, but it didn''t matter. He just had to be a good guest and hope that nothing went wrong.


    Despite his curiosity about why the Draconians came to his birthday banquet, he didn''t dare ask. All he could guess was that it has something to do with the recentmotion. Many hidden ns had started appearing once again.


    The two Draconians were escorted inside the Pce by the King himself, as if these two were some gods who had descended to their world.


    While entering the Pce, the girl next to the Draconian stopped for a second. She couldn''t help but look back.


    "Did you see something?" Alron asked his younger sister, wondering why she had slowed down. He also looked back but he couldn''t see anything.


    The young girl called Evelyn shook her head and replied, "It''s nothing."


    She continued following the King of Aquarians who was silently waiting for them without making the slightest noise.


    ****


    Lucifer walked through the streets of the Royal City aimlessly, simply observing the surroundings akin to a wandering god.


    With the King''s Birthday, many guests had been arriving in the city from various worlds, because of which no one found his presence particrly suspicious.


    In the first ce, no suspicious person should''ve been able to pass through the strict checking at the main entrance after all. The only strange thing about him was that the person didn''t have a protective barrier around his body.


    Still, the Draconians that had just arrived in the City had caught a lot of attention. They also didn''t have any protective barrier. Because of them, Lucifer stood up even less.


    Before long, Lucifer reached the Royal Pce after wandering for an hour. He stood merely ten metres away from the Royal Pce entrance.


    Because of the Celebration, the Royal Pce was brightly lit up. Many guests could be seen entering the Royal Pce one after another.


    Amongst the guest was also the Merchant n Head that Lucifer had seen along the way. The n Head was apanied by just one person who was carrying the gift for him.


    After his identification was checked, the n Head was allowed to enter the Royal Pce.


    Lucifer also walked to the Royal Pce, his long robe flowing gracefully as he made his way through the passage.

 Chapter 1028 1028

    <h4>Chapter 1028 Chapter 1028</h4>


    Not a single person was allowed to enter the Royal Pce without going through the checking. However, that was only for the ordinary people. When it came to the Draconians, no one really dared to check their invitation.


    For guests that were too powerful, there were special guards ced at the entrance who were experts in being able to roughly guess the strength of the other person.


    Although they couldn''t know how strong the powerful guests actually were, they could at least estimate if the guest was stronger than them. Only if a guest was stronger than them were they able to take the lead in weing the guest.


    Since the powerful guests couldn''t really be treated with disrespect and made to go through checking like ordinary people, the special envoys greeted those guests and respectfully asked about their identity.


    The Envoys were also the ones who recognised the strength of the Draconians. While one of them greeted the Draconians respectfully, the other went into the pce to inform the King, thus solving a potentially dangerous problem.


    Fortunately, other than the Draconians, they hadn''t seen any guest with such an extraordinary aura. However that was all about to change as they felt an aura that didn''t feel weaker than the Draconians at all.


    If anything, this aura felt even more dangerous despite being more subtle. The two envoys looked at each other, frowning.


    Their eyes searched through the surroundings to find the guest who had arrived uninvited. After only a few seconds, their gaze ended up on a young man in the distance.


    The young man was walking towards the Royal Pce. His pace was stable, each step covering exactly the identical distance.


    The Envoys were also surprised at the looks of the person. Just like the Draconians, the newly arrived guest appeared very young. If anything, he was even younger than the Draconians.


    But the strangest part was that he looked like an ordinary human. He had no unique traits that could differentiate him from an ordinary human. If anything, the only difference was the peculiar color of his eyes.


    In normal times, the Envoys would''ve been suspicious. However, in the recent times, many hidden ns, that had disappeared from centuries, had started making their appearance so they only med theirck of knowledge about these hidden ns.


    "Inform His Majesty that another ''unique'' guest has arrived." The first envoy informed the other. "I''ll go wee the new guest."


    The second envoy rushed inside the Royal Pce while the first rushed towards Lucifer.


    The Guards responsible for checking the identification of all the guests noticed Lucifer approaching them. Unlike the Envoys who had special abilities, the ordinary guards couldn''t feel anything special about Lucifer.


    If anything, they only went by the dirty clothes of Lucifer, wondering where did that person came from. They thought he was probably some servant of the merchant ns that came on their boat. Even the leaders of such Merchant ns were barely allowed to enter the Royal Pce, let alone their servants.


    "Halt right there!" The guard eximed. "Is this your father''s garden? Where do you think you''reing?!"


    The attention of other guests who were going through the checking was attracted by themotion as they looked in the distance.


    "It''s him!" The Head of one of the Merchant ns eximed, recognising Lucifer as the same person he had seen previously walking on the surface of water. He was surprised to find the same person here.


    Lucifer didn''t even react to the insulting tone of the Guardians, as if their words were just noise that didn''t even register in his mind.


    He only looked at everyone here with greatck of emotions. He still didn''t stop moving forward.


    "Are you deaf? Or are you pretending to be?" The Guard scoffed, feeling frustrated at Lucifer''s indifferent attitude. Even the heads of many merchant ns were respectful to him when going through the checking while a mere servant was showing such attitude?


    "Such a pretentious person. I wonder if you''ll still be as indifferent if I break your legs!" The Guard, trying to let out his frustration, raised the trident in his hand as he approached Lucifer withrge strides.


    He wanted to show everyone what happened when they didn''t follow the rules of the city. However, he had only taken a few steps when he froze, feeling a terrifying aura descending on him which made his heart go cold. In the next moment, the First Envoy appeared before him.


    "E-Envoy?" The Guard stutterer. However, before he could even speak further, the First Envoy pped him, sending him flying.


    "Is this how you treat our guests?" he asked, his voice filled with rage.


    He looked at the other guards. "Take him to the prison! As his punishment, he''ll spend twenty years there!"


    The other guards were shocked. This punishment seemed very excessive. However, they didn''t realize what was going through the first envoy''s head.


    The first envoy was instead saving the life of this guard. He could already feel that Lucifer was terrifyingly strong. And the guard dared to say he was going to break his legs? He didn''t even dare imagine what could happen if someone like Lucifer decided to fight here.


    Even if their King could defeat Lucifer in the end, but the damage to the city was going to be excessive. Moreover, Lucifer was most probably from another hidden n. If something happened to him here, then his entire n could wage war. No matter what, he wanted to avoid a gctic war.


    "Are you alright, Sir?" The First Envoy respectfully approached Lucifer. "I would like to ask forgiveness for by subordinate. I should''ve taught him better."


    The First Envoy asked for forgiveness. He at least expected a reply, even if it was an angry reply from Lucifer. But even now, Lucifer waspletely indifferent.


    Lucifer only nced at the First Envoy for a brief moment. Lucifer didn''t feel love or hate. He also didn''t want to form any attachment since this world was going to be destroyed soon. If anything, he should''ve been the one asking for forgiveness. However he didn''t since he didn''t feel any regrets.


    He had already buried all his emotions in the depths of his heart.

 Chapter 1029 1029: All Involved

    <h4>Chapter 1029 Chapter 1029: All Involved</h4>


    "Your Majesty!" The Second Envoy approached the King of Aquarians who was still escorting the Draconians to the Main Hall.


    The King frowned at the disturbance when he was with such special guests. However, he controlled his anger and asked, "What happened?"


    "Another Unique Guest has arrived." The Envoy eximed.


    Hearing the Envoy, the King was slightly surprised. Why were there so many high ranking peopleing at this time? He wanted to go out and wee the other guest, but he couldn''t leave the Draconians.


    Even amongst the hidden ns, the Draconians held a lot more importance. Even if it was another hidden n, it was unlikely for them to be higher than the Draconians.


    In the end, his choice was between the Draconians and the new guest. He made his choice and selected to stay with the Draconians.


    "Escort the Guest to the banquet hall," he told his men, making it clear that he wasn''t free to wee the new guests.


    With his permission, the Envoy swiftly left. They couldn''t keep the new guest waiting.


    The King continued escorting the Draconians toward the banquet hall.


    The Second Envoy rushed towards the exit to tell the First Envoy that they could let the guest in, but to his surprise, he saw that Lucifer had already entered the Royal Pce by now.


    He was being apanied by the First Envoy who had a wry smile on his face as he saw the second Envoy, as if saying that he couldn''t stop the guest from entering.


    The Second Envoy nodded and conveyed the message of the King secretly. From this point on, the Second Envoy returned to the main entrance to keep an eye on the guests to see if another Unique guest was to arrive.


    The First Envoy apanied Lucifer, exining about various ces in the Royal Pce. He wasn''t even sure if Lucifer was listening to him in the first ce or not, but he still performed his duty.


    "My Lord, may I ask your name or how I may address you?" So far, he still didn''t know Lucifer''s n or even his name. He still had the assumption that Lucifer was some Elder of a Hidden n who looked much younger than his real age.


    Unfortunately for him, Lucifer still didn''t reply which made him wonder if Lucifer was actually deaf. He could only take the lead and gesture to make Lucifer follow him towards the Main Banquet hall.


    Before long, they reached the main banquet hall.


    The Banquet Hall of the Aquarian Pce was huge, but the number of guests wasn''t small either.


    Many guests from nearby worlds were here to greet the King on his birthday or for various other reasons. However most of the people were still made up of the merchants or the influential people of the Aquarian kingdom.


    In the distance, there was a tform that was higher than the rest. On the tform, there was a throne on which the King of Aquarians was to sit. However, other seats were being arranged next to the king''s throne for some special guests that were to sit on the same level as him.


    This new arrangement made many people in the hall curious. Who could sit equal to the King? Many of the guests were looking at the King whose back was facing them. Two more people stood next to the King, looking at the portrait hanging above the wall.


    The King was proudly exining about the portrait to the Draconians.


    As Lucifer entered the main hall, a little attention was attracted to him as well since he was being escorted by the First Envoy who was the most trusted noble under the King.


    Lucifer''s attention was also caught by the portrait in the wall, especially since he was able to recognise it.


    The portrait on the wall was big. It depicted a beautiful world that was surrounded by many forces from all sides. The portrait focused on the Aquarians amongst the vast forces that were surrounding the world.


    Although there were some inuracies in the portrait, Lucifer was able to recognise it. He was there when it happened after all. He was just a kid when it happened but the scene from his future and past was still etched in his mind.


    "Is the Lord interested in the portrait?" The first envoy asked, pleased that the lifeless man was finally showing an interest in something.


    "Many people don''t know the origin of the portrait, but it was painted by the King who led the Aquarians at the time of this incident. The world in the portrait is-"


    "The Ancient World." Lucifer finished the man''s sentence. He didn''t need others to exin his home. He still remembered everything vividly, including every family that took part in the destruction of his home. And that included the Aquarians as well.


    In this life, he had lost his home twice. The first time was when he lost the Ancient World and his real parents died to save him. And the second was his home on earth which he destroyed himself.


    Lucifer approached the portrait. Half the forces shown in the portrait were already destroyed, along with their worlds. That left only the other half, most of which were the hidden ns.


    Next to the King, Lucifer could also see the Draconians. Although the Draconians weren''t depicted in the portrait, they were part of the main forces that had entered the Ancient World to ughter people during their day of celebration.


    As Lucifer saw them, the heart that had gone still finally showed some emotions. A slight trace of killing intent appeared in his eyes.


    The Draconians were not only powerful but also very sensitive to the killing intent, especially when directed towards him.


    The man next to the King of Aquarian frowned as he turned around to find the source of the killing intent. Soon, his eyesnded on Lucifer who stood out in the entire hall.


    The woman next to the King also turned around, noticing Lucifer in the distance approaching them.

 Chapter 1030 1030

    <h4>Chapter 1030 Chapter 1030</h4>


    The Draconian man was surprised that someone was showing such tant killing intent in a ce like this. What was even more surprising was that he felt that the killing intent was directed towards him.


    He turned, his eyes eventually fixing on a young man positioned just a few feet away.


    His sister also sensed the killing intent and turned around at almost the same time. As she saw Lucifer, she grew curious. Unlike the Aquarians, she could see that Lucifer was actually young.


    He wasn''t like those who had lived for hundreds of years only to retain his youthful appearance. Instead, he was actually young. She couldn''t understand why such a young man would have a trace of hostility towards them.


    "You are...?" the Draconian man asked, his expressions filled with intrigue. He could feel that the man before him wasn''t ordinary.


    At times, the man appeared like an ordinary human who didn''t have a single trace of extraordinary energy, while at other times, he gave the impression of an invincible being in the world.


    When he tried to look through the man, he failed, only to feel as if he was looking at an abyss. Only one thing was certain for him. It was that the man before him wasn''t what he looked. And even more dangerous was the fact that the man had revealed some hostility towards him.


    The King also looked back at the young man who he didn''t recognise. Unlike the Draconians, he hadn''t felt any killing intent. But when he saw the First Envoy apanying the man, he realized that this was the person they had informed him about. The man before him was the new guest.


    Still, even he didn''t recognise where Lucifer was from. With the Draconians, at least he knew who they were. But with Lucifer, everything was unknown. There was no mention of a hidden n which looked like Lucifer.


    "Are you from the Star Alliance?" he asked Lucifer.


    Although there weren''t any hidden ms who had such physical traits as per his knowledge, but that didn''t mean there weren''t any powerful ns who looked like that either. But most of such ns were associated with the Star Alliance.


    Although they were weaker than the hidden ns, they also held a lot of power in the gxy. Even if the Star Alliance was at a decline, but that didn''t take away from the immense power and resources that they still possessed.


    Still, he preferred the Draconians more. He felt d that he hadn''t left the Draconians to wee Lucifer. Even the Star Alliance Leader couldn''t bepared to the Draconians after all.


    He wanted to have a good rtionship with the Star Alliance but not to the point where he could lower his dignity to wee them like he did with the Draconians.


    "The Star Alliance?" the Draconian man frowned. He didn''t know why, but he felt that it wasn''t quite true. Did the Star Alliance really have people like them? And why would they show hostility towards them?


    The Draconian man, known as zar stepped closer to Lucifer. As he was much taller than Lucifer and more well built, when he stood before Lucifer, the difference was clear as night and day.


    zar''s piercing gaze bore into Lucifer''s eyes, as if demanding an exnation for his unexpected behavior.


    To his surprise, even in such close proximity to him, Lucifer''s eyes barely showed much trace of emotion.


    What was zar to him? In the past when his n was destroyed, he had seen hundreds of Draconians, all rushing with the other powerful ns to kill his family. Even the Leader of the Draconian n was a part of that group.


    Compared to the beings who had taken part in that war, zar was stillcking.


    "I am still waiting for your answer." zar''s voice was clear. Everyone in the hall was looking at them, wondering if there was some conflict between the two sides.


    "If I don''t get a satisfying answer for your disrespect, even Star Alliance won''t be able to keep you safe."


    Although he didn''t know Lucifer''s identity, the King''s words made him believe that Lucifer was from the Star Alliance.


    The Star Alliance was made of thousands of ns, so it wasn''t surprising for there to be such humanoid ns either.


    The Frost and the Lightning ns were also identical to humans after all. Although both those ns were strong,pared to the Draconians, they wereckluster.


    "How many times have I told the Star Alliance that I''m not going to work with them? We can protect ourselves. I won''t let your forces be stationed in my Royal City!" The King eximed.


    Until now, many Star Alliance representatives had approached him, asking for their forces to be stationed in the Royal City. Unfortunately, the King didn''t allow that.


    He couldn''t let another force upy his city because of fear of the unknown. Moreover, this was underwater. This was their domain. Did they have to be worried about anything?


    It was because of his unwillingness that the Star Alliance ships could only protect this world from outer space.


    The King thought that Lucifer had arrived for the same purpose to ask for permission for their forces to be stationed here.


    "This at the unique guest you were talking about?" The King asked the first envoy, slightly frustrated. He believed that his assumption waspletely true, especially since Lucifer hadn''t denied it.


    Not only did Lucifer arrive here to annoy him, but he also got in trouble with the Draconians? This frustrated him even more.


    He wanted to kick Lucifer out of his banquet right away, but he controlled his anger a lot.


    Now that Lucifer was here, kicking him out wasn''t good either. Although Star Alliance was at its weakest now, but it was still good to not burn all bridges between the two.


    Hisplete attention remained on zar. "Lord zar, may I ask how this person offended you?"


    zar had thought that Lucifer would be begging for forgiveness, but to his surprise, even now Lucifer waspletely calm... A bit too calm as if death didn''t scare him.

 Chapter 1031 1031: True Traitors

    <h4>Chapter 1031 Chapter 1031: True Traitors</h4>


    Although the King of Aquarians wasn''t certain what Lucifer did to zar, but it didn''t matter. He simply asked to show that he was serious about this matter and that he sided with him.


    Despite standing in such close proximity to the Draconian whose focus remained on him, Lucifer didn''t show much reaction. Although his emotions had red for a brief moment, he soon suppressed them again.


    zar was truly curious about Lucifer. Was this guy truly ignorant to not know better? Or was there really something more to him?


    "Brother, don''t make a scene here." zar''s sister could feel the atmosphere getting tense. She knew her brother and his temper. Despite living for centuries, his anger was quick to re.


    She didn''t want her brother to make a scene here and start a fight in the banquet hall. It wasn''t because she was worried that her brother could lose as she didn''t even consider that possibility.


    No matter how different Lucifer was, she knew her brother''s strength all too well. She didn''t want him to destroy this entire country in anger. They had a purpose ining to this ce, and they couldn''t lose focus of their goal just because of a small conflict with another man.


    As for the small trace of killing intent, she didn''t think much about it. In the vast world, there were many who could hate another without much reason or cause, just based on their looks.


    She grabbed the hand of her brother, slightly pulling him back. "Don''t forget what we''re here for. You can handle everything elseter."


    zar still carried his frown, especially since Lucifer refused to even apologize or offer any exnation. However, he also heard his sister and remembered their purpose ining here.


    And as far as the young man was concerned, she truly was right. After they dealt with their business, he had all the time in the world to have a ''conversation'' with this man.


    Taking a deep breath, zarposed himself and refocused his attention on the matter at hand.


    They had traveled a long way to meet with the King of Aquarians, not key to celebrate his birthday. They couldn''t care less about his birthday. They had their own purpose.


    zar stopped focusing on Lucifer, his gaze still asionally finding that young man.


    Unlike him, Lucifer didn''t pay him any heed. He walked past the Draconians, stepping closer to the portrait hanging on the wall. It was the portrait that showed his home. It truly brought so many memories to him.


    "The Aquarians weren''t in the lead as depicted in the Portrait. They werest in the back that day. But still they..." Lucifer didn''t even finish his sentence.


    From what he knew, the Aquarians were thest in the battle and didn''t really take any risk. They were the farthest away from any true battle.


    In the portrait they shamelessly showed that they were in the lead during that war. But that wasn''t what Lucifer paid much heed to. He couldn''t me them for lying about such details. But the reason he truly felt heartbroken about them was because the Aquarians used to be very close to his n before the war.


    The Aquarians worked for his n and were able to enter his home world to give reports about various territories. His family treated them like true subordinates. No, they treated them even better.


    Initially, the Aquarians didn''t even have a world of their own. They were just a small tribe that lived in a world where only one third of the was water. And they were always in conflict with the other ns of the world. It was a war torn world where every year, the Aquarians lost many members to war.


    However, the ancestors of the Aquarians once day managed toe across Lucifer''s ancestor. And from then on, the destiny of Aquarians changed.


    It was because of his n, the Aquarians received a world that they could call their own. This world... The world that they called their own... It was gifted to them by his n.


    Unfortunately, when it was time for betrayal, they didn''t hesitate for even a second before betraying his n. In fact, they were the true cause of it all. Although many stronger species invaded his world and killed his people, but the small n of Aquarians that remained farthest away from the battle was the worst of it all.


    The reason the other ns knew the perfect time to attack when the Ancient n was amidst their celebration was because of the Aquarians. They were the ones who leaked this information. They were also the one that told the correct path to invade the Ancient World


    In that war, there were many culprits. There were those who raised the rebellion and brought every other n together. There were those who intentionally red emotions of various ns against the Ancient n for their benefits.


    There were also those who directly entered his world or killed his people. Andstly, there was the Ancient n which was the worst of them all in Lucifer''s eyes. The reason he entered this world wasn''t because it was closest to hisst target. But he had a reason.


    He had walked on the path of destruction to truly detach himself from the painful past and the Aquarians were an obstruction in his quest.


    "You!" The King of Aquarians felt his face turn red in anger.


    Lucifer had essentially said that his n was hiding in the back during the war and they were lying with this portrait? This was no different than Lucifer pping them in the face.


    Despite the tension in the room, Lucifer remained calm andposed. He looked at the King of Aquarians with a difficult to understand expression.


    "...True traitors."


    The King has had enough. Lucifer was insulting him again and again. This time, he couldn''t let it pass, even if Lucifer was from Star Alliance.

 Chapter 1032 1032

    <h4>Chapter 1032 Chapter 1032</h4>


    The King of Aquarians was furious about Lucifer''s behavior, especially since his words were spoken on such asions in public.


    The King couldn''t let it pass. A majestic trident appeared in his hand, which he aimed at Lucifer.


    "Take back your words and apologize! I can still leave you alive!"


    The King of Aquarians really tried his hardest to not fight in this ce and show everyone here that he was magnanimous. However, his patience was running out.


    Unfortunately, to his dismay, Lucifer didn''t look like he had any interest in offering any apology. Lucifer''s silence was all the answer that he needed.


    However, before the King could make a move, a gentle voice echoed through the crowd, "It looks very lively here."


    In a moment where not a single person was making any noise, someone actually spoke and attracted quite a lot of attention.


    Even the King of Aquarians looked back, his face filled with a frown.


    As he turned, he saw another guest who had just arrived. It was a middle aged man who was brought here by the Second Envoy.


    The new guest wasn''t weak either. The middle aged man had the attire of the Star Alliance with a General''s Insignia on his chest. His long stark white robe flowed elegantly as he walked, his presencemanding respect and attention.


    The King of Aquarians, though initially taken aback, couldn''t help but be intrigued by the arrival of this person. It was none other than the General of Star Alliance who was responsible for this Star Zone.


    Until now, the King was only dealing with Captain Ranked people of the weakened Star Alliance, but this time, a General Ranked person was here. Although the King still didn''t care about the identity of the person enough to be respectful to him, but it was still worth noting for him.


    "It''s all thanks to your stupid subordinate. Is that how you teach your people?" The King asked the General, his tone sharp to the point that his anger was clear.


    "Even if you want to save him today, I won''t leave him be! He has disrespected my family and my ancestors! He also refused to apologize! I can''t let it go!" The King eximed.


    "My Subordinate?" The Star Alliance General frowned,den with confusion. As far as he knew, not a single Star Alliance Member was supposed to be here.


    Thest time the King had refused a Captain of the Star Alliance, everyone was barred from entering this world to prevent any further esction. That''s why the General had toe down himself. So he didn''t understand who the King was talking about.


    It was just as surprising as the appearance of the Draconian in this ce for him.


    "Don''t act ignorant!" The King scoffed. He pointed towards Lucifer in the distance. "I''m talking about him."


    The Star Alliance General stepped forward, paying attention to the man whose back was facing him.


    From the attire, the young man didn''t appear to be a Star Alliance Member at all. He couldn''t help but wonder if there was a misunderstanding. Or had that young man lied about being a Star Alliance Member? No matter what, he had to provide an exnation to the King.


    The General felt a headacheing. He was here for negotiations but didn''t expect to be caught up in something like this.


    He took a deep breath, trying to gather his thoughts before approaching the young man.


    "Young man, may I ask who you are? Why are you pretending to be one of us? What are your intentions? Don''t you know the consequences of impersonating our people?"


    He ced his hand on Lucifer''s shoulder to turn him around. However, as soon as the General saw Lucifer''s face, his expressions went pale.


    He subconsciously took a few steps back, even stumbling as he fell on his butt. His face was ghastly pale.


    He could never forget this face! He had seen this person in the Star Alliance Headquarters! He had also been there when Lucifer was surrounded by the Star Alliance and Lucifer destroyed the Mothers Ship before safely leaving! Even the Generals couldn''t stop him!


    After that, most of the Star Alliance Forces left for earth to catch Lucifer. At that time, he was assigned to stay behind at the base with a few other Generals to protect the base.


    At that time, he never thought that the Star Alliance would suffer so much. Tens of Generals that the Star Alliance had gathered to capture Lucifer, never returned! Not a single one of them managed to return. Let alone return, not even their remnants were left behind.


    Even a single message couldn''t be delivered back, as if they were all killed in an instant before they could even convey anything back! That was the day the Star Alliance had been weakened to this point.


    And the person behind all this was the person in front of him... It was the little demon that was standing in the Banquet Hall without a single care in the world.


    "Y-y-you!" The Star Alliance General had never expected to find Lucifer here.


    After linking all the clues about how their forces on earth were destroyed and how other worlds were destroyed by the Ancient n Remnant, the Star Alliance had alreadye to realize that it was the work of the same person.


    They had realized that Lucifer was the remnant of the Ancient n that was going around destroying worlds.


    The only reason the General wanted his forces to be stationed here was to set a trap for Lucifer because he wasn''t confident in being able to take him out with normal means. But because of the King, their ns went off rails. He came here to convince him, only to meet the nightmare himself.


    Seeing the horrified expressions of the Star Alliance General, the King of Aquarians was taken aback along with other guests. Why was the Star Alliance General acting as if he had seen a horrifying monster? Why was he scared of an ordinary member from the Star Alliance?


    At this point, he had a bad feeling about this.

 Chapter 1033 1033

    <h4>Chapter 1033 Chapter 1033</h4>


    zar and his sister were also surprised at the sudden reaction of the Star Alliance General.


    Although the Star Alliance was weakened and even the Generals that were left alive were the weakestpared to the ones that had been killed, but they shouldn''t have been this scared of a young man.


    It made them wonder just what was the identity of this person. This kind of fear could only be induced in two situations. One was that of authority and the other was of fear. Was he someone who had a higher position than the General in the Star Alliance? Or was it thetter?


    Lucifer looked at the General lying on the ground. He recognised seeing the man in the Star Alliance Headquarters in the past. The man had also given him a gift during his wedding.


    As Lucifer stared at the General, memories of their brief interactions appeared in his mind. During that time, the General had been fawning over him, trying to get close to him through gifts. But this same person was part of the group that had hunted him in the past.


    "Who is this person? Why are you so scared of him?" The King of Aquarians asked, closing in on the Star Alliance General.


    The Star Alliance General didn''t reply right away. Or rather, his mind was thinking of ways to get out of this ce. As soon as the King stepped closer to him, he stood up and rushed out of the Banquet Hall like a coward.


    The King was left shocked at this cowardly disy but it also showed this fear wasn''t the fear of authority. Instead, it was an innate fear. As for who could scare the Star Alliance Leaders so much... After thinking for a moment, he came to a realization.


    zar also realized it. He hadn''t considered the possibility until now, but the more he thought about it, the more usible it looked.


    Such great interest by this person in the portrait, followed by his killing intent towards them, and then talking about the great war and the falsehood of the painting as if he had been there. Andstly frightening the Star Alliance to this extent it all pointed towards the same direction.


    "You''re the remnant of the Ancient n who has been going around destroying worlds?" the Draconian Man asked, his words leaving everyone in the meeting aghast. None had thought that the period would actuallye here and stand amidst them.


    "He..." The King of Aquarians had also thought of this possibility by now, but he also came to realize the seriousness of this situation.


    This man was here and it meant he was here to kill them all. The King couldn''t let Lucifer take the lead. While Lucifer was still distracted by zar, he wanted to take advantage of this opportunity.


    He was the closest to Lucifer thanka to approaching the General of Star Alliance who was lying near Lucifer''s feet before. He also had the trident, thanks to the previous incident. He had all he needed tounch a sudden attack and he didn''t hesitate either.


    In a swift motion, the King lunged forward, aiming his trident directly at Lucifer''s exposed back. With all his strength, he plunged the weapon towards his opponent, hoping to catch him off guard.


    As the trident pierced through the air, the King''s resolve remained unwavering. His killing intent was strong enough to be felt all around the hall.


    Everyone saw the Trident pass through Lucifer''s chest, blood sshing everywhere. The Trident also had another ability to destroy the body of a person from the inside. Once it passed through the heart, none could be saved. At least that''s what the King thought.


    Unfortunately, as soon as he impaled Lucifer, his mind became cloudy. In the next moment, he found himself standing back in his ce, the Star Alliance General still on the ground. It was as if time had been moved back.


    Although time was moved back, everyone who was in the hall, looking at Lucifer, still remembered what had happened in the timeline that was yet to take ce. It was as if everyone saw the vision of the next few minutes, akin to being in some dream. Even the Draconians weren''t immune to this strange phenomenon.


    The Star Alliance General slowly rose to his feet. Before everyone''s eyes, he ran out of the hall, just like he did in the past, not realizing that he was doing it for the second time.


    On the other hand, Lucifer still remainedpletely unharmed. It was as if he was a deity that was unaffected by everything that took ce around him. However, this time, he didn''t stay still.


    In the past, he didn''t get his hands dirty since it was only a matter of time before thend he walked on was destroyed. But this time, the matter involved the Aquarians... The traitors who had betrayed his family and brought this cmity to them. And now, those same people attacked him once again.


    The King held firm in his conviction that he possessed the ability to kill Lucifer. As for the reversal of time, he didn''t believe it. Even the Ancient n Members couldn''t reverse time like that. If they could then their entire n wouldn''t have been wiped. He believed Lucifer used sort of deceptive illusion to deceive them all.


    Trying to take advantage of the momentary distraction, the King thrust his trident forward as he propelled himself towards Lucifer. This time, his attack aimed to cleave Lucifer in two, with a forceful swing of his weapon.


    The trident sliced through Lucifer, momentarily raising the King''s hopes. However, his tion quickly dissipated as he realized that it was merely an afterimage of Lucifer, a mere mirage. Before he could react, a chilling hand wrapped around his throat.


    Silenced and immobilized, the King could only endure as his face met the ground with such force that it left a deep crater. Lucifer, well aware of the strength possessed by an Aquarian, deliberately restrained the intensity of his assault.


    Bloodied and battered, the King was forcefully lifted by Lucifer, only to be mercilessly mmed back onto the ground, a cruel disy of mockery before his subjects.


    Enraged, the King bellowed with fury, vowing to end Lucifer''s existence. Nevertheless, his resistance proved feeble, as Lucifer repeatedly pounded him into the floor.


    The Draconian, finally unable to stand idly by, interjected with amanding voice that reverberated through the once-silent hall. "That is enough..."

 Chapter 1034 1034

    <h4>Chapter 1034 Chapter 1034</h4>


    "Release him."


    The Draconians voice echoed with authority, demanding immediate obedience.


    Lucifer paused for a moment, his grip on the King''s throat remaining firm. He nced towards the Draconian, his eyes filled with a mix of curiosity.


    "What makes you think I will listen to you?" Lucifer''s voice was filled withck of concern, his grip tightening even more as he prepared to deliver the final blow.


    The Draconian remained calm andposed, unruffled by Lucifer''s defiance.


    "Because that''s the only path for your survival. If you don''t stop, you''ll follow the same path as your ancestors." As he spoke, his eyes briefly nced towards the portrait as if he was reminding Lucifer what had happened in the past.


    The Draconians were the part of the main force that had attacked the Ancient n. Although zar hadn''t taken part in that war, but his ancestors were greatly involved in the battle. They had personally killed many Ancient n Members, burning them to ashes.


    The Draconian took a step forward, his majestic stature exuding an air of authority. "If you want to live, release the King, and you shall live longer.""


    "The only reason I still keep you alive is because I want some answers from you. I''m curious about how you managed to survive the war against the Ancient n. Don''t make me kill you before I get my answers!"


    A beautiful dark fire started around zar''s wings as his aura spread out, bringing almost everyone in the hall and the underwater Kingdom to their knees.


    The only person who wasn''t down on their knees was Lucifer.


    "A war?" Lucifer couldn''t help butugh, albeit in a mocking manner. "You call that a war when you attacked my family like a coward in the darkness of night when they were celebrating a happy day? How kind of you..."


    He still remembered how everyone was inside the Mansion celebration. Not a single person was guarding the Domain as no one in the n expected someone to attack them like that.


    Calling it a war rather than stabbing someone in the back? He found that switch to be pitiful as well asughable.


    "A downfall that was caused by these traitors..." Lucifer released his grip, making a bloodied King Dall to the ground.


    Seeing Lucifer free the King, zar couldn''t help but look down on Lucifer inwardly. This act had proven that Lucifer was a coward. But it also proved that he was wise enough to know what was best for him.


    "Good decision," he spoke with a smile on his face. He had found the remnant of the Ancient n. He could only imagine what benefits he was going to get when he took Lucifer back to his n. But only was he going to get all the answers to his questions about the ancient war, but he could also be rewarded by his father who was the current n Head.


    zar was already looking towards the future when he heard a loud thud. Blood sttered everywhere as a foot had suddenly fallen on the skull of the heavily injured King.


    As the King''s skull exploded under Lucifer''s stomp, blood sshed all around the hall, including on the face of zar, his sister and other guests in the hall who couldn''t even stand under zar''s pressure.


    "You!" zar''s entire body burned in dark mes. The dirty blood around his face evaporated into mist. His eyes locked onto Lucifer, a primal rage emitting from his being.


    Without hesitation, zar unleashed a powerful surge of energy, propelling himself with unstoppable force, towards Lucifer, his hands changing into dragon-like ws.


    zar''s eyes glowed with an otherworldly intensity as he unleashed a torrent of Dark Dragon mes, their searing heat scorching the surrounding water.


    Meanwhile his sister created a me Shield to protect herself and the others who had survived. She didn''t even think about helping her brother as she believed in his strength. She even thought that the battle was going to be over in an instant.


    Lucifer, undeterred by the ferocious attack, stood in his ground. Although he had stopped caring about the battles, it was different when it came to people that were directly involved in killing his n members with their own hands.


    But this time, he wanted to lose control. He wanted to beat zar to his death. He wanted to destroy zar like his n was destroyed and then to take zar''s lifeless body to his n!


    The biggest problem with the hidden ns was that their locations were unknown. But even if he killed zar, he had the Draconian woman to guide him to their base. He didn''t have to leave the man alive!


    Lucifer''s lightning danced through the water as a majestic lightning Armor appeared around him. With his Lightning Core destroyed, he found only the mysterious energy core that was the only thing he had left.


    However, during this time, he had realized that although unreliable, he could use the unknown core to use his old abilities.


    The new lightning Armor was created using the new core, which made it appear different than it used to look in the past. It looked a lot darker, as if it was the darkness of night.


    If in the past, his lightning Armor was like the scariest lightning being condensed into an Armor, then now his Armor appeared like a sentient shadow, with an intimidating aura and a life of its own.


    A long dark robe also appeared around his shoulders, flowing with an ethereal energy that seemed to absorb any light that touched it.


    The Ocean that had been silent for such a long time now roared with powerful waves crashing against each other, as if it had awoken from a deep slumber.


    Before long, two figures appeared to be flying out of the ocean, appearing high in the sky, their speed so fast that it was almost impossible to even see their shadows with the naked eyes.


    ****


    Far away from the world, the Star Alliance General who had escaped from the Royal Pce appeared in the Starship circling the aquatic world. His expressions were dark, yet an evil smirk remained on his lips as he rushed to the control room.

 Chapter 1035 1035

    <h4>Chapter 1035 Chapter 1035</h4>


    "Blow it up! Blow it all!" The Generalmanded his crew as soon as he entered the Command Center.


    Everyone in themand center was taken aback to see such hysterical side of the General. Most of them were even confused about what he was talking about. However, there were a few who understood his intentions.


    "Blow this world? But Sir, if we did that, how would we exin it to the higher ups?" One of the Commanders stood up, asking with slight worry on his face.


    "I''ll take care of the exnation! Now blow it up before he escapes!" The General eximed, taking his seat.


    He hadn''t expected that he would''ve been able to escape with such ease, but even when he was able to return, he couldn''t forget that heavy feeling. He didn''t want Lucifer to escape alive! And now that he knew where Lucifer was, he wasn''t going to make the same mistake the others did.


    Almost all understood the hidden meaning behind the General''s words. When he talked about him, it meant Lucifer.


    "It would''ve been better if we had managed to get the support of the King and prepared a trap. But now, it''s toote! We need to take drastic measures!" The General eximed as he sent themand to the other ships in the vicinity.


    At the same time, the Ship Cannons started the charging process.


    "Sir, if he''s there, then shouldn''t we try to capture him? We can seal the space and call for support from the Headquarters," A new recruit suggested, hoping to earn some merits through his wise ideas.


    Unfortunately, in response, he didn''t get the praise he was expecting. Instead, a palm hit his cheeks, sending him flying with a single p.


    "You bastard, how are fools like you able to join this organization?" The General eximed, his face red in anger.


    "Did you forget what happened before? He''s the man who killed half the Star Alliance Generals alone, even when the space was sealed! And you want me to fight him face to face?"


    The General was already scared of Lucifer. The only reason he even came to this ce was because he wanted to take support of traps to deal with Lucifer. But now that it wasn''t possible, he didn''t dare fight the man face to face. He didn''t want to make the same mistake that the now diseased Generals had made.


    He knew he had toe up with a new strategy to defeat Lucifer without risking his own life. And that strategy was simple. Instead of fighting Lucifer face to face, he was going to blow up this world and Lucifer along with it!


    Although he was worried about this decision since a few Draconians were on the, that didn''t matter. Lucifer''s presence had closed his decision, but it also gave him an opportunity and an excuse.


    Every world that Lucifer went to was destroyed. The Star Alliance could just hide the truth and say that Lucifer was the one who destroyed this world and the two Draconians. That way, the Star Alliance could also drag the Draconians to their side.


    The other Hidden ns were also working separately by now, but once the Draconians entered the Alliance, it was clear that other ns couldn''t stay behind either.


    Within seconds, the other Ships also entered positions. The World of Aquarians was surrounded from all sides by Star Alliance Ships, their cannons charging with full strength.


    "Sir, Cannons are charged. We only need the final confirmation from you!" The Commander spoke while a confirmation prompt appeared on the Screen before the General.


    Without a second thought, the General pressed confirm.


    As soon as the confirmation was received, all the Starship Cannons fired towards the world of Aquarians at the same time. A dazzling disy of lights engulfed the space from all directions, creating a symphony of chaos and destruction.


    The Draconian and Lucifer had just appeared above the water, the lips of the Draconian bleeding as he looked at Lucifer in disbelief.


    He hadn''t expected to be hurt with such ease. The Draconians were known for their unbreakable defense along with a brutal strength that could destroy anything in their path. Moreover, he had also trained for hundreds of years.


    Although he wasn''t as strong as his father, but he was one of the best in his n. He couldn''t ept that he was hurt by Lucifer.


    "Arghh! I will destroy you!" The Draconian roared, his mes spreading far and wide, making him appear like a zing sun above the evaporating water.


    However, before he could even attack, multiple bright beams were seen in the sky.


    Before he could react, he watched his sister appear next to him.


    "We need to leave!" His sister eximed as she crushed the Spatial Crystal in her hand.


    "Release me! I won''t leave until I kill him!" zar roared, but it was toote. The Spatial aura of the crystal surrounded him and his sister. Both of them kept their eyes on Lucifer before they disappeared.


    Mere seconds after they disappeared, the Light Beams struck the world from all sides, shattering the space. The entire world was shrouded in bright light as a loud explosion responded that covered thousands of light years of distance.


    Although the Star Alliance Ships had maintained a safe distance, but even they couldn''t maintain bnce as a wave spread past them. Fortunately, thanks to shields, the spatial debris couldn''t hurt their ships.


    "Did we seed?" The Star Alliance General muttered as he focused in the distance. The entire world was destroyed and their ships couldn''t detect a single sign of life. This made him feel that he might have seeded. A smile spread across his lips.


    ****


    In another special Domain, zar appeared next to his sister, his eyes filled with anger. He was still in battle form.


    "Why did you drag me back home! I would''ve killed him!" zar roared. His roar attracted the attention of many n members as they were standing right before the main mansion.


    "Don''t make a scene here. If I hadn''t dragged you back, you would''ve been hurt by that attack," the woman eximed.


    In the meantime, the n Elder stepped out of the mansion. "What are you two arguing about? And who is he?"


    zar frowned at the Elder''s response. "It''s me, zar. How can you not recognise me?"


    He couldn''t believe that the Elder failed to recognise him just because he was in his half Draconian Form.


    "I''m not talking about you. I''m talking about him behind you!" The Elder stated, pointing towards zar.


    Frowning, zar turned around.

 Chapter 1036 1036

    <h4>Chapter 1036 Chapter 1036</h4>


    zar turned around, catching a glimpse of someone who he never expected to be here.


    "How did..." zar''s sister was also confused as she saw the person who was standing behind them.


    To both of their surprise, Lucifer had tagged along with them and none of them even realized it until now. No, it was more as if they had led Lucifer to their home.


    "I suppose he isn''t a friend that you brought home with you?" The Elder of the n understood a lot of things from the youngster''s expressions. They were just as surprised as him about the appearance of the person.


    Lucifer''s clothes were slightly burned and zar was in his Draconian form. It was also clear that the two of them had been fighting before zar was brought back.


    "To think that you two would bring back an enemy and not even realize it. I''m disappointed in you. Get inside the n and be ready for your punishment," the n Elder sighed, not even putting Lucifer in his eyes.


    "As for the rest, take down that person and imprison him as well. I''ll decide what to do after talking with the Patriarch."


    The n Elder turned around, walking back inside the n Mansion. However, as soon as he turned around, he had a foreboding feeling.


    He heard a groaning sound behind him before he could even turn around. He looked back, his expressions darkening. In the distance, he saw Lucifer. But this time, Lucifer''s hands were covered in blood. And in his hand was a heart.


    The heart didn''t belong to him either. Instead, it was the heart of the Guard that he had justmanded to imprison Lucifer.


    Right next to Lucifer was the guard, a fist sized hole in his chest, his eyes filled with disbelief.


    His feat body fell to the ground with a thud as Lucifer crushed the Draconian heart. As the heart shattered into pieces, a wave of dark mes erupted, as if the life essence of the Draconian heart. The dark mes were slowly absorbed by Lucifer, or rather by the strange aura core in his heart.


    As the mes seeped into his core, a surge of warmth spread throughout Lucifer''s body.


    "You..."


    In the moment, there was only silence in the surroundings. Not only had an intruder appeared in their Domain, but instead of begging for forgiveness, that intruder had instead killed someone?


    "I''ve had enough of you!" zar thought that the Elder would take care of the rest, but he didn''t expect Lucifer to not surrender even after he was in their Domain.


    This time, he didn''t hold back either as he flew straight to Lucifer, his sharp ws strong enough to break even the hardest material.


    "H...uh?" zar had attacked, but in a moment, his expressions were filled with confusion.


    He didn''t know what happened. One moment, he was attacking Lucifer and the next moment, he was lying on the ground, a sharp pain spreading across his back.


    Everything happened so fast that even he took some time to understand what happened. Lucifer was standing right next to him, but Lucifer''s feet were resting on his chest.


    In the moment he attacked, Lucifer had also moved and the oue was this. As Lucifer''s fiery gaze intensified, his otherworldly power began to consume him. His once charismatic demeanor had transformed into a terrifying force of destruction.


    "Who are you?" The Elder asked, his expressions grim. What he saw just now was something else entirely. He was certain that zar wasn''t even in the same league as the young man.


    "You fought zar beforeing here. But with the strength you showed just now, it''s impossible for you to be unable to kill him. Did you intentionally let him leave so you could follow him here? What are your intentions?"


    Although the Elder asked a lot of questions, but in his mind, he already had the answers. He just didn''t want to believe it. This was the kind of strength that he had only seen in one particr species. It was a strength and speedparable to a Draconian, a raw destructive power.


    It was the species that all the ns had to work together to destroy. He had recently heard a lot about the reappearance of a remnant of that n. And now after seeing Lucifer before him, his thoughts were certain.


    He had already sent a message to the Head of the n and everyone in the n, informing them about this. The purpose questions served was nothing more than to dy Lucifer.


    Lucifer took off his foot from zar''s chest, his eyes looking down on the young man who had been filled with arrogance.


    "I''m nothing but a son, that came here to repay the debt that I''ve owed," Lucifer spoke, his voice calm and measured. "All I want is to find peace within myself. And for that peace, I will have to finish what you all started..."


    zar struggled to process Lucifer''s words, but the feeling of anger and embarrassment was clear in his heart. He didn''t like the emotionless eyes that Lucifer was looking at him with. It was as if he was looking down on him.


    "Don''t you dare look down on me!" zar roared, dark mes rising from within his body, swallowing Lucifer''s body. In the moment, he watched Lucifer''s skin burn with his own eyes.


    "Who am I to look down on you?" Lucifer asked, even as his body was burning in dark mes.


    "I''m but a man, looking for an end..." he replied, his voice filled with resignation as he faced the infernal torment.


    As mes danced around him, he kept his foot firmly on zar''s chest. zar struggled but even with his strength, he couldn''t take off Lucifer''s feet. It was as if a divine mountain was resting on his chest.


    His sharp ws attacked Lucifer''s legs, cutting off a lot of flesh with each swing but every time, the flesh healed before he could attack again.


    No one understood why Lucifer was keeping zar alive, despite being in pain. Was he scared of killing him? Or did he have another purpose?

 Chapter 1037 1037

    <h4>Chapter 1037 Chapter 1037</h4>


    The Draconian under Lucifer''s feet kept burning him, but Lucifer''s healing kept up. The only thing that the healing couldn''t solve was the pain, not Lucifer didn''t reveal even the slightest trace of being in pain.


    He didn''t reach much, and just looked around, as if trying to find someone who he was waiting for.


    "Are you a rat that managed to escapest time?"


    Not even a minute had passed when Lucifer heard something. The voice appeared to havee from inside the mansion.


    A man walked out of the Mansion, possessing the strongest aura in this ce. Although the man looked to be in his middle ages, but he was the oldest person here. He was also the Head of the Draconian n.


    Looking at the person, Lucifer''s pupils momentarily shrunk at the realization. In his memories, he had seen that person. This person was there when his n was attacked.


    "I''m d you''re still alive," Lucifer spoke, his eyes filled with a sense of relief. "I''m so d."


    "I''m d as well. The rat that escaped has finally returned so I can finish things cleanly." The Dragon n Patriarch spoke, but strangely enough, before his sentence was finished, Lucifer sensed a presence as if someone was standing right beside him.


    A hand came out of the shadow, grabbing the back of Lucifer''s neck to pull him back and remove his foot from zar''s chest.


    Unfortunately, instead of being pulled back, Lucifer stood firm like a mountain. He grabbed the hand of the Draconian that was trying to pull him back. Even Lucifer''s gloves that were resistant to his decaying had decayed, turning into dust along with the Draconian''s body.


    A beautiful scenery appeared as a gust of wind took the dust with it, sending it towards the Dragon n Patriarch.


    The patriarch''s wrinkled face glowed with a sense of anger. A wave of his aura split the wind in two halves, ensuring that not even a speck of dust could touch him.


    The Dragon King let out a tired sigh. "I''ll give you one chance. Release my son. I''ll make your death as painless as I can."


    In response to the man, Lucifer smiled. "Don''t worry. I''ll be as merciful to your son as you were to my family."


    The Dragon King''s expressions turned pale as he saw the body of his son exploding in thousands of pieces as Lucifer''s foot came down with force. Blood specks flew everywhere.


    The Dragon King wasn''t calm anymore. He moved like lightning, his speed so fast that even his strongest ministers couldn''t see how he moved.


    Before his afterimage even disappeared, the Dragon King was already next to Lucifer, his fist hitting right side of Lucifer''s face, sending him flying back


    Gentle winds flew around Lucifer, helping him bnce himself, but the Dragon King was so fast that it was hard to even see his afterimage disappear before he attacked again.


    The Dragon King appeared right before Lucifer, joining both his hands that came crashing down like a hammer. The impact shook the ground beneath them, causing cracks to spread like spiderwebs.


    Despite the immense power of the Dragon King''s attack, Lucifer managed to block it with just his arms, albeit not unharmed. Bones of both his arms were broken in blocking the attack.


    Blood dripped down Lucifer''s broken arms as he struggled to maintain his stance. The Dragon King''s relentless assault continued, revealing the true might of this ancient creature that was known for its strength.


    The Dragon King didn''t stay in contact with Lucifer, already knowing about the decay. However, even as he moved back, he felt a burning sensation on his body. The Dragon Scales around his body started turning dark.


    Fortunately, the dark me lit up around his body, burning even the decaying cells and creating new cells in its ce.


    The Dragon King once again moved like a ghost, his fist even harder than before,ing straight for Lucifer''s chest this time.


    "Why isn''t the Patriarch killing that bastard? Why is he toying with him?" One of the Ministers of the Dragon n asked the other.


    The other Minister replied in a grim tone. "The Patriarch is really angry. He''s probably trying to hurt the boy. I doubt he''ll kill him... At least not that easily. He''ll just break the boy for now... And keep breaking the boy again and again and again!"


    The Dragon King attacked Lucifer, after breaking Lucifer''s arms, intending to break his chest, putting even more strength behind the attack.


    He didn''t use his mes for anything other than burning Lucifer''s aura around his body, as if worried that he might kill Lucifer identally. He only used the raw strength of a Dragon.


    "Huh?" The Dragon King had been attacking all this time, but this time, his expressions twisted as his fist was blocked.


    Lucifer had blocked his fist with his bare hands. Even worse was that he didn''t even move back an inch this time.


    "My turn now..." Lucifer''s barely audible voice fell in the Dragon King''s ears. Before he could respond, a footnded on his chest, sending him flying back.


    Before the Dragon King could bnce himself, Lucifer appeared behind him, grabbing him by the back of his throat and smashing him on the ground, face first. His speed notcking even the slightestpared to the Dragon King.


    All the Draconians that watched the scene were stunned. This was the first time they had seen their King taking damage in a battle.


    The Dragon King wasn''t like his son zar. Even after taking a hit, he didn''t remain on the ground, his body turning into pure mes. The mes soon disappeared into nothingness.


    A few meters away from Lucifer, dark mes appeared, taking the shape of a human. The Dragon King appeared from the mes, blood trickling down his lips.


    "I have changed my mind. I''ll grant you a quicker death!" The Dragon King spoke, he started getting bigger.


    His scales glimmered in the sunlight as he started a transformation into a real dragon. Unlike the half Dragon form of zar, this was a real Dragon- majestic and powerful.


    Its wings extended wide, casting a shadow over the battlefield. As it soared through the sky, its presence intimidated even the bravest warriors. The Dragon King''s eyes glowed with fierce determination as he prepared tounch a devastating attack.


    The scene reminded Lucifer of the battlefield in his world where his n was attacked. Many such dragons could be seen flying high in the sky, burning the city filled with innocent to nothing.


    Lucifer also started drawing more power from the mysterious core, not holding anything back. However, as he was drawing the power to use more of his abilities, he felt something was wrong.


    "Not now!" he roared in rage.


    The Dragon in the sky opened its mountain, a huge wave of dark mes came crashing down. The real Dragon mes were said to be able to burn anything that the Dragon wanted, even gods weren''t immune.


    It was as if the sky itself was giving a heavenly punishment in the form of dark mes that came crashing down.

 Chapter 1038 1038

    <h4>Chapter 1038 Chapter 1038</h4>


    Dark mes came crashing down from the sky, akin to a punishment from heaven. Although the Dragon n Members were also in the line of fire, they didn''t even try to escape.


    The Dark mes were something that every Dragon n Member was born with. They understood the nature of the Dark mes better than anyone else. Unlike the other destructive powers, the Dark mes were more controble.


    The Dark mes could be controlled in ways that it could only harm the person that the Dragon n intended. And the Dragon King had absolute control over this me. For the Dragon n Members, it was a certainty that the mes weren''t going to harm them.


    Their thoughts were further validated as the Dark mes swallowed the entirendscape. For the Dragon n Members, the me was morefortable than harmful. They didn''t feel any heat in the me, as if the mes were nothing but an illusion.


    On the other hand, for an enemy, the mes were no different than the mes of hell.


    The intense heat engulfed the surroundings, swallowing the proud figure of Lucifer. Before the mes swallowed Lucifer, finally his confident expressions flickered as he appeared to be slightly agitated about something.


    The Dragon n members thought that the reason behind Lucifer''s distress was the fact that he had recognised his doom, unaware that the reason behind his distress was something else entirely.


    Before the dark mes engulfed Lucifer, only one sentence was heard from him. "Not yet!"


    The Dragon n Members smirked in response, having fun watching Lucifer''s fear as they felt nourishment of the Dark mes instead. However, to their surprise, for some reason, the mes that used to befortable until now had suddenly be warm, almost scorching.


    "Why?" They asked, slightly scared as they looked at the sky towards the Dragon King while trying to get out of the me storm that had be ufortable for them as well.


    Before they could get out of the mes, they noticed another strange thing. The color of the dark mes was slowly changing, turning into a strange shade of white that was inplete contrast to the pitch ck darkness from before.


    The origin of this change was where Lucifer was swallowed by the Dark mes.


    "What did he do?" One of the Draconian Men roared, not stopping his escape at all. Unfortunately, the white mes were faster than the escape of a Draconian.


    The start white mes spread out with Lucifer at its core, akin to a sudden explosion.


    The Draconians that were caught in the white mes finally experienced the fear of mes. They were born with the power to control the mes.


    They were born with affinity toward me and this was also the element that scared them the least. But at the same time, they were now being punished by the mes that they had never seen before.


    Even the Dragon King high in the sky was taken aback by the sudden outburst from Lucifer. His eyes shone in a frightening red hue as he roared like an enraged beast, not epting his defeat in terms of fear.


    The Dragon King opened its mouth as his wings spread wide. A zing inferno erupted, engulfing everything in its path with destructive fury.


    The scorching mes, even stronger than before shot towards the stark white mes, engulfing everything in their path with an unrelenting heat and intensity. This time, the Dragon King didn''t hold anything back. He didn''t differentiate between a friend or a foe.


    His fury engulfed everything in its path, leaving destruction and chaos behind. It was the sh between the Dragon King that had made a name for himself as a scary strong being, and the unknown mes that he had never seen before.


    As the two mes shed, a brilliant disy of destruction ensued, illuminating the darkness. The crackling sound echoed through the silent night.


    ****


    An unknown amount of time had passed. Thend of the Dragons waspletely destroyed in the previous sh. Not even a single structure was left standing. The Land that was known to possess one of the strongest warrior ns was now turned into nothingness.


    Even the ground itself was scorched, still zing hot. In the center of the battlefield, arge crater was visible, thousand of feet deep and ten times wider than that.


    In the center of the huge crater, a young man appeared to be sleeping peacefully.


    Far away from the crater, another crater was present. Although the second crater wasn''t as big as the first crater, the second crater contained something even bigger.


    Half destroyed body of the Dragon King was lying in the middle of the crater, fallen right from the sky. The head of the Dragon King and one hand of his body was missing. It waspletely destroyed, leaving nothing behind.


    Moreover, despite their healing abilities, the Dragons weren''t able to return back to life, unlike Lucifer. Even the remaining half of the Dragon King''s body appeared rotten, making it a gruesome sight.


    The hidden world that was the time of the Dragons had now be their graveyard, and the person who made it possible still remained unconscious.


    After a long time, Lucifer came to his senses, his eyes slowly opening. He stood up, his clothes torn in the battle.


    Instead of being happy about the oue of the battle, his eyes showed some signs of sadness. He wanted to kill the people that killed his family with his own hands, but the strange ability core took that privilege from him as well.


    Not only did it take away his happiness, but it also took away the object of his revenge.


    Lucifer stepped out of the crater,nding near the Dragon King''s corpse, his eyes gazing at the half destroyed body.


    As he surveyed the aftermath of the battle, he was able to confirm that no one was left alive. He couldn''t see any signs of life in this ce. And even if someone had managed to survive somehow, it was certain that they weren''t here anymore.


    Lucifer stepped close to the Dragon King''s body. The body started decaying as Lucifer walked closer to the body, the remaining essence in the body bing part of Lucifer''s strength.

 Chapter 1039 1039

    <h4>Chapter 1039 Chapter 1039</h4>


    In the unexplored space, far away from the Realm of the Dragons, there existed a forgotten ce¡ªthe remnants of an Inheritance Ground once utilized by thete Queen of the Star Alliance. However, after the catastrophic explosion, little remained within its lifeless expanse.


    Even the Queen herself had met her demise there, leaving only one person who managed to escape this deste realm¡ªLucifer, the sole survivor.


    Leaving with an understanding that nothing but destruction lingered in this barren expanse, Lucifer had unwittingly set in motion a chain of events that would alter its course.


    Soon after his departure, a subtle shift transpired within the air, as if a new energy had settled. Chaotic Energy condensed, forming a spatial crack that steadily grew more stable with time.


    As the crack expanded, spanning thousands of miles, it bridged two contrasting realms¡ªan unprecedented connection between the unfamiliar.


    Once the portal hadpletely stabilized, a figure emerged. It was a woman who was dressed in a captivating deep blue dress, adorned with intricate golden embroidery.


    If Lucifer was here, he would''ve immediately recognised the woman as she was none other than Talia, the Queen of the Star Alliance. She appearedpletely unscathed.


    Not just unscathed, but she appeared to be slightly older as well, with a much more mature aura around her that it used to be in the past. It was impossible to understand just what exactly har changed inside her, but her aura was much heavier.


    The woman wasn''t alone either as multiple people apanied her. From the portal behind her, more and more people kepting out, as if an entire army was slowly arriving.


    Many mythical beasts could also be seen flying out of the Portal, just their sheer aura alone powerful enough to kill an ordinary person.


    Lucifer had truly thought that the woman had died. Since her message was delivered to Star Alliance, it had further confirmed that Talia was dead, or so everyone thought. Even Lucifer didn''t consider the possibility of her being alive.


    ****


    [A few months ago]


    The realm of Inheritance was destroyed by Lucifer along with the status of Inheritance that was specially prepared for Talia.


    In the destruction, Talia had not only failed to gain the inheritance, but she had also suffered grave wounds that finally took her life. Not even her body was left behind. However none in Star Alliance knew that the Talia which had arrived here wasn''t the real Talia.


    With the restrictions of this world that was set up by the Ancient n, even Talia couldn''t enter this realm, let alone her Elders. So even if she was suspicious about the presence of the Ancient n, she couldn''te here to check for herself.


    That''s why, her n that was obsessed with the Ancient n put up a n in motion. All the heirs of the n were assigned a gxy to explore. Amongst the thousands of gxies that were sealed by the Ancient n, they sent a n Member to every gxy.


    And the gxies that had the higher chance of the presence of the Ancient n, they sent their direct heirs. Unfortunately, that also didn''t change the fact that because of the seal, their heirs couldn''t leave.


    Only because of that, they came up with a new solution. It was to create a weaker body for the n Members. They created secondary bodies for every n member and transferred the soul of their n members inside the body.


    Because the body wasn''t tainted by their powers, the barrier didn''t resist to the extent that it would''ve otherwise, which allowed their heirs to pass through the security. However, since it was a weaker body, they didn''t have the strength.


    All the heirs had to slowly make their alternate bodies stronger in the new gxies that they were assigned, while waiting for the appearance of the Ancient n Members.


    From that point on, over a thousand years had passed. All heirs had lived in various gxies, just waiting and searching for remnants of the Ancient n.


    It was only the Ancient n that could remove the seal on their n Elders after all. As long as all Ancient n Members weren''t dead, the seal couldn''t be broken.


    This was also why Talia was certain that the Ancient n wasn''tpletely wiped even when she heard the news. Since then, she had been waiting in this gxy. She even started the Star Alliance after making this new body stronger.


    Although her alternate body didn''t even have the fraction of the strength of her real body, but with the tricks and treasures she was able to bring with her, she was strong enough to suppress any resistance, at least as long as it didn''t include the hidden ns of this gxy.


    It was also why she never tried to force the hidden ns, because she wasn''t strong enough. As for the inheritance that she talked about, it was also a different King of inheritance.


    The Inheritance was basically just her being able to bring her real body to this world, following which she could transfer her soul back to the old body and kill the remnant of the Ancient n.


    Unfortunately, until she arrived in the world of inheritance, she hadn''t known that the person she wanted to kill was apanying her. Only when the Realm started resisting Lucifer in various ways did she realize what she had done. But it was toote by then.


    As she realized who Lucifer was, she left him behind and went into the inheritance hall to finish things. Unfortunately, she didn''t expect Lucifer to pass through all the obstruction and resistance from the Realms to eventually arrive right before her.


    Lucifer destroyed all her ns with the destruction of the Statue which further destroyed the entire realm and her ns. Her alter body was destroyed as well, and her soul returned to her original world inside her real body that had remained in aa all this time.


    Although her ns were ruined, but Lucifer didn''t realize that with what he did, he hadn''t just destroyed the statue but through Talia''s soul, he had given her an opportunity.

 Chapter 1040 1040

    Chapter 1040 1040


    The Dragon n was in ruins. Not a single life was left behind. There was not even a single person who had lived to tell the tale. In the entire world, only Lucifer existed, standing over the ruinednd.


    He looked at the surroundings after devouring the body of the Dragon King. Although the sight of this world was ghastly with everything destroyed, in Lucifer''s eyes, this was a beautiful scene.


    Once upon a time, his happy home was also destroyed by the people of this world. And now when the same happened here, he found it beautiful. Although he was slightly upset that he couldn''t kill the Dragon King with his own hands, but at the end, the ends justified everything.


    A portal opened before Lucifer. His dark tattered robe billowed in the chaotic winds as he stepped through the portal, ready to continue his journey of destruction.


    He went back to the area where the Kingdom of Aquarians used to exist. However, as soon as he emerged on the other side, he was greeted by a grimndscape.


    The beautiful blue world submerged in water was nowhere to be found. Instead, all he saw was a vast expanse of deste, barren space with meteors.


    Although he was gone for only a short time, so much had changed in this world. The Dragon Realm was in a special space of its own where the flow of time was different.


    With one day passing in the Realm of Dragons, an entire week should''ve passed in the main world. Although Lucifer understood the time difference, but he still didn''t understand how the world was destroyed in the one week he was gone.


    The world couldn''t have just disappeared. The Aquarians weren''t capable of something like that. It left only one possibility. The world itself was destroyed.


    He didn''t understand who could''ve done it. It definitely wasn''t the work of Draconians as he kept them engaged. And no one else in the banquet was strong enough to destroy the entry world.


    His thoughts raced as he tried to think of a possibility. Soon, he remembered something. He remembered the appearance of the Star Alliance General.


    At that moment, he was more immersed in the Aquarian King and the Draconians, who were the two biggest enemies of his n. That''s why at that moment, he couldn''t focus on the Star Alliance that was no different than a toothless tiger now. But even a toothless tiger was capable of taking lives.


    Unless another hidden n came out in thest week, there was only one possibility. The Star Alliance had destroyed this world.


    When he thought about it, he also remembered noticing something before he had followed the Draconians. Some strange colors had shed in the sky and the space had be slightly unstable. He didn''t think much about it at that moment, but now everything was clear.


    Although his expressions didn''t show his true thoughts, but his eyes revealed it all. First, he had lost the opportunity of killing the Dragon King. And now, he had lost the traitors of the Aquarian n as well. He felt betrayed, as if something was taken from him!


    Their lives belonged to him! And what belonged to him was taken away by the Star Alliance.


    He had let the Star Alliance exist as he focused on the main culprits of his past. But now he realized that no matter how weak, an obstruction was still an obstruction. He had to cleanse the obstruction.


    Another portal opened before him, connecting him to a ce that he had visited many times in the past. He was going back to the Star Alliance Headquarters.


    ....


    In the Star Alliance, no one knew what kind of problem wasing for them. Instead, there was an atmosphere of celebration.


    The Star Alliance had tossed a victory celebration, celebrating Lucifer''s death.


    "I must say, you''ve actually solved our biggest problem! Although we had to lose a world for it, but it was way worth it!"


    One after another, many new generals approached the General that had issued orders to destroy Lucifer with the Aquarians. It was a monumental moment that had solved all their fears in an instant.


    After the attack on the world, the Star Alliance had searched for days to find if anyone had survived. However, they couldn''t find anyone which convinced them that Lucifer was dead. If Lucifer wasn''t dead, why wouldn''t he attack them right after the attack otherwise?


    For them, Lucifer had long gone and all their problems were solved. They had taken revenge for the fallen Star Alliance members. And now they could focus on strengthening the Star Alliance''s ce in the world.


    lights¦­¦Ïvel In fact, this time, they had invited all Hidden ns in the Celebration as well. Since Lucifer''s appearance had attracted the attention of various Hidden ns as well, most of the ns sent their representatives.


    In essence, most of the forces of the world had gathered inside the Star Alliance for the celebration in which the Star Alliance was to announce the news about Lucifer''s death.


    At the moment, the security of the world had also strengthened. Although Lucifer was dead, but they hadn''t told this to the Hidden ns yet, so until they broke the news, they decided to keep the illusion that they were still worried about Lucifer. All the defense mechanisms were still active.


    ....


    Lucifer appeared outside the world, looking at the portal that prevented a spatial portal from connecting further. He could try to break the portal, but this time, he chose another method.


    Thest time, before he had left this world, he had left a Summoned Beast behind. Although all his cores were destroyed along with his other Contracted Summons, but the Summoned Beast he left here had still survived. It was still connected to him.


    Lucifer used the previous method and switched his ce with the Summoned Beast that had spent all its time hiding in thend, far away from the Star Alliance City.


    He appeared on the other side of the barrier, only a few miles away from Star City.

 Chapter 1041 1041

    Chapter 10411041


    The arrival of Guests continued. All the guests were weed through the small opening left by the Star Alliance in the barrier.


    It was a show to make everyone realize how serious they had taken Lucifer, all to create a bigger impact when they told everyone that they had killed Lucifer. It was also to show the Hidden ns that the Star Alliance wasn''t weak and had methods to protect itself.


    Guests kept passing through the entrance. As all hidden ns had distinct physical traits, there wasn''t much left to check. Still, the Star Alliance used a unique system that checked for illusions and impersonations.


    The entire city was illuminated as it weed many distinguished guests. It was as if an atmosphere of celebration had been created. Ever since the death of their Queen, a scene like this was hard toe by.


    The Royal Pce that once used to belong to the Queen now belonged to the Generals of Star Alliance that were leading the organization. This was also the ce where they were weing all the guests.


    Thest time a celebration like this had taken ce in the Pce was when Lucifer and the Queen had gotten married. And now a celebration was taking ce for the death of Lucifer.


    Far away from the Royal City, Lucifer was walking in the direction, but for some reason, he wasn''t in any hurry. He could see many people flying through the sky, going towards Star City.


    Amongst the people, he recognised a few prominent ns as well, some almost on the same standing as the Dragon n, if not higher.


    Although he wasn''t sure why so many people were here, but he felt d that they were. This made things easier for him. That''s also why he wasn''t in a hurry. He wanted to give them all a chance to gather.


    Instead of flying and directly entering the city, he was walking at a normal pace.


    He soon walked past the ce where he had taken his friends from Ron''s grandfather. The moment was still vivid in his mind. Everyone present at that moment had already died.


    Ron was dead. His grandfather was dead. The Generals were dead. And more importantly, the people he tried to save... They were dead. And all of them died because of him.


    As he walked past the ce, he was reminded of the look in the eyes of his friends when they were freed. At the moment, he was still angry so he didn''t talk to them, or even behave nicely.


    They even apologized to him in the flight despite not knowing what they did wrong. He still hasn''t forgiven them. He hadn''t known that it was going to be thest time he was going to see them. If only he had known...


    ****


    Another major n flew through the sky. It was another Hidden n, but there was something about them that even attracted Lucifer''s attention.


    When the n members flew through the sky, the space around them was in turmoil. It was as if they weren''t flying through the air. Instead, they were going through the space as if they were flying.


    He was certain that there was only one n capable of such. It was a n that was the master of space. He had wanted to learn from them, but he hadn''t been able to.


    In the end, he never had the opportunity. He could only rely on the strange new core to finally be able to travel through space with a freedom that he never had before.


    "Grandfather, that man can see us?"


    High in the sky, one of the n Members felt a gaze on them. It was a young man, barely in histe twenties. Unlike the Dragon n, the Spatial n wasn''t long lived. Their lifespan was simr to humans, only slightly more.


    The young man was surprised as he saw a man on the ground looking in their direction. When they were gliding through the space, it was almost impossible to see them. Yet the man was able to see him.


    His grandfather also looked down, but by then, Lucifer had taken his eyes off, losing interest in them


    "It must''ve been a coincidence that we happened to be here when he looked at the sky. It''s impossible for him to see us." The old man didn''t believe the words of his grandson.


    It was his skill that they were using. Unless it was a Head of some Major n, it was impossible for anyone to see through his technique. And even those powerful figures from other ns could only see through this technique when he was close to them.


    Their distance from the man was too far. Even those powerful figures couldn''t find him from such a distance, at least not unless he showed some clear killing intent.


    Although his grandfather said that it was impossible, but still, the young man felt that something was wrong.


    "Grandfather, you go ahead. I''ll catch up with you." The young man slowed down, letting his grandfather move ahead.


    Although his grandson stopped, but the old man didn''t bother much about it. He knew what his grandson was capable of.


    Moreover, he had a treasure that could not only protect his life for a short period of time from any attack, but he could also alert them if his life was at risk. So he didn''t worry about his grandson''s safety.


    After his grandson flew away, the young man shifted his attention to Lucifer on the ground. He wanted to check for himself if Lucifer could see him, or if it was all his misconception.


    He flew down, getting closer to Lucifer while still maintaining his distance as he hovered in the air, simply observing Lucifer walking like an ordinary human.


    The young man observed Lucifer for quite some time, asionally getting even closer. However, Lucifer didn''t react.


    "I suppose grandfather was right. He can''t see me." The young man sighed, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. But still, just to be certain, hended next to Lucifer this time, getting so close that there was only a few meters of distance between them.


    Unfortunately for him, this time Lucifer didn''t ignore him. The young man was stunned as he saw Lucifer looking in his direction, as if he could actually see.

 Chapter 1042 1042

    Chapter 10421042


    "I was right. You can actually see me!" the young man eximed, absolutely convinced that he was right all along. Lucifer could truly see him.


    "Grandpa said that it was impossible. So how did it do it?" he asked, his expressions revealing his slight fascination.


    He removed the spatial shroud that had kept him invisible since he was certain that it was useless.


    "Are you also part of some big n? But I''ve studied about all other surviving major ns. I''ve never heard of someone looking like you. Who are you?"


    His questions didn''t stop at all. One after another, he kept asking without even waiting for the answer, akin to a child who found something that caught their attention.


    "If you can see through our skill, that must mean you''re also somewhat capable in this field. Even my Grandfather didn''t believe it was possible. So you mustn''t be half bad. Right?" the man asked as he followed Lucifer.


    "Why is someone like you walking instead of directly flying to the city? Can''t you fly? Do you need my help?" the man asked, even though Lucifer hadn''t spoken a single word to him so far.


    "Is it that you can''t speak? That would exin why you''re so silent. Although I don''t understand signnguage, but you can try. I''ll try my best to understand." The young man stated, taking Lucifer''s silence as his inability to speak.


    "You must also be invited by the Star Alliance. Apparently many big ns were invited this time. Most of the ns rarely leave their world but apparently this meeting was very important because of that bastard."


    Since Lucifer didn''t speak, the young man talked himself, trying to engage Lucifer. He wanted to know more about Lucifer to understand what trick he used to see through his grandfather''s skill. That was also a reason he was being so friendly to Lucifer.


    He wanted to understand the ws in their skill that allowed Lucifer to see through it. If it wasn''t for the act that all the guests this time were from major ns, he could''ve even thought about forcing Lucifer to tell his secrets.


    Because he didn''t know Lucifer''s identity, he used another method and tried to be friendly and get closer to him.


    "Apparently that guy has be more dangerous. I think the Star Alliance is once again going to suggest working together. Initially, many ns were stubborn about working alone and not interacting much with the outside world. But things have started to change now," the young man stated.


    "What do you think about it? Is your n going to work with the Star Alliance?" he asked. "Honestly, I think this is all dumb. Why do we have to work with others to take care of one person? We easily killed the entire Ancient n when the ns worked togetherst time. Do we really need to work together to take care of one person?"


    "The only reason that person has managed to survive and do as he pleased is because he only dealt with the pathetically weak Star Alliance and destroyed a few minor worlds. He didn''te across the Hidden ns. If he had, this problem would''ve been solved already."


    Hearing the man speak, Lucifer finally responded, "Are you certain you could''ve killed him if he came across your n?"


    "My n? Heh, I don''t think my n would even need to get involved. I would''ve been enough to crush that bastard and hang his head like a trophy at the entrance of our n, just like we kept the head of the Ancient n members that were killed during the war."


    The young man talked with pride, along with clear arrogance as if he looked down on the entire world. This time, he didn''t hold back in trying to show Lucifer just how special his n was to make him realize that it was a good idea to be friends with him.


    As Lucifer heard the man''s words, he abruptly stopped, his legs refusing to move.


    "You hang their heads at the entrance of your n?" Lucifer asked.


    "Hahaha, that''s right. If you evere visit our n, you''ll be able to see clearly. We even have something even more special that even my Grandfather treats like a cherished trophy which is evidence of our Ancestor''s contribution during the war."


    "It''s the head of the person who used to be the leader of the Ancient n during the war. Unfortunately, my grandfather doesn''t allow it to be hanged outside. But I can take you to my n and show you if you be my friend."


    The young man stepped before Lucifer, reaching out his hand, offering his friendship to Lucifer.


    ****


    Inside the Pce at the center of the Star Alliance, representatives of all the Major ns had arrived.


    Most of those representatives were made of the leaders of the Hidden ns who treated this meeting as a get-together and an opportunity to assess the strength of the other Major ns that they hadn''t seen ever since the great war against the Ancient n.


    Once all the invited ns had arrived, the barrier around the world waspletely closed, no gap left within the barrier.


    The Main Hall of the Pce buzzed with activity as nearly every n leader gathered inside. They held elegant crystal sses filled with a special wine derived from thousand year old vines of the Treants. Renowned for their mystical properties, these ancient vines produced a beverage as enchanting as it was rare.


    In the hall, almost every n Leader was observing the others, trying to observe the strength of other ns. Almost most ns acted politely with each other, but none trusted the other.


    Once everyone was gathered, it was time for the meeting to start.


    The new Star Alliance Leader stepped forward, his head held high with pride. It was time for him to tell everyone that the Star Alliance had killed Lucifer. It was time to make everyone realize how powerful they were!

 Chapter 1043 1043

    Chapter 10431043


    "I am delighted to have all of you in attendance today," expressed the Star Alliance Leader, extending his gratitude towards the Leaders of various ns, most of whom weren''t closely associated with the Star Alliance.


    With the exception of one n that could not be reached, most of the ns had arrived.


    Unfortunately, he was unable to establish contact with the Dragon n, leading him to believe that the n had chosen to remain away from them.


    Consequently, he proceeded with the announcement, assuming the Dragon n preferred not to be bothered.


    On the other hand, the Guests did not disy much reaction to the greeting, seemingly unconcerned with the presence of the Star Alliance Leader. Instead, they urged him to swiftly move on to the main topic at hand.


    Anticipating such a response, the Star Alliance Leader did not take it to heart. He knew it was only a matter of time before their attitude towards him changed.


    "I have gathered all of you here to share something of utmost importance. This meeting... it is not merely a gathering, but also a celebration!" dered the Star Alliance Leader.


    "A celebration?" questioned one of the n Leaders, wearing a displeased expression. It was none other than the Leader of the Thunder n.


    This man was the father of Ron, who he believed had been taken hostage by Lucifer andter killed. Not only had his son suffered at the hands of Lucifer, but even his own father had been killed. Given that Lucifer was still atrge, he found it preposterous that the Star Alliance would even consider celebrating.


    Observing the heavy atmosphere that descended after his words, the Star Alliance Leader recognized their sentiments.


    "I understand what you all must be thinking. However, once I finish, everything will be clear. The reason I mentioned a celebration... is because I have news to share with all of you. I am certain that once you hear it, you will understand why I chose these words."


    As the Star Alliance Leader spoke, a faint smile tugged at the corners of his lips, barely contained.


    "The news I wish to share is that the Star Alliance has solved your greatest predicament. We have eliminated¡ª" the Star Alliance Leader began, but before he could finish, he witnessed one of the n Leaders vanish, hastily departing the pce. In the wake of his departure, a spatial turbulence lingered, evidence of his utilization of power.


    Frowning, the Star Alliance Leader observed the absence of the n Leader, as did the others, curious about his sudden exit.


    Signalling for one of the Generals to investigate the reason, the Star Alliance Leader continued his speech.


    "As I was saying, the reason I have invited all of you here is to personally share this momentous news. The greatest threat to us all... the final remnant of the Ancient n... that wretched soul has been eradicated by the Star Alliance! Hence, you need not worry about him any longer!"


    The Star Alliance Leader appeared extremely proud as he shared the news. At moments, it even felt like he was gloating while telling everyone that the Star Alliance had saved all the Hidden ns and removed the biggest threat to them.


    He paused for a moment, allowing his words to sink in. The room fell into silence, each person processing the significance of his announcement.


    Although the Star Alliance Leader knew that he wasn''t going to receive much gratitude, it was enough to increase the value of the Star Alliance.


    "That''s why I said... Tonight, it''s the night of celebration!" he spoke before finally getting down the stage, his smile never leaving his lips.


    It was just the start of his grand ns of expansion of the Star Alliance. Now that Lucifer was gone and he held the power, there was a lot to achieve.


    "He is dead?"


    "So that was all there was to him?"


    "I guess we really did overestimate that person. We should''ve expected that he was weaker than he was made out to be."


    Unfortunately for the Star Alliance Leader, things didn''t move as he expected. Instead of thinking that the Star Alliance was strong as they took out Lucifer, all the Hidden n Leaders thought that Lucifer was too weak for being taken out by Star Alliance instead.


    Instead of the worth of Star Alliance increase, Lucifer''s worth in their eyes went down.


    "To think that the Star Alliance called us here over the death of such a weakling. Pathetic."


    "I feel like my time was wasted. I should''ve known that the remnant of his Ancient n was going to be weak. Why else would he be hiding for so long?''


    "Truly a waste of time."


    Hearing their words, the Star Alliance Leader''s expressions darkened. Not only did these people not feel grateful, but instead, they were looking down on the Star Alliance? His n had failed spectacrly and he didn''t like it.


    His fist tightened in anger. Unfortunately he couldn''t even express his anger as almost everyone in this ce was a strong and influential person.


    Some of these ns were even stronger than the Star Alliance as it was now. He could only control his rage and try to exin how difficult Lucifer was to handle.


    He turned around to exin and exaggerate Lucifer''s might to further boost their prestige. However, just as he turned, he heard a booming sounding from behind him.


    He couldn''t even look back when he saw a body fly past him, like a rock.


    It crashed through columns, shattering it before falling to the ground. It was only now that people saw who this person was.


    The person who had fallen to the ground was still alive, but his face was covered with blood. It was none other than the n Leader who had rushed out in a hurry.


    Almost everyone looked towards the entrance, the doors of which were shattered entirely. The sound of tranquil footsteps caught their attention, drawing their gaze towards a figure on the opposite end.


    It was a young man, dressed in worn-out attire, with a detached head held in his left hand, gripping it by the hair. The blood still fresh and dropping on the floor.


    The head belonged to none other than the grandson of the n Leader who had left the chamber recently.

 Chapter 1044 1044

    Chapter 10441044


    The room fell intoplete silence, shock evident on everyone''s faces. The Star Alliance Leader''s expression turned pale as he realized the gravity of the situation. He was the only person who had seen Lucifer in the past.


    This young man, holding the severed head of another young man, exuded an aura of power and darkness that sent chills down the spines of many present, especially the Star Alliance Members.


    The Star Alliance Leader red at the General who had given them the news that Lucifer had been killed. If looks could kill, the General who had provided this news would''ve already been dead.


    Although the members of the Hidden n hadn''t met Lucifer before, quite a lot of them understood who this person was.


    Once Lucifer had devoured the Dragon King, he had unlocked something inside him. Something that even he himself didn''t understand. His physical traits had changed to some extent, including the color of his eyes.


    A strange yet majestic ancient pattern was now visible on his neck, a pattern that he never had before. It was a pattern that almost everyone here recognised as this pattern was the proof of a person belonging to the Ancient n.


    Moreover, since the pattern on Lucifer''s neck and shoulder was dark, it showed that he had the purest bloodline of the Ancient n.


    "Is this what you meant by you having killed him?" One of the Hidden n Members asked, ring at the Star Alliance Leader. "Unless I''m blind, he is as alive as he can be."


    "Was this a trap set by you? Have you sold us?" Another n Head asked, killing intent evident in his eyes as he thought that this banquet was a trap set by the Star Alliance which was now working with Lucifer.


    "N-no! I don''t understand myself. How can he be alive?!" The Star Alliance Leader eximed, his pupils trembling. Not only was Lucifer alive, but he was in the room with them. This was something he never could''ve expected.


    "Turn on the Protective Field in the Pce!" Hemanded, hastilying to his senses.


    Since he thought that Lucifer was dead, none of the safety mechanisms in the Pce were active yet.


    As soon as hismands were issued, it was as if the entire world was put under a lockdown.


    Every corner of the pce was flooded with a pulsating force field, sealing off any possible escape.


    The Star Alliance Leader turned to his fellow council members, determination gleaming in his eyes.


    "We must not let him out of our sight," he dered, his voice filled with a mix of fear and resolve. The council members nodded in agreement, their faces reflecting a tense readiness


    Although they didn''t expect Lucifer to be here, but this was also an opportunity to show the might of the Star Alliance in presence of the Hidden n Leaders.


    The chamber was sealed by a force field while the Star Alliance Generals surrounded Lucifer. The anti-magic gems embedded in their clothes turned on, ready to counter any attack.


    The General closest to Lucifer rushed at him. "Coming here was the biggest mistake of your life; this time, you won''t be able to escape!"


    This was another General who had taught Lucifer how to use their skills. Lucifer was also friends with his Granddaughter, just like he was with Ron. However, he never could''ve expected that their rtionship was going to change to this extent in such a short time.


    His sword shone in a freezing blue light as he attacked Lucifer who now stood before him as an enemy.


    Lucifer didn''t dodge the attack. He simply remained in his ce as he tossed the head of the young man in the direction of the Spatial n Leader who hade out from under the rubble.


    The Spatial n Leader''s lips were bleeding. He hadn''t expected to be attacked when he didn''t expect it. However, as he came out from under the rubble, he saw an object flying towards him.


    He subconsciously caught the flying object, only to realize that it was the head of his grandson.


    On the other side, the General attacked Lucifer with his frozen sword. In the next moment, the General revealed an expression of shock as his attack was blocked, and by nothing more than Lucifer''s bare hands.


    Lucifer grabbed onto the sharp de of the sword, which failed to pierce his bones. Only Lucifer''s flesh was cut, blood dripping down his palm and only the frozen sword. Still, he revealed no pain.


    "Teaching you was the biggest mistake of my life," the old man told Lucifer, as a frozen knife appeared in his other hand which he swung at Lucifer''s throat.


    The Knife reached Lucifer''s throat, but as it was only a few inches away, the General''s entire body went weak. His grip loosened as the knife fell to the ground.


    The General''s entire hand decayed, turning into a grotesque piece of flesh that soon turned to dust.


    "You were a good person, stuck in a bad ce," Lucifer''s words fell in the old man''s ears whose vision turned dark, every particle in his body decaying at a rapid pace.


    Before long, the old man hadpletely disappeared, leaving nothing more than dust behind. Only the frozen sword was the proof that he ever existed, the sword that was still covered in Lucifer''s blood.


    Lucifer grabbed the hilt of the sword. As soon as he held the sword properly, the sword became even colder while the blue aura around it intensified.


    While another General attacked Lucifer, the young man simply disappeared from everyone''s view. He was someone who had a speedparable to the Dragon King. He only became stronger after devouring the Dragon King.


    Even the Hidden n Members were barely able to keep an eye on Lucifer. In such a small and sealed ce, they also felt ufortable fighting Lucifer as they couldn''t use their strength to the fullest.


    The Head of the Generals kept falling to the ground, one after another. This ce had be a hunting ground for Lucifer.


    It was only now that the Star Alliance Leader realized that he had made a mistake. By sealing this ce, it wasn''t that Lucifer was trapped here with them. Instead, they were trapped here with Lucifer who was truly in his element in such a closed space.


    aa7b5e4a913f698f2f85f05ec8699ff287d581d1fb0678555d462be31d6cebaa7b645921ea9dcfc6a6395ee0e6b090e1ed6c2950d31ce24c03ef08c8d4d71

 Chapter 1045 1045

    Chapter 10451045


    Lucifer''s movements were fluid and precise, each strike he madending with deadly uracy. It was as if he was dealing with the Star Alliance Members who couldn''t offer any resistance.


    His superhuman strength and speed allowed him to effortlessly overpower his opponents, leaving them defenseless against his onught. Even the Anti-magic Stones were useless against him, not providing them with any protection.


    The Star Alliance members, once proud and confident, now cowered in fear as they witnessed the true extent of Lucifer''s power. Seeing the sight before them, many Generals understood why so many of their people died at Lucifer''s hands in the past.


    One by one, the Star Alliance Generals fell to the ground, their bodies decaying into dust just like the General before them. The room was filled with the stench of death and the sound of crumbling flesh, as Lucifer''s presence alone seemed to elerate the decay of those around him.


    The Star Alliance Leader watched in horror as hisrades were wiped out with ease, his own fear growing with every life extinguished.


    The Star Alliance Leader immediately issued hismand to release the restriction in the Pce. However, the Hidden n Leader didn''t wait for the Star Alliance.


    Even though they looked down on Lucifer, they didn''t want to fight when they couldn''t even properly fight.


    Desperation filled the air as the Star Alliance members tried to mount a defense against Lucifer. Their attacks were feeble inparison, barely scratching the surface of the imprable defenses of the ughter. Lucifer effortlessly dodged their strikes, his movements bing a blur as he danced around his opponents with deadly grace.


    The Star Alliance Leader knew that he had to act quickly if there was any hope of survival.


    As the Star Alliance warriors converged on Lucifer, a fierce battle erupted within the sealed chamber. Powers shed and energies collided, shaking the very foundations of the pce.


    The room was filled with explosions of fire, lightning, and ice, as the warriors unleashed their full potential in an attempt to bring down the seemingly invincible Lucifer.


    But Lucifer proved to be more than a match for them all. His power seemed to grow with each attack, as if feeding off the energy expended against him. He effortlessly countered their blows, his own strikesnding with devastating force.


    Lucifer didn''t dodge any attacks. Even if it was an attack strong enough to destroy half his body, he faced it.


    When he initially gained the unknown core, he had lost all his abilities, including his healing. But now, he was able to use all of them, and way more. His healing itself had be stronger.


    With each step he took, the ground beneath him decayed, turning rotten.


    The warriors fought valiantly, but one by one, they too fell victim to Lucifer''s bloodlust.


    Amidst the chaos, the Star Alliance Leader''s resolve wavered. He couldn''tprehend how Lucifer had be so powerful, how he had evolved into an unstoppable force of darkness.


    The time when Lucifer was part of the Star Alliance, fighting for the position of a mere captain, he didn''t appear this special. He couldn''t understand if Lucifer was hiding his true strength from everyone at that time.


    While the Star Alliance team struggled to remove the restriction in the hall, the Hidden n Members didn''t remain silent.


    One of the Hidden n Members flew high, ignoring the restriction in the hall just like Lucifer had done. The restriction of the Star Alliance was weak against them as well, yet they didn''t want to fight in such an enclosed space, especially since it could endanger their children who had apanied them.


    The Hidden n Leader flew high with his Granddaughter following behind. As he reached up, the roof of the Pce exploded, its rubble burning to ashes, clearing the obstruction.


    The n Leader flew out the Pce, stopping high in the sky as he looked down at the Pce.


    The other Hidden n Members also flew out, their expressions stern.


    Even after seeing how easily Lucifer dealt with the Star Alliance Members, they still didn''t take him as that big a threat since Lucifer hadn''t shown much of the true extent of his strength.


    With the n Leaders leaving, the Star Alliance''sst hope had been crushed, leaving them defenseless against this newfound terror.


    Lucifer stood amidst the fallen, his eyes glowing with an otherworldly light as blood of the fallen Star Alliance Members painted his clothes red.


    The room fell intoplete silence once more, the shock and fear evident on the face of the only people who remained.


    The Star Alliance Leader''s expression turned pale as he realized the gravity of the situation.


    "I have underestimated you," the old man''s voice echoed through the chamber. "You are no longer the man I saw in the past. You are something more, something beyondprehension."


    With that, the Star Alliance Leader moved. However, he didn''t fly towards Lucifer. Instead, he also flew towards the sky, as if wanting to hide behind the Hidden n Members.


    The remaining fighting force of the Star Alliance had also been destroyed, leaving only the bare minimum. He didn''t want to be here to die at Lucifer''s hands.


    All he wanted to do was escape. He didn''t care about showing the might of the Star Alliance to the Hidden n Members. As long as he could survive, it was all worth it.


    Unfortunately, he had only flown up by a few meters when he felt something get a hold of his ankles. Before he could react, he felt a great force pull him down.


    Boom~


    The Star Alliance Leader crashed back into the ground, his body mming against the hard surface with a sickening thud. A crater formed around him, the impact causing cracks to spiderweb outwards, highlighting the sheer force of the fall.


    Gasping for air, he struggled to push himself up, the pain radiating through his body. It was then that he caught sight of Lucifer, hovering above him with a wicked grin, his dark wings extending ominously.


    "You think you can run from me?" Lucifer sneered, his voice dripping with contempt. "There is nowhere you can hide, nowhere you can escape. Today, I shall end this all!"

 Chapter 1046 1046

    Chapter 10461046


    The Star Alliance Leader''s heart raced as he realized the futility of his attempts to flee. Lucifer''s power was beyond anything he had ever encountered, and it seemed that no matter what he did, he was destined to be crushed under the weight of that power.


    But even in the face of certain death, the Star Alliance Leader refused to give in. He summoned every ounce of strength left within him and mustered his determination. He knew that he had to fight if he was to have any hope of survival.


    With a roar, the Star Alliance Leader pushed himself up, only to once again be crushed under Lucifer''s feet.


    The Star Alliance Leader struggled to get back up, his body battered and broken. He knew that he couldn''t defeat Lucifer on his own, but he refused to give up. He nced around the room, searching for any sign of hope.


    And then he saw it.


    Amidst the chaos and destruction, a small glimmer of light caught his attention. It was the Anti-magic Stone, lying on the ground just a few feet away. The Star Alliance Leader''s eyes widened as a spark of hope ignited within him.


    He reached out, his fingers trembling as he grasped the Anti-magic Stone. Its cool surface sent a surge of energy through his body, revitalizing his weary limbs.


    "If I''m to die, I will take you with me!" the Star Alliance Leader shouted, his voice filled with defiance.


    He used the Anti-magic as a knife, stabbing it in Lucifer''s calf. He expected Lucifer to take off his feet, giving him a chance to stand up. Even though the Anti Magic Stone wasn''t working on Lucifer, but it was still poisonous when in contact with blood.


    Unfortunately for him, even as Lucifer''s feet bled, he didn''t take off his foot. Instead, he applied even more pressure.


    In the blink of an eye, all his hopes were crushed as he felt all his bones crushing under the foot, a burning sensation spreading across his entire body.


    Right before his eyes, he saw his body decaying. His skin turned pale and brittle, his muscles withered away, and his once vibrant eyes lost their spark.


    As life drained from the Star Alliance Leader, Lucifer removed his blood stained foot.


    He grabbed the anti magic stone that was stabbed deep in his calf. He pulled out the stone as he watched his leg wound.


    Even after removing the stone, his wound didn''t heal. The stone was certainly poisonous, even making him feel the pain that he didn''t show on his expressions.


    Even the blood that continued to flow from his leg seemed tainted, the dark aura of the stone spreading throughout his leg.


    The Star Alliance used the Anti-Magic stone as a weapon against Lucifer''s magic, unaware that it had even more uses as a brute weapon that they hadn''t explored.


    Lucifer gazed at the Anti-Magic stone, the stone that held an unfamiliar origin. Even in the past when the Ancient n was at the peak, there was no knowledge about a stone like this.


    Looking at the stone, he thought of something. In most methods, he couldn''t be killed since the unknown core reversed time to save his life. But what if the Anti Magic Stone was made into a knife and stabbed deep in his heart. Could he be killed? He wasn''t sure. But if this was true, he would''ve been happy.


    Due to the peculiar properties of the Anti Magic Stone, it was not possible for him to store it in his Spatial Storage. As a result, he opted to carry the stone with him physically.


    After keeping the stone, he looked at the sky where all the Hidden n Members had stayed. Strangely enough, the youngsters of the ns weren''t present there.


    All the youngsters were sent back by the n Patriarch to inform the ns about the events that urred here. In the end, everything had progressed as Lucifer wanted. This was the only reason he didn''t go after them from the start. He wanted them to bring everyone from their ns here for him.


    There was only one n that wasn''t alerted. It was the Spatial n. The only reason Lucifer had resisted the urge to leave the young man alive was because he wanted this. Unfortunately, after hearing the words of the young man, he didn''t control his rage. For that one specific n, he didn''t want them here. Instead, he wanted to go to their world personally.


    The young man of the Spatial n was killed, but his grandfather was still alive.


    The old man held his grandson''s head, standing like a statue as tears streamed down his weathered face.


    With a heart filled with sorrow as he vowed to avenge his grandson''s death and ughter Lucifer.


    "You killed him..." the old man''s barely audible voice was heard. However, the words were clear as day for Lucifer.


    The old man''s n never thought twice when they killed his n Members. They even felt proud and hung his n members'' head at the entrance of the n like a decoration. And now the old man was feeling broken just after seeing one head?


    "Those who kill should be prepared to be killed," Lucifer spoke, finding the old man hypocritical.


    "Then you should be ready to be killed!" The old man said, his killing intent was heavy like the deep sea. A spatial portal opened next to him, in which he kept the head of his grandson safely.


    After keeping his grandson''s remains in the Spatial Storage, his bloodshot eyes looked at Lucifer.


    "I will not rest until I have avenged my grandson''s death," the old man dered, his voice filled with a cold determination.


    With a sudden burst of energy, multiple small portals opened all around Lucifer. From all those portals, long bloody spikes came out, leaving no ce for him to dodge.


    The hundreds of spikes from all around impaled Lucifer, piercing through his body and causing his clothes to be stained in blood.

 Chapter 1047 1047

    Chapter 10471047


    "You will pay for my grandson''s life!" The old man eximed as he flicked his finger. The thousands of spikes all turned into sharp des, moving on their own, cutting Lucifer into thousands of pieces, all falling to the ground.


    The old man watched the scene, his heart filled with a mix of satisfaction and sorrow. It was a bittersweet victory, knowing that his grandson''s life had been avenged but his grandson could never return to life.


    The old man watched the bloodstained floor that was tainted with Lucifer''s blood. However, as he watched the scene, he felt a mild headache. The surroundings had turned hazy as if the world itself was moving.


    The strange phenomenonsted only for an instant yet at the same time, it felt like it was for an eternity.


    When the strange feeling was over, the old man was stunned. The floor that was stained by Lucifer''s floor waspletely clean. Moreover, Lucifer was standingpletely fine, his body still intact. It was as if all that he saw just now had been nothing but an illusion.


    "How could an illusion fool me?" The old man didn''t understand how this happened. With his abilities, it would''ve been impossible for an illusion to fool him.


    Without thinking twice, he attacked Lucifer again, using the same attack.


    Once again the spatial spikes pierced Lucifer''s body yet he the same attack.


    Once again the spatial spikes pierced Lucifer''s body yet he did not flinch. His eyes burned with an intense fire as he stared at the old man, a smile ying on his lips. The pain was nothingpared to the torment that was in his heart.


    Once again his body was cut and once again the time was reversed to the point where he waspletely fine.


    The old man grew hysterical in disbelief. He kept attacking Lucifer again and again, yet the oue was always the same.


    After the tenth time, the old man dropped to his knees, feeling as if he was stuck in a nightmare.


    "Why... Why don''t he die? That''s right! This isn''t reality! This must be a nightmare! I''ll soon wake up from it." The old man kept mumbling to himself.


    He used his spatial aura to hurt his own body to wake up from the nightmare.


    "Urgh!"


    The old man felt pain when he attacked his consciousness to wake up, realizing that it wasn''t a dream either.


    "How can this be? It''s not a dream?!" The old man eximed, looking at Lucifer who was now only a few feet away from him, looking down.


    "It''s far from a dream." Lucifer''s sentence fell in his ears as he sensed a feeling of soon.


    The space around him was in turmoil. Space was his domain, but even the space in his surrounding had gotten out of his control now.


    "How...?" The old man asked Lucifer, his pupils trembling as thousands of small spatial portals appeared all around him. It was the same attack that he had used on Lucifer, but this time, it was Lucifer using the skill.


    This was a skill that only a few people in his n knew and it was impossible to be leaked. He didn''t understand how Lucifer was able to learn it. Was it just from seeing him use this skill one after another? The skill was far more powerful in Lucifer''s hands than the old man had ever imagined.The old man didn''t understand how.


    Before he could even finish his sentence, thousands of spatial spikes impaled his body, causing immense pain and rendering him unable to move.


    His agonizing roar filled the entire hall, echoing off the walls as Lucifer stood there, cold and unrelenting.


    Despite the old man''s suffering, Lucifer remainedposed, his eyes flickering with an unknown emotion.


    Soon, the spikes transformed into sharp des, moving around the old man''s body, slicing everything in its path.


    The room fell into absolute silence, Lucifer approached the old man who was now no more than small pieces of flesh littered on the floor.


    Lucifer picked up the old man''s finger that had a Spatial ring created by him. The spatial ring not only contained some of his belongings, but more importantly, it contained the tracing aura of the old man''s n.


    Lucifer absorbed the tracing aura from the storage ring, memorizing it.


    After memorizing the aura, Lucifer kept the storage ring in his pocket before ncing at the skies where many big n members were watching him.


    Although it appeared as if a long time had passed, only a few minutes had passed since the roof was broken and the ns left.


    In a few minutes, the Hidden n Members didn''t remain idle either. Although they wanted to show their might and face Lucifer, but for some reason, they also felt that it was better to not drag this thing.


    One the ns that was master of formations took the lead, their n Members were the first to arrive.


    All the n Members of the Formation n surrounded the city, standing at specific points, creating something like a formation around the entire city with their body.


    Some other ns helped the Formation n with the resources and helped with the power source for such arge scale destructive formation.


    By the time Lucifer killed the Spatial n Master, the formation was alsopleted.


    If one was to look from the sky, they could see a translucent light that connected one Formation n Member from the other,pleting a beautiful pattern.


    Unfortunately, the Formation was more dangerous than it was beautiful. With the help of the power sources from other ns, the Formation was even more frightening.


    By the time Lucifer dealt with the Spatial n Master and looked up, he could feel a strange aura all around him.


    The air crackled with energy, and a foreboding presence loomed over the entire city. Lucifer could sense the immense power emanating from thepleted formation.


    The intricate pattern glowed with an ethereal light, captivating the eyes of all who beheld it. Despite its beauty, Lucifer couldn''t help but feel a sense of unease as the formation''s power grew more potent by the second.

 Chapter 1048 1048: The Final Change

    Chapter1048 1048: The Final Change


    Lucifer''s eyes narrowed as he observed the formation. He could feel the malicious intent behind it, the desire to eradicate him and anyone else who stood in their way.


    As the formation activated, a surge of energy shot towards Lucifer, aiming to trap him within its confines while destroying everything in its path.


    A terrifying dark energy covered the entire formation. The entire city was devoured, the citizens of the Holy City dying without even realizing what had happened. They only saw the burst of dark energy before everything was destroyed in its path.


    In the blink of an eye, the dark energy devoured most of the city, soon reaching Lucifer in the center.


    The n Leaders in the sky remained smug as they watched Lucifer on the verge of being devoured. For them, the battle was over before it even began.


    Lucifer didn''t remain idle either. For him, death wasn''t an option. He could easily move back a few minutes in time after dying. However, he didn''t intend to die this time.


    He didn''t want to let the n Leaders win even if it was just for a second. He wanted to crush them. He wanted to show them the might of the Ancient n that they had destroyed with treachery!


    He wanted to show them why his n was the overlord of this Universe! He wanted to crush their hopes and make He wanted to show them why his n was the overlord of this Universe! He wanted to crush their hopes and make them feel the fear that they hadn''t felt ever before.


    Lucifer''s eyes turned a darker shade of violet as his Ancient Bloodline was stimted even more. The aura around him intensified like never before.


    Two blood red horns made purely from the Bloodline Aura appeared on his forehead, a characteristic of the Ancient n that could only be seen in the Leader of the Ancient n in the past after their inheritance.


    Even Lucifer didn''tpletely understand the process as to why he could achieve this when the Inheritance was forever gone with his father''s death. But at the moment, he felt that there was a voice inside his heart.


    Lucifer closed his eyes as the dark aura of the formation reached closer. It was as if time itself had stopped at that moment.


    In the moment, he felt a strange feeling of peace and serenity that he never felt before. It was the feeling that he had almost forgotten in the past.


    It was a feeling he had when his mother used to hold him in his arms... It was an indescribable feeling.


    He felt as if in this moment, he was truly back in time to the moment where he used to live with his real family in the Ancient n, his father joking with him and teaching him how to use some of his skills.


    He felt as if his father and mother were standing right behind him, whispering in his ears that they love him.


    Not just the time around Lucifer, but the time around the entire universe had stopped in the moment.


    Talia had entered the universe with her people and now she was flying towards Lucifer''s aura at full speed, but along the way, she felt something. She was also frozen in time with her n members.


    The ordinary people were frozen in time, unable to even realize that they were frozen. Even their minds had stopped working. Talia was different.


    Her mind wasn''t frozen and she could still think, but she couldn''t move at all, as if she was under some strange restrictions of time and space.


    As she and her people were frozen, her Ring that she had brought with her started shining, covering her in some nourishing aura. Thanks to the ring, she was finally freed of the restrictions of time.


    Unfortunately, her expressions were as grim as they could be, since she realized what it meant for her to be frozen in time.


    She used the ring to free her people, her expressions dark. "We need to hurry!"


    ****


    Back in the Star Alliance World, Lucifer was going through a strange phenomenon that he himself had never seen before, even when he was in the Ancient n in his childhood.


    The strange and unfamiliar core in his heart was also transforming. The core appeared to be melting inside his heart, merging with his flesh and blood.


    The core that felt like an external object was slowly bing a part of his body like never before.


    The tattered clothes of Lucifer were destroyed in the process, revealing a new set of attire forming around his body.


    As the clothes materialized, they exuded a radiant golden light, symbolizing a n Head of the Ancient n.


    Although Lucifer hadn''t seen this process before, but he knew this attire. It was the clothes that he had seen only his father wearing in the past.


    Going through the change, Lucifer realized something. A single tear trickled down his cheeks as he felt his heart breaking in pain.


    He had thought that this unknown core which could even resist Anti Magic was something he received from the broken statue of Talia. He thought it was something rted to her inheritance.


    It was only now he realized how wrong he had been. This unknown core wasn''t part of Talia''s inheritance. It also wasn''t something he received from her statue. Instead, it had always been inside him, as if waiting for the moment when he was ready to inherit it.


    This was a gift... A gift from his father the moment he was born. This was also something that had saved him from the explosion that had taken Talia''s life in the Land of Inheritance.


    The only reason this core had eventually shown up sooner was to save his life since his Healing alone wasn''t enough to protect his life at that moment.


    The only reason he couldn''t control this core was because it had appeared before he was fully ready to save his life. The core that took everything from him... It was also what saved his life.

 Chapter 1049 1050: A fathers love

    Chapter1049 1050: A father''s love


    Once the Core had truly epted him, it merged with his soul more than with his body. It was as if this was something that had been with him from eternity. After epting the core, Lucifer finally felt as if he waspleted.


    Unfortunately, at the same time, he also felt more heartbroken as he understood many more things that he previously didn''t. He recovered a small fragment of his memories that he himself didn''t know previously. It was the memories of the day of hisst birthday, before his entire n was annihted.


    Heartbroken, he dropped to his knees. This core... It was something that only the Master of the Ancient n could use. His father was supposed to possess it, but during his birthday celebration, his father had transferred this core to him.


    His father didn''t even wait for him to grow up as he loved him so much. The core wasn''t just the proof of his father''s trust in him with the n, but also a way for his father to ensure that his son didn''t die for any reason.


    To protect his son, his father had transferred the greatest treasure of their n to him, but also to not let him be conceited about it, sealing the memories rted to the Core.


    At that time, Lucifer''s father didn''t expect the kind of trouble that was waiting for them which could annihte the entire n.


    Tears trickled down Lucifer''s eyes as he remained on his knees, repeating a single sentence. "If only he had kept this..."


    His father had transferred the treasure, not expecting that they were going to be attacked right after. The Ancient n had been at peace for over an eternity, so his father didn''t expect a sudden attack like that.


    If he had kept it, then the oue could''ve been much different. Even if they were attacked when they were unprepared, with this, his father could''ve changed the present, past and future.


    His father could''ve even gone back in the past to change things. Unfortunately, everything happened at the wrong time.


    Following the transfer of the core, his father lost the unique ability that only the n Head could use. Not only that, but on that day, his father was also at his weakest, as if he had ripped out a part of his soul.


    Lucifer had never understood how his father, who was invincible, could''ve been killed even if all the ns in the world joined their forces. But now he understood. Once again, it was all because of him!


    Even after the attack, his father could''ve forcefully retrieved the core from Lucifer, but he didn''t. Once transferred, if he was to forcefully retrieve it, it was no different than killing Lucifer with his own hands, wiping his entire existence.


    Even going back in the past couldn''t have brought back Lucifer since he would''ve been erased from space and time itself. Even at his weakest, his father fought for his n till thest breath, going through the traps, schemes and betrayals, but he never once thought about ripping the heart of his son to survive.


    "It''s because of me... It''s all because of me..." Lucifer mumbled, tears streaming down his face as he started hating himself even more. No matter where he was, no matter what he did, he always brought bad luck to his loved ones, taking their lives.


    He couldn''t forgive himself for the pain he had caused, yet he couldn''t forget the love of his parents for him. His real parents loved him more than their lives, enough to sacrifice everything for him.


    On the other hand, the parents on earth who adopted him weren''t different either. Instead of killing the child of unknown origin that they found inside a Dungeon, they brought that child gone and loved him more than someone could love their real child.


    In both eras, he had the best parents he could''ve asked for. He had friends who supported him, no matter how stubborn he was. He had so much, yet he had nothing.


    With tear filled eyes, Lucifer looked at the sky, his eyes filled with even more rage for the n leaders in the sky.


    Lucifer appeared to be apletely different person now. It was as if the entire world had turned into a sea of blood.


    Although he looked as handsome as a demonic prince in his new avatar, his eyes were filled with terrifying emotion, as if he was a volcano that was about to erupt.


    The time that had paused, once again started flowing. The terrifying dark aura of the formation engulfed Lucifer.


    In the sky, the n Leaders watched the entire scene, carrying a smug smile on their lips. However, what they saw next stunned them to their core.


    With a single wave of his hand, the dark aura moved away from Lucifer, as if he was controlling the formation now.


    The Formation n tried hard to control, but theypletely lost it.


    Lucifer nced at the Formation n Members that were controlling the formation.


    He lightly tapped his foot on the ground. Following the vibration that no one could hear, the dark aura flew back, swallowing the Formation n Members, their screams loud enough to send chills down the spine of anyone who heard them.


    In the blink of an eye, there was a terrifying whirlpool of the dark aura around Lucifer who stood in the center,pletely unharmed.


    "What are you doing? He''s taken control! Stop supplying energy to the formation!" The Formation n Leader roared at the top of his lungs, for the first time fear evident in his eyes.


    In response, the n Leaders who were precisely supplying energy looked at him with confusion. "We''ve already stopped..."


    "You did?" The Formation n Leader''s face went pale as he looked at Lucifer. "Then how is he..."


    He didn''t even finish the sentence as he thought of an absurd possibility. The formation that needed thebined energy of multiple n Heads that had lived for hundreds of years was being managed by Lucifer with his own strength! He was the Energy Source himself!

 Chapter 1050 1051

    Chapter1050 1051


    As the man came to a realization, his expressions turned from confusion to shock. The sight truly left him speechless. Only one person who wasn''t even as old as them was supporting this entire formation.


    Not only was this young man supporting the formation with his own strength, but he was also controlling the formation akin to an overlord that ruled over the entire Domain.


    The other ns that didn''t have mastery in formations like them, so they didn''t understand what this implied. But the Formation n Master was clear as day


    Without a second thought, the man turned around and started escaping. Unlike the others, he didn''t underestimate Lucifer anymore. At the moment, all he wanted was to escape and hope that other ns could stop Lucifer.


    If they couldn''t, then as long as he survived, he could at least go into hiding, sealing his world in some unknown corner so Lucifer couldn''t reach them.


    Surrounded by the torrential storm of the dark aura, Lucifer''s hair bellowed in the wind as his eyes carried a beautiful violet glow.


    With every step he took, the ground beneath him trembled with fear. In an instant, Lucifer''s body disappeared, leaving behind only a trail of ck mist. He reappeared in front of the escaping Formation n Leader, his eyes filled with a strange glow, his face revealing no joy, no anger, nothing at all.


    For him, this was revenge yet he didn''t feel anything about it. All he knew was that he had to kill these people.


    "No one is leaving today." Lucifer''s voice was filled with a powerful suppression. He extended his hand, and the dark aura around him condensed into a sharp, ck de.


    With a swift motion, Lucifer swung the de, slicing through the air and cutting off the escape route of the Formation n Leader. The Spatial Portal that the Formation n Leader had opened was cut in thousands of pieces before the man could even enter.


    The n Leader''s eyes widened in horror as he realized the inevitability of his fate. If he had entered the Portal when Lucifer cut it, he knew his body would''ve been destroyed by the space.


    In a way, he had been saved by a few seconds, barely. However, he wasn''t sure if being before Lucifer was any better.


    "If fighting is the only way, then I''ll fight!" The Formation n Leader roared, the multiple formation talismans in his hands burning with beautiful re.


    As the formation talismans burned, multiple smaller Formations were activated at the same time, including attack and defensive formations.


    The air crackled with energy as thebination of formations created a powerful barrier around the Formation n Leader, shielding him from everything.


    The n Leader stood tall, channeling all his strength and determination into each strike as he attacked Lucifer with his formations. With each blow, the talismans glowed even brighter, amplifying the n Leader''s powers.


    Unfortunately for him, all the formations that he used to attack Lucifer were destroyed in an instant with a wave of Lucifer''s hands as if he was the only god here.


    "H-how can you be so strong?" The Formation n Leader eximed in disbelief.


    Although he wasn''t part of the conquest over the Ancient n, but his ancestors were. They were also quite proud about it. He had read all their descriptions about what happened in the war.


    Their formations at that time hade in handy to the coalition forces, helping them kill so many. So he didn''t understand how Lucifer was able to destroy and control his formations.


    If the Ancient n was capable of this, how could they be wiped this easily. And if they weren''t, then what happened to Lucifer for him to be this strong.


    Unfortunately, he didn''t receive any answer. Instead, the torrential dark storm from the ground attacked him, following Lucifer''s will. His own formation was used to attack him.


    In the blink of an eye, the dark formation energy swallowed the man, making him disappear inside the darkness.


    "No!" the man screamed, desperately trying to defend himself. But it was futile. The dark energy easily pierced through his defensive formations, cutting through his body as if it were made of paper. Blood sttered in all directions, painting the battlefield in a gruesome disy.


    Lucifer''s eyes were cold and merciless as he watched the life drain from the n Leader''s eyes. He felt no remorse, no hesitation. Only a burning desire for revenge fueled his actions.


    One by one, Lucifer hunted down the n Leaders who had betrayed and killed his n. His movements were swift and precise, his attacks lethal and unforgiving.


    The battlefield was soon filled with the lifeless bodies of the n Leaders, their once powerful and proud faces now twisted in agony and fear.


    The n Members of many such ns arrived following the previousmands of the n Leaders, not realizing howte they were and how the entire situation had changed.


    As the n Members of one such n arrived, they watched their n Leader''s decaying body. Right before their eyes, their n Leader had turned into nothing but dust, showing them a gruesome sight.


    Before they could even think of what to do next, the dark storm that had been engulfing the battlefield swallowed them as well, thousands of screams forever getting silent.


    Within thirty minutes, the chaotic battlefield had grownpletely silent. Only signs of death and destruction could be seen all around the ce.


    As thest n Leader fell, the dark aura surrounding Lucifer dissipated. The strange horns around his forehead also disappeared, leaving behind a silent atmosphere.


    The battlefield was silent, except for the sound of Lucifer''s heavy breathing as he finallynded on the ground, his palm still inside the chest of thest n Leader whose heart he had just crushed.


    He stood there, his body covered in blood and his eyes filled with a mix of an unknown emotion. The man''s body decayed around Lucifer''s hands, disappearing into nothingness as Lucifer fell to his knees, this time not in despair, but in exhaustion.


    He looked at the deste battlefield that reminded him of his home that was once left just like this. However, he didn''t feel any satisfaction. He didn''t feel any happiness.


    However, this time he wasn''t as lost as before. He knew what he had to do.


    "Not yet... Not yet!" Despite beingpletely exhausted, he forced his body to stand.

 Chapter 1051 1052

    Chapter1051 1052


    Lucifer''s chest throbbed with pain as he rose to his feet, the weight of his past bearing down upon him. His weary eyes surveyed the ravaged battlefield, witnessing the scars of destruction and the shattered lives left in its wake.


    The battle may have reached its conclusion, but Lucifer knew deep within that this was merely the prologue to what was toe.


    A peculiar sensation drew his gaze towards an unfamiliar direction. From the very earth beneath his feet, the blood of those he had in in this realm began to rise, their life essence intertwining with the crimson droplets. As if guided by an unseen force, the blood drops converged before his very eyes.


    Gradually, the individual droplets merged, forming a colossal sphere reminiscent of a blood-soaked sun. Its size grew exponentially, consuming the life essence of all who had perished in its wake.


    The intense illumination cast by this bloody sun bathed the world in a haunting scarlet glow.


    When the bloody sun had gathered its final tribute, Lucifer extended his pale hand towards it. As if attuned to hismand, the celestial orb began to shrink, transforming into a swirling vortex of pulsating crimson energy. Its once majestic proportions diminished, bing a fraction of its initial size.


    With a delicate touch, the condensed sphere settled into the palm of Lucifer''s hand, undergoing a metamorphosis of its own. The shape elongated, slenderizing into a sleek and sinuous crimson sword. Its very presence exuded an overwhelming power, an otherworldly energy that resonated with its master''s desires.


    This de, forged from the blood of the mightiest beings of this era, had absorbed the essence of every species in this realm. Like its wielder, it possessed an unparalleled strength and untamed fury. As Lucifer flicked his wrist, the sword hummed with anticipation, prepared to execute its master''s everymand.


    In this weapon coursed the blood of conquerors, the essence of the conquered.


    Lucifer''s grip tightened around the hilt of the crimson sword, feeling the surge of power coursing through his veins.


    As he stood amidst the remnants of the battlefield, Lucifer didn''t move even an inch. It was as if he was simply waiting for something. His gaze remained in that one peculiar direction.


    A few minutes passed yet nothing changed. The world remained absolutely silent, as if not a single trace of life was left behind. However, shortly, everything changed as a strange aura flooded the atmosphere.


    The sky that had been empty all this time, it was now covered entirely by unknown beings. The world that had no life remaining, now filled with hundreds of unfamiliar beings.


    Although none of the beings looked out of the ordinary, they clearly were more powerful than the beings that Lucifer had faced until now. Moreover, their physical characteristics reminded Lucifer of Talia.


    While Lucifer was observing the people, who revealed clear hostility towards him, he noticed two of those beings move aside, as if clearing a path for someone.


    From the cleared path, a familiar figure came forward. The person looked simr to Talia in all features but her persona felt different. She seemed more mature as if she had lived for much longer.


    "So you''ve been alive," Lucifer spoke, having no doubt about the identity of the person.


    Although he still didn''t know about the true origin of the person, by now, one thing was certain. His n and the woman''s family went far back in history, maybe even farther than he could''ve imagined. Unfortunately, his n was gone and he couldn''t ask anything.


    He could only be certain about one thing. The woman was his enemy. And that was all that mattered.


    "You''ve received the Inheritance of your n it seems. And here I thought, it was lost forever. So it''s always been hiding inside you," the woman spoke, her gaze cold. "What a pity."


    She couldn''t help but regret it. If she had known it before, she would have dealt with him before Lucifer took the inheritance. With his inheritance, things became moreplicated.


    She ced her finger on her ring, applying the slightest of her aura, as if verifying her identity. Once her aura entered the ring, the ring started shining. Its effects remained unknown.


    "It doesn''t matter. Even now, it''s not toote," she said, making her intention clear.


    She hadn''t brought her father and her Elder Brothers with her, being confident that she could deal with him with the support of n Elders, but that was before she knew about Lucifer''s evolution.


    With his evolution, things had beplicated, but she still had faith. The most troublesome thing about Lucifer''s evolution was the excess control over time, space and creation.


    She had brought her father''s ring with her. Although she hadn''t thought that she would be needing it, but now that things hade to this, she was d that she brought it along.


    Although the ring couldn''t stop Lucifer from using his abilities, it could safeguard her and her people from the most annoying aspect of Lucifer''s abilities. It kept them freed from any space time restriction, allowing them to fight freely without restriction.


    Lucifer''s eyes narrowed as he watched the woman closely. He could sense the power emanating from her ring.


    "Do you have enough faith in that ring to put your life on line?" Lucifer asked. "I assure you, your ring will not save you from the fate that awaits you."


    The woman smirked, her eyes gleaming with a mix of arrogance and confidence.


    "We shall see," she said cryptically, before turning her gaze towards the battlefield behind Lucifer.


    Without warning, she raised her hand and a wave of energy surged towards Lucifer, starting the battle.


    Lucifer raised his blood red sword, its fiery glow matching the fire in his eyes.


    The sh of their powers created an intense storm of magic and lightning, shaking the very ground beneath their feet.


    As the dust settled, Lucifer emerged from the debris, his crimson sword gleaming in the dim light,pletely unharmed.


    He charged towards the woman with a speed that was almost impossible to track.

 Chapter 1052 1053

    Chapter1052 1053


    With each step, Lucifer''s speed increased exponentially, leaving behind a trail of swirling crimson energy in his wake. It was as if time itself had slowed down for him.


    However, surprisingly enough, the woman''s ring shone even more brightly. She was somehow able to keep up with Lucifer''s speed.


    She quickly summoned a barrier of energy to shield herself, but it shattered upon contact with Lucifer''s sword, the sheer force of his attack overwhelming her defenses. The impact of her barrier shattering, sent her flying back. However, she remained unharmed.


    The woman wasn''t alone either, as the others also joined the battle, attacking Lucifer from behind. The attacks aimed at Lucifer missed as Lucifer disappeared before the weapons could even touch her.


    Instead, he appeared behind the warriors who had attacked him with a single swing of his sword, taking out one''s head. The blood once again devoured his sword as the body decayed.


    The torrential aura storm around Lucifer kept getting stronger as time passed.


    As Lucifer raised his sword, an even more powerful aura storm could be seen in the sky, as if it was splitting the sky itself.


    Lucifer''s sword came shing down, bringing forth all the devastation with it. The ground trembled beneath the force of Lucifer''s strike, causing a powerful shockwave that shattered the ground itself and sent debris flying.


    In that single instant, half Warriors that Talia brought with her were instantly wiped out, their bodies disintegrating into nothingness.


    The aura storm surrounding Lucifer intensified even further, crackling with an otherworldly energy that seemed to devour everything in its path. It was a disy of power and destruction unlike anything anyone had ever seen before.


    Strangely enough, throughout this entire time, Talia didn''t try to stop Lucifer at all. Instead, she watched with a mild smile on her lips as if she didn''t care that Lucifer had killed half her people.


    Lucifer frowned, seeing herpletely carefree despite the initial losses. However, what he saw next made him realize why she was so carefree.


    He could see his sword turning darker, contrary to its initial color. Not just the sword but he even felt pain spreading through his entire body, his vision blurring as if someone had cast a spell on him.


    Talia''s smile widened as she saw it working. She raised her right hand, as if intentionally showing the ring to Lucifer.


    "Did you really believe I came here without a n?" she asked, her voice filled with a mix of amusement and triumph.


    "This ring holds a power far greater than you could ever imagine. It was especially crafted by Generations of my Ancestors, all to counter your n. Who would''ve thought that it''ll have to be used on a small kid."


    As she spoke, the darkness surrounding the sword intensified, pulsating with an ominous energy.


    Although she pointed towards the ring vaguely, she didn''t tell him exactly how it worked or why Lucifer was affected to this extent.


    "Keep trying... Keep struggling like an ant, not realizing what you''ve been doing wrong. It''s all futile!" she added, as she gestured to her men to attack Lucifer again.


    Lucifer didn''t know what was in the ring or why he was affected when he didn''t even touch the ring. It was as if he was getting more poisoned every time he killed one of them.


    ''Although their rings are a weaker version of mine, they still work on the same principle. The power of the rings have merged with their bodies the moment they start using it. And the moment the more he kills them, the more poisoned he gets.'' Talia thought, watching Lucifer being attacked.


    ''Unfortunately he got his family''s inheritance. Or things would''ve been so much simpler. But it doesn''t matter. The more he kills, the weaker he shall get. Although his body will heal all the toxins after some time, that much time should be enough for us! This time, I''ll go back to my family with the dead body of thest remnant!''


    As the woman was lost in thought, she felt a presence behind her. At thest moment, she moved, trusting her instincts, barely avoiding Lucifer''s sword.


    Turning around, Talia was startled to see a young man behind her. She kept flying back, understanding Lucifer''s intentions.


    "Is the poison what gives you such confidence?" Lucifer asked, his eyes still calm and cold, despite his skin turning a darker shade thanks to the poison.


    Although he didn''t know how exactly he was affected by the poison, he had a guess. It was all because of devouring the strength of those he killed.


    To protect Talia, more guards appeared before her, attacking Lucifer and blocking his path.


    Thousands of spatial shackles shot out from their sleeves, grabbing onto Lucifer''s wrist, ankles and throat. The other warriors also intervened, using the same method.


    Since he was directly in contact with the ring that prevented his space and time restriction through the chains, he didn''t use spatial travel this time. Instead, he let the shackles hold onto him.


    The sky had already turned dark, shrouded by clouds. A strange symbol appeared in Lucifer''s eyes as a lightning current coursed through his blood.


    He had be a conduit of lightning itself.


    "Arghh!" Pained cries of the Warriors filled the surroundings as Lucifer''s lightning traveled through the Chains to them.


    The Warriors writhed in agony as the lightning surged through the chains, their bodies convulsing from the electric shock. Their attacks faltered, and the spatial shackles weakened under the immense power coursing through them. One by one, the shackles shattered, freeing Lucifer from their grasp.


    One after another, Lucifer killed the Warriors that were still paralyzed from the attack. However, this time he didn''t devour them. He let their bodies fall down to the ground, along with the ring in their fingers.


    He thought this might help. Unfortunately, even though he didn''t devour them, he saw that the strange poison inside his body had increased only.


    "So this isn''t about devouring but just about killing," he muttered, ncing at Talia who was standing in the distance, as if taunting him to kill them.


    "If it''s poison that can''t be avoided, then I''ll ept it. But in any case, none of you will be returning alive today."


    Even with the poison, Lucifer still used his powers, despite it affecting his body more. The illusory horns once again appeared over his head, giving him that Demonic appearance.


    "Let''s see who dies first."

 Chapter 1053 1054: Personal Hell

    Chapter1053 1054: Personal Hell


    Lucifer''s once radiant aura of power and dominance had now faded to some extent, reced by a haunting darkness.


    Thick, ck veins snaked their way across his pale skin, pulsating with an otherworldly energy. Each vein seemed to writhe and twist, as if possessed by a malevolent force.


    The cause of this transformationy hidden within Lucifer''s body that was trying to restrict the poison. Deep within his core, a vile poison had taken root.


    The poison couldn''t kill someone like Lucifer but it corrupted everything it touched. With each passing second, the poison''s malefic influence grew stronger, its dark energy seeping into Lucifer''s very soul.


    As the poison coursed through his veins, Lucifer''s body convulsed in agony, yet he stood straight, resisting the weakening poison. His eyes glimmered with a mix of anguish and fury.


    With a burst of energy, Lucifer propelled himself towards Talia, closing the distance between them in an instant. He swung his sword, aiming to strike her down, but once again, her men stepped before her, attacking and blocking him.


    Their attacks weren''t weak either as one of the attacks even managed to slice Lucifer''s left arm clean, passing through his physical defences that had weakened.


    Lucifer still didn''t hold back, roaring like a demon as he cut through his physical defences that had weakened.


    Lucifer still didn''t hold back, roaring like a demon as he cut the enemies in his path without caring about his poison getting stronger.


    Simultaneously, the dark nerves continued to crawl across his body. They branched off from the ck veins, entwining themselves around Lucifer''s limbs, encasing him in an eerie, almost ethereal shroud. It was as if the very essence of darkness was manifesting itself on his flesh, a physical representation of the evil that had invaded his being.


    On the other side, Talia''sughter kept echoing through the surrounding, as if she didn''t care the least bit about her people being killed. It was as if they were just expendable, brought here to exhaust him.


    "You can''t get to me as long as they exist! If you want to survive, you can only stop this battle and surrender. I might consider letting you live as I take you back!" The woman spoke, her smirk remaining consistent.


    Lucifer heard her words loud and clear. In response, he only said a single sentence. "And as long as I exist, you won''t exist!"


    His sword sliced through another warrior, passing through their barrier. Their blood sshing across Lucifer''s face, making him appear even more demonic.


    In the meantime, his left hand also recovered, bringing him back to his usual form.


    Summoning her remaining strength, Talia channeled her own power into her ring. The crimson energy surrounding it intensified, matching the intensity of Lucifer''s lightning. She thrust her hand forward, sending a surge of energy towards him.


    Lucifer''s eyes narrowed as he sensed the iing attack. He quickly raised his sword, using it as a shield against the oing st. The sh of energies created a powerful shockwave, shaking the very foundation of the battlefield.


    The impact sent Lucifer hurtling backward, crashing into the ground with a resounding thud. He could feel the poison coursing through his veins, weakening his body, but he refused to let it deter him. He hade too far to be stopped now.


    Gritting his teeth, Lucifer pushed himself off the ground and charged at Talia once again. Despite the pain and the poison coursing through him, his determination burned brighter than ever. He swung his sword with all his might, aiming for a decisive strike.


    With each of his movements, the space around him shattered, asionally turning into nothingness.


    But before his de could reach its target, Talia vanished into thin air, leaving behind nothing but a mockingughter echoing through the air. Confusion washed over Lucifer as he scanned the area, trying to locate her.


    Suddenly, a searing pain erupted in his back as he felt something pierce through his flesh. He turned around to find Talia standing behind him, a wicked smile on her face.


    "Did you really think I wouldn''t do anything?" she taunted, her voice dripping with superiority. "I am not so foolish as to fight fair when I can end this faster. You may have power, but in the end, the power of a fool is nothing before the power of the wise!"


    Lucifer gritted his teeth, feeling the poison spreading further through his body. He had to end this quickly.


    Ignoring the pain, he summoned all his remaining strength and unleashed a devastating attack, a wave of lightning and energy that surged towards Talia.


    But once again, she disappeared, leaving Lucifer to strike at thin air. The attack collided with the ground, causing a massive explosion that rocked the entire battlefield.


    As the smoke cleared, Talia reappeared, her expression smug. "You may be strong, Lucifer, but you are no match. Your Ancestors were failures and ended up dying before we could even find them. At least you''re lucky enough to die at my hands, unlike them."


    Lucifer''s eyes narrowed, refusing to let Talia''s words rattle him.


    With a burst of determination, he forged ahead, channeling his strength and summoning the power of decay, merging it with his dark lightning.


    These two were the elements that he had the best control of. Even when he awakened, these two elements were always with him.


    While he was about to use everything he had, he frowned, sending more presence around him.


    All around the unfamiliar world, many figures appeared out of thin air. Even more bizarre was that they all looked the same as the people he had killed and devoted. As if they were brought back to life. Moreover, all of them had the same poison ring as before.


    "Oh, it seems I forgot to mention one thing," Taliaughed, watching her men return to life. "It''s just as I said before. As long as they''re alive, you can''t kill me. But what I forgot to mention was that, as long as I''m alive, you can''tpletely kill them either."


    "This is your personal hell, Lucifer. A hell you can never escape!"

 Chapter 1054 1055

    Chapter1054 1055


    "The more you struggle, the more it pleases me. So please don''t stop. Let me watch you struggle like an insect! Let me watch the despair on your face when you realize how futile all your actions have been!"


    Talia was unlike the girl Lucifer knew as the Empress of the Star Alliance. At the moment, she waspletely like an arrogant demoness who was looking down on him.


    But underneath all the bravado, Lucifer could sense a flicker of vulnerability in Talia''s eyes. He knew that underneath all her confidence, there was a strange sense of fear. Although she appeared confident, she was cautious.


    He didn''t know if she was truly confident about his abilities or there was something about this trap that she didn''t want him to see.


    Unfortunately, the poison didn''t give him much time to think about this. All he knew was that she wasn''t the biggest threat to him. There was her family, about whom he had no information at all.


    "To think that you came with such preparation for a single person. Should I feel proud?" Lucifer asked, looking at Talia in the distance as he yed another warrior, increasing the poison within his body.


    "Don''t you see? It''s useless! No matter how many you kill, it won''t change a single thing. In the end, it''ll only bring you to your end sooner!" Talia eximed, her tone filled with more mockery.


    "Are you concerned about me?" Lucifer asked as he again killed another Warrior who attacked him.


    He had noticed something very peculiar. Talia should''ve been happy if he was killing the warriors as it weakened her. So why was she trying to dissuade him by telling him how useless it was?


    He could''ve buried this concern under the thought that Talia was being arrogant, but he realized that things weren''t that simple. For Talia, the end goal was more important than her arrogance.


    That only meant something about him continuously killing her people was starting to bother her. It made him quite curious as well.


    If they were truly something that could be brought back to life again and again, then why worry about their lives?


    Lucifer fought off wave after wave of Talia''s nsman. The poison coursing through his veins made his movements sluggish, but he refused to give in to despair. He wanted to uncover the truth behind this twisted game Talia had set up.


    Unfortunately, his body''s condition didn''t make him confident about being able to achieve that goal unless he changed something.


    His eyes looked at the surroundings, finding the exact position of all the Warriors. He kept an eye on each of their movements. As he took his time to observe, he noticed something really interesting that he previously missed.


    All of them had a ring on their finger that was simr to Talia''s ring. However he was certain that those rings had turned into poison and entered his body when he killed them. He himself saw those rings disappear. So how did they have the ring again?


    It was as if their ring wasn''t actually a real thing. As he focused on the rings, he noticed the rings flickering at times, akin to being made from pure aura. But it was impossible for it to be made by the Warriors by their aura.


    If they had the aura that could nullify his abilities, then why would they need rings? It was clear that the aura was from something else. There was another source.


    As he thought to this point, his attention shifted to Talia''s ring. Out of all, only her ring appeared like a real object and not something that was made from aura.


    Seeing it, he thought of a possibility. The rings on these warriors were linked to Talia''s ring. But it was impossible for the ring to have an infinite amount of aura. That meant the main ring was constantly being exhausted the more it reinforced others.


    He finally understood what that subtle concern in Talia was about. Although she should be happy that he was killing them and taking all the poison, the more he did that, the more she had to exhaust her ring.


    Moreover, the exhaustion was more than just reinforcements. He was sure that the Warriorsing back to life also had to do with that ring.


    In essence, Talia was exhausting more of that poisonous aura in bringing them back to life than Lucifer was consuming by killing them. She was worried that once everything in her ring was used and if Lucifer was still standing, then things could getplicated.


    Lucifer didn''t know if his assumption was correct, but he was more prone to believing his theory.


    With a clue about this trap, he was now more confident. The trap wasn''t invincible and neither was Talia, contrary to how she portrayed herself.


    Instead of a battle of strength, it was a battle to see how long Lucifer couldst while the poison ran free inside him.


    Despite the poison coursing through his veins, Lucifer was now more confident. Once he got rid of her ring, she couldn''t bring them back to life and she couldn''t hide anywhere.


    With a clear understanding, Lucifer didn''t chase after Talia. Instead, he focused on the Warriors.


    "Let''s see how many times you can bring them back to life!"


    Lightning Bolts fell from the sky, all targeting Talia''s warriors. One even fell on Talia. While some of the warriors dodged the bolts, many were hit and died right there.


    Talia had also managed to avoid the bolt, going even farther.


    Many Warriors had barely avoided the lightning bolt. Unfortunately, it was as if Lucifer had predicted their movements as multiple dark spikes came out of the group, impaling their bodies.


    Once again Talia avoided the attack, but even she wasn''t untouched as one of the spikes managed to graze through her robe, barely missing her skin.


    Talia looked at Lucifer in shock as she once again brought the dead warriors back to life, only for Lucifer to kill them again. One after another, Lucifer kept killing them, as if he was embracing the poison.


    This time it was his turn to y with Talia.

 Chapter 1055 1056

    Chapter1055 1056


    "What happened? Bring them back!" Lucifer eximed, his voice loud enough to reach every corner of the world.


    He stood on the ground with the support of his sword, his body appearing frail as if he could call at any moment. However, his eyes were still like that of an arrogant god!


    Dark blood trickled down his lips and the corner of his eyes, making his vision slightly blurry, yet his sword remained just as sharp, stained with the blood of the enemy.


    Talia looked at Lucifer, her expressions sullen. She could still bring her people back once, but she could feel that her ring was close to gettingpletely exhausted. If she didn''t stop now, the ring could bepletely useless for her.


    More than getting Lucifer tired, keeping the ring was important for her since it was the biggest protection she had. She knew that without the ring, her vulnerability would increase, putting her in danger during their uing battles.


    Moreover, looking at the condition of Lucifer, she felt confident in being able to take him down. He was barely even standing after all.


    "I don''t need them anymore." Talia alsonded on the ground. "I want to crush that arrogance of yours myself and end the millions of years of history between our n and your death."


    Although Lucifer was still standing, she was certain that his body was already overwhelmed by the poison. It was just enough for her to be able to kill him.


    In the blood-stained barren world, where death lingered in every breath and the ground screamed in agony, a cataclysmic battle was about to unfold.


    Lucifer, while poisoned, stood at the center of the destion, his ck wings stretching wide against the darkened sky. His eyes burned with an unholy fire as he prepared to face his Talia, who was still in her best condition, unlike him.


    Although the sword was a very useful weapon for him, at this moment, he did something strange. For unknown reasons, he modified the bloody sword into sharp gauntlets around his fists.


    The single sword transformed as per hismands, splitting and merging with both his fists, giving him an even more unique look.


    The sinister glow of the gauntlets matched the dark wings behind his back, amplifying his strength and sharpening. Talia raised an eyebrow in surprise, momentarily distracted from the battle ahead.


    The air crackled with tension as Lucifer summoned the ck lightning from above, bolts of pure malevolence striking the earth with a deafening roar.


    Talia, unfazed by the disy, raised her hands, invoking a shimmering barrier that deflected the deadly arcs.


    "Why are you struggling so much when your death is inevitable?"


    She retaliated with a wave of her hand, sending a torrent of ice shards hurtling towards Lucifer.


    He bellowed in defiance, the shards disintegrating upon contact with his skin, as his power of decay nullified their effects.


    The ground trembled beneath their feet as Lucifer charged forward, his superhuman strength propelling him towards Talia with lightning speed.


    With a mighty swing, he aimed to crush her, but she sidestepped, leaving only a ripple of air where she once stood. Talia retaliated with a wave of her hand, summoning a cyclone of raging mes that engulfed Lucifer. The inferno seared his skin, but he fought through the pain, his resilience fueled by the darkness within.


    Lucifer''s body weakened as the poison coursing through his veins gnawed at his vitality.


    His movements became sluggish, his once-mighty blowscking their former power. Talia seized the opportunity, conjuring spectral vines that ensnared Lucifer, draining his already weakened energy.


    Herughter echoed in the destendscape as she believed victory was within her grasp. Lucifer was already at his weakest and it was only a matter of time before she killed him.


    In fact, she even looked forward to her father praising her when she brought half dead Lucifer back to their world.


    The more Lucifer struggled, the more his strength was devoured. However, at the same time, his mind also started to lose its focus.


    Until now, he had been fighting while keeping his thoughts clear. He didn''t let his anger take over, because he wanted to be sane and clear headed, unlike wild beasts. But as he struggled, that sanity was also slowly overtaken by his anger, just like what happened when he had awakened the inheritance.


    But as Talia tightened her hold on Lucifer, she noticed a glimmer of madness flickering in his eyes.


    He mustered his remaining strength and with a sudden surge. Lucifer, refusing to sumb, summoned thest vestiges of his strength.


    A surge of ck lightning erupted from his fingertips, shattering the spectral tendrils that bound him.


    He roared, his voice a symphony of defiance, as he unleashed a devastating shockwave that sent Talia hurtling backward.


    With the poison still ravaging his body, Lucifer fought through the haze of pain, pushing himself towards Talia, like a hungry beast with only a single focus.


    Talia kept attacking Lucifer, but Lucifer didn''t even try to avoid the attack. He simply chased after Talia, subconsciously burying all the pain within him. Even as deep gnashes were left on his skin, he didn''t react in the slightest.


    Moreover, with the onset of madness, his blood had also started changing even further. His physical defenses had gotten stronger. He had subconsciously started controlling the elements around him,pletely ignoring the poison that spread even faster the more he used his powers.


    Talia, her confidence shaken, tried to conjure a protective shield, but her magic flickered, faltered, and ultimately failed.


    At the end, she tried to teleport away. In that moment of weakness, Lucifer seized his chance, closing the distance between them with a ferocious speed. He grabbed her by the throat, canceling her teleportation before pulling her back, smashing her back on the ground while still holding onto her throat.


    His fists, imbued with thest remnants of his power, collided with Talia''s body, sending shockwaves of destruction through her being. The ground quaked beneath the impact, each blow cracking the very foundation of their deste world.

 Chapter 1056 1057

    Chapter1056 1057


    Lucifer''s eyes zed with a cold fury as he relentlessly pummeled Talia, his superhuman strength overpowering Talia''s weakened defenses.


    Finally, with a final, bone-shattering blow, Lucifer sent Talia flying through the air, her body crashing against a blood-stained boulder. However Lucifer didn''t stop.


    Like the wounded beast, he appeared right before Talia, grabbing both her hands before kicking her stomach.


    Talia''s body was sent flying, but her arms remained in Lucifer''s hands,pletely detached from her body. Even the white ring was in Lucifer''s hands now.


    The battle was over however, Lucifer still didn''t let it go. It was as if he was filled with madness.


    He continued to unleash a flurry of strikes on Talia, not giving her a chance to defend herself.


    With each blow, he seemed to grow crazier, fueled by an unknown force. It was clear that something dark and powerful had taken hold of him. It was his pure madness that he had kept buried.


    All his sadness, all his pain from losing everyone close to him, all his heartbreak, when he sealed his emotions, all of that was buried deep within. It was as if all those emotions wereing at the forefront at this moment.


    Talia''s vision began to blur as the pain became unbearable. She summoned every ounce of strength left in her, yet she couldn''t protect herself.


    She even felt her body being restricted in time. Even Lucifer didn''t realize that he had subconsciously sealed the entire time and space of this world. And without the ring, Talia wasn''t immune to it.


    The ck lightning crackled overhead, as if apanying Lucifer in his rage. Thick lightning bolts kept falling all over the world as the clouds roared.


    In the blood-stained barren world, Lucifer kept hitting Talia again and again... Even Talia couldn''t survive Lucifer''s fists, which were further strengthened by his super strength and the gauntlets.


    It was unclear when she died, but her lifeless eyes stared nkly into the void above. The once vibrant and fierce warrior nowy defeated, her spirit extinguished by the relentless onught of Lucifer''s wrath.


    However, Lucifer didn''t stop as if he couldn''t even register that she had died. The ground beneath cracked with his fists, sending shockwaves through the air.


    Constant roars of Lucifer kept resounding far and wide as Lucifer kept punching. In that madness, even tears of ck blood could be seening down the corner of his eyes.


    His nose, lips and ears also bled, yet he didn''t stop. He kept using all his strength. This was his only outlet, not even caring that his healing hadpletely stopped thanks to the poison.


    It was only after the poison had taken aplete hold of his heart that he felt his body go weak. He fell on the bloody ground, his body almost paralyzed from the poison.


    In the world, only one person was left alive. It was Lucifer and even he couldn''t move in the slightest.


    It was only when he stopped attacking thanks to partial paralysis that his healing worked, albeit only to a small extent.


    After half an hour, Lucifer was finally able to move his finger. He had also regained his consciousness, his mind once again clear. Yet his tears didn''t stop as he looked at the clouded sky.


    After a long time, he pushed his aching body up while spitting the dark blood that had gathered in his mouth, his vision still dark.


    He looked at the unrecognizable mess beside him, that once used to be Talia. The battle was over. But he knew that it wasn''t theplete reality.


    Multiple Spatial portals opened all around the world, as multiple unfamiliar figures stepped out of the portal. Some of them had the same emblem on their chest like Talia.


    "This girl..." One of the men above the sky looked at Talia, sighing. "What trash. I''m d she''s dead."


    Another man, holding a simr authority, looked at the dark haired man, smirking. "She was a fool. But she was still our little sister. Second Brother, shouldn''t you be more mindful of what you say?"


    "I don''t need to be mindful of anything, Second Brother. What''s true is true. In her greed of collecting an aplishment, she hid the fact that she found him. Not only did she lose her life at the hands of that Arcane Remnant, but she even alerted that bastard. "


    "It''s lucky we found out about this from her people and came here on time. Otherwise, what would we have done if he had gone into hiding?"


    Although the men were standing in the sky above, Lucifer could hear their words. He understood that they were Talia''s brothers. They also appeared stronger than her.


    Moreover, there were five brothers, having even higher standing than Talia who had arrived here. What was worse was that all of them held a simr ring of immunity.


    "First it was her. Then it''s you. Is your father next? Then your Ancestors?" Lucifer asked as he spat out even more ck blood from his mouth.


    "Looks like there''s only one way to end this."


    As soon as he awakened the inheritance, he had thought of something. However, he wanted to wait and be in his best condition when he tried that. However now that looked unlikely as he wasn''t even sure if in his current condition, he coulde out alive or not.


    There was no time to think about it. There was no time to wait. Even if he was in his worst condition, he knew he had to do it. If death was his destiny, he wanted to die trying.


    "What is that trash mumbling? Is he trying to insult us?" One of Talia''s Brothers asked as he saved his hand. "Just because he killed that trash, he thinks he''s something else?"


    An invisible de appeared right behind Lucifer who could barely move. The de sliced through Lucifer''s left leg, making him lose his bnce and fall to the ground.


    "That''s better. You look much better wriggling on the ground like an insect," the dark haired man spoke, his eyes emotionless yet filled with arrogance.


    Even as he fell on the ground, Lucifer didn''t once groan in pain. Instead, he startedughing as he was covered in the pool of his own blood.

 Chapter 1057 1058

    <h4>Chapter 1057 Chapter 1058</h4>


    "He''sughing? Has he gone crazy from pain?" One of Talia''s brothers wondered out loud.


    "If he really did go crazy, it would be so little fun to torture him. I hope not." Another frowned.


    While they were momentarily confused as to why Lucifer wasughing, Lucifer spoke through his mouth filled with blood,


    "I hope we meet again. No... It''s not hope. I will make sure that we meet again!" Lucifer''s gauntlets once again transformed, this time into a dagger.


    The man in the sky looked at him like he was a madman who thought he could defeat them with a single dagger even in this condition. However, to their surprise, Lucifer didn''t even try to attack them.


    Instead, he pointed the dagger towards himself, stabbing it deep in his chest with both hands with heavy craziness in his eyes.


    His dagger was directly stabbed into his heart, destroying his body from the inside. Even as Lucifer went through the torment of ''death'', he didn''t once make an expression that could satisfy the others.


    "We will meet again," Lucifer spoke at hisst breath while a demonic smirk spread across his lips. His eyes soon lost their shine.


    Death was the only way for him to achieve his goal. However, even he wasn''t certain if he was going to seed.


    The men, stunned,nded on the ground, frowning. "He killed himself? Was he so scared of us that he preferred killing himself?"


    "What a pity. He took an easy way out. I wanted to enjoy it more."


    "Whatever, let''s drag his body back home and show father."


    The Eldest Brother of Talia gestured for his men to pick up Lucifer''s body, not thinking much about Lucifer''s death.


    His men stepped forward, but as they were close to Lucifer''s body, they noticed something strange. A strange darkness emanated from Lucifer''s chest, covering his entire body.


    Before anyone could react, Lucifer''s body decayed, being left as nothing more than ashes.


    Right before everyone''s eyes, Lucifer''s body disintegrated into ashes, carried away by a chilling wind. The Eldest Brother and his men were left in shock, trying to make sense of what had just happened. They exchanged bewildered nces, unsure of how to proceed.


    "That bastard, he made sure that after his death, not even his body will be left behind! How will we exin this father?" Talia''s brothers started cursing Lucifer for his cowardice.


    Amidst the dust, only the white ring of Talia that Lucifer had taken was left behind, buried in the ground.


    None of the brothers realized what actually had happened. However, for some reason, they felt strange. There was a strange disturbance in the flow of time, but they could only feel it and not do anything about it.


    ****


    "Come on! How long are you going to dy? The guests are waiting!"


    Everything was dark for Lucifer. He wasn''t even sure if he was alive, or dead when he heard a man''s voice. For some reason, he felt great warmth in the voice.


    "I''ming!" A woman''s voice came from much closer to Lucifer, as if she was right next to him.


    For a moment, Lucifer remained in a haze, unable to do anything. He couldn''t even move a finger for the time being. However, he could feel that he was in a warm embrace, being taken somewhere.


    "Hahaha, look at that little brat, sleeping even at this moment!" A man asked,ughing with an amused tone.


    "It looks like the Leader''s son is going to be just aszy as him!" Another man said jokingly, theirughter carrying no trace of malice at all. Instead, it was filled with pure adoration.


    "Since when did I bezy?" The first man asked, joining in on the fun. "Meet me tomorrow on the training ground. I''ll show you howzy I am."


    "I don''t have a death wish."


    Everyone burst intoughter in response to the light banter. Even though Lucifer couldn''t see anything, for some reason, he felt real peace in the moment that he never felt before.


    Lucifer felt that he was being kept in some small bed as the woman separated her from her embrace.


    Feeling the pain of separation, Lucifer felt torment and fear. He forced himself, finally being able to move.


    He slowly opened his eyes, looking at the face of the woman who ced him on the baby crib in the main hall.


    Seeing the woman, a tear trickled down Lucifer''s eyes. He couldn''t believe that it had actually worked. He was back before his world was annihted.


    He had gotten this idea from the core. Everytime he was killed, he moved back in time by a few minutes. However, once he gainedplete control of the inheritance, he thought of another possibility.


    He thought of manipting the time dtion at his death to increase that few minutes to a few millennia. At that long, it was only a conjecture, but now he could see that it had worked.


    "Are you crying?" His mother saw the tear in Lucifer''s eyes. She couldn''t help but take her son back into her embrace. "Did you have a bad dream?"


    In his mother''s embrace, Lucifer''s tears rolled down nonstop. At that moment, he wasn''t a man who had ughtered millions. He was just a man who had never received this warm embrace of his mother.


    Everyone in the hall looked at Lucifer in confusion. This was the first time they had seen him crying. Even his father was surprised. However, he didn''t think much about it.


    He took Lucifer into his embrace. He wiped Lucifer''s tears lightly pinching his cheeks. "You little brat, don''t you know that men don''t cry? How will you protect everyone if you''re crying?"


    Lucifer just looked at his father. He had so many things to tell his father. So many secrets to share, but he was back as a child who wasn''t able to speak. Only slight noises came out of his mouth as he tried to speak.


    "Are you saying you won''t cry?" His father lightly tapped the forehead of the little boy. "Don''t worry. In this life and the next, as long as I''m alive, I won''t ever let you cry. So promise me that you''ll be strong as well?"

 Chapter 1058 1059: Our future

    <h4>Chapter 1058 Chapter 1059: Our future</h4>


    Lucifer could understand everything that his father was saying, but he couldn''t convey any of his thoughts.


    While the man still had Lucifer in his embrace, an old man from the n approached him. "It''s time."


    The Leader of the Ancient n nodded as his eyes turned serious. He ced Lucifer back into the crib.


    "Are you certain that this is the right decision? I still think that it''s too early for him." The old man once again reminded Lucifer''s father.


    "I''ve made up my mind. Moreover, we''re at the time of peace. You''re worrying unnecessarily, Minister. Moreover, if I don''t do it, should I just watch my son die?"


    "As My Lord wishes." The old man retreated. It wasn''t his ce to interfere in the n Leader''s position.


    All the major n members gathered around to witness the Inheritance Transfer Ceremony. Usually, this ceremony only took ce after the heir of the n turned into an adult. However, this time, the n Leader had decided to do it while Lucifer was just born.


    Although there were some reservations, most of the n Members found the decision right. It was all to save Lucifer.


    Lucifer was born with a weak body. Even their best physician couldn''t find what was wrong with him, but they all said that the chances of him being able to live a normal life were low.


    That was when the n Leader decided that he was going to change Lucifer''s constitutionpletely.


    Everything an inheritance went to the heir, their constitution also improved along with their abilities strengthening. To save his son, the Leader had decided to do it sooner than ever in history.


    Most of the n Members also understood this decision and knew that they would''ve done the same if they were in his ce.


    And so, the transfer ceremony began. All n members began changing in an unknownnguage while the mysterious formation under Lucifer''s crib began shining, slowly shrouding him in its warm light.


    Although not as painful as what the n leader had to go through, the pain to ept that inheritance wasn''t insignificant either. To reduce the pain Lucifer felt in this unprecedented situation, the n used the formation to alleviate his pain.


    Realizing what was happening, Lucifer was stabbed. This was the moment that he couldn''t let pass. If the inheritance was transferred, then his father was going to weaken and the history was going to progress as it did in the past.


    He tried to resist, but because of the formation and his weak body, he couldn''t even move. He could do nothing more than scream in his mind. He could only watch his father with his trembling pupils.


    His father bit his thumb lightly before leaving it on Lucifer''s forehead.


    "Just bear with it. After we''re done, you''ll get better." The man looked at Lucifer with eyes filled with fatherly love and concern.


    Lucifer''s heart ached at his father''s words. He wanted to tell him that this wasn''t what he wanted, that he didn''t want his father to suffer for his sake, that this entire thing could bring the entire n to ruins. But he was trapped, unable to speak or move. All he could do was watch as the transfer ceremony continued.


    As the n members chanted their incantations, a surge of energy flowed from his father''s thumb into Lucifer''s body. The pain intensified, coursing through his veins like fire. It felt as if every part of him was being torn apart and reassembled at the same time.


    But amidst the agony, Lucifer could also feel a strange power entering his body, in its dormant state. It was as if his very essence was being rewritten, his body and soul being infused with the ancient lineage of his n.


    He could feel it seeping into every fiber of his being, strengthening him, molding him into something greater.


    His father''s face contorted with pain, his eyes filled with determination. Lucifer could see the toll it was taking on him. It was as if his father had aged at that moment.


    He couldn''t let his father suffer any longer. He had to find a way to break free from this fate. Unfortunately, he couldn''t change the past.


    The ceremony was over, and his father almost fell to his knees in his weakened condition. If it wasn''t for his mother''s support, his father would''ve already fallen to his knees, a sight that no one in the n ever wanted to see.


    "You''re our future. I hope you''re always happy and healthy." Despite his weak body, the man patted Lucifer''s cheeks lightly before he was escorted to the throne so he could sit while weakened.


    However, just as the n Leader sat on the throne, the ground itself trembled. A loud explosion responded, followed by multiple more explosions. It was as if the world itself was splitting apart.


    All the n Members seemed stunned, none expecting something like this. The n Leader''s expression also darkened as he looked into the distant horizon.


    Even Lucifer couldn''t stay calm. This was the attack that destroyed the ancient n. Even his traveling back in time hasn''t changed history.


    "We''re under attack?" The Old Minister eximed, his face filled with rage. This was the first time someone had dared to attack their homes.


    Moreover, the timing also appeared suspicious, especially since their patriarch was so weak at this moment. None of this looked like a coincidence.


    Even as he was weakened, the n Leader forced himself up.


    "You''re still weak. Let us handle it." The Old Minister eximed, seeing the n Leader.


    "How can I stay behind when our people are fighting?" The n Leader wore his gauntlets, his eyes turning into a beautiful shade of violet. "Just because I transferred the inheritance, doesn''t mean I''m not a part of this n. Any attack on my n is an attack on me."


    He looked at the face of his son, showing a smile. "Don''t worry, Little Brat. Your father will be done with those traitors soon. Then I''ll tell you the stories of my conquest."


    His long robe flowed behind him as he made his way out the hall and onto the battlefield, unaware that Lucifer had already known the oue.


    Lucifer reached out his hand to stop his father, but his father didn''t look back.

 Chapter 1059 1060: Death

    <h4>Chapter 1059 Chapter 1060: Death</h4>


    Lucifer''s hand dropped to his side as he watched his father''s figure disappear. He felt a mixture of fear and frustration. Fear for his father''s safety and frustration that he couldn''t do anything to protect him or change the course of events.


    As he remained there, feeling helpless, he noticed movement out of the corner of his eye. It was his mother, making his way towards him. Her eyes were etched with concern.


    Although she had faith in her husband, but she was still filled with concern about Lucifer''s safety.


    While the earth kept trembling, she picked Lucifer in her arms.


    "Everything''s going to be fine," she said, unclear whether she was telling Lucifer of herself.


    Carrying Lucifer in her eyes, she started leaving, going deeper into the pce as a precaution.


    Although most of the strongest warriors had left the pce to protect their homnd, few warriors who had stayed behind to protect the woman escorted her. Lucifer''s emotions were in chaos.


    However, as the woman took a few steps forward, another explosion resounded. A small part of the roof came crashing down, blocking the path forward.


    The guards rushed to protect the woman but before they could even do anything, a strange Spatial Force sliced their bodies in two halves.


    It was a gruesome sight as the bodies of multiple warriors split in two, blood sshing everywhere. Lucifer''s pupils trembled, recognising the attack.


    He nced towards the hole in the roof, from where an old man came,nding above the rubble, merely a few meters away from his mother.


    Although Lucifer hadn''t seen the face of the old man, his face was simr. His powers were alsopletely identical to the Spatial n that he had wiped in the future entirely.


    He understood that this was the ancestor of that n, the man responsible for killing so many of his people. Not only that, he shamelessly hung their heads at the doors to show off his might.


    Seeing the man, Lucifer''s small fists tightened on their own. He could also feel the slight trembling of his mother. She was less worried about herself and more worried about Lucifer.


    "Where might you be running?" The old manughed, licking his lips. "Hand over that child to us, and I might give you a painless death."


    He reached out his hand. The old man knew that it wasn''t easy to kill the main force of the Ancient n, despite their small numbers. However, to make things easier, he wanted to use the Leader''s son. He needed a hostage and the woman stood between him and his goal.


    "Are you forgetting who you''re talking to?" Lucifer''s mother firmed her resolve, ring at the old man.


    "Of course I know who I''m talking to. The Queen of this Land, and one of the ten strongest warriors of the Ancient n before her marriage." The old man smiled. "So to be honest, I''m not quite confident that I can take you down alone. Then again, what makes you believe that I''ll be alone?"


    Multiple figures appeared behind the old man, his smirk only widening. "You better hand him over. Or he might die in a crossfire if we start fighting here."


    The woman raised an eyebrow, herposure unfazed by the sudden arrival of additional opponents. A trace of spatial disturbance appeared around her, as she prepared to leave with her son.


    Unfortunately, as if the old man knew she was going to do it, she made the entire space more unstable, making it impossible for the woman to leave without putting her son''s life on the line.


    "Do you think we attacked without considering every possibility? We''ve studied you all. We know all you''re capable of. The only thing that was worrying us was your husband, but today, your husband is also at his weakest. After waiting for so long, we finally have this opportunity. You thought we''d make a mistake?"


    Lucifer''s mother canceled her teleportation, realizing that it was dangerous at this moment. She could still freely travel even in this unstable space, but Lucifer was still a child. He was going to suffer the most and even die if she took him in the spatial tunnel.


    The woman handed Lucifer to the maid behind her. "Take him and run. Don''t look back. No matter what, he must survive!''


    The pale-faced maid took the child. She wanted to say that she was going to stay behind, allowing them to run, but she knew that she wasn''t capable. At this point, the most useful she could be was by protecting the prince. Holding the boy firmly in her hand, she started running.


    "Stop her and bring me that child. I''ll take care of the Queen."


    One of the men behind the Spatial n Ancestor disappeared, entering a spatial tunnel to chase after the woman.


    "To reach my child, you''ll have to walk past me!" Lucifer''s mother''s voice echoed through the corridor, her eyes shining with the rage of a mother whose child was in danger.


    A pained cry resounded as the woman who had chased after Lucifer was forcefully dragged out by her, falling at her feet, his head rolling on the side.


    "So be it! Although it''ll cause a slight dy, it''ll be just as worth it to walk over your dead body!"


    ****


    The Maid kept running through the empty corridors asrge explosions resounded all around her. Lucifer kept resisting in her embrace, but he was nothing more than a spectator, watching history unfold just like it did in the past.


    Desperation washed over her as she dodged falling debris, determined to find safety for Lucifer. Tears kept rolling down her cheeks as she worried about the safety of her Lady who had always treated her like family.


    "Even if I''m to die, I''ll save your son!" She spoke, determination shing in her eyes.


    With every step she took, the chaos grew, but her resolve remained unwavering. Fires raged in the distance, illuminating the destruction that was tearing through the city, but she pushed forward, driven by her love and loyalty.


    As she held onto Lucifer tightly, she whispered words of reassurance, promising that they would make it through this trial together.


    Unfortunately, as she was halfway through to the hidden bunker, she heard footstepsing from the distance. Shocked, she slowed down, unaware if it was a friend or an enemy.


    She ced Lucifer on the ground, hiding him behind a stone b, hiding from view. Even if it was an enemy, she couldn''t let Lucifer be caught. If Lucifer was caught, it was all over. On the other hand, her life was worthless to the enemies.


    Thest time Lucifer saw her face before being hidden, he saw her revealing a gentle smile.


    "Today is your birthday and I couldn''t afford any nice gift for you. Please treat my life as your birthday gift from me. I hope you''ll live, my young prince."


    Lucifer was concerned about his father and mother, but he could also feel the pain of everyone else around him. In this war, not just his parents had died, but everyone else as well. It was a war in which everything was taken from them.


    Lucifer, who had buried his emotions in hisst life, felt broken. It was like history was repeating itself and everything he loved was being taken from him.


    "Hahaha, to think that such a beautifuldy was hiding here." While Lucifer was behind the rubble, he heard a man''s voice, making it clear that the ones who came across the maid were the enemies.


    The maid held a dagger in her hand. She wasn''t a warrior of the n. She wasn''t even someone born to an Ancient n Member. She was just an orphan in another world, who was picked up and helped by Lucifer''s mother, being given this life.


    Despite not being part of the n, she was never discriminated against. Unfortunately, she also was the weakest in this entire ce. Although her heart was gripped with fear, she knew she had to fight now.


    "You''re so weak. I don''t even feel like fighting you. From your features, I can see that you''re not a part of the Ancient n after all. How about I give you an option?" The man revealed a disgusting smirk as he licked his lips. "If you can give me a good strip show, I might let you go."


    "Or if you don''t, we can strip you ourselves," the man''s friend spoke,ughing out loud.


    "You!" The maid clenched her teeth in anger. To her, dignity was more important than life. She was willing to die fighting. However, when she thought about Lucifer, her fists clenched.


    In this moment, she knew that her life also belonged to Lucifer. If she died here, who was going to take Lucifer to a safe ce? Her dignity was more important to her than her life. But was it more important than Lucifer''s life?


    She already had the answer as she started taking off her clothes, one after another. On the other side, the men kept looking at her with greedy eyes as she took each article of her clothing off, one after another.


    After she waspletely naked, she looked at the man, her eyes almost dead on the inside. "I did as you asked. Can you leave now?"


    "Hmm? What''s the hurry? Did you think just that much was going to be enough for your life?" the man smirked, his voice dripping with arrogance. His words hung in the air, heavy with a hint of sinister intent.


    Fear crept up her spine, but she tried to stayposed.


    "You promised if I did this, you would spare his life. That was the deal," she spoke, her voice trembling slightly.


    "How about this? Let each of us do you once. And when we''re satisfied, we''ll let you leave?" The man changed his offer, getting greedy for her body. "I promise you won''t regret it. I''ll make you experience true Heaven like never before!"


    "You!" Although the woman wanted to do anything to save Lucifer, but now she realized that these men were never going to let her live. All they wanted was to humiliate her and then sleep with her before killing her.


    In that instant, she inwardly apologized to Lucifer, saying that she wasn''t going to be able to apany him anymore. However, she still tried.


    With a dagger in her hand, she rushed forward, attacking the men.


    Boom~


    Before she could even reach the men, one of the two men moved. In an instance, he appeared before the woman, her footnding on the woman''s stomach sending her flying back.


    The woman couched blood, feeling extremely pain. Her body skid across the floor beforeing to a stop, her back all scratched and bleeding.


    "Look at the arrogance of this bitch. Just because we were nice to her, she thought she was something special?" The man''s friend stepped forward with a menacing smirk on his face.


    He grabbed the woman by her hair and yanked her up, bringing her face-to-face with him. "It seems she needs a lesson in humility," he sneered, tightening his grip on her hair.


    With his other hand, he started removing his pants. "We would''ve been much nicer if you had agreed to yourself, but this time, we''ll take our sweet time toying with you!


    He released the woman, making her fall to the ground. While his friend held the hands of the woman, he stepped out of his pants, licking his lips.


    He went down on his knees, bending forward. However, before his lips could touch hers, he stopped.


    "What happened? Why aren''t you moving?" His friend asked, slightly confused.


    The man frowned, his expressions darkening. He couldn''t say anything either, it was as if he had been frozen in time.


    His friend also realized that something was wrong. However, his fear reached a new height as he saw cracks developing on his friend''s skin. Right before his eyes, the man''s body was decaying, until there was nothing more than dust flying with the wind.


    The man was horrified. He freed the woman''s hand, stepping back in fear. "W-who is there?"


    "Death..." a voice came in response.

 Chapter 1060 1061: Criteria

    <h4>Chapter 1060 Chapter 1061: Criteria</h4>


    Lucifer was hidden in the rubble, unable to see what was happening on the other side. However, he could hear everything clearly.


    Hearing the words of those men, he felt his blood boil. He wasn''t angry at the others, but he was angry at himself. Even after traveling through time, he wasn''t able to change anything. He was still just weak, unable to save anyone.


    With each passing second, he felt furious. This was possibly hisst chance. He didn''t know how much he was going to break mentally if he failed to save his family even now.


    He was weak now. He was only a child, who couldn''t even speak. However, he knew he had to do something. He couldn''t let everything fall apart.


    Throughout his anger, he kept trying to think of a way. And the only possibility he could see was the inheritance of his father. As a child, he didn''t have much strength. He couldn''t even awaken the abilities of his n until he grew older. However, he was different.


    He had the inheritance of the n, something that was only passed to the new n Leaders from the old. It was an inheritance that was the most precious thing in the n, and the most miraculous.


    Lucifer had already experienced using this inheritance once. He knew everything about it. Although he was still a child but he understood that this inheritance didn''t depend on the age.


    If age was a criteria, it wouldn''t have awakened sote in the future for him. More than age, the awakening was rted to the understanding of power and the heir being worthy.


    He had to prove his worth to this inheritance that he was receiving for the first time aftering to the past. He had to prove that he was the true heir of the n, who was one day going to be better than his father!


    Unfortunately, time was of the essence. In his body, Lucifer tried to look for the inheritance, but just like in his past life, he couldn''t find the slightest trace of the inheritance. Even in thest life, the inheritance only awakened when his life was in danger.


    ''Where are you?! I don''t have time!'' Lucifer roared in his mind, using everything he had. Unfortunately, the inheritance was hidden.


    With his small hands, Lucifer picked up a sharp piece of stone next to him. He brought the sharp stone near his throat.


    ''If my life is what awakens you, then I''ll force you out!"


    As the stone pressed against his skin, prating his throat, a sudden surge of power swept through Lucifer''s body.


    The inheritance finally responded to his desperate plea for help, revealing a blinding light that enveloped him. At that moment, Lucifer''s bleeding throat healed. At the same time, a small mysterious core appeared in his heart, brimming with unknown power.


    Once Lucifer found the trace of the core, he knew that he had achieved half his goal. He had received half the awakening, but he also knew that this was a forced awakening like in the past. If he didn''t control it, he could destroy everything except himself.


    Fortunately, from his past life, he had gotten slight experience. He knew what he had to do now. He entered the same mentality that he was in when he had truly awakened this power. It was as if he was back in the moment where he was fighting in the bloody battlefield.


    At that moment, he was like a wargod, caught in a child''s body. As he tapped into the deep reservoir of his power, he felt an overwhelming surge of energy coursing through his veins.


    Slowly, his eyes started turning into a brighter shade of violet as small aura horns started growing out of his forehead. The core in his heart started melting, merging with his blood and body, truly bing one with him.


    Although it was painful, Lucifer felt happy. He had done it! He had received the inheritance. He had received his old abilities, and more importantly, he regained his control over time, removing his biggest limitation.


    Lucifer ced his hand on his chest, using his abilities on himself. His body started getting bigger as he aged at a rapid pace in the moment.


    In a few seconds, he was ten years old. And a little more, he was back to his old age, looking like a man in his early twenties. However, all his clothes were torn during the growth.


    As Lucifer came to his senses, he pushed the rubble aside, only to catch the sight of a man trying to kiss his maid.


    He raised his right hand,pletely stopping the time for that man. At the same time, a dark aura surrounded Lucifer, creating a new attire for him, one that made him look like a Demon Lord, his majestic demonic horns giving him a distinct look.


    As Lucifer took a step forward, the man started decaying, turning into dust.


    Not letting the dust fall on his maid, Lucifer flicked his finger, sending the dust flying.


    "W-who?" The other man spoke, his expressions filled with horror.


    However, as he stepped back, he felt a hand on his shoulder.


    "Death."


    A single word fell in his ears. He couldn''t even see who had spoken when he felt a soul crunching pain inside his body,


    The man died the most gruesome deaths, writhing in agony as his body twisted and contorted in unnatural ways.


    The screams echoed through the air, sending chills down the spines of the maid as well.


    Finally, as his life force was taken away, his bodyy still and lifeless on the ground. The air grew heavy with an eerie silence, broken only by the sound of Lucifer stomping on the man''s skull, letting blood ssh everywhere.


    The maid looked at Lucifer, fear visible in her eyes as well. She had never seen this man before. Although from his physical characteristics, he looked like he was a part of the Ancient n and he had killed the enemies, but she felt scared.

 Chapter 1061 1062: Rejection

    <h4>Chapter 1061 Chapter 1062: Rejection</h4>


    Lucifer looked at the maid, clearly able to see the fear in her eyes.


    He stepped forward. The woman moved back, her face pale. However, soon she felt her body restricted. She was unable to move.


    Lucifer went down on one knee before the woman who was on the ground, bleeding.


    Although the woman was scared of Lucifer, for some reason, she felt that the man''s eyes were filled with a strange pain and sense, making her wonder just what kind of life he had experienced.


    Lucifer ced his hand on the girl''s forehead. The girl couldn''t even resist as her body was frozen. She had epted her fate, but soon she realized that something was wrong.


    She felt a strange yet pleasant energy entering her body. She could feel the pain in her body disappearing. Her wounds were healing at a rapid pace. Even her broken bones had healed.


    Within a few seconds, the woman waspletely healed.


    "Who... are you?" The woman asked, her eyes looking deep in the eyes of Lucifer.


    "I reject the birthday gift you gave me. Select a better gift for me when we''re done," Lucifer spoke, his eyes conveying a myriad of emotions.


    Hearing his words, the maid was stunned. Previously, she had told little Lucifer that she was giving her life as a birthday gift to him before she went to face the two men. Hearing these words from the man before her, she felt confused.


    Unfortunately, before she coulde to her senses, the young man stood up, only his back was visible, lonely and growing distant with each passing second.


    The man flicked his fingers while leaving. The clothes of the woman that were lying in the distance shot to her,nding right at her feet. The man didn''t say anything and soon disappeared.


    However, instead of wearing her clothes, the woman went to the rubble to find Lucifer. To her surprise, no one was there. Only some signs of the rubble being pushed back were present.


    She looked in the direction where the man had disappeared, tears streaming down her cheeks as she muttered, "Young Lord?"


    She knew that one would have to be crazy to believe it, but for some reason, she was certain that the man was none other than Lucifer.


    She ran to her clothes so she could get dressed and chase after Lucifer.


    ****


    In the main hall of the pce, signs of destruction were everywhere. The entire ce was filled with craters.


    There were hundreds of bodies lying all around the hall, most of them belonging to the warriors who hade to take Lucifer.


    His mother alone had caused such a Mayhem, but she wasn''tpletely unharmed either. Her entire body was covered in blood. Her left hand was missing, lying in the distance.


    Her face also had multiple scars. She had been fighting constantly, killing every second. Unfortunately, she was quite exhausted as there was no end to the enemies.


    However, even at this moment, the woman didn''t seem to have any regrets. She had held these people back for long enough. She believed that by now, her maid should''ve already taken Lucifer to safety.


    "Are you feeling happy that you let your child escape?" As if reading the woman''s mind, the Spatial n Patriarch asked. There was a deep gnash on his chest, making it evident that he didn''t have a good time either.


    "Do you really think it was you holding us back? What if we were the ones holding you back? Don''t tell me you didn''t consider the possibility at all?" The old manughed. "It would''ve been much harder for us to take the child from you. But what if it''s just a single maid? What then?"


    The devilish smirk on the old man''s lips made the woman''s expressions darken. Her mind couldn''t help but be distracted by the thoughts of Lucifer and if he was caught.


    However, that one moment of distraction was enough for the enemies in this battle.


    They saw their chance and seized it,unching a surprise attack that caught the woman off guard.


    A sword sliced through space and her wrist, letting her weapon fall to the ground. The Spatial n Patriarch appeared behind her, grabbing her by the hair, smashing her face on the ground.


    The Spatial n Patriarch raised his foot, stomping on the knee of the woman, crushing her bones under his feet.


    "Did you ever think there would ever be a day like this for you?" The old manughed, grabbing the remaining arm of the woman, ripping it off.


    However, to his frustration, the woman didn''t once scream in pain, not granting him any satisfaction.


    With a look of determination on her face, the woman stared defiantly at the Spatial n Patriarch. Despite the excruciating pain, she refused to let him break her spirit. Her unwavering resilience only fueled his rage further.


    "I wonder how your husband would react after seeing you like this. And more than that, I wonder how beautiful your expressions will be when I cut your child''s throat right before your eyes."


    The man dragged the woman''s body by her hair, leaving a bloody trail behind. Yet, even in the face of such brutality, her eyes held a glimmer of fighting spirit.


    The woman still hadn''t given up. She had a n to fight back, but first she needed to make sure if these people actually caught her child.


    "Though you know what would be more usual in breaking that arrogant husband of yours? Why didn''t I think of this before?" The old man suddenly stopped, revealing a smirk.


    "Even covered in blood, you look so pretty. I wonder what your husband would be like when he finds out that I''ve yed with his precious treasure. Would he cry? Would he vow to kill me?"


    A scary smile graced the man''s lips as he looked forward to the Leader of the Ancient n roaring in pain and madness after finding out what he did.


    He tossed the woman aside as he walked over to the throne.


    "You can enjoy her amongst yourselves," he told his man, as he sat on the throne, like an overlord prepared to watch a show.

 Chapter 1062 1063: Reunion

    Chapter1062 1063: Reunion


    The men under the old man were excited, seeing the woman that they were allowed to y with. Even in their wildest dreams they couldn''t have expected a day like this. Already she was covered in blood, her beauty still couldn''t be hidden.


    As the men stepped closer to the woman, she stood up. Although she had allowed herself to get caught to find more about her son''s safety, she couldn''t allow any man other than her husband to touch her. Even if she had to die to destroy everyone in this ce, she was willing.


    Her eyes turned into a bright shade of violet as a terrifying aura gathered around her. However, as soon as the aura gathered, it disappeared like it was devoured by someone.


    The woman couldn''t help but look at the anklet on her feet that she hadn''t noticed before. It was ced by the Spatial n Leader without letting her notice. And she could feel that the anklet was preventing her from using her strength.


    At the realisation, she looked at the old man who carried an amused smile on his face, as if telling her that he was always one step ahead of her and there was no escape for her.


    One of the men appeared before the woman, cing his hand on her shoulder to pull her closer. However, the woman, despite being unable to use her aura, used her physical strength.


    Her feet came swinging,nding on the man''s neck, sending him flying. The other men were caught off guard by the woman''s unexpected strength, as she used her agility to swiftly move back.


    Unfortunately, there was only so far she could go with just physical strength. She was caught. One of the men grabbed her hair while the other held onto her legs, restricting her.


    "You''re feisty. I''m going to like it a lot." The man said. While holding her hair, he brought her face closer.


    In the distance, the Spatial n Leader observed the scene, looking forward to the Ancient n Leader''s expression.


    The woman tried to resist, but she felt weak as the man came closer to her. At the moment, the woman chose to do something drastic. She decided to blow up her core, killing herself and these animals with her. Even the anklet couldn''t stop her from doing that.


    However, as she was about to do it, she noticed something. A hand came from behind her, grabbing onto the dark haired man''s face before his lips could touch her.


    The man''s eyes opened wife, turning blood red. Right before the woman''s eyes, the man''s face started turning older.


    The woman felt his grip on her hair turn weaker. It was as if the man was the one struggling to free herself this time.


    The woman didn''t know who was behind her. However, for some reason, her heart felt at peace. Even she didn''t understand this feeling.


    At the same time, the man who was holding onto her feet also coughed out blood before an invisible force sliced his body into a thousand pieces.


    In the distance, the Spatial n Leader stood up, his expressions darkened.


    He couldn''t see the person behind the woman didn''t. However, he had bad feeling about this.


    As the Spatial n man turned to dust, the man behind the Lucifer''s mother retracted his hand.


    Calm footsteps responded as the man behind the woman stepped forward, stopping before the woman, only his back facing her as if he was hiding her behind him.


    Lucifer''s mother looked at the man''s back, which looked lonely yet dependable. Although, she didn''t know who this person was, but she felt strangely familiar and at peace.


    "You are...?" she asked, her voice slightly shaky.


    "No one will hurt you anymore. I''ll change everything!" The person in front of the woman spoke.


    The Spatial n Men who were standing in the distance started roaring in pain. Even though the man hadn''t touched them, they felt like they were dying, a burning sensation rising inside their body.


    In the blink of an eye, cracks started developing within their bodies. As the cracks in their bodies expanded, the men disintegrated into ashes, their menacing presence finally vanquished.


    The woman stood there, frozen. In the distance, the Spatial n Leader was also shocked out of his wits. He didn''t feel even the slightest of disturbance when his men were killed. In fact, he didn''t even know how Lucifer did it.


    "Who are you?! We had information about everyone in this n, but I''ve never seen or heard about someone like you!"


    Lucifer didn''t answer the man. Instead, he turned around, ncing at the bloody figure of her mother, her arms missing as well.


    Lucifer went down on his knees, his fingers softly touching the anklet. In the blink of an eye, the shackles cracked.


    "How dare you ignore me?!" The Spatial n Leader roared, getting ignored. He didn''t want Lucifer to free that woman either. No matter what, the man was an enemy. Moreover, now that the man was distracted, he wanted to take advantage of that opportunity.


    In the blink of an eye, the Spatial n Leader appeared right behind Lucifer, his sharp sword came swinging like lightning.


    "Watch out!" Lucifer''s mother eximed, but in the next moment, her eyes widened.


    She didn''t even know what happened but the Spatial n Leader was sent flying, coughing blood before his sword could even though Lucifer.


    It was the first time she had seen someone able to control space even better than the Leader of Spatial n. She was even more intrigued about the identity of this person now.


    The anklet at her foot broke. However, Lucifer''s hands remained at her feet, his head rising as he looked at his mother.


    This was the first time the woman saw Lucifer''s face. She could see the deep violet eyes of Lucifer, which was a symbol of the Royal Family of Ancient n, just like her husband.


    For a moment, she even thought if the man was the younger brother of her husband that he never told her about. However, she was stunned to see tears in Lucifer''s eyes as he looked at her.


    Seeing the young man''s tears, the woman felt a strange pain within her heart. It was as if she was willing to let the entire world cry but not this person. She didn''t know why she felt that way, but for some reason, her eyes also got wet.

 Chapter 1063 1064: This time

    Chapter1063 1064: This time


    While Lucifer''s hands remained on her feet, she felt a stranger yet pure energy entering her body through her feet.


    Right before her eyes, her wounds started healing at a faster pace than before. Not just that, but her fatigue and pain began to dissipate, leaving her feeling rejuvenated and filled with a newfound strength. Even her hands healed, returning to normal.


    "Who... are you?" the woman asked, subconsciously reaching out her hand to touch Lucifer''s head. However she stopped herself.


    Lucifer looked at the woman. He held her hands, cing them over his head. This was the mother he had lost. This was the love and care he craved for.


    "This time I will change everything..." Lucifer told his mother, without disclosing his identity.


    He stood up, turning around to look at the Spatial n Patriarch who came out of the rubble.


    Lucifer disappeared. In the blink of an eye, he appeared before the old man. He grabbed the man''s throat with his left hand while grabbing onto his right arm.


    "Is this the arm that hurt her?" he asked before ripping the armpletely.


    "Arghh!" The man roared in pain, but as he roared, Lucifer ced his hands inside the man''s mouth, grabbing onto his tongue.


    "Is this the tongue that threatened her?" he asked as he ripped out the tongue from the man''s mouth, blood filling his mouth.


    The old man''s eyes turned blood red from pain.


    Just as the old man''s pain reached its peak, a bright light suddenly illuminated the room. A figure stepped forward, dressed in traditional long attire and radiating a warm, calming energy.


    "I was wondering what was taking you so long. You couldn''t even handle a woman and a young man?" The man spoke, a mocking smirk on his lips.


    The Spatial n Leader looked at the man with pleading eyes while almost choking on his own blood.


    "I guess I''ll help you this time since we''re part of the same side. As for my fee for saving your life, I''ll tell youter!" The white-robed man spoke, as he stepped towards Lucifer.


    "Young man, you should''ve killed him and left before my arrival." The man raised his right hand in a graceful gesture. " Because now that I''m here, all that awaits you is dea-"


    Unfortunately, before he could even finish his sentence, he froze in ce, his face turning pale. With a look of disbelief, he lowered his head, looking at his own blood on the ground.


    Right before his eyes, the top half of his body slid to the side, falling to the ground while the bottom half was still left standing.


    For all his big talks and confidence, the man had died before being able to attack at all.


    The Spatial n Alliance Leader felt his hearting to his mouth as the person he thought was his savior was killed in an instant.


    His fearful eyes looked at Lucifer.


    Lucifer''s focus returned to the old man as he ripped his other arm off as well.


    "I heard you''re interested in hanging heads at your n entrance? I''ll fulfill your wish by hanging your head at your calm entrance. But before that..."


    The old man felt a chill run down his spine as he looked at Lucifer''s demonic gaze. It was nothing like that of the Ancient n. Instead, it was like someone who had returned straight from hell for this moment.


    In the next few minutes, the old man''s roar filled the entire hall repeatedly as his body was slowly dismembered in the most brutal way to make sure he felt all the pain he could.


    Even Lucifer''s mother in the distance couldn''t bear to watch it. Although she was curious about Lucifer''s identity, but when she thought that her child could be in danger, she turned around and left the hall. Instead of waiting here for Lucifer to finish, she wanted to go find her child.


    Even as she left the hall, she could still hear the roars of the old man.


    Lucifer''s mother ran through the hallway, taking the path towards the safe zone where she had told her maid to hide Lucifer. However, only after running for a few minutes, she heard hasty footsteps in the distance.


    She called out her weapon, prepared to attack. As soon as the person came before her, she rushed ahead. However, as soon as she saw the person, she stopped, her sword merely inches away from that person''s throat.


    "Where is my child?!" Lucifer''s woman roared, finding the maid with empty hands, her child nowhere in sight. She felt her heart drop in fear.


    "Y-young Lord came in this direction..." the maid eximed.


    "He came here? What do you mean? He can''t even walk! How can hee here?!" Lucifer''s mother roared, almost on the verge of pping the maid for lying and giving excuses. In the worry for her child, she wasn''t in the right mindset. However, she still controlled herself.


    The maid gulped heavily. In all her life, this was the first time she had seen her Mistress so angry at her. However she understood where she wasing from.


    The maid started telling everything about how she hid Lucifer when she was attacked, and about the older Lucifering out to help her. She even told her all about what Lucifer said and why she thought it was the young child who had grown up to be Lucifer.


    "H-he was..." Lucifer''s mother looked towards the hall where she hade from. She couldn''t believe that the person was her child. Now she understood why she felt so close to him.


    However, even she didn''t understand how this was possible. How could Lucifer grow up so fast? How could he control space and time to this extent, as if he had lived it all with years of practice?


    At this moment, she didn''t care about it at all. Instead, she started running towards the hall to ask the man directly if he was her child.

 Chapter 1064 1065: Why Suffer

    Chapter1064 1065: Why Suffer


    Lucifer''s mother ran back to the main hall, followed by the Maid, her heart beating fast in worries of her son. She hadn''t realized that the person who saved her was none other than her own child.


    Soon, she entered the hall, her breathing heavy. The maid also entered the hall, only to get shocked, seeing the gruesome scene in the hall.


    There was blood and flesh everywhere, as if someone had brutally killed everyone here. In the distance, there was one gruesome mess that was even harder to recognise. If it wasn''t for the traces of clothes, she couldn''t have confirmed that this was the Spatial n Leader, or what was left of him.


    Lucifer''s mother looked all around, but she couldn''t find Lucifer anywhere. The entire ce was empty of anyone living.


    "He left..." she muttered, looking at the dark sky through the hole in the roof.


    ****


    On the battlefield outside, a lot of destruction had taken ce. Millions of intruders from Various Powerful ns were killed. Many Ships were also destroyed. Unfortunately, their numbers were just toorge.


    The Ancient n had also lost many of their members, each of their members fighting against millions of Warriors from multiple ns.


    In such a short time, there was aplete carnage, more than half the Ancient n Members had already died, some being overwhelmed by numbers while others being schemed against.


    There was also arge-scale formation spread across the world which further weakened the Ancient n. This made everything evident. This assault had been nned for a long time, and even the ns they trusted had betrayed them.


    The timing of this couldn''t have been worse as the Ancient n Leader was at his weakest after losing his inheritance.


    Even then, Lucifer''s father stood tall. He was surrounded by the n Leaders of Various ns, all paying extreme importance to him.


    "How long can youst in this condition of yours?" One of the bearded old men asked, ck lightning flickering all around his body. A lightning armor had covered his entire body.


    Lucifer''s father shed a confident smile, his eyes shining with resilience. "I canst until I take your life at least."


    "Hahaha, are you trying to act strong? Do you think we don''t know, you''ve lost your strength? It was the biggest mistake on your part, and it''s a mistake that you''ll regret even in your grave!" Another old manughed, the temperature around him was freezing cold.


    "It''s amusing to see you still pretend when everything has been falling apart for you. Half your n has died. All your Ministers are dead and if I''m not wrong, even your wife should''ve been dead now. Today will be thest day for your n!"


    "From today onwards, the entire existence of the Ancient n will be erased from the history books. No one will remember your existence. No one will remember the shameful part of the history where we served you! You will bepletely erased, and we shall be liberated!"


    The n Leaders from various sides had clear bloodthirst in their eyes. This was the moment they had all been waiting for, and so far everything was going ording to n.


    Hearing their words, Lucifer''s father''s expressions darkened as he actually started worrying about his wife. Although he was confident that they would''ve already safely gone to the shelter and left this ce, he still couldn''t help but worry as there were too many factors.


    While the Ancient n Leader was distracted, one of the enemies attacked, ice rose from the ground, freezing his feet. At the same time, dark lightning bolts fell on the man from the sky, crackling with a powerful force.


    Lucifer''s father raised his sword, blocking the lightning bolts while absorbing its essence. However, since he had hurt himself during the inheritance transfer, his body was already at its weakest.


    Even the power of lightning that would''ve been a child''s y for him in the past was now able to hurt him, blood trickling down his lips as he broke the ice at his feet.


    The gruesome battle continued. Unfortunately, the number of enemies surrounding him were too high, and all of them were their Species Leader level beings. Theirbined strength was strong.


    It wasn''t just theirbined strength but also their coordination as if they had trained together for a long time for this specific movement. It was as if they had studied himpletely.


    When he was in his best condition, it still wouldn''t have been a problem but now, things had gotten moreplicated.


    Despite his injuries and the overwhelming number of enemies, Lucifer''s father fought with unwavering determination. He unleashed a flurry of powerful attacks, striking down several enemies with each swing of his sword. However, for every enemy he defeated, two more seemed to take their ce.


    The n Leaders from various ns continued to taunt him, mocking his weakened state and the downfall of the Ancient n. Their words fueled his anger, giving him the strength to keep fighting. He refused to let his n be erased from history, to let their sacrifices be in vain.


    As the battle raged on, Lucifer''s father''s vision began to blur from the loss of blood. He could feel his strength waning, his movements growing slower and morebored. His body ached with exhaustion, but he refused to give up.


    Lucifer''s father unleashed a final burst of power, his attacks bing even more ferocious. With each strike, he pushed himself to the limit, determined to protect his n and his family.


    He fought with the strength of a thousand warriors, his sword slicing through the enemy ranks, even cutting apart the space with each of his movements.


    But the enemy leaders were not so easily defeated. They fought back with equal ferocity, unleashing their own devastating attacks. Lucifer''s father sustained more injuries, blood pouring from his wounds. Yet he refused to yield, pushing through the pain.


    "Just give up and ept your death! Why suffer so much for no reason? I promise I''ll make your death quick!" The man with the lightning armorughed, as he continued attacking.

 Chapter 1065 Chapter 1066: Men dont cry

    1065 Chapter 1066: Men don''t cry


    Even he wasn''tpletely fine,his body was covered in multiple wounds. He was quite surprised that even in his weakened condition, the Ancient n Leader had managed tost so long while killing so many n Leaders.


    He could only dread what would''ve happened if he wasn''t weak or had his inheritance. Fortunately, that wasn''t the case for him.


    "I told my son that I will protect him. Even if it''s myst breath, I won''t let you get past me!" Lucifer''s father eximed, raising his sword, blood dripping down the de.


    In a moment of desperation, Lucifer''s father mustered all his remaining strength and unleashed a powerful wave of energy. It rippled through the battlefield, devastating everything in its path. Many enemy leaders were caught off guard, momentarily stunned by the sheer force of the attack.


    Taking advantage of the momentary distraction, Lucifer''s father fought his way towards the enemy leaders.


    He swung his sword with precision and incredible force, striking them down one by one. With each enemy leader that fell, the tides of the battle began to turn.


    The old man with the Lightning Armor had just told him to ept his death. However, seeing Lucifer''s father right before him in an instant, he was stunned. He cast a powerful lightning barrier while flying back. However, that lightning barrier was destroyed like frail grass.


    A sword shed before his eyes, and before the old man could even react, he saw blood flying everywhere, his body cut in two halves. Even as he died, his eyes remained open in disbelief.


    As the enemy leader with the Lightning Armor fell, a hush fell over the battlefield. The remaining enemy leaders stood frozen in shock, wondering if this was really the weakened Ancient n Leader.


    However, they hade too far to fall back now. They prepared to continue the battle.


    Unfortunately, in the next moment Lucifer''s father copsed to his knees, his body battered and broken. He had given everything in hisst attack. At this moment, he didn''t even have the strength to move a single finger.


    Lucifer''s father looked towards the Pce in the distance. "Little Brat, it looks like this is as far as your father can go. I hope you''ve always escaped..."


    Even at this moment, he didn''t regret his decision to give his inheritance to his son. His love for his child overwhelmed his duties as a leader.


    While on his knees, he looked at the other members of his n. Most of them had died, their bodies covering the battlefield, the signs of destruction pointing to how hard they fought.


    "I have failed you. If that''s ever a next life, I hope I can protect and support you better," he whispered to himself, a tear of blood streaming down his face.


    With a heavy heart, he made peace with the fact that he might not survive this battle.


    "Hahaha, so that was just hisst ditch effort. He truly scared me for a moment there!" One of the Enemy Leaders sighed in relief, slightly calmer now.


    "Old man, you really troubled us. Even in your weakest state, you killed half of us. But this is as far as you can go. The ones who died can only me themselves for being weak and useless!"


    One of the Hidden n Leaders smirked as he stepped towards Lucifer''s father who couldn''t even move. However, just to be sure that he couldn''t move, the old man used his abilities.


    Hundreds of dark shackles came out of the ground, wrapping itself all around the violet-eyed man''s body, restricting him like a prisoner.


    "With this, the tyranny of the Ancient n ends!"


    Standing next to Lucifer''s father, the red haired man raised his sword. At that moment, it was as if the entire battlefield hade to a halt.


    The Ancient n Members had their hearts frozen as they saw the sight. They tried to go there to save their Leader, only to be stopped by huge rows of enemies in between.


    The sword came crashing down. At that moment, many Ancient n Members closed their eyes, clenching their fists.


    There was absolute silence as a sword sliced through a throat, making a head fly high.


    After a few seconds, the remaining Members of the Ancient n opened their eyes, years streaming down their cheeks. However, as they saw in the distance, their expressions froze.


    Even the enemies weren''t celebrating. Instead, they appeared frozen in ce.


    Although a head flew high, that head didn''t seem to belong to the Ancient n Leader. It was the head of the person who had attacked the Ancient n Leader. Soon after, his body lost bnce and fell to the ground at the same time as the head.


    The Enemy Leaders were also stunned, their expressions filled with disbelief. They had never anticipated such a turn of events, where their ownrade would be defeated so swiftly.


    They didn''t even see how it happened, but in that moment, another person was standing in between them and the Ancient n Leader, they were only able to see his back.


    Lucifer''s father still had his eyes closed, the tear of blood rolling down his cheek.


    However, he soon opened his eyes after feeling a cold hand on his cheeks, wiping the trail of the tear.


    "Don''t you know that men don''t cry? How will you protect everyone if you''re crying?" the unknown man spoke to the Ancient n Leader, shocking him.


    These were the words he had spoken to his son. However, the face before him was unfamiliar. Still, he could feel some simrities. He could also feel a strangely familiar aura inside Lucifer''s body.


    Unlike his wife, he was instantly able to recognise who this person was, thanks to the existence of the inheritance inside him.


    "You are... how?" he asked, his expressions of disbelief evident on his face.


    "I''m your son. Nothing is impossible for me," Lucifer said, a beautiful smile spreading across his lips. He was so d that he wasn''tte.

 Chapter 1066 Chapter 1067: All Deserved

    1066 Chapter 1067: All Deserved


    Through physical touch, he started healing his father''s body. Although he couldn''t heal the injury that was due to the transfer of inheritance, he was able to heal most of the wounds.


    "You little brat, are you trying to show off before your father?" Lucifer''s father asked, but deep in his heart, he felt so sweet.


    For a moment, he even wondered if this was a dream. However, he was clear that this wasn''t a dream. No matter how impossible, everything was right before his eyes.


    His son had awakened the inheritance in such a short time. Not only did he awaken the inheritance, he was even able to master it as if he had been using it for a long time. He wondered if this was what it meant to be a genius.


    As for the age of Lucifer, he knew how this inheritance was able to affect time, so it wasn''t shocking for him that Lucifer used it to increase his age.


    "Your mother... Check if she''s fine. Now that I''m healed, I''ll take care of matters here..." Lucifer''s father stood up.


    He ced his hand on Lucifer''s shoulder, trying to push him aside so he could continue his battle. However, Lucifer didn''t move.


    "Any attack on my family is an attack on me. How can I sit back and watch? As far as mother is concerned, I''ve killed everyone on the way here. Not even God can hurt my mother!" Lucifer spoke, his words showing his seriousness. "The same applies to my father!"


    He turned around, standing before his father as he faced the Enemy n Leaders.


    "How many times, I thought about this moment, where I would get to punish the people who took everything from me. And now that this moment is here, I must say, I''m quite pissed at you all!" Lucifer spoke, his killing intent so heavy that it covered the entire world.


    Even Lucifer''s father felt stunned. How could his son have such a heavy killing intent, as if he had killed billions of beings. It was as if the entire world had turned cold at that moment. Friends or foes alike, all felt a chill down down their spines.


    "First, that annoying formation..." His gaze moved at the formation that had covered this world. This was his second timeing across this formation. However, this one is even stronger than the one in the past. But it didn''t change anything.


    Lucifer raised his hand, making a graceful gesture. At that moment, it was as if the time itself had stopped. In the blink of an eye, Lucifer had snatched the control of the formation. Not only that, he even enhanced the formation with his own strength.


    He raised his hand, pointing towards the sky, without even looking above.


    In that moment, the entire world shone in a bright light, akin to bing a Sun. From the formation, a powerful andrge scale energy beam shot out, straight towards the space.


    09:54


    In that moment, the entire world shone in a bright light, akin to bing a Sun. From the formation, a powerful andrge scale energy beam shot out, straight towards the space.


    The space around the world was surrounded by enemy ships of ns that didn''t directly enter the war but were using the ships to keep this world hostage. Amongst them was the Traitorous Aquarius n as well.


    The people inside the ships outside the world were stunned, seeing this attack. To protect themselves, they not only cast a barrier around their ships, but they used their own attack, firing powerful beams.


    Unfortunately, all their beams were devoured by the attack of Lucifer which only became stronger. The vision of everyone inside the ships turned white as the barriers shattered.


    Before long, the entire space was devoured by Lucifer''s attack. By the time the light disappeared, a frightening scene appeared. All his ships had disappeared. Not even their rubble was left behind.


    In an instant, hundreds of ns were wiped even though they didn''t enter the Ancient World.


    Seeing the sight, the one who had entered the Ancient World were frozen in ce. They had thought that the Ancient n Leader was the biggest danger to them that they had to take down. However, the young man before them appeared to be even more frightening.


    They didn''t know what to do anymore. Should they continue the battle? Could they even win against a person who could use an attack like this? At that moment, many of the invaders lost their motivation to fight.


    Many even thought about escaping. Unfortunately, they could feel that the space around them had been sealed. There was no escape.


    "We can only fight and kill him! There are still so many of us! What''s there to worry about?" With no other option, one of the Enemy Leaders eximed.


    He, along with others, attacked Lucifer. Meanwhile, there were few who thought about taking Lucifer''s father hostage so they could ask for their escape.


    It was a good n. Unfortunately, they didn''t even realize what happened. All they saw was a shadow and a burning pain inside their body, as if their bodies were burning from inside.


    Their bodies were destroyed from inside, decaying and turning into dust before they could even get close to Lucifer and his father. In the blink of an eye, the Enemy Leaders were killed.


    This sight was even more scary for the Enemy warriors than before. Their leaders were killed just like that.


    At that moment, they were frightened out of their cores. All the enemy warriorsnded on their knees on the ground, cing their hands while surrendering and begging for their lives.


    In that instant, the war was over. The battle that had destroyed half the Ancient World was over.


    The Warriors of the Ancient n still couldn''t believe their eyes, looking at their n Leader, wondering if it was a dream.


    "What are you looking at?" Lucifer''s father asked, rolling his eyes. "Take the prisoners! I''ll decideter what to do with them!"


    Hearing their n Leader, the Warriors came out of their daze, roaring in excitement that they had won.


    Unfortunately, before they couldnd on the ground to take prisoners, they heard painful cries of the ones who had surrendered, their bodies burning to ashes right before their eyes.


    "There''s no need to decide anything! They had the blood of my n in their hands! They all deserve death!" Lucifer eximed, turning his back on the burning bodies, appearing like a true warlord.

 Chapter 1067 Chapter 1068: Annihilating

    1067 Chapter 1068: Annihting


    Even his father was stunned at the decision as it seemed slightly cruel, especially since they had surrendered. Although the Ancient n was called ruthless, they were actually verypassionate.


    Lucifer''s father wanted to investigate which of them had actually killed their people. He only wanted to kill them while granting other forms of punishment to the ones that hadn''t harmed their warriors. He understood most of these soldiers were just following orders after all.


    He wanted to say something to Lucifer, but he didn''t know what to say. In the end, he just sighed. He believed this was the first time Lucifer had seen so many people die, so it was valid of him to be angry and emotional.


    "It''s over. Let''s go back now." Lucifer''s father ced his hand on Lucifer''s shoulder, telling him to go back to the pce, leaving the warriors to clean the battlefield.


    "No, father. It''s far from over," Lucifer told his father, his mind still wasn''t rid of all his anger. "I will end this myself."


    A Spatial Portal opened before Lucifer. Right before his father''s eyes, he entered the portal, disappearing into the endless space.


    For his father, it was nothing since his family was fine. But it wasn''t the same for Lucifer who had experienced his family getting killed in the past. Just a simple death for these people wasn''t enough of a punishment for him.


    It wasn''t just these people who hurt his n. Even in the future, the n members continued to chase the remnant of the ns to kill them. For him, no one in the n was innocent! All of them were his culprits!


    The Ancient n Leader watched Lucifer disappear right before his eyes. He had a bad feeling about it. He wanted to go after Lucifer but he didn''t even know where Lucifer had gone.


    While he was lost in thoughts, he heard movement behind him. As he turned around, he watched his wife running towards him.


    ****


    A Spatial Portal opened in the Draconian World which had also taken part in this war.


    Lucifer stepped out of the portal, observing the world that looked quite identical to how it was to look in the future.


    Lucifer only spent ten minutes in the world. However by the time he left, there was nothing left in this world except carnage. Everything was destroyed! This was the punishment of Lucifer! Family for family! World for the World!


    These ns had taken his world and his family from him. And now he was going to do the same!


    That day, a man appeared in various worlds. However, by the time he left, no one was left alive to tell the tale. Moreover, all these were ns that had agreed to send their armies to the Ancient World.


    09:55


    That day, a man appeared in various worlds. However, by the time he left, no one was left alive to tell the tale. Moreover, all these were ns that had agreed to send their armies to the Ancient World.


    In a single day, hundreds of species and worlds had disappeared from history, just like the Ancient n did in the past.


    There were only two worlds left in the end. The World of Dark Lightning and the Frozen World. Moreover, these two were also the world and ns where Lucifer''s two friends in the future were going to be born.


    The Lightning n was the n of Ron, who was going to be born thousands of years in the future. Killing these ns meant he was erasing the existence of Ron and the others, who helped him. In fact, Ron had even died for him in the future. This was the only ce where Lucifer felt conflicted.


    Lucifer appeared in the Dark Lightning World, people herepletely unaware about the oue of the war.


    For quite some time, Lucifer remained seated on a distant mountain, observing the world. In the end, he stood up.


    "The Ron I know is already dead. The Ron born in this world will be the enemy of my family after this oue of war. These people... They will only be a hidden threat for my family! I won''t let any threat exist! In this life, no one will take anything from me!"


    After making up his mind, Lucifer flew towards the Main City of the Dark Lightning World, the sky getting darker as if following his movements.


    Many people in this world looked towards the sky that had suddenly gotten dark, wondering what was happening. Many wondered if some great warrior was practicing?


    Unfortunately, they soon realized that it wasn''t the case as one after another, multiple destructive lightning bolts fell over the Royal Pce, in the blink of an eye destroying it all.


    That was just the start of destruction which slowly spread through the entire world. Lucifer at this moment had be obsessed with protecting his family! He had no morality orpassion for people who could be a threat to him or his family!


    Just like every other world, the Dark Lightning World and the Frozen World were also destroyed. Only after destroying every threat, Lucifer returned to the Ancient n and to his family.


    ****


    In theing days, news spread across the gxy that the ns that had sent their armies to the Ancient n had lost. Not only were their armies wiped but even the ns and all their citizens were killed in the aftermath.


    Hearing the news, the ns that hadn''t sent their armies felt slight relief that they had stayed out of it. Although it was partially because they were weak and weren''t worth anything to the allied armies, the oue was good for them.


    They had survived this carnage. However, at the same time, they also felt fear. Since the Ancient n hadn''t fought for a long time, they had forgotten the might of this n. After seeing it, they realized just what kind of fall the Ancient n was.


    They were also worried about their fate in case the Ancient n misunderstood them. All such ns started sending messages to the Ancient n, swearing their eternal loyalty to the one and only overlord of this gxy.


    ****


    After Lucifer returned to his n, news about his carnage had already reached the ears of his father.


    Even the Warriors of his n looked at him with respect, adoration and fear.


    "Do you feel better after killing billions of people?" Lucifer''s father asked as Lucifer entered the Pce.

 Chapter 1068 Chapter 1069: My Pride

    1068 Chapter 1069: My Pride


    "Even if it was trillions, I would''ve done the same!" Lucifer replied, his voice still firm. "As long as one hand is raised towards my family, I''ll cut that hand and every hand rted to it! Not just once, I''ll do it a thousand times over."


    "To me, my family''s life is above everything else! Even if I have to be a Demon to protect them, I''ll willingly do it!" he further stated while greeting his father.


    Although he acted strong on the outside, on the inside he was happy that he could get scolded by his father. That just confirmed that in this life, his family was alive.


    "You..." Lucifer''s father sighed in response. He couldn''t understand how his son changed so much.


    Previously, he used to be weak. He wasn''t just mentally weak but physically as well, said to be dying with each passing day. However, after the inheritance, it was as if his son had changed entirely.


    The Ancient n Leader stood up, stepping closer to Lucifer, his expressions stern.


    With only half a meter of distance between him and his son, he stopped. "I don''t appreciate the way you handled things."


    "I know you don''t," Lucifer answered. "But to make sure something like this doesn''t happen again, we can''t go on like in the past. To prevent something like this, we have to create fear in their hearts. I know you''re not a person like that."


    "That''s why, I''ll be the viin instilling fear in their hearts so that they will think a thousand times before trying again! I needed to set an example on what happens to the ones who take from me! As long as the others don''t forget this example, it''ll be peaceful!"


    "However, if they do forget this example, I won''t mind making a few more examples!" Lucifer''s voice wasn''t loud but it was heard loud and clear in everyone''s heart.


    At that moment, all the Ancient n Members felt a strange feeling of pride in them. That was right! They had to set an example! They couldn''t let the blood of their family and friends go to waste!


    At that moment, all of them felt that Lucifer did the right thing. It was time for their n to change so that this could be prevented in the past. Subconsciously, they had all started treating Lucifer to the same level as their leader who they were proud of.


    "You!" Lucifer''s father scratched the back of his head. "You brat, I don''t know what changed you so much. But just remember, even if you''re wrong and I don''t agree with your way of handling things, I''ll always stand beside you! But if possible, try to consult with me before making a decision."


    Lucifer nodded like an innocent child.


    "I''ll go meet Mother," he said as he turned around to leave.


    "Wait, there''s one more thing." Lucifer''s father called out.


    Lucifer stepped and turned around. "Yes father?"


    His father ced his hand over his head, ruffling his hair. "I''m d that you''re safe."


    Lucifer smiled. "Me too, father. Me too..."


    He turned and left the main hall. After the battle, this was the first time he was going to meet his mother and had a proper talk with her.


    He could feel his heart beating faster as he reached closer to his mother''s chamber. Even when he fought against thousands of enemies, he never felt this nervous.


    This was the mother who gave birth to him. This was the mother whose love and embrace he never got to experience in the past life. This was the mother who had given her life to save him. And now he was going to meet that mother.


    As he stepped before the chamber, he took a deep breath. He reached out his hand to knock, even his hands feeling cold.


    At that moment, Lucifer felt all the pain... All the sadness and craziness of his past disappeared. In this moment, he truly felt at peace like never before.


    09:56


    Knock~


    Knock~


    Following the knock, he patiently waited.


    Before long, the door opened. And standing before him was a woman with radiant beauty, her eyes filled with both love and concern. It was his mother, the person he had longed to see for so many years.


    "M-Mother," Lucifer stammered, feeling a lump forming in his throat. He struggled to find the right words to say, overwhelmed by the emotions that flooded his heart.


    His mother''s eyes filled with tears as she took a step forward, her arms outstretched. She didn''t say a single thing, just feeling a strange mncholy in her heart as if she could feel her son''s pain.


    Tears streamed down Lucifer''s face. The person known as the Demon in the entire universe for annihting hundreds of ns was no different than a child in his mother''s embrace.


    It was unclear how unbelievable others would''ve found it to link this Lucifer with that Lucifer. However, only Lucifer knew how weak he truly was after going through everything.


    It was a mixture of relief, joy, and sadness all at once. As he hugged his mother, the weight of their previous lives'' tragedies seemed to dissipate, reced by a newfound hope for the future.


    "I''m sorry, Mother," Lucifer weakly spoke. "I''m sorry for not being able to protect you."


    His mother gently stroked his hair, her voice filled with warmth and understanding. "What are you talking about? You protected me. You''re the reason we''re all alive. So don''t ever me yourself. You have saved us all!"


    "Who said my child was weak? My son is the strongest! He''s my pride! So I never want to see him me himself," she said as she freed him.


    At that moment, Lucifer felt all the pain... All the sadness and craziness of his past disappeared. In this moment, he truly felt at peace like never before.


    ****


    A few years passed, and Lucifer had truly be a part of this n. Even though his father was still the leader, he was handling most of the matters of the n.


    He had be the unnamed leader of the n and all the warriors of the n listened to him in anything.


    However, one particr day, Lucifer left the n without telling anyone. No one knew where he had gone.

 Chapter 1069 Chapter 1070: Waiting for this moment

    1069 Chapter 1070: Waiting for this moment


    Although Lucifer had missed his childhood in the Ancient n, in thest few years, he appeared to have be the favorite of many. Although he didn''t talk much with anyone, many people were fond of him as their young master and the next leader of the n.


    Unfortunately, one day Lucifer disappeared. No one in the Ancient n knew where Lucifer had gone, not even his mother. However, once it was discovered that he was missing, the entire n was shocked.


    Thest time Lucifer had left the n, he had wiped multiple civilizations. Many in the n wondered if something like this was going to happen again.


    Lucifer''s father even instructed his men to go out and search for Lucifer without bringing much attention to himself.


    Following his instructions, many Ancient n Members went to various worlds to see if there were any disturbances. Unfortunately, they couldn''t find anything wrong at any ce. Every ce was peaceful.


    ****


    In an unknown area of the universe, a young man stood in an empty space, his hands behind his back while his eyes remained closed as if he was waiting for something.


    Months passed, but the man didn''t move at all. He neither ate anything nor drank. All he did was asionally recover his strength by devouring his surroundings.


    He just waited there patiently, unclear as to what he was waiting for.


    At this point, the Ancient n was starting to worry about Lucifer''s whereabouts, his mother and father the most troubled. Unfortunately, none had any idea that he was in his ce.


    Just like that, three months passed, when finally there was some disturbance in the surrounding area.


    Lucifer slowly opened his eyes, his beautiful violet pupils glistening with a strange aura.


    "Is it time now?" he mumbled, his eyes looking in the distance. "I didn''t know the exact time for that, but ording to the Star Alliance history I read, this was the approximate time. To think that I was three months off in my estimates."


    The Spatial Disturbance in the surrounding became stronger and stronger and soon, a Spatial Crack opened in the dark space.


    From the Spatial Portal, a woman''s figure became visible, stepping out of the portal. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    "You made me wait for quite a long time, my dear wife..." Lucifer spoke, as he moved.


    Before the woman could evenpletely step out of the portal, she felt a cold hand around her throat.


    Grabbing onto her throat, the hand pushed her back in the portal. However, as if that wasn''t enough, the person that hand belonged to, also followed inside.


    ****


    In an unfamiliar realm, a woman''s figure came flying back from the Spatial Portal, crashing against a distant wall.


    From the portal, a man also stepped out. Although the man had not even the slightest trace of any aura which made him appear like a mere mortal, but just by looking into his eyes, it was clear that he was far from simple.


    "So this is your home..."


    "W-who are you?" Talia asked, coughing heavily as shended on her feet.


    This wasn''t her real body but it was her real soul inside this body. Moreover it was a body that had no strength yet as she was supposed to gather strength after entering Lucifer''s world.


    "You came looking for us, yet you can''t even recognise us?" Lucifer asked, an amused smirk constant across his lips.


    He had waited for this moment for a long time. Ever since he returned to the past, he had been waiting for this moment.


    Other than the Traitors, the only other threat looming over his family was Talia and her family. In this life, he wasn''t going to let any threat to his family exist, no matter if it was a friend or a foe.


    "Y-you are..." Talia was taken aback as she heard Lucifer''s words. His eyes also made his identity evident. She couldn''t understand how she came across one of them as soon as she entered that world? Was that just a coincidence?


    "Now that you''re here, don''t even think about leaving alive!" Talia eximed as she pulled out a dagger. However, instead of attacking Lucifer, she aimed the dagger at herself.


    To send her soul back to her real body, she has to die. Moreover, now that Lucifer was here, he had no way back. She wanted to take care of him herself.


    She thrust the dagger at herself.


    Lucifer used blink, appearing right before the woman. With one hand, he grabbed her wrist and with the other, he held her throat.


    "Since you''re interested in dying, I should help you myself!"


    ''You fool! That''s right, kill me!'' Talia, after realizing she couldn''t free the dagger, could onlyugh at Lucifer who was going to give her what she wanted by killing her. It was no different than him hitting his foot on an ax.


    However, her inner smugness soon disappeared as her face turned pale. "W-what are you doing?"


    Her body remained perfectly fine, but she felt a foreign force invading her body, directly targeting her soul.


    In the past few years, Lucifer had a lot of time to think about the events of his previous life. And the more he thought about it, the more he started to notice minor things that he hadn''t noticed in the past. Keeping all those minor things, he made preparations.


    Moreover, with his father''s guidance, he had been able to utilize the inheritance core even more perfectly.


    With each passing day, Lucifer''s abilities grew stronger, and he began to understand the true extent of his powers. His control over the inheritance core allowed him to tap into his old abilities and create new ones.


    "Stop!" The Woman roared, feeling a burning sensation as if her soul and mind was being split apart.


    If she was to be killed, then her soul could go back. But what if her soul itself was to be destroyed in this weak body? There was nothing left to go back. Even her real body was going to die.


    Lucifer moved closer to Talia, his lips next to her ears. "I can''t tell you how long I''ve been waiting for this moment. It''s always so fun to kill you, in yourst life and this one¡­"

 Chapter 1070 Chapter 1071: The Long Night

    1070 Chapter 1071: The Long Night


    Talia didn''t understand what Lucifer was saying, nor did she have any time to think about it as her mind was breaking apart. She experienced pain worse than death, like never before.


    Not only was her soul being destroyed, but even her knowledge and memories were being stolen by Lucifer directly from her soul.


    Her struggles soon ceased as her soulpletely shattered. All her resistance stopped, only her lifeless eyes remained open, as if looking at Lucifer.


    But just as Lucifer thought he had won, a glimmer of light emerged from Talia''s shattered soul. It was a faint flicker at first, but it grew stronger with each passing moment.


    Lucifer stepped back, tossing the lifeless body aside. He opened the door of the special chamber, leaving into the main hall. This was just the beginning. Now that he was there, he had to annihte everything.


    There was only one way to contact the heirs in another world and that was through themunication jades in the master''s room. Using the memories of Talia, he knew how to use themunication jade.


    Lucifer wasn''t interested in the jades, but he was interested in the young masters who had gone to other worlds like Talia. Amongst them were Talia''s brothers whom he had promised to meet again.


    However, before that, he wanted to prepare a surprise for them.


    Lucifer had invaded the Pce, but not a single person knew about it. This was also Lucifer''s biggest advantage.


    With no preparation and understanding, the n couldn''t have time to use the ring. And even if they used the ring, they could only affect his abilities rted to time and nothing else.


    Along the hallway, whenever Lucifer came across any member of the n, time slowed down for him. Before the people could even react, he was killing them.


    He was like a grim reaper, going from one room to another, killing every threat to his n.


    Although he wasn''t told much by his father, but from Talia''s memories, he came to know a lot of things. As the young princess of this n, Talia knew a lot of secrets.


    Moreover, unlike his n that had put the past behind, Talia''s family remained obsessed with the past.


    It was also after seeing through Talia''s memories that he found out that many things that Talia had told him about her family in the past were a lie.


    Even the fact that she needed him to open the doorway to enter the inheritance chamber was a lie. There was no such thing about rules of opening the chamber.


    That made him wonder why the future Talia asked him toe along. Unfortunately, that secret was buried with her as well. The past Talia didn''t know anything about the future or the reasons for the future.


    However, from the knowledge of the past, Lucifer was able to guess a few possibilities. The possibility that made the most sense to him was that she wanted to tie him down to her and her n, finding him talented enough.


    As for the second possibility, it was that she wanted to devour his talent and his strength once her real body arrived in this world. That''s why she took him there, which was the perfect ce for it.


    There were also a few other possibilities, but Lucifer didn''t have any way to confirm any of his theories. At that moment, he decided to stop thinking about it. Whatever it was, Talia could never do it in the future as she was now dead.


    In the meantime, Lucifer kept killing the people of his n like a silent Assassin. Before long, half the n had been wiped out, and no one even knew anything about it.


    It was easy to protect against an enemy from outside, but it was much harder to protect from the enemy that was already inside, especially if that enemy was like Lucifer.


    This was just the start of the tragedy for the n that aimed to destroy Lucifer''s family.


    ****


    "Hmph? She found the location? So fast?"


    In various universes, many youngsters received a message at the same time through their jade. They had just started their search so they all found it hard to believe their sister had seeded in locating them.


    However, they had no reason to doubt the message that they received from themunication jade that only the Family Head could use.


    All the youngsters epted the order and started preparing to kill themselves in this world to return to their real bodies back home.


    "I hope your children don''t make me wait long." Lucifer stood in a dark room, looking out the window, ying with a beautiful ring in his hand.


    This was the ring that Talia used, but it was much bigger in size.


    Not far from Lucifer, a body was lying on the ground, it was impossible to even recognise who this belonged to. However, a token next to the body made it evident that it was the Family Head.


    Soon, all the Youngsters had returned to their real bodies, almost at the same time. After waking up in their real bodies, they were all stunned, finding their bodies sitting on a chair, tied up by powerful shackles.


    All of them were confused, unable toprehend the situation. How could they be in this situation? Was this a joke from their father? No, their father couldn''t make a joke like this. And the others didn''t have the courage. So who? That was the question in their mind.


    In the room, there was only one person who was free. However, they could only see the back of that person who was standing near a window, looking at the moon outside.


    "Even the moon in this godforsaken world is beautiful." The unfamiliar man spoke, as he slowly turned around.


    Although the man had a calm smile on his face, that smile sent chills down everyone''s spine. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    "W-who are you? How dare you tie us? Do you have a death wish? Do you know who our father is?!" One of the Youngsters eximed, his arrogance seeping in his words.


    "By your father, do you mean that person?" Lucifer asked, pointing next to the men tied to the chair.


    At the same time, all the Youngsters looked in the same direction, their faces going ghastly pale at the sight of their father''s lifeless body, that they were barely able to recognise.


    "I can''t tell you how much I''m going to enjoy this long night..." Lucifer picked up a bloody knife from the ground, the crazed eyes in his eyes getting deeper.

 Chapter 1071 Chapter 1072: The one who can kill me

    1071 Chapter 1072: The one who can kill me


    The Family that wanted to find and annihte.Lucifer''s family waspletely wiped by Lucifer. They weren''t just killed, but they were killed in the most brutal ways, especially the princes who were begging for death at the end of it, as their bodies were dismantled bit by bit.


    The torture of the Princesssted for two days before they were finally granted death. By that moment, Lucifer''s entire body was covered in their blood. He didn''t appear like the person that had fought to protect his family. Instead, he looked like someone who enjoyed this entire moment.


    After killing the Princess, Lucifer tossed the knife aside. With this, his revenge had ended and all threats to his family had been annihted.


    Leaving the bodies behind, Lucifer left the hall, his back looking even lonelier than ever.


    Through the corridor, he returned to the chamber from where he had entered this world. He opened the portal to lead him back.


    After ncing at the lifeless body of Talia onest time, he entered the portal. "With this, our fate ends.."


    ****


    Although Lucifer had only spent a few days in the other world, he had been away from his home for months.


    Before returning home, he burned his bloody clothes. He cleansed his body, not leaving even a drop of blood. Further, he wore new clothes. Unlike the executioner of the past, he truly appeared like a prince now.


    The moment he returned home, he was directly asked to meet the Family Head.


    "Where did you go? Did you know how worried we all were?" In the meeting hall, his father asked. Even his mother stood next to his father. She had been worried sick all these months, but now that her son was back, her face was filled with relief and joy.


    Lucifer could see the genuine concern and love in their eyes.


    "I apologize for the worry I caused you, Father, Mother. I just went out for some fresh air," he replied, his tone calm.


    He didn''t tell his father the truth. Even now, his father didn''t know about his past and everything he had gone through.


    "You... next time you want fresh air, at least tell me so I won''t worry...." Lucifer''s father sighed, but didn''t hold his son ountable. Although his son was technically only a few years old, he couldn''t be judged withmon sense. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    As his father, he couldn''t help but worry about Lucifer. However, at the same time, he also loved his son a lot and couldn''t bear to scold him.


    With this, the matter of Lucifer''s disappearance came to an end and things returned to normal.


    With that, an era of peace was established. With all threats gone, none could challenge the Ancient n and Lucifer could live a life that he never got to experience in the past.


    There was no need for bloodshed. He didn''t need to pick up a weapon ever again. Moreover, everywhere, the Ancient n was respected. The past... No, the future had been changed by him.


    Centuries passed with no significant development. Throughout the years, Lucifer continued his training on his own, creating new abilities and finding even more uses of his inheritance.


    He was also taught skills by his father that he needed to be a Family Head, like management skills of their territory, finance and much more.


    A few more centuries passed. Lucifer''s father finally stepped down from his position and all the control of the Ancient n had been handed over to Lucifer.


    Lucifer had be the 100th Family Head of the Ancient n. A grand celebration was thrown on the asion.


    The celebration was held in a world under the Ancient n Domain. The Celebration was attended by almost all Major ns who had received invitations. As for the smaller ns that couldn''t attend, even then went their well wishes.


    Although hundreds of years had passed, none of the ns could forget the legend of Lucifer, the young man who had single handedly wiped hundreds of major ns that went against him. No one wanted to have a bad rtionship with him.


    If anything, because of Lucifer''s deterrence, the other ns had be even more honest and subservient to the Ancient n, not even daring to scheme.


    In fact, all the ns had a Portal of Lucifer that they showed their members, warning them that it was better to offend a Demon than to offend Lucifer.


    None of the ns wanted to be the next n to disappear, all because of some single disrespect act towards Lucifer. So they made sure to drill Lucifer''s image in their minds so they could recognise him and behave ordingly.


    The Celebration was attended by almost all Major ns, all bringing their heirs with them. Many even brought their daughters, hoping that their daughters could catch Lucifer''s eyes.


    The Major ns respected the previous Ancient n Head. But for the new Ancient n Leader Lucifer... They not only respected him, but they were frightened by him.


    Even the ns that hadn''t seen Lucifer before, when they saw him during the ceremony, were stunned. Just being in his presence alone was making them feel like they were suffocating.


    Lucifer had lived for a few hundred years, but he still looked like he was only in his mid twenties, while his father now appeared to be in his early forties.


    Lucifer''s charismatic and enigmatic auramanded the attention of everyone in the room. People couldn''t help but feel a sense of awe and admiration for the leader who possessed such immense power beyond his years.


    ****


    An unknown amount of time has passed. And in this time, Lucifer barely left the Ancient n. However, wherever he went, he was always treated like God after instantly being recognised.


    However, during all these years, Lucifer had always been looking forward to something.


    Lucifer was sitting on the roof of the pce, looking at the dark sky. His heart that had been still all this time, finally was getting impatient.


    "You look quite impatient, yet at the same time slightly happy. Is there something My Lord is looking forward to?"


    "Arel..." Lucifer muttered, without even looking around. "Do you really need to guard me even at a time like this! If that''s someone I can''t protect myself from, will you be able to? How many times have I told you that I don''t need protection?"


    From the shadow, a man stepped out.


    "Forgive me, My Lord. But these are the orders from your father. Although you''re the family head, he still can''t help but worry about your safety. If youmand me, I''ll return. But your father might be angry at me and send me here again. It''s an endless cycle, so please let me apany you!"


    He had been guarding Lucifer from the shadows, and he was also the one that was closest to Lucifer after his family.


    Arel further continued. "As for protecting you, if that''s ever a threat to your life, that threat will have to pass over my dead body first."


    "Sigh, stop being so dramatic," Lucifer rolled his eyes. "The one who can kill me hasn''t been born yet. Though you''re right about one thing. There is something I''ve been looking forward to. It''s almost time..."


    "Time for...?" Arel asked, confused.


    Lucifer smiled. "Time to go out for a walk¡­"

 Chapter 1072 Chapter 1073: Return to Earth

    1072 Chapter 1073: Return to Earth


    "Where might we be going?" Arel asked, quite curious. It wasn''t often that Lucifer went out, especially ever since he had taken the leadership position in the n.


    However, not only did he want to go out now, but he also appeared to be looking forward to it.


    Lucifer didn''t answer. However, for him, this night was the longest light of his life. After a long time, he was finally going there again.


    "I suppose I will soon find out. Now I''m also looking forward to it," Arel smiled, not probing further as he once again disappeared, returning to the shadows.


    "In this life, everything will be fine..." Lucifer muttered as he observed the stars in the sky.


    Throughout the entire night, he hadn''t slept. However with how he was now, he didn''t need any sleep in the first ce. He could go on for months without needing to sleep.


    The next morning, Lucifer stood up, returning back to the Pce. He prepared himself thoroughly, dressing in his best attire.


    Once he left his room, even the servants were surprised. Usually, Lucifer couldn''t care less what he wore. However, this time he even asked one of them how he looked after stepping out of the room.


    Lucifer went to meet his parents. Although he didn''t need anyone''s permission to leave, but he still kept his old promise to his father that he could tell them before leaving so they wouldn''t worry.


    "Where are you going?" Lucifer''s father asked after being informed.


    Even he could see that his son was different this time. He was like a little child, with that same innocence in his eyes that was hard to see in the past.


    "It''s a small world in a distant ce. A world called Earth. I should be back soon," Lucifer replied.


    "Is there anything special about that ce?" Lucifer''s Father asked, even more curious, why his son was going to a small ce like Earth that was insignificant to the point they hadn''t even heard of before.


    "There is something really special in that ce." Lucifer answered while being vague. He didn''t tell his father anything about his past.


    His father also knew that there was something Lucifer wasn''t telling them. However, he didn''t probe further.


    "I hope you find what you''re looking for..." He granted his blessings, letting Lucifer leave.


    He further looked at the empty space in the distance. "You little brat, protect my son well."


    Arel appeared in the empty space, nodding. "Don''t worry, Eldest Master. I won''t let anything happen to the Family Head."


    After informing his father, Lucifer left the hall. Although he preferred to go alone, he knew that it would worry his father, so he took Arel with him as well.


    After leaving the Pce, Lucifer created a Spatial Portal with a light wave.


    "After so long, I''ll finally see you again..." Lucifer entered the portal, disappearing in the torrent of space. Arel followed behind.


    Once the two entered, the portal closed.


    From the pce windows, Lucifer''s father looked at the portal closed.


    "I don''t know what burdens and secrets you carry. However, I hope you find the peace you''re looking for... Your happiness is all I want, my dear child."


    ****


    The portal opened, right above one of the main cities on earth.


    Lucifer and Arel floated high in the sky, looking at the city below.


    The city stretched out beneath them, a sprawling metropolis of towering skyscrapers and bustling streets. The cityscape was a dazzling disy of lights, with neon signs and billboards illuminating the ce. The sound of car horns and distant chatter filled the air, creating a vibrant energy that seemed to pulse through the city''s veins.


    Arel marveled at the sight, his eyes taking in the sights and sounds of the human world. The buildings seemed to reach for the heavens, their ss facades reflecting the twinkling stars above. The streets were alive with people, each one going about their daily lives, unaware of the supernatural beings observing them from above.


    "What a fascinating ce. However, the people here are so weak..." Arel muttered to himself, wondering why the Family Head woulde to a ce like this.


    As they hovered in the sky, a ne soared past them. The roar of its engines echoed through the air, catching Lucifer''s attention. He looked towards the aircraft, his eyes meeting the gaze of a curious child peering out of the window. The child''s eyes widened in awe as they locked onto Lucifer and Arel, his small face pressed against the ss.


    Arel, ever watchful, noticed the child''s fascination and smiled. He waved at the young passenger, a gesture meant to acknowledge their presence.


    The child''s eyes widened even further, their mouth forming an excited "O" shape. They waved back with unbridled enthusiasm, their joy radiating from the ne and reaching Lucifer and Arel high above.


    "Mother, look Superman!" the child eximed, tugging at the clothes of her mother.


    "You and your imagination..." the mother didn''t even open her eyes, let alone look out the window.


    Soon, Lucifer and Arel had disappeared from the child''s sight.


    Lucifer and Arel teleported inside the city, appearing inside a deste alley so no one could see them teleport. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    In this world, there were no Dungeons since Lucifer hadpletely annihted that entire species, eliminating all future troubles. However, because there were no Dungeons, there was also no disturbance in natural bnce.


    Because of the absence of the Dungeons, no humans awakened as any Variants. The world wasn''t pushed into any unnecessary wars, at least none rted to monsters.


    Unfortunately, even as there were no monsters to fight, wars didn''t actually stop as there were many wars amongst human nations.


    Lucifer left the Valley, walking on the crowded streets. Although he didn''t use any of his special abilities, whoever saw him subconsciously stepped aside, clearing the path for him.


    Many even wondered where this guy came from, and why he was wearing the attire that they had never seen before. Looking at how handsome he was, many wondered if he was an actor and was here to shoot something.

 Chapter 1073 Chapter 1074: The Leader

    1073 Chapter 1074: The Leader


    Not just Lucifer, but Arel also looked more handsome than any of the actors on earth. Many people started recording their videos, uploading them on social media.


    Some even thought about taking an autograph or a selfie without even knowing who these two were, convinced that they were someone famous.


    However, as soon as they came close to Lucifer and Arel, they froze in ce. Just a simple gaze from Arel was enough to frighten them, making them feel as if they were shoved into the cold ocean.


    "Control your killing intent. They won''t harm us," Lucifer reminded Arel. "Even if they wanted to, they couldn''t."


    "Still... How can I let these inferior beingse close to My Lord?" Arel asked in return, frowning.


    "Are you ignoring mymands?" Luciferzily asked.


    "I wouldn''t dare..." Arel quickly retracted his killing intent directed towards the people who were trying to get close to them. However, after this experience, no one dared to get close.


    Although Lucifer had lived on earth in thest life, that was apletely different earth with a different power structure. Even he wasn''t sure what changes were present in this earth or where he had to go if he wanted to find his parents.


    After taking a slight stroll, he approached a young man nearby.


    Even before Lucifer could tap the man''s shoulder, the man turned around, feeling a chill run down his back for some reason.


    The young man looked back. Initially, he was stunned by how handsome the man behind him looked, but for some reason, he also felt slightly scared. He couldn''t understand why. It made him feel like he was suffocating.


    "Can you tell me where I can find the leader of this country?" Lucifer asked the young man.


    The young man was stunned. Although Lucifer was speaking English, he found it wrong. How could this young man not know about the Presidential Pce? Moreover, why would he ask this question when he could''ve just used the inte or maps?


    The man opened his lips to ask these questions, but at the end moment, he stepped. He didn''t want to offend these people with his dying questions. It was just an innate feeling from within.


    "You''re probably looking for the Presidential Pce." He brought his phone out of his pocket and opened the maps.


    "We are currently here. And the Presidential Pce is in this city... Far away from this ce. If you take a flight, it would take you approximately-"


    The man continued with the exnation, but before he could finish, Lucifer thanked him, saying he understood.


    Lucifer walked past him.


    The man, still confused, turned around to take another nce at those two people, but he couldn''t see them anywhere. Both of them had disappeared.


    "This... How...?" He rubbed his forehead, not realizing how those two disappeared. "Have I been working too much at work?"


    ****


    Lucifer and Arel appeared outside the Presidential Pce. As soon as Lucifer appeared, time froze. He didn''t want to waste any time exining.


    He walked past the security who couldn''t even see or move. With calm steps, he entered the Pce.


    Lucifer directly walked inside the President''s office where many generals were giving him some kind of exnation in the past. However at this moment, they appeared no more than statues.


    "He should be the one," Lucifer muttered, releasing the President from his time prison.


    The President came to his senses, surprised by the sudden silence. Both his Generals were standing still, their mouths still open.


    "Who are you? How did you get in?" As soon as he noticed Lucifer and Arel in the distance, he stood up shocked.


    What was even more shocking was that his guards were standing still, not even moving. He ordered his guards to detain Lucifer and Arel, but it was as if themand fell on deaf ears.


    "They won''t be able to follow yourmands. They''re in my time-prison. Only you can move inside this person, because it''s my will." Lucifer informed the President as he moved a chair back and took a seat.


    "W-who are you? How are you able to do it?" Although the President was scared, he was still the leader of the country with high intellect. He was able to control his emotions and fear, realizing that something was wrong with these two people.


    If they were really able to stop his people in time, they weren''t humans.


    "A-are you gods?" he asked, slightly hesitantly.


    "It doesn''t matter who I am. What matters is what I want from you," Lucifer told the President.


    "W-what do you want from me?"


    With a wave of his hand, Lucifer opened another Spatial Portal, this time slightly smaller. He inserted his hand inside the portal and pulled out two scrolls.


    The two scrolls flew towards the President,nding on the table right before him.


    "I want you to find these two people for me. However, do it in such a way that it doesn''t cause any trouble for them. Do you understand what I''m saying?"


    The President picked up the scrolls, opening them. In both the scrolls, he found a painting. One was a painting of a man while another was a woman.


    Although the President was curious who these people were, but he didn''t ask much. Even if Lucifer wasn''t a god, but the abilities he had shown, it was clear that his life was in his hands. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    If Lucifer could enter this ce freely with time, then he could easily kill him as well. He could only obey.


    "D-do you know their names?" he asked. Although he could find them without names as well, but with names, it was much faster and less troublesome.


    "The man is named Zale Azarel. And the woman is named risse Rivera," Lucifer replied, before asking. "How long will it take for you to find them."


    "With their names, half a day! I''ll have all their information for you within half a day!" The President eximed with zeal.


    "I look forward to it." Lucifer stood up and walked out of the hall.


    The President thought of something and followed after them. "Wait, how long will my people stay frozen?"


    Unfortunately, by then the two had disappeared entirely.


    "This..." the President sighed as he returned to the meeting office.


    "Huh? How did you get there in an instant?" As the President returned, his Generals woke up. They were stunned to find the President at the door when he was just sitting on the chair.


    "Stop daydreaming! I want you to put everything aside and find me everything you know about these two people!" The President returned to his chair, handling over the scrolls while informing them of the names.


    The Generals asked many questions, but the President didn''t answer any. He just warned them to do it in such a way that these two people weren''t alerted or troubled.


    In the end, the Generals listened to themand. Shortly, they returned with all the information, including the entire history of the two people, along with their current coordinates.


    The President kept the information secure with him while telling his Generals to forget everything about these two people and that this was just his personal curiosity.

 Chapter 1074 Chapter 1075: Whatever you need

    Chapter 1074 Chapter 1075: Whatever you need


    In the evening, Lucifer returned again as time stood still. However, the President was more ustomed to it now.


    He handed the information to Lucifer. Not just that, he even handed over some money and a phone. By now, he understood that Lucifer and his friends probably weren''t from earth.


    If they were from earth, they would''ve known more about Earth, including the fact that this information could''ve easily been gathered at lower office as well.


    "No matter what you need... As long as you two Lords are on earth, you can give me a call and I''ll get it done!" he told Lucifer, while trying to exin how calls worked.


    Lucifer took the phone and the money, thanking the President before leaving. Although he could destroy earth with a flick of his finger, but things definitely were easier with the President''s support.


    As Lucifer left, the President sat on his chair, sighing as he wiped his sweat. However, his lips were smiling. If he could actually get close to Lucifer and Arel with a few favors, it was for the best. He didn''t want them as his enemies after all.


    Moreover, despite their strength, he could see that the two were peaceful and hadn''t caused any harm to earth.


    Although he was curious how Zale and risse were rted to these two, he didn''t dare to ask questions.


    *****


    For the next two days, Lucifer went to Zale. However, he didn''t approach Zale directly. From a distance, he watched the person who was like his father on earth.


    Zale was still in his early twenties and just a college student.


    Meanwhile risse was even younger, and lived in an entirely different city.


    In this world, there were no wars. Life was peaceful, but that also raised a problem for Lucifer.


    In thest life, his parents fought together and slowly fell in love. But in this life, things were different. They had no chance to fight together, let aloneing across each other.


    "This can''t go on..."


    Lucifer picked up the phone, and gave a call to the President, telling the Leader of the country to do something for him.


    Next to Lucifer, Arel watched everything. He didn''t understand why they were simply watching these two people and going so far for them. He didn''t understand why Lucifer was so interested in these two people.


    In thest thirty years, Lucifer hadn''t left the n. So there was no way he met them before. However, despite his curiosity, he only performed his duties and didn''t interfere. No matter how weird it was, it wasn''t that significant.


    Back in the President''s office, the man sat with a frown on his face.


    "Just why is he going this far for these two? Whatever, it doesn''t affect the national security. It''s easy to fulfill as well."


    The President made a few calls to concerned people, arranging everything.


    In the next few days, both Zale and risse got a call from the Government. Both were given internships to work at the government, in the same department.


    For most people, it was extremely hard to qualify, but both the college students got in without even applying. However, the President had already informed everyone to use a good excuse that didn''t arouse much suspicion.


    In the end, things moved smoothly.


    Instead of fighting monsters at the same time, risse and Zale started working together, getting in close proximity.


    It was as if the past was repeating itself, albeit in a different way. The two of them once again fell in love.


    One year passed and the two of them decided to get married.


    In the church, risse finished the wedding vows.


    "And now you may kiss the bride." n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Zale ced his hand on risse''s waist, giving a light kiss. Many family guests revealed happy smiles.


    However there was one person who was family, yet not family, watching from a distance.


    "I wish you both a blessed life... In this life, may you have all the happiness in the world..." Lucifer turned around, leaving the ce as the wedding wasplete.


    That night, Zale and risse were opening the gifts together. After opening all the gifts, there was only onest left.


    As risse opened thest gift, she was stunned. Thest gift wasn''t something she could''ve expected at all. Instead, it was a bunch of papers.


    She picked up the papers and went through them, frowning. "How... These are property papers? Someone gifted us a house?"


    These were the ownership papers of the house that weren''t small at all. Instead, it was so expensive that they couldn''t even afford to buy it yet. They didn''t realize that it was also the same house where they lived in thest life with Lucifer.


    "Hmm? A house? Is this a gift from your parents?" Zale asked, frowning.


    "It''s not," risse answered. "It is from someone named Lucifer? Could this be a mistake?"


    Zale tried to find out about Lucifer, but there was no contact information about that man. Even as he went to his office and tried to find from proper sources, he couldn''t get any information. All he was told was that it was all legal.


    No matter how hard he tried, he couldn''t find anything. At the end, he stopped the search and epted the house.


    "I don''t know who you are. I don''t even know if I deserve such an expensive gift. But thank you..."


    ****


    "Thank you for all the help. It''s time for me to go back." In the President''s office, Lucifer met the President onest time. He had helped him a lot now and Lucifer felt quite happy.


    "In return, let me do something for you!" He stepped forward and ced his hand on the President''s chest.


    The President could feel a strange feeling. But he didn''t know what it was.


    "I''ve granted you the inner shield. It will only work one time when your life is in danger and save your life, no matter what the danger. However, even it won''t save you from old age..."


    The President didn''t know if it was true or not, but he chose to believe Lucifer. Someone like him didn''t have any reason to lie.


    "Thank you for granting me a second life!" He respectfully bowed to Lucifer, truly feeling grateful. Not only had he gotten close to Lucifer, but he had also received the gift of life.


    "I will return in the future. But if I find that something happened to those two people..."


    "Don''t worry! I''ll make sure that they are safe! Even if someone else bes the President, I''ll make sure to inform them!"


    Lucifer nodded. It''s been quite some time since he had been here. It was time to go back.


    Opening a Spatial Portal, Lucifer returned to the Ancient n.


    Arel nced at the President. "You''re really lucky. So many Lords and Ladies in various worlds, much more powerful than you want to get close to My Lord. But you got this blessing. Don''t screw this up!"


    After issuing onest warning, Arel also entered the portal which disappeared.


    Even as Lucifer left, the President didn''t forget him. Throughout the years, he tried to help Zale and risse, even hiring security from his personal wealth to protect them.


    Five yearster, there was an assassination attempt on the President. Many of his advisors died. Even he was shot twenty times, all over his body. However, even then, he managed to survive whileing out unharmed.


    That day, he realized that Lucifer hadn''t lied. He could only thank Lucifer for saving his life, hoping to meet the Young Lord once again.

 Chapter 1075 Chapter 1076: Beginning of Fate

    Chapter 1075 Chapter 1076: Beginning of Fate


    Twenty years passed before Lucifer finally returned to earth once again.


    The first thing he did was to check up on Zale and risse who were now living in the house he had gifted them. However, the only thing different from the past was that he wasn''t with them.


    Even in this life, Zale had adopted an orphan. They had adopted a girl, who was already neen years old.


    Lucifer observed the house from a distance, seeing the girl leave the house, entering Zale''s car who was going to drop her at college.


    risse came to the door, wishing them a safe journey. However, as risse turned around to return inside, she stopped.


    She turned around, looking towards the tree in the distance where Lucifer had been standing. Unfortunately, there was no one there now.


    risse didn''t know why, but she felt a strange sense of sadness. She entered the house and closed the door.


    Lucifer stood behind the tree, his back resting against it.


    He had confirmed that they were safe and lived a much happier life thanst. Moreover, one thing had happenedpletely out of his expectations.


    The orphan they had adopted was none other than Alicia. Even her future had changed. In this life, she wasn''t caught by scientists to experiment on her variant abilities.


    She hadn''t fallen to the hands of the Variant Uprising. Instead, she lived a life where she was loved by Zale and risse. A world without monsters had changed many lives.


    After checking up on his parents, Lucifer went to meet the President again. Surprisingly even now, the same man was in power, only appearing older.


    Seeing Lucifer back in his office, the man couldn''t believe his eyes. Even now, Lucifer looked the same age.


    The man repeatedly thanked Lucifer for the inner protection that saved his life. After a small talk, Lucifer told the man that he needed a little more help.


    He told the man to find a few more people while giving the names and portrait scrolls.


    This time, the President did the same thing. However, he didn''t let Lucifer leave. He took Lucifer home and introduced his family.


    While they waited for the information, he hosted Lucifer at his home, even introducing his children. However, since he hadn''t told his family that Lucifer was a god, he introduced him as a special friend who had saved his life.


    "You have a really nice family..." Lucifer smiled. He quite liked this man. Although he was stern, he was also kind and clever. Moreover, he wasn''t scheming and somewhat honest.


    "Their happiness is all because of you. If I had died that day..." The man lowered his head, still feeling scared about the day.


    Lucifer didn''t answer. He simply looked at the man''s family in the distance which also included some grandkids.


    Once the man delivered the information to Lucifer, it was time for him to leave. However, before leaving, Lucifer once again granted an inner armor for the old man. He didn''t want to owe any favors.


    The President just watched Lucifer disappear, his eyes filled withplex emotions. He wasn''t sure if he was ever going to see Lucifer again. But he was happy that he could see him once again at least.


    ****


    This time, Lucifer gathered information about his friends that he had disappointed in thest time, leading them to their deaths all because he couldn''t control his powers. However, in this life it was all different.


    One after another, Lucifer went to various ces. Seeing his old friends, it brought so many memories back. However he knew that these weren''t his friends.


    Although they had the same life and Soul, his old friends were forever dead. These werepletely different people that hadn''t gone through anything they had gone through. However, he was d for that. He didn''t want them to go through all that suffering.


    Lucifer left behind small gifts for all of them. Without letting them know, he gave all of them an Inner Armor as he did with his parents and Alicia.


    This was thest time he had decided toe here. With this, he was going to separate himself from his past and focus on his future.


    He looked at earth onest time. So much of his life and suffering was based on this ce, yet so much of his happiness was also from this ce.


    A mncholic smile remained on his lips as he entered the portal, disappearing forever.


    ****


    Once Lucifer returned to his world, he started to focus on his world and on strengthening his n even further.


    asionally, there were more asions to celebrate. And on one such asion, anotherrge scale banquet was thrown. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Once again, many powerful ns attended the banquet. This time, Lucifer was slightly more amodating to them, not as dishant. However, he still looked just as regal.


    However, while he was talking to his father at the banquet, in the corner of his eyes, he noticed a figure.


    Frowning, he looked in the direction. Seeing his son''s reaction, Lucifer''s father also looked in the direction.


    "They are from the Mythical Beast world. If I''m not wrong, this is the first time they''ve been invited to such a high level banquet. Are you interested in them?" Lucifer''s father asked. "I heard that they have some quite talented people. That girl right there should be the one with Phoenix Bloodline if I''m not wrong."


    While Lucifer looked at the red haired girl in the distance, the girl also looked in his direction. As soon as their gazes met, the girl hastily lowered her gaze, scared.


    Seeing her reaction, a small smirk spread across the corner of Lucifer''s lips. In thest life, she used to be so bossy, not scared even when they broke inside the house of another Mythical n, but now she was just like a little kitten.


    Seeing his gaze, Lucifer''s father was also surprised. This was the first time his son had shown any interest in a girl.


    cing his hand on his son''s shoulder, he took him to the group of the Mythical Beast n.


    The Representatives of the Beast n were stunned, seeing the two overlords approaching them.


    Lucifer''s father stopped before the Mythical Beast n Leader who was respectful as well as scared.


    "You don''t have to be scared. I''m not going to eat you. Since it''s your first time, I just thought I should get to know you a little," Lucifer''s father told the Mythical Beast n Leader.


    He looked at his son. "While we are talking, how about you show her around?


    Lucifer couldn''t believe his father was behaving like this. But in the end, he didn''t refuse his father.


    He reached out his hand towards the red haired girl. "I''m Lucifer."


    "A-Amelia..." The red haired girl held Lucifer''s hands, her heart racing. However at the same time, she even felt a strange sense of curiosity towards this young man before her...


    The man had brought the entire universe to its knees when he got angry, yet in this moment he lookedpletely different.


    She followed Lucifer, without even realizing, marking another beginning of their fate...


    ¡­.


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