Chapter 282 - 280 : Authority of death
Arthur stood a little further away from the edge of Celestias Academy’s designated section, his crimson eyes fixed on the white-haired woman standing before him.
The demonic stadium roared around them. Demons shouted from the stands, dark elves watched with cold amusement, and vampires leaned forward in their seats with crimson eyes filled with hunger. Werewolves snarled and laughed whenever one of the terrified human students cried out.
But Arthur ignored them all.
His attention remained on the woman standing before him—the woman who had called herself Maya, the woman who had taken control of the Death Game, and the same woman Arthur had encountered once before.
Arthur narrowed his eyes as he studied her. "You’re the one who tried to kill Layla at the academy, aren’t you?"
For the briefest moment, Maya’s dark eyes sharpened.
The reaction was subtle enough that nobody else would have noticed it, but Arthur immediately caught it. A faint smile appeared on his lips.
He had been right.
"Alright," Arthur said, his expression becoming colder. "Let’s start again. Who are you, and why are you doing all this?"
Maya smiled as she casually brushed her snow-white hair over her shoulder. "Now I understand why they all want you dead. You’re quite sharp."
Arthur remained silent, watching her carefully.
Maya’s smile widened as she placed one hand over her chest. "Before you die, I’ll give you the honor of knowing my name. It is Maya."
She paused for a moment before continuing, "And yes, you were right. I was the one trying to kill that Layla girl back at the academy."
Arthur’s eyes narrowed. "You must be powerful if you were able to move around under Athena’s nose."
Maya sighed dramatically. "Oh, it was incredibly annoying. I was ordered not to cause trouble with her, so I had to change my appearance."
Her fingers touched the small device wrapped around her wrist.
The device immediately lit up with a soft metallic hum.
Maya’s snow-white hair began turning black, her facial features shifted, and her crimson eyes appeared. Within seconds, the woman standing before Arthur had transformed into an exact copy of him.
The same hair.
The same eyes.
The same face.
Even the same posture.
Arthur stared at his own face standing in front of him, his expression remaining surprisingly calm.
Maya grinned while wearing his appearance before touching the device again. Her transformation quickly disappeared, returning her to her original form.
"Convenient, isn’t it?" she asked.
"It is."
Arthur’s gaze moved toward the device on her wrist. "Can you get me one of those?"
Maya laughed. "You won’t need one."
Her expression suddenly became cold.
"Since you’ll be dead soon."
Arthur simply shrugged. "Is that so?"
"Yes." Maya’s eyes narrowed. "We Sentinels were created to exterminate fucking cheaters like you."
Arthur’s expression remained unchanged.
"People who possess Systems that violate the balance of the world," Maya continued. "Systems that only bring destruction."
Arthur’s crimson eyes sharpened. "How did you know about me?"
"Not only me."
Maya smiled casually. "Every Sentinel personnel deployed in this world knows about you."
She tilted her head.
"You could say there’s quite a large bounty on your head."
Arthur’s mood immediately soured.
’Another bounty.’
He looked away with a quiet sigh.
’At this point, perhaps I should just get used to it.’
Maya continued, "Even I found it strange when the order arrived. Every Sentinel was instructed to place you on their priority list of targets."
Her smile became faintly mocking.
"Someone specifically tipped us off about you."
She paused before adding, "And they paid me in advance."
Maya’s eyes glinted as she smiled. "So sorry, darling. There really is no escape for you."
Arthur looked at her calmly. "Don’t worry. I’ve survived worse."
A faint smile appeared on his lips.
"I’ll survive this somehow too."
Maya burst into laughter, and the demonic crowd surrounding them soon joined her.
"Keep dreaming," she said, leaning slightly toward him. "Just so you know, I’m one of the highest-ranking Sentinels."
Her eyes became cold.
"And I’ve never failed to kill a target."
Maya suddenly glanced toward the massive screens hanging above the stadium.
"Oh."
Her smile returned.
"It looks like it’s time for the other teams to choose their sacrifices."
Arthur’s expression darkened.
Maya spread her arms, gesturing toward the enormous arena. "Look around you."
Arthur’s eyes moved across the stands.
Demons.
Vampires.
Dark elves.
Werewolves.
Beastmen.
And countless other creatures he couldn’t even identify.
Maya’s voice became quieter. "Everyone you see here is a customer."
Arthur looked back at her.
"You may not know this, but human flesh is highly valuable to certain races."
Her smile became disturbing.
"Dead or alive."
Arthur’s fists clenched. "Don’t tell me you’re planning to sell innocent students to them."
Maya simply smiled.
"You see, I’ve invested quite a lot into this plan. So I need to recover my losses."
Her eyes swept across the terrified students trapped inside the stadium.
"And you people are going to become my profit."
Arthur stared at her for several seconds before sighing.
"You really are a crazy bitch, you know that?"
Maya laughed softly. "I’ve heard that many times."
Arthur’s eyes narrowed.
His earlier provocations weren’t working.
Maya wasn’t angry.
She wasn’t frightened.
She was enjoying every second of it.
So Arthur decided to change his approach.
"Alright."
Arthur raised an eyebrow. "Since I’m going to die anyway, can you do me a small favor?"
Maya’s eyes narrowed with curiosity.
"Oh?"
A faint smile appeared on her face. "Why do I feel like there’s a desperate plan brewing inside that head of yours?"
Arthur looked away. "Don’t tell me you’re scared of a small favor."
Maya’s mouth twitched.
"Cheap provocation."
She folded her arms. "Fine. Tell me. What is this little favor?"
Arthur smiled.
"Nothing big."
His crimson eyes slowly moved across the stadium, taking in the creatures watching the terrified humans.
They were laughing.
Waiting.
Enjoying their fear.
Arthur’s expression gradually became colder.
’I swear.’
His hand tightened around the katana at his waist.
’Not one of them will go back alive.’
Arthur then turned toward Maya and made his request.
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Arthur had already left after making his request, leaving Maya standing there alone in silence.
She stared in the direction he had gone, her expression thoughtful as she considered his favour.
"I thought he was going to ask for something important," she muttered, her dark eyes narrowing. "But it’s something this simple?"
She glanced toward the arena.
"What could he possibly be scheming?"
Maya shook her head.
"There is no way he can participate in their match until tomorrow."
Her gaze shifted toward the massive screens.
"Forget it."
A smile returned to her face.
"I should get this done soon."
Her eyes moved toward the terrified humans.
"After killing them all, I won’t have much time."
Her expression darkened.
"I wonder how the others are holding up in the outside world."
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Meanwhile, far away from the demonic stadium, in the outside world in deserted wasteland an entire battlefield had been reduced to ruins.
The ground was soaked in blood, smoke filled the air, and destroyed buildings burned in the distance.
At the center of the ruined landscape stood a woman covered in blood.
Astarte.
Her violet hair was matted against her face, while cuts and wounds covered her body. Her breathing came in ragged, uneven bursts, yet the bloodlust surrounding her had not weakened.
It had only grown stronger.
Darker.
The aura of death surrounding Astarte spread across the battlefield like an endless shadow.
She stared ahead.
A handsome man stood before her with brown hair, brown eyes, and an almost flawless face that seemed completely out of place amid the blood and destruction.
Raphael.
He looked at Astarte with a gentle smile.
"Astarte, why do you keep struggling?"
His voice was calm, but there was no warmth in his eyes.
"Everything is already over. You’ve lost once again."
He stepped closer.
"Just let me take your Authority so I can move one step closer to achieving my goal."
Astarte’s violet eyes narrowed.
Then her body suddenly disappeared into darkness.
A black silhouette appeared in her place, laughing with a broken, almost maniacal sound.
The silhouette dissolved moments later and entered Raphael’s body.
Raphael looked down at his stomach and frowned.
"Wow."
He placed a hand against it.
"This feels awful."
His expression became irritated.
"Is this your lazy resort?"
BOOM!
Raphael’s body exploded.
The resulting force tore through the battlefield, shattering the ground and destroying the remaining ruins. A massive shockwave swept across the area, sending dust and debris flying in every direction.
For several seconds, nothing moved.
No body.
No presence.
No soul.
Then Astarte’s silhouette slowly emerged from the darkness.
She took several deep breaths.
"Finally."
Her voice was exhausted.
"That bastard is dead."
Darkness began gathering around her body as she slowly reformed.
"I need to go help Arthur and Aiden."
Astarte took a single step forward.
Schlk!
A golden sword suddenly pierced through her body.
Astarte froze.
Blood spilled from her lips as she slowly looked down at the golden blade protruding from her abdomen.
Her eyes widened.
Then she slowly turned her head.
"Was it... a fake?"
Her voice was weak.
"It can’t be."
Raphael stood behind her.
His brown eyes were calm, and a faint smile rested on his face.
"Well, it wasn’t exactly a fake."
He tightened his grip around the golden sword.
"It was a real fragment of my soul."
Astarte’s body trembled.
Raphael continued, "If I wanted to deceive someone of your caliber, I had to sacrifice something real."
Astarte’s eyes moved toward the golden blade.
Then they widened again.
"This sword..."
Raphael smiled.
"It seems you recognize it."
He slowly twisted the blade.
Astarte coughed up blood.
"The Sword of Destruction..."
Raphael’s voice became almost gentle.
"It is futile to struggle."
His eyes gleamed as he looked at the blade.
"Originally, this sword was created to kill dragons. You should know what happens once someone is impaled by it."
The golden sword began to glow.
"It feeds on their soul."
Astarte’s darkness immediately began to weaken.
Her silhouette trembled as the shadows surrounding her body flickered like dying flames.
Raphael leaned closer.
"Don’t worry."
His voice was almost affectionate.
"Your beloved Arthur will die soon too."
His smile widened.
"And when he does, he’ll join you in your rest."
A ring on Raphael’s finger suddenly began to shine.
Astarte’s eyes widened.
"No..."
Raphael smiled faintly.
"Goodbye."
[ Ring of Containment Activated. ]
A strange force enveloped Astarte’s body.
Her form began breaking apart, with particles of darkness slowly drifting away from her body.
Astarte’s violet eyes turned toward the distant sky as her vision gradually became blurry.
’I am sorry, Arthur.’
Her thoughts were faint.
’I am sorry, Aiden.’
A weak smile appeared on her face.
’It was short... but after a millennium, I finally felt happy.’
Her body continued fading.
’So this is what that emotion was...’
Then Astarte disappeared completely.
Silence descended upon the battlefield.
Raphael stood alone among the ruins as a notification appeared before him.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
[ Primordial Daemon Bloodline: 50% Evolution ]
Progress:
5 / 10 Demon Lord Bloodlines Absorbed
Requirement:
Absorb the bloodlines of 5 additional Demon Lords to complete the evolution.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Raphael slowly closed his eyes.
A tremendous surge of power erupted from his body, causing his mana to rise and his aura to become significantly heavier. The surrounding air distorted, while the ruined earth beneath his feet began trembling from the pressure.
Raphael opened his eyes.
His expression was completely devoid of emotion.
"Only five more to go. I wonder if Karina is doing her job properly."