Chapter 266
"Alright," Rudra said, resting the crackling staff on his shoulder. "That looks much better."
The Genesis guild members stood in absolute, scarred silence.
Tara stared at the empty stone table. Current and Spark looked like they had just aged five years. They didn't cheer despite this qualifying as a historical scene. They were just too traumatized by the scene and were doubting their life.
In the span of forty-eight hours, they had toured a city packed with legendary NPCs, discovered their guild master held multiple legendary classes, and watched him burn millions of dollars to enhance not one but rather four of his items to the fabled Ultimate Enhancement level that they have never touched before
Cecilia closed her ledger. She didn't say a single word. She just turned around and walked slowly toward the castle kitchens to find a very strong cup of tea.
Rudra chuckled quietly as she left. He was hungry as well. The stress of enhancing four of his equipment by betting on more than 5 million dollars worth of enhancement stones had completely emptied his stomach. He dug a hand into his pocket and pulled out a piece of dried fish. He popped it into his mouth and chewed slowly, enjoying the salty crunch.
The courtyard was entirely peaceful as Rudra looked outside.
On the balcony above, a junior witch was trying to levitate a fat orange cat. The cat was clinging to the stone railing, completely ignoring the magic.
Near the kitchen, a maid complained loudly about the smell of the new floor polish. By the main gate, two guards were arguing about whether Tuesday's or Thursday's gravy was better for the cafeteria roast pork. A Beastman cub tumbled through the grass by the fountain, happily chasing a glowing spectral butterfly.
It was just a normal, quiet afternoon in Stormbreak.
"A rather messy way to achieve perfection," a voice said. "But the final result is at least pleasant to look at."
The voice was perfectly polite. It was dignified and melodic. It sounded like a high-society noble offering a casual compliment at a dinner party.
Rudra stopped chewing.
He didn't turn around right away.He dragged his eyes down to the bottom corner of his vision, where the system prompts from the [Super Sensitivity] would be present.
Nothing.
There was no system notification. There was no warning pulse in his mind. There was no red text flashing across his screen. The stat hadn't triggered at all. A stranger had simply appeared in the middle of his heavily guarded inner courtyard, speaking directly behind him, and his greatest stat had not managed to notice it.
The piece of dried fish lost its flavor.
Rudra turned slowly. He lowered Extortion from his shoulder, letting the tip of the heavy staff tap against the cobblestones.
A man stood near the archway Cecilia had just walked through. He was devilishly beautiful. His features were so sharply perfect they looked carved from pale marble. He wore a simple, elegant dark suit that seemed to absorb the ambient sunlight around it.
He wasn't holding a weapon. He didn't take an aggressive stance. He was simply standing there, looking at Rudra’s glowing white staff with mild, polite curiosity.
"Who are you?" Rudra asked. His voice was steady, but his grip on the staff tightened. The tough draconic leather of his new gloves creaked under the strain.
The man offered a warm, courteous smile.
"My name is Lucious," the man said smoothly. "It is a pleasure to meet you."
Lucious took a single step forward. He didn't draw a sword. He simply allowed a fraction of his presence to exhale into the courtyard.
The world lost its color.
[You are viewing the Devil who has reached the Extremes of Divine and Demonic Power.]
[The Devil Monarch, Lucious, is looking at you.]
[Mortal defiance is restricted.]
[All combat-related stats are reduced by 50%.]
[You can’t resist!]
[Your speed is reduced by 50%.]
[You can’t resist!]
[The power of all attack skills and magic is suppressed by 99%.]
[You can’t resist!]
[All buffs, de-buffs and healing effects are cancelled and can’t be activated.]
[You can’t resist!]
[Health and Mana Regeneration is reduced to 0!]
[You can’t resist!]
[You are forced to kneel, before an Absolute Existence!]
[You have resisted!]
Rudra’s breath caught in his throat.
Devil Monarch.
The name slammed into his memory. He remembered the dark cavern on Witch's Island. He remembered fighting the sealed Great Demon Kurson. He remembered the moment he had balanced his divine and demonic energies to attack the Great Demon.
The system had given him a message back then.
[The Devil Monarch has become interested in you.]
Rudra had asked around. He had looked in the forum, asked Vritra, the Witches, the Sirens and everyone in his council but no one had known who or what the Devil Monarch was. With no leads, Rudra had eventually brushed it off and forgotten about it entirely.
Now, the embodiment of that prompt was standing in his front yard.
The gravity in the courtyard suddenly multiplied as both a warm and cold energy flooded the space.
Current and Spark collapsed simultaneously. Their knees hit the cobblestones with a sickening crack. Tara let out a short, terrified gasp before she was forced flat against the ground. Gold dragged her heavy plate armor into a kneeling position, trembling violently.
Rudra’s own knees buckled.
He jammed the butt of Extortion into a crack in the pavers. He used the legendary weapon as a literal crutch. He locked his joints.
A cold sweat broke out across his back. It wasn't just the physical pressure of the Devil. It was more so the system interface.
Rudra was a Legend. And as a Legend, he got the title [One who became a Legend] which let him resist most, if not all status effects, even ones from Great Demon level beings. But his resistance was doing nothing now. The red prompts stayed on his screen. His stats were literally cut in half. His speed was ruined.
"[Knight Summon: Mumud]!" Rudra yelled. His voice strained against the crushing pressure.
A flash of blue light illuminated the crushed stones next to him. The Magic Saint appeared, holding a glass vial of glowing green liquid.
"My Liege, I was in the middle of stabilizing a rather volatile—" Mumud started to complain.
The suppression aura hit the Magic Saint. The glass vial slipped from Mumud's hand, shattering on the ground and creating a rather small explosion in his feet which seems to have gone unnoticed by him. Mumud staggered, his eyes snapping toward the beautiful man by the door. For the first time since Rudra had met him, the Magic Saint looked genuinely horrified.
"Summon," Rudra grunted.
Two more circles appeared in the dirt behind him.
Kratos, the massive divine lion, stepped out of the light. Above him, the air cracked with ozone as Vritra, the Storm Serpent, manifested in a chaotic burst of white lightning.
Vritra unhinged his massive jaws. The serpent tried to let out a territorial roar.
The sanctuary aura forced the serpent's mouth shut. The crackling lightning around Vritra's scales fizzled out instantly. The proud, arrogant beast lowered his massive head. His serpentine eyes shrank into thin slits. He pressed his belly against the dirt, experiencing genuine, instinctual fear for the first time in his life.
Lucious paused. His polite smile faded slightly.
The Devil Monarch shifted his dark eyes to Kratos. He tilted his head, observing the divine lion’s violently shaking legs for a brief second.
"A creature born of divine will but corrupted with demonic essence," Lucious murmured. His tone was perfectly dignified, yet it carried an incredible, terrifying weight. "Such a grand idea, yet such a fragile result. A flawed imitation of true power. Quite disappointing."
Lucious dismissed the lion completely. He returned his courteous gaze to Rudra.
"Mumud," Rudra said. Sweat dripped down his forehead, stinging his eyes. "Evacuate the city. Everyone. The civilians, the trainees, the junior knights and soldiers. Put them miles away. Right now."