Chapter 267
Mumud didn’t argue. He didn’t complain about the complexity of moving that many targets through a suppressed space. The reborn human simply raised his weapons, a staff created by adapting the legendary [Mumud's Orb], reshaped specifically so he could utilize the massive buffs generated by his lord's Staff Saint class. Blue flames erupted from his eyes, overpowering his human features.
"A very considerate decision," Lucious said mildly. He offered a small, polite nod, like a host acknowledging a good suggestion. "I truly dislike hunting innocent mortals. It is a messy, unrefined affair that yields no satisfaction. Please, take your time."
Mumud began pulling on the absolute limits of his mana core. He drew energy so fast that the air temperature in the courtyard plummeted. Frost formed on the edges of the cobblestones.
Massive, overlapping blue magic circles exploded across the sky above Stormbreak. They spun like giant, luminous gears, locking into place with a heavy grinding sound.
The complaining maid vanished mid-sentence. The junior witch and her cat disappeared. The two arguing guards and the Beastman cub were swallowed by the blue light.
Thousands of lives were ripped from the city and deposited safely into the distant rolling plains outside the territory lines.
Mumud dropped to one knee. He panted heavily, dark blood dripping steadily from his nose.
"Now," Rudra commanded. "Bring the core group here."
The magic circles above the city inverted.
A dozen flashes of light struck the courtyard.
Piaro, Winfred, Elysia, Singuled, Amelda, Kentrick, Icarus and Dante materialized in a tight formation. Thalassa, Neria, and the Beastmen Chieftains— the Lion ,the Roc,the Tiger,the Bear ,the Wolf, the Fox and the Panther—appeared near the fountain. Elara and the senior Witches staggered into the light.
Red, Galahad, Echo, and two other Genesis members who were working on the fields also dropped onto the stones along with Haster. They were covered in dirt from their stamina training.
"I swear to god," Red was yelling, shaking his blistered hands. "If I have to swing that hoe one more time, I am going to log out and—"
The aura hit the new arrivals like a physical wall.
Red choked on his own words. He hit the cobblestones face-first. Galahad’s heavy armor dragged him into a kneeling position, the metal groaning loudly under the phantom weight.
Leon tried to stand tall, but the Lion Chieftain’s legs shook violently. Talon’s wings pinned themselves helplessly to the dirt. The others were faring no better.
Only Piaro moved with clear intent.
The farmer took one look at Lucious and understood the reality of the situation immediately. He was going to die today. The gap was too large. His only goal was to ensure his lord survived long enough to escape.
With a sharp hiss of metal, Piaro drew his polished sword with his right hand. With his left hand, he unclipped his farmer's hand plow from his belt. Holding both tools of his life, he stepped smoothly in front of the other kneeling knights and beastmen, placing his body directly between the group and the beautiful man by the door.
His shoulders were relaxed, but his eyes were entirely resolute.
Lucious observed the gathered fighters with polite, detached interest. His gaze drifted over Piaro, over the Red Knights, and finally settled back on Mumud.
"You successfully evacuated the weak," Lucious said. His tone was perfectly gentlemanly, lacking any trace of malice. "A commendable feat of magic under this pressure. I must admit, I am rather interested in you."
Mumud wiped the blood from his upper lip. He forced himself to stand, despite his mana circuits being completely fried from the mass teleportation under such pressure. He refused to kneel.
"It is fascinating to see a vessel maintaining the characteristics of a Lich while housed in human flesh," Lucious continued softly. "You possess a trace of both divine and demonic power. A bold attempt at balance."
Lucious looked him up and down. The Devil Monarch sighed. It was a small, genuinely disappointed sound.
"However, you have not balanced both on your own ," Lucious murmured. "You are an interesting contradiction, but you seem to have borrowed it from someone else."
The Devil Monarch raised his right hand. He casually flicked his index finger.
He didn't chant a spell. There was no massive buildup of demonic force or divine energy that he was supposed to use based on the system prompts regarding him. There was no glowing magic circle, no warning projectile, no shift in the wind.
There was just a quiet sound in the air, like a pair of scissors closing.
Mumud's torso vanished.
There was no explosion. The upper half of the Magic Saint simply turned into nothing. His staff clattered to the stones. A fraction of a second later, his legs collapsed. A geyser of blood painted the grey cobblestones a slick, shining crimson.
Tara clamped her hands over her ears. Echo pressed her face into the dirt, her body shaking uncontrollably.
[Your Knight, Mumud, has died.]
Rudra stared at the blood on the stones. His mind ground to a violent halt.
The notification text was real. The blood was real. But the result should not have happened .
Legends did not die instantly. It was one of the perks of being a legend. As a part of the [One who became a Legend] title, whenever a legend were hit by a catastrophic damage, they would survive with 1 HP for 5 seconds during which they wouldn’t receive any damage. This is one of the basic proof of a legend-class player or NPC, yet what happened before him seemed to disprove it.
Mumud was the Magic Saint. He was a Legend.
And Lucious had just killed him instantly. The Devil Monarch hadn't just bypassed a legend’s status resistance. He had completely ignored the strength of a legend to instantly kill one.
The blue text shifted.
[Title effect 'Resurrected' has been triggered.]
A blinding pillar of white and blue light slammed into the cobblestones where Mumud had fallen. The blood on the stones reversed its flow. The scattered mana violently forced itself back into a physical shape. Flesh, bone, and cloth knit together in a matter of seconds.
The light faded. Mumud lay on the ground, completely whole. He rolled onto his side, coughing up a mouthful of water and blood. His chest heaved as he gasped for air. He was alive, but he looked completely drained.
Lucious lowered his hand. He looked mildly annoyed.
"You have successfully cheated death, yet you return so incredibly weak," the Devil Monarch observed politely. "I suppose killing you again would not guarantee another resurrection. That would be a waste of a curious specimen. I shall leave you be."
Lucious turned his back on the gasping Magic Saint, entirely losing interest.
Rudra stared at the man in the suit.
The calculated, rational part of his brain told him to log out. It told him that fighting this thing was impossible. It would only result in him finally dying in the game for the first time and losing levels.
But he looked at Piaro, holding a sword and a plow, fully prepared to throw his life away. He looked at Red and Echo and Spark kneeling on the ground unable to even directly look at the Boss.
This wasn't just a game to him.
The wild, immature recklessness that lived at the very bottom of his chest finally broke out. He didn't care about the stats. He didn't care about the 50% penalty. He didn't care about dying and losing levels. He only cared about getting his people out of this courtyard alive by killing this monstrous being somehow
Rudra rotated his wrist. Extortion hummed. The pure white lightning spiked aggressively, fighting back against the pressure passively sent out by the Devil Monarch.
He took a step forward.
Lucious noticed the movement. The Devil Monarch looked at Rudra. A faint, beautiful smile returned to his perfect face.
"You seem displeased," Lucious said politely.