The Sovereign's Judgment
Alteon stood up.
His golden eyes, glowing as if forged from the molten sun, stared down at Lucien Moreau with terrifying brilliance.
"W-what is this? You should have fallen asleep..."
Slash!
Before Lucien could even finish his sentence,
Thud!
His arm was cleanly severed.
The severed limb, its wrist already broken, rolled across the floor.
"Aaaaargh!"
Lucien screamed in agony.
He hadn't even had the chance to activate the Superalloy Body Transformation he had stolen from Kraus.
"I will ask you again,"
Alteon said, his face remaining entirely expressionless as he looked down at Lucien.
"Why does a mere human..."
He pointed the sharp tip of the kitchen knife at Lucien.
"...attempt to slay the successor of the Founder?"
"H-hegh..."
What on earth was he talking about?
Lucien could not comprehend the situation at all.
Why were Lee Taepyeong's eyes glowing gold? Why had his expression and tone completely changed, as if he were a different person? And what was this nonsense about a 'Founder' and a 'successor'?
More than anything, how was he standing perfectly fine after being exposed to the sleeping powder of Noir Papillon?!
Lucien had no way of knowing. It was only natural.
He did not know that Lee Taepyeong had become the adopted son of the Elf Emperor. He did not know that Taepyeong had inherited the blood of the Founder King, Alteon. He did not know that Alteon's soul resided deep within Taepyeong's consciousness, nor that whenever Taepyeong fell into a deep slumber, Alteon would manifest to train his Clean Core.
"H-heal..."
Lucien frantically called out for his healer.
"Claire! Heal me, now!"
Lucien shrieked.
But Claire, having witnessed the entire sequence of events, was frozen in place, trembling violently.
"I need healing! You stupid—!"
Before Lucien could finish his shout,
Clang!
The kitchen knife flew through the air and embedded itself in his chest.
If Lucien hadn't already activated Superalloy Body Transformation on his chest, the knife would have split his heart in two.
Because his chest was reinforced with the superalloy, the knife only managed to pierce him slightly.
"H-hegh...!"
But even this should have been impossible.
How could a mundane kitchen knife pierce a superalloy body that shouldn't have taken a single scratch? It defied all logic.
Yet Lee Taepyeong—no, that thing inside him—had made it happen.
"Heal me if you don't want to die!"
Lucien screamed, feeling the terror of death for the first time in his life.
"I-I'm sorry, please..."
Tears streamed down Claire's face; she had already lost her mind to fear.
As she reached out a trembling hand to cast a healing spell on Lucien,
Thack!
Taepyeong's dagger, Dan, flew at an imperceptible speed and buried itself deep into Claire's solar plexus.
"Gah...!"
Claire collapsed before the barrier of healing light could even reach Lucien.
Spurt!
Vomiting blood, she desperately tried to place her hand over her own wound to heal herself, but...
The S-class weapon Jeoldanchamgeuk's effect, Jeolsik, completely nullified her skill activation. Furthermore, the Danmyeong effect blocked all passive health recovery.
"Gurgle..."
The barrier of light vanished into nothingness, and Claire drew her final breath.
"C-Claire!"
Mia screamed her name.
Driven mad by the death of her comrade, the tank raised her morningstar high, leaping toward Alteon to crush his skull.
"I'll kill you!"
Whoosh!
The morningstar swung down with a vicious gust of wind.
Alteon dodged the strike with effortless grace.
Crack!
He grabbed Mia's arm and twisted it backward.
Smash!
He forced Mia's own morningstar to slam directly into her knee.
Her kneecap shattered instantly.
"Aaaaargh!"
Mia shrieked in agony.
Without a single change in his expression, Alteon picked up the dropped morningstar.
"This weapon is far too heavy for someone who lacks even the basics," he remarked coldly.
With that brief piece of advice,
Crunch!
The morningstar crushed her skull.
Her lifeless body collapsed to the ground.
Alteon didn't even spare her a glance as he turned around.
His golden eyes locked onto his next target.
Lucien was frantically chugging potions, gulping them down one after another.
Thanks to the potions, the bleeding from his severed arm had stopped.
This is enough...!
Though he had lost an arm due to the unexpected turn of events, his heart remained intact because he had activated Superalloy Body Transformation just in time.
This meant that as long as he used Superalloy Body Transformation properly, he could defend himself.
Kraus, the original owner of the trait, could transform his entire body into superalloy. However, because Lucien had stolen the ability through Cannibalism, he could only exert about sixty to seventy percent of its original power.
Thus, a full-body transformation was impossible.
Even so, he could still maintain the superalloy form over his vital spots, like his head, neck, and heart.
The same went for Noir Papillon.
Its original owner, Amelie, could trap her targets in a dream world with her sleeping powder. Lucien, however, could only induce sleep.
I just need to put him back to sleep...!
The maximum number of abilities he could absorb through Cannibalism was three.
Lucien still had his final trump card: Magic Swordsmanship.
It was a gift from the French Hunter Bureau.
An ability obtained by consuming the heart extracted from the corpse of Julien, who had died during the conquest of the 50th floor.
With this, he could kill that monster.
And once he did, since his healer was already dead, he could eat her heart to restore his body, and then consume Lee Taepyeong's heart to obtain the Heavenly Slaughter Star...
...Then I will become even stronger!
Lucien's eyes gleamed with madness.
Lucien channeled his remaining mana to apply Superalloy Body Transformation to his vital points.
I can endure with this.
Lucien drew a new weapon.
A gift from France to ensure his victory.
La Conclusion. A national treasure of France.
It was a magic sword so powerful that ordinary weapons couldn't even compare.
An item that rewound the user's time by three seconds after an attack.
Although it consumed a massive amount of mana, it was well worth the cost.
This, too, had belonged to Julien, France's number one hunter, before passing to Lucien along with his heart.
"A magic sword, is it?"
Though Lucien hadn't even swung it yet, Alteon had already discerned its nature.
"You rely on nothing but cheap tricks."
With that cold assessment,
Shring.
Alteon drew the Sword of Calamity.
...
...
...
Overwhelmed by Alteon's sheer presence, even the screams of terror that should have echoed from the Void Stones fell completely silent.
It was a moment where even fear itself held its breath.
Dash!
Lucien lunged toward Alteon.
Though his speed was reduced due to the Superalloy Body Transformation,
It doesn't matter!
He wasn't charging in expecting the first strike to land.
The real attack would come afterward—the moment time rewound by three seconds to pierce Alteon.
Whoosh!
The raised sword aimed straight for the crown of Alteon's head.
Clang!
Alteon effortlessly deflected the strike with the Sword of Calamity.
...Now!
Like a video tape rewinding, Lucien's time reversed.
Whoosh!
An opening.
Straight through the heart...!
The moment Lucien, returned to three seconds prior, thrust his magic sword toward Alteon's heart—
Splurt!
Blood sprayed into the air.
"Argh...!"
The Sword of Calamity pierced Lucien's heart.
No. To be precise, the Sword of Calamity was already waiting at the exact spot Lucien was bound to return to.
"H-how...!"
Screeech!
The Sword of Calamity ground against his superalloy heart as it was pulled out.
The sheer shock of the blow shattered his focus, canceling the Superalloy Body Transformation protecting his vitals and returning his body to normal.
Clatter.
La Conclusion slipped from his hand and fell to the floor.
Gush!
Blood poured uncontrollably from Lucien's chest.
If I can just eat a heart right now...!
Clutching his chest, Lucien began to crawl toward the corpse of his healer, Claire.
Drag... drag...
Alteon slowly walked behind the crawling man, watching him as if observing a pathetic insect.
...
But he wasn't merely walking.
Slash!
He severed an ankle.
Stab!
He pierced a knee.
Slice!
He severed the spine.
He systematically dismantled him until even the most desperate struggle became impossible.
Stab! Stab! Stab! Stab! Stab!
Alteon butchered the insect.
"S-stop..."
The man once feared as 'The Devourer' whimpered, begging pitifully.
But just as Lucien possessed no human empathy, Alteon possessed none either.
"I will ask you one last time."
"Urgh..."
"Why does a mere human..."
"Aaargh..."
"...attempt to slay the successor of the Founder?"
"F-France...!"
...
"They said they would feed him to m—!"
Before Lucien could finish his sentence,
Splat!
Alteon's foot came down, crushing his head into paste.
"I see."
Alteon muttered, picking up the magic sword.
And then,
Squch.
Alteon carved out Lucien's heart.
"France, is it..."
Alteon murmured, staring down at the still-throbbing heart.
"...I suppose I must erase them as well."
The French Hunter Bureau's entry gate.
Marianne waited anxiously for the hunters' return.
Or rather, to be precise, she was waiting for 'The Devourer', Lucien Moreau.
Flash!
Suddenly, the light of the gate flared intensely.
Flicker!
Then, it died out completely.
"What's happening?"
Marianne asked, her voice laced with anxiety.
"The mana flow is unstable. It seems there's a problem..."
"There cannot be a problem!"
Marianne snapped at the staff member before rushing into the gate chamber herself.
Inside,
...
A man stood drenched in blood.
Golden eyes stared at Marianne from the darkness.
"W-who are you...?"
Marianne asked, her voice trembling with confusion.
Then,
Thud.
Something was tossed at Marianne's heels.
Thump.
It was a warm heart, still beating under the residual influence of mana.
"Aaah!"
Marianne shrieked.
Crash!
The agents who had been on standby for emergencies burst into the chamber all at once.
Someone shone a flashlight into the room.
...
Lee Taepyeong—no, Alteon—was revealed in the beam of light.
"Are you 'France'?"