Chapter 264: The Boss Arrives
It was as though the air itself had vanished. Everything seemed to have gone still. The crackling of flames and shifting of rubble ceased, while the wailing souls and the surging mass of flesh consuming every crevice of land fell silent. Even the kingdom itself seemed to bow before its king.
"Put her down."
Seo-jin's voice sounded the same, yet even to him, something felt different. Each word seemed to carry more weight, more authority than before.
"You mean this?"
Blight twisted his hand, rotating Min's body by her neck. Bones cracked audibly as her limp body turned like the hand of a clock.
"And what if I refu—"
A flash of crimson cut him off, and Min vanished from his grip, taking half his arm with her.
Now standing a dozen feet behind him, Seo-jin gently lowered Min to the ground. His gaze passed over her ruined face, the wounds covering her body, and what remained of her mangled flesh. Yet he felt no anger looking at her, only pride.
As his severed arm began to regrow, Blight's smile widened farther than Seo-jin had ever seen it stretch.
"Astonishing! Tell me, little poxling, how did you do it? How did a worthless imp gain a shard?"
System light leaked between Seo-jin's fingers as he carefully lifted Min's head. He brought a health potion to her mouth, and slowly poured it in.
Blight's head twitched at the sight.
"Your sentiment is unbecoming."
"You know me?"
Tossing the empty vial aside, Seo-jin rose and turned to face the Warlord. Behind him, Fang emerged from the shadows and carefully pulled Min into their cover.
Blight made no attempt to stop them. His attention remained fixed on Seo-jin, though his tail lashed behind him with an almost frantic energy as he struggled to remain still.
"Of course I know you. It is because of you that I'm here."
He gestured toward the ruined city surrounding them.
"All of this is because of you."
As the last of his fingers finished regrowing, Blight raised his freshly healed hand to his mouth and slowly licked them.
"I have wanted to meet you. My desire for this has been very distracting, so you can imagine my joy right now. Look at you...you're beautiful."
[This guy's nuts.]
'How much longer?'
[Another minute. Keep him talking.]
Seo-jin's body was still stabilizing after devouring Cardinal Chelk. Following his experience consuming the Cherub, Ruby had developed a protocol to streamline the absorption process, significantly reducing the risks involved. Even so, he needed a little more time before he could fully absorb the benefits.
"I've never seen you before, but I've seen that crown. You must be with that demon with the stitched up skin. Never got his name."
Laughter burst from Blight as he took another step forward.
"I can imagine. Hard to make introductions while being a thief. It all happened so quickly, but the shock you gave us... truly, it was a monumental feat you managed to pull. Directly under my father's nose, so brave. Oh, do excuse my rudness, you may address me as Blight."
"Your father?"
Blight's eyes shot open.
"Yes, my father! Ska'laar the Skinsmith! Brought low by an imp. Though technically, I was the one who ended his life."
A small measure of relief settled into Seo-jin's chest.
"So he's dead. Forgive me if I don't feel bad."
Taking another step closer, Blight shook his head repeatedly.
"No, no, no! Do not feel bad. You should rejoice. Because now, after I learn your secrets, everything will lead to my ascension. Nothing should bring you more joy."
"Blasphem—!"
The shout ended in a muffled grunt, and Seo-jin assumed someone had tackled Sin. He'd already felt the Broodspawn's rage boiling through their connection, so the interruption hardly surprised him.
"That! Also that..."
Tapping one of his horns, Blight tilted his head as though sharing a secret with Seo-jin.
"Tell me how you made them love you. That...and how you gained a shard. Tell me those two things, and you may live to serve me. Refuse, and I will separate your soul from your physical form and—"
"Stop! Just stop...!"
Seo-jin shook his head and closed his eyes, looking as though a headache was coming on. Some of the authority slipped from his posture, and he even rolled his eyes.
"Can we stop this? Seriously. I know you wanna talk shit and act all big and bad, but I've seen this before. We both know I'm not going to tell you. We both know you've been slowly closing the distance to attack. Why are we even doing this?"
Seeing his words hit their mark, Seo-jin had to stop himself from smiling. Blight's reaction was exactly what he'd hoped for.
The Warlord's tail swished a few times, but otherwise, he stood completely still. For the first time since Seo-jin had arrived, Blight looked like someone who'd just said something incredibly stupid and desperately wished he could take it back.
"If you have no interest in conversation, then why have you not moved?"
Now it was Seo-jin's turn to smile.
"Cause I'm stalling."
System light blazed across his body as his suit disappeared, replaced by pitch-black full-plate armor that covered him from the neck down.
Made of thick, overlapping plates of black metal that fitted themselves around his body, each edged in crimson gold and catching the light as he moved. The breastplate was broad and angular, with raised ridges running across the chest and down toward his waist. Heavy pauldrons protected his shoulders, while segmented armor covered his arms and legs, leaving enough room at the joints to move freely. Despite its imposing appearance, the entire suit fit him perfectly, as though it had been made from his own measurements.
It was his reward for assigning all ten General positions. He'd been surprised to discover that doing so counted as an achievement, and even more surprised when he'd read the armor's description. The benefits of being a King were really starting to settle in.
[Name // Regalia of the Broodfather]
[Type // Kingdom Artifact / Living Armor]
[Rank // Pseudo-King]
[Sub-Category // Full Armor Set]
[Kingdom Affiliation // Godsfall]
[Kingdom Rank // F]
[Growth Type // Kingdom-Bound Evolution]
[Description]
[Born from the recognition of ten Generals and the establishment of a sovereign dominion. The Regalia of the Broodfather is a living artifact bound to its ruler and the kingdom beneath his command]
[Special Function // Sovereign Symbiosis]
[Automatically adjusts to the King's physical form, including racial transformations and evolutions]
[Armor Durability regenerates by consuming Soulmass or drawing upon the Genesis Pit]
[The armor cannot be equipped, stolen, or commanded by another entity]
[Durability // 1000/1000]
[Defense // +60% Defense against all Physical Damage Types]
[Resistance // +40% Defense against Magical and Elemental Damage]
[Strength // +25]
[Vitality // +25]
[Agility // +15]
[Intelligence // +15]
[Kingdom Authority // +10% Effectiveness to all active Tyrant's Mandates.]
[Passive Skill // The King Does Not Fall]
[Type // Absolute Defense / Death Prevention]
[Rank // King]
[Effect]
[When the King receives damage that would reduce HP to 0 or below, the Regalia intercepts the attack and nullifies all damage from that instance]
[The King's HP is set to 1]
[This effect cannot be bypassed by damage magnitude, armor penetration, critical strikes, or True Damage]
[Cost // None]
[Cooldown // 24 Hours]
[Restriction // Does not prevent death caused by Soul Destruction, Instant Death effects, or non-damage conditions]
[Armor Skill // Sovereign's Call]
[Type // Active]
[Category // Rally / Kingdom Enhancement]
[Rank // Pseudo-King]
[Effect]
[All allied Kingdom Units within range receive:]
[+25% STR]
[+25% VIT]
[+15% AGI]
[+20% Damage Resistance]
[Immunity to Fear and Panic effects below King Rank]
[Secondary Effect // Unbroken Allegiance]
[All affected Brood Units below 25% HP receive an additional +20% Damage Resistance]
[Range // 500 Meters]
[Duration // 5min]
[Cost // 20 SM]
[Cooldown // 6hrs]
[Restriction // Does not stack with identical effects from other Kingdom Artifacts]
[Armor Skill // Dominion Aegis]
[Type // Active]
[Category // Defensive Reinforcement]
[Rank // Pseudo-King]
[Effect]
[+100% Armor Defense]
[Reduces incoming True Damage by 20%]
[Converts 10% damage received into HP]
[Duration // 30 Seconds]
[Cost // 15 Soulmass]
[Cooldown // 10 Minutes]
[Restriction // Cannot activate while The King Does Not Fall is on cooldown and Armor Durability is below 25%]
["Behold the sovereign of flesh and blood, whose children shall inherit the bones of creation."]
It even had his title in its name. Wearing it for the first time, Seo-jin was surprised by how weightless it felt, almost like a second skin. Judging by the look on Blight's face, the timing couldn't have been better. The time he'd needed to stall for was finally up.
Before Blight could attack, Light erupted from Seo-jin, so bright and immense that everyone who looked toward him, even the Warlord, was forced to turn away.
Standing closest, Blight's black skin began to sizzle beneath the light. Raising a hand to shield his face, he watched as the smile slowly disappeared from his lips.
"This is...no—NO!"
The pure, blinding white light pouring from Seo-jin's body surprised even himself for a moment. Kinda made it difficult to read the notification floating in front of him.
[System // Notification]
[Light Element // Absorption Complete]
[Heavenly Soul // Absorption Complete]
[Mutation Acquired]
[Mutation Slot 3 // Crown of Glory]
[Due to successfully absorbing a high ranking angel, Weakness to Light Element reduced by 50%]
As the glow surrounding him began to dim, Seo-jin cursed as he didn't have time to spend figuring out his new mutation. Swiping the panel aside, he let Butcher's Wrath tear free from his arms.
His new armor was more than perfect. The vambraces even had openings positioned exactly where his cleavers emerged, allowing them to extend without resistance.
"YOU'VE RUINED IT!"
Standing ready for battle, cleavers in hand and his new armor equipped, he was more than a little confused when he heard crying. Across from him, Blight had turned his back, clutching his face as strange, broken sobs escaped between his fingers.
[Just kill this psycho. We still got the Chair—]
"You were so beautiful—"
Straightening as his arms fell to his sides, Blight slowly turned. His eyes were completely bloodshot, with tears as black as pitch streaming down his cheeks. Yet somehow, he was still grinning.
"Now you're like those disgusting Nephilim."
"Nephilim?"
[Half angel, half demon.]
Before he could ask anything further, Blight's aura erupted, his bloodlust so intense that Seo-jin instinctively braced himself. Two massive black swords formed in the Warlord's hands as the crown floating above his head began to flow once more.
Seo-jin wasn't impressed.
"It's time to end this anyways."
His skin began to darken as his muscles swelled, stretching his armor while his body grew taller. Two curved horns broke through his skull as he assumed his true form.
All around them, the city began to move. Flesh pushed through the broken streets, swelling and bursting as the wails of the damned filled the air, chilling and non-stop. A constant chorus of pain.
Blight moved first, but Azakh-Tur was faster.
The shockwave from their collision immediately disintegrated everything around them. Impact after impact followed, each one shaking the ground as the two vanished and reappeared across the city.
A massive slash of bloodlight tore a deep scar through the ground, shaking the streets as a wave of darkness followed close behind.
Bursting through the rubble like red and black fireworks, they crossed from one end of Shatterbay to the other in moments. Entire sections of the ruins disappeared beneath explosions of bloodlight and shadow.
"You look tired."
Catching Blight across the back of the neck with the flat of his blade, Seo-jin couldn't resist mocking him. Only seconds into their fight, he could already tell the Warlord was exhausted. Watching him crash into a mass of teeth and bone, Seo-jin couldn't help but feel a swell of pride for his children.
He allowed himself a moment to enjoy it, but a glimpse of the crack in the sky quickly brought his attention back. The familiar stench of the Maw was still leaking from it, reminding him that he needed to finish this quickly.
Within a few breaths, Black Pit spread across the area, darkening the ground and slowing Blight's movements. Spider Step crawled up Seo-jin's legs, increasing his speed as black flames spread down both arms.
He was just about to activate Rend when an unfamiliar sensation suddenly washed over him.
"Fuck—!"
His head snapped toward the crack in the sky. Nothing appeared to have changed, yet he could have sworn the feeling had come from there.
"Look at you. Pathetic."
Turning back toward Blight, Seo-jin found a man standing over the Warlord. He was completely naked, with long black hair hanging down to his waist. His back was turned, but Seo-jin recognized him instantly.
He'd taken too long.
The Chairman had returned.