The Apostle pointed a shaking finger at Sebastian. "You broke the rules. You used a fusion skill that doesn't exist in the database. Who are you? A developer? An AI?"
"I'm a janitor," Sebastian said. Stopping ten paces away. "And you made a mess."
The Apostle's fear suddenly vanished. Replaced by a cold, hateful sneer. He stopped clutching his stump. The black smoke coalesced. Forming a new, temporary limb made of shadow.
"You think you've won because you have big numbers?" the Apostle spat. "You think brute force is power? You are a player, Zero. Bound by the rules of the System. I am not."
The Apostle raised his good hand. He didn't cast a spell. He made a gesture. A swipe down. Like navigating a menu.
"Admin Privilege: Zone Lock."
A pulse of grey light washed over the arena.
[System Alert: Zone Restriction Active.]
[Magic Usage Disabled.]
[Skill Usage Disabled.]
[Inventory Access Limited.]
Sebastian felt the connection to the [Void Ocean] snap shut. The hum of mana in his veins died instantly. He tried to cast a simple [Spark]. Nothing happened. The interface greyed out.
"Magic is for the privileged," the Apostle laughed. Descending to the ground. He landed softly. "And I just revoked your privileges. Without your fancy explosions. Without your infinite mana... what are you? Just a Level 20 Drifter in rags."
The Apostle drew a sword from the shadows. It was a blade made of void glass. Jagged and cruel.
"I draw my power from the Void itself. The System cannot silence what it does not own." The Apostle took a step forward. The sword glowing with purple energy. "Die, little bug."
Valerie, watching from the ridge, screamed. "Sebastian! Run! He locked your skills!"
Sebastian didn't run. He looked at his greyed-out skill bar. He looked at the Apostle advancing with the confidence of a man who had just activated god-mode cheats.
Sebastian smiled. A terrifying expression beneath the porcelain mask.
"You locked my magic," Sebastian said softly. "You locked my skills. You think that makes me weak?"
He reached behind his back. His inventory was limited. But not closed. He could still withdraw physical items.
He didn't pull out the [Shadowfang]. That relied on magical passives.
He grabbed the hilt of something much heavier.
"I started as a Drifter," Sebastian said. His voice dropping an octave. "Do you know what the Drifter's stat growth is? Balanced. But thanks to the Synchronization... my real-world stats are bleeding in."
He pulled.
A massive, rusted slab of iron slammed into the glass floor. It was the [Greatsword of the Fallen]. A weapon he had looted from the Golden Lion commander in the gorge. It required 50 Strength to wield. It had no magical properties. Just a hundred pounds of sharpened steel.
"And in the real world," Sebastian grunted. Lifting the massive sword with one hand as if it were a twig. "I've been doing a lot of pushups."
The Apostle faltered. "What? Physical stats shouldn't—"
Sebastian moved.
He didn't use [Sky Walk]. He didn't use [Dash]. He used the explosive power of his legs. Reinforced by the 5% Synchronization with a Tier-9 soul. He launched himself forward. The glass cracking beneath his boots.
He was fast. Viscerally fast.
The Apostle swung his void sword. A clumsy, magical strike. Relying on the weapon's stats rather than skill.
Sebastian didn't parry. He ducked. The void blade passed over his head. Humming with death.
Sebastian rose. Twisting his hips. Swung the greatsword in a brutal uppercut.
"No magic," Sebastian roared. "Just physics!"
CLANG-CRUNCH.
The iron slab connected with the Apostle's ribs. There was no magical shield to stop it. The impact sounded like a car crash. The Apostle was lifted off his feet. His robes shredding. His ribcage caving in with the wet snap of breaking bone.
He flew backward. Crashing into the glass floor and skidding for twenty meters.
"Gahhh!" The Apostle vomited a spray of black sludge. He tried to rise. His eyes wide with shock. "How?! My defense stats..."
"Stats don't matter when your bones are powder," Sebastian said. Walking toward him. He dragged the greatsword behind him. The metal screeching against the glass.
The Apostle scrambled backward. Terror seizing him. He tried to cast a void bolt but his concentration shattered by the pain.
Sebastian reached him. Raised the sword.
"Wait!" the Apostle pleaded. Holding up his hands. "I can give you power! The Void... it offers eternity!"
"I don't want eternity," Sebastian said. "I want the key."
He brought the sword down. Not aiming for the head. He aimed for the shoulder.
CHOP.
The greatsword cleaved through the Apostle's collarbone and deep into his chest. Dark blood sprayed across Sebastian's mask. The Apostle screamed. A sound that quickly turned into a gurgle as his lungs filled with fluid.
Sebastian didn't stop. He let go of the sword. Leaving it embedded in the Apostle's chest to pin him down.
He straddled the fallen player. Reached out with his bare hands.
"The Void Seed," Sebastian growled. "Where is it?"
He didn't wait for an answer. He plunged his hand into the open wound in the Apostle's chest. Ignored the burning sensation of the corrupt blood. He dug through the shattered ribs. Through the wet, pulpy meat of the lungs. Searching.
The Apostle thrashed. His hands clawing weakly at Sebastian's arms.
"Found it."
Sebastian's fingers closed around a cold, hard object near the heart. He gripped it tight.
"This," Sebastian whispered. Leaning close to the Apostle's ear. "Is an eviction notice."
RIIIIP.
With a sickening wet tear Sebastian yanked his hand back. He pulled out a pulsing, black gem the size of a fist. Covered in gore and trailing veins of shadow.
The Apostle went rigid. His eyes flickered. Then went dark. His body dissolved. Not into blue pixels but into grey ash that scattered in the wind.
[Ding! You have killed Player 'The Apostle'.]
[Ding! You have acquired item: Void Seed (Unique).]
[Zone Restriction Lifted.]
The grey filter vanished. Color returned to the world. The hum of magic rushed back into Sebastian's veins.
He stood up. Holding the beating heart of the corruption in his hand. He was covered in blood, sweat, and ash. He looked like a demon who had just climbed out of hell.
Valerie ran down the slope of the crater. Sliding to a stop a few feet away. She looked at the mangled mess where the Apostle had been. Then at the Seed in Sebastian's hand. She looked about to be sick.
"Is it... over?" she asked.
Sebastian crushed the Void Seed in his hand. It shattered into dust.
"The tournament is over," Sebastian said. Looking up at the sky where the system announcement was already forming. "But the war? Just begun."