Apocalypse: becoming the hidden Ruler[English]

“Mr. Charles… Rosaline…” Axel murmured as he retrieved the Soul Devouring Blade.

“They’ve been avenged.”

He stared at what remained of Savannah, breathing heavily. After a long moment, he let out a bitter laugh.

Only then did he realize—

Somewhere along the way, he might have gone insane.

......

Five minutes earlier.

Lorenzo and the others attempted to retreat, but Lilith’s spatial barrier had already sealed the area tight.

Their Force was rapidly draining.

Pheasant finally roared in frustration, “Lorenzo! I know you don’t want to kill noble scions, but look at the situation! If we kill them, who the hell will know?”

Lorenzo’s jaw clenched.

Finally, he made his decision.

“Burn a quarter of your Force. Break through,” he ordered coldly. “Don’t kill them unless absolutely necessary.”

“So what if we can’t win?!” Nigel bellowed. His massive body had grown nearly ten meters tall. “Do you think I’m scared?!”

Sergio’s heart sank.

He had noticed it earlier—Lorenzo’s attacks against Lilith and Axel were lethal. But against Terrence and the other noble scions, there was restraint.

That restraint vanished the moment the three began to burn Force.

BOOM!

A terrifying surge slammed into Lilith’s spatial barrier.

Lilith groaned as blood spilled from her throat.

“They’re desperate,” she hissed. “Don’t hold back anymore. I can’t maintain this much longer!”

She instantly summoned multiple Space Killing Blades, forcing Lorenzo and the others away from the cracked barrier while shouting for the rest to attack.

“Burning—second stage!” Terrence roared.

Flames engulfed him as his speed and strength surged violently.

Pheasant was forced back, his face twisted with rage.

“You bastards…” he snarled. “Did you really think I wouldn’t dare kill you?”

Amid the raging storm, Sergio’s brows and bangs had been bleached silver by lightning and wind.

The Saints never targeted aristocratic scions before, he thought grimly. And now they won’t even dare to kill Terrence?

Speculation piled up in his mind—but he crushed it instantly.

“Charge!”

Kenneth hurled himself into the fray with reckless abandon. Artillery fire screamed through the air, explosions blooming one after another as thick smoke swallowed the Saints’ position. Each barrage deepened their wounds.

If Blacksnake hadn’t possessed a healing-type Awakened skill, their injuries would already have been fatal.

“Mechanical Emperor—descend!”

Kenneth dove bodily into the battlefield. Sparks burst from his limbs as shattered metal, screws, axles, and fractured components were drawn toward him as if by magnetism, layering themselves over his flesh.

In seconds, he became a towering war machine.

Lorenzo, who had been relentlessly hammering at Lilith’s spatial barrier, was caught completely off guard. Kenneth’s massive fist slammed into him, electricity exploding along his arms as he was sent flying, blood spraying from his mouth.

“That’s Kenneth’s third-tier awakening!” Nigel shouted excitedly while grappling with Blacksnake. “First time I’ve ever seen it!”

Kenneth was now fully encased in machinery—only his eyes visible behind the steel.

Boom!

In that split second of distraction, Pheasant drilled straight through him.

His arms blurred as he spun violently, movements nearly impossible to track, his Force burning like a furnace.

“Pheasant, stop!” Lorenzo roared, panic flashing across his face.

“I don’t give a shit!” Pheasant screamed back, hatred pouring from his voice. “What’s wrong with killing them? Better than dying here like dogs!”

Sparks erupted from Kenneth’s mechanical body. The interior frame began to collapse, metal tearing itself apart from within.

At the same time, Nigel felt his heart plunge.

The Blacksnake he had been wrestling with had transformed—into an actual snake.

Its limbs retracted unnaturally, its body elongating to over four meters as glossy black coils wrapped around Nigel’s arms and neck.

Crack. Crack.

Nigel wasn’t known for refined combat skills—his greatest strength was endurance. But Blacksnake wasn’t trying to overpower him.

It was trying to snap his neck.

“H–help—” Nigel gasped.

Sergio summoned a roaring storm that shredded across Blacksnake’s body. Flesh tore open, blood sprayed everywhere—but the snake didn’t loosen its grip.

Then there was Lorenzo.

Burning his Force to the limit, he finally matched Terrence’s speed. Their cannonball punches collided again and again, each impact blasting them backward.

Terrence, already near collapse, was smashed headfirst into a nearby hill. Only his legs remained visible, twitching weakly.

Lorenzo staggered, face deathly pale, coughing up mouthfuls of blood.

“No!”

Sergio’s heart sank as he saw Lorenzo charge again. One more lethal blow would push Terrence past his limit.

They were going to die.

Sergio was under crushing pressure—restraining Blacksnake, Pheasant, and Lorenzo all at once. His Force drained rapidly, his complexion growing ashen.

“Heh… heh.”

A chilling laugh echoed.

The combat machine Kenneth had become suddenly disintegrated, exploding into countless shards. Oil and metal sprayed everywhere as Pheasant landed smoothly, gripping Kenneth by the neck.

“It’s over.”

Sergio’s pupils shrank. A searing pain tore through his abdomen as Lorenzo’s punch sent him flying. He crashed to the ground beside Terrence.

Lorenzo stepped on Sergio’s shoulder, pinning him down, his eyes cold as ice. He glanced toward Blacksnake.

Nigel’s eyes had already rolled back, oxygen starved. Blacksnake was covered in wounds deep enough to expose bone.

“Knock him out,” Lorenzo said calmly. “Then we leave.”

Pheasant spat angrily as he tossed Kenneth’s unconscious body aside. “This guy doesn’t look like one of the Five Great Families. Killing him—and that woman—shouldn’t be a problem, right?”

Blacksnake muttered the same question.

Lorenzo hesitated, then a cold gleam crossed his eyes.

“Killing him would be a waste.”

He slipped a thin tube from the sole of his boot. Inside sloshed a pale red solution.

“A gift from Axel,” he said quietly. “No reason to refuse it.”

He stepped toward Nigel, who had just regained consciousness and was coughing violently.

Then—

An inexplicable chill crawled up Lorenzo’s spine.

A familiar yet alien aura erupted behind them.

The next second, space rippled beside Blacksnake’s neck—

And his head flew off.

“Watch out!”

Lorenzo kicked the stunned Pheasant away and ducked backward. A blade grazed his scalp, severing a clump of hair that drifted to the ground.

He spun around.

Lilith stood there.

Her long hair flowed freely, pale red light shimmering in her eyes. Three blood dragons dragged her forward through the air. Deep blue markings coiled along her pale arms.

At that moment, she looked like a queen descending upon her throne.

“Who,” she asked calmly, “are you calling a gift?”

The moment they saw Lilith in that form, Lorenzo and Pheasant froze—completely stunned.

Sergio and the others weren’t much better.

“Lilith… you’re a Saint too?!” Sergio blurted out.

Her appearance had changed, but the aura she radiated after transforming was unmistakable. It was identical to that of the Saints.

“No wonder…” Sergio wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.

Kenneth and Nigel had staggered back to his side, both barely standing. Terrence was in even worse shape—without Axel’s terrifying healing abilities, he’d endured two Burning in Flames activations and then taken Lorenzo’s full-force strike. He was still stuck headfirst in the ground, legs twitching weakly.

“What do you mean, no wonder?” Nigel swallowed two healing pills in one go, eyes shining as he stared at Lilith.

“Have you forgotten?” Sergio said slowly. “Back when we fought the Puppet Formation… I already suspected she was hiding something. Some kind of trump card.”

Nigel’s eyes widened. “Then isn’t this perfect? Miss Lilith just saved our asses! Why do you look like you’re about to piss yourself?”

Sergio’s lips twitched. Before he could respond, Kenneth suddenly convulsed.

“Ha… idiot.”

Nigel exploded. “The hell did you say?!”

Sergio immediately pressed him down, his tone sharp. “Shut up. Recover your Force—now. I don’t care how many pills you’ve taken. Hurry.”

Lilith was currently suppressing Lorenzo and the others, but the backlash from burning Force and Spirit was already kicking in. Lorenzo and Pheasant were visibly weakening by the second.