The crimson moon shattered.
From its broken radiance poured a light with no dawn—one that did not warm, but revealed.
From that glow, Vyre rose, reborn.
Wings of shadow twisted behind him, and every heartbeat echoed like a verdict.
The world itself paused—watching something that should not exist.
"I've done it! Immortality! No one can stop me now!"
He floated midair as the shadow beasts below erupted in celebration. They knelt and worshiped him, their voices merging into a chorus of unholy devotion.
The entire domain drowned in suffocating, toxic miasma. The air turned venomous. Thunder rumbled, and lightning tore through the skies, striking the ground in chaos.
Outside the domain, the four S-Class adventurers—Jaxom, Silas, Kaiya, and Lyra—fought desperately.
"What the hell's happening in there!?" Jaxom shouted.
"Are the Guild Masters okay!?" Lyra cried out.
"Later! We've still got plenty of enemies here!" Kaiya yelled, smashing a shadow beast apart.
"The Guild Masters are inside," Silas said, his voice firm. "They won't fall that easily. Focus on the fight!"
But none of them knew what was truly happening within.
The domain had become a living graveyard.
A calamity.
Vyre's laughter echoed—malicious, twisted, triumphant.
Inside, the Guild Masters struggled against the bindings of shadow that held them. Despair flickered in their eyes. Even the Chief Captains—Elyra, Cyran, and Eira—were bound beside them.
Before them lay Ravien's motionless body, left behind by Lilith.
"Don't even try," Lilith said quietly. "If you interfere now, the balance will break."
"You let this happen! Why did you help that monster!?" Rogar snarled.
Lilith smiled—a tired, mocking smile.
"Because judgment and punishment require both the pure and the one born of sin," she answered.
"That ugly thing had to transcend mortality first. Only then could my master's verdict reach him."
Silence fell. Seren and Cyran exchanged knowing glances.
"You think I aided evil? No." Lilith's voice softened. "I merely finished the trial. The purest soul was offered, the brightest flame was extinguished, and the truest darkness was born. Now, the scales are balanced."
Her words lingered in the air—heavy, incomprehensible. Even the storm itself seemed to listen.
Everyone froze.
"What? What does she mean?" Master Kareen whispered.
"There's no way to defeat a monster that can't die!" Rogar shouted.
"Your master? Balanced scales? What?" Elyndra trembled.
Seren exhaled slowly.
"Perhaps now is the time—for all of you to witness what comes next."
Before anyone could respond, the thunder grew deafening. The skies split open, and lightning raged like a storm of gods.
"Hahahaha! I will conquer the entire world!" Vyre screamed, his voice echoing through the void.
The void trembled beneath his declaration.
And through that storm of madness—came a slow, soft sound.
Clap… clap… clap.
Lilith's voice cut through the chaos.
"Oh, wow. You're so strong now. Incredible. Congratulations," she said with razor sarcasm.
Everyone turned toward her. Even Vyre faltered.
"You! Demon brat! I will make you pay for your betrayal in the name of Empress Seraphel!"
"Oh? Really? How terrifying," Lilith said, twirling a finger lazily. "But before that… tell me, what's your name?"
The entire domain fell silent.
"Name?" Cyran muttered. "Isn't it Vyre?"
Lilith smiled.
"That was his mortal name, yes. But now he's been reborn—an immortal. Surely, he has a different name now. His true name."
"What?" Kareen breathed.
"So?" Lilith tilted her head. "What is your true name?"
Vyre laughed.
"Ha! It doesn't matter what my name is! You will all die in the name of the one true Demon Empress, Seraphel Noctris!"
Lilith's grin widened.
"Oh? Wouldn't it be better for us to know your name before we die? It would be an honor."
"What is she doing?" Rogar muttered.
"Taunting him," Seren murmured. "But why?"
"Go on," Lilith urged. "Say your true name. Then you can end us all."
Vyre laughed again, furious and amused all at once.
"Fine! I'll indulge you, demon brat!"
He raised his hand, summoning a massive sphere of dark energy—Hollow Devour—its gravity tearing the air apart.
"Say your name already, damn you," Lilith muttered, still smiling.
Even the shadows leaned closer—waiting for the name that would damn him.
"My name… is Exanimus! The Lifeless and the Soulless!"
He hurled the dark sphere downward.
"Goodbye!"
Lilith's eyes sparkled.
"Yay! Great job, you stinky demon!" she cheered. "I did it!"
The black energy descended like the wrath of a god.
Everyone squeezed their eyes shut—except Lilith, who smiled like someone who knew a secret.
The domain screamed. Darkness imploded upon itself. For a moment, it seemed all existence would be erased.
A deafening explosion consumed the domain.
When the dust cleared—
Everyone was alive.
"How!?" Exanimus screamed.
"Eh? That was it? Kinda underwhelming," Lilith pouted.
"We're alive!?" Rogar blinked.
"Did the Goddesses save us?" Elyndra whispered.
Then—
Thud.
A heavy footstep echoed through the dust.
Thud.
Chains clinked.
Reality bent for a heartbeat—like the world itself bowed.
Even despair dared not move.
"He's here," Seren breathed.
The shadow light bent toward him—not away. Even darkness itself knew its master.
Lilith's grin turned wild.
"That's right! You were saved by a god, mortals! But not the ones you pray to."
An overwhelming aura erupted—a storm of black and crimson. The shockwave vaporized every shadow beast. The bindings that held the Guild Masters shattered like glass.
"Who dares…!?" Exanimus roared.
Then a voice spoke. Deep. Ancient. Absolute.
"Well done, Lilith."
From the smoke stepped a man.
Silver hair, flowing like moonlight.
A long black cloak that devoured the air around him.
Eyes of burning gold, sclera black as the void.
He didn't need an introduction.
Argus Alioth had arrived.
Or rather—Valerius Kael, the Demon Lord of Judgment.
"Lord Alioth," Seren breathed. "So this was your plan all along…"
The others stared, trembling under his presence.
Argus said nothing. His gaze rose toward the sky, where Exanimus hovered.
"A monkey, desperately trying to reach the moon," he said quietly.
"Hahaha! A mortal? What can you do? You'll just be another corpse!" Exanimus laughed.
Argus took a single step forward.
The ground cracked beneath his heel.
"Stay back!" Seren barked. "Do not interfere! Don't even try to use your power!"
"What? Why!?" Rogar demanded.
"Please! Guild Masters, don't move!" Cyran pleaded. "You do not want to get involved with him."
"Who is he, really?" Elyra whispered, trembling.
"Instead of asking questions—maybe heal that man?" Lilith sighed, pointing at Ravien's unconscious body.
Rogar sprinted to his son, shouting his name. The others followed, channeling healing magic.
"Let my Lord handle everything," Lilith said.
"You! You're a demon too!" Exanimus snarled. "An ally of that demon brat!"
Argus still said nothing.
Exanimus descended, voice dripping with arrogance.
"You're no ordinary demon," he said. "Your eyes… what are you?"
Lilith chuckled.
"Oh, come on. Even a rotting soul like you can guess."
Exanimus' face twisted in realization.
"Y-you're… You're a Primordial! An Ancient Demon!? How can someone like you still exist!?"
Lilith groaned.
"You see the chains on his hands, and only now you realize?"
Exanimus laughed maniacally.
"It doesn't matter! I am immortal! I cannot be touched! I CANNOT BE KILLED!"
Dark aura erupted from him once more. The ground trembled. From the shadows rose colossal beasts—larger, stronger, endless.
"Prepare yourselves!" Rogar shouted.
"Wait!" Lilith barked.
"We can't just die here!" Elyndra cried.
"Silence!" Seren's voice thundered. "Let him act!"
Argus stood amidst the chaos.
The storm howled around him, but his eyes glowed brighter—calm, deadly, infinite.
"Go, my servants! Finish them all!" Exanimus roared.
The beasts charged.
Argus smiled.
The chains on his hands began to rattle.
He raised his right hand. Everyone's eyes locked on him.
Then he dropped it—
"Lilith, come forth."
And the domain itself trembled in fear.
To be continued...