The air was thin—choked with black mana that coalesced thickly within the domain.
The shadow beasts, now twice their original size and strength, let out terrifying, deafening howls. They were like starving predators ready to tear their prey apart.
At the command of the immortal Exanimus, everything was set to strike.
"Go, my minions! Finish them all!"
At once, the horde surged forward—an ocean of fangs and claws crashing against the defenders.
The Guild Masters and Chief Captains stood their ground, poised to fight for their lives.
They were fast. Ferocious. But above the chaos, a deep, ancient voice cut through everything.
"Lilith. Come forth."
It was Argus Alioth—ready to pass judgment.
For a heartbeat, the world froze.
The shadow beasts halted mid-charge. Exanimus blinked in disbelief. The Guild Masters stood silent.
Even the domain itself seemed to shudder.
Slowly, Argus's right arm began to twist—becoming monstrous, black, and clawed.
In his palm, a spiral of red and black energy gathered, summoning something ancient and dreadful.
The air grew heavy. The silence became unbearable.
The entire domain darkened under a crimson haze.
Lilith smiled—the demon child from before—melted into shadow.
Gasps filled the air as her body shimmered, vanished, and reappeared in Argus's hand.
She glowed—then transformed.
Even Exanimus could no longer comprehend what he was seeing.
"What… what are you?" he muttered.
Argus raised his hand.
In it was now a weapon—a black blade edged in crimson.
At its core burned a red crystal.
Black chains coiled from the hilt, crawling up his arm as crimson mana surged through them.
Lilith, the Abyssal Blade of Agony, had been revealed—the weapon that dissolves mortal flesh, imprisons corrupted souls, and tortures them for eternity.
"I—I can't believe it!" Cyran gasped.
"That demon child?"
"Her true form has emerged," Master Seren whispered, eyes wide.
"Master Seren, what is happening? Who is that man?" Kareen demanded.
Seren's tone grew grave.
"Guild Masters… perhaps you've heard of a certain legend?"
"What legend?" Rogar asked warily.
"The legend of a Demon God—one who annihilated his entire lineage, destroyed his own world, and became the first and only Judge."
Every eye widened.
That ancient myth—once dismissed as mere story—now stood before them.
"Master Seren… don't tell me…" Elyndra whispered.
"You are correct," Seren said grimly. "The legend is true. And he stands before us now. Steel your hearts. What you're about to witness… defies reason."
Stillness spread.
Every sound, every breath—gone.
Argus's golden eyes, ringed in black sclera, locked onto Exanimus. Emotionless. Empty. The gaze of a being who could end worlds.
Exanimus's arrogance faltered, but he forced a laugh.
"Hah! You think I'll be scared by some trick? Enough of this farce! CHARGE!"
"Everyone, get ready! We fight!" Rogar shouted, shaking off his fear.
But something was wrong.
The shadow beasts didn't move.
"What? Charge, my minions!" Exanimus roared again.
Nothing.
The beasts stayed bowed.
"They're not obeying…" Kareen murmured.
"Could it be?" Elyndra whispered.
Exanimus's fury boiled over.
"WHAT IS HAPPENING!? OBEY ME!"
He unleashed a torrent of dark aura that shook the air.
"I SAID CHARGE!"
Still nothing.
Then—
Thud.
The air broke.
Argus took a step forward.
The shadow beasts bowed even lower.
Thud.
Another step.
Chains rattled. The beasts began to retreat, trembling before their true master.
Each step echoed like judgment itself.
"What are you!?" Exanimus shouted.
Argus did not answer.
He walked through the kneeling shadows—a king among his worshipers.
"Those eyes! You dare look at me like that! Stop looking at me like you've owned me, or I'll pluck those eyes out! I AM IMMORTAL!"
He raised both hands.
A black sphere—dense, swirling like a singularity—formed between his palms, draining mana from the world.
"You mock me? You envy me! I will make you regret insulting one such as I... an immortal, a god!"
He hurled the black sun straight at Argus.
A single heartbeat.
Shing.
A flash.
Silence.
The world went white.
Outside the domain, the S-Class Captains—Jaxom, Kaiya, Silas, and Lyra—froze mid-fight.
Even the monsters stopped.
From afar, students Kael, Elara, Anya, and Arman stared as a blinding light split the sky.
Even the shadow beasts outside the domain were not spared—they simply ceased to exist.
"What's happening!?" Jaxom shouted.
"The domain—it's tearing open!" Kaiya yelled.
"Move! This is our chance!" Silas roared, leading them inside.
Inside, Exanimus stood—split cleanly in half. Blood soaked the ground.
His black sphere collapsed into itself.
Argus stood still, blade raised in a follow-through motion, smiling—a cold, inhuman grin.
"Impossible…" Rogar whispered, dumbfounded.
"Is this... the true power of a Demon God?"
The wind screamed as the singularity imploded.
Exanimus's body began to reform, fury rekindled.
"You!! This isn't possible! What did you do!? I AM FLESH WITHOUT SOUL! YOU CANNOT KILL ME! YOU ARE BLASPHEMY!"
But before he could move, black and red chains burst from the ground—coiling around him.
His aura died. His knees hit the floor.
"Wha—what is this!?" he gasped, struggling.
The chains only tightened.
Argus approached.
Their eyes met—and suddenly, Exanimus's world shattered.
He found himself bound in a burning wasteland.
The air sliced his skin. The ground melted beneath him.
Around him, thousands of twisted souls crawled from the ashes.
"Come to us… you belong with us…"
Exanimus screamed. For the first time, the so-called immortal felt fear.
Then—he was back.
Sweat drenched his face.
Argus loomed above him, eyes blazing gold and black, shadowed by the image of a horned demon—its wings red and black, grin merciless.
"N-no! Stay away! Please! I repent! Don't take me there!"
For the first time, Argus spoke.
His voice was deep, ancient, final.
"My apologies."
Argus's smile twisted—malevolent, knowing.
"I, the Jury who beholds the true desire of your soul, have weighed your immortal sin of Greed.
I find you, Exanimus… GUILTY."
The word thundered across creation.
The entire domain trembled.
A silence followed—heavy, divine, absolute.
Argus raised Lilith and drove her into the ground.
The chains constricted.
Exanimus began to understand—but too late.
"Oh no... anyone but him. No one even said he was real! What have I done?"
All the color drained from his face.
"The stories... They aren't just stories. The being who presides over damnation itself... The embodiment of merciless law. This isn't a battle. This is an execution. My execution!"
Argus tilted his head, as if listening to a distant sound.
He held his hand out, palm up, in a simple, declaratory gesture.
"Yes. Your self-assessment is... accurate."
A cold, unfeeling logic was all that remained.
"I shall now commence your execution."
The S-Class Captains arrived just as the domain began to collapse.
Argus's power surged—red light bursting from the cracks.
They froze, terrified.
"No! Please! I beg you!" Exanimus trembled.
Lilith's crimson crystal opened like an eye.
Another chain shot forth, binding Exanimus tighter.
The air burned. His eyes widened.
"It's too late. I'm already dead!"
Argus began to chant.
"I, the Demon Lord Valerius Kael, shall decree your existence forfeit.
The despair of eternity shall consume your soul, as you are devoured by the maw of the Infinite Void!"
Lilith transformed—into a monstrous abomination.
No hands. No feet. A single crimson eye.
A mouth of a thousand teeth.
Its tongue was the chain itself.
Slowly, it dragged Exanimus toward its gaping maw.
"No! Don't! I don't want to go there! HELP ME!"
He clawed at the ground, sobbing, screaming.
The chain ignited—blazing with fire.
It coiled around his neck, constricting with crushing force.
His eyes strained, bulged... and then burst.
"Please! Forgive me! Empress Seraphel!"
His final thought screamed into the void:
Impossible! I... I am IMMORTAL! I CANNOT D—
He never finished.
Lilith devoured him whole.
His immortality meant nothing now—because eternity had teeth.
The domain shattered.
Light flooded in.
Everyone fell to their knees.
The Guild Masters trembled. The Captains could barely breathe.
They had witnessed something no mortal should ever see—a Judgment.
Delivered by Valerius Kael.
The God—the Adjudicator.
"If this is what justice looks like… gods, may we never be found guilty," Rogar murmured.
From Lilith's mouth, white light poured out—pure and holy.
"Wh-what is that?" Kareen whispered.
"The souls he stole," Seren said softly. "They're returning."
Rein's body glowed faintly as his soul returned.
Kareen and Eira rushed to his side.
Argus stood still, gazing at the heavens.
Lilith reverted to her small, human form beside him, stretching her arms.
She grinned.
"Hey mortals! Did you enjoy it?"
Then she burped.
Kaiya, Jaxom, Silas, and Lyra could only stare.
They had all witnessed—
The First Verdict.
Interlude — The Verdict's Echo
The domain was gone.
All that remained was wind—cold, merciless wind, howling through the emptiness like the remnants of a forgotten god's breath.
Kaiya couldn't move. Her legs trembled, half-buried in fractured earth.
Around her, the Guild Masters were silent. Even the strongest among them—Elyndra, Rogar, Seren, Kareen—were too stunned to speak.
Her eyes drifted toward the center of the devastation.
Argus stood there—motionless, like a statue carved from the void itself.
His cloak swayed with the dying wind.
Beside him, Lilith yawned, scratching her head, as if the world hadn't just ended.
Kaiya's voice broke the silence, barely a whisper.
"Lord Alioth?"
He didn't answer.
In the distance, the golden light of the released souls began to fade, rising like lanterns into the sky.
It was beautiful.
Terrifying.
Sacred.
Rein stirred beside Kareen, breathing weakly again.
Seren knelt beside him, hands glowing faintly with healing light. But her eyes—those sharp, knowing eyes—never left Argus.
"That wasn't a fight…" Jaxom muttered.
"It was an execution," Lyra said softly.
"And if he's the judge…" Silas swallowed hard. "What happens when it's our turn?"
The wind fell silent.
Lilith turned—just slightly—and winked.
"Don't worry, mortals," she said sweetly. "He only judges those who deserve it."
Kaiya's blood ran cold.
Because for a brief second, she could swear—Lilith's eyes looked straight into her soul.
Then the little demon giggled, leapt onto Argus's shoulder, and the two faded into dissolving light—leaving behind cracked earth and trembling hearts.
Seren finally spoke, voice soft yet heavy with realization.
"The Verdict… has been delivered."
And though no one dared admit it aloud, they all knew the truth:
The First Verdict wasn't the end.
It was a warning.
To be continued…