054 THE DEATH OF LEO AND YUN-YUN

054 THE DEATH OF LEO AND YUN-YUN

When Lusifar obtained Madame La Rosa's final sacrifice, a part of the sacrifice went to Leo because Lusifar was still a part of his body. The sacrifice pushed Leo into a breakthrough.

"I shouldn't have let you", Lusifar admitted, "But you are still not going to defeat me."

Lusifar was almost free, just seconds away from breaking loose and escaping Leo's body moments before taking on the Destiny's Retribution that would soon strike.

"Is there a way to keep Lusifar in my body?" Leo asked, urgency clawing at his voice.

Yun-Yun's face was grim. "There's a binding spell that can tether a spirit to the body, but it requires Svad-tier magic… and I don't have enough magic to cast it."

"Teach it to me," Leo said, determined.

She hesitated, then wrapped her arms around him, guiding his hands with hers as she whispered the ancient spell. Leo quickly replicated her magic with his own using his familiar control panel.

"codes…codes….codes"

Magic was like an understanding that flowed through them both, a synergy that came from their time together, a deep understanding only they shared.

"Are you fucking insane?" Dassa yelled at Yun-Yun. "That lightning is going to kill you too!"

Yun-Yun's gaze didn't waver. "Death doesn't scare me. Only regret does."

He could feel Lusifar's grip weakening, his spirit trapped still inside Leo, struggling to escape. As they chanted together, Leo absorbed Yun-Yun's complex weave, as he cast the binding spell.

"Spell binding complete."

"What… what are you doing to me?" Lusifar raged as he found himself bound to Leo's body, his resurrection halted in its tracks.

"It's just a matter of time now," Yun-Yun whispered. "Heaven's wrath is coming. I don't regret dying with you."

Furious, Lusifar lashed out, his claws striking Yun-Yun blood spilling as she fell on Leo.

"No!" Leo cried, finishing the spell.

Lusifar's half-formed body hung suspended in midair, unable to complete its transformation and gain independence.

The clouds churned above them, a single bolt of lightning taking shape, it broke through the ceiling of the Rose Garden aiming straight at Leo. With a crack like the world breaking open, the bolt hurtled downward, striking Leo and Lusifar's semi-formed body.

The power was immense, enough to obliterate any mage at the peak of Cakra Svad. Leo braced himself, but the lightning struck Lusifar first, obliterating the demon's half form and driving his soul out of Leo.

Yet the energy continued to pour down, crashing into Leo.

In that instant, Yun-Yun threw herself onto him, embracing him tightly, her own body absorbing the deadly force with him.

"You… you didn't have to do this…" Leo choked, as Yun-Yun's body became a conduit for the electricity.

"Better to die… than to do nothing," she murmured, her voice fading.

Dassa watched, horrified but powerless.

The storm passed. The dark clouds receded, leaving the realm quiet and empty, its last echoes of magic dissipating.

It was over.

-----

"Congratulations, you've completed your starter mission," Vanessa said to Leo.

He found himself floating in a vast, empty void, alone with her.

"This is… the fucking System?" he asked, glancing around, feeling like his thoughts were bouncing back to him in the emptiness.

"Yes, you may call it that," she replied with a smirk.

Leo instinctively began scanning for some kind of code or clue, anything he might use to break through this world or hack his way back.

"Don't bother," Vanessa interrupted. "This place is insulated—disconnected from the outside world. Time itself barely exists here. You are among few players who actually get to see this place before their death."

"Time barely exists?" he repeated. "So, time is fucking stopped here?"

"Practically, yes," she explained. "Time here moves so slowly it may as well be frozen."

Leo's thoughts turned to Yun-Yun. "What happened out there? Is Yun-Yun okay?"

Vanessa shrugged. "Why the attachment to an NPC?"

"She doesn't feel like an NPC to me," Leo muttered.

"She's technically a Non-Playing Character in our System, yes, … she's part of another… like a fucking 'server' you may say. Not part of our 'game,' so to speak, but she exists within this world concurrently with you—the Realm of Sins, under different rules."

"There are other fucking servers running here, besides your stupid one?" Leo asked, stunned.

"Why not?" Vanessa replied. "If we can play here, others can play too."

"Where's Yun-Yun?" he pressed.

Vanessa grinned. "Are you going to keep asking, or would you like your reward for completing the beginner quest?"

"Where's Yun-Yun?" he demanded.

"There's no rush. Time has virtually stopped here. We could talk forever, even do… other things, if you'd like? Fuck me for example," she teased.

Leo sighed, playing along. "Fuck you. What's the reward?"

"By defeating the demon Lusifar, you've gained ownership of his dungeon realm: the Realm of Lust."

"What am I supposed to do with that?"

"Real estate!! Some would kill for that," she joked.

"Useless."

"You've unlocked new game features too—the party system is now open, and you've been granted more space in your System Inventory to store special items."

"What kind of special items?"

"Special as in System items like your 'Black Cock,' and other items you may receive as rewards," she said with a laugh.

"Is there any way to get rid of that fucking 'Black Cock'?"

"Yes, the Black Cock, of all the thousands of players who joined this game, you alone picked it as a starter gift, great choice," she replied, clearly enjoying his frustration.

"Just tell me what I actually earned for killing Lusifar and Madame la Rosa. That was like the hardest boss in this fucking world. There must be a good reward or else fuck this stupid game."

"You're right, they are hard quests but not the hardest. The Rose Demon quest has stumped hundreds of experienced players turning many into eunuchs, and no one else has encountered Lusifar before you. Maybe those two quests are linked and must be completed together," she explained.

"What did other people get as their starter quest?" Leo asked.

"Usually, it is to learn their first spell or begin a profession that kind of basic stuff", she said.

"Fuck you, why is my task so fucking hard to start with?" he asked.