Chapter 17 - Devils

Suddenly, Lucien froze.

Someone was watching him.

His instincts flared just as he caught the faint sound of rustling. Quick footsteps retreated through the underbrush.

Without hesitation, Lucien gave chase.

As he moved forward, the familiar sensation faded. The strange power that had surged through him during Slime Beast Mode slowly ebbed away. His body reverted to its normal, solid form.

No longer translucent.

No longer enhanced. 

The effect had lasted around ten minutes.

At the same time, he realized something else. He was no longer within range of the Rainbow Slime Statue.

Fatigue began to creep in. But the adrenaline pumping through his veins dulled it. He pressed on, not wanting to leave any more variables.

Through a series of twists and turns, darting between trees and leaping over roots, he finally caught up to the fleeing figure.

To his surprise, it was the tier 2 enemy... The one who had been stationed outside the manor earlier.

"Caught you!" Lucien growled, launching a volley of Slime Shots toward the fleeing figure.

"Hii!! M-Monster!! Y-You—How?!" the tier 2 target cried out in panic, stumbling as the shots splattered near his feet.

Lucien smirked. "Why are you stuttering like an idiot? Never seen a handsome monster before?"

The man's trembling only worsened. "H-How can you use a monster's skill?!"

Lucien's eyes narrowed.

That wasn't just a random guess.

Without wasting time, he activated SCAN... and the truth clicked instantly.

"Appraisal, huh... What an irritating skill." Lucien muttered.

The tier 2 wasn't a combatant. He lacked any fighting skills. But something else stood out... something far more interesting.

Lucien's expression turned cold.

"So you're that Coalheart bastard's second son."

He grinned with a dark edge to his voice.

"GAHAHA... Good. Very good. Now let's see what I'll do to you."

Everything made sense now. 

The Coalheart territory's abundance of skill-bearers... 

The high-efficiency recruitment... 

Lucien tilted his head, eyes still locked on the trembling man.

"Heh… So that's how it is." He let out a low chuckle.

Appraisal.

Not as precise as SCAN but still dangerous.

Lucien's expression darkened as a realization crept in.

'They brought this guy here. Their precious little talent.That means...'

"They were so sure I'd die," Lucien muttered, voice calm but cold. "So sure they'd win, they already brought the next parasite to take over."

He could already imagine the aftermath if he had lost.

If he had died earlier, this man might've assumed the position of the lord in the territory.

With that Appraisal skill, he could easily identify hidden skill-bearers... then report them, recruit them... or worse.

Brainwash them. 

Threaten them. 

Control them.

Just like those killers.

"Damn bastards…" Lucien muttered under his breath. "He wasn't just here for the fight. He was here to clean up after me."

To harvest what was left.

People.

Power.

potential.

All under Coalheart's banner.

Lucien's expression hardened.

He couldn't let this man live.

Not just because he was the Coalheart's son.

But because now... he knew too much.

The man pissed himself in sheer terror.

With a desperate cry, he rolled across the ground in an attempt to flee.

Lucien didn't stop him.

Instead, with one clean motion... He SLASHed... He severed the man's feet.

"GAHHH!! BASTARD! Do you know who I am?!"

Lucien tilted his head, sneering.

"Chu chu chu. The classic villain line."

He leaned closer, voice low and taunting.

"Of course I know. You're the Coalheart mutt. And if I kill you, that scum will come running, won't he?" He smirked darkly. "...So what if I send him your head instead?"

The man's face turned ashen.

Lucien didn't give him a chance to respond.

He wasn't in the mood. Not with one more enemy still unaccounted for.

With mechanical precision, Lucien sliced through limb after limb. Then, finally, severed the head.

He stored it in his inventory without a word.

He already had a plan.

•••

Lucien dashed back toward the manor.

There, he saw the aftermath of Sebas's handiwork.

The burly man... Once confident and towering... Was now a crumpled heap on the ground, barely clinging to life. Blood pooled beneath him. Every inch of his body was marred by cuts, his joints twisted unnaturally and his limbs hung like broken twigs.

Lucien winced. He couldn't even imagine the silent torment the man had endured.

After all, no one fought deadlier in the shadows than Sebas.

To the burly man, it must've felt like fighting a ghost. A ghost that struck without sound and without mercy. Sebas's Silent Step had kept him invisible and his attacks had come from every angle.

Lucien nodded in quiet approval. Everything had gone to plan.

Even if the traps he prepared weren't triggered, it didn't matter. The result was undeniably a total success.

He walked toward the darkness where he knew Sebas stood, watching silently.

"Good job, Sebas," Lucien said, eyes on the barely breathing target. "Let me finish this."

Sebas gave a bow and respectfully closed his eyes... leaving the final act to his master.

Seemingly hearing his words, the burly man's eyes fluttered open. His consciousness clawed its way back.

Tied up tightly by Sebas, he posed no threat. His body was broken, his spirit even more so.

"Y-Yor rordship… presh… ret me rive… I-I'rr serv yu… frm now… on…"

His voice was weak and slurred. Blood filled his mouth and his tongue barely cooperated. But Lucien could still understand him perfectly.

The burly man never imagined things would end up like this.

He hadn't even managed to locate Sebas once during their fight. Sebas had been a phantom in the dark. The hidden weapons had come out of nowhere, striking precise and deep. Wounds stacked up little by little, draining his strength.

The intel they received was dead wrong. Even Lucien had returned unscathed. Their preparations, tactics and timing was... utterly meaningless.

They'd been outmatched.

Monsters.

That was the only word he could think of.

Tears welled in his eyes. Snot trickled down his face. He had fought so hard to grow stronger, even selling his soul to the Coalhearts just to gain more resources. And now here he was, begging.

Lucien stood over him, silent in thought. A few seconds passed before he finally sighed.

"If I were my kind sister," Lucien muttered, "I'd probably forgive you. Tell you to turn over a new leaf..."

Hearing Lucien's words, a flicker of hope sparked in the burly man's eyes.

But it was crushed just as quickly.

"…But you asked the wrong person," Lucien said with a chilling grin. "I'm no kind man."

He leaned in slightly, voice low and final.

"Hehe… see you in hell."

Without hesitation, Lucien drove his blade into the man's chest. The burly man's eyes widened in despair... then dimmed.

Silence settled over the manor like a shroud.

No more pleading. 

No more footsteps. 

Just the sound of the wind brushing through the open windows.

Lucien exhaled slowly.

Sebas emerged from the shadows, silent as always with his face unreadable.

The battle was over.

For now.

And in the stillness of the night, the two of them finally took a moment… to breathe.

Suddenly, Lucien walked toward the desk and pulled out a hidden shelf, revealing a leather notebook tucked away inside.

"Hehe… see you in hell…" he muttered, repeating the line he'd just delivered with deadly seriousness minutes ago.

He flipped through the pages until he stopped at a familiar one... "Badass Last Words: Kill List Edition."

With a satisfied smirk, he drew a bold line through a sentence.

"Good. Another bucket list entry checked. Oh right, I used a few others earlier too... 'Taste my sticky fluid,' check. 'What a sticky situation,' check..."

He nodded to himself, flipping to the next page filled with scribbled one-liners and dramatic quotes.

"A true protagonist never repeats his catchphrases... hmm…"

He tapped the pen on his chin thoughtfully. "You have the door to heaven, but you choose to barge into hell,? Hmmm, a bit poetic. Or maybe… Even the devil has forsaken you. Umu umu, dark but classy."

He flipped again, deeply absorbed in his "edgy quotes arsenal," muttering pros and cons like a scriptwriter preparing for the next murder scene.

Sebas who watching from the shadows finally let out a soft chuckle. He shook his head in disbelief.

The same young man who just executed trained killers without hesitation… was now debating dramatic quotes like a theatre student.

In that moment, Sebas saw past the cold efficiency. Beneath it all, Lucien was still a boy.

A brilliant, chaotic and slightly unhinged boy.

A smile crept onto Sebas's face.

"…Luke would've been so proud..." he whispered to himself with a laugh full of memory. "Fufufu…"

Just then, the door creaked open.

Kael stepped inside.

His eyes immediately caught Sebas standing, laughing silently.

Then, there was Lucien, laughing to himself.

And finally…

The headless corpse bleeding onto the floor.

The air was still thick with the scent of blood. A puddle of crimson spread beneath the mutilated body, its limbs twisted at unnatural angles.

Kael froze.

"Are they devils?" He can't help but think like that.