Violet energy erupted wildly from the shattered crystal.
The oppressive aura of the Soulfall King surged within the barrier, crushing down relentlessly upon Luyi!
At this very moment, tangible threads of energy seeped from the crystal’s cracks. They coiled around Wilk, mending his broken body, merging with his flesh, and fueling his surging power.
The threads wove across his skin, fusing together—forming a cloak, armor, and even… a faint, shimmering crown above his head!
He now resembled the Demon King in his prime.
“You forced my hand…”
Wilk rose slowly. Ancient, overwhelming power rippled around him.
As he lifted his gaze to Luyi, dark violet light ignited in his eyes.
Skeg and his other subordinate choked instantly.
One moment ago, the Fourth Prince had been a bloodied stray dog kneeling in defeat. Now, he radiated the very majesty of the Soulfall King.
“This power…”
Even beyond the violet barrier, Alices sensed the Soulfall King’s presence.
She stood dazed.
“Of course a piece of trash like you wouldn’t know,” Wilk sneered. “This Soulfall Royal Chess piece—my mother begged our father for years before he finally crafted it. It holds a fragment of his primordial power. When activated, I inherit that power. I wield a fraction of the Demon King’s authority.”
His eyes burned with venom.
The chess piece could only be used once.
Afterward, he’d suffer backlash from forcing the Demon King’s authority.
This was meant for life-or-death moments.
But today’s humiliations had shattered his restraint.
He would kill Luyi.
He would make this insolent wretch who shamed him… pay in blood.
“Lost Bloodline! You gutter rat Alices scraped from the trash—do you feel it?” Wilk’s laugh was icy. “*This* is royal blood. *This* is a king’s majesty… Can you even withstand it?”
**BOOM—**
He fixed his gaze on Luyi. The Soulfall King’s aura exploded!
The entire barrier shuddered under the violet energy’s violent tremor.
“Aaah—”
“Ptoo—”
Skeg and his man vomited blood, unable to endure the pressure.
Luyi remained utterly still.
“Still resisting?” Wilk’s lips twisted into a savage grin. Violet light flared brighter in his eyes. “**Kneel!**”
**BUZZ—**
The Soulfall pressure crashed down again.
Luyi didn’t flinch.
Her defiance ignited Wilk’s fury.
Violet light blazed at its peak. Wilk stepped forward, his voice thundering with regal wrath:
“**I command you—KNEEL!**”
The Soulfall King’s aura erupted for the third—and final—time!
Terrifying energy ripped through the barrier, warping space itself. Skeg and the fallen servant screamed as their bodies cracked, bones shattering.
The ancient dungeon walls groaned under the king’s fury. Stone crumbled. The ground split beneath their feet, fissures spiderwebbing across the floor.
Even outside the barrier, Alices swayed, her mind clouded by the oppressive aura.
Nothing in this realm could defy the king’s will.
—Except Luyi.
She stood alone, untouched by the world.
“Is this all the Soulfall King’s power amounts to?” Her voice drifted calmly through the chaos. “Especially… when wielded by *you*.”
Wilk’s eyes narrowed. Hatred seared through him.
Her words weren’t just contempt for him—they were blasphemy against the entire Soulfall Royal Family.
He would not allow this upstart to stand unbroken before royal might!
He would erase her—body and soul!
“Lost Bloodline! You dare?!” Wilk’s voice now carried a king’s chilling weight. It echoed through the barrier, more terrifying than ever: “You trample royal dignity! You defile the Soulfall name! For this crime… **death!**”
His eyes snapped open, violet light blazing like molten amethyst.
Soulfall energy swirled above him, coalescing into a massive, ancient blade—a manifestation of pure judgment.
His ultimate strike. His verdict upon Luyi.
The moment the blade formed, Skeg and his man nearly fainted. Death’s shadow swallowed them whole.
One stray slash would reduce them to dust.
“By my name as Fourth Prince! By my right as bearer of the Royal Chess piece…” Wilk intoned, solemn and absolute. “**I sentence you—to death. Executed now!**”
The executioner’s blade plummeted toward Luyi!
It cleaved the violet barrier in two!
Ancient power, capable of severing reality itself, shook the space. The ground shattered completely beneath them!
Everything within the barrier plunged into darkness below!
Dust billowed. Magic surged wildly!
“Luyi!” Alices screamed. But Luyi had vanished.
Dust, rubble, darkness, and raging violet light swallowed the scene.
***RUMBLE-RUMBLE—***
They fell swiftly through the abyss.
Wilk floated calmly—this collapse couldn’t harm him.
The executioner’s blade drew closer to Luyi.
Its power promised annihilation with a single touch.
***CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!***
They slammed into the cavern floor. Rubble crashed down, shaking the darkness.
Wilk hovered mid-air, staring down at Luyi’s landing spot.
The blade’s violet radiance flooded the space—
—and slashed downward toward Luyi below!
“Die… Die… **JUST DIE!**” Wilk roared over the collapse, his voice triumphant.
He cared nothing for the aftermath. He only craved Luyi’s broken body at his feet.
In that final heartbeat, Luyi simply raised her hand.
And extended one finger.
Her pale fingertip met the colossal blade.
Simultaneously, a far older, far more terrifying pressure erupted from her—surging upward.
In an instant…
It **erased** the Soulfall King’s aura completely.
