Vvvvv—

An invisible ripple spread between Luyi’s fingertips and the executioner’s blade.

Crack… crack… crack—

The next instant, shattering sounds erupted. Before that ripple, the massive blade fractured into countless cracks, disintegrating right before Wilk’s eyes!

Wilk stood utterly petrified.

“What?!”

The ripple became a boundary line.

Above it, the chaotic Soulfall power churned wildly, losing balance.

Below it, calm as a still pond.

Luyi had merely attended a banquet.

Regal. Composed. No force could disturb her serenity.

What was happening?!

Where had it all gone wrong?!

Wilk had absolute faith in the Kingpiece.

He never believed the Demon Sovereign’s power could falter.

Yet now—not only had his strongest strike shattered before Luyi—he could feel his control over the Soulfall power weakening.

The Soulfall King’s presence in this space was slipping away, as if devoured by something far more terrifying!

Impossible!

In this dungeon, he was the closest to the Demon Sovereign in strength!

His father, the Soulfall King, ranked among the mightiest Demon Sovereigns!

Luyi’s pressure spread unhurriedly.

Wilk finally sensed it.

An icy dread seized his entire being.

“What… what pressure is this?!”

His eyes widened. His breath hitched.

The moment he felt that pressure, his body and soul plunged into a bottomless abyss.

Darkness devoured both reality and his mind.

The Soulfall King’s authority paled to a tenth before this abyss—crushed and consumed without resistance.

“Ugh…”

Wilk felt his strength draining.

He forced himself to land shakily on the ground, nearly stumbling.

Who?!

Who could this be?!

Had the Royal Family discovered his plan?

Or had he disturbed some ancient being slumbering within the academy?

“May I ask which elder resides in this darkness?”

“I am Wilk of the Soulfall Royal Family. Please forgive my insolence…”

Wilk bowed frantically, scanning the shadows with a forced smile.

No reply came. The pressure didn’t ease.

“So I said—you’re foolish.”

The only voice cutting through the dark was Luyi’s.

“You—”

Wilk stared at her, dazed. This time, he saw eyes burning crimson—cold, proud, and fierce enough to ignite the darkness itself.

Ancient fury slammed into his mind, tearing through his thoughts.

He understood now.

No hidden master lurked in this darkness.

This pressure. This power. It came from Luyi.

“Even wielding the Soulfall Kingpiece, holding the Soulfall King’s power—I haven’t changed my opinion of you.”

The Kingpiece granted Wilk fifth-tier, Demon Sovereign-level strength.

But his mastery remained shallow.

Even his “strongest” executioner’s blade relied solely on borrowed authority to seem formidable.

—All meaningless before Luyi.

Those eyes didn’t belong to a girl.

They didn’t belong to the Soulfall bloodline.

The terror Luyi inspired now surpassed the Soulfall King himself.

*Emperor.*

The only title worthy of such eyes.

Impossible…

Absolutely impossible…

Yet the gaze. The pressure. Both were real.

Wilk finally grasped the chasm between them.

“You’re not of the Lost Bloodline…”

“You… Your Majesty…”

He collapsed to his knees. The Soulfall Kingpiece tumbled from his trembling hand.

His title for her changed.

His lower half grew wet again.

“Forgive me, Lady Luluie…”

“I’ll offer you everything! Twice—no, ten times what Alices gave you!”

“I can… I can…”

Hatred vanished under sheer terror. He kowtowed wildly, tears streaming from fear, blood oozing from his head wound.

He looked the part of a young Demon Sovereign—clad in ornate armor, crowned with immortality, wrapped in Soulfall power.

His actions were filthy. Twisted. Disgusting.

Luyi held no interest in the Fourth Prince.

He was worthless to her.

With Alices gone, she had no restraints.

So—

She slowly raised her right hand, sealed by the Prison Lock.

She began gathering the Source of Magic.

The Prison Lock flared in response. Its runes glowed brighter, the seal tightening.

Wilk’s kowtowing slowed. Confusion flickered through his fear.

*What is Luyi doing?*

The Prison Lock couldn’t be broken by brute force.

Even royalty suffered brutal backlash when forcing power against it.

Why risk crippling her hands now?

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM—

Luyi intensified her gathering.

The Prison Lock’s seal deepened.

If she stopped now, the backlash would shatter her hands beyond repair!

*Could I… still turn this around?*

A sliver of hope sparked in Wilk’s despair.

BOOOOOOM—

The seal clashed against her will.

Space warped around the girl.

The Prison Lock blazed with terrifying light.

Luyi still didn’t stop gathering.

Wilk’s heart pounded.

*Where is her limit?!*

*Crack—*

A crisp snap echoed.

Like thunder from clear skies.

Before Wilk’s frozen, horrified gaze—the Prison Lock… split.

*Impossible!*

She’d shattered it with raw power!

And so quickly…

As the lock broke, Luyi finally drew the Source of Magic freely.

A terrifying force surged through the dark space. The ground trembled. A tsunami of annihilation ripped toward everything.

Infinite Source of Magic flooded toward her. The uncontrolled, masterless Soulfall power instantly became hers.

The surrounding space emptied into a vacuum of magic. Above the girl, a monstrous sphere ignited—blazing crimson and black, illuminating the entire dungeon like a dying star.

Ruins. Ancient mechanisms. Collapsed structures… all melted before its light.

This was the Demon Sovereign’s core gift: **Infinite Ruin**.

Within her body’s limits, she could gather boundless Source of Magic.

The Prison Lock had become her catalyst.

Like ants staring at the sun.

Wilk was the crowned ant.

Luyi was the star’s master.

Wilk’s mind went blank. His will shattered. He forgot death. Forgot himself.

“Feel it well… the true power of a sovereign.”

Luyi’s voice cut through the silence.

Crimson light carved her beautiful, icy face. In this moment, she was the Tyrant King. The Unquenchable Demon Sovereign. The Master of Endless Chaos at Ragnarök.

The crimson-black sphere descended toward Wilk.

Like a dying star plummeting to earth.

***

Rain poured. Lightning split the storm clouds. Thunder roared.

The Second Prince hurried toward the wastelands.

“Fool… that idiot…”

His face darkened with curses. Utterly disillusioned with Wilk.

If Wilk’s steward hadn’t informed him of the kidnapping—luring Alices and Luyi to the dungeon—he’d still be in the dark.

*Was he mad?!*

Didn’t he know where that girl stood after her gift ended?!

How much shame would he bring the Soulfall Royal Family?!

“?!”

He froze mid-stride.

A familiar aura washed over him—bloodline suppression.

“That’s…”

His eyes locked onto a figure walking the same path.

The Eighth Prince—Salros!

*Your Highness!*

His heart lurched.

And Salros was heading straight for Wilk’s dungeon!

“Does the Eighth Prince also covet that Lost Bloodline under Alices…?”

His face turned ashen.

If he didn’t reach them in time—not just Wilk—the entire Soulfall bloodline might…

BOOOOM—

The earth shook. Birds scattered.

Both princes turned toward the dungeon.

Crimson and darkness erupted skyward. An ancient pressure swept across the land. Even from afar, their faces paled.

“Hm?!”

In a cramped room, a silver-haired girl glanced out the window.

“That aura…”

Atop a sealed tower, an old man gazed into the distance.

***

That day, many looked through the rain toward the same horizon.

As if heaven and earth had inverted.

The land became an ocean of darkness spilling into the sky.

Darkness split the world—absolute void, burning rifts, endless abyss.

And the crimson… bloomed like the netherworld’s flower, fading even as it flared.