Chapter 92: The way of a villain.

The moment the realization of the current situation hit him, Eloit did not hesitate. He scrambled to his feet, abandoning his dignity as a Duke, and sprinted towards the heavy oak doors of his office.

He needed to get out.

He needed to find his wife and his son and escape through the secret tunnels beneath the estate. It would not take long before the populace realized the dragons ravaging the city belonged to him and the other dukes.

There was no explanation he could give, no political spin he could doctor, that would make them understand why his dragons had slaughtered so many innocents.

Even more certain was the riot that would break out any second. The smoke was already rising, and the screams were getting louder.

He just needed to be out of the city for a few days until the heat died down, and then everything else would be alright.

Little did he know, the entire mansion had been surrounded by entities far more terrifying than mere rioters.

As he reached for the brass handle, a cold, suffocating pressure slammed into the room, freezing him in place.

It was not magic, nor was it any type of curse that would hinder his movement mechanically.

No, this was someone’s killing intent. It was raw, visceral fear that locked his joints.

Trembling, Eloit slowly turned his head towards the massive window where the wind was howling outside.

There, seated casually on the windowsill as if enjoying the view of the burning city, was a creature of nightmares.

Thick, dark mist swirled around its form, obscuring most of its features, but the glowing purple eyes and the massive, curved horns were unmistakable. Above its head, a crimson nametag floated, burning itself into Eloit’s retinas.

[Dungeon Boss: Shadow of Victims]

[Level: 10]

“A master should never abandon his people in dying times, do you not agree, Duke Eloit?”

The voice was deep, vibrating through Eloit’s chest like a bass drum.

Eloit stumbled back, his legs hitting the edge of his mahogany desk. He looked around frantically, his heart hammering against his ribs, and finally noticed he was not alone with the monster.

Standing in the corner of the room, blending perfectly with the shadows cast by the flickering candlelight, was someone who looked to be a butler.

He stood tall, his posture impeccable and his uniform crisp, but his eyes glowed with a feral red light that betrayed his nature.

Eloit focused on the butler, hoping to find a weakness, a mob he could defeat to clear a path.

[Sanovere]

[Level: 999]

Eloit’s breath hitched in his throat.

“Level… 999?” he whispered, his mind refusing to process the number. “Sandra was not lying. She said there was a woman with a level cap maxed out… but there are more? How is this possible?”

Sanovere stepped forward, his voice smooth but dripping with disdain.

“You should be honored, human. You are in the presence of the Supreme One. Kneel.”

Eloit fell to his knees, not because he wanted to, but because his legs simply gave out under the weight of the aura in the room.

“How…” Eloit stammered, his eyes darting back to Kai. “How can a Dungeon Boss leave his domain and enter another city? You are bound by the system! You are just data! A virus!”

Kai chuckled. It was a dry, humorless sound that scraped against the silence of the room.

“A virus. Yes, I suppose from your perspective, that is exactly what I am.”

Kai stood up from the window ledge. As he walked into the room, the floorboards creaked under his weight, the mist trailing behind him like a cape.

“You wanted to kill me to fix the game, didn’t you? You thought that if you eliminated the anomaly,the Shadow of Victims, the system would reset, and you would all get to go home to the real world.”

Eloit’s eyes widened, the blood draining from his face.

“You… you know?”

“I know many things. I know about your world. I know about the players. And I know that you sent those adventurers to kill ’Aron’ because you feared the Eye for an Eye item would expose you.”

Kai stopped right in front of the Duke, towering over him like a judge delivering a sentence.

“I do not blame you, Eloit. We are both fighting for something selfish. You want to go home. I want to survive. In a way, we are the same.”

Sanovere tilted his head slightly, not understanding the references to a ’real world,’ but he remained silent, knowing his Master often spoke in riddles that surpassed the understanding of mere servants.

Tears began to stream down Eloit’s face. He realized the being in front of him was not just a monster governed by aggro ranges and skill cooldowns.

It was intelligent, reasonable, and utterly terrifying.

Suddenly, the Level 10 tag hovering above Kai’s head seemed like nothing but the game mocking those who relied on the information given by stats.

“Please!” Eloit slammed his head on the floor, groveling in the dust.

“I was a fool! I was scared! I didn’t know you were… sentient! I will give you anything! Take the Dukedom! I have gold, I have artifacts! I can even help you take the Kingdom! Just spare me!”

Kai looked down at the sobbing man with cold indifference.

“I do not need you to give me what is already mine for the taking.”

Eloit’s expression twisted from abject fear to desperate rage. If begging wouldn’t work, he had only one option left.

“Die then, you monster!”

In a last-ditch effort, Eloit raised his hand, channeling every ounce of mana he had left.

[Ice Spear: Level 10]

A massive, jagged shard of ice materialized instantly, the air around it crackling with frost. It was aimed directly at Kai’s face.

It was a high-tier spell, strong enough to pierce dragon scales or shatter the gates of a fortress.

The spear flew with a sonic boom.

Ping.

It shattered harmlessly against Kai’s chest as if it were made of fragile glass hitting a reinforced steel wall. Shards of ice rained down onto the carpet, melting instantly in the dark mist.

Kai did not even flinch.

“Level 98,” Kai muttered, his tone laced with disappointment. “For a human, you are strong. But before me, you are nothing.”

Kai reached out, his hand large enough to engulf the Duke’s entire face.

“No! Wait! Mmphh—!”

Kai lifted him off the ground effortlessly, his feet kicking uselessly in the air.

“Do understand, I have nothing against you personally. It does not pain me, after all, once you die here, you will also be dead in the real world. Even so, just as you viewed me as something to be hunted, you cannot blame me for doing the same when the finger is pointed at you.”

Dark energy erupted from Kai’s palm, surging into Eloit’s skull.

Eloit’s body began to convulse violently. He screamed, but the sound was muffled by Kai’s iron grip. His skin turned grey, his eyes rolled back into his head, and his very essence, his memories, his skills, his items, and his legendary corporate ’Authority’ skill—flowed into Kai like water down a drain.

Seconds later, Kai dropped the empty husk.

[You have absorbed Eloit Von Lancer.]

[New Skills Acquired.]

Kai flexed his hand, feeling the influx of new power settling into his core.

Suddenly, a high-pitched scream pierced the silence.

“ELOIT!!!”

Kai turned slowly.

Standing at the open door of the office was a beautiful woman in an intricate noble dress, clutching a small boy, no older than seven, to her chest.

It was the Duchess and her son. They had seen everything.

The woman’s face was twisted in horror and hatred. She raised a trembling hand, unstable mana gathering at her fingertips.

“You murderer! I will kill y—”

Schluck.

She did not finish the sentence.

Sanovere had moved faster than the human eye could track.

He appeared behind her in a blur of motion, his hand already piercing through her chest from the back.

“Nuisance,” Sanovere whispered cold-bloodedly.

He ripped his hand out with a wet tearing sound. The woman collapsed, blood pooling around her on the polished floor, dead before she even hit the ground.

“Mother? Mommy?!”

The boy stood there, frozen. He looked at his mother’s body, the blood spreading toward his shoes, then up at Sanovere, and finally at Kai.

Kai frowned beneath his mist.

’I didn’t order that.’

He looked at Sanovere, who bowed apologetically, wiping the blood from his glove.

“Forgive me, my Lord. She intended to attack you. And her screams would have drawn unnecessary attention. It was efficient to remove her.”

Kai remained silent. Sanovere was not wrong. Leaving a vengeful wife alive was a classic mistake that toppled empires. But still…

Kai walked past the Duke’s corpse and approached the boy.

The child was trembling, tears streaming down his flushed face, but he did not run. Instead, he only glared at Kai.

His eyes were filled with pure, unadulterated hatred, burning brighter than the city outside.

Kai looked down at him. He felt no guilt for the Duke. He felt no guilt for the wife. But looking at this child, he felt a pang of something distinctly human.

He could kill the boy right now. Snuff out the bloodline completely. It would be the smart thing to do.

But Kai had always had a soft spot for children. It was the one weakness he could not seem to edit out of his personality, no matter how much monster he became.

Sanovere stepped forward, his bloody hand raised. “Shall I dispose of the spawn as well, my Lord?”

“No.”

Kai raised a hand, stopping his butler in his tracks.

“Leave him.”

“But my Lord, he has seen our faces. He will grow to hate you. He will become a threat.”

“I know.”

Kai crouched down until he was eye-level with the weeping child. The dark mist swirled around him, making him look like death incarnate, yet his voice carried a strange solemnity.

“To take a life is to be ready to be killed,” Kai spoke, his voice low. “Should you grow with resentment in your heart, you are not to blame for that. I cannot kill you, and that is truly a shame, not for me, but for you.”

The boy hiccuped, staring into the glowing purple eyes of the monster who had destroyed his family.

“You will live your life in pain and loneliness,” Kai continued. “Whatever shape or form your hatred takes, I will shoulder that burden. Make sure it blooms into something worth challenging me to. Maybe, you might just be the only one to strike me down.”

Kai stood up and did not look back.

“Sanovere. We are leaving.”

“Yes, my Lord.”

The two of them walked towards the shattered balcony, stepping out into the cool night air. They disappeared into the dark sky, leaving behind a ruined city, a dead Duke, and a boy who had just been given a terrible reason to live.

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