Blood spurted in the air as Sid's short sword pierced through Lux's chest.

The Half-Elf's face contorted in pain as his health dwindled rapidly. Everything happened so fast that he didn't even have enough time to react to the assassin's killing blow.

As if to make sure that his fatal blow to his target would leave no room for survival, Sid twisted the short sword in his hand, shredding the Half-Elf's heart to pieces.

"Sorry, nothing personal," Sid said before pulling out his blade from his target's chest, where a bloody hole as big as a fist could be seen through. "I'll at least make an offering in the Temple for your soul after I leave the city."

To his surprise, the Half-Elf replied, and even smiled at him with blood seeping at the corner of his lips.

"Thank you," Lux replied with a smile. "I'll make sure to return the favor."

As soon as the Half-Elf finished saying his last words, he turned into particles of light and disappeared from the alley.

Sid's face became grim. He had seen one of the Slayers use this skill in the past.

"Doppelganger!" Sid hissed as he immediately ran towards the other end of the alley to escape.

Scarlet, who also saw this scene, knew that they had fallen into a trap. Immediately, she jumped towards the wall and used her ability "Spiderwalk" to climb the walls as fast as she could.

The only thought in her mind was to escape, and look for another opportunity to kill her target. This was not the first time that she her first assassination attempt failed, so this minor setback was fine to her.

As long as she was alive, another opportunity would appear in front of her at least, that was what she thought.

However, just as she had climbed the rooftop, a powerful pressure descended upon her, making her body freeze completely.

"N-No, this can't be," Scarlet stuttered. "I was not told about this."

Hovering above her was a Crystal Dragon whose strength far surpassed her rank. The Dragon had used Dragon's Fear on her, which made her movements, as well as her abilities, decrease drastically.

Before Scarlet could even react, the dragon used its tail to swat her immobile body, sending her crashing back toward the alley.

The impact was so strong that several of her ribs had cracked. Scarlet spat a mouthful of blood, as stinging pain wracked her entire body.

She immediately took out a potion from her storage ring, but before she could even drink it, a bony hand appeared out of nowhere and grabbed onto her wrist, violently twisting it, making her cry out in pain.

Diablo then stabbed his sword into her other hand, pinning her in place.

Scarlet screamed in pain. She had been trained to withstand all kinds of pain in her training, but the pain she felt was not just physical pain, but a pain that came from her very soul.

Diablo's attacks were infused with the Ethereal Element, which made it a ghost-like attack that bypassed armor, attacking the soul directly. Although his attacks could be blocked by weapons, a direct hit would make his targets feel as if their very soul had been seared by a hot branding iron.

Lux's named creature repeatedly stabbed Scarlet's body, purposely avoiding her vital parts. The only thing Diablo wanted to do was to ensure that the assassin felt as much pain as possible, as punishment for trying to kill his Master.

Just as he was about to land the killing blow, he received Lux's order telling him to stop.

A moment later, the sound of footsteps echoed inside the alley.

"Sorry, nothing personal," Lux said in a cold and merciless voice as he looked down on the Dwarf lying on the ground. "Any last words?"

"Y-You can't kill me!" Scarlet screamed. "I am the granddaughter of one of the Elders of Twilight Rain. If you kill me, he will make sure to make your life a living hell! He will kill everyone you care about in this world!"

"I was thinking about what an Assassin's last words would be, but it seems that you're not a full-fledged assassin," Lux replied. "You guys are called Reapers, right? Assassins in training to become Slayers."

"Yes! So you better let me go or you will regret it." Scarlet shouted. She was trying to get some attention from the surroundings. This way, she could frame Lux by saying that he attacked her.

Although she didn't want to rely on the patrol guards, whom she wanted to avoid at all cost, it seemed that they were her only hope to survive this mess.

"Regret? The only regret I will have is if I let a b*tch like you get away," Lux sneered. "Since you had said your last words, time for you to take your journey to the afterlife. Diablo end thi"

"Noo! Spare me! I'll do anything! You can make me your slave if you want! Just don't kill me! Have mercy!"

"Mercy? When you killed people, did you show them mercy?"

The words that Scarlet was about to say became stuck in her throat because she didn't have a comeback to the Half-Elf's accusation. In the end, she resorted to begging for forgiveness, in the hope that the Half-Elf would reconsider and spare her life.

"I won't show mercy on people who haven't shown mercy to others," Lux stated. "As for you becoming my slave? You don't have to worry about that. Just accept your death as payment for the crimes you committed in the past."

The Half-Elf summoned Oathbreaker and stabbed it into the Dwarf's neck, drawing blood. He watched as Scarlet slowly grasped for breath, as blood seeped out of her neck.

From the beginning, he didn't intend to give her a quick death. He wanted her to die as slowly as possible, in order to make her taste the despair that she had given to others when she took their life.

After a few minutes, the Dwarf stopped moving and only laid motionlessly on the ground. Her eyes filled with unwillingness as they looked at the dark sky for a few more seconds before their light vanished completely.

Lux was a Necromancer, so he could confirm that Scarlet was now truly dead.

"Take her," Lux ordered. "Blackfire, Oath of Eternal Glory."

A black coffin with a golden cross embedded in its cover appeared behind Lux. It was one of the items that he had received after using the golden gacha ticket that Eriol had given him as a gift before he went on his adventure in Elysium.

This item was something that he hadn't been able to use in the past because it required its user to be an Apostle. Now that Lux had stepped into that rank, he could now wield the special artifact that had been with him this whole time.

The moment the coffin opened its lid, Scarlet's body flew towards it. When her entire body was inside, the coffin closed its lid again and transformed into a black cross that was as tall as Lux.

---

< Blackfire, Oath of Eternal Glory >

Rarity: Mythical

Creatures in Storage: (1/4)

Requirements to use transformation ability: 400 Combined Stat Points

This coffin can store any humanoid type creature and randomly transform them into Higher-Undead, Faeries, Spirits, Elementals, or Celestials.

Only dead, or near-death creatures with complete bodies can be stored inside the coffin for transformation.

Rates of transformation for each creature are as follows.

(Higher Undead - 40%)

(Fairies / Demons - 20%)

(Nymphs - 10%)

(Elementals - 5%)

(Celestial - .05%)

You can offer Beast Cores as a sacrifice in order to increase the rarity of the creature you want to transform. The Rarer the Beast Core, the higher the chance for your desired creature to transform into an Apex Being.

If your creature transformed into a Vampire, and you have sacrificed a Beast Core with high-rarity, there is a chance that the Vampire will transform into a Vampire Lord.

All transformed creatures will be loyal to you.

Each creature that you transform has a 5% chance to obtain the ability to evolve. This will allow them to become stronger and surpass their current forms, once certain requirements are met.

The Blackfire can only hold four creatures at a time. If the number of creatures exceeds that number, you will be given an option to remove one creature from the storage. Creatures that have been removed from the storage would be freed from the owner's control. Their loyalty may, or may not stay depending on their personality.

If any of the creatures you own die in battle, you can revive them by offering a number of Beast Cores depending on their rank. The stronger the creature, the higher that offering will be.

--

"One down," Lux said as he held the black cross and rested it over his shoulder. "One to go."

The black cross on Lux's hand emitted a reddish aura, as if agreeing to its Master's words.