Alex sat still, watching coldly.
From his back, a black venomous mist surged forth—LunarMoon Nemtoda, now awakened, began to devour everything.
Women.
Men.
Children.
All were equal in his eyes.
The entity known as Moon let out a screeching sound—
"Rawahahaa!"
And then… for the first time since Sheng's reincarnation, it spoke words.
"You haven't changed, Master."
One by one, the crowd was swallowed.
Their screams vanished into the dark mist.
Only the clan heads, the royals, and a few others remained—
Fafner, Lars, Luck, Shelly, Ember.
Fafner's eyes were wide, swollen with horror.
They tried to move.
They couldn't.
They were forced to watch.
Helpless—powerless—as thousands were consumed before their eyes.
The sound of carriage wheels rattled through the Forest of the Dead.
King Leon Agniverta had arrived at the gates of Lumbris, a legion of knights trailing behind him.
But the carriages halted.
Beyond the golden barrier, they could see it—the massacre.
People, kin, allies—all gone.
General Viscal dismounted his horse and stepped beside the king.
"My Majesty, you don't need to go in yourself—"
Leon turned, eyes burning with restrained fury.
"Don't you dare tell me what must be done, Viscal."
He stepped forward.
Despite his strong body, Leon's face was pale—lifeless.
As if each breath was forced.
He reached the barrier and frowned.
"It's still here…? But Fafner said the artifact was stolen. This shouldn't be possible."
He tried to step inside.
He couldn't.
Blocked.
He clenched his fists, dropped to his knees, and whispered a prayer.
"Mother Uxil… show me the way.
The artifact was made by your hands.
I cannot enter. Help me."
Within his inner world, a faint, divine shadow emerged.
Uxil, the goddess of light.
"I can help you, my son… but you will regret it.
That is why I hesitate."
"I don't care. My loved ones are dying inside. I must go."
"Your kin has devoured the innocent.
The massacre has already happened."
"Then let me regret it later.
My pride is worth more than a temporary pain."
Uxil was silent for a moment.
"…As you wish."
A radiant light bathed Leon's body.
And in an instant—he was inside the barrier.
Leon sped across the broken streets, his mere presence sending shockwaves in every direction.
What remained of the city was nothing but ashes—
Except for a single floating island in the sky.
He leaped upward, landing atop the platform.
There, he saw them—
Fourteen survivors, barely alive.
Among them—
Alex.
His son.
Leon's hands trembled. His knees nearly gave out.
He crawled toward him, tears falling freely.
His hand reached up, gently cupping Alex's face.
"My son… Alex…"
Alex stared blankly.
"I'm not your son.
I'm just someone who lives inside your son's body."
Leon's heart stopped.
"What… what are you saying?
You are my son. My little boy. My baby.
Are you still angry at me? Is that it?"
Alex gave a bitter smile.
"Your son died…
The day before that assassination attempt."
"He didn't die from poison.
He died from the pressure you forced on him."
"I just happened to be born into his corpse."
Inside, Leon already knew.
He had felt it since the duel in the arena—
That the boy wasn't truly his anymore.
But he refused to accept it.
After losing his wife, denial became his survival.
Now, the truth stood before him.
He could not run anymore.
And then… rage.
Leon roared and attacked Alex.
Fafner watched, finally hopeful.
"Yes… yes, finally!
Kill that fraud! Burn him alive!"
Shelly stood frozen, overwhelmed by the conversation.
Lars looked on with silent disappointment.
Luck was dazed, trying to process what he'd just heard.
Alex dodged Leon's strike effortlessly.
"Do you really want to die, Leon Agniverta?"
Shelly shouted behind him.
"Don't you have an ounce of humanity?
You've never cared for anyone!
But every human has some empathy, some kindness!
Haven't you ever felt it?!"
Alex laughed.
"Kindness?
Do you think I killed them for fun?"
"No… I know the value of life.
I know exactly what I did."
"Those souls—they'll nourish LunarMoon Nemtoda."
"Now that it's risen to Rank 4, it'll be enough.
My Qi has surged."
"Finally… I can ascend to the Nascent Realm."
Freya and Orochi stood silently behind him, pale with horror.
They had aided him.
They had unleashed something irreversible.
And yet—they felt no regret.
Only awe.
Alex turned to the others.
"You speak of kindness…
But tell me. Do any of you even understand what it means?"
Leon paused.
His rage stalled for a breath.
"No. You don't."
"Empathy…"
His voice cut through the silence like a blade through silk.
"…is the grandest lie we whisper to ourselves."
"One man weeps for an ant crushed beneath his heel.
Another walks past corpses and feels nothing.
Yet both call themselves righteous."
"Empathy is not virtue—it's vanity."
"A mirror we polish to admire our own reflection…
While pretending to see the world."
He stepped forward, his gaze piercing.
"It is wine for the weak.
Sweet, warm… and poisoned."
"Drink enough, and you'll drown in it.
But if you survive—
You find what truly lives behind your ribs."
A pause.
His voice softened—yet sharpened like a dagger.
"Even I do not live by such illusions.
I do not lie to myself."
"But you… all of you…
Hypocrites draped in robes of honor—"
"You pretend to feel… and call it kindness."
"You pretend to care… and call it justice."
"I've accepted what I am.
When will you?"
He raised his hand.
"Let's end this."
Leon staggered back.
"You truly are a demon…"
Alex grinned.
"Then let's dance, old man."
"Activate."
Suddenly—
A golden light surged through the sky.
It was another hidden ability of the artifact—
Triggered.
Alex and Leon were transported—
Vanishing from the island.