A Peacock Husband of Five Princesses by day, a Noble Assassin by Night Chapter 203 203

Azzy let the silence linger for a mont. The rookies stood still as carved stone, the adults behind them just as attentive.

Then he continued...

"Another thing," he said, sweeping his eyes across the younger faces. "Leave the elders' matters to the elders. If adults argue or fight, do not get involved yourselves. You may stand behind them, but you are not part of that fight."

Several of the teenagers nodded quickly, so out of instinct, so out of nervousness.

"That does not an," Azzy added, "that you must be silent, ek, or pretend you don't exist."

A few kids blinked at that, caught off guard by the sudden change of Azzy's words. It felt in contrast to his earlier statent or a mont, but then Azzy said.

"If you see sothing wrong, sothing unjust, then you speak. Loudly, if you must. Even if the matter has nothing to do with the Death Clan. Righteousness is not owned by any clan. When injustice appears, we respond, not as Death Clan mbers, but as decent human beings."

The rookies straightened at his words, feeling a spark of sothing inside. Pride? Responsibility? Maybe both.

"But," Azzy said, lifting a finger, "use your heads. Know your limits before you speak."

He looked at them one by one, as if drilling the thought into their bones.

"Jumping into a river to save soone ans nothing if you cannot swim. You will drown, and so will they. Courage is good. Recklessness is not."

The rookies bowed their heads, understanding, or at least trying to.

"Think. Judge. Then act."

*

Azzy's gaze shifted from the teenagers to the adult representatives, the backbone of the team.

"And as for all of you," he said, "I don't need to repeat everything I said. The sa rules apply. But unlike them," he added, tilting his head toward the teens, "your actions shake the ground when you move."

The adults didn't deny it. They knew the truth of it well.

"So be careful. Do not provoke war." Azzy's expression grew heavier, almost distant for a mont. "It took too much effort to build Genesis. A place where all hidden clans can et, speak, grow, and work together. One careless mistake can crumble the entire foundation. I appointed Lady Yashna to watch over the rookies, but I ask you all to watch them too. Protect them if soone tries to use them against us."

Affea nodded confidently. "You don't have to worry about us, Your Majesty. No one will touch them while we stand."

Azzy gave a small nod of approval.

***

Monts later, through the swirling distortion of the portal circle, they all vanished from the Ancestral Temple.

When the world settled again beneath their feet, they found themselves in Sector 0 of Genesis Country, the heart of the nation, a place unlike anything the dieval-style clans had ever seen.

The rookies froze at the sight of towering glass skyscrapers. it made several teenagers take a step back.

"This… this place…" one of them whispered, their eyes wide with disbelief.

But to Fiona, Affea, Avia, and the handful of others who had traveled the world with Azzy, this was familiar. They moved easily through the modern-looking city with their robes brushing against tal floors instead of stone.

anwhile, robots patrolled the area in place of guards, sleek, silver-bodied constructs with glowing eyes and humanoid builds.

One such unit approached, a rank-8 escort model.

"Welco, Death Clan," the robot said, its voice smooth and polite. "Please follow to your assigned accommodations."

Its steps echoed lightly as it guided them through corridors of reflective walls and automated doors. The representatives walked behind it in a long line, so nervous, so in awe, so trying hard not to look like country folk in a city of stars.

Finally, they reached the west wing of the grand arena, an enormous stadium-like structure with glass windows spanning dozens of floors. The robot escorted them to the third floor, which had already been completely reserved for them.

Ten rooms.

Each with two beds.

Each with full privacy.

And every device inside, from lighting to water taps, responded to voice commands.

For most of the clan mbers, the sudden shift from forest huts and stone houses to sleek chro hallways was jarring.

But the entire floor was empty, booked exclusively for them.

Not a single person crossed their path.

No distractions.

No outsiders.

No threats, at least for now.

"This will be your residence until the tournant begins," the escort robot announced before bowing and returning to its patrol route. The teenagers ran their hands along the shiny walls.

*

anwhile, far away from the Arena;

The air inside the abandoned Temple of Zeus was thick with ancient dust rising with every faint vibration, cobwebs trembling like sothing alive. But despite its ruin, the temple thrumd with unnatural power tonight.

At the center of the stone floor, surrounded by broken statues and fallen pillars, a shimring barrier pulsed like a living heart. Strange artifacts lay arranged in a perfect circle around it.

Inside the barrier knelt Naamah—weak, trembling, and barely conscious. Her once-beautiful, seductive features were pale now, and her body bound by floating chains of light ford from divine artifacts.

Her demonic aura flickered like a dying fla.

Outside the barrier stood Alexander Magnolis, his expression unnervingly calm. The faint blue glow of his holographic screen reflected in his eyes as he turned an object over in his palm, Azazel's core.

He lifted his other hand, gathering power.

"Good… the first step is over," he muttered, voice low and unsteady with excitent. "Now for the next step."

The runes on the floor lit up all at once.

"Absorb."

The mont the word left his lips, Naamah's back arched in pain. "Argh..."

Her mouth opened in a silent scream as wisps of demonic essence—black, liquid-like threads—were ripped out of her body, yanked toward Alexander like smoke.

The sigils around her glowed brighter, strengthening the extraction.

As Naamah's essence flowed into him, Alexander closed his eyes, his breathing turning deeper, heavier.

He raised Azazel's core.

The instant the core rged fully with him, a second consciousness stirred inside Alexander, Azazel whom he killed.

Azazel's consciousness began to slowly take shape in Alex's mindscape

But before Azazel could fully awaken—

Naamah's essence surged in, crashing into him like a tidal wave.

The demonic energy didn't nurture him. Instead, it suppressed him as Namaah's demonic essence was too pure. After all, she was the daughter of Lilith, the queen mother of all the demons.

Azazel's forming consciousness buckled, crushed under Naamah's unstable but potent demonic essence. His roar faded, swallowed by the incoming corruption.

And into that chaotic battlefield stepped Alexander's spirit form.

He reached forward, grabbing the unstable Arcana spirit forming from the fused energies. The creature—or rather, the cluster of demonic-divine essence—twisted violently in his grasp. It had no shape, no stability… yet.

"Now…" Alexander whispered, his will sharpening like a blade. "For the separation."

He forced the chaotic essence outward.

It split.

Part of it ford a demonic mass. The other half crystallized into a divine counterpart with radiance.

Slowly… painfully… both pieces elongated, stretched, and solidified.

Two blades erged.

One black and violent like an abyss—the Demonic Sword.

One bright and pure like sunlight reborn—the Divine Sword.

At the sa ti, outside, Alexander's physical body jerked violently. Energy surged around him with winds tearing loose rocks from the ground, dust spiraling into a miniature hurricane.

Naamah collapsed as the last wisp of her essence left her, turning into a lifeless corpse in no ti.

anwhile, a blinding beam of energy erupted from Alexander—shooting through the cracked ceiling, glowing through the night sky above the temple.

"RAAAAAAAA—HAHAHAHA!"

Alexander laughed as he summoned the two swords.

anwhile, his interface flashed wildly before him.

[BREAKTHROUGH ACHIEVED. You have beco a Rank-10 Arcana Master]

[You received 10,000,000 credits.]

.

.

.

[Congratulations! You have awakened a Second Arcana Spirit. Please na it.]

"Hahaha! I did it!" Alexander yelled, lifting the swords high into the storm of energy around him. "Rank-10 at last!"

His voice echoed through the ancient ruins, triumphant and wild.

But then...

His gaze drifted to the corner of his vision

To the one detail he'd been waiting for.

The part that mattered most.

His lifespan.

However, the number didn't change a bit.

Life Span: 75 Years Remaining

Alexander froze as soon as his eyes spotted that figure. For a heartbeat, he didn't move. at al

Didn't speak.\\

Didn't breathe.

Then the truth hit him like a hamr.\\

His pupils shrank into pinpoints.

"…why?"

His voice trembled.\\

Barely audible.

"Why…? WHY?!"

His scream tore from his throat as power surged uncontrollably.\\

The temple shook.\\

Pillars split.\\

Ancient stone shattered into dust.

"WHY?!"

He swung the demonic sword—its blade releasing a wave of black energy that obliterated a statue of Zeus. The divine sword followed, carving through the ceiling with a beam of white light.

"WHY DOES NOTHING CHANGE?!"

The twin blades scread with him.

Artifacts shattered.\\

The barrier collapsed.\\

The temple trembled under the force of his rage.

"WHY CAN'T I ESCAPE THIS CURSE?!"

He didn't care that Naamah lay unconscious nearby.\\

He didn't care that half the temple was collapsing.\\

He didn't care that he now wielded unimaginable power.

Because the clock in his body continued ticking.

And he couldn't stop it.