Chapter 427 – Wins All Around
Dravik’s bulging eyes snapped to Lux’s. Even with his tongue already half‑gold, he forced words out through clenched, cracking teeth.
"You... how dare you..." he croaked, his voice breaking under the weight of transformation. "I am... Dravik the Glutted! You think you can—"
Lux’s grip tightened on his jaw, and the gold shot faster, wrapping his entire body like a molten cocoon.
"I’m not thinking," Lux murmured, eyes glowing. "I’m liquidating."
The golden sheen reached Dravik’s scalp. His hair turned to delicate threads of aurum and snapped away in flakes. His eyes, still burning with hatred, froze in place as the pupils solidified.
Lux leaned in close, his smile sharp and CFO-calm. "I just want to give you what you want..." He tilted his head. "Budget. All turned gold."
The last of Dravik’s scream rattled out of his throat as his body sealed shut—a perfect statue of a glutton mid‑rage. It lasted three seconds.
Then Lux kicked it and let it shattered.
A thousand fragnts of gilded flesh exploded outward, raining coins and sparkling dust over the battlefield like a grotesque treasury fountain. Every shard rang like a bell as it hit the cracked asphalt.
[You have defeated Dravik the Glutted .]
Where Dravik had stood, only an artifact remained, pulsing in the air like a heart made of chains and bone, wrapped in Lux’s glow.
[Item Acquired: "Glutted Chaincore – Dravik’s Remnant"]
[Grade: Legendary]
[Effect: 60 HP Regen per second, 15% Undead Resistance, Passive Skill Unlocked – Corpse Tax (Every kill refunds HP equal to 5% of target’s max health).]
Lux caught it with one hand.
[Level Up: 1]
[ 5 Skills Points Gained]
He groaned. "I’m getting addicted to this."
[Yes. Power is intoxicating. I suggest moderation.]
"I suggest you shut up and enjoy the ride."
Sira? She was in her own little massacre opera.
Lama had tried to flee—wings ripped, whip sparking.
But Sira was already in front of her.
"You copied my skills. My pride. My claws. But you never understood them."
Lama snarled. "You’re a child playing princess."
Sira smiled like a guillotine in lipstick. "Wrong."
She grabbed Lama by the face. Slamd her into a wall of molten rebar. Dragged her down it until sparks and blood painted a mural.
Then, with one claw—
She ripped her heart.
The mimic warlord’s chest turned to gold in a slow, beautiful sweep. She scread. Clawed at it. Begged.
Sira just leaned down and whispered, "You’re not worthy of pride."
Then shoved her claw in and ripped.
Lama detonated in red and gold.
What was left—
Another artifact. Floating gently, perfectly symtrical. A whip, reshaped and glowing, its mimic sigils now permanently branded with Sira’s mana signature.
[Item Acquired: "Pride-Split Chain – Lama’s Remnant"]
[Grade: Legendary]
[Effect: 60 Agility, 10% Skill Cooldown Reduction, Passive Skill Unlocked – Mirror Debt (Reflected damage reflects pride-status back on the attacker).]
Sira plucked it from the air with a wink.
[Level Up: 1]
[ 5 Skills Points Gained]
[Lux Level Up: 1]
[ 5 Skills Points Gained]
[Lux Level Up: 1]
[ 5 Skills Points Gained]
[ Random Bonus HP and DP]
[Final Level Summary – Lux Vaelthorn]
[Level: 280]
[HP: 1,603,000]
[DP: 629,000]
[Charisma: 999 (Max)]
[Magic Affinity: 1,126]
[Strength: 874]
[Agility: 995]
Lux stretched.
"Well, that’s going in the quarterly highlight reel."
Malris approached through the battlefield—bloodied, perfect, her dress unwrinkled.
"All threats neutralized," she said, eyeing the corpses. "You two did well."
Lux grinned. "You gonna give a bonus?"
Malris raised a brow. "Do you need one?"
"Morally? Yes."
Sira slid beside him and wrapped her arm around his waist. "Can we keep the artifacts?"
"You killed them," Malris said, shrugging, her tail coiling behind her as she surveyed the wreckage with a far-too-casual expression. "It’s your loot. But the question is... what are they? How did they suddenly beco artifacts?"
Lux exhaled slowly, flicking so gold dust off his shoulder. His body still ached like a blown-out investnt portfolio, but the fight was over. The battlefield stank of lted magic, ozone, sulfur, and sothing disturbingly similar to burnt gravy.
Around them, fragnts of molten hamrs, shattered bone-fla whips, and a couple of suspiciously twitching severed limbs decorated the do like a boutique war cri. Sowhere nearby, one of Malris’s surviving soldiers vomited quietly behind a rock.
Lux adjusted his collar and gave Malris a flat look. "So... let’s say," he began, voice smooth as polished obsidian, "hypothetically, every ti I kill soone or sothing high-level, I can now receive that thing back. As a thank you."
Malris raised an eyebrow. "A... thank you."
Lux held up a finger. "Don’t ask how. Don’t ask why."
"I wasn’t gonna."
"Let’s call it..." He paused. Then smirked. "A blessing. From the up realm."
Malris made a low sound in her throat. "And by up realm, you an—"
"Exactly."
She folded her arms, her sharp black armor flexing faintly with her movent. "Have you reported this yet?"
Lux grinned, brushing dust off his sleeve like it was nothing. "The artifact that could make all this and started this weird power of mine?" he said, tone faux casual. "Yeah. I reported it once."
"What?"
"It was at the last Heaven–Hell liaison eting," Lux said. "You know. After I got the deal settled. The one with the restructuring clause on divine favors."
Malris squinted like she’d just bit into a lemon. "Wait... wait. So that artifact is—"
"That PR thing," Lux confird, lifting a hand.
Malris looked like she’d been hit in the head with a ledger. "The celestial artifact from the PR departnt?"
"Yup."
"You said it was just... ’mildly enchanted.’"
"You examined it," Lux reminded her, lips twitching. "Unofficially. But you did say it was okay and I could keep it. You even wrote ’Kinda cool’ in your report."
"I wrote that?"
"In green ink."
She covered her eyes with one hand. "Oh Holy Hell..."
"It’s safe," Lux added helpfully.
"But it turns demons into artifacts!"
Lux gave her a very Lux shrug. "Also angels."
Malris groaned. "Lux..."
Sira, leaning against a broken lamp post with her arms crossed, let out a long sigh and muttered, "Well, we finished it at least."
"And we didn’t die," Lux said brightly. "So. You know. Wins all around."
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