Becoming the Dark Lord

The next instant, Luke’s body broke apart into bright particles of light.

[You have entered the Phase 6 Beacon Dungeon!]

Luke hit a dry stone floor. He sucked in air like he’d forgotten what breathing was. He laughed, coughed, then laughed again.

“I fucking did it.”

[You have completed the Phase 6 Beacon Dungeon!]

[The exit has been unlocked!]

“What?”

The dungeon was nothing but a small room with a chest in the center.

[The greatest challenge of the Phase 6 Beacons is finding one. Enjoy your reward!]

A small cube hovered near an exit screen. Luke stared at it for a second. Then he smiled. Then he lost it.

“I don’t understand, Luke Moon,” Cadmus said. “How does clearing a Beacon Dungeon save your life?”

“You’re not as smart as you think you are, robot.”

Luke grabbed the reward and walked up to the panel. Three options hovered in front of him. One of them was the locator.

[Locate a Person]: Allows you to locate an event participant, but only someone you have interacted with at some point in your life. Useful for finding friends... or enemies.

He clicked Charlie’s name.

“That’s how I get out of this goddamn leviathan.”

[Exit Dungeon]: Places you outside the dungeon, in the exact spot where you were when you entered.

[Teleport to the Sky]: Sometimes a beacon is not in the most convenient location, or unpleasant surprises may be waiting outside. This option teleports you into the sky above the beacon. After all, what is the point of completing a Beacon if you die the moment you step out of it?

Grinning, Luke stabbed the option with his finger.

[Teleporting to the sky...]

His body began to glow. For one brief instant, he reappeared outside the beacon, still inside the leviathan. Then he shot upward, cutting through the creature like an arrow of light. He punched through tissue, fluids, and layers of flesh, laughing like a lunatic, until he tore free and shot into the ocean.

He kept rising faster and faster, leaving the vast, dark depths behind. Far below, the leviathan was so enormous it barely looked like a creature at all, just a shapeless mass moving through the abyss.

Luke looked up. “Fuck you, death!”

He burst out of the water, shot through the abyss waterfall, and rocketed into the sky. In midair, he fully materialized. His body started to fall, but the cloak snapped open, guiding him toward the city of Kataleya. He sailed over it and crashed onto the shore outside the walls.

Luke lay on the ground, laughing with pure, stupid joy.

“You beautiful bastard beacon... I never talked shit about you. Not once.”

“Luke Moon, I cannot tell if you are extremely unlucky or extremely lucky,” Cadmus said.

Luke grabbed the metal sphere and kissed the stupid robot.

“You shiny bald bastard, you’re my favorite robot. Even above R2-D2.”

“R what?”

“We’re alive! Oh gods, we’re fine. Never doubted us for a second, Luke,” Artemis said brightly. “Our trio: Palpatine, Rey, and BB-8.”

Cadmus spun in place, taking everything in, while Artemis celebrated.

“I am sorry, Luke Moon. Now that we are back on the surface, my connection has been fully restored. I should have considered the exit option and helped you. I was not operating at full capacity.”

[Congratulations, participant Luke Moon. You have completed all 6 Beacons required to advance to Stage 3. Your place is guaranteed. Stay alive until then.]

A flare of fire appeared along part of the wall. Luke shot to his feet, already bracing for the hero. But the figure that emerged was familiar. Zoe.

Luke’s kukris had changed too. They were slightly larger now, a deeper metallic black. The grips had adjusted to fit his hands, and between each blade and handle sat something black and glassy. For one brief second, an eye appeared there. Then it closed.

“You’re alive...” Zoe said.

“Alive. Mostly in one piece.”

His gaze swept along the wall.

“Maxwell’s not here,” she said.

Luke ignored her and started walking away.

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“I’m not trying anything.”

“Don’t care what you have to say.”

“He said you were dead.”

Luke activated the cloak’s power and leapt to the top of the wall. The city looked almost the same as when he’d last seen it. Emptier, though. Quieter. His gaze swept across the ruined streets. A few gunmen were still scattered around. A makeshift camp had gone up in one section of the city.

“This is all that’s left,” Zoe said, jumping up and landing beside him on the wall. “These people are the only ones left. They were in the city, not on the ships.”

“And the hero?”

“He left in a balloon. Abandoned me here.”

“Right.”

“He fired me, Luke. Called me a traitor because I didn’t tell him you were the one who won that Battle Royale. The one where you killed the other assistants.”

“I’m sure you’ll have no trouble finding work when you get back to Earth. And that’s only a few days away, since Stage 2 is almost over.”

Zoe clenched her jaw. “You killed innocent people, Luke.”

“Did I?”

“There were people on that ship I’d known for years. People just doing their jobs. People who thought working for a hero meant they were helping.”

“It’s not like I woke up one morning and decided to slaughter your coworkers. You people came here to kill me. Not the other way around.”

“You didn’t have to drag them into this. They weren’t your real enemies. You’re strong. You could’ve found another way.”

“What way?” Luke’s voice rose, rough and sharp. “Your hero was going to kill me, Zoe. I was going to die, and there were three ships full of enemies ready to wipe me off the board. You know what? Fuck you. I just crawled out of a creature that would make anyone shit themselves and drop dead of a heart attack. I don’t give the tiniest fuck who you used to eat breakfast with or trade small talk with.”

He conjured a black knife.

Zoe tensed. “What are you doing?”

“Killing those gunmen.”

“You’re seriously going to kill more people?”

“Those guys are mercenaries. They kill for money, and now they know I’m alive.”

Luke threw the knife.

[Shadow Mana Explosion activated]

[You have slain a Human...] *254,987,411 EP earned*

[You have slain a Human...] *123,413,877 EP earned*

[You have slain a Human...] *198,654,223 EP earned*

[You have slain a Human...] *42,089,951 EP earned*

From the top of the wall, Luke kept throwing knives, cutting down the gunmen scattered through the city.

“You really are a demon, aren’t you?” Zoe asked quietly.

“You got a problem with that?” Luke looked at her with open contempt. “There are eight kings back home who moved the event forward and got thousands killed, but I’m the evil one? Fuck off with that look, Zoe.”

She stayed silent for a few seconds, then sat down on the wall. “You’re right... You’re right. We never should’ve gotten in your way. Not on that island, not here. Following you just gets people killed.”

“Amazing. You really think I’m the one in the wrong here.” Luke stepped closer to her. “I’m going to do whatever the hell I have to do to survive. The flame hero wanted my attention. Now he’s got it. I’m going after that bastard and anyone standing with him. And you owe me, because I brought you back from the dead. So before you run your mouth, take a good hard look at what the fuck you were part of. You came here to kill me when I hadn’t done shit to you.”

“We were sent after someone dangerous. That was all we knew.”

“While working with mercenaries? One of them a Gunslinger Executioner?”

“I only found that out later. We were told to stay away and wait on the ship. When our government does something we don’t agree with, we’re expected to wash our hands of it and move on. Our work is supposed to be for the greater good.”

Luke let out a short, bitter laugh. “Yeah, I can see all the good you’re doing. I’m honored, noble Zoe. Fuck you, your heroes, and that hypocritical bullshit.”

He jumped down from the wall and went hunting for the gunmen who’d scattered through the city.

For hours, Luke searched streets, ruins, and half-sunken buildings. Zoe stayed on top of the wall, seated there, staring out at the dark sea of the Abyssal Zone. When he was finished, Luke stopped in a quieter area and breathed slowly.

“What a shitshow,” he muttered, pulling off his glove.

Several of his fingers were down to bone. He drank a healing potion and felt the pain gradually fade. While he let it work, he stared at his kukris.

Name: ?

Race: Spirit Tool

Rank: E

These blades were forged as a gift to mark the rise of a demon. Symbols of the horns he never grew, these twin kukris are bound to their master, walking beside him on his path toward a throne of tyranny. Now, however, they are alive, though their true strength remains dormant. They will awaken only when the right moment arrives. Until then, they will deepen their bond and gather power, waiting for the exact time to reveal their real potential.]

Skills: [Magnetic Return], [Shadow Presence], [Spirit Tool], [Evolution], [Blood Repair], [Predatory Palate], [Weapon Assimilation]

So you’re Rank E now. You even have a core.

The circular glass set into the kukris was the weapon’s core. And it had gained two new skills.

[Predatory Palate]: The spirit within the kukris does not merely desire blood; it tastes the meaning within it. Through blood, the weapon can sense traces of strength, instinct, lineage, curses, techniques, and battle experience. When it finds a flavor that stirs its interest, it feeds, deepening its own existence. This nourishment helps accelerate [Evolution], allowing the weapon to grow, refine itself, raise its rank, and possibly awaken new skills. Blood from enemies personally slain by the kukris has a far stronger effect, as the spirit considers it a true offering. However, not all blood is worth consuming. Weak, common, or uninteresting prey may offer little to no growth. The weapon only truly feeds when the blood satisfies its violent palate.

“Is that what you did with the leviathan’s blood?” Luke asked. “You got a whole skill out of it?”

The weapon remained silent.

“Shy? I get it, but shy guys don’t do great with girls.”

The kukri trembled.

“You’re not a guy?”

The weapon trembled again.

“My bad, girl. Shouldn’t have assumed.”

[Weapon Assimilation]: The spirit understands that its master is both versatile and indecisive in battle, constantly changing his approach depending on the situation. In response, the kukris have developed a vessel-like space within their own existence, allowing them to absorb another weapon and inherit its form and effects. Once a weapon has been assimilated, the kukris can transform into it, letting their master adapt to different combat scenarios without abandoning his bound Spirit Tool. While holding the transformed weapon, the wielder instinctively receives the knowledge needed to use it with lethal efficiency, as if the spirit itself were guiding his body.

“Angie’s weapon skill can replicate an energy’s effects through power radiation. And her other skills are based on radiation, like some kind of nuclear thing. And you just let me switch weapons?” Luke shook his head. “Come on. Let’s try waking up cooler powers next time.”

The kukri trembled.

“Sorry, I’m not criticizing.” He frowned. “That’s weird. I can kind of tell what you mean through the tremors now. That’s not good. How about we practice talking?”

The kukris did not tremble.

“Giving me the silent treatment? Okay. I’m used to it.”

Luke looked toward the Abyssal Zone and stared into the dark sea.

“I get the feeling I’m going to be accused of crimes against humanity for trying to kill a hero and being a demon.” He sighed. “I really hope that hero actually thinks I’m dead.”

With a jump, Luke headed back toward Zoe. She still had information he wanted to squeeze out of her.

After that, I’m meeting up with Charlie and Angie. No more fights today.

At the same time, the system kept reminding him that he still needed to choose his [Arcane Witch] class evolution.