The Last Paragon in the Apocalypse

Clearly, the Uniweb is a scary place.

Aside from having information on helpful stuff like the history of planets, companies, and people, it also has web pages of psychos whose only purpose is to make the lives of ordinary folk unbearable.

The Shadow Butcher is, without a doubt, someone many dreaded.

He had killed his fair share of people, and that made him one of the many killers everyone wanted dead.

His true appearance is that of a dark-skinned human with red eyes and a bald head. He is not that bulky, nor was he even close to being called scary. If anything, the true shadow butcher is an eye pleaser.

His deeds, however, make him a very dreadful entity who, had it not been for his confirmed cultivation base being only a Level 7 Empyrean, immortals would have been the ones sent after him.

But then again, before escaping the last planet, he even killed an Early Immortal who had only recently attained his undying status.

He also evaded many immortals, and from what people even learned of his deeds, they came to know he escaped from a True Immortal. Naturally, that makes him dangerous.

But after he left, his appearance had changed.

Naturally, that is one headache for Hunters. Nobody even knows whether his image circulating was his true face.

If their target can change their appearance, then killing them or worse, even finding them, becomes a problem.

Perhaps that was even why the mission would award 700 points to whoever killed him. Also, once he is dead, his true appearance will be restored.

All this is known thanks to Uniweb.

That is the basic stuff the Uniweb has thanks to the Mission Hall.

Icon, however, had granted Klaus access to a much darker part of the Uniweb, where he chanced upon a page called [Dark Fantasies].

This page specializes in granting killers the chance to express themselves to like-minded killers who want the universe, or at least a part of the universe, to know of their dreadful deeds.

While scrolling through the many dark and twisted threads, Klaus happened upon an interview conducted by someone named [Dark Whisperer]. He worked for the [Dark Fantasies] evil organization, and one of his jobs was to interview known killers.

“I think I am not meant to find this page, right?” Klaus looked at Icon, who was resting in a cozy chair, licking a lollipop.

She first savored the taste and then answered the question in a somewhat nonchalant tone.

⟦Although I have not reached my full potential yet, granting the master access to some web pages is not something to take too seriously.⟧

Klaus smiled.

“Imagine what would happen if I shared this information with the Mission Hall. I have no doubt more criminals will be taken off the market.”

Icon shrugged and said:

⟦The master can do with the information however he pleases. I, for one, don’t care what happens to these people. In the vast universe, they are but a few fish in a much bigger pond.⟧

Klaus understood what she meant.

He had lived many lives and knew just how twisted the heavens can be. He also met more twisted people who would put even the heavens to shame.

So these few criminals aren’t that much to worry about. However, the fact that there is such a dark page hidden behind hundreds of layers of encryption made him wonder just how many like it are out there.

Icon is a sentient, superintelligent system that isn’t exactly a computer but isn’t entirely living either. She is an entity with capabilities that humans would not even begin to understand.

Her powers are scary, and so, something that would have taken years to access, she used mere minutes.

To access such a twisted page, one had to undergo a series of verifications, including one that required performing a live kill for the page’s users to watch.

The target will be selected by the page’s owners and monitored to ensure the kill was genuine. It is indeed a twisted society.

“Maybe I can make it a side quest to handle them personally.”

With that handle, Klaus clicked on the video to see what was said during that dark interview.

“Welcome to Dark Fantasies, Shadow Butcher,” the Dark Whisperer said, keeping his expression calm. Checking his profile, Klaus found out he was an Immortal King.

Shadow Butcher smiled, “Nice to be here, Lord Dark.”

Dark Whisperer smiled and nodded, “Well, since you are here and on a live interview, then why don’t you share with us where you came from and how you came about getting the name Shadow Butcher.

I want to know, and I am sure our viewers are dying to know too. You can start with your hidden fake name since this community, as you know, can be trusted.”

Shadow Butcher smiled evilly, and then he started to speak, “Where do I start from?” He smiled, and so did Dark Whisperer.

“The title Shadow Butcher was something I received from the press about 14 years ago. Before that, I was known as Captain Tharn, a member of the Zaviar Corp, the same corp that swallowed the Veiled Blades.

As you can already guess, I was once a member of the Veiled Blades, but changed my mind when the rehabilitation game started.

Of course, the corp believed they could reform all of us; however, I had a mission: to keep the fire of the Veiled Blades burning.

So I kept a low profile, and for years I worked for the enemy until, thankfully, my shadow awakened, and I decided to live my true life.

I killed 3,000 warriors of the Zaviar Corp and, since then, have been killing my way across many planets. To the rest of the universe, my kill count is merely 2,000 plus, but in reality, I don’t leave a planet until at least 200 people are dead.”

Shadow Butcher smiled crinkly, “And I have been to over six dozen planets.”

“I say that is a worthy portfolio. This is another reason why I hate those arrogant fools who call themselves law enforcement. They always discredit us, making it look like we are amateurs.”

Dark Whisperer sneered, “I myself have killed not less than 400,000 souls, yet to the rest of the universe, the Poison Prince had only killed 4,080.

Makes me want to slaughter them more.”

“Same here. The Shadow Butcher is a nice name, but they failed to capture my true strength. They don’t even know what I look like. The last I checked, they have no idea I can change my face and body shape to any form I want.”

“They are a bunch of idiots for sure. This is why we have this community where our craft is appreciated.

I have received missions that have given me a sense of purpose through the community. Now that you are here, be ready to become a full member of this humble organization, where amazing benefits await you.”

Klaus had to pause the video to handle the cringiness he was feeling. The conversation was clearly happening between two killers who felt they weren’t being appreciated enough.

What was supposed to be an interview had now turned into a talk show about how they were being underappreciated, and, as a result, the fuel to kill more was being ignited.

“These people are not serious,” Klaus muttered and was about to continue when Maud opened her eyes and slowly sat on the bed.