In a completely different place…
Inside a luxurious royal chamber, decorated with glowing artifacts and complex protection formations, a girl appeared quietly on a wide bed of white silk.
Her long golden hair fell over her shoulders, her ears were pointed, her eyes were bright green, and her skin was white and smooth like polished jade.
This was… Natalia Forest.
The High Queen of the Elves.
One of the Nine Great Ones of the world, and one of those who had reached stage 90 of the Tower.
She looked around quickly to confirm that nothing had changed in the room.
Then her gaze dropped to the "paper" that had appeared in her hand.
It didn't even cross her mind that this strategy might be fake.
Who would dare lie about something connected to the Tower…
knowing that the punishment was complete soul erasure?
She flipped through the strategy for a few seconds, reading the main points, then spoke in a calm voice:
"Black."
From one of the shadowy corners, the darkness itself seemed to move.
A masked man stepped out, wearing a black outfit that was hard to tell if it was just cloth or a living armor. His ears were pointed like hers, and the aura around him was heavy and dangerous.
He bowed respectfully.
"Your Majesty."
Natalia handed him the strategy and spoke in a composed, royal tone:
"Send this strategy to the Royal Guard.
Everyone will try it in the Death Note world.
Anyone who fails… will be punished."
"Understood," Black replied seriously.
Natalia continued, her eyes narrowing slightly:
"And contact the Seer as well.
I want to know if he can find the location of the one who created this strategy… the player called L.K."
"As you command."
In an instant, Black vanished, as if the shadows swallowed him.
Natalia stayed alone in the room, her fingers lightly tapping the arm of her chair.
"A perfect SSS rating in a world where even the greatest players in history still fail… and now the first SS in the One Punch world…" she whispered to herself.
"L.K… who exactly are you?"
Elsewhere, in another palace… and on another throne.
"Speak."
The voice was heavy, deep, and full of authority.
"How did you fail to get a good rating in the last main stage, even after all that preparation and planning?"
On a throne of black stone covered with ancient carvings, sat a thin man. His face was almost completely hidden in shadow, but his small sharp fangs — the mark of vampires in this world — were visible.
He spoke with a cold smile, raising a cup filled with thick red liquid.
At first glance, it looked like wine…
But it was real human blood.
"If you weren't one of my descendants… I would have banished you from the family long ago."
The person kneeling on the floor in front of the throne swallowed nervously.
This person was none other than Golden Sun — the same player who had cleared the One Punch stage alongside Louis.
The man on the throne, however…
Was the first ancestor of his family.
The first to enter the Tower.
Currently ranked number one.
And the first to reach stage 90 as well.
Golden Sun's body shook slightly as he forced himself to speak.
"Th-this… Your Excellency…"
He stuttered, then had no choice but to explain everything that happened in the One Punch world in full detail:
The unexpected change in the course of events…
The sudden appearance of a mysterious bald man with terrifying power…
His own defeat at the hands of Boros's army during the attack on City A…
And the drop in his ranking…
The man, who looked like he was still in his prime despite his age, stayed silent for a while, slowly swirling the blood in his cup until a small vortex formed inside.
Then he finally murmured:
"Hooo… so that's what happened."
A cold smile stretched over his lips.
"No wonder I didn't notice it at the time."
He lifted the cup to his lips and took a slow sip of blood.
Far below him, Golden Sun remained kneeling, covered in cold sweat, waiting for the final judgment.
He had no idea that just mentioning Louis like this… was enough to spark the interest of this ancient monster.
And without realizing it…
Louis — who was now standing quietly in one corner of the Tower, thinking about his next move —
had already caught the attention of two of the strongest beings in the world.
The High Elf Queen…
and the First Ancestor of the Vampire family.