For a few seconds, the entire tavern was dead silent. No one moved. No one breathed. No one knew what to do or how to handle the sudden execution.
I know they had probably seen killings before—this was Blackwater Roost, a lawless pirate haven, after all—but someone getting their head blown off by a hand-cannon from across the room without a single word of warning was apparently a bit too sudden for them.
Then, all hell broke loose.
People scrambled like madmen.
"This guy is crazy!" someone screamed, bolting for the door.
The tavern became an absolute mess of shattered glass and overturned chairs. People were diving under tables, some were desperately praying to the Gods, and others were just crying in sheer panic at the sudden violence.
Me? I just took another calm sip of my red wine.
I set the glass down, picked up my silver cane, and walked over to the corpse. His head was completely blown open, the blast from Bad News leaving a smoking, gruesome mess across the wooden floorboards.
Sigh, I thought, stepping carefully over the pool of blood so it wouldn't stain my boots. I approached the bar.
"So, this guy is dead," I stated simply, leaning against the counter. "Can I get my reward, please?"
The bartender was pressed against the back shelves, his face completely drained of color. "Y-yes... sure, sir," he stammered, his hands trembling violently. "C-can I have your bounty hunter name, please?"
"You can call me Lucifer—" I started, but then I paused.
My true identity, the entity asleep in my soul, was Lucifer Morningstar. Originally, I thought about using a fake surname, like Vane or Rook, just to keep a low profile. Could I really just walk around using my actual, mythical title?
Well, whatever, I thought, my Pride instantly dismissing the idea of hiding behind a fake name.
[Notice: The entity known as Lucifer Morningstar is currently dormant. There is no immediate risk of divine retribution. I suggest you simply go for it.]
Sure, Kallisto.
So, I leaned into it. I thought about the memory fragments I had seen. I thought about the primordial being who ruled over the Seven Deadly Sins—the Great Fallen Angel who stood above all others.
I looked the terrified bartender dead in the eyes, letting a sliver of my royal blue Ether leak into my voice, and spoke loudly enough for the entire shivering tavern to hear.
"You can call me Lucifer Morningstar."
"O-okay, Sir Lucifer," the bartender stammered, pulling a thick stack of notes from under the counter and sliding it toward me with trembling hands. "Here is the five thousand pounds. But please, remember... he had a crew. He was a notorious pirate, so be careful. His men could be here any minute."
Right on cue, the tavern doors violently swung open.
Three men stepped through the frame, looking like an absolute mess of sea-salt and grime. One of them was missing his left hand, sporting a rusted iron hook in its place. The second was a towering, heavily scarred brute built like a walking tank. The third looked completely unremarkable, blending into the background like a shadow.
Sigh. Now I have to deal with them, I thought, suppressing an eye roll.
"I will take my reward now, and I'll likely be collecting a little extra in a moment. Just be patient," I said coldly to the bartender, not even turning my head to look at the door.
Underneath the table, I instantly let a thin layer of royal blue Ether coat my skin, activating Event Horizon. I was only Tier 2; I couldn't afford to be arrogant enough to make a fatal mistake, so I kept the raw power of my Cenotaph coiled and ready to strike.
The guy with the hook walked forward, looking down at the headless, bloody mess of his captain on the floor. He sighed. "Our boss is dead, boys."
"Probably for the best," the tank-like brute rumbled, his voice thick and uncaring.
"It's definitely better this way," the third guy muttered from the back. "Now you can take over the ship, Hook."
I frowned, swirling the wine in my glass. I was genuinely confused. They weren't reacting to their captain's death at all. Were they already planning a mutiny to take over the ship?
"But... we still have to take revenge, you know. It's the principle of the thing," the hook guy said. His expression instantly twisted from bored to a manic, bloodthirsty smile.
With a flick of his good wrist, he whipped a hidden throwing knife straight at my face.
My first, human instinct was to dodge, but my Constraint of Pride violently anchored my feet to the floor. I refused to flinch. I refused to bow.
I didn't move an inch. The throwing knife struck the invisible, folded space of Event Horizon right in front of my nose, instantly losing all kinetic momentum, and clattered harmlessly onto the wooden floorboards.
I casually lifted my left hand.
I really didn't like the big guy. I've always been slim, and for some reason, looking at that massive mountain of unnecessary muscle just annoyed me. So, I focused my royal blue Ether and wrapped a localized, intense anti-gravity field directly around the brute's head, violently separating the gravitational pull of his skull from the rest of his body.
The giant couldn't even draw breath to scream. I cranked the anti-gravity higher and higher, the pressure building instantly until—POP.
His head was violently ripped upward, bursting under the sheer gravitational stress. A fresh, heavy rain of crimson blood and bone fragments surged across the tavern, splattering against the walls and the horrified faces of his crewmates.
I lowered my hand, my expression completely unchanged.
"That's better."
"Who's next?" I asked, looking coldly at the remaining two.
Sigh. My Ether is already running out too fast, I thought, feeling the familiar drain in my chest.
[Notice: That is due to your current Tier limits, Lucian.]
I know, I know. I raised Bad News and simultaneously unleashed my King's Aura with all my might. I figured these thugs were either Tier 1 or completely Unawakened. Even if they happened to be Tier 2, I could easily crush them using the raw, domineering authority of my Cenotaph.
"Kneel," I commanded.
The moment the word left my lips, the pirate with the hook violently collapsed to the floor, his knees slamming into the wood. The third guy, however, was actually resisting it. His legs shook as he desperately gritted his teeth, trying to overcome the crushing, invisible pressure.
Perfect distraction, I thought.
"Now, for your bad news," I said, aiming the heavy barrel at his head. I pulled the trigger, but he managed to violently jerk to the side at the last second. The condensed Ether round completely bypassed his skull and blew a massive hole straight through his stomach instead.
Sigh. Man, can't you just stay still? "Missed. Not next time," I muttered. I fired a second shot directly into his head, dropping him instantly to the floor.
"Shit, shit, shit!" the hook guy panicked. He was completely pinned under my power, trembling uncontrollably.
I walked casually over to where he was groveling on the floorboards and looked down at him. "Do you want to live?"
He nodded frantically, his eyes wide with terror.
"Then you have to answer one question for me, completely truthfully." I slightly lifted the crushing weight of my King's Aura just enough so he could breathe properly.
"Please, forgive me! Please, don't kill me!" he begged, clasping his good hand over his hook in a desperate plea.
"Tell me, Hook," I said, my voice completely devoid of emotion. "How many women or children have you killed or violated?"
He froze, not saying anything for a second.
"I promise you, I will let you live," I lied smoothly. "I always keep my promises to truthful people."
He swallowed hard, hesitating for another moment before finally cracking. "The last time... I killed two children. And a whole family of four with my crew! Look, I told you the truth! Now, please, let me live!"
"Hmm. Nice. I do like truthful people," I said. "But..."
The moment I said the word but, his eyes widened in sheer horror. He scrambled to get up, instantly realizing I had never intended to spare him.
"Too bad," I said coldly. "I don't have any good news. Only Bad News."
Bang. Bang. Two shots for the children.
Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. Four shots for the family.
Six condensed Ether bullets tore through him, ending his miserable life before he even made it to his feet.
"Good."
I stepped over the bloody mess, walking back to the bartender. I asked him politely, though for some reason, he still looked absolutely terrified of me. "Now, how much for these three?"
"S-sir, that will be an additional three thousand pounds," he stammered, pulling more cash from the register.
"Okay, no problem. Hand it over."
I took the crisp notes, stuffing the eight thousand total pounds into my coat pocket. I calmly walked out the tavern doors before any of the authorities could arrive to investigate the noise. Once outside in the alley, I channeled my remaining Ether into Event Horizon, folding the space beneath my feet to create an invisible surface in the air. Stepping onto the hidden platforms, I practically flew away, gliding over the rooftops back toward my hotel.