The Gilded Rose, once a sanctuary of the elite, had become a tomb of silence. The emergency flares flickered against the mahogany walls, casting long, distorted shadows that danced like specters. Marcus, the man who had ordered Leo's death with a casual wave of his hand, was pinned to the bar like a common insect in a display case. Blood, thick and unnaturally dark under the purple glow of the Monarch's Aura, pooled around his golden shoulder plates.
"You... you can't do this," Marcus wheezed, his face pale and slick with cold sweat. "I am a Hero of the First Rank! The Association... the government... they will hunt you to the ends of the earth!"
Leo leaned in, his face inches from the man who had once been his god. The scent of Marcus's fear was intoxicating—a sharp, metallic tang that the Obsidian System seemed to thrive on.
"Let them come," Leo whispered, his voice vibrating with a power that made the glass bottles behind the bar rattle. "I've spent three years cleaning up your messes, Marcus. I've scrubbed the blood of better men off your boots. Do you really think I'm afraid of a few more 'heroes'?"
[Monarch's Pressure: Level 2 - Active.] [Target's Willpower is crumbling. Resistance: 12%...]
Behind Leo, Seraphina drifted closer, her bare feet never touching the blood-slicked floor. She ran a sharp, black fingernail along Marcus's jawline, her violet eyes wide with hunger. "He has so much 'Golden Mana' stored up, Leo. It's a waste to let it leak out onto the floor. It's pure, concentrated arrogance. The System would find it... delicious."
Leo looked around the room. The other guild members—the mages who had sneered at him, the warriors who had used him as a footstool—were frozen. They weren't just afraid; they were paralyzed by the Shared Mana field that Leo and Seraphina had generated. The air was so heavy with obsidian energy that some of the weaker Tier-1s were already unconscious, their noses bleeding from the sheer atmospheric pressure.
"The Association told everyone that the 'Golden Seed' was a gift from the heavens," Leo said, his hand gripping the hilt of the blade stuck in Marcus's shoulder. "But I can see it now. I can see the truth through the System's eyes. It's not a gift. It's a parasite you've been feeding with the souls of 'cleaners' for years."
[Hidden Fact Uncovered: The Fraud of the Golden Seed.] [Intelligence +2] [New Objective: Strip the False King.]
"No... stop..." Marcus begged as Leo's free hand hovered over his chest, where the Golden Seed pulsed within his heart.
"You called me trash," Leo growled, his eyes flaring with a violent purple light. "Now, let's see what happens when the trash takes out the garbage."
[Activating Skill: Soul Siphon - Rank 2.]
The air in the lounge screamed. It wasn't a physical sound, but a psychic shriek that shattered every crystal glass in the room. A torrent of golden energy began to pour out of Marcus's mouth, eyes, and ears, spiraling toward Leo's palm.
Unlike the quick death Raven had suffered, this was a systematic dismantling. Every level Marcus had gained, every stat point he had stolen through his "heroic" deeds, was being forcibly ripped from his soul and converted into raw Obsidian Mana.
[Siphoning Progress: 20%... 45%... 70%...] [Host Strength Increasing...] [Host Agility Increasing...]
Leo threw his head back as the stolen power flooded his system. It felt like drinking liquid sun. His muscles expanded, the obsidian scar on his back glowing so brightly it burned through his shirt. He could feel the memories of Marcus's training, the locations of the Silver Dawn's hidden vaults, and the names of the corrupt officials on their payroll.
"Leo... please..." Marcus's voice was a dry rattle now. His golden armor began to rust and crumble, turning into grey ash that fell away to reveal a withered, pathetic old man.
"The Monarch doesn't hear the pleas of dead men," Leo said coldly.
With a final, violent tug, the last of the Golden Seed was yanked from Marcus's chest. The light in the room vanished. Marcus slumped forward, his body hitting the floor with a hollow thud. He wasn't dead yet—the System was keeping him alive just long enough to feel the full weight of his loss.
[Target 'Marcus' Permanently De-Leveled to Tier-0.] [Level Up! Level 7 -> Level 12.] [Stat Points +15.] [Title Earned: The False-King Slayer.] [Passive Unlocked: 'Royal Authority' - Low-tier monsters and humans will instinctively kneel in your presence.]
Leo stood in the center of the ruined lounge, the golden energy now fully integrated into his dark aura. He looked at the remaining Silver Dawn members. Some were crying. Some were praying.
He didn't kill them. Not yet.
"Go," Leo commanded, his voice echoing through their minds like a thunderclap. "Tell the Association. Tell the world. The Silver Dawn is over. The Obsidian Monarch has claimed this city. And I am just getting started."
As the survivors scrambled for the exits, tripping over themselves in their haste to escape the nightmare, Seraphina draped herself over Leo's shoulders. She licked a drop of golden blood from his cheek, her purr vibrating against his skin.
"That was quite the performance, my King," she whispered. "But the 'Heroes' Association won't take this lightly. They'll send a Rank-A squad by morning."
Leo looked at his hands, watching as shadows coiled around his fingers like loyal pets. "Let them send whoever they want. I have 15 stat points to spend, and a city full of 'Noble' souls to harvest. By tomorrow, A-Rank will be my warm-up."
[Current Stats:] [Strength: 18] [Agility: 14] [Intelligence: 10] [Stamina: 8]
Leo turned toward the bar, pouring himself a glass of the most expensive whiskey in the house. He took a slow, deliberate sip. It tasted like victory.