Lord of Annihilation

"Hey, Lucius! Wait for us!!" 

Accompanied by the yell was Ka'lor'ah, followed by Olivia. On spotting Lucius' figure, the two women quickly rushed forth and caught up to him.

Taking her place upon Lucius' shoulder, Ka'lor'ah exasperatedly spoke, "Less than three minutes have passed since disappeared from our sights, yet you've already crippled fifty-plus people. Tell me quickly, what did I miss?" Her second sentence was spoken with excitement.

"They had it coming," Lucius curtly replied and did not elaborate.

Ka'lor'ah pouted and lightly struck Lucius' shoulder. She then looked around with great excitement and noticed the looks within the eyes of the residents of the town.

Most of the elves hid within their houses and looked towards the party with expressions of fear, anger, and disgust. Some, who were unfortunate enough to wander the streets during the party's appearance, stood by the sides with lowered heads. 

Lucius' expressionless face and murderous intent had scared them stiff. All they could do was to stand stiffly like statues, waiting for this monster to pass them by.

"I see. So that's what happened," Ka'lor'ah muttered with a blank expression. 

After surveying the crowd, Olivia, who had also made the connection, spoke with a cold tone, "You should've killed them."

Casually shrugging his shoulders in response, Lucius replied, "It will get too troublesome. We still have to get our weapons forged and the guy who's doing it is also an elf."

Hearing that, Olivia nodded her head and did not speak further. 

However, the look in her eyes as she viewed the elves had changed from interest and curiosity to unlike and loathe. 

Noticing the change in her look, Ka'lor'ah advised, "Don't think too much about this. These people were brought up believing that they are superior to every other race out there. It's only natural for them to look down at us, outsiders, with disgust."

"But the elves we met at the checkpoint were different. Although I could feel them looking down upon us, it wasn't to this extent," countered Olivia.

Ka'lor'ah simply chuckled and answered, "That's because they have seen the outside world and aren't as ignorant as these townspeople."

Having said that, Ka'lor'ah turned silent and let Olivia ponder about the rest. The latter also did not question further and pondered in silence. Lucius, being himself, remained silent from the start and did not insert himself in their conversation.

In such a manner, the party strolled through the town of Grenich. 

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Arriving at the side of a tall, green mountain, a few kilometers outside of the town of Grenich, the party came to a halt. 

In front of them, some distance away was a beautiful, yet quaint-looking manor. Built entirely out of white wood, the manor stood beside a small, blue lake that was as transparent as it was still.

Decorating the front of the manor was an exquisite garden, within which grew many beautiful and extremely rare plants and herbs. Multi-colored lights appeared above these plants, as spiritual energy gathered en masse. 

A quiet, stone path ran across the fantastical garden, leading to the main door of the manor. 

All in all, this picturesque scene drew gasps of admiration and awe from both the women members of the party. They were genuinely impressed by this fairytale-like structure before them.

As for Lucius, he simply scanned the area in front of him for traps before stepping onto the stone path. He continued to remain as bored-looking as always, as he approached the tall, white door.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

While continuing to emit his powerful aura, Lucius knocked on the door thrice and waited for the owner of the manor to answer. 

While his scans couldn't detect anyone within the house, Lucius was certain that someone resided within. After all, he noticed the Rules subtly changing the moment she stepped on that stone path.

'Definitely a Stage 4 existence,' Lucius thought to himself, as he patiently waited.

Just under a minute had passed, when the handle on the door before him showed movement, and the door opened.

Appearing behind it was a handsome-looking elf with short green hair, perfectly shaped eyes, and a frown on his mouth.

Looking at Lucius, he impatiently asked, "What does a Killer want in my house?"

"Are you Riker?" asked Lucius, calmly

"Depends on what you want?" said the elf, curtly.

"I want you to forge me two Living Weapons," replied Lucius.

A tinge of surprise flashed across the elf's eyes for a brief moment. However, it was quickly replaced by wariness as he replied, "Then you've found the wrong person. I'm a doctor, not a forger. Please leave."

He then took a step back and started closing the door. 

Lucius, however, did not leave but instead, took a step forward. 

Nudging his right foot in-between the doorframe and the door, he stopped the elf from closing the door.

"Hey! What are you—" 

The angered yell of the handsome elf was interrupted by Lucius' chant, "What lies beside the pale blue lake beneath the full-white moon?"

The movements of the elf suddenly came to a pause and his yell was forced back into his throat. A dazed expression appeared within his eyes, as he unconsciously replied, "It's a full pink tree."

"What lies beneath the full pink tree on the thirteenth night of Luxuria?" Lucius continued.

"The headstone of the sinner," replied the elf, shocked.

"And who rests beneath the headstone carrying the title of the sinner?" Lucius finished.

The elf forcefully opened the door, causing it to break free from its hinges and slamming against the wall. He then grabbed Lucius by his collars, looked him in his eyes, and asked, "Do you know the answer?!"

Lucius did not reply but simply nodded his head. He then leaned into the elf's ears and muttered a name.

"Sophia…the seventh daughter of the Elven King."

Hearing that name caused the eyes of the elf to expand greatly. His mouth opened and closed, speechless and his hands released their grasp on Lucius. 

Taking a few moments to recover, he looked at Lucius and asked in a slightly fearful tone, "Are you sure?"

Nodding his head, Lucius replied, "I dug it up and saw it myself. I am certain."

Hearing that reply, the handsome, male elf became dazed once more. Slowly, a delighted expression formed on his face which gradually turned deranged.

Then suddenly, grabbing onto his head, he started to laugh in a crazed manner. 

"HAHAHA! I knew it! I KNEW IT!!"

His knees collapsed and his body fell to the ground. His laughter, however, did not stop and continued to climb in intensity.

"My family was correct all along!! That fu*king bastard framed us for the sins of his daughter!! Hahaha!!"

Tears fell from his eyes as he continued to revel in his laughter. Eventually, the crazed laughter turned into sorrowful sobs.

"For 871 years, my family suffered punishment. Mother…Father…can you hear this…your deaths weren't meaningless. We…our family were in the right, after all." He eventually devolved into a full-blown cry.

Meanwhile, noticing this commotion, Olivia and Ka'lor'ah, who were touring the scenic garden, arrived beside Lucius and watched the handsome elf cry.

"What happened? What did I miss? TELL ME!!" exclaimed Ka'lor'ah.

"Is he going to be okay?" asked Olivia, pointing to the elf.

"He's fine," Lucius casually replied. "He should be calming down soon."

As if in response to his words, the handsome elf's cries calmed down before eventually coming to a stop. He then wiped his eyes, stood up, dusted his dress, and calmly spoke.

"I apologize for showing such an unsightly figure. Please forgive me," he performed a polite bow. 

He then straightened his body and continued, "Let me reintroduce myself. My name is Riker Tumenril, one of the few remaining descendants of the great Tumenril tribe."

"I'm a Stage 4 [Spirit Walker], who's also a Master Forger and a doctor."

He then looked towards Lucius with a grateful expression and spoke, "Thank you, traveler, for completing my family's…no, my tribe's final wish. We rest in peace after knowing the truth."

"According to the agreement, I, now owe you a single favor as compensation for your efforts. Please, request anything of me," he bowed once again.

Lucius quietly retrieved both his and Olivia's respective weapons and held them in his hands. Presenting the broken weapons to Riker, he spoke, "I request you to reforge these two weapons into Living Weapons."

Raising his head, Riker carefully received the two weapons and studied them. At first, an expression of pure surprise appeared within his eyes. However, it soon turned into an expression of difficulty.

He then looked up at Lucius and grimly spoke, "As you might know, forging a Living Weapon is no simple task. A weapon has to meet many requirements and must be of sufficient quality before it can be forged by an experienced Master Forger."

"While these two weapons meet most of those requirements, their quality is still greatly lacking. I'm afraid I lack the materials to reforge them," He explained.

"Can you do it?" Lucius simply asked.

"Reforge them? Yes. But as I said, I lack the necessary materials to successfully do so. Not only are these materials incredibly rare to find, but they are also something that cannot be bought at will, no matter how much money you possess."

"No need," Lucius interrupted him and started taking out the required materials from within his [Void Storage]. 

Riker's expression as he viewed those materials, as they appeared one after the other, underwent another change…this time, it was that of shock.

"You—" 

He looked at the materials, before looking at Lucius once more. He then shook his head and released a sigh of relief.

"You have come prepared." 

"Indeed. I was only lacking a Master Forger," Lucius casually replied.

"Are you sure that you want to use your favor to reforge these weapons? I'm a Peak-Level Stage 4 being, you know. Perhaps, I can help you in some other—"

"Don't need it. I only want the weapons," Lucius instantly declined his proposal.

Sighing to himself, Riker replied, "Suit yourself."

He then carefully picked up the materials that were dumped on the ground and continued, "I'm not at my best form today and it seems like you've traveled from a long way afar. Please come inside and rest your bodies. I shall start the forging tomorrow."

He then looked at the two women beside Lucius and added, "You ladies too. This manor has excellent baths if you so wish to cleanse yourselves."

"It's fine. We can simply rest outs—"Lucius' reply was instantly interrupted by Olivia.

"Really? Then we shall gladly accept your hospitality." 

She then grabbed Lucius' hands, pulled him forward, and continued to speak with Riker with a smile, "Please show us the way."

Riker pleasantly smiled in response and moved, "Do follow me."