Roselle's POV
Shadowfold Throne, Hours Later…
I sat sprawled across my throne, one leg draped over the armrest, a chalice of blackened wine in hand. The air was thick with power—my domain pulsing to my heartbeat. But I wasn't paying attention to any of it.
My eyes were locked onto the massive, shimmering holographic mirror before me—an omnivision gate tuned directly into the Crimson Labyrinth.
And there he was.
Samuel Gebb.
My Dark Knight.
My broken plaything turned Apex Predator.
Now the bane of wardens, of gods, of the system itself.
The way he moved through the Labyrinth was—
No... it was art.
His blade sliced through monsters of madness like they were mere illusions. His cloak danced behind him like it was alive. And those violet eyes—those damn eyes—burned brighter with every soul he tore apart.
I bit my lower lip.
There was hunger in me now, not just the power-lust of a goddess—but something deeper. Primal. Ancient. Obsessive.
"You're not mine anymore," I whispered, leaning forward in my throne, my crimson eyes narrowing, "but you're still the only one who ever made me feel alive."
I traced a fingertip slowly down the rim of my chalice, smirking as Samuel unleashed Knightfall Verdict—his avatar form exploding into the screen with dark majesty. Horned, armored in black-fire and voidsteel, his strikes tearing the Labyrinth's construct beasts in half with just willpower.
Even the Labyrinth recoiled.
Even the System faltered.
"You were always destined to break it," I murmured. "And when you do… I'll be waiting. In my bed. Crownless. Naked. And yours."
Kaisel, ever silent beside me, shifted awkwardly.
"My lady—"
"Not a word," I hissed, eyes still glued to the screen.
I watched as Samuel plunged his blade into one of the Crimson Judges and whispered something I couldn't hear—but I could feel the emotion. Cold rage. Detached dominance.
And gods help me, it turned me on.
"That fire, Samuel," I whispered, leaning back, legs now crossed slowly, dress rising just enough. "That untamed fury that no realm can suppress… do you know what it does to me?"
He didn't.
Not yet.
But he would.
"When you emerge from that labyrinth… when you walk out a god-killer…" I smiled like a predator.
"I'll drag you into my bed. I'll mark you with something deeper than divine essence. And I'll make sure the system knows—you belong to me."
I raised my hand, swirling a bit of divine shadow, forming a phantom version of him out of darkness—white-silver hair, muscular frame, those piercing violet eyes.
"Soon," I said softly, brushing phantom-Samuel's jaw with one finger.
"Soon, my king of destruction. You'll come for the system's head—then come for me."
And when you do?
"I won't let you go again."
________________________________________
Samuel's POV – Deeper in the Crimson Labyrinth
The deeper I walked, the quieter it got.
Gone were the priest-things, the screaming walls, the echoing madness. What remained was a tense, heavy silence—the kind that presses down on your lungs and warns you that something ancient is watching.
I rolled my neck and clenched my fists.
Clack. Clack.
The Gauntlets of the Demon King flexed around my arms—flesh-fused armor forged from a hell-lord I crushed in the Abyss of Iron Flames. They pulsed, humming with infernal runes and barely contained bloodlust.
---
[Status – Gauntlets of the Demon King: Sentient Hunger Detected]
Desire: A Worthy Foe. Something to shatter. Something to bleed.
I smirked.
"You too, huh?"
They rattled again in response, red-black sigils crawling up my forearms. These gauntlets didn't want insects or shrieking meat-puppets.
They wanted something that would hit back.
And the Labyrinth—finally—heard that call.
The path ahead split open like a wound, revealing a coliseum of flesh and bone, suspended in the void. Floating chains held it in place, wrapped around screaming statues of long-dead kings. The center platform glowed blood-red—and from it, rose a creature I'd only heard about in fractured whispers.
---
[System Alert – Guardian Class Detected]
– Name: Xir'Zul the Architect of Pain
– Tier: Cataclysmic Entity (Evolved Warden)
– Power: Structural God of Torture and Memory
– Status: Aware of Samuel Gebb – Hostile
– Warning: Experimental Restriction Protocol Engaged
---
A creature taller than most castles took shape from iron, tendrils, and twitching muscle. Faces of failed challengers were embedded into its body, screaming endlessly. Its arms were made of grinding bone-gears, and it held a chain-scythe forged from the spines of gods.
It looked down at me with a dozen glowing red eyes.
"You are not welcome here," it thundered. "You are not meant to exist."
I grinned, raising my fists.
"Yeah?" I cracked my knuckles. "And yet—here I am."
The Gauntlets of the Demon King snarled with anticipation, igniting with abyssal fire.
Then I charged.
He swung the scythe. I leapt—Voidstep—appeared mid-air and slammed a burning gauntlet straight into his mask-covered jaw.
"FANGFIRE OVERDRIVE!"
The gauntlets howled as flames detonated on impact, cracking his armor and sending him stumbling.
He roared, swinging wildly. His scythe shredded space itself, carving holes in the arena. One strike almost cleaved me in half, but Unbroken Form triggered—my body reforming in the mist of void and wrath.
"C'mon! HIT ME HARDER!"
I was laughing now.
No fear.
No hesitation.
Just rage. Just glory.
The Gauntlets glowed hotter, whispering one thing over and over:
"More. Stronger. BREAK HIM."
I summoned both hands back, cloaking them in Reality Sever's energy—
Then unleashed a cross-counter punch as Xir'Zul slammed down with his scythe—
[CRITICAL IMPACT – DIMENSIONAL FRACTURE REGISTERED]
The arena exploded into chaos.
The chains snapped.
The sky cracked.
And in that swirling destruction, I refused to fall.
"Let's dance, Pain Architect," I muttered, stepping from the smoke, dragging my gauntlets against the ground as they sparked violently.
"Let's find out who breaks first."