Lucius didn't wait for the beasts to lunge.
He stepped to the bow of the boat, the Hellfire Blade erupting into a torrent of blazing orange light. The heat shimmered off the steel, sending ripples through the air like reality itself was burning in protest.
The first hound leapt from the lava, jaws wide, molten drool dripping from its fangs. Lucius ducked, twisted, and cleaved upward—splitting it in half mid-air. The corpse burst into cinders before it even hit the floor of the boat.
But ten more followed.
They came like shadows on fire, crawling from the lava in packs, their snarls loud enough to shake the boat. Their skin was charred, cracked like burnt leather, with bones poking through in places like exposed weapons.
Lucius moved like he was possessed.
A spin. A sweep. Flame and steel collided with claws and ash. One hound latched onto his arm with its molten teeth—but Lucius grabbed its skull with his free hand, aura flaring red-hot, and crushed it like brittle glass.
He was faster now. Stronger. His aura burned brighter with each kill.
+3 Aura Points+3 Aura Points
The system notifications blinked at the edge of his vision, but Lucius didn't have time to care. Another beast lunged—he ducked and drove his blade up into its ribs, kicking it off into the lava. Another swiped at his back—he let it slash across his shoulder, turned, and used the momentum to slam the hilt into its skull, then decapitate it in a follow-through arc.
The boat rocked violently. Lava splashed against its sides, but never breached.
Claude didn't flinch. He stood like a statue, merely watching, the flames in his skull burning with silent pride.
"More," Lucius snarled.
The hounds obeyed.
Dozens swarmed from all directions. Lucius became a storm of motion and fire, his blade trailing lines of hellfire through the air. Pain bloomed along his ribs, his forearms, his face—but he didn't stop.
He couldn't.
Because this wasn't just about survival anymore.
This was about proving he belonged.
That his father's blood wasn't wasted.
That he could wear the weight of what he was becoming.
And in that crucible of fire, pain, and relentless combat… Lucius changed.
When the final hound dropped, its body evaporating into ash and leaving only silence in its place, Lucius stood over it breathing heavily, soaked in blood and sweat, skin burned in places, arms trembling from fatigue.
Then the system dinged.
[Trial Complete: King's Hounds Defeated][+100 Aura Points | +1 Weapon Upgrade Token | Hellfire Blade now Tier C]
The blade pulsed in his hand—sharper now, sleeker, with dark crimson veins glowing along its edge. It felt like an extension of him.
Lucius collapsed to one knee, chest heaving.
"You survived," Claude said softly.
Lucius looked up, face streaked with soot and blood. "Was that… it?"
Claude shook his skull.
"No. That was only the beginning."
The boat lurched forward once more, drifting toward a black shoreline that hadn't been there before. Above it loomed a dark palace—no gold or marble, just towering obsidian spires, built from the bones of giants and scorched iron.
Lucius stumbled off the boat when it reached the edge, barely managing to stay on his feet.
Claude remained behind. "This is where I leave you," he said. "What waits inside… is not my place to see."
Lucius looked over his shoulder. "What is it?"
Claude's flames dimmed. "The truth."
The gate to the palace creaked open, revealing a single hallway lit by fire pits, their flames burning a sickly green. At the far end—another chamber. Massive. Shrouded in shadow.
Lucius stepped through.
As he entered, the torches flared to life, illuminating the room in full.
Throne room.
An iron seat sat at the top of a cracked staircase. And standing before it… a figure.
Claude.
No—not the same Claude.
This one was solid. Whole. Muscular. Alive.
He wore black armor that shimmered like starlight swallowed by tar. His hair was bone-white and flowed down to his shoulders. And his eyes… glowed with the same twin flames Lucius had seen in the skeleton.
"You," Lucius said, voice low.
"I," the man replied. "The former King of Hell."
Lucius stiffened. "You lied."
Claude smiled faintly. "I never lied. I was the guide. I am the prisoner. I was the king. All things change in Hell."
Lucius raised his sword. "Then this is the final trial."
Claude drew his weapon—a massive greatsword made of obsidian and bone.
"Yes," he said, stepping forward. "To claim your place, you must kill me. But know this—"
He stopped inches from Lucius, gaze piercing.
"I don't want to fight you. I want to test you."
The clash was immediate.
Lucius swung first—Claude parried with ease. Their weapons sparked, heat colliding with ancient will. The room shook with each impact. Lucius ducked, spun, lashed out—but Claude was a monster, stronger and faster than any enemy before.
He struck Lucius across the chest, sending him flying.
Blood hit the floor.
Lucius coughed, rolled, and rose again.
He roared and charged, his aura erupting in waves of molten red. He struck again and again, blade flashing. This time—he landed a hit.
Claude staggered, blood leaking from a wound on his side. "Good," he said. "Very good."
They fought like gods and demons, rage and royalty. Back and forth. Fire and force. Until finally—Lucius saw the opening.
He lunged.
The blade pierced Claude's chest—straight through his heart.
The king staggered… and smiled.
"Well done… ."
Lucius's eyes widened. "What—?"
That was when the pain hit.
A second blade—Claude's—pierced his stomach.
Lucius gasped, blood dribbling from his lips.
Claude whispered, "You were never meant to win without pain."
"you only won cuz I wanted to see you as THE KING OF HELL"
And then—Lucius was kicked backward.
He flew, crashed through the throne room's shattered window—and fell.
Down.
Down.
Into the lava.
The world turned red.
His body hit the molten sea… and vanished beneath.
Burning.
Dying.
Or so it should have been.
But Lucius didn't scream.
He opened his eyes underlava.
And he breathed.
The lava curled around him like smoke—but it didn't hurt.
He rose from the pit like a phoenix reborn, steam hissing off his skin, his blade still in hand. The wound in his stomach glowed—but did not bleed. It was healing. No—sealing.
He stepped onto the surface of the lava, standing on it as if it were solid ground. His eyes glowed red. His hair flickered at the edges like it was made of fire.
A new notification flashed.
[Final Trial Passed][You have inherited the bloodline of the King of Hell.][Title Unlocked: Hellborne Sovereign]
Lucius looked up at the palace. Claude stood in the window, watching silently.
The former king smiled one last time… and vanished into embers.
Lucius turned to the horizon, fists clenched.
This wasn't the end.
This was the beginning.
And Hell would remember his name.
LUCIUS....