The King Descends from Heaven

"After the burnt offering, the black ram and the lamb crossed the bonfire. On that day, the devil within the devil's heart would awaken. He seized the dragon—the ancient serpent, also called the devil, also called Satan—and forced it to carry him toward the far-fallen kingdom of heaven."

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"The new century would see bloodshed unprecedented since ancient times. Thereafter, distant lands would be covered in thorns, and there would no longer be a holy Lord in heaven."

What Christian was holding Mass here?

Lu Mingfei, falling through the air, froze for a moment at the sound and turned his head.

This place was crawling with demons called Deadpools. Japan had plenty of churches, and it was normal for people to hold Masses or pray to gods and Buddhas when trouble struck. The first few times he came to Genji Heavy Industries, he had worshipped every deity he could think of, Chinese and Western alike. He had even prayed to Hong Xiuquan.

The elevator doors on the twelfth floor of the shaft had vanished at some point, yet no wind flowed through that "window." The piston effect in the elevator shaft made the place feel like a sealed space.

The voice seemed to belong to a boy standing before the elevator doors on the twelfth floor. The dim wall lamps did not reach him. He wore a black suit and held a bouquet. He did not look Japanese. His pale golden eyes were Golden Eyes, and he stood perfectly straight.

The fleeting glimpse of youthfulness and delicate beauty made Lu Mingfei think there was no small chance he was actually a girl.

He was so clean it was as if he had never stepped on dust in his life.

The pressure wind created by the elevators moving up and down slowly surged.

In the backlit shadows, the boy in the black suit gently waved at him. His hand and sleeve crossed the hazy boundary between light and shadow, like a farewell.

The white rose embroidered on his cuff had been stained crimson on one side by seeping blood. Beneath the rippling red river of folds, it looked like a real flower half withered and half in bloom.

It was both their first meeting and their farewell.

Oh, another rare side-quest character unlocked.

"Hallelujah, Christ is freaking awesome."

Lu Mingfei gave a thumbs-up. With no time to think of anything else, he suppressed the strange familiarity and flutter in his heart, then waved farewell to the boy as well.

Using the arm sprouting black scales to bleed off momentum, he slowed himself against the elevator shaft wall along the safety rope, finally landing steadily atop a rising silver elevator car.

Today, he was heading into battle with a blade. Side quest or not, he could grind that later.

He did not care whether the person was someone he knew in real life or an acquaintance from this dungeon world.

Across seven hundred runs of Genji Heavy Industries, he had unlocked more than one hidden side-quest character in this building. On the way to the lowest level, there was a refined youth called Ruri Kazama, who would recite Matsuo Basho's haiku and offer a farewell dance. There was also... a red-haired shrine maiden smelling of white sandalwood. After instantly killing the trespassing Deadpools, she would stand barefoot in a pool of blood, tilt her head, and invite him to escape prison with the expression of a fawn.

That death crisis had been resolved so casually. Beauty saves the beast.

Several times, Lu Mingfei had happily followed the shrine maiden away. He had even considered simply abandoning the fate of those three guys in the Mural Hall.

But after running away several times, he always came back to clear the Mural Hall. When he had first entered this dungeon and followed the guidance straight into the Mural Hall through absurdly bad luck, Chu Zihang, Caesar, and Gen Chisei, who had been trapped inside, had saved him more than once.

That was how stubborn people were. No matter how decisively they tried to take a detour, they could not abandon the friends they had met first. Even with a beautiful girl who made his heart race at his side, he still anxiously wanted to save those three grown men.

[Lu Mingfei (Extremely Excited/Pseudo-Dragon Bone State/Temporary Enhancement)]

[Rank: S-Rank Mixed-Blood (8658/10000), ???]

[Authority: None]

[Word Spirit: Blood Sickle]

[Luck: E+ (Below the average for ordinary humans)]

[Offense: SS- (Far beyond the theoretical limit of pure-blooded humans)/(Temporarily increased)]

[Speed: SS- (Far beyond the theoretical limit of pure-blooded humans)/(Temporarily increased)]

[Constitution: SS (Far beyond the theoretical limit of pure-blooded humans)/(Temporarily increased)]

[Combat Technique: B+ (Without systematic specialized training, your skills have declined somewhat under reduced mental clarity)/(Temporarily decreased)]

[Firearms Skill: SS (You basically have very little to do with humanity anymore)/(Temporarily decreased)]

[Subjective Evaluation: In terms of raw stats alone, you are not inferior to some Super Mixed-Bloods. Only now can you truly be called a monster that has entered the monster world. You are showing signs of fully stepping toward becoming a Deadpool, but you will never fall into one of those lowly creatures.]

[Objective Evaluation: Score-stealing king of the beginner village, the Serpentine Deadpools' strictest demon father, the only true Amaterasu in Genji Heavy Industries, the man an intensity-six earthquake could not defeat, Tokyo indoor marathon champion]

[Inner Motto: I'm someone who goes crazy once in a while too.]

The silver elevator descended, and the wall lamps went out from top to bottom. Genji Heavy Industries' power supply had briefly malfunctioned. Two crimson-gold flames suddenly drifted from the darkness, flying straight toward Lu Mingfei.

It was a Serpentine Deadpool. Its blue-black scales nearly blended into the lightless surroundings. It lay in ambush on an angle-steel crossbeam between the elevators, greedily waiting for prey with saliva dripping from its mouth.

The crossbeam was only thirty or forty centimeters wide. High-speed elevators ran before and behind it, liable to skim past its face or back at any moment. The Deadpool had practically wedged itself into place to wait.

Its wait had not been mistaken. The prey had indeed come.

Thick black blood splattered. The Deadpool twisted venomously atop the elevator, no longer able to hunt the prey that had seemed within easy reach.

A broad, long horse-chopping saber had thrust out as it emerged from hiding and tried to pounce, pinning it firmly to the roof of the car.

The broad, heavy blade pierced its body and the elevator roof's three layers of steel plating. Two titanium-alloy short swords followed, severing the tendons and radial nerves in both its arms.

Complex ancient Latin inscriptions covered the horse-chopping saber's blade, forming dark-gold patterns as it trembled at an astonishing frequency.

The Desert Eagle pressed against the Deadpool's face, and a blazing white fireball violently erupted from its muzzle.

No matter how strong the serpentine monster's defenses were, it could not withstand such a "farewell kiss." That face-to-face parting gesture was fatal.

Several burning shell fragments traced brief silver lines through the air before falling into the profound darkness.

The mercury-core bullets were remarkably effective.

Blade and gun used together—American Iaido was his favorite style of fighting.

Always eager to finish enemies off, Lu Mingfei emptied the Desert Eagle's magazine and casually blew the heads off two more Deadpools hiding in the next crossbeam. Many of the more aggressive monsters had headed for the Mural Hall or the higher floors, but just as many were still crawling toward their destination.

He looked up. The skyscraper had over fifty floors, along with garage levels, equipment floors, and mezzanines that were not numbered.

As a complex structure combining traditional Japanese architecture with modern industry, Genji Heavy Industries had large amounts of exposed steel framing and ventilation ducts.

The Deadpools had multiple routes upward. The elevator shaft connecting every floor was one of them.

What he needed to do now was "tear down the tower defenses" and "cut off the minion wave." It was a bit like dismantling Zerg spine crawlers and spore crawlers in StarCraft, except he had to be more violent and more ruthless. After all, Deadpools had absolutely no human rights.

More and more crimson-gold eyes lit up in the darkness, like those of snakes and other reptiles.

He swung his blade and severed the steel cables of the elevator beneath him. The horse-chopping saber in Lu Mingfei's hand suddenly grew longer. The alchemical weapon seemed to sense its wielder's bloodline and continuously trembled and keened.

The elevator shaft filled with shrieking wind and electrical sparks. With the power malfunctioning, the wind speed here was unbelievably fast.

There were too many Deadpools below. The falling elevator would undoubtedly crush one or two Deadpools surging up from the bottom floor. If he was lucky, maybe three or four.

In a world spinning out of control and about to fall into darkness, perhaps only ghosts could pass through.

The elevator passengers had already been evacuated. Lu Mingfei held his breath and leaped out, slashing repeatedly through the cables of three freight elevators before rolling onto the roof of a VIP elevator car—one of Genji Heavy Industries' two VIP elevators.

Any employee who still did not take the emergency stairs in a situation like this simply wanted to say "sumimasen" to the world.

The elevator shaft grew increasingly "clogged," and the passage at the bottom was eventually blocked for a time by the falling alloy elevators... though how long that seal would last was hard to say.

In truth, what created the seal was the external mechanical closure caused after the pit hydraulic buffers took multiple impacts. As the gaps between those heavy metal objects shrank, the Deadpools no longer had enough space to climb.

Normally, insufficient pit depth prevented buffers from fully absorbing the impact, increasing the risk of the car falling. Genji Heavy Industries' elevator pits had serious safety issues in that regard, but the enormous custom hydraulic buffers at the bottom compensated for it.

Though it looked slightly tilted, this VIP elevator was the only one still operating on the middle and lower floors. The other working one was parked near the very top. This one did not lead to the deepest breeding pool and operated independently for sightseeing, so cutting it down would be pointless... Lu Mingfei did not intend to ride it to the Mural Hall. He had another way up.

This VIP elevator already had a hidden malfunction. Lu Mingfei's team had once been wiped out because of it.

He had stayed here because it had external speakers.

The broad blade embedded in the car roof forced the VIP elevator into safety mode. Yellowish backup lights came on, and the music meant to soothe passengers instantly began playing.

Inside, a Japanese version of "Partner, Partner," a character song from Ultraman Tiga, was playing. The melody was lyrical and warm. The next song was "Justice's Big Friend."

The roof hatch was thrown open. The sound from the speaker box spread through the dark elevator shaft. Surrounded by monsters and dense resentful hissing from countless serpent bodies sliding past, someone softly hummed along.

Caesar felt that he was about to die.

How strange. Before dying, he could actually hear the melody of some kind of music.

He was going to die. Chu Zihang was going to die. That detestable Emperor was going to die too.

He still had some strength left. Escaping alone would not be a problem, but what kind of damned bastard's choice would it be to flee alone now?

Several dozen meters away, a male Serpentine Deadpool covered in roaring flames pierced Chu Zihang's body with a scorching long blade. Weapons had been artificially attached in place of its hands.

The dual-bladed Serpentine Deadpool cut down the Deadpools entangling Chu Zihang, then reached out and lifted the weakened Chu Zihang entirely into the air, as if showing off and flaunting its strength.

The nearly four-meter-tall figure stood amid the sea of fire like a serpent god Naga from myth, head held high in utter arrogance.

"Damn it! Damn it!" Caesar coughed blood as he tried to pull the trigger of the Sten gun. Wounded badly and afraid of hitting Chu Zihang by mistake, the young nobleman's hand was actually trembling.

Of course he wanted to blow the head off that damned Deadpool. He had never wanted anything so badly. But the chance to save someone would vanish in an instant. He would never allow the rival who had stayed behind to cover them to die before his eyes like this.

The hall's ceiling decorations completely copied the style of pre-fourteenth-century Buddhist temples, with massive overhead beams and rafters where a lurking hunter could hide.

In the ocean of blazing fire, antique Buddhist bone pillars collapsed one after another, releasing deafening moans as they fell. Dust was swallowed by waves of red; firelight and black smoke filled the hall without sky or earth, while the murals wrinkled in the flames and the dragons and serpents within them seemed ready to fly free.

Then came the coldness of a drawn blade from the rafters.

The newcomer descended from heaven, bringing with him a blade-light that descended from heaven as well. Fire sparks and broken beams fell and drifted with him, as if someone had overturned an altar bonfire.

The shrine overturned, and even its banners were ignited by the sparks.

"Your head was raised too high."

The dual-bladed Deadpool's body stiffened, its neck twisting as it slanted downward.

An impeccable Reverse Kesa-giri. Only when the man who had descended from above flicked the blood from his blade did the gushing red fountain belatedly spray to the left.

The man had removed his broad, cheap trench coat from the rafters beforehand and thrown it out. Now it settled steadily over the Chu Zihang he held in his arms.

Behind him, ancient paintings curled in the fire. The fierce black ancient dragon in the mural sank and vanished into the sea of flames. The black throne disappeared first, and the ancient dragon's head disappeared last, its golden eyes still burning hot.

The face under the firelight retained a trace of childishness. Elsewhere, "youth" would have suited him better... but here and now, he was undeniably a man.

Without bothering to take the firearms from his back, Lu Mingfei supported Chu Zihang with one hand and performed a brutal, savage crimson blade dance amid dozens of closing Deadpools. Blood blossoms burst open, and the blood-stained Enma's Wrath Painting was trampled beneath his feet.

He had arrived more than ten seconds late, and his rage was uncontrollable. The "intoxication" effect of the excessive Evolution Potion had caused him to misjudge the time by a fraction.

Gen Chisei snapped awake as if from a dream, dragging his blood-drained body toward a gun to provide cover. He did not forget to growl at Caesar, "No wonder you dared invade Genji Heavy Industries. Is this the true trump card of your headquarters?"

"You're asking me? Which fucking S-Rank is this supposed to be from our side?!"

Caesar instinctively looked up and froze. In a crisis like this, he could not spare the thought to determine whether Lu Mingfei, not far away, had been possessed by Principal Angers' ghost.