Chapter 109: 109 | A Villain's Perfect Weapon

[Sovereign Physique]

[Description: The body is continuously refined toward the pinnacle of the elven race. Strength, speed, reflexes, durability, vitality, and recovery are enhanced beyond the user's current realm. As bloodline purity increases, the physique continues to evolve, eventually reaching a state of ageless perfection.]

[King's Eye]

[Description: The eyes of the Elf King perceive the flow of mana itself. When activated, they reveal the hidden flow of mana, the vitality of living beings, and the intent behind one's actions. As bloodline purity increases, the King's Eye evolves, eventually piercing illusions, concealment, and exposing flaws within mana and techniques.]

"So that's the reason for the regeneration..." Dante murmured as he read through Sovereign Physique before his eyes drifted to King's Eye.

Eye powers had always been some of the coolest abilities in any fantasy world. The characters who had them were in a league of their own. They could read their opponents like open books and turn entire battles around with a single glance.

And now he had one too.

'King's Eye!' Dante activated it without hesitation. His irises shifted to a deep crimson with sharp black lines radiating outward from the center like fractured glass and a bright point of light pulsing at the core.

The world looked completely different. He could feel the flow of mana around him like it had always been there, just invisible until now.

He caught the change in the mirror and looked around the room. Two presences stood out nearby. One was small and faint while the other was massive like a sun.

'That has to be Emma and Master.'

Both of them gave him a gentle and safe feeling.

He turned back to the mirror and observed his own body. His mana was larger than Emma's but still nothing compared to Natasha's. That was expected since she had a mana core. The gap between Mana Core Formation and the realms below it was laughable.

His own presence didn't give him any particular feeling.

'Is it neutral because it's me—' A sharp ache shot through his left eye and he grabbed his face with one hand. 'What the hell?'

Then he noticed his mana was draining at a terrifying speed. He deactivated the technique immediately and stood there breathing hard. 'I barely used it for a minute and I'm almost out of mana?!'

He couldn't help but feel speechless.

He had just joined the elite club of eye power users and immediately got hit with the same nerf all of them had. Running out of juice in minutes.

'And I can't even last a minute.' He looked at his reflection with a deadpan expression. '...No, that sounds wrong.'

'It should get better as my mana capacity grows.' He thought with some consolation, closing the system panels and taking out the metallic ball from his inventory.

Now that he was done with the bloodline, it was time to bond with the Formless Fragment.

'I wonder what form it will take.' He rolled the metallic ball between his fingers. 'I'm fine with anything as long as it's not a whip.' As a villain, he had an image to maintain. If he showed up to a fight cracking a whip, no one would take him seriously ever again.

'From what I remember, the weapon takes a form based on the wielder's nature and destiny.' He looked down at the ball with a confident smile. 'Whatever it is, it shouldn't be anything embarrassing.'

He took a knife from his storage ring and followed the same method Ryan used in the novel to bond with the Fragment. A small cut across his palm and he let the blood drip down onto the metallic ball.

The first drop hit the surface and sank in like it was being swallowed. Then the second and then the third.

The ball started humming. It was low at first, barely audible, but it quickly grew deep enough to rattle the furniture in the room.

It lifted off his palm on its own and floated in front of him. The dull grey surface began to crack and crimson light bled through from the inside, spreading across the ball like veins filling with blood.

Then it started changing.

The ball stretched and twisted, metal folding over itself again and again. A long black shaft formed first, extending in both directions. Then two blades curved out from both ends in a single smooth arc, dark metal with a deep crimson edge that looked like it was still running with fresh blood.

The whole transformation happened too fast for his eyes to follow and it was only after it stopped that he realized what the weapon was.

"This is so fucking sick!" His eyes were wide with pure amazement. This wasn't anything close to what he had in mind and it had completely exceeded his expectations.

The weapon hung in the air for a moment before dropping.

He caught it with one hand and the grip fit his palm like it was made for him. Because it was.

A double-bladed scythe with twin crescent blades, crimson veins running along their edges like flowing lava.

Black armored plating reinforced the blade joints, locking them to the shaft. Thin crimson channels traced the length of the black shaft, converging beneath the grip where ancient runes pulsed with a faint red glow.

'Ryan got a golden sword.' He gave it a slow spin and the blades hummed through the air. 'And daddy got a scythe. Sounds about right.'

[Bonding complete!]

[Formless Fragment has taken its form.]

[Please give it a name to strengthen the connection further!]

"A name, huh." Dante glanced at the scythe with a smile. "A weapon like this deserves a good one."

There was no way he would give it something as boring as Dawnbreaker like Ryan did. The guy had a Legendary growth-type weapon and named it like a breakfast item. He could have at least gone with Excalibur. Cliche, sure, but at least it had weight to it.

'Seriously, what a waste.' He shook his head and looked at the weapon for a moment before the name came to him on its own.

"Crimson Requiem."

The moment he said it, the scythe trembled in his hand. A pulse of warmth traveled from the grip up through his arm and he felt the connection between them deepen like a thread pulling taut.

'You like the name that much?' He could feel something close to joy coming from the weapon and a crazy grin spread across his face. 'If Ryan is this world's hero, then I'll gladly be its reaper.'