Allen gazed at Thomas—fully transformed into the Gigax Taurus—with a twisted, almost paranoic smile. Two black tears slid from his eyes, tracing long, inky streaks down his cheeks as the whites of his eyes darkened and his irises flared crimson.
"Tho~mas…"
With a subtle twist of his wrist, Allen's scythe released a storm of black, wind-forged blades that streaked toward the minotaur. Yet, because they were born from air, Thomas dispersed them by igniting his entire body, his flames tearing the attack apart from within.
The display earned a faint glint of admiration from Allen—though his sinister smile never wavered.
"Well done, Thomas. Then… how about this?"
Allen raised his left hand, now wreathed in writhing black smoke, toward the sky.
"Dominion of Hatred."
The smoke surged upward and unfurled into a massive dome that swallowed the entire city. In truth, the change was subtle—the skies of the Negative World were already starless and eternally black, and the streets were lit only by the crackling abilities of lightning-aligned heroes.
But two differences were unmistakable.
First, the ground split open as faceless, shadow-born humanoids climbed forth, encircling Thomas.
Second, Allen himself shifted—the gray suit turned pitch-black, and his eyes and scythe's blade erupted in black flame.
"What do you think? Beautiful, isn't it? One of the gifts bestowed by the Onyx of Hatred."
Even his voice had become warped and distorted.
Yet Thomas didn't flinch. He charged, hurling his colossal flaming fists toward Allen.
"You missed, Thomas."
Only when Allen's whisper reached his ears did Thomas realize he was already behind him, perched upon a shattered rooftop—no clue as to when he had slipped past the attack.
A tide of dark creatures merged into a single massive entity, mirroring Thomas in size, before collapsing onto him and liquefying into a viscous black sludge that weighed him down.
Allen gripped his scythe—its blade now seething with black flame—and hurled himself downward. The impact cracked the ground beneath him before he launched skyward again, soaring several kilometers. Simultaneously, the sludge binding Thomas surged upward, forming a twisted pillar.
"Greater Star Burst."
The scythe fell in a single, graceful arc, trailing afterimages that cut the air itself. Thomas's eyes, wide with terror, locked onto Allen's face—still smiling, streaked with black tears, eyes burning like a demon's.
The moment blade met flesh, a colossal explosion engulfed them both.
---
Elisse, Archibald, and the other two watched in stunned silence.
"So quickly… Allen killed Thomas in mere moments…"
Zack's voice trembled. Like Thomas, he was a Category 6. If Allen had dispatched Thomas with such ease, he could certainly do the same to him.
"As Lord Aegis said, Allen has matured… somewhat. But this is his current limit. Beyond his ultimate skill and his Dominion, there's little else."
Archibald smiled faintly at Elisse's words—because he believed the exact opposite.
"Are you certain? Allen was Lord Aegis's sole choice for the Emotional Elemental Weapon Project. Do you truly think this is his real limit?"
Elisse ignored the question and addressed the others instead.
"Zack, Nick—act as you please. Just ensure Allen is captured in the end."
Both left without hesitation. They knew Elisse detested being surrounded by those beneath her.
Archibald, however, remained, eyes fixed on the sphere of black fire where the explosion had blossomed.
"Elisse… do you know the difference between the Perfection Project subjects and Allen?"
She didn't answer. She simply walked away. But Archibald's voice followed her regardless.
"Perfection requires trial and error. Allen is different—he's a human weapon capable of evolving."
His words held only one meaning:
The Perfection subjects were capped.
Allen was not.
"Elisse, you're a Category 7… but could you defeat Allen? I don't mean the Allen of today—I mean the Allen of tomorrow. The one whose evolutionary gene will grant him enough power to rival even Lord Aegis himself."
A shiver ran down Elisse's spine. She stood at the top of Category 7, and Aegis was way beyond that—yet Archibald was implying that Allen might one day surpass that.
She continued walking, but the tremor in her steps was unmistakable.
Archibald only smiled.
"She cannot even fathom what Aegis intends for Allen. What face will she make when she learns that Allen is meant to become his perfected weapon?"
He lifted both hands. Each bore a circular sigil.
"Zack and Nick won't last. But I can still use them. They're simple enough to control. Elisse, on the other hand… a Category 7 monster like her could erase Allen if she struck too soon."
The sigil on his left hand glowed faintly, making him grin.
"As expected—Elisse's mind is too focused. I cannot control her. But Zack and Nick… those two are different. Two pawns will make things far more convenient."
After a moment, the glow faded, and Archibald hid his hands beneath his cloak.
"Now then… I've secured two pieces.
But the real problem remains unchanged—
how do I force Allen to evolve even further here?"
He turned and walked into the dark expanse of the Negative World, weighing countless possibilities—countless outcomes—seeking the one that would push Allen to his next metamorphosis.