Lust System: Architect of Ruin

Chapter 3: Transmigrated to the past

Immediately as they opened the large door to the Demon Lord's throne room, a strong gush of wind carrying an intense concentration of dark energy melted the lining of their lungs like acid.

"So you really dared…?" a deep voice echoed from within.

It suddenly lunged forward, wielding a long heavy sword in hand, covered in heavy dark armor.

"Raphael, move, quick!" Kaito screamed, but it was too late.

Before he could cast his skill, the Demon Lord had already struck, cutting cleanly through Raphael's S-rank shield.

"You really thought he could stop me with that half ass shield…?" The demon lord said with a smug look on his face.

Raphael, the A-rank tank who had stood like a wall for the past twenty years, didn't even have time to show his strength. The impact was intense, like a car crash. His body was thrown across the hall, slamming hard against an iron pillar.

"He's dead... Raphael is dead!" Kelvin shook. "I don't want to die, I don't want to die!" His fragile bravery cracked, and he ran first for the door, only to be followed by a spike of shadows erupting from the floor directly beneath him, skewering cleanly through his stomach.

"Void Magic: Vortex of Flames."

Immediately, a wide range of flames erupted above them, leaving little time to avoid them. Two more students failed to react fast enough, only to be burned to a crisp by the intense flames.

The once mighty 12 heroes who had pushed back the Demon Lord's army had now been reduced to a mere 8, with the others either injured or shaken.

"Yuna, now!" Kaito coughed, wiping blood from his eyes.

Yuna leaped high into the air, an intense cold pulse gathering around her. Her katana glowed with frost, ice crystals forming around it as she lunged at him.

But the Demon Lord was faster. A backhand blow caught her midair, shattering her ribs and sending her spiraling into a broken pillar. She hit the stone hard, blacking out instantly. Her breathing slowed as blood dripped down her face.

"Miss Mia, quick! Get to Yuna!" Kaito ordered, but she was failing too, having to put up magic barriers, bluffs, and heal the group over and over.

The mental strain was too much for her. Mia was on her knees, blood leaking from her nose and ears, her eyes vacant as she stared at the carnage.

They were losing. It was somewhat expected, but not like this. This was a massacre.

"Step back!" Kaito's voice was a jagged rasp. He was the only one left standing between the Demon Lord and the survivors.

He unleashed his only skill, Matter Manipulation, separating the moisture in the air and creating a tight vacuum of pure hydrogen.

"Fireball…"

He struck his heavy sword against the obsidian floor, creating an explosion so strong that it shattered most of the advanced barriers Mia had maintained.

The explosion shook the castle to its foundation, destroying the powerful SS-class full armor of the Demon Lord.

Kaito didn't stop. He dragged his broken body through the intense heat of his own blast to deliver a precise strike through the Demon Lord's heart with his sword, using the last of his mana to vibrate the steel at a frequency that shattered it into dust and pure mana.

With the destruction of the Demon Lord came a heavy mana explosion from his heart outward, sending everything and everyone flying meters away.

Kaito collapsed, his knees hitting the blood-stained floor. He was a wreck. His armor was in complete ruin, his left arm broken, blood dripping down his face.

Then he turned, his body shaking heavily, his eyes wandering through the rubble in worry, searching for his surviving comrades.

Sato stood there, his limbs barely able to bear his own weight. Clutching beside him were two other classmates, their faces also covered in dried blood and sulfur stains.

"We... we did it," Kaito wheezed, a faint bloody smile on his lips. "We survived."

He reached out a hand toward them. "Help me up... we need to get Yuna and Mia to the infirmary..."

Suddenly, a hand clamped onto the back of Kaito's head, slamming his face into the stone.

"Kaito... Kiryu..."

The voice was cold, mocking. Before Kaito could process what was happening, a small dagger coated in poison sank into the base of his spine.

"Argh!" Kaito's scream was muffled against the floor. He tried to move, to break free from the hold, but the poison had spread, paralyzing him from the neck down.

"You really thought an FF-rank was going to be the face of the new world?" the voice whispered. Two other people stepped out of the mist, their faces partially covered.

"The Empire needs a better story, Kaito," the voice continued, leaning down so Kaito could see his eyes.

"They need to hear how the S-ranks fought bravely, and how the 'weakest' among us died to give us the final opening.

You're much more useful as a corpse than a living reminder of an FF-rank freak who saved us."

Kaito looked up. His eyes blurred with tears and blood. Standing there was Kyoto, the same person who had been like a brother even before coming to this world.

"You... it was you..." Kaito screamed, his voice breaking with betrayal.

His heart pounded heavily as the poison slowly took over completely before finally stopping.

The three stood over his lifeless body, echoes of laughter filling the room.

They didn't care about the twenty years of sweat. They wanted the throne.

The last thing Kaito Kiryu saw before his final breath wasn't the face of a comrade, but of rats that needed killing.

[HEART RATE: 0. LIFE 1: TERMINATED.]

[FIRST CONDITION MET.]

[RESTARTING LIFE.]

[REBOOTING... REBOOTING...]

[LIFE 2 INITIATED: LOCATION - VALMONT MONASTERY.]

"Hey, FF-rank. Commander is calling you. Move quick."