The Last King System

Chapter 7: The Warden's Arrival

The pulse tore through the sky like a scream.

Every building shook. Every streetlight flickered out. The city — already a graveyard — went silent.

Leon and Nova stood in the rain as the red beam from Kade’s corpse burned through the clouds. Then the light twisted, folding inward, forming a rip in the sky itself.

[System Alert: Dimensional Rift Detected.]

[Designation: Sovereign-Class Entity Incoming.]

Nova swore softly. “He actually did it.”

Leon’s voice was low, steady. “You’ve seen this before?”

“Once,” she said. “Back when I was still with the Syndicate. It took three units of S-rank Candidates to bring down a Sovereign Host. We still lost half of them.”

“Good odds,” Leon muttered, loading a new shell into his shotgun.

Nova looked at him sharply. “This isn’t a fight you can win.”

Leon didn’t look away from the sky. “Then it’s one I can’t afford to lose.”

The air changed — the rain stopped falling. It just… froze midair, droplets suspended like diamonds. The pressure crushed down on them. Leon’s knees almost buckled under it.

Then it came through.

A black figure descended from the rift, wrapped in fragments of armor and shadow. Its face was a mask — smooth, featureless, with a glowing red core pulsing at its center. Chains hung from its arms, dragging against the ground.

[Entity: The Warden.]

[Rank: ???]

[Energy Signature: Unknown.]

[Objective: Purge all unauthorized Candidates.]

The Warden’s voice echoed through the air, mechanical and hollow.

“Unauthorized systems detected. Initiating termination protocol.”

Leon felt the words inside his skull, like someone had carved them into his brain.

Nova raised her rifle. “Leon, we move now!”

The Warden raised a hand. The chains snapped forward like serpents, slicing through the street. Cars exploded in their wake.

Leon dove, rolling behind a broken pillar as the chains slammed into the concrete beside him.

[Damage: 23%. Rapid Regeneration active.]

Nova fired three rapid shots, but they bounced harmlessly off the Warden’s armor.

“It’s absorbing kinetic energy,” she shouted.

Leon gritted his teeth. “Then let’s overload it.”

He charged Kinetic Burst and Electro Surge simultaneously. Energy roared through his veins, the glow under his skin burning brighter.

He sprinted forward, dodging another chain strike, and leapt—driving a punch straight into the Warden’s chest.

The impact cracked the air like thunder. The shockwave ripped through the street.

But when the smoke cleared, the Warden hadn’t moved. It looked down at him slowly.

[Counter Protocol Engaged.]

A blast of invisible force erupted outward. Leon was thrown through the air, crashing into a building. He felt his ribs crack on impact.

[Health: 41%. Instability: Rising.]

“Leon!” Nova yelled, diving behind cover as another chain tore through the debris.

He spat blood, forcing himself up. “Okay. That didn’t work.”

Nova slid beside him, breathing hard. “We can’t hit it head-on. We need to overload its core.”

Leon glanced at her. “How?”

“There’s a weak point at the center of its mask,” she said, reloading. “You’ll need to pierce it directly.”

He smirked. “So just stab the god in the face. Easy.”

Nova gave him a look. “You always joke this much when you’re terrified?”

He cracked his neck. “Keeps me human.”

They moved fast — Leon sprinting left, Nova right. The Warden turned toward Nova first, sending a chain whipping toward her. She dove aside, firing an EMP round that detonated midair, lighting up the battlefield.

Leon used the flash to close the distance.

He drew his blade — the one Nova had forged from System shards — and activated Magnetic Pulse. The metal vibrated, humming with energy.

He jumped, twisting through the air, and brought the blade down on the Warden’s core.

Sparks exploded. Metal screamed.

[Target Integrity: 92%.]

Leon’s eyes widened. “Ninety-two? You’ve got to be kidding me.”

The Warden backhanded him with a force that sent him through two walls.

[Health: 28%. System Overload Detected.]

He coughed blood, struggling to stand. “That all you got…?”

Nova shouted, “Leon, it’s charging something!”

The Warden’s chest opened slightly, revealing a spinning crimson sphere of energy. The ground started to vibrate.

[Warning: Singularity Pulse Imminent.]

Nova sprinted toward Leon. “Move!”

The world went white.

The explosion swallowed everything.

Silence.

Then — static.

Leon’s vision returned slowly. He was lying on his back, the world above him a swirl of smoke and lightning. His armor was half-melted. The HUD was cracked.

[Health: 9%. Regeneration halted.]

He turned his head. Nova was a few meters away, barely conscious, her rifle shattered beside her.

“Nova…” His voice was rough, broken.

She coughed, eyes flickering open. “Still alive… lucky you.”

The Warden stepped through the smoke — unscathed.

Leon forced himself to his feet, every muscle screaming. The System flickered erratically in his vision.

[Predator Instability: 91%. Threshold approaching.]

[Emergency Evolution available.]

He stared at the alert. His mind screamed not to. Nova’s voice echoed faintly: “If you cross that line, Leon, you might not come back.”

But the Warden raised its hand again, chains spiraling.

Leon made his choice.

[Confirm Emergency Evolution?]

[Y/N]

He whispered, “Yes.”

The world shattered.

Pain ripped through him like lightning. His veins turned molten silver. His breath came out in snarls.

[Emergency Evolution initiated.]

[System merging with Predator Core.]

[New Form: Apex Protocol.]

Leon’s heartbeat thundered in his ears. The rain started falling again — hissing as it hit his skin.

His eyes glowed pure white. The air bent around him.

Nova stared from the rubble, eyes wide. “Leon… what did you do?”

He didn’t answer. He stepped forward — each step heavy enough to crack the street.

The Warden turned toward him. “Unauthorized mutation detected.”

Leon’s voice was lower, distorted. “Then authorize this.”

He vanished.

In less than a second, he was behind the Warden, hand on its back.

[Ability: Phase Step (Minor) enhanced → Predator Step.]

He drove his hand through the armor. Energy screamed. The Warden staggered — for the first time.

[Target Integrity: 68%.]

Leon tore the chains from its arm and wrapped them around its neck. “You wanted control? Let’s see how you like being hunted.”

The Warden struggled, energy flaring. Leon held on, the glow from his veins burning brighter.

[Instability: 97%. Warning—Host integrity failing.]

Nova shouted, “Leon, stop! You’ll burn out!”

He growled, voice breaking through the static. “Not yet!”

He twisted the chains tighter, forcing the Warden down to one knee. Then, with one final roar, he unleashed everything— Kinetic Burst, Electro Surge, Magnetic Pulse—all at once.

The explosion lit up the entire district.

When the smoke cleared, the Warden was gone. Only a crater remained — molten and steaming.

Leon stood in the center, breathing hard, his glow fading. His armor cracked and fell away like ash.

[Quest Complete: The Warden’s Arrival.]

[Sovereign Core Acquired.]

[Level Up: 5 → 6.]

[Warning: Instability Critical—98%. Host collapse imminent.]

Nova ran toward him, catching him before he fell. “Leon! Stay with me!”

He looked at her, eyes dimming. “Did we… win?”

“You killed a Sovereign,” she said, voice trembling. “You shouldn’t even be standing.”

He gave a weak smile. “Then I guess I’m not.”

His eyes rolled back, and his body went limp.

[Host Unconscious.]

[Apex Protocol—Dormant.]

[Core Stabilization: Unknown.]

Nova stared down at him as the rain poured harder, washing blood and ash away.

In the distance, a dozen red signals flickered to life across the city skyline.

[Alert: Sovereign Candidates—Awakening.]

Nova’s expression hardened. “You really started something, Vale.”

She looked back at the unconscious man in her arms — the mechanic who became a monster.

And in the reflection of his half-shattered visor, the city burned.