Allen leapt again and again, dodging Nick's massive pincers as memories long buried surfaced.
When Aegis first captured him, Allen had been no older than ten.
He remembered the agony—the moment Calibur murdered his parents before his eyes under Aegis's orders.
And because Aegis was both president of the Hero Federation and its greatest hero, the cover story came effortlessly: Allen's father had "lost control" and slaughtered his wife and son.
Allen struck Nick's pincer with his scythe, then vaulted upward, swinging twice. The blade scraped against the glossy black shell—without leaving even a scratch.
Nick slid to the side and snapped at him with his right claw. Allen twisted away just in time, countering with another scythe strike that spat sparks on impact.
Those sparks pulled him into another memory—the day Aegis introduced him to the other Perfection subjects.
Allen had cried then, trembling as he faced them all. Calibur glared at him like a predator examining its next kill.
But one among them—a woman with long blonde hair—approached with a gentle smile, taking his hand and guiding him through the facility.
Remembering that smile now filled Allen with nausea.
"Dominion of Hatred."
Black fire erupted along the scythe's blade, and thousands of faceless humanoid shades clawed their way out of the ground, swarming Nick and pinning his legs.
"I recall you're a Category 6 in your Gigax Cancer form, Nick. You should've seen what I did to Thomas. Yet here you are—still doing your job."
Allen smirked.
"Though calling "obedience" a job is giving too much dignity to Aegis's lapdogs."
Black flames seeped from Allen's eyes, and his smile stretched unnaturally across his face.
---
From afar, Archibald grinned.
"He can fly without using the emerald… and his darkness control has advanced. If we measured him with the Growth Level system… he would be around 2.5."
Elisse stiffened. Growth Levels were determined solely by Aegis—Archibald had no authority to assign one.
"But even that isn't enough…" Archibald continued. "Once he reaches Level 3, he'll fully master darkness. Only then can I push him to obtain the light element… reaching Level 3.1, and from there expanding into Level 4. That's when I can finally reap the rewards."
Elisse swallowed. Sweat trickled down her temples.
Unlike Zack and Nick, she possessed higher mental defenses—enough that Archibald hadn't fully dominated her mind. She still retained fragments of her own thoughts… or so she believed.
"Archibald… why are you doing this? Aren't you afraid of Lord Aegis?"
Archibald's gaze drifted to the two beside him.
Zack stared blankly ahead with empty, cold eyes.
Elisse's eyes were locked on the distant battlefield.
"Afraid? Of what? His "impenetrable defense"?
Ridiculous. Aegis defeated the Umbralux Draco out of sheer luck… and he didn't even manage to kill it cleanly."
Archibald's smile warped into that of a madman.
Elisse flinched.
"And what if Allen kills you?"
Before she could finish, Zack struck her across the face, splitting her lip.
"You're mistaken, Elisse," Archibald said pleasantly. "This place—the heart of the monster realm—is the greatest possible cradle for Allen's growth.
Remember: Allen was one of the subjects meant to become the weapon derived from the Umbralux Draco itself. His growth rate here is unparalleled. And besides…"
Archibald laughed, refusing to finish the sentence.
Elisse already knew Allen had been a subject in an experiment to turn him into a living weapon. But the nature of that weapon had always been concealed.
And now that she understood it had been modeled after the Umbralux Draco, dread hollowed out her gut.
"How… how is that even possible?"
"It's easy if you think," Archibald replied.
"The Umbralux Draco was a Category 7, with six elemental dominions—fire, water, wind, earth, darkness, and light. Does that list not sound familiar? Let me simplify it: passion, honesty, truth, willpower, hatred…"
Elisse felt her knees weaken.
If Allen carried those powers, what purpose did the Perfection Project even serve?
"So when Lord Aegis said most subjects died during the trials… was it because their bodies rejected the Umbralux Draco's power?"
"Wrong," Archibald said, smiling.
"Allen was the only one whose body could withstand the experiment. That's why he became the primary subject—and moved on to Phase Two."
Cold sweat drenched Elisse's back.
Surviving Allen here would be meaningless.
Returning to the Federation would be worse.
If Aegis learned she knew the truth about Allen's power… he would silence her permanently.
"But Archibald… if Allen possesses six of the Draco's seven abilities… what was the seventh?"
Only Aegis knew the full truth.
But one thing he had confirmed: no threat on Earth would ever surpass the Umbralux Draco.
Archibald exhaled slowly.
"Its final "ability"… was not an ability at all. Rather, it was a capacity. A trait that allowed continuous evolution.
Before fighting Aegis, it was merely Category 6.
During the battle, it broke into Category 7—and nearly breached 8.
And then Aegis killed it.
But you should be asking yourself something far more important…"
Archibald's expression darkened, his smile twisting.
"…how exactly did Aegis manage to kill something that could evolve without limit?"