Back in the outside world, Lucy’s eyes abruptly snapped open. The moment she woke up, a wave of pure horror hit her. The sky was bleeding crimson, and the entire battlefield was actively being torn apart by waves of apocalyptic fire.

Whipping her head around in a panic, she frantically checked on her friends. They were bruised and battered, but breathing. Then, her heart skipped a beat. Someone was missing.

Her gaze locked onto Igris, who was sitting nearby, his exhausted eyes fixed on the massive, towering silhouette of the Void Dragon in the distance.

“What... what is going on?!” Lucy demanded, her voice cracking, laced with an urgency she had never shown before. She scrambled to her feet, looking wildly through the smoke. “Where is he? Where is that idiot?!”

Igris didn't look at her immediately. He just kept his hollow gaze on the dragon, letting out a heavy, defeated sigh. “I... I can no longer sense his life force, Lucy. That means...”

He didn't finish the sentence. He didn't have to.

The words hit Lucy like a physical blow. The world around her seemed to lose all its sound. Her heart pounded violently against her ribs, her eyes widening in absolute shock as the color completely drained from her face. A wave of intense nausea washed over her, making her feel like she was about to throw up right then and there.

She was the icy princess, the prodigy who always had a plan. But right now, standing in the middle of a burning world, she was just a terrified teenager facing the brutal, agonizing reality of loss for the very first time.

“He chose to stay behind,” Igris added quietly, his voice heavy with respect. “He traded his own life to ensure the four of you could make it out alive.”

Lucy’s breath hitched, her shaking hands hovering in front of her face. A flood of memories rushed through her mind. She remembered how incredibly annoying he was, how he smiled and acted friendly toward them even after she had literally tried to kill him when they first met. And now... that same idiot was the only reason she was still drawing breath. He had thrown himself into the jaws of a god just so they could run to safety.

Igris locked his gaze onto her. “Whatever choices you make next, Lucy, will determine whether his sacrifice was actually worth it.”

She stared down at her trembling hands for a fraction of a second longer. Then, without warning—

SLAP!

She struck her own cheek with such force that even the stoic Igris widened his eyes in surprise. The trembling stopped instantly. Her eyes burned with a fierce, newfound fire as she spun around toward the other three, who were still groggily waking up.

Smack! Smack! Smack!

“Get up!” she commanded sharply, kicking Alexander’s boot to shock him awake.

Alexander, Htet, and Jane all groaned, rubbing their heads as they struggled to their feet. The thick, suffocating smell of burning smoke immediately filled their lungs. They looked around in utter disorientation, their eyes landing on Lucy as if silently begging her to tell them this was all just a nightmare.

Lucy stayed silent for a moment, letting them take in the full, apocalyptic view of the crumbling barrier. Finally, she spoke, her voice steady, commanding, and carrying the absolute weight of a true ruler.

“The Goddess has unleashed an army of corruption upon our kingdom,” she stated coldly. “Our people, our loyal followers and Knights—they are currently dying out there trying to hold the line against those monsters.”

She paused, her gaze dropping slightly as her voice softened, laced with a bitter, profound sadness. “And... one of us is already gone.”

The realization hit Alexander, Htet, and Jane like a wave of ice water. Their eyes went wide with panic as they scanned the clearing, finally noticing the empty space where their eccentric engineer should have been standing. But looking at Lucy's fierce posture, the panic in their chests quickly hardened into raw determination. They remembered exactly what they had to defend. One by one, they gripped their weapons and stood up tall, standing shoulder-to-shoulder in the smoke.

Alexander struck a flawless, elegant pose, flipping her hair. “Of course. This great queen has a duty to protect her people,” she declared. Her voice carried its usual noble arrogance, but underneath it lay a fierce, protective warmth.

Htet didn't say a word. He simply let a dense, swirling suit of shadowy mist drape over his entire body, nodding once to signal he was ready for total war.

Jane grinned like a madman, cracking his knuckles as he prepared to defend the kingdom to his very last breath.

Lucy looked at her three companions and nodded with deep pride. “We will protect our people to the absolute end. Even though facing death is terrifying for teenagers like us, we cannot fall after claiming the title of Sovereigns. We will fight until the end!” she shouted, slamming her fist into the air.

The other three stared at her for a second, then quickly looked away, biting their lips to keep from laughing. It was incredibly corny. But despite the cringe, they didn't deny it. They nodded in fierce agreement, weapons at the ready.

Igris looked at the squad and smirked. “It seems you all have finally matured enough to stand your ground.”

Lucy turned to him, her eyes pleading slightly. “If you fight alongside us, our chances of winning will skyrocket. We would be deeply grateful.”

Igris looked past them, staring down the path of destruction where the Goddess was actively deleting reality. He let out a dark sigh. “Even if I desire to help, my current code is simply not optimized to stand against her power.”

Lucy’s expression darkened.

“Hey...” Igris spoke up suddenly, his deep voice sounding unexpectedly shy and embarrassed. “Does the name... 'Lucifer' sound good to you?”

Lucy blinked once, then twice, completely thrown off. “Uh, yeah? It sounds like a legendary fallen angel. It's actually really cool. Why do you ask?”

Igris took a deep breath, looking down at his claws. “In this world, if an entity accepts a name offered by someone with a massive pool of authority, they trigger a forced evolution. They become exponentially stronger, bound by an absolute loop of loyalty to the one who named them. Before he... vanished, that idiot engineer gave me that name. I am thinking of finally accepting it. It is my only choice if I want the power to rewrite this fate.”

Lucy stared at him, respect softening her gaze. “It is your choice. We won't force you. But remember... if you accept his name, your loyalty means you will be guarding his empty grave if he truly is gone.” She said it logically, though her chest tightened at the reminder that Aung might be dead.

Igris let out a sharp smirk and stood up tall. “It would be an absolute honor. Because that fool earned my respect.”

The moment Igris mentally accepted the name 'Lucifer', a violent torrent of crimson and black mana erupted from his body. The ground shattered.

His demonic frame grew taller, but instead of becoming a monstrous beast, his rough hide smoothed out into flawless, human-like skin. His wild, crimson hair lengthened, flowing down his back like a river of blood. His twin demonic horns grew sharper, turning a polished, obsidian black. But the most shocking part? His heavy, bulky armor shifted, his waist tapered in dynamically, and his chest expanded into prominent, unmistakable curves.

When the smoke cleared, standing before them wasn't a terrifying Demon King—but a staggeringly beautiful, muscular, and imposing demonic woman.

All four Sovereigns stood there, their jaws literally dropping to the floor. Jane’s hand shook violently as he pointed a finger at her. “You... you just changed genders?!”

Lucifer—fully evolved and radiating god-tier power—burst into a rich, melodic laugh. Her new voice was strong, commanding, and fiercely feminine.

“Change genders? Foolish humans, I was never male,” she said, her voice softening slightly as she looked at her new hands. “I was the only demon left in these lands. If I looked weak, humans would hunt and bully me. So, I cast a mirage and forced myself to look like a terrifying, manly beast just so nobody could ever hurt me again.” She gave them a soft, genuine smile, finally opening up. “But now, under Master’s name, I no longer need to hide.”

Lucifer turned her gaze toward the sky where the Goddess hovered, slowly cracking her knuckles as dark crimson sparks danced across her fists. “Well then, Sovereigns... are you ready to defend your kingdom—and possibly rewrite the fate of this entire world?”

Lucy stepped up right beside her, her icy resolve locked in. Alexander stepped forward with elegant grace, her posture commanding. Htet glided into position silently, his shadow mist swirling violently, while Jane flashed a wild grin, unsheathing his sword with a sharp, metallic shring. They were unified.

High above the destruction, the Goddess was gracefully floating in the air, casually sipping a glass of divine wine. She looked down at the burning kingdom with absolute amusement, treating the mortals' struggle like a trivial, entertaining show.

BOOM!

Suddenly, a barrage of colossal, demonic violet-black flame spears rained down from the heavens, slamming directly into her absolute divine barrier. The legendary shield shattered like cheap glass, sending shockwaves rippling through the atmosphere.

The Goddess nearly choked on her wine, her eyes narrowing in sharp irritation as she whipped her head toward the source of the attack.

Floating majestically in the sky, a pair of massive, obsidian-black demonic wings flared wide, casting a massive shadow over the ruins below. It was Lucifer, looking down at the deity with a fearless, mocking smirk.

“And who might you be?” the Goddess demanded, her voice dripping with pure annoyance and condescension. “A mere stray beast, bold enough to raise a hand against me?”

Lucifer’s smirk only widened, her crimson hair flowing wildly in the dark wind.

“The name is Lucifer,” she declared, her voice echoing across the battlefield, ringing with absolute pride and devotion. “A glorious title bestowed upon me by my Master before he vanished. But in my previous form you knew me as Igris.”

Down below, a fierce, desperate war erupted as the other Sovereigns unleashed the full, unbridled might of their unique abilities against the invading horde of monsters.

Lucy stood at the center, her hands moving in fluid motions as she summoned massive, fractured ice mirrors into the air, firing a relentless barrage of razor-sharp ice shards that impaled everything in their path. Right beside her, Alexander commanded the battlefield with elegant lethality, manifesting dozens of glowing light swords that functioned as tracking projectiles, piercing through the armor of giant beasts.

Htet moved like a phantom through the chaos. With a wave of his hand, a terrifying, pitch-black void erupted beneath a cluster of monsters, completely consuming them into a dark abyss before they could even let out a final cry. Meanwhile, Jane was nothing but a silver blur, moving so fast he looked like lightning as he slashed his way through the ranks, his sword leaving a trail of sparks and severed monster parts in his wake.

Further out on the perimeter, Claire was fighting with everything she had to defend her village. Sweat and deep, heartbreaking tears mixed on her face as she struck down beast after beast. Her heart felt completely shattered, her chest aching with heavy breaths. The devastating news that her King—the goofy, kind-hearted engineer who had given her a purpose—was missing had torn her world apart. Yet, she refused to stop swinging, channeling her grief into pure, defensive rage to protect the land he had left behind.

The Goddess looked down at the burning world, then snapped her gaze back to Lucifer. Suddenly, a slow, malicious smile spread across her divine face.

Lucifer’s instincts flared. “What did you do?” she asked coldly.

The Goddess didn't deign to answer. Instead, she lazily turned her eyes toward the distant horizon, where the Void Dragon was roaring mindlessly, its corrupted body actively tearing open rifts to summon a never-ending flood of monsters.

Lucifer’s crimson eyes widened before narrowing in absolute fury. “If we don't destroy that beast... it will keep summoning more monsters until the entire world is wiped out, won't it?!”

The Goddess shrugged with sickening elegance. “Oh, absolutely. After all, that is one of the ancient primordial dragons that existed long before civilization or this world even had code. And I managed to reprogram it into a perfectly obedient pet.”

“You sick, twisted excuse for a deity,” Lucifer hissed in utter disgust. “I will tear you apart!”

Spreading her obsidian wings, Lucifer launched herself forward, manifesting a colossal scythe of crackling demonic flames. But the Goddess merely smiled. With a flick of her wrist, the mindless Void Dragon fired a colossal, blinding energy beam from across the map. Lucifer barely managed to barrel-roll through the air to dodge it, but the sheer grazing force of the blast tore through her defenses, shattering the armor on her arm.

As Lucifer hovered in the sky, blood dripping from her clutching fingers, the Goddess leaned down to mock her. “Oh? What happened to the mighty Demon Lord? If you surrender peacefully, I might just let you live as my personal lapdog, right alongside my little pet dragon over there.”

Lucifer smirked through the pain, gathering her strength, and spat directly in the deity's face. “I would rather die than serve a tyrant like you and betray the Master who gave me my name!”

The Goddess’s eyes twitched in unbridled fury as she wiped her face. Raising her hand, she commanded the Void Dragon to open its maw once more. The atmosphere began to distort as the beast gathered a catastrophic amount of energy, compressing a blast so massive it threatened to crack the tectonic plates.

Lucifer’s heart dropped. This wasn't a localized attack anymore—this blast was going to vaporize the entire continent.

Time seemed to dilate into slow motion as Lucifer turned toward the ground to scream a warning. Down below, Lucy’s eyes filled with pure, paralyzed dread. Sebas suddenly sprinted in front of Alexander, throwing his arms wide open to act as a human shield, while Alexander screamed at her butler in desperate, tearful denial. Htet Win frantically poured 100% of his remaining mana into a dark void barrier, praying it would hold, while Jane, completely deaf to the danger, continued cutting through the monsters around him.

And further away, Claire—Aung's very first loyal follower—dropped to her knees amidst the smoke. Staring up at the blinding, apocalyptic beam, she clasped her hands together and prayed from the bottom of her soul.

“My Lord... please save us.”

Instantly, the sky shattered like a broken glass monitor.

CRASH!!!

A deafening, server-wide system notification chime echoed through the minds of every living being on the battlefield.

[ALERT: VOID BLAST ASSET DENIAL INITIATED.]

In a fraction of a millisecond, the cataclysmic dragon beam simply vanished out of existence, deleted from the world's ledger.

Every eye snapped upward in stunned silence. Floating majestically in the crimson sky was a figure they barely recognized. Aung’s human form had completely transformed—his bare upper body was now incredibly lean and muscular, framed by a pair of sweeping, terrifyingly beautiful dragon-demon wings that radiated god-like pressure. But his eyes, usually so bright, lazy, and full of jokes, were entirely cold, calculating, and devoid of emotion.

Slowly raising his hand, an immense, towering mana sword materialized in his grip, burning with a volatile, violet-black void enhancement.

When he spoke, it wasn't Aung's voice that echoed. It was a cold, smooth, feminine system monotone that rattled the very heavens:

[SYSTEM LOG: DESTROYING FORMER CORE BODY. CURRENT PHYSICAL VESSEL IS BEYOND CORRUPTED. NEVERTHELESS... I PREFER TO RESIDE WITHIN MY MASTER'S TEMPLATE.]