Death System: I awakened SSS rank System

The silence inside the council chamber stretched, thick and suffocating. Eighteen Generals sat upon their thrones, carved from magical objects that Zakar could not make out.

In the middle of the chamber stood General Lemon, bound by the glowing seal etched into the floor. The silvery runes pulsed faintly, suppressing his system.

Zakar stood off to the side, his heart pounding. He felt like a dark lamb forced into the den of predators. The sheer density of power in this room made his skin prickle, and yet his eyes were locked firmly on Lemon.

This man was a predator whose missions were yet unknown.

Tiken, the General who seemed to preside over the trial, leaned forward. His deep voice rolled across the chamber, cutting the silence like a blade.

"General Lemon," he said evenly, "your actions against a Player are unacceptable. Your role is guidance, not destruction. You know this."

Lemon barked a laugh, rough and scornful. "Guidance? You think I've been guiding these worms? They are nothing but puppets. If they can't withstand fire, they don't deserve to live in this world. Better to cull the weak early."

Murmurs rippled among the seated Generals. One slammed his fist against his throne arm.

"You dare? We are the hands that shape the Players, not the butchers that slay them!"

Lemon's lip curled into a sneer. "Hands that shape them? Hah! QYou think your soft words will prepare these children? No they need fire!! They need terror. Only then will the strong rise from the ashes."

His words echoed with conviction, but Zakar noticed something else in them: bitterness. This wasn't only arrogance it was a belief. Lemon truly thought what he was doing was right.

Something similar to what the Tailors had told him about the Negative Entity. Which meant one thing— he was possessed by the Negative Entity.

Tiken slammed his palm against the throne's armrest. The chamber's seal flared brighter, binding Lemon tighter. "Enough! You will not dress your brutality as philosophy. You stand accused, and you will answer to it."

Lemon laughed again, louder this time, his voice echoing in the dark chamber. Smoke hissed from his skin as his muscles swelled.

"You think you can chain fire?" he snarled. "Let me show you how wrong you are."

The runes flickered. The suppression seal groaned. Then, with a deafening crack, the floor split beneath Lemon's feet. Flame erupted upward in a geyser, shattering the bindings of light.

Zakar's eyes widened. "He… he broke free?!"

The Generals rose instantly. Their expression tightened. But Lemon was faster. His body ignited, whipped in an inferno so hot the air warped around him.

"I am not your prisoner! I am a General!" he bellowed, thrusting his arms outward.

A tidal wave of fire surged through the his palm and it roared toward the thrones, devouring everything in its path.

Several Generals leapt into action. One raised a wall of glistening ice, another conjured a barrier of shimmering gold, and a third swept shadows across the flames, smothering them like a cloak.

The collision shook the chamber. The ground quaked. Marble cracked and chunks of ceiling rained down. Zakar threw himself to the side, covering his face against the wave of energies.

When the fire cleared, Lemon stood in the center, chest heaving, a wicked grin plastered on his face.

"Pathetic," he spat. "Eighteen Generals, and you still cower before me."

"You've lost your mind," Shalen snapped, stepping forward. His aura crackled with threads of binding magic, ready to ensnare. "Stand down, Lemon. Do not force us to destroy you."

"Destroy me?" Lemon laughed, a booming, cruel sound. He spread his arms wide, flames spiraling higher. "I am destruction!"

He lunged.

His fist, blazing like molten steel, smashed into the barrier of a General wielding earth magic. The barrier shattered like glass, sending moulds of earth flying. The General grunted as the shockwave knocked him back against his throne.

Another General retaliated, launching a spear of lightning. Lemon twisted aside, the bolt grazing his arm. He roared, swinging his burning fist at it and the lightning spear shattered on contact, exploding in sparks.

"You call yourselves Generals?" Lemon mocked. "You are merely children playing with toys!"

The chamber descended into chaos. Spells lit the air torrents of water, whips of shadow, arrows of radiant light all aimed at Lemon.

He met them head-on, flames flaring with every strike. He dodged, countered, roared. The chamber floor melted into slag where his feet landed.

Zakar watched, stunned. His gut churned with awe and fear. This was beyond anything he'd seen before. If this was the power of one General, how terrifying would all twenty be united? Was he really S rank? This was more than what he had faced against Caslurk.

"Contain him!" Tiken roared. His hand glowed, activating the trial seal again. The runes blazed brighter, silver light flooding the chamber.

Chains of light erupted from the ground, snapping around Lemon's limbs. He roared fiercely and flames erupted from his body. The chains hissed, melting under the heat.

"Do you think these toys can hold me?!" Lemon thundered. His aura surged, and the chains snapped one by one.

But the Generals pressed harder. Dozens of hands lifted, voices chanting in unison. The seal pulsed like a heartbeat, each pulse sending waves of energy slamming into Lemon.

He staggered. His grin faltered. His flames broke its heat and he fell on one knee.

"No… I will not…" he growled, dropping to one knee.

"Yield, Lemon!" Shalen barked. He extended his arm, and massive sigils appeared beneath Lemon's feet. Spikes of binding magic shot upward, piercing him and pinning him down.

Lemon screamed, his voice a roar of rage and defiance. He fought out, trying to get free but this time, the combined power of eighteen Generals pressed down on him like the weight of the heavens.

Slowly, the flames around him died. His body sagged. The bindings cocooned him in silver light, wrapping tighter, sealing him.

The chamber fell silent, save for Lemon's ragged breathing. His head dropped, his hair was wet with sweat.

Zakar exhaled shakily, realizing he'd been holding his breath since the outburst.

Then Lemon lifted his head, his eyes locking onto Zakar. Despite the chains, despite his defeat, his gaze still burned fiercely, unyielding, terrifying.

"You," he rasped, his voice echoing in the silence.

Zakar stiffened. "Me?"

Lemon's lips twisted into a bloody smile. "Don't think you're safe, boy. Your friends… are not."

Zakar froze. His heart lurched. "My… friends?"

The words were simple, but they burrowed into him. What did he mean? Was Myia in danger? Or was this something deeper, something he couldn't yet grasp?

Before he could ask, the Generals tightened the seal. The silver cocoon wrapped completely around Lemon, silencing him.

"Take him to the vault," Tiken ordered. His voice was cold, final.

Two shadowed attendants emerged, lifting the cocooned General as though he were weightless. They carried him to the massive iron doors at the chamber's end. The doors groaned open, revealing a void of darkness beyond. With a resounding clang, they closed, swallowing Lemon whole.

The chamber was still again.

But Zakar's thoughts were not anything close to calm.

Your friends are not.

The words echoed in his skull, heavy, ominous.