My SS-Rank Witcher System-Chapter 66: Arise

[You have unlocked a new affiliation: Demi-God]

[All attributes have been permanently increased by 1000%]

[You have leveled up! Lv6 >>> Lv7]

[You have leveled up! Lv7 >>> Lv8]

[You have leveled up! Lv8 >>> Lv9]

[All skills have been permanently maxed out]

[You have achieved the title 'Against All Odds']

[You have achieved the title 'A Man Called God']

[You have achieved the title 'Lord of Darkness']

[THE CROWN OF JUDGMENT]: TRANSCENDENT

Description:

The Crown of Judgment is the ultimate symbol of authority, granting its wearer, the Lord of Darkness, absolute dominion over the transition between life and death. By tapping into the Crown's eternal power, the wearer can utilize the terrifying power to pull the souls of the dead back into the mortal realm, raising them as his loyal, permanent Shadow Soldiers.

Felix opened and closed his mouth several times but no words came out. There was so much going on for him at that moment that he couldn't make sense of.

From the Demi-God affiliation, to the permanent 1000\\% increase in all attributes that shot him 3 levels up, to the permanent max out of all his skills, to the titles—most especially the last: Lord of Darkness. Every notification came as a bigger shock than its predecessor.

"L—Lilith… what is this?"

He understood now. Recalling when he carelessly tried to toss the crown to Lilith: The Crown of Judgment. He finally understood her reaction back then, reading the TRANSCENDENT item description that came up on its own.

"There's never been a human—a weak one, to say the least—to have possession over The Crown of Judgment," Lilith said. "What you're seeing now is a form of divine compensation for wielding such a world-altering item. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

"Same goes for the title: Lord of Darkness. There has only been one true Lord of Darkness, and that has been the Witch Master, right until this moment. Without that crown, Dark Lord is but an imposter on the throne of the Dark Faction ruling over the underworld. So in other words, Felix… YOU are now the Lord of Darkness," Lilith calmly said in all seriousness.

Felix listened carefully and fell silent for a moment long, still finding it hard to believe with more questions than answers.

"I—Is this why Goddess Zemira requested to see me?" Felix slowly asked, though he already knew the answer, but wanted to know why.

"Correct. As you may, or may not know, the Great War from a millennium is on the verge of spilling once more in the absence of our lord, the Witch Master, and with the truce broken. See it that the universe is a large chess board and you're a pawn who safely made it across to become a Queen. Except, you're neither of the Light faction nor the Dark faction, but a spectator in the game. As a Queen, you now have the power to change the tide of war in your favor, so it's only normal for both sides to try to claim you first," Lilith illustrated with the common game of chess that gave Felix more insight into his predicament.

"You must also remember that the Queen is the most dangerous piece on the chess board and with one wrong move, her opponent wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice just any chess piece to eliminate her," She warned.

"So the Queen has to decide: would her next move either be in the favor of the Light faction, or the Dark faction? Or would she choose to remain a spectator in the game?"

At this point, Lilith was speaking in parables, but it was clear as day the meaning behind those words. Goddess Zemira would likely try to recruit him because he was in possession of the crown, which was also why the Dark faction were out for his head with a hefty bounty on him.

If he has read the item's description right, he should be able to raise an army of the undead fiercely loyal to him. But then, Sekolah The Maw Crusher and Lady Morwen could do that. What makes that of the Crown of Judgment so special?

Felix wished for a moment he had a body to try it on, when it clicked with him that Nemesis's body might still be at the throne room—if Lilith hadn't already disposed of it.

"Lilith…" Felix trailed off as the demoness stretched an open palm to him like she could hear his thoughts.

Felix grabbed her palm in uncertainty, but before he could ask, they both warped in a black mass and disappeared from the spot, reappearing in the throne room a few feet away from the throne seat, and the surprisingly preserved body of Nemesis.

Felix was relieved Lilith had thought this far and possibly kept the body in a good shape for this moment. And so he took a step forward in anticipation, eager to know the difference the crown would make in raising the dead to the mindless zombies Lady Morwen raised.

Standing before the body, he transformed the black halo above his head to its original form—the unassuming, worn crown—and stretched his hand over the body.

His heart picked up the pace as he stood there in uncertainty, unsure of what to do as it wasn't a traditional skill, but an ability born from an item. But as soon as he thought about it, he felt the knowledge and power flowing into his head from the crown and through his veins, and before he could even think it through, his lips parted with a single, powerful word that sent a shockwave across the throne room from the body of Nemesis:

"Arise."

The body began twitching fiercely as scales began covering her skin, and she slowly transformed from her human form back to her half-human, half-insectoid form, with a dark aura seeping out from her pores, before her eyes snapped open and Nemesis shot up to her feet, holding eye contact with Felix at the close proximity with a glint of intelligence flashing in her eyes, before she lowered herself before him with her head hung low in a bow.

[You have raised a Lv7 Shadow Soldier]

[Do you wish to name it?]