Inside the trembling vault that had transformed into a terrifying pressure chamber, Dex watched the scene with eyes gleaming with savage joy and an indescribable ecstasy of triumph, while Lumia stood beside him, maintaining the stability of the void barrier, and observed what was happening with pure analytical coldness, like a scientist studying a singular cosmic phenomenon.
"Rank SSS..." Dex murmured with difficulty, his voice dissolving in the roar of the golden mana that was raging around his father's body like a miniature hurricane. "Half a step toward legend... across the entire vast Empire of Vesos, with its history stretching across thousands of years, among all the living there are barely a handful who have reached this rank. The Emperor seated on the golden throne, the leaders of the other three great families of the north, east, and south, and a few others. And now... my father will soon be able to stand alongside them as an unconquerable equal."
Dex, through his knowledge of the original novel's events, understood completely the true meaning of this power. In this world, rank SSS was not merely a numerical upgrade or an increase in the quantity of mana stored in the body. It was an ascension in the level of existence itself, a qualitative transformation separating the mortal from the cosmic being.
Those who hold this legendary rank are not called by titles such as "great mages" or "legendary warriors" in the military corridors, instead, they are named in the Empire's classified documents by a single title that inspires dread: "Natural Disasters". They were named so because their power transcends the traditional human concepts of combat and war. They require no complex incantations and no magical circles, they simply command the free mana present in the atmosphere to obey their absolute will.
Their anger and dark moods alone can alter the weather of an entire city, summoning blizzards in the height of summer, and their mere spiritual presence on a battlefield can bring an army of a hundred thousand soldiers to its knees, suffocating under mana pressure, without the SSS-rank holder raising a single finger. They are the true rulers, the living nuclear weapons that maintain the balance of terror in this world.
With gradual slowness, the savage golden aura surrounding Marcus began to stabilize. It did not vanish, it began to condense and retreat, entering through the pores of his skin, weaving itself into his flesh, blood, and bones, transforming his body into a perfect vessel for the energy. But the atmospheric pressure remained heavy and majestic, like the air that precedes a devastating thunderstorm.
Marcus's body descended with extreme slowness until it touched what remained of the marble bed. His eyes returned to their natural deep color, but they now carried a new brilliance, simultaneously terrifying and calm, the gaze of a being who perceives the flow of mana in the world the way humans perceive the course of a river.
Dex smiled a wide smile, and the features of tension and fear that had clung to him since being born into this body dissolved. His formidable strategic mind began working at lightning speed, rearranging the dominoes in his head, demolishing his old plans to build new ones upon their ruins.
"This changes everything," said Dex, taking a step outside Lumia's barrier, indifferent to the residual pressure in the room. "Every previous plan I drew in recent days, every scenario I devised for the Coronation ceremony, was based on rapid maneuvering, tactical retreat, silent assassination, and desperate shadow-fighting. I was operating like a cornered rat trying to trap a cat. But now? The game has changed at its foundation. We are no longer playing by the rules of concealment."
Dex began whispering to himself, calculating the new geopolitical variables imposed by this healing miracle:
First, The Four Great Families. For centuries, the Williams family, Guardians of the West, had been considered the weakest militarily and politically among the Empire's four great families. The reason was simple, they were the only family that possessed no SSS-rank entity in their ranks; Marcus at his peak had been only SS. This was what had emboldened Sylvester to covet power, and what had made the Emperor turn a blind eye to Sylvester's conspiracies, seeing the family's weakness as an opportunity to dominate the West. But now, with Marcus returning as a near-SSS rank, a level enabling him to fight as an equal against any true SSS rank thanks to his terrifying combat experience, the Williams family would finally stand on equal footing, or perhaps at the forefront, imposing its respect by overwhelming force.
Second, The Empire and the Golden Throne. The cunning Emperor, who had long manipulated the families, would now be forced to recalculate. He would no longer dare move against Seiron Province or dispatch his spies, and he would not support the traitor Sylvester. On the contrary, the Empire as a whole would seek to appease a family that now possessed a new Natural Disaster in its ranks, fearing its alignment with any potential rebellion.
Third, The Dark Elf Alliance. And here Dex's strategic genius manifested most brilliantly. He knew from the novel that his survival and future power depended on his alliance with the outcast dark elf tribes. The great dilemma had been: how to convince the fanatical human Empire to accept the integration of the dark elves into their society without triggering a holy war? The answer now stood before him. Absolute power was the only language this harsh world understood. When Lord Marcus, with his near-divine power, extended his protection over the dark elves and declared them allies of the West, not a single priest or general in the capital would dare object or dispatch an army against them. Marcus would be the nuclear shield protecting Dex's ambitions.
"The future, with all its complexities and conspiracies, has suddenly become far simpler," said Dex, approaching his father who was still sitting in silence, contemplating his hands as though acquainting himself with them for the first time.
He looked at Lumia, blue light dancing in his eyes announcing the dawn of a new era, an era in which Dex would never again be the victim. "We entered this vault searching for an antidote to save a dying man. But what we actually did... is that we have just created a legendary monster that will overturn the entire Imperial chess board on the heads of all the players. Sylvester is no longer a problem, he has become nothing more than an insect waiting to be crushed beneath the paw of the awakened Lion."