Dark Warlock in the Apocalypse

"You shameless bastard!"

"Krrrr."

"Hmph!"

Lucian, who had been on the verge of a furious outburst, immediately clamped his mouth shut at the menacing growl from Fafnir. He closed his eyes tightly, his face contorted with a mixture of frustration and shame. He had no choice but to acknowledge his current helplessness—unable to even lash out in anger.

Still, Lucian managed to glare at Justin and speak, his pride demanding he get at least one last word in. "Do you really think things will go your way? What makes you so confident that I'll raise a sacrifice for you?"

"Boss!"

"Please, stop!"

The last remaining survivors from Lucian's group were horrified, desperately pleading with him to stop provoking Justin. They couldn't understand why Lucian would keep testing the limits when his life was already spared.

Yet Lucian stood his ground, his voice filled with defiance. "This battle was only a skirmish between expeditions. If I return to my territory, grow stronger, and my dragon matures, then when we fight again..."

"You might win?" Justin interrupted with a smirk.

"I will win," Lucian retorted, eyes blazing with determination. He glared at Justin as if to say, Don't be so sure of yourself. You only won this time by luck. Next time, when we fight with everything we have, victory will be mine.

But Justin just chuckled and replied mockingly, "You think someone like you could ever win?"

"Krrrr!" Fafnir snorted in agreement, blowing hot air from its nostrils. The synchronized derision from both Justin and his dragon made Lucian's face flush with humiliation.

Before Lucian could utter another word, Justin's expression turned cold. "Let me ask you something. Do you not understand your situation yet? What exactly are you counting on to threaten me right now?"

"...!"

"You should be grateful I'm sparing you. Keep trying to preserve your pride, and I'll kill you for real."

At those words, Lucian's defiance crumbled. His face drained of color, and he began to tremble slightly as he lowered his head. It finally sank in that one more step out of line could cost him his life.

Satisfied that Lucian's pride was completely shattered, Justin turned around and addressed his allies. "Alright, everyone, it's over! Let's collect our rewards and head home!"

"Man, who would've thought that tiny dragon could get so big?"

"Thanks to Fafnir, we didn't even have to lift a finger to win."

"All hail Fafnir!"

The reactions among the pioneers differed greatly depending on the faction. The members of Justin's group were elated. They had achieved a complete victory in the main quest, and with Fafnir on their side as a powerful ally, they felt more secure than ever.

However, the mood within Damian's group was far more uneasy.

"Sure, we won, and it's great that the dragon's on our side, but..."

"Once this quest is over, that dragon becomes our competitor again, right?"

"Plus, we didn't contribute anything during the quest. How are we going to split the rewards?"

"Yeah, and don't forget our leader already owes them a favor for that shield."

"Shh, don't bring that up right now."

Damian let out a deep sigh, hearing the anxious murmurs of his subordinates. He was well aware of the mounting problems. Despite surviving, the number of issues they now faced made it hard for him to even feel relieved. But with no immediate solution in sight, all he could do was sigh again.

"Everyone, this is the will of the gods! Let us give thanks in prayer!"

"A miracle! A miracle has happened!"

"Praise to our leader! We believe in you!"

The final remaining faction, the cult led by Elias, had an entirely different take on the situation. The cult leader had skillfully spun the arrival of Fafnir as divine intervention, claiming it was a miracle sent by the system to save them. Given the perfect timing of Fafnir's appearance, his narrative was surprisingly well-received by his followers.

Despite the increasing fervor among his supporters, Elias was internally wracked with worry. I'm losing my mind. Sure, I chose the right side, but what now?

While Damian's group had at least been part of an alliance, Elias's faction had been in an almost one-sided coercive relationship with Justin. Not only had they not earned any merit, but they hadn't even had the chance to forge a stronger bond. Even if they were denied any rewards, no one would find it strange.

Damn it. After all this, if I go back empty-handed, things will get dangerous for me.

Even as a cult leader, not all of Elias's followers were blindly loyal. He had power-hungry deputies to contend with, and others were constantly scheming to take his place. He had only brought his most fanatical followers on this expedition, so his authority was secure for now, but once they returned to their base, there would be those waiting to question his leadership. A crack in his power could spell disaster.

But what can I even ask for? Begging for mercy will get me nowhere...

The more Elias thought about it, the more his head throbbed. After a long bout of agonizing over his predicament, he decided to stop thinking altogether. There was no point in overanalyzing a situation he had no control over. With no power to change his circumstances, he could only hope the dice would fall in his favor.

While the factions stewed in their respective concerns, Justin's voice interrupted their thoughts.

"We've arrived."

"…!"

At Justin's declaration, signaling the end of the main quest, everyone came to an abrupt halt.

The path to their final destination after the battle had been straightforward. They simply had to descend on the opposite side of the arena from where they had entered. The entrance hadn't been sealed off, so leaving the battleground was as easy as walking out.

Of course, if they hadn't reached an agreement in the arena, it would have just led to more bloodshed somewhere else.

"You're too big now to fit inside. Go back up and wait outside," Justin said. ..

Fafnir looked at Justin with a sulky expression, but there was nothing Justin could do. Despite the temple's massive size, the entrances were all designed to accommodate only humans. If the arena hadn't been at the temple's open-roofed top, Fafnir wouldn't have been able to enter in the first place.

"The quest's over anyway, so we just need to grab the rewards and come out. It won't take long. If you're bored, hunt some monsters nearby." ..

With a flutter of its wings, Fafnir took off, disappearing into the sky above the arena. Judging by the direction it flew, it seemed Fafnir planned to wait near the exit. Once Fafnir was gone, Justin turned toward Lucian.

"Now, you lot head inside. Or do you want to have another go now that Fafnir's gone?" "N-no, sir!"

At Justin's suggestion, Lucian's remaining pioneers quickly shook their heads in fear. It didn't matter whether Fafnir was there or not—they were down to only ten survivors. To fight now would be suicide.

With their tails between their legs, Lucian's group meekly followed orders and crawled into the passageway. About ten minutes later, after all the survivors had descended through the passage, they finally arrived.

"We're here," someone said.

"...!"

Before them stood several pedestals carved from white marble. On top of them lay stacks of glowing scrolls, five books radiating with power, and an intricately designed iron cage protecting a particularly valuable item. Everything about the arrangement screamed, This is treasure!

Just as Justin stepped forward to get a closer look at the books, a system message rang out.

"Ding! All survivors have entered and all combat actions have ceased."

"Ding! You have completed the main quest: "Between Blood and Desire.""

"Ding! Unlocking the quest rewards."

"Ding! The exit will be opened once all rewards have been distributed."

With a loud click, the iron cage dissolved, leaving the treasures open for the taking. It was clear that, unlike before, the rewards wouldn't be distributed automatically into their inventories; they would have to take them manually.

"I'll check the rewards first. No objections, right?" Justin asked.

The allies silently nodded in agreement. With their approval, Justin confidently stepped forward and picked up a scroll and one of the books.

〈Dimensional Portal Scroll: (Location Designation)〉

Type: Consumable Grade: Epic Details: A scroll consisting of two paired pages. By tearing the pages at different locations, a dimensional portal is created, linking the two spots. The portal remains semi-permanent and can't be destroyed or closed without special items or skills.

〈High-tier Guardian Summon Scroll: (Random)〉

Type: Consumable / Leader-Exclusive Grade: Epic Details: Summons a random guardian with strength equivalent to a level 50 monster. The guardian will defend the city where it is summoned until completely destroyed. It will not attack settlers or pioneers under the leader and cannot move more than 100 meters from the city.

〈Skill Book: (Random)〉

Type: Consumable Details: Opening the book grants a random skill. The power of the skill scales with the user's level, and the skill will be relevant to the user's class or be a general skill.

"Not bad," Justin thought, his lips curling into a satisfied smile.

The Dimensional Portal Scroll could be incredibly useful for securing trade routes or establishing mid-point bases. The Guardian Summon Scrolls would provide enough defense for an entire city even without pioneers. And though the Skill Book was random, it offered a chance to acquire rare and valuable skills.

Unable to hide his excitement, Justin called out to his allies. "You guys should come take a look too. This stuff's pretty great."

"Really? Can we?" Damian asked, surprised.

"Why wouldn't you? We're allies, aren't we?"

"...."

Damian and Zeal exchanged unsure glances before approaching cautiously. Once they read the item descriptions, their eyes widened in disbelief. They immediately recognized the immense value of the items.

"...How are you planning to divide this?" Damian asked, licking his dry lips. He knew very well that Justin could take the majority and leave them with little to nothing.

But to his surprise, Justin smiled lightly and answered, "Six Dimensional Portal Scrolls, one High-tier Guardian Summon Scroll, six Mid-tier Guardian Summon Scrolls, and 100 Low-tier Guardian Summon Scrolls. And three Skill Books. The rest, you guys can split however you like."

"...!?"

Both leaders stared at Justin in shock, their eyes wide with disbelief.

Damian was so stunned he thought he might have misheard.

It wasn't that he had an issue with the division—quite the opposite, in fact.

'Generous,' he thought.

It wasn't just generous—it was almost too generous. Of course, Justin had claimed the only High-tier Guardian Summon Scroll, as expected. But he had only taken six out of the ten Dimensional Portal and Mid-tier Guardian Summon Scrolls. And out of the 200 Low-tier Summon Scrolls, he had only claimed half. Even though he could have taken all five Skill Books without complaint, he left two for the others.

"Are you serious?" Damian asked, still unable to process the offer.

"Why would I joke about something like this?" Justin replied with a chuckle.

"But this is too..."

"Shh, shh!" Zeal quickly interrupted, motioning for Damian to keep quiet. He didn't want to risk angering Justin by questioning his generosity. It was better to accept the offer without any unnecessary comments.

However, Damian couldn't help but feel uneasy. 'There's no such thing as a free gift from this man.'

Given Justin's past actions, Damian knew that he wasn't someone who would take a loss for the sake of honor or camaraderie. If he was being this generous, it meant that he was certain he'd get something in return later. No matter how favorable the current split seemed, Damian couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to it.

Reading Damian's thoughts, Justin laughed lightly and spoke.