Elizabeth watched Adrian with narrowed eyes.

’It’s a good deal,’ she thought. ’He should take it. He’s been completely outclassed. A person needs to know when to give up.’

Sylvia took a step forward, her voice soft but carrying easily across the ruined estate.

"Arthur, come back home now," Sylvia said. "You’ve proved yourself enough. You’ve struggled enough. We all regret what you’ve been through."

Jessica followed, her gaze steady.

"The moment you accept the heir position," Jessica said, "I will serve you with all my heart... and give you my loyalty."

She held his gaze.

"Come back," she added quietly. "This is your home, after all."

Arthur’s mind filled with noise.

Faces. Voices. Blood. Yuna lying broken in a crater. His friends on the screen, beaten because they had followed him. The Imperius banners hanging above the warships—symbols of a power that had never once protected him.

’Looks like it’s finally over, huh...?’ Arthur thought. ’I should take responsibility. I dragged everyone into this.’

He clenched his jaw.

’Yeah. That’s the right choice. I have no more cards to play. They’ve won.’

He looked around.

The same people. The same faces. The same eyes that only held respect for those they feared. The same bloodline that called itself family but fed on its own.

Even if the deal was good, the thought of going back filled Arthur with a familiar disgust.

He knew what it meant.

Going back meant giving up his freedom.

It meant living under expectations and orders he had never wanted, becoming a tool for a family that had already thrown him away once.

But still—

’I have no choice...’ he thought.

His fingers trembled.

Just as he was about to take a step forward, a translucent window appeared before his eyes.

---

╔══════════════════════════════════════╗

║ ABSOLUTE CHOICE QUEST ║

╚══════════════════════════════════════╝

The Imperius Family has crushed you.

You stand surrounded by enemies.

A single mistake may lead to your death.

The System has detected a crossroads of fate.

Choose carefully.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

[Choice 1]

"The Broken Heir"

Abandon your pride.

Submit to the Imperius Family.

Accept your place beneath them.

Reward:

◆ Talent Upgrade Card ×1

Failure:

◆ Lose 50% of all Attributes.

◆ One random Talent is downgraded by 2 Ranks.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

[Choice 2]

"The King Who Refuses to Kneel"

Escape this situation.

Turn the tables on the Imperius Family.

Make them regret treating you as prey.

Carve fear into their hearts so deeply that they think twice before ever standing against you again.

Requirements:

◆ Survive.

◆ Protect Yuna Akatsuki.

◆ Break the Imperius Family’s plans.

◆ Leave this battlefield as the victor.

Reward:

◆ S-Rank Talent: Beast Tamer

Failure:

Yuna Akatsuki will be afflicted with:

[SSS+ Curse: Eternal Withering]

Effects:

◆ Lifeforce continuously decays.

◆ Memories are gradually erased.

◆ The soul slowly crumbles.

◆ After 3 years, the victim becomes a mindless husk.

Warning:

This curse cannot be removed by ordinary means.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Difficulty:

ABSOLUTE

Estimated Survival Rate:

0.7%

"The weak obey."

"The strong rule."

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

[Accept Choice 1]

[Accept Choice 2]

---

Arthur stared at the screen.

He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

’Seriously... right now?’ he thought. ’After all this?’

His body ached. His lifespan had already been shortened. His friends were hostages. His trump cards had been spent.

’I have no more cards to play,’ Arthur thought. ’The Imperius Family has won.’

His eyes flicked over Choice 1.

’And option one isn’t even bad...’ he admitted.

His finger moved.

He chose an option.

The window vanished.

The Imperius Family saw something else.

Arthur stepped toward Adrian.

For the first time since the battle began, he lowered his sword. Slowly, he reached out and wrapped his arms around Adrian, pulling him into a stiff, awkward embrace.

Gasps rippled through the soldiers.

Adrian’s lips curled into a smirk.

"You’ve finally come to your senses, huh, brat?" Adrian said.

Around them, several people allowed themselves to relax.

Laughter broke out in scattered patches.

Sylvia’s lips curved into a satisfied smile. Jessica’s expression softened, a faint smirk appearing on her face as she imagined the future heir she would serve.

Arthur slowly pulled away from Adrian.

"Father," he said in a low voice. "I want to say something."

Adrian looked down at him, amused.

"What is it?"

Arthur smiled.

Then he spoke.

"Fuck you, Father."

The smile on Adrian’s face froze.

Before anyone could react, Arthur turned his head slightly. From behind Adrian’s shoulder, he raised his hand and extended his middle finger for the entire Imperius Family to see.

"Fuck all of you bastards."

For a single heartbeat, the entire estate fell silent.

Nobody moved.

Nobody breathed.

Then Agnus’s aura exploded.

Killing intent crashed down like a falling star, heavier and more terrifying than anything Arthur had felt before. Soldiers staggered. The air itself seemed to distort under the pressure.

At the same time, the ring on Arthur’s finger began to glow.

A dark light spread across its surface.

Arthur raised his hand and looked directly into Adrian’s eyes.

"Adrian Evan Imperius."

The ring flared.

Adrian’s expression changed.

For the first time since the battle began, genuine surprise appeared on his face.

His aura erupted instinctively as he tried to resist.

But it was useless.

Even Adrian Evan Imperius could not defy the power of the Containment Ring.

His body began to shimmer.

Countless motes of light peeled away from him, pulled toward the ring by an irresistible force. It was as if an invisible abyss had opened within the artifact, devouring everything in its path.

"Wha—"

His words never finished.

The motes accelerated.

In less than a second, Adrian’s entire body was compressed into light and swallowed by the ring.

Gone.

The Imperius patriarch had vanished.

Only the dark ring remained, gleaming ominously on Arthur’s finger.

Silence exploded into chaos.

Elizabeth’s eyes widened.

"...What?" she whispered.

Before anyone could process what had happened, Arthur swung his black sword through empty space.

The world split apart.

Reality tore open like cloth, revealing a crack in space large enough for a person to enter.

"Elizabeth!" Arthur shouted. "Get inside! Now!"

Agnus moved instantly.

His figure blurred and appeared directly in Arthur’s path, one hand reaching toward him.

Arthur reacted just as quickly.

He grabbed Lucas’s broken body and hurled it upward.

Lucas shot into the air like discarded luggage.

At the same moment, Arthur formed a blood spear and launched it toward Lucas’s falling body.

Agnus’s eyes narrowed.

He had only two choices.

Catch Arthur.

Or save Lucas.

For a fraction of a second, the battlefield froze.

Then Agnus made his decision.

He disappeared.

The old man reappeared high above the battlefield, intercepting Lucas and the blood spear simultaneously. Golden energy burst from his body as he knocked the spear aside and caught his grandson before the weapon could tear through him.

That brief hesitation was all Arthur needed.

Standing beside the spatial rift, Arthur looked back one final time.

At the soldiers.

At the elders.

At the Imperius Family.

A savage grin spread across his face.

"Fuck all of you!"

Then he stepped into the tear in space.

Elizabeth snapped out of her shock, tightened her grip on Yuna, and leaped in after him.

The rift closed instantly behind them.

The battlefield fell silent once more.

No one moved.

No one spoke.

They had just watched the discarded son of the Imperius Family insult them to their faces, imprison their patriarch, outplay their strongest expert, and escape right in front of their eyes.

For the first time in a very long time...

The Imperius Family had absolutely no idea what to do next.