Chapter 76: Crown Prince.

Rigel grunted as he went down on his knee and coughed blood. His whole body was sore, and there were a lot of wounds all over his body. He got the gist of the Black Sovereign's power and what they were capable of. With only his brute strength, he could barely keep up with one of them and he was aware of the difference in power.

Even with all the sturdiness of his skin and muscles, he got cut and injured so easily by those 4. Even so, he believed they hadn't shown their full power because they thought it was unnecessary.

Aldebaran, Lars, and Deren didn't hold back even knowing Rigel's condition. They noticed that he hadn't used anything but his brute strength. They looked at each other and planned to end the fight with their next attacks.

Rigel could sense their killing intent and that was when he decided to reveal one of his abilities. He covered his wounds with flames and the wounds healed up rapidly and it only took half a minute. Everyone was shocked by his ability to heal and the transformation of his hands that turned into Lindworm's claws.

"Be careful..." Aldebaran held his sword tightly. "Follow my command."

Aldebaran activated his skill and made his pupils glow as he dashed toward Rigel. He swung his sword at Rigel, but his eyes moved toward where Rigel was planning to dodge. When he redirected his sword, he was so sure he would cut Rigel's hand off, but when he cut Rigel's hand, his sword went past it. He was shocked that he cut an afterimage, and he immediately tilted his head to the left.

Rigel missed his punch and he was amazed that Aldebaran could dodge it. He was about to steal Aldebaran's sword, but then he felt presence from his sides. He created 2 sand barriers next to him and they were made perfectly in time before Lars' spear and Deren's sword could stab his ribs.

He turned the sand barriers into spikes and sent them toward those 3. When they were about to move to dodge those spikes, he wrapped their legs in sand and hardened them so they couldn't run. They didn't expect him to be able to cast those magic spells with precision and had no choice but to block those spikes.

They freed themselves since it wasn't that hard to break the sand on their legs. They regrouped and thought of a new plan to fight Rigel because they didn't expect him to be able to cast magic and was good at it.

"Al, I think he's toying with us," Deren said.

"I know. We don't need a reason to hold back anymore," Aldebaran nodded in agreement. "Don't hesitate," he added and dashed forward.

Rigel didn't have the opportunity to throw a counterattack from Aldebaran's attacks. A single mistake would be enough to lose his life, and not to mention Lars and Deren were joining the fight, making it even harder for Rigel.

"(I need to know my limit without my abilities...)" Rigel thought as he dodged and made some space from those 3.

Rigel didn't expect him to be cornered and if it wasn't for his Healing Flame, he would have died a long time ago. He knew he was no match for them especially with their equipment that made them even stronger. His magic was no match for them, but he only used Mana magic, not Anima Magic.

"Gotcha!" Lars appeared from behind Rigel with his spear pointed at Rigel's heart.

Rigel couldn't dodge it and so he activated his Adrenaline Rush. He dodged it and escaped from the triangle of death. Since it had become like that, there was no reason for him to hold back. He enhanced his muscles with Anima and used his full strength to punch Lars in the face.

He thought his punch was enough to break his skull, but a barrier made his punch a bit weaker and slower than it should. Even though his punch was weakened, it was enough to send Lars flying and break the barrier. He then released Dragon's Aura to immobilize the others and enhanced his body even further.

Rigel heard cracking sounds and something shattered when he used his Dragon's Aura. He looked at Aldebaran and Deren, and he was surprised they weren't affected by the aura which should have put them in fear, but he noticed the necklaces they wore shattered.

"Fall back!" Aldebaran shouted and immediately made a distance from Rigel.

Deren regrouped with Aldebaran and Astrid. Deren and Aldebaran looked at their necklaces and were shocked by what had happened.

Rigel didn't bother to deal with them and went straight to Lars. He created a spear made of purple flame and threw it at Lars who was still stunned by the punch. The spear struck Lars' chest plate, but again, a barrier made the spear a lot weaker but that didn't stop it from piercing his chest.

Rigel made 2 spears and held each in his hands. He stabbed Lars from the sides and made another spear to stab him from behind. Aldebaran, Deren, and Astrid couldn't help him because they were too far away and they wouldn't make it in time.

Lars was being burned alive while Rigel watched him burn as he heard the barriers shattered around Lars' body. He didn't know what those barriers were, but they were quite strong to hold the purple flames for a bit.

Rigel took Lars' spear before it got caught in flames, and tested it out. He looked at Aldebaran, Deren, and Astrid with a cold expression, challenging them for another fight.

"Take the Crown Prince, we are leaving..." Aldebaran sheathed his sword and put it on his back.

"What's going on?" A young man came out of the tent. When he saw the mess and Rigel holding Lars' spear with Lars' body being burned alive next to him, he was petrified.

A young man who was 15 years old with long gray hair. He didn't look like a prince at all, but his smooth skin and hair were enough to tell he was being taken care of his whole life.

"My Prince, for your own safety, we will bring you back," Astrid said as she blocked the Crown Prince's view. "We apologize for the inconvenience, My Prince," she pulled out a teleportation scroll and brought the Crown Prince away.

Aldebaran and Deren did the same thing, abandoning the Players on the campsite. Rigel looked at the Players who were petrified and didn't hesitate to make a fireball above the campsite and concentrated it until it couldn't handle the pressure. The campsite was flattened by the explosion and burned everyone into crisp.

Rigel looked at the sand that had been turned into glass and reflected the moonlight back to the sky. He walked past the campsite and went to check the sinkhole because there was still a group of Players inside. He waited for them to come out so he could kill them before they could do anything.

(At the same time on the 65th floor)

Astrid removed her hands from the Crown Prince and immediately went down to her knees as she lowered her head. Aldebaran and Deren did the same and they all looked guilty for disappointing the Crown Prince who was planning to clear the dungeon.

"Please, explain to me what happened back there," The Crown Prince asked. "Who was that man, and how could he kill Lars?" He added.

"We made a grave mistake, Crown Prince. We deserve to be punished," Aldebaran said with his head lowered.

"I need an explanation, not your life," The Crown Prince responded with his eyebrows furrowed.

"We have no idea who that man was, and we thought he was just a normal Outlaw, but it turned out he was more dangerous than we thought. Because of our shortcomings, Lars lost his life," Deren explained, but he didn't look sad that Lars died, neither Aldebaran nor Astrid.

"Why did you guys lie to my nephew?" A man came out of the right right behind the Crown Prince. "Tell him the truth because he's the future king of this world," he added and put his hands on the Crown Prince's shoulders.

The brown curly hair and the green eyes looking down at Aldebaran and the others. One of the Executives that ruled over the tower, Clive.

"Uncle?" The Crown Prince turned around to look at Clive. "Do you know something about the person who killed Lars?" He asked.

"That man's name is Rigel, the Non-Player who has killed at least a thousand Players. He's a dangerous man," Clive answered with a gentle smile.

"Why? Why did nobody stop him?" The Crown Prince furrowed his eyebrows with a confused look. "Uncle Clive can capture him, right?" He asked.

"Hmm..." Clive paused to think of an answer. "It's complicated because your father will be the one who will take Rigel down. We can only let Rigel be because of that, and Aunt Checil tried to capture him, but she ended up badly injured because of it," he added.

"My father said that?" The Crown Prince asked.

"Yes, Arsen will take care of it. We promise that we will keep the tower safe and save those Players, so don't worry, Ansen," Clive smiled as he patted the Crown Prince's head.