Devouring Dragon Heir

Veridian's head had just exploded on live television.

Klaus stood perfectly still, his arm lowering, the steel chopstick impaled on the ground now vibrating with undispersed momentum.

The silence that followed was absolute, heavy, and chilling.

"Oops! My hand just slipped," Klaus noted, his voice calm, a faint, almost imperceptible smirk playing on his lips.

He then walked back to his earlier position, moving with an unhurried grace that contradicted what he had just done.

He sat back down on his makeshift chair, his hands folding calmly in his lap, and closed his eyes.

He seemed entirely at peace, acting like he had just witnessed a minor inconvenience and had not executed a brutal, public execution.

The whole crowd was silent. In the vast tiered seating, thousands of spectators remained frozen, their jaws literally dropped.

Everything had happened too fast for them to digest. The sheer, raw power and the sudden execution by Klaus left them stunned.

Outside the main arena, the audience watching the live broadcast went silent, a collective gasp rippling through cities across the globe.

Meanwhile, inside the private observation area, a scene of equally intense drama unfolded.

BOOM!

A deafening explosion occurred within the observation room itself, shaking the entire reinforced structure.

Several reinforced walls, seemingly impenetrable, collapsed inwards, their high-tech materials twisting and breaking under immense pressure.

Fortunately, nobody outside the observation hall noticed the internal devastation due to special mana barriers and sound dampeners in place.

Neil Ashford, the patriarch of the Ashford family and also Veridian's grandfather, cried out in rage and pain.

He skidded violently across the polished floor, propelled by the force of the internal explosion, before finally stopping near the edge of the shattered room.

He recovered his bearings, his face contorted in a mask of fury and disbelief, and his eyes darted off to the place where Magnus was seated.

On the other side of the collapsed wall, where the source of the explosion seemed to originate, one could see Magnus Ashburn.

The Principal of the Guardian Academy remained sitting calmly on his chair, utterly undisturbed.

He had not even bothered to look in Neil's direction.

Magnus finally turned his head slightly, his gaze cold and piercing, locking onto Neil Ashford.

"Educate your brat when you go home, Neil," Magnus stated, his voice devoid of any warmth, cutting through the lingering dust.

"Tell him that he would regret even daring to come close to touching an Ashburn, specifically my daughter, Julie." The explosion had clearly been a direct retaliation from Magnus for Veridian's earlier, vile words towards Julie.

Neil clenched his jaws in anger, his body still trembling from the shockwave.

"Magnus, aren't you being too unreasonable?" he demanded, his voice thick with outrage. "Do you want to make an enemy of the whole Ashford house? This is an act of war!"

Magnus coldly looked at him, his gaze chilling Neil to the bone.

"Do you really think I would hesitate killing your grandson in real life if he even looks up at her with such intent, just because he is an Ashford?"

Magnus's voice was low, but carried an immense weight of his power. Neil instinctively recoiled, his fury momentarily suppressed by the chilling implication.

While this brutal confrontation was happening in the real world's observation room, the atmosphere in the virtual reality arena was completely different, yet equally tense.

Some participants were simply shaken by the overwhelming might Klaus had shown.

Veridian's sudden, instantaneous demise had instilled a deep terror in those who had witnessed it.

They exchanged wide-eyed glances, fear palpable in their postures.

"You...!" Michael and the other heirs were boiling, their previous confidence shattered. Klaus hadn't even waited for a verbal confrontation. He had simply acted.

Henry Chromewell, Veridian's ally, stepped forward, his face pale but still defiant.

"Klaus," he began, his voice tight,

"You are too much of a brute! Veridian didn't know about her being Julie Ashburn; otherwise, he would have never said what he said! You went too far!"

Henry's words were an attempt to justify Veridian's actions and condemn Klaus's response, trying to appeal to some sense of unspoken rules.

Klaus calmly opened his eyes, which he had closed momentarily after throwing the chopstick. He looked at Henry coldly, his gaze unwavering.

"Why do I have to think before killing anyone, bitch?" he stated, his voice flat, filled with a deep disdain.

"This is a battle royale. We are free to kill. Your rules are meaningless here." His words were direct, and his casual use of the insult seemed to bypass Henry's defenses, digging deeper than a simple curse.

Meanwhile, in his mind, Klaus saw a sudden flare-up of notifications. They pulsed with an alarming red light, overriding his current calm state.

[Ding!!! ????? is annoyed. The quest 'Valor of the Swordsman' has been changed.]

[Ding!! New quest: 'The Hell's Lord' has been assigned!]

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[Quest - The Hell's Lord]

[Description: Someone insulted the woman you set your sights upon, unleash hell upon the world. Show them the true meaning of fear and absolute dominion. Your blade, and your power, shall be their judgment.

TASK: Win the tournament with 10,000 points. Eradicate all who stand against you.

Updated Conditions:

Everything has been unlocked. All elemental control and elemental skills are now accessible. All skills above mortal rank are now accessible. All systems' mental barriers protecting your mind are active. Skills absorbed during the event will be activated immediately. You are at full power.

Rewards:

Fragments of Vance's memories

Core of Arkian Temple

---------------------------------

"What? Isn't it another ridiculous quest?" Klaus thought, a flicker of exasperation in his mind.

The mysterious entity was now imposing even grander, more aggressive tasks.

"I will virtually have to kill every participant, perhaps even multiple times, to earn this many points."

The sheer number of points required, 10,000, was astronomical, although he believed he could achieve it easily.

"And who said that I have my sight set on her?" Klaus thought, a faint blush appearing on his cheeks, surprising even himself.

The "????? entity" was making assumptions about his personal feelings, presuming an emotional connection that Klaus had not consciously acknowledged. This intrusion into his private thoughts was unsettling.

Outside, Henry was boiling over, his face contorted with rage.

Klaus had just called him a "bitch" in front of everyone. He was about to retaliate and lash out verbally when he was cut off by Michael.

Michael stepped forward, his gaze narrowed, a mix of anger and cold calculation in his eyes.

"You think you can do just anything, and we will just ignore it?" Michael asked, his voice low, filled with fury.

"Don't you think you are getting too careless, Klaus? You've made a powerful enemy now."

"You talk too much," Klaus replied, his voice flat. He dismissed Michael's attempt at intimidation.

"I didn't know you were leading the group based on your bullshitting skills." Klaus dismissed Michael, focusing on how to complete the quest instead.

Michael looked at Klaus with disappointment, his initial anger now tinged with a cold resolve.

"Very well. Don't blame me for what happens now." Michael said as he took out his gleaming spear, its tip shimmering with elemental energy.

He then took a deliberate step forward, walking towards Klaus.

"thank god he is initiating this, I would have looked too cringe challenging someone like this."