Chapter 45 – Welcome to Limbo
The streets buzzed around him—cars honking, neon signs flickering, the distant rhythm of a street performer smacking beats on overturned buckets. Mortals flowed like a river around him, oblivious to the Level Cap Annihilator currently debating whether to buy a croissant or steal a country.
His boots clicked against the sidewalk, slow and steady. Confidence in every step. But beneath it?
His mind was spinning.
Not because of power.
Not even because of Naomi.
But because—
[Bet those angels are talking about you, sir.]
Lux grinned. "Oh, definitely."
He thumbed open his system interface—sleek, gold-trimmed, black as obsidian. The air around him shimmered faintly, invisible to mortals, but pulsing with coded magic only a select few could sense.
The menu expanded.
[Welcome back, Lux Vaelthorn.]
[Status: Active. Vacation Mode: ON.]
[New Titles Earned: Realmbreaker. Limitless.]
[Warning: Emotional Stability 61%. Recommend Coffee.]
He snorted. "Yeah, no kidding."
He swiped to the Skills tab. Time to reassess.
It split into two neatly organized branches—like an infernal resume built by a bipolar career counselor.
[GREED-BASED SKILLS]
[Wealth Scan]
Instantly reveals a target’s net worth, Fortune Points, bank history, active investments, debt contracts, and hidden gold reserves. Bonus: displays a financial personality tag.
[Midas Touch]
Touch any object. Turn it into gold, diamonds, or other rare materials. Cooldown: 3 minutes.
[Money Multiply]
Temporarily multiplies any currency or financial asset by 100x to 10,000x depending on greed level and mood.
[Raven Protocol: Corvus]
Summon your demonic assistant raven. Sarcastic. Talks like a burned-out aristocrat with Wi-Fi. Can hack global banks, steal financial IDs, and deliver luxury items midair with drone-grade accuracy.
[Wealth Rewrite]
Drain or boost someone’s fortune rating, causing windfalls, tax evasion blessings, or career-ending bankruptcy.
[TechnoGreed]
Instantly hack and control any device on a network—phones, drones, ATMs, elevators, smart fridges, crypto farms. Even coffee machines. Especially coffee machines.
[Devil’s Blessing]
When someone makes a pact with you, they gain a buff based on their strongest traits. Also auto-generates a demonic watermark on their soul.
[LUST-BASED SKILLS]
[Manipulation]
Magically enhance persuasion, seduction, and negotiation. Can sway thoughts, erode resistance, or convince people that selling their soul is a quirky career move.
[Charm]
Glamour-style aura. Bends light, tone, and body language to make you appear as the viewer’s ideal type. Stacks with pheromones. Unreasonably effective on sleep-deprived mortals.
[Passive: Incubus Pheromones]
Effect: Auto-activates around emotionally unstable or wealthy women with a Fortune Rating of 60%+. Induces attraction, mild obsession, or impulsive flirting. Cannot be manually turned off—runs on mood. When you are down, so is the scent.
[OFFENSIVE SKILLS]
[Battle Form]
Partial transformation into armored state. Hell-forged plates inscribed with financial contracts, glowing with infernal mana. Increases physical defense, resistance to holy projectiles, and doubles sass output.
[True Form: Greed Incarnate]
Full transformation. Horned. Obsidian skin laced with molten gold runes. Eyes glow like burning credit cards. Cloak made of IOUs owed by mortal empires. Aura effect: causes envy, lust, or subconscious submission in weaker beings.
[Teleportation]
Short-range. Greed-based targeting. Can warp directly to large financial deposits, high-value targets, or anywhere with luxury goods present.
[Agility Boost]
Temporarily enhances speed and reflexes. Used mostly to dodge responsibility or sprint across rooftops during magical audits.
[Demonic Orbs]
Summon 50 floating dark energy orbs. Each orb stores a debt curse or minor explosion spell. Can also bounce like angry rubber balls.
[Hellfire Rain]
Launch infernal bolts into the sky that arc down in a burning shower. Targets feel like they’re getting taxed in hellfire.
[Summon: Souls of the Damned]
Summon bound spirits or infernal creatures—bankrupt barons, corrupt politicians, and failed angelic stockbrokers—to fight along your side.
[SIGNATURE WEAPON – TWIN BLADES OF SIN]
Lux stared at the list.
Scrolled.
Tapped the edge of the menu thoughtfully.
"...Huh," he muttered.
[Unsatisfied, sir?]
"Kinda," he admitted, scratching his jaw. "I mean, I have power. But most of its utility. Negotiation tools. High-tier bullshit. Not many big boom skills."
[You preferred your blades in the military.]
"Yeah, well. That was Hell’s military. Different rules. Everything was either get in close or bribe the enemy general’s mistress."
[Should I mark down a skill expansion request?]
Lux nodded. "Yup. I want more combat options. Maybe something AOE. Or like... sin bombs."
[Noted. Compiling potential evolutions.]
He flicked the menu shut and stepped into a crosswalk, ignoring the oncoming car that screeched to a halt inches from his boot.
The driver leaned out. "Are you trying to die?!"
Lux didn’t even glance. Just waved. "Sorry. I’m allergic to being poor."
He kept walking.
A breeze blew past, ruffling his coat. It smelled like exhaust, fried food, and that strange city-scent of metal and human ambition. But beneath it—
Faint.
Something new.
He slowed.
Sniffed the air.
[Detection Protocol Active: Unknown divine mana signature. Range: Expanding.]
"...Don’t like that," Lux muttered.
He pivoted toward an alley, tucked himself behind a half-broken vending machine, and swiped open a new tab.
[Map – Divine Interference Monitor]
A new blip pulsed red.
Three. Not one.
Descending.
Same sector.
Same damn city.
He narrowed his eyes.
"Rebel angels?" he whispered.
[Likely. Class: Seraphim. Not causal. Probably opportunistic.]
Lux leaned his head against the concrete wall, letting the cool surface ground him for half a second.
"Yup, no vacation for me, I guess," he sighed.
[You are genetically incapable of mediocrity.]
"Thanks."
He exhaled.
Thought for a beat.
Then tapped the side of his neck, dragging his fingers down the black-gold thread laced into his coat’s lining.
A shift in the world.
Not the air. Not the weather.
Something beneath it.
Lux’s breath fogged for a second despite the summer heat. He blinked. Looked around.
Too quiet.
No wind. No footsteps. The distant hum of streetlights fuzzed out like an unplugged amp. The shadows lengthened. Stretched.
And then the sky—cracked.
Like glass breaking underwater. Not with sound. But with pressure.
A pulse.
A drag.
The world lurched.
[System Notification: Dimensional Shift Detected.]
[Location: Limbo Layer – Class: Angelic Seal Realm.]
[Status: Extraction: Blocked.]
[Combat Protocol: Activated.]
"Son of a—" Lux didn’t finish.
The world turned inside out.
The street below his feet shattered like glass and reformed midair. Color bled from the sky. Buildings stretched, twisting like they’d been painted by a drunk surrealist with a grudge. Traffic froze—literally. Cars suspended in the air like marionettes with cut strings. Asphalt peeled into ribbons. Street signs blinked with angelic runes. Graffiti warped into biblical symbols pulsing with threat.
Everything—everything—was wrong.
It wasn’t Hell. It wasn’t Earth.
It was something between.
Welcome to Limbo...