Global Lords: Building the Strongest Civilization with SSS Rank Talent

Rubedo descended the spiraling stone stairs and entered the main cell block of the Tarnstead dungeons. The massive density of his multiplied stats instantly warped the underground environment.

The heavy iron bars defining the cages began to heat up and buckle under the ambient pressure.

The twenty-five captive Earthlings collapsed to the stone floor. They choked and gasped for air beneath the sheer physical gravity of his presence. They stared up in absolute terror at the towering, violet-flaming Apostle stepping into their prison block.

Rubedo stopped in the center of the corridor. He looked through the bent iron bars at Jason and Chloe. They cowered in the corners of their cells.

"I need factual information regarding your final moments on Earth," Rubedo commanded through Krug's mouth. His voice echoed like grinding stone. "Describe exactly what happened inside that banquet hall in Miami right before the summoning spell activated."

The prisoners trembled. Jason pushed himself up from the floor and gripped the bars, treating him like a monster. They thought they could negotiate, so one of them attempted to bargain for better dungeon conditions in exchange for the information.

"This is not a negotiation," Rubedo ignored the demands entirely. "You are permanently trapped inside a live-service video game. This is Project Civilization. If you die here, your soul is erased from existence entirely. Not that it was any different before. But I figured you should know how vulnerable you guys are."

The revelation shattered any lingering hope among the captives. They realized the horrifying reality of their imprisonment.

The revelation shattered the captives. They had spent years believing this was a magical fantasy world. They realized the horrifying reality of their imprisonment.

"Who are you?" Tyler asked from the adjacent cell.

"Red Vane," Rubedo answered.

Terror ripped through the cell block. The Earthlings stared at the monster in absolute horror. The impoverished orphan they had mocked, abused, and sacrificed at the reunion party currently stood before them as a literal god.

Absolute chaos erupted inside the cages. Jason fell backward away from the bars. Chloe screamed out apologies. Tyler and Jessica frantically crawled toward the front of their cells and begged for mercy.

"Red! Please!" Sarah cried out from the left cell. "We only went along with it! We are completely innocent!"

"We tried to stop them!" Jason lied frantically. "We took care of you behind their backs! You know we did!"

Rubedo ignored the desperate pleading. His burning violet eyes swept across the cages and locked onto two specific figures huddled near the back wall of the central cell.

Marcus Thorne stared at the floor. He refused to look up.

Elena Ross sat beside him. She kept her face hidden behind her knees. When Red had silently begged her to save him from the execution years ago, she had turned her back. And she repeated the exact same action now.

"You claim innocence because you stood on the sidelines," Rubedo told the screaming prisoners. His voice silenced the cell block completely. "You watched the abuse happen and chose to remain silent. You convinced yourselves that your silence absolved you of the cruelty."

Rubedo stepped closer to the central cage. The heat from his scales forced Marcus to finally look up.

"Neutrality in the face of absolute cruelty is quiet participation," Rubedo stated. "Choosing to do nothing is the exact same action as holding the knife."

Tyler gripped his hair and muttered frantically about waking up from a nightmare while Chloe sobbed uncontrollably into her hands. Rubedo let the terrified group process his identity for three seconds before stepping closer to the cages.

"Stop crying," Rubedo commanded through Krug's mouth. "I require an answer to a specific question. There were exactly thirty people locked inside the banquet hall during the reunion. Twenty-five of you stand in these cells. Chris and Megan are dead, and Julia is secured. I account for the twenty-ninth person. Tell me the name of the thirtieth classmate."

The prisoners exchanged panicked glances. They clearly understood the mathematical discrepancy.

"Who was the thirtieth person in that room?" Rubedo asked. "Who was missing when the summoning spell deposited you into the Aethelgard throne room?"

Jason wiped his mouth and stepped away from the back wall. He walked right up to the bent iron bars. Jason puffed out his chest and tried to project his old high school confidence to reclaim the social dynamic he once ruled.

"Why should we tell you anything?" Jason asked with a cocky smirk. "You obviously need this information. You came all the way down here just to ask us."

Rubedo observed Jason in complete silence.

"We will give you the name after you meet our demands," Jason declared. "Open these cages and give us our magic back. You cannot kill us as we are the only ones who know the answer."

Rubedo raised Krug's hand and extended a single clawed finger.

He channeled his amplified telekinesis directly at Jason. An invisible kinetic force seized Jason by the throat and slammed him violently into the metal grate. The iron bars groaned and buckled inward around his limbs.

The telekinetic grip constricted with lethal intent. Jason's bones shattered instantly. Blood erupted from his mouth as the physical force compressed his entire body into a mangled, unrecognizable heap against the metal.

The invisible grip released. Jason's ruined corpse slid down the bars and hit the stone floor with a wet thud.

Chloe unleashed a piercing scream. Tyler scrambled backward until his spine hit the far wall. Elena covered her face and pulled her knees up to her chest in absolute terror.

Rubedo lowered his hand and looked at the surviving twenty-four classmates.

"You hold absolutely no leverage over me," Rubedo stated. "You are in no position to negotiate terms. The only reason you are currently breathing is my mercy, and you are using it up very fast."

That was when they realized that Rubedo had no need for them, and the only reason they were alive was because Rubedo wanted to see them suffer. Their life was in his hands, or rather… his mood.

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