The body of Huakai the Jade Flame lay crumpled on the rocky floor of the Depths, just two meters from the freshie whose very existence had caused all this chaos — Subaru Olof, aka Viksan, the unkillable runner, the misunderstood menace.
A moment of silence hovered. Then—
Clink.
From Jade's corpse, a lootbag dropped.
But this wasn't just some regular Depths trash. No, this bag shimmered. It glowed faintly, outlined with cultivator sigils and rare-tier enchantment colors. It was the kind of drop people sold their entire guilds to obtain. Inside were items that would go for 60,000+ notes… each.
Subaru stared.
And then—
"IF I'M DYING, I'M DYING RICH!!"
He dove on it like a starving man. Hands trembling, he grabbed everything he could — a Crystallized Jade Core, Flamewalker's Cuirass, a Mythic Oathbound Scroll, and ten rolls of Enchanted Tattered Capes, each embroidered with the mark of the Upper Layer. And… was that an actual Depths Devourer Heart?
He didn't even know what most of this was, but he didn't care. Notes were notes. Survival came later.
Behind him, a slow, heavy bootstep.
Alen Drakkengard, the legendary Drakkard, Slayer of Jade Flame, didn't look pleased. His eyes burned not with rage, but something colder — authority, judgment. His voice dropped like iron.
"What did you find in there, little foe?"
Subaru turned halfway, hiding the bag behind his back."Nothing much," he replied with a nervous laugh.
Alen's brow furrowed.
"It's time to end your pathetic life. And now—after slaying Jade—my Contractor Oath has evolved. I have unlocked one of my final mantras."
He stepped forward.
His body shimmered with crimson aura, tendrils of blood-shadow warping space around him. Subaru felt it — his lungs got heavier, knees weaker, and for a second, he could hear his own heartbeat slowing. Then Alen raised his spear.
The Depths trembled.
And then came the word.
"JUDGEMENT."
A slash erupted — an arc of red and black energy large enough to bisect a Megalodaunt.
Subaru blinked. It was too fast.
He wasn't ready.
He didn't have time.
But his body… moved.
His hand tightened around the blade he barely ever used. The air shimmered for half a second, and he yelled from the core of his soul—
"PARRY!!"
CLANG.
The entire Depths echoed.
A sound like a divine bell being struck roared through the blackness. The blood-shadow attack, destined to consume a city, was deflected by a single, shaky, terrified swing of a rusted blade. The light of the mantra shattered like glass, and a shockwave pushed Alen back a full step.
Silence.
Even the monsters of the Depths… paused.
Alen stared at him. Stunned.
"You… parried Judgement?"
Subaru blinked. He didn't know how.He just did. Muscle memory. Desperation. Or maybe something deeper.
Alen lowered his spear. Slowly.
Then, a smile. For the first time in centuries, Alen Drakkengard smiled.
"No bounty is worth more than knowledge. You… you're no ordinary freshie. Tell me… who are you?"
Subaru, still panting, slowly stood up.He reached into his ragged coat and pulled out a half-melted Megurger, clearly expired, the paper wrapping long soaked in grease and dirt.
"Name's Subaru. Want a bite?"
Alen, warrior of blood and contract, slayer of flame gods and paragon of aura, sat down beside him.
"...Fine."
They shared the Megurger in silence.
Two legends, side by side — one by power, the other by survival.
Chapter 17.5 – The Freshie and the Slayer
The darkness of the Depths loomed around them, but it felt… quieter now.
There sat Alen Drakkengard, heir of Drakkard blood, shadow-forged bloodripper of the Void, and wielder of the blood-shadowed spear Red Death.
And beside him sat Subaru Olof, a nervous, unarmored freshie chewing on a half-expired Megurger, his hands shaking ever so slightly.
Alen didn't speak for a long time. He simply stared into the gloom, elbows on knees, eyes narrowed. He looked less like a monster now — and more like a man thinking about something long lost.
Then, finally, he broke the silence.
"What's your age, kid?"
Subaru blinked mid-chew. A blob of cold, mystery meat rolled out of the burger and splatted on the floor.
"Uh… seventeen? I think?"
Alen raised an eyebrow.
"You think?"
Subaru shrugged and took another bite.
"Kinda stopped counting after, y'know… people started dying around me."
A faint pulse of shadow flared around Alen's boots. He was studying Subaru again.
"Where are you from?"
Subaru looked down at his Megurger.
"Place called Etris. You wouldn't know it… barely anyone there made it past level 2."
Alen closed his eyes. That name meant nothing to him. Likely some backwater province without a whisper of the higher realms.
"And what about your bloodline? Clan? House?"
Subaru wiped some ketchup off his chin.His voice was softer now.
"I don't have any of that. I was born in a fishing hut. No family name. Just me and my mom until she got… y'know. Got eaten."
The silence stretched again. Alen didn't nod. He didn't even flinch. But his hand curled ever so slightly tighter around his sheathed spear.
"How'd you end up here?" Alen asked.
Subaru laughed bitterly.
"Got tricked into a Depths dive. Said it was a trial. 'If you survive, you're ready.'"
"Who said that?"
"Some guy with a monocle. Don't remember his name. Might be dead now. Hope he is."
Alen leaned back, the aura around him fading into a calm blood-red hum.
"And you've been surviving… alone?"
Subaru looked up. His eyes were wide. Not with pride, but with something closer to fear. Trauma lived behind those pupils.
"Every day. I run. That's all I do. I'm not a fighter like you. I barely even use my sword. I just… I run until people forget about me. Or get bored. Or die."
Alen stared for a moment longer.
This kid wasn't lying.
He truly had no training, no legendary bloodline, no Divine Oath passed down from a grandmaster.
And yet…
He had parried JUDGEMENT.
And was still alive.
Subaru took another small bite. Half the Megurger was left. He looked at it like it was the only thing keeping him grounded.
"You ever get scared?" he asked, quietly.
Alen blinked. A long pause passed before he responded.
"Once."
"What happened?"
Alen smiled slightly.
"I survived. Then I killed the thing that scared me."
Subaru let out a short breath — something between a laugh and a sigh.
Then he asked something unexpected.
"Why didn't you kill me?"
Alen paused.
"Because you parried something no one else ever has. And you did it without a second thought. That makes you valuable. Even if you're a mess."
Subaru smiled for the first time in hours.
"You're kind of a weird guy for someone who literally bled a cultivator dry."
"You're kind of a weird guy for someone who's been chased by half the Diver world and keeps surviving."
They both sat in silence again.
The Depths rumbled faintly in the distance, but nothing dared approach.
Not while Red Death rested nearby.
And then, just before the scene faded, Subaru unwrapped a second Megurger from his coat pocket. This one was even older — almost fossilized.
"Want another?"
Alen smirked.
"Only if you tell me where you find these things."
"Julius' bag. Don't tell him I stole them."
And for the first time in days, Subaru Olof and Alen Drakkengard laughed together, two souls from completely different worlds… temporarily united by a burger.