Dark Warlock in the Apocalypse

"Listen to the end! If you become my apostle now, I'll grant you all the powers you were supposed to receive, and I'll even increase some of your stats!" Kargaron shouted desperately.

"I told you, I'm not interested. If you're not making me an Apostle of Eternity, just send me back." Justin replied flatly.

"It doesn't end here! As you level up, I'll grant you even more benefits!"

Was this some sort of home shopping network? Justin laughed at Kargaron's attempt to sound composed. But of course, Kargaron didn't have the means to offer him anything enticing enough to change his mind.

"No matter how many times you say it..." Justin started, ready to reject the offer once and for all.

At that moment, system messages appeared in front of him.

"Ding! The Grand Duke of Deception and Stratagem, Abraxas, is summoning you."

"Ding! The Grand Duke of Death and Curses, Ceraes, is summoning you."

"Ding! The Grand Duke of Desire and Temptation, Astarote, is summoning you."

"Ding! The single-use compulsory summoning right of the Four Lords has been activated."

"Ding! You cannot refuse the summoning. A forced summoning will be carried out."

"Ding! Due to simultaneous summoning, the location has been fixed to the Grand Arena of Ten Thousand Demons."

"Damn it!" Kargaron cursed as Justin's vision darkened for the second time.

When Justin opened his eyes again, he was greeted by the sound of furious shouting coming from all sides.

"That brute, thinking he could do this without knowing anything!"

"What did you say while we were gone?!"

"This is an outrage! Do you think you'll get away with this?!"

"Shut up! Shut up, all of you!" Kargaron roared back.

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As Justin lifted his head, he saw the furious faces of the Four Lords. Three of them were surrounding Kargaron, berating him viciously.

"What the hell is going on now?" Justin muttered, annoyed.

"Ah, you're awake!"

The three Grand Dukes who had seemed ready to start a war just moments ago immediately brightened up upon noticing Justin. They quickly surrounded him, their voices rising in excitement.

"Forget what that fool offered! We can give you something better!"

"Whatever he promised, we'll outdo it!"

"Do you desire anything? Just name it, and it's yours!"

"Shut up, all of you!" Justin snapped, as the emotional energy from all sides made his head throb. If it weren't for the system's protection, his headache would have been far worse. Even though Justin shouted at them, the Four Lords continued their chatter, seemingly oblivious to his frustration.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Just as the pain in Justin's head became unbearable, a cold, authoritative voice rang out.

"Ding! Threats toward the Pioneer have been detected."

"Ding! Preparing to dispose and terminate the instructors of the Grand Arena."

"Ding! Final risk assessment before disposal."

At the system's announcement, the Grand Dukes froze in place. For the first time, fear flickered in their once-arrogant eyes. Sweat dripped down their brows as they stood, petrified.

"Risk level does not meet the threshold for disposal."

"Disposal and termination procedures have been canceled."

"If another threat is detected, disposal will be carried out without reassessment."

"Ugh...!" The Grand Dukes sighed in relief as if they had narrowly escaped death.

Justin massaged his temples, still glaring at the Grand Dukes.

"Why did you summon me? And what exactly are you offering?"

"It's simple. We want to revisit the offer you previously refused..." one of them began.

"No, what I mean is, why now? Aren't you supposed to summon me at level 30? Isn't that the usual route?"

"...Those with great potential tend to raise higher expectations."

"Stop trying to avoid the question. Why did you call me at level 27, three levels early, and cause all this chaos?"

The Grand Dukes fell silent. Justin frowned, but suddenly a thought flashed through his mind, and his eyes gleamed with realization.

"Ah, I get it now." He grinned. "You got a lot of Warlocks to level 25 during this wave, didn't you?"

The Grand Dukes flinched.

"But none of them decided to stick with being a Warlock, did they?"

More visible flinching.

"They all changed their classes, and none of them were chosen as apostles, so now you're panicking, right?"

The Grand Dukes averted their gazes, the truth obvious from their reactions. The promising Warlocks had all switched to other classes, leaving only those who hadn't impressed them. And even those remaining Warlocks weren't guaranteed to stick around. Realizing how valuable Justin was, they had scrambled to recruit him.

Among all the Pioneers, Justin was likely the only strong Warlock left.

'They didn't want to split the power of the Apostle of Eternity, so they tried to lure me in first to make me their personal apostle,' Justin thought. They must have felt some anxiety after seeing the other Pioneers grow stronger. They had hoped that by tempting him now, they could secure his loyalty.

Of course, they had miscalculated, because Justin hadn't felt any pressure at all.

"Now, what should I do?" Justin pondered. It would be easy to reject them outright and walk away, leaving the Grand Dukes to deal with their growing humility as more Pioneers refused to align with them.

But since he was already here, it would be a shame to leave empty-handed.

"Actually, I've been feeling a bit worried lately. My subordinates have all completed their second advancements, and I'm starting to wonder if I'm going to fall behind."

"...!?"

The Grand Dukes approached him eagerly, their faces a mixture of tension and excitement.

Before they could come too close, Justin raised his hand to stop them.

"But the thing is, I'm having a hard time deciding. I've been through so many things lately that I'm not sure which power would be the most useful for me."

"That's obvious...!" one of them started.

"Hold on! How do I know if what you're saying is true? Even if you're sincere, what if the power turns out to be useless to me?"

"Then what do you propose?" The Grand Dukes asked, their eyes filled with confusion.

Justin grinned.

"In the world I come from, we have a concept called a 'trial version' or a 'demo'..."