I Regressed With a 10,000x God-Tier Multiplier-Chapter 19: The Paid Debt

The first thing Lucifer felt was the agonizing, hollow ache in his chest.

It was a pain, born not of flesh, but of a completely shattered mana pool. His veins felt like dry, cracked riverbeds.

Every heartbeat sent a dull warning through his nervous system. He had hit absolute zero. The Soul Backlash had nearly torn his internal organs apart.

He dragged his heavy eyelids open. His vision was blurry, swam with dark spots.

He was resting on something soft. He blinked, the dark spots clearing to reveal the smooth, armored curves of Elara’s lap.

The Valkyrie was looking down at him, her celestial eyes wide with unfiltered relief. Her wings were folded tightly around them both, creating a protective dome against the ambient cold of the cavern.

"You’re awake," Elara whispered. She reached down, her cool fingers gently wiping a streak of dried black blood from his upper lip. "You stopped breathing for two minutes, Lucifer. Your core nearly collapsed."

Lucifer tried to speak, but his throat was like sandpaper. He turned his head slightly.

On his right side, kneeling on the hard stone floor, was Sarah. The Star-Touched Oracle gripped his right hand so tightly her knuckles were white. Her face was pale, streaked with dirt and tears, but she was alive.

The sacrificial altar behind her was empty. The shattered, smoldering remains of the Legendary Lich lay scattered across the far end of the underground stronghold.

"We won," Lucifer rasped, his voice barely a croak.

Lucifer grunted, trying to sit up. A sharp spike of nausea forced him back down against Elara’s armored thighs.

He was completely helpless right now. If a stray goblin walked into the room, he wouldn’t even have the mana to summon a single Cryo-Vanguard.

Suddenly, the ambient noise of the cavern vanished.

The crackle of the dying green fires, the shifting of loose rocks, the ragged breathing of his surviving troops in the tunnels above, it all went dead silent.

Time froze. Lucifer watched a single drop of condensation fall from a stalactite above them. It stopped mid-air, suspended in perfect stasis. Elara’s worried expression locked into place like a painted portrait. Sarah’s tears ceased to fall.

The stone ceiling of the Cult of Decay’s stronghold dissolved. It did not break or crumble; it simply faded into transparency. In its place, a sprawling, infinite canvas of glittering stars appeared. The underground cavern was suddenly bathed in brilliant, silvery twilight.

A figure descended from the cosmos.

She was not made of flesh and blood. She was a silhouette woven entirely from starlight, cosmic dust, and the deep blue of the night sky.

She touched down gently in front of Lucifer. The sheer divine pressure radiating from her made the Soulbound Arcanum in Lucifer’s mind buzz with violent static.

[Ding!]

[Divine Entity detected.]

[Astrid, the Starweaver, has entered your immediate vicinity.]

"Mortal Warlord," Astrid’s voice echoed. It did not come from her mouth, but resonated directly within Lucifer’s mind. It was melodic, ancient, and heavy with cosmic authority. "You bargained with a god, and you honored the terms."

Lucifer stared up at the deity. He couldn’t move his physical body, but his consciousness was sharp. "I told you I would save your children. The Dark Elves are alive. The Oracle is alive. The Necromancers are dead."

Astrid floated closer, her featureless, starlit face looking down at him. "I watched you. Your Warlord class binds the lives of your soldiers to your own soul.

The Lich’s poison shredded your troops, and every death ripped the magic from your veins. You suffered the agony of a hundred dying men to spare my brainwashed children from your area-of-effect spells. That was... unexpected."

"I am a man of my word," Lucifer replied mentally, keeping his tone perfectly neutral. He didn’t want a medal; he wanted the payment they had negotiated. "I kept my end. Now, I need you to fix this. My mana is gone. My soul conduit is fractured. If I get ambushed on the way to the surface, I die."

Astrid raised a hand made of swirling constellations. "You are arrogant, Lucifer Cross. But you are also undeniably worthy.

You bear a burden meant for gods, yet you possess the fragile vessel of a mortal. I cannot rebuild your soul, that is the domain of World Laws. But I can give you the sky."

The Goddess pressed two starlit fingers against the center of Lucifer’s forehead.

A shockwave of absolute, freezing purity blasted through his mind. The hollow, aching void in his chest where his mana pool resided was suddenly flooded with liquid silver.

Lucifer gasped, his back arching off Elara’s lap as the divine energy cascaded through him.

[Ding!]

[System Intervention: Divine Boon Received.]

[You have been granted ’Astrid’s Celestial Blessing’.]

[Passive Skill Unlocked: Astral Regeneration.]

[Effect: Under the open night sky, or in environments heavily saturated with cosmic energy, your base Mana Regeneration is increased by +1000%.]

Lucifer read the blue holographic text as it burned itself into his retinas. His heart hammered in his chest.

A one-thousand percent increase. It was a staggering multiplier. His biggest weakness, the crippling downtime after a massive summoning or a heavy casualty event was just cut in half.

As long as he fought at night, he could sustain an army that would normally kill him.

"The stars will watch over you, Warlord," Astrid whispered, her form already beginning to fade. "Protect my Oracle. She is the key to the coming dark."

The starry sky vanished. The stone ceiling slammed back into reality.

The suspended drop of water hit the stone floor with a sharp plink.

Time resumed.

Lucifer took a massive, shuddering breath. The air rushed into his lungs, no longer burning. The color rapidly returned to his pale skin.

The debilitating nausea vanished, replaced by a thrumming, vibrating warmth spreading from his forehead down to his chest.

Elara jumped slightly, her hands hovering over him. "Lucifer? Your aura... it just spiked."

Lucifer sat up. He didn’t need her help this time. He rolled his shoulders, feeling the raw, unfiltered starlight settling into his restored mana pool. He looked at his hands. His veins, previously dark and bruised from the Soul Backlash, were now glowing with a faint, silvery glow.

"I’m fine," Lucifer said, his voice steady and commanding once again.

He turned to Sarah. The Oracle was staring at him, her eyes wide. The glowing crescent moon mark on her forehead was pulsing in sync with Lucifer’s own heartbeat.

"The Starweaver," Sarah breathed, awe lacing her voice. "She touched you. I felt her presence. She gave you her blessing."

"She paid her debt," Lucifer corrected simply.

Sarah shook her head. She released his hand and shifted back on her knees, bowing her head in deep reverence. "It is more than a debt, Lucifer. During the battle, when your soul was breaking, I used the Star-Soul Transfer to link my dormant mana to yours. It was a desperate measure. It was temporary."

She looked up at him, her eyes shining with absolute resolve. "I want to make it permanent."

Lucifer frowned, his tactical mind instantly calculating the risks. "A permanent Soul Link? Sarah, my Warlord class is a parasite.

If I link you permanently to my core, and I take a massive hit, it could drain you dry. It could kill you."

"I don’t care," Sarah said fiercely. She crawled forward, closing the distance between them. She placed both of her small hands flat against the center of Lucifer’s chest, right over his heart.

"You stepped into a domain of death to save me. You let your own body tear itself apart to spare my people. My life belongs to you now."

Elara watched them silently, her golden eyes softening. She understood the weight of a Warlord’s burden better than anyone. She nodded slightly at Lucifer, giving her silent approval.

"I am an Oracle," Sarah continued, her voice gaining strength. "My body passively absorbs and generates massive amounts of astral energy. Alone, I am just a battery with no outlet.

But linked to you... I can act as your reservoir. If your troops fall, if the death-drain hits you, it will pull from me before it shatters your soul."

Lucifer looked into her eyes. He saw no hesitation. Only absolute loyalty. This was the true power of a Warlord. It wasn’t just numbers and stats; it was the devotion of the heroes he bound to his cause.

"Do it," Lucifer commanded softly.

Sarah smiled. She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his forehead, exactly where Astrid had touched him moments before.

A blinding flash of white light erupted between them. Lucifer felt a new tether snap into place deep within his soul.

It was distinct from the heavy, metallic links he shared with his thousands of snipers and vanguard troops. This link was soft, humming, and infinitely warm. It felt like a constant stream of cool water pouring into a deep well.

[Ding!]

[Hero Bond Updated.]

[Sarah (Star-Touched Oracle) has initiated a Permanent Soul Link.]

[Synergy Unlocked: Astral Battery.]

[Effect: Sarah’s innate mana generation is now directly routed into your mana pool. Soul-Drain penalties from summoned unit deaths will now draw from Sarah’s reserves before impacting your Max HP/Organs.]

Lucifer exhaled a long breath. The relief was indescribable. The crushing, claustrophobic fear of a stray AoE attack instantly killing his troops and causing a lethal Soul Backlash eased significantly.

He wasn’t invincible, but he finally had a buffer. He had a lifeline.

He reached up and gently touched Sarah’s cheek. "Thank you. I swear to you, I will not let you bleed for my mistakes."

Sarah leaned into his touch, her eyes fluttering shut. "I know you won’t, my Warlord."

Lucifer stood up, his boots planting firmly on the stone floor. He extended a hand to Sarah, pulling her to her feet, while Elara stood tall beside him, her spear materializing in her grip. The battle was over, but they were still deep underground in hostile territory.

Lucifer opened his interface to check the final tally of the boss fight and his new status. The numbers that greeted him made a sharp, predatory smile cut across his face.

The massive influx of experience from executing the Necromancer Triad and the Legendary Lich had pushed him straight to the absolute limit of his current mortal tier.

[Status Update]

[Name: Lucifer]

[Class: Apprentice Mage / Tier 2 Warlord]

[Level: 30 (Mortal Cap Reached! Ascend class to progress further.)]

[Mana: 12,500 / 45,000 (Regenerating rapidly via Astral Battery)]

[Active Summons: 9,850 / 10,000 (Standby Mode)]

[Active Buffs:]

[- Astrid’s Celestial Blessing (+1000% Night Mana Regen)]

[- Sarah’s Soul Link (Damage/Drain Buffer Active)]

[Soul-Drain Penalty: -250 Mana per Summon Death.]

[Condition: Stable. Fractures healing.]

"Let’s move out," Lucifer ordered, his voice echoing through the dead cavern. "We have loot to sort, and a level cap to break."

With his Valkyrie on his left and his Oracle on his right, the Warlord marched toward the surface, ready to claim the night.