Lord of the Truth

Grrrrrr...

Tear Apart Existence consumed an enormous quantity of soul units to influence everything surrounding its caster by striking the fabric of space itself. It was regarded as a large-scale technique, one rarely used except as a final trump card—either to erase an entire battlefield in a single sweep or to create enough chaos for its user to escape while every enemy was forced to retreat before its overwhelming range.

As fate would have it...

Today, there was nothing around them except the vacuum of space itself.

Its effective radius became even greater.

Its destructive influence became even stronger.

Space twisted violently, folded inward, then split apart as though invisible hands were tearing reality itself to pieces.

Everything occupying that region should have been shredded beyond recognition like—

Bam.

The wave struck Hedrick’s body directly...

...like a shovel striking the surface of calm water.

His clothes fluttered violently.

Faint ripples spread across the skin of his body.

His long tied hair swayed gently from the impact.

...

And that was all.

It was as though someone had simply thrown a random handful of soul units against him.

The fractured layers of distorted space reached the edge of Hedrick’s body...

...then stopped.

The manipulated soul units had completely failed to force space itself to attack him.

"I can feel the Major Law of Space deliberately avoiding me." Hedrick muttered quietly, a faint smile appearing upon his face as he carefully examined every subtle change occurring around him. "It’s intentionally redistributing the attack around my body instead of allowing it to touch me... so this is how it works."

His smile widened just a little.

"Removing my limits doesn’t merely allow me to manipulate every law more freely..." His voice remained calm, almost fascinated. "...it also causes the laws themselves to instinctively fear attacking me. They choose avoidance before confrontation... This is remarkable."

"W-What...?!" The Eight-Star Royal Soul Master instinctively retreated another step, horror completely replacing the confidence he had displayed only moments earlier as he stared at the impossible scene unfolding before his eyes.

Yet...

He did not flee.

Not yet.

His technique...

...wasn’t finished.

Haaaaam!

At that very moment, while Hedrick still kept his eye peacefully closed, the second phase of the devastating attack finally descended.

Still immersed in analyzing every phenomenon surrounding him, Hedrick suddenly felt a sharp headache erupt within his mind.

A mysterious seal slowly began forming upon his forehead.

Only then did he gradually reopen his eye...

...wearing an unmistakably annoyed expression.

The seal was perfectly circular.

At its center rested a five-pointed star.

Its color was a deep violet approaching absolute black.

The dreadful aura emanating from it alone was sufficient to kill certain weaker creatures without the need for any further attack.

"Hahahaha!" The Royal Soul Master shouted triumphantly the instant he saw the seal completing itself. "You’ll regret underestimating me! Death has already claimed you today—even if I won’t personally be the one to deliver it!"

Without waiting another heartbeat...

...he turned around and fled.

"Wait."Hedrick calmly raised one hand, and slowly closed his fingers,"argh...!!"

The Royal Soul Master came to an abrupt stop entirely against his own will.

It felt as though he had suddenly plunged into the deepest region of an endless ocean.

An indescribable pressure squeezed every inch of his body from every conceivable direction simultaneously, leaving him utterly incapable of escaping regardless of how desperately he struggled.

"Heh... hehe..." The Royal Soul Master finally managed to breathe well enough to force out a few words. "The Seal of Slow Fall." His smile gradually returned to his face. "I consumed more than half of the array’s total power in order to plant it inside you permanently."

His confidence visibly returned.

"From this moment onward..."

"...every technique you attempt to perform..."

"...every movement you make..."

"...will automatically trigger a spiritual assault."

"And should you attempt to absorb energy..."

"...or even wield a weapon..."

"...the resulting pain will be multiplied many times over."

Then, with deliberate slowness, he turned back toward Hedrick.

"You’ve already been sentenced to death."

After a brief pause, he added with complete confidence,

"Unless..."

"...we reach an agreement."

"A seal?" Hedrick smiled faintly, showing neither concern nor urgency.

"I too have one of those."

Hummmmm...

At that very moment, Hedrick’s entire body began emitting a faint golden radiance.

The golden light gradually intensified...

...before flowing upward toward his forehead.

Craaack.

The violet seal immediately began cracking apart.

"What?!" The Royal Soul Master shouted in utter disbelief, his voice rising uncontrollably.

Bang!

In the very next instant, the violet seal exploded completely.

Yet the soul power sealed within it did not disperse into space as it should have.

Instead...

The Royal Soul Master could clearly sense that the strange golden energy had completely sealed that very soul power inside Hedrick’s head...

...as though helping him digest and assimilate it.

Then...

Something even more unbelievable began taking place.

The golden energy itself slowly gathered upon Hedrick’s forehead.

It condensed further and further...

...until it gradually assumed the form of an entirely new seal.

The new golden seal possessed a frame composed of five distinct points—

five symbols.

Between every pair of symbols stretched delicate threads woven from incomprehensible patterns and mysterious runes that could not be read or deciphered.

At the very center of that pentagonal formation rested...

...the pattern of a single eye.

To some extent, it resembled the array Robin had once used to remove the limits from Hedrick...

...from Renara...

...and before either of them, Althera.

Only...

...this version was vastly smaller.

That immense, awe-inspiring array had been compressed into a compact golden seal, perfectly refined in appearance, majestic in design, and radiating an overwhelming aura despite its modest size.

"Hmm." Hedrick’s smile broadened noticeably, genuine fascination appearing in his expression as he felt the changes occurring within his body. "So the seal can free my body from external influences... even soul ones? Remarkable."

He slowly raised both hands before himself and carefully examined them from every angle, flexing his fingers as though trying to rediscover his own body. A moment later, a self-mocking expression crossed his face, one that seemed directed entirely at the man he used to be.

"Pathetic..."

His thoughts inevitably drifted back to the conversation he had shared with the Master—the long discussion during which the Master had patiently tried to convince him of the bigger picture, urging him to embrace the greater cause, while he himself had stubbornly refused and dismissed every word as meaningless deception.

How exactly had that man looked at him back then?

Standing before him...

Knowing perfectly well that he possessed the ability to grant him this level of power whenever he wished...

Or, if he preferred, simply leave him alone for another hundred years...

Allowing him to continue chasing those pitiful dreams...

Until one day he walked out on his own...

Only to perish filled with endless regret.

Where had that kind of patience come from?

"Heh~" Hedrick shifted his gaze toward the Eight-Star Royal Soul Master, gratitude unexpectedly surfacing within his voice. "Thank you... all of you from the Cursed Galaxy... for giving me such a swift opportunity to finally say to him... thank you."

Yet another quiet sigh soon escaped him.

Once he finished dealing with them...

...he would refine the galaxy for himself exactly as ordered.

Even while fighting beneath someone else’s command...

...he continued obtaining things he would never have dared imagine, even during the absolute peak of his former strength.

Rumble...

At that very moment, Hedrick sensed something that immediately caused his brows to knit together.

For the first time since arriving...

...he experienced a genuine trace of danger.

He instantly turned toward the depths of the galaxy.

His piercing eye effortlessly looked through everything lying between them, quickly locking onto nearly twenty Royal Soul Masters possessing seven stars or higher...

...all charging directly toward his location at astonishing speed.

"Oh?" Hedrick raised an eyebrow ever so slightly, showing neither concern nor excitement. "It seems your brothers scattered throughout Middle Sector 101 have finally returned to defend their home." He clicked his tongue before allowing another faint smile to appear. "Tsk~ Only a few hours here were enough to force them out of Sector 101, whereas in the past I commanded armies, prepared countless ambushes, and sacrificed millions of lives merely to slow their advance." His smile quietly deepened. "Is this what it truly means to be a knight on the board... instead of a pawn?"

"H-Heh... hahaha... Keep muttering whatever you want!" the restrained Royal Soul Master replied, unable to suppress the excitement returning to his voice. "Now that the brothers have returned, your death is inevitable!!"

"Very well." Hedrick calmly shifted his attention back toward his captive. "You should continue on your own path now." He slowly raised one hand without the slightest trace of haste. "A new opportunity to test my limits has just presented itself."

He lifted his hand, preparing to casually wave it and sever the man’s neck.

Then...

He stopped.

His gaze slowly lowered toward his own hand.

A faint smile appeared once again.

He gradually redirected his palm toward the helpless Royal Soul Master.

"Let’s test the Major Law of Destruction..."

"...on you."

Dooooooom...

The Eight-Star Royal Soul Master disappeared before he was even granted the opportunity to scream.

His body did not explode.

It did not collapse.

Instead...

Every cell composing it quietly drifted away from every other cell...

Separating peacefully...

Silently...

Until absolutely nothing remained behind.

"One hundred percent affinity with the Major Law of Destruction..." Hedrick lowered his gaze toward his own hand once again, studying it with unconcealed curiosity as though it now belonged to someone else entirely. "I wonder whether that person will feel anything..." A quiet chuckle escaped his lips. "Hehe... hahaha..."

Then, with a gentle motion, he summoned his sword once again.

Bzzzt!

Without allowing himself another moment of hesitation, Hedrick shot straight toward the heart of the galaxy, his figure instantly becoming a streak of light cutting through space.

"Come!!"

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