Bloodbound Codex: I Grow Stronger in Secret

Far away from where the Rei-Kokuin had swallowed both Atlas and Azarion, the Dragon Emperor narrowed his eyes as he stared toward the enormous black disturbance that had appeared in the distance. The expression on his face was different from the amusement he had shown throughout most of the battle, because something about what had just happened didn’t match what he had previously seen through the Spherical Relic.

He remained silent for several seconds before finally thinking, ’This isn’t what I foresaw through the Relic, He was supposed to fight nearly a million Monsters and a massive military force before finally reaching Azarion...’

His gaze slowly shifted toward Velmira, who was standing on the other side of the battlefield. She had regained the strength she had been missing for the past thousand years, and that alone had completely changed the situation.

Zaakrax continued thinking about the events that had unfolded before him, comparing them with the future he had previously observed through the Relic. ’Hmm...this situation wasn’t there either. Velmira was never supposed to regain her strength to begin with. She should have remained weakened and been held back by several Ex-rank Chimeras.’

The two deviations were unrelated on the surface, yet both had occurred within the same period, making it difficult for him to believe that they were merely coincidences.

Zaakrax extended one hand, and the same spherical Relic he had shown to his ”Old Friends” in that other realm appeared in his palm. The strange object floated slightly above his hand as faint energy moved across its surface.

Without wasting another second, he channeled his Spirit Energy into it, expecting the Relic to reveal another possible future just as it had always done. He had already seen countless possibilities through this Relic, and although the future was never completely fixed, it had always been possible for him to observe the direction in which events were heading. This time, however, the moment the Relic activated, the vision was abruptly cut off.

Zaakrax arched an eyebrow as he looked at the Relic in his hand. What appeared before his eyes could only be described as a completely black screen. There were no images, no movements, no possible futures, and not even the faintest indication of what would happen next.

It was as if the Relic itself had reached a point beyond which it simply couldn’t see. Zaakrax continued supplying it with Spirit Energy for several moments, but nothing changed, and eventually he stopped while a faint smile appeared on his face. ’This...is interesting, A Relic created through the various Laws of Eliomor is unable to peer into a certain future?’ His eyes narrowed slightly as he looked toward the direction where Atlas and Azarion had disappeared.

’Heh...this is certainly going to be the most unexpected spectacle.’ Zaakrax had never considered himself incapable of understanding the future, but he also knew better than to assume that the future he saw was absolute.

There had always been variables, especially when powerful beings made unexpected decisions, but the Relic had never completely failed to show him what came afterward. The fact that it had suddenly become unable to see anything meant that something had happened which even the Laws governing the Relic could not properly calculate.

His thoughts naturally returned to Atlas. ’It may be that the Variable itself has changed the future unknowingly, Being a Variable means exactly that, after all.’ With that thought, Zaakrax casually tossed the spherical Relic upward, and the moment it left his hand, it vanished from sight without leaving behind any trace.

’That battle is more interesting than this. I might as well take a closer look.’ Zaakrax turned toward the direction where Rei-Kokuin had swallowed both Atlas and Azarion, his expression carrying genuine curiosity. If the future had already deviated this much, then whatever was happening inside that black attack could potentially reveal why.

The next instant, his figure disappeared from his position and reappeared several kilometers away, directly beside the enormous pitch-black disturbance that continued tearing through the fabric of space and time.

The other rulers and the Ancient noticed his movement almost immediately.

None of them needed to ask why Zaakrax had suddenly moved toward that Black ’+’ slash, as the enormous disturbance was impossible to ignore. One after another, they followed him toward the location of the attack, leaving Kael behind.

Eliana glanced toward her disciple before leaving and saw him floating several meters above the ground in a lotus position with his eyes closed, apparently still comprehending something, she didn’t interrupt him, because after seeing the abilities he had demonstrated during the earlier battle, she knew he was capable enough to protect himself.

If the situation became dangerous, Kael could escape from almost anywhere without much difficulty, so there was no reason for her to remain behind with him.

When the rulers finally arrived near the Rei-Kokuin, every one of them stopped several meters away from the massive black disturbance. The sight before them was enough to make even the strongest among them become serious. The Black slash was no longer behaving like an ordinary destructive technique.

The pitch-black substance continued moving through the damaged area while appearing to seep into the very space it had cut apart. The surrounding fabric of reality trembled constantly, and the Laws of the World were struggling to stabilize the destruction left behind by the attack.

Zaakrax remained silent as he observed the phenomenon for several moments. He had witnessed countless destructive techniques throughout his existence, including attacks capable of destroying enormous areas in an instant, but the Rei-Kokuin was fundamentally different from them.

Normally, when space was destroyed, the Laws of the World would gradually restore it once the source of destruction disappeared. This time, however, the damaged space seemed to be resisting that process, as if the Rei-Kokuin had left something behind that continued interfering with the Laws themselves.

”This doesn’t look good,” Zaakrax finally said, his eyes narrowing as he watched the black substance continue spreading. ”It is almost as if it is eating away at reality itself. The Laws of the World are unable to restrain the effects of this attack...” His voice remained calm, but the others could hear the seriousness in his words.

Until this point, he had never considered interfering with the battle between Atlas and Azarion, because the conflict belonged to them and neither side had done anything that required his intervention. But this attack had already gone beyond the two people trapped inside it.

Even the shockwaves spreading from the black disturbance were causing the surrounding space to tremble. Small distortions appeared and disappeared repeatedly as the pressure continued expanding, while the remaining Laws of Eliomor struggled to suppress the effects. Zaakrax slowly moved closer to the Rei-Kokuin, his expression becoming more serious as he realized how quickly the situation could escalate if nobody stopped it. ”If we let this continue, the whole World could eventually be swallowed by this.”

The rulers remained silent as Zaakrax raised his hand. He extended his palm toward the massive ’+’ Slash as he spoke, ”Destruction Incinerate — Devour.”

The moment those words left Zaakrax’s mouth, his voice echoed throughout the surrounding area. A strange black liquid-like substance emerged from the center of his palm, initially appearing small before rapidly expanding outward. It moved toward the Rei-Kokuin with enormous speed, spreading across the pitch-black slash until the strange fluid completely surrounded the attack. The moment the two forces came into contact, the black fluid began consuming the Rei-Kokuin, its surface constantly expanding as it devoured the destructive properties contained within the slash.

Zaakrax’s eyes narrowed immediately.

He could feel resistance.

The slash wasn’t being consumed as easily as he had expected. Even while surrounded by the black fluid, the slash continued struggling against the technique, and the surrounding space trembled violently as the two forces collided. Zaakrax didn’t retreat or change his expression. Instead, he increased the amount of Spirit Energy flowing into Devour, causing the black fluid to expand even further around the Rei-Kokuin.

The resistance continued for several more moments before finally beginning to weaken.

Zaakrax increased the pressure again, and the black fluid completely overwhelmed the remaining resistance. The enormous Rei-Kokuin was gradually swallowed piece by piece until the last portion of the pitch-black slash disappeared inside the fluid. The surrounding space finally began stabilizing as the destructive force vanished, and the black liquid slowly contracted before returning toward Zaakrax’s palm.

Within a few seconds, the entire Rei-Kokuin had been completely devoured.