Lord of the Truth

Chapter 1854 sudden move ”...Leosar?”

Sakaarʼs face twisted beneath his mask, the distortion subtle yet unmistakable- an involuntary reaction he himself hadnʼt anticipated.

The last time he had seen this cub was ten long years ago-back when Sakaar had entered his final, absolute seclusion, cutting himself away from the external world. At that time, Leosar had been barely a meter and a half tall, a small, awkward creature who mostly hid behind Sakaarʼs leg whenever a stranger approached. But now... Leosar had changed noticeably.

His height had reached 180 centimeters, the height of a fully grown human male-matching the stature of those Sakaar usually interacted with daily. And that was something he was absolutely not used to, something that felt almost wrong to his instincts.

His physical traits hadnʼt changed too drastically, but the transformation was undeniable...

He still possessed the same single horn, except it had grown slightly longer and gained a sharper curvature. The same single eye remained as well, though it had become smaller and no longer dominated half of his face the way it once had. His body had also become far more refined-no longer the thin, fragile-looking figure Sakaar saw in the beginning, nor the chubby, round-cheeked child he had been during his earliest years. His frame now carried a firmness, a balance that made him appear composed... almost regal.

And he was no longer naked.

Leosar now wore several pieces of crimson armor-though not a complete set, since no armor had yet been commissioned specifically for his personal build and unusual requirements. He wore a wrist-guard and a fingerless gauntlet from which his human-like fingers emerged with unsettling elegance. Several scattered pieces covered his waist, legs, and feet; a single plate protected his chest; and he even had a back-cloak that flowed lightly whenever he moved. Yet there were still exposed sections of his body showing that brilliant pale white skin and those pulsing crimson veins-veins that almost seemed alive, as if whispering with power beneath the surface. His visible face-now unmistakably more handsome than in the past, with sharper lines and a faint, natural confidence-was among those exposed areas.

Overall, one could finally say that after more than a century since his birth, Leosar had surpassed the stage of childhood. He had crossed the invisible. threshold and had become, as humans would so easily describe it... a teenager, albeit a terrifyingly unusual one. ”...Iʼm inspecting the city right now. Where have you been? I asked about you.”

Sakaar avoided giving a direct answer, choosing instead to walk past Leosar and resume his firm pace through the wide, echoing corridors.

As for why his face twisted?

Even he was surprised. Even he didnʼt know.

The moment he saw Leosar-when he felt that single eye focusing on him with that eerie intensity-a sudden shiver ran down his spine. His muscles tensed. His instincts sharpened.

He felt an immediate, uncontrollable urge to leave. ”Really? No one told me you asked for me. Thatʼs very kind of you!”

Leosar quickened his steps to walk beside Sakaar, matching his pace with an ease that felt new. ”I was with Kaylforn. Staying in the Underground City is way too suffocating-” ”Kaylforn? The planet Emperor of the Shattered Meteors?”

Sakaar paused for a moment, glanced at Leosar with a longer look this time, then resumed walking at a slightly slower pace. ”Are you two friends now?”

Sakaar did not ask why the Underground City felt suffocating-he already knew.

If even he felt that unsettling fear every time he looked at Leosar... what about the other Demons?

Among the Demon race that had spread widely across the Young Sector 101, there were two unmistakable groups: the weak ones, who feared Leosar instinctively, and the strong ones, who hated him passionately-with a hatred that deepened year by year.

That was why Sakaar had kept Leosar by his side throughout the first decades of his life. But Leosar ate-an absurd, almost unbelievable amount. Whenever any Demon King wanted a fresh meal, he was forced to hand it to Leosar first so the boy could eat its soul before the body could be claimed. The process was complicated, cumbersome, and satisfied no one... except Leosar. And whenever any Demon broke the rules set by the Savior Lord -any crime, any violation, even the smallest misstep- the execution was always carried out by Leosar as well. A practice that made Demons both fear him on instinct... and despise him with a deep, boiling resentment.

After all, it was well-known across history that Demons did not eat one another.

But he did.

He did it eagerly. Happily.

A clear, unmistakable joy would appear on his face after consuming the soul of even the weakest Demon- a joy he did not show even when consuming the soul of someone at the peak of the Martial Emperor realm.... or even a World Cataclysm.

And what made matters even worse was Sakaarʼs need to enter his extremely important final seclusion for an entire decade-ten long years during which he could not interfere, guide, or watch over anything-leaving his first and only ward completely on his own.

Even though by that time Leosar was no longer weaker than the rest of the Demon Kings-meaning his life was not at risk the way it once was-the hatred that surrounded him, raw and almost tangible, kept him utterly and absolutely isolated from everyone. ”Yes, Kaylforn has been very kind to me lately! He teaches me all sorts of things and gives me lots and lots of food!”

Leosar hurried forward, lengthening his stride so he could stay beside Sakaar. ”He even lets me fight right next to him on the battlefield, and he personally brings me prisoners of war whenever I ask for them!” ”...The way you speak about him is dangerous. Youʼre placing too much meaning on things that arenʼt there.”

Sakaarʼs tone was calm but faintly stern. ”Kaylforn does not like you for who you are. He is not your father. He is not the male who planted the seed, and he is not the one responsible for your emergence into this world...”

His steps remained steady as he continued. ”He is simply taking advantage of your overwhelming strength. He knows perfectly well that you could kill him -him and every one of his Marshals- without difficulty. And since youʼre the only one who does not march with the Demon army, he wants you by his side everywhere as a convenient, living weapon... a personal guardian.”

Leosar lowered his head slightly, his voice softer: ”...He has done more for me. More than you ever have.” ”Hmph. So my years of protecting you and feeding you have already vanished from your memory? Very well.”

Sakaar frowned a little, but he did not stop or slow down. ”But no problem, I am not your father either. I never claimed that role.”

He pointed back toward Leosar. ”You will no longer march with Kaylforn. I will assemble a squad of younglings for you- proper companions your own age- so you can conquer a planet together. Treat them well, do not attempt to consume the soul of any of them, and everything will progress smoothly.” ”Thatʼs not fair...”

Leosar clenched his tightly aligned teeth, frustration bleeding into his voice. ”Why are you forcing me to leave someone who treats me kindly, just to send me to be with people who openly wish I were dead?” ”Stop looking at them as if they were plates of fresh food, and they wonʼt wish for your death.”

Sakaar replied evenly, as if explaining something obvious. ”But thatʼs impossible! I can keep my hands to myself-I learned self-control from the moment I existed. But what about the desire? The hunger? How do I shut that down? Have you ever been starving, truly starving, and then saw a beautiful pool of fresh blood and said to yourself: No... Iʼll turn away and eat dirt instead so I can be polite?!”

Leosarʼs raised voice echoed through the corridor, drawing immediate attention.

Several younglings, a few females, and even worker Demons paused their tasks, peeking their heads from doorways and archways, their curiosity pulling them like a string as they watched the scene unfold. ”This is for your own good,” Sakaar said, continuing forward step by step. ”You are a unique being, unlike any other, and you must learn how to deal wisely with those around you. You cannot follow people who exploit your existence, and you cannot run away from the race you were born into. You must-”

Shsshhh- ”Argh!!”

Sakaar stopped abruptly, both hands shooting up to clutch his skull as a tremor ran through his entire body.

He had just received a soul attack-sharp, sudden, and unmistakably direct!