Lord of the Truth

Chapter 2320 The pampered boy

”An adult space beast crystal and blood?!” Zavaros stepped forward in shock and confusion, his expression filled with disbelief.

Kiryanʼs eyes, however, remained fixed on the swords. ”Weapons that are neither Planetary nor epic...” His tone grew quieter as he examined them, as though trying to compare them with every legendary weapon he had ever heard of, yet finding no memory that could explain what stood before him.

”A Law bestowed upon the Archon by someone?” Glatheon frowned. Such a possibility alone raised countless questions, each more unsettling than the last.

”....”

Marlikʼs eyes finally stopped wandering wildly around Robin and settled on Robinʼs glowing eyes, his attention narrowing completely onto the calm figure standing before him.

”It seems your eyes have stayed in their sockets for long enough. Itʼs time to tear them out.”

”Hehe, what was your response when I ordered you to stand up?” Robin laughed lightly, sounding almost amused rather than irritated. ”Right... you told me, Do it if you can, or something along those lines, didnʼt you? Well, I did my part. Come and gouge my eyes out if you can.”

He then slowly looked Marlik up and down, observing him with open curiosity rather than haste. ”Hmm... the limits imposed upon your Laws arenʼt natural either. Someone has clearly tampered with them. Even if you havenʼt reached complete cancellation of the suppression imposed by the universal Laws, youʼre still operating far beyond what ordinary humans should be capable of. Hehe... fascinating, truly fascinating. You possess methods of cultivation and growth that donʼt belong to the common knowledge of this universe. Since when has Universe B-14 possessed this kind of cultivation technology?”

”...?” Zavaros and Kiryan frowned deeply, exchanging uncertain glances, while even Glatheon began listening with complete attention. He had heard fragments of this mystery before, but they had always been isolated pieces without enough context to form a complete picture. Now, every sentence seemed to connect another missing fragment.

Marlikʼs reaction, however, was entirely different.

”...?” He slowly abandoned his offensive stance and stood upright, his sword lowering until its tip pointed toward the ground. His voice remained controlled, but the question escaped him almost immediately. ”How do you know the name Universe B-14?”

Robin answered with a broad smile that carried unmistakable confidence. ”And why do you know it?”

”....” Marlik remained rooted where he stood, staring directly into Robinʼs eyes without blinking. ”You know far more than you should. Just how much is the Knower spoiling you? He still has roughly two million years ahead of him, yet he decided to put all his eggs into a single basket... the basket of a Truth Chosen none the less.”

”Tsk, tsk~” Robin slowly shook his head. ”Shame on you for trying to belittle me while my shoe is still stamped across your face. If you insist on looking down on me, then youʼre only lowering your own standing in the process.”

His smile sharpened slightly as his thoughts continued without pause. ”...Iʼve had my suspicions about the Syndicate for quite some time now—about your constant suppression of the universe, your efforts to hinder its development, and your endless placement of Red Plague outbreaks throughout every sector. Those suspicions only grew stronger after I witnessed what happened to Arkalon, the genius who could have transformed the future of soul force and elevated the entire universe several levels beyond where it stands today. Ever since then, Iʼve continued asking myself the same question over and over... why? Was all of this truly nothing more than a matter of profit?”

”...But if youʼll allow me, you insignificant highway robber, Iʼll connect that conclusion with another fact—that your body contains cultivation methods that simply doesnʼt exist anywhere within Universe B-14. Once those pieces are placed together, the conclusion they produce becomes extremely ugly... revoltingly ugly.”

”.....?!” Kiryan and Zavaros instinctively exchanged another glance. Even without understanding what B-14 truly represented, the pattern was becoming impossible to ignore. If Robin and Marlik both spoke of it as though it were a formal designation, then it was increasingly likely that B-14 referred to the universe in which they themselves had lived their entire lives.

If that were true... then were there also universes designated B-13 and B-15?

”Heh~” Marlik let out a faint, mocking chuckle. ”A shallow way of connecting the dots, born from seeing the truth from only one side. Itʼs obvious the Knower has filled your head with information from his own perspective and allowed you to mistake fragments for the whole picture. But thatʼs fine. All he has truly accomplished is accelerating your downfall.”

He then pointed toward Robinʼs head with quiet certainty. ”Youʼve used Space-Time, and moments ago you revealed Balance. And of course, those are the Eyes of Truth. The Knower panicked and began pouring everything he possessed into someone like you—a person incapable of waiting patiently until he matures, someone unwilling to remain silent while the time is still incomplete... someone convinced that reaching the destination sooner is always the wiser choice, even when that path leads straight toward death.”

”No one can kill me, boy.” Robinʼs expression gradually settled into silent anger, the kind that no longer needed loud words or exaggerated emotions to make itself known. ”I know very well that youʼre powerful. That combination I mentioned a moment ago places you above all the Behemoths, or at the very least allows you to bully people like the two standing behind me without much difficulty. I honestly no longer know what has been happening among the upper echelons of the universe inside this giant garbage dump anymore, nor what standards have become common among the people standing at its summit.”

He then pointed directly at Marlik, his voice remaining calm despite the weight behind every word. ”I know you possess enough power to fight an Executioner. Of course, a thog like you could never win, but youʼd manage to leave an Executioner with a few wounds, and perhaps escape in the end after paying a considerable price. That places you directly beneath the four of us. Congratulations. By any ordinary standard, that would already be an achievement worth boasting about. But it still isnʼt enough.”

”The four of you? ...Have you lost your mind? Are you putting yourself on the same level as the Archon, the Mistress of Chaos, and the Elder Cosmic? Tsk, the Knower told you the name Executioner yesterday, and today youʼre already using it to boast?!” Marlik finally raised his voice, unable to conceal the irritation building inside him any longer. ”What do you know about the Executioners? Did the two words you heard from him make you think you could escape from one of them as well? He truly is filling your head with foolishness. You think youʼre confident and important because you can repeat those basic facts with certainty, but all I see before me now is someone living inside an illusion built from incomplete knowledge.”

”.....” Robin tilted his head and slowly raised a single eyebrow, as though genuinely puzzled by the intensity of Marlikʼs reaction rather than intimidated by it. ”Is escaping from an Executioner supposed to be something impressive?”

”If you donʼt know what youʼre talking about, then donʼt speak!!” Marlik answered sharply as he continued advancing, his voice carrying far more frustration than anger alone. ”The Executioners are the servants of those beings and their personal soldiers. Whenever one of them commits a mistake in service, no matter how insignificant it is, theyʼre punished by being sent away to serve as an Executioner, spending several million years in the void.”

”Do you even understand how powerful someone must be to qualify as a servant or soldier under those entities? Do you understand the level of strength required before youʼre even worthy of hearing their voices and carrying out their orders?” He gestured dismissively with his free hand while continuing to speak, clearly convinced Robin could never grasp the scale of what he was describing. ”Youʼll never understand. The Seer will never tell you those things. Heʼll keep feeding your confidence until youʼre nothing more than an oversized balloon swollen with arrogance. From his perspective, perhaps thatʼs useful. But a balloon only needs a single needle to burst. Allow me to become that needle today. Iʼll give you a glimpse of the kind of person capable of escaping from the Executioners... according to your own words.”

”Heh.” Robin chuckled softly as the engravings across his left hand shifted rapidly, countless lines rearranging themselves with remarkable precision. ”According to what youʼve said, escaping from them really is considered quite an achievement.” Then he extended his left hand toward the empty space beside him as though pressing against an invisible wall whose existence only he could perceive.

Then—pop—his hand disappeared for a brief moment before he slowly began pulling something out.

”Iʼll remember that the next time I meet one of them.”

”Next time?” Marlik burst into loud laughter, shaking his head as though he had finally reached the limit of what he was willing to tolerate. ”Enough with your empty boasting already. Iʼve heard more than enough of your nonsense!!”

BAAAM

Marlik slammed his foot into the ground and shot straight toward Robin.

Kshhhh.

As he advanced, he thrust his blade beneath his own foot at a precise point, swung his other sword upward, and kicked a small stone that had been lying on the ground.

Then, wearing a broad, confident smile that suggested absolute certainty in his own judgment, he raised his crimson, blood-colored flaming sword and aimed it directly at Robinʼs neck.

But something strange happened—

”Get that scrap metal out of my face.”

Robin calmly pulled something black out of nothingness and casually swung it against the edge of the sword, showing no trace of surprise or urgency despite everything unfolding around him.

BAM!

The sword was knocked flying backward.

”What!?” Marlik shouted, his eyes widening in genuine disbelief.

That sword was supposed to be capable of cutting through anything inside the universe, a weapon whose reputation had been built upon countless battles and countless impossible feats, making the result unfolding before him almost impossible to accept.

Then—

BAM!

Marlik felt a heavy impact strike his left cheek, and before he could understand where it had come from or process what had just occurred, he was hurled backward once again.