Lord of the Truth

Chapter 2405 Pride of the sword

”...Curse of Oblivion.”

DROOOOOOM

The tremendous power Darvion had gathered and accumulated through the Final Curse of the Witnesses Array immediately began transforming at an astonishing speed into something entirely different, as though that vast reserve of gloomy power had finally found the purpose for which it had been gathered...

”...!!” Hedrick immediately began feeling strange changes spreading throughout his body, so without wasting even a moment trying to understand them, he kicked forcefully against space with both legs and shot straight toward Darvion, intending to cleave him cleanly in half before that unknown curse could fully take effect. After killing the sons and destroying the array that had been keeping him alive and sharing his wounds, Darvion had become nothing more than an ordinary human whom Hedrick could simply cut down with his sword.

”Hmm?” Yet Hedrick gradually began slowing down in the middle of his charge... an unmistakable expression of confusion appearing across his face as he tried to understand what was happening to him.

His sight disappeared first, fading completely until he became utterly blind and could no longer see anything around him.

He immediately relied on his spiritual sense instead to determine his direction and continue toward Darvion, but that too quickly became distorted and confused before gradually fading away altogether.

His hearing and sense of smell disappeared as well, one after another, until even the sword firmly grasped in his own hand could no longer be felt by him.

His heartbeat began slowing little by little until it eventually stopped entirely, the movement of his intestines ceased, his energy gathering center was no longer active, and even his lifeline stopped its continuous slow burning...

Hedrick thought as he finally understood the meaning behind what was happening to him.

The only thing that still allowed Hedrick to continue thinking normally and preserve even a measure of clarity within his mind was the golden fivefold seal protecting him. Otherwise, his soul domain itself would have forgotten how it was supposed to function, and even his initial soul would have forgotten how to remain anchored securely in its place...

What a terrifying array.

Terrifying.

Hedrick carefully observed the golden bubble surrounding his soul domain. The Curse of Oblivion, together with the hundreds of thousands of invisible wasps that had remained behind from the previous curses, had exhausted that protective bubble tremendously and drained away a substantial portion of its accumulated power. At this rate, they could break through it at practically any moment, and if that happened, there was no doubt whatsoever that he would be killed.

Hedrick thought rapidly while observing the worsening condition of the protective bubble.

BZZZZZZZZNNN—

The golden bubble began flickering increasingly violently, its surface trembling as its brilliant golden radiance steadily dimmed and lost much of its original luster.

BZZNNN— CRACK

Crack CRAAAACK

OOOOOOOOOOOOOMMM—

A tremendous amount of soul force suddenly erupted outward from Hedrickʼs body, spreading around him before forming a faint flowing current that continuously circulated through the surrounding space.

Then, in the very next instant, Hedrick opened his eyes once again, his vision returning as a smile slowly appeared across his face. ”That scared me for a moment.”

”Impossible!!”

Darvion took a slow step backward, his already bulging eyes widening even further as he stared at Hedrick in disbelief, almost as though he were desperately trying to change what he was seeing simply by opening his eyes wider and denying the reality unfolding directly before him.

”This is impossible, absolutely impossible!”

Then he raised his hand and pointed directly toward Hedrick, his expression still filled with utter disbelief.

”The Curse of Oblivion is a curse I personally designed and perfected, empowered by the Final Witnesses Array, which itself is the strongest array I have ever created. With those two combined, I was planning to use them as my final means of contending with the likes of the Butcher or the Cosmic Elder if either of them ever dared attack my galaxy!!”

After taking yet another step backward, Darvion suddenly stopped and stared ahead in complete bewilderment, unable to reconcile what his senses were telling him with what his eyes were witnessing.

He could still clearly feel the Curse of Oblivion occupying exactly the same region, and he could confirm without any doubt that its power had neither weakened nor disappeared in the slightest.

It had simply... stopped affecting Hedrick!

”Do you like my innovative technique?” Hedrick began walking calmly toward Darvion, his steps unhurried despite the terrifying curse still filling the surrounding area. ”I didnʼt attack you, and I didnʼt attack the curse itself either. Instead, I destroyed the curseʼs ability to affect me... I destroyed the inevitability of my death if it continued attacking me.”

”What?!” Darvion immediately took another step backward, his expression changing even further. ”This... this isnʼt within the scope of the Path of Destruction at all. What you just described sounds like a technique belonging to the Master Law of Causality!!”

Darvion nearly went mad from what he was witnessing. Without wasting another moment, he quickly performed a certain move and forcibly directed the Curse of Oblivion toward Hedrick once again, yet when that tremendous curse reached him, it simply struck his surroundings and bounced backward as though it had stepped onto a pipe blasting compressed air upward... as though Hedrick himself wasnʼt even there for it to see!

”You underestimate the Path of Destruction far too much. Everyone does, just as they underestimate the Path of Death alongside it.” Hedrick slowly shook his head as he continued advancing. ”Canʼt applications created through Master Laws be destroyed? Donʼt the people who use those laws eventually die?”

Then he finally stopped when only a single step remained between him and Darvion. ”Power and an open mind—if a user of Destruction or Death possesses both of those things, then who exactly can stop him?” A broad smile gradually spread across his face as he stared directly at Darvion. ”...Who can stop me?”

”Hyaaaaaaa!!” Darvion suddenly pulled an extremely black short spear from his spatial ring, its entire surface carrying an extraordinary presence. That short spear was nothing less than a Grade-Five Planetary Armament.

Then, without the slightest hesitation, he thrust it directly toward Hedrick with all the strength he could muster.

”Hmph.” Hedrick merely raised his left hand and caught the spearhead with apparent ease, stopping the weapon before it could advance any farther. ”Today, the universe will finally be rid of one of its greatest criminals. Your endless crimes are what placed you in Masterʼs path, and those same crimes are what placed you in the path of my blade.”

Then he raised his right hand without releasing the spear and drove his sword directly through Darvionʼs throat.

”Khh... Khhh!!” Darvionʼs eyes immediately began rotating with a bizarre blackness, while his soul domain suddenly activated as though he were preparing to do something even in this state.

”No tricks for you today!” Hedrick shouted the instant he noticed the change, immediately and rapidly activating another ability. ”Complete Erasure!!”

KRRRRRR

The space surrounding Darvion abruptly compressed and solidified before beginning to tighten around his entire body from every direction, sealing the surrounding area and preventing anything whatsoever from escaping through it.

Darvion nearly went mad from what he was witnessing. Without wasting another moment, he quickly performed a certain move and forcibly directed the Curse of Oblivion toward Hedrick once again, yet when that tremendous curse reached him, it simply struck his surroundings and bounced backward as though it had stepped onto a pipe blasting compressed air upward... as though Hedrick himself wasnʼt even there for it to see!

At the same time, a terrifying amount of Destruction energy erupted from the heart of Hedrickʼs sword and spread throughout Darvionʼs entire body, attacking every single cell simultaneously, dissolving them and then vaporizing whatever remained.

All of those effects working together caused Darvionʼs muffled screams to end within a mere fraction of a second, his entire existence disappearing until nothing remained in his place except a faint wisp of smoke... yet even that insignificant smoke was quickly reached by the destructive power, destroyed in turn, and completely vanished.

”Tsk~” Hedrick casually waved his sword after everything was over. ”The body of a Behemoth would have made a rather good gift for the Lord, but playing around with matters involving death, corpses, and souls when dealing with Soul Masters is far too great a risk to take.” Then he smiled slightly and looked behind him. ”Iʼd like to see what method he and his sons will find to return to life now.”

His gaze then shifted toward the nearby war that was still raging, where hundreds of armadas remained locked in battle against the elite forces of the True Beginning Empire.

He quickly examined the condition of his body and soul domain, making sure of his remaining state after everything he had just endured, then brushed a hand across his forehead and concealed the exhausted seal that had already expended so much of its accumulated power...

Afterward, he began advancing directly toward the deadlocked battlefield, heading toward the recording cameras aboard the Spectral Shadow vessels while shouting in a loud, overbearing voice that carried his declaration across the battlefield:

”From the era of the First Space Beast Invasion until this very day, I am the only one who has slaughtered a Behemoth inside his own galaxy.”

Then he raised his sword high above his head as he continued forward. ”I am the Behemoth Slayer and the Scatterer of men. I am the Destroyer of roots and the Crusher of the hopeful. I am the new owner of this galaxy and everything within it.”

And then, raising his voice even further so that his final declaration thundered outward with unmistakable pride, ”I am Hedrick. I am Lord Robinʼs sword!”