Season 2 Chapter 581
Twelve Void Lords, Executor of the Law.
Before she fully revealed her power, two contrasting wings unfolded.
The wings of a bat and a swan appeared simultaneously, and two contrasting weapons were already in her hands.
In her right hand, a spear; in her left, a thick book.
Kwaaah-
The moment the two contrasting auras emanated from the Executor's body, the spear moved. As if stretching her body, she swung the spear that was twice as long as her stature.
The erratic movements were brief, and the spear's seemingly erratic movement soon took on a consistent rhythm.
She began to spin the spear shaft like a windmill.
Chwaaa!
The powerful wind pressure generated by this caused the pages of the book to start turning.
That wasn't all. The wind pressure had a strong gravitational pull, drawing the shabby furniture inside the conference hall towards it.
“What do you think is the element that makes humans most human?”
Even amidst the wind pressure that generated storm-like noise, the Executor's voice rang out clearly.
The Half King was still seated. Neither her hair nor her fluttering clothes were stirred by the wind pressure. It was as if she alone existed in a different world within the same space.
“Are you trying to start a Zen dialogue?”
“No. This is a one-sided question from my side. You just need to answer.”
“Hmm. How unreasonable.”
“If you claim to be a king, you should accept this level of unreasonableness.”
“Is that so?”
She doesn't express any dissatisfaction.
The Half King, looking at the spear spinning ever more vigorously, opened her mouth.
“It must be the law. For you at least.”
“……”
“Am I wrong? Don't you regard the law as the criterion that separates humans from beasts?”
“…To be more precise, it's the standard set by oneself. I also call it justice.”
To each their own law, to each their own justice. That's a splendid phrase.
The Half King mumbled that and chuckled softly.
“What I wanted to hear was your opinion, but I guess it's useless. You don't seem to have any intention of answering.”
“I can't. Because I am not human.”
“That's a strange thing to say. Do you think a being that's not human can become a king?”
“That's why I'm the Half King.”
Does she believe in her sophistry as a proper argument? If so, further conversation is unnecessary.
The movement of the spear shaft stopped. Naturally, the turning pages of the book also halted at slightly more than halfway through.
Woong
From the stopped page, a string of characters flowed out. Those characters enveloped the spear shaft with contradictory movements that were irregular yet orderly, like leaves swept up in a gust of wind.
The Executor's strike of judgment.
‘She's strong!'
In an instant, many of the Twelve Void Lords had the same thought.
But at the same time, the same scene flashed through their minds. The Executor's prepared the killing blow, but swordsmanship that was by no means inferior to that attack had been displayed earlier.
How did the Half King deal with that?
─She did nothing.
This time, it was slightly different.
Kaaang!
Or perhaps it wasn't different.
The Half King extended her fingers. Her outstretched index finger was thin and slender enough for veins to be visible. There was no further action. As if that alone was sufficient.
And the result was as the Half King expected.
The spear shaft, blocked by the index finger, trembled violently like an aspen tree, and the Executor's pupils trembled just as much.
…The Executor,
She saw that Yang In-hyun's Everlasting Plum Sword didn't work. And she knew that her own strike couldn't surpass that in power.
Therefore, seeing this result shouldn't cause any agitation. Some might say that.
‘…But.’
Imagination and reality are always different. That's why the term ‘realization' exists.
The Executor's body stiffened with some kind of emotion rushing through.
Look at this.
The weapon touched the skin, but it was the weapon that trembled.
The Half King's extended index finger didn't move a millimeter.
“The closer the opponent is to the heretical path, the stronger your power becomes.”
“……”
“I don't know exactly how you regard me─ but it's clear you can't simply define me as evil.”
There was nothing to refute.
That wasn't all. The Executor no longer had the right to speak.
The extended spear shaft was powerlessly retracted.
*
“I heard you recently became a new Void Lord.”
“So?”
“Interesting. I'm curious to see what kind of power the 0th Demon of this era wields. Maybe there's something new to learn.”
“…Ha.”
A slight twitch appeared at the corner of Sedi Trowman’s mouth.
All eyes in the room focused on her. Drawing attention wasn't what she desired at this moment. After briefly glancing at the faces around her, Sedi finally looked at the Beginning Wizard.
“……”
“……”
Yeah. Not a word from him, even in this situation. An inexplicable frustration made her grit her teeth.
Half impulsively, Sedi summoned a scythe into her hand.
“Hmm. I see using weapons larger than one's body is trendy these days.”
The Half King muttered such words. She was probably recalling the Executor's spear from the earlier fight.
She doesn’t get it.
At this level, the shape of a weapon doesn't matter much. More important than size, length, or material is familiarity.
So, just because it's a scythe, it doesn't necessarily mean it has to cut or slice the opponent.
Kwoooah!
The energy emitted from the scythe rushed towards the Half King. The energy closed the distance to the Half King in an instant, but it wasn't at a speed she couldn’t react to.
So the following action was somewhat surprising.
Before the energy could touch her, the Half King closed both eyes.
“…What!”
Unlike the astonished Sedi, the Half King stood still as if she was merely enjoying a gentle breeze. In reality, that was what happened. The ferocious energy passed through the Half King's body as if it were an illusion.
…It only appeared that way.
In truth, it was simple.
The energy Sedi had shot out hadn’t inflicted even a scratch on the Half King.
The Half King opened her eyes, turned around on the spot, and inspected her body.
“Nothing different. Why did you use a scythe? Was it simply because you needed a medium?”
“……”
“Hmm. Even as a new Void Lord, it seems you can't break the mold. I've learned something new.”
Ignoring the frozen Sedi, the Half King turned his gaze to the next presence.
“Now, what about you?”
“…If experiencing the power of all Void Lords is necessary, I will comply.”
The Death Worm gathered all its power into the few bugs that made up its body.
In its current state, the durability was poor, but the attack power was the same as usual.
Yet it was blocked.
Even though the Death Worm struck the Half King’s face with full force, its own right arm was crushed instead. Torn muscles and a mangled wrist dripped with a filthy liquid resembling the bugs' bodily fluids.
“…It stinks.”
“I've lost.”
The Death Worm acknowledged its defeat with the calmest expression. It didn't seem particularly humiliated or shocked.
The Half King nodded, as if expecting such an attitude, and turned her gaze to the next opponent.
“What will you do?”
It was the first time she asked someone's intention before starting.
And it was a worthy opponent.
“I am not a Void Lord.”
Tamer, Beast's proxy, said with a troubled voice, to which the Half King responded with interest.
“I know. But don't you possess power that surpasses the Void Lords?”
“It seems your insight isn't that great.”
“Oh ho.”
The Half King chuckled.
“Well, it was mere curiosity. If you have no intention of fighting, I won't force you… The most interesting is always saved for last.”
Then, the Half King's gaze finally settled on the last person.
Perhaps she had been avoiding this person all along. The Half King's cheeks flushed, and her breathing grew rough. Excited breaths escaped from her mouth. She took a deep breath, trying to calm her excitement, and then spoke.
“You're called the strongest Void Lord, aren't you?”
Still, her voice strangely trembled.
It was like watching a child who couldn't hide their excitement in front of a toy.
That was likely due to her youthful appearance.
“It was the previous Beginning Wizard, not me.”
Residue responded with an emotionless voice, but the Half King’s smile didn’t fade.
“Hehe. Right. But you’re the man who inherited that title. You should be able to meet my expectations.”
“……”
“Do you know? I have learned about all eleven Void Lords and the Four Knights, but you alone are an exception. You were so thorough that even those who created me couldn’t gather any crucial information about you. In other words, you are the only unknown entity at this point.”
She doesn’t know any crucial information about the Beginning Wizard.
I’ve obtained useful information.
“I’ve heard. You plan to leave the ongoing war across the universe as it is… The reason being to maintain an environment suitable for the birth of heroes?”
“Do you oppose it?”
“Yes.”
Residue immediately responded without hesitation.
“If you have a better plan, I’d like to hear it first.”
“Of course I do, but I have no reason to tell you the details.”
“……”
“Hmm. Since you won't be convinced, I'll just say one thing. You no longer need to do anything.”
The Half King smiled faintly.
“Because I will end everything alone.”
“What do you mean by ‘everything’?”
“Everything, as in everything. The unnecessary war between the Three Thousand Worlds and the Void World, the ideological conflicts among the Twelve Void Lords, and the impending Destruction… I was created to end all of that, and that’s why I’m here.”
She sure spout nonsense well in such a calm voice.
However, Residue paused after glancing around.
The reason she suddenly appeared, showcased loyalty from two knights, and individually subdued the Void Lords, was to lend credibility to her absurd claims.
Looking around. The Void Lords were indeed silent.
They neither resisted nor expressed dissatisfaction.
Even if they didn’t fully understand what Destruction was, they unconsciously thought that if the Half King could easily subdue them, she might be able to handle it alone.
‘It was a decent performance.'
It was a bit crude, but since the atmosphere flowed according to the Half King’s intention, it had to be acknowledged.
And then.
“Lucid.”
He called the name of the Black Knight.
[……]
Lucid’s red eyes only glinted, without a response.
Unperturbed, he continued speaking.
“Is this the best you’ve got? Is this the king you so desperately sought?”
There was still no response, but Lucid’s eyes gleamed more fiercely.
Residue smiled inside his mask. The groundwork for causing a ripple was sufficient.
He slumped into his seat.
“Hm?”
The Half King tilted his head with a smile.
“I understand your plan well. But it's hard to be convinced by just a few words. I have my own position to consider.”
“So?”
“Let’s have a talk. To accurately grasp each other’s viewpoints.”
“Ho.”
“Sit down.”
He gestured forward with his chin.
The smile on the Half King’s lips deepened.
“That sounds good too.”
The Half King’s body moved to the spot opposite Residue.
She still did not walk. Instead, she moved gracefully, floating in the air. Residue found it hard to imagine her walking with both feet firmly planted on the ground.
And so, she arrived directly in front of Residue.
As if she didn’t need a chair, she sat in mid-air.
The mediator of the Twelve Void Lords and the new Void King.
The gazes of the two beings met in midair.
And a conversation, bearing the fate of the entire universe, began.
─Or it should have begun.
“……”
Neither of them spoke.
The Half King’s expression turned peculiar. Though hidden behind a mask, Residue assumed his own expression was probably similar.
“Do you feel it?”
“……”
Residue didn't answer and directed his gaze downward.
Creak…
The table legs were faintly trembling.
That wasn’t all.
Creak, creak…!
The faint tremors, barely perceptible at first, gradually intensified until the entire room began to shake.
Where is this coming from?
If this were an earthquake, the vibrations should originate from beneath the surface.
But… no.
Boom!
A massive explosion sounded.
It was from above. Bricks and stone fragments fell noisily, and the fallen dirt soon became floating dust that blinded their vision.
Thud!
Something fell within the cloud of dust.
It wasn’t just a large brick. A faint trace of life could be sensed.
Where did it come from?
The upper floors of the King's Castle? The sky above that?
…Or perhaps even higher?
Before he could finish his thoughts, the figure that had fallen through the smoke began to move.
****
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