There are many cliches to describe a sudden change in the atmosphere.
It felt as if time stopped, the air seemed to change, it felt like the temperature suddenly dropped…
Lukas knew that most of those expressions were simply metaphors. Most humans would be unable to sense it if time were to stop, and they couldn’t be said to be sensitive enough to notice the changes in air currents. Among them, the expression ‘the temperature dropped’ was probably the most realistic.
There was only one reason why he suddenly had this seemingly rambling thought.
‘It changed.’
He felt a change that was difficult to describe in the words currently in his vocabulary.
It was a strange feeling, almost as if he’d suddenly realised that the ground he was walking on was actually an incomprehensibly large being.
That strange feeling was soon applied to reality.
First, the scythe, which he was swinging like a guillotine, neatly broke into two pieces.
It was an act that seemed to occur from nowhere. Lukas knew that it sounded silly, but he didn’t really have any words to describe what had happened.
It was as if the scythe was made of two pieces in the first place, and he was just swinging the rod.
That wasn’t possible.
He had a hair-raising feeling.
And in the next moment, Lukas twisted his head.
It was an unconscious action that far surpassed the realm of instinct.
And that action prevented a catastrophe.
Swoosh.
Something shot past Lukas’ cheek. A chill went down his spine. If he hadn’t twisted his head just now, his skull would have been pierced through and he would have died.
‘A thorn.’
Lukas was only able to identify the ‘something’ after the second attack.
The identity of the ‘something from somewhere’ was a ‘thorn that shot out from Sedi’.
However…
‘Why couldn’t I see it?’
As for the reason why he’d twisted his head at that moment, even he wasn’t sure about that. In other words, it could only be said that he had avoided it by luck. And such miracles wouldn’t happen again and again.
“Ah… uh.”
Sedi’s blank voice reached his ears.
“Sedi.”
“Ru-, n… run…”
“You…”
Lukas swallowed the rest of his words. Sedi’s eyes were slightly open, but her consciousness wasn’t clear. Her paling complexion explained it in her stead.
Tutuk, tuk.
The ground, which had been restraining Sedi, crumbled like dried clay. Of course, Lukas hadn’t released it… She also shouldn’t have the strength to escape on her own.
Lukas once again united his mind and entered the minimal time zone.
And he could see that the scene of time had changed.
“—”
It was as if his vision had reversed. Lukas was standing in the middle of pitch blackness.
For a moment, he couldn’t help but wonder if his eyes were still closed or if he’d moved to a space that was completely devoid of light.
That wasn’t it. Lukas realised.
Just how dangerous his current situation was.
“…!”
Thousands of thorns rushed towards him. What he’d mistaken as darkness was actually thorns.
For Lukas, it felt as if all of these thorns had appeared in an instant, but that wasn’t actually the case. The thorns simply existed in an area that could only be observed in the minimal time zone.
The reason he’d been able to avoid the thorn just now was because of a sense of discomfort he could feel since he’d entered the minimal time zone before.
Using space leap, he fled several dozen feet away. Thousands of thorns covered the place Lukas had just been standing like a tsunami. This wasn’t just an analogy. The ground literally looked as if it had been swallowed by a gigantic black wave.
“It’s a pity.”
Even in the slowed time, he could still hear a voice clearly. It sounded like a whisper in his ear… No, that was exactly what it was. The voice had come from right behind Lukas.
When had they caught up? He didn’t know. Instead of looking, Lukas turned his head in a different direction. His response was so quick and accurate that it was admirable.
Without turning around, he sent dozens of spells behind without any chanting and immediately widened the distance with a space leap once again. This time, he roused his senses to the max so that he wouldn’t miss even the smallest movement.
And he realised that he couldn’t sense anyone in the place where he’d sent his spells.
Where did ‘they’ go? Lukas’ expression hardened as he looked around.
‘The place where I’m going to come out.’
Someone was in the place where he would arrive with space leap.
How, did they read the future?
No. That wasn’t it.
In the past, Lukas had once fought a Demigod capable of seeing glimpses of the past and the future. However, that was only the ability to analyse the current situation with extreme precision and assume the highest probability of what would happen in the near future.
The future was fluid. That was the truth that Lukas knew.
Therefore, there was a simple reason why ‘this being’ was able to arrive in the place where Lukas would be.
A prediction made with pure intelligence.
Puk.
Thorns pierced his abdomen. There were a total of five thorns, and if they had been a bit thicker, instead of piercing, they would have directly split him in half.
‘I see.’
But, despite the pain, Lukas smiled.
He’d learned something.
Space leap.
He’d thought that this power was almost invincible in the minimal time zone, but that wasn’t the case.
If there was someone who could read his movements like ‘this being’, and who could move even before he moved, this power would hold him back instead.
There was no delay in space leap.
As soon as he entered it, he would exit.
This meant that he couldn’t use any countermeasures. The moment he came out of the exit, Lukas’s body would be defenceless.
Boom!
He was sent flying into the wall of Demonsio. He felt his consciousness dim a bit. As expected, he couldn’t speak for anything else, but the pain was the most difficult to deal with. Even most Absolutes would not be able to withstand the pain from these thorns. A mortal? Even a small scratch would drive them crazy.
Crunch.
Lukas forcefully smashed the thorns in his abdomen. Of course, this was only possible because he could now control void.
He staggered off the wall and took a stance.
Then Sedi, no.
“What is a pity?”
The Black Horned Demon God said.
“Your reunion.”
“…”
He saw the Demon God recall all the thorns around him. Although it was temporary, it could be said that he had withdrawn his desire to attack.
…What’s his goal?
Was he trying to get him to let his guard down then surprise him?
‘No.’
That couldn’t be.
Lukas scoffed at his own speculation. This wasn’t a being who would use surprise attacks. Rulers would only ever overwhelm their enemies from the front.
And yet, no one could stop them.
Did he recall his thorns to talk? Or did he have some other goal?
Lukas didn’t know. Nevertheless, maintaining his current state for a long time was a considerable burden, so he loosened the unity in his mind ever so slightly.
“She’d always been obsessed with death.”
“I see.”
“I thought it was because of your existence. That she was afraid of your arrival.”
For Sedi, the worst thing that could happen wasn’t losing to Lukas.
That Lukas wouldn’t kill her after defeating her. That he would forgive her. The Demon God realised that that was what she feared most in the World of Void.
“I don’t want Sedi to die.”
…The Lightning God.
The voice of the Ruler Lukas had encountered the most was incomparably loud. It felt as if, with every word he said, thunder and lightning rang in his ears.
But the Demon God’s voice was just melancholy. It was as if it contained absolutely no emotion.
“She is a sturdy puppet that I worked hard to prepare. Look at this. Even after retaining some of my consciousness, her body can still maintain its shape.”
The Demon God made Sedi’s body pat her chest.
“Even if I ask, you won’t tell me your goal.”
“You sound like you’ve met a Ruler other than me in this place.”
“Think whatever you want.”
Once again, Lukas became extremely focused.
At that moment, he entered the minimal time zone.
‘…!’
It was different.
A shiver went through his body as he experienced an unprecedented sense of tension.
Lukas had a deathly feeling. It was really strange. The fight against Sedi was by no means easy. In fact, it had been extremely dangerous. He’d been on the brink of death countless times. The mere thought of the scythe she’d wielded gave him chills.
But the Demon God’s very presence and the actions he intended to take, were so dangerous that it made Sedi’s force seem ‘little’.
Chwak-
A small space opened in front of Lukas. It was the entrance to another world, and the most perfect defence he could currently muster.
Tingle.
A side effect of creating space was a headache strong enough to make him almost lose consciousness, but the pain soon faded. The ‘Lukases’ were helping him handle the mental burden.
‘I’m really indebted…’
He could no longer feel the burden.
The moment Lukas smiled faintly, thousands of thorns shot out from the Demon God’s body.
Kuwak!
In fact, it was more accurate to say they exploded out rather than shot. It was as if springs had been compressed to the limit before being released.
In the current state of Lukas’ body, allowing even a few of those thorns to pierce his body would kill him without a doubt. So he spread this space out in advance, and the rushing thorns were sucked into that space.
“That’s an interesting method. Did you make a ‘personal space’ to use as a shield? Although it is simple in theory, it is an ability very few people could make use of. I have to commend you for that.”
As usual, the Demon King didn’t display much hostility towards Lukas.
On the contrary, at first glance, be it in voice or demeanour he seemed to not care about him at all.
‘I’m still lacking.’
He was still lagging behind the Rulers in every way.
Lukas humbly accepted this truth. Then, he looked at the Demon God and said.
“Do you plan to kill me?”
“There are other possibilities, but you wouldn’t accept them.”
“Do you want to make me a Ruler?”
This was the proposal he’d received from the Lightning God in the past.
Of course, it was before his return, so only Lukas had memory of that event.
“As expected, you truly did run into another Ruler. Was it Lightning God… or perhaps the Seven Fanged Dragon God.”
“What?”
Lukas blinked.
“The Seven Fanged Dragon God was knocked down from the position of Ruler.”
“…that’s what you think. There are still many things you don’t know.”
The Demon God seemed as if he had more to say, but Lukas had a feeling that he wouldn’t hear anything more from him.
“The World of Void is the universes’ trash can. The role of this place is far more important than you imagine. If there is no place to dispose of the garbage, then the rooms and house will end up getting dirty.”
“…”
“All of the abandoned possibilities from the beings in the Three Thousand Worlds come here. That is what maintains the balance. It hasn’t been long since we already realised this role… So what do you think would happen if the World of Void were to disappear?”
“What?”
“With the trash can gone, where would the abandoned possibilities of the universes go? Would they just disappear? Would they go to another universe? Would they appear in the same universe in a different time axis? I wonder.”
Dumbfounded, Lukas asked.
“Don’t tell me that is the Rulers’ goal. Are you trying to answer that question?”
“Question is a strange word for me. I don’t think our understanding of it is the same.”
“…”
“Let’s end it there. It’s time we got down to business. I have a proposal for you. I’m sure it’ll be better than the Lightning God’s.”
“Proposal?”
The Demon God nodded.
“Lukas Trowman. Will you become my puppet? Then, I’ll make you the Void King.”
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