The final clash in the imaginary world resulted in a draw. The Lightning God had finished charging the skill he called Piercing Thunder. Although he had been beaten to a pulp, Lukas was unable to defeat that guy with the billions of spells that he’d casted.
…He had faintly expected that to be the case.
In the first place, the more people wanted to avoid a possibility, the more they turned a blind eye to it. Lukas was no different. He didn’t want to even think about the possibility that the Lightning God could endure the billions of spells. Not to mention denying it, he didn’t even want to think about it in the first place.
However, he couldn’t. His thorough personality prevented such optimistic thoughts from the very start.
And his foreboding feeling hadn’t missed the mark.
“You really tried, Lukas Trowman…”
Just as the Lightning God smiled and prepared to send forth his piercing lightning.
Lukas also didn’t hesitate. He could no longer afford to hide any cards, so he poured all of his remaining mental strength to imitate ‘a single skill’.
Crackle-
The moment he saw the skill he developed.
“You, that is…”
The Lightning God’s expression changed.
This was because it was in the form of none other than a pitch black thorn.
“The [Thorn of Pain]… how do you have that power…?”
However, since this place was inside Lukas’ mind, it was possible for him to imitate ‘skills that he had experienced before’ to an extent. It was this same concept that allowed him to have a higher computational ability and control over space than he usually did.
‘And I know the power of this skill well.’
After all, he had personally experienced it when it stabbed into his body. Therefore, he had no problems ‘imagining it’. Of course, this could also be considered a gamble on Lukas’ part. This was because the ‘Thorn of Pain’ wouldn’t be able to display the same power it had in reality, so even if he did manifest it, it was possible that it would be destroyed miserably by the Lightning God’s Piercing Thunder. Or his brain might melt because his imagination and computational ability were unable to withstand it.
However,
Boom!
As usual, Lukas was pretty good at gambling with his life.
* * *
In truth, it would be right to say it was an uncomfortable situation.
The Lightning God, who was currently in a corner of his mind, was a far more bizarre existence than the ‘Lukases’. Although he didn’t feel any pain as if he was interfering with his body or had a splitting headache, that didn’t mean the uncomfortable feeling would go away.
He probably would have been less discomforted if there was a bomb planted in his brain.
But it was pointless. In the end, since he hadn’t won a complete victory, he hadn’t been able to drive the Lightning God out of his head. That responsibility lay solely with Lukas.
‘Will he take control of my body?’
No. The Lightning God didn’t have much power left at that moment.
In fact, he also seemed to be quite pleased with his current condition. For the Rulers, the World of Void was an unknown land, so it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing for him to investigate this world through Lukas’ eyes.
This left a bitter taste in Lukas’ mouth. It seemed he really needed to think of a way to get rid of the Lightning God.
In addition to the anxiety mentioned above.
[Isn’t it about time you gave me an answer, Lukas Trowman? How did you use the ‘Thorn of Pain’?]
“…”
[Did you experience it personally? If it weren’t that, it would be impossible to materialise it so accurately… However, if you’d fought that guy, you wouldn’t still be alive now. Hmmm.]
The voice of the Lightning God, which persisted in his head, was incredibly annoying. As he expected, this guy was basically the biggest chatterbox in the entire multiverse.
‘Be quiet.’
Lukas groaned inwardly. Then, before he could respond, he continued.
‘You, can’t you see that girl?’
He was referring to Pale who was walking at the front. Kuku, at that, the Lightning God chuckled.
[Of course, I see her. Didn’t I tell you before? Right now I’m sharing your senses. Hmm, maybe even more than that…]
The Lightning God drifted off at the end of his sentence as if he was thinking about something for a moment but soon continued in a nonchalant tone.
[I see what you see. Similarly, I feel what you feel. Surprisingly, it seems that the compatibility between you and I isn’t bad. The synchronisation rate is much higher than with Lee Jong-hak.]
‘That’s not what I’m talking about right now. That woman is the Blue Knight. She is a being that will do everything in her power to kill you Rulers, and if she learns that you are currently possessing me…’
[She will probably draw her sword without hesitation. Kuku. However, Lukas Trowman, that wouldn’t affect my main body at all. At most I’d feel a bit sad about losing such a good puppet. Kuku. I think I’ve found a pretty good threat.]
Lukas frowned.
‘Cut the crap.’
[…]
‘It’s not that easy to find a good puppet in the World of Void, is it?’
[Why do you think that?]
‘Because if it were, you would have made one of the Absolutes under your command into your puppet. You would not have settled for a mortal like Lee Jong-hak.’
The Lightning God was silent.
‘So quit making such foolish threats. Although it’s a bit comical, it’s me, not you, who has the initiative right now. You didn’t take control of my body, and you cannot exert your authority on me.’
It was true that the fact that Lukas couldn’t drive the Lightning God out made him uncomfortable.
However, the humiliation the Lightning God was feeling was probably tens of thousands of times more. For a Ruler, the fact that he’d ‘tied’ with a lesser being meant a lot.
‘You should only talk after you’ve firmly gained control of me.’
[…kuku, as I expected, you really are an interesting guy. Alright. I’ll remember that.]
The Lightning God seemed to follow Lukas’ words, but this attitude only made him more anxious. He couldn’t tell what he was thinking.
…And there was something else that gave Lukas a similar feeling.
Suppressing a sigh, he walked up to Pale who was at the head.
“Are we going to the Magic Planet right now?”
“That’s right.”
“…as far as I know, the Magic Planet is in the Southern Region.”
“Right.”
“…”
Lukas looked around. His expression seemed to say ‘even though I haven’t been to the Southern Region, I know what the landscape looks like’.
It was said that the region was a pure snowfield filled with nothing but snow. But as he looked at their surroundings, there wasn’t even a speck of snow.
The surrounding landscape was one of the most unique among all that he’d seen so far.
The western desert, the southern snowfield, the northern sea.
And this place with grey dirt. The ground looked faded as if it had died and in the places that they’d passed so far, not even a single blade of dried grass could be found.
It was a land that was even more desolate and oppressive than the desert.
And if it was neither the north, south, or west, then it was obvious where this place was.
“-the east.”
“Yes.”
“Is the Magic Planet in the east?”
“No, didn’t you say it’s in the south?”
“Then why did we come to the east?”
“Huhuhng.”
With a soft hum, Pale continued to walk forward. It seemed she had no intention of answering. So Lukas looked back and asked.
“Have you ever been to the Eastern Region?”
Yang In-hyun nodded calmly.
“Right.”
“Do you have to come here in order to get to the Magic Planet?”
“That’s not it… If I remember correctly, there is only one way to get there.”
“What’s that?”
Before he answered, Yang In-hyun’s expression became a bit awkward. Then, just as his lips were about to open…
Fwoosh-
Lukas suddenly felt himself enter a new space.
“We’re here.”
As soon as he heard Pale’s voice, the surrounding landscape changed completely. First of all, the sky became black, and the surroundings became rocky. Although it was a similarly bleak landscape, it still felt more alive.
There were even stars shining in the sky above, and a hot wind blew. In the middle of this area was an incredibly large, strange looking building. It was half sunken as if it had been embedded into the ground.
“…”
No. It wasn’t a building.
Upon closer inspection, Lukas realised that this strange structure was actually a spaceship.
It was big. Large enough to be called a huge battleship.
“Mm…”
Then, Yang In-hyun let out an awkward sound. He was staring at the spaceship with a glum expression, and Lukas got the impression that he knew this place.
“Ahem.”
Pale took a step forward and cleared her throat before shouting in a surprisingly loud voice.
“Anyone there?!”
Her shout actually caused the spaceship to tremble.
Nevertheless, there was no response. Narrowing his eyes, Lukas tried to peer into the spaceship, but it was strangely difficult to do. This was true even after he used Clairvoyance. As if his vision was being blocked by an invisible curtain.
“A-ny-one there!?”
Pale shouted once more. And again, there was no response. Just as she took a deep breath.
Tap tap-
They heard the sound of footsteps as well as something being dragged along the ground.
Lukas turned around. And he saw an extremely bizarre looking creature.
It had a body that was about 3 metres tall. Although it walked on two legs, it couldn’t really be considered humanoid. It had pale, reptilian skin and eyes, and was wearing a type of armour that he’d never seen before. The armour looked like it hadn’t been maintained in a long time or it had been worn after it was already heavily damaged. The most noticeable part was its right arm. It was huge and seemed to be covered by a giant gauntlet from which bluish energy seemed to constantly flow.
The creature was dragging something in its hand. It was a being that looked just as bizarre. Its eyes were rolled back and it was bleeding bright yellow blood, but it wasn’t hard to tell it was already dead.
[ ∊UΣ⏜ …… ┴⎰∝…….]
The being mumbled in a strange language. It seemed that it would be impossible to communicate. At least that’s what he thought at first.
[Amazing…]
It spoke in a language he could understand.
Pale grinned.
“Did you just come back from a hunt? Was it satisfying?”
[…]
The being’s eyes passed over Pale without answering.
Then its eyes settled on Yang In-hyun.
[What… a rare… face…]
“…”
Yang In-hyun averted his gaze with a displeased expression. The being continued to look at Yang In-hyun with pupil-less green eyes before walking past them. At the same time, it fiddled with the gauntlet on its wrist.
Woowoong-
A blue hologram filled with mysterious drawings and symbols appeared above the gauntlet. After the being tapped a few buttons with its long finger,
Pshhh-
The entrance of the spaceship opened. Then, as if it had forgotten about Lukas and the others, it dragged its prey into the spaceship.
“Who is that?”
“The Exile.”
When Yang In-hyun answered shortly, Lukas’ head snapped over.
One of the Twelve Void Lords. He hadn’t expected that he would meet another one so soon…
[Hoh. That guy…]
The Lightning God pretended to know him. Lukas was confused by his attitude.
‘Why are you pretending to know him?’
When it came to the World of Void, the Rulers couldn’t be called knowledgeable. Instead, they probably knew less than Lukas. Because of this, the Lightning God’s attitude of pretending to know the Exile felt like a bluff.
But the Lightning God simply smiled.
[I’m not pretending. That guy… is probably the most unique being in the World of Void.]
‘What?’
[Kuku, at the same time, he’s incredibly dangerous. After all, he has a record of erasing 17 Great Universes with his own hands.]
‘…!”
[If you end up fighting him, you’d do well to be careful of that unique right hand of his…]
A moment later, the Exile returned from the spaceship. The beast in his hand had disappeared, and he had changed his outfit.
Instead of the broken armour, he was wearing something similar to a robe.
And he was barefoot. Although it probably didn’t matter, he had three toes.
[For what reason… did you come here…?]
The Exile’s gloomy voice, like the incantations of a Warlock, echoed in an excessively dreary manner.
In addition, the voice itself sounded like that of a monster trying to imitate human speech.
But that didn’t seem to matter to Pale.
“I wanna go to the Magic Planet. Can you lend me the power of your [Occult Hand]?”
[Last time… you said… that was the last time.]
“This time! This time is really the last time!”
[…]
The Exile looked at Pale with an indecipherable expression before saying.
[Fine… However… I can’t just do it…]
“Ohhh.”
[This time as well… their value… they will have to prove it…]
“Of course, they will!”
[…]
At that moment, the Exile stretched out his right hand.
Fwoosh!
An air current appeared behind him. Lukas turned around. And encountered a scene that was quite familiar to him.
‘A space crack…’
He saw a gap leading to a different space.
Lukas narrowed his eyes slightly.
‘A power similar to Lord’s.’
Although there were some differences, the Exile was also ‘a being who could manipulate space’. There was another being in the World of Void who could manipulate space, an ability that was incredibly rare in the entire multiverse.
[In that space beyond… convince that being… with just the two of you…]
The Exile pointed at Lukas and Yang In-hyun. Pale smiled and waved her hand.
“It’s as he said. Go ahead. Uh. By the way, when are you going to eat what you brought earlier? Can’t you give me some too?”
[No…]
“Wah. You’re so stingy.”
Lukas and Yang In-hyun exchanged glances.
They didn’t know what being was in this beyond…
‘It’s probably a good thing that Pale won’t come.’
Lukas was currently carrying a bomb called the Lightning God.
He didn’t know if any of that guy’s power would leak out at any time while he was fighting. The space in front of them was probably completely separate from this space, so the probability of Pale noticing was extremely low.
With that thought in mind, he stepped into the gap first. And he could feel Yang In-hyun follow him a step later.
Fwoosh!
Once again, the surrounding landscape changed.
This place, the ground had become grey once more.
Did they go ‘outside’?
Lukas suddenly felt a chill and instantly prepared to use void.
On the lifeless ground, someone stood like a statue.
“…indeed, it seems this is the being we need to convince.”
There was also a bit of tension in Yang In-hyun’s voice.
This couldn’t be helped. At that moment, Lukas managed to understand several things at the same time.
The condition laid out by Pale. In order to go to the Magic Planet, he needed to find ‘someone he could trust to go with him’. She must have known that Lukas’ strength was comparable to one of the Twelve Void Lords.
And yet, she’d still told Lukas to find someone he could trust.
In other words, she had determined that it would take at least two beings at the level of the Twelve Void Lords.
Those words were correct.
Because the being in front of them, a Knight in white armour, was probably one of the King’s Four Knights like Pale.
Ssrng-
The White Knight of Conquest quietly drew their sword.
(TL: That was… sudden. Is it time to die at the hands of another Knight?)
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