I Can Devour Monsters' SSS Talents

Chapter 703: Memories and Oblivion

"Lian Vorhelm."

The man’s voice passed through the silence of the plateau.

It was familiar; far too familiar, the same voice, the same face, and even the same way of standing. But there was something about him that Lian could not find in his memories of Roderick.

No emotion.

The man in front of him was smiling, but his smile had no meaning, the corners of his mouth were raised without any change in his eyes; as if something that did not understand the meaning of happiness was only copying its appearance.

The Forsaken Apostate was still kneeling on one knee.

He had lowered his huge sword in front of his body, and his twelve gray wings were folded behind his heavy armor.

The knight who had split apart a large part of the plateau just moments ago to stop Lian was now not even raising his head.

But the knight’s reaction was not the strangest thing on the battlefield.

One was standing motionless on Lian’s left.

Despite the injuries left from the previous battle, the huge six-armed ant kept all his arms close to his body, not to attack, but in a position as if he wanted to protect himself from something unknown.

On the right, Two lowered his huge body slightly.

The Eight-Disaster Wolf pulled his ears back, his front claws dragged across the stone ground, and for a moment, all eight of his eyes stared at the newcomer without blinking.

Through Hive Dominion, Lian felt the change in the condition of both of them.

Fear?

His gaze moved toward Three, the Dreadmaw Sovereign.

The creature that had proudly insulted the Unholy knight a few minutes ago was now silent.

His jaws were slightly open, but no threats came from his throat.

One of his claws unconsciously pressed harder against the stone.

"My lord..."

His voice was lower than before.

"What is that thing?"

Lian looked back at the man in front of him.

"A Calamity."

Three did not answer for a moment.

Then he straightened his body and continued in a tone that tried to maintain his usual pride.

"Calamity or whatever else it may be, as long as it stands against you, it is my enemy."

But as he spoke those last words, his claws were still pressing against the stone.

Lian raised the corner of his mouth slightly.

Even now, he can’t put aside his pride.

At that moment, Four’s voice echoed in his mind.

’My lord, I beg you to be careful.’

The Nine-Venom Castellan’s tone was still polite, but it lacked his usual confidence.

’My instincts are telling me to stay away from him, even thinking about attacking that creature... is difficult.’

Lian looked at Four for a moment.

So this isn’t ordinary fear.

Feeling danger was natural for powerful creatures, but what the Colony members were experiencing now went beyond judging the enemy’s strength.

It was as if part of their very nature was reacting to the presence of a superior being before their minds even had a chance to make a decision.

Farther away, Rindo was holding his spear with both hands.

He felt a heavy pressure in his chest, his breathing had become short, and every time he tried to keep his eyes on Roderick’s face, part of him wanted to lower his head.

Alicia placed her hand on the handle of her sword, but her fingers were trembling slightly.

Noah did not even try to say anything.

Beside them, the Bone Minstrel played the next note on his instrument a little later than usual.

The melody did not stop, but for a moment, the music lost its usual rhythm.

Lian watched all these reactions and then looked back at the man in front of him.

So the presence of a Calamity has this kind of effect.

Even so, he did not experience any of those feelings himself.

His Calamity Devourer title protected him from the natural fear and suppression caused by Calamity-rank beings.

Of course, this immunity had nothing to do with being immune to damage.

He knew very well that the creature in front of him could still be the most dangerous enemy he had ever faced.

But at least he did not have to fight against his own instincts before the battle even began.

The man with Roderick’s face tilted his head slightly, his gaze passed over the four Colony members and settled on Lian.

"Strange."

Lian raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

"They can feel me."

The man’s emotionless gaze rested on Three for a moment.

Then it returned to Lian.

"But you cannot."

"Maybe my tastes are different from everyone else’s." Young Vorhelm shrugged.

The man looked at him for several seconds, his smile did not change in the slightest, and this made Lian’s short answer seem even stranger.

In front of a creature whose mere presence had brought an Unholy to his knees, young Vorhelm was still speaking as if he were having an ordinary conversation with another person.

Of course, his mind was not as calm as his behavior.

I still don’t know what limitations this body has.

And more importantly... why Roderick?

White Oblivion took a step.

The sound of Roderick’s shoes could be heard against the stone ground, and a young man with a familiar face was walking through the ruins of the plateau.

This simple appearance, together with the terror his presence caused in the surrounding creatures, made the scene even more unsettling.

"I have to say, you made an interesting choice." Lian kept his eyes on him.

The man stopped.

"Choice?"

Lian briefly pointed toward his body.

"The last time I saw Roderick, he was in much worse condition."

White Oblivion looked at his own right hand and slowly opened and closed his fingers.

"The previous owner of this body no longer needed it."

"That’s right." Lian gave a short smile. "As far as I remember, I made sure he wouldn’t need it anymore."

There was silence for a moment.

White Oblivion slowly raised his head.

"You killed him."

The sentence sounded more like a statement of fact than an accusation.

"Yeah."

"And now you are surprised to see him."

"Not surprised to see him. Roderick is dead." Vorhelm narrowed his eyes slightly. "I’m wondering what made his body usable again."

White Oblivion did not answer and only kept the same emotionless smile.

Lian broke the silence again.

"Of course, you’re probably not very interested in answering that question."

"Humans always want to know the reason behind everything."

"It usually helps us stay alive."

"And yet, knowing the cause of death does not prevent death."

"Not always." Lian looked at him for a moment.

Then he glanced at the Forsaken Apostate.

The knight was still kneeling.

"So you’re the one behind everything that’s been happening."

"Which events?"

"The Withered moving toward the center from all over the prison, the prisoners whose behavior changed, and this knight who was willing to destroy the entire plateau just to stop us from passing."

White Oblivion turned his head slightly and looked at his kneeling servant.

"He has fulfilled his duty."

"His duty is to protect you?"

"His duty is to carry out orders."

Lian slowly nodded.

He’s not giving direct answers.

But something about the Calamity’s tone had caught his attention, he spoke about the knight with neither respect nor contempt, from his point of view, carrying out orders was simply the creature’s function.

"And the Withered? Are they also just following your orders?"

White Oblivion turned his gaze toward the northern cliffs for a moment.

"They have returned to what remains."

"What does that mean?"

"What they once were no longer matters."

"I think they might have a different opinion." Lian remained silent for several seconds and then said.

The man looked at him again.

"Is that so?"

"Probably, if they still remember anything about themselves."

"And if they do not, does it matter what their former selves would think?"

"Interesting question, why destroy their identities in the first place so that we even have to ask such a question?"

For a moment, Roderick’s smile remained completely still.

"Why are memories so important to you? Identity is nothing more than a collection of memories."

"And you want to prove that this collection can be erased?"

"Something that can disappear was never permanent." The creature answered.

Lian thought about that sentence for a moment.

So in his eyes, the identities of living beings have no lasting value.

He had seen many monsters in the Ruined Realms.

Some hunted, some fought to survive, and others simply followed their basic instincts.

But the creature in front of him was different, White Oblivion was not talking about killing or destroying bodies, in his eyes, removing the memories and identities of living beings was something whose morality did not even need to be discussed.

Lian changed the direction of the conversation.

"Then how did you get trapped here? A creature with your abilities shouldn’t get caught this easily, right? Looks like you couldn’t erase the identities of all your enemies."

For several seconds, only the sound of the wind could be heard.

White Oblivion slowly turned his gaze toward the red sky.

"Trapped..."

He spoke the word as if he were examining its meaning.