Lord of the Truth

Chapter 2331 Poison

"...?" Kiryan was genuinely puzzled by Robin's words, unable to understand the direction the conversation had suddenly taken.

Zavaros had been talking about finding a way to become stronger, yet Robin, in contrast, had immediately shifted the discussion toward healing and toward questioning whether Zavaros was a good father?

Lord Robin truly was a master at steering a conversation wherever he wanted without giving anyone the chance to react.

Kiryan quietly turned toward Zavaros, fully expecting to witness the familiar outburst of anger that would normally follow such a remark...

After all, anyone who had only seen Zavaros during his meeting with the Butcher and then during this conversation with Lord Robin would probably conclude that he was a calm, patient, and surprisingly reasonable individual. In reality, however, he had only reached this degree of composure after millions of years spent restraining himself, navigating politics, and gradually learning when to suppress his instincts. Long ago, Zavaros had been completely rigid in his thinking, incapable of compromise, and every bit the savage beast his reputation suggested, despite not yet possessing the massive horns that now crowned his head.

It could honestly be said that, with the passage of time, he had grown increasingly beastly in appearance, while simultaneously becoming far more civilized in the way he spoke, negotiated, and controlled his emotions.

"Hmm?" Kiryan's brows suddenly drew tightly together when he finally noticed Zavaros's actual reaction. "Brother Zavaros?"

His mouth remained slightly open as he stared at Robin with eyes widened to their absolute limit, as though his eyelids had completely forgotten how to blink, while a faint tremor spread through his entire body without him even realizing it.

"...?" Even Glatheon couldn't hide his surprise. Zavaros's reaction was far too exaggerated to be explained by ordinary shock alone.

"You..." Zavaros muttered before seeming to force himself back to reality. "I mean... Your Lordship..." Even his manner of speaking suddenly shifted into something far more respectful than before. "How... did you know?"

"One glance. The very moment I arrived here." Robin answered effortlessly, as though the matter required no explanation whatsoever. "That's precisely why I restored those corpses in the first place. These golden eyes aren't here merely to make me look impressive."

After saying that, Robin quietly observed the sword for a few more moments. "Hmm... that stubborn little thing deserves a more thorough examination." He then casually raised one hand and slowly pushed the sword into the space before him, forcing it deeper and deeper until it disappeared completely from sight, swallowed by the distorted space itself.

Afterward, he lightly brushed off his hand before turning back toward Zavaros with a faint, relaxed smile. "The beasts in the garden... they're all your children by blood, aren't they?"

"What?!" Kiryan and Glatheon exclaimed simultaneously, both caught completely off guard.

"Huh?!" From the distance, every one of Zavaros's children who had remained nearby jolted in astonishment. Only Zina continued standing quietly, her gaze fixed upon her father, her eyes filled not with surprise but with quiet sorrow.

"Is that true?" Kiryan immediately took two steps forward, his expression filled with disbelief. "Those rumors claiming that each successive generation of your descendants inherits increasingly beastly traits, and that you eventually stopped trying to have more children because of it... were those rumors actually true all along?"

"They're not true!" Zavaros pushed Kiryan aside slightly before taking a slow breath. "...Every single one of my children gradually loses their humanity as time passes, while random beastly characteristics continue manifesting throughout their bodies until, eventually, I'm left with no choice but to confine them here." He then slowly stepped backward twice before sitting down heavily. "...The exact same thing is happening to me."

"....?!" Kiryan's eyes widened even further in complete disbelief. "I always thought those scales, those horns, and your enormous physique were things you deliberately displayed because you wanted to terrify your enemies and better embody your title as the Savage Behemoth!"

"...." Zavaros lowered his gaze toward the floor. "I don't want to embody anything. My body is changing just like my children's bodies are. The only difference is that the stronger I become, the slower the transformation progresses. That's why I've done everything I could to push as many of my children as possible toward breakthroughs by using a Nascent Space Beast Crystal, while also helping them obtain a Minor Law capable of delaying what was always destined to happen."

He then slowly shifted his eyes toward the nearest beast, the one that continued staring at all of them with the unmistakable expression of a predator looking at prey. "...But even that method merely delays the inevitable. It has never truly stopped it."

"....!!"

Every one of Zavaros's children felt their hearts pound violently inside their chests as their eyes trembled involuntarily and an overwhelming fear silently spread throughout their entire beings.

They had all noticed those gradual changes appearing within themselves over the years, yet none of them had ever imagined such a horrifying truth lay hidden beneath them.

Was that the reason Father spent nearly all of his time inside this place?!

"Damn it, Zavaros!!" Kiryan shouted in utter disbelief. "Is that why your garden contains all those dozens of Emperor Beasts? Is that why everyone says your garden is the only place in the entire universe that houses beasts possessing the strength of Law Dominators? Because they were originally Law Dominators... and they were your own children?!"

Zavaros completely ignored Kiryan's outburst, never even glancing in his direction, as his eyes remained fixed upon Robin. "What you said a moment ago..." His voice had become noticeably heavier than before. "...Are you telling me you can actually cure us?"

"...." Robin calmly tapped the armrest of his sofa with a finger, every quiet tap landing upon Zavaros's heart like a thunderbolt that shook his entire being. "To begin with, I'd like to point out that I had already suspected something like this was happening here before I ever came, so witnessing it with my own eyes wasn't nearly as surprising as you probably imagine."

"...?" Zavaros stared at him in complete astonishment, unable to comprehend how Robin could possibly have reached such a conclusion before even setting foot inside his territory.

No one understood better than Zavaros just how closely guarded this secret truly was. As far as he knew, only two people in the entire universe were aware of it—himself and Zina—and the two of them had protected it in absolute silence for countless years.

Whenever the day finally came when he completely lost hope in one of his children, Zina would secretly escort them to a planet that belonged to no major power and attracted no unnecessary attention. Their father would then arrive personally, subdue them by force if necessary, and imprison them there inside a powerful formation for thousands of years, allowing the transformation to progress until it became completely irreversible and every trace of resistance had disappeared.

By the time that happened, their remaining brothers and sisters would already have forgotten them. The story spread among everyone else would simply be that they had died during an expedition or fallen on one of the countless dangerous missions assigned to members of the Beast Galaxy, especially since the Silent Farewell was always triggered at the exact moment the transformation reached completion... Mid Sector 105 had witnessed more Silent Farewells than every other sector combined, and that had become one of the greatest reasons behind Zavaros's terrifying reputation, as well as the countless rumors claiming he routinely sent his own children on hopeless missions from which they never returned.

Once everything had settled down and no one questioned their disappearance anymore, the transformed child would quietly be brought back to the garden, where they would spend the remainder of their existence alongside their brothers and sisters beneath their father's constant watch, no longer truly human, yet never abandoned by the one person who still considered them family.

That was precisely why Robin casually claiming to know anything related to this matter was nothing short of astonishing in Zavaros's eyes.

"As for that..." Robin continued tapping the armrest of the sofa at the same relaxed rhythm as before, as though discussing an ordinary matter. "There was one rather strange sentence I overheard during the conversation between the Seer and the Executioner. He mentioned that our evolution had stagnated to such an extent that we still relied upon the blood of the Reapers as a cultivation path." He then made a casual gesture with his hand before adding, "The Reapers are Space Beasts, by the way."

"...." Glatheon cautiously raised one hand, genuine concern appearing on his face. "Is it really safe for us to speak so casually about Lord Andrew? Will... there be any consequences for discussing him so openly?"

"Hehe, I'm someone who has a candidate now, and I've already broken free from my restraints." Robin waved dismissively, looking completely unconcerned. "If I were still afraid of quoting a couple of sentences or mentioning an old mission after everything that's happened, what kind of person would I look like in my own eyes? Don't trouble yourself over something like that."

"The Seer said we rely on the blood of Space Beasts as a cultivation path?" Kiryan repeated in confusion, unable to immediately connect the statement. "But we..."

"Among the four cultivation paths, there isn't one called the Space Beast Blood Path, correct?" Robin pointed toward him. "So if that's the case, which existing cultivation path resembles that description the most...?"

"...." Kiryan slowly turned toward Zavaros as realization gradually began to dawn on him. "The second path... Beast Blood?"

"Haha, exactly." Robin pointed directly at Zavaros without the slightest hesitation. "And who is it that supplies the highest-quality blood throughout the entire universe? Who is the one individual upon whom the entire second cultivation path ultimately depends? Who harvests that blood from his own children inside the Garden of Beasts, refines it, and sends it across the universe?!" Then he spread his hands slightly before shaking his head with a faint smile. "Zavaros... oh, Zavaros. I think the Seer chose you to fight Helmor because he wanted to eliminate the bastard who's been poisoning the entire universe with the rotten blood of Space Beasts for all these years."