Lord of the Truth

Chapter 2363 Personal

Middle Sector 115—

Whoever said that sound cannot travel through space had certainly never witnessed a war fought among the stars.

BOOOOOOOOM!

The attacks of the Law Dominators and Royal Soul Masters caused space itself to tremble violently as incomprehensible torrents of energy erupted in every direction. The concentration of that energy was so overwhelming and so unimaginably dense that it naturally became a medium through which sound could travel...

...along with countless screams of agony.

"AAAAAAAH!!"

Tak! Tak! Tak!

The warships never ceased firing, and souls never stopped separating from their bodies as battle after battle unfolded without even the briefest pause.

The number of casualties rose at an alarming rate with every passing second. Entire planets collapsed before everyone's eyes like scenes taken from ancient legends, yet not a single person found the time or the luxury to spare them a second glance.

The destruction of planets and the endless sea of shattered debris drifting throughout the outer reaches of the Behemoth of Oppression's galaxy had become such an ordinary sight that hardly anyone considered it worthy of attention anymore.

Slash!

Kiryan suddenly appeared at the very edge of the galaxy before driving his spear straight through a man's chest with flawless precision.

"Argh!!"

The white-haired man cried out in obvious pain, yet contrary to what should have happened, he refused to die. Instead, he immediately seized the spear with his left hand while simultaneously throwing a heavy punch toward Kiryan with his right.

Bam!

Kiryan smoothly shifted the shaft of his spear to intercept the blow before opening his azure-blue eyes to their widest extent and locking his gaze directly onto his opponent's eyes.

Something within space itself began vibrating violently.

Ooooom...

"Urgh!!"

The white-haired man's expression twisted in pain once again as the invisible force assaulted him.

"Kiryan!!"

From the distance, Helmor charged forward like a rampaging beast whose fury had finally broken free of its restraints. His long white hair flowed wildly behind him, his black robes fluttered violently through space, and the terrifying focus within his eye alone was enough to make lesser beings instinctively avert their gazes. Even the manner in which he advanced created the illusion that space itself was collapsing before him.

"Stand your ground like a man! Honor your title and prove you're worthy of bearing it!"

"Tsk."

Taking advantage of his opponent's momentary lapse caused by the soul pain, Kiryan swiftly pulled his spear free before driving a powerful kick into the man's body, sending him flying backward.

As for Kiryan himself, he wasted no time retreating deeper into the galaxy. Then, with nothing more than a casual motion of his hand, he altered the trajectory of the nearest planet and slowly drew it toward his own position.

"...?!"

Helmor instinctively slowed the instant he witnessed that scene, his charging momentum noticeably weakening.

Ever since Kaylis had used planets themselves as weapons against Darvion, such shameless methods had officially become one of the greatest tactical advantages possessed by artificial galaxies.

Although Helmor undoubtedly possessed enough power to destroy an entire planet at the cost of expending part of his own energy, there was absolutely no possibility that he could continue destroying every single planet within the galaxy one after another.

And even if he stubbornly chose that path, he would eventually exhaust himself completely, handing his own life to Kiryan on a silver platter, left with insufficient energy and virtually no ability to defend himself afterward.

And Kiryan...

The infamous Soul Destroyer was not an opponent anyone could afford to confront carelessly.

If Helmor allowed his concentration to slip for even a brief instant, if Kiryan managed to seize that single opening while he was less than fully focused, then one spiritual attack might very well decide not only the outcome of the battle...

...but the outcome of his life as well.

"What kind of Oppression do you have? What kind of Behemoth are you?" Helmor roared loudly, his voice shaking the surrounding space. "What's with all this advancing and retreating for two entire weeks? Are you planning to keep fighting this war like this until every last one of your planets has been destroyed? Until every living being associated with your name has been wiped out? Come here, face me directly... and die like a man!"

"...I'm waiting for something."

Kiryan finally stopped after retreating to what he considered a sufficiently safe distance within the galaxy. His expression was caught somewhere between embarrassment and frustration. Never before had he been subjected to such direct ridicule, and he genuinely found himself at a loss for how to answer it.

"I'm waiting for reinforcements."

"Reinforcements?!" Helmor burst into loud laughter. "Who beneath the heavens could possibly stop me? Who could possibly save you from me? Did the Shadow Swords promise you Note Fleets and Epic weapons? Hahaha!"

"...Didn't you just tell me to be a man?" Kiryan's anger became plainly visible as he glared back. "To honor my title? Then why don't you be a man yourself and admit who's backing you? Why don't you honor your own title and stop serving outsiders?"

"...?"

Helmor's brows immediately drew together into a deep frown.

"What are you talking about? What in the—"

"Father!" At that very moment, a voice suddenly called out from Helmor's side. A young woman with white hair hurried toward him as fast as she could, her expression filled with urgency. "You need to look at this immediately! It's footage from a live broadcast that's been running inside the Soul Society for hours now!"

"A live broadcast in the Soul Society?"

Helmor accepted the disk of light with an unmistakably irritated expression.

"This had better be worth interrupting me for... otherwise, the consequences of cutting me off in the middle of my conversation won't be pleasant."

Without wasting another moment, he poured a strand of his soul into the light disk...

...and immediately began watching.

"...?!"

His expression gradually stiffened, growing darker with every passing second in a way that was impossible to overlook, as though each new frame of the recording was confirming something he had never expected to witness.

"...Hedrick?!"

"Hmm?" Kiryan, who had been preparing to resume his exchange with Helmor, happened to overhear every word. His attention immediately shifted toward the nearest battlefield under his command before—

Swoosh!

—with a casual sweep of his spear, he instantly killed one of Helmor's World Cataclysms. Without wasting another moment, he pointed toward his disciple's disciple and ordered, "Go investigate what's happening inside the Soul Society. I heard something about a live broadcast."

"Yes, Your Majesty!!"

As soon as the man departed, Kiryan turned his attention back toward Helmor in the distance. He genuinely wanted to extend his spiritual sense and inspect that disk alongside him, but he ultimately restrained himself.

What if it was a trap?

What if something had been hidden within that recording specifically to target him the moment his spiritual sense touched it?

Someone capable of orchestrating a broadcast that shook the entire Soul Society could very well have anticipated curious spectators.

Even so...

As the minutes slowly slipped by, his patience began balancing upon an increasingly fragile thread.

Helmor's changing expressions...

His anger.

His irritation.

His utter disbelief.

Every one of those reactions continuously fed Kiryan's curiosity, making it harder and harder to suppress the urge to see exactly what was happening inside that recording.

"..."

At last, Kiryan's patience finally reached its limit.

He slowly began extending his spiritual sense toward the disk.

"Your Majesty!!"

At that exact moment, the man rushed back at full speed, his face completely pale. A disk rested firmly in his hand.

"I found exactly what you were looking for."

"Hmm? You're back already?" Kiryan frowned deeply, clearly surprised by how quickly he had returned. "Did you investigate thoroughly enough?"

"There was absolutely no possibility of making a mistake. The entire Soul Society is talking about nothing else. Even the auctions have been postponed because of this." Kiryan's disciple's disciple hurriedly handed over the disk. "Please... see for yourself!"

"...?!"

Kiryan immediately accepted the disk without another word.

The very thing powerful enough to bring every auction throughout the Soul Society to a complete halt.

The instant his soul entered the recording...

...his expression transformed into one of complete disbelief.

Unlike Helmor, however, his disbelief was not born from alarm or suspicion.

Instead...

It was disbelief mixed with astonishment...

...and unmistakable delight.

"Haha... Hahahaha!!" Kiryan burst into loud, uncontrollable laughter. "No wonder he said he'd send Renara to me! So this is Renara! Hahahahaha!!"

"...?" Helmor's pale face slowly turned toward Kiryan once again, his brows tightening as he heard those words. "Send Renara... to you?"

He then lowered his gaze and returned to watching the recording once more.

"Yes..."

"Yes..."

"So that's how it is."

The astonishment lingering across his face gradually disappeared, replaced little by little by unmistakable fury.

"Out of every single insect in this universe, that damned Seer couldn't find anyone except my own living sperm to turn into a damned Unbound?!"

Taking a deep breath to suppress the emotions boiling inside him, he suddenly roared,

"Increase the pressure! Let's finish this cursed place already!!"

"OOOOOOH!!"

The already raging battlefield erupted with even greater intensity in the very next instant. Every army threw itself forward with renewed momentum, and even Kiryan himself had no choice but to return to the battle while laughing loudly, his spear dancing through the battlefield with far greater enthusiasm than before, "Haha! Hold on! Reinforcements are coming! Reinforcements are definitely on their way!"

As for Helmor...

He did not immediately return to the battle.

Had Kiryan continued watching him instead of laughing his way back into combat, he would have noticed that Helmor had quietly taken a single step backward.

His expression had become exceptionally grim.

His mind had sunk entirely into deep contemplation.

Out of everyone...

When a Transcendent like the Seer chose to cut away a portion of his own power in order to create an Unbound...

...he had deliberately selected the one person who despised Helmor more than anyone else.

Hedrick.

The man that hated him to the very marrow of his bones.

The more he thought about it, the more obvious the conclusion became.

The Seer had deliberately made this personal because he had broken the unwritten rules