Lord of the Truth

Chapter 2431 Hulak's wishes

Mid Sector 99—Donara

Bang

One of the facility's doors was suddenly thrown open with considerable force, and Althera emerged hurriedly from behind it, beads of sweat visible on her as she moved with obvious tension and unease.

Without wasting even a moment, she quickly descended the stairs she hadn't seen for the past two months, moving with such speed that it almost seemed as though the ground itself were folding beneath her feet to shorten the distance, while her unfocused eyes revealed that most of her attention wasn't actually on the path ahead of her at all... her mind was completely occupied with something else.

"Psssst—"

"..?" Althera immediately stopped and turned toward the source of the sudden sound, only for her expression to change the moment she recognized the person there. "Why are you still here, Holak?!"

After Althera became one of Robin's Candidates and it was decided that from then onward she would follow him as his personal guard, and following the destruction of the Cosmic Elder's house that she had previously been using as a refuge after losing consciousness, another residence had been specially constructed for her, particularly since she had also become the person responsible for taking care of the infant Asir.

The newly constructed house was no longer made entirely of glass like the previous residence, nor was it positioned directly beside Robin's own residence the way the Cosmic Elder's temporary house had once been.

Instead, it had been constructed using insulated stone specifically to provide Althera and her child with the necessary degree of privacy, while its location had been carefully chosen behind Robin's Glass House at a particular angle that allowed Althera to observe Robin whenever she wanted simply by looking through the windows... In this way, she could continuously keep an eye on him and properly fulfill her responsibility as his personal guard.

But in reality, both Althera and Asir mostly took advantage of that convenient arrangement for an entirely different practical purpose: whenever either of them encountered something they wanted to ask Robin about, they could simply keep watching him from there until they confirmed that he had entered a period of rest, then seize the opportunity to approach him with whatever question had been troubling them!

"Where exactly do you expect me to be?" Holak replied with obvious surprise, apparently finding her question strange in the first place. "This house was specifically built in a position suitable for watching over and guarding the Boss. Naturally, it makes perfect sense for me to remain here."

"Wasn't responsibility for guarding the border sectors already handed over to the Imperial Guards?" Althera asked with considerable surprise, unable to understand why he was still occupying her residence despite that arrangement. "Then go out there and guard them together with the others. This is my house!"

"Guarding the Boss is more important." Holak casually waved his hand, showing no intention whatsoever of leaving merely because she wanted him gone. "The five division commanders and their respective deputies are more than capable of handling the remaining simple matters in my name. I didn't personally spend my time training all of them for nothing."

"Can those five division commanders and their deputies also handle the consequences of everything happening inside the Soul Society right now?" Althera raised the small disc in her hand slightly to make her meaning clear, then immediately resumed walking toward the door as though there were no longer any time to waste arguing with him. "I have to tell His Majesty about this."

"Do you seriously think the Boss is sitting there waiting for you personally to come and tell him about something that's already happening throughout the Soul Society?" Before Althera could move very far, Holak reached out and grabbed her by the hair, pulling her back and bringing her directly in front of the window beside which he had been sitting. "Look."

"Ah!!" Althera almost immediately retaliated by reaching for Holak's long hair and pulling it in return, but the movement stopped before she could actually do so when her eyes landed on the scene visible through the window, causing her to fall silent almost instantly...

Directly ahead of them, Robin was currently sitting in front of his Glass House while surrounded by dozens of researchers, with a Shadow Sword kneeling beside him and quietly waiting to receive his orders, while Qarun's recording itself was already playing right there in the middle of everyone...

"...Did you see it too?" Althera asked Holak while keeping her gaze fixed on the scene ahead, watching Robin and everyone gathered around him.

"Of course." Holak gave a simple nod, showing that there had never been any possibility of something this important escaping his attention. "I was informed about it immediately." Then he raised his hand and pointed toward the scene ahead of them. "That poor Shadow Sword standing over there has actually been waiting off to the side for quite some time already, doing nothing except looking for a suitable opportunity to pass the disc to the Boss."

"How do you think he'll react after seeing something like this?" Althera wondered aloud while continuing to watch Robin from behind the window, her blood still boiling with anger because of everything she herself had seen and heard in that recording.

"I don't know." Holak slowly shook his head, his gaze remaining fixed on the scene outside the window. "If I were in his place, I'd simply go there and smash Qarun's head in without wasting time on anything else. And frankly, judging by the terrifying strength I personally witnessed from him during the battle against the Executioner, as well as what I saw on the day he brought out those seals, I honestly don't think there's anything capable of standing in his way and stopping him if he truly decides to act."

"I sincerely hope he does." Althera gritted her teeth hard enough for her irritation to become obvious. "That man is incredibly irritating, and merely listening to him speak was enough to make my blood boil." Then she turned her head toward Holak and continued, "And based on my long experience with situations like this, I'm telling you right now that this matter will turn into an extremely difficult situation if His Majesty doesn't do something about it quickly."

"....." Holak remained silent and simply stared directly at Althera's face for several moments, his expression making it obvious that something about what she had just said had caught his attention.

"...What?" Althera furrowed her brows in confusion when his strange stare continued.

Bam Holak suddenly reached out and grabbed her by the hair once again, then pushed her firmly back in the direction she had originally come from. "Go back and continue your training instead of worrying about matters like this. Whether the Boss decides to do something or chooses not to, you're still far too weak right now to be of any meaningful help with whatever happens next, while my men from the five divisions are more than enough to carry out any order they're given."

"Ah!!" Althera immediately retaliated by turning around and kicking Holak's leg hard just below the knee. "You clumsy barbarian!" Then she glared at him and shouted, "I want to see exactly how you're going to keep bullying me like this after I finally master a Master Law!!"

"Hmph!" Holak merely waved his hand dismissively before turning back toward the window as though her threat didn't concern him in the slightest. "If I were in your place, I'd be much more worried about Asir beating me to that achievement first... You'll look absolutely terrible if something like that happens."

"...." Althera immediately swallowed the words she had been about to say, suddenly finding herself without an appropriate response.

What His Majesty had said back when he personally created Asir's body had indeed come true exactly as expected.

His extraordinary body, which had been directly constructed from Master Laws themselves, combined with the Sun of the Path of Truth continuously illuminating his mind, his incredibly youthful body alongside the ancient memories that were gradually resurfacing within him as time passed...

All of those extraordinary factors gathered together within a single person had ultimately created a truly exceptional genius.

When Asir had been only a few months old, he had already begun speaking clearly, and by the time he reached one year of age, he had started learning how to read and write. Then, when he was merely two years old, he had already begun practicing internal energy training!

Asir was now twenty years old...

And despite all of that extraordinary talent and everything available to him, he was still deliberately remaining at only level ten.

It wasn't because he didn't understand how to cross the boundary into level eleven, nor was it because he had failed to find a suitable Law that he could begin comprehending and following. No... Malik himself had personally offered to teach him the Major Path of Time, an opportunity that would have solved that problem immediately, but Asir had simply refused his offer.

According to Asir himself, it simply felt far too easy for him... The Major Fundamental Law of Time, despite everything it represented, didn't seem to present enough of a challenge for him to accept it as his path.

Ever since that moment, Asir had continued training almost entirely by himself according to his own intentions, only going to visit his adoptive father once every few months in order to ask him about a handful of general matters that had accumulated in his mind, before returning once again to continue his training alone.

Through Shaddad's arrays, Asir's physical body had already reached a level of strength comparable to that of a Martial Emperor, while under Morgana's supervision, his soul had similarly reached the strength of a Royal Soul Master... yet for some unknown reason, he continued deliberately holding himself back when it came specifically to his internal energy training, and strangely enough, His Majesty neither attempted to stop what he was doing nor offered him any direct guidance about the path he should take.

"Hey..." Althera finally called out after remaining silent for a while, apparently having finished thinking about everything Holak's words had reminded her of.

"Hmm?" Holak turned his head toward her again, then asked with obvious amusement, "Do you want some advice about how you can defeat your infant deputy before he surpasses you?"

"Get ready." Althera raised her head slightly, ignoring his mockery as she spoke with determination. "I'm going to form Imperial Guard divisions of my own, and I'll pour all of my accumulated teaching and combat experience into training them properly." Then she turned around and began walking away toward her room. "After that, I want to see exactly how confidently you'll continue bragging about your followers in front of me!"

"...Women." Holak continued watching her until she finally disappeared back into her room, then turned once again toward the window and looked out at Robin in the distance, his attention immediately returning to the matter that truly interested him. "...Please give the order to destroy a few sectors... Please... please..."