Lord of the Truth

Robin kept his gaze fixed on the sky. Even he wasn’t sure whether he was forcing himself to stay conscious to avoid falling into another long coma, or if he simply wanted to witness Pythor’s final moments with his own eyes.

Ba-dump... Ba-dump...

The massive heart, still suspended in the air, continued to beat erratically. Like the severed tail of a lizard twitching after being cut, the heart acted as if it hadn’t fully realized what had happened yet. Some of the blood trapped inside continued to seep out, slowly filling the dimensional cube that imprisoned it.

Faced with such a horrifying yet surreal sight, a small, exhausted smile crept onto Robin’s face.

He had won.

At this point, nothing else mattered.

It didn’t matter if Pythor activated his Planetary Gift, an ability that allowed his organs to take on a gelatinous, untouchable form—because no ability could help if the organ in question was missing entirely.

It didn’t matter if Pythor’s Life Vein carried infinite energy— because the life vein is a metaphysical link between the Heart and the Soul Domain. If one of the two was lost, the vein would immediately begin purging itself until it dried out completely.

And of course, it didn’t matter if Pythor was a hundred times stronger than Hulak. That glass cube wasn’t made of ordinary material. It was a separate dimension, an extension of spacetime itself— an artificial reality layered on top of an existing one, making it an intruder within this universe.

In other words, that cube was an independent, self-contained cosmos that obeyed no celestial laws other than those Robin had imposed upon it.

To retrieve the heart, one would need to shatter this newly created dimension. And to break it with brute force alone… well, perhaps someone in a Nexus State might be able to attempt it.

Robin chuckled softly as he observed his finest creation— his pinnacle so far. How many beings in the entire cosmos could claim to have made something even remotely similar?

But such an achievement had not come without sacrifices.

"No..."

Pythor’s eyes widened to their absolute limits as his trembling voice escaped in a whisper. The moment his gaze fell upon that massive, floating heart, a terrifying realization struck him.

That heart… was his.

"Give it back..."

With agonizing slowness, Pythor raised his tail. His movements were sluggish, his body barely responding to his will. Then, with what little strength he had left—

BAM!

He brought his tail crashing down upon the glass cube.

But contrary to expectations—

There was no sound of impact.

There was no sign of corrosion.

His liquid-like tail silently exploded upon impact and splashed everywhere.

A few droplets of the thick, purple fluid from Pythor’s body stuck to the invisible surface for a brief moment before sliding off and falling to the ground.

Drip... Drip...

"Give it… back..."

Pythor’s vision was fading. His consciousness flickered like a candle in the wind, but his survival instincts refused to let go. In a last-ditch effort, he lunged forward, this time attempting to headbutt the cube directly.

BAAAM!

But yet again— no effect.

"Pythor… just accept reality."

Robin’s voice was hoarse, his breath unsteady, but his words carried a quiet finality. "You’re already dead. Even if your master arrived at this very moment… even he wouldn’t be able to bring your heart back. Cough—khaff! Pfft—!"

A fresh splatter of blood left Robin’s lips. Even after prevailing, his body was barely holding together.

BAAM... BAAM...

Pythor slammed his head against the cube two more times before pausing.

Then, slowly, he turned towards the voice that had spoken.

"Ro… bin… Bur… ton..."

Ssssssss...

Pythor’s massive body began to melt— like butter placed on a scorching pan.

The ground beneath him dissolved, hissing and steaming as it released thick clouds of vapor into the air.

And from within the dense fog, a shadowy figure emerged, moving toward Robin step by step.

Flash... Flash...

The purple sun above Pythor flickered—phasing in and out of existence, its glow unstable.

His Life Vein was on the verge of complete depletion!

"You… will come… with me…"

Robin finally tore his gaze away from the dimensional cube, shifting his weary eyes toward Pythor.

"Step back and die in peace."

His voice was hoarse, but firm.

"Reflect on the centuries you’ve wasted. Regret the choices you’ve made. I have no desire to shorten your already… short life any furth— Pfft!!"

A violent cough interrupted his words, and he spat another mouthful of blood onto the scorched ground.

"You… have returned… to being a saint…" Pythor muttered, his breath ragged. His piercing eyes, despite their exhaustion, remained sharp.

"You destroyed your own foundations… just to destroy me…"

Pythor’s melted face contorted into something resembling a twisted grin.

"You sacrificed yourself… in the end… we will both die… together."

Robin smirked weakly, blood still dripping from his lips.

"I hate to ruin your moment, but the Master Law of Truth has already begun restoring my foundations, I didn’t sacrifice anything."

Though Robin had fallen back to Level 23, this time, he had controlled the energy consumption, ensuring that only one solid foundation was sacrificed at a time.

The solid foundations from Level 24 to 39 had completely crumbled and turned into raw power to fuel the dimensional cube— but the first 23 foundations remained mostly intact.

"....!!"

Pythor’s expression twisted with shock.

Most of his face had already melted away, his flesh sloughing off in grotesque chunks, exposing the raw, sizzling muscle beneath.

He looked even more monstrous now.

"Yet another reason… to kill you… in this state… Hssss…!!"

Pythor’s instincts as a serpent kicked in—his body tensed, his mind issuing the primal command: devour him whole!

But—his body refused to obey.

He could barely move.

Still, he refused to give up.

The distance between him and Robin was short— all he needed was a single strike!

With a guttural growl, he raised his head, forcing himself upright, balancing on the back half of his ruined body.

Then—

He let himself drop in a freefall!

Whooosh!

The sheer force of gravity would ensure that when he landed, he would swallow Robin whole!

Robin simply exhaled— a slow, deliberate breath.

Even as he stared up at the massive serpent crashing down toward him, there was no fear in his eyes.

No despair.

No surrender.

Only defiance.

A challenge.

"Heh~"

He would fight to the bitter end.

But then—

A voice came. "Didn’t the skinny human already tell you to GIVE UP AND DIE, YOU FILTHY SON OF A WORM?!"

WHOOOOOOOOOOSH!!

A violent gust of wind blasted in from the west—

And in an instant—

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Pythor’s entire upper body was sent flying, away from Robin!

"Hulak?"

Robin’s head snapped toward the direction of the voice.

That infuriating tone.

That disrespectful nickname.

It could only belong to one person.

"Huff…"

Sure enough— Hulak crawled out from a lake of molten lava.

His entire body was covered in gaping wounds—

His face and torso were riddled with holes, his skin burnt and disfigured beyond recognition.

His hair was scorched, his muscles torn, his remaining arm trembling as he dug his fingers into the dirt, struggling to pull himself forward, away from the lake.

"Argh… Huff… Huff…"

Hulak gritted his teeth, dragging himself further.

He barely managed to pull his legs out of the lava before turning his one remaining eye toward Robin— his eyelid burned away, exposing raw flesh beneath.

"Your bastard children…" Hulak’s voice was thick with exhaustion and fury.

"Those little shits… they left me behind..."