2215 – The Guillotine
“This…?” The Executioner looked at Arkalon with a strange expression.
The permanent statue-like expression on her face vanished and wrinkled, even freezing mid-motion, but anyone reading her face seriously would find it an expression of surprise and astonishment more than fear or shock.
Then she slowly turned her gaze back to Robin, “You’ve reached a level of manipulation with the Master Law of Truth that allows you to transfer its power to your Spirit Creature?”
“It’s a law like any other law; once you understand its patterns, manipulating it becomes easy.” Robin showed a confident smile.
“What arrogance!” Anger appeared on the Executioner’s face, “The Master Law of Truth has no patterns!”
“Oh, how unfortunate…” Robin placed his hand over his mouth, “Is that what they told you, Little Executioner?”
“…?!”
The expression of surprise and astonishment returned to her face once more, as she tried to distinguish truth from lies.
The Master Law of Truth has patterns that can be seen and utilized?
But…
Then she looked toward Arkalon, who had already begun his fight with the Reapers.
How else could this level of exploitation and manipulation be explained? This was something that even she had never seen or heard of before.
Clang.
The Reapers began their assault, and Arkalon did not hesitate either; in an instant, the area turned into a hellscape.
Yet not a single one of them managed to approach the part where Robin and the Executioner stood… that area enjoyed a strange tranquility, even stray attacks could not find their way there.
The Executioner turned back to look at Robin with suppressed anger, "Empowering your spirit creature with all your units and giving it a weapon from the Bygone Era, just so I could kill you with my own hands… is it worth it?"
"More than you think." Robin replied with confidence, but slowly, as if the words refused to come out.
Turmoil
Arkalon created another massive phenomenon that illuminated the entire place, and the intense light reflected off the Dark Executioner, who smiled when she saw Robin's emaciated appearance. "It seems I don't need to grant you that honor. At this level of high consumption, you will die from exhaustion and depletion without me even touching you."
Far from the battlefield, Morgana continued her weeping in silence…
She is a genius spirit lady, and she could easily calculate the immense number of units the master had used, from the moment he summoned the young space beasts until now.
The number exceeded thirty million units.
One-third of that number, 10 million, comes from the natural capacity of a Spirit Master with 10 stars.
Another third can be attributed to what the master said about himself earlier—that he has an elastic Soul Domain.
The final third? External sources.
The master had previously given her a Three-part Necklace, one part of which stores a quantity of Spirit Units when the Soul Domain is completely full. He told her back then that it would benefit her in life-or-death situations. That part of the necklace, which she received from him centuries ago, can hold nearly one million units.
It's only natural to assume that Master Robin has similar methods for external storage and rapid withdrawal. An additional 10 million from this source is not impossible for him.
So... what is he using now to fuel those symbols and the eye, and what is Arkalon using in his epic battle?
Perhaps it's more units from the elastic Soul Domain property? Or perhaps an additional External Unit Vault?
Whatever the source, the result is the same... his pallor and unsteadiness at this moment show that he is nearly bankrupt. He is on the verge of collapse.
"Do you think I'm seeking death at your hands?" Robin showed a weary smile. "What honor is there in dying at the hands of a monster? No, I wanted to fight you alone because I have confidence that I can hurt you. Then, truly, I might die with honor—not because it's by your hand, but because I gave it my all... and by then, you'll be dead without regret."
Then he reached to his belt and pulled out a small wooden box from inside. "I had many plans for these things, but unfortunately, it seems I'll have to waste them today."
*Click*
Robin opened the box, then opened his hand and took out several dark, grape-sized spheres, each encased in a transparent cube.
"...Crystallized cores of the Great Reapers? And so many of them..." The Executioner's eyebrows twitched for a moment. "This is further evidence confirming your account of the previous incident." Then she looked directly into Robin's eyes. "What do you intend to do with them? Throw them at me?"
After those words, the Executioner herself smiled at the absurdity of the idea.
"These things? No, they're not on your level. I could indeed detonate them on you, but they wouldn't hurt you in the way required—not in the way I want." Robin began tossing the miniature crystals up carelessly. "But that doesn't mean they're completely useless."
*Thump*
The left pan of the Symbol of the Scale tilted.
The Executioner's caution immediately heightened. "Don't tell me you're going to use those things as a sacrifice to harm me! That's absurd!!"
"I know," Robin smiled. "If I had a higher level of understanding, I might have tried, but the First Level of Balance can't achieve something like that..." Then one of the crystals disappeared as he tossed it upward. "But I can do something else."
BAAAAF
Robin's aura instantly exploded with immense spiritual power. His pale skin regained its luster, and his weary eyes sharpened once more.
"Hahahahaha!" From afar, Arkalon's laughter echoed. "The pooooower!!"
A large surge of spirit units also went to him.
"You used the crystal as an exchange for spirit units?" The Dark Executioner's face darkened even further. She then advanced toward him again, raising her scepter before her chest. "A dry human or a juicy human, the end is the same. You're only making your death worse."
"Perhaps..." Robin nodded a few times, then began raising his hand until it was level with his shoulder, pointing at the Dark Executioner with a strange smile. "But I am not just a human. I am Robin Burton."
Then his smile vanished, his expression turned serious, and he muttered:
<Master Spacetime \ Fourth Level \ Guillotine.>
Catish.
“…!!!” The Executioner felt something and immediately stopped, her eyes wide open.
Then she slowly raised her hand and passed it over her neck, finding something wet. She pulled her hand away slightly to look at it in shock—it was a dark black liquid. Was it blood?!
Was she bleeding?!
The Executioner raised her eyes again toward Robin, looking at him with hatred mixed with shock. “Yo—?!” She wanted to say something, but her throat was somewhat damaged!
There, Robin was still standing in place, looking like a mummy again, staring at her with a weary expression and muttering, “Heh… not deep enough… why don’t we try again? This time in the middle of the forehead… try to stop it.”
Then, with the same smile, he threw another adult beast crystal upward.
*Thump*
The Scale tilted, and the crystal disappeared.