Chapter 2228

2228 - The Victim

“...!!!” Tanuya kept staring at Robin's chilling smile.

Her spiritual sense was clearly telling her that Robin had already set foot inside his own grave. Physically and spiritually shaken, his existence as a living creature could no longer bear the use of the five Master Laws.

He could use Creation to heal himself, use his planet's gift, or even use Balance to remove some traces of the damage, but the harm was far too deep, and removing it would not be that easy.

Humans are not meant to use the Master Laws in the first place. Some defy this truth and do it anyway—the Transcendents are the best example—but five? At the same time? And a mere mortal with a body that has never used a Stabilizer?

It was a miracle he hadn't already shattered and turned to dust.

Yet he was not far from that end...

Still, her sense as a living creature told her to beware, her sense as a fighter told her to flee, and her sense as an Executioner told her that death was watching her.

“You...” Tanuya finally opened her mouth, “Do you think you can make another exchange? Don't you see yourself?” Then she pointed at him with her right hand, “Look at your state. If you take a step forward, you might turn to dust!”

When Tanuya caught sight of her missing right arm beside her eye, rage completely consumed her. "Why don't you just die and be done with it?!"

"...I can't." Robin muttered in a low voice.

"What do you mean you can't? Can't die? Stick out your neck and let me help you end your suffering!!" Tanuya took a step forward, but she did not take a second.

The idea of taking him as a slave while he was still alive had been erased from her mind ever since she saw that smile.

"...I can't." Robin repeated again. "I am a man... I keep my word... No matter what happens... I cannot stop... before I do... what I said..."

"Huh?" Tanuya opened her eyes in bewilderment. "What do you mean?"

"I said..." Robin lifted his eye slightly. "I will not fall before... I put you in a half-dead state." Then his smile grew on one side. "...You haven't reached... that state yet."

*Thud*

Tanuya took another step back, her eyes unsteady.

Without thinking, she began to look at herself... torn armor, a missing arm, internal injuries, and external burns.

Then she turned back to look at Robin with anger, wanting to scream at him that she had reached that state and more!!!

But her pride as an Executioner stood as a barrier.

She swallowed her saliva and resumed moving forward very slowly, raising her scepter. "It's fine..." Then she began gathering momentum to strike, gritting her teeth to force herself to move despite the fear of what would happen next. "If you want a final exchange, come on. What could change with one more? I want to see how many of the Reapers' big crystals you have left!!"

"...No." Robin spoke in a low voice. "I said last time... this is the last exchange... I can't handle... another one."

"...?" Tanuya stopped in confusion, then shouted at him: "Then what do you want?!"

Whoosh

The Sun Seal Box flew beside Robin, then opened, and a crystal emerged from it.

"...." Tanuya narrowed her eyes for a moment, then took a step back, placing her hand on her navel. "No..." she murmured in astonishment. "An Executioner Crystal?"

"...No tricks... no strategies..." Robin continued with his faint smile. "Your attack on me now will seal my death, and I want to go out in style... I will exchange that crystal for your death... And in your current state... you know what will become of you..."

Then he lifted his head slightly. "At the moment of the exchange, I will die... but you will come with me... Perhaps we can finish our fight... on the road to hell."

"......" Tanuya's eyes began to dart rapidly.

She looks toward Robin, then at her Scepter, then at the Scale, trying to find a way to kill him before the Scale is activated. But she turns back to gaze at the massive eye—that eye that watches her as if it moves in slow motion no matter what she does.

After several seconds of agitation... Tanuya sighed and lowered her Scepter gently.

Her features returned to complete calm. "That annoying person... he chose someone no less annoying to be his Candidate."

Robin understood instantly that she was speaking about the All-seeing God. "I'll take that as... a compliment... I've always aimed to be... annoying to my opponents."

"Not for long. You should drill that into your mind." Tanuya warned him. "That person annoyed many people and placed himself in a position that wasn't his, but he reached it and anchored himself there like a stake. It's become difficult to deal with him directly. But you people from Universe B-14 are a much easier target."

Then she gestured toward him with a nod. "You, by breaching the Shell, have handed your deceitful master's neck to his enemies, and they won't hesitate to wring it." Then she showed a gloating smile. "You will live today, Robin Burton... but you will soon be spent, along with everyone you've ever known, along with that entire universe. Those few thousand years will end like the blink of an eye, and after that, everything will turn to dust."

"I—" Robin lifted his head slightly and was about to start a string of boasts.

He would say that he had accomplished all this in just a thousand years, that the All-seeing God had not given him all those Master Laws, that he had found and mastered them himself, and that within the ten thousand years she spoke of, he would be far stronger!!

And that he would be ready for them!!!

But he fell silent.

Even for someone who loved to boast… sometimes keeping a few cards face down was a blessing.

Robin smiled, "…I… will await my fate politely." He added not another word.

"…" Tanuya furrowed her brows slightly, uneasy about the calm that had settled over that arrogant human.

But she turned her back on him anyway, "Farewell, Robin Burton. When I see you again, I will repay you for what just happened."

"Bye." Robin forced his hand to wave.

"But first…"

Tanuya looked in a certain direction.

"…I will take the

Shell Breaker

with me, or else I won't be able to return to headquarters."

"..?" Robin furrowed his brows again, "Again?"

"No, I don't want to fight you again." Tanuya's eyes began to move around her, watching the massive battle between the humans and the Reapers—a battle where each side gave their all without holding back.

"...Fortunately, no one knows who the real Shell Breaker is... I need any corpse to come with me, a corpse that's somewhat strong and looks interesting enough for them to send reinforcements to Universe B-14 as soon as I report it."

Then her eyes settled on a certain direction, and she vanished.

"No... Stop!!" The massive golden Eye of Truth moved instantly, and Robin raised the Ancestor's Crystal, ready for an attack.

*Swoosh*

The next moment, the Executioner had already returned, carrying something in her left hand.

"Goodbye, Robin Burton." Tanuya flashed a provocative, wide grin. "Next time, you'll be in his place, hehe... hehehe!!"

Robin's eyes flew wide open, and his mouth parted slightly...

That thing in her left hand...

She was holding a hairy head.

Asr's head.

Asr, staring at him with expressions of shock, regret, and fear, as if still alive, unaware of what had just happened.

"No..." Robin raised his left hand slightly in shock.

"Hahaha, goodbye!!" But Tanuya left him no chance to do anything.

With a

*Swoosh*

She vanished again.

This time, she left the range of the Eye of Truth's vision.