2270 - Free
“......”
Robin continued staring at the small panel before him with wide, glowing eyes.
His focus was extremely intense, and all his senses were shut off. He could see nothing but what he wanted, and feel nothing but what he desired.
Meanwhile, the contents of the panel were moving...
The four circles were compressing slightly to the side, making room for the fifth circle, which was barely appearing between Balance and Creation.
Until finally, it rose and merged with the circle of Truth, planting its roots there just like the other four...
And exactly like them, it began to revolve quietly around Truth.
“Balance... is the dividing point between chaos and order, evil and good, existence and The Void.” Robin began to murmur, “Creation... the tool that uses whatever exists, no matter what it is, and fashions from it what is desired.”
Then he stared at the drawing.
“Primordial Chaos... the raw material from which everything was made, the first and last source of energy. But without Creation, it would have been useless, and without Balance, Creation could not have begun to work on it... Its role always comes between the two.”
"...But from what I see, the Law reveals ways to manipulate Primordial Chaos and tame it along with its derivatives, but not to produce it." Then he furrowed his brow slightly. "...So where did it come from?"
After that, he smiled.
"Hehe, it doesn't matter now. I'll take my time exploring it later. I never imagined the day would end with such a gain, hehe."
That circle which appeared was the key to the Master Law of Primordial Chaos.
It emerged on its own after he sensed his understanding of the other Laws had risen, especially Creation and Balance.
And he wasn't about to waste an opportunity like this.
He traced the circle with his hand and examined it thoroughly with the Eye of Truth, which showed him everything he needed to know about the first grade—or at least everything he needed to search for and increase his knowledge of later...
Of course, that small circle didn't contain all that information.
Crack
Robin felt a strange sensation around him.
All those events that shook the planet hadn't caught his attention, but when the Lock and Shackles appeared and began to break apart, there was something inside Robin he couldn't ignore.
Instantly, Robin broke his prolonged focus and looked up slightly.
Toward the Lock and Shackles, which were cracking and crumbling.
"Hmm?" Robin showed a surprised smile.
He doesn't feel anything happening in his body or soul.
He feels no pain or threat.
Bang.
The lock and shackles broke and vanished.
"Hmm, that was strange." Robin scratched his hair with the Seraphim.
There was something inside him telling him that lock belonged to him, but he didn't feel that anything about him had changed.
He felt no physical or spiritual pain, nor any existential threat, as if what just happened had nothing to do with him.
But slowly, he furrowed his brows slightly.
Then he began to crack his neck slowly from side to side.
No...
Something is different.
He now feels that he is...
Alone.
A very strange feeling.
A feeling he didn't even know he had, but now that he has lost it, it seems strangely difficult to ignore.
Compared to now, it could be said that he had always felt like he was in someone's company, under a watchful eye, like a puppet in the hands of something he couldn't see.
He had always lashed out, screaming in bad situations because of that feeling.
He had always tried to get rid of it, but to no avail.
He had always thought it was due to his weakness, the pressure of his tasks, or the things expected of him.
Robin raised one eyebrow.
Could it be that the psychological pressure was lifted because he became stronger?
"Hmm..." Robin tapped the Seraphim lightly on the table. "Perhaps I should look into this matter more later."
Then he leaned forward to continue contemplating the painting with a small smile.
"...?"
That smile turned into a look of surprise.
Why was everything so golden?!
Robin raised his eyes slightly and looked around...
Six giant symbols.
A sky that looked like golden water.
"Huh?" Robin wondered, then looked ahead.
Pitso was there, and beside him another familiar person was lying on their stomachs, stretching their arms forward.
And beside them was someone who looked as if carved from ice, kneeling in the air and staring at him with surprise and fear.
"...?" Robin raised one eyebrow calmly.
Then he stood up and began walking toward the edge of the cliff, examining everything happening below with the same expression—all those kneeling people and the beasts that were convulsing.
"Heh~" Robin sighed, then put his hand beside his mouth and shouted toward Holak, "Sorry."
After that, he began waving toward the sky.
"Shoo, shoo..."
Disturbance
Disturbance
The Array rose slowly and merged into the golden sky like stones placed quietly into water.
Then the sky itself began to spin in a vortex for a few seconds, and with each rotation, the color gradually faded until it vanished completely.
What remained was a clear sky without a single cloud.
"Boss!!"
Holak's voice came from below.
"Next time, warn us when you want to show off!"
The squad leaders around Holak finally began to get to their feet, their gazes toward Robin growing extremely complicated.
Were they supposed to be the guards of that person?!
The remaining guards who had kept their consciousness also stood up.
Some stared at Robin with awe and respect.
Others looked at the ground, silently lamenting the gap in strength.
Even the Royal Spirit Masters of the Burton family finally rose, staring at Robin with seriousness.
Fear and pride at the same time.
"Unintentional!" Robin chuckled in response to Holak, then raised his voice for everyone to hear, "I'll give you all ten years' worth of salary as a bonus for this mistake. Come on, get up and carry on."
"Yes!!" Holak raised both hands with a shout, then began clapping and looking around, "Ten years' bonus, you bastards, did you hear that? Move it!!"
For Holak, money was worthless, but this was a good chance to move past what had happened and get back to the mission.
And indeed, with the help of the five squad leaders who quickly regained their senses, the Guard returned to swiftly slaughtering the stationary beasts and dealing with the newly entering ones as if nothing had happened.
Robin watched what was happening for a few moments with a wide smile, until he heard:
"You have a forbidden army. Any other force would have collapsed mentally and psychologically, and I say this having seen several armies of the Behemoths before. But your guards got up and returned to work immediately, at full strength, as if nothing had happened... This is astonishing, and terrifying."
Robin cast a sidelong glance at Glacion, who was already back on his feet, then displayed a diplomatic smile.
"I wouldn't expect anything less. This is natural given the investment placed in them, the laws they use, and the training they received. The entire treasury of your empire could not raise fifty of these."