2306 - A New Power
Outside—
“…” Glacion exchanged glances between Robin and Renara.
Renara was already seated in an extremely vulnerable position, where any mortal could harm her.
But strangely, His Majesty had also said a few minutes ago to wait a little, then closed his eyes and entered a meditative state. It was clear that his main consciousness was no longer with them…
“Heh~” Glacion sighed. “I feel a sense of honor and elevation because His Majesty has entered such a state while I am by his side.”
Entering a deep meditative state with a cat around could be dangerous, let alone a Guardian!
His Majesty entering this state meant he trusted him completely.
“I apologize for ruining that sense of honor and elevation, but most likely, he can defend himself even in that state.” Richard replied with a smile.
“…You could have kept that information to yourself.” Glacion replied awkwardly.
“Heh~ It’s nothing personal; I’m just introducing you to the person you’ve decided to follow.” Richard let out a small laugh. “I’ve suffered a lot since I was young, believe me… I’ve suffered a lot.” Then he nodded toward his father. “But what he went through is far more cursed and severe.”
He then extended his gaze toward his father's confident face. "After all those events, after all those trials... imagining that he would willingly lower his defenses is difficult to conceive."
"..." Glacion nodded.
He could only imagine the amount of suffering and events that had brought someone from the Young Belt to such a position.
Perhaps he would have to do some research on his own later...
"Hoo~"
At that moment, Robin opened his eyes.
Then he muttered, "Well, that was easier than I expected."
"Sir!" Glacion showed a wide smile. "Did you achieve your goal?"
"Theoretically, yes." Robin stood up and took a step toward Renara. "It's time to try it practically."
Then he raised both hands to be directly above Renara's head, closed his eyes again, and exhaled. "Hoooh~" Then he opened his eyes, which shone with gold. "Boundary Removal Array!"
Robin's body began to flicker with gold, and vast amounts of engravings formed on his skin, then those engravings began to float upward gently, forming several symbols.
A scale, a thundercloud, a broken gear, and a serpent eating its own tail.
The Small Four Symbols slowly rose beside the eye that looked downward toward Renara, then several lashes extended from the eye to connect with the Four Symbols, forming a miniature array similar to the one that had appeared above Donara.
Glacion immediately held his breath, for he knew what had happened when those symbols appeared before. Even Richard straightened in his seat after feeling a sense of awe toward those symbols—not fear, but reverence and respect.
Clang
Clang
Clang—
"What is happening up there?" Richard stood up and released his spiritual sense upward as far as he could.
The storm that had begun moments ago, gradually transforming into a colossal Storm of Laws that covered half the planet, began to behave strangely.
First, the storm slowed down, then erupted, then fell silent for moments before resuming its movement... but suddenly, it completely stopped rotating around its axis, the lightning and thunder ceased striking, and the sky seemed to freeze!
Huum
In contrast, the four Master Symbols began to move slowly around the Downward-Gazing Eye.
Whoosh
A golden light began to emanate from the five symbols, surging upward, piercing the ceiling until it reached the Still Storm. In an instant, the storm vanished, as if five spears had slain and silenced it, and the sky was instead dyed a radiant gold, a color that made all creatures look up in wonder.
By this moment, Robin opened his eyes and lowered his hands, then revealed a wide smile.
"The operation has begun..."
"No... no, no... Aaagh..." Renara began to mutter outwardly, her expression pained and her eyes tearful, the corners of her mouth turned downward, making anyone who looked at her want to embrace her and comfort her... but Robin continued to watch with a wide smile.
"Hehe, finally I have a real spear that can—" Robin suddenly stopped speaking and clutched his heart. "Agh!"
"My lord!" Glacion stepped forward and supported Robin before he could fall, helping him back into his chair. "What is happening to you?"
"...!" Richard quickly stepped forward and passed a Life Law Sliver through his body. "...I sense no injuries that I can help improve."
"...Ugh." Robin pressed hard against his heart. His expression was extremely grim, but he controlled himself to keep another groan from escaping his lips. "...This has nothing to do with injuries. It's... similar to the exhaustion I felt after my fight with the Executioner, but... it came on quickly and hit hard."
"Is it because you used the Master Laws too much today?" Glacion wondered.
"...That's a possibility." Robin let out a long sigh and straightened his sitting posture, then stared at Renara. "Or perhaps removing the boundaries is what did it?... I think we'll know for sure by the end of the day."
"Maybe..." Glacion nodded as he looked toward Renara, then turned back to smile at Robin. "Boundary Removal Array? That's an... interesting choice of name."
Robin found a chance to laugh amidst his fatigue. "Heh~ Five symbols for removing boundaries, six for selecting a candidate. Why would I complicate things with strange names?"
Bam!
"Ah!!" At that moment, Renara moved, collapsing onto the ground beside her from sheer exhaustion, her eyes wide open. "Huff... huff..."
"Hello!" Robin waved at her with a big smile. "Did you have a pleasant boundary removal experience?"
"…This is an experience I wouldn't wish upon my worst enemy." Renara sighed, then seemed to remember something. "Am I… the strongest now, like you said?"
"Look at your hand, and you'll know the answer." Robin smiled.
"…?" Renara furrowed her brows. At that same moment, she noticed the shocked and bewildered expressions on Richard and Glacion's faces; both of them were staring at the hand she was using to support herself on the ground.
She quickly looked down, hoping to find a seal, a weapon, or something of the sort, but what she found was far stranger.
"Huh?!"
The solid stone floor beneath her was cracked—no, the entire ground was shattered, and the epicenter of the impact was the exact area under her palm.
"What happened here?!" Renara quickly lifted her hand upward.
*Whoosh*
*Bam*
The wave of her hand stirred up a fierce wind that slammed into the cave ceiling with force, causing all the stone protrusions and spikes above to collapse!
"What the…?" Renara gasped in fear.
"Cough…" Robin waved his hand twice to brush away the dust spreading across the horizon. "I think you'd better stay still until you get used to your new power."