Chapter 2546

2546 - Anticipation of the Inevitable

"...?!" Shaddad felt terrified when Dandy looked toward him, and felt his entire body trembling, then took a step back unconsciously.

That gaze... Dandy had broken the wall of the painting and was looking toward them, he could undoubtedly see them!!

His heart did not calm down a little until Dandy averted his eyes from him and turned very slowly toward Robin.

There, Robin did not show Shaddad's frightened reaction, but faced Dandy's gaze with extreme calm and a piercing look directly in his eyes, without any movement, without manipulating anything.

Crack

Dandy's muscular body began to crack and crumble.

He himself kept watching Robin with extreme calm and without averting his eyes from him, until a final tear dropped from his eye, after which his eye itself fell.

The sticks that formed Dandy turned into a pile of ink, while the life energy and Soul Units returned toward Robin as if nothing had happened.

"What... happened?!" Shaddad took a step toward the painting.

Now there was nothing left in it but a broken square and a large irregular dot of ink.

"I gave our little friend the ability to transcend the second dimension and look directly toward the third dimension, so he saw us." Robin sighed. "He saw the glass room, far larger than the universe he was used to, saw the intricate furniture rich with detail, saw the vivid colors he had never known before."

Then he raised his head slightly. "...He saw me. After thinking I was a drawing like him, he saw an entirely different being—with the details of my face, my power, my size compared to him..." Then he shook his head. "He thought he would leave his world for a larger one similar to the one he came from, and that he had become stronger, so he could surpass me. But he was shocked to find that he was actually... a drawing."

Then he extended his hand and pulled the paper taut. "So he collapsed and died." And he tore it. "His mind couldn't comprehend what he saw, and his body couldn't withstand the pressure."

Then he threw the tablet into the trash. "He's not the first, and he won't be the last~"

Shaddad swallowed.

He wanted to take a step back and leave, but he saw that his teacher was in a good mood after tearing the paper—after all, Dandy was of his own making.

So he tried to open any topic. "Ah..." Shaddad put on a forced smile. "Is there something specific you want me to begin with for the Truth Chosen competitions?"

Then he snapped his fingers. "Ah, Nihari's promotion date is approaching—do you want help with the Sixth Path and the stabilizers?"

"The Sixth Path is completely finished. I've completed a comprehensive study of the laws and written them down, finished a detailed study of the stabilizers and how to benefit from them, and I've already finished creating a number of arrays that allow me to use the Reapers' Crystals as stabilizers. With them, I can create a miraculous army."

Robin smiled as he thought about it. "A Crystal that moves a massive beast the size of a planet will be placed inside the body of a human smaller than one of its Scales... wouldn't that be astonishing? Zavarus only became a Behemoth because he completed this move."

Robin also received ideas from Zavarus's story about how he succeeded in absorbing the Crystal, as well as about using Beast blood in arrays without introducing it into human bodies, which made using it easier!

"The Sixth Path is completely finished?" Shaddad was surprised. "Why don't you announce it? This will cause a huge uproar!"

Then he thought for a moment and raised his voice further. "Why don't you let your followers from the Middle Belt use this method? Your army will expand enormously by the day of the promotion!"

"..." Robin continued drawing calmly. "I'm a little hesitant. I won't hide the truth from you."

"...?" Shaddad was puzzled. What could there be that would worry the Teacher?

"That big commotion you're talking about." Robin chuckled. "...I was intending to break the buffer zones anyway, because they are a punishment imposed by force by an external power, not something from the foundation of the universe. So what was taken by force, I returned by force."

Then he continued, "But the problem of the deficiency in the Energy Gathering Center, starting from the Martial Emperor's domain, is a restriction inherent in the composition of the universe, because it is of Grade B classification. It was not imposed later for a reason that we could call fake or a conspiracy, as the All-seeing God said and claimed he would gather The Court to oppose."

"...After I discovered the arrangement of the engravings, and discovered the method of using the Crystals of the Reapers that I collected through external hunting as stabilizers, doesn't that mean I am striking at the constants of the universe that were imposed on us from the beginning of the cycle? At that point, even the All-seeing God won't be able to gather The Court and boast, and even he won't be able to cover up what I'm doing."

Then he began tapping Seraphim beside the tablet. "If I've brought trouble on myself with the move of breaking the Buffer Zones, I could land in a mess if word spreads that I pulled the universe out of Class B and placed it in a higher class."

Then he cast a sidelong glance at Shaddad. "What I've discovered isn't just a training path that will earn the title of the Sixth; it's a breaking of a cosmic origin, and an anchoring of humanity's origin in energy training... I've created what was missing, and all those paths emerged as a substitute for it." Then he pointed at himself. "What I possess is the technique of internal energy training itself, which will raise the universe from Class B to A or higher."

"...." Shaddad hesitated before nodding.

It was foolish to think he had beaten The Teacher to a path, and he had been about to suggest that The Teacher take the title of the Fifth Path while he returned to the Sixth... The Teacher was beyond expectations, as usual.

"What will you do, then?" Shaddad wondered. "Will you set it aside for fear of reactions? That's wise."

"There's no wisdom in weakness." Robin waved his hand. "I'll set it aside until I myself am strong enough to stand against those who want to stir up trouble for universe B-14, without waiting for support from The All-seeing God."

Then he raised his palm and the Gear of Determinism emerged from it, the symbol of Causality... it had four broken teeth.

From his fingertips emerged the six-fold Transcendence seals, one after another, radiating light throughout the Glass House.

Inside each seal was the symbol of the eye, and upon it a small engraving indicating the number 4.

Those seals kept appearing, some filled, others empty, and three of them strange in shape and restrained...

Until their number reached 24 seals.

Then he smiled. "...And perhaps this appointment won't be long."