Chapter 593: Crushing the Projection, Adam Reappears!
"Child, I told you… we would meet again."
A familiar voice drifted out from within the gate.
Then a jade like arm reached through the ancient patterns, calm and unhurried, as if the door was nothing more than a curtain.
In the next instant, Lilith stepped out.
She appeared before Ryuunosuke once more.
The Lilith in front of him was nothing like the projection he had encountered on Laugh Tale.
That overwhelming vitality was not just life force.
It was a higher tier of existence.
Right now, Lilith's raw energy did not feel particularly violent.
But the level of her being had already surpassed everyone present by an absurd distance.
So this was what people meant when they spoke of the realm of gods.
Of course, Lilith still could not be called a complete god.
She was simply an existence that had stepped into that realm.
"I already told you," Ryuunosuke said slowly, "I'm not your child."
"But I am curious."
"If you decide a child is a threat, would you really attack them?"
He spoke calmly, yet every part of him was already prepared.
If Lilith moved, he would respond immediately.
"If your own child disobeys," Lilith replied, voice gentle, "then you discipline him."
Her lips curved faintly.
"So… are you going to be a bad child?"
As soon as she finished, Lilith vanished.
She reappeared right in front of Ryuunosuke.
Her hand reached out, fingers lightly lifting, and she slowly hooked a finger beneath his chin.
In that moment, Ryuunosuke's eyes widened.
He wanted to break free.
He tried to move.
But an invisible force pressed down on him, suppressing him completely, as if the world itself had placed a hand on his shoulders.
"See?" Lilith whispered.
"That's what a good child does for his mother."
Her gaze settled on him, warm and terrifying.
"So, Ryuunosuke… can you give me the God Stone?"
The stone she meant was obvious.
The Heart of Eternity.
And the power restraining him was beyond anything he had ever understood before.
Buzz!
A violent shockwave erupted and blasted Lilith away.
Ryuunosuke instantly recognized the source.
"System…?"
The fluctuations came from inside his own mind.
From the system itself.
It was not just strong.
It felt like something that had already surpassed the so called realm of gods.
Ryuunosuke exhaled.
Then the corner of his mouth lifted.
"It looks like your so called mother isn't the real deal."
He raised his hand.
"Now it's my turn."
Gaino released his energy in sync with him.
In an instant, the power of the Heart of Eternity converged rapidly into Ryuunosuke's body.
At the same time, his Vector Counter accumulated enough power.
The biggest difference between this and Meliodas's Total Counter was simple.
Vector Counter could return any kind of energy.
Anything.
Even the strange suppressive force Lilith had just released counted as power.
And in the very first moment, Ryuunosuke's counter had already climbed to a terrifying level.
With the enhanced counter layered on top of it, the scale of his attack jumped into a completely different category from Lilith's earlier pressure.
Lilith's eyes narrowed.
"What kind of power is this?"
She could feel it.
The force rushing toward her contained her own power.
Yet it also carried other forces mixed into it.
Most importantly, Lilith's power should only be usable if she personally granted her blessing.
Ryuunosuke had clearly refused that blessing.
And yet he was wielding something that felt like her, without permission.
Boom!
The terrifying counterattack swallowed Lilith whole.
In the distance, Roger and the others coughed up blood the moment she was engulfed.
Ryuunosuke looked at them and laughed softly.
"A relationship of coexistence."
"How tragic."
These people had become Lilith's puppets just to obtain power.
And now, the damage Lilith endured was being transferred to them.
Lilith slowly emerged from the dust cloud.
Her expression was still calm, but the situation was unmistakable.
"My child," she said quietly, "your strength has exceeded my expectations."
"However, since you possess such great power, why not…"
Bang!
Before she could finish, Ryuunosuke appeared beside her and sent her flying with a single punch.
Then he activated another ability.
"The Invisible Alibi of God."
The invisible realm snapped into place.
And this time, Ryuunosuke only targeted his own body.
That meant as long as the other side could not break through the invisible barrier, they would not be able to detect his existence at all.
A single target release.
Proof of absence.
Bang!
Boom!
Powerful strikes rained down on Lilith again and again.
Each hit came from a direction that should not exist.
Roger's people in the distance were all spitting out blood.
They hurriedly pulled out small vials of green liquid, bit them open, and swallowed.
"Damn it," Wades rasped, struggling to breathe, "if this keeps going, we can't hold on!"
"If even Lady Lilith can't defend against him, we'll die from the backlash!"
The green liquid helped Wades recover a little.
But in this situation, it was not enough.
When Lilith reached a critical point, even with their life genes they would no longer be able to recover.
"Lady Lilith won't let us die like this," Roger said, forcing steadiness into his voice.
"All we can do now… is trust her."
He had no better answer.
This projection had been summoned with Sevin's life.
Their lives were still linked to Lilith.
And Ryuunosuke's current level of combat was so high they could not even intervene.
If they jumped in, they would only create openings.
So they stayed back and watched.
But it was not only Roger's group suffering.
Lilith was also being pushed into a passive position.
Ryuunosuke's attacks had no pattern at all.
Unless she used full coverage defense, any other method would fail.
After a dozen breaths, Ryuunosuke stopped.
He let the silence settle.
Then he looked into the distance with open mockery.
"Lilith, your arrival in this world wasn't an accident, was it?"
"And the so called Guardians and the Evictors… aren't they actually opposing sides?"
His eyes sharpened.
"Adam."
"Since you're already here, come out."
This was an A T force field.
Ryuunosuke's barrier and the force field were layered together.
If anyone entered, he would sense it instantly.
A quiet figure stepped out from the side.
"As expected of you, Captain Ryuunosuke."
Adam spoke calmly.
"So… hand Vegapunk over to us."
"In return, I'll give you what you want."
"The ultimate secret of this world."
The moment Adam appeared, Lilith's injuries healed completely.
So it really was like that.
Their relationship was extraordinary.
Ryuunosuke's expression did not change.
"The ultimate secret?"
"I have absolutely no interest in this world's secrets."
He looked at Adam, then Lilith.
"You want to become gods."
"Vegapunk wants to create gods."
"Everything is for that eternity."
He spoke like he was reciting something obvious.
"What secret could possibly be bigger than that?"
Adam's gaze remained steady.
"Captain Ryuunosuke, you already know quite a lot."
"But this world is a sealed world."
"To break the seal, we need the power of a god."
He paused, as if weighing every word.
"What do you say to this deal?"
At those words, interest flickered across Ryuunosuke's face.
Because that meant something far beyond the One Piece world.
It meant opening the Gate of Eternity and stepping into other worlds.
That was internal business for the Dragon Hunter Pirates.
Yet now Adam had spoken it out loud.
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