Inside a magnificent palace situated upon the colossal rogue planet, the elderly man remained seated calmly within a cultivation chamber carved from crystals of various colors. Before him floated Arthur's severed left arm, suspended by countless delicate threads of spiritual energy while dozens of powerful formations continuously scanned every inch of its structure.
For nearly an entire day he had searched tirelessly for the mysterious storage artifact that had somehow concealed an artifact from even his perception. Yet despite employing techniques capable of dissecting both flesh and soul, he had found absolutely nothing. His brows gradually furrowed.
"Impossible..." he muttered quietly. "The storage artifact has to be somewhere, or did that brat lie to me?" Then he shook his head thinking it was impossible to deceive him due to the law he cultivates. Just as he prepared to begin another examination, a formation carved on his palm suddenly had an energy spike.
His eyes snapped open. "Hm?" Almost simultaneously, the formation hidden deep beneath the palace transmitted an urgent warning directly into his mind. The prison... had become empty. The old man's figure vanished leaving the work he was doing. The floor beneath him exploded apart beneath the speed of his movement. Less than a heartbeat later he stood inside the prison where Arthur had been confined.
His eyes immediately swept across the empty cell. The suppressive formations continued functioning perfectly, the walls remained completely intact and not a single rune had been altered. Yet the prisoner had disappeared without leaving behind the slightest fluctuation. The old man's expression gradually darkened. "How..." he whispered. "...did that brat escape the suppression field?"
A genuine confusion appeared upon his face. Even after examining the prison personally, he failed to discover any damage whatsoever. It was as though Arthur had simply ceased existing inside the cell. The realization only made his curiosity grow stronger. "Interesting..." he murmured. "Very interesting."
Slowly extending one hand, he produced a tiny crimson droplet preserved within a transparent crystal vial, it was Arthur's blood. Without wasting another second, he crushed the crystal between his fingers. An ancient formation immediately spread throughout the air while the blood ignited into brilliant scarlet flames.
The old man calmly performed several intricate hand seals before softly uttering an ancient incantation. The flames abruptly transformed into a thin crimson thread stretching endlessly toward the distant cosmos. His eyes narrowed. "...His location is changing?"
Every time he focused upon the thread, its endpoint shifted unimaginably far away before changing again the very next instant. Whatever movement Arthur employed vastly exceeded ordinary spatial travel. The old man's anger gradually faded, replaced entirely by overwhelming curiosity.
A slow smile spread across his aged face. "Now you've truly piqued my interest, little brat." The next moment, space collapsed around him as he stepped directly into the void flying at an impossible speed, following the constantly shifting trail left behind by Arthur's blood.
…
Ten minutes later, the old man finally slowed to a stop within the endless darkness of outer space. Around him stretched a silent universe where distant stars stood like scattered jewels while enormous galaxies slowly revolved in the far distance.
The crimson thread created by the blood ritual continued extending before him for another few hundred meters before abruptly dissolving into countless particles of scarlet light. He frowned seeing it, this was the final place where the ritual could sense Arthur's existence.
Standing motionless, he slowly spread out his spiritual consciousness. An invisible wave capable of covering millions of kilometers swept across the surrounding starfield, carefully examining every drifting meteorite, every fragment of cosmic dust and every fluctuation of space itself.
Several breaths later, his brows knitted together even tighter. There was nothing, no spatial fluctuation, residual aura or traces of teleportation. Arthur had seemingly vanished from existence itself. '...How did the connection get severed here?' he thought, genuine confusion finally appearing on his usually composed face.
Since obtaining this blood tracking ritual from an ancient ruin in his youth, it had never once failed him. No matter where his prey fled, whether into dangerous secret realms, ancient inheritances, or across countless immortal worlds, the ritual had always pointed him in the correct direction.
Yet today, for the very first time, the connection had failed to locate his prey. It had disappeared entirely, as though Arthur had stepped outside the laws governing this universe. The old man remained floating silently for several more minutes, repeatedly expanding his consciousness farther and farther while attempting to discover even the faintest clue.
Eventually he shook his head slowly before a faint smile appeared beneath his beard. The frustration in his heart gradually gave way to curiosity. A mere Great Extreme Immortal had escaped from a prison reinforced by suppression formations capable of restraining Immortal Kings, disappeared from a blood ritual that had never failed, and somehow vanished without leaving behind the slightest spatial disturbance.
Every answer only produced more questions. Slowly clasping his hands behind his back, he looked once more toward the place where the crimson thread had vanished. 'No worries,' he thought calmly, 'You won't be able to hide from me forever.' The next instant, he disappeared from the place, returning toward the palace upon the rogue planet while already planning how he would capture that fascinating little brat again.
...
At nearly the same time, a blue dimensional portal quietly opened several kilometers away from Avalon before Arthur stepped through as though returning from an ordinary trip. Stretching his slightly stiff shoulders, he glanced back toward the portal one last time. With that thought, he flew toward Avalon, but the moment he crossed the barrier his expression subtly changed.
Something was wrong. The city below, which was normally filled with orderly activity, had descended into obvious panic. Citizens gathered throughout the streets while soldiers hurried in every direction trying to maintain order. Many people looked frightened, others were openly crying, and the cheerful atmosphere Avalon had always possessed was nowhere to be found.
Arthur immediately spread his divine sense across the entire island. His heartbeat unconsciously sped up. Selene's aura... was gone and Kai's aura... was also missing. A strange uneasiness settled inside his chest as he immediately flew toward the administrative district.
Butler Hudson stood outside the main building together with the island's governors and senior officials, every one of them wearing expressions filled with anxiety. The moment they saw Arthur descend before them, relief appeared on their faces, quickly followed by hesitation.
Arthur looked directly at Hudson. "What happened?" His voice remained calm, but everyone present could hear the dangerous stillness hidden beneath it. "Why are the citizens panicking?"
Hudson's lips trembled. "L-Lord Arthur... it's..." The old butler lowered his head, unable to force the words from his mouth. Before the uncomfortable silence continued any longer, another young man stepped forward as he approached the administrative building.
Arthur recognized him almost immediately. It was Adam, one of the summoned Otherworlders he had met some time ago while investigating the battlefield between humans and demons. Adam respectfully bowed before speaking. "Lord Arthur... I think I know what happened."
Arthur nodded once, signaling him to continue. Taking a deep breath, Adam explained, "I'm one of the Otherworlders summoned by the church. We possess a unique ability... whenever we're close to true gods, we can sense their divinity. A few minutes ago... I sensed five gods approaching Avalon."
Arthur's pupils narrowed slightly as the uneasy feeling inside his chest grew heavier. Without saying another word, he raised his hand. "Guardian." A surveillance drone immediately descended from above and hovered before him. "Display every recording from the moment those five gods arrived near Avalon."
"Acknowledged." A large holographic projection expanded before everyone. Arthur silently watched as five figures appeared outside the barrier. One of them arrogantly charged toward Avalon before instantly being annihilated by the defensive formation he had personally created. The remaining four confronted Selene and Kai before eventually leaving.
The recording then skipped forward. This time the four gods returned... accompanied by six familiar figures imprisoned inside invisible barriers. Arthur's breathing unconsciously slowed as he recognized Finn, Lisa, Leon, Eva, Natalya and Sophia and seeing it his fists gradually clenched.
He watched Judas manipulate Finn into speaking against his own will. He watched Selene struggle before stepping outside the barrier to save them. Then, in a single horrifying instant, six swords pierced six hearts simultaneously. Arthur's mind became completely blank, he no longer heard Hudson talking beside him. He no longer noticed the horrified expressions of the governors surrounding him.
His entire world shrank to the image of Lisa... the little girl he had rescued from the streets of Brightwater years ago... collapsing lifelessly toward the sea together with everyone else. The recording continued mercilessly. Kai charged in fury only to freeze after a single word before Judas casually punched through his heart.
Arthur's fingernails dug so deeply into his palms that blood slowly trickled onto the ground beneath him. Then he watched Selene desperately attack, fail, lose consciousness and finally get taken away by the gods.
When the recording finally ended, absolute silence fell outside the administrative building, nobody dared speak. Hudson looked toward Arthur with eyes filled with pain. Lisa had practically grown up under his care. Watching her die so brutally had shattered his heart, and now he feared Arthur might completely lose himself.
"L... Lord Arthur..." Hudson spoke softly. Arthur slowly raised one hand, stopping him before another word could be spoken. His face remained completely expressionless, his eyes had become frighteningly empty, yet beneath that emptiness countless methods of making the four gods beg for death had already flashed through his mind.
Death itself no longer seemed sufficient punishment for them. After several long moments he finally spoke, his voice so calm that it sent chills through everyone present. "Take care of the citizens, calm them down."
Without waiting for a reply, he turned around and walked toward the sea. The next moment, he stepped into empty air before plunging straight into the cold ocean. The icy water surrounded him from every direction, gradually cooling the storm raging inside his mind as he searched the seabed with his spiritual sense.
It didn't take long before he found them. Thankfully the predators residing in the sea had not desecrated their bodies, seven motionless bodies rested silently upon the ocean floor. He slowly descended until he reached Lisa first. Her small body drifted gently beneath the sea while strands of blonde hair floated peacefully around her face as though she were merely sleeping.
Carefully cradling her in his arms, he silently used Telekinesis to lift Finn, and the others from the seabed before slowly ascending back toward the surface. Several moments later, he landed quietly upon the lonely shoreline outside Avalon.
One after another, he gently laid every body side by side upon the wet sand before kneeling beside them. His trembling fingers carefully brushed the damp hair away from Lisa's peaceful face. She looked exactly the same as she always had, as though she would open her eyes and call him "Big Brother Arthur" at any moment.
His gaze slowly moved from Lisa to Finn, then Leon, Eva, Natalya, Sophia, and finally Kai. Memories of his time spent together silently resurfaced one after another until the overwhelming weight pressing upon his heart became almost unbearable.
He remained there without speaking, surrounded only by the sound of waves crashing gently against the shore. Then, without him even realizing it, a single silent tear escaped from the corner of his eye, slid down his face, and disappeared into the seawater still clinging to his body.
Today, blood would be spilled either his or his enemies'.
***
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