Chapter 990: Insurance Against Null
"What else do we need?"
"Many things," Alexia replied. "First, I’ll need protection. Regardless of how successful the process is, I’ll suffer soul damage that will reduce my power.
That would leave me temporarily vulnerable, and I’ll need protection during that time. However, I can’t just have anyone near me since not many understand the true nature of my curse, and given the fact that there are likely spies for Roseborn within my forces, I’d like as few people as possible to know of this."
Alexia didn’t bother trying to root out all the spies Roseborn had placed within her forces over millennia, only removing a select few while keeping close watch on the others.
She’d rather keep them alive and under supervision than eliminate them and have Roseborn send more, forcing her to spend time and energy finding them again.
"On top of that, most of my forces are in another Multiverse, so it’ll take time for them to arrive here.
I also need insurance against you," she said, pointing at Arthur.
Arthur stopped in his tracks and blinked in surprise, pointing at himself as he asked, "Insurance against me?"
"Yes, insurance against you. Something strong enough to stop you if anything goes wrong."
That response was Alexia’s indirect way of saying she didn’t fully trust him, which, from Arthur’s point of view, made perfect sense.
For Arthur to use his power on her soul, Alexia would be exposing the root of her existence to him.
At that point, if Arthur wanted her dead, it wouldn’t be difficult to deactivate his Selective Destruction and let the power of his Null run wild within her soul.
If that happened, Alexia Vladi would cease to exist, so it was understandable that she’d want insurance against that possibility, however small it might be.
"If you think about it logically, there’s no way I’d do anything reckless to you, especially since you’re the one who’s been helping me gather members of my race that I’ve been unable to reach for centuries, but sure, whatever helps you sleep at night," Arthur said with a shrug.
Alexia, still studying the star map and checking how far her ship was from her next destination, continued speaking.
"We also need to change location. That Training Pocket Universe of yours would’ve been perfect, but unfortunately, this universe is Dragon-ruled, and my insurance would never be caught dead in a dragon universe."
That line made Arthur very curious about the identity of the person Alexia trusted enough to consider her "insurance", and he couldn’t help but ask, "And who exactly is it?"
Alexia didn’t answer the question right away. She took a moment to consider it and decided that since Arthur would eventually meet this person and figure out who they were, there wasn’t much issue in telling him ahead of time.
Turning back to Arthur, she said, "This is classified information. Make sure it stays that way, unless you want billions of Ancient-Breeds trying to kill you."
Just that alone was enough to make Arthur uneasy, and part of him started to regret even asking about this person.
Alas, it was already too late since Alexia had already started speaking.
"My ’Watcher’ in the Candidate Selection. Her name is Kelliana Weiss."
"Weiss?! And wait, that name..." Arthur muttered, a hint of recognition flashing through his mind.
He had heard the name ’Kelliana’ mentioned by the Levites before, and the surname was one he recognised, since he knew two others who carried it.
Alexia’s next words confirmed that this ’Kelliana’ was indeed connected to those two people.
"She’s the daughter of the Progenitor Dragon Aleksas, and is the Progenitor of Dragonslayers."
"...what...the...fuck...?"
Arthur had thought that after meeting Luka, hearing her call the Cosmos a ’chessboard’, the conclusions he’d reached afterwards, encountering a manifestation of the Concept of Destruction itself, and gaining power from that encounter, becoming far stronger than he had ever been before, there were very few things left that could truly shock him.
But learning that the Progenitor of Dragonslayers was the child of the Progenitor of Dragons made him realise how naive that thought had been.
"Fucking hell..." he muttered.
That revelation alone was enough to stun Arthur, and he didn’t even have the presence of mind to question why a Progenitor was working for the Eternals as a Watcher in the Candidate Selection.
"Aleksas took certain actions very similar to what Roseborn did to me, and when Kelliana found out, she clearly wasn’t pleased, and she hasn’t been on good terms with him since.
Because of that, she won’t willingly enter a dragon-ruled universe, especially not one Aleksas is currently present in.
So, we’ll need to change location to a different universe, one far from any dragon-ruled universe."
Arthur nodded silently, and at that moment an idea formed in his mind. His eyes widened slightly as he said, "If we’re changing universes, then I’ve got a suggestion."
Stepping forward, he tapped the Cosmic Teleporter on his right hand, pulling up a set of coordinates stored within it.
"How about this little place called ’Valmone’?"
"Valmone? I remember that place," Alexia said, a faint trace of nostalgia in her tone. "I went there with Lucifer a few times before."
Seeing that she was already familiar with Valmone, Arthur clapped his hands with a pleased smile.
"Perfect! Thanks to Lucifer as well, I’m pretty familiar with some of the most powerful beings in that universe. I’ve got some contracts with them, and they’re helping me with a project of mine, something like a miniature version of what you’ve been doing over the past century or so since we last saw each other.
I also know a few locations within that universe we can use, places that are easy to defend, places where the natural conditions of the area can serve as protec—"
Arthur suddenly stopped mid-sentence, blinking as something clicked in his mind.
"Wait a second..."
Alexia had said earlier that she’d need protection because she’d be weakened after the process. But if no one knew where she was or when she was doing it, then while protection would still be necessary, it wouldn’t reach the level where she’d need more forces than what she already had on this ship from whatever Multiverse the rest of her forces were stationed in.
Arthur turned around and expanded his cosmic spectral perception, scanning the entire ship, and confirmed that the number of combatants present alone was enough for Alexia to start an intergalactic war within this universe.
That was just how many Deity Realm Existences were inside the spaceship. He could even sense a few whose power went beyond his perception, and considering that the current Arthur could accurately sense the power of Monarch Realm Existences, there was only one logical conclusion.
’Primogenials! Maybe there are some more I can’t even detect in the first place.
Alexia’s got Sub-Cosmic Realm Existences working for her!’
Arthur had no idea how she managed to get people more powerful than herself to work for her, and he didn’t really care.
What he cared about was that if Alexia had those kinds of people under her, then why did she still need more?
Arthur cut off that line of thought, then turned back to face Alexia as he asked, "Exactly what are they protecting you from?"
At that question, Alexia had an expression that clearly showed she’d been waiting for him to ask that.
"Roseborn Vladi was meticulous enough to place a curse on me just days after my birth, one that had melded into my soul, waiting for the moment I reached the Monarch Realm so he could take control of my body at that time.
This is a man who fought Lucifer and, despite the gap in power between them, survived. He had backup bodies hidden in places even Lucifer couldn’t locate, despite years of searching. A man who has held firm control over the Vladi Inter-Universal Supercluster for a hundred million years.
You don’t think someone like that wouldn’t have left behind ways to detect if the curse he placed on one of his daughters was broken, do you?"
That question was enough for Arthur to finally understand why Alexia wanted this level of protection.
He could already feel a headache building as he connected everything together.
"If I break the curse on you," he said, "Roseborn’s going to know. He’s also going to know where you are, and since you’ll be soul-damaged, you won’t be able to move much without making your condition worse. You’ll be at the weakest you’ve ever been, and that would be the perfect time for him to attack and capture you."
"And don’t forget he’s going to be very furious as well," Alexia added.
Hearing this, Arthur heaved an exasperated sigh.
"I thought this was just going to be a simple curse removal, but this might actually turn into a war."
Rubbing his chin, Arthur continued muttering to himself.
"No matter how friendly I am with the Demon Kings of Gozon, they’re not going to like it if I bring a war into their universe. The damage would be insane, unless..."
Arthur went silent, the gears in his mind turning quickly as he considered all the possibilities and reached a conclusion.
"Unless we take the war somewhere where, no matter how much damage is done, it won’t affect the Valmone Universe’s structure too much. A location that can withstand an intergalactic-level war. A place empowered by intergalactic-level forces, and somewhere that would make even Roseborn hesitate to approach."
Alexia immediately felt a bad premonition at Arthur’s last line, and seeing the mischievous smile on his face, the same kind she’d seen Lucifer wear more times than she could count, she instantly knew he was about to suggest something absurd.
"The Abyss Labyrinth," Arthur said. "Let’s use the Abyss Labyrinth."
The Valmone Universe’s resident Cosmic Horror was about to have a couple of visitors dropping by its nest very soon.
