Chapter 2276: lock
"Sakar? I was thinking about him not long ago, wondering what he might be doing these days and whether he had finally reached the limits of what Young Sector 101 could offer him..." Robin was visibly surprised by the sudden mention of the name after it had crossed his mind only recently. "What does Sakar want?"
Harper replied quickly, without needing even a moment to organize his thoughts, "The Marshal asked me to deliver a short message personally and make sure it reached Your Majesty exactly as intended. It says: <Please don’t forget about us. The playground has become far too small.>"
"Hmm." Robin leaned back farther against his chair, allowing his shoulders to settle comfortably against the backrest as a faint smile appeared on his face. "Give me a quick overview of the situation in Young Sector 101. I’d like to hear how things have developed over there recently."
"Reporting to Your Majesty, things there are better than good, to the point that many people would consider the situation almost unbelievable compared to what it was before," Harper answered respectfully. "There are no longer any noteworthy hostile forces left in the sector. Any empire, federation, coalition, or even planetary kingdom we discovered had its coordinates handed over to the Marshal, and he personally took care of the matter without delegating the work to others. Some surrendered almost immediately after understanding the situation, while others were completely converted and absorbed into the new order. The Shattered Meteor Empire itself now officially controls nearly ten thousand planets according to the records, maps, and public announcements, but in reality the entire royal family, the imperial administration, and the military as a whole kneel before the Marshal and follow his directives without objection... The sector is practically empty at this point, with very few meaningful powers remaining outside his influence, and the Marshal has effectively become its true ruler in every sense of the word."
"...?" Glacion’s eyes widened to their limits, and for a brief moment he almost forgot to maintain the composed demeanor expected of someone of his status.
He had heard about the Verilion Seed War and the overwhelming return of the Shattered Meteor Empire, as well as the countless rumors that had spread throughout neighboring territories regarding the shocking speed of its expansion and consolidation of power.
Of course he had heard.
Everyone had heard and been astonished, regardless of whether they were rulers, generals, merchants, or wandering experts.
And it turned out that a Marshal serving under Lord Robin was personally leading everything from the shadows and directing the entire situation with his own hands?
This Sakar...
Someone on the same level as Marshal Arrow himself, a figure capable of influencing the fate of entire sectors with a single decision?!
"Heh~ No wonder he’s saying the playground has become too small." Robin chuckled softly before letting his gaze drift toward the gateway leading into the Void, as though he could already imagine Sakar’s expression while sending that message. "Tell him to come. I’ll invite him to dinner here, and afterward we’ll sit down and decide what sort of future path would suit him best."
"Come... here?" Harper cast a sideways glance toward Glacion, clearly aware of how unusual that invitation would sound to an outsider.
"...?" Glacion looked puzzled, uncertain why Harper had suddenly glanced at him.
"Donara is crawling with Space Beasts from one end of the planet to the other. Would it really be strange for a Crimson Plague to appear among them?" Robin waved his hand dismissively, as though the matter were completely ordinary and not worth dwelling on. "Go bring him."
"A Plague?!" Glacion shouted before he could stop himself. "One of your Marshals is a Crimson Plague?!"
Ignoring Glacion’s outburst entirely, Harper bowed slightly toward Robin with the calm attitude of someone who had already grown accustomed to hearing shocking revelations on a regular basis. "As you command, Your Majesty. I’ll transmit your orders immediately and make the necessary arrangements."
Then he stepped aside and vanished without hesitation.
"A Plague?!" Glacion repeated even louder, unable to keep the disbelief from his voice.
"Yes a Plague, what is it?" Robin laughed openly, clearly amused by the reaction. "Are you going to report me to the authorities?"
"No, no, but..." Glacion frowned deeply as numerous thoughts raced through his mind. "Not too long ago, rumors began spreading that Your Majesty was working on a method to subjugate the Plague and somehow turn one of the universe’s greatest disasters into a controllable asset. Could it be that it actually succeeded? But this speed doesn’t make any sense..."
The moment he finished speaking, he regretted his haste and realized that his assumption itself contained a flaw.
How could His Majesty have only recently begun and completed such a project when the Verilion War had already been raging for centuries and had produced a Marshal powerful enough to dominate an entire sector?
Then he looked toward Robin once more, his thoughts shifting in an entirely different direction.
He had possessed a method of controlling the Crimson Plague for centuries and had been quietly cultivating such individuals all this time?!
"Heh~" Robin immediately understood the questioning look in Glatheon’s eyes and the conclusions he had begun drawing. "Don’t overwork your brain, Glathy. You’ve already received enough information today to keep you awake at night for years while trying to piece everything together."
"...." Glatheon bowed slightly, suppressing the countless questions that still filled his mind. "Thank you for your trust. Not a single word will leak from me."
Of course, Glatheon understood that Robin was giving him an enormous opportunity and showing him tremendous trust by allowing him to remain present during all of these discussions. Otherwise, he could have simply ordered him to leave from the very beginning and continued the conversation in private. He wasn’t obligated to answer anything, explain anything, or allow him to hear even a fraction of what had been discussed.
"I know..." Robin smiled faintly. "I know you won’t leak anything." Then he waved his hand casually, his attention already beginning to drift elsewhere. "Now you can either sit or leave, do whatever you want. I want to focus on this painting for a while."
Without waiting for a response, Robin rested his forehead against his left hand, held the painting securely in his right, adjusted its angle slightly, and returned his attention to it with complete concentration.
"..." Glacion had noticed him trying to look at the painting repeatedly throughout their entire conversation, even during moments when important matters regarding sectors, wars, and Marshals were being discussed.
His longing for it was obvious, to the point that it seemed he had been exercising restraint the entire time merely to finish the conversation before returning his full attention to the piece in his hands.
But this time in particular, after everything he had heard and everything he had witnessed over the course of a single day, he did not dare ask another question or add even a single extra word, no matter how strong the curiosity burning inside him had become.
This time in particular, His Majesty had personally asked him to remain silent and allow him some peace.
So he let out a quiet sigh inwardly, suppressing the countless questions still circling through his thoughts, and began turning around to leave without making a sound, his movements measured and restrained as though he feared disturbing the atmosphere around him...
Staying any longer would leave a poor impression of him and make him appear incapable of understanding boundaries despite all the trust he had just been shown.
And until requests or orders arrived from the Grave Empire or from the First Sword, Theo, it would be best for him to remain here and assist with the Space Beast matter free of charge, building goodwill while also familiarizing himself further with the environment surrounding Lord Robin.
That would give him another opportunity to speak with His Majesty, learn more things that ordinary rulers could never hope to hear, and broaden his horizons once again beyond the limits he once believed impossible to surpass.
Crack... Crack...
"Hmm?" Glacion halted his movement and looked toward a certain direction after catching the unmistakable sound of something breaking apart.
The golden sphere containing Althera had begun to crack at that very moment, fine fractures spreading across its surface like branching veins of light as pieces of condensed golden radiance gradually lost their stability.
Then, without any delay, hesitation, or additional phenomenon—
Poof
The sphere collapsed completely, and the golden light that composed it scattered into countless particles before dissipating into the surrounding air, vanishing before it could even touch the ground.
But something else touched the ground.
Hard enough to produce an unmistakable impact.
Bam
Althera landed heavily on her backside after dropping from the air without any elegance whatsoever.
"Ugh..." With a simple movement, she began rubbing her back slowly while grimacing in discomfort. "Tsk, tsk... that hurt more than I expected."
"Lady Althera, are you alright?" Glacion moved to her side immediately, abandoning his intention to leave, and helped her to her feet while examining her condition at the same time.
"I’m fine." Althera stood up with his assistance and began stretching her body gently, moving her shoulders, arms, and waist as though confirming everything was still functioning properly. "What a dreadful feeling. It felt as though I had absolutely no control over my body, as if every part of me belonged to someone else."
Althera let out a long breath of relief after confirming that both her body and consciousness were intact and responding normally to her commands.
She had nearly lost her mind when the sphere of Master Laws swallowed her whole and she felt that weakness inside herself, a helplessness so complete that even recalling it now caused discomfort to rise within her chest.
"What exactly happened to you?" Glacion’s curiosity ignited immediately when he found no physical injuries, no visible damage, and no spiritual abnormalities despite everything she had experienced. "You spent nearly ten minutes in there!"
"Only ten minutes? It felt eternal..." Althera sighed heavily before raising an eyebrow at Glacion as her attention finally shifted away from her own condition. "Aren’t you Lord Glacion, ruler of the Vast Frost Empire? Why are you standing on Lord Robin’s mountain instead of ruling your own territory?"
"....." Glacion looked Althera up and down several times, his gaze carrying a strange mixture of surprise and concern. "I think you have something far more important to worry about right now."
"What’s wrong?" Althera raised an eyebrow immediately. She did not like those looks at all, especially when they came from someone of Glacion’s level.
So she immediately began examining herself once more, this time with considerably greater focus and urgency than before.
"...What?!" Her expression changed instantly.
Her energy gathering center...
It was empty.
Completely and utterly empty.
Literally empty.
No energy core.
No foundations.
No Law engravings inside the gathering center.
No traces of cultivation pathways.
No residual structures.
Nothing.
Absolutely nothing remained where the very basis of her power should have existed.
"What’s happening?!" Althera stumbled two steps backward while clutching her abdomen in shock, her face rapidly losing color as disbelief flooded her mind.
Had she returned to square one after everything she had accomplished?!
Had all her years of cultivation simply disappeared?!
"Hmm?"
At that moment, before either of them could continue speaking, a voice echoed directly inside the ears of both Althera and Glacion, clear enough that neither could mistake its owner.
It was Robin’s voice.
"Althera..."
Robin set the painting aside after finally pulling his attention away from it and focused his attention on Althera’s head, his expression showing a rare trace of confusion.
Or rather...
Not on her head itself.
Above her head.
"...Why is there a golden lock spinning above your head?"
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