Chapter 62: The Sun Above Marrath
The blinding light was completely merciless. Kanos had to raise his left arm to shield his eyes. After spending so long in the dark, damp depths of the underground abyss, the sheer intensity of pure, unfiltered sunlight genuinely felt like a physical attack.
The blue glass elevator finally slowed down. The violent humming sound of its ascent faded into total silence. The glass doors slid open with a soft, elegant chime.
A gentle, warm breeze hit Kanos’s face immediately. The air smelled unbelievably clean. There was no sulfur. There was no rotting meat. There was no stagnant chemical waste. It smelled like fresh pine needles and high altitude wind.
Kanos lowered his arm slowly, letting his eyes adjust to the brightness. He stepped out of the elevator. His boots clicked against an absolutely flawless white marble floor.
They had arrived at the Zenith.
It was an impossibly massive floating fortress suspended thousands of feet directly above the dark crater of Marrath city. The architecture was absolutely breathtaking. Towering white spires wrapped in gold accents pierced the blue sky. Crystal clear waterfalls flowed endlessly from hanging gardens, dropping into the cloudy abyss below. This was the absolute peak of the world. The untouchable domain of the High Elders who controlled the Sensor Bureau.
Belida stepped out right behind Kanos. The giant knight completely ignored the beautiful scenery. His dark blue eyes immediately locked onto the massive threat waiting for them just fifty meters ahead.
A literal army was standing on the grand marble plaza.
There were at least a thousand elite Executioners heavily clad in pristine silver and gold armor. Dozens of magical artillery cannons were lined up perfectly in a wide defensive semicircle. Floating attack drones hummed dangerously in the air above them. At the very front of the formation stood five older men wearing incredibly elaborate white and gold robes. They were the High Elders. The absolute rulers of the Yomalvara system hierarchy.
Sili peeked out from behind Belida’s massive back. The skinny broker let out a very small, pathetic squeak. "Boss. That is the entire royal guard division. Every single one of them is above level eighty."
Kanos did not stop walking. He stepped fully out onto the open plaza. Papuyu flanked him silently on the left, her hands resting casually on her daggers. Belida walked on his right, his posture completely relaxed despite the massive army aiming weapons directly at their faces.
The eighty Null Hounds poured out of the elevator behind them. The dark violet beasts immediately spread out in a wide, highly aggressive fan formation. The terrifying anti magic aura they radiated instantly caused the decorative magical glowing plants around the plaza to wither and die completely.
"Halt!" the lead High Elder shouted. His voice was magically amplified, booming loudly across the plaza. The old man pointed a trembling finger at Kanos. "Anomaly! You dare defile the Zenith with your presence!"
The Executioners raised their weapons in perfect synchronization. The magic cannons hummed loudly as they gathered thick, glowing blue mana from the surrounding air.
Kanos stopped walking exactly thirty meters away from the front line. He looked at the massive army. He looked at the terrified, sweating faces of the High Elders. Kanos slowly raised his pitch black right arm and pointed his sharp index finger directly at the lead Elder.
"Fire," Kanos said softly. He did not issue a command to his hounds. He was mocking the old man.
The lead High Elder gritted his teeth. "Eradicate them!"
The Executioners pulled their triggers. The cannon operators slammed their firing levers. The mages chanted their absolute most destructive spells.
Nothing happened.
Absolutely nothing.
The magic cannons powered down with a pathetic fizzling sound. The glowing runes on the Executioners’ swords and spears instantly turned entirely gray. The floating attack drones dropped out of the sky like dead birds, crashing into the marble floor and breaking into useless pieces.
A massive, glowing red system panel suddenly materialized right in front of every single soldier and Elder on the plaza. The notification flashed aggressively with the exact same message.
[ ACTION DENIED. TARGET IS AN UNBOUND ENTITY. HOSTILITY IS PERMANENTLY FORBIDDEN BY THE ARCHITECT. ]
The entire plaza went dead silent. The wind howling past the floating fortress was the only sound left.
The Executioners stared at their weapons in absolute horror. Their connection to the system had been completely severed regarding this one specific target. The High Elders looked like they were about to pass out from sheer panic. Their absolute authority, their god given system privileges, had just been completely revoked in front of their own eyes.
Kanos lowered his black arm. He stuffed his left hand casually into his cargo pocket. He started walking forward again. The elite Executioners practically scrambled over each other to clear a wide path for him. They parted like the red sea, entirely terrified of the human walking straight toward their leaders.
Kanos stopped right in front of the lead High Elder. The old man was shaking violently. Sweat poured down his wrinkled face, ruining his majestic appearance.
"You... you corrupted the core," the High Elder whispered in pure disbelief.
"I revised it," Kanos corrected him flatly. He looked past the old man, staring at the massive, beautiful white palace at the end of the plaza. The main headquarters of the Sensor Bureau.
"That building has great natural lighting," Kanos said casually. He turned his cold gaze back to the High Elder. "I am claiming it. You have exactly one hour to pack all your useless bureaucratic trash and leave. I need a lot of space for my new canvases."
The High Elder opened his mouth to protest, but the dark violet Null Hound standing right next to Kanos let out a low, bone rattling growl. The beast snapped its jaws just inches from the old man’s face. The Elder instantly shut his mouth, turned around, and practically sprinted away in complete terror. The rest of the elders and the entire army followed immediately, completely abandoning their post.
The standoff was over without a single drop of blood being spilled.
Belida let out a massive, booming laugh. The giant knight walked over and slapped Kanos on the back so hard Kanos almost stumbled. "You just evicted the rulers of the world by simply looking at them, Illustrator! That was the easiest battle of my life!"
Sili was busy typing incredibly fast on his data slate. "Boss! I just checked the upper city market network! Because the system officially recognizes you as an Unbound Entity, your crafted weapons have zero level restrictions! We can monopolize the entire global weapon market by tomorrow morning! We are going to be filthy, disgustingly rich!"
Papuyu walked silently to the edge of the floating plaza. She looked down at the dark, massive crater of the lower city far below. The hitman sheathed her daggers smoothly. "I will secure the lower perimeter," she said quietly. "Nobody gets up this elevator without an invitation."
Kanos did not answer them. He slowly walked to the edge of the marble plaza, standing right next to the crystal clear waterfall. He looked out at the endless blue horizon. The sun felt warm on his pale face.
He raised his pitch black right hand. He did not have any charcoal left. He did not have any ink bottles. But he did not need them anymore. His entire arm was made of condensed void stone. It was a permanent, living drawing tool.
Kanos focused his mind. He moved his black index finger through the empty air. A thin, perfectly smooth line of dark violet smoke trailed effortlessly from his fingertip. He drew a small, simple outline of a bird. Just a few basic shapes.
The smoke solidified instantly. The tiny violet bird flapped its wings and flew away, disappearing into the bright blue sky.
Kanos smiled genuinely. The pain was finally gone. The desperate fight for survival was officially over. This entire world used to be a terrifying, restrictive cage trying to kill him every single second.
But looking down at the massive city from his new throne, Kanos realized something extremely satisfying. It was no longer a cage. It was just a giant, incredibly blank sketchbook. And he had all the time in the world to fill it.
