Lord of Annihilation

Inside the Combat Room of Expedition-1.

"*Huff*, *Huff*. Again?" a charming voice asked as it rapidly panted for breath.

"Again!" following the loud response, a bright flash of golden light flew through the air.

Noticing the golden light which was shaped to form a golden arrow, heading towards her at blistering speeds Olivia immediately reacted. With a sharp intake of air, she widened her stance and lowered her center of gravity.

"Hah!" with a short shout, her body immediately rolled sideways, narrowly dodging the golden arrow.

Just as she was about to regain her footing, Olivia's senses which were currently boosted due to the effects of [Strength Soul], detected another arrow precisely aimed at her target location. Having detected the attack in advance, she immediately mobilized her soul power and started a chant within her mind.

Being a magic-caster, all of Olivia's spells required her to chant their incantations. These incantations were a mandatory part of her casting and could not be avoided.

Mysterious words belonging to an unknown language started to flash within her mind. Although Olivia had not come in contact with this language or even heard about such a language ever before in her life, she was able to instinctively use it and understand it after her ascension.

"[Barrier]!" she shouted at the top of her lungs.

Immediately following her shout, a large violet shield materialized in the empty air. It covered the entirety of her back and effectively blocked the onslaught of the golden arrow. Having bought enough time, Olivia regained her footing.

Standing up, she raised both her hands and started to channel another spell. This time, Olivia's lips started to move and a low voice leaked from her mouth. The very air trembled around her as waves of violet-colored soul power started to gather at her hands.

Whatever her spell was, it was a big one.

'It's time to end this!' she yelled within her mind as she prepared to unless her spell.

"Hehe, too late!" a gloating voice was heard near her ears, followed by a bright flash of golden light.

the flash of light condensed into a golden arrow which then struck Olivia in the middle of her back. Olivia suddenly felt her entire body be electrocuted, with her entire body twitching in pain. Losing control over her body, Olivia also lost control over her soul power.

The gathered energies immediately dispersed as Olivia's body collapsed into the ground.

"Haah! Haha!" lying on her back with her four limbs stretched out, Olivia's chest rose and fell in an erratic pattern.

The joints of her limbs and the tips of her finger quivered, as the residual effects of the electric shock remained within her body.

"Little girl, you're 1000 years too early if you think you can defeat me!" a certain floating crystal heroically stated, after winning the duel.

Hearin her words, Olivia's eyelids twitched. Ignoring Ka'lor'ah's taunts, Olivia closed her eyes and started to replenish her soul power. She also played the previous battle in her mind and looked for possible errors, correcting them in the process.

"Ah! Rather than roll towards the side to dodge that arrow, I should have jumped up. This would have allowed me to follow your next set of actions with my eyes!" Olivia exclaimed in realization.

This time, it was Ka'lor'ah's turn to become vexed. She shook her crystal body twice in the air before speaking.

"I swear, the more I get to know you. The more you are starting to resemble Lucius. Tell me, does anything other than thoughts of 'battle' and 'fighting', flow across your mind?"

Hearing her words, Olivia suddenly turned silent. With a low voice, she then spoke.

"Only by constantly improving my strength, will I be useful to him. I don't want to be a burden anymore!" her voice was faint but filled with conviction.

Having heard her answer, Ka'lor'ah sighed. She ultimately chose to remain silent.

Over the past month and a half, Olivia had sought guidance and training from Ka'lor'ah every single day. She wanted to make the most use of her time aboard this spaceship and wanted to improve her strength before reaching their destination.

While her first choice was to ask Lucius for his guidance, she had to settle for Ka'lor'ah due to the absence of the former. After inputting their destination on the ship's autopilot, Lucius had locked himself within his room and went into seclusion. Such being the case, Olivia could only rely on Ka'lor'ah.

The results were..... pretty fantastic.

Having been a Peak Stage 7 being in the past, Ka'lor'ah's combat experience was naturally great. With her tailored courses, coupled with her personal guidance, Olivia's battle sense and abilities underwent an earth-shattering change.

Not stopping at that, Ka'lor'ah also regularly dueled with Olivia to hone her combat instincts and reactions. All of which ended with Olivia's loss.

In fact, if she were to fight Lucius' 'Berserk' state, with her current skills. Olivia's chances of winning were at a shocking 60%.

Seeing the young girl diligently cultivate even while resting, Ka'lor'ah suddenly spoke.

"Not only is your talent for combat very high, your talent for soul cultivation is also monstrously high. What a freak," she mumbled.

During the times when Ka'lor'ah was not instructing Olivia in her combat techniques, she helped Olivia in her soul cultivation. Due to Olivia's unceasing efforts and talent, she had already stabilized her newly ascended soul and was already in Stage 1 Mid-Level Liquid Phase.

Her rate was advancement was comparable to Lucius after his rebirth.

Hearing Ka'lor'ah's remark, Olivia simply smiled in response. A few moments passed before Olivia hesitantly opened her mouth to speak.

Gathering her courage she asked.

"Teacher....how did you meet Lucius?"

This is one of the questions which plagued Olivia's mind for the longest time. Before Lucius' change, Olivia's relationship with him had been very good. There was no secret that they wouldn't share and no topic that would remain hidden.

Going with this flow of thought, Olivia should have learned about Ka'lor'ah much earlier.

"Well, you're curious about this, huh?" Ka'lor'ah questioned, her voice slightly sharp.

"If... its something that cannot be shared. Then you can choose not to reply. I just asked this question in passing." hearing the words, all of Olivia's gathered courage disappeared.

"You mustn't be like this, little girl. Why does your courage vanish, when talking about Lucius? If you want something, you must unhesitantly take action to get it. Never hesitate, else it will lead to regret." Ka'lor'ah advised.

"Well, to answer your question. Unfortunately, I can't tell you the exact answer."

Hearing this, Olivia was disappointed.

"...But, it's not like I can't tell you anything either." suddenly Ka'lor'ah continued.

Olivia's head rose and her bright, blue eyes stared at the floating crystal in anticipation.

"Let's see..... I've known about Lucius for a very long time. He was a very special and unique being who was able to garner my interest."

"When I met him for the first time, it was in a very special place...." Ka'lor'ah slowly spoke while carefully choosing her words.

She could not speak about the truth, lest it was heard by the Lords. Matters concerning the future or the other timelines must be spoken with absolute caution, fo it had the power to affect 'Cause'.

Within her mind, however, Ka'lor'ah recalled the scene in its entirety.

--------

In a planet that was in the process of collapsing, after having its surface destroyed and its core ripped apart. An innumerable number of dead corpses, belonging to myriad different creatures littered the ground, dying the earth and the sky in crimson.

Blood and flesh gathered around to form an ocean, mixing with the lava that flowed without pause from within the ground. The sky turned into pieces of shattered glass, which continued to fall apart and dissipate into the endless space.

The eyes of the corpses remained open with, fear, hate, resentment, unwillingness, and a multitude of other emotions present with them. Their unwillingness to part with their lives was obvious!

In the middle of this broken planet, was a single living being. A humanoid, judging by shape.

His hands were clutching onto a clump of flesh and blood. His face was expressionless and his eyes were blank. His armor was completely tattered and his shattered weapon laid by his side.

His mouth mechanically moved and incomprehensible words leaked from his throat.

"...dead...all...dead....I kill..." his words were broken and incoherent.

His body radiated a fearsome amount of energy which continued to grow in power. Streams of reddish-black energy surrounded him, as they condescend and compounded in strength.

The space within the area, hundreds of kilometers surrounding his body started to twist in various shapes before being torn apart.

With space tearing apart, streams of chaotic energy leaked from within the cracks. The energy then proceeded to destroy the hellish landscape surrounding his body. No longer able to sustain itself, the planet also started to collapse.

The humanoid shaped figure who was kneeling in the middle seemed to be unaffected by the change. The blankness in his eyes was uncaring towards his surroundings.

It was at this moment, that a slender white hand, clothed in an ornate, golden robe reached out from within a spatial crack and extended towards the humanoid.

『Stage 6 [Killer]? Completely broken in both mind and soul.』

『I have decided! You will serve as my weapon. Come to me, O' Pitiful One.』

Saying so, the hand captured the humanoid and vanished into the spatial crack. Following their departure, the energy within the planet finally imploded, creating a black hole as a result.

-------

"Teacher!" Olivia's loud voice woke Ka'lor'ah from her thoughts.

"Sorry, I was distracted. In short, I met Lucius some years ago and have stayed with him ever since." Ka'lor'ah summarized.

Olivia nodded her head in comprehension. Although she did not understand the entire matter, her curiosity was sated for now.

"Then.... I have another question."

"Lucius.... is not human, is he?"