Lord of Annihilation

'Who's that?!' Olivia immediately spun around and saw the Bertarian siblings standing at a distance, cautiously watching her.

Seeing a pair of unfamiliar beings, Olivia was first surprised but then immediately became wary. She slowly backed away, while silently gathering soul power at her limbs. Olivia also started to soundlessly chant a spell within her mind.

'What are these beings? What are they saying?' while chanting, she also split a part of her concentration is analyzing her current situation.

While she couldn't understand their words, their actions provided a sufficient amount of clues, for her to deduce.

'Two beings. From their figures, they seem to be a male and a female? I can't be too sure.' Olivia's understanding of the Universe and its races was almost nonexistent. 

Lucius' training of Olivia had only encompassed combat and cultivation. As for the other aspects such as information of knowledge about the Universe, Lucius didn't bother to explain to her and Olivia didn't dare to ask him. 

'Judging from their actions, the two seem to have a lot of trust in each other. The male seems to have higher strength as compared to the female, who's seeking his protection. Question is, how strong are they?' her thoughts were concise and meticulous.

'I haven't found Lucius yet and am unsure of his situation. As such, I cannot recklessly engage them in combat.' a bright light flashed across her eyes, as Olivia thought of a plan: 'I must stall for time and quickly find Lucius!'

This was the only thing that she could do right now. Carelessly jumping into combat, without having any understanding of your opponent was one of the fastest and dumbest ways to die. Moreover, Olivia had yet to confirm the opposite party's strength and motive. 

If the opponent had no intention to fight, Olivia wouldn't start a fight either. There was no benefit to such a course of action.

'Maybe we can just resolve the situation peacefully?' Olivia tried to think optimistically. Just as she was about to open her mouth to speak, a beastly growl was heard from within the spaceship.

Following the roar, a black shadow suddenly exited the ship and jumped towards the two beings.

Olivia's eyes widened in shock, and a bitter smile formed on her face.

'Seems like there is no avoiding a fight.' she then turned around and rushed to find her sword. This would be her first time fighting alongside Lucius.

Anticipation and excitement grew within her heart, replacing her earlier worry.

---------------

Kiren who was looking at the black-haired female standing at the center of the crater, amongst the pile of metallic debris, was similarly in shock.

'Who's this person? Why is she within the crater?' he tried to make sense of the situation when a possibility formed within his mind.

Kara who was standing behind him voiced out his thoughts: "Brother, could it be...?!" her mind was similarly in shock.

A solemn expression appeared on Kiren's face as he nodded: "Indeed. She must be Travelers from the Beyond." His eyes however shone with excitement.

'To think I would come across a Traveler. This is simply too great, if I can convince them to visit our city, Lord Father is sure to praise me greatly!'

Although Pectorn lied in the fringes of the Universe, it did not mean that the people were ignorant of the existence of the vast cosmos. As stated previously, travel between planets in the Universe was very difficult, but still possible. 

Travelers referred to those people who liked to travel between planets. They were usually explorers with great strength and no fixed habitation. Kiren himself had never personally seen a traveler but had heard stories about them. 

After all, his own family had originated from a Bertarian traveler couple who decided to settle on this planet. As such, the wariness he had been feeling after seeing Olivia had reduced by a large extent.

Removing the Stage 2 soul power surrounding his body, Kiren wore a smile on his face and stepped forward to communicate. 

And it was precisely at this moment, that a black shadow jumped towards him. Caught off guard, a great amount of force slammed onto his chest and caused Kiren to crash onto the ground.

"BROTHER!" Kara shouted in shock and ran forward. Taking a few steps forward, her body suddenly froze in fear. The expression on her face froze and her blood chilled.

Her eyes were fixed onto the body of the grey-skinned figure who was stepping on top of her brother's chest. Its eyes were heterochromatic, one crimson, and the other gold. Its mouth was wide open to expose the rows of sharp teeth, dripping with thick saliva. Madness and ruthlessness were present on its face, as it licked its lips with its abnormally large tongue.

'This?!' Kara felt an unprecedented amount of fear assault her mind, blanking out her thoughts. 

Standing still and she watched as the grey-skinned figure, slowly extend its hands towards her brother's neck. She wanted to scream but found herself unable to do so. At this moment, Kara felt powerless and hopeless. Fear had overtaken her mind.

"What are you doing?!" Kiren screamed anxiously as his eyes nervously stared at the black claws nearing his throat.

He wanted to use all his strength to push this 'monster' of his body and run away. Far, far away from this place and back into the safety of his father. But found himself, unable to control his body. He was similarly overwhelmed by fear.

『Such a delectable meal. You are worthy of being consumed by me.』 he heard the 'monster' speak. While he was unable to comprehend its words, Kiren instinctively understood that he was in grave danger. 

'Am I going to die?' the thought crossed his mind, as Kiren resigned himself to fate: 'Haha, I'm so pathetic. I'm sorry, Kara. I was unable to fulfill my duty as your brother.'

'I'm sorry mother. I had lied to you about my outing and brought such intense danger upon Kara.'

'I'm sorry father. I was unable to meet your expectations. Dying without even fighting back, I'm a coward.'

Tears streamed out of his eyes, as Kiren soundlessly cried. Just as he felt the 'monsters' nail pierce into his throat, he suddenly heard a shout. 

"Step away from our Young Lord, beast!" Kiren opened his eyes, only to see a flash of bright light hit the 'monsters' chest. It was immediately thrown off his body and flew far into the debris.

Three golden-skinned figure wearing a long robe and battle armor suddenly appeared around Kiren. Their hands shone with intense white light and a solemn look covered their face.

'Father's guards?!' Kiren instantly recognized these figures.

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Lucius, whose body was struck by a ball of light, landed amongst the remains of the spaceship. a large wound had formed on his chest with black blood dripping all over the place.

'It hurts!' with the arrival of an intense amount of pain, Lucius also felt his rationality returning. Firmly grasping onto this rationality, he immediately regained control over his body. the injuries on his chest slowly started to heal.

Standing up unsteadily, Lucius gathered his thoughts: 'Where am I? Where is Olivia?' his eyes darted around, before landing on the five figures in the distance.

'Bertarians? Did we arrive at Pectorn?' just as the thought formed within his mind, Lucius felt a wave of hunger assault his mind.

'Eat! Devour!' the desire to consume those Bertarians took root within his mind and Lucius' body automatically moved towards them. Lucius' immediately mobilized his will to suppress his thoughts. 

However, he found his desire to be too strong and stubborn. Only after spending a great deal of effort was he able to regain control over his body.

'This situation is very bad. I have to eat something to satisfy my hunger. At this rate, I will lose control and go berserk once again!' Lucius' heart chilled at this thought. Having no control over one's body, especially during battle led to a single outcome.

Death!

Just as Lucius successfully dealt with his internal problem, the hairs on his body suddenly stood up. An intense feeling of danger resonated within his mind. Following his instinct, Lucius immediately rolled his body.

[Light Spear] a Stage 2 spell landed in Lucius' previous location, missing his body by a hair's breadth.

Lucius immediately became serious, as he traced the path of the attack to the Bertarians standing at the distance. He could feel their hostile gazes trained upon his body and the murderous intent that they were radiating.

『Evil beast! Die!』 one of the Bertarians who looked like an old man, bellowed before rushing towards Lucius. His body instantly closed in on Lucius's position, following which he swung his hand covered in a white-light. 

'[Warrior of Light]'s [Light Slam]!' with his experience Lucius immediately identified the attack. Unable to dodge in time, Lucius crossed his hands in front of his chest.

BANG!

Instantly, Lucius' arms were broken and his chest caved further in. He spat out a mouthful of black blood, as his body flew back once again. His body crashed through the body of the spaceship and landed with a heavy thud. An intense feeling of dizziness attacked his mind. 

Just as Lucius tried to stabilize his mind, another wave of hunger assaulted his mind, intent on taking control of his body. 

'Oh no!' Lucius once again lost control over his body, as he engaged in another battle within his mind. At this moment, seemingly recognizing his weakened state, the old Bertarian rushed towards Lucius once again. 

『For daring to attack the son of the Governor! Pay with your life!』 he roared and swung his light-covered arm with all his strength.

This time, he was aiming at Lucius' head.