Lord of Annihilation

A few days later.

In the periphery of the Greystone valley, the once brown-colored lands were completely scorched black.

A large hemispherical bowl-shaped crater occupied much of the once flat plains. The crater was almost 30m in depth and 500m in diameter.

The insides of the crater were completely smooth, with the rocks having a mirror-like shine. The surface was completely smooth, with nary a crack or imperfection. 

Inside this desolate crater, stood a lone figure.

His body was covered in ornate white armor, with lines of blue and golden energy streaking across its surface. Holding the helm of the armor with his arms, his head looked down upon the mirror-like ground.

His scaly, gold face was expressionless and his eyes were closed. A large, white halo of light shining with intense brightness, slowly revolved above his head. 

Time passed in silence when two lines of tears fell from his eyes. Opening his eyes slowly, it was filled with anguish and hatred. His facial expression warped into one of extreme wrath!

"Whoever did this to my children, I swear upon my very soul!"

"I will not rest until I make you suffer a fate, thousands of times worse than your death!" he spat viciously.

A beam of light was suddenly shot from the halo above his head, heading towards the sky. Reaching the clouds, the beam of white light suddenly exploded. The air around the area of the explosion suddenly started to violently distort!

Folds of space twisted until it was unable to distort anymore, before suddenly vanishing from sight. In its place, was a minute crack, unseen to the naked eye.

However, with the arrival of this crack, the natural spiritual energy of the world began started to turn chaotic. The ground began to rot and the plants started to wither. Fierce winds and thick, black clouds soundlessly appeared in the originally cloudless sky.

Rain started to fall endlessly along with the flashing of thick bolts of lighting, creating an intense storm. The plains which were originally habitable, turned into an absolute death zone, after these changes. 

The power to alter the very world.

This was the power possessed by a Stage 3 being.

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"We are here." in another place, far, far away from the Greystone valley, a pair of travelers appeared.

The faces of the two travelers were covered in grime and soot. Their hairs, both pitch-black in color, were haggard and disheveled. Their clothes were torn in various places, making their appearance resemble that of the derelict.

However, their washed-out appearance could not hide the beauty of their faces and the brilliance in their eyes. One pair curious and the other indifferent.

"This is the place?" blinking her exquisite violet eyes, Olivia asked while pointing towards the large black-iron gate that lay before them.

Hearing her question, Lucius nodded his head. Opening his mouth, he replied with a hoarse voice: "This place is called Pandemonium."

Pandemonium, one of the three largest cities on the planet of Pectron. However, the locals knew it by a better name.

'The Hellhole.' Lucius recalled. 

After three or so days of constant running, Lucius and Olivia finally arrived at this place. Truth be told, Lucius did not want to come here. He had no fond memories to recall of this place. 

It was a chaotic place, filled with death and slaughter!

Unfortunately, Lucius had no other choice but to come here.

'Uh...There is no helping it now. Plans cannot keep up with changes.' Lucius sighed within his mind.

Taking the lead, he walked towards the black-iron gates blocking his path into this hellhole.

『Stop right there!』 just as Lucius' hand was about to touch the gate, a rough sounding voice suddenly sounded out.

Lucius immediately raised his head and looked towards the source of the voice. His indifferent eyes landed on a brawny figure.

A tall, muscular figure with a lizard-head, covered in leather armor stepped forward. The armor, couldn't hide his extremely muscular body and the green scales that covered his body. At the side of his hip, he wore a weapon sheath.

This was a Lacer. They were a Grade 4 species that were commonly found within the Universe. Lacers were considered to be the lesser evolved among the Dracons, a descendent of the Dragons.

"Ah!" Olivia let out a small scream. This was her first time seeing a non-human creature that could talk. Seeing a Lacer, she was naturally surprised.

『I haven't seen both of you here before. Speak, where do you come from!』 the Lacerman's long tongue uncoiled as he spoke.

Of course, Lucius understood none of that. Neither did he care. Flashing a light smile towards the Lacerman, Lucius snapped his fingers.

At his signal, five shadowy figures suddenly appeared at the top of the metal gates. They drew their weapons in unison and jumped down onto the Lacerman, stabbing forth with their weapons. 

『AH?! You dare!!』 The Lacerman was caught off-guard, but let out a loud bellow. He quickly rolled forward, narrowly dodging the sneak attack from the five shadowy figures.

『Prepare to face the fury of the Great Ba..』 just as he was about to draw his weapon, a pair of slender arms suddenly stretched forth and grabbed him by his throat. 

"Shut up." Lucius blandly spoke. He quickly stabbed his hands into its chest and tore out its heart.

The Lacerman's pupils fiercely expanded in shock. He tried to scream for help. His throat moved, but no sound leaked out his mouth. He had already died.

Lucius removed his hands, and the Lacerman's body dropped to the ground. It was like a puppet whose strings had been cut.

"Open the gates." Lucius ordered the Forgotten, who acted as the distraction. They soundlessly moved and opened the gates, letting in Lucius, followed by Olivia.

Olivia stared at the corpse of the lizard-head creature and asked with worry.

"Is it alright to simply kill him? Wouldn't we get into trouble for acting so lawless and killing the gatekeeper?" 

"It'll be fine. Pandemonium is such a place." Lucius spoke unconcernedly. He then stared ahead and continued: "Here, as long as you possess sufficient strength, you can do anything. Murder, pillage, r**e, nothing is off-limits." 

Olivia's face paled and her body stiffened. Her mouth opened and closed unconsciously a few times. However, after seeing Lucius walk forward seemingly without any worries, she gradually calmed down and followed behind him.

'I'm sure Lucius had his reasons for choosing such a place. As long as I follow his plans, there won't be much trouble.' she decided to put her trust in him.

Of course, Lucius was unaware of her thoughts. After shooting a glance at the cold corpse on the ground, he decided to leave it alone. Having eaten those Bertarians he was feeling very full.

'Anymore and I wouldn't be able to digest it.' Lucius thought. 

Indigestion wasn't his only problem, Lucius could also not devour the corpse in public. 

'If my identity as a Void Eater is found out, I will be hunted by everyone. [Good], [Evil], [Neutral], none of these factions would tolerate my existence.'

Void Eaters are considered to be the enemy of all life. Although not a lot of people knew about the Void Eaters and their existence was only known to a select few, Lucius wasn't willing to take that risk.

'To increase my strength is my current priority. I cannot waste my running around, playing hide-and-seek with the various factions.' 

Throwing this matter to the back of his head, Lucius stepped past the corpse and walked into the city. He was followed by Olivia and the five Forgotten, who had survived after the battle with the Bertarians. 

Lucius could currently not use his racial abilities, due to the backlash of using [State of Devour]. This resulted in him not being able to store these Forgotten warriors into the Void. As such, he had no choice but to let them tag behind him.

Having entered the city, one would find it to be very quiet and desolate.

The surroundings were filled with tall, empty stone and wooden shacks, with not a single person in sight. It seemed to be an abandoned town, rather than one of the three largest cities on this planet.

Only the sound of their footsteps striking the stone-covered path could be heard, resounding through the air.

Of course, this emptiness was but a misconception. 

'12....16....21. There are 21 pairs of eyes, watching us right now.' with his experience Lucius could accurately sense the gazes directed towards him.

Some of the gazes were filled with hostility, while others were filled with desire. However, common among all the gazes were....wariness and curiosity. 

'Hyenas. How pathetic.' Lucius coldly snorted. 

Hyenas. These were the lowest of the low, amongst the inhabitants in the Pandemonium. They preyed on the weak while fearing the strong. 

True to their name, these people wouldn't actively go for the kill. Rather, they would patiently lay in wait and evaluate their preys, mostly the newcomers to the city.

If the newcomer showed any weakness, they would swoop in like vultures. However, if the newcomer was strong, they would stalk him until a weakness appeared, before moving to act.

Being intensely stared upon by dozens of pairs of eyes, Olivia was feeling very uncomfortable. This was a new and unfamiliar experience for her and unlike Lucius, she wasn't used to this.

'There is no one here, but why do I feel like I'm being watched?' she thought to herself. unknowing of the hyenas watching her.

At this point, Lucius was also starting to feel annoyed. He suddenly stopped walking and looked in the direction of those gazes. And then...

[Annihilation Intent]

He released his aura, complete with his unrestrained killing intent. A tangible, black mist materialized around him, giving him a diabolical look.

He then met those gazes directly in their eyes and seemingly asked.

'Wanna die?'