Lord of Annihilation

'?!!' Sensing the danger coming towards him, Lucius' instincts instantly kicked in. 

Raising his left arm, he managed to form a guard while angling his head to avoid contact. Deftly managing to evade certain danger, he then instinctively extended his right arm towards the assailant.

Lucius' hands formed a claw and his black-colored nails extended at its tip. His hands which could effortlessly pierce into the thick skin of a Stage 2 being, were intending to tear his assailant's heart out.

The mind, the body, and the soul, were the three most important parts of every living organism. 

The soul nourishes the body. And the body contains the soul. One's mind acted as the bridge that connected these two parts and forms the 'self'. This was a common expression used by the people of the Universe to explain the relationship between these three parts.

'The soul nourishes the body'. To understand this sentence was quite easy. 

One's power was derived from their soul, the higher the Stage of their soul, the more powerful a person is. The path to the peak lies in the cultivation and advancement of one's soul.

However, the soul by itself isn't sufficient.

'And the body contains the soul' To explain briefly, it meant that a weak body cannot house a strong soul. Incidentally, this is where the system of Grades of various life forms came into play. 

The higher the Stage of one's soul, the greater the strength possessed by them. 

In other words, to contain this enormous amount of power an equally strong body was required. As the composition of one's body was decided at birth, a Grade was given to that specific life form to classify the talent of that race.

Grade 1 represented the lowest of the low. These beings could never awaken their souls and therefore never grow in strength. Bacteria and various micro-organisms belonged to this grade.

Grade 2 beings were marginally better and could at least awaken their souls. However, the limit of most Grade 2 beings was Mid-Level Stage 1, with a selected few (mutation and/or other factors) reaching Peak-Level Stage 1. Many unintelligent wild beasts belonged to this category.

Grade 3 and Grade 4 consisted of the majority of the Universe's races.

Most Grade 3 races were humanoid in figure and possessed the talent to rise to Peak-Level Stage 2, after awakening. A few exceptionally talented beings possess the ability to reach Low-Level Stage 3. Examples were Lacers and Humans (Mankind).

Grade 4 is a bit different from the three preceding grades.

Life forms belonging to this grade are born with Stage 1 soul cultivation and usually possess an inherent trait or affinity. They possess the talent to easily reach Stage 3, with a select few reaching Peak-Level Stage 3. Achieving Stage 4 is simply impossible. An example was the Bertarians, with their inherent Light and Astral affinity.

Grade 5 and above are special races that will be explained later.

The highest known grade is Grade 7 with the Heavenly Sovereigns and Abyssal Rulers. These were Primordial races that have survived across many eras and also one of the only races with the Potential to reach Stage 7.

Grade 8 to Grade 10 are the stuff of legends. No records documenting the existence of these races exist. As for why the Grades existed, nobody really knew.

Incidentally, the reason Lucius was able to reach Stage 7 in his previous life was because of a certain fortuitous that had allowed him to change his race (not to Void Eater). As for the Grade of the Void Eater, it is currently unknown.

Returning to the story.

The reason why Lucius always aimed to destroy the heart of his opponent was to simply destroy a core-component of the body. Due to the healing effects of soul power, aiming for any other part is simply a waste of effort, as they would rapidly heal with sufficient soul power. Destroying the heart, usually meant an instakill.

The heart was ubiquitous amongst all races and was a universal weakness. Of course, there also existed the mind which housed the consciousness that was equally important. However, the 'mind' of various races differed in their location. The heart however was more-or-less in the same position. 

Less than a second had passed since Lucius had entered the door and his subsequent reaction. 

His instincts as a [Killer] have honed with battle ability to a degree where he is able to unconsciously react to sneak attacks. However, this also meant that Lucius would always retaliate with the intent to kill.

Just as his elongated black nails pierced into the chest of his assailant, Lucius finally laid his eyes on his assailant. 

It was a slim, old man with bluish-grey hair.

A look of shock appeared within Lucius' eyes, following which he barely managed to restrain his attack. His fingers had already pierced into the old man's chest by a few centimeters, barely touching the old man's pumping heart. Fortunately, Lucius managed to stop his attack.

'That was close.' letting go of the metal bat-like thing that the old man had tried to attack him with, Lucius then calmly retracted his right hand.

The old man's body was frozen stiffly and his eyes stared at Lucius dumbfounded. The five newly formed holes on his chest leaked fresh blood which slowly started to form a puddle on the floor.

Olivia, who had entered the shop behind Lucius, also paused her steps stiffly and looked at the scene with astonishment and incomprehension. 

"Lucius! Are you alright?!" snapping out of her daze, she immediately looked towards Lucius, searching for any injuries.

"I'm fine. Rather this old man's in danger." Lucius waved her off. He then laid his hand on the old man's wound and pumped his soul power into his body, healing it.

『You..you! 』 the old man tried to scream, but his mouth was forcibly clasped by Lucius. 

Lucius then used his hand and pointed towards his ears and Olivia. Opening his mouth he vocalized some broken words: 『Ba..bel F..ish 』

The old man's eyes widened in realization. He then nodded his head showing that he had understood Lucius' words. Lucius then removed his hands, following which the old man rapidly gasped for air.

He raised his head and stared towards Lucius with wariness and fear, before walking towards the counter and entering a doorway.

Meanwhile, Lucius stood quietly with a nonchalant demeanor. While he did not understand why the old man had suddenly attacked him, he had decided to directly ask the old man.

Olivia on the other hand had a curious expression on her face, as she surveyed the interior of the shop.

The entry door led into a moderately-sized room with little-to-no decorations present in it. Wooden shelves adorned the walls, which held a variety of items ranging from books, provisions, weapons, armors, etc.

A half-glass, half-wooden counter separated the shop space and the counter space. Behind the counter was a small ebony-colored door which the old man had entered, seemingly leading to the inner-areas of the shop.

A few minutes pass before the old man appeared once again. His arms held onto two glass-jars filled with a translucent yellowish liquid. Swimming inside this liquid was the Babel Fish. The old man placed the jars atop the counter and gestured towards Lucius. 

Stepping forward, Lucius opened one of the jars and fished out the struggling creature. Bringing it near his head, he then pushed it into his right ear. A sharp burst of pain flooded his brain, followed by an intense sense of dizziness. 

However, he quickly suppressed these feelings and adjusted himself. He then turned around and gestured towards Olivia. 

The violet-eyed beauty stepped forward with hesitation written on her face. Looking at the struggling worm-like creature, a deep sense of disgust and repulsion filled her heart. Pushing down these feelings, she then mimicked Lucius' actions.

"AH!!!!" However, the pain caught her unprepared. Olivia's body convulsed and her knees weakened causing her to collapse onto the floor. Lucius, who expected his to happen, simply ignored her.

"Will your friend be alright?" the old man hesitantly asked. Olivia's body trembled as if she was electrocuted. Of course, the old man knew that this was an effect o using the Babel fish for the first time.

Looking at the 'expressionless beauty' standing in front of him with indifferent eyes, the old man thought: 'What kind of mental resilience is required to forcibly withstand that pain? This is a frightening person!'

"She'll be fine." Lucius shrugged at his question.

'Finally! I can communicate without any problems.' Lucius inwardly thought.

"May I ask what business the lady might have with this old man?" the old man asked with a bow.

At his question, Lucius' brows faintly furrowed. With a flat tone, he replied: "I'm not a lady."

This misunderstanding couldn't be helped. Lucius' face was handsome to the point of being considered beautiful. This coupled with his recently overgrown hair, made him look like a cold, elegant beauty.

"Ah! I apologize for mistaking sir!" the old man realized his mistake and apologized. Looking towards Lucius, he once again asked: "Can I ask, what business sir might have with this humble old man?"

"Indeed. Firstly, why did you attack me?" Lucius blandly asked. An unmistakable murderous intent leaked from his body.

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AN: I'm slightly disappointed that no one pointed out the [Babel Fish] reference. *smh*

Anyways...

So long, and thanks for all the fish!