Lord of Annihilation

'Identity? He? What's wrong, teacher?!!'

Subject to Ka'lor'ah's warning which came out of the blue, Olivia was exceedingly confused. She immediately questioned back, but alas, received no answer.

'Hello? Teacher? Ka'lor'ah? Do you hear me?' Without giving up, Olivia continued to call Ka'lor'ah with her thoughts. 

Alas, it was futile. Dozens of seconds passed and no reply was received. Ka'lor'ah's comforting presence had seemingly vanished from within her mind.

Panic appeared within Olivia's eyes as she reached into her chest pocket with her hands to recover the golden crystal. However, just as her fingers were about to touch the crystal, Olivia's movements paused.

'Don't take me out of your clothes and never show or speak about me to anyone else!'

Ka'lor'ah's warning echoed within her mind. Olivia quickly sobered up and carefully recalled Ka'lor'ah's instructions.

'The scream was rather sudden, but there were clear signs of panic and fear within her tone. Strange, I've never heard Ka'lor'ah sound fearful of anything.'

'He? Who's he? Is it a person? A human? No wait, her tone was respectful when she referred to him? Could it be a He, as in a divine entity?'

With the arrival of something as miraculous and fantastical as soul power, Olivia no longer confuted the existence of a God or a divine level being. 

For all she knew, someone like that could surely exist.

'Why did she sound terrified then? And why warn Lucius?'

'More importantly, what did she mean by 'hide your identity'?' 

The more she thought, the more questions formed within Olivia's mind. She had always known that Ka'lor'ah and Lucius were sharing a secret that was unknown to her.

However, recent events had made her reconsider the importance of the secret.

'What is happening? Is Lucius in danger?' Olivia instinctually worried. 

"Hey, are you okay? You kinda stopped moving and your face looks incredibly pale." Alex's deep voice resounded near her ears.

Focus returned to Olivia's eyes and she found Alex looking at her with a worried expression. Realizing that she had stopped walking due to being immersed in her thoughts, Olivia hurriedly replied.

"I'm fine. I just lost control of my soul power for a moment there. It's fine now." Olivia hurriedly made an excuse to explain her strangeness.

Ka'lor'ah's warnings still echoed within her mind. The fear that she felt in her voice and the fact that Ka'lor'ah had explicitly warned her to be careful, made Olivia reconsider her current threat level.

She did not know what was happening, but she nonetheless understood that it was extremely dangerous.

'I need to stay low-key until Lucius arrives.' 

Reaching this conclusion, Olivia calmed her mind.

"You know if you want to you can take a break. We can postpone the discussion to later." Alex considerately offered.

Showing a polite smile, Olivia shook her head and replied.

"I'm really fine. We can continue." 

Collecting information was a priority right now. Olivia could not afford to lose any time by taking a break.

'I need information. With information, I can make proper preparations for whatever this danger might be, making it safer for Lucius.' 

"Okay, if you say so." Replying with a stiff smile, Alex started to lead Olivia once again.

The two continued to silently walk till they reached an elevator. As seen on the outside, the Command Building was a spire-shaped structure with many floors.

"My office is on the 72nd floor. We will meet with the other leader in there." Alex explained, before getting onto the elevator.

Olivia nodded at his explanation and followed him.

After the two boarded the elevator, the textured glass doors of the vessel encapsulated them and the machine started to ascend.

Light elevator music played within the box, easing the atmosphere between the two.

Noticing Alex's uncomfortable demeanor, Olivia mentally sighed and spoke first.

"Who's the black-haired lady who fought me?"

Hearing that question, Alex involuntarily showed a smile before replying.

"That's my wife, Anya Balliol."

Olivia was genuinely surprised at his answer and asked. "You got married?"

"Eight months ago," Alex replied.

"Congratulations. I wish I could've been there." Olivia honestly replied.

Although recent events had soured their relationship making it a bit cold, Alex was nevertheless, a good friend of hers in the past. Hearing this news made her feel happy for him.

Sensing the honesty in Olivia's voice, Alex felt relieved and happy. 

"It was a simple ceremony. The current situation doesn't really allow for a grand event." Alex's tone then turned melancholic as he continued, "I only wish that my father could've been there to see it."

Feeling this to be a sensitive topic, Olivia did not tactlessly press forward with a question. Rather, it made her recall her father, causing her to worry about him.

"Oh right, I almost forgot!" Alex slapped his head, as he quickly turned to face Olivia, "Your father is very safe. After the events in Deatov and Lucius' spectacular performance, the Alliance looked into his family and found your father."

"He was then evacuated to safety and is currently under the care and protection of the Roseberg family. I'll take you to meet him after we are done with the discussions."

Alex's calm voice melted the worry within Olivia's mind. An extremely happy expression appeared on Olivia's face as she exclaimed.

"Really?! That's wonderful! Is he in good health?"

"Yep, I meet with him whenever I can. After all, he's the foster father of the Hero of Deatov and the father of a friend. He always asks about you and Lucius, you know." 

Olivia's joy suddenly dampened and guilt appeared within her expression. Even with her strong mindset, she couldn't help but recall Reyna's words.

'A traitor who abandoned her family.'

Although Reyna's words were unjustly sharp and accusative, there was a grain of truth in them. No matter the cause, Olivia had still left her only father in search of power.

However pure her motives were, her actions were still wrong and considered unfilial.

Alex keenly noted Olivia's mood change and understood the reason behind it. Wearing a calm smile on his face, he started to speak.

"If you're worried about what he thinks about you guys leaving, don't be. He already spoke to me about it."

Alex's eyes wandered as he recalled his conversation with Olivia's father.

…

"My son and daughter, are they safe?" Bennet, Olivia's father asked a younger, immature-looking Alex.

Faced with the question, Alex's eyes wandered as he looked unsure on how to reply. Noticing his behavior, Bennet showed him a warm smile and spoke.

"It's okay. I can handle it, you know. I'm not senile, yet." He joked.

Gathering courage, Alex replied.

"A few days after the battle at Deatov, Lucius and Olivia boarded a ship and left. We aren't sure where they went, as their departure was quite sudden and the ship had its tracker turned off. Due to the current situation, we are unable to send forces after them."

"I see." Bennet nodded his head. 

He then closed his eyes and leaned back on his chair. A few seconds passed, before a smile formed on Bennet's face.

"Tch, tch, to run away together and not even spare a thought for their father, how cruel. Seems like I've been too lax on them." Bennet quipped. 

His face carried a satisfied expression and his whole demeanor looked peaceful. The feeling of a man finally putting down a boulder and lying down on the ground in relief, radiated off of his figure.

Alex however seemed confused at his reaction and asked.

"I'm sorry?"

"Don't be. I couldn't ask for a better partner for my daughter. They are perfect for each other. Knowing that she's with Lucius, makes me content."

"Olivia is a bit reckless and hot-headed. However, Lucius makes up for that by being calm and rational. As long as the two of them are together, no matter where they are, they will be fine." Bennet explained.

"Wait a minute, aren't they siblings?" Confused for a rather different reason, Alex questioned.

"Not at all. Lucius was an orphan whom I found in the town during a festival on my planet. After having no luck with finding his parents, I adopted him. However, he is no different to my son."

A serious expression then appeared on Bennet's face as he suddenly sat upright. Clenching his fist, he spoke with a determined tone.

"And so what if they were real siblings anyway? As long as they love and care for each other, there's totally no issue there!" 

Nodding his head as if to say, 'yes, yes', Bennet continued. "Love has no boundaries!"

"Plus, this is the 23rd century! There are no issues with legalities either!" 

"But still, they should've visited this poor father at least once. I must remember to scold them when they return! Humph!" Bennet snorted.

Meanwhile, Alex, the sole witness to this passion-filled speech, had a terrified expression.

'What the hell is this old man saying?' 

Alex's eyes landed on Bennet's facial expression and his mind concluded.

'Yep, this is a crazy person! No wonder, Lucius was like that!'

And with the end of that strange conversation, Alex hurriedly made an excuse and quickly ran out of there.

…

Recalling that conversation, Alex still got goosebumps over his arms. He then looked at Olivia who had a rather lost expression on her face and remembered her latest threat from a few minutes ago.

'Yep, I was right. The entire family is crazy!' 

Shaking his head to rid himself of such useless thoughts, he continued.

"Trust me. You will know when you meet him." Alex consoled Olivia, who felt calmer after his assurance.

Silence descended once more and this time, it was Alex who started the conversation.

"How is Lucius by the way? Is he not coming?"

"He's fine. He will be arriving soon, I hope." Olivia replied.

"What level is he in? Is he stronger than you?" A faint battle intent exuded from Alex's body as a glimmer of excitement shone within his eyes.

His mind still remembered the childish challenge that he had made back then. After all these years, Alex felt that he had improved enough, where Lucius was no longer that untouchable existence.

'He's bound to be stronger, but I can at least fight him, right?' he thought to himself.

Olivia's answer, however, squashed that naïve thought of his.

"Peak-Level Stage 2, in the verge of Stage 3. Even a dozen me's will not be able to touch his shadow." 

Having personally fought against Peak-Level Stage 2s and having come in contact with Stage 3 existences, Olivia could more or less judge Lucius' strength. 

More than that, she also had her teacher's words as proof.

"Oh, I see." Alex radiated tangible disappointment.

"Anyways, how long is this elevator ride? I feel like we've been inside it forever." Olivia suddenly asked.

Confused, Alex replied.

"Hmm? It's not that long. Only a minute has passed." 

Ding!

As if on cue, the elevator chimed and the duo arrived on the 72nd floor. 

Stepping out into the long corridor, the duo, with Alex in the lead walked with echoing footsteps before arriving in front of a door.

Pushing the door open, Alex walked in first before speaking with surprise.

"Oh, you're already here. Perfect, this saves us a lot of time."

"I got here immediately after you sent me the message." A foreign voice replied to the question. 

The voice carried a calm disposition and was that of a woman. After Alex stepped in, Olivia followed his figure and entered the room, landing her eyes on the figure of the woman.

A pale, frail body sitting atop a wheelchair with argent hair and eyes. Her beautiful face sported a mysterious smile as she stared at Olivia's figure.

"It's wonderful to finally meet you, Miss Olivia Mayer. I've heard so much about you and have waited for a long time for this meeting." She pleasantly spoke.

Looking at her, however, Olivia felt a familiar feeling assault her mind. A feeling that made her eyes sharpen, her muscles tense, and her palms sweaty.

It was a feeling that came from the depths of her very soul. 

A feeling which her Arbiter side, especially screamed in warning against.

'Danger!'

'This woman is exceptionally dangerous!!!'

"I'm Illya Rosebery. Pleasured to meet you."

Illya smiled at Olivia and stretched her hand forward for a handshake.

----------

In a foreign planet, standing outside the tall walls of an encampment, Lucius looked at the hurrying humans atop the walls and calmly spoke.

"These are the traitorous humans, huh? They seem to have built a temple?"

He silently watched as the dozens of humans took aim with their weapons pointing towards him and mumbled.

"No such thing happened in my previous life. What changed?"

The aiming was complete and the humans fired their weapons. Looking at the flashes of multi-colored light approach him, Lucius finally concluded.

"No point over thinking about it. I'll know when I take them down."

His figure then disappeared from his previous position, re-appearing tens of meters in the sky.