Lord of Annihilation

Seeing the stone-faced youth unhesitantly attack him another time, the black-robed figure felt incredible shock.

'Is he mad? Does he not know how sensitive and dangerous the ascension into Stage 3 is?' 

Unlike the previous Stage, Stage 3 represented a divide between the weak and the strong. It was only at this Stage, can one traverse the Universe freely and safely.

In the outer regions of the Universe, they would be revered as Gods, possessing unmatched strength.

In the middle regions, which were also the largest and most populated section of the Universe, they would be considered normal with the true powerhouses being the Stage 4 and Stage 5 beings.

As for the inner-regions?

Let's just say that unless one was at the top of Stage 4 or at least Stage 5 in strength, one shouldn't even think about entering the inner regions. 

Just the sheer intensity and concentration of the Rules would absolutely tear anything and anyone who dared to enter without knowing any better.

It was within this section that the ancient monsters of the Universe lived. Those legendary Stage 6 and Stage 7 existences, whose simple breaths could instantly kill multiple Peak-Level Stage 5 existences.

Getting back to point. 

In a way, Stage 3 could be considered as the demarcating line between a child and an adult. It was at this point where each individual would become truly self-dependent, being able to face the larger world on their own.

Such being the case, when undergoing the Stage 3 ascension, be they a being from the lowliest of planets or from the strongest of clans and races, it had to be done in complete safety, recommended with the assistance of another Stage 3 or stronger being. 

One could not afford to move or be distracted when their soul power was undergoing a metamorphosis, as it required one to manually and precisely control it during the period.

During the process, their soul power had to be compressed to the maximum extent possible, before filtering and purifying it by using the surrounding spiritual energy. 

More precisely, using the Rules that filled the surrounding spiritual energy as the filter.

The slightest mistake or mishandling during this process would trigger a backlash from the Rules, resulting in either an explosion or implosion. Either way, the result was the same…death!

The black-robed figure clearly knew this, since he himself had undergone the process in the past. Seeing Lucius recklessly attack him compounded the shock within his mind.

To give a metaphor, it was like seeing a pregnant woman undergoing childbirth fight a lion, a bear, and a walrus at the same time while bungee jumping blindfolded. (AN: I have no idea why I wrote this line…)

It was pure madness and frankly, quite nonsensical.

Still, the black-robed figure hardly had any time to complain, as Lucius attacks continuously assaulted him. Each swing of the scythe was cleverly and viciously placed, forcing the black-robed figure to continuously step back.

Why did he not fight back, you ask? Why not use his soul power to disperse the slashes of energy?

Well, the answer was quite simple. Doing so was no different from committing suicide.

For you see, not only was the soul power of the being undergoing ascendance incredibly volatile and unstable but it was also filled with traces of Rules, due to the filtering process. 

And anything that contained Rules within them automatically entered Stage 4 above realms.

For a Stage 3 being to go against a Stage 4 being, even if that said being was Lucius himself, the result would be…death!

If Stage 3 beings were called 'normal adults', then Stage 4 beings were called 'superhumans'. 

The divide was the same as between reality and fantasy.

Even though the black-robed figure was a being with Peak-Level Stage 3 strength, he was nowhere near the realm of Stage 4. Daring to touch Lucius' evolving soul power right now, would mean triggering a backlash from the Universe, effectively killing him and destroying this part of the Universe. 

(AN: Recall that the concentration of soul power within Mankind's territories is relatively low. It was incapable of handlings powers above the Stage 3 realm. Any stronger, then the upper limit would be crossed triggering collapse and self-destruction)

Due to these various factors and restrictions, the black-robed being could do nothing but pathetically dodge and retreat facing his opponent's maddened attacks.

'Ah dammit! I'll just keep evading and wait for this moron to mess up and explode. There's no way he can survive the ascension!' the black-robed figure decided.

Alas, contrary to his thoughts, Lucius was doing just fine. His control over his soul power, in every meaning of the word, was absolutely 'perfect'. 

Although Lucius had to gather, compress, filter, and attack using his soul power at the same time, he was capable of doing so provided his vast experience and understanding of the nature of soul power and that of the Rules.

While executing the three techniques from [Dance of the Death God], Lucius used the attacks to temper and purify his soul power, while passing it through the Rule filter.

Slowly but surely, his solid Peak-Level Stage 2 soul power was being refined into gaseous Low-Level Stage 3 soul power. Lucius' aura was also changing, growing stronger, sharper, and threateningly colder.

The battle continued as the minutes ticked by. The duo had long left the Academy grounds appearing in some desolate location far away. 

None of the humans dared to trail them as each of their souls instinctively warned them of the dangers of approaching close. Even Olivia, as worried as she was for Lucius did not dare follow them, in thoughts of accidently harming him by getting too close.

By this point, the black-robed figure long since went past the realm of shock and had entered stupefaction and disbelief.

Every ounce of rationality within his mind told him that the actions of the youth in front of him were not possible. It was impossible and utter nonsense!

Yet, such an event was happening right before him! 

Seeing Lucius' aura approach the boundaries of Stage 3, the disbelief within the black-robed figures, heart exploded.

'What the fu*k is he?! How is such an event possible?!' He cried within his mind.

Alas, that cry involuntarily distracted the black-robed figure allowing a [Shred] to land on his face. Empowered by Stage 3 [Annihilation Energy], the attack dealt considerable damage to the figure.

The hood of the black-robed figure was blown away and a deep cut appeared on his face. Shockingly, beneath the hood was a human face!

Even more shockingly, the human face possessed flamboyant red hair and crimson eyes. His features were remarkably close to that of Alex's, albeit much more mature!

While some who were watching this battle through remote means were greatly disturbed by this reveal, Lucius couldn't care less.

The successful attack and surprise reveal, stirred no reaction within his heart, as he continued to precisely and mechanically attack his opponent.

The black-robed figure, however, had finally had enough. That slash on his face was less of a direct attack and more of an insult on his pride.

'A ridiculous person such as you managed to land an attack on me!! Enough! I've had enough of this!'

'So what if my counterattack greatly injures or kills me? I would rather die than live for a single second longer with this dishonor!!' 

Arriving at that thought, the black-robed figure finally responded with an attack of his own. Soul power exploded from within his body, as he went all out with a Domain attack!

"Deploy Domain: Thousand Shadows!!"

Peak-Level Stage 3 soul power instantly flooded the surroundings, and the altering of the surroundings had begun. Everywhere within the Domain started to darken, as numerous eyes suddenly appeared and transfixed their eyes on Lucius.

Lucius suddenly felt the difficulty of his ascension sky-rocket as the Rules in his surrounding started to twist and alter. His unhindered progress finally suffered an obstacle.

Recognizing this fact, Lucius immediately retreated. He had to focus more of his attention on his ascension and could not spare any more energy to attack.

"Oh, now you decide to run!! Let's see if you can run from this!" the black-robed figure thundered.

He waved his hands and three shadows appeared, surrounding Lucius. Those three pitch-black shadows squirmed before morphing into three figures. 

Those figures were none other than Jaros (Crying Serpent), Virim (Scrofanian), and Lucius himself!

All three radiated Stage 3 aura and immediately started to attack Lucius.

The real Lucius having his eyes closed, seemed to be absolutely oblivious to his surroundings. His face was eternally calm as usual, as he showed little to no reaction to the approaching attacks.

The attacks of the fake Lucius and Jaros were the first to arrive. The scythe hacked diagonally towards the real Lucius' body, while the trident appeared to pierce the head.

Both the attacks neared dangerously close to Lucius, before…phasing through him.

That's right, the attacks phased through Lucius' body!

Unperturbed by this shocking result, the real Lucius continued to retreat with his eyes closed while refining his soul power. Each second brought him closer to the Stage 3 realm, as he put his entire effort into ascending.

However, there was still a being that was not as calm and unperturbed as Lucius. Said being was the black-robed figure.

'HOW?! How many secrets does his guy have?!' he screamed within his mind.

The shock turned to further fuel his anger, as more and more shadows continued to appear around Lucius. There were two more fake Lucius, three more Jaros, and one more Virim.

Apart from the Stage 3 existences, hundreds of Stage 2 existences appeared to surround and attack Lucius. 

However, the result was still the same. Whenever the attack closed in on Lucius, the latter seemed to show no reaction following which the attacks seemed to phase through him.

'I will not accept this!' the black-robed figure declared and started to personally join the siege.

He used spells and techniques of his own, which finally elicited a reaction from Lucius. Furrowing his brows, a serious expression appeared on his face as Lucius began to move more visibly and frequently. His eyes, however, remained closed.

"I'll see how long you are able to keep this up!" Declaring such, the black-robed figure started to intensify his attacks.

Tears started to appear in the surrounding space, as the degree of attacks approached the upper limit of what this section of the Universe was able to handle. 

However, the black-robed figure did not seem to care about this change, as he kept up with his attacks. As a result of this behavior, the cracks and tears in space started to intensify.

Lucius' expression became incomparably serious and his eyes constantly trembled. Finally, wounds started to appear on his body.

'Finally! It's time to end you once and for all!' Rejoicing with unbounded joy, the black-robed man prepared to cast his strongest spell when a voice suddenly interrupted him.

"FATHER!!" Alex's figure appeared within the black space and leapt towards the black-robed figure.

Now, a little explanation on how Alex was here.

Domains had the restriction of not allowing their inhabitants to exit. However, those on the outside could still enter within. This allowed Alex to enter without any problems.

As for the second reason regarding the insurmountable pressure, the black-robed figure had, in fact, gathered nearly all of the pressure and focused it solely on Lucius' body. This greatly weakened the pressure in all other regions of the Domain, allowing Alex to move within, albeit with great difficulty.

Back to the story.

Seeing this unknown weakling leap towards him, the black-robed figure became annoyed. As a result of Alex's intrusion, his spell had been delayed by a few seconds.

"Tch, annoying bug. Just Die!" the black-robed figure casually slapped Alex's body, sending him into a spatial tear!

"NOO--!" Alex's scream was abruptly cut short as the spatial rift swallowed his body whole. 

Along with his screams, he disappeared into endless perpetual darkness, his fate unknown.

Having taken care of the interruption, the black-robed figure turned to face his actual opponent, only to find Lucius staring at this with open eyes.

The chaotic soul power surrounding him had disappeared, as Lucius' figure radiated the strength of a true Stage 3 being.

Indifferently staring at the black-robed figure, Lucius ignored the attacks coming towards him and widened his arms. Extending them fully, he then abruptly brought them together completing a resounding clap.

"Fragment of the World of Death."

"Deploy Domain: Corpse Mountain Range." 

Soul power exploded forth from his body, and the Peak-Level Domain of the black-robed figure was instantly shattered.

Lucius' soul power was weaker than that of his opponent, but the Rules making up his Domain were on a completely different level.

----------

The darkness enveloping the 10km radius was soon dispelled, returning the view of the barren plain upon which the duo had battled.

The black-robed being found himself standing on the ground a few meters away from Lucius, his surroundings were completely still and silence filled the air.

His mind had yet to process the destruction of his Domain as he instinctively found himself moving to attack his enemy. Alas, he quickly realized a peculiar fact.

He couldn't move his body.

No matter how hard he tried the black-robed being found his body to be absolutely still.

'What's happening?! Where's my Domain?!!' he then tried to scream, only to realize the second peculiarity.

There was no sound. 

He couldn't hear the slightest of sounds. Not the sound of his heartbeat, that of the leaves rustling, nor even of the birds flying outside of the Domain. 

Absolute silence filled the Domain.

This led the black-robed figure to discover the third peculiarity. There was no wind.

Not even the slightest touch of the gentle breeze could be felt. Rather, the entire space seemed to be void of any air.

An ominous aura rose within the black-robed figure's heart and fear started to grip him. Just as he was about to start his struggle, he realized something wet near his feet.

Casting his eyes downwards, he saw a crimson-colored substance ooze out of the ground. This crimson-colored liquid appeared throughout the entirety of the Domain, oozing out of the ground and rising till it reached a height of 5-6 inches from the ground.

'Is that…blood? Is the ground bleeding?' A startling thought appeared within the black-robed figure's mind, which was soon proven to be true when the scent of the substance hit his nose.

It was the icky, pungent, unmistakable odor of blood.

'Wait, how can I smell this scent if there is no air within this space?' The question appeared within his mind but was immediately forgotten when his eyes noticed the next change within the Domain.

It started with the youth before him floating into the air.

His body rose into the air by a few inches and a corpse of a human appeared beneath his feet. It appeared as though the youth in front of him was standing atop this corpse.

However, the eyes of the black-robed figure soon shrunk from shock as his mind blanked from fear.

The youth continued to rise into the air as hundreds upon hundreds of corpses appeared beneath his feet. This number continued to increase with each passing second, as a thousand, ten thousand, hundred thousand bodies started to simultaneously appear, filling the space and forming a basis for a mountain range!

Starting with the humans, the corpses then started to vary as Terrans, Lacerman, Scrofanians, Oncanians, Leos, and much more started to appear in the thousands.

The black-robed figure could hardly react as he saw the corpses of humongous, behemoths of a creature, whose races were unknown appear and add to the rising pile of corpses.

At this point, the pile of corpses had formed a mountain range extending through the entirety of the Domain. It seemed to want to grow wider but was restricted within the 10km walls of the Domain.

With space available with regards to the height, the mountain of corpses started to grow taller. 

Hundreds of millions of corpses had already appeared, but the addition of new ones did not seem to stop. Soon, the appearance of legendary creatures such as the Dragon, Cerberus, and Titans appeared in the form of corpses.

The mountain range quickly reached a height of 9km, nearing the 10km ceiling of the Domain, before slowing down. The final addition of hundreds of corpses belonging to some unknown race appeared before the mountain finished growing.

The eyes of the black-robed figure were glued to the image of the youth seated at the peak of the tallest corpse mountain within the range.

His bored-looking figure was seated on a throne of corpses, with his legs folded, one atop the other, his left hand on the throne, and his right hand resting below his chin.

An immaterial crown adorned his head, as he gazed down upon the black-robed figure with boredom and indifference in his eyes.

Feeling those eyes on him, the black figure felt the gaze of Death upon him. 

His body, his thoughts, and even his soul became absolutely silent and still, as he awaited judgment.

Lucius lightly opened his mouth, before softly uttering.

"Die." 

The very next instant, the black-robed figure dropped to the ground as a result of having his heart stopped. His unmoving body stayed still on the ground for a few moments, before rising into the air and adding itself into the mountain of corpses.

Lucius then raised his head and looked towards the sky. His eyes were empty as he stared at the monochromatic sky.

The final peculiarity which the black-robed figure had failed to notice was the absence of colors. As the mountain of corpses started to form, color had disappeared from this world.

The entirety of Lucius' Domain was in monochrome, black and grey being the only colors. The only being that possessed any color was Lucius, himself.

Seated at the peak of this monochromatic world was its sole ruler and emperor. 

The being that had known death throughout its life, before finally becoming Death itself.

Staring into the grey-colored sky, Lucius softly uttered.

"This time I will not fail." 

His bored-looking eyes sharpened as a peculiar light shone within. Killing intent oozed from his body, as the second part of his sentence resounded within his mind.

'Not even the Lords can stop me from reaching you!'