Lord of Annihilation

Seeing Lucius' lackluster reaction, Illya couldn't help but ask.

"Are you not surprised?"

"I am. My initial guess was wrong." Lucius admitted.

Curious, Illya asked. "Oh? Who was your initial guess then?"

"Some girl named Ina, though it's good that I was wrong. Saves me the trouble of looking for her."

"May I ask, why you guessed her?" Illya probed.

"You may not." Lucius denied.

Silence descended and the two looked at each other. Lucius had the same bored look, whilst Illya had trouble maintain her smile. The curves of her mouth had become stiff, while her eyes seemed to contain resentment.

Unable to bear the silence pressing down upon her, Illya restarted the conversation.

"Aren't you curious why I did those things? Why I established the cult? Pit humans against humans causing war and bloodshed?"

"Not at all. I already know the answer." Lucius gave a detached reply.

Faced with such responses, Illya felt her patience dwindle. The resentment and fury within her eyes started to compound, as her breathing started to turn heavy.

"You—do you not feel angry? Are you not angered by what I have done to the Mankind you fought so hard to protect?"

"I established the cult. I created the Saviors Branch. I intentionally withheld the method to rise into Stage 2 from the common populace. I made deals with the Formicians to empower them while weakening Mankind. I killed families, children, anyone who was disobedient to the cause!!"

"Say something! Be angry! Curse at me!!" Illya screamed, having lost her calm.

The smile on her beautiful face was replaced by a malicious expression. Her eyes no longer tried to hide the unclean emotions within, as she stared at Lucius.

The image of the mysterious Pope or that of the Brilliant Strategist was nowhere to be seen. All that was before him was a woman driven by hatred and vengeance.

And the target of this hatred seemed to be Lucius.

"How do you know me?" For the first time, Lucius took the initiative to talk.

"I'm quite sure that before today we've never met before. Yet, that day aboard the spaceship when you used a proxy to try and kill me, you clearly knew my name."

"I ask once again, how do you know me?" Lucius asked.

Hearing that question, Illya seemed to look lost for a moment. Her body went slump and their eyes went blank. A low, derisive laugh leaked from her lips as she started to talk.

"Hahaha, you don't even know me… no wonder your reactions were so lackluster." 

Lucius did not reply and instead waited for her to continue. 

"Lucius, O' Lucius, how could you not know anything about me, when you've been my sole target for vengeance, all these years?!!"

Illya's eyes were painted with a shade of madness as her words started to become ugly.

"You took my world away from me!! It's only right that I take yours from you!!"

Shaking his head, Lucius shortly replied. "I still don't understand how this connects me with you."

"Connection?! You dare talk about the connection!!" Illya howled.

"You killed my brother, you monster!! You killed my selfless, loving, benevolent brother in cold blood!!"

Hearing that, Lucius showed a different reaction for the first time during this conversation.

It was a look of confusion.

Seeing the look of confusion appear on his face, Illya felt her anger inflame further, as she continued her maddened howl.

"Remember that day in the Pit! The day when you killed every single one of the people within in cold blood!! My brother was in the audience!!"

Turning her face to look at the ceiling of the marble chamber, a look of infatuation and ecstasy appeared on Illya's face, as her voice softened.

"O' brother, my sweet, kind brother. You sneaked out of the house without father's knowledge to go and watch those pigs squabble in the Pit. However, I, your beloved sister, caught you sneaking off."

"Confronted with my denials, you made a bargain with me; in exchange for letting you go to see that plebian sport and not tell father about it, you would make loads of love with your beloved sister when you return."

"It would've been perfect! I simply had to keep my mouth shut and father distracted, and when he returned, we would've engaged in another session of intense lovemaking."

It was here, that Illya's face soon dropped. She furiously turned to face Lucius and bellowed.

"BUT YOU-!! YOU RUINED IT ALL! YOU TOOK MY LOVING BROTHER AWAY FROM ME FOREVER!!" 

A bolt of silver light flashed from her side and appeared in front of Lucius. It was an attack from her Mid-Level Stage 2 soul.

Lucius hardly moved in reaction for he saw no meaning in doing so. The silver bolt was instantaneously destroyed when it came in contact with the [Annihilation Intent] surrounding him.

The gap between their respective levels of power wasn't something that could be overcome with simple passion and determination.

"I see…So that's where the visibility in my Cause appeared, allowing Him to find me." Lucius muttered with a low voice.

'Killing her brother in the Pit entwined her Cause with mine. When He made contact with her, He must've noticed the stray Cause and found me. I finally understand.' 

Raising his head, Lucius looked towards the deranged woman throwing attack after attack towards him, to no avail. 

Although his eyes seemed to be looking towards Illya, Lucius' gaze was fixed on something that was 'beyond' her.

"We can talk now." He plainly spoke. A tinge of respect was unknowingly contained within his sentence.

"WHAT ARE YOU TALKI---" Illya screech was suddenly interrupted. 

Her body stiffened and she found it paralyzed to move. A confused, which soon turned into a shocked expression appeared on her face.

"His Grace?! Why is an oracle coming right—" 

Illya's face and voice froze, before turning blank. Her head suddenly slumped, as her body lost its stiffness and loosened.

A few seconds of silence passed when Illya's head suddenly snapped up and stared at Lucius with a smile.

"Were your questions answered?" an old, sagely voice exited Illya's mouth.

The moment this sentence was uttered, Lucius felt an unimaginable pressure descend upon his body. His legs buckled under the pressure, and Lucius' body was forced to assume a kneeling position.

A fear which he had forgotten for some time appeared within his heart. It was a fear that was ingrained into every Stage 7 existence. A fear that constantly reminded each and every one of them, of the infallible beings that reigned above.

A Lord had descended!

"…yes," Lucius answered with difficulty.

"Very good. Then allow me to introduce myself."

Illya's argent eyes turned golden. Countless eyeballs appeared writhing out of her skin filling every inch of her body, forming a grotesque figure. A malformed smile formed on her face, as He announced.

"I am the Lord of Fate. It's finally nice to meet you. O' elusive Annihilator." 

The declaration shook the space within the marble construct. Spatial rifts and tears appeared within the room, as reality started to twist and crumble.

Lucius' body was completely petrified from fear as he found it impossible to move. The monumentous pressure radiated by the figure before him refused to allow the slightest movement from him.

Right now, Lucius felt like an ant standing before a mighty dragon. The sheer difference in their levels of existence made them incomparable to each other.

"Tch, this region is too fragile." The Lord of Fate clicked his tongue, before gently blowing towards the spot where the spatial tears were appearing and expanding.

The instant His breath touched the tears, the latter immediately shrunk before disappearing. 

"That's better." He nodded his head in satisfaction, before turning to address Lucius. "I cannot remain here for much time, so let's get to it."

"Let's see…hmm, interesting. Very interesting. My eyes can't see through you." 

"Although you kneel right before me, I still can't perceive your Cause and Fate. It's like you're here and not here at the same time. You're a complete enigma, aren't you?"

"How do you do it? Is it a skill? A technique? Perhaps some innate ability? Is that how you managed to quietly become a Stage 7 [Killer] while evading our eyes?"

The moment this was mentioned, Lucius' pupils immediately shrunk. For an instant, he felt like all of his secrets were exposed and laid bare for this figure to see.

Looking at his reaction, the Lord of Fate gently asked.

"Oho, seems like I hit the nail on something. Interesting, you are the most interesting Annihilator that I've faced yet."

"…are you going to kill me?" Lucius gathered every single bit of his strength, before managing to utter that line.

"Kill you? Oh, I wish." The Lord of Fate chuckled, before continuing. 

"Usually, I do not concern myself with the birth and growth of the Annihilator. I let them complete their routine cleansing and rid the Order of some of its weaker Lords. It helps in keeping things interesting, you see." 

"However, in all those cases I can still view the path and Fate of those Annihilators. I can view their past, present, and future. Everything is laid bare before my eyes."

"But you…You seem to be different. Not only am I unable to see you, but I also cannot predict your path or your future." The Lord chuckled once more, before jesting. "It's almost like you don't belong to this Universe at all." 

"Getting back to the point, in short, you are an unpredictable variable whose actions cannot be predicted. Hence, I made some plans using this young creature and this newly ascending race to silently get rid of you." The Lord wistfully looked towards the ceiling.

"Unfortunately, your growth was a bit too fast. Your ascendance to Stage 3 has drawn the attention of that old monster whose duty is to protect your kind. With him entering the playing field, I cannot act against you." 

"…old monster?" Lucius painfully asked.

"Oh yes, the Lord of Chaos." The Lord of Fate truthfully answered. "It is his duty to protect the Annihilators from the interference of the other Lords, and see to it that the routine cleansing is carried out."

"That is the purpose bestowed upon him by the first Overlord." The Lord of Fate's tone had a tinge of reverence and worship when he mentioned the latter.

He then looked at Lucius and remarked.

"Much like how yours is to battle and kill all the Lords. An endless cycle imposed by 'He, Who Stands Above All', before His disappearance."

"Anyhow, I'm not quite ready to face the wrath of that old monster nor do I want to. For now, I will stop all my schemes and retreat from this region."

The Lord of Fate then stared at his collapsing vessel and remarked.

"Whoops, seems like my time here is coming to an end." Shaking His head, he complained. "Everything here is so fragile."

Staring at Lucius one last time, he asked. "Do you have any questions?"

Struggling with all of his power, Lucius released all of his [Annihilation Intent] and [Annihilation Energy] to counteract the pressure exerted by the Lord. 

Vast amounts of his soul power were expended before a tiny amount of the pressure was diminished. Rising from his kneeling position, Lucius stared towards the Lord of Fate with determined eyes and asked.

"How do I kill you?"

Hearing that question, a bright smile appeared on the face of the Lord of Fate's crumbling vessel. 

"Just what I expected from an Annihilator. You didn't disappoint me."

The Lord of Fate's pressure started to slowly wane as the destruction of his vessel (Illya's body) started to accelerate. His countless eyes locked their gazes on Lucius' figure as he spoke.

"Keep growing young Annihilator. I look forward to meeting you on the battlefield one day."

"Don't make me wait too long."

And with that final line, His presence vanished and Illya's body turned into a pile of mush. The pressure within the chamber vanished, and Lucius' body stumbled forth once again.

However, he quickly moved and saved his body from falling. Staring at the pile of flesh, which once held the descent of a Lord, Lucius thought to himself.

'Indeed. Let's meet on the battlefield one day.'

----------END OF VOLUME 2- A PINCH OF FATE----------