Lord of Annihilation

Raising her head while groaning, Olivia looked at the woman in front of her with dead-fish eyes and tiredly asked.

"What do you want, Reyna? I'm not giving your research team any more grants. We are barely making by, as it is."

"I'm not here to ask for any new grants." Reyna shortly replied.

Slumping her head back onto the table, Olivia sarcastically asked. 

"What then? Here to waste my valuable beak time?"

Reyna frowned at her sarcastic reply but did not respond. She then looked around the room before finding a chair dumped in a corner with many books on top of it. 

Clearing the chair, Reyna sat down upon it while picking up one of the books.

"Thirteen Tips to Improve Public Image…did you really read all of these books?" Reyna asked.

Too tired to argue with her, Olivia lazily nodded her head. 

Surprised, Reyna gazed around the entire room and noted the few hundred books lying around. It had to be mentioned, that each book was at least a couple hundred pages long with some reaching well into the thousands.

All of these books were given to Olivia by Ka'lor'ah and were part of the latter's collection. The books widely ranged in topic, covering politics, history, culture, economics, strategy, etc. 

Being part of Ka'lor'ah's collection meant that each book was the best of the best. In fact, some of the books lying haphazardly within the room were the only copies available in the Universe. (Apart from the one stored in the real Ka'lor'ah's library)

Glancing over towards the resting Olivia's figure, Reyna cautiously asked.

"…are you getting enough sleep?"

Hearing her question, Olivia raised her head and stared towards Reyna with a queer expression. The latter on noticing it, visibly flinched and tried to avoid eye contact.

"Why are you here, Reyna? It's not like we're friends and are barely coworkers. Just get to the point and leave me alone." Olivia bitterly asked.

The events of that day in front of the Teleportation Array were still vividly remembered in Olivia's mind. Her honest joy at meeting a friend after a long time was met with a response of hostility. 

This friend of hers, who was sitting with her head lowered within her office right now, a person whom she (Olivia) referred to as 'sister' in the past had viciously ordered to have her killed.

No matter how rationally Olivia tried to think about the matter, it still left a bitter taste within her mouth.

"…I just wanted to say…" Reyna quietly spoke with a lowered head.

"Say what?" 

"I'm sorry." Reyna's voice was so soft and quiet that Olivia had difficulty hearing it.

"Pardon? Speak up if you want to say something." 

Raising her head, Reyna stared at Olivia with a tear-filled face and cried.

"I'm sorry! I just—I was so bitter during that time, that I blamed you for my incompetence! I'm sorry for giving that order!!"

Reyna's tears were continuous, marking ugly, long tear marks on her beautiful face. She then raised her hands to wipe her eyes, hidden behind her glasses, but her tears continued to roll down her cheeks.

"I-I know th-that you won't for-forgive me. Bu-but I just wanted t-to say, th-that I'm sorry! I was wrong and it is only right of you to hate me."

"I'm a horrible friend, no, I'm a horrible person." Reyna sobbed.

Olivia, who was watching her cry did not intervene to console her. Reyna's actions on that day were clearly wrong. It was not wrong to say that Olivia felt a bit of resentment and unlike towards the former since that day.

Waiting for Reyna's sobs to lower in intensity, Olivia spoke.

"What you did that day, honestly, is unforgivable. I understand that you resented me for leaving, but coming to the conclusion that I had it any easier than you, is just plain wrong. Even more so, is when you tried to have me killed when we had barely even talked."

Sitting upright, a serious expression appeared on Olivia's face as she continued.

"Your apology today barely counts for anything, nor do I care for it. Whatever friendship that existed between us was effectively destroyed on that day."

"I-I- know. I ju-just wa-wanted to—" Reyna sobbed loudly once more.

"Wanted to what? Just come to terms with it Reyna, we can no longer be friends, like in the past. If it makes you feel any better, I don't hate you for it anymore."

Olivia's head turned towards the ceiling, while her eyes gazed at something beyond.

"Reading those books and working for these past eight months have taught me a lot of things. Rather than be fixated on some petty hatred, I want to use my efforts for something greater."

A warm smile appeared on her weary face, as she thought to herself.

'Whatever their plan is, I want to help them and see it to the end. Not just for the sake of Teacher or Lucius…but also for myself. I want to see just how far I can go.'

Olivia's eyes blurred as she lost herself within her thoughts. It was only after a sizeable amount of time, did she manage to recover herself.

Fixing her attention on the sniffling woman in front of her, Olivia asked.

"If you've only come to apologize, then you can leave now. I have to get back to work."

Sniffling loudly, Reyna quickly shook her head and wiped her tear-trodden face. 

"*sniff* No, *sniff* I was here to tell you that, the thing Lucius asked for is complete. He told me to inform you once done." Reyna worked to regain her calm.

Caught off-guard by her sentence, Olivia's widened her eyes in surprise. She carefully combed through her memory, thinking of Lucius had specifically instructed her on something.

Soon it hit her, apart from the time when Lucius instructed her to manage Mankind eight months ago he had not talked to her since. Olivia's interactions were solely with Ka'lor'ah, and her own busy schedule did not give her time to think about any other matters.

Olivia soon began to panic, as stray thoughts started to flood her mind.

'I-is he angry at me? Did I do something wrong? Was it because I refused him, that day? Does he think I'm useless??'

Olivia soon shook her head and regained her calm. Overthinking wouldn't offer her any solutions and would only make her irrational.

Still, whenever there was a matter involving Lucius, Olivia found herself, rarely rational. She would quickly become flustered and lose control of her thoughts.

Even now, although she calmed herself, her mind was nowhere near its usual state of calmness.

"Can you tell me what 'that thing' is?" Olivia asked in the calmest voice possible.

"He didn't tell you?" Reyna asked, greatly surprised.

Olivia simply shook her head. A sinking feeling appeared within her heart.

"He asked me to make a few sets of armor, something that can be worn like regular clothes and wouldn't hinder him in any way. Although, the specifications he gave us were a little hard to meet."

"Cloth-like material that wouldn't be easily damaged, capable of self-repair, has high resistance to all natural elements, and capable of conducting soul power. Honestly, if not for the recent results from our research, his request wouldn't have been possible." Reyna methodically explained.

Hearing her reply, the sinking feeling within Olivia's heart quickly disappeared. She almost reflexively sighed with relief. 

She then placed her hand on a runic array that was hidden beneath the multiple sheets of paper on her table. Infusing her soul power into it, Olivia saw the array light up and felt a connection appear within her mind.

"What's up, young padawan? Did you finish memorizing the allotted books for today? I have to say, you are getting faster and faster. Not bad." Ka'lor'ah's voice echoed within Olivia's mind.

"It's not that. I have Reyna in my office and she told me to inform Lucius that his request is ready." Olivia quickly explained.

"Request? Lucius requested something? That's new." Ka'lor'ah mumbled for a moment, before continuing. "Anyways, I will inform him. Finish memorizing those books before the end of the day. I will quiz you on them." 

Saying so, Ka'lor'ah cut the connection. 

----------

Somewhere on the surface of Planet Earth. 

It was nighttime and Ka'lor'ah was sitting atop a rock outside the entrance of a massive cave. Tall walls of rock surrounded her on both sides, towering for dozens of meters in height, marking her current location to be in the middle of a ravine.

"Well, might as well inform him right now." 

Stretching her arms, Ka'lor'ah shook the wings on her back and flew into the air.

Her slender, tiny body flew into the massive cave entrance and continued to fly within its darkness. Ka'lor'ah's flight lasted for a few minutes before her body suddenly came to a stop. 

An indistinct boundary laid before her, carelessly entering which will result in her death.

For beyond the boundary, laid Lucius' Domain.

"Although I check up on him every three days, the amount of progress he makes during every visit is simply monstrous. He's almost done restructuring his Domain and laying its base." Ka'lor'ah muttered with awe.

Lucius possessed the best combat talent in the entirety of the Universe.

His talent was so great that he could battle an opponent who was using a completely new and unheard-of technique for a single time, before copying and even improving that very same technique in real-time.

Sucking air into her lungs, Ka'lor'ah took a deep breath before loudly bellowing.

"LUCIUS!! OLIVIA CALLED AND SHE SAID THAT YOUR REQUEST WITH REYNA WAS COMPLETED!!" (AN: Jesus, my eyes.)

Following her shout, a few seconds of silence existed. Then, the imperceptible boundary before Ka'lor'ah suddenly disappeared and a shadowy figure appeared before her.

"I see." Lucius shortly replied, before grabbing Ka'lor'ah with his hands and activating [Void Travel].

In just seconds, his body disappeared from within the cave and appeared within Olivia's cramped office.

The two women were shocked by his sudden disappearance, with Reyna falling to the ground out of fright. 

"I told you not to grab me like that! How barbaric." Ka'lor'ah complained before escaping out of Lucius' hands.

Lucius ignored her rants and turned towards Reyna before saying.

"Let's go."