Lord of Annihilation

Three days later. 

Inside the Training Room, one of the rooms aboard the spaceship were four figures embroiled in intense battle inside a 10m square ring. 

The four figures were Olivia, dressed in her purple armor, and three Peak-Level Stage 3 Forgotten Warriors wearing their pitch-black armors.

Each of the four figures moved with blistering speeds as they threw one full-powered attack after another, filling the ring with a cacophonous mixture of dense, colorful energies. The energies collided with each other, radiating heat, light, and destruction within the ring. 

Intently watching this battle from outside the ring were two more figures; Lucius and Ka'lor'ah. 

As usual, Lucius stood with his back against the wall and watched the battle with half an eye open. Ka'lor'ah, for her part, sat atop of Lucius' head of which she had recently taken residence.

The duo watched the battle between the four figures while silently evaluating Olivia's performance, as the latter was undergoing her 'Battle Knowledge' test in advance.

The contents of the test were as such; Olivia would face three Peak-Level Forgotten Warriors in direct combat and had to immobilize all three of her opponents in less than 10 minutes, without leaving the ring. Neglecting to meet any of these constraints would result in a fail.

Currently over four minutes had passed and Olivia was at a complete disadvantage.

On one side were the Forgotten Warriors.

They were a group of untiring, unfeeling things that had received a direct impartation from the most unfeeling being of all. Their combat techniques were polished to perfection and matched nearly 70% of Lucius' own strength (at that Stage). It was only their inability to use a Field that was withholding them.

On the other side was the personal disciple of two (ex-) Stage 7 beings, Olivia.

Having undergone rigorous training over the last two months, one of which was spent on a planet with the most convoluted physical laws, her strength had received an astronomic growth. Not only did she rise into Peak-Level of Stage 2 in this short period, her knowledge, skills, and techniques had also undergone a metamorphosis of sorts.

Now able to simultaneously control nearly 80 strands of her soul power as a result of her recent near-death trails, Olivia was slowly inching closer to the absolute apex of the Stage 2 realm.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

Explosive noises and violent tremors started to originate from within the ring as the battle suddenly intensified. Having sensed that time was running out, Olivia exploded forth with greater strength hoping to tilt the balance to her side.

The sudden explosiveness of her strength caught the three Forgotten Warriors unaware, allowing her to dish out a few rounds of attacks. However, that seemed to be the limit as the Forgotten Warriors quickly gathered themselves and swiftly suppressed Olivia once again.

Trapped to the middle of the ring, Olivia faced brutal assaults from three different directions. A heavy ax, a sharp sword, and a pair of sickles rushed to attack her at her fatal points with the intent to heavily injure.

Unable to dodge them, Olivia could only twirl and twist her new rapier and desperately block those attacks. None was able to gain an advantage over the other and the stalemate was restored once again.

Looking at this scene, Lucius quietly clicked his tongue in disapproval.

"At this rate…she will definitely fail," he remarked.

Ka'lor'ah, who was perched atop of his head, shook her tiny head and replied, "This battle is obviously disadvantageous to her. She is a Mental-Type Spell Blade but her opponents do not have a will of their own. Most of her spells and abilities are useless."

She then looked at Olivia's swordplay and evasive reactions for a few seconds before commenting, "Her swordplay is steadily improving and can already be considered as first-class. Her reactions are not that bad either, just a bit stiff and lacking in instinctive movement."

"Had the opponents been actual living creatures, she would have won by now." Ka'lor'ah finished.

Hearing her comments, Lucius did not approve or rebut her statements. Being more experienced in combat, he had a deeper analysis of his own.

"That doesn't excuse her from her current opponents. She must have sufficient strength to face any and all manner of opponents."

"Her swordplay can be considered decent, but her techniques are very basic. It's lacking a proper form and does not have an established system," he paused for a moment and continued, "She has the talent to learn, but not to create. She is lacking in imagination and freedom."

"Well, of course not!" Ka'lor'ah replied in exasperation, "Not everyone is like you and can instantly create a brand new technique by watching birds fight or something."

"You really need to stop using yourself as a scale for reference. Even in my very long life, you are a one-of-a-kind existence."

Lucius' talent in combat was something that was never before seen in the Universe and perhaps never will be seen in the future. He was an unmatched genius, seemingly born for the very purpose of combat.

Ignoring her quips, Lucius continued with his analysis.

"The lack of experience can be supplemented in the next location. There will be plenty of battle awaiting her there. But there is another, greater issue."

"Her movement technique is lacking given her level of current strength. It's barely aiding her attacks and is sometimes restricting her from performing more varied attacks."

"It's time to teach her a new movement technique."

"Oh, which one?" Ka'lor'ah immediately grew excited and started to list some of the peerless techniques learned (or perhaps, stolen?) by Lucius, "Is it [Shadowless Step] from the Abyssal Walkers or perhaps, [Divine Convergence] from the Seven-Eyed Tribe?"

"Wait, don't tell me, [Heavenly Variation] from the Heavenly Sovereigns?! You're thinking of teaching her that legendary technique?!"

"Of course not," Lucius immediately denied, "Even I cannot use that technique as it is and can only vaguely mimic it."

[Heavenly Variation] was a bonafide Superior-Grade technique at the peak of movement skills that was taught only to the most talented of Heavenly Sovereigns. Lucius himself had merely chanced upon it and managed to learn it when he was fighting a Stage 6 Heavenly Sovereign in his later years.

Just from the above exchange, it can be seen how valuable having a teacher was. 

"I'm going to teach her my movement technique, [Absolute Evasion]." Lucius softly replied.

Hearing that name, Ka'lor'ah became speechless from genuine shock. 

[Absolute Evasion] was a godly technique at the apex of all movement techniques. It was personally created by Lucius and was the crystallization of his genius. 

However, the reason Ka'lor'ah was shocked wasn't due to the above-stated one. 

The real reason why she was shocked lied in the fact that Lucius was willing to teach this peerless technique to others. 

One had to know that during their previous life, Ka'lor'ah had excessively begged Lucius to record his technique. However, Lucius had vehemently refused her request and refused to teach or record his technique in any form.

His opposition back then was so strong that Lucius had even threatened to leave their cooperation if Ka'lor'ah continued to ask for his technique. Faced with such strong refusal, Ka'lor'ah had to unwillingly give up.

However, it had always confused her. 

Lucius was not the type to hoard wealth or hide knowledge. He never cared for honor or value and could be said to be absent of many basic desires. 

During their thirty years together, he had shared innumerable techniques, the values of some of which equaled or even exceeded that of [Absolute Evasion].

He had selflessly shared everything…except for this single technique. 

Taking a few seconds to recover from her shock, Ka'lor'ah asked.

"Are you sure? Is it the same [Absolute Evasion] that I'm thinking of?" 

"I do not know any other movement technique with that name." Lucius shook his head.

"You're talking about the one that you created?" Ka'lor'ah asked once more.

"Yes," Lucius replied with a nod.

"Why?" she asked, confused.

Unable to understand her question, Lucius asked, "What do you mean, why?"

"I mean, why are you willing to teach her that? You sure seemed adamant on guarding it with your life when I asked for it back then? What's with the change of mind?" Ka'lor'ah curiously asked.

Lowering his head, Lucius' eyes turned murky as he seemingly lost himself in thought. He remained like that for a few seconds, before answering with a soft voice.

"I wonder why? Why did I guard it so stubbornly back then?"

Lucius gently raised his head and looked towards the figure of Olivia desperately fighting against the Forgotten Warriors. His eyes seemed to be looking at her, but at the same time looking at something other than her.

"Did I guard it out of obsession…?"

The hazy image of a silver-haired woman overlapped Olivia's figure for a moment. A series of static images and broken memories passed through his mind.

"…or out of guilt?"

"Lucius…" sensing the strangeness in his tone, Ka'lor'ah gently called out his name.

Lucius suddenly raised his head and unblinkingly stared at the closing battle. The murkiness within his eyes had disappeared, alongside the static memories.

"Anyways, it matters no more," Lucius' tone had regained its usual calm and coldness. "Whatever that reason was, it no longer exists." 

He then took a step towards the fighting ring and coldly thundered.

"Stop."

The four figures desperately battling it out froze in their movements and simultaneously looked towards Lucius.

Seeing him approach, the three Forgotten Warriors immediately retreated into his shadow, while Olivia' straightened her body and sheathed her sword. She lowered her sweat-drenched face, unable to meet Lucius' eyes.

Stopping right before her, Lucius declared in an emotionless tone.

"You failed."