“Hehehehe…do you want to know something?”

Zyrus was in no mood to talk anymore. Even the other leaders were more interested in the fight between their subordinates. A brawl of over 30,000 players was more interesting than the duel between two. Aiden, however, continued despite all that.

“You see, those monsters aren’t my subordinates.”

“…”

“I tamed them at first, and now, I’ve made contracts of eternal servitude with them. You must be thinking, Isn’t that the same? Right? Hahaha… no, no it’s not you idiot. They’re bound by the crown, like a piece of equipment.”

His rambling finally caught the attention of others who were marveling at Jacob blasting off nearly 50 fireballs.

“Did you also catch on? You’re all really smart huh? Why don’t you ignore me now, huh?”

“It….is…unfai-”

“The world IS unfair, what will you do? Cry about it?” Aiden looked at Skarn and the other leaders with a gloating smile and called the 2,000 monsters from the other side.

Everyone was infuriated by the sudden move, but alas, they couldn’t interfere due to the contract.

Were they concerned about Zyrus? Of course not. The damned monkey was running with the crown as well. Since it was now a part of this blasted duel, they could do nothing but watch. Watch as Aiden already had the equivalent of nine crowns and was about to get the final one.

They looked with pity at Zyrus who was standing still like a statue. Naturally, they also ordered their troops to ignore Aiden’s troops and only go after Zyrus’s subordinates. There was still a minuscule chance that they would be able to acquire the last crown before Aiden.

Everything had changed in an instant. The so-called fair duel was turned into a one-sided massacre. Many in Zyrus’s army panicked and deserted to the enemy. They were aware of the Crown’s fealty, but it didn’t look like Zyrus was in any position to use that authority anymore.

Some goblin shamans and trolls went back to their species. A significant number of the new recruits had switched sides or run away. Even the ones who remained were being gravely injured. Being loyal wasn’t enough to be a good soldier; they needed strength as well.

Zyrus finally lifted his head and looked at the approaching monsters as well as his crumbling army. Not a trace of any emotion could be seen on his face. Time had once again ceased to a crawl in his perception.

He had achieved his goal, so there was no need to remain here any longer. Nearly two thousand of his troops were either dead or deserted. No one expected him to survive, much less obtain the first clear.

‘They are decent enough,’

Ria had activated the Scroll of Shattered Blades, making a field of blades to rise up from the ground. Like a field of Rosary peas they were beautiful yet deadly. Hundreds of lives were culled in every instant, but that did nothing to stop the tide of players.

Kyle and the ogre king were going all out after consuming the haste potions as well. Their figures were the only mobile things in Zyrus’s almost static vision.

He saw Ria throw a petrify potion at Jacob to prevent him from dying and another at the monkey in the hopes of holding it back.

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They were lacking in many aspects, but at this moment, they had earned Zyrus’s recognition through their bitter struggle.

‘I shouldn’t let them down as their leader.’

Zyrus’s vision went back to normal, but something had changed. Everything he had learned about laws and concepts had come together as a whole.

“Why are you so quiet now? You still have a chance. Grovel beneath my feet and maybe, just maybe, I'll allow you to become my eternal servant-”

“You know, I agree with what you said before. The world is unfair.” Zyrus spoke in a deep, almost growling tone.

He walked while holding the bloodspine spear in one hand while holding the cube on the other. He could’ve cut off Aiden's head by hundred times if that was his goal.

‘The world is unfair, because I’m going to kill you for something you’ll do in the future.’

Every ounce of his energy flowed through his source of origin and into the spear. The cube was barely able to isolate the trace of concepts…and a law.

Why did Zyrus dislike, no, hate Aiden Martinez so much? Was it just because of his subordinates?

No.

He hated him for a very simple reason. He had pledged his allegiance to the Nwazerk Empire. It was something that happened in the past, or perhaps something that would happen in the future. Either way, he didn’t care.

“Don’t act all pretentious, you’ll die a dog's death very soon.”

Zyrus’s eyes were as emotionless as ever. All he cared about now was a vow, a vow made on the grave of the one he lost, a vow that had destroyed a whole section of the sixth ring.

“She was my world, and without her, The world shall not exist.”

*Crack*

Zyrus resonated with the laws of void, and the first layer of the cube cracked into pieces. He wasn’t in the right state of mind right now, but his spear had sensed what he wanted.

Blood Drain: Bathed in the blood of fallen, bring forth the Scarlet Nightmare.

[The weapon can absorb the lifeblood of enemies to evolve itself. Current rate: 99...99.5...100%]

The sky above the square became blood red in an instant. All of the weapons were trembling in fear. They were like vassals standing before their emperor; none daring to lift their head.

No one, not even the administrators had predicted such an outcome.

Zyrus held the reddish-black spear by pure instinct. Even if his mind wasn’t there to guide his actions, his spear techniques were engraved into his body.

A black line shot forth from the bloodspine spear, tearing through the fabrics of space and time itself. There were no flashes of light, sound, mana fluctuations…nothing.

It was the same stabbing motion he had practiced countless times. But this time, what it manifested was the Law of Void. It was silent and blank, as if it didn’t exist. The same fate would befall on those who were touched by it.

Aiden Martinez, the man who was supposed to become the beast king and rule over the forest of Baelenar, was erased from existence. A fate that wouldn’t change even if time was looped, for the laws of Void forbade it.

[Congratulations! You have obtained a silver crown]

The message rang not once, but twice. According to the contract, Aiden Martinez’s monsters now belonged to Zyrus.

[Congratulations! You have obtained the golden crown]

[You have fulfilled the requirements to obtain a Variant Crown.]

[Golden crown will now evolve into “Onyx Crown”]

The red sky brightened once again with the sanctuary’s power. Sounds of trumpets and horns reverberated throughout the city of ruin.

At this moment, each and every creature living in the first ring looked at the sky from wherever they were. A gigantic tower had appeared in the city of ruin that connected the heavens and earth.

[Congratulations! You have cleared the First ring of the Sanctuary!]

﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎

Epilogue: The Lost Bubble

Millions of years ago a cluster of stars began to die out. Mighty as they were, even they couldn’t stand against the river of time. As all things in creation do, they too left behind a trace of their existence. Their end was a spectacular one. One by one they exploded in chain reactions of powerful supernovae.

Each demise caused a tremendous shockwave of energy. They blasted away the surrounding matter, creating a low-density interstellar zone that later became known as The Lost Bubble.

This was an empty region that stretched as far as a thousand lightyears. There was nothing worth remembering in this region, yet today, it was greeted by a galactic fleet.

Well, fleet might not be the correct word. Wriggling and squirming under the vacuum was a hive that was bigger than an average star. It flailed its planet-sized tentacles as if it was sensing for something, and before long, they all pointed at a tiny red dot.

In the next instance, the hive was gone.