Infinite Mana In The Apocalypse

Chapter 3930: A Duke! I

The atmosphere was heavy!

The assembled Living Existences were staring at Noah with expressions that ranged from controlled anger to calculated assessment.

His words were tyrannically heavy, forcing beings of immense power to confront their own hypocrisy!

Then, cutting through the charged atmosphere with absolute finality, came a single word.

”Disperse.”

HUUM!

The command resonated with such overwhelming authority that Existence itself seemed to shiver in response.

Many present instantly recognized the voice as belonging to a terrifyingly powerful Honored Living Existence, but this time the source felt different.

It was not descending from the skies, but immediate and present.

Something already here.

They had never even sensed his approach!

Through the rapidly forming corridor of retreating figures strode a being whose very presence altered the fundamental nature of the space around him.

He was fully adorned in sleek silver armor that appeared forged from liquid starlight, each plate perfectly fitted while emanating waves of Living Spiritual Authority so pure they made the surrounding air shimmer.

His head was entirely covered by the same silver plating, shaped into the magnificent form of a bull. The craftsmanship was unfathomable, each curve designed to project both terrifying majesty and absolute regality!

In his hands, he carried a radiant cylindrical staff that pulsed with inner light.

All Living Existences quieted and began dispersing according to his command, their eyes reflecting shock.

A few among them clearly understood that an Honored Living Existence of this particular bearing was someone connected to...Royalty.

To the Royal Living Existences!

The armored figure’s attention settled upon Noah and Sigrid, but there was something peculiar in his focus.

He seemed to be entirely ignoring Sigrid, his gaze fixed upon Noah as if he were the only being present who truly mattered.

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The words entered their ears freely.

The bull-headed figure then tapped his cylindrical staff against the golden pathway, and existential light erupted around them.

The illumination wrapped around Noah first, then seemed to remember Sigrid as an afterthought, the light extending to encompass her a full second later.

As if she had been forgotten. As if she were nobody compared to Noah.

They disappeared in a flash of radiance that left afterimages burned into the observers!

The surroundings fell into immediate hush as the assembled Living Existences looked at each other. Silent communications began flowing between them.

Who the hell was that Fold Dweller?

”Find out everything you can on him,” came whispered instructions. ”Keep tabs, but be careful since a Royal Living Existence is involved! Likely a Royal Living Spirit!”

The commands spread through the crowd, each being understanding they had witnessed something that would require careful investigation!

The image of...Noah Osmont was burned into their minds like a brand!

---

Across Concordia.

In its deeper corners!

There was...a tower among many towers.

The crystalline golden tower that served as their destination appeared unremarkable from the outside, its architecture following the same principles that governed most structures throughout Aeternitas Concordia.

But appearances were often carefully constructed lies in a place where power danced in patterns too complex for most minds to follow.

WAP!

Noah and Sigrid materialized within a white-gold hall whose dimensions seemed to shift.

The space was simultaneously vast and intimate, its walls stretching toward infinity while maintaining the atmosphere of a private meeting chamber.

The Honored Living Existence who had transported them stood beside them before beginning to walk toward the far end of the hall. There, rising from the polished floor, stood white steps that led to an elevated throne.

But it was not the throne itself that captured Noah’s attention.

It was the figures arrayed along those steps like living statues carved from pure authority.

Three Honored Living Existences stood on one side, while two occupied the other, their combined presence creating an atmosphere so dense with power that lesser beings would have been crushed by proximity alone.

Their escort moved to join the group of two, bringing the total to six Honored Living Existences serving as guards for whoever commanded such protection!

The woman seated upon the white throne was glorious to look at. Her stellar dark hair seemed to contain Wheels within its depths.

Her tan skin radiated warmth that spoke to utmost glory!

Terrifying waves of Living Origin Authority cascaded over her skin like liquid starlight. But it was her eyes that truly captured Noah’s attention.

They resembled dozens of stacked Wheels of Existence, each one rotating at different speeds and containing the compressed essence of entire weavings of existence!

The moment Noah and Sigrid materialized within the hall, those impossible eyes focused upon them.

WAP!

In an instant that defied perception, the woman flashed from her throne to appear directly in front of Sigrid, her movement so swift that even Noah’s enhanced senses could barely track it.

But he did nothing as he did not sense danger!

She embraced Sigrid with desperate intensity, her arms wrapping around the younger woman with tenderness that seemed...off given the overwhelming power she radiated.

”I am sorry.” she whispered with heavy emotion, her voice carrying genuine regret. ”I did not agree with them... I am sorry!”

The repetition carried the weight of someone who had been carrying guilt for a long time.

This terrifying entity was actually apologizing!

But Sigrid’s response was delivered with coldness.

”Let go of me, O Duke Gwendolyn,” she said with calm authority.

BOOM!

Duke.

A fucking Duke!

One of the eighty-one Dukes of the Living Origins. Beings whose collective authority governed the fate of countless Wheels of Existence!

Noah’s eyes flashed with sharp focus. When he attempted to examine Duke Gwendolyn, he encountered barriers his abilities could not penetrate. Her weavings of existence operated on an entirely different level, so refined that even identifying her name was beyond his current capabilities!

He could observe the work of his Refined Early Living Existential Glyph of Loot as it drew bubbles of authority from the six Honored Living Existences, their power flowing toward him in quantities too small for them to notice. But from Duke Gwendolyn herself... nothing.

Her existence was closed off entirely, protected by barriers even a Refined Glyph could not penetrate.

Hearing Sigrid’s cold words, Duke Gwendolyn sighed.

She released her embrace slowly, holding Sigrid’s shoulders for a moment before letting go and reappearing upon her throne with the same impossible swiftness.

Her expression returned to one of utmost regality and calmness, the brief crack in her composure sealed behind layers of authority as she focused her attention upon Noah.

She looked him up and down as if gauging everything about his nature, his potential, his worthiness to stand in her presence. Her eyes became somber at a certain point in this examination, as if she had discovered something that both impressed and concerned her.

When she spoke, her voice carried the weight of absolute authority.

”You are an unexpected variable in all of this, and you seem to be unfathomably profound. I was planning many things to not draw attention to the Young Miss here, and there was an intervention early at the Coalition Gateway that I am still tracking down the one responsible, but you... were exceptional enough just now that nobody even gazed at the terrifying wonder standing beside you. For that, you have my thanks.”

...!

A Duke of the Living Origins had just expressed gratitude to a Fold Dweller from Paradoxical Folds.

But Noah’s gaze remained calm even while facing such a terrifying being!

He simply nodded as he spoke out.

”Of course. After being labeled Paradoxical and drawing attention, I knew I needed to do something to take the eyes off Sigrid. So I put the spotlight on myself. Used a treasure even Living Existences cannot ignore. Everyone will focus on me and ignore the prize right beside me. I saw all of this and planned for it so...no need for the thanks!”

WAA!

Duke Gwendolyn’s eyes widened slightly, her gaze focusing on Noah with renewed intensity as she began to understand that this unexpected variable might be even more significant than she had initially calculated!