Lord of the Truth

Chapter 2450 The Incident

”...Your dream is to become an Executioner?” Robin raised one eyebrow as he looked at Helmor with a trace of surprise, not finding the goal particularly impressive based on the little he currently knew about that place. ”I still donʼt know exactly what happens over there or what kind of existence those Executioners actually lead, but that doesnʼt sound like a particularly grand ambition to me. The Cosmic Elder killed one of them, if I remember correctly.”

”My dream is simply to reach the Land of Eternal Shelter and remain there.” Helmor frowned slightly at the question, clearly understanding the deliberately belittling tone hidden within Robinʼs words. ”There are very few intelligent creatures living there compared to what weʼre accustomed to seeing here. It isnʼt like this place, where practically every inhabited planet can have billions upon billions of intelligent beings living on its surface. Over there, there are only two kinds of intelligent living beings: either a Transcendent, or a servant who has been prepared specifically to serve the Transcendents and was personally chosen for that purpose. Even the closest human disciples of the Transcendents, those who might have followed them for an extremely long time, and even their families, are ultimately considered members of that second category.”

Then he continued, explaining the distinctions between those servants in greater detail, ”Those servants themselves have many different classifications and positions depending on what theyʼre responsible for. Some are low-ranking servants assigned to take care of pets, some are servants responsible for cleaning, while others are combat servants tasked with taking care of the universes during the cycles—which means Executioners—and there are even higher positions beyond those, such as an Executioner General, a personal attendant, a wife, and so on~ Most of those servants were originally Candidates chosen by the Transcendents during the cycles, people who listened when they were given instructions and actually carried those instructions out as required, and being allowed to continue onward like this is the reward they ultimately receive.”

”That doesnʼt sound very encouraging when you put it that way.” Robin looked genuinely puzzled by Helmorʼs description, as the supposed reward sounded considerably less impressive than heʼd expected. ”The reward for doing everything youʼre told is simply becoming a servant?”

”The reward is that you get to live.” Helmor immediately clarified, as though that distinction alone shouldʼve been enough to answer Robinʼs objection. ”Instead of joining the incalculable numbers of living beings who reach the end of the cycle only to meet the inevitable death awaiting them, your patron grants you the opportunity to continue your life in a better place, living a nearly eternal existence where you no longer have to deal with the endless headache of refining planets and constantly fighting others just to protect them. Once your body is injected with that compound, your cells are given an opportunity to advance to another level, and the rate at which they age slows down so drastically that it approaches the point of stopping altogether... Isnʼt an existence like that better than simply dying? Even if the price is having to obey an order from a Transcendent every now and then.”

”Some people might say that dying with dignity is better than accepting an existence like that.” Robin shrugged lightly, apparently unconvinced that survival alone settled the matter so easily. ”And some might simply enjoy the opportunity to remain until the end and discover for themselves what actually happens when the cycle ends.”

”Those some have never experienced true death and are merely babbling about something they know absolutely nothing about. No one who actually experiences the throes of death will still be thinking about dignity or satisfying their curiosity by discovering things. When death truly draws near and they realize that their end is unavoidable, everyone will cling desperately to every additional minute of life they can possibly obtain!”

”....” Robin stared directly into Helmorʼs eyes while a faint smile gradually appeared on his face... For a brief moment, those words caused him to remember the incident of his own death inside the cave and the experience that came with it.

”Where did you learn all of this information in the first place?” Robin asked after setting that thought aside, curious about the source of everything Helmor had been telling him. ”Did your patron personally tell you about these things?”

”Some of it came from him.” Helmor explained, ”The Tyrant gave me fragments of scattered sentences during the few meetings Iʼve had with him, never explaining everything to me in one sitting, and afterward I heard other fragments from several companions who serve under different patrons. I told them what I had learned in return, and by exchanging those scattered pieces of information among ourselves, we gradually managed to assemble a complete picture, one that contains no contradictions despite the story and its details coming from multiple different sources.”

”Oh... Then do you know what actually happens at the end of the cycle, Helmor? Since youʼre speaking so confidently about the inevitable death awaiting everyone once it arrives.” Robin asked while watching him closely, trying to gather as much information as he possibly could while Helmor was still willing to speak.

”I wonʼt give you an advantage of that kind while the two of us are still standing on opposing sides.” Helmor shook his head firmly, refusing to continue on that particular subject.

”Oh.” Robin chuckled when he heard the sudden refusal, finding the timing rather amusing after everything Helmor had already revealed to him. ”Thank the heavens you didnʼt think of that at the beginning of this conversation.”

”I only told you about the past of your black-hearted master, thatʼs all. Itʼs a past already known by everyone in this universe who has a patron except for you, so I havenʼt truly given you anything that would place you far ahead of the others. You can simply consider what Iʼve told you a small favor, a token of preliminary acquaintance between us.” Helmor smiled slightly as he looked at Robin through the gate. ”Tell me, what do you think about everything youʼve heard?”

”....” Robin continued tapping his knee slowly and rhythmically as he considered everything Helmor had told him and the logic behind the choices made by people like him. ”Iʼd say I can understand the reasons behind your betrayal, if betrayal is even a term that can properly be used to describe this situation in the first place.” Then he continued in the same calm tone, ”From your perspective, everyone in this universe is going to die anyway, without exception, so it doesnʼt truly make much difference whether they die early or survive until the end of the cycle before dying. What actually matters to you is obtaining an opportunity to reach the Land of Eternal Shelter and continue living there, and it doesnʼt matter whether that opportunity comes through the Seer himself or through some other patron.”

”The Seer wonʼt take anyone to the Land of Eternal Shelter with him. After what he did to his own master after that master took him there, how could he possibly repeat the exact same trap that he himself once used to turn against his patron?” Helmor waved his hand dismissively as though this conclusion were obvious. ”And you canʼt really say that what he did back then was entirely wrong either. His patron was also trying to exploit him for the purpose of winning the cycle, so thereʼs nothing particularly wrong with the Seer exploiting him in return when the opportunity appeared... But regardless of how you look at what happened between the two of them, I can assure you of one thing: the Seer will never take you there.”

”So, from your perspective...” Robin paused briefly as he reorganized Helmorʼs explanation into the simplest possible form, ”Iʼm working for someone whoʼs merely exploiting me for his own benefit, and Iʼll ultimately perish at the end of the cycle alongside the rest of humanity whether I successfully win for him or fail, while all of you have a considerably better chance of surviving than I do even if you yourselves fail to achieve victory. After all, according to what youʼve just told me, the patrons take with them those who carried out their orders and managed to earn their approval; actually winning the cycle isnʼt necessarily a requirement for receiving that opportunity.”

”Correct.” Helmor nodded seriously, showing no hesitation whatsoever toward Robinʼs summary of the situation.

”Hehe, then you people must think Iʼm incredibly stupid, perhaps even completely deluded and unaware of whatʼs actually happening around me.” Robin laughed bitterly, finding it easy to imagine how absurd his actions must appear from their point of view.

”Correct.” Helmor nodded again without the slightest attempt to soften his answer. ”So... now that youʼve heard all of this and understand the situation from another perspective, what do you think about it? Does the Seer truly deserve for you to continue serving his interests?”

”....” Robin gradually stopped laughing after hearing the question, and the bitter expression on his face slowly settled into a faint, knowing smile.

So this was it....

This was the real reason Helmor had gone through all the trouble of standing there and telling him everything in such extensive detail. He wanted to strip away Robinʼs sense of fanaticism toward the universe, remove the idea that everyone standing against him was automatically a traitor, and gradually push him toward becoming neutral like them, someone who simply looked at the situation through the lens of his own interests and acted accordingly... And naturally, according to Helmorʼs perspective and the particular way heʼd presented the entire story from beginning to end, Robinʼs interests most certainly didnʼt lie with the Seer.

Helmor wouldʼve never bothered telling him all of this if heʼd regarded Robin as nothing more than some weakling he could easily kill whenever he wished. The fact that heʼd spent so much time and effort standing there and talking was itself proof that he understood something important: his dream of reaching the Land of Eternal Shelter was now being threatened by a massive obstacle, and that obstacle was a massive, deluded man named Robin, someone who believed he was fighting for his homeland and protecting his universe, while from Helmorʼs perspective he was actually nothing more than a piece being moved around in the hands of someone who didnʼt care whether he ultimately lived or died.

”My opinion...” Robin released a sigh and began rubbing the space between his eyes as though everything heʼd heard had finally begun weighing heavily on his thoughts. ”My opinion is that the Seer certainly doesnʼt play fair, and many of his methods are questionable enough to make anyone suspicious of his intentions.” Then he continued in a noticeably weaker voice, allowing his words to slow slightly, ”To be frank...” He deliberately waited for a moment before finally continuing, ”I suspect that he did something to me... something bad...”

”Haha.” Helmor suddenly burst into loud, delighted laughter upon hearing those words, as though Robin had finally arrived at exactly the conclusion heʼd been waiting for throughout their entire conversation. ”Do you mean the incident involving your wifeʼs murder?”

”....?!”