Lord of the Truth

Chapter 2109 Ashification-1 ”Damn it!” Damir pushed the array into a defensive configuration with sudden urgency, forcing its structure to shift rapidly as layers of protection unfolded around him.

Bang

The gray beam slammed into the array and triggered a massive explosion, the impact echoing across the sky as waves of force rippled outward. ”You truly are a fool who doesnʼt know whatʼs good for you!” Disturbed by the sudden turn of events, Damir realized in that instant that there was no longer any room for hesitation. There was no alternative left but to fight.

He punched forward violently, his expression twisted with anger and his voice deep and resonant. ”Inner Collapse Waves!!”

The array immediately began to expand outward like a living structure awakening. From its core, powerful vibrations surged outward in successive bursts, spreading through the sky until the clouds in that entire quarter of the planet were torn apart and scattered.

Invisible waves struck Helen head-on and forced her to retreat several steps through the air. From the outside, it was possible to see the terrifying effect inside her body. Her organs twisted violently as if being squeezed by invisible hands, as though she were on the verge of vomiting blood at any moment... yet she suppressed the reaction and forcibly maintained the calm expression on her face.

Then whoosh, she curved through the air toward Damir in a wide arc. Krrrr

The air surrounding Helen began to distort rapidly, as if the space itself were trembling. Gray mist slowly seeped out from every inch of her body, spreading outward until it thickened and gathered around her. The mist grew denser and denser until it finally transformed into something resembling a massive cloud of gray ash.

Only when the cloud reached its complete form did it suddenly surge forward toward Damir in a perfectly straight line. ”This is bad!!” Damir immediately sensed the danger approaching him. Without hesitation, he thrust the array forward even more, forcing it to release stronger pulses while simultaneously retreating backward to widen the distance between them. -Ash of Eternal Extinguishment-

This was one of the techniques Helen had created after comprehending the essence of the Ashification Law. A terrifyingly destructive technique that could infiltrate the cells and atoms of anything it touched, quietly penetrating deep within before beginning the process of attacking and dismantling the target from the inside out.

It was an extremely dangerous technique against powerful opponents. Even the strongest external defenses could not fully block the Ashification particles. No matter how powerful the barrier was, some of those particles would inevitably seep through the smallest gaps.

Hooom

The ash cloud and the violent pulses of the array collided in midair.

What followed was a strange and terrifying spectacle.

Below them, every living creature that witnessed the scene felt a chill run through their bodies, believing instinctively that death had already arrived.

The sky above them began to distort and blur as if reality itself were breaking apart.

It looked as though the sky itself were slowly turning into Ash! ”Come here!!” Helen allowed the Miserable World Array and the ash cloud to continue clashing with each other while she slipped outside the arrayʼs effective range. The moment she escaped its influence, she launched forward like an arrow chasing its target, rushing straight toward Damir while her eyes burned with killing intent.

But the situation did not remain favorable for long.

Hooo

Suddenly Helen felt her vision grow dim, as if the world had begun to blur. A sharp headache pounded inside her skull while waves of dizziness and nausea surged through her body. The sensation of suffocating pressure wrapped around her like invisible chains...

A weak, mortal bodily sensation she had not experienced for thousands of years.

Helen abruptly stopped midair. Her crimson eyes swept across the surroundings while her exhausted spiritual sense spread outward in search of the source. Within moments, her attention locked onto a specific location in the distance.

There was another Miserable World Array hidden there.

This one was attacking her purely on the soul level. It was not summoning soul swords or soul creatures to fight her directly. Instead, it employed sinister techniques that struck directly at the spiritual domain itself.

It was the infamous field of cursed interference, one of the most notorious uses of the Miserable World Array.

If she had been fighting alone without any support, she would have been forced to retreat immediately. This array alone was more than enough to disrupt her concentration and leave her vulnerable, allowing Damir to bombard her with relentless attacks until he eventually killed her.

But she was not entirely alone.

Shwalaaa

A brilliant purple spark suddenly ignited above Helenʼs head. The moment it appeared, the oppressive symptoms vanished instantly, as if they had never existed.

It was a borrowing granted by the four-star Royal Soul Master, Drais.

The purpose of the borrowing is protection against malicious attacks, but against assaults of such intensity, it may not protect her for more than a minute or two. Even the most refined soul borrowings had their limits when faced with pressure that never ceased for even a moment.

And two minutes were more than enough!

Just as Helen was about to move forward again to hunt Damir, pushing through the collapsing waves of power surrounding her, something else happened-

Clack

The space around Helen suddenly seemed to compress around her from every direction. It was not merely a distortion of space, but a sudden tightening, as if the universe itself had closed its grip around her body. In the blink of an eye, before she could even shift her position, she found herself inside a cube.

A cube that was slowly shrinking, its edges silent yet absolute, crushing everything inside it, including space itself. ”...The damned cage?” Helen turned toward a certain direction, her voice calm despite the terrifying pressure surrounding her...

It was a third Miserable World array. ”Haha... hahaha!!” Damir stopped running after securing a safe distance, planting his feet firmly in the void before bursting into laughter. ”I told you, thereʼs no escape for you today!”

Then he pointed at her mockingly, his face twisted with gloating satisfaction. ”Even that fool Serene and the child Orion didnʼt attack me directly and put themselves in this position. They kept their distance, circling, waiting for an opening. Youʼre the first opponent Iʼve ever fought who walked straight into my web headfirst!!”

Rrrr

The first array had struggled while dealing with the cloud of ash that had swallowed the battlefield moments ago. Yet despite that struggle, it had been storing a massive amount of energy the entire time, a reserve far greater than what the cloud itself contained. Slowly, patiently, it began dispersing the ash cloud layer by layer until the gray haze faded away entirely. Once the last trace vanished, the array refocused on Helen once more, its patterns glowing faintly as it prepared to attack again.

Now one array attacked Helen spiritually, gnawing away at the soul borrowing like a relentless predator tearing flesh from bone. The second imprisoned her with a force strong enough to confine more than one Law Dominator, its shrinking cube grinding against space itself. Meanwhile, the third hovered nearby like a silent executioner, waiting patiently for the moment it would deliver the final blow.

A situation no one would envy. ”Three Miserable World arrays...” Helen murmured quietly, as if merely stating an observation rather than acknowledging her own predicament. Then, from within the cage, she turned her head back toward Damir. ”How many children and how many virgins did you use to create the three of them?” ”...?!” Damir frowned deeply, clearly not expecting that question at such a moment. ”So now only the children of Helmor the Destroyer are left to lecture me about morality?!” ”Youʼre right. Killing is killing.” Helen raised her head slightly, her tone completely even. ”So what now?”

Then she raised both hands until they aligned with her shoulders, palms open as if presenting herself. ”Am I supposed to be defeated?” ”You ARE defeated. Itʼs over.” Damir scowled heavily. With a simple wave of his hand, the first array began gathering an enormous amount of energy, far greater than before.

From its center emerged the head of a gigantic pitch-black arrow. At first it was merely a dark point, but it rapidly expanded, growing longer and sharper with every passing moment, its edges vibrating with destructive power. Clearly, he intended to end her with a single decisive strike. ”...” Helen nodded slowly when she saw this. ”What do you know about Ashification?” ”Are those really your last words?” Damir burst into laughter again. ”Fine, letʼs talk while the attack that will finish off the most talented daughter of the Behemoth of Destruction finishes charging. Iʼll brag about this moment to your big brother later... and to that bastard Human as well, hehe.”

Then he continued after a brief pause, his tone filled with ridicule, ”Ashification is a minor law from the path of destruction that turns material objects into ash.

Thatʼs all.” Then he shook his head dismissively. ”All your former brothers, both the first row scions and the second, never chose it because itʼs weak and tied to material objects. Itʼs basically no different from what the Law of Flame leaves behind... a simple residue of burning. You should have chosen something slightly better, most talented one”

Then he laughed again. ”But judging from the level of intelligence youʼve shown now, Iʼm no longer surprised!” ”...” Helen showed a strange smile. ”Yes, many of my brothers warned me about the Ashification Law. They said it would hinder my progress, limit my growth, and diminish my prestige. They said it was a law fit for minor cultivators, not for someone born in the lineage of destruction.”

She paused slightly. ”But I was stubborn and followed my intuition. Something inside me kept telling me that ash isnʼt merely the leftovers of the flames... something told me it was beautiful, something worthy of study.” ”You were stubborn?” Damir laughed loudly again. ”For some reason, Iʼm not surprised.”

Rumble

Helenʼs body suddenly began to emit a strange aura.

She had not moved even slightly, nor had she released any visible energy. Yet the space around her seemed to tremble faintly, as if responding to a silent call that no one else could hear. ”...?” Damir frowned deeply. He could clearly feel that something was happening, that the situation was shifting in some subtle way, yet he could not understand what it was.

Then he heard her voice again. ”Yes, I was stubborn and chose what I wanted anyway... but in this particular matter, I was never afraid of my decision. I never compared myself to my brothers, nor did I regret the path I chose.” Her strange smile deepened slightly. ”It was the greatest decision I ever made in my life.”

Crack