Lord of the Truth

Chapter 2306 Raw Power

Outside—

”....” Glatheon shifted his gaze back and forth between Robin and Renara, carefully observing both of them without daring to interrupt either one, not knowing what is happening right now.

Renara was already seated in an extremely vulnerable state. At that moment, even an ordinary mortal could have harmed her with ease if they somehow managed to reach her.

What was strange, however, was that only a few minutes earlier, His Majesty had told them to wait for a moment, then closed his eyes and entered a state resembling deep meditation. It was obvious that his primary consciousness was no longer present with them, as though his mind had traveled somewhere far beyond the cave while only his body remained behind...

”Heh~” Glatheon let out a sigh. ”I feel a certain sense of honor and prestige knowing that His Majesty entered a state like this while Iʼm standing beside him.”

Entering a state of profound meditation while thereʼs even a cat nearby could be dangerous.

So what about a Guardian?

The fact that His Majesty had entered such a state could only mean that he trusted him completely, placing his own safety in his hands without the slightest hesitation.

”I apologize for ruining your feelings of honor and prestige,” Richard replied with a smile, ”but he could probably still defend himself even in that state.”

”...You couldʼve kept that little detail to yourself.” Glatheon answered awkwardly.

”Heh~ Itʼs nothing personal. Iʼm simply introducing you to the person youʼve decided to follow.” Richard let out a quiet laugh. ”Iʼve suffered a great deal ever since I was little. Believe me... Iʼve suffered a lot.” Then he nodded toward his father. ”But what heʼs gone through is far worse.”

He continued staring at his fatherʼs calm and confident face.

”After everything thatʼs happened... after all those experiences... itʼs hard to imagine someone willingly lowering their guard. Even after surviving everything he has, he can still trust someone else enough to close his eyes like this.”

”....” Glatheon nodded.

He could only imagine how much suffering and how many unimaginable experiences had carried someone from the Young Belt all the way to such a position.

Perhaps he should investigate Robinʼs past himself someday...

”Hooo~”

At that moment, Robin slowly opened his eyes.

Then he murmured,

”Well... that was easier than I expected.”

”My Lord!” A broad smile appeared on Glatheonʼs face. ”Did you accomplish what you intended?”

”Theoretically, yes.” Robin stood and took a step toward Renara. ”Now itʼs time to test it in practice.”

He raised both hands directly above Renaraʼs head, carefully positioning them without making physical contact. He closed his eyes once more and slowly exhaled.

”Hoooooh~”

Then he opened his eyes, now shining with brilliant golden light.

”Limit Removal Array!”

Robinʼs body began glowing with golden radiance as enormous numbers of engravings materialized across his skin, covering his body one after another before quietly detaching from him. Those countless engravings gently floated upward, gradually gathering together until they formed several distinct symbols.

A balance scale.

A thundercloud.

A gear with a broken tooth.

A serpent devouring its own tail.

The four small symbols slowly rose until they surrounded the eye gazing downward at Renara. Then several eyelashes extended outward from the eye itself, linking the four symbols together into a miniature array nearly identical to the one that had appeared above Donara, every connection forming naturally as though it had always existed.

Glatheon immediately held his breath.

He knew exactly what had happened the last time those symbols had appeared, and the memory alone was enough to make his heart tighten.

Even Richard instinctively straightened in his seat after feeling an overwhelming sense of awe emanating from the symbols—not fear, but profound reverence and respect, as though he were standing before something fundamentally beyond ordinary comprehension.

Rumble. Rumble. RUMBLE—

”Whatʼs happening up there?” Richard immediately stood and extended his soul perception toward the sky as far as he possibly could.

The storm that had begun only moments earlier, gradually growing into an enormous storm of Laws covering half the planet, suddenly began behaving strangely, as though some invisible force had reached into its very core.

At first, the storm merely slowed down. It would erupt violently, then fall silent for several moments before moving again, the entire phenomenon becoming increasingly unnatural with every passing second.

But then, all at once, it completely stopped rotating around its own axis.

The lightning ceased.

The thunder vanished.

It was as though the heavens themselves had frozen in place, every movement abruptly suspended by an irresistible authority.

Hummm...

Meanwhile, the four Master symbols slowly began revolving around the eye looking down below, maintaining a perfectly synchronized orbit.

Whoosh!

Golden light burst from all five symbols simultaneously and shot upward in a single brilliant stream, piercing straight through the cave ceiling until it reached the motionless storm.

In a single instant, the storm vanished, as though five spears had pierced through it, slain it, and wiped it from existence without leaving behind even the slightest trace.

In its place, the heavens themselves became flooded with brilliant golden light—a radiance so magnificent that every living creature instinctively lifted its head toward the sky in astonishment, unable to understand what had happened yet unable to stop staring at the unprecedented sight.

By this point, Robin opened his eyes and lowered his hands, a broad smile spreading across his face as he quietly observed the changes taking place before him.

”The process has begun...”

”N-No... NOO... aaagh...” Renara began muttering aloud, her voice trembling uncontrollably. Her face was twisted with pain, tears streamed from her eyes without restraint, and the corners of her mouth drooped so pitifully that anyone who looked at her would instinctively want to embrace her and comfort her, as though she were enduring agony far beyond what words could describe...

Yet Robin simply continued watching with a wide, satisfied smile.

”Hehe... I finally have a true spear capable of—”

Robin suddenly stopped mid-sentence and clutched his chest.

”Argh!”

”My Lord!” Glatheon immediately stepped forward, catching Robin before he could fall completely, then carefully supported him back into his chair. ”Whatʼs happening to you?”

”...!” Richard rushed over without hesitation and circulated a strand of the Life Law through Robinʼs body, carefully examining every part of him.

”...I canʼt detect any injuries that I can help heal.”

”...Egh.” Robin pressed a hand firmly against his heart. His expression had turned extremely pale, yet he forced himself not to let out another groan despite the obvious pain crossing his face.

”...This has nothing to do with injuries. Itʼs... similar to the exhaustion I suffered after my battle with the Executioner... except this came all at once... and it hit much harder.”

”Could this be because youʼve used the Master Laws too many times today?” Glatheon asked, unable to hide the concern in his voice.

”...Thatʼs one possibility.” Robin released a long sigh before straightening himself in his chair with visible effort, then fixed his eyes on Renara once more. ”Or perhaps the Limit Removal itself caused it... I suppose weʼll know for certain by the end of the day.”

”Perhaps...” Glatheon nodded while looking toward Renara before smiling back at Robin.

”Limit Removal Array? Thatʼs... quite an interesting choice of name.”

Robin managed to chuckle despite his fatigue.

”Heh~ Five symbols for removing limits, six for selecting a candidate... why should I complicate things with strange names?”

Bam!

”Ah!!”

At that very moment, Renara finally moved.

She collapsed sideways onto the ground from sheer exhaustion, her entire body seemingly drained of strength, while her eyes remained opened as wide as they could go and her breathing became hurried.

”Huff... huff...”

”Welcome back!” Robin waved at her with a broad smile, as though greeting someone who had simply returned from a long journey.

”So... did you enjoy your little Limit Removal experience?”

”....Itʼs an experience I wouldnʼt wish upon my worst enemy.” Renara let out a long breath before suddenly remembering something important.

”Am I... the strongest now, just like you said?”

”Look at your hand,” Robin replied with a smile.

”Youʼll have your answer.”

”...?” Renara frowned.

At that same moment, she also noticed the astonished expressions on both Richardʼs and Glatheonʼs faces. Neither of them was looking at her directly anymore. Both of them were staring fixedly at the hand she was using to support herself against the ground.

She immediately looked down herself, expecting to find some sort of seal, weapon, or perhaps some visible mark left behind by the ritual...

Instead, she found something far stranger.

”Huh?!”

The solid stone floor beneath her had cracked apart.

In fact, the ground itself had been shattered, with the exact center of the impact lying directly beneath the palm of her hand, as though unimaginable force had quietly flowed into the earth without her noticing.

”What happened here?!”

Renara instantly lifted her hand in surprise.

Whoooosh!

Boom!

The casual wave of Renaraʼs hand unleashed a violent gust of wind that slammed into the cave ceiling with tremendous force, causing every rocky protrusion and stone stalactite overhead to collapse at once, filling the cave with the deafening sound of shattering stone.

”W-What...?” Renara inhaled sharply, fear filling her voice as she stared blankly at her own hand, unable to believe that such overwhelming power had been released by nothing more than an unconscious movement.

”Cough...” Robin waved his hand twice to clear away the clouds of dust rapidly spreading throughout the cave before they reached him.

”I think youʼd better stay perfectly still until you get used to your new strength.”