Lord of the Truth

Chapter 2382 Putting the pieces in their places

”...What happened in the Northern Region?”

”.....”

Neri looked directly into Robinʼs eyes with a meaningful gaze that lingered for several long moments before she quietly asked, ”...May I choose not to answer?”

”No. That isnʼt an option.” Robin met her gaze without flinching, his own eyes carrying unmistakable anger beneath their calm exterior. ”What happened?”

”...Please. Nothing good will come of this.” Neri slowly lowered her eyes toward the floor, her voice becoming noticeably quieter than before.

”....”

Robin slowly raised his chin, his expression freezing completely as though something had suddenly fallen into place inside his mind.

”...Then I already have my answer.” He spoke with an unnaturally calm voice before continuing, ”Thereʼs only one thing capable of making you hesitate like this. Itʼs him... isnʼt it?” Then his voice suddenly rose. ”The Seer?”

”......”

The Planet Spirit parted her lips slightly before closing them again, one of her eyes trembling uncontrollably as though merely hearing that title had unsettled her.

”I see...” Robin nodded several times without taking his eyes off her. ”What was the Seer doing in the Northern Region, Neri?”

”...Please...”

”Enough!” Robinʼs voice thundered through the chamber. ”Enough being afraid of him, and enough hiding everything behind mystery. I already know what he is now. Heʼs someone from outside this universe, isnʼt he? All that talk about the Pantheon, the Transcendents, and his ability to summon the Court whenever he pleases... He is one of these Transcendents, isnʼt he?”

”.....”

”What exactly are you so afraid of?” Robin demanded, his voice rising once more. ”Iʼm your master now, and if my guess is correct, Iʼm in the middle of becoming one of them myself. So why are you terrified of him while insisting on refusing me?”

”I-I...” Neri instinctively took a step backward as her entire body began trembling more violently than before.

Robin immediately stepped forward instead. ”What did the Seer do in the Northern Region?!” His voice became even sharper. ”Before I arrived, he had nothing to do there. There was nothing worth interfering with. The planet was already in its worst possible state, and I found absolutely nothing there that could have helped me.”

Then his eyes turned frighteningly cold.

”Only ONE major event took place in the Northern Region during that period. One event significant enough to justify his intervention, one event that completely changed the course of my life and drove me to build everything I possess today. Itʼs the only event I can no longer rule him out of...”

He stopped, looked directly at Neri, and a cold smile slowly spread across his face.

”So... did he have anything to do with it?” His smile widened slightly. ”What did he do? Did he use Space-Time to change where the two of them landed? Perhaps a touch of Causality to arrange the sequence of events? Or maybe a little Balance here and there to ensure reality unfolded exactly as intended? Well? Tell me. Iʼm listening.”

”I-I—Da... D-D...”

Neri suddenly stopped. She raised one hand as though trying desperately to say something, but before a single coherent word could leave her mouth, her hand froze in midair. Her head began twitching unnaturally, while the life rapidly drained from her eyes as though something inside her had abruptly shut down.

”I-I... Aah...”

”....?”

The anger on Robinʼs face immediately gave way to astonishment. At that moment, Neri looked exactly like a mechanical doll whose gears had suddenly shattered, every attempted movement becoming stiff, broken, and incomplete.

”I-I...”

Almost instantly, she stopped trying to speak altogether. Her body stiffened where she stood until she resembled nothing more than a statue, her mouth left slightly open and one eye half-open as though every trace of life had abruptly vanished from her.

”Well... thatʼs not something you see every day.” Helen finally lifted her head from her knees, her surprise briefly overcoming the exhaustion written across her face.

”This...?” Glatheon and Caesar stared in astonishment. Nothing remotely resembling such a phenomenon had ever been mentioned in any record concerning Planet Spirits, nor had either of them ever imagined witnessing something like it firsthand.

”.....”

Robin, however, remained completely silent, keeping his eyes fixed on Neriʼs motionless body for several long moments as he carefully analyzed her condition, trying to determine whether she was merely pretending... or whether something had genuinely happened to her.

Then, after a short while, Robin let out a long, weary sigh that seemed to carry away none of the pressure weighing upon him. ”Heh~” He casually waved a hand beside himself, though even that simple movement lacked its usual ease.

Hummm.

Another Soul Gate slowly opened, its golden-white light spilling quietly into the chamber before a little girl hurried out of it.

”Ah! What did you do to Big Sister, you monster?!”

Evergreen immediately rushed to Neriʼs side without even looking at anyone else, wrapping both arms tightly around her leg as though afraid she might disappear if she let go. Then she lifted her head and glared at Robin with anxious, reproachful eyes that were already beginning to redden.

”Are you satisfied now?!”

”What will happen to her now?” Robin asked in a completely emotionless voice, paying no attention whatsoever to Evergreenʼs accusation.

”...She almost crossed into one of the forbidden subjects.” Evergreen looked up at Neriʼs pale, lifeless face with obvious worry. ”Sheʼll fall into a dormant state for a few years... perhaps even a few decades, depending on how severe the backlash was.”

”The forbidden...” Robin repeated quietly as he looked off into the distance, slowly nodding to himself as though another piece of the puzzle had finally settled into place. Then he casually waved a hand toward the Soul Gate. ”Take her... both of you get out of my sight.”

”.....” Evergreen puffed out her cheeks as tears gradually welled up in her eyes, but despite the grievance written all over her face, she never uttered another word. She understood better than anyone that the atmosphere in the room had become far too heavy for childish complaints.

Instead, she hurriedly lifted Neri onto her shoulder as carefully as she could before carrying her back through the Soul Gate, which silently closed behind the two of them the very next instant.

”My Lord,” Glatheon stepped forward a few paces after watching the gate disappear. ”Itʼs obvious that Planet Spirits are bound by some kind of restriction preventing them from speaking about cert—”

”Shhh.”

Robin slowly raised a single finger in front of Glatheonʼs face before he could finish.

”Shhh... shhh... shhh...”

He repeated the sound several times in exactly the same quiet tone before lowering his hand once more.

”Not... one... word.”

”...”

Caesar immediately stepped forward, pulled Glatheon a step backward by the shoulder, and silently gestured for him not to utter another syllable. He himself straightened his posture and stood perfectly still, as though even breathing too loudly might become a mistake.

The two of them quietly remained at the side of the room, their eyes mostly fixed upon the floor, only stealing cautious glances toward Robin every now and then before quickly looking away again.

Glatheon remained silent because he genuinely couldnʼt understand what was happening anymore. Everything that had unfolded since Helen awakened had been beyond anything he had imagined, but Lord Robinʼs current state unsettled him more than any revelation so far. He had never seen him reach such a terrifying level of restrained pressure—not while confronting Marlik, not while threatening the Sultan, and not even while facing enemies who could decide the fate of entire sectors.

Anger?

No...

That word was far too insignificant.

What surrounded Robin could hardly be called anger anymore.

Glatheon could actually feel the surrounding space itself beginning to soften beneath an invisible pressure, as though reality were slowly melting around him without anyone touching it.

Robinʼs eyes resembled two openings into hell itself, endlessly pouring forth molten lava born from eternal resentment, while those half-open eyes looked as though they were silently watching the entire universe burn before them... watching every last star collapse into ash without possessing even the slightest desire to intervene.

Earlier, Glatheon had remained silent simply because Robin had ordered him to.

Now...

Even if he wished to speak...

He doubted his tongue would obey him.

Caesar, however, understood exactly what was happening.

He himself felt angry.

He himself felt betrayed.

But he also knew that whatever Robin had just realized meant incomparably more to him than it ever could to anyone else present.

At a moment like this, offering opinions, comfort, or suggestions would accomplish absolutely nothing.

So he simply stood there...

Waiting for orders.

Only after an indeterminate amount of time did Robin slowly raise his left hand and begin rubbing the bridge of his nose with agonizing slowness. His fingers trembled visibly the entire time, yet he stubbornly continued the motion anyway, remaining perfectly silent for several long minutes while regulating his breathing as best he could.

Finally, speaking in a broken voice interrupted by uneven breaths, he quietly said, ”Take... Glatheon... with you... and go do... what you need to do... Heʼs... my diplomatic... advisor... now...”

”....”

Caesar carefully studied his fatherʼs face for several silent moments before finally gathering enough courage to ask in a restrained voice,

”Is there... anything specific you want me to do?”

”What the hell could you possibly do?” Robin slowly lowered his hand before fixing Caesar with those terrifying eyes, then suddenly raised his voice. ”Perhaps you should get rid of that pathetic soul tracking on you first, then come talk to me about helping with something of this magnitude!”

”....?!”

Caesarʼs eyes widened in genuine shock.

He instinctively lowered his head before giving a slight bow.

”...Iʼm sorry.”

Without attempting to defend himself or ask another question, he silently grasped Glatheonʼs arm and guided him toward the exit.