Lord of the Truth

Chapter 2417 Home of Evil

Mid Sector 666—

Whoosh

A strangely shaped black vessel was slowly making its way through the depths of space with astonishing weakness, pushing forward at such a miserable pace that merely watching its movement was enough to make its age and deteriorated condition obvious.

The vessel was clearly something manufactured in an ancient, long-forgotten era, its entire structure appearing barely capable of continuing its journey at all. It could barely move, barely manage the simple task of carrying its passengers from point A to point B without breaking down somewhere along the way... but for those coming to this particular place, even obtaining transportation of this quality was about the best they could possibly hope for.

Inside the cockpit of that ancient vessel... Caesar stood silently with his arms folded across his chest, staring through the cracked window at the endless space ahead with an obviously irritated expression that had only grown worse as the journey continued.

Finally, it seemed as though his accumulated annoyance had reached its absolute limit, and he could no longer remain silent. ”How long are we going to keep traveling in this wreck? How long has it been since we started this journey? Almost a year?!”

”Kekeke,” the vesselʼs captain responded by letting out a strange, unpleasant laugh as though Caesarʼs growing frustration was somehow amusing to him.

He was wearing filthy black clothes that gave off such a foul smell that their stench almost seemed visible in the surrounding air, while his face was covered in strange patches of contrasting colors and his mouth was completely devoid of teeth... Looking at his overall appearance, it was genuinely difficult to tell whether the creature standing there was actually human or something else entirely.

That strange person cast a sideways glance toward Caesar while continuing to laugh in that peculiar manner. ”Didnʼt you ask about this place before coming here, young man? Only a year for a ride from the Major Space Portal all the way to the galaxy is considered very good time around here. You should know that this is the best vessel in the entire sector!”

”Our cargo vessels are better.” Caesar narrowed his eyes as he looked around at the miserable condition of the vessel, and he truly wasnʼt exaggerating in the slightest. Its speed was utterly pathetic compared to what he was accustomed to, but judging by its current condition and the state of its ancient structure, if they attempted to push it any faster than this, the entire vessel would probably fall apart around them.

”I donʼt know where you came from or what kind of place youʼre accustomed to, but youʼre in the Sector of Death and Evil now, Sector 666.” The captainʼs tone became noticeably heavier as he spoke. ”Nobody builds vessels here anymore, and very few people have enough courage to bring vessels over from neighboring sectors and use them to work in transportation around this place. Only an extremely formidable man like me would be capable of taking a risk like this.”

”Yes, your formidability is obvious.” Caesar snorted as he gave the captain and his miserable vessel another look.

”Are you making fun of me?” The captain immediately noticed the unmistakable tone behind Caesarʼs words, and it clearly provoked him enough that his previous amusement disappeared. ”Ever since that bastard Mortex did what he did and transformed an entire normal galaxy into what is now known as the Fortress of Demise, the whole sector has become dangerous. Everyone who possessed the ability and resources necessary to leave this place already left, and those who remained behind were mostly the weak and poor citizens who donʼt even know what happened to the Necrofortress Galaxy in the first place.”

Then the captain continued explaining, ”From that point onward, only two kinds of people ever willingly come to this sector...” He raised one finger in front of Caesar as he began describing the first group. ”The first kind are death-seekers like you. Something traumatic happens to them somewhere in their lives, and afterward they come all the way here like some girl with daddy issues who wants to kill herself. They head toward the outer planets of the galaxy to test themselves against whatever awaits them there, hoping that perhaps theyʼll manage to become generals, or maybe theyʼll somehow get their hands on one of the countless treasures found there!”

Then he raised a second finger as his expression became more serious. ”The second kind are human devils and true outcasts of the underworld.” The man narrowed his already extremely narrow eyes even further as he spoke about them. ”This is where the origins of the underground curses can be found, this is the origin of every kind of evil, and whatever twisted thing you can possibly imagine, youʼll find it somewhere around here.” Then he waved his hand dismissively before continuing, ”That dead bastard, the damned Darvion, you know him? He began his journey right here in this sector. He learned the foundations of curses and the methods of the underworld directly from the devils of this sector, experimenting on the citizens of the sector while learning and developing what he knew... Afterward, he took some of that cursed knowledge heʼd acquired here and went outside to bully the fainthearted with it.”

”Oh, is it really that bad?” Caesar raised his eyebrows slightly as though the information had genuinely surprised him, although, of course, he already knew this particular piece of information before the captain ever mentioned it.

”You might not know this, but Darvion was once a disciple of one of the secret sects here, only he eventually broke their rules and left.” The captain then turned his head toward Caesar and gave him a meaningful look. ”There are plenty of Darvions scattered around this place... and some of them are even stronger than he was.” His voice gradually became heavier and more serious as he continued. ”This is a place where the Star Academies never dared to set foot even once, and even the Cosmic Academies wouldnʼt dare come here.”

Then the captain smiled as though he took a certain amount of pride in describing just how terrible the place ahead truly was. ”This is Mid Sector 666... where no one dares build a Space Portal or freely travel around in a vessel. Here, the skies themselves are forbidden, while beneath the ground, blood flows in place of rivers. Any single one of those underground sects surrounding the Necrofortress Galaxy could easily wipe out several Behemoths along with their galaxies if they wished. Believe me!”

”....” Caesar remained silent for a moment before giving the captain a sideways glance, apparently paying far more attention to something else entirely. ”What exactly do you eat to make your breath smell that bad?”

”Tsk, you neither understand nor listen to anything Iʼm telling you.” The captain clicked his tongue in irritation and turned his attention toward the space ahead once again. ”Youʼre deliberately calling destruction and death down upon yourself, and not some quick death either, but an ugly, drawn-out death, yet instead of thinking about that, you keep filling my head with your nonsense day and night. Why exactly are you in such a hurry to meet it?”

”....” Caesar remained quiet for a moment before raising his head slightly, his expression showing little reaction to the captainʼs warning. ”This place called me, not the other way around.”

”Kekeke, they all say something like that.” The captain immediately laughed again, clearly having heard similar claims more than enough times before. ”Let me guess, destiny itself called out to you and told you that youʼre going to become some immortal, invincible general?”

”...Something like that.” Caesar didnʼt continue explaining the matter or offer the captain any additional details. ”For some reason, I have a connection to that place, and Iʼll know exactly what it is when I arrive.”

”Itʼs your life~” The captain shrugged his shoulders casually, no longer appearing particularly interested in convincing Caesar to turn back. ”But Iʼm warning you... Stay on the scattered planets surrounding the galaxy for a few centuries first and spend that time there. After that, make your way toward the moons surrounding the galaxyʼs outer shell, and only afterward move on to the planets of the outer ring. If you do things that way, then by that point, you might actually have a chance.”

”....” Caesar lifted a hand and rubbed his forehead for several moments, apparently tired of both the long journey and the captainʼs continuous warnings. ”Iʼll keep your advice in mind... How much longer is left until we finally reach the Necrofortress Galaxy?”

”Actually, weʼve almost arrived already. Just sit down for a little while and say your prayers to whatever it is you happen to worship, kekeke. Youʼre going to need every single prayer you can possibly get once we arrive, kekekeke.”

”....” Caesar released a long breath without responding to the captainʼs laughter any further, then turned around and walked toward the rear section of the vessel to sit down.

The ancient vessel wasnʼt particularly large and certainly didnʼt offer much in the way of comfort, but at the very least, there was a small compartment where Caesar could sleep during the painfully long journey, along with a filthy toilet and an old couch where he could sit.

Caesar lowered himself onto the couch and closed his eyes, remaining there quietly for a moment before releasing a deep breath. ”Hooo~” Afterward, without opening his eyes, he spoke in a voice so low and quiet that no one except himself could possibly hear it. ”The captain says Iʼm getting close... Whatʼs the next step I need to take now to finally get rid of you, Mortex?”

Hoooo The temperature throughout the surrounding space suddenly plummeted without warning, while Caesarʼs skin immediately stiffened under the unnatural cold. Then he slowly opened his eyes again, revealing two completely lifeless white eyes as a voice emerged from his mouth. ”Come to the heart of the galaxy, of course... Ha... Hahahahaha.”