After the initial gasps and screams faded away, a chilling and unnatural silence spread across the entire arena. The rustling, humane sounds that had once filled the colosseum disappeared completely. A vacuum remained in its place, a vacuum filled with dread.
Every single person present stood still; their attention was drawn toward the horrifying sight at the center of the arena.
Many among the crowd quickly recognized the identity of the severed head that had been placed on display, and they quickly whispered to the ones ignorant about why Pope looked so shocked.
The head belonged to Pope Winston’s son.
The realization was hard to swallow for everyone present. The Pope’s own son had somehow been captured, killed, and publicly displayed in such a brutal and humiliating manner.
Winston stood frozen in place as he tried to process what he was seeing. His breathing became uneven and heavy, each breath trembling as it left his chest. Sweat formed across his body, and his entire figure showed clear signs of anxiety and shock. His thoughts raced without control as he tried to understand what was happening.
A cold sensation spread through his chest, making him feel the dread of being outplayed and humiliated in such a way. His hands trembled slightly, and for a brief moment, he felt powerless. The last time he had felt so was when Amon had threatened him.
The reality of the situation struck him with full force. His son had been taken from right under his watch, killed without his knowledge, and now displayed before the entire empire.
This had happened in front of the Primarch, in front of his own subordinates, and in front of representatives from various nations.
His wide and confused gaze shifted suddenly toward the broadcasting crystal. Without hesitation, he gathered his energy and launched an attack toward it, intending to destroy it immediately.
He could not let the dominance and invincible image he had built for years go to waste just because his pathetic, weak son failed to save his own life.
The viewers who were watching through the broadcast saw a sudden flash of light appear on their screens. Many of them frowned, believing that the transmission had been cut off. However, even as the light obscured their vision, they could still hear some audio clearly. Their confusion deepened as they realized the broadcast had not ended.
The broadcast was running in city squares, places, noble houses, and many other places, covering a large amount of viewership. The church had spent a lot of money to make sure that even poor regions in all the nations had access to broadcast crystals.
The number of people watching right now has surpassed the viewership of even the academy trials.
In the very next moment, the bright flash disappeared. In its place, a barrier formed around the crystal. It was a barrier made of dark elemental energy, dense and stable, completely shielding the crystal from Winston’s attack.
A cold sweat ran down Winston’s spine as he witnessed this. The realization that his attack had been effortlessly blocked caused a brief pause in his movements.
At the same time, the attention of everyone in the colosseum shifted toward the entrance below. Their focus moved almost in unison, drawn by a new presence that had entered the arena.
Calm and steady footsteps echoed throughout the silent space. Each step was audible due to the absolute silence of the spectators.
A young man walked into view.
He had a well-defined and athletic build; his muscular torso was visible beneath a flexible but tight black robe. The robe was decorated with silver patterns that reflected faint light, giving him a composed and refined appearance.
His hair was primarily black, but faint sapphire blue undertones could be seen when the wind touched it.
His eyes also shone sapphire blue, and they carried a subtle sense of satisfaction. However, the expression on his face was that of calm and unbothered, as if he did not feel threatened in the slightest by the situation around him.
All eyes in the colosseum focused on him. The frantic search for the perpetrator ended instantly, as everyone understood that this young man might be the one responsible; the way he had entered was enough to judge that.
Alister, who stood inside the pulvinar, narrowed his eyes as he observed the newcomer. In a single moment, he assessed the young man’s cultivation level and determined that he was at the Full Divinity Realm.
William had reached this level after absorbing Cardinal Nicholas’s mana cultivation following his enslavement. Although he had desired to reach the Godhood Realm, he had not yet found a suitable target to achieve that breakthrough. However, he had come here with that very purpose in mind.
William continued walking forward without hesitation. His pace remained calm and steady until he reached the spot where the severed head had been placed.
The entire colosseum remained silent as he stopped.
Without speaking a word, William raised his hand slightly and made a simple motion. In response, the rest of Winston Junior’s naked body dropped onto the ground with a heavy sound.
The impact echoed in the silence.
This single act removed any remaining doubt. It was confirmed clearly that he was responsible for everything.
Winston, unable to contain his anger any longer, stepped forward with a seething expression. His voice rose loudly as he shouted, "YOU DARE!"
He raised his scepter, preparing to strike.
However, before he could act, a beam of radiant moon energy shot through the air at extreme speeds. It struck the scepter directly and shattered it instantly.
The force of the impact caused Winston’s hand to shake violently. He clenched it tightly, his expression twisted in pain as he struggled to maintain control.
The attack had been so fast that he had not even seen it coming.
At that moment, two additional presences descended from the sky. Tamasya and Anasthasia landed calmly beside William; their arrival was silent, and they did not speak.
Winston paused; his anger was momentarily restrained as Alister raised his hand and eased some of his pressure, signaling him to stop.
The phoenix then turned its attention toward William, studying him carefully.
"Name?" he asked.
William met Alister’s gaze directly. There was no fear in his expression, and no hesitation in his posture. His voice was steady as he replied, "William Kaiser Solaris, the heir of the Solaris Clan, rightful emperor of this land."
Alister’s eyes narrowed slightly. The name felt familiar, as if he had heard it before, but he could not recall where. Despite that, he did not dwell on it. The situation in front of him was clear enough.
This was an act of revenge. Rudra’s son had somehow managed to survive and return with a very surprising strength; even then, Alister did not panic. He was still the strongest here.
"How about we resolve this peacefully?" Alister asked, raising his voice so that it carried across the arena.
In truth, he had no real intention of resolving anything. Eliminating William would have been simple for him. However, he was aware that the broadcast was still active. Unlike Winston, he was concerned about how he appeared to the public.
For now, he wanted to focus on keeping everything controlled, and once the common populace left the colosseum as well as the broadcast ended, he would order his men to wipe out the pest.
Hiding facts was easier with no witnesses; he could just let someone cook a story that carried the narrative in his favour and showed him as righteous.
He looked at William, quite sure that his strength as a primarch would render any funny ideas useless in his mind.
William responded with a faint smile. "Sorry, you lost the option of peace 15 years ago. You are a Primarch, I hope you have some sense and reason remaining in you."
His tone remained neutral as he continued.
"16 years when this swine in golden robes was spreading filth on this land in the name of his pervert god Lux, all the Primarchs remained silent about it, nobody stepped forward to intervene."
Listening to himself being called a swine, Winston clenched his fist, but the primarch’s pressure restricted any of his movements.
"I am here to clean up the mess created by this wild pig, Winston. I have no enmity against you or any other primarchs. So this is the one and only time that I will ask this question.
William paused briefly and then spoke with a slight warning tone.
"Does Primarch Alister intend to intervene in my path of taking back what is rightfully mine to begin with?"
"Yes or no?"
Alister narrowed his eyes further. "You are young. It is not wise to make decisions while being driven by anger."
William let out a small scoff. "You are avoiding my question. Are you waiting for the broadcast to end so you can silence me afterward?"
Alister’s expression hardened. "Measure your words carefully."
William did not react to the warning. "Are you going to intervene or not?"
"Yes," Alister answered firmly. "You have killed the Pope’s son. You cannot simply walk in here and act as you please."
William shook his head slowly. "Sixteen years ago, the man beside you did exactly that. Where were you then?"
Alister’s expression grew colder. "You have a sharp tongue."
"I have seen enough," William replied. "You have your hidden motives, and you are clearly implying that you intend to interfere."
As William spoke this, he strangely turned away from Alister and walked toward the broadcasting crystal.
"Natives of Aris and my pets in the abyss," he said as he leaned slightly toward it, a faint smile on his face.
"By the time you see tomorrow’s sunrise, the map of this continent will be changed forever."
His face appeared clearly in the broadcast, visible to countless viewers across the continent. The people watching could not believe what they were witnessing.
A young man was challenging the authority so blatantly!!, they had never seen this happen before, their eyes couldn’t believe it, someone was trying to break the fundamental hierarchy.
Most believed he was courting his own death, but only a few truly anticipated that something was not fitting right.
Then, suddenly, something changed in front of the viewers.
William whispered a name. "Rah"
A violent sound echoed through the sky, as if the air itself had been torn apart. The sound of a small explosion occurred in the background, as something had burst apart, shjades of red had colored the sky.
It happened too quickly for most to understand. Before anyone could react, William spoke once more with a chuckle.
"Sayonara."
The screens went blank after that, yet everywhere the scene had been broadcast was quiet. If the earlier situation was not shocking enough, they had literally seen something that led to many people fainting from sheer shock.
The final frame of the broadcast would remain burned into the minds of those who had seen it forever.
Primarch Alister’s Left arm had been blasted off in an instant by an unseen force.
Chaos spread across the entire continent.