The glow ahead of me grew brighter and larger until it filled my vision. In the next instant, I was right in front of it, seconds away from impact. I tightened my fist and thrust it forward with all my strength.
"[Lightning Rend]."
A focused beam of lightning burst from my hand, wrapped in thin, tearing cracks of space. It screeched through the air and ripped open a hole in the planet’s protective barrier.
Whoosh!!
I shot through the gap like a lightning bolt, the rush of heat and energy washing over me as I broke into Sukra’s atmosphere. The winds roared around me, but I kept my body steady, descending rapidly until I stopped myself mid-air with a sudden pull of Essence.
Three seconds later, Dante emerged from the rift behind me. He hovered a few meters away, breathing hard. I turned toward him and grinned.
He let out a long exhale and shook his head slowly. "How strong is your body?"
I laughed lightly, sparks flickering along my arm. "Really strong."
Then I turned my gaze downward, toward the vast planet spread out beneath us. Clouds churned over its surface, and faint flashes of light hinted at the defense systems already stirring.
"So they must know we’ve invaded?" I asked quietly.
Dante’s voice was calm but certain. "Yes. They’ll be rushing toward us soon. How do you want to handle it?"
I tilted my head slightly, already thinking through the approach. "You go for the capital. I’ll leave my summon here to greet the grandmaster heading this way, while I take a stroll around the planet."
Dante raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. "A stroll?"
I nodded, a small smile tugging at the corner of my mouth. "Yeah. Why not?"
He narrowed his eyes at me, clearly debating whether to argue, but in the end, he just sighed and shook his head. "Alright, fine. I’ll see you in the capital. But make sure you don’t kill anyone, it’s a direct request from Lucien."
"Got it," I said with a nod.
Dante took a deep breath, then vanished in a streak of blue light, cutting through the clouds toward the distant capital.
As the silence returned, I exhaled slowly and whispered, "Come out."
Crimson mist poured from the core, spreading like smoke across the sky, and one by one my summons stepped out.
"Alright," I said, scanning the small army that had just formed before me, "your task is simple. Capture any grandmaster who comes here to meet you. Then question them about where to find others, and go capture those too. Let’s see who can bring back the most grandmasters to this planet’s capital within an hour." I paused, my tone firm. "And I want them alive. No killing. Especially you, Lyrate."
She blinked, looking genuinely confused, as if I’d just spoken a language she’d never heard before.
"Are you... talking about me?" she asked.
I nodded. Knight nodded. Even Silver nodded solemnly.
Lyrate’s expression shifted suddenly into a sweet, disarming smile. "Billion, how about we go on a date?"
I froze. "What?"
She floated toward me, her crimson hair flowing behind her like liquid fire. Her presence was calm, but her eyes, those deep red eyes were anything but.
She placed a hand on my chest and whispered, "Yes. I’ll teach you how beautiful the art of taking life is. You seem to have an aversion to it... but don’t worry." Her gaze locked into mine, unblinking. "By the time I’m done, you’ll love it."
I coughed and took a quick step back. "Alright, fine. Once I have some time, I’ll take you out, and you can... explain all that to me."
She smiled again, sharp and delighted. "Deal. I’m off then. Let’s see who wins this little competition."
Before I could say anything else, she vanished into the mist, her laughter fading into the wind.
I chuckled, shaking my head, and turned to fly in another direction. As I shot off, I heard Knight sigh behind me and mutter, "Guess we’re really running a capture-the-flag, except the flags scream and fight back."
I grinned and continued forward until I found an isolated mountain range stretching beneath the clouds. I descended slowly, landing on a jagged peak before taking a seat. The air was thin, but calm, perfect for what I needed to do.
Closing my eyes, I exhaled once and flicked my will outward. My perception expanded explosively, sweeping across valleys, rivers, and the buried pulse of the planet beneath. I gave myself fifteen minutes, no more, to find the world core.
I tapped into my minor law of space, shifting my senses between overlapping dimensions, searching for an isolated pocket where the core might reside. My confidence in locating it through this alone was low, but I had something else, something only I could use.
Reaching inward, I connected to the Dawn Core.
In the next instant, my consciousness floated in a vast dark void.
Below me stretched the chain of islands, manifestations of the laws I had comprehended.
Each one radiated steady waves of energies. The barren, newborn land formed after the Dawn Core’s awakening shimmered faintly at the edges, alive and growing.
But at the very center of it all stood the black island, silent, unmoving, and completely veiled in that same ominous smoke I had once seen devour Essence itself.
That island pulsed faintly, and I knew.
This... would be my trump card.
The key to locating and unraveling any world core that existed.
I floated closer to the black island, feeling the pressure rise with every inch. The smoke that cloaked it wasn’t just darkness, it was rejection. My first attempt to connect was met with silence, as if the island didn’t even acknowledge my existence.
I tried again, forcing my Essence through the void, shaping my will into a bridge. The moment it touched the smoke, it shattered. My vision blurred, and pain flared across my chest. Still, I didn’t stop.
The third time, I poured every minor law I had mastered into my command, space, lightning, fire but the smoke swallowed them whole, indifferent, unyielding. The connection broke once more, leaving me gasping, my consciousness flickering between the void and the physical world.
I clenched my teeth.
This time, I invoked my Law of Resonance. My Essence trembled, harmonizing with the island’s faint vibration. Slowly, the distance dissolved. The void quivered, then, with a low hum, a black chain burst out from the smoke.
It pierced through the void and into reality, emerging from my chest.
Then it quivered softly, and in the next instant, a ripple surged outward, spreading through space.