Lord of the Truth

“…My Lady?!” Serafina muttered in disbelief before slowly moving past Caesar and stepping into the hall herself, her movements stiff and hesitant as though her body had not fully accepted what her eyes were seeing yet.

“..?” Caesar furrowed his brows at her sudden reaction and turned to follow her with his gaze, only for his own expression to gradually change as well once his eyes settled upon the object resting at the center of the room.

Inside the hall stood exactly what she had been told about earlier: a crystal coffin large enough for a person to rest comfortably within it, its transparent surface polished so perfectly that everything inside could be seen with absolute clarity from the outside.

And within that coffin…

Rested Helen.

For a brief moment, even Caesar himself simply stared silently.

The woman lying there possessed a beauty so overwhelming and unreal that the observer instinctively hesitated before deciding whether she could truly be considered human at all. She looked no older than someone in her early twenties, with delicate flawless features, blood-red lips, crimson nails resting atop her folded hands before her chest, and long pitch-black eyelashes contrasting sharply against her pale skin, while the elegant black dress covering her body only made the unnatural perfection of her appearance even more striking.

Anyone seeing her for the first time would inevitably question whether they were looking at a person sleeping peacefully…

Or at a masterpiece crafted by divine hands.

She resembled something painted rather than born, something too refined and unreal to belong naturally among ordinary living beings, and with her face now completely exposed without the hostility, killing intent, coldness, or arrogance she usually carried around herself, the difference became almost shocking.

“…What is happening here?” Caesar recognized her immediately despite the unfamiliar sight before him. “Why is Helen inside a coffin?”

Even he hesitated while speaking, his voice emerging thinner than usual. In the past, the portions of Helen’s face occasionally visible beneath her mask had already been enough to leave strong impressions on people around her, but now, with her entire face revealed peacefully beneath the crystal surface, absent of any aggression or murderous pressure, the effect became completely different.

Her appearance alone forced a ridiculous thought into the minds of everyone looking at her:

What exactly had Helmor eaten on the night he conceived that girl?!

Even Caesar himself, one of the people who disliked her most openly, failed to stop that absurd question from crossing his mind.

Meanwhile, beside him, Serafina’s breathing had already become uneven.

“You murderers…” Her aura began surging violently while she slowly pulled out her sword. “You murderers!!!”

Rumble Rumble

The eruption of Serafina’s energy cracked the palace floor beneath her feet instantly while several nearby formations activated at once in response to the hostility appearing within the hall.

“Drop that sword immediately!” Caesar’s beautiful assistant reacted without hesitation, summoning a scepter in one smooth motion as the dense aura of a Royal Soul Master burst outward from her body with overwhelming pressure.

At almost the same moment—

Hummm

Several additional Royal Soul Master auras exploded into existence nearby before rapidly converging toward Caesar’s location from every direction, wrapping around him protectively while immense pressure descended upon the surrounding corridors.

“Enough.”

Caesar suddenly waved his hand firmly.

The bracelet worn upon his left arm glowed faintly before he turned toward his assistant directly, his eyes calm despite the dangerous atmosphere filling the room.

“Enough, Lily.”

And just like that…

It felt as though the world itself had returned to silence once more.

The formations previously locking onto Serafina calmed immediately, Lily lowered her scepter without protest, and even the approaching Soul Masters suppressed the threatening pressure they had intentionally released moments earlier.

Of course, anyone paying close attention would still notice that the Royal Soul Masters of Originus continued gathering around the building from every direction at terrifying speed, but after Caesar spoke they restrained their auras entirely, leaving behind only a silent message:

We stopped because he ordered us to stop.

“Enough, Serafina.” Caesar spoke again, this time in a calmer voice. “I did not order your mistress killed, and I had no idea she was here.”

“Then what do you call this?!” Serafina shouted while pointing toward the coffin, tears already gathering within her eyes.

Never, not even once since meeting Helen, had Serafina ever seen her injured badly enough to genuinely fear for her life…

Let alone lying unconscious inside a crystal coffin.

To Serafina, Helen had always resembled an existence impossible to truly harm, someone standing far above ordinary danger no matter how severe the situation became, and seeing her now in such a silent and defenseless state shook her far more deeply than she expected.

“We’ll find out together right now.” Caesar stepped calmly past her until reaching the crystal coffin itself, then began examining it carefully with furrowed brows while traces of seriousness gradually replaced the earlier amusement on his face.

His fingers brushed lightly against the crystal surface as his eyes inspected the inscriptions surrounding the coffin one by one before he finally spoke again without lifting his gaze away from Helen.

“What happened?” His voice had already become colder. “I want a brief report, because I know my father did not order this.”

And that last sentence carried genuine certainty.

His father might oppose Helen politically, threaten her, manipulate her, or even crush her ambitions entirely if necessary…

But placing her inside a coffin like this without explanation?

No.

That did not resemble him at all.

Which meant only one possibility remained.

Something had happened outside their expectations.

And if whatever happened to Helen truly connected back to them somehow…

Then this situation was about to become a disaster far larger than anyone inside this room currently realized.

His father was an important ally to Hedrick, a relationship that was supposed to become their key toward Mid Sector 101 and their doorway into manipulating both the Cursed Behemoth and the Savage Behemoth simultaneously without exposing themselves openly.

And even setting all of that aside, the Shadow Swords were already engaged in severe hostility with Helmor, the Behemoth of Destruction himself, a terrifying existence who openly described them as nothing more than a destructive underground organization poisoning the balance of the sectors. No one within the empire desired a clearer or more direct conflict with that man than the one they already possessed, especially considering Helmor’s personality and the absurd level of destruction associated with him whenever his anger truly erupted.

“She was subjected to a brutal pursuit by the scions of the Cursed Behemoth,” the Shadow Sword standing beside the coffin spoke calmly, completely unaffected by the violent scene that had unfolded moments earlier, his confidence in the defenses of Originus seemingly absolute. “We received direct orders from the First Sword to rescue her, but by the time we reached her location, we found her already in this condition.”

“…!!”

Serafina’s eyes widened instantly.

Then the tears finally broke free.

She took several unsteady steps forward before collapsing weakly to her knees beside the crystal coffin, her trembling hands pressing against its transparent surface as though she feared Helen might disappear if she looked away for even a moment.

“…My Lady…”

Of course she had heard about those pursuits.

The entire sector knew about them.

For years, the scions of the Cursed Behemoth had hunted Helen relentlessly across Mid Sector 101, forcing her into constant movement while battles and ambushes erupted around her endlessly, yet despite all of that…

Serafina never once truly believed her mistress could lose.

Helen always appeared untouchable in her eyes.

Too overwhelming.

Too proud.

Too terrifying to ever end up lying helplessly inside a coffin.

“…After successfully retrieving the body, several of our people examined it alongside the Big Six personally,” the Shadow Sword continued steadily while keeping his posture straight. “That was when everyone realized something strange was happening with her, and that she was not merely a corpse, so the decision was made to protect her immediately.”

His expression darkened slightly afterward.

“There was no safe location remaining within Mid Sector 101 because of the random assaults carried out by the scions of the Behemoth of Curse, and there wasn’t a single planet powerful enough to shelter her properly, especially if they truly placed a tracking seal upon her as we suspect.”

“You suspect she carries a tracking seal, and that the scions of the Cursed Behemoth would eventually follow her…” Caesar slowly raised his head upward while furrowing his brows heavily. “So your solution was bringing her here?” His voice became colder with every word. “What exactly were all of you thinking?”

“There were not many choices available, Marshal,” the Shadow Sword answered quickly without hesitation. “Sector 101 is no longer safe. We had no option except bringing her here temporarily while searching for another location capable of hiding her properly. Give the order and we will take her away immediately.”

“No!!”

Serafina stood abruptly and raised her sword once more, the instability in her aura making it obvious she was already emotionally overwhelmed.

“No one is taking her anywhere!”

“….”

Caesar ignored Serafina entirely and returned his gaze toward the angelic face resting silently beneath the crystal surface before releasing a strange sigh through clenched teeth.

“…You said Theo was the one who ordered her rescue?”

It was an uncomfortable feeling looking at Helen in such a state.

So weak.

So silent.

The sight created a bizarre contradiction inside him because Helen had always appeared like a creature born specifically to glare at others arrogantly while radiating killing intent from behind her mask, yet now she looked almost fragile beneath the crystal coffin, causing his irritation to lose direction entirely.

It felt strangely similar to staring at a vicious cat moments after it clawed him, only to discover it collapsed bleeding afterward, leaving him uncertain whether he still wanted to be angry at it or not.

“Yes, Marshal.” The Shadow Sword visibly relaxed slightly after hearing the question. “He stated it was a direct order from His Majesty himself. We were forced to pay additional compensation to the Big Six to convince them to move, and we used a rapid support vessel to extract her from there safely.”

“…Fine. She can remain on Originus for now.” Caesar nodded slowly after several seconds of silence. “I can already sense something strange occurring inside this body. This is not merely a corpse.”

Then he turned toward the Shadow Sword again.

“What exactly did the six Dominators conclude after examining her?”

Caesar’s soul perception and understanding of laws were monstrous compared to ordinary Martial Emperors, but no matter how abnormal he was, he still remained far beneath actual Dominators regarding perception and understanding.

The Shadow Sword furrowed his brows slightly before answering carefully.

“They said…” He hesitated briefly as though still uncertain how to phrase the conclusion properly. “Her body is dead… but she remains alive inside her soul domain.”

“…..?!” Caesar’s eyes opened violently.

For the first time since entering the room, genuine shock appeared clearly across his face.

“Say that again?!”