Chapter 427: The Promise Part 2

The arrival of the fleet changed everything.

A moment ago there had only been Asher, Pantheon, and the endless dark surrounding the black hole.

Now thousands of ships filled the space around him, and none of it was random — every vessel locked into formation at once, space itself tightening as the defensive net sealed every route out.

He wouldn't be able to teleport out even if he wanted to.

They knew that anyone capable of reaching the center of the universe was already powerful enough to manipulate space itself.

A voice answered, carrying authority. "Unknown entity. You have entered a forbidden region under the jurisdiction of the Universal Council. State your identity and your purpose."

Asher looked back at the black hole. "I'm entering the Void."

Silence followed — not the silence of empty space, but of thousands of beings trying to understand what they'd just heard.

"Denied. The Void is not a place to be explored. It is a boundary that even peak existences cannot cross."

Asher glanced at him. "And?"

"And you will not be allowed to enter."

"I wasn't asking for permission."

His words triggered a chain reaction.

Energy surged across the fleet as weapons built to fight beings beyond planetary destruction came online one after another, the surrounding space trembling under it.

(They are preparing for battle.)

"I noticed."

(You really have changed.)

He ignored that.

The Council ships kept scanning him, and they were confuse.

"Report."

"No energy readings."

"Repeat."

"No energy readings detected from the target."

They could sense Pantheon fine; the sword carried a presence beyond most beings in the universe. But Asher himself read as empty space, a person existing past of what they could perceive.

"How is that possible?" one of the Council whispered. "Every living being has a source of power."

"Then explain him."

Nobody could.

Asher had already reached the same level as "R."

In a fundamental sense, his existence was no longer bound by the universe's law.

The only way they could sense anything from him was if he allowed it.

The ships opened. Figures stepped out one by one — the strongest members of the Council, peak existences who had climbed to the highest levels of power in the universe, beings whose mere appearance could kill weaker things where they stood.

Asher only watched. "So these are the ones protecting the universe. Interesting."

They surrounded him, ready — if he moved toward the Void, they'd stop him, and if it came to it, they'd fight.

Soon, more portals opened.

But these were different.

Unlike the massive rifts created by the fleet, these portals were identical to the ones Asher used.

Instantaneous.

No time dilation.

What emerged from them were not ships.

One after another, figures stepped out. Their presence completely overshadowed the countless vessels surrounding them.

Then one of them paused.

"Asher...?"

A woman with an almost angelic face stopped cold. Her eyes went wide. Her expression — usually confident — cracked for the first time in longer than she could count.

The others turned toward her. She didn't notice. Every part of her attention had narrowed down to him.

"You're alive. I thought you were erased when I was trying to pull you out of the Void."

Asher raised an eyebrow. It was only then that he finally recognized her.

Angeline.

The SSS+ Rank angel.

The one responsible for the chain of events that had led to everything that happened to him.

"I don't care about your story. I'm here to enter the Void, so I would appreciate it if you all backed down without making things difficult."

She didn't seem to hear him at all, already lost in her own delusion.

"This is wonderful!" she said, her eyes shining with excitement. "Come with me. I'm sure you'll be happy once you regain your true memories!"

Asher wasn't surprised.

R had already told him that his body was artificially created. Whoever he had originally been, it was likely Angeline who made that possible, creating him as a replacement.

But that no longer mattered. The soul that had once resided in this body was long gone.

He was now an independent being.

The only reason Angeline recognized him was because he still wore the same face.

"Now that you mention it... he really does look like that guy."

One of the peak existences spoke, his deep voice carrying across space despite the vacuum.

Pantheon immediately recognized him.

(That's the Dragon God himself.)

'So what?' Asher replied. 'You're probably much stronger than him now.'

Pantheon let out a smug laugh.

(You got that right, kid. Let me transform into my dragon form so I can show him who's the real boss.)

Asher shook his head.

'I'll give you a chance later if things escalate. For now, just stay still.'

While they spoke through their mental link, Angeline had already begun giggling to herself.

"Come with me!"

She reached out toward him as if the answer had already been decided.

Asher looked at her without expression. "Stop daydreaming. The person you think is inside me is already gone. He got erased completely."

Her smile vanished. "No! That's impossible! There's no way you could have done that!"

Asher couldn't help but laugh.

She still didn't understand.

The one who had erased that soul wasn't him.

It was R.

The bearer of the Law of Absolute Destruction

There was almost nothing he couldn't erase from existence.

The sole exception was Asher himself—the holder of the Law of Absolute Protection.

If even R couldn't destroy him, then no one else could.

That was why Asher felt no threat despite being surrounded by so many powerful beings.

They could combine all of their strength. They could unleash every ability they possessed. They could attack him together without holding anything back.

It would not matter.

As long as they could not wield a Law, he was effectively untouchable.

They were like characters inside a game—powerful, carefully designed, and capable of defeating anything that existed within their own world.

But no matter how strong they became, they could never truly harm something that existed outside the layer of reality they were bound to.

"I'm not going to repeat myself. Let me go, or you will all regret trying to stop me."

His eyes turned toward Angeline.

"And I'll start by ending that obsessed, psychopathic angel over there."