Chương 57: On Guard

The winds were frigid. Harsh. Flaying the skin like coarse sandpaper. Yet Ren felt no cold. Quite the opposite— the heat choked his lungs, each breath tasting of ash as the blaze devouring the rocky forest twisted the horizon into a theater of warped, dancing shadows.

"Leader, My Lady," saluted the chef-enforcer, rushing to their side. Ren remained silent, eyes flashing in the light reflected.

"What happened?" Demoness asked in his place.

"We aren't sure, My Lady," said the enforcer, frowning.

"We didn't detect any presence, and the divine sense crystal remains silent, but the Grand Cannon suddenly went off."

"It wouldn't go off randomly," Demoness muttered, massaging her temples.

"Check the blast site. See if there's any remaining aura or spiritual will," she paused a second, then added, "And someone, get that fire under control." The enforcer saluted and quickly took off, raining down orders.

"What do you think?" she asked.

"Those jackals… they were talking about an ambush waiting for us to pass the border," Ren answered and clasped his hands at his back. Even though he had no experience in such matters, he knew that every act needed a motive. Something to make it worthwhile for cultivators who already have limited time. After all, chasing immortality couldn't be possible without immense effort and time. Sending some small fry to tail him? Possibly no return but also a low price. He could understand that.

Heck, he wouldn't be surprised if they tried to attack him as he hunted those jackals down. He had contingencies in place for such a situation, of course, but he was still away from his Guardian aka Demoness. That should be the prime opportunity for anyone thinking of killing him. But testing him while he was on the First Flash of Judgment? That was the most bullshit thing he had ever heard.

"Nonsense," Demoness snorted, standing beside him.

"Exactly," Ren muttered. He felt a bad premonition stirring in his gut.

"I only wrote that we're heading out to quell a beast tide. Not even the Council knows our route. There's no way they could prepare an ambush beforehand. But there's one thing I can't understand: how could they possibly know we'd be leaving the border?"

"Let's say that was just an excuse to keep those jackals on our tail since nobody in their right mind would willingly choose to go after an Eldest. But why would they trigger the cannon? Don't they know this will only put us on high alert…" Demoness trailed off, confusion overflowing from her voice. Earning the Grand Destruction Cannon name by erasing Masters in a single shot, it existed for the sole purpose of utter obliteration.

Of course, with great power came great consumption, and it was truly a bottomless pit, eating countless resources with each shot. That was why only real threats— those at the level of peak Soul Formation or Soul Transformation— could trigger its auto-attack mechanism.

"Something here doesn't add up," Ren muttered, his jaw tightening.

"If they are planning an ambush, they wouldn't show their trump cards this easily."

"What if this isn't a trump card…?" she trailed off, as if she must've realized such a possibility was stretching too far.

"Soul Transformation? For me?" Ren couldn't help but chuckle in self-disdain.

"It'd be nothing but a waste of effort." Neither spoke, the silence stretching as they watched the blaze rising higher and higher. Not long after, a third figure joined them, accompanied by a faint scent of herbs.

"Are we in danger?" asked Ruolan, face unreadable. Ren paused, searching for words, maybe a consolation, something to comfort. Yet nothing came to his mind.

"Heh," Demoness chuckled a while later, giving him a knowing look when he remained silent.

"Don't forget that I'm here, little girl. Not everyone can—" Her words were cut short as she froze abruptly. A heartbeat later, Ren felt it too, a chill crawling up his spine. Everything darkened, and a crushing aura erupted. The blaze faded, the moonlight hid behind the clouds, and the silence devoured everything, drawing all eyes to a tall silhouette floating just outside the blast zone. No… That wasn't floating. Space warped around it, dragging stone and fire alike into its pull, forcibly bending to its will.

This… t-this… And right in front of it, someone collapsed on the ground. Ren's breath hitched as the figure slowly turned, as if sensing his gaze. A black mask— a blank void with not even eyeholes— stared directly into his being, piercing through his mask, his flesh, and into his soul. His instincts howled in pure terror. The Cannon's runes ignited just then—"Get down!" Everything turned into a blur. Heat slammed into him first— raw, blinding, a wall of fire searing across his skin. Enjoying this book?

Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. The deck lurched. The world spun, and a hand pulled him down. Then came the sound. BOOOM! A roar like a meteor falling tore through his ears. Yet he couldn't tear his eyes away from the figure, stubbornly forcing them to stay open despite the stabbing pain, and that's the only reason he saw it. The figure lifted its hand as the deep-blue beam streaked toward it, fingers curling into a claw.

A colossal phantom hand materialized over its own, seizing the beam in midair and stopping it cold. The next moment, a star appeared over its forehead, then another, and another until five of them began to circle in perfect tandem over its head. The pressure skyrocketed!

"Heh." Ren could almost hear a smirk, dripping with disdain. But he had no time to dwell on it. The beam began to rampage, its light twisting and warping. Even the space around it began to crack, yet the figure remained unmoved, its 'gaze' never leaving Ren.

"Who the hell are you?!" Right then, Demoness pulled him back, shielding him with her body. It should be a funny sight, considering the obvious size difference between them, but laughter was the last thing Ren could muster. He wanted to lift his hand and pull her back. He couldn't. His mind refused to give that command, the most primal emotion every human carried had already blanketed his body in front of this figure's presence: fear. I'm… scared… Ren admitted, despite the fact that the word itself made him sick.

Despite the mask should've suppressed it. But watching the light beam unravel without a sound in a heartbeat when the figure's fingers gently clenched… I should be… scared. I can't face such a being… I definitely can't. No, even my soul— hmm… what even? I— The pressure disappeared all of a sudden. Along with it, Ren lost sight of the figure, too. Is it gone? He blinked, about to relax when all his instincts went off at once, alarm bells crashing through his skull.

Without even realizing it, he used Primordial's Wrath, both his aura and his moonlight energy erupting in a frenzy. The dragon and the scale of Judgment rose into the air. At the same time, Demoness erupted with a far stronger energy, her hair flaring and glimmering as light reflected off her energy. Though this didn't reassure him in the slightest. She isn't even a Master… He couldn't see her face, yet he knew it was twisted all the same. They waited for the figure's move in grim anticipation.

However, the figure seemed to have no intention of doing so. Instead, he felt as if it were watching them from the shadows with… amusement? Like a child watching a bunch of ants scurrying beneath its feet.

"What do you want?" Ren asked, finally forcing the words out through his constricted throat, heart thundering in his chest.

"Next time, do not stare at what you cannot comprehend," the figure uttered slowly, its voice dull. Ancient. And disturbing as it was impossible to assign a sex to it. It sounded like two rocks grinding into each other, forming precise words stripped of tone or emotion. The crushing pressure suddenly returned along with its figure over the ship. The First Flash of Judgment flashed with light; its barrier triggered into action.

Yet even with no contact, the ship buckled downward as if it couldn't bear the figure's presence, its hull creaking and squeaking in distress. Ren trembled. He heard a solid thud from behind, then came others. He forced himself not to look, but failed and stole a glance out of the corner of his eye, only to see that all the enforcers, Ruolan, and even Demoness had fallen to their knees. Their gazes were blank… hollow.

"Ohh," the figure muttered, for the first time showing a hint of emotion, "you can still stand?"

"What did you do to them?" Ren intended to roar, yet his voice came off as muted— weak. The figure didn't answer, probably deeming it beneath itself to give him that honor. It took a step forward, nothing fancy. Just a simple motion. Yet it immediately caused the barrier to shake, with wide cracks spreading across it, and the creaking intensified. Ren gasped. Took a step back, stumbling, his control over his body lost. The fuck… His mind reeled as the scene changed. He found himself in total darkness.

Light was nonexistent here. Heck, it wasn't only light; there was practically nothing around him, only a vast emptiness and a sky devoid of stars. Instinct kicked in, his moonlight energy flared, and a faint silvery light finally let him see what kind of place he was in. He first noticed the cracked earth as if it had never seen a drop of water. The air was murky. Heavy. He tried to breathe in vain, his lungs convulsing in pain, refusing to inhale.

Right at that moment, a star ignited out of nothing, flaring into being and bending the dark around it. Four more sparked after it, circling in cold, perfect arcs that resembled— His gaze shot up, only then noticing the giant figure covering the sky, hands clasped over its chest. He couldn't even comprehend when it had appeared before he clamped his eyes shut. A hot liquid gushed out of them, forcing them open. As for whether it was tears or blood, he didn't know.

His teeth crunched against each other when he clamped his jaw shut. He wanted to turn away, to stop staring— damn it, he really did— but he just couldn't. He was nothing but an ant, a tiny insect against a being on the cosmic scale. In front of this being, Eldest or not, he was… he was … he was puny all the same! He couldn't even muster a thought to resist. No thought to resist. No thought. And even if he had, how could someone resist such a being? What could he even do?

'What can you do? Huh? You can't do anything!' His skin prickled. Then it went cold. A sudden shiver tore through him, making him lose the feeling in his legs; they buckled, and as he was about to kneel pathetically—"Hehe… hehehe." A silent chuckle broke the crushing pressure. Ren raised his head and stared back at the colossal figure, the liquid from his eyes— blood, he was certain by now— still flowing freely. Yet he only laughed! A vicious, triumphant one, as though victory were already his.

And it was, in a sense. He even went as far as taking off his mask. It wasn't working perfectly in the figure's presence anyway, and he'd prefer this fucker to witness his smile rather than the mask's slight boost in control. Because:"Yeya?" A soft voice had bloomed in his mind. A questioning whisper from an unknown origin. He seemed to hear something calling to him, but it was coming from somewhere beyond what he could see. [Primordial Lifeform] A sudden clarity hit him like a splash of cold water.

The fearful 'thoughts' that seemed to belong to him puffed out of existence. The desolate world, the finger, the terrifying figure… everything disappeared. In their place, he saw the image of that primordial tree he had witnessed, its crown piercing through the sky and carrying the weight of the world. All illusions erased like a mirage in its majesty. The figure was standing in the emptiness.

"Oh? You're an interesting fellow," its booming voice echoed, lifting a hand. Such a simple motion twisted the winds out of shape— yet even they faded into nothing immediately.

"This god never met someone like you for countless years. Let this god see what makes a mere mortal so special that it can stand this god's prese—""Yeah, yeah, you're the best," Ren chimed in, "But these games are quite boring, you know, not a hint of novelty. So now, tell me what you want. Or it would be better if you explain what you are doing here." The being's hand twitched.

"Arrogant mortal—""Don't you understand it's boring?" Ren cut it off one more time.

"I know you had no intention to harm me. After all, you'd kill me in the first instant if you had such a desire, instead of trying to make me doubt myself."

"?"

"You think you can touch me in my own backyard?" Ren couldn't help but snort as it remained silent. He turned around, eyes locking into the empty air.

"Hey, this much fun should be enough for this fucking psycho; don't you think so… Guardian Elder?"

"Hahaha." A pompous laughter boomed out in answer, accompanied by a strong hand resting on his shoulder.

"You're right, kid. This much fun is definitely enough."