Chapter 73: How about we make a deal
"Oh, it is you, Lady Lucy... I did not expect to run into you at this particular time."
"Who are you?"
Lucy’s frost-cold tone did not waver; the blade of her lethal violet sword remained pointed directly at the back of the suited man’s neck, her killing intent emanating from her body like tangible sparks.
With absolute calmness, the suited man slowly pulled his black gloves back on, that mysterious smile returning to etch across his lips. Without a single shred of anxiety or unrest, he turned his body to face her, completely ignoring that the sword’s blade was still brushing against his neck.
"Who permitted you to turn toward me?"
Lucy’s eyes narrowed, and she loosed her violet sword energy to tear through the man’s neck in a swift strike that would end him in the blink of an eye.
Yet, with virtually zero effort and a movement almost invisible to the eye, the man’s hand extended, pinching the tip of her legendary blade with just two fingers—his index and thumb. In those fractions of a second, the sword froze completely in mid-air as if it had been cast in reinforced concrete. Lucy found herself unable to move it even a single millimeter, as though she were not at the [Truth Level] to begin with!
Shock struck Lucy’s entire being like an unexpected lightning bolt. Her arm stiffened, and she felt that her colossal power, with which she sat upon the throne of this world, had collided with an absolute, unmovable wall. How could this be possible? Wasn’t she supposed to have reached the absolute peak of human strength? How could a man who didn’t even seem to release any magical aura, and whose energy level didn’t even show, freeze her attack with just two fingers?
Even with her supreme sensory abilities capable of scanning individuals, Lucy found no trace of his power. The man before her was like a void—a black hole that swallowed any attempt to measure its dimensions.
"Lady Lucy... it is truly a strange feeling to see you in this ancient past. You are still as troublesome and quick to anger as you have always been."
The man spoke in a strangely familiar tone, as if greeting an old friend. He carried a majestic, profound aura, and his eyes looked like a bottomless abyss, ready to swallow an entire galaxy.
Lucy did not comprehend his purpose, but the feeling of absolute helplessness that seeped into her bones was horrifying. It had been a very long time since she had felt this weak—as if she stood powerless at the base of a titanic mountain whose towering peak her eyes could not even glimpse through the clouds.
Feeling insulted, her wounded pride flared: "You... who are you? And what do you want? How dare you call me troublesome?! Today will be the last day of your life!"
Lucy took a half-step back and began gathering mana to unleash a devastating strike with a destructive [Celestial Level] spell to crush this arrogant man, reinforcing her sword with her absolute violet energy.
But before she could release the dense surge of mana...
Crack!
In a fraction of a second, with a simple pinch of the man’s two fingers, her legendary sword—which was considered one of the premier weapons of its kind in the world—shattered into scattered fragments and fine dust, drifting down before her stunned eyes.
"Lady Lucy... why are you always in such a rush?"
At that moment, not only did Lucy’s sword break, but her entire pride shattered along with it. Since her childhood, Lucy had been an incredibly powerful combat prodigy, always accustomed to resolving every dilemma she faced by the edge of the sword and through the logic of absolute power. But now, it seemed as if the hand of fate had dealt her a resounding slap, awakening her to a bitter reality.
She refused to concede defeat; she was the undisputed strongest of this era, and a powerhouse of the [Truth Level] could not be insulted so easily!
Taking a deep breath, she decided to detonate her entire reservoir of magical energy, even if it meant alerting the entire capital and the Organization to her location.
Yet, the suited man did not lift a finger to physically stop her; he had no need to. Simply, he allowed a minute fraction of his personal star element aura to manifest, meant for her eyes alone.
"W-What is this... How...?!"
The instant Lucy’s eyes fell upon that dense, silver aura emanating from him, she felt as if her entire consciousness had been ripped from her body and cast far away into the deep outer cosmic void.
She found herself shrinking like a speck of dust before a raging star the size of the universe—a titanic sun glowing with a white cosmic fire that could vaporize her soul and body in the blink of an eye, leaving absolutely no trace in the records of existence.
Lucy’s entire frame trembled. She staggered two steps backward, struggling to catch her stolen breath, utterly unable to comprehend the nature of this power that transcended the boundaries of human intellect.
"Do not fear, I will never harm you," the man said in a soft voice, a sly smile playing upon his lips. "Who would dare harm their future mother-in-law? Oh... just joking, don’t take it seriously."
Lucy’s eyes narrowed in terror mixed with confusion, while the man continued with a lethal coldness that shook her to her core:
"Rest assured, I have no interest in fighting you. However, as far as I recall at this exact point in time... you have been trying for a while to develop that secret technique you call... right, [Soul Touch], so you can capture that Author-san... isn’t that right?"
The blood froze in Lucy’s veins. Her mind was no longer capable of processing the sequential shocks. How did this mysterious entity know about this technique? She had never breathed a word of this secret to any living soul, nor had she ever written it down in any manuscript. It was a thought locked away in the deepest recesses of her mind! How could he know her buried secrets with such terrifying ease?
But the man in the black suit did not leave her to drown in her bewilderment for long. Instead, he lightly brushed off his black glove and gently extended his hand toward her:
"How about we make a deal?"