Chapter 2299: The secret
Chapter 2299: The secret
"Urgh..!" Aro clutched his heart as a wave of weakness swept through every part of his body, forcing him to throw himself backward without even thinking, only to find himself lying shoulder to shoulder with Richard, who was chuckling weakly despite looking just as exhausted, as though neither of them had the strength left to properly react to what they had just heard.
Aro, who had been fighting Zargul for ages, constantly devising plans to neutralize him, studying his movements, preparing countermeasures against his schemes, and even begging the Shadow Swords to send anyone who could so much as inconvenience him or force him to divide his attention for a moment, felt an overwhelming sense of bewilderment and humiliation wash over him. The gap between his own perception and the casual way Robin was speaking was so absurd that it could even be said his mind stopped functioning entirely for several long moments, unable to process whether the conversation around him was serious or merely some elaborate joke.
As for Richard, he laughed at the outrageousness of those words, though they did not truly surprise him. He had heard even more outrageous statements from Robin before, statements that had sounded equally impossible before eventually proving to be true. This was the very same man who had once insulted Helen and Renara directly to their faces back when he was still nothing more than a Saint and an ordinary Soul Master, completely unconcerned with the identities or statuses of those standing before him.
"My Lord!" The only one who truly understood Robin’s strength and took every one of his words with complete seriousness was Glatheon. "Do you intend to go and kill him yourself? That would be..."
He then furrowed his brows deeply, his expression growing increasingly complicated as he struggled to organize his thoughts into words.
He knew Robin could kill Zargul. It did not matter what trump cards that old Behemoth had hidden away over countless years, nor what secret techniques, treasures, or desperate escape methods he possessed—none of them would avail him against six Master Laws. Against such overwhelming superiority, all preparations would eventually become meaningless!
Even so...
"It would be what?" Robin sighed, looking almost amused. "Beneath my dignity? That I moved personally just to kill a mere Behemoth who isn’t even famous for his strength?"
"Urghhh!!"
Aro grabbed his chest with his other hand and cast Robin another weak glance, his face twitching slightly as countless thoughts flashed through his head.
What had happened to His Majesty?
Had he gone insane because of everything that had happened, or had everyone else in the room somehow lost their minds except him?!
"That is one reason." Glatheon nodded slowly. "When news spreads that you personally killed Zargul, your fame will soar almost immediately, and your prestige will rise throughout the universe. But once people later learn the extent of your strength, everyone will see it as you bullying Zargul by crushing someone incomparably weaker than yourself and using overwhelming power inappropriately. They will certainly fear you after that, perhaps even more than before, but they will not respect you... Such an outcome suits someone like the Archon, who operates an underground organization and rules through fear and secrecy, but it is dangerous for someone who seeks supremacy and unification while wishing to stand openly before all races."
".........?!!?!!?!!?" Aro finally released his chest and forced himself back into a sitting position, his brows tightly knitted together. "What is going on here? Are you talking about the same Zargul I know?!"
He had completely forgotten that he had not taken a proper breath for quite some time, yet the succession of shocks crashing into his mind one after another had made him forget even the discomfort in his own body.
"....." Glatheon turned toward Aro with genuine confusion. "Isn’t it shameful that you don’t even know your master’s strength? On what basis are you fighting for him, then?"
"The last time I heard anything about His Majesty’s strength was on Planet Azakra, when he swiftly fought several World Catastrophes, and I already thought that was astonishing!" Aro defended himself almost immediately. "Now you’re talking as though bullying Zargul would be completely normal! What exactly did I miss during all this time?!"
Glatheon calmly gestured toward Robin. "Your master can wipe the floor with him." Then he turned back toward Robin. "Even so, I advise against it... Fear and intimidation are useful in the short term because they suppress resistance and discourage enemies from acting recklessly, but they become harmful in the long run. Ask any Behemoth or any major power what they think of the Syndicate, and every one of them will tell you they would erase it from existence if given the opportunity. That is not an image befitting someone who stands against the Space Beasts and keeps the universe safe for everyone else."
"....." Robin nodded several times before smiling faintly. "You’ve confirmed what I was already thinking. I like the way you think, Glathy. If only my nephew had half your common sense, he would have been similar to you." Robin sighed quietly.
"So... have you gone back on your promise?" Glatheon asked with a hesitant smile, his tone becoming noticeably lighter. "It’s alright. We’ll simply pretend we never heard anything."
"No, I haven’t gone back on anything." Robin waved dismissively. "Zargul will die very soon—but not by my hand."
"Then who can kill a Behemoth besides you?!" Glatheon raised his voice slightly in disbelief. "Even another Behemoth can usually do no more than defeat an equal or force them to retreat after a difficult battle. Only someone like the Destroyer or the Tyrant has any real chance of actually killing another Behemoth outright!"
"..." Robin merely smiled, the corners of his mouth lifting ever so slightly, yet he offered no answer at all, allowing the silence itself to linger as though it were more meaningful than any explanation he could have given.
He then turned toward Aro. "How are you feeling now?"
"...."
"Hey, Bullhead, how are you feeling now?" Robin snapped his fingers several times in front of Aro’s unfocused eyes, watching without the slightest hint of impatience as the man’s thoughts remained hopelessly lost somewhere far away.
"Ah!" Aro finally snapped out of the daze he had fallen into and answered hesitantly after blinking several times, "Yes... I’m fine... perfectly fine."
He no longer recognized the man sitting before him...
When was the last time they had met? Just a few centuries ago?
During that relatively short span of time, had Robin truly reached a level where he could speak about Behemoths with such complete indifference, as though discussing nothing more significant than ordinary cultivators?
...What exactly was happening?
And just Who was he serving now?!
"You don’t look well." Robin stared directly into Aro’s eyes, his own glowing with a faint golden radiance that seemed capable of seeing through flesh, blood, and soul alike. "I was told you’ve been suffering because of the accumulation of negative karma, but this is even worse than I expected. Your physical condition is terrible. I can clearly see your energy pathways, and even your blood vessels are constantly becoming obstructed. Heart rhythm disorders, poor energy absorption, even problems digesting food... these are the very same illnesses that eventually kill ordinary mortals. They’re conditions that shouldn’t appear in a normal cultivator under any circumstances, let alone someone who possesses a Triple Merged Law."
He then furrowed his brows slightly as he continued observing Aro’s condition. "Even your soul domain is in a miserable state. Let me guess... nightmares, depression, no desire for anything, no sense of accomplishment, no motivation to continue moving forward... perhaps you’ve even started questioning the very purpose of life itself."
"...It’s all that obvious? Well, it is what it is." Aro shrugged weakly with a faint, bitter smile. "Someone has to play the villain so that great powers can continue functioning smoothly, and in the case of the True Beginning Empire, I’m that villain... Some suffering is simply unavoidable."
"As long as you keep thinking that way, you’ll remain trapped in hell forever." Robin pointed calmly toward himself. "Everything you do ultimately serves my interests. Every disaster you cause is committed for my sake. Do you really think karma is foolish enough to spare me and punish only you? I am the very foundation of all of this."
"....."
"Forget about your own actions... The operations of the Shadow Swords, the True Beginning Empire, the Cradle Empire, and the Imperial Guard—don’t they all act under my orders? And what about the sales of the Soul Society? I’ve sold my products to billions of people across countless worlds, and nearly all of them are ultimately used for killing in one way or another." He slowly spread both hands before himself. "So why do you think I’m still breathing?"
"....?" Aro frowned deeply, genuine curiosity finally replacing the confusion in his eyes as he stared at Robin without blinking. "Are you saying that I’m doing something wrong?"
"Aro..." Robin stared directly into Aro’s eyes with complete seriousness, his voice remaining calm despite the weight of the question. "Do you give charity?"