World Keeper - Chapter 1256: Oblivion

Lyrica instantly became excited when Tsubaki agreed to duel against her. However, her excitement turned to confusion when Tsubaki simply turned and began walking further into her palace. Does she have a special training facility here? Lyrica questioned inwardly.

When Tsubaki led her into what seemed to be a normal office, Lyrica couldn’t help but voice the question building within her. “What are we doing? I thought we were going to fight? I’ve seen you when you get serious, so there is no way this city should be able to take our powers.”

Tsubaki simply smiled back at Lyrica, before looking upwards. “Cypher, can you please handle the paperwork to register Lyrica as a probationary educator within Olympus.”

Lyrica blinked, looking around, before a humanoid male appeared hovering over the floor, his hands crossed behind his back. “I’ve already done so, as soon as the two of you agreed to fight. Additionally, I have confirmed that Tubrock did indeed establish a connection to the virtual world and its associated systems when establishing this haven for Olympus.”

Tsubaki nodded her head. “Thank you, Cypher. I’ll let you know if I need anything else.”

“Think nothing of it, Tsubaki, and congratulations.” He smiled, before disappearing, leaving Lyrica even more confused.

“Who was that? And what’s this about an educator? You expecting me to teach you something?” She asked, and Tsubaki shook her head.

“That is the son of the Keeper, Cypher, born from his divinity and that of Terra. His true form is a divine mirror, but I have learned that he helps out around here recently. He was only just born during our previous invasion.” Tsubaki said, moving to sit down at one of the seats in the office.

“As for the title of probationary educator, that is necessary for us to spar. If we were to release our full power, it is inevitable that we would cause significant damage, no matter where we were to spar. To prevent this, we will be using a special system our realm has access to, known as educational streams. These streams function in a similar way to your dungeons in that they create an independent void realm, but this is far more controllable, and does not possess a boss entity.”

“This system is meant for teachers to show off various techniques and technologies to their students, or for researchers to safely conduct their experiments. Any damage taken during the stream is reverted when it finishes. However, in order to use these streams, you must be registered as either an educator or a researcher.”

“In short, we will be able to conduct a true battle to the death within this stream, and emerge perfectly unharmed.” Lyrica’s eyes widened in shock when she heard the last part of Tsubaki’s explanation.

“You can even send a Master into these streams, and they’ll be safe if they die?” She asked, and Tsubaki nodded.

“That’s right. That’s because it is not your true persona being sent into the stream. Instead, it is a virtual replica of you created within a simulated realm. Your true body and mind are saved externally prior to the stream. Nothing that occurs in the stream is truly real, though the physical laws are all perfectly replicated.” Tsubaki explained, and Lyrica nodded her head in thought.

“Now I know why you brought me here. Thought we were just going to fight in some random universe away from civilized planets or something.” Tsubaki shook her head at these words, reaching to grab a virtual reality helmet.

“I doubt any universe that we fight in will survive the aftermath of our battle. And I would rather not sacrifice trillions of lives just to hold a sparring match.” After she said that, Tsubaki began to walk Lyrica through setting up the stream.

Once she hit the button to go live, Lyrica found herself standing on the edge of a rocky cliff, overlooking a cavernous ravine below. She looked down at her paws, clenching them briefly, and then sensed her inner universe. Everything was still as she remembered it, but she could no longer sense the various universes under her control in the real world.

A moment later, Tsubaki quietly appeared behind her, straightening out the sleeves of her maid uniform. “Do you have any final preparations you need to make?” Tsubaki asked, backing up until she was about fifty meters from Lyrica. Although this seemed like a considerable distance, either one of them could cross it instantly.

“No, let’s just hurry up and get this over with.” Lyrica said, energy building around her body. Her hair stood on end, and the ground cracked around her. “Wanna make sure I don’t miss any new beasties showing up back home.”

Tsubaki nodded her head calmly. “Very well. In that case, I’ll allow you to make the first move.” She said. However, as soon as her words fell, a dark shadow covered the landscape. Tsubaki didn’t even need to glance up to know that an enormous monster had appeared outside of the planet that they were on, its jaws primed to take a bite out of their location.

Tsubaki didn’t move, simply keeping her eyes focused on Lyrica. When the monster’s giant teeth crashed down like falling mountains, they failed to leave so much as a mark on the ground. Lyrica’s eyes widened in shock, looking at Tsubaki. She had planned to end this quickly, catching Tsubaki by surprise with one of the nastier monsters she had recently captured.

“I have applied a contract to this world. So long as I live, this planet cannot be damaged.” Tsubaki explained. “This is the only type of Origin ability that I have created thus far with proper combat usage.”

Lyrica clicked her tongue at that. Even if she knocked the planet out of orbit and into the sun, it would be pointless. The heat of a star wouldn’t pose any threat to them, and it would at most be a slight annoyance. This had effectively locked Lyrica into a battle on the surface, as she did not have a surefire way to force Tsubaki out into space.

The enormous monster in space vanished, and Lyrica’s aura grew more intense. The phantom image of a wolf appeared over her body, her fangs extending. “In that case…!” She said, before disappearing. Immediately, Tsubaki lifted a hand, using her arm to block Lyrica’s kick when she appeared at her side.

Although Tsubaki managed to intercept the attack, it still launched her like a bullet, crashing into a distant mountain. Given her previous contract, there was no crater at the point of impact, which only increased the damage that Tsubaki felt.

When Tsubaki pulled herself to her feet, she saw that Lyrica had crouched down onto all fours, her mouth open wide. Lightning crackled within her mouth, firing as a massive torrent of destructive energy.

Tsubaki disappeared from her position before the lightning washed over the mountain, scattering the clouds behind it. “Are you done warming up yet?” Tsubaki asked curiously, causing Lyrica to cackle.

“Sure! Let’s bring out the big guns!” She shouted, tilting her head back and howling. Another shadow fell over the land, and a giant toad appeared beyond the sky. “You said this planet can’t be destroyed, but let’s see what happens when it ends up in the stomach of the world-devouring toad!”

The giant toad opened its mouth unnaturally wide, a suction force pulling at the entire planet where they were fighting. Tsubaki arched a brow, looking up at the toad. “That would be a little annoying, so let’s just get rid of you.” She said, lifting her sleeves. A black line flickered out like a thread, and Lyrica’s connection with the toad was severed. Black lines criss-crossed along its body, before it seemed to dissolve into countless pieces.

Lyrica’s hair stood on end, and she jumped a few meters back, growling. “I thought you said you didn’t have any other combat powers as a Master?” She asked, eyes narrowed dangerously. While she knew that this was a fight, she didn’t believe that Tsubaki was the type of person to lie to her like that.

“I don’t. My only current contract applicable to this fight is the ability to bestow a single conceptual attribute on an inanimate object.” Tsubaki explained, dusting off her sleeves. “That was a technique I mastered before the previous invasion, using my mastery of base energies. I call this energy mixture ‘Oblivion’, as it allows me to annihilate whatever it touches.”

That explains the feeling of danger I felt when she lashed out with it. Lyrica thought to herself, growling again. “Then, I just won’t let you use that!” She shouted, two more figures appearing in the space around the planet. One was a giant leopard, its mouth opening to release a torrent of fire, and the other a wolf releasing a similar lightning blast.

The world was drowned in lightning and fire, with Lyrica adopting the qualities of a beast immune to these elements. Even if the enemy were a Master, she was confident that this would cause significant damage, as each of these creatures possessed the power to damage a world barrier when striking from the outside.

However, when the attacks finally faded, Lyrica saw a black dome where Tsubaki had stood, crackling with dark energy. When the dome faded, Tsubaki emerged unscathed. “As I said, it annihilates anything it touches, including natural elements.” She explained. “Now, I think it’s time that I fight back?”

Only now did Lyrica properly realize that Tsubaki had not actually launched an attack yet, aside from countering her giant toad. Before she could say anything, black chains materialized, shackling her arms and legs.

Lyrica exerted her strength to pull at the chains, planning to simply shatter them when she noticed that they weren’t made of the same Oblivion energy that Tsubaki had wielded previously. Yet, despite her efforts, the chains held firm. She must have applied another contract to them to make them unbreakable. She realized as Tsubaki stretched one arm out to the side.

“My apologies, but I need a bit more of a warm-up before I can truly release my attack.” Tsubaki explained, black lightning crackling around her. “I’ll have you stay there for a moment.”

Part of Lyrica was curious what Tsubaki was doing. Even with these shackles, there were several ways for her to free herself, such as changing into a smaller form. However, she had to be careful. If she did so, and Tsubaki created new shackles for the smaller form, it would be difficult for her to maneuver again. In the worst case scenario, Tsubaki might create an indestructible ball around her until she was finished.

As she was thinking, Tsubaki began to chant. “I stand as the guardian of infinity. My steps mark the end of creation.” A black, skeletal wing emerged from the right side of her back, crackling with black lightning. Meanwhile, a black scythe formed just beyond her left hand, its form twisted and jagged.

“To those who tread upon eternity, tremble. Grovel. Despair against the finite.” Her chant continued, a gentle, white light appearing around her left hand, which clutched the scythe’s shaft. Immediately, the black lightning grew more intense, as if fighting to shake off this white light.

Lyrica’s eyes widened, watching as space itself seemed to shatter around every bolt of lightning that arced off the weapon. Without hesitation, she transformed into a small, furry weasel, scurrying out of the cuffs before returning to her full size. With Tsubaki’s attention focused on controlling this wild power, Lyrica had the chance to free herself safely.

Before Tsubaki could finish her chant, Lyrica summoned the powers of two more beasts. The first was a spectral fox, one which allowed her to become incorporeal and hide between the folds of space. The other was a giant tortoise, its defensive power unrivaled among all of her beasts. Even if Tsubaki was distracted, charging into the storm of black lightning would be suicidal. The best move for her was to establish her defenses, and then counter once she avoided the attack.

Despite being outside of the normal bounds of space, Lyrica still clearly heard Tsubaki’s voice, transmitted through the spatial cracks caused by her scythe. “Bow your head before the blackened sky, and await the inevitable end of all things.”

The shattered space twisted and mended, and Lyrica found herself dragged back to the rocky plateau. Tsubaki’s scythe had turned pure white, almost angelic, However, the black wing behind her body was unchanged.

“This is why I wouldn’t fight you outside of the stream.” Tsubaki said, lifting her scythe to the sky. Just this simple motion seemed to leave a white scar in the air, which stretched off into infinity. Lyrica suddenly understood why she had been dragged out of her hiding place, as the concept of space itself ceased to exist around that scythe.

Lyrica growled, channeling all of her energy into reinforcing the turtle shell that she had created. I just have to endure this one strike, and I’ll win. A move like this has to take a heavy toll on the user!

As she thought that, Tsubaki lightly swung her scythe downwards, and Lyrica’s entire world went white. A moment later, she found herself standing back within Tsubaki’s office, a dumbfounded expression on her face. She looked at Tsubaki, who stood before her, no longer radiating her apocalyptic energy. “What was that?” She couldn’t help but ask, realizing the terrifying power that she had just witnessed.

“My strongest technique.” Tsubaki said, sitting down and placing her hands in her lap. “First, I shape the Oblivion energy into two parts, one being the scythe and another my wing, which serves as a reserve of energy in case of emergency.”

“Secondly, I wrap my hand in a powerful healing ability known as the Ki of Beginning, which can restore all things to a pristine state. Using my mastery of energy, I force the Ki of Beginning to merge with the destructive energy of Oblivion. The result is as you saw, a weapon that returns everything to its base form, the primal information of the void.”

“I created this technique in the event that we landed in a hostile world during the previous invasion, with no other method of escape than to destroy the entire universe from the inside. As you know, universal destruction is far more difficult when done inside the universe in question.”

Lyrica nodded her head in a daze, understanding that logic. “Wouldn’t that technique annihilate the user, as well?” She asked, but Tsubaki shook her head.

“Under normal situations, I would be forced to sustain immense damage to my inner universe by touching this weapon. However, I can counteract its absolute erasure by defending myself with the Ki of Beginning. Now that I have become an Origin, things have become even easier. I need only apply a contract to the scythe, preventing it from damaging its wielder. Still, the combination of Oblivion and the Ki of Beginning is an immensely difficult task, which is why I still need to focus on the chant in order to complete it.”

Lyrica blinked again, before letting out a raucous laugh. “Yeah, you got me! Dammit, why’d you have to master a monstrous technique like that?” She asked, shaking her head, but she understood deep down.

Before their fight, Tsubaki had said that she was used to fighting people above her level. To do so, she must have always been creating such insane techniques meant to fight foes well beyond her own scope. While Lyrica was used to fighting hordes of enemies on an equal or lesser level, Tsubaki’s focus had only ever been on fighting stronger and stronger enemies. Lyrica had to admit, Tsubaki was a true monster among monsters.

Without hesitation, Lyrica dropped to her knees, holding her paws upturned out towards Tsubaki, her head lowered. “I admit it, you have defeated me. Even if we fight a hundred times, I’d be lucky to win ten of them. The Myriad Beasts will serve you.”

Tsubaki paused. This time, it was her turn to blink in confusion. “Eh?”