Chapter 323: 323: Power

Chapter 323: Chapter 323: Power

Chapter 323 – Power

Their destination was set.

They would go to the Lady of Thorn to kill her husband. They looked like a low-level bandit group acting out of spite, and honestly, it couldn’t have been more true.

Asaemon wanted to kill Neron because of what the man had said to him — that he was just a mindless beast who always caused trouble. Which, in fairness, was true.

But now, their reason had changed.

They wanted to kill Neron because the youngest hated the Worldborn.

It was as simple as that. It didn’t matter if Noah was the one in the wrong. It didn’t matter if doing so would attract the ire of Luelle, Progenitor of the Elves. And it didn’t matter if it started a war with the Worldborn.

It didn’t.

After all, how could they call themselves elder siblings if they couldn’t even help their youngest vent his rage?

That was why, right now, the three of them stood side by side, Noah in the middle, preparing to step into the Lady of Thorn’s territory.

“So, if I understood correctly…this Lady of Thorn is a Law Creator with a Law called Thorn. A Law that gives control over…” Noah tilted his head slightly.

“…suffering or some sort?” he finished, puzzled.

Aurelia, at his right, nodded softly. “Yes. You’ll understand once we get there. But you’d better not bleed or even let her wound you.” Her voice sharpened. “This will be your first battle against a Law Creator. Asaemon and I will let you face her first. If we see you struggling or about to lose…” She left the words hanging. There was no need to finish them.

But Asaemon, at Noah’s left, grinned savagely. “Then we’ll intervene and save your ass, little brother.”

His grin widened as he set one hand on his hip, the other on his face, head thrown back as he laughed like the madman he was.

Noah ignored him. By now, Asaemon’s antics were routine. Instead, he asked something else.

“What about Neron? I agree we should kill him, but it’s unwise to act without a plan to make sure Luelle doesn’t find out. Or at least, when she does, it should already be too late for her to react.”

His voice was calm, but the hunger beneath it was not. He wanted to kill a Worldborn. No — he wanted to torture them first.

He hadn’t forgotten Laeh.

But Luelle was still far too powerful.

His thoughts froze as he looked between his siblings.

“Is Luelle stronger than you?” he asked, tone genuinely intrigued.

Both Aurelia and Asaemon paused in thought.

“I don’t actually know,” Aurelia admitted. She had never cared to consider it. Books were her only priority. Knowledge was her fortress.

But Asaemon…Asaemon knew.

“She’s stronger,” he said bluntly.

Both Noah and Aurelia turned toward him.

“Why do you say so?” Noah pressed.

“Because she was born when the universe itself was barely formed. Do you know how old this universe is? Don’t bother, you wouldn’t understand.” Asaemon’s black eyes gleamed, sharp and dreadful. “What I mean is, she was born when resources were endless, when life itself was new, when she was one of the very first to be sentient. Alive. And unbound by the Records.”

His grin faded into something colder, eyes like a pool of bottomless ichor.

“Her roots are everywhere. Even among the Progenitors, her power is immense.”

Noah listened in silence, then nodded slowly.

He now understood why the Progenitors never bothered with abominations.

It wasn’t only the Records. If it were, they would have found a counter by now. No, they simply didn’t care.

Because to them, abominations were nothing more than children playing with weapons far too big for them.

After all, what was a being born a million years ago — or even a few centuries ago — to one who had lived since the dawn of the universe?

Not even a toddler. Barely an infant in their eyes.

But that would change the moment they crossed the line. And for Luelle, that line was her children — the Worldborn.

Noah sighed wearily as the understanding sank in. He inhaled deeply, then exhaled, releasing a stream of energy that made the surrounding space quake. The beat of his heart slowed as he calmed.

Asaemon and Aurelia remained quiet, letting their brother steady himself.

They had been there too. When they were young, full of arrogance, believing they could dominate the universe.

But reality had shattered them.

They met beings who could have killed them in an instant but didn’t, restrained only by the Records.

Since then, Aurelia turned inward, burying herself in books and knowledge, using it to sharpen her power.

Asaemon turned rebel, stirring chaos everywhere, but always careful to stop at the edge of disaster. By pressing those boundaries, he grew stronger too.

They knew Noah was going through that..

But—

‘It must be hard for him,’ Aurelia thought, glancing at his pensive face.

She was mistaken.

Noah wasn’t weighed down by fear of their power. He was only frustrated — frustrated that his revenge couldn’t come yet.

Why would he fear them?

If he wanted, he could roam the universe, courting powerful women, binding them to him, sharing their strength.

But he wouldn’t jeopardize his family for that. He wouldn’t play with feelings and discard them just for power.

That wasn’t him.

At least not the him of today.

So…

‘Baby steps, Noah. Baby steps. You’ll get there. Without a doubt.’

He turned to look at Asaemon and Aurelia.

‘I just need these two with me. Make them stronger. Then I’ll be closer to waging war against the Progenitors.’

His lips parted into an open smile.

“Well, why the tense atmosphere? We have someone to kill. And as for keeping it hidden from Luelle…” His smile deepened. “I have an idea.”

Inside, he whispered, ‘Time to test the gifts Providence gave me.’

Immediately after his words, Asaemon roared with laughter and clapped his hands so hard the realm quivered on the brink of collapse.

A colossal jaw split the ground beneath them, the maw of a calamitous beast, its mouth yawning wide, filled with rows of spear-tip teeth shimmering dangerously under the light.

It swallowed them whole and in an instant they were transported…

…directly inside the Lady of Thorn’s castle.

More precisely…her bedchamber.

And…

“Bloody hell…!”

“By the Records…!”

“…damn!”

What they saw chilled even their abominable hearts.

—End of Chapter 323—