Edmond did not move at first. His mind felt blank, as if the flow of time halted around him. Athenaās soul thread, her existential imprint, the connection he had nurtured for countless eras, had vanished completely. It was simply gone.
Edmond still couldnāt understand what happened.
Sector lords did not feel grief easily. Their senses were too vast, their minds were too expanded. They processed emotions like universes processed matter: slowly, steadily, with unimaginable force. But when it hit, the reaction was catastrophic.
A faint tremor passed through Edmondās body.
The next moment, space shattered around him like a brittle shell.
Every origin being standing outside Origin Dimension instinctively knelt on the ground. Their bodies were crushed by the sheer gravity of a sector lordās rage.
They screamed but no sound came out. Their mouths opened but the pressure tore their throats apart before any words formed.
However, Valentine was only observing this with calm, quiet eyes. His face did not carry guilt or fear. He simply watched Edmond crack open the entire Origin Dimension with nothing but emotion.
A thin ripple spread out from Edmondās figure. It was not an attack. It was not a technique. It was pure aura leaking out.
Many origin beings as well as other lifeforms in the Origin Dimension instantly turned to dust.
But the pressure did not touch Valentine.
Inside the graveyard realm, Ethan leaned forward as if watching a movie. He rested his chin on his palm.
"Ragnarok, donāt intervene yet."
"Yes, my lord." Ragnarok stood hidden a few layers behind Edmond, ready to move at any given second.
Ethanās eyes glowed slightly. "Let the sector lord do what he wants. It will make your entry more heroic."
Outside, Edmond finally turned his attention toward Valentine. His voice, when it came, was calm. It was too calm.
"You killed my daughter."
Valentine floated a little higher, his presence serene. "Your daughter dared step on my nerves. She had killed countless young men and women in my domain. Actions have consequences. Even for those at your height."
It was a fearless statement. Origin beings were trembling. They did not know where the temple master was getting his courage from.
Ethan chuckled softly. "This guy... outrageous. I like him."
But Valentineās expression remained cold.
Edmond stepped forward. Just one step. But reality collapsed under his feet and reconstructed only after he moved.
"Do you know what you did?" Edmond asked, his tone slow and steady.
"Yes," Valentine replied.
"Then I shall erase you."
Valentine raised his hand.
A silver pattern bloomed behind Valentine. It looked like a lotus made out of intertwined dimensions. It looked close, yet so far. Anyone could tell it was a very powerful thing.
Ethan leaned closer. "Interesting. So thatās his internal dimensional core. Itās not a normal 50th dimensional being after all."
Ragnarok whispered inside Ethanās mind. "My lord, his existence is unusual. He does not belong to this hierarchy. Not entirely. He probably possessed the inheritance from a forgotten era."
"I know," Ethan replied. "Thatās why I want to see how far he can go."
Valentine took a single breath.
Then he vanished.
Edmond did not see him move. He only felt a sting near his cheek, the faintest sensation of a cut.
When he touched it, he saw a tiny line of blood.
A sector lord, wounded by a 50th dimensional being.
Ethan sat upright. "Now that is impressive."
Edmond looked at the blood on his finger. His eyes darkened. They grew so deep and empty that even space around him shook.
"You dare."
Valentine instantly retreated several hundred kilometers. He opened his hand and a spear of condensed causality formed. The weapon hummed with the weight of a trillion timelines.
He threw it.
Edmond caught it between his two fingers.
The spear dissolved into nothingness.
"Cute trick," Edmond said.
He flicked his fingers.
Valentineās right arm exploded instantly.
Valentine regenerated the arm instantly, without flinching. His expression remained cold, but the faintest crack formed in his calm aura. His lotus pattern flickered.
Edmond appeared beside him.
No one saw him move.
Valentine raised his hand to block.
Edmond tapped his chest gently.
Valentineās body folded inward like paper. He flew back at the speed of collapsing stars, shattering dozens of universe fragments as he crashed.
He stopped only when he collided with the main pillar of the Origin Temple. The impact destroyed half the structure.
Valentine got up slowly. His jaw was broken. His ribs were gone. His organs were pulverized.
But he remained alive.
He pressed his hand against his chest. More silver symbols bloomed. His body regenerated again, this time faster.
Ethan squinted. "He has something inside him. Something more than an inheritance. I canāt see through him right now. Maybe if I activate my full power, Iāll get some idea." But then he dismissed the idea instantly.
Wasting his precious time like this would be a wrong move to make.
Outside, Edmond walked forward. His face was unreadable.
"You killed my daughter. You wounded my pride. But worst of all, you dared look down on me."
Valentine raised his hand once again. His face looked pale. His aura flickered. That lotus behind him dimmed slightly.
He tried to summon another weapon, but before he could finish, Edmondās hand appeared on his forehead.
"Disappear."
Valentineās eyes widened.
His silver lotus shattered.
His body twisted. His soul cracked.
And for a moment, Valentine understood. There was no escape. No technique. No secret. A sector lord could erase him whenever he wanted.
But before Edmond could crush him completely, a quiet voice echoed through the dimension.
"Thatās enough."
Edmond stopped what he was doing and looked aside.
The space cracked open and Ragnarok came out.
Instantly, the tremendous aura that was being released by Edmond vanished instantly.
"What is a sector lord level ancient demon doing here?" Edmond asked coldly.
"You donāt have to worry about that. You canāt kill him. I am protecting him. So scram from here."
Edmondās eyes turned even colder.
"Do you think you can threaten me? Donāt forget you are an ancient demon, a forbidden creature. If your presence is leaked, you will be hunted down by all the sector lords, maybe even one of them will come after you. Before I say anything else, disappear from here." Edmond wasnāt afraid of him.
"Hahahaha. You are so cute. You think you are on my level to speak with me like this?"
The aura of a sixty fourth dimensional being fully released on Edmond.
Instantly, Edmondās face turned pale.
"A sixty fourth dimensional ancient being? I thought they were all hunted down long ago." Edmondās mind was thinking of something to escape.
"All right. Iāll retreat. But how long can you protect him? Itās not like you can stay here forever."
"Kill him. And take all his treasures. We are leaving soon," Ethan ordered calmly.
"Yes, my lord."
Boom.
Ragnarok instantly struck with a palm.
Edmond did not think this demon would dare to attack him.
"You dare. If something happens to me, every sector lord will get your location," Edmond roared.
But Ragnarok just smiled calmly. He did not care about even the supreme monarch because he had a master who had surpassed all of them.
"Oh, you donāt have to worry about that."
Ragnarok attacked him with one final palm strike.
"Begone."
"Nooooooo." Edmond felt the horror of death in that palm attack.
At that moment, before the palm could reach him, the outside world started collapsing.
Something horrendously powerful was approaching toward them.
"Stop." It roared.
"Shit. One of those bastards appeared here. How? This will be difficult." But he did not stop the attack and killed Edmond instantly and took his treasures.
Ragnarok was about to leave but the space around him froze and he couldnāt move anymore.