Lucian watched as Phantylia turned and fled without the slightest hesitation, the corner of his mouth twitching faintly in disbelief.
He wasn't afraid of someone stubborn enough to charge in head-on; what he feared was someone who knew exactly when to shamelessly cut their losses and run.
However, he had to admit that escape speed was worthy of a Lord Ravager—truly professional. As soon as she realized the situation had turned against her, she didn't hesitate for even a fraction of a second before deciding to retreat.
Meanwhile, cradled safely in Lucian's arms, Tingyun was completely dumbfounded, her fox ears twitching slightly as her mind struggled to process the scene unfolding before her eyes.
Where had that overwhelming, world-ending pressure gone?
What happened to that terrifying aura that made everyone else seem like insignificant insects?
How did she just run away?
No matter how Tingyun thought about it, this was nothing like the battle between Emanators she had imagined!
"Lord Lucian... s-she ran away? Could she be setting a trap?"
By now, Tingyun had finally calmed herself.
As long as Lucian was protecting her, she didn't feel afraid anymore, to the point that she could even spare enough composure to think of possible countermeasures. Although Phantylia's sudden retreat caught her completely off guard, she couldn't believe that someone as dangerous and cunning as a Lord Ravager would simply flee without having another plan in mind.
"Run? Hehe..."
Lucian let out a quiet chuckle, his expression remaining as calm and indifferent as ever.
"Nah, she can't run from me."
"Kneel."
As that single word fell from his lips, Lucian's gaze remained firmly fixed on the rapidly retreating Phantylia as he activated the ability, Immortal Kneel, locking onto his target without the slightest hesitation.
Now that the rather unremarkable sword had long since been readied in his hand, all it took was a casual downward swing for the invisible power of the skill to be unleashed.
At that very moment, Phantylia, who was frantically pouring the power of Destruction into her escape in an attempt to put as much distance between herself and Lucian as possible, suddenly felt an utterly incomprehensible and irresistible force descend upon her.
Her body instantly stopped responding to her will.
No matter how desperately she tried to move, every part of her body seemed to have been seized by an absolute authority that permitted no resistance whatsoever.
Her forward momentum was forcibly halted, and then, in a posture that filled her with unbearable humiliation, she was violently dragged backward through space as though an invisible giant hand had grabbed hold of her.
"What?!"
Phantylia barely had time to let out a startled scream before she was uncontrollably flung straight back through the hole she had made in the starskiff. Her figure shot through the air like a meteor traveling in reverse before crashing directly back into the cabin where Lucian and Tingyun were.
*THUD!*
A loud thud echoed throughout the cabin as both of Phantylia's knees slammed heavily into the floor, forcing her into a perfectly proper kneeling position directly before Lucian.
However, it didn't end there.
Her arms also moved entirely against her own will, rising upward into the unmistakable posture of someone catching a blade with their bare hands.
*PA!*
With a crisp slapping sound, they clamped firmly onto the ordinary sword in Lucian's grasp with flawless precision.
However, since her left wrist had already been severed, she could only use the end of her forearm to pin the blade in place, making the entire scene look strangely awkward and surprisingly ridiculous.
"???"
Kneeling on the floor while gripping the sword with both arms, Phantylia completely froze.
Her mind went utterly blank.
'Wasn't I just running away? Why am I suddenly back here kneeling? What kind of control ability was this?'
She couldn't understand it.
She couldn't resist it.
She couldn't even comprehend how she had been dragged back.
Even an Emanator of Destruction like her had fallen victim to it without realizing when or how it had taken effect.
"..."
At the same time, Tingyun's beautiful green eyes widened in disbelief as she stared at Phantylia's flawlessly proper kneeling posture before slowly shifting her gaze toward Lucian, who remained as calm and composed as though nothing extraordinary had happened. There wasn't the slightest trace of pride or satisfaction on his face, as if forcing a Lord Ravager to kneel before him was nothing more than an insignificant matter.
In the very next instant, the shock in Tingyun's eyes rapidly transformed into pure admiration.
'Amazing! Lord Lucian is actually this powerful!'
The one kneeling before them was a Lord Ravager, an Emanator of Destruction who had brought calamity to countless civilizations and whom even the mighty Xianzhou Alliance had been plagued by for years without being able to eliminate completely.
And yet...
If he told her to kneel, she knelt.
If he told her to catch his sword, she caught it.
It was as though every command he uttered had become an absolute law that even an Emanator had no choice but to obey.
Tingyun couldn't help screaming inwardly like a fangirl.
Meanwhile, finally recovering from her overwhelming shock, Phantylia was immediately swallowed by boundless humiliation and seething rage. Her beautiful face twisted with anger as she glared fiercely at Lucian.
"Lucian, what did you do to me?! Let me go! If you've got the guts, fight me head-on!"
Phantylia struggled desperately as the power of Destruction boiled violently throughout her body, trying to break free through sheer force. Yet no matter how fiercely she resisted or how much destructive energy she unleashed, she couldn't escape the invisible restraint binding her in place.
It was as though the very purpose of her existence at this moment was to kneel obediently before Lucian and catch his sword.
"You're still not convinced?" Lucian asked with a faint smile, his expression completely relaxed, as though he were merely indulging a child throwing a tantrum. "Fine. I'll give you a chance. How about I let you run a hundred meters... nah, make that a hundred kilometers first?"
Any farther wouldn't do, since she couldn't be allowed to leave his field of vision.
He had no intention of accidentally letting his prey escape.
And so, with nothing more than a passing thought, he canceled the effect of Immortal Kneel. Almost instantly, Phantylia felt her body lighten as the bizarre, irresistible force restraining her vanished without the slightest warning.
In the next moment, Phantylia sprang to her feet with explosive speed, immediately putting as much distance between herself and Lucian as possible while staring at him with eyes filled with uncertainty, resentment, and deep caution.
She had to admit that his ability was simply far too bizarre.
It completely ignored reason.
It completely ignored resistance.
She had never encountered such an incomprehensible power before.
But now...
Her opportunity to escape was right in front of her.
"You'll realize that letting me go is the stupidest decision you've ever made."
Grinding her teeth, Phantylia abandoned every last shred of dignity and pride.
In the next moment, the power of Destruction erupted around her in a brilliant explosion, tearing through the surrounding air as her figure transformed into a streak of dazzling light.
Just like that, she fled with everything she had, accelerating to several times the speed she had displayed only moments before. In the blink of an eye, she had already crossed a distance of over one hundred kilometers.
Just as a sliver of relief began to surface in her heart, however, that familiar, damned, utterly irresistible force descended upon her once again without the slightest warning.
"Kneel."
As soon as Lucian's word fell, it was as though an invisible rubber band had snapped taut. Phantylia was violently yanked backward through space and instantly reappeared before him in the exact same perfectly kneeling posture.
*PA!*
With another sharp slapping sound, Phantylia's hands once again moved with flawless precision to catch Lucian's descending sword.
'Are you messing with me?!'
Phantylia felt as though her mentality was on the verge of shattering.
How was she supposed to fight this?
No matter how far she ran, she would simply be dragged back here and forced to kneel before him!
What kind of absurd crowd-control ability was this?
She had experienced countless strange abilities throughout her long existence, yet never had she encountered something so unreasonable. There was no warning, no opportunity to resist, and no means of escaping. Once Lucian's ability locked onto her, she was simply... brought back.
"Lucian! You bastard!"
Phantylia cursed furiously.
Immortal Kneel could control her body, but unfortunately for Lucian, it couldn't control her nasty mouth.
Lucian merely looked at her with a faint smile before bending down slightly. Reaching out with his free hand, he firmly grasped Phantylia's smooth chin, which trembled ever so slightly with suppressed rage, then forced her to raise her breathtakingly beautiful face, now completely filled with humiliation, fury, and unwillingness, until their eyes met.
"It seems... capturing you isn't enough, huh..."
Lucian's fingers lightly tightened around Phantylia's chin as he studied the hatred burning within her eyes.
"You need a little more... thorough training..."
A dangerous hint of amusement crept into Lucian's voice, as though he had just thought of something far more entertaining than simply defeating her.
"Go ahead. Try it. If you dare lay a finger on me, you'll face Celenova's wrath!"
Phantylia glared back without the slightest intention of backing down and threatened Lucian without hesitation.
Celenova had entrusted her with so many troops, yet before she had even been given the opportunity to deploy them, she had already been captured.
No matter how she looked at it, the humiliation was beyond words.
Now she even had to rely on Celenova's reputation to intimidate Lucian.
"Are you two really that close?" Lucian asked with a faint chuckle. "Go ahead and call her over. It'll save me from havin' to track her down separately."
As he spoke, Lucian casually patted Phantylia's face several times.
*Smack!*
*Smack!*
*Smack!*
Each crisp slap echoed clearly throughout the cabin, carrying far more humiliation than actual force.
He wasn't trying to hurt her.
He was deliberately humiliating her.
In fact, humiliating her was exactly his goal.
He wanted to provoke Phantylia into summoning Celenova herself.
He was genuinely looking forward to it.
"Call Celenova over. Now."
As he spoke, Lucian even canceled Immortal Kneel.
As a result, the invisible force binding Phantylia's body disappeared without warning, allowing her to move freely once again.
Naturally, Phantylia's anger surged to an unprecedented level after suffering such blatant humiliation.
Ever since becoming a Lord Ravager, she had always been the one humiliating everyone else. Never—not once in all those years—had she been forced to endure such complete and utter disgrace. Her nails dug deeply into her palms as she desperately struggled to suppress the overwhelming urge to tear Lucian apart with her own hands.
'Damn it... this bastard deserved to die...'
Phantylia silently swore that she would repay this humiliation, no matter what it took.
Unfortunately, Celenova was still recovering from her injuries and might not respond even if Phantylia summoned her.
Besides, Phantylia had her own pride.
For that reason, the mere thought of exposing such a disgraceful defeat before another Lord Ravager made her skin crawl.
Needless to say, asking for help was simply too humiliating for her.
Back then, even when Zulo had been beaten to death by a group of enemies, he had never begged anyone to save him.
After carefully thinking everything through, Phantylia realized that from beginning to end, Lucian had relied almost entirely on overwhelming crowd control, repeatedly forcing her to catch his sword with her bare hands or suppressing her movements with that incomprehensible ability,
Aside from the opening sneak attack that had cut her wrist, he had not inflicted any truly devastating injuries.
Perhaps this man was a support-type Emanator?
In the end, the more Phantylia thought about it, the more plausible that possibility became.
It was a gamble worth taking.
More importantly, her true body was here.
She had originally hoped to escape this ordeal without suffering any further injuries, but now that her true body could no longer flee, her only remaining option was to bet everything on brute force.
She gambled that Lucian was a support-type Emanator whose abilities were focused entirely on control, leaving him unable to withstand the absolute destructive power of Destruction itself.
With that in mind, while Lucian had temporarily released his control over her, Phantylia swiftly finalized her plan.
She would pretend to agree, secretly gather her strength, and then launch a surprise attack at point-blank range. Whether it succeeded or failed didn't matter. As long as it bought her enough time to escape, it would be worth it.
No matter how absurdly powerful Lucian's control ability was, it couldn't possibly possess unlimited range, meaning there had to be a weakness somewhere for her to exploit.
"Hmph, sure. I'll contact Celenova right now. Don't you dare run."
Phantylia slowly stood up as though she were genuinely preparing to call Celenova, but beneath that calm facade, she was secretly pouring every ounce of her power into charging her strongest attack.
Watching the exchange unfold, Tingyun suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to complain.
Wasn't this supposed to be a life-and-death battle between Emanators? So how had it somehow turned into arranging a rematch?
Was this a street brawl now?
Where was the dignity of an Emanator?
What happened to the overwhelming might capable of grasping the sun, the moon, and the stars?
Just as those thoughts crossed Tingyun's mind, Phantylia's energy of Destruction erupted without the slightest warning.
*Rumble—*
Not only the starskiff, but even the surrounding space trembled violently.
Phantylia had finally finished charging her ultimate attack.
A miniature sun, condensed entirely from Destruction energy, floated silently above her palm, radiating a terrifying aura capable of reducing an entire planet to absolute nothingness. Merely its presence distorted the surrounding air, as though reality itself could scarcely withstand such an immense concentration of destructive power.
"Lucian, your defeat comes down to one thing... your arrogance."
A triumphant smile spread across Phantylia's face as she spoke, her eyes overflowing with confidence as she prepared to detonate the miniature sun without a moment's hesitation.
Even if Lucian had also been an Emanator, he would have either died or been crippled.
Instead of panicking, however, Lucian merely smiled.
"Guess what I stole?"
As soon as those words left Lucian's mouth, a miniature sun suddenly appeared in his hand.
Its terrifying aura was completely identical to the one Phantylia had painstakingly condensed—the very same planet-destroying attack she had spent precious time charging.
Phantylia instinctively lowered her head and looked at her own hand.
To her shock, the miniature sun that should have been floating above her palm had vanished completely without a trace.
===
[A bonus chapter for reaching 300 Power Stones]
[Support and get early access to upcoming chapters at: patreon.com/VALRRR]