Phantylia's true form visibly withered.
As an Emanator of Destruction, she had once possessed an endless supply of energy from the Path of Destruction, allowing the flames that made up her existence to burn with overwhelming intensity. As long as her connection to the Path remained intact, that terrifying power had seemed inexhaustible, elevating her far beyond the limits of an ordinary heliobus.
Now, however, she had lost her status as an Emanator and could no longer draw power from the Path. Without that endless source of strength sustaining her, the overwhelming flames that had once embodied her existence rapidly diminished, causing her to be reduced to nothing more than a slightly stronger heliobus.
Needless to say, she had truly lost the favor of Destruction and the exalted status of an Emanator.
"M-My authority... my power... Ruin Author... Y-You... have you abandoned me? NO!"
Along with those words, the ball of flames trapped inside the cage no longer flickered with the furious light of curses and resentment. Instead, its glow became dim and unstable as it trembled violently, while the spiritual fluctuations radiating from it were filled with confusion, fear, and utter despair.
In stark contrast, the moment Lucian obtained the status of an Emanator of Destruction, he immediately gained the authority to connect to the Path of Destruction itself.
Vast amounts of Destruction energy surged toward him like an endless torrent, pouring into every part of his body without pause.
'It actually worked... I'm an Emanator of Destruction now...'
Lucian smugly savored the golden flames of Destruction dancing around him, quietly appreciating the immense power flowing through every inch of his body.
Omnisteal really was ridiculously useful.
It could even steal the Emanator authority granted directly by an Aeon.
Of course, there was one critical issue.
He knew that the Aeon always knew who THEIR Emanators were and could reclaim the authority whenever THEY wished.
He did not doubt that Nanook had already learned the moment the position of one of THEIR Emanators changed hands. At any time, THEY could revoke the Emanator status he had stolen and return it to Phantylia.
One second...
Two seconds...
Three seconds...
Lucian silently waited.
Surprisingly, the power of the Emanator of Destruction remained firmly within him. Not only did Nanook fail to reclaim the authority, but the connection between Lucian and the Path of Destruction also remained perfectly stable, as though he had always been its rightful owner.
"Y-You... how did you become a Lord Ravager?!"
Phantylia, finally realizing Lucian's state, stared at him in complete disbelief.
She had only just been stripped of her position, yet in the very next moment, Lucian had it.
What did this mean?
What was Nanook trying to say?
Did the Ruin Author truly deem her unworthy and choose Lucian as her replacement?
"L-Lord Lucian, how did you..."
In his embrace, Tingyun was equally stunned, as she felt the aura of Destruction surrounding Lucian was so dense that it gave her the same crushing pressure she had felt from Phantylia earlier.
Just moments ago, he had still been an ordinary man in her eyes, so how had her benefactor suddenly become an Emanator of Destruction?
"Well, when you're way too outstanding, it's kinda easy to catch an Aeon's attention."
Lucian joked casually, wearing a relaxed smile as though becoming an Emanator was nothing more than a trivial matter.
To Phantylia, however, those words were unbearably grating, with every syllable dripping with ridicule. They sounded less like a joke and more like a deliberate mockery of everything she had just lost.
Lucian then turned toward the caged Phantylia and smiled faintly.
"Looks like you don't have what it takes to represent Destruction anymore. So, how's it feel being just an ordinary heliobus? You getting used to it yet?"
Phantylia: "..."
===
Meanwhile, in the depths of a distant galaxy, at the very end of the Path of Destruction, the colossal golden figure known as Nanook remained motionless.
THEIR body resembled an ancient divine statue that had stood unchanged since the birth of the cosmos, while a massive crack split open THEIR chest as though it had existed since the dawn of time itself. Countless traces of destruction lingered around THEIR divine form, yet within THEIR eternally indifferent eyes, there seemed to be the faintest trace of movement.
THEY had sensed it.
One of THEIR Emanators, Phantylia, had just had her Emanator authority over Destruction forcibly transferred through a method that even THEY could not fully comprehend.
And the recipient was... a mortal who simultaneously carried the aura of Elation, Abundance, Trailblaze, and now Destruction?
For the first time in an immeasurable span of time, a trace of curiosity, so faint it was almost nonexistent, flickered across Nanook's eyes.
'Interesting...'
THEY neither became angry nor attempted to reclaim the stolen authority, nor did THEY display any additional reaction.
It was only natural.
To the existence that embodied Destruction itself, the replacement of an Emanator—especially one achieved through outright theft—was itself the ultimate manifestation of Destruction.
To seize divine authority from another by force, overturn fate itself, and claim what should have been impossible was, in its own way, an act perfectly aligned with the essence of Destruction.
Rather than viewing it as an offense, Nanook regarded it as something worthy of observation.
THEY wanted to see where this mortal, who had stolen divine authority and now carried the power of four different Paths, would ultimately go.
What destination awaited him?
Would he eventually lose himself in that immense power and become another mindless harbinger of Destruction, or would he forge an entirely unforeseen form of Destruction that even an Aeon had never witnessed before?
For that reason, Nanook remained silent and tacitly acknowledged this newly ascended Emanator of Destruction.
As if acting on nothing more than a passing curiosity, THEY casually cast a single glance toward him.
In an instant, that solitary glance crossed countless galaxies, traversed the endless sea of stars, and descended upon Lucian.
===
*Buzz—*
Suddenly, space trembled.
Somewhere within the boundless cosmos, a strand of an Aeon's gaze descended through the stars before silently settling upon Lucian.
'So you couldn't help yourself after all?'
Lucian narrowed his eyes as he calmly waited to see what Nanook intended to do. Although his expression remained composed, he was fully prepared for the possibility that the Aeon would immediately strip away the authority he had just stolen.
At the same time, he casually pulled out his phone, played a song, and activated his BGM, entering his invincible state just in case.
Meanwhile, the appearance of Nanook's gaze rekindled a sliver of hope within Phantylia's heart.
"Nanook hasn't abandoned me!"
"Here!"
"I'm here!"
Phantylia cried out desperately, trying to attract Nanook's attention with all the strength she had left.
Unfortunately, the result was... nothing.
Her desperate cries received no response whatsoever.
After casting a single glance at Lucian, Nanook's gaze quietly withdrew as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened.
Lucian waited for a while longer but sensed no hostility whatsoever from the Aeon. There was no attempt to reclaim the authority of Destruction, nor was there any indication that Nanook intended to punish him for stealing the position of an Emanator.
In that instant, he immediately understood.
'Nanook had accepted me? Well, that saved me a whole lotta trouble.'
Even Lucian himself hadn't expected Nanook to simply allow such a thing. Especially considering his connection with Aha, yet Nanook still permitted him to remain an Emanator of Destruction without the slightest objection.
Now that was true broad-mindedness.
No wonder Nanook possessed the resolve to destroy the cosmos.
Where there was joy, however, there was also despair.
Phantylia, on the other hand, was utterly hopeless now.
Even Nanook no longer cared whether she lived or died. THEIR gaze had merely descended to confirm who had become the new Emanator before departing without granting her even the slightest acknowledgment.
'Am I finished?'
Endless regret filled Phantylia's heart.
'So I came all this way only to lose everything?'
Not only had she been captured alive and imprisoned like a common criminal, but she had even been stripped of her identity as an Emanator.
Moreover, the authority she had wielded for countless years had been taken away in an instant, and even the Aeon she had faithfully served no longer spared her a second glance.
As for Tingyun, she had long since been overwhelmed by shock.
From Lucian suddenly appearing to save her life, to effortlessly toying with a Lord Ravager, capturing a Lord Ravager alive, then becoming a Lord Ravager himself before drawing the gaze of the Aeon of Destruction, she had witnessed every unbelievable event with her own eyes.
Every impossible scene had unfolded one after another, leaving her mind completely unable to keep up.
What in the cosmos could possibly be more absurd than this?
"L-Lord Lucian? You... Lord Ravager..."
Tingyun stammered, unable to finish her sentence.
Lucian looked down at the still-dumbfounded Tingyun in his arms before gently patting her back in reassurance.
"I'm still me. Being a Lord Ravager is just kinda my hobby. I'm only doing it for fun, so don't take it too seriously."
Phantylia nearly died from anger after hearing those words.
'Damn it! A hobby? It's the position that I built my entire existence around, and you're treating it like a damn hobby?!'
She had devoted herself to Destruction, climbed to the rank of Lord Ravager through countless years, and regarded it as the highest honor imaginable.
Yet to Lucian, it was apparently nothing more than a pastime?
Phantylia wanted nothing more than to curse him out.
Unfortunately, she no longer had enough strength left to do so.
Meanwhile, after hearing Lucian's reassurance, Tingyun finally let out a long sigh of relief.
If he had truly defected, then the Xianzhou Alliance would have faced an unimaginable catastrophe.
Thankfully, he already had several wives within the Xianzhou Alliance, and they were his greatest emotional ties there. As long as those women remained on the side of the Alliance, he would most likely never fully embrace Destruction or become an enemy of the Alliance.
With her naturally sharp mind already spinning, Tingyun silently began making plans.
'Maybe... the Xianzhou Alliance should introduce him to even more marriage prospects... The more ties he has with the Xianzhou, the better...'
In her eyes, that was something that absolutely needed to be discussed with the Alliance.
Perhaps every Xianzhou ship could arrange a political marriage with Lucian.
After all, it was common sense that the stronger his emotional ties to the Xianzhou Alliance became, the less likely he would be to ever stand against it.
Of course, that decision was well beyond Tingyun's authority.
At most, she could only offer the suggestion.
And so, with the matter settled, Lucian casually wiped out the remaining Antimatter Legion before resurrecting every one of Tingyun's fallen guards.
Given that they had given their lives protecting her and had suffered such an undeserved fate because of it, bringing them back was only natural, especially since it required little effort on his part.
One after another, the lifeless, mangled bodies were gently enveloped in pristine white bandages.
In an instant, their gruesome wounds rapidly healed, vitality flowed back into their bodies, their breathing gradually resumed, and as the bandages unraveled and drifted away, their eyes slowly opened as though they had merely awakened from a deep, peaceful sleep.
Lucian also didn't forget to restore several damaged starskiffs, repairing them to their original condition so that everyone could return safely without having to worry about their journey back.
At the same time, when Tingyun witnessed the miraculous scene unfolding before her very eyes, tears nearly welled up in her eyes.
Lucian had not only saved her life, but he had also bestowed upon her an act of kindness so immense that it was impossible to repay. At this moment, the gratitude welling up within her heart reached a level that words could no longer adequately express.
"Lord Lu—Benefactor, I can never repay such an enormous kindness. I can only serve you like a horse and spend the next hundred years repaying your grace."
Tingyun bowed deeply before him, her posture filled with sincerity and gratitude.
"Serve me like a horse? Why don't you just marry me instead?"
Lucian asked with a teasing smile.
Tingyun froze for a moment, clearly caught off guard by his unexpected proposal. After a brief silence, she lowered her gaze, a faint smile appearing on her lips as her ears twitched slightly.
"Thank you for thinking so highly of me, Benefactor, but I'm only a woman of humble status. I truly wouldn't dare reach above my status..."
In truth, she wanted nothing more than to accept his words without hesitation.
However, everything Lucian had displayed—his overwhelming strength, his unimaginable status, and even his mysterious identity—was so far beyond her reach that she knew she could never truly stand beside him as an equal.
Compared to someone like him, she would be little more than a beautiful vase decorating the background, admired from afar but ultimately insignificant. Because of that, she did not dare indulge in such an unrealistic dream, no matter how much her heart wished otherwise.
Lucian simply smiled, reading the emotions hidden behind her words, yet he chose not to pursue the subject any further.
"Now that your big disaster's been taken care of and there won't be any more trouble on this trip, I'm gonna go now."
Right after saying that, with the cage containing Phantylia hanging casually from one hand, Lucian's figure disappeared in a flash without the slightest hesitation or lingering attachment, vanishing from everyone's sight as though he had never been there in the first place.
Left behind were countless grateful Xianzhou natives kneeling toward the place where he had vanished, their expressions filled with reverence as they offered their heartfelt thanks to the man who had saved them from disaster.
"If I become stronger someday and I'm no longer just a helpless burden... I'll definitely marry you..."
Among them, Tingyun continued gazing toward the place where Lucian had disappeared, her beautiful eyes overflowing with admiration, longing, and quiet determination as she softly murmured those words to herself.
===
[A bonus chapter for reaching 300 Power Stones]
[Support and get early access to upcoming chapters at: patreon.com/VALRRR]