Chapter 51: The Heir!
"The sneaky bastard struck when the K-9 unit went on a scout mission. We barely had time to react before they were all abducted. When we went ahead to confront him, he said he did nothing wrong — his only sin was not liberating his kin sooner.
I even went to his territory in hopes of settling this conflict in a way that wouldn’t escalate into violence, and the bastard had the gall to lock me out! Saying that I wasn’t fit to plead to him... He... he even went further to say that only a grovel from my Lord could earn a second glance from him."
The more Richard recounted the situation to Roy, the more furious he became. The Beast Lord showed zero respect, zero restraint, and bone-deep arrogance. It pissed him off.
"Sigh, you really shouldn’t let the mutt’s antics get to you. It’s merely a dog seeking attention... and that I’ll be sure to give." Roy sighed as he spoke leisurely. It was obvious from his expression that he didn’t take the matter of Amon seriously in the least.
But deep down, his heart churned with waves of confusion and shock. This reaction wasn’t provoked by Richard’s story, but by a notification screen that popped up the moment he tried to scan the man standing beside him.
The third Captain — Jake Vladen.
[Verification Successful!]
[Congratulations! Host has completed Hidden Quest: Recruit 1 out of the 10 Arms of Justice!]
[Justice Arm The Oracle has been reunited with his source! Host has been rewarded!]
[Reward: Epic Tactical Armour Tank — Behemoth Ravager M1A2 Abrams!]
Roy’s mind was in such upheaval he couldn’t muster thoughts.
What the hell was an Arm of Justice?
Why was he just finding out about it?
He inquired from the system, but he was met with static silence.
That had never happened before. The system always replied to all his questions — from the slightest misconceptions to his greatest worries, all were always cleared. But now...
Finally, after sensing his mental chaos, the system chimed, albeit not with a reply.
[Host has to be aware, I’m merely the projection of the Justice Order. My duty is to guide. I cannot act outside my guidelines. There is information and knowledge I dare not share — if I did, it would lead to immediate extermination...]
Roy couldn’t help but be shocked. He could sense the slight tremors in the system’s voice as it spoke. It was almost as if... it was scared?
He had always assumed the system was an all-knowing, all-powerful being, or even the consciousness of the Justice Order itself. But it seemed he was quite wrong...
He trained his gaze back onto the source of this entire upheaval...
[Name: Jake Vladen
Race: Human
Allegiance: Lord Roy Vanders
Level: 12
Strength: 21
Velocity (Mutated!): 21
Shell (Mutated!): 23
Intelligence: 20
Genesis (Mutated!): 40
Comprehension: —
Space: 3.7%
Skills: Oracle (SSS), Blink (A), Star Tracking Eyes (S), Space Pierce (S)]
Genesis?! Something isn’t right... Roy’s brow furrowed immediately on catching sight of this stat.
After all, this was the same mutated ether stat he had acquired not long ago.
Does this have something to do with him being an Arm of Justice? he wondered with a frown.
But one thing was for sure — that skill of his, Oracle, had something to do with this mystery.
So, heart palpitating with anticipation, he patiently requested the detailed inspection with the control recliner...
[Oracle (SSS): An Echo of the divinity of Justice, user gains limited control over space and reality and entity modeled in the image of an order. ¢^π¢^`@?¢×€✓¥$&®=¥€#€¢=€✓=¥®∆¢€√¥¢×§%]
The inspection was going nicely until it got to the last part. The moment he laid his eyes on the almost unintelligible but sacred-looking characters, a sharp searing pain burst in his head as his eyes and ears immediately started bleeding...
[Warning! Host has set his gaze on a divine glyph. The mortal eye is not durable enough to behold divinity!]
W-what the hell? Roy reacted violently as he felt his strength suddenly receding from his body.
"Boss, are you alright?" Richard panicked at the sudden state of his Lord, reaching to stabilize his slumping figure.
Ethan and Layla rushed forward in worry... only one Captain was left behind, watching this spectacle coldly.
An imperceptible frown appeared on Jake’s lips. Are you sure this is him?
[...]
[Rest assured, Host. This is the Heir of Justice...]
Then why can’t he bear the sight of a mere divine glyph? Only mortals can be that vulnerable. How can the Heir to Justice be a mere mortal? You’re telling me that I, the incarnate of Oracle, have to serve a mortal?! Jake’s eyes glinted with disdain. Mortals were beneath him. To him, such beings were meant to serve him, not the other way around.
Mainly looking at himself, one might assume Jake was human like everyone else. But truth was, he wasn’t. His incarnation might be, but his soul still bore divinity.
Unlike other humans, on the day of ascension he didn’t ascend. No — that was the day he was reborn into this ether plane. The day of his descent.
The brilliant ember of his soul tore through the unshakable, all-encompassing protection barrier of Arcana. What might stump gods was useless before him.
And he descended into this mortal body, with very scarce memory of his past, or why he was even here. It was then that something spoke.
[Arm of Justice — The Oracle has successfully forced a descent!]
And with that, his innate skill Oracle bloomed into reality, giving him his first quest...
[Host must find the Heir of Justice!]
And so began his relentless search. He didn’t know why he was searching, or what he was searching for. But deep down, he felt it — the incompleteness, the gaping void in his soul. And somehow, instinctively, he knew that only by finding this Heir could he feel whole.
But now that he was before the Heir, he couldn’t help but be disappointed. Since his arrival at this base, he had been in awe — not by the territory, but by the subordinates that resided within.
Before he summoned Ethan and Layla, he had sensed two Hunters who bore divinity deep in their souls. Two!
In such a backwater, premature ether plane, to think he could find so many figures serving under one Lord.
These two were Richard — Jake could sense it, he bore an ancient divinity. In Jake’s eyes, anytime he saw Richard behind him, he could see a towering divine idol of a warrior donned in armor plated with stars.
And then there was, surprisingly, that dog. Its blood reeked of divinity. Though faint, it definitely carried the bloodline of the divine.
These two figures built his anticipation. If these were his subordinates, how great was the Heir?
But now he had his answer... disappointing, to say the least.
He had just tried testing the Heir by sneaking in some divine characters for him to gaze at... but to think he was this fragile.
He shook his head, taking one last glance at Roy. He was ready to break the contract bonding him to Roy as Lord and subordinate. After all, with divinity, one could manipulate the laws of reality and causality to some extent.
Hanging his head loftily, his eyes reached his supposed Lord — and they froze. Not only his gaze, but reality itself seemed to pause.
The background vanished. Richard and the others vanished. Even Roy vanished. Jake found himself blanketed by deep, dreaded darkness.
W-what is going on? he struggled inwardly, frozen, his hands still partially raised from his attempt to sever the karmic ties between him and Roy.
Suddenly, a colossal blue eye-shaped flame burned through the darkness. His soul shuddered as he felt the gaze of an immeasurable existence upon him.
Suddenly, the full outline of the titanic behemoth came into light — a body that depicted the cosmos.
It stood towering over Jake, gazing at him. Jake’s face warped, turning ugly, as he recognized the features of this being quite well.
T-the... Heir... but I thought... he was a mortal! He struggled to comprehend what was happening.
Suddenly, the titan raised its galaxy-filled finger, moving slowly, encroaching toward Jake.
Tch! Just because you are the Heir doesn’t mean I’m defenseless against you! Jake roared inwardly as he felt the imminent doom preluded by that finger.
His aura flared as his Genesis force roared into life with fierce momentum...
Until suddenly his Genesis force stilled, before dissolving into nothing. Jake gritted his teeth, not giving up, and tried to call for his divinity — but it remained unresponsive.
Suddenly his skill Oracle, which had remained inactive throughout the entire encounter, chimed with advice.
[Host is advised to receive punishment without vain struggle. You slighted the source and disrespected your sovereign. Granting you death would be a generous gesture from the Heir...]
What the hell, are you not supposed to be on my side?! Jake screamed inwardly, aggrieved.
[Take your side and stand against the Heir? Host has to realize I am your soul‑bound skill, but I only exist to serve the Heir. Instead of spending time bantering, I suggest you start pleading for your life...]
These words stripped every ounce of pride still in his heart as Jake suddenly screamed, "I plead for mercy, my Lord! Please have mercy, please forgive this unsightly servant... I had eyes but couldn’t see... please—"
It seemed when it came to begging, the restriction on his voice was lifted. But unfortunately, the trajectory of the finger never wavered.
And the finger made impact. His physical body felt nothing, remaining whole — but his soul?
He couldn’t even scream from the intense torrent of pain. He could only watch as his divinity was being stripped away...
Well, at least he would be keeping his life.