Lord of the Truth

Caesar’s already pale face began to lose what little color still remained in it, his complexion steadily draining as he stared at the horrifying scene unfolding before his eyes...

At that moment, something strange was happening at the center of the enormous array... One of the devils was touching the back of the victim’s head, the second had placed its hand against the side of his head, the third was touching the center where his energy gathered, and the fourth was pressing its hand against his heart.

As for the fifth devil, the largest among the five, it slowly extended both of its fiery hands toward the victim’s forehead, bringing them close to his skin before Krrrriish it began pulling backward with slow, steady movements.

"....!!!" The victim’s eyes immediately began trembling violently within their sockets, and his entire body convulsed uncontrollably as his previously silent scream gradually grew louder and louder, struggling to escape until it finally seemed to decide that it no longer needed functioning vocal cords or even an intact throat in order to come out, "...Aah... AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH—!!!!!"

The horrifying scream tore through Caesar’s ears, but what happened immediately afterward tore through his soul even more violently... That devil had actually pulled something tangible out of the victim. It had pulled away the outer layer of the victim’s skin, steadily dragging it outward until the uppermost layer separated completely from his face, then it continued pulling and peeling him downward without stopping until it finally reached the very tips of his toes.

"...!!" Caesar’s entire body began trembling uncontrollably in horror, for this was truly the first time in his life that he had ever witnessed anything resembling this. That devil was now holding what appeared to be an external copy of the victim, an entire layer of his outer skin that retained his form, a layer so incredibly thin that it was almost transparent, yet despite its extreme thinness, removing it had caused the victim to bleed heavily all over his body.

The devil carefully examined the transparent layer it was holding for several long minutes, looking over it thoroughly, then Shwala the entire layer suddenly burst into flames and disappeared.

Afterward, the devil extended its hand toward the victim’s forehead once again, placing it in the same position as before, and repeated the exact same process.

This time, however, they didn’t heal the victim or accelerate his recovery before continuing. The devil simply began tearing away the next layer immediately after removing the first.

Caesar desperately wanted to look away from what was happening before him, and he wanted even more desperately to turn around and flee from this place altogether, but his entire body had frozen completely where he was...

The victim had already been peeled seven separate times by now, yet despite everything that had been stripped away from his body, they still hadn’t reached the flesh underneath. That man had already been skinned alive seven times while remaining conscious through the process, and judging by what the devils were still doing around him, it looked like they intended to continue!!

Mortex’s voice suddenly snapped Caesar back to his senses and pulled his attention away from the horrifying sight.

"...!!" Caesar immediately lowered his head as quickly as he could and placed one hand firmly over his violently beating heart. To hell with the hooded people! I’m afraid the devils will discover me. I need to leave this place!!

Mortex laughed as though Caesar’s fear toward those creatures was unnecessary.

"....?!" Caesar’s heart nearly stopped altogether upon hearing those words. Those things already know that I’m here watching them?!

What exactly is that task they’re supposed to finish? Some kind of torture that no one has ever experienced before?! Caesar thought in complete horror, and if he had been forced to speak those words aloud instead of communicating through his thoughts, he probably wouldn’t even have been able to put together a single complete sentence because of how badly he would have been stammering.

Mortex began to explain in a calm manner, as though the horrifying sight Caesar had just witnessed was something he had encountered enough times to recognize immediately. He then continued in an extremely simple and measured tone so that Caesar would listen carefully and understand exactly what he was seeing,

He continued,

The devils... are actually extracting a merged Law technique from this person right now?! Caesar felt his body tremble again at the thought, unable to immediately comprehend how something like that could possibly be accomplished. Is that even possible?





Concepts... are actually above the Master Laws? Caesar’s trembling gradually began to subside slightly as his fear momentarily gave way to contemplation over this new information. Just how powerful are those things, I wonder...



What terrifying and harmful creatures. Caesar cautiously glanced toward the victim once again, only to discover that the devils had already begun peeling layers from his flesh itself, causing him to immediately turn his eyes away once more rather than continue watching what was happening. I could’ve gone on with my entire life without ever knowing anything about them.



Are you saying I’ll actually have to deal with those things after I rule the galaxy?! Caesar shuddered again at the mere possibility, his previous fear immediately returning. I don’t want to!!

<...Once you rule it, you’ll have an opportunity to deal with them, and a very significant opportunity at that, but you can also choose to simply ignore them altogether and prevent any more rituals like these from being performed here. After all, a ruler does whatever he wishes within the world he rules.> Mortex’s voice sounded somewhat hesitant as he spoke this time, before he eventually continued,

...? Caesar found the unusual tone in Mortex’s voice somewhat strange, especially after everything the other man had just explained to him about these creatures and their contracts. You sound like you’re speaking from experience.

Mortex laughed, although the words that followed carried the answer Caesar had been looking for.