Lord of the Truth-Chapter 1228: The end of the crisis

Helen furrowed her brows slightly, her sharp gaze narrowing, and called out in a commanding voice,

"You there! Who are you? What are you tryi—"

WHOOSH—

Without warning, and before the final syllable could even leave her mouth, everything around her changed in the blink of an eye.

The world she had just been observing — a world crumbling into oblivion — was gone.

Only moments ago, she had been peering down from the above onto a doomed planet, its atmosphere shredded and collapsing, with gusts of air howling into the vacuum of space.

She had watched the trembling earth, riven with fractures, as if bracing itself for yet another merciless descent of the Nature Annihilation Strike.

Below her, she had seen countless tiny figures — Robin Burton and his valiant but foolish generals — clinging to hope, daring to believe they could somehow resist her devastating might.

And now...

Now she stood on solid ground — a floor hewn from deep, dark stone, polished yet ancient.

"...Hah?"

Helen muttered in disbelief, her voice small amidst the sudden stillness.

Slowly, almost mechanically, she lifted her head, her senses reeling, and began surveying her surroundings.

Every inch of this place — the heavy, silent air, the cold touch of the walls, the faint scent — was achingly familiar.

Creak—

A door behind her swung open abruptly.

"Who's there?!"

A sharp voice called out.

Spinning around, Helen saw a woman enter — dressed in a hardened military uniform, sword half-drawn and eyes blazing with urgency.

"...Oh, it's you, Your Majesty. What are you doing here? I thought you had already departed for a mission? That was faster than expected..."

"...!!!"

Helen's breath caught in her throat.

She stared deeply into the woman's face, scrutinizing every feature with disbelief.

This was her trusted aide, her shadow on the battlefield, the right hand she had personally chosen!

And this place... this was unmistakable.

It was her own private quarters, nestled deep within the fortified stronghold of the Bit of Destruction.

What had just happened?

-------------------------------

Meanwhile, back on the surface of the collapsing Planet Jura—

BAM! BAM!

The entire Golden Army — generals, soldiers, even the invincible Warlords — were flattened to the ground as though the very heavens themselves pressed down upon them.

Their bodies strained against the overwhelming pressure of the Annihilation of Nature, a force so immense that even breathing became a brutal task.

"Ughhhhhh..."

Groans of agony echoed across the battlefield, but despite the suffocating pain, the strongest among them clenched their jaws, refusing to yield, refusing to let their pride be ground into dust.

Their trembling eyes slowly, instinctively, turned toward a single figure — toward Robin.

Robin, who had been reduced to his first stage of cultivation — a frail figure whose body now looked almost translucent, a mere shell of flesh and soul, his soul domain hollow and barren.

The soldiers feared for him.

Even the slightest disturbance in the air seemed enough to shatter him like glass.

Yet amidst their dread, they witnessed something... extraordinary.

Standing before Robin was a man made entirely of light.

His very existence seemed to warp the air around him, radiating a pure, gentle power.

The sight was vaguely reminiscent of Rinara's soul shard when she had once appeared before them — but the feeling this figure invoked was vastly different.

There was no chaos in him, no wrath, no raging storm.

"Ugh? Ughghh?!"

Caesar, Hulak, and the others instinctively tried to move toward Robin, desperate to protect him from whatever new catastrophe this might herald —

But at that exact moment, they saw the figure of light raise his hand in a slow, almost casual wave.

And just like that—

POOF

The suffocating pressure evaporated.

"...!"

All heads snapped upward, searching the skies in disbelief.

Where had the unstoppable force gone?

Where was the black-dress woman whose presence alone had threatened to annihilate them all?

Gone.

She was gone.

The terrible Nature Annihilation Strike — gone.

The ruptured sky — mended, whole once more.

The atmosphere no longer screamed in agony.

The heavens above looked peaceful, even beautiful —

As if the nightmare that had crushed them only moments ago had never happened at all.

Soft clouds drifted lazily across the gentle blue, basking under the warmth of a sun that had returned to its rightful place.

It was as if they had awakened from a terrible dream — and yet, the trembling in their hearts remained.

The only figure that still hovered high above was Juri —

The small girl who had forged a body from compressed winds.

She remained suspended in the air, but unlike before, her demeanor had completely transformed.

There was no longer anger etched onto her face.

No longer the burden of duty nor the fiery pride that had once burned so brightly.

Instead, there was fear — raw, naked terror.

Her delicate wind-formed body visibly shook, trembling under a force she could no longer challenge.

"What just happened?! Was it you who—"

At last, everyone managed to tear their eyes away from the sky with great difficulty. They were desperate to understand the mysterious humanoid light who had seemingly saved their lives. Their minds raced with questions, eager to know who it was and why they had intervened.

But when they looked around, they found no one there.

There was only Robin, standing in the middle, grinning at them.

"What a grand finale, huh? You can all rest now. The crisis is over."

Thud Thud

The generals, who had been struggling to stay on their feet, one by one, collapsed onto the ground, completely drained of energy, their bodies unable to bear the immense pressure.

"Boo... hoo..."

Victoria, overwhelmed with emotions, cupped her hands over her face, tears streaming down as she wept.

The fear, the anxiety, the overwhelming tension that had consumed her, the constant weight of impending doom — it had all evaporated in an instant. Robin's calm words hit her like a sudden downpour of cold water, dousing all her lingering fears.

"Huff... Huff..."

Aro slowly lowered his spear, eyes wide in shock and fear, the expression of someone who had narrowly escaped death's grasp.

He drew Flora, still crying, tightly to his chest, gasping for air. He whispered in a low voice only she could hear,

"Huff... That lunatic... He really did something. He pulled it off... The gamble paid off..."

"..."

Meanwhile, Hulak stood motionless, his gaze fixed intently on Robin's smiling face, silently processing everything that had just occurred.

Without even thinking about it, he took a few hesitant steps and stood next to Robin, as if drawn to him by some unseen force.

While everyone else was still recovering and catching their breath, Sakaar turned to face Robin, his expression full of suspicion and curiosity.

"My Lord, what just happened? That being of light — did he help us without expecting anything in return?!"

"Hehe, something like that. Don't worry,"

Robin waved his hand dismissively, trying to downplay the situation.

As always, Sakaar's thoughts raced far ahead, overthinking everything, perhaps wondering if Robin had made a deal with a devil or some other dark power.

...But, perhaps Sakaar wasn't entirely wrong?

"Father... That was him, wasn't it?"

Caesar said, his eyes narrowing as he placed his halberd back into his ring.

That presence — the figure had been too familiar to him.

"It was him."

Robin gave a small, knowing nod, his eyes filled with unspoken understanding.

"....."

Caesar's fierce, animalistic eyes softened with realization.

Deep down, he knew that the situation had truly been resolved after the appearance of their Overlord.

Yet, despite this, a hint of worry crossed his face.

The last time the All-Seeing god intervened, he had restored Robin's body and demanded something in return — the issue with Nihari.

What would the price be this time?

"Haha, no need to worry,"

Robin chuckled, clapping his hands twice, then gesturing to the crowd.

"Come on, now! What will the soldiers think of you, seeing you all like this? Go and calm them down, rally the cowards who fled, and let's finish the coronation."

"You still want to go through with it?!"

Caesar exclaimed, disbelief clear in his voice.

Even the other generals turned to Robin, startled by his insistence.

They all knew that His Excellency had never been fond of the idea of a grand coronation.

Now that the battle was over, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to avoid it.

"It must be done, right?"

Robin forced a smile, though it was laced with reluctance.

"We were supposed to have a legendary coronation, little Caesar.

What could be more legendary than a coronation after surviving a battle against a Nexus Being?

Come on, get everything ready."

In truth, Robin's mind was a storm of conflicting thoughts.

He despised the idea of being the center of attention, especially in a moment as public as this.

But...

Since he was on the path to building a Centennial Empire within a thousand years and initiating a massive upheaval in the Mid Belt against everyone, maybe a grand coronation today wouldn't be such a terrible idea.

"Understood!"

Caesar gave a crisp military salute, then quickly began organizing his men.

As he passed by Aro, he gave him a side glance and patted his shoulder twice,

"Go gather your men."

Deep breath "Hoooo~"

Minutes passed, and soon, the platform was nearly empty. The generals and soldiers had either gone to heal their wounds or prepare for the next phase. Only Hulak remained, still standing beside Robin, silent and watchful.

Robin let out a long, tired exhale.

"What a long, exhausting day..."

"The day isn't over yet, Your Excellency,"

Hulak said quietly, pointing toward a particular direction.

"Hmm?"

Robin leaned forward slightly to see where Hulak was pointing.

"Oh... you're still here."

It was Rinara.

Her eyes were wide open, filled with terror.

The same look of fear that had been etched onto the faces of the soldiers and generals earlier was now frozen on hers.