Beyond the Bloodline-Chapter 266: Unfortunate Kumal

Elf Lord Kumal’s heart hammered in his chest, the wind whipping past him as he propelled himself across the skies with a speed borne of desperation.

He, like every other Deity Realm Existence on the Neutral Continent, had sensed when Jamie had killed the Eight-Headed dragon.

He, like every other deity, had also been blinded by the veil of darkness that descended before Jamie used the Galaxy Sword’s Weapon Authority.

He had felt a fraction of the power of the Galaxy Sword. A power that shocked him to the core of his soul.

Kumal was a Superior Stage Low-Tier Deity with a Level of 400, but he instinctively felt all that would be meaningless before whoever wielded that power.

Technically, he wasn’t wrong. A Low-Tier Deity’s power was meaningless before the Galaxy Sword, even though Jamie currently wasn’t capable of beating a Deity level 400 like Kumal.

Then again, he didn’t know Jamie had lost his power.

Anyway, that wasn’t the point here.

The point was that Jamie had killed the Eight-headed Dragon with the Galaxy Sword, and upon sensing the dragon’s death, Kumal quickly left the Efvahona Region and headed straight to the Elven Race’s Sanctum on Estea’s Main Moon.

The reason was rather simple.

Kumal was scared.

Due to his contract with the dragon, he could sense that the dragon’s soul had been collected by ’something’ before the law of death could.

If the entity behind the dragon’s death were to search its soul—which they most likely would given that they went through the effort to take it—then, they would learn of his involvement with it.

Kumal did NOT want whoever it was that wielded that scary power to come after him.

So, he decided to the Elven Sanctum on Estea’s main moon.

Whoever that was, they wouldn’t dare come after him there.

To attack him within the sanctum would mean declaring war on the Elves of Estea—all the Race Lords, Kings and Emperors.

He was going to be safe there.

Or so he believed.

What he didn’t know, was that the one responsible for the dragon’s death was an existence that all those Elven Kings and Emperors would never dare offend for his sake.

Kumal breached Estea’s atmosphere with a surge of relief, the void of space stretching before him as he prepared to launch toward the Moon in the distance.

His escape seemed within reach, his plan foolproof—until space itself turned hostile.

|Where the fuck do you think you’re going, long-eared ant? |

That True Voice rang out in the void and Kumal barely had time to comprehend its source before the nearby spatial law energy condensed, forming a colossal arm that slapped him back onto the planet.

The force sent him hurtling back through the atmosphere faster than a blazing meteor. He crashed in the centre of the Cerulean Ocean, slitting the waves and sending towering tsunamis racing towards the shores of the Neutral and Human Continents on either side.

It didn’t take a minute for Kumal to burst to the surface, coughing out water as his lungs burned. His body trembled from the impact, but his pride and fury burned hotter.

He forced himself upright, his aura flaring as he released his full power, the ocean swirling and steaming around him.

|WHO DARES ATTACK THE GREAT ELVEN LORD KUMAL?! I AM AN-|

|A mere Race Lord title, and you dare to call yourself ’Great’?|

The same True Voice as before, cold and disdainful, cut his tirade short.

Kumal turned, his eyes narrowing onto Jamie’s figure that appeared in the air above him, his body silhouetted by the sun.

Without even giving the elf a moment to understand what was happening, Jamie raised his right hand and spoke. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

|Imperial Privilege: First Privilege. Creation

Recreating Universal Authority. |

Cosmic energy swirled around Jamie, the law of creation’s power gathering at light speed as circuits of light glitched and distorted the space in his immediate vicinity.

|Retrieve Ruler Authority Fragment. Modifier: Elf .|

Kumal opened his mouth to speak, but before he could even get a sound out, agony erupted within his soul.

His body contorted violently as a searing pain radiated from the core of his existence.

He clawed at his chest, a primal scream tearing from his throat as his soul itself felt as though it were being ripped apart.

He wasn’t too far off.

The occurrence to his soul was reflected in his physical body as a brilliant shard of light erupted from his body, tearing his chest asunder and sending blood spraying into the air.

His screams reverberated across the ocean as the shard floated upward, hovering briefly before gliding into Jamie’s outstretched palm.

Every Deity Realm existence nearby paused, their ears ringing with the sound of Kumal’s screams.

More blood poured from the Elf Lord—no, Former Elf Lord’s mouth, streaked down his cheeks from his eyes wide in disbelief.

’...How...?’

Kumal could not comprehend what just happened.

Even Race Kings could not forcefully deprive Race Lords of their Authority unless those Lords were their [Retainers].

Even Emperors could not do this so easily.

’...How can this man...?’

Before his weakened body could fall back into the ocean, the space around him constricted like an invisible hand, lifting and holding him aloft.

◇　◇　◇

Every Race Ruler within Estea’s gravitational field felt the resonance as Kumal’s Ruler Authority, forcibly materialized.

Across the Planet’s surface and its many moons, they paused in shock and confusion.

For even in the vast scale of the universe, where rarity often became commonplace, the violent, forcible removal of a Ruler Authority was extraordinary. And the scream that accompanied it left no room for misinterpretation.

The elves reacted first. The elves on Estea’s lunar sanctums felt the Authority’s ’Elf’ Modifier resonate, an unmistakable signal that one of their own had been targeted.

Lights dotted the sky as Race Lords and Kings of various races that were on the Lunar Sanctums descended simultaneously.

On the Planet’s surface itself, more Race Rulers rushed to the scene, curiosity driving them.

For the Elves, however, it was their fury that drove them.

The Interstellar Management Board officials, still deliberating over the eight-headed dragon’s situation in Halrith, were jolted into action. Confused and alarmed, they sped toward the source of the disturbance.

When they arrived at the scene, they were met with the sight of Jamie holding Kumal’s former Ruler Authority Fragment in his right hand, while his left hand held Kumal’s head, the energies of life and death about to permeate his soul.

The elf’s body trembled violently under Jamie’s grasp, a pitiful sight for a being who once held a Race Lord title.

Fury ignited in the gathered elves. The Lords and Kings, their pride stung and their kin humiliated, erupted in shouts.

|Who are you?!|

|How dare you touch one of ours?!|

|Release him this instant, or face—! |

Before they could finish, the air around them grew oppressively heavy. A suffocating weight bore down on their chests, and their words faltered as realization dawned. Space itself was constricting, bending to an unseen will.

Without warning, multiple sections of space tore apart like a shredded curtain. From within, liquified void energy poured out, thick and dark like the blood of a wounded Universe.

All those present instinctively recoiled in the face of Nothingness made physical.

Jamie turned slowly, his gaze sweeping over the crowd and all the Rulers present shivered as they felt something unexplainable: the illusion of a massive wolf glaring at them with its azure eyes.

’There’s no Cosmic Superior...good.’

As soon as that thought crossed Jamie’s mind, glitches began to appear in the visions of the gathered Deities.

Reality itself seemed to fracture, and sparks of causality crackled around them.

Then, they saw it.

A diaphanous board bearing a single line that made them feel truly insignificant.

[You are in the presence of an Existence with an Immensely Superior Authority. All Modified Ruler Authority Fragments have been DEACTIVATED.]

Their brains could not compute it.

To think their hard-earned Authorities could be so easily stripped away just by someone else merely existing.

As they gaped at him in shock, the Deities finally processed the appearance of the figure their eyes were seeing.

Those who didn’t recognize Jamie immediately felt their instincts scream in warning at the incomprehensible power he displayed.

Those who did recognize him—the older Race Lords and Kings, and even some younger ones who had heard whispered tales—froze in abject terror.

Even so, the error messages continued to flood their minds.

[Race Ruler Matrix: System Error Detected.]

[Resolution Process Failed; Error Resolution Matrix has stopped working.]

[Critical Warning: Temporal Void Infection and Universal Law Distortion Detected.]

The implications of these words sent a shudder through all present.

Panic was beginning to set in when suddenly, a hand materialised from thin air and clamped down on Jamie’s shoulder.

[Tone it down, Westley! Don’t start causing errors within my sector!]

Jamie turned and locked gazes with ’Estea’ who was glaring at him angrily.

For a moment, there was silence.

Then, without a word, Jamie silently retracted his Cosmic energy. The oppressive atmosphere dissipated, and the cracks in reality smoothed over.

Immediately, the system’s mechanisms began to repair themselves, resuming their functions with a jolt. The error messages also vanished as quickly as they appeared.

’Estea’ turned, ’her’ sharp gaze landing on the gathered Race Lords and Kings as ’she’ questioned in a voice filled with scorn.

[What the hell are you still doing here? You want to lose your Authorities forever?]

’Her’ words struck like a hammer, and without hesitation, every single one of them acted.

They didn’t run. They fled.

In a frantic, undignified rush, they dispersed like prey before a predator.

As the scattered Race Lords and Kings fled, ’Estea’ pressed ’her’ hands to ’her’ temples and sighed deeply. ’Her’ tone dripped with exasperation as ’she’ muttered.

[Seriously, these children. They don’t have any danger awareness.]