Chaos Heir

Chapter 1571: Breaker

The kid-like King hadn’t known Lord Enforcer for long, barely for a few exchanges, actually. Still, something about the Royal Guard’s smile felt extremely jarring. It was like water that had caught fire, looking so unnatural that the King couldn’t help but experience an innate rejection.

To make things worse, the smile also felt strangely familiar to the King. It was eerily similar to the one he was wearing, which couldn’t be a coincidence, not at that level.

Of course, Lord Enforcer wasn’t the type of warrior to waste time in pointless explanations. He wasn’t even in the right condition to harbor any thoughts that had nothing to do with his technique.

Nevertheless, things became quite revealing pretty soon.

The unnatural vibe didn’t stop at Lord Enforcer’s uncharacteristic smile. Part of his aura changed color, becoming dark and visible before gathering on his mostly bald forehead and back.

Shapes that the kid-like King could instantly recognize materialized on his opponent. To the black warrior’s surprise, Lord Enforcer gained two black horns and a pair of broad, rectangular wings, seemingly mimicking the alien’s appearance.

A clear pattern was taking shape, highlighted by the fact that the chaotic lake gradually started to calm down. Its tall waves slowly settled down, turning the area into the embodiment of perfect stillness.

That shouldn’t have been possible. After all, the kid-like King had cast that illusion and set its rules. The lake wasn’t supposed to calm down. A peaceful version of that scenery didn’t even exist in the technique’s theory.

The King also knew that his technique’s rules hadn’t changed. He could still feel his connection to his illusions and their correct functioning.

Hence, that strange development had to involve something else, something the kid-like King felt able to recognize once again. Somehow, it seemed an additional illusion had fallen on that already illusory world.

That conclusion was in line with Lord Enforcer’s new appearance and expressions. He looked as if he had become a replica of the King, also imitating his unique element, but odd details inevitably stood out.

Copying techniques and spells wasn’t exactly a groundbreaking ability. Many inside the Scarlet Eyes’ army wielded it and even performed it at a level the children of the mana couldn’t hope to match.

That was simply due to the True Chaos’ superiority as an energy. Copies built with it would inevitably convey more power as long as most of the other requirements were met.

Yet, it seemed Lord Enforcer didn’t only copy a technique. He had replicated an element belonging to a King, which was unique in more ways than one. Moreover, he had done so successfully.

A copy built through an inferior energy had to be lacking, but Lord Enforcer’s illusion didn’t follow that rule. The kid-like King couldn’t feel the new technique that had descended into the area. He could only recognize it by virtue of his innate knowledge of the field.

That was another impossible feat, which ended up entertaining the kid-like King. Somehow, his opponent had created a superior copy of his ability despite his ascended state and the massive amount of energy he was absorbing. Things couldn’t get funnier than that.

So, the King spread his arms, unfolding his rectangular wings as much as possible, as to invite that finally-entertaining opponent to come forward, only for a sense of uneasiness to spread inside him.

The kid-like King’s excited smile froze, replaced by a confused frown, which found its reason to exist when he inspected his sides. It turned out both his arms had disappeared, replaced by unharmed stumps at his shoulder level.

That was exactly what had happened earlier to Lord Enforcer. It was the same rule from the previous scenario, but applied to the current illusion. Those punishments were overlapping, but the King didn’t let that worry him.

After all, the solution to that illusion was something the King had created. He knew the disappearance was fake. It would only become real if he moved on his own, which he obviously wouldn’t do.

No worry invaded the kid-like King, even when Lord Enforcer appeared in front of him and stabbed his six-fingered hand in his chest. Pain couldn’t make the alien flinch, but something in his opponent’s mirrored excited smile hinted that something was off.

However, Lord Enforcer ended up doing something even more surprising. He actually spoke.

"[I loathe this power of mine]," Lord Enforcer declared in his native language, that illusory world echoing his words to translate them into something the alien could understand.

The King didn’t know what the Thilku was getting at, but wore a derisive smile, almost challenging his opponent to do his worst.

"[Mastery over rules demands a profound respect for them]," Lord Enforcer explained, "[An acknowledgement of their necessity so deep it transforms into worship]."

The King’s derisive smile broadened at those words, only to freeze when a random spasm ran through his body.

"[But the peak of rules’ mastery is rules’ breaking]," Lord Enforcer continued. "[This is the contradicting curse of my existence]."

More random spasms followed, and nothing in the King’s control seemed able to stop them. Those reactions weren’t proper for an evolved warrior, let alone a Scarlet Eyes’ King, but the alien’s body wasn’t listening to him.

"[I was ready to end the contradiction once and for all when my Emperor offered me a spot in his Royal Court]," Lord Enforcer revealed. "[So, I created the rule that this power would exist solely for my Emperor]."

The spams intensified until the King jerked himself forward, falling prey to that illusion’s rule. The right side of his torso suddenly vanished, leaving his head attached oddly to a fraction of what was left of his neck.

"[I command thee move]," Lord Enforcer exclaimed, and another spasm ran through the King, this time completely depriving him of his control over his body.

The kid-like King struggled, but to no avail. His right leg rose and disappeared. His left one followed, but not until it performed a step back, which made the entire alien vanish.