Galaxy's First Ruler

With the covering of these fluctuations of Laws, Aldrich dashed opposite to the space-crack behind him.

He had already sent Sha to do the same, and from their bond, he could monitor the desired serpent based on her description. No matter how many inexplicable things must have happened, the cooldown of his Class-specific Skill was yet to be over.

Within these five minutes, Aldrich had gone through many tumultuous emotions. He had made the prophecy come true; the Dukes had arrived, a point of light had sliced its way through the two spirits. But by the end, the coming of Chaos and the weird mutation going on the planet made the end of these five minutes feel like an eternity.

Aldrich, not waiting to take out El Cid, dashed outwards with his eyes scanning every mythical serpent. As he passed by Maya, he happened to look over her head. The thing he saw made his eyes go wide again. When he had seen Maya's stats the first time, his expression was almost the same, too. Even if he didn't have a photographic memory, the time hadn't passed so long for him to not remember those words and values.

But what he was seeing over Maya's head made little sense.

[...

Record of Maya

...

Rank: Count (Fallen)

...]

"This..."

Aldrich's time was already running out. Even then, he couldn't help but contemplate the meaning behind the word Fallen. Suddenly a theory materialized in his head, making him snap his head in Boudicca's direction.

But...

There was no sign of the golden-haired bloody beauty anymore.

Aldrich's face became incredibly grave at this point. Things were happening around him that were out of his knowledge. These events meant only one thing in Aldrich's mind.

Unknown Variables.

There was no way Boudicca could have moved away by herself with those injuries. Let alone using the One Step Shunpo. Aldrich could only think of one possibility.

'Someone else is here...'

Thump!

Aldrich's heart thumped, making him shout in his mind.

'Sha! BE CAREFUL... If you feel any being other than me, then don't come out of the Shadow World.'

"Umu..."

Putting all things to the back of his mind, Aldrich kept running erratically in search of his target. Serpents after serpents kept getting sucked towards the crack over him.

Hisssss!!!

'Reverse Rainbow Flying Serpent...'

Aldrich noticed an almost ten-mile-long rainbow-colored serpent with wings and the data on it came rushing to his mind. It was a mythical serpent, mostly famous for its attribute of light and wind. Many even called it the Lord of the Skies, but it wasn't the one Aldrich was looking for.

Suddenly the entire world blurred in front of Aldrich as he saw the rainbow-colored serpent getting pulled away from him. This blur was momentary, and it was almost instantaneous. Before Aldrich could lose his footing, all things returned to their initial state.

"Ughh..."

Aldrich squinted his eyes and let out a painful moan. As he rubbed his eyes, he knew that the weakness was taking over him and it wouldn't be long before he wouldn't even walk properly.

Grrrr-hiss-houuu!!!

This... was a weird sound.

It was so weird that Aldrich couldn't even distinguish it from the hissing sounds of countless serpents echoing throughout the planet. It was even weirder than the hissing sound coming out of the fissure, trying to make him pregnant with millions of slimy snakes.

But even if he hadn't noticed the sound or its origins, he was destined to come in contact with it.

Even though he hadn't used his Change Skill yet, Aldrich was incredibly fast. Leaving behind blurs and after images, he was scouting all the serpents he could within this limited window of time. Just as he was about to change his direction, he saw an outline of another manor in front of him. This manor was huge, almost as big as the Earl's manor, and as Aldrich approached it he realized half of this manor was decimated beyond measure.

"What the..."

Aldrich immediately put the brake to his speed. This manor wasn't the same as the Earl's manor, it WAS the Earl's manor. It was the same Manor who had witnessed the fight of a Duchess and a Marchioness. Aldrich looked around and noticed he had reached the same position from where he had started. Aldrich was smart and intelligent beyond comparison, but even he had his limits.

He was also a drop in the ocean.

So what if this drop had the ambition to engulf the entire ocean within it?

Aldrich couldn't comprehend how he had come back here when he had already traversed miles worth of distance. It was as if...

"... as if I was in a loop... SPACE?!!"

For the first time, after the ordeal that had made him helpless, a smile came upon his face. But somehow, this ordeal had yet to be over. Aldrich was searching for a mythical serpent who could have influenced the surrounding space, making him return to the manor. Suddenly, he saw a person who shouldn't even be around the manor, to begin with.

Thump-...-Thump...

Aldrich put the Pillar of Footprint in his hands on the ground as his heart skipped a beat. In front of him, a few dozen meters away from Maya, Boudicca was lying on the ground. Aldrich walked towards her, not caring for the task at hand, as if in a trance. But before he could take over two steps, a portal appeared above Boudicca.

Aldrich, with blurry eyes, saw a finger-length fairy coming out of the portal. And as the fairy hovered around Boudicca, her figure disappeared as if being erased by an eraser. The portal disappeared and the fairy along with it.

Thump-Thump...

Aldrich's heart regained its rhythm as he realized what it was that had made him come back to the manor. This was an unprecedented moment in Aldrich's life when he wanted something even more than the Law of Space. 

Aldrich craned his neck up as he remembered hearing the sound which he had ignored and silently muttered.

"TIME..."