Chapter 18: Disarm's Usage
"How could there be the Path of Abundance?!"
"When did Abundance even appear?!"
At the heart of a vast, ancient hall filled with shattered pillars and swirling cosmic lights, a mechanical robot could not help but exclaim in surprise.
He was Lygus, the 'administrator' of the whole Amphoreus.
He knew very well that Amphoreus was entangled by three Paths—Erudition, Remembrance, and Destruction.
Balancing the three Paths was already a tough enough task, but now, he had actually discovered the emergence of Abundance in Amphoreus!
Needless to say, this meant that someone from the Abundance faction had gotten involved as well.
"Why does it have to be her of all people... I can't handle this so easily since she's part of the experiment..."
Lygus realized that the one who possessed the power of Abundance was Tribios, one of the key figures.
He did not dare to make any reckless moves, so he decided to play it safe and observe for now.
While this administrator was at his wits' end, the cause of all this was busy admiring beautiful women.
===
Jarilo-VI, Belobog, Qlipoth Fort.
After leaving the bedroom, Lucian spotted many portraits of beautiful women in the hallway downstairs.
Taking a closer look, he found they were portraits of all the Supreme Guardians of Belobog throughout history, from the first to the eighteenth. Other than the first, who was an old woman, the rest were all young and beautiful ladies.
Upon reaching the eighteenth portrait, he saw Cocolia herself, holding an adorable silver-haired little girl in her arms.
'Gotta admit, Cocolia is really good-looking and has a great figure, but she just wears too many layers of clothes. If only she'd take a couple off...'
Just as this thought crossed Lucian's mind, he saw something bizarre happen to the portrait on the wall!
Cocolia, who had originally been depicted wearing a conservative outfit, suddenly had her clothes vanish, leaving only the kind of image that would get it censored!
'One-click strip? Is this because of Disarm? So it can be used like this?'
As he pondered, Lucian noticed that the details were, surprisingly, exactly the same as the real ones.
One should know that those forbidden areas were not supposed to exist, but after Lucian used Disarm, the details matched exactly what he had seen with his own eyes when he slept with Cocolia, as the image even auto-completed the nonexistent forbidden areas.
Lucian seemed to have discovered a new use for Disarm.
It was undoubtedly a miraculous ability for men!
In the end, Lucian decided to take the portrait down and enjoy it for himself.
However, to test the ability further, Lucian then looked at the silver-haired little girl in Cocolia's arms.
"Sorry, Bronya, I'm just going to take off your hat."
Just as Lucian was about to use Disarm, a familiar voice suddenly rang out behind him.
"What hat?"
It was none other than Bronya's voice—the real deal was actually here.
Realizing this, Lucian quickly rolled up the portrait and hid it in his coat without turning around.
He couldn't help it.
He knew very well that what he had done was somewhat embarrassing, so he definitely could not let Bronya find out.
By the time Lucian turned around, he had already restored his usual refined demeanor and saw the newcomer, Bronya.
Bronya's figure always carried a stern resilience that matched the wind and snow of Belobog.
She stood as straight as a pine in winter, her silver-gray curls neat and smooth, with a few longer strands naturally falling by her cheeks, softening her appearance. Her face was delicate and sharply defined, with a tall nose and lips habitually pressed into a firm line.
As she walked toward Lucian, there was a faint curve on her lips.
Lucian knew that only when she occasionally let go of her burdens, or when she was with someone she trusted, would the corners of her lips rise ever so slightly, revealing a smile like a ray of morning light breaking through melting ice.
"Lord Lucian, did you just say something about taking off a hat?"
Bronya asked earnestly.
She thought Lucian must have some request and thus treated it with the utmost care.
In her heart, he was a hero who had saved her world, so every one of his requests ought to be fulfilled—except for the improper ones, of course.
"No, it's nothing." Lucian waved his hand. "I just meant that you look prettier without a hat."
Faced with such a sudden compliment, Bronya's face turned red.
"Th-Thank you... I really haven't worn a hat in a long time though..."
Feeling awkward, Bronya shifted her gaze from Lucian, but this act caused her to quickly notice that a portrait was missing from the wall.
In that instant, she immediately remembered that empty spot was where the portrait of her mother had been.
And just now, it seemed Lucian had taken an object that somewhat resembled a portrait.
'Could it be... Lord Lucian has a secret crush on Mother? Why else would he secretly take Mother's portrait and keep it for himself?'
Her guess was not without reason.
She had, after all, seen couples do this before—hiding portraits of their loved ones to admire in private.
Knowing something as big as this, Bronya decided she had to tell her mother.
"Bronya?"
"Bronya?"
Lucian saw Bronya staring absentmindedly at the wall, so he called out twice.
"Ah, it's nothing! I have a report to make!"
Bronya snapped out of it and hurriedly changed the subject, not wanting her thoughts to be discovered.
"There is news from the Underworld. Svarog knows the location of the Old World's arsenal, but he refuses to negotiate with our people. He said he only trusts you, so I'd like to ask you to come forward. We really need those technologies and materials from the Old World."
"Ah, that works out perfectly then..." Lucian agreed readily. "I've been wanting to find that arsenal myself."
Even if Bronya had not brought it up, he would have gone looking for those technologies anyway.
A thousand years ago, Jarilo-VI had actually stood at the forefront of science and technology.
Back then, intergalactic civilizations like the Architects, trade commissioners from the IPC, and members of the Intelligentsia Guild gathered here to exchange knowledge.
However, after the arrival of a Stellaron, they all fled.
In the end, the Antimatter Legion invaded Jarilo-VI and took over the surface, while the natives suffered defeat after defeat and were forced into Belobog.
Because the collective will of the natives erupted, it triggered the Stellaron, causing a snowstorm to sweep across the planet.
Jarilo-VI then entered an ice age, known as the Eternal Freeze, forcing even the Antimatter Legion to retreat because of the blizzard.
Sadly, the result was the collapse of Jarilo-VI's civilization.
From the era of starships, it regressed to the era of firearms, retaining only scraps of advanced technology.
'It's a shame I can't find the coordinates for Herta Space Station, otherwise I'd at least go and nab a few top researchers.'
In the galaxy, to accurately reach a destination, everyone except the Aeons had to rely on outside help.
If he kept running around on his own without even knowing where his destination was, who knew how many years it would take to find someone?
For this reason, Lucian dropped the idea and decided to look for the Old World's technologies instead.
If he could dig up a planet-destroyer spaceship, that would be even better.