27 Ruler of the World

A/N: This is the last chapter before Epilogue and I have a few announcements after the chapter.

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As we stepped out of the rift, we were greeted by the sight of a gigantic castle similar in size to mine.

The towering castle in front of us seemed to have been birthed from the earth itself; there were no signs that it had been shaped or molded. Sophisticated designs and runes made from what looked like precious minerals covered the walls of the castle, which stood high enough to be seen from miles away. The trees bent and tangled together in arches to create a corridor that led to the entrance, which was atop a bridge that shimmered in an array of translucent colors.

I surveyed the castle's exterior with interest. "Impressive," I commented. "But we're not here to admire the architecture."

Sylvia nodded, her hand already on her sword. "Right. Let's move."

As we made our way through the bridge, we were met with resistance from the guards stationed at the entrance.

"State your identity!" Said one of the guards.

Instead of giving an answer, I just snapped my fingers, causing the guard in front of us, as well as the ones hiding, to explode in a bloody mess.

Sylvia looked at me in shock for a moment before recomposing herself. "Let's move before reinforcements arrive," she said, motioning for us to continue forward.

As we entered the castle, we encountered more guards, but they were no match for us. I made quick work of them by using a few spells of mine.

Sylvia and I continued to make our way deeper into the castle, taking out any guards that dared to stand in our way. We eventually came to the throne room, where we could hear the sounds of voices and movement coming from within.

I turned to Sylvia. "This is it," I said. "Are you ready?"

Sylvia nodded, a determined look in her eyes. "Yes, my liege. Let's end this."

With that, we burst into the throne room. The room was filled with Epheotus' most powerful generals and warriors, along with Kezess, sitting atop a throne on the far end.

Kezess' eyes widened in shock as he saw us enter. "You dare to intrude upon my palace?" he roared.

I simply smirked, ready for the fight. "It won't be your palace any longer."

"How dare you use insult me! Windsom, Alduin, eliminate those intruders."

Two of Kezess' closest generals stepped forward, ready to engage us in battle.

"Sylvia, go deal with those two. I shall take of the talking pig on the throne."

Sylvia nodded and charged towards the generals, drawing her sword.

Meanwhile, I walked confidently towards Kezess, destroying those who stand in my way.

"Did you think you can just barge in here and challenge me?"

"The fact that you can't even recognize your daughter fighting over there speaks volumes of your right to rule." I said, calmly.

Kezess snarled at my words. "You dare insult me and my family? You will regret ever setting foot in this castle!"

He tried to use the aether around us to attack me, but the aether particles didn't listen.

I chuckled. "It seems aether isn't on your side anymore, Kezess."

"Preposterous! How can a lesser like you know about aether!?" He said angrily.

I smiled enigmatically, enjoying the surprise in his expression. "Oh, I know a lot about aether. More than you can imagine. Let me show you how."

The fabric of reality began to shake as the aether particles in the atmosphere began to condense into seven humanoid figures.

"Behold, Kezess. These are the embodiment of the order of the world, or what you call aether. Space, Time, Life, Death, Creation, Destruction, and finally Fate!"

Kezess looked at the figures in awe and fear, realizing the magnitude of my power. "You... aether is under your command!?"

I nodded, a confident smile on my face. "Yes, that's the very reason why no one in this room, aside from me and Sylvia over there, can use Aether arts. Because I made a deal with them." I said, as I pointed towards the seven orders of the world who then began to dissipate into the atmosphere.

"Anyway, let's stop with the talking and end this already. I still have to take care of the aftermath." I said.

I casted a spell called [Ygg Neas]. The spell caused my hand to glow with a bluish-white aura as I reached out towards Kezess, who was still frozen in shock at the sight of the seven orders of the world.

The spell allowed me to grasp and hold anything in the palm of my hand, no matter how far away those things were. In this case, I used it to grasp Kezess' source, his very concept of existence.

"Fun fact, Kezess. The pain of a damaged source is the most painful thing one can experience. It is equivalent to the death of all your past, present, and future lives dying at the same time." I said to Kezess, as I squeezed his source, damaging it.

Kezess screamed in agony as I damaged his source, causing him to collapse onto the ground, writhing in pain. After a few seconds of enjoying his pain, I shattered his source, causing his body to dissipate into the air.

I looked over to Sylvia, who had successfully defeated the two generals, who were now unconscious, and nodded at her.

"Well done, Sylvia," I said, walking towards her.

"Thank you, my liege. Alduin almost used the World Eater technique. Luckily, I was able to use my [Eyes of Destruction] to cancel it before he was able to cast it."

I nodded approvingly. "Good. But what shall we do with them?" I asked my subordinate for a suggestion.

Sylvia paused for a moment, considering our options. "We could kill Windsom and spare Alduin. Windsom is stubbornly loyal to my father, thus he would take every opportunity to bring you down. Alduin, on the other hand, is less loyal to my father, and will most likely serve under you if your rule were to benefit Epheotus."

I nodded, thinking about Sylvia's suggestion. "That is a good option. Considering my plan was to rule over the three continents as an absolute monarch and have one subordinate run one country, having Alduin as my subordinate in Epheotus would be a good step towards achieving that goal."

Sylvia smiled at my response. "I knew you would see the advantages of sparing Alduin. He is a capable leader and has the respect of his people. With him on your side, it would be much easier to establish your rule in Epheotus."

I nodded in agreement. "It's settled then, we eliminate Windsom and spare Alduin."

Sylvia nodded, "Very well, I will imprison Alduin in the pocket dimension, for now." She said as she walked over to the unconscious Windsom and disintegrated his body.

"Good. Sylvia, you stay here in Epheotus and keep an eye on things, maybe catch up with your mother. I will go back to Dicathen and handle things there."

Sylvia nodded in agreement. "Understood. I will take care of things here and keep you updated on any developments."

I nodded and turned to leave. "Be careful, Sylvia. Keep your guard up."

Sylvia smiled faintly. "I will. You too, stay safe."

With that, I left Epheotus and teleported back to the academy which was still in chaos, but much better than it was before.

I spotted Arthur, along with the now conscious Tess and Elijah, sitting on a bench.

"How's everything going?" I asked Arthur for a run down of the situation after I left.

Arthur looked up at me and sighed heavily. "It's been stressful, but fine. After you left, Bairon has been under control, while Varay and the other lance have been helping clean up.

I nodded, "Good to hear that Bairon is under control. What about the students?"

Arthur spoke up, "Most of them are scared and confused, but we've been doing our best to keep them calm and reassure them that things are under control now. Unfortunately, there were a lot of casualties."

"I see..." I said, as I contemplated about resurrecting them.

Arthur noticed my expression and spoke up. "Is everything alright?"

I shook my head, "Yeah, I'm fine. Anyway, I need to have a meeting with the council on something."

Arthur raised an eyebrow, "What is it about?"

"I'll explain later. Right now, I need you three to come with me."

Arthur, Tess, and Elijah got up from the bench and followed me to an open space. I then used [Gatom] to teleport us outside the Council Headquarters, and from my knowledge, they should be here.

The three followed me as I walked towards the guards.

"Prince Azathoth, please state your business," the guard said, recognizing me.

"I need to speak with the council. It's urgent," I replied.

The guard nodded and allowed us entry. We were made to wait a few moments in a room before being allowed to meet with the council.

As we were waiting, I could hear the muffled sounds of heated debate coming from the council chamber. Finally, a servant appeared and gestured for us to follow them.

We entered the council chamber to find the councilors seated at an elevated platform looking down upon me. The two lances who were not present in the academy were also here.

"Azz, son. What's with the sudden meeting?" Father asked me.

Instead of answering his question, I used my [Eyes of Absolute Destruction] to kill the king and queen of Darv.

The councilors gasped in shock as they witnessed the brutal act. Mother stood up from her seat in shock, "What have you done, Azz? Why would you do such a thing?"

I turned to face her, my expression calm and composed. "Mother, the king and queen of Darv were secretly aligned with the Alacryans or the other continent to save their own skin when the Alacryans' eventual invasion comes. Unfortunately for them, I already eliminated the rulers of Alacrya." I continued. "Now that I've eliminated the two traitors, I shall annouce to everyone my plan."

I then used [Limnet] to project myself across the planet. "Greetings, citizens of Dicathen, Alacrya, and Epheotus. Hear me now: I have killed the rulers of the Alacryans and Epheotus, Agrona Vritra and Kezess Indrath, respectively. As of this moment, I proclaim myself as the absolute ruler of all three continents. Those who wish to oppose me are open to try. But do know that if you do, you and your allies will face consequences."

The projection of my voice echoed across the continents, leaving many in shock and awe. The citizens of Dicathen, Alacrya, and Epheotus were stunned by my sudden proclamation.

I released my overwhelming presence, and the entire planet felt it. All beings, whether they were Dicathians, Asurans, or any other race, were forced to their knees by my immense power. This was a show of force to anyone who dared to think about opposing me.

The silence was deafening as everyone waited for my next move. Some were afraid, while others were in awe of my power.

As the silence lingered, I spoke again, my voice calm and composed. "I understand that this may come as a shock to many of you, but it is for the greater good. I will ensure peace and prosperity across all three continents, and I will not tolerate any form of opposition. I am open to discussion and negotiation, but know that ultimately, my word is final."

The king and queen of Sapin and my parents looked at each other, before King Blaine of Sapin sighed and spoke up. "Your power is clearly overwhelming, and have claimed to kill the deities who gave us the power to make lances. So before I resign my rule to you, I have to ask, what will happen to my people?"

I nodded in understanding. "Your people will be taken care of. I will ensure that they are provided with everything they need to thrive and prosper. And as for the lances, they will continue to exist, but under my control."

King Blaine nodded thoughtfully. "Very well, I will support your rule, Prince Azathoth." His wife, Queen Priscilla, also agreed.

After a moment, Mother spoke up. "I, too, will support your rule, Azz. But I do hope that you will not forget the traditions and values that have made Dicathen great."

"I have no intention of forgetting the traditions and values of our people, Mother," I reassured her. "In fact, I will use them as a foundation for a new era of prosperity and peace."

And with that, my rule over Dicathen established. I then had to move on to Alacrya.

Before I left however, I announced to the council. "Arthur, I hereby declare you as the Archduke of Dicathen, and will rule over Dicathen under my new empire. Elijah, you will be Arthur's right hand man and will have the rank of Duke." I said, as I used destruction magic to destroy the impurities in their mana cores, making them white core mages. "As for you Tess, you can do what you want." I said to my sister, as I also destroyed the impurities in her core.

After that, I teleported to Alacrya and the rest is history.

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A/N: And that marks the end of this volume. I will write an epilogue and a few side stories leading up to the next world transition, so stay tuned.

I will also be rewriting the previous chapters before moving to the next world.

The next world is still undecided, so I'll leave it up to a poll

Ending Maker

Overlord

Solo Leveling

Eminence in Shadow

How To Train Your Dragon

Wiseman's Grandchild