The Emperor's Command Bridge was wrapped in tense silence. Only the soft hum of the holograms, which now displayed an intricate network of solar systems on the frontier of the Veillon Empire, broke the stillness.
Victor Elderblood, in his War Throne, closed his eyes. The adrenaline from Psychological War V-07, launched by Aphrodite, was starting to fade. His mind, a quantum supercomputer, was already running contingency plans for the inevitable retaliation from
[Commander Scathach and the Heralds confirmed engagement in the Gamma Sector. The massacre has already begun. Sasha completed the injection of the freedom-of-thought virus into the enemy network.] Akasha's voice sounded in the Command Center.
"And my clone?" Victor asked, opening his eyes.
[The clone's memory has been fully integrated. The material loss was insignificant.]
"I'm not referring to the material," Victor replied, his tone dry. "That clone felt the Existence Erasure power of the System-Devouring Fortress. I want to know if the rage from that death was purified."
[Primordial Fury has been contained at 99.99%. The Emperor is stable.]
"Good. I'm not a hypocritical God of Positivity. My rage is my weapon. But it must be controlled. Begin Protocol 'Focus on Rank 0.'"
Victor was about to deepen his analysis of the Regulators when Ruby Elderblood Scarlett's voice, from her Strategy station, interrupted him.
"Husband, a report from our domestic sector. It is… unusual."
Victor snorted. "Violet must be frustrated with the Celta. Tell her not to destroy more than two planets this week. Resources are finite."
"It is not Violet. It is our chief priestess, Valeria Alekerth," Ruby explained. "She is reporting a Submission Anomaly in the new Yggdrasil Citizen District."
A hologram materialized. It showed a perfectly geometric square in the new Imperial City, where a man of ordinary human appearance, dressed in casual clothes, was standing. He was calmly drinking what seemed to be coffee, ignoring the commotion.
Around him, the Dragonoid Agents (the law enforcers created by Victor) were visibly nervous.
"He refused to register in the Imperial Citizenship System," Ruby detailed. "He said he does not perform mandatory service and does not need Knull. Our agents interpreted it as a V-01 rebellion act."
Victor raised an eyebrow. V-01 rebels were crushed by the Dragonoids before they could blink.
"Send Conan's squad. He needs a routine exercise," Victor ordered impatiently.
"We already sent them," Kaguya Elderblood Blank, the Chief of the Maids, intervened from her station in the shadows. "Three elite squads. Agent John-000 (the newly reincarnated one) led the intervention."
Akasha's voice arose with urgency: [The three squads were neutralized. There is no physical damage to the target. All Dragonoids were dematerialized on the spot, with a warning: 'Go back to work, children.']
The cup of crimson blood in Victor's hand cracked. The Negativity in his blood threatened to explode. Dematerializing Dragonoids was not something any V-04 god (Common Primordial) could do effortlessly, much less a V-01 rebel.
"Enlarge the image of that human subject," Victor ordered, his crimson eyes shining with the power of Divine Sight and Soul Manipulation. He activated the 'Primordial Analysis' Protocol.
Victor pierced the void, throwing the full force of his Outer God Essence into reading the man's soul. He sought the conceptual signature: Destruction, Life, Death, Infinity, Chaos.
The image of the man remained static. Where there should have been an ocean of Divinity or the signature of Primordial Chaos, there was… Nothing. A perfect void, a gap the System could not register.
'Impossible. I can read the Limbo Guy! I can sense the Heavenly Father! The only thing that blinds me are the Rank 1 to 6 Administrators,' Victor thought, his brow furrowing.
His anger was replaced by cold, calculated terror. That man was not a V-01 anomaly. He was one of the beings protected by the system.
"He cannot be measured," Victor whispered, the voice of the God Emperor loaded with pure astonishment. "He is one of those who should not exist in my sector."
He deactivated his armor and returned to his human form, grabbing a coat.
"Prepare the portal to the Citizen Sector. I will meet him," Victor ordered.
"Husband, it is dangerous!" Violet manifested, her voice full of fear. "Send Kali or Jeanne! Or call the Heralds!"
"No," Victor replied, his mind already forming the strategy. "If he is one of the Regulators, attacking him will only draw the System's attention. If he is the Rank 0, attacking him will cause immediate annihilation."
He smiled, the Eldritch smile returning. "I will do the only thing an Outer God must do when confronted with a power he cannot measure: dialogue."
The Confrontation
Victor materialized in the middle of the square. The crowd of Dragonoids and civilians immediately knelt in fear. The man with the coffee, however, merely smiled and waved.
"Victor Elderblood. Or should I call you Overlord Chaos, Rank 10 of the System?" the man asked, his voice pleasant.
Victor ignored the wave and went straight to the point. "You caused a disturbance in my Empire. Our resources are limited, and time is precious. Tell me who you are before I force you to do so."
The man took a sip of his coffee. "I am the one you cannot force. I am the Governor of the Universe. The ?????? of your little System."
The mention of the unregistered name made Victor's aura tremble. He was standing before the Rank 0.
"You are in my territory. And I do not allow anomalies," Victor said, his right hand wrapped in Abyssal Miasma.
The Governor smiled, a smile that carried the age of eons.
"I know where your Dragons Nest Pantheon is. I know it exists inside your soul. And I know what you hide there: the Azathoth and the Concepts of End and Infinity that should be sealed."
Victor's face went pale, and the Miasma dissipated. That was his most well-guarded secret.
The Governor stepped forward, curiosity shining in his eyes.
"I am very curious, Victor. I want to see that Soul Planet of yours. Take me there."
Victor felt a primal fear and, simultaneously, possessive anger. No one entered his soul.
The Governor noticed the hesitation and waved his hand toward space.
"Oh, and speaking of precious time. I have information about Overlord Light and the true weakness of the System-Devouring Fortress. Things your clone did not live long enough to discover."
He looked at Victor, his smile fading. "You may threaten me. You may try to extract this information. But I am not under your dominion. I offer something, and you offer something."
Victor weighed the situation. That man could not be killed, contained, or banished. If he used any kind of force, Rank 0 could draw the Regulators' attention, destroying his plan to overthrow the System.
'If he already knows about my soul, the secret is over. I cannot kill him, but I can use him,' Victor thought, his mind racing.
With a sigh of strategic defeat and contained anger, Victor smiled. The smile was not gentle, but pure Calculation.
"Very well, Governor. You have me."
The Rank 0 would be the guest of the Dragons Nest Pantheon.