Master the Abyss, starting from an apprentice priest.

Chapter 713 Confronting Authoritarianism! (Second Update)

Wow!!!
When Hayek uttered these words, Duke Harkas suddenly stood up. The old red-crowned prince's face was filled with intense anger. He pushed his hand towards Hayek, and a surging wave of air suddenly burst out, directly and heavily slamming into Hayek's chest!

--boom!!!!!

"Uh!!!"

Hayek's body was slammed heavily against the wall, and then a broken bookshelf and many torn pages of books crashed down on his head, burying Hayek inside. Hayek was too weak to struggle anymore.

But he smiled, even as the Duke of Harkas walked toward him with an icy expression. Hayek smiled nonetheless.

"What are you afraid of... my dear uncle?"

"Why is it that, when we have already embarked on the path of 'murder,' on this road of no return, you are afraid of [authority], afraid of the power that has already been slain by [the Supreme]?"

“Now—I have found this power, I have obtained this power! I have returned to tell you, and to share my power with you. What I have found is a power even more profound than the Supreme…”

"You've felt it too, haven't you? Look at your hands—"

"..."

Duke Harkas, having channeled his spiritual energy into a blast of air that shoved Hayek away, still kept his cold gaze fixed on Hayek, buried among the piles of books and broken wooden shelves, while simultaneously raising his right hand slightly.

He could feel it; a dull ache was throbbing in his right hand. And in his right hand—a deep crack had broken open from the palm along the lines of his hand, and blood was gushing wildly from the depths of that crack. It was the recoil from Hayek; in an instant, Hayek had managed to return that force, thus wounding him!
"..."

Staring at the cracks in his palm for a long, long time, Duke Harkas clenched his fist and lowered his right hand.

His gaze fell upon Hayek once more, but this time it was no longer cold; instead, a deeper worry welled up within him, and then, joy—

“You know, we are all ‘Slayers of Order’…”

"Are you really Hayek?"

"..."

“I really am Hayek.”

Hayek's face still bore that smile that stung Harkas, and at the same time, Harkas heard Hayek say:

"As you can see... I have returned. However, I am no longer the Supreme One, but rather the agent of the Authoritarian One."

“That is the new path I have found! I have found it, a new path... that can cross the [Supreme], since the fall of the Dark Duke at the hands of our Emperor!”

"That's dangerous... but it will satisfy me, and it will also benefit you..."

"..."

Hayek's temperament may have changed somewhat.

But now, a sense of familiarity had returned to Duke Harkas's mind. The tone of Hayek's voice, the habitual expressions on his face, and what he knew about the real "Hayek" himself and Duke Harkas himself, made Duke Harkas increasingly certain.

The Hayek standing before me is hard to believe... no, it can't be anyone else in disguise.

He is the real Hayek, Duke Harkas was certain of.

"I've been looking for you for half a month, Hayek."

Duke Harkas restrained his spirituality. He first extended his right hand, but seeing the blurred bloodstains on his palm, he withdrew his right hand and instead extended his left hand to pull Hayek up from the pile of books and the broken wooden frame.

"Don't blame your uncle. You know how many people in this capital city harbor ill will towards us. What I did to you just now was a necessary test."

“I understand, Uncle,” Hayek nodded.

"..."

Where have you been for the past two weeks?

Duke Hakkas looked at Hayek and asked him.

“I… was attacked en route to the Duchy of Austin. It was an attack from something called ‘Demon,’ not from the capital.”

Count Hayek said this to Duke Harkas:
"I lost consciousness during the attack. When I awoke, I found myself in a vast spiritual realm, and before me..."

"I saw it! The real gods!"

Hayek's tone had become excited; he spoke with such fervor, his expression filled with longing and fervor, and when he looked at Duke Harkas, he said with equal excitement:

“Uncle, my words may not be enough to convince you. Please let your spirit seep into me, look through me, through my mind, at what I have seen—”

“I hope you can also see it, see the magnificent form of the true god—behold the pinnacle that humans can never reach. I want you to also receive His favor!”

"……" "good."

Duke Harkas nodded.

Although Hayek's current state made Duke Harkas constantly suspect that he might have suffered some kind of trauma during his disappearance, at least Duke Harkas no longer doubted Count Hayek's identity.

However, he was also wary of the current Hayek, knowing that even if the real Hayek returned, he might carry something unusual that he would need to remove.

Just like the clearly abnormally fanatical state he is currently exhibiting.

It is indeed possible that an enemy is using methods of "loss" or "nothingness" to manipulate or alter Hayek's consciousness, Duke Harkas thought cautiously.

Hayek now is very likely to be like this—I myself was originally prepared to conduct a thorough investigation of Hayek using spirituality.

If anything is indeed found on Hayek, we can follow that discovery to investigate who controlled those monsters called "demons" to attack him. Only then can Duke Harkas feel at ease, and only then can it truly be said that Hayek has returned safely.

Before Duke Harkas, Count Hayek had already opened his arms—

He made a gesture resembling an embrace, his expression one of calm anticipation. Duke Harkas, however, took two steps back, raising his hands once more, a powerful surge of spiritual energy gathering within them.

“It may be somewhat painful, Hayek.”

Duke Harkas, the crimson spiritual energy gathering in his hands, rapidly materialized. His voice deepened as he spoke to Hayek:

You must be patient.

Done.

Duke Harkas stepped forward, step by step, toward Hayek, whose arms were outstretched.

The deep red spiritual energy surging in his hands was flashing with a dark light, which was extremely intense. Then, Duke Harkas pressed his hands heavily on Hayek's chest.
The crimson spiritual energy surged into Hayek's body, causing a series of explosive "bangs" that resounded throughout his body. Hayek's previously calm and composed expression instantly twisted and became ferocious; he opened his mouth wide and let out an almost beast-like roar—

"Ughhhhhh!!!"

He was indeed in considerable pain, his skin flushed crimson. Duke Harkas knew how Hayek felt, and what he was using on Hayek was the most thorough form of the "Supreme Order of Slaughter"—the "Usurper's Art"—

That is the [Usurper's Art], which can extract traces of spirituality from the deepest recesses of a person's mind and soul, even traces that Hayek himself was unaware of, and the memories that Hayek "forgot" that are carried by it!
As long as the spirituality of the person being targeted is weaker than that of the person being targeted, Duke Harkas can find anything he wants to learn from Hayek, as long as it is something Hayek has ever seen or heard, even if it has been completely forgotten by Hayek in the deepest corner of his soul, and present it clearly to himself!
Thus, the Duke of Harkas's spirituality had penetrated to the deepest recesses of Count Hayek's soul. He saw a series of alternating flashes of scarlet and dark red light. He then dived deeper, and then he saw—

The borderlands, shrouded in yellow sand and littered with skeletons, possessed a spirituality far more intense and fiery than Hayek's, even more intense and fiery than that of Duke Harkas himself, which manifested as the enormous shadow that Duke Harkas saw!
The gale roared in the realm where spiritual energy converged, causing the existence that carried Duke Hakkas to waver. Crimson light flowed through the air, and in Hakkas's eyes, everything he saw began to burn!
Amidst the surging crimson flames, a colossal, mountain-like figure rose before Duke Hakkas, obscuring him like an endless crimson sky. Then, a sudden mist rose, making it impossible for Duke Hakkas to see what lay before him.

But he knew that he had witnessed with his own eyes what Hayek had seen, something far more terrifying than Duke Harkas could have imagined. He vaguely saw the shadow of a dragon, the shadow of an ancient race that once held sway over that path of [authority], the true shadow of the "Ancient Dragons," a shadow that blotted out the sky—

"Roar!!!!!!!"

In Duke Harkas's ears, the dragon's roar, like thunder, resounded across the heavens!
In an instant, the spirituality of that great being, along Hayek's spiritual veins, engulfed Duke Hakkas like a tsunami. The shimmering light representing [authority] rose from the waves of that spiritual tsunami, burning Hakkas and causing Duke Hakkas to feel a tremor that struck the depths of his soul!

The spirituality of [authoritarianism] has completely enveloped Duke Hakkas. The spirituality from the even higher source of [supreme] has made Duke Hakkas feel awe and even fear from the depths of his heart!
Engulfed by that spiritual tsunami, Duke Harkas felt as if he were in an ancient temple formed from the "law," and that he was insignificant, subject to the scrutiny and judgment of the "law"—

"--roar!!!!!!!"

Once again, that great being unleashed a dragon roar that shook the heavens!

The spirituality of that great being was so intense, and the dragon roar it emitted was so powerful that Duke Hakkas even felt that the spirituality that had swallowed him up turned into a sea of ​​fire in an instant, burning Duke Hakkas himself, both inside and outside the spiritual realm!
—It began to burn fiercely, completely and intensely, like the flames of judgment!

"Uhhhhhhhh!!!"

Another painful, beast-like roar erupted from Duke Harkas's study.

But this time, it didn't come from Count Hayek, but from Duke Harkas himself!

Suddenly, on Duke Harkas' body—his physical body in reality—a blazing crimson flame ignited from his body. It was the flame he had seen in the depths of his spiritual realm, a flame that carried the most intense [authoritarian] spirituality!

Duke Harkas could never have imagined that using the [Usurper Technique] on Hayek would result in such a sight—

To my surprise, I saw the phantom image of the pillar god that truly represented the [authority] of the ancient dragon!

He roughly knew that he must have seen a great being that was absolutely above his own level—that was indeed [authority], which had long been shattered by the [supreme] pillar god, the "supreme heaven," and had established laws and anchored principles as an inviolable law!
The Duke of Harkas's spirit had now been driven from Hayek; his consciousness had returned to himself, seeing the familiar study, seeing Hayek's face contorted with pain, yet also with fervor and ecstasy, and then, seeing the burning flames of authoritarianism emanating from within himself—

"You have also received...you have also received His favor, Uncle!"

Hayek's voice, trembling with intense fervor, addressed Duke Harkas:

"Our Lord, the new pillar of great authority, be with me, Uncle! Bow down to Him, worship Him, and He will give you more! More!"

"..."

……

(End of this chapter)