CHAPTER 151: THE DOMINION OF THE VOID

The world didn’t just go dark; it ceased to exist. One moment, Kenchi was standing on a sunlit street, surrounded by his new, temporary army. The next, he was floating in an endless, silent, and absolute blackness. The ground was gone, the sky was gone, his army of elves was gone.

’What the hell is this?!’ he thought, his professional calm finally shattering. ’An illusion? A barrier? No... it’s something else.’ He couldn’t feel his own power, couldn’t feel the mana in the air. He was completely cut off, a man screaming in a soundproof room.

Then he saw the eyes.

Two pinpricks of purple starlight, burning in the infinite darkness. They were everywhere and nowhere at once.

"Welcome to my house," Nox’s voice echoed, not in his ears, but directly in his mind. The voice was not human; it was the cold, flat pronouncement of a god.

Kenchi spun around, his massive axe held ready, but there was nothing to see, nothing to fight. He was alone with the voice and the eyes.

"This is my kingdom," the voice continued. "My Territory. And in my kingdom, I am the only law."

The purple eyes flared.

Kenchi felt a pressure, an absolute, crushing weight that slammed him down onto an invisible floor. It wasn’t physical; it was a pressure on his very soul, the sheer, undeniable authority of the monarch of this domain. His knees buckled, and he was forced into a kneeling position, his massive axe feeling as heavy as a mountain.

’He’s... he’s rewriting reality,’ Kenchi realized, a spike of genuine, primal fear, something he hadn’t felt in decades, piercing through his composure. ’This isn’t a skill. This is something else.’

Outside the sphere of blackness, Serian, Vexia, Elisa, and Mela watched from the courthouse balcony as the world went mad. The sphere of pure void that Nox had summoned was massive, easily encompassing a five-block radius. The army of Ashen Elves, the shadow hounds, Elder Theron himself—they were all just... gone, consumed by the silent black hole.

"By the All-Mother," Vexia whispered, her analytical mind failing to find any frame of reference for what she was seeing. "He didn’t just trap them. He moved them. He moved an entire section of the city into his own personal dimension."

"Can he win?" Serian asked, her voice tight with a hope she was afraid to feel.

"Win?" Elisa let out a choked laugh. "Princess, he’s not fighting them. He’s playing with them."

Inside the Dominion, Kenchi was experiencing a level of helplessness he had never known. He was a high-level warrior, one of Gorok’s most trusted lieutenants, a being who could shatter mountains. Here, he was nothing.

"You work for Gorok," Nox’s voice stated. "He wants the princess. He wants my Flags. He wants to be the king."

The purple eyes in the darkness seemed to focus, and the pressure on Kenchi intensified.

"Tell me everything you know about him," the voice commanded. "His strengths. His weaknesses. His plans. Everything."

It wasn’t a question. It was a Monarch’s Edict.

Kenchi’s mind recoiled. His loyalty to Gorok was absolute, burned into his very being by oaths and curses. He tried to resist, to clamp his jaw shut, to keep the secrets locked away.

But in this place, his will was not his own.

The words started to spill from his mouth, an uncontrolled flood of information. He spoke of Gorok’s fortress in the Shadow Wastes, of his vast army of orcs and goblins, of his obsession with collecting powerful artifacts. He spoke of Gorok’s ultimate goal: not just to win the scenario, but to find a way to break free from the Scripture, to become a true god.

He spoke for what felt like an eternity, his own voice a foreign sound in the endless dark, every secret, every strategy, every weakness of his master laid bare.

When he was finished, he was just kneeling there, panting, the geas of loyalty inside him shattered, his mind a hollowed-out ruin.

"Thank you," Nox’s voice said. "That was very helpful."

The pressure lifted. The purple eyes faded. The absolute blackness receded.

Kenchi found himself back on the cracked pavement of the ruined street. He was kneeling, his axe lying on the ground beside him. The army of Ashen Elves was gone, their bodies and souls completely erased from existence by the void.

Elder Theron, the mighty warrior of the Blackwood, was just a pile of black dust and a pair of cruel, hooked blades lying on the ground.

Nox stood in front of him, the armor of the Infernal Monarch a terrifying silhouette against the gray sky. He hadn’t even broken a sweat.

"Your information was valuable," Nox said. "As payment, I will grant you a quick death."

Kenchi just looked up at him, his mind still reeling. He saw the cold, absolute power in the boy’s eyes, and he knew his life was over. But in his final moment, he didn’t feel fear. He just felt a strange sense of... relief. The game was over. He was free.

He just nodded. "Thank you."

Nox raised his hand, and the void answered his call one last time.

---

When the sphere of blackness finally vanished, the street was empty. The army of dark elves, their powerful Elder, the shadow hounds, and Gorok’s top enforcer—they were all just... gone. Not even dust remained.

Nox just stood there in the silent street, his new armor slowly receding back under his skin. He felt a wave of dizziness, the massive expenditure of mana finally catching up to him, but he stayed on his feet.

A new, sleek black window filled his vision.

[Mass Elimination Confirmed.]

[EXP Gained: 500,000]

[Flags Acquired: 112]

[Current Flag Count: 425]

[Title Acquired: The Butcher of Portentia.]

[Level Up! x10]

[You are now Level 45!]

[All stats increased by 10!]

[You have 50 unallocated stat points!]

[Ability ’Monarch’s Dominion’ has leveled up from consuming multiple high-level entities.]

[New Description: (Lvl 2) Zone size and duration increased by 100%.]

[Ability ’Void Eater’ has leveled up from consuming multiple high-level entities.]

[New Description: (Lvl 2) Assimilation rate and efficiency significantly increased. You may now target and consume specific high-tier skills from fallen opponents.]

[New Skill Acquired from ’Elder Theron’: Shadow Weaving (Master).]

[New Skill Acquired from ’Kenchi’: Axe Mastery (Master).]

He just stared at the flood of notifications, a slow, dangerous grin spreading across his face.

On the courthouse balcony, the three elves were completely silent. Mela looked like she was about to be sick. Elisa was just staring, her usual bloodthirsty grin completely gone, replaced by a look of pure, unadulterated shock.

Serian just watched him, and the last, fragile piece of the angry, reckless boy she had known shattered, leaving only the cold, terrifying, and undeniably magnificent figure of the Void Monarch in its place.

He looked up at them, his eyes glowing with a faint, purple light.

"The board is clear," he announced, his voice echoing in the sudden quiet. "Now, the real game begins."

He turned his gaze north, toward the distant, unseen Shadow Wastes where Gorok was waiting. "It’s time," he said to the empty street, "to go kill a king."