Lord of the Truth-Chapter 1211: miracle -1

A Few Seconds Earlier — The Imperial Capital

Huuuuuuuuummmmmmm—

"—FATHERRRR!!"

The cries that had been trapped in trembling throats finally erupted with raw desperation—

But the man they were calling for... had vanished.

"Father...?! Where—where did he go?!"

Richard, Zara, Caesar, Billy, and all those who held Robin close to their hearts were struck by a sudden wave of panic.

One moment he had been right there, surrounded by blinding light and looming death—

The next, he was gone.

Utterly gone.

They looked around in all directions, eyes wide with disbelief, as if refusing to accept what they had just seen. Then, instinct kicked in—

Whooosh!

They bolted toward the central platform with every ounce of speed they could muster.

"What happened?! Where is he?! What just happened?!"

"ROBIN!!"

"FAAAATHEEEEER!!"

"Spread out!! Search every inch of the city—trace even the faintest sign of His Excellency!! Don't let a single clue escape!!"

Panic turned to urgency. The group erupted into action, shouting commands, flooding the city with their soul senses like a net cast to catch a falling star.

They moved like people possessed—not with calm logic, but the chaotic desperation of someone searching for a lost child in a burning building.

None of them, not even for a heartbeat, paused to question why the overwhelming pressure that had nearly crushed them all moments ago had suddenly lifted.

Their minds had shut out every other possibility—

All they cared about was finding Robin.

Zzzzzhnnn!

Sakaar's face turned grim as he unleashed a flood of Underworld Daisies, spectral blossoms flaring to life and dispersing across the capital, searching tirelessly for even the weakest trace of Robin's soul presence.

Amon growled and leapt off in a blur, chasing after faint scent trails with inhuman sharpness, determined to help in any way he could—anything that might lead them to the Lord.

"…!"

Renara's eyes widened as she lifted her head, scanning not for Robin—but for the attack.

Even though her body was drained, she hadn't lost her trained gaze—

The analytical instinct of a veteran who had survived the most dangerous realms.

That had been no ordinary strike.

No deception. No trickery.

It was a planet-crushing, extinction-level assault—meant to erase everything in its path.

So the question was—

Where had it gone?

And more importantly—

Where had Robin gone with it?

Meanwhile, Aro, Holak, and the other members of Robin's wider following—those not bound to him by emotion, but by cause—began piecing things together more logically.

"Burton, where are you?" Holak muttered, standing tall as his sharp gaze scanned the surroundings. His eyes narrowed.

"That man isn't the type to die quietly. He's far too stubborn to vanish like that. Something's off."

"It was her…"

Aro's voice was quiet, nearly lost in the storm of voices. Only a few nearby caught his words.

"That woman. She did something. Her attack disappeared the same instant His Excellency vanished. It's not a coincidence."

"…Are you seriously still calling him 'His Excellency'? You can't be that delusional."

Sirvon's voice cracked as he clenched his jaw.

"There's no surviving a hit like that. It's over. Everything's over. The Third Army's dreams? Gone.

Now we're nothing but pawns on a board where our lives depend on whether Her Holiness keeps her promise... and whether those reckless children are willing to follow orders."

"Her Holiness...?"

Aro furrowed his brows for a moment—then his eyes went wide.

"Right. She's the Overlord of the Great Serpent Empire."

He turned sharply, eyes burning with a sudden idea.

"Can't we contact her? Maybe we can still salvage something.

As long as Richard —his Excellency's son— is still alive, I could rally under him.

We could negotiate. Work with her. There's still a future—!"

And then—

A voice exploded across the capital like a thunderclap from below.

"YOU STUPID, CLUELESS BITCH ABOVE—!!

IF ANYTHING HAPPENS TO MY FATHER, FORGET TAKING A SINGLE DAMN DROP OF OUR RESOURCES OR KNOWLEDGE!

IF HE LIVES, WE LIVE.

IF HE DIES—EVERYTHING DIES WITH HIM.

AND I'LL MAKE DAMN SURE OF IT—MYSELF!!"

It was Caesar.

Tears streamed down his red-stained face, and blood dripped from the corner of his mouth.

His voice shook the air, but his words were sharper than any blade.

Every single syllable came from the depths of his soul—and no one dared to doubt him.

Everyone nearby stopped.

Held their breath.

And then, slowly, turned their eyes upward—

Waiting.

Bracing themselves for the wrath of the sky.

Would she strike them down next?

But the woman in black…

She didn't even flinch.

Her gaze remained locked toward the west, unmoved by the threat, unmoved by the roar from below.

And with that, realization settled over them like fog:

They were still alive.

For now.

Aro exhaled and lowered his head slightly, muttering to himself with a bitter half-smile—

"…Forget it. Those kids… They inherited their father's stubbornness. We're screwed."

"Honestly... I still believe there might be a chance…"

Haros murmured in a hushed tone, his voice so low it was almost lost to the wind. There was a strange weight to his words, as though even he didn't fully believe what he was saying—but he needed to say it anyway.

"I was there… I was present when they submitted the final report from the army that fought in the Greenland campaign. I remember it vividly. They said something happened when His Excellency arrived. Something beyond explanation. Something... surreal."

A stillness fell over the group as his words took hold, drawing attention even from those who had already given up hope.

"They said the Mothership's main cannon had been fully charged and was aimed directly at him. Marshal Lonta was laughing in his face—mocking him with that twisted grin of his. They thought it was over…

And then, in the blink of an eye—

The entire Mothership shifted. It turned. It fired, but not at him. Instead, it obliterated almost a quarter of its own fleet.

They heard the marshal's screams echo through the air, and by the time anyone reached him, he had bitten through his tongue and lay twitching in agony, blood gushing down his throat."

Haros' expression darkened as he lowered his voice further.

"They said it was like the world itself… glitched. Reality warped for a moment. Everything twisted. No one could explain it. It was as though time bent around him."

"You're seriously suggesting Robin Burton did that?"

Sirvon snapped, his tone sharp and incredulous.

"You're telling me he just pulled off some magical trick? That he survived an attack from a being in a Nexus state?! We all felt that sphere coming. It was the embodiment of annihilation! Stop talking nonsense, Haros!"

To survive a strike from someone who had achieved Transcendence—to not only survive but possibly redirect it? This was sheer madness.

"You're talking as if he's not just alive—but that he manipulated that? Are you hearing yourself?!"

But Haros didn't back down. His eyes held onto a flicker of faith, no matter how fragile it was.

"Richard!!"

A sudden roar cut through the tension, piercing the air like a blade.

It was Peon—his voice rough with emotion—as he turned toward his brother.

"What are you doing, just standing there?! You're the owner of the planet! Channel the planetary spirit—use it to search for Father!"

"...The planetary spirit?!"

Richard froze. He had been unleashing soul needles across the land, but now his eyes widened as realization struck him.

He spun toward Yuri, the ethereal embodiment of the world itself.

"Juri! Where is my father?! FIND HIM! BRING HIM BACK, RIGHT NOW!!"

"Ugh...!!"

Juri's expression twisted with hesitation.

She glanced downward, then upward toward the figure looming above—the woman clad in a black Dress. Her power pressed down like the weight of mountains.

Then she looked back at Richard, her face pleading, her eyes silently begging him to reconsider.

The woman above was still exerting terrifying pressure against the planet's core defenses. The celestial dome Juri had summoned—the absolute pinnacle of what she could manifest—was cracking under the strain.

She was giving everything just to keep it intact.

But even that was barely enough to hold.

And yet—Richard didn't care.

"Juri, I DON'T CARE about your limits or your fears!!

I am commanding you—do it!! Even if this entire planet dies… I need to see him. Just one last time. One final look!!"

His voice was raw, hoarse from screaming, and drenched in pain.

His soul burned with regret and rage, still haunted by what happened to his mother. He refused to let it happen again.

Even if his father was dead—he would find his body. He would bury him. Or he would die at his side.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM

A colossal explosion suddenly erupted from the west—shaking the heavens and rattling the ground.

"....!!!"

Every heart stopped.

Every soul froze.

Even the wind fell silent.

This time, it wasn't the weight of divine pressure pinning them down.

It was fear.

Their bodies refused to move. Their instincts screamed at them to run, but they couldn't. They were frozen in place by something far deeper than magic—pure, existential terror.

"JUUUUUUUUURIIIIIIIIII!!!"

Richard screamed again, his throat shredding from the force, his chest heaving.

"I-I'm on it!!"

Juri snapped to attention, her fear temporarily overridden by duty.

"I found him! I have his coordinates—returning him to his original location! Brace yourselves!"

WHOOSH

With a wave of her translucent hand, she bent the world for just a second—and brought the target back to the platform in a blinding flash of light.

"Eek!"

She immediately recoiled, resuming her focus on the defensive barrier, half-expecting the woman above to strike.

Her body trembled. Her essence screamed. She prepared herself for disaster.

But then—

"Huh...?"

Nothing happened.

The shield was still holding.

A few extra cracks had formed—but that was all.

"…She didn't strike?"

juri's wide, frightened eyes slowly lifted.

The woman in black wasn't attacking.

She was… staring.

Her gaze was locked onto the center of the platform—her eyes stretched so wide they looked ready to pop from her skull.

Her mouth was open, lips parted in a stunned, disbelieving whisper.

"Impossible… Impossible…"

She repeated it again and again, as if trying to convince herself it wasn't real.

But she wasn't alone.

The entire city had fallen into dead silence.

Even Juri—who had just summoned Robin back—couldn't hear the sound of anyone calling out to him.

It was like the entire world had forgotten how to speak.

"…What's going on down there—?"

Yuri hesitated. Slowly… cautiously…

She turned her gaze downward, toward the platform—

And when she saw what stood there—

She, too, fell completely silent.