The two of them embraced each other as their bodies intertwined. The clothes came off in the blink of an eye.

By the time they were done, it was already nighttime of the following day. They clung to each other tightly. Liam caressed her hair as her head lay on his chest. He spoke softly.

“How have things been in the Fortress?”

Cassandra let out a small sigh.

“The same as always. The work is endless. If it weren’t for the rest of the administrative personnel, it would be completely impossible to manage everything. I have no idea how Salazar does it.”

Liam’s expression got serious.

“Does what?”

“He keeps coming up with different plans, even though Luweth keeps outplaying him. I don’t get it. It’s as if he feels like he hasn’t been defeated yet. Not only does he process massive amounts of information alone, but he also does it with disgusting efficiency. It’s unthinkable.”

Liam’s thoughts churned within his mind. He made a decision in a split second. His perception zeroed in on Salazar, who remained in his study even at this time. It was natural. The man had reached a level where sleep was superfluous, and as such, he had no need to do so. With his high Perception and Will, he saw through the man’s mind at a glance. He nodded sagely.

“As expected. He knows something’s gonna happen to me. Partly, at least.”

Cassandra raised her head, looking at him in surprise

“What?!”

“I’ve been able to read minds for a while now. I just read his. It’s basically consumed by what he’s going to do once I’m ‘gone.’”

Cassandra blinked a few times.

“…Have you ever read mine?”

Liam laughed.

“That’s what you’re concerned about? No, I haven’t. All I’ve done is feel your emotions.”

“That’s what I’m concerned about because now that you’ve found out what Salazar knows and you can read his mind, we’ll always stay a step ahead of him. He won’t be a threat anymore. Also,” She hugged him tighter, “If you can feel my emotions, then you should know how happy I am to be here with you right now.”

Liam smiled as he kissed her forehead.

“Yes, I know. I’ll tell Luweth about Salazar and his plans. That should be enough to cripple that bastard until I return.”

“I hope so. Running into Salazar’s workings and underlings at every corner is exhausting.”

Cassandra’s closed her eyes and laid her head down once more. Liam let his eyelids close. For the first time in years, he slept. It was no longer a biological function of his inhuman body, but he forced himself to shut down anyway. He wanted to be able to relax, at least for a little while. After they woke up, the duo continued to lay in each other’s arms as they talked without care. Cassandra’s voice rang out.

“I feel like my life is just work at this point. There are so many things to manage.”

“There’s nobody I’d trust more. You also had the experience of managing the encampment back at the Tutorial.”

“That was different. Managing a few hundred people is a lot easier than over a hundred million.”

Liam shut his mouth. He had no counterargument. She continued to speak.

“Still, the moments when I’m not working are nice, though they’re so rare. Surprisingly, I feel like I’m becoming friends with Olivia and Eiko. Alexander is also good to be around.”

“I’m glad. You three are quite different, but it helps to have friends in tough times. Alexander is definitely a trustworthy guy, so that’s nice as well.”

Cassandra flashed a mischievous grin.

“Aren’t you jealous?”

“Should I be?”

She laughed.

“No, not at all. I love you.”

He smiled. For the following days, all they did was stay together. Liam emerged from Cassandra’s room only a week later, dodging the pillow she threw at him in protest. He teleported to Luweth. The Vampire made the exaggerated, dramatic gesture of putting a hand over his chest and taking a deep breath.

“Oh, finally. I thought you’d spend the entire month holed up in there. You must have had a lot of-”

A chop landed straight on Luweth’s head. The Vampire stopped talking immediately with a serious expression. Liam flinched, thinking that he had somehow offended his friend with his playful hit in spite of the fact that it did no damage. Luweth’s following words placated his worries, however.

“…I couldn’t see it.”

“What? What are you talking about?”

“Your attack. We were just messing around, but I couldn’t see you move. I only realized I had been hit once it happened.”

“Oh. Yeah, I guess I’ve gotten faster.”

Luweth smiled.

“Good. Leave Zancorix to me. Go do what you gotta do.”

“It’s not like I’m leaving already, but thanks.”

As the two of them shook hands, Liam disappeared. He reappeared thousands of kilometers above Zancorix’s atmosphere. The void of space helped him focus. He closed his eyes and meditated, using some of his Skills for a while before meditating once more. Time passed by quickly. Every night, he would descend to spend the night with Cassandra. Once morning came, he would teleport to the void outside the planet again. It happened in the third week.

[You have created a Supreme Technique!!!]

Liam didn’t stop despite the System notification. At the end of the fourth week, he teleported before Cassandra. On his face was a bittersweet smile.

“Cass, I’m sorry. I have to go now.”

She took a deep breath as if she had been preparing for this moment.

“I know. Good luck.”

She kissed him for a long time. Liam disappeared after hugging her tightly.

It was time to go out to the Convergence and fight.

...

Liam floated in the void, unsure of what he should do exactly.

There’s no need to exterminate more species than necessary. I should go straight after the Autarchy and the Empire.

None of the species in the Convergence were innocent, but that didn’t mean Liam would go on a self-righteous rampage. He would only kill as many as absolutely necessary. It was hypocritical of him, in a way. He was doing something he found utterly abhorrent. He had become what he despised. The reasons didn’t matter. In the end, he wasn’t forced to do anything. He was the Last Star of Order, not another mere individual in the Convergence. The things that kept him from ascending were completely trivial in the grand scheme of things, but Liam clung to his morality like nothing else.

If possible, I should only defeat the Emperors.

When his thoughts reached this point, he stopped. No, it would be far crueler to do that. Without their leading figures, the factions would fall apart in a downward spiral of despair and foreign invasions. Instead of causing so much pain and suffering, it would be better for Liam to simply erase them quickly and resurrect them if he succeeded against the First Star. It was the lesser evil.

There’s no difference between greater and lesser evil. Both are still evil.

Even while rebuking himself, Liam didn’t stop moving. He sent a mental message to Luweth.

Where’s the Elean Empire’s homeworld located?

The response arrived in an incredulous tone.

{Don’t be ridiculous. I already told you how many Supreme Techniques their Emperor has. Besides, their species is spread out among many worlds due to their sheer numbers. Their homeworld is where the Emperor stays, but in order to exterminate them, you’ll need to travel quite a bit.}

Don’t worry about any of that. Just send me the coordinates. I won’t do anything stupid.

{…Fine.}

The coordinates appeared in Liam’s mind. They referred to a location around five million Convergence light-years away. While the distance was great, it seemed small in Liam’s eyes. The increase in his Perception made him realize how pathetic some of his limits were. It made him realize that he should break them. Liam focused.

One teleport should be my goal. It must be enough.

The Convergence took place in an infinite universe. Clyranth herself was able to cover a diameter of more than ten times Earth’s observable universe with her Aura alone, at the very least. If he couldn’t cross the distance of five million Convergence light-years in an instant, how could he dare to say that he would end the Convergence in a year?

Let’s go, Ulvir.

[I’m always here for you.]

Liam disappeared. Once he reappeared, he was staring at an enormous planet covered in Aura. He immediately hid his presence by using the Primordial Essence to almost make the surrounding Aura phase through him instead of around him. He gauged the distance that the Aura could cover.

He’s covering everything in a diameter of three million Convergence light-years.

It was far above Liam’s capabilities. Even though the Elean Emperor was the weaker one between him and the Autarch, he still possessed eight Supreme Techniques. The gap of five Supreme Techniques was one that was impossible to cross for anyone else, but Liam was different. The path he walked was one that was illogical and incomprehensible by nature. The increase in his Perception cemented that notion.

For the first time ever since his Perception reached 1,000, Liam looked at his Skills. The change was immediate.