Galaxy's First Ruler

"Among all the seeds that corrupt the heart, the seed of Greed germinate the fastest."

*

Aldrich was a greedy scholar.

There was no better way to put this sentence. He knew it. The only thing that differed him from others was that he only used this nature of his for accumulating knowledge.

If Aldrich hadn't been greedy, he would have never pushed himself so hard to gain lucidity in dreams. The result would have been him being an exceptional Dreamer on Barren Earth and not an abomination like he was now.

If Aldrich hadn't been greedy, he would have never entered Bellerophon Dungeon to gain answers. The result would have been him working on a more plausible way to dispose of the "doom" coming towards earth rather than going full blast mode in space.

If Aldrich hadn't been greedy, the things that would happen at the end of this volume would never have happened.

*

Aldrich looked at the Mana Field Generator in his hand and saw the many cracks that had surfaced in the last few minutes.

He slightly turned his head and noticed the blurry silhouette of the Mana Field's dome, far in the distance. There was a slight vibration in the air, and only he could tell that this wasn't the result of Maya and Harold's clashes with the Boudicca. This vibration had a hint of Justice, Devil, Darkness, and other Laws mixed in it.

The Mana Dome had successfully hid the Devil's presence, but it couldn't prevent the Laws from seeping out. Aldrich knew it wasn't like they were never present in the reality, to begin with. If his theory was right, then all Laws existed in this reality simultaneously. The only difference was that these Laws' presence could fluctuate with space and time.

And if someone were to rile up these Laws by their understanding, it could break the equilibrium, resulting in this strange vibration. Fortunately, except Aldrich, there was no one here who could perceive this upheaval in this equilibrium so minutely.

Boom! Bang!!

Cr-rack!!!

Above him, Maya and Harold had pushed Boudicca to her limits. The aura of Mana, which felt like armor, now seemed thin as paper. The blue lotus which looked as ordinary as its pink brethren had cracks all over it. Its petals had wilted, and its stem was broken.

The Item's Durability was about to run out.

Ktch!

Maya lashed out with her sword, and as blood spurted out of Boudicca's arm, she let out an evil laugh.

"Hahaha! This is it! This is Chaos."

Aldrich narrowed his eyes at these seemingly nonsensical words. But the excitement in Maya's eyes couldn't be falsified. Harold's fists had two giant red star-like spheres covering them. The heat coming out of those spheres had already burned away most of the dense clouds thundering over them.

Just when Boudicca, hovering between Harold and Maya on either side, was about to say something, all things went silent.

Wind that was fluttering Boudicca's skirt ceased. Rain that hadn't stopped wetting Maya's blouse vanished. Thunder that had got scared away by two Red Giants hushed. Clouds that were like a veil covering the moonlight faded away. And Laws that were like churning waters in a hurricane dispersed.

What was left were...

Emotions.

The first to get affected were the ordinary people. Those who wanted to murder killed someone on the spot. Those who wanted to rape lunged at the next woman. And those who wanted to repent bashed their heads on the wall until they couldn't anymore.

Husbands who got fed up with their wives ran to brothels. Mothers who got fed up with their newborn cries choked them to death. And children who got fed up with their parents sliced their throats in their sleep.

The next to get affected were Dreamers. A few who had given up on raids and had lost their will to live were the ones to die first. The Barons and Viscounts didn't fare any better. It seemed the higher a Dreamer's Rank, the higher was the effect of these emotions.

So the worst was happening to the Dreamers near the Earl's Manor.

Love covered Boudicca's heart as tears fell from the corner of her eyes. Euphoria covered Maya's heart as one of her hands grabbed her breast and the other went down. Remorse covered Harold's heart as he dashed towards Maya with his fists raised high.

And Greed covered Aldrich's heart as he didn't stop the Devil from saying it aloud.

"ONE DEVIL's THOUGHT - INFINITE EMOTIONS"

These words were like the strings of guqin thrumming through the world's soul. But before anyone could savor the flavor of remembrance it brought with it, a ripping sound echoed throughout the planet Rosalia. This sound didn't resemble the rupture of space, nor was it like ripping a piece of paper.

The closest thing it resembled was that of tearing off a leaf. There was no distinctive cracking sound, but it felt as if life itself had been torn apart from something.

But contrary to others, the first to come out of the influence of these emotions was also Aldrich. The greed of learning what Skill the Devil was using and how he was using it turned into a surging rage in his white eyes. And a voice filled with incredible wrath came out of his mouth.

"HE DARES…!!!"

Before Aldrich could even think, an image of a black and white tree appeared around the planet. It was so big that one of its leaves was enough to wrap over Rosalia more than once. As soon as it came into being, it was like a heavy rock got thrown into a small puddle. With the planet at its center, the space ripped outwards just on the brink of collapse.

Aldrich stared at this breathtaking view and, with his eyes wide, he muttered.

"Dream Origin World Tree!!!"

BANG!

Suddenly, the Mana Dome burst apart like a bubble. Aldrich's shadow rippled as a head along with one of its shoulders connected through the neck came barging out of it. Nicholas' head rolled and stopped at Aldrich's feet, and the head soon followed by a staff, a compass, and a scroll.

Aldrich's head slightly turned to look into his shadow. And as he saw two golden flashes, an evil laugh came out of the Shadow World.

Heh Heh Haha HAHAHA!!!

"See you on the other side...Chump!"

Yes, the plot had thickened, and yes, the characters had become interesting. 

But…

Aldrich wasn't the Director of this movie anymore.