A silver aura burst around Arima and the mark of the Silver Emperor shined on his back. His hair, eyes, and expression gradually changed.

"[Ecce ego dominatus rationibus imponeret meum] (Here I impose my dominance)," Arima began his incantation at the same time.

Although he didn't know exactly what kind of power he had acquired was, he could still compose of a chant to stabilize and heighten it.

"[Hoc iusiurandum] (Here I make an oath)."

"[Hic forte involvam te cum argento] (Here I destroy you with this silver)."

"[Omniformis]"

At the end of his chant, the silver light shrouded Arima’s body. His irises’ color turned into a deep purple, and his sigil gave a silver outline to his pupils. His hair grew and was painted in silver strand by strand. His scales remained black but a faint light illuminated them as if there was a source of light placed under them. The only notable change in his draconic form was the color of his wings’ webs that fluctuated between ash gray and silver.

"[Ipsum clauderent] (Close yourself)," Arima initiated a second chant instantly afterward. His voice sounded extremely overbearing and cold.

"[Captionem, Frangere, Solvere, Eliminare] (Trap, Crush, Destroy, Eliminate)."

The Silver Emperor's mark started spinning madly, at the same pace as his sigil.

"[Ratio est, unicum tuum exitium] (Your only motive destruction)."

"[Esses nisi quod ad rem] (Your existence is only for that purpose)."

Arima's eyes flashed with a cold light as he gazed at the planet coming toward him. A light blue transparent wall abruptly appeared in front of him with a single thought of his.

"[Second Destruction Art, Cavum Nigrum] (Black Hole)."

A black marble materialized in Arima's hand and he casually threw it. The marble went through the blue wall and drifted for a few seconds.

Then, it cracked and exploded into a spiral of darkness absorbing even the light originating from the stars. A massive black hole was slowly forming in front of Arima.

It expanded rapidly. It only took ten seconds for it to be even bigger than the targeted planet. If it was compared to the Earth, it would be two times bigger.

The drifting asteroids passing by were sucked in by the black hole before being reduced to nothing within its depths. The course of the ashen planet also changed and started approaching it in a straight line.

At that point, the distance between the planet and the black hole was only a few tens of thousands of miles. On the planet, the ground quaked, the rocks slowly floated up, the water at the surface was siphoned like a whirlpool and headed toward the black hole.

The inhabitants of the planet were doing their best to not be caught by the black hole’s gravitational field.

A certain individual among them raised his head and looked beyond the sky, and beyond the black hole. He spotted a blue light and a silver one behind the latter. That native's skin seemed to be made of stone and he was also very tall; around five meters.

He kicked the ground to jump and created a huge crater. He left the atmosphere of his planet in just a few seconds and rushed toward Arima. He didn’t have to use much strength to resist the pulling force of the black hole.

He arrived in a few minutes in front of the blue barrier and swung his great sword at it. But his blade surprisingly got through without any resistance as if there was nothing there. In the end, he passed through the wall and noticed that the attraction of the black hole had disappeared.

Then, he focused on what was behind. He warily observed the small man with silver hair and a draconic appearance. When he crossed the man's look, he completely froze. Those purple eyes felt like they were pulling him into the flames of hell.

He roared and space quivered. He didn't know any language. He knew he had to kill this man, but at the same time, he was aware that it was impossible for him to do so.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

As he was gathering all of his magic into his sword, an energy so big that it could threaten the integrity of an entire planet, Arima pointed his palm at him and he subconsciously backed away by a step. Then, he soon realized that he couldn't move at all afterward. The fear in his heart had allowed mind magic to affect him.

Arima clenched his hand and slowly pulled what seemed to be an invisible rope. The big stone man was dragged toward him in consequence.

When he was close enough, Arima grabbed him by his throat. "Fourth Sky, huh?" He muttered and the man roared again whilst choking.

"You're strong, but not enough," Arima coldly remarked and his eyes were ignited. "[Fifth Black Art, Penitentia Conspiciunt] (Penance Stare)," he intoned and the stone man started screaming as the black hole behind him consumed his home. This was his last struggle before his death.

Arima collected his life force and cremated the body. Just like that, an individual at the Fourth Sky had died.

After resonating with Night and using the Silver Emperor’s power, Arima’s actual strength was possibly around the peak of the Fifth Sky. The scariest thing was that it still wasn't his full power. He still probably couldn’t face someone of the Heavenly Realm but it was nonetheless a terrifying power.

When the only defiance from the planet perished, it was only a matter of time. The planet continued to slowly deteriorate until the moment some large chunks began to fall apart. The lithosphere was torn off and multiple natural catastrophes occurred.

At some point, a strange white sphere, glowing in a dark blue light, was extracted from the planet’s core itself. Arima deduced that it was the essence of this planet or the heart of this Earthen God to be exact.

Natural Earthen Gods didn't possess any fighting potential. The core produced a booming sound that sounded like a death struggle before it was devoured by the black hole.

The planet ended up being nothing more than a few asteroids that were wholly eaten by the black hole along with the people on it. When the black hole finished its job, the gravitational field retracted itself but the hole didn't go away.

Arima dispelled the spatial barrier he had erected previously to resist the gravity pull and the black hole started tilting to face Arima as if it was a living being.

"Spit it out,” Arima ordered and the black hole shook.

From the center, where the gravity was supposed to be absolute, a blue mist flew out and made its way toward Arima. The latter inhaled and inhaled all of it. "[Vita Venari] (Life Hunt)," he chanted in a subdued voice and his eyes glowed stronger for a small instant.

"You can go away now," Arima stated toward the black hole. Strangely, it listened to him and shrunk until it disappeared entirely.

"{The Second Destruction Art is really scary,}" Night commented. "{Since that thing is alive, it's capable of moving across space and can also become autonomous with the life force of its victims as long as you don't take it for yourself.}"

Arima exhaled and released his silver aura. "You're right. I gave this magic sentience because it would be prejudicial to lose control of it. Like this, it can also eject the life force instead of destroying it. Two birds with one stone."

Night sighed. "{When I think of the First Art, I am remembered of what kind of monster you are.}"

Arima snickered and teleported away without any comment.

***

He returned to the Mother Tree and sat down on the couch, released the resonance, and immediately transferred Night to the PA.

"Done," Arima casually said while looking at Seria. He put a lollipop in his mouth and waited patiently.

Seria's eyes widened. He had only left for around an hour. She hurriedly grabbed a white orb that was placed on the table and closed her eyes. She linked all of the forests together and called her comrades.

Arima silently watched her and shrugged. "By the way, Jorga, don't worry. It was my fault so let's say that my debt still counts."

"Oh," Jorga’s expression brightened, then he laughed. "Fine, I will accept it with pleasure."

At that moment, Seria put the orb down and looked at Arima with a pale and anxious expression.

"…What happened? What did you do?"

Arima glanced at her. "I destroyed the planet. Nothing more, nothing less."

Seria bit her lips. "If you could do that, why didn't you just send them away? Why did you need to destroy it? Why did you kill them?"

Arima scowled at her. "What are you talking about? I asked you, right?" At these words, Seria's eyes narrowed. "I asked you if there were still people on the planet and what kind of people they were. Your response indicated that they were highly dangerous, right?"

Seria gritted her teeth. "I said that…" She clenched her hands and stared at Arima. "But why did you have to murder them like that? If you can destroy it, you could have sent it away! Why did you choose to kill them?!" She raised her voice and the dimension they were in became cold as her aura spread around.

Jorga’s eyes looked at Seria with concern and had to protect Lifa who was already frightened. Deki who standing on her shoulder glared at the dryad with palpable killing intent.

Arima reacted weakly though and just waved his hand. The aura instantly disappeared and left the dryad in total disarray. That aura was definitely around the Third Sky, but Arima brushed it away like that. He had already gone up to the Fifth Sky thanks to all of the life force he had collected. It was impossible for Seria to be a threat to him.

"What did you want me to do?" Arima asked after a few seconds of silence. "I couldn't relocate the planet without it willing to. I could have teleported the inhabitants but where could I have sent them? Even if I had convinced that Natural E-God; once again, where could I have sent them? Should I have teleported it somewhere randomly and allowed it to target another planet? There’s also the case where they wouldn’t find any place to live and slowly die in suffering."

Each time Arima said something, Seria became even paler and her mind weaker. "I took the decision to eliminate them because it was the best solution," Arima added and stood up, preparing to leave.

"…You're wrong," Seria mumbled. "You're wrong, and you're lying!" She raised her head. Tears were already condensing in the corner of her eyes. "You just didn't want to help them. You considered that it wasn't your problem. You chose the easiest and fastest method. And you made that choice without remorse. I'm sure you watched its destruction. I'm sure you heard and saw everything. Didn't you see any tears? Didn't you hear any screams? How many innocent lives did you take away today? How many children, parents, siblings, families did you destroy!?" She glared at Arima and started crying herself.

"I heard that you were someone kind. But after today," she paused and clenched her hands one more time until they bled. "I will never consider you as a good person anymore."

Arima indifferently eyed her. "I never considered myself as a good man. I'm not a hero, I'm a killer. I'm kind, but not benevolent. I'm fair, but not biased."

"Don’t misunderstand me. You're a good person. I value people like you quite a lot. I would even say I respect you. But you're not made to be a hero. That notion itself is wrong. It's impossible for a single person to be a hero. You'll never be one if someone dies while you save another. That's just a pipe dream. You can't save someone while accepting the death of another and then call yourself a hero. That's why it's just impossible to be an ally of justice. You can only be on one side of the balance at a time. Only the ignorant can become heroes," he spoke to Seria a final time and left after saying goodbye to Jorga and Lifa.

Sera lost strength in her legs and dropped on the couch. She inhaled and sighed strongly. Jorga looked at her and shook his head. "I told you, Arima is not someone to take lightly. A man this strong, can't be someone soft. It's just how it is," he said and glanced at Lifa.

"You can leave, Lifa. Leave us alone for a moment. I’ll say here for a while. I’ll return to the lake later," Jorga said and closed his eyes. He transformed into a handsome human with azure hair and eyes. He sighed and rubbed his temples.

“It’s been a while since I last took human form…” He muttered and wordlessly sat down next to Seria. Lifa smiled and nodded. She left Seria and Jorga alone.