The Innkeeper



The sudden explosion did not cause as much of a surprise and ruckus as one would have imagined. The regulars of the Inn were long since used to the endless rain of lightning which accompanied the endless tribulations. Though Lex had already made sure the sound wouldn't escape the tribulation rooms, many still remembered the initial impression when it all started.

More importantly however, through the noise reverberated through the surrounding area, that was the only thing that happened. The ground did not quake. A cloud of smoke did blanket the ground. No screams were heard. No guests were hurt.

The few guests who had been the original target of the attack cowered, and even fell back. Others, who were a little farther away, however only looked on in wonder and excitement. Another idiot was attacking the Inn! Would there be an addition to the hearth full of burning souls?

The news of the fight spread faster than the wind, and all those who had been watching the fishing event ended up switching their projector screens to the front of the Inn. They almost reacted faster than even the security team of the Inn, who instantly teleported several personnel to the area. Qawain appeared over, ready to fight if needed. Even Antia teleported over, a massive crib appearing with her being pushed by her undead minions.

Everyone's gaze was locked onto a lone man, holding off the giant monstrosity with a single extended hand. Many immediately recognized him. That was Leo - the most mysterious of the Inn's workers!

Above him stood a nearly 40 feet (12.1 meters) tall, four-legged machine, though it did not look much like any animal. If Lex had to describe the closest thing he could think of was a similar combat vehicle called ATAT in a movie called Star Wallop.

Noticing the lack of damage, the robot turned to look downward and saw a human holding up one of its limbs, completely unharmed. A momentary computational error occurred for according to its sensors, the cultivation realm of the human should not have been enough to stop its attack, yet he had. But the delay was only momentary, because it quickly concluded that the only logical answer was that the human was shielding his cultivation realm.

It tried to pull its limb back, but discovered that it could not move! A warning flag was triggered in its system as it tried to determine what the situation was.

"What do you think… that you are doing?" Leo asked through gritted teeth, his anger painfully obvious in his voice.

A wave of 'oh's' and 'ah's' was heard coming from the surrounding guests as they relished the tense atmosphere built between man and machine. It was not distracting at all.

The machine, unable to determine what had locked its limb in place, decided to answer.

"The Sentient Cyber Systems Empire (SCS Empire) has declared the planet known as earth as a war zone, and its citizens as war criminals sentenced to death or detainment. Wherever they may escape, they are deemed as criminals. This law is acknowledged across the Origin realm.

"The mothership noticed the criminals escaping via teleportation and inhibited it, but was unable to stop. I was sent in pursuit to investigate their teleportation means, and retrieve any identifiable criminals. Desist interfering in the capture and, or, elimination of said criminals lest you are identified as an accomplice to those criminals."

Most of the onlookers loved the building tension, but some of them frowned, or even paled, as they recognized the entity that robot represented. There was a reason why they were so confident in their claims. Yet Lex did not care. Right now, he had plenty of reasons to be confident as well.

"Do you know where you are?" he asked, his tone completely unchanging. The sight of the defiant man was winning the hearts of many, as even his clothes remained unwrinkled after blocking that massive blow.

Those watching on screens only had the size of the robot to judge by, but those nearby could feel its aggressive and intimidating aura. Regardless, the more threatening he looked, the more remarkable Leo seemed.

Even the security team was content to watch from a distance, unless the situation required otherwise.

Even while the machine was talking, it began to increase the strength with which it pulled its limb free, but it was still held prisoner.

"The spatial coordinates of this location are obscured, however, it does not matter. The jurisdiction of the SCS Empire extends to all domains."

"Heh," Lex almost laughed, but had to control himself. Externally, it seemed like he was in complete control of the situation, but only he knew how terrible his condition really was. He was pretty sure his spine was crushed. But what did it matter? Normal humans needed their bones to prop up their bodies, but he could use his body to support his bones instead! That was not even considering using his spirit sense to hold himself up. But he was not doing that, or it would reveal the extent of his injury.

But it did not matter. Yes, he had been taken by surprise by the overwhelming strength of the attack. Yes, he had been severely injured. Yes, it was his own fault for trying to look cool instead of evicting the robot directly. But none of that mattered, because of everything he was learning, not only about his own body, but his techniques as well.

He had used Impervious hands to block the attack, and while he still suffered severe damage despite that, something greater happened. When he grabbed the energy attack back on earth, he gained control of it. Now, when he grabbed the robot, he gained control of more than just its limb. He could feel the spirit energy in his hand lock onto the soul wisp in its body, and his intuition started to sing as if to ensure he understood exactly how great an opportunity he had.