My Goblin System : Levelling up with my SSS Class Devouring skill-Chapter 283

More than that, the soul-link meant Richard’s death wouldn’t just reduce Chronus’s power. It would RIP AWAY half of the Time Lord’s fundamental essence. The scroll compared it to having half your soul torn out while still alive—an experience that broke most beings completely.

Even if Chronus survived the initial feedback, he’d be permanently crippled. Half his magical capacity gone forever. Half his soul missing, leaving him fundamentally incomplete. All the centuries of power accumulation, all the careful positioning within the demon council, all the schemes and plans—everything would collapse if Richard Clay died.

No wonder Chronus had panicked when Richard lost to Satou in their arena duel. No wonder he’d been willing to violate sacred demon law, willing to risk execution by the entire council. Because Richard’s death didn’t just mean losing a champion or a valuable tool.

Richard’s death meant losing half of himself. Forever.

Merc Assault’s cold smile returned as he absorbed the full strategic value of this information. This was leverage. Real, genuine leverage over one of the most powerful demon lords in existence. The kind of secret that could reshape the political landscape of the entire demon realm.

Chronus thought he was untouchable, operating from a position of strength while scheming against enemies like Loki. He’d built a reputation over centuries as someone too powerful, too careful, too perfectly protected to be threatened.

But this scroll revealed the truth: Chronus the Timeless was walking around with a fatal vulnerability hidden in plain sight. His greatest strength—the creation of Richard Clay—was also his greatest weakness.

"Kill Richard Clay, and you kill half of Chronus," Merc Assault whispered to the shadows, his voice barely audible even to himself. "The soul-link means the feedback would cripple him permanently. Drop him from tenth seat to twentieth, maybe lower. That pompous temporal schemer is only as strong as his weakest half."

The assassin’s mind was already cataloging ways to use this information. Blackmail material to force better terms in future dealings. Insurance policy in case Chronus ever moved against him. Valuable intelligence that could be sold to Chronus’s enemies—though that would be risky, as it would reveal how he’d obtained the information in the first place.

Maybe he’d just hold onto it. Keep it as a secret weapon. Let Chronus continue thinking his vulnerability was hidden while Merc Assault quietly positioned himself to exploit it if the opportunity arose.

But underneath his cold calculation, Satou could feel Merc Assault’s fear that hadn’t fully faded. Because if Chronus ever discovered that the assassin knew this secret, there would be no hiding. No escape. No mercy. The Time Lord would hunt him across every timeline, track him through every shadow, pursue him into the nightmare realm itself if necessary.

This knowledge was power. But it was also a death sentence if revealed carelessly.

The memory began to fragment, edges dissolving as Satou’s consciousness was pulled back toward his own body. The last clear thought from Merc Assault’s mind was a grim determination:

Keep the secret. Use it wisely. Never let Chronus know I discovered this. And if Richard Clay ever becomes vulnerable... well. That’s when this information becomes truly valuable.

Then the chamber faded completely, and Satou was falling—

[MEMORY ENDED]

Satou gasped as reality snapped back into focus. He was on his bed in his quarters, no longer standing but lying down with his head cradled in someone’s lap. Jessica’s face hovered above him, her hands glowing with intense healing magic that was washing over him in constant waves, checking for damage, searching for the source of whatever had caused his collapse.

Lyra was beside her, one hand stroking Satou’s hair with gentle concern while the other gripped his shoulder as if afraid he might slip away again.

Both of their faces were wet with tears.

"Satou!" Jessica’s voice cracked with emotion, relief and lingering fear mixing together. "Satou, can you hear me? Say something! Please!"

"I’m..." Satou managed, his voice rough and raw. His throat felt like sandpaper. "I’m okay. I’m here. I’m okay."

"You’re NOT okay!" Lyra said sharply, though her trembling voice undermined the attempted sternness. "You collapsed completely! One second you were standing there talking about the humans attacking, the next second you just—you just fell! Your eyes rolled back and you started shaking!"

"We caught you before you hit the floor," Jessica added quickly, her healing magic intensifying as if she could fix whatever was wrong through sheer force of magical power. "But you were completely unresponsive. Your eyes were open but you weren’t seeing us. It’s been—" She glanced at the window, checking the light. "It’s been at least five minutes. Maybe longer. We’ve been calling your name, trying to wake you up, but you wouldn’t respond!"

Five minutes? The memory had felt like it lasted seconds, maybe a minute at most. Time had been completely distorted during the vision. Satou’s perception must have been fully immersed in Merc Assault’s experience, experiencing everything at the assassin’s speed rather than normal time.

"I can’t find anything wrong," Jessica continued, frustration creeping into her worried voice. Her hands moved across his body, checking pulse points, examining his eyes, searching for any sign of injury or illness. "No physical damage. No poison. No curse. No magical affliction. No spiritual corruption. Nothing that would explain why you suddenly collapsed like that!"

She looked at Lyra, desperation clear in her eyes. "I don’t know what’s wrong. I don’t know how to fix it if I can’t identify what caused it!"

Satou reached up slowly, his movements careful to avoid alarming them further. His fingers found Jessica’s face, thumb gently brushing away the tears on her cheek. "I’m sorry," he said softly, guilt twisting in his chest at having scared them so badly. "I’m sorry for worrying you. For frightening you. I’m okay now. Really."

"Don’t apologize to me, apologize to your body for whatever you did to make it shut down!" Jessica said, but her attempt at being stern failed as fresh tears welled up. "You scared us half to death, Satou! We thought—we thought maybe the message spell had been trapped. Or cursed. Or that something had attacked you while we weren’t paying attention!"