Volume One, Chapter 129: Bareru

“Have you found the whereabouts of those three people?!”
An urgent voice rang out, and everyone quickly turned their heads toward the entrance of the room.

Sevun and Zoffy strode in briskly. As soon as they entered the conference room, their eyes fell upon the shimmering light projection, within which a face was clearly visible.

“It really is Bareru!” Sevun gritted his teeth, his voice filled with fury. “Now that we’ve confirmed his location, we must mobilize at once!”

“Wait a moment, Sevun.” Zoffy raised his hand to halt him, his gaze returning to the projection.

The figure on the screen was indeed Bareru, the Baltan alien who had once brought tremendous casualties to the Land of Light.

That face was etched deep within their bones, unforgettable forever.

Yet Bareru’s current appearance was a far cry from his former commanding presence. His clothes were tattered and worn, and his body was covered in gruesome wounds and lash marks.

Some of the wounds still oozed blood, staining the already filthy garments in a large, dark red blotch.

The background he was in appeared to be a large-scale colony.

Various aliens of different species—but wearing similarly ragged clothes—were all pushing carts, desperately hauling some kind of ore.

Zoffy’s eyes narrowed slightly as he asked with a mixture of shock and puzzlement, “What’s going on? Where exactly is Bareru?”

“Planet Okashi,” Taro answered. “This footage was found by Mebius on the phone of a crime boss from a recently uncovered space kidnapping case.”

“When I first saw this video, I could hardly believe it myself,” Mebius stood up, clenching his fists. “But I’ve confirmed it repeatedly—this is definitely Bareru, the former Plasma Galaxy King.”

“Planet Okashi?” Sevun frowned, having never heard of this planet before.

“That’s right,” Taro quickly explained. “It’s a planet from another universe, not within our current one.”

“I see,” Sevun nodded slowly, a sense of relief passing over his face, though his resolve to capture Bareru remained firm. “In that case, we must dispatch someone immediately. We have to seize him as soon as possible.”

Zoffy shared the same resolve. Turning to the guards by the door, he ordered, “Go to the equipment depot at once and charge up three dimensional ships.”

Dimensional ships were the Land of Light’s latest development, capable of traversing dimensions, personally engineered by Hikari.

“Yes, sir!”

The guards promptly nodded and rushed out.

Zoffy turned back and asked, “By the way, any news on Ribut?”

After the battle of Toregia, the Land of Light had crushed the Absolute clan’s conspiracies from the Kingdom. Despite victories in the Blizzard Star War, Ribut and Tartaros vanished into the temporal vortex, their whereabouts unknown.

“None so far,” Taro shook his head. “But Sero has already gone searching through various dimensions. We should hear something soon.”

Sighing, Zoffy appeared troubled. “Ribut and Tartaros together… I fear their fate is grim.”

“There’s nothing we can do about that,” Taro sighed as well. “But at least Bareru’s location is confirmed. Once we find him, Garum and Magna will surely capture him quickly.”

“Hm.” Zoffy nodded. “This matter cannot wait. Prepare to depart immediately!”

“Yes, sir!”

The voices of the Land of Light’s Galaxy Rescue Team rang out resolutely in the meeting room.

———

Planet Okashi.

An unknown planet in an unknown universe.

Bareru had no idea how he ended up here. The first person he saw upon opening his eyes was Vogt, the slave master of this place.

Vogt was a stellar-level warrior.

He possessed a very unique power—the ability to peer into the hearts of others, to read their thoughts.

This was no secret throughout Okashi.

Vogt told him that to survive in this cruel universe, he must obey his orders and follow his will.

At first, Bareru resisted, but for some unknown reason, his power had completely dissipated.

Even the demon blade sealed within him could not be summoned.

So, he chose to comply for the time being.

But after a while, he realized Vogt’s enslavement of the planet’s inhabitants wasn’t for domination—it was truly to save these people, to preserve their lives.

Because only by working could they earn food and hope to survive.

Escape meant certain death.

Bareru lifted his gaze toward the massive ship nearly shrouding the entire sky.

According to Vogt, it was the Dark Star’s eradication program. If this planet ceased to have any use, the Dark Star would ruthlessly destroy it.

At that time, everyone on the planet would die.

Including him.

“What are you thinking about?” A voice approached from behind—soft yet laced with a hint of sternness.

Bareru turned to face the figure.

She wore dark red soft armor and a silver cloak fastened at the front with a charming pink bow.

He had heard that the bow was a gift from her brother.

Yet Bareru could sense a formidable energy emanating from the bow.

Her brother must be an extraordinary warrior.

“My brother truly is a remarkable warrior,” Bareru thought, but Vogt read every word of his mind without exception.

She smiled brightly, circled around Bareru several times, then placed her hands on her hips and pouted, “But you’re useless—not a bit of strength left. Only fit to be my slave.”

Though a ruler, she showed no arrogance; her demeanor was almost endearing, causing Bareru to avert his gaze and lower his head as he pushed his cart, preparing to leave.

“Stop right there!” Vogt blocked his path. “You haven’t told me—who exactly is Toregia?”

She could read any mind, including all memories.

Yet whenever she touched the name Toregia in Bareru’s mind, darkness fell—nothing could be seen.

This was the first time in her life she had encountered such a thing.

This piqued her great interest in Bareru’s origins.

Because in this universe, all life was controlled by the Dark Star.

Without its permission, no living being could reproduce freely.

Violators were executed without mercy.

And yet, on Okashi, nearly all life was like this—including Vogt herself.

So she had created an environment where life could survive, and by using the term “slave,” she obtained temporary life rights from the Dark Star to protect these pitiful beings.

Of course, there was a condition.

Anyone who settled on Okashi had to be pure of heart.