There was nothing quite as depressing and frustrating as your own body failing you. Jack had a body far stronger than any fairy his level. In fact, he could confidently say that he probably had the strongest body of any living fairy in the universe. Yet today, it had failed him, and was reduced to a trembling mess.

Once, Lex had been supremely impressed by the versatility of the fairies powers. They had far surpassed what Lex had available to him as a human. Yet in exchange for such an amazing power, fairies lacked the extreme adaptability of humans, which is also one of the reasons Jack hadn’t been able to grow as strong as Lex.

The fact that the fairy race was cursed was an entirely separate issue that wasn’t even being considered in this equation.

The fact was that, in this critical moment, his body failed him, his wings failed him, and he was dragged down by the decline of his entire race. If it weren’t for Jack’s extreme will power, he would have already been brought to his knees. But while that will kept him standing, it could not help him surpass the vast difference between him and the being sitting in front of him.

Jack searched anywhere and everywhere in his body for something, anything, that he could use at that moment. No matter what the universe said, no matter how weak he was, no matter how difficult the situation seemed, he was not resigned to just watching the alligator suffer.

Its wounded leg was curled up against its body and it whimpered as it tried to keep fighting, but clearly it was no longer able to fight.

"He has successfully attracted my attention. Hey captain, would you like to be my slave?"

Grimshaw asked, his words asking a question but his intention a command. Jack felt it - the universe. It acknowledged the intention, and was morphing his mind to make it happen.

That’s when a flash of clarity shot through the rage in Jack’s mind and he remembered the universe. The stupid, biased, accursed universe. It was always present, it was always watching, always acknowledging.

"I swear..." he said in his heart, but Jack did not need to complete the words when green light in the shape of pentagons began to rise out of his body. Lex and Jack were different, but they were also one. The oath made by one stood equally true for the other, and so the power of a Paladin was shared equally between the two.

Everything else had failed, but the power granted to him for completing impossible tasks, for his own faith in his oath, stayed. So long as he stayed true to his oath, this power would never leave him.

Incidentally, his oath was a selfish one about protecting those close to him, and those he cared about. In this instance, the very reason he needed power was to save someone he cared about, so it worked out perfectly.

The chains of the Cosmic Ascendance Spectrum, the weight of the curse, the inevitability of fate, all failed to hold Jack down as he zoomed from the private booth all the way down to the stadium, in the blink of an eye.

Legend said that when David Paladin stood against demons, defending his town, he used a broken pillar as his sword. History would remember that when Jack broke into the stadium, breaking the laws governing the city, he smashed the pillar that chained the alligator himself, and used it as his sword.

"Don’t worry, little guy," Jack said to the alligator whose body was bigger than Jacks. "I’m here now. It’ll be okay."

The alligator was stunned, confused, but when it heard that familiar sound, deep relief flooded into its body.

The crowd in the stadium was equally stunned, but even more excited. They loved it when someone broke the rules. The Artica race was not lenient, even to its own guests.

"I told the peasants to kneel and not anger the captain, but no one ever listens to me," Bob muttered to himself.

" Audacious !" the Jagged Stallion roared back in the booth and stepped forward, finally blaring its aura to suppress Jack.

Yet the targeted aura could not stop Jack. The pillar smashed all the apes surrounding Jack and the alligator, causing them to be grievously wounded in a single attack. The green pentagons surrounding Jack’s body had also imbued into the pillar, and through it attached to the apes bodies, seeping their strength and feeding it back to Jack.

"Put down your weapon, junior, and surrender. Your punishment will be light. If you keep causing trouble, keep breaking the laws of Artica, however, your punishment won’t just be a prison cell."

"Punishment?" Jack repeated as he began to fly in the air, carrying the alligator in one hand and the pillar in another.

"You hide behind the title of protector, but you’re no more than a tyrant in uniform. You crush a mere child under the heel of your so-called justice, twist the law to excuse your crimes, throw your cultivation around like it makes you righteous - then have the gall to threaten me? You think that just because the Artica race lauds itself as champions of law and order, that they’re the only ones with laws?"

Jack turned his head from the stallion and finally looked towards the figure in the private booth and saw the one behind everything. He sat there, beside Bob, smiling, as if watching a show.

Jack kept flying up until he was at level with the stallion, and then flew higher before holding out the pillar and pointing at the being beside Bob.

"Whether your actions reveal the truth of the Artica races claims of being a society of justice and honor, or you’re just a minion acting on behalf of that guy, you should have thought twice before messing with me. Do you know who I am?"

The steed snorted, and Grimshaw snickered at the question.

"It seems your captain is not as experienced as you," Grimshaw said to Bob. "Doesn’t he know that the Artica race doesn’t care about anyone’s identity? If you break one of their laws, you will get the due punishment. Even I have to be mindful of my actions."

Bob did not respond, and only shook his head.

"It does not matter who you are. Stand down, or I will put you down," said the steed.

Jack looked at the Celestial Immortal steed, and snorted. No amount of anger would make him a fool. Even Lex couldn’t fight a Celestial immortal, let alone Jack. So why would he escalate things like that?

Because, unlike Lex, Jack did not need to hide his identity - at least as much. With the knowledge that even Dao Lords couldn’t detect the connection between Jack and Lex, he could truly make use of the unique knowledge Lex acquired without fear. Of course, he was also taking a bit of a risk.

"No, you’re wrong," Jack said, his voice low and dangerous. "Who I am matters a lot. I am Jack, I am the captain of my crew, and much more importantly, I am a fairy, and I’m willing to bet that right now, I’m the strongest fairy in the universe."

A deep, awkward silence followed Jack. Was that something to be proud of? The fairy race had fallen too low.

"As such, that makes me the de facto leader and representative of the fairy race - a founding member of the Humanoid Alliance."

Grimshaw’s signature casual smile suddenly froze, and a horrifying understanding filled his eyes.

"The case for this injustice will not be overseen by you in the Artica courts, steed . Instead, the Artica race will answer me in the Celestial Court. An attack on the leader of a race from the alliance is an attack on the whole Humanoid Alliance."

Bob, who was casually filing his nails in his seat, smirked as he gave a smug look to Grimshaw.

Yet Grimshaw did not have the mind to pay attention to Bob. He had already stood up from his seat, and looked like he had swallowed a fly.

"By the way, if my memory serves me well, did you ask the leader of the fairy race to be your slave?" Bob asked as he looked at his nails, a satisfying smile on his face - almost mimicking Grimshaw from earlier.

As soon as he remembered his words earlier, Grimshaw’s eyes widened.

"FU-"

The rest of his words were drowned out by the sound of thunder that shook the entire level of the Artica race.

Around the stadium various figures started to appear.

The first to appear was an angry looking member of the Artica race, but before he could do anything, a Devil appeared. And then an Angel, followed by an Elf, a Dwarf, an Oolin, and many more. One by one, all members of the Humanoid Alliance started to appear around the stadium, each of them wearing a very serious expression.

Finally, a Celestial appeared as well, a beautiful tall female with long blonde hair and platinum tiara on her head.

The crowd, who had been extremely excited up until now, suddenly got the feeling that... things were getting out of hand.

Before anything could happen, though, one more figure appeared, drawing all eyes in the surroundings. The last to appear wasn’t from the Humanoid Alliance. Instead, it was from the foremost race in the universe. It was a Primal from the Primary realm. ¹

*****

Within the Midnight Inn, inside Obsidian, Skipping scratched his butt in his sleep.