Emperor Dhios

Emperor Dhios is the ruler who imprisons and controls Princess Dahria after her family's fall. Gustav's rescue operation destroys his reign and delivers him to the restored empress.

Biography

Suspicion behind imperial hospitality

Dhios hosts Gustav's Barron Diov disguise while keeping Princess Dahria beside him as an apparently obedient wife. He offers gifts and pressures the investigator to leave, sensing that the visit threatens his rule. Dahria's slave shackles prevent Gustav from simply killing him, giving Dhios's control system temporary protection even as his suspicion intensifies. (Chapters 1347–1349)

Crushing the resistance

Dhios intercepts the machine meant to separate Dahria from her control, kills Old Riole, dismembers another resister, and promises public torture for their families. His brutality is strategic: by destroying the rescue mechanism and terrifying witnesses, he expects to end organized opposition. Gustav instead uses the Ancient Hourglass to rewind the destruction, retrieve the separator, and expose the disguised intervention. (Chapters 1351–1354)

Fall of the emperor

Once Gustav reveals himself, Dhios fights with a scarlet sword alongside his generals but realizes the opponent exceeds the planet's power ceiling. Gustav kills the strongest support, breaks Dhios's will, and turns the imperial army toward Dahria. Rather than execute the former emperor personally, Gustav hands him to the new empress, leaving Dhios alive in captivity with his ultimate sentence unresolved. (Chapters 1355–1357)

Appearance and personality

Dhios is a nine-foot, blue-skinned man with a one-inch horn protruding from his chin and a domineering aura. He maintains an expressionless, controlled exterior during diplomacy and murder alike. Beneath it he is suspicious, possessive, and exceptionally cruel, using hostages, slave control, family threats, and spectacle to protect his reign. (Chapters 1347–1354)

Bloodlines and abilities

Dhios has Peak Beta strength close to Alpha rank. He levitates objects, cuts bodies apart without obvious contact, moves at extreme speed, and manifests a large scarlet sword. These abilities overwhelm local resistance but fail against Gustav's superior speed, stolen weapon access, and time-reversal advantage. His control over Dahria also depends on external slave shackles and markings rather than personal persuasion. (Chapters 1347, 1353–1356)

Relationships

• Princess Dahria: Dhios imprisons and controls Dahria until her rescue; she becomes his final custodian.
• Gustav Oslov: Gustav infiltrates Dhios's court, reverses his victory, and ends his reign.
• Matilda: Matilda's commitment to rescuing Dahria makes her a principal enemy of Dhios's rule.

Items

• Ancient Hourglass: Gustav uses the hourglass to undo Dhios's destruction of the separator; it never belongs to Dhios.