Arcane Era-Chapter 47: Promised Day (Part 2)

"Hehe!"

The lady proctor jumped to the stage, now wearing a smiley-face mask that resembled a joker. She giggled, walking to the side of the Mercenary King. Right at that moment, the door of the hall opened, and more people stormed inside.

Most had dark hooded clothes, but they were led by men who wore trench coats and had one of the four symbols—hearts, diamond, spade, and club—embedded in their breast pocket and back, alongside a number.

Leading the men in trench coats was a man in a frowning face mask.

"Ace has already begun annexing the other areas with the other Intermediaries. The Head Intermediaries are working under his command and rounding everyone up as we speak, and once everything is done, we’ll be ready to advance to the Middle Court." The Jack said, approaching the Mercenary King, while the others knelt before him.

"Good." The King smiled, turning to Theo, who was struggling to no avail. "I believe it’s time to address the audience."

BAM!

One straight punch into Theo’s stomach sent him unconscious.

The Mercenary King released him at that moment, causing his limp body to collapse on the ground with a heavy thud. Blood and saliva oozed from his lips as beads of tears rolled down his mildly closed eyes.

He was breathing, though only barely.

"What do you plan to do with him?" The woman with the smiley-face asked the Mercenary King, her voice different from the proctor she impersonated.

"Place him away from the others. Make sure he is stripped of anything that can be considered remotely dangerous." He replied, removing his gaze from the fallen boy. "He has ties with Shen, so he could prove useful in other ways. Besides, it’s too late for him to resist, even if he tried."

"Understood."

The smiley-face woman commanded one of the men in hooded vests to take Theo away, while the others remained still as the Mercenary King began to float in the air. He only stopped rising once he neared the ceiling of the hall, where he even stood above the levitating dome that the Guildmaster occupied.

"I believe it’s time for an introduction..." Taking off his hood and mask, the Mercenary King stared at the seated Lord of Tyranny and his powerless members of the Zenith.

His gray eyes flashed with delight as a smile formed on his middle-aged face, half of which was shrouded in nothing but scar tissue. He was bald, and his face was ugly—disfigured by the several scars of both slashes and burns that seemed to have accumulated throughout the years.

Despite having such a hideous face, his followers bowed in respect and he maintained his delightful smile.

"It’s been a while, Shen." He spoke directly to the Supreme Lord of Tyranny, an existence very few would dare address in such a casual way.

"Gerald..." Shen neither smiled or frowned.

He simply spoke.

"I’m glad you remember my name. It seems, despite how much time has passed and how much things have changed, we still recognize each other quite well." He replied, glancing at the members of the Zenith who all wore frowns. "And while I haven’t met them yet, at least not in this capacity, I presume those are your new hunting dogs."

"...."

Dinah, Drake, and Terra remained silent, only choosing to glare at the man who spoke.

"If you wanted to talk, all you had to do was schedule a visit." Shen sighed, his gaze traveling around him to see the audience within the hall being moved from their seats by the many intruders that littered the area beneath him. "Don’t you think all of this is a little unnecessary?"

"Is it? Why don’t you try and stop me?"

"...."

"You can’t huh? I figured..." Gerald, the Mercenary King, grinned. "You can’t blame me for taking extra precautions just so we can talk."

"How did you get your hands on a Supreme Grade Armament?"

"You’d really like to know that, wouldn’t you?" He smiled at the ignorant Shen. "Well, if you kneel before me, I might consider spilling those secrets."

As he said those words, his subordinates below laughed, sneering at Shen from where they stood.

At the moment, only Joker and Jack were standing unoccupied. The rest were busy with coordinating the evacuation of the people in the hall. They made sure every member of the audience submitted whatever Armament they had on them before they could be released from their confines and transferred to another area.

Anyone who didn’t cooperate was killed on the spot.

Each and every member of the Mercenary Crew—those with trench coats and even those merely wearing hooded vests—wielded at least one Armament. Having as many as fifty people in the hall, each possessing weapons of great power, made the Crew the dominant presence in the hall.

They were practically invincible.

After using a few people as examples, the powerless masses cooperated. While this brutality was going on below, Shen and Gerald continued their seemingly civil discussion.

"Hmm... I don’t think this is the work of a Supreme Grade Arcane Instrument."

"Pfft! Really, now?" Gerald smiled, shaking his head as if he couldn’t believe his interlocutor’s words. "Then how would you explain your Armaments being restrained at the moment?"

"You must have combined some Grand Imperial Grade and Imperial Grade Arcane Instruments to create an effect that mimics a Supreme Grade Armament, am I wrong?"

"...." It was Gerald’s turn to fall silent.

"Looks like I hit the mark. So tell me who was behind this? I know you’re not nearly smart enough to engineer something of this scale, so you must have a backer... or an intelligent partner who’s helping you in your endeavor, right? Come on, spill the—"

"Shut up..." Gerald growled, his eyes now flashing with uncontrollable rage as he fumed at Shen.

"Why don’t you make me? Bring me out, and we can settle things the old fashioned way."

"You—!"

Gerald’s frown deepened, and his glare intensified. He looked like a ravenous beast, and it was evident that he wanted nothing more than to tear Shen apart limb from limb. However, he did not let Shen’s words move him too much.

After his small fit of rage, Gerald took in deep breaths and calmed himself.

"Don’t worry... I’ll do that in due time. Once the Ne’sh within all of your Armaments have been wrung dry by our Supreme Arcane Instrument, the barrier surrounding you, and everything else in the hall will vanish. At that point, you’ll be completely powerless... and I’ll enjoy settling things with you—you know, the old-fashioned way."

For the first time since the start of their interaction, Shen frowned.

He rose to his feet, taking a few steps forward until he reached the glassy surface that now glowed with dark purple hues. His golden eyes narrowed as he stared at the Mercenary King in perfect silence.

"What? Got nothing more to say? You won’t ask about Marci or Felix? What of little Mars? You’re not going to say anything about them? Well, what did I expect from a sniveling coward like you? Conrad believed in you until his last breath, but if only he could see you now... see you for what you are!"

"... Are you finished?"

"You bastard! I swear, I’ll kill you, and not in a quick way!" Gerald barked at Shen, who remained calm despite being trapped in his dome. "Your precious Guild will burn, and in its place I will build the kind of Mercenary Crew that Conrad believed in."

"...."

"Everything you know will be destroyed! I will make sure of that! Just as you took everything from us, we will also do the same to you! The work has already begun! Your precious guild will fall by sunrise. And once everything falls, and you kneel at my feet, I pray Conrad looks down from the embrace of the stars in the High Realm, and watches as I exact justice on your filthy, wretched—"

"How boring..." Shen sighed, shaking his head before returning to his seat.

"W-what?!"

"You? Beat me? That is impossible."

"D-did you hear nothing of what I said? You’re powerless in this chamber, and the Ne’sh within your Arcane Instruments will be exhausted before sunrise. After that, I will—"

"You don’t need to repeat yourself. I heard you the first time." Shen sighed, turning to the members of the Zenith, who groaned and shook their head, unable to bear the lackadaisical behavior Shen displayed despite the seriousness of the situation. ƒгeewebnovёl.com

Anyone who saw him—how he grinned from ear to ear—would think he had gone mad.

But Shen Ak’ashi was not mad.

He was sure.

"I am yet to witness the bonus round, so I will remain here until that happens."

"What are you...?"

"Number 2, Theo... he is yet to fight in his final round." Shen grinned. "And I believe he made a certain promise to you as well. I want to see him fulfill it."

"Even now... you think your little dog is going to show up?"

"Haha... foolish Gerald, how little you know..." Shen shrugged, casually resting his cheek on his hand. He showed very little concern for his safety, the grim reality that surrounded him, or the dreary fate that awaited him by sunrise.

His golden eyes only displayed one thing—silent expectation.

And excitement.

"Theo will come. He will fight you... and he will win."

"Oh? And what makes you so sure?" Gerald asked, his gray eyes faltering mildly, but continuously bolstered by the constant expectation of his followers. He did not know how Shen could remain so composed, so confident, despite the turbulent situation, but he did not let that unnerve him.

This man, Shen Ak’ashi, had always been like this... almost like he saw the world completely differently from what everyone experienced.

It was both scary and frustrating.

To Gerald, however, he saw it as condescending.

"Your Guild has been overrun by our people. Your strongest forces are either trapped or out for external missions which won’t be completed for another week, and you, the all-powerful Guildmaster, are completely helpless under my power." Gerald stated. "We will soon invade the Middle Court and have access to the Arcane Instruments you have locked away in the treasury, further solidifying our hold on this island."

No one could stop them—not when they had finally reached this point.

"So, I ask you again... what makes you so sure?"

Shen Ak’ashi’s eyes slowly fluttered open and he stared into space—beyond the man before him, and beyond the world that existed in the present.

His eyes reflected something that transcended the natural state of the world.

And then he smiled.

"Because I am."