Arcane Era-Chapter 51: Prison Break (Part 3)

"U-uarghhh!"

A loud scream, containing both fear and pain, rushed into the air as the snapping sound of shattered bones accompanied it.

All eyes were on the colossus, and the Mercenary Crew members could feel the mounting pressure on them as they faced the cutesy monolith of unparalleled destruction. The giant plushy stood firm and strong, swiftly moving its fluffy body and sending grown men flying with a single strike.

It killed without mercy, though it preferred to evade the unceasing assaults of its enemies.

"Hold it down! Let me charge my blast!"

"How can we hold it down?!"

"This is crazy! Where did this thing come from!"

"Watch out!"

"Strike it from behind!"

Helpless and exasperated, the frustrated people had no choice but to desperately attack and defend against the pink woolly monstrosity before them. Prayers were made to the Divine Ones that night, and many souls were lost at the hands of the cruel plushy.

While this was happening, Theo was done picking the lock, so he sent a signal to his friends and they hurried into the room.

"I can sense my Armament’s Ne’sh running out. It won’t be able to keep them busy for much longer, so we need to hurry." Liyah panted, looking around the cramped room so they could get their hands on anything that appeared useful. It looked like the place was designed to be a storage room meant to house cleaning tools, but it had been turned into an inventory for Arcane Instruments.

"Looks like they already categorized them for us. That’s nice..." Theo mumbled, quickly noticing that only Standard and Regal Grade Armaments were present in the room.

"They must have already taken the higher Grade ones to use." Arlet said, practically repeating what went on in Theo’s head at that moment. The group quickly gathered in front of the Regal Grade section and carefully examined their options.

"A lot of these are bulky, and their Ne’sh quality is low, so they won’t last us very long, Theo rummaged through them, detecting their Ne’sh quantity by touching them while maintaining optimal focus.

"This one isn’t bad... this too... and this!" He picked the Armaments seemingly at random, sorting them out the ones that had considerable Ne’sh quantity, which also happened to be lightweight enough.

By the time he was done, about five Armaments littered the ground behind him, with everyone in the group gawking in silence.

"Well... what are you all waiting for?" He smiled at them. "Take your pick!"

Before them were five weapons—a sword, a bow, a clam-like stone, a hooded cloak, and a shiny rock. Without hesitating, Arlet rushed to grab the clam, as well as the bow.

"This is originally mine." He referred to the stone. "And, I’ll take this as my primary weapon."

"Fair enough."

Liyah picked the hooded cloak, while Kaycee chose the shiny rock. Theo picked the sword, a smile on his face as he handled the weapon.

Something about it reminded him of the blade that got shattered by the Mercenary King.

"...!" He felt his heart race as soon as the thought of the King appeared in his mind, slowly worrying about what he would do if he were ever to encounter him again.

However, before he could even address those fears—

BOOM!

A loud noise from outside—much more intense than anything before—suddenly reverberated within the room, causing everyone to sharply react as they turned to the entrance.

"Ack...!" Liyah suddenly stumbled, nearly collapsing as she clutched her head. "Something... something just struck it!"

"W-what...?"

The group quickly rushed outside the room, tightly wielding their newly-acquired Armaments.

What was waiting for them defied even Theo’s greatest worries.

An army—almost a hundred in number—stood before them, with four people with symbols and a number that read ’6’ leading them. Someone else stood in front of them; a lady who wore a much more prestigious outfit.

Her hat fashionably stood atop her head, the short hair on her head dancing mildly as she scowled at Theo and his group.

"What were you doing in there?" The woman asked. "And where were you taking those to?"

"...."

Theo and his group still had their Mercenary Crew uniforms on, so their identities were obscured for the most part.

"We were under orders to retrieve Regal Grade Armaments to assist those on the surface." Theo quickly replied.

"Interesting... though I’m surprised, since I thought I was the only one who had access to this inventory. And I don’t remember granting that permission to anyone else." She replied, her eyes narrowed.

’Damnit...!’ Theo instantly knew his excuse had failed woefully, so he started racking his brain for an alternative.

"Pull down your hoods." The woman said. "Identify yourselves."

"...."

Theo couldn’t do that, and neither could the rest of them—especially Arlet and Liyah, since they had recognizable faces. They had gotten very far in the Combat Exams, so most people involved in the event knew who they were. Plus, since Theo and his allies had encountered the Mercenary Crew before—and had even interacted with the Mercenary King—it was very possible that the Crew Members already knew what they looked like.

"I see..." The woman’s frown deepened as she looked at them.

Then, she brought out a pink plushy that looked battered all over, causing Liyah to react almost instantly. "I’m guessing this belongs to you. You used it to distract those incompetent fools who were never meant to leave their positions so you could steal Armaments, huh? I don’t know how you managed to fly under our radar, but..."

She flung the teddy bear away, causing it to roll around the floor helplessly. Since it had run out of Ne’sh it was already useless—indistinguishable from any normal item.

"... Threats like you should be promptly extinguished."

Without an ounce of hesitation, she pointed her hand at Theo, while her followers aimed the Armaments they wielded at the others. The air crackled with power at that point, and the group felt stuck—trapped—unable to escape their predicament.

They had, quite literally, reached the end of the road.

But—

"[E’ttenoiram]"

—In that instant, a miracle happened.

The group suddenly turned around, their members aiming at one another, as they fired their Arcane Abilities without flinching. Within that fraction of a moment, powerful Arcane Abilities flashed in the air and everyone in the group experienced instant death.

BOOOM!

The eruption of power consumed them, leaving behind smoke and colorful sparks of leftover energy billowing around whatever was left of the corpses.

Some were mangled, others squashed, most burned, while a few fried.

They all had one thing in common.

—Death.

"W-what... just happened?" Kaycee muttered, his eyes wide open as he witnessed the chaos encapsulated in only a few seconds and went weak in his knees.

Everyone else had equal expressions of bewilderment, however Theo was even more shocked than the rest. That was because, amidst the chaos—no, right before it—he had heard a voice. A sweet, oddly familiar voice.

It belonged to...

"You kids never stop getting into trouble, huh?"

... Fae.

Emerging from the dissipating smoke were two tall silhouettes: Fae and Damon.

They both wore smiles, walked in confident strides as their fancy attires instantly drew the gazes of the gawking audience towards them. Damon had both hands in his pockets, while Fae walked salaciously, her charming smile completely distracting the group from the carnage that was still visible behind the two.

Fae and Damon only stopped once they stood before the four.

They relished the silence, their smiles broadening as they took in the shock that the group displayed, only speaking once Theo tried to say something first.

"You guys—!"

"We’re back early." Liyah spoke with a soft smile, looking around her. "But it looks like things aren’t as we left them."

Damon chuckled and shook his head.

"Your appearance is right on time... Now tell us everything that has happened so far."