Arcane Era-Chapter 54: Head Intermediary

"You actually made it this far.... Not bad."

The Head Intermediary of Hearts had both hands in the pockets of his trench coat as he keenly watched the boy before him. A myriad of thoughts swirled in his mind—surprise, curiosity, and also a bit of anxiety—but he played them off and chose to remain calm.

Slid into his left wrist was a black bracelet which served as his first Standard Grade Armament. It provided him with superhuman strength, enough to crush a normal person’s neck with his bare hands if he chose to.

Coupling that with his expert fighting techniques and considerably tall physique, there were very few people who could challenge him to a fight and win. Only those with Higher Grade Armaments could even be considered his superior in melee combat.

He also had a scarf around his neck, and that served as his second Standard Grade Armament.

It allowed him to feel weightless—like the wind—giving him a speed boost that allowed him to move incredibly fast in a straight line. In the blink of an eye, he could traverse two distances with ease, with the only caveat being that he had to move either forward or backward.

Then... he had one Regal Grade Armament.

"How did you escape imprisonment?" He asked, walking closer to the collapsed Theo, whom he had earlier beaten to a pulp.

The boy was so helpless against the power of his two Standard Grade Armaments that he didn’t have to use anything more. He was happy about that fact, considering his own predicament, but he was more surprised about how a prisoner that they had taken away had managed to escape.

’If this one got loose, that means it’s possible for others too...’ He reasoned silently. ’I’ll have to inform the King about this quickly. To do so, it’s best I finish this off very quickly.’

Left to the Head Intermediary, he would kill the boy on the spot.

However, the Mercenary King was always giving reasons why that would be an unwise choice. There was also the fact that this boy, in particular, was of some interest to Shen Ak’ashi, which made him inherently valuable. freёnovelkiss.com

’Last but not least, he’s an Arcane Vessel...’

The Head Intermediary began to have some thoughts regarding his last train of thoughts when he heard a cough from Theo, followed by a hoarse response.

"Is... Lord Shen still in the hall?"

"Hm?" The Head Intermediary was stunned by the question. "I don’t think that’s what you should be worrying about right now, buddy."

The Supreme Lord of Tyranny was still alive, but that could only be for so long. Sunrise was in a few hours, and once the hour reached, Shen would be defenseless against the enemy’s assault. The Head Intermediary was tempted to explain all of this to the boy, but decided against it.

Instead, he pondered on the best way to handle Theo’s escape.

’I have to report this matter to the Mercenary King, but... the Ne’sh in my Arcane Instruments is also running dangerously low. My Regal Grade Armament still has quite a bit left, but everything else is practically running on fumes.’

If he hadn’t caught Theo off-guard and smartly used his Armament to disarm him, it would have been a far more complicated fight. After all, he had seen some of Theo’s matches and knew the boy was incredibly skilled.

’His Armament was destroyed by the Mercenary King, and he’s not with any at the moment, so the victor was already decided from the start. Still...’ The Head Intermediary narrowed his eyes as he silently analyzed Theo.

After a few more seconds, he made his decision.

"Come on, get up. I’m returning you to your cell." He calmly said.

The temptation to use Theo as an Arcane Vessel still remained, but the Head Intermediary warded off his greed and decided to take the safest route. He would get his chance to refill his Armaments later, especially after reporting the break to the Mercenary King.

He considered taking him directly to the Mercenary King, but that was directly against orders. The only ones allowed to see the Mercenary King at the moment were the Three Generals, and they were all—with the exception of one—busy with capturing the Outer Court.

If he wanted to make his report, he would have to go through that one General and having Theo with him would obviously come with criticisms. Securing the prisoner and investigating the state of other prisoners came first, so he would be chastised for his choice to neglect looking into the state of the prison and instead bring a prisoner back with him... even if the prisoner had to be a person of interest.

The Head Intermediary could only think like this because there was no well-established information network among the Mercenary Crew members, so there was no way for him to know what was going on in the prison or to get confirmation on his next course of action from a superior.

He had to act in accordance with his judgment.

’It’s a pain, but this is the best way to handle things.’ He grunted, nearing Theo with a scowl evident on his face.

"You heard me... get up."

Theo nodded and smiled, slowly rising to his feet. Right as he did so, something small and round rolled on the ground.

"Huh?" All it took was a split-second for the ball to explode, releasing its noxious content.

PFUU!

The sound of a fart echoed out, and at that very instant a foul smell filled the air, assailing the nostrils and overpowering the senses. The Head Intermediary was powerful, but not invincible, not to the putrid smell that his nose was submerged in.

Without much of a choice, he activated his scarf Armament and instantly retreated from his position.

"Ack! Guarck!" Spitting out saliva and shuddering, he recoiled from the unpleasant experience.

Most importantly, however, he kept his eyes focused on Theo, who remained within the mist. A part of him pitied the boy, while another part wanted him to suffer for his actions. The bomb had to have been activated by someone, and Theo was the only one in the room besides him.

’Looks like I was wrong about him. He does have an Armament.’ As the Head Intermediary growled within himself, he spotted Theo finally proceeding out of the mist.

Clutched tightly in one hand was a glowing sword, and in another hand was a box. He put the box in his pocket, and then brandished his blade without an ounce of hesitation or the weakness he had displayed earlier.

Most importantly—

’His wounds... they’ve healed? No, they’re still healing... but what’s with this speed?’

The Head Intermediary was convinced that it had to be the work of an Armament, but that didn’t make a lot of sense. How could a prisoner have not one, not two, but three Armaments.

The fart bomb Armament was one, the glowing sword was most definitely another one, and the box could be one. Perhaps the latter was what caused him to heal rather quickly, but if it wasn’t the Head intermediary had to prepare for the possibility of there being a fourth Armament.

That was ridiculous!

’Could he have raided an Inventory before coming here? I believe there was one in the underground dungeon, but isn’t it protected by several members? How could they have been so careless and allowed him to get away with weapons? No... there was no way he could have made it past them alone, and especially not without Armaments... so where did he get them? Could there be someone on our side helping him out? Is there a mole? This doesn’t make a lick of sense!’

More and more thoughts—stretching into the realm of paranoia—surged through his mind.

However, he could not determine the truth.

The only thing he could do was steel his determination as he glared at Theo, prepared to use his trump card—his Regal Grade Armament.

Hurriedly bringing out his Armament, he watched Theo charge towards him—closing the distance with terrifying swiftness. However, such speed—despite how impressive it was—could not match the power of his Armament.

WHOOSH!

He darted away, easily avoiding the deadly slash of Theo’s blade.

If he had been a second slower, he would have suffered quite a bit of injury. Since had no proper defense-type Armament, there was no way to protect himself from injuries.

Armaments were amazing weapons that granted immense power, but they were never invincible.

If a person lacked a type of Armament, they had a glaring weakness in that area.

"I have to end this quickly." His Armament was now fully equipped, and it looked colorful; a mix of orange and blue. It looked very similar to the weapon that Liyah used, but much wieldier.

It was wielded on one hand, having a trigger and what resembled a barrel that was filled with sloshing liquid. It was a little larger than the Head Intermediary’s entire fist, and it a certain glossy gleam about it that resembled plastic.

However, this was—without a shred of doubt—a Regal Grade Armament.

"This is the end of the line for you!"