Arcane Era-Chapter 61: Theo’s Awakening

Theo’s eyes shone with optimism as he continued to shoot blasts from his water gun, while slicing through the air. To the average eye observing this scene, the arcs Theo made, and the water bullets he fired seemed random.

But those with incredible insight could see beyond the mundane and grasp his intentions.

’He’s predicting where Gerald will most likely appear, and by shooting in those directions, he’ll make Gerald appear in another direction.’ Shen smiled as he watched the fight intently.

He fully understood what Theo was attempting.

’A bold strategy. Gerald relies on his automatic evasion, which means he has no control over it. If an attack comes to him from the right, there are three directions he is likely to move in order to evade: left, front, or back. His Armament seemingly picks these positions at random, but will select the optimal path that will ensure the most safety and give him the chance for the best opportunity to counter.’

For example, if moving left allowed Gerald to deal the best attack to Theo, he would appear left. If it was front, he would appear in front.

’However, if the range of Theo’s attack is too wide, and the left side might get caught up in it, Gerald would move back... since his safety comes first to the Armament.’ Shen smiled. ’By repeating this process and observing patterns, Theo plans to calculate things like distance and speed in order to determine the exact moment he’ll appear in each position.’

After doing this for a while, Theo’s blade actually scraped Gerald’s armor.

’That means the blade scraping the armor was the best route to take for the Armament, since the other sides would have resulted in hitting one of the water blasts due to how the speed of evasion would have inevitably ended up making Gerald catch up with the fired bullets... meaning he’d be getting hit with greater force.’

Of course, none of the bullets would have done anything to damage Gerald, but that didn’t matter to the cloak.

Its function was simply utilitarian: avoiding the biggest threat and choosing the smallest.

’Which means...’ Shen’s eyes lit up. ’... Theo is most likely aiming for THAT!’

Right as Shen thought this, Theo lit his blade ablaze, creating a powerful arc in the air. The intense heat sent sparks dancing around him, and the powerful saber burned bright.

As expected, Gerald vanished from his position and shifted back.

However—

PLOOSH!

His back landed on one of Theo’s bullets, causing the water ball to explode, instantly turning into a bubble prison.

"H-huh?" Gerald soon realized he was trapped in a barrier of water.

Once Theo noticed his trap was successful, he poured all of his strength into his pointed blade and shifted forward, dashing with all of his might.

The result?

SPLOOSH!

He popped the bubble like it was a balloon, causing the water to rapidly evaporate as he thrust the saber of light.

His aim was focused on one thing, and one thing alone.

—Gerald’s neck.

POP!

Theo suddenly felt his bone dislocate as something pierced him from the side.

’Huh?’ His eyes widened. ’This shouldn’t be possible. My target is right here, and... no, hold on...’

Suddenly, the world that had vanished began to manifest in his senses, and from the corner of his eye, he could see the Joker’s raised hand, which had transformed into a weapon similar to Liyah’s shotgun.

The bullet shattered his water gun, while also sending a force strong enough to shift his bone.

"Gahh—!"

Before he could properly let out a scream, he felt a hand grab him by the throat. It was large and strong, more than capable of overpowering the startled Theo.

BAM!

The hand sent Theo’s body crashing into the ground, forcing him to cough out in pain. Before he could even recoil from that damage, he felt a burning sensation of pain in his stomach as the heavy boots of the Mercenary King stomped on it without prejudice.

"Arghhh!" Blood mixed with saliva gurgled out of his lips as his face scrunched up in pain.

Another stomp to his chest caused several ribs to break, as his entire body screamed for the intense suffering to end.

Theo was overwhelmed by the affliction, but his eyes still shone with determination.

He refused to give up.

Mustering the last ounce of strength, he tightly clenched his blade and sliced it through the air, hoping it would cause the Mercenary King to automatically evade it, even if it didn’t hurt him.

However, the blade was stopped mid-air by the King’s broadsword.

"You had your chance." Gerald yanked the blade from him, breaking Theo’s fingers in the process, as he held the sizzling hot blade with both hands... watching as it slowly lost its bright amber luster.

"And now..." Using his sheer strength alone, he shattered the blade—snapping it into two, as it suddenly broke into several pieces. "... Your end has come."

The deep tone of the Mercenary King echoed in the air as Theo felt the arrival of death.

—The presence of the end.

At that moment, he could not help but ask himself:

’Am I really going to die here?’

The answer stared him right in the eye, as the Mercenary King raised his broadsword, staring coldly at Theo as he prepared to shove the blade into his chest and kill him in one move. The metallic pieces of his Armament lost their final source of light as Theo felt their sparks die out.

... Die out...

Right then, as the blade descended, and his life flashed before his eyes, something else did.

A bright light burned within him.

Like the sun... yellow, orange, gold, white... and bright.

A name appeared within it.

He knew the name. It was the name of his shattered blade of light.

—Thgil R’ebas!

VWUUUUUMM!!!

Right at that moment, a transfiguration happened.

Theo’s entire body turned bright, burning with brilliant amber light—almost like he had become an Armament undergoing Apotheosis.

"W-what?!" All the eyes that lay fixed on him cried out at the same time.

How was this possible?!

How could a Mortal use an Arcane Ability without the aid of an Armament? Such a thing was impossible, contradicting the very nature of the world and the hierarchy that had existed since time immemorial.

Since the dawn of time, history and legends have only recorded one exception: a people who could freely use such power, holding no real value for the Arcane Instruments which every Mortal seeks after.

During the Divine Era, they abandoned the world of Trae’h and ascended to the High Realm.

They were the stars that littered the sky, burning bright in the dark firmaments above. They were the guardians of Mortals, and the deities that many revered as supreme gods.

When Mortals cried for help during the Days of the Scourge, nearly driven extinct by the Tainted Blights, they arose to save mortalkind and ushered in the Age of Salvation.

When a mortal died, they served as the judges and led their souls to the Heavenly Palace.

Such beings were the only ones who could use Arcane Abilities without Instruments.

Yet... Theo was.

At that moment, burning bright like a rising sun, Theo had but one appearance in the eyes of all who lay witness to his glory.

—A Divine One.