Arcane Era-Chapter 64: Curtains Fall (Part 1)

’I failed...’

Beads of sweat fell down Gerald’s face as he found himself kneeling within a dark room. Lamps of all kinds decorated the room, and it was sparsely furnished, with only a table and several scrolls spread apart all over the desk.

Ancient drawings, inscriptions, and in all manner of languages were inscribed on the scrolls. They had an eerie, yet alluring feel about them. However, none of these documents were Gerald’s immediate concern. His lips trembled, as his irises turned pin-sized, with his body shaking violently.

He felt nauseated—both from the side effects of his teleportation, but also from the realization that couldn’t stop assailing him.

"The plan is ruined... I failed everyone who put their trust in me... Marci, Felix... little Mars... they’re all—" Before he could complete his words, he felt an overwhelming sensation burn within his stomach, rushing through his throat.

It forcefully pried his lips open, and he vomited.

"Bluergh..." Tears fell down his eyes as mucus dropped from his nostrils.

Guilt, fear, and all manner of pain coursed through his body as the image of his subordinates—no, friends—being killed for their trust in him kept resurfacing in his mind. Despite all their planning and years in wait, they still could not eliminate their sole obstacle.

They could not kill Shen Ak’ashi.

’What now? Everything is falling apart, and there’s nothing I can do!’

The glorious facade of the Mercenary King was no more. Despite still wearing the same armor and possessing the same Armaments as before, his presence had shrunk to a state of near disregard.

He had become a shell of the man he once was... scared of what was to come.

’No! I can’t let this be the end!’ Gerald’s mind echoed as he slammed his fist to the ground. ’If I give up now, what would I say about the sacrifice of my friends... the sacrifice of everyone in the Mercenary Crew who believed in the dream.’

Slowly, he mustered strength and rose to his feet, both of his fists clenched in newfound determination.

He had lost, no doubt about that.

But so what?!

’I’m not without contingencies or leftover resources. I still have connections on the Mainland, so if I can escape there and link up with the Queen... there’s a way for us to restart the plan.’ His thoughts flowed as his mind began to race.

Gradually, hope began to blossom in his heart and a small smile started forming on his vomit-stained face.

’Hehe... yeah!’ He wiped off the leftover vomit from his lips and chin. ’There are still a fair amount of Armaments we stole from the Outer Court. They should have been transported to this vessel, so those can serve as my starting equipment for the war to come.’

The biggest blow to the Mercenary Crew was its lack of members, but there was no shortage of disgruntled mercenaries in the Mainland. He would have to lower his standards a little, since he was just starting from scratch and needed accomplices, but Gerald was confident he could rebuild the organization.

"Marci... Felix... Mars... Conrad... you’re all together now, aren’t you?" He inhaled deeply, a sad expression clouding his face. "Please watch over me! I will make sure your sacrifices weren’t in vain and will surely make you proud."

After muttering these whispers, Gerald walked towards the exit of the dark room.

He composed himself, re-igniting the aura he possessed as the Mercenary King, ensuring everything about his facade was flawless.

’There are still quite a few subordinates manning the vessel, so I have to remain their indomitable leader.’ He silently reasoned, opening the door. "I have returned! Our plan has failed, but we are not yet defeated. Prepare to depart and—"

Gerald had just started speaking, barking out orders like the invincible ruler that he wanted to be, when a smell hit him.

It was the smell of blood.

"H-huh...?"

The pungent stench was so thick that it brought back his nausea, nearly driving him to throw up for the second time. After getting a mere whiff of the overpowering smell, stumbling back for a moment, he activated the Arcane Ability of his skull mask.

Using it, he could see through all the walls and doors around him, taking a quick look at the entire vessel he was in from the narrow hallway he occupied.

"B-by the Divine Ones..." His hand slowly reached for his mouth, covering it as his eyes bulged in shock.

Every single member of his crew was dead.

Their bodies were brutalized in the most gruesome of ways, and their expressions depicted the immense suffering they must have experienced in their last moments. Then, at the furthest end of the hallway... he saw something.

Or rather, he COULD NOT see something.

It had the figure of a man, but he was doused in pure golden energy. Nothing about his body could be seen through, as it was all distorted due to the sheer amount of Ne’sh that flowed through the Armaments in his possession.

The man sat, arms crossed, back relaxed, clearly waiting for someone.

’I-is that...?’ Gerald gulped, his legs intuitively moving backward. ’N-no way! He found me? How did he find me?!’

Every ounce of his self-preservative instincts told him to run.

To hide!

The man at the end of the hallway was not someone he could overcome. He was the one who stood at the pinnacle of Mortal existence, capable of causing even the Supreme Lords of the Mainland to tremble at his words.

"Shen... Ak’ashi."

WHUUSH!

As soon as he uttered those words, Gerald suddenly found himself overcome by a strong force, pulling him forward against his will.

In a flash, he found himself at the dreaded end of the hallway, right before a throne of judgment. There, he saw the man who sat elegantly on his seat of glory, completely unfazed and calm as he stared into the frightened eyes of the shivering Mercenary King.

In that moment, it became clear who the false King was.

"Using an underwater vessel right next to the Ak’ashi Guild as your base of operations and your escape plan... what a smart move." Shen finally spoke, his tone more amused than anything else.

The way his golden light illuminated the darkness of the vessel was nearly blinding.

Gerald had to squint his eyes to even look at him, with tears rapidly forming in his eyes without his control as he continued to tremble. He tried to fight the powerful hold that Shen had over his body, but failed miserably.

With a single thought, Shen sent him to his knees, and Gerald felt the overpowering force send his legs buckling down.

This was an ultimate power—the power of Shen Ak’ashi’s Supreme Grade Armament.

"How were you able to get your hands on this, I wonder? Yabamiah wouldn’t sell something like this to your group, no matter how much you offered them. Then, could it be the Black Market? No... do you even have the funds for that? You could, if you sold your Armaments, but we both know you needed as many Arcane Instruments as you could get your hands on for your failed operation." Shen’s eyes gleamed with curiosity as he kept probing. "Then, did you build it? Yeah... that makes a lot of sense. It’s similar to how you built your Quasi Supreme Grade Armament to imprison me."

"Tch! Shen, you bastard!"

"Oh? So you finally speak. What was stopping you before? Were you scared or something?"

"Fuck you! You’re full of shit and you know it!" Gerald loudly screamed, squirming like a little child. "It’s all your fault! This is all because of your trickery and deceit! I was so close... so close to fulfilling the prophecy! Yet, to protect your false kingdom, you had to step in my way! You bastaaaarrrrd!!!"

"...."

Shen stared at Gerald with eyes of pity, but quickly snickered as his expression turned into amusement. He slowly shook his head, chuckling silently.

"Two things..." Shen raised his hand to reveal two fingers. "First of all, whatever prophecy has been sold to you is most definitely a sham. It’s honestly amusing how you believed something like that, but you were never very bright, so I’m not too surprised. It was even more shocking how you got so many people to believe your dumb ideology, but I guess that goes to show how many stupid people really exist in this world."

"Shut up! You’re lying! You just don’t want it to be true—that you weren’t chosen and I was!"

Sighing, Shen shook his head. "There’s just no getting through to you. Delusion has truly seeped into your bones, huh, Gerald? Or should I call you ’Mercenary King?’"

"Don’t you mock me! You have no idea—!"

"Oh, I think I have a pretty good idea..." Shen lowered a finger, leaving only one raised. "After all, I already knew about your Mercenary Crew and the plan you had against my Guild."

"W-what?!"

"You’re surprised? I thought you would have figured it out already, but I guess I was too charitable in thinking you could put two and two together. See, this is why I’m surprised you could gather such an organized group and launch such a well-coordinated attack."

At this point, the Mercenary King was silent, still reeling from Shen’s revelation.

"Y-you’re lying..." Was all he could mutter.

"Pfft! My Zenith has been observing the movement of your Crew from the start, and they’ve been running the scenes for longer than you can imagine. That’s how I knew when and how you would attack, even from the very beginning."

"No... not true..."

"Right now, you must be wondering... if I knew, why would I allow myself to get caught in your trap? After all, it was a dangerous situation that could have resulted in my death and the end of the Ak’ashi Guild." Shen chuckled. "While it’s hilarious that you actually believed I was in any danger at all inside that thing, I don’t fault you for thinking that way."

"... No..."

"It had to be convincing. I had to make you believe your plan was working. Want to know why?"

"...."

"I mean, I partly did it so you could experience true despair at this moment, when I reveal the truth... but there was genuine logical thought put behind it." At this point, Shen turned serious, his lackadaisical smile rapidly vanishing.

It was replaced by a cold, calculating expression that sent shivers down Gerald’s spine.