Arcane Era-Chapter 65: Curtains Fall (Part 2)

Shen’s golden eyes were cold.

His presence in the room felt overpowering, almost suffocating, as he leaned forward and leaked out a loud sigh. All of these actions only caused the rapidly increasing tension in the air to spike uncontrollably.

Then, he spoke.

"I allowed your attack... so I could root out every single traitor in the Guild in one fell swoop... so I could find an excuse to deal with all the political enemies that sent ambassadors, whom we had in attendance... and so I could leverage deals with sponsors who needed an extra incentive to invest in the Ak’ashi Guild..."

Gerald’s eyes bulged.

"Ah, of course! How could I also forget about the highlight of the event... Theo?" Shen’s eyes brightened a little the moment he mentioned the boy’s name. "I needed an excellent challenge and the perfect stage to test his worth... and according to my expectations, he delivered."

"A-ah..."

"Astounding! He beat you."

"...."

Shen went on, and the more Gerald listened, the more he realized an ugly truth.

His Mercenary Crew was never a threat to the Ak’ashi Guild! In fact, it wasn’t even the sole focus of the event, but was instead used to facilitate Shen’s actual plans while serving as the scapegoat to carry all of the blame.

There was never going to be a reckoning for Shen, or his Guild.

It was all for nothing.

"How does it feel? Instead of destroying me, you ended up furthering my goals..." Shen leaked out a dark smile and shook his head. "This is why you’re so pitiful."

At this point, Gerald was too broken to utter a word.

He simply knelt in silence, processing every aspect of his plan and realizing just how Shen could have used it to his benefit in some way, shape, or form.

’We made examples of some people who resisted our takeover by killing them. But, one of the Zenith members who were absent has an Armament that can remotely control people. What if they controlled those people to act up? By killing them, we did the Ak’ashi Guild’s dirty work for them."

Among those who were killed, whether in the Event Hall itself or during transportation to the prisons, were important political figures and businessmen who were in attendance for the Evaluation Exams.

’W-what if—?!’

Shen silently observed as his words sank into Gerald’s mind, watching as the man’s expression contorted into various kinds beneath his skull mask.

It was an amusing sight, but Shen was no longer smiling.

’I was also hoping whoever was backing the Mercenary Crew would come to light, but it seems they didn’t take the bait and remained in the shadows...’ He quietly sighed. ’The only suspect we have determined to be the most likely culprit is this mysterious Queen figure.’

Unfortunately, throughout the Mercenary Crew’s takeover, they never showed up.

’No member of the Mercenary Crew has also met them besides the King, which leads us to this point.’

His eyes flashed an ominous glow as he quietly scrutinized the shaken Gerald.

’No such luck, huh? They’re good... really good.’

Unable to decipher what he desired by sheer observation, he reached out and removed the skull mask from Gerald’s face, revealing his grotesque appearance. Anyone who sat so close to such a face would have surely made a disgusted or revolted expression, however, seeing this didn’t move Shen at all.

His gaze remained calm, focused.

"Tell me something, Gerald... who is the one backing you?"

"...."

"Hey, I’m talking to you here." Shen made a silent command, and Gerald’s fallen face suddenly rose—forcefully staring into his golden eyes. "Tell me who your backer is. Who is this Queen figure? How did you two meet? Where did you get so many Armaments from? How did you stumble upon this silly prophecy?"

"And... why would I tell you anything?" Gerald growled, having barely any gravitas left in his voice.

He was clearly broken, his very sense of reality shattered into several pieces, yet he chose to cling to the small ounce of pride he had left. That was what fueled his stubbornness, though one look at him made it clear that his will was too lacking.

Whatever he was protecting was quickly slipping out of his grasp as he descended down the abyss.

All he needed was a little push down the edge.

"Because I know you don’t have any type of Arcane Ability restricting you from telling me what I want to know. I also know you’ll cooperate if I offer you the right incentive."

Shen leaned closer, his golden hair fluttering as his gaze remained still.

"Marci is still alive... and so are Felix and Mars. If you tell me what I want to know, I’ll spare their lives and even let them live a relatively free life outside the confines of the Ak’ashi Guild."

Gerald’s lifeless eyes widened as soon as he heard this. "R-really?!"

"Of course, I’ll keep a close watch on them using an observation-type Armament, but at least they won’t have to suffer for your foolishness." Shen promised, making a sad sigh. "I have no reason to kill them, and we were once members of the same Party... so I suppose I could use this as a final way to make amends."

Gerald’s heart began to soften, as a small glow of hope radiated within him.

For a moment, he thought about the proposition.

Then—

"I want to see them! If I talk to them and confirm they’re alive, then I’ll tell you everything you want to—!"

SPLOOSH!

In an instant, Gerald’s body was squashed into paste, driven to the ground by the invisible force until his entire body became a bloody mash of mangled flesh and crushed bones—completely unrecognizable from what he used to be.

Compared to the abominable blobby remains he had become, Gerald’s ugly face could have been considered angelic.

Regardless, he was dead—crushed like an insignificant insect.

The only things left intact were the Arcane Instruments he wielded, and with a snap of Shen’s fingers, they vanished into his storage-type Armament. He glanced to his side, hearing voices whisper into his ears.

"Poor guy... he had no idea you were lying about his comrades being alive."

"Why did you kill him, though? Didn’t you need information from him?"

"Yeah! Even if he wanted to see his comrades, you could have just shown him an illusion of them, and that would solve it. One of your subordinates has something like that, right?"

Shen heard these voices and chuckled, responding in a calm manner.

"Gerald knew nothing in the end. He believed my words, and he desperately wanted to trade for the lives of his friends, but he didn’t have any worthwhile information. His request to see them was just his way of trying to get closure and quell his guilty conscience—seeing them alive one final time, so he could die in peace."

Since they were once allies, Shen knew Gerald like the back of his hand.

’So predictable...’ He sighed, slowly rising to his feet as the throne behind him vanished into brilliant sparks of golden light. "You were foolish right until the end, old friend."

Walking over Gerald’s squashed remains, Shen entered Gerald’s private quarters, observing the several scrolls that contained ancient languages and inscriptions—all dating back to the Divine Era—that no Mortal could ever possibly decipher.

"What gibberish..." Shen mumbled, taking a quick look at everything in sight.

"Whoever sold him this lie sure knew how to craft a compelling tale. Even going as far as forging documents so he, and everyone else in the Crew, could be convinced. They must also have some type of information or corresponding Armament that allows them to understand and manipulate the language of the Divine Ones."

That was how they could distort the truth and propagate lies.

"Jake..."

The moment Shen spoke, a shadow-like entity silently appeared right behind him, kneeling the moment it materialized. freewēbnoveℓ.com

"Preserve all of these documents, so I can take a proper look at them later. Also, take care of everything else here and destroy the vessel when you’re done. Make it look like an accident."

Jake, now covered in dancing shadows, nodded instantly.

"Good. Inform me of any new development."

WHOOSH!

Shen vanished on the spot, leaving Jake alone in the darkness, surrounded by the seemingly endless trail of blood and death that filled the dark vessel deep in the sea.

**************

"Tch..."

On a certain shore, a woman in a white gown—having the appearance of a bride—clicked her tongue and let out a disappointing sigh. She held a balloon with her two hands and had a large hat firmly positioned atop of her head, her face shrouded by a thin-layered veil of sparkling white.

"Gerald failed. The plan was unsuccessful." The glow of dawn kissed her pale skin as she bitterly uttered those words.

At first, it seemed like she was talking to herself, but the white balloon she held suddenly began to warble as a voice echoed from within it.

"That was within expectations."

"But he was too useless." She replied, growing even more agitated. "He was unable to bring out the true power of the Supreme Lord of Tyranny in the end."

"No need for that. I’ve seen a sufficient amount, and that will suffice." The voice within the balloon uttered.

"I see... so it wasn’t a total loss."

Right as the woman said this, three figures suddenly appeared in the beach: two young-looking girls and a gentleman who wore an elegant three-piece suit, expertly fixing a hat on his head with one hand while tightly gripping his walking cane with the other.

"What an interesting conversation." The man said, walking forward as his elegant shoes made prints in the fine sand.

His handsome face contained a broad smile, and the monocle on his left eye flashed bright with curiosity.

"Mind if I join you?"

The veiled lady quickly turned, only noticing his presence the moment he spoke. The two girls that accompanied him remained behind as only he advanced forward, still maintaining a harmless smile.

"You...!" The moment the woman saw this person, she recognized him. "Aren’t you the host of the Combat Exams? The one that Joker eliminated so she could take his place?"

Claudius’ smile deepened once he heard this.

"How are you still alive?!"