Chapter 673: Strengthening?
It was the embodiment of what the human body can reach—the strength to split the world in two and cause earthquakes with a single strike. Kera was divided in half after the unsealed Amelio struck the ground, and not even Arthur expected such strength.
After seeing the stats of Amelio, Arthur a.s.sumed the seal took away half of his strength. However, after seeing it for real, Arthur realized it was much more. He always knew that stats did not equate to power, but he never understood how exponential the relationship was.
A mere shockwave made the soldiers and gobkins get thrown away, along with Arthur and the guild masters. Then, as the crack extended to cover the entirety of the city, it broke the pillars. The two sides of the gap, which span tens of meters, became two separate worlds, one rising and the other sinking.
"An earthquake!" realized Arthur as he teleported above the shockwave and impact toward the sky, seeing the extent of that single attack for himself. "A single strike made the city get split in two? This is monstrous."
The soldiers and guild masters were thrown away, and Arthur couldn"t keep track of everyone. However, the earthquake made the different layers of Kera slide over each other, raising one side of it over the other.
A great cliff was created as a result, of which different tunnels and tubes protruded. It looked like the end of the world was upon them, and the culprit was still standing atop the cliff"s edge and looking at Arthur.
"You have succeeded, Arthur," said Amelio with a smile, surrounded by an aura of bloodl.u.s.t. "The seal is gone, and so are your chances of survival. Let me show you what happens when you absorb the lives of millions."
Amelio raised his arm toward the sky and clenched his fist. The bloodl.u.s.t gathered around his fist with a pulse that grew stronger, independent of its owner. The spherical aura grew smaller and smaller around Amelio"s hand before he swung it toward Arthur.
A great dragon was birthed from that attack, and its roar burst the ears and hearts of the weak. The draconic aura rushed to attack Arthur while he was mid-air, with no chance of avoiding it. As it engulfed Arthur, he felt as if he fell into a well of hatred and agony.
Arthur created a barrier around him, which the dragon tried to bite through. Cracks ran across the barrier as it almost broke down and crushed Arthur inside it. The dragon raised Arthur toward the sky, pushing him upward before it turned and brought him down.
"Is this the power of a single punch?" wondered Arthur as he tried to use his runes to destroy the aura, but it was futile. His flames did not burn it, and his ice did not freeze it.
"You cannot block against Intent, boy," grinned Amelio as he jumped from atop the cliff. "As you work your best to survive, I will take revenge on those who attacked me earlier!"
"Dammit," grunted Arthur as his mana gathered on his fist and struck the dragon. However, it simply pa.s.sed through it. Intents were a singular desire, and Amelio"s was full of killing intent.
It was the intent to kill.
This must have been what he used earlier when Arthur was still in the mansion. There was no attack, but Azkavan and the scholar knights were killed without being able to resist.
"Why would a man be so h.e.l.l-bent on killing others?" wondered Arthur as he decided to teleport away toward the sky. The dragon kept diving before it crashed toward the ground, creating a giant hole that dug toward the infinite. "A desire can cause this…?"
Intent was not something that Arthur could take a shortcut in mastering. It was the hardened mentality over the years. However, he could use the world directly, but not in such a way that cannot be harmed.
"I can still use concepts," muttered Arthur as a rune appeared in his hand. "There is no more augmentation by Fey. Amelio must have realized her importance in our strength, and she likely became the next target."
At that moment, Amelio landed on the ground, making it rise in waves like a tsunami. The destruction from his legs pressuring the ground made the pavement and underground structures rise in heaves as if ripples in a pond.
"Arthur Silvera!" shouted a voice from below, and Arthur turned to see Ilia Perli and the guild masters hovering above the ground. "We have managed to unseal him; now what?" shouted Master Azkavan.
"…I have to get close to him," said Arthur with embarra.s.sment. The guild masters were speechless as they soared beside Arthur on a carpet, and he landed on it. "The next plan is for me to get close to him."
"Are you sure we are talking about the same person?" asked Master Azkavan as he pointed at Amelio. "This man has just split the city in two, and you want to get close to him?"
"Getting close is just one of the conditions. After that, we must make him go all out, and I will strengthen him."
"…excuse me?"
"We have to make him go all out."
"I understood that! Even though that is absurd on its own, you also want to strengthen this insanely strong monster? Are you really on our side, brat?"
"I"m not a brat," frowned Arthur at Master Azkavan. "I almost died several times today, so don"t expect me to be any less than any of you. This is the plan since the beginning."
"…"
The four defenders stared at Arthur for a long time without talking. Amelio was still attacking left and right, creating deep trenches in the city. The only consolation is that the citizens have been evacuated.
"And what would that achieve?" asked Ilia Perli with a face of almost regretting his decision to join Arthur.
"I expect victory. That is all I can explain," said Arthur before turning toward Amelio. "He will attack us soon, so we must take the initiative. Survive while pushing him to the limits. Then, if he uses a single all-out attack… we will win."
***
Oren stared at the scenery that had suddenly appeared after the earthquake. Without Kody turning the rubbles into ethereal objects, they would have been crushed in the underground tunnels.
The scenery overlooked the city of Kera for some reason, even though they should have been underground. It was
However, this earthquake and destruction came timely. The man impersonating his father was about to attack them when the destruction began. Kody and the rest saved Mr. Tate while the imposter s.n.a.t.c.hed his mother.
Oren tried to move, but his body was still too weak. The tunnels crashed on top of them, but Selena managed to turn them ethereal in time. The result of them running through the rubbles toward the nearest s.p.a.ce was this.
"We are all here, except for the mother," said a woman that Oren did not recognize. She wore the robes of a runemaster while looking at him with interest. "Are you Oren?"
"I am, and you are…?"
"My name is Julia," said the woman before offering her hand. "Julia Vinera, from Runera. I came here following Arthur, bringing this friend of his," she introduced the masked man beside her. "He isn"t talkative but reliable."
"You know my brother?" asked Oren as he shook her hand while being supported by Selena. "How is that possible… he is…."
"Alive," smiled Julia. "The whole world knows that now. Arthur announced it earlier via a broadcast and revealed the ploy set to kill him. He has been… through a lot."
"Then, does that mean we are in danger?"
"Not any more danger than the current one," sighed Julia before she walked toward him and took out a potion from her ring. "Arthur somehow knew that Kera would be attacked. It seems he has seen something inside Runera, which forced him to come here in time."
"I… understand," nodded Oren. "Are you the ones who saved Kody from the soldiers?"
"That is right, nodded Kody while lying inside the floating bubble. "I was so useless against that man. I"m sorry, Oren, Selena," said the big teary man before Julia walked toward him and slapped his head.
"You are just a kid, and that was a middle-aged man. He had time to train, but you did not."
Oren smiled when he saw how Julia behaved. However, before any of them could discuss what to do next, a voice started shouting from above.
"You have succeeded, Arthur!" shouted someone from above, and Oren snapped his neck toward the outside view. It was a man standing atop the cliff, and when Oren turned around, he saw someone flying in the sky.
His robes were ragged and dusted, while his face carried an undefeatable will. While his black hair and average features made him no different from anyone else, his golden eyes made him anyone but his brother.