Chapter 611: Materialized Concept

Arthur closed his eyes as the aura grew more suffocating. Before he received the knowledge to write any rune he wanted, he never hoped to be a match for the man before him. Even now, the odds were against him in every way. Their stats were vastly different, and the man could see into his weaknesses even if he couldn"t see the future of his moves.

There were certain perks to being a foreign being as the outsider in this timeline. The first one was being unrecorded in the future or the past, like a fire that can only burn what it reaches, but no one can see it coming. This was the case with the nameless and the seer guardian being unable to predict the future if it included Arthur.

"I have a powerful advantage," pondered Arthur as he jumped back and summoned his chains. "A future that does not have me is useless to foresee because I will change everything."

This time, Arthur used his runic knowledge to summon the law of sharpness. It was impossible to materialize a concept for normal humans, but it was possible by using his authority over the world. Then, the concept turned into a dagger in his hand that wanted to slice everything apart.

"A true freak," muttered the seer as he stared at the weapon of sharpness being forged with its chain of order. "We wanted to avoid fighting the ender of worlds, but we fought a bigger monster."

"Are you scared, guardian?"

"I have never lost a fight, and that won"t happen now. So use that sword of yours to cut a path forward, if you can, Outsider. However, remember that your family will be gone by the end."

"What use is there to harm innocents?" asked Arthur as he grabbed the sword which would sever his hand if he lost control. "I thought I knew you, but somehow I know nothing."

"I have never been different, and you agreed to receive my help in exchange for a favor. However, the favor was never to kill me when I became the guardian. That is what you would do, right?"

Arthur did not answer and took a stance instead. He materialized a dagger because he mastered the basic art, allowing him to leave no openings even if he did not strike a weak point.

"I have no time to raise a child all over," stared Arthur as he raised his materialized concept. "Try to survive this, Sier."

Arthur brought down his dagger, slashing in half a circle in front of him. There was no need to get close because the concept of sharpness exploded in half a circle toward the seer guardian. It was safe to say that even Arthur underestimated what a materialized concept can do, as the world got torn in half following a whistling noise.

"You are truly," said Sier as he stared at the attack grow larger to cover every trajectory Arthur slashed in, "the real monster."

Arthur watched the attack engulf Sier, but he knew that this was an illusion the moment it struck him. He jumped backward while communicating with Julia, who got thrown away by the earlier battle.

"Julia, are you still conscious?" asked Arthur as he looked around. "I need you to report what you are seeing, now," there was no answer to his calls. "Wake up, idiot!"

"Uh, huh," answered a voice that sounded a bit drunk. "What... happened?"

"I have no idea how, but the earlier battle knocked you out. I need you to tell me what you are seeing. I think I"m under an illusion."

"I-I cannot see anything!" shouted the runemaster in his ear. "Am I blind? Have I gone blind, Alexie?" her voice was struck with panic. "Did Scire steal my eyes? Is that the reason his mask has an eye on it?"

"Your eyes are fine, idiot," sighed Arthur as he looked around. "I need you to figure out where we are exactly. You can"t see anything because the enemy excluded you from the illusion to focus on me."

"Then, where am I?"

"You are somewhere he used to construct this illusion, probably a gap in s.p.a.ce that makes it easier to layer illusions upon reality. Listen, I came with Grandmaster Jumana and Captain Velos. Seek them out so that they attack the illusion from the outside and break it."

Arthur knew that it was hard to break an illusion from the inside, but it was a lot easier if someone found the s.p.a.ce where the illusion was constructed. The fastest method to leave this s.p.a.ce was to have someone disturb the illusion enough for him to go.

"I can see what you are doing, Arthur," a voice said from the sky. "You have no way of escaping this illusion. No one will come here to save you because no one knows you. That is what it means to be the Outsider."

Arthur stared above before a smile appeared on his face. Those words might be true. Grandmaster Jumana or Velos didn"t give a s.h.i.t about him, and he didn"t want them to do so. If he needs to leave Kera, he needs to rely on himself.

***

Julia tried to cast light into the darkness, but it was futile. Her own hands were not visible, so there was no method for her to find a way outside or find the illusion like Alexie had asked her.

"What am I doing in this place?"

It all seemed like a terrible nightmare that got weirder every second: Grandmaster Casca died, she was taken a hostage, Alexie attacked her, and then Scire turned out to be a supervillain and master of deceit. Now, Julia wandered into the void while trying to leave this place.

Despite the panic and fear that she was experiencing, Julia knew she had to do as Alexie asked. This wasn"t simply to save a friend but to prevent the treasures inside the ruins from being robbed. While she was thinking of a way to leave the void, suddenly the darkness disappeared.

"Is this... a sky?" blinked Julia at the scenery before she started free-falling toward the ground. "Dammit, how did I appear in the sky?!"

Her hands were brought together to activate the domain runes, allowing her to cushion her fall using wind runes. Julia was suspended midair for a second before she tumbled to the ground. Then, she fell face-first to the ground in a very ungraceful manner.

"Cough, cough! At least I am alive, but where am I?" asked the runemaster as she pushed herself up to find herself atop a roof. "Is this the city that we arrived at in the beginning?"

Scire and the rest entered this city before they knocked her out. Then, Julia woke up tied by Scire"s illusion, where Alexie didn"t see her. If not for Alexie"s genius, she would have been dead.

"I need to find the rest, but where should I start? This looks like an entire world, not a small realm," she muttered while standing to look over the horizon. Then, she looked back at the place she was held inside. "...a f.u.c.king cloud?"

The only thing above her was a giant cloud, but it made sense that Scire would choose that place out of many. Maybe it was, as Alexie said, a weakened s.p.a.ce fabric that allows the illusionist to bend reality.

"Regardless, I hope this cloud doesn"t move..." muttered Julia. "Alexie, can you hear me? I left the gap, but I can"t find the rest of them."

There was no response, and Julia sighed before she decided to activate another stored rune. A mana wave rippled with her at the center, triggering a detection array for lifeforms. However, the spell disappeared after a few seconds because it detected something.

"A guest from afar, a beautiful miss," sang a voice from behind her. "Are you a misfortune disguised as bliss?" the sweet voice sang behind her, and Julia turned to look at something climb atop the roof.

It was a small creature that was the size of an infant but had the figure of a woman. However, the woman was ethereal and carried wings as it flew over. Her detection rune allowed her to detect all lifeforms, but this was not a fleshy one.

"...a fairy manifestation?" muttered Julia with a frown. "Is there an ability user nearby, or is this a runic array from the ruins?"

"Answer me, beautiful miss," sang the small fairy before it multiplied and became two. "Tell us which one are you?"

The manifestations began to multiply, and there were hundreds of them in a few seconds. Julia stared with wide eyes at them before turning around and bolting, choosing to jump off the roof instead of looking for anyone.

"This nightmare keeps getting worse!" shouted Julia as she ran through the street. When she turned back, the hundreds of fairies were chasing after her, demanding an answer. "I am a friend! I promise!"