Chapter 601: Proud
Chapter 601: Proud
"I know everything about you," said a voice from within the infinite darkness. "I know where your family is and the friends you care about the most. There is nowhere to hide from me."
"Threats are not your thing, Sier," said Arthur as he tried to make out the voice source but failed. "You are the one who needs to hide once we are out of here. I know the identity of your father, who would love to see you again."
There was no answer from the void, which made Arthur sigh. Illusions were different from spatial realms because Arthur could still impact reality. He might be the only person who's inside the illusion, and recklessly attacking means he might turn against others.
[Insight-IV!]
Arthur used another rune on his body, but the darkness was still there. It was as if a blanket covered the world and prevented him from seeing anything. However, it was not as if he was hopeless.
[Barrier-IV!]
A rune glowed to protect his body, constantly consuming his mana of creation. This would keep him safe even if he could not find Sier. However, Arthur did not have forever at the rate his mana was being used.
"We can work a deal out, Sier," said Arthur in a blatant attempt to lure him out of the illusion. This was his greatest method of breaking the illusion without destroying things mindlessly. "You know I have methods to end this, but I will refrain from them for now."
"Your kindness has always been a weakness. Even faced with the possibility of death, you are still afraid of harming unrelated people. This is a separate realm, Arthur, so why not unleash your true powers?"
The seer was tempting him to do that meant that Arthur could never use AoE attacks, even if they were the best solution. However, Sier forgot that Arthur was the creator, and even if there was not a rune to specify targets, he could summon one.
[If.]
Sometimes, it was hard to properly label runes, as their functions were more diverse than a word. However, as he wrote this rune, Arthur knew that its function was simple: a link.
It was a condition-setting rune for other runes. Therefore, it worked as a link between runes and the world and between the runes themselves. Therefore, this can be the greatest rune that Arthur could use to string other runes together.
[If there is a target with high perception,]
The condition was simple, and it had both the criteria and the solution. However, a simple condition was the hardest to fulfill because it did not contain limitations.
Runes might be alive, but they did not have a mind of their own to fulfill Arthur's desire. The moment this condition activates, every awakener with high perception in the world will be affected.
As his fingers danced around modifying the condition, an attack struck his barrier. Arthur's mind shook, but the attack failed to harm him. However, it had exceeded his limit, so he had to recast the rune.
"A sneak attack, Sier?" smiled Arthur. "You are becoming less of a prince and more of a thug. If I die, there is no one to stop the guardian from taking over your body."
"A half-life is better than death," answered Sier from the darkness. Arthur shook his head and resumed modifying the If-rune.
The current condition would consume all of his mana and still not be enough. Therefore, Arthur needed to specify a range for stat and a distance for the rune to activate. These two would decrease the required consumption.
Arthur did not think Sier could be far from him since the attack earlier was too powerful. As for the stat, Arthur knew it was above nine hundred, so that was an excellent condition to set. Specifying a target did not mean that the consumption would be minimal, as this rune needed to be present in every second of every inch in the distance Arthur proposed. However, it was still a question
[If a target exists with over nine-hundred perception stat in one-kilometer diameter, then...] Arthur finished stringing the first rune, which was If. Then, he needed to make a sequence with the next rune, [Sleep.]
This was his safest option, not harming anyone or attacking an opponent. Arthur then activated the first rune, and the condition was tested in the area he proposed. As the rune pulsed around the darkness, a response appeared.
An attack struck his barrier at that moment, and Arthur had to dodge in the split second that it tore through it. Then, as the attack grazed him, the If-rune activated the rune that came after it and attacked the targets it found.
Arthur felt his mana leave his body as he rolled on the ground. It was a hefty sum because of the automated activation and the sleep-rune itself. However, it worked to destroy the darkness around him.
Cracks began to appear in the dark fabric as if it was glass. Then, the cracks grew bigger before the darkness shattered into a million pieces. Arthur saw countless clouds appear that mottled a blue sky, and in front of him was a staggering Sier on a brick arena.
"Ugh," groaned the seer guardian while falling on one knee, trying to resist the automated attack Arthur made. "You have a few new tricks, Arthur."
"And it seems you are resisting them quite well," frowned Arthur as he glared at the guardian. "Let us end this and be done with it."
"You are in a hurry to leave, and you have a good reason to," smiled Sier as sweat rolled down his face. "You would not be so calm if not you can see what is happening in Kera now."
"...if anything happens to my family, I would hunt you down as well," said Arthur as rage boiled in his body. "You will be just as responsible if you don't let me go now."
"Everyone is responsible for your tragedies, but we all know that the real culprit is you," smiled Sier. "You chose to send us to this world without hesitation over whether we wanted it. This tragedy is a befitting punishment for those sins."
"I never hated wanted to shut you up so much," said Arthur as he stomped on the ground. A mana blade surrounded his hand before he bolted forward and struck Sier. As his attack passed through the guardian, his face began to change.
"You need to learn that rage is not as empowering as it is blinding," said a voice from behind him as Julia replaced Sier in front of him. "Look at what you have done to your friend."
Arthur met Julia's eyes filled with fear before a smile appeared on his face. The blade of mana passing through her body disappeared as Arthur took a step back and turned toward Sier.
"I never considered the possibility, but you are the same as Nameless," smiled Arthur at the guardian. He can see confusion fill Sier's face at his words. "Whenever I am involved, you fail to see the future. This is the reason that you couldn't see your end before."
"You knew it was not me," frowned Sier as he turned toward Julia, whose wounds had healed and the paralysis was undone. "That attack was meant to heal."
"I knew that you would try to set me up for something like this as long as you see the future. Julia was an obvious hostage after seeing Grandmaster Casca's corpse. So it made sense for you to use her now, but what I feared was for you to see through this plan."
"...what if that was me?"
"That was the risk I needed to take," smiled Arthur. "I found the answer to my question earlier. You did not see the end of the Divine Era because the future you see is one where I don't exist. You can see the future as long as I don't affect it."
"I might be an enemy now," smiled Sier with sincerity, "but I am proud of how much you have changed, Arthur. Over a year ago, you were nothing but a naive child. Now, you are contending with gods."
"I cannot say that I am proud of how you changed."
"I guess I am the villainous version of the person you knew in that timeline," stared Sier at his palm. "I allowed doubts and fears to change me, but am I to blame?"
Arthur could not say yes.
"I guess I was more hurt that you took away Li from me. But, I am glad that you left him outside the ruins because I don't think I can forgive him if we meet."
"We are friends," said Arthur as he pulled Julia to stand, and she staggered. "And that is enough reason for me to end your derangement."
"I accept the role I was given," said Sier with a hollow laugh. "But I regret the roles I missed. However, regret is a summoner of death, and I have no intentions of doing that."