Arc | Chapter. 27: Complications (Patreon)

Chapter. 27: Complications

Now officially 15 chapters ahead of public!

“No Commander, I wasn’t present in the vicinity of the explosion, I was in the epicenter of it.”

Rory blinked, Arc’s words resounded in her head. Her eyes grew wide as she digested what Arc had just said. So many thoughts flashed in her mind, but the most prevalent one was.

Why would she lie…?

A cold gust of wind swept through the plains, and as if it was a signal of death all of the knights raised their spears in a single moment. The Commander remained in his spot as the energy around Arc remained inert; the same blue light.

At any moment the lie confirmation would come, and when that happened, it would be over. Rory frowned. She didn’t understand; was Arc that against divulging her personal information that she was willing to be convicted and even forcefully interrogated⁠—

And the light color changed, the blue shifted and it became a green color.

What…?

The tension stilled as a silence descended upon the plains. Arc shook her head and continued to speak, uncaring.

“I fought the Dragon of Flames, it was fun and I enjoyed it, but I can’t help but think that the consequences of the battle are something I cannot handle. However, I don’t regret it.”

She shook her head as the green light flashed once more.

“Though now the dragon has left, and also seems to fear me for whatever reason. That’s kind of what happened, we fought and the attacks exploded Mount Arlais.”

A sigh left her.

“There, unbridled truth.”

And finally, there was another green light as Arc crossed her arms.

“Can I go now?”

Rory blinked.

What had just… why didn’t the [Staff of Divination] mark anything as a lie…? She didn’t understand. The atmosphere was stifling, even though the knights were holding their weapons up, there was a sense of anxiousness, of uncertainty and more than anything of confusion.

“That is… strange,” the Commander said after a second. “Perhaps the staff wasn’t calibrated properly…”

“Calibrated?” Arc asked, confused. “What does it have to do with anything?”

“Well after all, there is no way what you’re saying is the truth.” He shook his head. “But since the staff isn’t marking you as a liar I cannot prosecute you either.”

“It’s the truth.” She sighed. “Look, just ask Ceylon.”

Rory paused, wondering what was even going on. Why was Arc acting like this? Rory turned only to see Ceylon absolutely mortified. The knight Commander made his way over to the two of them, and after a quick explanation of the procedure, a blue light engulfed the blonde girl this time.

“Are the things your companion said the truth?”

She tensed and looked past the knight commander, meeting Arc’s gaze who gave her a nod. Rory didn’t understand what was going on. Was Arc telling the truth⁠? Was the staff not working as intended?

Ceylon trembled for a few moments, before shaking her head.

“I can’t do this. I refuse to answer the question.”

At that moment, the light flashed green confirming her truthful statement. Rory understood that the [Staff of Divination] simply determined whether the person answering believed in what they were saying. If someone was mentally ill and spouted nonsense they would still be confirmed as truthful people.

Was this the case with Arc?

Rory didn’t know anymore.

“If you refuse to cooperate, then we shall put the Crystal of Memory to use.” He said as he dug into a pouch behind him.

The Commander took out a beautiful gray crystal that sparkled with the sunlight. And just as he was about to approach Ceylon, his hand was rudely held. Rory blinked only to see Arc stopping the captain, at that moment everyone raised their weapons.

“That is not allowed,” she said coldly. “You got your truths, as for whether your staff is functioning properly or not isn’t my concern, now leave.”

The knight paused. “This is not something you have a choice on.”

“No, you’re not understanding.” She shook her head as a gust of cold wind passed. “You are the one without a choice. Even if I have to fight all of you to the death I will.”

“So you are saying that you will defy us and become a wanted criminal to stick to what you believe in?” The Commander asked coldly.

“Yes.”

* * * * *

Blake didn’t understand what was happening. In fact, the entire sequence of events had been incredibly bizarre. He knew that Arc was a person of strong morals, at first he felt that perhaps it was a bit overkill to give her the Medal of Bravery, but it was part of his repayment to her as well, for saving his life.

However, now meeting her gaze, he knew that if anyone deserved such a Medal it was her. Blake didn’t understand if she had a reason to lie or something to hide, but it was also clear she didn’t wish for her friends to come to harm from her own actions. And that was complicated. Blake didn’t want to kill her, or⁠—

Die at her hands.

His eyes looked at the now missing handcuffs from her wrists, and not too far away he saw the frozen metal on the ground. He didn’t know how or what she had done to break out of the restraints, but one thing was for certain. He had to pick what to do very carefully. After a moment, Blake shook his head.

It wasn’t entirely true that the Medal of Bravery had no use whatsoever, it was a reputation booster, people would acknowledge her wherever she went. And if they fought; if the Medal of Bravery holder died at the hands of the dark knights it would be terrible. However, if they died at her hands and the news didn’t spread, then there would be a lot more instability within the kingdom.

It was a lose lose scenario. The dark knight's involvement in this matter was meant to remain private. The only reason they had gotten involved to begin with was because Blackcrest was the closest city and information about the occurrence was needed fast.

“I’d like permission to interrogate your companions, they are free to refuse.” Blake closed his eyes. “We require more information about this matter, as for whether the staff is working properly or not it remains to be seen. Is this agreeable?”

Arc frowned for a moment, but let go of his hand. “No crystal.”

Blake nodded and put the Crystal of Memory inside of his bag before turning to the other two companions, first was the blonde girl that had been called Ceylon.

“Will you answer my questions truthfully?”

“I don’t want to be interrogated,” she said quietly.

Blake nodded and turned to the red-haired girl, who nodded at him.

“I’ll answer all the questions.”

And with that the interrogation began.

* * * * *

Rory answered as truthfully as she could, and by the end of things the knights left in the direction of Mount Arlais after a long argument. They wanted to arrest Arc but the Commander kept refusing, until finally they were all left alone.

Arc let out a sigh, Ceylon gave her a glare, and Rory was… confused.

“You… told the truth, didn't you?” she asked skeptically. “The staff wasn’t wrong.”

“It was the truth,” Arc said, simply shaking her head. “As for whether something will come out of it, unlikely. The tale is so ridiculous and over the top that it’s hard to believe, there is hardly any proof either.”

Rory nodded. Truthfully she was slightly offended that Arc didn’t wish to share that information with her but did share it with the knights. However, the circumstances were different and what happened was understandable.

“Can you still tell it directly to me?” Rory asked. “Who are you?”

“I cannot, I can tell you I fought the Dragon of Flames, and that the reason the Hermit was afraid is because he is the dragon. As for why he gave me something, it was an apology.” She shook her head. “That’s as much as you know.”

“If you fought the dragon and came out on top…” Rory blinked. “Aren’t you twenty-four?!”

“Yeah.” She nodded.

Her mind processed as fast as it could, before finally she arrived at the only conceivable conclusion Rory could think of. She had traveled the world, she had seen so many things, she had heard of so many stories; her eyes went wide as she spoke up trembling.

“Y-You are… a hero…?” She immediately began to feel weird ⁠— nervous ⁠— her body was shaking. “I-I’ve never met one before, but y-you know I’ve always wanted to meet one…”

And Arc smiled at her but also shook her head. “I’m Arc, not a hero. I’m simply someone that wants to live a comfortable life.”

Rory nodded for a moment, in her mind Arc was a hero, but she couldn’t confirm it. There was hardly any confirmation to anything, and yet, she fervently believed it.

“I’ll treat you as Arc,” she said nervously. “I’ll try at least.”

“Thank you,” Arc nodded before thinking. “Though the request of the dragon…”

Rory paused. “That… given what just happened the request will be canceled, so it’s not like we are going to get payment, or can even complete it for that matter.”

“So it’s failed?” Arc asked, raising her brow.

“Neither,” Rory sighed. “It doesn’t get put on our record, we essentially never took a request to begin with.”

“I see, so our business is done here.” Arc nodded. “So now, we head back to your home Ceylon.”

Ceylon blinked. “That fast? Don’t we have something else to take care of?”

“No, not really.”

Rory blinked. “Does that mean our journey together is kind of over?”

Arc nodded. “It would seem so.”

“W-Wait, take me with you!” Rory scrambled as Arc took Ceylon’s hand.

This time, Arc gave her a playful smile, something that Rory had actually never noticed before.

“Then try to find me, at the noble family of Arlow’s city of residence.”

And with those words, she disappeared as Rory blinked.

Just like that, they had left. A gust of wind passed through the land as Rory stood there, alone. Such a gesture would’ve normally made her upset, but right now, she simply was surprised.

“To find her in the city where the Arlow family is…?” Rory blinked.

It was far away, near the capital, but… she could do it. She could meet Arc again, the most extraordinary and peculiar person she had met. Rory wanted to hear more about her, she wanted to see and be with her, get to know her better.

And in order to do that, she had to head to the city of Rivas, the City of Workshops.

She smiled.

I’ll meet you there then.

* * * * *

Blake wondered if he made a mistake by letting them go, especially now that his men were whispering amongst themselves.

“She told the truth!”

“She did but she must’ve been insane too, no human can fight a dragon.”

“Wasn’t she the most recent recipient of a Medal of Honor?”

He shook his head. He didn’t know if Arc’s truth was the objective truth or a skewed perception of reality and delusions. He highly doubted that she was delusional, however there was no way for him to understand the magnitude of Arc’s claims.

The knights walked through the forest in order to assert what had happened, using Rory’s accounts was rather useful, however…

Blake paused before a clearing of ice, ice that was withstanding the burns all around the forest. It was as if a patch of the forest had become a land of frost. A beautiful sight to behold, but even trying to break a stalagmite proved to be impossible for the knights.

And looking at the ice, Blake couldn’t help but wonder:

Did he really not believe Arc…?

* * * * *

In a single moment, we found ourselves standing inside of the Black Forest. Ceylon trembled for a moment before letting out a deep breath.

“Barely managed to brace myself.” She sighed. “Still, do you think it was a mistake?”

“To say all of that?” I shook my head. “It’s not a logical approach, but I didn’t want to have to resort to violence unless it was my last choice.”

“So now, we are going to my home, to deal with the ongoing family situation…” Ceylon whispered. “How will I even introduce you to my parents?”

“Just say the Hermit referred to me or something.” I shook my head before smiling at Ceylon. “Don’t worry about that, whether your parents accept me or not as their new savior, I shall help your family, okay?”

Ceylon nodded with a small pause. “And to think you don’t like being called a hero…”

“Well enough of that, we have to cross the black forest over again, right?” I asked with a small smile before tilting my head. “Though it is confusing where the Black Forest is… in terms of the structure of towns and the kingdom itself it makes no sense…”

“I’ll draw a map later, the circumstances are… strange.” Ceylon nodded.

“Alright,” I extended my hand towards Ceylon and as soon as she held it, I smiled. “Let’s go then, [God Step].”

And just like that we vanished from the spot.

* * * * *

Gallus had been hired with the rest of his team, their target was simple, or was supposed to be simple; she was supposed to pass by the Black Forest; the youngest child of the house of Arlow. Except, she hadn’t shown up.

Days passed as their group of Elite Mercenaries camped, and now⁠—

A scream of death resounded as another one of his men was killed. He himself was a B Tier individual, all of his men a Tier below him, and yet they were all powerless to defend themselves against the pack of four monsters.

They were as big as bears, as agile as wolves and as strong as boars; they were a monster that only existed in the Black Forest, claws for limbs, an elongated beak for a serrated teeth-lined maw, and a tail of spikes to cripple prey.

They were the…

[Nightmare of the Forest. Tier: A]

[Nightmare of the Forest. Tier: A]

[Nightmare of the Forest. Tier: A]

…

And now, they were all going to die. They were surrounded, all of his remaining men stood together as Gallus gritted his teeth.

He couldn’t die here⁠—

“Huh what…?” A white person appeared in front of them in confusion. “Thought the monsters would be stronger.” She sighed.

“Arc!” A girl squealed next to her and Gallus blinked.

T-That was their target⁠—

The monsters at that moment pounced.

“Boring.” She raised her arm⁠—

And an explosion of ice blasted everything. Gallus saw it, almost in slow motion, hundreds of ice spikes hit each Nightmare of the Forest, tearing their flesh, their bone, their skin⁠— all in a visceral explosion of white.

Then, just like that there was silence, all of the monsters died in a single second. Gallus blinked, but before he could react three of his men immediately rushed with swords towards the noble girl. Gallus’ eyes went wide.

Don’t⁠—

And another explosion of ice occurred. Gallus watched in horror as his men died in a blink, and then the white haired woman turned with a cold frown, her voice chilly.

“I guess I missed a couple more monsters.”