Arc | Chapter. 32: Saviorship (Patreon)

Chapter. 32: Saviorship

On our way home, all the way to going to sleep, Ceylon had been behaving a bit weirdly. Which made me question whether it had been… weird to sculpt her. I mean, I wasn’t exactly thinking about it, but in retrospect it was something that I should’ve asked for permission first.

And so, when I rose from bed in the guest room I had been given, I immediately headed to look for Ceylon, I had to at the very least apologize. My quiet steps hardly echoed in the room as I reached for the door, and when I opened it, I paused.

Ceylon’s eyes went wide for a moment in surprise.

“Hi… this is awkward now.” She fidgeted. “Sorry about being all weird yesterday, I just didn’t think…”

“You didn’t think…?” I asked, completely confused.

“Well, I didn’t think you’d be so amazing at sculpting, and I felt suddenly awkward about my perception of you before. I thought you were only interested in fighting and food at most…”

I blinked. “Oh, right.”

Ceylon fidgetted. “So, um, I think you were really amazing back there, just wanted to say that…”

I looked at my awkward friend for a few moments before smiling.

“So you don’t mind that it was a sculpture of you?”

“What?” She looked at me in surprise. “Of course not! It’s flattering!”

A chuckle left me seeing her reaction. “I’m glad to hear that.”

Ceylon seemed taken aback from my reaction, as she raised her brow. “Are you not upset at me?”

“No.” I shook my head. “Don’t worry about it, Ceylon.” Then I tilted my head. “Though aside from art, I’m probably not impressive in any other way.”

“That’s not true, even your body temperature is impressive,” Ceylon retorted.

“I didn’t mean it like that,” I smiled awkwardly. “Just general things such as knowledge, literature, music, socializing, etcetera. In every aspect outside of strength, I am not impressive.”

Ceylon paused for a moment, digesting what I just said, and then slowly shook her head.

“Maybe so, but overall you’re a very impressive person. And in terms of knowledge; well anything from your world is probably unique to you in Arlas, so that is considered also very impressive.” She smiled. “Just take the compliment.”

“Thank you, I’ll take it then.”

Her sincerity caught me off guard but still made me smile.

“Let’s go then?”

Ceylon nodded, and made way for both of us to walk down the stairs. First we had breakfast but her family wasn’t around, nor her mother nor her father. Which I found a bit odd, but it was explained to me that her mother also had to attend a business meeting.

Apparently Arlow had halted and even broken a lot of their contracts, so they were trying to mend things. Of course, due to it their reputation was stained even if slightly; meaning that Ceylon’s parents were just going to be busy restoring the family to their former glory.

At least, that’s what I sort of understood, so in the end, it was Ceylon and I once more.

I didn’t mind it all things considered, and I had a great time yesterday so I was open to doing whatever Ceylon wanted to do; given that I was mostly in a passive situation where I was just waiting for attacks to happen.

And so, with nothing to do, we headed outside to explore Rivas, however, this time it wasn’t for the workshops but to simply look around. Perhaps down the line ⁠— if the status quo continued ⁠— I would take some requests from the adventurer guild and take Ceylon along to complete them.

But for now, it was just time to relax.

“So how long do you think your family will take to restore their businesses?”

“I think, we won't ever really get to the previous height.” Ceylon sighed. “Breaking contracts is considered a taboo after all, that’s why things had been arranged with the Grand Duke in such a way, and that’s why he didn’t ambush my father or anything,” she said dispirited.

I blinked. “Oh… that… that kinda sucks.”

I said as we rounded an empty street, in comparison to the bustling main one this one was desolate. But neither of us minded it as the conversation continued.

“Well, not everything is bad,” Ceylon said, trying to cheer herself up. “We are still nobles, and if we start a new booming business people will want to partner with us regardless of our now spotty reputation. Now we just need to…” She sighed again. “Start one…”

“Right, I hope it’s not too hard.”

“My family should be fine, especially if my brother receives proper lessons on business.” She nodded. “If I stay around I’ll help out, if not well, I might still help out occasionally.”

I took in Ceylon’s words, and after a few moments of deliberation I finally spoke.

“If you need any further help, just let me know.”

“I’ll… consider it,” Ceylon awkwardly said after a pause. “You give me a lot of help already.”

“Well, I don’t mind helping more,” I smiled.

She shook her head. “Yeah but that would be exploitati⁠—”

And at that moment, a small shrill cry came from nearby, followed by a more painful yelp. Ceylon tensed and I blinked for a moment, it wasn’t really my duty to do anything but…

“Arc, can we…?” Ceylon asked.

I nodded and in a single moment, I used [God Step] in the direction my senses told me. In just a blink I found myself in a dirtied and completely shadowed alley, behind me laid a fainted girl and all around me there were what seemed to be weak armed bandits; daggers and swords.

* * * * *

Yosef was sure this wasn’t a foolproof plan, but it was the best they had come up with yet. With the help of someone, they’d be able to lure the noble lady of the house of Arlow and then kill her. Or at the very least, lure a bystander and take their money. Nonetheless, that was the plan, instead the lady appeared with a bodyguard in the middle of everyone.

“Who are you?!”

Baldus, the leader, entered a panic, and tried to go for a quick kill on the bodyguard. Everyone acted, and Yosef pointed at the blonde girl.

“That’s the target!”

In an instant, everyone rushed and the guard⁠— punched. Baldus flew like a doll and hit the wall like a sack, brick shattered as a cloud of dust rose. Yosef’s eyes went wide, how had she even done that…? His mind processed, but his companions remained faithful to their plan and commanded.

“Kill her!”

Snapping from his stupor, Yosef rushed, slightly slower than his two companions. But that’s all they had to do, a C Tier guard stood no chance. First, Lain pounced swinging down his sword in a crescent arc, it was the [Grave-digger] skill⁠— the girl ducked, and before the sword reached her, she punched once more.

Yosef heard a horrid crack as his last companion took the opportunity to swing with a dagger, swiping horizontally, and the bodyguard⁠— lightly stepped to the side, bringing her elbow down in just a moment as he broke the Jim’s arm. Yosef gritted his teeth as he saw his companion being shoved into the pavement, her back was wide open, and he was going to take it.

Gritting his teeth, his muscles tensed as he chanted skills in his mind.

[Death Slash], [Haunting Sharpness], [Head Splitter]—!

And then, he swung with all his might. It was a clean hit and he knew it. He prepared for the festival of gore as the sword collided and⁠— exploded into hundreds of misty tiny fragments. Yosef hardly felt any recoil from the hit, which meant…

This wasn’t an ordinary guard. His eyes went wide as he realized that the ground was freezing around her. Suddenly the white-haired woman’s presence was overwhelming as Yosef slowly backed up, trembling.

“M-Monster…”

“That is correct.” She turned, nodding, raising her fist towards him. “I am a monster.”

Yosef gulped, and then she punched, knocking him out in a single hit.

* * * * *

In just a single moment all four bandits were dealt with, Ceylon blinked as I shook my head. The whole killing everyone that attacked me was getting a bit… too much even for me.

I had the ability to hold back, so I at least had to, and more than anything else…

The girl gasped, looking around in a panic, she saw the fallen bandits and hastily stood up; without words, or without looking at us, she ran away.

The girl we saved wasn’t even injured.

At that moment, I saw a familiar someone hurriedly enter the alley; red hair, green eyes, and a somewhat pale complexion. It was Rory and she⁠ was in a panic, that was until she met my eyes and paused for a moment before hurriedly speaking up.

“Arc, you have to leave the city! Jake the Weapon Master, the S Tier adventurer plans to kill you⁠—”

And something cracked in my mind. The air froze for a moment, as I hurriedly grabbed Ceylon’s hand and used [God Step].

Thomas, Ceylon’s father was in trouble⁠!

* * * * *

Thomas Arlow, he was the 10th Patriarch of the Arlow family and the one that had taken the barely noble family to its highest success and best era, however he had also almost ruined the family a few days ago, and now he believed that this was his retribution.

One that could only be paid by death⁠—

He gasped crouching in a rush; at that moment a flaming pillar fell atop of him, getting stuck with a railing as ash and burning flakes fell upon him. Thomas sprinted, ran for his life as the fabric burned, the personnel was actively dying in his ears, his lungs tasted of blood and his legs threatened to give out.

But he still ran as the fires proliferated, consuming the grandiose factory whole. It was Arlow’s property but it didn’t seem to matter as the machinery fueled the ongoing fires, their sticky ichor that had been once the lifeblood of the family’s wealth was now the very thing that hastened his demise.

And Thomas knew, it was time for him to attune, but even then, he ran.

He ran for his daughter, for his wife, for his child. Every single Arlow remaining was a great part of his heart, that’s why he rushed through the stairs that were on the verge of breaking down. The exit was closed, collapsed due to the flames, and now the only way out was the roof. That’s why he pushed⁠—

The step broke, wood splintered as Thomas’ leg was injured at that moment and he nearly fell. But the scorching heat, told him to just push⁠— He rose his other leg, using the other step to raise himself, and with the help of the blistering metal railing he recovered himself.

Adrenaline pumped through him as he limped through each and every step, and he could see it. The overseeing office was closed, but there was a fire exit there. Resolving himself, he made one final push and reached the door in no time.

Thomas opened it and what met him was…

“Huh⁠—”

He was grabbed by the neck and thrown into the room. Thomas tumbled as the well built middle aged man looked down on him; golden eyes, black combed back hair and dozens of weapons in his back. Thomas for a moment didn’t recognize him, but then it clicked.

It was Jake, one of the most prominent S Tier adventurers, and he was here for his head⁠—

Jake immediately stepped towards him, a single step taking him across the room and in a flash, he grabbed Thomas by the neck.

“Where is she? The Medal of Honor holder, Arc?”

Thomas’ mind spun, he didn’t even know what was going on. His whole body hurt, he felt like he was on the verge of death from asphyxiation alone and now, his vision was blurring. Yet he knew, he knew he couldn’t sell his daughter’s friend, his savior, and the person that decided to shoulder all of Arlow’s burden.

He couldn’t!

Thomas looked at Jake and spoke through gritted teeth.

“Fuck you.”

“Fine.”

And Thomas was flung, he was sent across the office breaking through a table as he came to a rolling stop.

He… couldn’t die here…

He reached for his pocket, remembering how much Ceylon had emphasized to break the crystal Arc gave him. But when he looked up he saw Jake grabbing a staff sword, one that was shining in a chilling blue light. The S Tier adventurer’s muscles bulged as the air began to show color. Mana became visible as Jake’s eyes narrowed.

“If you don’t want to tell, then I shall just kill you.”

Thomas shivered as he gripped upon the crystal, and shattered it with his feeble strength. Then Jake swung⁠—

A chilly gust of wind passed through the room with a small shrill noise. Thomas’ eyes went wide as he saw Arc, holding the blade of the sword with one hand.

Ceylon tended to him, as the room’s floor began to freeze, and finally the white haired woman spoke with a chilly voice.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

-

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