Arc | Chapter. 120: Ceremony (Part 2) (Patreon)

Chapter. 120: Ceremony (Part 2)

The Hero of Flames rose from his slumber deep within one of the castle rooms. Pain was still very much present in his body, but he knew that he could no longer rest.

“So, in the end, you’ve made your move,” he whispered. “Guess that in the end, our battles are fated.”

Slowly he rose from his bed as he looked into the darkness in the room.

“The Hero of Shadows was vanished, never to be seen again…” He shook his head. “It all started with him, and now it all ends with me. Or so you think.”

He stood with a limp and grinned to himself.

“But I promise you, our battle will be much harder than you ever thought. Arc, the Talented One.”

* * * * *

“Sculpture?” Iris tilted her head. “You mean the ice one?”

“Yes, the ice one.”

“The one in this Grand Hall?” She asked, confused.

“Yeah.” I raised my brow.

And then she grinned. “I’ll make sure to not step near it then⁠, Heroine of Frost you really are—” And she laughed. “Just kidding. Bad joke eh?”

I was frowning at her and she chuckled to herself.

“Sorry, sorry, I guess there is a time and place.”

Ceylon sighed and shook her head in disapproval as she took a seat. Clearly exasperated at the entire thing, and to be honest I was more than ready to fight Iris.

“Do that again and you’ll die at my hands,” I warned. “Won’t be second-guessing your identity again.”

“Aye aye,” she said, not taking things seriously. “Just let a dying woman have a laugh.”

“Dying?” I tilted my head. “What are you ill or something?”

“Of course not.” She scoffed. “If you don’t get it already then I won’t explain it.”

“Well I get it but, you don’t have to do that. In the end, getting him near it doesn’t exactly mean dying along with him.” I shrugged. “So, yeah.”

She shook her head and said nothing as she looked into the Grand Hall. Out there, there was a massive red carpet; above us there were golden chandeliers with piece of glass that refracted the light in beautiful ways, and right down below us there were tables and chairs where different nobles socialized and made connections.

The atmosphere made me feel out of place, all things considered, even if we were in a private room with some chairs, a table and wine for ourselves.

Iris turned and took a seat near Ceylon, but unlike her she immediately grabbed the wine and poured herself a cup before turning to me.

“Would you like some?”

I deliberated for a moment, but in the end I nodded. “Sure.”

I took a seat, next to Ceylon as a glass with wine was offered to me. And then there was silence as we both took sips.

Right now, we were just killing time until the Hero of Spirits showed up to the ceremony, or rather the reception. The results wouldn’t be announced until a few hours passed so in the end, I just sipped quietly hoping for time to pass faster.

All things considered, my hands were tied until then.

I didn’t even like wine…

I smelled the cup and winced.

“Don’t artists like wine?” Iris asked in confusion.

“I guess I don’t.”

I sighed and then we sat there in silence.

◇ ◇ ◇

Minutes soon turned into literal hours as a single bottle turned into two empty ones. Ceylon seemed tense so she didn’t talk, and Iris was just vacantly staring at the ceiling as she drank her life away. The passing of time came to a crawl as I finally decided to get up and leave the room just to refresh my mind.

In the end, the waiting was too much even for me.

However, that wasn’t the only reason I left.

Someone was outside the room.

I closed the door behind me before promptly shaking my head; I wasn’t even surprised.

There was a person leaning on the wall next to the door. A man of red hair, and red eyes. He was taller than me by about a head. And I was relatively familiar with him, just not in a good way.

[Hero of Flames. Tier: SS]

“Do you want to fight now?” I asked.

“Not yet,” he said, turning to me. “How about we negotiate?”

I looked him in the eye, he didn’t even seem worried, and why would he? It’s not as if I was going to fight him right here, at least not without having a way to ensure Ceylon was safe.

“Negotiate how?”

“From what I’ve researched, everything you’ve done so far is in the name of protecting the Arlow family, and of course to protect yourself.” He smiled. “I can offer that.”

“And how can I trust you?”

“I see no reason why play you along, one of the strongest heroes in all of Arlas.” He met my gaze. “My offer is sincere, and my conditions are simply to not meddle with the result of the ceremony.”

I frowned. “You’re already meddling with it.”

“You know what I mean.” He crossed his arms. “Do not interfere with us, and in turn you’ll have everything you want. We won’t force you to join anything; it shall be a cease-fire. We’ll pretend we don’t exist to each other. Not only that but the Arlow family shall remain as Grand Dukes.”

My frown intensified as he extended his hand.

“So what do you say, Arc?”

“What is your name?” I asked.

“Jaye.” He smiled.

I met his gaze, and the temperature seemed to drop but also increase all around us.

“Alright, Jaye, here is the deal. You tried to kill my companion. I do not know if you have any kind of bottom-line, but that was my bottom-line and you crossed it. Perhaps if you never did it, I’d be shaking your hand right now.”

He raised his brow.

“So you mean⁠—”

“I mean to say, go fuck yourself,” I hissed. “If you were the Hero of Spirits coming to negotiate then perhaps I would’ve considered it on the condition that you got cast away.”

He blinked. “You really are an interesting person.” And then smiled. “You’ll regret this; as for your companion? Well we’ll see if you can keep her safe.”

With that he got off the wall and turned, walking away with a slight limp. He was still injured from our battle it seemed.

“Next time if you get to escape you’ll become paraplegic, and the worst case scenario is death.”

“I doubt it will go like last time,” he said without looking back. “Goodbye for now Arc.”

I scowled and he disappeared with a burst of flames. My annoyance now was more than ever. I turned to open the door back to the room, only to see it open on its own. Iris came out as I raised my brow.

“Why are you⁠—”

“The Hero of Spirits has made his appearance,” Iris said, completely sobered up. “Get ready for your plan.”

I blinked and nodded as I walked back into the room.

I didn’t expect for the Hero of Flames to come to negotiate, but it seemed like he had no choice. But now because of his actions, all of his plans would come crumbling down. And it all started with killing the Hero of Spirits.

I looked at the ice sculpture.

The plan was now in motion.

* * * * *

The Hero of Spirits was hosting the reception with his main body, realizing that he fancied no one enough; it’s not as if he was in any more danger than if he was possessing someone. Ultimately, his spirit just had to migrate before the death of the body.

And so, he didn’t worry much.

Of course, he more than well knew that there was a plan in motion to assassinate him, the Hero of Flames had warned him as much. But he certainly gave the frost girl too much credit, at least he felt. Even if she had an SS Tier skill to properly kill him he could still leave before it was done casting.

He was essentially immortal.

And so, he strode with confidence into the Grand Hall as he spoke, his voice amplified. The ceremony would end in an hour.

“Ladies and Gentlemen of Great Families, today we have gathered here to witness history. The selection of a new king of Draliz. One of the greatest countries there is.”

He spoke with confidence as he walked forward, grandly gesturing. All of the nobles present stared at him, giving him their utmost attention. He wore the clothes of a nobleman, and right now he was embodying one.

“Today we shall have a new ruler, one that shall herald a new era of prosperity. One that shall be the friend of heroes and one that will lead Draliz to greater heights.”

At that moment the quiet atmosphere exploded into murmurs.

“Did he say heroes?”

“Heroes? The beings of legend?”

“That is impossible.”

The Hero of Spirits grinned as he gestured to one of the private booths.

“In order to prove it, we have a special guest in the form of the Heroine of Frost.”

At that moment a light from one of the chandeliers lit even more brightly attracting everyone’s attention to where he had signaled. And there, at the railing stood a pale and white woman who had a cold demeanor, and she had a deep frown.

“She may seem angry, but trust me, she’s elated to be here. I’m sure we have those with [Appraisal] in the audience.”

“It says [Frost Mage. Tier: C].”

He paused and the Heroine of Frost simply spoke.

“I don’t care anymore,” she spoke for everyone to hear before turning to the Hero of Spirits. “You’ll die tonight.”

He chuckled.

“Well isn’t she charismatic?”

At that moment numerous members of the audience began to gasp in surprise at her words. The Hero of Spirits chuckled to himself; it didn’t really matter if Arc exposed herself or not. Instead he continued his speech.

“Of course, everyone here is a special guest. The presence of a hero doesn’t change that!”

He grinned.

“Tonight we shall witness history!”

And people cheered even if confused. That was enough for him as the voice enhancing magic wore off. Now, he’d enjoy himself in the reception for sometime before moving the ceremony along.

“Hey!” a familiar voice called out.

The Hero of Spirits paused and turned around only to be hugged by a familiar woman. Iris Orow, the daughter of the Orow family and current head of it.

“Iris.” He blinked. “Why are you here? Didn’t you tell me to go fuck myself last time?”

“Well I changed my mind.” She chuckled, showing her flushed cheeks at him. “I got myself a bit lost in drinks and well… I couldn’t stop thinking of you.”

The Hero of Spirits blinked.

She was drunk, but also…

Iris was a beautiful woman…

“Well, I suppose forgiveness is in order if you’re willing to work for it.” He smiled.

“Of course I am.” She grinned. “There is nothing more I want than a man who is as strong and as dependable as you, O’ grand hero.”

Her sultry words stroked his ego like no other. The Hero of Spirits was slightly skeptical of the entire situation, but… so long as he remained alert there was no problem. And so, he grinned.

“Well isn’t that just amazing?”

She smiled and finally separated herself grabbing him by the hand. “Then let’s go for a dance?”

The Hero of Spirits nodded and followed along.

Soon they held hands and headed towards the center of the room. Where it was most devoid of people. The dance started slowly with methodical steps. A simple one two that the Hero of Spirits indulged in, feeling the butt of the woman.

And it continued, slowly growing faster and the lights of the room shifted to them.

The dance became quicker as the tempo increased, little spins were added and they quickly became the center of attention as the floor cleared. He didn’t remember how long it had passed since he danced, but the Hero of Spirits enjoyed all of it.

It quickened as everyone stared at them, and finally with one last twirl they finished. Iris was clearly sweating, but she smiled wildly.

“As expected of you,” she chirped with a rather hungry gaze. “You should head out and I’ll follow right after you.”

The Hero of Spirits smiled.

Everyone was staring at them, it’s not as if they could do something indecent of all the people. The ice sculpture that had once been the center of attention was now nothing more than a backdrop. He had a slightly bad feeling about it, especially given the Heroine of Frost’s gaze, but he just had to avoid it, it was about two meters away from him and he wasn’t going to go any closer.

He waved at the people and⁠— he was tackled.

“I really can’t have enough of you!” Iris exclaimed as he lost his balance as he was launched towards the sculpture.

His eyes widened as he looked at Iris who⁠ was grinning at him. Then his eyes shifted to the Heroine of Frost who showed surprise before raising her arm.

So it’s a trap…

A shame⁠—

“[Die].” A chilly voice echoed.

The sculpture fractured and a moment later time stopped as the Hero of Spirits froze in his place. He saw the crevices of the ice shining as they threatened to completely burst apart, and as he tried to move his spirit he realized.

He was already in an SS Tier skill…

And the sculpture shattered as dozens of cold lightning strikes and explosive spears engulfed the Grand Hall.