Chapter 467 - 417 : Brawl (1/2)
”The thing is, with the sudden change that occurred in Riarravar, the map suffered a drastic change which made us disoriented and lost in that wasteland.”
The Joker continued recounting the story while letting out a sigh. He lifted his head gazed back at the silver-haired woman before him while raising four fingers
”Four years, that's how long it took us to locate the origin of the problem. After one year of continuously fighting the Cthulhu day and night, we started stumbled upon those dark-skinned creatures that slightly resembled Dark Elves. Not only were they more powerful, they heavily relied on teamwork and showed more intelligence than their idiotic and barbaric allies.”
Curious, Lucy asked:
”Were you alone for the whole four years?”
”That's the tragic thing about this… we never, ever managed to save one person. We always arrived too late and by the time we killed the enemies, the survivors had been brutally tortured.”
***
Three visibly tired figures sat around a small campfire, each biting some roasted meat, however, it wasn't any meat but human meat! Anyone would probably say that cannibalism is immortal but these three didn't care, not after all that happened. In this world, where anyone around them has become an enemy and all the animals were killed by the still active fire, they had to resort to such means to survive.
For some, especially ancient beings, four years is a small amount of time which would pass in the blink of an eye but for Arthur and the other two, it seemed to be an eternity. The fighting never stopped and the battles grew crueler and harder for them, who suffered a heavy toll on their mental state.
Despite their indisputable prowess, they were still mortals, capable of feeling hunger and fatigue so it's without a doubt that they suffered a few injuries along this hazardous journey.
Bored and with nothing to do in their precious free time, the three, who grew much closer to each other after four years, talked about their past achievements and boasted to each other.
The Joker showed a card to the other two while speaking:
”I killed this beauty a long time ago and it's definitely one of the hardest fights I ever had.”
The card showed a picture of a nine-headed hydra, its size was enormous and each head emitted a different aura.
”Took me six days to kill this beauty.”
After staring at the hydra for a while, Leiu spoke:
”I killed a 11,000 years old Black Dragon.”
”Oh? A Black Dragon? I heard it's the strongest Race of dragons…”
Interested, the Joker listened to Leiu, who briefly talked about that fight. Although he tried to hide, the youth was proud of his feat. Arthur was the last to talk, he cleared his throat and said:
”I fought the four Divine Beasts.”
The Joker and Leiu were very shocked, they stared at Arthur with disbelief.
”Well… they were only copies.”
”Still, I heard they're quite hard to deal with together.”
The three continued chatting for an hour or so before being forced to fight yet again when dozens of silhouettes starting stealthily making their way toward them, clearly wanting to ambush them.
****
A couple of months later, in a familiar town, the three were inside were sitting around an unscathed table in the middle of a desert road. This was White Raven Town, a checkpoint for them and their presence here indicated that they were closer to their destination.
By sheer luck, Arthur found some ale in possession of one of the 'Dark Elves', it was a real delicacy for the three, who only ate human meat for the past two to three years. Water was provided by The Joker's Magic as none existed due to the red flames.
”This calls for a celebration!”
Arthur grinned while putting the ale on the table, making the two others excited. It was just one bottle but it was enough to quench their thirst for alcohol.
”I believe we'll reach the underground city in no time… It's the perfect time to celebrate an early victory.”
The three couldn't wait to leave this godforsaken place but that doesn't mean that all the time they spent here was for nothing. Their friendship grew with time and they became an unstoppable force. Their teamwork reached perfection and despite their tragic pasts, they learned how to trust each other with their lives.
It didn't a day or two but years for them to reach this result, where they fight with their lives on the line and know that their comrades will protect their blindsides.
A lunatic, a reserved and silent youth, and someone with severe trust problems managed to achieve something many others wouldn't. They survived this hellish place despite the odds and even mastered quite a few unique techniques from each other.
Three transparent cups appeared in front of each of the three. Arthur filled them up and took a deep breath before reaching his hand to the cup, about to gulp it in one go only for the Joker to stop him.
”Wait!”
Both Leiu and Arthur stopped and stared at the man with confusion.
”It's almost the end so If you allow me, I would like to re-introduce myself.”
He got up from his seat and softly bowed, his face containing a serious expression. The atmosphere around him was clearly different from the usual.
”My real name is Wolfram Sakamoto.”