Chapter 535 - 481: The Shogun (1) (1/2)

Their brief stay at the Free Space, which was more of a training and a lecture than relaxation, ended when the two couple left the peaceful forest and went back to the Frozen Keep.

”The humans actually want to reach an inaccessible place beyond the keep. It's actually an old monument that was used to hold my soul. My presence here is what's keeping Riarravar intact and they plan to destroy it and force a way out of here. Of course, if this world starts breaking, there is no way every one of them would survive, however, from their perspective, it's better than staying him for all eternity.”

Timos explaining the humans' goal, not hiding from the couple the consequences of freeing the soul.

”Wouldn't you want to be set free?”

Seeing that Timos wasn't that optimistic about being freed, Arthur curiously asked. From how he behaved, it was apparent that the Black Devil was bored of this place and wished to leave.

”I do want to be set free but there are other ways. When 'God' and Quhea sealed me here, they made sure that my freedom comes at the cost of Riarravar so they tightly bound my soul and kept me here. As a human who transcended immortality, the man who calls himself the Shogun is almost as old as I am but he had reached his limits thousands of years ago or else he would have done the task all by himself. Be careful and don't be deceived… that's all I have to say.”

Before leaving, Arthur was guided to an underground room that was awfully eerie and deadly. The silent winds ripped his clothes and even cut off his arm, only when Makaze was shown did the wind blades stop attacking him but they still smashed into the unbreakable walls. The moment it came out of the storage, the Dark Blade released a deafening cry then flew out of Arthur's hand and stopped at the only illuminated area of the room.

It was a small circular altar with Evil Wind at the center, its sharp tip stabbing the cold ground while the rest of it heavily shook, from excitement and forgotten grief.

…

The way back to the keep didn't long as they weren't bothered by any ambushers. Arthur, wearing Zodiak's ominous black robe which covered him from head to toe, stood next to Lucy, who, surprisingly, wore white light armor. Timos told her that rather than plain clothes, an armor would suit her better then he motioned for her to take out one of the armors in her storage and throw it in the crystalline liquid.

The piece of equipment didn't change much in terms of appearance but Lucy could feel that it contained a small percentage of Primordial Energy which can protect her in dire situations.

The couple stood before the long bridge for a couple of seconds before the guards from last time appeared, however, this time they didn't bother with greetings as they nervously raised their weapons and readying themselves for a battle.

There was no need for Arthur and Lucy to come back after being chased out, so the only reason the guards could come up is that this weird duo wanted to cause trouble and harvest lives.

Arthur paid no attention to these samurai-like patrols and, instead, gazed at the woman at the back, whose face remained expressionless.

”We want to talk with the Shogun.”

The woman was uninterested as she shrugged her shoulders and was about to talk only for the robbed Arthur to suddenly vanish. She felt chills down her spines as she tried to retreat only for a dark shadow to appear inches away from her.

She attempted to kick him but alas, he vanished again, his body being replaced by a formless darkness which assaulted. Though the woman was faster than the creeping darkness, she still wasn't able to outrun Arthur, who teleported behind her and reached his hand to her neck, easily grasping it.

The strong woman was about to counter-attack but her body didn't obey her. Her limbs refused to move and a painful snake-like energy invaded her body and caused her to momentarily shake.

Arthur didn't hold her for long as he soon released his grasp and coldly said: ”Take us to the shogun.”

The woman, blood coming out of her lips, glared at Arthur but didn't dare attack or retort. She could feel strange lightning tightly wrapping around her heart and despite her desperate tries, the lightning would not budge.

Lightning-users were rare and the man seemed to be some sort of a mage. She was more like a warrior so she wasn't adept at manipulating therefore she ended up falling victim to the parasite's Natural Lightning. Once Arthur planted enough Natural Lightning into someone, their lives would be in his hands. Even if they tried to forcefully push it out of their bodies, it'll automatically detonate, ripping their insides and ending their lives.

The guards at the back were shocked when they saw the woman captured so easily. They were about to interfere only to hear ear-splitting gunshots coming from behind them. Before they could react, the bullets hit the back of their head and made them fall unconscious.

As Arthur didn't come here to massacre but to talk with the Shogun, he found it unnecessary and troublesome to kill the guards hence Lucy's 'benevolent' actions.

Although she wasn't chained, the woman still felt like a hostage as she led the couple to Frozen Keep. She didn't know what they wanted but felt a bit relieved when she saw Lucy knock the patrols instead of killing them.