"He's not regenerating," Arthur muttered and jumped to avoid the giant wolf's claw. "Is it because he was frozen?" He couldn't think of any other explanation. "Dia!"
"Get frozen!" Dia soared behind Arthur and clapped her hands. An Ice Domain began to freeze the surrounding. Traitor's moves became more sluggish, and Arthur found his opening.
"Now!" Arthur bolted forward as he used his release rune to burn half of his mana. After he restructured his soul, his mana increased by a large margin.
The power held within his ethereal fist was nothing that his right arm can wield. Arthur realized this was the reason for the increase in his strength. The semi-physical arm wouldn't get hurt even if he channeled all the power from the Release Rune, unlike his previous left arm.
Arthur couldn't raise his fist suddenly because it was impossible to wield this amount of power with his stats. The only reason that he could summon this power was the spiritual arm that he created.
"Rise!" Arthur gritted his teeth. He held his semi-ethereal arm with his right hand and raised it toward the sky.
A gush of power exploded toward the sky like a canon and dispersed the clouds rooming over Shades City. The blood moon's light covered every canny of the city, turning it into a red hell.
"Seika!" Gala shouted in a worried tone that made Arthur's heart feel warm. He gritted his teeth as the golden color condensed toward his arm.
"You are mine," Arthur said to the power within his ethereal arm. "And you shall obey." He retracted his hand and prepared to punch the giant wolf. Feeling his imminent death, Traitor turned around to flee the scene.
"Freeze!" Dia threw her hands up, and an ice wall surrounded the ice domain. The wolf had nowhere to run and decided to jump up the wall, no matter how high it was.
"You just made things easier for me." Arthur gave a crazed grin as he punched toward the running wolf.
The power that he burned half of his mana to use combined with the energy in the ethereal arm to create the most destructive attack Arthur can make.
The punch destroyed everything its path, creating a deep trench beneath it as the power traveled toward the wolf. The ice broke apart, and the attack obliterated everything behind it.
Like thunderclaps, his attack exploded and reached the giant wolf, which howled toward the sky for more power. Traitor clapped his hand as a large amount of blood left his body and created a barrier.
Arthur felt a powerful recoil from his attack as if he had just struck space itself. His feet left the ground as he was sent flying by his attack's recoil.
He crashed into a building and broke through the walls until he ended up crashing into one of the rooms in it and stopping. Luckily, he managed to create a barrier in time that protected him until his momentum decreased.
"Seika!" Gala appeared in the hole that he left in the walls and rushed to aid him. Arthur stood up on his own before she could lift him and dusted himself.
"That attack was satisfying." Arthur smiled childishly. "I hope it was enough to kill that bastard." He walked past Gala as she looked at him with shock.
"That's not the problem anymore." Gala ran after him to catch up. Arthur was confused by her words but kept walking toward the hole to see what happened.
"Hm?" Arthur blinked. "Did I fly in another direction?" Arthur frowned and turned around. Gala shook her head as she stood beside him.
"That's what your attack did." She pointed at the clearing in front of them. "That wolfman is dead; even a vampire wouldn't survive. The only problem is..."
"The buildings are gone," Arthur muttered in a dazed manner. "Maybe I went a little too far." Arthur peeked from the hole and saw the buildings beside his attack's trajectory. The aftermath of his attack ruined half of them.
"A little?" Gala was speechless. "I admit the wolf wouldn't have died without that much power, but you just.... destroyed quarter of the city."
"Is that the consequences of my actions?" Arthur blinked twice. "Were there any victims?"
"Not that we know of. We evacuated everyone to an underground shelter." Gala explained.
"Good, we need to act fast." Arthur nodded. Gala looked at him, waiting for his orders. "Now it's time we find out the truth." He spoke.
"What are you talking about?" Gala was confused.
"Hehe, that monster isn't dead." Arthur grinned and jumped from the building. "It's just hiding inside of that giant body."
He glided toward the center of the destruction he caused, toward the half missing body of the wolf. It seems he managed to dodge in time, but he was too late.
Arthur walked toward the monster's body as his arm turned monstrous. He pierced the heart of the beast and pulled out a red crystal, which was the core of the wolfman.
"That is a blood crystal." Gala arrived beside him, and so did Dia. The two looked on with apprehension toward the crystal. "In ancient records, it is said that Kar creates these crystals in his servants, allowing them to regenerate using his power."
"Yo, mutt," Arthur said to the crystal. "I know you have no strength left to resist, so how about we make a deal?"
No response came, so Arthur raised his spiritual arm and turned it into a hammer. He was about to break the crystal when Traitor's panicked voice arrived.
"W-what kind of deal?" He answered with an urgency that begged Arthur to stop.
"Tell me the name of the Traitor in the royal court. I know you're just a servant, not the mastermind behind this."
"I can't speak of such things. I would never do that. Wait!" Traitor seemed to refuse until Arthur raised his hammer again. "I'll tell you, but you need to promise to let me go."
"I swear by the nine gods that I'll let you go," Arthur said seriously. "It's not you that I'm after, so fear not." He said with a nod.
"It's the previous King's son, Avadil." Traitor's voice was silent before he said a name. Arthur nodded, and his eyes shone a golden hue.
"How about you answer my question again? Truthfully this time." Arthur used the Art of Creation, Submission.
He didn't use it before because Traitor was too strong for his art to work. It wasn't an omnipotent power but rather a restricted one. It made things easier, but they didn't make him.
"I..." Traitor's voice was shaking. "It's the Knight of Nobility."
"What about the previous King's son?"
"He has his plans, but I don't know anything. Please, let me go." Traitor pleaded as several figures arrived at the destroyed public square.
"No," Arthur grinned. "You lied." He used his Absorb rune on the red crystal in his hand.
"No, please! No! Agh! AHHHH!" A scream of pure agony died down as the red color of the crystal faded. Arthur looked at the empty dark crystal and threw it into his subspace as he stood up.
[A memory crystal has been absorbed. You can now see the memories anytime.]
[A blood energy has been absorbed. A partial rune lies within it. (1/10)]
Arthur looked at the notifications as the duke arrived at the scene along with his guards and Rinzo. Accompanying them was the Knight of Honesty, who looked at the destruction with a rageful expression.
"What have you done?" The Knight spat with unhidden rage. Arthur looked at him quietly, wondering what this idiot was blathering.
"Are you stupid?" Arthur said as Dia and Gala stood on each side of his. "I killed the monster that killed countless citizens."
"At what cost?!" The Knight roared and pointed with his sword toward the destroyed city. "Do you know how many people have lost their homes because of you?"
"Do you know how many lives would have been lost if not for me?" Arthur laughed as if he couldn't believe this Knight was blaming him. "I chose the better outcome."
"No," The Knight shook his head with a hateful expression. "You chose the lesser evil, but it was still evil. We don't even know if those buildings had people who couldn't make it out."
"We would have known if all of you were here when things went south." Arthur glared at them. "Yet here you are, only useful to blame the person who saved you."
"It doesn't matter what we think, Seika." The duke shook his head and turned toward the citizens who were coming out after the calamity was gone. "For those who lost their homes and jobs today..." He turned toward Arthur. "You are Lorius."
Arthur turned to look at the people who were crying after their loss. He didn't see relief because they didn't die, but there was only loss at the outcome they got to live. There was nothing but a calamity for them today.