At the same moment, Grant felt as if he had been punched with the weight of an elephant and he reeled forward. At the same time, his blade shattered into a million pieces, leaving nothing but the handle that he was still holding onto.
Without even looking back, Silas appeared standing above Archie.
Leaning down, Silas grabbed Archie by the neck and dangled him off the edge of the platform.
“You know, it would be a real shame if my hand were to slip in this position.” Silas dropped the act and looked Archie dead in the eyes.
When Archie looked back at Silas, all he could feel was a certain amount of dread as Silas’ emerald green eyes felt like he was looking down an infinite abyss.
“You won’t drop me.” Archie smiled.
“Are you willing to take that chance? A drop from this height would almost undoubtedly turn you into a past on the sidewalk. And now that you don’t have toki on your side, I’d say that the chances of you dying had significantly increased.” Silas chuckled.
“Oh? But I know you won’t drop me.” Archie raised a hand as if it was signaling the people behind Silas to stop moving and not do anything.
“You know I can sense them, right?” Silas raised a brow.
“That’s why I told them to stop. You see, I would rather not die due to something as stupid as their interruption.” Archie shrugged.
Despite Silas holding him up by the throat, he was still able to speak. His voice was a little croaky, but it was still audible.
“I know you won’t drop me because you need me.”
“I can do everything you do. Well, I think I can do some of the things you do better.” Silas argued.
“But you don’t nearly have the same amount of information as me.”
“That can be fixed.”
“Nor do you have the same amount of knowledge.”
“Stop repeating yourself.”
“Or connections-“
“The rest of the generals are good for that.”
“Oh really?” Archie raised a brow and gestured for the generals.
Looking around, Silas looked into their eyes. There was a certain type of conviction in all their eyes that made him raise a brow.
“Are they going to defend you if you kill me?” Archie asked.
“…”
“Will you be able to replace all of them? I doubt you’ll find anyone like Eclipse here.”
“…”
“Then how about you put me down.”
“You lied about my family.” Silas’ grip around Archie’s neck suddenly tightened.
“Every time I asked you how they were doing, you told me that they were fine.” Silas’ teeth began to clatter against one another.
“I needed to lie to you to keep you on our side. For all I knew, you’d go out there and kill yourself by trying to attack the Skylarks without any preparation!” Archie tried to argue, yet his voice was becoming fainter by the second.
“Let go of him, Silas!” Death shouted as his blade was slowly being coated by black energy that flickered every few seconds.
It was deeper… It shook everything around it to the subatomic level.
Every time he spoke, they could feel it in their chests, as if his voice was sending powerful waves in all directions.
It sounded like he was right next to their ear, which only made it more terrifying than it should have been.
“Silas! I’m not your enemy! I’m not the one who took your family! I understand you’re angry, but my responsibilities come first. And my responsibility was to make sure that this city was running well. That’s why I chose you to become Judgement, not the disgusting reminder of failure that is standing behind you!” Archie shouted, his voice still croaky.
“…”
“Just let me down and we will talk about this-” Before he could finish what he was saying Silas threw him to the side, slamming him against the platform’s surface.
In that same moment, Life suddenly shot toward Archie to heal him, while Eclipse pointed his daggers at Silas before walking between him and Archie to protect him.
“You’re right…” Silas chuckled while turning his head toward a certain direction where several officers in white, red, and black armor stood. They all had emblems on their shoulders that pulse with mana every few seconds.
“You’re not the enemy.”
They all looked at Silas with worried expression. Not only was he now stronger than half of them, but it also felt like he had become a lot more unpredictable.
“They are…” Silas muttered before jumping from the platform and plummeting toward the city where he gracefully landed and disappeared into the shadows.
***
In a neighborhood out of the city’s sight, Silas could be seen walking through an alleyway as his eyes searched the entire place.
They were burning with a bright emerald light, and from his perspective, everything around him looked like a grid patter right now.
He could see through walls and could feel and see the life forced on everyone around him.
However, eventually, his eyes landed on a certain individual whose life force burned differently from the others.
The person in question was quite strong, and the toki around them was quite dense despite their bodies and souls not having fully formed yet.
They were a child no older than 10.
*Knock Knock*
The sound of knocking echoed throughout the alleyway.
Many of the children there looked at him weirdly, while some adults glanced at him before walking away.
A low click sounded from the door, and when it opened, a pink-haired girl with a pair of dead eyes was in view.
“Hello, Nymira.” Silas smiled.
——————
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