Sergi slowly stood up and stared at Arthur with a demonically evil look on his face. He looked outraged in a completely terrifying manner. All sense of humanity was robbed out of him. Even his aura was completely wrecked, moving in such odd manners as if it was constantly in inner turmoil.
Arthur noticed all of those details and it was only making him more and more sure of one thing. That man wasn’t Sergi, at least not fully him.
“And here we have the worst of them all… The monster in human skin. If there is one bastard I want to stab to death, it’s you!”
“I’m truly honored,” Arthur said with a smile. “Now, enough talking. Let’s get this over with.”
*Swish*
Like a flash of lightning, Arthur dashed forward, closing the distance in what felt like a split second. The next moment Sergis saw an ice sword cutting through the air as it flew toward him.
*CLING*
He tried to deflect as quickly as he could but the hit was so powerful that Sergi was thrown back a few steps. But, Arthur didn’t let him catch his breath as he activated Frostborn and slashed horizontally.
“AGH!!!” The hit slammed Sergi into the ground with a loud thud. He screeched from the intense pain as he felt the cold ice assault his skin. It felt as if someone was peeling his skin very slowly and agonizingly. Enjoy new tales from My Virtual Library Empire
Arthur then stepped forward and grabbed Sergi by the collar. “You’re really quite the foolish guy, huh? No intelligence and no logic. Did you really think antagonizing me would help you?”
*SMACK*
Then, Arthur slammed his with a loud slap that sent him spinning a few steps back only to be grabbed again.
“Now you killed one of your comrades and you think you will somehow get away with it? Forget about other people, I’m going to make sure you don’t ever see that settlement ever again in your life.”
*SMACK*
Each slap was akin to a train hitting Sergi’s face immediately making his vision spin around and his brain shake from impact. He tried to resist, but Arthur’s grip on his neck was far too strong. The boy was simply toying with him without much effort.
Falling to the ground, the man coughed and spat out blood mixed with broken teeth as he struggled against the concussion.
‘He’s strong!’ He cursed inwardly as he looked up like a rabid animal filled with hatred. “You aren’t going to live!!!”
Then, he sprung up and rushed forward to tackle Arthur down. He howled at the top of his lungs, trying to gather all the power in his body into that desperate charge. However, the boy didn’t even move from his place as he kicked Sergi down again in a split moment.
The man heard his ribs crack as all the air was knocked out of his lungs in one fell sweep.
“Hah… Hah…” He gasped for air with wide eyes. He couldn’t breathe for a good few seconds as he fought the urge to vomit. Then, he felt a leg step on his back, pushing him down.
“Hell is waiting for you, bastard. Better hurry there.” Arthur said coldly as he grabbed the sword with both hands and aimed it at Sergi’s heart. “Any last words?”
“You…” Shaking visibly, Sergi spoke to Arthur with a cold glare. “I will-“
“Ok, time’s over, bye.”
*Swish*
Arthur cut him off as he quickly plunged the sword into the man’s heart. Blood exploded from the other side as the man’s eyes widened for a moment and then quickly lost all their light and he stopped moving.
His aura slowly disappeared a few seconds after that, confirming that Sergi was indeed dead. When Arthur noticed that, he finally exhaled a small breath as he got off the man and looked up.
‘Well, that was quicker than I expected. He really didn’t put up much of a fight. I guess I’m that much stronger now.’ Arthur mused as he looked at his own hand. So far, Arthur was experiencing a whole new level of power that he could never even imagine.
His body felt so light and quick yet also each blow he delivers was heavy and crushing. He had never felt better than now. As far as power goes, he was a completely different monster at that moment, something that could truly be described as a terrifying force of nature.
“Sergi…”
At that moment, Arthur heard a small whisper that made him look up. That was when he saw Deka approaching him slowly with a pale look on her face. She passed him and crouched near Sergi as she extended her hand to touch his neck. Her expression was blank but Arthur could see the desperation and sadness in her eyes.
For a second, the boy felt a small tinge of pain in his heart. After all, he had caused the death of one of Deka’s closest friends. However, he didn’t feel any guilt for doing that. The man was a threat and could’ve murdered everyone else had Arthur not intervened.
Even if he goes back in time, he would still do the same thing all over again. But, even then, he still felt truly sad for Deka. If there was anyone who understood what it felt like to lose a loved one, it was Arthur.
“I’m sorry…” He said in a calm yet sincere tone. “I had no other choice.”
Deka sat there in silence, not saying anything for a good minute before she finally turned to Arthur.
“It is what it is…” She muttered in a lifeless tone. A look of deep exhaustion and sadness filled her eyes. “I don’t blame you… He had brought it upon himself.”
“Mmm…” Arthur nodded his head. “Something was definitely wrong with how he behaved. It didn’t feel normal at all.”
Arthur had a good ability to differentiate between humans and other, bestial creatures. When he faced Sergi, he couldn’t feel that human aspect from him as well as he would expect it to be. Instead, all he could see was a monstrous beast with some humanity still left in him.
‘What could’ve happened? Didn’t Deka talk to him for a long time and then left him alone to rest? What could’ve happened during that time?’
The boy had a small hunch that the monsters living in this river were the cause of it. That woman and that stone hand were his one and only suspects.
‘Could it be that they had taken control over him with their illusion? That would explain his odd behavior.’ Arthur rubbed his chin confusedly. ‘But if that’s the case, why didn’t I feel any disturbance in the atmosphere around the ship? Such a thing would’ve been far too obvious not to be caught.’
The more Arthur thought about it the more he found some things that didn’t add up. The way it all unfolded felt a little too random and yet also a little too suspicious to be a mere fit of drunk rage.
Unless, there was a detail that he himself forgot or didn’t notice. A detail that perhaps could explain everything.
A//N: Thank you all for the gifts, golden tickets, and PS. Let’s keep it up!