Investigating Melen Part 7

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/Crackle.../

"Pfft... Even with all these curses you can still hit this hard? How much strength do you have?" Gran asked as he touched his bald head as he got up from the rubble 

Urg, my head's aching a little.

"Why don't you come close and find that out yourself?" Silver said with a large smile as he grabbed his halberd again

I wonder if being weakened like this activates my Skill.

I've 'borrowed' many curse items before but never had the chance to use them, I should've tried at least once.

Well, but from a certain perspective, my Stats have decreased, it should still count as per usual. I'm only Level 4 after all.

Hum?!

'Silver suddenly had a terrible feeling, as if he was being watched by a monstrous creature…'

'He turned his head to one of the houses in a flash, seeing a tanned man standing atop its roof clutching onto a staff.'

'He immediately knew the source of his worry, but it was too late.'

/Fumble!/

"?!"

'A strange claustrophobic feeling took over his body and mind, as if he had been stuffed with cotton, suppressed, chained, and weighted down to the ground.'

'It was as if a strong ocean wave had hit him in the stomach, leaving him without breath.'

'There were no special effects nor anything, by the time he saw the staff, the Curse had already befallen him.'

"My body?... Haa… I see." Silver mumbled to himself as he felt a sense of emptiness in his body

'He raised his hands, opening and closing them, he tried to invoke his Plasmids, but whenever he tried, they failed.'

Sealing Magic, but as a Curse… This is pretty damn rare… And super Illegal.1

Hum... Where can I get it?

Tsk, I should've asked Ishtar when I had the chance…

(Image?)

'He quickly went through his Plasmids, but he soon realized not all of them had been sealed.'

In the first place, my Plasmids aren't Magic, it's more like they are powered by Magical Energy.

Still, this Curse is preventing me from reaching into them, but I should still be able to change my body to some degree.

This is getting exciting.

"As expected from that crazy bitch, she prepared something rather usefull." The woman said as she cracked her neck

"..."

These curses… I think I know where they came from now.

Ishtar's preparations to take on the Freya Familia, a mix of all kinds of Debilitating Curses and Anti-Statuses together with Magic Seals…

Even Ottar would be forced back under the sheer barrage of it.

Finally, when he was weakened, Phryne would be buffed to Level 6, or after her Level Up, 7, and their battle would ensue.

Just a shame I killed her before she had the chance, I would like to see how much they would've been able to push that boar.

"I feel honored… But enough is enough." Silver said as he looked at the people around him

Time to do something before the city burns to ash... And the people get eaten by those monsters.

Let's start this party!

/DASH!/

/CRACK!/

'Silver vanished from his location, reappearing atop one of the houses.'

'This wasn't teleportation, it was just his speed!'

"Hupp!"

/SLASH!/

'He started his rampage by cutting the head of a nearby cultist, this was the greatest mercy he could bestow them.'

'In this kind of fight, eliminating any source of potential variables was the best he could do, so he started with the weaker members in charge of casting curses.'

'But something was wrong… Why were they so… Passive?'

"?!"

/SMASH!/

/BAM!!/

/BOOM!/

'From beneath him, a person broke through the ceiling, smashing a large hammer on his left arm, throwing him back onto the street.'

"Cough… So there were more." He said as his eyes sharpened

"... Plan Six failed, everyone, move!" The woman, who shall be named leader from now on said as she crossed her arms

/Rise… Rise…/

'When she said that, at least a dozen more adventurers all rose from all kinds of inconspicuous places.'

'They were all armed with the best quality gear available, and without a doubt, they were all Level 4… And not just any kind of Level 4 adventurer…'

Just where did Evilus pull so many personnel from?

… Don't tell me, did Ishtar charm all of these people? It can't be, things would be too noticeable...

This is bad, if these people are really all charmed adventurers from Orario, killing them would only lead to mass Chaos throughout the entire City.

Until I can confirm their origins… For fuck's sake...

"Kill Him, don't let him escape." She said as she pointed at him

"Well… Shit."

I can't kill any of them… Aside from those two.

And I also have to keep the city in one piece… Right…

It's either one or the other.

/BANG!/

…

/Meanwhile…/

/Fwoosh!/

At the other side of the city somewhere at the edge of the docs, the Hermes Familia stepped out of a portal, looking around in confusion as they quickly localized themselves.

/Bam!/

/Chaos!/

"This is… Madness." Falgar said deeply as he looked at the burning city not far from them, together with the still rampaging Violas

Evilus... How dare they?...

"Shit… We need to move, now!" Lulune exclaimed as her ears perked up

Where's that God bastard?!

According to our location... 

"We need to find Hermes and Captain as soon as possible…" Vultus added as he crossed his arms, taking a deep breath as he recovered his stamina

My arm's completely fine, I won't drop my guard down again.

/Grumble…/

"Urg… G-Gol-Kun… I-I can't breathe…"

"G-Genkai… I..."

""?!""

'It was at that moment they all turned to the side, looking beneath Golmeth who was now standing atop a blond man who slowly squirmed on the ground as his face turned blue…'

"H-Hermes-Sama!" One of them exclaimed as they saw Hermes take his final breath with a smile on his face

'Be it coincidence or not, they were sent directly above Hermes, who for some reason had a few bruises on his face…'

'After helping him up, Hermes quickly guided them back into the city to fight the Violas and save as many people as possible.'

'They all asked about Asfi and Keaks, but Hermes told them to not worry about it...'

'He had given them another task, being as vague and annoying as ever.'

/BOOOOOOOOOOM!/

""?!""

'As they ran back to the city, a massive explosion rang somewhere around Silver's location, causing all of them to raise their heads with concern.'

"Ignore it, leave the enemy to him, we have to save the people." Hermes said deeply as he looked at the mess around him

I expected the enemies to be strong, but I underestimated them.

No matter, by now, Asfi and Keaks should be finishing the task I gave them.

Don't take too long…

'His expression tense, Hermes went back to 'commanding' his Familia, or in other words, cheering them on as he hid somewhere nearby.'

'Like so, Melen became a two-front battlefield, with the Hermes Familia clearing the monsters left vulnerable while the main forces of the enemy were taken on by Silver.'

'But as Hermes said before, things weren't going as smoothly as he had expected…'

…

/Clang!/

/BAM!/

'Back in Melen, Silver fought alone against three dozen opponents.'

'Whenever he tried to attack one, two would stop him, whenever he tried to adjust his steps, two would block him from moving.'

'But he continued to fight, evading and attacking whenever he could, making use of the chaos to avoid being cursed further, using his opponents as shields to avoid getting mobbed.'

'All the while trying to figure out if these people were truly charmed or not, because the moment he did find out their allegiances, he would act accordingly.'

'If they were all cultists, he would make use of every opportunity to injure them if not take their life...'

'But he barely even had the time to think as the barrage was unending, and his injuries began to pile up.'

"Hupp!"

/Swipe!/

'Gran rushed ahead, slashing his greatsword downward.'

'Meanwhile, two assassins approached from the sides, trying to cut his waist.'

'And atop one of the houses, an archer stood with his bow pulled to the limit, waiting for an opportunity to release the arrow.'

/CLANG!/

'Silver took a step back, angling his halberd to the side, deflecting Gran's attack to one of the assassins.'

/Clang!/

'Meanwhile, he used his hand to deflect the other assassin's hand, lifting it with a burst of speed as he held onto his neck before shoving him onto the ground.'

/FWOOOSH!/

/CUT!/

"Urg..."

'At that moment, an arrow cut through his shoulder, grazing it slightly.'

'He barely managed to evade it, but the sharp pain on his skin indicated otherwise.'

'Poison.'

"Huff... Huff..."

'Fighting like this, with his Stats decreased and his Magic sealed made Silver realize his own limitations... Or more accurately, it made him remember how it felt to be an ordinary fighter.'

'Someone with special abilities aside from their own bodies and maybe some sort of chanting magic.'

'To be limited to the confines of their own bodies, to be just a bit unnordinary.'

'Because right now, without his Magic and weakened by the Curses, Silver was just a slightly strong Level 5 Adventurer, though even that may be much.'

'Silver's ability, from a pure Stat standpoint, was likely no better than an ordinary Level 4 adventurer, what made him stand out in this fight was his combat proficiency and martial arts, together with the little of his Plasmids he could still manifest within his body.'

'And his opponents consisted of a group of two dozen Level 4 adventurers and a few Level 5 adventurers being supported by who knew how many Level 3 adventurers.'

'But at the same time, he knew that it was ridiculous to imagine himself or anyone having the Skillset necessary to prevail in such a scenario or any similar for that matter.'

'Still, Silver liked to be an overachiever…'

'So he smiled from ear to ear:'

"Ignite, flame of Heaven." He said in a low tone as his eyes glistered in white light

/Spark!/

/Burn!/

""?!""

'Silver's body started to burn with white flames, covering his fingers to his arms like dancing weeds in a river.'

'His eyes started to burn brightly as well, like two small candles in the dark.'

'This was his most recent Skill, one he had never used in battle before, not counting the day he awakened it.'

'He had been training in controlling it with Hestia ever since she told him about it, and now, it was time to put it to the test.'

'The flame of Heaven, but not quite, the ember of life and intelligence, Caelum Fax.'

"What is… AHHHH!"

'The flames surrounding his arms latched onto one of the nearby assailants, and like oil, it quickly spread around his skin.'

'He tried to put it away, but the flame was resilient…'

/SMACK!/

'Taking this chance, Silver smashed his fist on the man's face, knocking him unconscious as he took back the flames.'

'He didn't know how to explain it, but after some training, he learned how to pull and retract these flames, much to Hestia's dismay.'

'He felt as if they were part of him, and for all he knew, they likely were.'

'But when his life was already in peril, what was the point of keeping them at bay?'

"Time for round 2." Silver said as he dashed forward

"Dammit! Scatter! Don't let the flames…"

"Too late." 

/BLAST!/

'Silver blasted his flames all around, covering the entire street!'

…

/Meanwhile, back in the Guild.../

"Huff... Huff... Dammit!"

To have left me here alone amidst this Chaos... What a bastard!

"He forced me to confess through torture... As if!"

'Rubato kicked one of the boxes next to him in anger.'

"He thinks I'll tell him everything?! How arrogant! Such insolence from a mere adventurer!"

"He doesn't know anything, about them, about their power..."

"As I thought, you knew much more than it was apparent." A voice responded from the dark

"?! Who's there?!" Rubato exclaimed as a beat of sweat fell from his forehead

'He quickly remembered the 'torture' he just went through, and for a moment, he thought Silver had never left and was just around him, waiting for him to say those words...'

"You were ambitious, excellent at your craft."

"I wasn't the only one who thought you would make something out of this Branch, but everything I see is rot."

'Rubato looked all around in fear, but eventually, he met it.'

"...?!"

'A tall and crooked being clad in full black, wearing a dark mask as its body swayed in the wind, like a scarecrow in the dark.'

"G-G..."

'Rubato could barely say anything as his face went pale and his body limp from fear.'

"Was lining your pockets worth it?" Fels asked as she raised her finger, touching his forehead

/Shine.../

'The tip of her metallic glove shone in faint blue light, and the moment the light receded, Rubato was left unconscious, his eyes blank.'

"You will be punished accordingly, I'm happy he left you like this for me." She said as she turned to the side, hearing the chaos outside

I have the testimony, my first task is completed...

Now...

"I should make my move, just in case he needs my help."

/Shua.../

'Just like she came, Fels vanished to the dark, as if she was never there.'

'Like a ghost, she was immaterial, invisible.'

'The Dark Hand of the Guild.'

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Notes