Chapter 158 - Oliver's Decision

'Ah, man... that sure felt like a long time ago.'

As Rynold gleefully reminisced of the more peaceful times, the Floating Platform soon reached its destination. He was looking forward to starting working on his new creation, but...

'What the fuck is going on?'

Upon his approach, Rynold was immediately greeted by towering orange flames. He didn't even have to get close to the courtyard to feel the intense heat emanating from it.

Rynold stopped his personal Floating Platform and jumped down. He then headed directly towards the flame, unaware of what the cause of it was. Although, he could definitely guess who could've done such a thing.

"Oi!! What the hell are you doing?!"

Standing at the very entrance to the penthouse, Rynold could see what was going on. But, he still couldn't figure out why it was happening.

From where he was standing, Rynold could see Prominence Alpha was squaring off with Oliver. For some bizarre reason, the two were fighting, and, consequently, things have gotten way out of hand.

"Die, hellspawn!!"

The Spirit of Fire had a big smile on its face as it swung its fists around. Prominence Alpha threw pillars of intense flame with each attack, causing Oliver to be on the defensive.

"I-," Oliver couldn't even take a breath from the series of attacks. "I'm not a hellspawn!"

Clearly, the two had barreled straight towards a misunderstanding.

Oliver had only come to the workshop to find Rynold. The two were friends, after all, so Oliver had no real reason to be on guard. Unfortunately, the very moment he opened the door to the workshop, he was greeted by something else entirely.

"Uh... Where's Rynold?"

A question.

That was all Oliver had said before the Spirit started to throw flames at him. The Spirit of Fire just started to throw barrel after barrel of attacks. All Oliver could do at that point was to avoid the attacks.

As of this very moment, though, he was not doing a good job of it.

Every attack that the Spirit threw at him was getting closer and closer to hitting Oliver. Fortunately, his speed was at a very high level. Otherwise, he would've been a goner at the very first attack.

"What the hell are you two doing?!"

Rynold suddenly appeared just when a fireball was about to hit Oliver.

He successfully blocked the attack with a swing of his gauntlet as he yelled out. This was not something he had ever expected.

A fight that caused so much damage to the infrastructure was not something Rynold appreciated. Especially not when it happens to his own home.

"Explain! NOW!"

Rynold directed his anger to the two who were fighting. He was massively pissed at the towering flames that consumed much of the courtyard's aesthetic. The damage had essentially gotten everywhere.

The fight had been the direct opposite of the word subtle.

"That human is a hellspawn! We must eliminate it before it successfully unleashes its power!"

Prominence Alpha was still hostile towards Oliver, very much so. Still, Rynold had to mediate before things get any worse than they already were.

"Calm down! He's not a hellspawn. He's a friend of mine who, because of circumstances, has a devil living inside him. He's not any danger to anybody!"

"Kinda downplaying me there, buddy."

"Now's not the time, man. Get up and help me convince the Spirit."

Rynold had his priorities straight. No matter what, he had to convince the Spirit of Fire that Oliver was no threat.

For one thing, Rynold needed Prominence Alpha's help before proceeding any further. And, for another, he wasn't sure if he could stop the Spirit if it ever used its entire strength to kill Oliver.

Standing up, Oliver tried to make a rather innocent face. But, it was difficult considering the amount of dirt and ash on him.

"Look closer. He's not a hellspawn! He's human!"

Rynold tried his best to plead with the Spirit of Fire. However, it was no cakewalk because Prominence Alpha had a consistent hostility directed towards Oliver. One wrong move and it may act upon that hostility.

"Grr..."

The Spirit of Fire eased up a little, but it was still glaring at Oliver. From its point of view, anything and anyone that had a relationship with hell had to be destroyed.

This... was the first time it'd consider an exception.

"Alright, I'll listen to what you have to say. But! I will watch over this one with great doubt."

Rynold, hearing Prominence Alpha agree, nodded and sighed.

"Come on, let's get back to the workshop."

As the three of them returned to the workshop, the sprites taking care of the courtyard came out of hiding. Thanks to the little creatures, the courtyard soon showed signs of recovering to its former state.

"Man, I wish you'd tell me before you actually show up. Anyway, what's up?" Rynold said as he sat down on a stool.

"Are you actually going to let that thing do whatever it wants?"

Oliver's tone was calm. Well, mostly calm. He wouldn't care to admit it, but the experience had rattled him slightly. It wasn't every day that he faced an overwhelming creature that had an intent to kill him, after all.

"It's fine. The Spirit's usually pretty lax," Rynold turned his head to face Prominence Alpha, immediately finding that the look on its face was still hostile. "Although, it might not be that obvious right now."

"If you say so," Oliver had his guard up, still, but he trusted Rynold enough to say what's on his mind, even if there were some untrustworthy presences nearby.

"I came here to tell you that I want to head back home," Oliver got straight to the point, but Rynold didn't like what he heard.

"Are you sure? You know how they treated you."

"It can't be that bad. Who knows? Maybe some things changed after I left."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Rynold expressed his intention in a rather straightforward manner. "Of course, things changed! The world was in shambles before we left, remember? And, I'm willing to bet that your family isn't going to treat you any different than before."

Rynold sugarcoated what he said.

Even though he barely had any encounters with Oliver's parents, Rynold could guess how badly they treated Oliver.

No, based on Oliver's stories that he told Rynold over time, Rynold could accurately say that Oliver was better off without them.

The two of them fell silent for a little while. The atmosphere between them felt a bit tense, but it was barely even noticeable. The only sound in the room was the low crackle of Prominence Alpha standing behind Rynold.

"I know that look."

With a simple glance, Rynold could tell what the guy was thinking.

"You're going to leave no matter what I say, huh? Fine... If you're going to leave, at least take someone else with you on the ride. Even if you can kill everyone without any effort, you're still going to need someone to watch your back."

Surprisingly, Rynold agreed and very easily, at that.

Oliver didn't really need Rynold's approval for leaving and going off on his own, but he sure as hell appreciated it.

However, the truth was, Rynold thought things through beforehand.

During the time that he had fallen silent, his brain kicked into high gear as he estimated whatever plans and contingencies would come up. In fact, it appeared that his brain capacity seemed to have expanded because of his Intelligence Attribute.

Regardless, Rynold advised Oliver to take another person on the job. Granted, it might be a bit unorthodox for an assassin to have a bodyguard with him. But, Rynold couldn't shake the thought of one particular possibility.

One that might be extremely outlandish, but it was one that Rynold feared the most.

"Who do you have in mind?" Oliver asked, unaware of what Rynold was thinking.

"Grab Jack. I'm sure he won't have a problem going with you."

Out of the many other people Rynold could've considered, Jack was the one who fit the situation best. In fact, there may be a chance that Jack would be looking forward to it, with Ark City being his hometown and all.

"I'm surprised you're not coming with me," Oliver added before he left.

"I've got work to do," Rynold answered as he waved Oliver goodbye, "I'll catch up with you guys when I'm done here."

Rynold wanted more than anything to finish this new device. He was eager to get this thing done before the situation comes when it would be too late.

So, with that, Oliver left to find Jack, leaving Rynold and Prominence Alpha in the workshop.

"I still think I should've killed him," the Spirit of Fire said as Rynold closed the door.

"Tone it down, would you?" Rynold pulled out the book he borrowed from his inventory, "I've never seen you so agitated before. I know you're eager to fight before, but that was way too intense to be considered a normal fight."

"I've met my fair share of devils before. I can't simply stand by and watch a hellspawn do as it pleased."

"And I share your sentiment. But, as you can see, the devil is nowhere near taking over Oliver. Besides, until we actually find a way to get rid of the devil itself, I don't think there's anything we could do."

Flipping through the pages, Rynold could understand what the Spirit of Fire was feeling.

Anything and everything that came from hell should be taken with caution. But, what if the thing from hell was residing in an innocent human's body? What should he do then?

Rynold didn't have the answer to every single question he had right now. All he could really do was to plan for whatever danger that may come.

And, in his hands were the first step to conquering the unknown.

"That's what you went to get?"

"Yeah," Rynold answered as he kept on flipping the pages. He didn't stop until he reached the page he was looking for. "Ah, there we are. Come on, let's get some work done."

Grabbing the [Hammer of the Worthwhile], Rynold and the Spirit of Fire soon got to work. All the while, Oliver first headed towards his sleeping quarters.

Before actually headed to Rynold's workshop, he first left Strider there. Furthermore, he actually wanted to grab a few personal belongings before leaving for Ark City, some of which were in his room.

As Oliver made his way back, a thought popped into his head.

'Am I really going to go back?"

He doubted himself as the Floating Platform he stood on went to its predetermined destination. His doubt stemmed from the words that Rynold had just said. Even though he would later agree to Oliver's decision, Oliver couldn't help but rethink his plan.

Soon enough, though, Oliver arrived at the residential district.

As the thoughts in his head were a mess, he continued to walk down the same path that led to his room. A flurry of doubt and determination clashed with one another; as he soon reached the building where he lived.

But, before going up the elevators, Oliver stopped and looked around the lobby.

"Leo?"

The young man had been sitting down on a nearby couch for who knows how long. The look that he carried seemed burdened with loss, but it immediately lighted up as soon as Oliver called out.

"Oliver! Hey, man. What's up?"

Despite getting off on a rocky start, the two had soon reached an amicable friendship. A majority of it was thanks to Rynold's interference in the matter, that is.

"You okay?"

Oliver sat down next to Leo. The two weren't really all that close, but they were still friends nonetheless.

"Fine! And, you?"

It was obvious to Oliver that Leo was anything but fine. Then again, Oliver didn't really know how to approach it. The two still weren't close enough to discuss rather personal matters.