247 Chapter 208 Part 3: Resolution
"—You've kept me waiting, boy." Arnold heard Gederick's displeased voice when he teleported back to the same spot where the fight against the Faceless took place.
He silently took out the Fragment and offered it to Gederick with a "forced" bow.
Gederick picked up the artifact and examined it closely, "The same unique aura the artifact has always had is still there… Hmm, I could not help but expect you to present a fake and run off with the artifact."
That would've seemed compelling to him in the past.
Why? Well, the artifact would've allowed Arnold to control Luke—no—the whole Hero Party, from the shadows. He could mind control them to advance the main story however he sees fit. Of course, there's risk of the gods catching wind of this and mistaking his actions for malicious intent, making that one of the reasons why he won't interfere with the Hero's journey.
Arnold knows almost everything about the game's main story so having those Transcendent Pawns move according to his will would've allowed him to always get the "good ending" to each arc, ensuring a positive outcome for the start of every new arc. Depending on how he uses it, the system might also be useful in determining which choices will affect the story negatively.
The second arc will only span one more year. That's the amount of time he'll have left to make sure he tracks down the core members. So far there's Stella, Shirley, Luke, Flora, Alitus and Olivia. If he had the artifact for himself, he could've forced the first three to get ready for the future arcs.
Their growth is rather disappointing. Luke couldn't even control his aura without Flora's sword, Shirley can't maintain her Divine Beast form without resorting to killing her own allies and then there's Stella who isn't one with Flower Lily yet. Only Alitus, Flora and Olivia were ready for what's to come at the end of the School Arc. Olivia could already tame Divine Beasts, Flora was near Arnold's level by now (probably) and Alitus is already the Oracle's Guard (a title given to only the strongest paladin).
"Even if I did try to trick you, you would've been able to tell it's a fake right away. You can already track me down between worlds."
"Indeed, I was blessed with a nose that detect the essence of a divine artifact. It has a limit to how effective it is, of course. Scents that spread across multiple worlds are difficult to pick up but not impossible to track."
'Why the hell was my plans interrupted because of such a trash skill...'
This led to a pointless battle where he almost lost his life with no reward.
The only good outcome from all this was the ring that Yorm made for him. It's something that will allow him to travel to and from far-off locations however much he wants. The only restriction comes with World Travel, something that world jumpers can do as much as they want. Well, it isn't like he wants to travel between worlds that much right now.
School and his city will be made a priority once he leaves. He shouldn't forget about the Misteltein guild though. He wants to balance his life as Nova and Arnold.
Another good thing that resulted from all this was the massive amounts of XP gain from killing the Faceless.
Even if there still like over a million experience points needed before he levels up, Arnold was mildly satisfied with how things turned out.
'I guess Lady Fate is somewhat looking down on me favorably.'
Arnold suddenly remembered something else.
Rafaela…
Arnold clenched his fist and with a hesitant voice, he spoke up:
"…Did the elf survive when the dungeon storm hit that world?"
"Yes. Fiannei is escorting her to her master as we speak. Fiannei is quite familiar with the disciples since he aided them during the battle against the Outsiders. He should know where to go."
"I see…."
A sigh of relief escaped him. Somehow he felt like he wouldn't have cared even if she died. Maybe it's because her death won't inconvenience him. At the same time, he glad she was alive.
Maybe it's better if he keeps that to himself.
"Tell me, why did the Elf sacrifice her powers as an angel? I can sense powers within her that only angels ought to possess yet I can see no halo nor wings." Gederick continued, "She was quite displeased when I told her that Fiannei was going to take her to her master. In order to be able to access her memories, I would've needed permission from her master since there is some form of mental resistance bestowed to every angel faithful to the Sky God."
That's right. He had thought that Rafaela knew where Arnold took the Fragment. Angels are granted some form of mental resistance to avoid giving delicate information to enemies. Even torture wouldn't make them give in and reveal said information.
In order to gain access to what Rafaela knows, Gederick would have to remove that spell by seeking out her master.
Arnold answered Gederick's question:
"She was forced to serve a god against her will. Breaking herself free from that servitude allowed her to also free herself of the angelic powers forced upon her."
"Just as I was a slave to seeking ways to prove my worth to the gods, she was a slave to a faith she does not want to obey. However, unlike me she does not have the power to fight against it."
"…Will she be punished with imprisonment?"
Imprisonment is probably the easy way out.
"Perhaps, or she will be forced to obey that faith again by her master. I do not know what has changed in the last two centuries but back then angels were banished to the Between Realms."
"…What…?"
"Depending on which Guardian's world they're close to, the master forces the angel—regardless of her crime—to walk across the bridge and face whatever is out there on her own."
"…."
Arnold lowered his head.
A fate worse than death—that's what it's like to be banished to the Between Realms. There's no telling what is on the other side of the bridge unless you cross it.
What would Luke have done if he heard Rafaela's possible fate?
-"I have to go save her as soon as possible! Even if it means facing the gods, I will make her dream of being free comes true!"
That's exactly the kind of thing he would say.
What would Arnold do?
Gederick looked at Arnold with a meaningful gaze.
"Despite hearing that it's possible that your comrade is going to face certain doom, your expression doesn't change. I thought the two of you were lovers but it is apparently not as deep a relationship as that."
Arnold didn't answer.
"I see… If it doesn't inconvenience you, why go out of your way to save another?"
That is certainly an interesting way of looking at the situation.
But no, Arnold had a much simpler reason for his inaction and he'd rather stick by it until he's finished his business in this godforsaken dungeon.
"There is something I must give you before we part ways." Gederick said.
Why would you give something to someone whose head you wanted on a pike? Since when do enemies give each other gifts?
Gederick looked at Arnold with a narrowed gaze, "I know what you must be thinking and no, this is no gift."
A cluster of blue energy passed through Arnold's body. It happened so fast that Arnold could only mutter an idiotic: "H-Huh?" while looking at the status screen that popped up.
· The God of War's [Battle Spirit] has been added to "Special Summons"
· As user does not meet the required stats to summon a Monarch-level Spirit, the spirit's stats will be reduced by 30% upon being summoned. Magic items might also not work.
Special Summons.
A summon is only considered a Special Summon if they are an SS or Lord-class, manifestation of another person's lifeforce, elemental spirits (the class of the spirit doesn't matter), divine beasts and lastly Battle Spirits.
Unique monster tamers—like Olivia—can only tame one type of Special Summon: divine beasts. It's mentioned somewhere in the story that she can force her tamer abilities to tame weaker class monsters as well, like SS-class monsters, which makes sense given how strong her ability is, but she had never done this in the game. SS-class monsters are more abundant than divine beasts so taming them would've allowed her to build an army.
Olivia only got her third divine beast near the first demon lord battle arc, which was almost a decade from now.
There is no tamer capable of taming Lord-class beasts. It would be ludicrous of that was even possible. Maybe this hypothetical person might be able to tame Insect, Mammal, Primate Lord beasts but not Vampire Lords, Demon Lords, and Giant Lords.
Manifestation of another's lifeforce is just that—a ghost of a dead person but with all the power that they had before death. One would normally need a special magic item to pull the lifeforce from a dead person's body right after they die.
The last category—spirits—can only be tames by people with the potential to become elementalists, like Lancelot. Besides him, there are the Elves, Druids, and even High Elves (who are capable of summoning Monarch-class spirits).
If Arnold is able to control a Battle Spirit, then that means he's in Olivia's league.
Up until now, he had no idea that Battle Spirits can be transferred from one person to another.
"Why give it to me…?" Arnold asked in disbelief when the spirit formed next to him. It was wearing Gederick's armor and some kind of horned helmet but given its size, it was no doubt an imitation of Gederick.
"Our fight is not over yet. None of our blades managed to pierce each other's hearts," his smile was replaced by a poker mask that made it seem like his hearty aura was fake, "I learnt many things throughout my life as a warrior, all of which were crucial for my growth before I led the divine armies into battle. However, the most important thing I learnt was that no battle should be left as a draw, not when both warriors have the potential to grow stronger if given enough time to mature. Yes, even I have not reached the pinnacle of a warrior's strength."
Level 100.
"By mastering the spirit that I've journeyed with throughout the centuries that I've travelled through the realms, you can achieve newfound strength as well and learn how to connect your soul with the Spirit Realm. By doing so, you will be able to summon a spirit that's the raw manifestation of your potential. Potential is something that can not be measured or held in our hands. It is just an idea—a thing. However, it becomes something more in the Spirit Realm."
A shiver went through Arnold's spine.
The potential of a Transcendent is endless, or more like it's unknown how high their ceiling is. How powerful would such a spirit be if it's the manifestation of potential itself?
Would it attain godhood? Would it be capable of felling even the Demon Lords?
Gederick said that in order to be given his own Battle Spirit, he'd need to communicate with the Spirit Realm through his soul.
He has two souls within him. No, there is the mysterious dragon soul as well which makes three souls. Liam's soul doesn't count since it had merged with Arnold's soul when he received his future self's memories.
Three Battle Spirits.
Imagine the power I could wield if I gain control over both of those souls.
If Arnold saw his face now, he'd mistake it for a demon, a demon lusting for more power.
However, that smile turned into a grimace when he recalled that one of those souls is from that of a Demon Lord.
There is no easy way to gain control over a demon lord soul, only destroy it using an even greater soul (like a dragon lord). But which of the seven dragon lord souls would be able to overpower Oriel's soul?
The Ice Dragon Lord is probably stronger than Gederick so she could be the one but…
'I almost died in a fight with Gederick, how much worse would fighting that absolute monster be?'
What if he used Suarif Elipis' soul—
'No, I shouldn't think like this… Betraying Ladiath is stupid. He's not someone I should be messing with.'
Again, Ladiath is definitely on Gederick's level so it would be suicide betraying him.
This brings the total amount of souls he'd be able to connect to the Spirit Realm back to one.
Considering the hardships one would have to go through to be able to communicate with spirits from the other side, it wasn't worth considering the other soul within his body as an option.
One of the requirements involve being able to achieve a state of Equilibrium, something that Arnold is struggling to achieve.
Maybe he needs a second opinion. Someone more knowledgeable about the Spirit Realm—like The Fairy Millennium.
"You can refuse to face me again in combat," Gederick looked to the sky with gentle eyes, "It is your choice, after all. Should you change your mind—"
He looked back at Arnold, "I shall be waiting for you in my castle. If you choose to go through with this, then you can find me there."
Yes, it's Arnold choice. There was no reason to please this old man but…
But something within Arnold couldn't bear to refuse this fight…
Gederick suddenly summoned his golden spear. A moment later energy that had all the colors of the rainbow appeared beneath his feet.
'So, this is how he was able to travel between worlds to find me.'
That unknown spear of his must be what allows him to travel between worlds. Arnold was unsure what it's called since it's just a generic golden spear.
Maybe Gederick isn't using one spear but several that he can summon in succession. It's hard to tell which of them is his main weapon.
"This is where we part ways, boy."
"Before you go…" Arnold called put to him with a small voice, "I want to see it… I want to see the full power of a demigod…."
There was no reason to ask for such a pointless thing. What did he hope to gain from seeing Gederick's true power? Did he think that he could reach Gederick's level just by gaining XP and training? Would seeing it determine whether he'll accept Gederick's offer for a rematch?
Arnold didn't know why he wanted to see it either. He just wants to know what it would feel to stand before a demigod's true power.
Maybe that something inside him wanted to see what he'll be up against if he decides to challenge Gederick again.
"—Very well." Gederick let go of the spear, leaving it floating on its own and held both arms next to his hips.
· Warning! Warning!
· Do not engage in combat! Do not engage in combat! not engage in combat! Do not engage in combat—
The system's dings suddenly went silent when it felt like time slowed down. The leaves that had blown beneath Arnold's feet came to a standstill, the clouds above them swirled violently and the trees were pushed sideways by some invisible force.
Gederick, who had no presence whatsoever even with Arnold's warrior sense at its highest alert, strode forth slowly. His boots sunk into the ground with every step as if he was carrying a mountain on his shoulders.
What the hell?
What the hell is this?
Why can I not sense him even though he's right in front of me?
He had a mild presence the whole time since the two had been talking to each other but now it was gone.
Suddenly the words of Sebas echoed in his mind.
-Warrior Sense is an advanced technique that only the most skilled warriors possess. It allows warriors like us to sense threats, traps, killing intent and it allows us to pinpoint every being by their unique energy signature. When you meet a warrior whose presence you cannot feel and whose power cannot be measured—run. You are not facing a man, you are facing a man with the potential to become a Martial God.
There was a story in the game about a Giant that destroyed a human village after it emerged from the ocean. A fisherman was the first to spot it and rushed towards it in his boat with his harpoon ready.
Instead of going to the nearby town to request aid from knights, the fisherman stood his ground and demanded the creature leave while its body was more than halfway submerged in water.
It did not listen. It raised its body from the ocean, plucking old boats from its beard and tearing off the sharks that had tried to gnaw at its skin.
All the confidence the man had vanished the moment its shadow covered the whole beach.
If he had seen its full body then he would've run, not faced it like a fool.
Arnold was the fisherman.
Gederick was the giant.
"…." Gederick, who was now standing right in front of the petrified Arnold, pulled back his fist, "Humph!!"
He thrust his fist forward. A whirlpool surrounded his arm due to the pressure alone.
His fist arrived in front of Arnold's face but it didn't connect.
He only felt a gentle breeze which blew his hair back.
Arnold could hear the trees behind him being pulled out of the ground, the boulders being flung like balls, the solid ground being razed—
If he looked back now, all he would see is empty ground 100 meters across and 1 kilometer long.
The giant's silhouette—that had overlapped with Gederick—slowly faded away as if it was an illusion. The choking aura that had tried to crush Arnold's psyche vanished.
Gederick's presence returned as if it never left. Arnold, whose instincts had screamed at him to run, stood like a statue.
Gederick held his open palm in front of Arnold's face.
"[Peace of Mind]." He casted some type of Calming Charm.
The intensity of Arnold's shivering decreased and the heavy pressure on his chest vanished, allowing him to breathe again.
Arnold collapsed on all fours, his sweat falling like droplets of rain onto the ground. A wheeze leaked out here and there when he tried to pull in as much oxygen as he could to not faint.
He had tried to envision an outcome where he could somehow survive fighting Gederick again even at full power. This is another thing that only warriors are capable of. Hundreds of scenes can play out inside their heads, each scene depicting different outcomes to a battle. It's similar to constructing a simulation. Of course, unlike in simulations where you have complete control of every entity, Arnold couldn't control Gederick.
Arnold lost in all of them.
His head was ripped off.
His innards turned to paste from a palm strike to the stomach.
Half his body was destroyed by a single slash of Gederick's spear.
A summoned [Avatar Angel] crushed him with its palms.
His legs were crushed and Gederick impaled his mouth with the spear. His melting muscle tissue would leak out of his orifices, his bones would be stripped of his skin, his stomach burst open…
There was no outcome where he could beat Gederick.
A searing pain assaulted Arnold's head. He held back his grunts by squinting so hard that tears formed at the corner of his eyes.
"Yorm was right, it seems," Gederick's voice sounded like Arnold's head was under water, "She said centuries ago, 'Don't show your true power to mortals unless you want your opponent's mind to break and leave them a shell of who they once were. Had you suffered the same consequences then I would've killed you right here."
He was serious.
He would've killed Arnold if he gave into his fear and ran away.
Gederick continued, "When you gain the strength and confidence to fell a demigod, come find me. A duel must never be left in a draw, regardless of the circumstances. A victor shall only be decided when one of our hearts is pierced by the other's weapon."
Arnold heard a loud cracking sound when a bright light engulfed Gederick's body. His spear flew back into his hand.
"I shall await your newfound strength and look forward to our duel—"
A rainbow-colored beam descended onto the world after hit the ground with the bottom of his spear.
Both he and the light vanished the next moment.
Arnold rolled onto his back. His chest moved up and down as he sucked in more air.
His nerves relaxed after he drew a final deep breath and closed his eyes, listening to the chirping birds and feeling the grass brushing against his head.
In an instance where a warrior as trained as him faces someone of equal or greater strength, he would've drawn his weapon by instinct.
Of course, Luxtivin was still in his aura pool and he carried no other weapon at the moment.
What would Gederick have done if Arnold pulled out his weapon on instinct and attacked? Would he have scoffed at Arnold? Would he have retaliated?
Perhaps he would've understood if Arnold did it. Maybe he also stood before an enemy far stronger than himself who showed him the same mercy.
"…A duel to determine the victor… How long would it take me to reach my level cap…?" a self-deprecating laughter escaped him before he stared into the sky with empty eyes.
Will things change once he attains his own Battle Spirit, thus reaching his desired Equilibrium?
It will. Definitely.
After a moment, Arnold turned his head to the side, looking back at the corpse of the corrupted divine beast.
That's right. The Ascension Pill might be what he'll need to obtain that level of strength necessary to fight beings on Gederick's level.
There was no reason for Arnold to fight that demigod again. There would be no reward, only risks.
He had only one life so why sacrifice it for some warrior's pledge nonsense?
It was the warrior inside him that wanted to crush opponents stronger than him.
He was mistaken about one thing.
You don't just run away hoping to gain the strength to fight a stronger opponent. In order to fight a demigod, he shouldn't set his eyes on humans on his level, but beings on the level of monster lords and demigods.
Gederick was a high wall that couldn't be climbed over at this moment.
Arnold is a Transcendent, a human with no limits and the potential to attain god-level strength.
He'll use that potential to climb smaller walls until he gains the power to reach Gederick's strength. This is his resolution.
◇◇◇
The lifeless puddle of slime lay motionless under the scorching sun.
It was as small as a grain of rice, too small to regenerate its body and get its soul into iit.
It could not move its body at all. It was like a mountain was placed on top of it.
It sizzled after the residue divine energy within its body began eating it from inside out.
The Faceless is dead, as confirmed by the system, however death to them is far different compared to mortals.
Their souls linger around their dead body. If the body recovers then their souls will be sent back into the body. It's a state of limbo that allows them to come back to life infinitely if nothing hinders their regenerative abilities.
Father, it said in a longing voice, I wish I could've made you proud.
I did not come into this life as the [Perfection] race that you wanted to build.
I wanted to build an empire for you and enslave all races just for you to have children with…
If my worth does not lay in my blood then it could've laid within my loyalty to you, Father.
I am not the strongest of your [Imperfects].
I am not the smartest.
But I was your child and I deserved to be loved as one.
Why do you discard us so even though we show our utmost loyalty and desire to stand by your side?
Why can we not rule over the inferior mortals and gods together?
Why do you not free my brothers and sisters after they were trapped by the world jumper's magic?
The divine energy at its core began sizzling and its tiny body slowly began fading into particles of light.
Htaidal, when you achieve vengeance against your mother please carry on my will.
It was not a fruitless wish. His words will reach every one of his brothers and sisters upon his death. All of them are linked to a single source—the Star Beast.
Its vision grew hazy and it felt like it was being pulled in by the "River of Souls".
It will now join its fallen kin.
However, a sudden jolt back to the real world betrayed its expectations.
Shall. Not. Die. Shall. Become. Nutrients.
An ear shattering voice resonated within the depths of its soul.
A divine entity… But which one? How does it have the power to break the dead free of the Soul River's grasp?
The Faceless could not talk back, only listen to what the grating voice said.
Must. Consume. Souls.
A hand, visible only to the Faceless, grabbed its soul.
It appeared from a portal out of nowhere.
The entity's hand looked no different from that of a puppet's, or more like its skin was made from wood.
· Entity: Gardtree Sapling
· Level: ???
· Condition: Cursed (Cursed and banished to the Spirit Realm by the Future Timeline God)
The small figure that was no bigger than a human toddler was only a wooden silhouette with glowing yellow eyes.
When the entity's hand pulled on its soul, the Faceless could feel all its desires, feelings, dreams—
It wanted to be freed. Freed from what?
It wanted to consume. Consume what and why?
It wanted to become whole. A whole of what?
Before it was consumed and turned into nutrients for a greater purpose, the Faceless could see something coming out of the wooden figure.
Energy strings of unknown origin bound itself to the wooden figure.
What did this mean, wondered the Faceless before it was also dragged into the Spirit Realm—a realm between the fabric of space.
