Chapter 172 - Paladins
Arthur squinted his eyes as he looked at the roaring flames, feeling the shaking of the arena beneath his feet. This was the sound of Arthur Silvera's end, and with this, he bought enough time for himself.
He knew this solution wasn't optimal and it would only serve to stall for more time. If there was someone in the royal family or any other family that could see the future, they'd know he wasn't dead.
However, this would be enough to throw them off. To direct the public's attention toward the fall of the young hero. The Ilios Empire would have a hard time locating him from now on. He'd go off the radar for now as he gets stronger.
"What… are… you…" The Ender tried to clutch his leg but Arthur looked at him and waved his hand as fire engulfed the nether being, burning it to ashes. Its hoarse screams resounded throughout the arena as it disappeared.
'I'm sorry, Ori.' Arthur looked blankly as the black matter scattered to nothings, leaving a charcoal body behind.
It was missing most of its flesh and even that was turning to ashes. The bones turned black and Arthur ceased using his rune before he used his telekinesis and threw the bones toward the raging fire.
The Ender seemed confused about his runes and mana. His mana was different after he broke through. He had touched something far greater than before, giving his mana a unique property, unlike his previous mana.
The characteristic of creation and the power of existence. His mana existed independently in this world, being a part of existence itself. That's why it was overbearing as it worked against the Enders.
'However, is that it?' Arthur wondered to himself as he felt that something was missing. 'Is that what the attack amounts for?' He felt that wasn't the case.
As he looked at the ever-stretching smokes and the flames that were ripping through it, he realized that the Ilios Empire would find another way to capture him. The question was what is that way? He looked at Mistletoe's members fighting the retreating Enders.
It was then that it clicked.
'Ah, this was a trap.'
The Enders were nothing but bait to lure the members of Mistletoe out. The empire somehow knew that he'd call them over. As if answering his question, the dome suddenly cracked and disappeared.
Arthur ceased using the smoke artifacts on his wrist in case someone suspected something. As he looked upward, he saw that several figures have appeared in the sky, including Jumana, Grandmaster Venkov, and Grandmaster Kiren.
There were several other figures clad in armor that were standing to the side. They were shiny armor with white and red lines running on their breastplates.
'Paladins.' Arthur looked blankly as the Enders began disappearing. He sneakily tried to use the Teleport rune, but space has been locked using a high-grade artifact.
"Mistletoe." A Paladin with a white beard and a scar spoke to them. "You've shown your true colors at last. Falling as low to use the Nether Beings, what is your aim?"
Arthur didn't answer and the rest of his group gathered around him. He turned his head to the side and saw that the flames were still blazing. What happened to Reece? Did he succeed?
"I've thought you've had some humanity in you!" Grandmaster Venkov roared, his hair fluttering in the wind. "Turns out you're nothing more than a terrorist group." He spat as he looked at the roaring flames.
'This doesn't make sense. Does he think I'm dead? If they're just standing there, why didn't they help?' Arthur looked at the flames and realized the missing puzzle.
A giant monster crawled out from the flames as black fluid fell off. It screeched in a hoarse sound before it started disappearing.
'They used a stronger Ender to stop the association and the Ilios empire from interfering. They either wanted to kill me or use my plan against me. It depends on whether they knew it wasn't me or not.'
"We need to get out of here," Ivy said in a heavy voice as she looked at the flying people. "That old man is an Astra-ranker."
"Mind your words unless you want me to rip your tongue." The white-bearded paladin grinned at Ivy.
All of Mistletoe's members wore their masks and robes, making them unidentifiable. Their masks were created from the feathers of a monster called Doom's Owl, having the property of reflecting magic. Thus, they couldn't be seen through.
"We're not responsible for these creatures," Arthur said, his voice and face hidden. "We've been attacked by them."
"How convenient. What business do you have here, noble ones? You've teleported into the dome to get attacked by the Enders? A young participant has already lost his life because of you." The Paladin sneered.
As Arthur stared at him, he realized that it was futile to argue. They had fallen into their trap. Furthermore, his Teleport rune wasn't working to get them out of here. He truly had no way of knowing that it would end this way.
'How did they know I worked with Mistletoe?' Arthur tried to look back. As his mind went through every little detail, he can only think of one possibility.
The Ender that he had faced in the fortress was the one that had recognized him. He had met it twice. Once as Arthur Silvera and once as Mistletoe's member where he killed it.
"Let go of your weapons and your lives will be spared," Jumana said coldly to them.
The smoke finally dissipated and Arthur could see the other participants move away as they were rescued by the Association's Staff.
Mistletoe's members stood together as the crowd looked at them with fearful and hateful eyes. They were hailed as heroes the other day, and now they were condemned. Arthur realized how easy it was to manipulate humans.
Yurirl, Emma, and Tin looked around in confusion. The staff of the association and paladin escorted everyone away as Mistletoe was surrounded. Arthur watched as Emma started shouting at the staff for his whereabouts and was tempted to reveal his identity, but it would make his efforts go to waste.
Arthur Silvera was dead, that's what most people thought including the Ilios Empire. It seems they have allowed 'Arthur' to be killed by obstructing the association through the Enders. As long as they believed he was dead, then it was for the best.
They didn't know that Arthur was still alive, they only knew that he was connected to Mistletoe. They were probably gloating that they had managed to kill him.
The only witness was Tyrin, but he had died earlier with the Ender. The Enders were invincible normally, they were unkillable. However, his mana of creation had brought the end for one earlier.
Now, everyone thought that Arthur Silvera was dead. Reece must have managed to use the runic cards before the association had the time to interfere. Arthur had wanted it to be this case, to begin with, but he didn't think this would be used against him by the empire.
Now, he was the one that had summoned the Enders. He had dragged Mistletoe's members for them to fall into a trap.
Li put away his sword. The frown on Jumana's face eased and Arthur had a puzzled look. Would Li accept to get captured that easily?
However, it seemed he was overthinking it. After putting away his wooden sword, Li used his finger to slash space apart. Runic chains sprouted from the slit he had torn and a heavy pressure descended.
"Stand down, unless you want to be killed on the spot." The white paladin unstrapped a long spear from his back as he looked with a frown at Li.
"Li, don't do it." Ivy took a step forward but Li shook his head ever so slightly. Arthur stood there, bewildered as he realized there were a lot of things he didn't know about Mistletoe's members.
"If death is your wish, so bet it." The white marble spear that the paladin held started shining brightly. With the might of an Astra-ranker fully unleashed, Arthur felt a crushing pressure on his chest.
The paladin's arm disappeared and a sonic boom followed after. The arena's floor caved in a few meters in a vertical line between the two groups as the spear traveled at them faster than what their eyes could perceive.
At that very moment, Li slipped his hand into the slit in space and pulled something out. The moment a hilt of a sword was out, Arthur felt a throbbing in his consciousness. The slit closed and only the hilt managed to make its way into the world.
The sword's hilt was pitch black with a single red charm hanging from its end. Golden lines surrounded the black hilt as Li's hand gripped on it. Unhurried, Li slashed with the sword's broken blade in front of him.
An explosion sound echoed as Arthur and the others were pushed back, feeling like he was being strangled by a giant. He opened his eyes widely to catch a glimpse of what happened.
The spear has been stopped by the word's blade, its tip colliding with the broken blade. With a grunt, Li pushed the spear and sent it shooting backward at the Paladin.
The paladin tilted his head to the left and the spear passed his head, slamming into the stand's upper structure. The moment the spear met with the reinforced runic walls came as a pause before the spear's might destroyed the wall, leaving a 20 meters wide hole in it.