Chapter 581: Runic Guards
Chapter 581: Runic Guards
The space crumbled around him, and Arthur was thrown back into the ruins. His mind could not remain at ease after what he had just heard from his father. Is it possible that his father would harm his wife just to reach his aim?
If anything happens to his mother, then Arthur would, without a doubt, think about restoring the previous timeline. However, that was what his father wanted, and if Arthur had to guess, it would be for the perfect ending in his head.
Seref wanted Arthur to be the world's savior, and the only world that needed saving was one about to be destroyed. This was the only explanation for his father to prefer that timeline, where his son had one arm and his family was lost across worlds.
"Dammit, Seref," his fingers dug through the ashen bricks of the hall as his face contorted. "I should have killed him when I had the chance."
Arthur was not sure if that was even his father's body, but at least his heart would not be filled with so much hatred. First, however, he needed to calm down to get back to Runera as soon as possible.
"Are you alright?" asked a voice behind him, and Arthur turned to see Julia looking at him with concern. "Your eyes are red..."
"I need to leave Runera immediately," said Arthur as he rose without adjusting his disheveled appearance. "Do you know a way to turn off the space-locking array?"
"...there is no such method, but the Ghost Ruler can control everything in this city. However, even finding him is impossible, not to mention reasoning with him into allowing you to leave."
"I will fight if I need to," said Arthur as he stormed out of the ruins. "Tell Grandmaster Casca that I have an emergency."
"You cannot leave, Alexie," said Julia with a frown while chasing after him. "The Runic Guards still suspect you, and leaving the ruins will increase their suspicions. Furthermore, escaping after being inside the ruins is against the guidelines the outsiders signed for..."
"Do not call me that," said Arthur as he stopped walking, his teeth gnashing against each other in frustration. Julia did not understand his meaning, nor did she know his urgency. "I need to be with my family."
"I will ensure that, but fighting against Runera is far from wise. This is me being on your side. If you ever become the enemy of Runera, you are the world's enemy."
"As if that makes a difference," laughed Arthur with helplessness. "I worked so hard to be stronger, but here I am trapped in this place like a rat. I will leave, Julia, and I cannot care less about being the enemy of Runera."
After that, Arthur bolted out of the ruins. Every space rune he tried to use could not outpower the array that held space together. It was ironic for the master of runes to be helpless against the runes, but irony finds us all.
Arthur was at the base of the divine tree in a second, and it was his cue to soar through the skies. Since Lilo was not around, Arthur had to levitate himself using runes. His figure darted through the blue sky as he rushed toward the direction of Kera.
"Warning! You have violated the aerial restrictions over the city of Runera. Please land, or there will be consequences!"
A voice rang below, and Arthur looked down to see the arrays lighting up like a starry night. His intuition can tell him that these arrays were designed for more than sending warnings. Arthur raced toward the teleportation stations outside it as he ignored the warnings.
These circles were connected through pre-constructed tunnels that allowed instantaneous space travel. Even if the arrays lock space, they cannot shut down the tunnel.
"You have been labeled as an outlaw."
The declaration did not come as a warning but as an announcement that the fight had begun. Arthur ignored it still, and the arrays lit up countless bolts of concentrated mana at him. A pure energy attack made him unable to use his insignia, but he was the creator of runes.
"Mana-Manipulation," muttered Arthur as he wrote the runes with his golden fingers, constructing numerous runes about energy manipulation, particles arrangement, and energy fields. "IV," then, he selected the most advanced forms of the rune he could wield.
His powers were now diverse and almost omnipotent, but the limitation lay in his body. The vessel cannot handle what the mind knows, and the knowledge inside him would turn Arthur back into runes if he used it.
This made Arthur use the legacy classification to limit his usage of the runes. However, these ranks were still his growth zone, and Arthur needed to grow stronger through levels and stats for his scope to increase.
The result was a magnificent display of the mana blasts sliding off his body and soaring toward the sky. Arthur dodged those too powerful for him to handle, making him look like a meteor dancing around his enemies.
"The intruder is right ahead!" a voice roared from ahead as the runic guards appeared. The head of the Amens Family was standing there with his armor as his soldiers spread to obstruct Arthur from leaving. "Cease these actions of you will become the enemy of Runera!"
Arthur did not care, and he kept rushing toward the walls. The runemasters in their pavilions and the citizens in their shops looked upward to see the hustle. It was one of the few times that someone was insane enough to oppose the Runic Guards, but none seemed worried.
Arthur's frown deepened as he sensed the lifeforce of his opponents. All of them were at the deme-rank, which he could handle, but the head of the family was a league ahead.
"A Peak-Astra Ranker," muttered Arthur while gritting his teeth. The fight ahead of him was one he could not deal with just yet, but what choice did he have to save his mother and brother?
"I need to leave the city, now!" shouted Arthur, but his speed did not slow down. "There is no need for a fight."
"A fight?" sneered the Runic Guards Captain at his words. "Do you think you are worthy of fighting me on equal terms?"
His words were full of pride, and Arthur knew that even though he was being underestimated, this man had the right to be proud. As the leader of the Runic Guards, he was far more powerful than an average Astra-Ranker if his artifacts were included.
Arthur finally stopped flying in front of the runic guards, who were now surrounding him from every direction. Their leader seemed surprised as he saw who the intruder was, and some of the soldiers began to laugh.
"Alexie Linan," muttered the Runic Guards Captain with visible anger. "I thought you were just an ambitious man when you challenged the guilds. However, it seems you are simply insane. Grandmaster Casca was the sole reason we allowed you outside, and yet here you are running away."
"I have an emergency outside of Runera," said Arthur with a cold face. "It is important enough for me to fight all of you here."
"You are arrogant without anything to back that up," said the captain while gesturing for one of his soldiers. "Arrest him, but do not harm him."
A deme ranker stepped forward wearing light armor and two boots that allowed him flight. Arthur stared at the knight, who looked in his early thirties, and realized it was a deme-ranker.
"As you command, Captain," muttered the deme-ranker as he raised his hand. A pulse of mana came from within the soldier as a domain appeared in the sky, and Arthur felt his body get heavier. Then, an invisible force tried to restrict his movements. "Do not resist, kid."
As he restrained Arthur from moving even an inch, the deme-ranker flew toward him to arrest him. Arthur stared at the soldier while pondering how to get himself out of this place.
If he allowed them to arrest him, this would take days to resolve. However, a fight would take just as much time, and not mention, Arthur will have to sacrifice a lot to win.
His sole option was to convince them, but he had no idea how. However, another person can do that for him, and Arthur just has to bring him out.
The deme ranker stopped flying in front of Arthur, whose arms were not tied by the invisible force behind his back. As the soldier grabbed his shoulder, Arthur moved.
A second later, the soldier was sent flying across the skies and crashed into a high tower of a building, destroying most of it. The silence was overbearing as the soldiers looked at Arthur, who still had his fist in front of him.
"I want to talk to the Ghost Ruler, and you can report that I have a method to open the ruins."