In a matter of several seconds, the entire situation was flipped on its head. From a friendly encounter with random people that were ready to help them, to a brutal fight that was about to break out.
Nobody could’ve expected this to happen, at least not in such a weird manner. Arthur and the others were confused as to why the mercenaries’ attitude changed when they realized that Finlay and Serko were dwarves.
The look of panic and disgust that appeared on their faces made Arthur question their real thoughts. What did they think of dwarves for them to instantly assault two children of that race without thinking twice?
‘Not the time for such questions. They’re ready to fight us for the sake of capturing Finlay and Serko. Whatever it is they think of these dwarves, it is worth fighting the first Gifted Players to arrive in the Capital Of Glory…’
The same players that the royal family was expecting.
As Arthur was thinking about that, Van rose from the ice as he looked up with a cold glare on his face. Blood was seeping through his mask. Arthur’s punch had broken one of his teeth.
“Step back, Finlay.” Arthur tapped the boy’s head gently with a serious look. “This isn’t going to be easy.”
“…” The boy stared at his friend for a moment before he nodded and moved away. “Please, be careful, Arthur.”
Then, he stood up and picked up his giant hammer. Without saying a single word, he dashed forward at a horrifying speed.
‘Fast!’
In a short moment, Arthur found the mercenary right in front of him with the giant hammer swinging down, aiming to crash him with a single hit.
Calmy, Arthur sidestepped the attack as he stabbed with his sword, aiming for the man’s throat. He wanted to simply end the fight in a split second with a horrifyingly fast attack that would kill the mercenary in a moment.
‘This boy!!’ Van felt a cold sensation in his spine as he realized that the blade of the boy’s sword was barely a few inches away from his throat.
Instinctively, the man channeled his mana. ‘Magma Eruption!’
Suddenly, his hammer’s head ignited with a bright flame. Then, right where it landed, a giant explosion of hot lava erupted everywhere, spreading across the area in a split second.
‘Hm?’ Arthur’s eyes went down as he realized that the ground beneath him had cracked open slightly and lava bubbled up right where his foot was.
Without hesitation, the boy jumped back with insane reaction speed.
*BOOOM*
The Lava exploded all around Van, melting the ice in a moment.
‘That was close. That could’ve been a deadly blow. But, now I know that he can use lava. Tsk, this is going to be to-‘
*Swish*
‘Behind me…!’
Arthur suddenly felt a chill run down his spine as he looked behind him. There, Uhl had snuck out of nowhere and stabbed forward with his sword, aiming for Arthur’s blind spot.
The boy was about to react and summon arrows, but, at that moment, he stopped.
*BANG*
‘I got him!’
Before Uhl could even celebrate, a silhouette stepped in front of him as she stomped his weapon down to the ground before she thrust her sword, aiming for his face. The latter was barely able to dodge the attack in time.
His cheek was grazed and a small amount of blood trickled down his face.
“Your problem is with me,” Isla said coldly as she glared at him.
‘Fuck!’ Clenching his teeth, Uhl lifted the sword up, making Isla jump in the air and land near Arthur.
“Thanks.” The boy said without looking back.
“We will talk later,” Isla replied. “Kill them all.”
“You don’t have to tell me.”
*Swish*
The two vanished like ghosts as they attacked the two mercenaries.
Meanwhile, the others watched in awe until they turned to stare at the last mercenary. The two sides made eye contact and they realized that Serko was still on the ground.
*CRACK*
“Well, time to beat the shit out of this bastard.” Herculia grinned.
“Don’t kill him… Too quickly.” Danny pulled his sword out.
“Hey, you two better stay out of the way, I’m going to blast that bastard.”
“*Gulp*” The mercenary realized that he was about to fight three Gifted Ones at the same time and he felt a cold dreadful feeling wash over his heart.
‘I’m going to get killed… But, if I let these two dwarves run away, the royal family will do far worse things to me.’ He clenched his teeth. In the end, the man decided to do the only logical thing.
“If you move a single inch, I’m going to crush his head!! Do you hear me?!” He yelled loudly, lifted Serko up, and held him by the neck.
Immediately, the players’ faces grew darker as they realized what was happening.
“You bastard, let him go!” Herculia growled angrily as he glared at the mercenary.
“If you don’t want him dead, surrender right now!” The mercenary squeezed the boy’s neck, almost suffocating him.
“H-Help…” Serko muttered as he grabbed the man’s hand, tears welling up in his eyes.
“Scum…” Emmy muttered with a disgusted expression. She was barely able to keep her composure as she squeezed her staff.
All sympathy that she might’ve had for these three mercenaries was gone at that very moment. Using a small kid as a shield was something only a truly devilish monster would do, not a human.
“Danny…” She said.
“Yeah, I know.” He replied coldly. ‘We need to take him down before he can do anything to the kid.’
A swift and fast attack aimed at the head would kill the mercenary instantly and save Serko. But, the question remains… How?
***
*BOOOOOM*
Meanwhile, not that far away from their current position, Arthur and Van were engaged in a brutal battle. From afar, one could only see large explosions of lava and fire as two silhouettes moved at a horrifying speed, clashing several times in a matter of a few seconds.
As Arthur expected, Van was a very strong foe. Not only was he very fast, he also was able to easily swing around a large hammer as if it weighed nothing. He knew that if he made even a small mistake, the hammer would squash him into a meat paste. On top of that, each attack erupted large amounts of lava everywhere, pushing the boy even further back.
*BOOOM*
Arthur dodged the large hammer as he jumped back before he threw a large ball of frost flame at Van. The latter quickly lifted his hammer and deflected the hit. Ice covered the weapon for a moment before it melted from its insane heat.
But, Arthur didn’t stop his assault as he followed that attack with several blood arrows. Van swung his hammer, destroying the projectiles swiftly as he dashed forward, leaped in the air, and smashed the hammer down.
‘So annoying! I can’t get close to him because of the dumb lava!’ The boy clicked his tongue before he jumped aside at the same moment as the hammer smashed the ground, sending a massive shockwave everywhere.
“Hah… Hah…” The two fighters stared at each other. They were breathing audibly as the battle grew more and more intense.
“There is really no reason for us to be fighting, Sir Arthur… We have nothing against you. We only want to capture those disgusting dwarves and return them where they belong.” Van lifted his hammer and said in a calm tone.
“…” Arthur pursed his lips. “Return them where?”
“To where they belong. Right beneath the Wall! They have been sentenced to that place and if a single one of them escapes, hell will break loose upon our heads!” Van declared loudly, his expression turning more and more sour with each word.
‘The wall? What is he talking ab-‘ At that moment, Arthur’s eyes widened as he remembered something one of the dwarves said to him a while ago. When they were asked about the place they were heading and what the letter told them. They said one single place.
‘The Wall Of The Gods.’ Arthur mused. Suddenly, things started getting clearer and clearer. The bits and pieces he had gathered so far started linking together. Although he still didn’t know everything, things were starting to take shape.
“What made them deserve such a thing?” He asked.
“They have to atone for their sins! Those devils cannot be let out into the world! The day that happens, we’re all doomed!” He yelled. “We need to get them back there as soon as possible! Please, Sir Arthur, don’t force me to do this!”
Hearing the pleading voice in the man’s tone, Arthur felt even more confused. Why was he begging him for that? What did he mean by ‘Doomed’? What sin did these dwarves commit to be imprisoned in a wall?
A thousand questions popped into his head at that moment. Yet, all of it vanished when he heard his name being called.
“Arthur…” Finlay muttered as he watched his friend’s silhouette with a lost look on his face.
That made Arthur look over his shoulder at the dwarf. For a moment, his eyes flashed with a weird glint before he turned to look at the mercenary.
“Meh, I don’t really care. Those two are good people and I won’t let you treat them like that for whatever twisted reason you have. Doomed or not, I am not betraying them.”
A//N: Don’t forget to give the book some golden tickets for good luck! :3
