City of Sin

Book 7, 3

Failed Threats

The man was immediately enraged, black light flashing in his eyes as he punched towards the film of light. The fist was full of energy, but the barrier didn’t so much as budge. Instead, his own face turned red with both nostrils starting to leak blood. He snorted and glared through the film.

Richard smiled faintly, “You can keep trying, but you’ll only get more hurt. This is Faust, even legends don’t just get what they want here.”

The man gnashed his teeth with rage, “You can’t hide there for a lifetime, kid. Let’s see any of your people dare to come out... Oh?”

His eyes fell upon Mountainsea who was sleeping next to Richard, face immediately warping with extreme greed. Barely able to look away, he turned back, “You’re lucky, boy! I’m going to give you another chance. Just give me that thing and this girl, and I’ll let you keep your worthless life. If you don’t agree, you’ll regret it!”

“Motherfu... You’re asking for death!” Richard’s eyes immediately flashed crimson, “Who the hell are you, you bastard?”

“Such courage! Don’t think this film can protect you!” The man’s gaze fell upon Mountainsea, a strange purple light appearing in his eyes as his voice grew soft and erratic, ‘Little kid, hurry up and come to me. I’ll make sure you enjoy the rest of your life as a woman. Yes, you love me. You’re willing to do anything for me...“

The sleeping Mountainsea suddenly screamed and writhed, waking up for a moment and looking around her in a daze. She continued to rub her eyes as she met the man’s stare.

The man was overjoyed with the quickness of the effect, continuing to say softly, “Yes, that’s it. I’m your master now...”

Just as he continued to mumble happily, the man saw her picking up a small bracer and putting it in front of her face. He couldn’t see the material from afar, but the workmanship was quite rough and unlike the mastery of Norland’s smiths.

However, the moment his purple gaze fell upon the bracer the rays of light he was emitting were returned to him in full. The man screamed and fell from the air, plummeting down to the depths of Faust. Mountainsea still remained confused, not because she’d been placed under an illusion but because she wasn’t awake at all. She threw down the bracer in her hand and went back to sleep.

The moment the unremarkable bracer landed, the obsidian floor half caved in before shaking. This tiny piece of armour had tens of tonnes of lafite condensed into it; even if most of the impurities had been removed, it wasn’t much lighter than Eleventon.

Looking at Mountainsea’s annoyed expression, Richard almost chuckled to himself. Using soul attacks on the Chosen of the Beast God was a fool’s errand; even a legendary being would not meet a good end.

The man suddenly flew back up from below, his eyes now bleeding just like his nostrils. Gnashing his teeth, he pointed at Richard coldly, “You’re finished! Your family and island are finished too! I’ll turn every woman in your family into a who—”

Richard burst into laughter and interrupted him, “My island is finished? To think there’s someone crazy enough to think they can just destroy an island of Faust. How exactly are you even here, if you’re such an enemy of the Eternal Dragon?”

The man grew sullen, “So what? You don’t know what it’s like to become the enemy of a legendary being. You’ll find out.”

Richard sneered, “And you don’t know what it’s like to be my enemy. I think you should know that the Eternal Dragon is quite willing to kill those opposed to him given enough payment? Do you think you match up to an overgod like him?”

The man stared at Richard, his eyes pulsing, “You’ll regret this!”

“Stop embarrassing yourself and get lost.”

Finally rendered quiet, the man flew away with a gloomy face. Richard’s own expression sank as he looked at the defensive membrane fading around him, falling back into meditation. Deep in his veins, the new symbols of his truename were in the final stages of their transformation. A pale gold light flashed as everything finally stabilised, his truename having evolved.

He opened his eyes and exhaled slowly, grabbing Moonlight and stroking the blade. A whitish-blue flame instantly ignited on the surface, very faint but hiding terrifying power. In only an instant the surroundings were past boiling point, and the temperature continued to rise rapidly. Eyes wide open in shock, he quickly had it fade away.

His meditation now complete, Richard couldn’t begin to calculate just how great the harvest was. Not rushing to leave the practice room, he committed as much of the process as he could to memory for later analysis. The fourth moon had an affinity for destruction, which was why the corresponding secret sword had enormous sheer power. Perhaps it was this nature that pushed the blue moon’s energy towards his Archeron bloodline instead of the moonforce affinity, having it blend with Dizmason.

However, he still had his doubts. All his life he had been trying his best to balance his demon and elven bloodlines, with the sole reason that they could not be merged. At the very least, he couldn’t recall any elves and full-blooded demons that had produced descendants, and even for a half-elf, he was the only one he knew with demonic blood. Unfortunately, that meant there wasn’t much of an example for him to learn from; he would just have to react to any issues in the future.

With the new symbols of his truename, he had gained another powerful ability. Instead of just breathing abyssal flames, he could set anything he wished on fire with his destructive powers and attack an enemy that way.

Noticing a frown on Mountainsea’s face, he shook his head and smiled. Walking over and cradling her for a bit, he stroked her hair until she sighed with comfort and fell back into a deep sleep. Her body crackled ever so softly as she snored, a sign of her bones constantly being strengthened and adjusted spontaneously.

Slowly setting her back down, he stood up and walked away. She hadn’t mentioned how long she would be sleeping this time; in her own words, she had managed as long as a year at a stretch.

.......

When he walked out of his practice room, Richard was extremely gloomy. Ever since he had broken the Mensas, nobody had acted so arrogantly towards him in Faust. The Archerons might not have a legendary being, but they had a horde of rune knights that could make up the difference. He wanted to know who that man was; there certainly wasn’t an epic being’s aura to him, and he hadn’t given his name from start to end.

However, he was pretty certain that the Eternal Dragon would be able to track him down regardless. In fact, he was curious how someone that could prompt the miserly dragon to erect a barrier was left alive by the Church of the Eternal Dragon. Although he had only appeared for a short while, the Church hadn’t made a move at all either.

Few people were willing to burn sacrifices to kill their enemies. Even for a saint the investment required was uneconomical; it was a much better idea to just strengthen oneself so the fight was lopsided. This was likely why the man hadn’t really reacted to the threat. However, Richard called over a servant nearby, “Ask the steward to take out boxes 1 to 3 from the sacrifice warehouse. Send a message to Blackrose to transfer fifty rune knights immediately, rose knights are fine too. Tell the rune knights on the island to prepare for battle immediately; we’re setting off the moment the other knights arrive. Send letters to Nyris, Neil, and Agamemnon too; tell them to come over to the island when they have time.”

Once the servant nodded and rushed away, Richard sent a message in his consciousness, “Waterflower, get ready. We’re going to the Church.”

The young woman had been snoring in the grove behind the castle, with Tiramisu sitting down below barbequing a large bowl of raw meat. Hearing the mental command and watching her immediately flash away, the ogre asked, “What about me, Master?”

“You stay here. If anyone rushes over, kill them instantly.”

“Anyone?”

“Give them a warning first, but if they don’t listen, yes anyone.”

“Alright Master, I’ll try my best.”

Richard remained in the castle hall for a while, waiting for the sacrifices to be prepared and the rune knights from Blackrose to arrive. Once the incoming fifty joined his own to make a full company of 100, he jumped on a mount and led them all towards the portal.