Chapter 122: Grand Introduction Denied: What A Crazy Bastard
[Name: Arthur Potter
Flag: Death Flag
Status: Escalating!]
Cillian watched the display of abilities openly being shown before him, something he had witnessed for the first time since his transmigration.
At one corner of the battlefield, destroyed houses and the leftovers of a clash between a Black Shepherd and an Official Ruiner were seen, with both dying in the end. At another corner, another devastating scene unfolded as Guild members and Shepherds continued their brutal battle. Some of its members were Ruiners.
This was a perfect example of why rules were established when using abilities. One side showed the use of abilities for evil purposes, while the other side used them to prevent such disasters from happening.
’I could’ve mimicked some of the abilities myself...!’
Cillian, who couldn’t make use of this opportunity, was left weakened before finally feeling the intense pain from his fight against the Black Shepherds inside Hensel. The pain came from the injuries to his abdomen and shoulder.
"Cillian!"
"I’m fine..."
Cillian looked at the worried Mouthful Eye in his breast pocket before clicking his tongue.
"Don’t just suddenly talk. I don’t want someone to know that I have a talking Artifact with me."
Talking Artifacts were very rare, and they were regarded as something that contained the previous soul of a Piece, since most of them were made from someone’s Fragmented Piece. They were almost similar to a Possessive Piece, but even then, they remained incredibly rare.
Well, Mouthful Eye’s case was different since he wasn’t a Fragmented Piece turned into an eye. But it wasn’t like everyone had to know about it, much less that he was capable of talking.
"You need to get yourself healed, kiddo!"
Cillian glanced behind him, where the Hensel Hospital is located, before replying in a quite humorous way.
"You want me to go back there and find a doctor?"
"You want me to alert the main body and throw a punch at you?"
Mouthful Eye retorted in a quite annoyed tone before he added.
"You should rest for a while!"
Cillian shook his head as he grabbed Death Coin from his Inventory and tossed it through the air.
[Death Coin is available to be flipped again]
[Death Coin is flipping]
[Result: Tails]
[0:59:58]
Seeing that the third time was indeed not the charm, Cillian sighed and explained why he continued walking instead of simply resting somewhere nearby.
"When the Black Shepherds are appearing everywhere despite being stopped by the Official Ruiners and Guilds, that only means Arthur is still in the process of summoning a ’God.’ In other words, he still hasn’t finished whatever he was doing. The people in Hensel, whom he probably manipulated, are still under his influence. We should just go."
’Everyone still hasn’t seen the full picture yet... I should let everyone know first and prioritize the safety of Ella and Esther, who I’m sure are currently being captured by Arthur.’
Cillian walked slowly, his hand clutching his abdomen, as he continued to survey the chaos all around him.
At that moment, Cillian hoped he would encounter someone familiar to whom he could relay the information he held. If he couldn’t do it, he might as well go and rescue his family.
At the same time, he put the Death Coin inside his Inventory.
"Hey—"
Cillian continued walking forward, not hearing the nearby voice calling out to him. Even Mouthful Eye tried to convince him to stop, since the person calling out to him was someone familiar.
"That eye peeking through your pocket is... Wait, you..."
Cillian continued walking forward before this particular person grabbed his shoulder, forcing him to look back.
"Cillian!"
With an exhausted expression, Cillian looked at the person who had called out to him. Those pair of crimson eyes stared back at him with a worried expression.
It was the main character, Aster Densworth.
[Black Flag]
"Cillian, can you hear me? Where are others?! Kash, Willow, Melissa, and Ivy! They are all missing!"
There was urgency in his voice as he tried to reason with the injured Cillian, who seemed too exhausted to even speak.
Instead of Aster, who should’ve noticed his condition at first glance, it was another person that is with him.
"Aster, stop disturbing him too much. Can’t you see he’s pretty exhausted?"
[Red Flag]
One person emerged from the shadows while carrying a bloodied metal bat. Aster stopped pestering Cillian for a moment, allowing this person to approach Cillian and look at him with interest.
"You must be one of Aster’s friends, and I can vividly sense that you’ve exhausted your abilities but not to the point of losing control. You’re pretty experienced as a Ruiner. Not as me, though."
This person grabbed an Artifact that resembled a pacifier and forced it into Cillian’s mouth.
Then, this person commented.
"What a bummer. I would’ve gotten your Fragmented Piece if I had just killed you after you lost control. Anyway, nice to meet you. The name’s Oli. I’m Aster’s master. We’ve travelled from a very far place just to get here."
This man, Oli, flashed a charming smile as if he wanted to introduce himself to Cillian in the grandest way possible, emerging from the shadows while carrying a bloodied metal bat and all.
But it only made Cillian tilt his head to the side with the most confused expression he had ever shown today.
Sucking on the pacifier, feeling that whatever this Artifact was trying to do to him was definitely helping, Cillian then commented,
"Whut er krezy besterdd."(What a crazy bastard).
It was indeed mentioned that Aster had a master before coming to the Academy. Cillian even remembered it as he searched through his memories while Aster had called him the Strongest Ruiner of this world, one who wielded six Pieces with no Zero.
’So his name is Oli. That freaking foreshadowing came in handy this time.’
Removing the pacifier from his mouth and feeling Oli’s blank stare on him, Cillian looked at Aster and asked him.
"What do you mean that Melissa and others are missing?"
Aster answered right away.
"All nearby guilds were contacted through the wired telephone. I was actually away from Viola, training with my master as I told you. But when my master was notified that there was trouble here, we immediately came to this place. We just arrived."
"And your destination is Hensel Hospital?"
Aster nodded his head.
"I mean, someone called to me, and it pointed me here, and then I encountered you. Have you been inside this Hensel Hospital?"
’Someone called you at Hensel Hospital?’
Cillian mused inwardly before finally understanding why he had met Aster first, right after leaving it.
It was him.
’I mentioned his name there when I was fighting that shepherd adept at using a sword. Hah...’
He had the urge to facepalm before answering him.
"I was indeed inside Hensel Hospital. I was trying to find my family there, but the Black Shepherds ambushed me. I was one of their targets, and they were trying to trap me there while holding my family hostage. Thankfully, my family wasn’t there, so their main plan failed. I fought some of them and managed to escape.
"But my family being absent is the least of my concerns. I believe my family and your friends are currently being captured by Arthur, a Heretic who is currently summoning a ’God.’ The Black Shepherds’ goal is that same ’God,’ and that’s why they are here."
Both Aster and Oli were left speechless, struggling to process the overwhelming information Cillian had just revealed.
Black Shepherds? Heretic? God?