Chapter 125: Pseudo Pieces
"Yeah, that’s the actual summary of what happened."
Entering the Ancient Ruin site, Cillian and Aster listened to the Official Ruiner who told them the current situation that had led to this development and the reason they had been duped by the White Shepherds.
During the time Cillian was inside the Hensel Hospital, while Aster and Oliver were still on their way to Viola, the Ruiners had been tipped off that Arthur Potter was a Heretic working together with the Black Shepherds.
The moment every guild in Viola was made aware of the situation, the White Shepherds immediately launched their attack on Viola. During those two hours, the Black Shepherds were scattered throughout the city. Eventually, the General Strategist, Scott, realized that the Shepherds’ main purpose didn’t lie in simply invading then hence, acting on Cillian’s clue, he led the search for Arthur and the Ancient Ruin.
He assigned roles to everyone, ordering some of the Guilds’ capable members to hunt down the Black Shepherds scattered throughout Viola, who were merely distractions, while the rest headed toward the Ancient Ruin site. Now, they were about to enter the very place Cillian had desperately avoided entering while investigating the missing expedition case.
’Well, I was keeping the role of an observer back then, afraid that my flag would turn into a Death Flag. It did turn up into one, though not because I’m about to enter it, but because of that damn Heretic. Hahh... and here I thought they’d been standing here for the past two hours. Turns out they only surrounded the Ancient Ruin about ten minutes ago.’
’But for Scott to show up when he had said he wasn’t that kind of person, it only meant that this matter had been given priority above everything else. Did Khalish order him to handle this himself? Where is that General Strategist right now, anyway?’
While Cillian’s thoughts wandered, Aster, who had been listening quietly, stepped through the entrance with a worried expression and glanced toward him.
"Usually, whatever Arthur is trying to do should’ve already happened, right? Why is it taking so long?"
There was unease on Arthur’s face, and Cillian understood where he was coming from. He, too, couldn’t help but worry about Esther and Ella being abducted because of Arthur, but he knew that worrying himself sick over the situation would only make things worse.
That’s why Cillian reassured him.
"Instead of being worried about it, shouldn’t you be glad that nothing is happening yet?"
’But he’s right about it taking so long... Why though? Is it related to Arthur still having a bit of good in him? Is this somehow the reason why he asked for help in his diary and let it be seen by somebody to see it?’
Cillian added inwardly to his reply toward Aster before deciding not to change his view of Arthur after what Arthur had done, something he could never take back. There was no turning back now, and it seemed Arthur understood that, even in his desperate state.
Rumble—!
Suddenly, when almost everyone had entered the Ancient Ruin, the ground began to shake violently, bringing everyone to a stop.
It just so happens to be when everyone had already entered the Ancient Ruin, making everyone feel its tremor.
"The ground is shaking!"
Hearing Scott’s scream as he informed everyone of the situation, Cillian and Aster immediately readied themselves, only to be met with a sight that surprised not only the two of them but also the rest of the people who had entered the Ancient Ruin from the past era.
The path beneath their feet suddenly broke apart.
’What the f—’
All of them began to fall.
"Shit...!"
Oliver, who was with them, started to fall. The Ruiner that Cillian and Aster had talked with also began to fall. Some tried to escape the sudden collapse, but they were unable to move quickly enough as the ground breaking apart beneath them happened faster. Everyone inside the Ancient Ruin found themselves falling, unable to anticipate the unexpected collapse beforehand.
"Hah!"
Cillian let out a scoff, finding the situation ridiculous.
It hadn’t been long since Cillian had escaped from Hensel Hospital, and now he had to deal with something absurd once again.
But there was something ’great’ about this fall, and it was the fact that he wasn’t the only one who got to experience this ridiculousness.
’It’s fine since I’m not alone right now, right?’
Still being carried by Aster from behind, Cillian watched everyone within his vision fall through the Ancient Ruin. Just as it was happening, the ’walls’ beside them split open, revealing what seemed to be suction holes that began pulling the members of the guilds left and right throughout the area.
"Wha—"
"Where is this coming from?!"
"Aster!"
Oliver shouted at Aster for a brief moment as he tried to leap through the air to reach his student’s side, only to be caught by a ’land-suctioning hole’ that dragged him inside.
As everyone was being sucked into these holes, Cillian suddenly had a thought regarding the absurd situation after an absurd situation.
’What the? This didn’t seem like the work of a powerful Ruiner who could accomplish all of these things alone. Is it another Legendary Artifact?’
From what Cillian had gathered from Aiden, who had been a good and valuable helper by at least spilling some of the secrets he knew, there were certain rankings for Artifacts.
According to Aiden, while Artifacts could be manufactured just by making an Artisan work to the bone using a Fragmented Piece from a dead Ruiner, Legendary Artifacts were different.
They are the mutated types of Artifacts that are highly dangerous if used careless that might also affect the user.
They still came from a Fragmented Piece of a dead Ruiner, especially one with a large number of Pieces incorporated into them. However, because of the mutation, the Artifact could be used without the work of an Artisan.
However, as always, there was a catch. They were much more chaotic, threatening, and dangerous to use, not only for the people targeted by them but also for the ones using them.
Captain, back in the Academy, attempted to incorporate a Legendary Artifact into himself because he believed he had a chance, and because he was an Improper Ruiner.
But at the end of the day, a Fragmented Piece will always remain a Fragmented Piece, whether it becomes an Artifact or a Legendary Artifact.
’Still, Mouthful Eye liked to call it Pseudo Pieces. Man, I wish I had one. As long as I can handle the bad effects, that is.’
Cillian mused inwardly before a ’land-suctioning hole’ pulled both him and Aster inside.
He had fully accepted that he would not be able to escape; hence, he accepted both his and Aster’s fate.
’I can rest assured, though. It looks like this Legendary Artifact isn’t something that will kill us. Instead, it seems to only be a way to separate everyone from each other.’
Cillian was about to feel relieved when he realized the purpose of this Legendary Artifact, only to stop himself from letting his thoughts spiral, afraid that he would jinx himself again.
’You may never know.’
A soft sigh escaped Cillian’s lips before the two of them watched themselves get pulled deeper and deeper into the land-suctioning hole.
It didn’t take long before the two of them reached the end of the hole, immediately landing in an unknown place deep inside the Ancient Ruin.