Chapter 123: Rush Towards The Ancient Ruin
Sucking on the pacifier in his mouth and feeling that his overall health was improving, excluding the injuries around his body that were wrapped in bandages, Cillian looked around the streets of Viola while being piggybacked by Aster.
They had been running for what felt like quite some time, almost ten minutes if Cillian judged by the cooldown of his Death Coin on his system.
Along the way, they had seen the devastating results of the fighting between the Black Shepherds and the Guilds that were trying to fend them off while evacuating the residents of Viola.
It was a disaster, with corpses lying around left and right.
’These shepherds are not hiding themselves anymore?’
Cillian thought inside his head, thinking that the Shepherd’s way of doing things had not been the Shepherd-like way of handling things.
Suddenly, as he was thinking about the situation, he heard Aster talking as he looked around.
"So let me get this straight and make this simpler. You want to get closer to Arthur and stop him from summoning a ’God’? That way, we also stop the Black Shepherds’ plan?"
Cillian nodded at Aster’s quick deduction after hearing everything Cillian had told them.
The Black Shepherds definitely had a way to deal with that enemy, but as much as possible, Cillian didn’t want it to reach that point. After all, to stop their plan, Cillian only needed someone to kill Arthur.
Cillian had to stop thinking that it was supposed to be his job now that his plan to assassinate Arthur himself had gone awry.
It might not be a fun idea to think about, but Cillian was left with no choice but to take this route when there was a perfect candidate capable of doing it behind him.
Cillian couldn’t help but glance at Oli, the Strongest Ruiner of this world for Aster before a huge noise suddenly came from one of the empty houses.
Baaaang—!
A piece of debris suddenly shot toward them as a Black Shepherd was chased by three people who appeared to be Guild members.
Cillian and the master-student duo merely ignored the ongoing chase, dodged the piece of debris, and continued running forward until they encountered a similar situation.
A Black Shepherd was running toward them, and their paths were about to cross. Judging by the shepherd’s tattered clothes, it appeared as if he had just escaped a pursuit from his pursuers.
Then, he set his eyes on them as if they were an easy target to kill.
Upon seeing that they wouldn’t be able to avoid a confrontation, Oli dashed forward with his clenched metal bat.
The Black Shepherd, who had been waiting for them to arrive, unleashed his ability, which fired grey projectiles that Oli easily deflected with his metal bat.
He smashed them all one by one.
This made the Shepherd grow restless as he couldn’t help but recognize the familiar metal bat and face.
"Huh, that metal bat made of Artifact and the best Artisans of the Dwarven Race..."
Seeing the numerous scars covering the man’s face, the Black Shepherd seemed to have a sudden realization.
"Oliver Gasparo!"
Oliver, short for Oli, couldn’t help but frown upon hearing his name spoken by this Black Shepherd before he smiled wickedly.
"You Shepherds sure are interesting!"
Oli lightly hopped off the invisible platform in the air before launching himself toward the Black Shepherd after stomping down on it with his legs.
The Black Shepherd tried to defend himself, but Oliver’s metal bat came hurtling toward his face too quickly for him to react. He was smashed into the ground by the impact before a few more devastating hits were enough to do the job.
"The heck?! You guys are Improper Ruiners like me, and you don’t know how to use your abilities properly?"
As if disappointed that the Black Shepherd had died so easily, Oliver looked toward Aster and Cillian, who had both stopped midway after witnessing the swift battle that had just happened.
’I know that Oliver is an individual with [Six] Pieces, and I expected him to reveal those abilities right away to eliminate his opponent. Yet, he did it in a way that took more time. He used a weapon and only one ability... But what did he mean by saying that Improper Ruiners should know how to use their abilities?’
What determines a Ruiner’s strength? Is it the number of Pieces they have? The more Pieces they possess, the stronger they are?
Cillian knew that wasn’t the case. For someone to be a proper Ruiner, they must follow the strict rules of properly advancing.
However, what if people didn’t start from Zero? Is acquiring higher Pieces the solution?
Cillian hadn’t encountered this kind of problem since he properly became a Ruiner, but what about those who hadn’t properly started?
Based on what he had observed about those Improper Ruiners, Cillian noticed their reliance on external resources such as weapons, items, and Artifacts. After all, they had to be smart about how they used their abilities since they had a higher chance of losing control due to not having a [Zero].
Are there any other reasons?
’I see now... Even though this isn’t confirmed yet, I think the reason Artifacts have negative effects is because of this. Improper Ruiners experience the pain of being improper. What an interesting thought, but it doesn’t hurt to ask Oliver about this later to confirm my theory.’
Cillian mused inwardly before looking toward the Strongest Ruiner, who was still looking at them as if he were waiting to be praised by these little kids.
But the reaction he had gotten from both of them was silence.
Cillian, after a few seconds, removed the pacifier from his lips and said in a teasing tone.
"Hey, can you stop flaunting your skills? We get that you’re the Strongest Ruiner around here, and you’re blatantly showing it off to me, but you don’t have to do that."
Cillian wanted to tease this old man a little more until he saw Oliver making a weird face. Oliver looked at Aster and said,
"You have quite a nasty friend, Aster. Care to tell me what his name is? I believe the face he’s currently using is different."
Aster clicked his tongue. He then complained to his master and started running.
"Old man! Can we just keep running for now?! My friends are in trouble! You too, Cillian. You have a family to get to as well, right?!"
Both Oliver and Cillian wanted to retort to Aster, but upon hearing that every word he said was right, their faces started to turn serious.
Cillian placed the pacifier back into his mouth as the three of them started running in the direction he had told them to take.
Eventually, they reached their destination. However, that was when they encountered a huge problem that made the three of them instantly halt.
There were Guild members scattered throughout the area, and in front of them were Black Shepherds who had positioned themselves on the roofs of nearby houses.
Among those shepherds, there were individuals wearing different colored robes, and they carefully watched their opponents.
It was the White Shepherds.
They have finally revealed themselves.