The enders, minions of Nameless and a part of his body, started rising from the ground like undead beings summoned by Hartman. Arthur stood between beings capable of destroying anything and the sin of pride. His back was indeed pushed against the wall.
“Are you sure the people would want to see this?” asked Arthur while still glancing back, not daring to give his back to the sin of pride. “Everyone knows that the fallen beings appeared in Runera, and associating with them proves that my accusations were right.”
“A fallen being can be seen because it has a medium, but what about these torches of nothingness?” asked Hartman as he spread his arms. “Unless someone is watching us, no one knows of their existence. These creatures are invisible when detected by mana or technology.”
Arthur knew as much since he understood these creatures better than anyone. Nameless was nothingness, and one cannot see it. As for their current appearance, it was perceived by their eyes as a lack of something. An onlooker wouldn’t see them by their eyes but through their souls.
It fails when a camera tries to capture the reflected light from these bodies. As for the runic artifacts, it was worse. These were the bane of runes and artifacts.
This made it impossible for the general public to see the enders unless they were fallen beings. A fallen being was a human corrupted by Nameless, while the enders were part of him. An awakener with abundant spiritual energy can see Nameless. Others could not.
“What do you stand to gain from this?” asked Arthur as he turned back toward the gate. The threatening aura was watching the unfolding of these events with great interest. “Is this just to frame me?”
“Among other things,” said Hartman before he walked forward toward the dungeon. He passed Arthur and kneeled before the gate. “I am here to invite the great Sin of Pride to this world and aid him into becoming its ruler.”
“Ah, what an interesting proposal,” replied the calamity. Arthur could see Hartman trembling as he heard it. “Tell me, human. Are you worthy of serving the great I?”
“I am far from it,” said Hartman in a heartbeat. “Our emperor said that not even all humans combined can be worthy of serving the man known as The First Sin, Cassius.”
“Am I a sinful being, mortal?” asked the voice again, this time with an edge. Arthur saw cracks on the ground around Hartman, as if the words were blades cutting through this world.
“The only sin is not to serve you,” replied Hartman in the nick of time before one of the invisible slashes tore him apart. Then, everything stopped.
“An obedient dog is not bad to have,” said Cassius from within the gate. “I heard about your plan to harm the outsider. That, I love. Break this gate, and watch the descent of the great I.”
Arthur’s mana exploded around him as soon as he finished his words. He clenched his fist and infused them with mana, turning them into two golden spheres before slamming them to the ground. Then, like a rising tide, the mana struck from the ground and rippled across the valley full of Enders.
Hssss!
All the minions screamed as the golden mana replaced their existence and fortified the world’s existence. As the gaps seeped from closed, Nameless couldn’t do anything but disappear.
“Do you think I would let you, Hartman?” asked Arthur with rage, his body burning with golden flames. “I am the creator, and this nothingness does not scare me.”
“Have you given up on saving that woman?” asked Hartman as he turned his head. He rose from the ground, and the scythe appeared in his hand. “Or do you think you can defeat me and force me to save her?”
“Defeat?” spat Arthur as the golden mana whirled around him, like a hurricane with him as the vortex. “An astral being cannot exist without its contractor. I am here to kill you, Hartman.”
After saying that much, Arthur stomped on the ground and soared toward the sky. Hartman followed him with his eyes, but Arthur was already upside down, kicking the air to propel himself down.
As he bolted toward the executor, Arthur reached out toward empty air and summoned a weapon that he never thought to use again. A chain appeared in his hand, given to him by none other than King Arthur, and he turned it into a sword.
“Everything this chain touches will turn to dust,” said Arthur before he whipped with the chain, which elongated and expanded. Then, as it brushed a boulder, nothing remained of it. Hartman hurried to raise his weapon and impale it to the ground.
The astral venom reeking of death exploded from the ground and surrounded Hartman in a sphere. Arthur hoped this would happen since his jump forced the executor into defending rather than dodging.
The chains collided with the astral venom, and it turned to dust under the force of absolute law. Arthur expected the chains to strike Hartman down as the sphere crumbled. However, there was no one inside.
“You are not the only one who can use the runes, outsider,” said a voice beside the gate, and Arthur turned toward it. “I don’t need to summon the enders for this.”
Hartman raised his sleeve and took out a small veil. It had a black crystal, like the one that Prince Alfred once had before Arthur killed him. Then, he stabbed it into his arm. Black-tarry substance oozed from Hartman’s skin, and it exploded to cover all of his arm.
He screamed in pain, and Arthur realized his intentions. Then, he sent his chain toward the Astra-ranker, seeking to kill him. However, enders jumped from the man’s body and blocked his attack before multiplying to hundreds.
The enders swarmed toward the falling Arthur like bees as Hartman slammed his arm to the gate. His screams of pain never stopped, and his head was howling toward the sky. Meanwhile, the crystal dissolved into his arm and entered the gate.
Arthur retracted the chain and condensed the mana of creation instead. It turned into a searing spear, which pulled back before throwing it at the gate. The golden bolt tore through the enders and reached the gate instantly, striking it as the black tar was about to cover it entirely.
Golden mana exploded as the spear collided with the gate, covering everything in the valley. The enders, which reached Arthur and tried to seize him, hissed as they disappeared back toward the void. Arthur fell to the ground and rolled backward because of the impact of his mana, only stopping several meters away.
The golden mana started to die, allowing Arthur to see what had happened. The black tar was gone, and so was Hartman’s arm. The gate looked the same as before, as if nothing had happened.
“Hah, hah,” breathed out Hartman as he stared at his left arm and then at the gate. As for his left eye, it has also dissolved. His disheveled appearance proved the toll this trick had on his body, but in the end, it was worthless. “Come out, Sin of Pride!” shouted Hartman, but there was no answer.
“You lost, executor,” said Arthur as he stood up and dusted his arms. “As for that black crystal, I will have you tell me how you managed to obtain it.”
“…I lost?” muttered Hartman as he tried to stand, holding his empty left shoulder. “I lost?” he asked again before raising his right arm and slamming it to the gate. “Come out, Sin of Pride! A deal is a deal!”
Arthur stared at him quietly before turning to the gate. It was a relief that it was closed, but what made the Sin of Pride unresponsive? It bothered him, but he needed to kill Hartman as soon as possible.
The fire appeared on Arthur’s hand as he walked toward Hartman. The executor could feel the heat on his back, turning around with a pale face. His body was half-destroyed by the nothingness, making him far from capable of a fight.
“Stay away!” shouted Hartman as he waved his scythe at Arthur. The weapon was fragmented, but it was still useable. It existed as a separate entity from the user, but the issue was that it needed spiritual energy to manifest.
“Look at how pathetic you became,” said Arthur with a frown. “You lost your left arm and eye and are still trying to endanger the citizens you swore to protect. What does the Emperor of Light exactly seek?”
“The… emperor?” muttered Hartman as if remembering. But then, his expression grew determined. “Our emperor will one day rule the world. That is his dream, and I will fulfill it.”
“A vain dream,” said Arthur as his rage boiled and the flames grew stronger. He raised his hand to burn the man into nothingness and opened his mouth to declare his judgment. “You have…”
CREAK~
A loud, high-pitch sound came from the white gate behind Hartman, and the two men paused. Then, the double doors slowly started to open, separating the tiger from the dragon. An aura exploded from within, sending Arthur and Hartman flying.
