Chapter 153: [153] Unleashing The Skeleton

— How is he standing upright?

— Is he resisting Ares’ killing intent?

— That is not possible! How can a Copper Rank player possibly resist it?!

Yet, despite the uncertainty of the players, there was no way to prove otherwise. Ark walked forward with smooth, graceful steps and stopped right in front of Ares.

Fiery blue orbs bore into snow-white eyes.

"What other fun tricks do you have?"

Tristan let out a tired breath, a small smirk appearing on his face.

After Ark had resisted his killing intent during their first meeting, Tristan had done some research to find out what had happened.

There was little to no information about skeletons because no one really cared to invest time into studying the species.

But after hours of research, Tristan had come to one conclusion... it had something to do with his race.

The race that was presumed useless actually had a few perks.

Tristan laughed internally. ’This kid! Was he purposely enduring Ares’ killing intent just so that he could get a feel for it?’

Just how crazy was he?

Cain, on the other hand, stared at Ark in shock. Not once in his life had he dared confront his brother in that way, not even the guild elders would dare look him in the eyes!

And yet... How was Ark doing it so casually?

"Come on." Ark waved his hand in the air and then said in a mocking tone. "Don’t tell me that is it?"

Ares’ eyes narrowed slightly. ’How is he doing this?’

His eyes drifted to the path Ark took to get to him, and sure enough, the floor was mangled.

As Ark was casually walking towards him, he had increased his killing intent to the point that it should have crushed him like a fly.

And yet he was perfectly fine.

Was it some sort of skill?

’Unlikely.’

Ares could not sense even the faintest drop of mana from him.

’It’s not that he is resisting it. It is almost as if he is completely immune.’

Ares regarded him with cold composure, his expression never shifting once.

At first, he had seen Ark as a minor disturbance that he could remove at any time, but now, Ares had taken a different stance on the matter.

’This one, I can’t let this one live.’

His hand sparked with an unknown spell—

Ark saw the magic as it began to materialize, but it was fast, faster than anything he had ever encountered.

He wouldn’t even have enough time to activate [Phase] before the spell ate into him!

’Shit! Is this guy really trying to kill me?!’

VWOOSH!

In a millisecond, the spot where Ark had been was swallowed up by a blinding light that went as high as the ceiling.

Everything that had been there, including part of the floor, simply vanished, as though it had never existed.

Ares’ white eyes grew brighter as he stared at the spell, and then a small smile tugged at the corners of his lips.

’S-Rank Skill, Eviscerate.’

"Ark?" Soo-jin stared at the empty floor, feeling a strange emotion grasp at her heart like the prickling of a dozen needles.

’No... no... he can’t be dead, right?’

There was no sign of him. Ark must have done something, right? She waited, prayed that she would hear his cocky voice any moment, but all that filled the hall was the silence that accompanied death.

Ark was gone.

Ares dusted his hands and smiled.

But the smile soon vanished from his face.

"Seriously, kid. Must you always pick fights with people you can’t beat? You can’t die when you still owe me ten million, you know?!"

"Don’t you have eyes?! He was the one who picked a fight with me!"

Hovering in the air above the crowd was none other than the Disaster Fae, Lady Freude.

Seven pairs of transparent wings had spread out by her sides, beating calmly in the air. She was holding Ark by his clothes and frowning at him.

Soo-jin fell to her knees, sweat rushing down her face as relief flooded her body.

She held her chest, feeling her heart pound within it. Then she suddenly paused and stared at her shaking hands as she thought;

’Why am I reacting like this?’

Sure, she needed Ark for her plan to overthrow her family, but at the end of the day, Ark was merely a tool.

Losing him would be a blow to her plans, but did it really warrant this reaction? Did it warrant opposing Order for his sake?

’Wh-what is wrong with me?’

__

"Wait, Lady Freude?" Ark asked in disbelief when he finally realised who had saved him. "What are you doing here??"

"Saving my investment, of course!" She hissed, just before she turned her attention to Ares, glaring down at him.

Ares clasped his hands behind his back. ’Is he connected to Lady Freude?’

How was it possible that a mere skeleton not only had ties with the vice commander, but a first-generation player?

"What is the meaning of this, Lady Freude?" Ares frowned. "How dare you interfere with Order business—"

"What?"

Lady Freude’s eyes suddenly flickered, her dark pupils transforming into something strange, horrid, and cruel.

Her face became as white as a piece of paper, and when her voice came, it was a mix of several tones merged into one horrid chorus.

"Have you forgotten your manners, child?"

All the windows in the room shattered, and the lights overhead seemed to dim ever so slightly, just before glowing even more harshly.

At that moment, Ark felt a chill run down his spine, because for the first time, he was witnessing why the players had come to call her the Disaster Fae.

Her monstrous eyes gleamed in the light as she pointed a finger at him.

"Have you grown so full of yourself playing king that you have forgotten your place?"

There was no spark of energy at the tip of her finger, no fire, no wind, no mana... it was simply a distortion that seemed to warp reality.

Ares’ knight and female undead immediately rushed to his front, defending him with their bodies, while most players in the hall scattered, seeking refuge.

Ares stiffened.

"Think about what you are doing, Lady Freude! Do you think you can get away with this just because you are backed by the divine dragon?!" He growled.

Lady Freude cocked her head to the side, then smiled. The smile was an odd mix with those eyes that seemed to eat at the mind.

"Yes."

"Do you think my father will sit back if you try anything? Your merchantry, everything you have built will crumble before your eyes."

"Are you going to run to daddy now?" Freude giggled. "After interfering in the affairs of children?"

Lady Freude seemed just about ready to do it, up until Tristan stepped in between them.

"Please let us be rational about our actions. Lady Freude, think about the other players present. If you unleash that spell here, thousands will die."

Lady Freude seemed to think about it for a few seconds before she frowned. "A pity."

Then she lowered her hand, and her eyes returned to normal, causing many to sigh in relief.

Ark twisted his head to give her a blank stare. "Remind me to never piss you off..."

"Tch." She viciously began shaking him around in the air. "Make sure you don’t die before you pay me back my money, you fool!"

Meanwhile, the entire crowd was stunned beyond belief. The Year of the Dragon had been celebrated for countless years without a single hitch.

And yet for the first time, two heirs of top five guilds were assaulted, a war nearly broke out, and more than five hundred players were nearly vanquished...

They all stared at Ark as he was being rocked around in the air.

All because of one skeleton, the lowliest of all races...

<••>

Although Freude’s influence was enough to pressure Ares out of acting out of order, it was not enough to erase what he had done.

Ares had assaulted Soo-jin, so his crime could have been canceled out, but her family clearly had no plans of stepping forward.

And so the issue remained unresolved.

But Order was not one to leave a debt unpaid.

Ares let out a breath as he organised his clothes, then he glanced at the vice commander.

"Following Lady Freude’s wish, I will no longer interfere in this issue." He adjusted his glasses. "But that does not mean we can leave this insult unpaid."

"And how would you like to settle it?" Tristan asked.

"A duel," Ares replied emotionlessly, causing a stir among the players, at least among those still left in the hall...

But his next words caused even more turbulence.

"...to the death."

Tristan nodded. "That only seems fair. In that case, let us move to the arena."

By the side of the room, Cain smiled as the players began to whisper among themselves as they moved toward the association’s Arena.

Because although his plan had almost turned on its head, at the end of the day, Ark had walked right into his trap...

’Ark! I will pay you back for humiliating my family.’

Only blood would suffice.

..

..

A/N

Second Chapter in about four hours!

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