“What’s gotten into you?”
As Arthur was communicating with his two ghostly companions, the other Lucy finally let go of him. One of her eyes shone with a faint light as she scrutinized him.
“This is going to sound strange but I’m not the person you think I am.”
Rather than feign obliviousness or lie, Arthur chose to be honest. It became apparent that this was more than just a dream and that Lucy was probably the only one who could provide some answers.
“...”
Albeit confused, ‘Lucy’ looked pretty serious as she slowly backed away, her glowing eyes letting out even more light.
“Your System is gone.” She paused for a second before adding, “No… it was replaced. But it still says you’re Arthur.”
“Yes, I am Arthur, but not the one you know.”
‘Tell her to cover herself first.’ Remarked Lucy while glaring at her shameless other self.
While Arthur was collecting his thoughts and trying to properly recount what might have happened, ‘Lucy’ got off the bed and wore something.
“Nothing unusual happened to my Arthur. It couldn’t have been a curse or a spell.”
“You believe me?”-Arthur
“I believe the System. It says you’re also Arthur. If you were another Parasite or an entity with similar possession skills, you wouldn’t have been able to trick the System. No matter, since you are ‘here’, you must’ve unintentionally done something bad.”
In contrast to the Lucy he knew, this one seemed far more reasonable and calm. Even though the Arthur she knew was gone, she didn’t panic or lash out in anger.
“First, tell me who exactly you are and where you’re from.”
Arthur didn’t object, he nodded and proceeded to speak about his own experiences. He omitted a couple of things, but it was detailed enough for ‘Lucy’ to understand.
“Darkness? If it was on such a scale then it must’ve been the Nameless Knight. Also, you are from Astria, same as ‘us’. I think.. I know the cause of this.”
Lucy opened the door and motioned for him to follow. While restless, Arthur walked behind her and curiously looked around.
There was a wide and dark hallway decorated with all sorts of particularly creepy paintings and torches lit by strange green flames.
‘It’s a manor?’
The estate was considerably big and old, filled with an unsettling atmosphere. The most distinctly-felt thing about it was a creeping cold Darkness very similar to that of Leiu’s.
“What is this place?”
“The Eternal Abyss Manor. It’s basically the Nameless Knight’s home.”
“Is it in Astria?”
“No. It’s in Chaos Space, on the edge of the Heaven and Hell ‘Universe’.”
“...”
“All of this must be overwhelming for you but don’t think too much about it. You are here because of the Primordial Darkness, not because of the odd hallucinations you’ve been experiencing.”
“How can you be so sure?”
‘Lucy’ turned her head and looked at him, a soft smile on her face, “Because I know the Nameless Knight very well. It’s my brother-in-law.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“Here, my Arthur and Leiu are brothers. Not blood-related, but they share a strong bond.”
“I-I see…”
Arthur wryly smiled and glanced at Isabella and Lucy.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
‘See? I told you it wasn’t a dream. Why would I fantasise about having sex with you?’
Lucy snorted, but the prior animosity directed at her was gone. Isabella, on the other hand, was more focused on the manor.
“You still haven’t told me why I am here.”
“Leiu wants you alive, but even that wouldn’t have been enough to send you across time and space. Either way, I can send you back… provided my Arthur realized what’s going on and also initiates the same process from the other side.”
“Am I in another timeline?”
‘Lucy’ thought for a moment before shaking her head, “Yes and no. It’s… a similar concept.”
“Then, can you give me a proper explanation? I don’t like vagueness.”
This time, she let out a chuckle, “You are really different from him. Anyway, can you stand on that circle?”
…
Chris and Charles, carrying Isabella and Lucy, continued running for five hours. Each time the latter wanted to rest, Chris urged him to sprint.
However, the two weren’t particularly athletic, therefore, they eventually reached their limit.
Sweating profusely and gasping for breath, they sat on the ground, their faces red and bodies beyond exhausted.
Even after crossing some distance, the sense of dread didn’t leave Chris. He kept looking behind him, feeling that something was coming for them.
“I-I can’t… I nee-”
Charles’ voice was drowned by a beyond deafening sound that reverberated across the entirety of Archwood. It was like an alarm of doom, bone-chilling and terrifying.
The wind ceased to blow as an immense shadow flew past the sky, it was so fast that Charles and Chris only saw a black object appear and vanish in the blink of an eye.
However, two small black dots were left behind, and from the looks of it, they were falling right into their direction.
“Fuck!”
Chris, who held Lucy, grabbed Isabella and Charles and used his teleportation spell. He concentrated and then consumed Mana to activate it, but the distance travelled was meagre.
In fact, after doing it three times, he saw several red notification windows appear, basically rendering the System, and by extension, his spells and skills, inaccessible and unusable.
Within seconds, the black dots were dangerously close, their appearance much clearer.
They were over 10 feet in height, made from metal and equipped with long and arching spikes that protruded from their backs.
Their appearance was slightly humanoid, but their limbs were thin and long, akin to sharp blades.
Chris could only watch as the two machines closed in, a crimson glint flashing from their strangely-shaped metallic heads.
Three beams of light shot from the machines, each pointed at one of Chris’ companions. Only he wasn’t targeted.
They were as fast as lightning, and by the time Chris and Charles registered what happened, it was too late.
“Agh!”
The young apothecary let out a cry of fear and desperation as he closed his eyes, whereas Chris shielded Lucy, the closest to him, with his body.
In that moment, both men smelled the nauseating smell of blood, which was accompanied by a domineering pressure.
The area around them was instantly enveloped by a thick red mist, causing the two machines to stop in their tracks.
After a couple of things, one of ‘them’ spoke, its voice was robotic and unpleasant. It was a piercing screech and clanking metal.
“Dragon-class entity nearby. Beginning elimination.”
All Charles and Chris could see was the red mist, which lasted for only a couple of moments before hundreds of white beams rained down from above.
A semi-visible figure moved around the mist, evading the beams and then conjuring a large blood-red curtain that shot toward one of the machines.
----------------------------------------
Archwood Greenbell Forest
Eliminator was, at last, in Astria. A spaceship that blocked out the light of the sun and covered Wilsden and its surrounding region in a big shadow had appeared out of nowhere.
Scan of Titan-Planet X-1 complete
Probability of failure: 59.4%
Leviathan-class entity ‘Leiu’ present.
Commencing engagement against one of the nineteen Dragon-class entities on the planet: Probability of success is 99.1%
Mythical-class entity ‘Phoenix’ present: Dispatching appropriate weaponry to the designated location.
Two Fate Maximums candidates located: Dispatching appropriate weaponry for immediate capture.
Part of Eliminator opened up, and from within, hundreds of those deadly black machines poured out. Like a swarm of flies, they covered the sky and descended at great speeds. Half of them shot North-bound or towards where Leiu had been hiding, specifically near the entrance to the isolated Dimension.
A couple dozen machines cascaded toward Wilsden whereas several others flew East.
To make matters worse, the massive dome of Darkness created by Leiu was bombarded by earth-shattering blasts shot from the many cannons integrated into Eliminator.
It was utter and absolute devastation that enveloped the entire place in chaos.
Fortunately, Leiu reacted in kind and wielded Primordial Darkness to not only minimize the damage but also counter-attack. Even without his greatsword, he was still supremely powerful.
Formless Darkness kept appearing around Eliminator, latching onto it and devouring parts of it in a way not too dissimilar to the Void.
His silhouette, which was infinitesimally small compared to the ship, soared up to the sky and unleashed a barrage of attacks, which were mostly aimed toward the relatively small machines.
Over half of the ones that were aiming for Wilsden were destroyed in an instant, though the rest managed to properly land and start destroying everything in sight.
However, from the looks of it, they had a particular target in mind as most of them grouped up and charged toward the baron’s manor.