They walked out onto the vast, open field in front of the Delphi Forest, the sun had almost reached the center of the sky, it should be about two to three more hours until noon.
The Griffins’ Science and Technology building was an hour walk from where they were, it’s built close to Stella Academy since it was also meant to be a place students could study more on the gate creatures and how to utilize the new technology in a hunt.
Merlin had finally decided on which bow to use, he picked the fire bow and kept the rest strapped around his back. “I’ll have to let the IHG change the registered weapon for ‘Weapon Summon’ later.”
The IHG, or the ‘International Heroes’ Guild’, was built right after the appearance of monsters; they were mainly responsible for evaluating and recording every Heroes’ information. They also give out services like ‘Skill Exchange’ and ‘Skill Adjustments’, which was what Merlin needed to do.
There were many other guilds as well, such as the 'Hunters Guild' where they would provide the necessary information for hunting monsters, it's also where heroes take their 'quests' and would be rewarded accordingly when they completed it. It's not just the 'Hunters Guild' that does this sort of thing though, but any other names across the globe as well.
Thinking about it made Theodore feel even more grateful that he had the System to take care of everything for him. “Won’t they ask you how you get the weapon though?”
“I’ll just say I found it in a dungeon, no one really cares about dungeons these days.”
“…What if they do?”
Merlin shrugged. “Then I'll have to tell them the truth; my friend gave it to me.”
Eugene let out a huff as he swung the battleaxe around his wrist, he was walking relatively far from the rest of them so they didn’t have to be wary of it suddenly flying into their heads. “Or you can just say you bought it, they really don’t check transactions during this era.”
While money was still important, humanity couldn’t keep worrying about some glitter when their lives were constantly being threatened by monsters.
“…Or that.” Merlin nodded, agreeing with the better idea.
Theodore looked ahead of him and saw the vague silhouettes of tall buildings in the distance, they were getting very close to the main city. He turned to his left and, as he’d expected, the roof of Stella Academy’s castle-like design was poking through the treetops. “We’re really doing this, huh.”
Merlin tilted his head after hearing his best friend whisper. “What do you mean? You were eager to kill just a minute ago.”
“No, I’m not backing down, of course.” Theodore frowned as he looked at the ginger. “It’s just that…I don’t know what I’ll do after I kill Rhys.”
“Oh c’mon, you’re not going to kill him today,” Eugene stopped swinging his axe and strolled closer to them. “It’s the Griffins we’re fighting, they’re not an easy opponent, knowing Rhys, he’ll run like a b*tch when he knows he can’t win.”
Theodore raised an eyebrow. “I doubt he can outrun me.”
“Not literally,” Merlin sighed. “He probably has a secret nuclear bunker in his bedroom or something, who knows what that rich, spoiled ass has up his sleeves.”
Theodore decided not to think about it too much, he’d told himself that he couldn’t care less if it would take him another few years to get his revenge, as long as his target was still alive, he wouldn’t stop until he died a painful death.
“Alright, we can take it easy,” He spoke to his friends, it was just about time that they’d reached the city, emerging from the bushes which were connected to an empty park. In front of them was a tall building, looked to have cost billions of dollars judging from the intricate designs alone, but what stood out to them most was the large sign and familiar logo in front of the structure.
‘Griffins’ Science and Technology Inc.’
“Right now, we wreck that place first.”
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It was like climbing the Tower; those things in video games where the player has to slowly make their way up the floors until they could get to the final boss.
The first few levels were the easiest for them, Theodore didn’t get to do much since his friends wanted to test out their new weapons.
Merlin turned the eleventh floor into his personal shooting range.
Eugene dyed the fourteenth floor in red and decorated the desks with the heads of the security guards inside.
“And they told me it was going to be a stealth mission.” Theodore muttered to himself as he sat on top of one of the work desks, they were currently on the twentieth floor and his two friends were still going strong, not needing his help at all.
He was starting to worry about what would happen after they left the building, he knew the Griffins liked to save face, so they would most likely keep the incident a secret and move on, though the likely scenario was; The three of them would be hunted in the dark.
But what if it slipped to the media? While the New Internet wasn’t as fast as before due to limitations, it was still fast enough for it to be on the front page within a few days.
Theodore didn’t have a problem with living in secret, after all, he’d accepted the fact that he wasn’t a human anymore.
Though, what about Eugene and Merlin?
He shook his head, as if that could get rid of the thoughts. “Guys, I’ll go on ahead, it should be easier if we separate.”
“Okay!” Merlin shouted without looking back at him, he was focusing on manipulating the arrow from the black bow, which caused half of his shots to miss because of his low proficiency.
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Eugene was there to clean up the ones still alive, he hasn’t used his werewolf form yet and seemed to be having fun—too much fun—hacking away at the poor security guards that tried to stop them. “Yeah, yeah! Just bust on through! We’ll clean the leftovers!”
Theodore pushed himself off of the desk and made his way over to the glass door, which had been shattered to pieces when Eugene busted it open with his feet. ‘I thought the security would be tighter than this…’
They first walked in with full caution, but after fighting against the fully armed security guards, they realized that the only thing they had on them were guns.
Merlin always wore some armor underneath his clothes, and Eugene’s Beastmen class naturally gained the ‘Bulletproof’ attribute after reaching B class.
Guns were like toys in front of Theodore, his S+ rank defense making things a lot easier.
‘Whatever, maybe they have better security upstairs…’
Theodore slowly scaled up the stairs, not bothering to use the elevator, he wasn’t in a rush anyway and could use it as an opportunity to get used to his legs.
He’d been crawling on his stomach for way too long.
Once he’d reached the top, he was met with several red dots aiming at his body.
Around ten swat-like men were waiting for him with their assault rifles out and ready, some of them were squatting on the floor, holding out a reinforced shield in front of them.
“FIRE!” The one in the middle shouted and immediately the other soldiers pulled the trigger, letting the bullets rained down on their target.
Theodore put his hand up and blocked the shots from hitting his face, his brows were furrowed, clearly annoyed. “…I came up twenty floors and you still didn’t get the message?”
He didn’t bother to use any skills, once he’d gotten close enough, he simply kicked away the guns and sent the men flying against the hallway’s walls. “I’m immune to bullets, you buffoons.”
While he was angrily pressing his feet against the squad captain's chest, one brave soldier took out a hidden knife and charged at him, screaming at the top of his lungs. “DIE!!!”
The blade struck down onto Theodore’s shoulder, but the man’s eyes could only widen in shock as he watched the knife shattered like glass.
“How…What are you…?” He muttered as he dropped the only thing left of the weapon; the handle, and took a few shaky steps back before falling on his butt.
Theodore sighed and turned around, his expression neutral. “Answer my questions and I might let you live.”
“Y—Yes!” The soldier spoke with a quivering voice.
“Are you guys the only security in this whole building?” Theodore glanced around him, seeing the unconscious guards littered the hallway.
“No…We’re only hired hands…”
“Then where are the actual guards?”
“Only the twenty-second floor and above have Heroes as security…”
“Why?”
The soldier shivered. “Because…Because, um…The other ten floors are the only ones with the expensive techs, some of them are meant to be kept secret for a few years…”
Theodore stared at the man in silence for a moment. “You said you guys were hired to help?”
“Yes…”
“You’re too eager to answer me, how can I be sure you’re not stalling?”
The soldier immediately backed away in a frantic as he shouted. “No! No I’m not lying! We’re a group of a hundred soldiers sent to guard the lower floors! I’m telling the truth, I swear!”
[‘Lightbringer’ offered to assist you.]
[The Skill ‘Lord of Souls’ has peered into Jake Roys’ soul.]
[His words are confirmed as ‘TRUTH’]
“…Still have some luck in you, huh.” Theodore was about to use a more ‘violent’ method of getting information, but luckily for Jake, his skill activated at just the right time. “Well, thanks for the heads-up, I didn’t kill these guys but your other friends are most likely dead.”
Theodore waved and moved on to the next flight of stairs, leaving the soldier to continue shaking in fear. He didn’t feel as bad knowing that he watched his friends killed a bunch of people, after all, they attack them with clear murderous intentions, it was only natural to fight back.
‘Ten floors to go.’
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Rhys spun in his office chair as he listened to a soldier giving his report. “So you’re saying…Three morons broke into the building and wiped you guys out?”
“Yes! They’re all Heroes, our bullets can’t scratch their equipment!”
Rhys frowned, he stopped his chair and glanced sideways at the man. “Are you saying that a hundred armed to the f*cking teeth soldiers can’t even stop three awakened humans?”
“Yes…Yes sir.” The soldier’s voice went low, the confidence from earlier had completely disappeared.
“Useless pricks.” Rhys sighed. “Where are they now?”
The guard took a moment to speak. “Two of them are still on the lower floors, but one has made his way up to the twenty-nineth.”
Rhys’ eyes widened, he leaned forward and pulled himself closer to his desk, resting his arms in front of him. “What did you say?”
“The…One of them is at the twenty ninth floor—“
‘BANG!’
The double door was busted open, the force that was put behind it had caused splinters of wood to fly straight into the back of the unfortunate soldier, he stumbled forward with widened eyes, and as soon as he fell onto the carpeted floor, blood began pooling around his body.
“Oh, someone was there?”
Rhys immediately stood up as soon as he heard the voice. “You…!”
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Theodore stood by the broken door with his hands inside his pant’s pockets. “Hello Rhys, isn’t this your dad’s room? What are you doing here?”
“F*ck you! Oliver, get him now!”
From the shadows, the old butler suddenly appeared with a dagger in his hand, although Theodore was faster and he simply leaned his body back, causing the blade to miss by a hair’s length.
Oliver didn’t lose momentum though and he let himself toppled forward, rolling on the ground and instantly got back on his feet, dagger held out but he didn’t rush in and simply stood there in a defensive position. “Hm? You’re that snake from before.”
“You recognized me? I’m surprised.” Theodore didn’t sound surprised.
“Of course, good sir, how could I forget someone that’d put a hole in my shoulder?”
Rhys slammed his hands against the desk. “Why are you guys chatting!? Oliver, kill him now!”
“Oh, my apologies, Young Master.” Oliver turned and gave the tanned man a slight bow. “But I’m afraid that I can’t kill him.”
“What…?” Rhys spoke through his gritted teeth. “The f*ck? Why can’t you kill him? Of course you f*cking can! You’re one of dad’s best specimens!”
“Specimen?” Theodore interrupted, looking at Oliver with an intrigued expression. “No wonder why I can’t see it, are you a Homunculus?”
“F*ck!” Rhys suddenly leaped over the desk and a silver sword appeared in his hand, he instantly crossed the distance between them and was about to reach Theodore’s throat. “How are you still alive!? Just stay dead!”
“Oi, I’m talking.” Theo frowned as he weaved to the side, causing the sword to miss its target entirely, he didn’t leave any chance for Rhys to adjust his position and sent a kick straight into his stomach, sending him back towards his office setup.
It was a light tap, so Rhys wasn’t that injured, he managed to get up from the floor after a bit of struggling. “…Your dad is going to die.”
That instantly made Theodore angry. “Do ‘you’ want to die?”
Rhys shifted his eyes towards Oliver. “You…Why aren’t you attacking him?”
“Master’s orders, sir, my apologies.”
“What order? He didn’t—“
“If I feel like my life is in danger, I have the right to retreat.” Oliver spoke in a calm tone, he lowered his dagger and stood with his hands behind his back. “That is Master’s third command after my birth.”
Theodore chuckled. “Well? It’s just you and me then. What did you just say about my dad?”
Rhys eyes widened, the grip on his sword tightened as he held it out in front of him. “I…Father will never let you live if you kill me.”
“So? He wanted me dead from the start.” Theodore shrugged. “What’s the difference if I don’t kill you?”
“Don’t you want to know where your dad is!?” Rhys shouted, his voice starting to sound desperate.
Theodore hesitated for a second, but it was enough time for Rhys to know that he’d hit the mark and continued speaking. “I can take you to him, so you can’t kill me just yet.”
Though as Theodore was about to speak, Rhys had already moved, he ran towards the wall where the display shelves were and knocked one of the paintings over, in an instant, a small cutting within the wall parted, revealing a secret pathway, and it didn’t take long before he completely disappeared as the door slid shut.
Theodore wasn’t on his guard, so he couldn’t do anything but stood there, knowing that even if he’d started moving he wouldn’t be able to catch up. “Man, he ran fast.”
“Young Master is one of the few with the fastest speed in the Spellblade class.” Oliver spoke in a proud tone.
“Would you tell me where he went?”
“Apologies, but no.”
It was within his expectations, but he also knew that Oliver wouldn’t stop him from going after Rhys either, so he began to move towards the secret entrance and opened it using the hidden lever in the guise of a painting.
The tunnel was narrow and dark, only lit up slightly by small light bulbs spaced evenly from each other, the corridor was long and seemed to be leading downwards, though even Theo couldn’t see where the path would take him.
‘Great. Let’s see how far you can run.’
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‘Blood…’ Lawrence couldn’t see anything but red as his head hung low, his eyes forced to stare at his bloody legs covered in cuts and bruises.
He didn’t utter anything, never spoke of his son’s whereabouts nor of his powers, he simply sat, wrists and ankles strapped against a metal chair, and took the beating tenaciously.
Gabriel Griffins was standing in front of an instrument table, he’d taken off his black coat, revealing the vest and white dress shirt underneath. “Most broke in under a few hours, you’ve endured for almost twenty four.”
“…Is that supposed to be a compliment?” Lawrence still had the strength to chuckle.
Before Gabriel could reply, the sound of rushed footsteps were heard from behind the reinforced door, after a moment, the wheel would turn and someone pushed through it, stumbling into the room and frantically closing the door behind him.
Lawrence glanced up and realized who it was.
“Father!” Rhys took deep breaths between his words. “He’s…He’s here…He wiped them all out.”
Gabriel calmly placed the cleaned hammer next to the other tools before picking up a bloody knife. “Who?”
“Him…Theo—“
“Yes. Me.”
Rhys instantly bolted from the door just in time as it flew onto the ground, when he turned to look at it, his eyes widened at the huge dent visible in the center.
“…The door was supposed to be several times stronger than the ones in submarines.” Gabriel raised his eyebrows as he let go of everything in his hands, fully turning his attention towards the intruder.
“So what?” Theodore spoke as he kicked the fallen door across the room. “I don’t think anything here is strong enough to keep me out.”
A small swirling mist appeared on the ground next to Theodore’s feet and a staff rose from its center. It was made of pure black steel with a green gemstone embedded at the top, there was a sculpture of a snake coiling from the middle of the staff before the head met with the crystal, encasing it while its eyes gleamed a sinister emerald.
It was the last weapon that he’d gotten out of the other six.
[Ophiuchus’ Staff.]
“Now you’re stuck in here with me.”