Chapter 10; Arthur; Hemhir 57th, 329SR; 01:36

It had been hours since Arthur entered the stairwell, he was beginning to think it would go on forever. 'Why does no one know about this… Father never mentioned this massive stairwell beneath the hospital… I don’t think he ever knew about it…' Arthur stopped as he noticed the stairs come to an end, there was just a dry patch of dirt after the final step. This was the bottom. A steel door directly in front of Arthur had a square panel of glass to see through, light was on the other side. 'There's working electricity down here?' Arthur peaked through the window.

"What… The…" Arthur uttered in shock, he pushed the door open slowly and walked through.

Arthur looked around in awe as he stood on a stone catwalk made of stone. ‘This… How long has this been here…’ The room was gigantic, lit brightly with white lights. It almost resembled a factory with how industrial it looked. Several stories of steel grated platforms were evenly spaced around the room, all supported by pillars of metal trusses. 'How big- This is like two or three city blocks?!’ On the left side of the room were three hangar doors similar to the ones at Helios’s shipyards, however these were significantly larger. Each door connected to a pool of water.

The pool closest to Arthur was empty, but the other two were not. Giant structures of some sort were within the other two pools. Arthur squinted at their shape as he walked down the catwalk, then looked up at the platforms above, slowly making sense of the vast surroundings. The massive pools made up more than three quarters of the room's width. 'Judging from how long I was walking down… This is miles under Helios… What is this place…' The right side was a massive walkway. Across from each hangar, was a three story structure extending out of the wall. At the second story of each, was a window that surrounded all three sides. The room was dark, but he couldn’t see anyone inside from where he stood. Arthur approached the stairwell that led to the room, he stepped up the first step, but turned back to the hangar doors. He squinted at the size of the structures within the two pools.

One of the structures was oddly round. Three white pillars horizontally curved around it on the left side, there were another three on the right. There was a portable metal staircase to the left, reaching about halfway up the structure and connecting a platform to it. Arthur squinted as he noticed that the platform led to an entrance on the round structure. He looked at the structure in the third pool, it wasn’t as round, and it didn’t have platforms leading to its entrance. However the back seemed to open up and act as an entrance. What stuck out the most, was the three white horizontal pillars curved around its left and right sides. However, Arthur’s attention was stolen as a door opened at the top of the steps he stood on. He quickly darted under the metal steps. 'Shit! Someone's here?'

"Did you manage to see where he could've been sent?" Arthur heard Lawrence Lightbringer's voice.

"No…" Leia answered.

Arthur's heart froze as he heard her voice.

"The kid was definitely not sent to a daycare… And I think it's because Shinra knew what he was…" Lawrence sighed.

"Even on the day I saw the kid, Shinra was on edge. He seemed doubtful of me as well…" Leia explained.

"Yeah, the guy was smart… Probably one of the smartest people in Helios… What still hasn’t been recovered?"

"I got the calendar out of the Bureau… The notebooks were a bit harder because they had started being analyzed, but Arid managed to get them to me… It’s just the book now, and Arthur has it…"

Arthur watched silently from under the stairs, listening to them alongside the violent beating in his heart.

"You think Arthur will care enough to notice anything about the book…" said Lawrence.

“He already has… He’s just as smart as his dad… He told me himself that the book was different…” Leia shook her head.

“Fuck… There may be no going back from this…”

“May?” Leia scoffed with an angry tone. No, of course there’s no going back. That was decided the moment you idiots had Shinra killed!”

Arthur's eyes widened, he clenched his fist.

“Me? I think you’re forgetting you were the one who told Arid he found the path down here… After Arid saw those notebooks he brought back, Shinra was done, there was no saving him!" Lawrence argued.

“I only reported that it was found! I didn’t know Shinra was the one who found it! I didn’t even know what the fuck was down here! If I knew they would have had him executed in Welis, I wouldn’t have said a thing!”

“Yeah well then don’t lump me in with them…”

“What about Oliver!” Leia added.

Lawrence kissed his teeth.

"He has a wife, his daughter just recently started going to school! Do you know how devastated they must be?! Especially Hana! At her age!"

Lawrence didn't say anything.

“If it makes you feel any better… It’s not as bad as what happened to the guard he saw…” Lawrence admitted.

“No, it fucking doesn’t! I don’t even know what you people did to Oliver! You turned him into a fucking zombie!”

“Microscopic lobotomy…” said Lawrence.

Arthur’s eyes widened. Leia let out a short gasp, she froze.

“Lucifer used the Lightbringer to send focused light into his brain through the eyes… He burned the nerves in his brain… He did it multiple times… Each time…” Lawrence held his mouth as he spoke, he gulped and took a deep breath. “Oliver was a fighter… That’s for sure…”

“Oh my god…” Leia shuddered.

"How the hell was I supposed to know they’d do that! Everything was fine until that guard said too much… The second the Lightbringers found out he spoke about Project Archangel…"

"You people are hopeless…" Leia shook her head. “What even is Project Archangel? Why is a couple of kids so important that the Lightbringers would take this much precaution?”

Arthur tried his absolute hardest to stay quiet. ‘Project Archangel?’

"They don’t tell me the details either…" said Lawrence. "It’s been going on since before I was even born… It’s something they’ve spent decades working on…"

“So let me get this straight… They don’t care about us knowing about the two ships over there… Even have multiple guards maintaining them down here in secret… But not that? Why?” Leia questioned.

“The warships aren’t much of a secret… Some of the Hirian’s already know about it, even some of the Hydronians know of it… It’s one of the major reasons they don’t even try messing with us…” Lawrence explained. “They keep it guarded here, but there used to be three…”

“Used to be?”

“The demon king took one, leaving Helios with the rest of his people…”

“Heh… I wonder why he’d do that…” Leia rolled her eyes.

“Those weapons would be able to decimate any other nation… But Lucifer is too much of a coward to risk it, Abaddon warned him that he’d strike if they stepped out of line… It’s funny… The demons are the ones we vilify, yet they are the ones holding the reigns of these tyrants…”

“Still… How is Project Archangel worse than that?”

“I don’t know… I thought it was a weapon at first… Until I saw what was back there…”

‘Weapons… That could decimate a nation? The demons have one?! But, wait… Is this what caused the war with the demons?!’ Arthur held his mouth, trying to keep his heavy breathing quiet. Lawrence started down the metal steps slowly.

“What’s back there?” Leia asked.

“A house… I thought it might be some kind of lab, but… That kind of equipment isn’t sent there… Only basic supplies… Food, clean water, clothing…”

“Is it supposed to be some kind of private daycare? That guard did say something about kids back there, and from the description he gave, one of them was definitely the kid Shinra found… Speaking of that… Where are all the guards?”

“We’re hiring a new team… The old ones have already been executed by Lightbringers in case they leak any information…”

“What?! Why?”

“They say they saw a monster…”

“A monster?”

“They all described some big thing that was apparently flying, it had hundreds of arms… The guards ran out of here in terror…”

“What? You’re only telling me this now!?” Leia glanced at the door behind her. “Is it safe for us to be here?”

“Don’t worry, I checked the place a few times, there's nothing here… I’m going to do a check up of the place one more time, you should head back to the surface… You’ve been here for too long anyway… You’ll attract suspicion…”

“What about Arthur?” Leia asked.

Arthur held his head low, but as he heard his name he glanced up.

“Do you really need to ask?” Lawrence took a deep breath. “I’m sure you’re aware of what has to happen now… He knows too much…”

“Isn’t there another way?” Leia whispered, her voice hesitant.

“No.”

Arthur grasped his silver pendant tightly. Lawrence turned to the right, then started down the walkway. His footsteps slowly faded. Leia was still on the platform next to the door, Arthur was directly underneath her. He watched as she held her head, a sharp breath left her throat. Arthur's eyes widened as a tear fell through the steel grated platform, onto his cheek. Leia sniffled, then turned and walked through the door she came from. It gently trickled down his face, then off his cheek. He wiped the trail of tears off with his fist. Arthur slowly leaned past the stairs. Lawrence was halfway through the large room, in front of the second hangar door. Arthur crept up the metal steps, making sure to stay as quiet as he could, then slowly opened the door Leia had gone through.

Arthur walked into the room, the first hangar door was visible past the window. Leia packed her bags at the desk, while Arthur approached her from behind. Behind him, was a door that seemed to lead deeper into the strange facility. The desk was covered in panels, a myriad of buttons, switches, and levers that Arthur didn’t even bother to figure out.

"Did you forget something?" Leia asked, she didn't turn her head.

Arthur walked behind her with wide eyes. The papers she put away were reports and logs from the hospital.

"Well? Are you gonna say anything or…" Leia turned around.

Their red eyes met, Arthur’s full of fury, and Leia’s full of fear.

"Arthur…" Leia uttered as she stood up quickly. "What… What are…"

"Why?" Arthur asked.

"Huh…"

"Why was my father killed?"

Leia looked down, frantically glancing left and right.

"Leia… Answer me…" Arthur seethed.

"Arthur… I can explain… Just… Calm down for-"

Leia hesitated as Arthur conjured his spear and pointed it at her neck. Leia didn't move an inch as the spears blade hovered inches away from her throat. The black haired woman shook with fear, her fingers trembling.

"Calm down? Calm down?!" Arthur gritted his teeth. "Father trusted you! He trusted you more than anyone!" Arthur screamed.

"Wait… Don't yell!" Leia glanced out of the window. "If they find you here, they'll kill you!"

"They’re already planning to! I heard everything!" Arthur breathed in and out frantically, the spear shaking in his hand.

"I'll… I'll show you… What your father found… But Arthur… Please… I… I have a daughter… I'm all she has…" a tear rolled out of Leia's eye.

Arthur kissed his teeth, then lowered the spear. "Show me…"

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Leia gulped as she slowly stepped past the spear. Arthur kept his eyes locked on her as she walked forward. 'How did it get to this…' Arthur asked himself as he kept his eye locked on the red sash around Leia's arm. 'Why did any of this have to happen…' Arthur followed her to the door they both came through. 'What did my father find… What was so important that he had to be killed just for knowing…' Leia opened the door, and then turned to the left and went through the next. Arthur slowly closed the doors behind him, making sure no one would hear it. Leia walked in front, but she turned. They walked through a long narrow hallway, it was well lit with similar lights to the ones he saw before.

"I suppose you've probably been confused since the day we returned…" Leia broke the silence, Arthur couldn't see her right hand. "I swear… None of us knew Shinra would be killed… I can promise you, I didn't want any of-"

"Hands where I can see them…" Arthur lightly poked her with the blade.

"I won't do anything Arthur… I've known you since you were a baby…" Leia spoke softly, but there was a hint of fear in her tone.

"You knew my dad longer…" Arthur hissed.

Leia looked down as she put her hands on another door handle, and pushed it open. They walked into another hallway, it was the same length. However, the lights in this room were red.

"What the fuck…" Arthur whispered to himself as he felt the heat in that hallway.

“You heard everything right… He said there was a monster… Are you sure you want to be back here?”

“I’m looking at one right now…” Arthur said coldly.

"Heh…" Leia laughed, her raised arms lowered slightly. "I didn’t want any of this you know…"

"But you did nothing to prevent it…" Arthur poked her again.

"There was nothing I could do… And please stop poking me…" Leia asked.

"Never trust a spy…"

"Huh?"

"That's what my father told me…"

"Hm… I suppose he's right to some degree."

Leia opened another door, and it led to a steel grated bridge. They continued over the metal grate, it led to another room with a bright light. Arthur looked down, the room seemed damp, and the sound of their footsteps echoed off the walls in the distance. ‘This seems like a cave…’

"I could see a monster living here…" Leia whispered nervously.

Arthur glanced at the light in the next room, it almost looked natural. Leia pushed the door open, and Arthur followed. The inside of this room was massive. The walls were a dark grey, but the floor was painted black. There were white porcelain tables and chairs arranged across the entire room. 'Is this… A theater?' Across from Arthur and Leia was a massive window. Beyond it was a small forest, and further beyond that, was a white house at the top of a hill.

“Lawrence wasn’t kidding… It really is just a house…” said Leia.

Arthur looked up, and was surprised to see the source of light. "That's the Celestial…"

"We should turn back…" Leia advised. "Whatever is in that house… The Lightbringers keep it a bigger secret than even their warships…"

‘It’s just a house… ’ Arthur walked down the steps, then toward the glass and put his palm against it. 'Just beyond this glass… Is the answer I've been looking for…' Arthur looked left and right, checking both sides of the room for an entrance.

"How do I get in there?" Arthur asked.

"What?!" Leia snapped. "You heard Lawrence!? Arthur, whatever is in that house, is more dangerous than anything we've seen before!"

"I don't care… Father saw what was in there, I have to know too…"

"What will knowing change?!"

"Because I can't accept this as the reason!" Arthur screamed.

Leia’s eyes widened.

"Father… He only ever helped people… He was the best Doctor in Helios… People trusted him, the nobles trusted him… You trusted him! He was the only family I had left… So why… Why! Why did he have to die! There has to be a reason! There has to be-"

Arthur’s voice cracked as he slammed his fist into the glass. Leia took a step forward, he turned and pointed his spear at her. Leia cowered as she looked down at the spear. She gulped as she took a step forward.

"Please, Arthur calm-"

"Don't tell me to calm down, you fucking traitor!" Arthur huffed.

"If someone hears you, or someone realizes i'm missing… They'll come for you next… Arthur, please just-"

“I’ll kill every last one of them! All of the Lightbringers! I’ll run my spear through each and every one of them! Over and over!” Arthur seethed viciously.

“This isn’t what Shinra would have wanted…”

“Don’t you dare say his name! I’ll- I’ll kill you too!” Arthur threatened.

“You can’t… I know you wouldn’t kill me…” Leia stated confidently.

Arthur's teeth rattled as his eyes widened. He pointed his spear forward as he huffed in and out frantically. Leia stepped forward, the tip of the black spear was pressed against her throat. Arthur reflexively pulled back, he huffed repeatedly as he fell to his knees. ‘What am I… What am I doing?! This is crazy…’ Arthur fell to his knees, Leia wrapped her arms around him. He stopped as he felt her gentle embrace, his eyes quivered. She held his head close to her chest.

“We can’t be like them… We need to do things right… How Shinra would have wanted…” said Leia. “No more bloodshed… You’re a doctor Arthur, not a killer… This isn’t you…”

Arthur paused for a moment. He started to breathe heavily again, Leia’s eyes widened as she looked down. Arthur pushed her away as he stood.

“Why don’t you want to kill them…” said Arthur, his tone livid.

“Arthur, I-”

“You… You really think they deserve to live?” Arthur huffed.

“Please, just listen-”

"Balakin!" Arthur roared.

The black dragon materialized behind him, it took up most of the room. As Arthur turned, so did the black dragon. Leia looked between the dragon and Arthur, shaking on the ground. He pointed the black spear at the window, Balakin started to roar. ‘Reiu…’ The silver pendant unraveled, and the snake-like dragon came to life. Its blue eyes flashed, causing a white barrier to appear around Arthur and Leia. Red light started to seep out of Balakin’s maw, energy condensed into a ball within its mouth. As the ball of energy became larger, the black dragon opened its maw.

"Arthur! Please, don't!" Leia cried.

“Balakin! Fire!”

Balakin released the blast, firing a devastating black and red beam at the glass. Leia shielded her eyes from the bright light, the force hit the barrier surrounding them, cracking it slightly. However, Arthur was surprised to see golden symbols appear on the glass. The symbols were circular, depicting a star surrounded by a ring of light, it somewhat resembled an eye. ‘It’s fortified with light magic?!’ As the smoke cleared, he was shocked to see that the magic reinforcement didn’t break. ‘It withstood a blast from Balakin?!’ To both Leia and Arthur’s surprise, a siren went off. The sound was piercingly loud, a red light started to flash above them.

“Oh shit! They had security for this?!” said Leia.

Arthur felt his rage boil. 'What is it! What is so important to them! The answer… I need the answer!' A red fog suddenly obscured his vision, it bothered his eye. Arthur turned, only to see Leia blowing that very fog toward him. She had taken off the red band on her left arm, revealing her gift. Plumes of red petals that grew off her arm, its red dye dripping down her white sleeve. The pungent scent filled the small space within the barrier. 'Shit!' Arthur felt his eyes fall, it became hard to keep them open. He stumbled backward and fell out of Reiu’s barrier, causing it to vanish. He tried to keep his eyes open, but the pungent scent of her plumes had stuck to his nose. Balakin noticed, then roared at Leia.

"Shit!" Leia uttered as she tried to get to her feet.

As Arthur closed his eyes, he watched Balakin dive.

***

The sound of the siren rang all around him, the red light flashing from above made him squint. Arthur slowly came to, he stood up weakly, his eyes still drowsy from the gas. As he remembered what happened, his eyes widened.

"Leia!" Arthur called, his head still felt groggy. "Rgh…"

Arthur slowly rose, he looked back at the window of the room. It was still there. He looked forward, then behind him. ‘How long was I out…’

"Leia…" Arthur called, his tone lowering.

Arthur looked down, and saw a stain of blood on one of the white tables. His eyes widened even further. Each of his breaths became unsteady. He crouched down slowly, hesitantly staring at the blood stain. He reached forward, and touched it. He looked at his fingertips, the wet blood trickled down his hand.

"Leia!" Arthur called. "Leia! Balakin!"

The dragon materialized next to Arthur, its massive eye glanced toward him. The creature's teeth almost made it look like it was grinning. The stains of blood on its maw made Arthur shudder. ‘Leia…’ He started to breath rapidly, a river of tears flooded out of his eyes as he grimaced.

"I… I…" Arthur clenched his teeth. “I didn’t want-”

The dragon rose as it felt the spirit of its master fall. Arthur looked up at the glass, and his rage boiled once more. Tears fell from his eyes. He gripped the spear and charged forward, slamming his spear into the glass. The magic rune reappeared, but he charged forward anyway.

"Raah!" Arthur screamed.

"Hgraaah!" Balakin roared at the same time, charging the same attack as before.

"Destroy it!" Arthur roared.

The black and red blast shot forth, striking the glass window. Arthur shielded his eyes from the smoke as the force knocked the tables away. Arthur charged forward over and over again, the ear piercing siren continued to ring. As the smoke drifted out of the way, a yellow light glowed from behind it.

“Destroy it!” Arthur cried.

Golden runes of some sort had appeared on the glass. After a few seconds, they faded away. Arthur flinched and shook his head.

"Balakin… Destroy it…" Arthur sobbed.

The dragon roared, soaring forward and ramming its helm into the glass. The runes reappeared again. However, Balakin fell onto the stage, the dragon wheezed from exhaustion. ‘I used up all my energy… Balakin can’t attack anymore… He couldn’t even dent it…’Arthur looked up, the red light on the ceiling rotated as the siren continued. He gazed at the light, each time it passed over him, he felt the lump in his throat grow more and more. He looked down at the floor, and the dark red splatter reminded him of what he did. The door at the rightmost side of the room opened quickly. Someone entered the room, but Arthur continued to gaze at the puddle of blood on the floor.

“What the fuck…” Lawrence uttered as he stood at the top of the stairs. “Why are you…”

Arthur glanced backward with a blank expression, glaring at Lawrence with wide eyes. ‘Balakin… Give me armor…’ Red energy flashed around Arthur’s legs as he got on one knee, forming black armor around his legs. Arthur leapt across the room, flipping in the air and landing behind him. The blonde man hesitated as he saw Arthur’s eyes, quickly conjuring his silver greatsword in hand. Arthur picked up his spear and stood as Balakin lowered its head right next to him. Lawrence took a stance, holding the blade up while angling it to the ground. It was a six foot long blade, about a third of that length was taken up by the handle and mirror-shaped cross-guard. Arthur dashed forward and thrusted his spear. The blade slammed against the mirror shaped guard, but he felt the force of his strike get repelled. Lawrence was surprised as he was forced back a step.

“Rgh!” Arthur flew off his feet, hitting the ground and rolling over his back.

“How did you find this place…” Lawrence stepped forward slowly, he kept his guard up until he stepped on the blood. “Huh…”

“You…” Arthur uttered as he stood up. “You’re the reason Oliver is dead… And now… Leia is dead too…”

“Leia… You-” Lawrence stuttered. “I thought it was strange that I couldn’t find her…”

Arthur slammed his spear into the ground and stood with grit teeth. Red and blue energy emanated off of his body as he thought about tearing apart the man in front of him. ‘I used up too much of Balakin’s strength earlier… This is good, I'll tear you to pieces with my bare hands!’ Arthur suddenly sprinted with his spear in both hands.

“Wait…” said Lawrence. “Just hear me out for a-”

“Die!” Arthur screamed as he lunged forward.

“Shit!” Lawrence uttered.

Lawrence raised his blade to block again, but was unable to see the red light collected at Arthur’s foot. He suddenly lunged to the right with his left foot, landed, then kicked off the ground again and appeared behind him, holding his spear with an underhand grip. As Lawrence turned, Arthur stabbed the spear forward. ‘You’re slow.’

“Shit-” Lawrence dropped his weapon, then rolled forward, just barely dodging Arthur’s stab.

Arthur jumped over Lawrence, flipping the spear to an overhand grip and then stabbing down. Lawrence rolled out of the way, his arm just barely getting slashed. Lawrence stumbled to his feet, and conjured his greatsword at the same time. He swung around quickly.

“Hrah!” Lawrence grunted as he whipped his whole body around, and swung as hard as he could.

‘Reiu!’ The dragon’s eyes flashed blue and deflected Lawrence’s strike, his eyes widened. Arthur stepped into his range, then stabbed forward. Lawrence barely moved his head out of the way, the spear grazed his cheek. Arthur pulled the spear back and then stabbed forward again within a fraction of a second. His spear pushed through Lawrence’s collar, just barely missing a fatal blow once again. Arthur pulled the spear back once more. Lawrence’s eyes widened as he slipped off the step.

“Die!” Arthur yelled as he stabbed forward.

Lawrence reconjured his greatsword right in front of him, blocking the strike aimed for his heart just in time with the mirror shaped guard. Arthur’s eyes widened as he was launched back. He rolled off the ground, then pushed off with his hands. His black greaves slammed against the wall, he crouched against it as more of the red energy flowed off. The red light flashed around his left leg, then he kicked off once again. Lawrence blocked the strike in mid air, but without the guard. Arthur drove his spear into the surface of his blade, pushing back until he hit the glass, the golden runes appeared as the siren went off again.

“Ahagh!” Lawrence grunted in pain.

He dropped onto the stage, his greatsword piercing into the ground right next to him. Arthur descended from above, spinning his spear and then grasping it with both hands overhead. Lawrence scrambled to his feet, desperate to survive. Arthur stabbed downward, but only grazed his shoulder, the second he landed, he charged forward with his spear held overhead. Lawrence turned the moment he thrusted the spear, catching it with both hands before the blade reached his neck. Lawrence fell onto his back, and Arthur slammed his left foot onto his stomach to hold him in place. He grabbed Balakin’s spear with both hands, and pushed it toward Lawrence’s throat.

“Wait!” Lawrence grunted.

“The rest of your family will join you soon,” Arthur promised.

“Don’t be a fool Arthur! If you kill me…” Lawrence paused. “Even if you don’t, you’re dead!”

“I don’t care… So long as the world knows about the truth… They’ll know you for the bastard frauds that you are!”

“Are you sure you don’t care?” Lawrence asked with grit teeth. “Are you sure you don’t care about every person in Helios dying?!”

“What… What does that mean!” Arthur hissed as he pushed the spear forward.

The blade was just inches from Lawrence's neck. However, the blonde man didn’t break his gaze or flinch once.

“We’re similar, you and I! I mean- I could give less of a shit if you killed my family, I hate them myself! You’d be doing me a favor, honestly! But you don’t know about my father… That thing… That thing will kill everyone to keep its status! And it has the means to do it!”

“What…” Arthur skipped a breath.

“If you kill me! They’ll know! It won’t take long for them to realize what happened to Leia!” Lawrence shouted.

“Shut your mouth! Don’t say her name!”

“The Lightbringers are ready to kill everyone! At any moment! If you expose them! Thousands of people will die, thousands of angels! Men, women, children even! Lucifer doesn’t care! Even if you kill Lucifer, it doesn’t end!”

“Stop talking! And just die!” Arthur pushed the spear forward. “You’ll say anything to live you fucking rat! You’d even cast aside your own father!”

“I hate him more than you!” Lawrence suddenly snapped. “Why would I hold any value for the man who murdered my mother!”

Arthur flinched as he heard that. ‘What…’ Lawrence pushed the spear back slightly.

“If you’re going to kill the Lightbringers! You have to get past the Lightbringer itself, Alexander Rael, and those two warships! You have nothing! There is nothing you can do with all your power to combat that! Even by some fucking miracle, that you Arthur, come out victorious against them! They aren’t the only ones behind your father’s murder! There are Hirian’s who assisted in killing him! You want vengeance! I am your best bet at getting it!”

Arthur hesitated. ‘Hirian’s too?!’ Lawrence breathed in and out frantically, but stopped as Arthur pulled his spear back. Arthur grabbed Lawrence’s collar.

“What do you have to gain…” Arthur asked with wide eyes full of rage.

“You aren’t the only one who wants vengeance… I hate my father… All he does is drown himself in wealth… My stupid step siblings, Laris and Leanne are being raised the same way…” Lawrence explained as he raised his hands in surrender.

“Step siblings?” Arthur repeated. “You aren’t blood related?”

“We have the same father… But the number of whores that come in and out of House Lightbringer… None of us may be blood related… No one is supposed to know that…” Lawrence shook his head.

“How do I know I can trust you…” Arthur glared at Lawrence.

Lawrence nodded as he looked at the ground. “That kid, the one Shinra found… The Lightbringer’s don’t know that he escaped… They only know that Shinra found this place, and Oliver talked to the guard who worked here…”

“What are you getting at?” Arthur asked.

“I don’t know why Shinra kept it a secret but… They still believe Project Archangel is proceeding as planned… They believe they’ve gotten rid of the threats to it… I’m gonna make sure they keep believing that…” Lawrence promised.

‘If I have someone on the inside, that would prove advantageous… But he’s one of them… I can’t forget that…’ Arthur looked down as he contemplated everything. Arthur pulled Lawrence to his feet, then let go of his collar. Lawrence touched the wound between his shoulder and the neck. Arthur looked him dead in the eyes.

“You only aim for vital spots or something… Ah…” Lawrence winced. “If I didn’t dodge, I'd probably be screwed, you know… I have to get this patched up…”

“Let it be a reminder, that if you betray me too, I'll kill you on the spot,” Arthur warned him. “Without hesitation.”