The quaking of the ground was what woke him up from a rather terrible dream. He couldn't tell where it began, and what he had been doing before he sunk into it.
When had he slept to have been pulled into such a dreadfully deep and immersive dream?
There was a sudden, hurtful pull from his body.
Something within seemed to be compelled to leave, but as he laced his full control through his body, whatever it was calmed down for a moment, only to attempt to break through his body again.
What was this?
Why did it seem connected to the dream he had been having?
"It's time to wake up, glaive-man. I'm not going to babysit you longer than I need to. Wait, I actually might," a voice spoke to him.
The dark-haired man opened his eyes wide, and saw a pale man come into view, his figure rickety, as though it was leisurely swinging on a rocking chair.
The sound of waves came next, and Gabel grew suspicious. What was this scenario?
"Don't give me that dumbfounded face," Aurolio said with an exasperated sigh. "I really don't want to have to explain this from the top. Please tell me you remember who you are and what you're doing here."
Gabel sat up. He found that he and Aurolio were on a modest chunk of earth that was heavily swayed by the perturbed sea. A powerful quaking caused the waters to turn restless, and as they quivered, they made the prospect of being stuck at sea with nothing else in sight quite horrifying.
At least that's how a common man would have felt.
"What is this trembling?" Gabel asked calmly while reaching for his glaive, which thankfully, had been retrieved.
"Don't know. It's the reason I'm reluctant to leave the sea. Something teeeeerribly bad is going on," Aurolio said, a small, charming smile on his face.
Gabel then turned to him.
"How did you stop it?" he asked Aurolio who breathed out a sigh of immense relief at realising that the dark-haired man hadn't suffered some convenient case of amnesia.
"I didn't," the pale man replied. "I tried stuffing your soul back into your body, but it just kept trying to sneak out. It stopped struggling as hard a few minutes ago, but... in all truth, I was not about to keep it up, especially with one hand. Maybe I would have resorted to using my foot."
Aurolio wiggled the stump on his right arm. His hand was missing.
Gabel wore a quizzical expression.
"Almost bit off more than I could chew. Your soul had flown off, and I guess it was about to be absorbed. To save it, I had to put myself in harm's way. And well... let's just say I underestimated how easily I could have lost more than this. <Sigh>. What monsters!"
The dark-haired man couldn't exactly piece things together. He only saw the image of the masked man from his memory, and assumed that whatever he had done had led to this.
"Why save me? How did you even manage it? I assumed you would be the one person who managed to reach the GOAL," Gabel expressed.
Aurolio shrugged.
"I thought about it after getting close to that gateway, but I stopped. It wasn't me. I had a feeling the true mastermind behind the Premium Age Royale was going to show himself. And I was right. That Undeath user sure is something," he said with a grin. "I also got to see a few other mysteries concerning our mutual friend. He's more interesting than I imagined."
The pale man then swung his head close to Gabel.
"As for why I saved you... I figured I undervalued you before, my friend. I've taken an interest in that Veneration art of yours..."
Gabel narrowed his eyes.
For the first time since he acquired that power, he had found someone else who knew about Veneration.
***
"Sorry for the delay, Sir. Rummaging through the cache of items we've collected over the years to look for what you asked for, was rather challenging. Also, that nasty quake caused a few heavy items to fall on me, hahaha," a neatly dressed man walked over with a long object wrapped in quite the pristine linen cloth.
"Exactly as requested, Sir."
He handed it over.
Tallo looked the object suspiciously.
He drew the linen cloth, and the first thing that smote him was a chilling presence that swept from the object the servant was carrying.
From a glance, it seemed to fit the grade that he had requested at least. A brief appraisal later, and Tallo confirmed that he had been given what he asked for.
The servant saw his hesitation and smiled wryly.
"Sir, you were promised a reward if you played through the games and survived. You were the only one to emerge with full Units through the gateway. That is all that matters to us," he said encouragingly.
Tallo, scoffed.
"What about everything else that happened? Everything I saw. That flame and all. Even though I saw it, you're still willing to let me go?" he asked.
Indeed, Tallo had been the only one to pass through the gateway in the end. After being separated from Skullius, Maxim and Baddan, he too had made his way to the green and black flame and found the vicious battle occurring between Rias and the other contenders.
His sense of urgency intensified, and he didn't think twice before killing Liura just as she and Grutus were about to help the rest, obtaining her Units which were added to his own, allowing him to reach the full 10,000 Unit requirement, and teleporting in a mass of colour to the GOAL.
Yes. He had seen Maxim and Skullius struggling, but in his opinion, what he came to the Royale for had been accomplished – somewhat – and above all else, self preservation when possible, was to be considered as a top priority. He hadn't grown too attached to risk his life.
That argument about what to do back when they were headed towards the mountain... it really was pointless in the end.
After entering through the glowing gateway, Tallo had emerged here.
To his shock, he was in the EverSword Mansion, a magnificent structure which floated above the ground.
Currently, he was within a rather stale looking room – a waiting room for odd guests as described by the first person he had met when he warped here; this sharply dressed servant.
Said servant looked at him with a surprised look at his question. If Tallo didn't know any better, he'd think this man thought he was an idiot.
"Sir. The only thing bothering US is that you refused to join the EverSword House as promised by Lord Rearren. Nothing else matters to me. Regardless, you can walk free. You are not being forced to stay here. But I must again ask... is this all you really want? Substituting the opportunity to join a prestigious powerhouse for... this, is rather underwhelming. We could give you 50,000 Plasma Coins on top, or more. We value our position, you see. Whatever you tell the world about us, must end with a 'But they kept their word, and were very generous!' Haha!"
Tallo wasn't as amused as the servant. He swiped what the man had brought him and stored it in his storage silently.
These people didn't care at all.
Supposedly they thought they could go against the entire world.
How bold.
At that moment, there was another quake, and even though the mansion was elevated over the ground – a great lake to be precise – it shook lightly.
"There it goes again. Nasty business, Sir," the servant said brightly.
Tallo didn't like it.
Something terribly bad was happening.
"Shall I escort you to another portal, Sir. We can't allow you to leave on your own, after all."
***
All hell had started breaking loose outside.
Even though the Royal mansion was wide and large, as well as its compound, the King could almost hear the distant screams of the common folk in their common streets and suburbs as the world rumbled, shaking violently.
Yet, the mansion was calm, unfazed, as if it wasn't part of Pelian.
The King trembled on his throne, and gripped the armrests which were masterfully encrusted with the rarest jewels, and gilded with the hopes and dreams of...
Actually they weren't.
Very few actually believed in the Royal Family anymore.
The Capital Service, the Families, and the Guilds Association ran everything outside, and rarely did they ever come to involve the Royal Family unless the King demanded it, which was a very rare sight.
"Aaargh!" the King yelped anxiously in the empty throne room. He had cast his Knights out as usual.
Almost immediately a bird flew from out of nowhere and landed on top of his throne. It was a rather large, mysterious bird.
The King looked at it, and he felt his anxieties wax lightly.
"Whatever happens outside... It will not harm me and my family as long as you are here, right?" he asked with a trembling voice.
The bird gave a slow, reassuring nod, and the King felt at ease.
Yes, whatever happened out there... it didn't matter as long they were safe, like everyone else than came before.
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