Yuyui had just finished dispersing the dark ooze that had turned the waters black when she saw Replicus and the Unlimited appear on shore. Her Eye of Dispersal quickly closed up, and she wore a complex expression.
This duty that Replicus had delegated to her instead of passing it on to the Unlimited, who could have just as easily cleared up the mess, had been easy for her. Yuyui couldn't help but think, however, that perhaps the Penetrator had given the task to her just to show that despite what she chose from the options available to her, he still needed her.
She looked up at Replicus.
He looked different right now.
Instead of being a vague shape that was engulfed by clumps of dark cloud, a proper shape could be seen of him now, and it wasn't that of a pitch black skeleton laced with Levin.
A classy metallic clink rang with each step Replicus took, as he was decked in a gorgeous, slim armour – a dark one that had the nebulous design of innumerable foggy stars sparkling on its exterior, which made it look as though it had been carved out using the night sky.
The hints of blue and puce that swirled on the mean-looking armament made it difficult not to stare, though the ever bright flashes of radiant Levin certainly did, as did those that came from Replicus' horned helmet which had four narrow slits that reflected only a portion of the Penetrator's four glowing sockets.
Over the armour, an abundant, ghostly dark blue robe that was partially transparent could be seen, its long sleeves unoccupied, and left to float lazily in the air, just like the rest of it – as though they never knew gravity.
Replicus truly looked like one who conquered kingdoms.
Beside him, Pherdanta with her two swords strapped to her waist, followed the Penetrator closely, her stoic face, and pointed noise both hinting at how serious she took the task she adamantly stressed for herself.
"Master, I know you probably know what you're doing, but are you sure the two of you are... I mean, will whoever this Emissary of the Immortals is, take the two of you as enough to represent our faction?" Grim asked from behind.
"We are enough," Replicus replied succinctly, confidently.
Kenno strode to Replicus' other side. It was evident that he had an inquiry, but before he even opened his mouth to speak, the Penetrator answered him.
"I trust you enough to do it for me, Kenno. I will not change my mind. Your Hidden Class abilities are the most suitable for dealing with the current threats on the main land. Besides, your job isn't to fight them. Just reach the Bryne Family Estate, and inquire as much as you can. If you are lucky, you'll come across a flamboyantly dressed knight."
Kenno breathed out a sigh.
He wasn't exactly about to express doubt in his role for the task, but...
"Are you sure this doesn't break the accord of the Severed Union, boss? Approaching territories of Families within Pelian might just be... Especially for someone like me," Kenno said with visible concern.
"You'll be fine as long you don't fight anyone from there. You're going to infer about a part of me anyway," Replicus said calmly.
"Alright then..." the former bandit leader relented.
The task he had been given truly was rather troublesome on two fronts, but he was being entrusted with it. Well, to be more apt, it was the nature of his powers that made Replicus trust him so much. Be it with spars, and with missions that dealt with numerous opponents, everything seemed fair game with his powers.
"Could I go with him, boss? With my Armament alone, I'll be more than a big help," the energetic voice of the latest Unlimited, Allora, rose above the rest.
Her tall figure was adorned in her very own Granted Armament, and she was beaming incessantly, showing it off with every chance she got.
The moment she had been given it, she had gone for a dive to replenish it with both mana and Null Life Essence, and she wished she could get to try it out with something. Anything.
"No, Allora. There needs to be at least two Unlimited here, just in case. Do not be so overconfident that you forget the competence of other Factions. They would exploit any weakness of ours in a heartbeat," Replicus said.
Allora deflated a little.
The boss was right.
The Severed Union had a certain degree of unruliness to it. There had been tales of stronger Factions obliterating and taking the possessions of other similarly strong Factions in a single night.
No one was exempt from such an experience if they relaxed a tad bit too much.
"Got it, boss," Allora said, and then she turned to Grim. She and him would be the ones in charge after everyone else was gone.
Grim rolled his eyes at her intense gaze.
Replicus reached close to Yuyui.
The lime-haired girl pursed her lips.
"I—" she began, but was cut off.
"I wasn't going to ask. Wait till I return," Replicus said as he placed his beautiful, starry gauntlet, which was rather thin, on her shoulder.
Yuyui have a hollow smile.
Replicus turned to the rest.
"I don't know how long this will last, but I assume it won't take more than several hours. Kenno, make sure not to overstay your welcome. Allora, Grim, I expect to see the Honing Fortress intact when I return. And if a certain red stork comes looking for me, relay to him what we talked about concerning that odd creature," he ordered.
The Unlimited all acknowledged.
"Good."
With that, Replicus placed his hand on Pherdanta, and a staggeringly bright flash turned them whitish blue, sending them into the sky as a singular burst of Levin that leapt into a cloud overhead, then hopped into another, then another and another.
Moments later, the speeding bolt had crossed tens of kilometres East through the skies.
Kenno was the first to dislodge his sight from the boss' departure.
"I'll be off then," he said. From out of nowhere, a blue, silver and white helmet covered his face.
Kenno then hunkered down and took a great leapt that shot him far into the south distance.
Grim sauntered up to Yuyui.
"Looks like you and the boss had a heart to heart. Finally. Want to tell me about it?" he said with a smile.
Soon, the two, along with a curious Allora were walking back to the Honing Fortress.
*
While hopping from cloud to cloud at an extraordinary speed, Replicus and Pherdanta didn't have tangible forms, but they did have their sense of individuality.
Quite like Skullius' [Boundless Evil], this was an efficient means of travel that Replicus had acquired when he became the Eternal Storm Veil Penetrator at the second Tier – a racial skill.
It was called [Greatest Storm Chaser], and with it, Replicus could travel vast distances at a very low cost as long as there were clouds in the sky that he could propel himself with.
Every single one of the Unlimited had experienced travelling like this one way or another, especially in the earliest days, when Replicus had been striving to earn them a good place in the Severed Union.
Pherdanta didn't have many memories of those days in their purest form, as she wasn't from the original group that Replicus that started with, yet she was just as committed.
As they crossed the four hundred kilometre mark, Pherdanta broke the silence.
"Aren't we a little early? It will be hours before the meeting of the Factions begins. Do you have more errands to run?"
"I always have errands. The one I intend to deal with first is the most important of all," Replicus answered.
"I see," Pherdanta said. "If you would allow, I also have an errand I wish to complete."
"Well, we have an excess of time."
More than several minutes later, a barrier that only the select could see, appeared before the two, guarding against travel, tracking, and visibility.
Replicus immediately deactivated [Greatest Storm Chaser], and he and Pherdanta dropped to the sea. The moment they landed on its surface, a man with a body so dark it looked as if he was wearing armour appeared before them.
It was like he had walked out from thin air.
Replicus turned vigilant.
'These guys again? Looks like things are getting serious...'
The dark figure stared at the two for a half a minute, and then...
"We are glad you answered the call so early, Bright Storm."
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