Chapter 611: Unmasking the Silver Summoner
"R...Rec...cruit... 659... Arth... Arthur... V...Vaughn?"
Arthur’s eyes behind his mask widened slightly at the name, but the man continued, piecing things together in a voice that was more disjointed the longer he spoke.
"H...how? Y-you... were... in D-Duskhand? You... disguised... yourself... B-but... the Divinity... no... y-you’re... n-not a... demon!"
As the man’s mutterings became more erratic, Arthur’s thoughts clicked into place.
Duskhand Bastille—the place he had infiltrated months ago under the guise of a recruit.
This man was someone from the Duskhand Bastille. Arthur didn’t recognize him but he was one of those who was in the observation area on the day Arthur had first joined the Duskhand Bastille and had displayed his divinity.
This man had seen Arthur’s face and he knew Arthur’s name. He also knew Arthur’s recruit number since Arthur was the only recruit who had divinity that day, though it was something he had forgotten until just now.
Among Arthur’s extensive list of titles on his Status Board, a few stood out—titles that, if he were to conceal everything else and display only these, would paint a very different picture of his past.
He would appear as a former recruit of the Aramisian army, a soldier who didn’t serve for long, leaving only to later resurface as a high-ranking mercenary in Aramis.
One such title was ’Recruit Number 659 of Duskhand Bastille’, and another was his ’SS Tier Mercenary’ title.
When the man had seen these titles, along with the name ’Arthur’, he thought back to the boy who had disappeared the day Duskhand Bastille was destroyed.
It was memorable because Arthur was the ONLY new recruit who had "died" on that day.
The name ’Arthur’, the gravity powers he wielded and the divinity he had been confirmed to possess.
They aligned too perfectly with the boy from Duskhand to be a coincidence.
Arthur chuckled, stepping forward as he spoke.
"Oh, you’re from Duskhand. The fact that you’re not dead means you must have been in the outer city. Otherwise, I’m pretty sure you would’ve died when I nuked the place."
The man’s face paled further as Arthur’s words confirmed his worst fears.
The recruit from Duskhand who "died" when the Bastille fell, and the ’Silver Summoner’ standing before him were one and the same!
Arthur had more or less abandoned the idea of hiding his identity from the Aramisians. The only reason he still wore the mask was for the fun of it—and perhaps because the Aramisians, in their ignorance, remained blissfully unaware of the events that had transpired during last month’s Annual Gozonian Summit.
Thanks to the Aramisian god-kings, the Aramisians were ignorant of the happenings on the Interstellar Stage, including Arthur’s name, which had already become common knowledge across the Galaxy.
When Arthur returned and saw that Rachel wasn’t trying to kill him on sight—or even reacting in any noticeable way—he realized his identity was still a secret among the Aramisians.
So, he kept up the charade, wearing his mask purely for the fun of it. The big reveal would come later, just to spite Duskhand and the rest of the Aramisians.
But now, there was another pressing matter.
Evan had quickly cast sound magic to isolate the moment the man had called out Arthur’s name, ensuring no one else heard it. But the real question was how this man had seen through Arthur’s concealment.
"So? How did he find out your name?"
When Evan asked this, Arthur stepped forward and spoke.
"I’m not one to brag, but I’m pretty good at concealing stuff.
So, for this guy to see my status even now, he’d at least need something on this level..."
Arthur crouched in front of the man and reached out with his right hand, his silver bracelet glowing in the light as he grabbed the visor that the man was wearing.
He held it up towards Evan and then concluded his statement.
"A Cosmic Artifact."
He didn’t need long to spot the Cosmic Artifact the man carried, even though it only radiated a weak cosmic energy signature.
"What a fascinating little trinket."
Arthur muttered, turning the artifact over in his hands. It was a visor with a transparent lens and jet-black frame, with a shimmering edge of silver running along the sides, just thin enough to fit comfortably over the wearer’s eyes.
He quickly used his Appraisal to scan through the description and what he saw made his eyes bulge.
|Defective Cosmic Lens Replica.
Type; Defective Low Grade Cosmic Artifact.
This is a failed attempt at replicating an Ancient Cosmic Artifact with the power of ’Truth’ and ’Knowledge’.
In a certain Primary Universe, there existed a certain Witch known as the Witch of Chaos.
It is unknown how she accomplished this feat; however, this Witch succeeded in stealing a portion of the Cosmic Authority of The Eternal of Wisdom and Knowledge.
Using the stolen Authority, she forged a pair of glasses that granted her the ability to see the Truth of all of existence.
This ’Cosmic Lens’ is one of many defective replicas that have been created in an attempt to replicate the Cosmic Artifact that the Witch of Chaos created.
As a Defective Replica, its uses are Limited and it also carries hidden drawbacks upon use. |
"What in the Nine Thousand Circles of Hell is this bullshit?!"
Arthur exclaimed in shock, and Evan, who was beside him was similarly dumbfounded at what he had seen with his Full Appraisal.
This marked the third Cosmic Artifact he had encountered in this Universe, and like the first two, it was yet another replica.
Evan also knew about the Book of Truth from Toverus, and seeing another here, he couldn’t help but wonder.
"Are cosmic artifacts supposed to be this common?"
"Of course not!
Or rather, is that your main concern right now?! Are you not seeing the insane shit I just saw? Who the hell is this Witch, and how did she manage to steal an Eternal’s Authority?!"
Evan placed a hand on Arthur’s shoulder, his gaze drifting as he spoke with a faraway look in his eyes.
"Young padawan, you have yet to master the art of ignoring bullshit you cannot explain or understand without getting a headache."
It was rather obvious that Evan had decided to shut off the part of his brain that could process the description of the Artifact.
"But leaving that aside, there’s a surefire way we can get an answer."
Evan continued speaking, pointing at the title of the Witch who stole the Eternal’s Authority and then bringing up a part of Jamie’s Status board.
With Full Appraisal, he could pull up appraisal results from people he’d appraised before even if they were not physically present.
| Titles: THE Alpha Hybrid, Irregular, Leader of the Hybrids, ’Azure Void Paragon’, Myth of Estea, Marked by the Witch of Chaos, Loved By Mana, Loved by the Night, Envoy of Balance, Ancestor of the Westley Clan, Founding Member of the Crimson Court, [...] |
Seeing the highlighted words, Arthur’s eyes widened ever so slightly.
"Guess we’re gonna have to ask Jamie about this."
He spoke as he tossed the Cosmic Lens into his subspace, not willing to try it out after seeing that it had ’hidden drawbacks’.
Before Evan could respond to him, there was a sudden burst of power from above.
Arthur’s eyes snapped skyward, just in time to see a Transcendent come crashing down from the sky, his body sent hurtling by a forceful blow. McEnda III followed the falling Transcendent, his silhouette briefly outlined against the sun as he descended.
The fallen Transcendent landed behind Arthur with a thunderous impact, the force of the crash releasing a shockwave that scattered the Aramisians still on the ground.
An energy blast powered by McEnda’s Pseudo-Authority followed, crashing into the Transcendent’s body and exploding outward. The power of the Pseudo-Authority disrupted Arthur’s gravitational field and broke the downforce he’d been using to hold the Aramisians around him down.
"Dude?!"
Arthur shouted at the Demon while blowing away the dust and smoke, and McEnda, finally noticing Arthur, reacted with surprise.
"Huh? Oh! Arthur! Sorry about that!"
He shouted back, pointing at the Transcendent he just attacked before continuing.
"You can take him as compensation."
Arthur looked down at the half-dead Transcendent lying in a crater behind him, his body twitching from the darkness energy coursing through him.
"But I don’t need any more divine sparks for now..."
McEnda had already flown off before the sound of Arthur’s words could reach him and Arthur just sighed.
As McEnda flew off, Arthur noticed the remaining Aramisians scrambling to their feet. They jumped back, trying to gain distance from him, likely believing his gravitational powers had a limited range.
The man who had worn the Cosmic Lens tried to slip away with the crowd, and Arthur didn’t even spare him a glance.
Until Evan asked him a question, that is.
"Have you told that Rachel girl about who you are?"
"?!"
Immediately, Arthur turned around and unleashed a beam of destruction energy from his palm in the man’s direction.
He didn’t want Rachel to find out he was the ’Silver Summoner’ just yet. So, this man? He needed to die.
The destruction energy tore through the air, but one of the Two Divine Human Transcendents leapt into the path of the beam, their body taking the full force of the blast.
But even though they sacrificed themselves, the effort was partially in vain.
The beam tore through the first Transcendent, weakening as it struck the man who had worn the Cosmic Lens, shredding through his chest.
The man gasped in agony as the destruction energy ravaged his body, but it wasn’t enough to kill him since the energy in the attack had weakened after having pierced through a Transcendent.
Before Arthur could finish him off, another Divine Human dashed in, grabbing the injured man and dragging him away.
At the same time, a third Transcendent who had been called in by the other two lunged at Arthur, trying to keep him distracted.
Arthur sidestepped the newcomer’s attack while Evan teleported to avoid getting caught up in the clash.
Clenching his fist, Arthur concentrated gravity law energy and used Weighted Impact to punch the attack Transcendent in the chest, sending them flying back with a sickening crunch.
|¬Gravitational Maelstrom¬|
By his command, the ground trembled as debris—rocks, dirt, and chunks of the destroyed mech—rose into the air, swirling in a vortex of crimson silver energy.
The Transcendent who had attacked him was caught in the maelstrom, their body pulled into the whirlwind of rocks and rubble.
Arthur slammed his palms together and condensed the swirling debris, crushing it all together. The sound of bones snapping and metal grinding filled the air as he compressed the maelstrom into a dense mass.
And then, with a final motion, he slammed everything into the ground, the force of impact shaking the entire island.
He swept his gaze across the area, locking onto his target, but before he could move forward, more Aramisians—Sovereigns this time—threw themselves between him and his target.
"Stop him!"
One shouted, raising a shimmering barrier of energy to intercept Arthur’s advance.
"Protect Sir Kalon at all costs!"
Another Sovereign yelled, brandishing a sword that glowed with divinity.
"Don’t let that Silver Summoner through!"
"Form a wall! We can’t allow him to reach Sir Kalon!"
Kalon wasn’t the only reason the Transcendents had called them to block Arthur. The man who owned the Cosmic Lens was now important as he held important knowledge.
More Aramisian soldiers threw themselves in his path, but all Arthur did was release his Anti-Divinity and create an Anti-Gravity field, sending them hurtling into the air as though they weighed nothing.
Their cries of confusion echoed through the sky, but Arthur’s focus shifted from them when a massive Tier 6 magic circle manifested overhead.
A beam of radiant light descended from the sky, aimed directly at Arthur and he narrowed his eyes, creating a dense gravity barrier with his outstretched hand.
The beam of light bent unnaturally as it struck the barrier, curving around him harmlessly before hitting the ground around him and pulverizing anything in sight.
Still under the protection of his barrier, Arthur summoned Lostvayne, with temporal and destructive energies coiling down his arm and seamlessly flowing into the blade.
Without a second thought, Arthur thrust the sword upward, using Extreme Nothingness and releasing a concentrated beam of energy toward the airship that had launched the Tier 6 spell.
The energy tore through the sky like a rip in the fabric of reality, and the airship was obliterated in an instant, its wreckage raining down in molten fragments.
Arthur turned around, scanning the area, but his target was nowhere to be found.
Evan, after finishing off some Legendries who attacked him, hurried over, concern filling his voice as he questioned Arthur while wiping sweat from his brow.
"Did you get the guy?"
"Nahh..."
Arthur replied nonchalantly, seemingly unbothered and Evan’s eyes widened in shock.
"Then he’s going to expose your identity if he knows it!"
"Well, not if I can help it."
Arthur shrugged as he responded and Evan gave him a confused look, wondering what the source of his confidence was.
Evan also noticed that Kalon, whom they had specifically come for, was also gone.
Yet, Arthur didn’t seem the least bit bothered. Instead, he floated silently into the air, his energy bursting from his body as he spoke with his Faux True Voice.
|¬Resident Hybrid. ¬|
Unlike usual, his voice didn’t travel very far, however, Arthur was sure the person he was speaking to heard him.
|¬I know you’re listening in. I need you to clear out all the demons. I’m nuking this island. ¬|
