Chapter 633: First one found
In the end, Arthur had to resort to using Cosmic Gates, warping through vast distances with his own spatial power.
The distance was simply too great. Perhaps spending so much time away from home had dulled his memory of how absurdly massive Apex Worlds truly were.
He estimated he’d moved nearly 50,000 kilometres before he finally caught sight of something on the horizon—a massive explosion tearing through the landscape.
From far off, Arthur saw the unmistakable silhouette of Hibiki with his zoomed vision. He dashed forward, a streak of light across the sky, arriving just in time to witness the young woman delivering a devastating punch to someone’s face, caving it in with a sickening crunch.
The body collapsed lifeless at her feet, and immediately, Hibiki spun around, raising her bloodied fists.
"Who’s there?!"
Arthur smirked, deciding to indulge in some mischief. He conjured a swirling cloud of energy to obscure his face and launched a half-hearted attack at her.
Instinctively, she fought back, launching a flurry of punches at his vitals. Just then, a pack of dire wolves charged at him, their growls filling the air, but Arthur effortlessly pushed them away with his gravity energy.
He was about to retaliate when something made him pause—he realized the wolves were not attacking him alone. They were circling Hibiki protectively.
"Looks like someone’s been forming a little monster army."
Arthur remarked, dissipating the energy cloud around his face and Hibiki blinked in surprise as she recognized him.
"Arthur?"
"Sup."
He responded nonchalantly, though the wolves around them still growled with unease. Still on edge, they seemed ready to attack again, but Hibiki quickly commanded them to stop.
"Down!"
She ordered, and to Arthur’s astonishment, they obeyed. He raised his hand again, tempted to touch one of the wolves when Hibiki interjected.
"Don’t. They aren’t attacking you because of me, but if you touch them, they’ll turn on you."
"Is that how charmed targets work?"
Arthur inquired, his curiosity piqued but Hibiki narrowed her eyes, seemingly offended by the question.
"What do you mean charmed? I didn’t charm them."
Arthur stared at her with an incredulous look.
"Why wouldn’t you? Sounds like an efficient way to get a small monster army."
"Just because I’m a succubus doesn’t mean I’ll use my charm on every little thing."
She shot back, crossing her arms and Arthur couldn’t help but wonder why they listened to her. They were not summoned beasts; he was sure of that.
"So how are they so docile around you?"
In response, Hibiki raised her bloodied fists and smirked, cracking her knuckles.
"I beat the shit out of their pack leader."
"..."
Arthur stood there silently, processing her words. He then remembered Crim mentioning that Hibiki had earned the nickname ’Violent Succubus.’
"Violent Succubus, indeed..."
Arthur muttered, a chuckle escaping his lips. Hibiki’s brow twitched slightly at the comment, but before she could retort, he laughed it off, clearly amused.
"Anyway, it’s good that you’re safe and have all your limbs intact. This token just tells me you’re ’alive’ after all."
Hibiki nodded in silence, pulling out her own token and glancing in the direction where Crim was located. Arthur followed her gaze before speaking again.
"I plan to head to Evan next, then Artemisia, and finally Beatrix and Crim."
Arthur continued, outlining his plans and Hibiki instantly understood how he was tracking them. Just then, they noticed that Evan’s location was also moving, heading west toward Artemisia.
"Hmm...if he meets up with Artemisia, we might just head straight northwest."
Arthur mused aloud and Hibiki nodded in agreement before turning to the body of the cultivator she had just killed.
Without a second thought, she snatched his spatial ring and began emptying its contents.
"Haha, you didn’t forget to loot him."
Arthur chuckled, clearly amused by her pragmatism. He didn’t seem bothered by the death or interested in whatever conflict had taken place before his arrival.
"You’re not curious?"
Hibiki asked, her brow raised as she sifted through the items but Arthur waved her off dismissively.
"Doesn’t matter. Even if we ended up in the real secret realm, it’d still be survival of the fittest."
He shifted his focus, his expression turning serious as he considered her condition.
"Can you move now?"
Hibiki hesitated before admitting.
"Actually, no. I’m currently using my magic power to forcefully move my body, but that can’t last for long."
"Why not?"
When Arthur pressed her for answers, she hesitated a bit before explaining.
"You can’t see it, but I’m injured. I was trying to deal with my injury when that guy attacked me."
"Show me the injury, I’ll heal it."
Arthur offered, but Hibiki instinctively stepped back, her body tensing.
"Wait, what? You want me to show you? It’s on my stomach."
"What’s the problem? Just show me."
Still not understanding, Arthur tilted his head and asked, prompting Hibiki to roll her eyes and sigh.
"I’m a succubus, remember? I show as little skin as possible for obvious reasons."
Hibiki knew Arthur was stronger than she was, and her instincts screamed at her not to antagonize him.
But there was a slight problem here—the fact that she was a succubus, a Greater breed no less.
Her body naturally produced aphrodisiac pheromones, and while she kept it in check most of the time, it was stronger when she was hurt, like now.
The scent could trigger primal urges, and she was acutely aware of the risk it posed, especially with Arthur, whose strength eclipsed hers.
The thought of him succumbing to that allure frightened her; she was certain she wouldn’t be able to resist him if he attacked.
Yet, Arthur’s expression was one of genuine confusion, as if he couldn’t fathom why she hesitated to show him her wound.
It wasn’t until she mentioned her condition that realisation flashed in his eyes.
"Oh! That makes sense."
Then, without a trace of hesitation, Arthur’s body was instantly coated in a layer of crimson silver energy that exuded existential dread, causing a shiver to race down Hibiki’s spine.
"I’d be fine. If your charm does have a possibility of working, then my destruction would ’destroy’ it."
He stated matter-of-factly, before repeating his earlier request.
"Now, show me the wound so I can rewind it. I need to see it and know your body’s previous state so I can return it to that state."
Despite his assurances, Hibiki remained unconvinced; her mind was still clouded by the fear that lingered. Hibiki remained hesitant, the memory of countless others who had fallen to her charm flashing in her mind.
But before she could voice her refusal, Arthur sighed, snapping his fingers.
The world around her froze.
Her breath caught in her throat as everything around her came to a standstill.
Hibiki watched, frozen in place, as he stepped closer, his intent clear. He reached through the tear in her clothes, where her wound lay hidden, and pressed his hand against her stomach.
The warmth of his palm sent a jolt through her, but she couldn’t move as she felt him scanning her with his energy, and dread filled her mind.
"Tis but a flesh wound.
Oh, wait...that’s not how I’m supposed to use that line."
Arthur spoke to himself as he rewound her wound, as well as her torn clothes in an instant, the sensation shifting from pain to relief as he withdrew his hand.
Stepping back, Arthur released his hold on time, and everything resumed its natural flow.
Hibiki blinked, coming back to her senses, only to see him standing there, wiping the blood off his hands as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.
Her fingers instinctively reached for her stomach. The gash, the pain—it was all gone. She stared at Arthur, words failing her as the weight of the situation hit her.
He had just healed her without a second thought, ignoring every fear she had about her succubus nature.
Arthur turned away casually, wiping the last of the blood from his fingers.
"In the end, I didn’t need the destruction energy. Oh well, let’s go."
He said, his tone as indifferent as ever and Hibiki stood there for a moment, stunned.
His mutter about not needing the destruction energy reminded her of his claim to be completely immune to any form of status effect cast by mortals.
There was still doubt in her mind about the authenticity of that claim, but... relief flooded her, mingling with the disbelief.
"Wait..."
She finally managed to speak, her voice shaky.
"You just—how did you...?"
But Arthur was already moving, his focus shifting toward their next destination as he estimated how far from Evan he was.
◇ ◇ ◇
Night Fell.
Considering how vast the landmass—which Arthur had assumed was a continent—that they were on was, getting all the way across to Evan who was far up North wasn’t a day’s job.
What’s more, Arthur’s travel speed was much slower since Hibiki was added to the mix.
’I should have put some power bikes in my subspace...’
Arthur thought this to himself as he looked up at the night sky which was now much clearer than before.
The clouds had parted, so he could now see a very different set of stars than he was used to, along with the grey moons in the sky.
As the darkness settled, Hibiki started feeling dizzy, trying to stay awake despite the heaviness in her eyes. Arthur, noticing this, spoke.
"You’re forcing yourself to stay awake, but that’s not going to help you in a place like this."
Hearing Arthur’s voice, Hibiki nodded, still reeling from the effects of her dizziness.
"Best to sleep so you can recover your stamina. You were also injured earlier."
He continued speaking and Hibiki forced herself to her feet before speaking.
"I know, but I can’t bring myself to sleep...
We know our companions are alive somewhere. But we don’t have a clue what they’re dealing with, what kind of traps or horrors they could be facing."
Though she said ’companions’, Hibiki was more worried for Crim and her sect members than Artemisia, Beatrix and Evan.
Perfectly understandable.
"What if they’re caught in a soul trap? Or facing shadow beasts? They could be lost in some Dead Ash Fields, or worse... hunted by the Soul Devils..."
She began to list possible dangers, her words growing more specific with each one she listed. Her voice was tense as she named each threat, one after the other.
Arthur raised an eyebrow, sensing something unusual. As usual, he didn’t hesitate to comment on it.
"You’re being pretty specific with these dangers, Hibiki. It’s like you know exactly what’s out here."
The young woman froze for a second before she slowly nodded.
"... I think I know where we are. I didn’t want to say it, but there’s no denying it now."
Arthur’s gaze sharpened as he focused on her. She had mentioned some things he wasn’t familiar with, along with something he knew—Soul Devils.
Even back in the Hell Universe ruled by Devils, they were a rarity.
"You know this place, you say?"
Arthur asked and Hibiki glanced at him, her black eyes trembling lightly as she spoke.
"You said that the ocean was red, right?"
He nodded and she continued, her voice shaky yet steady.
"The energy in the air is pure, but... the laws of this place? They’re skewed. You can sense it, can’t you?
The polarity here is more negative than positive."
