Honour was a word known by villagers of every nation, especially those who valued their pride. A man without it was less than a human being and those with it were truly great and inspirational.
It was with this mindset that Arthur practiced his ultimate move again and again in order to engrave it into his soul. If he wanted to restore the honour of his family, he needed enough strength to do so.
[Drawing Skill- Seven Wonders!]
He took an Iado-style-like stance before slashing forward seven consecutive times. Each slash being of a different Attribute he was trying to master with diligent training. At one moment it was burning like fire, in another moment as unpredictable as darkness, and even temporarily bleeding crimson in the last slash drawn... His 'Wonder Style' Sword Skills weren't to be taken light of whatsoever.
It was really amazing! If learning complex magic formulas can give theoretical knowledge, then actual practice in an hands-on manner can help a person reach the level of gaining practical Skills.
Arthur was imagining multiple enemies around him as he continued to do a sword dance with his backsword in one hand and the sheath paired in a 'set' for his Spirit Essence. He was preparing for the day he'd slaughter those Crazies ruthlessly...!
The scholarly youth who was watching from afar could imagine the brutality he was showing those imaginary enemies. Each sword slash seemed to perfectly aim for vital areas rather than mindlessly cutting anything in its path. Though their seemed to times an eighth Attribute would show itself when he his imaginary enemies would gang up on him.
[Drawing Skill- Twofold Slash!]
His sword would sheath every so often as he was training before letting out two simultaneous slashes of light. Both sword cuts appearing at the exact same time rather than one after the other.
Alex watched his brawny friend hack, dice, cleave, cut, and gouge with savagery in his eyes as if he was a barbarian. There was no grace or formality in those strikes, seeming deeply personal to him...
Seeing the 'Magic Styles' of Gaia which opposed the 'Physical Styles' in his memory of Earth was a perplexing experience. He could almost feel as a sense of unfairness in his heart considering that Earthlings could barely copy Arthur's movements.
Unless martial artists had a deep reservoir of Qi in their dantian they wouldn't mind spending up in merely a day, all that even a Grandmaster martial artist would only able to execute a single Sword Skill used by the residents of Gaia one time a day.
This perhaps had to do with how Spell Slots were nearly identical to Qi Centres in a way. It was actually quite pathetic that the so-called Forbidden Arts that sacrifice their cultivation for a boost in power could be seen as useless to Gaia Humans.
The brawny youth himself would probably be able to use a 'Forbidden Art' seven different times if he was taught how to use it... What's more, he could tell that despite being a honest-to-god Human, it was actually strange... or perhaps reasonable enough, that he seemingly had bottomless stamina and physical might. The God Physique his friend acquired was worthy for a 'Weirdo Anomaly'.
Though he felt no envy. After all, there was only admiration in his heart towards Arthur's strength.
"You're really training hard..." Was the first thing Alex spoke after interrupting the training session.
The brawny youth stopped, then gave a handsome smile after seeing him. He was really happy to have a friend that would help him out no matter what. It made fighting against that Cult so much easier!
"What brought you here?" These words were a clear indication that he didn't remember the currently Ret Gone'd spearman that kicked his rear not too long ago. When he woke up, did this guy think he took a nap rather than being beaten up?
"I wanted to see how you were doing."
"I'm great. Anyway, what's the plan in dealing with those Crazies?" Arthur's eyes sparkled at him.
"There isn't a plan."
"So you're still thinking about what to do? Don't worry, I'm sure we can think of something!"
"No, I mean there's no plan I'm going to make for you. I've decided to leave them alone for now."
"...What?" A confused exclamation left his lips before he continued on with a heavy tone:
"You're going to back out?" This question sounded so sharp to Alex's ears that it could cut iron...
This sudden change in attitude was pretty drastic and beyond Alex's expectations. He couldn't understand why his friend was so obsessed with ending this Cult when they had struggled so much to get them off their tail once and for all.
"We promised not to fight those guys."
"YOU promised. I don't remember agreeing with those crazies or that evil Crown Prince."
"They haven't done anything yet..."
"Are we still going to keep talking about this?"
"Arthur... Think about this a little more clearly." Alex spoke with an appeasing tone before he got angry.
"..." The brawny youth kept silent in order to hear him out. His irritation was rising by the minute.
Even as his heart sped up, he listened to Alex speak in order to get a grasp on what he meant:
"There would be too many casualties if they turned violent in the middle of the Capital. Innocent people will die if we fight them. On top of that, how are we going to differentiate old members from the new ones?" The scholarly freak made his case.
The Mirror Cult has been around for a lot longer than they have lived. It was an ancient and heretical organisation that has survived one way or another in this world filled with 'justice mongers'.
He wanted Arthur to understand just how perilous it would be not just for them, but also for the people around them. Fighting against the Mirror Cult now would be going against the whole kingdom. Even though he had his own methods of surviving should the kingdom go against him, the former fighter didn't want casualties to happen.
His heart was filled with justice as he showed an unbending demeanour in front of his friend, who looked into his eyes and felt the conviction carved down into his very soul. It was a rare sight for the scholarly freak to be so sure of himself...
'He has changed a bit...' Arthur thought as he remembered his scholarly friend being more of a pragmatic guy, valuing the end more than the means. It made him disappointed as he casually spoke without a hint of compassion: "So what?"
"...Huh?" Alex thought he heard wrong.
"I said: 'So what'?" Arthur deactivated his Spirit Essence and put his hand on the youth's shoulder.
"You're being too kind to the wrong people, aren't you? Who cares if someone gets hurt?" He didn't notice the look in his scholarly friend's eyes changing as he continued to speak his case:
"It's always been us against the world. We've never been picky in our methods when we were against those Crazies last time. Don't become a coward now. It's not our Role to take care of others."
"Do you truly believe that...?" Alex lowered his head as his friend's large shadow covered his body. It was a large an encompassing shade that somehow held all the darkness he had in his heart.
"You've gone soft on those crazy Cultists. They are evil people. There's no need to feel sympathy."
"I haven't 'gone soft'."
"Haven't you? I've trained everyday for the sake of fighting them, and now you're saying to just leave them be? I don't give a damn about whether other people die or not as long as the Crazies are erased...!" Arthur started to bare his canine teeth.
"Shut up..." Alex muttered but it went unnoticed.
"Aren't we a team? We should slaughter those guys together. Breaking their Evil Slots is too tiring. We should properly kill them instead of following that useless 'no killing' rule. Just help me out."
"Shut up...!"
"We will be celebrated as upholders of justice even if there are 'casualties'. We will honour the sacrifices to purifying the world through our actions, not words." Arthur's tongue suddenly seemed to become more smoother as he looked down on Alex, expectant of a positive reply. This was probably a speech he prepared for a long time.
Even if Alex disagrees now, he will eventually help him just like he always did. That's what Arthur was thinking as he patted his friend's shoulder, unaware of how cold-blooded he looked to the freak's eyes.
He also didn't notice his scholarly friend was trembling the more he spoke about killing people.
Compared to the lovable dolt he was as a child, Alex couldn't see how his brawny friend grew up into such a savage... He had lost his patience after listening to his rambles before roaring in anger:
"SHUT UP...!!!"
[Black Art- Dragon Impact!]
His face contorted into an ugly mess before he sent out a fist that was carved into his mind. This was the most practiced physical 'Art' that he had repeated thousands of times in his past life.
His fist, which was intrinsically enforced by his Strong Physique, cut through the air similar to a straight in boxing, and landed on his friend body at point-blank range. He could hear the sound of his knuckle whiplashing backwards after hitting Arthur's iron-like body. The force of the impact was so strong that it took the brawny youth digging his feet into the ground in order to not be sent flying.
The scholarly freak flinched as he saw his friend holding his chest after being 'pushed' back by several metres. Although he had more memories now, that didn't change his relationship with his childhood buddy. At least, that's what he thought.
Although Alex had been expecting him to answer this way subconsciously, he was unable to accept it after becoming more of an idealist once he had regained his memories. He also felt a weird mix of emotions when he heard Arthur's callous words.
He felt responsible for the chaos that happened in the years after he reincarnated into this world.
Alex had noticed the signs of Ascenders causing commotions from all over Gaia before, but he was too ignorant of his own origins back then to link those incidents with himself... Now, he felt like he should at least take some personal responsibility.
His actions had lead to the death of many aspiring Holy Knights and innocents after high-ranked of the Forbidden Clans ascended to this world. They went into hiding, but who knew what they were up to? How would he be able to live peacefully when knowing that it was HIS fault if people died by the hands of the Ascenders from fifteen years ago?
Going back to the present: The scholarly freak winced as he realised his knuckle was bruised after hitting his buddy. He felt a chill down his spine as Arthur didn't seem to be hurt much from his strike.
There was also someone else who saw this...
'Hah... Why go so far?' Lily thought even as she couldn't hear what they were saying at the other side of the window on the second floor. When she saw the mature youth suddenly throw a punch at his brawny friend, she knew something was up.
"Sorry... I went too far."
"Bro, you're the one who's bruised." Arthur didn't seem to mind as he realised he spoke too much.
He was surprised by the amount of strength his scholarly buddy exerted, and didn't even care about getting hit once. They have been friends for so long that one hit wasn't enough to move him.
After all, they had sparred multiple times in the past when Brandon Volts was training them...
"Can you... please just move on? Is there a reason why you can't just leave those Crazies alone?"
The brawny youth's carefree smile slowly vanished after hearing Alex's words. He covered his face...
Move on? Leave those Crazies alone? He wasn't capable of doing that. Not after what happened...
He closed his eyes to reminisce before his body started trembling in absolute fury. His handsome looks started to contort until he slowly seemed more like a demon. His friend didn't know what he remembered, so Arthur spoke what he was feeling:
"I don't know about justice, but... they need to die after they did to my family!" Those words seem to come straight from his soul as Alex felt pressured by the sheer amount of magical energy from him.
The rage that the brawny youth had been bottling up all this time seeped into his Mana as his bottomless fury far surpassed anyone of this whole world named Gaia. Those who were residing inside Alex's mansion looked out the windows in horror
The brawny youth's presence became all the more volatile and dangerous with each passing moment!
'What the heck is happening?' (Vhalen)
'Hmmm... They are both similar.' (Fear)
The two guests who had yet to be introduced to Arthur and Lily thought after seeing his change.
"So it's finally happening..." A helmeted spearman muttered from on the roof of Alex's mansion.
He was curious as to what the 'Ouroboros Dragon' would do as the blinding white colour of Arthur's Mana changes. The Mana released slowly dyed a deep fiery colour reminiscent of the illusionary flames Alex had conjured with his Aura Gate while fighting Golden Snake in his past life. Except these particular 'flames' were more real than his own.
They weren't flames of killing intent, but flames of a true 'Demon'. Arthur had had started to become a sinner cursed by Wrath as his Mana became flames so volatile that it seemed to burn his own flesh... He then roared in his buddy's direction.
Arthur's were blinded in anger as he charged towards Alex to vent out his unsurpassable rage...!
The traumas of his past arose in his heart...