In the morning, Arthur's dot had not moved. After consulting the map at Yumiella's estate, Lancer discovered the location was near a small town called Colchis, right by the border with the neighboring country. The situation was suspicious, but he wasn't going to let Arthur out of his sight.
"I have to go," he told Yumiella and the others over breakfast.
Yumiella, predictably, crossed her arms. "I'm coming too—"
"No," Lancer cut her off sharply. His tone brooked no argument.
Her mouth opened as if to protest but quickly shut again. Perhaps sensing the gravity of his demeanor, she merely nodded, though her expression was far from pleased.
As soon as he was outside the city limits, Lancer shot into the sky, heading toward Colchis at full speed. It wasn't long before he reached the quiet, unassuming town. Arthur's dot was still nearby but hadn't entered the gates yet. Lancer landed discreetly and spotted him among a small crowd waiting to pass through the guarded entrance.
[Warning: A spatial barrier has been detected. It is interfering with external magical tracking systems.]
As soon as Arthur stepped through the gates, his signal vanished from Lancer's radar.
"So that's what's going on," Lancer murmured, observing the faint shimmer of magic along the perimeter. "The barrier cuts off connections."
He followed Arthur into the town. Keeping a safe distance, he tracked the man's movements through the narrow streets. Arthur seemed to be searching for something and finally stopped at an old, decrepit building. The wooden sign outside marked it as a museum, though its weathered appearance suggested it hadn't seen renovations in years.
Lancer slipped inside after him.
The interior had an eerie silence, broken only by the murmurs of a few visitors examining dusty displays of ancient weapons and armor. Arthur ignored them all, heading purposefully toward the back of the building.
A muffled commotion drew Lancer's attention.
"Hey! You can't be back he—" The guard's voice cut off with a wet thud.
Lancer rounded a corner and found a uniformed guard slumped on the ground, blood pooling from a jagged hole in his chest.
[Soul absorption in progress. Decomposing physical remains.]
The body dissolved before him, leaving no trace. Arthur continued deeper into the building, his kills swift and methodical. Every guard who attempted to stop him met the same silent fate.
Lancer crept after him, careful not to be seen. The path led to a staircase descending underground. He peered cautiously around the corner and watched as Arthur stopped in front of a massive, reinforced vault door.
Arthur extended his hand, and in a flash of red light, a fiery lizard appeared on his shoulder. The creature hissed, its molten eyes gleaming as it crawled down and perched atop the vault's surface.
Lancer stared as the lizard opened its mouth, releasing a concentrated beam of searing heat. The metal door glowed, warped, and melted, dripping like wax before collapsing with a deafening crash.
Arthur stepped inside and retrieved a glowing crimson crystal from within. He tucked it into his pocket and turned to leave.
I need to get out before he sees me.
Lancer carefully started back the way he came, but the lizard's head suddenly snapped in his direction.
[Alert: Hostile magical entity detected.]
The creature hissed, firing another beam of heat straight through the wall. Lancer barely dodged, the edge of the attack grazing his shoulder and leaving a searing burn.
When the dust cleared, Arthur was staring at him with narrowed eyes.
"And who might you be?"
Lancer stood clutching the wound on his shoulder where the lizard's beam had grazed him. Thankfully, when Notus leveled up, he'd gained Heat Resistance—otherwise, that attack would've melted his arm clean off. Still, it burned like hell, though his regeneration skill quickly resolved the damage.
Arthur tilted his head. "Let's try this again. Who are you?"
Lancer straightened, meeting Arthur's gaze. "Do you remember a village out east you attacked a few months ago?"
Arthur snorted, running a hand through his hair. "I've been to plenty of places, pal. Hard to keep track of 'em all."
A wave of fury rolled over Lancer. He gritted his teeth. He doesn't even remember. "I'm going to make you tell me why you're collecting magic items," Lancer said coldly, "and then I'm going to kill you."
Arthur barked out a laugh, twirling the wicked-looking knife in his hand. "You? Kill me? Don't make me laugh."
"Don't underestimate me," Lancer shouted back, summoning Typhon and Boreas. The chimerae materialized, baring their fangs at the fiery lizard.
The lizard responded with another searing beam of light, but Boreas countered with a freezing blast of ice, the two attacks clashing mid-air in a cloud of steam.
"Oh, a numbers game? I can play that too." He glanced at his shadow. "Julia, looks like you're up."
The shadows warped and twisted as a figure emerged, stepping forward with a malevolent grin. Lancer's breath hitched as he recognized her. The girl who killed Livia.
Julia's ruby-red eyes locked onto him. "Oh, I remember you. You're that kid from the village! Guess I missed a spot, huh?" She let out a wild laugh, spinning a dagger in one hand.
More figures emerged from the shadows, armed with weapons and bloodlust. Julia pouted dramatically. "Aww, not enough room for a proper brawl! Let's fix that."
Before Lancer could stop her, Julia unleashed a barrage of dark blades, obliterating the museum above. The walls crumbled, and the ground quaked beneath them as debris rained down. Screams echoed briefly before falling silent.
Lancer's fury blazed hotter than ever as he glared at her. She'd just killed innocent people like it was nothing more than sport.
"Typhon," Lancer said telepathically. "Handle her."
Typhon leapt into action, his claws sparking with electricity as he launched himself at Julia, who cackled and darted skyward.
"Looks like your mutt's a little busy. Guess that leaves just the two of us."
Lancer's mind raced.
'The people... They're already dead. If I don't focus on Arthur, I'll lose my chance to stop him.'
[Success. You have acquired the Unique Skill: Autonomous Function.]
Lancer's eyes widened at the system's notification. Autonomous Function? The description flooded into his mind, and a small grin spread across his face. Parallel Processing. Perfect.
"System," Lancer thought, "absorb the souls of the fallen and deconstruct their bodies. I'll handle this bastard."
[Confirmed.]
The fiery lizard hissed, leaping from Arthur's shoulder and growing to the size of a komodo dragon. It lunged at Boreas, and the wolf responded with a deep growl, locking the creature in an elemental standoff.
Arthur shrugged, flicking his knife into a battle-ready grip. "Alright, kid. Let's see if you're worth my time."
He vanished.
Lancer's heart skipped a beat as Arthur reappeared in front of him, slashing with blinding speed. Even with Thought Acceleration, he's fast! Lancer barely managed to jump back, the blade missing his throat by an inch.
"Not bad," Arthur said, spinning the knife lazily. "But not good enough."
Lancer pulled his spear from his pocket dimension, releasing a cloud of greenish mist around him. "Let's see how you handle this."
Arthur scoffed, waving his hand as the poisonous mist dissipated before it could touch him. "Pathetic. You're wasting my time, kid."
Lancer gritted his teeth. Wrath of the Thunder God was his strongest offensive move, but it wasn't designed for precision. Using it here would likely reduce the town to rubble, taking innocent lives along with it.
I can't afford that kind of collateral damage.
Arthur smirked, reading Lancer's hesitation. "What's wrong, kid? Got something big up your sleeve, but you're too scared to use it?" He twirled his knife.
Lancer didn't reply. Instead, he shifted his grip on his spear and summoned a series of glowing crystal shards around him. With a flick of his wrist, they launched at Arthur in rapid succession.
Arthur blurred out of the way, his movements so fast they left afterimages. He reappeared behind Lancer, his knife flashing toward Lancer's ribs.
But Lancer was ready. He twisted his body, his spear deflecting the blade with a loud clang. The impact sent vibrations up his arms, but he held his ground.
Arthur chuckled. "Not bad. But you're still not fast enough."
The lizard hissed from across the battlefield, lunging at Boreas again with molten claws. Boreas dodged and countered with a blast of freezing wind, encasing the lizard's legs in ice. It roared, shattering the frost with a burst of heat, but Boreas was already repositioning, circling for another attack.
Above them, Typhon was engaged in a deadly aerial duel with Julia. She laughed maniacally as she hurled dark blades toward the wolf, each one crackling with malicious energy. Typhon dodged and counterattacked, his claws raking through the air and forcing Julia to retreat momentarily.
On the ground, Lancer's mind raced. He couldn't afford to let this drag on. Arthur's MP reserves were immense, and the longer the fight lasted, the worse his chances would become.
He activated Crystal Cascade, summoning a massive wave of crystalline spikes to force Arthur back. The attack created enough space for Lancer to regroup, his breathing steady but his muscles tense.
Arthur brushed a shard off his shoulder."You've got some tricks, kid, but you're still playing in the shallow end. Let me show you what real power looks like."