Her smile felt like daggers on his soul, her body, an object of fear, her very existence was a nightmare to Arc Stollen, one he couldn't overcome
"Arrrrrrcccccccccc..."
Her soft voice sent chills down his spine. Memories of the various methods of torture she'd subjected him to—physically, mentally and emotionally all came flooding back as he froze in place
But it wasn't anger he felt, he was overcome by a single emotion— pure terror.
[Hey, fool! Snap out of it, hey, hey!]
It didn't matter that he had enough physical power to overcome her now. For a twelve year old, The deep trauma from various methods of pain designed to break him, each one more creative than the last, all dished out by the innocent looking lady before him was enough to make her seem like an insurmountable monster.
He was genuinely terrified of her, the one who succeeded in breaking him.
"Trying to escape? You don't want me to get angry, do you, Arc?"
Goosebumps filled his body. Those words were said so politely, but he alone could feel the cold malice behind those words. Perhaps because he had spent a lot of time with her, witnessing her dark side
He struggled to look her in the eyes—eyes that weren't smiling, despite the fact her lips were
Stretching out her hand, she said
"..... I'm willing to forgive you just this once, so come here"
His body almost started moving on his own, but with all his strength, he struggled to stop himself— he struggled to defy her, and ended up frozen in place.
"ARC!"
"Eeek!"
Her sudden outburst startled him, and his eyes finally met her terrifying two....with a cold sweat dripping down his skin, he still struggled not to, but fear, trauma and indecisiveness plagued his thoughts.
Maybe I should just obey her, if I do, all this pain will end. Maybe that's for the bes—
*CRASH
The sound of Rei's fist, crashing the floor drew his attention, as he gazed over at her, his eyes locked with a different set of eyes— those beautiful azure eyes that inspire hope.
Right now, those eyes were burning with rage, rage directed at Selene.
"You don't have to listen to her Arc! Remember, we are all here for you. I am here for you...."
She walked passed him, approaching Selene
"... So just leave this bitch to me!"
Once again, she saved him. But this time, he couldn't let her go through with it..
"What are you saying?! Your body still hasn't recovered from using white lightning, and you're already low on ygg"
"Haha, Relax.... I don't need ygg to kick her ass!"
Before Arc could grab on to her, she dashed towards Selene at an incredible speed to end things with one shot, but..
"Wind Cutter + Flame Armament!"
Rei jumped back to dodge the blast. Looking forward, she saw Oberon appear, taking his place next to Selene.
"Sorry I'm late, m'lady"
"It's fine, how goes the operation"
"I've taken care of the riot at the Southern area, I was on my way to northern area when I saw you here"
"Well done, I'll give you a reward later"
Looking over at the three prisoners with her cold gaze, she issued an order
"Capture Arc, kill the rest"
"Understood, m'lady"
"Do you really think I'll just let you take him?!"
Growled Rei as she started infusing lightning, determined to fight, disregarding the damage on her body.
She's.... risking her life...for me?
His mind recalled their talk at the cafeteria, and memories of their time together followed
That's right, I'm not alone anymore. There's no reason to be afraid, because I have them at my corner, I have her in my corner...
This prison was definitely filled with bad memories, but they were good ones as well— his fight with Tetsuro, partying with the onis, watching Otto tinkering with that grumpy expression on his face, playing cupid for the two childhood friends, playing around with Shu...
And most importantly, meeting Rei Izanagi—that was by far his most precious experience in Baldur.
Looking at all the bad things I experienced, I'd say they were all worth it cause I got to meet Rei. Geez, What the hell am I doing just standing around like this? With such precious friends behind me, there's nothing to fear.
With that, he gained strength in his legs, stepping forward one at a time
"Thanks for that Rei. I'm alright now"
"Arc?"
He turned to face her, smiling softly.
"C'mon, don't hog the spotlight. Give me a chance to look cool too"
"Uhmmm" She nodded, blushing. Seeing such a pure smile from him twice in one night caught her off guard a little.
Summoning four beasts of water, wind, earth and fire, Oberon assumed a fighting stance, fusing their essence, their power into his aura
"Four Elements Assassination Technique..."
Faster than you could blink, his feet kicked off the ground, propelling him into the killzone
"..... ANNIHILATING FIST— huh?"
Oberon couldn't process what just happened, not just was he outside the storage room, he was mid-air, several feet above ground level.
While airborne, he started feeling the pain in his ribs.
They were shattered? how? The answer was infront of him
The tier 9 Great White Serpent
Not just did it tank the full force of his attack, it pushed him back at such incredible speeds his brain is still struggling to process the after effects
The scene before him was incredibly slow, but he couldn't react or even move— he just watched as the serpent's gas was compressed to a single point above it's head, and moisture to a single drop below it's head, and as they approached themselves, closing in on each other as they prepared to align with the serpent's head
"This slow feeling like time is standing still, I see.... So this is what it's like when your life flashes before your eyes"
The moment the moisture and gas particle collided, a flash of light sparked as though in a huge reaction
"Alberto, Chemical flash"
Unleashing the immense beam from said reaction on Oberon, the resulting giant explosion sent shockwaves across the prison, shattering walls and ceilings just with the sheer force of those waves and filling Selene with a sense of dread
[Master 5 Oberon Foster defeated. Time: 0.26 seconds. Damn! Your art of violent disrespect needs to be studied]
At that moment, what Selene saw wasn't the scared little boy who she had fun torturing, humiliating, molesting.... What she witnessed was an absolute powerhouse, a monster whose gaze sent chills down her spine.
[Now then, let's take out trash number 2. C'mon boy, end this bimbo's breathing career]
Arc stared at the shivering Selene for a few seconds, then finally spoke
"If you get your friend to a doctor quickly, they'll be able to save his life. I had Alberto hold back on that attack so he's not dead"
[What? You better not be implying what I think you are, you fucking idiot!]
"W-What are you saying?"
"I'm letting you go"
"What?" She muttered
"WHAT?!" Exclaimed Rei
[I knew it.... *Sigh, Honestly, one of these days, I'll come dropkick your ass, you naive fool]
Arc turned around and helped Rei up to her feet, then assisted her in walking to the secret room even though she claimed not to need it.
Watching them walk away, Selene lost all strength in her legs, falling to her knees
Entering the other room, Rei glanced at Arc with a concerned expression
"Are you sure about letting her go after all she did?"
"If I hurt her just to make myself feel good, I'd be no better than her...."
Showing a smile, he continued
".... And that would be the height of uncool. Am I wrong?"
"Hahaha..... No, you're righ—"
" —NAIVE"
Yuki retorted, cutting in while still working on the gate.
"All you're doing is refusing to tie up loose ends. It'll come to bite you one day"
Before Arc could respond, Rei retorted
"Why don't you focus on your job and quit bringing the mood down"
"Yeah, Yeah"
Suddenly, they heard a voice—Shu's voice in their heads
"I finally connected! Shuichi Izanagi, reporting for duty gents"
He connected with the electric signals of every prisoner and transmitting information through them, creating a psychic communication link
With his directive, the assembly began with Shu directing Arc on the locations to start with such as the southern area and ensuring the transport went smoothly.
************
All I wanted were friends. Growing up as the second princess, I was always inferior to my big sister who was always Papa's favorite
When she abandoned home to become a hunter, Papa was furious, and started grooming me to be heir, locking me up and making my lessons really strict.
Sometimes I wasn't allowed to eat for days till they saw results. But I didn't mind, after all Papa was finally looking at me.
Because of this, I never made any friends—everyone was always just looking to curry favor, so I was alone. But at least, I still had Papa and the kingdom, right?
Wrong. My sister returned years later and Papa made her heir without a second thought
What about me? What about all the years I spent as your tool?!
I began to resent hunters and wanted to see them suffer, so I started beating them to blow off steam, that's how it started, but in it I found friends, knights loyal to me who obey my every whim... But still that wasn't enough, they were incomplete
But you were different, Arc. You didn't treat me differently even after finding out I was a Princess, and you genuinely risked yourself for me..... I couldn't let you become like those filthy hunters, I was doing it to protect you, so please....
With tears streaming down her eyes, she muttered
"Please don't leave me alone Arc, please....come back"
*PRRSHHHH
A large cloth fell on her head, enveloping her— a jacket? From who
"Do not cry, Princess, because I am here"
Looking up, she saw a tall gallant hero, marching forward to the secret room, sword in hand and ready for action
The light illuminating his sillohuete made him look like a prince, here to fight for his lady
"Craig Ryder, ready for battle!"