Chapter 147 - An Unsatisfying Victory
"No..."
Rynold was aware of what was currently happening. His words have successfully reached the Duke, but the only response he got was an apology.
Perhaps it was out of fear. Or spite. Or sympathy. Or maybe even regret.
Regardless, Rynold didn't accept it. He didn't want to accept it.
Gritting his teeth, Rynold couldn't simply accept something so arbitrary compared to the carnage that one man had caused. Even if that was his final words, Rynold couldn't accept them.
"Sorry..? Sorry won't bring any of those people back. Sorry won't replace any of the damage that you have caused. Sorry isn't some magic word that people use to make everything okay. Your sorry isn't worth jack shit."
Rynold openly spoke his mind; the tone of his voice was prevalently cold.
He had no intention of forgiving him, and, to be frank, the apology shouldn't even go to him. The people who have died were the ones the Duke needed to apologize to, not that doing that sort of thing would bring them back.
Unfortunately, after Rynold's declaration, the Duke's sorry eyes disappeared. The expression on his face returned to the same cold dead eyes.
The brief words that the Duke had expressed were the only time when the sliver of his soul resurfaced. Now, it was back within the depths of the Soul Doll's body.
'I guess that's that.'
Rynold took on a fighting stance once more. Whatever the Duke would end up saying, Rynold wouldn't even consider it anymore. He wasn't a bad person, but he wasn't overly good either.
There were limits to kindness, even to its extremities. Rynold had already branded the Duke as someone who deserved a fate far worse than death.
With that, Rynold decisively pulled the Accord Spheres out of his inventory. These tools of his weren't out in the previous battle because Rynold wasn't sure how the cursed magic would damage them.
Now, however, Rynold could fight all out.
"Arena of Order."
Aside from the two other spells, there was one more that Rynold had received from [Path of Order]. However, compared to the other two, Arena of Order required significantly more sacrifices and conditions. Of which, Rynold was skeptical of using this spell.
That, however, changed at this moment.
===
[Arena of Order]
Active Magic Skill Lvl 1
Channeling the true power of Order, the user casts a domain filled with pure light. The domain isolates the user and one target, shifting them in between dimensions.
Within the domain, the user's Mana is fixed at 0. The target's Attributes are decreased by 30% and gain the status condition [Blight], reducing the user's speed and motivation.
Additionally, the user is allowed to choose one melee weapon and imbue it with Order's Will, granting the weapon the following effects:
- Order's Light: Replaces all of the weapon's damage into true damage while simultaneously dealing 10% of the damage back to the user.
- Order's Respite: The weapon's attacks become predetermined on the target, leaving a mark where the user must hit. When the user misses, the attack will not deal any damage. *The mark is visible to both the user and the target.
Cost: 85 Mana
===
The word "risk" would not even begin to cover the spell's overall ability. Rynold wasn't insane when he held back on using this spell.
Zero Mana essentially meant that Rynold would have no access to spells whatsoever. A "mark" where he has to hit meant his attacks were way too predictable. In addition to that, Rynold only had one melee weapon to infuse Order's Will on.
Regardless, all those doubts disappeared in his mind when he heard the Duke's final words. It was then that he determined that the Duke was beyond saving.
Rynold infused Order's Will on his Mana Gauntlets. Since the gauntlets counted as one single weapon, Rynold immediately knew that this was the one.
Suddenly, a light wrapped around the Mana Gauntlets and embraced them. Rynold could feel a slight weight set upon the gauntlets, but none that would hinder his movements.
With that, Rynold raised his gauntlets up in front of him as he faced the Soul Doll.
The room around them was filled out of light. Walls, ceiling, and even the floor were bright light. There was nothing between the two parties as they were free to fight however they wanted.
Rynold was the first to move.
With a short breath, Rynold dashed to the Soul Doll and swung with his right fist. While in the Speed-form state, the Mana Gauntlets' movements were fast as they hit their target a few short moments after Rynold swung.
Unfortunately, the Soul Doll would not stand idly by and let Rynold hit him without resistance. The creature shifted ever so slightly up, making Rynold miss the mark in its entirety.
Rynold was already expecting this to happen and quickly swung with another, targeting another mark in the Soul Doll's body. Fortunately, there were three marks all over the Soul Doll's body.
As soon as Rynold hit the mark located near the Soul Doll's left shoulder, Rynold suddenly felt pain shot up his arm. It was the recoil effect that Rynold received from Order's Light.
Surprised, Rynold took it upon himself to jump a few feet back, creating a distance between the two once again.
'Damn, that kinda stung.'
Even though the pain wasn't all that great, Rynold was still caught off-guard by it. Luckily, the stinging feeling disappeared as quickly as it had arrived.
Rynold quickly established that he had to end things quickly. This would not turn out well if he stalled the battle out. Especially considering the Soul Doll's recovery speed, Rynold would be screwed before long.
So, Rynold decided not to give time for the Soul Doll to recover.
"Let's go."
With a deep breath, Rynold charged in.
He swung with every opportunity he had and contacted the Soul Doll through close-quarters combat. Every swing of his gauntlet showed how frustrated he was and how willingly he wanted to put the Duke down.
Rynold fought through the pain from the recoil while simultaneously keeping his opponent on his toes. Suffice it to say, Rynold was determined to bring the asshole down.
"Hah!"
Throwing an uppercut at the mark on the Soul Doll's chin, Rynold managed to knock the Soul Doll into the air. Seeing it happen, Rynold jumped up and punched the mark on the Soul Doll's abdomen, throwing him to the ground.
Adrenaline pumping through his veins, Rynold ran up to the Soul Doll and started punching relentlessly.
'Die.'
Boom!
'Die...'
Boom!
'Die, die!'
Boom! Boom!
'DIE ALREADY!'
With an extremely disgruntled look on his face, Rynold slammed both of his Mana Gauntlets onto one mark directly above the Soul Doll's heart. The sound of ribs cracked reached Rynold's ear.
This wasn't his fight, not in the slightest.
Rynold would often look back on his past and decided things were better off without his intervention, that things were better off what they already were.
He often didn't feel like doing anything because he felt that there was no need to. More often than not, Rynold continuously felt powerless throughout the years of his life.
But, now, the situation had forced him to do something out of hand.
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[The Avenger Title Unlocked!]
The messages confirmed the Soul Doll's death. Rynold didn't even bother looking up as his lower legs carried most of his weight. His hands were to the side, arms bloodied by the recoil from the gauntlets.
As the Arena of Order started to fade while the throne room slowly took its place, Rynold's eyes never left the ground. He was staring directly at the Soul Doll's face as it slowly faded into dust.
Rynold was exhausted. His consciousness was starting to fade as well.
However, before he could pass out, Rynold caught a glimpse of the Soul Doll's face.
The creature carried an expression of happiness. It was smiling so eerily as tears welled up his eyes. Rynold couldn't tell if that was the Duke or the Soul Doll who was looking like that.
All he knew was that it looked absolutely disgruntling.
This was not the Duke's victory, but the man definitely looked like it was. Rynold couldn't refute or even form an opinion about it because he was too tired.
His eyes slowly faded into the dark, passing out on his knees while facing the ground.
Rynold had succeeded in saving a kingdom, or what was left of it, anyway. But, if he were conscious right now, Rynold would only have felt empty, broken even.
In his eyes, he didn't save anybody. He didn't help anybody. He merely came into the party too late and decided to stop a man from spreading any chaos further.
Rynold was no hero.
"Congratulations!"
The familiar voice echoed in his ears as Rynold slowly opened his eyes to check on what was happening.
'I'm here again...'
Rynold awoke to the familiar place when he met the Emissary of Order. The same pristine surroundings that had greeted him once before.
"Lumie," Rynold greeted the Emissary of Order with a cold tone to his voice.
At this point, Rynold was starting to get real sick of gods and deities pulling him out of his sleep. But, that wasn't why he was upset.
"You've defeated the anomaly! Congratulations are in order!"
The Emissary of Order was happy, exceptionally so. But, Rynold certainly thought differently.
"I'll pass. Can you let me sleep for a bit?"
Rynold wasn't in the mood to talk, let alone to the Emissary of Order who was way too cheerful.
"Why so glum, young one? You should be celebrating!"
Lumie was persistent in celebrating their success in stifling the threat to their Order. She was too happy to see Rynold had done the mission so successfully, even utilizing the power of Order in its truest forms.
"I'd rather not. I'm just a little tired, is all."
Dismissing the Emissary of Order's proposal once more, Lumie felt a little bit disregarded. So, she decided to up the anty.
"I see! I get it now! You'd like some merits for your sacrifices, yes?"
"No."
This time around, Rynold was covering his eyes with his elbow, trying to block the light around him. He answered with a single word, hoping that the Emissary of Order would finally understand.
"I don't unders-"
"You don't have to," Rynold interrupted as he finally got up from his back. As he sat up, Rynold couldn't help but let out a deep sigh.
"You don't really have to understand what I'm going through. That isn't your job, right? Pretty sure getting caught up in a mortal's meager problems isn't in your job description. So, let's just forget about it."
Rynold knew that being the Emissary of Order, Lumie didn't really care about anything that Rynold would spew out.
She was a watcher, that much Rynold determined to be true. The Emissary of Order was an all-powerful being that watches people, only ever stepping in when there's something big at stake.
So, Rynold concluded that being silent would be pretty damn good. He never really liked bringing his problems to other people, anyway.
"You underestimate me, young one. I admit that I'm not as human as I used to be, but I was once like you. I'm ready to hear your tale if you'd like to share it."
"Yeah, right," Rynold answered with much skepticism. "Even if I do tell you all about it, I doubt you'd even care. Watchers are watchers for a reason. You're not gonna do anything helpful to the situation if I tell you or not."
"So, why not tell me about it?"
Lumie donned a nice, sincere smile on her face as she tried to appeal to Rynold's kindness.
"You said it yourself, after all. It doesn't matter if you tell me or not. Point is, Rynold, talking to someone does help."