"So... you... guys... are... the... ones... that... need... this... Stele," the possessed man rasped, his jaw hanging unnaturally slack. He was speaking as if the body he wore didn't belong to him at all, every syllable forced out through a ruined throat. "Sorry... I... have... it."
"It seems the Stele has already been taken," Arthur muttered, his draconic eyes narrowing into sharp, crimson slits.
Sera gave a tight nod. "Let's hear him out," the Angel murmured in a low, even voice. Raising his volume slightly, he demanded, "What is it that you want?"
"Ohh... I... just... need... peace," the Devil-spawned creature ground out, its head twitching violently. "And... well... this... Stele... you... see... I... need... to... complete... something... important."
The man's neck snapped to the side with a sickening crack. "Well... see... you... And... here... is... my... parting... gift."
In a fraction of a microsecond, the unknown man lifted a trembling hand and raised a single finger.
"Despair," the thing whispered.
Snap.
Everything went completely dark. For a split second, there was an absolute, terrifying vacuum of sound—and then the entire alleyway violently detonated.
But in the exact instant the possessed man had twitched his finger, Arthur reacted. Digging deep into his massive Ether reserves, the Grandmaster summoned the raw defensive power of the Draconic Sequence. He hardened the very air around them, manifesting a towering, invisible dome of condensed, draconic aura.
When the blinding, deafening blast finally subsided, the devastation was absolute. Everything within a fifty-meter radius had been completely obliterated, reduced to smoking ash and a deep, blackened crater. In the exact center of the destruction stood a solitary, untouched pillar of earth where Arthur and Sera remained standing.
"Are you okay, Arthur?" Sera asked, his amber eyes scanning his companion.
"Yeah," Arthur grunted, his breathing heavy. "It seems my shield wasn't quite enough, though. The shockwave still bypassed the outer layer." He leaned forward, violently coughing up a splatter of dark blood onto the scorched earth.
Sera sighed, his expression tightening with rare frustration. "I wish I could simply reverse your personal timeline to heal the damage, but I cannot. The cosmic interference here is too strong. If I try to manipulate your time right now, I risk erasing you from the cosmos entirely."
"Don't worry about it," Arthur said, wiping his mouth with the back of his massive hand. "I'll heal automatically. You know we Dragons have absurd regeneration and practically unlimited stamina."
"Yes, yes, I know," Sera murmured, brushing a speck of ash from his pristine coat.
Arthur straightened up, looking around at the ruined, smoking crater that used to be a spotless street. "So, it seems somebody else took the Stele for their own purposes."
"Indeed," Sera replied, his gaze calculating. "Did you catch what that creature said? It claimed it needed the Stele to 'complete something important.'"
"A ritual, maybe?" Arthur guessed. "You know as well as I do that Steles contain a massive amount of ancient, condensed Ether energy. They are the ultimate catalysts for high-tier advancement."
"Yes... it seems this mission is going to be far more dangerous than we initially thought," Sera concluded. "We need to contact the Guild and inform them of our situation."
"Agreed. But first, we need to get out of here, fast," Arthur said, turning away from the blast zone. "An explosion this massive is definitely going to draw the attention of authorities, and the absolute last thing we need right now is to be standing in the center of a crater when they arrive."
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[Lucian POV]
[Before meeting the unknown guy]
That's dramatic. I can't figure out anything at all right now, I thought, my brain still throbbing from my near-death experience of Sea of Concepts. Sigh. I'll just sleep.
I slept through the entire night, and to be honest, it was one of the best rests I had gotten in weeks. Early the next morning, I heard the faint sound of footsteps heading downstairs. It seemed Arthur and Sera were heading out to get the Stele. If everything went according to plan, we would be saying goodbye to this eerie place by tomorrow.
I'll just take another nap, then, I decided, pulling the covers up. Bye-bye, Blackwater Roost. Hello, London. Hehe.
I slept for another two hours. When I finally woke up, I washed my face, brushed my teeth, and threw on my heavy coat. I grabbed my silver cane and carefully tucked the massive, heavy frame of Bad News into my inner pocket.
I walked out into the beautiful, pristine city. The sun was up, and absolutely nothing seemed to be going wrong. Even though this city was infested with pirates and run by ruthless authorities, the atmosphere was surprisingly peaceful.
But I knew better. Nothing ever stayed peaceful for me.
I stopped by a decent-looking restaurant, ordered a hot root pie, and ate quietly. I left a five-pound note on the table for the server and stepped back outside to begin my real work: hunting.
As I walked down the street, I spotted a wooden bounty board covered in wanted posters. My eyes scanned the parchment. There were bounties for the Seven Pirate Kings—a staggering fifty million pounds each.
"Damn," I muttered. That was an astronomical number, but I wasn't suicidal enough to risk looking for them. They probably weren't even on this island anyway.
I looked closer at the lower tiers and found one that caught my eye: a man with golden hair and a missing right eye. His bounty was five thousand pounds. It was a solid, manageable start. I memorized his face and continued down the road until I found the local Guild branch—a smoky, high-end tavern where information flowed as freely as the alcohol.
I walked inside, took a seat at the bar, and asked the bartender for a glass of red wine and some information on how this city actually operated.
At first, the man just scoffed and wiped down a glass, refusing to say a word.
I didn't argue. I just did an incredibly smooth pull, sliding two crisp five-pound notes across the counter. One for the wine, and one for the information.
Seeing the cash, his mouth instantly opened. He leaned in close. "Officially, this island is ruled by a local King," the bartender whispered. "But the people who actually rule this place are the Seven Pirate Kings. They are the ones who fund this city and keep it looking this good."
He paused, glancing around before lowering his voice even further. "On a side note... this place has a massive underground slave market running every single day. You can also buy high-tier artifacts and charms down there."
"Hmm," I murmured, taking a sip of the wine. An underground market. I was definitely going to have to visit that. "Tell me the location."
"I can't," he shook his head. "You need a special invitation from one of the Seven Pirate Kings or their direct crew. Or, at the very least, you need to be a recognized figure—meaning you need to have a high bounty on your head as a pirate, or a vicious reputation as a bounty hunter. If you don't have a name in the underworld, the market will never let you in."
Sigh.
"Okay," I said, picking up my glass. "I'll just drink my wine, then."
I moved away from the bar and sat at a small table in the corner of the tavern. I swirled the red liquid in my glass. It seems I really like wine nowadays. Is it because of Raphael? The thought annoyed me. The Grounded Angel of War used to drink it like some arrogant noble. Was his influence bleeding into me?
Before I could dwell on it, the tavern doors swung open.
My eyes darted up. Walking through the door was a man with golden hair and a missing right eye.
The five-thousand-pound bounty.
I didn't know how strong a five-thousand-pound pirate was supposed to be. My first, rational instinct as a Tier 2 Awakened was to run away and avoid a fight.
But then, my Constraint hit me like a bolt of lightning.
My Pride violently rejected the idea of fleeing. My royal blue Ether flared inside my chest, burning away every ounce of hesitation.
I am not just Lucian, my inner voice echoed, cold and absolute. I am one of the Seven Deadly Sins. The primordial of ancient times. The leader of the Colours.
I didn't stand up. I didn't even put my wine glass down.
With my free hand, I reached into my coat, pulled out Bad News, and channeled my royal blue Ether directly into the grip. The crimson runes flared. Without a second of hesitation, I leveled the massive hand-cannon and pulled the trigger.
BANG.
The condensed blue Ether tore across the tavern and blew straight through his skull before he even realized I was in the room. His body crumpled to the floor, instantly dead.
I took a calm sip of my wine as the entire tavern froze in absolute, terrified silence.
Clear strike, I thought, a ruthless smirk touching my lips. And that is how you give bad news to people.
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Side note from author: I am going to name the gathering of sins "colours" and will represent each and every seven sin with the respective colour. For now:
Sin of pride: blue
Sin of lust: pink