บท 34: Hero Faction?
The Seraphic System
Chapter: 34
Pa/ t reon details at the bottom of the chapter if you're interested I'll keep posting regardless.
(Hero Faction?)
-{?}-
A bench creaked under the weight of the truly giant man seated on it. The few people passing by on the otherwise quiet street tried their best to ignore him.
The man was best described as a true wall of muscle. His torso was on full display, revealing a chiselled eight-pack that seemed carved from stone. He wore only a pelt draped over one shoulder and a linen cloth covering his lower body.
Blue eyes with a battle-hardened edge surveyed his surroundings as the man enjoyed the peace and quiet. Despite his intimidating form, he seemed to be enjoying the calm.
The man took in a deep inhale, basking in the sunlight as his large back rested against the wall behind him. Every twitch of his body caused ripples through his many muscles.
He looked somewhat peaceful.
That peace was broken as a magical circle appeared next to his ear, blue in colour, causing him to crack an eye open.
"The plan has changed; a new variable has appeared, and he's powerful enough to shake the board too much for my liking. Take him out of the equation but leave him alive. Our friends from the Khaos Brigade want to deal with him," a voice transmitted through the magic circle.
The man frowned, looking displeased.
"Can't you get someone else to fight?" he questioned quietly.
The voice snorted.
"The boy is in the Colosseum. It seems he decided to go instead of the old barnacle-beard's bastard," the voice continued.
The man's frown deepened, unintentionally causing everyone walking near him to speed up. He sighed and relaxed.
"You want me to fight a child?" he asked incredulously.
"He is not a normal child, and even if he was, you have a job to do. Don't forget what's at stake here," the voice chided mockingly.
The man shattered the magic circle with his power, and an aura of rage briefly radiated from him, sending nearby birds scattering in panic.
He sighed, standing up, an action that revealed his true height. Towering over everyone around him, he cast a shadow as the sun shined on his muscular tanned back.
He started walking, causing everyone to make way for him as his steps caused the ground to shake under him almost unnoticeably.
-{Kai}-
A massive storm of fire erupted around me, and my eyes flickered to my surroundings as I prepared to evade the looming fire trap. Only to stop as I noticed a barrier surrounding me. I could probably break through it, but the flames were already rising.
I guess I can go on defence.
I clasped my hands together, using my wind manipulation to push the air around me and force the fire to curve around my form with only a bit of effort. The fire was pretty hot.
The trap had been hidden under the absurd amount of energy in the air. Had that been done on purpose, or was it just a coincidence? It meant I couldn't sense it. I was only a bit surprised at how simple it felt—for a God of War, in any case.
I also suddenly had an epiphany in that very moment that made me want to slap myself.
Galadriel must have used her phasing ability to avoid any damage from the hammer drone. I had just realised this as I made sure to defend myself with her in mind.
I admit, I had been too caught up in the fight to remember she was latched around my waist.
Even with my enhanced intelligence, I was a spontaneous person. What's the point of living if I plan everything out? It sounded disgustingly similar to my old family's kind of style that I didn't want to be that way out of principle.
That didn't mean I wouldn't be cautious or thoughtful about my actions. I still planned certain things and considered the potential consequences carefully. I simply refused to plan everything, which sometimes made me a bit spontaneous.
An example was accepting my Uzumaki bloodline download so quickly and nearly passing out in front of my Angels.
On the matter of Galadriel, I didn't feel I could be blamed for not anticipating being struck by that hidden hammer drone's massive magic beam in the sky. It still could have been fatal for her.
Ignoring how powerful that phasing ability was—I mean, being able to phase through attacks sounded pretty powerful—I felt like kicking myself for not thinking about her at that moment.
Her presence was hard to remember with how abnormally still she could be at times.
Though getting back to the situation at hand, I halted my mental rant for later.
The fire parted around me, and I was glad it wasn't magical or divine in nature. I would have struggled more if it had been.
Unfortunately, as if sensing my thoughts, the fire turned darker. Dark red mixed with the orange flames. My dome of air started to shrink around me as the dark red fire pushed against it easily.
Really? Was there some sort of activation that was set in place for this effect?
The heat had intensified, and the bubble of air eventually fell through. Unlike normal fire, magical fire didn't adhere to the standard rules, meaning it didn't need oxygen to stay alight.
My dome of air was replaced with a light dome that fought against the dark flames. I watched in interest as the flames shied away from the see-through dome of radiant light, as if my light was repelling it.
Were these flames dark in nature? I almost forgot that my light and holy magic were especially effective against dark/demonic powers. The only real demonstration of that had been in the familiar forest and against that stray devil.
I added a holy attribute with my holy power manipulation to my dome of light, and the dark flames outright fled from around me. It was interesting seeing the flames act so alive.
Taking a few experimental steps, I watched as the dark flames moved away from me. I strolled up to the weak barrier around me, and a chakra chain burst out of my chest, connecting with the barrier and draining it.
My Uzumaki bloodline once again showed its worth.
The barrier cracked and shattered, allowing me to easily walk out. The flames seemed to die out as the barrier was broken, leaving me to wonder if perhaps the barrier was linked to the trap. Or was it a failsafe to stop everything from burning?
Magical flames, especially the dark variant, felt like they would be highly damaging if left unchecked.
As the flames died down, I noticed that the Colosseum's walls were unmarked. Could that be why the air felt charged with so much energy? It was definitely something to keep in mind.
I just need to get the shield so I can trade it for the backpack. That's the whole reason I'm playing along with Ares. Once I have the bag with hopefully what will be divine weapons, I can stop playing this little game.
There was only so much I was willing to play ball with. The rewards better be worth all the shit I've been forced to go through since accepting this quest.
After that, I'll pop down to Hades, give him a rundown, get Percy's mother back, go up and meet Zeus, then be back in time to fuck off before I can receive any consequences.
I felt like it was a good plan.
Stepping inside the large Colosseum, I was greeted by sand as I found myself in the lower pit of the Colosseum, the place where the fight was meant to happen.
The Colosseum was a vast, elliptical arena surrounded by tiered seating, probably capable of accommodating thousands of spectators. The walls surrounding the pit I found myself in were tall.
At the other end of the Colosseum was the shield Ares had described. I nearly rolled my eyes. I was assuming that this meant there was something waiting for me.
My assumption was quickly proven correct as, in the next moment, two flashes of light, one blue and the other green, shot towards me. I was surprised to find that I could instantly identify the attack as light-based.
I didn't bother dodging as the two light arrows, which I quickly identified, struck me directly in the head. The two light arrows, instead of damaging me, simply deformed and flowed into me.
Light Embodiment proved its worth as my most frequently used skill once again. I idly wondered if I should try to obtain embodiments for all elements.
Would that combine into an even stronger skill or simply grant me immunity to all elemental attacks?
My eyes caught sight of my two attackers, both holding bows made of light. One was blue, and the other was green, corresponding to their attacks.
A Chinese man with dark hair and grey eyes held a bow made of blue light, looking confused and a tad worried. A woman was beside him, holding an exact copy of his bow. The only difference was its colour, which was bright green.
"You aren't the Demi-God we were expecting," the man said, taking in my features. His bow was still aimed at me.
Staring Blue
Appearance Description: Staring Blue manifests as a pair of mystical blue gauntlets adorned with intricate, glowing runes. These runes pulse with a vibrant, azure light, giving the gauntlets an ethereal appearance. When activated, the air around the gauntlets shimmers with a blue aura.
Abilities:
1. Light Bow Creation: Staring Blue allows its possessor to create a bow made entirely of light energy. This radiant bow is both elegant and deadly, glowing with a brilliant blue hue.
2. Light Arrows: The user can generate arrows composed of light. These arrows are not only fast and precise but also carry the intense energy of light, making them highly destructive.
3. Remote Control: Once fired, the light arrows can be remotely controlled by the user, allowing them to chase and track targets with incredible accuracy. This ability makes it nearly impossible for opponents to evade the arrows.
Staring Green
Appearance Description: Staring Green takes the form of sleek, emerald-coloured bracers etched with delicate, luminescent symbols. The bracers emit a soft, green glow that intensifies when the Sacred Gear is in use.
Abilities:
1. Light Bow Creation: Staring Green grants its possessor the power to conjure a bow made of light energy. This ethereal bow glows with a vibrant green light, reflecting the Sacred Gear's potent abilities.
2. Light Arrows: The user can create arrows from pure light. These arrows are not only swift and accurate but also imbued with the powerful energy of light, making them formidable in combat.
3. Remote Control: After being shot, the light arrows can be controlled remotely by the user, allowing them to pursue and home in on targets with unmatched precision. This makes evading the arrows exceedingly difficult for enemies.
Sacred gears? What's up with the sudden increase in sacred gear encounters? Before today, I hadn't encountered a single user, but in just one day, I am fighting the third one. Just my life, I guess.
I almost felt bad for them. This was a terrible matchup. Not only were they dealing with an ultimate-class being, but they also were relying on a Sacred Gear that fired the only element I was immune to.
"Who are you?" I questioned.
"That's of no matter to you. Leave, and we will spare you," the woman spoke up, a hint of arrogance in her voice. The man next to her sent her an uncertain glance.
"I don't suppose you'll tell me who you are," I questioned, not really expecting any answer.
"N-" The man started, only to get cut off by the kind lady pointing her deadly weapon of light at me.
"We are from the Hero Faction," she announced proudly.
Oh, I hadn't been expecting an answer.
The man looked annoyed, so I was guessing that was probably meant to be kept quiet.
"Hero Faction, huh?" I mused. Where had I heard that from again?
The man went to speak, only for his mouth to close as he inspected me closely. His eyes slowly widened as if he had just noticed something.
"Shit," I heard him mutter, which seemed to get the attention of his companion.
Had I dropped my illusion? I was briefly worried the illusion covering my allure had dropped, only to sigh in relief as it hadn't. I wasn't unhappy about having allure, but it could be a pain at times.
Which is why I had an illusion to keep myself more incognito instead of drawing everyone's attention, which as a certified loner didn't work out for me.
Recognition flashed through his eyes, making me narrow mine in turn. My empathy skill activated, alerting me to the sense of dread and apprehension he felt.
This guy knew me.
Which made my casual demeanour turn serious.
No one knew me.
Very few people actually knew of me. Half of them were in India. The girl next to him with the green bow of light looked confused, sending a questioning glance toward her partner.
He turned to her, and they shared a look. The next moment he rapidly drew back his bow, a blue arrow materialising in the light bow's quiver. The woman next to him followed suit, and without hesitation, they both unleashed their light arrows.
The light arrows themselves were impressive. I could sense a surprising amount of power contained in them. For their level at least, since they were both in the middle class with their own power.
Watching a Sacred Gear in action was interesting. It was as advertised, allowing humans to transcend their limits. No wonder everyone had been trying to recruit them.
The speed of the arrows was fast, piercing through the air and coming directly for my eye. I watched the light arrows both pause for a split second before sinking into my body harmlessly.
Being able to taste light was weird; the fact it tasted like candy was even stranger.
"How is he doing that?" the woman growled, drawing another arrow.
Two more light arrows assaulted me again, the exact same scene playing out.
"Yummy," I said sarcastically.
"This shouldn't be possible. Angels can't absorb light. They can only control it. What's going on? What trick are you playing?" the man calmly wondered.
"Duo shot?" the woman suggested, referring to what I assumed was a combined attack. They should really consider giving it a more original name.
The man sighed but nodded in agreement.
Both bows glowed as they were drawn back, and this time the arrows merged in midair. A brilliant blue-green arrow, three times the usual size, shot toward me.
The arrow melted the ground from its sheer heat and seemed quite deadly, only for it to anticlimactically be absorbed by me.
You may be wondering why I was letting this go on.
Mainly because these light arrows tasted awesome and because I was letting the gravity of the situation set in for them. It would make questioning easier if they were suitably beaten in a way that left no room for 'What If's.'
Though I was done playing around, I took a step forward, only for the large gate on the other side of the Colosseum to open up ominously.
"We need to go," I heard the man say.
"What, why? Don't tell me that he's scared you just because he's survived a few attacks," the woman asked back.
"No, don't you see? It's the Angel," he growled.
Now that caught my attention.
Even as mechanical bulls burst out from the darkness, my eyes were trained on him.
"How about I give you a lesson on what true light looks like?" I called out.
A light construct formed, taking the shape of a bow. I had never tried this before, so it required some adjustments as the bow formed. The result was a bow of light that shone brighter than theirs.
I created a light arrow, knocked it, and mimicked what I had done at Camp Half-Blood when I was messing around with the Demi-Gods.
They both paled. The six mechanical bulls charged at me recklessly. Releasing the light arrow, it shot in the middle of the little herd charging at me like a meteor.
I only had a few seconds to realise a slight miscalculation.
I treated the light arrow like a light spear, channelling the same amount of energy as I would into a decently powerful light spear. However, I had forgotten about the propulsion provided by the bow's elasticity.
My light construct had successfully mimicked a real bowstring, after all. To give you a simple view of my problem: it was like throwing a rock compared to using a slingshot to shoot a rock.
BOOOOOM
A massive explosion of blinding light instantly vaporized the mechanical bulls, spreading out and creating a much larger effect than I had intended.
As the explosion subsided, the entire sand pit had transformed into glass. The two Sacred Gear users groaned, shielding their eyes.
Although the explosion had been more powerful than intended, I had been careful enough to prevent them from getting caught in the blast. The sheer brightness had temporarily blinded them.
"…"
That worked out in my favour, and it seems I've found a new attack method. I had never tried it before due to my inexperience with a bow, but my time at Camp Half-Blood had encouraged me to give it a shot.
I'll have to watch out and see about calibrating myself to it later, though. It was obvious they packed more of a punch than my normal light spears did.
Jumping up with a powerful burst of strength, I landed in front of their groaning forms. Their Sacred Gear light bows discarded to the side at the moment.
A quick use of Mokuton had them bound up in thick vines that had sharp wooden spikes pointing toward them, meaning they couldn't move without impaling themselves.
Then I walked over to where the shield was placed as I waited for them to regain their bearings. Picking it up, I made sure of its identity before storing it in my inventory.
That was a job well done.
I waited for the two Sacred Gear users to regain their sight, observing as they struggled against their wooden bindings. After a while, they eventually settled down, realising they weren't making any progress. On the receiving end of two glares, I smiled disarmingly.
"Now that I've caught your attention, I hope you'll be a bit more cooperative. Firstly, what are your names?" I started off with a simple question. I knew them, of course, but I was using this to see if they would outright lie.
They both stayed quiet, and I sighed. The wooden spikes started digging into the skin of the man, making him grit his teeth in pain. The woman's eyes widened. I had chosen her to answer since she had shown herself to be more loose-lipped.
"Wait, stop," she growled. "Aren't you Angels meant to be noble and pure? What's with this torturing shit?"
"Don't answer my question with another question," I chided in an almost playful tone.
She sneered.
"I am Cinder, and he is Gale," she gritted out after some hesitation. She was being truthful. Good.
"You are telling the truth, good," I added, just to subtly suggest I could sense if she was lying. Which worked as her eyes widened a bit at my comment.
"You spoke about a 'Hero Faction' earlier. Tell me more about that," I ordered.
With much less reluctance, she answered.
"We are an organisation consisting of only humans, with a goal to show the world that humans aren't just prey for the supernatural to select from," she said proudly.
A respectable goal. Seriously, in a world full of Gods and monsters running around, that wasn't going to be easy. I had seen how easily humans were pushed aside if not blessed or possessing Sacred Gear.
It made it easy to look down on them. I felt sympathy for them, considering I used to be a human.
The Sacred Gear system was one of God's better ideas, even if it caused humans to become involved with the supernatural, which had been disastrous in some cases.
I did have to wonder how he made all of the Sacred Gears, though.
Especially with some of them being so powerful. Being able to create Sacred Gears that let a normal human rise to Godly levels of power was seriously intimidating.
Unfortunately, I would probably never know, unless I connected with my Angel brethren, which I was still hesitant about. Even then, they might not know the secrets.
"This group of yours is after me?" I questioned.
The man tried to speak, but he was promptly distracted as the wooden spikes started digging further into his body, making him grit his teeth in pain.
"Yes," she quickly nodded, sending a concerned glance to her partner.
My Empathy skill was activated and I could sense her emotions as I questioned her. She was scared I was going to ask her a certain question. How interesting.
"What were your original intentions here?" I asked.
"We were to run interference as the Demi-Gods came to retrieve the shield," she hesitantly responded.
"Why?"
"As part of the collaboration between the Hero Faction and Ares, in exchange for getting a chance to kill you."
Finally, my last question.
"Why exactly is a group of empowered humans coming after me?" I questioned.
I noticed her reluctance come back in full force.
I went to open my mouth to question her, only to notice her eyes wandering to something behind me. Turning around, I was met with a large shadow coming from the darkness from where the mechanical bulls had exited from.
Two glowing electric eyes stared back at me.
"You aren't supposed to be here, boy. Make a hasty retreat, and I'll pretend you weren't here by the time I arrived," a deep voice spoke.
I raised an eyebrow at that. I couldn't get a read on him since he was shrouded in darkness. There was no need to fight since I was pretty much done here. I was going to go out on a limb and say this guy was powerful judging by his offer, which held no arrogance.
My empathy activated, and I felt no malice directed towards me, only solemness and a deep hatred directed somewhere else.
"Sure, I'll be taking my leave along with these two," I replied easily.
"Leave the shield," the voice ordered.
"What shield?" I asked innocently.
Activating my chakra eyes, I attempted to detect any energy emanating from the man, hoping to discern his nature and strength.
There was power there, but it seemed cloaked, concealed deliberately.
"The shield that was left here, you have it," the mysterious man insisted.
"Nope," I replied with feigned certainty.
"You are lying to me."
My eyes finally made sense of the cloaked power I saw from him. Divine power.
The man sighed. "It seems you have no intention of cooperating with me. I'll make this quick, child. I won't kill you."
An enormous figure stepped out from the darkness, muscles that practically screamed of his physical strength.
{Name: Heracles/Alcaeus}
{Title: God Of Strength}
{Race: God}
{Current Power level: 10,000}
{Power level: 18,060}
Ah, so that's why he could sense my bluff.
-END-
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