..
After an unknown amount of time, Arthur finally opened his eyes, only to see that he was in a room strangely decorated.
One look at it and he discovered that he must surely be in the Ma Clan area or else this Chinese style wouldn't be present, he became anxious for a second before he noticed he wasn't bound or chained so his mind relaxed a bit.
Arthur didn't know why but he didn't feel injured or unable to move, quite the opposite, in fact, he felt he was in great form and as if he was never injured, to begin with.
Unsurprisingly, Lucy was sitting next to him, when she saw slightly move and open his eyes, tears flowed down from her beautiful eyes as she looked at him while smiling, yet despite the smiling, the tears couldn't help but come out endlessly.
Saly was sleeping in a not far away bed which was similar to his, he also noticed her swollen eyes, it must be because she cried a lot waiting for him, his heart ached when he thought about how much he caused her and Lucy to worry.
As if predicting what he was going to ask, Lucy leaned next to him, giving him a tight hug while saying
"5 days, you have been unconscious 5 days since... then"
Seeing how much she was worried, Arthur didn't ask anything and hugged her back while giving her a small pat on her forehead.
They laid in each other's embrace for quite sometime before Lucy let go and leaned her head on his shoulder.
"... What happened?"
Arthur finally asked what he wanted to know the most, the only thing he could remember was killing Kali, then he blacked out, all that happened afterward was unknown to him.
"When we arrived there.. only you were there, apparently you killed 29 elders and 4 section chiefs of the male area, to the public, it was only known as an attack from a strong spy from a rival clan and only a few higher-ups knew the truth."
Lucy didn't hide a thing from him and narrated what happened in details, and somethings really stunned Arthur as he didn't expect that cold-blooded Anastassia to help them in that matter, furthermore, she asked Lucy to stay here until he heals.
Arthur thought that maybe Anastassia also had plans for him but Lucy reassured him saying that Anastassia felt grateful toward him as he got rid of troubles, as she already said, the two areas weren't cooperating so him killing a few elders made the female area gain absolute control as they were now much stronger.
..
They talked for an hour or so before Arthur got up from the bed and retrieved a decent robe to wear then the first thing he did was summon a lightning beast hoping it was Astrith.
His hopes weren't for nothing as after a short amount of time, the beast was created and it was indeed Astrith, he was same as the last and also kept the memory of all that happened.
Next thing Arthur did was check his status but the system still wouldn't work, not even a notification popped up so he shrugged that off for later and retrieved the corpses he had in his storage.
He honestly didn't know what happened at that time, but when he checked his storage he was surprised to see 26 corpses of grey robbed old men and 2 corpses of what appeared to be section chiefs.
Seeing that, he couldn't help but feel delighted as these were precious stats, however, since he woke up, he got this strange feeling as if everything was much clearer, he could feel his senses increase by a tremendous amount, even his enigma ability [Sixth sense] enlarged to a radius of 250m which was pretty awesome.
He already possessed those hundred disciples so his strength must've sky-rocketed, it was unfortunate he couldn't demonstrate it in that fight as his soul was weakened but there was nothing he could do, his soul was weaker than others and those chains almost instantly killed him.
What Arthur was happy to discover was that he can control [Dark magic] again, the good old dark magic is back so he was overjoyed, in terms of piercing and speed, that was his fastest, [Eclipse magic] may be the combination of void and dark but for some odd reason, it was weaker than dark magic or maybe his use of it is different.
Unfortunately, he couldn't use [void magic] but that wasn't that important as he didn't use it that much compared to [Dark Magic].
Previously dark magic was named [Chaotic Dark Magic] and had a blue-ish colour to it but now it was dark green, it was the same as the last one except it was green, it also had an additional thing, which is its pressure, it seemed to have risen by several times, Arthur didn't feel a thing because he was the one who created but Lucy said that she felt heavy when she was next to it, maybe it had something to do with gravity or the pressure was just too great, who knows?
Also, even without the notification, Arthur subconsciously knew that he could use the [Godly Lightning], however, contrary to the other types lightning, this one needed some concentration so it could not be used instantly in a fight, but, if he can fuse it with [Ancient fire] then the result would be devastating, he must try that when he finds a quiet and secluded spot! Surely!
After 3 hours of possessing and consuming the corpses with [Death Touch], Arthur was finally done, fortunately, he woke up at night and neither Anastassia not Saly noticed what he has done except for Lucy of course who was brimming with happiness, she felt how strong she became everytime he possessed a body.
After these 3 hours, Arthur didn't have time to check what skills or strength he has gotten before Lucy jumped on him kissing intimately.
It has indeed been quite a time since they did it plus these 5 days were stressful for her so she wanted to vent it all out in a passionate sex, which she did.
With a simple sound-proof talisman to block the moans from getting out, Arthur and Lucy went at it for 2 hours before they stopped, the sun was rising and Saly would be waking up soon, they didn't want to make her see such a sight, she was still a kid after all.
As Arthur and Lucy were laying on the bed, she had her head on his chest while he wrapped his left hand around her waist and used his other hand to caress her long soft hair.
As he was doing this, he suddenly remembered that Lucy could use the system, he thought she didn't have one too but earlier she told him she had one which was different to the pink one so he asked her to show him, since she had 80% of his stats, he should be able to guess his own.
TITLE : ???????????
Level: 1000 Class: Half demon\ ????
REALM : Spirit
-
Strength: 3.55m
Intelligence: 3.40m
Agility: 3.39m
Wisdom: 3.35m
Vitality: 3.34m
Dexterity: 2.9m
-
Health: 3.30m Health Regen: 3415/s
Mana: 3.01m Mana Regen: 7899/s
Stamina infinite Stamina Regen ????
-
Charm : 49
Attack: 3.49m
Defense: 3.27m
Magic defense : 19356,8
---
Elemental resistances
Fire: 65%
Water: 10%
Wind: 10%
Earth: 10%
Magma 100%
Light/holy: 0%
Darkness: 80%
Due to reaching the necessary requirements, your level has risen to 1000(Spirit Realm)
"...."
Arthur was dumbfounded as he saw this, he even thought he was hallucinating and the injuries were still affecting his eye-sight but it wasn't the case, fortunately.
Lucy was just as dumbstruck as him, albeit feeling extremely power, she didn't think her stats were THIS high.
After several minutes of silence, Lucy broke it by laughing as if she was controlling the world, she was so happy to become this strong that she couldn't contain her excitement.
What was more fascinating is that both Lucy and Arthur could fly now, it's not like using wind magic to fly but to actually fly, they floated a meter or so to test it out and it worked out smoothly and perfectly, it's like they used it all their lives.
Now, they wouldn't need Astrith or the bone dragon or even the dark cloud to fly, however, using Astrith once in a while wouldn't hurt either.
After cuddling with Lucy for a bit, Arthur began analyzing the skills he got from the disciples and elders, there were a lot, just so much new things.
They all relied on this new kind of energy which was called 'Qi', he can freely be used it and absorb it from the surroundings as he appeared to have gotten all the talents of the poor deceased disciples.
Unfortunately, he didn't have the system to explain the skills more thoroughly, but he grasped them and comprehended them, sort of, he also could use them.
There were palm attacks, punches, kicks, various fighting styles similar to Karate and Kung fu, with all the experiences from these people, Arthur's fighting is literally considered peerless now.
He even got some foot techniques which increased the mouvement in combat, it was extraordinary, these foot techniques can be used along with normal skills which made them much more convenient, Arthur picked the best one he found and tried it.
Even without the system, he still got the information about the skill, and its name, except it didn't say what it exactly does, he knows it's a technique to increase speed.
Without wasting time, he proceeded in testing in and to his surprise, it was mind-blowing, this [Petal footsteps], left him astonished, this technique required the owner to move in a certain manner and gently step on the ground or air as if they were soft flower petals, it was a strange yet relaxing feeling, once Arthur used it, it was akin to teleportation, literally.
Now all he got to do in fights is use the talisman which seals all teleportations then uses this, it apparently can be used with lightning form too but they were not compatible, plus [Petal footsteps] seemed to increased his speed slightly better than the lightning form, however, that didn't mean he would give up on the latter, after all, each had it's uses.
As he ran around the room using this skill, you could see several after images of him, his speed was godly, or rather say, it was overpowered, even Anastassia's speed, which previously dumbfounded Arthur cannot really be compared to this.
Arthur also tried a few other techniques such as the golden palm of Wuji which he also has, it was strong but he didn't completely unleash it for fear to destroy the place or wake up the sleeping Saly.
He decided to try those offensive techniques later, next he tried the defensive techniques, they were all focused on Qi and when using it in a unique manner, they could form a defensive layer around their bodies.
For example, there is a skill called [Turtle Shell], it uses 'Qi' to create an invisible armor around your body to defend against physical attacks, it is weak in the beginning but if cultivated to its end then you can create a golden turtle shell that can even defend from the frightful soul attacks.
Apparently, those new skills that were based on 'Qi' are divided into several comprehension realms, each time you advance to the next one, the skill becomes better and stronger, the realms are respectively: Mortal, Spirit, heavenly, divine and godlike, however, that was only based on what Arthur has, maybe there were things still unknown to him.
But, he honestly liked those skills and techniques better than the ones he had, he felt they were stronger and harder to practice.
..
Last but not least, Arthur checked the strengthening techniques, it consisted of acupoint clearing, breathing techniques and so on.
He only picked the best of them and ignored the mysterious ones which they seemed strange to him, for now, he only wanted to try the simple breathing technique and the acupoint clearing skill, unfortunately, it only cleared 1 acupuncture in the right arm but it was enough for now.
Without delay, Arthur used it on himself and just as it was cleared, he felt as if some energy entered through that acupoint, it filled his arm, he felt his right arm become more solid and refreshed, it was a strange feeling yet satisfying at the same time.
Next, he cleared Lucy's acupoint in her left arm, the result was a cute and lovely moan from her, the feeling was just too great so she couldn't contain it, she even blushed a little as it embarrassed her, but that only ended up in her getting a passionate kiss from Arthur.
He couldn't help himself when he sees he act like this, it's just too stimulating.
.....
Two more hours passed before the little girl finally woke up, as she rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand, her sleepy gaze immediately changed as she Arthur sitting next to her while smiling.
She jumped on him while sobbing, on the course of these 5 days, she and Lucy never left his side and since she saw his bloodied corpse she was deathly worried about his safety, she would pass the whole night crying beside him until she fell asleep and Lucy carries her to her bed.
Now that he woke up, she couldn't feel happier, nothing is worth having him by her side as only hugging him and feeling is warm embrace is enough for her to feel relaxed and comfortable.
After enjoying the feeling of the fluffy ears of Saly and chatting with her for some time, the three of them left the room to look for Anastassia.
Lucy already informed Arthur that Anastassia came looking for her these past few days and told her that if Arthur isn't healing, she can give her(Lucy) a few Elixirs which might be effective, however, Lucy strongly rejected as she knew that if her potions and Elixirs didn't work then there is no way in hell Anastassia's Elixirs or whatever would work.
Arthur was no longer angry or thirsty for revenge, he doesn't know why but since he woke up, he feels calm, extremely calm, no anger, no irritation, nothing, just the usual emotions such as love, happiness and so on.
His mind didn't think of the culprit anymore as if that matter never happened, he didn't know why but he didn't think too much about it.
Furthermore, he thought Anastassia despised him but she surprisingly offered her help, maybe because he helped her out in some way or she is feeling, whichever the case doesn't really matter, what matters is she provided him, Lucy and Saly a place to stay when he was gravely injured and that is a big favour.
It's true he hated this clan's guts but all of that seemed far away in the past for him for some odd reason, it felt like it was thousands of years ago and that he should let go of it, but you cannot deny that there is some reluctance deep in his heart, it doesn't want to let go and let the real culprit go.
He indeed killed Kali, however, she was not the only culprit, there was also the young master, fortunately for him, he was not there when 'that' happened but Arthur never thought of letting him go even though he felt peaceful about this matter.
Plus, it's not like Anastassia is going to stop him, after all, she let him kill her own sister so that proves that she treasures loyalty more than family and her own sister betrayed so there is nothing else to talk about, only death awaited Kali from the very moment she betrayed her elder sister.
Although Arthur became strong, incomparable strong, he never ever will act overconfident again, what happened last time was proof that there will always be someone stronger and more powerful, so just for precautions, he used his mental power and tried to create flash grenades.
In the past, when he created Ace, he couldn't do this, however, since he became stronger, maybe his mental power increased? And it indeed did, it was just by a little by but it nonetheless increased and now he managed to create flash grenades.
Since they are items from a different world, not everyone would expect them, plus they would buy him some time to escape from that woman if she reappears again, hopefully, not..
..
The interior of the pagoda was as magnificent and fascinating as ever, Arthur quite enjoyed this style, it was total to his liking, if he ever built a house, it would be much like this.
They soon found what appeared to be a servant as she wore an outfit relatively similar to a maid, she held a plate which contained teacups.
As Arthur asked for instructions, the maid appeared frightened for a second but she then relaxed when he told her they were visitors, and it just so happened that she was serving Anastassia and Sonia right now so she asked Arthur and the rest to follow her.
Not long after that, they arrived at a big room, it was not full of decoration but it had some ancient paintings and redwood vases and status, the floor was covered with some kind of soft carpet which was pleasing to walk on, and there was a beautiful view of the yard which had a small river and some medicinal plants, the fragrance could be smelled from dozens of meters away.
This room was literally like heaven, quiet and beautiful, one could enjoy the rest of his life living here, a book in one hand and the teacup in the other, enjoying the full view of the yard and the bright moon at night, none would disturb you and the food will be delivered, what can you ask more?
A dark-haired woman was sitting in a seiza stance( AN : google it) on the floor while her sister, Sonia was sitting normally, they both seemed to chat but in reality, only Sonia was talking and Anastassia was nodding in response, since Sonia was used to this kind of behavior from her sister, she didn't mind that.
Anastassia was wearing tight black clothes, they seemed more formals than in the past and suited her quite well, you can see her mature and elegant body and curvy waist, she would not lose against her sister Sonia, in a way Anastassia looked more mature and refined as she also held a cold demeanor, it seemed impossible to see through her.
Noticing the arrival of the maid followed by Lucy, Arthur and Saly, Anastassia was momentarily shocked, because not too long ago, Arthur was on the verge of death, yet here is walking normally as if it wasn't him that looked bloodied just several days ago, it was really illogical, but she was not the kind of person to dwell on matters like this, naturally everyone has their secret and she has no right to ask about it.
As for Sonia, it took her a bit longer to notice their arrival, as she saw them coming, especially Arthur, she looked at him with a complicated gaze, she felt guilty, although it was not her fault, she should have been more cautious, because if she did, that thing would not have happened. It's a pity the past is the past and nothing can change it, not even apologizing a hundred or a thousand times, nonetheless, she bowed her head at the incoming Arthur while saying
"Sir Arthur, I'm deeply sorry about what happened, it was out of my expectation and didn't know until recently about what happened."
What she said was actually true, when her sister took her place, they only told her Arthur and Lucy died at the war, so she believed that, it was only recently that her grandfather told her the whole truth, which saddened her and made her feel extremely guilty.
Arthur did not want to bother with that matter anymore, only the young master was done and then everything would be over, perhaps he would ask Lucy to go over the Holy Church to finish them too, it should be enough to completely erase their existence and pull them from their roots, then he would think about what to do.
"It's okay, the matter is almost solved, only one person is left, it has nothing to do with you anymore"
After saying that, he sat opposite to Anastassia, there was a table separating them which was quite long, Lucy and Saly sat next to him, the little girl didn't want to let go of him as she sat on his lap and hummed with a cheerful tone.
Arthur looked at Anastassia deeply for a minute or so before speaking yet again
"For what you did these past few days, thank you, without your hospitality maybe things could have been much worse for us, I'm a person who does not want to owe favors to others, just tell me what you want"
Although she helped him only a bit and they were enemies, Arthur decided to let go of stupid grudges and to begin with she had nothing to do with that matter, he felt that when she told him the story, he could not bring herself to call her a liar, she seemed honest enough, for him at least.
It was a meager help but it was enough to win his favor, for people like that, albeit them previously being enemies, she extended her hand and helped them in need which was more than enough for him to feel a bit grateful.
Several minutes passed and the atmosphere became a bit awkward, Anastassia didn't reply to Arthur and merely stared at him up and down as if assessing him, for Arthur, it felt strange yet funny, it's as if he was a girl being gauged by a playboy.
The silence had been finally broken by Anastassia's sentence
"Join my clan...."