The Harvester

Chapter 164: A Threat

Hybran always made sure to keep an eye on everything that happened in his city. Anything that could be either a threat or a boon for his people didn’t escape his knowing. That is why when he heard that a Nine-Tailed Wolf had suddenly appeared and saved a small girl… he was lost.

On one side, a member of such a race was in his city and he had the chance to form an affiliation with them. On the other, the Nine-Tailed Clan promptly contacted him and demanded answers, alleging that there might be someone posing as a noble in his territory.

It might sound trivial but, politically, Hybran was being pressured on all sides. He had told that Clan several times that he had nothing to do with Obsidian and that he would do everything in his power to find him and determine his identity.

Other than his own gratitude, that had been half the reason he publicly announced that he would personally reward him for his altruistic deed. Sadly, it wasn’t heeded.

And now, the concerned individual was standing in front of him, gazing at him with eyes that even made him uneasy. He couldn’t sense his power nor could he analyze the other party’s status. He had no idea to tell how strong he truly was but one thing was sure, this wolf’s temperament could be felt with just a glance and after a closer look at his body, he was convinced that the one in front of him was one of the Nine-Tailed.

It neither felt like a polymorph creature or an illusion… those tails were real and he could see that there was a trace of Mystic Magic in them; one of the trademarks of a Nine-Tailed.

Hybran put his hand on his chest and bowed. “It is an honor to meet you, sir,” he greeted Obsidian and the people around him imitated the gesture. “I’ve been wishing to meet you.”

“And I have granted it,” Obsidian replied aloofly and Gray silently laughed as he approached with Nyx and Fray posing as Rakna.

‘He’s really playing the part, huh?’ He thought with a smile and looked at the mayor. ‘Seems like he bought it… Well, I doubt anyone could discern any fakery since there isn’t one in the first place. This kid is a Nine-Tailed at the end of the day.’

“Whisles,” Hybran muttered after seeing the clown. His eyes then shifted to the two people next to him and his eyes widened as he made the connection in the split of a second. “A pupil… sir, is the one you referred to this boy? Rakna Xiorra?”

‘Obsidian’ huffed and glanced at ‘Rakna’. “He is. I have heard that he was being rewarded for killing the old bastard. I came along to make my stance clear.”

‘The old bastard?’ Hybran, as well as Angela and O’Gram, caught on to his words. They inevitably assumed that, from his overly familiar way of talking about him, he knew him personally. This was only explainable if he had met him during one of the few wars hundreds of years ago.

And if even they were wrong, it at least meant that he was there when Verias resurrected. Which actually made the story of a new Host defeating a Ruler of the Abyss, albeit weakened, believable.

What none of them knew was that ‘Obsidian’ had purposefully manipulated them to think that. It had always been child’s play for Rakna to act like someone else. He was even better at faking his tone of voice and make up false leads. He had been taught by the best.

“When you mean clarify your stance…” Hybran scowled.

“Rakna Xiorra is under my protection,” Obsidian declared loud enough for the ones spectating to hear, especially the ones filming the scene. “The Throne of Glory will do a good job to back him but he will inevitably attract unwanted troubles in the future and no one is perfect. I am only here to announce this; if something ever happens to him…” His voice got lower and strands of a black aura flared over his fur.

The area became gradually more and more silent and Hybran almost took a defensive stance out of reflex. The dark aura around Obsidian condensed above him and formed an ominous face with red eyes and mouth. The light of the sun somehow became dimmer and a few people nearby lost strength in their legs.

Gray observed it happening from the corner of his eye and grinned internally. What Rakna was using was obviously an intimidation skill and quite a high-class skill one. Normally, this wouldn’t be able to affect Hybran at all and it was in fact not working; because Rakna was not using it with the intention to intimidate in the first place.

There were mainly three things put into an intimidation skill; strength, willpower, and bloodlust. Until now, Rakna had only used the first two. But now, he had forsaken them and instead used all of he had to convey the third.

This was something he rarely did when Obsidian Blood was not in activity. His callousness often made it hard for him to direct the will to kill others. But that did not mean in any way that he could not force it out.

‘And oh boy, does it work,’ Gray almost burst out laughing at the pale expressions of everyone. They were not being pressured; they were being threatened. There was a nuance. This was the perfect way for Rakna to get his message across without revealing the fact that he was a lot weaker than he was letting on.

‘Still…’ The clown mused. ‘Even if this kind of killing intent is not rare, it’s way too strong,’ he thought and squinted his bionic eyes as the black aura rolled off the wolf’s body in waves and flooded the ground as if it was blood trying to engulf them. ‘A hundred? A thousand? More? How many did this kid kill before even coming to the System?’

“…please, retract your killing intent,” Hybran ultimately said after a tense moment. “We recognize your intentions. Your words will be shared to the entire System and as my personal reward, I will offer my personal assistance if the boy encounters problems that are in my capacity to resolve.”

When the mayor spoke and the light returned to normal, some gasped in respite. Even people that were viewing the broadcast swallowed the lump that had formed in their throat. All of them had felt like they were about to witness a slaughter because of the Nine-Tailed Wolf.

“My matter here is done then,” Obsidian raised his voice and people suddenly felt chilly. A white mist slowly came out from under the wolf’s paws and enveloped him. The temperature dropped by several degrees and Hybran furrowed his eyebrows.

“Wait, before you leave; the Nine-Tailed Clan is in an uproar because of your existence. They claim to have no records of you. Are you perhaps a, and forgive me for saying this, a bastard child?” He asked with a sharp look.

Rakna scoffed as the cold mist started covering his vision. There was one important thing to do if you truly wanted to fool someone with your lies; never let them control the narrative. Never label yourself as something they mentioned first. Give them a lie that will put them on their toes as well as a lie that they will never be able to confirm.

“I would love to let you continue your baseless assumptions for they are very amusing,” Obsidian said haughtily. “But I will be the better wolf and tell you; I am above the Clan,” he proclaimed with an unshakable tone and the mist abruptly swirled around him.

“Rakna, come to me in no more than fifteen minutes. We have to talk,” the wolf’s voice resounded one last time, coming from all directions, before the mist vanished in the blink of an eye along with who was inside.

Hybran who had been focusing all of his senses into the mist started sweating. He had used every method at his disposition to keep track of Obsidian’s energy signature but he lost it before he could even start tracking it.

There was no fluctuation at all. No sign of a displacement skill being used. No sign of a spatial spell or ability being used. No sign or even a possible time frame for System transportation. It was as if Obsidian had been erased from existence.

The mayor sighed heavily and turned his attention to the three people who were there. He looked at ‘Rakna’ and showed the same amount of respect he had given to Obsidian. “Nice to meet you. I was quite eager to meet the super rookie who defeated an Abyss Ruler. I just never expected it to be in these circumstances,” he said with a small smile, using a more relaxed attitude compared to earlier.

Fray beautifully filled his role and nodded subtly. “It’s fine. If it’s no problem, I would like to receive the rewards as fast as possible. You don’t want to know what Master would do to me if I’m late for his summon. He would yank my soul out of my body and torment it until he is satisfied.”

Everyone listened petrified and Hybran blinked in shock. “Why would he do such a thing…?”

“He can be vicious when he wants to,” Fray said with a shrug. Outside he was keeping a cold façade, while inside he was laughing loudly. “He prefers that kind of punishment because it does not harm my body so I wouldn’t have any problem training afterward.”

Hybran looked away for a second to close his eyes in nervousness before smiling again. “Please do not hesitate to take the rewards and leave. Lady Angela, Sir O’Gram.”

The two people in question nodded and stepped forward. At the same time, the citizens began to disperse and Hybran nodded at Rakna before leading the people he had come out with, probably officials, back into the city hall.

“We meet again, Rakna,” Angela spoke up afterward with an amiable smile and O’Gram followed her example. “Would you like to go first?” She then asked the priest next to her. It had been decided that both the Basilica and the Church would each give a reward of their own.

“If you don’t mind,” he calmly accepted the offer and a certain object appeared in his hand. It was unmistakably a necklace at first sight. Though, in truth, it was actually a thin chain with the Cross of Eternal Night hanging from it.

O’Gram extended it forward and Fray tentatively took it. The information was promptly shown to him the second he held it.

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Designation: Accessory/Chain

Name: Second Order of Aeter

Rarity: Purple

Durability: Indestructible.

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Description:

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This is an accessory forged and enchanted with the power of the Basilica’s Cross of Eternal Night; the mark of the Kind Demon. Since it was made together with the essence of the Crosses, it gained indestructibility.

Even Eva herself would be hard-pressed to destroy it even if she ordered all of her Adjudicators to bombard it at the same time. Comparatively, its effects are laughingly meager but the only reason behind the object’s toughness in the first place is due to the might of the Eternal Night God and what just a small residue of his power can accomplish.

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Effects:

+25% MA when facing Téra and Demons.

+20% DEF against lightning and shadow-based spells.

– Gain Dependent Skill, Offering of Faith.

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Note: This item additionally gives several kinds of clearances to the wearer when they visit any of the Basilicas within the System.

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Designation: Skill/Spontaneous Skill

Name: Offering of Faith

Tier: Special

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Description:

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A skill provided to individuals that bear the mark of Eternal Night. Once invoked, the user will be given a chance to pray. Depending on the strength of the prayer as well as the degree of approval from the Kind Demon, the user will see themselves receive divine help.

Beware, if the prayer is unfaithful to the beliefs of Eternal Night, the user will suffer an inescapable smite.

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Cost: None.

Number of Uses: 1/?

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Note: Once this skill is used once, most will lose the ability to ever trigger it again. Only those that receive the acknowledgment of Eternal Night sometimes have a chance to pray a second time.

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“{Hey, boss, are you seeing this?}” Fray asked through telepathy.

“{Who are you calling boss? And yes, I see it,}” Rakna’s voice quickly responded while sharing the vision of the puppet he had made. “{It has no real practical uses unless it’s against certain foes but this Offering of Faith… is essentially a chance to borrow help from a God. It is definitely good.}”

“This is our Second Order Cross,” O’Gram stated. “It is normally only given to the core members of the Basilica. Not all people can call for Eternal Night’s assistance in the first place but something tells me that you have a very good chance of making it work.”

Fray nodded at that and stored the item inside the storage Rakna had temporarily lent him. Then it was Angela’s turn to fish out something from her storage and it immediately stunned Fray and Rakna.

What Angela held in her hand was a one-handed double-edged sword with a groove at the base of the blade. The material was golden and white and the handle was silver-white. Additionally, there were several gems encrusted on the blade and even an idiot would have been able to tell that they were more than decoration based on the agglomerates of mana they represented.

All in all, for Rakna, it probably was the most beautiful sword he had ever seen in his life. When it landed in Fray’s hands from a smiling Angela, the information made him even more shocked.

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Designation: Blade/Double-Edged Sword

Name: Mirael

Rarity: Red

Attack Power: +750

Durability: 100%

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Description:

One of the 106 Holy Swords, crafted and owned by the Church. Most of them are used by Paladins who have been rewarded for their faith and contribution, some remain stowed away, and the rest are said to be formidable blades that only accept the ones most worthy of their power with a rarity of one in a billion people.

Mirael ranks No.65 in overall capacity. But there are some swords with lower rarity and perks that have very specialized abilities more suited for other situations.

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Perks:

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– Holy Shield: Erects a golden shield that can resist up to 5 000 of damage value; both physical and magical. Last 10 seconds and can only be used twice every 12 hours.

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– Holy Blade: At the cost of 1 (0.6) MP per second, the weapon will be imbued with the holiest of energies and deal 100% additional damage to Evil-Aligned Creatures.

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– Crescent of a Falling Sun: At the cost of 300 (180) MP, a flying slash formed out of holy and solar energy can be launched from the blade. The damage will be equal to the sum of the user’s MA and ATK multiplied by 2. Can only be used thrice every 24 hours.

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– God Bless Us: If the wielder is near a sacred location with this weapon equipped, they will be granted a healing factor as well as an accelerated stamina and mana recuperation. If the sword is damaged, it will also repair itself.

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Note: Holy swords do not all reject wielders like some may believe. However, they cannot be used to perform evil deeds; their power will be sealed and punishment will be dealt out.

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