Chapter 269
Kidnapped
Alright… let us explain everything that happened calmly.
Arthur's transformation into the Sublime Form was no coincidence,
but rather the result of unleashing his full power and merging it with his other abilities. That was his absolute power,
added to the consumption of the power of three Great Old Ones he faced in the last fight.
When everything merged together, every restriction binding him exploded, and he evolved into a terrifying entity—capable of total destruction and creation with absolute ease,
without any noticeable consumption of energy.
The Sublime Form is the strongest state Arthur currently possesses in his arsenal of power,
But… it did not come without a price.
There were several fundamental problems preventing him from easily transforming into it:
First: The Power of Heaven must not be present.
For even Arthur's Sublime Form cannot break the natural laws of the Power of Heaven.
Even Azathoth himself could not do so… or so Arthur believed, for some reason.
Second: In this form, Arthur can only use a single law.
Third… and most important of all:
Time.
Arthur cannot remain in the Sublime Form for more than five seconds.
Not a single second longer.
His body is simply still too weak to endure such absolute power.
This is the nature of the Sublime Form.
As for what Arthur did earlier…
When he broke the seal he had placed upon himself and unleashed the Sublime Form,
it became impossible to return the power into the seal ever again…
Except in one single case:
Waiting.
He had to wait five hundred million years.
Five hundred million full years.
What Arthur did before closing his eyes was use a time-acceleration technique.
The time-acceleration technique is an ability that speeds up time for the user alone.
A technique that seems useless… yet it saved Arthur at that very moment.
One might ask:
Why is it useless?
Can it not be used for training and development?
The problem is that the technique accelerates time only for the user, while real time progresses normally.
However, its side effects are devastating.
The longer the duration, the severe the consequences become.
Arthur used it to accelerate five hundred million years into just one hour.
One hour passed in the universe where Arthur sat…
But inside his body and soul, five hundred million full years passed without pause.
And after that hour passed…
Arthur opened his eyes quietly.
The color of life had faded from his eyes, as if he were an elderly man who had lived through uncounted ages.
He looked around himself, lost and alienated.
|Arthur?|
"…"
|Arthur, answer me.|
"Yes."
He spoke in a low, quiet voice, holding his head between his hands.
|Are you okay?|
"Yes… it's just…
Five hundred million full years, Cain."
A brief silence ensued.
|I understand.
Are you ready to see the comrades again after all this time?|
Arthur smiled a faint smile, then stood up, quietly dusting off his clothes.
He moved toward the portal connecting Gezgoth's world to Song's world, and crossed through without hesitation.
{I didn't expect him to defeat Gezgoth.}
{I told you… he is the Promised Boy.}
{But…}
{Yes?}
{Are there any among the Great Old Ones who can defeat him now?}
{I don't think so. After the power he displayed… even I cannot defeat him.}
{Then they have become useless.
I think it is time for the boy to taste what it means to be an Outer Deity... but the question is: Does the First wish to fight him or not?}
{Who knows… maybe he will surprise everyone once more. As for the First... well, no. He has no desire to do so.}
{Then what was the point of everything that happened? Will it really end like this?}
Arthur looked around himself.
The conference he had left behind before going to fight Gezgoth had not yet ended…
Yet chaos was everywhere.
"What is going on?"
He muttered quietly, then felt a violent burst of power from a distance.
In mere moments, he was there.
He saw Song on the verge of entering a direct battle with Thomas, the strongest American hunter.
"Song… what is happening here?"
Song raised his head and saw Arthur standing quietly in the middle of the dark sky.
"Arthur… where were you?"
Arthur felt an overwhelming killing intent erupting from Song's body, directed toward everything… even toward him.
Arthur let out a quiet sigh, then descended to the ground, standing between Song and Thomas.
"Song… tell me. What happened?"
"Where were you when Yoo Jin-Woo was kidnapped, Arthur?
Why weren't you there?
Why didn't you help?"
Arthur froze.
"…Yoo Jin-Woo was kidnapped?"
"Mr. Arthur… I advise you to—"
Thomas did not finish his words.
A tempest struck the area.
The earth trembled, and then the sky exploded with a deafening shout.
{Wait your turn, you wretch.}
Arthur quietly raised his finger toward Thomas's mouth, instantly sealing his voice.
In Thomas's eyes, that finger was no longer small…
Rather, it had grown to the size of the sky itself, pressing upon his soul before his body.
In that moment, Thomas realized the terrifying truth:
He was not merely a child before Arthur…
He was nothing.
"Song, take this vial and save Yoo Jin-Woo.
I will handle this matter."
"Arthur—"
"As the Guild Leader, I order you to retreat.
Yoo Jin-Woo is on the verge of death.
Go and save him."
Song executed the order.
He left the place swiftly to rescue Yoo Jin-Woo.
Arthur slowly turned toward Thomas.
"Tell me…
Are you going to stand in my way, Hunter Thomas?"
"I…"
"Before you continue…
Tell me: Who gave you the audacity to look down upon me?"
He paused for a moment, then said with deadly composure:
"Kneel."
Thomas's knees shook, and he knelt to the ground in complete terror.
"Now…
Tell me where the one who tortured my friend is."
At that moment, someone emerged from the rubble, shouting madly:
"Where did that bastard go?
Where is that damn Song?!"
Arthur slowly raised his eyes.
"…So it's you."
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