Ethereal Paradigm: A Canvas of Black - Chapter 68 Unseen Chains

“Arrogance is a frightening thing whose tomorrow is dark.”

-Niyaz Ahmed

━━━━━━━━┓ ✠ ┏━━━━━━━━

“MIND YOU KID, THIS GREEATSWORD THAT I’M HOLDING IS A PROTOTYPE-TIER WHICH I OBTAINED AFTER I GAINED THE GIANT GORGON. NOT THAT YOU CAN UNDERSTAND WHAT THAT MEANS THOUGH…BUT AS YOU SAW IT EARLIER, I HAVE THE POWER TO SUCK OUT SOULS AND CONVERT IT AS AN ELIXIR OF LIFE FOR MY PERSONAL USE ANYTIME OF THE DAY. THIS SWORD INHABITS MY PARADIGM, ‘SOUL TAKER’.”

Prototype? That means that Grendel is relatively more valuable. It’s a mythical relic and this one, is just a prototype… How the hell does it have a very frondeur skill of sucking out souls? And more importantly, it inhabits his paradigm?

“Oh ahhhh, I see that… Then? Am I supposed to cower in fear or what?”

And while I find this conversation to be too superfluous, I must act like I’m immersed or something, and of course, while having my next motive in mind… In all of that moving around earlier, the effort, at least, had been paid, seeing something peculiar. In his armor’s torso, there’s this amulet that’s been boggling me, and to grab it without him noticing, is now of utmost priority. It’s the only plausible item that I think is restricting me from using their dark intent. It’s just a hunch, but as of my statistics, the probability is quite authentic.

“HMMM… EVEN BEFORE COMING HERE, WE ALREADY KNOW OF YOUR STANDINGS HUMANS- THE MOST SUPERIOR ENTITIES ON THE SECOND REALM. BUT, I NEVER KNEW OF YOUR PRIDE, NOT UNTILL I MET YOU.”

“I’m quite flabbergasted to represent such ‘superior’ beings here. So you already knew of our coming?”

“DON’T MAKE IT SOUND LIKE YOU’RE A MASQUERADE OF MESSIAHS, OF COURSE, WE KNOW!”, he instantly replied.

“WE WERE INFORMED BY THE GODS THEMSELVES THAT YOU’RE GOING TO UTILIZE OUR GLORIOUS LANDS FOR YOUR WARFARE. A FIGHT TO DECIDE IF WHETHER YOUR RACE DESERVES TO CONTINUE STRIVING OR JUST DIE OUT, RIGHT? AND THERE ARE THESE SPECIAL BREEDS…HMMMM… WHAT ARE THEY CALLED AGAIN? HERRSCHERS?” he added.

“Yes… That would be the case. And you? From what race are you supposed to be from? From your looks, I can see that you’re a creepy horned-lizard or a demi-human of some sort.”

“WHAT’S A FRICKIN LIZARD? WELL, IF YOU HAVE THE GUTS TO COMPARE IT TO US THEN IT MIGHT BE SOMETHING STRONG…AND YES, WE ARE INDEED CLASSIFIED AS ‘DEMI-HUMANS’ ESPECIALLY BY THE GODS THEMSELVES, BUT I SUGGEST TO NOT LET THAT GO OVER YOUR HEAD. BEING ‘DEMI’ JUST MEANS THAT WE DON’T INCORPORATE YOUR PITIFUL WEAKNESSES.”

“BY THE WAY, CALL US THE ‘TARRAGONS’. ENTITIES WHERE BLOOD OF THE DRAGONS RUN AMOK.”

“So that explains your grotesque demeanor.”

“GAH GAH GAH!!!! SUCH CONTEMPT… ENOUGH FOR THE ACQUAINTANCE CHARADE AND LET US BEGIN ONCE AGAIN.” He then snagged his bad-ass greatsword taking the stance of a man of war who is ready to dive into battle once again. Yet, little did he know, that it is now in my possession and turns out, my hunch is right on the spot.

“Begin? Begin what?”

“THE IMPENDING DUEL WHOSE VICTOR GETS TO KEEP THE KURENAI. WHAT DO YOU THINK AM I TALKING ABOUT KID?”

“Oh, that? HAHAHAHAHAHA! I was also about to say the same thing, but I think there’s no need and do pardon for the frivolousness but I’ve…already won.”

“HAAAAA???”

“To put it down to your level of comprehension, here” I then showed him the amulet in my hand that I secretly grabbed from his armor using a shadow. And how did I take hold of it without even moving, and him noticing? Simple. I created a warp gate, the same when opening Lacrimosa’s realm, but this time, relatively smaller, and with my hand as the main destination.

“This is bad, Hero, withdraw now!” The priest, sensing what I am about to do begins to warn the hard-headed hero in desperation.

So he already noticed. I surely can’t underestimate this priest for whatever reason.

“HAAA??? ARE YOU LOOKING DOWN ON ME YOU GARBAGE MAGE?”

“Tsk! You’re really gonna die you a-hole!”

“AND HOW COULD I?”

“That kid, whom you’re up against…”

“HMMM??? WHAT ABOUT HIM?”

“I was wrong! He does not only control the shadows but he-”

Too late for an urgent realization there, monsieur…

And then, just like with the Herscher of Cheshire cat, out of the big guy’s self-generated negative charisma that started to gush forth the moment I removed the amulet from him, that I, again formed out bleak and controlling chains from it, but larger and more durable. I can’t know for sure what these ‘Tarragons’ are capable of doing so I must elevate the chain’s tenacity.

And then, the binding-Jutsu… Sorry though, I won’t have any spare time to let you show off what your savage-looking greatsword is capable of doing at its hundred percent.

“WHA? WHAT IS THIS? SOMETHING’S GRABBING ME!”, the unseen shackles formed, strangling him with knit-tight grips, as his own malice also begins to vigorously crunch him, without even seeing it. How unfortunate.

Then as though the chains are mechanized to spell more gripping power, the heavy armor in his equipment began to bend and his breathing is slowly but assuredly decelerated, with the self-proclaimed hero unable to move at all, groveling on the ground losing touch of his weapon

“As they say back in my world, old man… Arrogance is a frightening thing whose tomorrow is dark… And by ‘dark’, you’ve already lost, by default.”

“TSK… YOU LITTLE.” the air-deprived man had the courage to talked back but still with the apparent affliction and as his own generated hatred and grudge for me increases by each second, the more the tightness of the unseen chains multiply by a viable degree.

“I would recommend you, as of now, to empty your mind… Or else, you’ll really gonna die.” I said, but the old man’s brain is all muscles that it did not comprehend. Not a single word.

“Sire!” With ardent worries, his loyal lackeys then also began to hurriedly go towards him. It seems that they never learned their lesson. Whatever… I need to stop them if I want a clean sweatless victory.

“Sir! Please do use my soul!”

“It would be our dying pleasure sir?”

Say what? Are they really going that far as to serve this guy with muscles for a brain? Knowing that letting them come any closer to the guy would somehow spell a headache for me, I intervened…

“Opsie Dopsie… I can’t let you pass, ‘knights in shining armor.” I hindered them intentionally.

“Get out of our way!!” Taken on by the thoughts of worries as they see their master suffering from an unseen bind, they aspired to kill me, drawing out their weapons of which some, where very powerful-looking spear, sword, and even maces. Just how loyal can they be to this abominable and flamboyant hero?

“I get your chevalier characteristics, but is this supposed to be an act of a party of ‘assassins’? Using such cheap tricks head-on and not resorting to sneak attacks would only spell death. You all know that better than a novice like me right?” I downright disparaged them while I dodge their attacks like its nothing, throwing my pen to a much safer direction and then teleporting there without known delays. Almost like Minato Namikaze at this moment, but not with a Kunai, and instead… a common world pen.

I never knew that darkness has this undeniably ardent speed in transportation. Well if light can do it, then there’s no way that darkness cannot and while there’s no such scientific ‘speed of darkness’, there is this fact, stating that ‘Dark Matters’ do have a speed of 54 meters per second… Not that genuine for an explanation, bet yeah… fair enough.