The Arcane Guardians Chapter 48: Chapter 44: Cracking Point

Read chapter 48 of The Arcane Guardians by Mercynarie on NovelPedia.

Fun Fact: Due to the inaccessibility of knowledge, technomagick tools are poorly distributed around the world. There are many places where technomagick is practically non-existent. As such, they stick to their primitive way of life and have barely advanced past horseback warfare. International aid has been extended to these civilisations, but they have refused to change their way of life. ~ ~ ~ A figure crept up onto the ceiling, almost invisible in the dim lighting of the long corridor. The building itself was made of cold, mouldy bricks, topped by two side-by-side slanting roofs. It sat in the middle of a wide basin in the ground, with overgrown roads leading up to both ends. Once, it would’ve been the town’s main source of meat, supplying almost all its food throughout the year. But it had long since been abandoned, which made it an ideal location to house a group of kidnapped children. Gaius moved further up the wall, carried by tiny strings of orange energy that kept his body stuck to any surface he desired. It must’ve reminded his targets of a centipede, because that had been his nickname ever since he started breaking into their bases and freeing the captive children. Not like he minded. Disgusting as that name was, it still felt good to strike fear in those lowlife criminals. “Aren’t you curious?” Gaius remained motionless, listening in as the two people chatted right below him, completely oblivious to his presence. “About what?” “Y’know… the Centipede . I swear, that guy isn’t human. What if he comes for us next?” “Sheesh. Since when were you so chicken? The Centipede is nothing but a tale cooked up by those villagers to scare us away from them. That’s the oldest trick in the book.” “Yeah? If he’s not real, then why have the rest of our bases gone dark?” “Okay, okay. So, some Meta vigilante thinks he can mess with us. Big deal. This is our strongest hold. And I’m betting that guy ain’t no one-man-army. I’d like to see him take all of us out. Centipede, my ass. I’ll crush that bug beneath my heel.” “Don’t jinx us, man— Ack! ” An orange tendril wrapped around their necks without warning and yanked both men to the ceiling. They barely had time to scream before their heads were smashed together, knocking both of them out at the same time. Gaius let go of his victims before dropping to the ground as well. He landed beside their unconscious bodies as a deep growl escaped his throat. A faint orange glowed from under his skin, and his magic flooded his body for the umpteenth time. He was losing patience; it had already been a few days since he started hunting down these kidnappers. All that was left to do was to release the remaining children from this base, and everyone would be safe and happy. Gaius stared at the metal doors in front of him. There was only one way forward, and the energy within him already showed him the crowd of people loitering behind the doors. Of course, he could take it slow and pick them off one by one. But why should he? After all, his magic had evolved to a much stronger version of itself over these days. He was practically a one-man army now. Gaius didn’t know what triggered the change, nor did he care. All that mattered was that he was finally strong enough to be a hero. Strong enough to take on any enemy. And besides, he wanted them to fight back. The metal doors burst open with a deafening clang, along with several energy tendrils snaking into the hall. Gaius landed in front of the stunned crowd, orange Arcani writhing around his body. He released a beastly roar at them. “O— Oh shit, it’s the Centipede!” someone yelled. “Everyone, power up!” Gaius snarled, flinging her across the room with a single energy punch. There was an audible crack as the poor woman slammed headfirst into the wall. She dropped to the ground, blood and brain matter leaking from her orifices. “Where are the children?” the Centipede roared. “ Where are they?! ” Energy projectiles flashed, and arrows whizzed in the air. They