Chapter 14 Bad Omen

"Oh God. I'm famous," exclaimed Nico as he read the Eteria daily newspaper that Arfin had brought with him. His dorky face was prominently displayed on the front page, with a golden headline that read, "Storm Bringer Rises in Castle Aurora."

Even after flipping through the paper, his name continued to appear in various articles on the back pages. Some people were even arrested for resembling Nico's appearance. There were reports of fraudulent schemes under the guise of Storm Bringer, riots, and people stealing food from the market. Nico was truly taken aback; he had slept for three days, and the entire world he knew had changed completely.

But that wasn't all. Nico was astonished to see a video that had gone viral on the internet. He watched himself enveloped in pillars of light in the midst of a raging storm. Nico wondered who had posted the video on the internet. The comments below were full of people writing that it was just CGI.

"So Storm Bringer is a sword...," said Nico as he closed the newspaper and handed it back to Arfin. "A sword of madness?"

"More than madness," Arman spoke briefly. Arman then explained to Nico that Storm Bringer was a legendary sword that had been prophesied since ancient times. The prophecy had been used by parents as a bedtime story. The story told of a sword that appeared at the end of the time and signaled the coming of a total war and a series of destruction afterwards. Many people were afraid because it signified the end of the world. The sound of the prophecy was sung by Arfin behind him with enthusiasm, "When Storm Bringer is drawn from its throne, darkness will envelop the world, the final war of the age will break out, and the apocalypse soon arrive."

"Apocalypse?" Nico blinked in confusion. Suddenly hearing the word apocalypse made him a little scared.

"Yes, Nico. The apocalypse! I don't know what the apocalypse is, but it seems like something interesting," said Arfin.

"The apocalypse is the end of the world, fool!" Fergus shouted angrily at Arfin's stupidity.

"Doesn't that mean... bad?" Nico asked.

"Yes, it does. That's why there are so many riots in Eteria. Everyone is in a panic and starting to stock up on food in their homes," explained Arman. "But for normies, they still don't know about this issue."

"Are you sure the sword I pulled out is Storm Bringer?" asked Nico.

"It's definitely Storm Bringer. You didn't get to see it. I almost died. There were thousands of storms that appeared when you took out your sword," explained Arfin as he moved his hands around, simulating a rotating storm.

"Is that true?" asked Nico in amazement.

"I heard he cried in fear," said Fergus dismissively.

"You don't need to tell that," said Arfin irritably. "It was really scary at that time. I think crying isn't a bad thing."

"Where is my sword now? Why didn't I see it?" asked Nico.

"Master Sir Leon is carrying it now. You can pick it up later after he finishes attending the high-level meeting. They are still deciding what to do with your sword," answered Sir Arman.

"Master Sir Leon?" asked Nico. "Who is he?"

Madam Ephelia had been silent, watching the people in front of her babbling nonsensically. "What bothers me is, how were you able to take it?" she suddenly spoke up. "The legend of Storm Bringer can only be held by pure-blooded Eterian knights. Only conglomerates are worthy of it. But you are from East London. Who are your parents? Are they not normies?"

"I... Hm..." Nico tried to remember his past slowly, but he couldn't recall anything. "I don't know who my parents are."

"What?" everyone there was surprised.

"How could you not know your own parents?" said Fergus. "Are you really mentally retarded?"

"Were you born from a rock?" Arfin asked.

"When I found you, I also felt strange," Arman interjected. "At first, I thought you had an aura. But it turned out to be some kind of dark curse."

"What do you mean?" Ephelia was puzzled.

"There was black smoke following when I found him. I think that curse made him shunned by people."

"Wait, someone cursed you to be shunned. Was someone trying to hide you there?" Ephelia asked with confusion etched on her face.

"Could be. Florence is also the most remote city in Scotland. It's a good place to hide someone at the end of the world," said Arman, pondering for a moment.

"Hide me from what?" Nico asked, bewildered.

"Then why don't I see that curse on him now?" asked Ephelia.

"I cast my purification skill on Nico. Besides healing, my skill has the ability to remove all abnormalities in the body. Since then, his curse has disappeared." Arman explained.

"Yes. I think since then everyone started to get easy on me. I was immediately given clothes by the owner of the clothing shop. It had never happened in my life before. Usually, people just drove me away," said Nico.

"If only the curse were still there, I could take you to the elves magician. They can diagnose what curse it is and where it came from," said Ephelia.

"Wait, your old belongings might help. There may still be remnants of cursed auras imprinted on them," Arman spoke excitedly.

"That's right. That means you have to go back to your hometown," said Madam Ephelia.

"Florence?" Nico asked.

"It seems like there's a mystery about your origin. I will ask permission to search for your identity from the castle head. The British government must at least have your name on their census list."

"Good idea," Arman said.

"Bad idea," Fergus muttered. "That means I have to follow him to Florence."

"Okay then. See you all later." Madam Ephelia then left Nico's ward room, walking briskly.

"It seems that Madam Ephelia really cares about you. It's not like her to take the time to handle such an easy problem," said Arman, reflecting on her departure.

"Nah... she's just got nothing better to do. There haven't been any important missions lately besides the Black Dragon in Siberia, and Sir Kashan has already taken care of that," Fergus said with a mocking tone.

"Oh yeah. Nico, You're in West Castle now. You too," Arman addressed Arfin. "Both of you hurry and take your belongings from the East Castle."

"Me?" Arfin asked.

"You're lucky. Your sword is unique even though your destiny type is only a shooting knight," said Arman.

Fergus then stood up and got ready to leave. Nico was confused about why he bothered to be there with his big, fat body.

"Wait, what is he doing here?" Nico asked, puzzled by Fergus's presence. "You said he had to follow me home earlier?"

"That's right. Didn't you label him as a weakling before?" Arman teased, pretending not to know.

"I don't want to follow you, kid. Even if I get paid, I won't," he said, annoyed.

"The castle head ordered him to hide you from the public. He said your face needed to be changed," Arman explained. "Fergus and I were asked to protect you from the worst-case scenario."

"To be exact, I was punished. HE reported me to the castle head for making it difficult for you at portal-hub" Fergus grumbled.

"You only have yourself to blame for getting into trouble," Arman chuckled.