Chapter 63: Even.

The Anima energy inside him had recovered, and he felt better even after what he had been through. He lost an eye and his ears, so he hid his head in a cloak that Aria gave him. He also realized the familiar energy around him until Arnel mentioned something about the 1st floor that had been cursed.

"Drink this..." Artika offered a vial with purple liquid inside. "A single drop would make you immune to the curse, so share it with everyone. If it ran out, I still have a few of them," she added.

"I'm good..." Rigel shook his head because he didn't want to take an unknown object into his body. He didn't want to be in debt to them more than what he already had. "I'll manage," he slowly stood up, but he could barely balance his body.

"He won't be affected by the curse since he has Stryg's power within him. The curse is nothing to him," Nyctri mentioned as she looked at Rigel.

Rigel looked at Nyctri in her fit black dress with a short skirt standing next to Artika. He didn't know who she was, but he could tell she was strong and believed she was the strongest compared to everyone around him even Madam. He didn't know anything and he had so many questions to ask.

Aria and Arnel explained what happened to the city, and who was their opponent that caused the whole mess. Rigel when he heard they were fighting one of the Executives, he realized how weak he was and how the power gap was too far that it almost made him feel inferior.

Rigel looked at Artika who looked young, and yet she possessed something that even Arnel and Aria couldn't reach. He understood why they called Artika a Lady, someone that they respected. He wondered if Artivara was also the strongest compared to the other 6 children if Artika's mother, Asarti could single-handedly curse the whole land and make an Executive run away and get affected by the curse.

Another thing was Nyctri, an entity of all evil, something that didn't sound right. Seeing how Nyctri followed Artika around meant Artika, Asarti, or Artivara summoned her to this world. With that being said, a Witch would be the strongest race of them all because they could speak to the dead, bring the dead, possess a strong familiar, and lastly, they could shapeshift.

"What's our next plan, My Lady?" Arnel asked Artika. "They won't stay quiet after they find out what happened," he pointed out.

"We can go back to our base. Rigel can handle himself," Artika looked at Rigel with a cold and serious expression. "We have spilled too much blood, and we have poked the lion's tail. It's time for us to gather our forces because this is the declaration of war," she explained as she walked away.

Rigel was surprised that Artika didn't try to persuade him to join the Resistance. He thought he would be bound to her because she saved his life.

"You don't owe me anything, or do I owe you something," Artika stopped and turned around to look at Rigel. "The reason why I went this far is because you're the prophesied one. I would rather lose my arms and legs rather than have you join their side," she continued and stared Rigel in the eye.

"I'm not trying to gain a favor from you, nor do I want you to see us from a different light. I'm doing this because it's the best for both of us. Goodbye, Rigel," Artika said and continued her way to the tower.

When they all walked toward the tower, Artika felt a hand on her right shoulder. She was being pulled gently by Rigel which made her turn around to look at him. She was about to open her mouth, but suddenly Rigel grabbed the chain necklace that she wore.

Rigel clenched his fist and crushed the chain necklace that she wore until it shattered and fell off her neck. Everyone who saw it was deeply shocked, even Artika's eyes were wide open when she looked at the chain hitting the ground.

"Even if you say so, I hate to be indebted..." Rigel stared Artika in the eyes. "Now we are even, and everything is settled," he added.

When Rigel left the forest, he saw the town was being rebuilt, but something was off about it. He saw Players standing outside the town, looking at people with chains on their necks in their ragged clothes. It was the first time he saw it with his own eye about Non-Players becoming slaves.

"Hurry up and bring those rocks!" A man whipped a woman in the back and ripped her skin off. "You're not getting any food or water if you don't meet your quota," he added and whipped the air, inflicting fear on all the slaves who tried to rebuild the town.

Not all the Players were that heartless to treat the slaves, some were treating them like human beings. But that didn't change the fact that they were forcing those slaves to carry things that were beyond their strength.

Rigel looked at the Players chilling on the carriages and wagons filled with materials. He saw them laughing and enjoying their time while keeping observing the slaves to not slack off. He decided to approach them in that black cloak that hid his face and appearance.

"Stop right there..." A man jumped down from the wagon and looked at Rigel. "Put down that cloak and show your face," he ordered.

All his 6 friends stood behind the man and looked at Rigel with suspicion. Suddenly, they all collapsed and couldn't move their bodies as their eyes kept glaring at Rigel. They looked at the other Players, but none of them noticed what had happened to them since their wagons and carriages were on the far back from the town.

Rigel dragged them all into the forest unnoticed and threw them into the trees. He looked at each one of them, thinking about which armor looked the best on him and fit on his body. When he found it, he put his hand on the man's face, crushing it like squeezing a tomato. The others watched as it happened, but none of them could open their mouths.

He looked at the weapons they had on their waists. He took the belt with 2 daggers on it, 2 swords, and lastly, he took an axe like a tomahawk. He put everything on his body and the cloak underneath the armor to keep hiding his face. He looked at the dead bodies and simply stared at them until their bodies sunk into the ground and got buried deep inside.

He came back to check on the rest of the Players, and he kept hearing those whipping sounds. He looked at the man who enjoyed whipping the slaves, and when the man tried to whip a slave who was working, he took the end of the whip with his right hand.

The man and all the Players were surprised that a suspicious man stopped him from whipping the slaves. When he tried to pull the whip, it didn't budge and he couldn't get it back from Rigel's hand.

Rigel flicked his hand and it was enough to take the whip completely off the man's hand. He held the handle of the whip and swung it at the man's neck, wrapping the whip and suffocating the man. He whipped the whip and the force was enough to snap the man's head, killing him instantly, and the moment he pulled the whip back, the man's head flew high into the air with blood spurting out from the man's body and neck.

All the Players were shocked, but then some of them decided to raise their weapons at Rigel. They didn't care who he was or how strong he was since there were a lot of them and he was alone.

A mage Player cast a fire in his hand, but suddenly the fire dissipated. He wasn't the only one who couldn't cast their magic because they didn't know the Mana around them had disappeared. They realized their status screens showed their Mana was reduced to 0. Players were so used to the System's assistance that they didn't know how the real world worked.

Rigel snapped his fingers as he watched the flow of Mana wrap around all the Players. The Mana turned into tiny fireballs and he exploded them right around their necks, exploding their heads into pieces in an instant.

"What have you done?!" A slave looked at Rigel with a terrified look on his face.