CHAPTER 13: New Toys

Beijing

Konstantin's flat

Konstantin's flat was filled with tension as Lucian sat beside Rune, while Oriss faced them. Konstantin, a few meters away, leaned against a wall, simmering with anger.

Oriss glanced back at Konstantin, his voice filled with exasperation. "Konstantin, enough with these childish outbursts. What's done is done. We can't change the past."

A heavy silence settled upon them, shattered by Konstantin's explosive voice. "MY DAMN SISTER DIED BECAUSE OF YOUR FOOLISH AMBITIONS. SHE HELPED ALL OF YOU, KNOWING THAT YOUR PLANS WOULD ONLY DESTROY HER LIFE!"

Rune and Lucian remained silent, allowing the two to confront their emotions.

Slowly rising to his full towering height of over two meters, Oriss approached Konstantin. With each step, the room trembled, and Lucian found it difficult to maintain eye contact with Oriss without feeling a surge of anxiety.

"Listen here, kiddo. It was your fault she died. Not mine, not Atlas', but yours," Oriss whispered, his voice carrying weight.

Konstantin suddenly lashed out, throwing a punch at Oriss, but Oriss remained unmoved. Another punch followed, and another, launched by Konstantin at an incredible speed.

Observing Konstantin's relentless assault, Lucian wondered if he could defeat Konstantin. After a moment of contemplation, he concluded that it would be unlikely, except perhaps through a stealthy assassination.

When the flurry of punches ceased, Konstantin withdrew his hands and summoned two olive-green tentacles, aiming them at Oriss. One lashed for his head, while the other targeted his solar plexus.

Moments before the tentacles reached their target, Oriss caught both of them with immense strength, yanking Konstantin towards him. As Konstantin stumbled, Oriss seized his neck, hoisting him into the air.

"Stop this, Konstantin," Oriss commanded, but Konstantin spat in his face defiantly.

Unbeknownst to Lucian, Rune had risen from her seat, intervening in the escalating conflict.

"It's better for both of you to cease," Rune asserted with authority. "Oriss, as an ancient, behave accordingly."

"You kids these days have no idea how to behave," Oriss grumbled as he gently lowered Konstantin to the ground, retreating to the couch where he had been seated before the confrontation.

Konstantin retracted his tentacles and slumped into a chair.

Rune returned to her place beside Lucian, their bodies lightly touching. She clapped her hands, capturing everyone's attention.

"Oriss, you mentioned knowing the location of the temple," Rune addressed him.

The towering figure nodded in response. "The Black Hand will make their move tomorrow, and so should we. From what I gather, there will be two specialists present, with the possibility of an elite specialist joining later. Tomorrow, their objective is merely to secure the location."

"Lucian, I will accompany you. I possess a powerful ritualistic spell that will greatly aid you. And I want to test it" Oriss offered, the last sentence coming out as a whisper, locking his gaze with Lucian's.

Lucian only nodded in response to the giant's words.

Konstantin, holding a unlit cigarette in his mouth, reached for something on his shelf amidst the conversation, seemingly unaffected by his recent encounter with Oriss. He retrieved a long wooden box, which was around 160 centimetres long, taking a moment to light the cigarette before speaking.

"I regret to inform you, kiddo, but I broke your gun. The banshee was simply too powerful for your standard AR to handle. However, I want to make it up to you by offering something else. And by the way you still owe me for the Illusion Veil" Konstantin said, placing the wooden box on the table in front of Lucian and removing the black cloth that covered it.

As the cloth slid off, an intriguing aura permeated the room, reminiscent of the strange sensation Lucian experienced during Rune's transformation the day before.

"Open it already, what are you waiting for?" Konstantin urged, exhaling smoke from his mouth.

Lucian cautiously lifted the lid of the box, and a mysterious mist escaped, enveloping the room in an eerie silence where all sounds seemed to vanish.

Within the box, Lucian beheld a long glaive. The weapon was divided into two parts, with the lower half slightly longer than the upper half. It consisted of an obsidian black pole, atop which sat a single-edged, long blade.

"This is the Silent Death. It's Spiritbound, housing a powerful and superior banshee. It possesses three abilities and a single side effect. The abilities primarily serve an offensive purpose, making it quite useful," Konstantin explained with a sense of pride.

He continued, detailing the glaive's abilities. "The first ability is called [Hell's Song]. It allows you to instill fear in your enemies through your words. Singing a song can cause them to faint, but even a single scream can inflict fear upon them. The second ability is [Absolute Silence], which renders your enemies deaf and robs them of their ability to speak. I'm sure you understand the value of such a skill. Lastly, the third ability is a passive enchantment known as [Soul Rend]. It's one of the most terrifying aspects of this glaive. With every slash, you not only harm your opponent's body but also their very soul. You'll be able to drain a bit of their life force with each strike. The side effect is simple. Use it for too long without killing anyone and you will lose your ability to hear and speak" Konstantin concluded, his face beaming with satisfaction.

Lucian's gaze shifted to the glaive, his fingers delicately tracing the length of the pole, hesitating to remove it from the box without a suitable target in sight.

"And now for the worst part. Old man, I need his hand," Konstantin stated nonchalantly, directing his request at Oriss.

"Wait, what?" Lucian managed to utter before Oriss reached for his left arm and forcefully yanked it towards himself. The pull was so intense that Lucian's flesh tore at his shoulder, and his bones fractured where Oriss gripped. It was the first time Lucian had experienced such excruciating pain as his arm was literally torn from his shoulder. For a brief moment, the shock prevented him from feeling anything, but once the reality sank in, a scream erupted from his mouth.

Rune, who was still seated beside him, swiftly extended her hand to his shoulder, pressing her palms against the grievous wound. A peculiar green light emanated from her touch, calming Lucian's pain and easing his distress.

Meanwhile, Oriss flung the severed arm behind him, only for Konstantin to deftly catch it and retreat to another room. "Couldn't you have been more gentle?!" Rune hissed at Oriss, her hands still applying pressure to the wound. Oriss rolled his eyes. "He will experience far worse soon."

Their conversation abruptly ended, and Oriss closed his eyes while Rune focused on healing Lucian's wound. By the time Konstantin returned with the pale-blue arm in his hands, the bleeding had already ceased.

"I'm back," Konstantin announced, reentering the room. Rune glared at him. "Give it here." After receiving the arm, she skillfully reattached it to Lucian's shoulder, seamlessly reconnecting the severed limb.

Still reeling from the shock of recent events, Lucian observed his newly restored arm and cautiously flexed it. Strangely, it felt even better than before.

With Lucian done testing his arm, Konstantin resumed his explanation. "Congratulations, your hand is now an Instrument. It's called 'The Immortal Snake' and grants you one ability. Technically, there are at least three, but who cares. The ability is called [Snake's Embrace]. It bestows you with snakelike scales that harden your body enough to deflect bullets. It also provides resistance against temperature-based attacks, such as cold or fire. Additionally, it grants you the power of camouflage, rendering you invisible. When your enemies fear you, the scales become even tougher. However, be warned that if you remain invisible for too long, you might remain invisible forever."

"Alright," Lucian murmured, forming a fist and examining his hand.

Rune clapped her hands, drawing everyone's attention. "Konstantin and I will keep watch on the perimeter. Meanwhile, Lucian and Oriss will retrieve the divine weapon. It's a simple plan. Does everyone understand?"

The three of them nodded in agreement and rose to their feet. Oriss, Konstantin, and Rune made their way towards the front door, while Lucian struggled momentarily with the unwieldy wooden box. After a few moments, he located a simple black handle and gripped it firmly.

Now on the street, the four of them approached Oriss' car. The time had come to obtain the first divine weapon.