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Chapter 623 Bring Doom

　　Arthur almost struck Juan's hand away, but he tried to hold back his emotions. It didn't serve well to make a scene here, as he was still on the run from Runera. It would be soon that the runic guards infiltrate the station and find out his destination.

　　It took a moment for Arthur to understand the reason for this respect. It was the robes of Jerano he was wearing and the badge he hung on his chest. Furthermore, between the two, Juan looked more suspicious.

　　"I did not do...!" shouted Juan as he let go of him. The knights reached out toward their mana sticks, looking at Juan suspiciously.

　　"How about you accompany us to avoid making a scene, sir?" said the knight while reaching out toward the panic-struck warrior. "We will verify your identity before sending you on your way."

　　"Identity?" muttered Arthur as he realized this. "Do you suspect some invaders have infiltrated the refugees?"

　　"We have orders to apprehend any suspicious individuals," replied the knight with a nod. "It seems you haven't been in Kera during the invasion, sir. It is better to return to the institution for your safety."

　　Jerano students were treated as explorers of the world and thus treated with respect and care. It was no exaggeration that the students were the same as nobles of every country, wielding higher authority than the local Temple.

　　"This man is a friend," said Arthur toward the knight before blocking him. "We apologize for causing a scene. But, unfortunately, the recent events have disturbed all of us."

　　"I understand," nodded the knight before saluting. "I apologize for intruding!"

　　After that, the knights left. Juan was looking pale as he breathed heavily. Arthur felt sorry for the traumatized soldier and decided it was best to leave the station with him for now.

　　"Are you... an Explorer?" asked Juan with shaking hands that he tried to hide under his robes. "Thank you for clearing up the confusion."

　　"Uh," exclaimed Arthur with surprise. After all, this man was as arrogant as a man could get before. He still remembers how Juan wanted to leave him to death in the sin dungeon. "No need to mention it. It was my fault for getting you apprehended in the first place. Do you have a place to live inside the capital?"

　　"I'm afraid not," said Juan while shaking his head. "It has been... too sudden for all of us. We barely managed to flee."

　　"Is... Kera destroyed?" asked Arthur while gulping. Juan looked blankly for a moment before he shook his head.

　　"Those armies were intelligent, and they attacked in an orderly fashion. However, the Temple and guilds didn't stand idle. It was a bitter fight. Small-time awakeners like us were allowed to leave because it was almost a massacre.

　　"You are a small-time awakener?" Arthur raised a brow at his words. I am from Kera, and I have seen you in Avarice Dungeon. "You were at the deme-rank at that time, which was a year ago!"

　　"...Avarice...!" gasped Juan as if he was looking for air. Then, he began to hyperventilate as if the air wasn't enough. Arthur watched the man fall to his knees as his eyeballs rolled back. Then, he fainted.

　　"...what the hell?" blinked Arthur as he crouched beside him, but the man was out cold. "Does he have PTSD from Avarice dungeon?"

　　The mere mention of that place made him collapse, so Arthur wondered what he had gone through. However, Juan has reassured him that the guilds and the Temple were still fighting for Kera, so his family should still be alive.

　　"I need to find another way to go there," muttered Arthur as he looked at the trembling Juan. "But I can't leave this man here. He should know more about what happened in Kera."

　　Arthur stared at the other sleeping beauty on his shoulder, whose face was still sound asleep despite the commotion. He would have to wake up the runemaster soon since he can't keep carrying her. However, for now, Arthur picked up Juan and threw him over his shoulder before marching out of the station.

　　***

　　The news channels were all about Kera, not sparing a single detail for the public. It was the first time an organized attack had been carried out, but none of the channels declared who was behind it.

　　Arthur was inside a hotel room that he had booked under Juan's name. The two of them were sleeping on the bed before him, and Arthur waved his finger to wake them up.

　　[Awake!]

　　"Avarice..."

　　"Oriole!"

　　The two of them woke up similarly while jumping upward from their sleep. His rune sent a jolt of electricity that forcibly woke them up.

　　"Where is this?" asked Maryam as she looked around. "Where am I?!"

　　"You are in Yalenia," answered Arthur. "I don't have time to explain everything, but we escape Runera, the two of us."

　　"Are you kidnapping me?" glared Maryam at him. Arthur shook his head before pulling a chair to sit.

　　"I did what Oriole asked me to do: to protect you. But, unfortunately, it seems he feels indebted to a brat like you."

　　"You are far younger than I am, bastard."

　　"Don't test me, runemaster. I am kind to those that are kind to me, and you don't want to see me turn unkind."

　　"...excuse me..." muttered Juan as he tried to sit up. "Am I being kidnapped...?"

　　"...I should have woken up one at a time, but it would take too much time. You collapsed in the station, so I brought you here. I need to hear what happened in Kera before I go there."

　　"You cannot go there, sir!" said Juan as he jumped on the bed. "Kera is not fighting against other humans but a calamity!"

　　"What?" frowned Maryam as she adjusted her clothes. "There is a calamity on Earth?"

　　"The Sins Dungeon, Avarice, turned out to be in the domain of a calamity. Nevertheless, we kept challenging it for so long, not knowing we were digging up our graves."

　　"Does that explain what happened to you?" asked Arthur as he leaned back. It had just occurred to him that his body was still healing and drained. However, he needed to go to Kera as soon as he learned what had happened.

　　"It does, but it was long before today. As you said, I was a famous awakener at that time, with enough arrogance to ruin a country. Even though I decided against challenging Avarice after a certain incident, its money was still bountiful."

　　Arthur smiled at the memory of him applying for a lethal job that paid $50 per hour. It was a lot for him, but money lost its value after Arthur gained fortunes from selling artifacts.

　　"Another incident happened, and it made me fall to lower floors than I intended. It was then that I met a certain monster... that looked like a human. Long story short that human or monster devoured my stats."

　　"...that is rubbish talk," interjected Maryam. "There is no way for a monster to devour stats."

　　"Everyone said that too when I told them. They thought I was faking my earlier strength through artifacts and potions, and the lie finally caught me."

　　"I believe you," said Arthur, making the awakener flinch. "But how is this related to the ongoing war in Kera?"

　　"The invasion began from Avarice itself, and the giant serpents appeared again. That serpent was thought to be the boss all along, but it turned out to be nothing but a puppy of another creature: a being that can devour stats and grow stronger."

　　Arthur was silent as he heard that. There was a certain memory that he saw when Jin stabbed him in the back, and it involved Jizo trusting a man enough to give him the power to devour stats. That rune was also the one that made Jizo a guardian, but Arthur realized that there was no such guardian in the ones he knew.

　　'Is there a story behind this?' pondered Arthur as he watched Juan tremble as he retold his story. 'Can that very same man... be a calamity?'

　　Arthur knew that dungeons were beyond the calamity gates of Alka. This meant that the Sin Dungeons were in the most dangerous spots right inside the calamity domains, which Juan had also told them about.

　　This means that whoever came out of this dungeon must be a calamity, but the description that Juan said didn't fit a calamity, but a man that Jizo trusted long ago.

　　"That same man that devoured my stats led the attack against Kera," said Juan. "And... will bring doom to this world."