[Several seconds prior]
Arthur stood on the six-meter-tall wall that circled the entire capital, he thought it was a little too short to be a defensive wall and figured it was more for bordering the city off rather than for defense.
He also took note of the fact that there was no gate, at least not an officially made gate for people to enter and leave the slums as they pleased. While Central had three gates in total, the north, east, and west gates, there was no south gate.
"Thanks again for the directions, I appreciate it"
Arthur turned to the black clad figure that hid his face with a mask that showed only his eyes.
"Of course, Sir Bright, but know Duke Lionmane will ask for a favor in return"
Arthur silently nodded while also internally heaving a sigh, he unfortunately ended up owing a noble a favor, something Esme was completely against. With that said the figure quickly took their leave, leaping from building to building as he left, in a way that reminded Arthur of a ninja.
He felt a cold breeze brush against his face and took a breath before he turned to look below, his eyes finding a rather normal-looking building right next to the city wall, separated only by a meter of space.
He would be skeptical of whether or not this was the right place if the figure hadn't said his master was expecting Arthur to repay the favor. After all, why ask for a favor if the information you gave was faulty?
"Max effort"
With a slight crack of his neck, Arthur jumped. Leaping high into the air and then letting himself fall, rapidly gaining momentum before his body crashed through the roof, breaking through it like a missile.
His landing onto the floor shook the whole building, startling and surprising the men who had been leisurely guarding the house, some even falling off their chairs.
Without so much as waiting for a beat. Arthur lifted his leg and brought it down with the force of a boulder, creating another miniature earthquake
.
The wooden floors creaked and buckled under such immense power, allowing Arthur to break through and fall through the floor with relative ease. His form landed on the stone floor of the basement accompanied by falling wooden debris.
He would have landed right behind Henry if the man hadn't jumped out of the way.
"I'll have you return my Wife!"
The words came out of his mouth as calm instructions as his eyes settled on Bulat whose fat form was on top of the table with his arms stretched out towards Esme.
Everything had stopped as they all focused on his figure. Even Esme was shocked by his arrival and was momentarily stunned. Henry was the first to move, his experience as a Mercenary forcing him to act before anyone else could.
Stealth and sneak attacks were his specialty, the man held a plethora of items to make him undetectable to the average man or Mercenary.
His body blended into the surroundings before he launched himself at Arthur. Dagger in hand and aimed for the jugular. Unfortunately, the man was short, his arms had a shorter reach.
Arthur simply palmed his face and held it firm.
"Get better stealth items"
Instantly Henry's body froze, not out of shock but ice covered his entire body in the blink of an eye, turning him into a frozen statue that Arthur tossed to the side with callous disregard.
When the frozen man hit the ground, the arm that held out the dagger broke off and slid off to the wall.
"You okay?"
Were his first words to her as he walked over and helped her get up before breaking her free of the rope that bound her arms. The words were simple yet laced with genuine worry for his wife's safety.
Seeing him before her, Esme's eyes teared up, the sensation of relief hitting her like a charging bull. With her arms free she latched onto him, burying her face into his chest and muffled sounds of crying began to fill the room he could feel his shirt become wet with her tears.
He embraced her, comforting her, letting her feel his warmth and the safety of his arms. He didn't really know what to say so instead he focused his eyes on his enemy. Bulat still had the look of surprise on his face; however, as soon as Arthur's cold eyes settled on him, he quickly scrambled backwards, an attempt to get away.
"N–now Mr Bright, let's talk about this Ah Ah I simply wanted to negotiate with you"
Arthur had given him the same threatening look when they first met, the look of a predator looking at prey, a steel coldness that promised a quick and swift death. Cold chills ran through his body, like his blood had turned to ice, freezing him internally.
"What's good Wide load? Remember when I said I'd like to stay a slayer of monsters?"
He had said those words to Bulat as a half-serious threat however it seemed he'd have to follow through. Arthur was not above killing humans, he held no view concerning the sacredness of life.
"I-indeed, Ah... I'd like you to stay that way as well, believe me"
He begged however inwardly he immediately made attempts to calm himself, quelling his fear to appear more composed. It wasn't over just yet, the commotion Arthur had made should alert his men, who would storm into the room and start blasting.
Bulat had specifically given them orders to keep away from the location, so there wouldn't be a randomly heavily guarded house in the slums, which would make it obvious where he was hiding.
He also told his men to keep an eye out in case anything happened. All of them were armed with firearms
'Even an Explorer can't survive a hail of bullets and even if he could, his wife certainly won't'
Things hadn't gone completely off the rails just yet, he could still come out on top.
"Then why would you do something so stupid?"
Arthur's hand left Esme's body as he began pointing it at the fat pig before him. A highly concentrated blast of fire should be enough to cook him like the pig he is.
"Well you see–"
He never got to finish those words, his eyes were focused past Arthur and on the door anticipating the moment his men came in, and as fortune would have it, the door was flung open and his armed men entered the room, like soldiers ready for war. Their guns were already trained at Arthur's back ready to fire at Bulat's command.
"Well you see, you should have killed me when you got the chance"
He began where he left off, as a sneer revealed itself as he stood up and composed himself, his form regaining its vigor and confidence. The fear he felt vanished as the sneer turned into a toothy grin.
"Now the advantage is on me"
Bulat stood proudly, fixing his coat into place and giving the Explorer a smirk.
"I will not be bested by the likes of you, Explorer or not, no man who lets the whims of a woman direct his actions is my equal."
The loan shark continued, his words delivered with the confidence of a businessman certain of their victory. A woman's duty was to cook, clean, and nurture, they have no business in the matters of men.
Any man who gives them room to speak on matters that don't concern them is no man at all, he is but a boy still suckling on their mother's teat.
Arthur was unmoved, did not even turn his head to look behind him. Instead, he gave Esme a small tap to get her attention for a moment. Her sobs had stopped and become infrequent hiccups. When he tapped her she didn't look at him and instead hummed as a response.
"Close your eyes until I say "
He whispered to her ear and she followed his instructions without question.
"Hey! Look at me!! Do you understand your position? Ah–"
Bulat who did not appreciate being ignored screamed, trying to assert his authority and get the attention back on him however he never finished his sentence as Arthur swept Esme off her feet and tossed her in the air.
The woman screamed in surprise, her body hurtling towards the ceiling and grabbing the attention of everyone in the room, forcing their eyes to follow her ascent. With that split second given by the distraction, Arthur moved.
He focused his mana on the tips of his left index finger and middle finger, he spun around and shot bright flames out of his fingers like a laser.
The flames emitted by his finger lit the room in a bright orange hue as the flash of highly concentrated jets of fire came into existence, they radiated a scorching heat akin to a torch that would melt even the hardest of metals.
Bulat's men who had been distracted by the suddenness of Esme being launched in the air, found themselves feeling the searing pain of having their bodies split in two at the torso.
The flames pierced through their bodies and through the wall behind them, tracing a hot white line from one end of the wall to the other. They never got the chance to retaliate as the only thing they could do was feel their top halves drop to the floor like sacks of potatoes as life faded from their eyes.
In an instant, the walls closest to the exit were dyed red and where the bodies had fallen, a pool of blood began to form.
With relative ease, Arthur managed to not only get rid of the problem but also catch Esme with both his arms as he spun to face a stunned Bulat whose mouth hung open like an open drawer.
"You were saying?"
Bulat could not respond, the shock of what transpired was too great for him to form a single sentence