Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

"I think we both know that this is unreasonable," she said with a confident smile.

Her speech was sharp and concise, as expected from someone who was convinced to have the upper hand. As expected from someone with a class like Negotiator, Seth could feel the magic power in her voice wash over him, but it was in vain since he wore Laraweg. The bard responded in kind.

"No, we both know Delta is acting unreasonable. Demanding the return of our possession and the release of people you have unjustly detained, there is nothing unreasonable about this. This is our out attempt to reason with you."

Her eyes shook as the sharp speech of and other effects surged against her mental defenses. Small droplets of sweat appeared on her smooth forehead and her pale skin took on a slightly pink hue. She sighed

"I was sent to see what you wanted. But it is as they said, Minas Mar simply doesn't know their place. I know, you were a big thing but that is over. To think you are trying to pick a fight with Delta after you already lost."

This time Seth was truly confused. She was talking like everything was in a distant past and Delta had built up some kind of superpower when all they did was take a chance and act like a spoiled child for the past four weeks.

"You seem very confident. Is it because the little hero is standing out there?"

Seth had to admit that the Hero was a monster. Seeing him with the would have shocked Seth if it wasn't for Dragos. The Hero was not as strong or balanced, but his physical attributes were all somehow above 500. Although he didn't have as many skills, all of them were more impressive than those of the Heart Eater.

Still, Seth doubted Harker would be as much of a problem as Dragos posed.

"It's not just the Hero, we also have the Slavemancer and half a dozen Champions. Delta's Army consists of 100 players above lv.80 and several thousand more high-level players. In what world in a guild picking a fight with a whole district reasonable?" she spoke with glee, every one of her words oozing with poison.

It seemed like she expected her searing speech to be some kind of branding iron that would burn into his ego. In actuality, Seth could hardly hold back a laugh, when she proudly stated the power of Delta.

Minas Mar had returned with almost 400 people that would be counted as absolute elites among players. Taking the Chimeras they had left behind into account, they had close to 500 elites and close to lv.90. This was not including Seth's golems and Evee's undead that numbered in the thousands and were in no way weaker.

Most powers in Delta had been pooled in the guilds and their elites had been sent to the Holy Land. Even if Longbottom and his cronies had absorbed everything that was left, there was no way they could rival Minas Mar. Not even Chrona could stand in their way if they decided to get involved.

Seeing how even Delta's negotiator was full of herself and more interested in trying to intimidate them, instead of actually leading a negotiation, Seth couldn't help but smile. It would have been easier if things worked out this way, but he could say that he didn't want to vent a little.

"How about a little bet? I will send out someone to fight the hero. If my contestant loses, I release the hostages. If he wins, you fulfill my conditions. How about it?"

At first, her eyes were widened in surprise, but her expression quickly changed to a self-satisfied smile. Did she think something along the lines of him taking the bait?

"I agree! But we should make a magic contract so you can't retreat just because you don't like the outcome."

She seemed so happy with herself. Ordinarily, she had every reason to. There was no way for the Hero to lose to some other player in a fair duel. But who said he would send a player or play fair?

"Sure, but do you have the authority to sign a magic contract on behalf of Delta?"

"I have!" she said and pulled out a golden token. This was a magic item, created with the help of system skills. It could give someone the authority of a system faction's standing for the purpose of signing official documents. This was a necessary item, so big organizations couldn't use straw men to take on the punishments for broken contracts.

"Great. Mary, can you set up a simple magic contract for us?" he called Mary through the intercom and explained the contents. Not long later she came and they both signed the magic document with the system as the witness. When Seth first returned and heard of the things that happened in his absence, he had wanted to lash out, violently and brutally. Although he was sure that their current plans would cut whoever was behind it deeper, it would have been a lie to say that he wasn't happy about the chance to show off some power. "We will also need an objective judge. Hmm, how about Brock, from the Boulder Guild? Although you probably sneakily disbanded his guild while they were away, I'm sure he will judge fairly."

"What about the Slavemancer? He has a good character." she countered.

"Well, why not both? For the sake of fairness." "Alright."

"Let's go outside then and report our friend about his great luck," Seth said with a wide smile after they called their respective judges. He took the lead to step outside together

"I always knew you were up to no good, Seth!"

The blacksmith was greeted by the hero as they stepped outside.

"I don't want a dirty thing wearing items I made, stolen from my shop to talk to me. Listen to your master and do what you are told, like a good little doggy," Seth scoffed.

Harker was shocked at first, but his expression changed when the negotiator lady went over and explained their agreement to him. He gave her a determined nod.

"Are we doing this right here?" he asked Seth, brandishing one of the blacksmith's swords as if it wasn't stolen.

"Where else? Wolfram."

A knight in dull gray armor stepped forward. Nobody saw where he came from, even the hero was surprised by his sudden appearance. The gray knight silently brandished a shield and a staff, facing the hero.

The golem had once again grown during the fights in the Holy Land. The whole of the dark knight armor had turned a dull gray, the original color of the angels of the God of Chains. Seth was convinced that Wolfram had already surpassed the initial strength of the angel he once was.

"I will make this quick to prevent damage to the surroundings," the hero spouted.

"Ah, but before we begin."

With a snap from the blacksmith, the hero's armor suddenly unfastened and fell to the ground. The sword he so confidently brandished jumped out of his hand in an almost playful manner. Harker looked up at Seth with confusion and anger in his gaze.

"You didn't think I would allow you to use MY items in this fight, did you?"

The Hero grunted but did not try to pick up the fallen items. He also stopped the negotiator from protesting and simply equipped what seemed like his secondary set, made up of stuff from foreign sources or dungeon drops. He gave Seth the stink eye and stepped forward to face Wolfram.

"Let's repeat the rules one last time. This is not a duel to the death, losing conditions are either being incapable of keeping on fighting or giving up. Anything you want to add?" Brock asked the Slavemancer, Rich.

"Alright, then let the match officially- Begin!"

The hero charged in to attack, but the moment the match began the whole area was covered by a purple barrier centered around Wolfram. Entering the barrier, the speeding hero suddenly lost his momentum as all his skills were blocked.

"Don't hold back!" Seth cheered as Wolfram suddenly vanished and almost teleported behind Harker.

"Nothing personal, kid."

He stated and started thrashing the hero with the metal staff. Despite having his skills blocked, the hero managed to block and divert many of the strikes, despite Wolfram reaching a speed that left several phantoms during his attacks.

"hahaha! Your attacks are about as strong as a mosquito's!" the hero laughed, but Wolfram suddenly came to a halt, some distance away from him.

"You're already dead."

"What?"

From several places across the hero's body, wherever Wolfram had hit him, gray patches of metal quickly expanded. Ben Harker's body was rapidly transmuted into the same gray dull metal Wolfram was made of. " You must be joking!?"

He screamed his last words before finally turning into a silent statue with his face screaming to the sky as if questioning the injustice of the world.