The Lone Wanderer
Chapter 311: Leaving the city

As soon as he finished carving the final rune on the chestguard, Percy put it on. Then, he pulled the second layer from his spatial seal, summoning it right on top of the first one, before fastening them together with some reinforced string.

Next, he pulled a third piece of his armour out, and then a fourth, getting used to summoning them directly on his body. Sadly, he still had to fasten them manually, as he couldn’t quite get the string to pop out in the shape of an intricate knot. Technically, it should be possible, but it wasn’t something he expected to master anytime soon.

‘Well, this will still save me a lot of time.’

Donning his armour had never been quicker. Like this, he wouldn’t have to always keep it on, but he wouldn’t have to spend ages preparing before each fight either. Happy with that, he then poured some mana into the self-repair enchantments to refresh the older components.

The Phantomscale Regalia had changed a little since Goldenfield town. Percy had leveraged everything he’d learned during his fight to further improve it. He’d made some minor adjustments to its shape, to make it more comfortable, and he’d also upgraded the enchantments again.

Now, all three layers possessed the same set of runes – a fusion of a preservation rune and a self-repair enchantment in the interior, and a fusion of the hardness, absorption and concealment runes on the exterior. They were merely pseudo-enchantments, meaning that they didn’t do anything new, but they were far more compact than before, allowing him to pack a lot more stuff onto each component.

In theory, he could have dropped some of the modularity now that he could get everything on a single layer. Still, he’d ultimately chosen to keep the armour as it was. Having more copies of the runes made their effects more potent.

Nodding in satisfaction, he then stored everything back to his seal with a single thought.

Then, he walked to the window. Pulling the curtain, he squinted as the dim light of the evening sun poured into the room. The rays were soft, barely illuminating the dingy furniture, but he’d spent the past few hours working in darkness. The lights in his room had stopped working earlier that day, so he’d had to rely on nothing but the teal glow of his own mana.

It had already been over three months since he delivered the elixirs to his familiar. Naturally, he’d already finished converting the rest of his stash into Aurora Dew some time ago. Since then, he’d spent his time reforging his armour and weapons, in preparation for their mission.

And it was finally time for it.

Waiting a few more minutes for the sun to fully set, Percy left his room. He approached the innkeeper who was sitting lazily by the reception. He was an old man with snow white hair, a Yellow core pulsing in his chest. Percy handed him a small pouch filled with coins. The last handful he owed the man, along with a small tip. Not that he deserved this – this place was downright atrocious – but Percy felt bad about him.

“Leaving?” the innkeeper asked.

Percy nodded.

“I’m going to miss the smell of your brews.” the innkeeper said, a melancholic smile finding its way onto his face. Though it did turn a little brighter as he weighed the pouch, realizing he’d been overpaid.

But Percy didn’t pay him much attention, already exiting the building.

“Don’t forget to recommend us to your friends!” he heard the old man shout.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

He rolled his eyes. Even if he returned to Twilight City at some point, he’d rather try out his luck elsewhere.

‘All this nonsense we had to endure because of Clarity…’

Despite everything they’d done to hide their identities, Percy had spent the past few months living partially in fear of the other shoe dropping. It wasn’t just because of her either. Both he and his companions had made several mistakes. Not to mention that the whole thing was inherently risky to begin with.

He was confident that the only reason they’d made it this far undetected had been the poorly drawn posters of him and Nesha. They barely looked like them, even without their flimsy disguises. He guessed they’d been dictated by their fellow Guild members. People they barely knew, who hadn’t seen them in years.

‘Well, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We won’t be completely safe until we’re out of the city.’

After that, it would be the hard part of the plan. Sneaking past the Divine Root… infiltrating a temporal Decree… surviving in there for over a decade while surrounded by hundreds of Green beasts and without being spotted by Acton and his men… growing strong enough to kill a bunch of Blues… and rescuing Micky.

He sighed.

Turning southeast, he headed towards the 72nd district. His companions were probably already there, waiting for him near the east gate. They’d briefly discussed their plan – they’d exit through there, circling around both the city and the Valley in a wide arc, before entering the Decree from the north side. Though Percy wasn’t too clear on the details. Nesha would have to bring him up to speed later.

The place was only six districts away, so it didn’t take him long to get there. Sure enough, the others had arrived before him, but they didn’t make it too obvious. Nesha subtly followed him out of the gate, walking a few dozen metres behind him. As for Elaine, they found her outside, waiting for them about a mile down the road. Only once they were sure nobody else was nearby did they dare to regroup.

Percy scanned his companions up and down, his heart clenching at what lay ahead. Things were about to get really dangerous. They’d have to break over a dozen laws, culminating in the murder of a Holy Child. Suffice to say, that was about the greatest taboo a mortal on Remior could possibly break, far eclipsing all their other crimes.

‘But the little shit has it coming.’

Sadly, the gods wouldn’t care whether Acton deserved to be killed. Previously, they’d taken a hands-off approach to him and Nesha. They’d sat back, waiting for their lackeys to handle the situation. It was entirely possible they’d get more involved after this.

Or maybe not. It was hard to tell. If these people were anything like Acton himself, there was no telling what they might do…

“Are you guys sure you want to go through with this? I can’t promise any of us will survive.”

Percy knew he couldn’t rescue Micky on his own, but he wouldn’t force them to throw their lives away.

“Depends.” Elaine shrugged.

“On what?”

“Have you thought of a safer way to rescue him?”

Percy smiled bitterly. He’d obviously considered all the alternatives by now. Nothing else sounded even remotely feasible. He’d thought of sending another clone to Micky and using his seal to smuggle him out of the Valley. Sadly, he couldn’t place living animals in it. From what Metatron had explained, it was standard practice for spatial devices to be sterile, to better preserve their contents.

Had it been just that, Percy could have returned to the Vault to commission a different one from the titan. But there was another problem. Apparently, the same enchantment that allowed his seal to interact with his soul prevented it from storing other souls. This was a compromise Metatron had been forced to make while designing it.

Another option had been to possess Micky again, having the clone take over his body, and flying away while Acton slept. This would buy them some time, but Percy knew the Holy Child would chase them down sooner or later. He’d managed to track Micky even before he enslaved him, so Percy was under no delusion they’d ever escape his range. If Acton’s connection to the crow worked anything like his own cord, it would easily stretch to the ends of Remior and beyond.

If they ran away now, they’d be giving up on their single best chance at surpassing and defeating the Holy Child.

“No. Entering the Valley is our only shot.” he said, his voice tinged with grim certainty.

“Then, I’m sure.” Elaine said, not a hint of hesitation in her gaze.

“I’m honestly more worried that I’ll hold you two back…” Nesha pitched in. “But I’m not giving up on Micky either. Not a chance.”

Percy tossed them another appraising look, once again reminded of how lucky he’d been to have them in his life. Elaine had been this confident bundle of joy and optimism since they were kids, but he’d struck gold with Nesha too.

“Alright. Let’s go kill the little psycho...” he said.

Then, he scratched his head.

“…like… fifteen years from now.”