Tale of Discovery

Chapter 182: Emotions ; Faule Mette

Joseph and I both look into one another's eye without either of us making any movements.

I had been suspecting him of having set up a trap from the moment I entered the castle, but, I have yet to encounter such a thing.

Well, I've had enough of waiting around, so I will just finish him off in one go.

Taking in a deep breath, I activate Time-Stop.

As expected, everyone immediately freezes in place.

I then make haste in killing all three of the knights by directly chopping their heads off before attempting to do the same to Joseph.

However, something unexpected occurs, forcing me to retreat a few steps back.

The strange energy in Joseph's body seems to be unaffected by Time-Stop, as it continued to move and even 'sensed' my arm while it was approaching Joseph's neck.

Thus, not willing to risk my body, I decided to retreat for now.

Soon, the Time-Stop deactivates.

Joseph for once shows a change in expression as he gets a little startled by the abrupt death of the three knights.

"What did you do?" he asks.

"Why should I tell you?" I respond before preparing to rush toward him.

Realizing my intentions, Joseph gets into a defensive stance, prepared for any sudden assaults that I might make.

I directly utilize Blink to appear in front of him and use my left arm to throw punch coated with Destruction at his face, while amplifying the force.

The energy around Joseph attempts to move into my arm, but the Destruction obliterates it before it can do so.

As a result, my punch directly contacts Joseph's face, launching him off his feet.

His body soars through the giant room before inevitably crashing into the wall with enough force to form a crater on it.

Seeing him cough out blood before weakly falling to the ground, my expression turns strange as I say,

"I expected you to be stronger than this. Much stronger."

Looks like not all Unknowns are ridiculously powerful like Gula and Ophis.

Now that I think about it, Joseph mentioned something regarding memories. Does that mean that he wasn't always an Unknown?

As these thoughts cross my mind, I notice that my sight seems to be getting hazy as a feeling of drowsiness overcomes my mind.

What's going on?

{WARNING: Mental interference detected.}

Seriously? How do I deal with it?

{Activate Berserk.}

Berserk, huh? Then, I suppose I will make use of one that is still in the First State.

As I focus on the energy within my body, a surge of adrenaline rushes through my body as my drowsiness gets washed away, while my senses are enhanced.

{Berserk: Tormentor activated.}

Huh? It doesn't seem like my thoughts are being affected in any way. Have I finally become able to remain clear-headed in this state?

Deciding that this is worth looking into at a later interval, I shift my focus back to Joseph who is now frowning while glaring at me.

"You see, Joseph," I say while approaching him, "I believe that you deserve some pain in return for all the trouble you've been causing me.

"Don't you think so, too?"

Hearing my words, Joseph seems to realize something as his eye widen before he says,

"How?"

"Hm?"

"How are you still standing?"

"Oh! Are you surprised that whatever that power you used on me didn't work?"

As a response to my words, Joseph remains silent while still glaring at me.

Now, how should I torture this man that seems to lack most, if not all, emotions?

"Dad!" the voice of a girl suddenly reaches my ears, causing both Joseph and me to shift our attention toward the source of the voice.

There, standing in the middle of the room is a blue-haired girl that seems to be 18 years old.

Her expression is that of horror and trepidation as she glances at the mutilated bodies in the room before looking at me.

Beaming her a smile, I turn my head to look at Joseph before asking,

"So, you have a daughter, huh?"

Before Joseph can say anything as a response, I turn my head back to face the girl and mutter,

"Let's see if you really feel nothing"

---3rd POV---

"None of these guys are in a state that requires your powers," Irene says while looking into Siesta's anxious eyes.

"No!" Siesta responds while shaking her head in denial, "There must be something that I can do!"

"There are a lot of things that you can do," Irene says, "However, fighting in this battle is not one of them."

Siesta opens her mouth to say something in return, but before the words can leave her lips, a loud cry resounds within the two girls' ears.

Looking over at where the cry originated from, they witness Yuno as she uses a Sigillum to burn three soldiers to ashes.

Yuno spots the two of them as she walks over with a bright smile on her face before asking,

"What are you doing here? Aren't you going to join them in the fight."

Seeing her point at where the soldiers are fighting against one another, Irene says,

"Father appointed me as her guardian."

"And?"

"She doesn't have many offensive capabilities," Irene continues.

As if having heard a funny joke, Yuno begins to laugh before stopping a dozen or so seconds later and saying,

"Your Code. It's Seraphiel, isn't it?"

As a response to her inquiry, Siesta says,

"I don't know. Master never told me what my new powers are."

Hearing this, Yuno giggles a little as she says,

"Victor has always been like this. Ignoring the most basic parts and immediately moving on to the more complex applications."

Not understanding her words, Siesta tilts her head with a confused expression on her face, while Irene nods and says,

"You are right regarding the part about Father, as well as, her Code being Seraphiel."

"As I thought," Yuno said, "You really are Sera."

"Huh?"

"Don't mind that. It's just what you used to be called in the past."

"What are you talking about?" Siesta says, more confused than ever.

"You will find that out soon," Yuno responds with a small grin on her lips.

"Forget that," Yuno says while as a glint of light appears in her eyes, "Let me tell you something interesting"

--

"What are these monsters" a soldier belonging to the Kingdom of Gallia says while looking at their enemies easily overwhelming their side through the usage of seemingly cursed powers.

"We stand no chance against them unless the general brings 'that' out," another one says.

With similar conversations being held among the soldiers assigned as the final line of protection, the general in charge, known as Aldrich, begins to deliberate on something.

After a while, he looks up with a serious look in his eyes as he mutters,

"This is going to be the end, either way."

Then, he pulls his sword out of the sheath attached to his hip and raising it before exclaiming,

"For the honor of our kingdom and forefathers, we shall win this battle. Bring forth the Faule Mette!"

As if they've been waiting for this moment, a small group of soldiers leaves their position and head inside a rather strange-looking house.

A few minutes later, the house breaks down, revealing a large cannon with a rather wide diameter.

Near the cannon, numerous gems have been stuck together to form a giant 'cannonballs'.

"Get in position!" Aldrich bellows.

Hearing this, the soldiers split into groups of two, forming a line in the middle for the cannon to shoot it's shot.

--

Yuno has been speaking to Siesta for the past few minutes notices that something is off as she begins to look around with a serious expression.

Seeing this, Siesta also begins to examine their surroundings, searching for anything that might've made Yuno act like this.

Soon, Siesta notices something worth of suspicion - the men who were orderly standing in the distance have now split into two groups.

"Look, over there!" she says hurriedly while pointing at them.

Yuno quickly looks over at where she pointed before her eyes widen as she raises her arm to form a Sigillum.

Alas, before she can do that, a loud sound resounds as a giant projectile is launched and strikes where most men are.

The next moment, a strange phenomenon occurs at the location where the projectile struck, dragging everything nearby toward itself through an unperceivable force, before exploding colorfully.

With all of this happening in less than three seconds, Yuno is unable to complete her Sigillum as dozens of gems are launched in their direction at a speed exceeding sound itself.