Chapter 171: A World Of Illusions
Anna barely raised her hand to wave back, but right then, several of the other guys around her shot her devious glares, silently asking why the hell she was about to wave at this guy.
They all knew who Ethan was.
Anna was the only girl in their group, and the youngest member too. She looked around at the glares directed her way and quickly lowered her hand, her expression growing uncertain.
Harold took a step forward, positioning himself at the front of the group. His sharp eyes looked Ethan up and down with thinly veiled disdain.
Ethan stared back as he asked plainly, "Which one of you is Harold?"
The blonde-haired man looking at him said, "You’re speaking to him."
Ethan’s expression remained calm. "I trust I need no introduction. After all, you’ve been diverting my permits."
Harold continued staring with no change in expression, but Ethan continued without waiting for a response.
"I’m not going to ask if you did it. You being here is proof enough. Neither will I ask why. So I’m simply here to look you in the eye and tell you this." He paused, letting the words settle.
"You will stop engaging lowlifes to divert my permits, and you will stop involving yourself in my guild’s business. This is the only warning you get, Harold."
One of the men standing behind Harold snorted at that.
Then most of the others burst into laughter, including Harold, who couldn’t help the giggle that escaped him.
Ethan said nothing more. He was just about to turn away when Harold spoke again.
"Or what?"
Ethan stopped. He turned back to meet the grinning face of Harold, who spread both hands wide and added, "Or what, you fucking brat? In fact, I won’t deny it. Yes. I have been stopping your permits because you have no fucking business running a guild."
There was a brief pause before he continued, his tone growing sharper. "You think everyone doesn’t know you had something to do with the parliament suddenly letting business owners run guilds? Do you even know the impact that decision had on guilds?"
Harold took a step forward, his voice rising. "Now almost every business owner is setting up their own guilds to go into breaches and find raw materials. Do you know how much loss guilds are running at now? My squad has barely even been sent out to clear a breach because there aren’t enough anymore. Business owners are buying out every permit."
He pointed directly at Ethan. "Because one stupid rich brat thinks that with money, he can do whatever the fuck he wants."
There was another pause before Harold added, his grin returning, "If you think you can come and ruin business for us without consequences, then you’re terribly mistaken, kid."
He laughed a few more times before saying, "I will take it upon myself to be an obstacle. And until you cease guild business in this country, you will always have me to deal with."
"Yeah, tell him!" one of the other guys yelled from behind.
Some of the other men laughed. But Anna seemed quiet. She turned away, saying nothing. There was nothing she could do.
Harold then added with a widening grin, "Oh, and for your information, almost every guild in the city hates you. So the enemies you have in this city isn’t just me. It’s me, and everybody."
Ethan stared at Harold’s face with an expressionless look for a long moment.
Then he finally spoke in a flat and dismissive tone. "This..." He motioned his fingers around loosely at the group. "This is the number one guild?"
He let out a disappointed sigh.
"I’d spare you more words, but I reserve eloquence for equals."
He spat to the side, then turned away. "Not adults who are fools."
That comment enraged Harold so deeply that a scowl formed on his face.
Perhaps it was the fact that Ethan was younger than he was. Or perhaps it was that the brat had just reinforced the idea that he considered himself their better. Whichever one it was, it had ticked Harold off in the worst way.
He wanted to show this kid the brief reality of the outside world. That it wasn’t all about having money and connections.
He wanted to show him that out here, with guilds, big talk was backed up with action and strength.
Ethan had not walked far and was only halfway toward his car when suddenly a voice called out from behind him.
"Impale Dawn."
In that moment, Ethan stopped abruptly. His eyes went blank, and his expression froze.
It was as though the world had shifted. The colors drained from his vision, and everything around him turned into shades of black and white. It was a bare scene with no else or thing there but him.
Ethan, in this world of black and white, turned around. "What the—"
But in that moment, a massive nail manifested out of thin air and impaled through his torso from behind without warning.
Blood gushed from his mouth and he gasped, with his body jerking forward from the impact.
But that wasn’t all.
Both of his hands were suddenly impaled by enormous nails that tore through his palms, pinning them in place. Then his feet. Nails drove through them as well, locking him in position.
His eyes widened in shock and agony as pain surged through every part of his body. Blood poured from the wounds, staining the ground beneath him.
He had just been caught in a devastating illusion spell. One that messed with his perception and all five senses at once.
In the real world, Ethan was only standing upright, staring blankly into the air. But the parts of his body that were being impaled in the illusory world tensed and twitched in response to the phantom pain.
Bettie, who had been watching from the car, immediately noticed something was wrong.
"Shit," she muttered, her eyes widening. "Something’s wrong."
The men standing behind Harold laughed loudly, and Anna looked pained.
"No..." she whispered, taking a step forward as if trying to do something about it.
But Harold was already walking toward Ethan from behind, with a devious smirk on his face.
Bettie immediately stepped out of the vehicle and saw Ethan’s body reeling slightly in an almost stiff posture.
"Ethan..." she said in concerned voice.
Then she saw Harold approaching with that smirk still on his face, and she quickly stretched her hand toward him as a magic circle formed in front of her palm.
"Get away from him!" She yelled.
She was unsure what was happening, but she’d just watched their exchange long enough to know something wasn’t right.
Anna’s eyes widened when she saw Bettie as well.
Harold glanced at bettie and teased, "Aww, is this his girlfriend?"
He took another step forward.
But before he could take one more further, a bullet shot from a large distance away and struck the ground close to Harold’s feet as a warning.
The sound of the impact echoed through the street.
This was Joe, watching from a far distance through Katarina’s scope. Due to the bond connection between him and his summoner, he could also tell something had gone wrong.
Harold turned sharply toward where the bullet had come from, with a darkened expression.
Another shot rang out, this one even closer to his feet.
"Take another step," Joe muttered to himself as he watched through the scope. "I dare you."
One of the members of Harold’s squad then said quickly, "Let’s go, Harold. It’s a sniping Ranger."
This member of the squad was a Ranger as well, although of a lower talent level. But his enhanced vision had magnified enough to catch sight of something from a distance holding out a sniper rifle.
Harold grit his teeth as frustration built inside him.
But in that moment, where he was about to turn away...
Streaks of lightning suddenly passed through Ethan’s eyes. Eyes that had just taken on a reddish-amber hue of rage.
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A/N: Hi Guys! I’m in court today, so i can’t prepare bonuses quickly, but to compensate, I’ll post Chapters again in 12hrs, instead of 24