Chapter 320: Win
Art and Vix didn’t come back for dinner that night. That didn’t come as too much of a surprise to Arwin — if only because Rodrick had told them that he highly doubted that the two would be back tonight.
He was confident that Art would take time to research if Rodrick had been lying about the threat to their father or not. When he determined that it was a real hit order and not made up, he would likely return to speak with the Menagerie in a few days.
That meant they had some time to get their eggs in a row and get back to their preparations for the Proving Grounds, which were growing closer with every passing day… even if the Secret Eye hadn’t actually been nice enough to tell anyone when the damned tournament would be taking place yet.
Even after Vix left, the air in the tavern was a little uneasy. Arwin and the rest of the Menagerie didn’t blame Rodrick for what he’d done at all. None of them were saints. There were times when one had to step into the shadows to keep the light shining — but tension didn’t evaporate from the air quite so quickly.
Everyone went off to busy themselves with something just to calm down from that night’s events. Lillia still had dinner to work on, Rodrick and Anna had more research to do, and Reya joined in with the imps to help with the dinner rush.
Arwin took the time to head back to the Infernal Armory. He had a lot of plans for the equipment he’d make for the Phoenix Circle and Olive, but it wasn’t the best time to start yet. That would be best saved for the morning.
Instead, Arwin’s gaze lingered on the inactive Soul Guardian that stood at the back of his forge. It needed its core — and it was more than just the armor. Verdant Inferno had asked for a core quite some time ago.
He’d still yet to figure out how to make one, but that was very quickly becoming one of his top priorities. The Mesh rewarded little as much as challenging oneself to the point that they discovered something new.
But, for that night, Arwin focused on the strange anti-magic swords that he’d gotten from Twelve. He was convinced they would be instrumental. There were a great many forms of magic that worked in more ways than he could count. All were dangerous and powerful.