Chapter 434 The City Of...What?!



A month had passed since he initially arrived at Atlan to join the other reincarnators in their resistance against the elusive "Children of Chaos", coming with its own pluses and minuses.

Life in the Cerulean Keep felt normal now that it had become so lively; Sirius was much more affable than he initially seemed, almost to an annoying degree at times for Emilio.

"Like I was saying, the Guild Foundation is all a bunch of old farts who don't do anything themselves. I never had or will have respect for any of them–the only reason I'm even an adventurer is to fight strong monsters," Sirius said.

While speaking, the lightning-wielding reincarnator was lounging on Emilio's own bed, who himself was sitting at the desk in his room, trying to study a grimoire.

"...What does that have to do with why you don't want to go to Vasmoria? Bastian said he received intel of one of the Children of Chaos' high ranking members occupying a town there," Emilio asked.

Sirius sighed, sitting up, "Do I have to explain it, brother? I'm famous–like really, really famous with the girls around there. They'll hound me and try to get me to marry them–it's all a real hassle, you know!"

"...Sure. Really sounds like trouble," Emilio groaned, trying to get back to studying.

"That's why I'm saying you should come with me," Sirius offered with a smile, "I mean, with the two of us, it should be done in a jiffy."

"Who says 'jiffy' anymore?" Emilio muttered.

The Stormheart ignored his off-handed remark before jumping up, sitting on the bedside as he leaned towards Emili's dark-wood desk before snatching away the grimoire he was studying.

"Hey–" Emilio reacted.

"You won't learn anything useful in these anymore," Sirius told him, dangling the book up, "At your level, the only real way to grow is through battle–I'm not talking about turning a goblin here-and-there to ash, either. I mean a REAL battle, where your blood is pumping and your heart is thrashing against your chest."

"--" Emilio looked at him, annoyed before caving in with a sigh, "If you want me to go that badly, fine. I don't get it though–you're more than strong enough to get this mission done yourself."

Sirius smiled, feeling triumphant at convincing the annoyed Dragonheart as he tossed the grimoire book onto the desk before standing up with his black cape flowing behind him.

"Like I said, missions are a lot more fun with company–besides, I can show you around! You said this guy was in Desim, right? I'm kind of a local legend there, ya know," Sirius bashfully rubbed his upper lip.

"Really? What'd you do, zap a few goblins there?" Emilio sarcastically asked.

"Hah! No, I slayed a great dragon plaguing the town. It burned their crops, but I, Sirius Stormheart, defeated it with a single strike of lightning," Sirius proudly reminisced, "Also, they said that I'll have free drinks at the tavern there for life, so, bonus."

"...Wow," Emilio breathed out, throwing his cloak on, unimpressed.

It was an unplanned task, though it wasn't one he was entirely against, as he did value venturing out of the Cerulean Keep and back into the outside world when he could. Preparing for the mission to locate the member of the dangerous group stowing away in the Vasmorian town, he grabbed his sword and attached it to his belt while Sirius left his room to get ready as well.

"Are you heading out?"

As he glanced over, he found the silver-haired half-elf standing in the doorway to his room, who was carrying a few, heavy-looking grimoires herself.

'She's still studying hard. I told Celly a dozen times she didn't need to stay here, but she seems pretty dedicated to helping out with combating the Children of Chaos. It seems there's something of value here anyway–the old grimoires in the library. She's been reading them a lot,' Emilio thought.

"We're going to go kick his ass and beat some info out of him!" Sirius explained with a smirk and a thumbs-up.

Julius looked at Emilio for a second before holding a small smile and nodding, "Well, good luck. Stay safe and vigilant, but...I don't need to tell you that. You've surpassed me, Emilio."

"Hey, you've still got me beat in swordplay," Emilio playfully said, shrugging his shoulders.

"Only on a good day," Julius laughed.

Everett caught his breath before yelling as the two began to leave, "Get those bastards good, ya hear?!"

"Definitely," Emilio said.

"Easy as pie," Sirius smirked.

There was no need to wait for Bastian to set up the gateway for them as the man had already given one of the golden system-linked rings to Emilio to open the portal himself.

"Seraphheart," Emilio invoked, holding his hand up with the radiant ring around his index finger.

Golden sparks manifested before burning into the empty space in front of the Dragonheart, moving into a circular motion before the gateway was formed.

"Portals are pretty convenient, yeah?" Sirius said.

"Pretty much," Emilio agreed before stepping forward, "Let's go."

"Lead the way!" Sirius playfully said, following behind him.

Entering through the portal, he found himself standing on a field of verdant grass on some sort of small cliff, surrounded by lively trees.

Sirius entered behind him, ruffling his own hair after arriving through the portal, "Aaaa~and we're here: Desim!"

Past the cliff, in the near distance, the Vasmorian town was visible: a sizable and lively spot of civilization with tall, wood-built walls surrounding the community of small farms, houses, and shops.

"It looks like a pretty nice place," Emilio remarked, standing on the edge of the cliff as he scoped out the peaceful-seeming town.

"It is. May look like a quiet place right now, but trust me–at night, it gets pretty wild," Sirius told him with a small laugh, sliding down the cliff.

Emilio followed him, using his boots to slide down the side of the steep, but not tall cliff as his cloak fluttered behind him, "What do you mean?"

Reaching the end of the cliff, Sirius rolled his shoulders, looking towards the walls of Desim, "Well, there's a city nickname that the town has earned over the years."

"Yeah?" Emilio said, arriving beside him on the grassy plains that sat on the outskirts of the large, walled town.

Sirius smirked as he looked back at him, "They call it 'Party City'--or some like to call it the 'Haven of Booze and Dreams'--you know what that means, my brother?"

"...What?" Emilio hesitantly questioned with a raised eyebrow.

The eccentric Stormheart slung his arm around Emilio's shoulder, waving his hand towards the town before them as if painting a scene, "Tonight, we party! And tonight–you become a man!"

Emilio pushed away from Sirius with a confused look, "What the hell are you talking about–becoming a 'man'--I'm eighteen, you know."