Chapter 437 Through The Hideout



"He's not here," Emilio noted.

"Seems like he was aware of us, after all," Sirius smirked, "It doesn't matter. They can run all they like–there isn't a thing in this world I can't catch."

Magenta electricity sparked around Sirius' body as his sights were set on the double, red doors at the back of the room. By the stance that Sirius took, spreading his arms out and lowering himself, it was clear he was preparing to travel quickly.

"Hey–" Emilio reached out.

FWOOM

"Keep up if you can!" Sirius yelled out.

Like a bolt of lightning zipping through the area, the air cracked and the double doors slammed open as Sirius disappeared in an instant.

A frustrated breath left Emilio's lips as his companion bolted off without him, muttering to himself, "...What's with this guy? Can't he do anything the normal way, just one time? It's a pain in the ass."

Following where his partner went, he stepped through the slammed-open doors that led to a wide corridor, stepping over the broken door that had landed on one of the men.

"Uuegh...!" The unconscious mercenary under the broken door winced after being crossed over by the Dragonheart.

'Keep up, huh? Guess I oughta,' Emilio thought.

Surrounding himself in dense, potent wind, he amplified it further with a spell woven through his own master of the natural element, engulfing himself in the verdant wind before invoking the spell: "Gone With The Wind."

Surrounded in the mystical air, he burst forward with the wind upon his back, blessing him with its weightless swiftness as he traversed the corridor with speed.

"Hyaaaah!"

"--!"

Stopping himself mid-dash and flipping back, something crashed down right where he was initially passing through. As he landed on his feet, he looked in front of him to find a figure that had dropped down from the ceiling: a four-armed, quadra-wielding man with dark-red skin and pitch-black eyes.

'Huh...? Just what is this guy?' He questioned.

The unknown, four-armed giant lifted one of its weapons from the shattered, tile flooring–a black-and-bronze war axe.

"The lightning man passed by before I could stop him, but you will not get past me," the red-skinned giant spoke with a serious expression, possessing a deep, bellowing voice, "Be honored to die by the hand of Higan, the mightiest of the Four-Armed Clan!"

'A bit on the nose,' Emilio thought.

"Maximus brought out the big guns, did he?" Emilio muttered, facing off against the multi-armed figure before him, raising his sword.

It seemed that the level of mercenaries was underestimated, as he could sense that the unique figure before him was strong: "Higan" wore gold jewelry on his body, having piercings on his nose and mouth, with golden chains on his face and a long, silver braid flowing down his back.

"No, can't say I do," Emilio answered.

"Your eyes do not deceive you. I have been through thousands of battles, and yet my flesh has not given to any warrior's blade," Higan flexed his entire body, "I am Higan, The Unbreakable–and I have endured that name for over a century now! Come, try to put an end to that name, young warrior!"

It was definitely unexpected for him to find such a straightforward, battle-bound warrior of a distant land in the Vasmorian town, though the unexpected was to be expected when dealing with the nefarious organization.

'...Half-assing it won't get me through this guy. I guess I'll need to turn it up a notch,' Emilio decided.

"You want a 'worthy fight'? Just stand there a second, then," Emilio offered, breathing in-and-out as he stoked the internal flame within him.

Higan looked intrigued, folding his arms over his chest, "Do what you must. I will only face you at your strongest."

The Dragonheart summoned azure scales over his body, armoring himself completely as azure flames were breathed out from his mouth before his face was covered as well.

[Dragonheart System Activated]

[Current Stage: 3/10 | Dragon Warrior]

"Magic? This land holds extraordinary beings–I will fight you, human warrior," Higan decided, unfolding his arms and wielding his gigantic weapons.

"The name's Emilio," he corrected the giant, "Let's make this quick."

–

Zipping through the surprisingly lengthy and confusing layout of the secret hideout, Sirius blitzed through the halls, passing by mercenaries stationed without it.

"Hey, stop right the–!"

Before the hired warriors could even properly get their warnings out, the man of magenta lightning sped by, leaving behind electric shocks for the slow fighters.

"Heh," Sirius chuckled as he passed by, leaving a trail of unconscious mercenaries throughout the halls.

'This place is a lot bigger than expected. It seems like our target is quite the big spender,' Sirius thought.

Without much worry and doing his own thing, Sirius dashed forth as his eyes were locked on a set of doors before bolting forward, kicking through them with a dramatic entrance.

"Comin' through!" Sirius announced, sliding across the gray tiles beyond the door before coming to a stop.

As he looked around, he found himself in what seemed to be the heart of the hideout; mercenaries were standing in plentiful numbers, and a dual set of staircases led up to an exuberant second floor.

"Who the hell are ya?"

"Looking to die, punk?"

"Get him!"

"Fuckin' nosy adventurer!"

–All at once, the hardened mercenaries picked up their weapons and surrounded Sirius, though the magenta-eyed man looked less than worried–in fact, he looked quite excited. There were a few dozen, at least; each of them dressed in rough, leather armor or mixed assortments of steel, wielding unrefined weapons.

"Come on, then. All at once? Sure thing. Just don't blame me if I play a bit rough," Sirius playfully said as electricity began to wrap around his arms.