Arthur tried to process what the text in front of him even meant. It did reflect what was on his mind, but he wasn’t sure how it knew that. Something to do with the parasite? Where in the body was it anyway? As a science teacher, there were some things that he just could not ignore.

  At the same time, he also could not ignore the knight in armor standing at his door.

  “Well, either way, I surmise that you are Arthur Cross, too.” The knight said, pushing past Arthur and entering the house like it was his own, “Now, where is Celia? Tell me. Where will I find my queen?”

  “Celia? Excuse me?”

  Arthur closed the door and put a hand on the metal-clad shoulder of the man. He scoffed and shoved the hand aside before starting to walk around the house. He looked at the couch, pressed on the foam with his leg, and laughed. Then, he made his way to the television and gave it a few taps with his gauntlets.

  “You’re going to scratch it. Could you please stop that? Wh-who are you!?”

  He had had enough. The knight might have had amazing armor, a well-built figure, perfect hair, a near-perfect jawline, and a shining sword on his side, but he was infiltrating public property. There was something called etiquette, and that was something he didn’t have. Yes. That was where Arthur held the upper hand.

  He adjusted his glasses and pulled the knight towards himself.

  “Who are you?!”

  The knight laughed and ruffled his own hair, “Sir Arthur Cross. Should you not be aware of that? I remember relaying my name to you.”

  “N-no! What is your name? Elle was Arthur, and Dee was Arthur. But Elle was Elle, and Dee was Dee. Who are you?”

  “Ugh, so you must make it impossible for me to avoid being related to those abysmal beings. Yes, they did give me a ‘codename’. That’s what they call it, I believe. I am supposed to be…Vil. Something like that.”

  Elle and Dee had obviously been letters. What letter was ‘Vil’? V? No, that didn’t even make sense. Did it stand for villain? That…somehow made sense.

  “Look, Celia is not here, alright? Shouldn’t the assassins be coming here, too? Shouldn’t we get out right away and reach the portal to whatever place you wanted to take me to?”

  “Yes, I am aware.” Vil shoved Arthur aside and dug deeper into the house. Poking his head everywhere from the kitchen to the bedroom to the laundry room, and even every single closet, he shook his head with disappointment every time he did not find the woman inside, “So, you are what they call a…loser?”

  “Excuse me. What did you just say?”

  Arthur sighed, grabbing the knight’s hand and putting all his force into dragging him back to the living room.

  “L-let go, you infernal man! I am not interested in holding hands with you!”

  “Yeah, neither am I, you numbskull. Just get out of my house!”

  “I guess you are not wrong. There is nothing of value over here. Not for me.”

  Vil immediately pulled his hand back, leaving Arthur to crash down on the floor. As the knight left for the main door once more, he pushed himself up and ran behind him. On the way, he grabbed everything he needed – the sling bag, his phone, his keys, his wallet, and the hair serum.

  The knight stepped out of the door and started looking left and right. Then, with a smug smile, he took a left and kept walking to the end of the corridor. Arthur closed the door behind him and locked it.

  “Wh-where are you even going!?” He shouted.

  “To that metallic creation which helps you move up and down. Something like a manual lift, I think. What do you call it?”

  “Yeah, the elevator is not to the left. It is to the right.”

  Vil stopped and looked back at him. His eyes droopy, his mouth morphed into a frown. Then, adjusting the sword on his belt, he kept walking to the left.

  “Are you stupid, by chance?”

  “No, I was just trying to act like you inferior beings. I do not need such inventions to get to the bottom of this castle. I am not fazed by such simple heights.”

  “H-heights!?”

  “Y-yes!”

  Vil stomped over to the end of the corridor, where the wall collapsed into parapets and gave a direct view of the ground. The knight peered over the edge with hesitation and then cleared his throat. Playing with his sword, he stood there for some time, quietly staring at the other side of the building before looking back at Arthur.

  “I shall jump.”

  “What?”

  “I shall…jump off…and reach my horse. It only befits the Commander of the Armies of Helonia to rely on his own self to reach the foot of this towering castle. You may use those…childish inventions that your kind has created.”

  “Uh, no. I am pretty sure a little bit of armor is not going to save you from dying if you just fall over. So, you know, don’t.”

  “This armor was a gift from my late wife, Celia Ingram. Do you understand that? It has the power to withstand any obstacle, just like love!”

  “I am sorry, Vil, but that armor is not going to defeat gravity.”

  Vil laughed, looked down once more, and stopped laughing. Then, adjusting the collar of his armor, he climbed up on the parapet and puffed his chest out.

  “Vil, don’t…”

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  “See you…on the other side, Arthur Cross.”

  Arthur ran forward at top speed with his arms outstretched. But just as his fingers grazed the armor of the knight, his multiversal variant had already taken his step off the parapet. In the next second, the man and his glistening armor had disappeared from view – claimed by the forces of nature.

  “Vil!”

  Arthur looked down, arm still outstretched. The man looked up at him emotionlessly for some time. And then, as his trembling hand finally caused the sword to detach, Vil began to scream. Tearing through the air, he flailed his arm around, looking down and back up as he made his way down the floors at approximately 39 m/s now.

  Unable to convince himself that this was how he was going to see the first death of his life, Arthur closed his eyes, gritting his teeth and waiting to hear the clang of metal and bones. That was all he could do: regret that he had not tried enough, and stand there. And then, the seconds passed by. One, two, three, four, five…then, the clang.

  A bunch of metal hit the ground, and Arthur felt his heart sting. It burned; his face covered in sweat. He did not want to open his eyes. How could he? What would he see?

  “You! You saved my life!”

  Recognizing the grating voice immediately, he scoffed and opened his eyes. Sure enough, there was a bunch of metal on the ground down below. They were, however, just the different parts of the armor that Vil had been wearing. Other than those pieces, and a few clothing articles, there was nothing else. No human body. The general heat radiating from his right also suggested that someone was standing beside him instead.

  “You are truly a hero, Arthur Cross!”

  He looked, wondering if he was dreaming.

  But instead, he noticed Vil standing right there, with his arms spread wide open and a grin on his face. He gave Arthur a pat on his back and then reached out for a hug. The teacher pushed back before he could get close, though, and adjusted his glasses again. Looking back up, he focused on the knight’s face, and face only. Because he was wearing nothing. Absolutely nothing. The only thing that had appeared back on the floor had been Vil himself.

  “I guess you got the Time Module, then. Elle was correct. You shall be a great asset to us. But before that, you must tell me. Where will I find the Celia of this world?”

  “You…should wear some clothes first.”

  _____________

  The elevator doors closed behind them.

  Arthur looked at his hand and then at the text in front of him. Three quick blinks, and it all became transparent and settled in the corner of his vision. The ‘current goal’ display, which now reads “Take Vil to his armor”, also moved to the right below his name. For a while, he had been worried that it would be active all the time and make it impossible for him to see things.

  Vil, however, had given him a quick lesson on how things worked. It was all based around the number three. Three quick blinks and the HUD appeared and disappeared. If you closed your eyes for three seconds, you used your ability. After that, it entered a cooldown period that was dictated by how strong that ability was considered to be. For a Time Module like Arthur, the base ability everyone got was Object Reversal.

  “You can reverse an object to its original state, but not anything around it. For example, if someone were to have a sword lodged into their stomach, you could either reverse the sword or the man’s skin. Sword reversed, the man would still die. Skin reversed, and he would live the rest of his life with a sword attached to his body!”

  Vil laughed as he walked to the pile of armor on the floor and started to pick it up. Wearing a casual t-shirt and some pajamas, the knight certainly did not look very intimidating anymore. His almost-white hair only made him look more like an old geezer who was just a bit confused.

  “So, when I used it on you, I got you, but not anything you were wearing or holding.”

  “Precisely! And now, answer my question, dear fellow Arthur Cross!”

  Even now, Vil was stuck on Celia. He was adamant that he could not go back to home base until he found her and confessed to her. Since he could not have Celia in his world anymore, he must have another. It was only right, according to the knight.

  “And you, my friend, are a loser who has not yet confessed his feelings. Thus, it is only right that I give it a try. Celia Ingram is, after all, completely alone in this world. She had nobody, and I shall take that place.”

  “Uh, no, she has a brother and parents. She’s quite happy and well-off.”

  Vil laughed and gave Arthur a pat.

  Then, with his armor back on, he flicked his hand and snapped it once. The air settled, and a weird silence took over the building. Arthur felt at peace. Taking a deep breath, he nodded and then stared at Vil.

  “Right, what was that, then?”

  “It is a call, my noble friend.”

  “A call?”

  “For my eternal steed. The beast that shall follow me to oblivion and back. The one friend I can hold on to, even when all other people of this multiverse stab me in the back. The name which shall resonate across planets, solar systems, galaxies…universes! It is a call to my horse, Knuckleduster Joe!”

  As he proclaimed the name of his amazing companion, the clopping of hooves spread through the ground. From the corner of one of the pillars nearby, a majestic brown horse with a white mane appeared. Neighing at Vil, it quickly galloped to the two and nuzzled its master. Vil laughed, gave it a few good pats, and held its reins to present it to his new friend.

  “So, what do you think, Peasant Cross?”

  “I am not really…a peasant.” Arthur cleared his throat, “Also, pretty cool. Yeah. Knu-…Knuckleduster Joe. Yeah! Where did you find him?”

  “Oh, I won him over in another universe. Majestic, isn’t he? And holds the utmost beauty too. His previous owner told me his name strikes fear in the hearts of his enemies. Knuckleduster Joe! What a fitting name for a horse of his stature.”

  “…True! Yes, you are right, Vil.”

  Vil laughed once more and hopped onto the horse. Then, he put an arm forward and invited Arthur. The teacher put it up, grabbed on, and got onto the horse. Then, the knight gave it a single tap with his feet, and the steed started moving.

  “Now, where is my queen, Celia? Come on!”

  “I really don’t think you should meet her. She will be very confused, Vil. We should go and meet up with Elle and Dee. I can’t have the assassins destroying more buildings around here.”

  “Ha! They might have done so when you first died, but that shall not happen again. They have not destroyed anything yet and will not be destroying anything while I am on watch. Elle asked me for help, and here I am. But my one clause was that I shall try to converse with the Celia of this universe. Until that is done, I shall not let the portal to our home open!”

  Arthur sighed and shook his head.

  “You will not tell me, then?”

  “No, Vil. I am not telling you where Celia is.”

  Right then, the sound of flapping wings attracted their attention. Far in the distance, a massive blue figure appeared in the sky and started to move in the general direction of the city. Elle and Dee had finally entered the universe. As soon as they did, something in Vil’s armor chimed like a notification sound.

  The knight stopped the horse and took out a phone from his belt. As if he had done it a million times, Vil navigated to the messaging app and strained his eyes to look at the message that had been sent to him. As soon as he read it, the knight broke into a smile and gave Knuckleduster Joe another tap on the body. The horse reared, neighed, and started galloping once more.

  “Thank you, Elle! A man who lives up to his word is worth his weight in gold!” Vil laughed and jumped above the building’s low walls to reach the street. As soon as he did, a car came to a screeching halt, and sudden screams filled the road. They soon calmed down, but as the knight turned the horse and aimed for his destination, a bad feeling grew in Arthur’s chest.

  “Where are you going?”

  “To Celia Ingram. She is currently at Middling High! That is what Elle says. A true friend, indeed. Never fails to impress me with his skills!”

  Arthur looked up at the dragon in the sky and cursed under his breath.