Chapter 86: Actions and Consequences

Chapter 86: Actions and Consequences

Sensing Thomas and Caenis rushing over, the faux Artoria turned around, gripping her sword in preparation for a fight.

Holding up his hands to show he didn't mean any harm, Thomas slowly approached the petite Knight King to say, "Roaming around here won't do you any good. This place is a Reality Marble, so you won't find what you're looking for here."

Though she kept her hands on the grip of her sword, the faux Artoria lowered it slightly to ask, "What's a Reality Marble...?"

"..."

Exhaling a tired sigh, Thomas lowered his hands and replied, "It's very complicated. Once we're out of here, I'll have someone explain it to you. The most important things you need to know right now is that we're not your enemies and that you will dissipate if you don't form a contract with me, a girl named Illya, or a girl named Miyu. We're the only three people who possess Mana in this world..."

Raising her sword, the faux Artoria asked, "How is that possible? Mana is one of the fundamental building blocks of life. Do you think me a fool...?" New novel chapters are published on

Shaking his head, Thomas replied, "I'm just stating the facts. Once Caenis and I have dealt with the person we came here to defeat, you'll be able to ascertain the truth for yourself. I'm not trying to force you into a contract or anything..."

Sensing no falsehoods in Thomas's words, the faux Artoria slowly lowered her blade. She still had her doubts, but Thomas and Caenis were her only sources of information. There was also the fact that if the former's claims turned out to be true, she would be doing herself a tremendous disservice by treating her potential Master with hostility.

"Very well," said the faux Artoria. Before Thomas could respond, however, she questioned, "You mentioned there is someone in this world you must defeat? How have they wronged you?"

Realizing he had overcome the first hurdle, Thomas exhaled a sigh of relief before adopting a serious expression as he briefly recounted the situation. By the time he was finished, a hint of emotion had manifested within the faux Artoria's gaze.

Holding up her sword like a Knight making a vow, the faux Artoria stated, "If what you've said is true, I will fight alongside you to ensure this tyrant is brought to justice."

Smiling wryly, Thomas replied, "I appreciate the sentiment, but we've all but won this fight already. If I weren't over here trying to explain things to you, we might have already captured Crocodile."

"I...see..." muttered the faux Artoria. Then, catching Thomas a little off guard, she averted her gaze, seemingly embarrassed. Thomas assumed she was, but it was difficult to tell since her expression hardly changed.

Throwing the faux Artoria a bone, Caenis said, "You can protect this idiot while I capture the Crocodile. He or she is bound to be desperate, so they might try to sneak attack Tom to secure a pyrrhic victory. As a Knight, you should be capable of protecting at least a single person, right?"

With a muted but resolute look on her face, Artoria nodded her head and replied, "I am able." in a firm tone.

Adopting a wolfish grin, Caenis remarked, "Good, because if you make a mistake, you'll be fucking over a metric fuckton of people. As unreliable as he might seem, a lot of selfish cunts are depending on Tom to unfuck their situation and achieve their dreams. If you get him killed, I will literally rip you limb from limb..."

Reverting to her casual wear, Caenis slipped the cards into the lining of her panties and shorts, intent on having Thomas pull them out once he arrived. Until then, she stood with her left foot on the back of Crocodile's back, preventing him from scattering into sand the moment he regained consciousness. Fortunately, she didn't have to wait long, as Thomas still had the EMIYA Card equipped. It only granted him C-Rank Agility, but he was nearly as fast as Crocodile in his weakened state.

Seeing the condition of Crocodile, Artoria's expression revealed a hint of conflict. Thomas also produced a wry grimace, but he knew Crocodile had this coming to him, especially after pissing Caenis off.

Projecting two pairs of seastone manacles and a metal choker, Thomas placed them on the unconscious Crocodile before rising to his feet and declaring, "With this, Alabasta should be saved. I'm sure Crocodile had a contingency plan in place, but we should have bought enough time for the evacuation."

Turning to Caenis and Artoria, Thomas asked, "Are the two of you ready to return?"

Crossing her arms, Caenis asked, "Unless you want to go another round or ten, what reason could we possibly have to stay?"

Shaking his head, Thomas refused to comment and simply deactivated the Reality Marble. Doing so made the world appear as if it was collapsing in on them, causing Artoria to tense, but it didn't even take a full second before they were back in the real world, standing in the chamber where Crocodile had been waiting for them.

Though Benienma was the first to notice Thomas's return, Robin was the first to address him, musing, "It appears everything went smoothly. I was beginning to worry when a full hour had passed..."

While making his way over to where Cobra was receiving treatment, Thomas explained, "Crocodile made the mistake of trying to turtle up in the middle of the fight. We just had to run out the clock, and there wasn't much else he could do."

"I see..." muttered Robin. Then, after briefly exchanging glances with the faux Artoria, she returned her attention to Thomas and added, "The King isn't out of the woods just yet. Crocodile forced him to ingest a rare spider known as a Desert Strawberry. Several days have passed since then, so if he doesn't receive the antidote soon, there is a possibility he might die at any moment."

Furrowing his brows, Thomas turned to meet Robin's gaze, asking, "You don't have the antidote on you? I expected you to be more prepared..."

Returning a smile, Robin reached into her fur-lined coat to produce a vial of yellow liquid. Before handing it over, however, she questioned, "Are you sure you want to give it to him? You already have the heart of the Princess firmly within your grasp. If she becomes the reigning monarch, you could rule all of Alabasta from the shadows..."

Grimacing even further, Thomas remarked, "That isn't funny, Robin, even as a joke. Now, hand over the antidote..."

"Certainly," replied the raven-haired woman, proferring forth the antidote without further remark. She really was just joking, but she also wanted to see how Thomas would react. If he had paused to consider the merits of her suggestion, she would have disappeared the moment an opportunity presented itself. Now, so long as he made good on his promise to let her peruse Alubarna's Poneglyph, she would seriously consider joining either the Straw Hats or his burgeoning business enterprise...whichever seemed more interesting...

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(A/N: Caenis is a very vengeful person xD...)