BXBX NOVEL Chapter 57: One Month Is All I Need
Of course, the more Henry thought of this, the more it made sense. He had never told Nyx how to run. The most he had done was urge her to go faster or go slower depending on need so why should that change just because she had evolved into a Magical Beast?
The second thing Henry noted, was that he had not received a notification from the system about how much Mana the <Shadow Dash> skill had cost.
Nyx returned and she was breathing slightly harder than normal. Her legs did not shake from fatigue and there was no other sign that she was tired physically, and yet her breathing was labored.
"How far did you run?" Henry asked as he patted her neck.
"-Quite… Quite far- Damn, I'm tired!-" Nyx said, "-It's strange, I don't feel weaker, not really, at least, and yet, I feel like something in me is tapped out…-"
"That's Mana," Henry said.
"-I- I know. At least, I think I do…-" Nyx said as she finally caught her breath.
"Rest," Henry told her gently.
Nyx nodded,
"-I think I went too far. Will mind my limits better now-" she said.
"You should," Henry said with a nod and watched as she galloped away, probably to munch on some hay, and then he turned his eyes over to Angus as the Dionisio Gang Leader cast his eyes all over the courtyard with melancholy in his eyes.
Angus was giving a speech or more accurately, he was discussing with other members of the gang which was likely why they had hardly paid attention to Henry and his peculiar interaction with his horse.
"… So many dead. Simply awful."
"Can't see Joe anywhere," Tony observed.
"He probably ran away already. The old coward he is," Charles said.
"Devon, you should get healed," Dana said in concern.
"In a minute," Devon said as he leaned against the Mansion wall before gesturing at Angus with his head,
"So what's the thing on your chest?" He asked.
"It's what was in the chest we stole, isn't it?" Stefan said.
He sounded like he was still bitter that Angus had preferred to stay behind cradling that Chest rather than come with them to strike at the Langlots who had a huge part to play in his sister getting injured.
The others were invested too. The Chest was why the Vykers had come after them, after all.
Henry was close to them now. His ears were trained on the conversations but he was all about looting corpses for any remedial wealth the rest of the Gang hadn't gotten already.
He arrived at the body of Doran Langlot, the dead Leader of the Langlot Gang, and eyed the man's beautiful gun.
Painted in bronze and gold. Besides 'The Hydra's Sting' (which can be said to have a magical advantage), the only gun that rivaled Doran's gun was Angus' with its beautiful white handle.
'Mine now,' Henry thought as he picked it up. The fact that no one else had claimed it surprised him but he paid it no mind.
'I'll take this too,' Henry thought and stripped Doran of his gun belt. It was about time he had one. It would keep the secrets of his Inventory better, at the very least. And also filled him with a bit of nostalgia for his past life.
After buckling the belt around his waist, Henry looked over at Colm O'Hearn and took possession of the Langlot Gang member's holster to serve as a second. He put Doran's just-acquired gun in one Holster and put his normal revolver, a weapon that had served him well so far, in the other.
"Angus, we were supposed to sell that!" Henry heard Charles say suddenly after Angus admitted that the item on his chest was indeed what they had stolen on the Train.
"Why would you think that?" Angus asked with a raised brow, "I never said that."
"Why else would we have stolen it?" Charles asked.
"What do you mean, 'why else?' I'm using it now, am I not?" Angus asked and his purple eyes flared.
"How… ARE you using it anyway?" Triss asked slowly with her eyes on the tentacles digging into Angus' chest,
"What exactly is it?"
"This…" Angus said grandly calling attention to the purple pulsing gem, "… is our ticket to the riches we deserve. With this, no one will stand in our way."
"Yes, no one except the rich and powerful asshole who has been siccing Vykers on us," Charles said gruffly.
"Let him send them. Let him send more. We will meet them, and just as we have done today, we will kill them." Angus said.
Henry frowned slightly with his eyes peering at Angus as he activated <Insight>;
——————
[Name: Angus Dionisio]
[Race: Human (Vyker)]
[Class: Spellbinder]
[Job: Gang Leader, Bond-Breaker/Maker]
[Health: 300]
[Mana: 400]
[Strength: 80]
[Agility: 60]
[Stamina: 70]
*[Remarks: A Vyker who has lost his Creator but has gained new life thanks to a powerful Magical Item. He has stepped back onto the path of Evolution and has once again become a force to be reckoned with.]
——————
The (Weakened) note that used to be in front of Angus' Spellbinder Class was gone. A new job called Bond-Breaker/Maker had joined the previously singular job of Gang Leader.
All weakened Stats were back to 'normal' and surpassed that of the strongest of the Vykers whose dead bodies were now all over the courtyard. Angus' proclamation might have been bold but he had the strength to back it up.
That said, that was just Angus. Besides Henry and Devon, the rest of the Gang were normal people and were far too small in number for such grand plans. An issue others were quick to note and point out;
"With just us?" Tony asked, "In case you didn't notice, we were completely out of our depths against those Vykers."
"But we won," Angus said.
"YOU won. Henry won. Triss managed and Devon was pummeled while the rest of us watched our bullets fail. Face it, we are not cut out for this!" Charles said and paused to take a deep breath before he continued,
"What's best for us is to get out while we can. These five can't be all that was sent and now that we've gotten ourselves some breathing room, we need to get far away from here."
"Oh come on," Angus said, "Where's your courage?"
"It died facing people who can wield fire!" Tony said with his voice slightly raised, "Angus look around!"
For a minute, no one said a word, and then Angus opened his mouth and started slowly and somberly,
"Listen, I won't force you to remain here if you don't want to. But, there is a reason you joined me. It's because you trusted me. All of you. You trusted me to deliver you opportunities for riches that will sustain you anywhere in the country.
We're not even halfway toward our goal. We've never been close. Not as close as we now are. We finally have a chance to get it, to get it all, and I would be so disappointed if you gave up now.
You've trusted me this long. Trust me for a bit longer. One Month is all I need. In one month, this issue with Vykers will be a thing of the past and you'll all have enough gold to swim in. More than enough wealth to last you for generations.
Will you trust me?"
Throughout his speech, Angus did not use his persuasive abilities as a Spellbinder. He didn't have to. His words, non-magical as they were, were enough.
"Do you have a plan?" Devon asked from his lean against the wall.
A smile split Angus' face and a peculiar glint appeared in his purple eyes,
"Well, of course. When have I never? Follow me, gentlemen and ladies. We have much to discuss.
First, Henry, and Devon, get yourself healed and check on Yelena. Some Langlot scum might have made it into the Mansion during the shootout ."
"Right," Henry said but he wasn't worried about Yelena. Not about her health at least. The beautiful witch was unkillable, after all.