Limitless: New Dawn

Chapter 276: Rubio’s Visit

After observing the two individuals who were both dressed in the attire of the Church of Light, Arthur’s expression didn’t change, but the slight tightening muscles around his eyes revealed his mood. Of all the people he expected to encounter here, representatives of the Church were not high on the list of those he wanted to entertain.He stood up without hurry and walked toward the door, opening it just enough to face them. “Can I help you?”

The moment the door opened, both men bowed in unison. “Greetings, Lord Arthur,” one of them said with practiced politeness. “We are representatives of the Church of Light.”

Arthur didn’t return the courtesy. His gaze remained flat, uninterested. “What do you want?”

There was no attempt to soften his tone, or any effort to hide his displeasure. He wasn't particularly fond of the Church. As like most organisations they were corrupt too, there were a lot of sh*t he found on the higher ups of many Churches while investigating a slave chain. 

He had even gone as far as anonymously providing that evidence to the respective kingdoms, only to watch those reports vanish into silence and no actions were taken against them, making him not trust the Church anymore. So, when he found two people from the church of light arriving in front of him he was not amused, and his patience was already thin.

The man who had spoken first maintained his composure, though there was a faint stiffness in his posture now. “Lord Arthur, Cardinal Rubio wishes to meet you. Since you are already in the city, he has requested your presence.”

Arthur raised a brow slightly, the absurdity of the statement not lost on him. “If he wants to see me,” he replied calmly, “tell him to come here himself.”

And before either of them could respond… The door slammed shut. The sound echoed briefly down the corridor, leaving the two representatives standing there in stunned silence.

A moment passed, then their composure cracked.

“How dare he!” one of them snapped, his voice rising as his face flushed with anger. “Does he even know who is summoning him?!”

The other clenched his jaw, his expression equally dark. “We should report this to the Cardinal immediately, this kind of disrespect cannot be tolerated.”

Neither of them stayed there any longer. They turned and left the inn while fuming, their steps were hurried, their anger barely contained as they made their way toward the central district where the Church of light had established its temporary command.

…

Cardinal Rubio’s quarters were quiet, almost unnaturally so given the chaos of the war outside. The room was spacious but not extravagant, its design was restrained, reflecting the image the Church liked to project, discipline, control, and devotion.

Rubio stood near a table, a thick tome open in his hands as his eyes moved across the pages. His expression was calm and composed, as if the turmoil outside had no place here.

The door opened, and the two representatives entered before immediately dropping to one knee.

“What did he say?” Rubio asked without looking up from the book.

One of them spoke, unable to hide the frustration in his voice. “Cardinal… that Arthur is extremely disrespectful and arrogant, he refused your summons and dismissed us outright. Please allow us to teach him a lesson.”

Rubio’s eyes finally lifted from the tome. He closed it slowly, the sound of the cover snapping shut echoing faintly in the room. For a brief moment, he didn’t respond. Instead, he turned his gaze toward the statue of Goddess Theia placed against the far wall.

“There is no need for that,” he said calmly.

Both men were bewildered with the cardinal’s response. Rubio continued, his voice was measured now. “That man… is not someone we can afford to offend. He has somehow managed to establish favorable relations with one of the Dragon Kingdoms.”

That statement alone was enough to drain the anger from the two men’s faces. They had never heard in their whole life, a human capable of gaining the favour of a dragon. The idea itself sounded absurd, so how was Arthur able to do that?

Rubio did not elaborate, he had no intention of revealing just how deep that connection ran. The fewer people who knew, the better. Information like that was not meant to circulate freely.

“We cannot offend him, in fact we should try to build a good relationship with him. If we handle this correctly,” Rubio continued, turning back toward them, “he may become an asset. Perhaps even a bridge between humans and the dragons.”

A bridge… to the dragons. In fact if they knew Arthur had gained the favour of the Dragon princess they would be even more flabbergasted. But that was the part he did not say out loud.

Rubio looked back at the two kneeling and asked. “Take me to where he is staying.”

One of them hesitated. “But Cardinal…”

Rubio raised his hand slightly, cutting him off. “Now is not the time to assert authority. Show me the way.” There was no room for argument in his tone.

The two exchanged a brief glance before standing and bowing. “Yes, Cardinal.” They then took Rubio to the inn where Arthur was staying.

…

Arthur had only just resumed his work.

Inside the room, the faint glow of spirit stones dimmed gradually as he absorbed their energy, the process was much more smooth and controlled now as he had gotten used to it by now and the incoming energy was seamlessly converted to Aether. His mind was partially focused on the absorption, and partially on the data streams from his drones.

That's when he heard another knock. Arthur’s expression shifted slightly, irritation surfacing on his face this time. “Seriously…” he muttered under his breath.

He extended his awareness beyond the door again, and saw there were three figures this time. They were still from the Church.

He exhaled slowly, stopping the absorption process as he stood up. “Should’ve just gone back to Avalon earlier…” He felt he should have just returned to Avalon after deploying the probes, but what’s done is done. He then walked towards the door and opened it.

Before he could even speak, a loud, almost theatrical laugh greeted him.

“Ha ha ha! You must be the famous lord of Avalon.”

Arthur’s gaze settled on the middle-aged man standing before him. His robes were more refined, his bearing was more controlled, and his presence was noticeably stronger than the two behind him.

“And who might you be?” Arthur asked calmly.

Rubio paused for the briefest moment, caught off guard. It was not something he had expected, he didn't expect Arthur to not know him or at least heard of him. Still, he recovered almost instantly.

“My name is Rubio,” he said smoothly. “A humble servant of the Goddess of Light, Theia.”

Arthur nodded, his expression was neutral, though inwardly he found the reaction mildly amusing. It was not that he didn't know who Rubio was but he wanted to see his expression after finding out he didn't know him.

“So,” Arthur asked, “what do you want?”

The two men who visited him before were standing behind Rubio, and got angry at the disrespect, "You...!" 

Rubio raised his hand to stop the two and smiled at Arthur, "Please don't mind them, they are still learning."

Arthur nodded and walked back inside his room, Rubio took that as a sign of invitation and entered the room, while motioning for the other two to remain outside with a stern gaze. The door closed behind him as he stepped further inside, his eyes briefly scanning the room before settling on Arthur.

Arthur gestured casually toward a chair before sitting on the edge of the bed himself.

Rubio took the seat, his smile returning as he reached into his spatial artifact and retrieved a small, ornate box. He held it out toward Arthur.

“I heard you were not treated well during your time in Brightwater,” Rubio said, his tone was apologetic. “That was a failure on our part. Please accept this as a token of our regret.”

Arthur looked at the box for a moment before taking it without hesitation and placing it beside him.

Then he leaned back slightly, his expression shifting just enough to carry a hint of playfulness.

“So,” he said, “you’re not going to punish me for killing Elaric?”

Rubio immediately raised both hands, shaking his head. “No, no. Elaric Bahram had it coming. Even if you had not acted, the Church would have dealt with him for his crimes sooner or later.”

Arthur’s lips curved faintly. ‘What a load of crap,’ he thought.

Outwardly, however, he simply nodded. “Good to know the Church was ready to act.”

Then his expression sharpened slightly. “What about Count Bahram?” he asked. “He must have known about his son's wrongdoings, but he deliberately hid that information from the church. Are you going to act on that?”

For the first time, Rubio hesitated. It was for a brief moment, but it was there.

“Ahem,” he coughed lightly, adjusting his posture. “We would require more evidence before taking action against someone of his standing. But rest assured, we will investigate further.”

Arthur held his gaze for a moment longer, then leaned back again, letting the silence stretch just enough to make it look like he was not satisfied with the reply.

Rubio stood up soon after, his smile returning as if nothing had happened. “I hope this is the beginning of a good relationship between Avalon and the Church.”

Arthur didn’t respond. Rubio inclined his head slightly and turned toward the door. “I will take my leave then.”

And with that, he exited the room and the door closed behind him.

Arthur remained seated for a few seconds, staring at the now-quiet space before letting out a soft scoff.

“Yeah… right.”

He shook his head once, dismissing the interaction entirely, then raised his hand and cast a silence spell over the room.

Without wasting another moment, he resumed absorbing the spirit stones, his focus returning to something far more productive than dealing with the Church.

***

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