The Time Keeper

Chapter 46 - Hand of God

Darius raised an eyebrow, his voice still steady. "Fritz Haand? I've heard rumours of your... activities. You have quite the growing reputation."

Fritz Haand's grin never wavered as he acknowledged Darius's statement with a casual bow. "Why thank you. But reputation, my dear Darius, is a fickle thing. Oh let's not waste time on pleasantries. You came for answers, did you not?"

Darius nodded, his gaze unwavering. "Answers about you stealing an artifact, torturous experiments, Fritz. We've heard about the horrors you've unleashed."

Fritz Haand chuckled, the sound sending shivers down my spine as my gun was still drawn towards him. "Ah, yes, the lovely experiments. How boring the world would be without a touch of madness, don't you think?"

Fleur, her face a mask of anger, clenched her fists. "Madness? You turned people into monsters! Innocent people!"

Fritz Haand held up his hand, and my eyes were drawn to the dark, metallic glove encasing it. The surface of the glove seemed to ripple with an unsettling energy. "Ah, but you see my dear friends, I don't consider them 'people' anymore. They were mere subjects in my grand experiment."

Jean, his gun still trained on Fritz, spoke through gritted teeth. "You enjoyed it, didn't you? Torturing them, turning them into abominations."

Fritz Haand's grin widened, and he brought the gloved hand closer to his face, studying it as if it were a work of art. "Enjoyed it heh heh? My dear, that's an understatement. The screams, the agony... it was all so pleasurable."

My stomach churned at his callous words, and I couldn't help but feel a growing sense of revulsion. This man was a monster in every sense of the word.

Fritz Haand continued, his tone taking on a sickening enthusiasm. "But you see, my most exquisite experiment was an Arcanist. A lowly Tier 8 Forger. Oh, the power they possessed, the potential for chaos. It was simply irresistible. Disposable, of course, but that hardly matters."

He touched the gloved hand to his chest, and I saw a surge of energy ripple through it. "This, my dear friends, is the source of my newfound power. The artifact I acquired from the Goldeen Vault of Artifacts. A masterpiece if I do say so myself, a culmination of my experiments. With it, I can wield the very forces of the universe."

Darius's expression hardened, his voice cold. "You stole it from the Goldeen Vault. It belongs behind a lock, not in the grasp of some sick freak like yourself."

Fritz Haand chuckled again, the sound sending shivers down my spine. "Oh Darius, no need to talk like that. But indeed. It was quite the heist. I suppose you're not here for stories, are you though? You want to stop me, don't you? How utterly delightful."

Fritz made a toothy grin and looked over towards me.

My heart pounded in my chest, the weight of the revolver in my trembling hand feeling heavier by the second. I tried to steady my grip, to push back the rising fear that threatened to consume me, but my fingers remained unsteady.

Fritz Haand regarded me with a bemused expression, his eyes flicking toward the gun I held. His voice, when he spoke, was a cold, mocking drawl. "My, my, what's this, Eli? Are you going to shoot me? Such fear in those eyes. You look like a lost child clutching a toy."

His words hit me like a punch to the gut, and I could feel the doubt and anxiety swirling within me. I was an Arcanist, a member of The Huntsmen, but at that moment, all I could think of was how utterly unprepared I felt.

The weight of expectation pressed down on me like a vice. I could feel the eyes of my comrades on me, their unspoken trust and reliance. They expected me to act, to protect them, to be the hero they needed.